Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 268 Traveling to Youyang
Spring comes and goes, flowers bloom and fade.

In the blink of an eye, several years have passed.

……

"Chirp!"

"Chirp!"

A cool breeze blows, and the mountain forest is quiet.

Amidst a beautiful scene, several fledgling birds were chirping in their nest.

Fearless as they were, they did not yet understand what danger was, nor did they know what concealment meant, let alone who their enemies might be.

They don't even know that their danger might come from someone secretly watching them from the sidelines.

"Chirp..."

"Chirp..."

The fledglings spread their sparsely feathered wings, held their heads high, puffed out their chests, and called out to their mother outside.

"Wow!"

Suddenly, a mournful bird cry rang out!

The large birds searching for food outside seemed to have discovered something. They all spread their wings and cried out to the sky, as if warning their young in the nest.

"Sa!"

After a gust of wind, the birds returned to their nests, and the child remained silent.

Just as the mother birds were protecting their chicks, a series of "tap-tap" footsteps suddenly came from the mountain path beside them.

"clatter!"

"Da da!"

The sound of horses' hooves, like the beat of drums, suddenly appeared on this mountain path under a clear sky and gentle breeze, bringing a touch of human presence to the forest.

The weather was perfect at the time, with no fog obscuring the view, so people could be seen coming from afar.

The two visitors on the mountain path were one as white as jade and the other as black as charcoal. They were riding horses, one in front of the other.

However, as the mountain path became narrower and narrower, making it impossible for horses to pass, the visitors had no choice but to dismount.

"Shut up!"

The two moved in unison, both holding the reins and skillfully pulling on the bridles of their mounts.

"Sigh~"

The two horses gave a long neigh and immediately reared up, coming to a complete stop.

"Whoo~"

After the horse calmed down, the two of them jumped off and stood steadily on the ground.

Their skillful movements reveal their equestrian prowess.

They are all extremely capable people!
"Young Master, are we almost there?"

At this moment, the burly man standing at the back suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

The man who spoke was burly and rugged-looking, and with his dark complexion, he exuded an indescribable bandit-like aura.

However, this burly, thuggish man was now treating the scholar in front of him with utmost respect.

"Ok!"

"Coming!"

The one in front was dressed as a scholar, wearing a square scarf and a blue robe. Overall, he looked much better than this burly, dark-skinned man!
Or rather, the scholar appeared even more handsome in comparison to the burly, dark-skinned man!
However, even without others to compare him to, this scholar was quite remarkable.

Besides his temperament, the most crucial thing is that his skin is extremely outstanding, all of it is "snow-white" and clean.

That's right, it's that kind of snow-white skin!

Moreover, this kind of fair skin is not the kind of sickly white that comes from being deprived of sunlight.

The scholar's fair skin was the purest and healthiest white.

His skin was fair and radiant, glowing with vitality, as if it were his natural complexion, truly the envy of every girl.

"Really?"

"That's great!"

The burly man's face lit up with joy, and he grinned, revealing a mouthful of large, white teeth.

"only?"

The burly man looked at the mountain peak in front of him and was immediately puzzled.

"hehe!"

Seeing the other person's confusion, the scholar patted the horse beside him, turned around and said with a smile, "However, Changqing!"

"If we want to reach Youyang tonight, we'll have to climb this mountain!"

"So, we have to lead Black Wind and the others over this mountain before we can go home!"

The two people, one in white and one in black, were none other than Sheng Changquan and Xu Changqing, who had been studying abroad for many years.

"Huh? We're going to have to take them hiking again?"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan's plan, Xu Changqing's mouth dropped open, his face full of reluctance!

"Young Master, why don't we take another route? This Red Ridge Mountain path is completely unsuitable!"

Xu Changqing gripped his mount tightly with his right hand, a wry smile on his face.

"Last time we hiked on the mountain path, this guy almost kicked me off the mountain!"

"If you hadn't pulled me back, young master, I would have definitely let Hongying kick me down the mountain!"

Xu Changqing angrily tugged at the reins, seemingly wanting to put some strain on the horse behind him and make it suffer.

However, because horse bridles have special protective functions, the horse will not feel pain unless it is pulled with excessive force.

Clearly, Xu Changqing's movements did not exceed the protective range of the gear.

"Eh~"

The red horse behind Xu Changqing was oblivious to its master's disdain. It tilted its head, looking at the ground with a blank expression, as if searching for something.

Just as the red horse was lost in thought, it suddenly felt a pulling force tugging at it.

Judging from the movement, it seems to be heading in the direction of the owner.

"Could it be my master summoning me?"

“Recover~”

The confused little red horse shook its head, snorted loudly, and then slowly walked a few steps to Xu Changqing's side, nudging him around wildly!
After all, these are its providers, so the horse named "Red Tassel" dared not disrespect its owner.

"Young Master, look!"

"That guy will never understand me!"

Xu Changqing helplessly rubbed the head of the red-tasseled horse, on the verge of tears.

It was obvious that Xu Changqing's intention just now was not to summon Hongying.

"hehe!"

Sheng Changquan chuckled a few times: "Alright, stop pretending to be innocent after getting the benefit!"

Seeing that Hongying was being rubbed so comfortably by Xu Changqing, and that the horse seemed to want to hum out in pleasure, he immediately smiled.

"Changqing, you must know that this Red Tassel is a peerless steed that can travel a thousand miles a day!"

"If it weren't for our lucky chance to encounter its mother having a difficult childbirth on the Helan Grassland in Yanzhou, we might never have found such a fine horse in our lifetime!"

"And you're still not satisfied?"

"hey-hey!"

Hearing this, Xu Changqing couldn't help but feel a little smug.

"Young Master, this is all thanks to you!" Xu Changqing said dryly, his face full of fawning smiles.

"Young Master, if it weren't for your intervention in saving Hongying's mother, I wouldn't have been able to obtain this magnificent steed!"

"Your medical skills are truly amazing!"

Xu Changqing gave a thumbs up and flattered, "Young Master, you can not only heal people, but also save animals. You are truly a peerless doctor!"

"If you ask me, there is no more amazing doctor in this world than you..."

"Come on!"

Sheng Changquan rolled his eyes at Xu Changqing, looking somewhat speechless.

"I only know a little about medicine. Besides, at that time I was just trying to save them as best I could. Hongying and her daughter survived purely because they were lucky!"

"Oh no! How could this be?"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan's humble words, Xu Changqing immediately refused to accept them.

"Young Master, please don't be modest!"

Xu Changqing waved his hand and said seriously, "If you hadn't taken out the live fetus for Hongying's mother and stitched up her wounds, she would have already gone to see the King of Hell!"

"Moreover, at that time, let alone Hongying's mother, Hongying herself would probably die in the womb!"

In fact, Xu Changqing was right. If it weren't for Sheng Changquan's intervention, both horses would have died. So, Xu Changqing was really fortunate to have obtained the Red Tassel steed thanks to Sheng Changquan.

Speaking of which, that time was in Yanzhou in the north.

Because Master Zhuang wanted to take Sheng Changquan all over the world to teach through practice, their first stop was the most dangerous northern border—Yanzhou.

Leaving aside the plight of the local people, the Helan Grassland is indeed a treasure trove.

The area is rich in water and grass, making it ideal for raising livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses. Horses, which are of strategic importance, are frequently seen there, and you can often encounter herds of wild horses galloping past.

Sheng Changquan and his companions' mounts, Black Wind and Red Tassel, were both found on the Helan Grassland.

However, the former was a trophy that Sheng Changquan obtained by directly subduing the king of a herd, while the latter was a gift of gratitude for saving lives.

"Humph!"

Sheng Changquan glared at Xu Changqing and warned, "Knowing how rare Hongying is, you should cherish it even more!"

"You know, Hongying has been walking on flat ground with us since it was born, and rarely walks on mountain roads, so it's understandable that it's a little uncomfortable for a while. How can you, its owner, have no patience at all?"

Although Sheng Changquan knew that Xu Changqing loved his mount more than anyone else, he was still a little annoyed by Xu Changqing's grumbling.

Most importantly, Xu Changqing actually dared to covet our warhorse!
"Hehe, young master, you're right!"

Xu Changqing nodded obediently.

"However, young master, as you know, Hongying really can't travel on mountain paths!"

"If you don't help, Hongying and I will both be in mortal danger walking this mountain path!"

Xu Changqing wore a dark, pained expression as he uttered the most pitiful words in the world.

"Ok?"

"so what?"

Sheng Changquan didn't say much, but just squinted his eyes and waited quietly for him to continue.

"so?"

Xu Changqing was overjoyed when he heard there was a chance!

He licked his dry lips and mustered his courage to suggest, "So, young master, how about we take turns?"

"You carry the red tassel, and I'll lead the black wind, how about that?"

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Changquan finally let out a cold laugh!
"Well, buddy, you've finally revealed your purpose!"

Sheng Changquan neither agreed nor refused, but simply said, "Changqing, it's not that I'm refusing you, but Heifeng isn't used to hanging out with other people!"

“Look, we’ve had Black Wind for over five years now, but apart from the last time it got drunk and let you touch it, have you ever seen it let you get close?”

Sheng Changquan shrugged and said helplessly, "So, even if I'm willing to trade with you, you still can't get close to Black Wind, can you?"

"So, this method won't work!"

"That……"

"Young master, why don't you feed Black Wind some more wine, so that..."

"roll!"

Before Xu Changqing could finish speaking, Sheng Changquan kicked him aside.

"You really are something!"

Seeing Xu Changqing's sullen expression, Sheng Changquan was also helpless.

"okay!"

"Otherwise, you can take another day to walk around this mountain and then return to the Sheng family!"

The Sheng family that Sheng Changquan was referring to was actually the Sheng family residence in Youyang, which was the ancestral home of Sheng Hong's branch of the family. It was a mansion built by the old patriarch, Sheng.

"Anyway, you know the way!"

Sheng Changquan glanced at Xu Changqing, who looked regretful, and added a sentence.

"Well... that's the only way!"

Xu Changqing glanced longingly at Hei Feng, who was obediently staying by Sheng Changquan's side, and muttered to himself, "That's good, Hei Feng is really sensible..."

"hehe!"

Sheng Changquan looked at the childish Xu Changqing with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, his face showing utter helplessness.

However, although he was communicating with Xu Changqing, his mind had already flown back to Youyang and back to the Sheng residence.

Because his family, whom he missed, was there.

"Alright, Changqing, I'll be going now!"

After giving Xu Changqing some instructions, Sheng Changquan immediately led Hei Feng into the mountains.

"Changqing, I'll head back to Youyang now!"

Sheng Changquan turned and left, but his words drifted back from afar.

"Oh, right, since you can't go back today, don't forget to bring back all the things I shipped tomorrow!"

"Know it!"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan's instructions, Xu Changqing responded loudly.

The things Sheng Changquan mentioned were actually interesting things they had encountered on the road over the years, which were witnesses to their journey.

However, because he was in a hurry to return to his hometown of Youyang, Sheng Changquan entrusted the goods to the escort agency so that they could transport them back here ahead of time. However, because Sheng Changquan and Xu Changqing were very fast, they arrived here first, while the escort agency's goods would not arrive until tomorrow.

Therefore, Sheng Changquan instructed Xu Changqing to take this action.

……

"Tap! Tread!"

Sheng Changquan, traveling alone, led Hei Feng smoothly along the rugged mountain path.

Although Black Wind is a horse, it moves quite nimbly on the mountain path, taking each step with careful footing without swaying at all.

Of course, a horse's hooves are still just a horse's hooves, and they are not as agile as human hooves. So when it encountered one or two extremely difficult sections of the road, it could only get through with the help of Sheng Changquan.

For example, this section of mountain road right now.

"Whistle!!"

When it encountered such a large, protruding rock blocking its path, Black Wind stopped in its tracks. However, it was not flustered at all. It simply turned its head calmly and hissed at Sheng Changquan beside it.

"Ok?"

"What? Can't get through?"

(End of this chapter)