Chapter 124: with translation of chapter title

The next day, Xia Meng woke up slowly and found that Ye Qingran and the others had already gotten up.

Two adults and two children bathed in the morning sunlight; the scene was so harmonious it resembled a family of four.

She couldn't help rubbing her eyes and sighing, 'How do I feel that you guys are the ones who seem like a family of four? These two kids are said to be Wuhen's, and I feel no sense of incongruity at all! It feels like the National Master is superfluous!'

Ye Qingran smiled and let it go.

They are definitely not a family of four!

Fu Qianchen is the National Master's child, that's a certainty. Xiao Hu is her son, which also leaves little doubt.

Surely, Xiao Hu's father isn't also the National Master, right?

Wuhen narrowed their eyes, a sharp glint flashing across the depths of their gaze.

It seems he should properly investigate what happened back then!

'Alright, we should tidy up and head back to the camp.'

They will gather at noon, when the results will be evaluated; if they return after noon, their scores will be invalid.

'Oh no, I was so busy looking at the cute baby that I forgot about the hunt—what do we do now?' Xia Meng belatedly realized that, aside from her hunting a few spirit beasts at the start, their team basically had no achievements.

Returning like this, practically empty-handed, wouldn't they be mercilessly mocked by that bastard Qu Jiang?

Xia Meng was so anxious her gums felt inflamed!

Ye Qingran laughed indifferently, her tone especially arrogant: 'Don't worry, just wait and see what Dad does!'

Xia Meng: '……'

Although she was arrogant, why is her little heart racing like Xiao Lu bumping around?

Royal Camp

'What did you say? Not a single one came back?'

In the luxurious tent of the camp, Gu Huanghou slammed her hands on the table and rose, her exquisite face filled with shock and anger.

The servants below lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.

'Yes, yes, those assassins still haven't returned!'

Gu Huanghou's pupils contracted, then she sat back down.

Logically, news of last night's assassination should have arrived by this morning at the latest; it's already noon and there's still no word—surely the assassination failed!

'Those are Xuan Sect‑level assassins!' Gu Huanghou gritted her teeth.

The Xuan Sect assassins she had hired at great expense never returned!

She had thought that even one expert of that level would be more than enough to deal with the trash Ye Qingran; to be safe, she sent four at once, determined to ensure their death.

Who would have thought that four Xuan Sect assassins would sink like a mud ox into the sea, leaving not a trace!

'Could someone be secretly protecting her?'

The servants below lifted their heads slightly, looks of suspicion on their faces.

The news that Ye Qingran is trash is known throughout the city; given her own strength, she could hardly be a match for four Xuan Sect assassins, so someone else must be helping her!

'Have you looked into the backgrounds of the other two members of her team?'

'Your Highness, we have checked: the one called Xia Meng is Xia Zhimeng, granddaughter of the Summer Venerable Envoy of the Xuanjing Department.'

'Xia Zhimeng?'

Gu Huanghou froze.

The Summer Venerable Envoy of the Xuanjing Department has always kept a low profile; in the vast Donglin, he obeys only imperial orders, his cultivation is superb, and his granddaughter, among the noble ladies of the capital, is likewise low‑key.

However, Xia Zhimeng is still young; it's utterly impossible for her to be the one helping Ye Qingran.

'And what about the other one?'

'The one called Feng Wuhen—I've checked, and among the families qualified to attend the hunting gathering in Xiliang and throughout Donglin, there is no such person!'

Gu Huanghou's expression changed.

'Could it be that Feng Wuhen is helping Ye Qingran?'

'Go investigate this person thoroughly, but first don't startle the snake.'

Noon had arrived, and the teams that had gone out hunting two days ago began to return one after another.

Some teams' members wore dejected faces, obviously having failed to hunt a satisfactory spirit beast; others' members appeared proud and confident, as if victory was already in their grasp.

Among them, the most elated were certainly Ye Huanhuan and her companions.

Especially Qu Jiang, whose chin was held high, as if afraid others wouldn't know how good their results were.

Within an hour, the vast majority of the teams had returned.

'Where's Ye Qingran? Why don't I see her?'

'Could she have died in the Jiu Fu Lin?'

'I'd guess she didn't manage to hunt any spirit beasts and is too embarrassed to come back.'

'Haha, that's very likely! After all, they're three pieces of trash—they got first place in the archery competition, but if they end up last in the hunt, wouldn't that be utterly humiliating?'

……

The sound of whispered discussion filled the air, and many people burst out laughing.

Gu Huanghou had already appeared on the viewing platform; everyone greeted her, and Gu Huanghou, with a gentle yet dignified smile, signaled for all to rise.

Gu Huanghou scanned the crowd, but failed to catch sight of Ye Qingran's figure.

'Noon is about to end; if you don't come back now, your scores will be canceled.'

Gu Huanghou said with a smile, yet in her heart she hoped Ye Qingran wouldn't return! Even though the assassins she'd sent hadn't killed Ye Qingran, it would be just as good if a spirit beast had done the job.

Just as noon was about to pass and everyone thought Ye Qingran wouldn't return, Ye Qingran and her two companions finally arrived, late but graceful.

'Hey, Ye Qingran, coming back this late—you must have shot down quite a few spirit beasts, right?'

Qu Jiang's sarcastic tone came at once.

That's not it—there are too many spirit beasts; we couldn't hunt them all in time, so we came back late!

That's not it—there are too many spirit beasts; we couldn't hunt them all in time, so we came back late!

As soon as he said that, everyone's faces showed contempt.

Translation: "Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but show contempt."

Seeing Ye Qingran unharmed, Empress Gu's eyes flashed with a cold, icy glare.

Translation: "Seeing Ye Qingran unharmed, Gu Huanghou's eyes flashed with a cold, ice‑like glint."

The assassin she sent had indeed failed.

Translation: "The assassins she sent out have indeed failed!"

Anger flared in her chest; she turned her eyes to Wuchen beside Ye Qingran. Though his looks were plain, he was tall and upright, with a cold aura, and for a moment she could make nothing of him.

We need to keep as single line. Translate: "A surge of anger rose in her heart; she shifted her gaze to Wuhen standing beside Ye Qingran. Though his appearance was ordinary, his stature was tall and straight, his demeanor cold and ruthless, she could not discern anything about him for a moment."

Wuchen merely glanced at Empress Gu indifferently before looking away; his empty stare seemed to not even acknowledge the mother of a nation.

Translate: "As for Wuhen, he gave Gu Huanghou a casual glance then looked away; his expressionless gaze seemed to regard the mother of a nation as nothing."

Bring out all the spirit beasts you've hunted and hand them over to the examiners one by one for scoring.

Translate: "\"Bring out all the spirit beasts you hunted and give them to the examiners for scoring one by one. \""

Empress Gu said calmly.

Translate: "Gu Huanghou said lightly."

Every team was enthusiastic, scrambling to locate the examiners posted everywhere, then spilling the hunted beasts from their spatial bags with a clatter for judgment and scoring.

Translate: "Each team was very eager, rushing to find the examiners stationed at various locations, pouring out the beasts from their spaces with a 'huala' sound for them to judge and score."

Seeing everyone so eager, with crowds surrounding each examiner, Ye Qingran and her companions stayed calm and didn't move.

Translate: "Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, with crowds gathering before each examiner, Ye Qingran and her companions remained calm and did not move."

What's up, Ye Qingran? Where are the beasts you caught? Let me take a look!

Translate: "\"How come, Ye Qingran, where are the beasts you caught? Let me have a look! \""

At that voice, Ye Huanhuan and the others approached Ye Qingran, each looking disheveled but brimming with confidence.

Translate: "Following that voice, Ye Huanhuan and her companions walked over to Ye Qingran, each looking disheveled yet full of confidence."

The speaker was Qu Jiang, whose expression was especially arrogant.

Translate: "The speaker was Qu Jiang, whose expression was especially arrogant."

His and Dongfang Xuan's faces still bore the dark purple marks of the Blood Empress's bite; though the swelling had gone down, they still looked quite frightening—but for men, it wasn't too terrible.

Translate: "He and Dongfang Xuan still bore the black‑purple marks left by the Blood Queen's bite on their faces; though the swelling had subsided somewhat, they still looked rather frightening, but for men it was tolerable."

Ye Huanhuan and Mu Qingrou, on the other hand, wore thick veils that completely covered the Blood Empress's bite marks.

Translate: "Ye Huanhuan and Mu Qingrou, however, wore thick veils that completely covered the Blood Queen's bite marks."

Why the hurry? The best is surely saved for last.

Translate: "\"What's the rush? The best is surely saved for the finale. \""

Mu Qingrou and the others all snorted in contempt.

Translate: "Mu Qingrou and her companions all snorted in disdain."

Besides Ye Qingran's top-notch archery, her two teammates placed dead last and second-to-last in the preliminaries—it's practically painful to watch.

Translate: "In Ye Qingran's team, aside from her being the strongest in archery, the other two members ranked last and second‑last in the preliminary test—simply pitiful."

Besides, Ye Qingran may have good aim in archery, but she lacks a spiritual root, so her skill against spirit beasts is greatly reduced.

Translate: "Moreover, Ye Qingran has good aim in archery but lacks a Spiritual Root, so her ability to deal with spirit beasts is greatly diminished!"

What decent results could such a pathetic team possibly achieve?

Translate: "What good results could such a trash team possibly achieve?"

After about an hour, the other teams' scores were all tallied.

Translate: "After about an hour, the scores of the other teams had been tallied."

The highest score went to the team led by Ling Shaoyang, with Gu Dongliu's team coming in second.

Translate: "The team led by Ling Shaoyang scored the highest, while Gu Dongliu's team came in second."

"Ye Qingran, it's your turn!" Qu Jiang said with a malicious grin.

Translate: "\"Ye Qingran, it's your turn! \" Qu Jiang said with ill intent."

Everyone wore a look of eager anticipation for the show.

Translate: "Everyone wore a look of anticipation for the show."

"You go first; if I went first, there'd be no suspense!"

Translate: "\"You go first; if I went first, there would be no suspense! \""

Tch!

Translate: "Tch!"

Everyone rolled their eyes at such shameless boasting!

Translate: "Everyone rolled their eyes—what blatant boasting!"

"Qu Jiang, we'll go first," Ye Huanhuan said gently, her voice soft and pleasant.

Translate: "\"Qu Jiang, we'll go first, \" Ye Huanhuan instructed, her attitude gentle and her voice soft and pleasant."

Qu Jiang nodded, a confident smile touching his lips.

Translate: "Qu Jiang nodded, a confident smile appearing on his face."

"Then let you see the world!"

Translate: "\"Then let you see the world! \""

Qu Jiang laughed aloud, and before everyone's eyes, he promptly emptied the spirit beasts caught in this hunt from his spatial storage.

Translate: "Qu Jiang laughed aloud, and under everyone's gaze he promptly poured out the spirit beasts harvested in this hunt from his space."

Only hearing a 'splash', one after another Spirit Beast appeared on the open grassland, quickly piling up into a small hill!