"I'm leaving."
As this clear, weak voice fell, Li Mingzhe's entire body trembled. In an instant, he grabbed Li Xiuyuan's shoulders and said, "Yuan... Yuan'er, what... what did you say?"
Li Xiuyuan did not reply this time. He merely raised his head to look at Li Mingzhe, then broke free from Li Mingzhe's grasp and turned to walk out of the house.
In less than a minute, Li Xiuyuan had disappeared from Li Mingzhe's sight.
Li Mingzhe, still astonished by Li Xiuyuan speaking for the first time, snapped back to reality and rushed after Li Xiuyuan, who had walked out. However, after running a few steps, Li Mingzhe slowly stopped. A stream of old tears flowed down his face, and he finally closed his eyes in pain.
In Night Capital City, as Li Xiuyuan left, news spread to all the residents. Some even claimed to have personally witnessed Li Xiuyuan walking out of Night Capital City alone.
All the residents of Night Capital City knew that since the beast plague, fierce birds and beasts had frequently appeared outside the city. Now that Li Xiuyuan had left the city alone, his chances of survival were slim.
Many residents, in particular, recalled the care the Li family had previously shown them and felt a pang of regret.
Yet, even so, more people believed that Li Xiuyuan's presence was the cause of these calamities. While they felt pity for the Li family's lineage potentially ending, they could only watch Li Xiuyuan leave alone, for the sake of letting more people live.
"Patriarch, the young master... he has passed away at a young age." The old butler, who had returned to the Li family mansion, knelt down with his knees bent as he looked at Li Mingzhe standing in the courtyard. The dried tear stains on his face once again shed muddy tears.
Upon hearing this, Li Mingzhe staggered. The old butler quickly got up and rushed to support him. The trembling body made the old butler feel an inexplicable heartache and sorrow.
"Who… what beast claimed Yuan'er's life?" After a long pause, Li Mingzhe took a deep breath and slowly looked at the old butler and asked.
The old butler quickly replied, "To the Patriarch, this old servant followed the young master all the way. After the young master left the city, he was snatched away by a white tiger with fierce eyes. The grass and trees outside the city were dense, and he lost sight of him within moments."
"A white tiger with fierce eyes... Uncle Li, prepare a cenotaph for Yuan'er." Li Mingzhe said, then slowly walked towards the house. His slightly hunched back seemed to have aged considerably at that moment.
Time passed in a flash. On the seventh day after Li Xiuyuan was taken by the white tiger with fierce eyes, Night Capital City was once again hit by a wave of fierce beast attacks.
The city suffered heavy losses in this confrontation. Even though the city walls were high, a section was breached, creating an entry point. A large number of fierce beasts poured in, and Night Capital City was destroyed in an instant. Even with the rescue forces from the other nine ancient cities, they were unable to resist.
"Roar!"
Just as all the walls of Night Capital City were about to collapse, a beast roar that echoed through the sky suddenly arrived.
Following this beast roar, the attacking beast horde suddenly stopped and eventually retreated in an orderly fashion towards the outside of the city. In less than five minutes, all the beasts in the city disappeared. All that remained was rubble everywhere.
"What is happening? Why did the beast horde suddenly retreat?"
"I thought I was about to die. Why did they suddenly retreat?"
"There was a beast roar earlier. Could it be because of that sound?"
"Let's go! Let's go up to the city gate and see!"
"..."
The survivors in the city looked at each other in confusion, muttering for a moment before surging towards the city gate.
"Look, isn't that the young master of the Li family, Li Xiuyuan!"
"My heavens! What is going on? Didn't Li Xiuyuan get carried away by a large tiger when he left the city seven days ago?"
"Didn't you notice? That large tiger seems to have become the young master of the Li family's mount?"
"..."
As they ran to the city gate, they saw countless wild beasts marching in an orderly fashion towards a huge mountain range in the distance.
And leading the procession at the very front was Li Xiuyuan, riding a white tiger with fierce eyes.
As if sensing the gazes of the crowd, Li Xiuyuan, riding the white tiger with fierce eyes, suddenly stopped. He gently patted the white tiger, then turned to look at the crowd standing on the city wall.
At that moment, everyone's eyes turned to Li Mingzhe, who was surrounded by Li family guards. After all, Li Xiuyuan was Li Mingzhe's son and the young master of the Li family. Now, everyone could only place their hopes on Li Mingzhe.
"Patriarch, did the young master subdue the king of the beast horde, thus preventing this catastrophe?" The old butler wiped the sweat from his forehead and then spoke.
Li Mingzhe's expression was tinged with guilt. He wanted to speak several times, but in the end, he said nothing. He only looked at Li Xiuyuan with deep reluctance and worry.
At this moment, Li Xiuyuan glanced at Li Mingzhe, then slightly urged his mount forward. The white tiger with fierce eyes immediately turned and galloped towards the depths of the mountain range. The other tens of thousands of wild beasts followed closely behind, causing the ground to tremble with immense force.
"With Young Master Li suppressing this group of fierce beasts, I presume our Night Capital City will no longer be attacked by these beasts in the future?"
"Young Master Li is truly a divine being descended to earth. In just a few days, he subdued this group of ferocious wild beasts."
"Who was it that said all this was caused by Young Master Li's birth? It's utterly absurd! If not for Young Master Li's intervention, we would probably have become food for those beasts long ago."
"..."
As the beast horde disappeared, the survivors began to discuss amongst themselves. Their words were nothing but praise for Li Xiuyuan.
After all, in front of Li Mingzhe, people naturally said more pleasant things. And it was true that they had benefited from the white tiger with fierce eyes beneath Li Xiuyuan, otherwise, they would have perished.
Only Li Mingzhe looked in the direction of the mountain range, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. As time passed, the crowd dispersed under the guidance of the Li family guards. The collapsed houses in the city also needed to be rebuilt. xxs
Fortunately, with the manpower from the other nine ancient cities providing support, the reconstruction progress was relatively fast.
"Patriarch, it's getting dark, and the wind is strong. Let's go back." The old butler, Uncle Li, had been accompanying Li Mingzhe. As night fell, the old butler had to step forward and speak.
"Uncle Li, do you think Yuan'er… hates me?" Li Mingzhe's face showed a hint of weariness. In his lost eyes, deep guilt was overflowing.
The old butler sighed and said, "Patriarch, the young master has survived a great disaster, so he must have good fortune ahead. Furthermore, with the beast plague resolved, I believe the rumors about the young master will be dispelled. However, it is likely that the young master will not return for now."
Li Mingzhe shook his head and said, "Although the beast plague has been resolved, the natural disasters are still present. When has the world ever had a long-term perspective? Never mind, never mind. Since Yuan'er is still alive, I have nothing to worry about. Let's go back, let's go back."
Crack!
At this moment, a thunderous sound echoed through the sky, and in an instant, a torrential downpour began to fall fiercely.
Seeing the heavy rain, a look of panic flashed across Li Mingzhe's face. "Not good! With such heavy rain, the river dikes will break!"