Chapter 10

Hearing the sound, Ma Chao reined in his horse, turned his head, and saw a man running ahead, who looked to be around fifty years old. In his arms, he held a little girl who appeared to be about five or six years old. The man looked quite disheveled.

Chasing after them was a squad of Bingzhou soldiers, about ten in number. They were an infantry squad, and since none of them were on horseback, they hadn't caught up yet, but they were getting close.

Seeing this, Cui An was about to step forward, but Ma Chao quickly called out to stop him, "Fuda, don't be rash!"

Cui An stopped, and Ma Chao quickly tore a large piece of cloth from his clothes, splitting it into two halves. He used one piece to cover his face, leaving only his forehead and eyes exposed, and handed the other piece to Cui An.

"Quickly cover your face, and you mustn't speak! Do exactly as I do, and if you say a single word, you won't be able to follow me anymore!"

Cui An nodded hurriedly and covered his face with the cloth, showing that Ma Chao's words were indeed effective. Seeing Cui An comply, Ma Chao felt relieved.

Ma Chao had stopped Cui An to prevent him from causing trouble. If the man running ahead was a serious criminal, Ma Chao would not have interfered. If there was another reason, he might have helped. But Cui An's direct approach was definitely not the way to go. Both Ma Chao and Cui An were commoners, with no money or power. While they weren't afraid of offending the authorities, it would certainly bring endless trouble.

The two rode forward, and just as the man was about to be caught, Ma Chao and Cui An arrived.

Letting the man pass, Ma Chao and Cui An reined in their horses to block the path of the pursuers.

"Who are you? How dare you obstruct the officials in the performance of their duties!" This was said by the man who had been shouting to catch them, who seemed to be the leader of the squad.

"May I ask what crime they have committed?" Ma Chao asked, clasping his fists in a respectful gesture.

"They are notorious bandits wanted by the imperial court!" the leader replied.

"Ha ha ha!" Ma Chao couldn't help but laugh. Notorious bandits? Please, sir, at least make it sound plausible. How many notorious bandits carry children around? And look at the man running; he has no weapons, no martial skills, and is out of breath. His clothes, though not tattered, are certainly not valuable. He clearly looks like a scholar, not a notorious bandit who would end up in such a disgraceful state.

"Fine, notorious bandits, very well." As he spoke, Ma Chao gave Cui An a nod. "Don't hurt them, just knock them out, go!"

Ma Chao attacked as he spoke, and following his command, Cui An swung his halberd at the Bingzhou soldiers. Ma Chao was more controlled, ensuring they were only knocked out, with the worst injuries being minor. But Cui An was different; everyone he hit was injured, though not fatally, but the injuries were severe.

Seeing this, Ma Chao sighed, "Be gentler next time!" Cui An nodded quickly, remembering that Ma Chao had told him not to speak.

Ma Chao shook his head with a smile, dismounted, and walked towards the man he had saved, removing the cloth from his face. Cui An followed suit and dismounted.

The man Ma Chao had saved was still catching his breath. A scholar of his age, carrying a child and being chased, was indeed a difficult task. Now he could finally put the child down to rest.

Seeing Ma Chao and Cui An approach, the man prepared to bow, but Ma Chao quickly stopped him.

"Just a small favor, not worth mentioning!" Ma Chao thought the man must be around fifty. Although he had helped, Ma Chao couldn't let him bow to him.

But the man seemed stubborn and overly formal, "No, you and your companion saved my life and my daughter's. I must show my gratitude!"

Ma Chao had no choice but to accept the bow, thinking how helpless it was to deal with such formalities.

After the formalities, Ma Chao asked, "May I know your name, sir?"

"I am Cai Yong from Chenliu, also known as Cai Bojie. This is my daughter, Cai Yan, who is five years old." Cai Yong said, pulling the little girl beside him, "Yan'er, greet your savior!"

He is Cai Yong, Cai Bojie, what a surprise, Ma Chao thought.

"Indeed, you are Mr. Bojie. I am Ma Chao from Fufeng, also known as Ma Mengqi. It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Bojie!" Ma Chao bowed to Cai Yong, then took out a letter from his chest, which Yan Zhong had given him, and respectfully handed it to Cai Yong.

"I did not know it was you, Mr. Bojie. This is a personal letter from my teacher, who instructed me to deliver it to you."

"Really?" Cai Yong took the letter with curiosity and opened it.

After reading it, he said to Ma Chao, "I didn't expect you, Mengqi, to be a disciple of Minxue. Minxue asked me to take care of you, and I never thought that the first time we meet, you would save my life!" Cai Yong shook his head with a bitter smile.

Minxue was Yan Zhong's courtesy name, derived from the Analects, "Diligent in learning and not ashamed to ask questions." Even Ma Chao, his disciple, didn't know his teacher's courtesy name. In fact, only a few people in the world knew it. Yan Zhong was not only low-key but also had few friends. Many knew him, but few knew his courtesy name, only his closest friends did.

"My teacher often speaks highly of Mr. Bojie, calling you a learned scholar and a role model for us all!" Ma Chao flattered, but Cai Yong, a renowned scholar, was not easily swayed by flattery.

"Minxue is too modest. I greatly admire his knowledge!" Cai Yong and Yan Zhong were the same age, both forty-six, and they didn't bother to determine who was older, calling each other brother.

"Yan'er, greet your senior brother Mengqi!"

"Cai Yan greets Senior Brother Mengqi!" the little girl said.

Ma Chao looked at her; she was the little girl Cai Yong had been carrying. Despite being only five, she was very cute, looking at him with big eyes. Ma Chao liked her. When Cai Yong had asked her to call him savior, she didn't speak, but now she called him senior brother, showing her intelligence and wit.

Ma Chao patted Cai Yan's head, "Yan'er is so cute, this is for you!" He took out a jade pendant from his chest, which he had found when moving from Fufeng to Longxi, possibly part of his mother Liu's dowry.

He didn't particularly like jade, and the pendant wasn't valuable, but Ma Chao kept it and even engraved his name on it, carrying it with him. Since this was the first time meeting Cai Yan, he had nothing else to give her, so he offered the pendant.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Mengqi!" Cai Yan happily took the pendant and put it away.

"Senior Brother Mengqi's gift, Yan'er likes it very much, but Yan'er has nothing to give you in return." Cai Yan said seriously.

Ma Chao almost fell over, "No, no, it's fine, don't worry about it."

"Okay, maybe next time!" Cai Yan said.

"Sure, sure," Ma Chao smiled, thinking that as long as his little junior sister was happy, everything was fine.

Cai Yong had wanted to stop Cai Yan from accepting the pendant, but seeing her happy, he didn't say much. Children's matters should be left to them, he thought, and smiled.

"May I ask why you are here, Mr. Bojie?" Ma Chao asked.

"It's a long story!" Cai Yong sighed.

Originally, Cai Yong was a high-ranking official, but he offended people in the court and then angered the emperor, who exiled him to Bingzhou Shuofang.

Later, the emperor, appreciating Cai Yong's talent, remembered his exile and pardoned him, sending him back to Wuyuan Anyang.

However, he offended the governor of Wuyuan, Wang Zhi, who was a petty and vindictive person. He wrote a memorial accusing Cai Yong of being dissatisfied with the court and the emperor due to his exile, and also of defaming the court. At the same time, he sent people to arrest Cai Yong, leading to the incident just now.

Ma Chao thought that the Han dynasty was truly on the verge of collapse. Cai Yong, though a scholar, was a renowned scholar known throughout the land. For a minor governor to dare to frame and arrest him, it showed how bold and corrupt the officials had become.

"May I ask what your next plans are, Mr. Bojie? You cannot stay here for long!" Ma Chao said a classic line.

"I plan to go to Jiangdong Wu Commandery."

"That's a good idea. Jiangdong is far from Bingzhou and relatively safe. Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to and cannot escort you there!" Ma Chao said regretfully.

"Fuda, from today on, you will follow Mr. Bojie and protect him and Yan'er until they reach Wu Commandery!"

"Lord, my father told me to stay by your side!"

"But didn't Mr. Cui also tell you to listen to me?"

"Yes, but if I listen to you, I can't stay by your side, which means I'm not listening to my father! If I stay by your side, I'm not listening to you. What should I do?" Cui An said, holding his head.

Ma Chao, Cai Yong, and Cai Yan all laughed.

"Fuda, think of it this way: being by my side now is following Mr. Cui's instructions, and when I send you to Wu Commandery, you are following my instructions. When you return to me from Wu Commandery, you are still following Mr. Cui's instructions."

"Right, that makes sense. You are much smarter than me! Ha ha ha!" Cui An laughed.

Ma Chao instructed Cui An to escort Cai Yong and his daughter to Wu Commandery, emphasizing that he must listen to Mr. Bojie. If he didn't, Ma Chao would send him back to Fufeng. Cui An nodded quickly.

Cui An escorted Cai Yong and his daughter, and before they left, Ma Chao gave them his provisions. Cai Yong initially refused, but Ma Chao insisted that Cai Yan shouldn't go hungry, so he accepted.

Cai Yan cried when she realized she was parting with Ma Chao, showing how much she would miss him. After Ma Chao promised to visit her in the future, she stopped crying and waved goodbye to him.

Ma Chao was also reluctant to part with them, but since Cai Yong had a destination, and with Cui An's protection, they would be safer. If they had nowhere to go, Ma Chao would have arranged for them to stay in Longxi. However, he couldn't take them with him, as he didn't know what dangers lay ahead.

Watching Cui An and the others leave, Ma Chao felt a weight lifted from his heart. He knew that with Cui An's abilities, escorting Cai Yong and his daughter to Wu Commandery would be no problem. Although Cui An was not by his side, he wouldn't cause too much trouble.

Without further thought, Ma Chao mounted his horse and headed to his next destination. His next destination was still in Bingzhou, specifically Yunzhong Commandery, which bordered Wuyuan. It took him less than two days to reach Yunzhong City.

Yunzhong City gave Ma Chao a similar feeling to Jiuyuan City. Both were important military strongholds in northern Bingzhou, so many aspects were the same.

Entering Yunzhong City, Ma Chao saw a recruitment notice. Seeing this, he made a decision to temporarily join the Bingzhou army. This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision but a well-thought-out plan. Besides, he had never seen a Han army camp and thought it would be good to see one.

Ma Chao first bought a small house in Yunzhong City, which didn't cost much. In a place like Yunzhong City, any house that could be sold was a good deal, but it wouldn't fetch a high price. After settling his belongings, Ma Chao went to enlist.

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