INHA Chapter 19

Roughly because Xu Dongyou’s expression was too vivid, even the chief couldn’t help but feel whether he was being too cruel.

They were actually letting a young demon cub face the ancient Zhulong, who even made them feel a bit terrified.

But they had no choice at this moment, just like Elder Chen had said. The ancient Zhulong’s injuries were gradually healing, and his power was getting stronger day by day.

Elder Chen and Jiu Chao also realized this, feeling particularly oppressed and saddened.

Their demon clan had fallen to the point where they had to let a cub bear such a heavy responsibility.

The atmosphere instantly became heavy. Xu Dongyou, belatedly realizing the reason, endured his shame and chirped a few times, puffing out his little chest again.

Last time, Zhulong did not harm him; there was a good chance he wouldn’t be harmed this time either.

The atmosphere was still somewhat gloomy. The chief spoke briefly, “Go ahead. When you come back, I’ll apply for a reward for you from the main bureau.”

Xu Dongyou nodded, glancing occasionally toward the array gate.

Fortunately, at this moment, Jiu Chao also came out of the door, showing Xu Dongyou the coat and very important phone in his arms, “Don’t worry, I have everything with me.”

Xu Dongyou sighed with relief in his heart.

At least he didn’t have to worry about facing an awkward situation if he turned into a human.

Elder Chen bent down, placing Xu Dongyou at the entrance of the array gate, his voice mixed with some worry, but he still said, “Go ahead, child. I’ll be waiting for you here.”

Xu Dongyou nodded, took small steps, and fluttered into the array gate.

The first gate was passed.

Everyone unconsciously tensed up.

At this moment, the screen on the water surface appeared again, showing Zhulong’s massive body, almost impossible to see entirely, roaring madly and constantly crashing into the array.

Just looking at it made one’s soul tremble.

Xu Dongyou couldn’t help but shiver. He had to crane his neck as much as he could just to see Zhulong’s tail.

This was because his current height was only eight centimeters. Due to this limitation, he couldn’t see anything higher.

Xu Dongyou trudged forward with his little legs for a good ten minutes, covering less than two hundred meters.

He suddenly felt very tired.

Weak legs were a fatal problem. More despairingly, as a newly transformed long-tailed tit for less than half a month, he hadn’t had time to learn how to fly.

Elder Chen watched Xu Dongyou’s slow progress in silence and said, “This was my oversight. Fortunately, the great array is sturdy enough. With sufficient energy, it can hold for at least five hours.”

At this moment, the ancient Zhulong was still in a frenzy. But it was different from its usual behavior over the past thousands of years.

This time, after crashing into the great array a few times, it lowered its head, almost to the ground, and carefully inspected it.

It seemed to be looking for something, something that was very small to it.

Elder Chen suddenly felt a bit incredulous.

The ancient Zhulong had gone mad; its mind was in a very chaotic and frenzied state when crashing into the array, with no ability to think.

Yet, it was searching for something.

There was nothing inside the great array except for the stone walls, as nothing could be transported to the innermost part.

Except—the cub that had successfully calmed Zhulong last time.

The answer was obvious.

Xu Dongyou also realized this.

He felt a slight pang of guilt and unease.

Could it be that the ancient Zhulong was crashing into the sealed array again because it woke up and found him missing?

Just as this thought surfaced, the ancient Zhulong let out an extremely furious low roar, like thunder, leaving everyone in a state of blankness.

Zhulong began crashing into the sealed array again, its eyes growing increasingly blood-red. The chaos and madness caused it to emit an aura so terrifying it seemed as if it could destroy the world.

Elder Chen’s face changed slightly.

And Xu Dongyou, within the great array, was the first to be affected, terrified into chirping frantically and flapping his wings desperately to make his presence known.

The frenzied Zhulong instantly froze, its chaotic, thoughtless gaze fixed on the small white fluff struggling in the distance.

Fragments of rock kept falling from the mountaintop, some even hitting Zhulong’s dragon horns, yet it remained motionless, staring intently at the small white fluff.

Elder Chen and the others were tense, hardly daring to breathe.

In the next second, Zhulong swiftly broke through several layers of the sealing array, directly reaching the second array gate. Its tail quickly extended and carefully encircled Xu Dongyou.

The whole process was completed in just a few seconds.

The mysterious chains were pulled taut, almost on the verge of breaking, and several dragon scales began to bleed due to the tightened chains.

Zhulong didn’t care at all, anxiously and impatiently swimming near Xu Dongyou.

Zhulong’s breathing sounded like a gale, blowing Xu Dongyou left and right. Unable to help it, Xu Dongyou chirped a few times at Zhulong, with a hint of frustrated anger.

Zhulong immediately lightened its breath, so much so that it was almost inaudible.

Elder Chen and the others were dumbfounded.

The chief finally regained his senses and said in a strained voice, “It just broke through several layers of the sealing array in a matter of seconds?”

The sealing array’s energy was sufficient to withstand Zhulong’s full-force attacks for at least five hours.

During this time, the branch bureau would undoubtedly mobilize accumulated spiritual energy to recharge the sealing array.

The most puzzling part was that just a few minutes ago, the ancient Zhulong had repeatedly crashed into the sealing array without breaking through. How did it suddenly reach the second array gate so quickly this time?

“Perhaps it’s because the array gate was already on the verge of breaking, or maybe because it wasn’t using its full strength before,” Elder Chen regained his voice, speaking with deep complexity.

The chief felt utterly horrified.

It seemed that the sealing array was indeed about to fail in containing Zhulong.

Although Xu Dongyou had seen Zhulong up close before, the mere presence of the massive dragon, as tall as a mountain, exerted an overwhelming pressure.

Xu Dongyou remained as still as a chicken, but Zhulong was not satisfied. It gently poked Xu Dongyou with its tail.

Xu Dongyou was pushed, rolling all over the place, his feathers trembling. Dizzy and unable to distinguish north from south, he appeared adorably dazed.

Zhulong’s eyes remained wild. But its actions became more careful as it encircled Xu Dongyou and brought him up to its face.

Xu Dongyou: “…”

Being stared at by eyes almost as tall as a two-story building, with a crazy, irrational gaze, made him feel extremely pressured.

Zhulong started moving.

Frightened, Xu Dongyou quickly clung to Zhulong’s tail with his wings, afraid of being thrown off.

From such a high place, he would definitely be flattened like a pancake if he fell.

Zhulong paused, then slowed down, moving forward gently. It finally placed Xu Dongyou in its lair, as if intending to hide him there.

Xu Dongyou was still in a state of acrophobia and hadn’t recovered.

Zhulong quieted down.

Elder Chen let out a long breath, quickly instructing the chief to mobilize the branch bureau’s accumulated spiritual energy to recharge the array.

Meanwhile, he and Jiu Chao hurried to repair the array.

Jiu Chao looked worriedly at the cub, now completely hidden in Zhulong’s lair. He silently prayed that Zhulong would soon fall asleep again.

*****

Xu Dongyou finally came to his senses. Looking at the body as tall as a mountain, he had an illusion of being locked in a dark room.

Especially with Zhulong’s massive head resting on its body, gazing down at him.

Xu Dongyou couldn’t help but feel nervous and a bit uneasy.

Why did Zhulong put him here?

Even after more than ten minutes had passed, Zhulong remained quiet. Although its gaze was still wild and fierce, its breathing was extremely careful, as if afraid of blowing Xu Dongyou away.

Zhulong didn’t seem to want to hurt him, so Xu Dongyou relaxed a bit but still didn’t dare move. After all, this was Zhulong’s lair, essentially its bedroom. It didn’t seem appropriate to move around someone else’s place.

But now, Xu Dongyou finally dared to look up, curiously observing the ancient Zhulong. To his shock, he saw the wounds on Zhulong’s body, with some dragon scales almost lifted by the chains, slowly dripping blood.

Xu Dongyou cautiously glanced at Zhulong again. It was still quiet, showing no signs of madness.

It really didn’t seem to care about its wounds, instead focusing intently on Xu Dongyou, lazily sweeping its tail against the mountain wall, causing rocks to tumble down. Xu Dongyou couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

That strength seemed a bit terrifying.

But from the lazy movement of its tail, it seemed Zhulong was in a good mood?

Xu Dongyou tentatively took a step forward, flirting with danger.

Zhulong’s tail instantly stopped, its gaze locked on Xu Dongyou.

The blood-red eyes brewed a chaotic feeling that was heart-stopping.

Then a bit of pressure emanated.

Xu Dongyou felt extremely uncomfortable under the pressure, chirping in pain.

The pressure vanished instantly. Zhulong’s tail flailed a bit awkwardly and poked Xu Dongyou again.

Xu Dongyou, still feeling nervous, raised his wings and chirped twice, indicating he was still alive.

Zhulong made a sound that was chaotic and meaningless.

However, Xu Dongyou couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhulong was panicking and apologizing to him, which left him with a strange mix of emotions.

This was the ancient Zhulong, after all.

It had killed another ancient being to protect the world and, when injured, had self-imprisoned itself here. Who knew how long it had been confined?

After resting for a while, Xu Dongyou got up. Zhulong, not daring to move its tail recklessly anymore, coiled itself into a spiral, with its head tucked in, only its blood-red eyes peeking out at Xu Dongyou.

It seemed almost… guilty.

Xu Dongyou found his own imagination amusing. His tuft of feathers trembled as he tried not to laugh.

However, he was genuinely worried about Zhulong’s wounds, which looked quite shocking.

One dragon scale was completely lifted, embedded into the flesh. If Zhulong moved and accidentally hit that scale, it might sink even deeper.

Xu Dongyou regretted not bringing the good stuff Jiu Chao had given him. He could have used it to help Zhulong.

But then again, Zhulong was an ancient being. Even though most of its power was sealed, could such remedies really help a creature of its size?

Even if they couldn’t, at least he could have used his phone to contact Elder Chen and ask if there was a way to help Zhulong.

Now, there was nothing he could do.

Xu Dongyou couldn’t help but sigh, his tuft of feathers drooping as if wilting.

Seeing this, Zhulong made another series of meaningless chaotic sounds, intrigued, and gently nudged him with its tail. However, its tail was still too large for Xu Dongyou.

It flipped him over, causing him to roll several times.

Fortunately, it didn’t hurt.

Zhulong’s deliberately light breathing suddenly stopped. This time it even buried its eyes into its body, leaving only its tail outside, frozen in place.

Xu Dongyou looked up, puzzled: “???”

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Moonlit: They’re so cute ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )