Ming Shuang was already thrilled at the sight of a whole chest full of gold coins.
Though Xuzhi usually handled their daily expenses, and Ming Shuang had little concept of money, he was a dragon through and through—he just loved shiny things!
When he spotted the second chest crammed with magic stones, Ming Shuang could hardly believe his eyes.
The Little Dragon hatchling’s eyes went wide, and he pounced right in.
Ming Shuang sprawled atop the pile of magic stones, burying his head in them and sniffing furiously. He even chomped down on a couple with his eyes squeezed shut.
By contrast, Xuzhi stayed calm. He reached out, scooped Ming Shuang back into his arms, picked up the half-eaten magic stone, and fed it to him.
“Don’t eat too much at once,” Xuzhi cautioned. “Just two a day for now.”
Ming Shuang had been taking medicine to treat his mana disorder these past few days, but it was unclear if it was helping.
The Little Dragon hatchling nodded. He clutched Xuzhi’s hand and finished off the magic stone, then immediately gnawed through another one. Only then did he lick his claws in satisfaction.
With so many magic stones, he was sure to grow up nice and strong!
Xuzhi, however, was pondering how to carry these two massive chests. The storage bag on him didn’t have anywhere near enough space. He might need to head back to White Cloud City, or see if there was anything usable here…
He had no idea who owned the house, but with a bunch of fluffy balls that could communicate with Ming Shuang, Xuzhi automatically considered all these “treasures” as belonging to the little dragon hatchling.
There was enough gold here to pay back what he owed Tuji and buy plenty more supplements.
Xuzhi kept searching the area, rummaging through the piles of junk.
Ming Shuang was still lost in delight. He leaped onto the gold coin chest and pawed at it, sending coins clattering everywhere.
But aside from the two chests, the attic held no other treasures—save for a few decent bolts of fabric, though not in great quantity.
Xuzhi gathered up everything he could and stowed it away. By then, Coal Ball had climbed up too.
Tomato was too big for the attic and waited anxiously downstairs, cheep-cheeping loudly.
Xuzhi closed the two chests and had Coal Ball help carry them down.
Afterward, he took Ming Shuang back to the second floor.
The room had been cleaned by wind magic, leaving no dust behind, but a faint musty scent lingered. The patterns on the bedsheets had long since faded.
Ming Shuang nestled in Xuzhi’s arms as Xuzhi opened the various drawers. He found a storage bracelet.
The bracelet was slender and elegantly crafted from pale gold, inlaid with several colorful gemstones.
Ming Shuang took a liking to it and leaned in for a sniff.
Xuzhi tried to activate the storage bracelet but failed.
Either the original owner was still alive and it couldn’t be rebound, or there were some restrictions in place.
He set it aside for the moment and handed the bracelet to Ming Shuang to play with.
Ming Shuang clutched the bracelet and examined it closely for a bit, but since he hadn’t shapeshifted yet, he couldn’t wear it. Instead, he looped it over one of his horns.
The Little Dragon hatchling shook his head, and the bracelet dangled and swayed from his horn without falling off.
Next, Xuzhi moved on to the study.
He skimmed the books lining both walls and found they were all magic-related—especially space magic and alchemy texts.
Xuzhi flipped through a few at random and confirmed they were the sort you’d never find in an ordinary bookstore.
Space magic required innate talent to learn, but alchemy was open to anyone, regardless of their magic type.
Those storage magic arrays of various kinds were made using alchemy. Xuzhi had tried crafting a few himself before, but without a teacher or proper books, he’d failed every time.
If he could master it, that would be a whole new way to make money.
A chest full of gold coins was a lot, but money had a way of running out eventually.
Xuzhi thought it over and decided to pick out some more books.
That meant even more things to carry now.
The two chests of gold coins and magic stones had already been moved downstairs, where Tomato and Coal Ball stood guard.
Just then, the fluffy balls outside called out: “Awoo?”
Ming Shuang hopped onto the windowsill and peered out. They were all gathered below, and he remembered he’d promised to help “clean the territory” with his dragon breath.
But he had no idea how to do that.
Xuzhi went downstairs with the little dragon hatchling, and the fluffy balls immediately swarmed around them.
Ming Shuang fluttered down to the grass, and they led him a short way forward.
The lead fluffy ball seemed to sense Ming Shuang’s confusion. It explained that all he needed to do was release his dragon breath to cover this patch of grass.
They were the Dragon Clan’s “servants,” also known as guardian beasts. They could speak the dragon language and loved the scent of dragons—like a fresh burst of air freshener that left them utterly content.
Back when the Dragon Clan was around, the fluffy balls had simply lived near their nests. They’d occasionally help clean a giant dragon’s scales or lick their horns, which was enough to replenish their dragon breath supply.
But ever since the Dragon Clan vanished, that scent had gradually faded.
It wouldn’t affect the fluffy balls too badly, but as “servants,” their innate instincts couldn’t be changed.
Now Ming Shuang was back—but he was just one young dragon in his juvenile phase.
Filling the territory with his scent would probably take a long time, which was why they’d made the request.
“Awoo…”
The fluffy balls gazed at the little dragon hatchling with pleading, hopeful eyes.
Ming Shuang nodded as if he understood. “Mm!”
Releasing dragon breath was easy enough, and he’d been pretty idle lately. Ever since Tomato returned, he hadn’t been much help whenever Xuzhi went out.
The Little Dragon hatchling gathered himself briefly, hopped onto a mushroom-shaped stump, and threw his head back. “Awooo—”
In an instant, faint frost laced with dragon breath spread out in all directions.
The next second, the bracelet dangling from Ming Shuang’s horn vibrated gently.
As it came into contact with the ice magic, the storage bracelet floated up slowly, then settled by Ming Shuang’s paw and began shrinking.
Ming Shuang blinked in surprise. Huh?
Instinctively, he raised his right paw, and the now-tiny bracelet slipped right onto it, shrinking further to fit perfectly.
The Little Dragon hatchling wiggled his paw, and the bracelet clung snugly to his small dragon claw, as if tailored just for him.
Xuzhi stood watching from behind, witnessing the whole thing.
It had automatically bound itself to him?
Dragon breath filled the air, and the fluffy balls rolled ecstatically across the grass, drunk with joy. They howled “Awoo!” one after another.
In a wooded corner beyond the grass, the snow fox shuddered.
It sensed the ice magic and dragon breath. Shock filled its purple eyes, and it flashed forward for a closer look.
That was when the snow fox finally got a clear view of Ming Shuang, surrounded by the fluffy balls.
The Little Dragon hatchling perched on the stump, his body covered in silvery-white scales, three blue marks on his forehead, and his dragon wings slightly unfurled behind him.
The Dragon Clan had been gone for ages, but anyone who’d seen a true dragon’s form would recognize this as a young dragon.
Yet Ming Shuang’s eyes weren’t the pure gold of the Dragon Clan—one was gold, the other blue.
One gold… one blue?
The snow fox trembled faintly, unable to believe it.
It froze in place, and in its daze, it failed to hide itself. One of the fluffy balls spotted it and barked a warning: “Awoo!”
The rest immediately went on alert, shielding Ming Shuang.
Ming Shuang noticed the snow fox too and froze.
But in a blink, the snow fox vanished from sight, as if turning invisible.
Xuzhi hurried over and scooped Ming Shuang into his arms.
He scanned their surroundings, brow furrowed. “It got away?”
Xuzhi had been too far back to see clearly, but he’d caught a glimpse of a pendant around the snow fox’s neck—like it belonged to someone.
Had a beast tamer already tracked them here?
To vanish like that, it had to be pretty strong. But when they’d arrived, Xuzhi had noted all the beast tamers and their magical beasts—no white-furred ones among them.
Even so, anyone who found this place would have to get past the fluffy balls first.
Xuzhi glanced around once more, then carried Ming Shuang back inside the house for now.
In the distant wooded corner, the air rippled, and the snow fox reappeared.
It paced restlessly, torn between trying to approach Ming Shuang again or heading back to find Xiang Lun first.
It knew the fluffy balls’ combat prowess all too well and had no clue about the human with Ming Shuang.
But Xiang Lun was back in White Cloud City. By the time he returned, Ming Shuang might be long gone…
The snow fox scratched at a tree trunk, forcing itself to calm down.
After a moment’s thought, it decided to set up a teleportation magic array right there.
The snow fox circled the tree once, then spat out a puff of pale purple mist.
At the same moment, Xiang Lun sensed the snow fox’s emotions.
Shock, excitement, urgency—even a hint of tears…
“Wants to come back? Nah, that’s not quite it,” he muttered in confusion. “Did someone bully it out there?”
But the snow fox was at 10th Tier and a master of stealth—hardly anyone could hurt it.
Xiang Lun frowned thoughtfully and glanced toward Netherworld Mountain outside the window.
Meanwhile, back in the house, Ming Shuang peered out the window.
The snow fox might have really fled, and there were no other beast tamers in sight.
It had been lurking outside alone before—maybe it had wandered off on its own?
But weren’t beast tamers’ magical beasts supposed to stick close to protect their masters?
The fluffy balls on the grass hadn’t found the snow fox either. They settled back into excitement, scampering across the dragon breath-infused lawn.
Ming Shuang watched for a while longer until Xuzhi scooped him up.
Xuzhi lifted his paw and asked, “Anything inside? If the space is big enough, we could store the two chests in there.”
Only now did Ming Shuang pay attention to the storage bracelet on his claw.
He closed his eyes and sent his consciousness into it to check.
The space was quite large—more than enough for the two chests. There seemed to be some personal items inside too…
Then, a book was pulled from the storage bracelet and dropped onto the sofa.
Ming Shuang looked down. The cover read Basic Ice Magic.
He froze, then retrieved another book—Ice Magic: Attack.
Ming Shuang stared at the two books before continuing to empty out the rest of the bracelet’s contents.
The third book was Ice Magic: Nature, followed by a square pendant and a beautiful little gem box.
These were all the items inside the storage bracelet. Ming Shuang touched the pendant, and its outer shell popped open automatically, revealing a small portrait.
The portrait depicted what appeared to be a couple, both strikingly handsome and perfectly matched. The man wore a gentle smile, while the woman at his side seemed somewhat aloof. She had shoulder-length silver hair and a pair of dazzling golden pupils.
Ming Shuang stared at her for a long moment before suddenly realizing that the man in the portrait had deep blue eyes—eyes that looked very familiar.
Seeing how engrossed he was, Xuzhi spoke up. “Ming Shuang?”
Only then did Ming Shuang snap out of it. Hesitantly, he pushed the pendant aside and turned to the gem box.
The moment the box opened, a silver-white dragon scale floated into the air.
The dragon scale drifted slowly toward the little dragon hatchling, adhering to his chest before vanishing completely, as if it had melted right into him.
Ming Shuang bowed his head, utterly dazed.
Uncertain what was happening, Xuzhi called out to him again.
Ming Shuang finally raised his head and looked toward Xuzhi. In a sudden rush, he flung himself into Xuzhi’s arms.
Xuzhi instinctively reached out to catch him. A flash of white light erupted, and Ming Shuang was forced to shapeshift.
He had consumed two magic stones not long ago. Since they were high-grade and he had been building up magic power over the past few days, the transformation didn’t wait until nightfall this time.
But Ming Shuang ignored his own condition entirely. He clung tightly to Xuzhi, burying his face in the crook of his neck.
Xuzhi sat in the corner of the sofa, cradling him gently. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.
Ming Shuang’s breathing was ragged. It took him a long while to lift his head.
Bewilderment and confusion filled his expression as he glanced at the pendant on the sofa. “I don’t know…”
Xuzhi picked up the pendant.
The instant he saw the portrait inside, he understood most of it.
All dragons possessed golden pupils, yet Ming Shuang’s were uniquely different—and he had been frail from birth.
Add to that the dragon clan’s guardian beasts here, the storage bracelet that had automatically recognized its master, and the item from the gem box… It was enough to confirm a great deal.
Xuzhi snapped the pendant shut and set it aside.
“Don’t be afraid,” he soothed Ming Shuang. “Do you remember them?”
Ming Shuang shook his head. As far back as he could remember, Xuzhi had been the only one by his side—Xuzhi and no one else.
He had never met the people in the portrait. Before arriving here, he hadn’t even known he had kin of the same race. It was only after the fluffy plushies mentioned it that he realized the truth.
From childhood onward, Ming Shuang had believed he had been born from the card pool.
So he actually had kin. And possibly even… parents.
The word felt utterly foreign to him.
He looked up at Xuzhi and asked hesitantly in a small voice, “Master, do you remember them?”
Xuzhi shook his head. “No.”
Ming Shuang pressed on. “Then… have you ever seen other dragons?”
“No,” Xuzhi replied. “A hundred years ago, the Dragon Clan vanished from this land.”
Ming Shuang blinked in confusion. “Vanished?”
But the amnesiac Xuzhi knew little more than that. The prevailing theory in the outside world was that the Dragon Clan had chosen to leave the continent of their own accord.
Ming Shuang fell silent. During his previous shapeshifts, he had never found the chance to ask about his kin.
Then he remembered what Tomato had said earlier—that every one of the card beasts had been snatched away by Xuzhi.
Had he been taken the same way…?
Ming Shuang quickly shoved the thought aside. He shared a mental link with Xuzhi, which set him apart from Coal Ball and the others.
But if that was the case, why had he never seen the people in the portrait?
Ming Shuang was certain the dragon scale shared his bloodline. It was an instinctive knowledge deep within him.
And where had the rest of his kin gone?
Had they abandoned him for some reason…?
~~~
