It was October in the late autumn when there was more frost and dew.

The wind in the early morning felt a little cool as it blew the branches of the flowers, making them shake and fall down to the ground as if the winding path had been covered with scattered broken gold.

The royal Autumn Hunting Convention of Udan used to start off on the seventh day of the Shengtu Festival, which happened at the closest place to the royal palace ― the royal paddock on the west of the Eagle Eye Mountain.

Every year, the officers in the paddock would let out all kinds of living beasts in the cages before King Solo's arrival, so that the King and his officers could kill the beasts to their hearts' content.

Then, they would regard the amount of the hunted animals as the gist of the fortune of their development in the next year.

Before nine in the morning, flags of five colors had been set up in the paddock. The baldachin was set so high that it looked like packed clouds in the sky, covering the sun.

On the sturdy black horse under the baldachin sat King Solo who had a smug smile on his happy face.

The warm sunshine of the near-noon slanted through the Yingluo of baldachin down on his face, which brought a sheen of golden light to his handsome features.

Behind him stood his officers in order of the priority of ranks as they stood side by side.

There came a clear and sharp voice,

"Go!"

As the voice was sounded, there came the sounds of running horses and the pictures of flying dust.

Lu Qiange wore a white riding-hunting suit, the sleeves and neck of which were decorated with swirling patterns as the threads of five colors were intertwined. The colors really matched up and made her suit looked beautiful.

To move freely, he took off the left shoulder of his riding-hunting suit on the outside, revealing the dark-red underwear shirt.

He didn't wear his golden crown as his head was covered with thin braids and a Moon Machete of the Shooting Star Seven hung his right waist.

He held his rein and let out a long sigh in front of the honor guards.

The fore hoofs of the white horse were lifted into the air as the horse neighed loudly before it instantly stopped.

Behind it was a man and a woman who also held their rein to stop.

With delight in his eyes, Lu Qiange put his right fist on his heart and gently bent his body to the direction of baldachin, saying loudly,

"Good morning, Father. At your request, my uncle and aunt have arrived at the hunting paddock. Please allow me to introduce them."

There came whispers from the lines of the honor guards.

King Solo wore his azure riding-hunting suit and a big azure cloak with selected satin which had mythical creature totems of Tuan Embroidery on them.

Cocking his head to the side, he looked at the handsome man on the back of the white Swift Horse, and he laughed as he stroked the thick and curled beard, saying,

"Master Leng has been famous for a while. Why should I bother you to introduce him? All the Udan warriors and I here can recognize Master Leng of Da Yi. Hehe. Master Leng, Your Highness of Huanan, how are you?"

King Solo finished his words unhurriedly and made his horse go forward.

"Nice to meet you, King Solo."

Leng Qingtang flashed a big smile and made the fist-and-palm salute of Central Plains.

King Solo returned the salute with a smile,

"After you, Your Highness of Huanan. You're such a genius of Central Plains. You have led not only the famous the Eastern Depot of the imperial court of Da Yi, but also the wonderful battles with Southern Jiang, An Guo, and Bo Ku. I'm really impressed."

"Thanks. I'm flattered. Thanks for your recognition. I really appreciate that you invited me to join the hunting convention with my wife. Thanks for your boundless hospitality."

Leng Qingtang didn't have a proper riding-hunting suit, instead, he found his old black Kungfu suit. Then he wore his sleeveless sleeved over-dress on the outside.

Stately and handsome with a unique temperament, he could be instantly noticed in the crowd even if he was in simple outfits as he shone like a diamond.

"The pleasure is all mine and Udan's that Ninth Prince of Imperial Family Huanan of Da Yi can join us."

With a casual smile, King Solo's appreciative eyes shifted to Gu Yunxi on the horseback.

"Well, you must be the Ninth Princess, right? I always hear Jiyan mention you."

Gu Yunxi smiled gently and slightly nodded, saying,

"I've met you before. Now my husband and I are just ordinary people."

Another head showed up behind King Solo as someone couldn't help rushing out of the lines and exclaimed happily to Gu Yunxi,

"Aunt, here you are!"

There was light in Gu Yunxi's eyes as she found Huanan Jiyan coming to her on the horse. In a red straight skirt with patterns of all kinds of flowers, Huanan Jiyan also wore a tassel headband with a golden ring, which was extremely expensive. There was a red sari with scallops of golden lace covering her head.

What was even more dramatic was that everywhere on her body that could be decorated all got entwined with complex and heavy jewels, even her white wrists were put on over ten colorful enamel bracelets, as thin as silk threads.

Gu Yunxi's eyes ran down the girl's body, and then she couldn't help frowning as she questioningly whispered,

"Well, are you sure you want to wear like this at a hunting convention?"

Gu Yunxi only wore a light green embroidered mandarin coat with thin sleeves in a style of martial child suit, matching light green bloomers, and thin-soled boots of soap color. She rolled her long black hair into a ban on the top of her head and fixed it with a silver coronet with a hair clasp in the form of magnolia. Her narrow waist was wrapped around by a blue silk sash, which made her look valiant yet pretty. Her neutral charm was really eye-catching.

Seeing the two women get so close in the reunion, King Solo also got happy for them. He turned to Leng Qingtang, saying,

"Hua'er's Mother was the legitimate princess of Imperial Family Huanan of Da Yi, so I think we are relatives. Please make yourself at home. Don't be overcautious."

He swiveled to take the longbow in the arms of his officer.

"Huanan Prince, how do you like it?"

Leng Qingtang took it with his hands and touched the dense and tough patterns of on the bow as the light gradually glittered in his eyes like torchlight.

"What a perfect Tiger String Bow! According to Art Observation, 'Get dry in winter, get liquid in spring, get tendons in summer. Gather the three materials into one in autumn before cooling it. Forging these good bows is not allowed for merely three or four years'."

There was a delight in King Solo's eyes as he praised,

"Huanan Prince is really well-informed. This bow is called 'Kylin's Sacrifice'. The process from preparation to the accomplishment has lasted three years and a half. Today I find that we're congenial friends, so I want to give it to you as a gift. Just play it later to show us how capable are you as an archer, okay?"

Leng Qingtang didn't refuse as he threw the bow over his shoulder and carried a pack of narrows, raising fist salute to King Solo,

"Thanks for your appreciation."

"Nice!"

King Solo was so elated that he laughed out loud as if a bell-struck sound swirled in the deep valley with golden leaves.

Lifting his arms, he threw his cloak behind and exclaimed,

"So, here we go!"

The lines in five colors bugled loudly as roars rose from the crowd. The air was filled with killing sense.

Shrill neighing rose to the sky as hundreds of thousands of cavalries rushed to all the directions like running torrential floods released from the gate. They stamped on the flying broken leaves and rolled the dirt to the sky.

Leng Qingtang swiveled his horse and smiled at Gu Yunxi and Huanan Jiyan.

"I'll go with them. You two don't have to hurry. Just slowly follow us."

With smiling eyes, Gu Yunxi's eyes went gentle and pretty,

"Just go with them. I'll be safe with Jiyan."

Leng Qingtang affectionately eyed her, and then gently kicked the horse's belly with his heels and chased other down the road full of flying dirt.

Looking at the gradually far-away behind, Huanan Jiyan shrugged her shoulders and wined in a small voice,

"Well, your husband really cares about you. Unlike him, my Zhu is so busy in entertaining himself that he has abandoned me to chase after his leopards."

Gu Yunxi and the girl slowly walked on the horse and comforted her,

"Hua'er has changed a lot. His present characteristic is anything but the previous bossiness and conceit of The Lone Ranger."

Then she leaned to the side of Huanan Jiyan and smiled,

"It's you who has changed him. It seems like you should be awarded."

"Aunt, you're so good at comforting people."

Although Huanan Jiyan was happy on the inside, she had to pretend that she was bashful as she pouted coyly.

Gu Yunxi looked afar, seeing the competitive hunting at the end of the forest. Her eyes gradually went empty,

"That made me recall the autumn hunting competition of the royalty of Dayi where the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot were having a competition. I won the silver deer horns and became the winner."

Huanan Jiyan instantly held her breath and squinted her eyes as her smile got a little trace of reminiscence,

"Yeah, at that time, my Father and Mother were still alive..."

Gu Yunxi slightly sighed as her features went dark,

"Time is the most unmerciful. For a split second, some people have passed away, while some have been so far away from us."

A gentle breeze ran over their clothes, separating the skin and the clothes.

Hanging up her head and closing her eyes, Gu Yunxi took a deep breath as she felt a wisp of the faint scent of Autumn fruits running into her lungs.

All the dead people, including Qin Zhong, Jiang Xiong, Rui Yanwan, Ming Lan, the Wans, Concubine Xu...

The past had gone with the wind. For a split second, all the faces, both good and evil, and the past events, happy and sad, had become an eternal reminiscence.

Yet now she could calmly accept the change she could never control instead of getting lost as she had done in the first place. So she thought she had grown full-fledged.

―

As the sun set, the competition was still fierce in the deep forest.

People from the western tribes were good at hunting on the running horses, and their customs taught them to be bearing and valiant, so their riding style was quite wild.

Every time they met the pray, tens of, even hundreds of people on the horses chased after one another, refusing to let others get the pray first. Hundreds of thousands of people on the running horses made the audience overwhelmingly excited.

Suddenly, numerous fierce birds flew out of the deep forest as they dashed to the sky, their wings frantically fluttering.

King Solo quickly set his arrow on the bow and drew it.

The tiger string shrieked with a high pitch as it flew into the clean and far sky.

It flew like a shooting star as it directly penetrated the owl's neck.

A sad cry was sounded from the sky as the fierce owl cocked its head to the side, falling down off the branch. The smell of blood pervaded the whole forest as it fell to the ground.

At the same time, the other hundreds of fierce birds such as black vultures and gray-faced owls all got hunted by the officers. None escaped.

When they ran close to the Zhang Cliff, a sika deer suddenly popped up from the bush.

And then the riding team broke into exciting cheers as if torrent sea waves were stirred up.

People all started to draw their bows and exerted all their strength to shoot, and their sharp narrows ragingly lunged at the pray.

The deer was smart enough to jump and dodge, avoiding all kinds of obstruction and interception. It was so light and smart as if it was lighter than an ounce of mist and cloud.

"Zhang Cliff is ahead. We must hunt it down now!"

Someone in the team shouted.

Leng Qingtang calmly followed the team to chase after the deer. He maintained his poised posture of shooting as he sat on the rocking horse's back.

And then he jumped at the perfect chance and quickly shot his long arrow.

A light flashed in the air as Leng Qingtang's arrow flew faster and caught up with the other man's arrow, piercing through it from the end and cutting it up into two pieces before firmly pinning it into the deer's head.

The deer threw its head back and painfully screamed as it fell down to the ground. All its fours stopped moving after several twitches.

And the riding team all ran to it.

King Solo clearly saw what happened when the two arrows chasing. He immediately got off his horse and narrowed his eyes down on the pray lying on the ground. His appreciative eyes shifted to Leng Qingtang.

"Ha, ha. Your Highness does excel at archery. Someone come and tell us the hunting results of mine and the prince's in this hunting convention."

A hunting officer bowed,

"Your Highness, you've hunted down three leopards, ten minks, thirty-one wild rabbits, and twenty-five birds, which has a total of sixty-nine prays. Huanan Prince has hunted down two leopards, forty minks, twenty wild rabbits, and thirty-three birds, which has a total of sixty-nine prays."

"Nice!"

Suddenly a trace of shock appeared in King Solo's eyes as he slapped his thigh with his palm.

Copper bells clanged as Gu Yunxi and Huanan Jiyan finally caught up with the team.

Seeing the two girls come, King Solo told Gu Yunxi with a smile,

"Your husband is really good at hunting on the horse. His prays are as many as mine in this autumn hunting. We're on a par."

King Solo's glittering eyes shifted to Leng Qingtang as he said firmly,

"To be honest, I've appreciated your talent of Kungfu for a while. Now that you've lived in Udan, why not fight for my country? If you work as my officer, I'll order you to be my Right Minister and give you the military leadership. What do you say?"

Leng Qingtang was shocked, but then there was a bit of smile showed up in his black eyes. He said calmly and aloofly,

"Thanks for your appreciation, but I'm just an idler. Although I live in a foreign country now, I still keep my family name. So, please forgive me that I can't work for you and your country."

King Solo's features froze as his dissatisfaction made him frown.

Solo Yeli, King of the richest country of western tribes and leader of Udan, felt he was greatly humiliated in the face of his officers and royal members after he sincerely invited the man to work for his country.

Silence pervaded the paddock as the speechless atmosphere was like the plumbum-filled air, thick enough to get everyone choked.

Suddenly a black rider came out of his line and held the king's rein, glaring at Leng Qingtang with angry eyes.

"What a proud prince! His Highness cherished talents like you, so he respectfully calls you 'prince'. Everyone's here knows you're nobody but an exile of Da Yi. Screw your family name of Huanan and your identity of royal members, because now you have to rely on Udan. Since you've had our food, you're supposed to serve the country."

"What?"

Even King Solo thought his harsh words were too mean. The king was about to reach out his hands to stop the black rider, but it was too late.

"Tulia!"

Lu Qiange quickly rode to them as his purple eyes turned red due to his anger.

With a red and white handsome face, Leng Qingtang remained silent as he looked into the black rider's eyes.

Secretly calming down his anger, Leng Qingtang flashed a calm smile as he bent his arms to take off "Kylin's Sacrifice" and the arrow pack and gave them to the rider.

"Friends don't force each other to do things they don't want. Please forgive me for the rejection. See you."

King Solo gradually retained his anger showed on his face as he slightly shook his head to signal to his officer to take away the bow and arrows.

Seeing her husband turn around, Gu Yunxi's eyes went a little gloomy as she coldly glanced at the crowd before holding her rein to follow her husband.

"Tulia, you're such a jerk who don't know how to say nice words--"

Lu Qiange angrily cursed as he whipped the strong soldier on his face with his horsewhip.

Which instantly left a bloody scar on his face.

The soldier covered his scar with his hands as he lowered his head, too guilty to say anything.

Lu Qiange then got mad at his Father. He narrowed his purple eyes and coldly questioned,

"Father, you asked me to invite my uncle, so that you can humiliate him in public?"

King Solo got awkward as he also thought he was put in an embarrassing position. He threw his hands open and said to the point,

"Hua'er, you know I didn't mean it. I really cherish talents, but I never thought he would turn down my offer like this..."

"Humph!"

Lu Qiange angrily shook the rein and took Huanan Jiyan to catch up with the couple.