Chapter 1394: Side Story: Fan Zijin (10)

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The two youths were very unlucky. In the end, Qi Haoran walked around the forest with a dagger in his hand for a long time before he managed to catch a rabbit.

About to faint from hunger, Fan Zijin complained, "Didn’t you say that there are many wild animals in the mountains? Every time you go hunting, you can hunt a lot of wild animals. Why did you only catch a rabbit after so long?"

Qi Haoran said angrily, "It’s all because there’s too little game in this forest. Although I don’t have a bow and arrow, I know martial arts. Even if I encounter a wild boar, I’ll be able to capture it. However, a clever housewife can’t cook without rice. With no prey in the forest, where do you expect me to hunt?"

Fan Zijin believed it and stopped complaining. Instead, he said, "Then next time, let’s find a forest with a lot of prey to stay in."

Stunned, Qi Haoran asked, "Aren’t we going to buy dry food? Won’t it be a waste of time to hunt every day?"

Fan Zijin tilted his head and thought for a moment before replying, "But it’s not good to eat dry food all the time. The next time we enter a town, we can buy some rations and a bow and arrow. On the way, we can catch some wild prey to mix things up."

Qi Haoran nodded blankly. He really wanted to tell Zijin that hunting was not that simple.

In the past, when he went hunting with his companions, they were led by experienced guards who had recced the area in advance. They went in a huge group, and they startled the prey on their horses. What happened next depended on everyone’s ability.

He did have the ability to hit his prey, but he did not have the ability to find it.

Qi Haoran already vaguely knew that to hunters, finding prey was more important than hunting.

He nibbled on the rabbit meat numbly and thought that he should buy more dry rations the next time they encountered a market, lest they ran into such a situation again.

After Fan Zijin finished eating the rabbit, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth. He immediately frowned and said, "I’m thirsty!"

Qi Haoran looked around. "I didn’t notice any water just now. Why don’t we walk around to look for a water source?"

Fan Zijin felt a little uncomfortable in his throat, but he still nodded.

However, they did not find any water until evening. Fan Zijin was listless, and Qi Haoran’s throat was smoking. He said in a hoarse voice, "Why don’t we go into the mountains to search? Animals have to drink water, right? Perhaps we can find water there."

Fan Zijin saw that the sun was about to set and the sky was gradually darkening. Looking at the forest that stood quietly like a huge mouth, he shook his head repeatedly. "No, it’s too dangerous in the mountains. Didn’t the guards say not to spend the night in the mountains when we went hunting in the past?"

This was the right decision. As soon as the sky turned dark, they heard wolf howls coming from the mountains. Fan Zijin leaned against Qi Haoran and shivered. "Fortunately, we didn’t enter the mountains. Otherwise, no matter how strong your martial arts are, you wouldn’t be able to defeat four legs with one punch, let alone protect me."

Qi Haoran touched his stomach and said fiercely, "Next time we come across a town, we must buy more dry food."

Fan Zijin also nodded in agreement. Other than eating a normal meal in the morning, they had only eaten roasted rabbit meat with no water in the afternoon. At night, they did not even have rabbit meat to eat.

The next day, Qi Haoran was the first to wake up. The two horses had already gathered to the side and were nibbling on the grass. After letting out a yawn, he placed Fan Zijin, who was leaning in his arms, on the ground. He was about to go relieve himself. When he passed by the horses, he even patted their necks affectionately. Then, he looked at his wet hands in surprise. After a while, he glanced thoughtfully at the forest at the side.

It turned out that even though there was no water on the ground, they could still drink the dew that fell from the sky.

When Fan Zijin woke up, Qi Haoran was leisurely collecting dew with a large leaf. Seeing that his little friend had woken up, he waved happily and said, "Come over and rinse your mouth."

Fan Zijin strolled to his side and looked at him for a while. After taking the big leaf from him, he drank the water in one gulp. Then he said, "Rinse our mouths? Is there a lot of water? We have to set off quickly. My mother must have realized that I was missing last night. Perhaps they’re chasing after us as we speak."

Fan Zijin said indignantly, "I originally planned to travel with all my might on the first day so that we could completely leave behind the pursuers. Who knew..."

Who would have known that they would encounter obstacles straight away? They were actually struggling to advance because of mere food and water.

Qi Haoran touched his nose. "Let’s go then."

The two youths continued on their way on an empty stomach, but chaos broke out in the Fan Residence in the capital because of them.

Xia Tong was the first to discover that her son was missing.

It was normal for her son not to come home for a day. He either went out to relax or went to play with Haoran. Since he had just become a xiucai in the imperial examination, he might have attended a classmate’s banquet. Therefore, she did not take it to heart.

When her son didn’t come back for dinner that night, she didn’t think too much about it. However, she did start to send someone to search for him. Then, she accidentally found Yanmo, who had been knocked unconscious in the study.

Yanmo was Fan Zijin’s personal manservant and had been with him since he was six years old. He served Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran alone and the two children brought him along almost everywhere they went.

Seeing this, Xia Tong felt that something was wrong. She immediately brought servants into her son’s room and realized that everything in his room was still there. Yanmo, who had regained consciousness, pointed at the wardrobe shakily and said, "Young Master, Young Master’s box of money is missing."

Xia Tong immediately remembered what her son had asked her two days ago—Would she leave with him or stay?

Feeling a corner of her heart collapse, she staggered twice before stabilizing herself. An idea flashed across her mind and she said anxiously, "Quick, go to the Qi Residence and see if Young Master Haoran is around."

Qi Haoran had always stayed in the Fan Residence. Only after Qi Feng expressed his dissatisfaction would he return to the Qi Residence to stay for two days. However, this time, he stayed at the Qi Residence especially long, and had not returned for seven to eight days.

Xia Tong wanted to wait for news at home, but when she thought of Qi Feng’s personality, she couldn’t help but bring someone to the Qi Residence to check.

At this moment, the sky was already dark. Since Xia Tong had caused such a huge commotion, it was difficult for Fan Siwen not to find out about this. However, he was not worried about Fan Zijin. Instead, he was a little angry. Thinking that Fan Zijin was going against him because of the hereditary privilege, he snorted angrily. "It’s up to me to decide who to give my hereditary privilege to. I can give it to whoever I please. In order to snatch this hereditary privilege quota, he’s resorting to all sorts of methods. Pass down the order not to bother about him. He’ll naturally come back after suffering outside."

The butler left. Hence, other than Xia Tong and her servants, no one else in the Fan Residence went to look for Fan Zijin.

This also made things very convenient for the two youths who had run away from home.

Qi Feng’s thoughts coincided with Fan Siwen’s. He felt that there was no need to look for them at all. Considering it was so chaotic and complicated outside, how could two teenagers wander around as they pleased?

He felt that after they suffered enough, they would naturally understand that nothing beat home, and would naturally come back.

After confirming that Qi Haoran had also gone missing, Xia Tong felt as if the sky had collapsed. She had a good understanding of the two children’s temperaments and knew that they were too proud to admit defeat.

The two children were so young and it was so chaotic outside. What if they were deceived? They had never lacked servants since they were young. In fact, Zijin even relied on Yanmo to help him get dressed. What if he got hungry and cold?

Unfortunately, the city gate was already closed at that time. No matter how anxious she was, there was nothing she could do. She could only wait for the city gate to open.

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