Chapter 355: Sick Horse

Chapter 355: Chapter 355: Sick Horse

This stable only had a handful of horses, and he could find fault with every single one.

Luckily, no one else was around. Otherwise, his words would have scared off countless customers, and the owner wouldn’t have let it slide.

In fact, the owner’s face had already turned ashen.

He had seen them come in and thought they didn’t look like buyers, so he’d been taking a little nap in his chair. Who knew he’d run into a troublemaker here to stir things up, trashing his horses until they sounded worthless.

"What are you spouting nonsense for! All the horses here are fine steeds! First-rate! Not a single nag among them! Slandering me with your baseless accusations, just you watch, I’ll..."

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw a punch. But when he got closer and sized him up, he saw Guan Shan was tall and broad-shouldered, making him look like a scrawny chicken in comparison. Figuring he was no match, he decided to go get help from outside.

Guan Shan clasped his hands behind his back and spoke unhurriedly.

"If I’m not mistaken, you acquired these horses from a proper horse ranch. All the ranches in the Northern Pass are required to supply the military with their best and strongest horses first. Only the second-rate and inferior ones are sent elsewhere.

"A small stable like yours probably doesn’t have much capital. You wouldn’t get a turn at the second-rate ones, so these must naturally be the inferior stock."

The owner was dumbfounded. "You... you... how do you know that?"

Guan Shan acted as if he hadn’t heard, turning to Ji Huan. "Let’s go look elsewhere."

The owner grew more and more suspicious and uncertain.

He scrutinized the man before him. Though his face was hidden by a bamboo hat, his bearing was anything but ordinary. Afraid that if he pushed it, they would spread the word, he could only chalk it up to bad luck and watch helplessly as they left.

After leaving the stable, Ji Huan let out a long breath and shot Guan Shan an exasperated glare.

"We’re here to buy a horse, not to pick a fight."

Guan Shan lowered his gaze to her, his lips pressed together in silence.

Dabao looked up, his eyes sparkling.

Unfortunately for him, Ji Huan didn’t lose her temper with Guan Shan as he’d hoped.

"I know you have high standards, but you can’t use the military’s... use *your* standards to judge civilian horses. I didn’t think his horses were that bad. Even if they’re not warhorse quality, they’re more than enough for pulling things."

The mention of horses broke Guan Shan’s silence.

"I’m not nitpicking. He was passing off nags as fine steeds."

He pointed to a sign standing next to the stable.

Ji Huan craned her neck to look and saw a sign with large characters proclaiming: "The Best of the Best, the King of Horses."

She was instantly speechless.

’That owner sure has some nerve. "King of Horses"... pfft, and I’m a ham sandwich.’

"Well... most merchants tend to exaggerate a little..."

In her past life, she’d seen far too many ads that blew one percent of an effect up to one hundred percent, so she didn’t think much of it.

But it was undeniable that the owner’s attitude went beyond mere exaggerated advertising; he was flat-out trying to sell nags as fine steeds, with no intention of being honest with his customers.

But what could they do about it?

Ji Huan would bet that this wasn’t the only case in the Horse Market. Calling out one stable would surely provoke the anger of all the others.

’We’re powerless and without influence; it’s better to feign ignorance.’

Guan Shan obviously understood this as well, which was why he had actually been holding back.

Ji Huan patted his arm. "Setting aside everything else, your skill at judging horses is truly impressive."

’Guess that’s what they call being a master of your craft.’

Ji Huan had been listening with her jaw agape, utterly in awe of him.

’She even thought to herself that if Guan Shan ever left the army and started raising horses, he’d be at the very top of his field.’

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who could recognize an expert.

"Young man, young man, please wait!"

A skinny old man rushed out from the neighboring stable. Despite his advanced age, his legs were surprisingly quick, and in just a few steps, he darted ahead to block their path.

The skinny old man stared at Guan Shan as if he had discovered some priceless treasure.

"Are you a horse judge, young man?"

"If not, were your ancestors horse judges?"

"Hey? Don’t be silent, young man. I mean no harm. I just saw that you have a discerning eye and wanted to..."

The man’s posture suggested he wouldn’t give up until he got an answer. Ji Huan grew a little worried, afraid that Guan Shan’s commentary had attracted unwanted attention.

She cut in, "Old Sir, if you’re looking for a horse judge, there are plenty of them across the way. We just went to see them ourselves. The things my husband said were just what we heard from them. You should go look for them. We have other things to do."

With that, she tried to pull Guan Shan away.

Hearing the word "husband" suddenly come from her lips, Guan Shan froze for a moment, his feet rooted to the spot.

"Hey, young lady!" The old man changed positions again, blocking Ji Huan’s path.

"Don’t think this old man is easily fooled. There are plenty of horse judges in this Horse Market, but most of them are half-baked experts. Few have your husband’s ability. This old man truly means no harm... Ah! To be honest with you, my employer is from the Sui Family’s horse ranch. They’ve been looking for an expert who truly understands horses. I think your husband is a perfect fit. Why not have him come with me to the ranch and give it a try? The pay is good, the work is respectable, what do you say?"

The more Ji Huan looked at him, the more he seemed like a con artist. She declared, "He’s not going anywhere," then grabbed Dabao with one hand and Guan Shan with the other, steering them around him.

The old man was about to give chase when Guan Shan suddenly turned back, his voice low and his eyes severe. "Did you not hear my wife clearly?"

The old man was frozen in place by his chilling glare. When he came to his senses, he was a bit bewildered.

’He’s dressed like a simple country fellow, so why is his presence so intimidating? So fierce and cold...’

’And just now, though it was through a black veil, he thought he’d glimpsed scars on the man’s face.’

’This person is not to be trifled with.’

’But such talent is rare...’ The old man hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t dare to chase after them rashly.

He was left stomping his feet and sighing. "A grown man, yet so henpecked? Listening to everything his wife says, what future does he have? He looks capable enough, don’t tell me he’s completely supported by his wife..."

Ji Huan and the others had already walked some distance away, but Guan Shan had practiced martial arts since childhood and possessed senses beyond those of an ordinary person. Thus, every single word of the old man’s muttering reached his ears.

He suddenly stopped walking.

"What’s wrong?" Ji Huan asked.

"Nothing..." Guan Shan shook his head. "Let’s go look over there."

Ji Huan gave him a warning. "We do need to buy a good horse, but you need to lower your standards for ’good’ a little... Also, if one isn’t good enough, we’ll just move on to the next one. Don’t say anything out loud."

This time, it wasn’t that she was afraid of causing trouble, but that she was afraid of Guan Shan being targeted.

Hearing Guan Shan’s grunt of agreement, the three of them went to check the next stable.

Ji Huan noticed a detail: whenever Guan Shan looked at a horse, the first thing he examined was its hooves.

It was probably an occupational habit. She had heard that in the army, judging a horse always started with the hooves, then moved progressively upward to the shins, knees, thighs, neck, head, chin, eyes, ears, back, hindquarters, and so on.

The quality of the hooves was the absolute standard for measuring a horse’s worth. No matter how outstanding a horse might be in other respects, if its hooves were bad, it was a deal-breaker.

Thinking about it, it was understandable. For a warhorse, the hooves were indeed a critical element. Long journeys over mountainous or rocky terrain were harsh on a horse’s hooves, so even with horseshoes, the soundness of the hoof itself was held to the strictest standard.

Civilian horses were different. Flat, dirt roads were less damaging to their hooves, so people usually started judging them from the head.

Guan Shan was clearly aware of this. So, even if his gaze landed on the hooves first, he would force himself to shift it to the horse’s head and begin his explanation for Ji Huan from there.

They walked and browsed, looking and asking questions, for over an hour, but still came up empty-handed.

As they passed by the area for individual sellers, they saw a particularly eye-catching horse.

The horse was emaciated and listless, lying on the ground. Its coat was dry and dull. It looked like a sick animal.

This kind of horse was naturally not under consideration. Ji Huan gave it a single glance before looking away. Just as she was about to move on, Guan Shan stopped again.

Ji Huan turned back, but the words of encouragement on her lips died when she saw him staring at the horse with a complicated expression.

Even stranger, the horse, whose eyes had been closed the whole time, suddenly opened them.

People were coming and going on this path, but it turned its head and locked its gaze precisely on Guan Shan.

And then, it suddenly stood up.