Aoduoduo Liergete Aotelaisi hesitated slightly when he heard the cub’s babyish voice. Then he smiled and answered gently, “Mm. I’m Oreo.”
Perhaps he should not demand too much from the one who had saved his life. His benefactor was, after all, only a cub. Aoduoduo’s gaze passed over the little creature’s pale belly. It looked as though he had hatched only recently; the soft scales there had only just formed.
“Oreo.”
Long Ming heard the mermaid in the pot actually agree with him and could not resist saying the name again. He leaned over the rim and saw more than half of the mermaid’s tail protruding from the water. The enormous tail resembled an ornate fan. Looking closely, Long Ming could still see grit and dust caught between the scales. The left tail fin was wounded, part of it sliced away, and the injury was now covered in gray slime that clung stubbornly to the surface.
Long Ming looked at the mermaid’s dirty face and thought for a while. Then he slowly kicked his feet and climbed down. Once on the floor, he waddled over to his own territory and found a small towel. Gelu used it to wipe his face, and it was reasonably soft.
After getting the towel, Long Ming moved his little stool beside the water barrel, climbed onto it, dipped the cloth into the water, then huffed and puffed as he dragged the stool back beside the iron pot. At last, he offered his little towel to the mermaid.
Aoduoduo looked at the little towel resting on the black claws. A tiny flower had even been embroidered on it. He reached out, took it, and gently wiped his face. “Thank you.”
Now that he was soaking in water, he finally felt alive again. Free of that volcanic inferno, Aoduoduo breathed in the cool, damp air rising from the iron pot.
The wet towel covered his face. Long-missed moisture immediately soaked into his skin, bringing a sharp sting. His severely dehydrated scales greedily absorbed the water until coolness gradually penetrated beneath his skin.
Aoduoduo half closed his eyes. Silver lashes lowered over them, hiding the strange shifting light within his gaze.
Long Ming tilted his head and stared at the mermaid’s newly revealed face, his large golden eyes shining. He could clearly see the fine silver scales at the sides of the mermaid’s cheeks and ears standing on end. They made the skin look rough and uneven, even a little frightening. But after another pass with the wet towel, those blade-like scales slowly flattened until smooth skin reappeared. It was fascinating.
He clung to the iron pot and peered into the water. The submerged half of the mermaid’s tail was also gradually regaining its luster. Silver light shimmered over it like moonlight spreading across water, so beautiful and sparkly that Long Ming wanted to scoop up a handful of that flowing silver radiance.
“Awoo~” Long Ming murmured softly.
What a beautiful tail.
Hearing the cub, Aoduoduo opened his eyes. He slowly braced himself against the iron pot and tried to submerge more of his injured tail. Now that life was returning to his body, the terrible pain in his left fin returned as well. It traveled through his tailbone and spine until every bone in his body felt poisoned. Yet in the midst of such agony, Aoduoduo smiled.
He was still alive.
That made all of the pain worthwhile.
Long Ming watched Oreo curl awkwardly inside the pot. He scooped up water in his claws and poured it over the wounded mermaid’s upper body, looking at him with concern.
“I’m all right. Thank you for saving me.” Aoduoduo bent slightly at the waist, lowered his head, and performed an elegant bow. Even if Long Ming could not understand him, he still observed every courtesy properly. He showed not the slightest contempt toward the cub. On the contrary, he regarded his rescuer with profound respect.
Long Ming lay against the pot and looked at the mermaid’s enormous tail. He swallowed and reminded himself again: Oreo was a mermaid, not a fish.
Unfortunately, his little stomach chose that moment to rumble faintly and remind him that he was hungry.
Aoduoduo heard the sound and looked toward the little creature.
Long Ming felt slightly embarrassed beneath those exotic, flowing-silver eyes. He was just about to climb down when the mermaid reached into his tattered, wide sleeve and took out several red gemstones.
Hm?
Long Ming immediately perked up, the tip of his tail wagging on its own.
“Awoo~” Are those for me?
Long Ming stared at the red gems held before him and asked in his soft baby voice.
Aoduoduo looked at the cub, a smile touching his thin lips, and placed the crystals condensed from fire element into the cub’s claws. “They’re for you to eat.”
At this stage, cubs of high-level magical beasts needed to consume crystals—especially dragon cubs.
Aoduoduo had no idea why a tiny dragon cub was wandering outside alone, much less why he lived with a goblin. When he first saw them, even Aoduoduo had been too shocked to believe his eyes. He had hidden his reaction well, however, so neither of them had noticed anything unusual.
The reality before him was absurd, but undeniable. The dragons were one of the most powerful races on the Azerik Continent, yet a cub who had only recently hatched was somehow living in the wilderness. Aoduoduo pulled his thoughts back to the present and looked at the little creature. With a flick of his fingers, he piled the fire crystals into the center of the cub’s claws.
While trapped in the volcanic ravine, he had eaten several out of desperation. But fire element naturally opposed his own nature, and eating them was almost worse than starving, so he had kept the rest. In fact, he had deliberately dropped those fire crystals to attract the young dragon’s attention, which was how he had ultimately been rescued.
Only now did Long Ming realize that these glowing, glittering things did not seem to be actual gemstones. The tiny stones were transparent, strange light flowing inside them. They were pleasantly warm to the touch. Long Ming brought one close and sniffed. It had no smell, but some instinct deep inside him insisted that he wanted to eat it.
But… could stones really be eaten?
Long Ming fell into conflict.
Aoduoduo watched the little dragon hesitate for a long time, the tail behind him swaying uneasily from side to side.
After thinking, Aoduoduo picked up one crystal, put it into his own mouth, and swallowed. Almost immediately, an unnatural flush appeared across his pale cheeks.
Uncomfortable heat spread through his organs. But Aoduoduo already had so many problems that one more hardly mattered. Compared with the agony in his tail, this little bit of burning fire element was insignificant.
“Eat.” Aoduoduo demonstrated again, hoping the dragon cub could understand.
Without an adult dragon guiding him, this cub probably did not know that crystals were edible. Aoduoduo studied the cub’s smooth black scales and pale soft belly and began to suspect he might be a Chaos Dragon.
According to legend, Dragons of Evil with chaos affinity existed between light and darkness. Once grown, they could devour all things like chaos itself. Even elemental attacks could not harm them, and their physical bodies were stronger than those of black dragons. They were extraordinarily rare.
Aoduoduo had only heard stories. The dragon race had lived in seclusion for many years, so he did not know the details. Long ago, however, he had seen books about Chaos Dragons in his palace beneath the sea.
Long Ming saw Oreo swallow one of the sparkling stones and became tempted. He tried one as well. His tiny fang pierced the crystal, releasing something warm, slightly sticky, and jellylike that slid down his throat into his stomach.
Very quickly, his little belly warmed.
Long Ming’s eyes instantly lit up.
That wonderfully full feeling had returned.
So these little stones really were food.
Long Ming ate them one after another, placing five or six into his mouth. Once bitten open, they were like warm chewy fruit candy and even had a faint sweetness. There was no milky fragrance, but Long Ming was already very satisfied. After five or six crystals, his belly felt full and warm. He narrowed his big eyes in comfort.
“Awoo~” Delicious.
Seeing this, Aoduoduo took several more from his sleeve and placed them in the dragon cub’s hands.
Long Ming stared at the glittering stones in his palm. Remembering that the volcanic side was full of them made his tail wag happily.
At last, he had found a reliable food source.
“Oreo~” Thank you.
Long Ming still did not know how to say the final two words, so he expressed himself with his claws instead. He used the wet towel to wipe the mermaid’s face again, treating it as thanks for the stones.
Feeling the moisture against his cheek, Aoduoduo helplessly lowered the little dragon’s claw. His voice was slightly hoarse from the fire crystal. “Little one, go to sleep.”
Long Ming tilted his head at the mermaid. Before climbing down, he poured water over the large portion of tail exposed outside the pot. Then, clutching his red crystals, he returned to his little nest, lay atop his sparkling treasures, and slowly closed his eyes.
Once he was full, sleepiness immediately rose. Long Ming yawned, golden eyes drooping until they finally closed. Before long, the cave filled with the soft sounds of a sleeping dragon cub.
Aoduoduo looked around the crude cave. His dark blue-green fingertips tapped against the water and sent ripples spreading outward. He extended his tail beyond the iron pot, revealing the portion coated in gray slime. Lowering his eyes, Aoduoduo studied the “Evil Scar Curse” cast by a seventh-level death mage. His brows unconsciously drew together. A long time passed before he finally closed his eyes to rest again.
Early the next morning, Long Ming woke and immediately sensed something was wrong.
His eyes flew open. He sat up at once and instinctively covered his mouth with both claws. His tiny fang was still there. It had not fallen out.
Then why did the area around it hurt so much?
He had only just been born. Was he already going to start changing teeth?
Long Ming stood so quickly that the little stones in his paws fell unnoticed. What was he supposed to do? Was he really changing teeth? He only had one tooth in the first place!
Long Ming walked to Gelu’s bed and called softly, “Gulu~.”
Because his tooth hurt, his pronunciation had reverted to its old form.
The soft, slightly aggrieved baby voice made sleeping Gelu jolt awake. His eyes opened, and the first thing he saw was the chubby cub covering its own mouth.
“Good cub, what’s wrong?” Gelu’s heart jumped. He hurried out of bed, moved the little creature’s claws aside, and saw its tiny fang. It looked exactly as usual—white, sharp, and gleaming coldly.
“What’s wrong, good cub? Are you hungry?” Gelu could not figure it out. He stared in confusion at the chubby cub opening its mouth and crying, “Awoo, awoo.”
Long Ming could not explain. Anxiety made his little tail whip rapidly behind him, and he cried “Awoo~” again.
At that moment, the mermaid’s gentle, clear voice sounded from nearby. “Could you bring him over and let me take a look?”
Seeing the chubby cub uncomfortable made Gelu miserable too. He took the cub’s claw, then lifted him onto the stool so the mermaid could examine him.
Long Ming blinked at Oreo. Before he could say anything, his chin was lifted. He instinctively opened his mouth wider so the mermaid could inspect the area around his tooth.
After examining him, Aoduoduo lowered his hand, amusement flashing through his eyes. The little creature had eaten fire crystals for the first time without any sense of restraint.
“He’s fine. He just has too much internal heat.”
Long Ming understood the word “fire” and hurriedly touched his little fang.
As long as he was not changing teeth, everything was fine.
Beside him, Gelu’s eyes widened. He examined the cub’s tooth carefully and discovered that the gum around it was indeed somewhat red and swollen. It really did look like excess internal heat.
“Good cub, what did you eat?” Gelu found it strange. The little creature had hardly eaten anything.
“Forget it. I’ll get some herbs and apply them for you.”
Aoduoduo, still soaking in the water, stopped him. “I have a way to cure him quickly. Herbs are bitter. He probably won’t want them applied.”
Gelu looked suspiciously at the unusually helpful mermaid.
“My name is…” Aoduoduo nearly gave his full name, then changed his mind at the last possible moment. “My name is Oreo. Thank you very much for saving me.”
“Oreo? What a strange name.” Gelu looked at the mermaid. “What method do you have?”
Aoduoduo lowered his lashes. Before long, the silver lashes grew damp. A transparent tear welled at the corner of his eye, slowly took shape, and the instant it fell, transformed into a round, lustrous white pearl.
Long Ming stared wide-eyed.
A mermaid’s tears could actually turn into pearls!
Aoduoduo placed the pearl into the dragon cub’s claws and said with perfect composure, “The Siren’s Blessing is excellent for reducing internal heat. It’s sweet too, not bitter.”
Filled with enormous doubt, Long Ming ate the pearl formed from the mermaid’s tear. The instant it entered his mouth, the heat throughout his body vanished. Coolness spread from head to toe, and the pain around his tiny fang disappeared completely.
The effect was so good that he began to question his entire life.
No—his entire dragon life.
If Oreo ever became a pediatrician, he would definitely be extremely popular, Long Ming thought as he stared at the mermaid’s gentle, handsome face.