Chapter 163
Chapter 163
The tallest tent at the center of the Fengshan Elite Cavalry Main Camp was the General’s command tent.
Led by a soldier, Qin Ying stopped in front of it.
The Fengshan Elite Cavalry had no shortage of livestock for hauling supplies and clearly possessed considerable resources. Their command tent was practically a mansion with four rooms and a main hall.
Inside a wooden-fenced enclosure in front of the tent stood the commander’s banner. Its pole was almost as thick as two bowls placed side by side, and a riding beast was tethered to it.
It looked like an exceptionally magnificent horse. Its snow-white coat shimmered silver beneath the Chixia Region’s distinctive light.
A long, wavy mane of bluish purple cascaded down its neck, while a sharp horn resembling White Jade rose from the center of its brow.
The moment Qin Ying saw it, she stopped dead.
Several phrases emerged from the depths of her mind in quick succession.
My Little Pony. A beauty among horses…
A unicorn!
You couldn’t blame Qin Ying for having been so thoroughly brainwashed by Country M’s culture. A beautiful creature like this naturally invited such associations.
The creature under her gaze snorted noisily.
As it tossed its head, the bells around its neck jingled, drawing even more attention to the reins and tack strapped around its body.
Seeing Qin Ying pause, the soldier leading her followed her gaze and immediately understood.
His expression turned complicated, but he ultimately warned her, “That’s General Chen’s mount. Don’t get too close, or you’ll be asking for trouble.”
Qin Ying assumed General Chen was simply very protective of this glittering, beautiful creature, so she nodded.
Yet the instant they stepped through the fence, the gorgeous horse tied to the flagpole raised its tail.
In broad daylight, it deposited several steaming piles of neat, round droppings.
Qin Ying vaguely felt a certain glamorous filter crack and shatter.
The soldier’s face changed drastically. “Run!”
With that, he ducked his head and bolted.
He had already warned her. He certainly didn’t have time to worry about whether Qin Ying lived or died.
He had barely taken two steps when someone shot past him with a whoosh.
The Sand People Shaman in the mysterious-looking hooded robe was running even faster than he was.
She clutched the hem of her robe in both hands, her dignity completely forgotten.
Before the soldier could marvel at her survival instincts, the beautiful steed that had just produced those piles of dung kicked up its hind legs.
As though starting a snowball fight, it stomped and kicked its fresh droppings straight at Qin Ying and the soldier.
An indescribable fermented stench spread through the air.
The soldier slowed when he turned to look at Qin Ying, and in the next instant, he was showered in manure.
He froze in shock at the warm splatter across his face, only to see that Qin Ying had already darted into the tent.
Covered in filth, the soldier stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to enter or retreat.
The tent flap silently opened a narrow crack. General Chen peeked out with one eye and waved him away in disgust.
“Don’t come in! Go collect some Shadowgrass Powder and clean yourself up.”
His immediate superior was utterly heartless, while the culprit had already swished its rump and gone back to eating fodder. With a miserable expression, the soldier saluted and left.
The tent flap quietly fell shut again.
“My apologies. How embarrassing.”
General Chen, who had been waiting behind his desk in a carefully composed pose, expertly pulled out a large jar of Shadowgrass Powder.
He sprinkled it around the foul-smelling tent.
Shadowgrass Powder truly deserved its reputation as an excellent odor-masking agent. After he scattered a little in each corner, the pervasive stench soon vanished without a trace.
Qin Ying had always been one to heed warnings, so when she thought danger was imminent, she had grabbed her robe and run. After standing awkwardly to the side for a moment, she calmly lowered her hem and pretended nothing had happened.
It wasn’t that she was thick-skinned. She was simply very good at pretending.
Her composure only made embarrassment appear on General Chen’s perfectly square face.
He cleared his throat, set down the large jar of Shadowgrass Powder, and said to Qin Ying, “The one outside is my mount, Liaoyuan. Its personality is… a little lively.”
Behind her veil, Qin Ying’s expression turned knowing.
Could that really be called a little spirited? A horse that flung dung at people. What a waste of such good looks.
General Chen had seen that reaction many times before, but he still felt his pride take another blow. He waved a hand. “Sit down for now. I’ll deal with the mess outside.”
With that, he lifted the tent flap and left, actually abandoning Qin Ying, who was currently posing as one of the Sand People, alone inside.
He personally went to shovel up the horse manure and get rid of the smell.
Qin Ying could even hear him softly coaxing the horse named Liaoyuan, calling it “my honored ancestor” over and over again.
She turned toward the rush mat inside the tent, using the movement to survey her surroundings.
It was a typical military tent, furnished with folding stools and a low table covered in military reports. A massive map stood in one corner.
She could not tell what kind of animal hide it had been made from, but the colors painted across it were exceptionally vivid and eye-catching.
Qin Ying had excellent eyesight. She could make out the mountains, rivers, waterways, and markings denoting Monstrous Beast habitats.
She was intensely curious, but she also knew one ironclad rule: curiosity at the wrong time was no different from courting death.
She did not fear death in her current Soul-Container Consecration body, but she was posing as one of the Sand People. A single mistake could get many others killed.
Qin Ying found herself a small folding stool, sat with her back to the map, tugged down the edge of her hood, and closed her eyes as if resting.
Before long, a quiet but distinct tsk sounded behind her.
It had come out of nowhere.
It was like someone had silently crept up behind her and peeked over her shoulder at her phone, only to grumble in disappointment when they failed to see what they wanted.
Qin Ying’s heart rate spiked. She drove her elbow backward, but struck nothing.
Her blow failed to connect, yet for a split second, she caught the pungent, gamy scent of an animal.
Qin Ying sprang to her feet as fast as she could and drew the small dagger at her waist.
The folding stool toppled over with a clatter.
A white figure half as tall as a man, with unnaturally long arms, grabbed one of the tent poles and swung into the shadows.
Qin Ying did not pursue it. Gripping her dagger warily, she backed toward the tent entrance.
Just as she reached it, a hand reached out and pressed down on her shoulder from behind.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Before the words had even faded, Qin Ying registered a man’s voice. She spun around and drove her knee upward.
Yet the move that had never failed her in the modern world was casually swatted aside.
General Chen’s grinning face appeared before her. “It’s the Tent-Guard Monkey I raised.”
“It found you interesting, so it decided to toy with you.”
He acted as though nothing had happened, his broad, square face creasing into a smile like the King of Hearts on a playing card.
“Was it really the monkey toying with me?” Qin Ying’s voice turned cold.
She walked straight past General Chen, making to leave.
“Hey, hey! What a temper.” Realizing she had seen through his little test, General Chen hurried to stop her. “Come back, come back.”
“You’re the Shaman of your clan. How can you throw a young girl’s tantrum like this?”
Qin Ying stopped. She neither rose to his bait nor wasted time second-guessing herself. Turning back, she retorted bluntly, “You tested me because of your discourteous suspicion and lack of respect. What does that have to do with whether I’m a man or a woman?”
“Anyone who is treated without respect has the right to be angry.”
Instead of taking offense at her rebuke, General Chen laughed. “Fine, fine. I was in the wrong.”
He was also worried that Han Lie, inexperienced in matters of the heart, had fallen prey to an outsider’s scheme.
Qin Ying paused. To avoid causing trouble for the Sand People, she returned to the little folding stool and sat down.
Perhaps sensing her cold demeanor, something atop the tent let out a series of eerily human cackles.
A monkey half as tall as a man dropped from the tent roof, a golden saber strapped across its back.
It had a black face, a muzzle somewhat like a dog’s, and white fur covering its entire body.
It kept covering its mouth and cackling at Qin Ying, creating a thoroughly unsettling sight.
General Chen smacked it on the back of the head, then said to Qin Ying, “Sit. Let’s discuss your reward for using your medicine to save our soldiers.”