After Nezha left, Deng Chanyu naturally had no intention of staying.
She turned to leave.
But... just as she lifted her foot, a pull came from beneath her.
The force came so suddenly that Deng Chanyu accidentally stumbled and fell.
With a 'thud,' she landed face down.
"Ah, it hurts!"
She let out an uncontrolled cry of pain.
"Miss, Miss, are you alright?"
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the soldiers, who broke out in a cold sweat when they saw their Miss fall.
"I'm fine."
Deng Chanyu waved off the soldiers who were about to help her up, covered her face, and quickly scrambled to her feet.
At the same time, she furiously flung the culprit, the cape, behind her.
"That brat."
It was then that Deng Chanyu suddenly remembered that Nezha's gaze had seemed quite strange for a while when he looked at her.
So, it turned out that she had already been stepping on the cape since then.
"Seriously, he didn't even remind me when he saw it, that scoundrel."
"Thump thump thump... thump thump thump..."
A series of hoofbeats approached from afar, and suddenly, over a dozen cavalrymen appeared from the distant woods.
Behind them, even more cavalry shadows followed.
"Yu'er."
From afar, one cavalryman swiftly broke away from the approaching group and galloped towards Deng Chanyu's location.
"Father?"
Deng Chanyu was overjoyed; the person who arrived was indeed her father, Deng Jiugong.
"Yu'er, it's all your mother's fault for insisting on personally mending your cape, even though she didn't even measure the size."
Seeing the torn cape behind his daughter, Deng Jiugong somewhat understood.
He rode his horse to her side, reached out, and easily lifted Deng Chanyu onto his horse in front of him.
"General, you jest. This is also a manifestation of your wife's love for your daughter."
"Flying Tiger King is right."
Deng Jiugong turned his horse to look at the speaker.
It was Huang Feihu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Shang Dynasty.
In fact, not only Huang Feihu, but many influential generals from Chaoge City were also present.
Yesterday, King Zhou Di Xin had just finished entertaining the generals guarding various passes, and before it ended, he suddenly had a whim and suggested that the generals hold a hunting event to deepen their friendship before they left.
"General Deng Jiugong."
"Flying Tiger heard that although your daughter, at just ten years old, can easily defeat several soldiers, she is also determined to become a respected female general in the future."
"It seems that your daughter must have received careful guidance from the General in her daily life."
Huang Feihu smiled, his gaze full of admiration for Deng Chanyu.
Despite being a girl, she possessed ambitions no less than a boy's; for this alone, she deserved Huang Feihu's high regard.
Looking at Deng Chanyu, her appearance was still somewhat tender, but with the addition of her armor, she subtly exuded a heroic and dashing demeanor.
"If my son Tianhua were still alive, a betrothal between our two families would be a beautiful story."
"General Flying Tiger, you flatter me," Deng Jiugong said modestly.
"General Jiugong, you are too modest. If my daughter were half as sensible and well-behaved as yours, I, Su Hu, would wake up laughing in my dreams."
Su Hu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, smiled bitterly in his heart.
Although his daughters were exceptionally beautiful, his eldest daughter Daji lacked the demeanor of a noble lady.
Nor did she possess any hint of a female general.
She often caused trouble, which truly gave him many headaches.
"Haha, King Su Hu..."
Everyone laughed heartily and began to flatter each other. This hunting event today was merely a pretense; its greater meaning was to allow the generals to get to know each other.
And because of this, in addition to participating in the hunt themselves, the generals also brought some family members.
Naturally, the family members brought along were all skilled in martial arts.
"King Su Hu is truly modest. Jing Ge and I don't even have the opportunity to worry about our daughter."
The speaker was a female general, carrying a long sword on her back and exuding a heroic and dashing aura.
Or perhaps it was better to call her Yin Shiniang.
Yin Shiniang herself possessed cultivation, and her strength was subtly even above Li Jing's, so Li Jing naturally brought her to this hunt.
"Shi Niang is right," Li Jing said with a hearty laugh.
"If that were truly the case, then General Li and Madam Li would have a headache. I, on the other hand, am quite exasperated."
Su Hu clutched his head, clearly having been greatly vexed by Daji.
Then, Su Hu seemed to recall something and changed the subject, saying, "Oh, by the way, I heard that General Li gained a new son a few years ago. I, Su, was unaware of this in Jizhou, so I offer my belated congratulations to General Li here."
"This..."
Li Jing's expression darkened, and Yin Shiniang's face instantly changed as well.
"This is..."
Everyone also noticed the change in atmosphere and didn't know what to say for a moment.
He shook his head in front of everyone, his face full of sorrow: "Gentlemen..."
He took a deep breath and continued, "Actually... my youngest son, Nezha, has already passed away due to a serious illness..."
The generals were greatly surprised.
Many of those present were great generals guarding various passes and were not very well-informed about the news in Chaoge.
As a result, many of them only knew that Li Jing had been blessed with a son, but they were unaware that he had soon after spread the news of his son's death.
"Nezha?"
Just then, Deng Chanyu, in Deng Jiugong's arms, suddenly exclaimed.
"Yu'er."
Deng Jiugong quickly whispered a warning.
It was best not to speak at such a moment.
Deng Chanyu blinked and whispered, "Father... let me tell you something. Actually, I just met a little boy named Nezha."
"He looked so disheveled."
"Yu'er."
Deng Jiugong was shocked and quickly covered his daughter's mouth with his hand, while also cautiously looking at the people around them.
Upon finding that everyone's expressions were normal, and considering the distance between himself and the generals, and Deng Chanyu's soft voice, he gradually relaxed.
This was, after all, someone else's family matter.
Little did he know, the moment Deng Chanyu spoke, Yin Shiniang, who was always incredibly sensitive to the name Nezha, had already noticed them.
Furthermore, relying on her cultivation, she had heard their conversation clearly.
At this moment, Yin Shiniang was excited internally, but she dared not show the slightest abnormality on her face.
"This is truly..."
"General Li Jing, please accept my condolences..."
"My condolences..."
The generals offered their condolences one after another, especially Su Hu, who felt even more guilty.
Who would have thought that a casual remark from him would directly cut into someone's wound?
.......
The hunt was not delayed by this, or rather, this matter was not enough to impede the hunt.
As night approached, the generals returned to their respective camps to tally their prey.
They rested to prepare for tomorrow.
This hunt was to last for three consecutive days, and no one wanted to be the last.
As night fell, Deng Chanyu was idly trimming her armor cape in her tent.
Every time she thought of Nezha's strange expression, Deng Chanyu's face couldn't help but flush crimson.
"That brat, he didn't even remind me."
"And Mother too, really, she didn't even measure my height when making the cape, making me embarrass myself in front of that brat."
"Miss Deng Chanyu."
Just as Deng Chanyu was grumbling her dissatisfaction, a female voice came from outside the tent.
"Ah, who is it?"
"It's me. Miss Deng Chanyu, don't be afraid, I mean no harm. I am General Li Jing's wife; we met earlier today."
Deng Chanyu, still in shock, hadn't fully recovered when a figure swiftly entered through the tent flap.
It was Yin Shiniang.