Bizarre Cultivation: Starting from Being Beaten Up by Reality

Chapter 187 Imperial Horse

Lin Fan resisted the urge to throw the note away and returned it to Doctor Lei.

"Doctor, there's something I don't understand. Since you reported it to the authorities, didn't the government take any action?"

Dr. Lei shook his head. “Southern Xinjiang is different from other places. The village only said that these few river bandits had a powerful background and that they didn’t want to provoke them, so they did nothing. I don’t even know why the river bandits knew that I reported it to the authorities.”

Lin Fan had nothing to say.

Dr. Lei continued, “At first I regretted reporting it to the authorities, and later I regretted saving them. But then I wondered where I went wrong? I couldn’t figure it out. Was I not wrong? Of course I felt I was wrong! If it weren’t for my brother pointing it out to me today, I’m afraid I would never have understood it until I died. But even if I understand it, what good will it do?”

"I left Southern Xinjiang as if I were fleeing, going wherever the road took me. Fortunately, I had medical skills, so I was lucky enough not to starve to death. It wasn't until I settled down in Bailin Village that I gradually calmed down and stopped thinking so much. It wasn't until I met my virtuous brother that the thought of returning to the mortal world resurfaced. My virtuous brother asked me before, 'Are you truly without any attachments in the Great Qian Dynasty?' My parents are both gone, I have no brothers, and my wife and unborn child have also passed away. What could you possibly have to worry about?"

Hearing the sobbing, Lin Fan turned around and saw that Zi Yue's big eyes were full of tears and she was sniffling. "He's so pitiful."

Ignoring that, Lin Fan pulled Zi Yue forward and looked into Doctor Lei's eyes, asking, "Doctor, don't you want revenge?"

Dr. Lei was taken aback, then shook his head and chuckled, "Of course I want to. But you can tell from my pathetic state today that I'm incapable of succeeding."

Lin Fan was about to speak when Doctor Lei waved his hand to interrupt him, "I'm different from my brother. I'm afraid of dying, and I'm also afraid of others dying for me. Let alone doing it myself, I wouldn't even dare to hire someone to kill me."

Lin Fan swallowed back what he wanted to say. It wasn't that he couldn't understand Doctor Lei at all. If Lin Fan didn't have the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, how much better would he have been than him?

Doctor Lei stared at Lin Fan. "Brother, you mustn't even think about secretly helping me. You should understand that if I don't participate at all, it can't be considered revenge. From another perspective, they'll all die in a hundred years, or they'll be wiped out by government troops in a few days. Would such an outcome give me any satisfaction in seeking revenge? Besides, if I hadn't encountered this today, I would have completely forgotten about what happened that day. Look, haven't I been sleeping soundly every day?"

Before Lin Fan could say anything more, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Doctor Lei tried to get up, but he couldn't muster the strength to stand up. He felt as if all his strength had been drained, or like an old man on his last legs, completely lifeless. He could only ask Lin Fan, "Brother, could you please open the door for me?"

Lin Fan took Zi Yue's hand and turned to open the door.

Outside was the knight who had previously learned the 'Ambidextrous Fighting' technique. "Master Lin, Doctor Lei, how was your rest? Lord Duan instructed me that since you've come, I must show you the imperial horses in our horse farm. Is it convenient now?"

The knight spoke with extreme caution, and his hands trembled slightly.

Lin Fan was confused, so Zi Yue tugged at his hand and said, "This kid was probably sent to check on you. He might have made up the Marquis's orders himself. Duan Ye probably didn't know we were coming here. But he meant well and wanted Doctor Lei to relax."

Lin Fan suddenly understood and nodded. He turned around, intending to help Doctor Lei refuse, but saw that Doctor Lei had already struggled to his feet and stood beside him.

"Alright, imperial horses are a rare sight indeed. I'd be grateful if you could show us around, young man." He finished speaking and gave Lin Fan a forced, relaxed smile.

Lin Fan naturally agreed, and followed Doctor Lei, taking Zi Yue with him to see the horses.

The knight, clearly on someone's orders, said with great enthusiasm, "Gentlemen, you won't see so many warhorses and fine horses anywhere else. Even so-called named horses have been produced."

As he spoke, he led the two to a spacious stable not far away, opened the door, and looked smug and proud.

However, the stable was empty; there was nothing there.

The stable boy in charge of guarding the horses immediately stood up, trotted over, and respectfully saluted the knight.

"Where's the horse?" the knight asked somewhat awkwardly.

The servant bowed again before saying, "So that the sir may know, all these horses have been taken away by the soldiers."

The knight was in an even more awkward position. All the good horses fit for war needed to be registered and then distributed to the army as needed, sometimes resulting in them being completely sold out. The problem was, why distribute them now, if not earlier or later? What were they supposed to show everyone? Horse manure?

Or should we turn around and go outside to check on the nag or the foal?

The knight gritted his teeth and made a bold decision. "Alas, I didn't bring you two here today to see such ordinary horses. Do you know why it's so difficult for Sanjiang Prefecture to produce warhorses, while only the Marquis's carriage produces warhorses, fine horses, and even occasionally famous horses every year?"

Both Dr. Lei and Lin Fan shook their heads. Lin Fan even thought that the knight might take them to see some priceless book like "The Best Methods for Breeding Mares," but it would be completely useless.

If it weren't for Dr. Lei's enthusiastic expression, he really would have wanted to turn around and go back to rest.

After the knight finished speaking, he walked with a brisk pace, leading the group through the large stables and continuing deeper into the area.

Right behind the large stable was a small but exquisite little stable. To be honest, if you disregard the very obvious door, this stable was practically a fine house.

Moreover, there were two guards with long sticks in front of the wide double wooden doors of the stable, which clearly indicated that the things inside were not ordinary.

The knight hesitated for a moment before decisively taking out the token that Duan Ye had given him. "The Marquis asked me to bring two distinguished guests to visit Duke Anle."

"Is it a horse or a person inside? Such a big name." Zi Yue said, already trying to go through the door to take a look, but Lin Fan grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back.

If it really is an important place, maybe there are some kind of restrictions on the door to deal with spirits? Let's wait for them to open the door.

After carefully verifying the authenticity of the token, the two guards respectfully opened the door.

Perhaps because it was the first time the knight had received the token, he stood tall and proud, even displaying a somewhat arrogant demeanor.

As soon as the door opened, unsurprisingly, a stench of horse manure wafted out.

Following the knight inside, there were exceptionally spacious stables, and the horses inside didn't seem strange at all; they were all the short, nags that Lin Fan was used to seeing.

The comparison is quite obvious: the horses ridden by Duan Ye's knights and those pulling Lin Fan's carriage were all tall, imposing, and of similar size; those were likely warhorses.

The horses in the caravan were of varying heights, some tall and thin, some short and stout—in short, all oddly shaped and deformed—and were obviously nags.

These were all rather short and stocky, but they were clearly all nags.

Ziyue's curiosity had finally reached its limit, and she carefully examined each horse. After a while, she returned to Lin Fan with great surprise, saying, "Acheng, these are all mares!"

Lin Fan sighed, "It seems I can't escape today's mare breeding lesson."