Even after the White Moon Fox left, Zhu Rong continued to pursue the rampaging Zhulong. While Zhulongs without their handlers were easier to find, given previous experience, they were also far more dangerous. Their minds were in a state of extreme confusion, attacking any living thing, practically losing all reason. Releasing such creatures into the human world was extremely unwise. Not only could it cause heavy casualties, it could also reveal the non-human nature of the creature, making the aftermath extremely difficult.
Fortunately, Zhulong wasn't deliberately hiding his whereabouts at this point, making the search much easier. Bai Yuehu had originally been following Zhurong in pursuit, but midway through, she received a phone call, her expression suddenly changing. Someone said something had happened at the sake factory back home.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Rong told Bai Yuehu to go back quickly. Bai Yuehu did not hesitate and said that she would come back as soon as she had dealt with the affairs at home, and asked Zhu Rong to be careful.
Zhu Rong nodded, watching the White Moon Fox disappear into a layer of black mist. After sending the White Moon Fox away, he turned his attention back to Zhu Long, continuing to follow the trail left by Zhu Long. Soon, the trail became more and more obvious, indicating that Zhu Rong was getting closer and closer to Zhu Long.
Snowflakes were still falling from the sky, and Zhu Rong stopped outside a dark alley.
There was no light in the alley, and it was difficult for ordinary people to see the situation inside. Fortunately, Zhu Rong was not a human. He was the God of Summer and the king who controlled fire, so he could clearly see the situation in the alley.
A thin figure crouched in the corner of the alley. He heard Zhu Rong's footsteps and slowly stood up. From the outside, he was just a thin human boy, whose height did not even reach Zhu Rong's shoulders. However, the strong murderous intent emanating from him told Zhu Rong that the person in front of him was the Zhulong that had eaten its host and fled the scene.
"So annoying." Zhulong slowly turned his head. His eyes no longer had black pupils, but were completely replaced by red flames. The flames even burst out of his eye sockets, as if the flames were part of his body. His cheeks were covered with scarlet scales, and dragon horns grew on his forehead. He was about to transform into his original form. He stared at Zhurong fiercely, his eyes ferocious to the extreme, and roared in a hoarse voice, "So annoying--"
Zhu Rong was very calm. He was used to such scenes. A long whip transformed from flames appeared in his hand. He said coldly, "You beast, prepare to die."
"Ahhhhhh!!!!" As if provoked by Zhu Rong's words, Zhu Long let out a deafening roar. Flames erupted from his skin, charring it black before peeling away. In the midnight sky, a giant dragon made of flames soared into the air. Its crimson pupils bulged as it stared coldly at Zhu Rong, who stood on the ground, as if he were looking at an ant.
Zhu Rong raised his lips in a sarcastic arc and said, "What are you crazy about? This situation is all your own fault."
“Shut up—shut up!” Red flames gushed out of his mouth, spraying straight towards Zhu Rong. He roared, “Humans are all liars, all liars—”
The flame touched Zhu Rong's body, but was directly absorbed by him. Zhu Rong flew into the air and shook his whip. He was glad that it was midnight in the cold winter and the whole city was almost asleep. Not many people would see this scene, otherwise he would have to spend a lot of effort to clean up the mess. But even so, he had to make a quick decision.
Zhulong roared again and charged directly at Zhurong. Though massive, his movements were exceptionally nimble. His massive claws and ferocious maw repeatedly attacked Zhurong, each blow deadly and leaving him no room for maneuver. Zhurong seemed at ease under his onslaught. As an executioner, he was already accustomed to the dragon's attacks. He spun around and dodged another burst of scorching flames, but Zhurong sensed a sense of foreboding. He turned to look at Zhulong, only to find it suspended in mid-air, staring at him with a strange look.
"I like him too." Zhulong said, "but I am Zhulong."
Zhulong was a monster who couldn't control his desires. Wu Xiaohang wasn't wrong; he truly was a monster. He was a soul consumed by desire. Even if he could endure it for a while, he couldn't endure it forever. So, let everything below be buried with him.
Zhulong knew that he and Zhurong would not be able to win. If he delayed until Baiyuehu returned, his chances of winning would be even lower. But it didn't matter. He had been prepared for everything since arriving here...
Seeing Zhu Rong rushing towards the residential area, Zhu Rong's face changed drastically and he hurried forward to stop him. Zhulong was of the fire element. Once he rushed into the residential area, it would immediately cause a huge fire and explosion. By then, the entire city would probably turn into a sea of fire. Zhu Rong rushed to Zhulong, grabbed his dragon horns with his hands, and used all his strength to hold him in the air.
Although his body was blocked, Zhulong was not in a hurry. The strange look in his huge eyes became even more intense. A hoarse laugh came out of his throat and he said, "Is it worth it?"
"Of course it's worth it." Zhu Rong said coldly, "Isn't your breeder worth it?"
Zhulong fell silent. He knew he had many things he should do, but when he lived with his keepers, none of those things mattered anymore. He even secretly told himself that if his keepers could accept him as Zhulong, he would try to be patient a little longer... But...
When Zhulong thought of this, his eyes turned cold. There was no but in reality. After all, he was a monster different from the human world.
The flames on Zhulong's body began to burn fiercely. Zhurong sensed something was wrong, but he still didn't dare to let go. If he let go, a terrible disaster would happen. The flames on Zhulong's body began to spread towards Zhurong's body. The flames were light blue like ice and snow. Zhurong saw the flames and his face changed drastically. He said, "You——"
Zhulong laughed heartily, his tone filled with ill-concealed malice: "Ha, you didn't really think I just sneaked into the human world, did you? Zhurong, choose?"
Zhurong, as the God of Fire, wasn't afraid of fire, but the pale blue flames seemed completely different from ordinary flames. Upon contact with Zhurong's body, they quickly began to freeze, even freezing him. Zhurong could choose to let go and deal with the flames, but he knew that if he did, Zhulong would rush into the residential area below without hesitation, and the humans would likely suffer heavy casualties...
Seeing that Zhu Rong showed no intention of letting go, Zhu Long said coldly, "He really does understand you very well, Zhu Rong. You will regret your short-sighted choice."
Zhu Rong sneered: "I never regret it."
From the moment he came to the human world and wanted to protect this world, he knew that he would never regret it.
Bai Yuehu sprinted back to the city. He saw Zhurong locked in a stalemate with Zhulong in mid-air. The bright flames emanating from both of them nearly illuminated the entire sky, casting the clouds a vibrant red. However, Zhulong's flames gradually faded to an icy pale blue, quickly enveloping Zhurong. Bai Yuehu's expression changed at the sight, and without a second thought, he quickly transformed into his true form and flew towards Zhulong. However, before he reached them, a violent explosion erupted from where Zhulong and Zhurong were. The sound was earth-shattering. Following the explosion, Bai Yuehu saw Zhulong's body explode in mid-air like fireworks, scattering icy blue flames in all directions. Bai Yuehu hurriedly shielded the residential area below to prevent the flames from injuring anyone.
This blue flame seemed to be different from ordinary flames. Its temperature was extremely low, and everything it touched would instantly freeze.
Zhurong, who was closest to Zhulong, froze in mid-air and then fell straight down.
Bai Yuehu hurried forward to touch him, but the moment he touched Zhu Rong's arm, his heart sank.
Zhu Rong had been completely frozen into an ice sculpture. His eyes were open, but they were completely lifeless. For some reason, Bai Yuehu saw a look of sorrow in his eyes, as if he had discovered some unbearable secret. He wanted to catch Zhu Rong's body, but when he tried to reach out, Zhu Rong's body began to weather into tiny fragments, and in a moment, it dissipated in Bai Yuehu's hands.
Zhulong blew himself up, dragging Zhurong down with him into hell. Baiyuehu looked down and saw lights gradually turning on in the dark residential area. It seemed that some sleeping humans were awakened by the loud noise, and they began to drowsily try to see what was happening outside.
But now everything is over. Bai Yuehu looked at the last fragment in his palm, which turned into dust that he could not hold and dissipated in the long winter night.
Just as Bai Yuehu was about to turn around and leave, a thin layer of black mist rose in front of him. The outline of a man was faintly visible in the black mist. His voice came out from the black mist, and he said in a cold tone, "Bai Yuehu, do you really want Lu Qingjiu to die?"
Bai Yuehu paused, turned her head, and called out the man's name: "Ao Run."
…
Lu Qingjiu felt very cold. This kind of cold was very different from the usual one. It couldn't be alleviated by putting on thick clothes or warming himself by the fire. This kind of cold seemed to penetrate from the cracks in his bones, flowing through his body with his blood. He could only drink hot water continuously to make himself feel a little better.
Yin Xun sat beside him with a sad face, constantly boiling water for him to drink, and even took out the ginger tea left by Zhu Rong and poured it all over Lu Qingjiu. After drinking the ginger tea, Lu Qingjiu felt a little better. He leaned against the bed, his teeth chattering from the cold.
Yin Xun asked worriedly, "When will Bai Yuehu come back? Will we be able to make it in time?"
Lu Qingjiu leaned on the kang with her eyes half closed. Yin Xun hurried forward and touched Lu Qingjiu's skin, only to find that it was icy cold. He was anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He could only walk around the room in circles.
"No, no, I have to go out and take a look." Yin Xun said, "Jiu'er, hold on a little longer."
Lu Qingjiu hummed vaguely, not knowing whether he heard Yin Xun's words or not.
After Yin Xun left, Lu Qingjiu still lay quietly in the room. When he was about to fall asleep, he felt a pair of warm hands touching his forehead. The scorching temperature of the hands almost made him shiver, and then he let out a comfortable sigh.
Lu Qingjiu opened his eyes and saw his grandfather Ao Run.
"Grandpa..." Lu Qingjiu asked, "Why are you here?"
Ao Run held Lu Qingjiu's hand and wrote on his palm: Let Yin Xun take you away.
Lu Qingjiu: “Hmm?”
Ao Run: Let him take you away from Shuifu Village. He wrote softly and went down the mountain road.
Lu Qingjiu said, "But isn't the mountain road closed? We can't get out..."
It doesn't matter. Ao Run wrote, I have melted the snow on the mountain road. You can go down by car. Go ahead, Qingjiu. It seems that he really wants Lu Qingjiu to leave here, and even paved the way for him. However, Lu Qingjiu found that there was something strange about Ao Run. After a closer look, he found that Ao Run was gradually becoming transparent, as if he was about to disappear.
"Grandpa, are you okay?" Lu Qingjiu was shocked and had a bad guess.
It's okay. Ao Run was very calm, and it seemed that there was really nothing wrong. I was just too tired and needed to rest.
Lu Qingjiu asked: "Why..."
Ao Run reached out and touched Lu Qingjiu's head: Leave here, Qingjiu, this is the best choice for you.
Before Lu Qingjiu could say anything, Yin Xun's voice rang out from outside the room. As Yin Xun pushed the door open and walked in, Ao Run also disappeared in front of Lu Qingjiu. Yin Xun asked, "Jiu'er? Who are you talking to?"
Lu Qingjiu shook his head and did not answer, but asked Yin Xun what the situation was like outside.
"The snow on the mountain road has melted." Yin Xun said, "I don't know when the White Moon Fox will come back, let's go to the town first." Shuifu Village is at a higher altitude and the temperature is much lower than in the town. Now that the snow on the mountain road has melted, it is unknown how long Lu Qingjiu can maintain this condition. Yin Xun just wants to do what he can.
Lu Qingjiu did not answer.
Yin Xun said, "Jiu'er, why aren't you talking?" He grabbed Lu Qingjiu's wrist and felt that his skin was icy cold, lacking even the most basic human warmth. His anxiety grew even worse. "Or if you don't want to leave, I'll call Bai Yuehu and ask him when he'll be back."
Lu Qingjiu pondered over the melancholy in Ao Run's expression and the divination the old tree had given him: "When the mountains reach the bottom, the water will eventually run dry; when the willows are dark, it's hard to keep the flowers blooming tomorrow. If you don't enter the water, you can't avoid it, and the mountains and rivers can't be restored." To this day, he still hadn't fully understood what this divination meant, nor what secrets it contained.
"No, I won't leave." Lu Qingjiu finally rejected Yin Xun.
Yin Xun was extremely anxious after hearing this. He was really afraid that Lu Qingjiu would slowly turn into a stiff ice sculpture in front of him. In fear, he kept pacing around the house anxiously. Just after Yin Xun had walked around several times, his phone suddenly rang. When he opened it, it was Bai Yuehu's number.
"Hello, how's the situation with sake?" Bai Yuehu's voice came from the other end of the phone.
Yin Xun was delighted, thinking that Bai Yuehu was about to come back, and hurriedly said, "Come back soon, Qingjiu is not in good condition."
Bai Yuehu said, "Take the sake and go to town right away. I'll come back as soon as I finish dealing with things here."
Yin Xun didn't expect Bai Yuehu to say that. While he was delighted, he also felt a little worried. He asked, "When will you be back? And who cleared the snow on the mountain road?"
Bai Yuehu said: "Don't worry, it was done by Grandpa Lu Qingjiu, go ahead and be careful."
He hung up the phone after he finished speaking. Yin Xun was stunned for a moment, and quickly told Lu Qingjiu what Bai Yuehu said on the phone.
Lu Qingjiu was puzzled by what he heard. Why did Bai Yuehu know that Ao Run had helped him clear the snow on the mountain path? Were they together at that moment? Bai Yuehu's words clearly implied that the matter had not been resolved. He didn't know what had happened...
Yin Xun didn’t think as much as Lu Qingjiu, and hurriedly urged Lu Qingjiu to leave.
Lu Qingjiu finally agreed, and Yin Xun helped him up. After Yin Xun stuffed his body with hot packs, he took him outside and got him into the pickup truck.
Yin Xun sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove the pickup truck to the town quickly.
The pickup truck honked twice, indicating that it understood what Yin Xun said.
Just as the pickup truck was about to depart, a familiar figure suddenly appeared on the road. Lu Qingjiu took a closer look and realized it was the monk Xuanyu, whom he had met several times. Xuanyu, holding an oil-paper umbrella, stood quietly in the snow. After bowing to Lu Qingjiu, he called out "Donor Lu."
"Why are you blocking the way?" Yin Xun shouted unhappily, "Get out of the way, we're leaving."
Xuan Yu didn't move, nor was he annoyed, he just smiled faintly.
Lu Qingjiu reached out and pulled Yin Xun, signaling him to calm down, and then said, "Little Master, what's the matter with you coming to see me now?"
Xuan Yu said, "I have something I want to talk to Benefactor Lu about."
Yin Xun suddenly became furious when he heard this. He said, "Xuan Yu, what do you want to do? We are about to leave, don't block the way——"
Xuan Yu looked at Yin Xun quietly: "Donor Lu is the destined one, and the power of choice should be in his hands."
"You're fucking bullshit!" Yin Xun cursed rudely, "He's going to die soon. Do you want to watch him die in Shuifu Village? Get out of here now!"
Lu Qingjiu was shocked by Yin Xun's state. He had never seen such an irritable Yin Xun. It was as if he had eaten gunpowder and was ready to explode at any moment. If Lu Qingjiu hadn't stopped him, he would have stepped on the accelerator and rushed towards Xuan Yu.
Xuan Yu didn't seem to be afraid of being hit at all. He still stood quietly in the middle of the road, blocking the two people's way.
"What happened? Tell me." Lu Qingjiu rubbed his frozen hands and said, "What happened?"
Yin Xun said anxiously, "Jiu'er, don't listen to his nonsense. If you stay here any longer, you will really die."
Lu Qingjiu shook his head and gently patted the back of Yin Xun's hand, indicating that he was fine.
Xuanyu walked slowly to Lu Qingjiu's side, and the two looked at each other through the car window. Xuanyu's expression was still calm, and his eyes were filled with deep compassion, like a Buddha who saved everything. He said, "Donor Lu, if you leave here, Ao Yue will die."
Hearing the name Ao Yue, Lu Qingjiu was stunned for a moment, then realized that Ao Yue was Bai Yuehu's real name. Ah, it turned out that his fake vixen was called Ao Yue. What a cute name like a little girl. Thinking of Bai Yuehu, a smile appeared on Lu Qingjiu's face, and the shock brought by Xuan Yu's words also faded.
"His name is Ao Yue." Lu Qingjiu smiled, "I just found out."
Xuan Yu nodded and continued, "As a guardian, you cannot leave Shuifu Village, especially at such a critical moment. If you leave, not only your lover will die, but also your friends and all living things in the world..."
Yin Xun, who was sitting next to him, couldn't stand it any longer. He opened the car door and rushed towards Xuan Yu, knocking him to the ground. He pinched Xuan Yu's neck viciously and roared, "Shut up, you dead monk, what nonsense are you talking about here? Shut up!!!"
Lu Qingjiu was shocked by Yin Xun's actions and quickly got out of the car to pull Yin Xun away. After Yin Xun was pulled away, Xuan Yu had no intention of getting up. He just lay quietly in the snow, letting the snowflakes fall on his face and body.
Lu Qingjiu barely stopped and looked at Xuanyu: "Little Master, if you have anything to say, just go ahead. I'm listening."
Xuan Yu raised his eyes and looked at Lu Qingjiu. He said, "Master Lu, perhaps you will be happier if you don't know. Do you really want me to continue?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "Young Master, you are joking. Didn't you come here to tell me the truth? You are right. At least the power of choice is in my hands." No matter whether the final result is good or bad.
Xuan Yu said, "Okay."
Yin Xun, who was standing aside, suddenly burst into tears. He grabbed Lu Qingjiu's hand and begged him not to listen to Xuan Yu's nonsense anymore, begging him to leave with him. He also said that Bai Yuehu would be back soon, and as long as Bai Yuehu came back, everything would be fine...
Lu Qingjiu could only comfort Yin Xun like he was comforting a child. He thought of the place that belonged to Yin Xun, the dead grass and tombstones, and the lies Yin Xun had told. If he left him in Shuifu Village, he and Bai Yuehu might live the same miserable life as before. But even so, Yin Xun wanted him to leave, leave here.
"Go ahead." Lu Qingjiu said.
"Zhu Rong, the god who controlled summer, is dead." Xuan Yu lay in the snow and spoke slowly, "Without the support of the four gods' power, the two worlds will soon merge."
Lu Qingjiu froze in place upon hearing this. When Bai Yuehu left in a hurry just now, he had a premonition that something bad must have happened, but he did not expect that Zhu Rong was actually dead.
"And you are the only one who can stop this." Xuan Yu said, "Bai Yuehu can't do it, Zhu Rong can't do it either, only you can do it."
Lu Qingjiu said: “But I don’t know what to do.”
Xuan Yu smiled gently and said, "You will know. Someone has already given you the answer."
Yin Xun couldn't bear to listen any longer, and rushed towards Xuan Yu again with a roar. This time, Lu Qingjiu didn't stop him. All his attention was focused on what Xuan Yu said.
According to Xuan Yu, he was the only one who could stop this, but how could he? He was just an ordinary person with a quarter dragon bloodline. What could he do to prevent the tragedy he most hated to see?
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