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Marquis Xuanping picked a gentle horse for Xiao Heng, "I was in a hurry, so there’s no carriage. Here, ride this one."
Xiao Heng approached the horse without any expression on his face, grabbed the saddle, and was about to mount.
Marquis Xuanping suddenly reached out to lift him up, as he used to do when Xiao Heng was a child. However, Xiao Heng slightly turned his face, "I"m not a child anymore! I can ride a horse by myself!"
Marquis Xuanping withdrew his hand in disappointment.
Xiao Heng skillfully got on the horse.
Marquis Xuanping exclaimed, "You"ve really grown up."
Marquis Xuanping then mounted his own horse. His horse was much wilder than Xiao Heng"s horse. As soon as Marquis Xuanping approached Xiao Heng, it began to bully the latter!
Xiao Heng"s horse was terrified!
Marquis Xuanping impatiently pulled the reins and threatened, "Try showing off again and I"ll stew you when we get back!"
With that, his horse immediately behaved.
Perhaps to please its ungrateful, dishonorable, horse-unfriendly master, it even licked Xiao Heng"s horse"s head obsequiously.
Xiao Heng"s horse was even more frightened.
Marquis Xuanping: "…"
Marquis Xuanping"s horse: "…"
Meanwhile, Grand Preceptor Zhuang was captured by Marquis Xuanping"s men.
This old fellow had really caused them a lot of trouble, and given Marquis Xuanping"s character, he wouldn"t go by the usual official procedures.
This time, he must be eliminated.
Just then, Xiao Heng spoke up, "I promised An Junw.a.n.g to spare his grandfather"s life."
Although Marquis Xuanping really wanted to crush the old guy, since his son said so, sparing him a dog"s life would suffice. Anyway, living would be worse than death for the likes of him. Letting him live was punishment enough.
The fact that Xiao Heng spoke to him first, although he had a reason, made Marquis Xuanping quite happy. He smiled and said, "Son, why did you think of writing to me? Do you still think your old man is the most reliable?"
Xiao Heng glanced at him sideways, "I just don"t want JiaoJiao to go to war again."
Sending out the Gu Family Army would inevitably involve Gu Jiao.
Marquis Xuanping sat on his horse, leaning to the side to get closer to his son, "The Gu Family Army is not as formidable as my Ghost-Faced Army. They will suffer heavy casualties against the Dragon Shadow Guards of the State of Yan, whereas my Ghost-Faced Army won"t."
The Ghost-Faced Army was already an elite force, small in number but extremely powerful. They were perfect for dealing with the death warriors of the State of Yan.
Xiao Heng said seriously, "The Gu Family Army is large in scale and not weak in combat power."
Marquis Xuanping, with a stubborn look, said, "Anyway, you came to me. In your heart, I am the strongest!"
It was ridiculous that someone this big still behaved like this. Xiao Heng really didn’t want to talk to him anymore.
Xiao Heng wanted the horse to go faster but hesitated because he didn"t have a whip. After a moment, he said, "Can you make it go faster?"
Marquis Xuanping stubbornly replied, "No."
He wanted to spend more time with his son!
Xiao Heng took a deep breath, tightened the reins, and said, "There"s a shortcut nearby. Let"s go that way!"
The corner of Marquis Xuanping"s mouth twitched.
d.a.m.n it!
He forgot about that!
Xiao Heng led the way, and when he reached a fork in the road, he left the main road. Here, there was a village, and after pa.s.sing through it, one could save half the distance by crossing a small stream.
However, when Xiao Heng reached the stream, he realized... the water level had risen!
Xiao Heng"s face instantly darkened. Was he really this unlucky?
This was due to the melting of snow on the mountaintop, causing the snowmelt to flow down and turn into a stream. What was originally just a shallow layer of water now reached up to his thighs, and the deepest part was probably even deeper.
Most importantly, the water was flowing quite rapidly.
Xiao Heng"s horse refused to move.
Marquis Xuanping"s mount, on the other hand, seemed eager to try. However, the depth of the water was unpredictable, and it wouldn"t be very safe to ride through it.
After finally leading the way, it ended up like this. Saying it wasn’t embarra.s.sing would be a lie.
Xiao Heng gritted his teeth and decided to turn back, even if it meant losing face.
But before he could even open his mouth, Marquis Xuanping made a sound first. He dismounted and said to Xiao Heng, "Get off. Let"s walk across."
Xiao Heng was a grown man now. His bottom line was to suggest turning back, but to say "I can"t, I can"t swim across" in front of his own father was difficult.
He took a deep breath, dismounted, and with determination, began to walk steadily toward the rapid stream.
But as soon as his foot touched the water, a strong hand grabbed him and threw him onto his back.
Xiao Heng felt dizzy. When he reacted, Marquis Xuanping was already carrying him on his back, holding his legs with both hands, and wading into the icy river without hesitation.
He had encountered various treacherous terrains and extremely dangerous landscapes on the battlefield, and a stream of this degree would be easily crossed by Marquis Xuanping even with his eyes closed.
However, that was when he was alone. Now that he had his son on his back, he became particularly cautious, not daring to take any step lightly.
He always had to step all around, carefully choosing the most suitable foothold.
The stream, less than two yards wide, took Marquis Xuanping quite some time to traverse, and he didn"t let Xiao Heng feel a single jolt.
After reaching the other side, Marquis Xuanping"s waist and abdomen were soaked.
Xiao Heng"s shoes were only slightly damp.
Marquis Xuanping showed no intention of letting him down and continued to carry him forward.
Xiao Heng lay on his back and said seriously, "Let me down. I can walk by myself."
Marquis Xuanping walked steadily, his steps firm, and his wet military boots creaking on the ground, "This area is a mountain road and not easy to walk on."
Behind the two of them, where Xiao Heng could not see, blood in the stream was dispersed by the waves.
Marquis Xuanping carried Xiao Heng up and down the mountain. Water droplets dripped from his body all the way.
At first, Xiao Heng thought they were all water droplets. But gradually, as the water droplets decreased, an increasingly strong smell of blood began to spread from Marquis Xuanping"s body.
Xiao Heng furrowed his brows and looked back at the ground.
Under the faint moonlight, there were blood footprints imprinted on the ground.
"Are you injured?" Xiao Heng asked in surprise.
During the battle with the Yan people, Marquis Xuanping hadn"t personally fought, so it shouldn"t be a new injury from just now.
Marquis Xuanping casually responded, "Just a minor wound."
Once you stepped onto the battlefield, there was no escaping injury. Over the years, he had suffered numerous injuries of all sizes, the most serious being a waist injury from years ago. He had injured the same spot three times, leaving behind a chronic condition.
It was also due to the recurrence of this waist injury this time that he accidentally got slashed twice during the last battle with the pirates, once on the back and once on the thigh.
When he received Xiao Heng"s letter, he was st.i.tching up wounds in the camp.
Xiao Heng suddenly became very angry, "You"re injured and you didn"t say anything! You"re still riding horses! Wading through water! Carrying a heavy load on your back!"
Marquis Xuanping suddenly stopped walking and turned slightly, "Ah Heng, are you concerned about me?"
Xiao Heng choked and turned his head away, "I"m not."Raz P."s Thoughts
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