“Uncle Elder, why do you not draw your bow and shoot an arrow?”
On the outskirts of Youzhou, within the Yan imperial hunting grounds of Bai Niao Lake, Emperor Murong Xi, in the midst of his hunting zeal, asked the King of Changli, Murong Jue, while holding a golden bow.
“Your humble servant is old and can no longer draw a bow,” King Murong Jue of Changli replied, stroking his white beard with a chuckle. “The Great Chanyu was once the finest archer of the Xianbei. I presume you have only grown more skilled. Your servant wishes to broaden his horizons today and witness the Great Chanyu’s divine archery!”
Although King Murong Jue of Changli was nearing seventy years of age, for the Xianbei people, life was spent almost entirely on horseback. Therefore, no matter how old Murong Jue was, shooting a couple of birds from horseback was still well within his capabilities.
Murong Jue’s words were merely a sycophantic compliment to Murong Xi.
However, the compliment landed on barren ground. Murong Jue claimed to be too old to draw a bow, yet Murong Xi was genuinely incapable of drawing one. Years of indulgence in wine and women, and a life of pleasure, had thoroughly weakened his body. Even if he could draw the treasure bow in his hand, it was uncertain where the arrow would fly, and he might even accidentally wound Murong Jue.
In front of a crowd of generals, warriors, guards, soldiers, palace attendants, servants, and hunters, the Emperor’s archery prowess being so abysmal would undoubtedly shake the morale of the troops and even become a laughingstock, a great disgrace.
“The Great Chanyu’s archery is indeed divine. We have never had the opportunity to witness it,” chimed in Murong Kang, the deputy commander of the Zhongjie Army, the Zhong Hou, Neixi She, Neiduchuang Jiang, Fenwei General, who had now inherited the position of Right Virtuous King.
“Oh, the Right Virtuous King has such refined taste?” Murong Xi asked, glancing at Murong Kang.
Ever since Murong Xi left the palace, Murong Kang had kept his troops close by, ostensibly to protect Murong Xi, but in reality, his intentions were as transparent as Sima Zhao’s conspiracy.
Murong Xi wished to execute Murong Kang directly, to sever the left and right arms of Empress Murong Qing. But the time was not yet ripe. The reason was that Murong Kang commanded a considerable number of elite troops. A rash move could lead to open conflict, and Murong Xi might perish in the ensuing chaos.
He believed he had to wait until the situation was foolproof or guaranteed before making a move.
Currently, the Zhongjie Army was divided. Half of the troops were led by Murong Xi’s confidant, Commander Xielihu, while the other half was controlled by the siblings Murong Qing and Murong Kang. They were in a stalemate, neither daring to act rashly.
At this juncture, Murong Xi’s only hope of fully controlling the Zhongjie Army and severing Murong Qing’s wings was to seek external aid, such as from the Left Virtuous King, Murong Bole.
“Great Chanyu…” Murong Kang said respectfully, placing one hand over his chest while on horseback. “The general is the head of the soldiers, and the Great Chanyu is the head of the generals. When the Great Chanyu faces the enemy bravely and leads his soldiers, he will surely inspire their morale.”
“Indeed, the Right Virtuous King speaks wisely,” Murong Xi nodded, picked up his golden bow, and spurred his horse forward, searching for prey.
During this grand hunt, it was incumbent upon the Emperor to shoot a few arrows to boost the soldiers’ morale. To return without firing a single shot would invite ridicule. Moreover, Murong Xi had not practiced archery and horsemanship in a long time and was itching to do so.
If he couldn’t shoot what was in the sky, couldn’t he shoot what was on the ground? If he couldn’t shoot small prey, couldn’t he shoot large prey? Once he found a large beast, he could simply let loose a couple of arrows, and the rest would be left to the cheers of his subjects.
“Guard His Majesty!” Murong Kang gave a meaningful look to a trusted subordinate general named Duo Han and then commanded loudly.
Duo Han understood and led over a hundred Zhongjie Army cavalrymen in pursuit of Murong Xi. Murong Kang followed with the bulk of his troops.
“Protect the chariot!” Xielihu also shouted his command, and his men also spurred their horses forward.
Murong Kang exchanged a knowing glance with Xielihu.
“Brother, Father Emperor is in danger!” Murong Xiaoxiao, who had accompanied Murong Xi on the hunt, suddenly had a strong premonition of misfortune and said to the Crown Prince Murong Cheng.
“What?” Murong Cheng, who was leisurely admiring the hunting scene, exclaimed in surprise.
“It’s… alas…” Murong Xiaoxiao’s premonition was vague, and she couldn’t articulate it clearly. She simply whipped her horse and galloped towards Murong Xi.
“Alas, Sister Jinglian, where are you going? Don’t disturb Father Emperor…” Murong Cheng called out to Murong Xiaoxiao. When he failed to stop her, and she had already galloped away, he followed her with his few Eastern Palace guards.
…
With a “whoosh,” as Murong Xi, holding his golden bow, rode alone in search of large prey, a sound suddenly erupted from a grove of trees. An enormous beast lunged out of the woods, squealing and shrieking, its beady eyes glaring at the man and his horse.
A wild boar? Murong Xi’s face turned pale with fright. He quickly focused his gaze and saw a powerfully built wild boar standing before him. The boar was stout, with short, thick legs, a relatively long head, and small, erect ears covered with stiff, sparse bristles. The mane on its back was long and stiff, colored a reddish-brown.
For people of the grasslands, for those who hunted year-round, a wild beast was nothing, and a fierce wild boar was not a cause for concern. But this boar was exceptionally robust and colossal, the size of a wild ox. Moreover, it was an enraged beast, which made Murong Xi exceptionally terrified.
As for why this boar, the size of a wild ox, was here and had charged directly at Murong Xi, Murong Xi had no time to ponder.
The colossal boar’s small eyes had turned blood red. A tuft of bristles stood erect on its neck, and two long, tusk-like fangs protruded from its mouth. It stood with its hooves planted, letting out low growls from its slobbering maw.
This boar was indeed exceptionally angry, having been chased by the Xianbei hunters. An enraged beast was exceptionally dangerous.
Wild boars were known as "desperate fighters." When cornered, even ordinary wild boars dared to confront and battle fierce beasts like tigers and lions, let alone this boar the size of an ox.
“Thump!” In his panic, Murong Xi drew his bow and fired an arrow at random, intending to bring down this immensely large wild boar with a single shot.
Perhaps it was Murong Xi’s extreme panic, or more likely, since becoming Emperor of Great Yan, his extravagance and indulgence had led him to forget many of his hunting skills long ago.
In this perilous moment, Murong Xi’s best course of action would have been to remain as calm as possible, to avoid further provoking the beast, and to look for an opportunity to escape. If escape proved impossible, he could wait for his guards to arrive.
But Murong Xi chose the worst possible strategy.
As expected, in his panic, the arrow Murong Xi shot was weak and lacked force. The arrowhead lodged itself in the boar’s back, failing to penetrate its thick hide, and was flung away. The boar was practically unharmed but was enraged. After grunting twice, it lowered its head and charged at Murong Xi.
The boar’s hooves left the ground, kicking up dirt. Its hooves struck the ground with resounding thuds, making the earth seem to tremble. Its ferocity was truly terrifying, causing one’s limbs to weaken and one’s heart to pound as if it would leap out of their chest.
“Save the Emperor! Save the Emperor!” Murong Xi felt the same. However, driven by a desperate will to survive, he shouted, while frantically urging his mount to flee. But Murong Xi’s horse was even more terrified than the man. Seeing the ox-sized boar charging towards them, its hooves turned to jelly, it whinnied and collapsed to the ground, urinating and defecating in fear.
“Wicked beast, how dare you attack the imperial personage?” With his horse having collapsed, Murong Xi was thrown from the saddle. Due to his excessive corpulence, he was unable to get up for a moment. He could only watch helplessly as the boar charged at him madly, and could only angrily berate the boar.
But how could the boar understand his words? Even if it could, it would certainly not heed them.
“Bang!”
After a dull thud, Murong Xi was gored and sent flying by the boar. The boar’s long tusks plunged deep into his chest and abdomen.
“Father Emperor!”
“Great Chanyu!”
“Your Majesty!”
Mid-air, Murong Xi spat out a mouthful of blood, forming a mist in the air. Before he lost consciousness, his eyes fell upon a group of people rushing towards him. Some faces were familiar, others unfamiliar. There was Murong Kang, Xielihu, and others, as well as Murong Bole, Murong Xiaoxiao, Murong Cheng, and others. Murong Xi sensed that among them were joy, annoyance, and fear, born of excessive shock.
…
“Murong Kang, where are you taking my father?” Murong Xiaoxiao asked, pointing at Murong Kang while weeping.
Murong Xiaoxiao’s premonition had been correct. Her Father Emperor Murong Xi had indeed met with an accident. Although it was ostensibly an accident during a hunt, this accident was too peculiar, too incredulously peculiar.
Murong Xiaoxiao certainly did not believe it. Otherwise, why would Murong Kang and the others, after her Father Emperor’s accident, quickly carry Murong Xi into the army and forbid anyone from seeing him?
Murong Kang and his group were clearly trying to cover something up.
“These are matters of state, how can a woman question them?” Murong Kang, clad in armor and mounted on horseback, replied coldly.
Despite Murong Xiaoxiao’s status as the eldest princess of Great Yan, Murong Kang spoke to her without any courtesy.
In fact, Murong Kang was also vexed, vexed that the man’s life was so resilient.
“Right Virtuous King, Princess Jinglian is a woman. In that case, may this old man inquire?” At this moment, Murong Bole, the Left Virtuous King of Yan and King of Guanning, approached Murong Kang and his group, accompanied by a host of ministers and generals, and asked coldly.
Behind Murong Bole were rows upon rows of warriors clad in armor and wielding halberds, numbering over five thousand, all awaiting Murong Bole’s command.
Murong Bole’s dignified question caused Murong Kang to step back two paces, showing obvious fear and trepidation.
Murong Bole was unlike other princes and ministers. He was a world-renowned general, an old general whose troops were all brave and skilled fighters.