Chapter 80: Even a Woman Chasing a Man Has a Mountain Between Them

“Come on, we grew up wearing open-crotch pants together, so stop putting on an act in front of your General Lei. Who doesn’t know that you, the ‘Sick Strategist’ Situ Huntian, like to pretend to be ill to paralyze your enemies, and then stab them in the back? If you don’t down this bowl of wine, do you believe I’ll kick you off the Great Wall?” Lei Hong said in an arrogant, domineering, and fierce manner.

“Drink, can’t I just drink? General Lei.” Situ Huntian could only pick up the bowl with a wry smile and drank it all in one go: “By the way, I also wish you a promotion, becoming a general, commanding a thousand men, and dominating the Hucun Pass. Your future promotion is just around the corner.”

“Cut it out, business is business. If you want to congratulate me, get another bowl of wine.” Lei Hong picked up the wine jar, filled both their bowls, and said: “As for promotion, what ‘just around the corner’? Hucun Pass, Hucun Pass… knowing my nickname is Lei the Tiger, yet they made me guard this pass. It’s clearly making this tiger squat.”

“Lei the Second, your personality is too rigid. Squatting occasionally is not a bad thing; it grinds away your sharpness. Accumulate strength and burst forth later; the day you leap across the world will come. A tiger must squat before it can leap.” Situ Huntian didn’t mind, smiling as he raised a bowl of wine: “Don’t worry, with your strength and talent, you will make a name for yourself sooner or later and revive the glory of the Lei Family ancestors. Hone your strength here properly; as long as you become a Gold Fighter, who would dare suppress you and not promote you?”

“Situ, worthy of being my enemy, your words are truly pleasant to hear.” Lei Hong laughed loudly and drank a bowl of wine: “Others think we’ve disliked each other since childhood and fight whenever we meet. It’s a pity few people know that you are the only true soulmate of mine, Lei Hong. That Miss Yu asking you to help catch my Little Nine, she really found the right person, haha.”

“Hey, hey, don’t mention that, it just makes me angry.” Situ Huntian’s face turned slightly red, and he coughed repeatedly: “Your precious brother killed over a dozen of my Black Iron elites and two Bronze powerhouses. Ouyang Ba, the Spirit Slayer, is one thing; that guy has a bad character and limited growth. But Scott, the Ghost Wolf, was the most capable captain of my scout squad; his tracking skills were irreplaceable. I’m so angry; if he weren’t your brother, I would have chased him down and slapped him to death myself.”

“Haha, calm down, calm down.” Lei Hong happily patted his shoulder: “My Little Nine didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, being chased would make anyone scared, so fighting back desperately is normal. I have seen that Scott; he was quite sharp. I didn’t expect Little Nine to actually kill him instead. It seems Little Nine has improved a lot recently.” Seeing Situ Huntian’s face getting uglier, Lei Hong hurriedly gave a dry laugh: “You need to go to the North Ice Prison this time, right? I’ll arrange a few guides for you, and a whole squad to clear the way. That’s generous enough, right?”

Situ Huntian’s expression improved slightly, but he was still a bit gloomy as he said: “It’s really hard to get by in our Tianlan. I’m even considering taking my men to the Free Alliance to make a living. I heard many small forces there fight all day long, so us mercenaries can make money, right?”

“Situ, why don’t you take the proper path and insist on working alone?” Lei Hong sighed: “Why not come to the army and help me? We brothers could carve out a world together.”

“Lei the Second, I thought you understood my ambition.”

“Haha, just kidding, just kidding. Drink, drink. By the way, I heard that Yu Shanshan is quite beautiful? Is she a match for my Little Nine?”

“…” Situ Huntian rolled his eyes at him in annoyance and drank from his large bowl.

Heavy snow fell, and the north wind seemed even fiercer. It howled across Hucun Mountain.

…

Speaking of the chase below Fierce Tiger Ridge, Lei Qing took the lead, relying on his familiarity with the terrain and the impressive quality of his Wuzhui mount. But Yu Shanshan and her Flying Snow were not bad either, almost reaching a true state of unity between horse and rider. Even on such extremely difficult mountain paths, they moved with ease, chasing straight after him.

As for An Feifei’s Flame Lion, although it was also a rare good horse, it was obviously a notch below Flying Snow or Wuzhui. Moreover, its body was strong and sturdy, good at charging but not at maneuvering. Before half an incense stick’s time, it had fallen far behind. The other Black Iron-rank elites were even worse off, having to dismount and lead their horses.

Lei Qing rushed along and, in a moment, arrived beside a steep cliff canyon. The terrain on the opposite side was slightly lower, but the gap between the two sides was two to three zhang wide. What was terrifying was that this cliff was no less than several dozen zhang deep; even if an expert fell, they would surely die. Because there wasn’t enough distance to sprint and accelerate, jumping over would test not only the quality of the warhorse but also the courage of the rider.

Lei Qing had extreme confidence in his Wuzhui. With their unity and the infusion of Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi into its body, a mere distance of five or six zhang for acceleration made Wuzhui boil with excitement. It rushed to the edge of the cliff and leaped high with a powerful push of its hind legs.

In that instant, time seemed to stop. Zuo Qianqian closed her eyes tightly and hugged Lei Qing’s waist desperately. Lei Qing, far from being afraid, felt his excitement and thrill increase as he soared into the air, his entire heart floating in mid-air.

The magnificent Wuzhui, with its streamlined body that was strong yet not stiff, outlined a perfect and moving picture. The wind in the mountain stream was strong, blowing their cloaks and hair constantly.

Clatter~ Wuzhui’s four hooves landed smoothly on solid ground one after another, looking relaxed and at ease, as if it had just done something trivial.

“Good Wuzhui, good horse.” Lei Qing happily patted the horse’s butt and glanced back at the pursuers following closely behind. Unless they were willing to abandon their horses and use their Fighting Qi to leap over, riding a horse across would not be an easy task. That would be a severe test of the rider’s courage.

But clearly, Lei Qing had underestimated the courage of Yu Shanshan and An Feifei. Both of them successfully leaped over one after another and continued the chase, leaving behind the pitiful Duncan the Mad Bear, whose horse had died.

Like a ghost haunting them!

Lei Qing heard a series of hoofbeats from afar getting closer and closer, and he smiled bitterly: “Qianqian, hold on tight, we have to speed up.” As he spoke, Wuzhui’s speed increased by a large margin.

After such chasing, in less than half an hour, Lei Qing had reached the foot of the mountain, while Yu Shanshan came down the mountain only a few dozen zhang away. An Feifei was nowhere to be seen; presumably, her Flame Lion had stumbled.

They had arrived at the foot of the back mountain of Fierce Tiger Ridge. Looking out, the terrain was flat. It was spring, and the mountains and fields were covered with various brilliant wildflowers and grass. When the warm spring breeze blew, a fragrant scent hit their noses, making one feel refreshed and happy.

However, amidst such beautiful scenery, Lei Qing had to flee for his life. With a shout to drive the horse, he galloped wildly across this flowery grassland.

“Squeak~”

Zuo Qianqian clamped her legs around Lei Qing’s waist, turned sideways in a twisted posture, drew her bowstring, and shot an arrow with a whoosh. But her target was Yu Shanshan; even Lei Qing couldn’t gauge her depth.

Yu Shanshan remained calm and gently deflected the arrow with the Shattered Star Spear in her hand. For an expert of this level, such an arrow was not something to be too concerned about.

“Qianqian, stop shooting at her.” Lei Qing looked back and said: “This woman has a fierce temper and is narrow-minded. Be careful or she’ll hold a grudge against you and send a group of people to hack you to pieces later.”

He thought he was speaking quietly, but he underestimated the combination of the tailwind and the speed of the Flying Snow horse. His words fell clearly into Yu Shanshan’s ears. Hearing this, Yu Shanshan fumed with rage, cursing Lei Qing inwardly: Good one, Lei Qing, I haven’t even called you lewd, despicable, and shameless yet. And now you’re slandering me? And I’m narrow-minded?

Besides, Lei Qing, you had the guts to do something that tarnished a girl’s innocence and made it known throughout the city to everyone on the street, yet you won’t allow me, Yu Shanshan, to find people to hack you?

“Brother Lei, is this the Miss Yu Shanshan you often mention? The one you peeked at while she was bathing?” Zuo Qianqian asked curiously, with a bit of a gossiping tone.

Yu Shanshan heard it from a distance with the help of the wind and was instantly ashamed and angry. Good one, Lei Qing, it wasn’t enough that you made it known throughout the capital. Now that you’re out, you actually tell everyone you meet about this? Do you have no regard for a girl’s innocence at all? Thinking this, she urged her horse to go faster.

“Uh, that, ha, what do you know, little girl?” Lei Qing said in annoyance, looking back.

“Hmph? I don’t know…” Zuo Qianqian snorted delicately: “I know all those embarrassing things you did with Sister Li in the room. Hmph, Brother Lei, you’re a big baddie, a big pervert. Sister Li even said you’re a big sex demon.”

Sure enough, even such a young girl knew this guy was a pervert; Yu Shanshan felt a sense of shared resentment. Suddenly, her heart gave a thump. Who was Sister Li? Could it be… a very bad premonition involuntarily surfaced.

…