ebookland Chapter 214 Cuilai Lake
Chapter 214 Cuilai Lake
But Zhou Bo said, "Lanlan, are you done talking? They still have work to do."
Jinglan did not answer her father's words, but asked Chu Xiaomu softly: "Did you...did you hear it clearly?"
Chu Xiaomu replied, "I heard it clearly." He thought Miss Jinglan was too kind-hearted. She couldn't walk for more than a year, but she cared about the safety of others first. Why would the gods treat such a kind person like this and let her suffer from this strange and incurable disease?
Jinglan said hurriedly: "Then... then you go quickly... I'll wait for you here..." She seemed afraid that her father and others would notice that she had been talking to Chu Xiaomu for too long.
Chu Xiaomu breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been pardoned. He walked to the horse, mounted its back, bid farewell to Zhou Bo, the central army commander, and drove the huge herd of horses out of the Nanding army camp.
These military horses seemed to be able to smell the scent of abundant water and grass, and basically did not need Chu Xiaomu and others to drive them. After bypassing the camp, they slowly walked straight to the southeast. More than 200 miles away in this direction was Cuilai Lake.
Chu Xiaomu whistled a few times, and the leading horse began to trot, and the other horses followed suit, running slowly, and gradually running faster and faster. Everyone rode their horses behind and on both sides of the herd, facing the rising sun, and galloping to their heart's content on the vast grassland.
Although the weather was cold, everyone was in a very good mood. Yingdan couldn't help but open his voice and sang loudly. His voice was light and elegant, floating far away in the vast wilderness. Everyone was mesmerized by it, and all the disappointment, grievance, sadness, and despair they had experienced in the past were swept away and disappeared without a trace.
The horse herding team consisting of ten people including Chu Xiaomu drove one hundred and thirty or forty military horses, walking and stopping on the verdant plains, eating and resting, and slowly moving towards the Cuilai Lake with lush grass and water.
Zhang Hou rode his horse to Chu Xiaomu's side and asked with a smile: "Xiaomu, Miss Jinglan talked to you for so long this morning. What did she say? Can you tell me, your brother?"
Chu Xiaomu smiled slightly and said, “A few irrelevant words, nothing to mention.”
Zhang Hou became even more interested and said, "Seeing you look so happy, it must be a good thing, right? Share it with your brothers..."
Lin Zhen, Wu Sheng, Zhou Weide and others also became interested and came over to encourage Chu Xiaomu to tell Jinglan what he had talked about. They said that we have been brothers for such a long time, and we should share the good and the bad. Chu Xiaomu refused to say a few words to everyone, so how can we be called good friends and good brothers? Chu Xiaomu accompanied Jinglan every day in the central army tent. Chu and Ying had never told Zhang Hou and the other eight about this matter, otherwise they would have pestered them with endless questions every day.
Chu Xiaomu said: "It's just a few words of idle chat, it's not interesting, let's not talk about it."
Zhang Hou said: "It may not be interesting to you, but it may be very interesting to us. You can make our brothers happy for a while by opening your mouth twice. Why not do it?"
Lin Zhen also said: "I think Miss Jinglan must have said something embarrassing between the two of them, otherwise why would Xiaomu be embarrassed to say it out loud?"
Several people were even more eager to laugh. Zhang Hou reached out to grab Chu Xiaomu on the horse and said, "Tell me quickly, what are you talking about?"
Chu Xiaomu dodged and said, "Nonsense, there is no shameful talk, Miss Jinglan and I are not that familiar with each other."
Zhang Hou laughed even louder and said, "Your true colors have been revealed. If you get to know her better, you will say some embarrassing things, right?"
Wu Sheng also said: "Since there is nothing to be ashamed of, why don't you tell everyone?" As he said that, he also wanted to come over and catch Chu Xiaomu.
Chu Xiaomu leaned over to the side of the horse's belly, then whipped the horse's buttocks lightly, and the horse immediately sped up. Chu Xiaomu smiled and said, "If anyone of you can catch me, I will tell him what I said to Miss Jinglan." He was an excellent rider, and with a little effort, the horse under him knew what he meant and ran fast on the grassland.
The others started to cheer and rode their horses to chase him. Chu Xiaomu's riding skills were much better than the others, and the black-maned horse he chose was very strong. How could Zhang Hou and Lin Zhen catch up?
During the day, they followed the horses and ate as they walked, and stopped to rest at night. To prevent wolves from attacking the horses, they slept in their clothes every night, with spears and swords within reach. Two people were also assigned to stand guard in turn, so that if they found anything unusual, they could wake everyone up.
After walking at this leisurely pace for six or seven days, we finally saw a vast expanse of white water in the distance.
Yingdan said, "We must have gone the wrong way. Cuilai Lake, Cuilai Lake... Why is this lake all white?"
Chu Xiaomu said: "I have asked the horse officer carefully, it should not be wrong. And basically the horses walked here by themselves, we followed them."
Lin Zhen also said: "The direction cannot be wrong. Maybe there is more than one lake here. Cuilai Lake may be another lake." Everyone knew that he was very good at identifying directions and geography, and they all said that it should be correct.
Chu Xiaomu said: "It doesn't matter if we go the wrong way. As long as the horses are well fed, it doesn't matter whether it's Cuilai Lake or Cuiqu Lake."
The horses slowly walked towards the white lake. As expected, the closer they got, the more lush the grass became. In the end, the legs of the horses were almost buried in the grass, with only their bodies showing. Everyone was happy and let the horses eat as much grass as they wanted.
This lake was slightly circular and not very large, only about one or two miles wide from east to west and from north to south, much smaller than the Yiniu Lake I encountered when I fled from Jinyang City to Bicheng a few months ago. Those with better eyesight could even see the other side of the lake clearly.
When the horses reached the vicinity of the lake, they stopped moving forward and just started eating grass.
At dusk, the sky gradually darkened, and the lake also darkened. As the last ray of sunlight sank into the horizon, the originally white lake surface turned into a turquoise blue. There was no breeze on the grassland, as if a crystal clear blue gem was inlaid on the green carpet. Everyone looked at the magical scene in front of them, and then they suddenly realized, turquoise, turquoise, it turns out that turquoise can only appear at dusk.
In order to prevent the horses from getting too scattered, the people divided themselves into several teams and scattered around the herd. Seeing that the horses were leisurely, they took out the dry biscuits they brought with them to satisfy their hunger.
The grassland is full of lush grass and chirping birds, and the breeze is pleasant. To the east, west and north are endless green fields that are connected to the horizon in the distance. To the far south is a faint mountain range. Judging from the location, that should be the mysterious Beast Mountain that is thousands of miles away.