Dugong

Chapter 6: The Heart is Not Confused
early morning.

Li Ping'an washed, fetched water, and swept the floor as usual.

I figured out a lot of things last night and was glad that I didn't get carried away. Otherwise, I would have lost Xiao Zhongzi's protection and would have been bullied in the future.

Li Ping'an took out the handwritten martial arts manual, read it carefully, and reflected on it with himself.

"Could this be the meaning of 'Unperturbed original mind leads to unhindered liberation' in the Lotus Sutra?"

During breakfast in the kitchen.

Li Ping'an, contrary to his usual behavior, did not eat or drink voraciously, but only filled his stomach with a bowl of porridge.

Xiao Zhongzi was surprised and said, "We ate and drank to our heart's content for half a year before we were starving to death, but Xiao Anzi got tired of eating in less than half a month?"

"I feel sick in my stomach, so I'll eat less."

Li Ping'an forced a smile. As he spoke, he smelled the sweet aroma of white flour buns. His saliva couldn't stop flowing out, so he had to swallow it with porridge.

Xiao Fangzi frowned, as if thinking about something, and suddenly said before leaving.

"Xiao Anzi, there's no need to rush to resist some things. You can get through them by just dragging them out!"

Li Ping'an was slightly startled. Xiao Fangzi usually had a cold face and was arrogant, unlike Xiao Yuanzi who was friendly and amiable. He was a little uncomfortable with the sudden reminder.

After Xiao Fangzi walked away, he came to his senses and bowed from a distance.

"Thank you, Eunuch Fang, for your teachings."

Then he hurried to the Neiwu Hall, but did not sit in the front row. Instead, he returned to an inconspicuous corner and sat next to the equally inconspicuous Xiao Rongzi.

According to common sense, Xiao Rongzi, who is proficient in poetry, songs, acupuncture points and meridians, is one of the best in the hall in terms of knowledge and martial arts, and should have become a prominent figure long ago.

But Xiao Rongzi is unknown and rarely communicates with others.

As soon as Xiao Rongzi entered the room, he saw Li Pingan sitting in his old seat. He shrilled and said in a sarcastic tone, "Hey, isn't this Eunuch An? We greet you."

"Eunuch Rong is joking."

Li Pingan looked around. It was still early and there were few people in the hall. He lowered his voice and asked, "I want to know something. Where has Xiao Guizi been recently?"

I learned from Xiao Zhuozi that Xiao Rongzi and Xiao Guizi live in the same room. They see each other every day, so he must know the latter's whereabouts.

"Little Guizi..."

Xiao Rongzi paused and sighed, "He's been dead for a few days!"

Li Pingan was shocked: "He was fine a few days ago, how could he die?"

Xiao Rongzi said meaningfully, "The body that the Palace Supervisor brought back, as to how he died, we dare not ask."

Li Pingan asked, "What does the corpse look like?"

"It's terrible!"

Li Ping'an's pupils suddenly contracted. On ordinary days, when listening to Xiao Zhongzi chatting, the topic he talked about most was the eunuchs' weird habits.

Eating together is one of them.

Common couples were eunuchs and palace maids, who comforted each other's loneliness. A few eunuchs had strange tastes.

"There really is no such thing as free food in this world!"

Li Ping'an remembered his parents' teachings, that one should never be greedy for food given by strangers, because it is either poisonous and can kill people, or it is from beggars.

Li Pingan breathed a sigh of relief: "Eunuch Rong, our family will remember your kindness."

Fear often comes from the unknown, but after landing, it is no longer scary.

The country boy is illiterate and has no manners. He is dark-skinned and cannot compare to the fair complexion of the city people, but he is born with a wild nature that is not afraid of death and refuses to accept defeat.

Xiao Rongzi snorted coldly, "Your kindness is not even worth half a steamed bun... We pity Xiao Guizi, he's a good man!"

How could a young man from a scholarly family know anything about meridians and acupoints? It was all thanks to Xiao Guizi's careful teaching, which can be regarded as a great favor of imparting knowledge.

Now that my benefactor is dead and there is no need to repay him, I can only cause some trouble for Eunuch Zhou as a consolation.

Li Ping'an didn't care about Xiao Rongzi's ridicule. This guy's mouth seemed to be smeared with feces and urine, and his words were always smelly. Li Ping'an had long been accustomed to hearing him.

After pondering for a moment, Li Ping'an stood up and left, sitting in the front row again.

Soon, several young eunuchs came forward, flattering him and saying auspicious things, hoping to gain some protection and care in the future.

"I've made a note of it."

"Little Dengzi, right? Let's have lunch together."

"Little table, come over and introduce everyone to each other..."

Li Pingan responded with a warm smile, unlike his previous coldness and distance.

The young eunuchs were flattered. Xiao Anzi was plain-looking and a little rustic, but he had a kind of friendly and gentle charisma, and had the leadership qualities of a big brother.

So with Li Pingan as the center, a dozen or so young men got along happily and warmly, and they were so eager to kneel down and become sworn brothers immediately.

However, as soon as Eunuch Zhou stepped through the door, everyone scattered like birds and beasts.

They all slumped their shoulders and lowered their heads, not daring to look straight ahead.

Li Ping'an was immediately disappointed. He thought it was wishful thinking for him to rely on gathering people's hearts and carrying "public opinion" to protect himself.

"Uncle's method of gathering people to resist taxes can only scare Sun Bapi. When faced with a figure like Eunuch Zhou, I'm afraid no one can gather them together..."

Eunuch Zhou read the book several times, then came to Li Ping'an and asked with a caring smile, "Little Anzi, is there anything you don't understand?"

Li Ping'an suppressed his fear and resentment, his face gloomy when he lowered his head, and when he looked up, he showed a flattering smile and pointed at the four words on the book and asked.

"Excuse me, sir, what does 'Concentrate your mind on the Ancestral Acupoint, and let the light illuminate the Purple Palace' mean?"

"The Ancestral Acupoint is one inch and three fen inward from the center of the eyebrows. The Purple Court is where the primordial spirit resides."

Eunuch Zhou explained in detail: "This sentence means that when meditating, one should look inward between the eyebrows, with the mind seemingly focused but not focused, in order to achieve the state of clarity and enlightenment!"

Li Pingan suddenly realized: "Thank you for your guidance, eunuch."

These days, no matter what questions you ask, Eunuch Zhou can explain them in a simple and profound way, so that even people without any foundation can understand how to practice.

If he had no ill intentions, he would indeed be a good teacher.

Before leaving, Eunuch Zhou once again reminded Li Ping'an to take good care of himself and promised to adopt him as his godson when he was strong enough.

"Thank you for your kindness, eunuch!"

Li Ping'an bent over and stuck out his butt, expressing his gratitude, but his butt was inexplicably itchy.

At noon, Li Ping'an went to the kitchen to eat. He resisted the desire to eat white flour steamed buns and deliberately arrived late, only drinking a bowl of porridge.

Learn the rules in the afternoon.

Eunuch Xu taught the key points of slapping someone in the face. The slap should be loud and clear, and you have to count it yourself.

"First learn to slap your face twenty times, no more, no less."

The rewards and punishments given to the nobles in the palace are all graces, and must be neither too much nor too little. If you dare to give the wrong amount, you will be suspected of being disloyal.

At the command, applause broke out in the square.

Li Ping'an looked at his palm, gritted his teeth, and made up his mind. He slapped his cheek with all his strength, muttering the number in his mouth.

"I deserve one beating, I deserve two beatings, I deserve three beatings..."

When he hit the sixteenth time, Li Ping'an mistakenly read "nineteen", and a soybean hit him as expected.

The force was even greater than a slap in the face, causing Li Ping'an's mouth to twitch in pain.

Eunuch Xu was always serious and meticulous in teaching the rules, and he would not tolerate any flaws. Any eunuch who made a mistake in counting the slaps had to start over.

Li Ping'an slapped his face more than two hundred times before finally counting to twenty.

The other eunuchs had already stopped and were looking at Li Ping'an who was slapping him non-stop. Most of them looked at him with contempt and ridicule, while a few showed some sympathy.

Return to residence in the evening.

Li Ping'an fetched water and saw his face, which was bruised, swollen and fatter, and looked like a big pig's head sold in the market during the New Year.

"Jie Jie Jie..."

Suddenly, a shrill laugh startled the crows that were roosting under the eaves at night.

(End of this chapter)