Chapter 227: The Bolting Horse

Seeing how persistent we were, Zhurige finally relented and gave us the approximate location of the Crying Forest. However, she was far too elderly to ride a horse herself, so she could only call Kuba over to act as our guide and lead the way.

Before setting off, looking at the horses swatting flies with their tails, I realized a massive problem: I had never ridden a horse in my life and had no idea how to ride. Qian Deli faced pretty much the same issue, so he chose a smaller, shorter horse and got up extra early to have Kuba lead him around for a few practice laps.

But I hadn’t had his foresight. The remaining horses were all tall beasts, leaving me with no real choice. If we were going to be galloping to make good time, my only option was to beg He Yu to take me on his horse. I turned around to check where He Yu was, only to see Lu Qianshan swinging his leg over a saddle.

An immediate thought popped into my head: if I asked He Yu to carry me now, that kid named Lu would definitely mock me mercilessly!

He Yu shouldered his pack and came around to my side. “What are you standing there for? Are you kidding? Nineteen teams out there, and after coming all this way, we can’t let someone else beat us to the good stuff, right?”

With that, he picked a horse, grabbed the reins, and vaulted on. He didn’t land quite right and pinched his crotch on the saddle, but he quickly adjusted his posture, inching forward like a maggot. From the look of it, his riding skills weren’t much better than mine. But with Lu Qianshan in the group, and given how Lu Qianshan had scolded me earlier, He Yu and Lu Qianshan had been like oil and water ever since.

I leaned in and asked He Yu in a low voice, “What am I supposed to do? I’ve never ridden a horse. Can you take me with you?”

Sure enough, He Yu glanced around, and seeing that Lu Qianshan had ridden off a bit, he lowered his head and said, “How good do you think I am? I only went to the horse farm owned by my grand-uncle next door a few times as a kid. Whatever technique I had was tossed to the back of my mind long ago. I’m not even sure I can ride by myself. If I take you along, we’ll both kick the bucket, and then that guy named Lu will just sit back and watch the show. Why don’t you ask Old Lu or Chen Canghai? They look like they actually know how to ride.”

I felt a wave of frustration. Lu Qianshan was right next to Lu Ayao at that moment. I’d just had a screaming match with him last night, so going over now would just be begging him to look down on me. And as for Chen Canghai, I couldn’t very well ask a disabled kid who had just turned eighteen to carry me.

Seeing that almost everyone was ready, Kuba began organizing people onto their horses. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and mount up, but the horse I chose had a surprisingly tricky temperament. The moment my foot hit the stirrup, I got the feeling this horse had a mind of its own, and I might not be its match.

The few of us set off on horseback, carrying our supplies. Kuba’s horse was at the front, while I was at the very rear of the pack. It wasn’t that I wanted to bring up the rear, but my horse was walking the slowest. At first, I thought I’d just picked an old horse and didn’t think much of it, but when I saw it periodically lowering its head to eat grass while walking, I realized it knew I was a novice and was deliberately taking advantage of me.

So when it lowered its head this time, I pulled hard on the reins, trying to force its head back up. Man and horse were locked in a stalemate for a good while—I wouldn’t let go, and it wouldn’t let go of the grass. Just when I thought it didn’t want to keep fighting me, it suddenly bucked its hind legs. My hands slipped on the reins, and with its head held high, it tore off right past the side of the pack, carrying me along.

“Ah!”

I let out a yell, my voice going completely off-key from sheer terror.

“Holy shit! Xiao Yao!” I heard He Yu yell as well.

In an instant, my ears were filled with nothing but the rush of wind, and 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 and couldn’t keep my balance, so I was quickly jolted sideways.

But one of my feet was still caught in the other stirrup, leaving me stuck in an awkward position halfway on and halfway off. Looking at the rapidly shifting ground, I thought to myself that if I fell in this position, I’d definitely end up with a concussion from getting kicked.

Just then, I heard a horse whinnying nearby. I didn’t know when Chen Canghai had caught up, but he galloped forward, trying to force my horse to a stop. Tears were practically being blown from my eyes by the wind when I suddenly felt someone prop me up from behind.

“Stay low! Grab the mane, sit tight!” Lu Ayao shouted to me.

That force pushed me right back upright just as I was about to fall. I hurriedly did as told and grabbed the mane. Lu Ayao was not far behind me. Riding a horse at a speed faster than a motorcycle at full throttle, he kicked one foot out of his stirrup, leaned down low, and grabbed my horse’s reins. Looking up, I saw Chen Canghai’s horse closing in toward the middle. With my horse sandwiched between the two, we gradually slowed to a stop.

As my horse was forced to a stop, it tried to toss its head, go wild, and buck me off, but Lu Ayao gripped the reins tightly and forcibly yanked it around until it settled down.

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

I was so terrified that I stayed slumped over the horse’s back for a long time, unable to regain my strength. Lu Ayao dismounted from his own horse, holding both animals. Just as he was about to come over and help me down, my horse suddenly tossed its head again, scaring me into hurriedly hugging its neck.

Kuba finally arrived, trailing behind. That horse was truly a creature that acted differently depending on who it was dealing with; the moment its master appeared, it became docile. Kuba helped me down from the saddle.

He Yu supported me and started giving Kuba a piece of his mind. “What’s wrong with your family’s horse anyway? It just bolted out of nowhere, and you didn’t even watch it! Good thing Old Lu and Little Chen reacted quickly and got it stopped. If they hadn’t, what if our Xiao Yao was traumatized for life!”

“Young Master! Are you alright?” Qian Deli asked, sitting on his horse.

I waved my hand at him, signaling that I hadn’t broken any arms or legs and was still in one piece.

Lu Qianshan caught up unhurriedly. He probably wanted to make a few sarcastic remarks, but with Lu Ayao right there, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue.

“I’m so sorry, bosses. This horse is the fastest one we have, but it also has the fiercest temper. It’s my fault for not watching over it properly and frightening the young boss.” Kuba apologized to me repeatedly, which made me feel a bit embarrassed in return.

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 time. Let’s keep moving.”

After that nerve-wracking little episode, we briefly reorganized our scattered packs before mounting up again. This time, Chen Canghai took me with him; his mare was much gentler.

We picked up the pace, and near dusk, the caravan officially reached the outer edge 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, but its light couldn’t penetrate the forest at all. It seemed we wouldn’t be going in today.

So we found a spot sheltered from the wind outside the woods and pitched two tents. He Yu, Old Lu, Little Chen, and I took 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 too often.

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

When a full bladder woke me up, our surroundings were still deathly quiet and pitch-black. I grabbed my phone and checked the time: 3:00 a.m.

Drowsily, I rolled over and used the light from my phone to shine around the tent. My whole body shuddered, breaking out in a cold sweat, and I snapped wide awake.

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