Days passed, and life returned to its former tranquility. This should have been a good thing, but due to the Candle Dragon that had infiltrated the human world, this tranquility seemed to conceal turbulent waves, causing people to enjoy it while also harboring certain concerns.
Zhulong no longer committed crimes, and everything returned to peace. Zhulong, who had restrained his desires and hidden himself in the human world, was difficult to find among humans even by the Phoenix. In desperation, everyone could only place their hopes on the Phoenix of Shaohao's family who was still in Nirvana. After all, it was he who found the Zhulong from more than ten years ago.
Summer is fading, autumn is coming, and it is harvest time again.
This year, their family planted a large amount of rice, and the fields were a vibrant golden hue. It was finally harvest time. Harvesting the rice required several steps: threshing and then husking. The newly hulled rice was as smooth as new, exuding a delicate rice fragrance. Unlike aged rice, this fresh rice was delicious no matter how it was cooked. Their family grew a stickier variety, perfect for making rice cakes. Lu Qingjiu ground the rice into a powder, added water, and stirred it evenly. He then heated the rice, which became soft and sticky. He then added eggs and milk, then molded the mixture into a mold, finally shaping each rice cake into a rich, milky aroma. Soft and springy, the rice cakes filled his mouth with its fragrance. Lu Qingjiu removed the rice cakes to cool, then decorated them with patterns using a green vegetable juice.
The colored rice cake looked even more tempting, so he gave a piece to Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu, saying that he wanted to make some rice noodles.
Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu fully agreed with Lu Qingjiu's proposal, saying that Lu Qingjiu could do anything.
Last year, Lu Qingjiu also made a lot of rice noodles, but they were almost all eaten up in the winter. After that, the family bought rice noodles in the town. Although the taste was good, it was still a little different from what they made themselves.
Rice noodles are the perfect breakfast ingredient. Adding chicken broth, a sprinkle of chopped green onions, and a few green vegetables makes it tempting enough. Lu Qingjiu likes this kind of food because it's not greasy and is very filling.
The tough winter is coming again, and Lu Qingjiu has to prepare for the winter. Last year, when he first bought winter supplies, he didn't take some things into consideration. This year, Lu Qingjiu plans to buy a generator for his own use and enough engine oil to ensure that at least there will be no power outages at home. This way, life will be much better after the heavy snow closes the mountain.
The weather has been cooler recently, and there have been fewer signs of animal activity. Snakes and frogs have begun to prepare for hibernation. Bai Yuehu said that it is estimated that Zhulong will not be found this year.
Zhulong actually also likes hot summer. They will be much more active in summer. Once autumn comes, they will start to become lazy. What's more, this Zhulong has already found a home in the human world, which makes it even more troublesome.
"Then what should we do?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "Should we just let it stay in the human world forever?"
"He's a Candle Dragon, after all. He'll eventually show his true colors," White Moon Fox said. "He can't hold it in for long." The biggest difference between Candle Dragons and other non-humans is that they have a hard time controlling their desires. Whether it's love or hate, even if they can suppress it for a while, it will eventually explode. This explosion is devastating, making it impossible for them to survive in the human world like normal non-humans.
Lu Qingjiu thought of the fire and was still a little worried, but he didn't say it out loud. He just changed his tone to comfort Bai Yuehu, saying that he would definitely catch Zhulong as soon as possible.
September was the time for fresh chestnuts. As usual, they went to pick the same wild chestnuts from the tree in the forest they'd harvested last year. This time, Yin Xun wisely brought a hat and gloves to avoid the painful prickles he'd suffered the previous year. After the fresh chestnuts were harvested, Lu Qingjiu had Bai Yuehu kill a chicken and stew it with chestnuts. The flavors of the chicken and chestnuts blended perfectly, the chestnuts soft and sweet, the chicken tender and juicy, the mere smell of it making one's mouth water.
With the arrival of autumn, the weather cools and rain increases compared to summer. With the rain comes a proliferation of mushrooms on the mountains. These wild mushrooms are delicious, whether stewed with chicken, stir-fried, or dried and stored. Eating wild mushrooms is inherently risky, but with Yin Xun in their family, they don't have to worry about that.
On an afternoon after the rain, Lu Qingjiu carried a small bamboo basket and went up the mountain with Yin Xun to pick mushrooms.
Bai Yuehu did not go with them. He was called to the city by Zhu Rong. It seemed that something important had happened there.
"The little girl picking mushrooms, carrying a big bamboo basket, walks barefoot through the woods and hills in the early morning~" Yin Xun sang happily while picking mushrooms.
Lu Qingjiu followed behind and asked, "How old are you now? Can you be more mature?"
Yin Xundao said: "Although I have grown up, I will always have the heart of a child."
Lu Qingjiu: "I think you look like a child from head to toe."
Yin Xun: "Are you praising me for being cute?"
Lu Qingjiu: “I’m calling you short.”
Yin Xun: “…” Lu Qingjiu, you have become bad.
In the sky after the rain, half of the sun was visible from the clouds. Unlike the scorching sun in summer, the sun at this time was warm and gentle, and it gave people a cozy feeling when it shone on them. Lu Qingjiu focused all his attention on the path under his feet.
Yin Xun took him on a road rarely traveled, so the road was covered with weeds and fallen leaves. This kind of road also had the most mushrooms. Just use a stick to sweep away the fallen leaves and you'll see lovely mushrooms growing in the moist soil. The mushrooms were all kinds of strange and colorful. If Lu Qingjiu had come here alone, he definitely wouldn't have dared to pick any to eat. Cases of people dying from mushroom poisoning were numerous in the news.
With Yin Xun around, things were different. He could identify almost all mushrooms and determine whether they were edible. As for the few that he couldn't identify, they just didn't pick them and didn't need to worry too much.
Lu Qingjiu put the confirmed mushrooms into his backpack and praised: "Yin Xun, you are really amazing."
Yin Xun said, "Thank you so much."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Do you know that there is an animal in the world that can find precious mushrooms like you. The name of that mushroom is Matsutake..."
Yin Xundao: "What animal?"
Lu Qingjiu: “Pig.”
Yin Xun glared at him, he found that Lu Qingjiu was really mean and sinister, he didn't notice it at ordinary times, but it was exposed when he occasionally became lively.
Lu Qingjiu pretended not to see Yin Xun's angry look and continued to walk slowly behind him.
The autumn wind blew the green leaves into a beautiful golden color, which fell on the ground like a beautiful carpet. Yin Xun, who was walking in front, suddenly cried out in surprise: "Jiu'er, come here quickly, there are so many mushrooms here."
Lu Qingjiu hummed and hurried forward.
I saw that there were indeed many mushrooms growing in an open space, but the number of these mushrooms was a bit strange. Yin Xun didn't think much about it and started to bend down and pick them excitedly.
Lu Qingjiu said: “Why are there so many mushrooms here?”
"Maybe there's a dead tree underneath." Yin Xun turned to look at Lu Qingjiu, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay." Lu Qingjiu also felt that he was a little too sensitive. He squatted down, but did not rush to pick it. Instead, he observed the situation around him.
Yin Xun said: "These mushrooms are so plump and non-toxic. They taste great and can be used to stew chicken..." He was halfway through his words when his expression suddenly froze for a moment and his voice stopped.
"Yin Xun?" Lu Qingjiu asked doubtfully.
Yin Xun looked up at Lu Qingjiu stiffly, grabbed his wrist, and shook his head stiffly.
"What's wrong..." Lu Qingjiu wanted to ask what was wrong, but after seeing Yin Xun's terrified eyes, he lowered his head as if he had sensed something. He swallowed and asked, "Is there something wrong with the mushrooms?"
Yin Xun nodded slowly.
Lu Qingjiu lowered his eyes and looked towards the place where Yin Xun picked mushrooms. There were originally dense mushrooms growing in that area, but now Yin Xun had picked a lot of them, revealing the sparse foundation. On the foundation, a closed eye was faintly visible among the mushrooms - under these mushrooms... there was actually a person buried.
Yin Xun was obviously frightened, his face turned pale, and his lips trembled: "Jiu'er, let's go back."
Lu Qingjiu said, “Calm down and come here.”
The two men stood aside, and Lu Qingjiu used the stick in his hand to sweep away the mushroom bush in front of him little by little. After the mushroom bush was swept away, the thing underneath was revealed. It was actually a person, with dense mushrooms growing all over his body. These mushrooms almost completely covered his body, and only the place where Yin Xun had picked a lot of mushrooms was slightly sparse.
Lu Qingjiu slowly brushed away the mushrooms on the man's face. After seeing the man's face clearly, his heart sank.
Noticing the unusual look on Lu Qingjiu's face, Yin Xun hurriedly asked Lu Qingjiu if he knew the victim.
"Yeah." Lu Qingjiu said, "I know him..." This person was the Autumn God Rushu whom they met at the market in the summer. However, he was no longer breathing and turned into a cold corpse. He used his flesh and blood to nurture other plants, just like the generous autumn.
Lu Qingjiu felt a little dizzy. He couldn't understand why Rushou appeared here. He took out his cell phone and was about to call Bai Yuehu, but Yin Xun beside him let out a terrified cry and pulled Lu Qingjiu back repeatedly.
"What's wrong?" Lu Qingjiu was startled by Yin Xun.
"He, he, his eyes are open!" Yin Xun was not very courageous to begin with, and he almost fainted from the shock. "Is he going to crawl out of the ground?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "Calm down, I'll go take a look."
Yin Xun said: "But..."
Before Yin Xun could finish, Lu Qingjiu had already cautiously walked over to Ruoshou's side and saw that his eyes were indeed open. However, his once beautiful black pupils had lost their luster, now covered by a layer of white shadow. Then, Lu Qingjiu noticed that the mushrooms on Ruoshou's body had undergone some subtle changes. They began to grow larger and brighter in color, and finally spread rapidly over Ruoshou's entire body, covering everything except his eyes.
Something seemed to be moving in those eyes. The next moment, Lu Qingjiu saw several ice-blue bugs crawling out of his eyes. After crawling out, these ice-blue bugs gnawed on the surrounding mushrooms, and then began to spin silk and make cocoons, wrapping themselves up.
Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu quickly stepped back and told Yin Xun not to get any closer.
Yin Xun asked Lu Qingjiu in a trembling voice what he saw. Lu Qingjiu said, "Butterfly..."
As soon as he finished speaking, ice-blue butterflies fluttered up from Ruoshou's body. They flapped their beautiful wings and flew towards the sky. Soon they turned into blue spots of light and disappeared from Lu Qingjiu's sight.
Lu Qingjiu didn't wait any longer, he took out his cell phone and called Bai Yuehu.
The phone rang more than ten times before it was picked up. Bai Yuehu's voice came from the other end of the line, which unexpectedly calmed Lu Qingjiu's heart. His words hit the point directly, and the first sentence was: "Ruishou is dead."
"Where are you?" Bai Yuehu's tone suddenly became tense.
"Yin Xun and I are on the mountain." Lu Qingjiu said, "After you left, we went up the mountain to pick mushrooms, and then... we found Ruoshou's body." He quickly described the strange things that happened to Ruoshou's body, as well as the ice-blue butterflies.
After listening to this, Bai Yuehu asked Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun to go home immediately, and he rushed back immediately.
Lu Qingjiu hummed, hung up the phone, and wanted to leave with the basket. Yin Xun said in a trembling voice, "So, are we just going to leave him here?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "We don't know what happened to this corpse, so we'd better not touch it." Although he has a quarter dragon bloodline, his abilities are no different from those of a human, and Yin Xun is just a weak mountain god. If the two of them really encounter something, they will probably be unable to fight back.
Yin Xundao: "That's right...should I take my mushrooms back?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Forget it, just leave your box here." It's not that he didn't want to take it, but the mushrooms that Yin Xun picked from the corpse just now were all mixed together with the previous mushrooms. Even if he took it back, they wouldn't dare to eat it.
Yin Xun nodded dejectedly, and the two began to walk home.
Along the way, Yin Xun whispered that he had never seen such a scene when he used the vision of the mountain god to observe before, nor did he feel any strange breath. It seemed that the non-human who killed Rushu possessed powerful strength and directly blocked Yin Xun's sight.
Lu Qingjiu consoled Yin Xun for a long time before he finally recovered. It wasn't surprising that Yin Xun was so down. He was supposed to be the all-seeing mountain god in the Water Palace. He knew he could at least warn Lu Qingjiu of danger here. But now, it seemed he couldn't even do that. Someone had silently placed a corpse before them, and he hadn't even caught a glimpse of that person.
Bai Yuehu came back quickly. When he learned that Ruoshou's body was on the mountain, he hurried to the forest.
Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun were waiting in the yard. This kind of waiting was very tiring, so Lu Qingjiu simply found something for them to do and told them to wash the mushrooms they picked today.
But after the two took out the mushrooms, they couldn't help but stop what they were doing. They looked at each other and saw the same bitter smile in each other's eyes. That's right, when they saw the mushrooms, they remembered the corpse they found in the forest today. It can be said that they had lost their appetite.
Fortunately, Bai Yuehu came back quickly. Lu Qingjiu originally thought that he would bring back the body as well, but he came back empty-handed with nothing.
"Where's the body?" Lu Qingjiu asked carefully.
"I've put it where it belongs." Bai Yuehu's face was as gloomy as water. "Why did you suddenly think of going to the mountains to pick mushrooms?"
Yin Xundao: "Yes...it was me...who proposed it."
Bai Yuehu glanced at Yin Xun and pursed her lips slightly.
"Didn't we talk about it a few days ago? It rained today, so Yin Xun asked if we should go pick mushrooms." Lu Qingjiu said, "I saw that you were not around, so I agreed." There is less rain this year, and if we don't go today, we don't know when the next time will be.
Bai Yuehu nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Will Rushu be resurrected too?" Yin Xun remembered that the God of Spring had been killed before, and asked Bai Yuehu with anticipation.
Unexpectedly, this time, Bai Yuehu did not give a definite answer.
Lu Qingjiu felt bad, and sure enough, Bai Yuehu sighed softly: "As long as Qiu is still here, he will be resurrected."
Yin Xun finally relaxed after hearing this and said with a smile, "That's great."
Bai Yuehu glanced at Yin Xun and said, "But the prerequisite is that there must be autumn."
Lu Qingjiu was a little confused. The four seasons were a natural part of the human world. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter were the constant flow of time. But from what Bai Yuehu said, could the four seasons disappear?
Bai Yuehu continued, "Gods are born according to the four seasons. Ju Mang represents spring, Zhu Rong represents summer, Rushu represents Qiu, and Xuanming represents east. This is a rule that only exists in the human world." There was some helplessness in his tone, "But in the other world, there are no four seasons." There are 365 days in a year, and every day is the same. There are no four seasons.
Without the four seasons, there would no longer be a need for gods to control the seasons, and those who died would certainly not be resurrected.
Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun both understood the meaning of Bai Yuehu's words. They widened their eyes slightly, their eyes full of disbelief.
"Moon Fox, you mean that if the alien world and the human world merge, then the four seasons will dissipate and the dead Four Seasons God will never be resurrected?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "Is that so?"
Bai Yuehu nodded.
Now the God of Spring and the God of Autumn are dead, leaving only the God of Summer Zhurong and the God of Winter Xuanming. Lu Qingjiu has seen Zhurong, but has never heard of Xuanming, so he asked about him, wanting to know about Xuanming.
But Bai Yuehu shook his head and said that they had not heard any news about Xuanming for a long time. In this world where spiritual power is weak and faith is gradually fading, the Four Seasons Gods can be said to be the gods with relatively abundant divine power. They are also responsible for maintaining the rules for non-humans living in the human world. Xuanming should have been a hegemon, but he has disappeared for a long time. No one has heard any news about him, and no one knows whether he is alive or dead.
"Is Zhurong okay?" Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but worry.
"Not for now," Bai Yuehu said. "Zhu Rong is the executioner, very powerful, and the one least likely to die." He said, "If he is gone, then this world is over."
The gods of the four seasons can control the wind and rain according to the prayers and sacrifices of their believers, making the human world prosperous and peaceful, but they no longer have this ability after they die. Frost, wind, rain, and snow all change randomly according to the will of heaven, and floods, droughts, and droughts are all due to fate.
Fortunately, with the continuous development of human technology, the requirements for weather are not as harsh as in ancient times, but abnormal weather is still fatal to farmers. It is conceivable that if hail or snow suddenly falls in the middle of summer, the original crops will be completely destroyed.
In the face of nature, human beings are extremely humble.
Rushu's death cast a shadow of melancholy over the entire family. Lu Qingjiu was also depressed for a few days, but he soon forced himself to cheer up. He first dried the mushrooms he brought down from the mountain, then stewed chicken with them. The rich aroma and flavor diluted everyone's doubts about mushrooms as a food.
At the end of September, the annual Mid-Autumn Festival arrived again. Lu Qingjiu felt that the atmosphere at home had not been very good recently, so he invited everyone to prepare a big meal together during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and make some moon cakes and crabs to enjoy the moon.
The crabs were sent by Zhu Miaomiao, each one plump and juicy, with large claws and rich crab roe that was particularly tempting. Lu Qingjiu had prepared mooncakes of various flavors a few days in advance, even secretly stuffing them with copper coins for good luck.
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a large table was laid out with a variety of dishes. The most eye-catching dish was the spicy crab placed in the center. It was made with meat crab, not much roe, but the crab meat was plump and tender. It was stir-fried with a spicy sauce and then stewed until cooked. It also contained soft and steamed sweet potato fries and onions. Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu both ate a lot. That evening, Lu Qingjiu, seeing the beautiful weather, brewed tea and brought mooncakes to the courtyard. Everyone enjoyed the moon and mooncakes together, and the atmosphere was much better. However, after finishing the mooncakes, Lu Qingjiu didn't find the copper coins. He was a little confused and muttered, "Did I forget to pack them? Or did I lose a few mooncakes?"
Yin Xun asked Lu Qingjiu what happened.
"No, you didn't eat anything hard?" Lu Qingjiu was confused. "I wrapped five copper coins in the mooncake...how come you didn't eat any of them?"
Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu's expressions changed.
Lu Qingjiu had a horrified guess and looked at the two people beside him who were eating mooncakes contentedly in disbelief: "Hey, you two didn't eat it, did you?"
Yin Xundao: "I don't have any."
Bai Yuehu: "Me neither."
Lu Qingjiu was very suspicious and wanted to find out something from their expressions, but Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu both looked innocent, which made Lu Qingjiu wonder if he had misunderstood them.
"You really didn't eat it?" Lu Qingjiu confirmed again.
"No." Yin Xun said, "I can't bite it."
Bai Yuehu also shook his head.
Lu Qingjiu could only give up and stop dwelling on it.
While waiting for Lu Qingjiu to come into the room to get hot water to add to the tea, Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu looked at each other, and saw guilt in each other's eyes. Yin Xun whispered, "I ate two..." He thought it was rock sugar and swallowed it whole.
Bai Yuehu stretched out three fingers. He was much more brutal than Yin Xun. He didn't notice the copper coins at all. He just felt that the filling was a little hard, and then he chewed it into pieces and swallowed it all.
After the two of them finished talking, Lu Qingjiu just came back, and their expressions returned to their previous calm state, pretending that nothing had happened.
It seems that Lu Qingjiu's luck is really not that good. He didn't even get a single copper coin. As for the ones he did get... does swallowing them count as eating them?
The author has something to say: Yin Xun: This piece is a bit big, it will be fine after you swallow it.
Bai Yuehu: This piece is a bit hard, it will be fine if you chew it.
Lu Qingjiu: Meow meow meow???
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