Chapter 68: Breaking the Cage

Lu Qingjiu took a nap and felt his body clear of fatigue, and when it was getting late, he got up to make dinner.

Yin Xun came back quite late, with a grumpy expression on his face. Lu Qingjiu thought he was having an injection and didn't think much of it, not realising the threat to his poor little boy's life.

After Jiang Buhuan left, they resumed their quiet life, the farming work was never finished, and the two little white pigs they had grown into big pigs. The two little white pigs were bought together when Xiao Hei Xiao Hua arrived, but Xiao Hei Xiao Hua still looked like a little pig and the little white pigs have become big pigs. In order to keep them alive through the winter, Lu Qingjiu had asked Yin Xun to cook a pot of charcoal and a hot pot of pig food for them every day.

"So what do you want to say to them now?" Lu Qingjiu asked Yin Xun, the big white pig had been raised for a year and was almost old enough, so he planned to find an auspicious time to kill the pig and eat the meat.

"I would say." Yin Xun said, "I hope their meat smells better."

Lu Qingjiu: ""He thought again of Xiao Hua, who had died young.

Since they had decided to eat pork, the task of killing the pigs fell into their hands, as the village was too small to have a pig slaughterer. Although Lu Qingjiu had killed chickens, he had never killed an animal as big as a pig, so he asked his neighbours about the process and then gave up.

"It looks like they were going to tie the pig to the top of a stool and then stab it." Yin Xun was dancing around with a borrowed pig-killing knife, "The blood came down in a huff"

Lu Qingjiu: "Are you coming? I'll hold it for you"

Yin Xun whispered, "But I've never killed one before, and this pig weighs more than I do."

Lu Qingjiu :""

The two men looked at each other for a moment, and then their eyes drifted to Bai Yuehu, who was sitting in the courtyard in the same place.

Lu Qingjiu walked slowly up to Bai Yuehu with his pig-killing knife: "O Foxer."

Bai Yuehu opens his eyes: "Kill the pig", he has just heard the conversation between the two men.

Lu Qingjiu: "Uh-huh."

Bai Yuehu said, "Okay." He sat up from his chair, reached out and took the knife from Lu Qingjiu's hand, got up and walked in the direction of the pig pen. The pig's blood was good and tasted great for making blood sausages.

Bai Yuehu's expression was cold as he arrived at the pig pen and took the pig out with his hand. He then went in with a white knife and came out with a red knife, and his expression of determination and indifference made Yin Xun, who was watching, feel a cold chill on his neck, and he involuntarily took a few steps back.

Bai Yuehu was a very good pig slaughterer, and after killing the pig, he even forgot to divide the meat into several pieces.

Unlike the pork bought from the town, the pork is very good and fragrant. Lu Qingjiu has made a stir-fry of the pork, stewed a pot of pork feet soup, brined four pig's feet and ears, and used the pig's head for cold cuts.

The fat from the grain-fed pigs is much less than that from the feed-fed pigs, but it is very fragrant and is put in a pot to refine the oil, and the leftover drippings are sprinkled with sugar for another small dish.

Even Xiao Hei Xiao Hua was given a big cooked bone to gnaw on with gusto.

In the evening Lu Qingjiu brought the pig's ears and feet that had been marinated during the day out into the courtyard and brought a few bottles of cold beer for the three of them to eat and chat over. The pig's feet and ears had been marinated in the marinade to make them soft and flavourful, and for those who liked it spicy, they could be dipped in a mixture of sesame seeds and spices with chilli noodles.

It was a beautiful day, the moon was full and the atmosphere in the courtyard was great. Bai Yuehu didn't like to drink much, but was still interested in the marinated food. Yin Xun was talking about the odd things he had encountered since becoming a mountain god, such as how the parents didn't want their children anymore and deliberately led them up the mountain and lost them, or how he helped them find their way safely down the mountain.

Lu Qingjiu wanted to frown at the sound, and was about to say how could there be such irresponsible parents when a loud sound suddenly came from the sky. It sounded as if a mountain had collapsed, and it made Lu Qingjiu's ears perk up. Bai Yuehu, who had been sitting calmly in his rocking chair, instantly changed his face and said, "Stay at home.

"What's wrong?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

Bai Yuehu shook his head and said, "I don't know yet, I'll go over and have a look." He stood up and a black mist rose around him, then disappeared in front of Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu had never seen Bai Yuehu look so grave before and he said, "What's wrong?"

Yin Xun said dully, "The sky seems to have broken."

Lu Qingjiu: "The sky has broken" He looked in the direction where Yin Xun was looking and found that the sky really did seem to have broken, and a very long red haze had appeared in the already dark sky. It was as if something was about to emerge from it, and it made people feel uncomfortable.

Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun looked on in amazement. They did not know what the haze meant, but it was clear that it was not a good thing, as black clouds continued to spill out of the haze, and the whole sky seemed to leak.

The uneasy feeling in Yin Xun's heart grew stronger and he said, "Sake, let's go back to the house."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Good."

The two men left the courtyard and returned to the house, closing the doors and windows.

The red haze gradually expanded, and Lu Qingjiu watched from afar, waiting for it to change. Yin Xun, who was more sensitive than Lu Qingjiu, no longer dared to look outside, but huddled in the corner of the room, his body shivering involuntarily. Lu Qingjiu looked at his appearance and said worriedly, "Are you alright, Yin Xun?

"No it's okay." Yin Xun shuddered, "Sake, did you you know that the year your parents had their accident, such a haze of light appeared in the sky as well."

Lu Qingjiu is frozen.

"Then there was a continuous downpour." Yin Xun hung his head, "I can't feel anything anymore." He was originally the mountain god of the mountain, and every change in the grass and trees on the mountain came to him, but once this haze came out, it was as if his perception of the mountain was blocked out by a strange force, and everywhere his spiritual vision went, there was nothingness.

Lu Qingjiu thought about his parents' death, which he had always thought was an accident, and although he returned to Shuifu Village with doubts because of the old tree's words, he did not find anything special. It was only on his birthday, when he opened the wooden box left to him by his grandmother, that he realised that his parents' death was no accident.

Beyond Shuifu Village, there are other realms, so what does that mean, the world Bai Yuehu took him to or something else?

The sky should have been dark, but instead the blinding haze lit up half the sky. In the midst of this vision, the whole of Shuifu Village fell silent and no villagers seemed interested in this strange scene in the sky, all the houses were closed like dead graves.

Although he did not know what was going on, Yin Xun was instinctively caught up in an unspeakable fear. He was afraid of the haze, or to be precise, he was afraid of what was about to spill out of the haze.

Lu Qingjiu, who was slightly better than Yin Xun, sat on a seat next to the window and stared unblinkingly at the haze. The haze grew wider and wider, and more and more black clouds poured out of it. Then something, it seemed, came close to the haze and blocked the rift with its body.

Lu Qingjiu couldn't quite make out what it was because of the backlighting, but from the outline it appeared to be a dragon-like creature.

Lu Qingjiu gazed at the sky and guessed that the identity of the dragon creature was obviously that of his lazy houseguest, Bai Yuehu.

But what was he doing, and what did the haze mean? Lu Qingjiu's heart was surging with unease, he knew Bai Yuehu's wounds had not fully healed, and if he fought again, would Bai Yuehu's body really be able to hold up Lu Qingjiu was worried, but he was only a mortal, there was so little he could do, and he even had to distract Bai Yuehu to protect him.

I don't know what Bai Yuehu has done, but the sky is gradually returning to its usual calm as the haze begins to fade.

As Yin Xun had predicted, large drops of rain began to fall, pouring down, forming a huge curtain that enveloped the entire world. The rain was so heavy that Lu Qingjiu could not even hear Yin Xun's murmur, nor could he see what was happening to the red haze behind the dark clouds.

Yin Xun, who was cowering in the corner, suddenly straightened up as he said, " Bai Yuehu is back."

Lu Qingjiu looked surprised, he hadn't expected Bai Yuehu to return so quickly, and looked out again to see Bai Yuehu's figure in the rain.

Bai Yuehu stood outside the door and waved gently at Lu Qingjiu, as if to signal him to go out.

"Are you going out?" Yin Xun was a little uneasy, "It seems dangerous out there."

"It's okay." Lu Qingjiu said, "Bai Yuehu is here."

Yin Xun was about to say something, but in the end he said nothing and let Lu Qingjiu push the door open. Lu Qingjiu had a point, after all, if someone really wanted to hurt Lu Qingjiu, only Bai Yuehu would be able to protect him.

Himself, on the other hand, is nothing more than a weak mountain god.

Yin Xun smiled bitterly as he watched Lu Qingjiu leave the door.

Lu Qingjiu walked out into the courtyard, it was still raining, but it was falling on Lu Qingjiu.

Bai Yuehu stood at the entrance to the courtyard, his black eyes drowning in the night, making it somewhat difficult to see clearly, he watched Lu Qingjiu's feet stop in front of him and then held out his hand to Lu Qingjiu: "Come with me."

Lu Qingjiu nodded and took Bai Yuehu's palm in his.

Lu Qingjiu felt his body flying with Bai Yuehu, and when Bai Yuehu stopped again, he saw a familiar scene in front of him, a huge deep pit.

The pit is the same one Bai Yuehu brought Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun to during his horror story, but it has changed dramatically from the one before.

A huge hole had been knocked out of the edge of the deep pit, and the dragon that had been trapped inside had disappeared, leaving behind only a pool of foul-smelling sludge.

"He escaped." Bai Yuehu said, "and may come looking for you."

"Although Bai Yuehu had said that the dragon had not eaten his parents, this was after all Bai Yuehu's own words. If he didn't do it, why did he suffer such cruel punishment without justification?

It was still raining around him, the crackling rain blurred Bai Yuehu's voice, and I don't know if it was Lu Qingjiu's mistake, but he could hear a hint of pity in Bai Yuehu's tone: "I just guessed so after all."

Lu Qingjiu said: "After all what?"

Bai Yuehu said, "It's nothing."

Lu Qingjiu sensed that Bai Yuehu was obviously hiding something from him and he said, " Bai Yuehu, is there something you are not telling me"

Bai Yuehu looked back at Lu Qingjiu for a moment and actually admitted it openly, "Yes." He paused for a moment and whispered, "I don't know what to tell you."

Lu Qingjiu sighs: "This is a powerful dragon, isn't it?" Trapped in such a pit, with his eyes gouged out, he managed to escape from it.

"Naturally it's great." Bai Yuehu said, "He was trapped in there before, but only because he didn't want to come out."

Lu Qingjiu: "I don't want to"

Bai Yuehu: "He felt he was wrong."

Lu Qingjiu: "Wrong he was imprisoned for eating my parents" he said, a little sadly, "why would he do that." He thought of the funeral for his parents, when he was still at university, just a half-grown boy, the death of his parents had made him mature quickly, but if he had the choice, he would rather not have to grow up like that.

Bai Yuehu wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, just reached out his hand and gently pressed Lu Qingjiu's shoulder.

Lu Qingjiu said, "Is he trying to eat me again now?"

Bai Yuehu: "I don't know."

Lu Qingjiu smiles bitterly: "The haze in the sky just now"

Bai Yuehu said, "The haze is just to attract my attention and give him a chance to escape." Another sigh, "If he wants to leave, there is always a way."

Lu Qingjiu's eyes were downcast: "What can I do?"

Bai Yuehu: "Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

Lu Qingjiu felt frustrated, "But I was supposed to be guarding you, wasn't I? What does that mean? I'm just an ordinary human, I can't even help you by watching you get hurt."

"No." Bai Yuehu's voice, however, softened, "You have powers you don't know about."

Lu Qingjiu: "The Power of Not Knowing"

Bai Yuehu said, "Yes." But I hope you never know, he added silently in his mind as he looked into Lu Qingjiu's sad eyes.

Lu Qingjiu, however, took Bai Yuehu's words as a perfunctory consolation, smiled reluctantly, and said nothing more.

Bai Yuehu, who had rarely interacted with anyone, looked at Lu Qingjiu's forced smile, and although he felt a little uncomfortable, he didn't know how to comfort him, so he finally turned his head sideways and placed a reassuring kiss on the top of Lu Qingjiu's hair.

Lu Qingjiu looks at the deep pit in front of him and falls into silence.

Bai Yuehu said, "Let's go back."

Lu Qingjiu nods his head.

So Bai Yuehu took Lu Qingjiu home again. Lu Qingjiu was so confused that he didn't say hello to Yin Xun when he arrived and went to his room alone to rest.

Yin Xun, looking at Lu Qingjiu's disoriented appearance, had the courage to ask Bai Yuehu what had happened.

"The imprisoned dragon has escaped." Bai Yuehu said calmly, "and may come to Lu Qingjiu."

"What" Yin Xun showed an incredulous look, "escaped how did it escape" the thought that his best friend's life might be coveted by the powerful dragons made his whole body tense, "sake. Sake won't be in danger, will he?"

Bai Yuehu: "I'm here."

Yin Xun said, "I know but"

"No buts." Bai Yuehu rudely interrupted Yin Xun, "As long as I am alive, I will protect Lu Qingjiu for one day."

Yin Xun gritted her teeth: "But can you promise to stay with Lu Qingjiu forever?"

Bai Yuehu said coldly, "Why not?"

Yin Xun was dumbfounded; naturally he could see that Bai Yuehu was serious when he said this.

"It's getting late, you should go back and renew your incense." Bai Yuehu concludes their conversation.

It was still raining heavily outside, so Yin Xun chose to leave, without an umbrella and without the means to keep out the rain, so he walked back to his home step by step in a mess. The village was as quiet as a tomb, and when Yin Xun pushed open the door of his home, he saw the joss sticks that were about to burn out and the countless tablets.

Yin Xun looks at the tablet and a smile appears on his face, only it is a smile that is worse than crying.

It rained heavily all night, as if to wash away the colours of the whole world.

Lu Qingjiu sat in his bedroom, looking at the black, scarred scales. This was probably the dragon that had been imprisoned in the deep pit, so what kind of feelings did his grandmother have in mind when she left this scale behind.

The unmentioned grandfather, could it be the dragon but if so, why did he devour his own child and cause irreparable tragedy

Lu Qingjiu couldn't figure it out, and no one could give him an answer.

He looked up through the window and saw only darkness shrouded by a curtain of rain that seemed as if it would never stop, like the huge mountain that collapsed the day his parents died, in which humans were so small that even finding the bodies became a luxury.

Lu Qingjiu felt the tightness in his chest as he clipped the scales into his notebook and put it in his bedside table. The wooden box with the literal lock was once again locked, supposed to be opened only on the day of his birthday. It was a good thing the contents of the wooden box had already been removed.

It was at least three in the morning before Lu Qingjiu, who was suffering from insomnia, managed to fall asleep, only the quality of his sleep was so bad that he even dreamed of the imprisoned dragon.

The dragon's horns were broken off, but its eyes were still there, a pair of beautiful black eyes. The black eyes had a sad look in them, gazing at Lu Qingjiu as if he was looking at something else through him.

"Who are you," the dreaming Lu Qingjiu asked uncomfortably.

The black dragon opened its mouth to reveal a half-missing tongue.

Lu Qingjiu said: "Can't you talk?"

The Black Dragon nodded.

"Why did I dream of you? Are you trying to tell me something?" There was a blurring between dream and reality, and Lu Qingjiu was even a little confused as to whether he was awake or dreaming.

The black dragon did not say anything, but the sadness in his eyes increased, and he gently rubbed his broken horn against Lu Qingjiu's arm, moving gently as if he was afraid of scaring Lu Qingjiu.

Lu Qingjiu's heart ached and he somehow remembered Bai Yuehu. If he was right, Bai Yuehu's prototype should also be a black dragon like the one in front of him.

O dragons, such proud creatures, how could they have been spared the crippled state they were in before their eyes, they should have been myths soaring proudly in the sky, magnificent even in death.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say." Lu Qingjiu said, "I", and he was about to say something else when everything before him suddenly dissipated. He woke up from his dream and saw Bai Yuehu's worried expression.

"You're having nightmares." Bai Yuehu said.

Lu Qingjiu blinked before he responded that he was cold all over and that cold sweat had accumulated on his forehead as he whispered, "I dreamt of a black dragon."

Bai Yuehu looked at Lu Qingjiu quietly and did not interrupt.

"His horns are broken and his tongue is gone." Lu Qingjiu said, "It looks so tragic." He tried to tell Bai Yuehu with a smile that he was all right.

But Bai Yuehu said, "Don't laugh."

Lu Qingjiu is dumbfounded.

"If you don't want to smile, don't smile." Bai Yuehu reached out and embraced Lu Qingjiu, his warm body bringing warmth to the already stiff Lu Qingjiu, "It doesn't matter what expression you make."

Lu Qingjiu let out a breath and closed his eyes, "I'm a bit tired."

Bai Yuehu said, "Go to sleep if you are tired, I am here."

The two slept in the same bed, the person beside him holding him so tightly that it was as if he had been transformed into a baby and was in the warm amniotic fluid. Lu Qingjiu closed his eyes again and soon fell asleep, this time without dreaming and without seeing the black dragon with the sad eyes again.

When I woke up the next morning, the rain had stopped outside and the sun was hanging in the azure sky, making it a warm spring day again.

Bai Yuehu is nowhere to be seen beside him, perhaps having gone to the fields to plant vegetables.

It seemed to be just an ordinary, uneventful morning, with yesterday's heavy rain and visions, all of which seemed like just a bizarre dream.

If only it had been a dream, Lu Qingjiu sat up and saw Yin Xun's head coming in through the door, and Yin Xun grinned at him, showing the cute tiger's teeth at the corners of his mouth and smiling brightly like a sunflower chasing the sun: "Good morning, wine."

"Good." Lu Qingjiu smiled back, infected by Yin Xun's smile, he quickly pulled himself together after a moment to compose himself, "What would you like to eat?"

Yin Xun said, "Anything is fine, but I'm kind of craving beef and rice noodles."

"Let's have rice noodles then." Lu Qingjiu said, "You go and pick some fresh vegetables from the field."

"Okay." Yin Xun smiled in response.

An ordinary day begins with an ordinary morning.

What the author has to say: Bai Yuehu: Don't be sad, come and have some good food.

Lu Qingjiu: You can also cook

Bai Yuehu: Cold Yin Xun to eat?

Lu Qingjiu: Try it

Yin Xun: Please be a human being, please!