CH 74

Edited by Yuki

After Gou Mang left, it didn’t take long for him to return and this time, with a bunch of black seeds in his hands. He passed them to Bai Yuehu and expressed that these were the eyeballs’ seeds. 

Bai Yuehu motioned for Lu Qingjiu to accept them and returned the black umbrella to Gou Mang. Gou Mang, who finally got his umbrella back, gently stroked it for a long time. In return, the umbrella who seemed to have a consciousness of its own, used its body to nudge against Gou Mang’s face as if it had finally escaped a great calamity. They were like a pair of lovers who’d just been reunited.

Having received the seeds, Lu Qingjiu observed that they looked no different from ordinary seeds apart from being a little heavier and its exterior looking a little tougher. He carefully pocketed them before hearing Bai Yuehu say, “How’s the Spring Festival coming along?”

“It’s coming along fine.” Gou Mang said, “There’s nothing much to do this year.”

“Nothing to do?” Bai Yuehu seemed doubtful. 

Gou Mang replied, “That’s right, nothing much to do.” His tone was somewhat nonchalant but his next words caught Lu Qingjiu’s attention.

He continued, “They’re all busy searching for the dragon.”

Dragon? The black dragon that had escaped? Lu Qingjiu’s ears pricked up and although his eyes were still fixed on the seeds, his ears were focused on listening to their conversation.

“Why haven’t they found him yet?” Bai Yuehu asked.

“I’m not sure.” Gou Mang put away his umbrella and complained, “Isn’t it because he hasn’t been found that my cute umbrella came to Shuifu to take a look? Who would have known that it’d be captured and eaten by you for so long?”

Bai Yuehu laughed coldly, “Don’t you know whose territory this is? Who told you to look in this area?”

Gou Mang seemed to be at fault in this regard and no longer refuted Bai Yuehu.

“Continue searching,” Bai Yuehu said, “If you still can’t find him, you all will have to bear this responsibility.” 

Gou Mang huffed and turned around to leave. But just as he stepped out of the courtyard, his last words to Bai Yuehu were, “You ought to be careful too. There’s a chance that Zhu Rong may drop by because until that dragon has been found, no one can be at ease.”

After he left, Lu Qingjiu couldn’t help but ask about the matter regarding Zhu Rong.

Ite Ebcu kjr atf ojyifv Xbv bo olgf jcv jirb atf bcf ktb mbcagbiifv rewwfg. Lf mbeiv atfgfobgf yf mbcrlvfgfv bcf bo atf wbgf qbqeijg vflalfr lc Jtlcfrf wsatbibus. Oe Hlcuple vlvc’a fzqfma atja tf kbeiv cba bcis tfjg atlr cjwf, yea fnfc ufa atf mtjcmf ab rff tlw; tlr tfjga kjr oeii bo meglbrlas jcv fzmlafwfca.

However, Bai Yuehu’s impression of Zhu Rong didn’t seem to be favourable. Once he heard Gou Mang say that Zhu Rong was coming to Shuifu, his expression turned ugly. 

“Why would Zhu Rong come to Shuifu village?” Lu Qingjiu asked, “Is he also trying to find the dragon?”

Bai Yuehu nodded.

Lu Qingjiu asked, “Why are you unhappy?”

Bai Yuehu answered, “He’s an executor.” 

Lu Qingjiu froze, immediately comprehending what the word executor meant. Before the black dragon was imprisoned, its horns had been sliced off, its eyes dug out and its tongue cut off. Although Lu Qingjiu had felt that the punishment was brutal, he also wondered what kind of person could mete out such a cruel punishment. He had thought the executor was one of Bai Yuehu’s kinsmen but never thought it was the legendary God of Fire.

“That dragon… was locked up by him?” Lu Qingjiu didn’t know why, but his heart would tremble whenever he thought of the warm eyes he had seen previously.

“Yeah.” Bai Yuehu said, “They all accused him of the crime and he didn’t defend himself either.” He sighed, “So he was punished.” If that dragon had wanted to escape, it wouldn’t be difficult. But no one knew why he admitted all the crimes and willingly stayed, accepting such cruel punishment. There were 2 body parts that the dragon race couldn’t stand others touching – their horns and their reverse scales, but the black dragon had his horns cut off. This was something many of the dragon race would rather die than lose; as it was the pride of being a dragon.

Bai Yuehu couldn’t understand this punishment and so, he also didn’t have any goodwill towards the executioner. Now that Gou Mang said Zhu Rong was coming, he naturally felt unhappy. 

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment before asking, “So is he coming to Shuifu just to find the dragon?”

Bai Yuehu replied, “Most probably.”

Lu Qingjiu was silent. He wanted to say words of comfort to the gloomy Bai Yuehu but felt that anything he said would be unnecessary, after all he wasn’t a dragon. Even he felt uncomfortable when he saw the black dragon’s haggard appearance,in that case, there was no need to mention Bai Yuehu who belonged to the same dragon race.

Not knowing how to use words to comfort Bai Yuehu, Lu Qingjiu prepared a feast that night to console him. 

He let Bai Yuehu kill a chicken, stuffed its belly full with various ingredients, and baked it in the oven. The grilled chicken was crispy on the outside, yet juicy and tender on the inside; and even the bones were crispy. The chickens they had raised were the best. Not only were they strong but they also tasted good. The rich aroma that wafted out could make anyone salivate. Lu Qingjiu also planned to buy some rabbits from the town to raise them. Rabbit meat was a common dish around these parts as it was white meat that didn’t contain any fat and had less bones than a chicken. When it’s cooked well, rabbit meat is very tender and delicious. Even rabbit liver tasted far better than other types of liver. Its taste was simply exquisite without the bloodiness that usually came from livers.

After dinner, Bai Yuehu was in a better mood and said that the seeds Gou Mang had given them were ready to be planted.

“Where should we plant it? Probably the backyard.” Lu Qingjiu said, “If these seeds bore fruit and were seen by others, our family is definitely going to be seen as monsters.”

“Okay.” Bai Yuehu thought for a bit and felt Lu Qingjiu’s words made sense. “Let’s plant them near the well.” 

Lu Qingjiu nodded.

Because of the hair growth water sales, the halo above the well in the backyard was getting brighter. It now shone so brightly at night, that there was no need for street lights. In Yin Xun’s words, it even saved their family a whole lot of electricity bills. According to Bai Yuehu, it was possible that after some time, the female ghost in the well will be able to reveal her original appearance and become a God. Yin Xun, this mountain god, was torn after hearing this. He felt that he was not even as good as the female ghost in other people’s courtyard. Although everyone was a deity, others had an annual income in the millions while he barely had enough to afford xiao long baos.

Lu Qingjiu patted his shoulder in comfort and expressed that the one who’d contributed the most to this family was really this well…

After planting the black-coloured seeds into a pit, Lu Qingjiu filled it with soil and watered the seeds. Although Bai Yuehu said to just plant the seeds and just leave them to grow, Lu Qingjiu was still worried about whether they would germinate. 

“Don’t worry. We have the dangkangs?” Bai Yuehu said, “Let them play in the backyard and run on this plot of land. Even if they don’t succeed, I’m still here.”

Bai Yuehu’s title as a farming expert couldn’t be forgotten. The fruit tree they’d planted in March was already taller than himself and Lu Qingjiu suspected that it’d begin to produce fruit by autumn, completely unlike the few years other families had to wait for.

Bai Yuehu, a farm’s helping hand and a farmer’s best friend.

According to Bai Yuehu, once these seeds were planted, the fruits that it bore resembled eyeballs while having a fruity flavour. It sounded very delicious, making Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun who had eaten it before eagerly anticipate. 

A few days after Gou Mang left, they still hadn’t seen Zhu Rong’s shadow and thus, Lu Qingjiu forgot about this matter.

He was also a fast-mover. Once he decided to buy rabbits, he went out the very next day and brought back a few adorable white bunnies, intending to raise them beside the chicken coop.

The bunnies weren’t shy. In no time, they began to integrate well with the chickens and its scope of movement had expanded to the entire courtyard.

Lu Qingjiu had wanted to raise some other animals like ducks and geese but their home was too far away from any brooks and was without a constant supply of running water. After all, he couldn’t let them swim in the backyard well either. So this plan of his temporarily came to a halt and would be put on hold until an opportunity arose in the future. 

The weather gradually grew warmer and before they knew it, the forest had already shed its bleak and desolate appearance from winter time. It was now lush and flourishing.

Spring was originally a time for mushroom picking in the mountains. The Shuifu villagers who relied on the mountains for their food naturally wouldn’t forget this side income opportunity. It was just that this year’s rainfall was lesser which negatively impacted mushroom growth rates. Thankfully, when April came, there was finally continuous rainfall for days.

Yin Xun shouted at Lu Qingjiu that many mushrooms had sprouted and asked if he wanted to go pick some.

Wild mushrooms were extremely fresh, suitable for roasting or stewing. However, there was a problem. Most people weren’t able to differentiate edible and poisonous mushrooms which resulted in many people being admitted into the hospital after eating mushrooms every year. 

Lu Qingjiu had also left Shuifu village for a long time and didn’t have any idea on how to differentiate mushrooms. Thankfully, there was still Yin Xun who patted his own chest and boasted that there wasn’t a mushroom on this mountain he couldn’t recognise.

Thus, Lu Qingjiu carried a wooden basket and went up the mountain with Yin Xun to pick mushrooms.

The idle Bai Yuehu had nothing to do either and followed along with his basket. After the rain, wild mushrooms grew everywhere, all you had to do was pull away some leaves to see a large patch of mushrooms.

Yin Xun was extremely familiar with the mountain; everywhere they went seemed to have a thicket of mushrooms. Lu Qingjiu could recognise some of those they picked such as the macrolepiota  but he found others foreign and there were some he had never even seen before. 

“Can these really be eaten?” Watching Yin Xun put a red mushroom into his basket, Lu Qingjiu revealed a doubtful expression.

“You can.” Yin Xun said, “It tastes good.”

“It’s really fine?” Lu Qingjiu asked. “I am a human through and through, who will die from consuming poisonous mushrooms.”

Yin Xun: “It’s absolutely fine. Even if it’s not, don’t you still have Bai Yuehu?” 

Bai Yuehu looked up and glanced at Yin Xun coldly.

Yin Xun immediately shrank back.

Some of the freshly picked mushrooms could, after a quick wash, be used in tonight’s dinner of chicken soup; while the rest needed to be sundried before it could be eaten.  Drying the mushrooms would reduce their toxicity and make it safer for consumption.

When Lu Qingjiu saw that the chicken soup was almost done simmering, he added the fresh mushrooms into it and then covered the pot, preparing to pick some green onions from the backyard. Unexpectedly when he had just entered the yard, he saw a stranger standing in the middle of the yard, locked in a stare down with Bai Yuehu. 

The stranger was tall, with long red hair, and a small red tattoo on his brows. Normally, people with red hair gave off a frivolous vibe, but this person didn’t feel frivolous at all. Instead, he gave off an air of solemnity that made others dare not laugh in his presence.

When he heard Lu Qingjiu’s footsteps, he looked up. His pupils were an inexplicable shade of red but the instant he saw Lu Qingjiu, they turned back to a normal shade of black.

This person’s appearance was too obvious. Even if Lu Qingjiu hadn’t seen him before, it wasn’t difficult to guess his identity. He must be Zhu Rong.

“Lu Qingjiu?” Zhu Rong called out his name in a low voice. 

“Mr… Mr Zhu?” Lu Qingjiu had actually wanted to call him Zhu Rong but just as he was about to speak, he felt that it was not quite fitting and thus changed it at the last moment.

“You can call me Zhu Rong.” He said, “How have you been?”

“Not bad.” Lu Qingjiu was bewildered by his casual familiarity. This was their first meeting yet Zhu Rong’s attitude towards him was as if he were meeting an old friend.

Zhu Rong could sense his hesitation and forced a smile. “No need to feel awkward. Your grandmother and I are old friends.” It was clear to see Zhu Rong wanted to present himself as a warm person even though he was originally a steely-faced man whose smiles made him seem horrifying.

“Old friends?” Lu Qingjiu was astonished. “You know my grandmother?”

“En.” Zhu Rong replied, “Her culinary skills were pretty good.”

Good? Then he must have eaten his grandmother’s cooking, but Lu Qingjiu didn’t know why he had never met these people as a child. Or maybe it was more accurate to say that they had deliberately avoided him? Lu Qingjiu had some guesses in his mind, but since it was his grandma’s acquaintance, he replied, “Then… do you want to stay for dinner?” He wanted to know how much Zhu Rong knew about his grandma.

“No need.” Unexpectedly, Zhu Rong refused. He turned to Bai Yuehu. “I have some other matters to tend to.” 

By the side, Bai Yuehu did not say a word but his gaze was cold.

“Ah, alright.” Lu Qingjiu could feel that the atmosphere between Bai Yuehu and Zhu Rong was not right and didn’t pursue this matter.

Zhu Rong nodded, “If you see the escaped dragon, remember to let me know. As long as it’s out there, you are in danger.”

“Zf? Qts vbfr la kjca ab fja wf?” Oe Hlcuple jrxfv. 

Ite Ebcu’r fzqgfrrlbc aegcfv ragjcuf. “Glvc’a Djl Tefte afii sbe jcsatlcu?”

Oe Hlcuple: “Let?”

Ite Ebcu jcrkfgfv, “Ktf vgjubc gjmf bcis vfnbegr akb xlcvr bo qfbqif. Mlgra lr atflg fcfws ktlif atf rfmbcv lr atflg ibnfg.”

Oe Hlcuple ogbhf. “Cw P lar fcfws?” 

Zhu Rong wrinkled his brows, looking at Lu Qingjiu strangely but he did not reply. He merely waved a hand to signal he was leaving.

Lu Qingjiu watched his reaction as an incredible conjecture appeared in his heart. This theory had been in his mind before, but he had always felt that it was too absurd and hid it away in his heart. However, Zhu Rong’s reaction had confirmed this absurd theory. He turned his head slowly to look at Bai Yuehu.

Bai Yuehu saw Lu Qingjiu’s heavy expression and sighed. He raised a hand to touch the corner of his eyes and gave another sigh. “I just knew his arrival wasn’t a good thing. Ask away.”

Lu Qingjiu, “Is he my grandfather?” 

Bai Yuehu pursed his lips, thinking silently. After some time, he slowly answered under Lu Qingjiu’s gaze. “That’s right.”

“He is my grandfather? That dragon is my grandfather?” Although he obtained the answer effortlessly, Lu Qingjiu was not happy at all. He recalled the dragon’s sad but gentle expression, and then thought of its sorry figure while imprisoned in that abyss. “Why, why did he eat my parents? Is it because he loves them?”

Bai Yuehu: “I don’t know, but I think there’s a misunderstanding.” As a dragon, he was most familiar with the habits of his race. If Lu Qingjiu’s grandfather lost control, then the first thing he would eat was Lu Qingjiu’s grandmother and not his own children. After all, when she was pregnant, he had already left her side and had never seen his children.

Lu Qingjiu was shocked by this revelation. He had many questions but didn’t know where to start. In the end, he could only squeeze out a single question. “So I’m the offspring of a dragon? With dragon blood in my veins?” 

Bai Yuehu: “Have you never wondered why you could see and hear things that others could not?”

Lu Qingjiu: “I thought I was the main character.”

Bai Yuehu couldn’t help but laugh. “Who knows, you might still be.”

Lu Qingjiu: “…” Hey, that made sense. But seriously, he had never contemplated the reason he had this special ability. He had merely chalked it up to coincidence but now that he gave it a second thought, would such coincidences exist? 

There’s no such thing as coincidence, everything happens as it is meant to.

Lu Qingjiu: “I have so many things I want to ask you. I’ll make a list later.”

At first, Bai Yuehu thought that Lu Qingjiu’s reaction to hearing the truth would be much more exaggerated than this. However, he never thought that Lu Qingjiu would suddenly say this and even planned as far as going back to write up a list. He opened his mouth, “Wait a minute…”

Lu Qingjiu: “En?” 

Bai Yuehu: “Now that you know the truth, will you run away in fright?”

Lu Qingjiu was baffled. “Run? Where will I run to?”

Bai Yuehu: “Isn’t there a dragon wanting to eat you?”

Lu Qingjiu: “That’s right, and it’s even my grandfather.” 

Bai Yuehu: “Is there nothing you want to say?”

Lu Qingjiu thought for a moment and his expression suddenly sunk. He slapped his thighs and cried out, “Oh no!”

Bai Yuehu also grew frantic. “What’s wrong?!”

Lu Qingjiu: “I forgot I was still stewing the chicken!” 

Bai Yuehu: “…”

Before he could say anything else, Lu Qingjiu had already dashed into the kitchen and shortly a mournful wail was heard. “Damnit! It’s dried up!”

Bai Yuehu: “…” Once he thought of the delicious pot of chicken soup disappearing just like that, he actually began to hate Zhu Rong.

It was entirely Zhu Rong’s fault for bringing such earth-shattering news, that caused the three’s delicious and tender chicken soup to turn into a pot of dry as dust chicken and shrivelled up mushrooms. 

Yin Xun had gone out in the afternoon and did not know what happened. During dinnertime, he could only look at his bowl tearfully while complaining that Lu Qingjiu was so inhumane as to finish the soup behind his back, not leaving him a single drop.

Lu Qingjiu’s head was about to explode. “I said that I accidentally let the chicken soup dry up.”

Yin Xun: “I don’t believe you, I don’t believe you at all! Even if you had forgotten about it, how could Bai Yuehu forget?!”

Bai Yuehu heard this and silently gritted his teeth, nearly snapping the pair of chopsticks in his hand. That’s right, he normally wouldn’t have forgotten about such a thing. But how was he supposed to remind Lu Qingjiu about the chicken soup under that sort of situation? If he did, he was afraid that matters wouldn’t be as simple as losing a pot of chicken soup. 

Lu Qingjiu: “Alright, alright. Stop crying, I’ll boil some water for you to mix in, alright?”

Yin Xun: “Waa, you’re so heartless. Not only is the chicken soup gone, you even want me to drink hot water.”

Lu Qingjiu: “Then, what do you want to do?”

Yin Xun: “Cook another pot of soup tomorrow. This time, I’ll watch over it.” 

Lu Qingjiu: “…fine.”

The three of them finished their dinner unhappily and then went to do their own things. Bai Yuehu went out, but no one knew his destination. Yin Xun touched his belly and went home, leaving Lu Qingjiu to sit in his bedroom. He took out a piece of paper and started listing all the questions he wanted to ask. It must be said that there were too many things he wanted to ask and a single piece of paper was not enough. Looking at the questions on the paper, Lu Qingjiu sighed again. In his peripheral vision, he noticed the diary on the wooden box next to the pillow as well as the black scales on top of the diary.

By now, he finally understood what his grandmother’s warning “Don’t have feelings for your tenant” meant. She had actually fallen for a dragon and even became pregnant with his child. Unfortunately, their story ended in tragedy. The corrupted dragon ate their own children they created and was mercilessly imprisoned while his grandmother left the world in grief.

Lu Qingjiu took out the dragon’s scale and after careful observation, he found that the scale seemed to have been touched many, many times. Some of the uneven areas on it had even become smooth. Comparing it to the black scale that had fallen from Bai Yuehu before, the contrast between the two scales was very obvious. His family’s dragon was indeed the most beautiful. Thinking of this, Lu Qingjiu unconsciously smiled and picked up the scales to kiss it gently. But right after he did so, he suddenly realized there seemed to be something wrong with his actions. The smile on his lips froze. 

Ah… why would he think of kissing Bai Yuehu’s scales? Was it because of its overwhelming beauty? Lu Qingjiu didn’t dare to wander further down this road of thought and hurriedly stored it back in the pouch he had specially prepared for the scale. Afterwards, he returned the scale filled with scars in between the diary.

He didn’t know what his grandmother thought of every time she touched this piece of scale for so many years. Was she full of tender affection or bitter hatred? Lu Qingjiu could only guess.

Unfortunately, the answer was destined to evade him because the person involved was already dead.

He slowly rearranged everything and glanced at the numerous questions on the paper. He sighed, crumpling the paper with all the questions into a ball and throwing it into the bin by the side. 

He was aware that asking Bai Yuehu wouldn’t bring him honest answers. If he really wanted to know what had happened all those years ago, he would probably have to find that imprisoned dragon who was also his grandfather.

However, recalling the reason for Zhu Rong’s arrival, Lu Qingjiu knew that it wouldn’t be easy to see his grandfather.