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  For now, I can only go to Chang'an. Chang'an, what a nice name, the capital, that place is good in every way except that it's never been peaceful. Going west to Chang'an, there are several hundred miles of road, riding a donkey will take two days, which means riding a small horse will take three days.

  Xiao Bian is indeed a horse that understands human intentions. As the saying goes, "understanding human nature" is no more than this - when people are tired, it gets tired; when people sleep, it sleeps. I and Xi Le originally planned to take a nap on the horseback, but woke up to find Xiao Bian sleeping more soundly than anyone else. Xi Le clamped her legs together, and Xiao Bian suddenly woke up with a start, let out a snort, and slowly moved forward.

  Xile asked me: Why does this horse sleep standing up?

  I said: It's smart, if it lies down and sleeps, won't we both be completely thrown off?

  Xile said: What a good horse.

  I said: This trip to Chang'an is not only fraught with danger and little auspiciousness, but it's truly meaningless.

  Xǐlè shuō: nǐ zěn zhī shì háo wú yìyì?

  Translation:

  Xi Le said: How do you know it's meaningless?

  I said: Because I really don't know what to do.

  Xile said: I think it's okay. How can you know if something has meaning or not when you don't know about it?

  I said: It's really inexplicable.

  Xile said: Then why did you say it's more bad luck than good?

  I said: I don't know. My master and senior fellow apprentices all say that this trip is likely to be more unlucky than lucky, but I don't know why.

  He said: It's possible that if I go out and die accidentally, everyone will think it's what should have happened. But if I don't die, it would be like a big deal.

  I said: Xi Le, you're really clever.

  Xile said: You're also clever, and you can see things so specifically, so carefully, I really admire you.

  I said: Nothing, just observing minutely.

  Xile said: But it seems like you haven't noticed that we've been stuck in this place for half a day?

  I looked down and saw that Xiao Bian had fallen asleep again.

  I asked Xile: When did this happen?

  Xile said: I suspect it was when I said "what a good horse" that it fell asleep again.

  I said: When can we arrive in Chang'an?

  Xile said: Can only wake it up first. After finishing, the two feet clamped again, and Xiao Bian hummed again, but still didn't move. Xile said: It's over, this horse won't wake up for a while. After finishing, he jumped off the horse, pulled his tail, and the horse still didn't make any movement.

  I said: No way, this horse can't become a burden for us all the way. You kick it twice.

  Xile said: Such trivial matters, it's better for you to handle them.

  So I also dismounted, and kicked it with force. Xiao Bian let out a low hum, but still didn't react. Ji Le and I looked at each other in dismay. I said: Is the only way to wake it up by digging out its eyeballs? Can we dig out some extra stuff to roast and eat too?

  Xile said: You really don't have any feelings for Xiao Bian, anyway, I'm very tired today, why not just take a break here and talk about it again when the sky brightens up?