Heaven is the shore of mortal dust - Chapter 34
When Chen Chang led two horses over, Wei Zijun exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Second Brother, aren't we going to take a carriage?"
“We came on horseback, so we’ll leave on horseback. Where would we find a carriage?” Then, seeing Wei Zijun’s troubled look, he suddenly realized, “Oh~~~~~ You can’t ride a horse! Right! Hahahaha…” Li Tianqi laughed excitedly.
Seeing his smug look, Wei Zijun didn't want him to succeed. She pulled over a horse, leaped onto it, and moved with the grace of the wind.
In modern times, she didn't just play tennis and golf anymore; they played shooting, equestrianism, and even private jets. So, horseback riding wasn't a problem for her. However, her equestrian skills were only rudimentary, and she was afraid of embarrassing herself at high speeds, so she was somewhat hesitant. But when she skillfully mounted the horse and took the reins, a strangely familiar sense of warmth washed over her, as if she had been riding like this for many years.
Seeing her mount the horse so gracefully and nimbly, Li Tianqi was taken aback for a moment, then revealed an admiring look.
"But we only have two horses, what should we do? We'll have to ride them one by one." Li Tianqi casually shook his clothes and leaned his tall and strong body against Wei Zijun's thigh, which was resting on the horse.
“That’s how it is, Boyuan. You go with that little one, and I’ll go with my fourth brother.” Chen Chang was very satisfied with his arrangement.
“Of course it’s me and my fourth brother together, and you and that little brat together,” Li Tianqi retorted.
"Of course it's me... Hey... you guys..." Chen Chang was about to retort when he saw that the kid surnamed Duan was already climbing all over Wei Zijun.
Wei Zijun smiled helplessly and casually scooped up Duan Xin, placing him in front of her. In the past, for someone as weak as her, lifting someone so easily would have been a complete fantasy, but now she did it effortlessly. "Having martial arts skills is truly beneficial," she sighed inwardly.
Seeing the two men sitting together, both full of complaints.
"Sitting with a grown man like you, really!" Chen Chang grumbled.
“Hey! Isn’t Fourth Brother a man? Really!” Li Tianqi retorted.
"Hey! Fourth Brother isn't as manly as you. I think Fourth Brother is more like a woman! Hahaha!" Chen Chang laughed.
"Aren't you bored? I'm surprised that such vulgar words could come from your mouths!" Wei Zijun said helplessly, scolding the two men.
The two men fell silent after hearing this, obediently mounting their horses. Once on horseback, however, they realized something was amiss. Why had they been so obedient just now?
"Hey! Fourth brother, who's the elder brother, you or us?" Chen Chang asked, puzzled.
"If you're a good brother, then lead the way properly!" With that, he kicked Chen Chang's horse hard in the rump.
The black horse got kicked and nearly threw the two people on it off. Duan Xin, on the other hand, was so happy that he climbed onto the horse's neck.
"I accuse you of murdering your own...brother!" Chen Chang said angrily.
"Hey? Second Brother, is it okay to ride horses in this city?" Wei Zijun ignored Chen Chang.
"As long as we don't run, we can walk slowly like this, and then run when we get to the wild."
The two horses slowly began to move. Once outside the city gate, Li Tianqi and Chen Chang's horses jerked their reins and galloped off. The black horse, its coat as smooth as satin, was clearly a thoroughbred, and in the blink of an eye, it had left them far behind.
Wei Zijun held Duan Xin tightly with one hand, held the reins with the other, and squeezed the horse's belly with both legs, sending the white horse flying like a silver arrow.
The wind whistled past her ears, making them ring and her heart pound. What a joy it must be to ride a horse in the setting sun! This must be the exhilarating life that martial artists yearn for.
[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 30, Lake Tour]
One in black and one in white, one in front and one behind, sped along and soon arrived at the lake.
To Wei Zijun's surprise, it was a lotus pond in the middle of nowhere. There were no painted boats, no pleasure boats, no singing girls, no handsome young men, and no one reciting poems. There was only a vast, boundless lotus pond and lush, fragrant grass on the ground.
"What's wrong, Ziju? Are you disappointed?" Li Tianqi asked.
"No, just surprised. What's even more surprising is that this natural place is so much more beautiful than those decadent places where people party every night and have fireworks."
She wasn't exaggerating. It was already late afternoon, and the setting sun cast its golden rays upon the boundless lotus pond. The lotus petals shimmered with golden light, and the water's surface shimmered with golden light as well. A golden breeze blew through the wild grass on the earth, adding a touch of desolation to this boundless world.
"Beautiful, truly breathtaking," Wei Zijun exclaimed.
"I'm glad Fourth Brother likes it." Chen Chang didn't know where Cong had come from, but a small awning boat had already been rowed over.
Wei Zijun was overjoyed and jumped onto the boat, but the boat began to rock violently. "Ah!" she cried out as she lost her balance and grabbed Chen Chang.
The sudden closeness of the fair face made Chen Chang's heart skip a beat. The soft, warm body pressed tightly against him, making his face flush. Alas! It's a sin for a grown man to be born like this. Fortunately, he has self-control.
Shaking off his strange emotions, Chen Chang laughed and said, "Fourth brother, why did you scream so shrilly, like a woman? It was really piercing, cough cough..." He pretended to pick his ear as he spoke.
Wei Zijun was so angry that she pushed Chen Chang away, but the boat started rocking violently again, and she began to scream involuntarily. Unexpectedly, Li Tianqi jumped on the boat while it was rocking, which scared her so much that she screamed and squatted down to grab Chen Chang's clothes. By the time Duan Xin jumped down, she had already climbed onto the boat.
The three men, two adults and one child, almost overturned the boat with laughter at her disheveled appearance.
Seeing that the boat was stable, Wei Zijun casually got up and found a place to sit. Ignoring the three men's malicious gazes, she waved the wine in her hand as bait to divert their attention. It worked; Chen Chang leaped over in a flash, causing the boat to rock again.
They brought out a low table from inside the awning to the bow of the boat, took out a food box and set it on. Because they were afraid of spilling, they didn't dare to include any dishes with soup, just a few ordinary dishes to go with drinks. There was sliced braised beef, braised pork trotters, a platter of dried fruit, salted chicken feet, two plates of cold dishes, and two plates of desserts.
"Fourth brother, I've been carrying this huge box all the way here, my arms are about to break, and you still won't offer your elder brother a drink!" Chen Chang said, feeling aggrieved.
"Third Brother, your hard work and dedication have made this delicious food possible for us. I would like to offer you a toast, Third Brother." Wei Zijun raised his cup, and the two drank together.
"Second Brother has brought us to such a wonderful place, which makes us very happy. I would like to offer you a toast." He then toasted Li Tianqi.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, thank you for your brotherly love and assistance since we met. I would like to offer you both another toast." After toasting his two brothers, Wei Zijun turned to Duan Xin.
"Xin'er, it's your turn. I'd like to offer you a toast as well. Thank you for your help these past few days, and thank you for the jade pendant. I don't have anything to give you, but I can say that as long as I have something to eat, you won't go hungry, Xin'er."
"Big brother!" Although Xin'er was young, he was exceptionally sensible and could clearly understand what Wei Zijun was promising him. Moved, he rushed over and hugged her neck.
Nestled in her arms, he raised his glass and gently clinked it against hers, then followed the adults' example and drank it down in one gulp.
Because it was his first time drinking alcohol, the wine, though refreshing, still made him stick out his tongue and tears stream down his face. This caused the adults to burst into laughter.
"Fourth brother, why didn't you say those affectionate words to us?" Li Tianqi asked.