Chapter 8: Win or Lose

Mocked by a horse?

Liu Mingyue was completely dazed and somewhat unwilling to believe her own eyes, yet the reality was right before her!

Unable to help herself, she looked towards the coachman on the horse’s back, only to catch him looking over curiously. Their eyes met, and a pained expression immediately surfaced on his face…as if he might succumb at any moment.

“…”

A twitch formed at the corner of Liu Mingyue’s mouth.

Are you putting on a show for me here?

Full of doubts, she looked more closely and saw that the young man was indeed in so much pain that he almost made a noise — it didn’t quite seem feigned…

Forget it. Since it doesn’t make sense, I might as well put it aside for now. She gritted her teeth and let out a cold snort, “What does being five meters away mean? I don’t believe your little unweaned pony can outperform Dao Li!”

Her long legs violently squeezed the horse’s belly, and the pair advanced forward once more.

Clip-clop!

After two more steps, they were now less than three meters away from the Moyun jade stone. The thick killing intent surged like a tangible force, continuously assaulting their stamina.

“Three meters, actually withstanding up to three meters, truly worthy of a thousand-li horse…”

“It’s too strong, it seems Miss Mo’s Suxiang is going to lose.”

This achievement, even among seasoned warhorses, was considered extremely high, and Suxiang was just a horse that hadn’t yet matured. Achieving this seemed unlikely indeed.

Hearing the crowd’s discussions, Liu Mingyue managed to suppress the invading sensation in her mind and turned her head to look at the coachman not far away, her smile cold, “I advise you to forfeit voluntarily! This distance, it’s not something a subordinate like you could aspire to…”

“I will not…”

The veins on the coachman’s forehead on the horse bulged, seemingly about to collapse at any moment, yet he stubbornly persisted. As for the Suxiang, its four legs trembled non-stop, seemingly on the verge of getting frightened and entirely losing control.

Seeing this, Mo Yanxue slightly furrowed her brows, her clear voice ringing out, “Zhang Xuan, if you can’t hold on, retreat!”

The disparity was clear, and although she did not wish to lose, she also did not want Suxiang to suffer irreversible damage.

“Miss, even if it kills me today, I will not fail your trust in me…”

Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth.

Mo Yanxue, usually reserved and composed, nevertheless nodded her head in satisfaction upon hearing these words.

“This guy…” Feng Jin’s eyelids twitched.

Being able to serve as the chief steward in Mo Mansion for over a decade, his discernment ability was naturally present. Noticing his young mistress’s expression, he understood that, after this incident, finding fault with the other party again would likely be impossible.

Well then, treat him well from now on!

“Keep going!”

Ahead, Zhang Xuan’s shout resonated, followed by the sound of hooves, as the duo also advanced another two steps.

By now, the horse’s face was twisted as if in agony, and the coachman was shaking like one with fits, almost drooling at the mouth…

Still, they endured and remained on par with Liu Mingyue.

“…”

Liu Mingyue was completely flabbergasted.

She was about to become an Origin warrior upon opening the Source Pool, her physical condition already quite strong. Furthermore, with Dao Li having endured the true battlefield, reaching this place was expected. Yet, the other party, an underage foal accompanied by a subordinate without any cultivation, had achieved the same…

“I don’t believe it, charge!”

With a shout, she urged her horse forward again, but this time Dao Li did not heed her command and, with a furious neigh, suddenly leaped up and ran toward the distance.

Spooked!

The horse beneath her, despite being a thousand-li horse, could no longer withstand the pressure and completely collapsed.

Thump!

Liu Mingyue was thrown off the horse and fell hard onto the ground.

She hastily retreated to about ten meters away and only then did she catch her breath, looking over at Zhang Xuan not far: “Three meters is my limit. I don’t believe you can go any further… We might as well call it a draw…”

Before her words had ended, she saw the fierce-faced Zhang Xuan, driving the Suxiang forward once again, this time coming within less than two meters of the Moyun jade stone.

Not only that, facing the unimaginable killing intent, there was still no intention to stop, continuing forward.

Clop clop!

One meter, half a meter…

Within just two breaths, the seemingly unbearable duo of horse and rider had already reached the Moyun jade stone, completely closing the distance.

“Facing the killing intent directly and not being startled… This, this is too incredible!”

“Even the top battle horses within the dynasty can’t achieve this.”

“I always thought Ms. Mingyue’s Dao Li was the epitome of a thousand-li horse, turns out Ms. Mo’s Suxiang was the real dark horse.”

A stir arose, everyone looked at each other, seeing shock in each other’s eyes.

Facing the killing intent emitted by the Moyun jade stone, let alone just a horse, even if it were an Origin warrior with cultivation, not many could achieve this, and just for this alone, it deserved everyone’s respect.

“Impossible, how could I lose?”

While others were shocked, Liu Mingyue found it somewhat unbelievable.

Dao Li, having come from the battlefield, managed only three meters; a pony not yet three years old, was expected to lose within ten meters, yet it had perseveringly made it to the end…

It seemed like it could fall over any moment, yet inexplicably, it seemed to grow stronger as it went…

It gave the impression of being “spiritually better since becoming mad”…

Especially that seemingly foolish coachman, with his crooked mouth and squinty eyes, fingers twitching, from a distance, seemed utterly idiotic from the impact of the killing intent, yet his butt seemed glued to the horse’s back, motionless, occasionally shouting “Giddy up~~” to drive the horse forward…

I thought letting this guy decide was a moment for Mo Yanxue to cry, never imagined that indeed someone would cry, but it turned out to be myself…

That’s so low!

“We won…”

Not far away, Yu Xiaoyu excitedly jumped up, the bells on her body jingling like autumn wind blowing through the leaves.

Mo Yanxue also breathed a sigh of relief, looking again at the coachman on the horse’s back and couldn’t help nodding.

This guy could not only tame a fine horse but also had such resilience, truly remarkable!

After waiting a moment, seeing the other still twitching in place without stopping, Mo Yanxue could hardly stand it, “Zhang Xuan, you’ve won, you can come back now!”

“Yes!”

The coachman, constantly twitching from the impact of the killing intent, finally breathed a sigh of relief, enduring the pain responded, and just as he was about to drive the horse away, something unexpected occurred.

Just then, the Suxiang horse, still trembling non-stop, suddenly lowered its head and bit the Moyun jade stone off the ground into its mouth.

Although killing intent could oppress the spirit, it was also a tool for tempering it, having a similar effect on Spirit Creation.

The Suxiang horse’s born Spirit Creation, while obedient to Zhang Xuan’s commands, also had some thoughts of its own, just like the previous commands to split open and not wanting grilled meat…

Now, seeing an artifact beneficial to it right before its eyes, how could it resist, without a moment’s hesitation, it didn’t even chew, just swallowed the jade stone directly.

“It ate the Moyun jade stone?”

Everyone looked at each other, all dumbfounded.

A horse, not afraid of killing intent was one thing, but to also swallow the source within, this was defying the heavens…

“Quick, look at that coachman…”

A trembling voice sounded, and everyone looked up in unison.

The “loyal and devoted” coachman, still holding his head in his hands, kept shaking and twitching, eyelids fluttering, hands and feet cramping… It seemed under the onslaught of the killing intent, he might succumb at any moment…

“The Moyun jade stone has been eaten, there’s no killing intent! Why is he still making that face?”

Yu Xiaoyu’s slightly puzzled voice sounded.

A stunned silence followed.

With the Moyun jade stone swallowed, effectively isolating the killing intent, at this moment, even an ordinary child atop the horseback wouldn’t be affected, yet this coachman still twitched…

What’s going on, does this thing have a delay!