He Quanxin candidly smiled and said, “Merely luck, brother Yuan.”
This time, the father and son were truly overjoyed. At the same time, their revere for the He family’s strength climbed to new heights.
A clan with a tenth layer expert was already an almost unprovoked existence. As such, with two tenth layer experts, He family’s name would certainly spread far and wide. Even those clans possessing millenniums of legacies wouldn’t dare easily provoke them.
In terms of scale, Tai Cang county’s He family lacked behind Yuan family. However, in terms of battle strength, there was no comparison between the two sides.
He then glanced at He Yitian and He Yiming behind He Quanxin’s body, ‘These two from the young generation are probably going to gain some experience.’
As vast as his experience was, he couldn’t imagine that He Yiming was even more powerful than He Quanxin.
After two hours, eight horses suddenly rushed out of He manor.
Among these eight horses, apart from He Yiming’s Red Silk, the rest were also the manor’s best horses. Although comparing them with Red Silk would be simply unjust, during long journeys, they were far better than relying on manpower.
After two hours, Yuan Earnest had eaten, washed off, and taken a short nap. Although he was an eighth layer expert, after rushing through such a distance, he still felt extremely tired. If his heart hadn’t been brimming with anxiety, he certainly would have rested for a few days.
On the other hand, He Quanxin and the rest quickly bid farewell to their families. Although Cheng Yanli and Lin Wenyu were a little upset at their departure on the eve of new year, they didn’t try to stop them.
He Quanxin was basically the family’s head. Once he made a decision, apart from He Wude, nobody could try to correct it.
Thereupon, in merely two hours, they had left the He manor and stepped on the road, heading to Gold Forest country.
Two days later, on a desolate official road, eight horses sped past.
Ahead was a stream. In the cold winter, this stream only had a small layer of ice forming on it. Even the muffled sounds of the water running under could be vaguely heard.
One of the riders faintly pulled the reins, and all the horses immediately stopped one after another.
He Quanxin glanced around and said, “Brother Yuan, we’ve already sped for half a day. How about we take a rest for a few moments?”
Yuan Earnest’s face already looked extremely tired. Although his heart was still burning with anxiety, he said without the slightest hesitation, “It sounds reasonable.”
The reason four people had brought along eight horses with them was to enable them to take turns. However, even under such arrangements, the horses were unable to endure such a frantic journey.
By the side of the stream, they broke the layer of ice and washed off, immediately regaining some spirit.
Yuan Earnest’s vision fell on Red Silk beside He Yiming before he sighed, “Nephew He Yiming, where did you buy this horse from? It is truly a treasured colt.”
Among all the eight horses, the burden Red Silk carried was far above the weight carried by the other horses. That three hundred and sixty jin heavy chopper, apart from Red Silk, none of the other horses could endure its weight.
Moreover, He Yiming had been riding on it since the beginning, not switching even once.
However, even under such circumstances, it still seemed in the best condition among all the eight horses. Furthermore, from its appearance, it even seemed eager for more, as if it still hadn’t enjoyed the two days of hastened journey to its heart’s content.
As long you are human, you can’t help but envy such a good horse.
He Yiming faintly smiled and lovingly stroked Red Silk’s body a few times, “Uncle Yuan, it was gifted to me by someone.”
“Gifted?” Yuan Earnest’s insides went cold. This colt was simply priceless. He couldn’t imagine who could possibly gift such a treasured horse to He Yiming.
Actually, He Quanxin was quite envious of this horse as well. However, he knew a bit about He Yiming’s experiences. Therefore, he’d no doubts regarding this matter.
Suddenly, a sound of galloping horses sounded from afar. A group of people was rushing along the official road.
It was a group of more than thirty riders. Their leader suddenly pulled the reins and stopped. After a few moments, they headed in the direction of the stream.
At a distance of a few tens of meters from them, these men also broke the ice. Furthermore, some among them bluntly pushed their heads into the stream’s water, seeming as if they didn’t care about the ice-cold water at all.
Not too long after, these thirty plus men began to unbridledly laugh and shout, making He Yiming and others frown.
“Horse bandits!” Yuan Earnest suddenly said.
He Yiming faintly started before asking, “Uncle Yuan, how did you find out?”
Yuan Earnest randomly pointed around, “This place, the border of the Heaven Sieve and Gold Forest, has always been the paradise of horse bandits. If you look at their movements and outfit, you can tell.”
He Yiming looked at their clothes. Sure enough, on their heads or necks, a red turban was fastened.
His mind slightly stirred, “Red Cloth Bandits?”
Yuan Earnest astoundedly asked, “Nephew He actually knows about Red Cloth Bandits?”
He Yiming faintly nodded. He’d once fought against these men. How could he not know?
“Aren’t Red Cloth Bandits in Atai county? Why have they come here?” He Quanxin asked with creased brows.
Yuan Earnest involuntarily laughed and said, “Brother He, they are but horse bandits. As long as it’s a lawless region, why will they not come?”
He Quanxin’s face turned slightly red. Although his strength was quite high, in terms of experience, he was indeed a notch below the former.
“We should leave.” Yuan Earnest stood and softly said, “We’re not afraid of trouble, but there’s no need to invite it.”
He Yiming hesitated a bit before asking, “Since they are horse bandits, why haven’t they come to rob us?”
Yuan Earnest conceitedly smiled and said, “These horse bandits certainly have some discerning eyes among their group. Even if they wish to loot, they ought to see their targets first.”
He Yiming looked at himself, then the other three and immediately understood somewhat.
The four of them had brazenly placed their weapons on the horses. Furthermore, his eldest uncle, Yuan Earnest, and even He Yitian were all seventh layer experts at the very least.
Their every movement, even expression in their eyes exuded a calm, stable feeling.
Furthermore, upon seeing a group of thirty riders, every one of whom was a vicious-looking huge man, they had remained completely unfazed and hadn’t shown the slightest bit of panic.
If it had been He Yiming, he wouldn’t have easily acted against such an unfathomable group either.
The four individuals sorted out their things a bit, then pulled their horses towards the mainland. As far as those thirty men were concerned, they didn’t even spare a superficial glance for them.
Upon arriving on the main road, He Yiming suddenly leapt on Red Silk’s back.
As if it understood that they were about to hit the road, Red Silk suddenly raised its neck and loudly neighed.
A few tens of meters apart, there were two individuals among those thirty plus men, who had been silently paying attention to their movements.
Precisely as Yuan Earnest had said, since they couldn’t see through their opponent’s depth, they hadn’t dared to act.
However, as soon as Red Silk’s neigh echoed. The majority of the heads turned. These were the people who dealt with horses throughout the year. As soon as they heard the neigh, they knew that they had come across a fine horse.
When Red Silk was standing in the midst of the other eight horses, it didn’t seem anything special. However, as soon as it neighed, it attracted everybody’s attention.
“Stop….”
A fierce voice echoed from within the group. Following which, a tall and sturdy man with his whole face covered in beard walked out. His gaze was fixed on Red Silk, and greed overflowed out of his eyes.
“Sir, what do you intend to do?”
Yuan Earnest’s complexion strictened as his heart burned with fury. To hasten the journey, he’d tried to avoid all unnecessary troubles. However, these people were too lacking in understanding, really wishing their own destruction.
However, his vision shifted and also fell on Red Silk’s body before he inwardly sighed. If he’d not known He Yiming’s identity, he would have most probably also tried every means to take this fine horse for himself.