Facing the two Chitu horses, Ah-Jun couldn't help but feel curious. He innocently pointed at them, voicing his confusion—and for this perfectly normal question, Bo Yue smiled cheerfully and began explaining the first mystery in the boy's mind.
As it turned out, there were two Ferghana horses of this generation, both Chitu, both twins—so then, what about the horse from before? That one was called Tu-Tu, Bo Yue's own mount... And now, the horse standing before Ah-Jun was Tu-Tu's younger brother, named Chi-Chi!
To this day, still single, single since birth... because no one had ever been able to make it willingly become their mount, not even the little princess with all her royal privilege—it treated everyone equally, without discrimination.
So at this moment, the little princess waiting off to the side felt a complex mixture of emotions, her facial expression constantly shifting—after all, this proud and supremely noble princess had once tried her best to tame it.
But Chi-Chi had shown no fear, resisting with all its might... As the saying goes: neither riches nor honors can corrupt, neither might nor power can subdue, neither poverty nor hardship can sway—in the end, the horse successfully escaped the princess's pestering and threw her off, but accidentally caused this precious daughter of gold to fall...
Recalling these humiliating memories, ripples stirred again in the girl's heart, and given the current situation, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy—after all, this was the world's one and only Chitu that hadn't found a partner yet... Even if it was wild and untamable, particularly troublesome, it was extremely rare and a royal treasure.
However, today, the girl's father emperor had brought it to that little brat she didn't get along with... So naturally, the girl was bound to feel, well, a bit displeased—fortunately, her experience was also hinting at what would happen next!
—Hmm, just thinking about it made her excited, a good show was coming!
So then, this time, could Ah-Jun once again indirectly awaken this girl in her ivory tower?
The answer was...
—Why is he always so slow and fussy, what's there to communicate with a horse... Why doesn't he mount up, what, scared now... Haha, those movements are so funny, riding a horse and being that scared... Oh, he's on, here comes the show... Right? Hey, I say, why are you so quiet today, ugh, you weren't like this with me last time... Wow, really, if you're so capable, ride two laps, I dare you, I... What's happening, it actually started running, this can't be, this... Still smiling, so annoying annoying annoying, I dare you to smile, dare all of you to smile, I...
"Hmph, Brother Lü, we're leaving!"
"Okay!"
"Xin'er, where are you going!"
"I... I... to Brother Lü's house, we already agreed!"
"Nonsense! Your great-grandmother is waiting for you to have New Year's Eve dinner together! How could you..."
"Oh well, let her be... Isn't it like this every year anyway, a grown daughter can't be kept at home, and besides, Old Master Yuwen is waiting..."
"Father Emperor, Mother Empress, your daughter takes her leave... Let's go!"
—Hmph, it's either you or me... You, you just stay here and eat, Wa-Dai!
So, clearly, the answer was... affirmative!
That boy Ah-Jun had once again inexplicably overturned the girl's understanding—thus, old grudges barely settled, new resentments arose. The proud little princess was so frustrated she was left speechless, and finally could only flee in defeat—as for the heartbreaking process, that would have to be told starting from ten minutes ago!
—Back then, the sun had lingered at its highest point for quite some time and was reluctantly beginning to descend... After Commander Bo Yue completed his introduction of Chi-Chi, Ah-Jun, encouraged by His Majesty, slowly approached the horse's side...
However, the very next second after he arrived, the horse Chi-Chi shot toward Ah-Jun like a magnet—soon, their faces pressed together startlingly...
This suddenly warmed the previously confused Ah-Jun's heart, making his whole body relax... Then, still in his hesitation, he surprisingly relaxed and became acquainted with the horse—they stared at each other wide-eyed, occasionally saying something, even though their languages didn't match...
But after a while, Ah-Jun accidentally discovered that the horse's eye sockets were brimming with red liquid—blood? So the boy wiped it off in surprise while urgently inquiring about the cause...
Fortunately, the expert on the side explained that these were just Chi-Chi's tears—after all, for Chitu horses, whether tears or sweat, both were dark red, like blood...
—Hmm! Ferghana horses truly lived up to their name!
Then, under expert Bo Yue's guidance, Ah-Jun finally managed to climb onto the horse's back—because the horse was particularly tall, climbing became difficult, and the boy's movements seemed somewhat clumsy. Of course, this also brought the girl watching from the side some appetizers... Mmm, good performance, continue!
—Appetizers finished, main course time!
From the moment Ah-Jun approached the Chitu until he sat on its back, the little princess mostly showed satisfaction and anticipation, though she occasionally minded, it was all just passing clouds—after all, she had successfully completed this part...
Moreover, the girl predicted again that in a moment, that boy would definitely bounce wildly on the horse's back, performing a rodeo show—because she had personally experienced this herself.
However, to the little princess's disappointment, that crucial segment where even she, after persisting for so long, ultimately fell from the horse's back, was now easily completed by that boy—she saw Ah-Jun, under everyone's attention, just sitting nervously in a daze, looking somewhat at a loss.
But strangely, the Chitu beneath him showed no signs of rioting, just cooperatively carrying the child, calm and steady...
Now the girl was baffled—what was wrong with this Chitu today, it was as if it had been switched out, completely different from what she had seen back then—so she began clenching her fists, furrowing her brows, looking utterly exasperated...
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck the girl's mind—wait? This horse must have taken some medicine today, that's why it's so calm... Mmm, just wait a bit, when the effects wear off, let's see how that boy stays so composed and smug!
Then she immediately perked up, beginning to anticipate dessert's arrival—mmm... sweet and tender strawberry cake would be nice, or crispy and soft chestnut pastry would work, or even just a piece of sweet yet bitter dark chocolate would be bittersweet enjoyment.
Well then, since the girl thought this way, Ah-Jun naturally wouldn't disappoint her, and in a moment, he resolutely gave her a piece of dark chocolate to taste—look, that boy staying on the horse's back was getting more and more relaxed... Then Ah-Jun, following the techniques he had just refined this morning, began spurring the horse forward...
Of course, in reality, Ah-Jun didn't use a whip, didn't give any commands, and could even be said to be extremely careful, just pulled the reins once and said—Run!
Witnessing a miracle—the Chitu immediately responded, beginning to carry the boy across the jelly grass terrain... As the speed increased, the wind grew stronger, but the boy in galloping motion instead felt very comfortable, his mood had already changed from previous entanglement to boundless freedom—and at this moment, not only Ah-Jun, the horse felt the same, it was delighted.
—They were like partners of many years, cooperating seamlessly, understanding each other's hearts... Truly, kindred spirits were hard to find.
After all, even the princess with her proximity advantage, who had status, presence, and authority to spare...
Still couldn't replace the charm of a destined person... Even if, in her eyes, he was just such an ordinary child! So this dessert, the girl had barely taken one bite when her complexion soured—wow, so bitter!
The so-called dessert Ah-Jun brought the girl turned out to be ultra-high-purity dark chocolate... That feeling, where half a day passed without a hint of sweetness, made the little princess so angry that her fair and rosy little face turned green!
But that boy continued galloping freely and joyfully right before the girl's eyes... And the audience on the side were even more excited, applauding enthusiastically!
—You must know, this Chitu was a treasure, and moreover, extremely proud, never having anyone win its favor until now... But now, Ah-Jun had easily done it, so smoothly, it was textbook perfect!
Just when everyone thought the boy was quite accomplished, Ah-Jun hadn't forgotten to pay attention to the girl's feelings—he would occasionally steal glances at her, and when their eyes happened to meet, he would respond with a smile...
However, the boy had forgotten that right now he had become the focus here—even the nearby horses swarmed over, some crowding outside the fence, some watching from the air, and some even rushed in, running along with them... That spectacular scene was absolutely stunning.
At this moment, in everyone's eyes, Ah-Jun was just like a nomadic youth, with everyone cheering, encouraging, and celebrating for him... Of course, with one exception...
Because now the little princess suddenly discovered that her once brilliantly shining self had been usurped by an outsider of unknown origin, an annoying yet helpless fellow—as the saying goes, two tigers cannot share one mountain, in this situation, the girl was even beginning to suspect whether this boy was a reinforcement invited by the monkey specifically to embarrass her.
—Mmm, yes, he's definitely here to cause trouble! Hmph, today is New Year's Eve, this princess wants to be beautiful, won't bother with you... Otherwise, how can I go visiting later!
"Whoa—wow, so fun, thank you for your hard work... Goodbye, friends—hmm? She... where did she go?"
As sunset arrived, the afterglow of the setting sun began to fall, and the green jelly grass gradually revealed a pale purple glow—at this time, Ah-Jun had also completed his training and stopped, admiring the beautiful scenery while waving goodbye to the horse herd.
—That look, really so silly, what's the point of greeting animals, they don't understand!
And the little princess, while glaring at the distant little boy with disdain, pulled the big boy beside her and, despite her family's objections, immediately withdrew from this place of conflict—because clearly, she couldn't stay here anymore...
—If this place won't keep me, I don't care anyway!
Watching the girl's departing figure, the boy still on horseback felt both reluctant and puzzled—what happened to her? She seemed very unhappy, did I do something wrong again...
—Silly boy, you're overthinking, she just couldn't save face, what does it have to do with you!
"Little Jun, well done..."
"Mmm... Indeed!"
After a while, His Majesty brought Bo Yue, cheerfully coming to congratulate the child—only the Empress still maintained her stern expression... Fortunately, Ah-Jun only focused his gaze on the two kind people before him and the princess's departing figure, not paying attention, otherwise this child would have worried again.
"—Well then, child, it seems you and it are quite familiar now, so let's prepare to go home for New Year's!"
"Oh... Okay—but, will there be enough time?"
—See, he started worrying again!
After all, Ah-Jun knew very well that such a distant Spring Festival travel journey, relying solely on land routes, would require wading through waters and climbing over mountains... Oh dear, looks like we won't make it for New Year's Eve dinner... Right?
"There's enough time... Haha, young man, don't underestimate it!"
"Whinny!"
Fortunately at this moment, the old uncle waiting nearby gave Ah-Jun a reassuring answer in a teasing tone—then the horse also let out a cry, expressing its confidence to Ah-Jun!
—You should know, Chi-Chi was a Ferghana horse, able to become a royal treasure, it definitely had to have some real skills...
"Going home now—let's go, Chi-Chi!"
"Whinny!"
With Ah-Jun and Chi-Chi's simultaneous shouts, they headed toward the setting sun's afterglow, beginning to gallop across this vast Suoluo Continent...
"Hey, that child, you're really comfortable just letting him go back like that?"
"Huh? Mmm—ah... New Year's Eve dinner right, next time!"
"Uh... You, I mean, is that child safe alone? Don't count on Chi-Chi being able to protect him!"
"Oh, hey, speak more clearly—that, we..."
"Ahem... Don't worry, I've already secretly ordered the Prime Minister to arrange shadow guards to track and strictly monitor, there won't be problems!"
"Ugh, you, talking as if Little Jun is a suspect—okay okay, you're right... Hey, understand?"
"Hehe..."
Before long, Ah-Jun quickly discovered that it was indeed as the old uncle said, Chi-Chi could escort him home on time, because it not only possessed a thousand-mile horse's endurance and swift shadow speed, but also possessed a special ability—although according to common sense, air transport was definitely faster than land and sea routes, there was still a loophole...
Air transport also had to fly on established routes, so the distance traveled determined the arrival time—this was also derived from mathematics, where time equals distance divided by speed.
Therefore, if the distance could be reduced as much as possible, then whether land or sea transport could also have efficiency no less than air transport.
And this Chitu's special ability achieved this possibility—the horse Chi-Chi could ignore terrain and cross in a straight line to the destination, including its rider.
This was also what Commander Bo Yue had mentioned before, a situation he had experienced, which left him with psychological trauma, and as for why—now, Ah-Jun finally experienced it too... The horse Chi-Chi carried the child and began galloping along a straight line between two points. At this moment, there was no threat from altitude, and Ah-Jun had adapted to the impact of extreme speed movement, the effect was negligible. However, occasionally, the horse's ability would startle, stun, and shock the child...
For example, when crossing waterways, Chi-Chi demonstrated its water-skimming skill, looking like a dragonfly touching water, easily crossing—Ah-Jun was amazed by this;
When traversing mountains, facing the cliff wall they were about to enter, Ah-Jun's heart was terrified, he didn't even dare open his eyes... After all, at such speed, hitting this hard rock, wouldn't this be like an egg striking a stone—but fortunately, he was just startled. Chi-Chi confidently brought the child into the mountain, shuttling through the rocks like a pangolin, unrestrained and free.
But these weren't a big deal, after all, once you got used to it, you got used to it—but there was one situation that made Ah-Jun extremely awkward, this perhaps was Bo Yue's psychological trauma...
In the Suoluo Continent, though guardians weren't numerous, they had achieved a certain level of urbanization... Therefore, inevitably, Ah-Jun and his mount needed to pass through towns and villages—so under Chi-Chi's guidance, Ah-Jun saw countless scenes that he couldn't directly look at and had to cover his eyes and endure.
For instance, when passing through houses, Ah-Jun saw an old uncle eating dinner—although the uncle couldn't see them, it was still very impolite, so the child swallowed and closed his eyes... However, it brought quite a gust of wind, directly blowing those smooth noodle strands into the uncle's nostrils, slurping right in... Uh, well, this was an accident, dangerous action, ordinary people should not imitate. Then that old uncle was actually quite calm, he didn't expel the delicacy from his nostrils, but with a gentle sniff, whoosh, swallowed it down without any awkwardness... This works too, doesn't it get sticky? Hey, turned out to be an expert, the guardian world really was a hidden dragon crouching tiger!
Then Ah-Jun also saw a big fool picking his toes when their airflow hit, his hand directly slapped his face, then he fainted.
And there was an old couple watching TV... After a gust of wind, that old antique television was actually replaced with a Nangong family 8K LCD big TV, a full 100 inches! And inside was broadcasting a Spring Festival Gala program... The two elderly people enjoyed it happily, their mood suddenly improved greatly—after all, this was what their son and little grandson who were far abroad most liked to watch during the rare Spring Festival holidays in the past. Only, their own TV was a bit old, couldn't compare to the high-end equipment at their new home... But now, if the children came, they could also accompany the elders, three generations enjoying together, it would be just like a dream.
Of course, there were many encounters, but what troubled Ah-Jun most was when they passed through a large villa... He actually saw mist and similar silhouettes again. In that instant, Ah-Jun felt his mind churning, dark currents surging in his nose—so with lightning speed, he covered his eyes, shouting sorry... See no evil!
Not long after the boy passed through, under the airflow's influence, the bathroom mist began to disperse, revealing a girl the same age as Ah-Jun, wrapped in a bath towel, wearing a deer antler headband on her head, wearing glasses, still brushing her teeth in front of the mirror—whether due to the airflow disturbance or Ah-Jun's apology being too loud... The originally quiet girl suddenly began looking around, as if searching for something.
After a while, perhaps realizing it was a hallucination, the girl finally calmed down. She picked up a card placed aside, staring at it blankly with a smile—this card looked like a guardian student ID, and the boy in that ID photo looked a bit like young Ah-Jun...
—This... couldn't be such a coincidence, right? Mmm... No wonder Ah-Jun got another nosebleed? But no, this girl doesn't have cat ears on her head, those are just knitted deer antlers!
Just like this, over an hour later, the sunset could no longer hold on and had to silently descend the mountain... Then awakened the moonlight to illuminate the child's Spring Festival journey—and at this time, Ah-Jun, under Chi-Chi's gallop, was gradually approaching his hometown... Shortly after entering the White Tiger Prefecture boundary, that familiar feeling came again. At this moment, the child began to notice the guard who had been hiding by his side all along.
—Is it... Sister Ai... maybe?
Natural sensitivity let Ah-Jun guess the guard's identity right away—of course, he still didn't know that sister's organization had now been transferred to the Sacred Guard Army Shadow Division, becoming a royal shadow guard.
However, for Ah-Jun, no matter where she held a high position, she was still that Sister Ai who once protected him—as for her current work, whether surveillance or protection, that didn't matter!
Honestly, at this moment Ah-Jun's heart was very relieved and warm, after all, they were all family... From this, the child also began to appear more relaxed...
"Ah! Chi-Chi, we're almost there!"
"Whinny..."
"—Mmm~ Safe now!"
Very soon, Ah-Jun was already within the main city's jurisdiction, he was finally arriving... In fact, Ai had acted early, always waiting at the White Tiger Prefecture boundary for the child's arrival—because as long as she saw the child coming, then at least before this, the child had been safe... And next, she would put in 100% effort to protect the child until he safely arrived home before she would rest.
After all, that previous incident had already made the naturally cold Ai feel guilty in her heart—so this time, no matter what, she wouldn't let this child get hurt... And this had long become her personal will.
Moreover, the origin of this mission was also Ai's own active application... Because she had always wanted to see that the child was safe and sound—as the ancient saying goes, seeing is believing, hearing is not!