Chapter 53

**Question:** "What is the most common method of self-training for time travelers who go back to ancient times (excluding cultivation backgrounds)?"

**Answer:** "Running."

Indeed, to strengthen their bodies and, more importantly, to be able to run away when encountering enemies, countless predecessors in time travel have sweated over running. However, Xun, in his previous life, had been idle and never thought of relying on running to build his physique. It's not that he couldn't run; back in the poor valley, he had unconsciously developed strong legs while chasing rabbits and the like. Later, when he followed the noble Shi Xun, he often had to run alongside the nobleman on horseback during hunting trips. After impersonating Shi Xun, he occasionally ran a few laps every now and then—so in terms of long-distance running, he could勉强 be rated a C.

However, unfortunately, because he had been squatting for too long, his legs had started to go numb, and his pants were still not fastened, so he had to hold them up with both hands...

So, when he turned around, he hadn't even taken three steps before his left foot stepped on the right leg of his pants. Then, the hem of his robe got caught on a bush, his legs gave out, and he tumbled to the ground. As he started to run, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and when he fell, he felt a sharp wind rushing toward his face. In a moment of quick thinking, Xun rolled on the ground, tearing his clothes and getting covered in dry grass, finally managing to narrowly avoid a disaster—

"Swish," a cold, gleaming ringed blade was deeply embedded in the ground, just two centimeters from Xun's shoulder.

"I'm done for!" *Brush, brush, brush, brush*—Dong Zhuo, Yan Liang, Wen Chou... What the heck, you guys are just flashbacks! Can't I have a positive character to fantasize about before I die? Where is Sun Jian?!

Just as he was about to close his eyes for the last time, he heard a voice shout, "Hold it!" Then, the ringed blade was pulled out of the ground and steadied at his neck.

The voice said, "Hey, isn't that someone?"—Who is "someone"? I have a name, damn it!—Then the person holding the ringed blade said, "Brother, your idea is to tie him up as a hostage?" "Nonsense!" The first person immediately hit his companion on the head, causing him to stagger and almost cut Xun's neck. The first person quickly reached out to stop the ringed blade, but ended up cutting his own hand, splattering a few drops of blood on Xun's face—"You idiot, you hurt me!"

"Sorry, brother." The person quickly stuck the ringed blade into the ground next to Xun's face and tore off a strip of his clothes to bandage the first person. The first person hit him again: "Why did you put the knife down? What if he runs?!" The person laughed, "He can't run, he's still holding his pants up..."

Xun was so embarrassed he wished the ground would swallow him whole.

The first person wrapped his own wound with the cloth, while educating his companion, "Who is he? Who is that old Cao? Tying him up as a hostage is useless! We should take him hostage and find a way to sneak into the middle tent. Once we get close to the old Cao, it will be a matter of raising the knife and chopping, hehehehe~"

The companion gave a thumbs up, "Brother, you have a great idea, I'm in awe."

"You don't need to be that impressed," the first person glared, "Just pick up the knife!"

Somehow, the two bumbling idiots' banter had eased Xun's tension. He mustered his strength and looked the two over. They were both around thirty years old. The one with the injured hand was tall, with a thin face and short beard. The one who had just picked up the ringed blade was shorter but broader-shouldered, with a thick beard on his chin. "Gentlemen," Xun said, bowing from the ground, "Can I fasten my pants first?"

The shorter one moved the ringed blade to Xun's neck, "Go ahead. Be honest, if you try to run, I'll cut off your head!"

"Yes, yes, I'll be honest, very honest, as honest as can be." Xun, while keeping his eyes on the gleaming blade, slowly got up, pulled up his pants, and fastened the belt tightly. He finally let out a long breath—judging from their tone, they wouldn't kill him for now. He could only take one step at a time, and if worst came to worst, he could lead them to Cao Song's tent and find a chance to escape—although he wanted to save Cao Song, his own life was more precious.

Just as he fastened his belt, he heard a "puff," and a warm liquid sprayed all over his face. Xun closed his eyes in shock, "Did that guy really cut my neck?!" But he didn't feel any pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw only a headless body in front of him, blood still spurting from the neck. It swayed a few times before collapsing. At the same time, the tall, thin man with the injured hand made a few gurgling sounds, his knees buckled, and he knelt down—his eyes were full of horror and emptiness, breathing more out than in, one foot already in the grave, but he just knelt there, not falling over, and there was no visible wound on his body.

Xun's hands were still on his belt, but his legs started to tremble uncontrollably. The sky was gradually darkening, and he could vaguely see a figure behind the fallen shorter man. The figure was not tall, looked like an ordinary farmer, with a sharp face, wrinkles all over, a long scar on his cheek, ragged clothes, and a ringed blade in his hand, covered in blood. Behind the thin man, there seemed to be another person, but the figure was mostly obscured, and it was hard to see clearly—could it be a child?

The "farmer" raised his weapon and pointed at Xun, "You..." He didn't finish his sentence but suddenly turned to look at the thin man, then exclaimed in shock, "What's wrong with you?!"

With a "thud," another person fell behind the thin man. The "farmer" rushed over, grabbed the person, and shook him, then turned back to glare at Xun, "What are you standing there for? Come and take a look!"

Xun understood that this "farmer" and his companion had saved him, but... what's your name, sir? I don't know you. You want me to come over? Could you please introduce yourself first? Who sent you?

But looking at the "farmer's" eyes... no, his appearance might be that of a farmer, but his eyes were definitely not. They were the eyes of a murderer. After all, he had just killed someone, severing the head in one stroke... He couldn't afford to offend such a person. If he told Xun to come over, Xun would go over—after all, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.

Xun reassured himself that since the person had saved his life, he probably didn't have any ill intentions. He mustered his courage and stepped over. The "farmer" was holding a small figure, a child. He glanced at the kneeling thin man, who had a hole in his back, blood gushing out—fortunately, Xun had been eating well in the past two years, and his night blindness had mostly healed, otherwise, he wouldn't have seen clearly in the dim light.

He looked at the "farmer" and asked cautiously, "Gentlemen, you..." The "farmer" glared at him and nodded toward the child in his arms, "You don't recognize him? Why did he insist on saving you?"

Insist on saving me? Who is it? Xun crouched down and, using the last bit of light, carefully examined the child in the "farmer's" arms—a delicate little face, unfortunately covered in dirt, lips chapped and peeling, head wrapped in a headscarf, the color of which...

Damn, could this be... Guan Si!

Xun panicked, "Guan, Guan Si... she, she is hurt? Where? Is it serious?"

The "farmer" sighed, "She's not hurt, she fainted from hunger... We've been surviving on grass roots and raw water for three days..."

"Quick, quick," Xun stood up, "Follow me, I have food."

The "farmer" picked up Guan Si—later he learned the man's name was Bai Laowu, with no given name, the fifth son in his family—followed Xun to the camp. At the camp gate, a Langya soldier rushed over, "Sir, what happened? Where are you hurt?!"

Xun wiped the blood from his face, "I'm not hurt, it's someone else's blood..." He bypassed the soldier, took Bai Laowu, and hurried to the Cao family's main tent, shouting, "Qu Ji, Qu Ji!"

Cao De came out, seeing Xun's state, was also shocked. Before he could ask, Xun explained, "I encountered two assassins, but these two friends saved my life—this one fainted from hunger, please have some porridge cooked for her."

"There's already some porridge," Cao De replied, "Father just called for a late-night snack, a pot of meat porridge was just cooked." Xun thought, how long has it been since dinner? An hour? You're already having a late-night snack, you old fatso! He heard Cao De say, "Bring her into the tent, I'll have someone bring the porridge."

Xun asked, "Your father..." Cao De smiled, "Just come into my tent."

The Cao family's main tent was divided into several sections, with a "living room" in the center and "bedrooms" around it—one for Cao Song, one for Cao De, one for Cao De's four-year-old daughter and fourteen-year-old son Cao Zheng, and two for Cao Song's concubines. Cao De led Xun and the others into his tent—there was a screen in the tent, and Cao De's wife, hearing the noise, hid behind it—laying Guan Si on a mat.

Soon, a servant brought a bowl of meat porridge. Bai Laowu held Guan Si's head, Xun held the bowl, and used a wooden spoon to pry open her mouth, carefully feeding her the porridge. The first few spoonfuls spilled out, but by the fifth spoon, Guan Si finally showed a reaction, swallowing unconsciously. She drank about half a bowl before slowly opening her eyes.

While feeding her, Xun told Cao De the whole story—of course, he didn't mention his own embarrassing state with his pants down, nor that Guan Si was Guan Hai's daughter, only that they had met occasionally before. When he saw Guan Si wake up, he sighed in relief, looked at Bai Laowu, then at Cao De, feeling it wasn't appropriate to say certain things in front of Cao De. He pretended to glance at the screen, "Let's go to my tent."

Xun's tent was a small soldier's tent, which usually housed five or six soldiers, but he had taken it over for himself. Once inside, he resettled Guan Si and sent Cao De away. Xun then asked Bai Laowu, "Weren't you surrounded by Cao's army? How did you break through and get here?"

---

In this chapter, a new NPC appears, and he is a famous person. The so-called "Yellow Turban rebel" Bai Laowu, whose real name is Luo, is known to friends as "Lao Luo," with a former ID "Ghost King," a veteran writer and magazine (gaming & literature) editor, and a common pen name "Bai Beiwu"—just a change of one character, how fitting!

By the way, it's been almost a month since the story started, and起点 has given three types of recommendations, but the number of favorites is still not going up. If you like this book, could you help spread the word? If the writing is bad, it's fine if no one reads it, but I'm afraid it's decent and many fans of this genre don't know about it, which would be a pity.

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