northernbook #241 - You are lying!
#241 - You are lying!
Since they couldn't get more help from "Records of Strange Objects", the three could only try to gain true knowledge through practice.
Now, besides knowing that the Iron Eater once roamed around the Moon-Embracing Pavilion on the mountaintop, Lu Jing also tentatively set the search time at midnight, trying to match the time when Yan Jun watched the stars that night as closely as possible.
In addition to this, the three of them brought their own weapons, partly for self-defense, and partly to see if they could lure the Iron Eater out, since Yan Jun had encountered the Iron Eater before, and the latter had wanted to eat her sword.
As a result, for three consecutive days, the three of them basically turned over every inch of land near the summit, but still found nothing.
Left with no choice, Lu Jing had to go and consult Ye Gongmei, who lived in seclusion in the maple forest.
The latter was a recognized master of animal-type strange objects in the Department of Celestial Observation, so logically, she should also know a lot about that panda.
Lu Jing easily passed through the formation set up by Ye Gongmei and arrived outside the thatched cottage, and then he saw a scene that shocked him.
He saw Ye Gongmei, with two small braids, was straddling a bamboo pole, with a paper horse head tied to the other end of the bamboo pole.
Lu Jing knew that this kind of thing was called a bamboo horse, a kind of toy that children in the Chen Dynasty quite liked.
The so-called phrase "childhood sweethearts" actually came from the line in the poem "Song of Changgan" by the poet Li Bai: "He came riding a bamboo horse, circling the bed, playing with green plums."
And now Ye Gongmei was riding a bamboo horse in circles in the open space in front of the thatched cottage, while constantly making light "giddy-up" sounds.
Her little face was flushed from the exercise, and she had sweat on her forehead, and she was smiling very happily.
Lu Jing reacted quickly, and after only one glance, he wanted to turn around and leave the formation, pretending that he had never been here.
Because he knew that Ye Gongmei definitely didn't want outsiders to see her like this.
However, just like when entering, leaving here also required following certain steps.
Otherwise, like the black cat before, no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't escape the formation.
And Lu Jing had just taken five steps westward, and seven steps northward, and before he had time to close his eyes, Ye Gongmei had already turned a little more than half a circle, and her little face was facing Lu Jing.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Ye Gongmei's face still had a happy smile, but that smile quickly became stiff.
No, what was stiff was more than just her smile, it should be said that all the muscles in her body tensed up at this moment, her brain suddenly became congested, turning blank, losing the ability to think, and also losing control of her body!
So much so that Ye Gongmei didn't even stop in the first moment.
Instead, she habitually rode her beloved little bamboo horse, mechanically shouting "giddy-up, giddy-up", and turned another circle in front of Lu Jing.
It wasn't until she tripped over her own feet that she fell to the ground.
At the moment of falling, Ye Gongmei thought sadly that if the academy were to rate the top ten embarrassing moments, she would definitely win the top spot without any suspense.
Lu Jing, who was on the side, saw Ye Gongmei fall, but he couldn't care about being embarrassed anymore.
He quickly stepped forward and helped Ye Gongmei up from the ground.
But then he saw that Ye Gongmei was like a soul had left her body, no matter what he asked, she didn't react at all, just standing there blankly, staring straight ahead.
So Lu Jing quickly tried to inject some true energy into her, trying to help Ye Gongmei calm down.
It took nearly a quarter of an hour before the focus in Ye Gongmei's hollow eyes slightly returned, and then she said blankly, "You... how did you come? Didn't... didn't we agree on... tomorrow?"
Ye Gongmei stammered out these words, and her voice sounded particularly aggrieved, as if she was about to cry at any moment.
Lu Jing smiled bitterly when he heard this, "Senior Ye, the reason why I came early is because I have something I want to ask you..."
However, Ye Gongmei didn't hear what Lu Jing said in the second half of his sentence at all, but only heard the three words "Senior Ye", and suddenly shivered, and then said with a mournful face, "No... no more, no Senior Ye anymore."
And Ye Gongmei obviously heard the insincerity in his words, so she couldn't control her tears anymore, crying loudly while shouting, "You're lying, you're lying!"
"Uh..."
Fortunately, Ye Gongmei cried for a while, and finally slowly stopped crying, and said to Lu Jing while sniffing, "Will you make fun of me with others later?"
"No, no," Lu Jing swore to the sky, "I will definitely not tell other people what happened here today."
"Really?" Ye Gongmei was dubious.
"Really," Lu Jing nodded, "Or should we make a pinky promise?"
"..."
"I'm not a child!" Ye Gongmei said angrily.
"I have never regarded Senior Ye as a child," Lu Jing said solemnly, "In fact, people will regain some of their childlike innocence when they get older, there's nothing to be ashamed of, I also knew a few seniors before, they played even more wildly than you."
Ye Gongmei shook her head, "I'm different from those seniors you know, I'm not regaining my childlike innocence."
She hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Actually, I didn't tell you the truth before. Not only has my body been getting younger all these years, but also my behavior and the way I think about things have become closer and closer to that of a young child. This is the real reason why I live in seclusion here and don't want to see people."
"I also watched your battle with that Yunshui Jingci Pavilion disciple named Yan Jun. Don't look at me like this now, but when I entered the academy, I was also a second-rate master, and I cultivated to the first-rate realm before I was forty years old, but now my inner strength is only at the level of an unranked one."
"Senior Ye," Lu Jing was stunned when he heard this.
"It was a long time later that I realized that the changes that strange object brought to people were all-encompassing," Ye Gongmei sighed, "Actually, I'm a little grateful that I can still meet you now, because if I wait another four years, perhaps my most proud animal taming technique will be completely forgotten by myself."
"At that time, it will be impossible for me to find another successor even if I want to."
There was a hint of loneliness in Ye Gongmei's voice, but before Lu Jing could speak, she changed the subject again, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, and then said, "You said earlier that you came to me because you have something you want to ask me?"