Chapter 7

  In the depths of Mount Qilian, there is a divine horse valley, which is the final resting place for fine horses. The spiritual bones of the horses have transformed into fertile soil, giving rise to roses as red as blood. The rose that the woman sang about was not an illusion, but a real existence. Her husband was also shocked when he followed Da Ahe to this place, and the rose garden in the desolate mountains and wild ridges easily made people question the absurdity of the world. At that time, her husband was only in his teens, and he suddenly caught a whiff of a pungent bloody smell from among the flowers. Da Ahe told him: "That is your blood, blood is destined to return to the sea, and before entering the sea, it must emit fragrance."

  "My blood doesn't have fragrance."

  "Then go and wade through the sea of suffering, for the waves of the bitter sea can wash away the stench of blood and give out the fragrance of life."

  "The old man's words don't seem like a Muslim, but rather a high-ranking monk."

  "The Lord also talks about benevolence and love, but without great affection, life is not worth a single dewdrop."

  "I want to be the dew on the rose."

  "You can have this book now, it's a book of life."

  His husband, Ma Zhongying, opened "Rekshaer", the first sentence is like this to describe life: When the ancient sea surges towards us, I picked up the dew of love. On that day, the yellow soil was no longer dry, the desolate mountains and wild ridges were no longer desperate, the river of years passed with the wind and came with the wind, life was no longer lost with time, and the deep gorge The majestic and desolate moment was filled with scorching poetry... It was this young man, a lonely rider on the barren plain, who became calm and composed on that day, his eyes cold and stern. He is no longer called Ma Bu Ying, his younger brother also changed his name, they brothers broke away from this bloody family. The road to rebellion is at hand.

  In the morning, Ma Bufang gave an order for Ma Buqing to step out of line. He shouted three times but there was no response. The officer on duty said: "Ma Buqing and Ma Bujie have changed their names, they want to be the leader of the Ma family army." Ma Bufang then shouted again: "Ma Zhongying step out!" Ma Zhongying stepped out, stood at attention and saluted, reporting the number of officers and soldiers in the whole camp.

  Ma Bufang began to scold, and when he finished, he slapped the soldier in the front row. Then he ordered Ma Zhongying to do the same. Ma Zhongying did not hesitate, and slapped the seven brothers, slapping them with great force.

  His younger brother Ma Bukang asked him, "Why not give Ma Bufang a little color to see?" Ma Zhongying said: "He is the leader, and it is the duty of soldiers to obey orders. I led the way in disobeying military orders, how can I lead the army later?" At that time, he was an excellent soldier at Wu Bei Primary School. Ma Zhongying said: "Even if you go against your own will, you have to obey orders."

  Ma Bufang seemed to have seen through his mind, and the order sent to the 11th Regiment was not handled according to the Ma family army's rules, but Ma Zhongying did it one by one. Ma Zhongying said: "He is destroying my will, and often going against one's own will will become a dog."

  The big grey horse was carrying him into the canyon, and just as he was about to merge with the wild horses, he was shocked and pulled tight on the reins. The big grey horse chased after him in a daze, those wild horses opened up a gap, welcoming the big grey horse. He couldn't hesitate anymore, the short knife stabbed into the horse's buttocks, the big grey horse slowed down its pace, the blade began to drink the horse's blood, becoming soft and melting; all steel knives can't withstand the blood.

  Ma Zhongying told everyone about the encounter with the wild horse group, and everyone was worried. "The Ma family army won't let us in, I'm afraid we'll become wild horses from now on." "Ma Bufang only wants mules and not horses, let's become wild horses and bite him specifically."

  Ga Siliang and the Great Grey Horse returned to the barracks, where the Ninghai officers and soldiers rushed up to them. They recognized that this was the legendary divine horse. The Great Grey Horse started running lightly, its four hooves like iron, its eyes shining with a divine light, its mane fluttering in the wind, and its aura majestic. Everyone drew out their Hezhou short knives to pay respects to Ga Siliang.

  Ma Bufang saw clearly in the headquarters, Ninghai army's more than 10,000 officers and men did not draw their swords or salute, but instead used the ancient cavalry etiquette to pay respects to Ma Zhongying. The long sword was for high-ranking officials, while the Hezhou short knife was for the cavalrymen themselves.

  When the bugle sounded, the riders did not sing military songs, but sang that simple and sorrowful heroic song: Four strands of hemp rope tied behind, hanging under the main hall of the old master; Steel knife cut off his head, if he didn't die, it would be this way! Ma Bufang ordered his trusted followers to keep a close eye on Ma Zhongying, but they said that since he had not violated military discipline, it was not good to deal with him. Ma Bufang shouted: "Keep a closer eye on him!"

  The trusted followers closely followed Ma Zhongying and went deep into the snowy mountains. They returned to report to Ma Bufang, "Ma is observing the celestial phenomena."

  "Is he Zhuge Liang?"

  "The horse ranch is full of mysteries, from the heavens above to the geography below, as if there's something hidden somewhere."

  "Is he a prophet?"

  "He indeed has that rare sincerity of a prophet."

  "He is sincere while others are hypocritical."

  Ma Bufang deceived his legs onto the horse, boasting and running towards the mountains. His trusted followers followed behind him. Deep in the mountains, they saw the general's tent. There were red roses blooming everywhere, Ma Bufang was stunned.

  Ma Bufang exclaimed, "Such a coarse place can actually grow roses, it's really unthinkable." After a while, he said again: "What will you do if Ma Zhongying rebels?"

  "We listen to the military commander's dispatch."

  "Now that you've said so, I can rest assured."

  Ma Bufang and his trusted followers arrived at the foot of the mountain, when all the wild roses in the field had withered and fallen, and no one knew where Ma Zhongying had gone.

  Wherever the rose grows, people can see the deeply moving face of Gaisler. He rides alone on horseback, surrounded by endless darkness. Day after day, he ventures into the glaciers without a single guard, not even his closest brother. He wanders alone in the ice mountains, as if the eternal ice layer holds his gentle soul. The young spirit bursts out from the broken surface of the ice and rocks, making people feel its determination, stubbornness, and unshakeability. On that shocking face, there is a silent pain, a silent and resentful pain; his mouth corners are raised like holding a steel knife, disregarding the things that gnaw at his soul - these things are only mediocre, he is greater than the torments and suffocating things.

  He is rebelling against this world, and has been rebelling all his life. His emotions have all turned into anger, a kind of irrepressible anger, cold, deep, and silent, like the expression of God! And those eyes of his, full of astonishment and doubt, as if asking: "What's wrong with this world?"

  This is the face of a seventeen-year-old boy.

  Ma Bufang turned his head to look at his trusted followers, "I let him be the regiment commander, and later he can still be promoted to brigade commander or division commander. But he himself is infatuated, giving up a high-ranking official position, he wants to be a bandit."

  The trusted ones said: "We are soldiers, we are not riders. Being a rider is the dream of our children."

  The northern plain was dry and desolate, the young boy yearned to become a swift and fierce rider, with his horse and sword as one, the moon rose from there. The moon on the horse's back, everywhere was the moon on the horse's back. Ma Bufang was frightened, quickly finding his cousin Ma Qi, "He wants to rebel, he even changed his name." Ma Qi also saw the bright moon on the plain, Ma Qi felt uneasy, "The moon falling on the sword is not a good omen!"

  "He's a black star, let's get rid of him early on, lest we suffer later."

  "A 10-odd-year-old kid, what big waves can he make?"

  "Who is that unlucky moon shining on?"

  The father and son stood in the moonlit courtyard, looking around, but couldn't make out what was going on.