The incident of Zhulong going berserk was immediately reported to Xu Dongyou at school as quickly as possible. As a result, Xu Dongyou had to take an emergency leave. By this time, Jiu Chao had already arrived and was waiting at the school gate for Xu Dongyou.
Next, Jiu Chao quickly took Xu Dongyou to the Anomaly Handling Bureau, racing against time to reach the sealing array.
Perhaps because Zhulong’s injuries were continuously healing, its strength was also increasing, and the originally full spiritual energy had once again been completely drained. Fortunately, the spiritual energy reserves in the bureau were full, and recharging began immediately.
However, the array would last at most five hours before being breached. Technically, since there were five hours available, there was no need to rush Xu Dongyou over so urgently.
But the sealing array had been in operation for so long. With the terrifying Zhulong repeatedly damaging it coupled with the gradual recovery of Zhulong’s strength, if the array’s damage exceeded sixty percent, it might not be possible to restore it to its original state even with repairs.
It’s like porcelain; even if the damage is minor and it is repaired to the point where no damage is visible, there is still a crack in that part of the porcelain.
The array was the same.
That’s why Elder Chen couldn’t wait a moment longer. He immediately sent Jiu Chao to pick up Xu Dongyou and directly transported them from the top floor to the array gate.
Even on the first floor, Xu Dongyou could feel the entire array shaking, as if it could shatter at any moment.
The situation was indeed extremely urgent. Elder Chen quickly packed food and drink into a backpack and handed it to Xu Dongyou, reminding him to be careful.
He couldn’t bring himself to tell Xu Dongyou to retreat if he couldn’t calm Zhulong because if it couldn’t be calmed, everyone would die.
Xu Dongyou took the supplies and drove a mobility vehicle to the deepest part of the array. Considering the significant size difference between Xu Dongyou and Zhulong, there were times when Xu Dongyou’s voice might not be heard by the enraged Zhulong.
This mobility vehicle had been modified by the Bureau and had an added function of an amplified loudspeaker. As long as Xu Dongyou pressed the loudspeaker button while in the vehicle, his voice would be amplified several times and spread out.
As soon as Xu Dongyou entered, he immediately activated the amplification function, speaking as slowly and gently as possible, “It’s me, I’m here.”
He still didn’t know how to address Zhulong, so he could only speak like this each time.
Fortunately, Zhulong recognized Xu Dongyou’s voice and immediately calmed down from its frenzied state. Panting heavily, it began to survey its surroundings and quickly approached Xu Dongyou, staring intently with its enormous eyes.
Xu Dongyou’s attention was on the wounds on Zhulong’s back, which were now even more severe, torn and scarred from the chains. They looked more horrifying than before.
Feeling extremely guilty, Xu Dongyou jumped out of the vehicle and kept apologizing.
He had been recovering from injuries and couldn’t come earlier. Now, still not fully healed, he had rushed to the school, originally planning to visit Zhulong over the weekend.
However, he hadn’t expected Zhulong to go berserk today.
Currently, Zhulong could understand some basic, simple conversations, so it naturally understood Xu Dongyou’s apology. Yet its attention was solely focused on Xu Dongyou, slowly approaching and sniffing the blood from Xu Dongyou’s recently torn wound, along with his weakened breathing and physical state.
In the blink of an eye, Zhulong went wild again. Under Xu Dongyou’s horrified gaze, it violently attacked the array.
Xu Dongyou felt even more guilty, tears welling up. Overcoming his fear, he rushed to hug Zhulong, loudly pleading, “Don’t be angry. I’ll come to see you earlier next time.”
Hearing this, Zhulong became even more frenzied, but its remaining sanity restrained its body, fearing it might hurt Xu Dongyou. It emitted chaotic, urgent sounds, with rumbling echoes.
Xu Dongyou couldn’t understand the words, his eyes reddened as he continued apologizing to Zhulong. His inner self-reproach was overwhelming, “It’s my fault. I should have come to see you today.”
Otherwise, Zhulong wouldn’t have gone berserk. They had clearly agreed before that he would visit Zhulong regularly.
It was he who first broke the promise.
It’s no wonder Zhulong was furious, especially since his breach of the agreement not only caused Zhulong to be injured but also nearly led to the array’s destruction. If it had resulted in an apocalyptic scenario, it would all be his fault.
The small, young demon cried in anger, its eyes swollen and its fair face reddened from crying too hard.
It looked both pitiful and impossible to ignore.
Despite its anger, Zhulong did not rage as it had before. Its chaotic eyes were filled with many emotions. Eventually, it slowly approached Xu Dongyou and made another confused sound.
Xu Dongyou, with his face red from crying, looked bewildered.
Zhulong suddenly fell silent. After several seconds, it spoke with an especially difficult and awkward voice, “You are hurt.”
It was the first time Zhulong spoke in human language. Though the pronunciation was imperfect, Xu Dongyou understood and was momentarily stunned. After a while, his eyes reddened again.
So, Zhulong’s anger earlier wasn’t because Xu Dongyou arrived late, but because—had it seen him injured?
Zhulong’s voice came again, “I’m sorry, I… did not protect you.”
Xu Dongyou sniffed, trying to hold back his tears. He shook his head and spoke in a muffled voice, “You’ve done well. It’s my own fault that I got hurt.”
What he said was true.
Zhulong had indeed done well. It was trapped here to protect the world; it couldn’t protect Xu Dongyou. How could Xu Dongyou blame Zhulong for not protecting him?
Hearing Zhulong apologize to him only made Xu Dongyou feel even more distressed.
Zhulong’s previously furious anger was calmed by Xu Dongyou’s gentle tone. Its voice still rumbled as it spoke word by word, “I… want to protect you.”
Xu Dongyou looked up in shock.
He saw Zhulong slowly turn its head. One of its claws pierced through its body and forcefully pulled out a segment of dragon bone. The bone shimmered with a radiant glow, resembling a gem so exquisite it was beyond earthly description, beautiful enough to take one’s breath away.
Xu Dongyou’s mind exploded in panic, “Don’t—”
But it was too late. Zhulong severed the bone. The remaining part of the bone immediately returned to its body, with the wound gradually healing. Only the injuries caused by the sealing array and chains would take several days to heal completely.
Holding the dragon bone, Zhulong presented it to Xu Dongyou, saying word by word, “Protect you.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the dragon bone transformed into a beam of light and entered Xu Dongyou’s body, disappearing completely.
Xu Dongyou looked down and found that the areas of his body that had been faintly aching were now completely healed. Not only were his injuries fully healed, but he also felt a dormant power within him, as if it might awaken due to some future opportunity.
Xu Dongyou didn’t know how to extract the dragon bone. He looked at the ancient Zhulong and said, “I can’t accept this. Please take it back.”
Just thinking about what had happened made Xu Dongyou feel pained for Zhulong. It had willingly been trapped here to protect the human world. How could he let it extract a piece of its dragon bone for his sake?
Yet the frenzied Zhulong, with a rather determined tone, said, “It can’t be taken out now. The pact has been completed. Your injury is mine to bear. My bone will protect you.”
Its learning ability was astonishing; from initially only being able to speak word by word, it had now become fluent enough to express several sentences.
And the speech was becoming increasingly accurate.
At this moment, Xu Dongyou didn’t know what to feel—he was moved, self-reproachful, and guilty. He stared blankly at the Zhulong and asked unwillingly, “Is it really impossible to take it out?”
Zhulong honestly nodded, “It can’t be taken out.”
Xu Dongyou stood there in confusion, completely unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, outside, Elder Chen and the branch director also witnessed the scene. The branch director, frowning deeply, asked Elder Chen, “What are the consequences of Zhulong giving the dragon bone to Xu Dongyou?”
Elder Chen, still trembling, couldn’t recover from the shock of the scene before him.
Logically, he should have been surprised that Zhulong could speak, but all that remained was perhaps fear and astonishment.
Jiu Chao muttered beside them, “The pact… the pact…”
The branch director immediately asked, “Pact?”
Jiu Chao, coming back to his senses, nodded anxiously for the first time, feeling dry-mouthed, “Both demons and ancient beings have a way of forming a pact. It’s usually only done with partners they deeply care about. Once the partner is injured, the other party can bear all the harm on their behalf, lend part of their own power to the partner, and also protect the partner in times of crisis.”
However, this is only done for someone they deeply love.
But the problem is, the ancient Zhulong is already mad. It couldn’t possibly understand what a pact is. Even if it knew, it wouldn’t be making a pact with a young demon.
This…
Jiu Chao was so frightened he couldn’t think clearly.
Generally speaking, even among demons, very few would agree to form a pact with their partner, let alone an ancient being.
If one day the ancient being wakes up and discovers that it has made a pact with a young demon, would it become angry—
Just thinking about it made Jiu Chao feel as if he wanted to transform and escape the Earth.
Elder Chen was similarly terrified and anxious.
All of this happened while the ancient Zhulong was not in its right mind. Once it wakes up, would it become angry or dislike the young demon?
The branch director, upon briefly considering the situation, understood the pros and cons. On the surface, it seemed to be more advantageous. At least Xu Dongyou’s safety was assured because Zhulong’s robust body meant that what might be a severe injury for Xu Dongyou would be like a mere pinprick when transferred to Zhulong.
However, the problem was that all this was done while Zhulong was not in its right mind. It wouldn’t be long before Zhulong would likely wake up.
The branch director was somewhat distressed and asked, “If it really can’t be helped, once Zhulong wakes up, we can explain the situation clearly.”
Jiu Chao was already crying at this point, “The problem is—demons and ancient beings can only form a pact once in their lifetime. It can’t be done again.”
That’s why pacts are taken so seriously.
The branch director was at a loss for words, feeling overwhelmed, “This is troublesome.”
Elder Chen, thinking about how to explain this to Zhulong once it woke up, was so overwhelmed that he fainted. The branch director and Jiu Chao quickly laid Elder Chen down, glanced at each other, and sighed deeply.
Who would have thought that the unconscious Zhulong would be so concerned about Xu Dongyou that it forcefully formed a pact.
