Chapter 61: Li Bei Er’s Defeat
She was wearing a white outfit as she gracefully rode on the smooth and beautiful Valiant Song’s red coat, stealing all attention the moment she set out. Her control of the horse was sleek and well-practiced, giving the watchers a certain infectious rhythm to it, while Valiant Song’s gallop was swift and light, her stance resembling a stream of clouds.
“Based on their posture alone, she’s already beat Li Bei Er hands down.” Du Yunfeng kept his eyes on the track.
“And she’s really fast,” another wealthy man added.
“She’s practically flying,” said another.
They were right, the way Valiant Song moved made it appear like it was flying — the four hooves barely touched the ground and each stride covered a great distance. Meanwhile, Xia Ling effortlessly controlled the rope. In the spring breeze with a landscape full of cherry blossoms, her slender figure and pretty face were as beautiful as a fairy’s.
In terms of physical appearance, she might not be the best of them all.
Yet, the radiance she emitted at this very moment made every girl present look on in envy.
“Second Young Master Li…” Du Yunfeng’s eyes were still on the track as he gave Li Lei a pat on the back, “you’ve got a good taste.”
Li Lei smiled and his line of sight followed the figure around the track. With just a short moment’s effort, Xia Ling had already ridden on Valiant Song for a round and a half, almost catching up with Li Bei Er — which meant that in the time Xia Ling covered one and a half rounds, Li Bei Er had not even managed one round! That was an incredibly big gap!
Outside the race area, all the spectators were psyched.
“Fight on! Ye Xingling! Overtake her!” A few of them cheered Xia Ling on.
“Fight on! Fight on!” The cheers were building up.
Xia Ling bent over slightly, gently petting Valiant Song’s beautiful red mane. “Little Song, I’m counting on you.”
Valiant Song shared a telepathic connection with its owner and leaped forward, catching up to within a meter of Li Bei Er.
Li Bei Er panicked. She never expected Xia Ling to catch up so quickly, incorrigible! She desperately whipped the bay horse and shouted. “Go faster, you beast! Faster! Don’t let that woman overtake us!”
The bay horse responded to the lashes and managed to pull off another half a meter from Valiant Song.
“Catch up with her!” The spectators were roaring now.
Li Bei Er got furious hearing the cheers and whipped the horse again. Yet this time, no matter how she lashed it, the bay horse could not go any faster. It was already giving its all, it simply could not keep up.
Seeing Xia Ling emerge from the side all ready to overtake her, Li Bei Er clenched her jaw and directed the bay horse to take its place. “Block them! Don’t let them get past us! If we’re not going fast, they can forget about it too!”
Li Bei Er had decided to block Xia Ling’s path.
The track was narrow, to begin with, and with Li Bei Er intentionally getting in the way, it was going to be tough for Xia Ling to get past her.
“Despicable!” A man lashed out in anger.
“Exactly!” The rest chimed in. Xia Ling’s leading of the horse was a beautiful sight, as their silhouettes merged into a charming figure, gliding rhythmically in the air. As of now, they had slowed down significantly due to Li Bei Er’s move.
While everybody was unhappy with the situation, Xia Ling was smiling.
Thinking of blocking her off? Fat hope!
“Little Song.” She lightly raised the hoop around Valiant Song. “Up!”
The majestic red horse let out a neigh, demonstrating its might as if it was welcoming a Queen. It was the most majestic horse in the Southern Mountains, no horse dared undermine its honor!
The bay horse ahead was shaken by the neigh and instinctively shifted to make way.
“Go!” The moment Xia Ling pulled the hoop, the horse made a brilliant leap and overtook the bay horse in the blink of an eye.
“Gosh!”
“That was beautiful!”
“Truly unbelievable!”
The spectators were seething with excitement, that was a truly impressive move — so swift that many did not even get a chance to really see what had happened. It seemed like Xia Ling and Valiant Song had got into place in the split second that they lost focus.
“I’ve never seen a female rider this skilled.” Du Yunfeng was still resting on Li Lei’s shoulder; he had forgotten to release him because of the excitement.
Li Lei maintained his cheerful expression, but deep down he was shocked. This little girl’s equestrian skills were divine, where did she learn that from? It seemed like she had many secrets…
He squinted his eyes slightly, a thought flashing in his mind.
There was no suspense in the remaining of the race, Xia Ling effortlessly completed three rounds with a half-round lead — no, if the head start she gave Li Bei Er was considered, it was a full one and a half round lead! What did that mean? She went at twice the speed of Li Bei Er!
The crowd roared once again as they made their way to the finish line in a massive group, the way a crowd would embrace the arrival of a hero.
Xia Ling got off the horse with ease, receiving the mineral water provided by the service staff.
“Nice work, Xiao Ling.” Li Lei did not withhold his compliments.
She smiled and petted Valiant Song who was by her side. “It’s Valiant Song’s nice work.”
The poised red horse lowered its head and affectionately snuggled up against its owner. This horse was extremely temperamental and no one was able to get within three feet of it. However, it was extremely loyal and tender to the people it accepted.
Du Yunfeng, Second Young Master Zhou and a few others began to encircle them, showering them with praises.
A few quick-witted girls realized that the wealthy men and masters around were flocking towards Xia Ling, and hence joined in. Some were praising her sky-high and suggested getting to know her over tea someday, while others were asking her for equestrian guidance.
Everybody was so absorbed with Xia Ling that they had not even noticed Li Bei Er finishing the race.
Li Bei Er was grinding her teeth in resentment as she hurled the whip to the ground. Right then she realized that Xia Ling stealing the limelight was not all bad, in fact, it was a good opportunity for her to sneak away without having to pay her debt.
“Hold it right there.” It was a clear, sharp voice.
It was Xia Ling. While everybody had not taken notice of Li Bei Er, she was watching the whole time. Xia Ling did not have many merits, but one of them was bearing grudges — anybody who had offended her could forget about getting away with it.
“Where is Miss Li headed for?” Xia Ling’s lips curled in ridicule.
Everybody darted their eyes to Li Bei Er, finally noticing her existence.
“Li Bei Er, you’ve lost, surely you’re not thinking of escaping?” Someone remarked.
“Why- Why would I!” Hatred rose inside Li Bei Er. Since there was no way out, the only thing left was to deny her move.
“Glad to know that you’re not.” Xia Ling walked out of the crowd and stopped before her, showing Li Bei Er her fair and delicate palm. “Hand it over.”
“Hand what over?” Li Bei Er feigned ignorance.
“The necklace.” Xia Ling smiled. “Trying to go back on your word?”