Don’t Discriminate Against Species

The Reflecting Mist Mountain pervaded by water and fog resembled a mountain of immortals isolated from the mundane world. Its beauty was enough for one to forget all their troubles. A seven-colored divine deer raced through the mountain and forest. A bright-colored pheasant was waving its wings about. A sparrow perched on a branch broke into cheerful song. A white ape was positioned on a branch as it plucked fruit. Beneath the fruit tree, a wild pig was setting up fire to grill fish. On the other side of the mountain, a white goat was lying lazily on the ground. Not more than five steps from the goat squatted a terribly large white tiger with a tortoise crawling on its head. After an eternity, the tortoise stretched out a leg before very quickly retracting it.

When together, these few naturally antagonistic animals appeared exceptionally harmonious. They resembled an oasis disconnected from the world, with no sign of killings or death.

Zhuang Qing even saw hundreds of flowers blooming along the areas the seven-colored divine deer ran through. Tiny animals burrowed out of the soil, stealthily hiding the small flowers in their holes. The rumored Reflecting Mist Mountain actually looked like this; he finally understood how Fu Li could have been brought up to have such a kind and naive character.

"King Ganglie…" Fu Li gazed dazedly at the mountain that had suddenly appeared. He took two steps forward. Zhuang Qing regained his wits, grabbing hold of Fu Li. Along the way, he trapped the Shen yao, who was intending to sneak away, within a barrier.

All of a sudden, a man wearing a brocade gown appeared on the mountain. The man had a slender physique, and his hands were even cupped around a white rabbit. Zhuang Qing found this man somewhat familiar. Thinking of Fu Si, who had come searching for Fu Li this morning, Zhuang Qing remembered who this man was. The man wearing a brocade gown bore a very strong resemblance to Fu Si. In particular, his gentle, well-mannered demeanor when smiling was almost identical to Fu Si.

Zhuang Qing's identity in the human world was the boss of Chang Long Biotechnology Company, so he would occasionally participate in charities organized by relevant local organizations. Thus, he had seen Fu Si before.

There were no trees or leaves in this world that were identical. Naturally, there were also no two people who were exactly the same. Was it just a coincidence that this Fu Si so strongly resembled the illusory human?

Following the appearance of the man carrying the white rabbit, the animals on the mountain surrounded him. Zhuang Qing watched as the man placed the white rabbit in the white ape's hands. The animals brought the rabbit on a lap around the mountain while the man watched them from afar. The smile on his face was gentle and tolerant, yet his eyes seemed to contain a ball of fire.

Watching everything that appeared on this illusory land, Zhuang Qing's gaze landed on the white rabbit. After the white-furred rabbit was surrounded by the animals, it spent one moment scratching its ears with its front claws. The next moment, it nibbled on the fruit given by the white ape. Yet another moment later, it leaped onto the head of the white tiger, mimicking the white tiger's way of roaring. There were only images in this illusory land without any sound; Zhuang Qing could not hear the white rabbit's cries.

But even without the sound, Zhuang Qing could tell that this white rabbit was being doted on and pampered by a bunch of animals. He even thought of the parents in the human world who spoiled their children - each and every one of them treated their children like little emperors and princesses, eventually spoiling them till they went out of control.

"The wild pig with two tusks is King Ganglie. He was most fond of treating everyone to a meal. When the flowers bloomed and the fall harvest came, he would treat us to a meal. His favorite daily task is to watch me eat all sorts of things. Elder White Ape was the most naggy, while Sister Pheasant had the worst temper. Sparrow couldn't take on a human form no matter what, and Elder White Goat would sleep when idle. Elder White Tiger was the most awe-inspiring. One time, another mountain's yao cultivators came to snatch our mountain, and he was the one who fended them off. There's also the Seven-Colored Deer…" Fu Li described to Zhuang Qing the mountain's yao, the trees, and the past ways in which he had been pampered by this crowd of yao, as if doing so would allow him to bypass two thousand years and once more meet with these yao cultivators.

"What about that person?" Zhuang Qing waited for Fu Li to finish introducing the yao cultivators on the mountain before pointing at the person who was standing motionless. "Was he also a yao cultivator on the mountain?"

Fu Li shook his head. "He was the human pet I raised. Turns out… he looked like this."

He had heroic, outstanding looks, and a graceful bearing; he was a human that stood out from the rest. But too much time had passed, he had already forgotten what this person looked like.

However…

Suddenly, Fu Li stomped down heavily on the head of the Shen yao. The Shen yao smashed into the water. Only after it spat out numerous bubbles in succession did Fu Li pull it out by its horns.

"The illusion you constructed was very beautiful and also very realistic, but I have never once climbed onto Elder White Tiger's head in front of other yao. He and Elder White Ape were my teachers. There is no one who remembers the five words 'respect teachers and their teachings' more clearly than me! Wanting me to fall into your trap with this sort of shallow illusion, do you think I'm one of those petrels waiting to drop into your mouth?" Fu Li sent the Shen yao back into the sea with another stomp of his foot. After multiple rounds of this torment, the Shen yao couldn't even utter a sentence.

"D-Dragon Lord, save…"

Fu Li's palm landed smack on the Shen yao's face. The Shen yao careened through the water, creating multiple ripples on the surface of the water. Before he could escape, Fu Li once again grabbed a hold of his tail, swinging him back. The Shen's mouth popped open, and a few teeth dropped out.

"It's no use calling for anyone today," Fu Li expressionlessly pressed down on the Shen's mingmen. His face gave off a murderous air. "I don't care who got you to use someone from two thousand years ago to scheme against me, but Reflecting Mist Mountain is my baseline as a yao!"

His five claws widened. Sharp nails extended from his fingers, and his killing intent thickened. He could no longer hold himself back.

Black clouds churned in the sky. A sudden clap of thunder sounded twice.

"Fu Li," Zhuang Qing looked up at the sky and grabbed Fu Li's arm.

The Shen yao, who had thought he was a goner, was delighted. Even if Zhuang Qing was a dragon who was disloyal to his own kind, he was still a yao cultivator of the aquatic races. On the account that they were both aquatic races, there was no way he wouldn't save this life of his.

"If you kill him, how are you going to find out the identity of the mastermind?"

Shen: This dragon was a disgrace to the aquatic races!

Zhuang Qing gripped Fu Li's wrist, looking at the Shen he was squeezing in his hands. "Leave him alive for now?"

Fu Li stared at the wrist in Zhuang Qing's grip and took a deep breath. He turned and glanced at the illusion that was the Reflecting Mist Mountain on the surface of the water. With hands that trembled slightly, he took out the vermilion fan from his Qiankun pouch, and gave it a hard flap.

The illusory animals still in the midst of a merry gathering gradually blurred, as if they would fade at any time.

Fu Li closed his eyes, giving the fan another hard flap. The illusion on the water's surface vanished. The great sea was restored to how it ought to look.

Zhuang Qing wanted to utter a few words of consolation, but after seeing the serene expression Fu Li had after opening his eyes, he suddenly couldn't say anything. He turned to look at the Shen. "Who was the person who directed you?"

The Shen shook his head repeatedly, not daring to answer.

"Forget it, he won't say it. I'd better just kill him," The hand squeezing the Shen tightened even more.

The Shen shook his earth-colored tail, attempting to struggle free of Fu Li’s hand. But he realized that in Fu Li’s hands, he seemed to be a mere earthworm for whom struggle was impossible.

"Daren, let's talk if you have something to say," The Shen spoke in inaccurate Standard Mandarin. An unexpected, a slightly fawning expression appeared on its dragon-ish face. "It's not that this humble one doesn't want to tell you. This little yao is just concerned about losing his life if he does." As he spoke, he stealthily looked at Zhuang Qing, hoping that Zhuang Qing would understand the hint in his gaze.

Sadly, despite him rolling his eyeballs till they nearly fell out, Zhuang Qing merely displayed a cold face without the slightest reaction. Upon seeing this, the Shen gave up all hope. His continuously-struggling tail drooped, and he said weakly, “A few days ago, Dragon Lord Qing Yan of the azure dragon clan said that he received a favor from a human. He said that he wanted to repay this human’s kindness, and asked me to help the human find the lover from his previous life.”

Zhuang Qing narrowed his eyes. "Get to the point!"

"How can I not help when asked by a Dragon Lord? I followed what the Dragon Lord told me and helped that human to construct several memories in the hope that he will find his previous life's lover." The Shen swallowed its saliva. Seeing Fu Li's ugly expression, he corrected himself, "Actually, I don't particularly approve of romantic relationships between humans and yao, but since the Dragon Lord requested it, I didn't dare to go against him. Don't you think that makes sense?"

"The azure dragon clan again?" Fu Li's face darkened. "That's why I say there's nothing good about the dragon race."

The Shen silently glanced at Zhuang Qing.

In fact, he had similar sentiments.

Throwing the Shen aside, Fu Li directly dived into the seawater.

Zhuang Qing raised his head, looking at the densely-packed black clouds in the sky. Unable to bear the worry in his heart, he transformed into dragon form, and followed after him.

His life saved, the Shen hurriedly shook his tail, swimming as if his life depended on it. He had to put a bit more distance between him and the azure dragon clan's dragon palace, just a bit more.

"Dragons fighting dragons - that would be quite the interesting thing," The Shen swam a great distance before creating an illusion on the surface of the sea that would lure petrels.

He had suffered a fright, was riddled with injuries all over, and was both tired and hungry. In all likelihood, he was the most miserable Shen in the world.

"Aiyo, the scales on my neck fell off," The Shen slapped the water and opened his mouth, polishing off several petrels that had dropped into the illusion. He was splayed out lazily on the surface of water. "Neither side wins in a dogfight. How very interesting."

Suddenly, an enormous strange bird flew over. With a flap of its wings, he was sent flying into the distance. He stared at the dark sky and wondered dazedly how he had ended up flying.

Bang!

The Shen fell heavily into the water. His eyes widened as he watched a gigantic bird fish him up from the water.

Had he eaten too many petrels, causing a yao cultivator of the bird race to seek revenge against him?

Having been slapped around consecutively by the bird's wings, the Shen lay submerged in the water in despair. The bird might as well just peck him to death, what was it doing torturing him in such a way? Ai ai ai, don't grab his tail, it was going to break.

In the end, he floated on the surface of the sea, his belly face-down. He wondered somewhat absent-mindedly if he was witnessing the last radiance of the setting sun. Why was he seeing a firebird at sea?

Pah!

The firebird stepped on his stomach. He sank to the bottom of the sea.

Through the seawater, he saw the firebird spread out its wings. As it flew, it turned into a pheasant, vanishing at sea.

Among the aquatic races, he was a dragon-resembling Shen, yet he had been bullied by the dragon race. He could turn into a pheasant upon leaving the sea, yet he was also bullied by a pheasant. What sort of worldly logic was this? Should a Shen be bullied without any sense of self-respect?

Forget it. In any case, he had preserved his life. Whether he had any self-respect or not was inconsequential.

The Shen shook his broken tail, stealthily sinking into the thick fog surrounding the surface of the sea.

Fu Li came to a stop in front of the azure dragon clan's barrier. He took his vermilion fan and gave it a wave. Instantly, an enormous crack appeared on the barrier. Seeing an outsider invade, the patrolling shrimp and crab soldiers were just about to sound the alarm when they were sent scattering by Fu Li's fan. He made a beeline for the Crystal Palace's main door without stopping, and kicked the door with a leg.

The palace door responded by collapsing. The female yao cultivators playing inside squealed one by one as they morphed into their original forms, hiding behind pillars or coral rocks. Sticking out their heads, they secretly watched Fu Li.

"Who is trespassing on my azure dragon palace?" Qing Yuan rushed out, weapon in hand. But his footsteps came to a halt the instant he saw Fu Li. "It's you?"

Fu Li squinted as he sized up Qing Yuan. "You're not a match for me, scram."

Qing Yuan's hands shook from anger. "Fu Li, you better not be too much of a bully."

"Hah," Fu Li waved the fan at him. Qing Yuan slammed against coral stone and spat out a huge mouth of dirty blood. Fu Li cocked his head, staring at him with eyes brimming with killing intent. "I've tolerated all of you for two thousand years, but you insist on bringing up past affairs. Your azure dragon clan may have forgotten Reflecting Mist Mountain's one hundred lives, but I haven't."

Qing Yuan clutched his chest as he spat out large mouths of blood. Reflecting Mist Mountain? A hundred lives?

What madness was Fu Li going on about?

"Elder Qing Yuan, are you all right?" A jellyfish yao in its human form supported Qing Yuan, asking somewhat fearfully, "What does this yao want to do?" He had seen this yao the other time when the Kunpeng charged into the dragon palace. He seemed to be an employee of the management bureau.

Their azure dragon clan hadn't even left the sea in recent times, so why was the management bureau causing trouble for them?

Fu Li had no regard for how others viewed him. Fortunately, he was still in possession of some rationality and didn't engage in a killing spree. The soldiers he encountered on the way were all sent flying to one side. His goal was the dragon palace's main hall.

A dragon came forward to stop him. Without a single word, Fu Li directly waved the fan. Not long later, the dragon palace's glazed roof tiles were blown off, revealing bare eaves. None of the jade artifacts and treasures displayed inside had a good end either - some were sent flying and others were broken; not one was left intact.

When the Head of the azure dragon clan led soldiers out, Fu Li's hand was wrapped around a dragon's horn. Seeing that the Head of the clan had appeared, he released the dragon horn, and the dragon hurriedly hid behind the Head.

"The arrival of a noble guest at our doors is my clan's fortune. But this daoyou has demonstrated great momentum that may not be very polite," The Head of the azure dragon clan gripped the walking stick in his hand tightly. "May I know the reason for this noble guest's rudeness?"

"Is it polite for a noble clan to make use of the Shen yao to scheme against me?" Fu Li pointed the vermilion fan at the dragons in front of him. "That year, your azure dragon clan made trouble at Weishui and caused countless people to drown to death. Have you forgotten how you made the mothers in the human world weep for their children and the husbands weep for their wives?"

The Head's expression underwent a drastic change. The incident two thousand years ago was their azure dragon's clan's nightmare. Ever since then, the azure dragon clan no longer dared to conduct themselves so casually outside. As the azure dragon clan's position among the yao clans rose, virtually no one dared to mention this incident in their presence. Who exactly was this yao who dared to bring up this past matter?

"My Reflecting Mist Mountain had close to a hundred yao, and every single one of them perished in the hands of the azure dragons. Today, your azure dragon clan actually has the shame to scheme against me with this matter," Fu Li's grip around the vermilion fan tightened. "I will have a showdown with your azure dragon clan today, even if heavenly law disallows it."

The red shade of the vermilion fan in his hands gradually deepened, till it resembled a flaming blaze. The dragon clan didn't dare to approach.

"The Vermilion Bird's true natal fire…" The hands of the Head of the azure dragon clan trembled. He spoke to his clansmen in a low voice, "No one is to touch that fan. The fire on it is the bane of our azure dragon clan."

He looked towards Fu Li and attempted to resolve this grudge. "It was indeed our azure dragon clan who was at fault two thousand years ago. But that year's events have passed. Our azure dragon clan has also paid a price and was taught a lesson. I implore this daoyou to show leniency."

"Since you were taught a lesson, then why did your azure dragon clan still collude with the Shen?" Fu Li laughed icily. "I know your race was born arrogant, but the world contains a great number of creatures. Not everything will be within your calculations."

"I was the one who did it, it has nothing to do with the other dragons," Qing Yan, who had yet to recover from his old injuries, walked out from the back. He stood in front of all the azure dragons. "I was just helping daoyou to find the person you once had an affinity with, why the anger?"

Fu Li observed Qing Yan's perfunctory demeanor and thought of all the yao on Reflecting Mist Mountain. His eyes gradually turned a shade of gold. "If I hadn't been weak and fearful of death that year, the yao cultivators on Reflecting Mist Mountain wouldn't be used by you azure dragons two thousand years after their death."

Heavenly law? Benevolence? Order in the world? What did all that have to do with him?

A long, bestial mark appeared on Fu Li's forehead as he attacked Qing Yan with the fan. The situation prompted the Head of the azure dragon clan to transform into dragon form and move forward to lend Qing Yan a hand.

Forcibly tearing open a passage connecting the human world and underworld, destroying the illusion weaved by the Shen, and the continuous fighting he had engaged in all the way from the dragon palace's main entrance had already consumed a considerable amount of Fu Li's spiritual strength. But at this moment, he battled the two azure dragons as if fatigue and pain was alien to him.

"Fu Li!" Zhuang Qing saw an azure dragon bite Fu Li's shoulder. He broke into a run, transformed into a dragon, and shoved the azure dragon aside. However, Fu Li paid no heed to the wound on his shoulder. Waving the raging inferno that was the fan, he aimed it at the heads of the azure dragons.

Zhuang Qing felt that there was something not quite right with Fu Li. He seemed to have experienced qi deviation. Startled, he tried to stop Fu Li, but was grabbed by the horns instead.

"Don't get in my way," Fu Li's golden pupils contained no emotion. Dark golden bestial marks covered his entire face.

Zhuang Qing stared blankly. In the past, even if Fu Li was unhappy, the most he would do was complain a few times. All he had in his mind was getting into university and becoming a civil servant. His temper was mild and he was easy to talk to. But not only did this golden-eyed Fu Li give off thick yao qi, his entire person exuded an air of cruelty. His current stance strongly resembled the Zhuyan and Oujiang.

He was cold and made light of life. To the extent that he… burned with murderous spirit.

Rumble!

A sudden clap of thunder sounded in the sky. The sound of thunder traversed the great sea, entering the dragon palace. Remembering the devastation Oujiang had suffered, Zhuang Qing intended to stop Fu Li. But he then caught sight of two dragons mounting a sneak attack on Fu Li. With a swing of his tail, he chased away the two dragons.

"Zhuang Qing!" Qing Yuan walked in from outside, a hand clutching his chest. "This yao cultivator wants to annihilate our dragon clan, and you actually helped him. Are you in the same boat as him?"

Zhuang Qing was on guard against the azure dragons crowding around him. "The azure dragon clan has violated the management bureau's rules. It is very normal for there to be some conflict when my colleague and I investigate."

Roar!

Fu Li, who was currently embroiled in a fierce battle with the Head of the azure dragon clan and Qing Yan, suddenly transformed into his original form. He opened his mouth, let out a long roar, and bit into Qing Yan's back.

Thick dragon blood flowed along his mouth, streaming into Fu Li's throat. Its sweetness and fragrance awakened the hunger in Fu Li's heart. Swallowing the fresh blood in his mouth, Fu Li took a few more bites, the blood staining his white fur red.

"H-He swallowed Elder Qing Yan's flesh," Fear rendered a jellyfish yao unable to even form complete sentences. "A r-rabbit… ate a dragon."

Roar! Fu Li's body was dyed red by dragon's blood. His eyes had already turned golden-red. Hearing the jellyfish yao's shriek, he twisted his head towards the jellyfish yao and let loose a roar. Dragon blood dripped out of his mouth.

The jellyfish was so frightened that its entire body broke out into trembles. Its buttocks plopped onto the ground, both hands propping it up from the ground. Kicking its legs, it shrank back. He was clearly just a tiny rabbit yao, but why was he so frightening? As if… as if he could swallow it any moment.

Rumble. Rumble.

Another two claps of thunder sounded in the sky.

Fu Li paid no attention to the jellyfish yao and continued biting the flesh on Qing Yan's tail as Qing Yan issued pained howls. Yet, Fu Li didn't seem to have heard all these. All he did was mechanically open his mouth and tear at the flesh. Soon, an enormous bloody hole appeared in Qing Yan's dragon tail.

After consuming his first bite of dragon flesh, Fu Li felt as if his entire body was brimming with power. A voice in the deepest recesses of his heart was telling him to eat the dragon, to make sure that he ate the dragon.

He was originally born to eat dragons.

Born to… eat dragons?

"King Ganglie, can dragon flesh be eaten?"

"Dragons are similar to the Feiyi who scared you - both are furless, smooth-skinned creatures. They definitely don't taste good. They soak in the water all day long; their flesh could be fishy for all we know."

King Ganglie had lied to him. Dragon flesh was clearly delicious. It was fragrant, tender, tasty, and even contained plenty of spiritual qi.

"We might have been born yao, but we must not recklessly harm living things. More importantly, we must never eat yao with intelligence. The moment we do so, we will never be able to turn back."

"What if I ate it by accident?"

The mouth tearing into dragon flesh paused. Fu Li's eyes appeared red yet golden. His front claws pressing against the dragon couldn't stop trembling.

"Little Fu Li, none of the yao cultivators on Reflecting Mist Mountain eat indiscriminately."

"Then what if I ate it?"

"If you ate it…"

"If you ate it… stay far away from us. Don't ever return to Reflecting Mist Mountain. Don't let us know."

Reflecting Mist Mountain could never be returned to. This had been the case a long time ago.

The gold in Fu Li's eyes gradually dimmed. The color of red filled his eyes.

Why leave such an evil dragon clan alive? Eat them, eat them!

Despite Qing Yan's pained howls, no dragon dared to approach Fu Li. Because the red light emanating from Fu Li's body made any dragon that approached feel like they were being roasted alive by an inferno, their soul ripped apart.

Rumble rumble rumble!

Nine claps of thunder sounded consecutively in the sky. The glow of thunder could be seen from the dragon palace.

"Fu Li," Zhuang Qing transformed into his human form. Bit by bit, he approached the red light. The glow of the red light turned his entire body a deep red. He felt hot all over, as if he was a person made of fire.

Rumble!

A purple bolt of lightning broke through the layers of clouds, and penetrated the great sea towards the azure dragon palace. This bolt of lightning flooded the entire area in the sea with light, as if it was daytime.

Zhuang Qing reached out and finally grabbed hold of the blood-red rabbit ears.

"Do you still want to be a civil servant?"

Zhuang Qing's palm landed smack on the rabbit's head, causing the rabbit to kick its legs out.

Thunder and lightning flickered. Lightning struck, illuminating the rabbit's golden eyes.

Ilyz: QAQ