The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#203 - The last thing I regret

Both Lu Jing and Xia Huai had a bellyful of questions, but seeing that the banquet had already begun, the two could only temporarily shut their mouths.

However, although they were hungry, both of them only moved their chopsticks symbolically and didn't eat anything.

And judging from the dishes served, it was indeed as the white-haired, white-bearded old man had said, they were all ordinary delicacies from the mountains and forests, only that like the secret brew before, they contained a rather rich secret power.

After the third round of drinks, seeming to notice that the dishes and wine in front of the two hadn't been touched much, the white-bearded old man spoke again, asking with concern, "Why, does the food not suit your tastes?"

"No, I just have one question," Lu Jing said.

"Oh, why not speak it now," the white-haired, white-bearded old man said with a smile, putting down his chopsticks upon hearing this.

"I observe that this place is blessed with outstanding natural beauty, and the villagers are mostly knowledgeable, reasonable, and very harmonious, but precisely because of this, I am even more puzzled as to why the academy would issue a ban, forbidding new students from setting foot here, and those who come here remain tight-lipped after returning."

Lu Jing simply brought up the question in his heart.

The white-haired, white-bearded old man seemed not to have expected Lu Jing to be so direct, and was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then a playful look appeared on his face, and he did not immediately answer Lu Jing's question, but instead asked.

"I heard that you just took a walk around the village."

Lu Jing nodded, "That's right."

"Did you happen to see any familiar faces?"

So the white-haired, white-bearded old man took the initiative to ask, "What about you?"

"I didn't see any familiar people here," Lu Jing said truthfully.

"What about the thing?"

"Didn't see that either."

"That's impossible," the white-haired, white-bearded old man frowned for the first time, "Could it be that you missed it?"

As he spoke, he looked at a younger man beside him, who took out two registers. The white-haired, white-bearded old man first opened the first one, directly turned to the last page, and then read out the name on it, "Xia Bai… um, this surname, it seems, should be your relative."

With a clatter, Xia Huai accidentally knocked over the wine cup on the table, also drawing the white-haired, white-bearded old man's attention.

"Oh… is this someone you know? But aren't you surnamed Lu? Could it be that your two families knew each other before?"

Saying that, he opened the other register, and similarly turned to the last page, but this time the expression on his face froze. He turned the last page back and forth three times, and then flipped forward one page.

Finally, he said with some disbelief, "This… this, why is it like this? Are you a flawless saint, or are you cold-blooded to the extreme? Is there nothing you regret in your heart?"

"I do, and quite a few," Lu Jing said frankly.

As an ordinary person, there were indeed quite a few things he regretted.

For example, his estimated score on the college entrance exam was a bit low, otherwise he could have gone to a better school.

And for example, the girl at the next table whom he had a crush on, he didn't muster the courage to ask for her contact information until graduation.

Also, he didn't expect that he would inexplicably transmigrate, so before transmigrating, he didn't have time to take his parents abroad for a good trip, etc. There were too many things worth regretting.

The white-haired, white-bearded old man kept sizing up Lu Jing, and seeing that his tone and expression didn't seem to be lying, the expression on his face became even more astonished, and then he asked, "Do you know why this place is called Worry-Free Village?"

"I would like to hear the details."

"Because the last regret in your life that happened on the other side of the mountain cave, can be corrected in this village," the white-haired, white-bearded old man said.

"Wait, are you saying that as long as I save my younger brother here, then my younger brother on the other side can also come back to life?" Xia Huai said excitedly.

"It's not like that," the white-haired, white-bearded old man shook his head, "As you can see, the worlds on both sides of the mountain cave are not connected. You can only make up for your regrets here, but you can't affect the other world. Also… you've confused me. Aren't you surnamed Lu? Why do your younger brother and she have the same surname."

"Sorry, we slightly switched surnames earlier because we weren't clear about the situation here," Lu Jing said.

"So you are surnamed Lu, and she is surnamed Xia, I see." The white-haired, white-bearded old man said I see, but his brows didn't relax much.

"But this still doesn't explain why there is no regret in your heart?"

Lu Jing had some guesses in his heart, but it was a little difficult to say them out loud.

The last thing he regretted in his life was related to his deceased grandmother, but this matter did not happen on the other side of the mountain cave.

So he didn't see his deceased grandmother again in the village.

And thinking of this, Lu Jing not only wasn't happy, but felt inexplicably melancholy.

He could now understand why Xia Huai was so excited.

Life is like a game of chess, there is no regret after a move.

In any case, being able to make up for the regrets owed in the past and get a chance to take back a move is something many people dream of.

This may be the true meaning of Another World.

After that, Xia Huai asked the white-haired, white-bearded old man, "Can I take my younger brother away?"

"No."

"Then… then can I come here often to see him in the future?" the girl pleaded.

"Also no."

Seeing that the girl was about to change color, the white-haired, white-bearded old man quickly explained, "It's not that I won't allow you to do this, but once you leave, your younger brother will also disappear from the village… Now you can understand why your teachers don't let you come here, right."

"How could this be?" Xia Huai was stunned.

The most cruel thing in life is nothing more than this. It's not easy to be able to remedy previous regrets, but the result is just a reflection in the mirror or a flower in the water.

"Staying is not bad either," the white-haired, white-bearded old man persuaded, "You can be with your younger brother. The village has a strong secret power, which is very suitable for cultivation. The people here, as you can see, are also very warm and simple. If you get tired of staying in the village, you can also take your younger brother to other places."

"There are other places?" Lu Jing asked.

"Of course, just like the academy is just a small corner of the world on the other side of the mountain cave, Worry-Free Village is also just a corner of this world. There is a vast world, of course, the outside world is also much more complicated than the village," the white-haired, white-bearded old man said.

After a pause, he continued, "If you can't make up your mind right away, you can stay in the village for a while. As for whether to go or stay in the end, the old man and the others in the village will not stop you."