DNDAS

Chapter 34: Processes

"The mountain we lived on was lacking in spiritual qi and didn't have much fame. Whenever our mountain's little yao went out, they'll claim to be from Weishui. That way, they'll have a bit more face," Fu Li felt somewhat embarrassed upon recalling the lie they had told those years for the sake of bragging. "All you modern yao may not quite understand how much importance the yao cultivators in the past placed on one's birth, how good one's followers were, how famous one's mountain was, and whether one was revered by countless evil yao. If one really didn't have all these things, then it was still good to link oneself to famous mountains or rivers."

Speaking about the difficult conditions of his past in front of a younger generation caused Fu Li's face to turn slightly red. "Our cave dwellings were located at Weishui's river basin. The tall mountains and steep paths there meant that the area was usually desolate, so we never received any offerings from humans." As he spoke about not receiving any offerings from humans, Fu Li's face turned so red that blood was on the verge of dripping off it. "Although that was the case, there were many little yao on the mountain, and no one felt that we were poor. The mountain we stayed on didn't have a name, but the mountain was wrapped in clouds and mist all year round, so we named it Reflecting Mist Mountain. The White Ape said that this name will make our mountain appear a bit more mysterious."

Zhuang Qing thought, who would have expected the yaoguai several thousand years ago to have already started paying attention to style? However, he indeed hadn't heard of the name 'Reflecting Mist Mountain'. Nor had this name ever appeared in the ancient texts he had read.

"But more than half of the mountain was destroyed a very long time ago due to an incident," At this point, the gaze Fu Li directed at Zhuang Qing was somewhat profound, seemingly containing a subtle race-based dislike and loathing. "By the time I woke up, the mountain was destroyed and the yao had perished. My past companions had all vanished."

Not expecting him to have such a bitter past, Zhuang Qing couldn't bear to continue probing. He couldn't imagine how angry and sad he would be if everything he once had was gone after waking from sleep.

"I mustered my courage to ask a yao from the neighboring mountain, and only then found out what exactly had happened." It had been two thousand years since that incident. Fu Li seemed to have come to terms with his past, yet also seemed to have never walked out from it. This was why he continued to call himself 'little yao of Weishui' – what all the little yao of Reflecting Mist Mountain called themselves – even till this day, as if doing so would safeguard his territory and mountain, symbolizing that Reflecting Mist Mountain had not been wiped out.

"The yao cultivator said that the azure dragon clan was romping around Weishui, causing countless farmers within the radius of a few hundred kilometers to drown. Our Reflecting Mist Mountain's yao cultivators can't bear to see people suffer, and thus went forward to stop them. In the end, even the skeletons of the dead did not survive." Fu Li's voice was so tranquil that it bordered on unreal. "In the entire Reflecting Mist Mountain, only me, the little yao personally raised by them to adulthood, had slept through it and survived."

"I apologize, I shouldn't have asked you about the past..." Zhuang Qing suddenly remembered that the Zhuyan had also mentioned such an incident. Only, the Zhuyan had talked about another incident – that the azure dragons who created trouble at Weishui had enraged the yao emperor. In the end, some died, and others were injured; they hadn't had a good end either. Zhuang Qing hastily braked to a stop at the roadside. "Then do you know who killed those few azure dragons?"

Fu Li was awoken from his memories. "Oh, it was me."

His tone was too serene, so serene that it seemed as if he was merely purchasing a piece of streaky pork at the food market.