“Sister Yun, where did you go all night?”
“Where else? Patrolling all over the county town the entire night—I didn’t even have time to come back.”
Gu Qingyun spoke as she poured herself a cup of tea.
She pulled twelve copper coins from her purse and handed them to Bai Fan.
“When you go off duty later, bring me back a few sesame cakes. Right now, I need to go to the martial training ground to practice for a bit, and after that, I have to go learn how to ride a horse. There just isn’t enough time.”
With that thought, she gulped down the tea in one go, wiped her mouth, and headed straight for the martial training ground.
She practiced a set of the 《Star Body Tempering Technique》, and just before dawn broke, sat cross-legged on the ground right there at the training ground to begin practicing her mental cultivation method.
By the time she finished her cultivation, the sun was already up. Standing up and dusting off her clothes, she saw Bai Fan waiting not far away with an oiled paper package. Seeing her, he walked over and said:
“Sister Yun, you’re finally done. I’ve been waiting for nearly half a shichen—these cakes probably aren’t even warm anymore.”
Gu Qingyun gave a small smile.
“It’s fine, my teeth can handle it.”
In any case, she had spiritual energy; secretly heating them up later would do the trick. These minor spells were quite handy at times.
After eating breakfast, Gu Qingyun went straight to the horse stables. Ever since the County Magistrate rewarded her with a horse yesterday, she hadn’t had the chance to come take a look at it.
In half a month, she would be heading to the prefectural city. She needed to practice diligently—even if she didn’t place in the rankings, she at least couldn’t embarrass the County Magistrate, right?
Gu Qingyun stood before the stable as the groom pointed to a fine steed inside the stall with an entirely brownish-yellow coat and four jet-black hooves.
“Constable Gu, the Advisor told me that this horse is the one Lord County Magistrate bestowed upon you. It has a gentle temperament—couldn't be more suitable for you.”
Gu Qingyun nodded silently. Having a horse at all was already great; whether it was docile or untamed, she liked it either way. Once the groom led the brown horse out of the stall, Gu Qingyun thanked him, handed him a few copper coins, and led it outside.
Riding the horse out through the yamen’s side gate, the Constables she encountered all cast envious glances her way. Gu Qingyun maintained a calm exterior, though she felt rather pleased with herself inside.
Yet once outside the county yamen, she began to feel somewhat flustered. She had never ridden a horse before and had zero experience.
With people bustling to and fro through the streets and alleys, if she didn't ride properly and the horse went barreling around, hitting someone would be disastrous.
However, leading the horse on foot was simply too slow. So, she did something that would make anyone’s jaw drop.
She pulled a face cloth from her pocket and tied it over her face. Her sister had made this to shield against the wind during night patrols, but tying it on now made her feel far less embarrassed.
Taking a deep breath, she hoisted the fine steed onto her shoulders and bolted toward a more secluded area—the location of the county yamen’s drill ground. Not only was the area spacious, but there was also an instructor dedicated to teaching horsemanship.
Behind her, the Constable guarding the gate stared with his mouth agape in utter disbelief at what she was doing.
Ignoring everyone’s stares, Gu Qingyun sprinted all the way with the horse on her shoulders. Only when the crowds thinned did she finally halt and set the steed down.
“Phew, Little Brown, for your sake, I carried you on my shoulders the entire way. When I'm practicing later, you’d better do me proud—don't go throwing a tantrum on me.”
...
At the drill ground, Gu Qingyun paid ten copper coins, which allowed her to practice there for the entire day. Besides her, only a few scattered Constables were practicing inside.
She went straight to the instructor, listened to him explain a few horsemanship techniques and precautions, and then mounted the horse to ride slowly around the grounds.
“Not bad, not bad! You can’t even tell it’s your first time riding. And this horse of yours is truly fine—great stamina, strong legs, and a handsome coat. It looks sturdy at a glance.”
The speaker was Instructor Li, who had served here for many years. Aside from Constables like Gu Qingyun, those who came here to ride were mostly family members of officials. The grounds were vast, so his voice carried with exceptional resonance.
“Gu Qingyun, I know you. Your name is also on the roster to attend the exchange meet at the prefectural yamen this time. You must learn well and strive to bring back a ranking!”
Gu Qingyun dodged the subject.
“Instructor Li, let me try trotting on my own first.”
What a joke—someone cramming at the eleventh hour like her wasn't about to make promises she couldn't keep. Did he think she didn't know their county placed dead last every single time? That wasn't something she alone could turn around.
Exerting force from her waist and core, she lightly gripped the reins and squeezed the horse’s flanks with her legs. The brown horse broke into a trot, gradually picking up speed.
This felt completely different from running on her own two feet. Astride the horse, she could see the flowers blooming across the grounds and take in the vast, open expanse. After riding around the grounds for half a shichen, she pulled on the reins, and the brown horse came to a steady halt.
Dismounting smoothly, Gu Qingyun gently stroked the fine steed.
“Good job, Little Brown. Thanks for your hard work.”
A gentle strand of spiritual energy gathered on her palm. Horses were spiritually perceptive creatures; it let out a content snort and rubbed its head against Gu Qingyun in an affectionate nuzzle.
“Not bad! To manage this well on your own is very impressive. But besides riding, there’s also archery. Once you and the horse develop better coordination, you should combine the two and practice together.”
Gu Qingyun gave an embarrassed smile—she had merely used her spiritual energy to win over its favor.
“Thank you, Instructor Li. I will definitely practice even harder during this time.”
Half a day passed quickly. Gu Qingyun left the training grounds on the brown horse, thoroughly satisfied. This time, she didn’t carry the horse on her shoulders as she headed back; instead, she had it trot along, even intentionally slowing down when passing through bustling streets so people could admire her gallant figure.
Until a little boy pointed at her:
“Constable Big Sister, it's me, Wei Chengze! The way you ran with the horse on your shoulders this morning was so cool! You're so strong, Big Sister!”
The smile on Gu Qingyun’s lips froze. Refusing to admit it even on pain of death, she replied:
“Little fellow, you’ve got the wrong person. I just got back—the person you saw definitely wasn’t me.”
Head Constable Liu, who happened to be on patrol outside, overheard this and chuckled:
“All right, now. You patrol the county town at night every day—who doesn’t recognize you? Everyone saw your valiant figure carrying that horse earlier. And to tell the truth, you truly looked capable of uprooting mountains! Ordinary people could never compare to that strength of yours.
“A horse of over five hundred jin, and you just hoisted it up and ran! Even I would break a sweat carrying that. You used to say your strength was just slightly greater than others, but this isn't slightly—it’s monstrous.”
Gu Qingyun was speechless. While she truly possessed immense strength, she hadn’t expected to be recognized so openly and directly.
Imagining how from now on people would think of her sheer brutish strength whenever they saw her, she adamantly refused to confess:
“Head Constable Liu, I already told you that wasn't me! Look at the clothes I’m wearing—do they match what that person was wearing?”
Head Constable Liu couldn't help but wince. This girl—even though she was riding that fine steed now, how was it any different from the one she had been carrying earlier? Did she think changing clothes would make people unable to recognize her?
Perhaps the young girl just wanted to keep a low profile and didn’t want so many people recognizing her. Head Constable Liu humored her and nodded:
“I also think it wasn’t you. Though that person was dressed in black as well, they clearly didn't wear it as well as you do.”
Gu Qingyun gave a wry smile; he might as well have said nothing. The reason she refused to admit it was also out of fear of her mother’s nagging. Her mother was already distressed enough over how tall she was, and while she knew Gu Qingyun was strong, she had no idea she was that strong. If her mother found out, she would probably worry even more.
Rate on N.U.
