Chapter 2: Li Family

Li Mutian awoke in the early hours of the morning, staring wide-eyed at his dilapidated roof. A faint glow pierced through the pitch darkness.

A few days ago, a small hole had appeared in the roof, but Li Mutian hadn't had time to fix it. He hadn't slept well for three whole days. Gazing at his wife, who slept soundly beside him, Li Mutian sighed deeply.

"My wife is oblivious to the dangers. Just a few days ago, those high-flying immortals were frantically soaring through Great Li Mountain, as if trying to dig up every inch of the ground. It terrified everyone, making them tremble. Every streak of light that flew by prompted people to kneel and kowtow..."

Li Mutian frowned deeply, his heart filled with worry. The few small villages at the foot of Great Li Mountain had always been carefree, but these past few days, they were on tenterhooks, everyone fearing for their own safety.

"The mountain paths are narrow; the imperial court doesn't govern here, and we don't care for their governance either. But if these immortals fight, a single divine spell could obliterate Lijing Village, leaving not even a dog alive."

Li Mutian turned over, unable to sleep anymore. He got up and looked out at the deep night.

"The boy is growing bigger every day, eating more with each passing meal. Tomorrow, I'll send him to Meichi River to get some river fish and crabs."

"If we're killed by a divine spell someday, it's just fate. The Li family has tilled this barren land for over two hundred years. Mother can't relocate, and Father is immobile." Li Mutian lowered his gaze, shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and left the house.

The large yellow dog outside the door was still fast asleep, snoring softly. Li Mutian walked slowly through the thin morning mist, gazing at Lijing Village waking from its slumber, with roosters crowing, dogs barking, and cooking smoke rising.

"Xiangping!" Li Mutian shouted towards the house, straining his voice. A clanging and banging echoed from inside the house. The main door opened, and a half-grown boy burst out, chattering away.

"Father!" Li Xiangping had rather clear and handsome features, with mischievous eyes, and looked up at Li Mutian.

"What work is there today?"

"Go to Meichi River and get some river fish and crabs."

Li Mutian waved his hand:

"There's no particular work today. Just go get something fresh for your mother to eat."

"Yay!"

Li Xiangping nodded excitedly, picked up his rope basket and long fork, and darted off in one breath.

Li Mutian chuckled twice and headed towards the fields.

****

Meichi River was shallow and wide. Its banks were lined with extensive mudflats and reeds. The village kept dozens, even hundreds, of geese and ducks; they didn't need to be fed. Released early in the morning, they would all go to the river. Later in the evening, someone would walk to the riverbank and call out, and the geese and ducks, accustomed to the sound, would waddle back home.

When Li Xiangping arrived, the geese and ducks hadn't been released yet. Meichi River was empty, and two small wooden rafts bobbed by the shore. He rolled up his trousers and sleeves, knelt down in the mud, and blindly fumbled with his hands in front of him. He fixed his gaze on the river and spotted a greenish tail.

"Good fish!"

Li Xiangping pushed down hard, held his breath, and dove. His right hand tightened, and he had already grabbed the green-tailed fish by its gills and pulled it up.

"Heh heh."

Li Xiangping chuckled several times, tossing the fish into the basket. The fish in Meichi River were definitely not this foolish. This green-tailed fish was most likely a wild fish that had swum down from upstream. The child had certainly stumbled upon a great bargain.

Glancing at his feet, Li Xiangping seemed puzzled. There appeared to be an excessively smooth spot at the bottom of the river, faintly shimmering with a silver light.

Just as he was about to hold his breath and dive again to investigate further, a loud shout rang out from the bank:

"Brother Xiangping!"

Li Xiangping instinctively hid the basket behind him and looked towards the bank. He saw a child, appearing to be around ten years old, emerging from the reeds.

"Little Ye, here to herd the ducks, eh?"

"Mm!"

His younger cousin, Li Yesheng, nodded obediently and smiled: "Early this morning, I heard something strange. A huge stag was bitten on the leg by a snake and died at the village entrance. Its antlers were as big as a desk, quite frightening."

Li Xiangping listened to his chatter, simply breathed a sigh of relief, and pushed the basket forward. "Look at this green-tailed fish, I caught it with my bare hands."

"What a great fish!" Li Yesheng looked down at the basket, smiling enviously.

Li Yesheng's father had been bedridden for years, and his elder brother was idle, often living hand-to-mouth. Usually, he had no choice but to beg for food at his uncle Li Mutian's house. His cousin, Li Xiangping, had always treated him like a younger brother.

After chatting for a bit, Li Yesheng shook his head and said: "Alright, brother, I need to go back and watch the ducks. If two go missing, my brother will surely beat me to death."

"Go on, go on."

Li Xiangping was also eager to examine the object at the river bottom and quickly urged him away.

"Okay!"

No sooner had he left than Li Xiangping held his breath, dove, and submerged himself to the river bottom. He thoroughly felt around the area, and indeed, he felt a round object.

"Pffft..."

Li Xiangping wiped his face and looked at the object in his hand.

The object was about the size of a palm, a small, circular, grayish-green disc in the center. It was encircled by a small, dark, iron-like rim. There was nothing extraordinary about it.

The front was shattered into seven or eight pieces but held together by the rim. The back, however, had a rather strange symbol drawn on it. Li Xiangping looked at it for a long time but couldn't make out what it was.

It did look a bit like his aunt's mirror. Li Xiangping's aunt had the largest fields, and only she could afford a mirror. Ordinary village girls would simply use water to see their reflections. When his aunt acquired that mirror, his mother had even taken Li Xiangping to see it; it was indeed more convenient than water.

But this mirror in his hand was too blurry; he couldn't see anything through the mist. Li Xiangping regretfully shook his head, tossed the object into the basket, and turned to continue catching fish.

****

Lu Jiangxian had been in the water for nearly half a month. From the third day onwards, the Moonlight Aura had stagnated and stopped increasing. He had worked hard for another week but made no progress whatsoever. He couldn't do anything except make himself glow.

In the early morning, he was staring blankly at the large green fish beside him when a large hand directly pressed the fish into the mud. The surroundings shook, and a hand grabbed the fish by its gills and pulled it away.

Lu Jiangxian was still amidst the complex emotions of seeing a human for the first time when he saw a large hand directly scoop up his true form.

Seeing a rather handsome face, Lu Jiangxian felt a bit nervous for a moment. Then he saw the other party chattering a few words and, with a flick of the wrist, tossed him into the basket, where he stared at the green-tailed fish, eye to eye.

In an instant, Lu Jiangxian realized a serious problem: he could hear, but he might not understand.

The pronunciation of this land was somewhat similar to the dialects of the Fujian-Zhejiang region in his previous life. He truly couldn't understand a single word. This meant that even if he could speak, the other person wouldn't understand him at all, which would greatly hinder his integration into this world.

Watching each small fish being tossed into the basket, Lu Jiangxian focused his energy and calmed his mind to sense the surroundings.

Watching the boy carefully lift his wooden fork, Lu Jiangxian let out a soft 'hmm'. From this perspective, he could vaguely sense the boy's psychological activity. His attention was likely focused on a particular fish at the bottom of the river.

With the help of this perceptive vision, each time the boy caught a fish, he would talk to himself. Before long, Lu Jiangxian had mastered the pronunciations for numbers 3 to 6 and the names of different fish species.

"Let's take it one step at a time."

Watching the boy stand up and leave, Lu Jiangxian sighed. This child looked like he was from a farming family, so he would likely hand over this bronze-like item to his parents first. He needed to interact more with people to see if he could gradually learn the local dialect and, while ensuring his own safety, find a way to enhance his Moonlight Power.