Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

He glanced at the three people around him out of the corner of his eye, then looked down at himself.

Of the four, Li Chengqian was eight years old, Li Tai was seven years old, and he himself was the oldest, but only ten years old.

Even though he had lived for over 20 years in his previous life, with this frail body that looked like that of a ten-year-old, Li Yu knew that it would be a lie to say he was confident...

.........

The darkness drove away the last vestiges of silvery white, and the moon climbed slightly above the treetops.

Li Chengqian led Li Tai back to the stream. The two brothers each carried a bundle of dry branches and placed them next to Li Yu, who was squatting on the ground making a fire.

"Little Fish, are you sure you can make sparks by doing it this way?"

Watching Li Yu tie the two ends of the cloth strip to the rattan, making it into the shape of a bow and arrow, with a wooden wedge tied in the middle of the cloth strip, which rotated back and forth as he pulled, Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask in confusion.

Li Yu remained silent, intending to teach this aristocratic boy, who had no common sense about life, a lesson through his actions.

Sure enough, as Li Yu continued to pull, the rapidly spinning wooden wedge caused the wooden block below to swirl with smoke, and sparks remained on the block.

"It's lit up! It's lit up!"

Li Tai, who had been looking dejected, suddenly cheered and shouted with joy upon seeing this scene.

Ignoring the crazy little brat, Li Yu quickly poured the sparks into the prepared hay.

As Li Yu continued to blow air into the fire, the clump of dry grass began to emit billowing black smoke.

The next moment, the dry grass enveloped in black smoke burst into flames.

The firelight shone exceptionally brightly in the night, seemingly even more dazzling than the gleaming moon overhead.

He buried the burning hay in a prepared pile of dry leaves, and when the fire was blazing, he covered it with branches. Li Yu then patted off the ashes that were stuck to his body with satisfaction.

"Young master, the green robe is ready as well."

Seeing that her young master had finished his work, Green Robe quickly delivered the fish basket she had woven to him.

"good!"

Although this was the second one that had been woven, Li Yu still praised the craftsmanship of the green-clad woman.

"Come and watch the fire, I'm going to check on the results."

Li Yu waved to Li Chengqian, then picked up his fish basket and walked downstream into the stream...

Li Chengqian was somewhat bewildered. Thinking about the foolish Li Yu in his memory, and comparing him with this well-organized young man, he simply couldn't reconcile the two.

"What are you standing there for? Come and lend a hand."

Li Yu returned at some unknown time, and the fish basket in his hand still made occasional crackling sounds.

Li Chengqian snapped out of his daze, his eyes instantly lighting up.

Dinner is finally settled.

.........

The same applies to Li Tai.

The chubby boy eagerly moved closer to Li Yu, but for a moment he didn't know what to do.

"Come on, scrape the fish scales clean."

As he spoke, Li Yu tossed a fish to Li Tai, who caught it in a panic.

The fish wasn't big, only three or four inches long. It's rare to find large fish in such shallow streams.

After being splashed with water by the unruly fish's tail, Li Tai didn't know where to start with the fish in his hand.

Seeing his younger brother's disheveled appearance, Li Chengqian took the fish from Li Tai's hand and squatted down by the water, clumsily trying to remove the fish scales like Li Yu.

So Li Tai obediently squatted down to the side to keep his older brother company.

While preparing the fish, Li Yu secretly observed the scene of brotherly affection and respect.

As a commoner accustomed to a comfortable life in later generations, he never understood why the two of them would eventually reach such a tense point...

Li Tai was very clever. After watching Li Yu do it once, he picked up a stone slab that had been sharpened and cleaned the fish thoroughly.

Li Chengqian's movements remained clumsy and awkward...

.........

Grilled fish without any seasoning is really not delicious.

Of the four, only Li Tai was wolfing down his food, completely ignoring the small fish bones that might get stuck in his throat.

Li Yu was currently tearing at the third fish, the firelight making half of his face glow red.

Looking at the bright moon and then at the mountains under its light, I couldn't help but feel a little restless.

Everything in this world is unfamiliar to me now, even the moon in the sky seems to be a different one from the one in later generations.

Thinking of this, Li Yu felt a surge of sorrow. Could he even possibly go back?

If you can't go back, how long will your parents, relatives and friends remember you?

.........

"One mountain, two mountains. Distant mountains, high sky, misty waters, and crimson maple leaves, a symbol of longing..."

With mixed emotions, he murmured half a poem, drawing the attention of Li Chengqian and Li Tai.

"Little Fish, who uttered this phrase?"

After carefully savoring the poem, Li Chengqian felt that its imagery perfectly matched his current mood, and he became extremely curious.

"Li Yu," Li Yu replied briefly.

Upon hearing his answer, Li Chengqian was filled with respect. "I never imagined that my cousin possessed such great talent. I was truly blind."

Li Yu, who had been flattered, was slightly taken aback, but then realized that Li Chengqian had misheard him.

I was about to explain, but then I remembered that this was during the Wude era, and perhaps the tragic last emperor of the Southern Tang would never appear again, so I simply gave up trying to explain...

.........

After finishing the fish, Li Yu went to the stream.

The fishy smell on his hands wouldn't come off no matter how he washed, which made him even more irritable.

Bad moods are contagious. Li Chengqian, sitting by the fire, seemed to become melancholy as well, and even began to sing softly.

The song was extremely sad, at least Li Yu could tell. It was simply because he sang with absolutely no skill; it was all about emotion.

Furthermore, since he wasn't very familiar with the official language of the time, all that came to Li Yu's ears from the singing was the four words "ou ya chao zha"...

Just as I was looking for a quiet place to wait for Li Chengqian to finish singing, I suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the woods.

"Shh!"

Upon seeing Li Yu's gesture, Li Chengqian's singing abruptly stopped.

"There's movement over there!"

The surroundings quieted down, and the noise from the woods grew louder and louder.

The four of them immediately became alert.

"Could it be that your singing attracted wolves?" Li Yu asked Li Chengqian with some suspicion.

"How could that be! Everyone in the manor says I sing exceptionally well."

"..."

"save……"

A faint human voice broke through Li Chengqian's self-praise and was caught by Li Yu.

"It's a person! A living person!"

A faint figure appeared in the vast night.

The group looked at each other, but none of them went over.

"thump!"

In the darkness, the figure crashed heavily into the still-green bushes.

The two leaders, Li Yu and Li Chengqian, exchanged a glance and nodded to each other, indicating that they should go forward and take a look together.

The two moved cautiously, and the figure that had fallen not far away made any more noise.

Approaching the figure, Li Yu parted the bushes and, by the moonlight, saw a burly figure lying motionless on the ground like a dead dog.

"Turn it over!"

Li Yu called to Li Chengqian, and the two of them struggled to turn the bear-like man over and brought their torches closer.

The firelight made the man's face clearer.

It was a face whose age was hard to discern, rough yet with a touch of childishness, its eyes half-closed listlessly, the whites of which could be seen through the gaps.

On his right arm, there was a clean cut in the middle of a piece of bright red fabric, clearly a knife wound.

"This is Cheng Chumo, the eldest son of the Cheng family!"

.........