Chapter 109 – The Little Snow Ferret No Longer Ran Away (10)
Bai Mo’s mood mirrored the color of the sky—dull and gray. He felt utterly drained, unable to summon any energy.
Jianmu noticed and silently took it to heart. He placed his large hand on the young man’s head, gently ruffling his hair in silent comfort.
To outsiders, the Netherworld Realm was nothing more than a sealed-off land meant to suppress demonic creatures. It had nothing to do with them, so they merely remarked, “Impressive” or “That’s their duty” before moving on. Over time, they took the Netherworld Realm’s sacrifices for granted, never considering that their own peaceful lives were built upon the lives and futures of every being within this forsaken land.
He understood how his little mink felt.
“Brother Jianmu, let’s go to the royal city,” Bai Mo said, rubbing his eyes and wiping away his tears. He couldn’t cry. Not now. This was the moment he was needed the most—he couldn’t afford to be weak.
“Alright, I’ll go with you.” Jianmu cast one last glance at the village shrouded in dusk. Though he possessed the power to disperse the mutated cold energy lingering in the village, he chose not to.
It would be a temporary fix, not a true solution. If he purified this village, what would the neighboring settlements think? Who wouldn’t want to live under the light? Conflict would arise, blood would be spilled. Too many lives had already been lost to the demons. Even if he drove away the cold energy now, without eliminating the source, it would inevitably return.
Bai Mo was heartbroken. Jianmu held his hand as they walked, the heavy silence pressing between them. Even Xiao Bobao, who was usually chatty, didn’t dare to speak. Instead, she quietly handed over the map, receiving an approving glance from Jianmu in return.
Leaving the village, they arrived at a small town. The landscape outside was no different from the village—except for the slightly grander buildings. The people, however, remained the same—numb, lifeless. They moved through the hazy gray mist as if nothing could affect them, yet the entire town exuded an eerie sense of deathly stillness.
The more Bai Mo saw, the worse he felt. The familiar scenery awakened buried memories of home. When he was younger, he had once sneaked out to play. Back then, his parents were still alive, and the Netherworld’s cold aura spread more slowly. The streets weren’t like this—the people still smiled, they laughed, argued, haggled at the markets. They had life.
Now, they were nothing but empty shells.
Tears welled up in his eyes and, before he could stop them, streamed down his face in a silent cascade.
“We are here now to free them. Don’t cry—better days are ahead for our people.” Jianmu reassured Bai Mo, though even he hadn’t expected the Netherworld’s cold energy to have caused such severe devastation. The small village had been just a glimpse, but the sight of the larger town was far more shocking. When they reached the royal city, the situation would likely be even worse.
“Yes, yes! I recorded everything! I’ll send it back to the Supreme God now. Once the Northern Immortal Emperor sees it, he will surely come up with a solution,” Xiao Bobao chimed in, trying to offer some comfort.
The people who had lived in the Netherworld for so long had been slowly corroded by the cold energy. Their emotions had been numbed, their desires dulled. They were struggling just to survive—they had no extra compassion left to spare for others. Tears were the most worthless, most useless thing in this world. Food production had declined year after year, and drinkable water was becoming scarcer. Crying would only waste precious bodily fluids.
The people remained indifferent to the sound of the boy’s quiet sobs—until the next moment shattered that cold detachment.
A single teardrop fell to the ground. The soil, long blackened by corruption, suddenly emitted a faint glow from the spot where the tear landed. The light spread outward in gentle ripples, purifying the tainted energy as it expanded.
Even the dust in the air seemed to be cleansed. Their vision, once clouded and blurry, suddenly became clear, and the air felt fresher than it had in years.
For the first time in ages, the tormented people’s faces showed a second emotion—neither a smile nor a frown, but something in between. Their long-held apathy had left them unable to fully express joy or sorrow. And yet, the warmth of real tears welled up in their eyes. As the oppressive fog lifted, the invisible chains binding them shattered, and in that instant, they finally felt alive.
“No… it’s gone…”
“It’s clean…”
The villagers stared at their own hands, then at their surroundings, searching for the source of the miraculous purification. Ever since the elders had perished one by one, they had never experienced such relief.
Who…?
Who had saved them?
Jianmu and Bai Mo’s disguises were flawless. Even as the young boy lowered his head to wipe away his tears, he didn’t attract any attention. After all, many others had also begun shedding tears, moved by the moment.
Bai Mo’s current appearance was far too ordinary—so unremarkable that he blended into the crowd, making it impossible to single him out. Though the people searched briefly for the hidden benefactor, they soon gave up. Still, they remained grateful to the unseen hand that had helped them. Even if the town would soon be engulfed once more by the mutated Netherworld’s cold energy, at least, for a few days, they could breathe a little easier.
Jianmu had no intention of revealing himself. Taking Bai Mo’s hand, he quietly led him away from the town.
With Xiao Bobao providing them with a map, finding the right direction and covering great distances in a short time was no problem. As night fell, the two of them arrived outside the royal city.
They had come a step too late. The city gates were already closed, forbidding entry or exit.
With Jianmu’s abilities, sneaking into the city unnoticed while carrying Bai Mo would be effortless. But Bai Mo refused. He was returning home, not sneaking in like a thief. Why should he have to skulk around?
Instead, he asked Xiao Bobao to investigate the current status of the elders he remembered from his childhood. The Elder Council had dedicated their lives to the Netherworld, and now, only three of them remained. Though they were old, they had not yet become completely frail. However, their strength was limited, and they could only barely manage to keep the royal city and its surrounding areas from being consumed by the mutated cold energy.
Bai Mo lifted his head and gazed at the sky. Night had fallen, the darkness deepening, but the oppressive gray haze from before was absent. As he listened, he could even hear the occasional chirp of a bird. If he hadn’t witnessed the bleak reality of the villages and towns thousands of miles away from the royal city, he might have believed that life in the Netherworld wasn’t so bad.
But the truth was far from reassuring.
“Brother Jianmu, I want to send a message to the elders. When I was a child, they were very kind to me. It was thanks to them that I was able to escape, even at the cost of their lives. They would never betray the Netherworld. I want them to know—I’ve returned.” Bai Mo tugged at Jianmu’s sleeve, pleading for his agreement. He had only been allowed to return after making a promise to his beloved that once inside, he would listen to instructions and not act recklessly, lest he disrupt their plans.
A night breeze stirred, making the boy’s hair flutter. In the twilight, his figure seemed even more frail and delicate.
Jianmu sighed silently. Taking out a cloak, he wrapped it around Bai Mo, then gently pinched his wind-chilled cheek, his heart aching. “Alright.”
A smile broke through Bai Mo’s tears as he nuzzled his face against Jianmu’s hand. “Brother Jianmu is the best~”
My little snow ferret, if I don’t treat you well, then who would I treat well?
Jianmu smiled but said nothing.
The deep night was as cold as water.
…
Outside the royal city, Jianmu transformed into his true form, while the little snow ferret nestled into a tree hollow and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Three dark figures stealthily arrived outside the city. Finding the rendezvous point empty, they whispered among themselves.
“Wasn’t the meeting supposed to be here?”
“Has the young master really returned?”
“The aura belongs to the young master, no doubt about it. But the barrier hasn’t been lifted… Could it be that he took the risk and returned on his own?”
Their distinct voices reached Jianmu, who was resting with his eyes closed. Thanks to his exceptional night vision, he could see their appearances clearly, even in the pitch-black darkness where one could barely see a hand in front of their face.
Judging by their features, all three men were elderly. Their exposed skin was covered in wrinkles, with the occasional age spot visible. Jianmu compared their faces to the memories the little snow ferret had shown him. Although they looked much older, their other defining features still matched those of the elders from Bai Mo’s past.
Without waking the sleeping snow ferret, Jianmu silently placed a shielding barrier around him. Only then did he reveal himself, just as the three elders were becoming increasingly anxious.
“You must be the elders of the Netherworld,” the young, strikingly handsome man said as he appeared out of nowhere, startling the three men into immediate alertness.
“Who are you? Why are you in the Netherworld?” one of the elders demanded.
The aura of an outsider was easy to distinguish in this realm. Due to their declining strength, the elders hadn’t left the royal city in years.
Protecting it had already pushed them to their limits; they lacked the strength to safeguard the rest of the Netherworld.
Now, out of nowhere, an unfamiliar figure had appeared, someone who even had the ability to forge a message mimicking the young master’s handwriting to lure them out. His true intentions were highly suspicious.
Jianmu, however, remained composed. He simply smiled and nodded, unfazed by the elders raising their enchanted weapons against him. Instead, he took out a woven charm made from the fur of the little snow ferret.
The moment the three elders saw the item, their expressions changed drastically.
It was made from the young master’s fur. For this man to possess something that came directly from him—could it mean that the young master had…
“Anyone who dares to harm our young master—must die!”
Bai Mo was the last hope of both the elders and the entire Netherworld. Their minds immediately jumped to the worst conclusion—that he had been harmed.
Overcome with fury, the three elders trembled with rage. Ignoring their frail bodies, they swiftly surrounded Jianmu, setting up an intricate formation with the intent to execute him on the spot.
They were nothing more than a few old bones now—perhaps not as full of vigor as the younger generation—but when the three of them joined forces, even if they couldn’t kill their opponent, they could at least inflict severe injuries. And in the Netherworld, a serious wound meant death. The scent of blood would undoubtedly attract the Four Great Demonic Beasts, making survival nearly impossible.
Luring them into attacking was precisely Jianmu’s goal. The little ferret had repeatedly assured him that the elders were good people, but that assurance was based on memories from a thousand years ago. The Netherworld had traitors within its ranks, and Jianmu needed physical contact with the three elders to confirm that they hadn’t fallen under the control of some mysterious force.
The elders fought with great difficulty. Having lost blood earlier that morning, their bodies were already weak, and it wasn’t long before they were gasping for breath. What enraged them the most, however, was that even with their combined efforts, they failed to land a single scratch on their opponent.
Under normal circumstances, they might have praised such a formidable adversary. But knowing that this man was highly likely to have harmed—or even killed—their young master, their faith, which they had clung to for so long, began to crack. The thought of the child they had raised with their own hands meeting a tragic end was enough to drive them into madness.
“You wretched scum… In the name of the Netherworld, I curse you—” The Grand Elder’s heart bled with anguish. In his desperation, he was willing to sacrifice his own life to drag Jianmu down with him.
“Wait!” Jianmu interrupted. His intention was only to verify their identities, not to take lives—especially not the lives of those the little ferret deeply respected. “Do you still wish to see Mo Mo?”
The moment Bai Mo’s name was spoken, the Grand Elder’s curse came to an abrupt halt. Three pairs of clouded eyes widened in utter disbelief.
Fifteen minutes later, Jianmu was channeling his spiritual energy into the elders to help stabilize their weakened bodies. He had yet to explain everything, but the three elders could hardly contain their anticipation.
They wanted to see Mo Mo—right now.
Jianmu: “…”
“Please, follow me.”
Before long, the sight of the little snow ferret sprawled out in sleep came into view.
Three pairs of eyes immediately filled with the words so adorable, while Jianmu, consumed with jealousy, couldn’t help but frown.
His little ferret’s body was being stared at by other men.
A soft blanket was gently draped over the little snow ferret. The latter instinctively hooked it with its paws, tucking it under its head and rubbing against it. The three elders’ hearts trembled like fluttering flower petals. Oh, oh, oh! The young master is still the same as when he was little—always tucking the blanket under his head while sleeping.
After confirming the sleeping posture, there was no doubt—it was indeed their young master.
Whose little snow ferret is this adorable? Oh, right—mine!
Such a well-behaved young master. Let’s not wake him. Let him sleep.