Chapter 326
Perhaps it was because the aura of Kirin's "Gloomy Mushroom" was too strong, Canglong, who was talking to someone, and Fenghuang, who was discussing the follow-up arrangements with Bai Ze, subconsciously looked in the direction of Kirin.
Qilin was standing not far from them, holding a ball of white fur in his arms, and said quietly, "Don't you feel guilty for crowding me out like this?"
Canglong Baize Phoenix: "..."
Although they did not exclude Qilin, for some reason, they inexplicably felt a little guilty.
After taking over a tribe and making rapid progress, Bai Ze, who is now more shameless than before, immediately chose to turn the tables: "Do you think we don't want to play with you? It's because we can't get in touch with you!"
Qilin took Di Ting to "wander" everywhere, which was very far away from where they were. His magic skills were not very good, so the situation Bai Ze mentioned was very likely to happen.
Qilin knew it well, and didn't want to dwell on this issue any more. He just continued to say in a plaintive tone: "These are all excuses!"
Canglong, who never thought of contacting other people: "."
The phoenix who didn't even think of Qilin: "."
Shirazawa, who tried to contact her once but failed, never tried again: "."
The three of them finally formed a united front and began to appease the particularly deceitful (?) Qilin. After so many years together, they all knew each other very well, and everyone had some experience on how to appease Qilin.
Di Ting pricked up his little head quietly, feeling something was amiss, but he couldn't tell why. He could only attribute it to the fact that his teacher was perhaps... more understanding?
The "backstab" incident was thus put to rest.
The person who was talking to Canglong had been sent away by Canglong with an excuse as soon as Qilin appeared. Now there were only four of them and a little Di Ting who had not transformed at the entrance of the valley.
"High Priest?" After Kirin calmed down, he began to sourly fire at the map, "Our Canglong is so helpful~"
The cold expression on Canglong's face melted a little: "They wanted to call me that, not me."
Qilin: “…Heh.”
He turned his gaze to Bai Ze again, but before he could open his mouth, Bai Ze grabbed his shoulders and forcibly interrupted his "attack":
"The Valley Gathering only happens twice a year. You just happened to make it. It's so lively! Come on! I'll take you around. If you have any other questions, we can talk after we return to the tribe..."
Bai Ze picked up the two Qilin brothers and turned around and left. He also naturally took out Di Ting and stuffed it into the arms of the Phoenix next to him, and gave the Phoenix a wink.
【You can handle this small one. 】
As for letting Canglong coax him?
Never mind. Don't count on it.
After Feng Huang made eye contact with the bewildered Di Ting, he slowly smiled softly, his voice as gorgeous as his appearance: "Di Ting?"
There was a gentle touch on the head. Di Ting squinted his eyes in comfort and a small purring sound came out of his throat unconsciously: "Ah~"
Phoenix followed them with Di Ting in her arms, and asked them in a gentle voice about their experiences in the past two years. How could the cub, whose voice was still milky, be a match for Phoenix? With the help of the beauty trap, she sold out both herself and her teacher.
After Qilin, led by Bai Ze, toured the entire valley and exchanged some strange little gadgets, he realized that his silly kid was coaxed into a daze by the Phoenix and spoke all the questions without hesitation. He guessed that even if the Phoenix sold him on the spot, he would still say thank you sincerely.
Qilin: “???”
"Listen carefully!" Seeing that the topic was becoming more and more "dangerous", Qilin had to tighten his skin for the cub, "Listen carefully!"
"Yeah, I'm here!" Di Ting turned his head and said with his gapped milk teeth showing, looking a little silly, "What are you doing, teacher?"
Qilin had a heart attack. He tried to stop the matter from sliding into an even more unknown abyss: "Fenghuang has been holding you for so long, he must be tired. Come! Let the teacher hold you!"
"Little Di Ting is not heavy." Phoenix touched the horn on Di Ting's head and got a soft smile. "Very cute, I like it very much."
"Hehe~" Di Ting rubbed his palm, "I like you, too!"
It seems like a peaceful time here, but Qilin has heard the voice of the phoenix in his ears.
[Spreading rumors about me in front of the little cubs and making me half dead? Huh? ]
Qilin: “…”
How could he have forgotten that the cub he raised was not only a little stupid, but also obsessed with looks!
…
After the valley exchange meeting, Qilin went to visit the tribes of Canglong and Baize. The people of Canglong's tribe had already moved down from the cave. They built mud houses not far from the river. There were fences behind the houses. Some fences were planted with surviving plants, some fences were used to keep prey, and some fences were filled with scattered tools... The whole tribe looked well organized and planned.
Qilin stayed in this tribe for a while, and he could clearly feel that Canglong had changed.
Perhaps to people who are not familiar with him he is still taciturn, distant and indifferent, as if he could withdraw at any time, but only his companions like Qilin who grew up with him know that Canglong really cares about this tribe.
This kind of care was never shown openly, but only in the little things in daily life - for example, when he was on patrol, he would use his spiritual power to repair the roof that might leak, his spiritual consciousness was attached to the children who were alone, and his breath would shock the weak defenses. In the reclaimed fields, he would casually point out some small problems that the growers themselves did not notice...
After the master left, Canglong's personality changed a lot, and so did the others. Everyone's heart seemed to be missing a piece, and the wind was blowing into the missing place, as if this chilling cold would never stop. But now, new ties have brought out new emotions, and thin threads have sewed up the gap, blocking the cold wind.
Qilin knew very well that this was a good change.
He lived in the tribe for nearly half a month, helping Canglong from time to time, and this feeling became stronger.
The night before going to Bai Ze's tribe, Canglong made an appointment with Qilin to go to the highest peak near the tribe. The moonlight was very bright at night, and from their position they could take in the entire quiet tribe.
"Would you like a drink?" Canglong handed Qilin a clay jar with the mouth of the jar sealed with mud and hemp.
Qilin broke the mud seal and smelled a familiar yet unfamiliar pungent odor.
Distant memories were awakened. When the master was still alive, he had also brewed this kind of strange "water". The master said that the name of this water was "wine". The wine was brewed from the fruits sent by the longevity tree. The master used it to entertain his friends, but did not allow them to drink it.
Forbidden things always arouse the curiosity of the cubs. They were eager to try and wanted to sneak a little out in the middle of the night to taste it, but they were caught by the master who was well prepared.
The gentleman did not punish him, but added a few new formations to the outside of the wine jar and then buried the jar under the sycamore tree.
"When you grow up, I won't forbid you to drink." In my memory, the teacher said so.
But when do we become adults?
"Hmm..." The gentleman hesitated for a moment, "When do you really feel that you are adults?"
Transformation does not seem to be the standard set by the master, probably because Canglong still had three heads when he transformed.
But it seems like it will take a very long time to become an adult.
So the wine under the phoenix tree remained buried until the four forgetful cubs almost forgot about it, and until the courtyard was destroyed in a disaster, and the wine disappeared along with it.
When Canglong took out the wine that was similar to the one in his memory, Qilin was suddenly shocked to realize that many years had passed and he was no longer the cub he once was.
"I'm an adult now." Qilin brought the wine jar to his lips and took a sip. The taste was a little bit pungent and spicy with a hint of fruity aroma. "It doesn't seem to taste very good either."
He could no longer remember the guesses he had made as a cub about the taste of wine; they were as vague and illusory as mist.
Qilin smacked his lips and gulped down another half can. His spiritual power unconsciously stopped flowing. He felt a little light-headed, and it seemed that he was a lot braver than usual. At least he would not ask so directly normally—
"You like these humans?"
Canglong cast an indifferent gaze over. The wine jar in his hand had just been opened, so there was no question of whether he was drunk or not. Under the moonlight, Canglong stared at the quiet tribe at the foot of the mountain: "Maybe."
"If you like it, then you like it. If you don't like it, then you don't like it. You're so tiring, it's tiring to watch you act so shy." Perhaps it was because of the alcohol that made him bolder, Qilin blurted out the words that he had been suppressing in his heart, "I'm not saying anything bad about you, but is it shameful to admit that you care? As for humans, although I don't have much contact with them, I feel they are okay. They are not as brave as us. If you like to be less cold-faced, look at those..."
Canglong cast a silencing spell on him: "You are so noisy."
Qilin: “……?”
He used his spiritual power to remove the silencing spell and continued to mutter: "You shut up when you disagree with me - you are angry because of shame, right? No, you are embarrassed, right? Right? Right? Right -"
The subtle emotion on Canglong's face was hidden without a trace. He felt that drinking the wine he had brewed with great difficulty with Qilin was a very wrong decision.
The drunk Qilin was much noisier than Bai Ze. Canglong stared at him expressionlessly, but Qilin didn't notice anything. Even after finishing the can in his hand, he boldly snatched the can that Canglong hadn't touched and continued to drink.
In the aroma of fruit wine, Canglong shifted his gaze from the drunk Qilin beside him and looked back at the tribe that he had guided and built bit by bit in the moonlight.
"I care." He said softly.
可醉醺醺的麒麟沒聽見，只打了一個響亮的嗝。
……
“我的腦袋……”麒麟軟手軟腳地從地上爬起來，痛苦地嘀嘀咕咕，“誰暗算我了！”
他的腦袋又痛又暈，地好像也不是平的，走起來還有點軟綿，麒麟揉揉太陽穴，突然發現周邊的一切相當陌生———這好像是一個部落的外圍，但并不是蒼龍所在的部落。
麒麟茫然地揉揉眼睛，眼前的一切還是沒有變化，難道喝酒的後遺症是夢游嗎？
他擡腳往陌生的部落裏走，還沒走到近前，就遠遠地看到一點白向他的方向沖過來，伴随着歡快的音調：
“老師！老師———！”
谛聽？
麒麟茫然地眨眨眼睛，越過正奔跑過來的谛聽，他看到了遠遠跟着的白澤和鳳凰。
他這是夢游到白澤所在的部落了嗎？
很快，白澤就給出了解答——
“麒麟，你在蒼龍所在的部落幹了什麽？竟然讓他連夜把你丢了過來？”
白澤在屋裏睡得正香呢，忽然聽到蒼龍的傳音，說将麒麟送到了他們部落外，滿頭霧水的白澤還沒來得及多問上幾句，蒼龍就單方面斷開了鏈接。
因為醉酒而有些斷片的記憶瞬間在腦海中回籠，麒麟臉上的疑惑漸漸僵硬，定格成一種古裏古怪的表情，他想起來了，在對蒼龍說完壓在心裏的吐槽後，他就拉着蒼龍在山峰的最高點上鬼哭狼嚎地對月唱歌，極具穿透力的聲音讓山下的部落以為發生了野獸襲擊，連夜點了火把出來巡視……
麒麟慢慢捂住了臉，指縫裏溢出他的聲音：“沒、沒事。”
這太丢臉了，他絕對不可能讓第三個人知道！
白澤動動鼻尖，從麒麟身上嗅到了細微的酒氣，腦筋一動，白澤大概猜出了是怎麽回事，但考慮到麒麟已經尴尬成這個樣子，他還是決定貼心地裝作什麽都不知道。
将被不堪其擾的蒼龍丢過來的麒麟撿回部落，天才蒙蒙亮，部落裏已經開始有了清晨活動的痕跡，麒麟看到一棟棟土坯房的房門推開，曬得黝黑卻笑容滿面的人接二連三地從房子裏走出來，他們經過白澤和鳳凰身邊時，都會認真地和他們打招呼。
———發自內心的尊崇騙不了人。
麒麟看着看着，竟然莫名有些羨慕，但他并沒有去深想。
鳳凰倒是看出來了點什麽，他不經意地提議：“麒麟，你要留下來和我們一起建設部落嗎？”
麒麟有一瞬間很是心動，但考慮了一會兒，他還是搖頭拒絕了：“我不适合留在部落裏。”
要建設一個部落，需要考慮裏裏外外、方方面面的事，這些事大多瑣碎繁雜，需要耐心和恒心，麒麟并不是個愛拘束的性子，這樣的生活短期還好，長期根本就不适合他，在蒼龍那邊給他幫忙的時候，麒麟就深刻地意識到了。
“你不在一個固定的地方住下來，小谛聽怎麽辦？”
麒麟去蒼龍所在的部落做客前，将谛聽托付給了鳳凰，一旦相處就會有感情，鳳凰也自然會為他懷裏的這只小幼崽考慮。
“風餐露宿的生活确實挺苦的。”麒麟嘆了一口氣，将谛聽從鳳凰懷裏抱過來，“我之所以将它留在你們部落，就是想看看它更喜歡哪種生活。”
谛聽稱呼他一句老師，他自然不可能撒手不管，将谛聽暫時留在白澤和鳳凰一起建設的部落，也是他深思熟慮後才做下的決定———他追求自由，不代表小幼崽也一樣。
“我要跟着老師！”谛聽早早地被喊起來本來還有點瞌睡，這一下直接給吓沒了，它抓着麒麟的衣服，“我不要自己留下來！”
它是很喜歡部落的生活，但它更不想和老師分開，雖然老師有時候不靠譜還喜歡捉弄它，但它就是不要和老師分開！
“你不喜歡部落的生活嗎？”麒麟問。
“喜歡！”谛聽說，“但我更喜歡老師！”
或許是因為最弱小的時候一直是麒麟在關照它，谛聽心裏更依賴麒麟，說什麽也不願意和他分開，麒麟在确定了谛聽的想法後，帶着它在部落裏住了一段時間，然後在某個天氣很好的早晨，與鳳凰他們告別了。
走的時候麒麟将有點悶悶不樂的谛聽放在肩上：“确定不後悔？”
谛聽閉着眼，圈着他的脖子點了點頭。
“別難過。”麒麟給它擦了擦眼角的淚花，“我會經常帶着你回來看看的。”
*
“人”成了這片大地上最活躍的種族，災劫肆虐後的新世界，被稱之為［大荒］。
麒麟帶着谛聽走過了無數個日月輪轉，無數個春夏秋冬，谛聽慢慢從手臂長的小幼崽，變成了比成人還高一個頭的幼獸。
鳳凰在幫着白澤将部落的安排盡數走上正軌後就再次回到了他搭建好的山間小院，他在小院裏一點點複刻出了曾經充滿生活氣息的每一個角落，又在小院的最中間種上了茂盛的爬山虎藤，藤下有石桌石凳，不遠處有着布滿陣紋的木椅，一切都好像舊時模樣。
每隔幾年，其他人會在冬日雪花滿肩時來到山間小院，叩響小院的門，鳳凰會從裏面将門打開，風雪之中的歸客短暫地聚到一處，又在雪未化時離開，檐角下的燈籠，無聲地見證了這一切。
麒麟帶着谛聽在大荒的各處游歷，也曾與谛聽一起在風雪之中踏上歸程，谛聽懵懵懂懂之中又有茫然不解，鳳凰前輩所在的小院好像是家，又好像不是。
它不明白，為什麽他們每次歸去時都是大雪紛飛，老師告訴它，大雪之中的某一日叫做“新年”，是阖家團圓的日子。
谛聽有過很多個新年，有時在鳳凰前輩的小院，有時在白澤前輩的居處，有時在龍部落———蒼龍前輩所在的那個部落，以蒼龍前輩的原型作為了部落的圖騰。
蒼龍前輩的原型暴露得意外又突然，是在部落遇到無法抵擋的災害時，為了替衆人贏得逃命的時間，才化作了遮天蔽日的原形。
常言說“非我族類，其心必異”，蒼龍以為它和人類部落的緣分就此畫上了句號，結果部落裏的人并不害怕他，部落裏的聰明人早就猜到蒼龍并不是普通的人類，就算是再厲害的天選子，也不可能做到這個程度，比起蒼龍是異獸這件事，他們更害怕蒼龍會就此離開。
他們截住了蒼龍離開的路，誠懇地請求他留下來，并發下誓言———
“我們會永遠保護、永遠信賴大祭司！”
在某個風雪團圓夜時，蒼龍輕描淡寫地講出這件事，他說部落裏的人并不在意他的異獸身份，他說部落裏的人越發關切他，他說他會讓部落越來越好，他還說部落在以他的原型作為圖騰後，他擁有了感知部衆安危的能力……他或許自己也沒有發現，說到這些時，他的眼裏帶着融融的笑意，比屋裏的火光更璀璨盛大。
蒼龍身份的暴露就像一個引子，白澤的身份也在不久之後暴露了，他們部落裏的人同樣不在意，被白澤見證着從孩童長到壯年依舊童心未泯的部衆們甚至商量着給白澤弄出了一個特有的新稱呼———神獸白澤。
按他們部落的話說，龍部落的“大祭司”名號聽着就威風，他們部落也不能落了下乘，“異獸”念起來不好聽，說起來又感覺帶隔閡，不如稍微修改一下。
白澤為他們帶來了翻天覆地的改變，帶着他們離開了饑餓、疾病與短命，是不是人類又有什麽關系？
他們發自內心地愛着給他們帶來改變的白澤，他們信奉着白澤，并以白澤能作為他們的圖騰為傲。
蒼龍和白澤在大荒聲名鵲起，之後如日中天，鳳凰并不是一直呆在山間小院，他偶爾會接了白澤的邀請下山去，也會在其他弱小的部族停駐施以援手。
麒麟帶着谛聽在大荒四處游歷，他将所見所聞整合成了一本書，書裏簡短地記載了各種植物的外形與功效，每到一個地方，麒麟便留下一份手稿，來幫助這裏的人類更好地生存。
人類的壽命不足百載，于是生命一代代更疊，他們很快就開始面臨死別。
蒼龍送走了他最初遇到的那個領頭人，他是部落有記載以來最長壽的人類，已經很老很老了，老到肌肉消失，布滿溝壑的皮膚包裹着骨頭，眼神渾濁，不複清亮，頭發稀疏得快掉完。
他離開的時候，整個部落都來為他送行，蒼龍站在他身邊，看着這個枯瘦的老人向他伸出手：“大祭司……”
他同以往一樣恭敬地喊着蒼龍，卻在生命的最後，意識混沌不清時，喃喃說着“小娃娃”，又問他受傷了沒，好像回到了最初那個獵野獸的深坑邊，他還頭發花白卻風姿不減。
蒼龍聽着他微弱的呼吸趨近于無，最後在風中湮滅。
人類就是這樣，堅韌、聰慧，短暫如煙。
In the years that followed, Canglong saw off many familiar people, from the original leader to the youngest child in the tribe. The familiar people grew up one by one, grew old one by one, and left one by one. On the high mountain not far from the tribe, the number of graves increased year by year.
Canglong is still the high priest of the Dragon Tribe. No one knows the tribe better than him, but he sometimes feels as if this is not the tribe he is familiar with—even though he has watched every child in the tribe grow up.
Like him, Bai Ze began to face death.
It seemed like those people were laughing and joking with him the day before, and they were sleeping forever underground the next day. There were fewer and fewer familiar people, and Bai Ze slowly discovered that he seemed not to laugh anymore.
Death was like grains of dust, seemingly lightly covering him. The dust had no weight, but it accumulated more and more, and was about to crush his heart.
The previous separation had cut a deep wound in his heart, and the wound healed leaving a huge scar, and now countless tiny knives fell, tearing the scar open again.
Bai Ze saw many fish swimming in the sea and many white birds flying in the sky. They were so lonely and yet so eternal.
He used his talent all night under the moonlight, and when the morning light came, white hair began to appear on his temples.
Di Ting already had a human form. After obtaining Qilin's permission and asking for Di Ting's opinion, Bai Ze kept him by his side. He took Di Ting to live in this familiar yet unfamiliar tribe and taught him many things that only a "divine beast" knew.
Qilin still appears mysteriously in various places in the wilderness, but his records begin to include more alien beasts and plants that existed before the disaster - alienated beings. Their inheritance seems to have been affected, and even if new inheritors are born between heaven and earth, they will be alienated unknowingly as they grow older.
They seemed to be full of resentment towards the new races born between heaven and earth, so they regarded them as the source of replenishing their strength. In the book integrated by Qilin, there were gradually more records of cannibalism, such as the sparrow, the Hehui, and the Zhuhuai.
As a result, humans in the wilderness faced the biggest crisis since their birth, and countless people died and were injured in a short period of time. They collectively called these alienated beings "fallen beasts" and spread the characteristics of fallen beasts in the wilderness.
More and more humans began to awaken their spiritual powers, gained attributes, and followed the methods spread by Qilin and others to cultivate themselves in order to resist the crisis of fallen beasts.
They had been fighting the Fallen Beasts for thousands of years, long enough for their language to develop into a mature system, for villages to become cities that sprang up from the ground, and for so long that the entire wilderness was turned upside down.
Over the past thousand years, no matter if they were the proud sons of heaven or ordinary mortals, they could not escape the passage of time. Bai Ze watched their existence and extinction. He no longer had the sharpness of his youth. Time had made him steady, prudent and gentle. He always stood in the forefront. Humans regarded him as a wise man, and alien beasts and plants trusted him. He grew at an incredible speed, but his hair was getting whiter and whiter.
During a gathering in winter one year, Bai Ze suddenly said that he wanted to go back to the place where they came from. He didn't say where that place was, but the other three knew it well.
Qilin asked: "Have you really thought it through?"
They accompanied Bai Ze back to the mountains.
After thousands of years, this place is no longer what it used to be. There is no trace of the past anymore. The big pits and chaotic ruins that were once left behind have all been smoothed out by time.
Thick snow covered the place, and it was all white. Bai Ze put down a red lantern and exhaled a breath of hot air.
He turned around to look at his companion who was still as handsome as ever, and then looked at the worried young man. Suddenly, he smiled after a long absence and said, "I've thought about it."
"Let's go home."
In the early spring of the following year, a dark blue "sea" suddenly appeared somewhere in the wilderness. In the sea, there were white fish like silhouettes. The white fish swam upward from the bottom of the sea, turned into beautiful white birds on the sea surface, and flew into the sky with their wings spread.
Shirazawa's body and his immense telekinesis were left here, transforming into a place between life and death that could not be seen by ordinary people. His consciousness was thrown into the sea, reincarnating with countless humans.
Di Ting took over Bai Ze's position and became the wise man leading mankind. The Qilin, who was supposed to travel around the wilderness, also stayed in the human territory with him.
Qilin is the one who is most unwilling to be restricted, but he is still worried about his students.
Feelings are the most terrible bond in this world.
The struggle between the fallen beasts and humans never stops, and there are new white fish in the sea every day.
One day, a green fish suddenly swam up from the deepest part of the sea. It fluttered its tail and turned into a green bird on the sea surface. It then flew into the clouds and fell from the clouds.
A seed fell into the soil.
Between heaven and earth, many fine golden threads penetrate into the soil, lasting for hundreds and thousands of years without interruption.
One spring, when everything was reviving, a tiny sprout popped out from a piece of soil.