Very quickly, the group rented five horses from the stable. The three women eagerly rode on horseback, while Tang Ming and Chen Cang led the way at the front, guiding the empty horses.
Li Xiaoli and Liu Mengting’s horses were tied together, with Chen Cang leading at the front. Tang Ming was in charge of guiding Xia Wei’er. The group, like other tourist clusters, began to experience the culture of the ancient tea trade route, heading south.
However, just as Tang Ming and his group left Wanyou Town, Wang Zhimen and Wang Shilei, disguised as tourists, quietly followed behind them.
After leaving the stable, Li Xiaoli said while riding her horse, "Why does it feel different from the horses on TV? This horse is too small."
"I know this. It’s a special breed from the Southwest province, called dwarf horses. They’re very good at mountain trails, completely different from the tall horses on the grasslands, with remarkable endurance."
Xia Wei’er immediately educated everyone.
"Alright then! But this slow pace isn’t fun at all. I want that feeling of chasing the wind, this is even slower than walking."
Li Xiaoli looked at Chen Cang discontentedly, "Little Cang Cang, don’t lead my horse. I want to ride by myself."
"Xiaoli, don’t mess around." Liu Mengting, who was behind Li Xiaoli, hurriedly scolded her, "It’s our first time riding horses. What if we fall without someone leading? Plus, these are all mountain trails; the horses can’t exactly run."
"I guess that’s true."
Li Xiaoli looked around at the rugged mountain path, which indeed wasn’t suitable for running, "Forget it, anyway I’m on a horse now. Giddy up, giddy up."
"Xiaoli don’t move around, it’ll be a disaster if the horse gets startled."
Chen Cang quickly pulled the reins and cautioned nervously.
"Xiaoli, you jerk, don’t move around, my horse is scared."
Liu Mengting screamed in terror.
"Oh gosh, this is unbelievable."
Tang Ming turned his head and glanced helplessly at the three of them making a mess behind him. He shook his head and looked at Xia Wei’er on her horse, "Wei’er, how do you feel? Are you scared?"
"I’m alright. These horses have been trained extensively, and generally aren’t dangerous. As long as the rider is calm, the horse won’t act up."
Xia Wei’er replied with a smile as she held the saddle.
"That’s right, Wei’er is indeed smart. I’ll get on my horse now."
Tang Ming nodded in admiration, then mounted his horse and walked alongside Xia Wei’er, holding her reins.
Looking at Tang Ming beside her, Xia Wei’er said dreamily, "If we could always be , even if we wandered the world, I wouldn’t have any regrets."
"Silly girl, if we always did this, our butts would be sore."
Tang Ming teased with a smile and moved closer to Xia Wei’er, said assuredly, "Don’t worry, even if we don’t wander the world, we’ll always be together."
Xia Wei’er blushed and nodded shyly.
Seeing Tang Ming and Xia Wei’er riding harmoniously side by side along the scenic ancient trail, the three people behind were extremely envious.
"Ladies, look, Ming is already on his horse. Can you behave so I can get on my horse and lead you?"
Chen Cang called out in frustration. He had to hold his own horse and control Li Xiaoli’s horse, so he didn’t dare get on.
"Annoying! Why won’t this horse listen? Hurry up and catch up with Brother Tang and Wei’er."
Li Xiaoli kept slapping the horse’s rump, trying to speed up.
"Could it be that Wei’er knew how to ride a horse from the beginning?"
Liu Mengting looked enviously at the two beautiful shadows ahead and muttered.
In this manner, the group playfully continued forward. Initially, the three women, who were riding for the first time, found it novel, but the bumpy mountain path soon made their horseback riding uncomfortable. However, thinking of walking the mountain path on foot made them endure the bumps to continue.
Following the directions from Liu Lian, Tang Ming led the group thirty miles south, deviating from the tourist route and reaching the junction of a few desolate mountains.
"Where exactly is this Heavenly Cloud Palace?"
Looking at the mountains ahead, Tang Ming was perplexed and complained loudly, "Bai Lingxiao and his wife are quite a pair. One gave me a useless map, the other pointed out an ambiguous road. How the heck am I supposed to find the Heavenly Cloud Palace?"
"Finally, we’ve stopped. I want to get off; my butt is sore as heck."
Seeing Tang Ming stop, Li Xiaoli immediately shouted.
Chen Cang quickly helped Li Xiaoli down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she clutched her butt and hopped around, clearly having had a rough ride.
Liu Mengting also dismounted slowly, wincing as she held her waist. She complained to Tang Ming, "Are you sure Heavenly Cloud Palace is in this remote area? This place is so desolate and bumpy, who would live here?"
"The people in Heavenly Cloud Palace are all martial artists. Do you think they’d be like you, pampered princesses?"
Tang Ming rolled his eyes at Liu Mengting, "Thirty miles of mountain path is nothing for a martial artist."
"Yes, look at me, I led the horses all the way here and don’t feel tired at all."
Chen Cang nodded repeatedly. Despite feeling more exhausted than walking, mainly due to Li Xiaoli’s constant restlessness on horseback.
"Okay, but now that we don’t know which mountain the Heavenly Cloud Palace is on, what do we do?"
Liu Mengting pouted, looking at Tang Ming strangely.
"Are we going back empty-handed?"
Li Xiaoli’s face changed, and she shook her head repeatedly, "I swear I’m not coming next time. I never want to ride a horse again in my life."
"Heh, actually, if you move your body with the bumps, it won’t be that uncomfortable."
Xia Wei’er dismounted gracefully, smiling.
"Oh wow, Wei’er, you’re like a genius, learning everything so quickly. I wish I were as talented as you."
Seeing Xia Wei’er unaffected, Li Xiaoli complained in frustration.
"We should focus on finding Heavenly Cloud Palace first, or we really might return empty-handed."
Liu Mengting reminded helplessly.
"We won’t return empty-handed. I don’t know which mountain the Heavenly Cloud Palace is on, but there’s someone who does."
Tang Ming squinted his eyes and smiled mysteriously.
Not far from Tang Ming and the group, Wang Shilei hid in the bushes, wiping sweat off his brow, complaining, "These people must be crazy. They rode dwarf horses for dozens of miles of mountain path. Tracking them slowly and hiding, I’m exhausted."
"The weather is way too hot today."
Wang Zhimen wiped his sweat, feeling equally worn out.
For them, a thirty-mile trek would normally take less than an hour. But following Tang Ming’s group for three to four hours, without revealing their presence, navigating through untracked grass and woods, that feeling...