Chapter 11: Riding Horses in the Bustling City

Eating, drinking, causing trouble, swaggering through the streets, disrespecting elders – it seems none of that has changed.

“Is that so?” He Chunhua glanced at her, his expression meaningful. “I haven’t been home recently; you rarely have meals with him, do you?”

Ying Hongchan’s expression changed. “Master, it’s Lingchuan himself who doesn’t want to stay home! In the past ten days, it’s been good if he came back to eat just two days.”

He Chunhua sighed. “You should be more understanding of him. After all, he’s almost sixteen.”

“Of course,” Madam Ying readily agreed, just as she always did. “No matter what, Lingchuan is still the eldest son of the He family.”

Madam Ying returned to her room. He Chunhua watched her receding figure and exhaled slowly.

Old Mo, the butler, appeared from somewhere and stood beside him.

He Chunhua clasped his hands behind his back and said, “The people sent by Donglai Prefecture to track the leopard demon disappeared as soon as they reached Blackwater City. If this is a serious matter, they won’t give up easily; I’m afraid there will be further developments.”

He sighed. “What worries me most isn’t this particular incident, but the situation in the east. Our contact with the Royal Court has been cut off for too long. I have a feeling that great chaos is approaching.”

“Even if it’s a tribulation, Master, you will overcome it safely,” Butler Wu said firmly. “It has always been this way.”

Ten days passed peacefully.

As the day the Red Cliff Road would close drew nearer, more merchants entered and exited Blackwater City. Governor He became increasingly busy, and the communication disruption between Thousand Pines County and the eastern part of Yuan Nation remained unresolved.

Young Master He continued to flaunt his power.

The days were incredibly uneventful, so monotonously peaceful he didn’t know how to enjoy the quiet times.

He Chunhua had been as busy as a windmill lately, with no time to come home for dinner. Madam Ying also didn’t gather the two children, so they all ate separately, which He Lingchuan was happy about for the ease it provided.

Compared to Madam Ying, He Chunhua was indeed a benevolent father.

Unlike what most people might imagine, an official’s son like He Lingchuan typically didn’t have to pay when he went out for entertainment. For instance, today Liu Baobao invited him to eat at Swan Goose Pavilion as a thank you for He Lingchuan’s help in obtaining a travel permit for the Liu family, which allowed their merchant caravan to return safely.

Liu Baobao claimed it was “just a simple meal,” but the table was laden with rare delicacies and the wine was a twenty-year-old vintage from the Liu family’s private collection.

What’s more, the beautiful woman serving the wine was Liu Baobao’s most favored concubine. Her seductive “peach blossom” eyes gleamed, constantly glancing at He Lingchuan, and she was the most diligent in pouring his wine.

Liu Baobao saw this, silently cursed the “little hussy,” yet put on a sympathetic face and asked, “Young Master, do you really have to wait until you’re eighteen to break your vow of abstinence?”

“Mhm,” He Lingchuan hummed, putting down the braised venison. He asked for a plate of pickled plums and peanuts, eating two peanuts with each sip of wine.

After nearly two months of feasting on rich meats and rare delicacies, he suddenly found himself longing for preserved vegetables with deep-fried dough sticks in noodle soup, or scallion-sugar flatbread with large wontons.

Back when he had loan payments at the start of the month, he’d have to eat these humble dishes by month’s end.

Yet now, upon seeing a flatbread stall on the street, he actually felt an urge to go downstairs and buy another portion.

Having not eaten them for so long, his soul missed them.

It was like a middle-aged man who had married a beautiful, wealthy woman and reached the pinnacle of his life, occasionally recalling, in his midnight dreams, a first love as plain as clear noodle soup.

Just then, a commotion came from outside.

Liu Baobao had invited him to dine in a private room on the second floor of Swan Goose Pavilion. They were already seated by the railing, with the bustling street visible right outside the window.

He Lingchuan leaned out the window and saw the previously crowded street suddenly part, as two tall horses galloped into view.

He let out a soft “hmm,” immediately recognizing that the animals galloping through the street were not purebred steeds, but rather hybrids with the blood of Bo Beasts. Their distinguishing features included large heads, sharp teeth, bodies mottled with green and red, and bulging, fiery red eyes.

These mounts were named “Li Horses” (Fiend Horses). They inherited the Bo Beasts’ incredible speed and endurance, but were also exceptionally ill-tempered and carnivorous, capable of offensive output in battle. Twenty excellent horses might not even be able to buy one Li Horse, which was truly one in a thousand.

Of course, Li Horses also varied in quality, from superior to inferior. He Lingchuan’s own beloved mount was a Li Horse, a carefully selected, top-grade gift from a small Western kingdom to the Governor of Thousand Pines County. However, it was only comparable to the two below.

If the horses were so extraordinary, who were their riders?

Two figures rode one behind the other. The one in front was a white-robed youth, seventeen or eighteen years old, with slender eyebrows, bright eyes, and a sharp gaze. The one behind was a grey-clad stranger wearing a bamboo hat, his face obscured from He Lingchuan’s view.

Suspended in mid-air directly in front of the white-robed youth was an egg-sized spiritual orb, spinning ceaselessly. An invisible force pushed the crowd aside before the horses, clearing a path in the middle of the street.

That force was far from gentle; pedestrians were knocked sprawling. One large man fell onto a stall behind him, flattening the vendor’s hot rice cakes into pancakes.

The vendor, of course, was furious, and the two immediately got into a heated argument.

This was a world of strange powers and chaotic deities, so He Lingchuan wasn’t surprised. He merely chuckled and remarked, “Galloping horses through a crowded market – what a show of arrogance.”

Major cities in Yuan Nation had regulations requiring riders to dismount and lead their horses. While Blackwater City allowed riding, it mandated slow speeds and strictly forbade galloping. Violators would be dragged off their mounts, given twenty lashes, and fined five taels of silver; injuring someone would incur additional, unremitting punishment.

Given the local tough customs, the punitive regulations had to be equally severe.

Hearing this, Liu Baobao secretly glanced at He Lingchuan, thinking, “Aren’t you usually just like this yourself?”

The two riders were about to pass directly below the restaurant. This was a T-shaped intersection; once they turned onto the side road, the number of pedestrians would at least halve. The white-robed youth promptly put away his orb, as using it consumed energy.

Just then, a boy ran past the roadside. His rattle drum was knocked out of his hand by a pedestrian and, by unfortunate coincidence, landed right in the middle of the street!

The child immediately dashed out to retrieve his toy.

He stood directly in the path of the Li Horses.

His parent cried out in alarm and rushed forward from behind, but was blocked by the crowd ahead, unable to reach him in time.

The riders on horseback showed no sign of slowing down, meaning that in at most two seconds, the massive hooves would trample the child.

Not again! He Lingchuan sighed inwardly. Why do children in every world always manage to get themselves into trouble like this?

Fortunately, times had changed; he no longer needed to intervene personally.

“Uncle Hao!” He Lingchuan said, resting one hand on his chin and pointing downwards with the other.

Uncle Hao, who had been standing by his side like an invisible presence, now pulled out two copper coins and flicked them downwards.

Both copper coins struck the ground directly in front of the Li Horses, more than three feet apart. If the riders continued galloping, the horses’ legs or bellies would likely be hit by the coins. Two coins were thrown to prevent the riders from knocking one away while maintaining speed.

Uncle Hao’s two copper coins were not easy to stop. He Lingchuan had seen him use them to pierce through a bear’s skull. The hardness of a bear’s skull was self-evident and certainly no less than that of the two Li Horses below.

The white-robed youth below assessed the situation and indeed yanked hard on the reins. The Li Horse reared up with a neigh, coming to a sudden halt, its hooves less than seven feet from the child on the ground.