He and It Chapter 221: Inquire Here (49)

Chapter 221: Inquire Here (49)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

The strange flowers and fragrant herbs, the towering peaks and the mysterious beasts that emitted the scents of orchids and musk…groups of them roamed the mountains and plains, howling and playing. The sky blended the purple-blue of the evening twilight and the vibrant pink of the morning sunrise, which created a scene so dreamlike it could hardly be surpassed.

Liu Fuguang watched in astonishment as the landscape of the ancient world unfolded before him. A giant with three heads walked toward him. It took long strides, crossed a winding lake, and roared like thunder.

What kind of sacrificial song had led him here?

Just as he was filled with bewilderment, an indescribable sound suddenly filled the air. It was like thunder or the roar of the ocean – powerful beyond measure, and it shook both the heavens and the earth.

Liu Fuguang parted the mists and leaned forward to take a look.

He saw the Heavenly Pillar standing far in the distance, supporting the balance of the world. Amidst the vast, boundless sky and earth, ten thousand dragons soared into the air, shining in five brilliant colors, with the dark yellow Yinglong leading the way. 

There was no scene more magnificent or sorrowful than this. The ancient era had passed, and the era of the gods was coming to an end. At the final moment, the dragons mourned, and the sun, moon, and stars dimmed their light in farewell.

“The war between the Human Emperor and the Eleven Dragon Lords was inevitable,” a voice spoke.

Startled, Liu Fuguang snapped out of the vast scene, unaware that someone had approached him.

He turned around and saw ten people – gods of various appearances and attire – standing in the clouds, their expressions sad and solemn. Liu Fuguang immediately recognized the youngest shaman. He was holding a long staff, and had two small snakes, one red and one blue, hanging by his ears.

One of Ten Shamans of Ling Mountain, Wu Luo.

He paused for a moment, then chuckled, and realized it was somewhat amusing. Wu Luo had copper-colored skin, black hair like ink, and prominent brows and nose. His deep-set eyes gave him a striking, almost mysterious allure. He was far from the “human body with a beast-face, blue eyes and fangs” image Yan Huan had described. In fact, he looked quite handsome, with a wild charm about him.

“Destiny has spoken!” another shaman lamented. “The dragons are no more, the phoenixes have disappeared, and the emperors remain silent, turning away without a word. Does that not warn us? The Ten Shamans of Ling Mountain should have prepared for this long ago.”

The shaman in the middle appeared calm. She was a tall, strong woman, and when she spoke, her voice was like the commanding tone of a divine mother. “We are but human gods. Our lifespans will eventually end. If we do not die now, there will be an end for us later. Let the heavens and earth wage war. From now on, it will be the future of the human race. Only one god will remain across all worlds, but it will not be one of us.”

Some of the shamans were calm, others cried, and some resisted. Liu Fuguang kept his gaze on Wu Luo, for he had noticed that his attention was focused on one specific place.

Wu Luo’s expression finally caught the attention of the others, and one shaman asked, confused, “Wu Luo, what are you looking at?”

“I’m looking over there.” Unexpectedly, Wu Luo’s voice was soft and gentle, like the calm breeze of spring brushing through a grassy meadow. “It’s so hard for Yinglong to bear a child. Why did its parents abandon it?”

Following his gaze, the Ten Shamans and Liu Fuguang all saw the lonely dragon egg left behind after the thousands of dragons had departed.

The shaman in the middle pondered for a moment before they said, “Yingdi’s dragon offspring? Do not ask more. If this is the decision of the Yinglong clan, we cannot interfere.”

One by one, the shamans withdrew, and left Wu Luo behind. He gazed at the solitary dragon egg, that trembled slightly in the fierce wind, as if it were crying. His heart filled with compassion.

When he saw that no one was around, he secretly descended from the clouds, pressed his palm against the eggshell, and shielded it with warm divine energy.

“Hey,” he whispered. “It’s alright. I’m here.”

In the midst of confusion and overwhelming fear, this was the first sentence that Li Muxing heard.

She opened her golden eyes and, through the dragon shell, saw the face of Wu Luo.

From that moment on, Wu Luo became her companion. The Yinglong, born with an affinity for water and earth, found Wu Luo clumsily cradling the dragon egg. He wandered across the vast land, carrying the world’s only lost dragon egg, and led Li Muxing to witness the various scenes of the world.

He taught her how to use her powers, how to control the impulses of beasts, and he also taught her what it meant to have compassion, to feel pity, and to love.

“Why should I pity the human race?” Li Muxing, coiled inside the dragon egg, asked with confusion. “They are weak, fickle, and so fearful and troublesome. If the Human Emperor and the Eleven Dragon Lords are really going to war, the human race will die out immediately. The emotions of the higher-ups are so limited, why waste them on these ephemeral insects?”

Her words were innocent and her attitude sincere, but she was truly a born dragon, with a cold and indifferent divinity flowing in her blood.

Wu Luo, who was carrying the dragon egg in a woven basket, wiped the sweat from his forehead. Their strange combination and appearance indeed attracted many curious gazes.

He smiled helplessly and worriedly.

“A drop of water is small and insignificant, a speck of dust even more so, but water gathers into seas, and dust forms mountains. The strength of a race is never judged by the individual’s qualities,” Wu Luo said gently. “And what you said is just the opposite. The age of gods will no longer come, and the future of the world will slowly be entrusted to the human race.”

Li Muxing exclaimed loudly, “Really? I don’t believe you!”

Wu Luo sighed. After he thought about it for a moment, he said, “Alright, we’ve been traveling for a long time, so it’s time for a rest. Let’s find a human settlement. As you said, they are weak and fearful, so they won’t dare to disturb us. We can settle there in peace.”

Li Muxing mulled it over for a moment and agreed.

Thus, carrying the dragon girl inside the egg, Wu Luo chose a medium-sized tribe. There, he built a house to care for the dragon egg and also performed duties as a healer, and helped the tribe’s people with medicine and treatment.

At that time, gods and demons walked the earth, and so it was not too unbelievable. The humans of the tribe joyfully accepted a shaman and his precious dragon egg. Li Muxing nestled on the soft beast pelts offered as tribute, curiously extended her divine sense to observe the place, and every day she marveled at the oddities with Wu Luo.

She complained about the fragility of the human race, and said they couldn’t even fend off a small poisonous eagle even when united. She scoffed at how humans had to toil at farming and hunting just to gather scarce fruits and eat meager, fishy meals. She was surprised at how quickly humans grew from a lump of flesh into noisy, running children in only a few short years.

Regarding Li Muxing’s remarks, Wu Luo never disagreed, only listened with a smile. Sometimes, when Li Muxing’s words became too harsh and cruel, he would sigh and scoop up some fresh water to gently wipe the thick shell of the dragon egg. During those times, Li Muxing would quietly shrink away for a long time, and only start to speak with Wu Luo the next day, nervously and hesitantly.

“I can’t stand them!” Finally, Li Muxing loudly complained, “A small flood scare and they’re all panicking. Now, I don’t believe what you’re saying at all!”

The dragon egg trembled under the pressure. The power of the Yinglong seeped into the earth’s veins, and instantly, the flooding river stopped roaring, and obediently returned to its original course.

Wu Luo’s eyes curved into a smile as he looked at her.

“I’m not helping them,” the dragon girl muttered unhappily. “They’re just too noisy and annoying! If I see them chattering and wailing again, I might just crush them all.”

“Yes,” Wu Luo agreed. “Your self-control is really improving. I’m very glad to see that.”

Liu Fuguang vaguely understood what Wu Luo was trying to do.

The humans were grateful to the dragon girl and honored her with respectful ceremonies. Li Muxing didn’t speak about it, but she felt a strange sense of wonder deep inside, because being loved by others was a wonderful feeling. When humans responded with tears and smiles, there was a strange warmth that tickled her chest.

She couldn’t help but assist more. Gradually, the noisy people seemed more tolerable. Wu Luo and Li Muxing spent every day together, and she curiously observed many people’s lives, witnessing their joys and sorrows, loves and hatreds, all as brief, brilliant flashes of fireworks – burning bright before leaving only ashes. She saw mistakes, helplessness, schemes and desires, and how fate wove the brief lives of mortals into great dramas.

Such short lives…how could they explode with so much passion and impulse? The dragon girl was dazzled, and she slowly learned to sympathize, to sigh for the lives and deaths of humans.

She learned to love.

Wu Luo patiently guided her. He didn’t want faith but instead had the growing tribe give all their devotion to Li Muxing. The Yinglong’s totem fluttered in the sky, and the people fought, harvested, married, lived, and died, all chanting the dragon girl’s name.

Li Muxing was happy, but she still wasn’t satisfied.

“What else do you want?” Wu Luo asked. “If I have it, I will give it to you.”

The dragon egg remained silent for a moment before Li Muxing asked, “Why have you been so kind to me?”

Wu Luo was momentarily speechless, unsure of how to respond.

After a long pause, he whispered, “I don’t know. I just…I saw that you were afraid, and I couldn’t bear to leave you there alone.”

Li Muxing didn’t speak.

The egg, which had been sealed for a century, suddenly cracked open with a sharp sound, and a golden, blood-like surge of light burst forth. Amidst the glow, a graceful dragoness leapt out and stood boldly on the earth, her wild, beautiful head held high like a blazing wildfire.

“I want you,” Li Muxing commanded resolutely. “You said that if you have it, you will give it to me. Then, give me yourself!”

Wu Luo stared at her in shock. His mouth opened and closed as he realized he couldn’t find a single reason to refuse her.

Just as he didn’t know why he felt compelled to protect the dragoness, he also couldn’t understand when the passionate, enduring love between them had begun.

The dragoness and the shaman became husband and wife, but sadly, the beautiful story couldn’t end there.

As the war spread, the remaining ancient beings were forced to choose sides. The ten shamans, as humans and gods, were among the first to catch the attention of the Human Emperor, while the Eleven Dragon Lords also began to take note of the last remaining offspring of the Yinglong.

Li Muxing and Wu Luo fled with their people, as they attempted to avoid the ravages of the Divine War. However, the destruction of the gods was inevitable, and the shaman’s life couldn’t last as long as a dragon’s.

The Human Emperor and the Eleven Dragon Lords howled in madness, as they fought to the death. In that moment, the Heavenly Pillar collapsed again, the four corners cracked, and the eight directions shattered. However, this time, there were no more colorful stones left for Nuwa to use to mend the world’s destruction. Wu Luo realized the time for separation had finally come.

He shed all his tears, drained all his blood, and sang a song dedicated to his beloved. He sang of the impermanence of fate, the immortal paradise, the pain of things lost, and the love and hatred shared by gods and humans alike. This was the most powerful curse Liu Fuguang had ever witnessed in his life.

The shaman’s love turned the world upside down. He caused the dragoness to sleep, then transformed his body into the earth that encircled her. His bones became mountains, his blood turned into rivers, and his brows grew into forests… He did what the great god Pangu had done, but while Pangu blessed all living beings, Wu Luo did it to conceal the future of a small dragon according to the already determined fate.

With the last bit of his undying soul, he passed the song to the shaman’s descendants, ensuring it was sung for generations.

This was his love, his blood and life, and also the most powerful obsession transformed into a curse. The age of gods was coming to an end, and he had to protect Li Muxing. From the day he decided to take up the dragon egg and treasure it as his most precious possession, he had been planning for this day to come.

Humanity was about to become the ruler of the worlds, and with his faith, he bound the Yinglong and the human race together. The ten shamans were destined to perish, but one of them would transform into the fertile soil, and leave behind a legacy of merit that would open a shining golden curtain before the heavenly path, that would obscure Li Muxing’s body from the Dragon God’s bloodline from.

His song made the dragoness sleep, and his bones and flesh ensured her safety.

But unfortunately, everything went according to plan, except for the one thing Wu Luo had overlooked.

—Humans might be short-lived and fragile, drifting like floating weeds, but their hearts could become the most stubborn and persistent things in the world. Because of their limited lifespan, rumors and legends didn’t always develop in the right direction.

From a sleeping dragon god, the shaman’s beloved, to the sleeping dragon god again, then to a giant dragon whose “turning over would cause an earthquake, and who’s breathing would summon thunder,” and finally it evolved into “the evil dragon suppressed by the shaman who must never be allowed to open its eyes”…

When she first woke, Li Muxing sensed Wu Luo’s passing and the arrangements he had made. She was filled with unbearable pain, and her cries echoed through every corner of the world. At that time, the shamans left by Wu Luo inherited his will. They also cherished the hidden dragoness, and thus, they hurriedly sang the song to lull the Yinglong back to sleep, forever lost to her.

By the fourth and fifth awakenings, Li Muxing was forced to accept her cruel, cold reality. She listened to the voices of countless humans around her, and felt the need to go and see the offspring of the human race. But the shamans discovered her awakening and, in order to protect her, continued to sing Wu Luo’s ancient song, which caused her to fall asleep once more.

The seventh and ninth times she woke up, Li Muxing didn’t know the affairs of the world, and she didn’t know that the war with the gods had already ended. She had slept for too long, and her body had stiffened with pain.

The dragon girl clumsily turned over, and unexpectedly, that movement triggered a violent shock in the earth. The cries and screams of humans clearly reached her ears. She froze in regret, filled with fear and apprehension. The shaman began to chant the song written by Wu Luo for her. The curse bound the dragon’s soul, and Li Muxing had no choice but to fall into a hasty sleep.

Later, countless times, opening her eyes became a terrifying torture. The Yinglong could no longer distinguish between dreams and reality. When would she regain her freedom? Wu Luo had loved her so much, even sacrificing himself to hide her from the heavenly path, but why did people on the earth say, “To suppress the evil dragon, Wu Luo was willing to give up his life”?

The audacity of the ants…You are no longer my or Wu Luo’s kin. You are no longer the humans I once loved! You lie, and those who lie should die!

She exploded with fury, and her rage shook the heavens and earth. Ultimately, the curse song lulled her into a forced slumber.

Over time, her titles changed.

Evil Dragon, Wicked Dragon, Demon God, Great Calamity…It seemed Wu Luo really became a towering hero, while she became one of his greatest achievements. People praised Wu Luo’s greatness, while they feared and despised her evil godly power. The love he left behind became the rope that bound her. It surrounded her body and became an indestructible cage.

This is a reality you have fabricated! How dare you fabricate my life story, as if I didn’t possess all of Wu Luo’s body and soul, as if I never loved you, as if you didn’t serve me with tears and joy?!

She was maddened by grief and rage, but no matter how endless her fury, how vast her roars, they all dissipated with the song—The shaman’s love was deep, like an endless swamp, suffocating and painful.

The dragon’s memory gradually became distorted by the tales passed down through generations.

…Did Wu Luo really love me? Did he truly betray me, trapping me under the earth, in the center of a star, for the greatest of deeds? I just want to go out, to soar through the sky, feel the cool breeze against my body, stretch freely…I can’t…I can’t stay curled up here any longer. I’m suffocating, I’m so lonely, just like when my blood relatives left me alone on the ground…I want to go out! Let me out, I want to go out!

—Who saved me? I can’t remember.

—Who loved me? I can’t remember that either.

Years of madness and nearly ten thousand years of suffering, unable to see the sky, unable to be free, drove the dragon girl to hysterically roar after one sudden awakening.

“Wu Luo, I hate you, I curse you, I spit on your soul! You didn’t meet me in life, and even in death, you bring me such humiliation. I hate you, I hate you!”

As if responding to that, the sky poured rain, heavy as a thousand years.

Liu Fuguang suddenly understood. It wasn’t the Yinglong that caused the storm, it was Wu Luo’s tears.

The world had cried out, but it didn’t know how to release its beloved little dragon.

Finally, Liu Fuguang saw the figures of himself and Yan Huan.

The Supreme Goodness and the Supreme Evil had finally found the world. It saw an opportunity and wouldn’t let it slip away.

So, on a night when the heavy rain fell, a will formed a blurry shadow and came to Liu Fuguang’s window, and guided him out of Yan Huan’s perceptive range. As a result of Yinglong’s curse, it couldn’t approach Yan Huan who was also a dragon god.

“So that’s it…” Liu Fuguang murmured.

“Yes, that’s it,” a voice replied. Liu Fuguang turned around and saw Wu Luo’s semi-transparent spirit, floating like a phantom formed of tears, sorrowfully drifting there.

Wu Luo bowed his head to him. “Good.”

Liu Fuguang hurriedly replied, “I’m not worthy, Shaman.”

“Please help her, together with the Dragon God,” Wu Luo said through his tears. “I…I have no right to face Muxing again. After all, I’m the one responsible for this. I failed her heart.”

“Things change,” Liu Fuguang whispered. “No one can predict the future, so please, mourn in peace. We’ll definitely help. In fact, that’s why we came.”

Wu Luo trembled as he spoke, “The song I sang for her has now become the magic sound that destroys her. I transformed into all things to protect her, and now all things are rooted in her pain. If possible, I beg you to destroy the music completely. Don’t let a single note be passed on.”

Liu Fuguang nodded. He understood that because Wu Luo’s love was real, Li Muxing had never been able to escape.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I promise.”

He then asked, “What should we do to release Yinglong’s daughter?”

“Dissolve the Tian Shu Yumen,” Wu Luo said immediately. “Stop the music from spreading, and then I can send you into Muxing’s dream. After you’ve seen her memories, please help her regain the truth. Don’t let the rumors continue to deceive her soul.”

Liu Fuguang nodded, “Okay.”

Wu Luo bowed deeply to express his gratitude.

“I really don’t know how to thank you,” Wu Luo said. “Please allow me to send you out. You still have a human body, and it’s not suitable to wander in the world of illusions.”

Liu Fuguang followed behind him, and asked curiously, “By the way, why is it that after hearing the song, I can see Yinglong’s memories?”

“It’s not that you’re seeing her memories, it’s that I pulled you into her dream,” Wu Luo replied softly. “I sang this song to make her see the memories she holds most deeply in her dreams, so that she wouldn’t fall into lonely sleep. I thought she would dream of our time together, of those moments of love and joy, but I didn’t expect…”

Liu Fuguang suddenly froze.

“You mean…hearing the song makes one see those deepest memories?” he asked.

Wu Luo’s phantom turned back, about to answer, when he saw Liu Fuguang gasp for breath. His body gradually disintegrated in the dream, and scattered into countless drifting points of light.

“—Supreme Goodness?!”

At that moment, Liu Fuguang could no longer respond.

In the past, he had heard others sing about the heartbreaking stories of dreams within dreams. He just couldn’t understand – how could a dream within a dream be so heart-wrenching?

Now, as he returned to that place, he understood.

He stood at the base of the cliff at Zhong Mountain, where the absolute darkness consumed everything, leaving only his white robes to emit a faint glow.

 

Liu Fuguang trembled in fear, and his teeth chattered. The beasts that stirred beneath him roared in waves, as they stared at him, laughing with both hunger and thirst.