Xuzhi’s expression remained impassive. “The place I’m going is dangerous.”
Dangerous?
Then he had to go along all the more!
Ming Shuang couldn’t speak, so he let out a couple of “awoo awoo” cries, hugging Xuzhi’s hand tightly with a determined gaze.
Master, I’ll protect you!
Xuzhi stared at Ming Shuang for a long moment before compromising. “Fine, but you have to stay hidden. No coming out whenever you please.”
The magical beast over there would be troublesome for humans, but as long as the little dragon hatchling didn’t run around wildly, there shouldn’t be any issues.
If it dared to run off, he’d simply toss it away.
Ming Shuang let out a soft “mm,” his eyes obedient as he indicated his understanding.
His master had his own business. He wouldn’t cause any trouble.
Xuzhi’s expression softened. Unable to resist, he reached out and stroked the little dragon hatchling’s horn.
It was pretty well-behaved.
~~~
Red Coral Lake was not far from Thorny Jungle—a half-hour walk or so.
With the jungle sealed off, there were hardly any people on the road to Red Coral Lake.
Ming Shuang could poke his head out from time to time to look around. As they neared their destination, he spotted a vast expanse of colorful woods at the end of the path ahead.
Looking closer, he saw many short trees with vivid red trunks, their branches laden with flowers in every color of the rainbow and draped with green vines. It was a chaotic yet spectacular and beautiful sight.
Ming Shuang was nearly entranced, his eyes full of curiosity. He poked too far out of the pocket and almost tumbled headfirst, only to be caught in time by Xuzhi.
Xuzhi tucked the little dragon hatchling back into his pocket and pulled his coat closed. “Stay hidden for now. You can come out later.”
As he fastened his buttons and pulled up his hood, Ming Shuang shifted lightly in the pocket. He desperately wanted to look a little longer but held back, afraid of causing trouble for Xuzhi.
He endured it, quietly gathering his magic in preparation. If he sensed any danger later, he would rush out immediately.
Xuzhi didn’t stop walking and soon reached the edge of the woods.
At the same time, Ming Shuang heard a “buzz buzz” sound growing louder from far away, soon surrounding them from all directions.
What was that?
Ming Shuang froze for a moment, sniffing carefully. He caught a faint whiff of magical beast scent.
Soon after, he heard Xuzhi draw a small knife and slice something off several trees, doing so with practiced ease and without running into any danger.
Before long, Xuzhi continued onward and stopped at a certain spot.
Xuzhi opened his coat, and Ming Shuang immediately poked his head out—only to see Xuzhi’s hands covered in purple bruises, several places swollen.
“Whine!?” The Little Dragon hatchling panicked, but then he saw the wounds healing and fading at an astonishing speed.
Xuzhi’s expression didn’t change. He was used to it.
The outskirts of Red Coral Lake were home to a swarm of red bees, low-tier magical beasts whose honey was a medicinal ingredient that could be sold.
But the red bees’ stingers were exceptionally sharp and their venom potent—many Beast Tamers avoided them altogether. The honey didn’t fetch a high price, so few people bothered coming here.
Xuzhi was an exception. His unique constitution made him immune to toxins, a discovery he’d made by chance. So he came regularly to quietly harvest honey and venture into the middle section of Red Coral Lake in search of other usable resources.
With the red bees around, the middle section of the forest was relatively safe, without too many aggressive magical beasts.
Once Ming Shuang confirmed Xuzhi was unharmed, he breathed a small sigh of relief.
He wasn’t surprised. The master from his memories had always been formidable. Even weakened now, he was far beyond an ordinary human.
The Little Dragon hatchling still clung tightly to Xuzhi’s wrist, watching the skin fully restore itself before heartbrokenly licking his fingertip.
Xuzhi watched Ming Shuang’s actions and felt a touch ill at ease, pulling his hand away.
Immediately after, Ming Shuang’s attention was drawn to their surroundings.
Beyond the outer ring of red trees lay a vast, open grassland where even the blades of grass were red, dotted with flower clusters in various colors.
With Xuzhi’s tacit permission, Ming Shuang couldn’t resist jumping down to the ground.
It was the little dragon hatchling’s first time seeing a place like this. Full of curiosity yet tinged with caution, he carefully lifted a paw and stepped on the thick, mixed grass.
There was no dangerous aura anywhere around, and the air carried a fresh floral scent. It should be safe.
Ming Shuang’s tail tip perked up as he slowly walked forward, looking and sniffing all around.
Xuzhi sorted the honey in his cloth pouch while keeping half an eye on the little dragon hatchling.
Not far away was a large cluster of small yellow flowers. Ming Shuang leaned in close to sniff them thoroughly, then sneezed twice in a row.
Once the honey was packed away, Xuzhi watched as the little dragon hatchling gradually relaxed, excitedly darting this way and that across the grass like a rolling ball of white fluff.
The cub’s stamina was limited, though. It wasn’t long before he tired himself out and flew back to Xuzhi’s side, demanding to be picked up.
Xuzhi paused for a fraction of a second but still scooped up the little dragon hatchling and held him as he pressed onward.
Besides the red bees’ honey, there were some herbal medicines here that could be sold.
He skirted a nearby stream for a stretch until he reached a certain rock, where he found three stalks of eight-leaf grass bearing fruit.
As Xuzhi moved to approach, a flash of cold light glinted beside it.
An azure snake as thick as a wrist emerged from the side of the rock, hissing and baring its venomous fangs to drive away the intruder on instinct.
Xuzhi halted and drew the short knife from his waist.
This kind of snake was a Tier 1 magical beast that usually lived in groups—there had to be others nearby.
The azure snake’s venom posed no threat, but to harvest the herbs, he needed to move fast…
At that moment, the little dragon hatchling in his arms let out a low “whine whine” growl, glaring fiercely at the azure snake.
Releasing dragon breath once consumed too much energy, so Ming Shuang didn’t want to waste it. He prepared to hurl a snowball first.
Unexpectedly, the azure snake had sharp senses. It retracted its fangs, whipped around, and slithered away swiftly—no attack needed.
Seeing this, Xuzhi looked down at the little dragon hatchling thoughtfully.
With the azure snake gone, gathering the resources became much easier. Xuzhi even found a more valuable herb on the back side of the rock.
He harvested it all and quickly departed.
Over the course of the morning, Xuzhi explored the area with Ming Shuang in tow, gradually filling more than half of the pouch behind him.
He remained cautious, not venturing too deep. After the azure snake fled, they encountered no other low-tier magical beasts—a far smoother trip than his previous visits.
At midday, Xuzhi sat on the grass and carefully sliced open a fruit with his small knife.
The fruit was enormous, edible, with a thick rind and a hollow interior holding a bit of transparent juice.
Xuzhi held the fruit shell and fed the juice to Ming Shuang.
Ming Shuang squatted nearby, watching curiously. He leaned in to sniff, then slurped up the sweet juice in a few gulps.
Xuzhi glanced at him but said nothing, cutting off some of the fruit flesh to serve as their lunch.
The flesh wasn’t as sweet as the juice but far better than flatbread. Ming Shuang ate a good deal, then leaned against Xuzhi’s leg and let out a burp.
Beside them, clear stream water flowed. Xuzhi filled his canteen, looked up at the sky, and said, “Time to head back.”
The magical beasts in Red Coral Lake were all low-tier but nearly all carried deadly venom. On past trips, he had to move carefully, ensuring his body fully recovered from any new encounters before proceeding—making resource gathering slow.
Yet today, for some special reason, aside from those vicious red bees at the entrance, the morning had gone exceptionally smoothly.
Was it because of the magical beast cub by his side?
After doing the math, the honey could fetch eight copper coins, and the herbs would add up to about twenty-five more—more than enough to cover breakfast money.
If he brought the hatchling back tonight, dinner could include something extra…
At that moment, Ming Shuang sidled closer and sniffed at the water flask, clearly wanting a drink.
The stream ran right beside them, but the little dragon hatchling ignored it completely and waited expectantly for Xuzhi to feed him.
Xuzhi’s face remained expressionless as he casually pinched the paw that had reached out to him, then twisted open the cap of the flask.
Once he’d finished giving Ming Shuang water, Xuzhi scooped up the hatchling—who had promptly burrowed into his arms—and stood.
The return journey went smoothly as well. As they left Red Coral Lake, the red bees attacked once more, but Xuzhi waited until the toxin wore off before setting out.
As they passed near the Thorny Jungle, Xuzhi caught sight of a flying magic beast circling high above the treetops.
He spared it only a single glance before pulling his coat tighter and hurrying away.
~~~
It was two-thirty in the afternoon when Xuzhi headed to the town to sell off all their goods and returned to the camp.
Lante wasn’t there, so Xuzhi set down his tool bag and carefully counted out the coins in his pouch before stowing them away.
Ming Shuang perched on the low cabinet, happily pawing through the “toy” he’d brought back from Red Coral Lake.
It was a little ball made by tying together red grass leaves, with a small flower tucked inside—Xuzhi had made it for him.
Xuzhi had been in a good mood on the way back and had even mentioned buying some smoked meat for dinner that night.
Ming Shuang had no idea what smoked meat was, but he was brimming with curiosity and anticipation. After playing with the little ball for a bit, he wanted to nuzzle into Xuzhi’s arms. But when he turned around, he saw Xuzhi’s figure sway unsteadily before collapsing to the ground without warning.
Ming Shuang froze in shock and flew toward him in a panic. “Awoo?”
Xuzhi’s eyes were tightly shut, his body temperature rising rapidly as his breathing grew labored and heavy.
Ming Shuang didn’t know what to do. He had no healing magic and didn’t even know how to check Xuzhi’s condition.
Just then, the door creaked open as Lante returned.
Ming Shuang latched onto him like a lifeline. He bit down on Lante’s blind cane and tugged him toward Xuzhi, whimpering urgently all the while. “Whoo whoo!”
“Eh?” Lante reacted to the sounds and followed the pull on his cane until his hand brushed Xuzhi’s arm.
He didn’t show much surprise or concern. Instead, he set aside his blind cane, helped Xuzhi up, and guided him over to the bed to lie down.
Ming Shuang trailed close behind, full of frantic worry. “Whoo…”
As if sensing the distress in those whimpers, Lante picked up his blind cane again and let out a sigh. “It’s his old ailment flaring up. He passes out like this every now and then, but he’ll wake up soon enough.”
Old ailment? What old ailment?
Ming Shuang couldn’t shake his worry, but he was still too young to be of any help. Lante lived with Xuzhi, so he must know more about it.
Forcing himself to calm down, Ming Shuang curled up beside Xuzhi to keep watch.
Xuzhi’s temperature had climbed alarmingly high, yet he wasn’t sweating at all.
It was as if a roaring blaze was building inside his body, trapped with nowhere to vent.
Ming Shuang kept vigil for a while before clambering onto Xuzhi’s chest.
With his paw, he conjured a small ice ball and pressed it against the hollow of Xuzhi’s collarbone at the neckline. Once the body heat melted it away, he made another one.
After repeating this a few times, it seemed to actually help.
Xuzhi’s fever gradually broke, and he finally opened his eyes.
There was a slight weight on his chest. The Little Dragon hatchling leaned in to lick his cheek, letting out a soft “whoo whoo.”
A damp patch clung to the collar of his shirt, but Xuzhi paid it no mind as he pushed himself up to sit against the headboard.
“Finally awake,” he murmured.
Lante was lounging on his own bed. “Hey,” he chuckled. “Your little magic beast was really worried about you. It stood guard the whole time.”
Xuzhi looked down. The Little Dragon hatchling in his arms had misty eyes, clearly badly frightened, and now it leaned in to lick his chin.
Listening to Lante’s words, Xuzhi fell into a daze for a moment.
All of a sudden, he realized that having a magic beast of his own felt… pretty nice.
He stroked Ming Shuang soothingly and murmured a quiet “Mm.”
Most of the strangeness in his body had faded, though lingering discomfort left his mind a bit foggy.
The wet collar brushed against his skin with an unfamiliar chill.
The young man leaned back against the headboard, his gaze lowered in quiet contemplation, giving him a somewhat subdued air.
Xuzhi let out a slow breath.
How could it possibly be his?
