CHAPTER 451: CHAPTER 439: THE LITTLE HORSE STRIKES!

After returning home, Han Qiwu first sat down on his trusty old chair, pulled out a pinecone, and began peeling the seeds, popping them into his mouth one by one.

His arm was still pretty sore—time for some pine nuts to help replenish his strength.

*Knock-knock*

Seeing his owner munching on pine nuts with such relish, the little electric creature standing nearby got tempted too. Shyly, it shuffled over and nudged Han Qiwu’s shoulder.

"Oh my, when did you get so bashful, Little Electric?" Han Qiwu teased intentionally, pinching a few pine nuts and tossing them over.

Little Electric leapt into the air with a whoosh, tracing a zigzag curve before snatching every single nut into its mouth. It then perched nearby and started cracking them enthusiastically.

Nearby, seeing this, Xiao Lai also scampered over to Han Qiwu’s lap, blinking its little eyes.

Cute as a button.

"I want some too!"

Han Qiwu chuckled, grabbed Xiao Lai, and threw a dozen or so pine nuts into its mouth.

Unlike Little Electric, Xiao Lai didn’t need to crack the shells. With just a snap of its tiny mouth, its venom melted away the shells, leaving only the pine kernels to be swallowed.

Simple and efficient.

After eating, Han Qiwu could clearly feel a slight itchiness in his arm. Feeling reassured, he got up and headed to the patch of ground between the cowshed and the sheep pen. There, he took out hardwood, iron ingots, and fibers, and started crafting according to the blueprint.

"A stable I build myself should come with some bonuses, right?"

Over an hour later, Han Qiwu wiped his sweat away and placed the final piece of hardwood on the wall to the right.

Done!

"Who would’ve thought building a stable would cost me over 200 stamina?"

"Good thing I’ve stocked up on supplies."

As he exited the stable, Han Qiwu noticed a faint red glow emerging above it. The light converged on top of the stable, forming a vague horse head statue and a set of horse tack he’d used in the canyon.

[Congratulations on successfully building a stable]

[Stable (Silver-Star Quality ☆)]

[Crafted by: Han Qiwu]

[Purpose: Shelter for horses]

[Capacity: 1]

[Special Effect - Growth: Horses within the stable grow at twice the speed. For every additional 1,000 meters of taming range in Horse Taming Canyon, running speed increases by 20%, with no upper limit.]

[Note: You can find ways to increase stable capacity in Horse Taming Canyon.]

"I knew it! The quality of something you build yourself is always different," Han Qiwu nodded in satisfaction.

The stable’s special effects were practical too, not only boosting the horse’s growth rate but also enhancing its speed with extended taming range.

"If I reach a range of 5,000 meters, wouldn’t the speed double?" Just imagining it made Han Qiwu a little excited.

A thousand-mile steed!

But then, considering the difficulty of reaching 5,000 meters...

Han Qiwu calmed down again.

Too hard.

"Whatever, let’s start with experiencing horse riding!"

Han Qiwu entered the stable and retrieved a glowing orb containing his little horse from the storage compartment.

[Akhal-Teke Horse (Silver-Star Quality ☆) successfully deployed]

With a flash of light, a pale-golden Akhal-Teke horse appeared in Han Qiwu’s stable.

Once inside, the Akhal-Teke horse turned its head to look around, circled the small perimeter of the stable, and then walked back to Han Qiwu, lifting its front hooves and neighing twice.

Back home, the Akhal-Teke horse’s aura was completely different from when it was in the canyon. Yet, its elegance remained the same—slender neck, fine features, long limbs, smooth coat, and light steps.

It was just... a bit small.

Compared to its size in the canyon, its body had shrunk significantly. It looked like it was still in its juvenile phase.

"So the tamed horses have to be raised by hand from a young age, huh?" Han Qiwu said, slightly exasperated, reaching out to pat the little horse, which triggered two notifications.

[Please name your Akhal-Teke horse]

[After naming, attributes will be available.]

"Akhal-Teke horse... I can’t call it ’Little Teke,’ can I? That sounds like I’m talking to myself. Weird."

"Little Xue? That name’s already taken by Snowball."

"Little Treasure? Too cheesy."

"Might as well just call it Little Horse. Simple and clear."

[Little Horse successfully named]

[Mount: Little Horse]

[Quality: ☆]

[Stage: Juvenile]

[Type: Akhal-Teke Horse]

[Fullness: 35]

[Basic Skills: Leap (Learned), Long-Distance Traverse (Learned), Frenzied Diagonal Charge (Yet to Learn)]

[Likes: Running, Eating]

[Load Capacity: 100 kg]

[Notes: Akhal-Teke horses need daily runs.]

As expected, it was in its juvenile phase.

Glancing at its fullness level, Han Qiwu grabbed some Dragon’s Beard Grass that Little Electric had fetched earlier and handed it over.

"Eat up, eat up. From now on, we’re family."

Hearing Han Qiwu’s words, Little Horse nodded gently and lowered its head, obediently chewing away.

While feeding it, Han Qiwu also didn’t forget to check its load capacity and skills.

The load capacity was 100 kilograms.

A bit low, but understandable.

After all, it *was* a little horse.

At this load capacity, carrying Han Qiwu alone wasn’t a problem. But adding someone like Mr. Tang would definitely be too much.

"Gotta feed it well!"

The skills Leap and Long-Distance Traverse were already learned, which was quite reassuring.

But the last skill, Frenzied Diagonal Charge, yet to be learned, left Han Qiwu a bit worried.

"A skill like that... better not learn it at all."

"Why not just be a well-behaved, beautiful little mare?"

Thinking along those lines, Han Qiwu mused further, "If the Horse Taming Canyon has stable blueprints, it should also have upgrade blueprints, right? Maybe I’ll get a breeding room after an upgrade, just like with the Intermediate Chicken Coop. I’ll have to tame a little stallion later on."

After feeding it Dragon’s Beard Grass, Han Qiwu noticed Little Horse’s fullness had risen to 98 points.

Time to give riding a go.

Han Qiwu led Little Horse out of the stable, bending down to grab some horse tack. As he did, his peripheral vision caught sight of the horse head statue nearby.

He now realized that the previously indistinct horse head statue had taken on the shape of Little Horse’s face.

"Interesting."

Then, Han Qiwu put the tack on Little Horse, soothing it as he went along.

When he felt it had calmed down enough, Han Qiwu leapt into the air in one swift motion and landed on Little Horse’s back.

This was the feeling!

After leaving the tense atmosphere of Horse Taming Canyon, Han Qiwu’s mood while riding the horse had also become much more relaxed. Recalling the skills he learned in the canyon, he gently tugged on the reins, signaling Little Horse to move forward.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop."

Little Horse’s hooves sounded crisp as it carried Han Qiwu forward a few steps.

After adapting for a while, Han Qiwu was pleasantly surprised to find that he and Little Horse had already reached an impressive level of mutual understanding.

If he said go east, it wouldn’t go west.

If he said herd ducks, it wouldn’t scare chickens.

"Let’s head out for a stroll," said Han Qiwu. The moment his words fell, Little Horse accelerated sharply, leaping over the Hospital River with ease.

"Whew!"

Han Qiwu hurriedly tightened his grip on the reins.

This was amazing.

"Little Electric, close the door on your way out. Don’t tell me you can’t—I saw you do it last time," Han Qiwu called over his shoulder as he grabbed the reins and led Little Horse out the door.

Once they emerged into the wide-open space beyond, Little Horse’s eyes sparkled, and it couldn’t resist quickening its pace a few steps.

Seeing this, Han Qiwu smiled faintly and rode toward the direction of the museum.

"Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop."