Lu Qingjiu took a nap and felt all the fatigue in his body was swept away. Seeing that it was getting late, he got up to make dinner.
Yin Xun came back very late, with a very resentful expression. Lu Qingjiu thought he was hurt by the injection and didn't think much about it. He had no idea what kind of life-threatening situation his poor little son was in.
After Jiang Buhuan left, their peaceful lives returned to normal. There was always work to do, and the two little white pigs had grown into full-grown pigs. They'd been bought together when Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua arrived, but while Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua were still tiny, the little white pigs had grown into full-grown pigs. To help them survive the winter, Lu Qingjiu had always had Yin Xun light a pot of charcoal and prepare a bowl of hot pig food for them. In Yin Xun's words, he'd raised these two pigs with his own blood and sweat.
"So what do you want to say to them now?" Lu Qingjiu asked Yin Xun. The big white pig had been raised for a year and was almost grown up. If it was raised any longer, the meat would become old, so he planned to find an auspicious time to kill the pig and eat the meat.
"I want to say," Yin Xun said, "I hope their meat is more fragrant."
Lu Qingjiu: "..." He thought of Xiaohua who died young.
Since they had decided to eat pork, the task of slaughtering the pig fell to them. The village was small, and there was no butcher. The villagers raised their own pigs and slaughtered them by hand. Although Lu Qingjiu had slaughtered chickens before, he had never tried to kill an animal as large as a pig. After asking a neighbor about the process, he was very cowardly.
"It seems like they're going to tie the pig to a stool and then stab it with a knife." Yin Xun danced with the borrowed pig-killing knife beside him, "The blood gushed out immediately..."
Lu Qingjiu: "...Will you come? I can help you hold it?"
Yin Xun whispered, "But I've never killed one before. This pig is heavier than me."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
The two looked at each other for a moment, and then their eyes drifted to the same place - the White Moon Fox sitting in the yard.
Lu Qingjiu slowly walked to Bai Yuehu with a butcher knife in hand: "Fox."
Bai Yuehu opened his eyes and asked, "Kill the pig?" He had just heard the conversation between the two.
Lu Qingjiu: “Um… yeah.”
Bai Yuehu said, "Okay." He sat up from the chair, reached out and took the knife from Lu Qingjiu's hand, and walked towards the pigpen. Lu Qingjiu hurriedly took a basin and followed behind him. Pig blood is a good thing. It tastes great when used to make blood sausage.
Bai Yuehu walked to the pigpen with a cold expression and immediately pulled the pig out. While other people would have to have several men hold the pig down, he didn't need that. The hundreds-pound pig was as powerless as a small animal in his hands. Then, the knife went in and out, his resolute and indifferent expression making Yin Xun, who was watching nearby, feel a chill down his neck and involuntarily take a few steps back.
Bai Yuehu was a very competent butcher. After killing the pig, he did not forget to divide the meat. The pork was quickly divided into several large pieces in his hands. Lu Qingjiu took a pig leg and gave it to Li Xiaoyu's family next door, and planned to make a pork feast with the rest.
Unlike the pork bought in town, the pork from their family was of particularly good quality and very fragrant. Lu Qingjiu sorted the pork belly, stir-fried it into twice-cooked pork, stewed a pot of pig's trotter soup, braised four pig's trotters and pig's ears, and used the pig's head for a cold dish. In short, every part of the pig was used to its full potential.
The fat on pigs fed with grain is much less than that on pigs fed with feed, but it is very fragrant. It can be put into a pot to refine oil, and the remaining oil residue sprinkled with sugar can be made into a side dish.
After slaughtering the pig, the family was as happy as if it were New Year's Day. Even Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua got a big cooked bone stick, which they chewed with relish.
It was April, and the weather was getting warmer, so people were wearing less and less. That evening, Lu Qingjiu brought the pig ears and trotters he'd braised that day out to the courtyard, along with a few bottles of cold beer. The three of them ate and chatted in the courtyard. The trotters and ears had become soft and flavorful after being marinated in the brine. If you liked spicy food, you could dip them in chili powder mixed with sesame seeds and spices.
The weather was beautiful today, the moon was round, and the atmosphere in the courtyard was cheerful. Bai Yuehu didn't like drinking much, but he was very interested in braised food. Yin Xun was talking about some of the strange things he had encountered since becoming a mountain god, such as when parents no longer wanted their children and deliberately took them to the mountains to abandon them, or when he helped the children find a way down the mountain safely.
Lu Qingjiu was about to frown when he heard this, and was about to ask how there could be such irresponsible parents when a loud noise suddenly came from the horizon. The sound was like a landslide, and Lu Qingjiu's ears were buzzing. Bai Yuehu, who had been sitting calmly in the rocking chair, suddenly changed his expression and said, "Stay home and don't move."
"What happened?" Lu Qingjiu asked hurriedly.
Bai Yuehu shook his head and said, "I don't know yet. I'll go over and take a look first." He stood up, a black mist rose around him, and then disappeared in front of Lu Qingjiu.
Lu Qingjiu had never seen Bai Yuehu look so solemn before. He asked, "What happened?"
Yin Xun said blankly: "The sky seems to be broken..."
Lu Qingjiu: "The sky is broken?" He looked in the direction Yin Xun was looking at, and found that the sky really seemed to be broken. In the sky that had already darkened, a very long red glow appeared. The glow pierced through the sky, leaving a dazzling mark in the sky. There seemed to be black clouds gathering in the glow, as if something was about to burst out of it, which made people feel uncomfortable.
Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun were both stunned. Although they didn't know what the ray of light meant, it was obvious that it was not a good thing. Black clouds continued to overflow from the ray of light, and the whole sky seemed to be leaking.
Yin Xun felt a growing sense of uneasiness, and he said, "Qingjiu, let's go back to the house."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Okay."
The two left the yard, returned to the house, and closed the doors and windows.
The red glow gradually expanded. Lu Qingjiu watched from afar, waiting for its changes. Yin Xun was more sensitive than Lu Qingjiu. He no longer dared to look outside, but huddled in the corner of the room, his body trembling slightly. Lu Qingjiu looked at him and asked worriedly, "Are you okay, Yin Xun?"
"No...it's okay." Yin Xun said in a trembling voice, "Qingjiu, you...did you know...the year your parents had the accident, a ray of light like this appeared in the sky."
Lu Qingjiu was stunned.
"Then came the continuous heavy rain." Yin Xun lowered his head, "I couldn't feel anything." He was originally a mountain god. Every blade of grass and every tree on the mountain, all changes could appear in his mind, but when the rosy glow appeared, his perception of the mountain seemed to be blocked by a strange force, and wherever his spiritual vision reached, there was nothingness.
Lu Qingjiu thought about his parents' death. He had always believed it was an accident. Although he returned to Shuifu Village with doubts because of Lao Shu's words, he didn't find anything special. It wasn't until his birthday, when he opened the wooden box left by his grandmother, that he realized his parents' death was not an accident.
Outside the Water Palace, there was a strange land. What exactly was that strange land? Was it the world that White Moon Fox had taken him to? Or was it some other place?
The sky should have been dark, but a blinding glow illuminated half the sky. Amidst this strange sight, the entire Shuifu Village fell into complete silence. It seemed no one was interested in the bizarre scene in the sky. All the houses were closed, as silent as a grave.
Although he didn't know what was happening, Yin Xun was filled with unspeakable fear because of his instinct. He was afraid of the rosy glow, or more accurately, he was afraid of what was about to overflow from it.
Lu Qingjiu was slightly better off than Yin Xun. He sat by the window, staring intently at the glow. The glow grew larger and larger, and more and more black clouds emerged from it. Then, something seemed to approach the glow and block the crack with its body.
Because of the backlight, Lu Qingjiu couldn't see clearly what it was, but from the outline, it seemed to be a dragon-shaped creature.
Lu Qingjiu stared at the sky. He guessed the identity of the dragon-like creature... It was obviously his lazy tenant, the White Moon Fox.
But what was he doing? What did the glow mean? Lu Qingjiu felt uneasy. He knew that Bai Yuehu's injuries hadn't fully healed. If they fought again, would Bai Yuehu's body really be able to hold up? Lu Qingjiu was worried, but he was just a mortal. There was really little he could do. He even had to distract Bai Yuehu from protecting him.
No one knew what the White Moon Fox had done, but the glow in the sky began to dim, and the sky gradually returned to its usual calm state.
Just as Yin Xun had predicted, large raindrops began to fall, pouring down like a bucket, forming a huge curtain that enveloped the entire world. The rain was so heavy that Lu Qingjiu couldn't even hear Yin Xun's mumbling, nor could he see the red glow behind the dark clouds.
Yin Xun, who had been huddled in the corner, suddenly straightened up and said, "White Moon Fox is back."
Lu Qingjiu was surprised. He didn't expect Bai Yuehu to come back so soon. He looked outside again and saw Bai Yuehu in the rain.
Bai Yuehu stood outside the door and waved gently at Lu Qingjiu, as if signaling him to go out.
"Are you going out?" Yin Xun said anxiously, "It seems...it's very dangerous outside."
"It's okay." Lu Qingjiu said, "White Moon Fox is here."
Yin Xun hesitated to speak after hearing this, but in the end, he said nothing and let Lu Qingjiu push the door open and leave. Lu Qingjiu's words actually made some sense. After all, if someone really wanted to hurt Lu Qingjiu, only the White Moon Fox could protect him.
And I am just a weak mountain god.
Watching Lu Qingjiu leave the door, Yin Xun smiled bitterly.
Lu Qingjiu walked into the yard. It was still raining, but the raindrops that fell on Lu Qingjiu were bounced away by an invisible force. Bai Yuehu stood at the gate of the yard, his black eyes drowned in the night, making it difficult to see clearly. He watched Lu Qingjiu stop in front of him, then stretched out his hand to Lu Qingjiu: "Come with me."
Lu Qingjiu nodded and held Bai Yuehu's hand.
Then the world spun around, and Lu Qingjiu felt his body flying up with the White Moon Fox. When the White Moon Fox stopped again, a familiar scene appeared in front of him - a huge deep pit.
This deep pit was the place where Bai Yuehu had brought Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun when he was telling horror stories. However, compared with before, the deep pit in front of them had undergone tremendous changes.
A huge hole was knocked out at the edge of the deep pit, and the dragon trapped inside disappeared, leaving only a pool of foul-smelling mud.
"He escaped." Bai Yuehu said, "Maybe he will come to find you."
"Looking for me?" Lu Qingjiu was a little shocked. "Why did he come to me? Does he want to eat me too?" Although Bai Yuehu said that the dragon did not eat his parents, this was only Bai Yuehu's opinion after all. Besides, if he did not do this, why did he suffer such cruel punishment without making any excuses?
It was still raining all around, and the crackling sound of the rain obscured Bai Yuehu's voice. Lu Qingjiu didn't know if it was an illusion, but he actually heard a hint of pity in Bai Yuehu's tone: "I'm just guessing... After all..."
Lu Qingjiu asked: "What is it?"
Bai Yuehu said, "Nothing."
Lu Qingjiu felt that Bai Yuehu was obviously hiding something from him, so he asked, "Yuehu, is there something you haven't told me?"
Bai Yuehu looked back at Lu Qingjiu and admitted it frankly: "Yeah." He paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "I don't know how to tell you."
Lu Qingjiu sighed: "Isn't this dragon powerful?" He was trapped in such a pit and had his eyes gouged out, but even so, he still escaped from the pit.
"Of course he's very powerful." Bai Yuehu said, "He was trapped in there before because he didn't want to come out."
Lu Qingjiu: "Don't want to?"
Bai Yuehu: "He feels he is wrong."
Lu Qingjiu: "Wrong? He was imprisoned because he ate my parents..." He said here with some sadness, "Why did he do this?" He thought of the scene of his parents' funeral. At that time, he was still in college, just a half-grown child. It was the death of his parents that made him mature quickly. But if he could choose, he would rather not grow up like this.
Bai Yuehu hesitated to speak, and finally said nothing. He just stretched out his hand and gently pressed Lu Qingjiu's shoulder.
Lu Qingjiu asked, "Does he want to eat me again now?"
White Moon Fox: "I don't know."
Lu Qingjiu smiled bitterly: "The rosy glow in the sky just now..."
White Moon Fox said, "The glow is just to attract my attention and give him a chance to escape." He sighed again, "If he wants to leave, there's always a way."
Lu Qingjiu lowered his eyes: "What can I do?"
White Moon Fox: "Don't be afraid, I will definitely protect you."
Lu Qingjiu felt frustrated: "But it was supposed to be me who protected you, wasn't it? What does this kind of protection even mean? I'm just an ordinary human being. I can't even help you when I see you getting hurt."
"No." Bai Yuehu's voice softened, "You have a power you don't know about."
Lu Qingjiu: "Unknown power?"
Bai Yuehu said, "Yes." But I hope you will never know. He looked at Lu Qingjiu's sad eyes and silently added this sentence in his heart.
However, Lu Qingjiu only regarded Bai Yuehu's words as perfunctory comfort. He forced a smile and stopped talking.
Bai Yuehu rarely communicated with others. Seeing Lu Qingjiu forcing a smile, although she felt a little uncomfortable, she didn't know how to comfort him. So in the end, she could only turn her head and give Lu Qingjiu a soothing kiss on the top of his head.
Lu Qingjiu looked at the deep pit in front of him and fell silent.
Bai Yuehu said, "Let's go back."
Lu Qingjiu nodded.
So Bai Yuehu brought Lu Qingjiu back home. Lu Qingjiu was in a mess. After arriving home, he did not say hello to Yin Xun and went back to his room to rest alone.
Yin Xun looked at Lu Qingjiu's distraught appearance and bravely asked Bai Yuehu what had happened.
"The imprisoned dragon escaped." Bai Yuehu said calmly, "Maybe he will come looking for Lu Qingjiu."
"What???" Yin Xun showed an incredible look, "Escaped? How could he escape!" Thinking that his friend's life might be coveted by the powerful dragon clan, he became nervous, "Sake, Sake won't be in danger!"
White Moon Fox: "I'm here."
Yin Xundao: "I know...but..."
"No buts." Bai Yuehu rudely interrupted Yin Xun, "As long as I'm alive, I will protect Lu Qingjiu."
Yin Xun gritted his teeth: "But can you promise to stay with Lu Qingjiu forever?"
Bai Yuehu said coldly: "Why not?"
Yin Xun was speechless. He could naturally see that Bai Yuehu was serious when he said this.
"It's getting late. You should go back and continue the incense burning." Bai Yuehu concluded their conversation.
It was still pouring rain outside, so Yin Xun chose to leave. He didn't have an umbrella, and there was no way to block the rain. He walked back home in such an awkward manner. The village was as quiet as a tomb. Yin Xun opened the door of his house and saw the almost burned incense and candles and countless memorial tablets.
Yin Xun looked at the tablet and smiled, but this smile was uglier than crying.
The heavy rain fell all night, as if it wanted to wash away all the colors of the world.
Lu Qingjiu sat in his bedroom, looking at the black, scarred scale. This was probably the dragon imprisoned in the deep pit. So what kind of mood did his grandmother have when she left this scale behind?
Could the grandfather who was never mentioned be the dragon? If so, why did he devour his own child, causing an irreversible tragedy?
Lu Qingjiu couldn't figure it out, and no one could give him an answer.
He looked up from the window and saw only darkness shrouded by rain. It seemed that the heavy rain would never stop, just like the day his parents died - a huge mountain collapsed, and humans were so small in it that even finding the bodies became a luxury.
Lu Qingjiu felt a tightness in his chest. He tucked the scales into his notebook and put it in his bedside table. The wooden box with the lock was locked again. It should be opened only on his birthday. Fortunately, the contents of the wooden box had been taken out.
It was at least three o'clock in the morning when the insomniac Lu Qingjiu finally fell asleep. However, his sleep quality was very poor. He even dreamed of the imprisoned dragon.
The dragon's horns were broken, but its eyes were still there, a pair of beautiful black eyes. There was a sad look in those black eyes as they stared at Lu Qingjiu, as if they were looking through him at someone else.
"Who are you?" Lu Qingjiu couldn't help but ask in the dream.
The black dragon opened its mouth, revealing half of its tongue.
Lu Qingjiu said: "You...can't you speak?"
The black dragon nodded.
"Why did I dream about you? Do you want to tell me something?" The dream and reality became blurred, and Lu Qingjiu couldn't even figure out whether he was awake or dreaming.
The black dragon said nothing, and the sadness in his eyes became even more intense. He gently rubbed Lu Qingjiu's arm with his broken dragon horn, his movements were very gentle, as if he was afraid of scaring Lu Qingjiu.
Lu Qingjiu felt a pain in his heart, and somehow he thought of the White Moon Fox. If he guessed correctly, the prototype of the White Moon Fox should also be the black dragon in front of him. If the White Moon Fox turned into this appearance, he didn't even dare to think about it. The thought made him feel very stuffy in his chest.
Dragons, such proud creatures, how could we bear to let them become the mutilated state before our eyes? They should be myths soaring proudly in the sky, and even death should be magnificent.
"I don't understand what you want to say." Lu Qingjiu said, "I..." He was about to say something else, but everything in front of him suddenly disappeared. He woke up from his dream and saw Bai Yuehu's worried expression.
"You had a nightmare." said Bai Yuehu.
Lu Qingjiu blinked his eyes, then realized that he was extremely cold all over, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat. He whispered, "I dreamed of a black dragon."
Bai Yuehu looked at Lu Qingjiu quietly without interrupting.
"His horn is broken and his tongue is gone," Lu Qingjiu said. "He looks so miserable." He wanted to use a smile to tell Bai Yuehu that he was fine.
But Bai Yuehu said, "Stop laughing."
Lu Qingjiu was stunned.
"If you don't want to laugh, don't laugh." Bai Yuehu reached out and hugged Lu Qingjiu. His warm body brought warmth to the stiff Lu Qingjiu. "It doesn't matter what expression you make."
Lu Qingjiu exhaled and closed his eyes: “I’m a little tired.”
Bai Yuehu said, "Go to sleep if you are tired. I am here."
The two of them slept in the same bed, and the person beside him held him tightly, making him feel like a baby, immersed in warm amniotic fluid. Lu Qingjiu closed his eyes again and fell asleep quickly. This time, he did not dream again, nor did he see the black dragon with sad eyes again.
When I woke up the next morning, the rain outside had stopped and the sun was hanging in the blue sky, and it was a warm spring scene again.
The White Moon Fox beside him disappeared, perhaps it had gone to the fields to plant vegetables.
This seemed to be just an ordinary morning that could not be more ordinary. Yesterday's heavy rain and strange phenomena seemed to be just a bizarre dream.
If only all that was really just a dream. Lu Qingjiu sat up and saw Yin Xun poking his head in from the door. Yin Xun grinned at him, revealing his cute fangs. His smile was as bright as a sunflower chasing the sun: "Jiu'er, good morning."
"Okay." Lu Qingjiu also laughed. Infected by Yin Xun's smile, he quickly cheered up after calming down and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Yin Xundao said, "Anything is fine, but I'm craving beef rice noodles."
"Then let's eat rice noodles." Lu Qingjiu said, "Go pick some fresh vegetables from the fields."
"Okay." Yin Xun responded with a smile.
An ordinary day began with an ordinary morning.
The author has something to say: Bai Yuehu: Don’t be sad, come and have something delicious.
Lu Qingjiu: Can you cook?
White Moon Fox: Would you like to try some cold-mixed Yin Xun?
Lu Qingjiu: ...try it?
Yin Xun: Please, both of you, please be human.
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