The Qin family’s stable lay to the north of the house. It had once been the Qin family’s old residence, but after half of the wall collapsed, it had been converted into a stable. The two open stalls faced south. The western room was stacked with bundles of thatch grass, while the eastern stall stood empty. The reddish-brown horse that used to lower his head there to eat was no longer in sight.
Qin Yi bent down and set Qin Lang on the ground. He reached out and touched the wooden rail where the reins had once been tied. After standing silently for a long time, he picked up a shovel and walked into the stable, lowering his head as he began to clean.
Footsteps soon sounded outside the stable. Second Uncle approached slowly with a complicated expression. Looking at the empty stall, he spoke as if to himself, yet also as if trying to comfort Qin Yi.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. Fan Family Village is nearby. When you miss Junjun, you can go visit him. Save some more money and redeem him sooner or later…”
Qin Yi remained silent. His usually straight back was slightly bent, as though an invisible mountain weighed upon it. When he used to clean the stable, Junjun would always nudge him with his large head. At the time he would push Junjun away. If he had known such a day would come, what harm would it have done to let Junjun nuzzle him the whole day?
After carefully finishing the cleaning, Qin Yi glanced around and suddenly noticed something unusual. Ever since the hired hand from the Fan family had arrived, he had not seen Jian Jia. At first he had assumed she was embarrassed by the presence of a stranger and had gone back to her room. Yet the worker had been gone for so long now, so why had she still not come out?
Qin Yi frowned. Could Jian Jia have gone out? If that were the case…
He cast a glance at the empty stall, and his expression dimmed.
“Let’s go back.” After standing there for a moment, Qin Yi gently patted Qin Lang’s head. “Brother will cook porridge for you at noon.”
Qin Lang did not notice the heaviness in his brother’s voice. He simply followed obediently beside Qin Yi.
“Woof, woof!”
General suddenly pricked up his ears and barked toward the south. When Qin Yi looked down, he saw General burst forward like a streak of shadow, his fluffy tail raised high with excitement.
That sort of reaction usually appeared only when he saw someone familiar.
“Whoa—whoa—ah, stop, stop! Hurry and stop! Qin Yi, Qin Yi! I can’t handle him!”
Jian Jia’s startled voice rang out from the southern courtyard. Mixed with her cries were General’s barking and Junjun’s snorting.
Qin Yi’s heart leapt violently. Before his mind fully reacted, his body had already rushed toward the courtyard.
Outside the western wall ran a gravel path wide enough for horses to run along. Normally it would take only a blink of an eye to cross it, but today the distance seemed endlessly long.
Stepping across the small stones and passing the lush vegetable plot, Qin Yi’s gaze cut through the tall grass that grew higher than a person. With just one glance, he saw Jian Jia sitting on Junjun’s back in a flustered panic.
After redeeming Junjun, Jian Jia had been eager to share the good news with the Qin brothers. So she had followed the method Qin Yi had taught her and climbed onto the saddle, guiding Junjun toward home.
Riding the horse felt very impressive. Getting off, however, was extremely embarrassing.
She had planned to guide Junjun beneath the corridor so she could step down easily. Yet the moment he entered the courtyard, Junjun simply stretched his neck out and began chewing on the grass nearby. Whenever she pulled the reins, he tossed his head vigorously, making her feel weak and panicked atop his back. In the end she had no choice but to call for Qin Yi.
“Ah—ah—Junjun! It’s Junjun!”
Qin Lang suddenly cried out hoarsely. His small figure rushed joyfully toward the chestnut-colored horse. Faced with the treasure that had been lost and regained, Qin Lang could not restrain himself, and even Qin Yi could barely control the wild beating of his heart.
Once again Qin Lang’s body was lifted into the air by Qin Yi. In his excitement, the boy had actually tried to hug Junjun’s hind leg. Qin Yi caught him under one arm and carried him beneath the corridor.
“You can’t grab his hind leg.”
After confirming his reckless younger brother was safe, Qin Yi quickly walked to the horse. He held out both hands toward Jian Jia.
“Don’t be afraid. Give me your hand.”
The moment Jian Jia extended her hand, she felt a pulling force on her arm. Her body slid toward Qin Yi, and in the next moment his hands supported her waist. Her feet landed firmly on the ground.
This was not the first time Qin Yi had helped Jian Jia dismount. The previous time had been the same, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, he had immediately released her and stepped back. This time, however, his hands did not let go. When Jian Jia lifted her head, she found herself looking straight into Qin Yi’s deep eyes.
Seeing his master, Junjun casually nudged Qin Yi’s arm before lowering his head again to continue eating grass, completely unaware that he had already been sold once. That nudge brought Qin Yi back to his senses. He released Jian Jia and skillfully grasped the reins.
Feeling the familiar tension of the reins in his hand, Qin Yi took several deep breaths. His voice trembled as he spoke.
“You redeemed him.”
Jian Jia smiled and nodded.
“Yes. Surprised? Unexpected? Happy?”
Qin Yi merely nodded quietly. A smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips, and his dark brown eyes grew brighter. Qin Lang, unable to control his joy at recovering what had been lost, hugged Jian Jia’s leg without any concern for appearances. Laughing and crying at the same time, he could only repeat the words “sister” and “Junjun.”
Jian Jia laughed and rubbed Qin Lang’s head teasingly.
“Let me see which little crybaby is dropping golden beans.”
Qin Yi looked deeply at Jian Jia. Yet when his gaze fell upon her hair, the smile on his lips faded. When they had eaten breakfast that morning, a silver hairpin had still adorned her hair. After going out, however, the hairpin had vanished.
Jian Jia noticed his gaze. She raised a hand to touch her hair and smiled.
“I was lucky today. I ran into Master Fan. He only asked for five taels of silver and a silver hairpin before returning Junjun to me. Oh, and this too.”
She pulled out a document from her sleeve.
“This is Junjun’s contract. Here, take it.”
In the Great Jing, horses were considered valuable property. The contract functioned like a horse’s identification document, recording details such as its color and age. Whoever possessed the contract owned the horse. It was Jian Jia’s first time encountering such a thing. If Master Fan had not produced it, she might have simply paid the money and taken the horse away.
Qin Yi took the contract and glanced at it. It was indeed Junjun’s document. That day he had personally handed it to the Fan family worker, yet now it had returned to him.
Even though he held the contract in his hand, Qin Yi could not accept it without hesitation. In his mind, Jian Jia was the one who had redeemed Junjun. From today onward, Junjun should belong to her.
Qin Yi folded the contract and handed it back to Jian Jia.
“You keep it. From now on, Junjun is your horse.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Jian Jia’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“You can’t be serious, Hunter Qin. I redeemed the horse for you, and now you are trying to trick me into taking responsibility for him?”
She knew very well that raising a horse required enormous effort. A horse needed to eat food weighing one-tenth to one-twentieth of its body weight every day. Even that was not the end of it. If one wanted the horse to stay healthy, someone had to wake up in the middle of the night to feed it.
Absolutely not. Jian Jia could never wake up for that.
She stuffed the contract back into Qin Yi’s arms, half teasing and half mocking.
“Handle your own affairs yourself. Don’t expect others to clean up for you.”
With that, she took Qin Lang’s small hand and cheerfully walked back toward the house.
Qin Yi stood there blankly holding the contract, staring toward the doorway. Jian Jia’s voice drifted out from the courtyard.
“Lang’er, what would you like to eat for lunch today?”
He could not hear Qin Lang’s answer clearly, but he heard Jian Jia’s smiling response.
“Alright.”
Looking up at the deep blue sky and listening to Junjun’s breathing beside him, Qin Yi suddenly smiled. The smile was like melting ice.
He carefully folded the contract and placed it inside his clothing. Then he straightened his back, took hold of the reins, and slowly led Junjun toward the stable.
It was still early. If he went up the mountain now, perhaps he could bring back some game to add to their meal.