Tuya could not let go of the shadow of the wolf in the hunting ground. For several months afterwards, she secretly sent people to explore all over the grassland for any clues related to the galloping wolf.
After a whole summer of rain, the grassland in late autumn is the season when water and grass are fertile and cattle and sheep flock together. Tens of thousands of livestock can eat tens of thousands of kilograms of fodder in a single day, making each of them fat and muscular.
Sufficient energy was stored for overwintering. However, those beasts that specialized in eating horse liver were like ghosts, completely giving up on this group of easily available prey, and it was difficult to find a trace for the entire season, not even a hair or a footprint.
Can stay.
The girl gradually began to feel that the ones who had sneaked into the horse pen during the hunt earlier were really just a few snow leopards that accidentally wandered down from Lancang Mountain. After all, it was unlikely that the galloping wolves suddenly migrated from the wilderness to the hinterland of the Muyun tribe.
.And if someone really raised them in the mountains near the camp, how could they do it without leaking water or even the slightest sound of wind?
However, things are unpredictable. Just when Tuya was about to terminate the investigation and let the matter come to an end, the servants sent to explore for clues suddenly came to report that they had finally found traces of wolves in the northern Gobi. At first, Princess Di Ren still
She didn't believe it, but after seeing a few wolf hairs in the other person's hand, she immediately stood up!
Chilang is also a wolf. No matter how big it is, it must wear warm winter fur when facing the cold wind as sharp as a knife in Shuobei. And its fur is obviously different from ordinary wolf fur, even if it is
The innermost layer of overwintering hair is also much longer than ordinary wolf hair, as dense and thick as steel needles, and feels quite prickly.
Tuya thought for a moment, and immediately went to the next tent to call the black-eyed boy, and took him to go to the old general Yuan Ti, begging him to send troops to help. Unexpectedly, after listening to the two children's account, the other party was merciless.
The ground rebuked loudly:
"What nonsense! You actually kept this matter a secret from me for more than half a year?!"
"Old General, please don't be angry yet. I can explain to you——"
Princess Di Ren immediately smiled. Yuan Ti, who was wearing white iron armor, waved his hand and refused to listen any more: "Those galloping wolves have unknown origins and are extremely dangerous! If you two act without permission, if something goes wrong
No matter what, Mrs. Kezun and King Tieqin have spirits in heaven, and they will definitely blame me!"
"But what if I tell the old general that those galloping wolves may have been specially raised in the mountains? Jiang Yan once tore off a collar from one of them, and now these giant beasts are wandering around Yanluoyuan again.
It poses a threat to our Muyun Department, how can I turn a deaf ear as a princess!"
Tuya was a little anxious and raised her voice unconsciously. But the old man opposite was not moved at all:
"This is not a problem that you should worry about now, princess. Since the old minister knows about this matter, he will find an opportunity to report it to Hehan. But for His Highness, it is safest to stay in Yanluoyuan with his own people at the moment.
, the most prudent response. I will never allow the two of you to leave the camp without permission again, nor will I allocate already stretched troops into the mountains because of this matter!"
Tuya saw that she couldn't explain to the other party, so she didn't waste any more words and directly pulled Jiang Yan out of the camp. However, when he rushed to the horse pen, he learned that he had just left the horse circle, and Yuan Ti sent an order to the horse.
They were placed on guard and ordered not to allow them to lead their horses away for any reason.
The girl understood that although the field of view on the grassland was wide, it was impossible to reach the mountains without a horse. Without a mount, she would not be able to find far with just her own two legs. She immediately jumped with excitement, and a pair of deerskin boots trampled the snow.
Creaking:
"What should we do now? If we don't go today, the clues we finally got will be lost."
"You are a princess after all, don't you think the guards will give you any respect?" the black-eyed boy asked with squinting eyes.
"You don't know that General Yuan Ti is famous for being right-spoken in the Muyun Department. If the guards dare to give us a horse's tail hair today, they will inevitably be severely punished in the future. Even if they tell the truth, it is absolutely impossible.
They will let us in and lead the horses."
The Di Ren girl shook her head vigorously, but when she saw Jiang Yan on the opposite side frowning and thinking for a moment, she suddenly turned around and walked towards the horse pen again, and quickly stretched out her hand to grab him:
"Did you listen to me just now? It's definitely not going to work for us to lead the horse in such a grand manner!"
Jiang Yan smiled mysteriously at her: "Who told you that I was going to lead the horse? Although people can't get in at the moment, I didn't say that I couldn't let the horse run out on its own."
"What on earth did you have in mind?"
Tuya still didn't know what was going on, but she followed closely behind her companion.
"Just now when I passed by the horse pen, I happened to see one of the black horses that looked very similar to my Wuchen! I guess it was brought back by the Tiezhongshan people after the attack on Yimubu last year. Wuchen was raised by me since he was a child.
Yes, it recognizes the whistle I blow. Later, when we hide a little further away, just blow the whistle and it will try to come out to find me!"
The black-eyed boy had not seen his beloved horse for almost a year. At this time, he could not hold back the joy in his heart and could not help but quicken his pace.
Sure enough, there were still more than a hundred steps away from the horse pen, and the two of them saw a young and strong black horse from a distance. At this time, the horse was led aside by several Shuodi warriors, and it seemed that it was being trained, but
It refuses to listen to anyone. As long as someone climbs up its back, it will immediately jump up and down, and will not stop until it throws the rider off the ground. It is Wu Chen!
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yan smiled slightly, pursed his lips and blew a whistle. Although the whistle was silent, the tune was distant and long. It was the tune that Ning Yue had taught him.
As soon as he heard the whistle, the black stallion immediately perked up his ears, turned his head and looked around astutely. Jiang Yan took a deep breath and continued to whistle. The horse finally determined the location of its master.
Gao Gao raised his horse's head upwards and pulled the reins out of the hands of several warriors.
The Shuodi warriors in the circle immediately screamed and gathered around, trying to grab the reins again, but Wu Chen was not willing to give them a chance? He stood there for a moment, but when the opponent rushed forward, he suddenly exerted force.
, pushed forward suddenly, and then made another sudden stop, knocking all those people over in the snow.
Wu Chen's strength was just right. Although he knocked people down, he did not hurt them. Then he took a few steps back and accelerated toward the fence in front of him. With just a little effort, the strong horse became as light as a piece of water.
Like a black cloud, he crossed the fence that was half a man high and landed firmly outside the circle. He turned around and shouted at the Shuodi warriors on the ground, seeming to be mocking the other party's attempt to trap him.
It was different from an idiot's dream. Then, it spread its hooves and ran straight in the direction where the whistle came from!
Those Shuodi warriors had been living on horseback since childhood. They couldn't bear this breath, so they immediately got on their mounts and followed. However, when they caught up with Wu Chen, they saw that Tuya had already sat on the
On the back of the horse.
After the warriors hesitated for a moment, they dismounted and saluted the girl. But before they could say anything, Princess Shuodi had already sent her back:
"I have taken a liking to this dark horse, so don't you think of it any more."
The warriors also understood that Wu Chen was a rare good horse and were unwilling to give up: "Princess, this stallion has not been gelded yet, but it is very stubborn. If you want to ride a horse, my subordinates will go and find one right now."
Something more suitable will come—"
"Without any trouble, you can all go back."
Seeing the opponent's firm tone, the few warriors could not continue to forcefully take Wu Chen back, so they had no choice but to leave angrily. After watching them leave, Shuodi girl turned around and saw the black horse rubbing his nose against Jiang Yan's face.
The young man also held the horse's neck tightly with his hands, looking affectionate and gentle.
She couldn't help but gain a new understanding of this taciturn companion: "I didn't expect that you would be loved by horses even more than Shuodi people."
"Wuchen and I have the same fate. We even have the same temperament. Naturally, we have the same mind." The black-eyed boy raised his head quite proudly.
"They're all equally stubborn, right?"
Tuya covered her mouth and made a joke, but changed the subject, "The song you just played was taught by the red-haired girl, right?"
Jiang Yan was a little confused as to why the other party asked this. He was stunned for a moment, but he did not deliberately avoid it: "How do you know? Yue'er often sings this song, and I learned it just by listening to it."
"You are a person who likes to wield swords and guns all day long. If someone didn't teach you patiently, how could you be interested in things like music?" Shuodi girl said but lowered her eyes and her voice became very soft.
, "It seems that you really like that girl...she is so lucky..."
"What did you say?"
Jiang Yan didn't hear clearly for a while, so he let go of Wu Chen's hand and turned around to ask. Tu Ya shook her head and refused to say anything more:
"Let's not talk about this for now. Now that we have the horse, there is no need to waste any more time."
As the girl spoke, she moved back on the horse and motioned for Jiang Yan to sit in front of her. The black-eyed boy didn't ask any more questions, and immediately got on the saddle and held the horse's rein firmly in his hands.
With a neigh, the black horse spread its hooves on the grassland and ran quickly towards the depths of the northern tundra. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a small dot and could no longer be seen.
An hour later, the two finally arrived at the Gobi Desert where the hair of the galloping wolf was found. A snowfall last night quietly covered up any traces that the wolves might have left. The two slowed down and searched as they walked.
, suddenly saw a few dark brown things on the white snow, which were clearly several fresh wolf dung!
The feces should have been left just a few hours ago. Jiang Yan dismounted and explored the area carefully, and soon found a series of footprints covered in dry snow that had turned into solid ice:
"It seems that only one wolf passed by, and it seemed to be hiding in the mountains behind the Gobi. Do we still want to chase it?"
Tuya also understood that her companions were reminding her that she might encounter danger if she continued to move forward. But she was still unwilling to do so. She felt that it would be a pity to give up the hard-won opportunity like this. At least, she had to find some more convincing.
Yuan Ti’s evidence must be returned, otherwise it will only become more difficult to come out next time. There may even be no chance of leaving the camp.
So, after the girl hesitated for a moment, she still signaled Yan Da Ma to continue moving forward. However, the weather on the grassland changed at a moment's notice. Soon after the two entered the mountain, the originally clear sky above their heads unexpectedly gathered together.
A large dark cloud appeared, and then the north wind blew loudly. Before they could react, a blizzard came quietly.
The mountain road in the wind and snow seemed to have changed in an instant. When Tuya decided to turn around and go back, she realized that the hoof prints on the ground had long since disappeared, and she could no longer find the way back.
The girl suddenly regretted her reckless decision and began to blame herself. However, Jiang Yan knew that it was useless to say anything at this time. He just concentrated on finding the way back to the camp. Suddenly, he felt the girl holding her hand on his waist.
His hands tightened and he turned around to see the other party pointing at the few raised rocks they had just passed and saying:
"Jiang Yan, wait a minute, look at that - what is that?!"
The young man originally thought he had seen it wrong, but Tuya's tone was full of uneasiness and fear, which finally made him realize that those stones were indeed unusual. After he jumped off the horse and took a closer look, he could clearly see the size of the stones.
The different, uneven stones were actually piles of animal bones buried under the white snow!
Jiang Yan immediately looked around vigilantly, then squatted down and picked up one of the bones. There were several obvious tooth marks on the bone, indicating that it had indeed been gnawed by some large beast.
"Be careful, we may be very close to the wolf's den!" He lowered his voice and motioned to the girl who was still sitting on the horse to hold on to the reins, while he took off Xiao Tianmo from his back.
"What kind of bones are these? Could they be human?" Tuya could no longer hide the panic in her heart, and even her voice trembled.
"Definitely not. The cross-sections of these skeletons are neat. They were obviously cut off with sharp blades and then used as bait specially fed to the wolves in this mountain col!"
"How did you figure it out?"
"I have been a hunter before, so I am not just guessing! The wind and snow are the best cover for the wolves to launch an attack. Moreover, the view in the mountains is narrow, so it is not advisable to stay for a long time. We must leave quickly!"
As he spoke, the black-eyed boy's expression became more solemn. To this day, he still often dreams about the scene when he and Ning Yue encountered the galloping wolf in Leiyin Mountain. Every time he wakes up, the clothes all over his body feel as if they are in the mountains.
It looked like it had been washed in water and soaked through with cold sweat.
Before he finished speaking, there was a faint strange sound in the howling north wind. It seemed like a whimper or a howl. However, as soon as he heard the sound, Jiang Yan had already keenly concluded that it was a wolf howling!
He quickly squinted his eyes and looked into the wind and snow, and sure enough he saw a few black shadows shaking on a cliff not far from the two of them. The young man did not dare to delay any further and immediately got on his horse. Who would have thought that just now
After turning the horse's head, three giant wolves, almost as big as Wuchen, sprang straight out of the wind and snow in front of them!
Six pairs of pale yellow wolf eyes stared straight at him, causing Jiang Yan to feel numb all over. Unexpectedly, the three galloping wolves did not attack immediately, nor did they intend to retreat. It was obviously not the first time they had seen him.
They looked like living people. Jiang Yan vaguely saw that those wolves also had collars as thick as forearms tied around their necks. They were really being raised here!
"Jiang Yan, the wolf has already come, why don't we run away?" Tuya behind him was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly.
However, the black-eyed boy tightened the reins in his hands, clamped Wu Chen's belly with both legs, and ordered the mount not to act rashly:
"It's too late to run now! These wolves are testing our strength at this moment. Once we turn around and run away, they will know that we are afraid and will immediately pounce on us and attack!"
In this way, one horse, two people and three wolves were in a stalemate in the wind and snow. Seeing that the patience of both sides was almost exhausted, and at the critical moment when the giant wolf was about to strangle the prey, there was a sound in the wind and snow ahead.
There was a rustling sound. However, this time the sound was obviously not the howling of wolves, but the neighing sound of a cavalry!
Jiang Yan's heart trembled, and he immediately raised his eyes and saw a group of Shuodi cavalry wearing heavy armor rushing out of the wind and snow. It was Yuan Ti who was leading more than 20 Tiezhongshanmen, heading straight towards the three lines.
Chilang launched a charge!
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