Collapse Iron: The Five Heroes of the Clouds Won't Let Me Go

The matter of Zhenzhu learning her skills has been settled.

She made an appointment with Cheng Xiao, and she would visit Luofu in person soon.

Meanwhile, Screw Goom returned to Screw Planet to design and build the Gundam that Riding the Wanderer desired.

Everything proceeded as planned, but Yaoqing was overcome with sorrow.

It turned out that Bai Heng's father was nearing his end and was calling Bai Heng back to have a word with his family.

Bai Heng couldn't sit still any longer and immediately drove his Star Chariot back. By the time Cheng Xiao was attending the gathering, he had probably already arrived in Yaoqing.

This was a big deal. After Yingxing mentioned it, Chengxiao rushed to Yaoqing without stopping.

Arriving at the Bai family home with practiced ease, Cheng Xiao saw Bai's father lying in bed.

Fox-people never age after reaching adulthood, and even though White Father has reached the end of his lifespan, he remains exceptionally handsome.

But when their lifespan ends, fox-people age rapidly, and wrinkles are now slowly appearing at the corners of Bai's father's eyes.

Bai Heng and his sister Bai Shu had their fox ears drooping, and looked dejected.

When the fox-people become mournful, they all look extremely pitiful, and the atmosphere around them becomes much heavier.

But fox people are also very open-minded, enjoying life to the fullest and taking a very detached view of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Father Bai meticulously described the past to his two daughters, as if scenes were flashing before their eyes like a revolving lantern.

Bai's mother gently wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, but forced a smile.

Upon seeing Cheng Xiao arrive, Bai's father was even happier.

"It's such a blessing for my daughter Bai Heng to have met you. She seems to be a born lucky star, which I envy very much."

"Thank you, Chengxiao. You've helped my daughter so much. I'll have to trouble you again in the future."

Cheng Xiao nodded: "It's what I should do."

"Then I'm relieved. You can go out now. Daughter-in-law, please entertain your son-in-law well. I want to sleep for a while; my eyelids are trembling..."

After saying that, Father Bai gently closed his eyes.

Bai Heng cried out, "Father!"

"Shut up! I'm not dead yet! Can't I even get some sleep?!"

"Oh~ I misunderstood~"

Afterwards, the family members came to the living room. Bai's mother was easygoing and teased Cheng Xiao about Bai's father.

"He and I have spent our whole lives reading books, and the books and papers we have written are taller than a person. Whether it is for the work of Xianzhou or the pursuit of our own theoretical goals, we have fulfilled our responsibilities."

"You two have worked hard."

Mother Bai smiled and shook her head:

"Oh dear, why am I bringing this up? Cheng Xiao, you're older than me, it's me who's showing off my old age."

Cheng Xiao denied it:

"That's not a definitive conclusion. Different races have different lifespans. As for you, you are indeed an old man, so it's appropriate for you to say things that are relevant to the present time."

Bai's mother nodded, no longer dwelling on it, and began to explain the next steps.

"We've already made a decision. This large family, with its relatives and uncles mostly consisting of scholars and adventurers, doesn't seem to care much about the family business. So, we'll let Bai Shu, who's more suited to business, succeed as the family head. As long as she doesn't tarnish our scholarly family reputation, everything will be fine."

"As for Bai Heng, she has a share in everything in the family. Let her do whatever she wants. We can't interfere anyway, and you're taking care of her."

"Understood."

After a conversation, Cheng Xiao led Bai Heng to a side room.

"Do you want me to help your father prolong his life?"

"Oh? Then no need."

Why?

Bai Heng tilted his head, tapping his chin with his finger as he pondered:

"We fox people aren't so hard to let go of. It's just birth, aging, sickness, and death. Although it's sad to lose our lives, we've lived them to the fullest. Once we've had enough, there's no need to waste any more time in the human world."

Cheng Xiao fell silent; he had underestimated the ordinary mindset of others.

"Yes, even some geniuses in the Genius Club, despite having methods to extend their lives, choose not to use them, leaving behind more wisdom and creativity, thus ending their hundred-year lives perfectly. It would be even better if these famous guests could board a train on their adventures, and then, when their lifespan ends, they could die smiling in Xiao Lang's arms."

Bai Heng wagged its tail, already imagining a beautiful and fulfilling life.

"What...what did you say?"

Cheng Xiao was stunned.

Will she die of old age? Or in his arms?

He must not have woken up properly today; he's still dreaming.

However, Bai Heng shattered Cheng Xiao's self-comfort.

"That's perfect, our fox life is complete."

Perfect? ​​How can this be called perfect?

Cheng Xiao took a deep breath and suddenly pressed down on Bai Heng's shoulder.

"Bai Heng...don't you want to live forever?"

"Immortality is great, but it can be lonely."

"...Don't you want to continue this journey with Kagami and the others, and with me?"

Bai Heng paused for a moment, then blushed and said:

"Oh dear, Xiaolang is really reluctant to part with me~"

"Yes! I just can't bear to part with you. You're not allowed to die of old age easily; I want you to stay with me forever!"

Bai Heng's tail swung even faster.

She shyly played with her white hair.

"Well~ with you all by my side, I won't be afraid of the loneliness of immortality. Of course I'd be willing to walk with you forever~"

Cheng Xiao felt a surge of heat, and the gloomy thoughts that had just arisen in his heart vanished.

Bai Heng agreed; there was no need to force her to achieve immortality, it was her own choice!

After spending some time together, Bai Heng continued to help his sister with family affairs, while Cheng Xiao went to find Yue Yu.

Yueyu naturally knew of Chengxiao's arrival, and she also had a request to make.

To Ling Chengxiao's surprise, she had also come for the sake of lifespan.

When I saw Yueyu again, she was still as carefree as ever.

But Cheng Xiao could sense that she was putting on a brave face.

"What happened?"

Yue Yu was slightly taken aback, then gave a wry smile.

"Who would have thought that after shooting geese every day, I would end up getting pecked in the eye by a goose."

"After the incident with Hu Lei, Bu Liren closed himself off, thinking he posed little threat. Little did we know he was still accumulating strength, and we were caught off guard. What a pity..."

Cheng Xiao frowned slightly.

"Impossible. With your abilities, even if you were ambushed, it would be impossible to harm you."

Yue Yu shook his head:

"I never expected that the Dulan Dynasty of Benlang would have such hidden strength. Did you see the 'emerging moon' hanging atop Yaoqing?"

"Could it be that something strange has happened to this plague?"

"Worse still, the sacred relic of the Buli people, the Blood Spring, should have dried up after countless Buli and fox-people sacrificed their lives to give birth to the Moon Embryo and the Crimson Heart, but now the spring has revived!"

"And it is precisely because of this that new signs of fetal movement begin to appear in the month of fetal movement."

"As a general of the fox people, I had a responsibility to stop it, but I never expected that the place where the Crimson Spring was located was filled with countless vengeful spirits, which were captivating and robbing people of their reason. I almost lost control of my body, which was splitting and growing, and I lost all my humanity and sanity."

Yue Yu lifted his wide sleeves, revealing beneath the garments a bloody gash that was slowly healing.