After working under Leon for so many years, the Black Goat, having developed a strong ntal fortitude, convinced himself in just half a second. He took the cigarette from the hoof of the old ox, grinned, and lit it up with joy. Then...
"Thud, thud, thud!"
Oh no!
Hearing the hurried footsteps coming from the staircase behind him, the Black Goat’s expression changed, and he quickly warned:
"It’s Anna! The smoke from your cigarette is too thick! The kitchen is just one floor below the rooftop, she might have seen the smoke and co to check! Quick, hide the cigarette!"
"Moo (Oh)"
Upon hearing the Black Goat’s warning, the old ox nodded compliantly and just slightly opened his mouth to swallow the thirty-plus centiter cigarette, then shook his cow’s head disdainfully, refusing the Black Goat’s offer to help hide the cigarette.
"Moo moo moo (You’ve already mouthed it and got saliva on it, I’m not helping you hide it)"
"..."
Darn it!
Unexpectedly, his newly recognized (one-sided) little brother was so disloyal, unwilling to throw this epic cigarette down the stairs, yet afraid of getting caught by Anna who was coming to check.
So the Black Goat gritted his teeth, stomped his hoof, and, under the surprised gaze of the old ox, tilted his head, opened his mouth, and swallowed the thirty-plus centiter cigarette whole, then jumped back to the temporary sheep pen on the rooftop, resuming his guise as an honest Black Goat.
"Creak!"
After painstakingly pushed open the rusty iron door, she barreled out of the staircase. Seeing the peaceful rooftop in front of her, Anna, holding a bucket of water, couldn’t help but be slightly startled.
I just saw smoke from up here, how is it gone as soon as I ca up?
Although it seed like nothing had happened, Anna, out of caution, did not leave directly. Instead, she carefully searched the rooftop, even rummaging through the haystack fed to the cow and goat duo, checking all possible positions for a fire source, yet found nothing.
Strange... could I have really seen it wrong?
Feeling that the smoke she saw earlier was unlikely to be an illusion, Anna furrowed her brows after searching fruitlessly and instinctively turned her gaze toward the only two living creatures on the rooftop... the old ox leisurely chewing on hay in the pen.
"Moo~"
Why are you looking at ? I’m just a regular old ox. Could I possibly start talking and tell you who lit the fire?
"..."
The ox big brother brought back is really peculiar, especially this look... If it weren’t a cow, I might have thought it was a cunning old man... never mind...
After shaking her head slightly, Anna, confirming there was no fire source, picked up the bucket and was about to leave, but suddenly caught a mysterious fragrance wafting up to her nose, like... smoked lamb?
"Ah!"
Watching the pen, where the Black Goat suddenly started to tremble, smoke billowing out of his ears and nostrils, his short fur beginning to ignite spontaneously, Anna couldn’t help but cry out in surprise, hurriedly kicking the trembling Black Goat to its side and pouring the bucket of water over it.
Oh no! Big brother, your goat’s on fire!
...
"What on earth happened?"
After bringing ho the "mysterious origin" son and leaving him in the care of Anna, who manages everything that defies expectations, Leon frowned as he looked at the Black Goat, now turned charred black:
"Anna said she saw a big puff of smoke on the rooftop from the opposite window, and after coming up, she found you on fire. No amount of water could put it out, and it burned the haystack and sundries on the rooftop... Didn’t I tell you two to behave these days? What on earth are you doing?"
"..." x2
I really don’t know, I’m just an old ox who enjoys a smoke.
I don’t know either, I’m just a Black Goat that occasionally self-combusts.
Tsk... judging from the behavior of these two, it’s likely they were smoking and boasting without noticing setting the pen on fire, then were too embarrassed to admit... never mind, this isn’t the ti to bother with this.
After glaring at the Black Goat, who appeared to be the pri culprit, Leon, seeing that no one was hurt and it’s unlikely to happen again, didn’t pursue the matter of the house burning down. Instead, he gestured to the old ox, frowning, and asked:
"I want to ask you sothing... do you still rember the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits?"
"Moo moo? (The Master of Ten Thousand Spirits? That mare disguised as a doe?)"
"Yes, that’s her."
After rummaging through the scorched haystack, finding a bundle still in decent condition, Leon sat down with furrowed brows and spoke:
"As I was about to head ho with my son, word ca from the Cleaning Bureau that the Ancestral Land of Ten Thousand Spirits suddenly started shrinking, and then soone fell from its edge into the Holy Spirit Realm among the fourteen planes, likely the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits."
"Moo moo moo? (So... Did Fred destroy the Ancestral Land of Ten Thousand Spirits too? The Master of Ten Thousand Spirits escaped death?)"
"It seems so."
Leon nodded slightly.
"She directly contacted the Cleaner stationed in the Holy Spirit Realm and got the contact info for Cleaning Bureau headquarters. According to Taurus Pavilion’s report, the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits looked quite battered, and seed to have lost most of her origin."
"Moo moo moo? (So what’s her aim in coming to the real world? Seeking refuge? Or seeking your help?)"
"Seeking help."
Recalling what the Aries Director relayed, Leon said:
"According to the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits, she and 12 colluded with Fredri in secret for so selfish reasons, trading for a bit of the dream origin, and joined forces with the Star Dominator, planning to connect the stellar and spirit realms."
But Fredri employed so unknown thod, launching a surprise attack just as they were about to succeed, killing 12 outright, and severely injuring both her and the Star Dominator, shattering the forming spirit realm, and forcibly mashing all the ’origin planes’ together.
Then, the attacked Star Dominator, unable to withstand Fredri, fled towards the Ring Ti Mountain under pursuit, then was forced by Fredri to leap from the peak of the Ring Ti Mountain."
Jumped from Ring Ti Mountain?
Upon hearing this, the old ox hissed, then stopped pretending to be a regular cow, and spoke human words with full surprise in his eyes:
"Beneath the mountain mouth of the Ring Ti Mountain are temporal chaos! Jumping down is pretty much like perishing, isn’t it?"
"Not yet."
Leon shook his head and said:
"The Master of Ten Thousand Spirits said that after that donkey jumped from the peak of Ring Ti Mountain, Fredri left, and she has a soul seed on the Star Dominator. After Fredri left, she mustered the courage to check.
She found that donkey hadn’t been swept away by the temporal chaos but was like Director Ando and Aries Director, pursued by Column Gods into Ring Ti Mountain, temporarily trapped in a sowhat stable temporal layer, not yet falling into the depths of the temporal chaos, just unable to get up..."
"Too fake, too fake! How’s it that coincidental?"
Before Leon could finish speaking, the old ox, familiar with Ring Ti Mountain, was shaking his head vehently, directly refuting:
"Inside Ring Ti Mountain there are countless temporal layers recording history, but each second countless of them co into and go out of existence, few remain stable for a month before blown away by the temporal chaos; the probability is dauntingly low.
In my view, that deer definitely has an issue; either she’s clueless about the situation and got deceived by Fred, or Fred’s holding sothing over her, directly collaborating with her to trick you into going."
"I also think there’s a problem here."
Nod affirming the old ox’s judgnt, Leon added:
"Although I’m not clear about the situation of Ring Ti Mountain, I know Fredri quite well; her moves have purpose, hardly shooting without aim, and this isn’t the first ti she’s tried to lure to the Ring Ti Mountain.
Back when the seafloor froze, the four Column Gods tried to trick into going to the Ring Ti Mountain by collaborating with Evangelin, then Director Ando and Aries Director got chased into the Ring Ti Mountain by the Column Gods, waiting for rescue, now the Star Dominator allegedly escaped to the Ring Ti Mountain, needing my rescue...
What’s really happening with Ring Ti Mountain? Why is Fredri so eager for to go there?"
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