Li Mutian awoke at the hour of Tiger, his eyes fixed on the tattered roof above his home, where a faint glow seeped through the darkness. <br><br>A few days ago, a small hole had appeared in the roof. Li Mutian hadn't had the time to fix it. For three nights he'd hardly slept. Glancing at the woman sleeping soundly beside him, he let out a deep sigh. <br><br>'Women don't understand the weight of things,' he muttered to himself. 'Just a few days ago, those high-flying immortals were darting about in the Big Li Mountain like madmen, eager to dig three feet into the earth. They scared the whole village stiff. Every streak of light that passed by had everyone kneeling and bowing their heads...' <br><br>Li Mutian furrowed his brows deeply, his heart heavy with worry. The small villages at the foot of Big Li Mountain had always been peaceful, but now everyone was alarmed and living in fear. <br><br>'These mountain paths are narrow, and the Imperial Court doesn't bother with us here, nor do we care for their governance,' he said to himself. 'But if these immortals take to fighting, a single blast of their celestial arts could wipe out every dog in Lijing Village.' <br><br>He turned over in bed, unable to sleep any longer. Rising, he gazed out the window at the deep night. <br><br>'That rascal's growing bigger by the day and eating more with each meal,' he thought. 'Tomorrow, I'll send him to Meichi River to catch some fish and crabs.' <br><br>'If one day we die under celestial arts, so be it,' he murmured with resignation. 'The Li family has tilled this land for over two hundred years. Mother can't leave, and Father can't move.' Shaking his head, he walked out the door with his hands folded behind him. <br><br>Outside the door, the old yellow dog was still fast asleep. In the misty morning haze, Li Mutian strolled leisurely, observing Lijing Village as it woke from slumber, with roosters crowing, dogs barking, and kitchen smoke drifting lazily upward. <br><br>'Xiangping, hey!' Li Mutian called out, his voice rising as he shouted toward a house. Inside, there was a clamor of movement, and soon the door swung open, revealing a half-grown boy who came rushing out while chattering away. <br><br>'Father!' Li Xiangping's features were rather refined, his expression cunning, as he looked up at Li Mutian expectantly. <br><br>'What work is there today?' <br><br>'Go to Meichi River and catch some fish and crabs.' <br><br>Li Mutian waved his hand dismissively. <br><br>'No work today. Get something fresh for your mother to eat.' <br><br>'Got it!' <br><br>Excited, Li Xiangping nodded repeatedly. Grabbing a basket and a long fork, he dashed off in one breath. <br><br>Li Mutian chuckled heartily a couple of times and headed toward the fields. <br><br>---------- <br><br>Meichi River was shallow and wide, its banks lined with mudflats and reeds. The geese and ducks that the villagers raised, tens or even hundreds of them, needed no feeding. Released into the river in the morning, they'd all return home at a single call from the shore in the evening, following the familiar voices leading them back. <br><br>When Li Xiangping arrived, the geese and ducks hadn't yet been released. Meichi River was empty and quiet, with only two small wooden rafts swaying by the shore. Rolling up his pants and sleeves, he knelt in the mud with both legs, groping around blindly with his hands in front of him. Catching sight of a green tail in the river, his eyes lit up. <br><br>'A fine fish!' <br><br>Using all his strength, he pressed down and took a deep breath before plunging under. Grasping tightly with his right hand, he seized the green-tailed fish by its gills and pulled it out of the water. <br><br>'Heh heh.' <br><br>Li Xiangping let out a triumphant laugh, tossing the fish into his basket. The fish of Meichi River were typically not so foolish. This green-tailed one was most likely a wild fish that had swum down from upstream—a fortunate catch for the boy. <br><br>Glancing toward his feet, Li Xiangping appeared puzzled. The riverbed seemed unusually smooth in one spot, faintly emitting a silvery light. <br><br>Just as he was about to take another deep breath and dive to investigate, a loud voice called out from the shore: <br><br>'Brother Xiangping!' <br><br>Instinctively, Li Xiangping hid his basket behind him and looked toward the shore. Emerging from the reeds was a young boy of around ten years old. <br><br>'Little Ye, here to release the ducks?' <br><br>'Yes!' <br><br>His cousin, Li Yesheng, nodded obediently, smiling as he spoke. <br><br>'This morning, I heard something strange. A huge stag was bitten on the foot by a snake and died at the village entrance. Its antlers were as large as a table—truly frightening.' <br><br>Listening to Li Yesheng's chatter, Li Xiangping exhaled in relief, then pushed the basket forward. <br><br>'Look at this green tail. I caught it with my bare hands.' <br><br>'What a fine fish!' Li Yesheng exclaimed, peering into the basket with a look of envy. His father had been bedridden for years, and his elder brother was idle and lazy, leaving their family often struggling for food. He frequently came to Li Mutian's house to beg for meals, and his cousin Li Xiangping always treated him like a younger brother. <br><br>After chatting for a while, Li Yesheng shook his head and said, 'Alright, Brother, I need to go check on the ducks. If we lose two, my brother will beat me to death.' <br><br>'Go, go.' <br><br>Li Xiangping, eager to investigate the object in the riverbed, quickly waved him off. <br><br>'Okay!' <br><br>As soon as Li Yesheng left, Li Xiangping took a deep breath and plunged underwater. Searching back and forth, he finally touched a round object. <br><br>'Pfft...' <br><br>Surfacing, Li Xiangping wiped his face and examined the object in his hand. <br><br>It was roughly palm-sized, with a central disk of greenish-gray and a rim encircled by something that resembled dark iron. There was nothing particularly remarkable about its appearance. <br><br>The front was shattered into seven or eight pieces, held together by the rim without falling apart. On the back, however, was a peculiar symbol that Li Xiangping couldn't decipher no matter how long he looked at it. <br><br>'It looks a bit like my maternal aunt's mirror object,' he mused. His aunt owned the largest plot of land in the village and was the only one who could afford such a thing. The other village women made do with reflections in water. When his aunt first acquired the mirror object, Li Xiangping's mother had taken him to see it. It was indeed more convenient than using water. <br><br>But the mirror object in his hand was far too blurry. Its surface was misty and showed nothing clearly. With a sigh of regret, Li Xiangping tossed it into his basket and turned back to catching fish. <br><br>---------- <br><br>River Sage Lu had been submerged in the water for nearly half a month. Since the third day, the flow of lunar energy had stagnated, refusing to increase. Despite his efforts over the following week, there was no progress. All he could do was emit a faint glow. <br><br>One morning, as he stared at a large green fish beside him, a massive hand suddenly pushed the fish into the mud, causing the surroundings to tremble. The hand then seized the fish by its gills and lifted it away. <br><br>Caught in the complex emotions of encountering a living being for the first time, River Sage Lu was startled when the massive hand reached directly for his body. <br><br>Before he knew it, he was plucked up and came face to face with a rather handsome young boy. In a blur of incomprehensible chatter, the boy tossed him into a basket. There, he found himself staring at the green-tailed fish, their eyes locked in a standoff. <br><br>In that instant, River Sage Lu realized a critical issue. He could understand what he heard, but that didn't mean he could comprehend it. <br><br>The local language sounded somewhat like the dialects of Fujian and Zhejiang from his past life, entirely unfamiliar to him. This meant that even if he could speak, the boy likely wouldn't understand him. This language barrier would significantly hinder his ability to integrate into this world. <br><br>As more little fish were thrown into the basket, River Sage Lu focused his energy and calmed his mind to sense his surroundings. <br><br>Observing the boy delicately wielding a wooden fork, River Sage Lu let out a soft 'hmm.' From this perspective, he could vaguely discern the boy's thoughts. The boy's attention seemed fixed on a particular fish at the riverbed. <br><br>With this newfound ability to sense, River Sage Lu noticed that the boy talked to himself each time he caught a fish. Before long, River Sage Lu had learned the numbers three to six and the specific names of different fish species in the local dialect. <br><br>'Take it one step at a time,' he thought. <br><br>Watching as the boy stood up to leave, River Sage Lu sighed. <br><br>The child seemed like a farmer's son, likely to hand over this bronze-like object to his parents first. By interacting with people, perhaps he could gradually learn the local language. In the meantime, he would find a way to enhance his lunar energy while ensuring his safety.")
