215 Get on the Horse & Yousre a Thief III (2/2)

”What message?”

”I want to tell them that there's still a man in the grain team specializing in killing Horse Gangs besides you, a Talisman Master. If the Horse Gangs want to eliminate us, they must pay a higher price. If the benefits they get and the risks they meet are disproportionate, maybe they will withdraw.”

Mo Shan said, ”Although I haven't encountered a Horse Gang, I've heard a lot of legends about grassland Horse Gangs. They're well-known for their cruelty. Why would they retreat only because of some minor setbacks?”

”The crueler they are and the more love they have for killing, the more fear of death... As for Horse Gangs, I may know more than you.”

He continued, ”The purpose of killing the Horse Gang tonight, in addition to letting them bring back a clear message, is to teach you something.”

Mo Shanshan's refreshing eyebrows, which were as condensed as ink, furrowed. ”Teach me to kill people?”

”To kill people, or how to avoid being killed.”

Ning Que looked at her, and seriously continued, ”You're the most powerful person on this team. When Horse Gangs attack, I can protect myself. But for those ordinary soldiers and civilians, they ultimately depend on you. A few days ago, you consumed your Psyche Power to lay talisman arrays outside the camp. In my opinion, it's a waste of your time and energy.”

He said, ”You're our trump card. So you should be kept for offense rather than defense.”

Mo Shanshan remained silent for a long period of time after hearing his words, and then she said, ”I've cultivated Talisman Taoism since my childhood. As far as I know, only Divine Talisman Masters can attack their own initiative.”

Recalling Master Yan Se's teachings in Chang'an, Ning Que could not help but laugh. He watched her expressionless, but comic round face, saying, ”Who says Talisman Masters who haven't entered the Knowing Destiny State can't make an attack? As long as proper measures are used, even frozen bread can be used to kill a person.”

Although he had a clear understanding of the grassland Horse Gangs, with whom he had dealt for many years, the situation did not go exactly as expected. The Horse Gang left the grain team a little further behind on the second day, but did not disperse away. Instead, they merged into another group, watching the grain team from a distance.

Distance created beauty, as well as a sense of security. Though the growing distance between the Horse Gang and the grain team had no substantial significance in safety, it was obvious that the mental stress of the Yan forces and civilians in the team were reduced. Even girls from Great River Kingdom occasionally had smiles on their faces.

Mo Shanshan lifted a corner of the curtain, and watched Ning Que, who was sitting on the Big Black Horse next to the carriage, and looked at his cheek, half of which was covered by a bamboo hat, and then suddenly asked, ”Are you very familiar with the Wilderness?”

Ning Que nodded.

Mo Shanshan stared at the shadow cast on his face by the bamboo hat, saying, ”It's so windy in the Wilderness. Normally ordinary people don't wear bamboo hats, but why do you and many Horse Gang people all wear bamboo hats?”

Ning Que hooked the lacing at his chin with his little finger, and then said, ”It has lacing, so you aren't afraid that it will be blown away. As for why we're used to wearing a bamboo hat... the sun is too strong in the Wilderness, and it can help to give you shade. The most critical thing is that it can cover your face.”

The purpose of covering their faces was not because they felt ashamed to face people, but do not let others see their faces. Both he and the Horse Gangs always protected their own identities thoroughly.

Cat Girl looked at the Horse Gang walking nearly in parallel with the grain team in the northeast, asking with her thin brows furrowing, ”Senior Brother, where do all these Horse Gangs come from? It should not be too far away from the palace here. Is there no one to handle them?”

”It seems that I have answered that question a few days ago.”

Ning Que lowered her hat, saying, ”Many of the most powerful Horse Gangs have their own masters, and so does the Horse Gang following us now, obviously.”

Cat Girl asked with curiosity, ”How do you know?”

Ning Que looked at the distant Horse Gang, and then said after a moment of silence, ”Because this Horse Gang is too disciplined.”

”Who's their master?”

”I don't know.”

Ning Que shook his head, thinking that there were few forces that could afford to support such a large Horse Gang group on the grassland. However, as was analyzed a few days earlier, those forces had no reason to instigate their Horse Gangs to rob the grain team.

The countries of the Central Plains called for peace talks with the Left-Tent palace. The grain team represented an attitude. The grain they guarded, although small in quantity, carried symbolic significance. If these Horse Gangs took aim at the grain, they should immediately withdraw themselves once they found the grain team hard to control. Unless their purpose to rob and kill the team was not for the grain, but to destroy the agreement, or aim at someone in the team. Then this situation would become very tricky.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously took a sideways glance at the window of the carriage beside him. A corner of the curtain was blown up by the winter wind, revealing Mo Shanshan's indifferent and calm face.

In his opinion, it was probably the girl in white in the horse carriage who was qualified in the team to attract so many Horse Gangs. Of course, when thinking about this question, he excluded himself in advance as he believed that no one actually recognized him, who was disguised as a disciple of Black Ink Garden mixing in with the grain team.

The situation deteriorated as Ning Que considered. The grain team only spent a relaxing day, then the atmosphere quickly became more nervous, and even scary, because, over the following two or three days, the Horse Gang did not leave. What was worse, small Horse Gang groups continuously appeared, joining up with the Horse Gang in the distance.

It was not too far away from the palace here. Even elite cavalries were sent here to back the team up, and it only took them about two and a half days to get here. It would be impossible for the grain team to easily break out, thus they had to pin their hopes on reinforcements. That night, two bunches of fireworks rose up to the sky in the camp, brightly shining in the deep dark night, and also reflecting the mountain-like Horse Gang in the distance.

Fireworks bloomed all the way and other Horse Gangs kept joining in. The number of those in the Horse Gang accompanying the grain team was getting larger and larger, and they gradually became a dark mass of people, crowds, and horses. People of the grain team would feel frightened, even just taking a quick glance at them.

Ning Que became more and more silent. Looking at more than 600 among the Horse Gang in the distance, he felt more and more confused in his heart. ”What do these Horse Gangs want to do?”