Who would have thought, when she went out, there was only a cloud of dust left on the mountain road. The young man in red’s figure was nowhere to be seen.“He left like this?” The woman stomped her foot and bit her lip. She didn’t ask the young man’s name!

In the night, a white horse and a young man in red were rushing along the mountain road. The night wind blew on her face head-on, making her eyes ache.

As Old White galloped, it asked, “Mistress, is it really alright to leave that beauty there? What if she’s in danger?” In its view, the woman was beautiful and curvaceous. If she went on the road alone, she would very likely encounter danger.

If its mistress would take her, perhaps it would not have been so worried.

Feng Jiu’s lips curved up, showing a devilish smile. “Old White, when it’s time to go home, I’ll find you a mare! How about taking care of it?”

“Mistress, I’m a mutated horse. How can an ordinary horse be worthy of me? There’s no need.”

Galloping through the night, Old White’s voice was dispersed by the wind. The woman and the horse chatted perfunctorily until a small village materialized in front of them at the break of dawn.

“Mistress, there’s a small village. Let’s get some rest!” Old White was already trotting towards the village while talking.

“Once we enter the village, don’t speak. You’ll scare people otherwise.” Feng Jiu instructed it.

“Yes, I know that.”

Old White assented, shut its mouth, and followed the path to enter the village. At dawn, some of the villagers had gone out with their hoes on their shoulders or wooden casks on their shoulder pole. Smokes spiralled out from the chimneys, signifying some of the villagers were already making breakfast.

Feng Jiu came dismounted from the horse, led Old White to a house and knocked on the door. “Is anyone home?”

The simple wooden door creaked open and an old woman opened the door. When she saw Feng Jiu at the door, garbed in red and looked as beautiful as a celestial being, the old woman was startled and asked with a little bit of caution. “Young Master, what’s the matter?”

Seeing the old woman, Feng Jiu answered with a smile. “Elder, I’m passing by this place and want to have a rest here. I wonder if it’s possible?”

“Of course, it’s just that my family is humble. I hope Young Master won’t dislike it.” The old woman opened the door and asked Feng Jiu to come in. Seeing Feng Jiu holding a horse rein in hand, she said, “Young Master can tie this horse to the wooden post in front of the door.”

“Alright.” She tied Old White to the wooden post in front of the door. After patting it on the head and saying a few words, Feng Jiu entered the wooden house.

“Young Master, there is nothing good at home. Please don’t dislike it and eat some.” The old woman gave Feng Jiu a bowl of millet porridge, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and two pumpkin pancakes.

Looking at these peasant snacks, Feng Jiu smiled with her eyes narrowed and thanked her quickly. “Thank you, Elder.” She glimpsed a five or six years old boy with a ponytail sticking out on the top of his head, staring curiously at her.

“Is he your grandson, Elder?” She smiled at the boy.

“Yes, he’s my grandson.” The old woman showed a loving smile and waved to the little boy. “Little Tiger, come out and meet this Young Master.”

The little boy blinked and looked shyly at Feng Jiu, then trotted to hide behind his grandmother.

“Young Master, please don’t take offense. My grandson is still small and rarely meets strangers.” The old woman said apologetically.