Killing Aura

It was indeed the neighing of a horse, but it was unusually human-like, even carrying a tone of crying and pain.

Just by listening to the sound, one could feel the pain in their body.

"It must have gained sentience, no longer a wild beast, just hasn't taken human form yet," Shen Shuibi said, her address to the horse changing from "it" to "he."

In the language of this world, "it" and "he" had different pronunciations, making the distinction clear.

"Then we should be able to communicate. I'll speed up!" Li Qi said, taking a deep breath, mustering his strength, and continuing to gallop through the mountains.

He leaped over obstacles, crossed ravines, even swam across streams and climbed down cliffs, pushing through bushes and many other hindrances. After about fifteen minutes, Li Qi felt he had covered at least five kilometers.

Could Shen Shuibi hear that far?

She could hear a horse neighing from over ten kilometers away?

This... as expected of a rabbit spirit.

Soon, however, Li Qi saw it. In the stream not far ahead, there was indeed a horse.

"Wow... it looks so miserable," Li Qi frowned, a little stunned.

From this vantage point, the horse appeared very agile, bounding through the mountains. One leap could cover twenty to thirty meters, clearing a ten-meter-wide ravine.

However, this horse looked to be in a very bad state.

It had no saddle, but it did have horseshoes, so it wasn't a wild horse. Wild spirit horses wouldn't likely be fitted with horseshoes.

Its skin was covered in many wounds, some of which had white worms wriggling within them, possibly maggots.

The horse looked emaciated, but its skeletal frame indicated it was very tall, at least over eight feet.

"Shall we help him?" Shen Shuibi nudged Li Qi's shoulder and said to him.

"Mutual help, mutual help. We help him, and he gives us a ride," Li Qi nodded. Since they were lucky enough to encounter such a horse, helping each other was no problem.

So, Shen Shuibi climbed up from Li Qi's back, shifting from being carried to a riding posture. She raised her hand high and called out, "Hey! Over here!"

"He can understand you when you talk like that?" Li Qi asked curiously.

"He's so tall, he must understand," Shen Shuibi said confidently.

"Why do you say that?" Li Qi asked.

"In ancient times, the Book of Rites stated: 'A horse eight feet and above is considered a dragon.' This horse is so tall, it's practically a dragon steed. It must have awakened its spirit, just not yet taken human form like me."

"Furthermore, not only is he tall, but as he gallops, there's even faint mist under his hooves. The ancient text 'Records of Strange Tales' says: 'There were once groups of dragons emerging from the water, entering the Han River. The larger ones were several zhang, the smaller ones over a zhang, in colors of the five directions, resembling the forms of cattle, horses, donkeys, and sheep.' These all speak to the similarity between horses and dragons."

"The world says dragons have many offspring, and one of them is the horse! Moreover, among the dragon's many characteristics, the horse is present. The idiom 'dragon-horse spirit' is enough to illustrate the connection."

"'Discourse on Salt and Iron' has a chapter on dragons, which states: 'The common depictions of dragons have horse heads and snake tails.' Dragons are 'of the serpent and horse kind.' The 'Explaining Dragons' chapter of 'Erya' states that the dragon's head resembles a horse's head. Look at that horse, tall and elegant. Even though it's injured, it's still agile. The horse's form is like a dragon's form; it must be a dragon steed!"

Shen Shuibi spoke eloquently, quoting ancient texts and chapters as they came to her, leaving Li Qi stunned.

This girl, while a bit silly, truly possessed a rich knowledge base.

With such a strong memory for books, why did her intelligence seem insufficient...

Shen Shuibi, unaware of Li Qi's thoughts, watched the horse running towards them and continued her explanation. "Besides, even if it's not a dragon steed, horses still possess dragon-like qualities."

"'The Classic of Mountains and Seas' records: 'Horses are truly dragon essence, originating from water creatures.' In the Tang Kingdom, there's a memorial titled 'Memorial on the Dragon Horse' which recounts: 'A horse gave birth to a dragon colt... its body had scales but no fur.' Furthermore, I've even heard that in Lingchang Commandery, a strange horse was obtained from Hexi. Its appearance was like a dragon with scales and a viper's tail. It entered the Wei River west of Xianyang, transformed into a dragon, and swam away, its whereabouts unknown. This shows that even ordinary horses possess some dragon-like qualities."

As she reached this point, she sat on Li Qi's shoulder, excitedly grabbing his hair and saying happily, "Perhaps it sensed the Azure Dragon divine energy on you and came here!"

"It's so badly injured, and the Azure Dragon divine energy on you, which is the most potent Great Forest Wood Qi during springtime, has excellent vitality. That's why it rushed over here!"

"Be gentle! Be gentle!" Li Qi yelped as she pulled his hair, jumping up in pain.

Would he go bald?

Hair follicles, once pulled out, don't seem to regenerate...

Li Qi shivered.

Never mind, now wasn't the time to worry about going bald. He should focus on the horse.

After Li Qi spoke, Shen Shuibi sheepishly lowered her hand, but her eyes clearly sparkled with excitement as she waited for the horse to run towards them.

Li Qi also looked at the approaching horse, but the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

Not only was it injured, but the horse also appeared very old.

Its coat was loose, its hooves were covered in wounds, and its mane was dirty, matted together by congealed blood and grime.

Yes, matted together, not in clumps. All the mane was stuck together, and its color was unhealthy, a mix of brown and gray, much like a person's graying hair.

Furthermore, it was limping on one leg. There was a knife wound about a foot long on its thigh, likely an old injury, but it had festered and refused to heal. Some maggots wriggled in the wound, and pus continuously oozed out.

In addition to this, it had various smaller wounds. The horseshoes were almost worn flat, and even the hooves themselves were severely damaged. It was truly hard to imagine how it had managed to survive this long.

No wonder it had come seeking Li Qi; it was truly desperate.

"It's so badly injured. Not only is it injured, but there's also a force within it preventing its natural recovery," Shen Shuibi said with a worried tone.

Li Qi also channeled his divine energy to his eyes.

He could see that the old horse was emitting a mixed aura.

There was a faint dragon aura, similar to what he saw on the Azure Dragon in the east, but its intensity was comparable to the difference between pure ink and a drop of ink diluted in the ocean. It was barely there, vastly inferior to the Azure Dragon's, to the point where it couldn't even be measured.

Beyond that, Li Qi could also see a redness on the knife scar on its thigh.

This redness had a sharp, chilling quality to it.

It was like the redness on Ba Kui's blade.

Was it killing aura?