"Has she not heard of your exploits? Oh right, brother, the incident where you killed two birds with one stone, helping Little King Yama reclaim Dragon Gate City, has spread throughout the underworld!"
"How did you know?" I frowned, as I hadn't mentioned this to Bingbing after returning.
Bingbing raised an eyebrow and patted her waist, "I'm a legitimate underworld envoy too, you know! We have friends in the underworld!"
At full throttle, keeping close to Fan Wujiu, we soon exited the mist-shrouded area and could see the road ahead. With better visibility, I dared to drive faster. Though it wasn't a paved road, this dirt path looked well-trodden and solid, relatively flat. Cruising at sixty was effortless, and even eighty didn't cause too much bouncing. However, this was already the limit for Fan Wujiu's White Dragon Horse.
Only an underworld horse could go this fast. The fastest breed in the mortal world, the Quarter Horse, had a top speed of 88 kilometers per hour, but that was for short distances, equivalent to humans running a 100-meter dash. Fan Wujiu's White Dragon Horse, already running at 80 kilometers per hour, still seemed at ease. If not a marathon, it was certainly a five or ten-kilometer medium-distance run, not a sprint, especially while carrying a person.
It was roughly equivalent to a weighted cross-country run of five kilometers.
If that White Dragon Colt were allowed to run at its full potential, its top speed could easily exceed 150 kilometers per hour.
If such a horse existed in the mortal world, cars might have been invented decades later.
We had been traveling in a straight line, and I had no idea where we were. There were no forests, no mountains, just vast expanses of yellow grassland in the distance.
"Bingbing, you drive. I'll go ahead and scout," I said, as her driving skills were better than mine in this terrain.
"How will you go?" Bingbing asked.
"Don't worry about it, I'll teach you later!" I replied with a smile.
Bingbing shifted over and took the driver's seat. I moved to the passenger side, opened the door, and as I jumped out, I activated the "Swift Wind Art." In less than a second, I had outpaced Fan Wujiu. She realized I had used this technique and, instead of chasing me, looked back at Bingbing. As long as the goods weren't lost, that was all that mattered.
Following Fan Wujiu's instruction to "keep going straight," I ran forward. After about twenty kilometers, I saw a familiar mountain ahead, shaped somewhat like a potato. I had seen this mountain before; it should be near Dai Lu's ordnance camp. However, the angle was different, indicating we had approached from another direction. Indeed, we were much closer.
I climbed the "potato mountain" in one go and surveyed the surroundings. Finally, behind a patch of woods, I spotted the town where the ordnance camp was located. I hadn't noticed it at first because there were several other towns guarding it. But I saw large plumes of white smoke billowing out, indicating that Dai Lu and her team were likely testing their artillery.
I retraced my steps and stopped about half a kilometer in front of Fan Wujiu's horse (mainly because I didn't stop precisely). I stood with my hands behind my back, trying to look impressive for Fan Wujiu, but she paid me no mind. As she rode past me, she deliberately flicked my buttocks with her small whip, which stung!
Bingbing, following behind, slowed down to about twenty kilometers per hour. I jogged alongside the car and then got in. I told Bingbing that we were about thirty kilometers away, as reaching the ordnance camp required going around the potato-shaped mountain.
Half an hour later, we arrived successfully. We unloaded the cargo and underwent inspection. Dai Lu was incredibly impressed with our G-Wagon, hinting at her desire to keep the vehicle and pleading with Fan Wujiu for leniency.
"This matter is beyond my jurisdiction," Fan Wujiu said, dismissing her involvement and turning to me. "Since you know the Swift Wind Art, you won't expect me to lead the way back, will you?"
Without waiting for my reply, she turned her horse and mounted it. "There's still conflict on the frontier. Everyone, I bid you farewell."
"Ah, Madam Fan," Dai Lu called out to Fan Wujiu, "Is it an attack or a defense?"
"We fight in the open field," Fan Wujiu replied.
"Then take two cannons with you. I can report to His Highness that they are test models." Dai Lu was genuinely trying to be helpful, expressing her gratitude to Fan Wujiu for escorting the spare parts that would make the cannons operational. Mobilizing the G98 and cannons required a warrant from Little King Yama.
Unexpectedly, Fan Wujiu glanced at the cannons, pouted, and said, "These flashy but useless things... my Xuanjia Cavalry has no need for them. I'm leaving."
Xuanjia Cavalry?
Could it be that Tang Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's elite unit?