Mortal Mirror

"My goodness!" the White Elephant exclaimed, nearly jumping up.

Everyone also noticed something was wrong, but unfortunately, they were a step too late. What started as a carefree and pleasant moment instantly turned into a disaster.

All five of them were covered in bird droppings, looking utterly disheveled.

Seeing Li Ergou and the others in such a state, Si Ning giggled, laughing without a care in the world. Her smile was radiant and endearing.

Li Ergou, seeing the others laughing, also started to chuckle. Suddenly, he had an idea. He went to the riverbank and splashed water at everyone. Annoyed, the others followed suit, and a water fight began.

Truthfully, Nineteen had never played or gone this crazy before. As a prince, such behavior was strictly forbidden.

Not only him, but also Stone. A favored son of heaven, the pride of his family, he had been subjected to countless rules and regulations since childhood, allowing no carelessness.

Yet, they were all just sixteen or seventeen-year-old youths. The restlessness of youth was like an endless prairie, where a single spark could ignite the whole land.

Having gone mad, made a scene, and laughed heartily, perhaps this was how young boys and girls should be.

After the fun, Li Ergou dove straight into the water and quickly caught a carp weighing over ten pounds.

Delighted, everyone jumped into the water to catch fish. They found shrimp, crabs, and even the White Elephant caught a large turtle.

No longer concerned with hygiene, they started a fire and grilled their catch. It was quite a feast. The food they caught and grilled themselves was especially delicious. No one cared about the dirt and they ate heartily.

Nineteen was trying such food for the first time, and it tasted quite unique. In his life, perhaps this was his only chance to be so unrestrained.

Life's happy moments are too short, and carefree days are even rarer. Nineteen ate while thinking that he would probably never forget this moment of joy.

Stone felt the same. At that moment, he had thrown all the rules and restrictions to the back of his mind, acting just like an ordinary youth.

The White Elephant was carefree, constantly glancing at Si Ning and even secretly smiling foolishly.

Li Ergou was naturally very happy. He had never played like this before, especially with so many people. He felt that life was good.

Si Ning smiled brightly, feeling extremely happy at that moment, as if she had never felt so carefree before. Perhaps this was the youth she should have had.

Oh, youth, may the wind be your companion, and dreams your horse, crossing city gates and high walls, chasing youthful dreams, being the freest light, pursuing the most passionate years.

Perhaps life is long, perhaps life is short, but on the road of pursuit, only those happy moments are unforgettable memories.

Having played, cried, and laughed, the five young boys and girls had never been so crazy or happy before, but time was slipping away, and all the good things would eventually pass.

After cleaning up, they returned to the small town, but they had seen everything there was to see, and the White Elephant didn't know where else to take them.

Li Ergou suddenly remembered someone. He hesitated and said, "How about I take you to see a friend of mine? He's a very nice person."

"A friend? You have friends?"

"A friend? You have friends!"

The White Elephant and Stone said almost simultaneously.

Li Ergou scratched his head and said, "Yes, of course. He's my first friend."

"Okay!" Si Ning replied crisply, offering her support first.

Her answer represented Nineteen's answer because, under normal circumstances, Nineteen would agree tacitly.

The White Elephant and Stone were also interested in seeing what his friend was like, so they both nodded in agreement.

The group turned a few corners on the street and headed towards the edge of town. Soon, the stone-paved road turned into a small dirt path.

Everyone became even more curious about where they were going.

Soon, a large courtyard appeared ahead. Many willow trees were planted outside the courtyard. At that moment, the willow trees sprouted countless new branches, hanging down like silk ribbons, incredibly beautiful.

The group also heard the sound of reading coming from inside the courtyard.

Hearing the clear sound, everyone exclaimed, "A school!"

Li Ergou nodded and said, "Yes, he should be here at this time."

Everyone became even more curious about how he knew someone at the school.

Stepping into the school, Li Ergou became a little restrained because this was the place he had wanted to go since he was a child, and still wanted to go now. To him, this place was sacred and inviolable.

He walked slowly on the school's path with a sense of reverence.

Soon, they saw a group of students reading aloud in front of them. Li Ergou saw the tall Lu Changsheng and the righteous Li Zheng'an.

But in an instant, as a bell rang, countless students put down their books, bowed to Li Zheng'an, and then left.

They passed by Li Ergou and the others, casting surprised glances. Perhaps sensing that they were not to be trifled with, they walked past them.

Lu Changsheng saw Li Ergou in the crowd and immediately waved to him happily, "Ergou, come here, I'm here."

To Li Ergou's surprise, Li Zheng'an had not left and was standing there, also looking at him.

Li Ergou led everyone over and respectfully said to Li Zheng'an, "Sir, you're here too."

Li Zheng'an nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I was just about to explain something to Lu Changsheng."

Lu Changsheng immediately walked to Li Ergou's side, put his arm around him, and said, "You seem to have grown taller since I last saw you. You finally remembered me."

Li Ergou scratched his head and said, "I was afraid of disturbing your studies. Oh, right, let me introduce you to my friends."

"This is Nineteen,

This is Stone, Si Ning, and White Elephant."

Then he pulled Lu Changsheng and said to them, "See, this is my friend, Lu Changsheng."

Lu Changsheng was tall and handsome, with a temperament no less than Nineteen and Stone. Perhaps it was because he was born with righteousness, or perhaps it was because he was approachable, making him likeable. Everyone had a very good impression of him.

Everyone greeted him.

Li Zheng'an looked at Nineteen and Stone, and couldn't help but frown slightly. He opened his celestial eye to look at them and was immediately surprised. He became even more puzzled because he saw golden dragon energy swirling around Nineteen, protecting him. This was the unique luck of the royal family.

Imperial dragon energy was only possessed by the Xia Emperor and the princes and princesses. Judging by this kid's appearance, he was naturally a prince. What was a prince doing in this remote place?

And that Stone was also very unusual. Endless spiritual light emanated from his body. His bones were excellent, almost perfect. Such bones were probably very rare in the world, so he couldn't be an ordinary person.

What puzzled him was that this child did not have any martial arts energy, only a mortal body. It was really intriguing.

Looking at that little girl, hmm, how strange. The secrets of heaven were obscured. Her bones were concealed by great means. In his heavenly eyes, he saw only a hazy blur.

As he tried to look harder, he didn't expect the girl to emit a powerful and terrifying aura that locked onto him. If he went any further, that aura would definitely strike him down.

Li Zheng'an was shocked and immediately stopped his investigation. He was even more puzzled. Who was it, and why would they do this? Could it be that this girl's identity was extraordinary, even more remarkable and noble than the Xia Dynasty prince? That was too incredible.

Otherwise, her bones were so excellent that she had such means of protection.

Either way, he understood that he could not continue to investigate. If he angered the person behind her, it might be a disaster. He could not afford to provoke someone with such means.

He was even more amazed at how Li Ergou could have such powerful friends. It was incredible, truly incredible.

It seemed that although Li Ergou's bones were not good, he might be a person with great opportunities. It was a good thing that Changsheng could make such friends.

But he couldn't see through why such unusual people would come to Tiangou Town at this time. Could it be for that matter?

If so, it was understandable.

While he was pondering, he heard Lu Changsheng say, "Today is the first day that my master officially accepted me as a disciple. You can also listen to my master's teachings, which may also be beneficial to you."

Everyone was interested and looked at Li Zheng'an.

Li Zheng'an came back to his senses and looked at the several young people. He was inexplicably moved and thought that he could plant the seeds of Confucianism in their hearts. He said, "Since you are interested, I might as well tell you about our Confucianism."

Li Ergou was happy and listened attentively. The others also wanted to hear what the teacher would say.

Li Zheng'an coughed lightly, opened the paper fan with a swoosh, and then slowly said, "You should know that there are martial arts and divine arts in this world.

Martial arts are difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven. There are thousands of paths to divine arts, but they cannot bypass the three major families, namely Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Buddhism says that one thought of attachment leads to all kinds of suffering, and one thought of letting go leads to all kinds of freedom. Letting go of what you are attached to is a great freedom.

Taoism pursues purity and believes that the meaning of life lies in pursuing inner peace and freedom, advocating taking care of oneself and seeking revenge, which is a true freedom.

The path of our Confucian disciples is benevolence and righteousness, which is the way of the gentleman. On the road, one book after another of sages guides people, making people realize the truth. As heaven moves, a gentleman strives for self-improvement. Where the Tao lies, I will go even if there are thousands of people."

Everyone who heard this felt the teacher's righteousness. Then, Li Zheng'an told everyone about the difference between a gentleman and a villain, which benefited everyone a lot.

However, Li Ergou was even more confused by these great principles. He didn't know what counted as great freedom, nor did he know how to be truly free. He knew about self-improvement, but what did it mean to go even if there were thousands of people?

At that moment, he felt the terror of having no knowledge.

He yearned for knowledge. With knowledge, he would understand more principles.

He wanted to ask Li Zheng'an for knowledge, but the words reached his lips, but he swallowed them back. On the one hand, he had to continue to feed people punches in the martial arts gym, and on the other hand, he was afraid of being rejected by Li Zheng'an.

So he finally chose silence.

However, he remembered all of Li Zheng'an's words firmly in his heart and pondered them carefully when he returned. He wanted to work hard and understand them one day.

Lu Changsheng was very easy-going. He seemed to have a natural affinity for people. Everyone became familiar with him very quickly. In the school, Lu Changsheng took everyone to visit the statue of the saint, showed them the entire school, and then ate, drank, and played with everyone. It can be said that everyone had a very happy day.

It wasn't until night fell that everyone separated.

When Li Ergou returned to the martial arts gym, the first thing he did was to see Granny Wu.

"Creak." He pushed open the door to Granny Wu's room and saw Granny Wu lying on the bed, her eyes slightly closed, her complexion haggard, and her face like golden paper. Old Silkworm was sitting by the bed, his brows deeply furrowed, and his expression ugly.

Li Ergou immediately understood what had happened and hurried to Granny Wu, saying with concern, "Granny, Granny, what's wrong with you?"

Granny Wu slowly opened her eyes, saw Li Ergou, barely squeezed out a smile, and said, "Ergou, you're here. Thank you for coming to see me. I... I'm fine, just suffered some minor injuries.

I'll be fine soon."

Li Ergou shook his head and said angrily, "You're lying to me. Look at how weak you've become."

He turned to look at Old Silkworm and said anxiously, "Old Silkworm, tell me quickly what happened to Granny, what happened?"

Seeing Li Ergou's sincerity, Old Silkworm sighed and said, "Granny has been poisoned with a rather strange poison. Unfortunately, it's not easy to find an antidote now, but I've contacted some people, and hopefully, we'll find it in a few days."

"What antidote?"

Seeing Li Ergou's anxious expression, Old Silkworm was afraid that he would be too worried if he didn't tell him, so he said, "A very precious medicinal material, the toad oil of the three-legged toad."

"Three-legged toad?"

"Yes, that's right, the three-legged toad. This thing is very rare, but you don't need to worry too much. I've asked someone to get it, and we should be able to get it."

Li Ergou was dumbfounded, thinking, what do you mean should be? Shouldn't it be definitely? With that being said, he felt that Old Silkworm was very unreliable.

Granny had saved his life, and looking at Granny Wu's painful appearance, he had a plan in mind,

At that moment, he glanced at Granny Wu again and said, "Granny, you rest well. I believe you'll be fine. I... I won't disturb you, so I'll go out first."

Granny Wu grabbed Li Ergou's hand and stroked it lightly, saying, "Okay, child, I'm fine, don't worry."

Li Ergou nodded, then turned and left without hesitation.

At that moment, his eyes were firm, as if he had made some kind of determination.

Yes, he had decided to go out and look for it, even if it was just to find someone to help. After all, Old Silkworm's meaning was obvious, and he couldn't guarantee that others would be able to deliver the medicine.

He didn't approve of entrusting his life to others.

He had once sworn to repay Granny Wu's kindness. Now her life was at stake.

As long as he could help, even if it meant death, he wouldn't hesitate. What if he died? He had nothing to lose, he wasn't afraid.

Looking at Li Ergou's back, Granny Wu said worriedly, "That kid, won't he do something stupid? The three-legged toad is extraordinary, even if he finds it, he won't be able to catch it."

Old Canhead slowly said, "Let him go. That child is stubborn. Once he's made up his mind, ten oxen couldn't pull him back. You don't need to worry either. I've searched this area thoroughly, and there's nothing like that at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent a secret message, asking the sect to figure out a solution."

Granny Wu nodded slightly, but her heart couldn't calm down. She was afraid that Er Gou would get excited and something unexpected would happen.