Chapter 25

“When did you guys form the contract?”

“About … about two days ago.”

Zhou Chong Wen glanced around at the devastation comparable to the site of an earthquake: “A dragon cub"s spiritual power can"t cause such destruction.”

“Yeah, yeah, even I was bitten by him.” The young dragon wept, numbly touching his injured leg. “But I"m an adult dragon.”

Zhou Chong Wen"s expression darkened, and the dragon youth quickly shut his mouth.

“Although he"s currently weak in spiritual power, his divine bone is extremely strong. The sudden chest pain and weakness you just felt, was a result of him using the contract to drain your spiritual power.”

Bai Huo"s lips were bloodless.

“Theoretically, when two parties share spiritual power in the contract, the stronger one should have to voluntarily transfer it to the weaker one. This is the first time I"ve seen it go the opposite way. Because the spiritual power was too strong, it was far beyond his divine bone"s current ability to load, and this damaged it.” Zhou Chong Wen stared at Bai Huo, “The child is too young to understand what he"s doing, but you"re an adult dragon, Bai Huo, you"ll have to be held accountable for this incident.”

The abandoned building was so quiet that a needle drop could be heard, no one spoke for a long time.

A long while later, Bai Huo hugged the little dragon cub, who was mumbling in pain, and said in a soft voice, “Shige, I understand what you mean, I"m willing to be punished on his behalf, but could you please let me take him to the clinic first? “

Zhou Chong Wen stared at him and said nothing.

Fearing that he wouldn"t agree, Bai Huo hurriedly said: “I promise I won"t escape, if you"re worried, I can draw out my divine bone and give it to you as leverage.”

Zhou Chong Wen shook his head.

Bai Huo clenched his teeth, but then Zhou Chong Wen said, “The clinic can"t cure him, you have to go to Beichuan.”

Bai Huo was stumped for words.

The sound of footsteps echoed downstairs, with the dragons" sensitive hearing, both of them could naturally tell that it was Ding Ping, she must"ve followed the smell of blood.

“Go quickly.” Zhou Chong Wen sighed.

Bai Huo didn"t hesitate, carrying the child out the window: “Thank you Shige, I"ve caused trouble for you again.”

When Ding Ping pushed open the door, Zhou Chong Wen was the only one left in the room.

“Where"s Bai Huo-my G.o.d!” Ding Ping saw the humans sprawled on the ground and hurriedly tested their breath.

“This …” Ding Ping retracted her trembling fingers, looking at the already blackening bite marks on the humans" bodies, her expression was unbelieving.

In an open area, the dragon youth was still kneeling upright, his head drooping heavily, Ding Ping ran over and tapped his shoulder: “Hey.”

The young dragon fell straight backwards, raising the dust on the ground, his eyes were wide open on his sickly-looking face, staring vacantly up at the ceiling.

“Eek-” Ding Ping was frightened, stumbling to the ground.

Downstairs, the whine of police sirens was getting closer.

Zhou Chong Wen pulled his gaze away from the window and brushed the dust off his clothes: “Bring back the dragon corpse.”

Ding Ping stared at his retreating back, her lips trembling uncontrollably, after a long moment, she mumbled: “… Yes.”

Beichuan was located in the depths of the glaciers in the extreme polar region, it was the water dragons" base of operations.

Bai Huo was in his dragon form, hugging the little dragon cub, he flew all the way, arriving early the next morning.

This area was covered by snow and ice all year round. The lowest temperature could reach minus forty degrees, it could be regarded as a natural barrier to exclude humans.

In this place, Bai Huo wouldn"t have to worry about being discovered, he could wander around in his dragon form without a care. Because he was half water dragon, he was more cold-resistant than a pure fire dragon, but because of his injuries, standing in the deep snow, he was shivering from head to toe.

“Cub, do you want some fish?” Bai Huo caught a fish from the snow and shaved its scales, carefully feeding it to the little dragon cub.

But the little dragon cub was lethargic, the cold sweat on his forehead soaking his feathers. He heard Bai Huo"s voice, and opened his eyes weakly, then he buried himself in Bai Huo"s bosom and closed his eyes again.

Not even fish …

Bai Huo threw the fish away, hugging the little dragon cub tightly, incessantly smoothing his feathers, trying to alleviate his suffering: “Shhh, Dad will take you to the doctor right away.”

The little dragon cub"s cheeks were burning red, pitifully nesting in Bai Huo"s arms, not moving at all.

Bai Huo stood in the snow, his amber eyes staring silently at the water vortex in the distance. His white scales had no trace of variegation, reflecting the golden light of the first rays of morning sunshine, the strands of long hair behind his ears fluttering in the wind.

“We"re about to enter water, don"t be startled.” Bai Huo b.u.mped the little dragon cub with his nose, distressedly licking the cold sweat off his forehead. "You have to hold on to Dad in a moment, okay?"

The little dragon cub gripped the scales on his chest with his small paws, grunting.

“Good boy.” Bai Huo gently rubbed his head, holding him tightly with one arm, he opened the way with the other, jumping straight into the whirlpool.

As a hybrid dragon, Bai Huo really didn"t like coming to Beichuan. If nothing else, he really couldn"t understand, with today"s modern technology, why did they rely on this vortex for a conduit? It felt like being thrown into a drum washing machine, very unpleasant.

In the latter half, he almost couldn"t hold his breath, reaching the edge of the enchantment using only the strength of his paternal love. When he saw a child in blue clothing shouting in alarm and running towards him, he pa.s.sed out from overwhelming relief.

When he woke up, as expected, he had already been sorted out and moved to the Water Dragon Palace. Above his head, a blue water dragon looked at him curiously, seeing he wake up, he excitedly jumped off the bed.

“Patriarch, patriarch, he"s awake …”

Bai Huo sat up, covering his sore shoulders.

This was a palace built with special spirit stones. It was located at the bottom of the deep sea, separated from the seawater outside by a transparent bubble-like material. The inside was huge, and could accommodate thousands of dragons. This palace had been built thousands of years ago, and was one of the water dragons" greatest treasures. Generally, non-water dragons were forbidden from entering. Of course, with such a convoluted entrance, a non-water dragon couldn"t enter even if they tried.

The ceiling was a combination of three huge clam sh.e.l.ls, which were inlaid with three night pearls for lighting.

Bai Huo looked around and slowly got out of bed.

The small blue dragon who just ran out had most likely been scolded, this time, when he came back in, he was in his much more orderly human form, dressed in a Duan Da, and carrying a plate of green stuff. When he saw Bai Huo getting out of bed, he hurriedly blocked him: “Ah, the patriarch said that you shouldn"t move yet, lie down quickly, quickly, you can"t disturb the medicine on your shoulder. “

“Little handsome boy, where"s the little dragon cub I brought with me, do you know?” Bai Huo asked, sitting on the bed.

“He"s in the patriarch"s chambers.” The little blue dragon temporarily forgot about his proper conduct after being praised as a ” little handsome boy”, blabbing carelessly. Realizing that he might have leaked some secret, he covered his mouth, saying vaguely. "The patriarch said to wait on you, he"ll come see you later. “

“It"s fine, I"ll go to him.” Bai Huo stood up, planning to leave.

The little blue dragon had probably never met a dragon that didn"t listen to instructions before, he stared at Bai Huo, stupefied, before hurriedly holding out the plate in his hand: “Umm … then please eat this, otherwise granny will scold me for not entertaining the guests.”

“What is it?”

“Seaweed mixed with seagra.s.s roots.”

Bai Huo stared at the suspicious green slime, saying in his heart, the "dark" food followed him all the way out here?

Such kindness was difficult, but Bai Huo also didn"t want to get someone else in trouble. He closed his eyes and swallowed, but unexpectedly, except for a fishy taste, there was no other strange flavor.

“Okay, thank you, little handsome boy, it was delicious.” Bai Huo unwillingly praised it.

“Really? Then I"ll bring some for you tonight!”

Bai Huo waved his hand, hastily fleeing: “I"m going to look for your patriarch.”

“Do you know where he is, or should I take you there?”

Bai Huo thought to himself, the dragons here were really simple. Turning back, he smiled, “No need, I know where he is.”

Outside the door was a long hallway made out of red coral, crisscrossing and extending in all directions. Bai Huo tracked his son"s position, along the way, each dragon he came across all stopped and bowed in greeting, making Bai Huo bow in imitation, slightly embarra.s.sed.

Not only was the palace retro decorated, so were the people. Because they"ve been isolated from the rest of the world for so long, the dragons here still retained the clothing and customs of a thousand years ago. Most of the dragons also wore wide-sleeve coats, regardless of gender.

The palace was strangely quiet for its population, and the inhabitants" travels were all orderly. In some places, the coral hallway was too narrow, and only one person could pa.s.s at a time. Even then, no one behaved impatiently, each person quietly waiting their turn. In such a humble and courteous atmosphere, the always unbridled Bai Huo also couldn"t help but act dignified.

The entrance to the patriarch"s chambers was guarded, when Bai Huo rushed to the doorway, the dragon guard dressed in purple greeted him: “Are you Mr. Bai?”

Bai Huo was a little surprised that he actually used the word “Mr.”, nodding.

“Please follow me.” The purple dragon led him in.

The patriarch"s chambers were much more extravagant than elsewhere. The walls were studded with priceless fine jewels, when Bai Huo saw this, he couldn"t help the crooked thoughts that popped up as he walked. If he wasn"t worried about his son"s safety, he would definitely be unable to stop himself from sneakily digging out a few jewels and selling them on the human market.

“We"re here.” The purple dragon bowed again, then withdrew.

Bai Huo shifted the hanging curtain and entered, the room was small, a crib-sized crystal bed placed next to the wall. His baby boy was lying quietly on the bed, a giant immortal jellyfish hanging above him, wrapping his body in light blue tentacles, it seemed to be doing some repair work on his nape.

Bai Huo was startled by this scene, but just as he was about to move forward, a clear voice echoed from the other side of the room–

“He"s healing.”

Bai Huo looked toward the voice.

On the other side of the room, a young man wearing a long, indigo blue robe slowly turned around, revealing a pair of clear peach blossom eyes.

Although he"s known him for many years, every time Bai Huo saw him, that shocking feeling of being in the presence of a celestial being never faded away.

“Jing Lan.” Bai Huo smiled and said.

Jing Lan smiled faintly, walking towards him, his pale blue ceremonial gown trailing slightly behind him. With his long ink-black hair, loosely tied up with a blue rope, and spilling over his shoulders, he looked relaxed and n.o.ble. He didn"t look the slightest bit disheveled, instead, he exuded an indescribable “Immortal Aura”. His skin was extremely fair, and the corners of his mouth were curved slightly upwards. His eyes were clear but not sharp, and between his brows, a blue spirit stone symbolizing his status glowed faintly.

One of the three major dragon races, the patriarch of the water dragon clan, Jing Lan.

If each person had a meaningful existence, the patriarch of the water dragon clan existed to show the world the meaning of the phrase "As separate as the clouds in the sky, and mud on the ground", and the saying, a natural born n.o.ble. As Shan Hu describes it, “If the most wicked villain in the world meets him, they"d not only unconsciously restrain themselves out of shame, they"d politely bow down in salute.” These words were by no means an exaggeration.

“Every time I see you, I feel like my eyes have been purified.” Bai Huo joked.

“You jest.” Jing Lan approached slowly, his smile was very warm, “Is your injury better?”

“I"m fine, but my son …” Bai Huo worriedly looked at the little dragon cub on the crystal bed. The child"s fever should have receded, because his complexion looked much better, but he still hadn"t woken up.

“His situation is more complicated.” Jing Lan walked to the side of the crystal bed, his dark blue eyes a little melancholy. “His divine bone is damaged and his pulse is unstable. I"m afraid that he won"t completely recover in a day or two, you need to be mentally prepared. “

Bai Huo"s heart thudded.

Jing Lan noticed his unusual expression, and asked, concerned: “What happened?”

The water dragons made great doctors, and Jing Lan, as the patriarch, was naturally the person with the highest medical knowledge in the water dragon clan. Bai Huo had nothing to hide from him, honestly laying out the sequence of events.

“So that"s the case, I was wondering how a child could…” Jing Lan wondered out loud, but suddenly stopped, finding something odd, “Oh? Is your child a water dragon?”

“Not biological,” Bai Huo explained, adding a moment later, “But we"re closer than a biological family.”

Jing Lan smiled and nodded, not questioning it.

“He"ll wake up in about an hour, but because his divine bone is damaged, he can"t leave the repair crystal for the time being, you can stay here with him.”

“Thank you.” Bai Huo said gratefully.

Jing Lan didn"t say much, after instructing the maid to deliver their meals, he left. Hurrying to do his own work. After all, he was the head of a clan, he had a lot of things to deal with. He had already spent more than half a day here because of Bai Huo"s sudden intrusion.

The maid"s meal was almost the same as what the little blue dragon had given him, it was also a sticky green seaweed like paste. The only difference was the addition of two plates of meat: a plate of a deep-sea fish Bai Huo had never seen before, and a plate of plump oysters. Oh, and it was all raw.

If only there was beer, Bai Huo thought to himself.

The immortal jellyfish dutifully kneaded the dragon cub"s acupoints with its tentacles. As Jing Lan said, the little dragon cub"s eyes twitched two hours later. Bai Huo quickly sat next to the crystal bed, wanting to be the first sight his son saw after waking up.

“Lin Xi?” Bai Huo anxiously caressed his son.

The little dragon cub opened his eyes slowly, blinking at Bai Huo, then he cautiously recoiled.

“Cub?” Bai Huo was dazed, he reached out to hug him, but was tearfully pushed away by the little dragon cub.

“Don"t, you, you"re a fake Dad.” The little dragon cub said, crying.

“I"m not a fake Dad, I"m real, if you don"t believe me, just look.” Bai Huo, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, stretched out his palm, revealing the unhealed contract scar, “Feel it.”

The little dragon cub looked at him, then looked at his palm, then he hesitantly raised his little paw and placed it on Bai Huo"s palm. The contract lit up, emitting a glimmer in response.

“This is Dad"s fault, Dad let the bad guy take you away,” Bai Huo pulled him into an embrace, and said in a soft voice, “I"m sorry baby, I let you get hurt.”

The little dragon cub laid on Bai Huo"s shoulder, weeping. Smelling the familiar scent, his heart finally loosened up, and his tears flowed freely, rubbing his runny nose on Bai Huo"s shoulder.

Bai Huo"s shoulder was still injured, and it wasn"t long since he"d applied the medicine. It was very sensitive, a stinging pain spreading out when the little dragon cub rubbed against him.

The little dragon cub noticed his tension, and forced himself to stop crying. Sniffling, he reached out carefully and opened Bai Huo"s shirt, finding the appalling b.l.o.o.d.y holes in his shoulder.

The little dragon cub was stunned, biting his lower lip, he asked: “My … my bite?”

Bai Huo laughed flippantly: “No, it"s an accident from when Dad was fighting with the Evil Dad.”

The little dragon cub"s eyes reddened again: “No, my bite.”

“No… I……”

But the little dragon cub wasn"t listening to his fake explanations anymore, switching to Bai Huo"s uninjured shoulder, he buried his head and cried.

Bai Huo"s heart broke from his sobs.

It"s over, why are you crying even more deeply?

T/N:

Granny- Not related. Lit. wet nurse

Duan Da: