The old man tried to be as brief as possible about the several commissions Ian had made, and how he had "guided" him and Sid to the next step under his clever arrangement. The old man knew everything as if he had followed them the whole time, including the start time and delivery time they had delegated, as well as some specific details that only the guild insiders could know. Including Ian completed the anonymous commission, when to go to the guild delivery, who was with him Yunyun.

"Who is that young man with you?" asked the old man, "why isn't Sid with you?"

Ian frowned and looked at him warily, "You're following us?"

"I'm just waiting for you," the old man smiled blandly, "I'm waiting for you at the guild gate every day. ”

Ian was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered the old beggar at the gate of the guild: "It turned out to be you." ”

"I arrange and track down all your commissions, except for the original one," the old man added, "and the matter of the flower pseudo-snake has nothing to do with us. We hadn't found you back then—to be exact, only since then through guild records. ”

"The guild is very strict," Ian slowly lowered his sword after listening, but still asked unrelentingly, "Those receptionists are all leaky, not to mention the managers above?, to be honest, I can't believe that they will be bribed for a little monetary gain." ”

"You're right," the old man nodded silently, a touch of sadness on his face, "money can't be bought. But sometimes people's actions are not driven only by money. If I could, I would like to leave the origin of this part to the client himself. Don't you still have a task ahead of you? The longer you delay here, the harder it will be to find that horse. ”

"You know I'm looking for Shirahoshi?" Ian was surprised, what kind of person was this old man, so powerful.

"Shirahoshi?ah, a fitting name. Someone rode it over there. The old man pointed to the depths of the woods, where there was a gentle slope leading up the hill, "There are many shrubs, weeds, and fallen leaves, so don't lose them." ”

“...... Why are you helping me?"

"I said it at the beginning," said ...... old man with a wry smile, "I am coming to see you on behalf of the client, and he wishes to see you." You don't have a horse, how are you going to get there?"

"Who is he and where is he?"

"He has prepared to introduce himself, including the details of the arrangement commission just mentioned, all of which are related to his identity, and I will not overdo this for me, and you will naturally understand when you meet him. In short, he will be waiting for you in Skylark. When I got there, I went to find a folk Warcraft Research Association called 'Scales and Bones'. There you can safely give your name - real name, I mean, someone will show you the way. ”

Ian knew there was no need to ask any more. As the old man said, the horse he needed was probably constantly moving away from him all the time.

However, he remembered Alphen again.

"I've been told what I need. Ian stared at the old man's face and said, "Give me a reason, why did I have to go all the way to Skylark City to meet your master? Besides, since he wants to see me, shouldn't he come to me himself? ”

The old man sighed: "He...... If I could come to see you in person, I wouldn't have to work on my old bones. As for the reason for you - while you have the information you need, I don't think it's enough for what you're trying to achieve. Your intelligence probably doesn't include how to better control your psychics, right?"

Seeing Ian's expression, the old man nodded with satisfaction and continued, "He can provide you with such knowledge, what is more valuable than knowledge?

Ian hesitated, stopped talking, and turned to walk down the path the old man had pointed.

As he said, the path up the hill was surrounded by leafy trees and shrubs underneath, and horseshoe prints were hard to identify. Fortunately, the environment is gloomy, which makes the soil relatively moist, so in addition to being easily shaded by other plants or fallen leaves, the hoof prints themselves are still clear. In addition, if it is uphill again, the hoof prints will be deeper than on flat ground.

This forest grows on the hills, and the so-called ascent is only a slight gentle slope, going up the hills, not in the true sense of the word. Not long after Ian walked, he came across a hut, which was a forest hunter's dwelling or a forest ranger's temporary resting place.

He walked towards the hut, and suddenly heard a noise behind the house, and his heart was overjoyed. If I didn't hear it right, if the faint chirping of insects and the sporadic song of birds in the mountains didn't confuse Ian's hearing, it would have been the sound of horses' hooves stomping on the ground.

He walked briskly around the front of the hut and turned to the back. As soon as he showed his face, he saw a wooden stick smashing at him.

Ian dodged and retreated quickly, avoiding it, and even felt the wind from the wooden stick on the tip of his nose. If you get hit this time, you must at least sleep on the ground for half a day. When he looked up, he saw a sturdy man glaring at him angrily.

The man had well-developed upper limbs and a strong body, and at first glance he looked like a person who had been doing manual labor all year round. The mountains of firewood and timber piled up behind him and the huge hand axe that was buckled upside down on a stake also indicated his identity.

"Why, now the woodcutter is still working part-time as a horse thief?" Ian sneered.

"You know what, you gold-coin lackey!" roared the woodcutter—or horse thief, "that selfish bastard of Brad, who bought this mountain forest and burned it all down for pasture! But before I go, I'm going to give him some color!"

"So you stole his horse?"

"Yes, the most expensive one!" said the woodcutter who had lost the woods, laughing viciously, "I will ride this horse to the village of Mist Hollow, and when I get there, I will slaughter this horse and eat its meat!"

"That's not going to work," said Ian, "you have to walk, I'll be useful for this horse." ”

"Come on, puppy!" the sturdy woodcutter hunched up, holding a thick, round-headed wooden stick in one hand and pulling out his axe in the other, "I will eat dog meat too!"

Ian sighed and didn't move, but the blue, translucent spirit silently manifested behind the woodcutter.

The woodcutter was still wondering why this young man didn't put on a fighting posture, he only felt dizzy and didn't know anything.

Zach slammed the hilt of his sword into the side of his neck from behind him, causing him to lose consciousness.

Ian stepped over the unconscious woodcutter and muttered to himself as he untied the reins of the white star: "Why don't you just beat that Brad with such strength, and steal the horse, steal the horse and eat it...... Do you know how much time you've delayed me?"

He touched Shirahoshi's cheek and neck to reassure him, then turned on his horse.

"It's good that I came quickly, otherwise you'd be miserable. He whispered to the horses under his seat, "So in return, you have to send me to my destination." I don't know if Bai Xing can understand people's words, but he actually snorted at this time and shook his head.

Ian didn't think much of it, flicked the reins, snapped lightly, and urged the horse to the Bled racecourse. Shirahoshi walked briskly and slowly back down the gentle slope. Passing by the place where he had met the old man earlier, Ian glanced around, and there was no one.

The owner, Brad, was an experienced horse breeder after all, and he was so familiar and sensitive to the sound of horses running. As Ian approached the horse farm from a distance, Brad was already squinting at them, and he quickened his pace to meet them.

He hadn't expected Ian to get the horse back so smoothly and unharmed - by the horses, of course, he didn't care much about Ian's condition.

"Who stole my horse?!" Brad asked, holding on to the reins, angrily.

Ian pointed with his thumb in the direction behind him, "A woodcutter." ”

"Damn Balde!" Cried Brad, "I knew it was going to be him! grudge villain...... You've taught him a lesson, haven't you?"

"As agreed, rent it to me at half price, right?" Ian asked, touching Shirahoshi's neck. He didn't bother to listen to Brad's complaints, and he didn't plan to dwell on their "neighborhood disputes."

“...... Yes, yes......" Brad suppressed his anger, "how long is it going to be rented? Come here and register, your name, and the time to return it." That's right, that's it...... And the deposit, you'll have to pay me now......"

After completing the formalities and paying the deposit, Ian raised his horsewhip and gently patted the white star, driving it onto the road. Gold coins are a good thing, but unfortunately they can't be spent, Ian thought as he checked his money bag, and it seemed that the mercenary's work could not be stopped.

Shirahoshi is indeed a good horse. As soon as he turned onto the road, he threw off his hooves and ran wildly. As his speed increased, Ian immediately felt the embrace of the wind spirit. They whispered in his ear, reminding him of the breeze that prevailed day and night. The sound of the horse's hooves grew tighter and tighter, and the forest to his left fell swiftly behind him, so fast that his eyes could barely keep up.

Ian grew up living in the slums of the imperial capital and had no chance to ride a horse at all. Although he had ridden once or twice during his travels with Sid, he was by no means familiar or proficient. He hunched his back awkwardly and nervously, keeping his body as low as he could, as the riders did. The white star below the seat seemed to be jumping, and the horse's back was constantly undulating, making him unconsciously stand up slightly to avoid the constant bumps. The hand that clutched the reins tightly felt a little sweaty.

At this rate, the destination doesn't seem too far. But judging from his riding skills and physical strength, it seems to be far away.

His plan has not changed, he will go to the swamp dragon city to join Alphen first. However, even if Shirahoshi can always run at full speed from here to Swamp Dragon City, it will take at least four or five days to reach it. Fortunately, there were a few villages and towns to rest on the way, and he still had some gold coins left on him, so he would not sleep alone and in the open.

The first human settlement he arrived at before dark was the "ghost village" he had heard of as a child: Crescent Village. The crescent moon village is named after the crescent-shaped layout of the village, and you can clearly see the clear crescent shape of the village when you look down from the hill near the village. When the whole village is lit up during the festival, it will be even more obvious, and it will be very strange to look at.

The villagers of Crescent Village have their own totems of faith, which is nothing at all if they are in the Eastern Ancient Kingdom. But this is an empire that generally believes in the twelve gods, and the totem of Crescent Village is a little fluttering and weird. Coupled with the "artistic processing" of travelers and bards who do not know the truth, the village has always been associated with mysterious legends. The Crescent Moon Village, which Ian heard about as a child, was always accompanied by ghost stories, so it was called "Ghost Village" by the children.

"I didn't expect to be here by myself today......" Ian straightened up as he sat on Shirahoshi's back. It was already dark, and he looked at the oil lamps lit up at the entrance of Xinyue Village in front of him and the dim light of the stars in the village, in a trance and charming, and seemed to be a little hesitant to spend the night here.