Chapter 967: A Hero in His Youth

Da Qiao silently watched Xiao Qiao's performance, without interrupting. After all, there’s a saying: "constant exposure leads to understanding."

Xiao Qiao spent all her time with Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu was always scheming and planning. Over time, Xiao Qiao had become quite adept at dealing with people like Ma Chao, whose straightforwardness—some might say lack of intelligence—made him easy to handle.

Soon enough, Xiao Qiao had even coaxed Ma Chao into revealing the name of his fiancée. At that point, Da Qiao coughed lightly, signaling for Xiao Qiao to stop, and only then did Xiao Qiao reluctantly pout and halt her interrogation.

"Apologies for bothering General Ma. It seems you’ve only just woken up, and your body likely hasn’t fully recovered. Please rest well, and if you need anything, let Minglan know—she’ll take care of it," Da Qiao said gracefully, pointing to the maid beside her before bowing.

"Safe travels, my lady," Ma Chao responded with a silly grin, watching the Qiao sisters leave. Only then did it occur to him that he hadn’t even asked their names. More importantly, where was Li Feisha?

"Where is my horse?" Ma Chao asked in a panic as he snapped back to reality.

"Your horse, General? It’s in the backyard. It woke up a few days ago and has been flying around all day since," the maid replied, recalling the now bald-headed horse that had been flying around, occasionally biting the other horses. After being struck by lightning, the fact that Li Feisha was still alive was already a miracle. While Ma Chao hadn’t turned bald, Li Feisha had.

"Oh, that’s good," Ma Chao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Li Feisha was fine, that was all that mattered. Li Feisha had been his companion through thick and thin, surviving near-death experiences. Thinking about it, Ma Chao could now understand why Lü Bu had pursued him so relentlessly.

"Tch, it’s just because I couldn’t beat Lü Bu. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have turned out this way," Ma Chao muttered to himself, recalling the god-like strength Lü Bu had displayed. It was a power Ma Chao had always craved.

"Not being able to beat the Marquis of Wen is pretty normal, don’t you think?" Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and the Qiao sisters arrived just in time to overhear Ma Chao’s words. Sun Ce chuckled as he replied.

"Eavesdropping on others isn’t exactly polite," Ma Chao said, suddenly feeling annoyed by the appearance of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. The aura that made it seem as though all things revolved around them left Ma Chao feeling uneasy.

"But speaking ill of others behind their back isn’t good either," Zhou Yu said with a smile, his tone light, as he looked at Ma Chao. He hadn’t paid much attention before, but now he realized that, although Ma Chao was also handsome, it was a different kind of handsomeness—more rugged compared to their refined elegance and grandeur.

"Thank you both for saving my life. I will repay you generously one day," Ma Chao clasped his hands in thanks, dropping the earlier topic. However, his tone was different from when he had spoken to the Qiao sisters. His pride was still evident. While the two before him indeed had a certain commanding presence, Ma Chao was also a top-tier warrior.

"I never expected anything in return," Sun Ce laughed. He truly hadn’t thought about what Ma Chao could give in return.

"Hmph, I am Ma Mengqi of Xiliang. You both appear to come from wealthy families. When your business expands to Yongliang, the Ma family will naturally assist you in every way possible," Ma Chao said proudly. The feeling that everything dimmed in comparison to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had stirred Ma Chao’s pride.

"Hahaha~" Sun Ce and Zhou Yu exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"If Bo Fu’s business extends to Yongliang, would we even need any help by then?" Zhou Yu laughed. If Sun Ce’s influence could reach Yongliang, they would already have the world in their grasp. Even if they couldn’t, it would mean that the world had been divided in half.

Ma Chao looked at them, puzzled. If even their wives knew who he was, how could their husbands not be aware of his family’s influence? The Ma family in Yongliang wasn’t the top power, but it was certainly one of the strongest.

"There’s no need for such things, General Ma," Zhou Yu said with a smile. By this point, he had already given up on recruiting Ma Chao. After all, Ma Chao was essentially a regional power on his own. His father was basically the ruler of Liangzhou, so there was no reason for him to pledge allegiance to Sun Ce—it would be awkward.

However, in the future, things might change. Zhou Yu’s sharp eyes could already see that Ma Teng and Han Sui would inevitably come into conflict with Cao Cao over control of Yongliang. Given the opportunity to drive a wedge between them, Zhou Yu wouldn’t hesitate to cast a long line to catch a big fish. Forming an alliance with Ma Chao now might prove to be a key move in the future.

"If my brother, Sun Bo Fu, can really extend his influence to Liangzhou, then the situation in the world would already be clear. That’s why we can only smile at General Ma’s words," Zhou Yu explained with a smile. Although his words carried a hint of mockery, Ma Chao sensed only sincerity from Zhou Yu.

"I was too rash," Ma Chao admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed. He was the type to act without thinking, often causing trouble despite his good intentions. Though a bit flustered, Ma Chao realized Zhou Yu was right, and he laughed at his own short-sightedness.

Zhou Yu maintained his gentle smile. After just a few exchanges, he had already grasped Ma Chao’s personality. He was remarkably similar to Sun Ce, but unfortunately, Ma Chao didn’t have someone like Zhou Yu to support him. Without guidance, Ma Chao was bound to cause trouble in the future, despite his good heart.

"By the way, aren’t you from Xiliang? How did you end up here in Jingzhou?" Sun Ce suddenly asked the question he was most curious about. "From what you said earlier, did you get beaten up by the Marquis of Wen?"

Sun Ce had always held great respect for Lü Bu—aside from his character, of course. Lü Bu was the strongest warrior he had ever seen. Whether it was Zhao Yun from their encounter on the Yangtze River or Huang Zhong from Jingzhou, none matched the overwhelming power of Lü Bu!

Ma Chao grimaced and explained what had happened earlier. Although he now understood that he had made a mistake, there wasn’t much regret in his explanation.

"You’ve got guts!" Sun Ce gave Ma Chao a thumbs-up in admiration. "You injured Red Hare and still managed to escape to Jingzhou. That’s impressive, both in terms of skill and luck!"

Zhou Yu also couldn’t help but be amazed. Although he had anticipated that Ma Chao was strong, especially given that his horse was a divine steed with Internal Energy Manifestation, Zhou Yu hadn’t expected that Ma Chao would be one of the few people in the world capable of escaping from Lü Bu in a duel.

"Don’t bring it up," Ma Chao waved dismissively. "If it weren’t for Lü Bu holding back for some unknown reason, I would’ve been dead long ago."

Ma Chao thought back to his battle with Lü Bu in Bingzhou and couldn’t understand why Lü Bu had shown him mercy. He recalled how Lü Bu had chased him across half of the Central Plains before finally unleashing a devastating attack that still spared his life. The thought filled him with unease.

"Lü Bu is ridiculously strong," Ma Chao thought with a shudder. He had walked the line between life and death during that battle. He hadn’t realized it at the time, but now that he reflected on it, cold sweat drenched his back. "A monster... but I want to become a monster like him!"

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