Chapter 78

In a plain where not a single tree rose above the waist, Cao Cao was walking leisurely, having just knocked Zhang Jian off his horse. Zhang Jian, still seated in the saddle, swayed with the gait of the horse, seemingly in no hurry to urge it on. With his eyes closed, he hummed a barely audible tune, the sun having dipped close to the horizon but still warm, and the breeze of the plain gently brushing past them.

Zhang Jian, who had recently faced turmoil in the south with Yang Hong and Li Lian, was now moving a bit further north. There was no particular reason for this; his aimless steps had simply led him here.

As he swayed with Cao Cao’s gait, humming an incomprehensible melody, Zhang Jian slowly opened his eyes. The world was clearly divided by the horizon. Of course, the horizon was not perfectly straight and flat. In the distance, a jagged line of mountains rose like crooked teeth. Zhang Jian, without realizing it, turned his gaze from the front to the right, surveying the horizon that resembled a set of misaligned molars.

Being human, Zhang Jian’s head did not make a full circle. After looking all the way to the back, he slowly turned his head to the left, where the sun, painting the world in a reddish hue, was setting.

The vast and magnificent nature spoke of his insignificance as a mere human, yet Zhang Jian also knew that even this nature was but a speck in the larger universe. How small must life on this speck of dust be, seen from the sea of stars? But perhaps, that was just a human perspective. Being bigger and wider did not necessarily mean being greater. Perhaps the true greatness lay in leaving a mark on this world, however small, in some way or another.

With a slightly furrowed brow, Zhang Jian gazed at the sunset and nudged Cao Cao’s side, speaking a bit curtly.

“Hey, we’re camping again today.”

Cao Cao shook his head as if to say it wasn’t his fault and pulled the reins.

“If you had gone faster, we might have found a village.”

Cao Cao’s pace slowed even more, now moving at a speed that was hard to distinguish between walking and crawling.

“...Don’t you prefer sleeping under a roof? Let’s try to run a bit. Who knows what we might find.”

Cao Cao stopped completely, turned his head to the side, and glanced at Zhang Jian on his back with a doubtful look. Zhang Jian shrugged at him, and Cao Cao let out a sigh before starting to trot.

After a moment, the light trot turned into a gallop. Cao Cao ran across the plain as if riding the wind, or perhaps becoming the wind itself.

Despite the sudden acceleration, Zhang Jian quickly lowered his posture to maintain stability. The strong wind brushed past his face, fluttering his clothes. From the way he was running, it seemed Cao Cao still had plenty of energy left.

After enjoying Cao Cao’s gallop for a while, Zhang Jian noticed something and gently pulled the reins. Cao Cao gradually slowed down, looking around. Soon, he saw what Zhang Jian had noticed.

To their right, on the plain, a carriage was set up as a campsite. Smoke was rising, indicating that a fire had just been lit. Zhang Jian said,

“Shall we go over?”

Cao Cao nodded lightly and started walking towards the campsite.

In the wilderness, strangers always carried uncertainty. The campsite could be occupied by bandits who kill and rob, or by farmers seeking new land, or by merchants who bring inland specialties to coastal cities.

But whoever they were, they were unknown to Zhang Jian, and meeting unknown people brought him new experiences and expanded his world. Though he knew the stars and the universe in his mind, his heart told him that the real world was what he saw right in front of him, and that true martial arts were created and recreated in such an expanded world. This might be why he wandered like this.

As they approached, someone who had been sitting stood up and came forward. He had his arms half-crossed and was sipping from a teacup.

The leisure of a cup of tea while traveling in the wilderness. As Zhang Jian got closer, he could see that the carriage was quite luxurious, and the man’s clothes, though simple, were of good quality.

When Zhang Jian was close enough to stop, the stranger spoke first.

“Hello there.”

Zhang Jian, holding the brim of his hat, nodded slightly. The man smiled faintly at the greeting. He had a well-groomed beard and neatly combed hair, looking quite wealthy. He took a sip of tea and said,

“You’re coming from the south. Is there any special news?”

“Not really. There was a bit of unrest in Xinshichuan.”

“Oh.”

Zhang Jian’s answer brightened his face.

“A new story, that’s good. Have you had dinner? I have a few eggs; would you like to trade a story for them?”

Eggs. Thinking about it, it had been quite a while since he had eaten one. He could have eaten plenty in Xinshichuan, but the thought of eating them outdoors again made his mouth water.

“Sounds good.”

Zhang Jian dismounted, leading the reins towards the man, who turned and walked to the campsite. At the same time, Zhang Jian scanned the campsite. The man leading the way seemed to have no martial arts training, and there were no hidden people in the carriage.

As they approached the campfire, another man was sitting, holding a bowl of porridge and looking up at Zhang Jian. His skin and features were slightly different from those of the Central Plains, and Zhang Jian recognized him as a native of the New Continent.

The well-dressed man fetched a metal teacup from the carriage, blew off the dust, and poured the tea that had been warming by the fire, offering it to Zhang Jian. He refilled his own cup and took a sip, showing a familiarity with meeting strangers in the wilderness.

Zhang Jian, having tied Cao Cao next to other horses, took the cup and sipped. Before the tea touched his tongue, his inner energy, originating from his dantian, was already circulating lightly through his body. However, after drinking the tea, he felt no unusual effects. It was just tea.

Zhang Jian nodded at the pleasant aroma of the tea. The well-dressed man, seeing the nod, smiled contentedly and sat down by the fire.

“Please, have a seat. I’m Jeliang. I write books and usually write calligraphy.”

“Zhang Jian. A wanderer.”

Jeliang’s eyes widened slightly.

“Zhang Jian? That’s a good name. I know someone with the same name.”

“It’s easy to remember. Is that person from the New Continent?”

“No, I’ve never met him. Just heard of him through a few intermediaries. But he’s very grateful to me.”

Zhang Jian, sipping the tea, asked while sitting down.

“Grateful to someone you’ve never met?”

“Ha ha. Didn’t I just say I write books? I wrote a book inspired by his story, and it sold well in the Central Plains.”

“A book?”

Jeliang waved his hand modestly.

“Ah, I won’t tell you the title. It sounds like boasting. But the success of that book allowed me to travel in this spell-crafting carriage, instead of starving. So, it’s natural to feel grateful, even without knowing the person.”

Zhang Jian, hearing about the spell-crafting, glanced at the carriage. It was indeed simple but subtly luxurious, much like the man’s clothes. Usually, such things are more expensive than ostentatious ones.

“You must have made a lot of money.”

“Ha ha ha! Well, the success of the subsequent books helped too.”

After a hearty laugh, Jeliang, as if remembering something, introduced the native who was quietly eating.

“Oh, this is Xunma. He’s my bodyguard. Thanks to Xunma, I can travel without worry.”

Xunma, who had been eating porridge, nodded lightly at Zhang Jian.

“Hello. In your language, I’m roughly called Xunma.”

“Zhang Jian. Nice to meet you.”

As expected, Xunma was a native. However, the large knife by his side, his well-dressed Central Plains-style clothes, and his pronunciation, which was not much different from that of a native of the Central Plains, suggested he lived in a city. His well-trained body also indicated he had martial arts training.

While the two were greeting each other, Jeliang fidgeted and took out a long-handled iron plate and some eggs. In the New Continent, where camping was frequent, portable iron plates were more commonly used than pots.

“Here, I’ll fry the eggs for you. Tell me about the unrest in Xinshichuan.”

Zhang Jian chuckled at his natural manner.

“Is your reason for traveling to find material for your books?”

“Ha ha, I do like to travel. Of course, that’s part of it.”

For some reason, Zhang Jian thought of a princess who had hidden her name and nodded, starting to tell the story of the pursuit of Zhang Bao in Xinshichuan. Of course, he didn’t mention that he was the thief, but rather said he had heard the whole story after it was over.

As a result, Zhang Jian’s story sounded dry and lacked vividness. Despite the plain tone, Jeliang listened with a serious face, nodding and interjecting with “Oh” and “Ah” to show his interest.

When the short story ended, Jeliang placed the well-fried eggs on a bowl of porridge and offered it to Zhang Jian, while taking out a small book and a fine brush. He then tilted his head, deep in thought, and started writing furiously.

Zhang Jian, eating the porridge and eggs, asked,

“Do you have some ideas?”

“Eh? Yes, thank you.”

Jeliang, giving a brief answer, continued to fidget with the brush. Zhang Jian found it more amusing than offensive.

“He often does that. If I hadn’t been with him, he would have been robbed in some city.”

Xunma, speaking as if in defense, smiled. Zhang Jian nodded and, after finishing his meal, continued,

“You travel alone. Isn’t it inconvenient?”

“There are conveniences to traveling alone.”

Zhang Jian, eating the porridge, answered. Xunma, looking at him with a strange expression, turned his head to look at Cao Cao, who was parked with the other horses. Cao Cao, having realized that the two mares pulling the carriage were both female, was subtly flirting with them.

“What a remarkable horse.”

Hearing this, Zhang Jian also looked at the mischievous creature and sighed lightly.

“...He is remarkable.”

“No, I’m not joking. Even at a glance, he’s not an ordinary horse. Where did you get such a horse?”

Zhang Jian, seeing Xunma’s fixed gaze on Cao Cao, asked in return,

“Do you know horses well?”

“There were no horses in this land before your ancestors brought them here a hundred years ago, but they are ultimately one of the expressions of the spirits in this world... Of course, my father and grandfather were involved in horse affairs.”

Zhang Jian, turning his head to see Xunma smiling slightly, chuckled. He put down the empty bowl and picked up the teacup.

“He’s not an ordinary horse... That’s true. Before crossing the sea with me, he was quite a show-off.”

The sky was turning from red to dark blue, and the first stars were already twinkling in the eastern sky. Zhang Jian, with the flickering campfire and the unfamiliar but harmless people in front of him, looked at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao, flirting between the two mares, turned his head to meet Zhang Jian’s gaze. Zhang Jian saw the playful and cunning look in his bright eyes. Usually, the horse was more of a nuisance.

But Zhang Jian knew that beyond the playfulness lay a pure savagery, a frenzied gallop that could run until the last drop of blood was drained.

Zhang Jian said,

“He’s the son of the Yellow River Dragon. Half of his blood is that of a dragon.”

Jeliang, who had been scribbling, lowered his book and brush, looking at Zhang Jian with renewed interest. Zhang Jian, finding it amusing, smiled.

“At least in the Hunan horse market, he was known for being so fierce that such a legend stuck to him.”