The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#202 - A short story

"Who is he?" Lu Jing asked Xia Huai, who was in a daze beside him.

"He… he looks a lot like my younger brother," Xia Huai murmured, staring at the little boy by the well.

"You have a younger brother?"

"Yes, but he died before he was seven years old," Xia Huai said. "That day, he was playing by the well by himself, just like… just like now. The nanny who was watching him went to relieve herself, and he took the opportunity to climb onto the well bricks."

As the two were talking, the little boy seemed to want to see what was in the well, and stretched his head forward again, leaning half his body over.

Then, his feet suddenly slipped, and he lost control and fell into the well.

Just as tragedy was about to strike, a slender hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him up from the well!

The little boy felt his body lighten, and his feet were back on the ground.

"Thank you for saving me, big sister," the little boy said, winking at Xia Huai and giggling.

The latter trembled when she heard him call her "big sister."

By the time she came back to her senses, the child had already run off somewhere again.

At this moment, a village woman found the two people wandering around the village and said, "Young Master Xia, Miss Lu, the banquet is about to begin. The village chief invites the two distinguished guests to take their seats."

"Understood, we'll go right away." Lu Jing nodded, first looking up at the sky. The sun was already setting, and the horizon was filled with red clouds.

Then, he looked at Xia Huai beside him with some concern.

Ever since seeing the child who looked like her deceased younger brother, the girl had been somewhat absent-minded.

And after saving the person, her expression became even more complicated.

On the way to the banquet with the village woman, she kept her head down, not saying a word, and it was unknown what she was thinking.

… … … …

The three of them quickly arrived at the open space in the center of the village.

Tables and chairs had already been set up here, and the villagers were all seated, chatting with each other while waiting for the dishes to be served. It looked quite lively and harmonious.

Seeing Lu Jing and Xia Huai arrive, everyone stood up to greet them.

Lu Jing and Xia Huai hurriedly returned the greeting, and soon after the two of them took their seats, an old man with white hair and beard, a kind face, and leaning on a peach wood crutch, walked to the main table with the help of two young men.

He looked very old, but his face was very ruddy, and his back was not very hunched.

Even when he was about to walk to the table, he shook off the two pairs of hands that were helping him, and then said with a smile, "It is a pleasure to have guests from afar."

"We don't deserve such honor. We are just lost people who have strayed into this place and will leave at dawn tomorrow. How can we trouble everyone any further?" Lu Jing replied.

"Since you are here as guests, why bother insisting on where you came from and when you will return? At least let us all raise our glasses and have a good time tonight."

As he spoke, the white-haired and white-bearded old man had already raised the wine cup on the table.

Seeing this, Lu Jing and Xia Huai could only raise their glasses as well, but they only pretended to drink, and their lips did not touch the wine cup.

However, Lu Jing's nose still smelled the fragrance of the wine, and he felt it was particularly refreshing. Xia Huai even let out a soft sigh.

"What's wrong?" Lu Jing asked using the secret sound transmission method.

"The secret power in this wine is so pure. If we understood the secret power cultivation method, drinking it would save us ten days of effort," Xia Huai sighed.

"Is it that magical?" Lu Jing asked in surprise.

The white-haired and white-bearded old man at the main table seemed to have guessed what the two were thinking and introduced with a smile.

"This is the secret brew of our Worry-Free Village. Ordinary people can strengthen their bodies and bones after drinking it, and it is especially beneficial for cultivators. The young people who came from your academy before all liked to drink it. Some people drank it in our village for three whole months."

"Drinking so much wine, how much money would that cost?"

The white-haired and white-bearded old man also laughed until his eyebrows trembled, but he quickly stopped laughing and told a story about a young man named Wang Er who lived in the desert. What was most precious in the desert was naturally water.

The city where Wang Er lived had always strictly controlled water, and it was bought and sold in the market like millet. Everyone had to pay to draw water from the public wells in the city, and when the drought was severe, a bucket of water could even be sold for the same price as the same weight of silver.

As a result, Wang Er later left his hometown and walked east all the way to a big lake. There was also a city there. Wang Er felt thirsty after entering the city, so he found a family and wanted to buy water. Unexpectedly, the other party gave him a bowl of water very readily, but did not charge him a penny.

Then he told him that the wells in the city could be used to draw water and drink at will, and there was no need to spend money. Wang Er couldn't help but marvel when he heard this.

After telling this short story, the white-haired and white-bearded old man asked Lu Jing and Xia Huai, "Do you understand?"

"The elder wants to say that the environments in different places are different, so something that is very precious in one place may not be a rare object in another place, just like the secret brew in this village," Xia Huai said.

"That's right, that's the principle," the white-bearded and white-haired old man said. "This secret brew is what we usually use as water, so let you drink your fill, and there will be no loss to us, so you can rest assured and drink boldly."

"Moreover, you two have been here for so long, and you must have felt that this place is different from the other side of the cave… well, the things that your academy calls secret power are particularly rich, so it is not difficult to brew such fine wine."

"What exactly is this place, a fairyland or an illusion?" Xia Huai couldn't help but ask.

Her words also caused the villagers present to laugh heartily again.

The white-haired and white-bearded old man stroked his beard and smiled, "This is just here, the place where our ancestors have lived for generations. As for whether you from the other side are willing to call this place a fairyland or an illusion, that is your own business."

After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands and said, "The guests and hosts have arrived, it's time to serve the dishes. There are no delicacies in the mountains and fields, only some wild game and mountain goods that we have hunted ourselves. I hope the two guests will not dislike them."

As his voice fell, the dishes began to be served one by one.