Extra 3: If Life Has Reincarnation (3)
Jiaojiao carefully held the phoenix egg, which was neither especially large nor small and had long since lost all signs of life. Ignoring the icy floor, he toddled forward on his short legs and threw himself into Mr. Dragon’s arms, his face buried against him.
“Fa… Father.”
Having lost the protection of his scales, Jiaojiao’s pale skin was stained by the filthy blood. Yet he did not cry out petulantly as he had before. He merely gazed at Mr. Dragon with complete trust and tried with all his strength to lift the egg in his arms towards him.
“Save… Wu… Brother.”
His face was covered in tears, and a deep bruise remained around his neck. He looked extremely pitiful.
Mr. Dragon silently extended a hand. A faint light gathered at the tip of his finger as he gently touched the little dragon cub’s forehead.
“Wu…”
Jiaojiao felt a calm, gentle power flow into his forehead, easing the pain throughout his body. It also made him incredibly sleepy, and his eyelids began to droop.
Even though Mr. Dragon had nearly strangled him to death earlier, Jiaojiao still trusted him wholeheartedly.
Because…
He was not anyone else.
He was Jiaojiao’s father.
The little dragon cub fell asleep. His warm, soft body rested in Mr. Dragon’s arms, while his two pale hands continued to cling tightly to his “older brother.” His nose wrinkled slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the rotten odour coming from Mr. Dragon’s body.
Mr. Dragon lowered his eyes. As he stared at the strands of time slowly curling around the little dragon cub’s soft body, confusion and struggle gradually filled his dim golden pupils.
He wanted to know.
He desperately wanted to know what kind of life his next incarnation would lead.
But…
He was also unwilling to know.
He was afraid he would become jealous—so jealous that he would be unable to resist killing this dragon cub who had intruded here and stealing away “his” happiness.
A faint, scattered light flickered.
In the end, Mr. Dragon could not suppress his curiosity. Lowering his head, he gently pressed his broken horn against Jiaojiao’s still-fragile little dragon horn.
In an instant, the originally pitch-black room lit up.
As Jiaojiao’s blood relative, and because Jiaojiao trusted him completely and held no defences against him, Mr. Dragon seemed to experience every one of Jiaojiao’s emotions. He saw the life of the dragon he could never attain—
The memory began with a dragon egg that could no longer really be considered small.
Jiaojiao lay within a very warm room. Through his eggshell, he struggled to sense the outside world.
Although he could not see anything, their connected bloodlines allowed him to know that another dragon egg, not much different in size from him, was nearby.
Every day, three figures came to visit him and the other dragon egg.
One was a dragon with a very powerful aura. Jiaojiao was somewhat afraid of him, yet also felt particularly safe whenever he remained nearby.
Another was a woman with a warm, gentle voice. Her palm was very warm, and Jiaojiao liked her most.
The last was something that occasionally transformed into a fluffy creature and called itself their older brother. Jiaojiao found that rather strange.
Gradually, the dragon egg grew larger. Jiaojiao felt so cramped that he could no longer stretch his limbs. It was terribly uncomfortable, and he wanted to come out.
*Crack.*
The sound of the shell breaking rang out. Hearing his older brother’s miserable cry of “Brother,” Jiaojiao could no longer endure it. He butted the shell with his little head, and soon, everything before him became bright.
Although he still could not open his eyes, he smelled many wonderful things.
Following his instincts, Jiaojiao took a forceful bite of his plump older brother’s belly and heard a miserable chirp.
Once Jiaojiao had grown a little older, he learned about the relationships within his family.
Jiaojiao was an extremely, extremely happy little dragon cub.
He had a father who was the strongest on the continent, the gentlest mother in the world, an older brother who was both delicious and fluffy, and an adorable older sister who treated him exceptionally well.
At first, Jiaojiao had assumed he looked just like them. They all had hands, legs, and beautiful faces!
But one afternoon, when he accidentally crawled into a room and caught sight of himself in a full-length mirror—
The little dragon cub could not hold back his tears.
He was so ugly!
Upon witnessing this memory, Mr. Dragon could not stop himself from laughing.
Was the little dragon cub in the mirror not extremely ugly?
He looked almost exactly as Mr. Dragon had as a child—mottled scales, tiny dragon horns, white ears, and a small fifth claw hidden among them all.
He truly was rather ugly.
Mm…
And he looked even uglier when he cried.
In the dim room, Mr. Dragon’s slightly hoarse laughter rang out. It sounded distinctly eerie.
How long had he been inside this “tomb”?
He could no longer remember.
And how long had it been since he last laughed?
He… could not remember that either.
Yet the people in Jiaojiao’s memories had never laughed at him.
They had gently and patiently kissed his ugly little scales, telling him in the most straightforward way possible that he was beautiful and that they loved him dearly.
“Jiaojiao.”
Mu Wanwan’s voice sounded above the little dragon cub’s head, but the heartbroken cub refused to raise his head and look at her.
“His” wife seemed somewhat helpless. She reached out and rubbed the little dragon cub’s ears. Mr. Dragon suddenly felt as though his own ears were slightly itchy too, as though a soft breeze had brushed across them.
“Look, your father is very handsome now, but he used to be ugly too,” Mu Wanwan said, her voice carrying a tender affection. “When Mother first met him, your father…”
The woman paused, seemingly lost in her memories. She spoke very, very slowly.
“His face was covered in terrifying scars, and both his horns and his tail were broken. He looked much uglier than Jiaojiao does now.”
“And Mother will secretly tell Jiaojiao something else. When your father was little, he secretly tried to hatch spiritual-chicken eggs because he thought they were dragon eggs. He even brought your older brother back from the demon clan. He liked to cry even more than you do.”
Her voice was very soft, yet it crossed through time and reached his ears.
“But…”
“Mother still loves him very much. Even if he had always remained that way, Mother would never have disliked him.”
The woman bent down and kissed Jiaojiao’s little dragon horn. Mr. Dragon could see the black hair hanging beside her face.
“Mother loves Jiaojiao very much too.”
Mr. Dragon suddenly felt a sourness in his eyes.
Leaning against the cold, shadowy corner, he watched the scene within Jiaojiao’s memories, filled with brilliant sunlight.
It had been an extraordinarily happy afternoon.
Tainted blood slowly seeped from the corner of Mr. Dragon’s lips. He raised a hand and touched his own face.
It was rough and uneven, covered everywhere in ugly scars.
He gently closed his eyes, and the corners of his lips curved upwards beyond his control.
At the irreversible end of his life, with his body already rotting from within, he smiled as though a heavy burden had finally been lifted.
Even he did not know what he was smiling about.
Jiaojiao’s memories were brief, but they had already given him enough warmth.
When the naked little dragon cub woke from his sleep, he discovered that the room had completely changed.
Huh?
It seemed cleaner and brighter.
He sat up and saw that Father, who had previously smelled a little unpleasant, had also become clean.
Father sat beside him and stretched out a hand.
“Jiaojiao, come here.”
The moment he spoke, Jiaojiao hurried over on all fours. He reached out with his chubby little hand and touched Mr. Dragon’s large palm.
“Fa… Father.”
“Blow, blow~”
Jiaojiao blew forcefully against the hand that had previously been covered in blood.
“No… no hurt.”
Mother had said that when something hurt after a fall, blowing on it would make the pain go away.
Jiaojiao still remembered that Father had been bleeding earlier.
Was he feeling better now?
Expressionlessly, Mr. Dragon poked the little bun’s soft stomach, then pinched Jiaojiao’s tender cheeks.
Jiaojiao buried his head against Mr. Dragon’s chest, unwilling to let himself be pinched.
Mr. Dragon chuckled softly, then pinched his little dragon horn as well.
Looking at the currents of time surrounding Jiaojiao, which were gradually growing thinner, he frowned.
At most, another two days remained.
After that, this little dragon cub who had suddenly appeared would never be able to return to his own world.
Jiaojiao had accidentally arrived beside him because of a disturbance in time and space.
If he did not send him back, then Jiaojiao’s fate would be to remain beside a dying man whose entire body was decaying.
Even with the medicinal pills and food Mr. Dragon still possessed, he would survive no longer than five more years.
After his death, even if he left behind countless treasures, Jiaojiao—who was so much like Mr. Dragon had been as a child—might still never find happiness.
But he…
He did not want to send him away.
“Does Jiaojiao like Father?”
Mr. Dragon lowered his head and pressed his forehead against the little cub’s. Even he did not know why he had asked.
“Mm!”
It was an immediate and unquestionable yes.
Jiaojiao even gave Father a huge kiss, smearing saliva all over his face.
Mr. Dragon’s chest ached.
He tightened his arms, holding the dragon cub in his embrace even more closely.
Jiaojiao did not understand what was happening, but happily wrapped his arms around his old father’s neck anyway. ^v^~
After Jiaojiao had finished happily playing on his father’s shoulders, he began searching for his older brother and sister.
Mr. Dragon had put away the dead phoenix egg from before. Jiaojiao could not find it, but he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then he began searching for his sister and mother instead.
When he failed to find them this time, he burst into tears. Nothing Mr. Dragon did could soothe him. Jiaojiao cried until Mr. Dragon’s clothes were soaked through. In the end, Mr. Dragon had no choice but to lie and tell him that Mother had taken his older brother and sister somewhere else to prepare a surprise for him. They would return very soon.
Only then did Jiaojiao stop crying.
That evening, a rather dejected Jiaojiao ate a not particularly tasty dinner with Mr. Dragon. The little cub clearly disliked the food.
After dinner, Jiaojiao finally found the round bead. He deliberately bit through its outer shell and offered the pale medicinal pill inside to Mr. Dragon.
“Eat… eat!”
Mr. Dragon’s eyes flickered. Following the dragon cub’s wishes, he swallowed the pill.
His decaying body sensed that trace of pure energy, which gradually warmed the area around his heart.
So this was a medicinal pill refined by his future wife?
It truly was warm.
By the time Mr. Dragon returned to his senses, Jiaojiao had already fallen asleep against his chest.
The currents of time surrounding the cub had grown even thinner, like the pill dissolving within Mr. Dragon’s body and gradually losing its effectiveness.
His eyes filled with conflict.
Holding Jiaojiao, Mr. Dragon sat upon the ice coffin. The room faded into darkness once more. Within the silent night, only a pair of brilliant golden pupils trembled violently.
After an unknown length of time, Mr. Dragon finally made his decision.
He bent down and gently kissed Jiaojiao’s forehead.
“Jiaojiao.”
The little dragon cub whimpered. Pierced by an increasingly intense light, he slowly opened his eyes. He had intended to complain that Father had disturbed his sleep, only to discover that the one glowing seemed to be himself.
Jiaojiao opened his mouth wide and tried to speak, but no sound came out.
The father within his sight looked rather frightening, but the gaze directed towards him was gentle.
Jiaojiao saw something crystalline slide from his father’s eyes and fall upon his face.
Then he heard Father say, “Goodbye.”
No.
Jiaojiao did not want to leave Father.
He struggled with all his strength and reached out his little hands, trying to grasp Mr. Dragon. Yet he continued drifting farther and farther away.
Slowly, he disappeared from Mr. Dragon’s sight.
The room once again descended into its customary deathly silence.
Mr. Dragon’s body could no longer endure and began to collapse. He fell back into the ice coffin, and humiliating tears poured uncontrollably from his eyes.
He was so envious of his next incarnation.
As his life gradually slipped away, Mr. Dragon lay inside the ice coffin and made the only wish he had ever made in this lifetime—
He desperately, desperately wanted to meet her.
He wanted to so badly…
The life within the room disappeared.
Yet something crossed through time and worlds, like a falling star, and landed upon Mu Wanwan, who lay curled up in an orphanage with a low fever.
It was as though everything had long since been destined.
…
“Father!”
By the time Jiaojiao could finally speak again, Mr. Dragon appeared to have already sensed what had happened and returned with Mu Wanwan.
Mr. Dragon immediately gathered the crying, bare-bottomed dragon cub into his arms and kissed his cheek.
“Jiaojiao.”
“Jiao—Jiaojiao!”
Tiantian and Mengmeng came out as well, curiously staring at their younger brother, who had suddenly transformed into human form.
Mu Wanwan wiped away the tears she had shed after discovering that her son was missing. She stepped forward and pinched the chubby child’s cheeks.
“Jiaojiao, where did you go? How did you transform as soon as you returned?”
“Wuwuwu, Mother!”
Mu Wanwan patted Jiaojiao’s bottom.
“You look exactly like your father did when he was little.”
The moment she finished speaking, she felt as though she had accidentally revealed something. She glanced at Mr. Dragon and met his smiling gaze.
Silently averting her eyes, she continued stroking the fluffy ears on her son’s head.
Mr. Dragon tightened his arms around the little dragon cub and slowly lowered his gaze.
During his three hundred years within the land of inheritance, he had already witnessed the previous lifetime in which he had never met his wife.
That dragon, who had silently died after a lifetime of failure, had finally met their precious child at the very end of his life.
**Authors note **
Mu Wanwan:
“If I had never met you, what would my life have become?”
Mr. Dragon:
“The answer is—there is no such ‘if.’”
…
Thank you all for accompanying us on this journey. See you in the next story. I’ll love you forever.
**Nomad: And it’s done!! I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading this novel. It was so enjoyable following them throughout their journey, especially getting a little glimpse into their lives with children!
Mr Dragon has finally got something other than chicken eggs! I also wonder what Bai Shuiyao’s life is like now that she has been stripped of her cultivation and sent back. I’m honestly surprised she stopped causing trouble. Since she was the original female lead, I thought she would continue creating problems with or without her cultivation.
But anyway, leave some of your thoughts below! I genuinely enjoy reading everyone’s comments.
This was originally supposed to be a bulk release after I surpassed the chapters translated by the previous translator. However, I became extremely busy with my personal life and didn’t have much time to work on the chapters. It also didn’t help that whenever I returned to translate more, I kept forgetting who was who, hahaha.
For anyone looking for something else to read, have a look through my page to see what is available. I have a few novels that are either completed or nearing completion. I’m aiming to do one bulk release each month, depending on my availability.
I might also reorganise my website to better reflect this—perhaps even add a timetable showing which novel is scheduled for a bulk release each month. I need to add that to my notes, or knowing me, I’ll completely forget, lol.
On a more serious note, thank you so much to everyone who has supported me by buying me a coffee. It truly means a lot and helps keep the website running. Most of the support goes towards website maintenance, while the rest helps fuel me as I work on bringing out more chapters alongside my job and caring responsibilities.
Many people are going through difficult times, and I am no stranger to them myself. So I would also like to take a moment to wish everyone well.
Reading novels like this has given me not only entertainment, but also an escape from reality when I needed one. I sincerely hope that everything is going well for you, and that these chapters have offered you even a small amount of comfort or happiness too. Thank you for reading and for joining me on this journey.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
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