A smear of white appeared on the horizon. The sun was still rubbing his eyes and did not open them. The faint morning light enveloped the grasslands but did not brighten people's vision. After last night's revelry, the people of the small tribe were still drunk and sleepy. They should not have felt the call of the morning sun. Gradually, a faint sound rang out from the tribe's curtains. It seemed that many people had woken up.
What woke the people of the tribe was not the rising sun. Rather, it was the thunderous roar of orderly horse hooves from behind the tribe, as well as a mass of chaotic horse hooves in front of the tribe. From all directions, it seemed that countless riders were closing in.
In the morning light, Fan Xian's expression was calm. He glanced at Haitang one last time and picked up the knife she had given to Yoshiko from beside his feet. Solemnly, he put it into his clothes.
"Goodbye. I hope I don't have to wait another three years," Fan Xian said seriously to Haitang. There were a few streaks of blood at the side of Haitang's lips. She looked very pitiful, but the arrangements on the grasslands had already begun to move. The Chief of the court had already sent troops to catch up. If she wanted to escape, she could only take advantage of this moment to leave.
Haitang didn't know how he was going to leave because the sound of horse hooves came from all directions. It seemed that the court's riders had already surrounded the grasslands. She glanced at him with a complicated gaze.
This gaze was like a heavy hammer that struck Fan Xian's body. It made his body drift diagonally toward the meadow behind him. He drifted easily and joyfully, but it was also gloomy and enchanting.
He didn't see how his toes pushed against the ground, but it was as if a thin rope had been tied around his waist. Like a kite, Fan Xian drifted backward and gradually increased in speed. He became a blurry figure in the morning light, gradually moving further and further away. He gradually became smaller and merged into a large cloud of dust coming from the tribe's front left.
The cloud of dust looked like a herd of free wild horses running amok on the grasslands. Beside the herd of horses, there were a dozen grassland men holding lassos. It was as if they had followed this herd of wild horses for a number of days and nights, waiting to catch the leader in one fell swoop.
Haitang watched this scene calmly. She knew that this herd of wild horses was just an illusion. It must have been a group Fan Xian had arranged to receive her. Seeing Fan Xian float away without stirring up any dust, she knew that after not seeing him for three years, her young friend from the Southern court had already successfully merged the Heart of Tianyi Dao with the Tyrannical zhenqi in his body. He stood firmly at the peak of the ninth-level and was about to touch the limits of humans.
No wonder he was so confident that he dared to enter the grasslands and launch an attack on the royal court and the Left Virtuous Prince's tent in the dark. With such a realm, unless a Great Grandmaster reappeared on the grasslands, who could defeat him?
Chief Su Bida had endured for three days and had reached his limit. At this moment, he had finally closed the encirclement. Even if Fan Xian had arranged for a group of horses to receive him, could he escape the pursuit of thousands of court riders on the vast grasslands?
Haitang's eyes narrowed. A glimmer of worry rose in her heart. If a ninth-level ace faced an enemy head-on, it would be difficult for them to lose. After all, the two of them were still an immeasurable distance away from the realm of a Great Grandmaster. If they were to face thousands of soldiers and horses, how could they survive?
In the distance, Fan Xian's figure had already landed among the wild horses. Strangely, the wild and free-loving wild horses, which looked like they would not settle down, did not reject Fan Xian's entry. When Fan Xian sat on the leading horse, the vicious leading horse only shook its neck helplessly. It did not think of throwing him off.
The hurried sound of horse hooves swept past Haitang's side. It carried the sound of the wind, grass, and an indomitable aura. The valiant riders of the Western Hu court did not slow down at all. They swept across the meadow toward the wild horse herd in the distance.
The wind swept past her body, causing the leather robe on Haitang's body to flutter. She wiped away the blood at the side of her lips and lowered her head silently.
A fine horse neighed and stopped from its extraordinary speed. The Hu tribe noble on the horse used the inertia to turn and rise. With a thud, he landed beside Haitang. His feet were as steady as a mountain, revealing his exquisite riding skills.
The person who had come was the master of the grasslands, Chief Su Bida. He glanced at Haitang. Anger and embarrassment gradually rose in his eyes. "Injured?"
Haitang nodded and smiled with some difficulty.
"The Qing Kingdom's Fan Xian?" Chief Su Bida was tall. His features were firm, and the light in his eyes shone. He looked in the distance at the figure galloping southeast with the wild horse herd and asked in a quiet voice.
"It's him," Haitang replied quietly.
Chief Su Bida would never underestimate any of his enemies, particularly a ruthless and important figure like the Qing Kingdom's Fan Xian. He had endured for three days. In reality, he had prepared for three days. He had gathered the Hu tribe soldiers on this grasslands. He had to keep this powerful Qing official on the grasslands.
Since the other party dared to enter deep into the grasslands, get close to the court, and challenge his dignity, Chief Su Bida would use the most direct method to express his anger.
The court had made ample preparations. After confirming that there were no Qing riders patrolling the grasslands, they prepared to receive Fan Xian in secret. However, the spies had not noticed the herd of wild horses. Wild horse herds could be seen everywhere on the grasslands. Most importantly, they had once seen these wild horses beside a patch of water grass. From their jumping posture and habits, they determined that this was indeed a herd of wild horses.
No one could use wild horses to escape before taming them. This was a rule on the grasslands. It seemed that this rule was about to be broken by someone.
Smoke and dust rose in all directions. Over a thousand court riders charged over and charged past the tribe's tents. Under the shocked and terrified gazes of the Hu tribe people, they charged toward the herd of wild horses. It looked like they were about to surround the herd of horses, the dozen men beside them, and Fan Xian, who was hidden in the herd of wild horses, but …
A long neigh rose into the sky. The herd of wild horses seemed to be driven by some kind of power. Immediately, they were startled awake from the chaos. Stretching out the muscles on their bodies, they raised their hooves and abruptly increased their speed, charging toward the gap in the southeast of the encirclement.
The morning sun shone brightly and the wild horses neighed. Hundreds of fine horses reflected the weak light and emitted a dark complexion as they galloped on the grasslands. In just a moment, they had already rushed out of the encirclement of the court cavalry!
This scene had a primitive beauty that was filled with power, and it shocked the minds of countless people.
Chief Su Bida held the reins in one hand and stood by Haitang's side. Coldly, he watched this scene. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he hid the shock in his heart very well. With a flip of his body, he leaped onto the fine horse and said, "I'll bring this pretty boy back for you to vent your anger."
At this time, he had already admitted that this young powerful official of the Southern court, who could be mentioned in the same breath as Songzhi Xianling, was not just a pretty boy. Looking at his miraculous ability to control wild horses, there was probably not a second person like him on the grasslands.
"Last night, the court was attacked. The Left Virtuous Prince was assassinated. No one knows if he is dead or alive." Haitang stood on the meadow among the Chief's dozens of guards. Calmly, she spoke of what Fan Xian had admitted.
The Chief held the reins with both hands and paused slightly. Immediately after, he squeezed the horse's belly and charged down the meadow.
So, the Commissioner of the Qing Kingdom's Overwatch Council had entered deep into the grasslands for this matter. The attack on the court was a small matter. As long as it was not the elite riders of the Qing Kingdom charging over, what did it matter if some people died? The Chief had not thought that the Qing Kingdom's Overwatch Council was also very selective in who they killed. The people who died were very important to his dream of building a country on the grasslands.
Most importantly, the Left Virtuous Prince had been assassinated. This news chilled the Chief's heart. Was the grasslands, which had been peaceful for two years, going to sink back into chaos because of the Left Virtuous Prince's death? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but curse silently. The Left Virtuous Prince was his uncle. Back then, he had been incomparably arrogant in front of him. Who knew that he would be killed by a Qing assassin with one blow. He was truly a bastard.
The Chief looked angrily at the dust in the distance. Squeezing the horse's belly, he charged toward the southeast first. Although the pretty boy had used the wild horse herd as a cover and unexpectedly killed his way out of the encirclement, the Chief believed that no one would be able to escape the pursuit of the court's riders on the vast grasslands.
From here to Qingzhou on the border of the Qing Kingdom, even if one spared no effort and galloped to their heart's content, it would still take 10 days. Galloping madly on the grasslands for 10 days with the Western Hu court's riders chasing after them, who could stand against that? The Chief was riding a thousand-li horse, one out of tens of thousands. He believed he could stop Fan Xian. Although the Qing Kingdom's cavalry and archery were also very powerful, the people of the grasslands still believed that the Western Hu men's riding skills were still the most exquisite. If they couldn't catch up to an enemy they could see on the grasslands, they might as well commit suicide.
The morning light gradually brightened, and the sight between heaven and earth gradually brightened. The warped morning sun peeked out halfway from the eastern horizon of the grasslands and lit up everything on the autumn plains.
Haitang looked calmly at everything in front of her. A glimmer of worry and sadness flashed through her eyes. She saw that on the grasslands, the flood-like Western Hu riders had not formed an encirclement. Relying on the Hu people's exquisite riding skills, they quickly formed a group and formed a fan. Thousands of riders were like one as they sped toward the east.
Two to three li in front of the pursuing Hu riders, hundreds of black wild horses were galloping madly. Their hooves kicked up dust. They were like wisps of smoke as they headed east toward the red morning sun. Suddenly, a few people leaped out of the herd of wild horses and mounted them. No one knew where these people had been hiding earlier or how they were able to follow the wild horses forward. A hundred Qing men rode on hundreds of wild horses and galloped through the grasslands ruled by the Hu people. Before the red sun, the horses and the figures on them appeared very spirited and arrogant.
…
…
The Western Hu soldiers had made a major mistake in their judgment. They had thought that when it came to riding skills, the court riders were unparalleled in the world. No one could compare to them. Furthermore, they didn't know how the Qing people controlled the herd of wild horses. Although the wild horses were powerful, they were not as obedient and durable as warhorses. Thus, they thought that on this expansive grasslands, they would need at most half a day's time to catch up to the Qing people galloping toward the sun.
Chief Su Bida also thought this way. He was even thinking about whether or not he should first kill the powerful Qing official called Fan Xian with arrows after he surrounded the Qing people and not give Princess Songzhi any chance to plead for mercy.
However, everything developed differently from the judgment of the Western Hu court riders. Half a day passed. A day passed. The proud knights of the grasslands were still unable to catch up to the Qing people. They couldn't even close the distance.
The reason was simple. The wild horses in the eyes of the Hu people were not wild horses at all. They were military horses that the Qing Overwatch Council had raised for a long time. The reason they could hide from the eyes of countless people on the grasslands, from the tribes famous for their horses, and become a herd of wild horses that wandered among the water and grass was all because they had been drugged.
A drug mixed with ephedrine made the Overwatch Council's military horses appear more active, wilder, and free-spirited than normal horses. Furthermore, this herd of horses was very careful. They had not been nailed or branded. Even their manes had not been tidied. Once they galloped, there was the feeling of their long hair floating in the wind. No matter who saw them, they would think they were a herd of wild horses. That was why, that night, under the watchful eyes of the court riders, they had quietly approached Fan Xian.
Fan Xian held the reins with one hand and lowered his head to the horse, carefully feeling the condition of the horse. There were 100 subordinates receiving him. Other than a dozen elites disguised as men on horses, the rest of the people had relied on their superb riding skills to hide among the herd of horses.
They had experimented many times. The effect of the ephedrine on horses was not as great on humans as it was on horses. It was not to the extent that these warhorses would not listen to orders. For the pursuing soldiers of the court, the speed of these horses' galloping was terrifying.
Warhorses disguised as wild horses were still warhorses, much less warhorses that had taken stimulants. Fan Xian knew that the stimulants would not last long, but he didn't need too long. 100 people took turns riding hundreds of horses, giving the warhorses enough time to rest and recover. If they still let the people of the Chief's court catch up, Fan Xian might as well cut his own neck and be done with it.
A good horse needed someone to ride it. This was the second mistake the pursuing soldiers made in their judgment. They always thought that no one in the world had better riding skills than them and was more valiant in long-range attacks. They had forgotten a name.
The Black Knights.
The Qing Kingdom's riders had always been powerful. Other than armor and protective gear, they were not much weaker than the riders of the Western Hu. The Black Knights were the elite of the elite of the Qing Kingdom's riders. Under Chen Pingping's careful selection and training, the quality of the individual soldiers was truly shocking.
In particular, the Black Knights had the most illustrious battle history in the world when it came to long-distance attacks that the Western Hu people were so proud of.
Back then, the Qing Kingdom had suffered a crushing defeat on the Northern expedition. The Qing Emperor had been trapped in barren mountains and unruly rivers. Chen Pingping had heard the news and led the Black Knights to rescue him. Within six days, they had advanced a thousand li on the battlefield and saved the Qing Emperor, who was still the Crown Prince at the time.
Another year, Chen Pingping personally led the Black Knights deep into the territory of the Wei Kingdom and captured the ambitious and ruthless Xiao En alive. Before the Wei Kingdom's military could react, they retreated like lightning back into the territory of the Kingdom of Qing. In and out, they traveled thousands of li over mountains and rivers.
History had long proven that the Black Knights' ability to launch a thousand-li surprise attack was the strongest in the world.
The Overwatch Council's Black Knights were famous for their thousand-li surprise attacks. After they became a system, they practiced this kind of situation most often. They put a lot of effort into maintaining the medicinal strength of the warhorses. They advanced like fire and wind and retreated like water and clouds. In a flash, they disappeared from the battlefield. Advance was the best in the world. Quick retreat was also the best in the world. How could the elite riders of the Western Hu court catch up to this group of sudden assassins that moved like birds?
The autumn wind on the grasslands hit Fan Xian's face. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Jing Ge beside him. Looking at the silver mask on his face, he couldn't help but smile. If he didn't have absolute confidence in his subordinates, how could he take such a risk and enter deep into the grasslands court, the heart of Xi Hu, draw out the Chief of Haitang, and lay down those two big bombs?
On the third day of the chase, the riders of the court finally discovered something strange. They had not slowed down at all. The grassland horses beneath them were already exhausted, but they still could not catch up. Furthermore, the daring Qing people who had entered deep into the grasslands seemed to still have energy to spare. It was as if they could let their horses go at any moment. They were only forcefully suppressing their speed to lure the riders of the court behind them.
Hearing the Dandan's alert and tired report, a glimmer of coldness flashed across Chief Su Bida's travel-stained face. He was actually the first person to discover the problem. He could feel that there was something wrong with the group of strange and even magical wild horses in front of him. Although the court's eagles were circling above, there were no large tribes on the grasslands toward Qingzhou that could stop them. The Chief could not do anything.
The news of the Left Virtuous Prince's assassination had already been confirmed. The Chief knew what he should do. Once the entire grasslands learned of this news, they would turn their suspicious gazes toward him or the Right Virtuous Prince. The men under the Left Virtuous Prince's tent would certainly already be clamoring for revenge for the Left Virtuous Prince.
In order to stabilize the court's position, Chief Su Bida should immediately pull on the reins and return to give the Left Virtuous Prince an explanation. The longer he left, the more suspicious the Left Virtuous Prince's tent would become of him.
Chief Su Bida was not afraid of the revenge of the Left Virtuous Prince's subordinates. If he wanted to become the true ruler of the grasslands, he had to prevent bloody internal strife from happening. He believed in Princess Songzhi's words. Establishing a country on the grasslands could not only rely on blood and iron killing to succeed.
However, he was not satisfied. The speed of the horse under the Chief slowed down. Looking into the distance, the herd of wild horses that seemed to never feel tired, he sighed in the depths of his heart. He was unusually dissatisfied.
All of the court riders stopped and turned their gazes toward the great Chief. They didn't know what to do next. Should they continue this futile chase or go back? They all knew that the grasslands seemed to be a bit chaotic. If they just went back like this and watched as the Qing people came to the grasslands to strut around, they were truly dissatisfied.
Chief Su Bida was also dissatisfied. As the Master of the grasslands, sometimes he had to suppress the anger in his heart and choose the most correct path from the perspective of profit. He waved his hand gloomily, indicating for the court riders to turn their horses around and prepare to return to the court. At this moment, a burning anger suddenly rose in his eyes.
The moment the Western Hu riders stopped their pursuit, the deserters in front of them also stopped. They stopped on the shallow meadow and looked back as if they were waiting for them.
What kind of humiliation was this? The Chief gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. A moment later, the expression on his face relaxed. Coldly, he said, "Go back."
…
…
"They won't fall for it." Jing Ge glanced at the Commissioner, whose head was covered in sand, and said, "Looks like they won't chase anymore."
Fan Xian spat out the sand in his mouth and furrowed his brows. His mood relaxed slightly. The situation at hand appeared to be easy for him and the deserters. Only they, who were being chased, could feel the terror of the Hu riders.
The elite riders of the Western Hu court truly gave the Black Knights a great deal of pressure. Just in terms of speed, the Western Hu riders were indeed the most powerful in the world. They were far more powerful than the riders of the Wei Kingdom in the past. The Black Knights appeared to be running freely, but in reality, they were in a sorry state. If the court riders could hold out for another two days and wait for the medicinal power of the Black Knights' warhorses to gradually wear off, Fan Xian would probably be in deep trouble.
The reason Fan Xian had not had the Black Knights run wildly was because he wanted to put on a confident appearance and strike at the confidence of the Chief's court riders. Looking at it now, this plan seemed to be working. Furthermore, Fan Xian knew that a person as ambitious as the Western Hu Chief would not let anger get to his head and only care about chasing him. He would not care about the chaos in the court or the uprising on the grasslands that the Left Virtuous Prince could cause.
A few li behind them, the court riders gradually organized and retreated. Chief Su Bida fell at the very back. The setting sun shone on the light armor on his body and reflected a faint light. He still looked as cold as ever.
Fan Xian spat out the last bit of sand in his mouth and said, "Presumably, I left a deep impression on him this time. When we fight again on the grasslands, he will certainly not carelessly fight in the open."
"Scaring him off is good." Jing Ge glanced at him and said, "However, the Crown Prince has set up an ambush at the mouth of Hong Mountain for a dozen days and still hasn't seen the Chief arrive. I'm afraid he will be disappointed."
"Please, this is the Master of the grasslands." Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at the figure of the Chief standing alone on the grasslands in the distance. He grinned and said, "How could he be so easily killed by my schemes?"
…
…
Some people suggested pushing down Haitang and taking her home, thus solving half of the Western Hu problem. However, it did not seem very good. The 10,000 Iron Riders that the Ka 'erna court could influence were still on the grasslands. Fan Xian could not take them back to the Qing Kingdom. Most importantly, if Fan Xian dared to force his way through, he would probably spend the rest of his life being hacked at by Haitang with a knife, shivering, and being hacked at by a top ace every day. This kind of life was truly terrifying. Frankly speaking, if she was not willing, Fan Xian would not do it. Basic respect was still necessary.
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