I sat in front, and Xiao Zuo's arm could only wrap around my body to hold the reins. Although the situation was a bit ambiguous, considering that he was carrying the Ega bottle that was originally supposed to be kept by me on his back, and that he could just happen to be able to block arrows for me if there were pursuers, I felt that it was okay to bear it and even chuckled to myself.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked as soon as I sat down behind him.
"What do you mean?!" She was clearly chuckling to herself; how could he see that from behind!
“Your earrings are trembling,” he said. “You like jade? I’ve seen you three times and you were wearing jade earrings each time.”
He even remembered that so clearly? A strange feeling suddenly welled up in my heart. As I smiled, I felt my earring vibrate. So I quickly stopped smiling and pretended to be very serious, saying, "That's just because my skin is too fair. You can't tell when I wear jade."
He immediately burst into laughter, picked up the reins, and shouted, "Let's go!"
Nearly thirty horses galloped off at once, instantly raising clouds of dust, their hooves echoing through the valley like a torrential downpour.
"You are truly the most arrogant woman I have ever met!" Amid the clatter of hooves, Xiao Zuo suddenly lowered his voice and said, "However, I like jade. With a little carving, it will radiate dazzling brilliance."
Huh? What did he mean by that? What was stirring within me again, making my heart race? A mountain breeze swept over me, bringing a touch of coolness—oh my god, I think my face must be as red as the morning glow. I quietly bit my lip, but a smile still managed to spread from my tightly closed lips…
"Your earrings are trembling again," he said lazily.
My hand immediately went to my ear.
“If you want to throw them away, you might as well give them to me,” he said, smacking his lips. “At least they’re enough to exchange for a few jars of wine.”
Two streaks of emerald light flashed across the sky, and without hesitation, I threw my earrings into the roadside bushes.
He laughed again: "With such a bumpy road, of course the earring would shake. Wouldn't it be a pity to lose it like that?"
I've been tricked! I gritted my teeth and snorted, raising both hands and twisting my body to strike.
"Hold on tight to the horse's mane!" he grinned at me. "There's a ditch ahead."
What, what ditch? Before I could even react, the horse had already leaped into the air, and my heart jumped into my throat... Before I could even utter a cry of alarm, I heard a "thud," my body jolted, and the horse had already landed steadily on all fours and continued forward.
After my initial shock subsided, I was immediately thrilled. I snatched the reins from Xiao Zuo's hand and shouted, "Giddy up!"
The horse, urged on, suddenly accelerated. Caught off guard, Xiao Zuo abruptly reached out and... his palm covered my waist.
At that moment, not only I, but probably even he himself was stunned.
I looked back from the speeding horse, my long hair flying against the wind. In that instant, through the fluttering strands of hair, I seemed to see the tenderness that flashed across Xiao Zuo's eyes amidst the green hills and clear waters.
"Sorry!" In the next instant, he raised his hands high, almost falling off. He yelled and quickly grabbed the reins, his eyes wide with extreme panic, and asked, "You don't want me to marry you, do you?"
"You!" I turned my head sharply, my back ramrod straight. "Why don't you just die!"
I really wish he were dead right now! I've never seen anyone change their attitude so quickly!
Silence fell for a long time, with only the sound of the wind in my ears. My back, which had been stiff and strained, finally gave way, and I felt the person behind me immediately come to my aid, using their warm chest as a cushion. At the same time, a soft voice sounded: "If you're tired, lean on me and sleep for a while. I'll wake you when we get to the ferry."
His chest felt very comfortable against me. I'm not one to masochistic people, so I didn't stand on ceremony with him at all. I leaned against him, closed my eyes, and asked, "When will we reach the Yellow River?"
“Tomorrow morning,” he sighed. “If we hadn’t been ambushed, we should have arrived tonight.”
I opened my eyes and gritted my teeth, saying, "So it seems the Thunderbolt Hall really is in cahoots with that den of bastards in the mountains!"
He said casually, "So what? The Gong family and Baili City have joined forces, haven't they?"
I rolled my eyes at him and said, "If you're not afraid, why do you insist that we travel day and night to avoid them?"
“Because a fight would delay our journey!” he laughed. “Otherwise, what’s so scary about a bunch of kids?”
I asked, "Then what is truly terrifying?"
"have no idea."
What kind of answer is that! I was about to glare at him when I heard Xiao Zuo ask calmly, "Don't you think the Thunderbolt Hall arrived a bit too quickly?"
I was startled: "You mean... there's a traitor inside?"
"I don't know." He looked down at me and smiled bitterly. "You don't need to glare at me. I'm scared because I don't know. If I knew, I wouldn't be scared."
Indeed, the unknown is the most terrifying. Our itinerary was highly confidential, so how could the Thunderbolt Hall have found us so quickly? Could there really be a traitor among us?
Perhaps noticing my somber expression, Xiao Zuo suddenly patted me and said, "The most foolish thing in the world is to worry about what you don't know. Smart people conserve their energy and wait for that 'unknown' to come knocking on their door!"
"so……"
"So you should close your eyes and rest well, and wait for that traitor to show up so you can use your Heavenly Fragrance Finger to kill him!"
This guy is incredibly optimistic! But for some reason, the gloom in my heart gradually dissipated. I closed my eyes and leaned on his shoulder, and after a while, I suddenly called out softly, "Xiao Zuo?"
"What's up?"
"It's so dark, and we dare not light torches. What if the horse slips and falls into the pit?"
I felt his body tremble, as if he were laughing.
“I’m not a horse,” he said softly, “but I promise I won’t let you fall into a pit.”
"Hmm, then I'm relieved."
"Okay, go to sleep now."
"Xiao Zuo?"
"how?"
"Your shoulders are very stiff."