Chapter 22: Unexpected Ambush

  Just as Ling Muyun was thinking in his heart, Han Baoju made a move.

  Han Baoju, also known as the "Horse King God", has a riding skill that can be said to be unparalleled in the world. Even the Mongolian herders who have lived on horseback for generations cannot compare with him. Han Baoju is skilled at riding horses and naturally loves them more. A person who does not love horses cannot possibly develop superb riding skills no matter how hard they try. It was precisely because he loved horses that he couldn't bear to see a peerless fine steed before his eyes without being moved, so he took action.

  Seeing the red horse making trouble again, Han Baoju knew the horse's nature and knew where it would pass when it retreated. He made a detour to intercept it, waiting for the red horse to arrive, then suddenly jumped up. The red horse was running right into his grasp, with perfect timing and positioning that didn't miss by a fraction of an inch. The herdsmen couldn't help but cheer in unison, and the title "Horse King" wasn't given lightly.

  Han Bao fell down, thinking he would surely land steadily on the horse's back. He had tamed countless ferocious and inferior horses in his life, and as long as he was on the horse's back, there wasn't a single horse that could throw him off again. This wasn't arrogance, but confidence.

  Unexpectedly, Han Baoju miscalculated this time. Just as his short and sturdy body was about to land on the horse's back, the red horse seemed to sense the threat he posed and suddenly burst into a fierce gallop, shooting forward like an arrow, leaving him empty-handed in mid-air.

  Thinking that he would surely win with his horse, Han Baoju was furious when he didn't. He immediately gave chase, but being short-legged and not good at running on flat ground, how could he catch up to such a divine steed?

  Just as the red horse was about to gallop out of the herd and leave, a figure suddenly jumped out from the side, like a gust of wind, and rushed to the front of the red horse, stretching out his hand like lightning to grab the horse's mane. The red horse was startled and ran even faster, directly dragging the person's body into the air, feeling as if it were flying a kite. Despite this, the man still held tightly onto the horse's mane, floating along with the galloping red horse.

  The herdsmen could not help but shout loudly at this scene.

  The Six Freaks of Jiangnan saw that the one who had grasped the horse's mane was none other than their disciple, Guo Jing. They couldn't help but feel both delighted and surprised. They were pleased that Guo Jing's martial arts skills were excellent, which made them feel proud as his masters, and they felt more confident about the appointment at Jiaxing Smoke Rain Tower a few months later. What surprised them was that Guo Jing had demonstrated an extraordinary lightness skill this time, able to turn freely in mid-air with a nimble body, which was not something they had taught him, but they didn't know where he had learned it from.

  Han Xiaoying, the last of the six freaks, was after all a woman with a strong feminine intuition and couldn't help but think wildly: "Jing'er's skills have improved greatly over the past year, could it be that his deceased father is secretly protecting him? Or perhaps it's Fifth Brother..."

  "Where did he learn such excellent light body skills?" Miao Shou Sheng Zhu Cong's face showed a puzzled expression, and as he spoke, his gaze shifted to Ling Mu Yun's body, clearly suspecting that it was Ling Mu Yun who had taught him. A hint of displeasure rose in his heart. Although teaching Guo Jing martial arts was a good thing, not even notifying them, the masters, beforehand made it seem like they didn't take the Jiangnan Six Freaks seriously.

  Ling Mu Yun took one look at Zhu Cong's expression and immediately guessed what he was thinking. He knew that although the Six Freaks of Jiangnan were extremely chivalrous, they weren't magnanimous people. If they became hostile towards him because of this, it wouldn't be worth it. Therefore, he immediately spoke up to explain: "Zhu Er Xiong, don't look at me like that. I only taught Guo brother a set of fist techniques out of gratitude for teaching me archery and horse riding skills. Several of you are also aware of this. Apart from this, what other martial arts could I have possibly taught Guo brother? All of you seniors' martial arts skills are profound, and it's already more than enough that you've taught Guo brother. How would I dare to overstep my bounds?"

  For some reason, Ling Yun didn't mention the fact that he had taught Guo Jing internal skills, and instead let Ma Yu take credit for it.

  Upon hearing Ling Mu Yun's words, Zhu Cong's expression immediately eased up a lot. They all knew about Ling Mu Yun teaching Guo Jing fist techniques, and as Ling Mu Yun said, Guo Jing taught him archery and riding skills, so it was only fair that he returned the favor by teaching him a set of fist techniques.

  Seeing Ling Miao Yun's denial, the six freaks of Jiangnan felt even more suspicious. Han Baoju shook his head and asked strangely: "If it wasn't taught by Young Master Ling, then where did he learn this extraordinary lightness skill?"

  Jiangnan Six Freaks didn't know that, in the past year or so, Ma Yu had been teaching Guo Jing breathing and exhalation techniques every night at the top of the high cliff. Although he hadn't taught him any martial arts, what he had taught was the orthodox internal skill of the Xuanmen sect. The guidance Guo Jing received every night when climbing up and down the cliff was actually the Golden Goose Skill, a lightweight qigong technique from the Quanzhen Sect.

  Guo Jing himself was unaware of the benefits and drawbacks, but since Ma Yu had instructed him to go up the cliff every night, he followed orders and slept on the cliff every night. His internal strength improved daily, and the achievements of his Golden Rooster Technique only showed in the lightness skills taught by Zhu Cong, Quan Jinfa, and Han Xiaoying. Even Guo Jing himself was unaware, and the Six Freaks were merely occasionally surprised by his unexpected abilities, without realizing the true situation. It wasn't until they saw him help his Third Master, Han Baoju, catch a horse that had slipped out of his grasp, and unintentionally display many unique techniques from the Golden Rooster Technique, that the Jiangnan Six Freaks discovered this.

  Seeing the six freaks of Jiangnan doubting, Ling Yunfeng feared they had thought wrongly, so he hinted: "Several seniors, Guo brother's lightness skill seems to have some connection with Quanzhen Sect. I once mistakenly fought against a Quanzhen Sect disciple and the lightness skill used by the person who fought me was also like Guo brother's."

  "What's this about Quanzhen? How could Jing'er possibly know the Quanzhen sect's lightness skill?" The six freaks of Jiangnan were momentarily stunned, unable to fathom the mystery behind it.

  Just then, Guo Jing suddenly flipped over in mid-air and landed on the horse's back with a beautiful somersault. He grabbed the red horse's mane tightly with both hands, trying to tame it. The little red horse was momentarily standing on its front legs, and then kicked its hind legs violently, like a madman, running back and forth, using all its strength to try and throw Guo Jing off its back. But Guo Jing held tight with his hands and legs, unconsciously using his internal energy to fix his body in place, and never fell off the horse's back.

  Han Baoju didn't have time to guess where Guo Jing's lightness skill came from, and loudly instructed him on how to tame the horse. Guo Jing followed his words and firmly rode on the horse's back, waiting for the little red horse to exhaust its energy and automatically surrender. However, this little red horse was indeed fierce, galloping and jumping wildly without stopping, rushing back and forth on the grassland for over an hour, yet its spirit seemed to grow stronger, not showing any signs of fatigue.

  The herdsmen were all shocked and frightened, some of them even took it as a divine horse, kneeling down to pray and beg the heavens not to punish them for provoking the divine horse. Some herdsmen shouted loudly at Guo Jing, telling him to get off the horse quickly. But Guo Jing was fully focused on riding the horse, his body tightly tied to the horseback like a rope, moving up and down with the horse's movements, he didn't have the mood to listen to their words. He remained firmly seated on the horseback and refused to get off.

  Guo Jing was also very stubborn, no matter how much the little red horse tossed and turned him around, he wouldn't let go. Later, with a burst of inspiration, he suddenly inserted his right arm under the horse's neck, wrapped both arms around it, and exerted his strength. As his internal energy reached his arm, it tightened further. The little red horse struggled and jumped about, unable to break free, until it was almost suffocating and couldn't breathe. Only then did it realize its mistake and dare not struggle again, standing still on the spot.

  Guo Jing, who had learned horse taming techniques, knew that the little red horse was already tame, so he jumped off its back. The little red horse did not run away and even stuck out its tongue to lick his hand, with a very affectionate expression. Everyone saw this and burst out laughing, and they all came forward to congratulate him. Ma Wangye Han Baoju was even more delighted, letting Guo Jing ride it out for a spin to thoroughly test the precious horse's leg strength.

  Guo Jing was delighted to have tamed the little red horse and immediately nodded in agreement, riding off at a gallop. The little red horse lived up to its reputation as a fine breed, running like the wind and lightning, disappearing into the distance in an instant, its speed leaving one speechless. Even Linghu Chong couldn't help but feel secretly shocked in his heart, for with this little red horse's incredible speed, even he, who had learned the superior lightness skill from the Nine Yin Manual, could only compete with it over a short distance; if the distance were longer, he would be left eating dust.

  About a quarter of an hour later, a fiery red figure reappeared on the edge of the grassland. Jiangnan Six Freaks and Linghu Chong couldn't help but exchange a smile, knowing that Guo Jing had returned on horseback. Before long, the little red horse rushed to the front, and it was only then that Linghu Chong and Jiangnan Six Freaks noticed something amiss - Guo Jing, who had set out with such vigor earlier, was now slumped over the back of the little red horse, seemingly having suffered a serious injury.

  "Jing Er, what's wrong?" The six freaks of Jiangnan were shocked by the scene and rushed forward together, loudly calling out.

  The little red horse galloped to the front of several people and stopped, Guo Jing struggled to slide down from the horseback, as soon as he landed on the ground, he couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood, then raised his head and said: "Someone wants to rob the little red horse, I couldn't beat him so I ran back, he's still chasing after me."

  "What? Someone dares to rob your horse and even chases after you? How annoying! The Six Freaks of Jiangnan suddenly became furious, each drawing their weapons, and looked towards Guo Jing's back together.

  The Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were skilled in martial arts and were accustomed to fighting together as brothers. In all their years roaming the jianghu, they had never suffered a defeat except for that one time over ten years ago on the grasslands when they encountered the Black Wind Dual Fiends and lost Fifth Brother, Zhang Asheng. Even in their battle with Qiu Qianzhang, it was only a draw. Therefore, the brothers were not ones to swallow their losses or endure humiliation. Now, seeing someone forcefully seizing their precious horse and even injuring their beloved disciple until he spat blood, the six freaks immediately flew into a rage and were moved to kill.

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