He Yuzhu returns in Siheyuan

Chapter 794 Dragon Slayer Appears

Xiao Li waved her hand, her eyes and brows beaming with genuine joy: "The children are so well-behaved, not naughty at all. They even helped me hand them the vegetable basket and pick the greens. Their little hands were clumsy, but they did a pretty good job. Anyway, I'm going to the kitchen to start the fire. Didn't you want to make chicken soup? I'll help you—to be honest, cooking is much more interesting than I imagined. Listening to the 'thump thump' sound when chopping vegetables, watching the flames 'crackling' as I tend the fire, and especially seeing you all eating with grease dripping from your mouths, that sense of satisfaction is more interesting than burying yourself in cultivation."

Meanwhile, Long Si and Xiao Shuai were sitting in an old teahouse on the street corner. Their window seat offered a perfect view, allowing them to see the weathered wooden door of He Yuzhu's house. Long Si held a celadon teacup, the warm surface of the cup soothing his fingertips. His gaze was deep as he looked out the window, his brow slightly furrowed, lost in thought. His gaze held a mixture of inquiry—a puzzlement about what secrets this seemingly ordinary human courtyard held; a sense of doubt—why was that aura both familiar and strange?; and a subtle, complex emotion, as if he were recalling some distant past.

Xiao Shuai stood ramrod straight to the side, hands at his sides, not daring to even breathe loudly. He secretly glanced at the courtyard gate opposite from the corner of his eye, his heart pounding with anxiety: The Dragon Clan Chief had been watching for almost an hour now, was he going to go in or not? He was still waiting to return to the Demon Clan to report, and if this dragged on any longer, who knew what unexpected changes might occur.

The waiter in the teahouse came to refill the water twice, the spout of the teapot tapping against the rim of the cup with a soft sound, but the two still didn't say a word. Only the faint aroma of tea slowly permeated the air, mingling with the evening breeze blowing in from outside the window, carrying an indescribable silence, like an invisible net enveloping this small corner.

As night slowly crept in, the last rays of dawn were swallowed by the darkness, and the streetlights gradually came on, casting a warm glow over the old street. Long Si's gaze remained fixed on the direction of He Yuzhu's house. He slowly put down his teacup, muttering to himself, his voice filled with confusion: "No mistake, it's him... But why is he so weak now?"

Long Si couldn't understand it at all. Long Shishen was a genius that the dragon clan rarely saw in thousands of years. He was born with the power to kill gods. Back then, in terms of talent, none of his peers could match him. However, a hundred years ago, he insisted on going out to train, saying that he wanted to explore the three realms and see different scenery. After that, he disappeared without a trace.

A hundred years is a long life for humans who live only a day, but for the long-lived dragon race, it is but a fleeting moment. Long Si had thought that with his talent for slaying gods, his strength after a hundred years of training would be unfathomable, but he never expected... If the person in front of him was really him, how could he be so weak that he could hardly sense the aura of a dragon?

Long Si clenched his fists, his heart pounding with excitement, eager to rush over and get to the bottom of things. But his legs felt like lead, and he couldn't take a step—he couldn't just barge in and drag He Yuzhu out for questioning, could he? That would be too disrespectful to the Dragon Clan, and besides, what if he mistook someone for someone else?

Unbeknownst to him, He Yuzhu in the courtyard was also feeling uneasy. Since evening, he had felt a gaze fixed on him from outside the window, a gaze carrying a familiar pressure that made him inexplicably uneasy. He tried to restrain himself, but finally couldn't bear it any longer and got up to go out and see what was happening.

He Yuzhu pushed open the courtyard gate with a creak, and as soon as he stepped out, he bumped into Xiao Li, who was carrying an empty bowl out of the kitchen. Xiao Li was taken aback for a moment and asked, "He Yuzhu, what are you doing out so late?"

He Yuzhu stopped and mumbled, "It's stuffy inside, I'm going out for a walk."

Looking at his tense profile, Xiaoli felt something was off—he was fine during dinner, so why did he suddenly become so restless? She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but swallowed the words back, only saying, "It's chilly at night, come back early."

He Yuzhu grunted in response, turned, and walked into the night, his steps hurried as he looked toward the teahouse on the street corner. Long Si, standing by the window, saw him leave, his eyes suddenly narrowing, his fingers gripping the table tightly.

Xiao Li had already changed into her clothes and was carrying the water bottle she had prepared for He Yuzhu. When she saw that he was going out alone, a look of surprise flashed across her face, but she swallowed her words. He Yuzhu smiled and patted her shoulder: "Xiao Li, I want to go out for a stroll by myself and see what's going on in the neighborhood. You don't need to come with me. Just stay home and take care of the children."

Xiao Li nodded and didn't ask any more questions—she knew He Yuzhu had something on his mind, and if he didn't want to talk about it, there was no point in pressing him. She simply handed him the water bottle and said softly, "Go early and come back early. I've saved dinner for you."

He Yuzhu took the kettle, turned around, and went out of the courtyard. Just as he reached the alley entrance, he saw Lao Si standing guard under the old locust tree with his hands behind his back, like a door god. He walked up to him and patted his arm: "Alright, that's all for you here. Go back and rest. I'll let you know if there's any movement."

The fourth brother nodded, a look of relief on his face—guarding here didn't require much effort, but it was incredibly boring, requiring constant vigilance. "Then I'll head back first. Call me anytime if the sect leader needs anything." With that, he flashed into the alley next door and quickly disappeared.

He Yuzhu stood still, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings. The brick seams in the corner of the wall, the roof tiles, the old dog sunbathing under the opposite wall... After confirming that no one else was around, he slightly curled the corners of his mouth and said loudly to the air, "Now we can have a proper chat. I didn't expect that you would notice the little commotion last time, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many twists and turns."

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft laugh came from behind the opposite wall. Long Si walked out slowly, his dark robes gleaming with dark patterns in the sunlight. His eyes held a hint of inquiry: "Godslayer, what exactly is going on? Why do you leave your perfectly good divine position and insist on staying in this mortal realm, creating so many entanglements?"

He Yuzhu, or rather, Long Shishen, looked up at the drifting clouds in the sky and smiled: "What else could it be? I've reached a bottleneck in my cultivation and haven't made any progress for a thousand years. I was thinking of going to the mortal world to experience birth, aging, sickness, death, and the seven emotions and six desires. Maybe I can gain some insights."

He paused, his eyes softening slightly: "You don't know, the lives of mortals may seem mundane, but they are full of flavor. There is warmth in the daily necessities, anger in the quarrels between neighbors, and even the sound of pots and pans clattering together is more real than the celestial music from the heavens."

Long Si frowned, clearly unable to understand: "Do you know what it means to be reborn into a mortal body? Once you enter the cycle of reincarnation, your divine essence will fall into slumber, only to awaken at the moment of death and separation of the soul. If anything goes wrong during this period, at best your cultivation will be completely destroyed, at worst your soul will be scattered. Are you crazy?"