Chapter 23 of Volume 1: Righteous and Brave

  P.S. I apologize for the mistake in the title, originally thinking that the content of Chapter 24 was related to Chapter 23, but after writing it out, I realized it wasn't, so I've changed the chapter name now, and offer my sincerest apologies to all readers who were misled......

  White snowflakes are flying in the sky, pedestrians hurry by, holding horse reins, boasting with Li Zhi and arguing with Li Shu, what a great pleasure in life.

  "It's impossible, how can an iron thing float in water?" Li Yu retorted habitually.

  "Is it necessary to deceive you? Why can a leaf float on the water surface, while a small stone of the same weight sinks to the bottom? Doesn't this illustrate a principle? The buoyancy of water is determined by the volume of an object." He was complacent and showing off, but this most obvious principle of the 20th century was simply unheard of in the Tang Dynasty.

  "Alright, you're lighter than that wood, right?" Li Yu pointed with his whip at the wood floating on the edge of the lake, estimating it to be about four meters long and thirty centimeters in diameter. The white snowflakes quickly melted away from its surface as it bobbed up and down in the water. He nodded: "That piece of wood is definitely heavier than you."

  "You jump down and I'll see if you can float up..." Li Yu raised his chin, Li Zhi nodded excitedly: "Good good, Brother Jun..."

  "You guys..." The old man's hands holding the reins were shaking, his face was black with anger. What kind of people are you? You're making me jump into the water on a snowy day, do you think I'm an idiot or something? Wood can't be compared to humans, they have different weights! But this question is too difficult to explain clearly to these two little brats right now. Just then, a cry for help came from the left side of the pond: "Someone fell into the water, someone fell into the water... hurry up and save them!"

  "Look over there, quickly..." Oh no, slipping and falling into the water in the middle of winter is no joke. If rescue efforts are delayed, it could be fatal. Even if you're not drowned, you'll freeze to death after a while.

  An old woman in her fifties or sixties was sitting on the lake bank, crying and shouting. There were only a few people around her, but no one dared to jump into the water to rescue someone on such a cold day. Lifting my eyes, I saw a figure splashing water in the distance on the lake surface, with intermittent cries for help that seemed so helpless and tragic.

  Can't take care of so many things, no matter what, I was a swimming team coach and lifeguard for two years at school. Jump off the horse, throw the reins to Li Zhi who is still sitting on the horseback in a daze, move around, not feeling right, hurry up and tie the outer garment to the waistband, kick off the boots.

  "What are you doing?!" Li Yu exclaimed, riding forward to block my path, his face pale with either shock or anger at my actions: "Are you trying to get yourself killed?! What's wrong with all of you people, standing there like that?! Can't you go down and rescue them?" The whip pointed at the group of elderly women and children shivering in the cold wind... That's not called rescuing, that's called harming.

  "Get out of the way! If we don't rescue him, someone will really die!" No time to discuss with this little girl whether or not it's worth risking one's life. I summoned my strength and pushed Li Fu's horse aside with brute force. Li Fu was caught off guard and almost fell off his horse. Amidst the crowd's cries of alarm, I executed a most elegant dive into the water. Damn! It's too freaking cold! The water that's still melting from snow is the coldest. Wiping away the lake water on my face, I took aim, spread my arms wide and plunged in with a huge splash.

  Freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, switching between the three styles, getting closer and closer, okay, this guy's hair is still floating on the water surface, Golden Dragon Claw, dare not use too much force, lightly lift, that person's head floated out of the water, mouth agape, gasping for air, still good, can be saved, hands inserted under his armpits, backstroke...

  Just as I approached the shallow water's edge, an old woman had already rushed over crying and shouting, "He's not dead, hurry up, help me pull him up..." The sky was too cold to move around, having swum only a hundred or two meters of distance, my body felt soft like noodles, the wet chill on my skin made me feel like I was going crazy.

  I threw him on the side of the road, lying flat, two hands tore open his clothes, okay, his belly was only slightly bulging, his face was pale, but he still had breath. I used force with both hands on his abdomen, and a mouthful of water shot out, his belly shrunk a lot, and I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief: "Li Zhi, quickly...quickly...bring me my robe, the women...all turned their backs and left, I have to...change his clothes. Otherwise, he'll freeze to death if not drowned." As I spoke, I started shivering, damn this weather, it's ruining my image completely.

  Li Yu's face turned pale as he glanced at me, then suddenly took off the fur cloak draped over his body and threw it to me. "Put it on quickly..." He turned around and left.

  "Thank... thank..." Without considering whether it fit or not, I quickly wrapped myself in it with a few movements. The old woman seemed to have come back to her senses as well, and after wiping away her tears, she helped me along with others to undress the half-unconscious drowning victim until he was stark naked. I took the long leather cloak handed over by Li Zhi and wrapped him up tightly like a prisoner of war. At this time, some kind-hearted people brought hot water running over, and someone pushed a cart over as well. After a commotion, the young man who had almost drowned was sent away in the cart, and the old woman hastily followed behind the cart while wiping away her tears.

  "This young master, drink some hot water quickly and warm up your body." An old man handed over a thermos that was still emitting steam, I didn't even have time to say thank you, I just took it and gulped it down, scalding my tongue and lips, but my body felt much more comfortable.

  "I haven't had the chance to ask this young master's name, if it wasn't for your timely rescue today, Chen Liu's only son would have..." The old man and that woman looked like they were both local residents.

  "No need to thank me, it's what should be done..." It was too cold, I had to lift my legs several times before climbing onto the horseback. Ignoring the old man's shouting, I quickly rode the horse towards home. I didn't want to freeze to death because of being chivalrous.

  "Master! Master, you've fallen into the river!" Jumping off his horse and not yet entering the gate, a disheveled appearance had startled House Uncle who was just leaving the house to attend to some business, causing him to stammer and change his tone.

  "No, saved a life... legs are soft..." The words were incoherent, the smile was more like crying, House Uncle shouted loudly, and immediately a group of servants rushed out from inside the mansion, like kidnappers, they lifted up Ben Shao Ye and rushed towards the back garden of the mansion, Li Fu and Li Zhi also followed with thick skin...

  Old Lady Lu heard the news and without saying another word, she dragged me, a big strong man, and threw me into the bathtub with my butt exposed. The hot water scalded me so badly that I let out a loud yelp. Just as I was trying to climb out to catch my breath, my mom hit me back in with a wooden stick: "Stay inside quietly, if you can handle cold water, why can't you handle hot water?"

  "...my daughter...this water is too hot,I'm almost cooked..." with tears in her eyes, looking very pitiful.

  Lu pointed at my nose with a stick, her face full of anger and scolding: "You're done for! Stew you up and eat you, save your mother from worrying about you all day... Do you know that just now, when Fang Sheng shouted so loudly, your mother's heart was like it was being twisted... almost couldn't catch a breath..." As she spoke, tears started streaming down her face...

  I knelt in front of my mother, with a red glow all over my body from the bath, and sweat still dripping from my forehead, not daring to wipe it off, afraid that my mother would get angry again.

  "Madam... the young master also knows he was wrong, and besides, the young master is fine, don't worry too much, if you get sick, it will be a disaster for the old master..." House Uncle carefully advised from the side.

  "Hmph... Old Master?! If I really went, he wouldn't celebrate with drums and cymbals?!" Upon hearing the housekeeper's words, my mother's originally tearful face suddenly flipped, her eyes gleaming with a sinister light, completely shedding her gentle maternal demeanor... it sent shivers down my spine.

  "Get up, you little scamp! On a freezing cold day like today, you dare to jump into the icy water that can freeze your bones? See what happens to you?" With a huff, she slapped me on the forehead, perhaps thinking it was too hard, so she rubbed it for me. Seemingly feeling that this wasn't severe enough, she grabbed my ear: "Your...ear...oh no! Your ear is going to fall off!"

  "Hmph... If you didn't have guests here, I'd throw you into the oven and roast you alive...!" The old mother let go with a huff, while House Uncle, who was watching from the side, wanted to laugh but dared not, his expression very rich.

  "Daughter... child... have you gone to see the guests already?" She asked cautiously, covering her reddened ears.

  "Shoo, shoo... Just seeing you makes me so angry..." My old mother chased me out of the room in a huff, and then instructed House Uncle: "Hurry up and get to work in the kitchen, slaughter a chicken for Young Master, add more ginger, stew it well and send it over. Also, tell House Runner to go fetch some medicine from the doctor, brew it and send it over to Second Young Master too. And, instruct everyone in the household not to let Old Master know about this, otherwise, this little scamp will probably not be able to escape a good beating..." I crouched under the windowsill, my gaze unfocused as I stared at the backyard ravaged by the snowstorm, the pure white snowflakes dancing and brushing against my cheek...

  "Master... what are you squatting here for?" House Uncle's voice, raised his eyes, and House Uncle's kind face was right in front of him.

  "Doing nothing, watching snow..." Whoa, caught red-handed while eavesdropping, it's really...

  "Oh... Young Master, your face... isn't it because the snow has melted? Your whole face is..." House Uncle was very considerate and didn't say I cried, he found an excuse for me instead.

  "Uh-huh... I'm going back to the house to see the guests... Uncle Fang, goodbye." He hastily wiped his sleeve and ran towards our small courtyard with a flushed face.

  As I was about to enter the courtyard, I turned my head back and saw a woman in plain clothes standing at the door, one hand on the door frame, waving at me with a mixture of anger and deep affection: "You little scamp, hurry up, don't keep the princess waiting... And next time, don't play with water again..."

  Walking on the way back to the small courtyard, I feel unexpectedly relaxed and comfortable. The warm and burning ears make me feel the deep love of my mother for her son...