Aside from the detour to cause trouble for Feng Man, their journey to Jianggao City went very smoothly.
After becoming capable of riding a horse on his own, Lian Li insisted on taking Ice Treader out for a short trot every day.
Counting it up, he had spent more time riding Ice Treader lately than the horse’s owner, Yun Huizhou.
Returning from another stroll outside, Lian Li returned Ice Treader to Yun Huizhou and said, “Ice Treader has such a good temperament, and he’s smart too. I hope my future horse is just like him.”
As he spoke, he patted the silver notes tucked against his chest and asked Yun Huizhou, “If I want to buy a horse, do I have enough money right now?”
Yun Huizhou knew Lian Li had a hundred taels in silver notes on him. It was certainly enough to buy a horse, but buying a fine steed like Ice Treader was out of the question.
A horse like this was something that could be sought but not easily found. Even if one appeared on the market, one shouldn’t even dream of obtaining it without at least a thousand taels of gold.
Thus, after a moment of thought, he said to Lian Li, “You can buy an ordinary horse. But if you want one like Ice Treader, I’ll take you to the grasslands to catch one once your martial arts are decent enough.”
Hearing this, Lian Li immediately understood that Ice Treader must be a prized steed. If such a horse appeared on the market, people would be fighting over it; he couldn’t afford it.
“Can you really just catch one in the grasslands?” he asked Yun Huizhou, his eyes full of hope.
Yun Huizhou was momentarily silenced by the question. Even among the wild horses of the grasslands, they weren’t all of the same caliber.
Furthermore, one had to happen upon a foal and successfully lead it away from the herd.
He had searched the grasslands for three months before finally finding a foal that satisfied him.
Then, he had spent a great deal of effort taking the foal from the herd and raising it on the grasslands for another year. Only after the foal reached a year and a half and could barely carry him did he return.
Altogether, it had taken nearly two years. He was barely fourteen when he went to the grasslands and nearly sixteen when he returned.
And that was considered a smooth experience.
After a long silence, just as Lian Li began to think there was no hope, Yun Huizhou finally spoke.
He said, “If we search through enough wild herds, we’re bound to find one you like. Anyway, no matter how bad a wild grassland horse is, it won’t be that bad. The most important thing is that you like it and feel a connection.”
He figured that if they had nothing else to do, he would just accompany Lian Li to search the grasslands.
After all, his Master had accompanied him in the grasslands for nearly two years.
“Okay!” Lian Li agreed cheerfully.
Upon arriving at Jianggao City, Lian Li noticed that Yun Huizhou seemed to relax significantly.
Lian Li had originally thought they would stay at an inn in Jianggao City for a night before heading to the island.
Because they had entered the city and there were many people, Yun Huizhou didn’t dare let the carriage horse walk on its own, so he kept a constant eye on it.
However, after seeing Yun Huizhou pass several decent-looking inns that were adjacent to large restaurants, Lian Li became confused.
He sat up front and asked Yun Huizhou, “How much further is the inn we’re going to?”
“We aren’t going to an inn,” Yun Huizhou replied.
“Not going to an inn? Are we going straight back then?” Lian Li looked up at the sky; it was already nearing dinner time.
Did Yun Huizhou miss home so much that he planned to travel through the night?
“Of course we aren’t going straight back. We’ll rest for a night before leaving. If you want, we can even rest for a few more days,” Yun Huizhou said. “Master has some properties here that my Junior Uncle helps manage, so we have a few houses here.”
Lian Li: “…”
He was right about one thing—they were staying the night—but there was a slight difference.
They weren’t staying at an inn; they were staying at Yun Huizhou’s own house.
Lian Li: !!!
He has a car (horse) and a house! I didn’t realize you were this kind of Yun Huizhou.
He had always thought that while Yun Huizhou wasn’t so poor that he couldn’t eat, he certainly wasn’t wealthy either.
Who would have thought!
The horse was a prize steed worth a thousand gold, and the house even came with a courtyard!
At this moment, Lian Li felt deceived!
Clearly, when he first met Yun Huizhou on the road to Xianglai City, the man didn’t look like he had money at all!
On the way to the house, Lian Li kept shooting resentful little glances at Yun Huizhou.
Yun Huizhou felt a chill down his spine from the stares, yet every time he turned to look at Lian Li, the boy had already looked away.
This left Yun Huizhou somewhat baffled.
What was wrong with this sickly kid now?
Driving the carriage, the two of them soon turned from the main road into a small lane, finally stopping in front of a residence.
Yun Huizhou jumped down from the carriage and reached out to hoist Lian Li down as well.
He walked to the entrance and knocked gently on the door.
The door was opened quickly.
The person who opened it was a man who looked to be about forty years old with a short beard.
Upon seeing Yun Huizhou, he called out in a low voice, “Young Hero Yun, you’ve returned.”
As he spoke, he stepped back a few paces, clearing the way for Yun Huizhou to enter.
Yun Huizhou nodded to him and greeted, “Uncle Zhang.”
Lian Li followed behind Yun Huizhou’s right side. Seeing Yun Huizhou enter, he hurriedly followed.
As he passed Uncle Zhang, it happened that Uncle Zhang was looking at him, so he gave Uncle Zhang a bright but polite smile and followed Yun Huizhou’s lead, saying, “Uncle Zhang.”
Seeing this, Uncle Zhang also smiled. He didn’t seem to smile often, so the expression looked a bit awkward.
However, Lian Li could sense that Uncle Zhang was trying very hard to make his smile look gentle.
Noticing that Lian Li hadn’t caught up, Yun Huizhou stopped and turned around, only to find the boy smiling foolishly at Uncle Zhang.
He turned back, reached out, and pinched the soft flesh at the back of Lian Li’s neck. Lian Li instinctively curled up.
He was just like a kitten being scruffed, huddling himself together.
Lian Li wanted to struggle but couldn’t break free, so he could only let Yun Huizhou haul him forward.
This residence wasn’t large. Aside from Uncle Zhang, there were only two dark-skinned teenage servants around eighteen or nineteen years old.
Lian Li had originally thought that since these two youths weren’t much older than his current body, he could go talk to them to learn about the situation in Jianggao City.
In the end, he discovered that of the two, one was mute and the other was incredibly dull. He could say ten sentences to them without receiving a single reply, so he gave up.
He ran over to Yun Huizhou’s room and knocked on the door.
Yun Huizhou opened the door. As the weather was gradually getting hotter, he had just finished bathing. His hair was wet, and he wasn’t wearing his inner robes—he had simply draped an outer robe over himself.
A large portion of his chest was exposed.
Lian Li took one look and noticed that compared to the last time he’d seen him without a shirt, having the robe draped like this made his pectoral muscles look even larger.
There even seemed to be a crease…
He looked down at himself. His own body was like a “white-cut chicken.” It was truly enough to make a person die of envy.
Yun Huizhou saw Lian Li knock on his door and then say nothing, just staring blankly at his chest. He was also a bit dazed.
He had never encountered this situation before. Didn’t this kid have everything he had? Why was he staring?
