FRGNM -Chapter 294 The Promise

“No way—hasn’t it only been a short while? He’s already about to fall into demonic possession?! If he really goes mad, Zizhu will be nothing but empty qi without spirit, and it won’t be possible to forge the Zizhu Divine Needles at all! Hurry and wake him up!”

Qingyi’s jaw nearly hit the ground. He sucked in a sharp breath, staring in horror at the figure ahead.

Yuwen Zhiyuan frowned and raised a hand.
“No. We can’t go over there. His Zizhu qi is leaking out uncontrollably. He’s extremely unstable right now and could go berserk at any moment. The closer we get, the more pressure we put on him—and the more likely he is to truly fall into demonic possession.”

“Then what do we do?” Silver Wolf frowned. He had never encountered something this troublesome before.

Luo Mingyu, standing to the side, merely snorted in disdain. The Blood Demon Scythe in his hand flicked slightly, and purple-black energy shot toward Minglang like lightning.

A huge arc of energy burst forth. Minglang’s pupils contracted sharply as he slashed his sword at the incoming force—but no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake it.

“Crack!”

The long sword in his hand snapped in two. The purple-black Dou Qi wrapped around him like a rope, binding him tightly.

Standing coldly, Luo Mingyu gazed at him with indifference, a faint glint flashing in his eyes as he asked calmly,

“Now then—are you convinced, or not?”

“Let me go! Don’t think that just because you have Nine Nether Qi you can restrain me!”

Minglang roared in fury, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free of the purple-black energy.

Luo Mingyu calmly retracted the Blood Demon Scythe and raised an eyebrow.

“If I were actually using Nine Nether Qi, do you think you’d still be alive? This is just ordinary Dou Qi. So—will you stop, or continue?”

“Of course I’m not convinced! Luo Mingyu, let me go! Can’t you see it? They killed Minglang! They took his life!”

Minglang roared at him. But a ten-year-old body—how much strength could it really hold?

Luo Mingyu nodded. That much was undeniable. He continued looking at him and said softly,

“Yes. And so what?”

Yes.
So what?

Minglang was already dead. No matter how many people he killed, Minglang would never come back to life.

That child—he had watched him grow with his own eyes. He stayed by his side every day. They had endured failure together, wealth together, poverty together. He never left him, never abandoned him. Even when it was time to part, he had schemed and made excuses just to make him leave safely.

But now…

All of that was impossible.

Minglang was dead. He would never come back.

Dead… haha…

A bitter smile crept onto his lips. He didn’t know what to do anymore, didn’t know what choice to make. He could only stare blankly ahead, his eyes growing more and more hollow. Even now, he still couldn’t believe that Minglang was truly gone.

“I forgot to tell you something.”

Luo Mingyu slowly loosened the Dou Qi binding him. A cold glint flashed through his eyes as he said indifferently,

“Minglang was already dead when you picked him up. He died from a severe illness. When you found him, there was still a trace of warmth in his body—that’s why you kept him by your side. All these years, it was your Zizhu qi that kept him alive. After you left, red spots spread across his body overnight. Without Zizhu qi, his death was inevitable.”

Already dead…

The purple in his eyes slowly faded to black. Minglang stared blankly at his small hands, at the traces upon them.

Being human… truly wasn’t something easy.

He was wrong. From the very beginning, he shouldn’t have appeared in the human world.

He was wrong.

Slowly closing his eyes, he took a step forward and said coldly,

“Let me go back. I won’t think about anything else anymore.”

From now on, he would just be a naturally born, naturally nurtured stalk of Zizhu—never again dealing with humans.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Ling Ruoxi quickly spread open her right hand. A segment of Zizhu appeared in her palm, emitting a soft glow.

But the figure in front of her froze. He looked down at himself in astonishment, then slowly raised his hands. His childish voice echoed faintly,

“I… I can’t go back.”

“What?!”
Not only Silver Wolf—even Qingyi was stunned.

What was going on?

This Zizhu could freely enter the human body and control it, yet now it couldn’t leave the child’s body?

Yuwen Zhiyuan rubbed his temples helplessly and chuckled.

“That’s not surprising. You lived with Minglang for so long. The reason Minglang survived was because of the Zizhu qi in your body. Your aura is the most compatible with this body. Naturally, this body has already taken you as its core soul. For now, you can’t come out.”

“Pfft!”

Silver Wolf’s eyes widened.

If that was the case, then for quite some time, Zizhu wouldn’t be able to return to its original form. That meant… they’d have to travel with a child?

Ling Ruoxi twitched at the corner of her mouth, quickly withdrawing the Zizhu and frowning.

“Then is there any way to retrieve Zizhu?”

“That’s simple,” Yuwen Zhiyuan said with a snap of his fingers and a smile. “Find someone who can forge the Zizhu Divine Needles. Have him strip the qi from your body, and the needles can be successfully forged.”

Then he added helplessly,

“There’s another way too—if this body completely dies, you can go back. Once you’re beaten to near death, that’ll more or less do it.”

“Zhiyuan, that’s a bit too terrifying. Get to the point—where is this person who can forge the Zizhu Divine Needles?” Silver Wolf swallowed hard.

After all that talk, death still seemed unavoidable. And once Zizhu’s consciousness formed, once it dispersed, it would never reassemble again. That was precisely why Zizhu had to be used—divine artifacts could not exist without a soul.

Looking up at the clear blue sky, Yuwen Zhiyuan nodded.

“Well… the weather’s pretty good today. The moon will be out tonight, and the stars will align. Once night falls, I’ll be able to divine it. Let’s talk about it then.”

“You…” Silver Wolf twitched. “I’ve never seen divination require this many preparations.”

“…”

At that moment, Yuwen Zhiyuan really wanted to roll his eyes. Did Silver Wolf think he could divine anything anytime? If that were the case, he’d need to know when everyone ate, slept, went to the toilet, or got sick. Others wouldn’t be tired—but he’d be exhausted to death.

The breeze grew gentler, and the cold night became strangely intoxicating. Starlight flickered across the sky, and the full moon poured down its most beautiful radiance, like a lantern lighting the way home for the lost.

Even though a Purple Venerable battle had occurred, by nightfall no one dared to wander the streets. Lanterns swayed with the wind, displaying their most beautiful forms, as though carried slowly along by unseen hands.

Several figures stood quietly in the street, as if waiting for something, gazing ahead with calm expressions. If anyone were to appear now and witness this scene, they would be scared half to death—during the Lantern Festival, no one stayed out at night.

The lanterns bobbed gently, swaying back and forth as if nudged by invisible forces. One by one, they flickered uncertainly.

“Will he come?” Silver Wolf had already grabbed tightly onto Yuwen Zhiyuan’s arm, scanning the surroundings with vigilance.

The cold wind swept past them, sometimes like distant howls, sometimes like a quiet breeze brushing their cheeks—light or heavy, gentle or fierce.

Only beings like them—spiritual entities of heaven and earth—could see the figure ahead. To ordinary eyes, there were only endlessly swaying lantern lights.

Beautiful.
The moonlight was beautiful.

A small hand stretched out toward that familiar figure ahead. Purple Dou Qi suddenly flickered before him.

The lanterns in his hands looked just like those he remembered—so beautiful.

The small figure holding a wooden stick with a lantern ran forward, smiling brightly, tiny tiger teeth showing. No matter how the person before him changed, he could recognize him at once.

“Uncle!”

The small figure rushed forward and hugged him.

Under the glow of purple Dou Qi, his form fully appeared—like two Minglangs standing together. He smiled foolishly, tugging at Jiang Yu’s hand.

“Uncle, it’s so pretty here. I like it so much. Let’s stay here and never leave, okay? Uncle, don’t leave me. I’m scared.”

“Minglang…”

The childish voice echoed softly. Jiang Yu felt a deep bitterness in his chest. He instinctively reached out to stroke the familiar little head, then shook his head.

“I’m sorry. Uncle has to leave.”

“Uncle, why are you leaving? Why do you have to go? Did Minglang do something wrong? Did I make you angry?”

Blinking his eyes, the child stood there helplessly, tears pooling and falling as he choked back sobs.

Jiang Yu panicked and quickly held him.

“No, no. Uncle is going to a very far place. But I promise—it won’t be long. Uncle will come back to see you. We’ll always be together, never separated again.”

“Really? Then Uncle, I’ll miss you. You must come back soon. I’ll wait for you here—under the lanterns, among the trees. Uncle, come find me then. I’ll play hide-and-seek and hide somewhere. I know that no matter where I am, Uncle will always find me. Right, Uncle?”

The little tiger teeth showed again as he smiled gently, holding his lantern.

Jiang Yu only waved lightly.

The small hand touched his cheek. Crescent-shaped eyes curved upward as he smiled faintly.

“Uncle, thank you. As another Minglang—live well. Minglang will be watching you.”

“Minglang!”

Jiang Yu suddenly looked up—but the figure ahead had already disappeared. Only the lantern remained, fallen to the ground, its candle completely burned out.

Clenching his fists, Jiang Yu crouched down and picked up the lantern. Minglang’s aura still lingered upon it.

He should have known long ago that Minglang was dead. He had only shown that final smile to face him.

Minglang…

Kneeling on one knee, Jiang Yu held the lantern in silence, grief weighing heavily upon him.

Seeing this, Silver Wolf’s eyes grew moist as well. He sniffed and muttered,

“Was that really necessary? Two grown men acting like a married couple… it’s making me sick—and I’m crying, okay?”