Fueled by life

[Wait?? Huh? How did he get down there? That's at least four stories high, right? What?]

[B-baby? Y-you're actually... an immortal cultivator?]

[I knew it! There have to be people secretly cultivating behind my back! When the apocalypse comes, they'll all fly around on swords, watching me get eaten by zombies.]

[I don't believe it. This has to be scripted. It's getting ridiculous. The production crew rigged wires beforehand, or it's the camera angle and it isn't actually that high. The mountains back home are like that too. They look high but aren't really, and you can slide down them.]

[The comments don't need to be so dramatic, hahaha. A parkour expert could manage that. There must be trees down there. It'd be easy to use them to break the fall or something.]

["Easy."]

Wen Yanyu wove through the undergrowth, rain dripping steadily down his cheeks. He lowered his eyes and tugged on the strand of gray mist in his hand, which had reached its end.

The roars of wild beasts rang in his ears.

Suddenly, the treetops began to sway unnaturally. A gale swept past, and an intense corrosive aura drew closer and closer.

Wen Yanyu stopped. His fingertips searched around the camera on his chest before pressing the off switch.

The livestream instantly went black.

From behind the tree trunks, rain mingled with an overwhelmingly nauseating stench of decay and rushed toward him.

Pairs of pitch-black eyes glinted with blood-red light as they stared fixedly at the person before them. Viscous liquid could even be seen dripping from those things' mouths, and a bone-deep chill rose from the soles of his feet.

[???]

[What's going on?]

[Baby! What are you doing!]

[I think I just heard something crying out. That's so scary, help.]

[Why did he turn the camera off! What am I supposed to watch now!]

[This is killing me.]

Wen Yanyu gently flexed his fingers, drawing on the power a certain doggie had left inside him to suppress the backlash.

The barely conscious "beasts" were bound tightly together by something unknown, thick black blood dripping ceaselessly from their wounds.

Finally realizing they had offended someone they should never have crossed, the "beasts" began struggling frantically, running in the opposite direction along with the threads wound around their bodies.

But the surrounding mist held them firmly in place. As shrill howls spread through the mountains, fear filled those pitch-black eyes.

Once he saw clearly what was inside those things, Wen Yanyu's expression grew colder by degrees.

His fingers tightened further and further, and an inhuman pale gray completely covered his usually smiling eyes.

Only icy coldness remained.

"I decree, Annihilation."

His voice sounded softly, filled with absolute cruelty and indifference.

As though answering a divine decree, fierce winds swept in. His hair streamed in the wind as gray mist spread wildly, devouring everything completely.

The instant a bolt of lightning struck, the gray mist gently dispersed.

A little boy's body fell out and rolled to the ground. His once healthy, lively face was now as white as paper, covered in filthy mud and slime.

The inhuman pale gray faded from his eyes. Wen Yanyu strode forward and gathered the child into his arms, using one final breath to send the gray mist into the child's body.

It was as though a drop of red ink made from life itself had fallen onto the child's bloodless face, slowly spreading and restoring the color of life.

The patter of rain echoed in his ears. A warm embrace sheltered him completely from the wind and rain. The child opened his eyes groggily and murmured, "Big brother..."

"I'm here."

A source of heat burned inside his body, scorching and unbearable.

"Where are we?" the child asked groggily. "Big brother, I feel awful."

"Don't be scared. I'll take you home." A calm, firm voice sounded beside his ear.

Only then did the child fall asleep, reassured.

The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive.

The darkness seemed about to devour everything. Their spirits sank lower with every thunderclap, as though they were about to plunge into the depths of an abyss.

Suddenly, a soft, gentle voice pierced the darkness and reached their ears.

"I found Little Tiger."

They all turned to look at once.

A warm, dazzling flashlight beam shone toward them.

The speaker appeared in the light. They could only vaguely make out a child nestled quietly in his arms.

Wang Youdao's pupils contracted, and he strode forward.

The little boy was curled up in the young man's arms, his cheeks rosy and clear, his chest rising and falling steadily with his breathing. He was clearly sound asleep.

Wang Jianhua reached out and felt the child's head.

[? What did I miss?]

[My darling, sob sob sob. He's shivering from the cold. Kisses for my darling.]

[Wasn't he the one who caused all this? Haha, and he dragged everyone else up the mountain with him.]

[Right, he only just dragged Bro Lu into trouble last time, and now he's made them go into the mountains and get drenched again. Ugh, I don't even know what to say.]

[Chicken Nugget Snow: What are you saying! Scooping Bunny Baby right up! Kisses on Bunny Baby's little face.]

[Mind your own business. My darling is beautiful and kind. If you don't want him, I'm taking him. Don't fight me for him later. Sob sob, darling, hurry back. Don't get a fever.]

Wang Decai, who was watching the livestream indoors, instantly slumped into his chair, murmuring over and over, "Thank heavens. Thank heavens."

Jiang Keyan stroked the little girl's head, finally able to stop worrying.

Jiang Wanrou stared at the somewhat blurry footage on the screen. Having confirmed that everyone was safe, she should have felt relieved, but for some reason, her heart kept pounding.

The heavy rain gradually eased. A cold wind blew, pressing his rain-soaked clothes against his skin, icy cold. Wen Yanyu shivered involuntarily, layers of pale gray churning in his eyes.

"Yanyu!"

"Little Fish!"

Both men hurried forward to check on him.

"Why did you just jump down like that? Where did you jump from?"

"Are you all right?"

The two kept questioning him anxiously.

Wen Yanyu instinctively tried to smile at them, but his lips were trembling so badly that he couldn't form any expression.

Waves of dizziness washed over him, and he staggered involuntarily. Afraid of dropping the child in his arms, he leaned lightly against the tree trunk behind him and forced himself to stay upright.

"Bro Duan, I've got no strength left. Hold Little Tiger for me. I'll lead... you down the mountain." Wen Yanyu drew a breath. For some reason, even that short sentence was a struggle.

He reached out to pass the child in his arms to Duan Mufeng. Sensing that something was wrong with him, Duan Mufeng hurriedly took the child.

"Are you hurt?" Duan Mufeng pressed.

There was no answer.

"Stay close." Wen Yanyu rubbed his temple, concealing the exhaustion in his eyes, and started forward.

Mountain paths were always particularly difficult to navigate at night. The heavy rain and fierce winds had also snapped many trees and branches, slightly altering the terrain.

Even someone extremely familiar with the mountains would have struggled to find the right direction.

When he returned, they had already prepared themselves for a descent that would take several hours.

But as they watched Wen Yanyu ahead of them, he walked forward without the slightest hesitation, as though he had known his destination from the start.

Only his steps occasionally faltered.

Several times along the way, they wanted to speak, but the thunder overhead grew louder and louder.

Lu Mingxu wanted to ask after him several times out of concern.

The strange sounds that occasionally came from the woods also made them swallow every question and everything they wanted to say.

Half an hour later, the people at the foot of the mountain spotted them.

"Little Tiger!" Wang Decai ran over, took the child from Duan Mufeng, and hurriedly checked his body.

Once he confirmed the child was unharmed, Wang Decai dropped to the ground and cried as he held the child he had lost and regained.

[That little brat needs a proper beating when he wakes up!]

[Agreed.]

[I really don't get it. How did that little brat get so far away?]

[This suddenly reminded me of something from ages ago. Some kids back home went into the mountains to play and ended up getting eaten by a bear.]

[I can't bear seeing old people cry. That damn kid needs to be taught a serious lesson.]

At that same moment, Wen Yanyu lowered his eyelids wearily. Using his power to make it this far had drained almost all his strength.

Dizziness surged through him. The scene before his eyes blurred, the sounds around him stretched endlessly, and the world spun.

His limbs went weak, and the ribbon tied in his hair drifted gently down. In an instant, all his strength was drained away, and his body pitched forward uncontrollably.

Wen Yanyu's eyes slipped half shut. The pale gray in them faded completely, leaving only exhaustion and relief.

Piercing pain rampaged through his body.

So tired.

I want to go home.

Someone's startled cry reached his ears, and his consciousness plunged completely into darkness.