Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Tale of the Loyal Mouse

“Yige, the dragon vein not only protects the Qing royal family, but also the three provinces of the Northeast. If it is destroyed now, then the Northeast…” Mu Chen, hearing Zhou Yi’s words, hurriedly grabbed his arm.

“Enough. I used to hesitate too much, and that’s why so many things happened. Today, I’m throwing caution to the wind. Don’t hold me back anymore.” Zhou Yi turned, squinting as he spoke.

Mu Chen met Zhou Yi’s gaze and instinctively released his arm, stepping back two paces.

Zhou Yi’s expression then softened, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. He tried to smile, but after learning that the key Grand Dowager Yulong gave him was fake, he simply couldn’t muster it. After adjusting himself for a while, he managed only a threadbare smile. “Baozi, Mu Chen, take this giant rat back to Changbai Mountain. Look after your sister-in-law on the way. I’ll go ahead.” Then Zhou Yi reconsidered. “No, I’ll take the giant rat myself.”

Baozi and Mu Chen knew his resolve was firm, and persuasion would be futile.

“Be careful, Yige,” they said in unison.

Zhou Yi nodded, then turned to the giant rat. “I’m taking you back to Buxian Mountain now. Are you willing?”

The giant rat nodded eagerly, then shook its head. It squeaked and chattered for a while, its meaning unclear.

“Are you afraid of the giant serpent in the mountain’s depths?” Zhou Yi pondered; only the serpent could frighten the rat.

The rat nodded quickly.

“Don’t worry, the serpent is my friend. It won’t hurt you again.”

With Zhou Yi’s assurance, the rat knelt with its forepaws and kowtowed repeatedly to him, its antics so comical Zhou Yi couldn’t help but smile, his mood lifting slightly.

When Zhou Yi bent to pick up the giant rat, its stench made him frown deeply. Bringing it back to Changbai Mountain would surely suffocate everyone.

“Help me weave a basket,” Zhou Yi said, pointing to the nearby withered roots.

The giant rat shook its head, indicating it didn’t need one. Then it darted toward the burial passage, moving even faster than Zhou Yi’s soaring stride. In a flash, it returned, gesticulating at Zhou Yi.

“You’re saying you can walk on your own?” Zhou Yi understood. If the rat could travel long distances, there was no need for him to carry it.

There was little else to prepare. The three left Zhuolu with the giant rat, reaching the edge of the region and meeting with Wu Qian and Jiechen. Zhou Yi explained his intentions.

Wu Qian had no objections.

Jiechen, seeing Zhou Yi’s return, recited a Buddhist blessing. “Amitabha. Since you have returned, I shall take my leave.”

Zhou Yi clasped his fists in respect. “Master Jiechen, you have aided me many times. I am deeply grateful. Please tell me where you go, so I may visit you in the future.”

Jiechen smiled gently. “I follow my late master’s wishes and dare not slacken. The wandering spirits outside Zhuolu are not yet fully emancipated. I cannot leave here.”

Zhou Yi felt a surge of respect in his heart. He placed his left hand upright before his chest and lowered his gaze. “Master, your compassion is boundless. I have urgent matters to attend to, so I must go ahead.”

After speaking, Zhou Yi looked at the giant rat and Xunfeng, only to see Xunfeng chasing the rat. Both creatures were swift, one pursuing and one fleeing, raising quite a ruckus.

“I’m leaving now. Baozi and Mu Chen will protect you back to Baishan Village. I’ll go ahead and take care of some things. Once I’m done, I’ll return for you.”

Zhou Yi’s eyes glinted as he continued, “And then I’ll marry you.”

His words brimmed with tenderness.

Wu Qian’s cheeks flushed. Though delighted, she shook her head. “My father has only just passed, and Uncle’s death is barely a hundred days past. How can we rush into marriage? Such filial impropriety cannot be done.”

Zhou Yi, hearing this, drew Wu Qian into his arms. “Then everything will be as you wish. I will never leave you behind again.”

Afterward, he helped Wu Qian to her feet and took the soft sword from his waist, handing it to her. “This sword can be worn at the waist for self-defense.”

It was the first thing Zhou Yi had given her; she accepted it with joy.

Without further delay, Zhou Yi called to the giant rat, “Let’s go. I’ll take you back to Buxian Mountain.”

The rat squeaked twice at Xunfeng, as if boasting or teasing.

Zhou Yi paid it no mind, summoned his spiritual energy, and soared into the air.

After speeding ahead for some distance, he glanced back to see the giant rat ahead, Xunfeng close behind. Both creatures moved with remarkable speed. Zhou Yi’s playful side emerged; he wanted to test their limits, so he gathered his energy and raced at full speed.

Zhou Yi ran for a hundred miles at full force, worried the rat and Xunfeng might fall behind. Looking back, he saw they were still right behind him, hardly lagging at all.

Running at full speed drained his energy, and realizing he couldn’t test their speed further, he stopped to rest by the roadside. Xunfeng and the giant rat, seeing him stop, began to play and spar again, seemingly tireless.

Xunfeng was a creature famed for its speed, so running a hundred miles was effortless. But the giant rat, with its short legs, could keep pace with Xunfeng, which puzzled Zhou Yi. Perhaps it had the bloodline of some ancient beast.

Of course, this was only conjecture and impossible to verify.

After a brief rest, his energy restored to seventy or eighty percent, Zhou Yi sped onward.

He had not forgotten the Qing court and Zhang Xun's mockery. It would be satisfying to storm the capital and slaughter them, but dangerous. Last time in Bauhinia City, Zhou Yi sensed a threatening presence. If Princess Fu hadn’t stopped him, and he had insisted on killing Puyi, not only would he have failed, but he would have faced annihilation.

Since he couldn’t go on a killing spree, he would instead bring the decaying Qing court to its final, thorough destruction.

As he spoke, Zhou Yi arrived at Changbai Mountain, sought out Tianchi, and dove beneath the water. The giant rat and Xunfeng followed him into the mountain’s depths, which had changed little, though the giant serpent and fragments of the stone egg were gone.

The little black dragon was nowhere to be seen. If he was to destroy the dragon vein completely, he would have to kill the little black dragon. Now that he had reached the dragon vein, there was no need to rush; he would first return the giant rat.

Locating the rat’s lair, he watched as a male and female rat were reunited after a century apart. They nestled close, their affection obvious.

Zhou Yi watched from the side, delighted to see the long-separated pair meet again. After their reunion, the two rats knelt before him and knocked their heads three times in gratitude.

“Do you know where the little dragon, the spirit of the dragon vein, is now?” Zhou Yi asked. The mother rat had never left, her offspring scattered throughout the mountain’s depths, making her the best informant.

The mother rat chattered and gestured frantically, leading Zhou Yi off to the side.

Zhou Yi hurried after her, and when he arrived, the sight before him made his eyes round with astonishment, his mouth agape in disbelief.