Chapter 148

Not far away, Bai Jie, who was carrying Lin Jiajia, and the young lady of the Chen family stared speechlessly at the emerging pack of wolves. They couldn't help thinking that Lin Jiajia was truly a jinx—having just escaped a tiger's den, they had now walked right into a wolf's lair.

"Young Brother Bai, are we about to kick the bucket?" asked the young lady of the Chen family, so terrified that she was on the verge of losing control of her bladder, her legs trembling incessantly.

"I think we might actually be goners," Bai Jie swallowed hard, sweat starting to bead on his forehead.

"Awooo—" The wolf in the very lead let out a howl.

"Mother, save us!" Bai Jie and the young lady of the Chen family threw Lin Jiajia aside and huddled together, wailing bitterly.

Just as several wolves lunged forward, a sharp swish cut through the air. An arrow pierced one wolf's throat, and it crashed to the ground, dead.

Bai Jie: ??

The young lady of the Chen family: ??

After a few more swift swishes and several more wolves struck down by arrows, the pack was ambushed and retreated, leaping into the nearby bushes to flee.

"Whose little cutie is this, daring to come out here and play? You've got quite some nerve," a sweet voice rang out. With a rustle of tree branches overhead, Bai Jie and the young lady of the Chen family looked up to see a young lady clad in white armor leap down with effortless grace.

"Auntie, wuwuwu..." Lin Jiajia, having just regained consciousness, clung to her savior and refused to let go.

Xie Linghan: "..." Auntie? Who is she calling?

Bai Jie: "..." Did she hit her head and lose her mind?

The young lady of the Chen family: "..." Clearly, she's a big sister.

"Call me Big Sister," Xie Linghan said with a murderous glint in her eyes, grabbing Lin Jiajia by the collar.

"Uh, Big Sister," Lin Jiajia swallowed hard. That was terrifying.

"That's more like it," Xie Linghan said with satisfaction, tossing Lin Jiajia aside.

"Judging by your looks, you must be young lords and ladies from some prominent family. What on earth are you doing running around out here instead of staying in the camp?" Xie Linghan dusted off her hands, sweeping her gaze over the three of them.

"There's game here, so we came to catch some," Bai Jie said, putting his hands on his hips and lifting his chin.

"Oh," Xie Linghan uttered a single syllable.

Bai Jie: "..." That was awkward.

"Did the big sister come here to catch game too?" the young lady of the Chen family asked sweetly, putting on a cute act.

Bai Jie: "..." Eww—give me goosebumps.

However, compared to boys, Xie Linghan preferred girls much more.

"That's right, little cutie. It got boring in the camp, so I came out to hunt for fun," Xie Linghan said, pouting slightly.

The young lady of the Chen family: "..." Hunt... for fun?

"Ahem, then Big Sister must be truly formidable."

"Hehe, this little girl has such a sweet mouth. By the way, I just caught a little thing and decided to give it to you." Xie Linghan patted the top of the young lady of the Chen family's head, turned around to rummage through the bushes behind a large tree for a long moment, and dragged out a fawn. It looked freshly born, its eyes not yet open, and it curled up on the ground.

"This... this is..." The young lady of the Chen family was beyond thrilled. Beside her, Bai Jie was consumed with envy, jealousy, and hatred, while Lin Jiajia's eyes sparkled with starry-eyed temptation.

"I found this little deer. It looks like its mother met with an accident, so I brought it back. But I have no interest in these animals, and I wouldn't know how to raise it anyway, so I'll give it to you."

"Thank you, Big Sister! This is wonderful, it's so cute!"

Bai Jie and Lin Jiajia turned green with envy, sour like a pair of lemons.

Later on, relying on their unbeatable flattery and thick skin, the two managed to sponge a few more things.

Bai Jie looked speechlessly at the little gray bird in his hands. The bird egg he had just received had actually hatched moments later.

"Congratulations on becoming a mother ahead of schedule," the young lady of the Chen family said, wrapping the fawn in her clothes and holding it in her arms while mocking Bai Jie in passing.

Bai Jie: "Get lost."

Just as the group was planning to head back to the camp, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly echoed.

"Little brother, where are you?" It was Bai Zhuo's voice.

Xie Linghan thought: Such a familiar voice. Where have I heard it before?

"Ah, it's my older brother!" Bai Jie cried out excitedly, clutching the little bird.

"Brother, I'm over here!" Bai Jie shouted at the top of his lungs toward the approaching sound.

Before long, Bai Zhuo found his younger brother—who had a little gray bird perched on his head—along with the young lady of the Chen family, the young lady of the Lin family, and Xie Linghan, who had previously witnessed his bedraggled state.

"So it's you? No wonder that voice sounded so familiar!" Xie Linghan recognized the man. Wasn't this the young senior brother who had fallen into the trap alongside the Crown Prince? Now that he was cleaned up, he actually looked quite handsome.

"So it's Miss Xie. I am here to sincerely thank you for saving my life."

"No need to thank me, just a small matter," Xie Linghan said casually with a wave of her hand.

"You two know each other?" Bai Jie looked back and forth between them.

"That's right, your older brother's life was saved by me," Xie Linghan said proudly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Wow, Sister Xie is amazing!" Bai Jie instantly turned into a fanboy, deciding then and there to apprentice himself to her. Thus, Gu Yun was abandoned, and Bai Jie had a new master.

Upon returning to the camp, the group parted ways. Bai Jie received a thorough thrashing from his own father; the boy had been missing all day, nearly scaring the old man out of his wits.

Bai Jie: "..." Calling a man in his thirties an old man, tch.

Meanwhile, the moment Xie Linghan stepped into her tent, she was startled by the intensely burning gaze of her own older brother.

"Brother, why did you run over to my tent? And what is with that look in your eyes?" Xie Linghan twitched the corner of her mouth and said speechlessly.

"Hanhan, tell your second brother, who did you come back with?" Xie Liyun wore a heavily ambiguous smile.

"Brother, what are you grinning about? I just saved three kids."

"Incorrect. I saw the young master of the Bai family," Xie Liyun countered.

"I saved his younger brother and ran into him on the way back," Xie Linghan explained.

"Isn't that it then? A life-saving grace should be repaid with one's person. Although that eldest Young Master Bai looks like he might attract trouble with the ladies, he is well-read, comes from a scholarly family, and makes a fine choice," Xie Liyun said earnestly, patting Xie Linghan's shoulder.

Xie Linghan: "I saved the second young master of the Bai family."

"Since you saved the younger brother, the older brother naturally has to repay the kindness."

Xie Linghan: "..." Just how worried are they that I won't be able to get married?

"Little sis, listen to your brother. You started practicing martial arts at age three, became invincible across the realm at eleven, and when marriage proposals came at fifteen, you beat up and chased away every single suitor. It took until you were sixteen to finally get an engagement, but you kicked the matchmaker away because you thought the guy was ugly. Now you've dragged it out all the way to twenty-one, turning into an old maid. Since one has finally delivered himself to your doorstep, snap him up right away, get the wedding done, and give me a chubby little nephew next year!"

Listening to her brother's heart-piercing words, Xie Linghan felt a sharp pain in her trigeminal nerve.

"Brother, just stay out of this and go back to rest!" Xie Linghan pushed her second brother right out of the tent.

"Sis, if you're too embarrassed, Brother will handle it for you. Don't worry, I guarantee you'll get what you want," Xie Liyun shouted from outside the tent.

"Brother, stop adding to the chaos!"

"Don't worry, little sis, leave it to your brother!"

Xie Linghan: "..." Headache.

Of course, Xie Linghan's head was going to ache even more once she got back home.