Library of Heaven’s Path 2: Eternal Destiny

Chapter 71: Compensation?

Outside the Chen residence, a student-looking youth had just arrived at the gate when he heard the thunder of hooves. A middle-aged man burst out of the gate, galloping away at full speed.

Brushing off the dust kicked up by the hooves, the youth frowned and flicked his sleeve. "What kind of manners are these?"

This was the Chen family, one of the three great families, yet they had such uncouth people? How embarrassing!

Shaking his head, he approached the gatekeeper and respectfully cupped his hands. "Please inform the master that I am Zhou Qingkai, student of White Rock Academy, here on behalf of Young Master Chen Hao to meet with Patriarch Chen Xiao."

The gatekeeper pointed. "That was him who just ran off."

"???" Zhou Qingkai turned to look at the madly galloping horse and the barefoot man riding it, his face turning pale. "I hope the patriarch didn't hear what I just said... I need to follow and explain!"

Panicked, Zhou Qingkai quickly turned and ran after the disappearing horse.

...

At White Roc Stables, Chen Xiao finally found a pair of shoes, though they were a bit small. He hurried forward, spotting Elder Chen Yun standing helplessly by the fence. Nearby, a young man in his mid-twenties was angrily scolding Fei Hong and a group of more than twenty fine steeds.

"Could you be more responsible? I came here just to earn some bounty, and now look at this mess! Can someone tell me what to do?" Zhang Xuan was growing increasingly frustrated.

Honestly, he was feeling quite depressed. He had originally planned to tame a few horses to earn some extra money for feed, but his Beast-Taming Method had proved too powerful. In a short time, all 28 of the fine horses had been completely tamed.

If they had only been tamed, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But Zhang Xuan's method resulted in them becoming utterly obedient, like loyal pets. And as pets, they naturally wanted to follow their master.

So when he tried to leave, the horses insisted on following him, leading to the chaotic scene described by the servant earlier. Unable to stop them, the stables had locked them up, but the horses had learned from Dao Li and began attacking the other horses.

While wild horses might submit reluctantly after a beating, regular horses, with a lead horse showing the way, would follow without hesitation. So instead of just earning a bit of money, Zhang Xuan had inadvertently uprooted the entire stable. No wonder they were upset!

"Neigh!" Fei Hong stuck out its tongue in a placating manner.

"Shut up!" Zhang Xuan pointed at its nose, his spittle landing on its face. "You’ve got the nerve to act cute? This is mostly your fault!"

The horse, which had once been proud, had now become overly affectionate, causing much of the trouble by inciting the other horses. Had it not, the 3,000 horses wouldn’t have broken free of the fence, demanding to follow Zhang Xuan.

"Neigh..." Fei Hong shamefully turned its head away.

"This isn't the time to assign blame. What do we do now?" Elder Chen Yun, unable to bear the sight any longer, massaged his temples.

He had seen powerful tamers before, but nothing like this. In less than an hour, Zhang Xuan had tamed the entire stable—something Elder Chen Yun would have dismissed as a fairy tale had he not witnessed it himself. Even now, it was hard to believe. The horses stood meekly before Zhang Xuan, not daring to move, as if they were being scolded by a master.

"These horses belong to you. I can’t take them away... Don't worry, I’ll make sure they return to the stable and won’t interfere with your sales," Zhang Xuan promised, embarrassed by the situation.

Elder Chen Yun snorted. "Now that these horses obey only you, how can I be sure they won’t try to follow you again?"

"Exactly! We must resolve this. If anyone could tame our horses like this, there'd be no point in running a stable," added Manager Liu.

"That... I didn’t do it on purpose..." Zhang Xuan said, feeling wronged. He glanced at Dao Li, who was baring its teeth, and slapped it on the head. "This is all your fault! If you had properly tamed Fei Hong, I wouldn’t have had to step in!"

"Neigh, neigh..." Dao Li whinnied, looking abashed.

"Uh... give me some time. I’ll talk to them and convince them not to submit to me," Zhang Xuan offered, though he wasn’t confident. He had only studied how to tame beasts, not how to undo it.

Elder Chen Yun shook his head. "They’ve already submitted. It’s not that simple to reverse."

"Then what should we do?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Here’s an idea," Elder Chen Yun suggested after a moment's hesitation. "Since these horses have submitted to you, you could buy them all. The total cost would be about 20 million Source Coins."

"I can’t afford that!" Zhang Xuan felt like crying. He had come to earn money for feed, not to end up in debt for 20 million Source Coins, not to mention the responsibility of feeding 3,000 horses.

"Then what do you suggest? These horses have been tamed by you; we can’t sell them to others now..." Elder Chen Yun began to say but was interrupted by a commanding voice.

"Enough! This ends here. Not only is this young man not at fault, but we should thank him for his noble actions!"

Everyone turned to see Patriarch Chen Xiao striding toward them.

"Patriarch, you might not understand the situation..." Elder Chen Yun began, but Chen Xiao cut him off.

"Silence!" Chen Xiao approached Zhang Xuan, his face breaking into a warm smile. "Young friend, I am Chen Xiao, head of the Chen family. I have the final say in all matters concerning the stables."

Chen Xiao had quickly grasped the situation and, instead of anger, he felt excitement. If someone could tame an entire stable in under an hour, that was a rare talent indeed. Rather than making an enemy, it was better to build a relationship with someone like that.

Zhang Xuan, confused by the sudden change in attitude, asked, "I’m Zhang Xuan. Nice to meet you, Patriarch Chen. But... what do you mean by 'noble actions'?"

‘I tamed all your horses, and instead of being angry, you’re calling it a good deed?’

"Exactly what I said," Chen Xiao replied with a smile. "If it had been anyone else, they might have refused to return the horses and used them to blackmail us. Wouldn’t we be powerless to resist?"

Elder Chen Yun’s face changed. "That’s true!"

The patriarch was right. By taming all their horses, Zhang Xuan had essentially taken control of the Chen family’s lifeblood. If he had chosen to exploit that, the Chen family could have faced demands for a huge ransom. Yet, Zhang Xuan had done nothing of the sort, even apologizing for the trouble. It was a testament to his character.

"Those horses weren’t mine to begin with. Demanding payment would be extortion!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. While he was in need of money, he wasn’t willing to stoop to such tactics.

"Well said!" Chen Xiao praised. "To possess such power and still be so humble, that’s why I called you noble!"

Chen Xiao was deeply impressed. Even the top horse tamers like Zhou Qun were known for their arrogance. Yet, Zhang Xuan, who had a skill far beyond theirs, was humble and polite—a rare combination that commanded respect.

"It’s not that I’m particularly skilled. The horses were just well-behaved and easy to tame," Zhang Xuan said, feeling awkward at being praised.

"Well-behaved? Easy to tame?" Zhou Qun and the others exchanged looks, nearly in tears.

‘Do you call this easy? Look at our bruised faces and tell us again how easy it was…’

"Your humility is admirable!" Chen Xiao continued. "Given your talents and character, I wonder if you’d consider becoming a guest elder of the Chen family?"

Zhang Xuan looked puzzled. "What’s that?"

"A guest elder is a special elder invited by the Chen family, holding the same status as the patriarch. Your role would mainly involve helping us tame particularly difficult horses, like Fei Hong."

"That’s all?" Zhang Xuan asked skeptically.

"Indeed," Chen Xiao assured him. "We wouldn’t trouble you with anything an ordinary tamer could handle—only the most challenging cases."

After a moment of thought, Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I think I’ll pass."

He wasn’t sure of Chen Xiao’s true intentions, and as someone who preferred to keep a low profile, it seemed wiser to decline. After all, he was just a teacher at White Rock Academy, without much influence or power.

"That’s unfortunate..." Chen Xiao sighed, then turned to Elder Chen Yun. "Didn’t I say at the last elders’ meeting that offering a monthly salary of 100,000 Source Coins might not attract real talent?"

Before he could finish, Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up. "Did you say 100,000?"

Chen Xiao nodded. "Yes, a guest elder of the Chen family receives a monthly salary of 100,000 Source Coins, plus—"

"Say no more!" Zhang Xuan interrupted with a grand gesture. "I accept!"

A salary of 100,000 Source Coins a month? That was more than enough to make him reconsider!

"Uh..." Chen Xiao was momentarily stunned, having expected more negotiation. "If you agree, Elder Chen Yun, please arrange for the guest elder’s token to be issued immediately."

"Understood!" Elder Chen Yun instructed Manager Liu to handle the paperwork. Once Zhang Xuan’s name was recorded, he looked at the sea of horses and sighed. "But what should we do about these horses?"

Chen Xiao, also at a loss, sighed. "Let’s give it a try."

He approached Zhou Qun and the other tamers. "Everyone, you’re all skilled horse tamers. Please help bring these 28 horses back to the stable. The Chen family will reward you generously."

These 28 horses were the ringleaders. If they could be controlled, the rest should follow suit.

"Understood!" Zhou Qun and the others nodded, carefully approaching the horses. But before they could get close, the horses raised their hooves threateningly.

The next moment, all the tamers were sent flying, landing in a heap on the ground, bruised and battered.

As elite horse tamers, they were used to tough situations, but being kicked before even getting close was disheartening. To make matters worse, the horses then trotted over to Zhang Xuan, behaving like obedient puppies.

"I really don’t know what to do..." Chen Xiao admitted, realizing they were out of options. "Elder Zhang, it seems these horses only listen to you. Perhaps you could resolve this? As our guest elder, these horses can stay in the stable, still considered your pets."

Before Chen Xiao could finish, the horses, as if understanding, suddenly began to gallop back to the stable, tails wagging in apparent happiness.

"Why did they leave so suddenly?" Elder Chen Yun was dumbfounded.

A moment ago, they had been impossible to control, even attacking the tamers. Now they had returned willingly?

Chen Xiao’s eyes widened in realization. "Could it be because I mentioned that staying in the stable would still mean being with Elder Zhang?"

"That seems to be the case..." The others looked at Zhang Xuan, utterly speechless.

Zhou Qun and his fellow tamers were especially devastated. They had been kicked for simply trying to lead the horses to the stable, but as soon as it was suggested they’d still be with Zhang Xuan, they went back on their own. The difference in their taming abilities was just too painful to bear.