Chapter 151
Chapter 151
“That’s it. There’s no more. Go away.”
Jiang Yunsui felt completely drained.
She lay on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.
There were so many yaks!
And every one of them was huge!
Oh, there were three little ones. They had probably been born not long ago.
But even they were much bigger than Jiang Yunsui.
They were fluffy, with big eyes and lashes even longer than hers.
Jiang Yunsui reached out to one of the calves crowding around her. This one was white, too.
It was the prettiest.
The herd was either black or white, though most were black. There were only three adult white yaks and one white calf.
She scratched the calf under its chin. It seemed to enjoy that, almost like a cat.
“I have to go back.”
She yawned, climbed to her feet, and studied the herd.
When cattle went mad or lost their temper, they were incredibly dangerous. The force of a charge was nothing like a horse’s. A person could be sent flying several yards.
But when calm, they looked exceptionally gentle and honest.
“I’m going back now.”
She dusted off her bottom, but she was so tired.
In her panic earlier, she had exhausted all the Imperial Flowing Essence stored inside her. Her whole body felt weak.
She had barely taken two steps when her legs turned to noodles and she flopped onto the ground.
“I’m exhausted.”
She rolled over and lay on the grass, watching the yaks.
At least these creatures seemed good-tempered right now. They had not charged her like that deer, which had gone crazy for no apparent reason.
Oh. The deer was dead now.
Its other antler had fallen off while it rolled downhill, too.
“Could you do me a favor?”
Jiang Yunsui decided it was worth a try.
A few minutes later, she was sitting astride the neck of a black yak.
Holding its horns to steer, she called, “This way, this way. Go over here.”
This was the same yak that had found her first and christened her with a faceful of drool.
“Moo~~~”
It was also the leader of the herd.
The other yaks trailed behind it. They were not as fast as horses, deer, or sheep, but they were steady. Their broad backs and necks were perfect for a child Jiang Yunsui’s size, and she could cling to their fur to keep her balance.
Riding at the head of the yak herd, Jiang Yunsui made her way back toward the top of the slope she had tumbled down.
After quite a while, they finally reached the summit.
“Jiang Yunsui! Jiang Yunsui…”
Dusk had already fallen. The sun had slipped behind the mountains, gilding the snowy peaks until they seemed touched by something divine.
“I’m over here!”
Jiang Yunsui shouted back. The people searching for her hurried toward the sound, only to see a herd of yaks standing atop the mountain, every one of them glowing warm gold in the last light of sunset.
On the yak at the very front, the person they had been searching for was waving one small hand with all her might.
“Ji Yan’an, Nanmo, Song Jin, Shen Qingzhu, Si Si… I’m here! Look at me!”
She called every name in turn. Whether they had actually come or not? Who cared!
Panting hard, Nanshu stared at the mountaintop in disbelief.
“Good heavens. Am I seeing things? What are those enormous things?”
“Yaks,” Song Jin said. “Wild yaks.”
Then he smiled. “Looks like all our worrying was wasted. This little one always turns danger into good fortune, and every time she brings us a completely different surprise.”
The group sent to find horses had come back empty-handed. They had spotted the herd from a cliff, and those creatures were far too fast. Even after searching in the direction they had run for a long time, they had found nothing.
Yet Jiang Yunsui had gone out to play and somehow brought back an entire herd of yaks.
She rode the yak downhill, then stood on its back. With one hand on her hip, she used the other to compare her height with theirs.
“Hahaha! I’m taller than all of you now!”
The little girl looked unbearably smug.
“Look at my mount! Isn’t it impressive? Don’t I look magnificent?”
Everyone nodded. “Magnificent. Very magnificent.”
Nanshu tried to pet the yak, but it shoved him away with its head. He snatched his hand back at once.
Song Jin said, “Try using your head. If this thing gets angry, it can smash your organs and every bone in your body.”
Nanshu sucked in a breath.
“But they look pretty docile right now.”
“Right now,” Song Jin said. “Yaks have unpredictable tempers, especially wild ones. Even wolf packs don’t dare provoke them.”
Fat Chef looked at Jiang Yunsui. “Little Yunsui, how did you end up like this? Even your clothes are torn.”
At the mention of it, her little face fell.
“I came over here to pick wildflowers, and then a deer suddenly ran out and rammed me. It chased me, too. I wasn’t careful and rolled down that slope.”
“Oh, right! My flowers are still over there.”
One of them had been especially beautiful.
Jiang Yunsui climbed down from the yak and scampered off to find the flowers she had dropped. The others followed her.
Along the way, they found an antler.
“I pulled this one off.”
“That deer’s antlers weren’t sturdy at all. I only grabbed it a little and it fell right off.”
Someone snorted with laughter. “No wonder it chased you.”
Jiang Yunsui planted her hands on her hips. “It definitely wasn’t my fault!”
“My flowers!”
She spotted the flowers scattered across the ground ahead and trotted over.
“Ahhh!”
Nanshu’s sudden shriek made Jiang Yunsui jump as she was gathering them.
“What are you yelling for?”
Fat Chef glared at him. He was far too jumpy for a grown man.
Nanshu pointed at the enormous lotus-shaped flower she had picked up. Its petals were snow-white and translucent, their veins clearly visible.
“I-isn’t that a Snow Lotus?!”
Fat Chef looked where he was pointing. “Oh! I think it really is.”
This was Jiang Yunsui’s favorite flower, too.
It had bloomed so large that when she held it in both hands, it hid her entire face.
The daylight was already fading, yet the Snow Lotus seemed to glow. It was breathtakingly beautiful.
“It really is a Snow Lotus.”
“And it looks quite old.”
Delight flashed in Shen Qingzhu’s eyes. “Did that deer start chasing you only after you picked this Snow Lotus?”
Jiang Yunsui thought about it. “Mm-hmm!”
“Then that explains it.”
“An ordinary Snow Lotus lives for about five years. But a few unusual ones do not wither after five or six years and continue growing. Their medicinal properties can be several times stronger than those of an ordinary Snow Lotus.
“This is what the legends call a thousand-year Snow Lotus. Of course, ‘thousand-year’ is an exaggeration. At least, I have never seen one that truly grew for a thousand years, nor would I know what such a flower looked like.
“To us, this already counts as a legendary natural treasure. Creatures often guard treasures like this, and that deer was probably its guardian.”
Jiang Yunsui fell silent.
So she had picked someone else’s treasure first, and that was why it had rammed her?
And now the deer was dead.
Oh no. Jiang Yunsui’s conscience was starting to hurt again.
Clutching the Snow Lotus, Little Mushroom looked guilty from head to toe. “Th-the deer died.”
Shen Qingzhu smiled. “Treasures like this depend on fate. It came into your hands through a strange twist of events, which means the bond of fate was yours.”
Ji Si suddenly appeared and pointed elsewhere. “Over there. I found a deer’s body.”