Urbaner Blumentraum - Kapitel 57
In a panic, she turned and ran back, but stopped after a few steps. The old man's horse was still in their hands. He loved that horse dearly; he used to never let her even touch it. He was already blind, and now they had bullied him and taken his horse away. He must be very upset.
Zhu Huihui turned around and looked at the small mountain village that had completely sunk into the twilight. Amidst the sounds of birds returning to their nests, dogs barking, and cows mooing, an idea gradually formed in her mind.
Zhu Huihui crouched in the grass, patiently waiting.
The night was cold and the dew was heavy. The mountain wind blew, and strange noises echoed among the grass and trees. Although Zhu Huihui had been a wanderer for many years, she had always been accompanied by beauties or chivalrous heroes. She had never been alone on the mountain so late at night before, and she couldn't help but feel a little scared. She hugged her arms and huddled up, waiting anxiously. Finally, it was time to light the lanterns. Taking advantage of the lights that gradually came on, she quietly sneaked into the village.
This village has about a hundred households, living a very traditional rural life. As soon as it gets dark, everyone closes their doors and windows, and hardly anyone goes out.
Using the dim light, Zhu Huihui made his way to the center of the village and saw a house that looked like a tavern. From a distance, he could see that the windows and doors were open, and on a wooden table in front of the window, the three Serpent Envoys were eating and talking.
The swift and swift horse was tethered to a wooden stake in front of the tavern! Although there was hay in front of it, it completely ignored it, occasionally raising its head and neighing loudly, looking quite aggrieved.
Zhu Huihui, fearing discovery by the Snake Envoy and his men, dared not approach. He thought to himself, "This stupid horse needs to be fed at least, otherwise, how will it have the strength to escape later!"
The thought of food immediately made her stomach rumble. Normally, in this situation, she wouldn't even need to think twice before heading straight for someone's chicken coop. But now, with an important task at hand, stealing chickens was inconvenient, so she had to come up with another idea.
Turning her head, she noticed a relatively large courtyard and a rather beautiful house at the east end. Knowing that the family was quite wealthy, she casually pulled a stick from the fence next to her and leaned towards the house.
The country folk were simple and honest, and the courtyard walls weren't very high. She crouched down at the corner of the wall and listened for a moment. When she heard nothing, she secretly climbed up the wall, looked around, and jumped down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, a big dog came rushing over, barking. Zhu Huihui was prepared, and she struck the dog on the head with a stick, knocking it unconscious. Then she dragged the dog and stuffed it into the doghouse not far away.
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear, Part Three: Chapter Seventeen (7)
As they were doing this, a door opened, and a woman dressed in simple clothes and wearing a hairpin came out carrying an oil lamp to investigate: "Ah Huang, what are you yelling about?"
Zhu Huihui squatted in the shadow of the doghouse and quickly barked twice, as if to answer Ah Huang's question.
The woman didn't pay much attention; she glanced at it casually, found nothing amiss, and went back to her room.
Zhu Huihui slipped over and listened for a while under the window. She heard a simple conversation between a man and a woman inside, about things like private tutoring and the imperial examinations. The man seemed to be a scholar.
She herself was not very educated and had always looked down on educated people, so she ignored them and went straight to their kitchen.
First, uncover the big and small pots, then rummage through the big and small cabinets, and finally lift the big and small bowls.
The ordinary farmhouse kitchen didn't have much good food. After searching for a long time, all they found were some pickled vegetables, a few dried smoked fish, two salted eggs, and a few coarse steamed buns. They couldn't help but feel quite dissatisfied: "Look how beautiful the house is, but we eat such simple food. Even a dog wouldn't want to eat it!"
Although she disliked the food, she figured a thief couldn't leave empty-handed, so she had no choice but to make do. She found a cloth to wrap the food and tucked it into her bosom. After debating between a kitchen knife and a fire poker for a while, she finally decided the kitchen knife was sharper and grabbed it, tucking it into her waistband. Then she saw a brass kettle on the stove, half-filled with hot water, quite heavy. She thought for a long time, figuring the hero must be thirsty, and finally decided to take it with her. So she found a hemp rope, threaded it through the handle, and hung the kettle on her shoulder. Turning around, she left the kitchen, looked around the yard, and saw some clothes drying on a bamboo pole. Without hesitation, she grabbed a few pieces, haphazardly wrapped them together, and tied them to her back.
After thinking for a while, she felt that she had taken enough things, so she climbed over the wall again.
According to her estimation, it was already dark, and even if the snakes didn't rest in this small village, they wouldn't take their horses up the mountain with them. They would most likely leave the horses in the village and continue their search.
Although she had lingered for a long time, when she returned to the tavern, she found the three serpent envoys still eating there. She squatted in the corner, waiting anxiously, sweating profusely, and in her stomach, she rudely cursed the three men's ancestors to the eighteenth generation.
She didn't know how long she waited before the three men finally got up. Just as Zhu Huihui had predicted, they had left their horses at the tavern for the time being. To be on the safe side, she patiently waited a while longer, and seeing that the three menacing figures hadn't returned, she cautiously approached them.
The white horse was exceptionally magnificent, and ordinary people could not even get close to it. Normally, anyone of low status who approached would be kicked away by a single hoof. However, the horse envoy among the twelve zodiac envoys was a hunter by trade and had a knack for dealing with animals, which was why it had been captured. It was quite aggrieved at first, but upon seeing a familiar face, it immediately let out a long, joyful neigh.
Zhu Huihui was terrified. She covered her head and hid in the bushes behind the fence. She made up her mind that if the snake caught her, she would say that she had come to elope with Ashan.
After waiting for a long time without anyone coming out, she breathed a sigh of relief, climbed out, and whispered, "Brother Ma, Grandpa Ma, please calm down and stop yelling, okay? You want to get me and your master killed!"
Whether the horse understood or not, it snorted but stopped neighing.
Zhu Huihui mustered his courage, untied the reins, and led the horse, step by step, quietly walking out of the village. He was both surprised and delighted, never expecting to be so lucky and steal the horse back so easily.
Having finally left the village, she immediately quickened her pace. Not knowing how to ride a horse, she had to lead it at a brisk pace. Afraid of being found by following the hoofprints, she remembered hearing in a story that wrapping a horse's hooves with cloth would prevent it from leaving any tracks. So she tore off a piece of her clothes and wrapped the white horse's four hooves. Then, by the starlight, she led it in a long circle, finally returning to the place where Fengxuese had been hiding.
Fearing something might happen while she was away, she didn't dare go in directly. Instead, she squatted down a short distance away, intently watching the entrance. When she found that the grass at the entrance was still the same as when she had covered it, she immediately felt relieved and led her horse over.
The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear - Part Three: Chapter Eighteen
She pushed aside the covering and was about to crawl inside when a flash of lightning suddenly appeared before her eyes, aimed straight at her throat.
The bright flash of lightning looked so familiar that Zhu Huihui cried out in fright and sat down on the ground, saying, "Great hero, it's me... I'm back!"
The snow-like light suddenly faded, and the sword paused on her forehead before slowly being withdrawn.
Feng Xuese remained silent for a moment, then, under the faint starlight, a warm smile appeared on his face: "You're back!"
As Zhu Huihui led the horse into the cave, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow: "Great hero, my head almost really ended up in your hands!"
"I thought..." I thought you left on your own and wouldn't come back.
Feng Xuese heard a few familiar snorting sounds, then felt a large head rubbing against him. He felt a slight excitement, reached out and stroked the horse's head, paused for a moment, and then said, "So you came back with your horse. I didn't recognize it." The cloth wrapped around the horse's hooves could certainly prevent leaving hoofprints and confuse the enemy, but it also affected his judgment.
Zhu Huihui covered the cave entrance again: "Great hero, guess who I saw?"
"who?"
"There are three of the twelve zodiac envoys: the snake envoy, the ox envoy, and another one called Brother Horse, whose identity is unknown."
“That’s the envoy,” Feng Xuese explained to her. “The envoys are based on the Chinese zodiac, and roughly the surname corresponds to the envoy.”
"Oh, I see!"
Feng Xuese asked curiously, "They didn't make things difficult for you?" Before, on the Lone Eagle Gorge boardwalk, the Serpent Envoy wanted to eat this guy alive, so how could they let her go for nothing!
Zhu Huihui chuckled, "They didn't recognize me." She proudly recounted to Feng Xuese how she had tricked the snake envoy with Ah Shan and how she had stolen the horse back.
Feng Xuese couldn't help but smile slightly and praised, "What a clever child!" This child is not only clever when it comes to doing bad things, but also thoughtful and brave when it matters.
Zhu Huihui said modestly, "Not at all, it's all thanks to your excellent guidance, sir!" She habitually flattered Feng Xuese.
Feng Xuese chuckled: "Zhu Huihui!"
"Yes, sir!"