Chapter 17: Blind but Not Without Eyes

Hearing the man's words, the cripple quickly bent down and nodded, "You're right, sir. I thought I recognized you as well—perhaps I once repaired your horse's hooves or fitted a horseshoe for you?"

"My horse's hooves are not something you can repair," the middle-aged man said with disdain.

"Of course, of course," the cripple nodded eagerly.

The middle-aged man turned his horse to leave but suddenly paused and turned back, "Those pockmarks on your face don't look like they were caused by smallpox."

"You have a sharp eye, sir," the cripple bowed and smiled, "When I was young and working as a blacksmith, a woman from the upstairs suddenly poured water down the window. The hot iron splashed and burned my face."

The middle-aged man seemed satisfied with the explanation and waved to his two companions, "Return to the city."

Seeing that the three were leaving, the cripple let out a sigh of relief and quickly stepped aside.

But unexpectedly, the middle-aged man stopped again, "You're a cripple?"

The cripple awkwardly nodded, "Yes."

"Is it your left leg that's injured?" The middle-aged man frowned, pressing further.

"Sir, you truly have a sharp eye," the cripple flattered.

The middle-aged man turned to the young man beside him, "How old are you?"

Before the young man could speak, the cripple quickly responded, "He's sixteen."

"I didn't ask you," the middle-aged man scolded, glaring at the cripple, then asked the young man, "How old are you?"

Although the young man didn't understand why the cripple lied about his age, he knew there must be a reason, so he answered, "I'm sixteen."

The middle-aged man studied the young man from head to toe, then glanced at the cripple, who was bowing and flattering, and after a moment of hesitation, waved to his two companions again.

Seeing this, the two men quickly reined in their horses and prepared to leave with the middle-aged man.

Just then, the cripple, who had been standing on the side of the road, suddenly stepped into the middle of the path, blocking their way.

"You blind old fool," one of the soldiers whipped the cripple.

The cripple reached out and grabbed the incoming whip, straightened up, and said, "Having eyes is not always a good thing."

The middle-aged man, apparently eager to leave, said, "Don't argue with a cripple. Let's go."

"Don't leave. You're not going anywhere," the cripple suddenly exerted strength and pulled the closest soldier off his horse, then swiftly stepped forward, locked his arms around the soldier's throat, and snapped his neck.

Before the other two men could react, the cripple had already grabbed the fallen soldier's sword, spun it, and decapitated the other soldier who was still mounted.

Seeing his two companions dead in the blink of an eye, the middle-aged man showed panic, quickly drawing his sword. "It really is you!"

"You figured it out," the cripple sneered as he closed in. "What do you think you're going to do? Call for reinforcements?"

The middle-aged man was tall, riding a dragon steed and clad in armor, but in the face of the small cripple, he looked terrified. Even his steed seemed to sense the lethal aura coming from the cripple and started to back away in fear.

After a brief moment of anxious thinking, the middle-aged man suddenly tossed his weapon aside, dismounted, and knelt on the ground, "Great General, spare my life! We were just following orders back then…"

Just as he spoke, the middle-aged man suddenly jumped up, picked up the long knife he had thrown earlier, and lunged at the cripple, aiming for his chest and abdomen.

However, the moment the middle-aged man tossed his knife, the cripple had already anticipated the attack from the position where the knife had landed. He quickly defended himself, and before the knife could reach him, the cripple swung his own blade, cutting off half of the middle-aged man's head.

The middle-aged man, though tall and armored, weighed over three hundred pounds. The cripple easily lifted his body with one hand, casually tossing it into a distant bonfire.

After handling the other two corpses in the same manner, the cripple slapped each of the horses' rears, causing them to run off in pain.

Once the battlefield was cleared, the cripple turned and returned to his position under the tree, bending his back and crouching.

The event had happened so suddenly that the young man still hadn't fully processed it. He had followed the cripple since childhood but had never seen the cripple show any martial skills. Even when beaten by bullies in the streets, the cripple had only begged for mercy and dodged, never striking back.

Though the cripple had often claimed to not be an ordinary person, the young man had always dismissed it as boasting. It wasn't until this moment that he realized the cripple had been telling the truth all along.

Seeing the young man staring at him with wide eyes, the cripple smirked, raising an eyebrow and asking, "What are you looking at? Don't recognize me?"

"You, you, you…" The young man was speechless in shock.

"Choose one: short-sighted or blind but without eyes," the cripple laughed.

"Do you really know martial arts?" The young man asked, still stunned.

The cripple shook his head, "No, no. I'm just a blacksmith who likes to brag. I don't know any martial arts."

Hearing the cripple mock his own previous words, the young man couldn't help but feel embarrassed, though his curiosity grew. "Who exactly are you?"

"Guess," the cripple teased.

The young man knew the cripple was just messing with him and didn't press further. Instead, he started calculating, "A military officer commands one thousand men, a captain commands two thousand, a vice-general commands four thousand, and a general commands eight thousand. The man just now called you 'Great General.' Did you command over ten thousand soldiers?"

"What you're talking about is infantry. Back in the day, I commanded cavalry," the cripple said proudly.

The young man, already in shock, was even more stunned by the cripple's words. Although he had never been in the military, he had heard a lot about it. The power of cavalry was far beyond that of infantry; one cavalryman with a warhorse could match five infantrymen.

At that moment, the young man was full of questions. Just as he was wondering what to ask next, he noticed the cripple's eyes were even redder than before. "Why are your eyes so red?"

The cripple wiped his eyes and said, "I've been smoking."

Before the young man could ask anything else, the cripple stood up. "We can't stay here. We need to leave quickly."

Hearing the cripple's words, the young man hurriedly got up, leading the donkey, and the two of them continued westward in the rain.

Once on the road, the young man couldn't help but say, "So you were a cavalry general. No wonder you know so much about horses."

"I know more than that," the cripple said cheerfully.

The young man continued, "You've rarely been to the capital or the county in recent years. Are you afraid of being recognized?"

The cripple nodded, "Back in the day, I was quite well-known as a general, and many people knew me."

"What did you do back then?" the young man asked.

"Guess," the cripple teased again.

"I can't guess," the young man shook his head. "But it must have been something big, otherwise, after all these years, they wouldn't still be looking for you."

The cripple smirked, "What if I told you I gave the current Emperor of Xia a green hat? Would you believe it?"

The young man didn't immediately respond but thought for a moment and then nodded seriously, "I believe it. I can see you doing something like that."

The cripple burst into laughter.

The young man wiped the rain from his face, "You've had a tough time these years, hiding everywhere. Did you deliberately burn your face with hot iron to prevent being recognized?"

The cripple chuckled but didn't respond.

"I really was blind," the young man sighed, "I've followed you for so many years, and I didn't realize you were a general. You were so convincing in pretending to be a weak cripple. When you were beaten in Jizhou, you really held back and didn't fight back."

The cripple casually replied, "I've always said I'm not an ordinary person, but you didn't believe me."

"Now I believe it," the young man suddenly remembered something. "By the way, why did the leader ask me my age? And why did you add two years to mine?"

The cripple frowned slightly, "Guess."

"How can I guess?" the young man shook his head.

The young man couldn't figure it out, so he changed the subject, "You said you were going to send me to Xuanyun Sect and then go off to do your own thing. Are you going to find that woman?"

"Why are you asking so many questions? Do you want to go with me?" the cripple replied.

The young man shook his head, "I don't know martial arts. I'd only slow you down."

"Good that you know," the cripple said with a bit of impatience.

Seeing that the cripple didn't want to talk anymore, the young man stopped asking further questions. Since the cripple had just killed three soldiers, the two of them were eager to leave the area. They hurried through the night, braving the rain.

By dawn, they reached a city. It was likely that the three soldiers they had killed came from there.

The gates of the city were still shut tight, and the two had to detour through the mountain path.

At first, the young man worried that the authorities would trace them, but after traveling for a few days without incident, he gradually relaxed.

Since learning the cripple was once a general, the young man became very curious about his past, but the cripple refused to talk about it, urging him to keep moving.

Days passed, and by the eighth or ninth day of September, they reached the outskirts of Qingzhou. There were two roads ahead: one leading west to Yuzhou and the other north to Jizhou.

Their destination was Xiang County in Liangzhou. Crossing Yuzhou would get them there faster, but since the cripple was a fugitive, and Yuzhou was home to the imperial capital, crossing it might risk being recognized.

After a brief stop, the young man took the northern road, but after a few steps, he realized the cripple had not followed him and instead was heading west.

"Hey, I'm not in a hurry. Let's go around Jizhou," the young man called.

The cripple didn't respond and continued west. The young man helplessly followed him.

"We're not in a hurry. Let's go through Jizhou," the young man urged again.

"I'm not in a hurry, but I am," the cripple said with a smile. "They're all waiting for me. I need to meet up with them."

The young man sighed, "The important things come first. You go ahead. I can make it to Liangzhou on my own."

"I definitely can't accompany you to Liangzhou. I'll walk with you for a few more days and send you ahead as far as I can…"