Chapter 17: The Inverted Heaven Treasure Mirror (Part 2)

  "Sister, our firewood is almost enough. It's getting late, let's go back. Dad said he would cook rice for us at noon, I haven't had fragrant white rice in a long time. I'm so hungry!" A childish voice rang out, and Hailong couldn't help but pause slightly, of course, he didn't know who was coming, but from the sound, he could confirm that it wasn't someone from the Demon Sect coming to catch him.

  Another voice that sounded a bit more mature said: "Little sister, you had three big sweet potatoes for breakfast, now where are you hungry? You're obviously just craving something."

  "Hehe, after all, sister knows me best. Let's go back, okay? I really miss eating rice! If it weren't for Old Man Li sending us rice yesterday, who knows how many more days we'd have to wait?" "Alright, alright. The firewood is almost enough too, let's head back now. Since you love eating so much, sister will give her portion to you at noon. I'll just eat sweet potatoes instead."

  "No, I couldn't eat that much. Father always says that sister is growing up now and needs to eat more. Our village is really too poor, look at Li Village, most people can eat rice and buns every day, they are much better off than us." Along with the approaching voice, two slender figures, one tall and one short, appeared in Hailong's line of sight.

  Listening to the conversation between the two sisters, Hailong couldn't help but think of his own past with Zhanghao. His village was also very poor, and similar situations had occurred before. The feelings between him and Zhanghao were just like those between these two sisters, weren't they? Douyuer, how are you doing now? This time when I return to Lianyun Sect, I will definitely go visit you. At this moment, the two sisters had already walked under the tree where Hailong was standing. Their faces didn't look very good, slightly yellowish, clearly due to long-term malnutrition. However, their facial color did not affect their elegant appearance. The older sister looked about 13 or 14 years old, and the younger one around 10 years old. Both of them had bundles of firewood on their backs that were disproportionate to their body size. Looking at their appearance, Hailong's heart suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

  He landed with a flutter, and the next moment Ha Long was standing in front of the two sisters. His appearance suddenly frightened the sisters, who let out a cry of surprise and retreated backward in unison, but due to the heavy firewood on their backs, they immediately fell down together. The older sister shielded her younger sister in her arms, trembling with fear as she stared at Ha Long.

  The dragon tried to make his expression softer, smiling: "Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person. Just now I was sleeping in the tree and saw you carrying such heavy firewood, just wanted to help you." The two sisters obviously didn't believe him, the older sister said in terror: "You, don't come over! Uncle, we have no money, nothing to eat on us. Just let us go. If you want, take all this firewood for yourself. If you want..., I, I'm willing to follow you, my little sister is still young, just let her go."

  Hailong was taken aback by the "sister's" words, and a strange feeling arose in his heart. He knew that the sisters had already mistaken him for a bandit. "How do you know so much? You look very young! I'm really not a bad person, nor will I harm you. Otherwise, why would I bother talking to you?"

  "That sister murmured: 'Others, others are already sixteen years old, not young anymore, and my younger sisters are thirteen years old too. It's just that we grew up a bit slender. Don't deceive us. Where is the bad person who admits to being a bad person? Dad and mom often say that you must not lightly believe outsiders.' With a flicker of vigilance in her eyes, they made a gesture as if ready to run away at any time."

  Hai Long couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the two sisters, and could only sit down on the ground in dismay, stroking his chin whiskers as he bitterly smiled: "If you don't believe me, then so be it. But don't call me 'Uncle' either - I'm only eighteen years old, not much older than you two. My name is Hai Long. And what about you?"

  The two sisters looked at Hailong sitting on the ground, seemingly not threatening them at all, and their courage grew. They took off the firewood from behind, and the elder sister said timidly: "I, I'm Yuhua, this is my younger sister Yubing, you, are you really only eighteen years old? But why are your clothes torn like that? Did you encounter a robber?" The village girls couldn't help but feel sympathetic after seeing Hailong's attire.

  Hai Long let out a wry smile and said, "Yes! I ran into a gang of very fierce robbers. They chased me for quite some time too. It was only with great difficulty that I managed to shake them off."

  Jade Bottle poked her head out from her sister's arms and said, "You really are pitiful! Come home with us, we have rice at our house today. I'll share my portion with you, okay?"

  Yu Hua obviously had a stronger sense of caution, pulling her sister aside and whispering, "Ping'er, don't talk nonsense, we can't just bring outsiders home. What if he's a bad person? Who knows if what he says is true?" Hai Long looked at them, feeling a warmth in his heart, Yu Ping's words filled with childishness and kindness giving him a sense of homesickness. He let out a soft sigh and said, "It's already very late, you two should head home too. Hurry up, or your parents will worry. You don't have to suspect me of anything, I'll just sit here quietly, that's all. Goodbye, lovely sisters." As he spoke, he even waved goodbye to Yu Hua and her sister.

  Yu Hua looked at Hai Long's sincere face and murmured, "You're really not a bad person? If so, why don't you come back to the village with us? My dad is the village chief, if he says you're not a bad person, the village can take you in." Hai Long had already been bothered by his tattered clothes and dirt, and he also wanted to visit the village where the two girls lived to see how it felt. So he stood up, smiled, and said, "Okay then. If your dad thinks I'm a bad person, I'll leave immediately and won't cause any trouble for you." As he spoke, Hai Long walked over to Yu Hua's side, bent down, and shouldered the firewood they were carrying. "Girls shouldn't carry so much stuff, it's not good for their physical development."

  Yu Hua retorted, "Don't be ridiculous. Don't look at my slender figure, I'm actually very strong. Even ordinary boys can't surpass me in strength. Our village is close by, let's hurry up and go."

  Under the leadership of Yu Hua sisters, Hai Long followed them through the forest and came to a small mountain village. The village was built on the hillside, with various plants planted around it. The village was very small, with only about 100 households. Their clothes were no longer simple, but mostly patched up, obviously, this was a very poor place. Of course, compared to Hai Long's hundred-piece shirt, the villagers' attire was considered luxurious.

  The sudden appearance of this outsider, Hailong, immediately caught the attention of the villagers. As soon as he entered the village, more than a dozen sturdy men surrounded him, eyeing him with hostility. "Who are you? Why have you come to our Yucun Village?" they asked gruffly.

  Yu Hua, although young in years, had a fiery temper. With her hands on her hips, she said: "So what? He's a poor soul who was robbed by bandits. I took pity on him and brought him back."

  A young man in his twenties said, "Is he pitiful? Even if he is pitiful, we can't take him in! Yuhua, don't forget, now even the villagers in our village can't eat their fill. With another big mouth to feed, everyone will have to eat one less bite. Where's the energy to work?"

  Yu Hua said angrily: "Yu Jian, you selfish little man, only know yourself, he is an outsider, but can't let him starve to death in the forest, right?"

  In the midst of the quarrel, a middle-aged man walked over with several villagers. This middle-aged man looked like he had already gained some age, and his eyebrows and eyes resembled those of Yu Hua's sisters. Hai Long knew that this must be Yu Hua's father, the village chief. Indeed, as the middle-aged man approached, the young male villagers made way for him, and a youth named Yu Ke hastily said: "Village Chief, Yu Hua brought back some wild man from who-knows-where, saying he was robbed by bandits. Looking at his appearance, he doesn't seem like a good person! You can't take him in."

  The village chief glanced at Yu Ke with a sideways glance, took big strides to walk in front of Hai Long, Hai Long's height was already close to 1.8 meters, slightly taller than the village chief, and smiled: "Hello Village Chief, my name is Hai Long."

  The village head, Yu Qing, looked up and down at the Sea Dragon, and was secretly shocked in his heart. Although this person's clothes were tattered on the surface, they still subtly revealed a strange aura, as if they were a high mountain that made people stand up straight with respect. Yu Qing knew that the person in front of him was not ordinary. He furrowed his brow and said: "Our Jade Village will never take in someone with an unknown background. Please leave. Yu Qiao, go and give this brother a bag of sweet potatoes."

  Yu Ke said with a frown, "Village chief, our food is also very limited! The summer crops have just been planted and it will take a long time for them to mature."

  Yu Jing glared and said: "I told you to go, so just go. What's with all the nonsense? Are you the village head or am I?"

  The expression on Yu Ke's face fluctuated for a moment, and then he reluctantly left. Hai Long put down the firewood on his back and placed it on the ground. Since their father appeared, the Yu Hua sisters did not dare to say anything else, and they stood aside with their heads lowered. Hai Long looked at these poor villagers and felt no resentment towards them for not being willing to take him in. Everything before him was so similar to his own small village in the western outskirts - equally dilapidated, equally desolate, and equally rustic. Raising his head, Hai Long looked straight at Yu Ke and said: "Village chief, you don't have to give me sweet potatoes. I still have some food on me. It's just that these clothes are really too tattered. Can you let me wash up a bit and provide me with a cleaner set of clothes? Of course, I won't take your things for nothing - I can exchange them for some food."

  Yu Jing thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Alright then. There's no need for any exchange either. However, after you've cleaned up, you must leave our place immediately. Yu Hua, go get a set of my clothes to give to this brother."

  Yu Hua looked at Hai Long with some helplessness, nodded and ran towards the depths of the village. Under Yu Hua's lead, Hai Long followed him to a small river on the other side of the village, where the clear water was like the one he had seen when he first met Mo Qi, its gentle gurgling sound giving people a sense of serenity.

  In a short while, Yu Hua had brought over a set of clothes and was hurrying over. Yu Qing led the male villagers to surround Hai Long in the center, letting him wash up in the river, while Yu Hua and her sister waited outside. As the dirt on Hai Long's body gradually disappeared, the look of surprise in Yu Qing's eyes grew stronger, and the silver light flowing from the protective mirror on Hai Long's chest made him feel shocked. Yu Jue even showed a greedy expression. Hai Long's skin was smooth and shiny, without the cover of dirt, and his strong body shone with a halo under the sunlight, looking very strange.

  "Ah, taking a bath is really comfortable. Village chief, thank you." After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Hailong felt his whole body relax, and he combed his thick black hair back, walking to the front of Village Chief Yuhua. As soon as they heard that Hailong had finished bathing, Yu Hua's sisters eagerly squeezed into the crowd, wanting to verify whether he was indeed eighteen years old as he had claimed earlier.

  "Little brother, I didn't expect you to be so young. Here, take this bag of sweet potatoes and eat them on the road. We're really sorry, but this is all we can offer in our village."

  Hailong shook his head and said, "No, village chief, I don't want it. Being able to take a bath and change my clothes is already very satisfying for me. I have my own way of finding food. I won't accept this set of clothes for free. How about this? I'll help you catch some fish to eat instead. With such a river nearby, why aren't you fishing?"

  Yu Qing sighed and said, "Little brother, don't laugh at us, we're really too poor here, and it's an inland area, the price of fishing nets is shockingly high, it's not something we can afford. This river looks narrow, but the water is wide and turbulent, if we didn't have a fishing net, it would be very difficult to catch fish."

  Tonight will definitely upload another chapter.