Chapter 232:
“Xin’er, the war horses must be kept.”
Lin Xin didn’t understand Young Master Mo’s “favoritism” toward war horses. In her view, war horses were equivalent to weapons for Western Rong people, so of course they should be destroyed if possible. Why keep them?
She thought this and asked it.
“Our cavalry also needs war horses, but our horses can’t compare to Western Rong war horses.”
“You mean you want to turn all the Western Rong war horses into our war horses?”
Young Master Mo smiled bitterly and shook his head. “It’s not that easy. Western Rong people not only have fierce war horses, but they’re also very skilled at raising horses. Even if we capture the horses, once they’re used on the battlefield against Western Rong people, those war horses will easily defect. At that time, they’ll become a boost for the enemy instead. We’ve suffered this loss many times.”
“Then why keep them?”
“Besides Western Rong, we have enemy countries too. At that time, we can send the war horses to other border garrisons. Additionally, we can use Western Rong war horses to breed with our own war horses.”
With this explanation, Lin Xin understood. “That works too. I’ll make some paralyzing grass for them to eat. Once they’re all paralyzed, you can have people come take them away.”
He knew full well that things weren’t that simple, but Young Master Mo didn’t plan to dampen Lin Xin’s spirits again. Instead, he planned to let her try. Anyway, if it failed later, she would know. Moreover, he wanted to see if her miraculous ability could create a miracle.
So he looked at her firmly and said, “Good, I’ll go with you then!”
Lin Xin looked at his serious face and slowly bloomed into a bright smile.
In fact, she had already sensed that Young Master Mo didn’t approve of her proposal, but he didn’t righteously dissuade her. Instead, he unhesitatingly stood on her side, which made her feel warm and sweet inside.
Lin Xin’s previous one-sided eerie massacre of Western Rong soldiers had left some indelible psychological shadows on the Western Rong people, to the point that they hadn’t launched any attacks recently and had quietly gone into hiding.
Chen Lingyuan firmly believed that the Western Rong people were preparing for a big offensive, so after the soldiers’ medicinal properties wore off, he began strict training.
Meanwhile, Young Master Mo and Lin Xin were not the type to dawdle. Once they had discussed it, they took action.
Of course, before acting, Young Master Mo had once had a “candlelit night talk” with Chen Lingyuan. No one besides the two knew the specific content.
Thus, on the Western Rong grassland, two “vagabonds” appeared. Wherever Western Rong soldiers kept their horses, their figures showed up.
The space, this huge cheat, made the two of them seem extremely elusive. Sometimes, if they were spotted by Western Rong soldiers, they immediately hid in the space. Soon, rumors of “ghosts appearing” on the grassland spread like wildfire.
“Haha, that Western Rong soldier was almost scared to death by us just now!” In the space, Lin Xin watched a Western Rong soldier run away shouting in terror and laughed so hard she leaned on Young Master Mo.
“Alright, we’ve checked all the places where Western Rong people keep their horses. When do you plan to start your plan?” Young Master Mo helplessly supported her as he asked.
“No time like the present, so let’s start today! I’ll first make some sleeping potion for those horses to eat. Once they’re all down, we’ll take away a portion first, which will further confirm the ghost rumors. What do you think?”
“Fine, whatever you say.” Young Master Mo was already on the pirate ship, so he might as well lie flat.
Lin Xin sensed no one around, pulled Young Master Mo out of the space, and tossed a handful of pale blue seeds the size of fire dragon fruit pits toward the place with the most concentrated horses.
The seeds immediately scattered into the grass and disappeared.
Lin Xin used her wood element ability to germinate the seeds. Even though he had seen it several times, Young Master Mo still found it unbelievable. Pale blue plants sprouted from the green grass, similar in shape to wild grass but taller than ordinary wild grass and with a weirder color.
However, the horses seemed very interested in these suddenly appearing plants. They sniffed them hard with their soft, warm noses a few times, then unhesitatingly chomped down with their big flat teeth, eating them very sweetly.
Things produced in the apocalypse had been tested by nature, with top-notch quality. Soon, the horses that ate the blue grass began moving sluggishly, their big wet eyes gradually becoming dull and lifeless. Finally, their limbs went soft, and they collapsed on the grassland.
With a thought from Lin Xin, she selected the twenty-odd strongest from the fallen horses. She used her supernatural ability to make the grass around them grow wildly, automatically weaving into huge cages that enclosed them one by one, then transported them to her side.
“How’s that?” Lin Xin stored the horses in the space and gave Young Master Mo a smug little look.
“Why these ones?” Young Master Mo believed Lin Xin’s selected horses weren’t chosen randomly. Though he had some knowledge of horses, he admitted he couldn’t pick these out from so many in such a short time, so he asked.
“I selected the first batch to fall,” Lin Xin patiently explained to him. “This poisonous grass has great attraction to animals like horses, cattle, and sheep. The ones that fell first either ate the most or ate the earliest, meaning they are the most sensitive or the strongest in the group.”
Young Master Mo suddenly understood. “So the ones you selected are the smartest or strongest in the group?”
“That’s the idea.” Lin Xin nodded.
Fine, but—
“We’re abandoning the rest? Didn’t you just say we were taking them all?” Seeing Lin Xin preparing to pull him away, Young Master Mo asked.
“I just thought about it. If we suddenly take away such a large group of horses, wouldn’t that blatantly tell everyone we’re the ghosts? So I changed my mind.” Lin Xin waved her hand. “We won’t take too many at once, but in batches over time. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain.”
Young Master Mo finally felt at ease. He had been thinking about how to persuade Lin Xin to abandon her previous plan, but before he could speak, she had sorted it out herself.
“Good, whatever you say.” This time, his words were truly from the heart.
How could Lin Xin not hear the relief in his tone? She gave him a half-smiling glance, pulled him away quickly, and didn’t forget to collect the blue grass seeds before leaving.
Afterward, the two found a cave not far from the camp. With a wave of Lin Xin’s small hand, she released all the horses.
The blue grass’s medicinal properties lasted quite a while. Not a single horse woke up until the people Young Master Mo signaled arrived.
“Th-this, Young Master Mo, how did you get these? Are they… are they dead?” Looking at the plump, sturdy war horses lying motionless on the ground, the person who came asked Young Master Mo.
“Not dead, just knocked out by us. They’ll wake up once the effects wear off. If needed, I can wake them now too. What do you think?” Lin Xin, with the most authority, asked.
“Then… then wake them up, and we’ll drive them back.” After exchanging glances, the leader answered.
