Chapter 78: Lost Horses

"Third Brother, I still need to go buy a few things. Go to Bai cao tang and wait for me."

"Alright."

Chi Huai Qian had not yet recovered from the shock of buying a thousand horses, and his body moved somewhat mechanically toward the direction of Bai cao tang.

Chi Nan Yi circled around to the back courtyard and vaulted over the wall.

She had barely arrived at the stables when she heard Huang San's voice: "Rest assured, these one thousand horses have already been prepared for you." He tucked thirty thousand taels of silver notes into his robe and said with a smile: "Tonight at the hour of Zi, you can come and take these horses away."

Tonight?

Chi Nan Yi's eyes narrowed slightly. Sure enough, this Huang San intended to pocket her silver for himself.

Five thousand taels of deposit money was no small sum.

Since that was the case, she could not be blamed for showing no mercy.

Gao Feng said coldly: "What about those sick horses?"

"Rest assured, those sick horses are also outside. The ones being kept in the area you just passed through are the ones to be sold into the military camp."

Gao Feng nodded, took out a pouch of silver from his robe, and tossed it to him: "This is a reward from my master."

"Thank you, Master, for the reward. This humble one is already deeply honored to share my master's burdens. This reward money..."

"Since it has been given to you, just take it."

"Ah!"

Huang San's eyes narrowed into slits, and his mouthful of yellow teeth made Gao Feng frown tightly: "I will come again at the hour of Zi."

"Yes."

After the two of them left, Chi Nan Yi stepped out from her space. Looking at those warhorses, the corners of her lips curved slightly. With a wave of her arm, all the horses in the stables were taken into her space. Walking past the corridor, those guards were sleeping, and Chi Nan Yi casually took those sick horses into her space as well.

As long as there was Spirit Spring Water, any sick horse could be cured.

After Huang San saw Gao Feng off, he did not return to the manor but instead headed for the gambling den in town, silver tucked in his robe.

He still did not know that his home had already been emptied out.

When Chi Nan Yi returned to Bai cao tang, Chi Huai Qian was panting heavily—he had apparently come back to his senses.

"Little sister..."

"Third Brother, let's talk outside."

Once they were seated in the carriage, Chi Huai Qian could no longer hold back and said in a low voice: "Little sister, so many horses—where would we have room to keep them?"

"Who said we're keeping them?" Chi Nan Yi said with a smile: "I bought them for someone else."

Someone else...

Prince Li?

That explanation made sense.

Chi Huai Qian's suspended heart finally settled.

Otherwise, where would they get forty thousand taels of silver?

Sensing the more than one thousand horses in her space, Chi Nan Yi could not suppress the curve of her lips.

As night fell, a company of men and horses appeared outside Huang San's manor. Huang San had just returned from the gambling den and scurried over, his face piled with smiles: "You've come."

"Are you ready?"

"Ready, ready."

"Something's wrong! Shopkeeper!"

A servant boy pushed the door open in a panic and, upon seeing Huang San, cried out: "Something's wrong! They're gone!"

"You muddled fool, what are you shouting about?" Huang San slapped him across the face: "Disturbing an honored guest—I'll peel your skin off!"

"Shopkeeper, something's wrong, the horses are gone."

"What?" Huang San's small eyes bulged perfectly round: "The horses are gone? How are they gone? Could they have grown wings and flown away?"

"It's not..." The servant boy was so frantic he could barely form coherent sentences: "You'd better go see for yourself!"

Huang San's heart lurched. He shoved the servant boy aside and sprinted wildly into the courtyard.

Passing by the stables, he discovered that the sick horses were gone too, and the panic in his heart grew even greater. Upon seeing those utterly empty horse stalls, Huang San dropped to the ground on his backside.

"It's over, it's over, my horses!" Huang San rubbed his eyes: "I must be seeing things, seeing things!"

He opened his eyes again, and the stables were still completely empty.

"Where are the horses? Where are my horses?" He grabbed those servant boys by the collar: "Talk! Where are my horses?"

"This humble one doesn't know either! When I came to change shifts this evening, I found those guards asleep. I came to look in the stables, and they were all empty."

"Bring those men up here!"

"Wait." Gao Feng stepped forward with a dark expression: "What exactly is going on?"

"Master Gao, this humble one doesn't know either! After seeing you out this afternoon, I went to the gambling den and only just returned! This, this, this..." Huang San's body trembled uncontrollably.

"You mean to say that these thousand-plus horses just vanished without a trace?" Gao Feng drew his long sword and held it across his throat: "Do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

"Master Gao, this humble one truly is not lying! I have already taken your silver—how could I have any other intentions? This humble one truly does not know what happened. Master Gao, give me one more day, and I will investigate the matter thoroughly."

"Investigate thoroughly?" Gao Feng said angrily: "Do you think my master has that much time to wait for you?"

"Master, this humble one..."

"Master Gao!" A servant boy stepped forward, shooting Huang San a glare: "This humble one has something to report."

"What is it?"

"Today, before you arrived, our shopkeeper brought two people in and even took their deposit money."

Hearing this, Huang San's heart tightened. He turned and glared fiercely at the servant boy: "What nonsense are you spouting? When did I..."

"It was after the shopkeeper brought those two people in that we all became terribly drowsy."

Gao Feng turned to look at Huang San: "How do you explain this?"

A petty person...

Confess! Gao Feng's sword in his hand pressed tightly against his throat, bright red blood flowing down the sword, waves of stabbing pain making Huang San's heart leap.

"I just wanted to swindle those two out of some silver." He took out a banknote: "I only took their deposit, agreed that they'd come for the horses tomorrow; as long as you take the horses away tonight, I'll also leave overnight, and this silver..." "I just greedily took some silver, but I absolutely had no other thoughts. Moreover, if so many horses were taken away, people would surely notice and leave tracks, but obviously none of that happened."

So then?

So... so... Huang San swallowed, how would he know what "so" meant?

He only wanted to say, it had nothing to do with him.

But even if he said it thousands and tens of thousands of times, no one would believe him.

"Hah, sophistry." Gao Feng's eyes narrowed, a flash of killing intent in his gaze: "Anything you have to say, say it before the master!" He waved his hand, and a few guards stepped forward to take him away.

Gao Feng turned his head to look at the servant who had just spoken: "You're quite clever." He flipped his sword in his hand, a flash of sword light passed, and the servant got a bloody mark on his throat, stared wide-eyed and fell to the ground.

"The master never needs talkative people." He sheathed his sword and said lightly: "Kill everyone in this courtyard."

Chi Nan Yi came into the space, looking at the horses grazing far away, a smile flickered across her face.

These horses, how much silver should she ask Mo Junyan for?

She looked at the sick horses and found that, after just half a day, their condition seemed to have improved, especially those with skin disease—their coats became smoother.