novellk 030 I regret not being Guo Ju
030 I regret not being Guo Ju
Before entering the dream, Li Yu set four goals.
First, enhance strength and develop influence.
Second, find the lost father and mother.
Third, collect information on various opportunities, such as secret realms, divine weapons, high-grade treasures, and scrolls.
Fourth, find props similar to the [Celadon Pillow] and find the [Moonlight Scroll] similar to [Lu Sheng].
The progress of the four objectives is uneven.
Firstly, in [The Second Dream], Li Yu's [Martial Prowess] has reached the Great Perfection of the Ninth Rank of [Heavenly Grade]. During the period when he was wanted by the Han Dynasty, he was known as one of the "Seven Great Bandits" along with [Donkey King], [Chishi Gui], and [Xianhe Shenweng]. After taking control of Ji Province, he was compared by players to [King of Chu], [Sea King], and others. Among the native inhabitants, he was praised as the "Hidden Dragon of Hejian" and was considered to have the aura of "becoming a king or ancestor".
Secondly, Li Yu's father and mother were just ordinary citizens. When the [Sky Academy] was still in power, Li Yu had openly searched for information about his parents. After he became the ruler of Ji Province, he offered a high reward for clues, but all to little avail.
Thirdly, Li Yu did indeed collect quite a few opportunities. However, he discovered something: sometimes, the same opportunity or the same item had a completely different production method in the [First Dream] than in the [Second Dream]. Therefore, the information obtained from the [Dreams] could be used as a reference, but not entirely trusted.
Fourthly, the [Celadon Pillow] possessed wondrous properties, and Li Yu felt it should at least be a treasure of the [Corpse-Dissolving Immortal] rank. He searched for similar items in the [Second Dream] and actually found one.
In the scroll painting "Moonlight Scroll: Temple Keeper of Jiaohu," there is a cypress pillow. Li Yu obtained it and used it as a pillow, experiencing "a hundred years in an instant." However, upon waking, the dream vanished like smoke, leaving only the title "Mysterious Item: Cypress Pillow Illusion."
Later, Li Yu inquired around and found that some people had obtained scrolls such as "The Pillow Book", "The Yellow Millet Dream", and "The Tale of the Sweet Dust", entered those worlds, befriended Brother Lu, met Taoist priests in person, and even slept on pillows.
In the end, he only obtained some titles, skills, and items of the Xuan and Huang grades, but he did not get the "Dream Pillow".
Later, Li Yu heard that there was once a "Pillow of Immortals" in the ancient kingdom of Kucha, which possessed countless wonders. Coincidentally, the "Donkey King" Lü Yi led his people on a second westward expedition, attracting millions of followers, and Li Yu also joined them.
He led Huang Zhong, Xiong Ba, and Fang Yue, turning the entire Kingdom of Kucha upside down, but ultimately found nothing.
[Second Dream] In summary, of the four goals, only the first one was achieved reasonably well. The rest were really unremarkable.
After the inventory was completed, Li Yu was not very satisfied.
With the cool tail of the [Snake Princess] as his pillow, Li Yu fell into a deep sleep. He slept soundly until dawn, without the [porcelain pillow] in his dreams.
…………
Stretching, Li Yu "got up." He had just instructed [Snake Princess] to prepare the meal when he sensed Xiong Ba knocking on the door outside [the pot].
Well, they've come right on time to freeload a meal.
Two people were drinking porridge from bowls, an ant and an insect were munching on grains of rice, and a snake was crunching on pebbles.
After the meal, Xiong Ba went to wash the dishes and pots.
Li Yu leaned against the [Immortal Abode Stele], while [Thirteen Ants] and [Echoing Insect] perched on his shoulder, burping contentedly together.
After Xiong Ba finished washing up, Li Yu asked him when he would bring his parents into the [Fanghu].
Xiong Ba scratched his head and said that he had only mentioned it briefly to his parents when he got home yesterday, but they suspected that he had been tricked by a cunning person. No matter how much they tried to persuade him, they wouldn't believe him and wouldn't allow him to leave Chenwang Village again.
Xiong Ba smiled wryly: "I still have to go to the Wang family later. I'll have to trouble you, Bo Qing Gong, to make the trip. Otherwise, my parents will definitely not allow me to go out."
To the Xiong family elders, Wang Zhang was a figure of equal stature to the county magistrate. His words carried immense weight and were considered invaluable. If they could persuade him to make a trip, Xiong Ba would naturally be free from the worry of being unable to leave his home.
Li Yu nodded.
The two left [Fanghu] and went to the Wang family.
Wang Zhang was brewing tea when his servant led the two men inside. Li Yu explained the matter, and Wang Zhang nodded in agreement.
This is a trivial matter.
Li and Xiong accompanied Wang Zhang for tea. Wang Zhang observed their conversation and behavior, and seemed to be deep in thought.
Xiong Zaisheng seemed to treat "Nephew Li" with great respect.
Li Yu took out two scrolls and a roll of animal hide, asking Wang Zhang to appraise them.
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"Moonlight Scroll: Guo Ju's Pit"
[Rank] Yellow.
[Attribute] The moon shines brightly at midnight, illuminating the earth. Holding this scroll at that time will open the gate to time and space.
[Description] How can this be considered filial piety?
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Upon seeing the contents of the scroll, both Wang Zhang and Xiong Ba frowned.
Guo Ju was a famous person, a celebrity of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
He lost his father at a young age, and after his father's death, his brothers divided the family property. The family fortune was 20 million, with his two younger brothers each taking 10 million, leaving only Guo Ju to serve their mother.
The couple struggled to make ends meet and support their elderly mother by doing odd jobs.
Not long after, his wife gave birth to a boy. The old man was overjoyed with his grandson, and whenever he had food, he would share it with his grandson, eating less himself.
When Guo Ju saw this, he said to his wife, "We are too poor to provide for you, and you are taking food from your mother. You can get another child, but you cannot get another mother. Let's bury the child together."
Our family is too poor; we don't know where our next meal will come from, to the point that our son has to snatch food from his elderly mother's mouth. A son can be born again, but a mother is gone forever. Let's bury the child!
So Guo Ju went to the wilderness to dig a pit to bury his son.
They dug more than three feet into the ground and found a stone lid. Underneath the lid was a pot of gold and a scroll of cinnabar scripture.
The inscription on the scroll reads: "The filial son Guo Ju, a cauldron of gold, is bestowed upon you."
Thus, Guo Ju's name became known throughout the world.
Regardless of how future generations will evaluate them, Wang Zhang and Xiong Ba at the moment were shaking their heads in disbelief.
Wang Zhang asked Li Yu, "What are your thoughts on this old story of Guo Ju, my dear nephew?"
Li Yu knew Guo Ju, who was the most filial son in the later "Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars," a figure who has been controversial and debated for two thousand years.
The great Confucian scholar Fang Xiaoru, Lin Jun during the Chenghua era, and Mr. Lu Xun all believed that this act was unfilial and contrary to human ethics and natural law. Moreover, the story of "Guo Ju burying his son" lacked common sense, and the written record was not credible.
Li Yu recounted the comments of the three men one by one, and finally asked, "If Guo Ju really buried his young son alive, how should he answer when his mother asked about his grandson's whereabouts after he returned home?"
"If I don't tell the truth, my mother will keep asking me questions. But if I tell the truth, she'll be furious."
"If Guo's mother died from anger, was Guo Ju filial or unfilial?"
As they were talking, Wang Bin suddenly returned from outside. He was covered in dust and grime, his clothes worn and worn.
Looking at his disobedient son and then at Li Yu, who was smiling and talking eloquently, Wang Zhang felt a surge of anger rising in his heart.
"I regret not being Guo Ju!" Wang Zhang said through gritted teeth.
Wang Bin looked confused: "Why did Grandpa change his surname to Guo?"
"You brat!" Wang Zhang threw a teacup at him. "You should have been buried long ago, you unfilial son!"
Wang Bin deftly dodged to the side, and Jia Xiang caught the teacup in his hand.
The set of movements was performed with practiced ease and fluidity.
Wang Zhang was even angrier.
Seeing that things were not going well, Wang Bin turned and ran.
"Confine this disobedient son to the house!" Wang Zhang roared angrily. "He's not allowed to leave the house until he's copied the Book of Rites eight hundred times!"
"Not a single word can be omitted!"