Chapter 443: Young Master, Are You Happy?

The Dragon Banner—its crimson field snapping sharply in the wind—rose high and eye-catching against the sky. The moment that banner went up, the noble youths let out a collective roar, dug their heels hard into their mounts’ flanks, and surged forward, competing fiercely as they burst out of the starting line.

The fine steed beneath Fatty Zhou lived up to its exorbitant price. The instant it launched into a sprint, it surged ahead, quickly leaving behind the other noble second-generation who had dared to bet against him.

“Hahaha—!”

Fatty Zhou laughed smugly. As he overtook his rival, he even made a show of flicking his riding crop, his pride spilling out unrestrained and obvious.

“Don’t get cocky, Fatty Zhou!” the man behind him snarled through clenched teeth. He lashed his horse hard, whipping its hindquarters until the beast screamed in pain and desperation.

As the group charged forward, whooping and tearing through the open countryside, Zhu Ping’an—unsurprisingly—fell behind. Compared to these noble youths who had practically grown up in the saddle, his horsemanship was lacking by more than just a little.

Still, being left behind had its advantages. With the petty competitiveness stripped away, the scenery unfolded beautifully. After all, this was a spring outing—meant for enjoying mountains and waters, not merely winning races.

Hooves struck the gravel-laid path, kicking up drifting clouds of dust. Not far from the road, a winding stream glimmered as fish leapt now and then from its surface. The grasslands, trimmed neat as bedding mats, rippled in waves under the breeze, while birdsong from the woods rang out crisp and melodious, like a cheering squad urging them on.

Taking in the view as he rode, Zhu Ping’an maintained a steady pace—not slow by any means.

After admiring the scenery for a while, he gradually urged his horse to go faster. Being left too far behind wouldn’t look very good either. The horse responded readily; with just a light tug on the reins, it picked up speed. Though it couldn’t be called lightning-fast, it was still impressively swift. After riding for some time, Zhu Ping’an spotted someone ahead who had fallen behind.

…And that someone looked familiar.

Sure enough—it was Fatty Zhou.

Burdened by his own weight, Fatty Zhou was effectively asking his horse to carry the load of two men. Compared to the others, his steed was laboring under a heavy burden. It managed well enough at first, but as time dragged on, fatigue inevitably set in, and he began to lag.

He was already behind—and now he saw that even Zhu Ping’an, previously dead last, was riding up from behind.

That made Fatty Zhou panic.

In his desperation, he lashed his horse violently with the whip. Blood soon seeped from the horse’s hindquarters where the strikes landed.

The effect was immediate.

The horse screamed in agony, then, driven by pain, surged forward with all its remaining strength. Its speed climbed once more, pushing toward its absolute limit.

Thus it became Fatty Zhou in front, Zhu Ping’an behind, both riding hard toward the gathering point.

Along the way, a stretch of the road was heavy with loose soil. The riders ahead had churned it up, filling the air with thick clouds of dust. Under the rolling haze, the road looked as though it had been swallowed by fog.

As soon as he entered this dust-choked stretch, Fatty Zhou grew even more frantic. If his horse could maintain its current speed, there was still a chance to overtake that betting bastard ahead—but now the dust was clearly slowing everything down.

Anxiety took over.

Fatty Zhou raised his whip yet again and brought it down hard.

Damn it—faster! Faster!
If you don’t go faster, I’m going to lose!

His face flushed red, neck thick with veins, he urged the horse on with frantic kicks and relentless whipping, completely losing himself to panic.

“Young master—rein in the horse!”

At that moment, a voice suddenly tore through the air from ahead, loud and forceful enough that even Zhu Ping’an, riding behind, heard it clearly.

It was the voice of Fatty Zhou’s attendant.

Before the race, many of the nobles had sent their servants ahead to monitor the course. This attendant was one of them.

“I’ll rein in your mother’s grave!”

The instant he heard that shout, Fatty Zhou completely lost it.

He shook his fleshy face and bellowed back in rage.

Are you brain-dead?! Asking me if I’m happy?!
Happy my ass! I’m about to lose the race! I was already second-to-last, and now even that spot is about to slip away! And you dare ask if I’m happy?!
This damned servant—getting bold now, huh? Cracking jokes at a time like this?!

“Are you happy?”
Oh, you’ve got nerve.

Just wait until we get back—see how I deal with you, you dog slave!

In the blink of an eye, Fatty Zhou’s thoughts spun several furious circles. His entire mind was hijacked by that infuriating “are you happy?” ringing in his ears.

After cursing, he whipped the horse again, clamped his legs tight, and shouted “Hyah!” forcing the horse to accelerate once more.

“Ah—young master, rein in the horse!”

By the roadside, the attendant slapped his thigh hard and jumped in place, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Happy my ass—again?!
You damn dog slave, getting more enthusiastic now, are you?!

That curse flashed through Fatty Zhou’s mind. Before it could even escape his mouth, he suddenly felt weightless.

His body pitched into the air.

The horse beneath him let out a helpless scream—

—and with a thunderous crash, Fatty Zhou howled as both man and horse were flung forward together.

What the hell just happened?!

While airborne, Fatty Zhou twisted his head back in shock—and saw it.

The stretch of road they had just passed concealed a sharply slanted drop, over eighty degrees steep and taller than a man. Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to miss. But the race had churned up so much dust that the area was shrouded like thick fog, leaving nothing visible.

When you can’t see, disaster follows.

The horse lost its footing—and man and beast flew together straight into the ground.

The entire sequence lasted no more than a tenth of a second.

Then Fatty Zhou slammed into the earth with crushing force.

Fortunately, the horse didn’t land on top of him—otherwise, Fatty Zhou would have been gravely injured.

Unfortunately—

He hit the ground face-first.

His bloated face scraped along the gravel-strewn path for a good two or three meters.

Even a beauty like Xi Shi would turn into Dong Shi if she fell face-first—let alone someone as naturally… abstract-looking as Fatty Zhou. After that fall and grind, his face could only be described as a disaster scene.

And it was only at the moment his face met the ground that enlightenment finally struck him.

Damn it—
That dog slave wasn’t saying “Are you happy?”
He was shouting “Rein in the horse”!

Then his fury surged even higher.

You useless dog slave! Why shout “rein in the horse”?! If you’d said there was a ditch ahead, would this young master have ended up like this?! What good are you, you worthless thing?!
Why did I send you ahead in the first place?!

Just wait till we get back—you’re dead!

When Zhu Ping’an heard the shout “Young master, rein in the horse,” he’d been briefly confused as well. But after hearing Fatty Zhou’s soul-shattering scream, he understood everything instantly.

Fatty Zhou had paid in blood to teach Zhu Ping’an a vital lesson:

The road ahead was high-risk—slow down.

Zhu Ping’an tightened the reins and moved forward carefully. Soon, he saw the steep slope ahead. Guiding his horse cautiously, he made his way down.

At the bottom of the slope, just a few steps away, he saw Fatty Zhou sprawled on the ground, limbs splayed wide, face planted like a great bird mid-crash—while the attendant knelt nearby, repeatedly begging for forgiveness.