We promised to develop a game of elimination, but what the hell is going on with Havoc in Heaven?

Just as Liu Ruyan and the others were following Nezha, heading towards the Golden Light Cave on Qianyuan Mountain.

Yang Jian, on the other hand, was also rushing desperately towards the Golden Cloud Cave on Jade Spring Mountain.

Without Yang Chan, Yang Jian's travel efficiency did indeed increase significantly.

This doesn't mean that Yang Chan dragged Yang Jian down, but rather that after realizing his own powerlessness, Yang Jian became even more ruthless towards himself.

Aside from sleeping, he was always on the move. Even when he was exhausted, parched from the sun, and his feet were bleeding, Yang Jian gritted his teeth and kept walking. As long as he wasn't dead, he would keep walking as if he were going to die.

If an ordinary person were to travel in Yang Jian's way, it wouldn't be surprising if they were exhausted to death halfway there. But Yang Jian is no ordinary person, and even though he was half-dead from exhaustion, he managed to pull through.

The days passed like this.

One day, Yang Jian passed through a village and saw wailing and screaming. Many emaciated villagers lay on the ground, barely breathing, and some were completely motionless...

Yang Jian stared in shock at the scene, which resembled a living hell, muttering to himself, "What... what happened here? How could this be?"

Right at Yang Jian's feet, a emaciated young man seemed to hear the noise. He barely opened his eyes and looked at Yang Jian, staring blankly at him, muttering involuntarily, "Out-of-towner."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian quickly knelt down to help the young man up and asked, "Yes, that's right, brother, what happened here?"

"Eat, eat... hungry... eat... eat..." The young man did not answer Yang Jian's question, but instead kept pointing to his mouth.

Yang Jian was immediately embarrassed upon hearing this and said with shame, "I'm sorry, brother, I've already run out of my rations."

It wasn't that he had already finished eating; in fact, Yang Jian hadn't eaten anything for a long time.

He discovered that although being hungry was very uncomfortable and painful, he was unlikely to starve to death, so he endured it and kept traveling.

Not only had he not eaten for a long time, but Yang Jian was also penniless. The travel money he brought from the Yang family had been used up on the way.

"Sigh~" Upon hearing Yang Jian's words, the young man stopped talking and, perking up, kindly advised, "You're from out of town, right? In that case, you should leave us quickly. We're having a plague outbreak here, and no one is feeling well. Many people have already died. If you catch it, you won't recover either."

Yang Jian was shocked when he heard this, and finally understood why the village was in this state.

Plague...

He wasn't too worried about contracting this thing. During this time, he had gradually begun to realize that he was different from ordinary people. After all, his mother was the celestial fairy Yao Ji.

Looking at the scene before him, Yang Jian once again felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Just like Nezha back then, he looked at the hellish scene before him, but felt that he could do nothing about it.

"Okay..." Yang Jian nodded blankly upon hearing this, and it took him a long time to squeeze out a single word.

However, just as Yang Jian was about to leave.

Suddenly, a servant from a wealthy family picked up a small black dog and threw it out the door. After throwing the dog away, he quickly closed the door.

Yang Jian was stunned when he saw this.

The emaciated young man's eyes lit up when he saw the little black dog, and he pounced on it, repeatedly chanting, "Meat! Meat!"

"Hey? Wait a minute." Yang Jian quickly stopped his elder brother, and hurriedly asked, "What's going on?"

"Oh dear, what else could it be? These cats and dogs run around outside all day long. In this situation, do you know what it brought back? Of course, the owner wouldn't dare keep it." The young man had already grabbed the little black dog, his mouth practically watering, and said impatiently.

"Aren't you afraid you'll get sick after eating it?" Yang Jian asked anxiously.

"Now that things are like this, what do I have to be afraid of? Rather than starve to death, I'd rather die well-fed!" The young man's eyes shone as he looked at the little black dog.

"Hey, wait a minute, it's a life after all. Why don't you let it go?" Yang Jian looked at the little black dog and felt a strong connection to it. He couldn't help but think of himself in the dog, and his heart softened, so he said.

"You're so kind!"

However, upon hearing this, the young man suddenly became fierce, his gaze towards Yang Jian turning menacing, a far cry from his earlier kind advice to Yang Jian to leave. He said menacingly:
"But do you know that saving a dog's life means losing a human life? Which is more important, a human life or a dog's life?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Jian choked back a sob, unsure of what to say.

After the young man finished speaking, he completely ignored Yang Jian, picked up a stone from the ground, and prepared to smash it down on the little black dog.

"Wait!" Yang Jian closed his eyes and finally called the young man to a stop.

He glanced at the little black dog, then at the young man, hesitated for a moment, and finally took out a jade bracelet from his pocket, handed it to the young man, and said, "I'll use this jade bracelet to return this little dog."

The young man's face lit up when he saw the jade bracelet. He quickly took it, examined it carefully, and said excitedly, "Okay, okay."

After saying that, he handed the little black dog directly to Yang Jian.

Despite the plague raging in the village, a high-quality jade bracelet like Yang Jian's is still extremely valuable. It could easily buy a puppy, enough to feed the animals, or even allow them to live a relatively affluent life for a while.

Fearing that Yang Jian might change his mind, the young man quickly ran away after the exchange.

When Yang Jian saw this scene, he opened his mouth, his heart bleeding. It wasn't that he was heartbroken over the jade bracelet itself, but because that jade bracelet was the last thing he had brought from the Yang family.

Even in the most difficult times, he never sold it, but now he's using it on a dog.

"Sigh~" Yang Jian sighed deeply, looked at the little black dog in his arms, shook his head and said, "Oh well, what can we do when we're destined to be together?"

After saying that, he picked up the little black dog, turned around, and walked out of the village.

The little black dog wasn't afraid of strangers. It curled up in his arms, rubbed its wet nose against his wrist, and let out a soft whimper, as if it were thanking him or being affectionate. Yang Jian's tense face softened slightly without him even realizing it.

After Yang Jian and the little black dog had been away from the village for quite some time and were about to reach the next village, in the mountains and forests, Yang Jian said to the little black dog:
"Alright, let's part ways here. Actually, I really don't want to abandon you, but right now, am I not just a stray dog? I'm even worse off than you."

"I must go to Jade Spring Mountain as soon as possible to become a disciple of Jade Cauldron Immortal. I cannot let anything delay me along the way, whether it's you or anything else. Therefore, I cannot take you with me. You should be able to support yourself here, so you should stay here..."

After saying that, Yang Jian put down the little black dog, looking back every few steps, but with a heavy heart, he still left directly. The little black dog whimpered a few times behind him, but Yang Jian did not turn back again.

He was also filled with reluctance, but he had to make a choice now. Besides, heavenly soldiers and generals were trying to capture him, and taking the little black dog with him might even implicate it.

However, after Yang Jian had traveled for another day and night, he found a place to sleep and rest. When he woke up the next day, he was surprised to see that the little black dog had reappeared beside him.

Yang Jian was startled when he saw the little black dog and couldn't help but ask, "When did you catch up with us?"

Rather, how did they manage to catch up?

Yang Jian was somewhat incredulous, but still said to the little black dog, "Don't follow me anymore. I really can't take you with me. In fact, I can't even support myself right now, how could I possibly support you? Following me is even dangerous..."

After saying that, Yang Jian shook off the little black dog again and set off without looking back.

However, to his surprise, when he woke up the next day, he found that the little black dog had reappeared beside him.

Yang Jian was surprised, but he knew that if things continued like this, it would probably never end. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the little black dog and prepared to find a family to adopt it.

On the way, after finding a family, Yang Jian handed the little black dog over to them. The family assured Yang Jian that they would treat the little black dog well, and Yang Jian smiled broadly upon hearing this.

After giving the little black dog to someone, he turned and left. However, before he had gone far, he felt a sense of unease and a bad premonition arose in his heart. Then, his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and he couldn't move no matter what he did.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately ran back. Sure enough, when he returned to the house, he saw the family sharpening knives, heating oil in a wok, and the little black dog already being held down.

"Woof woof~" The little black dog whimpered and sobbed when it saw Yang Jian, its eyes filled with fear, as if it was begging Yang Jian for help.

"Ahhhh!!!"

Yang Jian roared and, with bloodshot eyes, sent the male owner flying, causing him to vomit blood. The female owner cried and rushed to check on the male owner's condition, but Yang Jian ignored her, picked up the little black dog, and ran outside.

He didn't stop until he had run quite a distance, panting heavily. Looking down at the trembling little black dog in his arms, its fur standing on end in fear, it still clung desperately to his clothes with its paws, as if grasping at the last straw.

Yang Jian recalled the sound of the family sharpening knives, the scalding oil pot, and the desperate whimpering of the little black dog, which echoed repeatedly in his mind, making him feel as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"It was my fault..." he said in a hoarse voice, his fingertips gently stroking the little black dog's trembling back. "I shouldn't have given you to someone else. There's not that much kindness in this world..."

He recalled his humiliating chase and his mother's despair while trapped on Peach Mountain. Suddenly, he realized that the little black dog followed him to the death not out of a desire for companionship, but because it knew that there was no safe place in the world except by his side.

The little black dog seemed to understand, rubbing its wet head against his chin, its whimpers gradually subsiding, but its paws still clung tightly to him, refusing to let go.

Yang Jian took a deep breath, his eyes becoming unusually determined.

He raised his hand to wipe his face, suppressing all his hesitation and reluctance, and solemnly said to the little black dog in his arms, "Since you insist on following me, then follow me. But let me make this clear beforehand: if you follow me, the road ahead will be more bitter than sweet. Don't regret it."

If Yang Jian were to hand the little black dog over to someone else, he feared he would encounter another family like the previous one, who only made empty promises.

Moreover, the little black dog has followed him several times, which is obviously not an ordinary dog. It will not delay his apprenticeship. So why not take him with him?

The little black dog seemed to understand, and immediately licked his fingers with its tongue, letting out a light whimper, its little tail wagging gently in his arms.

"Alright! Hahaha, since that's the case, from now on, I am your master. We will live and die together. As long as I live, you will not be allowed to die!"

Seeing the little black dog's reaction, Yang Jian knew he had agreed. A smile involuntarily crept onto his lips as he gently stroked the dog's back and said:
"As my dog, let me give you another name. Calling you 'Little Black Dog' all the time isn't working. Your name will be—"

Yang Jian began to think. He glanced at the sky and then thought of how he had saved the little black dog's life, and how the little black dog had chased after him from afar several times. Suddenly, he thought of a good name.

"Howling Sky! Yes, Howling Sky! From now on, we'll call him Howling Sky, the Howling Sky Dog, hahaha!"

Xiaotian whimpered twice, as if in response, snuggled against him, and closed its eyes peacefully.

With a smile on his face, Yang Jian stood up, holding it, and started walking towards Yuquan Mountain again.

This time, there was a warm weight in my arms, and the empty space in my heart caused by the loss of my memories seemed to be quietly filled by this little life.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on Yang Jian's shoulders and Xiaotian's furry back.

Yuquan Mountain is still far away, and the road to becoming a master is still long, but this time, his steps were filled with more steadiness and warmth.

He knew that from now on, he would no longer be alone!
……

……

Time goes back to a while ago.

Nezha, Han Paopao, Liu Ruyan, and Yang Chan, after traveling for a while, have now arrived at the Golden Light Cave of Qianyuan Mountain.

As soon as they arrived at the cave entrance, they saw a boy guarding the place. When he saw Nezha return, his eyes lit up and he immediately came up to greet him: "Senior brother, you're back. Master was talking about you a while ago."

"Really?" Nezha was pleasantly surprised and patted the Taoist boy on the shoulder, saying, "Then go and tell Master that I brought a friend back with me."

The young Taoist responded and dashed inside. A moment later, a gentle yet authoritative voice echoed from within the cave: "Is Nezha back? Come in." (End of Chapter)