Even after bidding farewell to Jiu Qing and leaving Xianqing Pavilion, Mu Wanwan still had not recovered from the revelation that **Mr. Dragon had given her a drop of his heart’s blood**.
She stood in front of a spice shop for a long time.
The shopkeeper watched the person wearing a veiled hat and dull grey clothing remain planted outside his shop without buying anything. Considering that the jade bracelet around her wrist looked valuable enough to be worth a few low-grade spirit stones, he patiently waited for a while.
Eventually, however, he could no longer hold himself back.
“Senior, are you going to buy something or not?”
Mu Wanwan abruptly returned to her senses.
Seeing the impatient expression on the shopkeeper’s face, she glanced over the sugar displayed in the shop.
“Which kind is the best?”
The shopkeeper frowned. Still, believing that one should not judge people by their appearance, he pointed at the sugar sealed inside several small jars at the back of the shop.
“It’s refined from spirit sugarcane. It’s very expensive—three gold coins for one small jar.”
Mu Wanwan nodded and took out three gold coins without hesitation.
“I’ll take one jar.”
Previously, she had bought ordinary sugar. Over the past few days, after the dragon awakened, she had added some to the cooked spirit-rice porridge she prepared for him.
He had liked it very much.
Now that she finally had a little money, it was not a bad idea to buy better sugar and improve their meals.
Ignoring the shopkeeper’s suddenly ingratiating expression, Mu Wanwan took the sugar and left.
She stood amid the crowds flowing along the street. Snowflakes rustled past her ears, and the cold wind blew against her, filling her with a profound sense of loneliness.
Jiu Qing’s voice continued echoing through her mind.
“For a dragon, losing blood from the heart is equivalent to sacrificing part of his life and natural talent.”
“For demons and dragons afflicted by a curse, the blood from their hearts is probably the only part of them that remains completely pure.”
Mu Wanwan instinctively touched her chest.
She felt as though the place beneath her palm was gradually growing warmer.
She had thought she had been fortunate enough to advance because of her extraordinary talent. That was why she had risen by two ranks in such a short period.
But it turned out that Mr. Dragon had silently sacrificed so much for her from a very long time ago.
Remembering how she had previously asked him whether he no longer wanted her made Mu Wanwan’s face turn red.
Alongside the pain she felt for that foolish dragon, there was also a faint sweetness. It flowed like a stream of joy that could never be dissolved, slowly surrounding her entire heart.
It made her like him even more.
She liked him so, so much.
Mu Wanwan’s eyes grew hot.
She found a quiet corner and stood there silently for a long time.
She needed to calm herself down. Otherwise, her mind would remain filled entirely with the image of that foolish dragon, and she would not be able to concentrate on shopping at all.
He truly was such a stupid dragon.
If he had awakened so early, why had he not told her?
Why had he made her believe that he did not like her?
Mu Wanwan gently stroked the jade bracelet around her wrist again and again.
Jiu Qing had spoken with her for a while longer and promised that she would properly deal with Bai Shuiyao.
She had also confirmed that the crystal sphere Uncle Tie had given her was genuine and posed no danger.
“Are you truly going to watch it?”
As Jiu Qing put on her black cloak and prepared to leave, she recalled the rumours concerning the Sovereign’s past and the infamous battle that had earned him the name of tyrant.
In the end, she could not resist warning Mu Wanwan.
“Perhaps it would be better not to watch it.”
After speaking with Mu Wanwan for a while, she could tell that the person before her was extremely soft-hearted.
Although Mu Wanwan was not without principles or boundaries, she had probably never witnessed such scenes of slaughter before.
Jiu Qing understood the nature of dragons very well.
Although the dragon she had encountered was a complete scoundrel, dragons shared certain common characteristics—such as greed and a terrifyingly intense possessiveness.
If Mu Wanwan saw what that dragon had done in the past and became frightened of him, Jiu Qing worried that a dragon with such a strong desire for possession might simply imprison her.
At the time, Mu Wanwan still had not recovered from learning that Mr. Dragon had given her a drop of his heart’s blood. She had been rather dazed and had not carefully considered Jiu Qing’s warning. She had merely arranged the date of their next meeting.
Now that she had calmed down slightly, Mu Wanwan remembered Jiu Qing’s words as well as Uncle Tie’s earlier warning.
Uncle Tie wanted her to see those memories.
Jiu Qing did not.
Could there truly be something in Mr. Dragon’s past that she would be unable to accept?
Mu Wanwan felt a little sour inside.
As long as Mr. Dragon had not once been desperately in love with someone else, she should be able to accept almost anything.
That old dragon probably had not, anyway.
Considering how awkward and contrary he was, he had most likely remained single entirely through his own abilities.
Mu Wanwan laughed and lightly kicked a stone beside her foot.
She decided not to watch the memories for now.
It was not as though she absolutely needed to know.
Her next priority was to purchase the things they needed at home. Mr. Dragon had said that he would return in three to five days. She could use that time to cultivate spirit plants and refine pills.
His curse had probably not completely disappeared.
Mu Wanwan frowned slightly.
She remembered that the curse markings on the dragon’s face were still very dark. He could not possibly have recovered completely.
She needed to prepare Snow Condensation Pills and higher-ranked spirit plants for him.
Rather than spirit stones, she wished he would focus on properly recovering from his injuries. However, her abilities were limited. She might not be capable of providing enough spirit stones for him to recover fully.
Now, she only hoped that everything would go smoothly and that he would recover as soon as possible.
Ao Qin’s existence was like a mountain that could come crashing down upon them at any moment.
She was truly afraid that Ao Qin would find them before Mr. Dragon had completely regained his strength.
Mu Wanwan tightened her sleeves around herself.
No matter what happened, she would take good care of everything at home and wait for him to return.
Because she had a relatively ample supply of spirit stones this time, Mu Wanwan bought some sugar and spirit meat, replenished their vegetable seeds, and purchased new clothing and bedding.
She also remembered to buy necessities such as warming stones, lamp oil, and handkerchiefs.
In the end, she could not resist buying a little rouge and face powder.
According to the shopkeeper, the rouge was currently the most fashionable kind and could “drive one’s husband utterly mad with desire.”
Later, the shopkeeper also persuaded her to purchase a solid perfume balm that was supposedly the most popular product among female cultivators. Applying it to the skin would allegedly maintain an irresistibly alluring fragrance.
Together, the products cost almost two gold coins.
Apart from food, they were probably the most extravagant things Mu Wanwan had ever bought for herself.
The market shared by the human and dwarf tribes was indeed larger and more interesting than the elven market.
She wandered around for half the day. At noon, she spent five copper coins on a spirit-pork bun she had wanted but could not bear to buy during her first visit to the market.
She ate it for lunch.
It was already afternoon by the time she finished purchasing everything and prepared to leave.
Hongye had waited outside for quite a long time this time, but she did not complain. She merely pulled her clothing more tightly around herself.
“Madam, it looks as though there will be a heavy snowstorm. We should hurry back.”
Mu Wanwan climbed onto the ox cart.
Feeling the cold wind scrape past her ears, she glanced at the increasingly terrible weather, unable to suppress her worry.
If there was a blizzard, the clothing she had bought him was still far too thin.
Although a seventh-rank cultivator probably would not fear cold like this.
They remained silent throughout the journey.
After bidding farewell to Hongye, Mu Wanwan pushed open the courtyard gate.
The courtyard that Mr. Dragon had previously stained had been almost completely cleaned. The remaining traces of blood had been covered beneath the heavy snow.
Everything inside and outside the house was blanketed in white.
Mu Wanwan securely closed the courtyard gate.
Inside, Mengmeng was still wrapped in its little blanket and sleeping.
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Mu Wanwan felt that Mengmeng seemed noticeably fatter than before.
She grew slightly worried. She broke open a fruit from a Blue Star Grass plant and fed it a little, then placed two spirit stones beside it.
After organising the things she had purchased, Mu Wanwan went to the kitchen to check on the spirit-chicken chicks.
She fried a few vegetables for herself, ate, and began working.
That night, when it was time to sleep, Mu Wanwan habitually prepared bedding for two people.
Only after she finished did she belatedly remember that Mr. Dragon was not at home.
Her heart felt empty.
She placed the crystal sphere Uncle Tie had given her beside the bed and stared at it.
Looking at the crystal sphere felt almost like looking at the dragon who had left home.
Over the following two or three days, Mengmeng still did not awaken.
Aside from the spirit-chicken chicks, Mu Wanwan was the only living creature moving through the courtyard.
The weather was terrible. Thick snow fell every day.
Mu Wanwan worked hard each day, cultivating spirit plants, refining pills, and practising her cultivation. Occasionally, she cleared away the snow and rubbed Mengmeng’s sleeping little belly.
From time to time, she would take out the note Mr. Dragon had left and read it again.
He had said that he would return in three to five days.
Tonight was already the third night.
Why had he still not returned?
Mu Wanwan sat beside the bed, her long hair falling loosely around her as she gazed at the gloomy grey sky beyond the window.
She worried about him constantly.
Had her dragon encountered danger outside?
Or had something happened that was preventing him from returning?
No.
He would not encounter danger.
The weather was probably simply too terrible, delaying his journey home.
Mu Wanwan tried hard to persuade herself.
Nevertheless, starting from the third night, she became completely unable to sleep.
The room was painfully empty, yet his figure seemed to linger everywhere.
Every time she finished refining a batch of pills, she ran from the study to the courtyard gate, hoping that when she opened it, she would see Mr. Dragon standing outside.
By the fifth day, Mu Wanwan had begun imagining sounds that were not there.
She even ruined several batches of pills.
She realised that she was no longer in the right condition to continue refining them.
However, by the sixth day, Mr. Dragon still had not returned.
Her fingers touched the icy courtyard gate.
Mu Wanwan was not wearing especially thick clothing. The spiritual energy of a third-rank cultivator surrounded her, clearly shielding her from the cold wind.
Yet a chill began spreading from the depths of her heart.
Mr. Dragon did not seem like the kind of dragon who would break a promise.
Why was it already the sixth day?
Why had he not returned?
She desperately wanted to search for him, but she did not know where to look.
What if he was already on his way home?
Perhaps something had merely delayed him.
With this thought, Mu Wanwan stood by the courtyard gate and waited for another entire day.
From early morning until late at night, she leaned helplessly against the wall.
Mist gradually clouded her vision, and tears slipped down her face.
Mu Wanwan raised a hand to wipe them away in embarrassment.
Her fingertips became stained with bright-red rouge.
For a moment, she felt unbearably foolish.
She had wanted him to see her looking prettier.
Over the past few days, she had been practising how to use the rouge sold here. Every day, she carefully applied makeup.
But that hateful dragon had made her wait for so many days.
He still had not returned.
He had made her worry so much.
If he could not give her a proper explanation when he returned, she absolutely would not forgive him.
Mu Wanwan’s heart ached terribly.
She pressed her lips together, no longer wanting to wait there like a fool.
Returning to the room, she angrily removed all her makeup.
Then she looked at Mengmeng, who had swallowed several spirit stones over the past few days and become increasingly round.
Still upset, she began poking the little fluffball’s belly.
Both of them were the same.
One dragon and one fluffball—both making her worry like this.
However, after she poked Mengmeng several times, she suddenly heard a tiny—
“Chirp…”
Mu Wanwan’s eyes lit up.
Her hands began to tremble as she watched the little fluffball slowly open its eyes.
She had thought she was accustomed to loneliness.
When she was young, she had studied and practised writing alone. After growing up, she had spent every day struggling to survive. During rare moments of leisure, she would browse amusing, ridiculous things on her phone and laugh until it seemed as though she could never feel lonely.
Yet she had only met him a few short months ago, and already she could no longer bear to be alone.
“Chirp!”
Mengmeng shook its newly grown, fluffy feathers and hopped twice.
It seemed unable to understand why the small body of the incomparably handsome, dashing, invincible, and adorable Mengmeng had suddenly become so much heavier.
It had spent many days fleeing through a vast amount of information.
Now, it had finally escaped.
The little fluffball missed Wanwan so much.
It even missed that hateful, wicked dragon a tiny bit.
“Chirp, chirp!”
Mengmeng’s round eyes noticed that Wanwan looked as though she was about to cry, and its heart immediately ached.
It jumped up and rubbed its much larger, fluffy head against her palm, chirping repeatedly.
Don’t cry, don’t cry!
Mengmeng is fine!
Mengmeng is awake now!
Its feathers tickled Mu Wanwan’s palm.
She finally smiled and stroked the newly grown down covering its body. Most of the feathers were white, making Mengmeng look even more adorable.
“Mengmeng, you’re still the best.”
Thinking about the dragon made Mu Wanwan feel even more aggrieved. She could not resist rubbing her cheek against the little fluffball.
Her rubbing pushed Mengmeng’s feathers crookedly to one side.
The cold lingering on Mu Wanwan’s body made it shiver several times.
“Chirrrp~~”
Mu Wanwan fed Mengmeng some fruit and forced herself to eat a little as well.
Then she held the little fluffball and waited with it for the dragon to return.
She stared at the crystal sphere beside the bed.
Her desire to smash it grew increasingly intense.
Stupid dragon.
Bad dragon.
Ugly dragon.
If he still had not returned by tomorrow, she truly would watch those memories.
She would not bother preserving his dignity.
After all, she missed him so terribly.
As Mu Wanwan thought about him, she slowly curled into herself.
There was a warming stone beneath the blankets, yet her entire body still felt cold.
Mr. Dragon, please, please do not let anything happen to you.
Please return safely.
Leave a Reply