Xue Jing was thoroughly enjoying his swim in the pool when the door was suddenly pushed open.
"Little junior brother!"
Zhu Shanying pushed the door open and walked in, turning her gaze toward the figure darting through the water, her eyes lighting up.
"So you're here, I was wondering why I couldn't find you in the training room."
Upon hearing the voice, Xue Jing first dove fully into the water and submerged himself.
His feet touched the bottom, his knees bent storing power, and then he pushed off fiercely.
"Boom!"
The water's surface burst open like it had been hit by a bomb, with countless droplets flying everywhere, and a figure leapt from the center of the pool, landing directly on the shore.
Wearing only a pair of swim trunks, his perfect body proportions were on full display under the excellent indoor sunlight, each muscle sculpted to the utmost human beauty, with numerous droplets running down his skin, glistening and exuding an indescribable sexiness.
Zhu Shanying, witnessing this 'beauty emerging from a bath', was completely stunned and found herself unable to look away.
Xue Jing shook his head and reached up to slick back his inconvenient, medium-length hair, combing it into a slick back and then lifted his gaze to Zhu Shanying, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"Senior sister Zhu."
He greeted her softly.
Zhu Shanying, looking somewhat dazed, heard the greeting and came back to her senses, quickly shifting her gaze away as her cheeks turned red.
"Uh... Uh, little junior brother, it's noon, let's go have lunch."
Her tone was a bit dry.
Xue Jing nodded, his Power surging and vibrating throughout his body.
"Crackle——"
The droplets on his body scattered instantly, leaving him as dry as if he had been wiped down with a towel, with only a hint of vapor remaining.
"The control of Power is still not refined enough... If I could vibrate it in such a way that not even the vapor remains, immediately drying my body, I would achieve the state of 'Not Even a Feather Can Be Added, Not Even a Fly Can Land'."
Xue Jing thought to himself as he put on his clothes.
The lunch arranged by Zhu Shanying wasn't anything exotic like rare delicacies, but a slightly better medicinal cuisine compared with what was usually served at the Hidden Dragon Dojo.
Ordinary food could hardly meet the nutritional needs of a martial artist.
After lunch, Zhu Shanying led Xue Jing out of the main house to the stables on the left side of the estate.
"Miss." Sёarch* The nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
An old man wearing a cowboy hat, who looked to be in his fifties, stood at the entrance of the stables, addressing Zhu Shanying respectfully.
"Uncle Bao~" Zhu Shanying also greeted him with a smile.
She glanced at the stalls inside the stable and after a moment's thought, said, "Uncle Bao, could you please saddle up 'Sixty-Six' and 'Wind Eater' and bring them out?"
The old man named Uncle Bao nodded and entered the stalls within the stable.
After quite a while, he returned, leading two tall and large horses.
One was chestnut red with snowy hooves.
The other pure black with a tuft of white hair on its forehead.
"Thank you, Uncle Bao~"
Zhu Shanying sweetly thanked the old man, then took the reins of the two horses from his hands and led them over to Xue Jing.
"Neigh—"
The pure black horse with white hair approached Xue Jing, snorted loudly, and sniffed at him, seemingly catching his scent.
Then...
[A creature has taken a liking to you, Charm Art Experience Points +28]
Huh?
Xue Jing had an odd look on his face as he looked at the black horse nearly as tall as him and reached out to stroke its mane.
The horse responded by nuzzling Xue Jing with its head as if to reciprocate.
"Oh? 'Wind Eater' seems to really like you, Junior Brother," Zhu Shanying said with a laugh, then stroked the mane of the chestnut horse.
"Like this one, 'Sixty-six,' they are both retired racehorses," she explained, then stepped onto the stirrup of 'Sixty-six,' and swung onto the horse with great flair.
Afterward, she shifted her seat backward on the saddle a bit and extended her hand to Xue Jing with a raised eyebrow, saying,
"Come on, Junior Brother, get up here, and I'll teach you how to ride."
Xue Jing glanced at her outstretched hand, shook his head, and declined the offer to ride together.
"No need, although I've never ridden before..."
Xue Jing patted 'Wind Eater' on the head, then took hold of the reins, stepped onto the stirrup, and swung himself onto the horse.
"But imitation is not too difficult."
He sat astride, holding the reins, and said with a smile.
Zhu Shanying puffed out her cheeks, her pretty face showing displeasure: "Hey, riding requires skill; you'd learn faster if your Senior Sister taught you hands-on."
Xue Jing ignored her and tentatively flicked the reins, gently squeezing the horse's belly with his legs.
Receiving the signal, Wind Eater snorted and began to move forward.
"See, it's quite easy," said Xue Jing, a bit cheerfully.
Zhu Shanying rolled her eyes, pulled the reins, kicked the horse's sides, and caught up with Xue Jing.
"Ordinary people don't learn to ride like this—giving signals without learning anything could be dangerous," she said with a pout.
Xue Jing nodded: "I understand."
His willingness to mount and ride directly was because he was confident that with his strength, he could easily handle any problems that might arise.
Although Zhu Shanying was somewhat inexplicably disappointed that she couldn't teach her Junior Brother how to ride firsthand, she still began instructing him:
"Keep holding the reins at all times, never let go..."
"When turning, be gentler with the left and right movements, there's no need for too much force..."
As she spoke, the two rode out of the manor's back gate and came to the hills of the North City District.
There was a vast meadow here, perfect for horseback riding.
With Zhu Shanying's guidance and Xue Jing's current learning ability, coupled with the confidence his formidable strength brought him to try various bold maneuvers, he quickly grew accustomed to riding, propelling Wind Eater to gallop across the meadow.