The leader’s voice was gentle, carrying an elusive air of profundity.
“Because of the situation.”
“The situation?” Leng An asked in confusion.
He had served as the master of Xianqing Pavilion in the Dragon Clan’s capital for several decades and possessed a vast amount of information concerning the Dragon Lord.
From his miserable childhood to the approximate areas where he was currently hiding, Leng An understood nearly everything clearly.
The Dragon Lord had faced several life-and-death crises before, yet his master had never mentioned helping him.
His master even treated his own disciples with a calm, detached attitude.
Leng An had already been shocked when his master intervened last time to save the Dragon Lord, who had nearly died by the roadside. Yet now, he had actually sent Leng An’s martial uncle to seize territory that clearly did not belong to the Special Lifeform Alliance.
Leng An could not understand it at all.
“My disciple,” the leader said casually, his deep eyes resembling bottomless pools. “Let me ask you this. After all these years, how well do you understand the current situation on the continent?”
Leng An did not quite understand where this was going, but he still pondered for a moment before answering.
“No cultivator from any race has ascended in the past several thousand—perhaps even tens of thousands—of years.”
“Humans value emotional bonds. Their senior cultivators found a way to establish a teleportation formation in the upper realm and sent down a ninth-rank formation. Even if the continent were destroyed, the human cultivation world would still be able to support itself and live perfectly well.”
“As for the other races, the Dragon Clan is stubbornly conservative, the Witch Clan grows stronger by the day, and the demon race is embroiled in internal struggles for power. Most of us special lifeforms only wish to live peaceful lives, while the remaining races are all relatively weak.”
“Mm. Your analysis is quite good.”
The leader offered another hint.
“Many monsters are extremely weak. They can never leave the Demon Realm throughout their entire lives. Furthermore, not every monster is capable of cursing others. Most merely leave demonic energy behind, and that can be removed with pills.”
The leader gave him an unreadable glance.
“At present, apart from me and a few old fellows who have essentially withdrawn from the world, there are very few people capable of doing that, aren’t there?”
Leng An vaguely began to understand.
He guessed somewhat uncertainly, “Master, are you helping her husband because of Little Junior Sister?”
The leader widened his eyes.
“What Little Junior Sister? Don’t speak nonsense. I haven’t even met her yet.”
The antennae on Leng An’s forehead curved slightly.
His master simply enjoyed beating around the bush.
After saying so much, was it not because he had taken a liking to the Dragon Lord’s little wife’s talent for weakening the curses of the Witch Clan and the demon race and wanted to take her as his disciple?
Yet he had gone on and on about unrelated matters, making Leng An think that the continent was about to be destroyed.
That was what Leng An had thought.
Although the high-ranking monsters were dissatisfied with their current living conditions, they had never previously shown any intention of destroying the continent.
After all, Leng An’s biological brother lived in the Demon Realm.
He had received no news of unrest there or of any attempt to invade the continent.
Instead, life in the Demon Realm had truly grown increasingly difficult. Ordinary monsters lived miserable lives, while only the most powerful ones remained comfortable.
The Mermaid Clan had recently suffered some disturbances caused by low-ranking monsters, but that was still far from the destruction of the continent.
His master really was awkward.
Leng An could not understand it. Since his master wanted Mu Wanwan as a disciple so badly, why not simply explain everything to her and bring her here?
Instead, he was going to all this trouble.
The leader glanced at him, seemingly recognising his confusion.
“There must be trials before I accept a disciple.”
The first trial was whether she would truly remain loyal and refuse to abandon her companion during times of crisis.
The second was whether she could continue improving while trapped in adversity.
As for that dragon…
If he managed to break through, the leader supposed he could reluctantly refrain from opposing their relationship.
The leader’s whiskers trembled.
Although he verbally insisted that he had not decided to accept Mu Wanwan as his disciple, the Special Lifeform Alliance’s characteristic protectiveness had already emerged in full force.
Leng An finally understood.
He did not ask anything further and merely said, “Master, are we going to let the Azure Dragon Clan continue believing that the Dragon Lord is here?”
“Mm.” The leader nodded. “Delay them for several days.”
A starving camel was still larger than a horse.
Although the Dragon Clan no longer possessed any seventh-rank experts, it had more sixth-rank cultivators than any other race.
No matter how powerful Moteng was, it could not withstand the combined assault of more than a dozen enormous dragons.
The Dragon Clan had divided its people into several groups.
Ao Qin had gone to the Witch Clan to argue with Wu Yao, while the remaining members had to search for Mr. Dragon, maintain order, and guard the forbidden land.
They should still be able to delay them for a while.
According to the intelligence he had previously gathered, the leader could not calculate the exact location of his future little disciple and her husband, but they should be somewhere on the opposite side, close to the Demon Realm.
…
His calculations were correct.
Mu Wanwan and Mr. Dragon were indeed close to the Demon Realm.
However, they were not on one of the nearly lifeless islands.
They were beneath the sea.
After the human and dragon finished listening to Bai Huan’s entire report through the Azure Dragon communication token, Mu Wanwan asked cautiously, “Mr. Dragon, we aren’t currently in the place Bai Huan mentioned, are we?”
A certain dragon noticed the concern hidden in her eyes and rubbed her head.
“We’re on the opposite side.”
Only then did Mu Wanwan sigh in relief.
She looked up at him.
“All right. How do you want to eat this shrimp?”
Mr. Dragon’s expression stiffened.
His thin lips pressed together, and unmistakable guilt appeared in his eyes.
“You…”
A strand of damp hair hung beside his face, droplets of water sliding from it. His eyelashes trembled.
“Aren’t you worried about how long we’ll have to remain here?”
Hearing his tone, Mu Wanwan immediately realised that the dragon was beginning to overthink and blame himself again.
She did not give him the opportunity to let his thoughts wander.
Although the affectionate words embarrassed even her, she said, “I am worried. But as long as I’m with you, anywhere is fine.”
Her face turned red the instant she finished speaking.
She hurriedly changed the subject.
“I-I’ll go check on Mengmeng.”
Of course she was worried.
She simply did not want to place any more pressure on Mr. Dragon.
Perhaps more accurately, she was afraid that the dragon would once again believe he was a burden to her.
She was afraid he would trap himself in a dead end, believing that if it were not for him, she would not be hiding inside this tiny cave, unable to live a normal life or interact with other people.
Even though none of that truly mattered to her.
Mu Wanwan’s heart beat somewhat quickly.
It was the first time she had ever said anything so sentimental.
Although they had kissed and could be considered married, she had never loudly declared that she liked him very much and wanted to remain with him forever.
Even this time, she had expressed it rather indirectly.
Mu Wanwan pressed her hands against her burning cheeks and walked several steps away.
This time, however, Mr. Dragon did not stop her.
Her heart initially felt strangely empty.
Unable to resist, Mu Wanwan turned around when she reached the inner cave.
Through the curtain, she saw the dragon lowering his eyes.
Every visible patch of his skin had turned red.
Her mood immediately lightened.
Mu Wanwan no longer felt quite so embarrassed and used spiritual energy to retrieve Mengmeng from the mustard-seed space.
Mengmeng had become slightly more restrained recently.
Perhaps because its intelligence had developed further, it had begun paying attention to its cleanliness.
Previously, it would roll around with the spiritual-chicken chicks while playing. Now, it maintained a dignified distance from them.
Who knew whom it resembled?
Occasionally, it would even fussily groom its constantly shedding feathers.
By the time Mu Wanwan pulled it out, Mr. Dragon had also composed himself.
The instant he stepped inside, Mengmeng sneezed.
Mu Wanwan failed to hold it securely.
The fluffball flapped its wings several times, covering a certain dragon’s face in feathers.
Mu Wanwan: “…”
Mr. Dragon: “…”
Knowing it had done something wrong, the little fluffball met a certain dragon’s gaze, grew frightened, and pattered over to Mu Wanwan.
It wrapped its wings around her leg.
Mu Wanwan lowered her head and met a pair of watery, trembling eyes.
“All right. Don’t frighten it.”
She stroked the large fluffball and took out a fruit to coax it.
The certain dragon who had been told not to frighten it: “…”
Mr. Dragon felt aggrieved.
Mr. Dragon became jealous.
The dragon had not yet recovered from the sweet happiness of Madam’s apparent confession when he suffered a devastating blow.
He had once thought having more eggs would be better.
But now…
Perhaps merely experiencing the process of making little dragons would be enough.
Mr. Dragon’s gaze shifted evasively.
His face, which had only just returned to its normal colour, turned bright red again.
He watched Mu Wanwan gently comfort the fluffball.
His slender fingers wiped Mengmeng’s white feathers from his cheek, and his furry ears trembled aggrievedly.
He walked over, squeezed the fluffball out of the way, and said coldly, “I didn’t frighten it.”
Mu Wanwan: “…”
She very much wanted to tell Mr. Dragon that his current expression was rather frightening.
“All right. You didn’t.”
Mu Wanwan sounded slightly helpless.
However, as soon as she spoke, she saw a certain dragon’s dark brows gradually relax.
He smiled at her, revealing his rare little dimple.
He was seducing her again.
This was too much!
The human and dragon resembled the most ordinary married couple.
They cautiously kissed each other, then discussed when they should leave and which belongings they needed to take with them within the somewhat desolate cave.
Although the future was deeply uncertain and appeared filled with endless storms and battles, at least during this moment—throughout this one lunch—their lives seemed exceptionally peaceful.
The food he had brought back tasted wonderful.
Perhaps it was because Mr. Dragon was eating it with her, but the shrimp meat tasted extraordinarily, extraordinarily, extraordinarily sweet.
Neither the human nor the dragon rested afterward.
They seemed to share an unspoken understanding.
One cultivated diligently to recover his strength, while the other refined pills desperately to eliminate anything that might trouble them later.
Occasionally, when they paused and their gazes met, merely seeing each other caused all their exhaustion to scatter like fluffy clouds.
The little fluffball was also very obedient.
During the day, it did nothing except eat and play.
At night, it slept. =_=!
It was the perfect example of a lazy glutton.
Except when Mu Wanwan exhausted the flames in the pill furnace and dragged it over as temporary labour to breathe fire, Mengmeng’s days were extremely leisurely.
Moreover, its old father enjoyed leaving every day to bring back fresh ingredients.
Therefore, its food was even better than when they had lived at the residence.
It had already grown into an enormous, fat fluffball.
Fortunately, its ability to breathe fire had also improved slightly.
Otherwise, even Mu Wanwan might have begun disliking it.
Mu Wanwan gazed at the freshly completed third-rank Snow Condensation Pills and rubbed her aching eyes.
She suddenly heard Mr. Dragon spring to his feet.
Mu Wanwan opened her misty eyes and looked at him.
“What’s wrong?”
According to her calculations, only a little more than thirty hours had passed since they had last slept.
“Sea demons.”
Golden light flashed through Mr. Dragon’s eyes.
He walked to her side, bent down, and kissed her forehead.
“Don’t look.”
He seemed to have discovered a new technique for teasing and reassuring Madam.
Although he remained shy, he had become considerably more proactive.
Mu Wanwan stood and took his hand.
“I’ll come with you.”
Mr. Dragon tightly gripped her hand but said nothing.
The broken horn on his forehead abruptly appeared, gradually turning translucent and lustrous.
Just as it had several times before, it enveloped her entire body and formed a spiritual-energy barrier.
“I’ll worry.”
Fear that he did not wish her to discover was hidden beneath his voice, but his expression remained as calm as ever.
She knew nothing about his dark and bloodstained past.
In front of her, he had always presented himself as weak and fragile.
Mr. Dragon knew that.
Precisely because of this, he worried even more.
He was afraid she would see him slaughtering his enemies.
Even if she accepted it, the sight would inevitably make her uncomfortable.
He genuinely worried that she would be frightened, and he truly did not want her to witness such a bloody scene.
However, Mr. Dragon would never realise how terrible his acting was.
His shifting gaze, his refusal to look directly at her, and the slight downward curve of his lips all clearly announced that he was hiding something.
Mu Wanwan felt somewhat helpless.
However, she had too few clues and did not understand exactly what Mr. Dragon was concealing from her.
She did not absolutely have to go outside.
Her strength was currently rather weak, and she might cause trouble.
Moreover, she felt that if she continued insisting on accompanying him, Mr. Dragon might become so anxious that he cried. *(:3」∠)*
“All right.”
Mu Wanwan pointed towards the fluffball lying on the ground.
“Put Mengmeng inside one too.”
Mr. Dragon paused.
Under Mu Wanwan’s gaze, he forcibly created another small spiritual-energy barrier and placed the fat fluffball inside it.
Even if the dragon was forced to leave Madam, he would absolutely never hand Madam over to the fat fluffball.
Hmph.
Mu Wanwan: “…”
He would not allow her to accompany him, but he also would not permit her to remain with the fluffball.
Was this dragon planning to make her wait alone and lonely until he returned?
Mu Wanwan watched Mr. Dragon’s hands gradually transform into sharp claws.
His bald ears and shortened tail also appeared, and he assumed the battle form of the little Mr. Dragon she had previously seen.
He appeared much stronger now.
Most of the withered yellow scales she had seen when they first met had fallen away.
Even the soft scales covering the section of his tail that helped him maintain balance—which had previously been easily scratched and made to bleed—had been replaced by tightly arranged golden scales.
Only his gaze remained as sharp as she remembered.
As fastidious as ever, he straightened the clothes that had torn during his transformation, then lowered his head and glanced at the shoes he had accidentally split apart.
He looked somewhat embarrassed.
Concern was hidden beneath his dark brows, but he pretended not to care and gave Mu Wanwan a sidelong glance.
Just as he prepared to leave—
“Wait.”
Mu Wanwan pointed towards the freshly refined pills on the table.
“Come back quickly.”
Mr. Dragon gently blinked his long eyelashes.
He smiled at her, picked up the pills, and looked at her with eyes filled with stars.
“All right.”
Mu Wanwan watched his back disappear from view.
Then she discovered that, perhaps because the barrier blocked something this time, she could neither hear the sounds outside nor move her body.
Was he afraid she would leave?
Mu Wanwan was actually somewhat unhappy.
She knew Mr. Dragon did not want her to suffer while listening to the fighting.
She also understood that bringing his family along while fighting might feel somewhat embarrassing for a dragon.
Nevertheless, she could not suppress her sadness.
Why would he not let her accompany him?
Mu Wanwan angrily glanced at the large fluffball still sleeping, completely unaware of what was happening outside.
She waited for a while.
Rather than calming down, she grew increasingly anxious.
The sea demon’s shriek from last time continued echoing in her mind.
Furthermore, Mr. Dragon had taken some time to defeat it.
What if there were many of them this time?
What if he was injured?
He would certainly pretend that it did not hurt.
Just like before.
Things never proceeded as expected.
Mu Wanwan once again sank into an endless wait.
Time seemed to stretch impossibly long.
By the time she had cultivated a new Snow Condensation flower and Mr. Dragon still had not returned, her anxiety had overwhelmed everything else.
She attempted to extend her spiritual energy beyond the barrier.
Before it could escape, however, the cave suddenly trembled.
Mu Wanwan slid uncontrollably and watched several tiny fragments of rock fall in front of her.
Although small, they seemed to possess tremendous force, striking heavily against her heart.
Stupid dragon.
Stupid dragon.
Stupid dragon!
Were the enemies extremely difficult to handle?
She bit her lip hard and attempted to climb to her feet, wanting to send her spiritual energy outside.
Light flowed across the spiritual barrier.
Her wood-element spiritual energy was absorbed almost instantly.
What should she do?
Could her divine sense travel outside?
Mu Wanwan closed her eyes and attempted to guide the weak divine sense within her sea of consciousness outward.
“!”
She tried more than a dozen times, the pain draining all colour from her face.
Her divine sense finally emerged.
However, she was useless.
That tiny trace of divine sense merely spun around approximately ten centimetres in front of her forehead.
It could not travel any farther, let alone allow her to see Mr. Dragon.
“Liar.”
Mu Wanwan felt terrible.
Her lips trembled from the pain as she closed her eyes and calculated the time.
She had already been waiting for nearly an hour.
That dragon was a liar.
Whenever he promised to return at a certain time, he never did.
She would never believe him again.
But please…
Please do not let anything happen to him.
Mu Wanwan’s eyes reddened.
Then she felt sound gradually returning to the world around her.
A gentle voice called her Madam.
It was Mr. Dragon.
She abruptly opened her eyes.
His eyes still glowed gold, while droplets of blood stained his forehead.
He looked terribly dishevelled.
“Don’t cry.”
The dragon saw her curled into a ball with her eyes closed and assumed that she must have been terrified.
But the dragon was very powerful.
In truth, those troublesome third-rank monsters and nearly one hundred sea demons had not been particularly difficult.
It only hurt a tiny bit.
Moreover, they could no longer remain in this cave.
He had tried to keep the noise from reaching her.
He had not expected her to remain frightened.
The dragon had simply failed to control his strength properly.
“I drove them all away,” Mr. Dragon said softly, as though taking her frightened feelings into consideration. “They were very weak.”
Mu Wanwan saw numerous bloody cuts across his neck where the sea demons’ sharp weapons had struck him.
His clothes had been torn into rags.
Blood clung to his handsome face, and his lips trembled from the pain, yet he continued insisting that his enemies had been weak.
She glared at the dragon furiously.
However, she was extremely anxious and her eyes were filled with tears.
When Mr. Dragon saw the tears gathering at their corners, his heart nearly melted from pain.
She had cried because she was frightened.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Mr. Dragon initially intended to wipe away her tears.
However, remembering that his hands were still dirty—and worrying that Madam would be even more frightened—he withdrew them.
He crouched before her in an almost coaxing manner.
“Don’t cry.”
Mu Wanwan had genuinely been angered to tears.
She raised her hands and covered her eyes.
This dragon actually thought she was frightened?
She had not feared him even when he had been in that terrible condition.
Now there were merely a few sea demons.
Even if they were somewhat ugly, she would not be that frightened.
Mu Wanwan was so angry that she could not speak.
She wanted to turn her back and ignore him, but the sight of his injuries made her heart ache.
She continued covering her face.
The dragon became even more anxious and repeatedly said things such as—
“Be good.”
“Don’t be afraid.”
And then… Mu Wanwan became even angrier. 🙂
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