Having bid farewell to his little friends, Little Taotie returned to Ling Long’s side. Ling Long took out a blue document. The hexagram on the cover lit up, and in an instant, light encompassed them. As the wind blew, the light dispersed, leaving only fallen leaves on the ground.
Back at the castle, Little Taotie placed a small mirror over the hexagram on the blue document. Under the refraction of sunlight, a light screen appeared, displaying scenes after their departure, fast-forwarding at ten times the speed.
Village Girl Yang brought her children to her husband’s side. Having support but still shivering with fear, afraid that one day people from the Marquis’ Mansion would come looking for them again.
Her husband was no ordinary man either, climbing ranks at the fastest pace.
Among the six Little Beans, one had a great talent for reading. After attending private school, he consistently ranked at the top, but for some unknown reason, one rainy day he got drenched, and from then on, he always coughed, his health deteriorating evermore.
One of the six Little Beans was a little boy with a knack for martial arts. A general from the army took notice and wanted to take him as an apprentice. However, the next day, when he was to formally start his apprenticeship, the boy fell and broke his leg. After examination, the doctor said the leg would never heal properly again.
At that time, the Little Bean good at reading lay coughing in bed. Seeing his brother return with a broken leg, he guessed what might be happening.
Thus, in the dead of night, the six Little Beans gathered, whispering among themselves, taking out the gold ingot that Little Taotie had given them before he left.
Clutching their last hope, they used the six gold ingots to secure an appointment with an Imperial Physician who had retired and returned from the Imperial City. The diagnosis was grim: the boy good at reading had a heart and lung issue, must not overexert himself, could not study too hard—studying drains the spirit, and as for the boy with martial arts talent, his tendons were severed, he would never stand again.
Hearing this, Village Girl Yang quietly cried for a long time.
She held the six children, crying and saying, "As long as you are all right, even if you don’t learn martial arts, don’t study, it’s okay not to become someone great, as long as you are all right..."
The six children, in fact, hadn’t fallen asleep, They heard their foster mother’s sobs.
The next day, the boy good at reading burned all his books, telling his siblings, "I’ve realized the meaning behind Miss’s words, ’The heavens envy the gifted.’ If we stand out too much, we might bring disaster upon ourselves, courting a premature death."
The boy who had always dreamed of becoming a Great General threw his wooden Sword into the fire, "I will not practice martial arts again, better to be ordinary."
Strangely, on the third day, after burning his books, the boy good at reading stopped coughing, and the boy who had burned his wooden Sword could actually walk again.
The six children looked at each other, more convinced than ever of the truth in the advice Little Taotie had given them before he left.
"From now on... shall we just live as ordinary people?" the boy good at reading lowered his eyes, clenched his fists, pondering something deeply.
"You say, on the surface we act ordinary, but secretly..." the boy skilled in martial arts thought for a while but couldn’t find the right words, furrowing his brow.
The youngest little girl whispered quietly, "Sleazily... develop!"
"Where did you learn that!" an older brother glared at her. "A little girl shouldn’t speak such vulgar words!"
The little girl stuck out her tongue, "Dad and the uncles, when they were drinking, they talked too much, and I heard it! That’s what they said!"
"Don’t say that anymore!" the older brother scolded his sister.
The mischievous little girl, being adorable, ran off and turned back to make faces at him.
The boy good at reading narrowed his eyes, "Let’s try it, without anyone knowing except for us six, let’s keep secret that we are still learning."