The little golden dragon darted through the mist, the setting sun spilling across the clouds like threads of molten sugar tossed over freshly made candied hawthorn.
Yuan Rutang took a mouthful of cloud and exhaled softly through his nose, the mist curling out like smoke.
He rolled over lazily in midair, his front claws hugging his tail as he licked the very tip. The cloud didn’t taste good at all, certainly not as fragrant as his own tail.
A dragon’s body was a treasure trove. Every scale and drop of blood contained vast spiritual energy.
Sometimes, when Yuan Rutang was unbearably hungry, his eyes would redden as he stared at his own claws.
But his willpower was strong. Even when a scale happened to fall off, he would pick it up carefully and store it away, never once eating even a single one.
He was a clever dragon. He knew that there were some things in this world one must never do even once.
After licking his tail one last time, Yuan Rutang loosened his claws and pulled a strip of dried yak meat from his cloth pouch. He ate until the last crumb was gone, utterly satisfied.
Content, he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, fluttering through the clouds to chase at drifting tufts like balls of cotton.
All of a sudden, he stopped midair. His pupils contracted sharply.
Someone was disturbing his land.
With a flick of his tail, the golden dragon shot forward, covering a thousand miles in one breath.
By the time he transformed into human form and reached his farmland, he saw dozens of men swinging hoes and smashing down his rice crops.
The stalks, once heavy with golden grain, were ones Yuan Rutang had planned to sell in town to trade for candy.
Now, vast patches of the field were flattened, the rice lying limp and broken in the mud. The men trampled through his paddy like a mob, crushing the stalks beneath their boots. They swung their sickles in wide arcs, slashing everything in sight.
A dozen others drove their shovels into the earth, digging up the ridges he had carefully leveled only yesterday.
The waterlogged fields were torn apart, muddy water spilling everywhere, carrying grains of rice downstream like scattered pearls.
Yuan Rutang stared blankly at the ruin before his eyes. His nose stung, and tears burned at the corners of his eyes. He dashed forward, anger flooding through him, and threw a heavy punch at the nearest burly man.
The man, clad only in a short summer jacket, was sent flying backward, crashing into the mud as water splashed high into the air.
The others turned at the sound, raised their farm tools, and charged.
Yuan Rutang’s rage boiled over. His fists moved faster than lightning. One by one, his attackers fell to the ground.
More men rushed in, and in the chaos, an elderly man with a white beard lifted his walking stick and struck Yuan Rutang hard on the shoulder.
The blow landed solidly, yet Yuan Rutang didn’t even flinch. He turned his head slowly, glanced at the staff resting on his shoulder, and let out a cold laugh. Then he spun and kicked the old man squarely in the chest, sending him flying ten feet back. The walking stick snapped into three pieces in Yuan Rutang’s hands.
Two dozen men against one youth, such cruelty.
The villagers who gathered along the dirt road could only shake their heads and whisper among themselves.
“They’re only bullying him because Little Tan is an orphan. He’s just a child…”
“Keep your voice down! If the Song family hears you, we’ll all be in trouble.”
“So many grown men beating one boy… will he even survive this?”
“Wait, look! Little Tan’s holding his own! The Song men are all bruised, and he hasn’t even broken skin!”
“By heavens, he really can fight!”
The brawl dragged on for nearly half an hour. Despite their numbers, the Song clan couldn’t overpower him. One after another, their men dropped into the mud, groaning in pain.
Then, at the sound of harsh commands, a troop of constables arrived, surrounding everyone.
The emperor, wary of clan disputes, had ordered two guards to be stationed in every village. The moment the fight broke out, they had gone to call for reinforcements.
Both Yuan Rutang and the Song clan were seized and dragged off to the county office. Night had already fallen, so they were thrown into the cells to await trial at dawn.
Yuan Rutang was locked in a separate cell, huddled in a damp corner with his arms wrapped around his knees. His eyes were red and wet with unshed tears.
The prison was deathly quiet, too quiet. Not even a rat scurried by. Footsteps echoed faintly, growing closer until they stopped before his cell.
Yuan Rutang lifted his head cautiously, eyes rimmed with red.
Outside, a man crouched down, smiling faintly. “Little Divine Doctor, do you still recognize me?”
Of course Yuan Rutang recognized him, it was Head Constable Sun, the one who had docked his share of water.
He frowned, not understanding why the man had come. Sun sighed softly and gestured for someone to push a tray of delicacies through the bars.
“I didn’t expect that our next meeting would be here, of all places,” Sun said in a kind voice. “I’ve heard your case. Those people wronged you terribly. You’ve been framed, truly wronged.”
Yuan Rutang counted on his fingers, hesitant. “Then… will the magistrate punish the Song clan tomorrow?”
Sun let out a long hiss and paced a few steps, his boots echoing against the stone.
“Do you know,” he asked, “That the county clerk, the magistrate’s own adviser, is also a Song?”
Yuan Rutang blinked blankly.
Sun chuckled. “Why else do you think that clan acts so lawlessly?”
Yuan Rutang pressed his lips together.
Sun crouched again, his tone soft and coaxing. “But our magistrate is a wise man. If I speak to him on your behalf, he’ll surely clear your name and punish those who wronged you.”
“Really?” Yuan Rutang asked quietly.
“Of course,” Sun said with a smile. “But on one condition, you must move into a residence I’ve prepared for you.”
Yuan Rutang froze. In that instant, he understood.
His eyes darkened. “I refuse! I’ve done nothing wrong. It was they who stole my land. They attacked me, all of them at once!”
Sun stood and shook his head slowly, looking down at him with faint amusement. “Does right or wrong matter?”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and left.
Yuan Rutang leaned against the damp wall, his eyes brimming with tears. It wasn’t the cold or the hunger that hurt, it was the injustice.
He only wanted to farm a small field, sell his crops, and buy a bit of candy. Why couldn’t the world let him live as an ordinary person?
His eyes grew sore and heavy. He fell asleep like that, curled up in the corner.
The night was bitterly cold, and he hugged himself tighter. Then, a golden light descended upon him, warm and soft, carrying a faintly sweet fragrance.
His tense body relaxed. The chill seeped away. When dawn broke, Yuan Rutang woke to find the light merging into his skin.
He realized that Heaven had already tallied his deeds, his merit from the day before had been granted.
After a bit of mental arithmetic, he was startled with joy. He needed to save just one more person to receive the complete inheritance of the dragon clan.
The gloom in his heart lifted. But then he frowned slightly. Hadn’t he already saved twenty-one people yesterday?
He counted carefully, pausing when he reached the old man in brocade robes. That man had six servants and two dogs, eight lives in total.
Ah! So that was it.
A grin spread across Yuan Rutang’s face. And despite all the fighting yesterday, Heaven hadn’t deducted any merit from him.
He looked upward in confusion, and faintly, it was as if the will of Heaven whispered back.
When others bully you, and you use only human strength to strike back, it is revenge, not cruelty.
Human strength, so that meant when he fought the Songs in human form?
Yuan Rutang blinked, baring a small grin. He never quite understood Heaven, but perhaps he’d glimpsed one of its loopholes.
Half an hour later, the constables came. They unlocked his cell and brought him to the court hall.
The magistrate demanded he kneel. Yuan Rutang didn’t want to. He plucked a bit of straw from his trousers, flicked it lightly, and in an instant, the straw turned into a figure identical to himself, kneeling obediently Meanwhile, he turned invisible, transforming into his dragon form and perching atop a beam.
He hadn’t escaped last night because he still hoped, foolishly, that justice might prevail.
But the magistrate slammed his gavel and thundered out a list of crimes, each heavier than the last, all pinned on him.
Yuan Rutang stared, dumbstruck, as the verdict was declared, three years in prison for him, complete exoneration for the Song clan.
He blinked, stunned.
The little golden dragon on the beam trembled with fury until his scales flushed a rosy pink.
In a blur, he swooped down. The straw figure rose to its feet, and Yuan Rutang slipped into it, the puppet turning real once more.
The sudden motion startled Head Constable Sun, who looked up sharply. Even the Songs gaped in disbelief.
The magistrate’s face twisted in rage as he slammed his gavel again, “Outrageous! Arrest him at once!”
Yuan Rutang let out a laugh, sharp and cold. His gaze burned into the magistrate. “I kneel only to my parents. You twist truth and justice for profit, how dare you call yourself a parent official of the people?”
The magistrate, unaccustomed to such defiance, froze for a heartbeat, then shouted, “Seize him!”
The constables lunged, clubs raised.
Yuan Rutang had seen enough. He was done with this place. He would change his face, move to another province, live anew.
He could have left peacefully, but the memory of their arrogance, of his humiliation, flared again.
And hadn’t Heaven said he could fight as long as he did so as a man? His lips curled. He seized a wooden staff from a guard and leapt up onto the dais.
The club came down with a mighty crack. The magistrate’s table split clean in two, fragments flying. Several splinters grazed the magistrate’s cheek, drawing blood.
He touched his face, trembling with rage. “How dare you! Guards, kill this madman!”
Yuan Rutang snapped the broken staff in half and snatched another, swinging it upward to shatter the plaque above the court. The grand inscription, “Justice as Clear as a Mirror”, splintered into dust.
He couldn’t read the words, but he knew hypocrisy when he saw it.
The magistrate stumbled back in terror. Yuan Rutang spun around, his staff sweeping low, and broke Sun’s leg with a single blow. Then he turned on the Song clansmen, who screamed and scrambled away.
He didn’t stop. One clean strike sent them tumbling across the floor before he bolted from the courthouse.
The guards rushed out with drawn swords, but by then, Yuan Rutang had vanished.
High above, invisible, the golden dragon hovered over the county yamen, glaring down as shouts echoed below.
When the magistrate suddenly stopped yelling and ran for the latrine, Yuan Rutang’s eyes narrowed.
He waited.
For half a day, he stayed perched upon the roof, watching as the magistrate, the sheriff, and the clerks all took turns sprinting for the privy again and again.
Confusion crept over him, until, finally, the truth snapped into place. So it wasn’t just Constable Sun who had stolen his spring water. The entire county office had!
No wonder a mere constable could afford a mansion and servants. Fine, then. He would make sure none of them slept easy again.
Yuan Rutang slipped silently into the magistrate’s study.
He asked the mice, the geckos, even the ants, and they guided him to a hidden compartment where a ledger was buried.
The gecko told him the ledger contained the magistrate’s secrets.
And the birds outside whispered that a royal inspector was staying in the next county. If he delivered the ledger, justice would be done.
Yuan Rutang conjured a false copy to leave behind, tucked the real one under his arm, and flew toward the neighboring county.
There he found the inspector’s residence, crouched upon the rooftop with the ledger clutched tightly to his chest, scanning the courtyard below.
At last he spotted a man in official robes strolling through the garden.
Yuan Rutang’s eyes lit up. He was just about to find a way to pass down the ledger when the inspector suddenly disappeared into the latrine.
Yuan Rutang sat dumbfounded.
He waited another half day. The inspector, too, seemed to be suffering from a terrible stomach ache.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The chapter is finished. The chaos is not.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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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)