Restless Hearts and Wandering Minds

Before long, crisp, rhythmic hoofbeats rang out from deep within the bamboo forest, shattering the mountain's tranquility.

Under Peter, Gwen, and Harry's astonished gazes, the dense emerald bamboo before them, so thick it seemed without a single gap, slowly and gracefully parted to either side as if alive, revealing a broad passage.

Several extraordinary creatures galloped out from the passage.

They were larger and more powerfully built than ordinary horses. Instead of fur, their bodies were covered in fine blue-green scales with a faint metallic sheen. Their heads resembled the dragons of legend, with distinctive horn-like protrusions on their foreheads that made them look both majestic and mystical. Their hooves struck the ground as though carrying a force that resonated with the earth itself, light yet steady. Three of them bore riders dressed in Ta Lo-style clothing.

"Don't be nervous," Lin Hai immediately explained in a low voice to his somewhat dumbfounded companions. "These are Ta Lo's unique Qilin Horses. They're very gentle, but also very intelligent." His gaze passed over the horses and landed on the energetic old man in front. Smiling, he waved vigorously. "Old Chen!"

As he called out, he pulled his three friends forward to greet them.

Behind them, the bamboo forest that had just parted closed again slowly and silently, like the most loyal of guards, returning to its original state as though that passage had never existed. From the direction they had come, it was nothing more than an ordinary dense forest, without the slightest hint of mystery.

By then, Old Chen and the other two villagers had reined in their Qilin Horses and dismounted neatly. Old Chen still had that kindly, wise look about him. He smiled at Lin Hai. "Little Lin, you really came back to see us around this time again?