Striving for Science C56

"Lord, please wait!"

"Lord, ahead is our Beast Yao clan's temple…"

"Lord..." The yaos trembled, prostrating themselves on the ground. They didn't know what had happened, but the arrival of the Heavenly Dao Lord with such anger was a sign that their Beast Yao clan had committed a grave sin.

"Lord." Several Beast Yao clan elders rushed out of the temple. Seeing Dao Nian standing in the air, silent, they all knelt down: "We don't know what crime our clan has committed to provoke such anger from you, Lord?"

Dao Nian ignored them, reaching out to brush past the temple's sky. A silver light flew into his hand.

Bai Ze's horn.

Bai Ze knows heaven and earth, judges yin and yang, and its entire body is treasure. If its horn is used to conceal the Heavenly Secrets for a while, it couldn't be more suitable. However, Bai Ze is a holy divine beast, bringing blessings to living beings. In the world, which living being could be so cruel as to use Bai Ze's horn to do such a thing?

"That is..." The Beast Yao clan elders turned pale after seeing what Dao Nian was holding. Their Beast Yao clan had always worshipped divine beasts like the Qilin and Bai Ze, never daring to show any disrespect. Why would the Lord find a Bai Ze horn polluted by evil energy in the temple?

"The Heavenly Secrets here were concealed a few days ago." Dao Nian threw the Bai Ze horn, which had lost its holy glow, in front of the Beast Yao clan elders. The elders trembled as they held the horn, tears streaming down their faces.

They were old monsters who had cultivated for many years, naturally able to see the evil energy swirling around the Bai Ze horn.

"Who... who..." The Fox Elder's eyes were bloodshot, and he turned to look at the other elders, as if trying to find an answer from them. But these elders were just as shocked and saddened as he was.

Bai Ze is a divine beast of heaven and earth, not only guarding their Beast Yao clan but also protecting the world. Even after Bai Ze's demise, the Beast Yao clan still insisted on worshipping the Bai Ze divine beast, hoping for the day when its divine soul would reunite.

But this polluted Bai Ze horn was like a blow to the head, shattering all their hopes.

"These past few days, has anyone seen Hu Ming?" Someone asked.

"Hu Ming, wasn't he always in his cave?"

"Go investigate."

Dao Nian watched the Beast Yao clan in chaos, his expression emotionless as he looked at them, as if watching a tragic and ridiculous farce.

"From today onwards, for the next fifty years, the Beast Yao clan will have no more young yao who can awaken their spiritual intelligence." Dao Nian spoke slowly, "Those who do evil will eventually pay the price."

"Please have mercy, Heaven."

"Lord, the Beast Yao clan is already weak. If no descendants can awaken their spiritual intelligence for the next fifty years, what will become of our Beast Yao clan?"

"Every cause has its effect." Dao Nian's gaze swept over the yaos, "One of you has committed a grave error, and you can only bear the consequences. You don't need to ask me."

The Beast Yao clan immediately wailed in despair, as if they had lost their entire future.

"Elder, Hu Ming is not in his cave. He's missing."

"Could it be him…"

"Impossible." The Fox Elder said, "Hu Ming's temper is arrogant, but he would never do anything to harm the entire clan. I know you're all upset and need someone to vent your anger on, but have you considered that Hu Ming…"

The Fox Elder's voice trembled: "Hu Ming, perhaps, has already been harmed by the real culprit behind this."

Pig Elder secretly looked up, accidentally meeting Heavenly Dao Lord's deep eyes. What kind of eyes were these? They seemed to have seen through everything in the world. He remained silent not because he didn't know, but because he knew too clearly.

For a moment, his mind was in chaos. He buried his head deeply, not daring to look up, even more afraid to meet those eyes.

He was afraid that all his thoughts and ugliness would be exposed before Heavenly Dao.

Perhaps the expert was right, Shen Chang'an must die.

Only when Shen Chang'an died would Heavenly Dao be indifferent to their Beast Yao race's affairs.

***

"Mr. Shen, the food at this hotel is particularly delicious. How about we eat before going back?" As they drove past a hotel, Gou Cheng remembered that the chef was his friend of hundreds of years, and he couldn't help but want him to show off in front of Shen Chang'an.

Shen Chang'an shook his head and refused: "I want to go back first."

"Why?"

"My friend is waiting for me to go back for dinner."

Being a favorite of Heavenly Dao Lord wasn't easy. No matter what he did, he had to put Heavenly Dao Lord first. Gou Cheng nodded understandingly: "Then I'll send you back now."

"Thank you."

"It's my honor." If it weren't for the fact that humans' favorite animal was dogs, this job wouldn't have fallen to him. Although he had fought with a cat yao last night over the question of "whether humans like cats or dogs better," he still won the final victory because of his long history of raising dogs and his pleasing appearance.

When Shen Chang'an returned, Uncle Zhao had already prepared the meal, but Dao Nian wasn't home.

"Where's Dao Nian?" Shen Chang'an saw Shen Tu, Uncle Zhao, and Liu Mao, but Dao Nian was the only one missing. He immediately became anxious. The capital city was crowded with people and vehicles, and the roads were complex. What if Dao Nian had an accident while out alone?

"Mr. Shen, don't worry, he'll be back soon."

"How can I not worry? What if he's being bullied outside?" Shen Chang'an turned and walked towards the door. "You guys can eat first if you're hungry. I'll go pick him up."

Watching Shen Chang'an's hurried back, Liu Mao remained silent for a moment, then turned to Shen Tu: "Did Sir take his wheelchair?"

Shen Tu: "..."

Liu Mao sighed: "If Mr. Shen knew that Sir wasn't in a wheelchair because of a disability, but because he was lazy, what do you think... would be the consequences?"

Shen Tu silently sent a message to Dao Nian through his divine sense. He didn't dare to think about that.

***

Shen Chang'an called Dao Nian, but couldn't get through. He didn't know if it was because there was no signal or if the phone was out of battery and turned off. He was a little anxious, holding the phone and dialing repeatedly. Looking up, he saw that Gou Cheng hadn't left yet. He opened the car door and got in: "Mr. Gou, I might need to trouble you again. Dao Nian hasn't come back yet, and I'm a little worried about him. Could you accompany me to find him?"

"You want... to find who?" As a species with exceptional hearing, Gou Cheng actually doubted his ears. Shen Chang'an, this human, was actually worried that the Heavenly Dao Lord would be bullied outside, and he wanted to go out and find him after not seeing him for a while?

Dogs live long lives, and they encounter all sorts of strange things.

"Okay." As a dog, being loyal and obedient was the most important thing. Who cared how bizarre this behavior was?

The car had just driven out of the garden gate when Shen Chang'an saw Dao Nian, sitting in his wheelchair, appearing at the corner of the street. He opened the car door and ran out, panting as he reached Dao Nian: "Where did you go?"

Dao Nian saw that Shen Chang'an's cheeks were slightly red: "Go for a walk."

"How many times have I told you, don't go out alone. Your phone was unreachable for hours, and you're in a strange place. What if something happened?" Shen Chang'an noticed the dust on Dao Nian's pants and lowered his voice, "What happened? Did you fall? Does it hurt?"

Dao Nian looked down at his pants. He had accidentally brushed against a flower bed earlier. But when the truth was on the tip of his tongue, he didn't say it. Instead, he lowered his head and whispered, "It hurts."

"Good, you know it hurts!" Shen Chang'an was both angry and worried. He bent down and squeezed Dao Nian's leg through his pants, "Does your bone hurt when I press like this?"

"No."

"Good, it didn't hurt the bone." Shen Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief. It was only about 3-4 degrees Celsius outside in the capital in November. Shen Chang'an took off his down jacket and draped it over Dao Nian, sighing helplessly, "Let's go back and put some medicine on it, okay?"

Seeing that Chang'an was finally not angry at him, Dao Nian obediently agreed.

Shen Chang'an pushed the wheelchair down the street, noticing that Dao Nian was looking down and not speaking. He suddenly felt a pang of regret. Perhaps Dao Nian didn't want to be treated like a disabled person everywhere he went, which was why he wanted to go out alone. He rarely took the initiative to go out, and yet he had lost his temper because he couldn't find him...

"Dao Nian, I'm sorry." After crossing the street and pushing Dao Nian into the garden, Shen Chang'an squatted in front of him, "I shouldn't have yelled at you. You didn't do anything wrong, it was my fault."

Seeing Shen Chang'an like this, Dao Nian felt a little helpless, "You're just worried about me..."

"Using the guise of concern to restrict your actions, that's not called caring." Shen Chang'an pressed his forehead against Dao Nian's knee, "I'm sorry…"

"What's wrong with you?" Dao Nian reached out and gently touched the swirl of hair on the young man's head, "I'm not blaming you, in fact... I'm happy. I know you're afraid of something happening to me."

Shen Chang'an knew what was wrong with him. He was afraid, afraid that Dao Nian would disappear like his parents, that one day, without any warning, someone would tell him, "Your best friend is gone, he's no more."

"Chang'an, I'll be fine." Dao Nian gently stroked Shen Chang'an's hair, his usually cold and emotionless eyes showing a flicker of emotion, "I'll live longer than you, I can stay with you until death."

"Mm." Shen Chang'an buried his head in Dao Nian's lap, not wanting to get up. He was such a grown man, yet he was throwing a tantrum and needed Dao Nian to coax him. He was too embarrassed to face anyone.

"Next time you go out alone, tell me beforehand, and try to keep your phone accessible, okay?" Shen Chang'an raised his head, his face still red, pretending nothing had happened, "When you're out and about, keeping your phone accessible is a responsible thing to do for your friends and family."

"Okay." Facing Shen Chang'an's flushed face, Dao Nian could say yes to anything.

"Then let's go back and put medicine on your wound," Shen Chang'an wrapped his coat around Dao Nian, "After we've put medicine on it, we'll eat. Uncle Zhao made a whole table of dishes, just waiting for you to come back and eat."

"Mm."

Actually, Dao Nian, you're very capable. You went out to explore for so long by yourself. I wouldn't dare to wander around like you in an unfamiliar place.

"Oh." Dao Nian pretended not to hear that this was a "coaxing a child" method of encouragement.

"I've already finished reporting to the security department, I'll continue to work in Wuming City from now on."

"Mhm." Wuming City is good, it has abundant spiritual energy and is peaceful.

"I... today..." Shen Chang'an paused, "I saw a lot of photos of my dad today."

"Can you let me see it?" Dao Nian rubbed his foot, as if the pain had returned.

Okay." Shen Chang'an was too preoccupied to feel sad anymore. He grabbed Dao Nian's hand, "Don't rub the injured area, you might cause further damage. No, we should call a doctor to take a look at it."

"Okay." Dao Nian nodded again, obediently pulling his hand back and not rubbing the injured area anymore.

Standing at the entrance of the garden, Gou Cheng, who had been present the whole time but had been completely invisible, silently watched the interaction between the two. He felt like not only his ears were malfunctioning, but his dog eyes were also blind.

This was the first time he had seen someone dare to yell at Heavenly Dao and then demand to be coaxed by the Heavenly Dao Lord before they were happy.

Shen Chang'an, you're awesome!