Chapter 135: He Is Putting On Airs, He Is About to Fly

"Many thanks! Thank you so much! I haven't raised the horses well, nor managed the pasture properly, but I genuinely have a fine horse. And this horse of mine... come, I will take you to see it. If it catches your eye, it is yours."

Alfalfa was absolute treasure.

What a stand-up scholar! Not only was he selling his own prized possessions, but he was also throwing in an exceptional steed.

"If you give away your horse, what will you do in the future?" Shen Shi asked, feeling a tinge of embarrassment.

"Now, aside from raising horses, I've taken a liking to painting. I may not be able to raise fine horses, but I can paint them. I've come to realize that a fine horse doesn't necessarily have to be bred by oneself. My only wish now is to paint horses well, to capture my horses on canvas and preserve them, which brings a different kind of fulfillment."

Cui Ming had truly let go. This wasn't because others had persuaded him, but rather his own profound realization about life. Especially regarding the purchase of alfalfa seeds; he had followed the books, treating others with sincerity, buying horse bones for a thousand gold pieces... yet reality had dealt him a harsh blow. The seemingly honest herdsmen had actually swindled him.

Of course, he had no reason to wallow in despair, for he was far from the first to experience such a thing, and the most famous victim of similar scams was none other than Emperor Wu of Han.

Compared to Emperor Wu of Han, being swindled was the most normal thing in the world.

...

"What? Is this the legendary Heavenly Horse that sweats blood?"

A slender, bay-red steed was led out by Cui Ming, who introduced it as the legendary Heavenly Horse. Zhao Zhen—no, everyone present was astonished.

Cui Ming introduced it proudly, "According to the *Records of the Grand Historian*, when Zhang Qian was dispatched to the Western Regions, he once witnessed a superior breed of horse in the Kingdom of Dayuan. This horse possessed astonishing endurance and speed; not only could it travel a thousand miles in a single day, but sweat resembling blood would seep from the regions near its shoulders. Hence, it is called the Heavenly Horse that sweats blood. I once saved a merchant from the Western Regions in the Northwest and purchased this horse from him. Younger Brother Shen, does it meet your approval?"

This was perhaps the proudest achievement of Cui Ming's entire life.

"This horse is far too precious."

Shen Shi had no desire to take advantage of an honest man.

"Is it truly a Heavenly Horse? Come, come, help me up."

Disregarding all else, Zhao Zhen wanted nothing more than to experience the Heavenly Horse firsthand. Horses had always been his passion. Exceptional horses even more so.

"Esteemed Patron, Esteemed Patron, you cannot ride this horse! It has not yet been tamed."

Seeing that Shen Shi's middle-aged and elderly companion Zhao Zhen intended to mount it, Cui Ming hastily tried to dissuade him.

It had taken him an immense amount of effort just to keep this horse alive. As for taming it, that was entirely beyond his capabilities.

"Have no fear. I have skilled horse tamers with me." Ignoring the warnings altogether, Zhao Zhen insisted on mounting.

His obsession was somewhat different from Cui Ming's, yet an obsession all the same.

Therefore...

"Stop! Halt at once!"

Zhao Zhen made a fool of himself. Having a saddle forcibly strapped on and climbing atop the creature did not mean the horse would obey him.

The moment the horse broke into a gallop, Zhao Zhen panicked. His face draining of white, he plastered himself flat across the saddle. When had he ever ridden a wild steed? As the emperor, he had always ridden the most docile mares. The guards shouted desperately to halt, chasing after him with all their might.

Yet the horse paid them no heed, and their mounts were simply no match for a steed that could travel a thousand miles a day.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Cui Ming wrung his hands in panic; he had no command over this beast either.

"Rest easy! Leave it to me."

Shen Shi vaulted onto his own horse and murmured to it, "My friend, it's up to you now."

The horse emitted a proud neighing sound and broke into a gallop, pursuing the runaway beast while calling out continuously.

It was horse language, roughly translating to: "Stop! Halt!"

However, the Heavenly Horse clearly had little regard for the commands of the Shen family's king of horses. As the saying goes, horses fly like shooting stars while men shoot like arrows; feeling light as a leaf, soaring like an immortal, and racing like the wind, the Heavenly Horse was far too exhilarated to stop.

"It seems this horse is indeed unbroken. After it!"

Shen Shi urged his mount forward, then suddenly leaped into mid-air. In an instant, he landed squarely on the back of the Heavenly Horse.

"Halt."

His voice boomed like a bronze bell, carrying a divine resonance.

Awe-inspiring deterrence.

It was a minor trick; cultivators who spent years in deep mountains often used such methods to awe wild beasts, and that was how these techniques originated.

It was called a trick rather than magic because it shared the exact same nature as the whip-cracking used by animal trainers in circuses. Unless Shen Shi could achieve the state of the greatest sound being silent, it remained nothing more than a trick.

Though merely a trick, it proved effective. The Heavenly Horse gradually slowed its pace. Shen Shi reached around from behind Zhao Zhen to take the reins. He could distinctly feel the man trembling as he scrambled up the horse's back, clinging desperately to the reins, plastered flat against the horse's spine, terrified out of his wits and sweating profusely for fear of falling off.

When Shen Shi made to dismount, Zhao Zhen let out a high-pitched, feminine shriek: "Don't!"

"Rest assured, Esteemed Patron, I won't go far. I shall lead the horse for you."

No? Not going far wasn't an option. He had no inclination to ride a horse while cradling a grown man, not even if the man was the emperor. Besides, his horse king would never allow it.

The reason this horse was the king of horses was because it was clever, headstrong, and fiercely loyal to Shen Shi alone. It refused to let anyone else ride it.

Similarly, if Shen Shi were to ride another horse, it would grow deeply angered, sometimes even galloping over to bite that horse.

In short, it was the absolute tyrant among the Shen family's stables.

With Shen Shi's assistance, Zhao Zhen cautiously straightened his posture upon the horse's back, clamping his thighs tightly against the saddle and gripping the horse's neck with both hands, feeling a mixture of terror and exhilaration.

"Like lightning! Like lightning indeed! Riding this doesn't feel like a horse carrying you along the ground; it feels like a divine eagle soaring with you through the heavens!"

Out of danger now, Zhao Zhen could not help but praise aloud.

Shen Shi remained silent. The emperors of the Zhao family shared this peculiar temperament; every single one of them possessed an artistic soul, causing them to view the world not like monarchs, but rather like romantic literary youths.

Of course, had Shen Shi not intervened, the man would have been battered black and blue by now. A concussion would have been the least of his injuries.

This wild Heavenly Horse had not yet shed its untamed nature, and it certainly didn't care whether he was the emperor. In truth, it had no concept of what an emperor even was.

Shen Shi could only walk ahead, leading the creature, carefully keeping its speed in check and suppressing its wild instincts so it maintained a manageable trot.

As for Zhao Zhen... well—he was completely fearless. He hadn't noticed at all that his guards had been left far behind by the sprinting Heavenly Horse and had yet to catch up. From time to time, he would even shout out a piping "Giddy-up!"

Please! You can't handle a fast horse at all; what are you giddy-upping for?

Naturally, an unbroken horse understood nothing of such commands. The Heavenly Horse simply regarded the person on its back as making meaningless noises, comprehending not a single syllable.

Shen Shi simply let him be. As long as the man was happy.

At that moment, several tall horses broke into a trot nearby.

"Little Brother!"

The newcomers called out from afar. To his surprise, it was Shen An and his younger sister.

They had claimed they were going out to play, and Shen Shi had assumed it was some sort of poetry gathering. Short of that, he had expected a trip to a pleasure quarter for wine and song, but he had never imagined they would appear here.

Could the commerce of the Great Song truly be this prosperous, having already birthed the prototype of a modern equestrian club?