This was the most enduring winter Lu Qingjiu had endured in recent years. Although the weather seemed just as cold, the Xuanyu had taken away the coldest part of his body, freeing him from fear of winter. He could wear a thick down jacket and run and play in the snow with Yin Xun's White Moon Fox without feeling the cold.
Unlike the city's snow, which would quickly turn gray under the weight of cars, the snow here was pure white like new cotton, lying loosely on the ground like a thick blanket. Lu Qingjiu bent down, grabbed a ball, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at Bai Yuehu. The ball of snow struck Bai Yuehu's cheek, breaking into small particles and falling back into the snow. Bai Yuehu turned to look at Lu Qingjiu, who let out a loud laugh and turned to run, only to be grabbed by the waist and lifted up by someone who had followed behind.
In Bai Yuehu's hands, a grown man weighing over 100 kilograms was easily lifted by the waist like a toy. Lu Qingjiu began to beg for mercy with a smile, but Bai Yuehu ignored him and strode directly into the house, carrying Lu Qingjiu and throwing him onto the bed. He rolled up his sleeves and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Don't beg for mercy. It's useless."
Lu Qingjiu blinked: "What are you going to do?"
Bai Yuehu: "You."
Lu Qingjiu started laughing again: "No, no, this joke is too old, change it."
Bai Yuehu: "No." As he spoke, he leaned over and placed a kiss on Lu Qingjiu's lips. The two of them hugged each other passionately, and the room was filled with a harmonious and warm atmosphere.
Although Lu Qingjiu was no longer afraid of the cold, he still looked forward to the arrival of spring. Compared to the cold winter, he preferred the vibrant spring. At that time, all things came back to life, and the earth was no longer a thin white, but was covered with a colorful carpet of flowers. Everything was so full of vitality.
However, time passed quickly, and after the New Year, by February, the snow still showed no sign of melting.
Lu Qingjiu looked at the falling snow outside the window with some worry. Bai Yuehu comforted him and said that this was normal because the God of Winter was the only Four Seasons God still alive at this time, so his ability had reached its strongest state, and spring would come a little later than in previous years.
"At least he will come, right?" Lu Qingjiu asked.
"I will definitely come." Bai Yuehu gave an affirmative answer.
The incessant snow finally stopped in mid-March, but the temperature remained subzero. Lu Qingjiu would occasionally secretly ask Bai Yuehu to take him to the city to buy supplies. Using the city's signal, he checked the news on his phone and saw widespread coverage of this year's abnormal weather. Social media users expressed concern about the unusual conditions, some even exploiting the situation to create confusion, claiming the end of the world was imminent, and people were hoarding supplies everywhere. After Lu Qingjiu finally managed to grab the few things he needed, he and Bai Yuehu carried their bags and left the house, sighing, thinking to themselves that he had never imagined the abnormal seasons would bring such a catastrophe to the human world.
If the two worlds truly merged completely as Winter God envisioned, and a large number of non-human creatures merged into the human world, the human world would likely face a near-extinction disaster. Humans at this point would have completely forgotten about spiritual cultivation and lacked any control over their spiritual energy. To the predatory non-humans, they would be mere pieces of fat, tender food.
Lu Qingjiu was worried, but she was afraid of affecting Bai Yuehu, so she pretended nothing happened.
Bai Yuehu started going out frequently since March. Although she didn't show it in front of Lu Qingjiu, Lu Qingjiu still noticed something strange.
"Is something going to happen?" Lu Qingjiu asked Bai Yuehu. He said, "We agreed not to hide anything from me."
Bai Yuehu hummed. He was holding Lu Qingjiu in his arms. Hearing this, he slowly rubbed Lu Qingjiu's head with his chin and said, "The barrier is about to break."
Lu Qingjiu was shocked when he heard this.
Bai Yuehu said, "Qingjiu, if the barrier is broken and your grandfather comes looking for you, you should leave with him."
Lu Qingjiu was about to retort, but Bai Yuehu stopped him and said, "If the barrier is broken, I will die with it. But it doesn't matter. Yin Xun is still here. By then, he can leave Shuifu Village... You can go with him."
Lu Qingjiu said: "But Xuanyu said that I am the only one who can stop this."
Bai Yuehu laughed: "He must have lied to you. Even if you have her bloodline, it must be very weak... Even if the barrier is broken, it probably has nothing to do with you."
Lu Qingjiu asked doubtfully, “Whose bloodline is it?”
Bai Yuehu didn't explain, but just kissed Lu Qingjiu again and said, "Let's do it."
Just as Lu Qingjiu was about to refuse, he was pounced on by Bai Yuehu. During this time, Bai Yuehu did not hide his desire at all and enjoyed every minute to the fullest. Lu Qingjiu was reluctant to refuse him.
It should have been March, the month of spring, but there was no sign of spring. The whole earth was still filled with cold air. Although it did not snow, the snow that had fallen before showed no sign of melting.
When Lu Qingjiu woke up, he found that there was no one beside him. He touched the bed board in a daze, but did not feel the figure of the White Moon Fox as usual. He stood up and looked out the window, and found that it was still pitch black outside. There was no sun or moon, only the ground covered with snow, which was white.
Lu Qingjiu had a bad feeling in his heart, and he touched his phone to check what time it was. Lu Qingjiu looked at the sky, and it looked like early morning, but who would have thought, he found that it was already past nine in the morning, but it was still pitch black outside, and the sun had completely disappeared.
"Yuehu, Yuehu?" Lu Qingjiu called Bai Yuehu's name tentatively, but as expected, received no response. "Yinxun, Yinxun, are you there?"
Usually at this time, Yin Xun would have come to have breakfast, but the weather was unusual today, so I didn't know if he had come.
Lu Qingjiu walked around the room and didn't see the two of them, but fortunately, the sound of footsteps on the snow was soon heard at the door. Lu Qingjiu walked to the window and saw Yin Xun with a terrified face.
"What's going on? Why isn't it daybreak yet?" Yin Xun said, "I thought I was blind..."
Lu Qingjiu shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either, but Bai Yuehu left without saying goodbye, which must be because of some major accident.
"Please sit down first. I'll get you a glass of water." Lu Qingjiu decided to calm down and discuss with Yin Xun what to do.
Yin Xun nodded in agreement.
Lu Qingjiu walked into the kitchen and was pouring water for Yin Xun when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble violently. He was holding the water in his hand and almost fell to the ground with the cup.
"Earthquake!" Yin Xun shouted in the living room, "Lu Qingjiu, come out quickly!"
Lu Qingjiu didn't even have time to get some water before he ran out. He and Yin Xun left the old house, which was not very sturdy to begin with, and stood in the yard where there were few obstacles.
The old house was made of stone, and part of it collapsed without any resistance under such violent shaking. Fortunately, the master bedroom and living room where Lu Qingjiu slept were still standing.
Yin Xun and Lu Qingjiu looked at each other, and saw fear in each other's eyes.
"Something happened." Lu Qingjiu said, "I don't feel well."
Yin Xun's face was also pale. He seemed to want to say something, but he glanced at Lu Qingjiu and swallowed his words back with trembling lips. Lu Qingjiu noticed Yin Xun's strangeness and quickly asked him if he had seen anything.
Yin Xun swallowed and whispered, "It seems that the situation over at Baiyue Fox is not good."
"What?" Lu Qingjiu suddenly became nervous. "What's wrong?"
Yin Xun said: "...He was surrounded by many candle dragons, but he couldn't move, as if he was protecting something."
Lu Qingjiu asked, "Can we help over there?"
Yin Xun shook his head and said that he was afraid he couldn't help much. Although he and Lu Qingjiu were both non-human, their abilities were actually not much different from those of humans, and they really couldn't do anything in the past.
Lu Qingjiu immediately remembered what Bai Yuehu had told him before, and his heart suddenly became anxious. He gritted his teeth and said, "No, I still want to go."
Yin Xun also wanted to persuade Lu Qing to drink.
Lu Qingjiu shook his head and said that he knew he might not be able to help in any way in the past, but at least he hoped to be with Bai Yuehu when he died so that he would not leave the world alone. He was reluctant to do so.
Yin Xun sighed, feeling a little melancholy, and said that he knew that falling in love was not a good thing.
Lu Qingjiu then asked Yin Xun where the White Moon Fox was.
Yin Xun said: "Let me take you there, it will be safer for two of us."
"No, you stay here." Lu Qingjiu said, "When the two worlds merge, you can leave Shuifu Village. Then forget about me and Baiyuehu and go see other parts of the world."
He spoke sincerely, because that was what he was thinking in his heart, but Yin Xun burst into tears after hearing what he said. Although he had grown up, he was still like a child most of the time. When he was scared or wronged, he couldn't help but shed tears.
"I don't want this." Yin Xun cried, "I don't want to be alone in a world without you. Although Bai Yuehu has always regarded me as a reserve of food, I know that if he is gone, you will be sad..."
Lu Qingjiu could only comfort him.
But in the face of such a situation, any words were pale. Yin Xun raised his hand to wipe away his tears, letting them turn into icicles on his face. He said, "You can't get through this alone. I have to take you with me. Let's go, sake, I've thought it through."
Lu Qingjiu wanted to say something, but Yin Xun raised his hand decisively, indicating that there was no need to say anything more.
The two planned to set off, but because it was too dark, Lu Qingjiu decided to take a few flashlights and some self-defense items with him. He returned to the partially collapsed house and found a flashlight on the bedside table in his bedroom. However, while searching for the flashlight, he saw the wooden box that his grandmother had left for him. After obtaining the wooden box, Lu Qingjiu only opened it once, on his birthday, and the rest of the time, the wooden box remained unopenable.
When Lu Qingjiu picked up the wooden box, he flipped through the notes placed underneath. He turned to the last page and saw a sentence that he had never understood before: "Qingjiu, Grandma loves you. If you encounter bad things, please take a closer look at the things in the box."
When Lu Qingjiu heard this, his whole body trembled slightly. He thought about what was happening in Shuifu Village at this moment. He was afraid that the situation would not be worse than the current one. So, was there something else in this wooden box? Lu Qingjiu couldn't figure it out for a while, so he simply put the wooden box in his backpack and walked out of the bedroom with it on his back.
Yin Xun was waiting outside anxiously, pacing back and forth like an ant trapped in place.
"Let's go." Lu Qingjiu walked to his side.
"Yeah." Yin Xun asked, "What are you carrying in your bag? It looks so heavy."
Lu Qingjiu said, "Nothing, just some self-defense items. Do you want to take anything?" He handed Yin Xun the folding knife he had in his pocket.
Yin Xun hesitated for a moment, but still took it. He didn't know what he would encounter along the way, so it would be good to have some self-defense weapons.
Lu Qingjiu picked up the shovel that was used to shovel soil in the yard, and the two of them set off.
It was nearly ten in the morning, but the sky was still dark. The darkness, like a curtain, enveloped the entire world. There was nothing in the sky, not even a trace of cloud. There was no sound around, and the whistling wind only made the world even quieter.
Yin Xun talked about the otherworld. He said that although there were no spring, autumn, winter, or summer in the otherworld, the climate was different in each place. For example, it was winter in Shuifu Village, but summer in the city. In the human world, the four seasons were divided by time, but in the otherworld, they were divided by region. Of course, in this case, they couldn't be called four seasons.
The two walked slowly along the path. It was too dark, the path too narrow, and there was snow on it, making it particularly difficult to walk. Just as Lu Qingjiu was about to leave Shuifu Village, a flame ignited behind him. Lu Qingjiu was startled, and his first reaction was that he had forgotten to turn off the charcoal stove and set the house on fire. However, after careful observation, he found that the source of the flame was a torch, and the person holding the torch was his grandfather Ao Run. It was only at this time that Ao Run's red hair told Lu Qingjiu that he was Ao Run's other half of the soul.
"Long time no see." Ao Run walked slowly to Lu Qingjiu and greeted him with a smile.
"Long time no see." Lu Qingjiu responded cautiously, "What's the matter?"
Ao Run asked, "Where are you going?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Where I go is none of your business, right?" He remembered that the Winter God's ice butterfly was injected into his body by the red-haired Ao Run in front of him.
Ao Chun raised his eyebrows, seeming a little dissatisfied with Lu Qingjiu's attitude: "Why, you call him grandpa, but you call me you? Even if my hair color is different, I am still your grandpa."
This statement couldn't be refuted. After all, the bad part of Grandpa was indeed Grandpa. But Lu Qingjiu was still very vigilant because he remembered what Bai Yuehu had said. Bai Yuehu said that if anything happened, he should leave with Ao Run. Now Ao Run suddenly appeared here, maybe just to take him away.
Ao Run seemed to see through Lu Qingjiu's thoughts and laughed loudly, but there was little sincerity in his laughter, and instead it was full of sarcasm.
"Well, I know what you're thinking," Ao Run said. "If it were him, he might take you away, but I don't want to do such a thankless task."
Lu Qingjiu looked at him and asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
Ao Run said, "Being able to die together is also a kind of happiness. Go ahead." He handed the torch to Lu Qingjiu and motioned him to take it. "You can use it."
Lu Qingjiu looked at Ao Run. In the flickering firelight, Ao Run's face was unclear, but his expression was calm and peaceful, which reminded Lu Qingjiu of his black-haired grandfather.
"Thank you." Lu Qingjiu didn't sense any ill will from him, so he reached out and took the torch.
"Let's go." Ao Run said, "If you go any later, you won't be able to see him."
Lu Qingjiu nodded, accepting Ao Run's kindness. He took the torch and turned to leave, his steps a bit hurried. Yin Xun also glanced at Ao Run and followed Lu Qingjiu out.
"I know what you're thinking." Looking at Lu Qingjiu's receding figure, Ao Run seemed to be talking to himself, but also seemed to be talking to someone else. "But this is his own path, he has to walk it by himself. If you do it for his own good, he will hate you instead, just like before..."
After he finished speaking, he laughed at himself again: "Okay, I know you are angry, but it's too late to be angry. Just stay angry like this. Anyway, everything will be over soon."
Lu Qingjiu held the torch and continued forward. This torch must have been something extraordinary. Even in the biting wind, the flames didn't diminish, only flickering slightly. The flames illuminated the path beneath his feet and brought warmth, like a small sun. Lu Qingjiu encountered nothing along the way, but he didn't relax. Yin Xun, following behind him, remained nervous, constantly glancing into the surrounding mountains and forests.
"What's wrong?" Lu Qingjiu asked in a low voice. He felt that Yin Xun's condition was not right.
Yin Xun said: "...something is following us."
Lu Qingjiu asked, “What is it?”
Yin Xun said, "It's a scary thing." Then he looked to the right again.
Lu Qingjiu took a deep breath, calmed Yin Xun down, and asked him how long it would take to reach the White Moon Fox. Yin Xun said it would take at least half an hour. They had to enter the alien world from the path of Shuifu Village, and then go around to the top of the mountain to see the White Moon Fox.
Lu Qingjiu hummed and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
It was no longer snowing, but the mountain path was still covered with snow up to the calves, and every step made a pit, making walking extremely difficult.
Lu Qingjiu wanted to walk faster, but it was not easy to speed up in this situation. Moreover, the thing following behind them seemed to be getting closer and closer...
The heavy breathing, accompanied by the crunching sounds of footsteps in the snow, initially made Lu Qingjiu think it was him and Yin Xun who were making the noise, but he soon realized that they weren't making such a loud noise, and that there was also the creaking of trees being crushed. Lu Qingjiu turned his head and saw Yin Xun's pale face. Yin Xun noticed Lu Qingjiu's gaze and said, "It's okay, he hasn't caught up yet."
Lu Qingjiu said, "You shouldn't have come with me." He came for Bai Yuehu and was ready to sacrifice everything, but if Yin Xun was also involved...
Yin Xun smiled, a smile that didn't seem forced, but rather one of relief. He said, "I've wanted to leave here for a long time."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Yin Xundao said, "There's no one alive here. I feel like I'm in a cold grave." He whispered, "I can only survive by relying on my memories..."
Lu Qingjiu recalled the crows and the desolate graves he saw in Yin Xun's soul, and felt as if something was blocking his chest.
"I'm lucky to have met you." Yin Xun said, "No matter what the future holds, Lu Qingjiu... I've been very happy these days."
As soon as he finished speaking, a black shadow appeared from the dark forest and pounced behind them. The shadow was facing the light, so its appearance was not very clear, but one could vaguely see that its outline was very tall, nearly three meters tall. It opened its bloody mouth and growled at them softly. Its snow-white teeth faintly reflected a creepy light, and the strong smell of blood in its mouth told Lu Qingjiu that it was not an animal to be messed with.
"You go ahead, Sake." Yin Xun pulled out a folding knife from his pocket, "I'll do it."
Lu Qingjiu said: "How is it possible—" Yin Xun was so weak, how could he leave Yin Xun alone.
"Please go." Yin Xun burst into tears. "White Moon Fox doesn't have much time left. You can't help here. Just go forward and you'll enter the other world, and then go up the mountain... Please go, I beg you."
Lu Qingjiu was speechless.
Yin Xun said, "Lu Qingjiu, if you still consider me a friend, please let me do something for you one last time, okay?" He wiped away his tears and said, "I know I'm a very weak and useless mountain god, so... please give me a chance."
Lu Qingjiu stared at Yin Xun intently, finally uttering the word "OK." He then stepped forward, torch in hand, only to feel a chill on his face. It wasn't snowing, so why were there icy spots on his face? Had he cried, too? No—he shouldn't have cried. At least in the end, he should have left Yin Xun with a smile.
The roaring sound behind him sounded again, but the monster did not catch up. Lu Qingjiu did not think about how Yin Xun had stopped the monster. He could only run with all his strength, wanting to run faster and faster, so that at least all this would not be a meaningless sacrifice.
Panting heavily, Lu Qingjiu's eyes were blurred. He didn't dare to stop for a moment until he was exhausted and fell to the ground. Only then did he realize that he had left Shuifu Village and arrived in another world.
There was no snow in this other world, and the ground beneath his feet was smooth bluestone. This was the world that Bai Yuehu had once brought Lu Qingjiu to. He slowly got up from the ground and continued to stumble forward. Yin Xun had said that Bai Yuehu was at the top of the mountain, and as long as he could climb up, he would be able to see Bai Yuehu.
The originally rugged mountain road had now turned into an insurmountable ravine. Lu Qingjiu gritted his teeth and climbed up, repeating Bai Yuehu's name in his heart, and held on with all his might as he continued to climb.
"White Moon Fox, White Moon Fox, White Moon Fox..." When they reached the top of the mountain, Lu Qingjiu collapsed to the ground. The torch Ao Run had given him also went out at this time. He climbed up from the ground with his hands and feet, wanting to walk to the edge of the mountain to see the White Moon Fox he had been thinking about. Lu Qingjiu muttered his name in a low voice and wiped his face heavily with his hand. "I'm coming. You must... wait for me."
The author has something to say: It's the end~~~ The fusion of the other two worlds will not kill humans directly, but will cause a huge collision with the non-humans that have merged, and there will definitely be a large number of casualties. Don't misunderstand me. 厚_(:з」∠)_
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