Chapter 29: The Little Dwarf Dragon’s Snack

“Of course, I can. My motorcycle is big enough.” As Jiang Yan spoke, he pulled out his flashy motorcycle from his storage pouch and swung his leg over it. “Little Dragon, you sit in the middle. Bai Tao, you take the back.” He assigned the seats.

“No, I want to sit at the front,” the short little dragon protested, eyes wide with displeasure.

“Alright, hop on.” Jiang Yan glanced up at the sky, thinking to himself that if they delayed any longer, night would fall.

With its stubby legs, the little dragon bounced a few times before finally managing to climb onto the motorcycle. Jiang Yan watched its antics, struggling to suppress his laughter.

Bai Tao settled himself on the rear seat.

And so, two men and a dragon set off on the motorcycle, aimlessly riding forth.

“Yoohoo, add four more speed charms!” The little dragon shouted excitedly, evidently finding this incredibly fun. It secretly thought to itself: I really did choose the right people to follow!

Jiang Yan, sandwiched in the middle, was not having such a good time. The dragon’s tail kept flicking across his face restlessly.

“Little Dragon, keep your tail in check, will you? If you keep messing around, we’re going to crash,” Jiang Yan warned.

But the little dragon paid him no mind, happily enjoying the thrill of speed and excitement.

Bai Tao, seated at the back, was also suffering. His stomach churned as if being tossed by waves—he felt on the verge of vomiting...

The motorcycle adventure came to an abrupt end when they crashed into a large tree. Jiang Yan managed to brake in time, but the momentum was too great; the little dragon was flung straight out and ended up hanging from the trunk.

Bai Tao slammed into Jiang Yan’s back.

“Bai Tao, are you alright?” Jiang Yan asked.

But Bai Tao said nothing. Instead, he immediately got off and ran to the base of the tree, where he began retching violently.

Jiang Yan rubbed his forehead—Bai Tao must have gotten motion sickness.

“Hey, why aren’t you asking if I’m alright?” the little dragon grumbled.

Jiang Yan looked up and saw the little dragon sprawled on a thick branch, gnawing at a blue skull-shaped fruit.

“That fruit—aren’t you worried it’s poisonous?” Jiang Yan asked in surprise.

He thought: Doesn’t this rascal know that illnesses enter through the mouth?

“These fruits are my snacks. I’ve been eating them for over two hundred years. I know exactly whether they’re poisonous or not,” the little dragon replied with disdain.

Right, he thought, concern clouds the mind. The little dragon had lived in this secret realm for so long—what could be here that it didn’t know about?

“So, tell me, what kind of fruit is that? I saw some red ones too—are they the same kind?” Jiang Yan asked curiously.

“I’ll be generous and explain it to you. The red ones are called Fire Flame Fruit, and they replenish fire-type spiritual power. But if you don’t have a fire spiritual root, eating them is pointless. The blue ones are called Blue Strength Fruit; eating them will make you stronger.”

Jiang Yan’s heart leapt with joy upon hearing this. “So eating these fruits, does the effect accumulate? Is there a limit? In other words, the more you eat, the more fire power you replenish, and the stronger you get?”

The little dragon didn’t quite understand what Jiang Yan meant by “accumulate” or “limit,” but it grasped the last part.

It replied, “Humans can eat at most three Fire Flame Fruits and three Blue Strength Fruits at a time. The effects are temporary and vary from person to person, but within a day, you’ll return to normal.”

“Oh, so it’s just temporary. Once the effect fades, you can eat more?” Jiang Yan asked.

“Mm, that's right.”

“Hehehe, these are treasures! Can I pick some?” Jiang Yan, though eager, still sought the little dragon’s permission.

The little dragon waved its paw generously. “Help yourselves, just leave some for my father.”

“Your father? He’s here too?” Jiang Yan asked in confusion.

“Yes, my father is the guardian beast of this secret realm.”

“Well, Little Dragon, looks like your status is rather extraordinary!”

“Hmph, of course. Only, my father is so lazy that our secret realm is always rated as a low-level one,” the little dragon said helplessly.

Hearing that, Jiang Yan nearly choked on his own saliva. “Cough, cough—so secret realms really do get rated? I thought it was just cultivators judging based on danger.”

“Better keep these little secrets from you humans,” the little dragon thought. If they found out, where would the sense of mystery go? That wouldn’t do, it’d bring down the rankings!

“Oh, you’d better hide those secrets well,” Jiang Yan mused. With the little dragon’s tendency to blurt things out, anyone who asked a few more questions would learn everything.

Jiang Yan looked over at Bai Tao, who was now resting with eyes closed.

He shook his head—seems the joy of picking fruit was his alone.

From his storage pouch, Jiang Yan took out a large cloth sack. The little dragon was stunned—how many fruits did he intend to pick?

Jiang Yan leapt up into the tree, humming a tune as he picked fruit one by one, stopping only when his sack was full.

Hehehe—are these fruits? No, they’re sparkling spirit stones!

“Why don’t we rest here for a while?” Jiang Yan suggested, seeing that night had fallen.

“Sure,” the little dragon replied indifferently.

“Little Dragon, do you know if there’s water nearby? I need to wash some snake meat.”

The little dragon pointed, “Over there.”

“Alright, I’ll be back soon.”

With that, Jiang Yan headed in the direction the little dragon indicated.

After walking for a while, he finally found a lake. Yet, in the center of the lake, there was a figure bathing. Judging by the long flowing hair and the faintly visible curves, it was a woman—though the darkness concealed much.

Jiang Yan was startled and quickly hid behind a tree. He scolded himself not to peek, but his eyes kept drifting toward the center of the lake.

Slurp—slurp—

His nose felt itchy...

“Hey, your nosebleed just dripped onto my head.”

Jiang Yan looked down and saw several fresh drops of blood on the yellow head of the little dragon. He sighed—did the little dragon always appear so stealthily?

“Shh, how did you get here? Were you following me?” Jiang Yan whispered.

“I came to help you. Aren’t you going to wipe your nosebleed?” the little dragon complained.

“Who’s there?” The woman in the lake seemed to sense something amiss and swam swiftly to the shore, picking up her clothes and dressing.

“Fairy, forgive us—we meant no offense. We’re just passing through and stumbled upon you by accident. Please rest assured, we saw nothing,” Jiang Yan said sincerely, lowering his head and even pressing the little dragon’s head down as well.

“Oh? Raise your head,” the woman said.

Jiang Yan wiped his nose with his sleeve and slowly lifted his head, thinking: Well, it’s not the first time I’ve embarrassed myself.

But when he saw her face clearly, he was stunned—the woman before him was the most beautiful he’d ever seen. He couldn’t describe it, only feeling as if a single glance could last a lifetime.

The woman, too, was shocked upon seeing Jiang Yan’s face—not because of his looks. Her eyes reddened slightly as she stepped closer and closer.

Jiang Yan’s heart raced—was she going to kill him?

The woman raised her hand, and just as Jiang Yan braced himself for a slap, she only gently touched his cheek.

She choked, “What is your name?”

“Fairy, my name is Jiang Yan,” he replied, taking a step back.

Could it be he resembled her former lover?