After waking from the dream, time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, a week had gone by.
Mr. Dragon still looked the same as before, but Mu Wanwan felt that he seemed to be making slightly more movements than when he had simply lain there in the past.
For example, sometimes when she fed him porridge, she could feel his entire body trembling unnaturally. And he no longer seemed to be suffering as much as before—
A faint trace of colour occasionally appeared on his perpetually pale face. The hideous curse markings that used to writhe from time to time also appeared to have been suppressed, moving only occasionally.
Then there was his tail. Although the tip was gone, the remaining portion had healed somewhat and had not begun rotting again. Its scales had also improved from their previous withered yellow colour to merely half-withered yellow.
His condition was much better than it had been before her last trip outside.
At this rate, perhaps another year—
Or maybe it would not even take a year. Mr. Dragon might wake up in only a few months.
Whenever she considered that he might become the tyrant known only by a title in the original body’s memories after awakening, Mu Wanwan still felt somewhat sad.
After all, she had raised this dragon for quite some time. Although he could not move, he had never harmed her and had given her endless motivation.
Besides, she had kissed him before.
She had even drunk his blood…
Although she could not tell whether she hoped Mr. Dragon would wake up or wished that he would remain asleep, she was genuinely happy about the changes in his condition.
Apart from Mr. Dragon, the fluffball was also doing very well.
The wounds on its little wings had improved considerably and had stopped bleeding long ago. The flesh had nearly grown back completely. However, there were no proper feathers over the previously injured areas. Only a thin layer of tiny down covered the bare skin, making it look rather unattractive.
But that was only how it looked.
Mengmeng was in excellent condition and was practically one step away from tearing the roof off the house.
It seemed extremely interested in Mr. Dragon’s pair of fluffy ears. Every now and then, it would jump onto the bed, step across Mr. Dragon’s face and rub against his ears.
Once, Mu Wanwan returned to the room after cultivating spiritual plants and saw the fluffball rubbing against Mr. Dragon’s ear. It then opened its tender yellow beak, seemingly intending to pluck out some of the fur and take it away to play with.
Fortunately, Mu Wanwan reacted quickly enough.
Otherwise, Mr. Dragon would have suffered terribly.
Just imagine it—the only adorable features Mr. Dragon possessed were his fluffy ears. If he completely lost that fluffiness, he would become nothing more than a smooth, scaly dragon…
“Chirp!”
Perhaps because it had been eating well lately, Mengmeng was full of energy every time it woke up.
Aside from Mr. Dragon’s ears, its favourite place was the small basket Mu Wanwan used to incubate the spirit-chicken eggs.
It would carefully crouch in the basket’s only empty space, squeeze its increasingly plump little body inside and stretch out both wings to cover the two spirit-chicken eggs, hugging one beneath each wing.
Even though it was tiny and its wings could only cover a small portion of each egg.
Whenever Mu Wanwan saw this loving scene, she could not help laughing.
It was also because the fluffball was there that her endless days of work did not feel quite so unbearable.
Over the past several days, Mu Wanwan had devoted herself to cultivating and growing seeds.
Although she had advanced in rank, the success rate of her cultivation had decreased.
The success rate for second-rank Blue Star Grass was approximately seventy per cent, while the Hundred Treasures Fruit was even lower, at roughly sixty per cent.
Moreover, the young seedlings she successfully cultivated required a considerable amount of spiritual energy to nourish every day.
Therefore, despite seven or eight days having passed, she had only managed to cultivate eleven second-rank Blue Star Grass plants and nine second-rank Hundred Treasures Fruit plants.
Since Mengmeng had not yet reached the first rank, Mu Wanwan still fed it fruits cultivated from the first-rank seeds she had left over.
A certain dragon, however, had received another improvement to his diet.
“Mr. Dragon, it’s time to eat.”
After preparing dinner, Mu Wanwan picked a fruit from one of the Blue Star Grass plants she had painstakingly cultivated and fed it to the dragon.
Second-rank Blue Star Grass fruits were also translucent, but their juice was richer and the fruits themselves were larger.
Generally, she only fed Mr. Dragon one per day.
Over the past few days, Mr. Dragon had gradually absorbed some of the spirit stones she had brought home. There were now two mid-grade spirit stones and three low-grade spirit stones remaining.
Mu Wanwan had also kept two low-grade spirit stones for herself.
Whenever cultivating seeds left her excessively exhausted, she would absorb a little energy from a spirit stone, using it to encourage herself as though she were extending her life.
After dinner, while night had yet to fall and the temperature was not unbearably cold, Mu Wanwan washed the dishes and heated some water.
After briefly cleaning both herself and Mr. Dragon, she prepared to do some needlework before going to sleep.
The weather was becoming increasingly cold, and overcast days were appearing more frequently.
It was not a dry cold either, but a damp chill. Washing anything was extremely unpleasant.
Only the inside of the house was slightly better. Mu Wanwan had bought several warming stones last time, making the indoor temperature somewhat higher than outside.
“What should I embroider tonight?”
Mu Wanwan lay on the bed with a warming stone beneath the quilt. Like a hot-water bottle, it provided a little heat.
Leaning halfway against the wall, she looked at the fluffball yawning on the bedside cabinet.
“Should I embroider another Mengmeng?”
After thinking about it, Mu Wanwan decided against embroidering Mengmeng again. She had already made many fluffball designs.
Perhaps she should embroider a pair of mandarin ducks instead. That would probably sell better.
“Chirp~”
As the night deepened, Mengmeng released a faint chirp.
It lay beside a warming stone that Mu Wanwan had deliberately placed next to its small blanket and closed its black, bean-like eyes.
The oil lamp gradually dimmed as well.
Mu Wanwan had completed half the embroidery when she began feeling soreness in her neck. She stopped working, climbed out of bed and gently tidied everything away.
“Good night, Mr. Dragon.”
As usual, Mu Wanwan greeted the dragon beside her before going to sleep.
She closed her eyes and soon drifted off.
Only after her calm breathing reached his ears—and after he cautiously used his spiritual consciousness to confirm that the damned fluffball was also deeply asleep—did Mr. Dragon slowly move.
The quilt had dried two days earlier, so Mu Wanwan had stopped sleeping together with him.
He now occupied more than half of the inner side of the jade bed alone. If he moved occasionally, she would not notice.
His pitch-black eyelashes trembled gently.
Mr. Dragon slowly opened his eyes.
The last warm glimmer from the nearly extinguished oil lamp was reflected in his dark pupils.
He blinked slowly, then twitched his ears. Feeling a slight pain in the fur covering them, he frowned—
He knew it.
That bird had taken advantage of him sleeping during the day to peck at his fur again!
However, the thought that he would soon be able to have some intimate contact with Madam still filled Mr. Dragon with anticipation.
He even happily swayed his tail slightly beneath the quilt.
Right.
The first step towards intimate contact was making himself look more attractive.
With his face faintly flushed, Mr. Dragon mobilised the spiritual energy inside his body.
After a faint flash of white light, the dragon whose face had been covered in black-and-red curse markings and whose head bore broken, hideous horns transformed into a handsome human with long black hair and narrow phoenix-shaped eyes.
His long, injured dragon tail also transformed into two strong, slender legs.
Although he had lost the tip of his tail, his body remained complete when he assumed human form.
He estimated that he would limp when walking and have a terrible sense of balance, but his face—
His face probably had not become much uglier, had it?
Mr. Dragon silently lifted an arm and gently touched his cheek.
He possessed nothing now.
Only this face remained somewhat acceptable.
Therefore, even during the night after Madam had fallen asleep, he insisted on wasting some spiritual energy to transform into human form.
He himself did not know what sort of mentality drove him to do it.
What should he do to Madam tonight?
A few days ago, he had shamelessly held her hand.
Having experienced the feeling of being embraced by Madam, he had gradually become somewhat dissatisfied.
He even wanted to kiss her.
Would that be too excessive?
Mr. Dragon turned onto his side.
Countless thoughts filled his mind, but his expression remained completely unmoved, perfectly inheriting the expressionless nature he had possessed since childhood.
His long black hair spread across the pillow. Anticipatory golden light flowed through his phoenix-shaped eyes, flashing with a colour resembling honey.
His thin lips were pressed together, and the gaze resting upon her carried a faint gentleness—
She looked far more beautiful than the first time he had observed her with his spiritual consciousness.
Her skin had become fairer.
Her eyelashes were not particularly long, but they curved adorably. When her eyes were open, they resembled bright stars. When closed, she appeared as peaceful as an ink painting.
Her long hair was scattered across the pillow. The tips of her ears and her lips were pink, and her collarbones were clearly visible.
She was not the sort of beauty who could topple a city at first glance, yet every part of her had grown precisely into the appearance he liked.
One glance had been enough to make escape impossible.
He had only fallen deeper and deeper.
Moreover, she was so good.
So very good.
A dull pain spread through his heart, and the light in Mr. Dragon’s eyes dimmed.
At first, he had believed that she was merely an ordinary human with mediocre talent.
Although marrying him had brought her terrible misfortune, once he recovered, he would spend his entire life—his very existence—protecting her.
But after consuming so many fruits cultivated using her spiritual energy, how could he possibly remain unaware that her talent was anything but ordinary?
She was only at the second rank, yet her cultivation success rate was already remarkably high.
The spiritual plants she produced were significantly superior to others of the same rank and even possessed the special ability to dispel curses.
How could that possibly be considered ordinary?
Across this continent, demonic creatures were gradually rising.
Even experts below the fifth rank could not completely dispel the curses of abyssal demons. The curses of the witch race were also becoming increasingly vicious.
Previously, only Jinjiang Grass and medicinal pills refined at an enormous cost had possessed remarkable effects against curses.
Now, Madam possessed that ability as well.
Although she was currently still weak and had even been forcibly bound to him, if he awakened and offered her a little guidance in alchemy, provided her with resources and gave her enough time, she would undoubtedly grow stronger with how hardworking she was.
By then, an alchemy master capable of refining curse-dispelling pills would be treated as an honoured guest wherever she went.
Even within the proud and aloof Special Lifeform Alliance, she would probably earn a place for herself.
She would become increasingly outstanding.
Increasingly dazzling.
Although he was attractive, many others beneath the heavens were equally good-looking.
Besides, she had never seen his human appearance before.
What if he happened not to be the type she liked?
Wanting to bind her to his side truly was selfish.
He no longer had his horns, and his strength had declined severely.
Even if he reconnected all seven shattered fragments of his primordial core, he would only recover eighty per cent of his former power.
He could not defeat a seventh-rank expert. If several sixth-rank experts surrounded him, he would also die.
Without using spiritual energy, he could not even walk without resembling a cripple.
It was uncertain whether he could reclaim all his former forces from Ao Qin.
Forcing her to remain beside him made him a truly terrible dragon.
He should set her free.
He should set her free.
She did not know that he was awake.
She was probably caring for him only out of responsibility and sympathy.
Mr. Dragon could not help remembering that embrace.
He could only deceive himself with the thought that she had merely been cold.
She had merely been cold.
She felt nothing towards him.
Yet despite knowing this, despite knowing that his actions could hardly be considered those of a righteous gentleman, despite believing himself to be as dark and shameful as a rat—
Mr. Dragon still decided to indulge himself.
She knew nothing.
She was sleeping deeply.
If he was gentle, she would never find out.
His heart tightened painfully while beating with violent force.
Mr. Dragon moved gently, taking the quilt with him as he gradually shifted above Mu Wanwan.
He braced both arms on either side of her pillow and greedily studied her sleeping face.
Fortunately, Mu Wanwan was not a particularly light sleeper.
She lay on her side. Although she sensed the change in light and shadow, her eyelashes merely trembled. She did not awaken.
He wanted to…
He wanted so badly…
To kiss her.
His blood gradually began to boil.
Sweat born of restraint appeared across Mr. Dragon’s forehead, and a flush spread across his face.
Yet his expression remained cold. His brows were even tightly furrowed, making him appear extremely reluctant.
“Madam…”
He heard himself whisper.
His voice was deep and hoarse from having gone unused for so long. It carried a frighteningly obsessive desire and echoed through the silent room.
“I…”
Mr. Dragon tilted his head slightly.
The flush on his face deepened, and his brows drew even tighter.
He wanted to ask, *May I kiss you?*
Just as Mu Wanwan always took advantage of him sleeping whenever she wanted to touch his ears, he wanted to bully the sleeping person a little.
But he was clearly incapable of saying it.
He managed only the word “I,” and even that seemed to cost him his life.
This old dragon, who had been single for so many years, simply could not say it aloud.
Mr. Dragon spent a long time gathering his courage.
With an expression as cold and bitter as though he were facing a mortal enemy, he struggled for ages and still produced only the word “I.”
The spiritual energy inside his body was rapidly draining away.
After hesitating for nearly fifteen minutes, Mr. Dragon remained unable to speak.
He could only decide to spare himself.
Silently imagining a scene in which Madam had agreed, he slowly bent down and reduced the distance between them.
Her features gradually enlarged in his vision.
She was getting closer.
Mr. Dragon’s heart began pounding faster and faster as blood rushed upwards—
Their breaths mingled.
Her warm exhalation brushed across his lips, sending a terrifying shudder through him.
No.
He could not endure it.
Mr. Dragon’s entire face turned red, yet he still could not bring himself to kiss her lips.
Slowly, very slowly, he carefully touched his lips to her cheek.
It was feather-light.
So light that it might have been an illusion.
Yet Mr. Dragon almost stopped breathing.
Even his solemn expression could not conceal the deep flush covering his entire face.
He failed to notice that his ears had emerged the instant he touched Mu Wanwan.
That pair of ears, which always betrayed his emotions, now rose and fell alongside the breaths he was desperately trying to suppress.
An unknown amount of time passed before Mr. Dragon finally calmed slightly.
After sensing the small amount of spiritual energy remaining inside his body, he shamelessly wondered—
Should he kiss her one more time?
Just as Mr. Dragon blushed, twitched his ears and prepared to steal another kiss, Mu Wanwan appeared to sense something.
Her sleepy eyelashes trembled.
She looked as though she were about to wake up.
Every time her eyelashes moved, Mr. Dragon’s heart trembled as well.
All the sweetness that had just risen inside him instantly transformed into an icy fear.
There was even a sudden feeling of disgust towards himself.
His pupils contracted, and his body instinctively went rigid.
By the time he reacted, he had already bent down and buried his head against the pillow beside her neck, attempting to conceal his stolen kiss through the behaviour of an ostrich.
Mu Wanwan merely felt that something was pressing against her, making her uncomfortable.
Still half asleep, she only noticed something fluffy beside her neck.
Mr. Dragon was so nervous that he almost died.
Madam had never awakened during the night on any of the previous evenings.
He had disgracefully lowered his guard.
Mr. Dragon felt profoundly uneasy, but when he heard Mu Wanwan speak, his heart—which had nearly fallen from a cliff—was abruptly caught by a tree branch.
“Mengmeng…”
Mu Wanwan indistinctly called the name of her fluffball.
“You climbed onto the bed to sleep again…”
The fluffball?
Mr. Dragon’s ears twitched.
An idea flashed through his mind like lightning.
He painfully maintained his rigid posture, his handsome face burning with embarrassment.
Beside her ear, he quietly produced the sound he had always despised—the excessively cute sound unique to the fluffball, which he had mocked countless times inside his heart.
“Chirp…”
His voice was deep, hoarse and quiet.
Only the ending rose slightly.
It possessed none of Mengmeng’s versatile cuteness.
Unexpectedly, Mu Wanwan failed to notice.
Still half asleep, she originally tried to get up, but then felt that the fluffball pressing against her was extremely heavy.
After attempting to move, she lazily lay back down.
“Mm… You’ve gained weight.”
Mr. Dragon felt her soft body lightly press against his chest through the quilt.
His entire dragon nearly exploded on the spot.
To lower Madam’s suspicions, he softly chirped twice more.
“Chirp~”
Only then did he return to his original place as quickly as possible, his face burning red.
Heaven knew he had nearly stopped breathing.
Mr. Dragon’s heart pounded violently.
He felt that sooner or later, he would lose his life at Mu Wanwan’s hands.
He had not yet recovered when Mu Wanwan began sensing that something was wrong.
Even if the fluffball had gained weight, it could not possibly have become that heavy.
And why had its voice sounded strange?
The more she thought about it in her sleep-clouded state, the stranger it seemed.
Had she encountered a ghost?
The thought suddenly appeared in her mind.
Mu Wanwan’s eyes flew open.
She gasped twice and sat halfway upright.
The lamp inside the room was nearly extinguished, leaving only a faint, dim glow.
She instinctively looked towards Mr. Dragon beside her pillow—
His fluffy ears were still there.
Wait.
Why had the black-and-red curse markings on his face disappeared?
Her heart abruptly rose into her throat.
Combined with her earlier suspicion that there was a ghost nearby, Mu Wanwan’s heart pounded violently.
She felt that she was about to die of fright.
She began calling the fluffball’s name incoherently.
“Mengmeng…”
“Mengmeng…”
“Chirp…?”
“Chirp!”
Hearing Mu Wanwan call for it, Mengmeng struggled to its feet and responded in its young voice.
It opened its large eyes and saw that Mu Wanwan looked ready to cry.
Nimbly jumping from the bedside cabinet to the edge of the bed, it hopped into her hands and rubbed its small head against her palm.
“Chirp, chirp?”
Feeling warmth in her hands, Mu Wanwan’s heart gradually regained its temperature.
However, she continued trembling.
The more she considered it, the more frightened she became.
What if—
What if the person lying beside her now was not Mr. Dragon, but a ghost?
“Mengmeng…”
“Chirp!”
Mengmeng responded loudly and offered Mu Wanwan another comforting nuzzle filled with love.
Mu Wanwan stroked Mengmeng’s tiny head.
After gathering her courage, she abruptly looked towards Mr. Dragon—
Ah.
It was still the familiar Mr. Dragon.
He lay there obediently and motionlessly.
She released a breath of relief and somewhat embarrassingly wiped away the cold sweat produced by her fear.
After gently returning the fluffball to the bedside cabinet, she climbed out of bed and lit another lamp.
The room instantly brightened.
Mu Wanwan was now completely awake.
“I’m sorry, Mengmeng. I disturbed your sleep.”
She quietly apologised to Mengmeng and received a bright chirp in response.
“Fortunately, you were here.”
She smiled while speaking.
Just as she prepared to say something to Mr. Dragon, who was still lying on the bed, she heard the crisp sound of a shell cracking.
“Chirp!”
The fluffball instantly became excited.
Flapping its small wings, which were still unable to fully support its body, it glided into the basket containing the spirit-chicken eggs.
Mu Wanwan’s spirits rose as well.
She put on an outer robe and walked over to the table.
With the lamp burning brightly, she could clearly see what was happening inside the basket—
Cracks had appeared across two of the spirit-chicken eggs.
Crack.
Crack.
The shells slowly split apart.
Were chicks about to hatch?
Mu Wanwan was pleasantly surprised.
At first, she had assumed that the eggs would not hatch.
After all, the temperature was now extremely low.
Although she had bought warming stones, covered the eggs with a handkerchief and Mengmeng occasionally sheltered them beneath its tiny wings, she had not held much hope.
The person who sold her the eggs had explained that these were first-rank spirit-chicken eggs.
Without a mother hen incubating them, their chances of hatching were extremely low.
If they failed to hatch after five days, they could generally be used as an additional meal.
However, perhaps because she had experienced Mr. Dragon’s dream, Mu Wanwan had developed some emotional attachment to them.
She had originally planned to eat them only if they still had not hatched after ten days.
Instead, they had now given her such a wonderful surprise.
It would have been wonderful if little Mr. Dragon were here.
If little Mr. Dragon saw that his Dabao and Xiaobao had hatched, he would surely have been extremely happy.
Mu Wanwan’s gaze softened.
She watched as two fragile little chicks slowly broke free from their shells.
Then, facing the first bird they saw—Mengmeng—they released crisp cries demanding food.
=_=!
Mengmeng did not see anything strange about this.
It happily chirped greetings back at them.
Mu Wanwan was speechless, yet she could not help laughing.
Well, the chicks had hatched.
She probably would not be sleeping again tonight.
Filled with energy, Mu Wanwan arranged everything she needed to do next.
Her expression was happy and gentle in a way that she herself failed to notice.
Mr. Dragon slowly withdrew his spiritual consciousness.
His heart, which had nearly been caught, finally settled.
Watching Mu Wanwan, the fluffball and the newly hatched, ugly little spirit-chicken chicks, Mr. Dragon’s lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly.
Yet his eyes began to sting.
He—
He had known for a long time.
He had already known.
During the second year after losing his “home” and being forced to flee, he had learned the truth.
Eggs that looked like that were spirit-chicken eggs.
They could never hatch little dragon cubs.
Even if the spirit-chicken eggs were named Dabao and Xiaobao, they could never hatch dragon cubs.
—
**Author’s Note:**
Mr. Dragon, in a deep and hoarse voice: “Chirp…”
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