Chapter 75

"Yah!"

Luo Shixin rode the fine steed given by Yinan, galloping back and forth, utterly delighted. He had specially tested the horse's capabilities and found that it indeed lived up to the brilliant characteristic of having the bloodline of a Heavenly Horse. In terms of speed, explosive power, and endurance, it far surpassed his original Hequ horse, and would provide him with more assistance on the battlefield. Especially during a charge, combining his martial valor that could cleave through a thousand troops with the horse's explosive power and speed, breaking through enemy formations and slaying foes would be as easy as taking something from a pocket.

"Look at you, so happy over just a horse!" Pei Qingyi couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. The current Luo Shixin was like a child who had just received a new toy, unwilling to let it go.

"Lady Pei, you don't understand. A good horse is what a brave warrior pursues all his life," Qi Hua said enviously, his gaze lingering on the horse for a moment.

"Exactly!" Luo Shixin added, emphasizing his point with dissatisfaction. "It's not just any horse... it's a Heavenly Horse, a steed with the bloodline of a Heavenly Horse, a treasure worth a thousand pieces of gold. In the past, Emperor Wu of Han even launched a war to obtain Heavenly Horses... Just having the bloodline of a Heavenly Horse gives it such remarkable qualities. If it were a purebred Heavenly Horse, it would be like the legendary Wuzui of Xiang Yu or the Chitu of Lü Bu, capable of traveling a thousand miles in a day and eight hundred at night! How wonderful it would be if I could have one."

He ignored the lowbrow Pei Qingyi and fell into his own fantasies.

On the journey east, Luo Shixin remained immersed in the joy of obtaining the fine steed. He thought long and hard, taking into account the opinions of Pei Qingyi and Qi Hua, and finally named the horse Chibi.

When they reached Xuantu City in Liaodong, a not-so-small trouble found them. Chibi was a world-class steed, hard to come by for a thousand pieces of gold. In the cold Liaodong, most horses were small and hardy, similar to the Mongolian horses. A tall and robust breed like Chibi was extremely rare. As soon as they entered the city, it caused a sensation, and wealthy merchants swarmed to try to buy Chibi from Luo Shixin.

If it weren't for Qi Hua, who fluently spoke Fuyu and pretended to be a local, persuading all the merchants to back off, they might have encountered a forced purchase.

They had originally planned to stay in the city for a night but had to leave hastily.

"A bunch of country bumpkins who've never seen a good horse!" Luo Shixin had been holding back the urge to hit someone. If it weren't for the important matters at hand, his fists would have already flown. "This won't do. Country bumpkins are hard to deal with, and Chibi is too conspicuous. Is there any way to send Chibi back to Dingzhou or entrust it to someone?"

Qi Hua also realized the problem and quickly said, "I have a trustworthy friend who lives outside Xuantu City. He can take care of it."

Luo Shixin agreed, "Let's do that..." He took out a piece of gold and handed it to Qi Hua, asking his friend to take good care of Chibi. Gold was not a universal currency, but it was in demand everywhere and could be exchanged for local currency at any time. He had brought plenty of it for this journey.

After settling Chibi, Qi Hua bought three Liaodong horses for travel. The Liaodong horses were similar to Mongolian horses, small and unremarkable in appearance but hardy and cold-resistant, with strong vitality, able to survive in harsh conditions. However, their explosive power and speed were not particularly impressive.

In Liaodong, it was indeed best to use Liaodong horses for travel, as other horses could not withstand the harsh climate and would likely die.

The Tang Dynasty's first campaign against Goguryeo suffered a significant loss. The Tang army, with high morale, successively captured ten cities, and in the major battles of Xincheng, Jian'an, and Zhubi, they killed 40,000 enemies while only losing 2,000 soldiers. However, the warhorses they brought on the campaign were lost by more than 70-80%.

The harsh environment here was evident.

The three spent a night in the wild and set off east early the next morning.

Without Chibi drawing attention, Luo Shixin and Pei Qingyi were very low-key, hardly speaking. Qi Hua handled everything.

Qi Hua had been a speculator in his early years, smuggling between Youzhou, Goguryeo, and Silla. After marrying and having children, he settled down in Youzhou. His skills were honed during that time. Luo Shixin's secret orders were carried out smoothly by him, leaving no room for criticism.

The main focus of this journey was to gather information about Sun Simiao, and the situation was more optimistic than they had imagined.

Information about Sun Simiao was easily obtained.

A person like him was like a firefly in the dark, so distinct and outstanding. He treated patients wherever he went, without ignoring the Goguryeo people, treating them with the same patience as always.

With his medical skills, he could alleviate or improve most illnesses, and those he couldn't cure were almost like being sentenced to death.

Such a person could not be overlooked.

In every city and county, they could gather some information about him.

As Lu Wenming's information suggested, Sun Simiao's destination was undoubtedly Taibai Mountain.

Luo Shixin calculated the time and found that Sun Simiao's stay in each place depended on the number of patients. If there were many patients, he would stay for 30 to 50 days, treating all the patients before moving on. This meant he might not have already reached Taibai Mountain.

Thus, they decided to head to Taibai Mountain first, regardless of any intelligence.

After a journey of wind and rain, they arrived at the foot of Taibai Mountain, where they found it was snowing.

The snow fell heavily, covering the world in white.

Especially on Taibai Mountain, the scene was breathtaking.

However, Luo Shixin had no heart to appreciate the beauty. He hadn't expected the snow to fall so early on Taibai Mountain. It was only November, and the entire mountain range was already covered in snow. He didn't know that in Taibai Mountain, October was the normal month for snow, and by late November, the snow was already several feet deep.

The three entered a small village at the foot of Taibai Mountain.

"I hope we arrive before Doctor Sun. Otherwise, it will be troublesome. I don't know whether to be happy or sad!" Luo Shixin asked Qi Hua to go into the village first to gather information.

He took out two dry cakes from his bag, gave one to Pei Qingyi, and started to eat.

The frozen cakes were dry and hard, and he was soon parched. He took a big gulp from his water bag, the icy cold water piercing his heart and lungs, even making the robust Luo Shixin shiver.

Pei Qingyi, being a woman, chewed slowly and didn't feel as thirsty. She looked at Luo Shixin's reaction and hesitated to drink from her own water bag.

Luo Shixin, being chivalrous, smiled and said, "I'll go get some hot water!"

During the idle time after dark, he had been learning Fuyu with Qi Hua.

As a person from the future, with experience in learning English, Fuyu was much simpler than Chinese or English. After a dozen days, he could have some simple conversations, which surprised his teacher, Qi Hua.

PS: Tomorrow is the safe and civilized driving test. Finally, the last hurdle for the driver's license.

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