Chapter 84

The next morning, the white horse was resting on the grass. Seeing Lu Zheng approaching with a bag of beans, it turned its head away after just a glance, remembering the lesson from last time.

Lu Zheng called out with a smile, "Little White, good morning!" He had decided the day before to give the white horse a name, as it would be awkward to call it by no name. Without caring whether the horse understood or not, he named it Little White because of its snow-white coat. Lu Zheng placed the bag in front of the horse, opened it, and said, "Eat slowly!" Then he went off to practice archery.

The white horse blinked, unsure what Lu Zheng was up to. It bit the bag and flung it away, scattering the beans on the ground.

Lu Zheng seemed not to notice, focusing on his archery. He shot nearly two hundred arrows, almost all hitting the target. After making up for the few misses, he packed up his bow and arrows, greeted the horse, and whistled as he left.

For the next ten days, Lu Zheng repeated the same routine. Every day, he brought a bag of beans, placed it in front of the horse, and greeted it with, "Little White, good morning!" Then he practiced archery, ignoring the horse. After finishing, he would greet the horse again and leave.

Since Lu Zheng decided to befriend the white horse, which he named Little White, he was determined to understand it gradually. Although he seemed to ignore Little White, he would secretly observe it during his archery breaks, noting its activities. Over time, he became familiar with Little White's habits.

There was no need to describe Little White's appearance; the more Lu Zheng looked, the more he found it to be an incredibly majestic white horse. From its skin, fur, to its posture when running, every time Little White ran, Lu Zheng paid close attention. Watching Little White gallop on the training ground was a true pleasure.

During its gallop, Little White's body moved smoothly, its four legs stretching and contracting, causing its muscles to ripple like waves. However, Lu Zheng noticed that if the rippling muscles were the waves, the source of the waves was Little White's hindquarters. Horses generally have well-developed hind muscles, and Little White's were particularly strong and round.

In terms of physique, Little White had a long body with well-developed hind muscles, making it look robust. However, its legs were not thick, appearing almost slender from a distance, which made one wonder how such thin legs could support its robust body. According to Lu Zheng's observations, during its run, its legs seemed to exert little force, landing lightly as if on clouds, making the entire body seem weightless, yet it moved with the speed of a flash. The hooves made no messy sounds, but a rhythmic, beautiful melody.

The most important discovery Lu Zheng made was that Little White loved beans! In Lu Zheng's view, Little White's love for beans was no less than his teacher's love for fish. His teacher enjoyed various kinds of fish, and Little White enjoyed various kinds of beans. While his teacher liked to try different ways of cooking fish, Little White was not picky and would eat any kind of beans, with no particular preference for preparation or taste.

The first time Lu Zheng brought beans, Little White buried its head in the bag and ate half before coming out. Lu Zheng knew Little White loved beans. However, the second time, Little White, remembering the first time, ignored the beans. Lu Zheng had just placed the bag when it was flung away, scattering the beans on the ground.

But Lu Zheng did not give up. He continued to bring beans every day, which Little White would fling away. After finishing his archery, Lu Zheng would not immediately clean up the scattered beans but would wait until the next day to do so.

During this time, Lu Zheng noticed that the scattered beans were slightly fewer when collected, though not noticeable at first. It seemed Little White was not refusing to eat but was unwilling to eat in front of him. So, Lu Zheng pretended not to notice, picked up the beans, and placed them in front of Little White again, which it would still fling away.

Lu Zheng was not angry and continued his routine. On the third day, the beans were even fewer, and Lu Zheng secretly smiled, realizing Little White's wariness was decreasing.

Sure enough, on the fourth day, Lu Zheng saw that the beans on the ground were significantly fewer. He did not collect them this time, finishing his archery quickly and leaving. As soon as Lu Zheng left the training ground, a white flash darted from a corner, and it was Little White!

It turned out that during the four days Lu Zheng was secretly observing Little White, Little White was also secretly observing Lu Zheng. As the king of all horses, it was highly intelligent. On the first day, when Lu Zheng brought beans, Little White knew the boy wanted to ride it, so it refused to eat and flung the beans away to show its determination. Indeed, the boy did not dare to approach it all day and even forgot to clean up the beans when he left.

After Lu Zheng left, Little White ran a few laps around the training ground and saw a few beans on the ground. It immediately ate them, then noticed more scattered beans and neighed happily. Wait, these beans were left by that boy, weren't they? Little White suddenly realized these were the beans the boy used to try to win its favor. It decided not to eat them, but the few it had already eaten didn't count.

The next day, Little White saw the boy collect the beans and place them in front of it again. It immediately flung the bag away. Ha! Did it think the king of all horses would be bought with a bag of fragrant beans? Of course, when it bit the bag, two beans accidentally fell into its mouth. The boy didn't notice, so Little White quickly chewed and swallowed them, hoping the boy didn't see.

After a while, the boy left. Little White circled the scattered beans, smelling their aroma. It had accidentally eaten a few beans the day before, and the boy didn't notice, so it decided to eat a few more today, the same amount as yesterday. The boy wouldn't notice. Crunch, crunch, Little White started eating the beans!

Oh no, it ate a bit more than yesterday! This would be noticed by the boy, so Little White quickly ran away from the beans.

On the third day, Little White woke up early and pretended to be sleeping. The boy greeted it, collected the beans, and placed them in front of it again. The boy still hadn't noticed the beans were fewer, so Little White neighed happily and galloped around the training ground. The boy didn't know the beans would be fewer, so it could eat more when he left!

To avoid suspicion, Little White stayed far from the beans. Finally, the boy left. In an instant, a white flash darted toward the beans, and Little White started crunching happily, the beans gradually disappearing.

That day, the boy didn't collect the beans and left quickly. Little White, of course, took the opportunity to eat a lot!

Lu Zheng had noticed all of this.

The next day, Lu Zheng brought a new bag of beans to the training ground. The ground was clean, and Little White was sleeping. Lu Zheng placed the beans and greeted it, "Little White, good morning!" Then he went to practice archery.

As soon as Lu Zheng left, Little White's eyes snapped open. A different aroma filled its nostrils. This was a type of bean it had never eaten before! Little White was excited. The boy hadn't noticed the beans were finished yesterday and had brought a new bag. Little White neighed joyfully, running around the training ground, celebrating the start of a happy life with daily beans!

Just as Little White was falling into Lu Zheng's bean trap, Le Zhongping, who had been missing for a long time, returned to the Rizhuyue Pavilion. He greeted everyone with a smile, sat down, and prepared to eat, but there was nothing on the table.

Le Zhongping looked pitifully at Li Yi, who raised an eyebrow and waved his hand. Food appeared on Le Zhongping's table, and he was delighted.

After eating, Li Yi left. Le Zhongping took a sip of wine, looking extremely content. Xin asked, "Uncle Le, where have you been these past few days? Teacher knows you told us about Teacher's wife."

Le Zhongping continued drinking, waving his hand at Xin. "It's nothing, nothing. Your teacher doesn't blame me anymore, or I wouldn't be drinking. Xin is the only one who cares about Uncle Le, unlike that ungrateful boy." He glanced at Lu Zheng. "Ungrateful boy, how are you getting along with the white dragon colt?"

Lu Zheng was taken aback. The ungrateful boy was him? When had he been ungrateful? What was a white dragon colt? Was it Little White? He asked, "Uncle Le, do you mean Little White? I'm getting along well with it. I bring it beans every day, and it doesn't mind me getting closer now!"

Le Zhongping almost spat out his wine, exclaiming, "What? You're feeding it beans?"

Lu Zheng was startled by Le Zhongping's reaction. "What, can't Little White eat beans?"

Le Zhongping had a strange expression, grinning slyly. "Little White? You're calling it Little White? Beans are fine, but... hehe, you'll find out in a couple of days."

Xin asked, "Uncle Le, what is a white dragon colt?"

Le Zhongping put down his wine cup. "As the saying goes, 'Heaven has dragons, Earth has horses.' Dragons are celestial beings, unpredictable and ever-changing. Horses are terrestrial travelers, tireless and strong. The best horses are often described as dragons, and young horses are called colts. Xin, now you know what a white dragon colt is, the king of all horses!"