Leng Jing was a white dragon of unknown origin. While still a dragon egg, he had been sealed within the Forbidden Land of the Heavens. Due to a celestial conspiracy, his seal was broken, and he drifted to the Bihai Cangtao Valley, where he was adopted by a white snake named Leng Qingqing.
Currently, his actual age was sixty. He had no bad habits, no record of cultivation, no official registration in the celestial or demonic census, and no fixed residence. His family consisted of two members: his adoptive father, Leng Qingqing, and his servant, the White Mink.
At first glance, he seemed like a rather unremarkable dragon.
However, nightmarish events always seemed to entangle him.
Until now, he hadn't carefully considered why all of this was happening. Just a few days ago, he was merely an ordinary white dragon attempting to play at wandering the martial world—hardly a scandal compared to those tales of immortals and mortals trysting—but now, the place where he stood was destined to become the starting point of the Three Realms' second great disaster.
***
It was the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, a sweltering summer night. The moon was perfectly round, casting a clear, candle-like glow upon the earth. In front of the Yunlai Inn, no one dared to move a muscle.
The Third Prince of the Demon Realm, who had just been killed in an instant, was a rare genius produced by the Demon Realm only once in three thousand years. He was a master of both the brush and the sword, possessed grand strategic vision, and held demonic power that surpassed generations of Demon Emperors. He was the undisputed candidate to become the next Demon Emperor of the lower realm, a powerhouse and leader unprecedented in a millennium. Had he been allowed to fulfill his destiny, it would not have been impossible for him to achieve hegemony and unify the Three Realms.
As for the Third Prince’s romantic escapades, one could speak of them for three days and nights without end. There had been Holy Immortals of the Heavens who did not hesitate to fall into demonhood for his sake, and the greatest beauties of the Demon Realm who knelt at his feet. Yet, none of them had truly occupied his heart.
The final true love of his life was a pure and beautiful spirit named Leng Qingqing. Unfortunately, this karmic bond lasted only a few brief moments.
Nothing mattered anymore.
The Third Prince of the Demon Realm: age at death, one thousand nine hundred years.
Leng Jing stared at the pile of ash nearby—that was all that remained of the Third Prince.
Now, no one dared to move recklessly. Not the foolish Leng Qingqing, nor the powerful Leng Jing.
The female ghost’s screams were shrill and wretched: "Take me out! Take me away from this Wanxiang Tower! I don't want to stay here, ahhh!"
"Calm down!" Leng Jing finally shouted. "How are we supposed to take you away?"
"Take my..." The female ghost reached out, seemingly trying her best to grasp something in the air. However, only a tiny object fell from her hand before she was swiftly yanked back into the window, as if something were forcibly pulling her back.
Leng Jing, however, had seen it clearly. When the female ghost killed the Third Prince earlier, she hadn't used any demonic sorcery. Instead, she had instantaneously elongated her arm, crushed the prince alive, and then incinerated him with intense heat. The other servants had died the same way. Aside from himself, Leng Jing had never seen anyone else possess such speed.
Once the ghost retreated, all the windows slammed shut. The shivering sensation of dread receded like a tide, as if the danger had passed. Nevertheless, the others still didn't dare to move. Leng Jing walked to the spot beneath the window and picked up the item the ghost had dropped—a small, rust-covered iron token engraved with strange patterns.
These patterns appeared to be a form of script. Leng Jing examined it for a moment and then tucked it away.
"The danger is gone. The ghost has left," Leng Jing announced. Only then did the crowd breathe a sigh of relief.
However, from that day forward, business at the Yunlai Inn plummeted. Leng Jing, Leng Qingqing, and the others were also kicked out.
***
Having lost their temporary lodging, Leng Jing and Leng Qingqing had no choice but to stay at a commoner's house in the outskirts. A peasant's courtyard was a far cry from a luxury inn. Looking at the bed covered in a layer of straw, Leng Jing had no desire to sleep. Fortunately, Leng Qingqing had salvaged a silk quilt and spread it out for him, allowing Leng Jing to condescend to lie down and rest.
"Have you ever seen the script on this iron token?" Under the candlelight, Leng Jing showed the token to Leng Qingqing and the White Mink.
The two of them looked it over repeatedly, but both eventually shook their heads.
"It would be good if we knew what this meant. That female ghost felt very similar to those mutated immortals, but she seemed to be bound by something," Leng Jing said. "What exactly does this pattern mean?" One end of the iron token had a small ring, suggesting it was an ornament meant to be worn on the wrist or neck.
"I feel like this pattern looks familiar," Leng Jing muttered to himself, though he couldn't recall where he had seen it.
"Don't think too much, just sleep. Today was terrifying," Leng Qingqing and the White Mink said as they climbed into bed first.
Leng Jing lay beside Leng Qingqing. Watching him close his eyes sweetly, Leng Jing took a deep breath and suddenly asked softly, "Father, you said you were a prince of the Snake God Clan. Do you still wish to return there?"
"...There’s no one I know left there," Leng Qingqing said, turning over to face away from him. His voice carried a faint, melancholy sorrow.
"To me, ten thousand miles is but an instant," Leng Jing said calmly. "Can a person truly discard the place where they grew up so easily?"
"What’s the point of going back? Isn't it better like this? Being free, crying when I want to cry, laughing when I want to laugh?" Leng Qingqing waved his hand dismissively.
Leng Jing remained silent for a while before saying, "Back then, when the immortals of the Heavens mutated... I don't need to tell you how strong those monsters were; you know a thing or two. Qu Yue drew in the power of Chaos, driving the immortals into madness and demonhood. Among those who first received the power of Chaos—aside from the Curse Demon—was the Priest of the Snake God Clan, Bai Jing. He was your close friend. I think his suicide was not just because of his own mutation, but must have been related to the power he received."
"Xiao Jing, what are you trying to say?" Leng Qingqing asked.
"I'm saying that by observing those mutated celestials, one can see how terrifying the power of Chaos is. Bai Jing reportedly received the power of foresight. If so, his prophetic abilities must have been infinitely magnified. I'm curious to what extent—could it be... could it be that he saw every single detail of the future and thus found life meaningless? Since he possessed the power to foresee all things and see through everything, he must have foreseen my current words and actions. He saw my future as well. Did he really leave you no hints?" Leng Jing asked.
"Hints..." Leng Qingqing thought back carefully. "I was still young then. If there were any hints, let me think..."
Leng Qingqing focused hard on his memories. In his blurred impressions, Bai Jing would often pat his head and say, "Prince Qing will surely achieve extraordinary things when he grows up." At that time, all the other royals thought Leng Qingqing was a fool with no future. Precisely because Bai Jing was the only one who praised him, Leng Qingqing had wholeheartedly believed that Bai Jing was the person who treated him best.
"There don't seem to be any hints..." Leng Qingqing said, scratching his head.
"Were there no hints left in the ruins of the Snake God Clan? Did he do anything strange before his suicide?" Leng Jing asked. He had been concerned about this for a long time. It felt as though his meeting with Leng Qingqing had been orchestrated by this Bai Jing.
"Strange behavior? ...Ah! For a period before Brother Bai Jing went to the Heavens for the last time, he taught me how to sing! That's when I started loving to sing. He said that singing out the things in your heart is a very happy thing!" Leng Qingqing turned back to face Leng Jing.
In the distant past, Leng Qingqing had been a prince of the Snake God Clan, and Bai Jing had been the clan's priest. Because Bai Jing accidentally obtained the power of Chaos from beyond the Three Realms, he possessed powerful foresight and committed suicide to warn the Heavens of the coming disaster. Afterward, the Snake God Clan indeed perished, and Leng Qingqing fled to the Bihai Cangtao Valley, where he encountered Leng Jing while he was still a dragon egg.
"What did he teach you to sing? I think his suicide wasn't just to warn the Heavens. In fact, he likely foresaw that doing so would be useless. The real reason he killed himself was because he foresaw that his suicide would trigger a series of subsequent changes. If he hadn't died, Immortal Hua Yun and the others wouldn't have noticed the spread of Chaos, nor would they have gone to the Forbidden Land to break my seal. I wouldn't have been born. Therefore, he had to die. So, before he died, he must have had words for you to pass on to us in the distant future! Perhaps he even foresaw the exact moment I would ask you about this! You must be able to remember!" Leng Jing grabbed Leng Qingqing’s shoulders.
"Ah... it's so confusing. Let me think... how did the first song Brother Bai Jing taught me go? Um, um, I think it was—'The sky~ is dark~ children~~ are all~~ standing~~ outside~~~ not sleeping~ not sleeping~~~'" Leng Qingqing began to sing haltingly.
At that moment, the White Mink, who couldn't sleep because of the noise, picked up the tune and continued: "The sky~ is dark~~ children~ don't sleep~~ standing outside~ inside the house~ it's dark~ don't take the things big sister gives~ what's at the very top?~ don't look, oh don't look~"
"How do you know this song!" Leng Jing and Leng Qingqing both asked the White Mink in shock.
"Is it that strange? This song was very popular in the Demon Realm when I was little. We all sang it when we played games!" The White Mink curled his lip. "It’s as common as the nursery rhymes mortals sing when they play shuttlecock. No one knows what it means or who wrote it, but we all loved singing it back then!"
"This is the information he wanted to convey to me? Through a nursery rhyme?!" Leng Jing found it hard to believe, though it was indeed a clever method. Using an orally transmitted nursery rhyme to replace a message that might be lost to fading memory. Analyzing the lyrics... "Children standing outside and not going to bed" likely referred to the scene where the Third Prince was killed. Then, "Don't take the things big sister gives..." Leng Jing muttered the line and held up the iron token.
"So, what do I do if I've already brought the item 'big sister' gave?" Leng Jing asked the other two.
"Don't ask me. I can't remember anything else Brother Bai Jing said," Leng Qingqing turned his back and pretended to sleep. The White Mink leaned in and said, "When monsters lose a game, there's another set of nursery rhymes used for punishments. Does the Young Master want to hear them?"
"Of course," Leng Jing said.
"There has to be a trade," the White Mink said, acting important.
"What conditions?"
"Young Master, I... want... I really want... really, really want..." The White Mink began to stammer and tremble with excitement.
***
The next day.
"So the White Mink wanted to return home in glory," Leng Qingqing, disguised as the White Mink's servant, remarked as he leaned against the white dragon's horn.
Indeed, they had arrived at the White Mink's hometown—Snow Mink Valley. The White Mink was so excited he pressed his paws together, looking at the land where the mink tribe had lived for generations. He could hardly suppress the urge to scream.
He hadn't expected the Young Master to actually agree to be his exclusive mount for a day! With stars in his eyes, the White Mink turned to look at the white dragon resting in the woods. One look, however, made him feel like he urgently needed to find a latrine, so he quickly turned his head back.
"I'm back! I'm back! Children! Little ones! Come out and meet your Great Grandfather!" the White Mink shouted toward the forest.
