Chapter 3: The Western Regions' Precious Horses

  After helping Ao Lie wipe away his sweat, Mrs. Ao took the teacup from the maid's hand and handed it to Ao Lie, saying: "Try some, this is mother's freshly brewed new tea. You've had a natural talent for tasting tea since you were young, see how this batch tastes?" Ao Lie took the teacup, first lowering his head to smell the fragrance rising from the cup, then bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip. After that, he raised his head and smiled at Mrs. Ao, saying: "Mother, this is this year's newly picked tender shoots, right? Although it's slightly astringent, the flavor is excellent. As they say, 'a small flaw doesn't hide the beauty', and with mother's tea-brewing skills being flawless, it leaves a lingering aftertaste."

  Mrs. Ao smiled and said, "You child, you're just too smooth-tongued. As a martial artist, you should be straightforward and honest, but instead you're so slick and glib."Ao Lie retorted with a smile, "Mother, that's not right! Who says martial artists can't be well-read in poetry and literature? Must all martial artists be the type who speak their minds without thinking?"

  "Haha, Lie'er is right. Practicing martial arts is a good thing, but one must also read extensively and cultivate their temperament. Otherwise, wouldn't it just be brute courage?" Accompanied by a bright laugh, Liu Yu, Ao Lie's father, walked into the courtyard with big strides. Ao Lie immediately tidied up his clothes, then bowed his head and stood at attention, saying "Father." Liu Yu heavily patted Ao Lie's shoulders twice, then said contentedly: "Not bad, you've become even more robust. It seems that these days you haven't been lazy." Mrs. Liu scolded: "Lazy? You're busy with government affairs and rarely have leisure time, so naturally you don't know how hard Lie'er works every day. This child, sometimes his diligence makes me, as his mother, feel heartache just watching him."

  Liu Yu heard the words and burst out laughing again, then continued to say: "Alright, let's stop practicing for today. Your grandfather has come to see you, quickly follow me to the main hall! I heard that your grandfather brought a treasure for you." "Really?" Ao Lie suddenly became excited and jumped up, having an inexplicable affection towards this grandfather of his. Speaking of which, it was thanks to his grandfather's efforts that he could continue using his past life's name in this life. Without waiting for his father to say anything else, Ao Lie spread his legs and ran towards the main hall like flying.

  Watching Ao Lie's figure sprinting, Liu Yu had a smile on the corner of his mouth and shouted: "You steady down!" But Ao Lie seemed to have not heard it, running even faster. This made Mrs. Ao cover her mouth and laugh secretly. Liu Yu turned back to look at his wife's smiling face, sighing and saying: "This child is all spoiled by you." Mrs. Ao retorted: "Doesn't the master spoil him too? You often say that Lie Er was born with a special aura and will become a great talent for the Han Dynasty in the future. He lets him do whatever he wants, we just advise him on the side to avoid him going astray. Why are you blaming me today?" Liu Yu had a satisfied smile on his face, saying: "That's right, over these years, Lie Er has made great progress in both literature and martial arts. He will definitely achieve great things in the future."

  His parents' words behind him, Ao Lie didn't hear them, his heart had already flown to the main hall. As he stepped into the main hall, Ao Lie saw his uncle, Ao Lao Zhai, sitting in a chair in the middle of the hall, slightly to the left, and next to him sat a scholar around 40 years old with three strands of whiskers under his chin, looking extraordinary. His elder brother Liu He was standing beside them, pouring tea for Uncle Ao and the middle-aged scholar. Ao Lie walked into the main hall, bowed to Uncle Ao, and said, "Uncle is well." Then he turned around and gave a nephew's courtesy to the middle-aged scholar, saying, "You're well too."

  Since seeing Ao Lie, Old Man Ao's gaze had not shifted, staring at Ao Lie all the time. After Ao Lie finished paying his respects, he smiled and said: "Lie'er, this is Grand Scholar Cai Boji, you can call him Uncle." Ao Lie was shocked upon hearing this, Cai Boji? Wasn't that Hong Ru Cai Yong? This was the first famous figure from the Three Kingdoms he had met since his rebirth, aside from his parents and older brother. Ao Lie didn't dare to be slow, hastily paid his respects again and said: "Uncle Cai is well." Cai Yong stroked his beard and smiled: "Noble nephew doesn't need to be too polite, I often hear people say that Brother Bo'an has two sons as talented as dragons and tigers. The eldest son Liu He and Liu Zhenjun have exceptional literary talent, they are naturally gifted geniuses; the second son Ao Lie is even more well-rounded in both literature and martial arts, writing poetry at three years old, composing fu at five years old, and becoming a master swordsman at seven years old. With such sons, what more could one ask for?"

  "When you praise these two little guys, don't overdo it." Liu Yu walked into the main hall with big strides, while making a bow to Cai Yong and said. Cai Yong also bowed back to Liu Yu and said: "A few days ago, I went to the Western Regions to understand the local customs and people, in order to prepare materials for writing history, coincidentally met Uncle Ao on the way, it turned out that Uncle was traveling through the Western Regions for business, so we traveled together and came back, which is a bother to Brother Bo An." Liu Yu hurriedly waved his hand, repeatedly saying: "No need to be polite, Brother Bo Yi's arrival is what makes my humble abode shine!"

  At this time, Ao Laozhang took over the conversation and said: "To say that my husband is on a business trip this time, I saw that the Western Regions are already chaotic at the border of our Great Han, and the border town seems to have the intention of independence. I'm afraid that a great chaos is about to rise." His tone was full of sighs. The main hall suddenly fell into silence, and everyone didn't know what to say for good. Liu Yu was even more heartbroken and sighed endlessly.

  "Never mind, even if it's a big mess, that's for later. He and Liu, Lie, you two come forward." Finally, Old Man Ao broke the silence. Liu He and Ao Lie took a few steps forward and stood shoulder to shoulder in front of Old Man Ao. Old Man Ao took out a sheepskin-covered book from his bosom and handed it to Liu He, saying: "This is a rare copy of 'The Western Regions Chronicle' that has been passed down for decades in the Western Regions. It records the customs, geography, and landscape of various countries in the Western Regions. I happened to get it this time, so I'll give it to you." Liu He was overjoyed, took the book with both hands, and said excitedly: "Thank you, Grandfather!"

  Ao Lie saw his elder brother get such a treasure, and he couldn't help but feel envious, staring straight at his grandfather's collar, hoping that his grandfather would take out another similar treasure from his pocket. Ao Lao felt Ao Lie's scorching gaze and couldn't help but burst into laughter, teasing Ao Lie: "What are you looking at? This kind of rare book, I only have one." Liu He, who was standing beside him, heard Grandfather's words, looked down at the rare book in his hand, and without any hesitation handed it to Ao Lie. Turning to face Grandfather, he said: "Grandfather, Second Brother is still young, why not give this rare book to him?" Ao Lie didn't wait for others to speak, hastily waving his hands and saying: "Absolutely not! Elder brother is at the age of reading books, how can I take this rare book from him? Besides, I'm still young, it's said that 'there's a long way to go', let Grandfather give it to me next time he gets a rare book. Elder brother, please accept this gift."

  Watching the two brothers' push and pull, Ao Laozhang and Liu Yu were both delighted in their hearts. Even Cai Yong, who was sitting next to them, couldn't help but praise: "Brother Bo'an's dragon and tiger sons are truly enviable, no wonder they're a pair of dragon and tiger brothers!" Liu Yu smiled and humbly said: "Where, where, Brother Boji is overpraising, overpraising too much." Liu He turned around and bowed to Cai Yong, saying: "Uncle Cai doesn't know, but among people, only my second brother can be called a dragon and phoenix, his talent is not even one ten-thousandth of my second brother's."

  Old Master Ao burst out laughing and stood up, saying: "You don't have to be polite anymore, this rare book is a gift from me to He Er, it's settled. As for Lie Er, hehe, let's all go out with Old Man Ao and take a look." After finishing speaking, he led the way towards the outside of the main hall. The crowd followed closely behind Old Master Ao, walking out together.

  Outside the main hall, a iron cage appeared at some unknown time, inside which was locked up a young horse, its entire body snow white except for a cluster of three-inch long golden mane on its forehead, shaped like a crescent moon. The mane under its neck was exceptionally robust, resembling that of a male lion. Old Man Ao said in a loud voice: "This is the fine steed I brought back from my trip to the Western Regions this time, bought with 10,000 taels of gold. Although it's just a young horse now, it's actually the descendant of the King of Horses in the Western Regions, a pure-blooded sweatblood horse, named Zhaoye Xuelong Ju. Lie'er, this is the gift your grandfather gave you, but whether or not you can tame it depends on your skills."

  Ao Lie was overjoyed, his goal was to be like the great general Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty, shaking the four directions and leaving a mark in history. With this precious horse, it would be like adding wings to a tiger! He quickly walked to the iron cage, gazing at the white horse, and said softly: "I'm sorry to have kept you confined, I'll let you out now, and we'll ride together on the battlefield!" After finishing speaking, he grasped two iron bars of the cage with both hands and shouted loudly: "Open!" The two iron bars broke like paper in Ao Lie's hands. The servants outside the hall couldn't help but cheer, shouting: "Second Master is mighty!" The maids who were serving tea and water all widened their cherry-like mouths in surprise, looking lovely and pitiful.

  Ao Lie didn't pay attention to others' reactions, focusing on the horse in the cage. He stretched out his hands again and grabbed two iron bars, shouting "Open!" once more. Two more iron bars were twisted off.

  Ao Lie took a step back, looking at the horse in the cage and saying, "Zhao Ye, come out." The horse seemed to sense Ao Lie's intentions and jumped out of the cage, running around the courtyard like a wild horse.

  Ao Lie watched Zhao Ye run, laughing, then sprinted a few steps and leaped onto the horse's back. He shouted, "Fast!" Zhao Ye seemed to understand Ao Lie's meaning and ran even faster, its speed rivaling lightning.

  After running over ten laps, Ao Lie felt that Zhao Ye had released enough energy. He suddenly pulled on the reins and shouted, "Slow!" Zhao Ye abruptly slowed down, its hooves pounding the ground heavily.

  Ao Lie sat up straight on the horseback and shouted again, "Still!" Zhao Ye stopped moving, as if it were an extension of Ao Lie's body. It let out a long whinny, its hind legs slightly bent, and its front legs lifted off the ground. The horse and rider froze in mid-air for a moment, looking majestic.

  The people around them watched with their mouths agape, no one expecting that this young horse from the Western Regions would be so extraordinary. No one expected that eight-year-old Ao Lie would possess such exquisite riding skills.

  "Good!" The first to react was still the great Confucian Cai Yong. At this moment, this famous Confucian stroked his long beard and praised without ceasing: "As swift as the wind, as fierce as fire, as gentle as a forest, as still as a mountain, this one man and horse are truly breathtaking! Marvelous to behold, marvelous to behold!" By the time Cai Yong finished speaking, the others finally came back to their senses. Not to mention the expressions on the faces of Old Man Ao and Liu Yu and his son, just the enthusiastic cheers of the servants and the maids' eyes shining like peach blossoms could tell how majestic, how dashing, and how awe-inspiring Ao Lie was at this moment.

  The next moment, the whole prefecture was filled with shouts of "Hurray" and "Hurray", which lasted for a long time.