Shadow Hunter on Vacation

[Wishing everyone a happy Lunar New Year's Eve a day early. Hope everything goes smoothly for you in the new year o(〃＾▽＾〃)o.]

The lights in the post-race interview area were bright.

Zhang Jun stood beside Shadow Hunter. After dealing with the final round of reporters' questions, he let out a breath.

Lin Zhi hurried over with a frown. "Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Jun's heart skipped a beat. "Did something happen to Shadow Hunter?"

"No, no." Lin Zhi hurriedly shook his head and glanced at Shadow Hunter. "He just used up too much energy today."

"This was my fault. I didn't notice that Shadow Hunter's mood was a little off today. I'm terribly sorry."

Lin Zhi looked deeply ashamed as he bowed to Zhang Jun in apology.

Shan Yao also looked full of guilt. "It was my fault. I broke too late during the race, so Shadow Hunter had to use up quite a bit of stamina catching the field around the turn."

Zhang Jun waved a hand. "I was the one who decided not to scratch and to continue the race. If anyone was at fault, it was me. It had nothing to do with you two."

Lin Zhi still wanted to apologize for his oversight, but Zhang Jun impatiently waved him off, signaling for him to shut up. He hated it when people kept harping on the same thing.

"Be more careful from now on. Don't make this mistake again."

With that, Zhang Jun quickly headed for Shadow Hunter's stall.

After waiting outside the stall for a while, Zheng Shan led Shadow Hunter over.

After the photos, Zheng Shan had taken the boy for a bath. Now, his chestnut coat gleamed with a warm, dazzling sheen beneath the stable corridor lights.

Shadow Hunter looked a little tired, but his eyes still shone brightly.

The moment he saw Zhang Jun, he proactively rubbed his head against him and skillfully nudged at Zhang Jun's pocket—this time, Zhang Jun had deliberately put a treat inside.

Smiling broadly, Zhang Jun opened his arms and hugged Shadow Hunter.

Shadow Hunter pulled the treat from Zhang Jun's pocket with his mouth, chewing away with smacking lips, a satisfied look on his face (๑¯∀¯๑).

After swallowing the treat, Shadow Hunter snorted, rested his head on Zhang Jun's shoulder, and rubbed against him, curling into Zhang Jun's embrace—just like a child tired out from playing.

"Tired today, huh?"

Zhang Jun rubbed Shadow Hunter's ears, a trace of heartache in his eyes.

"Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, the ranch's truck will come pick you up and take you back. After that, you can rest properly for two months."

The following morning, at Jianzhou Ranch's grazing area.

The horse transport truck came to a steady stop at the entrance to Grazing Field No. 3. When the door opened, Zheng Shan slowly led Shadow Hunter down.

It was early winter at the end of December. The ranch's grazing grounds had already lost their lush midsummer green, leaving only withered yellow grass everywhere. A yellow-chestnut horse was already grazing in the field—that was Jianzhou Ranch's rising star this year, Jianzhou Warrior.

Shadow Hunter looked at the familiar scenery and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with familiar scents.

Zhang Jun took Shadow Hunter's reins, opened the grazing field gate, removed his halter, and patted his neck. "Good boy, go on."

Shadow Hunter took a few slow steps, then broke into a trot toward Jianzhou Warrior. Raising his head, he let out a loud neigh, as though showing off.

Jianzhou Warrior got up from the yellow grass, sniffed Shadow Hunter's scent, then neighed twice as well and rubbed necks with him.

The two had grown up together in the same grazing field. Even their breaking training had been done together, and they had only separated on the day they entered the stable.

Both horses had performed quite well now. Shadow Hunter, whose speed had risen to D+, had won all three of his races, including one CN1 victory.

Although Jianzhou Warrior's speed, originally D+, had not improved, his fighting spirit and burst power had both risen by a small rank. He too had won all three of his races, with a G3 victory to his name.

Watching the two young horses get along amicably, run together, and roll around in the grass together, Zhang Jun smiled and took out his phone to start recording.

That evening, Zhang Jun uploaded the video to the website, and the number of comments quickly rose.

[Is this the legendary horse that just won the Two-Year-Old Championship Dirt Race? Isn't this just my fat cat, who flops down the moment he's full?]

[Shadow Hunter rolling around everywhere is so cute.]

[So Shadow Hunter and Jianzhou Warrior are good friends? They get along so well.]

Looking at the comments below the video, Zhang Jun's lips unconsciously curled upward.

Shadow Hunter's life after returning to the ranch was remarkably regular.

Every morning, he ate a breakfast of alfalfa, oats, soybeans, and more in his stall, then had some carrots and horse treats for dessert.

Then a groom led him to the grazing field to graze with Jianzhou Warrior. Sometimes they would trot a few laps around the field together; sometimes they would eat some fodder placed by the fence.

At noon, he ate lunch directly in the grazing field. Afterward, he would nudge the stablehand's pocket with his damp pink nose to see if there was an extra share of treats.

In the afternoon, Shadow Hunter would find the sunniest spot in the entire grazing field, lie down with his eyes half-closed, and let the warm afternoon sunlight cover his whole body.

When the sun was about to set, a ranch groom would lead him back to his stall to rest.

After sending Shadow Hunter back to the ranch to graze, Zhang Jun faced the final exams for his first major—equine science. It took him a week to finish the exams before he had time to visit the ranch and keep Shadow Hunter company.

During that time, Mountain Patrol Leopard won a Class C race over 1,700 meters on dirt. Unfortunately, Zhang Jun had been busy studying and could only watch online, so he asked Luo Yong to take photos as the owner's representative.

After parking his little electric scooter in the ranch parking lot and greeting the security guard, Zhang Jun carried a large bag full of horse treats and slowly walked in through the ranch entrance.

The afternoon sun was warm, bathing the grassland in gentle heat.

Shadow Hunter was lying in the middle of the grazing field, asleep, his tail flicking now and then.

Jianzhou Warrior had a Graded Stakes race to run in early February, so he had already returned to the stable for training.

Zhang Jun softened his footsteps as he walked to the fence. Without making a sound, he simply stood there and watched quietly.

Shadow Hunter's belly rose and fell rhythmically, while his coat glowed softly in the sunlight.

After watching for a while, Zhang Jun turned to leave, unwilling to disturb Shadow Hunter's afternoon nap.

Shadow Hunter's ears suddenly twitched. The next second, those watery eyes opened.

Their eyes met.

Shadow Hunter rolled to his feet and pattered over to the fence, stuffing his head into Zhang Jun's embrace.

"Neigh~~om"

Zhang Jun smiled as he wrapped an arm around Shadow Hunter's neck. "We haven't seen each other for a week. Did you miss me?"

Shadow Hunter nudged his hand with his nose. After playing around for a bit, he skillfully flipped open Zhang Jun's pocket.

Empty.

Shadow Hunter raised his head, his eyes filled with grievance...

"All right, all right. The treats are right here."

Zhang Jun opened the treat bag and took out a horse-shaped carrot-flavored snack.

Shadow Hunter took the treat into his mouth and lowered his head to chew (￣~￣), but his eyes remained fixed on the large bag on the ground.

Zhang Jun laughed at Shadow Hunter's greedy appearance, patting his head and rubbing his big ears.

"You, honestly..."

Zhang Jun opened the gate and went in, sitting beside the fence. Shadow Hunter folded his legs beneath himself on the grass, resting his head on Zhang Jun's shoulder and occasionally taking a treat from Zhang Jun's hand.

A breeze swept through the golden grazing field. The short grass swayed gently in the wind, rustling softly.