However, looking at the clean appearance of Nan Luo, there was no sign of him having just hunted. Besides, how should he hunt if he didn't bring anything with him. His excuse of taking a walk with Nan Hua sounded more plausible.
Hunt with bare hands…
Ever since a long time ago, it was the common sense that they would hunt with bows and arrows. Some of them would even hunt with swords. But if it was bare hand, it would be very difficult.
"You…"
Nan Hua waved her hand to Hou Liang as if saying that he should take over.
Hou Liang stood before Aunt Mo. "Are you the one who ordered the servants to come here or is it Concubine Qu? If it's the latter, I would send news to Minister Nan that his new wife had just committed a crime and had to be punished with 50 strokes."
50 Strokes?
Aunt Mo's eyelids twitched heavily. She wanted to shake her head because she knew that it wouldn't end well for her. But if she allowed Concubine Qu to be punished right here, wouldn't it be over.
"You're the one with the highest status here and these servants naturally follow your order. Or you want to deny that they come through your order?" Nan Hua tilted her head, asking nonchalantly.
Her indifferent attitude and fearlessness cast a shadow in the eyes of everyone who was present. They all thought of her as an unremarkable young lady of Nan Family. But it seemed that when she was forced to the corner, she still could fight back and argue reasonably.
After all, if news that she and Nan Luo hunted at the mountain spread, it would be very unbecoming of them.
Aunt Mo didn't have any other choice but to accept the punishment.
"I'll be taking them away for punishment. Young Master and Young Miss, you should rest first." Hou Liang looked at the servants from Nan Family as he waved his hand. The soldiers moved swiftly to make sure that they would not be left behind.
The monk was watching from a distance. He looked at the forest. "While the forest is still part of the temple, it's unbecoming of you to walk around without anyone around."
Nan Luo's face darkened.
"What would you do if there's anything that happen when you're not under supervision? You're just a child who's still wet behind the ears. Copy the scripture if you have nothing else to do but to create trouble." The monk was cold.
Nan Hua furrowed her brows. She was about to refute when she felt Nan Luo tugged her clothes. He smiled reassuringly to his twin sister.
"Alright, I'll copy them."
"You're not the only one who…"
"I'm the one who drag my twin sister along. Because it's my fault, I should be the only one to get punished." Nan Luo smiled brightly yet there was no mirth in his eyes. If this monk was adamant to make sure his sister was punished along with him, he would debate with him all the time.
The monk looked at Nan Luo's expression then nodded coldly. "Fine."
"In that case, I'll take some bamboo…"
"Not here, come with me." The monk snorted and turned around while chanting some words.
Nan Luo took a deep breath. He forgot that since he and Nan Hua were still very young, they were not allowed to walk around alone. Even though it was still in the small forest right beside the Southern Courtyard, it was still unbecoming of him.
Not to mention, he's a young master of Nan Family and Nan Hua was the young miss of Nan Family. If something happened to them, it would be difficult for Yi Shang Temple to explain it to their family.
"Miss…"
"Let's go back." Nan Hua turned around and walked as if there was nothing wrong. The servants who were flogged couldn't escape punishment. By the time she reached the door, she saw her two servants.
Her indifferent look flashed with killing intent. "Take Bai Yin away."
"Yes, Miss."
Bai Yin's eyes widened. She was about to protest when her mouth was gagged and then dragged away. Hou Liang watched it happened from outside and nodded his head. It seemed that Nan Hua purposely waited until the irrelevant spectator left first.
Xiao Yun trembled when she heard the order. She looked at her Miss, wondering whether Nan Hua would take her away or not. "Miss…?"
"Prepare my meal."
"Yes, Miss!"
Internally, Xiao Yun was looking at the group of people being beaten up then to her Miss. She really wondered how Nan Hua could still have the mood to eat when there were so many people being beaten up.
Nan Hua sat down and watched on the stairs without any intention to move. When the servants finally died, their body was taken away by the soldiers. There was not even the slightest bit of emotion within Nan Hua's eyes when she watched everything.
Her hands had already stained with the blood of so many people.
Adding another group wouldn't change anything.
"Miss, Bai Yin is placed at the separate building," Hou Liang informed while the soldiers and their own servants were all busy cleaning up the blood and others. They would make sure that there was no trace.
By now, the people from other courtyard had left.
There was nothing to watch anymore. Though, if they had stayed behind, they would be shocked by how calm the young miss was. She didn't look like she was watching a group of people being beaten to death but rather looked like she was watching the scenery.
"Mhm."
Hou Liang looked at Nan Hua and asked carefully, "Why do you ask for her to be taken away, Miss?"
"There are only three people who know I practice martial arts," Nan Hua's answer was very concise.
That stumped Hou Liang before he came to realization. He would never leak out Nan Hua's real ability to others. And Aunt Mo only knew that Nan Hua was practicing martial arts but she was surprised when she saw Nan Hua and Nan Luo appeared so fast. That meant, the one who leaked the information didn't know Nan Hua's real ability.
It left only Xiao Yun and Bai Yin. These two knew that Nan Hua practiced martial arts because Nan Luo always tagged along with her to Ning Shu Courtyard. However, they never seen Nan Hua's training for real.
Why Bai Yin and not Xiao Yun?
That was because Nan Hua had seen Xiao Yun busy before the event. Not to mention, Xiao Yun has always been taking care of Nan Hua very well. The only one who behaved suspiciously was only Bai Yin.
"Miss, the food is ready."
"Pack them up."
"Yes?" Xiao Yun was startled.
"I'll take them away." Nan Hua looked towards the side hall. It was located in the center of the temple and she knew very well that the monk was trying to put them in place by giving out punishment to Nan Luo.
The monk was working for Nan Shu Cheng or Concubine Qu.
She didn't know which one it was, but either way, she didn't want to let Nan Luo starved and punished alone. When he tugged her sleeve and she watched him being taken away, a strange annoyed feelings stemmed from her heart.
It was strange.
Nan Hua didn't recall having experienced any emotional fluctuation for the past few years. But spending her time with Nan Luo and Old Master Nan had allowed her to start experiencing them from time to time. Though, she couldn't put words into these emotions.
"Yes, Miss."
Xiao Yun was quick as she packed the vegetables dishes into the place. Nan Hua took it then she walked to the building. But in just a moment, she had disappeared from the building towards the forest.
Her speed was much higher than when she ran with Nan Luo.
Hou Liang's eyes widened slightly when he saw her ran away but then he smiled bitterly. He had no qualification to chase after her when she was hiding her presence like this, so he should just wait for his brother.
Swish!
In the forest, Nan Hua reached the location where she and Nan Luo dropped their rabbit meat. She stopped in her track when she saw a boar nearby. The size of the boar itself couldn't be said to be very big, but they were fast and dangerous.
The needles between her fingers moved faster and the boar shrieked before its body fell to the ground with a thud.
'First time seeing a boar here.'
Nan Hua looked around but didn't sense anyone or anything else. She picked the two bodies and quickly headed near the wall to cook them. This time, she worked by herself but her speed was still fast.
In less than half an incense sticks of time, all the edible meat was already cooked.
