"During the years of conflict with the Shanyue, many shamans among them wielded pestilential snakes and insects. These talismans were distributed in our army to resist witchcraft. This talisman saved my life, but now it's lost its divine light, like a piece of broken paper, that's the second thing."
"The Shanyue favor beast bones, feathers, and colored glaze. I killed people and scavenged these valuable items from the bodies, that's the third."
"Tomorrow I'll take this piece of colored glaze and tell your second uncle it was something Li Xiangping picked up from the river. Regardless of whether Li Yesheng saw it or not, we'll insist it's just a piece of broken colored glaze that twinkled under the moonlight."
Li Mutian took out a piece of broken colored glaze, tidied up the items, and spoke softly to Li Tongya.
"Father has thought this through," Li Changhu nodded. "Second uncle is generous and puts the bigger picture first. He won't quibble over something like this."
"It's a pity Li Yesheng is a waste," Li Tongya murmured, glancing at his father.
Li Mutian picked up the Mirror and set it on the wooden table, shaking his head.
"Now, it depends on how this treasure is used, and how to use it. We can't mess up or it'll all be for naught."
Lu Jiangxian, who had been listening inside the mirror all this time, was making his calculations. Unable to move within the mirror, whether to protect himself or escape from it, if he wanted to find a way on the long path to immortality that he too could walk, he would inevitably need to rely on the human and material resources of this land.
The Li family came from peasant stock, with shallow roots, yet several members were outstanding.
Father Li Mutian was courages and insightful, eldest son Li Changhu was tactful and generous, second son Li Tongya was brave, decisive, and daring to fight, while Li Xiangping and Li Chijin were also clever and nimble - truly the cream of the crop when combined.
Besides, he had no hands or feet, couldn't walk or run, let alone switch to someone else. Would he stay silent and be tossed back into the river like trash, to lie in silence as if imprisoned for another hundred years?
"Anyway, first, let's go to the east and have a look, even if it's just from afar," Lu Jiangxian thought, as he stimulated the Qi within him to surge towards the upper left corner of the mirror.
The Li brothers huddled around the Mirror inside the house, fumbling with it for a long time to no avail. They were careful not to knock it and ruin their chance at immortality. The moon's glow felt as cool and comfortable as water, yet it couldn't be blown or sucked upon.
Not until Li Xiangping picked up the Mirror and gently stroked its surface, did Lu Jiangxian energize his Qi, suddenly brightening the upper left corner of the Mirror, startling Li Xiangping into trembling and crying out, unsure whether to hold it or put it down.
Li Tongya approached and saw a bright white arc of light appear on the upper left corner of the Mirror, tapering at both ends with a thicker middle - it looked quite beautiful, slowly fading after a few breaths.
"Brother, it lit up!" Li Xiangping said with suppressed excitement.
Li Tongya took the Mirror, imitating Li Xiangping's gesture, and indeed a white light appeared. He then passed the Mirror to his father, motioning for him to do the same.
Li Mutian and Li Changhu each stroked the Mirror, clicking their tongues in admiration.
But Li Tongya gave a surprised yelp and took the Mirror from his big brother, stroking it with his back to everyone else.
"Father, no matter where you stroke it, the light always points to the north. It's like…" Li Tongya looked at the Mirror in his hands and said gravely.
"A lodestone," Li Mutian nodded.
The Immortal inside the mirror couldn't help but applaud loudly. The kid was so smart, he got it in one!
"Let's head to the village entrance first."
Li Mutian stroked his beard and then turned back into the house, calling the children.
"Take a string of cured meat. We're going to visit the teacher."
————
Li Yesheng had wiped away his tears as he entered the front yard of his house, cursing and kicking the pebbles on the road.
"What kind of treasure do they have, treating some melons like they're valuable, a few fools coming with knives in the middle of the night, guilty as ghosts!" He sat on a stone, a thought crossing his mind.
"Li Mutian has been out gallivanting for over twenty years, he must have plenty of good stuff on him! There must be some treasures." He quietly calculated.
"And those fools are so stubborn, you can't squeeze a drop of mud from their fingers. The old man is both old and obstinate, he'd die before he spoke up. Otherwise, when Li Mutian dies, we are all entitled to a share!"
Li Yesheng tilted his head to look at the gate as his brother Li Yesheng timidly entered. His eyes widened, and he shouted:
"Get over here, you little brat!"
He flung his younger brother to the ground by his clothes in front of the house, and Li Yesheng tumbled awkwardly, huddling up in fear.
"I heard you're chummy with that dog, Li Xiangping. Tomorrow you go to his house and steal a couple of melons for us to enjoy," he cursed viciously.
————
Li Mutian walked from the end to the head of the village with three children, the villagers resting on their doorsteps greeted them with smiles:
"Uncle Mutian! Where are you off to～"
"Bringing something to the teacher!"
Li Mutian lifted the cured meat in his hand with a smile.
Upon reaching the village entrance, Li Mutian looked around, patted the shoulders of Li Tongya and Li Xiangping, and whispered:
"Go."
Understanding the signal, they both bent over and quickly vanished into the dense reed marshes.
Li Mutian gazed worriedly into the distance, and his eldest son couldn't help but remind him:
"We should have instructed them that if there's anything supernatural, to just look from afar and return, not to linger."
"Tongya knows the limits."
Li Mutian narrowed his eyes, all calculations flickering through his mind like fleeting lights.
He understood that this night he might lose two children, yet he would still have Li Changhu as his heir. However, the children might also return safely, bringing a soaring opportunity for the Li family. He felt profoundly guilty, clenching his fists tightly.
"Two hundred years."
The Li family had toiled on this land, facing the yellow soil and turning their backs to the sky for a full two hundred years. Faced with a possible chance, Li Mutian made a rational decision in the interest of his family, yet he suffered immensely on an emotional level.
"Brother Li!"
The courtyard door suddenly swung open, interrupting Li Mutian's musings, as teacher Han Wenxu stared at him blankly, holding a small bowl.
"Teacher."
A hearty smile emerged on Li Mutian's face as he strode to the platform, placing the cured meat on the wooden table.
"I couldn't possibly accept this," Han Wenxu said with a smile as he nodded.
He took the cured meat, cut off a small piece into a dish finely, stir-fried some pickled vegetables as well, and served them both on small plates. The two men grabbed a small table, poured two small cups of rice wine, and started chatting in front of the door.
"It seems those high-flying immortals in the sky aren't coming anymore," Li Mutian breathed a sigh of relief, showing a relaxed expression.
Han Wenxu shrugged his shoulders and then replied with admiration, "Immortals, ah!"
"When I was twelve, an immortal came to our town," he pursed his lips, saying wistfully:
"He was looking for those with an awakening. Out of over a thousand young children in town, only three were found to have it, and he took those three with him. Those high-flying immortals in the sky now might include someone from my hometown."
"Such a rare destiny with immortals," Li Mutian consoled after a long silence.
"Such a rare destiny, such a rare destiny with immortals..."
Han Wenxu stared blankly at the moon overhead, repeating the phrase over and over.
Both men, preoccupied with their own thoughts, sat in heavy silence.