The shadows were getting closer and closer to Lu Qingjiu, who turned his back and slowly retreated until his foot was tripped by something in the grass, and he stumbled and almost fell.
Lu Qingjiu lowered his head and saw the object that had tripped him. It was a stone shrine that looked like a small pavilion at first glance. In the center of the pavilion stood a human-shaped statue. If you looked closely, you would find that the statue looked somewhat like Yin Xun.
Lu Qingjiu's eyes fell on the shrine. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the stone figurine on the shrine, although carved very roughly, was vivid and lifelike, as if it would turn into a real person and walk down from the shrine in the next moment.
Lu Qingjiu heard the soft sound of footsteps on the weeds behind him. He turned and saw Ao Run standing not far away. His face was calm, his eyes closed, but he seemed to be staring at Lu Qingjiu. The dark shadows that had forced Lu Qingjiu here had also disappeared. Only the breeze rustled through the weeds, making a rustling sound.
"What do you want to tell me?" Lu Qingjiu said, "Or do you want something from me?" He was not afraid of Ao Run, perhaps because he had his blood in his body. When he saw the punished and disfigured prisoner dragon, he felt no fear in his heart, only pity and doubt.
Ao Run opened his mouth, and Lu Qingjiu thought he was going to speak, but he only uttered hoarse syllables. He looked helpless and walked in front of Lu Qingjiu, motioning Lu Qingjiu to hand him his hand as before.
Lu Qingjiu did as he was told.
Just now, when Lu Qingjiu saw the tablet at Yin Xun's home fall over, he remembered a small detail he had forgotten. That time when he encountered Xuan Yu and Yin Xun was unfortunately transformed into a scarecrow, it was the White Moon Fox that hurried over and helped Yin Xun renew the incense. Judging by his familiarity, it was clear he had already known how to continue the incense. Given the White Moon Fox's lifespan, he might even have known Lu Qingjiu's grandmother, yet he never mentioned that his mother's tablet was among them... And then there was the time when Ao Run, avoiding the White Moon Fox, had written the word "go" on his palm.
Why did Ao Run want him to leave? What was he worried about? Was he worried about Shuifu Village or the White Moon Fox?
Lu Qingjiu didn't want to doubt the lovely vixen in his family, but he always felt that Bai Yuehu had hidden too many things from him.
Perhaps not knowing the truth was a good thing for him, as he was just an ordinary, powerless human, but he had returned to Shuifu Village to seek the truth. He now knew that his parents did not die in the mudslide, but he could not find any more clues to explore the true cause of their death.
Ao Run slowly wrote in Lu Qingjiu's hand: "I don't want anything, I just want you to leave here."
Lu Qingjiu: "Because of the White Moon Fox?"
Ao Run hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Lu Qingjiu felt a chill in his heart. He licked his lips and said in a hoarse voice, "Did he... do anything?"
Ao Run remained silent.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Lu Qingjiu could only guess. His mind was working very fast, and he even came up with a guess that made him feel both reasonable and absurd: "Bai Yuehu, it belongs to my grandma. Is it a new tenant?" When he asked this question, he spoke very slowly, while observing the expression on Ao Run's face.
Ao Run's expression really tensed up slowly. The corners of his mouth moved slightly, and finally he raised his index finger and wrote a word on Lu Qingjiu's palm stroke by stroke: Yes.
Lu Qingjiu closed his eyes and digested this fact. He said, "So he has met my mother?"
Ao Run continued to write: "Yes."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Does he also know what happened back then?"
Ao Run hesitated this time: "No, he only knows part of it. There is another part that he doesn't know..."
Lu Qingjiu asked: "Which part?"
Ao Run wrote: "About the real cause of death of your mother and father."
When this crucial point was mentioned, Lu Qingjiu's heart began to beat wildly. For the first time, he felt that the truth was so close to him. He was eager to know what kind of story was hidden in this village that was usually gentle but would occasionally reveal its hideous face. He hurriedly asked, "How did my parents die?"
Ao Run wrote: "I ate your mother."
Lu Qingjiu was stunned.
Ao Run said: "This is true."
Ao Run had admitted this before, but Lu Qingjiu still refused to believe it. He didn't believe that his grandfather, who looked so gentle, would do such a thing. Besides, Bai Yuehu said that a polluted dragon would only be unable to control itself and eat its favorite things. He said, "Are you forced to do this?"
Ao Run stopped writing. He gently touched Lu Qingjiu's head with a sad and loving expression. Then, in Lu Qingjiu's disappointed eyes, he shook his head.
Lu Qingjiu was speechless… This was completely different from what he thought.
Ao Run wrote, "Even though I ate her, she didn't die. Those who are contaminated never die. Their souls will only continue to wander and contaminate other things." He said, "So their souls can only be suppressed. Have you seen those tablets? They are the souls of humans who have been contaminated."
Lu Qingjiu: "So you want to extinguish the incense and candles to release these souls?"
Ao Run smiled faintly. He couldn't see Lu Qingjiu, so he could only use his fingers to feel the contours of Lu Qingjiu's cheeks, feeling the only relative he had left in the world: "You know, after being contaminated, I realized they were wrong."
"Wrong?" Lu Qingjiu was stunned.
Ao Run wrote: "The guardian dies, but the dragon is not corrupted."
Lu Qingjiu was stunned. He remembered that Bai Yuehu had said something before, that is, there is a high probability that the dragon clan will be polluted after the guardian's death. But why did Ao Run say so confidently that the guardian's death had nothing to do with the pollution of the dragon clan?
"This is a wonderful misunderstanding," Ao Run wrote. "Everyone thinks that when the guardian dies, the dragon will be corrupted, but that's not the case at all."
Lu Qingjiu listened blankly.
Ao Run wrote: "In fact, all polluted dragons have another characteristic."
Lu Qingjiu asked in astonishment: "What, what do you mean?"
Ao Run was about to speak, but suddenly he felt something. He tilted his head slightly, his hair began to turn red, and then he put his lips to Lu Qingjiu's ear and whispered something that only they could hear: "Bai Yuehu likes you, right? What about you?"
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Ao Run said: "What do you think, my lovely grandson - Lu Qingjiu."
Lu Qingjiu looked at Ao Run again. His hair had turned completely red. Compared with his black-haired self, he now had none of that gentle and jade-like temperament. He looked evil and arrogant. He could speak, but the words he spoke made Lu Qingjiu feel cold all over.
"Do you have any special feelings for him?" Ao Run asked, "Do you want to own him? Are you jealous?" His words were like a curse, "I'm starting to look forward to it."
After saying this, he suddenly stood up and jumped away from here. The next moment, a sharp weapon stabbed at his location.
"Stay away from him!" At some point, Bai Yuehu appeared on the mountain path. It seemed that he had used his power and had grown back his long black hair, which was now blowing in the wind like a pair of black wings. He looked at Lu Qingjiu with some worry in his eyes. He waved to Lu Qingjiu and said, "Qingjiu, come here."
Lu Qingjiu actually heard a guilty conscience in Bai Yuehu's tone. Bai Yuehu was actually worried that Lu Qingjiu would not go over. He must have known that Lu Qingjiu had learned more about the past from Ao Run and that he had once been grandma's tenant.
"Don't go, he will kill you." Ao Run said to Lu Qingjiu in a hoarse voice.
Lu Qingjiu glanced at Ao Run, then walked towards Bai Yuehu without hesitation.
Ao Run gnashed his teeth and stared at Lu Qingjiu's back: "Lu Qingjiu! You will regret this!"
Lu Qingjiu didn't look back. He has always been a person who knows clearly what he wants. Otherwise, he would not quit his job and return to the remote mountain village just because of an ambiguous hexagram. Everyone has his own path to take. Lu Qingjiu doesn't mind that there are other people accompanying him on this path.
Bai Yuehu was obviously relieved to see Lu Qingjiu back by his side. He wanted to say something to Lu Qingjiu, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know how to say them.
Ao Run had a cold expression. Being contaminated, he was obviously full of hostility towards Bai Yuehu, but it seemed that because Lu Qingjiu was present, he finally said nothing and just turned and left.
Lu Qingjiu looked at Ao Run's back and asked Bai Yuehu, "Aren't you going to chase her?"
Bai Yuehu shook his head: "This is not my job."
Lu Qingjiu: "But..."
Bai Yuehu interrupted Lu Qingjiu: "If Yin Xun hadn't called me, you would have been taken away by him. Why didn't you tell me that you were coming here?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Because I think the person who extinguished the candle didn't want to kill me."
Bai Yuehu: "How do you know?"
Lu Qingjiu laughed and said, "Yin Xun and I are both weaklings. Do you need to wait until I leave before you start fighting? Besides, just extinguish the candles. Why mess up the memorial tablets? That person just wanted me to see my mother's name."
Bai Yuehu frowned: "This is just your guess, what if you guess wrong?"
Lu Qingjiu blinked: "If I guessed wrong, I still have you."
White Moon Fox: "..."
Lu Qingjiu said, "Okay, don't be angry, I'm just a little anxious." Seeing that Bai Yuehu wanted to say something, he said, "Let's talk about it when we get home."
Bai Yuehu nodded.
The night was already deep, but not terrifying. Perhaps because summer was approaching, fireflies could be seen dotted in the grass beside the road. Lu Qingjiu reached out and caught one, watching it crawl in his palm, the back half of its body emitting fragmented light.
Bai Yuehu followed behind Lu Qingjiu and saw his actions and asked, "Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"
Lu Qingjiu turned his head to look at him, then raised his hand and placed the firefly on Bai Yuehu's strong nose. Bai Yuehu was stunned by Lu Qingjiu and couldn't help but look at the firefly, "What are you doing..."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Don't put it down, this is your punishment."
White Moon Fox: "..."
Lu Qingjiu turned around: "You have known me for a long time, right?"
Bai Yuehu hummed vaguely: "I've seen you when you were a child."
Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment and asked an insignificant question, "Why do you think I like foxes?" He couldn't understand why Bai Yuehu insisted on keeping his vest covered, but after Ao Run's reminder, he had an incredible idea. He might have met Bai Yuehu as a child, and deeply hurt her fragile heart at that time, causing her to refuse to take off his fox vest.
Bai Yuehu was silent. When Lu Qingjiu turned around, he saw that he looked sulky. However, the firefly on his nose that was so scared that it couldn't move made his angry look not scary at all, but rather particularly cute.
"When you were little, you did the 'Zhuazhou' event." White Moon Fox said, "I turned into a little dragon for you to catch."
Lu Qingjiu was pretending to be serious, but when he heard Bai Yuehu's aggrieved tone, he couldn't help but smile.
White Moon Fox said, "There was also a little fox that was captured together, but you insisted on catching the vixen. You cry when I touch you."
Lu Qingjiu: "...this...kids are all ignorant, right?" He actually felt a little guilty.
Bai Yuehu continued, "When you were three years old, I secretly came to see you and wanted to give you a dragon puppet."
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Bai Yuehu was like an abandoned girl, telling how her husband was a scumbag: "You just threw him away."
Lu Qingjiu whispered: “Maybe it’s because I don’t like dolls?”
Bai Yuehu said coldly: "You sleep with a fox doll every night."
Lu Qingjiu coughed awkwardly.
White Moon Fox: "I've been holding her for several years!"
Lu Qingjiu pretended not to hear.
The doll was bought for him by his parents from the city. It was very cute and fluffy. It was a toy that Lu Qingjiu had loved for a long time when he was a child. However, he lost it for some reason and Lu Qingjiu cried about it.
"I asked your grandma why you don't like me." Bai Yuehu said his grievance, "Your grandma said that you might not like bald reptiles, but prefer furry ones."
Lu Qingjiu defended himself: "Actually, I'm not that superficial..."
Bai Yuehu ruthlessly exposed Lu Qingjiu: "Is my tail nice to touch?"
Lu Qingjiu: “…”
Bai Yuehu said, "No matter what, I am a fox spirit. I will eat anyone who says I am not a fox spirit."
Lu Qingjiu immediately became timid. He had been so confident at the beginning, but now he was as timid as a turtle in hot water. He wanted to shrink his whole body into the shell to avoid being questioned by Bai Yuehu.
Lu Qingjiu said, "Okay, okay." He stopped again, took the firefly off Bai Yuehu's nose, and put it on his own nose, "I'm sorry, I apologize."
White Moon Fox: "Hmph."
"But you shouldn't have hidden so many things from me." Lu Qingjiu said, "Did my grandma die of illness?"
Bai Yuehu said slowly: "Yeah."
Lu Qingjiu said, "And my mother...my mother." He remembered the tablet where his mother was suppressed, and became a little confused. "My mother was polluted?"
Bai Yuehu said, "Yes."
Lu Qingjiu: "But didn't she leave Shuifu Village? Why is she still contaminated?"
Bai Yuehu sighed: "It was an accident." With his slow narration, Lu Qingjiu roughly understood what happened that year.
One year, an incident occurred in Shuifu Village. The boundary between the two realms was breached by the Candle Dragon, allowing the aura of another world to flow in. Lu Qingjiu's parents had just returned to Shuifu Village, but her mother was unfortunately contaminated and subsequently left Shuifu, never to be heard from again. While the events of the time are unknown, Bai Yuehu speculates that Fangyu's half-dragon bloodline may have caused her to be contaminated by the aura of another world, leading to her encounter with Ao Run. Lu Qingjiu learned all that followed. Ao Run confessed to having eaten Fangyu and her husband, and suffered the cruel punishment unique to the dragon clan.
After listening to Bai Yuehu's narration, Lu Qingjiudao thought for a moment and said, "So, when you told me that my mother wasn't eaten by my grandfather, you were lying to me?"
Bai Yuehu shook his head. "No, I'm just analyzing it from the nature of the dragon race. This goes against common sense. Besides, no one saw him eat your mother at the time. All the testimony is his own story."
Lu Qingjiu said, "But why did he tell such a lie?" He couldn't imagine how heartbroken his grandmother must have been when she found out her daughter had been eaten by her husband.
Lu Qingjiu continued, "And he admitted it right in front of me, admitting that he ate my mother." He looked up at Bai Yuehu, a hint of vulnerability in his expression, "He said it himself."
Bai Yuehu didn't say anything, but reached out and grabbed Lu Qingjiu's hand. The warmth of his palm passed through his skin and reached Lu Qingjiu's hand, calming Lu Qingjiu's heart.
Bai Yuehu: "He must have his own difficulties."
Lu Qingjiu stopped talking and just nodded slightly.
"Even if he has his reasons, leading you up the mountain in the middle of the night isn't a good idea." After talking about his parents, Bai Yuehu became angry. "What if something happens to you?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "Isn't it all right? By the way, how are Yin Xun's incense and candles?"
"It's okay." Bai Yuehu said, "The incense and candles are not so easy to extinguish."
The firefly on the tip of Lu Qingjiu's nose left the White Moon Fox, and it finally recovered. It flapped its wings and flew away to other places. Lu Qingjiu did not reach out to stop it.
"I'm sleepy, go back to sleep, and we'll talk about other things tomorrow." Lu Qingjiu muttered, "Besides, I forgot to pick the loquats today, and I still have to make loquat paste..."
Bai Yuehu said, "I'll help you pick it tomorrow."
Lu Qingjiu hummed and did not refuse.
The two of them walked home hand in hand. When Bai Yuehu let go of Lu Qingjiu's hand, he was still a little reluctant. His look reminded Lu Qingjiu of what Ao Run said - Do you have any special thoughts about him? Do you want to own him? Are you jealous?
Lu Qingjiu imagined the scene of Bai Yuehu holding hands with other people. Although he was a little surprised, he had to admit that he would really be jealous.
Bai Yuehu didn't know why Lu Qingjiu was staring at her. She thought there was something on her face, so she reached out and touched her face in confusion: "Why, are you looking at me?"
Lu Qingjiu said, "Hey, have you ever been in love before?"
Bai Yuehu was slightly stunned, thinking that he had misheard: "What?"
"Have you ever been in love?" Lu Qingjiu asked. "You are an adult dragon, right? How old are you?"
Bai Yuehu: "I..." He wanted to say that he had never dated, but he felt a little embarrassed. After all, he hadn't even had a lover for so many years. He had been single for hundreds of years. If it were his father, his children would probably be hundreds of years old. So he said, "That's because I don't want to date!"
Lu Qingjiu said: "So it's gone?"
White Moon Fox: "..."
Lu Qingjiu: “Hmm?”
Bai Yuehu hummed in a depressed tone. If he had fox ears, they would definitely droop down in sadness.
Lu Qingjiu: "Just...have you ever considered dating anyone?" He asked tentatively.
Bai Yuehu: "With whom?" He seemed to vaguely sense that there was some important information hidden in Lu Qingjiu's question, but he had no idea about love and misunderstood it. He immediately expressed his attitude seriously, "You want to fall in love? With whom? There are no girls of the right age in this village. You have the blood of the dragon clan, and your lifespan is different from that of ordinary people. You can't waste her time casually."
Lu Qingjiu: “…” He hadn’t thought of this, but Bai Yuehu’s mention of it also solved a problem that he was worried about.
Bai Yuehu looked at the silent Lu Qingjiu and felt a little unhappy. When he thought that Lu Qingjiu might be with someone else, he felt uncomfortable that his things were coveted by others, so he urged: "Speak."
Lu Qingjiu laughed: "Yes, I want to fall in love."
Bai Yuehu stared at Lu Qingjiu with a serious expression, waiting for Lu Qingjiu to continue speaking. He had even decided deep in his heart that no matter what name Lu Qingjiu said, he would express strong opposition.
Lu Qingjiu said: "I just don't know if that person is willing."
Bai Yuehu: "How dare she refuse?" Lu Qingjiu was the child he watched grow up. Although Lu Qingjiu left Shuifu Village for a while, the Dragon Clan was famous for protecting its people. Even if he didn't want Lu Qingjiu to fall in love, it had to be Lu Qingjiu who didn't want to. It was impossible for him to allow other people to look down on Lu Qingjiu.
Lu Qingjiu looked at Bai Yuehu's angry expression, but he was laughing in his heart. He even leisurely set a trap for his fake vixen: "What if he really doesn't want to?"
The White Moon Fox grinned, revealing its sharp white teeth: "I ate her."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Really?"
Bai Yuehu said: "Of course it's true."
Lu Qingjiu said: "Well, you must keep your word."
Bai Yuehu didn't speak again, but stood by quietly waiting for Lu Qingjiu's answer. Although there was no change in his expression, countless emotions were churning in his heart. He wanted to rush out right now and pull out the person Lu Qingjiu was talking about and eat him.
Lu Qingjiu said: "That person's name is Bai Yuehu."
Bai Yuehu said, "Bai Yuehu? What a stupid name—wait?" He opened his eyes wide in surprise, full of disbelief, "What did you say?"
Lu Qingjiu said: "I said, I want to fall in love with Bai Yuehu."
White Moon Fox: "..."
"Why, you're not happy?" Lu Qingjiu was an adult now. He hadn't thought about it carefully before, but after his grandfather's reminder, he almost immediately understood his feelings. Life was short, and he wasn't one to hesitate. Now that he knew he liked Bai Yuehu, it was natural for him to want to be with this cute fake vixen.
Bai Yuehu did not hesitate any longer and nodded heavily the next moment.
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