Chapter 285 (1/2)
The next morning.
The sun shone brightly in the sky. It made the entire city look golden, the autumn vibes heavy in the air.
Fang Zhengzhi ran over to Yan Xiu's room the moment he woke up.
Yan Xiu had already woken up, but he did not look well. It was unlikely that Yan Xiu would be able to partic.i.p.ate in the hunting compet.i.tion.
After saying his goodbyes, Fang Zhengzhi went downstairs.
The moment he left the hotel, he saw a figure by the entrance. She was dressed in the Red Flame Flower Armor and wielded the Blazing Qilin Spear.
”I heard that you are partic.i.p.ating in the compet.i.tion?” Ping Yang asked haughtily.
”Do you have any objections?” Fang Zhengzhi replied.
”You're riding this horrible horse?” Ping Yang queried scornfully when she saw Fang Zhengzhi's deplorable stallion.
Fang Zhengzhi turned back to take a look.
In all honesty, his horse was...
Quite bad.
However, he had already left his Snow Treading Dragon Stallion in Dong Lin City. He had bought this horse as a cheap replacement.
”Yes.” Fang Zhengzhi a.s.serted.
”As a servant in my residence, your horse is an insult to my reputation. If you beg me, I will lend you my second best stallion.” Ping Yang pointed to the horse next to her Snow Jade.
Beside Snow Jade...
There was a battle horse adorned with green scaled armor.
Fang Zhengzhi did not recognize it. However, if Ping Yang called it her second best stallion, it could not be much worse than the Snow Jade or the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion.
”It's okay.” Fang Zhengzhi rejected the proposal unequivocally. If he accepted the stallion, he would be admitting to being a servant in Ping Yang's residence.
”You really don't want it? I hear that the prize was set by the Emperor himself. It is definitely going to be good. Don't you want it?” Ping Yang tempted.
”Based on pure quality, even if I took your offer, my stallion would still be second to yours.” Fang Zhengzhi replied.
”Of course... there is no stallion that can match my Snow Jade in the city!”
”What about the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion?”
”Not close! It is ranked third at best!” Ping Yang replied haughtily.
”Oh? Which stallion is second?”
”Second? That is Sister Yan's Scarlet Flame Snow Cloud.”
”d.a.m.n it!” Fang Zhengzhi did not like to curse. However, when he thought of the Scarlet Flame Snow Cloud, he couldn't help himself. After all... that was his horse...
By the time Ping Yang and him made it to the hunting grounds, the sun was high up in the sky. Its beams lit up the hunting grounds and the surrounding areas golden.
Just as Fang Zhengzhi expected...
The area was bustling with activity.
Many armored talents were interacting with each other. Most of them were compliments about the others' horse. They would also look surprised when they fawned over the quality of the horse.
Other than compliments for the horse, they complimented armor, weapons, even the hair clip used.
Fang Zhengzhi had always not been interested in this.
It was a good thing no one complimented him. After all, his horse was so horrible it didn't deserve any praise. Even its ears were drooped as it looked at the gra.s.s by the side of the road lackl.u.s.terly.
”Oh? It's Fang Zhengzhi?”
”Who would have thought that he would partic.i.p.ate in the hunting compet.i.tion and horse race?”
”I heard that ever since the previous incident, he had never attended such gatherings. Why is he here all of a sudden?”
”I guess it's for the Emperor's reward”
”Hang on, his stallion is... what is it called? I can't remember it's name.”
”Mud Striped Horse! It is native to Dong Lin City and is herbivorous.”
”Herbivorous? Aren't all superior breeds carnivorous? Is this horse good? Why is he riding it to the compet.i.tion?
”Not at all. You can easily get one from Dong Lin City for 20 silvers!”
”Hahaha...”
All of them began to laugh. Then, they realized that Fang Zhengzhi was travelling with Ping Yang.
Before long, many gathered around Fang Zhengzhi.
This was a compet.i.tion hosted by the Emperor himself. Everyone brought their best stallion and Fang Zhengzhi's ride stood out from the crowd for all the wrong reasons.
However, Fang Zhengzhi did not mind. If a compet.i.tion depended entirely on the horse, what was the human for?
Ping Yang did not mind either. In fact, she was smiling very happily. She wore the Red Flame Flower Armor, wielded the Blazing Qilin Spear, and rode the Snow Jade.
Ping Yang was definitely the best equipped person there.
As such, Ping Yang was glad to stand beside Fang Zhengzhi. She shone like a bright star next to him. Furthermore, she stuck to him like glue. Wherever he went, she went.
Fang Zhengzhi knew that Ping Yang was using him to make herself s.h.i.+ne.
After the gong rang out, the Emperor's arrival was announced. There were a few princes dressed in gaudy attires following behind.
This was a gathering of the elites, and was also a chance for the princes to show off their skills.
Fang Zhengzhi quickly spotted the Ninth Prince riding the Purple Lightning Dragon Stallion. Then, he spotted the Crown Prince and King Duan riding battle stallions.
Other than them, there were many officials following behind. However, there were significantly less officials than there were at the preliminary court examinations.
That being said, there were more than twice the number of generals.
They wore different armors. They were at least 50 of them of various ages.
The accompanying party brought the number close to 100. They galloped from the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.
Fang Zhengzhi estimated...
Without taking into account the soldiers guarding the perimeter, there were at least 50 military personnel, seven officials, and more than 300 talents partic.i.p.ating in this compet.i.tion.
It was a grand sight.
Fang Zhengzhi knew that there were almost 200 candidates partic.i.p.ating in this edition of the court examinations. Furthermore, they had to pa.s.s the imperial examinations before being allowed to partic.i.p.ate in the court examinations.
As such, he was sure that there were at least a hundred talents who had fluffed their way here.