Chapter 28: Pledging Myself to You

“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!” The little short dragon made sure to emphasize those last two words.

“You’d better just say it, or I really will regret it.”

Jiang Yan was growing impatient with this little dragon’s dawdling. He was so poor; he didn’t believe the dragon could possibly come up with any outrageous request. He’d already made it clear—he’d only agree to things within his power, heh heh...

“First, you can’t call me ‘little short dragon’ anymore.”

“Fine, but I don’t want to call you ‘Dragon Lord’ either. How about... ‘Little Dragon’?”

“Th-that’s acceptable, I suppose.” The little dragon hesitated, as if worried Jiang Yan wouldn’t agree to the rest of its conditions, but in the end, it nodded. Without the “short” in the name, it wasn’t so bad.

The little dragon’s round eyes studied Jiang Yan for a long moment, making him uneasy. He thought to himself: If you’ve got something to say, just say it—what’s with all this suspense?

“Um, could you... could you take me with you? Wherever you go, I’ll go too.” The little dragon finally summoned the courage to ask.

Jiang Yan was stunned for a moment, then laughed wildly inside: Was this dragon offering itself in gratitude? The dragon that had just saved his life was now asking to tag along? See, he really was the chosen one, Dragon Overlord and all, ha ha...

He teased, “So you’ve fallen for my charm and want to be my spirit pet?”

“As if! I just think you’re interesting. I’ve been stuck in this secret realm for two hundred years—I want to get out and have some fun,” the little dragon explained.

“Fine, just don’t make trouble.” Jiang Yan didn’t mind; the little dragon seemed pretty strong, and having it around would be an extra layer of protection—a free bodyguard, why not?

Bai Tao looked at Jiang Yan with pure admiration. Jiang Yan was too impressive—getting a dragon to follow him willingly, and without even forming a contract.

“Hiss—hiss—hiss...” The giant serpent, having recovered, saw it was being completely ignored and, enraged, lunged at them.

“Little Dragon, Bai Tao, let me handle this one.”

Jiang Yan was not the type to let a grudge go. That serpent had nearly swallowed him whole, and its mouth was filthy—unforgivable!

He drew his sword and leapt to the snake’s weak spot, plunging the blade into its scaly hide.

The serpent’s skin was indeed tough—the sword only went in a little. The pain sent the serpent into a frenzy, thrashing violently, but Jiang Yan clung tightly to its body.

He leapt again, unleashing several flaming wind-blade sword strikes. The serpent’s flesh burned, leaving it no chance to recover. Jiang Yan slapped two acceleration talismans on himself, and, quick as lightning, drove his sword into the serpent’s weak spot.

The serpent was split in two...

Jiang Yan concluded that increasing his speed made his attacks stronger.

Yet, even severed in half, the serpent’s upper and lower bodies continued to writhe violently—a grotesque sight.

Jiang Yan quickly distanced himself. Honestly, the scene made his stomach turn...

After a few minutes, the snake’s eyes stared wide and unblinking, dead and finally still.

“Hmph, that’s what you get for messing with me!” Jiang Yan sheathed his sword and clapped the dust from his hands.

“Jiang Yan, you’re amazing!” Bai Tao exclaimed in awe.

“Of course, who do you think I am?” Jiang Yan replied, full of pride.

My goodness, he’d really made something of himself—he’d defeated a snake, his greatest fear. He used to be too grossed out even to watch snakes on TV!

“Hmph, that filthy snake was only hurt so badly because of my true fire. Otherwise, you’d never have killed it so easily,” the little dragon snorted, clearly offended that no one was giving it credit.

“Yes, yes, Little Dragon, you’re the greatest!” Jiang Yan decided not to bicker with the childish dragon.

“Absolutely, Little Dragon, your fire is incredible!” Bai Tao chimed in with a chuckle.

The little dragon shot Bai Tao a look of dissatisfaction. “You should call me Dragon Lord!”

“Yes, Dragon Lord.” Bai Tao immediately corrected himself.

“By the way, Little Dragon, where did you come from? How did you just happen to show up to save me like a hero?” Now that things had calmed down, Jiang Yan was curious how the little dragon had found him.

“There’s nothing about this secret realm I don’t know. Don’t underestimate me!” the little dragon replied smugly.

Jiang Yan rolled his eyes. That was as good as saying nothing. Forget it.

“If you’re so powerful, do you know where the treasures are hidden in this secret realm? Any supreme spirit herbs?” Jiang Yan asked, his curiosity piqued.

Bai Tao was interested too, looking at the little dragon expectantly.

“Of course I do. Look, over there is a treasure.” The little dragon pointed.

Jiang Yan followed the direction indicated—and was startled. Was the treasure the little dragon meant really that filthy snake?

Bai Tao voiced the question for him. “Dragon Lord, is the treasure that snake?”

The little dragon looked at him like a country bumpkin. “Of course. That snake is a native spirit beast of this realm. Its blood and flesh can increase cultivation and even extend life.”

It paused, then continued, “Its skin—you’ve seen how tough it is—makes excellent defensive artifacts. And its fangs are razor-sharp, perfect for weapons.”

Having lectured these two bumpkins, the little dragon flicked its tail proudly. Jiang Yan couldn’t help but feel that it was more like a dog than a dragon.

He patted the little dragon on the head with a smile. “Thank you for enlightening us, Little Dragon.”

Then he turned to Bai Tao. “Come on, let’s get to work.”

“What work?” Bai Tao was puzzled. Why not just store the serpent in a storage pouch?

Noticing Bai Tao’s confusion, Jiang Yan thought: He really is a good-natured, honest guy—absolutely straightforward.

Jiang Yan clapped Bai Tao on the shoulder. “Brother, we should split the serpent. You helped too.”

“No, Jiang Yan, the snake is yours. I can’t take it. If you hadn’t saved me, I’d be dead, and besides, you killed it.”

Bai Tao waved his hands in refusal, not wanting to take advantage.

“This snake is huge; I can’t eat it all myself, and it’ll spoil if we keep it too long. Let’s process it—share the meat, bottle the blood, and strip the skin and fangs.”

“Alright, Jiang Yan, I’ll just have a bit of the meat. I don’t need anything else.”

Jiang Yan didn’t insist further. After agreeing, the two of them began to process the serpent.

The snake was so massive and heavy that by the time they finished, both were drenched in sweat.

“Let’s leave this place and find somewhere safe to cook the meat,” Jiang Yan suggested.

Little Dragon piped up excitedly, “Yes, yes! I want to ride that black steed of yours!”

“Oh? You’ve seen my mount too? You must have been lurking around here for a while, then?” Case closed—Little Dragon must have been hiding nearby, watching the show for quite some time.

“I—I was just waiting for the right moment to leap in and save you!” the little dragon replied, sounding a bit guilty.

“Either way, thank you for saving me.”

Jiang Yan was genuinely grateful to the little dragon, though that didn’t stop him from teasing it—it was just too much fun.

“Jiang Yan, do you think I could ride your mount too?” Bai Tao asked, a little embarrassed.