Mortal Mirror

Zhu Zhu lay on Li Ergou, full of resentment but also helpless. In this silent place, alone with a man, she felt inexplicably scared, and the silence between them was making her feel awkward.

To ease the awkwardness, Zhu Zhu tried to make conversation, “What’s your name?”

“Li Ergou.”

“Li Ergou, what kind of name is that? It’s awful. How could your family give you such a name?” Zhu Zhu rolled her eyes, feeling that this guy was indeed a pervert, even his name was so lewd.

Li Ergou thought her name was no better. Annoyed, he couldn't help but say, “Humph, I don’t think your name is much better than mine. Zhu Zhu, so what? I’m a dog, aren’t you a pig? I don’t see how it’s better, we're in the same boat.”

Zhu Zhu suddenly realized that this guy thought her 'Zhu Zhu' was the same as 'pig.' She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said with shame and indignation, “You stupid dog, my Zhu Zhu is not the 'pig' like pork, it’s the 'Zhu' as in 'red door'. My father’s surname is Zhu, and my mother’s surname is also Zhu, so I'm called Zhu Zhu.”

Li Ergou suddenly understood. He did know the 'Zhu' as in 'red door', because he had learned a saying, 'Behind the red doors, meat and wine rot, while on the road, the frozen die.' Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

But to save face, he still said, “Tch, it’s the first time I’ve heard of naming someone like that. I think they just wanted to be convenient, just like my dad. When my dad saw me being born, our dog happened to have its second puppy, so he just named me Li Ergou.

If your dad’s surname was Zhu and your mom’s surname was Shi, wouldn’t they have named you… Pig Shit.”

Zhu Zhu was speechless, really wanting to beat this kid up. 'To survive, I must endure,' she told herself silently.

Seeing Zhu Zhu not speaking, Li Ergou was happy, thinking he had finally convinced her.

To strike while the iron was hot, he immediately said, “Actually, I still want to explain to you, I really didn’t come to peek at you. Think about it, how would I know you were taking a bath?

I came to catch frogs…”

“You… you still mention it.” This was like rubbing salt into her wounds. Zhu Zhu almost couldn't help but explode in anger.

Li Ergou persisted, “Hey, you women are good in every way, but you don’t let people talk. Even if you beat me to death today, I have to explain the whole story.”

Then, he began to talk about how Granny Wu was injured, how anxious he was, and how he went to find Li Zheng’an to ask about the three-legged toad. Then he came to the Jinshui River to catch frogs. How he heard the sound of water, who would have thought someone would be taking a bath in the middle of the night? Isn’t that crazy?

So, when he saw her, he thought a turtle had become a spirit, that’s why he shouted that sentence. It was all a misunderstanding.

After Li Ergou said this, Zhu Zhu wasn't an unreasonable person. At first, she was furious, already annoyed with Li Ergou, and in her anxiety, she thought he was deliberately peeking.

Now that she calmed down, she thought that what Li Ergou said seemed to make sense. After all, she had just decided on a whim, and she didn’t even know she would suddenly want to take a bath.

So, it seemed she also had some responsibility.

She frowned, but still couldn't stand being peeped at, so she teased, “But even so, it doesn’t excuse you for seeing my body.”

This sentence left Li Ergou speechless. Although it was a misunderstanding, he still saw her, didn’t he?

In the end, he could only say helplessly, “Hey, actually, it was dark and I was very nervous, I really didn’t see much.”

Zhu Zhu was once again annoyed, thinking that even if he didn't see much, he still saw something. She had always been chaste, and now she had been seen for nothing, making her feel wronged and wanting to cry.

But she didn't want Li Ergou to think she was a weak woman and laugh at her, so she stubbornly held back.

But not expressing her grievances made her feel suffocated, so she snorted, “Li Ergou, I’m telling you, if you say anything about today, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and never let you rest.”

Hearing this, Li Ergou was relieved, at least she wouldn't kill him now. He had finally saved his dog life.

To completely reassure Zhu Zhu and dispel the misunderstanding, he gritted his teeth, raised his hand, put two fingers together, and swore to the sky, “Okay, I, Li Ergou, swear that I will never tell anyone about seeing Zhu Zhu’s body, otherwise, I’ll fall into a ditch when I go out, run out of toilet paper when I go to the bathroom, uh, these seem too light, uh, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death.”

After swearing, Li Ergou finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “See, that should be okay now, you should believe me now, right?”

Zhu Zhu’s expression changed slightly. Seeing Li Ergou swearing sincerely, she forgave him halfway, thinking it was okay, seeing how sincere you are, and you saved me, you’re not a bad person, I won’t kill you, I’ll just beat you half to death at most.

Unknowingly, light appeared in front of them. They were both happy, but just as they were about to step out of the darkness, they heard an excited voice coming from the cave, “Hahaha, hahaha, Daoist, Daoist, I’ve succeeded…”

Li Ergou and Zhu Zhu were both stunned, especially Li Ergou, who was speechless, thinking that he seemed to have said this sentence before. Who is this, what are they doing, it feels so crazy.

Zhu Zhu was even more puzzled and whispered in Li Ergou’s ear, “What’s going on, there’s someone.”

The warm breath she exhaled was like orchids. At such a close distance, Li Ergou couldn’t bear it. He felt his nose getting hot and bleeding.

Seeing blood dripping from his nose, Zhu Zhu was dumbfounded and asked, “You… are you suffering from internal injuries?”

Li Ergou blushed and nodded without hesitation, “Uh, maybe, maybe a little. Although I’m tough, falling from that high, there’s a chance of internal injuries, but I’m sturdy and it’s not a big deal.”

“Oh…”

Zhu Zhu seemed to have lessened her hatred for him, thinking that his nose was bleeding, so his internal organs must be damaged, the most likely being damage to his heart meridian.

Even so, he didn’t abandon her, gritting his teeth and insisting on carrying her. For a moment, she felt some unspeakable emotions in her heart. She didn’t know if it was gratitude, or what.

It seemed that a girl's heart was not made of stone, and there were soft places too.

Seeing Zhu Zhu not speaking and looking worried, Li Ergou thought that this woman was probably worried that he would use his injury as an excuse to abandon her.

Thinking of this, to put her mind at ease, he quickly wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve and smiled foolishly, “It’s okay, I’m used to being beaten since I was a kid, this little injury is nothing, you don’t need to worry, I will definitely be able to take you out.”

Hearing this, Zhu Zhu couldn't help but think, “What a fool.”

She really didn't expect that this stinky kid, even though he was injured, still wanted to soothe other people's feelings. This guy is really stupid.