Chapter 4: Testing the Horse

  Liu Bei furrowed his brow, leaned in closer to Liu Xiu and said in a low voice: "That young whippersnapper is the youngest son of the Western Mao family, always arrogant and overbearing. This time, with Lu Jun teaching on their turf, he's become even more insolent. Judging from this attitude, it seems he wants to give us a taste of his power, so we'll have to listen to him later."

  "What's wrong?" A question flashed through Liu Xiu's mind, but he didn't have the nerve to ask. Judging from Liu Bei's tone, it seemed like they had a grudge against each other before.

  Liu Bei didn't know what Liu Xiu was thinking, and continued to speak in a disdainful tone: "It's not like he's just relying on his uncle having fought with the Xiongnu people and having served as a marshal, it's not much more than being a county magistrate."

  Liu Bei's voice was very small, the young man was scolding happily, just glanced at this side, didn't put it in his heart, waved his arm and shouted loudly: "Look at you, a kid from outside, my Mao family is a big clan, don't bully you, this horse of yours is not bad, give it to me for two days and I'll return it to you, or sell it to me, as long as you hand over the horse, I'll let you in."

  "You want to buy a horse? Well, it's not impossible." The young man, surrounded by over a dozen people, didn't show the slightest sign of panic on his face. With one hand holding the reins and the other pressing against the hilt of his sword, he glanced around calmly and smiled faintly: "It's just that this horse has a rather fierce temperament, only obeying heroes and chivalrous men. If someone unrelated tries to ride it, they won't be able to. I'm worried about your safety..."

  He looked up and down at the young man, shook his head slowly, and said in a concerned tone: "I think you're too tender-skinned, it's better not to try."

  "How dare you!" The young man's face suddenly turned red, he stretched out his arms and struck a pose that he thought was very cool, jumped down from the big rock, rushed to the front of the young man in a few steps, and shouted loudly: "My family is the Mao family, who have produced the great general Yiwu, I don't know how many fierce horses we've ridden, how many Xiongnu people we've killed. What's so special about this little horse that can't be ridden? Get out of my way, I must ride your little horse!"

  As he spoke, he reached out to grab the reins from the young man's hand. The young man shook his head and said, "I advise you not to try, my horse has a fierce temper, if it throws you off, I won't be able to bear the responsibility."

  He didn't say anything, but as soon as he did, the young man became even more unwilling to back down. His originally somewhat dark face turned purple with rage, and he reached out to brush away the young man's hand. The young man was calm and composed, but tightly grasped the reins and refused to let go, speaking slowly and persuasively, seemingly offering kind advice, but actually constantly provoking the young man. The young man became furious, pushing away several servants who came up to offer their advice, insisting on riding this horse no matter what.

  Several older servants, seeing that the young man was not good-natured, were afraid that their young master would get hurt and tried to pull him aside. However, the Mo family's youngster had already become furious, and when he saw the servants trying to persuade him, he became even more enraged, turned around and kicked out wildly with his feet. The several servants were caught off guard and were kicked until they cried out in dismay and scattered in all directions. Only then did the youngster turn around, pull out the ring-headed knife from his waist with a "whooshing" sound, and glare at the young man, saying: "Are you going to let me go or not?"

  "I'm just being kind, I don't want you to get hurt." The young man glanced at him lightly and remained unmoved, smiling calmly: "If you got hurt, how could I bear it?"

  "Life and death are destined, wealth and honor are in heaven." The young man from the Mao family shouted loudly: "If I get hurt, it's because of my own poor riding skills, nothing to do with you."

  "Really?" The young man raised an eyebrow.

  "Naturally." The young man from the Mao family shouted, he looked around and saw Liu Bei and Liu Xiu standing aside, then walked over with big strides, cupped his hands and said: "You two, please be my witnesses. If I fall off this horse and get hurt, it has nothing to do with this fellow. If I ride well, he will lend me the horse for a few days or even sell it to me. I won't take advantage of him, five thousand coins, fair and reasonable according to the current price in Zhuo County. How about that?"

  Liu Bei had already spoken out before Liu Xu could answer, "Such a good horse, can it be bought for only 5,000 coins? Although I don't understand horses, I can also see that this horse is probably a fine horse of the Wuhuan people, and in Zhuo County, it's worth at least 8,000 coins."

  The young man from the Mao family was taken aback, and glared at Liu Bei with hatred. Just as he was about to speak, the young man smiled and said: "No need, I think five thousand is a fair price. Please ask these two gentlemen to bear witness for us. We are all good men, we must keep our word, and whoever loses must admit defeat. Whoever speaks without keeping their promise is not a true hero."

  "It's settled." Before Liu Xiu and the others could speak, the young man from the Mao family responded first, snatching the reins from the young man's hands. He grasped the saddle with both hands and tried to mount it, but found that this horse was taller than ordinary horses, and he couldn't jump up. Not wanting to lose face in front of Liu Xiu and the others, he loudly shouted: "You stupid thing, aren't you coming over to give your old man a leg up? Do I need to invite you?"

  A servant rushed over, knelt down on one knee in front of the young man, put his hands on his knees, and lowered his head. The young man raised his foot and stepped on his shoulder, jumped onto the horse, shook the reins with both hands, looked at the young man with a proud expression, and smiled complacently: "You've seen it."

  The words had barely fallen when the horse suddenly let out a long whinny, and with a sudden movement, it turned around in a half circle, knocking over the servant who was on its back. Then, it began to buck violently, jumping up and down uncontrollably. The young man from the Ma family was shocked, and he could no longer worry about his posture. He tightly hugged the horse's neck, with both legs clamping down hard on the horse's belly. His face, which had been puffed up purple, suddenly turned pale, and his lips were bitten tight shut, unable to utter a single word.

  The servants surrounding them shouted and rushed to grab the horse, trying to rescue their young master. However, the horse kicked its four hooves wildly, not allowing them to get close. In a few kicks, it sent two servants flying with bruised noses and swollen eyes. The others were worried but didn't dare approach, only circling around the horse in chaos, shouting loudly in all directions.

  "Quickly, catch this beast!"

  "Everyone come on, let's rescue the host!"

  "Oh no, this beast kicked me again."

  "Oh no, my leg!"

  At the sound of his voice, several servants rushed over, drew their weapons and shouted at the young man with red faces: "Make that beast stop immediately! If our master is hurt even a single hair, you will pay with your life, you lowly commoner!"

  That young man raised an eyebrow and said in a low voice, "It's your master who doesn't know his limits, insisting on riding this horse of mine. I warned him repeatedly, but he wouldn't listen, that's why it ended up like this. Are you all deaf? Even if you are deaf, there are two witnesses right next to you, can't you ask them? Is it because there are many people that you're being ruthless? Believe me or not, I'll chop off the heads of these worthless slaves!"

  This young man was full of energy, and the voice he shouted out in anger actually made his ears buzz. The several servants were suddenly frightened by him and involuntarily took two steps back. Liu Bei saw this in his eyes, and immediately worshiped himself, taking a step forward, standing behind the young man, and saying loudly: "That's right, we did hear it, it was your master who wanted to ride someone else's horse."

  One of the servants shouted loudly: "Where are you from, you lowly people? Do you know where this is? This is the Mao family's estate. You want to run wild here, but have you considered your own status? If my master has a moment of carelessness, with just one letter, he can immediately have you locked up and taken to the Gaoyang County Prison. Believe it or not?"

  Liu Bei's face showed hesitation, he looked up at the young man and wanted to speak but stopped. The young man just sneered: "I've long heard that the four directions of Zhuo County are lawless, today I finally see it with my own eyes. My lord Gongsun Zan didn't believe it, so he wants to see how you'll deal with me."