The Dragon

To Xiaoyao City

The external defenses of mature dragons can be considered the strongest in the world. If one were to attack purely with physical strength, only a dragon’s claw can strip off another dragon’s scales, and only a dragon’s body can break its horn.

However, when Dragons are still young, their horns are soft, and their scales are thin. Using weapons, it’s not impossible to break their horns or scrape their scales.

Gu Fuyou observed the wound and thought it was an old one. Considering Zhong Michu’s age, she speculated that she might have lost her dragon horns when she was still a child.

With this thought, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.

Zhong Michu was facing the flower field, silent for a long time.

Zhong Michu often took her time to respond, and sometimes, she didn’t answer at all. This was typical of her. Yet, this time, Gu Fuyou felt uneasy.

She wondered if she had overstepped by asking something she shouldn’t have.

If Zhong Michu didn’t want others to know about her Dragon lineage, then the matter of her broken horn must be even more private—a secret she likely didn’t want others to touch.

By asking so bluntly, Gu Fuyou realized she might have been rude.

Gu Fuyou knew that she sometimes struggled with understanding personal boundaries. Due to her carefree attitude, people either accepted her or kept their distance.

Being so used to being on her own, she rarely made an effort to accommodate others.

But now, even if Zhong Michu couldn’t tolerate her nature, Gu Fuyou didn’t want to part ways.

She didn’t want to upset or annoy Zhong Michu, making her grow weary of their friendship. Gu Fuyou tried to be aware of her flaws and curb her impulsiveness.

Yet habits that had been with her for decades weren’t easy to change overnight. They surfaced unintentionally, like right now.

Gu Fuyou looked anxiously at Zhong Micchu, who had her back to her, and couldn’t read her expression.

Holding a wine jug, she looked at its mouth, bit her lip, and was about to apologize.

Suddenly, Zhong Michu spoke up, “I…”

After a moment of silence, she whispered, “I cut it off myself.”

It took a moment for Gu Fuyou to grasp what she’d said. Her eyes widened in disbelief, thinking she’d misunderstood, “Why, why would you do that?!”

She rose hastily, bumping the wooden table, which clattered and shifted to the side. She stumbled slightly but managed to reach Zhong Michu’s side in a few unsteady steps.

Zhong Michu shifted her gaze from the flower field to Gu Fuyou’s face, the moonlight casting a dreamy glow over her eyes.

She glanced at Gu Fuyou, then lowered her gaze.

Gu Fuyou wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected a hint of sadness in Zhong Michu’s expression.

Zhong Michu said, “Because it looked ugly…”

Gu Fuyou exploded in response, “Nonsense!”

“Absolute nonsense!”

“Who said that!” Gu Fuyou reacted as if something precious to her had been insulted. Incredulously, she grabbed Zhong Michu’s face, forcing her to look at her.

Zhong Michu, taken aback by Gu Fuyou’s intense reaction, stared at her, bewildered.

“It’s beautiful! Very beautiful! The most beautiful in the world!”

Gu Fuyou repeated the word ‘beautiful’ three times, each time more passionately than the last. Her face got closer to Zhong Michu with each proclamation.

Having had some wine, Gu Fuyou’s lips were moist, the pure scent of the alcohol mixing with an unknown sweet fragrance from her, reminiscent of sweet wine.

Zhong Michu tried to back away, wanting to escape the intoxicating scent, but she lost her footing on the sloping hill behind her and began to fall backward.

With half of Gu Fuyou’s weight leaning on her, as Zhong Michu fell, she too tumbled forward with her.

Reacting swiftly, Zhong Michu controlled her descent using wind magic, prevent herself from falling too hard.

Gu Fuyou landed on top of her, and both of them fell into the flower field. The blooming starry moon flowers emitted a brilliant white glow.

Gu Fuyou propped herself up on one hand beside Zhong Michu and covered her mouth with the other, letting out a soft moan.

Zhong Michu slightly lifted herself and noticed tears in Gu Fuyou’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Gu Fuyou, with difficulty due to a swollen tongue, replied, “I bit my tongue.”

In the sudden fall, her mouth had been open, and she accidentally bit the tip of her tongue, causing her eyes to tear up.

Zhong Michu paused for a moment, then turned slightly underneath Gu Fuyou, trembling slightly as she laughed.

Even though her laugh was faint, Gu Fuyou felt that it could be described as ‘trying not to laugh.’

Seeing Zhong Michu smile made Gu Fuyou happy, and she couldn’t help but smile too.

Assuming they were playing, Ah Fu rushed down the slope and squeezed between them.

Fireflies shimmered all around, making the moonlit night serene.

After tolerating Ah Fu’s playful antics for a while, Zhong Michu stood up and adjusted her clothes.

Gu Fuyou remained seated with crossed legs, resting her head on Ah Fu’s fluffy top. She looked up at Zhong Michu, lost in thought for a moment, and then suddenly said, “Senior Sister Zhong, why don’t you come back to Xiaoyao City with me?”

Zhong Michu looked at her, her eyes filled with confusion.

Growing nervous, Gu Fuyou, while holding onto Ah Fu’s ears, clarified, “I mean, I’d like to invite you to visit Xiaoyao City.”

Her voice grew quieter, “The culture and scenery of Xiaoyao City are quite unique. It’s not to be missed…”

The marketplace at the city gate had two levels. The upper level was mainly for senior cultivators, while the lower level was for junior cultivators, which they had already explored extensively.

It was time for Gu Fuyou to return home. After their time together, Zhong Michu would probably go back to Xuan Miao Sect.

This signified the end of their journey, but Gu Fuyou wasn’t ready for it to end so soon.

After expressing her thoughts, Gu Fuyou became even more nervous, squeezing Ah Fu’s ears tighter.

“Ouch.”

Zhong Michu gave her a glance, her gentle eyes seeming even deeper in the night. She softly said, “Okay.”

Gu Fuyou asked, “Really?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Gu Fuyou jumped up in excitement, quickly adding, “It’s settled then, no backing out.”

With Zhong Micchu’s agreement, Gu Fuyou’s spirits lifted, and the looming sense of parting could no longer dampen her mood.

They rested in a loft on the hillside that night. When dawn broke the next day, they began their journey back to Xiaoyao City, accompanied by Ah Fu.

There wasn’t a direct teleportation formation from Wantong City to Xiaoyao City, but there was one to its territory. After reaching that territory and passing through a small city, they would arrive at Xiaoyao City.

For convenience, Zhong Michu used her sword to fly, carrying Gu Fuyou, with Ah Fu cradled in Gu Fuyou’s arms.

On that night at Xingyue Slope, Ah Fu’s cultivation broke through the Qi Practicing stage, advancing to the Foundation Building stage.

Ah Fu’s rapid progress in cultivation was astonishing. Gu Fuyou couldn’t determine the reason but attributed it to Ah Fu’s innate talent, the thunderstone, and the generous amounts of spiritual stones and pills she fed it.

After reaching the Foundation Building stage, Ah Fu was taught a few times by Zhong Michu and learned to control its size.

Whenever Zhong Michu and Gu Fuyou used their swords to travel, Ah Fu would shrink itself and snuggle in Gu Fuyou’s embrace.

Looking at the shrunken Ah Fu, Gu Fuyou remembered how frail it had been at birth, and now, just a few months later, it had grown strong.

Gu Fuyou stroked it, suddenly curious if Zhong Michu could change her size when she transformed into a Dragon.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, she asked. After a long pause, she received an affirmative response from Zhong Michu.

Gu Fuyou’s heart fluttered with excitement.

She thought, I want to see it! Zhong Michu coiled around my finger!

She didn’t have much time to let her mind wander. Passing through a forest, she could already see the city gate from a distance.

Suddenly, there was a loud whistling sound. From afar, Si Miao rode over on a three-legged crow.

It turned out that before Gu Fuyou departed, she had sent a message through a plum blossom messenger. Si Miao received the message and came to meet her.

This Ning City was a subsidiary city of Xiaoyao City, and Si Miao’s father, Lord Si Gonghou, is the city lord of Ning City.

When Si Miao saw Zhong Michu, she couldn’t hide her surprise and exclaimed, “Senior sister!” Turning to Gu Fuyou, she gave a look that read, ‘I knew you’d be up to something.’

Zhong Michu nodded in acknowledgment. Si Miao beckoned, “Come over.”

Zhong Michu felt a lightness on the sword. Glancing from the corner of her eye, she saw that Gu Fuyou had already leaped onto the three-legged crow.

Si Miao said to Zhong Michu, “She has troubled senior sister again, hasn’t she?”

Zhong Michu paused for a moment and replied, “Not really.”

Although Zhong Michu said so, Si Miao treated it as just a polite remark and began to reprimand Gu Fuyou.

Zhong Michu glanced back to the empty space behind her, her eyelids slightly drooping, remaining silent, and turned her head away again.

Gu Fuyou, seemingly accustomed to such scolding, took out a fire-attributed Nascent Soul beast core and handed it to Si Miao, “Here, brought this for you.”

Si Miao remarked, “Wow, you’ve really stepped in dog poop, what kind of luck is that.”

Grinning, Gu Fuyou said, “Hehe, Senior Sister Zhong picked it from the raw stone.”

Si Miao looked at Zhong Michu and said, “I take back what I said earlier.”

Searching through her storage bag, Gu Fuyou handed over a document about an aerial race to Si Miao, “And there’s this. Look!”

Upon seeing it, Si Miao raised an eyebrow, “Is this a fake? How did you get an entrance token for the race, let alone win it? I feel like I’m in some fantasy, I must still be dreaming.”

As the two conversed back and forth, Zhong Michu quietly followed, feeling somewhat out of place. Gu Fuyou seemed more lively than when she was with Zhong Michu alone.

Zhong Michu didn’t know how to describe the feeling. When it was just her and Gu Fuyou, she always talked to her, and even if she didn’t respond, Gu Fuyou was always enthusiastic.

Now with Si Miao here, she was more talkative and unrestrained. They chatted enthusiastically, and she felt a bit left out.

That was until Si Miao made a comment, prompting Zhong Michu to interject, “Gu Fuyou truly won the race.”

Gu Fuyou confidently replied, “See? Senior Sister Zhong wouldn’t lie. I also received a reward from the race, half of the Qimen book!”

Suddenly, Si Miao stopped talking, her expression became serious and she furrowed her brow.

Noticing the shift, Gu Fuyou asked, “Si Miao, what’s wrong?”

With a sigh, Si Miao said, “Ah Man, I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that you’re back now. This time, you’ll need to show off your formation skills.”

“Did something happen? Where is Second Brother?”

Si Miao responded, “Gu Huaiyou is in the city handling official matters. It’s a long story. I’ll explain in detail once we get back to the mansion.”

The three of them reached the city gates. The guards at the lookout tower, upon recognizing Si Miao, deactivated the defense formation. The trio entered the city from above and headed straight to the city lord’s mansion, landing gracefully.

A middle-aged man in a gray robe hurried over, saying to Si Miao, “Miss, there’s trouble! That Zuo Tianyi has come to send a marriage proposal again.”