nucmednet Chapter 36 Bloody BMW
Chapter 36 Bloody BMW
The journey was smooth. In just half a day, the group entered Dasheng from Qiangyi.
Continue walking for another half day.
From the yellow sand-filled Gobi Desert to the warm Dasheng River Valley, the scenery along the way changed dramatically in just one day, which made the four people's tense hearts relax a little.
In order to avoid being hunted down, the four tried their best to avoid official roads and big cities. Although the journey would take longer, it would be relatively safer.
What happened in Dingxi Prefecture made the four people feel scared.
Who can guarantee that the official post stations along the way are not under the control of the Second Prince and his party?
In the evening, the four of them stayed in Qingshui Town.
This is a very ordinary small town in the river valley.
Although it is not prosperous, the town has all kinds of restaurants, inns and hotels.
The waiter led the three horses to the stable and fed and cleaned them.
"Will all the inns along the way help guests feed and clean horses?" Gu Nianzhi asked while waiting for the food to be served.
"Of course. The inn accommodates people traveling from all over the country. Since they have to travel, they naturally have horses as companions. People need to eat and rest, and so do horses." Sima Yao replied.
Isn’t this the same as the free parking and occasional free car wash services in modern hotels?
It seems that the service awareness of Dasheng businessmen is no worse than that of modern people.
Just as he was thinking about it, the waiter ran to the shopkeeper from the backyard and said in a panic: "Shopkeeper, it's bad, a horse is bleeding... It's the horse of the guests at that table..." After that, the waiter pointed at Gu Nianzhi's table.
The shopkeeper went to the backyard with the waiter to take a look. The skin of the Arabian horse was very thin, and its blood vessels were dilated after the long-distance run. The dense capillaries made it look as if the whole body was bleeding. The shopkeeper and the waiter had never seen such a scene, so the shopkeeper hurried over to inform them.
"This has nothing to do with us. We haven't even fed the horse yet and it's bleeding... There's a veterinarian two miles ahead. Would you like to take the horse there to have a checkup?"
"No need. The horse has always been like this. It's not sick." Shu Huaiyuan smiled. They had no idea how rare the Arabian horse was.
Although this horse is famous, it is rarely seen among the people. Most of them are special mounts for royal nobles. Batu's horse was a reward from the previous king when he was a general and made military achievements in his early years.
"Could this be the legendary Ferghana horse?" Although the shopkeeper was born in a small town, this inn has been open for decades. He has received many guests from all over the world and heard many interesting stories from ancient times to the present. He has heard of the Ferghana horse many times, but has never seen one.
"That's right." Sima Yao replied.
"Well, I have to go take a closer look. I heard that this horse can travel a thousand miles a day. Is that true?"
"It's just a legend. It has only slightly better endurance than the average horse."
The shopkeeper touched the Arabian horse again and again. The horse had firm muscles and smooth fur, and was indeed very different from ordinary horses.
"What a good horse, what a good horse..."
The next morning.
As soon as they came out of the room, they saw that the inn, which was deserted yesterday, was now bustling with activity.
"These are the owners of the Ferghana horses." The shopkeeper was leading a few people from the doorway and pointed at Gu Nianzhi and his group and said, "Thanks to them, this is the first time I've seen a Ferghana horse in my life."
"These guests are very impressive and you can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary people."
"Yes, anyone who can ride a Ferghana horse must be either rich or noble."
"Our Qingshui Town is truly glorious."
The shopkeeper smiled and bowed, "The neighbors wanted to see the Ferghana horse, so I took them to see it. People from our small place probably only have this chance to see a Ferghana horse in their lifetime."
The shopkeeper spoke sincerely, and the few people couldn't refuse, so they had to go with them.
After breakfast, there were still a dozen people gathered around the stable.
They were talking about the Ferghana horse.
……
"It feels like these legs are much longer than those of an average horse."
"That's not the case. It will definitely be much faster if you run."
“Does it really sweat blood?”
……
In the crowd, a man's eyes did not fall on the horses, but looked up and down at Gu Nianzhi and the other four people.
On the second day and the third day, everything went smoothly.
After several days of long journey, the two horses of the Crown Prince and General Shu were already exhausted, but the Ferghana horse that had been riding on them was still in high spirits.
Passing by a small river.
The horse hoof prints trampled out a path leading to the shore. At the end of the path, the river water was clear and there was lush grass on the shore.
"There is a fork in the road ahead. Why don't we stop here and take a look at the map to figure out which way to go." Shu Huaiyuan led the horse from here to the river bank.
Four people and three horses stayed by the river. The horses drank water and ate grass, and the people could sit on the shore to rest.
"If we walk west for another hour, we will reach the capital. This is much closer than we expected." Sima Yao looked at the map and made a rough estimate.
"A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. Although we are very close to the capital, we still cannot let our guard down," the prince reminded.
"Of course." Shu Huaiyuan walked to a pool formed by a backwater bend and prepared to wash his face. The surface of the pool was extremely calm, like a mirror.
Shu Huaiyuan leaned over and was about to reach out his hand, but he saw from the water that there was a net-like object on the branch above his head.
Oh no... there's an ambush.
Shu Huaiyuan was shocked and subconsciously grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
At this moment, a large net fell from the sky. Shu Huaiyuan drew out his sword and quickly chopped it upward. The net was very strong. Although Shu Huaiyuan's sword was sharp, he only chopped the first few strands that were stressed. The sword was restrained and it was difficult to exert force. Fortunately, Sima Yao reacted quickly. Before the net completely bound the few people, he thrust out with his spear and stabbed one person accurately. He dodged and got out of the gap in the net where the person was stabbed before the others could react. He raised his hand and stabbed the two people quickly.
At this time, Shu Huaiyuan also pulled back the bound sword and no longer struggled with the net, but stabbed at the net holder through the mesh.
After a struggle, even though there were more than a dozen masked men setting up the net, they could only watch as four people broke free from the net.
The two sides faced each other on the river bank.
At this time, there were still eight or nine people on the other side. They dropped their hunting nets, drew soft blades from their waists, and pointed them at the four people in unison. Then they moved left and right in unison, as if they had rehearsed it in advance. Soon, the confrontation between the two sides gradually turned into a situation where the prince and his four companions were surrounded in an encirclement.
"Who are you?" Although Gu Nianzhi was extremely frightened, he still managed to remain calm and asked, "Are you seeking wealth or life?"
Those people turned a deaf ear and continued to move slowly, making the encirclement smaller and smaller.
Among the four, only Gu Nianzhi did not know martial arts, and she was the only one who did not have any weapons in her hands.
The moves she had performed on stage before were just fancy moves and she would have no chance of winning in actual combat.
Sima Yao whispered, "Mr. Gu, stay behind me. I will protect you. Huaiyuan, just protect your brother."
Shu Huaiyuan said: "Understood. Divide the troops into two groups."
As the enemy approached, Sima Yao tilted his head slightly and said in a very low voice, "Be ready to mount your horse at any time."
Gu Nianzhi looked around and couldn't see any of these people's horses. He thought they were probably still some distance away from here.
If the four of them could concentrate all their efforts to briefly break out of the encirclement and quickly mount their horses, the enemy would have to run to their horses and then chase them, and it would be difficult for them to catch up in a short time.