Chapter 17: Desperate to Cry but No Tears

"Moo!"

The yellow ox let out a low bellow. Its movements were surprisingly agile, completely lacking the usual clumsiness of an ox, and it dodged the attack directly.

"Ox King, do you know what you're doing?!" Chu Feng ground his teeth, his face dark, and charged forward again. This time, however, his target was the communicator. He had to retrieve it first to see who the ox had been talking to and then explain everything properly to people later.

Otherwise, what would people think? After a mysterious call, they would just hear constant mooing from his end. The thought of that scene… made Chu Feng want to vomit blood. He wished he could kill the ox; it was just too humiliating! Even if he tried to explain, what could he say? Who would believe him? Chu Feng felt a massive headache coming on! Was he supposed to tell people that a small golden ox was using his communicator to talk to them? Would he believe it himself? It would only make things worse.

The ox was uncooperative, still dodging. What's more, it stood upright on its two hind legs, holding the communicator with its two front hooves, circling the courtyard with him, dodging left and right.

"Give it back!" Chu Feng shouted.

The ox was more agile than a human, like a large golden monkey, darting and jumping, circling the stone table, playing hide-and-seek with him. It held onto the communicator tightly, refusing to let go, and every now and then, it would moo into it. Chu Feng's face was turning green. Was this creature still talking to people?

"Ox King, I'm going to kill you!" he yelled, almost fainting from anger. This hateful ox was incorrigible, still causing trouble even now.

The ox snorted dismissively, its expression full of disdain.

"You've done nothing but mischief, and you still dare to provoke me?!" Chu Feng couldn't catch it, so he picked up various objects in the courtyard and threw them at it repeatedly to distract it. This was absolute torment for him. Every second the ox held onto the communicator, he felt his face burn with embarrassment.

Finally, the ox stopped and placed the communicator on the stone table. By this point, Chu Feng's forehead was throbbing, and his face was filled with indignation; he truly felt like crying but had no tears left. Clearly, the ox was very curious about the communicator and even fond of it. Even after putting it down, it kept poking it with its nimble hooves, which glowed with a faint golden luster.

Chu Feng glared at it, then sank into a chair, feeling a bit helpless. He looked at the communicator, then at the ox. How on earth was he going to explain this to people later? He felt utterly overwhelmed. He sighed lightly, picked up the communicator. There was truly nothing he could do but tell the truth.

"Remember, you have to be my witness later. While I'm talking, you moo a few times," Chu Feng instructed it.

The ox nodded guiltily, seemingly intending to cooperate.

When Chu Feng looked at the communicator, his expression immediately froze. Where were the call logs? They were gone?! He was completely dumbfounded. Where had they gone? Chu Feng suddenly remembered that at the last moment, the ox seemed to have poked it repeatedly. Had it cleared everything?!

"Ox, Ox King, look what you've done, ahhhhh!" Chu Feng cried out. He had just been thinking about how to salvage the situation, but now he realized there was no need. "Who exactly did you talk to?" he demanded loudly. Earlier, he had vaguely seen Lin Nuoyi's name—that was the last person he wanted involved—but who else?

The ox shook its head, adopting a naive expression, as if to say it didn't know either.

"How did you even get into the contacts list?" Chu Feng was utterly exasperated. But when he pressed the hateful golden hooves, he felt their warmth and instantly understood! "You're still laughing? One of these days, I'll contact a chef and have a full ox banquet while you're asleep!" Chu Feng threatened indignantly.

Just then, the communicator flashed. It was Zhou Quan calling him. When he answered, Fatty Zhou's booming voice immediately came through: "Ox King, you little calf, you've really become sentient! How dare you repeatedly harass me!"

"It's me," Chu Feng replied.

"Ah, thank goodness, it's finally back in your hands! That ox of yours has really become sentient. It kept harassing me just now, and after I hung up, it kept calling back, mooing endlessly…"

After the call ended, Chu Feng's face stiffened. He could imagine what this stupid ox had done. Who else had it repeatedly harassed? Fatty Zhou was understandable; he had seen the ox before, so no explanation was needed.

A pleasant ringtone sounded, and the communicator rang again. Chu Feng picked it up and saw it was his university classmate, Ye Xuan.

"Chu Feng, are you alright?" Ye Xuan asked.

"I'm fine, listen to me, that really wasn't me earlier…" Chu Feng said, gesturing to the ox to cooperate while on the call. However, the stubborn ox didn't move an inch, just stared blankly at him. No matter how much he gestured, it remained perfectly calm and didn't utter a sound.

"I understand, I get it. You just broke up with Lin Nuoyi, and you're in a bad mood, but excessive drinking is bad for your health. Drink less. Alright, I'll hang up if you're fine." Ye Xuan ended the call.

"What alcohol am I drinking?" Chu Feng listened to the dial tone, feeling depressed and helpless. It was truly impossible to explain. "Stubborn ox, get over here! Didn't we agree? Be my witness!" Chu Feng glared at it.

The communicator rang again. It was still a university classmate, Su Lingxi, a very beautiful girl. Chu Feng immediately understood. After harassing Zhou Quan, the ox had probably clicked open his contact list.

"Su Lingxi, listen to me explain." This time, he clutched one of the ox's golden horns, determined to make it atone for its mistakes, and he prepared to start a video call. But Su Lingxi didn't need much explanation from him. She simply laughed and said, "Are you going to tell me that there's an ox next to you, and it did everything, and you're even going to send me a photo? Okay, I believe you. But Chu Feng, this isn't like you. Aren't you usually very carefree? Breaking up with Lin Nuoyi is one thing, but drinking your sorrows away? Oh, right, things have been restless everywhere lately, so drink less, take care of yourself, and stay safe. Alright, I won't say more; I have some important matters to handle here. Goodbye."

Chu Feng stood dumbfounded. The call had ended. This was Su Lingxi's style: beautiful and perhaps even 'cool,' handling everything efficiently and with a carefree attitude.

After a long time, Chu Feng finally stared at the ox and said, "Stubborn ox, you've really ruined me!"

The ox wore an innocent expression, as if to say it had been ready to atone for its mistakes, but hadn't been given the chance.

Chu Feng waited for a long time. Finally, no one else called him.

"It should just be these few people," he exhaled.

Beside him, the ox nodded decisively, looking very certain, indicating there was no more trouble and only those few calls.

"Why are you nodding randomly? There's clearly one more person! How am I supposed to talk to her?" Chu Feng was certain that Lin Nuoyi had been called because he had seen it just as he returned.

He quieted down for a moment, pushed away the ox's head that had poked too close, and then prepared to call Lin Nuoyi. The call connected, and he heard very soothing music on the other end. Chu Feng didn't speak immediately. He didn't want to offer a formal explanation to Lin Nuoyi. Perhaps she would understand that he wasn't that boring.

The other end of the communicator went silent. Lin Nuoyi didn't speak either. The two fell into silence, faintly hearing each other's breathing. This continued for half a minute.

Suddenly, the ox lifted its head, charged forward, and let out a loud bellow into the communicator, making Chu Feng's ears ring.

Ox King! Chu Feng was completely furious. While he hadn't intended to offer a deliberate explanation, he certainly hadn't expected this outcome. Earlier, when he'd asked it to cooperate, it ignored him, remaining perfectly calm. Now, when he didn't need it, it crashed forward and let out such an earth-shattering roar.

Chu Feng clearly heard the sound of a stemmed wine glass hitting the floor on the other end of the communicator. Lin Nuoyi had clearly been startled, and then the other side immediately hung up.

For a long time, Chu Feng remained frozen, completely still, until he finally let out a roar: "Stubborn ox, I'm going to chop you into a thousand pieces!"

The ox wore an innocent look, as if to say, "Didn't you tell me to cooperate earlier?"

In the courtyard, human shouts and ox bellows competed with the chaos of chickens flying and dogs jumping, making it impossible to find peace. Eventually, Chu Feng was utterly exhausted and simply ran back to his room to sleep. He didn't care anymore; let whatever happened happen.

He woke up, and dusk was settling. Chu Feng prepared a lavish dinner to treat himself. This was one of his virtues: whenever something bothered him, a big meal always made things better. Although he had wanted to butcher the ox earlier, his anger had now subsided, and he still prepared some grass and fresh fruit for it.

In the evening, Chu Feng watched various news reports, closely following the progress of the anomalies in different regions. Suddenly, both the television and communicator became unstable, and the signals blurred. This immediately made his heart sink slightly. He knew the satellites in space were likely under attack. Eventually, the interference disappeared. The internet was abuzz. Because semi-official news had spread that the terrifying plants in space had been cleared, almost entirely eradicated.

Chu Feng pondered: Had they really been completely cleared? As night deepened, after seeing some other reports, he felt a bit worried and didn't believe the job was done. Because many regions had begun to undergo drastic changes. Someone posted clear photos showing dozens of towering, majestic mountains, rising into the clouds like something out of a myth, suddenly appearing outside a family's doorstep. Another report mentioned a young man who wanted to go to a neighboring town ten *li* away but ended up driving a full hundred *li* to finally reach it.

By this time, it wasn't just limited to places like Songshan, Wangwu Mountain, and Taihang Mountain; incomprehensible anomalies had appeared in many areas, with hundreds and thousands of giant mountains and silver waterfalls hanging high.

"Oh my god, what's happening? Why has Wuyi Mountain grown many times larger, with some inexplicable new areas!""Mount Hua's main peak now reaches directly to the sky, emitting ten thousand beams of light. This area has expanded several times, with countless steep peaks appearing, shimmering with red glow."

These were the messages spreading across the internet from various regions, and there were many more. The drastic changes seemed to happen all at once, not limited to a few special places. Famous mountains and great rivers everywhere had transformed, with mist swirling, spiritual energy surging, and fierce birds and strange beasts lurking, making them incredibly dangerous. Earth cracks, power outages, communication failures, and collapsing buildings were occurring concurrently, making the situation extremely severe.

Late at night, Chu Feng sat quietly alone in his room. He knew what was coming had finally arrived: the most intense anomalies.

Thump! The door rattled, and the ox mooed. Chu Feng opened the door, and the golden calf gestured for him to follow it into the courtyard. Then, the ox sat cross-legged on its hind legs, gazing up at the starry sky, and began its unique breathing technique, indicating for Chu Feng to follow along.

Chu Feng was surprised; the ox was supervising him. He calmed down and began to breathe according to the strange rhythm, feeling the vigorous life essence filling the air. The moonlight was soft, pale, and hazy, as if being drawn to him. It grew increasingly concentrated on his body, eventually forming a cloud of misty white light, exceptionally pure. In addition, the countless stars in the sky were also showering down their essence, transforming into myriad tiny rivers that slowly flowed towards him. Chu Feng remained motionless, enveloped in the glowing essence, a hazy figure within it.