The little pony went out for a full hour before flying back.
As soon as it returned, it stood on the table and chirped incessantly, flapping its wings and appearing extremely excited.
After listening to its report, Jiang Wan couldn't help but grin.
The Su family was in utter chaos at this moment.
Early in the morning, Mother Su had placed the empty money bag she had discarded at the entrance of the shed.
All the silver was gone, and Mother Su felt as if the sky had fallen. She immediately fainted from anxiety.
The Su family members pinched her philtrum and splashed cold water on her, and after a great deal of fuss, they managed to wake Mother Su up.
Upon waking, Mother Su began to wail and cry. As she cried, she started to scold and beat her three daughters-in-law, suspecting them of stealing the silver.
The Tian sisters and the others naturally denied it, as they had indeed not been present.
During the scuffle, someone unknown struck Mother Su. This incident infuriated the Su family's filial sons, and the three men began to beat their wives. Their children, seeing their mothers being beaten, cried and rushed to break up the fight. The commotion attracted many families who, like the Su family, had no silver and were unable to settle, to come and watch the spectacle.
After the brawlers were separated, the Su family's daughters-in-law were all bruised and swollen, and the Su Qing brothers also bore injuries.
Of course, this fight was not in vain.
The Su family was convinced that the silver had been stolen by outsiders and insisted on reporting it to the authorities.
However, they were not citizens of Yao County and lacked travel permits, so Magistrate Cheng did not accept their case.
Having lost all their silver, the Su family sat crying at the entrance of the county office in desperation. Magistrate Cheng, finding them an eyesore, ordered the yamen runners to drive them out of the city.
When the little pony returned, the Su family was still sitting by their shed, crying.
Hearing this, Jiang Wan felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
Just as she was feeling pleased, a fierce neighing sound suddenly came from the stable.
Jiang Wan shouted, "Who dares to steal your little auntie's horses? Are they tired of living!"
As she rushed to the stable to apprehend the thief, she found no one by the stable.
Jiang Wan narrowed her eyes, feigning confusion, and circled the stable a few times. Then, she reprimanded the horses, "Why are you making such a fuss for nothing! You made me think we had a thief!"
After speaking, Jiang Wan skipped away cheerfully.
Seeing Jiang Wan leave, Yan Li returned to the stable with Gu Chenzhou.
The horses became excited again as soon as they saw Gu Chenzhou.
Gu Chenzhou quickly reached out and stroked the heads of Little Red and Little Black, lowering his voice, "Chiyan, Moyun, it's really you! You're really still alive, that's wonderful, truly wonderful!"
The two horses affectionately nuzzled Gu Chenzhou, showing their deep affection for him.
Yan Li glanced warily in the direction Jiang Wan had left and then turned to Gu Chenzhou, saying, "Chenzhou, let's leave first. It will be difficult to explain if they discover us."
Gu Chenzhou looked at the horses reluctantly and said, "Master, let's take Chiyun and the others with us."
Yan Li quietly advised, "Not yet. This family has taken good care of them. It's safer for them to stay with them than to follow us. Besides, it's not far, so we can come to see them anytime."
Gu Chenzhou's voice choked with emotion, "But they were left by Father..."
Yan Li's voice also changed, "Chenzhou, I know what they mean to you. But it's not appropriate for us to reveal ourselves and negotiate with this family right now. Be good. When the time is right, I will naturally take them away."
Gu Chenzhou could only compromise. He reluctantly stroked the two horses and then turned and ran into the forest.
Seeing him leave, the horses neighed urgently.
Yan Li sighed, afraid of alarming the Jiang family, and quickly disappeared into the forest.
After the master and disciple had gone far away, Jiang Wan returned to the stable.
She squinted at the two horses, then looked back at the forest, her eyes flashing.
So, the two horses she had picked up were from the "Energy Tree"!
Recalling the scene of the black-clad corpses scattered on the ground when she found the horses, and considering the secretive way these two lived in the deep mountains, it was not difficult to guess that their origins were definitely not legitimate.
She wondered what their true identities were.
However, one thing was certain: these two were likely not vicious criminals, otherwise, they would not have let her go last night.
By extension, they were not bad people.
If they were not bad people, then they were good people!
If they were good people, then she could interact with them with peace of mind!
Jiang Wan looked back at Little Red and Little Black and couldn't help but grin.
After returning last night, she was still worried about how to approach the "Energy Tree." Now, wasn't that problem solved?
From the "Energy Tree's" words, these two horses were left by his father, which must mean a great deal to him.
So, if she took the horses to graze in the mountains every day, could he resist?
As long as he wanted to approach the horses, she wouldn't have to worry about absorbing energy, would she?
This plan was brilliant!
Jiang Wan reached out to pet the two horses, wanting to praise them, but they both turned their heads away, looking aloof and unwilling to be touched.
Jiang Wan was furious.
She grabbed the reins of the two horses and pulled hard, bringing their large heads right in front of her.
Jiang Wan threatened, "No matter what your past identities were, on my territory, you must obediently stay put and do as I command! Don't forget, your lives were saved by me! It's my kindness that I haven't brainwashed you. If you continue to be so out of touch and uncooperative, I won't hesitate to turn you both into idiots!"
Since picking up these two horses, apart from treating their injuries and wanting to ride them, she had not used her powers on them.
Because she valued the overall quality of these two horses, she had not forcibly controlled them with her powers.
As a result, these two uncooperative creatures were actually putting on airs with her?!
She was spoiling them!
In fact, if she wanted to control them completely, she only needed a little bit of her powers to make them obedient, even to the point of being completely subservient to her.
However, she had always been a reasonable person, not domineering, and was willing to let them retain their natural instincts and thoughts.
But if they insisted on being unappreciative, she wouldn't mind turning them into puppets.
After all, she didn't like to make things difficult for herself.
The two horses felt Jiang Wan's threat and stood still, not daring to move.
Jiang Wan snorted, "It's good that you're scared. Remember, you are my possessions now. If you don't want to become idiots, show the awareness of pets!"
Letting go of the reins, Jiang Wan deliberately called out, "Little Black!"
Little Black quickly extended its head towards Jiang Wan, appearing docile and ready to be manhandled.
Jiang Wan nodded with satisfaction, untied its reins, and let it come out of the stable on its own.
Little Black quickly trotted out, even biting the reins and handing them to Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan snorted inwardly, "You ungrateful creatures. When I'm nice to you, you act high and mighty. When I'm not nice, you become extremely sensible."
Letting Little Red out of the stable as well, Jiang Wan, holding their reins, called out to Mother Su who was at home, and then went to the back mountain to let the horses graze.