Lou Muge tucked the stone statue back in.
It was quite heavy.
He pushed open the door of the Tao residence and found Tao Zhai standing in the courtyard, dressed in light clothing, with his long hair loosely tied. His fair skin almost blended with the moonlight as he stared directly at Lou Muge.
Lou Muge raised an eyebrow, patting the unusually heavy stone statue in his arms, and asked, “Waiting for me?”
Ning Shaosi stopped beside him, raising his eyes to look at Tao Zhai.
Tao Zhai didn’t respond. His eyes held a restrained fierceness. Then he turned and slammed the door into the room, making quite a show of his displeasure.
Wen Changchu furrowed his brow and straightforwardly suggested, “Since we’ve found their loophole, why not expose their hideout tonight?”
“No.” Lou Muge, however, was indifferent, saying, “Let’s get some sleep first. We’ll discuss it tomorrow.”
He yawned, returned to his room, casually took out the stone statue, placed it next to the bell, and lay down. Ning Shaosi stood by for a while, listening to his steady breathing until he was sure he had fallen asleep.
He then took out the luminous bead and placed it on the table, providing dim illumination. Squatting down, he gently removed Lou Muge’s shoes, tucked him neatly into the quilt, and lay down beside him.
Wen Changchu, seeing this series of actions, sneered, thinking about sycophancy and flattery.
Then he stretched out his claws, laid his head on top of them, and peacefully went to sleep.
Lou Muge slept deeply. He woke up near noon the next day, leisurely got up, stretched lazily, and with half-closed eyes, started to get dressed.
He took off the clothes he had worn for several days, changed into his regular attire—a short apricot-colored jacket with silk ties circling the sleeves, covered by a dark-colored short jacket with white rabbit fur on the edges. Below, he wore dark pants with silk ties to prevent the wind from getting in. When putting on his shoes, he saw a pair of black boots with golden cloud patterns neatly placed by the bed. He glanced at his black shoes, then kicked them aside disdainfully, putting on the black boots.
He tied his long hair high with a ribbon, picked up the bell from the bedside, tied it to his wrist with a silk rope, and then opened the door to go out.
Wen Changchu and Ning Shaosi, one wolf and one person, stood under the eaves, silently watching the blind Tao Ming sweeping snow in the courtyard. When they heard the sound and turned back, they saw a handsome young man walking out of the house.
Lou Muge looked up at the sky, where snowflakes were falling like goose feathers without stopping. The chill flowed freely in the air. Tao Ming stood in the courtyard, wearing a dark hat covered with white snow, and he continued to sweep, undeterred. Tao Zhai stood under another eave, staring at his elder brother with no expression on his face, not moving at all.
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.
Ning Shaosi turned and walked a few steps towards him. His black robe with golden patterns complemented his snow-like skin, and his exquisite features became more prominent in the snowy scenery. A slight smile was enough to amaze.
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Tao Ming stopped and looked towards Lou Muge with closed eyes, concealing his emotions. His voice was cold and clear, “Young Master Lou, what I’m sweeping is not the snow.”
Lou Muge tilted his head, puzzled.
He extended his hand from under the hat, and the palm was instantly covered with snowflakes, but they didn’t turn into water droplets. He said, “What I’m sweeping is the sins hidden beneath the snow.”
Lou Muge didn’t understand. Before he could speak, he saw Wen Changchu, who had been lying down, suddenly transform into a human shape and squat on the ground, blowing a breath towards the ground.
In an instant, a strong wind rolled up the snow. All the accumulated snow on the ground was instantly swept away, leaving a vast expanse of white in the air.
Wen Changchu looked at the empty ground. “There’s nothing.”
The snow hat on Tao Ming’s head was also blown away, and he stood in the courtyard, unsure how to respond.
Lou Muge got his face covered with the dancing snow. He wiped the water droplets off his face, considering it as if he had washed it, and said to Wen Changchu, “Go inside, take the stone statue, and let’s find the other three.”
Wen Changchu grinned, then turned and entered the house.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Shaosi, who was already prepared, opened the umbrella. The ink-stained umbrella surface reflected a dark color against the snowy ground.
The snow was thick, burying half of the lower leg with each step, making it challenging to walk. There were hardly any people on the streets. Wen Changchu led the way, plowing through the snow, while Lou Muge and Ning Shaosi found it much easier to follow behind.
“This Shanan City is neither big nor small. I don’t know where the other three statues are buried.” Wen Changchu kicked a thick layer of snow, his tone full of impatience. “Why not just grab those brothers, beat them up first, and then force them to reveal the whereabouts of the other three.”
“Not appropriate.” Lou Muge said, “Who knows if there’s some other sinister force behind those brothers. We’re not catching pawns here.”
Ning Shaosi, walking at the back, held an umbrella to shield Lou Muge from the snow. Half of his body was outside the umbrella, and the ink-colored fox fur on his robe was covered with layers of white frost. His voice remained steady. “The Four Square Stone Idols come from a formation. Infusing them with spiritual power allows us to sense the other three idols.”
Wen Changchu suddenly stopped in his tracks. Raising an eyebrow, he looked for trouble, “Why didn’t you say that earlier?” Then he turned to Lou Muge, reporting to him in a complaining tone, “Boss, this guy is deliberately wasting our time.”
“I didn’t mean to waste time.” Ning Shaosi quickly explained, “Just now, there were people coming and going in the city. If we act in the city, it will undoubtedly be known to Zhang Rong and others…”
Ning Shaosi, with his attractive appearance, raised his eyebrows slightly, giving off an inexplicable sense of pity. Enough to soften one’s heart, Lou Muge couldn’t help but want to defend him. He said to Wen Changchu, “Say less nonsense. Quickly take out the stone statue.”
“Okay.” Wen Changchu spoke casually, not paying much attention. He took out the stone statue, which seemed to have become lighter in his palm. His fingertips emitted a dim light, enveloping the stone statue instantly.
The wailing cries surged out, drilling straight into their ears. Wen Changchu’s face twisted in disgust, and his entire body seemed to express disdain. He angrily said, “Shut up!”
Many lost souls within the stone statue feared his power. In an instant, all the sounds ceased, except for a low sob that didn’t stop. Wen Changchu paid it little attention, infused spiritual power into the stone statue, and then suddenly heard cries of agony from a distance, similar to the ones just now.
Wen Changchu raised his head in surprise, following his gaze through the vast expanse of white snow. He saw what seemed like a mountain rising from the ground, and the faint sounds emanated from there.
Lou Muge, seeing his reaction, asked, “What’s happening? Did you find them?”
Wen Changchu pointed to the mountain. “The sounds are coming from there.”
“Only one location?” Ning Shaosi asked, looking at him.
He listened with his ears and nodded. “Only sounds from the mountain.”
Ning Shaosi’s eyes flickered slightly, a dark color settling in. He turned his head, seemingly looking in a certain direction, then said to Lou Muge, “Since we’ve heard it, let’s go up there quickly.”
However, Lou Muge hesitated. His gaze wandered through the swirling snow and said, “The snowfall is heavy, making it inconvenient to go up the mountain. Let’s wait until the snow stops.”
Ning Shaosi replied, “If we wait for the snow to stop, the stone statue might have already been dug up.”
Lou Muge looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“In the formation buried in four directions, we dug out one. There should be three more buried in the soil, but Wen Changchu only heard one location just now. It means the remaining two have already been dug out, and that person might be on the way up the mountain.”
Lou Muge’s eyes brightened. “Perfect, let’s intercept that person.”
After discussing, the three headed towards the mountain. However, the heavy snow made the journey difficult. Lou Muge’s shoe soles were slippery, and if he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have fallen several times.
In the end, with one step, he slid a yard away and fell into the snow, kicking a few times. He complained, “Since I learned to walk, I’ve never fallen so many times!”
Ning Shaosi, holding the umbrella, came to him, pulled him out of the snow pit, brushed off the snow dust, and handed him the umbrella. He said with a warm smile, “I’ll carry you; let’s go up the mountain faster.”
This idea just flashed through Lou Muge’s mind when he saw that Ning Shaosi had already untied his cape. He lifted it over Lou Muge’s body and tied it around his neck.
Despite being a teenager in front of him, his expression and actions made Lou Muge suddenly feel a sense of being cared for. The instinctive rejection lingered on his lips but was swallowed back.
Ning Shaosi squatted in front of him and said, “Climb on.”
Lou Muge hesitated for a moment, then climbed onto his back. Watching the somewhat slender and tender back carry him effortlessly, each step surprisingly steady, Lou Muge’s rejection faded away. Wen Changchu followed by their side, looking at the two for a moment, seemingly unsurprised.
Now, half of Ning Shaosi’s body was shielded from the snow since Lou Muge was lying on his back. The umbrella was enough to cover both of them. Without Lou Muge hindering him, they quickly ascended the mountain. In areas with pits or difficult terrain, they effortlessly glided over with a slight touch of the toes.
Listening to the sounds around, Wen Changchu unexpectedly saw someone he didn’t want to see on the mountain. His eyebrows furrowed, and he muttered, “How did they get here?”
Lou Muge lifted the umbrella to follow his gaze and saw the figures of Zhang Rong, Ze Wan, and Qian from a distance.
Recalling what Ning Shaosi said earlier, Lou Muge hesitated. Zhang Rong and the others were from the immortal realm, definitely not the demons causing trouble in the city.
Could it just be a coincidence?
Lou Muge climbed down from Ning Shaosi’s back and said to Wen Changchu, “Go and greet them, delay them.”
Wen Changchu handed the stone statue to Lou Muge. “The sound is nearby.”
“If you find something, use the secret signal I taught you,” Lou Muge instructed.
After a brief discussion, Wen Changchu headed toward Ze Wan. Lou Muge concealed the stone statue under his cape. Turning around, he found Ning Shaosi squatting next to a pile of half-height stone statues, staring at the ground.
“What are you looking at?” Lou Muge walked over, stood next to Ning Shaosi, and glanced down. There, Ning Shaosi had dug a large pit in the thick snow, revealing the upper body of a corpse. The snow on the neck was stained crimson, and the closed eyes showed no sign of color, as if dead for a long time.
Lou Muge was startled after closer inspection, feeling a sense of confusion. He swallowed hard and turned to Ning Shaosi, who was squatting in front of a half-height stone statue, staring at the ground in a trance.
💖💐💖💐 thank you for translating! (I think the last two paragraphs are in double)
Thank You for the new chapter (♡´౪`♡)
Thanks for the chapter!! (˘︶˘).｡.:*♡