Chapter 51 was kicked around several times.
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Duan Jiuyou glanced at it indifferently, and the Fire-Eating Beast instantly quieted down.
She hits too hard; it can't beat her.
Duan Jiuyou said to Bai Hugong, "If what you say is true, that it suddenly lost its mind due to illness, it must not remember what happened when it fell ill. Have you reported this to the Emperor?"
Bai Hugong said, "This humble immortal is of low rank and has no right to submit memorials to the Emperor. I can only entrust a sixth-rank official to submit them on my behalf. However, he said... such a trivial matter does not need to disturb the Emperor. It is cold down the mountain, and the elderly and children suffer the most. This humble immortal has also thought about moving them away from Flame Mountain, but firstly, these people have lived here for generations, and the houses in the mountains have been passed down from generation to generation, so I am really reluctant to leave. Secondly, they are descendants of the Fire Dragon Clan, who prefer warmth and fear the cold. They eat Heavenly Dragon Fruit every day, and this fruit can only be found in Flame Mountain. If they leave this place, it will probably be even more difficult for them to survive."
"So you're actually a descendant of my dragon clan?"
Upon hearing this, the dragon clan elders began to carefully examine the true forms of these people.
Duan Jiuyou sneered upon seeing this.
"What? Just because you're from the Dragon Clan, you think you're precious, but other races can be ignored?"
"this……"
Not really.
"only……"
The dragon clan disciples helped smooth things over.
"The old ancestor's lesson is correct. However, for now, we should try to find a way to control the fire-eating beast's rage as soon as possible."
Duan Jiuyou rolled her eyes at these people, her hands tucked into her sleeves: "If you're sick, you should get treatment. Naturally, you should find someone who can treat you. That nephew of yours—" She gestured with her chin, pointing at someone's face.
Yan Kuo's great-nephew is among the unfilial sons of the Dragon Clan. He was there during the argument in front of the palace last time, and he's here again this time at Flame Mountain.
Duan Jiuyou said, "Send a messenger pigeon to your great-uncle, explaining the whole story, and ask him to come and take a look."
Yan Kuo is the Immortal Venerable in charge of medicine, with superb medical skills. If even he can't cure it, then no one in the Three Realms can cure the Fire-Eating Beast's illness.
"It really wasn't me!"
The fire-eating beast scratched the ground with its front paws, showing signs of aggression. It did not remember its mistake and believed that Bai Hugong and the others had wronged it.
Duan Jiuyou patted its not-so-cute big head and comforted it, "Whether it's really sick or not, we'll know when the doctor comes."
After saying that, he pulled out a Binding Immortal Lock from his sleeve and skillfully bound the Fire-Eating Beast tightly with a few quick movements.
She had to prevent it from escaping and also guard against its rage.
"As for the rest of us," she said, turning to the dragons, "since we're here, let's wait until this matter is resolved before we leave. Although Yan Kuo is a Celestial Venerable, his magic is quite ordinary. If the Fire-Eating Beast goes berserk again, we can stay here and help out."
Everyone naturally agreed. Yan Kuozhong's nephew wanted to say a few words in defense of Yan Kuo, since his uncle was the head of the Three Venerables, how could his magic be so mediocre? But then he remembered that yesterday outside the main hall, Yan Kuo had unleashed his most powerful Tai Chi Arrow Formation, yet it hadn't harmed Duan Jiuyou in the slightest, so he swallowed his words.
Indeed, the magic is rather mediocre.
The happiest person here was Bai Hugong.
So many adults have fallen from the sky and are doing such practical things, how could we not treat them well? So, with a mix of invitation and politeness, we invited Duan Jiuyou and his party to rest at the foot of Yanshan Mountain.
"Please have a seat here, gentlemen. I will have tea and refreshments prepared immediately."
The place where Bai Hugong lived was called Bailu. The house was not big, but it was decorated quite elegantly. However, it was not as warm at the foot of the mountain as at the top. The ground was covered with thick snow, the trees and grass had lost their color, and the cold wind was blowing, chilling people to the bone, as if they had gone from the heat of summer to the cold of winter.
Outside the stove were the people's dwellings. It was almost lunchtime, and some were in a hurry to go home to cook, while others had come to see the high-ranking officials and dignitaries. The thatched hut was crowded together, which actually made up for the chill.
After Duan Jiuyou sat down, he subconsciously reached out to touch Di Jiang's fur, but his hand touched nothing, and he realized that Di Jiang was not beside him.
Just now, when the group came down the mountain together, it refused to be carried and walked proudly beside her. When Bai Hugong introduced them to the villagers, the people rushed forward with gratitude. It seems that Dijiang was lost in the crowd at that time.
—If it gets lost, what will happen?!
Duan Jiuyou's heart tightened, and she hurriedly got up to leave. She was afraid that Di Jiang would be petty and blame her for not protecting him well, and she was also afraid that he would be angered by the villagers and have murderous thoughts.
You should know that this entire mountainside is inhabited by dragons!
"Ancestor, where are you going?"
As soon as she went out, a long line of people followed behind her. She waved her hand to indicate that they didn't need to follow, but how could they dare to abandon her? The group blindly followed her until they suddenly saw Duan Jiuyou's back stiffen as he looked into a courtyard.
There were two or three children warming themselves by the fire. In the middle of the fire sat an old woman, and next to her was a worn-out little stool. Sitting on the stool was Di Jiang.
He was still in wolf cub form, lying prone on the stool, his two front paws stretched out straight, solemnly warming himself by the fire. His once clean and shiny fur was now covered in dust, making the whole wolf look rather dusty.
Duan Jiuyou reasonably suspected that this was the result of the people accidentally trampling each other when they rushed forward.
The imperial territory was trampled on several times.
The temperature was two different levels on the mountain. When those clueless people rushed up, his limbs were already frozen stiff. He couldn't stand the extreme temperature change, so after being trampled and dirtied, he moved to the grass to regulate his breathing.
The old woman's eyesight wasn't very good. She thought it was a frozen dog, so she picked it up by the scruff of its neck and carried it back to her yard without saying a word.
Children love fluffy animals, and when they saw that Grandma had some "new toys," they all gathered around.
Several children were happily gathered around a "dog," but after a while they realized something was wrong.
"It must be the alpha wolf. Look at its ears, they're pointy here."
A little child opened his little hand and grabbed Dijiang's ear.
"I also think it's a wolf. Its eyes are green, and its snout is a bit long."
Another child with a gap-toothed tooth gestured and analyzed the situation in a childish voice.
"Don't be afraid, little wolf, we won't hurt you."
A child touched its head with a strong grip, almost flattening its head.
"It needs to eat something hot to recover."
What truly made Duan Jiuyou gasp was the bowl of rice porridge in the old woman's hand.
The pot of porridge had been roasting over the fire and was now bubbling with heat. The old woman ladled out a bowl while it was still hot. There wasn't much good food in her house, only this hot porridge to keep her warm.
The Fire Dragon Clan cannot live in frigid lands year-round, especially the older generation, whose senses deteriorate rapidly. For example, this old woman's temperature perception has diminished; she can't feel the heat and thinks she's holding a bowl of warm porridge, about to feed it to Di Jiang. Her hands are rough, with cracks all over the backs.
Di Jiang stared at those aged hands for a long time.
The people of the Wilderness tribe are not afraid of the cold and rarely get frostbite on their hands. He was grabbed by these hands and stroked by them. The calloused palms felt like a rough comb.
These are hands used for farm work, holding hoes year-round, not weapons for fighting against the wild tribes.
Di Jiang withdrew his gaze, not refusing, but simply extending one paw to press down on the ceramic bowl that was about to approach him. His other paw pointed to a spoon not far away, indicating that his grandmother should feed him with the spoon.
The child next to him understood what he meant and said innocently, "Look how clever it is. It must have become intelligent. How about I give you some bamboo shoots too?"
"There are also crisp bamboo shoots, my brother and I will go get them."
Beside them was a little girl, about four or five years old, round and chubby, very well-behaved. Her brother was running ahead, and she reached out her little hand to follow. The two children were jumping and skipping, which made the old woman's smile even deeper.
They didn't know the name of the "animal" that the grandmother had brought back; they only knew that "it" was cold and needed warmth.
"Priest, please forgive them, they didn't know this wolf was your beloved pet, that's why..."
After Bai Hugong saw the wolf in the courtyard in its entirety, he was terrified and hurriedly apologized to Duan Jiuyou.
Duan Jiuyou said it was alright, and walked alone to Di Jiang, hesitatingly asking, "Are you alright?"
It gets trampled on, yet it's fed like a stray dog.
Di Jiang glanced at her, then indifferently looked away, his gaze as haughty as ever, his meaning perfectly clear.
He couldn't be bothered with her!
Duan Jiuyou looked at the footprints on Di Jiang's body and thought to himself, "Didn't you insist on walking on the ground? There were so many people, and you're so small. You didn't even say a word when you were stepped on."
But she absolutely couldn't say that, so she could only squat down and soothe him: "There were so many people and so many things to do today, it's understandable that I didn't take care of everyone properly. Don't be angry, come back with me, okay?"
As they were discussing this, several children returned. They didn't know what had happened, but they knew that there was a beautifully dressed older sister in the courtyard, followed by many people, including the highest-ranking man in the area, Bai Hu Gong, who bowed and stood to one side.
"Sister, the little wolf is hungry, can I eat him?"
The children stared at her expectantly, wondering: Would this older sister, who seems to be of high status, bully the little wolf?
Looking at these innocent and adorable "little potatoes," Old Ancestor Duan thought: You may not know that the little wolf you're talking about is actually a Sky-Splitting Beast.
The book "Pangwen Zhiwu" records that the Hou is extremely vicious and likes to eat dragon brains—she was afraid that the Emperor would chew them all up.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com