Outside the abandoned factory building, the fleeing pack of demonic beasts had dispersed, and the brief earthquake settled down. Holding the passed-out Rong Sui, Yin Zhuzhi felt somewhat at a loss.

In his long life, he had never experienced taking care of a person, especially a fragile human.

Rong Sui’s cheeks were flushed bright red, and a scalding heat radiated through his thin clothes. Bi Fang poked his head over to take a look, feeling somewhat worried. “He has a fever.”

Rong Sui’s breathing was heavy, and beneath his thin eyelids, his eyes moved restlessly, making him look extremely uncomfortable.

“Let’s go back first.” With a flick of his sleeve, Yin Zhuzhi swept Bi Fang from the air into his wide sleeve. He then picked Rong Sui up in a princess carry, letting him lean against his chest as comfortably as possible. As the tip of his toe tapped lightly on the ground, the scenery before them suddenly blurred into thick pixels. Yin Zhuzhi stepped forward into it; the surrounding air rippled like a shallow water surface, and both of their figures vanished without a trace.

A minute later, Yin Zhuzhi appeared in the living room of the Rong family villa.

Sensing an intrusion, Long Ya’s expression turned fierce at first, but the next second, he saw the black-clothed, black-haired man holding Rong Sui standing in the middle of the living room. He froze instantly, staring at the adult Torch Dragon in disbelief. “Lord God?”

Yin Zhuzhi gave them a faint nod with no intention of explaining, walking straight past them to carry Rong Sui up to the second floor.

Bi Fang flew out from his sleeve, landing on the back of the sofa and patting his chest with a wing. In his juvenile form, Yin Zhuzhi was not frightening, but as an adult, the Torch Dragon naturally carried a powerful aura of dominance. Seeing him, all demons would instinctively keep their distance—a deeply ingrained instinct that even the strongest could not avoid.

Legend had it that the Torch Dragon was an ancient existence born when Pangu created heaven and earth, possessing vast and boundless divine power. Only gods from the same era could compete with him. However, Pangu later sacrificed his body to become the heavens and earth, Nuwa repaired the sky… and the ancient gods fell one by one. The Torch Dragon retired to Mount Zhong, living in deep seclusion. Even Long Ya and the others who lived on Mount Zhong might not see him once in thousands of years.

Seeing him so suddenly now brought not only shock, but also an instinctual awe.

As Yin Zhuzhi’s figure vanished around the corner of the staircase, the eerie silence in the living room was broken. Bi Fang buried his head against his chest to rub it, whispering under his breath, “Scared the daylight out of me.”

Long Ya asked with a solemn expression, “What happened?”

“We ran into a pack of fleeing Quanli halfway through.” Speaking of this, Bi Fang felt a streak of bad luck. The Quanli was a ferocious beast incapable of taking human form, with very low intelligence, acting entirely on instinct. Resembling hedgehogs with rats’ tails, they possessed incredible reproductive capabilities. Anyone who touched them would catch plagues and diseases. In the past, they were like street rats to be exterminated on sight. He hadn’t expected them to breed such a massive population by now.

Caught unprepared, Rong Sui was collided into by several Quanli and passed out because his body couldn’t handle the plague miasma they carried.

“Yin Zhu… Lord God suddenly appeared and forced back the crazed pack of Quanli.” Bi Fang buried his head beneath his wing, ruffling the down feathers atop his head into a mess. To be honest, he didn’t know how Yin Zhuzhi’s divine power had suddenly been restored either, when clearly everyone had turned into juveniles together.

Since Bi Fang couldn’t give a clear explanation, Long Ya pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s ask the Lord God later.”

Yin Zhuzhi carried Rong Sui back into the bedroom. Rong Sui’s body was even hotter than before; his cheeks and neck were burnt crimson, his sideburns soaked by steaming sweat, and messy strands of dark hair stuck pitiably to his face.

Yin Zhuzhi lowered his eyes to look at him. The fragile human seemed to be in immense discomfort; his delicate brows were knitted together, his lips parted slightly, and vague murmurs escaped them from time to time.

Yin Zhuzhi had never seen him in such a state.

In his memories, which had grown somewhat blurry from being sealed away for so long, Rong Sui always smiled so gently. His dark eyes would curve into soft crescents, the corners of his mouth upturned, with two shallow dimples beside his cheeks.

Even if that smile wasn’t directed at himself, Yin Zhuzhi rarely found his heart softening.

Yet now, the human was injured right under his nose. Yin Zhuzhi stood before the bed expressionlessly for a moment, then went into the bathroom to soak a towel in water. In the blink of an eye, icy frost wafted from the water’s surface. Wringing out the chilly towel, he laid it over Rong Sui’s forehead before turning to head downstairs.

Seeing him come down, the few in the living room stood up subconsciously. “Lord God.”

Yin Zhuzhi gave a faint nod. “Take good care of him. I’m going out.”

Before his words fully faded, his figure vanished from the spot.

Frightened into his true form by the terrifying aura, Bai Tu, who had been hiding under the sofa, poked out his head and asked tremulously, “W-Who was that?” How could someone be so terrifying?

Bi Fang intimidated him with a cold face, “Don’t you recognize him? That’s Yin Zhuzhi. You’ve even held him before.”

Bai Tu: “…”

The cowardly rabbit spirit kicked his two legs and fainted dead away from fright.

At the foot of Mount Wu, trees trembled, and birds and beasts fled in all directions.

Yin Zhuzhi walked into the mountains at a pace that looked extremely slow yet was actually exceedingly fast. Apart from Mount Wu, this area featured a continuous mountain range running north to south. The head of the range towered high while its tail gradually flattened out; the entire mountain range wound and twisted like a giant dragon lying low, which was why locals called it the Wolong Mountain Range.

The Wolong Mountain Range covered a vast area, and the nature reserve currently developed was merely the tip of the iceberg. Deepest within the mountains, even the most experienced local elders dared not enter lightly. Yet Yin Zhuzhi stepped into it casually, making every tree bow and every beast retreat wherever he passed.

Upon the distant high mountains, a waterfall poured down, rushing to the foot of the mountain to merge into a massive lake. Amidst the splashing water, dark shadows could be vaguely seen gliding lithely beneath the surface.

Sensing danger, the creatures beneath the lake swung their tails, hiding deeper in packs. While the surface remained motionless, undercurrents surged violently below.

With his robes fluttering, Yin Zhuzhi suddenly transformed into a two-meter-long black dragon and plunged into the water.

The demonic beasts underwater scattered in panic. Yin Zhuzhi locked his gaze onto the fattest fish. With a sweep of his dragon tail, he instantly caught up with the fleeing school of fish. Sharp talons easily pierced through smooth, hard fish scales, pulling a Henggong Fish over a meter long right out of the water.

The dying Henggong Fish flapped its fins feebly, letting out a death rattle.

Yin Zhuzhi slammed it hard onto the rocks by the lake, knocking the unlucky fish unconscious. Then, using his sharp claws, he skillfully scraped the scales, removed the gills and guts, washed it clean in the lake, and carried the huge fish home with a satisfied air.

The Henggong Fish resembled a carp but was red. It lived in water by day and transformed into a human by night. It could not be pierced by weapons nor killed by boiling; boiling it with two dark plums would kill it, and eating it could cure evil plagues and diseases.

Eating it could cure evil plagues—just right for treating Rong Sui’s illness.

Seeing Yin Zhuzhi appear in the living room holding a giant carp, everyone was already unfazed. Long Ya looked at the fish in his hand with some surprise, “A Henggong Fish?”

The adult Torch Dragon spoke very little. He gave a brief nod, scanned the few people in the room, and pointed at Bai Tu. “You, cook the fish. Remember to add two dark plums.”

The named rabbit spirit almost rolled his eyes and passed out again. Nervously walking over with his knees turned inward, he received the fish with trembling hands. “…Yes.”

Carrying the fish into the kitchen with huffs and puffs, Bai Tu felt like crying without tears. “How am I supposed to cook this?”

Smelling the fish, Wentun followed him inside, clinging to his leg and craning his neck upward while slavering. “Steamed fish, braised fish, boiled fish slices!”

Bai Tu patted his head mournfully. Seeing Yin Zhuzhi’s demeanor, this fish was meant for Rong Sui. After some thought, he rejected Wentun’s request, sliced off a large piece of fish meat, and prepared to make fish porridge out of it.

The scales of the Henggong Fish were hard and difficult for ordinary knives to pierce, but the meat inside was exceptionally tender. The cooked fish porridge dissolved the moment it hit the mouth, with a faint, sweet aroma refreshing one’s chest and lungs.

Bai Tu tasted a spoonful. Once he confirmed the taste was good, he scooped a small bowl for the eagerly waiting Wentun, then carried Rong Sui’s portion upstairs.

Yin Zhuzhi stood in front of the bed. Hearing Bai Tu’s footsteps, he stepped aside. “Feed him.”

Bai Tu’s palms dripped with nervous sweat, but he dared not refuse. He could only shrink his shoulders timidly, step forward, prop Rong Sui up, and feed him the porridge spoon by spoon.

After a bowl of porridge was consumed, Rong Sui’s scalding body temperature immediately returned to normal. Aside from looking pale as if pulled out of the water, he had actually recovered.

Bai Tu was surprised and overjoyed, forgetting even his fear. Taking a thermometer to measure—the body temperature was normal.

Rong Sui felt as though he had just run a marathon; his whole body was limp with no strength to spare. Straining his eyes open, he saw Bai Tu’s delighted face. “You’re awake? Is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable?”

“No, I just lack energy. What happened to me?” Rong Sui blinked his eyes in confusion, as his memories prior to fainting flooded back. “Where is Yin Zhuzhi? I saw him—”

Before he could finish, he spotted Yin Zhuzhi standing a short distance away, tall and elegant, handsome as a painting. The person he saw before passing out wasn’t a dream. His eyes curved into crescents, and a smile broke across his lips. “You recovered?”

Yin Zhuzhi froze for a moment, then shook his head slightly. “Not yet.”

Rong Sui frowned, asking a barrage of concerned questions. “Not yet? Then will you change back into a juvenile again? Will it affect your body in any way?”

The cold, stiff lines of Yin Zhuzhi’s face softened unconsciously, though his voice remained flat. “Yes, I will change back. There are no side effects.”

Rong Sui breathed a sigh of relief, turning his thoughts back to himself, asking in confusion, “Why did I suddenly faint?”

“It was the Quanli,” Yin Zhuzhi explained. “You were collided into by the Quanli and caught their plague miasma.”

Understanding only half of it, Rong Sui asked, “So am I better now?”

“Mm.” Yin Zhuzhi said, “The Henggong Fish is good for the body. You’ll be fine after eating it.”

Although he didn’t know what a Henggong Fish was, since Yin Zhuzhi said so, it was definitely beneficial to him. Rong Sui nodded obediently and stood up to take a shower; having broken into a heavy sweat, he felt sticky all over.

While the two were talking, Bai Tu had packed up his things and slipped downstairs. Rong Sui went into the bathroom, leaving only Yin Zhuzhi in the room. Looking at the quilt soaked in sweat and crumpled into a ball, he walked over to the closet where Rong Sui usually kept the bedding, pulling out a fresh set of quilts to remake the bed.

When Rong Sui came out from his shower, he didn’t see Yin Zhuzhi in the room and assumed he had gone downstairs. But just as his bottom touched the mattress, he felt something moving inside the blanket beside him. Startled, he yanked the blanket open. “Who is it?!”

Yin Zhuzhi, who was struggling against the blanket, froze, his tail tapping the bed somewhat nervously.

“You changed back again?”

Rong Sui lay on the bed, face-to-face with Yin Zhuzhi coiled in a small ball, reaching out to poke the tiny dragon horn.