Dharma Ring: Selling dung beetles at the border

In the small pavilion, La Ya held her little hands and kept walking in a small circle to relieve her uneasy mood and relieve the cold in the lake area.

She looked anxiously in the direction of the broken house, praying for the hero to return.

Finally, La Ya's eyes shone brightly, and the somewhat familiar armored silhouette was reflected in her eyes.

Wuming Fengfenghuohuo walked out of the fog in the lake area and came to La Ya's side.

Did you get it? La Ya was a little nervous.

Wuming said: The gangster has promised to hand over the necklace.

Great! La Ya jumped up happily and kept clapping her hands, Thank you, you are my benefactor!

La Ya calmed down and looked at Wuming's hand.

It's still the combination of sword and shield, with nothing on his neck and a few bags around his waist.

La Ya said: Uncle Hero, where is the necklace?

Wuming spread his hands: He said that you should go and get it in person.

As soon as she heard that she was going out, La Ya panicked a little. The original joy was immediately poured with cold water, just like the cold wind in the lake area, which made her skin crawl.

Want to go out? She confirmed.

He said he would hand it over to you personally, and he was also going to apologize to you personally. Wuming said with a smile.

When La Ya thought about going out, she felt panicked. She didn't expect why the gangster had to apologize for not coming to visit in person, but why she had to go there by herself.

Laya was spinning around in the protective barrier:

But my mother doesn't want me to step out of this circle...

You are going to be away, so you will not accept your orders. Wuming said, Your mother doesn't know what's going on with you, so her orders are inevitably rigid.

But... La Ya was still hesitant.

Why did your mother give you this trap? Wuming asked.

To protect me.

Then why did she send you out? Wuming said, To make you 100% safe, she should have let you stay at home.

This... Laya was asked by Wuming.

Wuming said: That must be to train you, right? Parents can't watch their children all their lives, they have to let them grow up, right?

Yes. Laya suddenly said.

Wuming continues to be kind and tempting:

Isn't now a good time for you to practice and exercise your courage? Look, now that I'm watching you, you won't be in danger, right?

Wuming began to tell her the story of the pony crossing the river, pointed to the shallow water under the pavilion, and encouraged Laya to take the first step.

Laya hesitated, struggled, stepped forward and then retracted.

Oh, by the way, that gangster wants to treat you to lobster. Wuming added.

Laya was finally convinced, tiptoed, and took the first step away from the protective barrier.

Laya was tense all over, staring at Wuming, as if she was about to escape back to the safety of the pavilion if there was any slight movement.

Wuming laughed, and Laya was now like a stray dog, cautiously wary of the boy who threw yogurt to her.

Wuming didn't wait for La Ya to get closer, then turned around and left, leaving La Ya hanging far behind him.

La Ya also gradually became familiar with the outside environment and no longer nervous.

When they arrived at the broken house, the gangster had indeed prepared a large pot of lobster meat.

Next to the iron pot are huge shrimp shells that have been processed.

The gangster saw Raya and motioned for her to sit across from him.

Laya subconsciously sat down and looked at the gangster opposite through the steam: Well, the necklace...

Eat the shrimp first. The gangster said in a serious tone.

Oh... La Ya was about to fish out the shrimps in the pot.

Wait, wait, wait. The gangster quickly slapped La Ya's hand away, You unlucky child, are you out of your mind? Isn't this pot hot?

It's okay... La Ya was unsure, I don't feel hot.

What a coincidence, shrimp, that's what I thought too. The gangster said angrily, It's not cooked yet.

The gangster was decisive and his stern tone cut off all the doubts that La Ya wanted to blurt out. In that tone, La Ya actually felt a bit of her mother's majesty.

Laya always felt that after such a short period of time, this gangster seemed to have been reborn.

Just like her mother, she was working hard for a certain goal.

La Ya said nothing more and waited for the pot to start.

Gangster, Wuming, and Laya were sitting upright, surrounding the iron pot, looking nervous.

The gangster raised one hand high, trembling slightly, and stared at the color of the shrimp meat in the iron pot.

Okay! the gangster yelled.

Laya immediately rushed towards the food, reaching directly into the iron pot, grabbing the boiling shrimp meat and stuffing it into her mouth.

The hot soup seemed to be non-existent to La Ya, and La Ya licked it into her mouth.

Finding that La Ya was indeed not afraid of being burned, the gangster stopped trying to stop him and asked La Ya nervously:

How is the taste?

La Ya ignored him and continued to stuff it into her mouth.

Ci'er, say Ci'er! The gangster reached out and blocked La Ya's mouth to stop her from eating more and more fiercely.

La Ya reacted immediately and blushed:

I'm sorry, I was rude again.

She took out a pair of knives and forks from her pocket and prepared to eat gracefully.

No, who cares about how you look or how you taste? The gangster went crazy.

The smell... La Ya suddenly realized, recalling for a moment, and blurted out one word, Stinky!

Huh? The gangster was shocked. He looked at Laya in surprise, How is that possible? Do you have no sense of taste?

Wuming looked at the gangster with an unfriendly look: Smelly?

The gangster heard Wuming's questioning voice and quickly said to Laya:

Little girl, you can eat food randomly, but you can't talk nonsense. What do you think is the smell? Is the shrimp meat bad? If the shrimp meat is bad, don't blame me. This is not the ingredient I chose...

The gangster defended incoherently, not knowing who to address.

Laya sniffed again, sniffed carefully, and pointed her fat finger at the gangster:

You smell so bad.

When he heard that it was his body that stinked, the gangster first breathed a sigh of relief, then blushed and glared at Laya:

I asked you about shrimps, you said about me?

La Ya shrank her head: But you smell really strong, you are so close to me, I can't ignore it...

Wuming smiled: You are quite dirty here. I happen to have new clothes and I will put them on for you later. Now you stay away and let Miss La Ya evaluate the dishes.

How can I leave with peace of mind... The gangster muttered, standing far away dejectedly.

Laya ate some more and said to Wuming:

It's delicious! I feel warm in my stomach.

She picked up a piece of shrimp meat with a knife and fork:

Uncle, don't you want to eat something?

I don't need it, Wuming said, If I could eat it, I wouldn't have to come to you.

Wuming called the gangster back and informed him of La Ya's evaluation.

Great! The gangster pumped his fist excitedly, and the wind of his fist dispersed the mist floating on the iron pot. You can get the highest salary!

Laya looked at the gangster's excited reaction. Although she didn't quite understand it, it seemed that the gangster's stern attitude had finally dissipated, as if something big had happened.

Laya looked at the gangster ignorantly:

Um...can you give me the necklace?

Raya still misses her necklace.

Aren't you here to taste it? The gangster was surprised. He looked at Wuming, Didn't you give her the necklace?

What's the rush? Wuming said lazily, taking out the necklace from his arms.

The pendant of the necklace is an oval relief carving the image of a woman with delicate brushstrokes.

The woman's hairstyle and clothing are similar to Laya's, but her face is more angular, full of heroism and awe-inspiring temperament.

Just like La Ya's body grew and turned into an exotic beauty.

Wuming guessed that this was La Ya's mother.

But he also doubted his guess.

If Raya's true form is a snake-man, why is her mother's image engraved on the pendant in human form?

Is it possible... Wuming muttered.

He placed the pendant at the same height as La Ya, looked at the relief portrait on the pendant, and then looked at La Ya in comparison.

When his eyes focused on La Ya's face, Wuming found that La Ya had tears in her eyes.

Uncle, did you lie to me? Laya trembled, The necklace is obviously in your hand, why did you ask the gangster to give it to me in front of me? Are you trying to trick me out? Mom said that people in the border area can eat people. Uncle, will you eat me too?

Wuming was surprised: Oh, you kid - you are very clever. You immediately thought that I lied to you, that's good.

He handed the necklace to Laya:

Forgive me, I am mainly doing this to ensure that you can come out, not to harm you.

Laya took the necklace and said doubtfully:

Really? Then uncle, why did you lie to me?

Wu Ming pointed at the pot of delicious broth.

Do you really want to eat me? La Ya could hardly hold back her tears.

I want you to try it. Wuming said, Your mission is completed.

I don't understand. Laya put on the necklace, Uncle, are you a bad person?

How can I be a bad person? I am a good person, a genuine good person. Wuming said, Look at my sincere eyes.

Wuming took the opportunity to observe La Ya's body. The snake man indeed had no neck. The necklace slid down along the head until it was caught by the two small arms.

Then why did uncle lie to me? Laya asked.

Well, there is something called a white lie. Wuming smiled, Even if you live in a lie, the lie is warm and sweet, isn't it? Everyone lives in hypocrisy, but is that evil?

Laya blinked her big eyes:

I did not understand.

To put it simply - it's just a lie. Wuming said, Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. Words are just appearances, you have to learn to identify the sincerity behind the words. Lying doesn't necessarily mean you are a bad person.

Uncle, are you saying that lies are necessary? Laya asked.

If you ask me, I will never agree to lies. The truth is more important to me, Wuming said.

Laya was even more confused: But didn't you just say...

Those words are used to justify good people's lies. Wuming was proud, I don't need it, I'm not a good person.

But didn't you just say that you are a good person?

Miss La Ya. Wuming told her earnestly, Generally, people who say that are not good people.

La Ya's voice trembled a little:

Uncle, what do you want now...

Wuming smiled at her, turned around and shouted to the gangster: Light the fire and boil the water, get ready to boil the pot!

Laya took a deep breath, screamed and ran away, rushing into the mist and disappearing without a trace.

Wuming looked at the direction, made sure that Laya was leaving towards the protective barrier, and ignored it.

The nameless La Ya came here just to taste the food. He recruited a gangster, but he also wanted to test the quality of the new cook, and he had no sense of taste, so he deceived La Ya and acted as a food taster.

He did not hesitate to deceive children for his own purposes. Wuming's understanding of himself was very accurate. He was indeed not a good person in the strict sense.

Boss, how good am I? The gangster asked for credit while boiling water and continuing to prepare meals.

Not bad. Wuming threw a money bag to the gangster, This is an advance salary. From now on, you will have to worry about the food for the caravan.

Thank you, boss. The gangster nodded and bowed, thanking Wuming for giving him the opportunity to take the right path.

Wuming said: One more question, have you seen the sun badge before?

The gangster trembled, remained silent for a moment, and nodded.

As expected, I've seen him before. Wuming flashed towards the gangster, Tell me, where did you see him?

Wuming, who was so good at observing people's emotions, naturally noticed the gangster's unusual reaction.

He noticed the gangster's unusual reaction to his sun badge and did not make any announcement. The gangster's strange emotion made him agree to his request, and he was ready to find out.

Faced with the anonymous inquiry, the gangster struggled and was unwilling to discuss the topic.

But Wuming's eyes were too bright and oppressive, so the gangster still told him honestly:

Seen it on a man's chest.

What! Wuming exclaimed, Chest?!

This was the first time that the gangster was so excited to see Wuming.

The boss was trembling all over, and the armor on his body was shaking and making strange noises.

Wuming grabbed the gangster's shoulders, locking the gangster with both hands like steel bars, and flames were about to burst out of his eyes:

Where did you see that man? What did he look like?

The gangster said: I have told you, I am a criminal and have committed serious crimes, so when I was in jail, I stayed with those who also committed serious crimes.

The gangster gritted his teeth, suppressed the fear in his heart, and recalled that figure:

The man I saw in the prison, that terrifyingly powerful man in strange armor.

Man, a powerful man wearing strange armor! Wuming became more and more excited, You said he was in prison, which prison was he in? Take me there now.

I saw it when I was imprisoned in the Royal City Prison. The gangster said, Why do you want to see him? Do you know him? I saw him with my own eyes, he -

That's great. I also want to see him with my own eyes. Wuming sighed sadly, interrupting the gangster's trembling words.

Wuming's heart couldn't be more excited.

The rogue's description reminded him of an old friend, his dead idol.

But he also passed away, but he was reborn at this junction.

Can the junction, this place of confluence, allow people to meet again after death...

Thinking of this, Wuming became even more excited.

He no longer wanted to wait, he wanted to see the person the gangster saw immediately.

Wuming's one hand emits pink light and covers the gangster's head, while the other hand emits golden light and throws a ball of light into the air.

Relive your memory and think about that person. Wuming said, If that person left such a deep impression on you, he must be able to show it easily.

Sure enough, as Wuming said, the light was rapidly taking shape, quickly forming a tall and muscular blurry figure.

Although his limbs are still blurry, the sun badge on his chest is already vaguely visible.

The sword and shield in Wuming's hand had unknowingly fallen into the lake. He was shaking with excitement. He couldn't help clenching his fists and looking up at his head in anticipation, witnessing the appearance of the figure.

Soon, a clear and complete image appeared in mid-air, showing the complete appearance of the person.

The man was wearing thick, rusty iron plate armor, and the convex arc-shaped armor was densely covered with material that looked like broken gums, making it look hideous and terrifying.

The man, wearing this taboo armor, repeatedly hit his head against the wall in a strange manner, leaving blood stains all over the wall.

There was a ring on the collar of the man's armor, and a crude iron sun badge hung from it, jingling on the chest.

Who is this? Wuming's voice was extremely calm.

It was so cold that it felt as if the breath of an ice dragon had been poured into my heart.

It's... the person I told you about. The gangster looked at the figure. Even though he knew it was a phantom, he couldn't help but take two steps back. This person is very scary, let me tell you, he -

Not interested. Wuming interrupted the gangster with a cold expression and lowered his clenched fists.

He waved his hand casually, and the light and the pink air dispersed together, scattering the image. He picked up the sword and shield on the ground, packed up his things and walked back:

You hurry up and cook. Our caravan has to go on its way. We are so busy that we don't have time to listen to those idle chatter.