Chapter 520: Chapter 520 : (Extra) Jiang Muchen’s Love Story (5)
It had to be mentioned that Jiang Muchen never considered Hongzhen as cowardice, at least not as cowardice as Xiao Huang, Zhang Fengxi’s mount.
And yet, right now, Jiang Muchen witnessed an utterly unbelievable scene. Hongzhen was running like a possessed lion toward his resting spot, his tail tucked between his rear legs in fear.
"..."
Jiang Muchen leaped down from the tree, landing in front of the whining Hongzhen with a thud. He barely regained his footing when a barrage of arrows rained on top of him.
With a casual flick of his sword, Jiang Muchen effortlessly blocked the attack. He then pushed Hongzhen behind him, nocked his arrow, and squinted in the direction the enemy arrows came from.
"Come out now," he said with an authoritative voice.
He could almost sense the other party’s terrified breathing. Several seconds of utter silence followed before, unexpectedly, two figures slipped out of their hiding spot.
It was a male omega in his twenties and a male alpha in his teenage years. Judging from the disgusting smell on their bodies, they hailed from the wolf clan.
Wolves.
Jiang Muchen hated wolves for many, many reasons, mainly related to the wretched Liu family and his Little Uncle’s undeserved suffering in the past.
Now that these two brats dared to hunt his spiritual lion, he liked them even less.
Despite the terror in his eyes, the omega held his ground, his posture firm in front of Jiang Muchen. The alpha, however, sought refuge behind the omega’s form, trembling slightly.
The undeniable likeness between them hinted at a familial connection.
Also, judging from the male alpha’s youthful look, he must have differentiated recently. While the annual hunt put neither age nor gender restrictions on the participants, most alphas knew not to participate unless they could hold their ground against the beasts.
No omega he knew had ever graced the hunting grounds. They usually just mingled with other omegas and waited to receive pink orchids from the participants.
So what were these two doing here?
"Why are you hunting my lion?" Jiang Muchen asked without lowering his bow.
The omega and alpha exchanged nervous glances with each other before the elder one cupped his hands together and spoke up, "Apologies, Your Highness. We did not know that the lion belongs to you. We thought it was one of the spiritual beasts up for grabs in Mount Yulin."
"..."
Granted, participants did not usually send their spiritual mounts on their own to hunt for their sake.
Jiang Muchen lowered his bow and cleared his throat.
"It is all just a misunderstanding," he generously allowed. If he brought this matter up, his gracious mother might just lock him up in the Golden Dragon Palace’s dungeon and feed him chicken bones for an entire week.
"Anyway, be more careful next time. Go hunt something small," Jiang Muchen swung himself atop Hongzhen.
He then pinned the male omega with a look.
"And by the way, did you get lost or something? An omega should be out there. This is a dangerous place for you."
The male alpha immediately began to whimper. He clutched at the male omega’s arm in a disgraceful manner, unbefitting of an alpha.
"Big Brother," he called out. "Please don’t leave me alone here."
"I won’t," the male omega assured him. "I am going to stay here and hunt with you. We will find another prey."
Jiang Muchen rolled with his eyes.
"Two people ganging up on one spiritual beast. That is rather low," he commented.
The two wolves did not take his unsolicited opinion lightly.
"We already checked the hunt rules. Hunters are allowed to work alone or in groups, and the participant who delivers the final, decisive blow is awarded the kill... as long as there are no arguments about the individual contributions."
Jiang Muchen scoffed.
"I know the rules, thank you very much," he said coldly.
The alpha lion turned to leave, but then the omega wolf called out to him.
"Excuse me, Your Highness?"
Jiang Muchen turned around with an irksome expression across his face.
"... What do you want?"
The male omega swallowed hard. Despite his initial reluctance, he freed himself from the male alpha’s grip and approached Jiang Muchen.
"May I please make a proposition?" he asked.
"Oho. And what might that be?"
Jiang Muchen was intrigued.
"I... I mean, my brother here really needs to make the best kill in this event. All we want is to speak directly before the Heavenly Emperor. If... If you can help us, I am willing to hand the reward to you, whatever it might be."
Jiang Muchen stared at the omega wolf.
"I don’t need anything," he stated plainly. "I have everything I need."
The omega’s Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly, betraying his anxiety. He seemed on the verge of another rebuttal, but the words died on his lips. To be honest, Jiang Muchen did not just make an empty boast. He was the reigning Shuiran Palace Master, and also the only son of the reigning Heavenly Emperor. In this lifetime, there was nothing he was unable to get.
Save for probably one -- the only omega he ever desired, his Little Uncle, Crown Prince Xie Jianyu.
But of course, this was not something a mere omega wolf could grant Jiang Muchen.
The omega wolf let his head hang in dejection.
"Never mind," he murmured. "I understand. So sorry to waste your time, Your Highness."
Jiang Muchen pursed his lips and groaned in his heart.
He hated wolves so much.
Heck, his mother hated wolves even more.
But still, these wolf siblings offered such a pitiful sight that he could not help but feel sorry for them.
Besides, the wolf clan still belonged to the Heavenly Realm. Wuyang Palace should not be ostracized for having a rotten Palace Master in history. Otherwise, they might as well disband the Heavenly Empire.
"The pink orchids," Jiang Muchen then said after a while. "I want the two pink orchids you have on your chests."