RSG Chapter 64
All the Commitments
The horses ran as swift as lightning. With the wind carrying their hooves, the horses galloped straight to the finish line.
It was hard to tell who would reach the finish line first between He Yan and Ma Da Mei.
Liang Ping and Du Mao had already given up. They knew they were not as good as the two in front of them and knew they would not be able to keep up with them. They had already done what Chief Instructor Shen asked them to do, so they simply wandered around the course.
Chief Instructor Shen had called them out last night and asked them to compete with He Yan. At first, Liang Ping and Du Mao refused- they weren’t recruits, why would they bother competing with He Yan. However, the Chief Instructor insisted that they do as they were told and commanded them to create as much trouble as possible for He Yan during the competition.
Liang Ping had a bad feeling. He had to compete with He Yan and had to purposely make him lose. Was this not unfair? Their head Instructor was more like a bully to the recruits. On top of that, the three of them had to work together to deal with He Yan, which was oppressive.
Among the three of them, Ma Da Mei was the best equestrian. Liang Ping wondered how good He Yan would be compared to him.
In the distance, they could see the red silk cloth on the flagpole at the end.
She was determined to cross the finish line, but at that moment, Ma Da Mei shouted, “Little one!”
He Yan’s eyes flickered towards him and saw the little old man stand up half-right; two feet steadily on the back of the horse. She was impressed. Then, the old man grinned at her as he turned over and swept towards He Yan.
He Yan was shocked and pulled the reins to avoid crashing into the old man. The old man was like a bat with flying wings. Half of his body was already hanging onto He Yan’s horse. He even deflated his mouth and accused He Yan of steering her horse to avoid the action.
“Young man, how can you be so unkind at such a young age? Do you want me to fall to my death?”
He Yan wanted to squeeze him down, but the man had already occupied the magpie’s nest. He firmly held the reins as he came towards He Yan, attempting to hit her palm and beat her down.
This person… How confident was he that nothing would happen to her if she fell? Anxiety arose in He Yan as she fought two moves with him. Neither had any advantage.
Ma Da Mei was also surprised. Liang Zhou Guards had dozens of instructors, each with their forte. Some were good with bows and crossbows, some were good at defending cities, and he was the best equestrian amongst all of the instructors. When Shen Han asked him to compete with He Yan yesterday, he thought that Shen Han was crazy at first. Now, it seemed that this young man called He Yan had greatly exceeded his expectations.
He was an exquisite rider – dexterous and decisive as well. Knowing that it would be hard to hit the grass targets with the three of them pestering like flies, he knocked out all of his competitors’ arrows. At this moment, the two moves they fought weren’t chaotic at all. It’s as if he had experience fighting opponents in critical situations. The youngster looked calm.
He Yan was not as calm as she appeared. The instructors of the Liang Zhou Guards weren’t people who knew how to eat and do nothing, but this old man was really difficult to deal with. Seeing that she was close to the finishing line, her goal was not to fight but to cross the finishing line first. Logically, if she and the old man were on the same horse and her horse crossed the line first, who would be the winner?
What treachery.
She looked up smiling without a hint of displeasure, “I’m young, but I know how to respect my elders. You are so old and still riding with me. If you fall, I really cannot be blamed for your death. I’d better change horses.”
As she said that, she leaned out, grabbing the iron ring on the saddle with her two hands, leaning her body between the two horses.
The moment was really beautiful. Ma Da Mei couldn’t help but see a halo of bright light around He Yan using one hand to grab the iron ring and the other catching Ma Da Mei’s horse with a whip. When the two horses came closer, He Yan let go of her hand. Her body nimbly leapt onto the other horse, grabbed the reins and turned over to sit on it.
“Good! Good! Good!” Ma Da Mei’s eyes shone with admiration, but he laughed and said, “You’re still too naive if you think you can win like this.”
Before his words fell, the horse underneath He Yan struggled violently on the same spot, refusing to gallop forward.
“This is my horse. It only recognizes me as his master, young man. You have good horsemanship, but you can’t control this lord’s horse.”
He laughed loudly as if He Yan’s actions fell right into his schemes. It was just what he wanted – to embarrass He Yan.
The young boy smiled faintly. His voice was not the least bit nervous. Instead, he replied calmly, “I’d rather give it a try, just in case I can manage it.”
She leaned down, her lips close to the horse’s ear. They didn’t know what she was muttering, but the horse underneath her gradually became serene after some tossing and turning.
Ma Da Mei was stunned. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d seen thousands of horses and was able to give simple instructions to them but he’d never seen a horse become obedient to a new master after listening to a few bits and bobs. There were ancient myths and legends about some people knowing every language of every beast. Is He Yan one of those people?
He had lived such a long life but he has never believed in any legends of gods or ghosts.
The young man pulled the ruins and the horse galloped away. Ma Da Mei hurried to follow but in his daze, he had already missed the best opportunity to win the race. The young man’s arrogant words were still ringing in his ears, “Instructor, your chance to win against me has just ended!”
……
At the end of the racecourse, Shen Han and Xiao Jue observed the race from a nearby pavilion.
Shen Han did not drink the tea in his cup, but Xiao Jue had already drunk half of his tea. The fight between He Yan and Ma Da mei was already in full view just now.
Shen Han shut his eyes. A chill rose in his heart.
Xiao Jue was right. In the Liang Zhou Guards, there couldn’t be such a genius. To be the best at everything and to even win against all of his instructors? This wasn’t a good thing at all. It’s a bit too strange. It’s as if….He Yan was specifically placed in the Liang Zhou Guards.
Red silk fluttered in the wind. The teenager rode the stallion like a hero, sweeping across the course till the end. He reined his horse to a stop as smoke billowed up, followed by Ma Da Mei with a grim expression.
The two came to a halt one after the other.
He Yan dismounted first, followed by Ma Da mei. She walked towards Ma Da Mei, “I didn’t mean to tease Instructor Ma just now, but I was forced to do so in the situation. Instructor Ma wouldn’t hold this against me, right?”
The young man looked anxious.
Ma Da Mei was stunned for a moment but broke out a smile afterwards, “Of course not, young man. It’s natural to compete to the best of one’s ability.”
She wiped the sweat off her forehead and thought for a moment, “Then this time, I’ll let you do the same.”
In other words, she had won again.
