Chapter 490 – Return – Because It Was A Wu (03)
Bai Tang was an excellent cook. Even the seasonings were gathered from the surrounding forest, making the meal fresh and healthy. Qiu’er and Xiao A enjoyed a hearty feast, eating until their bellies were round and full.
Xiao A asked, “Host, where did those chickens and rabbits come from out here in the wilderness?”
Bai Tang recalled the rabbit and chicken that had run straight into him and died, then said, “They were probably raised by someone living in the forest. Even though I didn’t intentionally steal them, I still took them without asking. Tomorrow I’ll go back and see if I can find their owner. There’s still some money left in my storage pouch, so I can pay them for what I took.”
Bai Tang was carefree and tended to think simply, but Xiao A felt it wasn’t a good idea.
The Heavenly Soldiers were still searching for them. If that person harbored ill intentions and discovered the Nether aura surrounding Bai Tang, wouldn’t they be walking straight into a trap?
Xiao A shook his head. “That’s not a good idea. If we find the owner tomorrow, just leave the money at their door. Don’t show yourself. In our current situation, it’s too easy to drag innocent people into this.”
If Xiao A had explained his suspicions outright, Bai Tang might have argued with him. But since Xiao A was considering the other person’s safety, Bai Tang had no objections.
“You’re right. You really think things through, Xiao A.”
Bai Tang covered the campfire with dirt until not even a single spark remained. The forest was filled with trees, and if the fire wasn’t properly extinguished, it could easily start a wildfire. He made sure it was completely out before leaving.
Qiu’er looked like he wanted to say something, but after a moment’s thought, he held his tongue. Even he wasn’t certain about his own suspicions, so there was no point bringing them up and worrying Tang Tang.
After burying the fire pit, Bai Tang washed his hands, transformed back into a little squirrel, climbed into the tree hollow, and curled himself into a tiny ball in one corner.
“Good night, Qiu’er. Good night, Xiao A~”
“Good night, Tang Tang.”
“Good night, Host.”
Under the bright moon and sparse stars, the gentle night breeze swept across the Northern Forest. Exhausted after the day’s events, Bai Tang drifted into sleep. Yet the occasional twitch of his tiny paws revealed that his sleep was far from peaceful.
Seeing that the tree hollow had remained quiet for a long time, the little flower spirit assigned one of her companions to continue watching Bai Tang while she hurried back to report to the Northern Emperor.
“Reporting to the Northern Emperor! I’ve found out that the little squirrel is named Bai Tang. He also has two boyfriends. I heard him say that he wanted to return to the place where he picked fruit today to find the owner of the livestock, but one of his boyfriends stopped him, saying he only needed to leave the money and shouldn’t get too familiar with you.”
The little flower spirit had only recently gained sentience and didn’t really understand human relationships. Since both Qiu’er and Xiao A were male, she casually referred to them as Bai Tang’s “boyfriends.” Little did she know that her report caused someone listening to nearly overturn an entire vat of jealousy.
“Are you certain they’re his boyfriends?” Jiang Langwu asked again.
The little squirrel was so innocent and timid. Could he have been deceived?
Bai Tang was clearly familiar with this part of the forest, which meant he had lived here for a long time. And as the master of the Northern Forest, Jiang Langwu had both the right and the responsibility to protect every plant and creature that called it home.
The little flower spirit was still rather naïve. She thought for a moment about Qiu’er and Xiao A’s genders before answering, “That’s right. They’re his boyfriends.” They’re both men, and they’re the little squirrel’s friends, so that makes them boyfriends, right?
Jiang Langwu waved a hand dismissively, suppressing the inexplicable anger welling up inside him.
“Go back and keep watching them. The little squirrel belongs to the Northern Forest. I suspect those two are trying to deceive him and trick him into revealing the Northern Forest’s secrets.”
At the northernmost edge of the Northern Forest lay a bottomless chasm, beneath which was the Netherworld.
Millions of years ago, four great fiends appeared in the world. After an arduous battle, they were finally defeated and sealed beneath the Netherworld. Everyone believed that sealing the fiends would bring peace to the world, but instead it doomed the Netherworld.
After coexisting with the fiends for countless years, the Netherworld gradually became corrupted. Recently, however, disturbances had begun to occur. The Lord of the Netherworld had grown old and frail, while the Young Lord was still too young. The seals imprisoning the four fiends had begun to weaken, allowing small amounts of corrupted Nether Qi to leak out.
The escaping corrupted Nether Qi caused the plants along the edge of the Northern Forest to wither and die, unable to regenerate.
The four great fiends must never be allowed to escape. Otherwise, the entire world would descend into chaos.
The little flower spirit immediately felt the weight of her responsibility. Filled with determination, she accepted the order and hurried back to continue spying on Qiu’er and Xiao A.
Those two were very likely accomplices of the four great fiends. She had to watch them carefully and, at the same time, protect the little squirrel from falling victim to them.
After the little flower spirit left, Jiang Langwu walked to the area near where Bai Tang had picked fruit during the day. Casually forming a hand seal, he cast a spell, and a bamboo cottage materialized out of thin air.
Although the cottage was nestled within the forest, Jiang Langwu still felt the scenery was a little too plain. He relocated a small pond to the front left of the cottage, placed a stone table and several stone stools to the front right, and even set up a flower-vine swing.
After some thought, he remembered that Bai Tang was a little squirrel, so he transplanted several pine trees around the cottage.
Everything looked perfect, yet Jiang Langwu still felt that something was missing.
After walking around the cottage once, he finally realized what it was—
There was no livestock.
The little squirrel had wanted to “buy” the poultry and rabbits he had raised. If there were no livestock, Bai Tang might think he had found the wrong person and never come back.
The front yard had already been arranged according to what Jiang Langwu thought Bai Tang would like, so he didn’t want to change it. The livestock could only be kept in the backyard.
The outside was finished, but the inside of the bamboo cottage still needed to be furnished.
Jiang Langwu glanced at the sky and decided there was still enough time.
By the time dawn arrived, the little squirrel’s night had been a mixed one.
He had slept poorly during the first half of the night, dreaming about his beloved husband. Qiu’er and Xiao A noticed his restless sleep and lit a calming incense for him. As a result, he slept soundly for the rest of the night.
When Bai Tang woke up, he was full of energy.
After washing up, Bai Tang reminded Qiu’er and Xiao A, “You two should stay home and focus on cultivating. You’ve only just learned how to take human form, so it’s still unstable. You need more practice if you want to maintain your human forms for longer periods of time.”
“I’m going out to pick some fruit, and while I’m at it, I’ll see if I can find the owner of yesterday’s livestock. Don’t worry about me—I won’t be gone long.”
Qiu’er and Xiao A didn’t object, but Xiao A repeated the same reminder.
“Be careful. If you do find the owner, don’t get too close to them. We don’t want to bring them unnecessary trouble.”
Faced with Xiao A’s constant nagging, Bai Tang agreed to every reminder. Before setting out, he tucked two roasted sweet potatoes into his pouch as an apology for the owner.
After Bai Tang left, the little flower spirit’s companions quickly passed the message along one after another, informing the Northern Emperor as fast as they could that the little squirrel was on his way.
By the time the Northern Emperor received the report, the little squirrel was already not far from the bamboo cottage.
A smile appeared on his face. He took out an ancient guqin, placed it across his lap, and began to play.
As Bai Tang approached the bamboo cottage, he was drawn in by the sound of the music.
If there’s music, then there’s someone here. If someone’s here, there’s a good chance they’re the one who raised the livestock.
Following the melody, Bai Tang arrived outside the fence and saw a man in azure robes gently playing the guqin.
Not daring to disturb him, Bai Tang quietly waited where he was.
The music was clear and elegant, soothing both the heart and mind. Bai Tang couldn’t help but admire the man’s refined character. If it were him, he could never play such beautiful music.
Someone like this shouldn’t be petty, he thought. As long as I’m polite, act sincerely, offer my apology, and pay for the livestock, everything should be fine.
After listening for a while longer, Bai Tang became even more convinced that Jiang Langwu was broad-minded and wouldn’t make a fuss over such a minor matter.
The music came to an end.
The man rested both hands on the strings. Before Bai Tang had even figured out how to begin the conversation, he heard the man’s calm, gentle voice.
“Our honored guest outside the gate, please come in.”
Holding the two roasted sweet potatoes, Bai Tang pushed open the gate awkwardly.
“Please forgive the intrusion. I didn’t mean to disturb you, but something happened yesterday, and I owe you an apology, Young Master.”
He walked over to Jiang Langwu.
The latter looked up, his eyes filled with a warm smile.
The moment their gazes met, the little squirrel froze where he stood.
“A-A Wu…”
The man before him had the exact same face as his husband from one of his previous lives.
Although that incarnation in the lower realm couldn’t compare with the man standing before him now, they still resembled each other by about seventy percent. As for the man before him, his bearing was even more noble and dignified.
Jiang Langwu looked slightly surprised.
“You know me?”
The name Jiang Langwu had not been spoken for a very long time. Even the current rulers of the Heavenly Realm no longer knew it. Only the older generation of High Gods remembered his name, but many of them had perished in the great war millions of years ago.
“You resemble a friend I once knew. I lost my composure for a moment—forgive my rudeness,” Bai Tang replied.
His bright eyes sparkled, and the smile tugging at the corners of his lips simply refused to fade.
He had thought he would never see his husband again in this lifetime. Yet somehow, A Wu had found him once more. It didn’t matter that he had no memories of their past together.
Memories could always be created anew.
“Hello. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Bai Tang. What’s your name?”
Without the plot book to guide him, Bai Tang would have to figure everything out on his own. But he wasn’t afraid. Just being able to see his husband again filled him with happiness.
Bai Tang… Tang Tang… Sweetie.
A fitting name, Jiang Langwu thought. Just like the little squirrel himself—sweet.
“My name is Jiang Langwu,” he answered.
The little squirrel immediately wore an expression that said, I knew it, and the smile on his face grew even brighter.
Jiang Langwu didn’t like the thought of Bai Tang treating him as someone else—or as another person’s substitute. Suppressing the faint displeasure in his heart, he asked gently,
“May I call you Tang Tang?”
“Of course! You can call me whatever you like.”
Bai Tang answered excitedly. A moment later, he realized he sounded far too forward and hurriedly tried to explain.
“I mean… a name is just a form of address. It’s not that important…”
The more Bai Tang tried to explain himself, the more flustered he became, until he was practically stumbling over his own words.
Jiang Langwu set the guqin aside and gently took Bai Tang’s hand.
The soft touch made his heart tremble.
When he looked up, he saw that the young man showed no sign of resistance. Instead, a rosy blush had spread across his cheeks. He seemed… shy.
“It’s tiring to stand while talking. You said earlier that you had something to apologize for. Let’s sit over there and talk.”
Jiang Langwu led Bai Tang to the stone table and thoughtfully placed a soft cushion on the stone stool before inviting him to sit.
“Well…”
“Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!”
Before Bai Tang could finish, a commotion broke out among the chickens in the backyard. They seemed to be fighting, their loud clucking echoing through the yard.
Rather than feeling embarrassed by the interruption, Bai Tang felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
So they really are A Wu’s chickens.
We really were destined to meet.
“Yesterday, I was picking fruit from a tree when a rabbit and a chicken ran into it and died. I was so hungry that I took them home and ate them~”
If Bai Tang hadn’t known that the owner of the livestock was Jiang Langwu, he would have felt deeply guilty admitting it face-to-face.
But now that he knew it was Jiang Langwu…
He didn’t feel guilty in the slightest.
Because…
It was A Wu.
The A Wu who had always cherished him, pampered him, and loved him.