Chapter 35: The Endless City, Ma Chao Obtains the Sword

  After Du Yi left, Zhang Xiong finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then the five of them returned to Zhuozhou City.

  After returning home, Zhang Xiong thanked Ma Chao with great gratitude, saying that he had helped them greatly and was the benefactor of their whole family. He also felt a bit embarrassed for having praised him so much, making Ma Chao seem like a heroic figure who upheld justice, assisted those in need, and rescued others from danger without regard for his own safety.

  Actually, he himself knew best what was going on. Finally, Ma Chao couldn't listen to it anymore and said: "Uncle doesn't have to be polite, this is what people of our generation should do, my master also often teaches me so."

  Zhang Xiong hastily said: "It seems that your master is a noble scholar!"

  Ma Chao did not deny this, "Uncle, since I called you Uncle, from now on don't call me little brother anymore, just call me Meng Qi!"

  Zhang Fei heard this and thought it was a good opportunity to get closer to Ma Chao, "Since you've said so, that's fine. Kid, come over quickly and pay your respects to your big brother Mengqi. From now on, let's just be brothers, or else I'll beat you up!" He called over Zhang Fei who was by his side and told him to call Ma Chao "big brother".

  Ma Chao was delighted in his heart and thought that Zhang Fei was indeed a good fellow. Since Zhang San called himself "older brother", things would be much easier from now on.

  If it were someone else calling him "Big Brother", Zhang Fei might be unwilling and disagree. But as for Ma Chao, he didn't reject it. From an age perspective, Ma Chao was one year older than himself, and his martial arts skills were also stronger than his own. However, in his heart, he thought that this was only temporary. More importantly, the other person had saved his old father, first by using medicine to control the illness, and now had saved his whole family.

  I am a person who repays kindness, and all these added together are enough to make me call him "big brother". Moreover, although big brother is a bit of a pretty boy, apart from this, everything else about him is great, whether it's his character or temperament, they all get along well with mine.

  So San Ye didn't say another word and treated Ma Chao as his elder brother, "Elder brother is above, please accept younger brother's one bow!"

  Ma Chao quickly helped him up, "Good brother!" and patted Zhang Fei's shoulder.

  "Today, big brother didn't bring much with him. When you have a chance to go to Longxi in the future, big brother will make it up to you as a gift for meeting!"

  Ma Chao had already made up his mind, and Zhang Fei just stood beside him with a foolish smile.

  It has been more than three months since the last time with Du Jia, and Ma Chao has also lived in Zhang Xiong's house for more than three months. Zhang Xiong's condition has been controlled due to Ma Chao's prescription, although he cannot be cured, at least there is no life danger for the time being, and his spirit is not bad every day.

  Zhang Fei still often goes to the mountain to practice martial arts, and it's increasingly rare to see him every month. He says this is to make up for the time he lost when his father was ill, but in fact, he was greatly shocked by Ma Chao and Cui An's martial arts skills, and now he is working hard to catch up.

  Although he rarely saw Zhang Fei, this did not hinder Ma Chao from improving their relationship. The reason why Ma Chao stayed here for so long was also to get along well with Zhang Fei. Now it seems that his efforts have paid off, and his relationship with San Ye is quite good. Ma Chao's purpose has been almost achieved, and he thought about when to bid farewell to Zhang Xiong and his son and leave.

  That night, Zhang Fei still had dinner with Ma Chao and the others. During the meal, Ma Chao told him that he was going to leave.

  "I knew you would leave sooner or later, so Uncle didn't insist on keeping you. But why didn't you wait for Fei'er to come back?"

  Ma Chao smiled, "No need to wait, Second Brother's return would only add to the sadness. I can only ask Uncle to convey my apologies for me. However, Uncle can tell Second Brother that if there is an opportunity in the future, he must come to Longxi, and I will be waiting for him!"

  On the second day, Ma Chao and Cui An left Zhang's mansion and Zhuo County City. Zhang Fei saw them off all the way to outside the city.

  "Uncle, don't see me off again, you should stay at home and take good care of your body!"

  "Alright, listen to Meng Qi's words, you guys go ahead, I'll be right back!" Zhang Xiong said.

  Ma Chao and Cui An turned their horses around and left without looking back. Zhang Xiong gazed at the fading figures, saying to Zhang Sheng beside him: "This young man will surely make a name for himself one day!" Zhang Sheng nodded in agreement, then returned home with Zhang Xiong.

  Three days later, Ma Chao and the other arrived at Wu Zhong City in Youbei Ping. Wu Zhong City and Zhuo County are not comparable. Although it's small, everything is complete, with a small population, but nothing is missing. The two happened to arrive early in the morning, after entering Wu Zhong City and paying the toll, they walked their horses on the main street.

  As he walked, Ma Chao discovered that a crowd of people had gathered ahead, almost blocking the narrow street. This was unusual in an area with such a small population. To say that Ma Chao didn't like to rubberneck would be a lie, as many people from his previous life enjoyed doing so. Upon seeing this, he smiled slightly, thinking that this must have been passed down from their ancestors.

  He was uninterested, but had no choice and let Cui An hold the reins on one side while he went forward to see what was going on.

  Ma Chao relied on his own strength and entered the crowd. He wanted to see what was going on, but when he took a look, he couldn't help but frown.

  There was an old man selling goods, but his face didn't show anything. He just held a sword in his arms and said it was a sword, although Ma Chao couldn't confirm whether it really was one or not. Anyway, it looked like one.

  Looking at the old man again, you can't tell how old he is. His face hasn't been washed for who knows how long, and his hair is all disheveled. He's wearing tattered clothes from head to toe, even more pitiful than a beggar. Moreover, Ma Chao felt that this old man seemed like one foot was already in the coffin, and could pass away at any moment, so he furrowed his brow.

  At this time, someone next to him said, "This old man has been here for two days and hasn't eaten or drunk anything. It looks like he won't make it through today!"

  Another person chimed in: "You actually believed him? He's just an old swindler. The other day, he came here saying he wanted to sell the precious sword in his bosom. Guess how much money he asked for?"

  Several people nearby shook their heads, indicating they didn't know.

  The man who spoke earlier had a look on his face as if he knew something they didn't, and so he continued: "One thousand taels of gold! He actually quoted one thousand taels of gold! Gentlemen, it's one thousand taels of gold, not silver, but gold!"

  As expected, several people nearby also chimed in: "One thousand gold? Are you kidding me? Has he gone mad from thinking about money?"

  "Who knows, a thousand taels of gold, this lifetime, no, even if it's several lifetimes, I reckon it's still not possible."

  Another one said, "Don't even mention having seen it, I reckon none of you have ever laid eyes on it! In my opinion, whether the old man's got a sword in his arms is still debatable, but if what he's holding is really worth a thousand pieces of gold, do you think he'd end up like this?"

  The people next to him immediately echoed, "Yes!" "Exactly!" "How is that possible?" The crowd nodded in agreement.

  Ma Chao listened to the crowd's discussion, his brow furrowed even deeper. He thought to himself, "Don't mention that sword for now, but look at this old man, and you guys don't even bother to help him out. Not only do you not help, but you also gather around to watch the commotion."

  Maybe they all thought the old man was a swindler, so they were all watching the joke. Yeah, if he's a swindler, he won't starve himself to death, right? So many people surrounded him, waiting to see how the swindler would perform.

  However, Ma Chao didn't think so. Although he also didn't believe that the thing in the old man's arms was worth a thousand gold, he knew that the old man was absolutely not a swindler. He could feel that the old man wouldn't last much longer and would leave this world at any moment.

  Since he encountered this matter, it is impossible not to take care of it. Ma Chao hurriedly walked out of the crowd and came to the old man's side, carrying the old man on his back. The surrounding onlookers did not stop him or say anything, and some people might have thought that Ma Chao and the old man were in cahoots with each other.

  Ma Chao carried the old man out of the crowd, and the onlookers saw that the swindler had been taken away by his accomplices, so they didn't think much of it and almost all dispersed. Only a few curious citizens were still paying attention to Ma Chao's actions.

  Ma Chao arrived beside Cui An and said, "Fu Da, let's go!"

  Ma Chao carried the old man on his back, while Cui An led the horse from behind. The two arrived in front of a porridge stall, and Ma Chao ordered a bowl of porridge. He knew that if he was too hungry for too long, it would be impossible to eat too much, so the porridge was just right.

  Hurry up and feed the old man porridge, unfortunately only a few mouthfuls went in, but just a few mouthfuls of thin porridge allowed the old man to barely open his mouth.

  Two words came out of the old man's mouth, "thank you", Ma Chao was overjoyed and quickly fed the old man a few more mouthfuls of porridge, this time it went in quite a bit. Since the old man could speak, Ma Chao temporarily felt much more at ease.

  However, just a moment later, the old man suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at Ma Chao. This sudden situation flashed a bad word in Ma Chao's mind: Return of the Light!

  The old man grabbed Ma Chao's arm with his hand, which hadn't been washed for who knows how many days, but Ma Chao didn't mind.

  "Just listen to the old man say to Ma Chao: 'I want, no, this, this, send you.'"

  As he spoke, he handed over the object that looked like a sword to Ma Chao with his other hand. Ma Chao had tried to take it from the old man before, but for some reason, the old man held it tightly in his arms and wouldn't let go, so Ma Chao couldn't get it, and anyway, he wasn't interested in it either.

  However, he didn't expect the old man to give it to him. Looking at it this way, if he didn't accept it, the old man would not be able to die in peace. Although he didn't know what this thing was, judging from the old man's expression, it was definitely something more precious than his own life.

  Perhaps seeing Ma Chao's hesitation, the old man said in his weak voice: "This thing, has fate, those who have fate, can get it!"

  Ma Chao was even more bewildered, what kind of fate, himself? Was this thing fated to be with him?

  He pointed his finger at his own nose and asked, "Sir, are you referring to me?"

  The old man nodded slightly upon hearing this. Ma Chao wanted to ask the old man a few more questions, but seeing that he was like this, if he didn't get what he wanted, the old man would really die with his eyes open.

  He had no choice but to take it over and asked the old man a question: "Excuse me, what is this thing?"

  The old man smiled and shook his head, "It will be known later."

  Ma Chao didn't ask any more questions after that, he knew it was pointless to ask, this old man wouldn't say too much.

  The old man said half a sentence to Ma Chao, "You are...".

  Unfortunately, he didn't finish speaking and the old man was already gone. Ma Chao didn't have time to think about what the old man's words meant, nor did he notice the things the old man had given him. He was now more heartbroken, even if he were given a rare treasure, it wouldn't change his current mood. The old man just left like that, Ma Chao had thought he could save him, but in the end, he still failed.

  This old man is just one of the many in the great Han, and there are countless others like him throughout the land. Even if Ma Chao had the heart to save them all, he wouldn't have the ability to do so. With great power comes great responsibility, it seems that one must indeed take a step forward when they have the ability, believing that events like today's would occur less often.

  He feels that what he can do now is to take a step forward, one step at a time, and work hard bit by bit. He really doesn't want to see such things happen to the elderly again.

  Ma Chao made arrangements for the old man's funeral, and this matter had a great impact on his heart, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. Cui An also knew that Ma Chao was in a bad mood, so he rarely disturbed him, and most of the time he played with the thing the old man gave to Ma Chao. Of course, he didn't know what it was either, but this didn't hinder his curiosity.

  Even Lao's famous horse, Red Hare, did not know where he was. He felt deeply guilty. In the end, he could only carve a tombstone with the words "Tomb of Sword Old" to show his respect for Lao.

  Ma Chao spent more time being a fool, staring blankly, and from now on he will definitely work harder to make sure that such things do not happen again in this land.