Chapter 62

The next day.

"Thud!"

"Ouch!"

"Brother Li, are you okay?"

Wu Xiaoliu and Chen Anan hurriedly helped Li Qi, who had just fallen flat on his back, to his feet.

"You guys get out of my way. I don’t believe this evil spirit can even affect a beast like you."

As soon as Li Qi stood up, he pushed Wu Xiaoliu and the others away and pointed at the very calm little donkey in front of him, cursing.

Occasionally breaking a promise once is forgivable, but if it happens two days in a row, and the other party is the same person, especially a woman, such a mistake is absolutely unforgivable.

Li Qi naturally knew the gravity of the situation, and since he needed Bai Qianruo’s help, he got up early in the morning to go to Wangchun Gate for the appointment.

However, due to the full day of running around the previous day, his legs were still sore, so Li Qi had Wu Xiaoliu rent a little donkey for him.

This was the first time he had ever ridden a donkey, and he was quite looking forward to it. However, he had already fallen off three times before he even left the courtyard, and the scene was truly pitiful.

"Brother Li, didn’t you always say you used to ride horses a lot? Why can’t you even get on a little donkey now?" Wu Xiaoliu tried to suppress his laughter and asked with a curious look.

"What do you mean ‘what kind of horse’? Remember, it’s called a ‘fine horse.’ Got it?" Li Qi said angrily.

"But I’ve seen people ride donkeys before, and they always mount them with their legs on either side. No one does it like you, with both legs on one side, and you don’t even hold the reins. Of course, you’re going to fall off." Chen Anan was very skeptical of Li Qi’s riding posture.

"Have you never heard of Zhang Guolao riding a donkey backward? This is called being cool. Understand?"

Both of them shook their heads.

"Forget it, forget it. I don’t have time to argue with you."

Li Qi waved his hand, seeing that it was already late, and glanced at the malnourished little donkey in front of him. He sighed, then mounted the donkey, following Chen Anan’s advice, steadying his legs on either side of the donkey’s body, and tightly gripping the reins with one hand. He extended the other hand to Wu Xiaoliu and said, "Give me my hat."

"Okay."

Wu Xiaoliu hurriedly handed the hat, which had a corner torn off, to Li Qi.

Li Qi took the hat, put it on his head in a stylish manner, and said, "Go!" as he clamped his legs around the donkey.

The little donkey snorted a few times and slowly walked forward.

Chen Anan watched Li Qi’s gradually receding back and asked Wu Xiaoliu, "Xiao Li, did Brother Li really ride horses before?"

Wu Xiaoliu shook his head and said, "I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s never ridden a donkey."

...

Li Qi rode the little donkey, swaying, to Wangchun Gate. He looked around but saw no sign of the White Lady.

No way, right? That girl can’t be deliberately playing me.

Just as Li Qi was feeling uneasy, a carriage suddenly rushed out from the side and stopped right next to him, scaring him almost off the donkey. Without even looking, he started cursing, "Damn! Can’t you drive? Didn’t you see someone standing here?" He hated people who violated traffic rules the most.

"I didn’t see anyone, but I did see a donkey." At this moment, a clear voice came from the carriage.

Huh? This voice sounds so familiar!

Li Qi leaned to one side and looked at the front of the carriage, where he saw a young girl smiling at him.

This girl was none other than Xing'er, Bai Qianruo’s maid, who was sitting next to a wrinkled old driver.

Damn! It’s you again, you stinky girl. What a narrow path we meet on.

Li Qi smiled coldly and said, "Oh, I wondered who it was. It’s Xing'er." Then he looked at the little donkey and said, "Bro, you’re doing great. Xing'er sees only you in this crowded place, ignoring even a handsome guy like me. Looks like you’ve got some good luck!"

Xing'er was taken aback for a moment, then reacted, her eyes wide open, pointing at Li Qi, about to start cursing, but suddenly heard a pleasant voice from inside the carriage, "In this sea of donkeys, Master Li chose this one, surely he has a special affection for it. My maid would never dare to take what someone else loves. Besides, this donkey is a female, making it a perfect match for Master Li."

Xing'er immediately turned from anger to joy, looking at Li Qi with a smug expression.

Li Qi was slightly taken aback and laughed, "Lady Bai, you make a good point. No wonder you chose a stallion." As he spoke, he pointed at the horse in front of the carriage.

The voice from the carriage was none other than Bai Qianruo.

Xing'er followed Li Qi’s finger and immediately blushed, pointing at Li Qi and saying, "You—You’re so vulgar."

Bai Qianruo, knowing she was no match for Li Qi in verbal sparring, huffed and said, "Xing'er, let’s go."

Xing'er glared at Li Qi and then whispered a few words to the driver.

Suddenly, the driver whipped the horse, shouting, "Go!"

The horse immediately galloped out of the city.

Sweat! I might have gone a bit too far.

Li Qi quickly shouted, "Lady Bai, where are you going? I was just joking with you."

"I’ve already found the person for you. It’s up to you to catch up."

Bai Qianruo’s voice came from a distance.

Li Qi looked down at his little donkey and shouted angrily, "Damn! Are you playing me?"

By this time, the carriage had already run more than ten yards away, and Bai Qianruo’s actions showed that she was serious.

"Bro, it’s time to show your strength. Come on—Come on, damn it! Can you run a bit faster?"

Li Qi, seeing the donkey still moving slowly, was so angry he wanted to kill it for a drink, and sighed, "If I had known this, I wouldn’t have saved that money this morning and let Xiao Liu rent a horse. What a regrettable mistake!"

Actually, Li Qi had also wanted to rent a horse, but he had never ridden one before and was very nervous. Donkeys were good; they were small, cute, and slow, with a very low chance of accidents. Moreover, in the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many more donkeys than horses. Those who could ride horses were either rich or noble, and horses were as valuable as Ferraris in his time, with very high rental fees.

But he hadn’t expected Bai Qianruo to come in a carriage, which caught him off guard.

...

After Bai Qianruo’s carriage had galloped for a while, she suddenly remembered Li Qi’s previous experience of getting lost and couldn’t help but worry. She frowned and shouted, "Stop the carriage."

The driver immediately stopped the carriage.

"Sister Qianruo, what’s the matter?" Xing'er asked in surprise.

Bai Qianruo said calmly, "Xing'er, go see if that boy is following us."

"Okay."

Xing'er responded, jumped off the carriage, and looked back. Although there were many people on the road, none of them were riding donkeys. She giggled, "Sister Qianruo, how can that boy’s donkey compare to our fine horse? He’s long gone."

Bai Qianruo, hearing this, felt a growing sense of worry. Li Qi was the main character today, and if he didn’t come, the trip would be in vain. She said, "Let’s wait for him here."

Xing'er, though unwilling, had to obey Bai Qianruo’s command.

The three of them waited for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, but still saw no sign of Li Qi.

This fool must have gotten lost again.

Bai Qianruo became increasingly worried and said anxiously, "Xing'er, let’s go back and look for that boy."

Just then, a light and cheerful song came from behind.

"I have a little donkey, I never ride it.

One day, I got a sudden urge, and rode it to the market.

I held a small whip in my hand, feeling very proud.

I don’t know why, but I fell off and got covered in mud."

Xing'er, hearing this, quickly jumped off the carriage and saw a young man wearing a broken hat, riding a little donkey, swaying toward them.

"Hey! Sister Qianruo, it’s that boy. —— Hmm? What strange little song is he singing?"

Bai Qianruo had already recognized Li Qi’s voice but couldn’t help but smile at the song, saying, "Who knows where he heard it from."