Feng Jiu’er had never imagined Zhuiyue’s temper could be this severe.

When she had mounted, everything had seemed perfectly fine — even when she had gently stroked its mane just moments before, it hadn’t shown the slightest sign of resistance.

Yet the instant she settled onto its back, it exploded.

And when it exploded, the effect was truly terrifying — its speed was like the wind, fast enough to send chills down one’s spine.

She was genuinely skilled at riding. Over the years, she had ridden her share of horses.

But she had never ridden one this fast, and never felt so helpless atop a horse’s back.

She did not panic. Though her grip on the saddle grew less and less stable by the moment, she still held fast to the reins with all her strength.

Whether Zhuiyue sensed her stubbornness or not was unclear, but it grew even more agitated than before, tearing forward like a gust gone mad.

Soon, Feng Jiu’er realized — this creature wasn’t throwing a tantrum at all. Blast it, it was playing with her, finding the whole thing amusing!

Seeing her dig in and refuse to be thrown, Zhuiyue grew more and more entertained, running faster and faster, even deliberately weaving side to side to send its rider lurching, nearly throwing her off several times.

But a horse’s mind is like a child’s — how could it know that this game of theirs might very well cost her her life?

Feng Jiu’er gritted her teeth. Her palms had already been worn raw and were bleeding, yet she tightened her grip on the reins all the same.

If she loosened her grip for even a moment and tumbled off now, she could easily lose her life.

Zhuiyue ran too fast. Even if Mu Mu and Xue Gu gave chase, their horses couldn’t come close to matching its speed.

Unless there existed another divine steed in this world, one quick enough to keep pace with Zhuiyue — otherwise… oh heavens, her life really might not be spared!

“Zhuiyue, Zhuiyue… let’s… stop playing…”

Feng Jiu’er tried desperately to reason with it, but with Zhuiyue moving this fast, the howling wind swallowed her words the moment they left her lips.

Impossible to communicate — she couldn’t even get through a single sentence!

Her palms burned with a fierce, worsening pain, and even her wrists had begun to go weak and numb.

Zhuiyue veered and plunged left and right, and Feng Jiu’er atop its back was like a kite on the verge of snapping its string, on the brink of tumbling off at any moment.

Yet every time she was about to fall, she would seize the reins again with iron grip, that slender figure bent nearly to breaking — and yet she stayed on.

Zhuiyue seemed to grow more and more exhilarated with each passing moment, as though it would not be satisfied until it threw its rider off. Then, with a sudden lunge, it launched into a burst of speed beyond anything before.

“Zhuiyue…” Heavens, this speed — she truly could not hold on much longer!

How would the others even catch up? Ordinary horses simply couldn’t match this!

Was a second divine steed going to appear out of nowhere to save her? At this rate, there was no way she would make it out alive!

“Zhui…”

All at once, from behind came the sound of rapid hoofbeats — ta ta ta — and a tall horse came thundering after them.

The sight of a pursuer seemed to ignite something in Zhuiyue, and it released every last ounce of its strength, pouring it all into raw, unbridled speed.

Yet the horse behind didn’t slow in the slightest — Zhuiyue tore forward at its maximum pace, and still that horse clung right to its tail.

Feng Jiu’er knew someone was giving chase, but she had no opportunity to look back and see who it was.

All she knew was that she truly could not hold on.

The pain in her palms grew sharper and sharper. The reins had ground through the skin, and blood now seeped out between her fingers.

These hands were the things she cherished most. If this continued, even if she survived, her hands might be ruined.

“Let go. Jump. I can catch you.” The voice behind her wasn’t loud, but carried on a thread of inner energy, so that Feng Jiu’er could hear every single word, clear as day.

He said he could catch her. At this speed, with this force — could he truly catch her?

The wind was too loud. She couldn’t make out the quality of that voice, only just barely catch the words themselves.

What a tremendous act of faith it would take to trust that the person behind her could actually catch her.

But if she didn’t trust him, her hands…

“Do you still want those hands?” came the cold voice from behind.

“Yes!” Jiu’er shut her eyes. She had no other choice. She tucked her feet up, pulled them free of the stirrups, and released the reins. In an instant, that slender figure was flung from Zhuiyue’s back with tremendous force, hurtling toward the ground.

She closed her eyes. Trusting the person behind her or not, she was terrified all the same.

For someone without any martial arts — this kind of impact was a death sentence.

Wind screamed past her ears, that howling roar alone enough to shatter one’s courage.

At this velocity, even if the person behind her could save her, she would likely still be seriously injured, wouldn’t she?

What a fate — barely into the second day of their journey, cut down before she had even truly begun. How miserable…

Then, with sudden force, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. At the moment she would have struck the ground, he twisted in midair and used his own body to shield her underneath. With a crash, the two of them hit the earth together. The man rolled with her in his arms, absorbing the impact, and then pulled himself upright, holding her as he sat up.

“Zhuifeng, bring it back.”

The man’s voice was a little low and deep — quite pleasant to the ear, actually — only right now, Feng Jiu’er had just passed through the threshold of life and death and had no chance to take it in properly.

The wind faded from her ears. Everything seemed to grow quiet.

She opened her eyes. Before her was Jiu Qing’s truly unremarkable face — yet in this moment, that face suddenly became something else entirely.

Something she couldn’t quite name. Undeniably captivating.

A hero saves a beauty — my, he really was magnificent!

It took Jiu’er a good few seconds before she managed to collect herself.

How absurd — she had actually, for just the smallest of moments, been swept away by the presence radiating off this man!

Good heavens! How could this be? If her Ninth Imperial Uncle found out, he’d surely give her a sound scolding and call her a lovesick fool.

And yet… the aura around this man truly was intoxicating…

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to stare at you like that.” She had only just realized she had been staring at his face all this time. She knew full well that Jiu Qing disliked being looked at.

Jiu Qing said nothing. Feng Jiu’er suddenly remembered something, and immediately grabbed his wrist, intending to check his pulse.

But Jiu Qing drew his hand back, refusing.

Feng Jiu’er let out a quiet breath and hurriedly shifted out of his arms, creating some distance between them.

When they had hit the ground, he had taken her beneath him, shielding her with his body — all of the impact had fallen on his back. She genuinely worried that he was injured.

But looking at him now, Jiu Qing’s breathing seemed fairly steady. He likely hadn’t sustained anything serious — most probably just some scrapes.

“Would you like me to apply medicine?” He would probably refuse, she suspected. After all, this great wandering hero truly did not like to be too close to others.

Sure enough, Jiu Qing said nothing. He stood, fixing his gaze on the direction the two horses had gone.

Feng Jiu’er remained sitting on the ground, feeling utterly drained — she couldn’t get up at all.

She looked in the same direction, and something suddenly came back to her. Her gaze dropped to Jiu Qing’s back, and she asked in surprise: “Just now — you called your horse… Zhuifeng?”