Chapter 67

"So it was him."

Facing the injustice of having her little dragon snatched away, Ao Xin dared to feel angry but lacked the courage to speak up. Upon hearing that the culprit was actually someone he knew, his energy instantly spiked. As he had always said, aside from himself, anyone who dared to harm his friends would answer to his fists. While getting to watch Ao Qing take a beating was a joyous spectacle for any dragon, the only one qualified to administer that beating was none other than Lord Black Dragon.

Ao Xin sneered inwardly and spoke up loudly to Ao Yong, who was currently gazing at the little pup with a warm and affectionate smile. "What are we waiting for? Yuntan, I know him. A mere immortal-tier upstart, yet he actually dares to pluck scales from a dragon! Are you still capable, or are you losing your touch? If you're not up to it, I'll make a trip myself and rip out his immortal fetus to feed..." He paused briefly, remembering that the little pup only consumed spiritual energy rather than living flesh, and amended with deep regret, "...a dog."

Ah, what had the dog ever done to deserve this?

The little pup lay nestled in her grand-uncle's arms, tapping her little fingers together.

Ao Yong chuckled softly.

It was truly reassuring to see that Ao Xin's explosive temper hadn't changed at all after all these years. After all, as long as this boorish idiot Ao Xin was around, Ao Qing would be entirely occupied with beating him up, leaving everyone else free to escape unscathed.

"No action for now," Ao Qing said mildly, gently stroking the hair of the little pup in his arms.

Yu Youyou looked up at him, clenched her tiny fists, and shouted with full force, "Revenge!" Good grief, even a little toddler knew that revenge shouldn't wait overnight.

Ao Qing made a mental note to settle accounts with the black dragon who had corrupted the child's mind, and said calmly to Ao Yong, "I did indeed injure him that day. But after all, he is an immortal-tier cultivator; how could he possibly lack one or two life-saving immortal pills? With how many spiritual treasures pass through his hands running the Tianxing Pavilion, would he really need to make such a grand display of specially collecting them, to the point of letting you notice his injuries?"

Logically speaking, since he had secretly clashed with him that day, he shouldn't have allowed himself to be discovered like walking right into a trap. Ao Yong said thoughtfully, "Could it be that he wanted me to know?"

"Furthermore, even granting that he needed medicinal pills to heal the wounds I inflicted, what could he possibly want with immortal pills for repelling demons?"

Ao Qing was not a demonic cultivator. Even if he had heavily wounded the man, the fellow had no use for demon-cleansing pills. Moreover, he was collecting them not just by the one or two, but in such massive quantities that it naturally aroused deep suspicion.

"You need not approach him again. Injured though he may be, he is still an immortal-tier cultivator, and you are no match for him," Ao Qing told Ao Yong. "This is not a matter for haste. In a few days, once the people from the Qingyang Sect have departed, I will go over personally and see what tricks he is trying to play."

He was in no rush to hunt the man down. After all, the great Southern State sect, the Qingyang Sect, was about to arrive for a grand alliance to discuss the division of spoils regarding a secret realm known as the "Beyond-the-Heavens." This concerned the supreme interests of the sect and vastly outweighed any personal grievances. Even though Ao Qing was certain that Immortal Lord Yuntan was no match for him, human error was always possible; if he were to delay major sect affairs out of personal vengeance, Ao Qing could never accept it.

Yet, his expression remained dark as he added slowly, "Once this lord confirms that he is indeed the one who has repeatedly interfered, I will not spare him."

Whether it was the former sect master, Daoist Master Sun, Ao Qing himself, or even the historical entanglements of the Gong clan, these heavy debts of blood and grievance could not go unavenged.

Yu Youyou looked at her grand-uncle, who clearly distinguished between public and private matters. Feeling grateful that he still remembered the Gong clan, her eyes shone brightly. She hurriedly cupped her little hands over her heart and cried out with exaggerated pathos, "Wronged!"

Her grand-uncle was so terribly wronged!

"My heart aches!"

Ao Qing lowered his gaze, looking at this little pup who lacked a hardened heart. Without a hard heart, how could one ever become a steadfast cultivator?

"You are a good girl," he praised gently.

***

There was nothing wrong with a soft-hearted cultivator, either.

"I was suppressed for hundreds of years, and I never saw you're heart aching for me," Ao Xin muttered from the side.

The little pup turned her head to look at him, leaned out from Ao Qing's embrace to press against Ao Xin's cheek, and obediently piped up, "Aches for you too." She even knew how to comfort him.

Ao Xin tilted his head away, the tips of his ears faintly red, yet his mouth split open in a silent, expansive grin. Seeing him laugh with a mirth that showed no signs of stopping, the dragons gathered in the grand hall fell silent.

After a long while, Ao Yong in the water mirror exchanged a glance with Ao Qing, then asked Yu Youyou with utmost gentleness, "Youyou, your grand-uncle tells me that you dreamed of Ao Lie in your dreams, and even exchanged tokens of affection—ah, no, exchanged gifts. Is that right?"

Young though the little pup was, his own little noodle-dragon son had only just hatched. Therefore, Ao Yong was extremely keen on arranging a childhood betrothal with the little pup. However, since the toddler was still innocent and ignorant, he feared he might get beaten if he spoke of it too openly, so he could only settle with a sigh of regret and have his son serve as her childhood sweet-heart, lying in wait by her side so that the moment they grew up and understood what fondness meant, they could immediately forge a bond.

The more he looked at the obedient and adorable little creature, the cuter she became, wearing an expression of absolute benevolence. While Ao Xin was still snickering to himself, upon hearing this, he cast a sideways glance at Ao Yong.

"What is your problem?"

"This... this little thing is only three years old," Ao Xin said with utter disdain.

"And my Ao Lie has only just hatched," Ao Yong retorted.

"Why don't you mention that he spent three hundred years gestating inside an egg? Well, actually, it was three hundred years since you brought him back to the dragon clan; who knows how many years he spent in the egg before that? An old vegetable like him, how could he possibly be worthy of coveting our Youyou."

Having been suppressed for so many years, Ao Xin still chattered away endlessly without a trace of the stoic silence characteristic of other demons who had endured such confinement.

These words immediately left Ao Yong choked into silence. Upon careful reflection, a wave of furious indignation welled up in him, and he demanded, "Are you even a member of the dragon clan?" Why did he always pick faults with his own kind?

"Struck dumb by your own shame, are you?" The black dragon feared no one except Ao Qing, and entirely dismissed Ao Yong as displayed in the water mirror. He had nothing to be afraid of.

Ao Yong took a deep breath, cursing inwardly, but his attention quickly returned to the matter at hand. He looked kindly at Yu Youyou, who was tilting her small head back and forth, and said warmly, "Youyou, both your Aunt Zhen and I wish to thank you. The scale you gave to Ao Lie is wonderful—truly wonderful. It is immensely beneficial to him."

He repeated the word "wonderful" three times, proving just how exceptional it truly was.

It was precisely because of this matter that Ao Qing had called Yu Youyou over while conversing with Ao Yong. Nodding slightly, Ao Qing remarked, "That scale possesses a hardness rivaling a reverse scale, yet it is imbued with thunder. Most importantly, it is pure, crystalline, and impervious to all forms of magic."

It was indeed a most bizarre dragon scale—crystal clear and transparent, yet whenever demonic intent drew near, it would automatically recoil, not daring to taint it by even a fraction.

Initially, the dragon clan had no idea that the reverse scale of Ao Lie, who had remained in a deep slumber, was missing. Instead, it was Sect Master Yu who had felt rather embarrassed. Given that his daughter had acquired Ao Lie's reverse scale—the most fatal and precious treasure of a dragon—he felt obliged to offer an explanation.

Only then did the Azure Dragon Patriarch discover that his son had plucked out his own reverse scale. While muttering to himself that "a dragon cannot be fierce without breaking a home," he went to inspect his son, who was still coiled into a tight ball sleeping within the spirit-gathering array.

Sure enough, he found that the reverse scale beneath his neck was indeed gone, yet in its place, a transparent dragon scale—which initially seemed invisible—had completely covered that fatal vulnerability.

Upon realizing the wondrous properties of this scale, Ao Yong found himself liking Yu Youyou all the more. Furthermore, the ability to meet within dreams implied a bond of extraordinary depth.

Ao Yong was exceedingly pleased, and his gaze toward the little pup radiated paternal warmth.

"No, no!" Yu Youyou said, feeling rather shy as she waved her hands. "Give it to him!" She looked entirely happy to share her best treasures with her friend.

Ao Xin curled his lip, while Ao Qing looked thoughtfully at the little tyke in his arms, asking Ao Yong in a low voice, "It is indeed impervious to all demons, you say?"

Capable of devouring heavenly demon Qi, previously swallowing the demonic intent of cultivators advancing their realm, and now transforming into a dragon scale impervious to all demons... He lifted the chubby little creature in his arms and cast a glance at Ao Xin.

The black dragon glared fiercely back at him. Did he really think he would dare beat him in front of the child?!

"Have you... not been feeling quite as restless and irritable lately?" Ao Qing asked slowly, turning his gaze back to Ao Xin.

"I..." Ao Xin wanted to retort that his temper had always been this way, but he paused, finally understanding what Ao Qing was driving at.

He had once ventured deep into the Divine-Demon Abyss. Although he had emerged unscathed and uncorrupted by the true malevolent entities dwelling within, he had still been tainted by a trace of the Abyss's aura, rendering him exceptionally violent and bloodthirsty. His primordial spirit had constantly been incited to commit acts of slaughter and malice.

In the early years right after his imprisonment, he had frequently suffered from auditory hallucinations—whispers echoing in his ears that befuddled his mind and drove him to delirium.

Even after enduring the grinding torment of the restrictive thunder arrays for so many years, he could not truly claim to have a completely lucid mind; otherwise, Ao Qing would never have kept him locked away.

Yet, starting from some point in time... he had slowly regained his rationality.

Though his temper remained explosive, those hazy, dangerous, and malicious urges had gradually subsided.

His temperament remained harsh, but his divine soul was at peace.

When had it all begun?

It seemed to be... back then, when he first caught sight of the toddler from within his confinement.

Clearly, his mind had been flooded with malicious thoughts at the time, yet the very first time he looked at that little pup, he had actually felt fear.

For a creature corrupted by malice, feelings of fear and dread were exceedingly rare.

Ever since then, he had begun to... heal.

"Could this little thing possibly be some kind of holy demon-cleansing soul?" Ao Xin muttered to himself.

He had spent these past few days in the company of the pup, and indeed, his spiritual platform remained clear, devoid of any malice toward the world.

Ao Qing said nothing.

He recalled the day of the Gong clan's ancestral worship, when the little pup had cast a greedy glance at him within the ancestral temple.

"You must protect Youyou well. She is wondrously gifted, and possesses the ability to dispel demons." Whether it was demon-dispelling, or perhaps she was herself the greatest demon in the world, causing lesser demons not to dare approach—Ao Qing cared not for such distinctions.

He merely tightened his hold on the chubby little creature in his arms who had just been worrying over his "wronged" state, lowered his gaze under Ao Xin's disdainful "as if I needed you to tell me" look, and said softly, "She is a good child."

To whom those words were addressed, none could say.

Yet the little pup, hearing herself being praised, instantly straightened her back and puffed out her chest!

Filled with pride!

Perched upon Ao Qing's arm, she raised her little head under the collective gazes of the dragons and nodded vigorously.

Of course she was the best little pup in the world.

Obedient and well-behaved, she would never do anything wicked to hurt anyone.

Because she had been praised by her grand-uncle, and had received the Azure Dragon Patriarch's promise that Ao Lie would soon be brought over to play with her, the little tyke remained brimming with joy for days on end.