Chapter 246: Defensive Map
Editor: Atlas Studios
Tied up in a separate shed, the eight horses were restless. They ignored the fodder in the horse trough and kept kicking, making dissatisfied noises through their noses.
Qi Haoran came over and frowned. “Who asked you to lock them together? Separate them so that they can’t see or hear each other.”
The horse trainer said after some hesitation, “Little General, I’m afraid this will anger these horses.”
Qi Haoran snorted coldly. “They’d only be angry for a moment. When they’re alone and helpless, I’ll see if they’ll still throw a tantrum. Separate them.”
The horse trainer was hired by Qi Haoran to raise horses. He had experience raising horses, but he had never been on the battlefield. He felt that it was not good for Qi Haoran to do this.
However, the soldiers only listened to Qi Haoran’s orders. The moment Qi Haoran gave the order, someone went forward and pulled out the horses inside to keep them separate. Although this made the already few horse sheds even more crowded, it finally made the seven horses quiet down.
The only horse that had not calmed down was surrounded by Qi Haoran and the others.
The maroon horse had smooth curves. Mu Yangling drooled and said, “This is a good horse.”
Qi Haoran chuckled. “Don’t think that it’s a good horse just because it’s handsome. But it indeed is a good horse.” Qi Haoran looked at its hooves and then at the saddle on its back. “Its original owner should also know this, so he spoiled the horse. Since this saddle alone is worth more than 100 taels, its owner must be rich.”
Mu Yangling was speechless. “So the reason why those people chased after us so relentlessly last night was because of this horse? Is there a need to go so far? No matter how good this horse is, there’s no need to sacrifice so many soldiers to chase after it…” Mu Yangling suddenly paused at this point and said solemnly, “So all the important figures of West Xia’s guardhouse were there last night?”
Qi Haoran’s brows also twitched. The borders of the three countries were a dangerous area. Who would go there in the middle of the night for no reason?
Even he was forbidden by Big Brother to set foot there. After all, it was too dangerous.
Recalling the pursuit last night, Qi Haoran vaguely felt that something was wrong. The people from the guardhouse were not just trying to chase after these stolen horses in order to perform in front of that big shot. Some of them were chasing after them like their life depended on it, as if… they were chasing after a treasure.
Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up. He waved his hand to dismiss his men and only let his bodyguards guard the vicinity.
Just as Mu Yangling was considering whether she should leave as well, Qi Haoran pulled her into a horse shed and whispered, “Find out if there’s anything on the horse.”
Mu Yangling raised her head and carefully sized up the horse. Finally, her gaze landed on the saddle on its back. “Saddle?”
Qi Haoran’s eyes lit up. He reached out and carefully touched the saddle, not letting go of a single corner.
The maroon horse was a little restless. After being glared at coldly by Qi Haoran, the horse was suppressed for a moment before becoming more obedient.
It felt that this person’s aura was even stronger than its master’s. Since the horse identified as a smart horse, it would be better to adapt to the situation.
Mu Yangling touched it carefully from the other side, but the two of them couldn’t find anything even after touching the saddle. Qi Haoran frowned. Could it be that he was wrong?
However, Mu Yangling stood at the side and pondered. “Qi Haoran, try riding the horse.”
Qi Haoran frowned and said, “The ceiling of this shed is so low. How can I ride it?”
“Then ride it outside.”
Qi Haoran led the horse out. Mu Yangling raised her head and looked around. Finally, she pointed at a place and said, “Go there. That’s a blind spot. No one can see there from high up.”
Smiling, Qi Haoran led the horse over to stand in that blind spot. He asked the guards to stand at a distance before jumping onto the horse himself. Mu Yangling stood at the side and looked at him. She asked, “If there’s something important in the saddle, that person will definitely place it somewhere that he can see or touch at all times. Which position is most suitable when he’s sitting on the horse?”
Qi Haoran pondered for a moment and was about to lower his head when Mu Yangling said, “You have to look straight ahead. You can’t lower your head from time to time when riding a horse.”
Qi Haoran moved his hand and touched the strap of the saddle in front of him. “Here.”
This strap was dispensable, but some people liked to hold onto this when riding horses. Qi Haoran had always held a rope with one hand and a weapon with the other, and would never touch this spot.
Qi Haoran took out his dagger and carefully removed the strap as he rode on the horse. As soon as he peeled off the skin, a small roll of silk was revealed. As it was stuffed into the saddle as a small roll without any creases, that was why Qi Haoran could not feel it just now.
He took out the silk and stuffed it into his arms. After jumping off the horse, he took the entire saddle and called for his bodyguard to hand the horse to him. “Watch carefully. Don’t let it escape.”
The bodyguard agreed and watched in confusion as the Little General left with the saddle. Could it be that the Little General had gone to so much trouble for so long just for this saddle? Then couldn’t he just take it off in the horse shed earlier on?
Could it be that he felt that this saddle was not worthy of this horse, so he planned to replace it with a better one after testing it out? It seemed that this horse was something that Little General had taken a fancy to. He had to take good care of it.
The bodyguard said to the horse trainer, “Little General has taken a fancy to this horse. You have to serve it well.”
When the horse trainer heard this, he naturally did not dare to be negligent. In the future, when the soldiers came to pick a horse, they would directly exclude this horse. In the end, other than the horse trainer and a few bodyguards, no one else knew that there was a luxurious shed at the end of the row of horse sheds that contained Little General’s reserved horse.
Qi Haoran found a room and entered with Mu Yangling. This was also left behind by the previous owner. Since this was a horse farm after all, when he came to ride the horses, he had to have a place to rest. Hence, the interior was well-equipped and the room was well-built.
Qi Haoran threw the saddle on the ground and left it alone. Then, he took out the silk and unfolded it. Mu Yangling had already lowered her head and turned around. When Qi Haoran saw this, he asked curiously, “What are you doing?”
“It’s confidential. I’d better not read it.”
Qi Haoran said, “This wouldn’t be the first confidential thing you hear or see. Never mind. Hurry over and take a look at what this is…” When Qi Haoran lowered his head, his mouth dropped open in shock instantly.
Mu Yangling had already turned around to look. When she saw the pattern on it, her mouth fell open. Although she didn’t understand the words on it, she knew how to look at pictures, okay?
Mu Yangling asked hesitantly, “Is this the defensive map of the Jin Kingdom?”
Qi Haoran’s expression turned cold, but his eyes were as dazzling as the sun. He looked at Mu Yangling and asked in a low voice, “Do you think this is real?”
Equally amazed, Mu Yangling went forward to check the map and touched the ink on it. She replied in a lowered voice, “It’s been a long time since this was drawn. Still, we can’t rule out the possibility that someone deliberately drew this to confuse people.”
Qi Haoran kept the map and said, “Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know based on West Xia’s next reaction.”
Mu Yangling said, “We have to tell General about this!”
Qi Haoran was a little afraid of being punished by his big brother, but when he thought of the consequences of this matter, he gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, I’ll go back with you tomorrow.”
Qi Haoran rolled the drawing into a small ball and stuffed it into his arms, but he felt that it was not safe in his arms either.
Seeing that he had changed several places, Mu Yangling looked at his boots and said, “Although it stinks a little, I think it’s better for you to put it in your socks.”
Qi Haoran’s reddened as he said, “My feet don’t stink.” He heeded Mu Yangling’s idea and hid it in his socks.
When he untied his shoes and saw Mu Yangling looking over, he roared in a low voice, “You’re a girl. Be more reserved and turn around.”
Mu Yangling gaped. “You’re taking off your shoes, not your clothes…” However, she still turned around, so she didn’t see that the tips of Qi Haoran’s ears were burning red.