Chapter 20: The Halo Slowly Opens

  "Report to Young Master!" Zhao Cheng said loudly.

  "Pre-war comparison is as follows: The enemy side, led by Han Zhong, had 47 light cavalrymen, 47 horses, 14 long-handled swords, 26 spears, 7 long guns, and no bows or arrows; Our side, led by the young master, had 16 light cavalrymen, 16 horses, 16 iron bows, 13 quivers of arrows, but no swords, spears or long guns."

  He cleared his throat again and continued, "The result of the battle is as follows: The enemy, led by Han Zhong, had forty-seven light cavalrymen annihilated; our side, led by Young Master, had thirteen light cavalrymen without a single injury."

  "Then comes the summary of military achievements:"

  "Master Ma Chao, in the first round of rapid shooting, killed 17 enemies, and in the second round, killed 16 enemies. In between, he also killed one enemy in a horseback battle, totaling 34; Master Ma Dai, in the second round of simultaneous shooting, hit seven people; Household servant Zhao Cheng, in the second round of simultaneous shooting, killed six people; The achievements of the rest will be reported later."

  "Finally, the spoils of war: seven superior war horses were captured, the rest escaped; 14 swords, 26 spears, and 7 guns. Sixteen people were rescued from the enemy's hands."

  "Xiao Dai," I turned back with a smile, "what's the outcome of this battle?"

  "We won completely!" Little Dai Ma was very excited.

  "It's just that the old thief died and the young thief took his place. Even if I can clear my name, it won't be hidden for long," I muttered to myself. Today's battle was a great display of my divine might, but under the bright sun and in full view of everyone, I killed that little bastard Han Zhong with one slash of my knife. If these dozen or so herdsmen escape and spread the word, my bravery will be renowned far and wide, but it will bring me nothing but harm and no benefits at all, and may even trigger a fire prematurely. Damn it!

  Kill these people?

  My eyebrows furrowed slightly as I tried to keep myself from thinking about this cruel idea, even though it was the most convenient and safe method.

  I'm still a good boy.

  How can this be?!

  Taking a deep breath, I drove my horse to their center. The sixteen herdsmen saw with their own eyes how I single-handedly shot down the sun with my divine bow and shattered the moon with my precious arrow, shooting wildly at over thirty people, rescuing them from fire and water. At this moment, they naturally felt grateful to me, and each one of them wished to devote themselves to me for life, willing to be my slaves forever.

  The simplicity and kindness of ordinary people can be seen from their words and expressions.

  "Everyone, you have all had enough of Han Sui's evil deeds. This place is too close to Jincheng and it's inevitable that there will be more plundering. Why don't we go with us to the city of Guzang instead?" Ma Dai declared loudly, looking at me with inquiring eyes.

  Forget it, at worst I'll just send someone to keep an eye on them. It's not good for our reputation to kill people randomly when there's nothing going on. I nodded to him and then spoke to them myself: "I am Ma Chao, the eldest son of General Ma Teng of Wuwei. You two can share a horse, let's hurry back to Guanzhong as soon as possible, and I'll arrange for someone to take care of your accommodations."

  As soon as they heard that I was the Crown Prince of Wuwei, the villagers all smiled and nodded hastily, supporting each other to climb onto the horse's back, barely squeezing two people onto one horse.

  I instructed Zhao Cheng to keep an eye on these herdsmen and not let them run off on their own, then I turned my horse's head and was about to urge it forward when a clear, childish voice rang out from behind me:

  "General, take us with you!"

  I reined in my horse and turned around to look back.

  The sound came from a thick clump of grass, but it was the two children who had fallen down and were just rescued by me in time. At that time, they looked far away and couldn't tell whether they were boys or girls, but now they were close and I recognized them as two little girls.

  They timidly crawled out of the bushes, took three steps forward and stopped in front of my horse, lifted up their two small faces.

  I took a quick glance around and felt a surge of joy in my heart.

  Even in the midst of fleeing in a flurry, and tumbling to the ground with a bruised face, she still can't hide her innate beauty, two small faces as delicate and exquisite, skin that hasn't been sullied reveals a subtle luster like jade.

  What great skin! I'm tempted to reach out and pinch it to see if it's been tightened after plastic surgery.

  These two girls, although a bit young, have six or seven similarities in their appearance, probably because they are biological sisters. They look really beautiful! Loli is naturally easy to train, go back and indulge them for a few years, and then it's their turn to serve me...

  Suddenly these thoughts popped up in my mind, and on my face probably also involuntarily appeared a very lewd smile, fortunately there were only two little girls in front of me.

  That little girl, who seemed to have seen through my lewdness, shrank into her sister's arms, but her two lovely eyes still stared at my lustful smile.

  Damn! Why are you so defensive?! I'm not going to eat you on the spot! I couldn't help but stroke my chin, silently scolding her in my heart, and quickly put on a serious expression:

  "Just now you said you would take us with you?"

  The sister nodded.

  I turned back to look at the group of herdsmen, and there were fourteen people in total, including the two sisters. There were seven horses, just enough for each horse to carry two people. Although the little girl was frail and easily pushed over, cough, but this group of people seemed to be weak and couldn't withstand the wind. If three people squeezed on, they would probably all fall off...

  Alright alright, I'm very considerate.

  I waved my hand: "Zhao Cheng, you take a little girl, Xiao Dai, you also take one, hurry up!"

  Zhao Cheng and Ma Dai hadn't spoken yet, but that little sister suddenly shouted loudly: "Don't!"

  "What's wrong? What can't be done?" I asked, leaning forward and trying to make my expression as gentle and friendly as possible. The little sister seemed to relax a bit, but still looked quite guarded.

  It's all over, this little girl has already built a wall in her heart and has psychological shadows. It will be difficult to conquer again. I have some regrets in my heart, I didn't expect this girl to be so sensitive, what a pity!

  So, the first impression is extremely important. When meeting for the first time, you must show your purest and kindest side. Afterwards, whether it's getting close, greeting, asking someone to do something, or secretly plotting, everything will be much easier.

  That sister's small face was slightly flushed, had she been blown by the wind for a long time? Her eyes shone with a bright light: "Trouble General to take my sister to see Governor Ma, Father has something important to tell him."

  I glanced around impatiently and asked casually: "Who is your honorable father? What business do you have?"

  Her eyes suddenly dimmed, and her face showed a sad and indignant expression: "My father Bian Zhang was killed by Han Zhuo last year. My sister and family only knew to escape to Wuwei, but on the way, my family members were all killed by pursuers. This time, they were robbed and killed by bandits along with the herders. Fortunately, General Shao is brave and managed to escape with his life."

  This girl, though filled with deep resentment and hatred, spoke in a manner that was quite becoming, making us rough men feel a bit ashamed. However, her words also sounded somewhat awkward, as no one had ever spoken to me so bluntly and stiffly in the past fourteen years.

  Which chapter?

  Never heard of it, don't know him/her.

  I turned my head to look at Ma Dai behind me, and he also shook his head. It's true, why would I ask him? He was originally half a year younger than me, and the people we knew were all introduced by me, let alone other trivial matters, how could he possibly know this obscure name.

  Then I turned to Zhao Cheng, who hastily patted the horse's head and stepped forward in a low voice, saying: "Bian Zhang was the former Jin City Governor appointed by the imperial court. He suddenly fell ill and died last year, and Han Shui took over Jin City. Unexpectedly..."

  He didn't finish speaking, and I had already realized that this was the same guy who had rebelled with Han Sui two years ago. Now that he's been killed by Han Sui, it means these two orphans should be considered allies of our Ma family. However, looking at these two young girls who are not yet adults, they're not even worth considering as allies, and can only serve as a weak pretext for attack.

  After a moment's thought, I nodded and said: "The old thief Han Sui is indeed so deceitful, it's really hateful. The two ladies narrowly escaped with their lives, please follow me to the city of Guzang, my Ma family will seek justice for the Bian family. Someone, bring a horse for the two ladies!"

  No sooner had he finished speaking than the person nearest to them turned over and dismounted his horse, saying respectfully: "Two ladies, please mount."

  The elder sister said with a hint of shyness: "General, having my sisters and I share the same horse is somewhat..."

  You two are quite big in size, aren't you still feeling cramped?

  I wrinkled my nose and raised my left hand coldly, saying: "Let one more horse through!"

  Another person dismounted and bowed respectfully.

  "No, no, no..." The older sister saw that I had misunderstood and hastily explained, "It's just that we sisters can't ride horses..."

  Can't ride? That's even easier, just follow the original plan.

  "It was my fault," I apologized humbly, then gestured to the two stablemen, "You two, each take one of the young ladies, and be careful to keep your horses steady."

  Those two people bowed and were about to help someone onto a horse.

  The two sisters, however, unanimously declined and refused to mount their horses.

  Isn't it that heaven knows I lack a wife and intentionally sent two troublemakers to test my patience?

  When facing such an adorable little girl, I still have some patience.

  I and Yan Yuese asked: "Is there anything else? Or does Miss look down on the rough hands and feet of a lower-class person?"

  "Would you mind taking me with you, General?" The young lady hesitated for half a day before finally managing to squeeze out a sentence.

  I was taken aback at first, and then couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.