Chapter eight: Who the hell?

Yu An dressed(like in the picture) with the help of Mei and Rin and walked to meet with Wang Shu.

Last night while they spent time on the grass, he told her today it's the day noble people and the imperial family goes hunting.

The concubines were coming along as well as Lizhui, Ruosheng and other people Yu An didn't payed attention to.

❝I'm excited to go hunting together today. ❞Ruosheng said smiling.

❝Me too. ❞Yu An replied.

After everyone gathered, they got on their horses and left to reach the hunting grounds made especially for this occasion.

❝I'll win today! ❞ a young male said.

❝Dream on. ❞ another one said.

❝Tsk, shut up Lin, I'll show you. Even cousin Wang won't beat me this time. ❞

❝Sure, if you can beat the Emperor then I'll call you dad. ❞ Lin said laughing.

❝Wait and see! Hmph! ❞ the man said angry and then notices Yu An and Ruosheng who were chatting together.

❝You're Lizhui's younger sister? Then you're my cousin's wife? ❞the man asked pointing towards Yu An.

❝Your cousin? Wang Shu is your cousin? ❞Yu An asked.

❝Yes! I'm Ye Min, a pleasure to meet you, your highness. ❞

❝Yu An, nice to meet you too. ❞Yu An said.

❝Are you here to watch the hunt? ❞Min asked.

❝No, we are hunting. ❞Ruosheng said.

❝Really? Dangerous beauties, I like it. ❞ Min said smiling.

❝You idiot, stop flirting with the Empress or cousin Wang will really kill you. ❞

❝Eh? He won't and I wasn't flirting!❞

❝Oh, dangerous beauties, I like it. ❞ Lin repeated what Min said mockingly.

❝Shut up already! ❞Min said and tried to knock Lin down of his horse and failed.

Yu An laughed looking at the two. Wang Shu looked at her from the corner of his eye and failed to notice the deadly glare of a woman far behind noticing him staring secretly at Yu An.

Soon, they reach the hunting grounds and put up tents.

❝The hunting starts in 20 minutes, please prepare. ❞ a voice shouted for everyone to hear.

Yu An put her bow on her back and sharpened her arrows while humming.

❝Have you hunted before? ❞Wang Shu who entered her tent asked looking at her.

Yu An looked up at him wondering why he's here.

❝Yes, with father and brother. ❞

❝I see. Good then.❞ He said and left.

❝Weird... ❞Yu An said and continued to sharpen her arrows and lastly her dagger.

In truth, Wang Shu wasn't sure if Yu An has experience in hunting so he was worried that she'll be disappointed if she doesn't catch anything.

❝In an hour everyone should be back in the camp! Whoever has the most prey wins this beautiful pure blood horse prepared by his highness. ❞ a guard said and showed a beautiful black horse.

❝I want it.❞ Min said to himself.

❝Good luck, your highness! ❞

❝Take care, your highness! ❞

The concubines said waving at Wang Shu who wasn't even looking at them.

❝Start! ❞the guard said and everyone raced on their horses in the woods.

Yu An and Ruosheng went  together and walked for a while when they saw a deer eating grass.

Yu An took her bow, an arrow and targeted the deer killing him with a singe blow in the neck.

❝Congrats! ❞Ruosheng said smiling.

Yu An got down from her horse and tied the dead deer to her horse.

❝The next is yours. ❞Yu An said smiling and they continued their hunt.

Soon, both had four animals so they stopped for a while next to a river to let the horses drink water.

❝Oh, is that my brother? I'll go show him what I got, don't leave! ❞Ruosheng said, got on her horse and followed the white haired man she saw in distance.

Yu An pat her horse's head when she noticed something shining coming straight to her with incredible speed.

She quickly dodged and looked in the direction the arrow was shot from.

❝Assassins? Who the hell wants me dead? ❞Yu An wondered when another arrow was shot towards her, this time she caught with her hand.

❝Eh? Poison? Someone it's really trying to get me, huh? ❞ Yu An laughed and broke the arrow in two.

She already ate the spiritual herb that makes her immune to all poisons so this is useless on her.

Suddenly the sound of multiple arrows reached her ears and she smiled.

Yu An dodged the arrows easily looking like she was dancing.

❝Oh, no more arrows? What a pity. ❞ She said pretending to be sad.

Then a bunch of black robed man jumped and surrounded her.

❝High levels? The one who hired them is loaded, interesting. ❞Yu An asked and squinted her eyes to think who she offended so bad.

❝It's time to say goodbye, you may be an expert level, but we're 20 and you're only one. ❞

❝Eh? Is that so? You have a point, it's unfair, don't you think? ❞Yu An calmly said.

❝Boss, she clearly touched the arrow, why isn't the poison taking effect? ❞ a man asked his boss via spiritual energy so only they can hear.

❝I'm not sure. ❞

Yu An cracked her knuckles and dropped her arrows laughing.

❝I'll beat you all with my bare hands, little puppets. ❞Yu An said and smiled wickedly.

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At the camp Guiyang was biting her nails in her tent.

❝That whore must be dead, right? They are twenty and she's one, there's no way she'll survive. ❞

Yu An laughs and mocks filled the forest.

❝Come on, get up and fight, why are you moaning like that? I only broke your arm. ❞ she said laughing, looking at the man who stood on the ground, holding his broken arm.

He was the 7th man she put down already.

❝You said you'll kill me... did you all got paid to be useless? ❞Yu An looked at the rest of the men.

❝Fuck it! ❞ another one said and attacked Yu An with his sword.

Yu An smiled, dodged and hit him in his nuts, making the man scream and fall in his knees.

❝Oops, that may or may not made you infertile, brother. Sucks to be you. ❞Yu An said laughing at the assassins pain.

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❝I heard the screams, what is going on? ❞Lizhui, followed by Ruosheng, asked.

❝Assassins, they're trying to kill the Empress. ❞Wang Shu who watched the scene replied.

❝What? Why don't you help her then? ❞Ruosheng asked ready to go in Yu An's aid.

Wang Shu grabbed her arm and shook his head.

❝No need, she manages, just look. ❞Wang Shu pointed to the men on the ground with a small, barely noticeable smile and a glint of appreciation in his gaze.

Lizhui, knowing Wang Shu for so long noticed the phantom smile on his face.

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❝You guys are really boring. I feel like I'm bullying you. ❞Yu An, who stood on top of a unconscious guy said and exhaled dissatisfied.

The rest of the men were panting, hurt or dead.

❝Boss, what now? ❞

❝I-I don't know. ❞

❝Maybe tell me who send you and I'll let you leave. ❞Yu An said looking at the one called boss smiling.

The boss stood in silence.

❝Not saying? Them forgive me for being ruthless. Mo, burn them to ashes. ❞ She ordered and Mo appeared setting the men on fire.

❝Did you enjoyed the show? ❞Yu An asked and turned around to look straight into Wang Shu's eyes.

He came closer together with Lizhui and Ruosheng who was giggling.

❝You destroyed them, at some point I was feeling bad for them. ❞Ruosheng said smiling.

❝Do you know who sent them? ❞ Wang Shu asked.

❝No idea. ❞Yu An shrugged and looked at the ashes on the ground.

❝Don't worry, I'll investigate this matter. ❞ Wang Shu said.

❝Thanks~❞ Yu An said and pat his shoulder.

Yu An looked at Wang Shu's horse, counted the 7 prays and frowned.

❝How long until the time is up? ❞Yu An asked.

❝Another half an hour. ❞Lizhui replied.

❝Good, Ruosheng, let's go, I want to win. ❞Yu An said determined and left on her horse to find more pray.

Wang Shu smirked, got on his horse and followed Yu An.
Lizhui understood what his friend is doing and laughed hopeless, then followed after them.

Yu An noticed Wang Shu behind her and speeded more, Wang Shu doing the same.

❝This motherfucker, is he challenging me? ❞

Yu An smirked and got an arrow out ready to shot at him.

❝What are you doing? ❞Wang Shu asked amused.

❝I kill the competition. Bye bye. ❞Yu An said and shot the arrow with spiritual power at a tree who broke and fell in front of Wang Shu's horse blocking the path.

❝Empress! ❞Wang Shu shouted. ❝Tsk. ❞ he added and punched the tree with spiritual power breaking it into pieces.

❝Ooh~ This is a competition between the Emperor and Empress, I wonder who's going to win today. ❞ Lizhui said laughing.

Yu An found a wild goat and killed it, adding it to her pray. Then she left quick seeing Wang Shu's purple robes from distance approaching.

❝Are you playing a game with his majesty? ❞Ruosheng asked.

❝It's a competition, Ruo, let's hurry. ❞Yu An said smiling evilly and told Mo via spiritual energy to shot some fire at Wang Shu.

Mo obeyed and shot fire at Wang Shu.

❝Playing dirty? ❞Wang Shu said and dodged the fire together with his horse and speeded even more.

He took an arrow and shot it at Yu An, the arrow touching Yu An's cheek and hitting a bird.

❝You idiot! You tried to kill me! ❞Yu An shouted angry.

❝Says who? The woman who shot fire at me? ❞

❝Humph! ❞Yu An said and noticed a rabbit in the bushes.

She turned her attention to the pray and shot an arrow only for the arrow to be hit by Wang Shu's and end up in the ground scaring the rabbit.

❝You scared it! That's it! ❞Yu An looked angry at Wang Shu and shot an arrow directly at him.

Wang Shu laughed and caught it breaking it in two.

Yu An smiled making Wang Shu uneasy and then he felt his body becoming numb.

❝When the hell did you poisoned the arrow? ❞he asked angry.

❝When you were occupied with the tree, dear friend. Now you can't stay in my way. ❞ Yu An smiled.

Wang Shu frowned and with his last strength jumped at Yu An making her fell down her horse with him on top of her, heavy as an elephant.

❝You!❞ Yu An screamed and pushed him down.

A gong reached their ears.

❝The time is up. ❞Wang Shu said laughing.

Yu An looked at him and sighed.

❝Alright, you won. ❞ Yu An said and gave him a herb to chew making him regain control over his body.

Wang Shu stared at her.

❝What? You want to bragg about your win? ❞

❝I had fun. ❞ Wang Shu said honestly, making Yu An's anger vanish.

❝Me too. ❞ Yu An said and got on her horse and rushed to the camp.

Ruosheng follower her, leaving Wang Shu and Lizhui alone. The white haired had an amused look on his face as he stared at his friend.

❝Don't you dare say anything. ❞ Wang Shu warned and the two left.

When she saw Yu An alive and well, Guiyang dug her nails in her palms frustrated.

After counting the prey, the winner was Min after all.

❝I can't believe he won... ❞his brother, Lin, said.

❝I told you! I won! Haha! ❞Min said and jumped happy.

❝Let us cook the prey now, rest until then. ❞a guard said.

Yu An went back to her tent and sat on the ground where a made bed was. She thought about the competition and smiled a little.

❝He can be fun sometimes, I wish he was like this all the time. ❞