Chapter 83 - Fortunately
This child was really handsome.
Zhu Yue shifted her line of sight and told Fu Li, “I’ll tidy up the kitchen. After you and your friend pack up, you can return.”
The corners of Fu Li’s lips moved, but he didn’t utter any words of protest.
The golden dragon palace’s meal room was very clean, and there were even some ingredients arranged on the shelves. At a corner lay broken fragments of a jade bowl. Two thousand years had gone by, but no one had tidied it up. With a wave of Zhu Yue’s sleeves, the shattered jade bowl lay in the wastebasket.
Zhu Yue circled the meal room once and discovered many strange spots. From the way the golden dragon palace looked, it didn’t seem to have gradually declined. Rather, it was more like the dragons that had inhabited this place had suddenly sustained serious damage, which was why the entire palace had still been preserved in its most resplendent state.
“Auntie Zhu Yue,” Zhuang Qing stood at the door, his expression calm as he looked at Zhu Yue. “Is this palace to your satisfaction?”
“Your injuries have just healed, why did you come here?” Zhu Yue wore a smile when she turned to look at Zhuang Qing. “It’s worthy of being the place the golden dragon clan lived in, it really is beautiful.”
“If auntie doesn’t mind, why not live here temporarily?” Zhuang Qing examined Zhu Yue’s expression. “What does auntie think about that?”
“As an elder, I won’t go so far as to take advantage of you juniors. I appreciate your kind intentions,” Zhu Yue kept the medicinal ingredients she had placed in the kitchen in pa.s.sing.
“Since that is the case, as a elder, why does auntie lie to Fu Li?”
Zhu Yue looked at Zhuang Qing, flabbergasted. Faced with the other party’s expressionless face, she recalled the Blue Dragon, the auspicious beast that had yet to fade away. The Blue Dragon had guarded the East at that time and was worshipped by countless people. These people had frequently made totems with the likeness of the Blue Dragon and would also make offerings to the Blue Dragon every year.
Later on, following the reduction in the number of times the Blue Dragon appeared in the human world, it was gradually pa.s.sed down by the humans that the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird were the divine beasts that guarded the world’s four directions. The term ‘Blue Dragon’ was also forgotten by the humans, to the extent that the few dragons currently living in the azure dragon palace had the shame to call themselves the descendants of the divine beast Azure Dragon.
“What do you mean by that?” The smile on Zhu Yue’s face faded. Her long, shapely brows puckered up.
“In Fu Li’s heart, all of you are his most respected and closest elders. He will believe anything you say,” Zhuang Qing stepped over the doorstep and came to a stop five steps away from Zhu Yue. “But did you really not lie to him?”
Zhu Yue could tell that this golden dragon wasn’t the impulsive type. Given the other party’s personality and the fact that she extended him a lifesaving grace, he shouldn’t have done something like running to the meal room and questioning her. The other party’s penetrating gaze made Zhu Yue slightly uneasy. She shifted her gaze.
“You’re too young. Not knowing about certain things is better than knowing about them.”
“Fu Li is not a child, he has the right to choose to know the truth,” Zhuang Qing thought about Fu Li’s dim-witted nature when he first came into contact with the human world, and for no reason at all felt wronged for him. “You gave him the purest of living environments, but made him accept separating from you without any prior indication. Have you not thought about what would happen to him if he didn’t hide in a cave and sleep for two thousand years, but instead ran into a vicious human?”
He possessed rare treasures and a pure personality. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was cheated of his treasures, but if he had stepped onto the wrong path and was ultimately eliminated by heavenly law…
Thinking of this possibility, Zhuang Qing simply couldn’t suppress the anger in his heart. He laughed coldly. “Senior has profound cultivation. This junior does not dare to venture a guess at your true form, are you really a pheasant?”
Zhu Yue replied with a displeased look, “Junior, you’ve overstepped your boundaries.”
The formidable pressure caused a cold sweat to break out on Zhuang Qing’s forehead.. He nearly fell to his knees, as if there was a gigantic mountain pressing down on him.
“It’s not good for little kids to know too much about adult matters,” Zhu Yue smiled. “You are very clever and loyal, I am happy that Little Li made a good friend like you. But we don’t need outsiders to interfere in our family’s affairs.”
She sighed. Her opinion of him rose a little as she looked at this junior who didn’t take a single step back despite his pale face, and who didn’t reveal even the slightest hint of fear. If she had used this move a few thousand years ago, who knew how many yao cultivators would kneel and call her king?
“It is for his sake that we do not let him know certain truths,” Zhu Yue released the pressure and placed her hands behind her back. “I’m now rea.s.sured after seeing that Little Li is living very well.”
“The legends say that the body of Vermilion Bird daren, the protector of one of the earth’s directions, is covered in the true flame of the five elements. She is capable of dispelling all resentment in the world and bringing auspicious omens to the world.” Zhuang Qing asked, “If I may dare to ask Auntie Zhu Yue, is this legend true or false?”
The meal room sank into a deathly silence.
“It was true five thousand years ago, but false now,” Zhu Yue was silent for a long time. She looked at the tiny garden outside the window. “The universe has long lost the need for the Vermilion Bird’s protection, so this world also no longer needs the Vermilion Bird to exist.”
“This junior understands,” Zhuang Qing took a step back and bowed deeply to Zhu Yue. “This junior bids farewell.”
He took step after step back till he left the meal room. Only then did he turn around and head out.
Zhu Yue stood at the edge of the doorsteps and watched the young yao stride out of the yard. Suddenly, she let out a laugh. It was little Fu Li’s good fortune to have made friends with this child. He had clearly guessed her true form, but still dared to run over and question her, protesting against injustice for little Fu Li. Such kind intentions were hard to come by.
“You found the things you wanted?” Fu Li saw Zhuang Qing return with empty hands and a.s.sumed that he had already placed the things inside his Qiankun pouch. Thus, he asked, “Do you have any other things you want to take with you?”
Zhuang Qing looked at Fu Li’s happy smile and shook his head silently.
Crash.
A tiny, vermilion-colored bird came over with a letter in its mouth. Fu Li extended a hand and the tiny bird landed on his palm, morphing into a red feather. Upon opening the letter and reading it, a hint of disappointment could be seen on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Watching him clutch the letter and feather wordlessly, his entire person on edge, Zhuang Qing furrowed his brows.
“Nothing,” Fu Li shook his head. He hung his head as he replied, “Sister Zhu Yue left a letter saying that she’s already left.”
“Don’t you want…”
“I’m not sad,” Fu Li guessed what Zhuang Qing was going to say. “I’m already very happy with the knowledge that they’re still alive.”
“The human world has a saying – ‘one good turn deserves another’.” Fu Li kept the feather and letter. “I will study properly after returning and strive to become a civil servant as soon as possible. I will serve the people, do more good deeds, and acc.u.mulate more virtue. That way, I might be able to meet with the other elders very soon.”
Zhuang Qing felt that none of the persuasive words he had thought up just now would be of any use, because the Fu Li who harbored the dream of becoming a civil servant had a majestic and ambitious goal. He stared blankly for a moment before nodding. “You have a point, work hard.”
“But for us to call Senior Zhu Yue auntie while you call her sister, isn’t there something wrong with that?” Zhuang Qing felt that Fu Li was benefiting at their expense.
“There’s nothing very wrong about it,” Fu Li responded with conviction. “I’m more than 2200 years older than you. You can even call me uncle.”
Zhuang Qing put on a fake smile. “Is that so?”
Seeing Zhuang Qing’s expression, Fu Li instantly corrected himself, “Of course, given our good relationship, there’s no need to pay particular attention to all these traditional practices. Treating each other as equals is fine.”
“Who has a good relationship with you?” Zhuang Qing’s gaze landed on Fu Li’s slender and fair neck. He hurriedly shifted his line of sight and said with burning cheeks, “No matter how many nice sounding words you say, I won’t return you the wages I deducted today.”
“Am I the sort of person who would bow down to money?” Fu Li stretched a hand around Zhuang Qing’s shoulders, looking entirely like two good brothers. “I know all you young yao are awkward, so I won’t joke around with you. But, thank you for this incident.”
“You don’t have to think too much. As long as it’s an employee of the management bureau, I’ll protect them well,” Zhuang Qing’s entire body stiffened as Fu Li leaned against his shoulder. He walked somewhat like a bear, as if there was a large stone tied at his waist.
Fu Li was merely smiling, but when Zhuang Qing turned his head carelessly, he suddenly felt that Fu Li’s eyes seemed to contain starlight. They glittered exceedingly, and were also exceedingly good-looking.
The Taowu had been captured by Zhu Yue, but the seawaves he had brought about still affected Linhai City. The households closer to the sea and living on lower ground had all been notified by the relevant department in the middle of the night and fled to higher ground. Fortunately, the local departments reacted quickly and there were no human casualties caused by the sudden seawaves, though there was some damage to property.
To the security department, this was already the best outcome they could have thought of. Which natural disaster had not caused property damage? Moreover, the incident that occurred this time was a severe crisis that had nearly brought the entire Linhai City down.
When Linhai City’s weather bureau received the notification from their superiors, they had felt that their superiors were making a fuss out of nothing. They surveyed the weather every single day at Linhai City and there were no signs of a tsunami at all. Yet, their superiors insisted on getting them to send out an emergency evacuation notification. They felt wronged and helpless in their hearts, and only sent out this notification after both sides wrangled with each other for a very long time. Thinking about their colleagues at other regions who had previously been subjected to a torrent of abuse by netizens, they could already imagine the miserable state they would be in the next morning as they were scolded.
They hadn’t expected the tsunami to happen in the later half of the night. Fortunately, the various departments had long since made the preparations for emergency rescue. Otherwise, given how sudden the tsunami was, who knew how much the common people would have to endure?
Residents of Linhai City were already praising the relevant local departments online for their prompt disaster relief and wondering what divine means the weather bureau had used to foresee it. Officers carrying residents through rushing waters to the safe zone in the middle of the night, neighborhood committee members knocking on door after door to notify residents, residents spontaneously using canoes to rescue their neighbors – all sorts of touching photos were posted on the internet, giving rise to a wave of praise.
There was a netizen who stated that he had seen many animals fleeing in all directions when he got off work at night, and that these animals must have sensed the natural disaster and thus escaped in advance. There were people who said that this was pseudoscience, while others claimed that animals had far higher sensitivity towards nature than humans. The netizens spent a long time arguing over this issue. In the end, other netizens felt that it was a bit immoral for them to be quarreling over such a problem when Linhai City had been struck by a natural disaster. Only then did everyone give in.
Peng Hang looked at the pictures online of the fleeing animals at Linhai City and stroked his chin in contemplation. It seemed like he wasn’t the only person to have discovered this unusual situation. He had previously read an article stating that fleeing animals were not necessarily a sign of a natural disaster, hence using abnormal behavior in animals as a way of predicting the weather was not an accurate nor scientific method.
He had given the local weather bureau a call yesterday night, and they had said at that time that there were no abnormalities in the weather. It was only in the middle of the night that they suddenly sent out a notification for evacuation. Furthermore, those rescue officers seemed to have made preparations well in advance, which was why they reacted so quickly when the disaster occurred.
He walked out of the guesthouse and was helping the residents nearby to carry the trash to one side when he heard a familiar voice.
“Fortunately, there were no human casualties. It was really too dangerous this time.”