Li Xing’an sheepishly scratched his head, "I was just in a bad mood and forgot, right, Third Sister, how can we kill a leopard without a knife?"
Li Yuzhu was speechless, "All you do is boast and chat, Second Brother has already gone to borrow one."
Li Xing’an looked to the side, sure enough, the second brother wasn’t around.
Second Young Master Li went to Mu Yuanxiu’s home on the southern hillside.
Mu Yuanxiu was in the yard trimming the fence.
Seeing Second Young Master Li approaching, he asked, "Are you here to borrow a knife?"
Second Young Master Li laughed awkwardly, "You’re clever, I’ll just borrow it for a bit and return it to you." He had thought he wouldn’t be able to borrow it.
Mu Yuanxiu went inside, and came out with a bone-cutting knife.
Second Young Master Li took it in his hand and thanked him.
As he turned, he saw a brilliant camellia blooming inside the fenced yard.
He thought for a moment and thickened his face to ask, "Neighbor, could I have a branch of your camellia?" Third Sister loves red camellias, it might cheer her up.
Seeing the young man raising an eyebrow without replying, Second Young Master Li added, "I’ll plant it at the entrance of the cave."
The young man glanced at him, then picked up a nearby hatchet.
He chopped off a branch with several large red camellias, along with many buds.
"Put it in water, the flowers will last a few more days," he said.
Second Young Master Li looked at the branch in his hand, so stunned he didn’t know what to say.
This wasn’t just a branch, it was half a tree!
Feeling a little embarrassed, he said, "I only needed a small branch, this is too much."
"The flower branch will grow back, but if you’re gone..." Mu Yuanxiu looked up at him, "Shouldn’t you hurry back? Everyone’s waiting for this knife to kill the leopard."
His words reminded Second Young Master Li, "Right, right, I should hurry back. Thank you for the camellia and the knife."
Second Young Master Li, holding the camellia branch and carrying the knife, dashed back to the cave.
Li Yuzhu was waiting anxiously; she was worried that the odd young man wouldn’t lend them a knife.
But unexpectedly, Second Young Master Li returned quite quickly, holding a large camellia branch in his arms.
"Hey, Second Brother, where did you chop this camellia from?" Li Yuzhu took the flower branch and lightly sniffed the flowers.
The vibrant red flowers were in full bloom and looked truly stunning.
This was the peak season for camellias.
"Oh, our neighbor gave it to us," Second Young Master Li said with a smile, "I didn’t expect him to be so generous. I asked for one branch and he gave me half a tree’s worth of branches."
"Oh? So generous?" Li Yuzhu was surprised.
"I don’t think it’s generosity; he’s probably up to something!" Third Brother Li Xing’an snorted coldly.
"What can you be up to with a camellia branch?" Second Young Master Li raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly, what can you be up to! Third Brother is making a fuss over nothing," Li Yuzhu said as she placed the camellia branch into the wet earth outside the cave, urging the two brothers, "Hurry and kill the leopard, Second Brother and Third Brother."
The two brothers dragged the leopard to a clearing next to the cave.
There was a spring of water flowing down from the rock wall outside the cave, all the way to the foot of the mountain.
The spring was small, only slightly thicker than a chopstick, but it was enough for washing hands and knives.
The Princely Heir also came over to help.
By this time, the leopard had woken up and was growling lowly.
The Princely Heir and Li Yuzhu pressed down on the leopard’s tail, while Second Young Master Li held its head.
Li Xing’an rubbed his hands together, volunteering to play the butcher.
Seeing Li Yuzhu joining the fun, he couldn’t help but say, "Third Sister, there’s going to be lots of blood killing a leopard. Stay back a bit."
Li Yuzhu replied, "I’m not afraid!"