Red Cloud trotted along at an unhurried pace beside the small river below the slope.
Whenever it grew tired from running, Yang Zhengshan would let it stop to drink and graze, taking the chance to add a tiny bit of Spirit Spring Water.
Yang Zhengshan cherished Red Cloud even more than those bargain-bin sons of his, tending to it with meticulous care.
"Little Red! Once we get onto the battlefield, you mustn't run away at the critical moment!"
"If I'm badly wounded, you have to carry me back!"
As he brushed Red Cloud's coat, Yang Zhengshan chattered on and on.
Now that he had enlisted, he would inevitably go to the battlefield someday.
And once he stepped onto a battlefield, it would be a fight to the death.
Yang Zhengshan was only human. Faced with a bloody battlefield, he still felt worried and afraid.
He knew perfectly well that Red Cloud was his most important companion. One man and one horse—they would truly fight shoulder to shoulder, sharing life and death.
Red Cloud whinnied, as though answering Yang Zhengshan.
Once it had been cleaned up, Yang Zhengshan was preparing to take Red Cloud back when waves of hoofbeats suddenly carried over from afar.
Looking up, he saw dust billowing across the wasteland on the other side of the river as a cavalry unit came galloping toward them.
Yang Zhengshan narrowed his eyes and swung himself onto the horse. "Come on, we're heading back!"
That cavalry unit was coming for Linguan Fortress. It was probably Zhou Lan.
The camp of the Zhenbiao Left Battalion lay directly south of Linguan Fortress, a little over twenty li away. If Zhou Lan was coming, she would most likely approach from the south.
Besides, he had already been at Linguan Fortress for a month. It