When the beast pounced on him, Yin Xun thought he was going to die. The folding knife in his hand couldn't even break the beast's body, but he still summoned up his last bit of courage and held the beast's front paws tightly, preventing it from getting around him and chasing Lu Qingjiu.
The beast showed no mercy to the insect that had blocked its path, and it opened its mouth to bite Yin Xun. Yin Xun closed his eyes in terror, then felt his head separate from his body. His only consolation was that he felt no noticeable pain, and even with his head bitten off, he could still use the mountain god's power to see his surroundings.
I'm probably going to die, Yin Xun thought silently as he lay on the ground, being bitten for the second time. Most people facing death would usually be filled with fear and anger, but strangely, he felt remarkably calm at this moment, so calm that he could even think about whether Lu Qingjiu had reached the top of the mountain to see the White Moon Fox and fulfilled his final wish.
The beast lowered its head and took another bite. Yin Xun trembled all over and felt as if only two legs were left in his body. Although he could be reborn, he had never experienced the feeling of being completely eaten. He didn't know if he could recover his body like before after being completely eaten.
But at that moment, the beast before him bared its white teeth at Yin Xun, its bite suddenly halting. Yin Xun felt strangely worried, wondering if the beast had grown tired of him and was looking for something new to try. Then he saw the beast slowly take a step back, leaving his body.
Then, some subtle expressions appeared on the beast's face.
At first, Yin Xun thought he was seeing things. After all, it was just a wild beast. How could its expression change? But he soon realized he was right. The beast's appearance became distorted. It growled softly and scratched the ground with its front paws, appearing to be feeling uncomfortable.
The next moment, the beast turned around and pounced into the jungle beside the road, leaving Yin Xun behind.
Yin Xun was delighted at the sight, but then felt a little strange, wondering if the beast had shown mercy and suddenly felt pity for him. But then he heard a subtle noise coming from the woods. He was very familiar with it; he could hear it every time he ate the food he cooked or fought with Lu Qingjiu for the toilet.
Yin Xun: “…” He didn’t expect that the effect of his medicine was so strong that even such a huge beast couldn’t withstand it.
It is said that survival of the fittest occurs in nature. Yin Xun never imagined in his life that his weak body could actually resist harm from other species in this way.
The beast had diarrhea in the woods for a while. Yin Xun wanted to run, but unfortunately, he only had two legs left. It was very difficult to stand up. After struggling to get up, he saw that the beast had solved the problem and slowly walked in front of Yin Xun.
A tear fell from the corner of Yin Xun's eyes, which no longer existed. He thought that he would be eaten soon. But who would have known that on its hideous and terrifying face, it showed a look of disgust towards Yin Xun's broken body, and then turned around without hesitation and left without looking back.
"Wait, wait—" Yin Xun shouted with his spirit, "Brother, are you just leaving like this?? Without finishing your meal?"
The beast turned around and actually said, "I don't want to eat it."
Yin Xun: "You really don't want to eat?"
The beast said, "Oh, if you want to eat, go eat it yourself. Don't try to trick me into eating again." It had just arrived in the human world. People in other worlds said that humans were tender and soft, and were the most delicious food. When it saw humans, it naturally wanted to try them. However, after just two bites, it almost vomited to death. In the end, it even thought its intestines were about to come out. This hateful human wanted to trick it into continuing to eat. If it continued to eat, it would die here on the spot. It can be seen that humans are not good things, nor are they good food! Just when it thought of this, its stomach rumbled again, and it was forced to hide in the grass next to it again.
Yin Xun, lying on the ground, realized at this moment that he was being ruthlessly abandoned by the ferocious beast in front of him, leaving behind only his broken body.
"Wow, wow, wow." Yin Xun cried aggrievedly, "Everyone dislikes me so much."
The beasts vanished, leaving Yin Xun alone in the forest. His thoughts raced, and as he did so, he noticed something strange in the sky. The previously dark sky was cracked with golden fissures, and from beyond them blazed dazzling red lights. At first glance, they looked like flames, but upon closer inspection, they were actually fiery candle dragons. Yin Xun's heart raced with anxiety, oblivious to his own miserable state. After a long struggle, he finally managed to pull himself up and stumbled forward, hoping to reach the top of the mountain to see what had happened. Anyone on the mountain would have been horrified to see Yin Xun's appearance. Without his body, Yin Xun was left with only his two legs, running forward in an uncoordinated manner, stumbling and falling, and taking a long time to get back up. The sight was particularly terrifying in the darkness.
Yin Xun struggled for a long time, but only made it halfway up the mountain when the sky shifted again. He heard the dragon's mournful roar and saw a streak of white light rising into the dark night sky. The light was like the sun's brightness, but not as glaring. Instead, it was incredibly gentle, carrying an all-embracing aura.
Yin Xun looked at the ball of light blankly, not understanding what was happening.
The light gradually rose, reached the dome, and then spread out. Wherever the white light went, the golden light began to dissipate, and the sky returned to its previous appearance.
Yin Xun suddenly had a bad feeling. His premonitions were always unexplained but remarkably accurate. He struggled to get up from the ground again and headed towards the top of the mountain. When the white light dissipated, the black night sky appeared above Yin Xun again. It was filled with stars and a bright moon, just like any other night. All around him was silence. No human voices, no insects, not even a breeze.
Yin Xun could only hear his own footsteps. He began to panic and kept calling Lu Qingjiu's name with his mental power.
Naturally, no one would respond to him.
After an unknown amount of time, Yin Xun finally reached the top of the mountain. However, the view there terrified him. The fog that had previously enveloped the mountain had dissipated, and from the summit, he could take in the surrounding scenery in the moonlight. He saw the abyss, and within it, the mountain peak, which had been shattered in half.
However, what frightened him the most was that there was no trace of Lu Qingjiu on the top of the mountain. The top of the mountain was not big, and no one could hide there. There was only one way up and down the mountain. If Lu Qingjiu came back halfway, he would definitely meet him. But from beginning to end, he did not see Lu Qingjiu. His good friend... was gone.
Yin Xun stood there in a daze, suddenly feeling a chill on his cheek. He reached out and touched it, only to find it was raining. A gentle drizzle fell, and then the long-lost morning light appeared on the horizon. This was the first spring rain of the year, but Lu Qingjiu didn't wait for it.
Amidst the rustling sound of rain, the sound of gravel rustling could be heard on the edge of the cliff. Yin Xun was delighted when he caught the sound and quickly ran towards the edge, calling out Lu Qingjiu's name cheerfully. However, when he reached the edge, he saw not Lu Qingjiu, but the extremely embarrassed Bai Yuehu.
Bai Yuehu's body was covered in wounds, and even his eyes were covered in blood. He grasped the stone wall with his hands and climbed to the top of the mountain bit by bit. When he just climbed to the top of the mountain, when he saw two bare thighs on the top of the mountain, his expression froze for a few seconds.
Yin Xun was a little embarrassed, but it was not his fault. After all, even his butt was eaten, leaving only the part slightly above the knees. He couldn't be asked to wear pants. How could he wear pants without a butt?
Bai Yuehu was silent for a long time, then said in a hoarse voice, "Yin Xun?"
Yin Xun bent his knees to indicate that Bai Yuehu had guessed correctly.
White Moon Fox: "Just speak with your mental power, I can hear you."
Yin Xun quickly spoke up and said, "Bai Yuehu, how are you? Have you seen Lu Qingjiu? He ran to the top of the mountain to look for you."
Bai Yuehu closed his eyes, his expression showing deep fatigue. He said, "I know."
Yin Xun: "Where are the others?"
Bai Yuehu said, "He shouldn't have come."
Yin Xun's eyes widened slightly. He had a terrible guess, but he quickly suppressed it, because if something really happened to Lu Qingjiu, Bai Yuehu would not be so calm.
As expected, Bai Yuehu stretched out his hand. His palm was bloody, but in his palm, the drop-shaped crystal emitting a faint glow attracted all of Yin Xun's attention.
"The body is gone." Bai Yuehu said, "but fortunately the soul is still here." He showed a gentle expression and lowered his head to kiss the thing in his palm.
Yin Xun breathed a sigh of relief. He was a non-human, and he knew that losing his body wasn't a big deal, but if his soul dissipated, that would be terrible. Since Lu Qingjiu's mental strength was still there, it meant there was still a chance of resurrection. But what happened to make Lu Qingjiu's body disappear?
Yin Xun didn't ask this question in the end, and Bai Yuehu didn't seem to want to answer. He seemed a little tired and said he wanted to rest for a while, then he lay on the ground and fell asleep. The crystal stone representing Lu Qingjiu's soul was placed on his chest.
Yin Xun also lay down beside Bai Yuehu, a light drizzle falling on him. Although he was sleepy, he couldn't fall asleep, so he quietly felt the atmosphere around him. He was surprised to find that the aura of the other world had dissipated. Shuifu Village was the entrance between the two worlds. He had always been able to sense some aura of the other world, but now the boundary was no longer clear, as if the final passage between the two worlds had been sealed.
Yin Xun was a little surprised. He couldn't help but wonder if this change had anything to do with Lu Qingjiu. But before he could figure it out, he felt sleepy. He stared at the dark sky above his head and fell into a deep sleep.
Bai Yuehu slept on the mountaintop for over a month before he barely regained his strength. However, perhaps because he had not taken in any food, his wounds did not show much signs of improvement. On the day he left the mountaintop, Bai Yuehu, having woken up, lifted up Yin Xun's legs and asked, "How come you only have your legs left?"
Yin Xun explained what happened to him at the foot of the mountain. After listening, Bai Yuehu fell silent, not knowing whether to sympathize with Yin Xun or with the beast that ate Yin Xun.
The two of them followed the mountain road back home. The snow in Shuifu Village had melted, signaling the arrival of spring. The dense grass on either side of the road was filled with vibrant wildflowers. Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun had finally reached their home.
After a month away, the house hadn't become a mess. Xiaohua and Xiaohei had taken on the responsibilities of feeding the poultry and cleaning, and they did a pretty good job. However, when they saw the White Moon Fox returning with two human legs, they were still quite frightened. Their first reaction was to wonder if the White Moon Fox had added humans to its diet.
Bai Yuehu was very tired and was too lazy to explain to Xiaohua and Xiaohei. He dragged a basin out of the bathroom, filled it with water, and put Yin Xun's legs in it. According to Yin Xun's previous recovery speed, it would take at least three months for him to become a complete person.
Bai Yuehu took another nap and then went out, taking Lu Qingjiu's soul with him. Before Yin Xun could ask him where he was going, he had completely disappeared.
Yin Xun was left at home, and Xiaohua and Xiaohei took on the task of adding water for him every day.
"What the hell is this?" Xiaohua couldn't hear Yin Xun's mental power, and Baiyuehu didn't explain it to him, so every day he looked at these two legs with a worried look on his face, "Is this soaking food or something?"
Xiao Hei, as the younger sister, naturally didn't know either. She looked confused as she listened to her brother's questions.
Fortunately, Yin Xun's body grew quite fast. Xiaohua soon discovered that his legs were getting longer and longer. When Yin Xun's butt grew out, he finally became something that needed to be harmonized.
"Xiao Hei, from now on, the job of watering will be left to me." Xiao Hua taught her sister, "You are not married yet, so you can't just look at other men's butts casually."
Xiao Hei was chewing on the corn cob at home, and she had no idea what her brother was talking about. She was just a little pig, and it was too early for her to be interested in anything like men and women.
Xiaohua changed the water for Yin Xun while spitting and asking how Bai Yuehu could bring back such an obscene thing.
Yin Xun: “…” What the hell are you looking at all day long?
Bai Yuehu went out and never came back. Even until Yin Xun's body was fully recovered, there was no sign of him.
After three months of hard work, Yin Xun, whose skin was about to peel off from soaking in water, finally grew his own head. Xiaohua changed a big bathtub for Yin Xun and soaked him in it. When he was tiptoeing to add water for Yin Xun, he saw Yin Xun's head sticking out of the bathtub, which scared him.
"Fuck, Yin Xun, when did you come back?" Xiaohua was shorter than the bathtub and was disgusted with her body, so she was too lazy to look at it except to add water. So although she knew that the thing was getting bigger, she didn't know that it had turned into Yin Xun.
"Haven't I been at home all the time?" Yin Xun reached out and touched his wrinkled skin, which was covered with blisters.
Xiaohua's eyes widened: "You are those two legs?"
Yin Xun nodded.
Xiaohua: "...I'm sorry, my friend. I didn't mean to dislike you."
Yin Xun reached out and touched his head, saying, "It doesn't matter. I didn't hear you dislike my short legs and white butt at all. I really didn't."
Xiaohua: “…”
Under Xiaohua's embarrassed gaze, Yin Xun wrapped himself in a bath towel and went out. He had been lying in the bathtub for three months, so naturally he wanted to know what was happening outside. He didn't know where Bai Yuehu had gone and what was happening to Lu Qingjiu.
Yin Xun grabbed some food at home, and after filling his stomach, he pulled out his phone, looked through the numbers on it, and called Bai Yuehu. To his dismay, Bai Yuehu's phone was turned off, clearly unable to reach him. But even if he couldn't reach Bai Yuehu, he could probably ask someone else. After some thought, Yin Xun dialed a number.
"Hello." Shaohao's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Hello, is this Shaohao?" Yin Xun asked, "Do you know what's going on with the White Moon Fox?"
Shaohao asked, "You want to know?"
Yin Xun nodded.
Shaohao said, "Sure, I'll come pick you up and we can talk in person."
Yin Xun agreed.
Although Shaohao once wanted to eat him, after this incident, Yin Xun said that he was no longer afraid. Let him eat if he wanted to. He would be a good man again in three months. Besides, no one knew how long he would have diarrhea after eating so much.
Shaohao was very efficient. He drove over to pick up Yin Xun in the afternoon. When they arrived at the restaurant, he ordered a big meal for Yin Xun and watched him wolf it down with a smile: "Are you hungry?"
Yin Xun said, "Well... a little." Without wine, Xiaohua and Xiaohei couldn't go to the stove and could only cook the simplest food. He had been eating corn cobs these days.
While eating, Yin Xun asked vaguely, "What happened to Bai Yuehu? Why hasn't he come home?"
Shaohao said, "Don't you know that something happened to Lu Qingjiu?"
Yin Xun: “I know.”
Shaohao asked curiously, "Isn't it normal for the White Moon Fox to behave abnormally? Don't be too sad. Humans will be reincarnated. The White Moon Fox is probably going to look for Lu Qingjiu's reincarnation."
Yin Xun was stunned, then realized that Shaohao didn't seem to know that Lu Qingjiu's soul was still there, and Bai Yuehu didn't seem to tell anyone else about this except him. He hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say it out loud. Instead, he nodded slightly to indicate that he knew.
Shaohao continued to discuss other matters, such as the fact that Shuifu Village no longer needed to be worried about, as the entrance to the two worlds was completely sealed. This was the last chance for the two worlds to merge, and the Zhulongs had clearly not seized it. While there were still some cracks that allowed non-humans from other worlds to enter, they were no longer powerful monsters.
"Doesn't that mean the White Moon Fox can't go back?" Yin Xun suddenly thought of this.
"It's different." Shaohao took a sip of wine and said lazily, "Although there are many Candle Dragons, the number of Ying Dragons is very small. Most people even think that their race is extinct."
Indeed, before meeting Ao Run and Bai Yuehu, Yin Xun's inherited memories said that the Yinglong clan was almost extinct.
Yin Xun exchanged a lot of information with Shaohao, and was finally sent back home by Shaohao.
"You can leave Shuifu Village now. Do you want to go somewhere?" Shaohao asked Yin Xun.
Yin Xun said he still needed to think about it.
Shaohao nodded, turned and left without asking any more questions.
After Yin Xun returned home, he pulled out the only bank card he had ever opened. This was opened by Lu Qingjiu for him. He hardly used it on weekdays. Lu Qingjiu seemed to deposit money into it every month, although he didn't know how much...
Yin Xun took the card to the town, clumsily inserted it into the ATM machine, and then entered the password. When he saw the six-digit number on the display, his eyes suddenly became wet, and all the emotions that had been suppressed in his heart burst out instantly. He leaned his head against the screen, sobbing softly, and whispered Lu Qingjiu's name vaguely, asking when he would be back.
Naturally, no one would answer his question. He wished so much that someone could reach out and gently pat his shoulder. Then, when he turned around, he would see Lu Qingjiu standing behind him.
Yin Xun cried for a long time before wiping away her tears and taking out the card.
After he returned home, he began to pack his luggage. Xiaohua and Xiaohei asked him where he was going. He said he planned to travel around and see scenery that he had never seen elsewhere.
"When will you come back?" Xiaohua asked worriedly.
"If Bai Yuehu comes back, please contact me and I'll rush back." Yin Xun touched his head and said, "I don't want to stay here anymore." He thought of Lu Qingjiu every day, and sometimes Bai Yuehu as well. Although he knew that Bai Yuehu had always treated him as a reserve food, those were indeed the best days of Yin Xun's life. He couldn't forget them, and he didn't want to forget them.
But as long as he stayed here, he kept thinking about this incident. Every blade of grass, every brick and stone in the yard were telling of the beauty of that time, and the desolation and sadness of now.
Yin Xun went to the town to buy a phone and a phone card, and left the phone to Xiaohua and Xiaohei, asking them to call him if they had any problems and he would come back as soon as possible.
Seeing that Yin Xun was determined to leave, Xiaohua and Xiaohei stopped trying to persuade him and promised him that they would notify him as soon as possible if Baiyuehu came back.
Yin Xun dragged his luggage and boarded the train in the town. When the train started and slowly drove out of the city and over the mountains and forests, he finally saw the scenery outside the water palace of this world for the first time in his life.
It was spring there, and the neat wheat fields were blown by the breeze, creating green ripples. Swallows were perched on the power lines, and old farmers carrying farm tools were walking slowly in the fields.
Yin Xun smelled the fragrance of flowers and heard the gentle sound of the wind. The whole world was gentle, and the warm sunlight sprinkled on his cheeks, making him drowsy.
Everything was just right, except that there was one friend named Lu Qingjiu missing from his side.
But it didn't matter. He was willing to wait no matter how long it took. The weeds in his soul had grown new life, and the lonely grave was now covered with beautiful flowers. The crows still perched on the branches, calling Lu Qingjiu's name, but their voices were no longer sad, but filled with hope and longing.
Yin Xun couldn't wait to see Lu Qingjiu again and say to him, "Welcome back." Thinking of this, the worry on his face eased a little, and he finally revealed a faint smile.
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