Edited by Zaki
This was the best winter Lu Qingjiu had experienced in recent years. Although the weather seemed to be equally cold, Xuan Yu had taken away the coldness from his body, and hence he was no longer afraid of winter. He could run and play in the snow with Yin Xun and Bai Yuehu in a thick down coat, without feeling cold.
Unlike the snow in the city that quickly turned gray from the exhaust of cars, the snow in the village was as white as new cotton and spread loosely on the ground, like a thick blanket. Lu Qingjiu bent down and grabbed a handful, shaped it into a ball, and threw it towards Bai Yuehu. The snowball directly hit the side of Bai Yuehu’s cheek, splitting into particles and falling back into the snow. Bai Yuehu turned to look at Lu Qingjiu, who laughed loudly as he turned around to run away, but was caught behind him. The person who followed immediately grabbed his waist and lifted him up.
An adult man weighing more than 100 lbs was easily lifted up at the waist, like a small toy, in Bai Yuehu’s hands. Lu Qingjiu began to beg for mercy with a laugh, but Bai Yuehu ignored him and directly carried Lu Qingjiu into the house. He threw him on the bed, rolled up his sleeves and raised his eyebrows: “No need to beg for mercy, it’s useless.”
Lu Qingjiu blinked: “What do you want to do?”
Bai Yuehu: “You.”
Lu Qingjiu started to laugh again: “No, no, this joke is too old, please change it.”
Bai Yuehu: “Not changing.” As he spoke, he came over and kissed Lu Qingjiu on the lips. The two hugged each other passionately until the room was filled with a harmonious and warm atmosphere.
Although Lu Qingjiu was no longer afraid of the cold, he was still looking forward to the arrival of spring. Compared with the cold winter, he preferred the spring full of vitality, when everything revived, the earth would no longer be thin white, but would be covered with colorful flower carpets and everything would be full of life.
However, time passed by in a flash, and after the New Year, in February, the snow still showed no intention of melting.
Lu Qingjiu looked at the falling snow outside the window with some worry. Bai Yuehu comforted him, saying that this was a normal situation, because at this time the only God of the Four Seasons who was still alive was the Winter God, and so his abilities were at their peak, and spring would come slightly later than in previous years.
“At least it will come, right?” Lu Qingjiu asked.
“It will definitely come.” Bai Yuehu gave an affirmative answer.
It wasn’t until the middle of March that the snow, which had been falling continuously, came to a grudging halt, but the temperature still hadn’t risen and stayed below zero. Lu Qingjiu would occasionally ask Bai Yuehu to take him to the city to buy some supplies, and using the city’s signal, he read or watched the news on his cell phone and found that everywhere was reporting on this year’s climatic anomalies. People on social networks had expressed concern about this anomaly, and some people had taken this opportunity to create chaos, saying that the end of the world was coming, resulting in people hoarding supplies everywhere. Lu Qingjiu managed to grab a little bit of what he needed, and he and Bai Yuehu returned to the house with big and small bags, sighing, thinking that they had never thought that the abnormal seasons would bring such a big disaster to the human world.
If the two worlds would really completely merge as the God of Winter thought, and a large number of non-human creatures merge into the Human World, then the Human World would really face a disaster close to extinction. At this time, human beings had completely forgotten about cultivation, and had no control over spiritual power. For non-human beings who preyed on the weak, humans would just be pieces of fat, tender food to be eaten clean.
Lu Qingjiu was worried, but he was afraid of affecting Bai Yuehu, so he pretended that everything was okay.
Bai Yuehu had been going out frequently since March. Although he didn’t show it in front of Lu Qingjiu, Lu Qingjiu still noticed something strange.
“Is something going to happen?” Lu Qingjiu asked and continued to say, “We agreed not to hide anything from me.”
Bai Yuehu hummed. He was holding Lu Qingjiu in his arms. When he heard this, he slowly rubbed the top of Lu Qingjiu’s head with his chin and said, “The barrier is about to be broken.”
Lu Qingjiu was shocked when he heard this.
Bai Yuehu: “Qingjiu, if the barrier is broken and your Grandfather comes to find you, you can leave with him.”
Lu Qingjiu was about to retort, but Bai Yuehu stopped him. “If the barrier is broken, I will also die, but it doesn’t matter, Yin Xun is still there, and he can leave Shuifu Village by then. Just go with him.”
Lu Qingjiu: “But Xuan Yu said that the only person who can stop this is me.”
Bai Yuehu’s expression turned grim: “He must have lied to you. Even if you have her bloodline, that bloodline must be very weak. Even if the barrier is broken, I’m afraid it will have nothing to do with you.”
Lu Qingjiu asked in confusion: “Whose bloodline?”
Bai Yuehu didn’t explain, but kissed Lu Qingjiu again and said, “Let’s do it.”
Just when Lu Qingjiu was about to refuse, he was pushed down by Bai Yuehu. During this period, Bai Yuehu did not hide his desire at all and enjoyed every minute. Lu Qingjiu couldn’t bear to refuse him at all.
It was supposed to be spring in March, but there was no spring at all. The whole land was still chilly. Although it didn’t snow, the snow that fell before had no intention of melting.
When he woke up, Lu Qingjiu found that his side was empty. He touched the bed in a daze, but did not find Bai Yuehu’s figure as usual. He stood up and looked out the window, only to find that it was still dark outside. In the vast expanse, there was no sun or moon, only the white earth covered with snow.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Lu Qingjiu had an unpleasant premonition in his heart. He touched his phone to see what time it was. Lu Qingjiu looked at the sky. It looked like early morning. Unexpectedly, he found that it was already past nine in the morning, but it was still pitch black outside and the sun was completely gone.
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Lu Qingjiu walked around the room and saw neither of them, but fortunately, the sound of footsteps stepping on the snow soon came from the door. Lu Qingjiu walked to the window and saw a frightened Yin Xun.
“What’s going on? It’s not bright yet.” Yin Xun said, “I thought I was blind.”
Lu Qingjiu shook his head, indicating that he also didn’t know, but Bai Yuehu left without saying goodbye, it must be because of some major accident.
“You sit down first and I’ll get you a glass of water.” Lu Qingjiu decided to calm down and discuss what to do with Yin Xun.
Yin Xun nodded in agreement.
Lu Qingjiu walked to the kitchen and was pouring water for Yin Xun, but suddenly he felt a strong tremor from the ground under his feet. With the water in his hand, he almost lost his balance and fell to the ground with the cup.
“There’s an earthquake!” Yin Xun shouted from the living room, “Lu Qingjiu, come out quickly!”
Lu Qingjiu didn’t even have time to get the water as he ran out quickly. He and Yin Xun left the old house, which wasn’t too sturdy to begin with, and stood in the courtyard, where there were no obstacles.
The old house was made of stone, and part of it fell down without any resistance under such violent shaking. Fortunately, the master bedroom and living room where Lu Qingjiu slept still remained standing.
Yin Xun and Lu Qingjiu looked at each other, and both saw fear in each other’s eyes.
“Something’s wrong.” Lu Qingjiu said, “I don’t feel too good.”
Yin Xun also turned pale. He seemed to want to say something, glanced at Lu Qingjiu, and swallowed his words with trembling lips. Lu Qingjiu noticed something strange about Yin Xun and quickly asked him if he had seen anything.
Yin Xun swallowed and whispered, “Things don’t seem to be going well over at Bai Yuehu’s side.”
“What?” Lu Qingjiu suddenly became nervous, “What’s wrong?”
Yin Xun: “There are many Zhulongs surrounding him, but he is not moving, as if he is protecting something.”
Lu Qingjiu: “Can we go over there and help?”
Yin Xun shook his head and said that he was afraid that he couldn’t help much, although he and Lu Qingjiu were both non-humans, their abilities were actually not very different from those of humans, so they really couldn’t do much.
Lu Qingjiu immediately remembered what Bai Yuehu had told him before, and suddenly became anxious. He gritted his teeth and said, “No, I still want to go there.”
Yin Xun still wanted to persuade Lu Qingjiu.
Lu Qingjiu shook his head, saying that he knew that he might not be able to help by going over there, but at least, he wanted to be with Bai Yuehu when he died, so that he would not leave this world alone, which he was reluctant to bear.
Yin Xun sighed, a little melancholy, and said that he knew that falling in love was not a good thing.
Lu Qingjiu asked Yin Xun where Bai Yuehu was specifically.
Yin Xun: “Let me take you there. It’s safer with two people.”
“No, you stay here.” Lu Qingjiu said, “When the two worlds merge, you can leave Shuifu Village. So forget about Bai Yuehu and me and go see other parts of the world.”
He said it sincerely because that was what he had in mind, but who knew that Yin Xun would start crying after hearing what he said. Although he had grown up, he was still almost like a child most of the time, scared and couldn’t help but shed tears when he was wronged.
“I don’t want this.” Yin Xun cried, “I don’t want to be alone in a world without you. Although Bai Yuehu has always regarded me as a reserve food, I know that if he is gone, you will be sad.”
Lu Qingjiu could only comfort him.
But in the face of such a situation, all words were useless. Yin Xun raised his hand to wipe away his tears, letting the tears turn into ice flakes on his face as he said, “You can’t get through there alone, I have to take you. Let’s go, Jiu’er, I’ve already thought about it.”
Lu Qingjiu still wanted to say something, but Yin Xun raised his hand decisively, indicating that there was no need to say anything more.
The two planned to set off just like that, but because it was too dark, Lu Qingjiu decided to bring a few flashlights and some self-defense items with him, so he returned to the partially collapsed house and found the flashlight on the bedside table in his bedroom. But when he was looking for a flashlight, he saw the wooden box that his Grandma had left for him. After getting this wooden box, Lu Qingjiu had only opened it once, on his birthday, and the rest of the time it remained in a state where it could not be opened.
When Lu Qingjiu picked up the wooden box, he accidentally flipped through the notes placed under the wooden box. He turned to the last page and saw a sentence that he had never understood before: “Qingjiu, Grandma loves you. If you encounter something bad, If you have any questions, take a closer look at what’s in the box.”
Lu Qingjiu trembled slightly when he saw this sentence. He thought about what happened in Shuifu Village at this time. He’s afraid the situation couldn’t be any worse than it was now. Was there something else in this wooden box? Lu Qingjiu couldn’t figure it out for a while, so he simply put the wooden box in his backpack and carried it out of the bedroom.
Yin Xun waited anxiously outside. He kept pacing back and forth, like an ant trapped in place.
“Let’s go.” Lu Qingjiu walked to his side.
“En.” Yin Xun nodded, then asked, “What are you carrying in your bag? It looks so heavy.”
Lu Qingjiu: “Nothing, some self-defense things. Do you want to bring anything?” He handed Yin Xun the folding knife he had put in his pocket.
Yin Xun hesitated for a moment, but still took it. He didn’t know what he would encounter along the way, so it would be good to bring some weapons for self-defense.
Lu Qingjiu picked up the shovel that was used for shovelling the soil in the yard, and the two of them hit the road.
It was almost ten o’clock in the morning, but there was no light in the sky. The night was like a dark curtain, tightly covering the whole world. There was nothing in the sky, not even a trace of clouds. There was no sound all around, and the howling wind made the whole world even more silent.
Yin Xun talked about things in the Other World. He said that although there was no Spring, Autumn, Winter and Summer in the Other World, the climate in each place was different. For example, if it was Winter in Shuifu Village, then it would be Summer in the City. In the Human World, time divided the four seasons, but in the Other World it was per region. Of course, in this case, it could not be called four seasons.
The two of them walked slowly along the trail. It was too dark, the mountain path was too narrow, and there was snow on it, so it was extremely difficult to walk. Just when Lu Qingjiu was about to leave Shuifu Village, a fire lit up behind him. Lu Qingjiu was startled. His first reaction was that he forgot to turn off his charcoal stove and set the house on fire. However, after he observed carefully, he discovered that the source of the fire was a torch, and the person holding the torch was none other than his Grandfather, Ao Run. However, Ao Run’s red hair told Lu Qingjiu that he was the other corrupted half of his Grandfather Ao Run’s soul.
“Long time no see.” Ao Run walked slowly towards Lu Qingjiu and greeted him with a smile.
“Long time no see.” Lu Qingjiu responded cautiously, “What’s the matter?”
Ao Run: “Where are you going?”
Lu Qingjiu said, “Where I’m going has nothing to do with you, right?” But he remembered that the ice butterfly of the Winter God was injected into his body by the red-haired man in front of him.
Ao Run raised his eyebrows, seeming to be a little dissatisfied with Lu Qingjiu’s attitude: “How come you call him Grandpa this Grandpa that, but when facing me it’s you this, you that, even if the hair color is different, I am still your Grandpa.”
This could not be refuted, after all, the worst part of his Grandfather was still his Grandfather. But Lu Qingjiu was still wary because he remembered what Bai Yuehu said. Bai Yuehu said that if something happened, he would be asked to leave with Ao Run. Now Ao Run suddenly appeared here, maybe just to take him away.
But Ao Run seemed to have seen through Lu Qingjiu’s thoughts and burst into laughter. However, there was no real meaning in his laughter, instead it was rather a mocking tone.
“En, I know what you are thinking.” Ao Run said, “If it were him, he might take you away, but I don’t want to do such a thankless thing.”
Lu Qingjiu inquired with his eyes what you wanted to do then.
Ao Run said, “It’s a blessing to die together. Go ahead.” He handed the torch in his hand to Lu Qingjiu and motioned for him to take it, “You can use it.”
Lu Qingjiu looked at Ao Run. Under the flickering firelight, Ao Run’s face was unclear, but his expression was calm and serene, which reminded Lu Qingjiu of his black-haired Grandfather.
“Thank you.” Lu Qingjiu didn’t sense any malice in him, so he stretched out his hand to catch the torch.
“Go on then.” Ao Run said, “If you go later, you won’t be able to see him.”
Lu Qingjiu nodded, accepting Ao Run’s kindness. After taking the torch, he turned around and left, his steps a little hurried. Yin Xun also glanced at Ao Yun and left with Lu Qingjiu.
“I know what you are thinking.” Looking at Lu Qingjiu’s retreating back, Ao Run seemed to be talking to himself or to someone, “But this is his own path and he has to walk it by himself. If you do it for his own good, he’ll hate you instead, just like back then.”
After he said this, he laughed self-deprecatingly: “Okay, I know you are angry, but it is too late to get angry. Just stay angry like this. Anyway, everything will be over.”
Lu Qingjiu continued to move forward while holding the torch. This torch was probably not a mortal thing. It was blown by the biting wind, but the fire did not diminish at all. At most, the light would flicker slightly. The flames illuminated the road beneath their feet and brought warmth, just like a little sun. Lu Qingjiu didn’t encounter anything along the way, but he didn’t relax because Yin Xun, who was following him, was always nervous and kept looking at the surrounding mountains and forests.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Qingjiu asked in a low voice. He felt that Yin Xun’s state was not quite right.
Yin Xun replied: “Something is following us.”
Lu Qingjiu asked, “What kind of thing?”
“Something very scary.” He replied and glanced towards the right again.
Lu Qingjiu took a deep breath to calm down Yin Xun, and then asked him how long it would take to reach Bai Yuehu. Yin Xun said that it would take at least half an hour. They had to enter the Other World through the small road in Shuifu Village, and then go around to the top of the mountain to see the Bai Yuehu.
Lu Qingjiu hummed in answer and couldn’t help but quicken his pace.
At this time, it was no longer snowing, but the mountain path was still covered in snow up to the calf, stepping on it one step at a time made it extraordinarily difficult to walk.
Lu Qingjiu wanted to go faster, but it was not easy to speed up in this situation. Besides, the thing following them seemed to be getting closer and closer.
With the sound of heavy breathing and the crunching sound of stepping on the snow, Lu Qingjiu initially thought it was him and Yin Xun who were making the sounds, but soon he realized that he and Yin Xun did not make such a loud noise, which was also accompanied by the crunching sound of trees being crushed. Lu Qingjiu turned his head and saw Yin Xun’s pale face. Yin Xun noticed Lu Qingjiu’s gaze and said, “It’s okay, he hasn’t caught up yet.”
Lu Qingjiu: “You shouldn’t have come with me.” He came here for Bai Yuehu, and he was ready to sacrifice everything, but now Yin Xun was also involved.
Yin Xun smiled, and there was no reluctance in his smile. Instead, he said with relief, “I’ve wanted to leave here for a long time.”
Lu Qingjiu: “….”
Yin Xun: “There is no one alive here. When I stay here, it feels like I am in a cold tomb.” He whispered, “I can only live by my memory.”
Lu Qingjiu thought of the crows and desolate tombs he saw in Yin Xun’s soul, and felt as if something was blocked in his chest.
“It was my good fortune to have met you.” Yin Xun said, “Regardless of what the future holds, Lu Qingjiu I’ve had a very happy time these past days.”
After he finished speaking, a black shadow jumped behind them in the dark forest. The black shadow was against the light, so it was difficult to see its appearance clearly, but one could vaguely see that its silhouette was very tall, nearly three meters tall. It opened its huge mouth and growled at them. The white teeth faintly reflected the penetrating light, and the strong pungent smell of blood in its mouth told Lu Qingjiu that it was not an animal to be trifled with.
“Go on, Qingjiu.” Yin Xun took out the folding knife from his pocket, “I’ll stop it.”
Lu Qingjiu: “How is it possible?” Yin Xun was so weak, how could he leave Yin Xun alone.
“Please go.” Yin Xun started to cry, “Bai Yuehu doesn’t have much time. You can’t help here. You can enter the Other World by walking forward, and then go up the mountain. Come on, please go.”
Lu Qingjiu was struck silent.
Yin Xun continued to say, “Lu Qingjiu, if you still treat me as a friend, can you let me finally do something for you?” He wiped away his tears, “I know that I am a very weak and useless Mountain God, but even so, please, please give me a chance.”
Lu Qingjiu looked at Yin Xun intently, and finally uttered the word “okay”. Then he held the torch and stepped forward, but he felt that his face was cold. It wasn’t snowing, so why were there ice flakes on his face? Did he cry too? No, he shouldn’t cry. At least in the end, he should leave a smile for Yin Xun.
The roaring sound behind him sounded again, but the monster didn’t catch up. Lu Qingjiu didn’t think about what method Yin Xun used to keep the monster behind. He could only run with all his strength, wanting to run faster and faster, at least so that this wasn’t a pointless sacrifice.
Breathing heavily, Lu Qingjiu’s vision was blurry but he didn’t dare to stop for a moment. It wasn’t until his strength was exhausted and he fell to the ground that he realized that he had left Shuifu Village and arrived in the Other World.
There was no snow in the Other World, and the pathway was made of smooth bluestones. This was the world Bai Yuehu once brought Lu Qingjiu to. He slowly got up from the ground and continued to stagger forward. Yin Xun said that the Bai Yuehu was on the top of the mountain. As long as he could climb up, he could see Bai Yuehu.
The originally rugged mountain road turned into an insurmountable ravine at this time. Lu Qingjiu gritted his teeth and climbed up. He kept chanting Bai Yuehu’s name in his heart, gasped a breath, and continued to climb up.
“Bai Yuehu, Bai Yuehu, Bai Yuehu..” When he reached the top of the mountain, Lu Qingjiu collapsed on the ground, and the torch given to him by Ao Run also went out at this time. He pushed himself up from the ground using his hands and feet. He got up and wanted to walk to the edge of the mountain to see Bai Yuehu, whom he longed for. Lu Qingjiu whispered his name, stretched out his hand and wiped his face heavily, “I’m here, you have to wait for me.”
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The author has something to say:
To conclude, the fusion of the other two worlds does not mean that humans will die directly, but will have a huge collision with the non-humans who would be fused into the world, which will definitely cause a large number of casualties. Don’t get me wrong :3
Ela ~~~ Excited shriekkk! I finally finished translating all the chaps in main story! Actually thats only 4 more chaps .. but still! After that 3 more extras and we wrap! OMG i am soooo excited
Well that is a little scary, Winter not leaving.
What a sad parting…🥹
Who’s cutting oignons ?!?!