Stone stared intently at the dwarf before her. Wow! She had no idea the old dwarf looked so amusing! Short and stout, with a long white beard, and a face full of wrinkles and a look of confusion—heh heh, he looked just like an old man!
"Hehe, Grandpa!" Stone stretched out his little hand and grabbed the old dwarf's long beard. Wow, the beard was thick and dense, and the color was almost pure white. It was incredibly beautiful.
“Wise one, this is our younger sister, her name is Stone. Hmm, Stone is very well-behaved, we will take care of her.” The bearded man quickly explained as soon as he saw the wise man notice Stone.
The wise man nodded: "Then you two go ahead and do the test! Fire Stove, come and watch over the little stone baby."
The group readily agreed.
Stone watched as Firebeard and Firebeard entered another room, then looked up and gave his third brother, Fire Stove, a sweet smile.
Fire Stove has always been a good older brother. Although he has a bad temper, he is really good to Stone: "Stone, don't worry. If Fire Beard and Fire Fur don't take good care of Stone, Third Brother will take care of Stone." Fire Stove, who is such a good older brother, is almost swearing on his chest.
Stone squinted, quite pleased. Finally rid of those two unreliable, foolish older brothers! Anyway, being with the twins, oh, and the stove, was better than being with those two, right?
hey-hey……
Unaware that her tragic life was just beginning, Stone, lost in her own fantasy, was about to embark on a new chapter.
Chapter 21: Exam-Oriented Education is a Deadly Trap
From this moment on, history underwent an irreversible change. The other world became glorious because of the stone, but the stone's fate was tragic because of the other world. Of course, all of this is a story for later.
It's unclear how Huoxu and Huohu were tested, but they passed smoothly and were admitted to the Wise Men's Academy as they wished.
After entering the school, Stone realized that the basic education in the Dwarf Kingdom was actually quite reliable. At least, they had different classes based on age. Of course, the twins and Stone were in the lowest level class. In Stone's words from his previous life, it was equivalent to preschool, not even first grade.
Although they have a formal name: the Dwarf Kingdom's Wise Men's Academy - Elementary Introductory Class.
Although Stone looked down on this so-called beginner's class, she had no choice but to humiliatingly spend time there with her twin brother. What was even more frustrating was that the wise man didn't take her seriously at all. In his eyes, Stone was just a burden brought along by the twins, not even as good as an auditor.
And so, the magnificent stone princess was utterly ignored.
"Ore is divided into three categories: inferior ore, common ore, and rare ore..."
With his chin resting on his hand, Stone sat sadly in the cart, his eyes unfocused as he watched the wise man lecturing eloquently on the platform.
Oblivious to the resentment he was now the subject of, the wise man continued his tirade: "Although all dwarves crave rare ores, the majority of the ore obtained from each mine is, in any case, inferior. Now, I will explain in detail the classification of inferior ores..."
Stone was stunned; she had never known that ores could be classified in this way. In her mind, ores were nothing more than gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and so on.
For some reason, the stone subconsciously remembered the wise man's words. What pebbles, inferior stones, rough stones, heavy stones, solid stones, thick stones… Damn it! They're just a bunch of broken stones! Why make it so complicated?!
While inwardly grumbling, Shi Tou, as if suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, silently recited the knowledge. When she realized what she was doing, tears instantly streamed down her face.
Those of us born under the red flag and raised in the new China are truly vulnerable!
Exam-oriented education is a killer, it's deadly!
In truth, Stone's current life was truly worse than death. She desperately covered her ears, but the wise man's voice seemed to possess a magical power, penetrating directly into her ears. Stone tried her best to ignore these sounds, but they were like a broken record, repeating over and over until Stone memorized them completely.
Waaaaah, no! Stone really wanted to cry. He's not even two years old yet! And he's already transmigrated, why should he still be tormented by exam-oriented education?
The pathetic stone instinctively memorized that dry knowledge, while the little voice inside it desperately pounded the ground and howled.
Sigh, she thought she'd finally graduated from university and never have to go back to school again, but then she transmigrated. And why, after only two years, was she sent back to school? Sending her back to school is one thing, but what was wrong with her? Could being a good student be addictive?
Tragic Stone pounded her fist on the little cart she was sitting on. Little did she know, a pair of eyes had been watching her all along.
The wise Ochre was in charge of teaching this group of younger dwarves. Actually, he'd been observing Ochre ever since he'd seen him. In fact, there were quite a few children like Ochre who had been brought to the lessons by their older siblings; for example, a six-year-old girl sat next to him. However, generally, these children were around five years old. This was the first time he'd encountered someone under two years old like Ochre.
Ochre was initially very worried that such a young child wouldn't be able to sit still. He thought he might wet his pants or cry. However, to his surprise, Stone was incredibly patient. Even more remarkably, Stone seemed to understand him, and sometimes he would unconsciously repeat after him.
To test this point, Ochre deliberately probed, "During the mining process, we occasionally unearth some strange things. For example, colored stones. Although these gems are very beautiful, they have no practical use, so we agree to call them colored stones."
Stone was stunned. So, in the Dwarf Kingdom, all those gems were classified as inferior ores? Good heavens, what a waste! How could they do that? No! So, collecting those gems was completely pointless? If she couldn't leave the Dwarf Kingdom, those gems would be utterly worthless.
Shi Tou was immediately filled with conflicting emotions.
Ochre on the podium rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Good heavens, what was he seeing?
Just now, when Stone heard him mention colored stones, her eyes widened instantly, like someone who hadn't eaten for three days and nights seeing a pile of fragrant roasted meat. But then, her gaze became dull, her eyes revealing obvious reproach and anger. Thinking about it, she must have heard that colored stones had no real use and were just lumped together as "colored stones," right? Finally, as if remembering something, her gaze dimmed, even carrying a hint of despondency and despair.
A toddler not even two years old could actually understand what he was saying, and he even had such vivid facial expressions!
Ochre stared at the stone in utter shock. He was convinced that this seemingly ordinary child was definitely not a normal person. Right, the three-hundred-year-old legend? Could that child be…?
Shaking his head, Ochre forced himself to calm down. Regardless of whether the child was that person or not, he couldn't reveal this matter. However, the child seemed rather careless! Thinking about her behavior just now, to someone with a discerning eye, it was far more than just riddled with flaws!
Thinking of this, Ochre put down the ancient book in his hand, strolled over to the stone, bent down and said softly, "Little girl, what is your name?"
The stone was currently mourning itself and had no intention of looking up at the wise man, so naturally it was unaware that it had actually given itself away. Suddenly, the stone felt a darkness before its eyes and realized that someone had walked up to it.
"Huh?" Stone was taken aback at first, but fortunately she reacted quickly this time and immediately replied, "Stone!"
Stone? Stone Princess? The youngest daughter of the Steel Hammer family?!
Ochre was clearly taken aback by the answer and looked around in confusion. When he came to his senses, his expression immediately changed drastically.
Chapter 22: Stone is Locked in a Dark Room
Pan-fried buns are such a tragedy! I set a timer for updates, but I completely missed today, boohoo! I'll catch up right away. I'm so sorry to all my loyal fans, so sorry to my lovely Stone Princess. I'm so sorry to the Party, so sorry to the people...
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Wait a minute! The youngest daughter of the Steelhammer family—that means she should be of the purest dwarven blood? But if she really is that person, how could she possibly be a dwarf? Even if she loses all her magic, even if she loses her memory, she will never abandon her pride!
That was the unique pride she possessed as the sole heir of the Nalan royal family, the oldest kingdom in the world!
Lost in thought, Ochre had clearly forgotten where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Of course, he also utterly ignored the restless dwarves below the platform.
Stone scratched his fuzzy little head in frustration, inwardly grumbling at the wise man on the podium. Even at the third-rate university he attended in his previous life, some teachers were late, some skipped class, and some even talked on the phone while lecturing, but none of them stood on the podium so brazenly, lost in thought, as this teacher in front of him.
So, should we report it, report it, or report it?!
"Clang clang clang~~~"
While Stone was still struggling with his decision, a loud knocking sound suddenly came from the end of the corridor outside the door. The sound was so loud that Stone felt the ground tremble.
The dwarves, who had been whispering just moments before, heard the loud noise and jumped to their feet. With lightning speed, they darted outside, leaving only a fleeting afterimage.
The poor stone was startled and stared wide-eyed at the door in disbelief. It took it a long time for it to come to its senses.
Oh my god! Could that loud bang have been an alarm?!
Fire alarm?! Earthquake?! Air raid?!
The more Stone thought about it, the more frightened she became. Her small body involuntarily shrank into an even smaller ball, and she trembled as she tried to crawl out of the stroller to escape. Although she hadn't learned to walk yet, even crawling was better than staying here foolishly, right?
"Stone! Let's go out and play!" Just as Stone was so frightened she was about to burst into tears, a familiar voice reached her ears. Looking up, she saw Firebeard and Firebeard. Instantly, Stone was thrilled!
At that moment, the image of Firebeard and Firebeard instantly became much more impressive in Stone's mind.
Wait! What did they just say? Going out to play?
Damn, these two good-for-nothing kids!
"Stone, brother will push you out!" Huo Hu became anxious when he saw Stone hesitate to speak. Without waiting for Stone's consent, he pushed the cart out with Stone inside, saying, "Brother, hurry up! get out of class is over in a little while!"
Shi Tou gripped the front of the cart tightly with both hands, sobbing. She was still a good girl and couldn't do something as difficult as racing!
"Bang!"
Poor Stone thought he must have forgotten to check the almanac before going out today, how come all the bad luck came at once?
"Heavens! It's the Sage!" Firebeard exclaimed, pointing a trembling finger ahead. Firebeard was equally shocked, but compared to his brother, he clearly had a better eye: "That's Elder Sage! Oh no, we're in big trouble!"
Ahead, directly in front of the stone cart, lay a dwarf old man with a white beard. The old man was hit by the stone cart and couldn't get up for a long time, so he could only lie on the ground staring at the stone.
Stone, of course, heard his brothers' words and was utterly speechless at the dwarf old man in front of him. So there really are people in this world who get hit by baby carriages! Thinking this, Stone happily stretched out his chubby hoof and tried to pull off the unfortunate old man's long beard.
Suddenly, Huo Xu whispered quickly in Shi Tou's ear, "Shi Tou, don't tell anyone your brother's name!" After saying that, he grabbed Huo Xu and ran away in a flash.
Stone was completely dumbfounded. What kind of situation was this? Hit-and-run?! You can't just abandon her like that! This is outrageous!
Just as Stone was still grumbling indignantly, the dwarf elder who had been lying on the ground shakily got up. Seeing Stone sitting in the cart, grinning at him and trying to tug at his beard, he loudly scolded, "What's wrong with you, child? Why are you running around like that? Honestly! Don't you know that you can't chase and fight in the Wise Man's Academy? You can't make loud noises? You can't bully the weak?"
"Uh." Stone was stunned. Why did he feel like he had done something that would anger both heaven and man? When he came to his senses, Stone was furious.
What do you mean by reckless driving? Even though the car that hit the person was hers, it wasn't her intention to do it!
What do you mean by chasing and playing around? She hasn't even learned to walk yet!
What does it mean to bully the weak? She's not even two years old, a little girl who can't even lift a chicken, how can she bully the weak?
Growing angrier by the thought, Stone angrily reached out his claws and grabbed the old dwarf's long beard. I pulled, I pulled, I pulled, pulled, pulled!
Hmph, you old geezer, serves you right for insulting me!
Whitebeard has been a wise dwarf for nearly two hundred years. In those hundred years, he has educated countless dwarf children, some families even having three generations of dwarfs taught by him. He is proud of his vast knowledge, proud of the many students he has nurtured, and of course, what he is most proud of is that all the children who see him are filled with respect and awe.
But! This little brat in front of her wasn't afraid of her at all!!!
First she bumped into him, and then she tried to pull out his beard!
The white-bearded man glared at the stone and demanded, "Whose child are you? Speak!"
"Pfft!" The stone blew a big bubble at him without any hesitation.
This really angered Whitebeard. He grabbed the stone and roared, "Will you talk or not?! If you don't, I'll throw you into the dark room!"
Pfft! This time Stone really spat it out. A dark room? So even the Dwarf Kingdom has dark rooms!
Whitebeard fiercely wiped the saliva off his face. He was truly furious; no student had ever dared to treat him like this before! Picking up the stone, Whitebeard strode quickly in another direction.
Stone watched speechlessly as the white-bearded man opened three doors before finally entering a room. The room was dark, but Stone wasn't afraid; he just happily tugged at the old dwarf's long beard.
"Hmph, you stay here and reflect on your actions!" Whitebeard threw the stone on the ground, then closed the door and left decisively.