"Chen Xuan! What are you dawdling in there for? The third young miss is getting impatient waiting at the training grounds. Are you asking for a beating?!"
Leaning on a rotten wooden stick as thick as an arm, Liu San blocked the stable entrance. Having had two front teeth knocked out that morning, he spoke with a terrible whistle, his grating, cracked-gong voice pouring inside along with the smell of blood.
"Coming, coming! Brother Liu San, please calm down. I was worried there might be mud on Treading Snow's hooves, so I was just brushing them nice and clean!"
Chen Xuan answered with a face full of smiles and withdrew his gaze from the corner. Deep in his mind, two lines of brilliant golden text pulsed faintly with his breathing:
[Boulder Art: Minor accomplishment (145/1000)] [Eight Desolations Prison-Suppressing Yang Gang: Beginner (168/500)]
During his midday break and the half hour he had just spent brushing the horse, he had not wasted a single second, keeping both cultivation arts resonating and catalyzing each other throughout. The blood and Qi of Early-stage Bright Force within him had now grown as substantial as a small river, and every breath steadily raised the upper limit of his strength.
"Brush its hooves, my ass! Dawdle another quarter of an hour, and when the third young miss brings down her snakebone whip, I sure as hell won't take it for you!"
Clutching the right side of his face, which had swollen like a pig's head, Liu San fixed his bloodshot triangular eyes sinisterly on the right forehoof of the pitch-black, fiery horse, Treading Snow. His gaze paused strangely for an instant before he turned around viciously. "Hurry up and lead it out! Straight to the front courtyard's training grounds!"
"Yes, sir! Take it slowly, and mind you don't trip!"
Nodding and bowing, Chen Xuan untied the reins and led the spirited horse, black all over except for its four snow-white hooves, out of its stall.
Treading Snow was a thousand-li steed sent as tribute from the Northern Frontier, with a temper as fierce as fire. The ordinary menial slaves in the rear courtyard could not so much as lead it; even getting a little too close would earn them a kick that broke a couple of ribs. Only Chen Xuan had tended it in the stable for three full years, often saving some of his own rations to give it an extra treat. The beast was quite docile with him, snorting and obediently following him through the wooden fence.
Walking ahead, Liu San suddenly planted his stick and cast a sidelong glance at Chen Xuan with venomous eyes. The corners of his whistling mouth twitched hard twice. "Chen Xuan, I lay in bed thinking for ages... that collision when you fell this morning had some damned strange force behind it. You nearly cracked my kneecap."
Chen Xuan's heart abruptly skipped half a beat, but he instantly forced a frightened, spineless, bitter smile onto his face. He deliberately rolled up his ragged sleeve to expose a seemingly scrawny forearm. "Oh, Brother Liu San, please don't make fun of me! Just look at this frame of mine. A stiff breeze could blow me right into the cesspit. What strength could I possibly have? This morning was purely a fluke, a short burst of force at just the right moment. My right shoulder hit your knee, and it still feels like needles are stabbing between my bones!"
"Hmph, it had better have been a fluke!" Liu San snorted coldly, a flash of satisfaction crossing his eyes as though he were looking at a dead man. "Cut the fucking wisecracks! Move faster. You'll get what's coming to you at the training grounds!"
Chen Xuan followed behind with his head lowered, leading the horse. He glanced at Liu San's limping back, then down at Treading Snow's right forehoof as it landed steadily, and sneered inwardly. I heard you this morning, planning to use this fiery horse to set me up. That look at the entrance all but branded "I've done something rotten" across your forehead. No rush. I'll remember this. Let's go to the training grounds and see just what nasty scheme you're cooking up, you whistling cripple!
The two passed through the narrow passage one behind the other. Before they had even stepped through the side entrance to the front courtyard's training grounds, a rapid series of crisp cracks through the air and thunderous cheers came crashing toward them on the wind.
Crack-!
"Excellent! The third young miss's Spirit Snake Emerges from Its Cave, whether in accuracy or the force of its Qi, has probably already reached the threshold of the Late Stage of Manifest Strength!"
"Of course! Our third young miss is naturally brilliant, and the first madam instructs her personally. Among the young ladies of all Qingzhou City, her skill with the whip ranks among the very best!"
"Tsk, tsk, look at the third young miss's figure. She really is looking more dashing by the day..."
Leading Treading Snow, Chen Xuan stopped beneath the locust tree beside the side entrance and looked up from the shelter of its shade.
The training grounds were even livelier today than yesterday. Apart from the black-armored guards drilling, more than a dozen young guards and maidservants from the various branches of the household had gathered around the field.
At the very center stood the third young miss, Xiao Ling'er, dressed in fitted martial attire as fiery red as blood. A red-gold ribbon about an inch wide cinched her waist tightly, outlining her already petite yet curvaceous figure to breathtaking effect. As she dodged and swung her whip, the full curves of her chest contrasted sharply with her slender, handspan waist. Yet her lovely face, its skin whiter than snow, was filled with fierce arrogance, making her the very image of a fiery rose covered in thorns.
Crack! Crunch!
The red-tailed snakebone whip in her hand flashed like a bolt of scarlet lightning, striking a wooden post as thick as a bowl ten paces away with perfect accuracy. A burst of splinters exploded from its top at the sound.
"Whew... I'm roasting!"
With a turn of her wrist, Xiao Ling'er coiled the snakebone whip back around her waist, then raised the snow-white back of her hand to wipe the fine, fragrant sweat beading at her temple. Turning around, she swept her clear, dark-and-white almond eyes across the edge of the field and happened to spot Chen Xuan waiting with the horse. She immediately raised her chin and called, "Hey! You, the horse feeder! Have you brought my Treading Snow?!"
"Yes, third young miss! I've brought Treading Snow for you. The horse has just had fresh water and a brushing, and is full of spirit!"
Chen Xuan hurriedly bent his back like a shrimp and trotted over to the edge of the field with the horse, respectfully raising the black leather reins above his head with both hands.
Beside her, the prefect's daughter, Lin Wan'er, was fanning Xiao Ling'er with a round fan. Seeing Chen Xuan's frightened, deferential manner, she covered her mouth and giggled. "Look, Ling'er. Didn't I tell you this little groom was quite sharp? He only just took Brother Heir's scalding tea yesterday, but he certainly isn't dragging his feet running errands today."
"Hmph, at least he knows what's good for him. If he dares delay my ride, I'll whip his skin to shreds!"
Xiao Ling'er gave a haughty little snort and stepped forward lightly.
Yet the instant she reached out her slender, jade-like hand to take the reins, her warm, soft fingertips inadvertently brushed the back of Chen Xuan's right hand.
Xiao Ling'er's movement stopped abruptly.
She lowered her head, her almond eyes full of surprise as she stared at the taut skin on the back of Chen Xuan's hand. Aside from a few old calluses, there was not so much as a blister or red mark. She blurted out, "Huh? What's going on with your hand? Didn't the ginseng tea Eldest Brother kicked over yesterday afternoon scald it into a whole patch of blisters? How come there isn't even a red mark left after just one night?!"
Lin Wan'er leaned closer for a curious look as well. "Oh, it really is! It looked so frighteningly red yesterday. How did it heal so quickly?"