Chapter 206

At that time, Yang Pass was empty. Hongjun asked the general in the city and learned that Jia Zhou had left with the army to meet up with Guo Ziyi. They cooperated with the Huihe Army to attack Chang 'an and suppress Shi Siming's troops.

Hongjun changed horses and went south with Yu Prefecture along Liangzhou. They prepared to cross Mount Qilian and enter Qinghai. Along the way, there were large areas of no man's land. When winter came, the cold air was turbulent and snowstorms sealed the mountains. Hongjun relied on the protection of Phoenix's True Power and continued to move forward with Yu Prefecture against the wind and snow. This place used to be under the jurisdiction of Tubo. In the past, Tubo and the Tang Dynasty fought for a long time. In the end, the Tang army admitted defeat and had to marry Princess Wencheng. The war between the two clans gradually calmed down.

After Mount Qilian, the wind and snow were turbulent. Most of the Tang Dynasty's cities were empty, leaving behind desolate military fortresses. Hongjun still remembered that day at the Chengdu Cottage, Du Fu invited him and Li Bai to admire a poem. There was a line, "Don't you see, in Qinghai, no one has collected the bones since ancient times." That night at the foot of Mount Qilian with Yu Prefecture, Hongjun saw graves behind the deserted military fortresses. Inside were the bones of soldiers who fought far away and couldn't return home.

On the last night of Tianbao's Fifteenth Year, the wind howled and snow flew. Hongjun and Yu Prefecture found an empty military fortress and waited by a bonfire. Yu Prefecture found the Tang Army's wine stash in the cellar. They drank and talked about the past of Dazzling Gold Palace. Hongjun felt that a long time had passed. After entering Qinghai, his mood gradually improved.

"If I told you this, would you still go down the mountain?" Yu Prefecture asked.

Hongjun laughed. His face was flushed from the alcohol. At this time, his mood was very complicated.

"I would," Hongjun murmured.

Yu Prefecture continued, "I still remember that you promised me in Hongjun that after we defeated Tianma, you would find a place with no one around to cultivate with me and watch me jump through the dragon gate."

Hongjun had already forgotten. He glanced at Yu Prefecture and said, "Do you remember?"

Yu Prefecture said, "I'm almost done with my cultivation."

As he spoke, he turned back into a fish and crawled around on the brick floor of the fortress. Hongjun couldn't help but laugh when he saw that. The Carp Demon who had grown longer also laughed.

"Hongjun." Yu Prefecture said, "When I become a dragon, I'll take you there to play, okay?"

Hongjun leaned against the wall of the fortress. When he heard this, he thought of Li Jinglong.

"Yes." Hongjun said leisurely, "We promised that we would be together for a very, very long time …"

His drunkenness was like the snowflakes that night, sprinkling on the ground with rustling sounds. Li Jinglong's words seemed to still ring in his ears. After all of this was over, he promised to take him to travel all over China, to see all the beautiful sceneries under the sky, and to eat all the delicious food in the world.

"You still remember?" Yu Zhou was instantly overjoyed. His fair and handsome face, neck, and bare chest all turned red at the same time.

Hongjun didn't hear Yu Prefecture's words. He only murmured, "That's why I won't lose."

Yu Prefecture said, "You won't. Hongjun, I …"

Yu Prefecture still wanted to say something, but Hongjun suddenly frowned and said, "What's that sound?"

The sound of a horse's neigh could be heard. Hongjun turned his head to look outside the fortress. He saw an unmanned warhorse arrive outside the fortress. It was so cold that it was shivering. The saddle, the horse's head, and the horse's abdomen were still wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket. A frozen water bag was tied to one side of the horse. There was also a thin leather boot on the stirrup.

"Who is it?" Hongjun hurriedly got up and went out.

In the wind and snow, the warhorse's footprints followed the path they came from. Hongjun chased after it. Yu Prefecture said, "It's the guard here, right?"

Hongjun said, "Take the horse inside. I'll go save the people!"

Hongjun chased after the horse's footprints. It was obvious that there was someone on the horse. It probably couldn't withstand the wind and snow, so it fell to the ground at the foot of Mount Qilian. After being dragged by the horse for a long time, its boot finally fell off and it fell into the snow. If he didn't hurry, it was likely that he would freeze to death in this freezing weather.

Sure enough, at the pass at the foot of the mountain, where they had just exited the canyon, there was a man lying on his stomach. The man still hadn't completely lost consciousness and was slowly crawling in the snow. He was wearing a black robe and half of his body was already buried in the snow. Hongjun quickened his pace. He saw that the man was barefoot and his feet were red from the cold.

"Hey!" Hongjun shouted, "Can you hear me? Wake up! "

When the man heard his voice, he knew that reinforcements had arrived. He finally gave up struggling and stopped moving.

Hongjun turned the man over. Suddenly, the entire world was silent.

Fine snowflakes drifted down from the dusky sky. The wind stopped. Li Jinglong's eyes were tightly closed. He didn't know when, but he had taken off half of his martial robe. His chest and shoulders were red from the cold and his lips were purple. He was lying quietly in the snow.

The heavy snow filled the sky and fell on Hongjun's body. It was as if an incomparably long period of time had frozen at this moment. His tears couldn't stop falling. They dripped into the snow and landed on Li Jinglong's face and neck.

He bent down and hugged Li Jinglong tightly. He used all the strength in his body as if he wanted to bury him in his own body. As time passed, the snowy night of that year and the snowy night of today, the world had changed. All of this seemed so far away, yet it also seemed so close. It had never changed.

Li Jinglong's last thought before he lost consciousness was — hot.

He constantly took off his clothes in the snow. It was an inevitable reaction of the body when the cold reached the extreme. In the illusion, he was hugging a familiar body. He couldn't stop reaching out and pulling until warm lips touched him.

Flames covered his body, causing his consciousness to return to his body little by little. He opened his eyes and looked blankly at Hongjun's soft white skin and the well-proportioned and thin naked body of the young man in his arms.

Li Jinglong: "…"

Hongjun's eyes were close. He just looked at him quietly. Tears rolled in his eyes.

"What are you crying for …" Li Jinglong only said this one sentence before he hugged Hongjun's waist tightly. The two of them were entwined together.

Behind the fortress, Yu Prefecture was guarding the door. In front of them was Li Jinglong's horse.

Yu Prefecture: "…"

Yu Prefecture drank a mouthful of wine and fed some hay to the warhorse.

"Happy New Year," Yu Prefecture said to the warhorse. He raised his head and swallowed a few mouthfuls of wine. He let out a long "Ah — —!" and suddenly began to cry.

"Why is my life so hard?" Yu Prefecture raised his hand to wipe his tears and said in a choked voice.

The light from the bonfire illuminated the entire fortress. Hongjun opened his arms and hugged Li Jinglong. He urged the Phoenix Primordial Fire Yang Essence into his body. Li Jinglong finally recovered and looked at Hongjun quietly. Neither of them said anything.

In the end, Li Jinglong looked into Hongjun's eyes and said, "I'm here to take you home."

Hongjun raised his arm and wiped his face. "I still can't …"

Li Jinglong interrupted Hongjun and said, "I promise you, Hongjun. I won't interfere with your demon race's affairs as long as you're willing to let me stay by your side."

Hongjun looked at Li Jinglong and said, "I promise you that after we defeat Qing Xiong and Tianma, I'll go home with you."

"It's a promise." Li Jinglong stretched out his hand. Hongjun didn't know what he meant, so he put his hand in his palm. Li Jinglong clenched his hand and pulled him towards himself, hugging him tightly.

"Don't leave again …" Li Jinglong's voice trembled. "I was wrong. You can't always treat me like this … I'll go crazy …"

Hongjun opened his eyes wide in a daze. He could feel Li Jinglong's heartbeat. That heartbeat was just like before, firm and burning.

The next morning, Hongjun and Li Jinglong snuggled together. Yu Prefecture knocked on the door outside and said, "Hongjun, get up."

Hongjun rested his head on Li Jinglong's chest and sat up sleepily. Li Jinglong had already recovered after a night. His body had both the Heart's Lamp and the power of the Phoenix. Originally, he wouldn't have been in such a sorry state and almost frozen to death at the foot of Mount Qilian. However, he chased them too fiercely and didn't sleep for several days. By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, he was already like a lamp that had run out of oil.

"Thank you, Zhao Zilong." Li Jinglong said to Yu Prefecture with a double meaning.

Yu Prefecture replied in boredom, "You're welcome."

"Go take a look at Ruoer Gai. If you can find the Vajra Arrow, I'll leave the last magic tool to you." Li Jinglong simply packed up his luggage. Hongjun yawned as he came out of the fortress. Seeing Li Jinglong pat Yu Prefecture's shoulder, he laughed.

Yu Prefecture's expression was very complicated. It was as if he had suffered a heavy blow. He could only give up and get on his horse. The three of them left the foot of Mount Qilian and galloped into the hinterland of Qinghai.

Hongjun originally wanted to ride a horse himself, but Li Jinglong insisted on bringing him along and had him sit in front of him. In this half a month, after Hongjun and Li Jinglong parted ways, he always felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. He knew that people had to grow up and shoulder their own responsibilities. There were some things that could only be faced alone in the end.

However, when he reunited with Li Jinglong, his entire person seemed to be uncontrollably deflated. In an instant, his emotions took over his reason. Facing the vast snowy plains and sitting on a horse with Li Jinglong, he suddenly had the urge to give up everything. He just wanted to throw away all his worries and responsibilities. Li Bai's "I'm willing to be buried in dust and ashes" was roughly like this.

Hongjun couldn't help but sigh.

"I can't do this and I'm not willing to do that." Li Jinglong said with a smile behind him, "What exactly do you want Langjun to do? Give me a quick death. "

"Don't say anymore!" Hongjun said gloomily. Li Jinglong laughed. He tightened his grip on the reins around Hongjun's waist and shouted, "Hyah!"

Then the warhorse madly galloped into the snow.

"Zhao Zilong!" Hongjun hurriedly turned his head to look, but Li Jinglong kissed his lips from behind his shoulder and said, "Ignore him."

Hongjun, "…"

When their lips parted, Li Jinglong said, "Hongjun, all of this will end soon. We will be fine."

The melancholy and sadness that Qing Xiong brought to Hongjun was finally swept away when Li Jinglong appeared in front of him again. The moment Hongjun picked him up from the snow, he was no longer afraid of anything.

"Every time I'm by your side, I feel like I've been beaten back to my original form." Hongjun said absentmindedly.

Li Jinglong laughed and said, "That's why I became the chief exorcist. It's destined that I'll take in you, the little demon king."

Hongjun should have been angry, but he couldn't help but burst into laughter. Li Jinglong shook the reins again and took him to the end of the world as fast as lightning.

Luoyang City, ten miles of river. Drops of water turned to ice, and there was a deathly stillness.

"I almost forgot that you snakes need to hibernate." Yuan Kun said in a cold voice.

Xie Yu's eyes were tightly closed. His body was already very weak, and he faintly spoke.

"Today, I've actually been defeated by you." Xie Yu said slowly, "It's funny that you demons have already won a complete victory. If you continue in a spurt of energy, you can probably even destroy this last bit of demonic energy … Now, you're like humans, trapped in a battle with your comrades. Isn't it funny?"

Yuan Kun took a step forward and didn't answer Xie Yu's words. He only took off his blindfold. Xie Yu opened his eyes and looked at Yuan Kun.

Yuan Kun's eyes were two deep black holes, and there was nothing in them.

"Give me resentment and unwillingness …" Xie Yu said hoarsely, "I'm going to die … in this underground place that's isolated from the world …"

"It's not time yet." Yuan Kun muttered, "Let me take a look …"

He walked in front of Xie Yu. Xie Yu seemed to be very frightened and couldn't stop trembling. Yuan Kun raised his hand and pressed it on Xie Yu's head. In an instant, Xie Yu screamed in pain, and the demonic energy in his body exploded. Yuan Kun suddenly withdrew his hand and turned to leave. Before he left, he said coldly, "Just you wait."

Yuan Kun left. In the darkness of the river, a pair of fox eyes were shining brightly.

Luoyang's sky was dusky. It had been a full year, but the entire city still reeked of the rotting stench left behind by the massacre. Qing Xiong sat on the collapsed throne in the main hall. He had one foot on the armrest of the throne, and the other hand supported his chin.

"What did you see?" Qing Xiong asked Yuan Kun, who had just walked into the hall.

"What did you see?" Yuan Kun asked in a low voice.

Qing Xiong closed his eyes slightly and said, "I saw the ants fighting back. In Hejian and Shan Commandery, the Tang Army is fighting fiercely with Shi Siming's troops. They have returned to Chang 'an and are flanking us from both sides, preparing to head to Luoyang."

Yuan Kun said in a low voice, "The main character hasn't arrived yet."

Qing Xiong raised his head slightly and looked down at Yuan Kun. Yuan Kun said, "I saw the future through Xie Yu's remaining demonic energy."

"What kind of future?" Qing Xiong asked.

"The scene of the next reincarnation." Yuan Kun said, "Tianma will be born in the Holy Land."

"When?" Qing Xiong asked in a low voice.

"Two hundred and forty-seven years later." Yuan Kun said.

"That's enough time." Qing Xiong said slowly.

Yuan Kun said again, "The demonic seed will condense in the Snake of Ba Mountain. Through the Goddess of Wushan, the demonic embryo will be born."

"Ba Snake is already dead." Qing Xiong said slowly, but his gaze fell on Chao Yun, who had been thrown to the side of the throne.

"When will Hongjun return?" Qing Xiong asked in a low voice.

"Soon." Yuan Kun said in a low voice, "It won't be more than a month."

"Capture him and bring him back." Qing Xiong said, "We can't let him stay outside anymore."

Yuan Kun said, "He'll walk right into the trap. What's the rush?"

"You told me that Han Ba would bring him back." Qing Xiong said in a low voice, "Now!"

Yuan Kun didn't argue and turned to leave the hall.