Chapter 227: The Bolting Horse

Seeing our persistence, Zhurige finally relented and told us the approximate location of the Crying Forest. However, she was far too elderly to mount a horse herself, so she called Kuba over to act as our guide.

Before setting off, looking at the horses swishing their tails to swat flies, I realized a massive problem. I had never ridden a horse in my life, and I didn’t have the slightest clue how to do it. Qian Deli was in the same boat, so he chose a smaller, shorter horse and made sure to get up extra early to have Kuba lead him around for a few practice laps.

I didn’t have his foresight. The remaining horses were all tall, powerful beasts, and I didn’t have much of a choice. If we were going to be galloping to make time, I’d have to beg He Yu to let me ride with him. I turned around to find He Yu, only to see Lu Qianshan already swinging his leg over a saddle.

A thought immediately flashed through my mind: if I went to He Yu for a ride now, that kid Lu would definitely mock me mercilessly!

He Yu shouldered his pack and circled over to me. “What are you doing? There are nineteen teams out there. We’ve come all this way; we can’t let someone else snatch the good treasures before us, right?”

As he spoke, he picked a horse, grabbed the reins, and vaulted up. Though he didn’t stick the landing and caught his crotch on the saddle, he quickly adjusted his posture, wriggling forward like a maggot. Looking at him, it was clear his riding skills were mediocre at best. However, because Lu Qianshan had lectured me earlier, He Yu and Lu Qianshan had been at each other’s throats.

I leaned in and whispered to He Yu, “What do I do? I’ve never ridden before. Can you take me with you?”

He Yu looked around cautiously. Once he saw Lu Qianshan had ridden some distance away, he lowered his head and whispered back, “How good do you think I am? I only went to a ranch owned by my great-uncle a few times when I was a kid. That bit of technique was forgotten ages ago. I’m not even sure I can stay on myself. If I take you, we’ll both end up dead, and that guy Lu will just be waiting to enjoy the show. Why don’t you ask Old Lu or Chen Canghai? They look like they know what they’re doing.”

I felt a surge of frustration. Lu Qianshan was right next to Lu Ayao. I’d just had a shouting match with him last night; going to him now would be asking for him to look down on me. As for Chen Canghai, I couldn’t exactly ask an eighteen-year-old with a disability to carry me.

Seeing that everyone was mostly ready, Kuba began ushering people onto their horses. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and mount up. The horse I chose had a wicked temperament; the moment I stepped into the stirrup, I could tell this animal was calculating. I might not be a match for it.

The group set off with our supplies. Kuba’s horse was at the front, while I was at the very tail end of the line. It wasn’t that I wanted to bring up the rear, but my horse was the slowest. At first, I thought I’d just picked an old horse and didn’t think much of it, until I saw it constantly lowering its head to graze. I realized then that the horse knew I was a novice and was intentionally bullying me.

So, the next time it lowered its head, I yanked the reins hard, trying to pull its head back up. Man and horse were locked in a stalemate for a long time. I wouldn’t let go, and it wouldn’t stop biting the grass. Just when I thought it was giving up the fight, it suddenly bucked its hind legs. My grip on the reins loosened, and with its head high, it bolted straight past the rest of the pack with me clinging on.

“Ah!”

I let out a yell, my voice cracking with terror.

“Holy shit! Xiao Yao!” I heard He Yu shout.

In an instant, the world became nothing but the whistling of wind. The scenery on both sides blurred past. The horse tossed its head as it ran, trying to throw me off. I couldn’t hold the reins, my balance was gone, and I was quickly jolted sideways.

One of my feet was still caught in a stirrup, leaving me stuck in a precarious position halfway off the saddle. Looking at the ground rushing past, I knew that if I fell like this, I was guaranteed a massive concussion or worse from a stray kick.

Suddenly, I heard the neighing of another horse. Chen Canghai had somehow caught up. He spurred his horse forward, attempting to cut off my horse’s path. My eyes were tearing up from the wind when I suddenly felt a hand steadying me from behind.

“Stay low! Grab the mane and sit firm!” Lu Ayao shouted at me.

That shove corrected my posture just as I was about to slip off. I hurriedly did as told and gripped the mane. Lu Ayao was right behind me. Riding a horse that seemed faster than a motorcycle at full throttle, he kicked one foot out of his stirrup and leaned low to grab my horse’s reins. I looked up to see Chen Canghai’s horse gradually closing in from the other side. With my horse sandwiched between them, they slowly brought the animal to a halt.

Once stopped, my horse tried to rear up and buck me off in a final fit of rage, but Lu Ayao gripped the reins with a deathly hold, forcibly wrenching its head around until it settled down.

“Brother! Are you okay?” Chen Canghai asked, jumping off his horse.

I was so terrified that I stayed slumped over the horse’s back for a long time, unable to find my strength. Lu Ayao dismounted as well, holding both horses. Just as he moved to help me down, my horse tossed its head again, scaring me into hugging its neck tightly.

Kuba finally arrived, trailing behind. That horse was truly a creature that bullied the weak and feared the strong; the moment its master appeared, it became perfectly docile. Kuba helped me down from the saddle.

He Yu supported me while lecturing Kuba. “What’s the deal with your horse? It just took off like a bat out of hell. You need to keep a better eye on them! It’s a good thing Old Lu and Little Chen have fast reflexes. They stopped it, but what if they hadn’t? What if Xiao Yao was scarred for life!”

“Young Master! Are you alright?” Qian Deli asked from atop his horse.

I waved a hand at him, signaling that I hadn’t broken any limbs and was still in one piece.

Lu Qianshan trotted up slowly. He looked like he wanted to drop a few sarcastic remarks, but with Lu Ayao standing right there, he swallowed his words.

“I’m so sorry, bosses. This horse is the fastest we have, but it also has the fiercest temper. It’s my fault for not watching it closely. I’ve frightened the young boss,” Kuba apologized repeatedly, making me feel a bit embarrassed.

I grabbed hold of Chen Canghai, who was closest to me, and said to Kuba, “I’m fine. At worst, I’ll just switch to a different horse. Let’s not waste any more time. Let’s keep moving.”

After that heart-pounding little episode, we took a moment to reorganize our scattered gear before mounting the horses again. This time, Chen Canghai took me with him; his mare was relatively docile.

We picked up the pace, and as evening approached, the caravan officially reached the outskirts of the Crying Forest. We stopped outside to let the horses graze. The woods were a dense, oppressive mass of black. I looked at the setting sun on the horizon and noticed that its light couldn’t penetrate the trees at all. It seemed we wouldn’t be heading inside today.

Instead, we found a spot sheltered from the wind outside the forest and pitched two tents. He Yu, Old Lu, Little Chen, and I shared one, while Old Qian, Kuba, and Lu Qianshan took the other. The wind grew even colder at night, so none of us wanted to step out of the tents more than necessary.

Kuba and I agreed that we would head into the forest first thing the next morning. We quickly built a fire, finished off some canned meat, and crawled into our sleeping bags early. Between staying up all night and nearly being scared to death on horseback today, my nerves had reached their breaking point. It wasn’t long before I drifted off.

When I finally woke up, driven by a full bladder, the surroundings were still deathly quiet and pitch black. I picked up my phone to check the time: 3:00 AM.

Drowsily, I rolled over and used the light from my phone to scan the tent. My entire body shuddered as a cold sweat broke out over my skin. I was wide awake in an instant.

The other three sleeping bags in the tent were empty. In this large tent, every single person besides me had vanished.