Chapter 13

It took quite a while for Ah Fei to calm down. After a series of analyses and speculations, he finally came to a relatively reliable conclusion: as a general, one not only needs to be personally formidable but also capable of deploying troops and leading battles. Therefore, it was only natural that a fierce warrior like Shi Yi would be obscure in historical records. He remembered that the "Book of Wei" once mentioned a Bao Chu, who was also very fierce but never held office, and was only briefly recorded as a model of filial piety.

Of course, there was another possibility: history had already been influenced by the butterfly effect due to Ah Fei's穿越 (time travel). Perhaps in another parallel universe, this Shi Yi was a renowned fierce general, but in this universe, if Ah Fei hadn't come and interfered, he might have drowned in this maritime disaster, thus remaining unknown.

No matter what, Shi Yi was indeed fierce to the point of being almost absurd. Ah Fei now understood that his instinctive feeling of danger and the desire to keep a distance was indeed an animalistic reaction. However, Shi Yi was quite gentle to him, or rather, even somewhat refined and courteous, not at all like a roughneck. It made sense; he had both a name and a courtesy name, so he was likely not an ordinary person but perhaps a scholar-gentleman.

Ah Fei made up his mind to cling to this fierce general, Shi Yi, for now. To live in peace and safely reach the Northern Sea, he had to stick close to Shi Yi and ask him to be his free bodyguard.

He thought a lot, but Shi Yi didn't seem to pay much attention to him. He just scratched his head lightly, somewhat regretful: "We should have left one alive to ask about this place and whether there are any villages or towns nearby..."

Indeed, no one else survived on the beach except Ah Fei and Shi Yi—there was one more, but he had been stabbed by the bandits a few minutes ago.

Ah Fei and Shi Yi chatted for a while and got along very well. After all, Ah Fei had served leaders in his previous life and had been a slave for several years in this life. While his other skills were average, his ability to flatter people without appearing fawning was unparalleled—of course, he was the only one in this era who had carefully studied the glorious deeds of Li Linfu, Cai Gongxiang, Yan Ge, and He Zhongtang...

So, very quickly, Shi Yi almost regarded this "Young Master Yang" as a rare soulmate. Ah Fei took the opportunity to ask Shi Yi to be his martial arts teacher. Shi Yi smiled and pinched his shoulder: "We hit it off at first sight and are equals. Why talk about apprenticeship? However, I see that your physique seems to have suffered from poor nutrition in your youth, making your bones somewhat weak..."

Ah Fei thought to himself that after eating wild vegetables for over a decade, it was already a miracle that he wasn't hunched over like a dwarf. He lied smoothly: "Uh, this... Young Master Yang was somewhat picky about food in his youth."

It is generally believed that ancient people were shorter than modern people, but this is a misconception. Due to dietary habits and quality issues, ancient people were more polarized in height, with the average being lower than modern people. Ordinary farmers were usually around 1.5 meters tall, and some even didn't reach 1.4 meters after full development. However, wealthy people, who had better diets, were often tall—Lü Bu was said to be 1.8 meters tall, and Guan Yu was 1.7 meters tall, though these are fictional accounts. Historical records show that Liu Bei was 1.73 meters tall, and Zhuge Liang was nearly 1.8 meters tall. The most astonishing was Cheng Yu, who was 1.95 meters tall!

Among the wealthy people Ah Fei had seen in this world, Shi Yi was nearly 1.7 meters tall, and Shi Xun was already 1.7 meters tall and would likely grow taller if he hadn't died. As for his own body, it was strange that his parents were only around 1.4 meters tall, and only the neighbor, Old Wang, was a bit taller at 1.6 meters. When Ah Fei first came through, he was 12 years old and only 1.2 meters tall. After eating semi-satisfying meals at the Shi family for a few years, he was now 15 years old and had grown to nearly 1.6 meters. He wasn't sure if it was due to the influence of his soul from the future or if it had something to do with Old Wang...

The man in front of him, Shi Yi, was not short, estimated to be around 1.77 or 1.78 meters tall.

"Reaching my level of martial arts requires both diligent practice and innate strength," Shi Yi comforted him. "I can teach you a few moves. Even if you can't fight in battle, they can strengthen your body and make up for your innate weaknesses. Have you practiced before?"

Ah Fei smiled awkwardly: "Just some basic moves."

"Basic moves?" Shi Yi laughed. "That's a good metaphor—let's first find a village and figure out where we are."

They each picked up a ring-handled saber for self-defense and headed inland in the direction the bandits had come from. Through various subtle and indirect questions, Ah Fei learned that Shi Yi was originally from Leshan in Qingzhou, had moved to Liaodong as a teenager, and was now visiting a friend in Korea. He was planning to return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors. After much probing, Ah Fei finally confirmed that Shi Yi had no connection to the Shi family and had never even encountered them, which put his mind at ease.

By noon, they found a small village. After asking around, they learned that they were at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, with Donglai across the sea. According to Ah Fei's knowledge from his previous life, this should be near Lüshun and Dalian.

The villagers directed them to walk northeast along the coast for about half a day to reach Tashi County, where they could find a port and a boat to Donglai.

Ah Fei took out the copper coins he had just acquired from his bag and counted them: 37 ordinary wuzhu coins and 10 large quan coins worth 50 each, totaling 537 coins. In this era, the monetary economy was not well-developed, especially in remote areas, where barter was still common. Therefore, the purchasing power of money was relatively strong. Although natural disasters and human misfortunes had caused food prices to skyrocket in recent years, Ah Fei remembered that last year, most of Youzhou had a poor harvest, and the price of a stone of grain had risen to 2000 coins. Fortunately, prices had dropped this year. He estimated that with 537 coins, they could afford a few meals of coarse rice and a boat ride to Donglai.

Of course, there would be some additional expenses. Their clothes had been soaked and torn by the sea and debris, making them unsuitable for public appearance. Ah Fei had a spare set of clothes in his bag, but Shi Yi's belongings had been lost at sea. So, when they arrived in Tashi County, Ah Fei spent 40 coins to buy a clean set of old short clothes for Shi Yi.

Shi Yi bowed: "Young Master Yang, your noble virtue will be repaid a hundredfold!" Ah Fei thought to himself that the money wasn't his, and he was just passing it on, but he humbly replied: "We hit it off, so there's no need for thanks. I am not yet of age, so please call me by my name."

"Of course, I will call you Gai Zhi, my virtuous younger brother."

They stayed in Tashi for another day before spending 200 coins to board a cargo ship bound for Donglai, sailing with the wind. The distance from here to Huang County was only 300 nautical miles, and there were many islands along the way, so it was unlikely they would encounter another shipwreck.

They sat side by side on the deck, chatting. Shi Yi occasionally mentioned that he was an old acquaintance of the governor of Donglai and could ask for some help to gather funds for his return home. Ah Fei thought for a moment and realized that they were approaching Qingzhou, and the two counties of Donglai and Beihai were adjacent. He shouldn't underestimate the networking abilities of the scholar-gentry, so it was better to clarify things beforehand.

Suddenly, he knelt down and bowed deeply to Shi Yi: "Brother, I have a secret and have been hiding it from you. Please forgive me."

Shi Yi was taken aback and quickly helped him up: "Gai Zhi, why are you doing this? Speak your mind."

Ah Fei rubbed his eyes, pretending to be sad: "To be honest, I am not surnamed Yang, and Yang Guo is a fake name. I am from Korea, surnamed Shi, named Xun, with the courtesy name Hongfu. My father was a supervisor in the county... I offended the governor, Zhang Qi, who sent troops to raid our estate. My father, Shi Yi, was killed, and I, Shi Xun, escaped alone, intending to seek refuge with relatives in Beihai. I fabricated a fake name in Lelang to avoid being recognized and reported to the governor. Now that we have left Lelang and met you, it is my fault to still use a fake name."

As he spoke, he subtly observed Shi Yi's expression, fearing that he might ask, "I know Shi Xun, but you don't look like him." Fortunately, this expression never appeared, and there was no such question. Instead, Shi Yi's face became increasingly strange, with a mix of realization and shame.

When he finished, he swallowed and Shi Yi suddenly leaned back, then knelt and bowed deeply.

"Brother Shi, what are you doing?"

Shi Yi looked up, his face full of guilt: "Gai Zhi... no, Hongfu, you are a man of integrity, and I am ashamed. I must confess that Shi Yi is also a fake name. I fled to Liaodong to avoid trouble and dared not use my real name. Although we have known each other for a short time, we have become close like old friends. If I don't reveal my true name, I would be unworthy!"

"What is your real name?"

"My surname is Taishi, and my given name is Ci, with the courtesy name Ziyi."

Ah Fei almost fell off the ship in shock.

How could he be so stupid? Seeing the other's extraordinary skills, he had only thought of Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, and Xu Chu, but never of this fierce general! This was the super-strong Taishi Ci, who had single-handedly broken through enemy lines to save Kong Rong in Beihai, exchanged his helmet for a halberd, and fought Sun Ce at Shen Ting. In Eastern Wu, he could be ranked among the top three in combat skills! Yes, Taishi Ziyi—Shi Yi, Shi Yi, his name and courtesy name had already hinted at it, but Ah Fei's brain had been so muddled that he hadn't made the connection.

"You, you, you..." He almost shouted, "You are the Taishi Ci who fought the Little Tyrant to a draw in Donglai!"

Taishi Ci thought he was angry about the fake name and bowed again, apologizing repeatedly: "I understand your anger, but I also have my reasons."

Ah Fei finally calmed down and looked at the first famous person he had met in this world from top to bottom, left to right, making Taishi Ci feel uneasy— "Hongfu... Brother Shi, what are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing, just a bit excited." Ah Fei took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and asked Taishi Ci: "What are your reasons for being in Liaodong?"

Taishi Ci's story was far more dramatic and inspiring than Ah Fei's, or rather, Shi Xun's.