Vol 9 Chapter 15 (2/2)

I went ahead of Huang Zu and looked about but couldn’t find Dilu anywhere.

… Could it be… That it ran away?

“Scholar, you need not panic. Your horse is here.”

*Ta* *Ta* *Ta*

Just then, a tender voice along with the sound of horse hooves could be heard coming from my blind spot. The voice was very calming and just hearing it made me feel like I was emptied of troubles.

Un? When I turned to look, I saw Dilu just 3-4 centimeters away from my face.

Ah?! I got a shock and took several steps back, catching a glimpse of a girl I’d never met before sitting atop Dilu.

She was wearing a greyish-white multi-layered silk gown. Her black hair was tied back in a ponytail and there was a bright red cloth tied around her forehead just above her eyes. As such, I could only see half of her eyes and her vision was probably partially obscured,

She was slim and short but she seemed to control Dilu with ease. Her facial expression was rather serious and devoid of cheer. I cannot not see her eyebrows but I have the feeling that she’s frowning. It’s a good thing that her face is not sharp or she would feel very unapproachable. It’s not quite right to say this but she feels a bit like an airhead.

“Benefactor. I see you went to chase down the horse huh.” Huang Zu said as she lowered her head and bowed.

Eh? Is this the benefactor that Huang Zu was talking about? Does that mean that she’s also the singer from before?

Her voice does indeed sound similar but her countenance is quite different from what I expected. She has not stammered either like before.

That person nodded and smiled at Huang Zu before dismounting. She is not very tall but she is very agile. She dismounted using just 1 hand and landed without making a sound.

When she landed, she began to head over to me slow and handed me the reins after she was just 3-4 paces away from me, “Here, take it. Don’t just leave the reins to a treasured horse lying around.”

Her tone was rather cold and when I looked up, I saw that the smile she’d shown Huang Zu was gone now. My guess is that she’s being cautious of me by handing me the reins from a distance away. I don’t know who she is but she’s being way too cautious.

I felt a little uncomfortable and my impression of her worsened a little. As I stared at her, I reached out to take the reins, “Many thanks.”

But now that I think about it, does this mean that this girl chased down Dilu when he ran off just now? Leaving aside how she managed to mount a galloping Dilu, just having to steer it about in the forest is already a considerable feat.

As I thought so, I saw her retract her hand immediately after handing over the reins and return to where her camp was without even paying any further mind to Huang Zu, who walked over to me and looked like she wanted to say something but then decided against it and jogged over to the girl.

“Ah, right.” Just as I was looking at their backs, the red bandana girl stopped and turned back to look at me, “I shouldn’t be telling you this but I will anyway. If you ride it for too long, that horse will bring harm to you.”

Eh? I frowned, befuddled at why she was saying this.

When she saw this, she turned back fully and continued, “I’m well-versed in horses and this horse brings bad fortune to its owners. If you happen to have anyone you hate, you can give this horse to that person.”

When she finished, she neither bowed, saluted, said farewell nor did she wait for a reply and just turned back and continued on her way.

But her not listening is one matter, my saying what I want to say is another altogether.

“I’m afraid I can’t agree with what you just said.” I saluted as I said so, “If it really does bring bad fortune, then I should kill it now and prevent it from bringing further harm to others instead of giving it away. Moreover, it is my opinion that one should not subscribe to the thought that a mere horse can mess with one’s fate.”

I admit that this was a bit rude of me. But I really do not like that person’s att.i.tude at all.

“… Eh?” When I finished, she just stood there and uttered a single word.

“Benefactor?” Huang Zu said as she looked at her.

What happened? Was she surprised by what I said?

“… Is that so?” She said. I looked up and saw that she was looking at me with a more amicable expression and a gleam in her eyes.

She then blinked and said slowly, “I take back what I just said.”

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