The thief never expected that. Enduring the pain in his flesh, he took out the still-warm golden dagger, which would further enrage the giant dragon.
Moreover, he was right under the dragon’s feet now, and he couldn’t dodge in time; the dragon’s attack was already overhead.
With a “boom.”
A massive fireball struck the thief, smashing the ground into a charred pit.
Because the thief’s kneeling posture was so shocking, Jing Nian was momentarily stunned. When he snapped back to reality, only a burnt stone pit was left under the dragon’s feet.
The bottom of the pit was pitch black, and the thief had already been charred to a crisp.
Only then did Chi Yan extinguish its anger and turn to look at its young master with affection. It glanced inside the Dragon Soul Space, where the first young master looked at it with adoration, or more precisely, at the pit created by its fireball.
Although the second young master, who controlled the body, was somewhat shocked, he wasn’t scared.
Chi Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
Back to the abyss!
It roared with its head held high, stepping heavily with “DuangDuangDuang” sounds, and went to the other side to retrieve the stick that Jing Nian had picked up.
In the Dragon Soul Space, the little dragon cub was immediately “tempted” when it saw Chi Yan flapping its wings vigorously.
It wanted to ride on the wings!
It wanted to fly high!
Thinking about it, the little dragon cub skillfully moved to Jing Nian’s side, nuzzling and acting cute. The desire in its eyes accurately conveyed its intention to switch control of the body.
Noticing the excitement and anticipation in the little dragon cub’s eyes, Chi Yan seemed motivated. Its large wings flapped even more joyfully, and it was ready to let the young master ride on its neck and take a leisurely flight over the forest!
Facing the two excited dragons, one large and one small, Jing Nian doubted if anyone in the scene still remembered the golden dagger in the pit.
He thought it was a divine artifact after all; it shouldn’t have been turned into ashes by the fireball.
So, he reminded the little dragon cub inside the Dragon Soul Space.
Upon hearing that the dagger was not lost and was still behind, the excited big eyes of the little dragon cub, which had been prepared for takeoff, froze for a moment, followed by a faint sense of disappointment.
So~
The golden dagger engraved with Ao Tian’s name is gone~
Well…
Its originally excited little tail, swinging around wildly, “plop” fell to the ground.
The pitiful sight made Jing Nian feel sorry for it. He decided that after returning, he would write a letter to Ga’erfu to inquire if there was a way to engrave the name on the dagger.
When it’s engraved, he would then tell the little cub and give it a surprise.
However, the disappointment of the little dragon cub lasted only a moment. Even before Jing Nian could console it, it became happy again because it had found the dagger.
It resurrected in full spirit, nuzzling against Jing Nian, saying, “Let’s quickly retrieve it and then fly high~”
Because it was too eager, it enthusiastically squeezed against Jing Nian.
Jing Nian was amused by the way it could make him happy with its carefree antics. He immediately relinquished control of the body to let it take the lead.
After gaining control of the body, eager to retrieve the dagger and fly high later, the little dragon cub hastily jumped off the rock and ran towards the charred pit with a clatter.
Chi Yan saw the destination of the little dragon cub and understood. It recalled that the dagger was still in the pit and quickly walked over with its large feet.
As it walked, it thought that if the young master’s toy was burned, it would go and grab a couple of dwarves or goblins imprisoned in the abyss to forge a new dagger for the young master.
No, make it two!
Or better yet, just capture a few who are locked deep in the abyss, specifically tasked with crafting toys for the young master.
Thinking this, Chi Yan’s large feet, which made the ground tremble as it walked, approached the edge of the charred pit. Due to the vibrations, tiny cracks like spiderwebs appeared on the edge of the charred earth, and the surface of the pitch-black pit continuously shed ash.
Suddenly, somewhere near the bottom of the pit, a glint of gold appeared.
Chi Yan’s dragon eyes narrowed as it noticed something amiss.
It turned out that the ashes being shed were not soil or rocks but a pair of pitch-black hands. These hands were tightly clutching the golden dagger, and the glint was the dagger peeking through the fingers.
Inside the pit.
The thief, unaware that his greed had exposed him, felt the ground shaking and heard the approaching footsteps near the pit. He was still feigning death with closed eyes.
He even relied on his exceptional stealth technique and began to daydream.
He couldn’t fathom why the dragon would become angry upon seeing the golden dagger…
Suddenly, he had an epiphany.
He remembered that when he stole the dagger from that little demon, the dragons were searching for treasures in the Lost Forest. Could it be that the golden dagger was the treasure the dragons were looking for?!
So, that little demon was also part of the group, and he stole the dragons’ treasure and then got stolen by him!
The thief was almost scared out of his wits by this thought.
It must be the case!
Thinking of how the little demon had wrapped him up tightly in a cloak, covering his eyes as well, the thief felt like he had discovered the truth!
Oh no!
The thief thought, ‘The dagger is still in my hand!’
But for now, the dragon was still atop the charred pit, and he dared not move. He could only endure and pray that the dragon wouldn’t notice anything unusual in the pit and would hopefully think that the dagger had also turned to ashes and leave.
At this moment, the little dragon cub with its short legs had just arrived near the charred ground next to the pit.
“Be careful where you step, it’s dirty!” It heard Jing Nian’s voice.
The little dragon cub promptly stopped its steps.
However, it was too late; it had already stepped on a patch of black ash.
It turned back and looked at the clean footprints it had left behind. It lifted one foot, seemingly unsure of where to put it, torn between left and right, as it had already ventured into the circle of ashes.
“Jiojio1feet is so black~” In the Dragon Soul Space, the little dragon cub nuzzled against Jing Nian, expressing its unhappiness.
Jing Nian patted the fastidious little cub, saying, “It’s okay, you’re already dirty, we’ll clean up later.”
He whispered, “Go pick up your dagger quickly.”
Upon hearing Jing Nian’s words, the little cub was immediately convinced.
Since it’s already dirty, then~
“Pada, pada, pada…” The little dragon cub, without any reservations, walked over the black ash to the edge of the charred pit.
It gave a curious glance at Chi Yan, who was squinting at the pit, wondering what it was doing.
Chi Yan turned around and made a hushing gesture to the little dragon cub.
Although the cub didn’t quite understand, it still cooperated. It immediately stopped waving its happy little wings and raised its claws to cover its mouth, even breathing softly.
A playful smile appeared in Chi Yan’s eyes. It quietly placed its paw in front of the little dragon cub, which looked a bit confused but still crawled into the large dragon’s grasp, holding Chi Yan’s finger and peering down into the pit.
Seeing only darkness, it turned back to look at Chi Yan, still not understanding.
The mature Fire Dragon, playfully winking at both young masters, signaled them to look into the pit.
Then, it suddenly extended its dragon head over the charred pit and let out a deafening roar.
“Roar!!!”
“Ah!!!” A pitch-black figure immediately screamed as it leaped out of the pit.
After jumping out of the pit, the thief threw the golden dagger in the opposite direction and sprinted away.
He was truly foolish!
He actually thought his stealth technique could evade the giant dragon!
But he didn’t get more than a few steps.
“Bang!” The dragon pressed the thief to the ground with a swipe of its claw, then used its sharp nails to pick him up.
Inside Chi Yan’s paw, the little dragon cub, who had just realized what had happened, couldn’t stop laughing and rolled around in Chi Yan’s grasp.
The adorable laughter “ka, ka, ka…” of the little dragon cub echoed.
The little dragon cub was so immersed in laughter that it unintentionally rolled out patches of black ash from Chi Yan’s palm, then rolled itself, becoming a little grey cub.
Jing Nian watched quietly and didn’t interrupt its happiness, but he already guessed that a certain someone might start crying again later!
While lying in Chi Yan’s palm and seeing the glint of gold shimmering from the pit below, Jing Nian had a vague idea of what was happening.
But Chi Yan, who was considered middle-aged among dragons, was unexpectedly mischievous and managed to scare the thief like this.
However, when he saw the miserable figure of the thief being lifted by Chi Yan, he couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Haha, the big dragon is really naughty.
–
Being lifted up and seeing the chubby little creature in the dragon’s palm face-to-face, the thief knew that he was in big trouble with the dragon and wouldn’t get away easily!
What else would be protected so carefully in a dragon’s palm if not a dragon cub!
The thief’s heart sank directly. He regretted his actions; he had almost stolen a dragon cub!
The dragon lifted him slowly.
While the thief struggled in terror, he shouted desperately, “Don’t! Don’t! Don’t kill me! I know the secret about the dragon clan from the prophecy!!!”
During his struggle, the black ash he used to perform the stealth technique was shaken off, revealing his body with dark markings.
The little dragon cub in the dragon’s claw went “huh” and then covered its eyes with its paw, peeking through the gaps.
Jing Nian sighed: “…” This is too much for a child; they’ll be influenced!
He directly covered the little dragon cub’s eyes from the Dragon Soul Space.
When the little dragon cub eventually uncovered its eyes from between Jing Nian’s fingers, the thief had understood the dissatisfaction in the dragon Chi Yan’s eyes. He took out the only piece of clothing that had survived the flames, put it on, and even though it was… women’s clothing.
Furthermore, due to his panic, he not only put on women’s clothing but also wore the underwear on the outside.
A few days ago, the little dragon cub, who had just learned about gender distinctions from Jing Nian in Mini Street, was shocked.
It turned around in disbelief, looking at Jing Nian to confirm.
Could this person really be a female human?!
The term “female human” used by the little dragon cub was because the dragons often referred to the mages in the Abyss as humans. The cub was still in the early stages of language development and picked up this expression.
Jing Nian: “…”
He could understand the thief’s panic, which led to him wearing the wrong clothes. After all, he had been terrified inside a dragon’s eggshell in the past. But at the moment, he didn’t know how to explain this situation without potentially influencing the child. Explaining it seemed like it could lead to misunderstandings.
In the end, he could only say, “He is a male human, and what clothes he wears doesn’t necessarily represent his true gender. But this isn’t good, so Ao Tian doesn’t need to learn it.”
The little dragon cub’s eyes were filled with curiosity: Why would a male human wear a female human’s clothes?
Faced with a hundred thousand questions, Jing Nian strained his brain and said, “Well… maybe he likes it.”
Seeing that the little dragon cub was considering it, Jing Nian quickly added, “But Ao Tian shouldn’t learn this hobby.”
Ao Tian nodded and continued to look at Jing Nian with curiosity: Why?
Jing Nian hesitated for a moment and squeezed out, “This hobby isn’t bad, but hobbies are innocent… We can respect others’ hobbies, but we shouldn’t discriminate against them.”
The little dragon cub still seemed to only partially understand, but it grasped the idea of “not discriminating against others.”
It nodded obediently.
Seeing that both young masters were quite interested in this little thief, Chi Yan, who had originally intended to give him a slap and be done with it, changed his mind.
–
The news that Chi Yan had brought back a pitch-black human caught the attention of the entire Abyss in no time. Underneath the cliff, there was an iron cage hanging where the thief was suspended, and it became a popular spot for dragons to “pass by.”
These dragons, while walking past, would shake the cage vigorously, and to make matters worse, after giving the imprisoned thief a thorough 365-degree examination, they would all cast a disdainful glance at him and then move on.
For the thief, who was forced to “swing on a swing” by the dragons passing through the sky, this was a kind of torture.
He felt like his heart was being crushed!
He had nothing to live for!
Who knows what these dragons were thinking.
Even though he shouted those words, the thief understood that he was merely struggling in vain. He had no expectation that the dragons would spare him, considering that the arrogance of the dragons was etched into the history of the Grans continent. Offending their existence meant not seeing the sunrise the next day!
Moreover, he had also laid hands on a dragon’s offspring!
He closed his eyes, gave up struggling and prepared to meet his end.
But instead, he was carried all the way into the rumored Dragon Abyss!
Just when he thought that his words had somehow worked and saved his life, he was thrown into a cage again, becoming a peculiar prisoner for the dragons to marvel at.
The dragons didn’t care about the secret he had mentioned at all!
–
After inspecting the strange, pitch-black human inside the cage, the dragons couldn’t comprehend it.
This was what Chi Yan had mentioned—that the young master seemed to like him a lot and had even made him laugh several times. Shouldn’t he be brought back as a pet?
Human? Demihuman? Beastman?
To be precise, the one inside the cage was a mixed-blood of three different lineages.
Humans and demihumans were incompatible, and beastmen were known for their xenophobia2a term used to describe an irrational fear, distrust, or hatred of people from other countries, cultures, or backgrounds. It often manifests as prejudice, discrimination, or hostility towards individuals or groups who are perceived as foreign or different in some way. . Different races usually didn’t intermarry, and mixed-race beastmen were typically ostracized among their own kind.
So, this guy was essentially disliked by everyone.
The young master liked this three-way mixed-blood guy?
The dragons were feeling a bit sour about it!
So, their disdainful looks towards the thief grew even stronger!
How infuriating!
–
On the other side, the little dragon cub, who had become sulky after getting dirty, finally cheered up after getting cleaned.
After being cleaned, the little dragon cub began to happily splash around in the water.
Meanwhile, Jing Nian was lost in thought in the Dragon Soul Space.
He remembered the thief and the secret he had blurted out before being caught and felt somewhat concerned. Although it seemed that the dragons had accepted his presence, he couldn’t directly ask them about matters related to the prophecy. He was afraid of revealing too much, and what if they found out he was an outsider mentioned in the prophecy?
However, there were very few individuals in Mini Street who were proficient in the common language of the continent. Every time, Jing Nian could only communicate with them through keywords and gestures, which was quite challenging.
Getting into the details was even more impossible.
So, Jing Nian planned to ask the thief about the prophecy later.
–
However, to his surprise, as soon as they met, he heard a bombshell.
“I’ve seen the outsider mentioned in the prophecy! I swear it’s true!”
Hanging on the edge of the cliff, the thief, who had been driven insane by the dragons’ footsteps shaking him while they walked by, eagerly clung to this lifeline as soon as he heard a slightly lighter footstep.
Jing Nian, who had planned to approach the thief quietly and interrogate him about the secret while disguised as a dragon, arrived: “…”
The frantic thief hanging above continued to plead, tears and snot flowing freely. “I swear everything I said is true! Those outsiders are really strange! I saw them gang up on someone with my own eyes, which is why I hid in the Lost Forest!”
“Respected Dragon Lord! I wouldn’t dare deceive you!”
“Cough, cough, please tell me in detail what you saw!” Jing Nian coughed lightly twice, trying to lower his voice, but he couldn’t completely hide the milkiness in his tone.
He furrowed his brow slightly in frustration.
But he quickly realized that the distraught thief paid no attention to his voice.
After a convoluted narrative, the thief took a breath and continued, “…Those outsiders have a special ability that makes them practically invulnerable at certain times. They can even induce short-term amnesia in people. Even if they were in combat just a moment ago, activating that ability suddenly makes their enemies forget everything about them, even losing their hostility towards them!”
“I swear, everything I said is true!”
Under the cage, Jing Nian looked up in shock. Of course, he could tell that the thief’s words were true!
He could even confirm that those outsiders were the players!
What’s going on?
Jing Nian counted the time since he entered this game and realized that it hadn’t even been a month!
When Nai Yang gave him the closed beta card, he said that the game would take a long time to develop before going online!
Jing Nian’s tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed. Could it be because of him?
His heart couldn’t help but race with this thought.
Could he go home now?
Even if he couldn’t, could he try to contact the outside world?
Unable to contain his excitement, Jing Nian directly opened the player interface.
The thief, who had been swearing for a long time without anyone paying attention, slowly blinked in surprise. He carefully grabbed the cage and looked down, but where were the mighty dragon lords?
He only saw a familiar young dragon.
It was the dragonling that he had almost trapped in a sack!
It was only now that he realized that the voice that had asked him earlier was clearly a child’s voice!
The thief, who usually engaged in all sorts of thieving activities, had a more sensitive source of information for the sake of survival. He not only knew that there were only two dragonlings who were considered the dragon lords, but he also knew their names.
Of course, this was thanks to the proud boasting of the dragons themselves.
So, as the thief looked at the innocent and cute young dragon playing below, his thoughts began to stir.
Innocence = Easy to deceive.
Perhaps, his chance to escape had arrived!
He swallowed hard and lowered his voice, “Respected Little Dragon Lord, I wonder if you are Lord Dragon Jing Tian or Lord Dragon Ao Tian?”
After opening the player interface, he couldn’t find the chat channel or friend function and couldn’t contact customer service either. Jing Nian closed the player interface in disappointment. When he heard the thief’s voice, he raised his head. The thief repeated his question in a soft voice.
Jing Nian: ?
The thief chuckled and exaggeratedly said in a tone as if coaxing a child, “The illustrious names of the two little Dragon Lords have spread throughout the entire continent! I also know that Lord Dragon Ao Tian is the older brother, and Lord Dragon Jing Tian is the younger brother. Their names are truly…”
The thief extended his hand towards the cage, struggling to reach down, and raised his thumb, showing it to Jing Nian.
“Truly resounding! Pleasant to the ears! It instills awe in people, ah no, it’s awe-inspiring!”
In Jing Nian’s mind, a single sentence kept repeating.
The older brother is Dragon Ao Tian, and the younger brother is Dragon Jing Tian!
Suddenly realizing that Dragon Jing Tian was himself, Jing Nian almost rolled his eyes and fainted.
In contrast to Jing Nian, inside the Dragon Soul Space, the little dragon’s eyes lit up because of the thief’s words.
Is it true?
Is Ao Ao really that impressive?
So, while they were debating, the dragons who had arrived at the cage found out: Indeed, the gaze of the first young lord towards the unkempt thief was filled with joy!
Even more exaggerated than described by Chi Yan, this was clearly affection!
The dragons were astounded!
The aesthetic sense of the first young lord was seriously questionable!
However, for the dragons, there was nothing that had ever made the young lord happy before.
So, without further ado, Hesse, the leader, directly pinched open the cage with his dragon claws, lifted the trembling thief, and placed him at the edge of the cliff. The immense dragon’s face approached the thief’s face.
Only when the terrifying dragon breath had turned the thief’s face white, devoid of dust and blood color, did Hesse feel that he had imposed enough intimidation and slowly spoke, “Human, I’ll give you a chance to live, submit to my…”
“Bang!” Without hesitation, the thief knelt down right on the spot.
Hesse: “…Master.”
The thief skillfully made a turn while kneeling, facing the location below the cliff where Jing Nian was. Even Hesse, who considered himself well-informed, couldn’t find words to express his current feelings.
He paused and slowly said, “You need to present a slave contract to demonstrate your loyalty.”
“I’ll present it!”
The thief eagerly exclaimed, taking two steps forward while kneeling, stopping just before he almost fell off the cliff.
The dragons below the cliff were also stunned.
Although dragons were renowned throughout the Grans continent, they had never seen anyone be so “obedient” in front of them.
Ultimately, in a situation where the thief was eager and willingly complied, he smoothly became the servant of the young dragon, and even formed a permanent contract!
This development left Jing Nian astonished.
Only the young dragon knew that this human was now its servant, and it was very happy about it!
The newly appointed dragon servant was quite skilled in his duties, mastering the Dragon Lord’s preferences with precision in less than half a day. He was incredibly sweet-tongued and coaxed the young dragon until it was pleasantly dizzy.
Jing Nian had his suspicions. If it weren’t for him, this sly rogue would have eventually manipulated the dragons and controlled the entire Dragon Clan!
However, even with him there, Jing Nian remained vigilant because he had a nagging feeling that this crafty thief, with his enthusiastic flattery and voluntary submission, was hiding something sinister.
He definitely had ulterior motives!
The author has something to say:
Double update~
Enjoy the two chapters~
