“You mean there are only little dots on the mushrooms?” Jing Nian exclaimed.
The adorable little paws of Rong Rong clutched its tiny belly as it nodded blankly.
Then, with a more puzzled look, it tilted its head and gazed at Jing Nian.
It didn’t understand why Jing Nian was so shocked when he saw the mushroom candy just now. He seemed both happy and on the verge of tears.
And now he was asking about the pattern on the mushrooms.
Rong Rong was bewildered as it locked eyes with Jing Nian. It didn’t understand.
What was wrong with the dots on the mushrooms? Weren’t they the same as the ones it had seen in the forest?
Jing Nian realized that the mushrooms Rong Rong saw were different from the ones he saw!
A look of excitement slowly bloomed in the young boy’s bright blue eyes.
Could this mean that the mushrooms were meant specifically for him?
Jing Nian eagerly inquired about the source of the mushroom candy from the little bear.
The fluffy face of the little bear showed a hint of hesitation.
Obviously, the source of these mushrooms had instructed it to keep it a secret, or it wouldn’t have sneaked out to hide the candy in the middle of the night.
Jing Nian thought for a moment.
He looked at the now calm sky and said, “How about this? Can you still meet the person who gave you the candy tomorrow? You can ask them if they’d be willing to meet me first. If they agree, then you can bring me to see them. What do you think?”
The little bear was getting anxious because it couldn’t speak very well, so it resorted to stammering and gestures.
Without waiting for it to finish explaining, Jing Nian had already guessed what was troubling it. The little bear breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Jing Nian with adoration in his eyes.
Then, he nodded vigorously and handed the entire package to Jing Nian.
It was because he saw how much Jing Nian loved the mushroom candies.
Rong Rong decided not to hide anymore and wanted to give all the mushroom candies to Jing Nian.
This was what its bear parents had taught it – to repay kindness.
It knew it could live in Mini Street because of someone!
Faced with the possibility of finding a clue to return home, Jing Nian couldn’t refuse.
He was desperate to find any lead back home.
Seeing Jing Nian accept, Rong Rong happily waved its tiny paws to say goodbye.
After that, the little one skipped away on its own.
Seeing this, Jing Nian put away the mushroom candies and quickly followed the little bear, escorting it all the way back to Mini Street.
The dragons were massive, and even though they were more cautious when passing by the area due to Mini Street, the terrain was still too dangerous for a tiny bear like Rong Rong.
However, perhaps because of Jing Nian’s new body, he looked much thinner compared to the sturdy little dragon, and Rong Rong stubbornly refused to let Jing Nian carry it.
In the end, Jing Nian could only lead it back.
As he watched Rong Rong run into its small wooden house, Jing Nian thought for a moment and took out another type of candy from his spatial ring as a reward for the mushroom candies, hanging it outside Rong Rong’s room.
Beautiful candies, orange wooden houses – this was a world that could also be very much like a fairy tale.
Jing Nian turned around, ready to leave.
At this moment, Mini Street was completely quiet and deserted, but Jing Nian couldn’t help feeling happy.
He felt this way until he stepped out of the Mini Street’s boundaries, making sure he wouldn’t disturb anyone. At that point, he couldn’t contain his happiness and jumped up with a joyful laugh.
It was probably extreme happiness after going through despair.
However, the next moment, he was engulfed in a deep shadow.
As a huge shadow loomed over him, Jing Nian’s scalp tingled.
He turned slowly and forced a stiff smile on his face.
A pair of eyes, spewing flames, were glaring at him from a distance!
Facing the little dragon with an expression that clearly accused him of being unfaithful, Jing Nian froze.
Jing Nian: “…”
Since when did his two hundred pounds of good little dragon learn to walk silently?
And it had even learned to use lighting effects to create a terrifying shadow to scare people!
However, when he looked in the direction where the little dragon had come from, Jing Nian fell silent.
It was highly likely that the little dragon had been following him all along, witnessing the entire process of him taking the little bear cub back to its room.
That’s why the little vinegar jar had overturned, leading to this outburst of anger.
Jing Nian shrugged, “Well, I admit I was wrong.”
To make his apology more convincing, Jing Nian quickly put on an “apologetic” expression.
But he forgot that he was now a shrunken version of himself, already possessing a face that was too cute to blame. Making this expression made him look even more adorable, as if he had an added filter of cuteness.
Cute, innocent, and making it hard for the dragon to scold him!
So, the grumpy little dragon huffed, “…”
It almost burst out laughing.
It held it in.
It looked at Jing Nian, who was the same size as itself.
It couldn’t resist and gave a “hmph,” deciding to let Jing Nian off the hook this time.
Just this once!
After making a determined vow in its heart, the little dragon yawned, half-closed its eyes, and pulled Jing Nian by the hand, guiding him back to sleep.
This time, it would make sure Jin Jin didn’t wander around!
At this moment, Jing Nian still had no idea about the power of his shrunken version’s charm.
Knowing that the little dragon was unexpectedly easygoing tonight, Jing Nian patted the top of the dragon’s head while tiptoeing.
Yes, tiptoeing.
Originally, Jing Nian was about the same height as the little dragon. However, Jing Nian had his dragon horn on his forehead, while the little dragon had its horn on the top of its head. If Jing Nian wanted to pat its head, he had to tiptoe around its dragon horn.
Returning to the Dragon Palace, Jing Nian was looking forward to finding out about the source of the mushrooms tomorrow. He was even more eager to sleep, hoping to wake up when it was already morning.
And indeed, he woke up to bright daylight.
On the other side, after an entire night of trying to suppress the inner demon without success, Huo Yi, almost unconsciously, reconnected his consciousness to the little dragon’s horn.
Unexpectedly, he was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.
Huo Yi: “…”
He felt like his inner demon had intensified.
Jing Nian, with his mesmerizing eyes that could stir up turmoil in anyone’s heart, had no idea what was happening. He had thought that he would have trouble sleeping with thoughts of the mushrooms on his mind, but surprisingly, he slept even better than usual!
However, upon waking up and thinking about the mushrooms and the possibility of contacting his family, Jing Nian’s excitement and happiness returned.
Looking at the little dragon sleeping soundly in front of him, which he couldn’t flip over again, didn’t feel burdensome at all.
Feeling in a great mood, Jing Nian gently touched the little dragon’s horn.
“Hmm? It seems to be getting warm again?”
Jing Nian’s movements paused, and he leaned in to closely observe the horn.
Huo Yi, originally quite heated: “…”
He vaguely realized that his symptoms might not be related to the inner demon.
But for the first time in his life, he felt uncertain about how to deal with something. So, he promptly…
Slipped away.
Observing the horn, Jing Nian: “…”
He looked and noticed that the horn seemed to be back to normal? It recovered even faster than when the little dragon’s horn was heated before. Back then, the entire Dragon Clan had been terrified, but after a thorough examination, they found no abnormalities.
Now, it was the same.
Moreover, Jing Nian noticed that the little dragon seemed to have entered another period of deep sleep.
He quickly informed Hesse to come and check on the little dragon.
After examining it, Hesse calmly told Jing Nian that this time, the little dragon’s period of slumber might be a bit long, but it was a good thing because when the little dragon woke up, it might go through a growth period.
As he spoke, the gaze of the old dragon passed kindly over Jing Nian’s height. “When that happens, it might grow several times larger…”
Jing Nian: “…”
His son was about to become several times larger than him, and the old father couldn’t help but feel a bit indignant.
However, Jing Nian thought that it would be a good time for Ao Ao to be in deep slumber. It meant he could temporarily leave the Dragon Clan for a while. If Ao Ao were awake, he would probably cry his way to the depths of the Dragon Abyss if Jing Nian were to leave alone.
With this in mind, Jing Nian decided without hesitation that he should go and return as soon as possible.
He first went to find Rong Rong, but to his surprise, the obedient little bear had already gone to find the person who gave it the mushroom candies and had returned. In Rong Rong’s enthusiastic but somewhat unclear gestures, Jing Nian gathered some not-very-detailed information.
Early in the morning, Rong Rong had secretly gone to see the person who sold mushroom candies. According to Rong Rong, the person’s friend wanted to meet him, but he immediately refused. After Rong Rong’s earnest pleas, he reluctantly agreed to tell Rong Rong the source of the mushroom candies.
It was a mixed city—Lan City.
Lan City.
Jing Nian silently repeated the name once and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. After pondering for a while, he remembered. It seemed to be the place where his dwarf friend had settled in the end!
Jing Nian quickly took out the magical letter paper that Ga’erfu had left for him and sent a letter to Ga’erfu.
The reply came quickly.
Ga’erfu was indeed in Lan City, but he didn’t know anything about the mushroom candies. However, in his letter, he expressed that he would immediately go out to inquire about it and once again invited Jing Nian to visit his home.
Upon receiving the reply, Jing Nian breathed a sigh of relief and replied to Ga’erfu’s letter, thanking him and letting him know that he might be coming to disturb him in the near future.
Little did he know that at this moment, Ga’erfu had already become a renowned master blacksmith in Lan City.
The same blacksmith and auction guilds that once looked down on his work were now eagerly seeking his masterpieces.
He had merely asked about the mushroom candies that Jing Nian mentioned when he stepped out. In less than half an hour, the candy shops in Lan City were already sold out.
After thanking the helpful little bear cub, Jing Nian went to see Hesse.
He expressed his intention to leave.
Old Hesse let out a deep and heavy “huff,” which might seem terrifying, but in fact, he intentionally suppressed it, and not even a strand of Jing Nian’s hair was blown. Compared to before, Jing Nian didn’t feel the slightest bit of pressure.
Jing Nian smiled as he looked up at the old dragon.
They had already talked, and he understood that the old dragon’s current concern was about his new body.
But…
Jing Nian raised the mushroom and confessed that there was something on it that only he could see.
“Maybe, outsiders can see it too,” Jing Nian added.
“That symbol represents me.”
The old dragon, after hearing this, lowered its proud dragon head and gazed at Jing Nian with reluctance for a while.
In truth, it had never intended to stop him. It knew in its heart that Jing Nian carried a different identity and destiny in this world.
Finally, it earnestly told Jing Nian, “The Dragon Clan will always be your home.”
Jing Nian’s eyes were slightly moist as he hugged the old dragon’s weathered horn. In his heart, the Dragon Clan had long become another home for him.
With the company of the old dragon, Jing Nian secretly left the Dragon Clan and headed for Lan City.
On the other side, Huo Yi, who had sorted out his emotions, reconnected his consciousness.
Only to find…
The empty palace.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp…” The milky breaths in the deserted palace echoed.
But the small and beautiful youth was nowhere to be seen.
Huo Yi panicked for a moment, but then he realized that he had overreacted.
The youth now had the body of a dragon.
And there were these old dragons of the Dragon Clan.
The youth was currently capable of navigating this game world without much risk of encountering danger.
Huo Yi finally, with a clear understanding, realized that he might have fallen for this youth.
