“Mom, I still want to eat fried cakes.”
“Keep your voice down. These are famine times. Be careful, someone might hear you.”
The child lowered his voice, whispering, “But we’re at home. It’s dark outside already. Who could possibly hear us?”
No one outside could hear them.
But a dragon could.
Inside a damp pit, cold water dripped steadily from the jagged cliffside into a shallow pool below. A tiny golden dragon, no longer than two feet, lay curled around a piece of dried, dragon shaped wooden doll, sleeping deeply.
Suddenly, the little dragon’s ear fins twitched. His eyes blinked open, revealing a pair of drowsy golden pupils, still hazy with sleep. But sleep was no longer important.
Carefully, the little golden dragon set aside the decayed dragon shaped wooden doll, he had been holding. With a flick of his tail, he shot out of the shadowy pit in a gleam of gold.
Outside the pit stood a dilapidated earthen house. Inside was a crooked wooden table and a narrow wooden bed covered with straw.
The entrance to the pit the little dragon had just emerged from was hidden right beside that bed.
This old mud house was the dragon’s home though he rarely slept on the bed. He preferred the darkness and dampness of his pit.
The little dragon, named Yuan Rutang, swished his tail and flew up to the window. Two sharp claws gripped the edge of the windowsill as he tilted his head, ears perked, listening carefully to the sounds outside.
Night had already fallen. Moonlight poured down like silver frost, coating the weeds outside with a pale shimmer.
Not far away about ten meters from his house, the dim paper windows of a neighbor’s home glowed faintly. Against that faint light, three silhouettes flickered, two adults and a child.
They were whispering softly, but to a dragon’s keen ears, their conversation was crystal clear.
The child said, “When can we go to Uncle’s restaurant again? I want to eat steamed crucian carp, braised ribs, lion’s head meatballs, and lotus cakes…”
Yuan Rutang’s golden eyes widened slightly. He swallowed.
He wanted to eat those, too.
The woman in the house lightly smacked her child’s back and scolded softly,
“Enough nonsense. We already troubled your uncle today. He risked taking out leftovers from the guests just to bring you a meal and the shopkeeper scolded him for delaying service. Let’s not go again for now.”
The child protested in a small, aggrieved voice, “But Uncle said he likes me and told me to visit often! Father said those dishes were worth two taels of silver. We can only eat such things if we go to Uncle’s place.”
The woman sighed, “You only know how to eat! Precisely because your uncle cares for you, you shouldn’t be a burden on him. You’ll ruin his prospects.”
Their voices grew softer and softer until they disappeared into silence.
Listening from his window, Yuan Rutang lowered his head, his golden claws curling slightly as he stared at them gloomily.
He didn’t have an uncle.
From the fragments of inherited memory that lingered in his mind, he knew he was the son of the Ancestral Dragon, the very progenitor of dragonkind from the primordial era.
His father and kin had all perished during the great Dragon, Phoenix Calamity. Back then, he had still been only a fragile dragon egg.
To preserve the dragon bloodline, his father had hidden him deep underground, sealing his aura with powerful enchantments.
But his shell had been weak, and the seals his father laid to protect him were heavy perhaps too heavy.
By the time Yuan Rutang finally hatched, the world had long changed.
The vast seas had turned into mulberry fields. The gods, demons, and ancient beasts of old had nearly vanished.
Now the world belonged to a strange, new species, humans.
Even so, Yuan Rutang dared not be careless. He suspected that he might be the last living dragon.
If any of the Phoenix clan’s great powers had survived and sensed his existence, they might hunt him down, and all his father’s sacrifices would be for nothing.
Fortunately, Yuan Rutang was a careful little dragon. For eighteen years since hatching, he had hidden among humans, living disguised as one of them.
He had settled in Songjia Village and under the watchful eyes of the villagers, he grew up as a normal human from a toddling boy to a young man in his prime.
Still, compared to his human disguise, Yuan Rutang far preferred his true form. He especially liked being a small dragon about two feet long, that was when he felt the most comfortable.
Of course, his real body was already over thirty feet long.
He didn’t dwell on sadness for long. His golden eyes brightened again as determination returned.
He flew down from the window and landed beside the wooden bed. With a sharp flick of his tail, the wooden planks cracked open, revealing a hidden stash of silver fragments and copper coins inside.
Using his claws, he pulled all the money out and began counting. When he finished, he had only one tael of silver.
Yuan Rutang drooped his head, his long whiskers hanging low.
If he had known it would come to this, he wouldn’t have gone to the teahouse to listen to storytellers, nor eaten those crystal pastries.
He shouldn’t have tossed coins to the street performers, and he definitely shouldn’t have bought six sticks of candied hawthorn in one go…
But Yuan Rutang was a dragon who knew how to treat himself kindly. After scolding himself twice in his heart, he decided that was punishment enough.
He thought for a moment. The rice in the fields would soon be ripe. He could sell the grain to the government.
The local officials had been purchasing grain frequently in recent years, offering nearly the same price as the grain shops in town.
It was just a pity that the tax collectors always found excuses to shortchange him. Still, that didn’t matter much, whenever he sold to the government, Heaven would quietly compensate him with a small amount of merit.
Besides selling grain, Yuan Rutang had another source of income, fishing.
The night wind blew through the mountains, cool as flowing water. The grass rustled softly in the breeze.
Up in the trees, the birds who had been peacefully asleep suddenly opened their eyes and took off in a flurry of wings.
A flash of golden light streaked through the forest, Yuan Rutang.
The little golden dragon weaved swiftly between the tall trees before stopping at the edge of a small, quiet lake hidden deep within the woods.
The still surface of the lake reflected his image perfectly. Yuan Rutang tilted his head and admired his reflection with delight.
He really was handsome, surely there wasn’t another dragon within a hundred miles as good-looking as him.
But business first. Yuan Rutang dove into the water and in no time, he had caught a handful of fish.
The smaller ones he released to grow bigger. The larger ones looked plump and delicious, so naturally, he tasted one or several, to make sure they were good enough to sell.
By the time he was done, he had caught twenty fish in total… and eaten eleven of them. Only nine remained.
Emerging from the lake, Yuan Rutang summoned a plain brown cloth bag. It was a small magical pouch he had refined himself, perfect for storage.
He tossed the nine remaining fish inside and waved his claw. The bag filled with water instantly but not a single drop leaked out, even though the weave of the fabric was loose enough to see through.
Hovering above the lake, Yuan Rutang peered into the pouch and sighed in regret.
Nine fish wouldn’t fetch much silver. If only he hadn’t eaten so many.
But he had been so hungry. Ever since the day he hatched, he had never once eaten his fill.
Letting out a small sigh, Yuan Rutang lowered his head and blew softly into the lake. A thin stream of dragon breath rippled across the water, seeping into the fish that still swam below.
Immediately, they began darting about with renewed vigor, their scales gleaming under the moonlight.
Yuan Rutang’s eyes curved in satisfaction. In another half month, he could come back and catch another batch.
He had discovered this little lake during one of his early explorations around the village. Back then, there had been only a few scattered fish.
To feed himself and earn a bit of extra silver, he had taken to breeding fish here.
One day, he thought, when he saved enough money, he would buy the lake officially from the government and make it truly his own.
With a flick of his claw, the storage pouch vanished into thin air, and the little golden dragon lifted off into the night sky.
Deep beneath the water, in the mud at the bottom of the lake, lay eleven perfect fish skeletons, their bones gleaming faintly white in the dark.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
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Next →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Little DragonChapter 2 · Selling FishChapter 3 · DraughtChapter 4 · Giving LifeChapter 5 · MeritsChapter 6 · Dragon can summon Rain?!Chapter 7 · Wicked Dragon?Chapter 8 · Dragon likes sweetChapter 9 · Dragon WineChapter 10 · Snow Mountain ElixirChapter 11 · The official forced the dragon to rebelChapter 12 · Ministers kneel down and confess their sinsChapter 13 · Court struggle, faith is the dragonChapter 14 · Why do others have auspicious signs, but I don’t?Chapter 15 · Corrupt officialsChapter 16 · The dark side of officialdomChapter 17 Part 1 · Transforming into a golden dragon in full view of all!Chapter 17 Part 2 · Transforming into a golden dragon in full view of all!Chapter 18 · Wrath of the True DragonChapter 19 · Give him a ninth-rank official position!Chapter 20 · The days of being loved by Longlong have begunChapter 21 · Pamper the little dragon, finally full!Chapter 22 · It’s perfectly normal for humans to like dragonsChapter 23 · Avenge Longlong against corrupt officialsChapter 24 · Is being an official like the Dragon King difficult?Chapter 25 · Dragon-shaped woodChapter 26 · Emperor felt the vibrancy of lifeChapter 27 · Do you like the obedient and affectionate little dragon?Chapter 28 · Your Majesty’s PastChapter 29 · A ray of light in a noisy worldChapter 30 · Let’s give the dragon a lake!Chapter 31 · Dragon, don’t run aroundChapter 32 · YaunBaoChapter 33 · Recruiting soldiers and buying horsesChapter 34 · Expand Dragon armyChapter 35 · Longlong is in a dilemmaChapter 36 · Being a king is difficultChapter 37 · Attended the morning court session.Chapter 38 · Secretly feeding the dragonChapter 39 · The restless little golden dragonChapter 40 · Your Majesty foreshadowed thisChapter 41 · Fostering teacher student bondsChapter 42 · Now that the dragon has an official positionChapter 43 · If a dragon wants to become an official, why not touch it?Chapter 44 · Longlong enters officialdomChapter 45 · The Emperor’s disciple?Chapter 46 · Long day’s laborChapter 47 · Being a dragon is comfortableChapter 48 · Thank you, YuanbaoChapter 49 · Very sleepyChapter 50 · The Dragon Who Saves the WorldChapter 51 · Strange storiesChapter 52 · Dragon God saying it wanted to eat peach crystal cakesChapter 53 · The tree is aliveChapter 54 · We can just hold a family feastChapter 55 · What kind of worship?Chapter 56 · Don’t be naughtyChapter 57 · Why does Teacher always avoid my human formChapter 58 · I will be an indifferent learning machineChapter 59 · Jinlong made a fortuneChapter 60 · Ten thousand taelsChapter 61 · FamilyChapter 62 · Will you accompany the dragon?Chapter 63 · What did you hunt, sir?Chapter 64 · From fifth rank to proper fourth rankChapter 65 · Orange PeelChapter 66 · Great Xuan may have enough to eatChapter 67 · Poisoned GrainsChapter 68 · The balance of the mortal world is about to changeChapter 69 · Teacher’s lap truly was very comfortable.Chapter 70 · Caught the little dragonChapter 71 · Only he alone could see that golden lightChapter 72 · Great King must not declineChapter 73 · The top scholarChapter 74 · I do not like other defying meChapter 75 · Great Xuan truly has quite a number of martial expertsChapter 76 · What was there to fear?Chapter 77 · Then Teacher can raise the dragonChapter 78 · Little Dragon Steals Peaches.Chapter 79 · Resentment and Poison.Chapter 80 · Male PartnerChapter 81 · How about choosing a human?Chapter 82 · Young Lord Zhen has a friendChapter 83 · Morning DewChapter 84 · Earth DragonsChapter 85 · Greetings, Your MajestyChapter 86 · Then what am I allowed to do?Chapter 87 · What exactly Happened?Chapter 88 · Praise The golden Dragon!Chapter 89 · ComplexionChapter 90 · Gift is almost readyChapter 91 · Surely Sir would no longer refuse himChapter 92 · Seven YearsChapter 93 · She is really just a childChapter 94 · Good YuanbaoChapter 95 · Ten Thousand year old JadeChapter 96 · They were overwhelmed with griefChapter 97 · Villain: So what if I use magic?Chapter 98 · The Dragon Clan MeetingChapter 99 · The Big reveal!Chapter 100 · The prototype of His MajestyChapter 101 · Autumn HuntChapter 102 · This painting was created by the Emperor’s consortChapter 103 · They gave themselves away and caught the plush rabbit doctor.Chapter 104 · The Rabbit gangChapter 105 · The scars on the fox spirit’s handsChapter 106 · Wang JinzhongChapter 107 · I don’t believe the White Tiger doesn’t protect its foodChapter 108 · Karmic SinChapter 109 · Yuanbao, would you take me a thousand li away?Chapter 110 · Pear FrostChapter 111 · If Yuanbao ever loses sight of the road ahead, then come find meChapter 112 · Let’s take a step at a time..Chapter 113 · The imperial marriage was announced to the public.Chapter 114 · The army, navy, and air force are preparing to attack the Yujing River.Chapter 115 · The attack on Yujing River-humans should not spread rumors!Chapter 116 · King Golden Dragon ascends the throneChapter 117 · Sir, would you like a bowl of dragon soup?Chapter 118 · Wedding celebrationChapter 119 · Establish the Demon RealmChapter 120 · Lord of the Demon RealmChapter 121 · Flourishing and decliningChapter 122 · The Ling Dynasty was defeated, and father and son fought amongst themselvesChapter 123 · The gentleman’s is dragon-themedChapter 124 · People from HeavenChapter 125 · The truth behind the White TigerChapter 126 · Azure Dragon, WarChapter 127 · A great war is about to break outChapter 128 · Victory in the great battleChapter 129 · Side Story (1)Chapter 130 · Side Story (2)Chapter 131 · Side Story (3)Chapter 132 · Side Story (4)Chapter 133 · Side Story (4)Chapter 134 · Side Story (5)Chapter 135 · Side Story (6)Chapter 136 · Side story (7)Chapter 137 · Side Story (8)Chapter 138 · Side Story (9)Chapter 139 · Side Story (10)Chapter 140 · Side Story (11)Chapter 141 · Side Story (12)Chapter 142 · Side Story (13)Chapter 143 · Side Story (14)Chapter 144 · Side Story (15)Chapter 145 · Side Story (16)Chapter 146 · Side Story (17)Chapter 147 · Side Story (18)Chapter 148 · Side Story (19)Chapter 149 · Side Story (20)Chapter 150 · Side Story (21)Chapter 151 · Side Story (22)