Aunt Yun nodded.
Although she desperately wanted to see Mu Wanwan again and grow stronger as quickly as possible so she could help, her curse had only just been removed. Less than half of her original talent remained, and her cultivation had only just recovered to the first rank.
There was no use being impatient.
She was about to ask more when the cry of a little fox sounded from outside the secret chamber.
The calls came in a regular pattern.
It was one of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s scout foxes.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Jiu Qing opened a small gap in the barrier, and a tiny fox no larger than a palm immediately darted inside before transforming into human form.
“Princess! Princess! The Special Lifeform Alliance has sent the latest intelligence.”
Jiu Qing accepted the report and quickly read through it.
She sneered.
After Uncle Chen and the others had read it, their expressions also became complicated.
Jiu Qing pressed her fair fingers against her rosy lips. Unconcealed hatred and urgency filled her eyes.
“The Sun-Devouring Rat Clan truly is short-sighted. Their royal clan is exactly the same. I don’t know whether they tasted the benefits of their previous dealings with Ao Qin, but now they’re shamelessly currying favour with him and disgracing the entire demon race.”
“The previous Demon King truly was blind to support a clan worse than pigs and dogs.”
After speaking, Jiu Qing realised that she was not particularly qualified to accuse anyone else of being blind.
After all, she had once been blind herself.
She had not killed Ao Xue.
Instead, she had sealed the dragon inside a magical artefact and kept him with her merely to buy time.
If he died, someone at the Azure Dragon ancestral shrine would discover it. If that caused the Azure Dragon communication token to stop working as well, it would be troublesome.
Uncle Chen considered the matter for a moment before calmly analysing it.
“The Sun-Devouring Rat Clan’s actions are not particularly strange.”
“No phoenix has been born among the demon race for a very long time, and resources have grown increasingly scarce over the past several thousand years. Without a phoenix, none of the clans recognise the authority of the others, and the struggle for power has become severe.”
“At a time like this, if they can attach themselves to the Dragon Clan, they will receive a share of the benefits once the encirclement succeeds. At the very least, the Sun-Devouring Rat Clan will obtain some resources.”
“Moreover, the reduction in the Sun-Devouring Rat Clan’s forces benefits us.”
Uncle Chen tapped the table.
“We’ll postpone the final stage of the plan by another half-day and act at dawn the day after tomorrow.”
“However, this will make things even more difficult for Wanwan and her husband.”
Now that the demon race had also sent forces to join the search, there were even fewer places where Mu Wanwan and Mr. Dragon could hide.
“Then what are they supposed to do?”
Uncle Zong, who had remained mostly silent, could no longer hold himself back.
“We shouldn’t have allowed Wanwan and that dragon to leave in the first place. They’ve done nothing but suffer.”
Jiu Qing pressed her fingers against her forehead, feeling somewhat depressed.
Perhaps the dragon’s tears had moved her at the time.
Or perhaps Mu Wanwan’s determination to leave had reminded Jiu Qing of her former self.
That was why she had allowed Mr. Dragon to take Mu Wanwan away.
They had not even had time to leave behind a communication token.
However, the fewer people who knew where they were, the better.
If Jiu Qing and the others failed and had their souls searched, at least they would not expose the couple’s whereabouts.
…
Meanwhile, the human and dragon everyone was worrying about had already reached their new residence.
It was an island located even closer to the Demon Realm.
More precisely, it was an extremely small island.
Mr. Dragon had brought her there by travelling along the seabed the entire way.
The underwater route was very dark.
Apart from the occasional glowing fish that swam past her, Mu Wanwan saw almost nothing.
Mr. Dragon travelled very quickly, but the journey seemed rather long.
Mu Wanwan felt as though she had been a fish soaking in water for an eternity.
By the time they reached land, her legs had gone weak and her entire body felt unwell.
“Madam, what’s wrong?”
After placing a barrier and illusion formation around the area, Mr. Dragon turned and saw Mu Wanwan leaning against a sea rock, her face pale and fragile.
Mu Wanwan looked at the energetic dragon and endured the waves of dizziness washing through her mind.
She waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.
She was probably just a little seasick.
After recovering slightly, Mu Wanwan quickly took Mengmeng out of the mustard-seed space.
Mengmeng also resembled a soft-legged shrimp.
Its two thin legs struggled to support its fat body as it staggered along an S-shaped path.
After stubbornly remaining upright for roughly a dozen seconds, it collapsed gloriously onto the ground.
Mu Wanwan nearly laughed.
She wanted to step forward and pick it up, but the instant she moved away from the support of the sea rock, she became no better than Mengmeng.
A quiet laugh sounded beside her ear.
Just as Mu Wanwan was about to lose her balance, support appeared around her waist.
Mr. Dragon simply lifted her into his arms.
“Are you tired?”
Mu Wanwan instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I’m all right.”
The considerate Mr. Dragon did not expose Madam’s attempt to act strong.
Instead, he followed along with her words.
“Mm. Madam is very impressive.”
Mu Wanwan: “…”
She refused to become angry with this dragon.
“Are we sleeping outside tonight?”
Mu Wanwan tried hard to ignore the arm Mr. Dragon had placed beneath her thighs.
“No.”
The loose strands of hair beside Mr. Dragon’s temples swayed with his movements, but they still failed to conceal the gradual reddening of his handsome face.
Madam’s waist…
Was so slender.
And her legs were very soft…
“Chirp!”
Seeing the human and dragon moving farther away, Mengmeng—whose muscles had apparently weakened after spending too long inside the mustard-seed space—let out an angry and miserable cry from where it had been abandoned on the ground.
Mu Wanwan immediately came to her senses and secretly sighed in relief.
She pushed at Mr. Dragon’s increasingly warm arm and seized the opportunity to jump from his embrace.
“Mengmeng, hurry over here.”
Thus, in the end, Mr. Dragon failed to demonstrate much more boyfriend strength and was instead forced to carry the fluffball.
Mr. Dragon: “…”
They stopped in an area with good terrain and many surrounding trees.
Mr. Dragon asked, “What do you think of this place?”
Mu Wanwan stared at him blankly.
“It’s fine.”
Then she watched a certain dragon toss the fluffball aside and transform his large hands into claws.
A thought suddenly entered her mind.
Mu Wanwan caught his arm.
“Wait, Mr. Dragon. Are you planning to build a house?”
A certain dragon’s eyes shone brightly.
“Mm.”
Driven by some unknown sense of pride, the adult Mr. Dragon defended himself.
“I’m very good at building houses.”
Mu Wanwan’s nose stung slightly as she remembered the little Mr. Dragon’s broken-down home.
She could not bear to stop him.
“Then I’ll help you.”
Mr. Dragon hesitated briefly.
He quickly cleared a small patch of land, then arranged the stools and table they had previously collected.
His phoenix eyes indicated that she should sit there.
“I’ll be very quick. Madam, wait over there for me.”
Mu Wanwan: “…”
She felt somewhat helpless.
Mr. Dragon stepped forward and bent down until his forehead rested against hers.
Then he placed another spiritual barrier around her.
“Wait for me.”
Boss Wan’s heart softened again.
She truly had no defence against a sweet little dragon who knew how to act spoiled.
The moment she sat down, dust rose before her.
Leaves and stones flew through the air.
Her dragon’s movements were forceful yet astonishingly precise.
A beautiful wooden house rapidly took shape before her eyes.
Once the dust finally settled, Mu Wanwan saw the dragon approaching her, amusement in his eyes and his sleeves fluttering around him.
“It’s finished.”
Mr. Dragon took her hand and said softly, “Our temporary home.”
His voice was extremely gentle.
When he said the word “home,” his tone softened so much that he seemed to become an entirely different dragon.
Mu Wanwan squeezed his hand in return.
She looked at the house before her, which was essentially a greatly enlarged version of little Mr. Dragon’s old home, and nodded firmly.
“Mm.”
The interior was also simple, but much larger.
He had even carefully divided it into several small rooms.
Even though they might only live there for a few days, Mr. Dragon had not been careless.
Once the interior was furnished, it truly looked quite pleasant.
Mengmeng even received a tiny room of its own, so it would no longer need to squeeze in with them.
However…
Mu Wanwan pressed her fingers against her gradually warming cheeks.
He had not built two separate bedrooms.
They would still sleep together.
Although with their current life on the run and their limited time, they might not actually sleep very often.
Perhaps because Mr. Dragon had been awake for some time now, their interactions were no longer as awkward as before.
At the very least, when they remained together, they could gradually calm themselves and cultivate or attend to other matters.
The furniture was quickly arranged.
Mu Wanwan watched Mr. Dragon bend over to change the bedding and experienced a strange sensation.
Now that she thought about it, this quilt was still the red wedding quilt from the residence…
“Madam.”
At some point, the dragon finished making the bed.
He approached her with a red face.
“Kiss.”
Mu Wanwan caught hold of his collar and lightly pressed her lips against his.
Unlike when she had been alone, the loneliness that had once constantly wrapped around her became insignificant now that she knew he was beside her.
Inside the quiet forest, there was an adorable fat fluffball.
There was the fragrance of pills rising in delicate wisps and mingling with the faint scent of newly cut wood.
There was the morning sunlight streaming into the house.
And there was…
The person she cherished.
The fragrance of the Spirit-Fortifying Pills she had originally intended to refine to alleviate the pain in her sea of consciousness spread from the furnace.
Mu Wanwan opened her eyes and looked at Mr. Dragon seated opposite her.
A faintly surprised expression appeared on his face.
Light flashed through Mu Wanwan’s eyes.
It was as though the desperate circumstances that had oppressed them all these days no longer mattered.
Within this world, only the things she loved and was willing to sacrifice her life for remained.
She did not notice that the wood-element spiritual energy at her fingertips—which she had previously controlled so perfectly that not even the slightest trace was wasted—now flowed like an endless stream.
It landed upon the fresh seeds she had placed beside her, waiting to be cultivated.
One new green shoot after another emerged.
She was about to break through.
Mr. Dragon also quickly reacted when he saw the spiritual plants rapidly growing throughout the room.
He began pouring spirit stones inside.
He filled more than half the room in one breath before finally stopping.
Mr. Dragon had originally been watching Madam refine pills while mentally practising and simulating certain matters in preparation for the future.
Now, however, he began to panic.
He started worrying that they would not have enough spirit stones.
When he had broken through in the past, he had happened to be inside a spiritual vein.
Therefore, he had no idea how many spirit stones he had actually consumed.
What if their reserves were insufficient?
Mr. Dragon lowered his long eyelashes.
Unconcealed worry filled his eyes.
The green points of light landed upon him, carrying a faint, unfamiliar sensation.
There was none of the pain caused by different types of spiritual energy colliding.
Instead, they brought a pleasant feeling that gradually relaxed him.
He watched Mu Wanwan rapidly absorb the spiritual energy.
A curve appeared on his thin lips.
“Chirp~”
Bathed in the comforting green light, Mengmeng also let out a quiet chirp.
Leave a Reply