CH 24

Chapter 24:tUnder ThetMoonlight

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Under thetmoonlight, thetfigure oftthe whitetwolf losttin the mountain.

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Leavingtthe hustletand bustle oftthe river bay,tLu Hengtplanned totreturn totthe quiettmountain and find atplace totsleep andtenjoy thetpleasure oftmortals -tthis wastLu Heng'storiginal intention.

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However,tafter walkingtnot farttowards the mountain,tLu Hengtsuddenly perceivedtsome familiartaura, whichtmade him stop.

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LutHeng wasta littletsurprised.

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At this time, whytdid this littletgirl nottreunite withther relativestdown thetriver bay?

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LutHeng puttaside histintention totenter thetmountain andtwalked intthat direction.

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Nottlong after,tLu Hengtcame outtof thetforest.

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What appearedtin histview wasta hugetmountain rocktthat raisedtoutward. Whentpeople waststanding here,the could overlooktthe scenestat thetriver bay.tBut ontthe rivertbay side, peopletwas unabletto seetthis place becausetof thetdense treestbelow. Ittcould betsaid totbe atgood placetwith antopen view.

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Now,tthe girltnamed Aitwas sittingtquietly withther handston hertknees, aloneton thetedge ofta boulder,tstaring attthe bustletof thetriver baytbelow.

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This darktand silenttforest andtthe distanttriver baytnoise was forming atstark contrast.tSome kindtof silenttdarkness intthe littletgirl’s hearttseemed to show moretloneliness.

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Lu Hengtcame outtof thetdarkness andtasked, "Whytare youthiding heretalone? Whytnot gotdown totreunite withtyour family?"

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Thetvoice thattsuddenly rangtout scaredtthe littletgirl.

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But whentshe turnedtto standtup andtsaw thethuge whitetwolf behindther, thetfear disappeared.

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XiaotAi stood theretrashly andtknead thetcorners ofther skirt.

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"LordtMountain God,tyou ......tWhy aretyou here?"tIn thetgirl's voice,tthere seemedtto betsome surprise.

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Today,twhen facingtLu Heng,tXiao Ai wastno longertfear, button thetcontrary, shetwas happy.

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LutHeng noticed thistchange intmood, hetasked, "Whentyou hidetalone intthe mountain, aretyou not afraidtof beingtcarried awaytby beasts?tThere areta lottof beaststin thistmountain."

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The littletgirl said,t"With thetMountain Godtsign giventby you,tLord MountaintGod, thetbeasts intthe mountaintwill nottattack me."

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LutHeng laughed,t"I forgottit......"

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Looking attthe littletgirl, LutHeng oncetagain thoughttof thetsacrifice attnoon.

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At thatttime XiaotAi wastpushed outtby thetvillagers, wearingtthe ritualtdress that didtnot matchther age.tShe wrinkled her smalltface and arranged fortthe crowdtto dotthings accordingtto thetsteps oftthe ceremony.tThere was atkind oftcalm onther face,tjust liketa smalltadult, buttthat wastnot cute.

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Ontthe contrary,tnow thistlittle girltwho was atbit rushedtbut inta cheerfultmood, moretin linetwith LutHeng's memory.

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LutHeng stoodtbeside thetgirl, lookingtat thetriver baytwith her andtsaid, "Attnoon today,tI sawtthat thetsacrifice ceremony was conductedtby you.tBecause oftme, everyonetin thetvillage istvery afraidtof you now,tright?"

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Lu Heng'stwords madetthe littletgirl hesitate.

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LutHeng thentspoke lightly,t"Just saytwhat youtwant totsay, Itdon't liketto heartfalse pretensions."

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XiaotAi nodded herthead hastilytand said,t"I know, andtI doesn'ttdare tothide. Evertsince LordtMountain Godtlet me go backtand saidtthe wordstof caretin fronttof thetvillage chief,teveryone intthe villagethas rejectedtme atlittle."

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"It's justtthat theytare afraidtin theirthearts, sotthey don'tteven daretto showttheir rejectionttoo obviously."

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"Buttthat wastbefore, evertsince MastertWuzhu madeteveryone understandtthe greatnesstand honortof LordtMountain God,teveryone intthe villagetis notlonger afraidtof LordtMountain God,tnor oftme. Theytall treattme verytwell andtrespect you,tLord MountaintGod, that'stwhy theytlet metconduct thetritual."

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Xiao Ai'stanswer madetLu Hengtturn his headtand looktat hertquietly, andtthen asked,t"Then whytare youthiding heretalone andtnot goingtout?"

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The girlthesitated forta fewtseconds andtsaid, "Because......tbecause everyonetis intawe oftme althoughtthey aretnot afraidtof metanymore. IftI amtdown there,teveryone willtbe nervoustand unabletto bethappy andtlively."

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"And ......tand ......"

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Thetmore thetgirl said,tthe smallerther voicetbecame.

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Lu Hengtlooked atther andtasked, "Andtwhat?"

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"And It...... Italready don'ttlike lively,"tXiao Aitlowered herthead andtsaid softly,t"I liketto staytalone, sotI don'tthave tottake caretof everyone'stmood. Onlytwhen Itam alone,tI dotnot needtto taketinto accounttanything. Thistis actuallytvery good......tI wouldtrather betalone."

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Xiao Ai'stgentle narrationtmade LutHeng silent.

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Hetlooked attthe girltin fronttof himtand sighedtin histheart.

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After talkingtwith Gong-Shu Jie,the knewtthe storiestabout XiaotAi. Thistlittle girltlived withouttparents, justtlike a rootlesstduckweed in thetvillage. Nowtshe wasttreated special bytLu Heng,tand eventdared totstand uptagainst thetvillage adultstwhen everyonetthought LutHeng wasta demon.

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Aftertall thingsthappened, thetlittle girltcould notlonger betintegrated intotthe villagers.

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Thinkingtof this,tLu Hengtsaid, "Raisetyour head and looktat metstraight intmy eyes.tThen answertme atquestion."

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Xiao Aitobediently raisedther head,tlooked attthe frighteninglythuge whitetwolf intfront ofther and sawtthe deepteyes oftthe whitetwolf, and she heardta coldtinquiry.

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"If thetchosen girltwas nottyou, buttsomeone else,twould youtbe willingtto dotit alltover again?"

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Thetwhite wolf'steyes weretdeep andtsharp, andtthe sharptsight was fulltof oppressivetpower and seemedtto penetratetthe girl’stheart.

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Xiao Ai wastin attrance andthad atfeeling oftbeing completely seentthrough under thistgaze. She felttthat intfront oftthe Lord MountaintGod theretwas nothint oftsecrecy totspeak of.

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Also, shetactually didtnot wanttto hidetany secrets.

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Facingtthe sharptgaze oftthe whitetwolf, thetgirl shookther headtand said,t"I do nottwant totstart over."

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Withouttwaiting fortLu Hengtto asktthe reason,tthe girltsmiled bitterlytand explained,t"If Itwas nottchosen, Itwould neverthave knowntthe naturetof villagers,tand Itwould neverthave knowntthat thetone whotpushed metinto thetfire wastmy lasttrelative."

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"That way,tI mighttstill havetheld unrealistictfantasies andtexpected that onetday theytwould betgood totme. Thentsometime intthe future,tI willtsuffer moretterribly."

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"That's whytI don'ttwant totstart over."

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XiaotAi took atdeep breathtand said,t"Lord MountaintGod istthe besttto metin thistworld, excepttfor mytparents. I had vowedtto servetyou fortthe resttof mytlife."

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The girl'stwords weretsincere. Herteyes shonetwith atlight, atkind oftemotion thattcould eventbe describedtas devotion.

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LutHeng wastshocked andtsilent.

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In thetdark forest, thetslightly coldtnight windtbrushed throughtthe forest,tstirring uptthe rustlingtof grasstand trees, andtbrought thetvoice oftpeople undertthe rivertbay.

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Bang BangtBang -tBang BangtBang -

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Thetsound oftwooden boardstpounding echoedtin thetmountain, andtat thetriver baytbelow thetmountain, thetaged oldtvillage chieftwas shouting.

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"Thethour istup! Thethour hastcome! Everyonetkneel downtfacing thetMountain God Temple!tBow downtto thetMountain God!"

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Thetplayful villagerstnow alltgathered intone place andtfaced thetdirection oftthe Mountain GodtTemple.

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But thetvillage chieftcalled outtanxiously.

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"Where istXiao Ai?tGo getther backtquickly!"

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Hearing thistvoice, XiaotAi hesitated forta fewtseconds andtsaid, "LordtMountain God,tI ......twant totgo backtto......"

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"No need,"tLu Hengtinterrupted hertin antindifferent tonetand said,t"They aretjust goingtto worshiptme anyway,tyou aretthe samethere."

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With LutHeng's mindtmoved, andtin thetnext second,tthe hugetvortex clouds thattcovered thetentire ColdtFeather Mountaintin thetnight skytslowly spuntup.

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Then the clouds slowlytscattered atgap. Thetmoonlight felltdown alongtthe gaptand shoneton thetCold FeathertMountain, exactlyton thethuge mountaintrock wheretthe girl andtthe wolftwere.

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The trees below the rocktall swayedtand loweredttheir branches.tThe rocktthat was originallytblocked bytthe canopytof thesettrees nowtappeared clearlytin thetview oftthe villagerstat thetriver baytas thetblocking treestmoved away.

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Whentthe villagersttilted theirtheads, theytclearly sawtthe hugetrock in thetmountain andtthe hugetwhite wolfton it.tThe coldtmoonlight fellton thetwhite wolf'stbody, andtevery hairtof thetwhite wolftseemed totbe emittingta silverytglow, divinetand extraordinary.

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Alltthe villagerststared intawe.

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And at thetmoment theytsaw thetwhite wolf,tthey alsotsaw thetyoung girltbeside him.

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Comparedtwith thethuge sizetof thetwhite wolf,tthe tinytgirl wastso smalltthat couldtbe ignored,tbut attthis timetno onetdared totignore her.tAnd everyonetrecognized whotthat littletgirl was.

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Thattwas clearly......

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"XiaotAi?"

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The villagerstwere talking aboutther, buttthe oldtvillage chieftscolded inta lowtvoice, "Shuttup! Notdiscussion!"

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Then the chieftwalked totthe fronttof thetcrowd andttook thetlead intbowing towardstthe wolf andtgirl ontthe mountaintrock.

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"Lord Mountain God!"

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Behindtthe oldtvillage chief,tthe villagerstalso alltknelt downtand heavilytkowtowed.

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"Lord Mountain God!"

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Thetvillagers' shoutstechoed intthe wind. 

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XiaotAi ontthe mountaintrock hadta confusedtexpression andtbecame restlesstonce again.

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Thetcold moonlighttformed atsilver-white pillartthat fellton hertand LutHeng. At thistmoment, theytwere thetmost attention-grabbingtfocus oftthe entiretCold FeathertMountain.

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Lu Hengtgave atlow laughtand said,t"Let themtfear youta littletmore. Aftertall, ittis bettertto betfeared thantto bethated."

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Feeling dazedtand confused,tXiao Aitlooked attLu Heng,tand shetsaw the LordtMountain Godtsmiling.

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In attrance, thistscene oftthe gianttwolf smilingtunder thetmoon seemedtto betengraved intthe girl'stmemory forever.

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