The only thing that made Xu Dongyou feel slightly less embarrassed was that after the incident, Zhulong did not mock him at all. Instead, it was genuinely concerned about his well-being.
This increased Xu Dongyou’s affection for Zhulong, making him feel less ashamed. He said, “I’m fine now.”
Zhulong, still a bit uneasy, looked at Xu Dongyou’s slightly silly but endearing feather-covered expression. Somehow, it judged that Xu Dongyou had indeed recovered, and it let out a small sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
Xu Dongyou tried to lift his head, but in his much smaller form, it was hard to even look up at Zhulong. He had to flap his wings to lift himself. Under Zhulong’s astonished gaze, he managed to fly up and perch on a half-meter-high step.
For such a fluffy little long-tailed tit, using those short wings to lift its entire body was quite the spectacle for Zhulong, who found it very curious.
In fact, Zhulong felt an itch in its heart.
Xu Dongyou’s current form lacked the elegance and ethereal beauty of his human appearance, but his soft, fluffy feathers now sparked an irresistible urge to reach out and fluff them.
He was just too cute.
Even the little tuft of hair on his head looked adorably endearing.
Xu Dongyou was embarrassed to change back into his human form in front of Zhulong, especially since it would be awkward to do so after having transformed into a bird. And now that Zhulong had regained most of its sanity, Xu Dongyou decided to stay in his original form while discussing the matter with Zhulong.
Zhulong thought carefully but couldn’t find any information in its memory related to the Lord of Darkness. However, it told Xu Dongyou, “The name ‘Lord of Darkness’ is false. The way the entity weakens while I regain clarity leads me to know exactly who the Lord of Darkness is.”
But at this time, neither Xu Dongyou nor the humans should know more about the Lord of Darkness. Zhulong simply advised that they should continue to search for the arrays and destroy the Evil Trees.
Once the day comes when Zhulong is freed from the seal, everything will naturally resolve itself.
Xu Dongyou nodded and stayed with Zhulong for a while longer before leaving. Before he departed, he asked Zhulong to turn away while he quickly transformed back into his human form, hurriedly dressed, and then bid farewell.
Afterward, Xu Dongyou conveyed Zhulong’s words to the Anomaly Handling Bureau. The Bureau took Zhulong’s advice very seriously and promised to intensify efforts to find the teleportation arrays and eliminate the Evil Trees.
Half a month later, another teleportation array was discovered. Inside, the Evil Tree had grown to an enormous height, with lush branches and leaves, and nearly a hundred resentful spirits thriving beneath it.
Compared to the previous two, this new teleportation array was much more imposing, sending chills down everyone’s spine. Because of this, Xu Dongyou, with his current strength, was the most suitable choice to lead the mission. He was summoned to assist.
Without hesitation, Xu Dongyou agreed. Learning from his past experiences, he made sure to inform his parents about his upcoming mission, assuring them that he would return safely.
Father and Mother Xu, with reddened eyes, reluctantly agreed. The family had a good meal together before Xu Dongyou left.
After leaving home, Xu Dongyou entered the teleportation array and began his mission. As before, they gradually eliminated the resentful spirits, set traps around the Evil Tree, and then began digging and attacking its core.
It took about a month of chipping away bit by bit, but they finally managed to destroy the Evil Tree.
This time, not only did the handlers sense a change, but even ordinary people felt that the city had become more comfortable. It wasn’t just one or two people who noticed this; most of the population felt the same way. Curious, they started discussing it and even inquired on the official social media accounts.
The official response explained that air purification measures had been implemented in the city, which is why the air quality seemed to have improved.
This answer made everyone suddenly understand.
Of course, the authorities couldn’t reveal the truth about the teleportation arrays, as doing so might alert the remaining gatekeepers, causing them to lay low and halt their activities. That would make it even harder to locate the remaining teleportation arrays.
At the same time, the Anomaly Handling Bureau issued a strict warning to all handlers, forbidding any betrayal of humanity. Anyone caught doing so would face the death penalty and their descendants would be banned from working with the Bureau.
This severe warning immediately frightened some handlers who had been tempted by the gatekeepers. One such handler reported the information to their superiors, who instructed them to pretend to cooperate. This led to the capture of the gatekeeper and the subsequent discovery and destruction of another teleportation array.
At the moment the Evil Tree was destroyed, all the handlers suddenly looked up, as did ordinary people. They weren’t sure why, but it felt like something had appeared in the sky—yet at the same time, as though nothing was there.
Despite it being midday, the sky across all regions displayed a magnificent spectacle of fiery clouds, their grandeur and beauty mesmerizing everyone for a long time.
Xu Dongyou, however, noticed that the fiery clouds seemed to vaguely form the shape of a dragon, resembling the ancient Zhulong. He even felt an inexplicable intuition within him, something urging him to search for something.
He stood still for a moment, confused, but eventually followed his instincts. He found Tian Ze and asked to borrow the van, but before he could, he spotted a tall man dressed in black nearby. The man had a cold, stern appearance, exuding a dignified yet distant aura, and his intense gaze was fixed on Xu Dongyou.
Xu Dongyou didn’t know why, but his heart inexplicably started to race, and his face uncontrollably flushed red.
Tian Ze was puzzled. “Dongyou, what are you standing there for all dazed?”
Following Xu Dongyou’s gaze, Tian Ze looked over but saw nothing—just handlers busy cleaning up.
Tian Ze tugged on Xu Dongyou’s arm, snapping him back to reality. Xu Dongyou glanced at Tian Ze and quickly turned back again, only to find the mysterious man had vanished.
Xu Dongyou stood frozen, a sense of loss welling up inside him, leaving him unexpectedly dejected and sad.
Maybe we will never meet each other again?
Moonlit: Ohhh~ Could it be…?
