Mortal Mirror

The lamb, once stabbed, immediately began to struggle. How could Li Ergou let it succeed? He used all his strength to hold it down, preventing it from moving. He watched as the sheep's blood spurted out, and before long, the lamb closed its eyes and stopped struggling, dead as a doornail.

Looking at the lamb on the ground, he couldn't wait to cut it open, skin it, and pull out its tendons.

He found some dry branches, lit them, and a roaring flame rose up. He found a thicker stick, pierced it through the lamb's rear, and out through its mouth, then placed it on the fire to roast.

It was his first time barbecuing, and he had no experience. The outside of the lamb was charred, but that didn't stop him from eating the meat. He forcefully tore off a lamb leg, ignored the dust on it, and took a big bite.

This was the first time in his life he had ever eaten lamb, and it was so delicious that he cried.

"Wuwuwu, it's so delicious, this is the taste of lamb, delicious, really too delicious."

Li Ergou ate heartily while wiping away his tears. Anyone who saw him would think this child was crazy.

Unfortunately, Li Ergou could only eat two lamb legs before he was full to bursting.

He couldn't eat the rest of the lamb, and he was troubled by what to do with the meat on the ground. If he hid it, he wouldn't have to worry about it spoiling in the winter, but there was no good place to hide it.

This was a remote wilderness, and it would be a pity if it were snatched away by wild animals. He would be heartbroken.

If only he had a treasure that could store the lamb. Just as he was thinking this, he saw a flash of light on the mirror, and the remaining lamb flew into the mirror with a whoosh.

"This...it's haunted," but he immediately realized, because he clearly saw the remaining lamb fly into the mirror.

He immediately thought that if he willed the lamb to come out, it would reappear in front of him.

He giggled foolishly, thinking that this mirror could not only replicate things but also store them. It was truly amazing. At that moment, he felt that he would never be short of lamb again.

In the days that followed, Li Ergou's life became much more comfortable. He secretly made a sheepskin coat from the lambskin. Whenever he went up the mountain, he would wear the sheepskin coat, which was warm and extremely comfortable.

He ate lamb every day, and he also discovered a strange thing: lamb that had been in the mirror for a long time not only wouldn't rot but would also become more delicious.

This kind of lamb tasted much, much better than ordinary lamb.

Perhaps it was because he ate lamb every day that his complexion became rosy, his hair was no longer so dry, he began to put on weight, and even his height increased.

He also discovered one thing, which was that replicated items could not be replicated a second time, which made him feel a little regretful.

Old Mantou, the most cultured person in the village, had once told him that nothing in this world is perfect, and all people are greedy, foolish, and mad. People must never be too greedy or obsessed. Thinking of this, he quickly felt relieved.

With a full stomach comes thoughts of lust. Perhaps because he was eating well, he couldn't help but wonder if he could marry Cuihua in the future. Cuihua was the village beauty of Wanglong Village, with a wide waist and thick back, and sturdy legs. Most importantly, she had big buttocks, which meant she could have many children.

If he could marry her, his life would be worth it. He would feed her lamb every day and have her bear him a large number of children.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and the end of the year was approaching.

On the hillside, Li Ergou finished eating lamb and went to the large rock where he often sat. The rock weighed about a hundred pounds. He reached out his hands, grabbed the rock, and suddenly exerted force, lifting the rock over his head.

He still felt unsatisfied and lifted it up and down three or four times before he was content.

He thought to himself, in the past, he would have struggled to lift something weighing fifty pounds, but now he could lift something weighing over a hundred pounds. Lamb was truly a great supplement; no wonder everyone loved to eat meat.

However, as his strength increased, he found that he was eating more and more. In the past, two lamb legs would fill him up, but now he could eat three. Looking at the few unreplicated lambs left, he couldn't help but worry.

He knew that once a lamb had been replicated, it couldn't be replicated a second time. Even the landlord's family didn't have surplus lambs. Counting them, there were only fifteen lambs left that hadn't been replicated. It seemed that he would have to be more frugal in the future and couldn't eat so freely.

One day, Li Ergou was herding the sheep back home when he saw the landlady standing at the door with a cold face. She looked at Li Ergou with a suspicious expression and said with a hint of doubt, "Something's not right, something's very wrong. How have you grown taller and plumper recently, you rascal?"

Li Ergou's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if this woman had discovered something. If she knew the secret of the mirror, should he run away? No, if a servant ran away and was caught, they would be punished.

Some would have their noses cut off, others would have their eyes gouged out, their tongues pulled out, and some would even have their legs broken. In more serious cases, they would be skinned alive.

Skinning was the most terrifying. First, you would be buried in a pit, then a cut would be made on your head, and scalding hot mercury would be poured in. At that time, you would feel both pain and itching, and you would only want to jump out.

When you jumped, you would find that your skin was gone, and only a bloody body was exposed, and you would soon be in so much pain that you died.

A few years ago, Zhang the Cripple was killed by a weasel in this way. Thinking of things like branding irons, boiling alive, and standing cages, his body trembled involuntarily, and cold sweat ran down his forehead.

Just as he was lost in thought, the landlady suddenly said, "I know, you must have stolen Wangcai's dog food, haven't you?"

These words woke him up like a dream. Li Ergou immediately knelt down and said, "I won't dare to do it again."

Stealing Wangcai's food was not a big crime; he would admit it. If he let her continue to speculate wildly, wouldn't he be in big trouble?

When the landlady saw that she had guessed correctly, a smug look appeared on her face, but her expression quickly turned fierce.

"I was wondering why Wangcai had lost weight; it was you, you damned rascal! You've starved my Wangcai."

As she spoke, she pounced on Li Ergou and began to beat him mercilessly.

It seemed that beating him was not enough, and she cursed as she beat him, "You damned rascal, you dare to steal Wangcai's food. If you can steal Wangcai's food today, you'll dare to steal my sheep tomorrow. I'll beat you to death, I'll beat you to death."

Li Ergou didn't dare to resist. With years of experience in being beaten, he knew that the more you resisted, the more fiercely she would beat you. He could only find a place that was resistant to beatings and let her beat him.

Anyway, over the years, he had developed a body of skin and flesh that was resistant to beatings. No matter how bitter or painful it was, he could endure it.

She would always get tired of beating him, as long as she didn't beat him to death.

After beating him for a while, the landlady was panting with exhaustion. Seeing that Ergou didn't say a word or resist, she suddenly felt bored and somewhat dull.

At that moment, she pulled Li Ergou's ear and twisted it a few times before shouting loudly, "Li Ergou, if I find out again, I'll break your dog legs. This time, I'll punish you by not allowing you to eat for three days."

With that, she twisted her buttocks and walked away smugly, not even looking at Li Ergou again.

Li Ergou breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling angry in his heart. He didn't care about not eating for three days, but the landlady was becoming more and more fierce. If this continued, he would be beaten to death one day.

No, he must find a way to escape from here.

Although he had a treasure mirror that could replicate things, he didn't even have a chance to go out. From childhood to adulthood, he had lived in this village and didn't know what the outside world was like.

Even if he had money and wanted to redeem himself, that was just wishful thinking. He was sold to the landlord's family; in life, he was the landlord's person, and in death, he was the landlord's ghost. If you had money, it would be the landlord's money.

Therefore, no matter how much money he had, it would be useless. This was also why he had never had the idea of making money: first, there was no opportunity; second, there was no way; and third, even if he made money, there was no place to spend it. If it was discovered, it would be confiscated, and he might even be accused of stealing money, resulting in a beating.

After driving the sheep into the sheepfold, Li Ergou was heavy-hearted. He suddenly noticed that his home seemed livelier than usual. After asking Liu Da Nao, who was in charge of the kitchen, he learned that the young master had returned.

The landlord's family had more than a dozen people, including two concubines, seven sons, and five daughters.

This eldest son, also known as the landlord's eldest young master, was extraordinary. His name was Huang Batian, and he was seventeen years old. He was tall and mighty. Although he didn't like to study, he loved to fight. This kid often caused trouble when he was young, and the landlord had no choice but to find connections and send him to the town to learn martial arts.

Unexpectedly, this was the right decision. This person was very popular with the owner of the martial arts hall, and this year he was even accepted as an inner disciple.

It was said that his martial arts were superb. With one palm strike, he could send a person flying, and with one punch, he could shatter a huge rock.

Li Ergou knew that this guy would only come back for a few days during the Chinese New Year. Although it was not far from the Chinese New Year, he had never returned so early in previous years. Could it be that there was something special that made him come back early?