Chapter 147 What a Freaking Weird Name

Not long after ascending Leyou Plain, that group of people let loose completely.

"Renshi, just wait here while I go hunt some game for us. I even brought the chef from my household along!" Fan Xichao said aloud, waving his hand heroically to Wei Renshi from horseback.

However, his eyes kept glancing toward the other side.

His other classmates all followed him to go hunting, though a few advised them to keep their horses at a moderate pace, noting that Leyou Plain was crowded and causing accidental injuries with a runaway horse would be troublesome.

With those instructions given, the group yelled and whooped as they whipped their horses and rode off.

Watching them ride away with bows drawn, Wei Renshi felt an itch in his heart and cursed inwardly: *Bah, a bunch of good-for-nothing rich kids!*

Yet those wealthy youths were not entirely without skill. As they galloped at full speed, they managed to free both hands to draw their bows and loose arrows, a sight that made Wei Renshi's hands itch with eagerness as well.

He asked Ma Weilong for a bow and arrows, made a few practicing motions, but looked left and right without finding a single target.

"Young Master, over there!" Ma Weilong pointed toward a patch of tall grass and whispered a reminder.

Wei Renshi turned his gaze and saw that a wild hare had hidden itself in the grass patch at some unknown moment. His eyes lit up instantly. He nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring, and pulled with all his might—

Eh? Is this thing really this heavy?!

Wei Renshi exerted every ounce of strength he had, his face turning beet red—he simply could not pull it back.

"Young Master, let this subordinate do it," Ma Weilong said after watching from the side.

With no other choice, Wei Renshi handed the bow and arrow back to him. Ma Weilong took the bow, drew it smoothly in one fluid motion, and *thwip*—the arrow flew out, striking the wild hare dead center with a sharp *thud*.

Wei Renshi ran over for a look and saw that the arrow had pierced straight through the hare's eye into its brain, instantly rendering it motionless.

"Brilliant!" Wei Renshi turned back and gave Ma Weilong a thumbs-up.

"Forget it, let those lunatics run wild. This young master had better stick to his old trade," Wei Renshi said, watching the pack of madmen galloping into the woods in pursuit of goodness knows what. "Come on, let's go unload our gear!"

In his later life, Wei Renshi was always the head chef whenever he went out with people. For one, he didn't like drinking, and for another, he wasn't good at playing cards. Whenever the group went out, he took charge of the cooking. With a full set of equipment and genuine culinary skills, people always loved inviting him along whenever they went out. As a solitary fellow with no girlfriend to accompany and plenty of idle time, he naturally accepted every invitation. Relying on his master-chef-level skills, he could make a circle of friends no matter what job he changed to.

Now, everyone else was hunting, his horse-riding skills were mediocre, and archery was out of the question since he couldn't even draw the bow. He had no choice but to return to his old trade of lighting fires and cooking meals.

The wealthy young masters had all brought family retainers and bodyguards along. The bodyguards rode alongside their respective young masters, while the domestic servants were already getting things set up by the Qu River. They gathered stones to build stoves and searched for firewood, each busy with their own tasks.

The female companions gathered on the lawn not far from the Qu River, sitting on blankets set up by the servants to bask in the sun and chat.

Ma Weilong called over several servants to help carry Wei Renshi's "divine artifact" out from the carriage. As they walked along the path, everyone's gaze was instantly drawn to it.

The servants stopped what they were doing, and the female companions' attention was captured by this large and strange contraption as well.

"Young Master, we've brought it over," Ma Weilong said, carrying the item to Wei Renshi's side.

"Good!" Wei Renshi nodded, then added, "Uncle Ma, get the charcoal burning red and put it inside!"

The group immediately busied themselves around the barbecue grill. The servants took out the ingredients Wei Renshi had prepared yesterday and laid them out, while those that didn't need prior marinating were prepared on the spot.

"This... Young Master? May I ask what you are doing?" Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Wei Renshi paused in his work, turned around, and saw an unfamiliar young woman.

She stood there quite gracefully and unconstrained, staring with great curiosity at the gadget in Wei Renshi's hands, the barbecue grill in front of him, and the iron skewers threaded with food.

"Oh, I'm preparing some things for a field barbecue. Haha, once they come back from hunting, we can start," Wei Renshi replied, cupping his hands in a polite bow of return.

"Field barbecue? What is that?" the young woman asked, deeply puzzled.

Seeing that someone had already struck up a conversation with Wei Renshi, a few other young women in the vicinity gathered over in a group.

Earlier, they had been curious about the objects Ma Weilong and the others carried over, but didn't dare rashly approach and speak to strangers. Now that someone had broken the ice, they came over to take a look.

"These meats are for roasting, right?" A young maiden, even younger than the first woman, popped out from behind her and asked with blinking, curious eyes.

She was petite with long hair, a few strands of which were stuck to her face by sweat. She looked as though she had just been running, her face flushed and extremely cute.

Seeing that she was young and adorable, Wei Renshi couldn't resist teasing her a little. He smiled and said, "That's right, but my roasted meat is quite different from the ordinary kind. My roasted meat has an aroma that drifts for seven miles, a poison fierce enough to down the Eight Immortals, and leaves not a single blade of grass or a grain of harvest within a radius of seven miles!"

"Ah?" The little girl hadn't expected Wei Renshi to say something like that. Her jaw dropped in utter stupefaction.

Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Wei Renshi found it even more amusing and asked, "Well, do you dare to taste it?"

As he spoke, he casually picked up a handful of meat skewers and placed them onto the grill net.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" The little girl lifted her chin and said, "I don't believe in any of that 'not a single blade of grass or grain of harvest' nonsense!"

She then placed a few slices of meat onto the iron plate at the side and had Ma Weilong add bone broth to the hot pot in the middle.

"This contraption is quite novel." The young woman who had initiated the conversation earlier watched Wei Renshi's operations and grew interested in the grill.

Having said that, she suddenly remembered she hadn't asked his name yet, so she inquired, "I see this young master came together with Fan Zhiyi and the others, yet I have never seen you before. May I ask the young master's esteemed name?"

"I am Wei Renshi, newly entered into the Chongwen Academy," Wei Renshi replied.

"Wei Renshi?" The woman thought for a moment, then continued, "Could it be the newly elevated Baron of Weinan, the Wei Renshi who earned noble ranks for his achievements at the tender age of twelve?"

Wei Renshi nodded: "I am indeed that Wei Renshi, though it was purely by good fortune."

"So it is Baron Wei. This humble woman has been impolite," the woman said. "My surname is Du."

"My surname is Li,tee-hee!" the little girl behind her chimed in.

Wei Renshi's expression shifted slightly.

A look of disappointment instantly appeared on the little girl's face. Muttering, "How boring," she turned around as if to leave.

"Hold on!" Wei Renshi called out to stop her: "Your meat is still grilling!"

With that, Wei Renshi sprinkled a handful of cumin over the meat, and an exotic fragrance instantly diffused into the air, startling everyone around them.

Even the little girl, who was about to leave, turned her head back again.

"This older sister is older than me, so I wouldn't dare ask casually, but you look about my age. May I ask the young lady's fragrant name?" Wei Renshi asked with a smile.

She turned her head back, glared at Wei Renshi with a hint of disdain and a cold smirk, and said, "Li Daizong's child!"

"What? What kind of weird name is that?!" Wei Renshi blurted out instinctively.

The moment he said it, his expression changed drastically: *Crap, I've ruined it!*

Wei Renshi wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face.

*Why did I have to meddle?!*

*Wasn't it fine to just let her walk away peacefully?*

*Why did I have to shout "Hold on" and ask for her name?*

*What a cursed name! Why would anyone give their child such a bizarre name, making it slip right out of my mouth!*