Chapter Thirty-One: Memories of Past Grievances, An Enemy Arrives for Revenge

  Ma Chao and Cui An had known someone was approaching the courtyard, but as they were in the heat of battle, they didn't pay much attention. However, when the newcomer spoke up, the two men could no longer fight and had to withdraw their moves.

  Ma Chao turned his head to look, and it was Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei had come to find them for breakfast. As a result, he heard the sound of fighting in Cui An's house, so he curiously entered the courtyard and saw Ma Chao and another person engaging in a fierce battle. Feeling excited, he couldn't help but cheer.

  He is also a good martial artist and wants to exchange a few blows with the two of them, but it's clearly not the right time yet.

  "Two brothers, dinner is ready, let's go together!"

  Ma Chao and the other two put away their weapons and went with Zhang Fei to have breakfast.

  After finishing breakfast, Zhang Fei stopped Ma Chao and his men.

  "Wait for a moment, both of you!" Zhang Fei hastily ran up to Ma Chao.

  "This, this..." Zhang Fei just said this and that, without saying another word.

  Ma Chao saw Zhang Fei like this and felt amused in his heart. Who would have thought that the famous Zhang San, a great general, had such an expression when he was young?

  "Brother Zhang has something to say, but it's nothing serious!"

  After Ma Chao said that, Zhang Fei was no longer as hesitant as before. Previously, he had some concerns, after all, Ma Chao and the others were guests, and they had even treated his father's illness. If he rashly asked someone to spar with him, it wouldn't be very good. But now that he heard Ma Chao's words, he thought again, what's wrong with this? It's normal for people who love martial arts to spar together, and there's no need to be overly polite.

  Then Zhang Fei told his idea to Ma Chao, and Ma Chao smiled after hearing it. "Brother Zhang's words are exactly what I think! Why not do it now?"

  "That's a good idea, let's go!" Zhang Fei was immediately excited and pulled Ma Chao along with him.

  The three men each brought their weapons and rode out of Zhuo County on horseback. Zhang Fei led them to a large open area outside the city, where the view was broad and the space was vast, making it an ideal place for a mounted duel.

  The first round was between Zhang Fei and Cui An. Cui An's weapon was still the painted halberd left to him by his teacher, while Zhang Fei's weapon was an ordinary long spear. In terms of weapons, Zhang Fei was at a disadvantage, but in battle, you can't let your enemy have a weapon of the same level as yours, so there's nothing you can do about being at a disadvantage with your weapon.

  However, Ma Chao looked at Zhang Fei's weapon and had his own idea. While Ma Chao was still thinking about the problem of the weapon, the two men on the other side had already clashed, both of whom were biased towards offense, so it was exciting to watch, and Ma Chao couldn't help but want to try it out too.

  Zhang Fei took the initiative and thrust his long spear at Cui An's mouth. Cui An saw the spear coming and shouted, "You've come just in time!" He then used the halberd in his hand to parry the spear, and the two men fought fiercely, evenly matched and inseparable.

  Ma Chao watched from the side with great relish, this kind of sparring wasn't often seen. He himself often sparred with Cui An, but they were too familiar, and Cui An couldn't really let loose, so most of the time Ma Chao found it uninteresting. But Zhang Fei was different, Cui An had just met him, so both sides didn't have any concerns, what they knew was sparring, those who didn't know really thought the two were fighting.

  The two men fought back and forth, exchanging over eighty rounds, with Zhang Fei ultimately emerging defeated. Of course, given the current gap between the two sides, Zhang Fei should have lost long ago, but Zhang San had been a ruthless fighter since his youth, using unorthodox tactics to prolong the battle.

  Sparring, of course, is just a matter of touching the point, but when San Ye felt he was about to lose, he went all out. Although Cui An's brain wasn't working well at times, he knew that if he continued to attack, he would get hurt, so he could only reluctantly switch to defense. Fortunately, San Ye also knew that his tactics during the sparring weren't very glorious, so he only used it once and didn't use it again, and the result was predictable.

  "I lost, this brother's martial arts are good!" Third Master admitted defeat graciously.

  Cui An also said a couple of words after hearing it, Ma Chao rode his horse and came to Zhang Fei's side.

  "You all stop being polite to each other, how's everyone's kung fu, we all know in our hearts. You take a rest first, and we'll spar again later!"

  Zhang Fei dismounted his horse to rest, and Ma Chao and Cui An also got off their horses. After dismounting, the three sat together, chatting freely about everything under the sun. Zhang Fei admired Ma Chao's character, while Ma Chao was impressed by Zhang Fei's insight. Especially, Ma Chao's conversation and behavior showed that he was a very learned person, definitely someone who had read books for many years. Moreover, his martial arts skills were not bad either, and Zhang Fei liked to make friends with people who were well-versed in both literature and martial arts.

  After chatting for a while, Zhang Fei had rested enough and mounted his horse to engage in a duel with Ma Chao. Ma Chao also mounted his horse and got ready. The two men each held their weapons and clashed at one place.

  This time, the two fought seventy-three rounds, Ma Chao was one step ahead, and Zhang Fei, although defeated again, did not lose heart. As his teacher had said before, "There are people above people, and there is heaven outside of heaven", today he encountered two, and in the future, he may encounter even more, truly, one cannot underestimate the heroes of the world. Third Master was not a particularly arrogant person, he could see his own shortcomings from today's sparring, and understood his teacher's words even better, and dared not to underestimate people in the world.

  Zhang Fei made a fist at Ma Chao, "I admire the two brothers' skills, and today I've had my fill. But for now, I haven't finished learning, so another day when I've completed my studies, I'll definitely come find you two to ask for guidance!"

  "I'll definitely accompany you!" Ma Chao replied.

  "Alright, it's settled then! I, Zhang, have made a deal with you two brothers!"

  "Brother Zhang's temperament is also very suitable for us, Brother Zhang this friend I Ma Meng has made a deal!" As soon as Ma Chao finished speaking, he saw a horse rushing over from afar, and a man quickly arrived on horseback.

  It was not someone else, but Zhang Fu's steward Zhang Sheng. He hastily said to Zhang Fei: "Young master, old master, old master..." Zhang Sheng came too quickly, so his words were a bit disjointed and breathless.

  Zhang Fei heard this and immediately became anxious, "Speak slowly, what's wrong with my father?" Although Zhang Fei told Zhang Sheng to speak slowly, the anxious tone was audible to everyone.

  Zhang Sheng immediately knew that Zhang Fei might have misunderstood, so he hastily explained: "Master, Master is asking Young Master to return home immediately, he has something to find Young Master!"

  After hearing this, Zhang Fei let out a sigh of relief. As long as his old man was fine, everything else didn't matter. There's nothing more important than his father's life, and other things wouldn't make Third Brother anxious either.

  Ma Chao also let out a sigh of relief. Earlier, Zhang Sheng hadn't finished speaking and he thought it was Zhang Xiong who had encountered trouble. Just as they had finished discussing the prescription on their end, news came that Zhang Xiong's condition had taken a turn for the worse. If that were the case, his friendship with Third Master would definitely be affected. Fortunately, fortunately, the worry in his heart finally dissipated.

  Zhang Fei listened to Zhang Sheng finish speaking, then he and Zhang Sheng returned. Ma Chao and the others naturally also went back together, after returning to the Zhang residence, Zhang Fei went to Zhang Xiong's room, while Ma Chao and the others each returned to their own rooms.

  But before long, Ma Chao was summoned by Zhang Fei, saying that Zhang Xiong wanted to see him. Upon hearing that Zhang Xiong wanted to see him, he did not dare to be slow and hurriedly followed Zhang Fei to meet Zhang Xiong.

  Hua and Zhang Fei entered the house one after another. As soon as Zhang Song saw Ma Chao, he hastily greeted him, "Young brother, you've arrived."

  Ma Chao made a bow and said, "I heard from Brother Zhang that Uncle was looking for me, so I came. How is Uncle's health?"

  "Thanks to Xiao Ge's skillful hands, I feel much better than before." Indeed, previously when Zhang Xiong hadn't taken the medicine from Ma Chao's prescription, he would cough a lot after saying just one sentence. Now he still coughs, but at least he doesn't cough as much when speaking, which is a good sign, indicating that Ma Chao's prescription is effective.

  "Uncle's body is a bit better, it's good, otherwise I wouldn't feel comfortable staying here anymore."

  "Little brother, what are you talking about? Once you come to my house, you're a guest of mine, Zhang Xiong's. Don't say such outsider things!"

  Zhang Xiong, although he had long since stopped being a wandering knight-errant, was still warm and hospitable. Even if Ma Chao hadn't given him medical treatment or the prescription hadn't taken effect, he still treated Ma Chao as an honored guest.

  Ma Chao could also hear Zhang Fei's sincerity, this man is a passionate and hospitable person, he thought.

  "I don't know why Uncle wants me to come."

  Zhang Xiong looked at Ma Chao, then at Zhang Fei. He changed the subject, "Alas, it's hard to say! In short, you still have your son, so set off early tomorrow and leave Zhuo County as far away as possible!"

  Ma Chao was completely bewildered, earlier they were warm and hospitable, how come now they're driving people away, what's the reason for this?

  Zhang Fei furrowed his brow upon hearing this, "Father, what exactly happened? Why must we leave?"

  "Nothing, my words are no longer effective? Or have you become too arrogant, who is the master, you or me? You don't even listen when I speak!" Zhang Fei scolded Zhang Yun severely, and after finishing, he continued to cough, making Zhang Yun not dare to utter a word.

  Ma Chao looked at him, his eyes rolling around, and said: "Uncle wants us to leave without any problem, but we must let us understand what happened, can't just let us leave in the dark, is this Uncle's hospitality?"

  "Alas! Oh dear!"

  Zhang Xiong was speechless when asked by Ma Chao, indeed, driving guests out is not the way to treat guests, it's better to say that they are enemies.

  He coughed again, and after finishing, he said to Ma Chao and Zhang Fei: "Younger brothers, Fei Er, I, Zhang Xiong, am not the kind of person who drives guests away. It's really unavoidable, if there's any neglect, please forgive me!"

  "We dare not, we dare not. I also know that Uncle is not such a person, but Uncle asks us to leave, and this we do not understand, please forgive us for being unable to obey!"

  Xiang Xiong sighed and said, "Little brother, why must you know? I'm not telling you for your own good. This muddy water can't be waded through!"

  Ma Chao said with a smile, "I don't know what difficulties you have in mind, Uncle. One person's wisdom is limited, let's think of a solution together!"

  "Yes, father, just say it!" Zhang Fei chimed in from the side, but he was completely ignored by Zhang Xiong.

  "It's clear that you're a man destined for great things, but now that the Zhang family is in trouble, how can we drag you down with us?"

  Zhang Xiong said that everything he said was true, and he could feel that Ma Chao was not ordinary, but he didn't think that Ma Chao could solve anything. On the contrary, by involving others in his own affairs, he would be too sorry for them, especially since they had saved him and were guests.

  Even if they can solve it, how can I ask for help from someone who is not a relative or friend? We've only known each other for two days and already owe them a favor. If we owe again, how will we repay it? As for myself, even if I die tomorrow, it's fine, but my son Zhang Fei is only 10 years old, I couldn't bear to leave him behind. But if he can follow Ma Chao, then I'll be at ease.

  Ma Chao smiled and said, "Uncle, people of the world take care of the world's affairs. Whatever you have to say, if it can be solved, we'll solve it properly. If not, I won't say another word and will leave tomorrow!" He spoke with extraordinary determination.

  Zhang Xiong saw the situation and could only shake his head helplessly. "Little brother, what's the point of this! Since that's the case, I'll just speak directly then!"

  "Uncle should have done so long ago!"

  Zhang Xiong then told Ma Chao about what had happened in detail. After listening, Ma Chao thought to himself that he hadn't known Zhang Xiong had such a past.

  Things were like this, Zhang Xiong knew Du Yi, who was also from Youzhou, more than a decade ago when he was still a wandering swordsman. The two men were similar in age and had similar personalities, so they gradually became friends. Although they weren't brothers, their relationship was closer than that of biological brothers.

  Du Yi often said that although Xiong Di was not his biological brother, he was better than a biological brother. After the two became familiar with each other, they traveled together in the Great Han for several years until twelve years ago when they passed through Youyang and rescued several people who were robbed by mountain bandits, one of whom was Miss Chen from Quyang County, Zhuo Commandery.

  The Chen family of Zhuo County, although not a prominent clan, was also a wealthy and influential family in Zhuo County. Miss Chen was robbed by mountain bandits in Yuyang on her way back to Zhuo County from her aunt's house, leaving only one guard and a maid, while everyone else including the coachman were killed. Fortunately, Du Yi and Zhang Xiong arrived just in time and drove off more than a dozen bandits, or the consequences would have been unthinkable.

  Miss Chen was extremely grateful to the two of them and invited them to go to Zhuo County together. Zhang Xiong hadn't been back home for many years, while Du Yi had his own thoughts. He told Zhang Xiong that he feared Miss Chen's family would suffer at the hands of strong men again, so the two of them set off on the road with Miss Chen.

  Yu Yang is not far from Zhuo County, but Miss Chen's escort made the carriage go slow and stop frequently on the way. Du Yi and others had to slow down their horseback riding speed as well.

  Zhang Xiong didn't understand why Miss Chen always acted like this, but Du Yi thought he understood very well. He always felt that Miss Chen was doing this in order to spend more time with him. And from the moment he first saw Miss Chen, he had already taken a liking to her, and couldn't help but admire Du Yi's self-delusion.

  Zhang Xiong then asked Chen Jia's young lady why she slowed down, don't you want to get home early?

  Every time she finishes listening to his words, Miss Chen always silently scolds him in her heart: You blockhead!