Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Chapter 80 Birth

A giant snake passed through the mountain.

The snake's tongue flicked in and out, leaving a strong, pungent smell of blood on it—some stale, some fresh.

A strange emotion enveloped my heart.

The rain continues unabated, and those who long for their loved ones' return stand still, holding oil-paper umbrellas, watching the water flow by in vain.

The giant serpent hadn't felt this way in a long time.

The most recent time was twenty years ago, when that fox, which looked just like a white fox, died.

The speed increased even further.

Birds and mice bring new materials to this warm mat every day, filling in the gaps and cleaning up the dirt.

And now.

Dark red blood, so viscous it clung to the tree branches. Drop by drop, it congealed into still lines.

The two-tailed white fox, with its delicate pinkish-white plumage, was placed on its mother's belly to keep it away from blood.

The white fox tried to raise its head to lick away the fetal blood and amniotic fluid from its child.

But it had already bled out, and its eyeballs didn't move an inch.

Her eyes were wide open, staring helplessly at the sky.

A splash of crimson entered the already blurred vision.

"Candle?" the white fox asked with difficulty, his voice hoarse.

"it's me."

The giant snake swam forward, its size constantly decreasing.

The head and body remained within the white fox's field of vision, the tail pointing forward, sweeping across the breeze and drying the dampness on the pink and white two-tailed fox's body.

Then roll it up.

The little fox didn't want to leave its mother's embrace and squealed in protest as it was enveloped by the snake's tail.

Its delicate pink claws, not yet fully formed, slashed fiercely at the red scales.

Fearing she would get hurt, the giant snake placed the child in front of the white fox.

"Good, it's a healthy fox—" the white fox murmured, which made the little fox give up struggling and obediently stay in the snake's embrace.

One claw pressed against the snake's head, while the other claw moved downwards, following the mother's voice.

The snake's tail meandered past, lifting the white fox's front paws until they touched the little fox.

Taking this opportunity, the white fox shifted its body, revealing a bit of the horn of the evil dragon that it was pressing down on.

This thing even sparked a battle among the demons of Zhongshan.

In the end, the mountain king prevailed over all the others and delivered the horn to the white fox.

"You know, this horn can extend your life."

"At least one year."

The giant snake placed the little fox on its head, and its scales slowly unfolded to shield her from the wind, rain, and cold.

"No, no—" She wanted to see the giant snake's current appearance, but her vision became increasingly blurry, and turbid tears welled up in the corners of the white fox's eyes.

"I should have died long ago. I'm still alive because that landscape painting is not yet finished."

Huai Nian stared at the white fox that was about to die in front of her.

A barely perceptible ripple stirred within me.

He didn't say a word, and didn't make a single movement.

It has only one tongue, constantly flicking in and out.

It was as if it had seen him in a past life: a man sitting alone, silently smoking.

"Although I don't know what it means, the snake god specifically told me a sentence."

As the white fox spoke, its speech became more fluent and its vision became clearer.

The giant serpent's current appearance is already visible.

It still had that ferocious snake face, with heterochromatic gold and silver eyes that radiated a light as dazzling as stars.

Its surface was covered with fine, red scales, layer upon layer, like fire and blood. The two horns on its head were as rugged as precipitous peaks, piercing straight into the sky.

"Candle, do not go against the natural order."

"If we really have to do it, it should only be done as a last resort, and we'll have to drag more people or other demons down with us—"

'

"Yes, I remember," the giant snake said in a deep voice.

"Hmm—" The white fox lay down, gazing at the azure sky, its pupils gradually becoming unfocused.

The giant snake coiled up the sleeping fox cub on its head and placed it in front of the white fox.

It's pink and delicate, with two tails wrapping around its entire body, forming a fox-like ball.

The body expands and shrinks with each breath.

"The healthy little fox—Candle, she will accompany you from now on." With the last glimmer of clarity in her vision, the white fox gazed at the little fox.

Then she closed her eyes on her own.

Breathing gradually weakened until it became barely perceptible.

The giant snake watched silently.

As the sun sets and dusk falls, distant crows cry out incessantly, echoing through the mountains.

"Um"

He let out a long sigh.

The giant snake turned around and returned to the mountain and water cave.

The mountains and forests were deep and secluded, and even the birds and beasts were silent, and the wind had calmed down.

After passing through mountains and forests, winding down the cliff, we arrived at the riverbank.

Zhao Ying was still discussing with Shan Jun how to cultivate the Bing Sha.

The sound was very loud, but the giant snake couldn't hear a thing.

It used its long horns to emit waves that protected its head, and its enormous serpentine body disappeared into the river, unknown to anyone.

The moon rises, the mountains and forests are calm, and the rivers are still.

Fine rain fell, drop by drop, onto the water's surface. The pattering sound wove together a mournful melody.

The discussion between Qinghu and Zhao Ying came to an abrupt end.

They looked up together at the sky, which was cloudless.

"No clouds or rain?" Zhao Ying frowned, stretched out her hand, and caught a drop of rain in her palm.

A feeling of sadness welled up in her heart.

The woman subconsciously wiped her eyes; they were a little wet, she wondered if it was from the rain.

The mountain king was puzzled, so he stuck out his tongue, caught a drop of rainwater, and put it in his mouth.

I smacked it a couple of times, but couldn't taste anything.

Turning to look at the slowly flowing Luo River, I remembered that this river should be surging and flowing eastward.

"What did you feel?" Qinghu lowered his head and asked.

"Hmm... a funeral?" Zhao Ying asked briefly, sensing the emotions surging within her.

"Why can you sense it?"

"Maybe it's because I'm human?"

"Is that so?" the mountain king murmured.

"I'm not in a good mood today, so it's not suitable for us to discuss the Dao with you. Let's do it the day after tomorrow." Zhao Ying looked up at Qinghu.

"no problem."

The tiger lay on the ground, sticking out its tongue and repeatedly scooping rainwater into its mouth.

Zhao Ying left.

It continues.

Even after the sun came out and the rain stopped, they still couldn't taste the funeral that Zhao Ying had described.

The blue tiger lay there on the riverbank, lost in thought.

Sunrise and sunset, another three days have passed.

Suddenly, a series of bubbles rose to the surface of the Luo River. Just as Shan Jun turned his head, he saw a pink and white fox swimming ashore.

The pink and white fox is now only the size of a human's palm, with its two fluffy tails taking up half of its body.

Upon seeing the blue tiger lying on the riverbank, the little fox's eyes gleamed with curiosity.

The little fox stood with its four paws crossed, stepping on a line.

She came before the mountain king, her two tails swaying gently.

"Hello, my name is Jiulian."

"Hello————" Shan Jun stared at the fox, his eyes following the movement of its two pink and white tails.

In a daze, it seemed to see the shadow of a white fox.

When Zhao Ying mentioned the funeral, was she referring to the white fox?

"What's your name?" the little fox asked.

Her voice was clear and soft, like the first melting snow in a mountain stream, timid yet unable to hide her innocent curiosity.

"Me? I have no name. They all call me Mountain Lord—"

"Ah—it's alright, I can have Zhu get you one." The little fox turned around and called out to the surging river.

The child's innocent voice was quickly drowned out by the flowing water.

But then a giant snake burst out of the water.

The little fox sat down obediently, its voice clear and melodious: "Candle—"

"Um."

The red snake nodded.

>