Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My brawls with Xiao Lan usually ended with him unilaterally begging for mercy.

Of course, I wasn’t foolish enough to think Xiao Lan couldn’t beat me.

In reality, he was one incredibly powerful toad.

Ever since Fenghuan Palace in the West Palace fell into ruin, it had been plagued by snakes and rats.

Back then, Xiao Lan would always urge me to cry out at the top of my lungs if I ever encountered danger, promising he would rush to my rescue immediately.

Once, I was actually swallowed by a snake. Xiao Lan displayed his formidable combat prowess, biting the snake’s tail and dragging it backward until it spat me out.

Of course, Little Cricket helped too.

He hopped onto the snake’s head and kicked its eyes frantically with his legs.

Xiao Lan and Little Cricket both cherished me deeply. Not long after that incident, they formed a tacit partnership and began patrolling Fenghuan Palace whenever they were free.

They would attack any snake they encountered. One toad and one cricket-they actually managed to drive every single snake out of Fenghuan Palace.

Speaking of which, I must mention how I first met Princess Anping.

You see, as Little Frog, I’ve had my fair share of bad luck.

I consider myself quite agile and a brave fighter.

However, whenever I face a natural predator, I always end up on the losing side.

For a while, because Xiao Lan and Little Cricket had cleared all the snakes from Fenghuan Palace, I got a bit full of myself. I spent my days strutting and hopping around the courtyard with an air of self-importance.

Then one day, as fate would have it, I ran into a crazed rat.

It was starving, and it actually had the audacity to snap its vicious jaws at me!

I, Little Frog, am no pushover. I fought it right then and there! It was a chaotic, earth-shaking battle!

Unfortunately, I was ultimately outmatched by the rodent, and it caught me in its teeth.

Xiao Lan was out foraging that day, and Little Cricket happened to be away as well. I thought I was a goner.

In my moment of despair, Princess Anping appeared in the courtyard.

She was holding a laundry club. When she saw the toad caught in the rat’s mouth, she let out a startled cry.

Then she screamed several more times, raising the club and shouting, “Ahhh!” as she swung at the rat.

The crazed rat couldn’t escape in time and was beaten to death in a few strokes.

I was saved.

Even though Princess Anping hadn’t necessarily acted with the intention of saving a toad.

She simply hated rats.

The grain she received from the Storage Depot each month was only half a dou-not even enough to fill her and Aunt Qiu’s stomachs-yet rats were always sneaking in to steal it. They even gnawed through their few sets of clothes and bedding.

Regardless of why Anping killed that rat, she was my savior, plain and simple.

So, when I returned to our mud hole that night, I said to Xiao Lan, “Anping is truly beautiful and kind-hearted. I like her!”

Xiao Lan nodded in agreement. “Princess Anping is indeed a good girl.”

I said excitedly, “Right? Right? She saved my life. I should repay her!”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“I don’t know.”

I felt a bit troubled and let out a sigh.

Xiao Lan said, “There isn’t much a toad like you can do. Just go catch some bugs in the vegetable garden. If you see Princess Anping, croak a few more times to keep her company.”

Me: …