*Neighhh!*
The sharp cry of a horse rang across the open grasslands as the wind swept through the endless adow beneath the bright afternoon sky. Wooden fences stretched across the vast ranch lands while groups of horses wandered leisurely nearby.
In the far distance, towering snow-covered mountains pierced through the clouds like colossal white spears, carrying an inexplicable sense of pressure even from afar.
At the edge of the grasslands rested a lively frontier town.
Fools-End Town.
A rather strange na that stood awkwardly on the massive wooden sign near the entrance.
"Alright, buddy, calm down."
Su Mo awkwardly tugged the reins while trying to steady himself atop a brown horse. His back was so stiff that he looked less like soone riding a horse and more like a criminal being escorted toward execution.
The horse beneath him snorted unhappily.
*Chuckle.*
"Su Mo, your posture is incorrect." Yang Qingxi laughed softly while gently caressing the black horse she was riding. Compared to Su Mo’s miserable state, she appeared completely relaxed and graceful. "With the way you are sitting, the horse feels uncomfortable."
"That’s because it’s my first ti riding a horse. What do you expect from a beginner?"
Su Mo imdiately defended himself while inwardly grinding his teeth.
[This woman is definitely making fun of .]
The smile on Yang Qingxi’s face beca even more obvious. "Oh, Su Mo. It seems you can’t do it."
Su Mo’s pride instantly suffered a heavy blow.
"Who says I can’t do it? Just wait and watch!"
[I’ll secretly use the Beast Taming Pill later. Let’s see if this horse still dares to act arrogant afterwards.]
Unfortunately, Yang Qingxi shattered his thoughts rcilessly.
"You don’t think the problem is with the horse, right?" she said with amusent. "The horses here are already tad and obedient. It’s you who are making them uncomfortable."
"That’s nonsense," Su Mo scoffed while trying hard to hide the panic in his eyes.
[How did she guess my thoughts again?]
At that mont, the ranch owner watching nearby suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Lad, this girl is absolutely right." The old man leaned against the wooden fence with folded arms and grinned. "All my horses are obedient. Why don’t you calm down first instead of sitting so stiffly?"
Then he pointed toward the brown horse beneath Su Mo.
"You’re making Consort uncomfortable."
As though it understood human speech, the horse nad Consort imdiately turned its head toward Su Mo and snorted loudly in dissatisfaction.
Su Mo’s expression darkened.
Black lines appeared across his forehead.
"You nad it Consort?" He pointed toward Yang Qingxi’s black horse. "Then what about that one?"
"That’s the Queen."
"..."
Su Mo stared at the ranch owner speechlessly.
"Your naming sense is quite grand."
"Not at all." The old man puffed his chest proudly. "She really is the Queen of my ranch. Every male horse follows her around. Consort here is the most persistent one."
The brown horse imdiately raised its head proudly after hearing this.
Su Mo looked at it silently.
"Oh, don’t tell there’s a King too?"
"Indeed."
"Doesn’t he have any issues?" Su Mo smirked instinctively.
"King is dead."
"?!"
Su Mo froze.
An entire palace drama involving horses instantly appeared in his imagination.
Perhaps noticing Su Mo’s increasingly strange expression, the ranch owner quickly clarified with a helpless face.
"It wasn’t killed by them."
"..."
Su Mo coughed awkwardly.
"I never said that."
"Your expression said everything." The ranch owner gave him a deep look before sighing softly. "King disappeared a month ago."
"If he’s only missing, why say he’s dead?" Su Mo asked casually. "Maybe it wandered sowhere nearby. You should stay optimistic."
The ranch owner slowly shook his head.
"I know my horses very well. They’re familiar with every part of the grasslands and nearby forests. If they didn’t return..." His gaze shifted toward the distant snow-covered mountains. "Then it only ans they wandered into the Frostspine Mountains."
"And died."
The atmosphere beca slightly quieter.
A cold wind swept across the adow.
Even the towering white mountains in the distance seed more oppressive now.
Su Mo and Yang Qingxi subconsciously glanced at each other before Yang Qingxi asked seriously,
"Are the Frostspine Mountains truly that dangerous?"
"Dangerous?" The ranch owner laughed dryly. "Those mountains are basically a giant mouth waiting to swallow people alive."
His previously relaxed expression gradually beca serious.
"So say terrifying beasts live there. Others say monsters and mountain gods hide within the deeper snowfields." He unconsciously lowered his voice. "The people who co back alive after entering are either extrely lucky... or they never truly entered the mountain range."
"So no one goes there?" Su Mo asked.
"Oh, many do." The ranch owner snorted helplessly. "Every year, many explorers, adventurers, treasure hunters, and thrill-seeking fools co here dreaming about conquering the Frostspine Mountains."
Then he suddenly pointed toward the large wooden sign near the ranch entrance.
"You saw the town’s na when entering, right?"
"Fools-End Town?" Su Mo nodded. "That na is quite bizarre."
"Hah," The ranch owner laughed strangely. "Originally, the town wasn’t called that. Long ago, it had a normal na."
"Then why change it?"
"Because too many idiots kept coming here to seek death."
"..."
The ranch owner pointed toward the mountains again.
"Most outsiders stop here before entering the Frostspine Mountains. Very few ever return. Over ti, people started jokingly calling this place ’Fools-End Town.’"
He paused briefly.
"Eventually, the mayor just gave up and officially changed the town’s na."
Su Mo’s mouth twitched slightly. "That mayor sounds ntally exhausted."
"He is." The ranch owner nodded seriously. "Last year alone, thirty-seven explorers vanished."
Yang Qingxi frowned slightly.
"So many?"
"That’s only the confird number." The ranch owner sighed. "So disappear without even registering their nas."
A chilly silence briefly settled over the grasslands.
Then the ranch owner pointed toward the endless adow stretching toward the mountains.
"There’s no proper road leading there. Only grassland for nearly twenty kilotres. That’s why people rent horses from us."
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