Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

In the first round, Xia Ximo won, and Zhao Wan was so angry that her face turned green.

Even knowing the gap between the two sides, she refused to admit defeat and immediately ordered the start of the second round.

This time, however, she was noticeably more composed. After the little red horse circled the field once, she immediately drew her bow and aimed when she was close to the shooting point, before steadily firing an arrow.

Unexpectedly, the blow narrowly hit the center of the drum.

The servants of the Prince's mansion who were watching erupted in cheers once again.

Zhao Wan herself was also very excited on horseback.

Although there was an element of luck involved in that shot, it ensured that she could advance to the third game.

Yu Lang stroked his chin and predicted, "It looks like the second round will be a draw."

Over there, Xia Ximo followed suit, and with an arrow that hit the bullseye without any suspense, he was still light and agile.

Yan Zhengchu said, "It really is a draw."

Despite the draw, Zhao Wan remained proud and shouted to Xia Ximo from afar, "If the third round ends in a draw again, we'll have to start all over again."

Clearly, she is now very confident in her abilities.

Xia Ximo glanced at her, but said, "Then let's speed things up. We'll compete together in the third round."

Zhao Wan couldn't stand her arrogant tone, so she immediately agreed.

"Alright, let's compete together. However, my horse is quite spirited. If it bumps into Miss Xia later, don't blame me."

The difficulty of having two people on the field is definitely greater than having one. Not only are there more limitations, but the possibility of losing control and falling off the field is also greater.

This is equivalent to raising the bar for the third round of the competition.

Xia Ximo's intention was to end the competition as soon as possible.

Zhao Wan readily agreed, but she harbored other intentions.

As the horn sounded, two magnificent horses, one white and one red, set off simultaneously from the east and west sides and passed each other in the arena.

It is clear that the red horse is much faster than the white horse.

There were no unexpected events during the first lap around the track.

However, on the second lap, when the two horses met at the corner, Zhao Wan deliberately pulled hard on the reins, causing the red horse to neigh and the white horse to be startled. Because the ground was too slippery, the white horse stumbled and bumped into the red horse next to it.

Red Horse, with its fiery temperament, immediately became agitated and began to run wildly across the field, out of Zhao Wan's control, which frightened her into screaming.

Although the white horse beneath Xia Ximo was not particularly valiant, it was docile and thus did not lose control.

After she comforted him a little, the white horse stopped, but then she heard Zhao Wan crying out not far away.

Upon seeing this, the servants of the Prince's Palace immediately summoned the horse trainer to come to the rescue. However, the "angry" little red horse was just as difficult to coax as its master, and the horse trainer was unable to get close to it and was at a loss.

Outside the arena, Ren Fengjue saw the chaos and was about to intervene when he saw Xia Ximo riding a white horse, galloping towards Zhao Wan's direction.

Then, as she was about to approach the red horse, she leaped and landed steadily behind Zhao Wan.

Everyone who saw this gasped in astonishment.

Zhao Wan was stunned at first, but when she saw that the person behind her was Xia Ximo, she immediately exclaimed in surprise.

Upon hearing her shouts, the red horse turned around and tried to throw the two people off its back.

"Don't make a sound."

Xia Ximo took the reins, steadied Zhao Wan, and coldly ordered her, "Calm down and soothe it."

Amidst the turbulence and the urgency of the situation, Zhao Wan could only force herself to calm down by sobbing.

However, the red horse was unruly and was not appeased by its young master. Instead, it neighed and ran off the field.

The sight of red horses galloping by is breathtaking.

However, in the blink of an eye, they were far away from the horse farm.

Ren Fengjue's expression changed, and he quickly entered the arena, riding Xia Ximo's white horse to catch up with him.

Everyone in the Prince's mansion turned pale and stood there stunned for a long time. It was only after Yu Lang reminded them that they thought of chasing after the Prince to save him.

As the red horse galloped wildly along the road, Zhao Wan was so frightened that she huddled on its back, barely daring to breathe.

If Xia Ximo hadn't been holding the reins and steadily supporting her from behind, she would have fallen countless times.

The frenzied horse neighed and galloped wildly, trying to break free of control.

But the person on horseback just wouldn't let go.

One man and one horse, secretly competing.

Just then, the road ahead not only ended, but also seemed to break off...

Ren Fengjue rode his white horse, following the trail of the red horse.

However, the speed of the red horse is far beyond that of the white horse.

Therefore, after chasing for a long time, they still couldn't find Xia Ximo and Zhao Wan at all.

From the flat main road, they followed a winding path, and then entered the mountains and forests, the scenery receding.

Suddenly, the hoofprints on the ground disappeared, and a "cliff" appeared in front of them.

"Whoa—"

Ren Fengjue immediately reined in his horse, his heart pounding. He quickly dismounted and looked down the cliff, but then instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out that the so-called cliff is not deep at the bottom; it's just that the terrain in this area is relatively high.

The red horse fell, not fatally, but broke its hoof and could only lie on the ground panting.

Xia Ximo and Zhao Wan, on the other hand, were unharmed and sat to the side.

Ren Fengjue immediately jumped down and quickly walked to Xia Ximo to check on her condition.

Are you alright?

Before Xia Ximo could reply, Zhao Wan burst into tears.

She looked like she had been holding it in for a long time, and at this moment she finally couldn't hold back anymore, and tears streamed down her face like a burst dam.

Xia Ximo frowned and gave her a cold glance.

When Zhao Wan met her gaze, she was stunned again and obediently stopped crying.

The way she looked at Xia Ximo was no longer as arrogant as before.

Instead, there was a hint of fear.

In fact, the moment the red horse fell off the "cliff", Zhao Wan thought she was going to die.

Although the cliff was not high, the red horse's momentum was too great. If it fell headfirst, it would be seriously injured even if it didn't die.

However, at that critical moment, her body seemed to be supported by a force, and she did not fall directly.

The red horse was injured in the fall, but she was unharmed and landed steadily on the ground.

At that moment, Zhao Wan's mind went blank. Her intuition told her that the person who saved her was Xia Ximo.

Because she, like herself, landed steadily on the ground.

That's why Zhao Wan found it terrifying.

She couldn't understand what method Xia Ximo had used to save her.

Ren Fengjue understood Princess Fenghua's temperament, and at this moment, he cleverly offered her a way out.

"Princess, you've been frightened. The horse doesn't seem to be seriously injured, so there's no need to worry."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wan merely pursed her lips, glanced at Xia Ximo, and proactively said, "I consider this a loss. When Steward Sun arrives later, I will have him assist you in investigating the disappearance case from ten years ago."

"However, this matter is very strange. My father investigated it for a long time but found no results and had to let it go."

"After so many years, the investigation will only be more difficult..."

Hearing her sincerity, Xia Ximo's attitude softened considerably.

"Whether there are results or not, we'll find out once we investigate."