Adam Carter could tell from Grace Miller's tone that she held some authority within her clan. His heart stirred. “It seems you have some influence in your tribe?”

Grace Miller felt a chill in her heart, realizing she had said too much.

After all, it’s easy to paint a dragon or a tiger, but hard to paint their bones; you can know a person’s face but not their heart. If it were an ordinary thief, Grace Miller would never have revealed her identity. But relying on a woman’s intuition and a day’s interaction, she was convinced Adam Carter was no ordinary man.

Her clan was in grave danger, and she was desperate to return. That’s why she took a gamble, telling the truth in hopes of winning Adam Carter’s sympathy. But seeing the look of expectation on his face, she began to regret revealing the truth.

If Adam Carter thought she, Grace Miller, was a rare commodity and tried to drive a hard bargain, not only would she fail to return to her clan, she might even bring more trouble upon herself.

“Which tribe are you from?”

In fact, Adam Carter hadn’t thought as much as Grace Miller imagined. He just felt that the stronghold was still groping in the dark. Although Peter Carter and John Bennett claimed they were going to open up the horse supply route, their hesitant expressions made it clear they weren’t confident.

Now, having a native Turkic person and not making use of her would be truly foolish.

Seeing Grace Miller’s hesitant and suspicious gaze, and her lack of response, Adam Carter suddenly realized and smiled, “You should know, you are my spoils of war. If your people on the grasslands encountered this situation, you certainly wouldn’t let someone go for nothing, would you?”

Grace Miller bit her lip lightly, her face pale. “Then what does the young master intend?”

“We’re looking to trade horses recently,” Adam Carter stated his purpose directly. “If you can help us at the horse source, I might consider speaking to my father—maybe we can send you back.”

Grace Miller’s eyes lit up. “Of course I can.”

“But things can’t be rushed. Haste makes waste.” Adam Carter gave a wry smile. “If you want to return smoothly, first you have to put on an act with me.”

“What kind of act?” Grace Miller was a bit confused.

“It was too quiet yesterday.” Adam Carter looked at the beauty before him, thinking she was about to fly away, and regretted not having time to develop feelings.

But after all, he was a modern man, and knew the importance of mutual consent. Forcing someone into bed, coercing a good woman into prostitution—he couldn’t get past his own conscience.

“My father always feels you’re hard to control and is very wary of you. If you want to follow me to the grasslands to find the horse source and use the opportunity to return to your clan, you must first meet two conditions.”

“What two conditions?” Grace Miller blushed, her heart pounding.

“First, you have to prove you’re useful and can help. Second, I think you should understand.”

“Understand what?” Grace Miller blushed even more, vaguely guessing something.

Unexpectedly, Adam Carter reached out and pinched her thigh. Grace Miller, caught off guard, cried out.

Adam Carter hadn’t pinched her hard, but it was so sudden and direct that Grace Miller panicked, thinking he was about to violate her, and she jumped up.

“That’s more like it,” Adam Carter laughed. “Remember, a hen that can’t lay eggs and a rooster that can’t crow are both destined for the chopping block. If you want to go back soon, knowing how to make a fuss is a necessary skill.”

Grace Miller had never heard of such a thing, and couldn’t help feeling anxious and amused at the same time.

In the days that followed, Adam Carter led Frank Reed and Brian Cooper, along with a group of brothers, to search in all directions for good pastureland.

Actually, in this area, fertile grasslands and clear waters were everywhere, but finding a pasture that was easy to defend and hard to attack was no easy task.

However, Adam Carter did not give up or lower his standards easily.

He knew that while choosing a pasture might not be a lifelong matter, it was extremely important. In these chaotic times, he didn’t want to pour his heart and soul into building up a pasture only for someone else to reap the benefits.

Frank Reed and Brian Cooper whispered behind him, grinning mischievously.

Adam Carter had already ridden west for a whole day. This was already an area frequently visited by the Turks, with constant disputes, so it was deserted—even nomads were rarely seen.

His horse was no divine steed; in his eyes, it wasn’t even a fine horse. But after his training, it was already one of the better horses in the stronghold.

Brian Cooper and Frank Reed had both chosen stolen horses as their mounts. Their horses weren’t weaker than Adam Carter’s, but when Adam Carter let his horse run, the two of them struggled to keep up.

Adam Carter alternated between galloping and slowing down, conserving his horse’s strength. From morning till night, he had covered more than two hundred li to the west, but his brows were slightly furrowed—clearly, he had found nothing.

Section Ten: Rome Is Also a Kind of Horse

In the distance, the mountains stood tall and majestic, stretching endlessly, vast and magnificent. The sunset and rosy clouds at the horizon cast a faint red cloak over the dark green mountains.

Adam Carter gazed out and couldn’t help but marvel, suddenly feeling how vast the world was and how small humans were. The struggles between people seemed to have little meaning.

He was unfamiliar with the terrain here, so he finally reined in his horse and slowed down, looking expectantly at Brian Cooper and Frank Reed. “Have you two been here before?”

Seeing the looks the two gave him, Adam Carter knew he was asking the blind for directions. Unexpectedly, Frank Reed shouted, “I know where this is!”

“Where is it?” Adam Carter was quite surprised.

“This must be the Yudujin Mountain of Eastern Turks,” Frank Reed said proudly.