Historical Stories

"You answered incorrectly. The Yuan army had just failed, and someone had already gotten the news and told Tian Feng. And Tian Feng said, 'If the army had won, I would certainly have preserved my life; now that the army has been defeated, I am afraid I will die'... Later, he really did die. As soon as Yuan Shao returned, he ordered people to drag Tian Feng out and kill him."

"How could that be!?" Hermione was stunned for a few seconds before letting out an incredulous exclamation. After a few more seconds, she said, "I understand, that Yuan Shao must have been a particularly foolish and incompetent ruler, feeling like he lost face, so he killed a talented minister for his own ego."

"Let me tell you another story. Also an ancient story from the Celestial Dynasty," Li Mu said. When he saw Hermione temporarily put aside her doubts and refocused on him, he continued, "That was an era before the Three Kingdoms, which the Celestial Dynasty people call the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period."

"Oh, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, I've heard of it," Hermione responded.

Li Mu was stunned, not expecting that she even knew this... Should he say, as expected of Hermione?

"Then do you know the story of Crouching on Firewood and Tasting Gall?"

Hermione continued to nod, raising her chin with a proud expression.

Li Mu gave a thumbs up: "What I'm going to talk about is the Wu Kingdom in that story. Before the Wu Kingdom was destroyed by three thousand Yue soldiers, King Fuchai of Wu wanted to attack the Qi Kingdom. The famous minister Wu Zixu strongly advised him, saying that the Yue Kingdom was the real threat. The King of Wu didn't listen and still sent troops to attack Qi, and returned in triumph.?"

"That's good. I remember the Qi Kingdom was a very strong country," Hermione said, "And the King of Wu won the battle and was in a good mood, so he wouldn't kill Wu Zixu, right?"

"He didn't kill him temporarily... Four years later, the King of Wu wanted to send troops to attack Qi again, and Wu Zixu strongly advised again: imploring the King to solve the Yue Kingdom problem first, otherwise he would regret it too late. Guess, what was Wu Zixu's fate??"

Hermione's face turned pale; she could guess.

"This time, he's probably really dead."

"That's right!" Li Mu praised, "He was not only given death by the King of Wu, but even his body was sunk into the Qiantang River, which was very humiliating. Since you guessed that he would be killed, do you know why?"

"..."

"Self-esteem. Everyone has self-esteem, needs to be affirmed by others, and needs to feel that their existence has value. And face, vanity, and the right to speak are the most superficial and basic levels of self-esteem."

"This..."

Hermione's eyes rolled, looking thoughtful. Li Mu continued to speak: "Regarding Wu Zixu's death, the Prime Minister of Wu, Bo Pi, said well to the King of Wu—'In the past, when the King wanted to attack the Qi Kingdom, Wu Zixu insisted that it was impossible, but in the end, the King still won a great victory. Wu Zixu was very annoyed because his plan was not adopted. Now that the King wants to attack the Qi Kingdom again, Wu Zixu is blocking it, destroying the entire plan. He only hopes that we will be defeated so that he can prove his foresight.'—Bo Pi was a treacherous minister in history, and his words were also intended to provoke discord, but he analyzed human nature thoroughly. He knew that this was what the King of Wu thought."

Seeing Hermione listening so intently as if she were in class, Li Mu wanted to laugh a little. He pursed his lips to restrain himself and finally brought the conversation back to the main topic.

"This is why Ron, and even Harry, are impatient with you. Many times you say the right things and do the right things out of kindness, but you choose the wrong time, place, and method," he said, and sure enough, he saw a look of panic and hesitation on Hermione's face.

"How could that be?!" Hermione cried out again. At a young age, she felt uneasy in front of Li Mu, struggling, "Ron and the others are not..."

"They are not kings, let alone your leaders, right?" Unfortunately, Li Mu had already guessed what she was going to say, and he preemptively answered, not allowing Hermione to argue, "I just said that everyone has self-esteem. If Ron and the others..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of screams mixed with the sound of rushing water interrupted the conversation between the two. Li Mu and Hermione couldn't help but cover their ears and subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound. Right in this bathroom, right in the third stall with the door open, a milky white object rose from the toilet. The water in the toilet had been full for some time, and as the object rushed out, the water flowed all over the floor, which was the source of the rushing water sound.

"Oh, no... It's her." Hermione groaned, her face even paler, "Moaning Myrtle."

Of course, it could only be her. Myrtle is a ghost in the second-floor bathroom of Hogwarts. Unlike other ghosts who cannot touch physical objects, Myrtle can have substantial interactions with water. She always cries shrilly, making the water everywhere, making the students miserable and helpless. Over time, almost no one comes to this bathroom, and it is almost abandoned.

Now, this notorious ghost is floating towards the two of them, stirring up a splash of water towards them. Hermione screamed, and Li Mu lifted his school robe to block the water. Faced with this sudden wave of water, they didn't even have time to cast a defensive charm.

Fortunately, the Hogwarts school uniform robes are all cloak-style, with long hems and relatively waterproof. Li Mu blocked it, and he himself was a little embarrassed by being wet, but Hermione was spared.

"Th-thank you," Hermione said, her face turning pale again, "She's coming again!"

Myrtle persisted, screaming and floating over, with a stern face: "Does someone think it's fun to make noise and scream loudly when others are resting?—In front of a Moaning Myrtle who has been dead for a long time and is lonely..."

As she floated in the air, there were also waves of water sliding back and forth along the soles of her feet, like spiritual little snakes. Li Mu and Hermione had no doubt that if Myrtle wanted to, they would immediately usher in another torrential rain. And now, it seems that this female ghost is obviously in a bad mood.

"Don't be angry, Myrtle. We are also lonely people who have been abandoned by our friends." Li Mu rolled his eyes and put on a distressed look.

He knew Moaning Myrtle must have been eavesdropping nearby for a long time; otherwise, Moaning Myrtle would have looked Li Mu up and down suspiciously and said, "This is the girls' bathroom, and you're not a girl." In "history," that's how she treated Harry and Ron. Although ghosts lose their physical form, their emotions still basically follow the pattern of their lives, and what Moaning Myrtle valued most in her life was the separation of men and women, right? Even her death was inseparable from this.

Now, Moaning Myrtle gave up eavesdropping and ran out to clear the area, just obviously not interested in the historical stories of other countries.

Then let's change to a topic that interests her.

(End of this chapter)