Chapter 146

At this moment, the large civet cat, whose hooves were bound by Fu Bao and whose mouth was tied with a rope, was laboriously wriggling toward the nearby grove.

All the captured game was placed uniformly in an open clearing, with a few men assigned to watch over them to prevent other wild beasts from stealing them.

"Brother, are you sure this is the place? Look at that huge pile of animal carcasses," a voice came from a nearby patch of grass, instantly startling the civet cat that had painstakingly wriggled aside. It loosened its hooves and lay flat on the spot, playing dead.

"It should be here. I smelled the scent," another voice rang out.

"Guard Qing told us to rescue that civet, but there are so many hunters here. What if we get caught and taken away?"

"Uh, we shouldn't get caught."

"Pffft! We are spirits; hunters love to catch our kind."

"Have you ever seen anyone from our clan get caught?"

"Er, well, no."

"Exactly. Who has the time to go around catching two ants for fun? Even if someone from our clan ran right under a hunter's foot begging to be caught, they wouldn't notice us for a good while."

As it turned out, the speakers were two ant spirits, and ants truly were pitifully small.

The large civet cat lying on the ground with its tongue out playing dead pricked up its ears to listen to the conversation between the two little things. It opened one eye to peek at the grove, saw no one speaking at first glance, and looked again—still saw no one.

The large civet cat: ???

"Found it. It's playing dead right here." As soon as the voice finished, a blade of grass beside the civet cat twitched, and a tiny ant jumped down from the tip of the grass. Immediately after, the grass tip swayed again as another tiny ant leaped out.

"Tsk tsk, completely useless. Such a big fellow, tied up like this and left to be slaughtered," the ant said, raising its head with its little paws on its hips in mockery.

The large civet cat: "..." Damn it, who is talking? Still seeing no one at all.

"Hey, down here. Roll your eyeballs." The civet cat went cross-eyed, finally spotting the ant brothers perched on the tip of its nose.

The large civet cat: The Lord only sent these two??

"Alright, let's make it quick. You heard what the Lord said: there is a vixen here whose Taoist practice is not deep yet she has harmed countless people. We are specifically commanded to subdue her, and if worst comes to worst..."

The ant made a throat-slitting gesture near its neck with its pitifully small claws.

The large civet cat snorted two streams of air from its nose to indicate there was no problem.

Before long, a pitch-black swarm of ants emerged from the grass. Soon, the large civet cat was hoisted away, burrowing into the nearby bushes and disappearing.

...

Inside the Crown Prince's tent:

Having spent the entire afternoon lying in a trap, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was lying prone on a soft couch while his personal physician, Dr. Liu, applied medicine to his wounds.

"I must say, Your Highness, did you not scout the path in advance? You specifically had to drill into the place with a trap," Dr. Liu complained as he applied the ointment.

"I did scout it. I was busy bickering with that brat Bai Zhuo at the time and didn't watch my step," the Crown Prince said with his eyes closed.

"Just how long are the two of you going to keep bickering? It's just a woman, yet she's turned you both into this state." Besides, that Young Master Bai was not the type to be obsessed with beauty.

"This isn't about one woman or two. This is about dignity."

The moment the Crown Prince thought about how the little beauty he had personally rescued actually ran over to fawn on someone else—not to mention that Bai Zhuo brat genuinely looked better-looking than him—he grew upset.

Dr. Liu: What dignity? It's clearly just that the young lady doesn't fancy you and has set her sights on the Prime Minister's son instead. But if I were in her shoes, I'd do the same; after all, Young Master Bai is a man of exceptional talent and appearance.

Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wasn't bad either, when choosing between the two, of course one would pick the better-looking one.

Bai Zhuo: Get lost, I like women.

"Liu Yu, tell me, who is better looking: Gu or Bai Zhuo?" The Crown Prince turned his head and asked gloomily.

Dr. Liu: "..." Can the humble subject refuse to answer?

"Speak quickly, or tomorrow I'll send you to the military camp to treat those old men's body odor," the Crown Prince threatened.

"Er, naturally Your Highness is more handsome. You have looks, wealth, and power—who wouldn't like that?" Dr. Liu abandoned his integrity.

"I think so too. Alright, you may withdraw; I need to rest." Satisfied, the Crown Prince began shooing him away.

"Your Highness, shall I have Beauty Yu come and wait upon you?" Dr. Liu asked again.

"What is she coming for? No, I won't see her. I've been busy all day and need to rest," the Crown Prince said with an expression of utter impatience.

"Ah, very well, this humble servant takes his leave." Carrying his medicine box, Dr. Liu stepped outside. Now he finally understood why the Crown Prince was practically having his wall dismantled; treating a woman with such indifference meant her heart would naturally wander.

At that moment, Yu Qianqian was doing her makeup in another tent. Frankly, while the Crown Prince seemed completely infatuated with her on the surface, only she knew that fellow was playing the pig to eat the tiger.

He wouldn't even let her touch him. Absorbing his vital *yang* energy while he was infatuated was out of the question; it seemed she would have to resort to taking him by force.

If that failed, there was still Bai Zhuo. That fellow was not bad either; not only was he clean, but he also carried a trace of blessed fortune. Although very faint, it was quite enough for her.

...

Gu Li stared wide-eyed with a fierce expression at Gong Shaoyu, who was tied to a wooden chair, sweeping his gaze up and down repeatedly.

Gong Shaoyu: Waking up early in the morning to find himself tied here, while his left eye ached somewhat.

"What did you dream about last night?" Gu Li asked with a dark face.

"A group of beauties."

"And then?"

"Deep communication."

"..."

"Cousin, did you not notice anything amiss?" Gu Li took a sip of tea, struggling to calm his impending rage.

"I did."

"You noticed it too?"

"That's right, I've found myself feeling a bit drained these past couple of days."

"..." Can dreaming like that every single day not leave you drained?!

After giving Gong Shaoyu a thorough beating, Gu Li felt his mood improve just a tiny bit.