Chapter 30: Ma Chao Visits the Sick in Zhuo County

  Before long, Zhang Sheng invited Zhang Fei over.

  As soon as he entered the door, Zhang Fei said to Ma Chao and others: "It's really slow for both brothers, and the etiquette is not complete. Please hurry up and take your seats!"

  "No harm done, no harm done, Brother Zhang is indeed a filial person." Ma Chao said sincerely, and he naturally wouldn't pick on this.

  The three of them took their seats as host and guest, and the dishes were brought in and arranged on the table.

  "Two brothers needn't be polite, please!" Zhang Fei said to Ma Chao and his men.

  "Please!" Ma Chao replied, but Cui An didn't say a word because he had already started fighting with the food on the table, and in fact, he was so hungry that he couldn't bear it.

  Ma Chao looked at Zhang Fei and found that he hadn't moved either, his brow furrowed in thought, lost in his own thoughts.

  "Is Uncle's body all right?" Ma Chao asked.

  Zhang Fei's eyebrows furrowed even deeper upon hearing this, but he quickly recovered and replied: "Alas, I won't hide it from you, brother... my dad's body... alas!" Zhang Fei didn't continue speaking.

  Ma Chao saw this scene and knew that talking about anything with Zhang Fei tonight would be useless, as Third Master's heart was entirely focused on his old man.

  So much so that Ma Chao said: "I have dabbled in some medical skills, I wonder if..."

  "What? You know medicine?" Before Ma Chao could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zhang Fei, whose sudden loud voice startled him.

  "Yes, I have a slight understanding of this way." However, Ma Chao thought to himself that near Third Master, he still had to be on guard against sonic attacks.

  Ma Chao finished speaking, and then he found that Zhang Fei's gaze at him had changed. What kind of gaze was it? It was like the gaze of a lustful man who saw a beautiful woman naked, almost drooling.

  Zhang Fei slapped his thigh heavily, "Great! Brother, you must take a good look at my father's illness!"

  He said that he wanted to go and pull Ma Chao over, but as soon as he moved a little, he retreated again. Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "Brother, you eat well, after eating, we will go together, it's not late."

  Ma Chao nodded secretly in his heart. Although Zhang Fei was extremely anxious, he didn't lose his manners and made sure the guests weren't hungry before they went to work.

  Then he also started struggling with food like Cui An. Before long, Ma Chao and Cui An had finished eating, but Zhang Fei was worried and didn't have an appetite for food. He was more thinking about taking Ma Chao to see his father's illness as soon as possible, and whether it would be useful or not, he was now ill and trying every possible treatment, the many doctors in Zhuo County had opened up so many prescriptions but to no great avail, now that he had met Ma Chao, who said he understood medicine, Zhang Fei indeed held out great hope for this.

  I don't know why, but from the moment he saw Ma Chao for the first time until now, Zhang Fei has had a blind trust in Ma Chao. Although this young face looks like his own age, the other party is not the kind of person who talks big, nor will he do things that are not sure, all of which are felt by Zhang Fei. So when Ma Chao said he knew medicine, he didn't say a word and wanted to take Ma Chao over.

  It can be said that Ma Chao's body has entrusted Zhang Fei with most of his hopes, and perhaps his own father's illness will rely on this little white face.

  The meal is over, it's time to get down to business. Ma Chao asked Cui An to go back to the house first, anyway he couldn't help much, let him go back and rest early, Cui An was naturally very happy about this.

  After Cui An left, Zhang Fei led Ma Chao to his father's house. As soon as they entered the door, Ma Chao smelled a pungent medicinal smell. It seems that Zhang Gong will drink a lot of medicine today. Hearing a coughing sound coming from inside the room, this voice made Ma Chao feel like he was going to cough up his lungs, it seemed really serious, Ma Chao thought.

  Zhang Fei led Ma Chao to Zhang Xiong's bedside and said, "Dad, this is the person I told you about who came to visit you."

  Ma Chao hastily paid his respects, "Fu Feng Ma Chao Ma Mengqi has arrived, I have seen uncle."

  Zhang Fei had already helped Zhang Xiong up, and Zhang Xiong looked at Ma Chao. Although he didn't know him or hadn't heard of him before, as a former wandering knight who liked to make friends, he still used his hand to support him slightly, "No need, cough, cough, more, cough, cough, courtesy."

  Ma Chao took a look and hastily advised: "Uncle, your current situation requires you to speak as little as possible."

  Zhang Fei heard this and chimed in: "Dad, just listen to him, he's knowledgeable about medicine, what he says is definitely right!"

  "Yes, I have some knowledge of medicine, so please, Uncle, stretch out your hand and let me take your pulse."

  Zhang Xiong stretched out his left hand, but he didn't blindly trust Ma Chao like Zhang Fei did. Thinking of his own illness, even the most famous doctor in Zhuo County couldn't cure it, so could this young man in front of him?

  Although he had long been indifferent to life and death, people living always have some concerns, what he still can't put his mind at ease is that kid Zhang Fei.

  This kid has a worse temper than me, hasn't given me a moment's peace since birth, always getting into trouble every other day, and I have to be the one to bail him out. Nowadays he's slightly better, maybe it's also because I've been ill, but now I feel my time is limited, and the only thing I can't let go of is this kid.

  At the age of ten, it's not considered too small, but saying it's big isn't quite right either. After he's gone, no one will be able to control this kid anymore. If he makes some decent friends in the future, that's fine, but if he gets mixed up with some bad company, it's really worrisome. Because of these concerns, even though Zhang Xiong didn't believe in Ma Chao's abilities, he still let Ma Chao take a look at his condition without hesitation. Having hope is always better than having no hope, after all.

  As for Ma Chao, traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes observation, listening, questioning and pulse-taking. Judging from Zhang Fei's complexion, he is clearly already seriously ill, and his body is also extremely thin, all of which are affected by the disease.

  He coughed severely, with blood in his sputum. Ma Chao asked him a series of questions about when he first discovered the symptoms and so on. As for feeling his pulse, how would he know that? He just followed what was written in the book to make a comparison, but surprisingly, it really worked.

  After inquiring, listening, asking and palpating, Ma Chao had basically confirmed that Zhang Xiong's illness was pulmonary tuberculosis. This was almost identical to what was written in the book, and this disease was basically incurable at this time. The prescription in the Nan Hua book could only temporarily alleviate it.

  Ma Chao could only tell the truth: "I can't cure Uncle's illness, but I can alleviate the symptoms a bit."

  When he heard the first half of the sentence, Zhang Fei's heart skipped a beat and he felt extremely disappointed, but after hearing the second half, he perked up again, thinking to himself "You scared me!"

  "Then hurry up and write the prescription!" Zhang Fei shouted to Ma Chao, he appeared extremely agitated.

  "Fei'er, cough, don't be rude! Cough, cough, cough." Zhang Fei heard Zhang Fei shouting at Ma Chao, he said a sentence to Zhang Fei, thinking that you little devil doesn't even let me have a peaceful day in front of me.

  Zhang Fei calmed down upon hearing this, and Ma Chao didn't mind these things. He immediately opened a prescription, which was the most effective prescription for treating consumption recorded in the book.

  "Uncle, from now on you mustn't overwork and need to take good care of yourself. Also, don't get angry, or else..."

  "I understand, but life and death are predetermined. I think it's already a great blessing that Zhang Xiong can live a few more years. As for the future..." Zhang Xiong smiled and glanced at Zhang Fei. For some reason, he didn't cough when he said this sentence.

  Ma Chao had a look around, Fang Zuo opened it up, and Zhang Sheng went to take the medicine according to the prescription.

  Zhang Fei then led Ma Chao to bid farewell to Zhang Xiong. After leaving the house, Zhang Fei thanked Ma Chao a thousand times.

  "I was too excited just now, don't mind me, brother."

  "No matter, I can understand Brother Zhang's feelings." Ma Chao wouldn't mind these things.

  "But doesn't General Zhang know his elder brother's greatest wish?" Ma Chao asked Zhang Fei.

  Zhang Fei listened and said, "What wish? Does Father still have a wish?" He didn't know, so he shook his head at Ma Chao.

  "Uncle's wish is simple, he just can't put his heart at ease about you." Ma Chao said to Zhang Fei, he had seen through it and thought about it before deciding it was better to tell Zhang Fei.

  Zhang Fei heard this, thought for a moment, and suddenly clapped his hands, "Brother, you said that, I seem to understand. Yes, Dad is worried about me, I always go to cause trouble for him!"

  Ma Chao smiled and said, "Uncle's illness cannot be burdened with too much, so Brother Zhang understands, right?"

  Zhang Fei understood after hearing this. He bowed deeply to Ma Chao and said, "Thanks a lot for brother's reminder, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do!"

  Ma Chao didn't say a word, he returned to his own room, took out the medical book, and kissed it twice. Fortunately, there was a precious book, otherwise, things would have been really difficult for him. He read a few more pages of the medical book, then went to see Duke Zhou.

  He fell asleep on this side, but Zhang Fei couldn't sleep. He thought that Ma Chao's little white face really had some skills, especially the last few sentences he said to himself. It was just unknown whether the prescription he opened would work or not. If it really worked, then Ma Chao would be his great benefactor, and in the future, he should get closer to him, and it would be best for everyone to make friends.

  Old Master also said that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring, and we must repay him well. If the prescription is useless, then give him two taels of silver, and then drive him and that foolish big fellow out of the Zhang Manor to settle the matter.

  Ma Chao did not know that he had already been arranged by Zhang Fei for the next move, and he did not know what kind of wonderful expression he would have if he knew San Ye's idea.

  On the second day early in the morning, Ma Chao was practicing with his sword in the courtyard. Their horses had been wrapped up and taken to the Zhang residence since yesterday.

  And he still maintained his good habit of practicing martial arts early in the morning, regardless of wind or snow. Of course, Cui An was the same.

  Kung fu will always be unfamiliar if you don't practice it. A true strongman must practice every day, and some even keep their weapons with them at all times.

  Ma Chao felt that it was not interesting to practice alone, so he invited Cui An again. The two of them practiced together and exchanged blows. Cui An used a long-handled weapon and wasn't very good at close combat, but after all, one inch longer is one inch stronger, so he still had some advantages. Ma Chao, on the other hand, was using his knife, and his knife skills were top-notch in Nanhua, so the two of them exchanged blows and ended up evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.

  Just as the two were enjoying their intense battle, a round of applause erupted from the courtyard, "Good, good! The two brothers are truly skilled!"