610 It Is Boring in the Wilderness (2/2)
Ning Que did not know what she was thinking. He lowered his head to kiss her and found that her forehead was a little cold, but it was much better compared to when she was ill.
He looked up at the starry skies and suddenly felt emotional. He reached a finger out towards the night sky he saw through the crack. He slowly moved his finger and grew solemn.
Sangsang watched as he traced his finger around and realized that he was not drawing the Two-Horizontal Talisman. She asked anxiously, ”Is this a new talisman?”
Ning Que said with satisfaction, ”This isn't a talisman. I was just writing a few words, its a quick calligraphy section. It could at least be ranked in my top ten works. How much do you think it would be worth?”
Everything in the carriage shone silver, but it was all in vain. The calligraphy section that Ning Que wrote with his finger was also false. It could not be kept and was worthless.
Sangsang shook her head with slight regret. She said, ”If we really want to return to the Academy, we will encounter plenty of danger along the way. We cannot sell this calligraphy, so you had better invent some new talismans.”
”Even though I have already entered the Knowing Destiny State, but our masters have already entered the heavens. There is no one to help me. I can only be considered half a Divine Talisman Master at most. I am already considered a genius at Talisman Taoism now that I can write an Infinitive Talisman. It isn't so easy to invent a new talisman.”
Ning Que thought of what Sangsang had said earlier and recalled an extremely important matter. He looked at her and said, ”No matter how dangerous our path is, you're not allowed to use Divine Skill or to hold the Big Black Umbrella.”
Sangsang understood what he meant and nodded softly.
If she used the West-Hill Divine Skill, she might relapse, die, or attract the attention of Yama. If she opened the Big Black Umbrella, other things might happen. She might attract the attention of Yama, the Buddhism and Taoism sect. All of the situations above were extremely dangerous.
Sangsang was still asleep at dawn while Ning Que had already woken up. He looked at the skies, checked the direction of the wind and determined that it was a good day to travel. He roused the Big Black Horse with his fist and got it to move.
However, the black horse carriage had not traveled far before encountering a foe. This was the depths of the Wilderness, where the population was scarce. It was difficult to even encounter a single person, much less an enemy.
The only possible explanation for this was that Haotian had already discovered the existence of the Daughter of Yama. Heaven's Way, which invisible and untouchable, but always active, had begun to try to exterminate her.
This was a meadow with rolling hills. The yellow grass on the meadow had already been felled by the winds. They might have died, or perhaps, are waiting for the next spring to grow again.
Dozens of grassland cavalry dressed in leather armor were silently standing atop the meadow. They would ocassionally reach out to appease their tired horses. It seemed as if they had traveled a long distance before getting here.
Ning Que glanced at the grassland cavalry, but did not observe the details on their armor. He had already guessed where they came from. In the Western Wilderness, only the Right King's Palace had the right to own such elite cavalry.
The black horse carriage was still about two hundred feet away from the Right King's Palace's grassland cavalry. It was still out of the shooting range of their arrows. He could have gotten the Big Black Horse to unleash its speed advantage and charge towards the thicket. No matter how good the cavalry were, they would not be able to catch up.
However, the grassland cavalry was spread out across the meadow – their front line was extremely long. They looked sparse and weak, but were there to prevent the black horse carriage from escaping. If Ning Que wished to leave without a battle, then he had to make a detour around the long line of troops before he could leave the meadow. However, that would be a waste of time.
The crux of the matter was: Ning Que, Horse Gang and cavalry of the Wilderness have had many years of interactions. He was certain that the cavalry, who were there to stop him, would come in a flood. If he encountered these people blocking him and turned back, the opposition's riders and hunters would only need to repeat what they had done several times and use a large number of cavalry to surround the black horse carriage in the depths of the Wilderness. That was extremely dangerous.
That was why Ning Que did not turn away. The black horse carriage continued up the meadow. At first, it was moving slowly, but soon got faster and faster. Steel wheels of the carriage rolled, flattening the frosted grass and causing mud to fly in all directions.
A cavalry leader on the meadow realized that the black horse carriage was rushing towards them. He did not look happy or dumb, but his expression turned extremely solemn. Then, he slowly pulled out his sword from his waist.
No matter Left-Tent, Right-Tent or the Golden Palace, the grassland cavalry and Horse Gang's swords were all curved. Several years ago, when Ning Que was a professional wood-cutter in the City of Wei, he used this type of curved sword as well.
Because this kind of sword could easily cut off a human's head.
Several grassland cavalry pulled out curved swords from their scabbards simulaneously. The sound of clashing metals pierced everyone's ears.
The black horse carriage headed to the bottom of the meadow at high speeds. Just as it was no longer able to turn, several cavalrymen appeared silently from behind the leader, took out their bows and aimed at the horse carriage!
The Wilderness was boring for Ning Que.
He was more familiar with the warfare tactics of the grassland cavalry and Horse Gang than the third book and 14th chapter of the Tang Empire's military. Thus, he was not surprised when he saw that those who had hidden under the meadow earlier had just taken out their bows then. Instead, he felt a little bored – it was too familiar.
The bowstrings buzzed and arrows tore through the air. Dozens of arrows drew a curve in the skies as they flew from the meadows a few hundred feet away towards the black horse carriage.
”They dare to play at long distance, shooting just with a few Huang Yang bows? The horse carriage might be a large target, but they can't do that.”
Ning Que turned around. Sangsang was still sleeping deeply, her hands clutching tightly onto the corners of the blanket. Her brows were tightly knitted, as if she was dreaming of something.
He jumped out of the carriage and landed onto the Big Black Horse's back, draping his legs over the horse's belly.
The Big Black Horse whinnied and charged forward!
Moments earlier, Ning Que had undone the tie linking the shaft to the carriage. The Big Black Horse charged forward, separating from the carriage. The carriage continued moving forward due to inertia, just progressively slower.
In the process of slowing down, there was a buzzing noise in the black carriage. The skylight at the ceiling and the two windows on the sides as well as the carriage doors were locked by a spring.
The arrows that the grassland cavalry shot finally fell, whistling sharply.
There were five or six arrows that had aimed true at the slowing carriage. However, to the carriage, made of pure fine steel, being shot at by the seemingly terrifying arrows was but a scratch.
The arrowheads hit the horse carriage and broke in the middle, landing on the ground like bits of straw that had tried to pierce through stone, looking ridiculous and pathethic.
The black horse carriage was very thick. Once it was fully sealed, it was difficult to hear what was happening outside. The arrows that had hit the carriage sounded weak and soft, like pecking birds.
Inside the carriage, Sangsang still slept soundly. She must have heard the sounds of arrows falling, because she waved her arm unhappily, as if wanting to chase away the sound by her ear. Then, she turned around and continued sleeping.