Fuzi laughed. "I like the Tang Kingdom this way too. It's my home as well. What need is there to speak of such things when we're protecting our own home?
"As for your elder brother, I was angry then. Angry that our friendship could be broken so easily.
"Afterward, I gradually made peace with it.
"I went too far in my anger. I didn't consider your feelings."
Red Dust loved this mortal world, its everyday ways, its life and all the lives within it!
If anyone tried to destroy it, she would stop them without hesitation, whatever the cost, and make sure they never returned.
At Fuzi's words, Red Dust smiled and nodded. They shared a smile, and the old rift between them vanished.
"After all these years of searching, have you found anything?"
Fuzi shook his head helplessly.
"In the Haotian World, the Cycle of Time turns.
"Every thousand years, the Underworld King descends.
"Darkness covers the world, plunging it into bitter cold.
"All things wither. That is Eternal Night.
"But who is the Underworld King? After all these years of searching, I've found nothing.
"I've never lived through an Eternal Night, though I've heard of someone who survived the last one.
"Over the years, I've traveled to every corner of the Haotian World. I've even been to Xuankong.
"But still, I've found nothing!"
Red Dust knew from her memories that the king of darkness was the king of light.
Haotian and the Underworld King were one and the same. But with someone watching, she dared not say it. She feared triggering something beyond her control, feared prompting Haotian to bring Eternal Night early. At her current strength, she might be able to resist Haotian, but she certainly could not defeat him.
"The Great Dao has fifty parts; the