Chapter 13
Ye Linghan’s fingernails tightly pinched the reins.
He had always been proud and aloof but the heart that never lost its will even though he had to endure hardships was suddenly shaken. Never had there been such a moment that he hoped desperately that the other party had not heard the obscenities from the garrison guard’s mouth.
Ye Linghan was not ignorant of the rumors outside. In fact, no matter how downhearted he was, he was still the dignified Crown Prince of Wei. No matter how daring those people were, they wouldn’t dare to do anything to him. The rumors about bed-climbing– were completely non-existent.
However, even though one’s words were light, the news that came and spread were from the mouths of those big men in person, which made it even more impossible for anyone to listen to his explanation.
Now, Ye Linghan regrets it. Without a second thought, he pulled the reins, signaled the horse to move and rushed towards the gate of the Garrison Guards’ barracks.
Even as a proton, Ye Linghan was still proud.
But at the same time, he was also tolerant enough and ruthless enough to himself. A prince of a dignified country might be willing to sing with wine, but this one only seeks a day to make a comeback.
How much he hated Zong Luo for indirectly causing the destruction of the Yu family and sending him to Great Yuan as a pledge, which was also the nemesis of his cousin Yu Beizhou. However, after the death of the Third Prince of the Great Yuan, Ye Linghan, who knew that he was being taken care of by him secretly, was in a complicated mood.
This…..was the only person who treated him kindly in this foreign land.
Not one among them that were standing in front of the barracks had thought that this Wei Country Proton would drive the horse borrowed from the Xuan Cavalry like a wolf. He was closely approaching the gate of the barracks. If he didn’t stop, he would collide with someone, and even if he didn’t die, he would definitely be crippled.
The guard shouted sternly, “Stop! Those who trespass on the barracks will be killed without mercy!”
However, the black military horse had no intention of stopping at all.
The sound of the horse’s hooves slapping on the ground was rapid, like the fast beating of drums–thud, thud, thud, thud–it was closing in on the garrison guard who had uttered wild words just now.
At the critical moment, the black horse raised its front hooves high, it neighed and puffed out breath from its nostrils.
Everyone’s eyes flashed. Ye Linghan pulled the reins and stopped dangerously in front of the guard. The breath exhaled from the horse’s nose sprayed the garrison’s face, making the latter’s face pale with fright.
This time, the people who were still making fun of him just now stopped talking.
This short scene demonstrated enough how superb the riding skills of the Wei Country Proton was.
Although frightened, the other party was still a proton of another country, he was even the first to talk behind his back, therefore the guard dared not to be angry, and even had to bow to salute.
Ye Linghan didn’t pay attention to these irrelevant people at all. His eyes were firmly fixed on the swordsman in white, with a tension that he himself had not realized.
“You…”
He opened his mouth but got stuck halfway.
Ye Linghan didn’t know how to face Zong Luo, let alone what he should say after seeing him face to face.
Over the past year, Ye Linghan’s mood was extremely complicated.
He had many questions to ask.
–He wanted to ask why Zong Luo didn’t die, what happened to his eyes, why he didn’t return to Great Yuan since he didn’t die, and why only after a year later did he suddenly appeared and appeared in the Cold Palace even–
–He would also like to ask him why he wanted to help him in the first place, why he did so much in private, that even his biological father and brother far away were only enjoying themselves in the Wei Country. No one was willing to pull himself in the quagmire. Why was he the prince of the enemy country who was opposed to his position and identity?
It’s him.
Hearing the sound of hooves, Zong Luo turned to the side, and he raised his face with eyes covered in white silk.
“Your eyes” Ye Linghan’s voice was dry. “What happened to them?”
No one answered.
After a long time, Zong Luo seemed to suddenly realize. He cupped his hands and said, “Is this Lord asking about this lowly person? This…lowly person didn’t know either, it’s like this when he woke up.”
Lowly person?
Ye Linghan suddenly felt absurd. “You are the dignified Third Prince of the Yuan Dynasty, why do you refer to yourself like this?”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.
“Young Master Ye, this is absolutely unacceptable!” The students who had been stunned by the accident just now also had recovered and gasped.
Who doesn’t know that the Third Prince had died at Hangu Pass for more than a year now.
Even Zong Luo shook his head slightly, with a helpless expression on his face. “Lord, what you said might get me killed. Although I have amnesia and forget the past, it is impossible for me to be His Highness the Third Prince.”
“Have you lost your memory?” Ye Linghan exclaimed in a low voice.
In this short period of less than half a stick of incense, he was in a state of confusion. So much so that after Zong Luo said that he had lost his memory, Ye Linghan found that the questions that had troubled him before and could not be answered, now made sense.
That’s right, if it wasn’t for his memory loss, how could he not return to Great Yuan? He never thought about the possibility that the person in front of him was not the Third Prince, not to mention the sound of his voice and appearance, even his sword intent was the same.
Wait… sword intent?
“No, if you lose your memory, why is your sword intent still the same as usual? Why did you appear in the Cold Palace that day to save the Eighth Prince?” Ye Linghan keenly discovered the loopholes in Zong Luo’s words, pressing him step by step.
Zong Luo did not hesitate and answered. “Although I have lost my memory, I still remember my martial arts skills, that I can hold a sword and even be able to wield it. Even I was confused. As for being in the Cold Palace that day, I lost my way in the Lanting Waterside Pavilion, and didn’t encounter any servants to help me on my way. Since I could not see, therefore I could only grope around randomly. Fortunately, I met the Eighth Highness to show me the way. Later, when I noticed someone insulting His Highness, I got angry, and then took action… I don’t know how the Lord knew about this, it’s a coincidence.”
These remarks can be said to be flawless. Let alone Ye Linghan, even if Emperor Yuan sent a secret guard to investigate, they would never find any loopholes.
Ye Linghan still didn’t believe it. “If that’s the case, then why do you have the Qixing Longyuan on you? Everyone knows that this is the sword of the Third Prince.”
The students burst into an uproar. Who would have imagined that this disciple who defeated the madman Gongsun You at the Baijia Banquet and made a name for himself, was the wielder of Qixing Longyuan, which was one of the top ten famous swords in the world.
Finally. Zong Luo smiled from the bottom of his heart, yet his face was still calm.
“This sword was by my side when I woke up.”
The white-clothed swordsman continued, “That day when entering the Great Yuan, the Great Commander saw it. Later, when the King of Beining returned to the capital, he reconfirmed it. Perhaps I was fortunate enough to have a similar appearance to that Highness, but it’s really not worth mentioning.”
Before Zong Luo said this, Ye Linghan didn’t believe anything he said. But after hearing him mention Yu Beizhou, even he was a little uncertain.
Even his cousin said so, so….did he really make a mistake? Ye Linghan was in shock and felt hesitant in his heart.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Zong Luo who was standing there.
The latter stood still on his spot, his black hair tied high behind him, and his chest was lined with a pine green front, embroidered with pale golden lines. Obviously the style was ordinary, yet he wore it with an unspeakable extravagance.
The more upright his posture was, the more he appeared to be like the full moon in autumn frost, which instantly made the white silk covering his eyes stand out more.
Looking like this, for some reason, Ye Linghan didn’t dare to stare at his face again.
Even if it’s just a short moment, it’s so dazzling that it makes people can’t bear to look at it too much.
Ye Linghan suddenly realized that even though he hated Zong Luo at the beginning, in his heart, the brief shock and the few glimpses, still left an indelible impression.
He clearly hadn’t met Zong Luo that often, but when he closed his eyes, he was still able to describe the person’s appearance in his mind. Even every strand of hair and the subtle expressions on his face seemed to be engraved in his mind.
Can ordinary people really have such a bearing, such a sword intent?
Ye Linghan loosened the reins and suddenly turned over and dismounted.
He pressed his lips tightly and ordered the servant to go to the Xuan Cavalry barracks to call someone.
This time, even the students from the various schools on the side couldn’t stand it anymore. “Young Master Ye, why do this? This brother has already strongly denied it. If you call Xuan Cavalry over, wouldn’t it only put people into a humiliating situation?”
Calling the Xuan Cavalry, is it because you want people to identify the old master in person? If this isn’t madness, then what is?
Even the servant hesitated again and again. Just as he was about to say something, he noticed that Xuan Cavalry’s military camp had become noisy again. The cavalry that had just been trained had returned, and now they were bringing the horses back one by one.
In this horse-rounding up scene, a Xuan Cavalry led a snow-white horse, cloud-like all over the body and a capable divine steed out of the barracks.
From a distance, this horse had long, slender hooves, a gorgeous mane, and a sharp-edged posture, and it seemed to be looking around. It attracted the eyes of all the students and guards present, as soon as it appeared.
“That’s the Third Highness’s mount, Zhao Yebai, right?”
“Definitely. If you look closely, even the horses Xuan Cavalry rode are still flawed. Apart from Zhao Yebai, where else is there such a majestic white horse without any variegation.”
They watched from a distance, their faces full of admiration. Zhao Yebai was also famous among the famous horses. If one could ride it, one would basically win the hunting competition most of the time.
Zong Luo was quite proud in his heart.
Zhao Yebai was a famous horse from the Western Regions that could travel thousands of miles a day. Finding one of its kind would be hard even with thousands of gold coins. When the Ghost Valley Master gave Zhao Yebai to him, it was just a little horse, and it was Zong Luo who raised it little by little, to how it looked now at present.
Everyone was watching this famous horse, but Zhao Yebai, who was following the cavalry, was a little anxious.
It lowered its eyes and stared at the grass on the ground, and dug the soil with its front hoofs.
“What’s the matter? Is today’s grass bad?”
The Xuan Cavalry soldier was about to touch its horse’s head. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yebai, who had always been docile, turned its head and avoided it, blinked its big eyes twice, and suddenly broke free from his hold, and ran towards one place.
“Wait, don’t run!”
The Xuan Cavalry soldier looked at his empty palm and couldn’t help being shocked.
Zhao Yebai was well-behaved and docile on ordinary days, its temperament was better than that of ordinary military horses, which could even be called extremely humane.
When Zong Luo was still around, he didn’t even tie its reins very much. Later, after the Third Prince died in battle, they originally thought that his horse followed him, but Zhao Yebai unexpectedly ran back to Xuan Cavalry’s barracks after a few days.
Because of this, everyone kept hoping. The cavalry often even bathed and talked to this humane horse, hoping that Zhao Yebai would lead them to the whereabouts of His Highness.
Even the current general of the Xuan Cavalry, Mu Yuanlong, took good care of it, not mixing it with other military horses in the barracks. Even removing the saddle, and not choosing another owner for it.
Everyone hoped that one day its owner could come back. Even if they knew that it was nothing but an unwarranted hope.
The Xuan Cavalry soldier quickly chased after it.
However, how can two legs run faster than four legs, not to mention Zhao Yebai, a thousand-mile steed with full firepower.
Thud..thud..thud..thud..thud..
Zhao Yebai ran over with its reins like a gust of wind, rushed from the gate of Xuan Cavalry Barracks to Zong Luo from a distance, handed over the reins in its mouth as if asking for credit, and looked at him obediently with blinking eyes.
The cavalry in a black armor, who arrived later, walked fast, raised his voice and said loudly, “I’m sorry, this horse was our Highness’ favorite. It’s because I didn’t take good care of it and let it run into you…..”
Before he could even finish speaking, he saw Zhao Yebai took the reins and handed it over to a young man in white with his back to him. It also lowered its head in someone else’s arms in front of everyone’s eyes.
Xuan Cavalry soldier: “…..”
Is this still the pure breed horse that can sustain long-distance travel? Could it be that the other party carried some delicious grass with him, which made Zhao Yebai unable to control itself?
On the other end, noticing Zong Luo ignoring it, Zhao Yebai neigh in grievance and went to rub Zong Luo’s fingers.
The white horse walked around its owner a little anxiously for several times, and then as if realizing something, it suddenly bent down and knocked the man to its back. Kidnapped the man under the watchful eyes of everyone and ran towards the other side of the City Gate.
Everyone was shocked by this change, while the Wei Country Proton only tightened the grip on the reins in his hands.
“This….how could Young Master Gu be carried away by a horse like this?”
It was impossible for a horse not to recognize its owner. The appearance of Zhao Yebai made the drama of the mysterious man being only a counterfeit of the Third Prince no longer had any suspense.
It’s really him.
Ye Linghan subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
If Zong Luo lost his memory, then he would not know that he was the “Proton of Wei Country” that the students from the various schools called him, let alone leave a bad impression.
After all, as far as he was concerned, his current self……was just an ordinary passerby.
Thinking of this, Ye Linghan’s chest was filled with inexplicable anxiety. There was anxiety, there was loss, and some more complicated things.
In the end, these things were superimposed and turned into a faint self-deprecation.
The other party did not even remember the kindness from the beginning, yet here he was making blind and disorderly conjectures. He couldn’t even ask “Why did you take care of me in the first place”.
Ye Linghan held on to the reins for a moment, then suddenly raised his whip, turned the horse’s head without saying a word, and chased towards the City Gate.
When the two horses left one after the other, the Xuan Cavalry soldier looked stunned and looked at their backs from a distance, as if he had just woken up from a big dream.
He stood still for a few seconds, then suddenly trembled all over, and rushed back to the barracks. Without even having time to report, he went straight to the martial arts training ground.
Mu Yuanlong, who was practicing in the field, could not help frowning, and said coldly, “Such rash, have you forgotten all the rules of the military camp?”
The cavalry stood on his spot, couldn’t utter a full word and stammered.
“Liu Qi, didn’t you take Zhao Yebai out to let it have a stroll around, where is it now?”
Mu Yuanlong looked at his distracted appearance, his eyebrows tightened deeper and deeper. He put down the machete, and his face became solemn.
“General Mu… I, I… I just… Zhao Yebai, right, Zhao Yebai–”
Liu Qi’s face turned red. ” –Zhao Yebai took His Highness away!”
