“Stop!” Mei Wuning, seeing him about to leave, pulled out a long whip from his waist, his gaze fixed on Shen Tanqi’s body like a venomous snake.
Even without the grudge from Bai Long, he wouldn’t let this tender piece of meat walk away from under his nose today.
He had long grown sick of the smelly mudskippers here.
Ever since he was subdued by the Patriarch of the Rongyun Sect and thrown into this Bloodthirst Cliff where sunlight never reached, a hundred years ago, he didn’t know what kind of days he had been living.
If not for desperately fighting his way out among the myriad demons, barely earning the title of one of the Eight Blood Demons, he would have been swallowed alive by his kin, leaving not a bone behind.
“Don’t think this barrier makes you untouchable. In less than half an hour, all eight Blood Demons will smell the human scent on you, and your body will probably be divided into eight parts.” Mei Wuning coldly smiled.
Shen Tanqi glanced back at him, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. He pointed in the direction of the cave and said, “Are you sure you want to follow me?”
After a brief pause, Shen Tanqi squinted his eyes and spoke with a chilling tone, “Just because you’re a Blood Demon doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you. In less than half an hour, Bai Long will be back, and by then, you might just be the side dish for my mudskippers.”
The air froze momentarily as Shen Tanqi and Mei Wuning locked eyes, neither willing to back down.
After a while, Mei Wuning gritted his teeth, staring intently at Shen Tanqi, saying, “Fine, I’ll remember you.”
Indeed, he still feared Bai Long.
So, Shen Tanqi, following his example, glared back fiercely. “What are you acting tough for? I remember you too. Be careful these days, or Bai Long might beat you to a point of no rebirth.”
After delivering the harsh words, without looking back, he stepped on the barrier bubbles and prepared to leave. Suddenly, he heard Little Black’s frantic barking behind him: “What’s there to fear about a mere Bai Long? My master was just careless last time. This time, we’ll wait for him and let my master slaughter Bai Long in front of you!”
Shen Tanqi turned around to see Mei Wuning’s forehead veins bulging. He kicked Little Black to the ground, ruthlessly stomping on its chest. Little Black immediately howled in pain, spewing large amounts of blood from its throat.
Oh no, animal abuse?
Shen Tanqi couldn’t bear to see this. So, he turned his face away and quickly walked off.
Behind him, Mei Wuning, still full of resentment, continued to stomp on Little Black. He angrily scolded, “If not for you, how could I endure such humiliation?”
Lying on the ground, Little Black could barely whimper, blood in his mouth, panting weakly, and gasping for mercy, “Master…”
After who knows how long Mei Wuning finally vented his anger, delivering a final kick to Little Black before brushing his sleeves and leaving. Little Black, now silent, lay in a pool of blood.
Shen Tanqi hadn’t gone far. Though he heard everything that happened just now, he was merely putting on a show in front of Mei Wuning, powerless to do anything. Once beyond this barrier, he was nothing.
From the sound of it, Little Black was beyond saving. If it hadn’t taken the form of a small dog, making Shen Tanqi feel a little soft-hearted, he would have left much faster.
Oh well, Little Black, be a good dog in your next life. Don’t be a lackey for the demon clan anymore.
Just as Shen Tanqi was about to leave, struggling breaths echoed from the blood pool. It sounded like someone drained of all strength, mixed with a hint of sobbing. He instinctively turned to look, and there was Little Black, crawling on the ground, trying hard to climb towards the direction Mei Wuning had gone, covered in blood, a pitiful sight.
“Master… Master…”
Even when treated like this, it still longed for its master. Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but think of the stupid Husky he had at home, always excitedly jumping on him, biting his pants, and getting a few slaps before behaving.
Little dogs don’t understand what being beaten means; they only know that you’re the master, and they love you.
After a long while, Shen Tanqi stopped in his tracks, muttered a curse, and went over to carefully cradle Little Black in his arms.
Consider yourself lucky, encountering this poop-shoveling official.
By the time Bai Long returned, it was already dusk.
In the spacious cave, there was an unexpectedly rough stone stove, with a fire burning using dry branches and twigs. Next to it hung two plump mudskippers on tree branches.
He looked around and saw a black dog lying in the corner. Bai Long narrowed his eyes slightly, catching the scent of the demon clan from the dog.
He was about to draw his sword when he heard a somewhat awkward voice behind him.
“You’re back?”
Bai Long furrowed his brows, turning around to see Shen Tanqi standing within his Demonic Barrier, holding some dry firewood he seemingly picked up from somewhere.
Feeling confused for a moment, he saw Shen Tanqi greeting him somewhat awkwardly, self-consciously bringing up the topic, “You left early, and I didn’t get a chance to tell you about Junior Brother’s Gu insect…”
“The Gu insect issue is resolved,” Bai Long said indifferently.
Shen Tanqi was somewhat surprised, thinking that this matter would involve some twists and turns. Unexpectedly, it was resolved so easily. Finding himself without a topic, he nodded and said, “Is that so? You found the spiritual herb on the cliff.”
After a brief pause, Shen Tanqi suddenly remembered the traitor Fang Wenxun, who had led him to the bottom of the cliff. He hastily added, “By the way, did you see someone named Fang Wenxun? He is the senior brother from my Lingyue Peak Branch, but his true identity is…”
Bai Long continued, “It was a demon who pretended to be the senior brother and sneaked into the Rongyun Sect. The real Senior Brother Fang was found at the foot of the mountain, though he just fainted.”
Shen Tanqi: …
Such efficiency. He had intended to investigate thoroughly, considering the possibility of some hidden facts, but Bai Long had effortlessly resolved everything.
But after hearing the news, Shen Tanqi felt a little comforted in his heart. After spending so much time with Fang Wenxun, if Fang Wenxun were truly a demon, it would have felt like a stone was stuck in his heart.
The topic ended immediately, and neither of them knew what else to say. Yesterday’s unexpected events made them both a bit embarrassed.
Bai Long looked at the miscellaneous items in the cave, somewhat puzzled. “These…”
As Shen Tanqi added firewood, he smiled and said, “I was afraid there would be no food at the bottom of the cliff, so I built a stove myself and caught mudskippers to roast.”
Bai Long silently watched him for a while before taking out a storage ring from his clothes and tossing it to Shen Tanqi.
“You don’t need to hunt for food yourself. I will take care of you.”
Shen Tanqi hurriedly caught it but didn’t know how to use it. The silver ring had an embedded jade, and as he reached to press it, a vast storage space appeared before his eyes.
Soft beds, jade pillows, tables, luxurious silk, a few sets of clean clothes, and a table full of delicious food and fresh vegetables.
Shen Tanqi fell silent. He looked at the small stove he had painstakingly set up and the fat mudskippers he had managed to catch all day, suddenly feeling an overwhelming desire to lie down and sleep.
Tired. Let it all be destroyed.
“What’s wrong?”
Bai Long lowered his eyes to look at him, his gaze somewhat speculative. “If you don’t like it? I can change it.”
Shen Tanqi rubbed his forehead and shook his head softly. “No need, I quite like it.”
Damn, why did he have to be stuck in a cultivation novel? If it were a farming novel, he could surely show off his talents.
Upon hearing this, Bai Long seemed to breathe a subtle sigh of relief. He lowered his gaze to the struggling demonic black dog in the corner and calmly asked, “Is this demonic dog also the food you hunted?”
According to common sense, a pregnant dragon has a strong territorial consciousness, making it difficult to tolerate any living creature approaching. Was it because Shen Tanqi was human that there was a slight difference?
Upon hearing the question, Shen Tanqi suddenly remembered. His face changed, and he quickly walked over to Little Black, bending down to check. After confirming that he was still breathing weakly, he felt relieved, looked up at Bai Long, asking, “Can you save him?”
As the words fell, Bai Long seemed to hear something absurd. His brows slightly furrowed, and he whispered, “What did you say?”
Sensing the change in his tone, Shen Tanqi explained the events leading up to meeting Mei Wuning.
“All the creatures at the bottom of this Bloodthirst Cliff are demons and once in, you can’t get out. Even if I barely save it, it won’t harm anyone when it leaves.”
After a while, Bai Long walked slowly to him, his gaze falling on Shen Tanqi’s face. He said, “Although that’s the case, demons are ruthless and heartless. Why did you save it?”
With a penetrating gaze, carrying a hint of scrutiny, Shen Tanqi couldn’t help but avoid his eyes. He explained in a low voice, “You don’t have to save it if you don’t want to. I just felt sorry for it. If you don’t want to, I’ll give it a quick and decent burial.”
At his words, Bai Long stared at Shen Tanqi for a long time, as if trying to see through any hidden insincerities. But Shen Tanqi lowered his eyelashes, seemingly genuinely concerned about the life and death of this demon. After a pause, Bai Long suddenly extended his hand, passed a trace of true qi to Little Black, and the dog on the ground, like a drowned person regaining life, gasped heavily, opened its eyes abruptly, and coughed up several horrifying puddles of blood.
Shen Tanqi hadn’t reacted yet when Bai Long sat down across from him, entering a state of meditation. He spoke in a low voice, “It’s rare that you have compassion, but it’s just a demonic creature. Don’t save them in the future; it might bring trouble.”
What do you mean by ‘rare’? He was always compassionate.
Suddenly, Shen Tanqi understood. Shen Tanqi, Bai Long knew was probably the original owner of the body. With the original’s personality, how could he possibly save a dying demon without at least kicking it a few times for good measure?
After waking up, Little Black opened it’s eyes and saw Shen Tanqi’s curious face in front of him. It was so frightened that it almost fainted again.
“Don’t play dead.” Shen Tanqi poked Little Black with a branch, smiling deeply. “Weren’t you quite arrogant just now?”
Little Black struggled to get up from the ground, gritted its teeth, and said, “Go away! What did you do to my master…”
“You should ask your master what he did to you.” Shen Tanqi said casually, “Being beaten like this and still talking about your master, are you a masochist?”
Recognizing the sarcasm in Shen Tanqi’s words, Little Black fell into silence. After a while, it unexpectedly started to cry aggrievedly, quietly covering its face with its little paws, tears streaming down, and blood-stained snot bubbles sprayed out.
The look was truly pitiful.
Unable to bear it, Shen Tanqi put away the branch he used to poke it, coughed a couple of times, and said, “The mudskipper I just roasted, consider it a gift to you.”
Little Black remained silent, tears still silently flowing.
“The fragrant roasted mudskipper…” Shen Tanqi picked up a grilled mudskipper and shook it in front of Little Black’s nose, teasingly saying, “Really, no dogs want to eat it?”
Little Black howled towards the sky in resentment and said angrily, “I’ll eat it! But I will never be grateful to you! My heart still belongs to my master, cough cough cough…” As it spoke, it coughed up another puddle of blood.
Shen Tanqi placed the mudskipper in front of it and said speechlessly, “Eat yours. If you choke to death later, I won’t plead for you anymore.”
Little Black bit into the grilled mudskipper, tears pouring like a flood, wailing loudly while eating.
Dogs understand everything; they just don’t want to believe.
Shen Tanqi chuckled softly, comforting it, “Alright, eat, wipe away your tears. Look at your dog-like behavior.”
“How do you talk? You’re the one with dog-like behavior!”
“You are a dog to begin with…”
On the other side, Bai Long, who was meditating, had a faint gaze that fell on the slight smile at the corner of Shen Tanqi’s mouth, pondering something.
Could the former Shen Tanqi act like this?
Absolutely impossible.
The former Shen Tanqi couldn’t have displayed such a smile.
Could it be that a human undergoes such significant changes during pregnancy? Bai Long shifted his gaze to Shen Tanqi’s abdomen. There were no apparent changes on the surface, and it couldn’t be seen through his clothes. However, the dragon race develops rapidly, and at this time, it might have already grown.
He slowly stood up, sitting beside Shen Tanqi with proper etiquette, and calmly and seriously said, “Shen Tanqi, I want to touch you.”
Shen Tanqi, who was playing with the dog: …?
W-what the heck?
Did he just hear something weird?
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
