Gu Ye
The surging, strange vines seemed to open their gaping maws and swallowed Mo You whole.
Ren Xiangxiang was too late to stop it; a strange wind howled, carrying with it some faint sounds.
"Xiangxiang—"
The sound was right next to my ear, yet it felt as if there was something between us.
Ren Xiangxiang looked around blankly, then suddenly realized that it was clearly Caowa's voice.
She quickly looked at the bamboo basket behind her, and to her surprise, a rat-head flower suddenly darted out from it.
Ren Xiangxiang stumbled and nearly fell.
"Miss Ren, we meet again."
Silently, Hun Sang appeared behind her and thrust his sword at Ren Xiangxiang.
Ren Xiangxiang was terrified. She stumbled and rolled awkwardly into the woods.
Deep in the forest, a demonic wind raged, and the Gu woman laughed loudly. With a wave of her hand, she sent down a huge dandelion, instantly covering the surrounding area with a layer of white frost.
How did they get here?
Ren Xiangxiang couldn't believe it. Were they lying in wait for them? Or were they planning to take down the Flying Squirrel Clan?
But even Mo You hadn't sensed any demonic aura from the two of them since just now.
Just as Ren Xiangxiang was distracted, the swarm suddenly passed through the shadows of the trees. Ren Xiangxiang dared not linger and leaped up to grab a high branch.
As a result, the tree branch seemed to come alive and wrapped around her hand. A cold wind blew against her back like a knife. Ren Xiangxiang lifted her body and kicked the tree trunk with both feet, using the force to fly away.
The sword missed its mark.
The fluttering, withered branches overhead blurred Ren Xiangxiang's vision.
A giant dandelion swept towards them, and Mo You shrank back and slid through it, successfully catching Ren Xiangxiang.
"wrong!"
There's a problem.
The two spoke in unison.
When the two appeared at the same time, their strength was far greater than what was shown. In fact, the two of them combined were no match for the Gu Nu, even without the two of them making a move.
Just as the two were wondering what was going on, a huge dandelion blotted out the sky, and instantly countless tiny needles shot towards them.
Immediately afterward, the slain attacked from behind, its short sword arcing through the air before crashing heavily into Mo You's longsword.
The powerful force swept across, sending both Niu Mao Xiaozhen and Ren Xiangxiang flying.
"Xiangxiang—"
Mo You was unable to stop her in time and was sent flying by the Gu woman's whip. The cold demonic energy spread as soon as it touched her.
Mo You's arm froze instantly.
"Mo...cough cough..."
Ren Xiangxiang was so shocked by the impact that she saw stars and her mind went blank for a moment. When she came to her senses, her pupils suddenly contracted.
The falling, withered branches blocked her view.
The demonic blood within her body boiled inexplicably, causing her both pain and rage.
It was as if a ferocious beast was hidden in his chest, desperately trying to break free of its cage and destroy everything.
Ren Xiangxiang's eyes instantly transformed into demonic pupils.
The overflowing demonic power caused the guillotine to pause abruptly.
call out--
A chilling, demonic wind pierced through the chest of the man like a bolt of lightning, and the scattered, withered branches exploded in mid-air.
Bang!
"Ren Xiangxiang—"
Caowa's voice then clearly reached her ears, and Ren Xiangxiang felt the demonic energy that had been gathered in her chest instantly dissipate. Her knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground.
The surrounding scenery was broken and then reassembled, with scattered, withered branches fluttering and confusing her vision.
The creature retreated rapidly, slowly drying and twisting until it became a piece of dead wood as tall as a person.
Ren Xiangxiang suddenly opened her eyes and looked closely; the Gu woman had also turned into a withered tree.
Behind the jagged shadows of the trees, two intertwined branches revealed a seated old man.
The old man had a pair of branches growing from his head, and his small, red eyes were fixed on Ren Xiangxiang.
There was a click.
A gust of wind, as swift as lightning, shot out from above Ren Xiangxiang's head.
Ren Xiangxiang snapped back to reality, and her vision blurred.
When she turned back, all that remained was Mo You, whose arm was injured.
The old man on the tree branch retreated quickly, the tangled branches baring their claws to block the opponent's successive attacks.
Until the very last blow.
The old man with the branch suddenly leaped up, pulled out a branch, and swept it horizontally in the wind.
Bang!
The two demonic energies collided violently. The old man with the tree branch staggered back several steps, while five steps away, a dog-head cane broken in two lay quietly, vanishing into thin air in an instant.
"Ren Fenghong, I didn't expect you to come back?" the old man with the tree branch sneered.
"You know me?" The voice came from behind an old tree. The person had a bulbous nose, a round face, and was covered in pockmarks. He was ugly beyond words.
However, his voice was not old at all, but rather very young, with a cold, detached tone, "Looks like an old acquaintance as well."
"I dare not accept such praise." The old man with the tree branch shook his head. "I am merely a Gu Master now."
"Master Gu?" He pondered the name alone, but had no clue what it meant.
Master Gu looked at the sky and sighed, "Times have changed! Ren Fenghong, you weren't like this back then..."
As he spoke, Master Gu narrowed his eyes and gazed into the distance.
Buzzing...
A swarm of dark flying insects rushed towards them. Dog looked in the direction of the sound and saw the swarm of dark flying insects suddenly pressing in.
Darkness descended upon him, and before he could think, the black mass pressed down from above.
A deafening roar.
The powerful force blasted open a clearing in the surrounding area.
Dust billowed and withered leaves flew everywhere. Along with the black flying insects, they split into four or five pieces. In the end, what appeared before Gu Ye was a coffin crawling with black dragonflies.
As the coffin landed, black dragonflies exploded in all directions. The withered branches wrapped around Gu Ye avoided the dragonflies' direct attacks. Finally, after the dragonflies dispersed, a young man with a faint breath was revealed.
However, a black dragonfly the size of a palm was perched on the young man's head, and the dragonfly's tail was like a needle piercing into the top of his head.
Gu Ye carefully rolled up the young man with a dry twig and muttered to himself, "You're too late, Gu Lang."
As he spoke, he looked at the withered leaves falling not far ahead. After sensing that Dog Lord's presence was gradually fading away, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Since you're here, I'm afraid I can't make a move." He smiled silently.
Looking at the sky again, his smile suddenly froze on his face.
Autumn has arrived before I knew it.
The deep, narrow alley was filled with the smell of rotting food, and it was teeming with rats and homeless people.
These poor people, who are unable to work and have no one to rely on, live off the garbage here.
Even though this is in the Yang Palace.
But today, he heard a child crying in the alley. The sound wasn't loud, but all the homeless people who came to the alley to collect garbage heard it.
"Who abandoned this child? Leaving him here truly leaves him no way to survive!"
"That's too cruel. Let's wait until he's dead before we do it!"
"Ugh... winter is almost here, it's so hard to get through!"
Several homeless men were whispering among themselves. He squeezed in and found the child wrapped in a rag, clean and white. Because there was no food, the crying had subsided.
"You want to eat people?" he suddenly shouted. "No way! This child isn't a cat or a dog! It's a person! Get out of the way, I'll keep it!"
"Are you crazy? You can't even support yourself!"
"Never mind him, we can eat his flesh when he dies."
Ignoring the stares of others, he insisted on taking the baby out and began begging for food from house to house.
He wouldn't have done this before, but now, even if it means getting beaten, he'll find a way to feed the baby.
Spring came and autumn went; those were the most arduous yet happiest times he had ever experienced.
It rekindled his desire to live, which had been meaningless to him.
He searched day after day, doing whatever he could to help, and little by little, he raised the boy from the tattered cloth to adulthood.
Until he grew old.
Because he often went into the water to catch fish in the winter, his legs were so cold that they became stiff, and because of his constant labor, his hands trembled so much that they were unresponsive.
Fortunately, his son has grown up, is capable of standing on his own, and has even gotten married.
May you live in harmony and happiness, and enjoy good health.
He embarked on the path he had always admired.
He asked for nothing in return, only hoping to have something to eat in the dead of winter.
That's all.
The snow was falling heavily, and there was no food left in the house.
My son promised to send some food before the end of the year, but it's almost the end of the year and he still hasn't come back.
The place was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, a dazzling display of lights.
Children in new floral jackets ran around in the street, and the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers filled the air.
The steaming hot buns and the sweet food made him crave them more than ever before.
The festive couplets pasted on the door contrasted sharply with his dilapidated old house.
Just as he was about to raise his hand, he heard the conversation inside.
"That old man isn't dead yet?"
"No, or should I go check later?"
"Don't go. It would be bad luck if you died before the New Year. Wait until after the New Year to go and bury him properly."
"Sigh...maybe I should go see him, he's my dad after all..."
"You dare! Don't forget you were also picked up by him, you're not his biological child. What do you mean 'your father'? He's just an old beggar who freeloads, disgusting. By the way, you're not allowed to go during the New Year and you're not allowed to invite him either, he's bad luck."
"Well, okay then, I'll do whatever you say. Actually, what you said makes sense. We're all getting on in years, but I didn't expect us to be able to live so long."
"That old geezer..."
He stood there, stunned, outside the door, as if struck by lightning.
So that's how they saw me.
The laughter and cheers that filled the streets sounded like mockery of him.
—What did you gain from this? You raised your child your whole life, only to be despised in your old age.
Why aren't you dead yet? If you had died earlier, you wouldn't be treated like this.
The snowflakes fell heavily.
He sat on the side of the street, oblivious to the cold, his eyes vacant.
Suddenly, in his lifeless world, someone handed him a bowl of soup.
That was also his first encounter with Ren Fenghong, a powerful demon who was even more human than a human.
This man, who lived in the Yang Palace year-round with his demon-slaying wife, kept his demonic aura completely hidden.
Two people who would never have crossed paths sat on a snow-covered street in the dead of winter, each with a bowl of soup, telling their own stories.
At the end of the story, Ren Fenghong left Yang Palace.
And he, too, encountered a turning point in his fate.
"Since you don't want your life anymore, and I've saved it, how about you give it to me?"
The man spoke with a serious tone, as if it were a joke.
He had no reason to refuse.
I feel that the heart that once beat warmly in my chest has now fallen into an ice cave, unable to generate any emotion.
Somewhat absentmindedly, Gu Ye gathered the withered branch that had been supporting the young man and slowly blended into the dense forest.
At dusk.
While tending to Mo You's wounds, Ren Xiangxiang glanced absentmindedly to the left and right.
She sensed her father's demonic aura; just moments before, when she had almost died at the hands of the monstrous creature, it was her father who had saved them.
So he kept following them?
"Xiangxiang." Mo You suddenly interrupted her thoughts, "Back in Fox Mountain, I failed to protect Bai Xu. It can be said that no one expected that danger would befall her, but I still lost her."
Ren Xiangxiang paused, remembering the girl she had tried so hard to save but failed, who was calling out Mo You's name even in her dying moments.
This is how she met Mo You.
“I know what you want to say, and I know your concerns, but…” Ren Xiangxiang shook her head, “I can’t back down, I can’t hide. When Fox Mountain was in such chaos, I didn’t run away. Now that Qiling Mountain is facing disaster, I have even less reason to run away.”
"Mo You, I promise you, I will never put myself in danger." Ren Xiangxiang said each word firmly and forcefully.
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Mo You finally stopped talking.
His decision to let her hide in a safe place stemmed from his lack of confidence in his own abilities.
In this vast Qiling Mountain, he was no longer the fearless Mo You he once was.
"Xiangxiang!!!"
The little grass child, who had climbed up the tree, suddenly pointed upwards and shouted, "Look at that! So many black dragonflies!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
