The Palaces of the Twelve Sacred Beasts

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

A sleepless night…

Remembering their activities last night, Gu Ting Yu's heart clenched; he felt complicated…

At the end of all the intertwining thoughts, there was a door behind which satisfaction and blissfulness was hidden.

Just a little. Even though it was just a little bit of satisfaction, Gu Ting Yu knew this was the end of him.

He was no longer the Gu Ting Yu from the past.

Nian Xing suddenly turned around to hug nothing, he frowned and murmured, "Xiao Yu… Love you…"

Gu Ting Yu returned from his daydreaming. The morning sun covered his face with a thin layer of gold, and his cheeks had a reddish hue—like that of a red lotus blooming in summer.

Cough… Cough… He coughed lightly, turning his head around to look at the others; he felt touched by Nian Xing's words, but pretended to be calm as though he was afraid someone would notice what he was thinking.

The fire they started last night had already burned out. The skyline showed a light, creamy-white color.

I should go wash up first.

He vaguely remembered seeing a river in the forest before they came here. Gu Ting Yu didn't wake the other three up; after wearing his clothes, he left their makeshift campsite.

He strolled through the forest; the woods gave off refreshing scent. Gu Ting Yu stretched his body as he remembered his answer to a question from a long time ago.

If you can only use one word to describe yourself, what would you want that word to be?

He said a word, it wasn't tenacious nor intelligent, nor was it strong…

Back then, the young Gu Ting Yu looked straight into his mother's eyes and said, "I want to be a kind person."

Gu Ting Yu sighed; he still had the vague image of his mum smiling softly after hearing his answer, as she said, "Xiao Yu, you must treat well those who love you."

Without realising, Gu Ting Yu had already walked for quite a distance; when he finally snapped out of it, the sun had already risen to the level that beams of light shot out through the leaves.

He could hear the river close by, Gu Ting Yu increased his pace and walked towards the origin of the sound.

He should return as soon as possible… If they couldn't find him when they wake up, they would get worried.

However, Gu Ting Yu had failed to notice a burly shadow tailing behind him among the bushes…

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"Xiao Yu?" Nian Xing rubbed his eyes and sat up to see that no one was beside him. He opened his tired, sleepy eyes, and stared at Zhuo Yin who was standing beside him, "Where's Xiao Yu?"

Zhuo Yin shook his head, "Qing Que is trying to find him."

"Why didn't you wake me up, so I can go search for him too?"

"We've only just woken up, too. There were no signs of struggle, so maybe Gu Ting Yu just went away to wash up…" Zhuo Yin's face darkened; trying to hide his worries inside, he said, "… This place isn't very safe. We should go find Gu Ting Yu together when Qing Que comes back later."

They thought Gu Ting Yu just went to wash up, but even after they'd waited for a long time, he still hadn't returned. Zhuo Yin had a bad feeling about this.

A huge green peacock flew towards them from afar; it reverted into human form the second the bird landed. Qing Que was worried, "Something's off… I couldn't find him anywhere nearby."

This place was surrounded by dense woods, so Qing Que could only peek through the layer of leaves up from the sky. Since he couldn't see the situation under the trees clearly, their only option was to search for Gu Ting Yu on foot.

"How do we find him?" Looking at the woods which seemed to be the same everywhere, Nian Xing said in frustration, "What if he comes back, what should we do then if none of us are here?"

"Dammit!" Zhuo Yin started cursing. If only he had paid more attention, Gu Ting Yu wouldn't now be missing.

Qing Que frowned, "I know there's a river to the north; if Gu Ting Yu went to wash up, he must have encountered trouble along the way."

He must be in trouble. Gu Ting Yu wouldn't make them worry without a reason with his personality.

The three of them walked silently among the woods, fear and worry clouding them.

… Please be alright.

Drops of blood began trailing the path they were advancing on. Zhuo Yin stopped walking as he saw a puddle of red liquid. A beast's footprint was in front of the puddle —according to the shape of the footprint, it most likely belonged to a huge feline, such as—

A leopard…"Ye Yin Ju!!?" Zhuo Yin gasped in realization.