A Gift

Lin Shao blinked in a daze, completely unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before his eyes.

A legendary dragon—one that looked ferocious enough to bite ten of him to death in a single mouthful—was actually lowering its head to show submission to him.

He reached out his hand hesitantly and lightly pressed it against the red dragon’s nose. There was no sensation of touch. The red dragon itself was an intangible existence, similar to the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi. The red dragon’s mouth split open to both sides, revealing a terrifying smile. Every single tooth was incomparably sharp and larger than Lin Shao’s head, making his heart feel anxious and fearful.

The red dragon lowered its head further, clearing the downward path for Lin Shao. Lin Shao did not dare not to walk. Looking back with every three steps, he shakily walked down to the first floor.

After reaching the first floor, he concentrated his spirit and discovered that the dragon had already completely encircled the entire small shop with its body, as if it were guarding it, or perhaps like a python constricting its prey before eating it.

Quickly walking over to Mu Li, who was calmly practicing her calligraphy, he lowered his voice—as if terrified that the dragon might hear—and spoke anxiously into Mu Li’s ear: “A dragon has entered our shop!”

“Yes, I knew about it long ago.” Mu Li did not show any emotional fluctuation. “Have you successfully advanced to Level 1?”

“Yes… Wait, no! When did a dragon enter the shop, and why didn’t you tell me?!”

Mu Li said carelessly, “You brought this dragon back yourself. I thought you knew about it long ago.”

“I brought it back?” Lin Shao was puzzled. Following the direction of Mu Li’s finger, he looked over at the jade pendant placed prominently on the display stand, which was continuously transmitting red True Qi to the outside world. He suddenly understood. “So this jade pendant was behind everything. Wait a minute, a dragon is hidden inside the jade pendant? Could it be that this jade pendant isn’t a fake?”

“It is not that a dragon is hidden inside, but rather a wisp of true dragon aura is hidden inside,” Mu Li comforted. “Rest assured, the capital is the domain of the Great Shang. Under the nose of the Eternal Empress, even if the true divine beast, the Azure Dragon, came here, it would not dare to act presumptuously.”

“Then what should we do with this jade pendant?”

“This red dragon appeared because the layout of the utensils in the room added the finishing touch to it. Usually, it is very gentle and bears no ill will toward us. You can treat it as a dog that looks like a dragon.”

“Of course, if you are afraid, just move that jade pendant to another place, or change the position of the flowerpots on the stand, and this dragon will disappear. Ah, it is begging me right now. What to do depends entirely on you.”

Lin Shao raised his head and indeed saw the red dragon’s huge head revealing a sorrowful expression. Large tears rolled down past its eyes, as if it were praying not to be made to disappear. Such a sincere gaze made him feel too embarrassed to take action.

Just as he was about to comfort the red dragon, a shattering crack came from the display stand. It turned out that the fat parrot had taken advantage of the red dragon begging Lin Shao for mercy to secretly approach the stand, knocking two pots of green plants off the stand and smashing them to pieces.

The formation was instantly broken. The red dragon let out a ferocious roar toward the fat parrot, but its body dissolved into the air at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Looking at the fat parrot’s action, Lin Shao suddenly remembered the night they had just moved in, when the fat parrot had also smashed a flowerpot and used its claws and beak to damage the jade pendant. At the time, he thought the fat parrot was just throwing a fit, but now it seemed that was not the case.

“The fat parrot also knew about this dragon?” he asked Mu Li.

Mu Li nodded. “The fat parrot does not like this dragon. The two of them often have fights for no reason, but they always fight secretly without letting you find out. Most of the time, the fat parrot has the upper hand.”

“And here I thought this dragon was so powerful… It looked so fierce and had such an imposing aura, but in the end, it can’t even beat the fat parrot.” Lin Shao walked over, picked up the jade pendant, and tied it to his waist. “Originally, I thought about letting it guard the house, but now it seems I should just forget it.”

“Forget it, forget it!” the fat parrot also echoed from the side in its sharp voice.

Lin Shao slapped the fat parrot right on its head. “A fight is a fight, but why did you smash my flowerpots? Do you believe I’ll turn you into a flowerpot and stuff flowers into your stomach?”

The fat parrot looked extremely aggrieved, but perhaps thinking that it had finally gotten rid of the eyesore of the red dragon today, it was in an excellent mood. Flapping its wings, it flew to the side of the desk, grabbed some of Lin Shao’s melon seeds, and hid behind Mu Li to eat greedily.

“I’ll stew you sooner or later!” Lin Shao gnashed his teeth.

At this moment, he noticed that Hou Xingyue, who was cultivating beside them, opened his eyes. He smiled and said, “What, were you woken up by the noise?”

Hou Xingyue shook his head. “I heard a shattering sound and wanted to see what happened outside. Eh? Boss, the dragon in your shop is gone?”

Lin Shao thought about it and realized that was right. Once he advanced to Level 1, he could see the existence of the red dragon. Hou Xingyue, who was a step ahead of him, should have already discovered the red dragon, but why hadn’t he said anything?

Hou Xingyue scratched his head. “When I came to the shop after advancing to Level 1, I saw that terrifying red dragon at a single glance and was shocked by its aura. But it didn’t seem to bear any ill will toward me. Seeing that Boss Lin didn’t pay much attention to this red dragon on ordinary days either, I thought you just treated it as a watchdog dragon, so I didn’t ask further.”

So that was how it was. Lin Shao remembered that the red dragon couldn’t even beat the fat parrot, and couldn’t help but smile. “Its strength is far from reaching the level where it can watch the door for me. It’s too weak.”

Hou Xingyue still remembered the scenes of coexisting with the red dragon on ordinary days. Every time the red dragon breathed, it could cause the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Qi to vibrate. That dragon might and pressure were a thoroughly genuine terror. Every time, he was afraid that if the red dragon wasn’t careful one day and flicked its tail, it would swat him to death with a single strike.

Such a terrifying giant dragon actually didn’t even have the strength to watch the door for Boss Lin!

Just how strong is Boss Lin’s true power? Could it be that he is even stronger than the Eternal Empress?

Lin (Level 1) Shao calculated the time and said to Hou Xingyue, “We will set out for the Wan Jian Pavilion today.”

“We’re setting out today?!” Hou Xingyue quickly stood up from the ground. “Can you wait for me for a bit? I want to go buy something.”

It’s probably something to bring to your Eldest Young Miss, right? Lin Shao smiled slightly and nodded his head.

After Hou Xingyue ran out in a burning hurry, Lin Shao looked toward Mu Li. “Pack up, prepare to head to the Wan Jian Pavilion!”

……

“Just what kind of thing did Hou Xingyue go to buy? Why is he so slow?” As the evening sun sank in the west, Lin Shao stood at the door, gazing down the street. Hou Xingyue had gone out in the morning and had not returned until now. Lin Shao had even bought lunch himself. He wasn’t angry; he was just curious about what kind of gift could take so long to buy.

Mu Li had an expression as if she had predicted this long ago, sitting in front of the desk quietly practicing her calligraphy.

“Could it be that he didn’t bring enough money to buy bracelets or jewelry?” Lin Shao speculated. Just at this moment, he heard hurried footsteps coming from the street, and Hou Xingyue ran back, panting for breath.

“Sor… Sorry…” He panted heavily. “Wasted too… too much time…”

Lin Shao handed him a cup of water. “It’s fine, I’m not in a hurry anyway. What are you holding in your hand that took so long to buy?”

He noticed that Hou Xingyue was holding an item wrapped in clean, thin paper.

Hou Xingyue gave a simple smile and unfolded the thin paper, revealing the bright red item beneath.

A stick of Tanghulu (candied haws).