Chapter 124: Taming the Horse
The baby-faced man's expression changed, and he quickly dodged to the side. Chang Yue also swiftly moved away. Yin Chengjue reached out to pull Rong Yu, only to find he grabbed empty air!
"Ah!—" Someone screamed. Yin Chengjue's gaze instantly snapped towards the sound and saw the baby-faced man pointing at the tall, crazed horse running wild.
Beside the galloping mad horse, a white horse was closing in at an extremely fast pace. Riding the white horse was a man wearing beige casual clothes.
"Rong Yu!" Once Yin Chengjue saw who it was, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. Why did this guy suddenly ride off to chase the crazed horse!
The untamed, wild horse kept running across the field, raising its head and neighing, unsettling the other horses scattered around the grounds. They began moving restlessly, making whinnying sounds and stomping their hooves repeatedly. The horse trainers quickly ran to grab the reins of these agitated horses, fearing they too would be spurred into running wild.
The mad horse ran and neighed, constantly shaking its head and body, trying to throw off the bit in its mouth and the saddle on its back.
The staff at the horse ranch had already brought out lassos, preparing to rope the untamed horse.
However, as the staff rode closer with their lassos ready, they saw a white horse keeping close pursuit of the chestnut-red maned horse. Though its speed was slightly less, it maintained a relentless chase, never allowing any distance to grow between them.
Seeing Rong Yu handle the white horse with such natural ease and skill, Yin Chengjue felt the knot of anxiety in his chest loosen slightly.
But only slightly.
Because Rong Yu was still chasing the seemingly insane chestnut-red horse on the white horse.
Pushed to the brink, the chestnut-red horse neighed angrily, constantly changing angles to shake off the persistent follower. But Rong Yu seemed to see through its every move, no matter how sharply the chestnut-red horse turned, he could quickly discern it and catch up!
The chestnut-red horse made another sudden stop and turn, and the white horse closed in again. This time, the white horse was a few steps faster, its head reaching the chestnut-red horse's body!
"Good!" someone shouted. The other trainers echoed in agreement, forgetting their lassos as they watched Rong Yu with shining eyes.
The chestnut-red horse let out a furious neigh. It stopped trying to shake off the bit and just galloped at full speed!
Yin Chengjue quickly scanned the surroundings and spotted the brown horse the staff had brought for them earlier. While the other horses grew restless from the chestnut-red horse's frenzy, the brown horse calmly swished its tail, completely unaffected.
Yin Chengjue sprinted to the brown horse's side, planted his foot in the stirrup, and swung himself into the saddle. With a sharp tug of the reins, he urged the horse into a gallop, charging straight toward Rong Yu's position.
Seeing Yin Chengjue approaching, Rong Yu raised his riding crop and pointed in a certain direction.
Yin Chengjue understood immediately. He urged the brown horse to gallop towards that direction, blocking the chestnut-red horse's path!
The chestnut-red horse had to detour, losing time in the process. In that split second, the white horse closed the gap until the two ran neck-and-neck, their flanks nearly touching.
A smile spread across Rong Yu's lips. He pushed off with his feet and leaped from the white horse onto the chestnut-red horse, grabbing the reins with both hands!
The chestnut-red horse let out a piercing neigh, rearing up on its hind legs at that moment, making its body into a steep slope, trying to throw off the arrogant creature on its back!
Rong Yu wrapped the reins around his hands, pulling them tight, while clamping his legs against the horse's belly and leaning his body forward, pressing close to the saddle, firmly securing himself on it.
Yin Chengjue arrived at that moment, pulling the brown horse's reins to halt it. Simultaneously, he swung his riding crop, striking the chestnut-red horse's body hard!
The chestnut-red horse cried out in pain and lowered its front legs but still restlessly shook its body. Its front and back hooves rose and fell in turn, jumping and bucking, trying to throw Rong Yu off its back so it could trample him with its iron hooves!
Yin Chengjue urged the brown horse closer, using its body to bump hard against the chestnut-red horse's side, forcing the chestnut-red horse to temporarily yield.
The two horses began bumping into each other, neither willing to back down. Their continuous neighing cut across the vast horse farm.
After a long struggle, the chestnut-red horse snorted, turned its head, and opened its mouth as if threatening to bite the legs clamped against its belly.
This horse was clearly clever, trying to scare the rider into lifting his legs.
If Rong Yu lifted his legs, it could throw him off!
"Whoosh! Thwack!" Yin Chengjue's riding crop landed on the chestnut-red horse's body again.
Rong Yu squeezed the horse's belly, raised the hand holding the reins level with the horse's mouth, and directed the chestnut-red horse to turn.
Stung by the crop, the chestnut-red horse instinctively followed Rong Yu's direction. Then it realized the whipping stopped, it was no longer being hit.
For the next ten-plus minutes, it experienced this method of taming. As long as it obeyed the rider's commands, it wasn't struck. If it showed the slightest resistance, it was hit with the crop and butted by the other two horses.
The chestnut-red horse let out a loud snort, kicking its front hooves hard. Its hooves hit the grass, splattering dirt everywhere.
Finally, the chestnut-red horse completely calmed down, shaking its head, its large eyes glaring fiercely at Yin Chengjue.
Yin Chengjue swung his hand, stylishly retracting the riding crop with one hand, then tapped the chestnut-red horse's face with the crop, not too lightly, not too heavily.
"Pfft!" The chestnut-red horse snorted again, turned its head away, its nostrils flaring.
A bright smile spread across Rong Yu's face. He reached out and stroked the horse's head, then took a piece of malt candy from his pocket and held it to the horse's mouth.
The chestnut-red horse twitched its nose, opened its mouth, and its tongue curled out, sweeping the entire piece of candy into its mouth, crunching it noisily.
Yin Chengjue urged the brown horse clip-clopping to the other side of the chestnut-red horse and tapped its mouth lightly with his riding crop.
"Pfft!" The chestnut-red horse, annoyed at having its eating interrupted, snorted angrily in Yin Chengjue's direction and spat, accidentally spraying out the half-chewed candy in its mouth.
Chestnut-red Horse: "..."
Yin Chengjue snorted with laughter, raised his whip, and with a sweep on the ground, precisely flicked the spat-out candy far away.
The chestnut-red horse, which had been about to lower its head to pick up the candy and continue chewing: "..."
The chestnut-red horse was furious again! It felt its dignity had been challenged!
Yin Chengjue gave the chestnut-red horse a challenging look, then raised his riding crop and urged the brown horse to gallop towards another part of the horse farm!
"Neigh!" The chestnut-red horse began pawing the ground and shaking its head, its red mane flying. Its iron hooves quickly punched a hole in the ground.
Rong Yu stroked its head and laughed, "Angry? Then go chase him! Hyah!"
The chestnut-red horse, instantly encouraged, immediately shot forward like an arrow, its four hooves shattering grass scraps and dirt, raising clouds of dust behind it as it swiftly chased after Yin Chengjue's retreating figure!
Rong Yu leaned down, close to the horse's ear, and said, "Catch him, and I'll give you more candy!"
"Neigh!" Whether it understood or not, the chestnut-red horse ran even faster. Everything around them blurred past, as if the entire horse farm, the whole sky, held only that black-clad figure in the distance.
Rong Yu's eyes darkened slightly. He pulled out the riding crop tied at his waist and commanded, "Faster, catch up to him!"
"Don't you dare fail."
Under the azure sky, on the vast, boundless horse farm, the brown and chestnut-red horses ran with all their might.
This was more than a simple race, it was a contest of victory.
The former was just about running speed, while the latter, besides speed, also contested strength and intimidation.
Where these two horses passed, nearby horses neighed restlessly, as if cheering or lending support.
In every herd, there could only be one lead stallion, this was a rule passed down through bloodlines.
Some horses were born to lead; they would either claim the role for themselves or challenge the existing stallion until one emerged victorious.
Watching the brown and chestnut-red horses fighting as they ran, the manager of Qinfeng Horse Ranch could only smile wryly: "The Second Young Master really sent us a big trouble today. If it weren't for those two experts, we'd be busy all day."
"Who are those two?" Some people hadn't gotten a clear look at their faces from so far away.
"They are Third Young Lady's guests, said to be here for fun. I thought they wanted to learn horseback riding. Our Brownie may be the lead, but he has a good temper and takes care of people, so I had him brought for Third Young Lady's friends. Who knew the horse Second Young Master sent over this morning would suddenly go crazy and run wild?" the manager said.
The others: "If they're here to learn riding, I'll eat my riding crop."
As they spoke, the brown and chestnut-red horses returned, bumping into each other, snorting and neighing, their hooves clattering.
From afar, Yin Chengjue's cold voice could be heard: "Stop snorting, shut up!"
The brown horse snorted but closed its mouth.
The chestnut-red horse "pffted," shaking the bit that made it uncomfortable.
Once the two horses stopped, Rong Yu dismounted and reached to remove the bit.
"Hey, hey, sir, be careful! If you remove that, if it runs again, we won't be able to rein it in," someone warned.
Rong Yu waved his hand: "I promised it candy. It can't swallow with this on."
Yin Chengjue also dismounted, patted the brown horse's side, and removed its bit too, taking out a malt candy. The brown horse's big tongue swept out, clearing Yin Chengjue's palm, and crunched noisily.
So the two horses chewed their candy while glaring at each other. Glaring soon turned into spitting at each other.
The onlookers: "..." How childish!
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