Lu Qingjiu pondered Xuanyu's words as he reached out to him, still lying in the snow. Xuanyu smiled faintly, and Lu Qingjiu pulled him up from the ground. He gently brushed off the snowflakes clinging to his body and said gently, "Donor Lu, it's cold outside. Let's talk inside."

It was indeed quite cold outside. Lu Qingjiu agreed to Xuanyu's suggestion and returned to the house. Yin Xun, previously furious, now seemed like a popped balloon, completely deflated. He looked at Lu Qingjiu dejectedly, trying to persuade her not to listen to Xuanyu. But he knew the futility of such persuasion, so he swallowed the words back and remained silent, sorrowful. Lu Qingjiu could only pat his arm in comfort.

Back in the warm house, Yin Xun was afraid that Lu Qingjiu would get cold, so he quickly went to the kitchen to pour some hot tea. He was also stingy and refused to pour hot water for Xuan Yu. He even took ice cubes out of the refrigerator and threw them into Xuan Yu's cup, wishing he could freeze to death the monk who stopped them from leaving.

Xuan Yu didn't mind at all. He picked up the water cup and drank it all. He also smiled gently at Yin Xun and said thank you.

Xuan Yu said, "Master Lu, whether you leave or stay, the power of choice is in your hands."

Lu Qingjiu said: "If I leave, will Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun die?

"We won't die," Yin Xun said angrily. "We are all non-human. Even if we are injured, we will recover!"

Lu Qingjiu ignored Yin Xun and continued to look at Xuan Yu.

Xuan Yu nodded and said, "When the two worlds merge, the first place to suffer will be the border. By then, Shuifu Village will no longer exist, let alone Yinglong, who has been protecting the human world with his true body."

Yin Xun was about to retort when Lu Qingjiu stopped him. He seemed to understand the reason behind Ao Run's attack on him. Ao Run had injected cold energy into his body, forcing him to leave Shuifu Village. As long as he left Shuifu Village, the cold energy in his body would not cause any harm, thus avoiding his own death. However, apart from this, Ao Run seemed to want to merge the two worlds...

Xuan Yu continued, "The Four Gods are dead. Without them blocking the way, the fusion of the two worlds is only a matter of time. Donor Lu is the only one who has the ability to stop it."

Lu Qingjiu had heard this before, but when he heard it again, he found it to be redundant. He looked up at Xuan Yu suspiciously and said, "Little Master, do you know where Dong Shen is? Do you know his recent situation?"

Xuan Yu nodded softly.

"But hasn't the Winter God been missing for a long time? His name is... Xuanming?" Lu Qingjiu asked. "Your name is Xuanyu. What's the relationship between you two?"

Xuan Yu sighed: "Donor Lu..."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Tell me what you want, I can handle it." Whether it was Ao Run or Bai Yuehu, they refused to give him the opportunity to choose in front of certain things, because they believed that knowing some things was no better than being kept in the dark. But in fact, Lu Qingjiu has always been a person with his own ideas. He knows what he wants and does not need or want others to make decisions for him.

"The God of Winter has indeed disappeared for many years." Xuan Yu said, "The last time he met with the other three gods was a hundred years ago."

Unlike other gods, the God of Winter is not loved by humans.

He brings death, hunger, and cold. Amidst the blanket of snow, people long for the cold winter to pass quickly and for the vibrant spring to arrive. While other gods emerged from human faith and hope, the Winter God emerged from fear and awe.

"But the God of Winter doesn't mind," Xuan Yu said. "He doesn't hold any grudges."

Lu Qingjiu knew that something must have happened to Dong Shen, so he asked, "What happened then?"

Xuan Yu lowered his eyes, his voice slightly lowered, and he said: "All this happened until the Winter God was polluted."

Lu Qingjiu was stunned: "The God of Winter is polluted? He is polluted?"

Xuan Yu nodded.

"Wait, why would God be polluted..." Lu Qingjiu asked in disbelief, "But even if it is polluted, isn't it said that the problem is not serious?"

Xuan Yu said, "It shouldn't be serious, because the Four Seasons God can be reborn. As long as they are reborn once, the pollution will be lifted. It's just that before the rebirth, the Winter God had an accident."

Lu Qingjiu became nervous: "What's going on?"

Xuan Yu said: "The God of Winter has split."

Lu Qingjiu: “Ah?” He immediately thought of his grandfather who was split into red and black.

"He split his soul into two parts, one inherited the pollution, the other pure and flawless. The part that inherited the pollution was killed by the pure and flawless, and then spent decades to reconstruct his body." Xuan Yu said, "No one knows about this." He explained that the four gods were originally able to sense each other. If the God of Winter died, the other three gods would be able to feel it. But the problem was that the God of Winter was split into two parts. So when one part died, the other three gods didn't react, thinking that the God of Winter was still alive. However, this was not the worst. The worst thing was that after the polluted part of the God of Winter was reborn, the pollution did not disappear. Not only did it not disappear, it also lost its previous memories. It was filled with evil thoughts towards the human world and even colluded with the Zhulong clan, wanting to directly merge the human world and the non-human world.

When Xuan Yu said this, there was a hint of helplessness in his tone. He obviously didn't understand why something that should have been simple became so complicated because of a small accident.

Lu Qingjiu fell silent after hearing this, and then looked at Xuan Yu with a strange look: "You can't be..."

Xuan Yu and Lu Qingjiu looked at each other.

"Are you part of the God of Winter?" Lu Qingjiu originally thought that the names Xuanyu and Xuanming were just coincidences. Now that he thinks about it carefully, there are not so many coincidences in the world. Moreover, every time Xuanyu appears, heavy snow is coming. The first time was in winter, and the second time was when it snowed in June this year.

Xuan Yu said, "That's right." He admitted it so easily.

"No way? You're the God of Winter?" Yin Xun, who was sitting next to him, was also a little impatient. He stood up and said, "How can you be the God of Winter? I've seen the God of Winter before, he's very powerful - what's wrong with you?"

Xuan Yu looked helpless and said that he had hardly received any power when his soul was split. If the polluted part of the God of Winter had not volunteered to die, he would not have been able to kill him. But now that that part had been reborn, it had lost its previous memory and had no intention of letting him kill it again. It even wanted to merge with him.

Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun were stunned when they heard this. They had never expected the situation to be like this.

"Then why didn't you tell others earlier?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "If you had told them earlier, there would still be a chance to save them, right?"

Xuan Yu said: "My power is too weak, so I can only appear when it is the coldest. I used to think he was just throwing a tantrum, but it wasn't until this year that I realized he was serious." He sighed again.

Lu Qingjiu was about to speak when she heard a strong wind blowing in the yard. This wind was very different from the usual wind. It was as shrill as a howl, and even swept up the snowflakes on the ground and threw them into the sky. The snowflakes blocked the sunlight, and the whole world fell into darkness.

"He's here." Xuan Yu stood up.

Lu Qingjiu knew that he was talking about the part where the Winter God was contaminated, and hurriedly said, “Don’t go out, the White Moon Fox will be back soon.”

Xuan Yu shook his head: "He won't be back so soon."

Lu Qingjiu asked: "What do you know?"

Xuan Yu asked, "Do you still remember the snow in June?"

Of course Lu Qingjiu remembered it. He even remembered the strange phenomena between heaven and earth at that time, as well as the candle dragons that fought with the White Moon Fox.

Xuan Yu said, "That was a trap they set. Zhu Rong's death was just the beginning." He clasped his hands together and saluted Lu Qingjiu, "Master Lu, I'm sorry for the offense."

Before Lu Qingjiu could react, Xuan Yu extended his finger and tapped his forehead. Then, Lu Qingjiu felt a chill on his forehead, and all the chill in his body seemed to converge on his head. As Yin Xun stared in astonishment, several dancing ice butterflies appeared before Lu Qingjiu's eyes. These ice butterflies flew out from Lu Qingjiu's skin, taking away the chill in his body.

"Don't worry about whether Mr. Lu goes or stays." Xuan Yu said in a gentle voice.

Before Lu Qingjiu could even feel happy, he saw Xuanyu about to push the door open and leave. He wanted to stop Xuanyu, but Xuanyu had already made up his mind. He said that he had no power left in his body, and that being fused might actually help stop him, so he told Lu Qingjiu not to worry...

Lu Qingjiu said: “But after the fusion, you will no longer be here!”

Xuan Yu smiled and said, "I have already said and done everything I should have said and done. He and I are one."

He rejected Lu Qingjiu's obstruction, opened the door, and slowly walked out of the yard.

Through the howling wind and snow, Lu Qingjiu vaguely saw a short figure standing outside the house. He struggled to identify it and found that he had seen this child before. He never imagined that the child was actually the legendary God of Winter. Xuan Yu had already walked to the child's side, bent down, and held the child's cold hand.

"You finally decided to come back." The child rubbed the back of Xuan Yu's hand with his cheek with some affection, and his voice was still childish, "I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Xuan Yu hummed softly and said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

The child said, "Let's go."

Xuan Yu bent down and skillfully picked up the child. The child hugged Xuan Yu's neck tightly, as if afraid that he would leave suddenly again. The figures of the two gradually disappeared in the snow, and the originally biting wind also calmed down.

Lu Qingjiu stood by the window in a daze.

Yin Xun poked Lu Qingjiu and muttered, “Jiu’er, are we still leaving?”

Lu Qingjiu said: "No, let's wait for Bai Yuehu to come back."

Yin Xun hesitated to speak, and in the end said nothing.

After Xuanyu and the child left, the snow stopped. The warm sunlight shone through the clouds onto the snow. The air was cold, but it no longer brought pain to Lu Qingjiu. Xuanyu took away the chill in his body and restored him to normal.

Bai Yuehu came back around dusk. At that time, Lu Qingjiu was already curled up on the kang and about to fall asleep. He entered the room very quietly, but Lu Qingjiu immediately opened her eyes and saw him.

"Ao Yue." Lu Qingjiu called his real name.

Bai Yuehu was slightly stunned, as if he hadn't expected Lu Qingjiu to know his name. The black robe he was wearing was covered in dark red blood, and because the temperature was too low, the blood had all solidified, emitting a faint smell of blood. He walked to Lu Qingjiu's side, lowered his head and stared at his lover. His long black hair fell on Lu Qingjiu's cheek, bringing a slight itch. He asked, "How did you know?"

"I guessed it." Lu Qingjiu blinked and reached out to hold a strand of Bai Yuehu's hair. "You're back."

"Well, I'm back." Bai Yuehu placed a gentle kiss on Lu Qingjiu's lips, then picked Lu Qingjiu up from the quilt, "Let's go right away."

"No." Lu Qingjiu said, "I'm not leaving. I'm not cold anymore. I want to stay here with you."

Bai Yuehu paused, and his gentle expression faded. He looked at Lu Qingjiu and refused, "No."

"Xuan Yu is the God of Winter." Lu Qingjiu said, "He helped me get rid of the cold in my body. I don't have to leave."

"You have to go." Bai Yuehu reached out and touched Lu Qingjiu's face. When he felt that Lu Qingjiu's cheek was no longer as cold as before, but had the soft warmth that human skin should have, he breathed a sigh of relief. But even so, he had no intention of letting go. "It will be very dangerous here."

Lu Qingjiu: "I know, that's why I want to stay here with you." Xuan Yu once said that he was the only one who could save all this, and someone had already told him the answer. Although he was still confused now, he felt that he would understand it eventually.

Bai Yuehu firmly refused Lu Qingjiu, saying that he had to leave. Of course, his words sounded particularly ruthless, saying that Lu Qingjiu's body was too weak, and if he and Zhulong fought, he would have to divide his energy to protect Lu Qingjiu. Lu Qingjiu didn't get angry when he heard this, but just pressed Bai Yuehu's shoulders and turned his head abruptly, indicating that he should look into his eyes and repeat what he had just said.

Bai Yuehu said angrily: "Lu Qingjiu——"

Lu Qingjiu said, “Say it again and I’ll leave.”

Bai Yuehu took a deep breath, as if to prepare himself mentally, and planned to repeat what he had just said, but he noticed Lu Qingjiu's aggrieved look, so the words were on the tip of his lips, but he swallowed them back.

"Look, you can't even say it." Lu Qingjiu laughed and put his arm around Bai Yuehu's neck. He said, "I don't care. I won't leave anyway. Aren't you dragons the most stingy? If you die and I live, we still have a long time to live. Aren't you afraid that I will find another girl to marry and have children? Even seven or eight in one go?"

Bai Yuehu grabbed Lu Qingjiu’s wrist and gritted his teeth: “You dare?!”

Lu Qingjiu said: "What is there to be afraid of? You are gone, I dare to do anything."

It would have been fine if he hadn't said this, but once he did, Bai Yuehu got angrier and angrier. Thinking of himself gone and Lu Qingjiu with someone else, he simply wanted to swallow the person in front of him and prevent him from going anywhere. Lu Qingjiu looked at Bai Yuehu's pupils, which were beginning to turn red. He knew he couldn't irritate his stingy dragon any further, so he quickly gave her a soothing kiss. Only after Bai Yuehu's kiss had made her breath ache did he say vaguely, "Look, you're so angry just by talking to me, Yuehu. I know what you're worried about, but I'm not afraid... I want to be with you wherever you go." Even to hell.

Bai Yuehu hugged Lu Qingjiu tightly, wishing he could embed him into his body. He said, "You will die."

Lu Qingjiu buried his head in Bai Yuehu's long hair, sniffing the scent of wind and snow between his hair. He said, "If I'm gone, you can't look for someone else without my knowledge."

The White Moon Fox couldn't bear it any longer and bit Lu Qingjiu's ear. It didn't hold back at all and made Lu Qingjiu hiss. When the White Moon Fox stopped, Lu Qingjiu's ear was bleeding. The White Moon Fox saw the blood and felt a little distressed. It carefully licked it clean.

Lu Qingjiu was left in tears and laughter by Bai Yuehu's childish behavior. He patted Bai Yuehu on the shoulder and said, "Okay, stop making trouble. Let's just live a good life. As for what will happen in the future, we'll talk about it later."

Bai Yuehu looked a little depressed, as if he was still struggling.

Lu Qingjiu said a few more words, the gist of which was to let Bai Yuehu imagine that she was still alive without him. Instead of living like this, it would be better for her to go with Bai Yuehu.

Bai Yuehu's emotions gradually calmed down.

The coldness in Lu Qingjiu's body disappeared, and he felt like he had regained the vitality of a young man. He rushed to the guest room and woke up Yin Xun who was also taking a nap, saying, "Let's have a big dinner tonight."

Yin Xun was confused by Lu Qingjiu and asked, "What feast?"

Lu Qingjiu said: "It depends on what you want to eat."

Yin Xun was stunned for a few seconds before he recovered from his daze and said, "No, why are we talking about dinner? Where's Bai Yuehu? Is he back?"

Lu Qingjiu pointed to his ear which had been bitten a lot and said, "You're back! Not only did you come back, you also bit me and almost bit off my ear."

Yin Xun: “…”

Lu Qingjiu said: "I'm still a little shy."

Yin Xun's expression twisted, he didn't know whether he should hate them for feeding him dog food at this time, or be happy that Bai Yuehu was fine. He said, "Didn't Bai Yuehu say anything when you came back?"

Lu Qingjiu asked, “What?”

"Of course he wants you to leave here." Yin Xun said anxiously, "Didn't Xuanyu say that something bad was going to happen soon? It would be troublesome if you stayed here. Shouldn't he have sent you away right away? Why is he still wasting time here..."

Lu Qingjiu patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down. Then he slowly explained the consensus he and Bai Yuehu had reached. In short, he had decided to stay here, and Bai Yuehu chose to support his idea.

Yin Xun was stunned. He had thought that the first thing Bai Yuehu would do upon returning here was to take Lu Qingjiu away. Xuan Yu could fool Lu Qingjiu, so how could he fool Bai Yuehu? But judging by Lu Qingjiu's words and expression, it was obvious that he was not lying. Could he have really persuaded Bai Yuehu to let him stay here?

"Is Bai Yuehu crazy? How could he allow you to stay?" Yin Xun said in disbelief. "Doesn't he know you'll die? Has he also been brainwashed by Xuan Yu?!"

"Yin Xun." Lu Qingjiu called him. He knew what Yin Xun was thinking. As Yin Xun's only friend, Yin Xun naturally wanted him to live. However, in a person's life, there are things more important than living. Xuan Yu did not force him to stay. He simply told Lu Qingjiu all the options and let him make his own choice. "Everyone will die."

Yin Xun still refused to accept it.

Lu Qingjiu said, "Calm down. Everyone will die. Let me ask you a question. If only one of us can survive, and I give that chance to you, will you be happy?"

After thinking for a moment, Yin Xun said "no" in a lost voice.

"I won't be happy either." Lu Qingjiu said, "I left, survived, and spent the rest of my life missing Bai Yuehu and you. Such a life is better off not having it."

Yin Xun calmed down. He no longer tried to persuade Lu Qingjiu, but he was still very depressed.

Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu didn't want to persuade him anymore, so he turned around and went to the kitchen alone.

Today is an important day, and Lu Qingjiu decided to make a sumptuous dinner.

He pulled a large amount of ingredients from the refrigerator and began to carefully prepare them. He thawed the shrimp, cleaned the shrimp threads, and deep-fried them in oil. He then cut the potatoes, onions, and carrots into strips, blanched them, and sautéed them with a special seasoning. Finally, he added the shrimp and simmered them for a while. The delicious dry-pot shrimp was ready. The room was soon filled with the rich aroma of food. Unbeknownst to him, Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu appeared in the kitchen, helping Lu Qingjiu.

"These shrimps taste better when they're fresh, but they've been frozen for too long." Lu Qingjiu muttered, "I must buy more fresh seafood next spring."

"I want to eat squid flowers." Yin Xun said sullenly beside him.

"It's too late to tell me now. I'll make it for you tomorrow." Lu Qingjiu picked up the shrimp and looked at the chicken soup still stewing in the pot. "Hu'er, do you want to eat anything?"

Bai Yuehu shook his head, indicating that nothing mattered.

Lu Qingjiu took some pork from the refrigerator and planned to stir-fry it.

Yin Xun was standing nearby and suddenly started sobbing, crying very sadly. Lu Qingjiu looked helpless, put down what he was holding, turned around and asked him why he was crying.

Yin Xun choked up and said, "I just remembered that when you were not here, I had no meat to eat. I finally bought some meat, but I could only cook it in plain water. Lu Qingjiu, I was so scared."

Lu Qingjiu said: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Although Bai Yuehu didn't say anything, she gently held Lu Qingjiu's hand. With their fingers interlocked, the uneasiness in Bai Yuehu's expression eased a little.

"I won't let you and Yuehu suffer any injustice." Lu Qingjiu said, "Look how miserable life is in this village. There's not even a trash can. At least Fox can rummage through the trash cans."

White Moon Fox: "...I didn't!"

Lu Qingjiu: "Really?"

White Moon Fox: “Occasionally.”

Lu Qingjiu: “Occasionally?”

Bai Yuehu gave up talking, silently letting go and turning to work, ignoring Lu Qingjiu's teasing. Lu Qingjiu was so amused by Bai Yuehu's appearance that he leaned over and kissed his stingy fake vixen carefully, finally coaxing him back into good health.

A forced smile appeared on the corner of Yin Xun's mouth.