Xuzhi closed his eyes briefly, waiting for the last trace of discomfort to fully fade away before rising to tidy up the scattered items on the ground.
Ming Shuang remained deeply worried, staying right by his side without straying an inch, afraid that he might suffer another episode.
Xuzhi picked up the little grass ball from the floor and reached out to scoop the little dragon hatchling into his arms.
“I’m fine now.”
Seeing the anxious look in the little dragon hatchling’s eyes, he paused for a moment and added two more words: “Don’t worry.”
Lante was right—this was his old ailment, striking without warning with fainting spells from which he always woke on his own.
Xuzhi had no parents or family. Two years ago, he had appeared in a nearby town one day, having forgotten everything about his past.
Ever since then, his body had been plagued by these issues, though he had no idea why, and he lacked the money to consult a decent doctor.
Moreover, he possessed no trace of magical innate talent, and his constitution was extraordinarily unique. Xuzhi was always cautious, not wanting to draw too much attention.
Before picking up the magical beast cub, his only goal had been to save enough money to redeem his labor contract and gain his freedom.
Ming Shuang wrapped his paws around Xuzhi’s wrist and rubbed his head against Xuzhi’s palm, finally letting out a breath of relief.
Lante asked again, “Have you given it a name yet?”
Xuzhi fell silent for a moment. “No.”
He had originally planned to return the cub to the jungle yesterday, but an accident had gotten in the way.
Since he had no intention of raising it, there was no need to name it.
At that moment, the little dragon hatchling let out a couple of “Awoo awoo” cries, trying to tell the two of them that his name was Ming Shuang.
Lante picked up on Xuzhi’s hesitation and sighed. “It’s rare for a magical beast without a beast contract to grow so attached to you like this.”
Most magical beasts were unwilling to proactively bond with humans, especially aggressive ones. They usually required patient taming before a successful beast contract could be formed—even with juveniles.
Xuzhi sat down at the wooden table with Ming Shuang in his arms and fell silent once more.
Should he keep him?
He knew full well that the thought had flickered through his mind just moments ago.
But raising a magical beast wasn’t that simple, especially since he couldn’t form a beast contract with one.
Without a contract, he wouldn’t be able to protect his own magical beast.
A magical beast that truly belonged to someone, built on mutual trust and companionship—that was something only a beast tamer could have.
Xuzhi took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing his jumbled thoughts. He decided to handle dinner first and think about everything else later.
Ming Shuang nestled in Xuzhi’s lap, nuzzling upward. He licked Xuzhi’s chin and began murmuring “Awoo awoo” sounds again, his voice soft, almost like self-soothing hums.
He had made several ice balls earlier to help cool Xuzhi down, and now he felt a bit tired.
Lante overheard and turned his head. “Is it hungry? I have some leftover biscuits from this morning…”
Ming Shuang let out a low “Woo,” responding halfheartedly. He clearly had no interest.
Besides, he wasn’t familiar with Lante and had no desire to eat food from a stranger.
Lante chuckled. “It even responds—pretty spirited. You should buy a beast language translator someday. Who knows, you might even be able to chat with it.”
“A beast language translator?” Xuzhi had never heard of such a thing.
Lante explained, “Yeah, they say it can translate over a hundred beast languages.”
Beast tamers often faced long taming processes before forming a beast contract, requiring immense patience.
Before the contract linked them mentally, they could use a magical device that translated beast languages to understand the beast’s needs, condition, and so on.
Xuzhi thought to himself that it must be expensive.
But as Lante described it, he couldn’t help feeling a bit tempted.
Ming Shuang glanced at Lante, then at Xuzhi, flicking the tip of his tail.
If such a thing really existed, could it translate dragon language too?
Later that afternoon, Xuzhi headed out and bought a small piece of smoked meat along with a flame stone.
The flame stone contained embedded magic that produced a heating effect. He sliced the smoked meat into small chunks and added them to the porridge, reboiling it for dinner.
Ming Shuang caught the aroma early and stayed glued to Xuzhi’s side. Once the porridge was ready, he was fed the first bite.
The smoked meat tasted better than the meatballs, and the porridge had thickened nicely from the simmer.
Xuzhi asked, “Tasty?”
Ming Shuang let out a pleased “Mm,” nuzzling Xuzhi’s hand affectionately before being fed another bite.
Seeing the little dragon hatchling eat so eagerly, the subtle tension around Xuzhi’s eyes and brows finally eased a little.
Special foods for magical beasts were beyond his means, and none were available in the camp anyway. He wasn’t sure if the hatchling would even like human food.
But it seemed ordinary meats worked fine. The sweet fruits from the forest at noon had been a hit too, while the mushrooms and greens from breakfast hadn’t gone over so well.
Since Ming Shuang liked it, Xuzhi picked out most of the scant smoked meat chunks and fed them to him first. Only when Ming Shuang turned his head away did Xuzhi finish off the rest.
After dinner, night fell quickly.
Xuzhi prepared to head to the back door for a bath, but Ming Shuang insisted on following.
Because of the incident earlier that day, he wasn’t at ease and wanted to stay by Xuzhi’s side every moment.
Ming Shuang clung tightly to Xuzhi’s arm, biting down on his sleeve and refusing to let go.
He wouldn’t peek while his master bathed—he just wanted to prevent any more accidents!
Xuzhi had no choice but to carry the little dragon hatchling through the back door with him.
The back door opened into a small enclosed space, simply curtained off. A water valve was mounted on the wall, and basins and such sat in the corner.
The night breeze rustled the cloth curtain. Ming Shuang, placed on a nearby stone slab, sneezed twice in a row.
Xuzhi frowned. “Caught a cold?”
“Mm!”
Ming Shuang hurriedly denied it. How could he catch a cold? He was a dragon!
Xuzhi began undressing, and Ming Shuang quickly turned his back to him.
Once the sound of running water stopped, the little dragon hatchling turned around again. He buried his head and licked the tip of his tail—he wanted a bath too.
A bit of water remained in one of the basins on the ground. Ming Shuang hopped down, touched it with a paw, and yanked it back quickly.
It was a little cold…
Ming Shuang licked his paw, hesitating as he looked up at Xuzhi.
“Awoo…”
The Little Dragon hatchling’s eyes pleaded for help, carrying a hint of his habitual dependence.
Xuzhi crouched down. “You want a bath too?”
“Mm!”
” Wash yourself.”
“Woo…”
Ming Shuang rubbed against the back of Xuzhi’s hand, still gazing at him expectantly.
Xuzhi fell silent, somehow understanding exactly what the little dragon hatchling meant.
He wanted a bath, needed help with it, and found the water too cold.
He had sneezed earlier—maybe he really was coming down with something. It was normal for such a young hatchling to have a weaker constitution.
A moment later, Xuzhi filled a new basin with water and used the remaining energy in the flame stone to heat it.
A low-energy flame stone wasn’t pricey, and this made good use of it.
He then took a towel, soaked it in the warm water, and wiped down the little dragon hatchling.
Ming Shuang sat obediently, tilting his head up and lifting his paws as needed.
When Xuzhi reached his tail, he felt a twinge of awkwardness and shyness.
Though he had reverted to his juvenile form, he was no longer truly young—and now his master had to help him bathe…
Awkward or not, Ming Shuang turned around cooperatively, draping his tail neatly across Xuzhi’s palm.
Once finished, Xuzhi carried Ming Shuang back inside.
As they turned off the light to sleep, the little dragon hatchling squeezed into his usual spot by Xuzhi’s neck.
Ming Shuang tried again for a mental link, and this time, it finally succeeded.
The night was silent. That evening, Xuzhi dreamed once more.
The same scene, the same indistinct silhouette.
“Master, I’m Ming Shuang… I have a name.”
The mist around them thinned a little, and the silver-haired youth in his arms spoke to him.
“You used to call me Shuang Shuang, Little Shuang, Little Dragon Baby…”
Ming Shuang listed them off, leaning in closer to ask, “Master, shall we go back to that forest from before and look for Coal Ball?”
Xuzhi looked down at him, reacting sluggishly. “Where?”
“The place where I woke up,” Ming Shuang said. “That barren forest.”
A barren forest?
And what was Coal Ball?
Xuzhi’s mind was foggy, but he held Ming Shuang close and murmured, “All right.”
Ming Shuang, deeply satisfied, wrapped his paws around Xuzhi’s waist, yawned, and drifted off to sleep in the dream, hazy and content.
Meanwhile, in the Thorny Jungle.
Fallen leaves rustled. Some thorny vines stirred, whipping about before retreating in panic.
A pitch-black mass moved slowly, pausing at one spot to lift its head, revealing a pair of red eyes.
It sniffed around, catching a faint trace of magic in the air.
Very faint—an icy chill that would dissipate completely in another day or two.
Confirming it was the familiar scent of ice magic, the black-furred magical beast grew intensely excited and spun in place.
It quickly calmed itself and slipped away quietly.
High above, a flying magic beast continued circling, searching for suspicious traces.
The black-furred magical beast suppressed its aura and successfully evaded it, hiding away at the jungle’s other end.
~~~
The next morning, Xuzhi opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Another strange dream…
Just like the previous one, everything from the dream blurred upon waking.
He vaguely felt as if he had forgotten something important. The only clear remnant in his mind was…
—The Thorny Jungle.
Xuzhi pondered deeply but came up with nothing.
The Little Dragon hatchling by his neck was still fast asleep, his paw twitching slightly.
Xuzhi snapped back to reality and glanced down at the tail tip draped over him.
