Mortal Mirror

But after a short while, heart-wrenching screams echoed from the tomb. The tearing sounds sent chills down the spine, making one wonder what kind of torment Dog Strong was enduring.

Outside the tomb, the Tree Demon stood at the entrance, scoffing, "This stinking dog actually beat me to it. That Rat King Elixir is incredibly volatile, and you dared to swallow it whole? You must have a death wish."

"Oh well, for the sake of my brother Er Gou, I'll wait until the energy inside that pearl bursts you open, then I'll retrieve it. I might even give you a proper burial, hehe. See how considerate I am?

"Looks like the storybooks are right. Only those who laugh last laugh best. Before long, I'll be the ultimate king of Yellow Maple Valley."

Li Er Gou returned to Orange Mountain. Dawn was just breaking, and Mei'er was already up, cooking.

Seeing Li Er Gou fly back from outside, she asked in surprise, "Young Master, where have you been so early?"

Li Er Gou chuckled and said, "I went to take care of some special things. I probably won't be home most nights from now on, so you don't need to worry about me."

Li Er Gou was being mysterious, but Mei'er was used to it, so she ignored it and brought out the delicious food she had prepared for Li Er Gou to eat.

Stewed chicken legs, grilled lamb chops, steamed perch, and even a large crab. But this crab was quite peculiar, exceptionally large, about the size of a washbasin, and it didn't grow like ordinary crabs. Li Er Gou asked curiously, "What is this thing? Is it a crab spirit or something?"

Mei'er covered her mouth and smiled, saying, "I forgot to tell you, this is something fresh. It's called a sea crab, something from the distant ocean. The ocean, I hear, is boundless."

Li Er Gou was dumbfounded because he didn't know what an ocean was. He had seen the big river, though. Five or six miles outside Fish City was the Fish Dragon River, and Fish City was named after this river. Many people in Fish City made a living by fishing, and the most famous product was this perch, delicious and melt-in-your-mouth, a rare delicacy.

Li Er Gou picked up the crab and asked, "Is this thing good?"

Mei'er said, "You'll know once you eat it. It's incredibly fresh, the taste is amazing. One costs thirty taels of silver, very expensive."

Hearing this price, Li Er Gou was stunned. A delicious ten-jin perch only cost about one tael of silver, but this crab was really expensive.

He immediately opened one, and inside was bright red crab roe. He scooped a spoonful with a spoon. Hmm, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, extremely fresh, much more delicious than river crabs.

If only he could replicate it, it would be even more delicious. He immediately asked Mei'er if there were any more. Mei'er chuckled and said, "I bought ten."

"This spendthrift woman, she really dares to eat," Li Er Gou thought to himself speechlessly. Mei'er had cooked three, and there were still seven left. Li Er Gou took them, replicated them, and then returned the originals to Mei'er.

Mei'er had always been curious as to why Li Er Gou always did this, but she knew that she shouldn't ask questions she shouldn't ask. Whatever Li Er Gou said was fine.

When she read storybooks in her spare time, the storybooks always said that keeping your mouth shut, talking less, and doing more was the first step towards success.

Although she didn't need to succeed, she needed to stay by the Young Master's side.

So she was very smart and never had too much curiosity, because Li Er Gou had once said that curiosity killed the cat, and she didn't want curiosity to kill the fox.

Li Er Gou had his fill and, after giving instructions, went down the mountain.

Arriving at the yamen, Li Er Gou remembered the matter of cultivation techniques and went to find Chen Bajin. This guy was very leisurely. Hearing what Li Er Gou said,

he hesitated for a moment before saying, "Er Gou, if you want to cultivate techniques, the imperial court does have some, but the techniques in our Fish City armory are all trash. Unless your cultivation reaches the Golden Core stage, you can go to the state armory to search, and you might be able to find some good techniques.

The only good way for us to cultivate good techniques here is to go to the academy. Fish City has two academies, one is the Vermilion Bird Branch, and the other is the Little Thought Academy opened by local Confucian scholars.

Last time, the Vice Dean of the Vermilion Bird Academy still owed you a favor. You can just go find him, and it will be easy to enter the academy."

Li Er Gou pondered for a moment and finally said, "Is that okay?"

Chen Bajin grinned, "Why isn't it okay? If you don't use a favor early, you won't be able to use it if people forget about it after a while. After all, he's a Vice Dean. If he recommends you, the academy's teachers can take care of you a bit."

Li Er Gou thought that made sense. It would be foolish not to take advantage of a bargain, so he asked Chen Bajin to take him to the academy. After all, he was embarrassed to ask.

Chen Bajin: "..."

Li Er Gou glared at him and casually took out a sea crab and threw it to him, saying, "Okay, I won't let you run for nothing."

Chen Bajin's eyes lit up when he saw the sea crab, and he perked up, saying, "Oh, you really know how to eat. Sea crab, so expensive."

"Mei'er bought it, she bought several. I took out a few for you to try, see, I'm really thinking of you, brother."

Chen Bajin put his arm around Li Er Gou and said, "It has to be you, I knew you were considerate. Let's go, I'll put aside my old face and accompany you to find that Vice Dean. We can't let him take advantage and not repay what he owes us."

As soon as the two of them went out, they saw the constables making way for a woman in white, looking valiant, walking in from outside. Everyone greeted her.

Li Er Gou and Chen Bajin happened to run into her. This person was none other than Bai Su.

Li Er Gou was slightly stunned when he saw her. She frowned slightly when she saw Li Er Gou and Chen Bajin with their arms around each other, Chen Bajin holding a strange crab, and said, "You don't even have a proper appearance in the yamen, what kind of system is this? What is that thing in your hand?"

Chen Bajin hesitated slightly, not knowing whether Bai Su was asking casually or had other ideas. Should he take the initiative to give it to her to flatter her? But he was a little reluctant. Just as he was thinking,

Li Er Gou saw Chen Bajin's expression and knew what he was thinking, so he spoke first, "Sir, this is a sea crab. I bought a lot, I'll give you one."

Saying that, he took out a large crab from the bronze mirror.

This was the first time Bai Su had seen such a crab, but her personality over the years made her a little embarrassed. But as a woman, she wanted to taste this thing.

Torn, she snorted and took the crab, saying, "How much is it? I'll give you the money, I don't like owing people favors."

Li Er Gou curled his lips and said, "Fifty taels of silver." Although this thing was bought for thirty taels, after being replicated with the bronze mirror, the taste would be more delicious, and there would be a special aura inside. Such a delicious thing would not be too much to sell for a hundred taels.

After hearing that, Bai Su was slightly stunned. To be honest, Bai Su only received a salary of one hundred taels per month, because she was too honest and had no extra income.

This money was only enough for her monthly expenses. She was a complete spendthrift.

Hearing that this thing cost fifty taels, and now that more than half a month had passed, she only had a dozen taels of silver left on her. At this moment, she knew what it meant to be a capable woman who couldn't cook without rice. It's embarrassing to be without money.

Li Er Gou's eyes flashed with divine light, and he captured a trace of unspeakable hesitation in Bai Su's eyes. He couldn't help but think maliciously, "Boss, you don't have any money, do you?"