Chapter 7: Racing to Seize Horses (Part 1)

As Luo Jie finished speaking, Qi Nanshan burst into laughter. Pointing in the distance, he said, “Look! That’s the horse team of the Mu Fu Gate!” Guo Shier immediately understood that his master intended to steal horses. The people from the Mu Fu Gate must have come from another direction; they probably still didn’t know about the sand curtain. In other words, their warhorses hadn’t yet become exhausted.
Luo Jie said, “Luo Zhan, take a few people with me. Da Shan, you stay ahead and prevent them from escaping.”
Luo Zhan mounted his horse along with four Symbol Warriors. Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan led the way, and the seven of them charged forward like a whirlwind. At this point, they no longer cared about the horses’ stamina but spurred them on to run at full speed.
Guo Shier, who had already dismounted, climbed back onto his horse and stood up to see how his master and the others would steal the horses. He hated the people of the Mu Fu Gate deeply—they were heartless creatures. Stealing their horses filled him with joy, without any sense of guilt.
The horse theft went smoothly. Luo Jie rose into the air and unleashed his life symbol talisman. With just one sentence, he made the people of the Mu Fu Gate surrender.
“Leave all your horses, and you can go. If you resist, you’ll be killed without mercy!”
Having seen Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan’s power, those from the Mu Fu Gate knew they were master warriors. With their few dozen men, they had no chance of fighting back. So when they heard they could keep their lives by handing over their horses, they immediately dismounted and left obediently. They knew full well that resistance would only mean death, with no possibility of escape.
Dozens of people, totaling over 130 warhorses, were brought back by Luo Zhan and the others.
They quickly switched to the warhorses and unloaded all the cargo from their backs, throwing it on the ground. At this moment, stamina was crucial—they needed these horses to escape and couldn’t let them carry heavy loads.
There were 25 people in total, with nearly 200 warhorses, so each person could get seven or eight horses. Qi Nanshan said, “Each of you pick two good horses first. Distribute the rest as you see fit. Remember to preserve the stamina of those two horses; they can be used to save your lives at a critical moment.”
Before the sand curtain arrived, everyone mounted their warhorses and rushed away into the distance.
As they passed by the group from the Mu Fu Gate, Guo Shier shouted loudly, “On behalf of the people who died in the town… thank you for your horses!” Then he performed a throat-cutting gesture toward them, sliding his left hand across his throat.
The group stared in confusion, not understanding what Guo Shier meant.
After the large group of horses disappeared, someone asked, “What did that kid mean?”

“I don’t know what it means, but the tone of that kid’s voice… seems a bit gloating…”
“Look, they’ve thrown all our supplies on the ground. Hurry up and pick them up!”
“No, look, what’s that?”
The ground was trembling slightly. The people from Mu Fu Men stared in confusion at the sand wall gradually approaching in the distance. No one realized what was happening at first, but then a dozen or so of them rushed toward the supplies on the ground.
In just over ten minutes, the sand wall that reached from sky to ground became clearly visible. There were a few beasts running ahead of the sand wall—mostly those best at running. Even so, they were already exhausted, with some howling as they fell into the sand wall.
Only then did the people from Mu Fu Men understand why the two masters had taken only their warhorses and left them alone. They also grasped the meaning of Guo Shier’s ritual of cutting throats. Pale-faced, they watched the slowly moving sand wall. One of them said in despair, “Damn it… what the hell is this?”
“Run!”
The people from Mu Fu Men weren’t completely desperate; they had something to use for escape. Mu Fu Men had a unique type of beast talisman—beasts sealed within them, and such talismans could only be used once. Someone crushed a beast talisman, and a giant wolf appeared. He immediately mounted it and shouted commands to make the wolf flee.
Almost everyone had a beast talisman, but there weren’t many beasts good at running. One guy summoned a sturdy boar, while the others looked at him as if he were an idiot. Boars could sprint short distances, but for long-distance running, they were no better than a large dog. But at this point, no one dared say anything; everyone was busy trying to escape.
The guy on the boar was among the first to run, but unfortunately, his boar could only sprint short distances. After about ten minutes, the boar slowed down, panting heavily. Seeing his companions overtaking him one after another, he couldn’t help but shout, “Who has a beast talisman? I’ll pay with all my money!”
No one paid him any attention. Seriously, beast talismans were extremely precious at this time. The beast inside a talisman could only be controlled for two or three hours. After that, either you had to get another talisman or face death. Everyone knew this clearly, so why would they give away one?
Beast talismans were the lowest-grade talismans in Xi Fu Men. Ordinary people usually carried only a few, and they were worthless most of the time. No one collected many of them. So, the moment they lost their warhorses, it was as if they lost their lives. With just a few beast talismans, it was impossible to escape.

Every four hours, they took a forty-minute break. Luo Jie’s group fled all night without stopping. Fortunately, they had over a hundred warhorses; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to go far. By morning, after a night of relentless pursuit, half of the warhorses had died from exhaustion, most of them already worn out the previous day. After such a long ride, both people and horses were utterly exhausted. Guo Shier’s face turned pale, and he was also struggling, but thanks to his remarkable willpower, he still held onto the reins tightly, staying on his horse and closely following the group, not falling behind by a step. Luo Jie was deeply impressed—while even adults were exhausted, this nine-year-old child didn’t complain and kept encouraging his friends. His perseverance was truly admirable. Huo Bao and the others had long given up, but seeing Guo Shier, who was even younger, still persevering and occasionally encouraging them, they also redoubled their efforts. They couldn’t afford to appear weaker than Guo Shier, after all, they had the potential to become martial artists. Although Guo Shier, now a spellcaster, was as fit as them, age was a factor no one could ignore. “Rest! Get off the horses and rest!” Guo Shier’s body was sore and numb. He struggled to climb down from his horse, supporting it as if the ground itself were shaking. After being jostled on horseback for so long, his sense of balance had adapted to the horse, making it hard to stand on solid ground. Luo Jie said, “Luo Zhan, go take care of Shier’s horses and let him rest for a while. The kid is too tired.” He was worried that Guo Shier might get overexhausted. Guo Shier firmly refused. He knew that persevering at this moment was a way to strengthen his willpower and push his limits, which was highly beneficial for cultivation. How could he let Luo Zhan help? Besides, Luo Zhan was also tired and had more tasks to handle. He filled a copper basin with water for the horses to drink, brought out high-quality feed, and then ate a little pickled meat and drank some water. As he ate, he unconsciously fell asleep. It wasn’t until Qi Nan Shan’s loud voice rang out that Guo Shier woke up, instantly feeling all his fatigue vanish. Children had incredible recovery abilities; just half an hour of sleep restored his strength. Usually, after a forty-minute rest, the roar of the sand curtain could be heard, but fifty minutes had passed and it still hadn’t appeared. Guo Shier asked in confusion, “Has the sand curtain not come after us?” After fifty minutes of rest, the warhorses gradually recovered. Qi Nan Shan said, “Forget about the sand curtain for now. Let’s keep riding. We can slow down a bit to avoid overexhausting the horses. Alright, get on your horses—let’s go!”

Guo Shier climbed onto the horse and asked Huo Bao and the others, “Xiao Baozi, have you guys slept for a while?”
Huo Bao nodded and said, “We all slept for a while. Sigh, I really wish I could sleep more. I feel like I haven’t gotten enough sleep…” He yawned and smiled, “But being able to sleep for a while like this is already quite good.”
The horse team set off again. This time, they didn’t urge the horses to gallop but rode at a steady pace.
Luo Jie deliberately called Guo Shier over and asked, “Shier, have you recovered a bit?”
Guo Shier replied, “Master, I feel much better. Hehe, but I’m not full yet. I plan to eat while on horseback.”
Luo Jie said, “Then eat quickly. Once we start galloping, you won’t be able to eat.”
Guo Shier nodded and took out the marinated meat prepared by Aunt Xin from his talisman bag. It was meat slices the size of a palm. His stomach was already growling with hunger. The marinated meat was carefully cooked by Aunt Xin, and he had given some suggestions. It was similar to the curry beef jerky from his past life, but Aunt Xin had made it even tastier.
Huo Bao drooled with greed. He leaned over and asked, “Shier, is there any more? Is this the beef jerky made by Aunt Xin?”
Guo Shier had brought a lot of this marinated meat jerky. He took out some and shared it with Huo Bao and the other three, saying, “Eat quickly. Once we speed up, you won’t be able to eat anymore.”
After about two hours of travel, the sand curtain behind them still hadn’t appeared. Sparse grass could be seen on the ground gradually, and signs of life began to show. Luo Jie let out a sigh of relief and said, “It seems we’ve escaped danger!”
Qi Nanshan said, “Elder, I think we’re only truly out of danger when we reach that place.” He pointed at the mountains visible in the distance.
Guo Shier looked back. The surroundings were still dead silent, with only the monotonous sound of horse hooves. He asked, “Master, what exactly is that sand curtain?”
Luo Jie replied, “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. If we get caught in that sand curtain, maybe I and Dashan can escape, but you guys will definitely not be able to leave. Just think about why there isn’t a trace of life in this land—that’s enough to show how dangerous the sand curtain is. Hehe, we’re lucky to have managed to get these war horses. Otherwise… we might have been trapped in that sand curtain.”
Qi Nanshan said, “Elder, let’s be careful. Let’s leave this land first. I always feel that this place is very eerie.”

Luo Jie thought for a moment and said, “That’s right, indeed it is. We can’t slack off. Sometimes it’s the last effort that causes regret. Let’s speed up!” Both of them were experienced and knowledgeable, so they weren’t careless at all. This is exactly what they mean by the older one becomes more cautious.
The horse team accelerated again. Since they could already see the mountains in the distance, everyone stopped caring about the horses’ stamina and spurred them on at full speed.