Exchanging a glance with Ji Zilun, those two figures, one black and one white had already run quite a distance ahead. Hastily scrambling up from the ground, they too began running for their lives.
Before they had run very far, they heard a roaring, frenzied bellow echoing out from deep within the cave. To their ears, it sounded quite literally as though the entire mountain were crying out in agony. Both of them poured every ounce of strength into their legs; whatever was behind them, it was certainly nothing good.
“Hah… hah…” Fortunately, Ji Ziyu had stopped. Ji Zixin felt as though she were about to run out of breath entirely.
Once Ji Zilun had caught his breath somewhat, he raised his head and saw that Ji Ziran’s clothes weren’t even ruffled in the slightest. He couldn’t help sneering derisively, mocking, “Some people aren’t just blind, they’re useless on their feet too.”
Ji Ziran was momentarily startled, then frowned. While it was true that one shouldn’t bicker with children, that didn’t mean all children were lovable. Once or twice, Ji Ziran could magnanimously laugh it off and let it slide, treating it as childish temperament. But when it happened again and again, Ji Ziran couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of dislike toward Ji Zilun.
Therefore, this time Ji Ziran made no move to stop Ji Ziyu’s action—
“Slap!”
Ji Zizen didn’t even react right away. It wasn’t until he felt a burning, stinging pain across his face and reached up to touch it finding it swollen out of all recognition that he realized he had just been struck. Trembling with rage, he lunged forward, wanting to grab Ji Ziran by the throat.
Ji Zixin hastily pulled him back. She had seen clearly just a moment earlier: the 17th Prince had merely flicked his hand slightly, and the 16th Prince had received a slap across the face. Ordinary children simply did not possess that kind of capability.
Accurately locating the direction where Ji Zilun stood, Ji Ziran directed his voice toward him and said, “Watch your mouth.”
Ji Ziyu watched as a trace of triumphant satisfaction bloomed across Ji Ziran’s face, sporting an expression that clearly read, Hmph, I have someone to back me up too. It was somewhat… adorable.
However, right now was hardly the time for quarreling.
The reason Ji Ziyu had stopped running further ahead was because he sensed the aura of a magical beast up ahead. If his guess was correct, it should be the cold-loving Seven-Deception Snow Python an eighth-rank magical beast which was equally beyond anything they could handle.
Meanwhile, what had suddenly rushed out from the cave they had previously occupied wasn’t a magical beast at all, but a person. Ji Ziyu’s brows furrowed; anyone capable of assuming human form was at least a ninth-rank magical beast.
That person rushed out into the freezing wilderness, letting out a beastly shriek from the depths of their throat.
Though Ji Zilun and Ji Zixin couldn’t see clearly, Ji Ziyu saw everything with absolute clarity. That person’s face was severely distorted, and their clothing hung off their body in shredded strips. Particularly their lower half looked as though they had just been dragged straight out of a pool of blood.
Before Ji Ziyu could figure out what exactly the opponent was, apart from Ji Ziran who persistently believed it was a magical beast, the other children all dropped their jaws in shock as they watched that person’s sudden transformation.
Chapter 025: Evil (Part 3)
“White… White Dragon…” Ji Zixin muttered in sheer disbelief.
According to legend, dragons possessed formidable physical bodies alongside immense magical capabilities. However, unlike humans who could sense magical elements and utilize magic of most attributes even if they possessed certain affinities dragons traded their peerless magical talent for the perception and manipulation of a single, exclusive magical element.
Yet every rule had its exceptions, and within the dragon race existed two special entities: the White Dragon and the Black Dragon.
The Black Dragon possessed no magical abilities whatsoever, yet they could withstand all magical attacks and spew corrosive acidic fluid. Their physical bodies were incomparably formidable; legend had it that even if hundreds of gods and demons joined forces, they would not be able to inflict so much as a scratch upon a Black Dragon. The White Dragon, on the other hand, did not possess physical strength comparable to the Black Dragon, nor even that of ordinary dragons. Instead, they possessed a congenital, innate perception and mastery over all magical elements.
Moreover, there was a legend concerning White Dragons stating that throughout their entire lives, White Dragons would only ever develop romantic feelings for one destined individual. Consequently, White Dragons tended to find it even harder to produce offspring than ordinary dragons or Black Dragons.
Before them, the man who had bolted out of the cave had suddenly transformed into the legendary White Dragon. He possessed a robust physique, massive wings that unfurled to nearly fill the entire canyon floor when spread, a long tail, a horned head, and razor-sharp teeth. His entire body was covered in scales pure white scales that shimmered with a translucent, ethereal glow.
He was breathtakingly beautiful, yet possessed an overwhelming deterrent presence.
In particular, a long, gaping wound marred the dragon’s abdomen, with blood continuously welling out and staining a massive patch of snow crimson beneath him. His consciousness appeared far from lucid; his thick, long tail lashed against the icy cliff walls, leaving pitch-black cracks so deep that their bottoms were entirely invisible.
Sensing the bulging muscles along Ji Ziyu’s arm, Ji Ziran noticed that the boy’s entire aura had suddenly turned intensely sharp and cold especially when he heard Xiaoyu draw in a sharp breath of astonishment. This immediately piqued his curiosity: What kind of creature on earth is a White Dragon… to elicit such a reaction even from Xiaoyu.
At moments like this, Ji Ziran felt a suffocating wave of frustration wash over him: Why on earth am I blind right now.
However, this emotion merely flickered by in an instant. Almost simultaneously, he felt a familiar, creeping chill. Just as he was wondering where he could possibly have encountered such a sensation before, Ji Ziyu suddenly tackled him to the ground. The biting cold wind grazing his face felt practically indistinguishable from the pain of scraping across the ice sheet underneath them.
Startled, Ji Ziran hurriedly reached out to pat Ji Ziyu’s back. Sure enough, his clothes were completely torn to shreds, and his hand came away with a sticky sensation. Bringing his fingers to the tip of his nose, Ji Ziran frowned: Blood.
“Xiaoyu, you…”
“Stay right here and don’t move!” After tossing those words at Ji Ziran, Ji Ziyu bolted forward like a streak of lightning.
In truth, when Ji Ziyu had stopped here earlier, he had already erected a concealment barrier to mask their auras. Unfortunately, his current strength was insufficient, while the opponent’s power was simply too overwhelming! The barrier had been shattered instantly upon contact!
Ji Ziran’s outstretched hands clutched at empty air. The moment he realized what Ji Ziyu might be attempting to do, his face drained of all color. Hastily steadying himself against the cave wall, he scrambled to his feet and cupped his hand around his ear to listen with utmost concentration.
He knew that rashly making noise at a time like this would only do more harm than good. Yet, how desperately Ji Ziran wanted to call out the name “Xiaoyu,” just to hear that unique, cool-toned voice of his respond with a crisp “Mm.”
The sounds reaching his ears were violently intense, with the crashing and shattering of rock and ice drilling directly into his ear canals. Ji Ziran’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter: that cave hadn’t been particularly large, so just how massive was the White Dragon that had emerged from it? It was becoming increasingly difficult to pinpoint the exact direction of the sounds.
Compared to Ji Ziran, Ji Zixin and Ji Zilun—who could actually see—were shivering even more violently out of sheer terror. Ji Zixin bit down on her finger so hard that it began to bleed without her even realizing it. As for Ji Zilun, he pressed his back against the rock face beside Ji Ziran, his legs trembling uncontrollably. Before their very eyes unfolded a terrifying spectacle of escape and pursuit.
Out of the corner of his eye, catching a glimpse of Ji Ziran’s turned face his fair, tender countenance framing a pair of pitch-black eyes that looked utterly terrifying against the snowy night landscape!
A creeping sense of resentment slowly welled up within Ji Zilun’s eyes: It’s all because of this freak! This monster! Otherwise, we never would have fallen off the cliff, we wouldn’t have suffered so much, and we wouldn’t have run into this White Dragon! Right… it’s all his fault…
Chapter 026: Evil (Part 4)
Ji Ziyu’s intention had been to lure this berserk White Dragon further away. Yet for some unknown reason, the White Dragon continued to circle restlessly near the cave entrance.
Provoked by Ji Ziyu’s constant harassment, the beast grew even more erratic, charging directly toward Ji Ziran and the others.
The White Dragon was clearly driven mad; its formidable body smashed against the surrounding rock walls and icicles, plunging the entire canyon floor into utter chaos and devastation.
Deafening booms echoed in the air alongside the dragon’s terrifying roars, making one’s blood run cold.
“Ah!” Letting out a cry of alarm, Ji Zixin watched as Ji Ziyu was clipped by the giant dragon’s wing and sent crashing straight into the icy wall.
The panic underlying her scream was far too palpable, prompting Ji Ziran to involuntarily take two steps forward. He knew he was trembling not out of fear, but because Xiaoyu, who was the exact same age as him, was facing mortal danger while he not only couldn’t help, but couldn’t even see a thing.
The White Dragon, which had been charging straight toward Ji Ziyu, came to an abrupt halt the moment Ji Ziran took those two steps forward.
Its massive head slowly turned around, its glowing blue eyes standing out with crystal-clear clarity against the snowy backdrop of the night.
Ji Ziran was blind, and thus remained oblivious. But Ji Zilun and Ji Zixin saw it with terrifying clarity: those blue eyes, which should have appeared gentle, were currently flickering incessantly with madness and dark malice. And the target they were locking onto with unblinking focus was precisely the worried face of Ji Ziran.
Standing just a few paces behind Ji Ziran, cold sweat broke out all over Ji Zilun. The perspiration produced earlier from running had long since frozen into ice, gluing his garments stiffly to his skin, and now, with this fresh cold sweat caught in the biting wind, he trembled even more violently from the freezing chill.
As he watched the White Dragon’s massive head slowly stretch forward, the expression in Ji Zilun’s eyes shifted from mere resentment into pure, venomous malice.
This practically confirmed it: all this misfortune, all this ill omen, was brought upon them by Ji Ziran.
Otherwise, why would this rampaging White Dragon—which had been fighting Ji Ziyu perfectly fine suddenly turn its attention over here the moment Ji Ziran moved two steps?
Ji Zixin was likewise scared out of her wits. Being a young girl, her stamina had never been great, and after holding back for so long, her tears finally overflowed. Initially, the tears had frozen upon her face and eye sockets, causing a stinging pain, but now they had frozen completely numb; she must have suffered frostbite…
Ji Ziran clenched his fists tightly, entirely unaware that his entire face had turned purplish-blue from the bitter cold due to being separated from Ji Ziyu for too long.
The fierce, chaotic sounds from earlier had vanished abruptly. Coupled with Ji Zixin’s terrified scream just moments ago, he felt as though he could no longer draw breath.
The anxiety was suffocating.
The rhythmic thumping of his heart filled his ears, drowning out all other sounds. With trembling lips, Ji Ziran suddenly found himself at a complete loss for what to do next.
Holding their breath, Ji Zixin and Ji Zilun froze in place like statues. They felt as though a rattling sound was echoing in their throats, though in reality, their mouths were merely agape in frozen, soundless terror.
Unfurling its massive white wings, the White Dragon soared swiftly toward Ji Ziran. Reaching them, it folded its colossal wings away, and its gigantic head slowly extended toward Ji Ziran completely ignoring Ji Ziyu, who was frantically hurling provocations at it from behind.
Clutching his hidden…