Yuan Rutang looked coldly at the monkey that had fallen to the ground, its tail sticking straight up.
Hmph, he sneered inwardly, “When there are no dragons in the mountains, even monkeys dare to call themselves kings.”
He gazed into the water mirror, retracting his dragon horns and tail. With a simple concealment spell, his golden pupils turned black. Turning his head, he looked at the tall peach tree beside him, hesitating for a moment.
The land here was too dry, he wanted to leave behind a touch of green but he couldn’t.
He couldn’t leave traces of his aura so easily.
If the phoenix clan caught the scent of dragon energy on those peaches, he would be in grave danger.
In the end, Yuan Rutang gathered all the peaches from the tree into a cloth bag, even snatching away the half-eaten one from the monkey’s hand.
The peach tree’s vitality was drained away; yellowed leaves fell to the ground, and the once lush branches withered into ordinary dead wood.
Before leaving, Yuan Rutang cast one last glance at the lifeless peach tree, then turned and left the forest.
Inside the city, the air was filled with yellow dust. Yuan Rutang carried his cloth bag, glancing left and right, looking for a buyer. But the streets were nearly empty, and most of the shops were shuttered. The whole city looked desolate.
After circling the main streets twice, he finally spotted someone who looked like a potential buyer, a portly man dressed in silk, just stepping down from his carriage.
The man wore a jade pendant at his waist and a thumb ring on his hand. He turned back to the carriage, smiling as he helped a child down.
Yuan Rutang took one look at him and knew he was rich, so he stepped forward, bag in hand, to start a conversation.
The portly man was a local wealthy household head, preparing to flee with his family from the ongoing famine.
When he sensed someone approaching, he intended to ignore it, his servants would handle such people.
But when his gaze fell on the young man’s face, surprise flickered in his eyes. He waved for the servants to let the boy approach.
He assumed the youth was here to beg for food but the boy’s first words nearly made his heart skip a beat.
“Fish?” the fat man repeated in shock, looking Yuan Rutang up and down.
“Where would fish come from here? There hasn’t been any water for miles!”
“I have fish,” Yuan Rutang said, gripping the cloth bag tightly. “Will you buy them?”
The man swallowed hard. “Of course I’ll buy them!”
“How much a jin?” Yuan Rutang asked.
The fat man hesitated. Usually, fish prices depended on the type, grass carp were cheap, crucian carp cost more.
But looking at the youth, he remembered how long it had been since his family had eaten any meat at all.
Fish was fish. Whatever kind it was, he’d pay well.
So he gritted his teeth, “One tael of silver per jin!”
Then doubt crept in. Where could the boy have possibly gotten fish from? Was he bluffing?
Yuan Rutang’s eyes lit up. He told the man to wait there and went into a quiet corner, where he conjured a wooden bucket and poured the fish and water from his bag into it.
Carrying the bucket, he walked back unsteadily.
In his mind, he was already planning how to spend his earnings, three visits to the tavern, finishing that storytelling session he’d left halfway through, and buying every new pastry from the Zhen Gao bakery.
He placed the bucket before the fat man.
The man froze, lips trembling, “I’ll take the bucket too!”
His servants weighed the fish, nine in total, weighing twenty-six jin and seven liang.
The man handed over twenty-eight taels of silver.
Yuan Rutang reached for his pouch, ready to give change, “No need,” the man said quickly.
He waved his hand, and his servants immediately moved to carry the bucket away.
Just then, sharp voices rang out. The fat man’s eyelids twitched, and he gritted his teeth helplessly.
Yuan Rutang turned at the sound and saw a group of officers rushing toward them. They glanced at the bucket and frowned.
“Where did this fish and water come from?” the leader demanded.
The fat man clenched his fists but forced a smile, “Sir, it was this young man who brought them. I was merely buying..”
“Enough,” the stubbled officer interrupted impatiently.
He pulled half a tael of silver from his pouch and tossed it to Yuan Rutang, “I’ll take the fish.”
Yuan Rutang blinked, He looked at the half-tael in his right hand, then at the twenty-tael silver notes and six taels in his left, frowning.
“I’m not selling to you. I’m selling to him,” he said, pointing at the fat man.
The fat man quickly waved his hands, “No, no, young man. Please, return the money. Since the officer wants them, you’d better sell to him.”
Yuan Rutang drooped his head, “But I don’t want to sell to him.”
The officer snorted, fingers tapping the hilt of his knife as he stared sharply at the youth, “Boy, I haven’t yet questioned where you got this water and fish. Best know when to stop.”
Yuan Rutang pressed his lips together. He thought of the food he’d been longing for, the story he hadn’t finished hearing.
“They’re my fish. I raised them myself,” he said stubbornly.
The officer clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder, leaning in.
“There’s no water, no fish, in this drought-stricken land. I suspect you’re a spy or perhaps you’ve stolen the government’s disaster relief water.”
Yuan Rutang stared blankly.
He understood now, the officer wanted to take the fish. If he refused, the man would accuse him of a crime.
Frustration welled up inside him, but in the end, Yuan Rutang handed back the silver and left with only the half-tael.
At the corner, he glanced back and saw the officers sharing the water from the bucket, drinking greedily and laughing.
He could have killed them easily.
But earning virtue was hard enough, killing would only set him back years. Besides, killing officials would bring endless trouble.
If the phoenix clan caught wind of it, things would become far worse.
He had flown all night and was exhausted. He needed a place to rest before flying back that evening.
Leaving the city, he surveyed his surroundings with clear eyes, finally spotting a place in the distance.
There were many people there and by the sound of it, they didn’t charge for lodging.
So Yuan Rutang walked toward the noise.
The further he went, the more people there were thin, ragged, with hair dry and matted, their eyes hollow and hungry.
They stared at him as though swallowing down their saliva. Yuan Rutang puffed his cheeks and ignored them.
Soon he reached a long line of people, ahead was a porridge shed, guarded by uniformed officers ladling out thin gruel.
Their uniforms were cleaner and better made than those of the corrupt officers earlier.
Yuan Rutang understood, this was a refugee camp.
He could have joined the line for porridge, but he didn’t want to. He could tell by smell alone, the porridge was bland and watery.
Circling the camp, he found a desolate corner with an empty, shabby tent. It seemed no one wanted to stay there because it was too far from the porridge shed.
He curled up inside, wrinkling his nose at the stench of sweat that clung to the canvas. He set up a warding barrier, anyone who approached would wake him instantly.
After that, Yuan Rutang closed his eyes.
Every sound around him, breathing, whispering, shuffling, grew infinitely clear.
He could have gone deep into the mountains to sleep but he didn’t want to be too far from people.
And yet, he didn’t want to be completely alone either
No… not alone.
Not a dragon all by himself.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator promises nothing except gratitude and possibly more chapters.
☕ 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)