Princess Helian Yunyun of the Great牧 Kingdom descended from her high station, her smile like a blooming flower, warm and sunny.

But Zhao Rucheng merely nodded, saying, “Your Highness Yun.”

He refused to use a more familiar address, deliberately maintaining distance. Helian Yunyun continued to smile, seemingly unfazed.

“Do you like the grassland?” she asked again.

“It’s the same everywhere,” Zhao Rucheng replied.

“It’s not the same now!” Helian Yunyun laughed.

Zhao Rucheng: …

He was no greenhorn. The so-called “Maple Forest Five Heroes,” while once prominent figures in Maple Forest City, were in reality a motley crew of the slow-witted, foolish, and simpleminded. Only Fang Pengju understood a bit of women’s hearts, but he was more engrossed in his perceived “future” and rarely distracted.

When it came to cherishing beauty and dallying with women, the other four combined couldn’t compare to him, Zhao Rucheng.

However, first and foremost, he was genuinely preoccupied at the moment. Second, he truly didn’t want to die.

Even if he did want to die, he didn’t want to meet such a tragic end as “offending the Shepherd Emperor”…

This woman before him was not to be provoked.

He could only adopt the role of his elder brother Ling He, maintaining proper decorum, and emulate Du Yehu’s lack of romantic sensibility.

Helian Yunyun turned her head, looking ahead with a serious expression: “Rucheng, you must have been to many places.”

“Actually, not that many,” Zhao Rucheng said.

“Your demeanor is unique; you are a man with a story.”

“There are no stories, only accidents.”

“What kind of accidents? Why don’t you tell me?”

“Let’s not talk about it, they are quite boring things, tedious to recount.”

“Then let me tell you some interesting things!”

“I am all ears.”

They chatted on and off like this.

But Helian Yunyun’s mount, the Snowflaked Steed, suddenly nudged its head towards the青鬃馬’s head and rubbed it.

The Qingzong horse tried to pull away, but the Snowflaked Steed snorted, and immediately it became well-behaved. Its hooves still moved, but its head seemed frozen, letting itself be rubbed without moving…

After a while, the Snowflaked Steed snorted again, and the Qingzong horse even rubbed back…

The horse Yuwen Duo had prepared for Zhao Rucheng was naturally not bad, but compared to Helian Yunyun’s mount, it was completely on a different level and was thoroughly disciplined.

The two horses walked side by side, nuzzling each other affectionately, their heads close. The people on their backs couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward.

But Helian Yunyun smiled brilliantly, as if completely unaware.

Zhao Rucheng, wearing his bronze mask, remained silent…

At the very front of the procession, surrounded by wolf riders, was a large cart pulled by a white yak.

Master Cangming, hailed as the “Divine Emissary of the Mortal Realm,” sat in this cart.

Many herdsmen on the grassland regarded him as a deity, offering him worship in their yurts and praying to him during disasters.

He wandered the grassland alone, saving countless lives.

White blizzards, beast tides, horse bandits… in many dangerous moments, his figure stood alone.

His benevolent reputation spread throughout the grassland, sung by the herdsmen.

But he remained very mysterious.

Few people had truly seen his real face.

Or rather, few who had seen his real face could remember…

Sitting in the cart with Cangming was the Golden Crown Priest Namoduo from the Divine Temple. He had only shown his face at the very beginning of the journey and was constantly praying for this expedition, blessing the Great Mu Empire.

All specific matters of the expedition team were handled by the accompanying captain of the Divine Temple Knights.

The priest’s duty was solely to serve the deity.

Moving the gaze further back, in the middle of the expedition team, was a small, thin figure riding a short-legged horse.

He was truly not strong, appearing even more frail in comparison to the tall and robust Divine Temple Knights around him.

His horse looked very ordinary, but amidst the surrounding giant wolves, it was relaxed and at ease, trotting forward with cheerful small steps,噠噠.

And he himself was expressionless and silent.

If anyone observed carefully, they would see that the giant wolves ridden by the surrounding Cangtu Divine Riders occasionally looked at him with great affection, without the slightest fierceness.

That heartfelt closeness was likely one of the reasons why the short-legged horse was so composed.

He was from the Royal Tent Cavalry, named Naliang.

He had once been affectionately called “Wolf Child” by Her Imperial Majesty.

This was because when he was still an infant, he was abandoned on the grassland and raised by a mother wolf.

He had always lived among wolves and thought of himself as a wolf.

Until… he met humans.

The first herdsman who found him had the surname Na. So he took the surname Na. As for the character ‘liang’, he took it himself after he learned to read; it is a part of the character for ‘wolf’.

He was the Outer Realm Heaven’s Chosen of the Mu Kingdom participating in the Yellow River Meet.

In the final martial arts competition before the royal tent, if not for the protection of powerful figures, he would have almost torn his opponent to shreds.

At the end of the expedition team, Jin Ge, the True Blood disciple of the Jin family and the Mu Kingdom’s Inner Realm participant, rode an armored warhorse among the wolf riders.

He looked at the large cart at the very front of the team with unconcealed dissatisfaction.

In legend, the white yak was the mount of Cangtu God’s third incarnation and held sacred significance.

He, Jin Ge, as a True Blood disciple of the prestigious Jin family of the Great Mu Kingdom, couldn’t even sit in that large cart, while Cangming, who didn’t even show his face, received far more praise and glory than him.

Moreover, the subtle indifference of the surrounding Divine Temple Knights also greatly displeased him.

On the boundless grassland, the Royal Tent Cavalry always only surrounded the royal court and served the monarch. They didn’t fight much and were not widely known.

Only the Cangtu Divine Cavalry and the Iron Buddha could be ranked among the top ten cavalries in the world.

Although the Cangtu Divine Cavalry was ranked first, the Iron Buddha, ranked sixth among the world’s cavalries, was not entirely convinced.

There was a strong sense of competition between the two, and it could even be said that they were competing in every aspect.

Being able to compete with the “Divine Kingdom Knights” in a country illuminated by the glory of Cangtu God already sufficiently demonstrated the strength of the Iron Buddha.

Of course, the Iron Buddha also believed in Cangtu God, but not as “orthodoxly” as the Cangtu Divine Cavalry.

In short, under this years of accumulated competition.

Jin Ge, who came from the Iron Buddha and whose father was even the Lord of the Iron Buddha, inevitably received no good treatment from the Cangtu Divine Cavalry.

The further Jin Ge rode, the more uncomfortable he felt. He couldn’t squeeze into the Golden Crown Priest’s cart, and Naliang was of humble origin and not good with words, so he didn’t even have someone to talk to.

The accompanying Cangtu Divine Cavalry members around him held their chins high, as if they had “Iron Buddha is useless” written on their faces.

He, however, couldn’t lose his temper. The Divine Temple Knights hadn’t even looked at him, so he couldn’t say he was provoked.

More importantly, even if he did lose his temper, either the Golden Crown Priest or the “Divine Emissary of the Mortal Realm” present could easily handle him.

Simply pulled the reins, turned the horse’s head, and rode towards the observing team behind.

Instead of being so annoyed, it was better to go and talk to Princess Yun and build a relationship.

What kind of military parade is this, goddammit!

(A little digression.

If I write from morning to night, sit in front of the computer for ten hours, and try my best to write, and you still feel that it’s “filler.”

Then I think, you actually don’t need to read my book anymore.

I’m not being defiant, not speaking ill.

I am indeed in my best state when writing the book, and the plot is under my control, progressing in an orderly manner.

How many new and old characters will appear in a Yellow River Meet.

These heavens’ chosen, and even the families, forces, and countries behind them.

Their extended relationships are enough to affect the entire Red Heart World. It can be said that each heaven’s chosen is a node.

Am I not portraying them well now?

Look back, how many people and forces have appeared in the past few days? Which portrayal is unclear? In a plot that is as interesting as possible, how many settings have been quietly revealed? Aren’t you getting to know this world better?

I write these words with the utmost sincerity, offering the best parts I can, the brilliance I can dedicate.

If you still don’t appreciate it, then it means there is indeed no缘分 (affinity). I guess there’s no need to force it.

Mountains and rivers meet, let’s say “until we meet again.”

Let’s not harbor resentment towards each other.

In a year or two, if I am still writing, it will definitely be better. Perhaps at that time, we will have缘分.

Also, since we have緣分, I will give you a “dehydrated version,” so you don’t have to worry.

The Yellow River Meet starts at the Guanhe Stage, the heavens’ chosen from various countries have a wonderful fight, and after they finish, they all go home.

I am not affected, but I think some readers might be.

That’s why I’m saying this.

If these readers can calm down and read slowly, I believe that every chapter in the recent ones is worth reading.

More than you, I do not want the Yellow River Meet to disappoint you.

May everyone be happy.

Good night.)