Chapter 9

Sure enough, Ma Chao, Ma Mengqi. Although Ma Chao had long known this, hearing it from Ma Teng still made his heart tremble slightly.

"Chao'er, your grandfather said, 'Meng means the first in rank, and Qi means to rise.' I hope that my family will rise from my grandson, so my eldest grandson's courtesy name is Mengqi!" Ma Teng said, with a nostalgic look on his face.

It turned out to be this meaning, at least Ma Chao had never thought about what Mengqi actually meant before.

Of course, the courtesy names of ancient people were not given casually; each had its own meaning. For example, Dong Zhuo, whom Ma Chao met at the noodle shop, had the courtesy name Zhongying. Since Dong Zhuo was the second son in his family, he was called Zhong, and Ying means clever. His family hoped that Dong Zhuo would not be foolish in critical moments and would be smart in dealing with people and affairs, so they gave him the courtesy name Zhongying.

"Alright, Chao'er, you can go now." Although Ma Chao had a courtesy name, Ma Teng still liked and was accustomed to calling him Chao'er.

"Yes, I will take my leave." Ma Chao turned and returned to his room.

The next day, Ma Teng returned to the army, while Ma Chao was at home packing to set off. However, under the persuasion of his mother, Lady Liu, he agreed to stay at home for a few more days and leave at the beginning of the fifth month.

While Ma Chao was packing, a servant came to report that an old friend had come to visit.

Ma Chao was taken aback. An old friend? He didn't seem to have many old friends. Teacher Yan Zhong? Impossible. Dong Zhuo? Even more impossible. No matter who it was, he would go out and see. He thought to himself.

When he reached the door, Ma Chao saw that it was indeed an old friend.

The visitor was riding a chestnut horse, with a halberd hanging on the horse. The visitor dismounted, and upon seeing him, he was tall, over eight feet, neither fat nor thin, and looked very sturdy, with a bundle slung over his shoulder. It was none other than Cui An, the only son of Ma Chao's former teacher, Cui Hong.

Cui An dismounted and immediately saw Ma Chao. Before Ma Chao could say anything, Cui An knelt down in front of him, "Cui An from Fufeng, Cui Fuda, pays respects to my lord!" His voice was loud, startling the unprepared Ma Chao.

Before Ma Chao could say anything, Cui An continued, "My father specifically told me to find you and serve you as my lord! From now on, whatever you do, I will follow. He also gave me the courtesy name Fuda!"

Hearing Cui An's words, Ma Chao felt a sense of self-reproach and guilt. He had promised Mr. Cui to take care of Cui An, but over the past five years, he had been preoccupied with his own affairs and had not taken care of him. Now, Cui An had come to find him on his own. Thinking of this, Ma Chao used both hands to lift Cui An up, "Fuda, please rise. I have failed Mr. Cui!"

"Yes, my lord." Cui An stood up.

Looking at Cui An, Ma Chao felt very happy. He finally had a subordinate. He also knew some of Cui An's abilities. To achieve dominance in the Three Kingdoms, he needed both civil and military talents. Today, he had gained a brave general, which was a good start.

What made Ma Chao even happier was Mr. Cui's trust in him. From the courtesy name given to his son, it was clear that Fuda meant "great fortune," indicating that Mr. Cui did not expect Cui An to bring glory to the family but hoped that his son would be safe and have a long life.

Cui An was not a fool, but he was not particularly smart either. Sometimes his brain just didn't work well, so Cui Hong was not at ease with his son and had him follow Ma Chao, believing that Ma Chao would take good care of Cui An.

Cui An was invited into the house, and a room was arranged for him. During this time, Ma Chao asked Cui An what he had been doing these past years. Cui An told him about his experiences.

It turned out that before leaving, Cui Hong had told Cui An, "After I leave, go to Ma Chao, serve him as your lord, and follow him. I will be at ease. However, he will be studying for about five to six years, so wait until he has completed his studies before finding him. For now, stay at home and don't cause any trouble. In five years, you can go to Ma Chao."

Cui An nodded in agreement. Growing up, he was fearless, but he was afraid of two people: his teacher and Cui Hong.

However, his teacher had passed away and could no longer manage him, and his father, Cui Hong, had disappeared. Although no one was managing him, Cui An was obedient. Cui Hong had told him not to go out, so he only left to pay respects to his teacher and family once a year. Fortunately, the Cui family had a good business background, so he had no worries about food and drink.

Thus, five years passed, and Cui An was eager to leave. When the time was right, he quickly packed his things and came to Longxi to find Ma Chao. The scene that followed was as described earlier.

"Fuda, from now on, you will be by my side, but you must listen to me. If not, you will return to Fufeng!" Ma Chao said seriously.

"My lord, rest assured, my father has already told me, and I will definitely listen to you!" Cui An patted his chest, guaranteeing.

Ma Chao told Cui An to call him Mengqi, but Cui An was stubborn and insisted on calling him lord, as his father had instructed. Ma Chao thought, "Where am I going to find your father?" but decided not to waste time on this issue.

The next day, the two practiced martial arts. Ma Chao had practiced with Ma Teng several times, focusing on horseback skills. He asked Ma Teng not to hold back, but he lost the first time. He lost again the second time. The third time, they fought for over 150 rounds, ending in a draw. However, Ma Chao knew that in a real battle, he would still lose. Therefore, he considered himself a second-rate warrior but lacked practical experience.

Today, he had the opportunity to practice with Cui An, hoping to see if he had improved and to assess Cui An's level.

The two rode to the outskirts and prepared.

"Fuda, during the practice, you don't need to hold back. Use your full strength!"

"Yes, my lord!" Cui An, being straightforward, would never hold back.

After they started, Ma Chao was surprised. Cui An was indeed strong. A skilled person's first move reveals their level. Cui An was definitely much stronger than him, a first-rate warrior.

For the first fifty rounds, Ma Chao barely held his own, but by the hundredth round, he was struggling. After the hundredth round, Ma Chao was completely defeated. This meant that Cui An was even stronger than Ma Teng, a first-rate warrior.

Although he lost, Ma Chao was even happier. Cui An was a great general, a first-rate warrior, and such a talent was hard to come by.

In the following days, the two practiced every day. Not only did they practice, but Ma Chao also sought Cui An's advice on the parts of spear techniques he did not understand. Cui An was indeed talented in martial arts, and the parts Ma Chao did not understand, Cui An also did not know. However, the parts Ma Chao partially understood, Cui An knew well and explained to him. When Cui An explained martial arts, his brain worked best, but not in other situations.

After listening to Cui An, Ma Chao had a sudden realization and finally fully understood the parts of spear techniques he had only partially grasped, improving his skills.

While Ma Chao was improving, Cui An was also improving. Cui An knew two halberd techniques: one taught by his teacher and another he had created himself, though the latter was not yet complete. However, after seeing Ma Chao's spear techniques, he gradually improved his self-created halberd technique, making it stronger, though not yet perfect.

As a result, when they practiced again, Ma Chao could hold out for about thirty more rounds against Cui An. Both had improved significantly, though they did not realize it.

By May, Ma Chao was ready to leave, and Cui An was going with him. Lady Liu prepared two good horses for them.

In Liangzhou, there were many cattle and horses, but finding excellent horses was not easy. However, good horses could be bought with money. These two excellent horses were bought by Lady Liu from the Qiang people, and both Ma Chao and Cui An liked them.

Ma Chao hung his long spear on the horse and mounted. On the other side, Cui An also hung his halberd and mounted. In addition to his long spear, Ma Chao also carried his Snow Drink saber, wrapped in cloth and slung on his back. He also carried a bundle with several sets of clothes and eight books.

These eight books included the two left by Nanhua and the six volumes copied by Ma Teng from Ma Yuan. The bundle also contained some money, while Cui An carried less, only his halberd, money, and a few sets of clothes.

With these items, they mounted their horses, said goodbye to their families, and set off. Their first destination was Jiuyuan in Bingzhou, where Cui An had studied and where his teacher was buried. It was also the time to pay respects to his teacher, so Cui An was eager to go.

Ma Chao had never been to Bingzhou before, so he was also looking forward to it. Bingzhou was his first stop. As for the specific place, any part of Bingzhou would do, but hearing about Jiuyuan, Ma Chao was excited, thinking he might even meet famous figures.

They did not travel in a hurry, traveling for four to five hours each day, resting when tired, and sleeping at night. They had plenty of time and did not need to travel day and night. If they encountered a city at night, they would stay in the city. If it was too late to enter or they were in the wilderness, they would stay outside the city or in the wilderness.

During the five years of studying with Yan Zhong, Ma Chao had been trained to sleep outdoors. Cui An was even better, able to sleep anywhere.

On their journey, some people were unfortunate. Several times, bandits tried to rob them. Ma Chao and Cui An were dressed simply and did not look wealthy, but their horses were good, so the bandits targeted the horses.

The bandits would say, "Leave the horses and you can go." If they resisted, they would be killed. Before Ma Chao could say anything, Cui An would go straight in, killing several with his halberd in a few moves. The bandits, with their poor skills, were no match for Cui An, and the rest would run away.

This happened three times, and Ma Chao could not bear it. He told Cui An, "Next time, you don't need to act. I will handle it myself." Ma Chao thought the bandits were probably driven by poverty and had no choice. Who would rob if they had food and drink at home?

If they were bandits, he would not have hesitated to kill them. But these people were dressed in rags and carried farming tools like hoes and sticks. A few had rusty or broken ring swords. Such a group could not be professional bandits.

Therefore, Ma Chao did not want to harm them, and Cui An, being impulsive, was not allowed to act. When they encountered such groups again, Ma Chao went alone and beat them up.

After these small incidents, it took them about ten days to reach Jiuyuan in Bingzhou. They first went to the outskirts of Jiuyuan to pay respects to Cui An's teacher. Despite Cui An's usual quiet demeanor, he was in tears and continuously bowed.

Cui An, at twenty-one, was like a child crying, which was rare. He said, "Master, I have come to see you. I no longer cause trouble. Now I follow my lord, so you can rest easy!" It was clear that Cui An and his teacher had a good relationship, which made Ma Chao think of Mr. Cui and his teacher, Yan Zhong.

He had not seen Yan Zhong for about a month, but he had not seen Mr. Cui for over five years. Thinking of this, Ma Chao asked Cui An, who was still kneeling, "Fuda, have you had any news of Mr. Cui in the past few years?"

Cui An wiped his tears and shook his head at Ma Chao, "No, my father left home over five years ago and has not been heard from since." He looked very sad, and Ma Chao thought Cui An missed his father.

"Alright, don't worry too much. Mr. Cui will return eventually!" Ma Chao patted Cui An's shoulder.

"Yes!" Cui An smiled at Ma Chao, but it was more awkward than a cry.

"Fuda, let's go into the city. It's getting late."

"Yes, my lord!" It seemed Cui An only knew a few words.

They mounted their horses and headed to Jiuyuan. In the city, they found a place to stay. They ate and stayed in the city, and when they left, they bought enough food for a day or two. If they ran out of food and could not find a town, they would have to go into the mountains to find food.

Cui An was the main hunter. Although neither of them carried bows, Cui An always brought back large game like deer and wild boars, while Ma Chao could only bring back rabbits and pheasants.

Cui An complained, saying, "My lord, you don't need to go into the mountains anymore. Let me do it. When you go, we don't get much." Ma Chao had no choice but to accept, as he was not as skilled.

They stayed in Jiuyuan for two days, and Ma Chao did not meet any notable figures. They prepared two days' worth of food and water and left Jiuyuan.

During these two days, Ma Chao wandered around Jiuyuan, both inside and