Translator: YHHH  Editor: Book_h.o.a.rder

Those guards stopped in front of the five hundred strong hors.e.m.e.n and lined up into two columns .

Coming out from the palace gate was the kirin whom Ren Baqian had seen once before . It was pulling the large royal carriage which was covered all around by cotton curtains .

After the kirin and the empress carriage came to a stop, all the hors.e.m.e.n and the guards were on their mounts with one hand on the sword and bowed slightly . "Welcome Your Majesty . "

Those children of powerful court officials were also on their mounts displaying the same action . However, their weapons were not as uniform as the hors.e.m.e.n . They could be described as varied as there were big swords, long halberds, different types of hammers, and so on hanging by the sides of their mounts .

Only those from other countries remained quiet .

"Let's set off . " The empress coolly gave the order .

Following the imperial order, the five-hundred strong hors.e.m.e.n and guards split into two columns . The group of hors.e.m.e.n in front cleared the way and were followed by some guarda behind while the empress carriage slowly moved forward .

The other group of hors.e.m.e.n and guards automatically followed behind the royal carriage .

This was followed by the younger generation of the imperial officials on their respective mounts . After they left, Ren Baqian rode his mountain-gazing bird and caught up with them .

Further behind, were the people from those three countries . Many saw Ren Baqian, who was a short distance in front, laughed contemptuously and loudly on purpose so that the sound would reach his ears .

The head of the mountain-gazing bird was 2 . 5 meters high while its back was 1 . 4 meters off the ground . Ren Baqian could ride the bird, but compared to other people's mounts, he looked like a small chicken at the back and was way out of place .

Looking at Ren Baqian, these n.o.bles who had been tortured by him suddenly found a sense of superiority over him and made him the b.u.t.t of their jokes .

On one hand, Ren Baqian riding on the mountain-gazing bird was really the limit in incongruity . It was like a rusty iron bar in a pile of treasure and was really an eyesore, or it could be described as sneaking Huang Bo into a group of handsome men and pretty ladies .

[Huang Bo - a Chinese actor and singer . ] 

On the other hand, it was due to the impression of solitariness given off by Ren Baqian .

Even though this was Dayao, he was still considered an outsider here .

Ren Baqian absolutely could not be bothered with that bunch of people . To him, face was not a big deal especially when compared to survival .

On the road out of the city, Ren Baqian pa.s.sed his time by observing the people in front of him and speculating about them .

For example, the tall and burly guy in front could not sit stably on his mount as his body was always leaning forward with his b.u.t.tocks raised high . Ren Baqian negatively inferred that this person most probably had piles .

For example, the tall and burly guy in front could not sit stably on his mount as his body was always leaning forward with his b.u.t.tocks raised high . Ren Baqian negatively inferred that this person most probably had piles .

As for whether it was true or not, it did not matter . In any case, Ren Baqian did not dare to ask .

Ren Baqian estimated that If he were to ask the guy "Brother, do you have piles!", he would be met with a glare on Earth . What more, not to mention over in this world, he would most probably grab any available weapons and a.s.sault him .

As they got further out of the city, the laughter from behind had already long since disappeared .  After all, they were not a bunch of disabled children . Even though they mocked him, they lost interest after not getting any response from Ren Baqian along the way .

Not too far out of the city, he saw a touch of the sun rising from afar .

Ren Baqian hadn't seen many sunrises on Earth, and it seemed that everyone was accustomed to this natural phenomenon . Few people would focus on this unless they were in some particular locations .

But looking at this ma.s.sive fireball here, which was one size bigger than the sun he saw on Earth, Ren Baqian thought it was somewhat interesting . He had to look away after a while as it was too glaring .

The walking speed of the group of people wasn't slow . Even though they weren't as fast as a carriage, one could always feel the strong wind blowing in their face regardless of whether it was a cow or goat running in this world . Furthermore, the dust trampled up by them would hit straight into their faces .

This was the most significant reason why Ren Baqian kept on turning his face sideway to look at the sun .

This road was a flattened road made out of dirt . The dust got stirred up as the hors.e.m.e.n pa.s.sed by, and the people behind were literally eating dust . Ren Baqian felt as if he was pa.s.sing through a sandstorm .

Ren Baqian buried his face on the back of the mountain-gazing bird . Unknowingly, a guard suddenly appeared alongside him, kept up with his pace and announced, "Ren Baqian, Your Majesty summons you . "

Ren Baqian turned his head to look, and sure enough, it was s.h.i.+ Hu .

Ren Baqian turned his head to look, and sure enough, it was s.h.i.+ Hu .

The general population thought of his position as a deputy, but, it was only a temporary one which the empress would retract after her birthday celebration is over . His position would revert to the same as before, the Storyteller of Qingxin Palace .

"I will be going right away," Ren Baqian shouted . s.h.i.+ Hu turned the mountain-gazing bird to his side, accelerated towards the children of powerful court officials, overtook them from the side and left behind a fragrant wind .

As Ren Baqian pa.s.sed by, he turned to take a look at everyone . Their faces were covered with dirt, as if they just came out from a coal mine . Whatever demeanor they had earlier had evaporated like the clouds .

As for some of the ladies, they had covered their face with a piece of cloth . Women were the same everywhere and they certainly valued their face more than men .  

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Heads could be broken, but hair could never be messy . It might not be logical, but one could get the gist of this statement .

Those people looked curiously at Ren Baqian who was riding a little chick and moving forward .

Imperial guards were stationed in front to guide him and anyone could guess it was due to imperial orders . It could be clearly seen that he had recently found favor with the empress .

The aroma from the mountain-gazing bird was indeed too pungent . As the mountain-gazing bird pa.s.sed by, the fragrance would penetrate into the noses of the people around .

When Ren Baqian reached the empress's carriage, the curtain was pulled aside by Qing Yuan, who waved at him .

Ren Baqian saw that the carriage was still moving and wondered how should he get on board .

Ren Baqian saw that the carriage was still moving and wondered how should he get on board .

Fortunately, he had no time to think deeply, s.h.i.+ Hu stretched out his arm, plucked him from his seat, and threw him over . Ren Baqian felt as if he was riding on a cloud, and Qing Yuan smiled as she caught the flying Ren Baqian with one hand in mid-air, pulling him into the carriage . Both s.h.i.+ Hu and Qing Yuan seemed as though they were pa.s.sing a ball around .

Ren Baqian tried to alleviate his anxiety as he was a little nervous after flying through the air . He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Lady Qing Yuan . " Then, he stepped into the middle of the royal carriage to pay his respects .

The empress only seemed to like the color red, and at most would occasionally reveal a white undergarment beneath . This was her dressing style, and her hair was simply adorned with a hairpin .

The empress looked carefully at Ren Baqian, and indeed, the Seventh Prince and him were identical . If she did not know that Ren Baqian's origin was even more mysterious than the Seventh Prince, she would have thought he was one of the Great Xia's illegitimate descendants .

"Have you prepared for the Great Hunt?" The empress asked .

"I have done a little preparation, but I am not good at martial arts and things like hunting . As such, it may be hard to produce good result in the mountains . Why don't you let me stay below to tell stories and I can still be of use in relieving your boredom," Ren Baqian quickly suggested and thought it would be great if he could stay in the valleys below .

The empress replied nonchalantly, "I think highly of you, even if you cannot be the champion, at least produce some results . I have selected you, and if you cannot even hunt a single animal down, wouldn't you make me lose face?"

Ren Baqian was speechless, where was the logic? He had never heard that a teacher must possess fighting skills and a chef must be born a soldier .

But, then again, this was Dayao's kind of logic which was very ridiculous . However, it fitted others' impression of what the aboriginals were like all along .