This was the first time Qin Shu had ever heard Pei Zhao use the word “hate.”
Honestly, he thought Pei Zhao should have said it long ago. Everything Warden Qin had done to Lord Zhaoyuan was enough to justify Pei Zhao hating him.
Yet what Pei Zhao hated was that Qin Shu had left Lord Zhaoyuan alone in the human world, with nothing but a battered, broken dragon soul stained by flesh shredded apart in the hurricanes of the void and mixed with indescribable things from beyond this world.
He was no longer a pure dragon. In many senses, he could not even really be considered alive anymore.
“You survived, and you still had enough strength left to hate me. That’s good.” Qin Shu’s chest felt sour and tight, yet he slowly let out a breath and took Pei Zhao’s hand. “Even at my worst, when I was the most awful version of myself, I still wanted to push you out of the abyss. That’s good. I must’ve really liked you in my last life too.”
“Didn’t feel like it,” Pei Zhao said quietly. “You were very mean to me.”
“Can’t help that. I was born that awful back then. But just because I was the universe’s number-one supervillain, does that mean I couldn’t like you? Those two things can exist at the same time. They don’t interfere with each other.” Qin Shu squeezed his hand, trying to lighten the mood, though it did not work very well.
Pei Zhao still had his eyes lowered. He said softly, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I thought you wouldn’t find out about all of this until New Year’s Eve… At least that would’ve given me some time to prepare.”
“Prepare mentally? To be fair, I need that too.” Qin Shu thought for a moment and carefully organized his words. “Zhaozhao, none of this is going to change our relationship. I won’t let it. Whether I killed you or you killed me, whatever happened in the past can’t change who I am right now. It’s good. Really, it’s good that I found out now. Finding out ahead of time is best.”
“Why?”
“If I only found out what I did to you when we were already in bed… and it happened to be when I was at my most emotionally vulnerable, I’d definitely end up clinging to you and crying for ages.” Qin Shu coughed. “And I’d definitely perform terribly.”
“…Oh. You’re so right.”
“Right?! If I prepare myself now, then when the time comes I probably won’t, you know… um.”
“Mm. Ruin the mood.” Pei Zhao understood him perfectly and nodded solemnly in agreement.
All the heaviness and bitterness from the past was temporarily bulldozed aside by the determination of [DO NOT RUIN NEW YEAR’S EVE]. For no logical reason, the two of them suddenly became fired up and united behind the exact same goal, without a trace of melancholy left.
They had not hidden their conversation from anyone. Thus Ao Guang was not only forced to get covered in Ao Run’s tears, he was also forced to listen to the entire exchange from beginning to end.
The more he listened, the more unbelievable it became. He had originally intended to remain silent out of respect for Lord Zhaoyuan, only for the topic to veer off into this inexplicable direction by the end.
Ao Guang could not take it anymore. He turned his head with a speechless expression. “Is that the point?! There is seriously something wrong with both of you.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Qin Shu smiled. “Since you’re in pretty good shape, Eldest Uncle, don’t bother resting. Come keep rescuing people with us. It’s still early anyway. If everything goes smoothly… how about we get the other two uncles out today too?”
Ao Run, who had understood absolutely none of what just happened, finally brightened at those words.
He had not understood the previous conversation at all, but he understood the words rescue people. He immediately released Ao Guang’s neck, stood up, and moved his arms and legs. “Good, good, let’s go! We’ll do exactly that! With Eldest Brother here, building the safety barrier will be easy. When we get there, we’ll let Little Yu rest first. We’ve got plenty of time.”
“I don’t need to rest.” Yuxu stood up as well, looking energetic and full of drive. “I didn’t expend much today. Fellow Daoist Qin is improving quickly and can withstand more and more, which actually makes things easier on my end.”
“Hahahahaha, that’s my wife! So capable! But don’t you dare push yourself. Meditate and regulate your breathing for at least half an hour. I’ll handle the formation.”
And so the great salvage operation continued at full throttle through the entire night. With Ao Guang added as another laborer, their efficiency soared even higher, and they soon rescued the remaining two brothers of the same bloodline.
Ao Qin of the South Sea was more seriously injured. He had been unconscious for many days and was only slightly better off than Ao Run had been, so he was urgently sent back to the God of Wealth brothers to recuperate.
Ao Shun of the North Sea, on the other hand, was in decent condition. His sleek black dragon scales still gleamed beautifully, and when he transformed into human form he was even a tall, muscular, dark-skinned handsome man, startling Qin Shu with just how good-looking he was.
They were all old dragons over ten thousand years of age, but Ao Shun had simply chosen not to transform himself into a middle-aged uncle because he cared about looking good.
As fellow creatures of the black-color family, Qin Shu and Ao Shun hit it off immediately. They even had a long discussion about styling black elements, such as how Qin Shu could look cooler with his pitch-black wings spread and how to keep an outfit from looking too heavy once his single horn was added… Ao Shun had plenty of opinions and experience on the subject, and when they parted he even seemed a little reluctant to say goodbye.
After working furiously for an entire night, the results were excellent. The only person whose opinion no one asked was Ao Guang, including Pei Zhao.
Ao Run and Yuxu had simply gotten too carried away with rescuing people and forgotten to fuss over him, while Pei Zhao had a tiny grievance against him.
It was not because Ao Guang had told Qin Shu directly what happened back then. It was because when Ao Guang first met Qin Shu inside the void, his attitude toward him had not been very nice. He had been too fierce.
Ao Guang himself would never have figured out the reason. A few days later, he tried to find Lord Zhaoyuan to catch up and familiarize himself with the Jiangcheng of the present day, only to be left on read by Pei Zhao… Yuxu noticed and quietly told him what the likely reason was.
Ao Guang stared in disbelief. As the eldest brother and the only one among the four Dragon Kings who had no longing whatsoever for romance, he found himself questioning his entire dragon life over how much Pei Zhao had changed. “That child used to be so gentle and quiet. How did his temper become this strange?”
“Oh, Eldest Brother, Lord Zhaoyuan’s temper was strange back then too! He just respected you as his eldest brother, so he hid his true nature around you!”
Ao Run laughed happily and added with earnest gravity, “Eldest Brother, don’t forget. When he was little, he slipped past the elders, ran away from home, and crossed ten thousand li all by himself as a tiny dragon. Everyone nearly died of fright. Wasn’t his weird temper already showing then?”
“That was merely the recklessness of youth…”
“Not even close! Back then, he secretly told Third Brother that he only wanted to go watch the excitement when Xuanming fell. But what was the truth? He only wanted to see what a Xiezhi actually looked like. That was the one and only reason. Then one look got him completely hooked, but after all these years he only finally managed to get the person now. Dying and coming back and everything, how hard do you think that was? And then the moment you meet Little Qin, you act all murderous and terrifying. What if you scared him away? What then?”
Ao Guang understood even less. “When has Qin Shu’s decision to stay or leave ever been something I could control? He was not frightened by me this time either. He may look young and tender, but that unrestrained nature is still in his bones. Was he not another troublesome, vicious god in the past?”
“That may be the truth, but that doesn’t mean Lord Zhaoyuan sees it that way! Eldest Brother, you really don’t have a romantic bone in your body.” Ao Run sighed in exasperation and jerked his chin toward Yuxu. “Look at my wife. Outside, everyone calls her the heaven-supporting, earth-standing True Lord Mingxu, but in my eyes she’s my baby… Heh heh, my Little Yu.”
“Disgusting.” Ao Guang could not listen anymore and immediately rolled his eyes.
Yuxu nodded emphatically, then joined Ao Shun, who was watching the show, in saying in perfect unison, “Disgusting!”
“Hey, hey, hey! How are you all on the same side again? That’s not fair!”
＊
Qin Shu knew nothing about the Dragon King brothers’ private conversation and had no attention to spare for it anyway.
Because winter camp was finally about to end! And before it ended, there was one final graduation exam.
Old Fu had specifically pulled him aside before the break to emphasize that once classes resumed, he wanted to see how Qin Shu had performed and then use the overall results to tailor a reinforcement plan for him.
He could ignore the attention of other teachers if he really had to, but Old Fu’s attention could not be brushed aside. So recently Qin Shu had thrown himself into studying, performing high-intensity multitasking right before the exam.
He studied in the mornings, ate something good at noon, and left right on schedule every afternoon to continue the salvage operation. He had not stopped for a single day. Exams were important, but the fractures were an objective reality. Every capable immortal who remained missing meant another increment of hidden danger for the world.
They had rescued the Four Sea Dragon Kings, but the Five Directional Emperors were equally indispensable. Zuo Zhe’s remaining fuses and traps certainly had not all been cleared either. Filth like what they found in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Grotto, quietly corroding gods from the shadows, was more than Qin Shu could handle alone. Add a few more dragon gods, though, and the job would become much easier.
Dragon gods had such formidable life-force that rescuing them was easier too. Most of them had entered a hibernation-like state in the void, preserving as much strength as possible for withdrawal and hurricane avoidance until hope finally appeared.
That made Qin Shu’s work convenient. He raced against time and, before the exam, rescued all five of them in one concentrated push, especially Dragon Mother’s lover… Qin Shu had barely guided King Yingde out of the void before Pei Zhao unceremoniously sent him straight to Jiangcheng Dragon Palace to help the white dragon clean up the mess.
The Five Directional Emperors and the Four Sea Dragon Kings were essentially cousins. They were not as close as full-blooded siblings, but their relationships were still good, and to varying degrees they all treated Pei Zhao with considerable respect. Qin Shu guessed it was not only because of Pei Zhao’s raw strength, but also because Pei Zhao was the greatest contributor to eradicating the Blood Calamity.
Aside from Xiao Zhu, who was brilliant enough to borrow enormous amounts of dragon-vein power and steal the Cave God’s dwelling to hide itself, practically none of the younger descendants in the various clans still carried residual mutations from the Blood Calamity.
And the strange power capable of eradicating the Blood Calamity… actually came from the same source as the calamity itself. Neither belonged to this world.
Only after Pei Zhao had passed through the abyss and died once did he finally gain the ability to save the future of his entire race.
Dragonkind had been able to continue, but he alone was no longer a pure-blooded true dragon.
Very few people knew what had happened to Pei Zhao. After all, nearly all the old underworld officials of Fengdu had died, either dragged into the abyss or crushed flat beneath collapsing mountain ridges… By now, even the name Lord Zhaoyuan had long since ceased to circulate.
Aside from Pei Zhao himself and the Dragon Kings who refused to speak about it, the one who probably understood the matter best was… Daoist Master Xu, who had awakened his past-life wisdom, the former Yi-2.
Thinking about it that way, Daoist Master Xu being so terrified of Pei Zhao actually seemed perfectly reasonable.
Of course, Pei Zhao himself did not care very much about his change in identity.
“I was a dragon long enough. The other dragons have lived too long too. Those old men simply refuse to die. Day after day, year after year, trapped in exactly the same social circle, seeing the same few giant faces every time you go out… It gets boring. Living a different kind of life isn’t necessarily bad.”
Only while the two of them were packing their luggage in the dorm did Pei Zhao get the chance to explain privately to Qin Shu.
Some things were not suitable to say outside. Pei Zhao did not care if the white dragon heard while sprawled outside the window, but deliberately kept his voice down so those uncles who adored their enormous family would not overhear.
If he accidentally hurt their feelings, he would have to soothe them afterward. More trouble.
The white dragon was different. The white dragon loved hearing mean remarks like this. Even when Pei Zhao was the one saying them, it could still snicker happily.
“Lord Zhaoyuan, what does being a dead dragon actually feel like?”
Curious, it pushed the window open with one horn and stuck its head directly into the dorm room, complaining, “Being a true dragon feels exhausting now. Imperial Father finds me in the middle of the night every day to talk about bearing the mission of reviving the clan. I have to learn etiquette, preserve traditions… Good thing I’ll die someday too. At least life still gives me something to look forward to.”
“As long as you can control your desires and stay away from peachwood swords, being a ghost is actually the best way to live. Everything is convenient.” Pei Zhao paused, his tone bland. “White Dragon, don’t bother thinking about it. You wouldn’t be able to control yourself.”
“Wait, what do you mean I couldn’t control myself? I’ve never even tried. How do you know I couldn’t?”
The white dragon grew indignant, while Qin Shu deeply agreed and thoughtfully chimed in, “I definitely couldn’t either. After you become a ghost, your appetite, □□, and killing urge all pile on top of whatever desires you had while alive. They at least double, and as time passes they get stronger, harder and harder to control, until the craving becomes an itch inside your bones and heart. If you don’t satisfy it, it torments you until you go mad… It’s hard. Especially for dragons like you.”
Elio’s Notes: The source has \`□□\` here, leaving one of the listed desires unreadable. I’ve kept the gap rather than guessing what was missing.
“How do you know so much?”
“I’ve killed a lot of ghosts. See enough of them and you learn.” Qin Shu shrugged. “The most obvious example is Zuo Zhe’s desire to survive. His allotted lifespan ran out long ago. Even when he wore human skin, he had already become a dead soul and couldn’t really be considered human anymore. Look at what he was willing to do, without caring about anything else, just to satisfy that desire.”
“…Hiss. That guy really was insane.” The white dragon finally understood, and a chill crept over it. “Then Lord Zhaoyuan, how come you didn’t turn into something like him?”
Pei Zhao placed Great General on his lap and slowly groomed its feathers. “I’m not much better.”
“Seriously? Doesn’t look like it… What desires did you have when you were alive?”
The moment the white dragon asked, Qin Shu gave a smug little snort. “What do you think?”
White Dragon: …
Feeling as if it had somehow become part of the couple’s little game, the white dragon scrunched up its face in annoyance. “All right, all right, I get it. Hurry up, both of you. Lord Zhaoyuan, why are you still grooming that hen at a time like this?”
“What’s wrong with dressing it up beautifully before taking it home for New Year?” Qin Shu raised an eyebrow and looked the white dragon up and down. “Want to dress up too? I can tie a bow on your head. White goes with everything. Any color accessory would look good.”
The white dragon’s scalp prickled under his stare. “Are… are you insane? I don’t want one!”
“You sure?” Qin Shu pulled fluffy Coalball from his pocket and proudly displayed the pink bows on its tiny wings. “Look how pretty that is. If pink feels too childish, I can give you a big red one. More festive.”
Coalball flapped its wings and proudly shifted its plump, round body around, cooperating with Qin Shu’s enthusiastic three-hundred-and-sixty-degree display. It got so excited that it nearly transformed into a random dead person’s head, forcing Qin Shu to poke it urgently in the belly and stop it.
“…Does Yuanbao have one too?” After a moment of silence, the white dragon asked hesitantly. “And… and that scary eyeball…”
“They all do. Sister Xu Qian is too smooth to wear accessories, so after thinking it over, I knitted her a red sweater out of yarn.” Qin Shu rummaged through his other pocket and took out the crystal eyeball wrapped in thick yarn. “Seriously, once you wrap her up she looks exactly like a red-dyed egg. Isn’t it cute?”
As he showed it off, Yuanbao cooperatively crawled out of his collar. Two gold ribbons had been tied around the blood-red little centipede, running from the back of its neck all the way to its tail legs before ending in delicate bow decorations. Red and gold crossed in the sunlight with a burnished gleam.
Yuanbao was extremely pleased with the look. It held its tail high and waved it around, making the beautiful bow tremble along with it.
It had not yet realized Qin Shu had engineered the outfit. If Yuanbao wanted to keep this distinctive look, it could not casually grow too large, or the ribbons would tear apart immediately…
A tiny trick, successfully preventing the child from insisting on turning into piglet form. It was New Year. Nobody was allowed to send the newly installed security door flying out of the house again.
The white dragon was not exactly brilliant either. Not only did it fail to notice that Yuanbao had been constrained by the ribbons, it actually started looking tempted.
If it were the only dragon Qin Shu dressed up, that would look stupid. But if it were the only dragon Qin Shu did not dress up, sitting bare and undecorated beside all these little things… that would look even stupider! And even a little pitiful.
And so, in a muddle, it reluctantly agreed.
When the white dragon carried the two of them back to Jiangcheng, when the massive snow-white dragon crossed the sky and cast its majestic silhouette over the broad river below…
The two giant shrimp patrolling the riverbank fell beneath its shadow and jolted. They were just about to bow and greet the Dragon King when they looked up and froze.
Their new Dragon King looked a little different today. Flowing gold-and-red ribbons were tied around each white-jade horn, and a huge red flower sat on top of its head.
It did not look quite as sacred as before, but it certainly looked very festive.
The white dragon noticed the two shrimp’s stare. It narrowed its eyes slightly, swooped down, and shoved its enormous head right in front of its trembling subordinates, with absolutely no concept of personal space.
“Does it look good?” it asked darkly.
Qin Shu, sitting on its back, hurriedly signaled to the shrimp guards with his eyes. The two helpless little yao nodded frantically and answered in perfect unison, “It looks good!”
“Hmph.”
Only then was the white dragon satisfied. Without showing it on its face, it turned and rose into the sky again, and while turning around it ever so incredibly casually swished its enormous tail.
Beautiful ribbons were tied around the tail too, even threaded with several smooth round pearls. They looked gorgeous. This was Pei Zhao’s handiwork. Qin Shu could never manage such fine, meticulous design.
The white dragon loved it to death and had been extremely cooperative while handing its tail over to Pei Zhao. It was simply too embarrassed to say so and insisted on maintaining a stern expression, yet still could not resist showing the result off to its utterly terrified subordinates.
After carrying the two of them home, the white dragon said nothing, shot straight back into the sky, whipped up a gust of wind over the courtyard, and vanished.
Qin Shu almost laughed. He turned to Pei Zhao. “Ten yuan says it’s heading straight back to Jing City to show Ao Run its tail.”
Pei Zhao pulled out his phone and sent him a ten-yuan red packet.
“Thanks, Boss Pei.”
“You’re welcome.”
“By the way, Boss Pei, I bought a few co-op games during the winter sale. Want to play tonight?”
“Wasn’t Tang Rui Cheng making a fuss about waiting for you to come back so you could play together?”
“I can play them twice. Obviously the first run has to be with you. That’s the only way to get the proper gaming experience.”
“Okay.”
The two chatted as they unpacked, let Great General explore the yard on its own, and gave the house another thorough cleaning while they were at it.
Their exams had only just ended. The moment the results came out, they had rushed eagerly back to Jiangcheng.
Winter camp had actually been pretty fun, but once the initial novelty wore off, no matter how enjoyable it was, it still could not compare with the thrill of running all over the world, eating everywhere, and fishing people out of the void everywhere.
And once both the novelty and the excitement had faded, Qin Shu started missing home. Admittedly, they had returned not too long ago, but that was only a temporary stopover after fighting Dragon Mother.
Bringing all their luggage home and putting it away, wiping the dust from the kitchen, relighting the red boiler in the basement, washing the sofa covers and cushions in the living room, spreading out a new cashmere blanket, changing into soft loungewear, and lying down in complete comfort… only that counted as truly coming home.
Around the New Year holiday, Jiangcheng welcomed one last cold snap. Cold wind seeped through the edges of the windows, making the flowers and plants in the courtyard sway. Only Great General was unafraid of the chill, striding proudly around its new territory and adapting completely the moment it moved in.
After the big cleaning was finished, Pei Zhao drank ice water while Qin Shu wrapped himself in a blanket, turned on the television, and switched to Youth TV.
Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. Youth TV was broadcasting live all day today, traveling through Jiangcheng’s streets and alleys to see how everyone was preparing for the holiday.
It was an annual New Year warm-up event. Every year brought a few little accidents and encounters with the strangest people out on the streets, so it always made for excellent television.
Liang Ming Yue’s face appeared on screen, her smile gentle. She looked ten years younger than she had during last year’s broadcast.
A little girl with twin horn braids appeared in the shot too, holding Liang Ming Yue’s hand and bouncing happily.
The crew looked at the camera, then at the empty space beside Liang Ming Yue, and nearly had their souls frightened out of their bodies.