The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Ah Xue, you're amazing!"

Feng Zhuo felt something pounding inside his chest.

He stared intently at the figure in the arena, bow in hand, galloping across the field.

Watching her moon-white robes and long hair fluttering in the wind, and seeing her calm and focused profile as she hit her target with unerring accuracy.

What welled up in my heart was not only shock, but also an indescribable burning pride and excitement.

Her gaze was as intense as the midday sun, almost setting the snowfield and her ablaze.

"You brat, shut your mouth! Your eyes are practically popping out of their sockets! Show some backbone!"

The instructor, Feng Yi, had somehow wandered over to her younger brother's side. She lowered her voice, her brows furrowed, and spoke with a hint of disappointment and reproach.

"B-Big brother! What nonsense are you talking about! I-I didn't do anything!"

Feng Zhuo's handsome face flushed red instantly. He denied it outright, but his eyes darted away guiltily.

"Oh--"

Feng Yi let out a short, cold laugh through her nose, too lazy to expose his clumsy acting that was clearly trying to cover something up.

Doesn't he know what his younger brother is thinking?

He kept saying he hated it and went to hide in the North, but they really ignored him, and he was half-dead.

How can you describe her as unpleasant now?

He was clearly complaining that she wasn't bothering him anymore!

"Tangxi Snow, first event: mounted archery on a static target, ten arrows, ten hits, armor on!"

Feng Yi ignored her younger brother and loudly announced the results, which were immediately noted down by a clerk.

"You may enter the paddock immediately to begin the second test."

This is the advantage of reaching the top of the list – more time.

In the vast royal hunting grounds, entering early gives you a significant advantage.

"Next, Pei Yanchuan!"

The assessment continued, but Tang Xixue had already changed direction and headed towards the dense forest at the entrance of the hunting grounds.

As Feng Zhuo watched her about to enter the snow-covered, secluded hunting grounds alone, his heart tightened for no reason. The awkwardness he felt earlier was instantly replaced by worry. He regretted not having put more effort into his studies, otherwise he could have followed her into the hunting grounds right now.

"Hey! Tangxi Xue!"

He couldn't help but shout at the figure that was about to disappear into the woods, his voice ringing out clearly across the open grassland.

Tangxi Xue reined in the reins, and Zhuxing stopped.

She turned slightly to the side and looked back. The sunlight shone through the sparse branches, outlining a fuzzy golden edge around her.

Feng Zhuo met her clear gaze, and the thousand admonitions he was about to utter turned into a curt sentence:

"You yourself... be careful!"

"Um."

Tang Xixue nodded slightly, and the corners of her lips seemed to curve slightly.

She slowed her pace, her voice carried on the wind, carrying a rare gentleness:

"Be careful when it's lit."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished like a streak of dark light into the depths of the snow-covered pine forest.

Feng Zhuo stood there, stunned. He felt that the concerned words were like tiny sparks that had unexpectedly landed on his heart, burning his ears until they turned red and the heat spread all the way to his neck.

"Who, who needs her to worry! Do I need her to worry about me?!"

As if trying to cover something up, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted towards the now empty forest path.

Little did she know that her flushed cheeks and darting eyes had already betrayed her true feelings.

Feng Yi, who had witnessed everything, helplessly raised his hand to press his throbbing temples.

His mentally challenged younger brother is completely beyond saving.

From childhood to adulthood, my heart has been fixated on this one tree; I've gone through countless twists and turns, and once I'm in, I've never been able to climb out.

"Alright, they've vanished without a trace, and you're still waiting anxiously?"

He spoke irritably, sometimes really wanting to shove his brother's head into a snowdrift to cool down his love-struck brain.

"Who's waiting anxiously! I'm just observing the terrain of the hunting grounds! Don't you understand the importance of knowing your enemy and yourself?!"

Feng Zhuo wanted to immediately lash out and retort, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the forest again.

Just then, he keenly noticed another gaze, also fixed on the direction where Tang Xixue had disappeared—it was Shen Xian.

Unbeknownst to them, Shen Xian had already completed his static target assessment and was standing not far away, gazing at the deep forest entrance with a complex expression, lost in thought.

A surge of inexplicable anger welled up in Feng Zhuoxin's heart. He raised an eyebrow, deliberately raised his voice, and said sarcastically in Shen Xian's direction:

"What are you looking at! That's not your fiancée anymore! Aren't you ashamed to stare like that!"

Shen Xian stiffened almost imperceptibly, slowly withdrew his gaze, looked at Feng Zhuo, his face remained calm, but his eyes darkened. He did not reply, but turned to check his quiver.

Feng Yi, seething with anger, glared fiercely at her younger brother: "A-Zhuo! You're practically fuming with jealousy! Tone it down!"

"Who's jealous! I'm just..."

Feng Zhuo wanted to argue further, but gradually fell silent under his brother's knowing yet helpless gaze.

He could only angrily crack his whip, venting his inexplicable frustration into the air.

Feng Yi shook his head and sighed.

This kid, he used to avoid it, now he's just being sarcastic, he can't get around Tangxi Xue no matter what.

I'm afraid that during this hunt, my younger brother's mind will mostly be elsewhere than on the prey.

The only thing he wanted to hunt was Tang Xixue's heart.

At this moment, Tang Xixue had already ridden her horse deep into the royal hunting grounds of Beichen Mountain.

He had replaced his quiver with a full jar of new white-feathered arrows.

Zhu Xing seemed to sense the change in environment as well, its pace becoming slower and more cautious, its hooves creaking dully on the deep snow.

Towering cedars and spruces weave an endless dark green dome, their branches laden with thick snow. Every now and then, chunks of snow fall due to their weight or the sound of the wind, making a soft rustling sound.

Sunlight struggled to penetrate the layers of branches, casting dappled, flickering patterns of light on the ground covered with pine needles and snow.

In the distance, the frozen stream can be vaguely seen, like a dull jade ribbon winding through the silent mountains and forests.

"It's been a long time since I've been to the Royal Hunting Grounds."

"The last time I came here was when I went on the autumn hunt with my brother."

The air was crisp and cold, carrying the pure scent of pine resin and snow.

This hunting ground is vast and pristine, reserved exclusively for royalty, and rarely visited by people, thus preserving its near-wild state.

Before long, more hoofbeats and voices came from the woods behind them, and other students who had completed the first assessment also entered one after another.

"I've heard that the royal hunting grounds are home to all sorts of ferocious beasts."

"Today we'll have a competition to see who can hunt the best."

"Let's compete! We definitely won't lose to that bookworm in this hunt..."

"I didn't expect Pei Yanchuan to be such a good archer."

"But he can't possibly be good at everything, can he?"

"..."

The hunting grounds were so vast that the sounds quickly dispersed in different directions, gradually being absorbed by the thick forest and snow, and the surroundings returned to an amplified tranquility.

Only the whistling of the wind through the pine needles, the occasional sniffling of Zhuxing, and her own steady breathing and heartbeat could be heard.

Tang Xixue gently stroked Zhuxing's neck, signaling it to stop.

She squinted slightly, her gaze sweeping across the snow, tree trunks, and the shadows of distant bushes like a hawk's.

The hunt has begun.