Green Mountain

In the snowy field, Zhang Zhuo helped Zhang Xia remount his horse and patted Zaozao’s cheek, "Thanks to you, from now on you will be considered a great hero of the Zhang Family. When we get back, I’ll have the steward find you a mare..."

Zhang Xia glared at him, "Father, what are you saying?!"

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily, "It’s the natural order of things, what’s not to be said?"

Chen Ji watched this scene, reflecting, "Everyone says Lord Zhang is greedy, which may not be true, but they say he’s lecherous, which might not be false... However, I see that he truly loves Second Miss Zhang. He’s still in his official robe, probably was at the government office when he got the news and came rushing here without stopping."

Zhang Zhuo laughed loudly, "The one who knows me, is Chen Ji."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Lord Zhang, this horse is exceptionally spirited. I heard Second Miss Zhang say it was brought back by Deputy Director Xu Shu from the Observatory?"

Zhang Zhuo mounted his horse, "That’s no secret. Seven years after Xu Shu miraculously recovered, he suddenly bade farewell to Official Xu and went north, saying he wanted to find something. Later, he told me he went to the colder regions north of Luocheng City looking for something he didn’t find, but he brought back this Dragon Horse."

"I heard from Second Miss Zhang that it’s of dragon descent."

Zhang Zhuo said, "Xu Shu mentioned that in the cold northern regions, there are some ancient bloodlines left, which make the most mystical war horses."

Chen Ji suddenly wondered, if, as he suspected, Xu Shu also came from the Forty-nine Heavens, what was he really looking for in those frigid northern lands?

Artifacts from the Forty-nine Heavens, lost to the human world?