Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

Ping'er, always quick-witted, responded and left, leaving only the two of them in the room. Wang Xifeng picked up her teacup, took a sip, and teased, "Brother Cong is becoming more and more promising. In the future, the income of the manor will probably depend a lot on your two clever methods. The old matriarch has always doted on you. Once this silver ear fungus is grown, she will send it up to the matriarch to bring her joy, and she will remember you even more."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "It's all thanks to my sister-in-law's help; otherwise, my idea would just be wishful thinking."

The cultivation of white fungus takes at least forty to fifty days, and all of this will only be effective when spring warms up. Right now, we should focus on figuring out Lin Daiyu's birthday gift.

Towards the end of the month, Baoyu became even more unrestrained in his play, probably because he would have to go to school after the first month of the lunar calendar. He spent his days lingering outside the mansion with Xue Pan and others.

However, now there is a growing distance between him and Daiyu, and they are no longer as close as they were in their childhood.

One day, taking advantage of the warmer weather, Jia Cong took Li Rong to the street, hoping to find some antiques or Western trinkets to pass the time on Daiyu's birthday. They visited three or four shops, but did not find anything they liked.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from under the shade of a tree at the street corner. The figure was a limp Taoist priest, his thin body wrapped in tattered clothes, his hair disheveled, and he was limping on one leg, clutching a chipped earthenware bowl in his hand.

The Taoist priest seemed to have been waiting there. Seeing Jia Cong approaching, he didn't flinch but instead took two steps forward, chanting in a hoarse voice, "Begging for alms... begging for karmic connections, begging for enlightenment, begging for complete peace..."

Seeing this, Li Rong immediately stepped forward to block Jia Cong, waving his hands in an attempt to drive him away, "Crazy Taoist, don't block the way! Our master has other matters to attend to. If you keep bothering us, we'll have you arrested!" As he spoke, he raised his hand to strike.

The Taoist priest swayed slightly, lightly dodging the attack, his gaze fixed directly on Jia Cong's face. His eyes were murky yet revealed a certain clarity, as if they could penetrate flesh and bone and reach the heart.

Jia Cong's heart skipped a beat for no reason, and an unusual unease rose from the soles of his feet.

He raised his hand and pressed down on Li Rong's arm, forcing himself to remain calm as he pulled a piece of silver from his sleeve.

"Take this small amount of silver, Daoist Master. It's a token of my devotion to the Dao."

Having said that, he instructed Li Rong to fetch the silver and hand it over, but the Taoist priest refused to take it. He placed the earthenware bowl to his side, his withered fingers twirling a string of blackened sandalwood incense sticks, and slowly chanted a few lines of verse:

"A body dwelling in a grand mansion is not one's true nature; a soul crossing to another world is also commonplace. A grand mansion is about to collapse amidst the storm; a single mirror can bring peace to a hundred-year-old hall. A traveler from another world enters Nanjing; the physical form changes, but the old soul is reborn. The grand mansion of Guangzhou is about to crumble in the wind and rain; a single mirror can discern truth from falsehood."

These words, spoken casually, resonated like thunder in Jia Cong's ears!

He froze, a chill running down his spine. “His body was in a wealthy family but not his true self,” “His soul had crossed to another world.” This Taoist had actually seen through him.

Jia Cong suppressed the turmoil in his heart and pretended to be confused. "What nonsense are you spouting, Daoist? What do you mean by 'original form in another world'? I don't understand."

Even so, a thin layer of sweat had already seeped out on his back, and his eyes unconsciously darted away.

Upon seeing this, the lame Taoist simply grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth, without offering any explanation. He reached into the lining of his tattered robe and pulled out a palm-sized mirror.

The mirror's frame was old, seemingly made of ordinary wood covered with a layer of dark lacquer. The mirror surface was covered with a thin layer of gray, making it look inconspicuous. The handle was engraved with the four characters "Fengyue Baojian" (Mirror of Love and Lust).

The Taoist priest handed the mirror to Jia Cong, lowering his voice even further, his tone carrying a hint of both sighing and admonition.

"This mirror does not reflect beauty or ugliness, but rather the cause and effect, right and wrong, and discerns the illusory nature of things. Since you have entered this situation, it is preordained that your century-old foundation will eventually need someone to lend a helping hand and help you overcome this calamity."

Jia Cong's hand holding the mirror trembled slightly. He was both startled and afraid. He was afraid that the Taoist priest would say something outrageous that others might overhear, and he was also uneasy about the sudden appearance of the mirror and the words. He immediately wanted to push the mirror back.

"This object is strange, I don't want it, you can find someone else."

The Taoist insisted on shoving the mirror into his arms, took two steps back, and waved his hand, saying, "The mirror belongs to someone with a destiny. Young master, keep it. If you encounter any trouble in the future, look into it and you will know what lies ahead."

Having said that, he picked up the earthenware bowl from the ground, turned and walked away, his steps unsteady yet seemingly swift as the wind, chanting as he went, "Worldly ties are easily formed but not easily broken, illusions are easily shattered but not easily awakened, alas, how fortunate..."

In a short while, the Taoist priest turned into a deep alley and disappeared without a trace.

Li Rong stepped forward, "Third Master, this Taoist priest is very strange. This mirror is probably ominous. Should we throw it away?"

Jia Cong looked down at the Mirror of Love and Lust in his arms, his mind in turmoil. The thought of finding a gift had long been forgotten, and the Taoist's verse made him feel a tightness in his chest.

But Jia Cong composed himself, carefully tucked the mirror into his sleeve, and forcibly suppressed his unease. "No need, let's go back to the manor first."

After returning to the Rong Mansion, he dismissed Li Rong and the two maids, and then carefully took out the "Mirror of Love and Lust".

By this time, Jia Rui was already dead, which meant that many people in the Rong and Ning mansions had seen this treasure.

Jia Cong gritted his teeth, turned the mirror over, and looked at the back first. This treasure could be viewed from both sides, but the four large characters "Fengyue Baojian" on the handle represented the front and back.

"Could that Taoist priest be trying to fool me?" Jia Cong tentatively moved closer. The mirror was a little blurry, which distorted his face slightly, but it didn't detract from the fact that he was still the same handsome young man with red lips and white teeth.

He felt a little relieved, then slowly flipped the mirror over. He gritted his teeth and flipped it over, and the scene in the mirror was completely different from before. His figure was nowhere to be seen.

The mirror reflected an elegant, quiet room, where stood an elderly man in his sixties or seventies. His temples were slightly gray, but his face was ruddy, and his eyes were sharp as an eagle's. His brocade robe accentuated his upright posture. Although he was nearing seventy, he showed no signs of aging. The fabric of his robe was exquisitely patterned, clearly made of a luxurious material, far from the coarse cloth and short jacket of an ordinary warrior.

Jia Cong was startled and subconsciously tried to move the mirror away, but his gaze was drawn to it as if by a magnet, and he could not look away. The old man did not speak, but slowly walked to the center of the quiet room. His aura suddenly changed, and his previous refined appearance instantly revealed a dignified and imposing aura.

He held his breath and stared intently into the mirror. He could clearly see that the old man seemed to be surrounded by a faint white aura, which was a sign that his inner energy was condensed and not dissipated!

Jia Cong has been practicing martial arts for some time and is currently stuck at the second stage of martial arts, opening the meridians. He has mastered the method of guiding qi back to its origin and has developed a strong foundation in his punches and kicks. However, he still finds it difficult to condense the qi in his meridians into one place. He is still a little short of the threshold of the third stage, condensing internal energy.

Seeing the old man's appearance in the mirror, Jia Cong's heart skipped a beat. He forgot that it was an illusion in the mirror and thought that a martial arts master was performing martial arts in front of him. He subconsciously imitated the old man's posture, spreading his feet apart, sinking his shoulders and dropping his elbows, and silently guiding his qi according to the changes in his breath.