In the Three Kingdoms period, the opening scene features the killing of Huang Gai, shocking Zhou Yu!

When I opened my eyes again, the world was turbulent.

He was tied to a wooden board.

……

before that,

When Aya saw him covered in blood,

It really terrified the girl who was scavenging.

But she didn't run away.

On the contrary, it was the villagers who rushed over after hearing the noise from afar.

They pointed and gestured at him.

"Hey, this guy's not quite dead yet!"

"Judging by their attire, they don't look like people from around here; they're probably deserters."

"What bad luck! What terrible luck! Aya, do you think you're not unlucky enough already?"

How dare you mess with a dead body like that? Throw it back into the river right now, lest you bring this plague to the village!

The villagers covered their mouths and noses.

They looked at Ma Chao as if he were a plague.

Even worse, some people picked up sticks and tried to push him back into the river.

At this moment,

Aya dropped her basket and spread her arms to shield him.

Perhaps it was because they felt a sense of shared suffering.

I think Ma Chao is the same as her.

On this abandoned "dead man",

Aya saw herself being ostracized by the world.

Aya was born mute and suffered a lot of scorn from people since she was a child.

Unable to speak, she could only blush with anxiety.

He kept making hoarse roars of "Ah... Uh..."

He kowtowed desperately to the villagers, making famous hand gestures.

The villagers left grumbling and cursing, and no one was willing to lend a hand.

Aya found a broken door panel.

They finally managed to drag Ma Chao up there.

Then they tied another rope in front of it.

Thankfully it's winter, the snow hasn't melted yet.

When Ma Chao woke up, he didn't know where he was.

All he remembered was that small, thin figure slipping and sliding in the snow.

It took a very, very long time.

……

Back to reality,

Ma Chao looked at the unconscious Aya and gave a bitter smile.

He should have died long ago.

I lay in that dilapidated shed for three months.

Only one hand of his body can move.

At first, Aya didn't dare to get close to him.

I only dared to toss him hard, rock-hard black steamed buns from a distance.

They only loosened up after they became more familiar with each other.

He once considered ending his own life.

His martial arts skills were mostly gone, his army was lost, his father was dead, and his brothers were scattered...

What's the point of surviving? To become a cripple?

It was hatred that kept him alive.

Every late night,

The sharp pain from the healing of his leg bone served as a wake-up call for him.

He silently repeated those two names in his heart: "Cao Cao... Zhao Yu..."

Aya didn't understand his hatred.

He simply gathered herbs day after day, chewed them up, and applied them to his wounds;

Then, use warm water to wipe his blood-stained body repeatedly.

Gradually,

The defenses of that "vengeful demon" were gradually broken down by this simple, mute girl.

When the injury was almost healed,

Ma Chao moved to the large water vat used to hold water.

He glanced at the reflection.

At that moment, it felt like being struck by lightning.

The scraggly, sunken-eyed savage in the water...

Is he really the "Ma Chao in silver armor and white robes" who was once famous throughout the world?

after that,

He couldn't stay in that small mountain village any longer.

Because of saving him,

Aya was ostracized even more by the villagers.

She was accused of "keeping a mistress," and all sorts of vulgar and obscene language were used against her.

Those malicious gazes are far more hurtful than swords.

"Aya, let's go."

That night, Ma Chao only said this one sentence.

He took Aya and left the village where she was born and raised.

He pawned that tattered silver armor.

They exchanged it for more than ten taels of gold.

He could have exchanged for even more, but it wasn't necessary, and he didn't care anymore.

Aya and I traveled eastward and arrived here—deep in the mountains near Sishui Pavilion.

The more dangerous a place is, the safer it is.

Zhao Yu was appointed General of the Garrison and granted the fief of Bingjingting.

Ma Chao was gambling, betting that Zhao Yu would never expect this.

His lifelong enemy was living under his nose.

Here, he became the legendary "Ghost Hunter".

Although his leg is lame, his martial arts skills are still there.

His archery skills remain.

He specializes in hunting those wild animals.

They skinned the animals and placed them at a rest stop that hunters would inevitably pass by at the foot of the mountain.

Sometimes, leaving a piece of gold,

Sometimes it's a complete piece of skin.

They only took the salt, rice, and noodles.

The hunters had never seen his true face (in fact, they had, but Ma Chao himself thought so).

I took it as a manifestation of the mountain god.

Or perhaps he is a reclusive sage.

They would happily take the things each time, leaving behind only daily necessities.

This "no-stealing, no-robbery" transaction method,

This preserved the last shred of dignity that Ma Chao possessed as a scion of a powerful family.

He was no longer the high and mighty general.

He was just a lame hunter struggling to survive and support Aya.

But now, that peace has been broken.

Aya's illness came on suddenly and violently; ordinary grass roots and tree bark could not suppress her high fever.

"Water...water..."

Aya murmured in her unconscious state.

His hands were unconsciously reaching out in the air.

Ma Chao quickly reached out and grabbed her burning hot little hand.

Aya seemed to have grasped at a straw, holding on tightly to it.

Ma Chao's heart clenched violently.

There is no medicine at home.

If we don't go down the mountain to collect herbs, it's hard to say what will happen.

But to buy medicine, you have to go to the market.

This is the Four Waters Pavilion, next to the Ice Crystal Pavilion; this is Zhao Yu's territory.

Although his appearance has changed drastically, if he encounters someone with ulterior motives, it's hard to guarantee that he won't give himself away.

Once exposed, certain death is inevitable.

With his current crippled body, he's probably no match for him.

If I don't go, Aya will die.

That snowy day resurfaced in my mind.

She carried a straw rope on her back, dragging him home step by step through the snow, slipping and sliding with each step.

In this world, his father is gone, his brothers are gone, only this mute girl treats him like a human being.

"call……"

Public opinion has made the final decision for him.

Slowly pry open Aya's fingers.

"Aya, wait for me."

He said it in a low voice, though she couldn't hear him.

Ma Chao stood up and walked to the pile of rubble in the corner.

He pulled out the broken piece of the battle sword.

He tucked the broken knife into his lower back and covered it with his tattered fur coat.

Then, he rummaged through the pile of junk and found a straw hat, which he put on his head, trying to keep the brim as low as possible.

Ma Chao kept deceiving himself.

"This isn't Xiliang; nobody here knows me."

"I am no longer the silver-armored general of yesteryear. I am just a lame hunter who had no choice but to come down from the mountain to treat my sister's illness."

Ma Chao turned around and pushed aside the rotten wooden plank blocking the wind.

He limped into the snowstorm.