booktalesy Chapter 37 Pathfinding
Chapter 37 Pathfinding
"Huh? Jianqiu doesn't want to ride the same horse with me?"
Sarah smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling with charm.
"Two people pressed together, bouncing along on horseback, that feels wonderful!"
She deliberately emphasized the word "bumpy," as if afraid Fang Jianqiu wouldn't understand.
"You can't ride a horse?"
Fang Jianqiu looked at her with a serious expression.
In the backstory, Miss Fortune is a pirate captain in Bilgewater who spends all her time on deck and probably isn't really good at land transportation.
"Hmph, your attempt to provoke me is too crude." Sarah scoffed, but didn't press the matter further.
"What haven't I ridden? Don't even mention horses, I've ridden sea monsters too~ Hmm, this is the one."
She pointed to a tall, chestnut-colored horse next to her.
Without any apparent running start, her long legs, clad in leather boots, lightly touched the ground, and her body soared into the air like a feather. Then, her slender, shapely thighs drew an extremely graceful arc in the air as she firmly straddled the horse's back.
The movements were swift and decisive.
"drive!"
She gently tugged the reins, and her legs slightly tightened around the horse's belly.
The horse then obediently started running and circled twice in front of Fang Jianqiu.
As the horse galloped, Sarah's graceful figure was once again on full display.
Even in that slightly loose linen dress, she couldn't hide her seemingly ripe and full curves.
"Won't Sarah be in pain from all that shaking...?"
"Hmm, very good, not bad, let's go then."
Fang Jianqiu admired the alluring curves for a while before turning his gaze away. Then, he casually picked up a black horse that looked relatively docile and mounted it.
"Walk!"
He flicked the reins and rode ahead to lead the way.
Sarah didn't ask them where they were going or what they were going to do. As far as she was concerned, wherever Fang Jianqiu was, she would be there too.
......
As Fang Jianqiu and Sarah rode away...
On the other side of the road, two horses are galloping wildly.
White, who was already terrified, and another surviving teammate whipped their horses like they were being chased by demons.
Even though the horses were foaming at the mouth, they dared not stop for a moment.
Only when the familiar sentry post at the entrance of the South Valley came into view did the two of them finally relax a little.
"Whoa—"
The two men reined in their horses, their hooves leaving deep marks on the ground.
White and his teammates stared intently at the road behind them, not daring to blink.
One minute, two minutes.
Only when they confirmed that there was no sign of anyone chasing them at the end of that dark road, and that the terrifying killer had not followed, did the two men finally relax.
"Captain... what do we do now?" The teammate gasped for breath, his voice still trembling, his face filled with the bewilderment of someone who had just survived a disaster.
White wiped the cold sweat from his face, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down. As the fear subsided, a more complex emotion welled up in his heart.
Besides lingering fear, I felt mostly heartache.
Those corpses on the ground weren't just his men, they were his cash cows!
How much money and how much time would it take to assemble such a well-coordinated and fearless team again?
Not to mention that some of them are veterans who have followed him through thick and thin for many years. They are true brothers who have seen blood and can entrust their backs to each other. These kinds of people cannot be bought with money!
And what followed was anger.
He was angry at Hans, angry at headquarters, but not at that man.
"Damn it! Those sons of bitches!"
White slammed his fist on the saddle:
"With such terrifying thugs around, why wasn't there a single word about it in the intelligence?! This is basically sending us to our deaths! A bunch of idiots who just sit in their offices drinking coffee!"
He gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot: "To headquarters! We need to get an explanation!"
There was a hint of ruthlessness in White's voice:
"My brothers can't have died in vain! The company must compensate me!"
The two rode their horses back to the sentry post.
"Open the door! Open the door now!"
White yelled impatiently.
The overseer at the sentry post peeked out, looking at the group of only two people with a puzzled expression:
"Captain White? Where's the rest? Why are only the two of you back?"
This problem is like a spark that ignites a powder keg.
White, already seething with anger, finally exploded: "Shut the fuck up! Open the door! Or I'll kill you!"
He pulled out a gun and pointed it at the overseer's head.
The foreman was terrified and didn't dare ask any more questions. He hurriedly and frantically opened the gate.
The two men didn't even glance at the unfortunate overseer before spurring their horses off and disappearing into the night.
......
Under the moonlight, a handsome man and a beautiful woman ran through the night.
Both of them could easily see in the dark, so their horses were quite fast.
If Fang Jianqiu hadn't needed to keep a close eye on the landmark Xiao Yuanshan had mentioned, they could have gone even faster.
At this moment, Sarah slightly spurred her horse, increasing its speed, and in a few steps caught up with Fang Jianqiu ahead, riding alongside him.
Even while running at high speed, she maintained a calm and elegant demeanor, but the way her body rose and fell with the horse's movements was so flirtatious and vulgar.
Such a contrast is truly exhilarating.
"Jianqiu, you've been shaking your head and swaying since the beginning. What are you looking for?" Sarah asked, seemingly oblivious to how outrageous her figure was.
"Um, it's nothing."
Fang Jianqiu kept his eyes straight ahead, trying his best to focus his attention on the trees by the roadside.
"You... step back, you're blocking my view."
Sarah, bouncing along on her horse, was practically a black hole in the view.
"Hehe, you'll need to look at it more often to get used to it!"
Upon hearing this, Sarah proudly puffed out her chest again, deliberately making it appear even more magnificent.
"If we can't even overcome this little obstacle, how will we accomplish anything great in the future?"
She also teased Fang Jianqiu a little, but still obediently slowed down her horse and fell behind by half a body length.
A while later.
Fang Jianqiu's eyes suddenly lit up.
Among the messy trees by the roadside, one tree stood out.
It was an old banyan tree whose crown had been chopped off in half by some unknown force. The remaining half was lush and leafy, serving as a giant natural landmark.
"This is it, there's no mistake."
Fang Jianqiu suddenly pulled on the reins and stopped riding. Sarah also stopped and came to his side, bringing with her a fragrant breeze.
"Hmm, and then?" She looked at the strange tree with curiosity.
"Let's dismount, this place is difficult to ride in, let's go further in."
The two dismounted, took the reins, and walked toward the dense thicket behind the tree.
The thicket looked so dense that it seemed like there was no path at all, but as Fang Jianqiu led the two of them through the outer branches and leaves, a path, though hidden, was revealed to be made by human feet.
The road is very narrow, and clothes often get caught on the branches of trees on both sides.
The two walked along the road for a while, and then the road conditions suddenly became complicated.
What was originally a narrow path has branched into several forks, each leading in a different direction. And each one looks almost identical, making it extremely difficult to choose.
"That's interesting."
Sarah looked at the fork in the road ahead, a look of reminiscence on her face:
"This reminds me of the old pirates in Bilgewater who used to hide their treasures in all sorts of convoluted mazes, as if they were afraid someone would pry open those chests that didn't have many gold coins."
Fang Jianqiu ignored her professional comments and continued to look around.
He found several marks on the bottom of a large rock near one of the forks in the road, which looked like they had been cut by a sharp weapon.
The marks were very regular, three long and two short, forming a specific symbol.
"Found it."
Fang Jianqiu pointed to the symbol to confirm the direction.
"This way."
So the two continued on their way and walked along that road for a while longer.
The surrounding trees grew denser, and the light grew dimmer.
Just when Fang Jianqiu thought they would have to walk a little further, a low, yet clearly delighted shout suddenly came from ahead:
"Brother Fang! Brother Fang! Over here!"