Where the Mask Ends - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Leaving the Idle Villa, Mount Yunwu lies five miles to the east. In truth, even while standing within the villa, one can already gaze upon the mountain’s beauty and majesty throughout the four seasons.

There are two paths leading from the Idle Villa to Mount Yunwu. One is the official road, which is what the young masters and ladies from the capital usually take when visiting. The other is a narrow trail trampled out over the years by local hunters; it is not as smooth as the official road, but it is secluded and quiet, and the journey is also shorter.

This is the trail that Wei Rao frequently uses.

When the four cousins reached the entrance of the trail, they saw only three or four sets of footprints on the vast, white snow.

"Let’s race! Let’s see who reaches the foot of the mountain first," Wei Rao suggested with a smile, pointing toward the end of the trail.

Huo Jue felt a bit concerned about Zhou Huizhu’s horsemanship. Their young cousin was only thirteen; could she handle it?

Seeing her cousin look at her, Zhou Huizhu pouted, "Cousin, don't underestimate me. I learned to ride when I was ten. I can even climb mountains, let alone this flat little trail."

Wei Rao added, "Exactly! Cousin, don't be like those men outside who make a huge fuss whenever they see a woman riding, as if they’d seen a man embroidering or drawing his eyebrows. Since we sisters dared to come out today, we naturally possess the skills to ride and hunt. You don't need to worry about this or that—just focus on competing with us!"

Dismissed by both of her younger cousins at the same time, Huo Jue laughed in spite of himself and apologized, "It is my fault then. Very well, today I shall have a proper race with you all."

Despite saying this, when they started, Huo Jue deliberately lagged a step behind, letting the three young ladies take the lead while he stayed in the rear to provide support in case of an accident.

Wei Rao, however, didn't think much of it. Her cousin Zhou Huizhu’s riding skills were no less than her own—after all, living at the villa meant she could ride whenever she pleased. As for her cousin Huo Lin, Wei Rao had observed her earlier; one look at the way she mounted and held the reins showed she was a veteran. Her aunt was skilled in horsemanship, so how could her daughter be any different?

Therefore, as soon as the race began, Wei Rao surged ahead.

Her white horse galloped across the snow, seeming to merge with the vast expanse of white. The woman in red on horseback felt like a red-feathered phoenix finally escaped from its cage, flying freely along the snowy ground. The spring breeze blew against her face, carrying the crisp scent of melting ice and snow. Wei Rao took a deep breath, feeling as if she had drunk divine dew, cleansing away the dust and vulgarity she had picked up in the capital.

The end of the trail was the foot of Mount Yunwu. Wei Rao pulled on the reins and turned around with a smile.

The pearl on her hat shimmered brilliantly, yet it was not as eye-catching as her clear phoenix eyes and fair, delicate face.

Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin were busy competing for second place and didn't pay much attention to Wei Rao. Huo Jue’s gaze, however, fell upon her the moment she turned. He immediately averted his eyes, dazed by her beauty, not daring to look for too long.

He feared that the closer he looked, the deeper he would fall; Cousin Rao and he were destined to walk different paths.

With Wei Rao and Zhou Huizhu leading the way, the four of them trotted along the foot of the mountain for a quarter of an hour before coming to a stop.

Huo Jue looked toward the mountain. Elsewhere, there were dense forests of deciduous trees, but here, a path could be vaguely seen separating the trees.

"There is snow in the mountains, so it’s easy to slip. Let’s not go to the summit today; we’ll look around the foothills and hunt whatever we can find," Wei Rao decided. As much as she loved to play, she knew safety came first.

Huo Jue breathed a sigh of relief, genuinely fearing that the young ladies would insist on climbing the mountain.

They dismounted and tethered their horses to nearby trees.

"Will someone steal the horses?" Huo Lin looked around, worried.

Zhou Huizhu laughed, "Don't worry, Sister Lin. These horses are marked with the Zhou family seal; ordinary thieves wouldn't dare provoke us."

Those who dared to mock the Zhou family were the great aristocratic clans of the capital. Ordinary people only knew that Emperor Yuanjia respected Lady Shou’an, that the Zhou family had a Consort Li who had birthed an imperial prince, and an elder aunt who had married the wealthiest merchant in the Jin region. With wealth and backing, who would dare steal from the Zhou family?

After organizing their quivers and hunting ropes, the four set off in a line. The mountain path was narrow, so Wei Rao took the lead as usual, with Huo Jue bringing up the rear.

After climbing to a certain height, Wei Rao paused. She fished three whistles from her pouch and handed them to Zhou Huizhu and the others: "If we stay together, the commotion will be too great and scare off the prey. Let’s split up here. Don't go too far, and if anyone trips and twists an ankle, stay where you are—if you blow the whistle, the others will hear."

Huo Jue was about to speak, but Zhou Huizhu covered his mouth: "Cousin, don't worry. We hunt like this all the time. This isn't the main peak of Mount Yunwu, and besides our own family, very few outsiders come here. Besides, look at our clothes—red, green, and blue—how conspicuous we are against the snow! We only have to turn our heads to see each other."

Huo Jue had no choice but to compromise. He asked Wei Rao, "Do you have a whistle?"

Wei Rao smiled and pulled a red string from her collar; she had been wearing it since they left.

Huo Jue glanced at the sword at her waist, wondering if it was a real blade or just an ornament for a girl to play with.

Seeing her cousin’s hesitation, which stemmed from genuine concern, Wei Rao smiled but said nothing. She drew her sword and, with an apparently casual motion, lightly threw it toward a pagoda tree two zhang away.

The tip of the sword sank into the branch, the blade shuddered slightly, and it stood firm.

The strength and precision required for such a feat were beyond what even ordinary palace guards could manage.

Huo Jue and Huo Lin stared at Wei Rao in shock.

Wei Rao went to retrieve her sword. Zhou Huizhu said with complicated emotions, "In the winter when Cousin Rao was eleven, she entered the palace and was schemed against, falling into an icy pond. Though she survived, it left her with a sickly constitution. The Emperor felt sorry for her and specifically assigned a female master to teach her martial arts, focusing on both internal breathing and swordsmanship. Now, Cousin Rao has not only recovered her health, but her swordsmanship is also quite impressive. Unlike me, I only learned a little bit."

Huo Jue was more concerned about something else: "Was the person who schemed against Rao’er back then ever rooted out?"

Zhou Huizhu huffed, "They found a small palace maid, but she committed suicide."

Huo Jue’s expression darkened. That maid sounded like a scapegoat. However, of those in the palace who hated his grandmother’s family most, there was no other choice but that person.

"Such a big event, why didn't Mother ever mention it?" Huo Lin asked her brother in a low voice.

Huo Jue’s gaze was icy: "What would be the use of saying it? What could we do?"

Huo Lin couldn't help but look at Wei Rao.

Wei Rao had just pulled the sword from the tree and, catching the complex looks from the Huo siblings, she guessed what Zhou Huizhu had told them.

Regarding that incident four years ago, Wei Rao had never forgotten it, but she didn't care much about it anymore. She was well now, and that was enough.

"We will hunt for only one hour. When the time is up, we meet at the foot of the mountain. Whoever hunts the most can ask the one who hunts the least to do one thing for her." Sheathing her sword, Wei Rao challenged them.

Zhou Huizhu immediately said, "Sister Lin and I are young, so we will team up as one."

Wei Rao agreed, of course. She waved at the three of them and headed off diagonally upward, a climbing stick in her hand.

Although it had snowed, the day was quite warm. The pampered young masters and ladies had all come out of the city to play, and the small animals in the mountains had also crawled out of their dens to forage.

Wei Rao was very familiar with the terrain in this area. After walking alone for a while, footprints began to appear on the snow—mountain hares, pheasants, badgers...

The further one went from human habitation, the more wild beasts there were.

The snow had stopped around dawn, so judging by these tracks, they must have been left this morning. Some tracks even led directly back to their owners' dens.

Wei Rao set her sights on a trail of badger tracks. If she could catch a whole litter, she would surely win.

Following the small badger prints, Wei Rao did not give up on hunting other small beasts. She watched in all directions and listened to everything, keeping her footsteps as light as possible.

As she walked, a flash of red caught her eye.

It was a red adult fox. It looked well-fed, with smooth, glossy fur, and its long, thick tail looked quite warm. The fox was crouched in the snow with its back to Wei Rao, digging with its front paws. The distance was a bit far, so it hadn't heard Wei Rao’s footsteps.

At this distance and angle, Wei Rao might miss.

Wei Rao observed her surroundings, stepping on patches of damp grass without snow to move quietly forward for five or six steps, then hid behind a tree. The fox still hadn't noticed her. Wei Rao drew an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, angled her bow, and aimed at the fox's left hind leg.

The fox let out a sharp cry and collapsed, struggling uselessly in the snow.

Wei Rao walked out with a smile. A fox this large—once skinned, she could have her master make a fur collar. When winter came, she could send it to the Western Hill Palace; it would be perfect for her younger brother to wear.

After skillfully knocking the fox unconscious and tying it up, Wei Rao continued tracking the badger.

Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the bare branches. Among the gray and white, Wei Rao’s red outfit was the brightest color in the forest.

The badger tracks climbed higher and higher. Wei Rao looked toward the mountain peak, and just as she was considering whether to give up, the sound of wild beasts running madly came from ahead. Judging by the sound, there were two of them.

Chasing each other—were they playing?

Wei Rao looked up, temporarily stashing the bound fox in a thicket. She leaped into a tree, nocked her arrow, and prepared herself.

Two brown wild boars, looking like small hillocks, ran over from a dozen paces away. Wei Rao curled her lips upward and released an arrow, striking the first boar.

The poor boar fell, continuing to slide forward for a distance before rolling over and hitting the snow.

The other boar saw the danger and turned to flee.

Wei Rao’s second arrow was already nocked. Just as she released it, another arrow flew in from the opposite direction, hitting the boar before hers could.

Wei Rao was startled. She looked up and saw a sky-blue figure half-hidden among the trees, a pair of fair, slender hands maintaining the posture of someone who had just finished drawing a bow.

Wei Rao couldn't see his face, but after a moment’s thought, she knew both boars were his prey; she had merely stumbled upon them and snatched a small advantage.

Wei Rao jumped down from the tree, picked up her fox, and walked toward the foot of the mountain.

The two boars had been cornered by Lu Zhuo and Qi Zhongkai. Qi Zhongkai had not yet descended, but Lu Zhuo had been in hot pursuit. When the first boar fell, Lu Zhuo knew someone was nearby, but he didn't care and simply shot the second one.

The two arrows had struck the second boar almost simultaneously. Lu Zhuo smiled faintly, already prepared to yield the prey to avoid a dispute, but he hadn't expected that the youth in red who leaped down from the tree would have no intention of competing.

"Young Master, please wait."

Lu Zhuo walked slowly out of the forest, looking at the back of the red-clad youth.

Wei Rao paused. Why did this man’s voice sound so familiar?

Out of curiosity, Wei Rao turned around.

Even in men’s attire, her exquisite features and full, crimson lips made it instantly clear to Lu Zhuo that she was a young lady.

Lu Zhuo lowered his gaze, the faint smile vanishing from his face. He pointed at the first boar and said: "Yours.”