Chapter 2: Nanhua's Theory on Astrology

  Surprise begets surprise, but Ma Chao also understood that since such a thing had already happened, there was nothing he could do to change it. He could only comfort himself: having come, then just accept it.

  Unfortunately, I can no longer see my parents and friends from past lives. All I can do is silently wish them peace and happiness in another time and space.

  Since the heavens have allowed me to cross over into the Three Kingdoms and be reborn as Ma Chao, I can only do my best to play my own role. Heroes emerge in chaotic times; although I may not become a hero myself, having a goal is always good.

  Can't help but say that Ma Chao's adaptability is still relatively strong. Indeed, in his previous life, he was like this, and changes in the environment had little impact on him.

  Because he always thought that what has happened is irreversible, and for things that cannot be changed, no matter how much you complain, it's useless. You can only accept and face it, then do what you should do.

  Although Ma Chao accepted it and could go to face it well, he was not a person of this era after all. Maybe he still needs time to slowly integrate into this era and become the Ma Chao of this era.

  Ma Chao thought for a while and didn't think about it anymore. Suddenly, he found an old man staring at him, with eyes that seemed to see right through him.

  Who is he? Why does he look at himself like that? Ma Chao was puzzled in his heart. Oh, I remember, the old man just said he seemed to be called Nan Hua.

  Wait, Nanhua, Nanhua, why does it sound so familiar? I must have heard or seen it somewhere before, but I really can't remember. However, Ma Chao is certain that the name Nanhua is definitely a character from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but what he sells or does, no, not what he sells, but what he does, he has really forgotten.

  It's not his fault, after all, not everyone who has read the Three Kingdoms can recall who Nanhua is at once, and Ma Chao just happens to be one of those people who couldn't think of it for a moment.

  Couldn't think of it, so I won't waste my brain cells anymore. At this time, Liu said, "Ma Chao, Chao Er, Shou Cheng, this name is good, I like it. Chao Er, from now on, I'll call you Chao Er." While speaking, she stroked Ma Chao's face with her hand, "Chao Er, be good, give your mother a smile."

  Liu smiled and teased Ma Chao, who was now covered in black lines. He thought to himself that he had been twenty-four years old in his previous life, but now he was going to be the son of a seventeen or eighteen year old woman. Looking at his cheap mother in this life, he really couldn't help but laugh and cry.

  "Shoucheng, look! Chao'er is smiling at me, haha!" Please, that's a laughable cry, Ma Chao thought to himself in disagreement.

  Suddenly, he noticed that Liu's eyes were filled with affection and love, which was not unfamiliar to him. This was the kind of gaze parents had for their children, full of care and fondness. His mother in his past life used to look at him like this all the time.

  At this moment, he remembered a few sentences passed down from his previous life. The first sentence was: No matter how young a woman is, she has her maternal side. The second sentence was: In the world, no matter what language, there is a word that is pronounced roughly the same, and that word is "mom". And also, motherly love is great, pitiful are the parents' hearts!

  At this moment, Ma Chao's heart was moved. He felt that since the heavens had let him cross over to the Eastern Han and become Ma Chao, Liu Bei's son, then from now on, he would be Liu Bei's child, and Liu Bei would be his mother. Perhaps Ma Chao hadn't fully assimilated into this era, but in his heart, he had already accepted Liu Bei as his mother.

  Ma Chao laughed, this time it wasn't a laugh of desperation, but a genuine laugh from the heart.

  "Yes, indeed, Super is really smiling!" Ma Teng looked at Ma Chao and smiled.

  Ma Teng was staring at Ma Chao, and while he himself was smiling foolishly, Lady Liu gave him a stern look, implying that he had brought this old man from somewhere, and was staring at their child, wondering if he wanted to steal Ma Chao away, as there were rumors of many children being stolen recently.

  Ma Teng understood the implication and made a fist at Nan Hua, "I don't know why Mr. Nan has come to my Ma family?" He heard the old man say he was called Nan Hua, so he assumed his surname was Nan.

  Nan Hua heard Ma Teng and him talking, so he came back to his senses from staring at Ma Chao. He first looked at Liu's family, then looked at Ma Teng again.

  Ma Teng naturally understood what he meant, "Please, Old Nan, lend me a step to speak, please." As he spoke, he led Nan Hua towards his study.

  The two of them entered the study, one after the other, and Ma Teng closed the door. Before he could even open his mouth, Nan Hua had already found a seat and sat down as soon as she came in. Ma Teng thought this old man was interesting, acting like he was at home in someone else's house, really not polite at all. No choice, Ma Teng was under the other's roof, couldn't help but lower his head, who let this old man be so formidable?

  People with abilities can go wherever they want, and even if they make some unreasonable moves, sensible people won't dare say anything. Of course, sometimes someone might say something, generally there are only two kinds: the first kind is those who really don't know about the other person's abilities and don't understand the actual situation; the second kind is basically just brainless.

  Ma Teng had no choice but to sit down opposite Nan Hua, "Nan Lao, this is my study. Without my permission, ordinary people would never come here. Moreover, within a radius of thirty steps around here, there are absolutely no people."

  "Hmm." Nan Hua didn't even glance at Ma Teng, as if he was meditating with his eyes closed.

  "This, may I ask..."

  "Alright, I know what you're going to say." Nan Hua opened his eyes and said to Ma Teng. "You are the father of the person involved, there's nothing that can't be said, so I'll get straight to the point."

  It turned out that many years ago, Nan Hua observed the stars at night and found that the purple emperor star was dim and lightless, while in the north, southwest and southeast, new emperor stars were faintly formed. At that time, Nan Hua divined a hexagram, which showed that the Han Dynasty's luck had only a few decades left, and in the next hundred years, it would be a situation of three kingdoms dividing the world.

  In the following years, the star chart didn't change much. Until last year, the star chart changed greatly, and the Ziwei Emperor Star was still dim and lightless. After divination, it showed that the Great Han's fortune was indeed approaching, and there were not many years left. But the original pattern of three divisions of heaven surprisingly also changed, becoming a unified situation in several decades.

  The three growing Emperor Stars that originally existed in the north, southwest and southeast have become dim and are now only brighter than ordinary General Stars. In the northwest, a dazzling Purple Emperor Star has risen, which is still growing but is brighter than all other stars.

  Ziwei Emperor Star represents the destiny of heaven, after divination, Nan Hua confirmed that this star is the emperor star that unifies the world, and it's about to be born. Nan Hua was moved by the unpredictability of heaven's will, while also thinking of finding the unborn Ziwei Emperor Star.

  Nan Hua was a cultivator who wholeheartedly pursued the Supreme Heavenly Dao, but the Heavenly Dao was elusive, and cultivation was against the heavens. How could it be so easy to enter the Heavenly Dao? He had cultivated for over 300 years, and was well-versed in various skills such as martial arts, astrology, medicine, and Taoist techniques, yet he couldn't enter the Heavenly Dao no matter what.

  Later, he came to understand that cultivation is against the heavens, and while going against the heavens, one must also do many more things in accordance with heaven's will. Only then can they complement each other. Therefore, over the past century or so, he has done countless things in accordance with heaven's will.

  Now, he feels that he has already set foot in the Tian Dao Gate, and with just one more opportunity, he can enter the supreme Tian Dao. Previously, he didn't know what that opportunity was, but last year, he finally understood - it's the new Zi Wei Emperor Star. As long as he can find him and provide assistance, he will be able to successfully enter the Tian Dao. Having figured this out, he began his journey to search for the Emperor Star.

  After several months of searching, he finally found the newly born Ma Chao in Fufeng Maoling. The heavenly omens that occurred at the time of Ma Chao's birth further confirmed to Nanhua that Ma Chao was indeed the Emperor Star, so he called out Ma Teng and explained everything to him.

  Ma Teng was stunned after Nan Hua finished telling the story, his brain short-circuited, his eyes widened to their maximum, and his mouth opened into an O shape as he stared blankly at Nan Hua.

  It took at least thirty seconds for Ma Teng to slowly recover from the shock, his first reaction was disbelief and impossibility. To say that his reaction was normal, if someone came to your home and said that your son would be the future emperor, could you believe it?

  Ma Teng's first reaction was disbelief, but he thought again and wondered if what the old man from Nan Hua had said might actually be true. He didn't understand anything about the Tao of Heaven, but as the saying goes, "If you haven't eaten pork, have you even seen a pig run?"

  He didn't understand these things, but he had also heard a bit, at least knowing that there were indeed people who pursued the elusive Tao with all their heart, it's just that few people had seen such people. And Old Nan Hua didn't need to deceive himself either, deceiving others was only for personal gain, but his family didn't have any gains that could be envied by others. As for other things, he didn't know, just looking at the skills of the Nan Hua family, the old man could do whatever he wanted and still had everything, what's the point of dragging in other things?

  And that day's strange phenomenon, was indeed seen with his own eyes, couldn't be wrong, only Nan Hua's explanation made the most sense, his own son would become the future emperor, haha, thinking of this, Ma Teng revealed his signature silly smile again.

  If one's own son is the Emperor, then isn't oneself just the Retired Emperor? Alright, alright, being the Retired Emperor is great. When one's own son becomes the Emperor, perhaps one won't be able to see it for oneself, but at least one will have the face to meet one's father and ancestors of past generations.

  If Ma Chao knew his father's thoughts, he would probably think that Ma Teng is still quite lovely. After all, in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Teng seems to have no ambition and only wants to help the Han Dynasty. But now it seems that he also has no ambition, but doesn't care about the Han Dynasty either.

  Actually, Ma Teng didn't have any great ambitions. His greatest goal was to restore his family's honor. Now he is just a commoner, and two years ago, he could barely afford food. His father was also an official who was dismissed by the imperial court, so it's natural that he doesn't have good feelings towards the imperial court. Besides, if you knew your son could become emperor, would you still be willing to risk your life for the current emperor? I think few people would, this is just reality.

  Ma Teng was grinning foolishly, while Nan Hua pulled out two books from his bosom. "I have four things that I am proud of in my life: one is martial arts, the second is astrology and divination, the third is medicine, and the fourth is Taoist magic. I wrote three books about what I've learned, known, felt and realized throughout my life. One of them is called 'Taiping Essentials', mainly focusing on Taoist magic, with some mentions of astrology and medicine. However, that book has already been passed to someone else."

  After a pause, Nan Hua continued: "The second and third books are both nameless. The second book records my martial arts, horseback riding with spears, and my self-created Qian Kun Wu Ji spear technique. On foot, I use knives, also my own creation, the Tian Gang Ba Gua knife technique. And the third book is a compilation of astrology and divination, as well as medical techniques, which are also my proud works. Today, I will pass these two books on to your son Ma Chao, hoping they will be helpful to his future conquests."

  Ma Teng heard this and hastily thanked him. Without saying anything else, just looking at the old man's martial arts skills from Nanhua, they are absolutely unparalleled and rarely have an opponent in the world.

  After receiving the book from Nan Hua, Ma Teng wanted to say something, just as he was about to speak, Nan Hua said: "Now I am willing to be gone, and I feel that I will enter the heavenly way. I want to find a place with beautiful scenery to complete my lifelong pursuit. Farewell!" After finishing speaking, Nan Hua disappeared without a trace.

  Ma Teng looked at the open door and couldn't help but sigh, "A true recluse!" He could only sigh to himself, if Ma Chao were here, he would definitely know who Nan Hua was.

  After sighing, Ma Teng carefully put away the book given by Nan Hua and decided to pass it on to Ma Chao when the time was ripe.

  After putting the book away, Ma Teng went to the delivery room again. Entering the house, he found that Liu and Ma Chao were both asleep. Now when he looked at Ma Chao, it was different from before. Before, he was a father who had just had a son, looking at his son with joy and loving eyes. But now, his son would be the future emperor, and when he looked at his son's eyes, besides liking him, there was also deep expectation and pride.

  It's hard to imagine that a man like Ma Teng could have such complex eyes.

  "Huh, Shoucheng, you're here." Liu said with wide eyes, speaking to Ma Teng.

  Just now, Liu did a nightmare, dreamed that Ma Chao was robbed by the old man of Nan Hua. So she was woken up by the nightmare and saw Ma Teng, and Ma Chao was fine too, her heart finally put down.

  "Shou Cheng, what's wrong with you?" Liu asked, puzzled.

  "I'm fine, I'm fine. Oh, right, Nan Lao has already left!" Ma Teng may always have a foolish smile on his face, but he's not an idiot and knows that some things can only be temporarily kept in his belly and cannot be shared with anyone else, not even his own family members.

  "He's finally gone, that's great. Don't bring just anyone home in the future, you didn't see the way he looked at Chao'er, just thinking about it is terrifying." Liu scolded Ma Teng, saying this while covering her chest with her hand and making a frightened expression.

  "Yes, madam, everything is up to you." Ma Teng thought in his heart that he would probably never see her again after this, as the Nanhuas were about to ascend to heaven.

  "That's good. Chao'er, don't be afraid, Mother and Father will protect you." After saying that, Liu's wife also kissed the forehead of Ma Chao.

  Ma Chao didn't sleep at all, he just closed his eyes to rest for a while. Suddenly, a fragrance wafted over and he was attacked, this kid immediately sank into happiness.

  Liu is seventeen years old this year, and if judged by Ma Chao's past aesthetic standards, she would absolutely be a top beauty. Although not stunningly beautiful, she has a unique charm.

  Liu's height is about 175cm, which was estimated by Ma Chao. He also has a good figure and, more importantly, his voice is very pleasant to listen to, just like the oriole bird.

  Ma Chao thought that the heavens were not treating him badly, his mother was already so beautiful, then the beauties in the Three Kingdoms must be even more stunning. Although Ma Chao didn't have strong desires for possession now, everyone has a love for beauty, looking at beauties is always good, and it's said that looking at beauties can also prolong one's life, so he was also looking forward to his future life. Thinking about this, Ma Chao couldn't help but smile foolishly too.

  Liu looked at Ma Teng and said, "Shoucheng, look how happy Chao'er is!" After watching for a while, "Chao'er's smile looks like yours, could this silly smile be inherited from your Ma family?"

  Liu said with a smile covering her mouth, while beside her was Ma Teng with a black face.