translator: baumkuchen  editor: ellabells

The elevator slowly rose, soon reaching the floor they were going to. Up the corridor, patients and their family members came and went, their expressions hurried.

The hospital had never been a pleasant place. It could be said that here, was gathered those who longed for hope the most among mankind, but also the most despairing after their hopes were shattered.

Bai Yuehu's footsteps stopped at the door to Ward 102. Lu Qingjiu looked through the gla.s.s window of the ward to see a young lady lying in the hospital bed. The young lady was dressed in a white hospital gown, patches of greenish skin showing on her hairless head. She looked to be in a good mood, her head currently lowered as she flipped through a book in her hands.

"Are we going in?" Lu Qingjiu asked in a small voice.

Bai Yuehu nodded. He knocked on the door to the ward.

"Who is it, come in." When the young lady heard the knocking, she raised her head and spoke.

Bai Yuehu pushed open the door and entered. Seeing him, the girl smiled, "Ya, Yuehu, long time no see."

Bai Yuehu said, "Long time no see."

The two seemed to be familiar with one another. The girl enthusiastically greeted Bai Yuehu, getting him to sit down wherever. Then, the girl's gaze fell on Lu Qingjiu's face. She asked, "This is…?"

"This is my friend, Lu Qingjiu," Bai Yuehu introduced.

The girl smiled and said, "h.e.l.lo, my name is Hou Xuejia."

A very common name and a very common appearance. Lu Qingjiu didn't see any unusual characteristics on her. If not for her knowing Bai Yuehu, and perhaps also having a little something to do with Shui Feng, Lu Qingjiu would've thought that she was just an ordinary member of humankind like him.

"You just do your own thing, I'll just sit here for a while and then leave," Bai Yuehu said to Hou Xuejia.

Hou Xuejia laughed, "I'll peel an apple for you two."

"I'll do it." Seeing her move, Lu Qingjiu hurriedly took the apple and knife from her. Them, two big men, making a sick little lady peel apples was really a little too much.

Hou Xuejia didn't fight Lu Qingjiu, smiling merrily as she handed over the apple in her hand to Lu Qingjiu. "Alright."

When she stretched out her hand, she exposed the wrists hidden under the hospital gown. That pair of wrists was far too slender compared to ordinary wrists. A few green and purple veins were visible on the backs of her hands. It could be seen that those were the result of long periods on the IV. He didn't know exactly how long this girl had been staying in the hospital…

"How have you been lately?" Bai Yuehu spoke up and asked.

"Really good." As Hou Xuejia sat on the side, tilting her head as she watched Lu Qingjiu seriously peel apples, she smiled happily and said, "My illness has been really stable. The doctor said that there weren't any big problems."

"En," Bai Yuehu said, "That's good."

"That's right," Hou Xuejia said, "My luck's pretty good." She started laughing, with a "gegege", "When the doctor told me, he said that there was good news and there was bad news, and asked me whether I wanted to hear the good news or the bad news first."

Bai Yuehu and Lu Qingjiu just listened.

"I said I've already been unlucky enough, so this time, I wanted to hear the bad news first." As she spoke, her whole face was filled with liveliness, completely unlike a patient that had been bedridden for a very long time, "Then the doctor said, I might not live much longer."

Hearing this, Lu Qingjiu's hand stilled. "Then the good news?" He felt like this was already the worst news, and really couldn't imagine what kind of good news there could be.

"Then the doctor told me, they named a new virus after me." After saying this, Hou Xuejia broke into loud laughter.

Lu Qingjiu, "…"

Bai Yuehu, "…"

The two were both shaken by this unimaginably cold joke.

Seeing that the two weren't laughing, Hou Xuejia rubbed the back of her bald head, "What, isn't it funny?"

"Oh, it's funny," Lu Qingjiu could only cheer her on with a sentence.

"Alright," Hou Xuejia said, "Looks like you guys' don't laugh very easily…"

Lu Qingjiu really wanted to sigh, but then felt like since Hou Xuejia was being so enthusiastic, it didn't really seem like the time for him to sigh. Fortunately, Bai Yuehu's words stole away Hou Xuejia's attention at that moment. He said, "How about Shui Feng, why isn't he here?"

"He had something going on and went out," Hou Xuejia said, "Might only be back by nighttime."

Bai Yuehu nodded. He said, "Take a rest, we'll sit here for a while and then leave."

Hou Xuejia very obediently laid back down onto the hospital bed, saying, "Then I won't send you guys off. I don't know when I'll see you next…"

"There's always a chance," Bai Yuehu said, "Qingjiu, let's go."

Lu Qingjiu nodded, leaving the ward together with Bai Yuehu.

"Is she an ordinary person?" Lu Qingjiu kept feeling like this matter wasn't very simple.

"Yes," Bai Yuehu answered.

"How long have you two known each other?" Lu Qingjiu said, "It looks like… You often come here."

"Not long," Bai Yuehu said, "Ten years or so, probably. I'll occasionally come to visit."

Lu Qingjiu, "…" Ten or so years was already and extremely long time to a human. But to Bai Yuehu, someone of a long-lived species, it was only a short moment in their lives.

"We're just going back like this?" Lu Qingjiu asked.

"No," Bai Yuehu said, "When Shui Feng comes over, I need to do a little something."

Lu Qingjiu replied with an okay.

The two of them waited downstairs of the ward. After about twenty minutes, Shui Feng hurried over. What made Lu Qingjiu surprised was that all of the wounds that should have been on his face had completely disappeared. He couldn't see even a trace of green and purple. He had completely recovered to his best state.

Bai Yuehu looked at him with cold eyes, in an extremely bad mood. Shui Feng didn't pay him any mind and happily said, "Let's go right now?"

"En," Bai Yuehu said.

"What about him? Should he wait for us in the hospital?" Shui Feng asked.

"He'll come along," Bai Yuehu said, "He knows I'm a fox already." When he said this, he gave Shui Feng a look, and even heavily emphasized the word "fox".

Shui Feng, "…Alright." His expression was slightly off.

Lu Qingjiu saw all this, but he just pretended he hadn't seen anything and just seriously looked at Bai Yuehu. Bai Yuehu grabbed Lu Qingjiu's wrist very naturally and said, "Follow me."

Lu Qingjiu obediently followed along behind him.

As Shui Feng walked onwards, the area became more and more deserted. A layer of thick mist rose around them, separating them from the surrounding scenery of the mortal world.

Lu QIngjiu was being led along by Bai Yuehu like this, so he wasn't very afraid. Soon, he realised they had actually walked from the back garden of the hospital, to a completely foreign area. Here, the sky was black, shrouded by heavy storm clouds. Occasionally, he could even see lightning flash between the storm clouds. There were strange jagged rock formations all over the ground. The wind was howling. Shui Feng who walked in front felt a little embarra.s.sed. He turned his head and said, "Don't be scared. This place wasn't like this before, it's just that resources has been a little tight for the past few years…"

Hearing the hidden meaning in Shui Feng's words, Lu Qingjiu's eyes widened, "This place can be renovated?"

"That's exactly how it is." Shui Feng gave Lu QIngjiu a surrept.i.tious wink. "Has Bai Yuehu brought you to his home for a look before?"

Lu Qingjiu glanced at Bai Yuehu. He remembered the marvel he had seen that time Bai Yuehu brought him up the mountain. Could it be that that place was Bai Yuehu's home, and was even designed by him?

Bai Yuehu said frostily, "Don't listen to his nonsense."

Shui Feng let out a few laughs.

This place indeed made people feel uncomfortable. The entire place was shrouded in a deathly stillness. Because of the wall of black fog surrounding them, Lu Qingjiu couldn't really see the surroundings clearly.

Bai Yuehu, who had been holding Lu Qingjiu's hand, suddenly let go and told him to stay where he was and not move. After that, a thick, black fog rose from Bai Yuehu's body, enshrouding him and Shui Feng.

The fog constantly spread, rising into the dark sky and began to stir up the clouds.

The clouds gradually formed into a vortex. Lu QIngjiu heard a fierce roar of thunder come from the sky. Following that was the roar of a wild beast, as if some things had flown up into the sky and were fighting in the clouds. The layer of dark clouds covered any traces of these wild beasts, making it so Lu QIngjiu couldn't see the situation within clearly, only able to see the occasional sharp claw or fang emerge from the cloud layer and a pair of red, slightly familiar eyes.

The wild beast's deafening roar would make anyone's body tremble along with it. Lu Qingjiu stood below the swirling clouds and felt just how small he was. In the face of this world-destroying momentum, he guessed that he wasn't even the size of one of the beasts' big claws. If they were to pounce down from the sky, he might lose his life before he even had the chance to scream.

Just as Lu Qingjiu's thoughts were running wild, he heard another miserable screech. Judging by that scream, the one who made the sound was Shui Feng. He seemed to have lost in the struggle between beasts and was seriously injured.

What were they doing? Could it really be just a simple fight? Lu Qingjiu found this really strange. However, this kind of scene wasn't something someone would usually see. And even though he couldn't see Bai Yuehu's original form very clearly, from the details he could see, he didn't seem at all like those foxes from the legends…

Lu Qingjiu's expression held suspicion. He looked even more closely.

After about twenty minutes, the sounds of fighting gradually ceased and the clouds began to disperse. In the black fog before Lu Qingjiu appeared a standing Bai Yuehu, next to him lying a barely-breathing Shui Feng. Bai Yuehu's body was covered in fresh blood, his eyes frighteningly cold. Just as Lu Qingjiu was suspecting that the two of them had turned on each other, Shui Feng, who laid next to him, broke into loud laughter. He said, "Thanks, old bro."

Bai Yuehu casually flung a cloth bag at Shui Feng.

Although Shui Feng looked to be already on his last breaths, he grasped the bag in his hands with all his strength. He smiled at Bai Yuehu, and spoke once more, "Thank you."

Bai Yuehu said, "You practically brought this on yourself."

Shui Feng said, "Ai, I'm just like this. Tonight, don't be in a rush to leave, I'll invite you two out for dinner."

Bai Yuehu said frostily, "Who wants to eat with you."

Hearing this, Shui Feng's eyes opened wide, "Yi, don't say that, back then, having a meal with me used to be something that millions of people wanted but could never have…"

"Then now?" Bai Yuehu didn't give him face.

"Now," Shui Feng laughed in self-deprecation, "Now I don't have meals to eat, so it's stopped."

Lu Qingjiu, standing off to the side, listened to the two talk. He could see that Bai Yuehu actually treated Shui Feng rather well. Even though his mouth said he had no patience for him, he had no plans to leave. Instead, he stood by Shui Feng's side, not looking away.

Shui Feng's mouth was filled with blood. He coughed a few times, spitting out the blood and saliva, then forced himself up. “Let's go, it's about time.”