Chapter 1
It was a cold and rainy day in late autumn. In a small wooden house in Ping An Valley, the sound of repair work on the roof could be heard.
After a while, a handsome man in black jumped off the roof, wiped the rain off his face, and walked into the house.
As soon as he entered the room, he shouted, "Qiao Qiao, don't come over here. Daddy is cold and can't hold you now."
He shouted in time, causing Ming Qiao, who was slowly moving his feet under the bed, to slowly retract his chubby little feet.
"It's getting cold so fast, Qiao Qiao, have you finished your medicine?"
"After drinking spicy."
"My son is so good!"
While the father and son were talking, Wu Ye quickly changed his clothes. After making sure he was dry, he walked over, picked up his son who was waiting for him obediently wrapped in a small blanket, and held him high.
“Chuckle, chuckle.”
Ming Qiao was lifted up, and on his fair and tender face, there was a pair of round, bright black eyes that curved into crescents.
He happily kicked his short legs and let his daddy carry him around the house to play.
After playing for a while, a blush appeared on his little face and his breathing became rapid.
Wu Ye put him in his arms and patted his back skillfully.
"Okay, okay, it's time for us Qiao Qiao to rest. Daddy will tell you a story, okay?"
"Yeah! Listen to the story."
Mingqiao's little body was pressed against his father's chest, his curled eyelashes trembled slightly, and he felt a little cough in his throat.
He coughed twice, then raised his little face and asked, "Daddy, I want to listen to Mommy's story."
"Okay, Daddy will tell you about your mom. Your mom... is very pretty, and has a very lovely personality."
Wu Ye was talking about Ming Qiao's mother, but his eyes were observing his own child's face.
On the wooden table, there is some incense made from herbs. The incense is about to burn out and the smell has become much weaker.
Ming Qiao sniffed, and although her breathing became much calmer, the redness on her fair and tender face had not yet faded.
Wu Ye told the story in his usual tone. Ming Qiao had heard the story many times.
At the beginning, Mingqiao would cry and ask for his mother.
He has been weak since childhood and cannot cry as vigorously as other children.
When he cried, he sat in the corner of the bed, with his back to his father, and tears fell.
There were several times when Wu Ye had to turn his little body over before he realized he was crying.
He cried softly and pitifully, his eyes and nose were red.
He complained sadly, "Mimi has a mother, but Qiao Qiao doesn't."
Mimi is a kitten in the valley. She has a father who is very good at hunting and a mother who loves to lick her fur.
Mimi and her family of three often bask in the sun behind Mingqiao's yard.
Mingqiao fed them steamed bread.
After the story was told this time, Ming Qiao did not cry. His little head was leaning on his father's strong arms, and he was already fast asleep.
Wu Ye lowered his eyes and looked at the sleeping baby. After watching for a while, he carefully put the baby down and covered it with a quilt.
"Qiao Qiao, wait for daddy obediently. Daddy will go pick herbs for you."
Whether it is the medicine to be boiled or the medicine to be used to make incense, they are almost running out.
This time, he had to get more.
Without medicine to keep Qiao Qiao alive, his Qiao Qiao might not even survive his fourth birthday.
Thinking of Qiao Qiao's body, Wu Ye felt a lump in his throat.
He put a bunch of food and warm water in the storage ring, warmed the storage ring, and put it on Mingqiao's wrist.
After doing all this, Wu Ye lowered his head and kissed Ming Qiao's pretty and soft little face reluctantly.
"Qiao Qiao, Dad is gone."
Although he was away for a short time, he felt reluctant to leave every time he left.
The little guy in his sleep seemed to hear the sound of a door closing. His delicate brows frowned and his little body moved uneasily.
Outside the door.
Wu Ye glanced at Mimi who came to visit, and before Mimi came over to rub his legs, his figure disappeared from Mimi's eyes.
For three days in a row.
Mingqiao didn't see his father. He knew that his father had gone out to find medicine for him again, so he waited at home obediently and didn't run around.
The rain in the valley had stopped long ago, and the sun shone in during the day. Mingqiao held Mimi in his arms, sitting on the doorstep, squinting in the sun.
Mimi lay on his legs, and from time to time she would raise her pink paws to step on the milk.
When Mimi got tired of kneading the milk, Mingqiao would feed it steamed bread.
The two little guys took turns eating the sweet corn bread, and soon they were both full.
When they were almost done eating the steamed buns, Mingqiao returned to the house, put on the thickest cloak with a fur collar, and then took Mimi to the entrance of the valley.
As soon as he reached the mouth of the valley, Ming Qiao saw the sky full of blood and the sounds of killing that seemed to come from the clouds.
His face was blank, he didn't know what was going on.
Mimi, who was following behind him, was also stunned.
It meowed twice, then bit Mingqiao's cloak, trying to pull him back.
It's so dangerous outside.
Mimi instinctively wanted Mingqiao to go home.
Ming Qiao didn't leave. He stood there and called out blankly, "Daddy."
Why hasn't Dad come back yet?
This time, Daddy was gone for so long that Mingqiao was a little scared.
Mimi was still biting the cloak. Mingqiao stretched out his chubby little hand and held down the cloak, refusing to let Mimi pull him back.
The two little guys were stuck in place.
Just as they stood there in a stalemate, an old voice sounded from under the old tree outside the valley. It was an old man with ragged clothes and messy hair.
The old man was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed and a little blood in the corners of his eyes.
He spoke in a low and weak voice: "If a hundred immortal sects cannot subdue You Qing, this Cang Xuan Realm is doomed."
Mingqiao's ears moved and he looked in the direction of the old man.
Daddy said that we should not talk to strangers.
But he hesitated, and still mustered up the courage to ask: "Grandpa, who is You Qing?"
"You Qing is a big devil."
Ming Qiao: “…”
Ming Qiao became more and more confused. He clenched his cloak with his fat hands and asked again, "Is the big devil very bad?"
Old man: "Well, bad!"
Ming Qiao stopped talking.
He had never heard his father talk much about immortal sects and demons, so he didn't know much about them.
"Little kid, this Misty Valley is a very dangerous place. Why are you here alone? Where are your parents at home?"
The old man looked like he was about to die, but he was still talking a lot.
Ming Qiao stood there and replied honestly: "No mother, Qiao Qiao is sick, Daddy went to find medicine."
Old man: "Tsk, poor little thing."
Ming Qiao: “…”
Ming Qiao didn't want to be called a poor little thing.
He looked at the old man, took out two steamed buns from the storage ring, threw them to the old man and left.
The old man caught the steamed bread.
He sniffed it and took a bite of most of it: "It's quite delicious."
"Little boy, stop."
The old man was eating a steamed bun and called Mingqiao, who had not taken two steps.
He said, "I am about to die. Before I die, please talk to me."
Mingqiao is still very sensitive to the word "death".
He vomited a lot of blood a while ago and was in a coma for a long time.
Daddy held him and soaked him in the medicine pool.
While he was drowsy, he heard his father's hoarse voice praying over and over again.
"Qiao Qiao, don't die, don't abandon Daddy."
Daddy was very afraid that he would die.
Ming Qiao didn’t know the old man, but he was still willing to talk to an old man who was about to die.
One old and one young, one outside the valley and the other inside.
They started chatting at a distance not too far from each other.
The two people were chatting, but most of the time, Ming Qiao was listening to the old man talking.
The old man told him that the great devil You Qing was actually a genius. Although he was born with useless spiritual roots, after only practicing for a hundred years, he was able to fight against all the immortal sects on his own.
After the old man finished talking about You Qing, he started talking about other demons.
The old man said that before You Qing was born, the most evil demon in the world was the Demon Lord.
But for some reason, the Demon Lord suddenly disappeared in recent years.
As the talkative old man spoke, his voice faded away.
Ming Qiao couldn't hear him and asked nervously, "Grandpa, are you dead?"
Old man: “…”
The old man managed to make a sound: "I'm not dead, I'm hungry, give me another steamed bread."
Upon hearing this, Ming Qiao quickly stretched out his chubby little hand and threw the steamed bread to him.
After eating Mingqiao's five steamed buns, the old man opened his eyelids and his eyes fell on Mingqiao.
He looked at Mingqiao's pretty little face and snorted.
"Your father left you alone at home, which was very irresponsible. But he raised you well, and you are fair, tender, and chubby. He is also a good father."
"Hello, Daddy."
Mingqiao nodded his head and spoke well of his father.
"It's a pity that if your father doesn't come back, you and your son may never see each other again in this life."
The old man looked up at the sky, then looked at Ming Qiao again.
Although Ming Qiao was raised to be plump and white, there was still something strange about the complexion of his face.
This is a child who is destined to die young.
"I hate to owe others anything in my life. Since you gave me steamed bread, I will also give you a good fortune."
"Go on, kid."
As the old man finished speaking, a flash of blue light shot out from between his fingers.
The blue light penetrated into Mingqiao's forehead, and the cool touch disappeared in an instant.
"grandfather--"
Ming Qiao subconsciously covered his forehead, wanting to ask what had gotten into his head.
But he just called him grandpa, and the old man dropped his hands.
The old man is dead.
Ming Qiao clearly saw that the other party lost all life almost in an instant.
He was a little frightened and a little uneasy.
"Mimi."
He called Mimi and wanted to go over and take a look.
But Mimi let out a very shrill howl, and its little fangs bit Mingqiao's clothes, refusing to let Mingqiao pass.
Both Mingqiao's father and Mimi's father strictly forbade them to leave the valley.
Amid Mimi's intense meowing, Mingqiao finally stepped back.
"Grandpa, I'm leaving."
When a person dies, he must be buried. But Mingqiao was too young to bury the old man.
Finally, he threw a steamed bun to the old man, and then, dragged by Mimi, he returned to his room, looking back every few steps.
The bloody sky outside the valley seemed to spread into the valley.
Ming Qiao sat on the doorstep, and rubbed his eyes sadly when he thought of the old man's words.
The old man said that the big devil wanted to destroy the world.
The old man also said that if his father didn’t come back, he would never see his father again.
"Mimi, I miss daddy."
Mingqiao missed his father very much. He counted the steamed buns his father made for him several times.
There are only two steamed buns left.
Mingqiao was reluctant to eat the steamed bread anymore, so he held Mimi on his knees and pressed his soft face against her.
He would wait for his father to come back and eat the last two steamed buns together.
The blood-red setting sun reflected on the horizon, and a rumbling sound louder than thunder pierced through the heaven and earth.
On the old wooden threshold, little Ming Qiao opened his eyes wide. He didn't see his father coming back. The last thing he saw was the overwhelming red fog that enveloped everything in an instant.
Before he even felt the pain, his little body fell backwards and he lost consciousness completely.
——
I don’t know how much time passed.
Ming Qiao was awakened by the pain. His two short legs were lifted upside down and shaken vigorously.
The dizziness caused by the shaking made Mingqiao frown and want to vomit.
He just retched, and the next second, he was thrown out like a hot potato. The other person's tone was full of disgust: "Don't spit on me, if you dare to spit on me, I will kill you."
The unfamiliar voice made Ming Qiao, who had fallen to the ground, stop retching and look up blankly.
This sight made him even more confused.
"Where is this?"
Ming Qiao looked blankly at the dilapidated old temple he was in, and the several children standing or sitting in the temple.
These children were all dressed in rags, like beggars. In the corner, there was a person sleeping under a ragged blanket, which was tightly covered, but judging from the size of the blanket, he was probably a child of seven or eight years old.
"You ask where this is? This is of course my territory. How come you come to my territory and don't know the rules?"
The child who had just picked up Mingqiao was very sturdy. He narrowed his eyes and set rules for Mingqiao.
The rule he set was that Mingqiao had to hand over all the valuables on him.
Ming Qiao's white fur collar cape.
Ming Qiao's small jade pendant.
There is also Ming Qiao's storage bracelet embellished with gems.
"This is Qiao Qiao's, I'm not giving it to you!"
Ming Qiao, whose cape had been stripped off, whose jade pendant had been snatched away, and whose bracelet was still being pulled off, was so angry that her eyes turned red, and she tried desperately to pull her hands back.
He was only three years old and as small as a dwarf carrot. It was useless even if he shrunk his hands when facing a bad kid of seven or eight years old.
Seeing that her bracelet was about to be snatched away, Ming Qiao's face turned red, and she exploded and pushed the bad boy down.
The door of the dilapidated temple was closed.
Ming Qiao couldn't run away, so he turned his little body around and simply ran to the corner.
"Damn it, you're looking for death!"
The bad kid who was pushed down cursed angrily, then chased after Mingqiao and tried to catch him.
He chased and Mingqiao ran.
The two, one big and one small, were circling in the corner, and Mingqiao's breathing soon became rapid.
His little face was terribly red, his pair of bright black round eyes were wet, and his mouth was slightly open, as if he couldn't breathe.
"Run! Let's see where you can run!"
The bad boy who caught up with him saw that Mingqiao could not run any longer. He cursed and stretched out his hand to grab Mingqiao.
Ming Qiao looked at the hand he stretched out and her body tilted in fear.
Next second.
Ming Qiao finally couldn't help it, he lifted the thin blanket of the child who was sleeping in the corner and hid himself inside.
Bad kid: “?”
The bad boy looked at the two short legs sticking out from under the quilt and his expression froze.
“You, you——”
He wanted to pull out the two short legs that were shaking outside the quilt, but when he thought of the owner of the quilt, he didn't dare to do it for a moment.
While he was hesitating, You Qing, whose thin quilt had been snatched away and whose sleep had been disturbed, finally opened his eyes.
The author has something to say:
Cub: Brother, save me!
——
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