Yuan Rutang: (▼ヘ▼#)
Though speechless, he still carried the bundle of herbs and flew toward the county town.
The little golden dragon darted through drifting white clouds, his sharp gaze overlooking the vast fields below.
On a rutted country road, an ox cart lumbered along, carrying seven or eight people, its wooden wheels creaking as it rolled unhurriedly down the narrow path.
Yuan Rutang recognized them at a glance, they were all from Songjia Village.
The ox belonged to Uncle Li, who sat proudly at the front, flicking his whip lazily in the air as he hummed a rustic tune.
Fishing out a piece of glutinous rice cake from his cloth pouch, Yuan Rutang took a hearty bite. His golden eyes occasionally glanced down, watching the people below with an unreadable expression.
Uncle Li had a son nicknamed Gouzi, “Little Dog.” Gouzi was born the same year as Yuan Rutang. When Yuan had first moved into Songjia Village, the two of them had been childhood playmates for a time.
Back then, Yuan hadn’t quite understood how quickly humans grew.
So he used Gouzi as a reference, whenever Gouzi grew a little taller, Yuan would make sure to grow just a little taller too.
Gouzi used to say that one day, he’d become a great bodyguard, a biao shi, someone strong and brave enough to guard caravans across dangerous roads.
To do that, he said, he needed to grow tall and broad, to become the most towering man in the whole village.
Hearing that, Yuan deliberately suppressed his height, always making sure he was just a tiny bit shorter than Gouzi.
That made Gouzi very proud. Sometimes, when they roasted cicadas together, Gouzi would even give Yuan two extra legs to eat, as though granting a great favor.
Yuan never really understood what was so delicious about two measly cicada legs.
Still, he’d shove them into his mouth anyway, swallow them whole without even chewing, and look perfectly content.
But things changed later.
One day, Yuan went to Gouzi’s house to play. Before he even reached the door, still a hundred paces away, his sharp hearing caught the voices of the family talking inside.
Auntie Li was speaking first, her tone sharp and displeased, “From now on, don’t go playing with that wild boy anymore,” she scolded. “No father, no mother, and always mooching food off you. Eat your fill at home before you go out!”
Gouzi chuckled smugly, “Don’t worry, Ma. I’m not stupid. Rutang’s great at climbing trees, he can always pick the fruit from the very top branches. And when we catch loaches, he just dips his hand into the water and always comes up with a fat one!”
Uncle Li set down his bowl and chopsticks, his voice low but firm, “Climbing’s one thing, but you mustn’t do it yourself. If you fall, you’ll break your neck!”
Gouzi nodded obediently, “Got it, Dad. I’m just trying to fill up when I’m outside, save us some grain at home.”
Uncle Li chuckled. “Half-grown kids eat their fathers poor! Still, don’t just think of yourself. Your grandmother’s been feeling unwell lately, next time you bring home two loaches, we’ll make her some soup.”
Gouzi agreed easily.
Maybe they had checked the door, maybe not, but it didn’t matter. Yuan wasn’t human, and even from that distance, every word reached his sharp ears crystal clear.
From that day on, Yuan Rutang decided to sever their friendship.
Gouzi couldn’t understand what he had done wrong. Seeing his little follower suddenly turning cold, he grew angry and blustered, “Fine! Then don’t you dare try to ride my dad’s cart again!”
Uncle Li’s ox cart often traveled between Songjia Village and the county, carrying people and goods. Anyone could hop on for a single copper coin and spare themselves a long walk.
But Yuan Rutang couldn’t care less about that ox cart. From that day forward, every time he picked fruit or caught fish, he would eat them deliberately in front of Gouzi, relishing every bite.
Gouzi would drool with envy, begging for just a taste, trying to flatter him with sweet words.
But Yuan never shared, he’d even toss the leftover fish bones into the lake right in front of him.
Gouzi’s face would turn red with rage. He’d ball his fists, ready to fight until he suddenly realized that Yuan had somehow grown half a head taller than him.
Gouzi: ?!
He couldn’t understand that tiny boy who used to trail after him like a shadow, how had he shot up like a bamboo shoot after rain?
From then on, Yuan Rutang became Gouzi’s nightmare. No matter how much Gouzi grew, Yuan was always just half a head taller.
The frustration nearly drove him mad. He’d even cry in his sleep at night, muttering, “Grow taller… I need to grow taller…”
Of course, he never really did. His father and mother were both short, and he ended up only half a finger taller than an average woman.
Remembering all this, Yuan Rutang stuffed the last bit of glutinous rice cake into his mouth and puffed out his cheeks happily, glancing again at the slow-moving ox cart below.
He snorted softly. He didn’t care for such things, he could fly faster than any ox cart anyway, and for free!
When he finally reached the county town, Yuan Rutang tidied his human disguise before stepping into a herbal shop with his cloth bag in hand.
The shop assistant spotted him and exclaimed with a smile, “Ah, Little Yuan! It’s been a while since you last came. What’ve you brought this time?”
Yuan poured out the herbs. They were all common, inexpensive kinds, but fresh and well picked.
The clerk sighed, “Well, the quality’s good, but we’ll still need to prepare and process them. Let me see what they come to.”
He called over a helper, and the two began weighing and inspecting each herb carefully before finally announcing, “That’ll be two taels and six qian.”
He handed over the silver, but before Yuan could take it, the clerk held the coins back, his tone suddenly serious, “Yuan, you’re not so young anymore. You should start saving up for a wife. Don’t spend every coin you earn on food.”
Yuan looked away, guilty, and muttered, “Mm.” He accepted the silver quietly.
This shop, after all, had a bit of history with him.
Truth be told, Yuan wasn’t as poor as he appeared. He still had fifty taels tucked away safely at home, his secret hoard.
He knew his own nature too well: if he didn’t hide that money properly, he’d probably eat it all within two or three days.
Years ago, when he was about twelve or thirteen, he’d discovered a small lake deep in the forest. Wanting to raise more food for himself, he had caught some baby fish and thrown them into the lake.
Later, he learned that if he wanted to buy the lake officially from the authorities, he’d need eighty taels of silver.
But heaven forbade dragons from cheating or deceiving humans. So he had to find his own honest way to earn the money.
Fortunately, dragons were clever.
He soon heard that humans prized a rare, expensive fragrance called Dragon’s Saliva Incense, Longxian Xiang, worth a fortune.
And what, he thought, was dragon’s saliva if not… a dragon’s saliva?
The realization struck him like lightning.
So, he went to a shop and bought the cheapest sticks of incense he could find, ground them into powder, and poured the powder into a bowl. Then, he placed the bowl beside the pit where he slept.
That night, Yuan went to bed hugging an old piece of rotting wood, deliberately sleeping with his mouth open. When he woke the next morning, the bowl contained a thin layer of… saliva.
His cheeks burned red, but he still mixed it with the incense powder, kneaded it back into thick, uneven sticks, and left them to dry.
When his handmade “Dragon’s Saliva Incense” was ready, he proudly brought it to town to sell.
But the moment he entered the shop, the clerk threw him out.
“You think I’m blind?” the man shouted. “You call this Dragon’s Saliva? This is just cheap ash stuck together! You dare to pass this off as the real thing?”
Yuan stared, wide-eyed, as the clerk smugly displayed a small container of “authentic” Dragon’s Saliva Incense to the watching crowd then quickly covered it again and put it away.
Yuan was furious. That man is lying! he thought. He’s the one selling fake goods! I’m the real dragon, mine’s the real thing!
The wronged dragon trudged away through the narrow alleys, clutching his precious incense sticks.
In an empty corner, he lit one himself.
Pale smoke drifted upward, mingling with the sharp scent of herbs. The taste was bitter, harsh, it made him cough until his eyes watered.
When he looked up, he noticed the scent had drifted toward a nearby apothecary, the same one whose bitter fumes had reached him earlier.
He slumped against the wall, head drooping in dejection.
But moments later, a clerk came rushing out of the apothecary, nose twitching as he caught the strange fragrance.nEyes wide with excitement, he ran straight to Yuan.
“Young man,” he panted, “where did this incense come from?”
Yuan hugged the stick close, nervous. “It… it’s mine.”
The clerk frowned but spoke gently, “Would you be willing to sell me all of it?”
Yuan’s eyes lit up, “How much will you pay?”
The man hesitated, then said, “Thirty taels of silver, how about that?”
Yuan squinted, pretending to think hard, before saying slowly, “I won’t sell for less than thirty-one taels.”
The clerk: “…”
Such a bold little negotiator.
In the end, he agreed. He fetched two silver ingots, a handful of small coins, and a scale to weigh them but before he could, Yuan shook his head.
“I don’t want ingots.”
The clerk blinked. “No ingots? What do you want then?”
“Silver notes, small change, or copper coins,” Yuan said seriously, “Anything but ingots.”
The clerk couldn’t understand his odd preferences, but he eventually handed over thirty-one taels in assorted silver.
From that day on, Yuan and the apothecary were connected by fate.
Afterward, Yuan discovered that herbs could also earn money. He began gathering herbs in the mountains, at first, rare ones like ginseng and polygonum, trading them at the shop for cash, which he promptly spent on food.
He never ate his fill, but for two whole years, he lived quite happily that way.
It wasn’t until he saw a starving herb gatherer collapse in the woods that Yuan decided to stop taking too much. He realized that while herbs were his snack money, they were those people’s lifeline.
From then on, he gathered herbs only once every few months, just enough to earn two taels, no more.
The clerk grew fond of him and once asked about the miraculous “Dragon’s Saliva Incense,” hoping to buy more.
Yuan asked, “Why do you want it?”
The man hesitated, then confessed, “The day you came, our old master was on his deathbed. But when the fragrance drifted in, he suddenly sat up, his face flushed with life! He made me run outside to find where the scent came from and that’s how I met you.”
He continued wistfully, “After we bought your incense, the master burned it day and night. His health improved daily, he looked thirty years younger!bEven the mistress’s skin turned smooth and glowing, her vitality restored. And our young master, who’d stopped growing after smelling your incense, he shot up a whole head taller!”
Yuan blinked. “And what about you?”
The clerk smiled softly. “I was frail since childhood, always sickly. But after breathing in that incense every day… I’m as healthy as any normal man now.”
Then his eyes turned eager. “So tell me, do you still have any of that incense? Forget thirty taels, I’d pay five hundred, even a thousand!”
Yuan lowered his gaze, pretending to be angry, “If I’d known, I’d never have sold it to you! I bought it from a traveling peddler, if I’d realized it worked like that, I would’ve used it myself.”
He scowled for effect, “You owe me compensation!”
The clerk scratched his head, uncertain but not suspicious anymore, “All right, the master said I should repay you anyway. How about twenty more?”
“Thirty,” Yuan said firmly, cheeks puffed.
The clerk laughed helplessly. “Fine, fine, I’ll ask the master. If he agrees, you’ll get thirty.”
And indeed, the next day, the clerk handed him thirty more taels in small change, whispering, “If you ever meet that peddler again, bring him here. We’ll reward you handsomely.”
Later, when Yuan’s gluttony got the better of him and he’d eaten away ten taels already, he panicked and buried the remaining fifty taels in his secret hiding spot, his lake fund.
He swore never to touch it again.
Recalling all this, Yuan tucked away the two taels and six qian from the clerk and went to a restaurant. At last, he treated himself to the meal of his dreams.
Feeling mature, he even ordered a jar of wine.
By the time he staggered out of town, he was drunk and humming nonsense, clutching the wine jar to his chest as he stumbled toward the outskirts.
When dawn broke and he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside the jar.
At some point during the night, he had turned back into a little golden dragon… and soaked himself in the wine.
Yuan fluttered out, reeking of alcohol from snout to tail.
He stared at the jar for a long moment, his golden eyes thoughtful.
He’d heard that snake wine was considered a fine tonic.
Then… wouldn’t dragon wine be even better?
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
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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)