The Auspicious Beast

The Auspicious Beast loved the food. She ate plate after plate, probably thirty or forty in all. At last, she felt full and let out a burp. Perhaps she was simply too happy eating, or perhaps she hadn't reacted yet to being full. The Auspicious Beast stopped putting on the "dignity" of an Emperor Auspicious Beast, lifted her head, and asked Huo Yuhao in her pleasant voice, "How long until you start eating that Ice Silkworm?"

"Huh?" Huo Yuhao didn't understand this out-of-the-blue question at first, but he soon realized the Auspicious Beast had come out this time because of Brother Sky Dream.

"We're not planning to eat Brother Sky Dream. We won't now, and we won't in the future either."

When she heard that she wouldn't get to eat the Ice Silkworm, the Auspicious Beast asked urgently, "Why? I'm telling you, that Ice Silkworm will definitely taste delicious. I can give you the Blessing of Fate, and I don't want any other part of that Ice Silkworm. I only want its brain matter. How about it?"

Huo Yuhao didn't get angry after hearing that. He simply smiled and replied, "Brother Sky Dream is my most important family. I won't hurt him."

"Family? Are you an Ice Silkworm too? But you look like nothing but a human child."

"I am human, but that doesn't conflict with Tian Meng being my family."

"So you really don't plan to eat him?" the Auspicious Beast asked disappointedly.

"We won't eat Brother Sky Dream." Seeing the disappointment on the Auspicious Beast's face, Huo Yuhao added, "Then don't eat Brother Sky Dream either, all right? I'll cook for you. For the next few days I'm here, you can have as much as you like, and I'll make it for you."

The Auspicious Beast thought for a moment, recalled how the food had tasted, and agreed. "All right, then. Since you've begged me so earnestly, I, the Emperor Auspicious Beast, will agree." Perhaps she remembered her status, because she once again spoke with that air of "dignity," holding her head high and puffing out her slightly rounded belly.

"Then it's settled. Oh, right, let me give you this." As he spoke, Huo Yuhao took the Golden Dragon Spear from his Sea of Consciousness. He secretly sealed the Power of Fate he had obtained from the Auspicious Beast inside it as well, then handed it all to her.

"This is for me?" The Auspicious Beast sensed that the Golden Dragon Spear was very close to her, so she put it in her Sea of Consciousness. Then she felt as if her Power of Fate had grown stronger. But the Auspicious Beast, as she was now, didn't think the Golden Dragon Spear or the Power of Fate was all that important. What mattered more to her was what kind of food she'd get to eat tomorrow.

"Thanks for this. I'll head back now. Remember to prepare food for me tomorrow. There has to be meat, and dishes with brain matter would be best." With that, the Auspicious Beast turned and left.

Huo Yuhao watched the Auspicious Beast go, then murmured softly, "It was yours to begin with. I'm just returning it to its rightful owner." He waited until her figure disappeared from view before heading back. He hadn't gone far when he saw two people.

Snow Empress asked, "Do you regret giving that power back?"

Huo Yuhao smiled. "Snow Empress, you said it yourself-it was a return. It all belonged to her in the first place. What would I have to regret? Rather, do you blame me for making that decision on my own?"

Snow Empress and Evil Lord shook their heads at that.

Evil Lord said, "The two of us thought you were planning to rekindle your old flame with her."

"I didn't expect you to be so calm. I thought you'd have a good cry. After all, in the story you told me, the Auspicious Beast sacrificed herself for you, and in the end, you couldn't find her soul even in the Divine Realm," Snow Empress said.

"Evil Lord, Snow Empress, you both saw it. She doesn't remember me, so there's no need for me to force that kind of thing on her. She won't have to go through a Heavenly Tribulation, and she can just live happily like this. That's good enough." Huo Yuhao glanced back and was about to return.

Evil Lord teased, "Don't keep everything bottled up. Even if the two of you can't be lovers in this life, you can still keep being sisters with her."

Huo Yuhao nearly stumbled when he heard that, while Snow Empress laughed and shot back, "Evil Lord, what exactly happened to make you so vicious?"

Evil Lord shrugged. "You're talking about me, but you laughed too."

"All right, all right. We should all hurry back and rest." With that, Huo Yuhao quickly slipped away.

Watching Huo Yuhao leave, Snow Empress asked Evil Lord, "Do you think what you did will work?"

"She's been a bottled-up person, both in the past and now. If no one does anything, she'll sink into sadness again. Besides, what I said was true, and you laughed too. That wasn't part of our plan."

"Ever since I started spending time with you, I've been acting strangely."

"We're all just trying to stay alive. Why be so serious every day? Isn't it nice to smile more?"

Snow Empress said, "But it didn't work. After hearing what you said, Yuhao didn't laugh. She just went straight back."

"As long as she didn't cry, that's enough. I'll just say more next time. I'm sure it'll work."

After hearing Evil Lord's words, Snow Empress couldn't help feeling sorry for Huo Yuhao for having to put up with someone like Evil Lord.

On the other side of the Lake of Life, Di Tian was having his second bout of bad temper that day.

Di Tian glared at Scarlet King below and snapped, "What did you say? The Auspicious Beast is missing, and you still haven't gone looking for her?"

Scarlet King said aggrievedly, "I looked, but if the Auspicious Beast is deliberately hiding, I can't find her."

After venting his anger on Xiong Jun, Di Tian now turned on Scarlet King and vented his fury at him. "Then hurry up and keep looking! If anything happens to the Auspicious Beast, you can forget about staying alive too."

Scarlet King immediately set off after hearing this, not daring to delay for even a moment.

On her way back after dinner, the Auspicious Beast leisurely savored the taste in her mouth and wondered what she would get to eat tomorrow. Then Scarlet King, having sensed her aura, appeared in front of her.

"My little ancestor, where have you been? Why did you come back so late?"

"I felt a little cooped up, so I went out for a stroll." To cover up the fact that someone had won her over with a single meal, the Auspicious Beast began to look everywhere but at Scarlet King and talk about something else.

"Never mind. As long as you're all right. Don't go out again without telling anyone next time. Hurry and come back with me. Di Tian is frantic."

After Scarlet King brought the Auspicious Beast back to Di Tian, he looked at her. He didn't believe that she had merely gone out for a stroll, since her round little belly had already given her away. But if she had only gone hunting and eaten the brains of some Soul Beasts, Di Tian wouldn't have said anything. The Auspicious Beast was very picky, though, and there was nothing in the entire Star Dou Forest that would make her eat this much. The problem was obvious: she had lied. But Di Tian didn't call her out on it. He knew that would only backfire, so he merely told the Auspicious Beast to hurry back and rest, and told her that Scarlet King had to accompany her whenever she went out.

As Di Tian watched the Auspicious Beast return, he had already begun planning for tomorrow.

Huo Yuhao quietly came back without disturbing anyone. She went to the edge of the Lake of Life, sat on the ground, and gazed at the bright moon hanging high in the night sky. After a long while, the emotions she had hidden away gradually settled. Huo Yuhao glanced at Brother Sky Dream, who was sleeping soundly nearby. Since he hadn't been imprisoned and drained for ten thousand years, Brother Sky Dream had suffered little physical damage, and his mental state wasn't as tense as it had been ten thousand years later. Huo Yuhao glanced at everyone, then went to meditate.

The Lake of Life was exceptionally quiet at night. Tian Meng slept peacefully; this was the only time he had ever slept here without anyone disturbing him, without being imprisoned or drained. All day, Tian Meng had felt as if that was the dream. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, but this time, he didn't dream again. No dream appeared at all. He simply slept soundly and peacefully, something Tian Meng had never been able to imagine before.