The Three Kingdoms: The entire Cao Cao camp thought I was weak and frail.

"Fengxiao!" Xun Yu shouted in a low voice, his face showing displeasure.

"Am I wrong?" Guo Jia lazily raised his eyes to meet Xun Yu's gaze, without backing down. "Wenruo, you and I both know that this ship is already riddled with holes. Rather than trying to repair it and sinking with it, we should jump ship as soon as possible and find a small boat that can save our lives."

Having said that, he ignored the various expressions on everyone's faces, helped Xun Hao up, and asked softly, "Are you tired from standing for so long? Shall I help you to sit over there for a while?"

Xun Hao nodded and obediently let him help him walk towards the stone bench on the other side of the pavilion.

After the two left, the atmosphere in the pavilion became even more tense.

Xi Zhicai watched Guo Jia and Xun Hao's retreating figures, thoughtfully stroking his beard. After a long while, he said to Xun Yu, "Wenruo, your younger brother is no ordinary person."

On the other side, Guo Jia helped Xun Hao sit down, and then sat down next to him.

"Ah Hao, you really gave everyone a fright today." Guo Jia turned to the side, looking him over with interest.

"I just... told the truth." Xun Hao lowered his head, his voice sounding weak, as if he had used up all his strength just now.

He wondered if he had gone too far, but seeing that his elder brother still held hope for the Han Dynasty, he was determined to shatter his illusions.

There are various accounts of Xun Yu's death in later generations, but the ultimate contradiction is that Confucianism is about loyalty to the emperor, while Xun Yu's emperor was the Han Dynasty. How could Cao Cao hand over the country he had built to an incompetent puppet emperor who was just enjoying the fruits of others' labor?

Therefore, when Cao Cao presented Xun Yu with food, Xun Yu opened it and found it to be empty, so he committed suicide by poisoning himself.

Xun Hao had considered changing his lord, but Cao Cao was the most suitable one at the moment.

"The truth is the most hurtful, but also the most precious." Guo Jia reached out and ruffled Xun Hao's hair as before. Xun Hao took the opportunity to rub against him a few more times, trying to make conversation.

"Brother Fengxiao, what did you mean by 'jumping ship' just now?"

Guo Jia was taken aback.

He looked into those clean, untouched eyes, filled with pure thirst for knowledge.

He suddenly found himself unable to say it.

He could tell Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, or anyone else those cruel predictions about the coming chaos, the impending collapse of the Han dynasty, and the struggle for power among heroes. But when he looked into those eyes, he felt it was a kind of blasphemy.

For the first time, Guo Jia discovered that even his cynical heart could feel "compassion."

He avoided Xun Hao's gaze. "It doesn't mean anything. I was just talking nonsense."

"But I understand," Xun Hao said softly. "Brother Fengxiao feels that the world is about to descend into chaos, doesn't he?"

Guo Fengxiao, Guo Fengxiao, you should say more to my brother. With the two of us brainwashing him, even if he still can't accept Cao Cao becoming king in the end, we can still make him resign and return to his hometown to enjoy his grandchildren. Speaking of which, Chen Qun, Chen Wenchang, calls my brother Wenruo today, but in the future, he should call him father-in-law.

Xun Hao was lost in thought, but Guo Jia thought he was worried about the country and its people. "Alright, stop thinking about these things." Guo Jia turned around, looked down at him, and his tone returned to its usual irreverent manner.

"If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. Why are you, a sickly little thing, worrying so much? With your brother here, and... with me here, do you think I'd let you go hungry or cold?"

Over the past few days of intermittent charging, the battery level in Xun Hao's body has changed from a near-shutdown red to a slightly healthier yellow, still far from being fully charged.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion was just around the corner next spring, and this sense of impending doom prevented him from truly settling down.

He needs a more stable, more lasting, and more... intimate way of connecting.

A reason that would allow him to openly "hang" on Guo Jia and continuously "recharge".

For the next two days, Xun Hao did not "accidentally" meet Guo Jia again.

He locked himself in his room, partly to savor the long conversation and digest the information he had gleaned, and partly to rack his brains about how to make his "money-stealing" business more legitimate.

Under the guise of seeking knowledge, one can at most get closer during discussions, with very little opportunity for physical contact, and it is extremely unnatural.

We must find another way.

Xun Hao's gaze fell on the small mulberry wood bow in the corner of the wall.

He had asked the guards to find it for him to train his body, but he was weak and became breathless after only two bowel movements, so it had been sitting idle ever since.

A plan slowly took shape in his mind.

It was a sunny afternoon.

As usual, Guo Jia found a large blue stone by the stream that was warm from the sun, rested his head on his arm, and was half asleep.

A series of light footsteps approached from afar.

He was too lazy to open his eyes, assuming it was just a classmate passing by.

"Brother Fengxiao."

Guo Jia opened his eyes and saw Xun Hao holding a small bow, standing somewhat awkwardly not far away.

"Ah Hao?" Guo Jia sat up, lazily stretching. "Not reading today, playing with bows instead?"

"I...I want to learn archery." Xun Hao's voice was soft. He took two steps forward and handed the small bow to Guo Jia. "The method taught by the guards at home is too...too crude; I can't learn it. My brother said that Brother Fengxiao is proficient in the Six Arts, and I think..."

He didn't say what he was going to say, but his clear eyes were filled with a pleading look that said, "Please teach me." "Brother Wenruo's skills in the Six Arts are far superior to mine. Would he really praise me?" Guo Jia saw through Xun Hao's pretense of being his elder brother at a glance.

"Then let me put it another way: Brother Fengxiao's physical strength is not much better than mine, so he is just right to teach me."

Guo Jia was speechless for a moment, unsure how to refute these words.

That makes some sense...

Although Guo Fengxiao was quite accomplished in both literature and martial arts, his physique was not particularly strong; in fact, he was among the weaker of the scholars. To have him compete with those burly guards would be truly unfair.

"Alright, alright, you're right." Guo Jia waved his hand helplessly and jumped down from the bluestone. "But let me make this clear first, I don't have much patience when teaching. If you can't learn it, you're not allowed to cry."

He took the small bow from Xun Hao's hand, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be very light, definitely something for a child to play with.

"Watch closely." Guo Jia stood still, feet shoulder-width apart, left hand holding the bow, right hand gripping the bowstring, assuming a standard drawing posture. "In archery, the most important thing is 'stability.' Your lower body must be stable, your arms must be stable, and your mind must be even more stable."

He only made a gesture; he didn't actually draw the bowstring.

"Here, you give it a try." Guo Jia handed the bow back to Xun Hao.

Xun Hao followed his example, stood up straight, raised the bow with his left hand, and pulled the string with his right.