The next morning, the rain finally let up, though the sky remained overcast. A faint mist hovered over the courtyard, clinging to the leaves and flowers. The air was thick with the lingering dampness of the past few days.
Meng Huaize sat under the veranda, deep in thought, occasionally glancing at the little pink spirit who had stayed overnight in the corner. The spirit had fallen asleep, curled up into a ball, its small wings folded around its body like a cocoon. Xue Zhao squeezed in next to the little pink spirit, his enthusiasm overflowing. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Ah Fei,” the pink spirit replied softly.
“Ah Fei,” Xue Zhao repeated, bouncing excitedly. His wrinkled belly jiggled with the motion, his face flushing with joy. “What a nice name! Do you also live on Chuanki Mountain? Where exactly do you live? I live—”
Before Xue Zhao could finish his sentence, a golden light suddenly flashed toward him. With a yelp, he was sent flying into the corner, dazed and dizzy, where he lay motionless, only managing a few weak groans.
Meng Huaize instinctively took a step back, eyeing the remnants of the golden light in Wu Yue’s hand. Swallowing nervously, he realized that the wolf seemed unusually agitated—if not outright excited—today.
Wu Yue’s eyes glowed golden, his expression sharp and eager as he addressed Ah Fei. “Who hurt you?”
Ah Fei, having just seen Xue Zhao flung into the corner by a ruthless flash of light, was too terrified to provoke the powerful spirit before him. Shaking his head obediently, he answered in a quiet, meek voice, “I don’t know. Earlier today, a large hole suddenly appeared behind the ninth mountain. A lot of purple mist came out, and several spirits close by were swallowed. I was farther away, so I barely managed to escape.”
Meng Huaize turned toward Wu Yue, anxiety creeping into his voice. “Is it the great spirit?”
Wu Yue smiled, gathering his loose hair and tying it casually with a black ribbon. “I’ll go check it out.”
As he headed for the door, Meng Huaize quickly grabbed his arm.
Wu Yue stopped, puzzled, and turned back to him. “What is it?”
Meng Huaize’s grip tightened, then loosened, as the weight that had been hanging over him for days suddenly sank deep into his chest, suffocating him with an oppressive dread. After a moment, he whispered, “Be careful.”
Wu Yue’s expression grew even more curious. He looked at Meng Huaize, the fierce gleam in his golden eyes softening ever so slightly. Wu Yue had always lived a solitary life, finding pleasure in hunting down powerful spirits and roaming the wildest, most remote corners of the world. Lesser spirits held no interest for him, and the stronger his opponents, the more thrilled he became. No one had ever worried for him or told him to “be careful.”
It felt strange, but… not bad.
“I got it,” Wu Yue replied.
Meng Huaize let go of his arm, forcing a smile. “I’ll wait for you to come back.”
Wu Yue held his gaze for a moment longer before finally looking away. He glanced at Ah Fei, still on the ground, and said to Meng Huaize, “Stay away from him. Don’t touch him.” Get faster updates on g.com.
Ah Fei, feeling the weight of Wu Yue’s words, curled his pink wings around himself and took a small step back.
Meng Huaize was about to ask why when Wu Yue stepped into the rain-soaked night. In the blink of an eye, the black-clad man vanished, replaced by a towering black wolf. With a powerful leap, the wolf bounded into the night, heading toward the distant Chuanki Mountain.
For a moment, the sound of the rain seemed to pause, and when it resumed, it was much lighter.
Meng Huaize stood still, watching the direction in which Wu Yue had disappeared. The deep night, combined with the rain, rendered Chuanki Mountain little more than a faint, ominous shadow on the horizon. His hand, clenched tightly at his side, betrayed his inner turmoil.
Orphaned at a young age, Meng Huaize had been raised by his grandmother, who passed away when he was fifteen. From that point on, he had no family left in the world. His years as a physician had accustomed him to witnessing the pain of parting and loss. He had thought nothing could scare him anymore—certainly not the prospect of losing someone. But now, fear was suffocating him. He couldn’t tell if he was afraid of the great spirit on Chuanki Mountain, if he was worried Wu Yue might fail and endanger the whole village, or if… he was simply afraid of Wu Yue getting hurt.
Compared to Wu Yue, who was many times stronger, Meng Huaize found his own concerns laughable. Yet he couldn’t shake them, no matter how hard he tried.
He stood there for a while, staring at Chuanki Mountain, before sitting back down under the veranda. The room behind him was dimly lit by a single candle, casting a faint glow in the gloom. He kept his gaze fixed on the distant, dark mountain, listening to the endless patter of rain as he waited for dawn to arrive.
Meanwhile, Xue Zhao finally came to, still dizzy from his earlier tumble. Holding his head, he wobbled to his feet, his voice slurred as he asked, “Where did the master go?”
Ah Fei, standing by the doorway, answered softly, “He went to Chuanki Mountain.”
“Oh, Chuanki Mountain,” Xue Zhao muttered, repeating the name instinctively. A moment later, his eyes widened in realization. “Chuanki Mountain!”
The two small spirits huddled close to Meng Huaize, watching the distant, towering silhouette of the mountain through the rain. After a while, Xue Zhao grew tired of sitting. He stood up, dragged his cushion from the corner of the room, and set it beside Meng Huaize before plopping down on it.
He turned to Ah Fei and offered, “Come sit with me. It’s really soft.”
Ah Fei hesitated at first, but Xue Zhao’s enthusiastic invitation, coupled with the undeniable comfort of the cushion, eventually won him over. He gingerly sat down next to Xue Zhao.
After a moment of quiet, Xue Zhao pulled a flower from his belly and held it up to Ah Fei. “Look at this flower,” he whispered. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Having grown up on Chuanki Mountain, Ah Fei wasn’t as impressed by the flower as Xue Zhao was. Still, out of politeness, he replied, “Yes, it’s beautiful.” Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
Xue Zhao frowned, dissatisfied with the lukewarm response. He shoved the flower back into his belly and produced a new one, holding it up to Ah Fei. “What about this one? Isn’t this one even prettier?”
Ah Fei absentmindedly nodded.
Feeling slighted, Xue Zhao stuffed the flowers back into his belly. But when he saw Ah Fei’s worried face, his frustration melted away. He couldn’t stand seeing a beautiful spirit upset. “Don’t worry,” Xue Zhao reassured him. “Master Wu Yue is really strong. He’ll definitely kill that spirit on Chuanki Mountain, and then you can go home.”
Ah Fei remained anxious. “The spirit on Chuanki Mountain is also very strong. We didn’t even see its form—just a cloud of mist—and many spirits were swallowed by it. What if this master can’t defeat him?”
“What if…” Xue Zhao trailed off, unsure of what would happen if Wu Yue couldn’t defeat the spirit. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, his expression brightened, and he confidently said, “Even if Master Wu Yue can’t kill the spirit, Cangming Tianzun and Lingzhen Tianzun wouldn’t just let it run wild in the human world.”
“Who are they?” Ah Fei asked curiously.
“You don’t know about Cangming Tianzun and Lingzhen Tianzun?” Xue Zhao looked utterly shocked.
Ah Fei shook his head.
Meng Huaize, half-listening to the conversation between the two spirits, turned his head toward them, equally curious. “Are they very powerful?”
“Of course!” Xue Zhao, feeling superior, puffed out his chest, shaking his head as if sharing profound knowledge. “They are the three supreme deities who emerged from the chaos at the beginning of time. They are the most noble and powerful gods in this world. Cangming Tianzun and Lingzhen Tianzun reside in the Jade Heaven—the highest place in existence, and also the most magnificent. There’s the Green Cloud Pavilion, the Purple Mist City, and the Eight Treasures Tower…”
Xue Zhao’s face was filled with longing, but Meng Huaize noticed something odd. “Didn’t you say there are three deities? What about the other one?”
Xue Zhao suddenly fell silent, his claws nervously scratching at the sparse hair on his head. After a long pause, he mumbled, “My father told me not to talk about that one.”
The more Xue Zhao acted like this, the more curious Ah Fei and Meng Huaize became. Ah Fei’s eyes widened as he leaned in, asking, “Why not?”
Xue Zhao hesitated for a moment longer, glancing around nervously. Seeing his unease, Meng Huaize was about to change the subject, not wanting to pressure him. But then Xue Zhao leaned in closer, lowering his voice as if fearing something or someone might overhear.
“The third deity… perished a thousand years ago.”