As we reached a small town, the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere was suddenly shattered by a clamor. Following the noise, we saw a band of local ruffians surrounding a boy of about ten, shoving him around and hurling abuse. Terror and helplessness filled the boy's eyes as he desperately shielded a horse behind him.
Seeing this, our sense of justice was instantly stirred. Without a word, Qianye flashed forward and, with a few deft moves, knocked the ringleader of the ruffians to the ground. Taken aback at first, the other ruffians soon brandished their clubs and swarmed us. Zhen Xiaoxian's lips curved into a slight smile as she drew several hidden weapons from her waist and accurately struck the ruffians' wrists, sending their clubs clattering to the ground. Qingqing and I quickly joined the fray, and within moments, we had beaten the gang of ruffians into a miserable rout, sending them fleeing in panic.
We hurried forward to comfort the boy. Though still shaken, he continued to tightly embrace the horse's neck as if terrified it would be snatched away again. I gently asked the boy his name and why he was being bullied. Sobbing, he replied, "My name is Xiao Hu. I met this horse while gathering firewood in the valley. It is exceptionally human-like and even helped me carry the firewood out of the valley. We've been good friends ever since. But these bad men saw it and insisted on taking it."
Chapter 60