A Humblebrag

Yue'er watched Shen Jingchuan lead Lin Weiyuan and his sons toward the main hall of the second courtyard. She hurried over to Lin Qingyao's side and lowered her voice.

"Miss, let me tell you, Young Master Shen bought three big horses. That big black one is fierce."

Lin Qingyao raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "What, are you afraid of horses too?"

"I'm not afraid. That horse really is magnificent!"

Yue'er gestured with her hand. "He's more than half a head taller than the horses at our residence, with muscles all over. He looks so imposing."

Those words struck straight at Lin Qingyao's heart.

She had practiced martial arts since childhood, and her love of fine steeds was much like a girl in a later age falling for sports cars. At the mention of such a magnificent horse, her eyes lit up at once, and she said:

"Really? Come on, take me to see them."

Yue'er turned and waved to Qing Shu and Qinghua beside her.

"You two go make tea in the main hall. I'll take Miss over for a look, and we'll be right back."

The two young maids nodded obediently and carried the teapot to the main hall.

Yue'er then led Lin Qingyao through the side gate of the front courtyard and toward the stables.

As soon as they entered the stables, Liu Hu, who was tending to the fodder, looked up. Seeing that Yue'er had brought a young lady in fine clothes, he guessed she was a guest who had arrived that day. He hurried forward and bowed in greeting.

"Greetings, Miss."

Lin Qingyao gave a slight nod in return, but her gaze went straight past him to the three big horses. She stopped in her tracks and blurted out:

"Whirlwind Horses?"

She hurried forward two steps, but Big Black suddenly raised his head inside the stall. His ears snapped back, the mane along his neck bristled slightly, and his dark eyes fixed on her, full of wariness.

Little Black and Treading Snow tensed up behind him and looked over in unison.

Lin Qingyao halted at once. She knew horses better than anyone: this was a sign that they were on their utmost guard. If she went any closer, she would spook them.

She suppressed her surprise and turned to Liu Hu. "Were all three of these Whirlwind Horses bought by Young Master Shen?"

"Yes, Miss, they were."

A flicker passed through Lin Qingyao's eyes. She could hardly believe it.

Whirlwind Horses were wild and unyielding, and each would acknowledge only one master in its lifetime. She had never even heard of the strange occurrence of three acknowledging the same person. After a moment's hesitation, she asked:

"How... do they get along with Young Master Shen?"

Liu Hu smiled.

"Oh, Miss, you should have seen it. These three little fellows are so affectionate with the young master. Whenever he comes, every one of them crowds up to nuzzle him. They're terribly clingy."

Lin Qingyao was shaken again.

Sure enough, all three had acknowledged him as their master.

She gazed at the three exceptionally magnificent steeds in the stall, her fingertips curling involuntarily.

For an ordinary person, obtaining even one Whirlwind Horse, a steed picked one in ten thousand, would have been a remarkable stroke of fortune. Yet Shen Jingchuan had gained the acknowledgment of three at once.

Envy crept around her heart like a slender vine, mingled with a touch of indescribable regret. She had practiced martial arts for years and dreamed of having a mount like this, yet she couldn't obtain even one.

It wasn't that she couldn't afford one. Whenever she heard that a new batch of Whirlwind Horses had arrived, she went with her father and brothers to see if any would acknowledge them. Sadly, after more than ten years, not a single Whirlwind Horse had acknowledged anyone in their family. It was as hard as winning the Beijing car license-plate lottery.

She didn't stay any longer. After taking another long look at the horses, she turned and said, "Let's go."

Yue'er answered and followed her slowly back. Behind them in the stables, Big Black and the other two waited until the visitors had gone far away before lazily swishing their tails and lowering their heads to eat again.

As Lin Qingyao returned from the stables to the middle courtyard, her steps were a little slower than they had been on the way there.

She said nothing, the images of the three fine horses dancing before her eyes. She couldn't be called utterly despondent, but she couldn't suppress her envy.

To her, a Whirlwind Horse was like a peerless treasured saber in the eyes of a martial artist. Yet she couldn't obtain one no matter how much she wanted it, and that had long since become a small obsession buried in her heart.

"Qingyao, what are you daydreaming about?"

Seeing his daughter walking along in a daze, Lin Weiyuan asked with concern.

Lin Qingyao came abruptly to her senses and shook her head.

"Father, I'm fine."

As she spoke, her eyes lit up again, and she turned toward Shen Jingchuan, who had just come out of the main hall.

"Young Master Shen, Yue'er just took me to see your Whirlwind Horses."

The moment she said "Whirlwind Horses," the eyes of the brothers Lin Shan and Lin Yue lit up, and they both looked at Shen Jingchuan.

Shen Jingchuan raised an eyebrow, a hint of pride appearing on his face without his realizing it.

He already treasured the three horses, and his eyes shone whenever he spoke of them. He wasn't deliberately showing off, but when he talked about something he liked, an irrepressible boastfulness crept into his voice. He didn't notice at all whether anyone else had one.

"Young Master Shen, has a Whirlwind Horse... acknowledged you as its master?"

Impatient by nature, Lin Yue stood up and stepped closer, his voice betraying his eagerness.

"Yes."

Shen Jingchuan answered casually, as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

"Really? Where? Quick, take me to see it!"

Lin Yue's eyes went wide, and Lin Shan nodded along.

"Father, let's go have a look too."

Lin Weiyuan said nothing, but he was already on his feet, his face full of curiosity as well. Shen Jingchuan was only too eager to have someone praise his horses, so he agreed at once.

"Come on, I'll show you."

The group went around to the small gate in the front courtyard and entered the stables. When Liu Hu saw Shen Jingchuan bringing people in, he hurried forward to greet them, but Shen Jingchuan waved away the formalities.

Big Black spotted Shen Jingchuan from a distance and immediately abandoned his food to run to him. Halfway there, he noticed the strangers following behind and faltered, slowing down. Even so, he came up to Shen Jingchuan and rubbed his big head against his palm.

Little Black and Treading Snow followed, pressing close to Shen Jingchuan's sides and gently swishing their tails.

Lin Weiyuan and his two sons stood a few steps away, watching in something of a daze.

They all knew horses and naturally knew how wild and unyielding Whirlwind Horses were. Ordinarily, they would have bristled at the sight of strangers long ago. Though they were wary now, their ears pricked as they watched the visitors' movements, they ultimately showed no aggression, entirely out of deference to Shen Jingchuan.

The brothers edged closer but didn't dare reach out to touch them. They only dared stare at them from close range, growing more astonished the longer they looked.

"Young Master Shen... have all three of them acknowledged you as their master?"

Lin Yue's voice sounded a little unsteady. He could hardly believe his eyes.

Shen Jingchuan stroked Big Black's mane and nodded, answering frankly:

"Yes. What's so unusual about that?"

At those words, the father and sons fell silent.

Lin Shan shook his head without speaking, unable to hide the envy in his eyes. Lin Weiyuan sighed and said:

"Jingchuan, you don't know this, but a Whirlwind Horse acknowledges only one master in its lifetime, and it has a fierce temperament. For an ordinary person to have even one acknowledge them takes a great stroke of luck. Three horses acknowledging the same person? I've lived more than half my life, and I've never even heard of it, let alone seen it. Our escort agency has traveled far and wide all these years, looking everywhere for horses to acknowledge us, but we haven't managed to get even one Whirlwind Horse to do so."

Shen Jingchuan was taken aback. Only then did it belatedly dawn on him that his offhand remark had sounded like a deliberate humblebrag.

Seeing the envy in their eyes, he felt a little embarrassed and hurried to smooth things over.

"Well, I was just lucky. We can visit the horse markets in different places more often from now on. You're bound to find one you click with eventually. If all else fails, visit a few more distant cities."

He was really only trying to comfort them, but Lin Weiyuan knew full well that whenever they arrived somewhere on an escort job, they always visited the horse market. After all these years, they still hadn't found a single horse that would acknowledge them. It was hardly so easy.

He smiled and didn't call him out, saying only, "These horses are Heavenly Horses from the northern grasslands to begin with, and very few are bred. Of those brought into the Central Plains each year, each prefecture gets a few dozen at most, and fewer than half of those ever truly acknowledge a master. Some horses spend years at the horse market without finding a master. It's hard."

As Shen Jingchuan listened, he felt even more strongly that he shouldn't keep talking about this and risk touching a sore spot. He promptly changed the subject.

"Oh, right, we got so caught up looking at the horses. I prepared a few gifts for you, and I guarantee you'll like them. Come on, let's go back to the main hall and have a look."