“You know how to raise horses?”

The raindrops pattered down, and thunder rumbled in the distance, but the man’s voice was exceptionally clear in Zhu Yanyu’s ears, carrying a certain indescribable dominance.

“Yes.” She tried to keep her voice from trembling, knowing full well how disheveled she must look—her clothes were dirty and soaked, her bangs stuck to her forehead, and the greenish-blue patch on her cheek was still visible.

No one would easily believe her words, seeing her in this state.

Seeing that the man remained silent, her heart sank, and she urgently tried to convince him. “My father used to raise horses in the borderlands when he was young, so I often helped him take care of the horses. He also taught me a lot about horses.”

“Hmph.”

She thought she heard a disdainful snort. Was it from this imposing man?

She took a deep breath, recalling her brother’s pale, unconscious face and the hardships they had endured on their journey from the capital to the borderlands…

“I can take care of it.” She raised her voice, determined, and stood up to face the man’s horse directly.

The surrounding iron-clad soldiers were taken aback, and two personal guards instinctively raised their knives, but the man on the horse waved them off with a slight gesture, and they stood down.

Zhu Yanyu didn’t notice the tense atmosphere around her. She only looked deeply into the black horse’s eyes, and the two stared at each other silently—a contest, an evaluation, a test, and a connection.

Suddenly, she opened her small hands and waved them in front of the horse’s eyes, showing that she had nothing to harm it. Then, she stepped forward and placed her right hand on the horse’s head.

Someone gasped.

The man on the horse narrowed his eyes, looking down at the scene, his expression unreadable.

“I am Yanyu.” Zhu Yanyu stroked the horse’s head and whispered softly, “What is your name? You are very handsome! Can you do me a favor?”

The magnificent horse, of course, did not speak, but it looked at her with its spirited eyes, occasionally snorting through its nostrils, whether out of amusement or annoyance.

“Don’t be angry.” Zhu Yanyu’s voice became even softer, and her small hand stubbornly stroked the horse. “You see my situation now. Give me a chance! We can definitely become good friends.”

As she spoke, she stepped forward again, leaning close to the horse’s ear and whispering, “Even if you don’t want to be friends with me, just pretend, okay? I’ll owe you one, alright?”

After saying this, she stepped back and looked into the horse’s eyes again, neither fearful nor pleading, only serious and determined.

“Let’s be friends!”

“Neigh~” The horse reared up and whinnied loudly.

Lightning flashed, illuminating Zhu Yanyu’s face. She smiled slightly, her eyebrows curving with a sweet and playful warmth. In that moment, her ugly face seemed to glow.

A personal guard looked at her, then at the man on the horse, and boldly spoke up. “Um, Commander, your horse, Flowstar, has a strong temperament. We’ve changed one groom after another. Why not…”

The man understood what the guard was suggesting and waved his hand. “Take her with us!”

This meant he agreed to save her!

Zhu Yanyu was overjoyed and wiped the rainwater from her face. “Sir, I still have a brother…”

The man furrowed his brows.

She quickly assured him, “As long as sir is willing to save our lives, this humble girl will not disappoint sir.”

The man nodded slightly, and the iron-clad soldiers understood. They allowed Zhu Yanyu to go to the tree and lift her unconscious brother, Xiangyu, onto a horse. When another iron-clad soldier was about to help Zhu Yanyu onto his horse, Flowstar became unhappy, angrily neighing and kicking the dirt on the road.

The soldier was stunned. “Commander, this…”

The man seemed surprised that his beloved horse was making a fuss over a woman. He pinched the horse’s ear in warning, and Flowstar immediately closed its mouth, stopping its kicking, and hung its head as if feeling wronged.

The man calmly pinched the horse’s ear again and ordered a few iron-clad soldiers to stay behind and clean up the mess. Then, he reached out his hand to Zhu Yanyu.

Did he mean for her to ride with him?

Zhu Yanyu felt a mix of anxiety and confusion, but she did not refuse. She placed her small hand on the man’s large hand and, with his guidance, lightly mounted the horse.

The man’s presence behind her was intense, but she tried to pretend he wasn’t there. She leaned down to hug the horse’s neck, her cheek resting against its ear, and whispered softly, “Your name is Flowstar, right? Thank you for saving my life.”

Flowstar seemed to understand her gratitude, opening its mouth in a happy whinny, and then it joyfully galloped forward.

In her dream, a little girl hugged a worn-out white rabbit doll, biting her finger and laughing as she rolled around in the haystack in the stable.

After playing enough, she scrambled up and waddled like a penguin towards a brown horse.

“Horse, horse,” she called softly, sounding like she was saying “mama.”

She didn’t have a mother. Since she was little, she had lived with her father on a ranch in the American Midwest, where her father was responsible for breeding and caring for the horses. With no one to look after her, she spent all her time playing with the horses. “Horse, shake hands,” she giggled, squeezing one of the horse’s legs, then crawling under its belly to gently pull its tail.

The horse snorted softly, not minding the little girl playing with its tail. Instead, it turned around and affectionately nudged her with its nose.

“Horse, look at my bunny,” the little girl proudly showed her rabbit doll. “I washed bunny last night! Isn’t she cute?”

“Neigh~” the horse replied.

The girl felt the horse’s gentleness and hugged its leg affectionately. “Horse, will you be friends with my bunny too? Let’s play together, the three of us.”

“Neigh~” the horse licked the little girl’s face.

“Oh, it tickles, it tickles! Haha…”

Zhu Yanyu woke up to the sound of the little girl’s innocent laughter.