Chu Qianli did not answer Long Ziyue’s question directly.
Before continuing, she looked at the sky and said faintly, "In short, I have no ill intentions towards you. Perhaps we have a common enemy, or even… a common goal."
As long as Prince Ding was a loyal and patriotic prince, then their goals would be the same.
But these things could not be explained in a few words.
Long Ziyue looked at her stern profile, and after a moment, said in a deep voice, "I believe you. When this matter is over, I will take you to see my mother."
She might not be able to get the help of Prince Xuan.
Even she herself didn't know why, but at this moment, she was more willing to trust Chu Qianli.
It was as if there was an unbreakable connection, making her inexplicably trust this young girl she had known for a short time.
"Let's go, let's finish tonight's competition first."
Chu Qianli tugged at the reins and moved forward steadily, "Go!"
Hunting at night was inconvenient, and riding a horse was not only inconvenient but also dangerous.
So along the way, Chu Qianli and Long Ziyue proceeded with some caution.
The deeper they went into the hunting grounds, the more they felt the pervasive sense of danger.
Even behind the grass not far away, a sense of threat could be vaguely felt.
"A'li, you stay…"
"I'll go inside…"
The two looked at each other, not expecting that at this moment, their thoughts would be so similar.
Long Ziyue laughed heartily, "You also feel that the road ahead is becoming dangerous?"
Chu Qianli nodded, but did not speak.
Long Ziyue looked ahead, at the unknown area.
Although they had not yet reached the beast area, they were already far from the exit.
Just now, she had seen many girls releasing signals, likely wanting to withdraw from the competition.
Even Prince Xuan's immense charm could not make them decide to press on, which was enough to show how scared everyone was.
"I want to win first place." Long Ziyue led her horse, walked up to Chu Qianli, and looked at the blurry road ahead.
Her eyes were somewhat dim.
"A'li, I know you like Prince Xuan, but I can also see that you don't want to be the Crown Princess. Therefore, I've decided to strive for the position of Crown Princess."
"For your mother?"
Chu Qianli's words made Long Ziyue pause, and she turned to look at her.
Chu Qianli said faintly, "Although I don't know exactly what happened in the court of the Longteng Kingdom, I can probably guess that your mother is currently facing great difficulties."
They needed Prince Xuan's power.
This meant that Her Majesty the Empress had already begun to deal with Prince Ding.
It should be said that the Empress of the Longteng Kingdom had never stopped trying to weaken Prince Ding's influence.
It was just that Prince Ding was strong enough before, and Her Majesty had no way to start.
Now, for some reason, Prince Ding had likely lost power due to certain reasons.
Long Ziyue dared not say more about her mother, as it was a matter of the Longteng Kingdom's royal family.
However, she did not refute Chu Qianli.
Therefore, Chu Qianli knew that her guess was not wrong.
"Alright, since you want it, I'll help you."
Chu Qianli leaped off her horse.
"What are you doing?" Long Ziyue quickly dismounted as well.
"Let's leave the horses here and go in to hunt. We can ride them back after we hunt something good."
The roads inside were too difficult to travel, and riding a horse was not conducive to hunting.
However, the road ahead, near the exit of the hunting grounds, was easy to travel. Leaving the horses here, if they encountered any danger, they could quickly escape on horseback.
"Okay." Long Ziyue quickly tied her horse to a tree, just like her.
"Go!"
Holding their hunting bows, the two lightened their footsteps and walked towards the direction of the beast area.
The dense forest ahead, with trees reaching the sky, became darker the further they went.
Even moonlight could not penetrate, leaving it pitch black. A timid girl would have been terrified long ago.
Although Chu Qianli and Long Ziyue were also a little nervous, they bolstered each other's courage by traveling together.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Chu Qianli suddenly raised her hand to block Long Ziyue's path.
Long Ziyue turned her head to look at her, somewhat puzzled.
She hadn't felt anything wrong. Could Chu Qianli's alertness be even greater than hers?
"I used to walk in the wilderness often," Chu Qianli explained in a low voice. "I've also walked in many primeval forests."
"Primeval forests?" Long Ziyue was bewildered.
What kind of place was that? Why had she never heard of it? Was it a forest in their Beiming Kingdom?
Chu Qianli smiled and lowered her voice again, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sensitive to the scent of wild beasts."
"Are there beasts nearby?" Long Ziyue's eyes suddenly lit up with surprise.
Chu Qianli nodded.
The two further lightened their footsteps and proceeded cautiously.
Soon, even Long Ziyue felt the abnormality of the aura ahead.
Walking a bit further, she gently pushed aside the grass.
Under the moonlight, they indeed saw a wild boar, dark and shiny all over. The faint moonlight fell on its body, giving off a faint cold gleam.
So big!
Simply gigantic!
Let alone in the hunting grounds, even in the real wilderness, it was extremely rare to see such a large wild boar!
Chu Qianli and Long Ziyue looked at each other, and both couldn't help but get excited.
A wild boar weighing at least two hundred pounds was truly rare!
If they hunted it and roasted it…
The two girls almost drooled.
They wondered if they could take the prey back with them after the competition ended.
Would it be good for a BBQ?
Its taut body indicated that it was a muscular, well-built pig, definitely with delicious meat!
However, such a massive wild boar was not only difficult to hunt but also extremely powerful in its attacks.
If the first shot missed, and it discovered their hiding place, and then attacked them, it would definitely be a very dangerous thing.
Long Ziyue looked at Chu Qianli, asking with her eyes: Do you have confidence?
Chu Qianli did not speak, but made a gesture to Long Ziyue.
Long Ziyue nodded.
The two began to move their feet, spreading out slowly, one on each side.
Finally, after moving to what Chu Qianli considered the optimal position, she raised her hand.
Long Ziyue immediately nocked an arrow.
She seemed to have never tried hunting collaboratively with someone before.
Chu Qianli pointed her finger downwards and also nocked an arrow.
Long Ziyue took a deep breath, gripped the bowstring tightly, and suddenly released her fingers towards the wild boar.
With a "whoosh," an arrow struck the wild boar.
Unexpectedly, the wild boar's taut muscles were even more solid than they had imagined.
The arrow grazed its shoulder and slid off its body, only causing a minor flesh wound!
"Roar…" Startled, the wild boar immediately discerned the direction from which the arrow came and instantly smelled Long Ziyue's scent.
Its tusks bared, its eyes filled with murderous intent, the wild boar lunged fiercely at Long Ziyue.
Long Ziyue's heart panicked, and she immediately tried to dodge as quickly as possible.
But unexpectedly, the wild boar's speed was as fast as lightning, and in a blink of an eye, it was very close to her!