Yan Ran gossiped nonsense, and the sky gradually darkened.
Xu Dongqing looked at the dark sky with a worried look on his face, “It’s going to get dark soon, what should we do next?”
“You are asking me?” Yan Ran pointed to his nose, “I’m still counting on you guys to figure it out!”
Qiu Yutong hesitated for a moment, ” When I was a child I heard others say that most devils liked to be active at night. How about we find a place to rest by the river for a night, and then we will find a way to find City Lord Xie of North Snow City when it is dawn?”
Lu Xiao nodded, “Sounds good.”
Xu Dongqing and Yan Ran naturally had no objection.
The river valley was very deep, and there were towering cliffs on both sides. The four of them found a sunken shelter under the cliff. Yan Ran and Xu Dongqing went to the river again to pluck a lot of dry reeds, then returned and spread a thick layer on the ground, it seemed like it was a good place to rest.
Yan Ran had not yet reached the fasting stage, so he naturally brought a lot of dry food with him, but he had a rough taste, and the dry food he brought was like jerky pancakes. The taste was really not good, at best it was barely enough. But at this time, there was nothing to be picky about. Qiu Yutong held a rough buckwheat noodle cake and gnawed at it hard like chewing wax. Fortunately, Lu Xiao boiled some hot water, and he was able to swallow it using the hot water.
After the four of them finished eating, the sky was completely dark. In the dark night sky, let alone the moon, there was not even a single star. On the thick reeds, Xu Dongqing curled up on his side, while Yan Ran lay on his back; they were both asleep. Xu Dongqing was relatively quiet, Yan Ran’s snoring was so loud, and from time to time he would grind his teeth, which made people’s teeth sore.
Qiu Yutong lay on the pile of reeds, staring blankly at the dark sky, a little lost.
Too many things have happened these days. He thought about Tianzhao Yunhai, North Snow City, his three senior brothers, the burnt Medicine Monarch Manor, the terrifying Blood Prison Secret Realm, he thought about Immortal Qingheng, he thought about the North Sea Sword Sect, he thought about those two weird turtle shells…
He thought about it for a long time but still didn’t have a clue. He couldn’t help but sigh softly and turned to the side again, staring straight into a pair of dark phoenix eyes.
Qiu Yutong was stunned for a moment, and at that moment he almost had an illusion, as if there was nothing in the world other than him that could fit into those eyes.
“Xiao-er?” He came back to his senses and asked suspiciously.
Lu Xiao moved his eyes away in panic and embarrassment. Qiu Yutong was still a little puzzled, but suddenly saw something, his eyes could not help but light up slightly, “Eh? What is that?”
He reached out and grabbed it lightly; he picked up a fat mouse from the reed pile.
This mouse was not the same as the mouse in the human world. It was the size of a rabbit. It was very plump and had a big and fluffy tail. The thick snow-white fur was dotted with strands of gold. It looked very funny and cute. At this moment, its pair of small black eyes stared at Qiu Yutong in panic, and its cry was very shrill, “Squeak! Squeak!”
“This seems to be… a Gold Silk Snow Mouse?” Qiu Yutong held it by the nape of its neck and looked at it carefully.
“What is a Gold Silk Snow Mouse?” Lu Xiao wondered.
“Oh, it’s an ordinary low-level devil. It is said that it likes to steal things, but it’s not very harmful. I have seen its illustrated handbook in the collection inside North Snow City, and it looks quite similar.”
The Gold Silk Snow Mouse squeaked wildly for a while but seemed to find that Qiu Yutong was not malicious, let alone wanting to eat it, so it gradually became quiet. A pair of small eyes stared at Qiu Yutong with some curiosity and some vigilance.
“This little guy is quite clever,” Qiu Yutong raised his eyebrows amusedly and put it on his lap.
This chubby Gold Silk Snow Mouse lay on Qiu Yutong’s thigh for a while and seemed to feel very comfortable. tIt then tentatively arched into his arms, and then narrowed its eyes, looking like it was enjoying itself, “Squeak squeak squeak.”
Lu Xiao raised his eyebrows, reached out and picked up the little thing from Qiu Yutong’s arms, and looked at it carefully, “Although this fat mouse is not that big, it has a lot of meat. It should taste very good after a little roast.”
The Gold Silk Snow Mouse widened its small eyes in horror and screeched randomly, its four small claws fluttered desperately. Lu Xiao gradually felt something, he was stunned. His hand involuntarily trembled, and the Gold Silk Snow Mouse fell to the ground with a “bang” and limped away.
Qiu Yutong wondered, “Why did it turn gray?”
Lu Xiao quietly hid his trembling right hand behind him, and said in a hoarse voice, “Maybe it was frightened. Some small animals will change color when they are frightened… Such as a kind of lizard.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. It turns out that there are such cowardly devils, I thought devils were very courageous,” Qiu Yutong smiled.
Lu Xiao was silent for a while, then asked softly, “Shizun… what is the matter with the devils? Are they all these kinds of devils? No human form? Like today’s lizard, and this mouse?”
Qiu Yutong scratched his hair, “Uh, this, I don’t know much about it. But when I was a child, I heard from the Sect Leader that some devils with spiritual consciousness can also cultivate, and they can transform into human form when their cultivation reaches a certain level. It’s called devil cultivation.”
“How do devils cultivate? Do they absorb spiritual energy?” Lu Xiao asked.
“I read records in ancient books that the way of cultivation of devils is not the same as the way of cultivation of the human race. Mortals must slowly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in order to condense into Yuandan, but high-level devils can not only absorb natural magic energy but also directly absorb the magical energy of low-level devils. Therefore, high-level devils cultivate much faster than ordinary humans. However, since it is not the right way, and it is difficult to understand the natural dao.”
Lu Xiao listened carefully, his face slightly pale, “devils… can absorb the same kind of devil energy?”
Qiu Yutong nodded, “En, so the battle between devils is very tragic. Although I don’t know what the devil world is like now, it is estimated that it is much more dangerous than the human world.”
Lu Xiao was silent for a while, and then cautiously said: “Since the demon world and the human world were completely separated 3,000 years ago, then the human world… there shouldn’t be any devils, right?”
“Eh, this problem is complicated. In fact, it is said that ten thousand years ago, the human world and the demon world were not separate, but they were integrated as one. Later, the ancient war between humans and demons occurred, which angered the heavens, and the human world and the demon world were divided into two parts. The two worlds… you know what happened later, after the fall of Immortal Qingheng three thousand years ago, the two worlds of humans and demons were completely isolated. There are still some residual devils in the human world, but only a small number.”
“Since it is completely isolated, how can there be devils in the human world?” Lu Xiao said urgently.
“Because those powerful demon cultivators in the ancient times left a lot of descendants in the human world. If the descendants of these people and demons awakened their demonic veins, they will naturally become devils… I heard Sect Leader say that our Shizun, Spiritual Master Minghui, just wanted to wipe out a group of descendants of human beings and demons. As a result, he was besieged by them for several days and nights and finally committed suicide. But at that time I was too young to have any memory. “
“… Awaken the demonic veins?” Lu Xiao murmured.
“En, it is said that if the descendants of human beings and demons are irritated or absorb demonic energy, it may awaken the demonic veins. However, according to Sect Leader, there are some who never awaken in their entire lives.”
Lu Xiao was silent for a long time, and suddenly said, “If you meet a devil, what will Shizun do?”
Qiu Yutong didn’t expect that he would ask this question, so he hesitated before saying, “I have never met a devil… If I encounter a devil that breaks the law and commits crimes, I will do my utmost to kill it like my Shizun back then. I can’t let it continue to be a disaster for the world.”
“Really?” Lu Xiao lowered his eyelashes, his voice was as soft as a feather, and his handsome face was almost bloodless.
Qiu Yutong was a little puzzled and worried, “What’s wrong? Does your wound hurt again?”
Lu Xiao slowly raised his eyes and looked at him almost in a trance. After a long time, he made a low “en”.
Qiu Yutong’s heart softened slightly, and he couldn’t help but touch his little apprentice’s dark and soft hair, “These days, you have really suffered.”
“No,” Lu Xiao said hoarsely.
The two lay quietly side by side on the pile of reeds and Qiu Yutong touched his little apprentice’s hair lightly; he felt soft and affectionate. After a while, Lu Xiao turned his head slightly, his cheeks rubbed against his warm palm, and his hot lips brushed his slender and cool fingers, it was unknown if it was intentional or otherwise.
Qiu Yutong’s heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and his fingers felt a little itchy, he couldn’t help but want to withdraw his hand, “Why are you still the same as when you were a child?”
Lu Xiao grabbed his wrist and said in a hoarse voice, “Don’t treat me like a child!”
Qiu Yutong was stunned, “What’s wrong?”
He was already two hundred years old, and this kid was only in his twenties. Although he had been an emperor for several years, he was a child compared to him. Besides, he didn’t say much of this kind of thing before, and he never saw such a big reaction from this kid.
Lu Xiao didn’t answer, he just slowly propped up his body and stared at him with his eyes down. Those beautiful phoenix eyes that were slightly raised were so dark that there was almost no luster, and there seemed to be something extremely intense surging in his dark eyes; he seemed to be struggling to suppress some kind of fatal impulse.
Qiu Yutong was a little nervous when he saw him, “Xiao-er?”
Lu Xiao’s drooping eyelashes trembled slightly, then he closed his eyes patiently. His tensed muscles slowly relaxed, and he finally gave up and slumped on Qiu Yutong’s chest, “Shizun.”
Qiu Yutong blinked, “En?”
Why was this kid so coquettish all of a sudden? Just now, he kept saying that he was not willing to be treated as a child…
At this moment, it was almost impossible for Lu Xiao to hide his extremely agitated emotions, so he could only bury his face in the thick black hair on the side of the other’s neck, and take a deep breath extremely slowly and eagerly.
That snow-like clear scent made him dream for many years, and he tossed and turned for many nights… Those nights when he first learned about the ways of the world, those strange and unspeakable dreams, he did not dare to recall at first, he didn’t want to think about it, he was even afraid to think about it, but in the end, he couldn’t resist it at all. In the end, he could only give up and let himself reminisce over and over again. With an extremely heavy sense of guilt, he shuddered and indulged in it, it was difficult to extricate himself….
On the night of thunderstorms in those years, just lying beside this person, just smelling his light and cool scent, he was able to… But this simple person didn’t notice it, even when he couldn’t bear it till he trembled, he coaxed him sleepily and softly, “Uh… Xiao-er? Don’t be afraid, it’s just thunder, Shizun is here.” That kind of hoarse and soft voice almost made his scalp tingle…
He had always been calm and self-controlled, his mind was extremely complicated, and his methods were cruel enough, but when facing this person, he was so stupid that he didn’t know what to do… After personally strangling his father with a bowstring, he had no interest in the throne anymore, but this man seemed to want him to be the emperor, so he became the emperor. In fact, all he did was just hope that this person… would be satisfied with him.
Then, at his enthronement ceremony, his Shizun ascended.
It almost broke him.
It turned out that in this person’s heart, he was not… that important. Up to now, Lu Xiao still can’t talk about the ascension calmly, and can’t question his Shizun why, because he knows that the answer may be able to tear him apart directly.
Perhaps his Shizun saved him for the sake of ascending heavenwards… He couldn’t think about it any longer.
He also knew from the bottom of his heart that he was probably crazy. When he was in Medicine Monarch Manor, he did such terrible things that even he felt disgusted. He actually wanted to rely on such despicable methods to keep this person by his side…
How much he had longed for himself to be able to practice, he wanted to accompany this person for thousands of years, guard this person, protect this person, and not let anyone else have the opportunity to get a little bit… He wanted everything this person had, from hair to fingertips, from the body to soul, every hair, every inch of skin, every tremble, every gasp, every tear… all belong to him, only to him.
However, now it seemed that there was finally a glimmer of hope, but he was frightened again… That huge devil lizard, that Gold Silk Snow Mouse, he obviously felt that something was extremely wrong, that surging sense of power, an extremely terrifying sense of control, that boiling urge to kill… In case, in case his own lineage… What would this person do to him? Would he, would he…
Lu Xiao closed his eyes, he didn’t dare to think about it.
Qiu Yutong blinked, he felt that the other party’s hot breath was gradually quickening, rushing to the side of his neck in waves. Although Lu Xiao liked to bury his head in his neck like this since he was a child, at this moment, Qiu Yutong had an inexplicably strange feeling. He couldn’t help but want to move back a little, but the other party’s strong arms wrapped tightly around his waist, like an iron hoop, and he couldn’t move at all.
“Don’t move. Let me hold you for a while… just for a while,” Lu Xiao said hoarsely, “Is it alright?”
The pitiful tone of his little apprentice made Qiu Yutong unable to refuse at all. He sighed, his heart was soft, and there was nothing he could do. He could only reach out and touch his forehead, “What’s the matter? Is the wound uncomfortable? Is it hot again? … It doesn’t seem like it.”
“Shizun, after leaving the secret realm, I… I want to tell you something.”
……
When Qiu Yutong opened his eyes in a daze, the sky was already bright. Lu Xiao, Xu Dongqing, and Yan Ran had already packed their packages and were waiting for him.
Qiu Yutong rubbed his eyes a little embarrassedly, “I’ve always slept deeply, Xiao-er why didn’t you wake me?”
Before Lu Xiao could answer, Qiu Yutong was stunned for a moment, and then jumped up abruptly, “Communication fireworks! That is a communication firework!”
Following his gaze, everyone raised their heads and looked towards the eastern sky, only to see a smoky blue firework rise into the sky in the distant eastern sky, like a huge cold plum blooming in the sky, especially dazzling against the crimson morning glow.
Qiu Yutong was full of surprises, “That’s North Snow City’s communication fireworks! They must be in that direction!”
Lu Xiao stared intently, “Looking at the direction of the fireworks, they should be in the lower part of this river.”
Yan Ran said happily, “So, as long as we go down this river, we can find the powerful cultivator of North Snow City?! Oh, my little life is finally saved!”
“City Lord Xie is there?” Xu Dongqing’s eyes also lit up, “Let’s go, let’s hurry over there!”
The four of them tidied up a little and immediately set off on their way.
They walked along the long and narrow valley bottom for two or three hours. The valley finally opened up, and the riverbed became wider. The water was so white that it was almost impossible to see the other side.
Yan Ran sniffed and suddenly said, “It smells so good, what is that smell?”
Xu Dongqing sniffed carefully: “It seems like… the fragrance of black lilies?”
“There!” Yan Ran saw a small ink-colored water lily by the river with sharp eyes and immediately stepped on the reef, jumped over a few steps, and reached out to pick it, “I didn’t expect that there were black lilies in this secret realm. But it’s a rare thing, you can’t buy it even with many spirit stones!”
“Don’t pick it, that’s…” Qiu Yutong hurriedly stopped him, but it was too late.
He heard a few soft rustling sounds and several white-clothed youths descended from the sky, a dense net of swords suddenly enveloped Yan Ran’s whole body. The handsome young man in the lead shouted loudly, “Which thief has the impertinence to touch North Snow City’s Azure Dragon Black Lilies?! Do you want to die?”
