In the Jiangbei Prince's Mansion, Feng Shihao returned from outside, and Qu Linglong stepped forward to inquire.
"Lingyao still hasn't been found?"
Feng Shihao looked at her, then at their daughter toddling in the courtyard, and remained silent.
Qu Linglong had been dismissed from her post and had nothing to do at home but prepare various health-preserving soups. Feng Shihao had an irregular diet when he was young and suffered from a poor stomach. After drinking the soup for over a month, he had seen some improvement.
She was a good woman, suited for domestic life.
He seemed to have become very dependent on her. She was like warm water, finally permeating his limbs and invading his body.
He couldn't live without her and wanted to possess this warmth forever.
However, he was about to make her sad again.
"Linglong, I'll send you and our daughter away."
What did he mean?
Qu Linglong's heart panicked, thinking he was getting stuck in a rut again. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room.
"What's wrong? Haven't we already discussed this? Don't you trust me?"
"No, it's not that. I'll come to find you once my affairs here are settled."
He was reluctant too. Having tasted light, who would want to return to darkness? But he had to do this.
Qu Linglong realized something.
She loved him, but she had never dared to hope he would place her in the most important position. Only one person could command such devotion from him.
"Did something happen to Lingyao? What are you going to do?"
What was he going to do?
He wanted his imperial sister back. He wanted the person who forced her away to pay the price! He wanted to whip the heartless, cannibalistic imperial palace!
He shouldn't have held back then; he shouldn't have let that person ascend the throne so easily.
As a result, they didn't cherish him and were ungrateful.
However, he had ultimately wronged Linglong.
"I'll arrange for you to go to a safe place and leave for now, okay?"
Could she say no? He was asking for her opinion so patiently, even though she knew her opinion wasn't important.
In front of him, she had always been humble.
She dared not throw a tantrum or act as recklessly as Lingyao.
She feared that if she did, he would distance himself from her again.
She suppressed the tears in her eyes and asked, "Will you die?"
Perhaps, but he dared not say it. He feared the tears in her eyes; they were so scorching, like the sharpest blades.
Don't let them fall, he feared he would be trapped by them and make a decision he would regret.
He hugged her and kissed her tear-filled eyes with a storm-like passion, then her mouth, which always spoke words that moved him.
He rarely had such passionate moments.
This made Qu Linglong feel that she was also cherished, not just her one-sided affection.
"Qu Linglong, I like you," he mumbled indistinctly through his kisses.
Qu Linglong couldn't believe her ears.
Then she heard him say, "If I live, you are my only one. If I die, forget me."
Qu Linglong bit his lip in hatred.
How could she forget him? She would never forget him in this lifetime. This scoundrel was still saying such hurtful things!
August 15th, Mid-Autumn Festival.
A day that should have been for reunion, yet someone was leaving.
The full moon in the sky cast its radiance, unable to dispel the gloom in the hearts of the sorrowful.
Xiao Shan gave up his search. He remembered the words telling him to wait obediently at home. Like before, he went hunting, returned home, let his beard grow, and became unkempt.
He returned to being a man of stone.
He walked alone and drank alone.
The moon in the sky seemed to be tinged with a blush. He wiped his face, thinking he had unknowingly teared up again.
He cursed himself: "Coward, not even a little patience."
It had only been a few days, and he didn't know how many times his eyes had reddened.
However, when the moon was covered by black-red clouds, he finally realized it wasn't his eyes.
The once bright courtyard was plunged into darkness. The disk-like moon was finally completely swallowed by dark clouds, and a heart-pounding atmospheric pressure rumbled overhead.
A thunderstorm?
At this season?
It was too strange.
Soon, a strong wind began to blow, indeed the prelude to a thunderstorm. Thunder rumbled from afar and then, surprisingly, streaks of lightning flashed.
Dragon-like flashes tore through the darkness, striking the earth like sharp swords, clearly illuminating the terrifying black-red clouds in the sky.
Xiao Shan had never witnessed such a peculiar phenomenon. Even he, who feared nothing, felt a tremor in his heart.
Even stranger was that the lightning strikes were all directed at the same spot.
It was Baiyun Mountain!
The rumbling continued, and large drops of sweat fell from Xiao Shan. He didn't know why, but he was afraid.
Anything in this world that surpassed his understanding reminded him of Xue Niang.
She was the most unique existence in this world.
Even in his past life, she had never fully told him her origins; he had only guessed from fragments of her words. She did not belong to this world.
Rejection phenomena had always existed, including the Heavenly Dao.
So, what were those lightning strikes hitting?
They were all striking madly towards one spot. What was there?
Xiao Shan felt time stretch endlessly, but in reality, it was a very short period. The lightning stopped, the thunder faded, and the dark clouds revealed the moon.
From a crescent to a half-moon, then to a full disk.
The cold moonlight spilled into the small farmhouse courtyard, making everything that had just happened seem like an illusion.
But Xiao Shan knew it wasn't. Uneasy, he immediately tidied himself up and entered Baiyun Mountain.
Baiyun Mountain was truly quiet. Even without fierce beasts, there should have been some roe deer and rabbits. He hadn't been bluffing when he wanted to scare Xue Niang. There should have been plenty of snakes.
But tonight, it was too quiet. He walked for a long time and didn't encounter a single roosting bird.
He walked towards the general direction where the lightning had struck.
However, after searching around, he found nothing.
After this, he went to Baiyun Mountain every day, sometimes not even descending the mountain. He brought enough dry rations and ate and slept in the mountains for several days.
Many people in the capital were looking for him, but they couldn't find him anywhere.
Occasionally, villagers who went up the mountain encountered him and thought he was a wild man. Rumors spread, and fewer people dared to go into the mountains.
Later, on one occasion, he finally went to the city to buy some durable clothes. While eating at a small stall, he overheard people discussing.
They said a wild man had appeared on Baiyun Mountain, with a face like a yaksha, fierce and menacing.
They also said a fierce beast had appeared, entirely white, over two meters long, carrying an infant in its mouth. They didn't know whose child it was, pitying the poor thing...
Xiao Shan looked at himself. The wild man might be him, but what about the fierce beast?
He had been staying on the mountain all this time and had almost made Baiyun Mountain his home. Baiyun Mountain wasn't large; he almost knew the location of every roe deer burrow and bird's nest.
He had never seen a fierce beast over two meters long.
Never mind, it wasn't his business. There were plenty of exaggerations.
Most likely, it wasn't true.
At this moment, in a certain cave on the mountain, the Snow Wolf King was lying on the ground, fast asleep.
There was no other way; finally, with the Great Radiance Divine Lord absent, it was time to catch up on sleep! Who could endure playing hide-and-seek with him all night!
And nestled on its soft belly was a little girl, about two years old, also sleeping soundly with drool streaming down her face.