Chapter 1048 A Spirited Horse Calls a Stubborn Donkey

How did you get here?

As soon as Xie Zheng finished speaking, his cloak fluttered behind him, and a gust of wind swept over.

Soon, the snorting of horses could be heard not far away.

"Hurry up and come here!"

Xie Zheng said helplessly, "I was afraid you would bring the people I sent to you, so I specifically picked an obedient one. Who knew you would still manage to coax me into coming."

Zhou Huai, leading two horses, walked over nervously.

"General, it was my dereliction of duty. Please punish me."

Xie Zheng looked at the horse next to him, "Isn't this the stubborn donkey you've been trying to tame for two years? How come it's finally come out with you today?"

"Pfft~"

Lie Ma snorted at Lord Xie, seemingly quite dissatisfied with the title.

"Stubborn donkey?" Song Chunxue laughed. "That's a good name."

"Knock knock~"

The stubborn donkey took two steps forward and nudged its head toward Song Chunxue, as if it were being affectionate.

Xie Zheng was surprised, "You bribed it?"

“That’s right, Master Song bribed this stubborn donkey with just two carrots.” Zhou Huai said resentfully, “I fed him so many good things, even my pancakes and steamed buns, and vegetables that I rarely get to eat, and yet, it’s not even worth two carrots. He’s utterly heartless.”

"Because I love this spirited horse, I often have to take half an hour less of rest to brush its coat and take care of it. I thought that even a stone would eventually warm up, but I never expected that it would abandon me in the blink of an eye."

Speaking of this, Zhou Huai's deeds are too numerous to recount.

What's both funny and frustrating is that the stubborn horse not only didn't turn around to look at Zhou Huai because of his complaints, but it also turned one of its ears, clearly having heard them, but showing absolutely no sympathy.

Song Chunxue was both amused and exasperated. She reached out and touched its face. "Did you hear that? He's your master. He's been so good to you. You can't abandon him after starting something with him."

It would have been better if he hadn't said it. After saying it, he even leaned to the side, turning his back to Zhou Huai, as if to tell him to stay away from him.

"..." Zhou Huai's face became even more distressed. He raised his hand holding the riding whip, but couldn't bear to actually hit him.

Xie Zheng was helpless; he hadn't expected the horse to be so affectionate with Ah Xue.

Two carrots are nothing; it's all about what catches your eye.

"Don't be sad. There are so many good horses in the stable. Just pick one and it will be yours."

"Is that true?" Zhou Huai's eyes immediately lit up. "Can I have that swallow?"

Xie Zheng raised an eyebrow. "You mean my dark horse?"

"No, no, I meant the younger brother of the general's horse, which just turned one month old." Zhou Huai smiled, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. "I want it."

A variegated horse beside him became unhappy and turned to nuzzle Zhou Huai.

This is Zhou Huai's mount, a gray rabbit, which has been with him for two years.

“I’ll find you a companion,” Zhou Huai said with a smile as he looked at Song Chunxue. “I don’t know what’s wrong with these two horses today, they seem to have gained some intelligence and suddenly they are very obedient to people.”

His gray rabbit wasn't like this before.

"Perhaps it's because it's been in contact with a spirit sword like Wuyou for a long time that it can become more spiritual." Xie Zheng looked at the soldiers cleaning up the mess not far away. "Let's go, follow me to the next place."

Everyone mounted their horses and continued on their journey.

...

After dark, they made their way to the enemy camp.

Since he was leaving, Xie Zheng planned to launch a surprise attack to make his money back.

Over the past few years, I've sparred with the enemy hundreds of times, but none of those matches have been particularly satisfying.

Xie Zheng has always felt regret.

Tonight, he decided to give it his all.

"Here, put the invisibility talismans on all of them," Song Chunxue turned and put them on the two horses as well. "We'll play it by ear later. If anything seems amiss, we'll run away."

The two horses nodded in agreement with Zhou Huai.

Xie Zheng sighed, “This…this horse is too smart, which is a good thing, but it looks rather strange. It always feels like it’s human.”

Zhou Huai shared the same sentiment, "I always feel that it's a bit creepy, and that it might be difficult to take care of in the future. What if it gets temperamental?"

Although horses are trained, if they suddenly become intelligent, they may be difficult to manage.

The stubborn donkey's ears twitched, and the gray rabbit rubbed against Zhou Huai's arm.

"Since you can understand human speech, stand here for a while, and the three of us will go and light the fire. If there is any disturbance, run back immediately, and we will come looking for you."

As Zhou Huai spoke, he realized he might be going crazy. If they could understand such a long speech, that would be terrible.

Xie Zhengjian tied the cotton soaked in kerosene to the arrow and handed it to Song Chunxue and Zhou Huai.

"Don't be greedy, you must be back within fifteen minutes."

"good."

The others have already gone somewhere else.

But the first arrow was in Xie Zheng's hands.

"Whoosh!"

"Swish swish~"

Wuyou jumped out, saying, "You guys are so stupid, leave this to me."

As he spoke, he plunged headfirst into the oil barrel.

Song Chunxue immediately lit the fire, "Quickly, quickly!"

Just then, I heard shouts, a jumble of words I couldn't understand, but it seemed they had discovered an enemy attack.

Everyone turned and ran without hesitation.

But the people behind them didn't chase after them; instead, they were angrily chasing after something.

I guess they've started treating Wuyou like a person.

"Da da da da~"

"Cavalry is coming! Quick!"

"Giddy up, giddy up!"

Everyone hurried along, scattering into the night.

Song Chunxue followed closely behind Xie Zheng, but despite their long journey, they were not as fast as the pursuers behind them.

Just as they felt the sound of horses' hooves getting closer, they suddenly heard various cries of pain from behind, followed by the sounds of men and horses falling over, which they left far behind.

"A ghost! There's a ghost!"

Someone was shouting in the Han language, and the terrified voices were very clear.

I estimate there's nothing to worry about.

No, there's also light snow.

Two swords shot out, cutting down the people behind them from their horses in the shortest amount of time.

Xie Zheng rarely used his sword like this in front of outsiders.

But after Wuyou arrived, he stopped hiding Weixue.

Regardless of what happens in the future, tonight is the last day of his military career, so it's good to be a little unrestrained.

They didn't dare to stop for a moment and went straight back to their base camp.

The next morning, news came from outside that the enemy had broken camp overnight and retreated to set up camp thirty miles away.

Xie Zheng went to the main tent early to discuss military matters and did not return until an hour and a half later.

He held the armor in his hand, his steps slow, like an old man who had been relieved of a heavy burden.

Song Chunxue brewed the tea. "Looks like you're reluctant to leave?"

Xie Zheng walked up to her, "It's not that I'm reluctant to part with you, it's just..."

He didn't say what followed, seemingly considering his words.

"That's all, it's just a feeling of nostalgia. I won't come here again in the future." Xie Zheng looked at his calloused palms. "I can hardly remember how I felt when I held a pen in the study before. In recent years, I've written mostly memorials reporting military intelligence."

"Then when we get back to the capital, you can give it a good try in the study." Song Chunxue shook her head helplessly when she heard the noise outside the door. "Zhou Huai said that stubborn donkey probably wants to come with me. Do you want to?"