The vast and boundless Hell Mountains.
Long Ming had barely run a few steps when a claw slammed him into the snow. Freezing snow covered his face, and flakes seeped into his nose and mouth. The icy sensation made him struggle instinctively. Using the gap beneath the enormous paw, he managed to turn over. Then he saw the gigantic magical leopard, several times the size of a normal leopard, roaring down at him!
The blast from its roar nearly blew Long Ming’s body sideways. His heart beat faster and faster. The leopard’s head came closer. Death was right in front of him. He stared with wide eyes at the enormous bloody maw about to swallow him. He had no idea where the courage came from, but he suddenly reached through the gap beneath the huge paw, grabbed the tip of the leopard’s tail, and bit down viciously.
Then he tasted hot blood.
This leopard had actually dared roar at him and even wanted to eat him. Long Ming did not know why the thought made him so furious. His eyes blazed as he glared viciously at it, his golden vertical pupils shining like molten gold even against the bright daytime snow, so brilliant they were almost frightening!
The Lightning Leopard, however, was having a considerably worse time. It threw back its head and roared with all its strength. Snow shook loose from the trees and poured all over Long Ming with a rustle. Long Ming promptly bit down even harder. It actually dared hit him with snow too?
“ROAR!!”
As the Lightning Leopard exploded with rage, Long Ming felt the paw pinning him lift away. The tail in his mouth suddenly whipped sideways, dragging his body into several uncontrolled rolls before throwing him onto the ground.
A muffled peal of thunder suddenly sounded in the sky. Aoduoduo’s hand paused in the middle of forming a spell. He looked up at the clear blue sky and bright daylight, his expression tightening slightly.
A vicious whistle tore through the air. Just as that bloodied tail was about to smash heavily into Long Ming, a defensive earthen wall burst from beneath the snow and rose in front of him.
“Protection of the Great Earth Goddess—Wall of Earth!”
At the urgent, panicked shout, Long Ming saw the earthen barrier thicken. At the same time, the Lightning Leopard’s tail struck it. The wall shattered at once, leaving only a thin yellow earthen glow stubbornly holding on, already on the verge of breaking as well.
“Pfft… cough, cough…” Gelu took the impact and could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. He had no time to think. He rushed to the little chubby cub as fast as possible and planted himself in front of him.
“Run!” Gelu turned and shouted at the little cub. This Lightning Leopard was very powerful, a fourth-rank magical beast. They were no match for it at all. At the same time, a dim yellow glow spread from his withered hand and covered the paper-thin earthen barrier.
“ROAR!” The Lightning Leopard gave them no time at all. It intended to electrocute the hateful pair into roasted meat skewers and swallow them in a single bite.
A clear chant drifted down from above.
“Great Lord God of Ice, in the name of your contractor, I summon the ice elements within the air. Hear my command—Ice Bind.”
Aoduoduo lightly tapped a fingertip. His spell was complete. Pale blue light appeared around them, countless intricate magical patterns rising in midair before rapidly freezing the raging Lightning Leopard solid. With a sweep of his long black sleeve, he summoned a gust of wind that carried the chubby cub and Gelu toward the cave entrance. He descended unsteadily after them, set the two inside, entered himself, and cast “Succubus’s Eye” over the cave mouth along the way.
Aoduoduo had once been extremely practiced with this sort of illusion spell, able to cast it almost as easily as speaking. Now that he was injured, however, he needed hand gestures to assist him. The instant the illusion was complete, he heard the Lightning Leopard break out of the ice. Its furious roar shook bits of wood down from the cave entrance.
“Good cub, are you all right?” Gelu was overjoyed to have escaped death. Seeing their familiar home, his heart, which had been pounding from tension, finally returned somewhat to normal. He collapsed onto the pile of grass and looked toward the little chubby cub beside him. The cub’s head was lowered, his little tail drooping limply against the ground, but one claw was gripping the hem of Gelu’s clothes with all its strength.
“Didn’t I tell you to run just now?” Gelu instantly understood what the little cub had been thinking. In that life-or-death moment, this little fellow had actually wanted to take Gelu with him while escaping.
For some reason, Gelu’s eyes grew hot.
Long Ming raised his head. His usually brilliant golden eyes looked dim, as though a shadow had fallen over them. They were full of sadness, and even his normally milky little voice had lost its energy.
“Gelu, blood.”
Gelu looked down and roughly wiped the blood from his clothes. His worn gray hemp shirt immediately wrinkled beyond recognition. He crouched down, placed one large, dry hand on the cub’s head, and grinned. “It’s nothing. Goblins have tough lives. Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. We’re safe now.”
Long Ming lightly swayed his tail and kept his head down without speaking. In truth, he regretted it deeply. He should not have run so far. Gelu had clearly warned him.
He also should not have recklessly provoked that leopard. But at the time, he simply could not control himself. Something inside him had been simmering with anger, refusing to let him bow his head.
But Gelu had been injured while saving him and had nearly died. Remembering that scene made Long Ming’s heart ache unbearably.
Gelu looked helplessly at the dejected little cub, not knowing how to comfort him. It had been the little fellow’s first time outside in so long. Of course he had gotten overexcited. It was all the neighboring Lightning Leopard’s fault.
“It’s all right, good cub. Once you grow up, you’ll be able to beat that Lightning Leopard,” Gelu comforted him awkwardly. “And you were very brave just now. This is all the Lightning Leopard’s fault.”
Long Ming looked at Gelu’s messy hair and bedraggled face, then affectionately rubbed his head against Gelu and answered in a muffled voice, “Awoo.”
Gelu patted the little cub’s back comfortingly, warmth filling his heart. Then he silently mouthed a name: “Oreo.”
Aoduoduo walked over, lifted the little dragon cub onto the grass pile, bent down, and wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief. The cub’s personality was indeed very similar to the dragon race—equally fierce and fiery. Perhaps dragons were simply like this. The pride written into their very blood and bones could not tolerate provocation from creatures they considered beneath them.
Seeing both of them gathered around him, especially Gelu staring at him with such concern, Long Ming felt a tiny bit embarrassed. “Oreo, Gelu, I’m fine now.” He was not the sort to endlessly brood over a mistake. Once he realized what he had done wrong, he would silently correct himself next time. He could not be reckless and impulsive again.
Aoduoduo looked at the little milk dragon solemnly clasping his two claws together and smiled faintly. He spoke slowly. “Then from now on, practice magic with me.”
“With magic, you’ll be able to protect yourself and other people.”
Long Ming’s eyes instantly lit up as he looked at the mermaid. His soft little voice grew louder and more spirited. “Oreo.”
Gelu hovered beside the little cub. Remembering that Long Ming had once breathed fire, he could not help asking, “Oreo, do you know fire magic?”
Aoduoduo pulled an ornate, gold-stamped book from his sleeve. “No, but I have fire spells.”
Long Ming stared wide-eyed at Oreo’s sleeve. Even now, he could not understand how Oreo hid so many things inside it. Where did he pull them all from? It was like Doraemon’s pocket.
Seemingly noticing the cub’s curiosity, Aoduoduo rolled his sleeve up slightly and turned his wrist upward, exposing pale skin. Long Ming saw a silver, half-moon-shaped fish scale fitted against the upper part of his forearm near his elbow.
“It’s a spatial artifact Master Sen of the dwarf race once made for me. It can only store objects.” Aoduoduo sounded slightly regretful.
Gelu had not expected Oreo to be wealthy enough to own a spatial artifact.
“Oreo, were you a noble before?”
Aoduoduo lowered his sleeve again and smiled with gentle elegance. “No. I was the Deep-Sea Tyrant who ruled the waters of the six-armed snake demons.”
Gelu looked at Oreo, who had never once lost his temper, and did not believe a word of it. He muttered, “And I’m a deep-sea titan.”
Long Ming, however, was curious. “Oreo, aren’t you a mermaid?” Shouldn’t mermaids live together with other mermaids?
Aoduoduo looked at the inquisitive little fellow and said warmly, “Of course I’m a mermaid, but I once disguised myself as a six-armed snake demon.”
“My disguise magic is excellent.”
Long Ming blinked at him. “I want to learn.”
“Of course. But you’ve had a tiring day. Tomorrow I’ll teach you how to recognize the elements and begin learning spells.” Aoduoduo stood, filled the iron pot with water, and lit the pinewood. Once the water was warm, he carried the little cub over and placed him inside.
“Take a warm bath first. You’ll sleep more comfortably afterward.”
Long Ming soaked in the warm water. Oreo’s voice beside his ears was like a warm spring breeze. The already exhausted cub slowly closed his golden eyes. Before long, soft snores escaped him. His pale, tender belly rose and fell gently with each breath, and his two claws habitually hugged his own tail, as if he had returned to the inside of his egg.
Aoduoduo lifted the sleeping little cub out, dried him off, and placed him on his bed—the pile of diamond chips and silver coins the little dragon loved playing with whenever he had nothing else to do. After covering him with a blanket, Aoduoduo turned around only to discover that Gelu had fallen asleep too.
Aoduoduo pressed a hand to his forehead and could only put Gelu onto his own bed as well.
For a time, the cave became completely silent. Only the pinewood burned quietly, occasionally crackling.
Aoduoduo sat on the grass beside the little dragon cub and took a book titled Records of the Legendary Dragon Race from his spatial artifact. It had been written by a wandering bard, and its contents were half truth and half fiction, but Aoduoduo read it very seriously.
There was only one dragon here, right beside him, and it was still a milky little baby dragon. Aoduoduo believed that the young of every species needed care and attentive nurturing. But he had no experience raising cubs, so all he could do was search for as much information as possible.
When he read the bard’s claim that young dragons, like human children, could become restless and have nightmares after frightening experiences, he glanced at the sleeping little cub beside him.
Then he noticed faint movement beneath the little fellow’s eyelids. Even his tiny snores had stopped. He slept on his side, seemingly uneasy, tightly hugging his chubby tail. He no longer looked as peacefully asleep as he had at first.
Aoduoduo looked at the note beneath the poem. It said: Cubs all love lullabies. You can sing a lullaby to coax them to sleep~ Below is a lullaby from my hometown. I offer it to everyone who bought this book. Don’t be shy—go soothe your cub~
Aoduoduo stared at the lullaby below, the tips of his ears turning a little red. In the end, however, he opened his mouth softly and hummed the lullaby to the melody of a merfolk song.
Before long, Aoduoduo once again heard the steady breathing of the little cub sleeping soundly. He glanced at him, tilted his head in thought, then took a luminous pearl from his spatial artifact and placed it beside the cub’s bed. The little fellow would probably be very happy when he woke and saw it.
Meanwhile, Kaluo and the others, who had followed the fluctuations of the cub’s dragon soul, had completely lost their direction.
After the three dragons left the Abyssal Sea, they transformed into human form so they would not attract attention.
Rain poured down in sheets. Kaluo lowered his head and awkwardly touched the necklace around his neck. Xilier had given it to him before they left, saying it was a spiritual object attuned to dragon souls. It could detect the fluctuations of a cub’s dragon soul, and the stronger the fluctuations were, the brighter it would glow.
At first, it really had been bright. Then it slowly dimmed to the size of a firefly. Now it was completely dark.
“Don’t tell me the cub fell asleep?” Kaluo scratched his messy black hair and looked at the rain in frustration. “How are we supposed to find it now?”
Ailusha said, “For now, let’s get out of the rain. Otherwise we’ll stand out too much among the humans.”
The three of them were planted bareheaded in the rain. No matter how one looked at it, they seemed strange. The nearby humans were already giving them odd looks.