Encountering a runaway horse is a headache, not to mention a half-baked rider like Peng Fei, even experienced old grassland riders would find it troublesome. If you were thrown off the horse's back with your feet still in the stirrups, you could very well lose your life.
Peng Fei, on horseback, was also suffering in silence. The white horse's movements were getting bigger and bigger, and it almost threw him off its back several times. When he heard Batel's words, he pulled his feet back and stepped out of the stirrups.
Just then, the white horse suddenly stood upright, its entire body upright, and Peng Fei, who had no support on his feet, finally couldn't hold on and was thrown off by the white horse.
However, Peng Fei's movements were quite agile. When he landed, he did a backward somersault without even raising his head. He then somersaulted backward several more times, just in time to avoid the white horse's hooves that were chasing him.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
Timur and Batel arrived later and dismounted, grabbing the reins of the white horse and repeatedly whistling to soothe it, which prevented the horse from continuing its pursuit of the unfortunate Peng Fei.
"Peng Fei, still trying to show off? Haha, you dare to come to Liangshan without even knowing three points? If you ask me, you're only destined to ride on my yellow-spotted horse..."
Zhuang Rui, who arrived with Wu Yunqiqige, burst into laughter upon seeing Peng Fei's disheveled appearance.
"He was startled by the Crimson Blood, otherwise how could he have fallen off his horse?"
Peng Fei answered sullenly, brushed the gray grass off his body, and walked over to the white horse, which had been calmed down, with a resentful look on his face.
"law!"
Who knew that upon seeing Peng Fei approach, the white horse, which had calmed down, suddenly became agitated again, almost knocking Batel, who was holding the reins, off his feet. Batel quickly shouted, "Feizi, you stay away! You hit it just now, it won't let you ride it anymore..."
"Damn, what's going on? I only lashed it twice, and it's holding a grudge?"
Peng Fei was extremely frustrated by Batel's words. Why didn't Batel say that horses shouldn't be whipped when they were in the army?
Peng Fei was unaware that the army's horses were military horses, which were replaced very frequently. Moreover, they only did some simple equestrian training and had no time to build a bond between people and horses. Of course, Batel wouldn't mention these things.
Batel shook his head and said, "You can't ride this horse anymore. Switch horses with Timur..."
"All right……"
Peng Fei nodded dejectedly, then turned to see Zhuang Rui looking gloating. He couldn't help but say angrily, "Brother Zhuang, what are you laughing at? My horse is still better than your mare..."
Chapter 1136 Horse Taming
"Damn it, why are you bringing up the very thing you don't want to talk about?"
Zhuang Rui was a little annoyed when he heard this. Although the yellow horse he was riding wouldn't go crazy, it wasn't very fast. It could only eat dust when it was behind the group.
Zhuang Rui had been quite dissatisfied the whole way, and now Peng Fei was provoking him with these words. He couldn't take it anymore, so he dismounted and stopped Timur, who was about to switch horses with Peng Fei, saying, "Temur Anda, you don't need to switch. I'll switch with Peng Fei..."
Zhuang Rui had long coveted that white horse, but his riding skills were poor, so he hadn't dared to mention it before. Now, provoked by Peng Fei, Zhuang Rui couldn't care less about that anymore.
Peng Fei was able to dismount from his horse unscathed, and Zhuang Rui was confident that his own body was no worse than Peng Fei's. Even if he got injured, it wouldn't matter. He couldn't resist the power of spiritual energy, so he eagerly took the reins from Wu Yun Qiqige.
"No, none of you know how to ride a horse. What if you hurt Little White?"
Unexpectedly, the little girl pushed away Zhuang Rui's outstretched hand, staring at him as if he were the one who had just wielded the whip.
"I didn't hit it! By the way, what's this horse's name? Little White?"
Zhuang Rui was a little annoyed. He rolled his eyes and changed the subject, asking about the white horse's name.
"Yes, this is my little white car. That stinky Peng Fei brother, I'm not letting him ride it anymore..."
The little girl pouted. This white horse was originally her mount, but Peng Fei had chosen it earlier, and Wu Yunqiqi didn't say anything because of her older brother. Now, of course, she was unwilling to hand the horse over to Peng Fei or Zhuang Rui.
"Qiqige, I would never mistreat animals. Don't worry, I'll ride the white horse; everything will be fine..."
Zhuang Rui glared at Peng Fei, annoyed. "You little brat, you're itching for a beating, aren't you? You had to lash me out with those whips. Well, not only did you get yourself off the bike, but you also made it so your buddy can't ride anymore."
“Brother Zhuang, this white horse has been with my sister since it was a cub, and it has a rather fiery temper. I think… it's better to let Qiqige or Timur ride it. Don't try to take it…”
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Batel also spoke up to advise him. Peng Fei was not injured just now because he was good at fighting, but Zhuang Rui might not be so lucky. Are we going to have to carry an injured person back?
"Brother Batel, you look down on me too?"
Zhuang Rui was a little unhappy. He might not boast about anything else, but he was incredibly experienced with animals. He was confident he could easily ride a wolf, legs dangling, on its back. "Ahem, Brother Zhuang, that's not what I meant..."
Zhuang Rui's words were a bit harsh. Batel coughed twice and said helplessly, "How about this, Brother Zhuang, you try it first. If Xiaobai is willing to let you ride it, then you can ride it. If it's not willing, then you should ride the yellow one instead..."
"Alright, Brother Batel, we'll do as you say..."
Zhuang Rui was delighted and readily agreed. However, he didn't see that Wu Yunqiqi was secretly whispering to Xiao Bai while turning Xiao Bai's head.
Seeing Zhuang Rui approach, Wu Yunqiqige said with a smile, "Brother Zhuang Rui, be careful! Xiao Bai just got angry and might kick someone..."
It's said that dogs are intelligent and perceptive, but horses are the same. They can execute simple commands very well. Just now, Wuyun Qiqige wanted Xiaobai to give Zhuang Rui a hard time and make him give up the idea of riding the white horse.
"Little girl, let alone a horse, even a gorilla would behave itself in front of me..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled, then vigorously ruffled Wu Yunqiqi's hair until it was all messed up. He then stopped, glanced at the sulking little girl, and walked towards the white horse.
"I'll kick you to death later..."
The little girl muttered something in a voice only she could hear, clearly very unhappy that Zhuang Rui had messed up her braids.
"Pfft... Pfft..."
Sure enough, just as Zhuang Rui approached the white horse within two meters, the horse, which had calmed down, became restless again, pawing the ground with its front hooves and sneezing through its nose.
Zhuang Rui'an replied, "No, I'll get kicked if I get any closer..."
Aside from Peng Fei and Zhuang Rui, the others present were all experts in horse training. They could tell what the white horse was thinking from its current behavior. Timur even reached out and grabbed Zhuang Rui's arm.
"Little White, be good, I won't hit you. Let me ride you later, and I'll find you the best seaweed to eat, okay?"
However, just as Timur reached out to grab Zhuang Rui, Zhuang Rui also raised his right hand, a smile on his face, and began to mutter as if talking to himself or to his horse.
Just because a horse is intelligent doesn't mean it understands human speech. Zhuang Rui's idiotic behavior shocked everyone. If training horses were that simple, why would there be so many horse trainers in the world?
"village……"
Seeing that Zhuang Rui was one step closer to the white horse, Timur forgot about teaching Zhuang Rui any horse training knowledge. He called out Zhuang Rui's name and tried to pull him back, but after uttering the word "Zhuang," he could no longer make a sound.
Just as Zhuang Rui raised his right hand, the previously restless white horse suddenly stopped all its movements. Its large, intelligent eyes looked at Zhuang Rui with a slightly confused expression, but no one could understand the meaning in the white horse's eyes.
However, everyone could see that Zhuang Rui easily touched the white horse's head with his right hand. After gently combing the horse's hair with his five fingers, Zhuang Rui reached out to grab the reins, stepped into the stirrup with his right foot, and mounted the white horse in one swift motion.
After Zhuang Rui mounted the horse, he gently pulled the reins, and the white horse turned around and faced Batel and the others. Its eyes were no longer filled with violence, but with clarity and intelligence.
"I...I'm not seeing things, am I?"
Timur reached up and pinched his arm hard, muttering, "It doesn't hurt. I must have been seeing things..."
"Timur, you're pinching me..."
Batel, standing to the side, shoved Timur aside in annoyance and pinched his own arm; it would be strange if he could feel any pain.
"Brother, can Brother Zhuang Rui do magic tricks? I clearly let Xiaobai scare him..."
Wu Yunqiqige was also very puzzled by Xiaobai's betrayal, but she was even more curious about what methods Zhuang Rui had used to make Xiaobai so obedient.
"Well, he was right, he can even tame a gorilla..."
Peng Fei was so engrossed in arguing with Zhuang Rui that he only remembered the animals in the manor in Beijing after seeing the scene before him. Zhuang Rui had somehow managed to trick them into coming here.
Even the inherently violent Tibetan mastiffs and the unpredictable gorillas have been tamed by Zhuang Rui, so let alone this white horse, he could probably even trick a dragon horse into coming to his home.
"Haha, Brother Batel, Timur's Dad, and little girl Qiqige, how about it? Now that I'm on the horse, is it mine to ride?"
Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, Zhuang Rui burst into laughter. Without waiting for their reply, he gently squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs and shouted, "Let's go!" With Zhuang Rui's shout, the white horse, which had been standing still, seemed to receive a command and lurched forward.
In just a few seconds, the white horse picked up speed, its hooves flying, and it flashed past everyone like a white lightning bolt, seemingly even faster than when it raced against Batel earlier.
Although the white horse ran fast, it was extremely stable. Zhuang Rui imitated Batel's posture and naturally leaned his upper body on the horse's back. If the people in front of him didn't know that the rider was Zhuang Rui, they would definitely think that he was an old rider from the grassland.
"I...you, Peng Fei, do I, Zhuang Rui'an, have studied horseback riding?"
Timur, who had just been taken aback, was stunned by Zhuang Rui's galloping horse and couldn't help but pull Peng Fei aside to ask him questions.
Upon hearing this, Peng Fei shook his head and smiled wryly, saying, "Brother Timur, don't ask me. Zhuang Ge is a monster. If you go to his manor, you'll understand why this white horse obeys him..."
"Man and horse as one, this is man and horse as one! The highest level of horse training! Brother Zhuang is amazing, truly amazing..."
Batel was also completely mesmerized. With his keen eye, he could see that Zhuang Rui's riding skills were only average, but often when Zhuang Rui made an inappropriate posture, the white horse would adjust itself to make Zhuang Rui sit more steadily and comfortably.
This phenomenon indicates that humans and horses have reached a very high level of understanding, able to know each other's thoughts without words. People with this kind of horse training skill are few and far between, even on the vast grasslands.
If Batel had initially only admired Zhuang Rui's strength and drinking capacity, now he was truly convinced of Zhuang Rui's abilities. He had spent half his life riding horses on the grasslands, yet Zhuang Rui had tamed them better in just half a day. He had no choice but to admit defeat.
"Jia...jiajia, Xiaobai, run faster..."
Zhuang Rui didn't care what the people behind him were thinking. He was having a great time. This was the first time he had ridden a horse at full speed since arriving on the grassland. It felt like he was on a train, with all the scenery rushing past him.
Zhuang Rui was captivated by the feeling of speed, so he used his spiritual energy to groom the white horse while shouting loudly to urge it to go faster.
With Zhuang Rui's shouts, Xiao Bai's speed increased, and in the blink of an eye, it became a white dot in the eyes of Batel and the others, which frightened them so much that they quickly mounted their horses and chased after it.
Chapter 1137 Wild Horse Herd (Part 2)
"That's great, haha, that's really great! I wish I could live on the grasslands..."
Zhuang Rui rode his horse for more than an hour before slowing down. When Batel and the others arrived, the exhilarating feeling completely swept away the frustration he had accumulated from his unsuccessful search for the ancient tomb.
"Brother Zhuang, you can't do this! You've run forty or fifty miles in an hour, don't you know how to consider the effort of dismounting?"
Batel was the first to arrive, but when he came to Zhuang Rui, his mount, Chi Xue, was already panting heavily. After complaining to Zhuang Rui for a bit, Batel quickly dismounted to lighten Chi Xue's load.
Although Chixue contains some Akhal-Teke blood, it is not purebred, and after running for more than an hour, it has almost reached its limit.
Keep in mind that running forty or fifty miles in an hour is comparable to those legendary steeds that can travel a thousand miles a day. Of course, their endurance is incomparable.
Batel patted Chi Xue's neck tenderly, signaling it to relax. Turning to Zhuang Rui, who was still on horseback, he couldn't help but frown and said, "Brother Zhuang, I understand you've never ridden a horse before and want to run fast, but now that we've stopped, you should let Xiao Bai relax too, okay?"
People of the grasslands cannot stand seeing others not cherish their horses, but Batel stopped halfway through his sentence before he could say anything unpleasant.
Because Batel discovered that, apart from being covered in sweat, Zhuang Rui's little white dog showed no signs of lethargy. It still held its head high, its front hooves pawing restlessly at the grass, even more energetic than Chi Xue.
The white horse certainly possessed spiritual energy. Just as Zhuang Rui extended his right hand, the spiritual energy in his eyes was continuously flowing into the white horse.
Even while running, Zhuang Rui did not stop using his spiritual energy, which gave the white horse a feeling that its energy was about to burst out of its body. As a result, it was still full of energy after running wildly for more than an hour.
"What...what...what's going on?"
Batel was shocked. In all his life, he had never seen a horse that was still so energetic after running at top speed for an hour, except for wild horses, of course.
"Ah... oh, I've been here for a while now. I already let Xiaobai rest..."