Chapter 577 - Mess
The white horse's face showed a relieved expression, and it nodded its head. Yu Xiaocao didn’t know whether she should cry or laugh, 'This horse has become enlightened and already knows how to bargain. As expected, it deserves to be called the foal of the divine steed. It's smart enough to say no.’
She thought about it carefully and decided that it wasn’t too surprising. Her Little Red was originally an inferior horse breed. When she had come to Xiaocao, the power of the divine stone hadn't recovered as much as it did now. Although it had been years since they were together, and Little Red had been transformed into a fine horse, the old foundation was still there!
The white horse in front of her was the best among a large herd of horses without the help of the divine stone's power. Furthermore, at this time, half of the divine stone's power had already returned and the spiritual energy was concentrated enough to transform a fine horse.
"Deal, you send me back and I'll give you three sugar cubes!" Yu Xiaocao was pleased with the white horse's ‘shrewdness"’ and wondered whether she could swindle this guy over and help the horse farm breed several fine horses?
The white horse stayed in place for a moment to rest before letting Xiaocao get on its back. The scene of the horse herd galloping and neighing left Xiaocao with only one word to describe it: ‘Magnificent’! It took nearly an hour and a half for them to get there, so naturally, the journey back wouldn't be short.
Zhu Junyang, who had caught the buckskin horse, was full of resentment and had no place to vent his anger, so he began to tame the unruly buckskin horse with all of his might! The poor buckskin horse had been thoroughly run over by the prince. In the end, its last trace of energy was squeezed out and it powerlessly laid on the ground, panting.
When Zhu Junyang returned to the stud farm, riding a now well-behaved buckskin horse, he found the horse farm was facing a great enemy. The horses had all been rushed into the stable and the stewards of the horse farm had even invited the captain of the firearms camp to come to support them.
Steward Yan, who had originally been the steward of a manor under the prince, was now assigned at the stud farm. This was because he had experience raising horses when he was younger. Thus, he had some insights into the habitual nature of horses and the management of a horse farm. He was promoted to the top and cooperated with Commander Liu in running things at the ranch.
Today, other than the hundred or so officers and soldiers from the firearms camp, most of the other men had gone to trap wild horses. However, one after another, the grooms came back to report that wild wolves had infiltrated into the horse farm. Steward Yan immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. If something happened to the dozens of horses in the horse farm under his watch, then even death wouldn't be enough to wash away his blame! Almost all of the guards at the farm had gone out. He told the horse grooms to rush back to the horses and then he went to the firearms camp for help. So, this was the scene that Royal Prince Yang came back to.
"The stud farm has a wolf pack in it? Were the horses attacked? How many wolves are there? Has the farm suffered any losses?" Zhu Junyang knew very clearly that the emperor placed great importance on these horses by the border. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been allowed to bring soldiers from the firearms camp to take charge of the safety of the ranch. Not only that, but the chief military instructor of the firearms camp was also sent in to take charge of the safety of the horse farm.
Furthermore, even Yu Xiaocao had been ordered to come. The prince guessed that the emperor had some doubts about the lass's abilities and even had knowledge of her secret. Otherwise, how could he let a little girl accompany him to inspect the stud farm?
It wasn’t just the emperor who had this dream. Any military officer, who led troops, would dream of having a successful cavalry troop under his belt. Zhu Junyang was also the same. Thus the horse farm's position in his heart was second only to the little lass whose smiles and frowns could influence his heart.
A pack of wolves entering the horse farm wasn't a trivial matter! The stud farm had finally found some good horses, so they couldn't be ruined by the wolves! Even the Khitans, who were valiant and skilled in warfare, had almost been annihilated by wolf packs, much less tamed horses!
Steward Yan felt deeply ashamed in his heart. In his anxiety, he hadn't asked the questions that the master had asked. Steward Yan pleaded forgiveness for his fault and immediately asked people to find the grooms that had brought the news. He planned to ask them in front of Royal Prince Yang.
Faced with the majesty of Royal Prince Yang, who was dressed in fine clothes, the horse grooms felt as if they were between a rock and a hard place. When Royal Prince Yang asked about the wolves, one replied, "When pacifying the horse herd in the commotion, this servant faintly saw two wolves in the chaos."
Another added, "The two wolves didn't attack the horses and just moved around them at a distance."
Another said, "I didn't see the wolves. I only heard the wolves howling..."
"What did the two wolves look like?" Zhu Junyang frowned and had a faint guess of the situation's origin.
"The two wolves are different from the gray wolves we usually see. One was black, and the other was snow-white. When you take a quick look at them, you can't tell that they are wolves!" A horse keeper who saw traces of the wolves said without thinking too much.
Hearing their words, the captain of the firearms camp gave a long sigh of relief and, with a smile, said, "False alarm! Guys, withdraw!"
"Eh? What's happening?" Steward Yan, who saw the officers and soldiers of the firearms camp give a salute to his master and swiftly return to their barracks, was very surprised.
Zhu Junyang ignored him. He took out a special whistle and blew on it hard. Before long, one black and one white lightning-like figure rushed out from the distance, stopping hard in front of the crowd.
"That's them! That's them!" Several horse grooms stepped back, shouting in confusion. Little Black and Little White suspiciously looked at the only familiar figure in the crowd, and then gazed into the crowd searchingly.
"Little Black, Little White! Can you guys smell your master? Can you take me to her?" Xiaocao had been taken away by the wild horse herd for more than an hour. The lass was soft and weak, lacking the strength to even truss a chicken. Zhu Junyang was worried about her. If it wasn't because of this mess at the horse farm, then he would've been unable to control himself and had gone looking for her earlier.
Steward Yan finally had some idea of what was going on. It looked like the two wolves they saw were the pets of the master and their future mistress! He was worried for nothing!
Little White stood haughtily, looking at Zhu Junyang with eyes filled with disdain as if it was saying, 'You are really useless. You can't even protect the master, what kind of man are you?!'
Little Black was more kind because Zhu Junyang had fed him delicious food on more than one occasion, so it was closer to him. Little Black circled around Zhu Junyang twice and took two steps in a direction and then stood still, looking back at him as if saying, 'What are you doing? Why aren't you following?'
Zhu Junyang mounted his horse and the two little ones turned and ran toward a direction in the grassland. The prince, who was riding his beloved horse, followed closely. Fierce Wind was one of the best among the other horses but, when compared to the two wolves, who grew up on mystic stone water, it was inferior.
Little Black and Little White, ran and stopped, and didn't leave the man and horse behind. Little White was more irritating. From time to time, it would look at Zhu Junyang and his horse with disdain as if to remind them of how ‘useless’ they were.
When Zhu Junyang met up with Xiaocao who was mixed in the wild horse herd, it was already more than half an hour later. Because the wild horses smelled Little Black and Little White earlier, they wanted to get away. However, because the target of Little White and Little Black was their master, who was in the middle of the horses, it became a game of chase and escape.
No matter how intelligent the white horse was, its natural fear of wolves was still present. The more it valued the human on its back, the more it wanted to take her away from danger. The other wild horses were even more desperate to run for fear that they would lose and be the unlucky one that lost their life at the mouths of the wolves!
Little White seemed to be aware of something and gradually slowed down. Little Black, seeing their owner on the horse's back in the distance, chased the horse with excitement. He easily caught up with the wild horse herd and the wild horses scattered, running for their lives. Out of the dozens of horses in the herd, in the end, there were only two or three who managed to keep up with the speed, following their leader, running as hard as they could.
"Awooh——” Little Black was side by side with the white horse and howled, acting in a spoiled manner toward its owner, who was on the back of the horse. The white horse was startled by the sound and almost threw Xiaocao off its back.
At first, Xiaocao didn't notice the two little ones. She was very puzzled when the wild horse herd sped up. Particularly, the white horse, who showed panic, made her vaguely aware that there was danger coming. Thus, she very cooperatively lowered her body so the white horse could run faster.
When Little Black appeared in her field of vision, she understood what was happening. Especially after Little Black's low howl, the horses became even more panicked and fl.u.s.tered, which made her laugh and become a bit mad.
"Little Black, do you want me to be thrown off? Don't come so close, let the horses calm down!" Yu Xiaocao rebuked Little Black, who was running around the white horse happily. Little Black's clear blue eyes immediately filled with puzzlement and aggrievement.
Zhu Junyang, who was far behind, was worried and helpless. Little Black wasn't as smart as Little White and was goofy. The more you chased, the harder the wild horses would run unless they became tired, but when would that be? However, seeing that Xiaocao was safe and sound, beside her hair which was messy from the wind and her clothes which were a bit wrinkled and had grass stains, Zhu Junyang could finally relax a bit.
Fortunately, Little Black stopped very quickly. His ears drooped down, making him look quite gloomy and sad. His appearance was very pitiful and spoke volumes, 'I was very happy to see Master, but Master scolded me. My heart is hurt. Wah wah wah~Master is so mean!’
Little White bit his neck, 'You are a male wolf. Why are you crying like a girl? You really give wolves a bad reputation! Don't say you are my brother when you go out, it’s too shameful to me!’
The white horse under Xiaocao already had itss mind opened. It saw that the black wolf actually listened to the words of the human on its back and stopped. It also slowed down! The rush to flee had used up its physical strength and energy. It didn't know which of its subordinates didn't escape the wolves’ mouths.
However, since the black wolf listened to the human girl's words that meant the white wolf probably wouldn't hurt the other horses without an order, right?
As a fine horse that could go a thousand miles, it was only slightly tired after the sprint. The other horses following were in a worse state, with foam at their mouths and their hooves were beginning to weaken. If it wasn't for the fear of being overtaken by wolves, they would've fallen to the ground in pure exhaustion.
Xiaocao comforted the white horse and finally made it stop. She placed a sugar cube soaked in mystic stone water into other horses' mouths that were by her. After eating one, the white horse stretched out its mouth over again. The horse's eyes were full of emotions as if it was trying to tell her that she needed to keep her promise.