Chapter 28: Saved on the Way

  Ma Chao and Cui An stayed for over a dozen days under Zhang He's warm hospitality, until the 24th of April when they bid farewell to Zhang He and left.

  Zhang He personally saw off Ma Chao and his men, bidding each other farewell. Ma Chao secretly thought that he hoped they would not be enemies the next time they met. Afterwards, he mounted his horse with Cui An and left Hejian County.

  After leaving Anping, Ma Chao wanted to visit Tian Feng and Ju Shou. As for Tian Feng, he only knew that he was from Julu, but didn't know anything else about him. As for Ju Shou, he only knew his name.

  Ma Chao and the others arrived at Julu, fortunately Tian Feng was quite famous in the area, so they soon found out where Tian Feng's house was. However, when they went to visit him, they were told that Tian Feng had gone out to visit friends and would not return for some time. Ma Chao was disappointed but could only accept his fate.

  The two men stayed in Julu for one night and set out on the road to Youzhou the next day.

  On this day, Ma Chao and his companion were on their way to Youzhou when they suddenly saw a movement in the grass by the side of the road. It seemed as if something was there, so they reined in their horses.

  Chui An dismounted his horse and went to take a look, only to see him enter the bushes and shout: "Your Excellency, there's someone here!"

  "Alive?" Ma Chao asked.

  "Still got some breath!"

  "Then hurry up and save him!" Ma Chao said, also dismounting his horse and walking into the thicket.

  All that could be seen was a man lying in the grass, his face pale and his lips closed, apparently ill. Ma Chao had Cui An take down the water bag and gave the man some water to drink, but basically not much went in, he saw that the man only had weak breathing left, if they didn't save him soon it would be too late.

  "Foda, let's hurry and take him back, try to get into town before dark to find a doctor to treat his illness!"

  "Go!" Cui An hastily put the person on the horse and then headed towards the nearest city with Ma Chao.

  Ma Chao is not the kind of person who flaunts his good deeds, but when it comes to managing the world's affairs, especially after learning from Yan Zhong for so many years, he has been influenced by Yan's conduct and moral character. So when some things happen, if they need to be managed, then they must be managed, and it's just a matter of lifting one's hand.

  The two of them quickly arrived at Anping City and found the best medical clinic in the city. After examining the patient's condition, the doctor said, "Your friend has not had a drop of water for several days, and on top of that, he caught a chill along the way. Fortunately, you brought him here in time, otherwise, even if Bian Que were to be reborn, it would be impossible to save him!" The doctor shook his head as he spoke.

  "I'll give you a prescription, take the medicine according to it every day. Take one dose in the morning and evening each day, and you will definitely recover within ten days!" After finishing speaking, the doctor went to grab the medicine. Ma Chao paid for the medicine and took it after leaving the clinic with Cui An, and then found a place to stay.

  At night, after feeding the patient some porridge and drinking another dose of medicine, he woke up early in the morning. After waking up, Ma Chao and Cui An both arrived at his bedside.

  "Where am I? What happened to me?" As he said this, the man came to, but found himself completely powerless.

  Ma Chao saw the situation and quickly pressed him down, then told him how he was discovered and brought to this situation. The man listened and still wanted to come down and kowtow to Ma Chao, but was again pressed down by Ma Chao.

  "If you want to get better quickly, then don't move anymore!" The other party stopped moving after hearing this.

  "My name is Ma Chao, he is Cui An, and you are?"

  "In response to Duke Huan's words, I am a humble man surnamed Tang and named Zhou. As for where I come from, even I myself do not know..."

  Originally, Tang Zhou's parents had passed away when he was young, and he was raised by his uncle. He had studied for a few years, but he didn't like to study. Later on, his uncle also passed away, and since his uncle had no children or wife, the remaining inheritance naturally all went to him.

  However, this kid is lazy and idle, not doing his job properly. In less than two years, the little family property left by his uncle was squandered by him. No matter how much money he had, it couldn't withstand his extravagance, let alone the fact that his uncle didn't leave a lot of money behind.

  The money was gone, so Tang Zhou simply sold the house and left his uncle's place to start a new life. He spent his days in hunger and fullness, until he heard that Master Da Xianliang was recruiting disciples on a large scale. Tang Zhou thought this was a great opportunity, relying on his own skills, as long as he got along well with Master Da Xianliang, he would definitely have a future. So he set out for Guangzong City in Julu, but he had bad luck, went hungry for several days and also caught a cold, if it wasn't for Cui An discovering him, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  Ma Chao listened to Tang Zhou's words and suddenly realized. No wonder he felt that the name was a bit familiar earlier, now it seems that this Tang Zhou should be the informant Tang Zhou among the Yellow Turbans. He thought of this, his eyes rolled over, and he had an idea.

  "Don't keep calling me 'you' in that condescending tone! My name is Meng Qi, so just call me Meng Qi from now on!"

  "Yes sir, Lord Meng Qi'en!"

  Ma Chao heard this and didn't mind anymore.

  "How old will you be this year?"

  "The little man is twenty-five years old this year."

  "What about Tang Zhou, do you admire Da Xianliang Shi?"

  "That's for sure, the Great Sage is a noble person who saves us poor people from suffering!" Tang Zhou said some more about the Yellow Turbans' deeds, then Ma Chao wouldn't let him speak anymore.

  His intention was that you had just taken some medicine and hadn't fully recovered, so it's not suitable to talk more. It's better to rest well. After finishing speaking, Ma Chao and Cui An left Tang Zhou's room.

  Ma Chao had his own plans, to be honest he didn't like traitors. But if Tang Zhou was used well, he might have great use in the future, of course Ma Chao wouldn't completely trust such a person, overall it's just making good use of Tang Zhou.

  Five days later, Tang Zhou had recovered from his illness after taking medicine for these days and was able to get out of bed and walk around.

  The first thing he did after getting off the couch was to thank Ma Chao and Cui An in person. Tang Zhou knelt down in front of Ma Chao and Cui An, "Thank you two benefactors for saving my life, Tang Zhou has no way to repay, willing to be a cow or horse in the next life to repay the kindness of rebirth!" After finishing, he knocked his head heavily.

  Ma Chao hastily intercepted, "Alright, no need to be like that. Since we've met, we can't just ignore you either. Helping you is just a matter of lifting a hand, I don't expect anything from you, so stop mentioning repaying kindness all the time."

  "Yes! I, a humble man, obey your orders!" Tang Zhou said with utmost sincerity.

  Ma Chao couldn't help but sigh, people's hearts are hard to measure. Look at Tang Zhou now, he's talking about repaying kindness again, and he's as sincere as can be. But do you know if he's being true or false? However, regardless of whether it's true or not, Tang Zhou is a person who forgets righteousness for profit and betrays others for his own benefit, that's all true. So if one day Tang Zhou betrays himself for the sake of profit, Ma Chao thinks it's very possible.

  Another five days passed, and the ten-day medicine was finished. Tang Zhou had fully recovered. He treated Ma Chao with great respect, calling him "Benefactor" on his left and right. Ma Chao's ears were about to grow calluses from hearing it, but he couldn't do anything about it.

  On May 11th, the three of them set out from Anping City to Julu Guangzong City. Ma Chao thought it was amusing that they had just left Julu last month and were now going back this month, but they had essentially gone in a circle.

  Ma Chao didn't want to go to Guangzong at first, but then he thought that since he wasn't in a hurry, accompanying Tang Zhou for a while wouldn't be bad. Besides, as the saying goes, "rescue people to the end, send Buddha to the west". Since they had already rescued someone, sending them a bit further would be like getting two things done at once. So the three men and their horses set off from Anping City towards Guangzong City.

  After traveling for another two days, the three of them arrived at the foot of Guangzong City, which belonged to Julu County. As they approached the city gate on horseback, Ma Chao gazed out and saw many people with yellow scarves wrapped around their heads coming in and out. There were already so many Yellow Turbans now; it was no wonder that Zhang Jue had made Guangzong his base of operations. At this rate of development, who knew how many more there would be in the future?

  Ma Chao and Chui An parted ways under the city, Ma Chao didn't enter Guangzong City either. What's good about the old lair of the Yellow Turbans? If there's a chance in the future, I'll come again.

  Before parting ways, Ma Chao gave Tang Zhou some money, not a lot, but not too little either. This moved Tang Zhou to tears, regardless of whether it was genuine or fake. The money Ma Chao sent out was indeed real silver and gold, hoping that what he did today would bring returns in the future. He considered the money he sent out as an investment. At least for now, he had established a connection with Tang Zhou. It's worth saying that this kid Tang Zhou was quite capable - before entering the city, he gave Ma Chao the only valuable item on him, a jade pendant.

  He said this jade pendant was his uncle's most beloved thing, and after he got it, he couldn't bear to sell it either.

  Ma Chao took a look and felt it was interesting, this jade pendant is just ordinary goods. It's good if it can be exchanged for two days of food, but this kid almost starved to death without selling it, I don't know why. Anyway, Ma Chao is a come-and-go person, it's just right that he got this piece of jade pendant, which will also make things easier for him in the future, so he didn't hesitate and took it.

  After bidding farewell to each other, Tang Zhou entered Guangzong City, while Ma Chao and his men galloped towards Youzhou. On the way to Youzhou earlier, they had been delayed for over a dozen days because of Tang Zhou's affairs. Although Ma Chao and his men were not in a hurry, he was still looking forward to going to Youzhou.

  Tian Feng and Ma Chao didn't visit again, let alone Ju Shou. Although Ma Chao also wanted to get along with these two first, to be honest, these two are not the kind of talent that Ma Chao must have, so he is not particularly particular about them.

  Ma Chao and Cui An rode horses ahead, along the way he also had some conversation with Cui An, but most of them were Ma Chao speaking, Cui An listening. Actually, it's mostly like this on the road, Ma Chao has long been used to it.

  After leaving Guangzong City, Ma Chao and Cui An met a small team of people on the main road, only five or six people. However, they were all riding horses, galloping towards Guangzong City with whips.

  Ma Chao and Cui An did not notice the appearance of the leader, but Ma Chao looked at the back of one of the people who had gone far away and felt that it seemed a bit familiar, but it was too far away to see clearly.

  He didn't pay much attention to it either. After all, there are many people in the world who look similar, whether it's their appearance or their figure, and having this feeling is normal.

  But Ma Chao still asked, "Fuda, didn't you think that one of the people who just passed by had a very familiar back view?"

  Choi Ahn looked back after hearing it, but the person was already gone.

  "I don't know, nothing's wrong!"

  "Alright, let's go."

  Ma Chao said with a bad temper, perhaps it was just a coincidence, he thought.