Chapter 2

Surprised as he was, Ma Chao also understood that since such things had already happened, there was nothing he could do to change them. He could only console himself, thinking that since he was here, he should just make the best of it.

Unfortunately, he would never see his parents, relatives, and friends from his previous life again. He could only silently wish them well, hoping they would live peacefully and happily in another time and space.

Since heaven had brought him to the Three Kingdoms era and reborn as Ma Chao, he could only do his best to play his role. Heroes emerge in chaotic times, and although he might not become a hero, having a goal was always good.

It had to be said that Ma Chao's ability to accept things was quite strong. Indeed, he was like that in his previous life; changes in the environment didn't affect him much.

He always felt that what had already happened couldn't be changed, and complaining about things that couldn't be changed was useless. The only thing to do was to accept and face them, and do what he should do.

Although Ma Chao could accept and face things well, he was not from this era. He might still need time to gradually integrate into this era and become Ma Chao of this era.

After thinking for a while, Ma Chao decided to stop thinking about it for now. Suddenly, he noticed an old man staring at him, with a gaze that seemed to want to see through him.

Who is he? Why is he looking at me like that? Ma Chao was puzzled. Oh, right, the old man said his name was Nan Hua.

Wait, Nan Hua, Nan Hua, why does it sound so familiar? Where have I heard or seen it before? I really can't remember. But Ma Chao was sure that Nan Hua must be a character from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As for what he did, he had forgotten.

It wasn't entirely his fault, after all, not everyone who had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms could immediately remember who Nan Hua was. Ma Chao was one of those who couldn't remember.

Since he couldn't remember, he decided not to waste his brain cells. At this moment, Lady Liu spoke, "Ma Chao, Chao'er, Shoucheng, this name is good, I like it. Chao'er, from now on, I'll call you Chao'er." As she spoke, she stroked Ma Chao's face, "Chao'er, be a good boy and smile for Mama."

Lady Liu teased Ma Chao with a smile, but Ma Chao's face was full of black lines. He was 24 years old in his previous life, and now he had to be the son of a 17- or 18-year-old woman. Looking at his new mother, he felt somewhat helpless.

"Shoucheng, look, Chao'er is smiling at me, ha ha!" Please, that's not a smile, it's a mix of laughter and tears, Ma Chao thought to himself.

Suddenly, he noticed the loving look in Lady Liu's eyes. He was familiar with this look; it was the way parents looked at their children, just like his mother in his previous life.

At this moment, he remembered a few sayings from his previous life. The first was that no matter how young a woman is, she has a maternal side. The second was that in the world, no matter what language, the word for "mother" is pronounced almost the same. And the third was that maternal love is great, and the hearts of parents are truly touching.

At this moment, Ma Chao's heart was touched. He felt that since heaven had brought him to the Eastern Han Dynasty and made him Ma Chao, the son of Lady Liu, from now on, he would be Lady Liu's child, and Lady Liu would be his mother. Although he might not have fully integrated into this era, he had already accepted Lady Liu as his mother in his heart.

Ma Chao smiled, this time not a mix of laughter and tears, but a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"Yes, Chao'er is really smiling!" Ma Teng said, looking at Ma Chao with a smile.

While Ma Teng was looking at Ma Chao and smiling to himself, Lady Liu gave him a meaningful look, as if to say, "Where did you find this old man? He keeps staring at our child, is he trying to kidnap Chao'er? I've heard there are a lot of child kidnappers lately."

Ma Teng understood and bowed to Nan Hua, "I wonder why Mr. Nan has come to my home?" He assumed the old man's surname was Nan.

Nan Hua, hearing Ma Teng speak to him, came back to his senses from staring at Ma Chao. He first looked at Lady Liu, then at Ma Teng.

Ma Teng, of course, understood what he meant, "Please, Mr. Nan, let's talk in private." Saying this, he led Nan Hua to his study.

The two entered the study, and Ma Teng closed the door. Before he could speak, Nan Hua found a seat and sat down. Ma Teng found this old man interesting; he acted as if he were at home, not at all polite. However, Ma Teng had to be humble, as the old man was too powerful.

A capable person, even if they did something unreasonable, wouldn't be questioned by wise people. Of course, sometimes someone might say something, but generally, there were two types of people: the first didn't know the person's capabilities and the situation, and the second was just lacking in common sense.

Ma Teng sat opposite Nan Hua, "Mr. Nan, this is my study. No one would come here without my permission. And there is no one within thirty steps of here."

"Hmm." Nan Hua didn't even look at Ma Teng, as if he were meditating.

"Please, may I ask..."

"Alright, I know what you want to say." Nan Hua opened his eyes and said to Ma Teng, "You are the father of the person involved, so there's nothing that can't be said. I'll be brief."

It turned out that many years ago, Nan Hua observed the stars and found that the Purple Star, representing the emperor, was dim. In the north, southwest, and southeast, new imperial stars were faintly forming. At that time, Nan Hua divined and found that the Han Dynasty had only a few decades left, and the next hundred years would see a tripartite division of the world.

In the following years, the star patterns didn't change much. Until last year, the star patterns changed dramatically. The Purple Star was still dim, and after divination, it was clear that the Han Dynasty was nearing its end, with only a few years left. However, the tripartite division of the world had changed to a unification within a few decades.

The three growing imperial stars in the north, southwest, and southeast had become dim, only slightly brighter than ordinary stars. In the northwest, a bright Purple Star had risen, still growing but already brighter than all other stars.

The Purple Star represents the will of heaven. After divination, Nan Hua confirmed that this star was the unifying imperial star and was about to be born. While marveling at the unpredictability of heaven, he also decided to find the unborn Purple Star.

Nan Hua was a practitioner of Daoism, pursuing the supreme Dao, but the Dao was elusive, and cultivation was against the will of heaven. How could he easily enter the Dao? He had practiced for over three hundred years, mastering martial arts, astrology, medicine, and Daoist techniques, but he could not enter the Dao.

Later, he realized that cultivation was against the will of heaven, but to counteract this, he must do more to align with the will of heaven. Thus, in the past hundred years, he had done many things to align with the will of heaven.

Now, he felt that he was one step away from entering the Dao, and all he needed was a catalyst. Last year, he finally understood that the catalyst was the new Purple Star. If he could find and help this star, he could successfully enter the Dao. With this realization, he began his journey to find the imperial star.

After months of effort, he finally found the newborn Ma Chao in Fufeng Maoling. The celestial phenomena caused by Ma Chao's birth further confirmed that Ma Chao was the imperial star. Thus, he called out Ma Teng and explained everything to him.

After hearing Nan Hua's story, Ma Teng was stunned, his brain short-circuited, his eyes wide open, and his mouth forming an O. He stared at Nan Hua in shock.

At least thirty seconds passed before Ma Teng slowly recovered from his shock. His first reaction was disbelief. It was too absurd. If someone came to your home and said your son would be the emperor, would you believe it?

Ma Teng's first reaction was disbelief, but then he thought, maybe what the old man said was true. He didn't understand the Dao, but as the saying goes, "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run." He didn't understand it, but he had heard of people pursuing the elusive Dao. And Nan Hua had no reason to lie to him. People lie for gain, but his family had nothing to offer. Besides, with Nan Hua's skills, he could do anything he wanted. And the celestial phenomena he had seen with his own eyes were undeniable. Only Nan Hua's explanation made sense. His son would be the emperor. Ha ha, thinking of this, Ma Teng broke into his signature silly smile.

If Ma Chao knew his new father's thoughts, he might find Ma Teng quite endearing. After all, in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Teng seemed to have no ambition, only a desire to support the Han Dynasty. But now, he seemed to have no ambition and no particular fondness for the Han Dynasty.

In fact, Ma Teng had no grand ambitions. His greatest goal was to restore the glory of his family. He was now a commoner, and his family had almost starved in the past two years. His father had been dismissed from office, so he had no good feelings toward the government. Besides, if you knew your son would be the emperor, would you still serve the current emperor? Few would, and this was reality.

While Ma Teng was still smiling, Nan Hua took out two books from his sleeve, "In my life, I have four areas of expertise: martial arts, astrology, medicine, and Daoist techniques. I have compiled my knowledge and insights into three books. The first is called 'The Great Peace Manual,' mainly focusing on Daoist techniques, with some astrology and medicine. However, this book has already been passed to someone else."

After a pause, Nan Hua continued, "The second and third books are unnamed. The second book records my martial arts, including my self-created 'Heavenly Infinity Spear Technique' for horseback and 'Heavenly Eight Trigram Saber Technique' for dismounted combat. The third book combines astrology and medicine, and is also one of my proudest works. Today, I pass these two books to your son, Ma Chao, hoping they will help him in his future endeavors."

Ma Teng, hearing this, quickly bowed in gratitude. Regardless of anything else, Nan Hua's martial arts were unparalleled, with few equals in the world.

After receiving the books with both hands, Ma Teng wanted to say something, but before he could, Nan Hua said, "My wish is now fulfilled, and I feel I am about to enter the Dao. I will find a beautiful place to complete my life's pursuit. I bid you farewell!" With that, Nan Hua disappeared without a trace.

Ma Teng looked at the open door and sighed, "Truly a transcendent being!" He could only sigh, and if Ma Chao were there, he would have known who Nan Hua was.

After sighing, Ma Teng carefully stored the books Nan Hua had given him, deciding to pass them to Ma Chao when the time was right.

After putting the books away, Ma Teng went to the birthing room. Inside, he found Lady Liu and Ma Chao asleep. Looking at Ma Chao now, his feelings were different. Before, he was a proud father, looking at his son with joy and affection. Now, knowing his son would be the emperor, his look was filled with deep expectations and pride.

It was hard to imagine that a man like Ma Teng could have such complex feelings.

"Ah, Shoucheng, you're here." Lady Liu opened her eyes and said to Ma Teng.

Earlier, Lady Liu had a nightmare where Ma Chao was taken away by the old man. She was startled awake, and seeing Ma Teng and Ma Chao safe, she felt relieved.

"Shoucheng, why do you look so strange?" Lady Liu asked, puzzled.

"I, I'm fine. Oh, right, Mr. Nan has left!" Ma Teng, though always smiling, was not a fool. He knew some things should be kept secret, even from his family.

"He's finally gone, that's good. Don't bring just anyone home in the future. You didn't see the way he looked at Chao'er, it was scary." Lady Liu scolded Ma Teng, still clutching her chest in fear.

"Yes, my lady, I will do as you say." Ma Teng thought, "You probably won't see him again, as he has entered the Dao."

"That's good. Chao'er, don't be afraid, Mama and Papa will protect you." Lady Liu kissed Ma Chao's forehead.

Ma Chao wasn't really sleeping, just resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly, a sweet fragrance filled the air, and he was enveloped in happiness.

Lady Liu was 17 years old, and by Ma Chao's previous standards, she was a beauty. Though not a national beauty, she had a unique charm.

Lady Liu was about 175 cm tall, as Ma Chao estimated, and had a great figure. More importantly, her voice was as beautiful as a nightingale.

Ma Chao felt that heaven had been kind to him. If his mother was so beautiful, the beauties of the Three Kingdoms must be even more beautiful. Although he had no strong desire to possess, the love of beauty was universal, and looking at beautiful women was always good. He had heard that looking at beautiful women could even extend one's life, so he looked forward to his future life. Thinking of this, Ma Chao couldn't help but smile foolishly.

Lady Liu looked at Ma Teng and said, "Shoucheng, look how happy Chao'er is!" After a moment, she added, "Chao'er's smile looks just like yours. Is this a genetic trait of the Ma family?"

Lady Liu covered her mouth and laughed, while Ma Teng's face was full of black lines.

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