Heaven’s Shadow

“Brother Lu, what is ‘Blue Butterfly Dew’?” Yi Xin asked Lu Chen with some confusion. “I’ve never heard of it before. Is it a rare spiritual material?”

Lu Chen’s pupils contracted slightly. After a moment, he took a deep breath, his expression returning to normal. He smiled faintly and said, “Oh, it’s not a spiritual material. It’s actually just a type of wine, nothing valuable.”

“Wine, huh.” Yi Xin shrugged, clearly uninterested in alcoholic beverages. She then bade farewell to Lu Chen and was about to leave.

However, at that moment, Lu Chen called her back.

“Brother Lu, is there something else?” Yi Xin asked.

Lu Chen was silent for a moment before saying, “Yi Xin, be careful and don’t trust others too easily.”

Yi Xin was a bit surprised and asked, “Brother Lu, what do you mean by that? Is there something wrong with the person who asked me to pass the message earlier?”

“Not exactly…” Lu Chen shook his head, seemingly with a wry smile. He then coughed and changed the subject, “There are too many bad people in this world. You’re still young and seem a bit naive. I’m afraid you’ll suffer.”

“Hey, who are you calling naive?” Yi Xin immediately shouted indignantly, clearly diverted by his words.

Lu Chen smiled and nodded, “That’s basically what I meant. Oh, and about that He Changsheng guy, stay away from him too. If he really goes crazy and tries to harm me, it would be bad if you got hurt.”

Yi Xin nodded, “I understand. Don’t worry.”

She then turned and walked away, her steps light and cheerful. Lu Chen watched her receding figure for a moment, standing in silence. Then he suddenly muttered under his breath, “Fatty, what are you trying to do!”

***

At the foot of Doghead Mountain, Ah Tu came running. Several days had passed since the earthquake, and the numerous immortal birds and beasts that had fled had unknowingly returned, resuming their orderly positions on the peculiar mountain.

As Ah Tu walked, many animals saw him.

Birds chirped, fierce beasts roared, an ostrich accidentally kicked Ah Tu’s butt, and many other exotic beasts that remembered Ah Tu’s embarrassing fall from the mountain top looked at him with disdain and schadenfreude as he cautiously made his way up Doghead Mountain.

That huge figure still loomed at the mountain’s peak.

Rhinoceroses, tigers, lions, elephants, and red-crowned cranes danced gracefully. Many other strange birds and beasts, some of which Ah Tu had never seen or heard of, gathered there. Among them were many fierce creatures. As Ah Tu passed through their territories, they either prodded, obstructed, or frightened him, causing him to look back anxiously, fearing he might become someone’s meal.

After a long and arduous climb, Ah Tu finally reached the top of Doghead Mountain. Exhausted, he panted heavily with his tongue out, taking a break before looking up. He saw a huge blue ox lying at the mountain’s peak, its eyes half-closed as if dozing.

Ah Tu waited for a while before cautiously approaching the blue ox. The entire Doghead Mountain fell silent, with countless immortal birds and beasts watching the mountain top, waiting for the next black shadow to be thrown down.

Ah Tu wagged his tail and slowly walked to the blue ox’s side. He seemed somewhat cautious, and in the quiet atmosphere of the mountain, he appeared nervous.

“Woof…” Ah Tu’s bark was low, filled with hesitation, like a puzzled inquiry.

Suddenly, a black shadow swept through the air. It was the blue ox’s thick and extremely nimble tail. Instantly, all the beasts on Doghead Mountain became excited. Lions and tigers raised their heads, and immortal birds spread their wings, all staring intently at the mountain top.

Moments later, the tail gently fell, lightly brushing over the black dog’s smooth fur before retracting.

The blue ox opened its eyes briefly, then closed them again, yawning.

All the beasts on the mountain were stunned.

Ah Tu was stunned for a moment before suddenly jumping up and running to the edge of the mountain top. He vigorously shook his body, then barked joyfully towards the beasts below, “Woof, woof, woof! Woof, woof!”

The mountain was silent.

Only the wind blew, and the black dog standing on the mountain top appeared particularly majestic.

***

At noon, Lu Chen found an excuse to leave the mountain and headed to Kunwu City.

Walking through the bustling streets, he seemed indifferent to the surrounding hustle and bustle, heading straight for the city wall. However, that day, he didn’t go directly inside. Instead, he circled around the street outside the alley twice and waited for half an hour before finally entering the alley and arriving at the desolate Black Hill Pavilion.

Fatty Lao Ma was dozing on his beloved reclining chair. Upon hearing footsteps, he jumped up with a start and, without opening his eyes, rattled off, “Dear customer, take a look around. We have a wide variety of spiritual materials at affordable prices… Oh, it’s you.”

Lu Chen looked at him and sneered, “It’s me. What’s with that ghostly expression?”

Lao Ma yawned widely and sighed, “I thought I finally had a customer!”

Lu Chen spat, “Keep dreaming. Since this shop opened, how many sales have you made? Tell me.”

Lao Ma coughed and said seriously, “Let’s not talk about the past. We must look forward. Besides, what’s wrong with dreaming? What if it comes true?”

Lu Chen raised a finger and waved it in front of him. Then his expression turned serious as he glared at Lao Ma and said, “Explain to me why you suddenly dragged that girl Yi Xin into this.”

Lao Ma shrugged and said, “I had something urgent to discuss with you, but you haven’t been coming down the mountain lately, so I had no choice.”

Lu Chen retorted bluntly, “Bullshit! You have such a wide network, so many connections, and you can investigate anyone within the Kunlun Sect. If you don’t have dozens of spies on the mountain, then it’s still too few. Why couldn’t you have someone else inform me? Why drag an innocent girl into this?”

Lao Ma looked at Lu Chen and smiled, “What’s wrong? It’s rare to see you so concerned about someone.”

Lu Chen snorted, “Don’t try to provoke me. We’ve played these tricks long enough. I’m just telling you, Yi Xin has nothing to do with our matters, so don’t…”

“Don’t involve her?” Lao Ma interrupted, looking at him with a faint expression. “Is that what you mean?”

Lu Chen seemed to think of something, frowned, but said nothing.

Lao Ma then chuckled, “Those spies you mentioned are just like you. If there’s danger, they’re risking their lives for me. So, if I had to choose, I’d naturally protect my own people.”

“That Yi family girl was doomed to bad luck the moment she met you. Are you pretending to be ignorant? Have you become so used to playing the role of her protective ‘Big Brother Lu’ that you believe you can keep her safe forever?”

Lu Chen suddenly looked up, his gaze cold, staring directly at Lao Ma.

Lao Ma didn’t flinch, staring back coldly.

The shop’s atmosphere turned icy.

After a long silence, Lu Chen finally said, “You don’t usually talk to me like this. What’s going on?”

Lao Ma’s chubby face twitched slightly, suddenly looking somewhat irritated, “Nonsense, I’ve always been this straightforward!”

Lu Chen turned his head, looking around the shop, muttering, “Doesn’t seem like there are any ambushed assassins here, unless they’re hidden outside?” He paused, then suddenly stepped forward, grabbing a handful of Lao Ma’s chubby face and tugging it.

Lao Ma yelped, pulling away angrily, “What are you doing?”

“I’m checking if you were forced to take poison and are here to harm me.”

“Bah! Bah! Bah!” Lao Ma spat, nearly hitting Lu Chen’s face, shouting, “Screw you! If anyone’s poisoned, it’s you—with your rotten heart, rotten lungs, and rotten guts.”

Lu Chen clapped his hands, looking at Lao Ma with a disdainful gaze, “Next time, remember to wash your face more often. A greasy-faced fatty is unbearable.”

Lao Ma kicked at him, but Lu Chen easily dodged.

Muttering curses, Lao Ma pointed towards the back room, “Go over there.”

“What for?”

“He wants to see you.”

Lu Chen suddenly fell silent, looking at Lao Ma. The anger on Lao Ma’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of concern. But after a moment, he sighed and said, “Go on.”

Lu Chen nodded and walked towards the back courtyard. After taking a few steps, he heard Lao Ma speak again from behind, “By the way, you should warn that Yi family girl yourself.”

Lu Chen stopped but didn’t turn around, “Why?”

Lao Ma said indifferently, “That girl is young and naive, too trusting. I said a few words, and she believed me without even thinking to ask how I knew about your relationship with her.”

Lu Chen remained silent, then slowly shook his head, but said nothing more and walked towards the courtyard.

Passing through the narrow alley, he saw the familiar square courtyard. This time, unlike before, the first thing he saw was that person’s figure.

That extraordinarily fat, broad figure sitting in the small courtyard seemed almost to fill it completely.

The wide robe, sitting cross-legged, and the shining bald head—all clearly identified this person.

A bird happened to fly over the courtyard, seemingly tired or curious. It flapped its wings slowly and landed, finally perching on his bald head, as if it felt no threat and considered him merely a rock.

True Lord Tianlan looked ahead, smiling slightly. He waved at Lu Chen warmly and said, “You’re here. Come, sit.”

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