My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 14 A loving father and a filial son
"This person is such a busybody!"

"They want to manage everything, and if anything happens, they say they need to inform the adults."

"I'm so fed up with her."

Sitting in the carriage, Li Yuanji was complaining about his wet nurse.

Li Xuanba, however, looked completely incredulous.

"She's so good to you, how can you say that?"

"Good? What's good about it?"

"How did you get out? Who helped you find someone? Do you know how much risk she took to get someone out like that? What punishment will she face if the adults find out?"

Li Yuanji was immediately speechless, stammering and hesitating for a moment before defending himself, "This is what she should do. Isn't she doing it for money and food? Her father provides her with food and shelter, so she should do these things."

"There's no need to go any further!"

"Could you please take us home?"

Li Xuanba suddenly spoke loudly.

The carriage stopped immediately, and Li Yuanji was shocked. "Xuanba, what are you doing?"

Li Xuanba frowned. "Our agreement is null and void. I'd rather not have your help."

“I can accept how playful you are, but how can you talk about your wet nurse like that? Even animals know to repay the kindness of those who raised them. You were raised by her since you were a child. She took great care of you, just like she would her own child. How can you say such a thing?”

"Extremely shameless!"

This was the first time Li Yuanji had ever seen his third brother so angry. His third brother was known for his good temper and never got angry with anyone. He was always smiling and had never seen him so furious before.

Li Yuanji's face turned red, and he immediately wanted to refute him and turn against him.

How dare you, a sickly person, judge me?!

He rolled up his sleeves, but then remembered that his second brother no longer played with him, and he had no other friends, so he silently lowered his fist.

If even the third brother doesn't take me along, won't I be all alone in the future?
Having figured all this out, he swallowed his anger and spoke:
"Third Brother, please don't be angry. I won't say it again. Please don't leave me. I don't know what to do all by myself."

The fourth brother quickly put on a pitiful look, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Sure enough, the third brother was kind-hearted and couldn't stand this.

Seeing the fourth brother's appearance, his attitude softened a bit.

"Fourth brother, the greatest evil in this world is ingratitude. You must never be that kind of person."

"I see!"

Li Yuanji's answer was also very straightforward.

Li Xuanba then told the driver that they could continue on their way.

The city was indeed in chaos, with government officials rushing by every now and then, but no one dared to make things difficult for the carriage.

The place Li Yuanji mentioned was not close to the residence; it was located in the southeastern part of the city.

The area is now semi-abandoned. The roads are severely damaged, and the houses on both sides look dilapidated. Some houses are simply uninhabitable, with collapsed beams. Occasionally, stray dogs jump out and dart from one end to the other.

Li Xuanba never expected that there would be such a place in the city; he had never been here before.

Just as Li Xuanba was observing his surroundings, Li Yuanji recounted how they discovered the passage.

"We were chasing a petty thief here, but he got away. We kept staking out this place for several days afterward, and finally we discovered this passage. I don't know how that thief found it."

As Li Yuanji spoke, his eyes lit up, "This is it! We're here!"

"parking!!"

He then got out of the car with Li Xuanba.

The man driving the car was quite honest and simple, and didn't say much. He stood to the side with his head down. Li Yuanji was very rude to him and forcefully demanded that he stand there and wait. He then pulled Li Xuanba towards a large area of ​​dilapidated houses across the street.

As Li Xuanba approached, he realized that this was not a residential area. It must have been a military camp or drill ground in the past, or a place where county soldiers trained in ancient times. He saw many discarded and rotten wooden figures, some buried in the mud, and some fused with the walls. These were used for practicing archery and horsemanship.

"Click."

Li Xuanba looked down and found that he had stepped on and broken half of the mask, turning it into many pieces with one stomp.

He examined it for a long time but couldn't figure out what kind of mask it was. He just felt a little scared. It was quiet all around, and even breathing could be heard clearly. He also felt a chill in the air. In the past, Li Xuanba would never have dared to come to such a place. Li Yuanji, on the other hand, had obviously been here many times before and wasn't flustered at all.

“Don’t be afraid!”

“I’ve been here many times with Shimin. There’s no one here, and there’s no danger.”

Li Yuanji led Li Xuanba forward for a long time, bypassing two dilapidated buildings, and the city wall was not far from them.

Li Yuanji stopped in an open space and pointed to the grass in front of him. "Look."

Li Xuanba stepped forward out of curiosity and soon discovered the wooden plank covered in mud. Without careful observation, it was impossible to see its outline. The two of them struggled to push the plank aside and saw the bottomless hole.

"Go in from here, keep walking straight ahead, and you'll come out from the other side."

"are you going?"

Li Xuanba felt the gusts of cold wind blowing in his face and shook his head blankly.

He didn't quite understand why there was a hole leading out of the city, who built it, what it was used for, and why it looked so eerie and terrifying.
Seeing Li Xuanba's fear, Li Yuanji couldn't help but laugh, "Judging from your expression, I dared to sneak in all by myself back then, without being afraid at all."

"Whoo~~~"

Suddenly a cold wind swept in, and the trees in the distance began to shake violently. The evil bird suddenly leaped into the air.

"Oh my god!!"

Li Yuanji yelled and turned to run away in fright, without looking back.

He didn't know how long he had been running away until the wind stopped. He hid behind a pile of stones and cautiously peeked out.

Li Xuanba stood there helplessly, waving in his direction.

Sitting in the car, Li Yuanji asked in confusion, "Weren't you going to leave the city?"

"I'm just here to take a look; I'm not planning to leave the city."

“If you’re scared, just say you’re scared. But it really is quite terrifying. I didn’t feel scared when I came here with Shimin before.”

Li Yuanji muttered a few words to himself. He was also puzzled. When he came here with his second brother, they had clearly crawled through this tunnel before and were not afraid at all. But why had it become so terrifying now?

The carriage headed towards his home, and Li Yuanji put his worries aside. He quickly said, "Why rush back? Why don't we go fishing? I know a place."

"We can't cause trouble for Chen Niang. Since we promised her we'd go back soon, then we should go back soon."

Li Yuanji was quite dissatisfied with this arrangement, but there was nothing he could do about it.

When they returned home, it was already dark.

Li Xuanba personally handed Li Yuanji over to Chen Niang before returning to his own residence.

Duan Niang had been waiting for him for a long time. Seeing that he returned so late, she did not blame him. She had already prepared a delicious meal. While Li Xuanba was eating, she happily asked him how the banquet went and whether he had made any friends.

"It's all fine, the road isn't that difficult to walk."

“They didn’t bully me either; we talked about some things related to Confucian classics.”

"Besides them, I've also made some friends."

"Cough cough~~"

Li Xuanba was so excited that he coughed a few times, and Duan Niang quickly brought him hot water.

Li Xuanba thanked her and then lowered his head to eat again. Duan Niang smiled and said, "There's more good news!"

"The head of the family will be back soon!"

"Oh? Grandpa's coming back? That's great! What about Mom?"

"The mistress will probably need some more time."

"Didn't you say that Grandpa was going away for a while? Could something have happened?"

Duan Niang shook her head, "I don't know about that. I heard from them that a lot of people have fled inside and outside the city because of thieves, and the master is coming back to deal with them."

"what?!"

Li Xuanba dropped his chopsticks on the ground. Duan Niang picked them up for him, assuming he was just scared. "Don't panic, it's alright. Those thieves are all outside. Those in the city have all been caught. We're safe here. There are so many warriors watching over us. Don't be afraid. Once the head of the family returns, none of these thieves will be able to cause any more trouble!"

(End of this chapter)