Chapter 118 The Wild Goose That Never Returns
At the entrance of Fenghai City, a group of people arrived, covered in dust.
Xie Zhuo stepped off the flying sword that others had landed on. Above him, more and more streaks of light flashed across the azure sky, heading from the coast toward the mountains.
Rong Feng, who had come with him, didn't bother to ask Xie Zhuo how he knew Fenghai City would be in turmoil, or how he persuaded His Majesty to send them. Instead, he ordered a group of people to go to the direction of Liuguang to stop the fighting. It was not far from the city, and the fighting between cultivators covered a large area, so it was inevitable that it would be affected.
"Young Master Rong, please wait." Seeing that Rong Feng also wanted to go, Xie Zhuo quickly stopped him.
Just as Rong Feng was about to leave, he instructed his deputy to go ahead, then looked at the young man at the city gate: "Lord Xie, I'll trouble you to negotiate with the officials in the city about what happened outside."
"That's exactly what I wanted to say." Xie Zhuo's next words made Rong Feng stop in his tracks: "This turmoil is probably inseparable from them..."
—
Woods on the outskirts of the city.
The red fox, carrying the boy in its mouth, nimbly darted through the dense jungle. Seeing no one following, it set the boy down in a clearing, followed by a barrage of questions raining down on him:
"Little Baoqiong, I just came out of the secret realm and received your message. What happened? Did you bomb someone's sect? So many people are blocking your way? Why are you alone? Where's Little Duck? I think I can sense Senior Xin's presence..."
The enormous fox looked worried, and as it spoke, it gently sniffed the boy's entire body with its muzzle until finally pressing its whole fox face against him.
Xie Baoqiong was knocked to the ground by the fox's head, which was almost half his size. He stretched out his arms to wrap around the steaming muzzle, pressed his face against the furry fox's forehead, and his voice was muffled as if he had been pulled out of the water:
"Xiaochun, Qi Gui is gone."
The twin tails swaying in the air suddenly stopped. Su Xiaochun's nose was pressed against his friend's chest, very close to his beating heart. The dusty smell he inhaled was thick and heavy, making him feel helpless. The usually lively Su Xiaochun became unusually quiet, letting his friend hold him.
"Did they do it? Should I go and kill them?" The nimble mouth became clumsy when it came to transmitting words, leaving only simple words to comfort the friend.
Xie Baoqiong leaned against the red fox, hugging it tighter, and shook her head wildly: "Xiaochun, it wasn't them, the person who killed him is already dead."
He didn't hold it for long. After the surge of emotion subsided, he let go and leaned against the fox's legs. The fox's white fur on its belly brushed against his head, and two thick tails wrapped around its waist.
A belated sense of confusion surfaced in his eyes. His mind, which should have been weary after escaping danger, was unusually clear. It was being washed over again and again by the death of his friend and the truth about his identity. After the complex emotions subsided upon learning his identity, all that remained was bewilderment. Was he now human or demon?
"Xiaochun, I feel like I'm not myself anymore..." He recounted what had happened to Su Xiaochun, "Senior Xin didn't deny my rebirth either, so what am I?"
The fox, lying on the ground, rested its head on top of the boy's head and spoke nonchalantly:
“What you are doesn’t matter. When I saw you, you were just a stone with my sister’s aura. Even if, even if you really are human, I won’t hate you…” He paused for a moment, then reluctantly continued, his voice as if forced out of his throat: “And this way, even after your identity is exposed, you can continue to stay with that human.”
The boy's gloomy expression vanished, replaced by a faint smile. He reached out and touched the fox's head on his own.
"You hate him that much?"
"A mere mortal is not worth my hatred!" The soft red fur under the boy's hand bristled, and the fox arrogantly turned its head away.
“My father already knew my identity beforehand.”
"He knew beforehand? Then why did he coax you to stay? Humans really are no good!"
As the red fox leaped, its voice involuntarily rose, just as several streaks of light flashed overhead. Suddenly, a chain lunged at the fox, and Su Xiaochun quickly grabbed the boy in front of her to dodge.
From the perspective of the passing members of the Anti-Evil Division, they saw the two-tailed fox demon once again open its bloody maw towards the human boy.
The leader left two people behind to resolve the issue, while he led his men to the place where the cultivators were fighting.
"Fox demon, hand over the person!"
With her vision obscured by the fox's long fur, Xie Baoqiong heard a somewhat familiar voice, looked up, and met the gaze of the person descending from the sky:
"Lord Lu?"
The boy's raised face came into view of the two people opposite him. It was a face they had seen just a few months ago in Lian'an Town. Although somewhat surprised, Lu Anzhi glanced at the fox holding the boy's collar and dutifully tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Young Master Xie, don't be afraid, we will rescue you soon."
Before he could finish speaking, the boy struggled out of the fox's mouth and stood in front of it.
"Lord Lu, you misunderstand. This is my friend."
The red fox cast a lazy glance over. Lu Anzhi's gaze swept over the boy's scratched clothes, and when he saw the fox demon in a protective stance, although he still had doubts, the boy had no injuries and looked relaxed standing next to the fox demon. After considering it carefully, he and his comrade put away their weapons.
"Young Master Xie, we will escort you back to the city first. Lord Xie should have already entered the city by now."
"My father is here!?" The boy's tone was surprised, which seemed different from his assumption that he had snuck out after Xie Zhuo. Could he have been tricked by the fox demon...?
—
"Xiaochun, aren't you coming back with me?" Just as they were about to enter the city, the red fox in Xie Baoqiong's arms suddenly stood up and jumped to the ground.
Finally remembering the other two people he had left at the exit of the secret realm, Su Xiaochun flicked her tail and refused her friend: "Little Baoqiong, I will come to the capital to find you later."
Lu Anzhi, wary of the other party's unrevealed identity, tried to stop him, but the Red Fox was agile and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
—
"Why are you two back? Has something happened?" Rong Feng, who had just led his men to clear out the Yu'an Guards in the city and returned to his occupied residence, bumped into the two returning.
"Young Master Rong, what are you doing here?" Xie Baoqiong, who was much shorter than a head, peeked out from behind.
“That’s a question I should be asking you.” Rong Feng took the boy from the two men and walked towards the front hall.
Seeing Rong Feng's tall figure in the distance, Xie Zhuo stepped forward to inquire about the situation inside the city:
"Deal with the people roaming the city..." but the conversation abruptly ended when he saw the purpose of his trip.
He bypassed the obstruction and stood before the seemingly hesitant boy. Leaning slightly forward, he saw the complex and vivid expression on the boy's face. All the blame he had intended to say about running away from home vanished from his mind, leaving only one sentence:
"Have you been wronged?"
Still unaware of how to face Xie Zhuo after their identities were reversed, Xie Baoqiong immediately pouted upon hearing this, wrapped her arms around the young man's drooping neck as he bent down, and, having been picked up as she wished, whimpered in his ear like a kitten:
"Father, I want to go home."
The child, whom he had been longing for, was pulled back into his arms. Xie Zhuo thought his hands would tremble, but when the moment came, his hands steadily lifted the child up, his gaze fixed on the boy's shadow, and he coaxed gently, "Wait until I've handed over Feng Hai's affairs, then we'll go home, okay?"
Rong Feng, who was standing to the side, seemed to want to speak, but considering that the situation in the city was under control, he ultimately said nothing and turned to leave.
Only the father and son remained in the hall for a moment.
The child was held tightly in his arms, and Xie Zhuo had no intention of putting her down until Xie Baoqiong lifted her head herself. Only then did he ask:
"What happened? Why is my little one so upset?"
Xie Baoqiong opened his mouth, wanting to tell the person in front of him everything that had happened, to tell the young man that he hadn't saved his friend, to say that he had almost been killed, to reveal his identity... but he didn't say anything, only rubbed his forehead against the young man's neck.
His fluffy hair, still dusty, clung to the young man's light-colored collar. Xie Zhuo didn't force him to reveal any useful information, letting him vent his emotions.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk, Daddy's here." He raised his hand and pressed it on the boy's head, which had stopped moving, feeling the real warmth of his child's presence.
...
In the days that followed, Xie Zhuo kept Xie Baoqiong by his side almost every inch of his body. Fortunately, most of the time he only had to deal with some trivial matters. Occasionally, when he needed to meet with guests, a certain stone would cleverly shrink and sneak into his sleeve.
It was hard to tell for a moment who found this separation more unbearable.
"Some of the people who escaped from the underground palace are indeed prisoners, and their identities are still being verified..."
As Xie Zhuo listened to Rong Feng talk about the current situation, his fingers, hidden in his sleeve, stroked the restless stone, occasionally responding with a sound.
"Lord Xie, I heard you plan to return to the capital in a few days?" After finishing their conversation about trivial matters, Rong Fengcai inquired about personal matters.
"The matters in the city have been mostly dealt with. The remaining matters are under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Evil Division, and I should not overstep my bounds."
After seeing Rong Feng off, the blue stone that had been held in his sleeve suddenly broke free and landed as a human.
"Father, are we going back?"
"Yes, I'll leave the day after tomorrow."
Upon learning from Xie Zhuo that they were returning to Beijing, Xie Baoqiong unusually did not stay by Xie Zhuo's side in the afternoon.
He went alone to the vicinity of the underground palace to ask Lu Anzhi, who had a list of names in the underground palace, about Bai Dongyi's whereabouts.
Finally, they found that figure in a corner of the underground palace:
"Fellow Daoist Bai, why don't you leave?"
Xie Baoqiong looked at the figure still in the original cage. The array attached to the cage disappeared, and Bai Dongyi could easily get out, but she still stayed where they met and did not move.
Upon hearing the boy's voice, Bai Dongyi's eyes regained their sparkle, and he staggered to his feet as he approached him:
"I'm waiting for you."
As she walked, she searched for another small, thin figure around Xie Baoqiong, but the area was empty except for the patrolmen from the Anti-Evil Division who were walking around the underground palace.
"What about Qi Gui, that child? Is he injured?"
But the boy in front of her didn't say a word, his expression silently hardening. Her heart sank, and her face gradually stiffened.
The patrolmen walked away, and even their last sounds disappeared from this space.
Regret and self-reproach flashed across Bai Dongyi's face, then vanished like a stagnant pool, even the feathers beside her face seemed to dim. Her tone was remarkably calm:
Did he leave anything behind?
"No," Xie Baoqiong replied coldly. He was lying; in fact, he did have a brand-new, white shuttlecock hidden in his sleeve.
But it was a gift from Qi Gui, and he didn't want to share it with anyone...
Xie Baoqiong stayed in the underground palace for a long time. When he left, a white bird followed him and disappeared into the horizon.
—
It was late autumn when I left Fenghai City.
The servants led out the prepared carriage, and Xie Baoqiong stood alone at the courtyard gate waiting for Xie Zhuo.
The sound of flapping wings came from the air, and he looked up as if he had sensed something.
A flock of geese flew overhead.
His gaze swept through the flock of geese, trying to find a grayish-white shadow among them.
The flock of geese overhead flapped their wings and flew south, their cries seeming to resonate from the depths of my heart to the heavens.
The snow goose that had once confined him in his palm also flapped its wings, now bare of downy feathers, and flew away into the distance this autumn.
Qi Gui, see you next spring.
...
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