Chapter 109: The Reason to Eat You
The little girl had a face like a painting, exquisitely beautiful, like a newly born black lotus, yet her gaze was very indifferent, with a hint of brutality hidden deep within. Coupled with her pitch-black vertical pupils, she appeared exceptionally eerie.
Chen Changsheng could not speak for a long time. By now, he had naturally guessed who this little girl in black was, especially after seeing the bloodline like cinnabar between her brows.
He knew that by the lifespan of the dragon race, she was a little girl.
He had once heard Xu Yourong say that she was just a little girl.
But he still hadn't expected that she truly was a little girl.
...
...
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Changsheng finally snapped out of his shock.
He walked toward her, his movements slow because he was somewhat nervous.
The little girl looked up at him, seeming a bit impatient, her demeanor full of cold severity.
Chen Changsheng felt uncomfortable seeing the indifference and brutality in her eyes, along with that sense of superiority, but he knew this was not her true nature, nor was it contempt for him.
It was the instinctive condescension of a higher life form toward a lower one.
Just as humans look upon cattle and horses on the grasslands—there may be affection, sympathy, or respect, but it is always a bestowal of emotion from a higher vantage point. This was something that could not be changed.
He walked up to her, and she lowered her head slightly, as if she did not want him to see her face clearly, or perhaps to feign indifference to hide her inner nervousness. Little did she know that for human men, a lowered head was most likely to be imagined as gentleness and shyness.
"I didn't know... you... could be like this."
Chen Changsheng did not know what to say. He understood why she was willing to meet him in human form. It was because he was about to die, and she wanted to express something. He wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to express, but he had a vague guess, which naturally made him nervous.
"I won't let you die." The little girl lifted her head and looked at Chen Changsheng.
By now, she had regained her calm and indifference. Though she was sitting on the ground, much shorter than him, her upward gaze felt like looking down, and her tone was like a command or an order.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself that he certainly didn't want to die either. Then he remembered that earlier that day, before Yourong went to the palace, she had said something similar to him.
"Just now I said that the Time Scroll should help you break the seal and leave. Since last year, Yourong and I have been discussing how to rescue you. On the way here, she also came up with many ideas. The formation I set up just now was actually based on her sketches."
For some reason, Chen Changsheng said this very seriously while looking at her, perhaps because his vague guess made him not want her to hold any grudge against Yourong in the future.
The little girl turned her head away, stubbornly refusing to utter a single word.
She hadn't expected Xu Yourong to help her, and she was somewhat surprised, but that was all.
Chen Changsheng said, "I thought you would at least thank her."
"She spends every day with you, yet you're about to die. Do you think I would thank her?"
The little girl's voice suddenly became sharp, filled with anger.
Chen Changsheng didn't know what to say anymore.
Although logically, they had met many times and were quite familiar, this was his first time meeting her as a little girl, so there was inevitably some strangeness and awkwardness.
"Well... Miss Zhi Zhi."
"I told you not to call me Zhi Zhi!"
The little girl glared at him and said, "I have a name."
Chen Changsheng remembered that Xu Yourong had once told him that the little black dragon had a name, seemingly Zhu Sha, but before he could speak...
"My name is Hong Zhuang." The little girl looked at him expressionlessly.
Chen Changsheng naturally wouldn't argue with her over such trivial matters. He said, "I'm going to set up the formation. Do you want to come with me and take a look?"
From last autumn to this summer, he had come here many times, studying the formations on the stone wall and thinking about how to break the seal to help the little black dragon escape, but he had never let her watch.
It wasn't that his method of breaking the seal had any secrets, but rather that she wasn't interested, or perhaps she didn't believe that Chen Changsheng's abilities could break the restraints set by Wang Zhice.
But today, he wanted her to come and watch, because there might not be another chance.
The little black dragon thought for a moment, stood up, turned around, and walked toward the distant stone wall. Because moving was somewhat inconvenient, she naturally lifted her black dress, revealing her bare feet.
Her bare feet were as white as snow, and when they stepped on the frost-covered ground, the frost instantly paled in comparison.
Two thin iron chains were tied around her ankles. The chains were pitch black with rust on the surface, starkly contrasting with her snow-white ankles.
Hundreds of years had passed, and she had tried countless times to break free underground. The chains had sunk deep into her ankles, and the wounds were clearly visible, even faintly revealing white bone.
Just looking at this scene was painful, let alone for her. Chen Changsheng stepped forward, grabbed the chains in his hands, and handled them carefully, ensuring they wouldn't rub against her ankles.
Although her abilities were restrained by the formation, she retained many of the dragon race's innate abilities, allowing her to move freely through the underground space. Chen Changsheng's speed was also astonishing. Logically, they could have quickly covered the dozen or so miles, but for some reason, they walked very slowly.
The night pearls on the dome, like stars in the sky, went out one by one, leaving only faint light near the distant stone wall. She lifted her skirt, and he carried the chains, and together they disappeared into the darkness.
The dim light fell on the stone wall, casting shifting shadows on the faces of the two legendary divine generals. The chains in their hands seemed coated with the venom of a witch clan, chilling to the bone.
Chen Changsheng stood before the stone wall, looking at the portraits and the formations hidden within the stone. After a moment of thought and deduction, he took out the items he had prepared from his sword sheath and began setting up the formation.
Time passed slowly. He worked with intense focus, his brow furrowing from time to time, though it was unclear whether he had encountered an obstacle or was suffering from the pain of his internal injuries.
The little black dragon habitually sat on the icy ground, her small face tilted up as she gazed at the portraits on the stone wall, lost in thought. Her indifferent eyes faintly revealed regret and confusion, but when she looked at Chen Changsheng, those negative emotions gradually faded away.
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Changsheng finally finished setting up the formation. He carefully checked it twice, ensuring there were no omissions or problems, and then let out a genuine sigh of relief. Since he had come here from the underground beneath the palace more than two years ago, he had spent a long time studying the two chains imprisoning the black dragon. He had applied all the Daoist knowledge he had learned in his life, and over the past half year, he had received a great deal of help from Xu Yourong. He believed it would work.
He took out the Time Scroll and handed it to the black dragon, then looked at her seriously and said, "Do you have any way to temporarily make yourself unconscious?"
The little black dragon widened her eyes and looked at him, wondering what kind of request this was.
Chen Changsheng was about to say more, but seeing her expression, he knew she wouldn't agree, so he simply said, "No matter what happens later, you'd better hold on."
The little black dragon suddenly felt something was wrong and reached out to knock him out, but it was too late.
Silently, like a willow leaf cutting through the early spring breeze.
The peerlessly sharp Wugou Sword left its sheath and fell.
A thin cut opened on Chen Changsheng's wrist, and blood gushed out.
His blood was clearly unusual, tinged with a faint golden hue, as if it contained boundless energy, holy yet also giving off an extremely eerie feeling.
His holy light blood also contained Xu Yourong's Phoenix True Blood.
As he cut his wrist, the blood met the cold wind of the underground space, and an indescribable fragrance spread at an incomprehensible speed.
This fragrance was like the scent of grass, or rather the dew on the grass, like the smell of freshly ripened fruit, or the fruit left out overnight in the night breeze.
If this continued, the scent would travel through Beixin Bridge into the capital, driving the entire city mad, even causing the birds at the Tianling Mausoleum to fly wildly toward it.
Fortunately, or rather, as Chen Changsheng had prepared, the formation he had just set up contained the array intent that Xu Yourong had used on Hanshan with her Tong Bow to block the scent of blood. With the holy light in his blood as the foundation, it could effectively neutralize the blood's aroma. Combined with the extreme cold naturally emitted by the black dragon, it ensured that the scent would not drift out of Beixin Bridge before it naturally faded.
But there was one problem.
The little black dragon was right beside him, within the formation's range, watching him do all this. Naturally, she smelled the scent.
With a sharp clang!
The chains were pulled taut like strings, and her body floated into the air. Her black hair whipped wildly behind her, and her black dress fluttered as well. Her beautiful face was cold and ruthless, like a demon or a god.
Her eerie vertical pupils were filled with countless emotions, complex and conflicting to the extreme. It was the natural affinity of a supreme life form for another supreme sacred energy, the endless longing of a powerful being for true immortality, and the primal instinct of biological desire.
She looked down at Chen Changsheng, greedy yet uneasy, yearning yet sorrowful, struggling endlessly until she gradually calmed down.
Calmness did not mean safety.
Though she was a noble and powerful Frost Dragon, she was still young. Having left the South Sea for the land at a young age, she had not received a complete dragon education, so she had never learned to control her desires or prevent her will from being consumed by them.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes were violent.
She decided to eat Chen Changsheng, because he was too delicious. And she had ample reason to eat him. Even if the stars descended with the will of heaven to question her, she could do so without guilt.
"You heartless thing! I gave you my first blood, yet you still fool around with other women. To fulfill my oath from back then, I'm going to swallow you whole!"
With these words, her aura surged at a terrifying speed, breaking through several realms in an instant, directly reaching the sacred domain. Then she pounced toward Chen Changsheng on the ground.
...
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(The last day of August. I won't say much else—just that I want to thank everyone. I really like you all. Don't mind me not talking much lately; I've been watching all along.)