Yuan Rutan slept straight through the night before he finally regained a bit of energy.
Lying on the ground, he fished a piece of glutinous rice cake from his pouch and stuffed it into his mouth.
Golden eyes half-lidded in satisfaction, the little dragon enjoyed his snack, swallowed the last bite, and was about to get up, when a faint conversation drifted from the neighboring tent.
“Mother… I’m so thirsty… and hungry…”
A woman’s hoarse voice coaxed gently, “Erzhu, be good. Sleep for a while, when you wake up, there’ll be porridge.”
The child sobbed, “Mother, I feel so bad, I can’t sleep. Am I… am I going to die, like Father did?”
The woman slapped him weakly, choking back tears. “Don’t talk nonsense! Be good! Mother will tell you a story. You’ll fall asleep while listening.”
Hearing that, Yuan Rutan blinked. His golden eyes flickered with confusion. The woman began her story.
“Long ago, this drought-stricken land was a desert… until a dragon came.”
Yuan Rutan’s eyes went wide, ears pricked, staring intently at the tent.
“It was a black dragon,” she continued softl, “With deer-like horns, a serpent’s body, and fish-like scales…”
Yuan Rutan glanced down at himself, then shrank into a small two-foot-long golden dragon.
The little dragon rolled once across the dirt, clutching his tail, staring at the golden scales that indeed looked a bit like fish scales.
“Its eyes were like a rabbit’s, its ears like an ox’s…”
He conjured a water mirror and examined his reflection. Though he’d seen himself countless times, he still found it fascinating.
“But the people here had never seen a dragon. They thought it some strange beast and fled in terror.”
Yuan Rutan’s eyes flickered. After a moment, he pulled out peach leaves from his pouch, spread them on the ground, and lay atop them, hugging his tail while listening curiously.
The woman spoke for a long while before finally reaching the end, “In the end, the black dragon turned itself into rain, bringing life to the parched land.”
Yuan Rutan listened with rapt attention, completely absorbed.
The child, too, refused to sleep. “Mother, I can’t sleep! Tell me another story!”
The woman’s voice grew weaker, but she smiled faintly. “All right. Once upon a time, there was another dragon…”
She told another tale, again of a dragon bringing rain.
The child swallowed audibly. “Dragons are amazing! If we had a dragon, the drought would end, wouldn’t it?”
In the neighboring tent, Yuan Rutan yawned.
Dragons could make rain, yes but this dragon couldn’t. He was too weak. If he tried, he’d burn up all his spiritual energy and have to sleep for days again.
The woman kept telling stories, every one about water.
Yuan Rutan had always loved stories. He used to sneak into teahouses just to hear the storytellers.
Though the woman’s “dragon tales” were born of desperation for water, Yuan Rutan found joy in hearing her bring each dragon vividly to life.
He yawned again, sleepy yet unwilling to miss a word.
Rustling came from next door; the woman seemed to be holding her child, “Mother… I’m cold…”
“Come here,” she murmured, soft as water, “Sleep in Mother’s arms.”
Fabric rustled again as she drew the child close.
The little golden dragon twitched his nose. A faint fragrance filled his senses, a soft, milky scent, like petals in cream.
He edged closer to the tent. Despite the stench of the place, he couldn’t resist moving nearer to that scent.
He remembered when Aunt Wang’s little boy had hit his head, and she’d rushed over crying that same scent had filled the air. It was the smell of a mother’s love.
He pressed closer, listening as the woman sang a lullaby.
Taking out his peaches, he arranged them in a circle and sat inside it. With a flick of magic, the peaches turned into a coiled golden dragon.
Eyes shining like stars, Yuan Rutan curled within the golden ring, chin resting on its “body,” and drifted off to sleep to the lullaby’s rhythm.
He didn’t know how long he slept. Through the haze of dreams, he heard faint sobbing, “Mother… I’m so thirsty… so thirsty…”
The woman’s voice was nearly gone, cracked with despair. “Just a little longer, darling. It’ll be dawn soon then we’ll have porridge. Let me tell you a story.”
“Mother… water…”
“Once, a dragon dug a well,” she whispered weakly. “The people drank from it and lived… and then the dragon flew south…”
Half-asleep, Yuan Rutan pricked his ears, listening drowsily. But the child’s voice grew fainter and fainter… until it disappeared.
The woman’s story faltered. At last, she murmured softly, “Don’t worry, sweetheart… Mother found you water.”
A thick scent of blood filled the air.
Yuan Rutan’s golden eyes snapped open. Sticky with peach juice, he shot upright.
A heartbeat later, he vanished into the next tent.
Suspended in the air, the little golden dragon stared in horror at the pool of blood.
The mother and child were filthy, barely covered in rags, their bodies little more than skin and bone.
A deep gash marred the woman’s wrist, blood dripping into the child’s mouth.
But the child’s eyes were wide and empty of life.
Yuan Rutan’s golden eyes blurred with mist. He hesitated, trembling.
He fluttered forward, brushed the woman’s wrist with his tail; the wound sealed instantly.
Scratching his head in confusion, he blew a puff of dragon’s breath at them both.
Their eyelids twitched, life returning faintly.
Relieved, Yuan Rutan smiled… until he saw a black shadow behind them.
It wasn’t visible to human eyes, but a dragon could see it clearly.
The shadow held two chains, each plunging into the mother and child’s bodies, ready to drag their souls away.
Yuan Rutan: “?”
He roared angrily, tail lashing, smashing the chains apart.
The shadow froze, seemingly stunned, staring at him.
Yuan Rutan arched his back defensively, eyes narrowed to slits.
Then faint voices spoke, “Forget it. Let’s go. These two still have years left to live.”
“A dragon?” another voice murmured.
“Small though it is, not one we can handle. Go.”
The shadows vanished. The mother and child’s breathing steadied.
Yuan Rutan left a small bucket of water and two coarse buns in the tent. After hesitating, he placed his favorite rice cake on top and muttered, “Payment for the stories.”
When the woman and child awoke, they burst into tears of joy, kneeling to thank the heavens.
Hidden, Yuan Rutan flew away, found a rabbit hole nearby, and concealed his dragon aura.
The rabbits didn’t know his power, one even tried to kick him.
Yuan Rutan let out a “roar!” and swatted them against the wall with his tail.
Satisfied, he perched on their soft bodies and slept soundly.
When he awoke under the scorching sun, he stretched lazily. Time to go home.
Before leaving, he dropped each rabbit a tuft of grass as “rent” for the bedding, then made sure they ate it all to erase any trace of dragon energy.
Soaring into the clouds, he looked down on the earth below, just in time to see a crowd gathered around a high platform.
“Huh?”
He turned invisible and swooped lower. It was an execution ground.
A man in purple official robes sat under a canopy, murmuring to an attendant.
The attendant unrolled a paper and read aloud sternly, “Former Prefect of Yanzhou, Zuo Silin, guilty of corruption and cruelty… to be executed.”
“Former Commandant of Horses, Yu Songyu… to be executed.”
“Former Magistrate of Drought County…”
Yuan Rutan listened. One by one, names and crimes were read, the corrupt to be executed.
Thinking of the suffering he’d seen, Yuan Rutan hesitated, then slipped to the edge of the crowd, taking human form to watch.
The list was long. After every twenty names, a new round of executions began.
Three full hours passed; the sun set, and blood pooled around the platform like a crimson lake.
All around, the people shouted:
“Good riddance! If not for these greedy dogs, the drought wouldn’t have killed so many!”
“They stole the relief grain from the imperial stores!”
Faces red with fury, some wept until they fainted.
“Father, Mother! Do you see this? The corrupt have fallen, you can rest in peace!”
Yuan Rutan’s heart was quiet until he saw something familiar.
The officials who’d cheated him yesterday, buying his fish at a fraction of its worth, were also among the condemned.
The court announced their crimes, murder, extortion, cruelty and sentenced them to death.
Yuan Rutan stood still, watching the blades fall, heads rolling.
He puffed his cheeks slightly, he was in a good mood, though he kept a solemn face. After all, this was about human lives.
He’d dealt with Heaven long enough to know the Heavenly Way loved docking his merits over “improper joy.”
But this time, Heaven didn’t dock a single bit.
When the last head fell and night fully descended, Yuan Rutan turned to leave and a beam of golden light descended upon him.
He froze, wide-eyed.
That merit… was more than two years’ worth of his usual offerings!
He looked up at the heavens for a long time before realizing that It was the reward for saving the mother and child that morning.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
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☕ 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)