Dugong

Chapter 9 Extraordinary Talent
Li Ping'an tossed and turned, unable to sleep all night.

Xiao Zhongzi's death cast a shadow over his heart. He had thought that the four people who shared the same dormitory could be considered good friends, even if they could not be considered brothers.

Now I understand that they were just taking advantage of each other and keeping each other warm, and there was no friendship at all.

The next morning.

Li Ping'an got up and washed as usual, and habitually filled three basins with clean water.

Then he used a wet towel to wipe Xiao Zhongzi's face. According to the village custom, people should come and go cleanly.

When Xiao Fangzi opened his eyes, he saw Li Ping'an meticulously preparing the remains. He suddenly said, "Xiao Anzi, if you have any questions in the future, you can come and ask us."

"What can we do for Eunuch Fang?" Li Ping'an's voice was filled with resentment.

"If my family dies one day, please help me clean up."

Xiao Fangzi paused and said quietly, "In this palace, living one more day is a reward from His Majesty. Yesterday it was Xiao Zhongzi, today it might be us!"

Li Ping'an agreed with this. He had just been in the palace for a month and had almost fallen into the tiger's mouth.

It was all thanks to her ruthless self-mutilation that she changed the shape of her face, and with a bit of luck, she was able to escape the old eunuch's covetousness.

Xiao Fangzi and his companions endured more than two years in the palace, and had experienced countless life-and-death crises.

On the way to the kitchen.

Xiao Fangzi and Xiao Yuanzi walked in front, and Li Pingan followed silently. Unfortunately, without the talkative Xiao Zhongzi, the atmosphere seemed a bit dull.

"That's right. Don't let likes and dislikes affect your judgment."

Xiao Yuanzi regained his former amiable demeanor: "We sympathize with Xiao Zhongzi as well, but we cannot provoke important figures for him, lest we get implicated. Just like you dislike our family, we cannot go our separate ways, lest we get bullied."

Hehehe, after all, we are all the same kind of people!"

Li Ping'an lowered his head and said nothing. Xiao Yuanzi's words were harsh, but they directly pointed to the essence of survival and human nature.

When they were halfway there, they met the imperial concubine's procession, which was surrounded by twenty or thirty eunuchs and palace maids. They were acting very arrogantly and looked very majestic.

The three of them kowtowed from a distance against the wall: "Your servants pay their respects to Her Majesty the Yuan Concubine."

Li Ping'an had heard of this noble man. His brother was a general of the imperial court who led his troops to sweep across the northern barbarians and was invincible.

Your Majesty dotes on Concubine Yuan and often stays in Zhaoyang Palace.

Because of this, the eunuchs on duty in Zhaoyang Palace have a status half a head higher than those elsewhere.

After the imperial concubine's procession had gone far away and could no longer be seen, the three of them got up and continued on their way.

They would rather delay for a few more hours, even if there were only leftovers in the kitchen when they arrived late, than to displease the noble.

The eunuchs in the palace are not considered human beings, but objects such as tables, chairs, benches, bottles and jars.

If you make a noble person angry, there is no need to find any fault specifically, just order him to be dragged away and beaten to death. Who would speak up for an object?

Li Ping'an didn't think there was anything wrong with this, and he didn't understand human rights or resistance. Since he had eaten the steamed buns in the palace, his life should be controlled by His Majesty and the nobles.

Arrived at the kitchen.

Li Ping'an filled a bowl with thick porridge, strung six steamed buns with chopsticks, and devoured them impatiently.

Xiao Fangzi asked, "Is your stomachache healed?"

"OK OK!"

Li Ping'an ate with great enthusiasm, as if he wanted to make up for the lack of steamed buns he had eaten in the past month.

Xiao Fangzi stirred the porridge slowly and calmly, and suddenly said, "Xiao Zhongzi has known about Eunuch Zhou's habit for a long time."

Li Pingan paused for a moment with his chopsticks, then spoke as if nothing had happened.

"We have already guessed this and we know how powerful Eunuch Zhou is, so if you don't take the initiative to ask for help, we won't make things difficult for you."

It was said lightly, but I felt cold in my heart.

Xiao Zhongzi's smiling and friendly face became increasingly blurred and distorted, and half of his face became like Xiao Fangzi's gloomy and cold appearance.

"You just understand."

Xiao Fangzi nodded and said, "To make a living in the palace, you can't rely on anyone else. You can only rely on yourself."

"We will remember Eunuch Fang's advice."

Li Ping'an glanced at Xiao Yuanzi who was eating by himself, wondering if Xiao Fangzi's words also included them, the brothers.

After dinner, I went to Neiwu Hall as usual.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw the young eunuchs surrounding Xiao Yunzi and flattering her, just like they had flattered Xiao Guizi and myself before, without even changing the flattering words.

Li Ping'an rubbed his face, which had become rounder from square, restrained his emotions, and put on a gloomy look like Xiao Fangzi, who kept strangers away.

He found a corner to sit down, opened the Lotus Sutra and read. Seeing this, several young eunuchs nearby moved away. Xiao Rongzi's methods yesterday were truly terrifying, so it was best to stay away from him.

Even when Eunuch Zhou entered the room, there was no sign of Xiao Rongzi.

Li Ping'an was slightly disappointed, but he didn't have any other thoughts. After what happened with Xiao Zhongzi, he no longer had the desire to make friends.

There is no true friendship in the palace, it's just mutual exploitation!

"The world of red dust binds the heart, the white lotus saves from adversity, a single thought extinguishes all thought, and all things are empty..."

Read the book repeatedly and try to figure out its true meaning.

Li Ping'an has been able to read the entire set of exercises and has a basic understanding of the meridians. Now he only needs to figure out the details of the circulation of true qi.

"Ask Xiao Fangzi for advice in the evening so that I can cultivate my true Qi as soon as possible!"

Before, Xiao Rongzi asked how to repay the kindness of teaching and educating Li Pingan. At that time, he was speechless, but now he finally has the answer.

Once your benefactor dies, you naturally won’t have to repay him.

Hasn’t the kindness that Xiao Zhongzi showed in taking care of the Fang Yuan brothers disappeared now?

Li Ping'an still has a bottom line and has never thought of using vicious means to eliminate his benefactor. As for how long this bottom line can last, no one knows.

Learn the rules in the afternoon.

Eunuch Xu was as harsh and cruel as ever, using the young eunuchs as targets for practicing hidden weapons. The more miserable their screams were, the more excited he became.

Li Ping'an has gradually gotten used to the fact that there are no normal people in the palace.

The longer they stayed, the more distorted they became, until they became an indescribable mass of flesh and blood that was neither human nor inhuman.

The sun rises and the moon sets.

Another month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Ping'an studied hard day and night, and asked for advice humbly. Finally, he memorized the "Lotus Sutra" and could try to practice true qi.

This morning.

Li Ping'an did not go to Neiwu Hall to study, but went to the quiet room next to it.

This quiet room is about ten meters square and is divided into training rooms by wooden boards. Each room is equipped with a cushion and incense burner.

Li Ping'an found an empty room, sat cross-legged on a cushion, and lit the half-burnt incense in the stove.

The green smoke curls up and gradually fades into the clear sky.

Li Ping'an closed his eyes slightly, recalling the formula in the manual, and breathing twelve times according to the method at the beginning. A faint wisp of true energy emerged from his meridians.

"Qi flows through the Ren channel, blood rushes back to the gate, the jade pillow feels like it is burning, and the mysterious female feels cold..."

The true Qi flows along the route of the exercises, becoming stronger every time it passes through a meridian.

After completing one week of practice, return the energy to Dantian for nourishment.

"According to Xiao Fangzi, the most important factor in judging the quality of martial arts talent is the speed of the circulation of the meridians. Those with superior talent can complete the practice in half an incense stick, those with average talent need two incense sticks, and those with inferior talent need twice as much..."

Li Ping'an glanced at the incense burner. Only a small part of the remaining incense had burned away, about twenty-five percent.

"What should our family's qualifications be considered?"

He must be the best of the best. As for whether he can be considered a peerless genius, Li Pingan is not quite sure.

"We're not going to important places like the Imperial Household Department or the Imperial Seal Department. Anyway, we just want to work at the Imperial Kitchen Department. So, what does it matter if we're talented or not?"

Li Pingan witnessed Xiao Zhongzi's tragic death with his own eyes, and realized that one's future does not depend on strength or talent, but on background and backing.

Even a peerless genius would still be doomed to death if he met an old eunuch who had practiced for decades.

After a little thought, continue practicing.

After a morning of hard practice, more than twenty strands of true qi had accumulated in his dantian.

When learning the etiquette of kowtow in the afternoon, Li Ping'an circulated his true energy to his knees and forehead, and kowtowed with a bang but without any pain.

I was secretly proud of myself for finding a way to be lazy.

Snapped!
A soybean hit Li Ping'an's knee. Even with the help of true energy, he still felt excruciating pain.

At this time.

Eunuch Xu's shrill voice reached my ears.

"In the palace, you can do anything tricky, except kowtow. If your forehead doesn't bleed, your neck will bleed..."

(End of this chapter)