Pampered by the Toughest Man After Divorce
Chapter 1344 - 1166: Xiao’ai, Dabao, Xiaobei

Chapter 1344: Chapter 1166: Xiao’ai, Dabao, Xiaobei

"Xiao’ai, didn’t you say you’ve gone hunting once before? When was that? And where?" Xia Dabao asked while climbing up the mountain.

In the past, she had taken Tian Xiaobei up the mountain, and she had also taken Axiang up there, but Axiang was petite, and Tian Xiaobei had no martial arts training, so it really slowed things down. But Long Aixi was different; he was strong and knew martial arts, climbing the mountain even faster than her. Sometimes he would even turn back to give her a hand.

"I’ve never hunted in deep mountains and forests before. The only time I went with my uncle... uh... that time I was visiting his house. It was some kind of hunting ground, not a large forest, but all the animals had been released by the soldiers. It wasn’t really difficult at all, as long as you could shoot arrows!" Long Aixi said.

He was referring to the Royal Garden.

At the time, his uncle was hunting with a few princes. However, Long Aixi didn’t want to go into too much detail; speaking too much about it would seem like he was showing off, as if knowing the royal relatives was something impressive.

"So it was that kind of hunting ground. Then, the nature of hunting there isn’t much different from us fishing in the fishpond at home, right?" Xia Dabao felt it wasn’t fun at all; those hunting grounds were just for the amusement of rich young masters, not for real hunting.

"Pretty much, which is why I wanted to come up the mountain with you for a real experience," Long Aixi very much catered to Xia Dabao’s taste.

"..."

The two of them chatted and finally reached deep inside the mountain.

The deeper they went, the less underbrush there was until they couldn’t see the path beneath their feet at all. Xia Dabao frequently reminded Long Aixi to be careful.

She was indeed very considerate; each time she went up the mountain, she felt a natural sense of responsibility, feeling the need to take good care of others.

Just like... how she used to take care of Tian Xiaobei.

While talking, the two of them searched the mountain and even came upon the Wolf Cave. But perhaps they were just unlucky that day—they didn’t find any wolves, only some hares and pheasants. Nevertheless, Long Aixi was thrilled and took hunting with Xia Dabao very seriously.

They had already discussed tactics before they came, on how to encircle wolves if encountered, and how to do the same with rabbits.

"Xiao’ai, to the left, to the left!"

"Xiao’ai, start encircling!"

"..."

They worked together in perfect harmony.

Xia Dabao felt that Long Aixi seemed to understand her thoughts, always knowing what she wanted to do next.

After catching five rabbits, Xia Dabao felt tired and sat on a tree fork, letting Long Aixi play freely by himself.

Because it was always catching wild rabbits, there was no longer a challenge.

Long Aixi was patient and alert, skillfully maneuvering through the woods and shooting with precision, and he managed to catch three more bamboo rats.

Xia Dabao praised Long Aixi, and as she was indeed tired, staying in the deep mountains too long could be dangerous, so she led Long Aixi back down the mountain.

"Xiao’ai, have you ever eaten roasted rabbit? Or roasted bamboo rat?" Xia Dabao asked.

"Yes, it was during that one time I went hunting with my uncle. I can’t quite remember the specific taste," Long Aixi said.

"As for me, when I return from hunting usually, if there is surplus game, I’ll sell it to a restaurant at the market. But we didn’t catch much today, so let’s take it home and roast it in the yard; my mother likes it too!"

"All right, that adds another dish, and besides, we have oil and salt at home," Long Aixi agreed with Xia Dabao’s suggestion.

Still, Xia Dabao seemed somewhat unsatisfied, as if thinking about something on her mind.

When they were almost back at the village, Xia Dabao asked Long Aixi, "Xiao’ai, I remember my mother once said that your family has a jade flute that can charm snakes out of their holes when played?"