Chapter 144 - 144 To Win
144 To Win
This time, Wei Jiaoniang was no longer interested in hunting. She was distracted and only let the horse move forward while she kept practicing on her left palm with her fingers.
However, for some reason, she could not possibly finish it in one stroke. The stroke of the talisman would always accidentally break at a certain point.
Wei Jiaoniang was not discouraged. She still practiced repeatedly, over and over again…
She did not know how many times she had practiced. She only gradually felt that her strokes were becoming smoother and more skilled.
Just a little more…
This little bit took her more than two hours.
After walking for an unknown distance, the faint sound of spring water could be heard ahead. However, Wei Jiaoniang did not notice it at all. Her index finger moved on her left palm for the 101st time and drew the last stroke at the base of her palm.
In an instant, she felt enlightened, as if a voice in her heart was saying that this time it would work.
Sure enough!
Her palm lit up slightly. In the next moment, a small wound on her fingertip that had just been cut by a branch healed.
Wow! That was amazing!
Wei Jiaoniang looked at the ring finger of her left hand in disbelief.
The skin on the tip of his ring finger was intact, tender, and delicate, as if the 30-centimeter-long cut had never existed.
“Yanfei, I did it!”
“Look, I did it!”
Wei Jiaoniang cheered excitedly, as if she had obtained some rare treasure.
“Jiaoniang, you’re so happy.” Lu Qin and the others heard the commotion and came over. From afar, their voices arrived before they arrived. “Did you hunt some ferocious beast?”
“…” Wei Jiaoniang froze.
She had been busy learning to draw talismans along the way. Other than the pheasant and a badger she had initially hunted, she had not hunted anything else.
Hence, from the moment she met Lu Qin and the others until they left the hunting ground together, Wei Jiaoniang received many caring gazes and questions along the way.
“Eh? Jiaoniang, did you only hunt these two prey?”
“Jiaoniang, you’re not so lucky today!”
“Did you go into the mountains to sleep just now?”
“…”
On the empty ground outside the hunting grounds, acquaintances ran over to talk to Wei Jiaoniang. After a while, there were seven or eight people surrounding her.
Seeing that Wei Jiaoniang had gained so little prey this time, many people felt a little strange.
They had known each other for many years and had come here for the winter hunt with Wei Jiaoniang every year. She had some ancestral bearing, and her harvest from every winter hunt was one of the best.
“No, no. I think the prey in the mountains are fighting to leave. They’re all afraid of Jiaoniang…” A petite girl in green said playfully, causing everyone to laugh again.
The young boys and girls were familiar with each other and often came out to play, so they did not have any scruples when talking. They teased Wei Jiaoniang one after another, and their bright and cheerful laughter echoed in the air.
The afternoon sun was high in the middle of the sky, and there were people coming and going. Many people had come out of the hunting ground before Gu Yanfei and the others. They gathered in twos and threes to talk and laugh, creating a lively atmosphere.
Faced with everyone’s teasing, Wei Jiaoniang did not take it to heart. She smiled generously and said, “I’m giving you all a chance.”
As she spoke, she secretly hooked Gu Yanfei’s pinky with her own, meaning that this was their little secret.
The pinky promise was not to change for a hundred years.
Other than pinching her cat’s paw, Gu Yanfei had not done such a childish thing in a long time. She found it extremely interesting.
She gently hooked Wei Jiaoniang’s pinky finger, meaning, “Alright, it’s our little secret.”
Wei Jiaoniang looked up and around to see that half of the surrounding shed was empty. The noble ladies were no longer around, leaving only a few servants to clean up something.
She did not mind and casually asked her friends, “Did anyone hunt any powerful, ferocious beasts?”
Lu Qin’s fourth brother, Lu Shi, immediately revealed a mysterious smile and said slowly, “Not for the time being.”
“What do you mean?” Lu Qin grabbed her sleeve and urged, “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“I heard someone found a tiger,” Lu Shi said with a grin.
Tiger?! Gu Yanfei, who was feeding sugar to the horse, was also interested.
Wei Jiaoniang and the others’ eyes also lit up. Their eyes were like lit lanterns, sparkling.