Early morning. Around 3 to 5 a.m.
A group of riders quietly departed from Shangyuan City under the cover of night. Gu Fei didn’t choose the inconvenient option of carriages; instead, he arranged for each person to ride a horse—faster and more efficient.
Twelve horses in total galloped along a forest path. Xiao Lingshuang hadn’t expected Gu Fei to bring along ten guards, but seeing them made her feel a bit more at ease.
There were still six days left. If they didn’t rest much, they could likely reach the capital in five. Once there, she just needed to find Leng Hongyi and the loyal ministers who still supported her.
As for Xiao Yang, Yuwen Du, Dugu Xin, and the others, it was time they witnessed her capabilities. Xiao Lingshuang had come to realize she had been far too lenient with some people, which had led them to believe that she—a delicate woman—was easy to bully.
What Gu Fei didn’t know was that shortly after their departure, Yuwen Du’s subordinate, Tian Jing, appeared on the road leading to Shangyuan City. At the same time, Li Caiyi, the magistrate of Shancheng County, was hastily making arrangements, planning to seize Gu Fei and his group today at an inn in Xinpan Town.
Once Gu Fei was gone, Shangyuan City would be left leaderless. Li Caiyi thought he could manipulate it as he pleased. But he could never imagine that all his plans would be in vain. He also wouldn’t know that had Gu Fei been present, today would have marked his downfall.
After a short ride, the horses arrived at the spot where Xiao Lingshuang had previously fallen into the river. Remembering the scene, she glanced at Gu Fei from the corner of her eye. That had been the first time she was kissed by a man, even though she had been unconscious. But just thinking about it made her feel flustered and annoyed.
The clopping sound of horse hooves beneath her feet puzzled her. She quietly moved her horse closer to Gu Fei and asked, “Gu Fei, did you wrap something around the hooves of our horses?”
Gu Fei smiled slightly, “Of course. We’ve fitted all the horses in Shangyuan County with iron horseshoes. Otherwise, how could they endure running for several days straight? Without them, the horses wouldn’t be able to take it.”
Xiao Lingshuang suddenly understood. But she didn’t know what this meant for military use. If Leng Hongyi or Dugu Xin had known that horseshoes could be nailed onto hooves, they would have fought to claim credit for such a groundbreaking improvement.
The biggest wear and tear on warhorses came from hoof abrasion. Once a hoof was worn down, no matter how strong or fast the horse was, it would become useless.
Gu Fei kept quietly observing Xiao Lingshuang during the journey. He found her riding posture fairly skilled. But very few people could endure such intense, continuous riding. The inner thighs couldn’t handle the constant friction for long.
Sure enough, after galloping for two hours, they reached a small town and planned to rest briefly. As Gu Fei dismounted, he noticed Xiao Lingshuang moving stiffly. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Gu Fei asked with genuine concern. Although she always put on a cold face with him, now that he had slept with her, she was his woman. He couldn’t just ignore her discomfort like some heartless brute.
Hearing his concerned tone, Xiao Lingshuang felt a flicker of emotion, but the burning pain on her inner thighs made her afraid to admit the truth. She braced herself and said it was nothing, just that her legs were a little stiff.
Seeing her tottering as if she might collapse at any moment, Gu Fei forcefully grabbed her hand and lifted her off the horse.
Being watched by everyone, Xiao Lingshuang’s face turned as red as an apple. Her fists pounded Gu Fei’s chest like falling raindrops as she said, “You scoundrel! Who told you to carry me!”
Zhang Biao, standing to the side, twitched at the corner of his eyes watching their interaction. If his younger sister saw this, she would definitely explode in anger. No, he had to stop this flirtation before it escalated. Otherwise, his little sister would tear him apart when they returned.
He stepped forward and said, “Hehe, my lord, shouldn’t you put Miss Xiao down now? Look, her face is red from your embrace!”
Gu Fei looked at Zhang Biao—who popped up like an overexcited husky—and really wanted to kick him away. He said, “You damned Biao, you’re the one saying her face turned red. Go get us some food!”
While scolding, Gu Fei carefully placed Xiao Lingshuang down. Zhang Biao quickly ran off after being scolded. He could now explain himself to his little sister. At least when she questioned him, he could swear he tried to stop their intimacy.
Gu Fei quietly glanced at Xiao Lingshuang, who clearly looked uncomfortable. He whispered, “Can you still manage? If not, tell me right away!”
Xiao Lingshuang heard his concerned words and stubbornly said, “Who says I can’t handle it? I’m fine!”
Gu Fei thought, she’d rather suffer than lose face. If she didn’t care about herself, why should he?
About half an hour later, everyone and their horses were fed and back on the road. That day, they traveled nearly 75 kilometers, already pushing the horses to their limits. If not for the iron horseshoes, they wouldn’t have made it halfway.
Even Xiao Lingshuang found such distance miraculous. Because after just one more day, they would enter Yunzhou’s territory.
The price of traveling so fast was that her inner thighs really felt rubbed raw. She desperately wanted to find a place to quietly check if the skin was broken. This story is hosted at g.com.
Gu Fei walked up to her horse, reached out his hand, but this time, Xiao Lingshuang leaned straight into his arms without waiting for him to pull her down—she was truly at her limit.
Zhang Biao wanted to speak up again, but Gu Fei’s murderous glare made him wisely shut his mouth.
Gu Fei carried Xiao Lingshuang down and said, “After a whole day of riding, your thighs must be rubbed raw.”
He was offering her a way to save face. As expected, Xiao Lingshuang nodded and said, “It hurts!”
Gu Fei took her hand and said, “Come on, let’s find a tailor shop and have them make some cotton pads for us. That should help a lot.”
Just as Xiao Lingshuang was about to pull her hand away, she heard the rest of what he said and thought, this damn bandit… quite clever.
Then Zhang Biao and the others also shouted from behind, “My lord, our legs hurt too! We want some too!”
Gu Fei laughed loudly, “You bastards, fine, let everyone get one.”
“Ai… I forgot to ask Zhang Yao to make a few back in the city. Zhang Biao, this is your fault.”
“I’ll be sure to tell Zhang Yao when we return.”
Zhang Biao nearly coughed up blood hearing that. He wanted to scream, “My lord, you’re shameless…!” He firmly believed that if Gu Fei complained to his little sister, he’d be done for.