CH 23

What Do You Take Me For?

"Stupid dragon!!!"

"Stupid dragon!!!"

Ten thousand feet above the sky, Xuan Long was speeding between the clouds. When he vaguely heard a familiar voice from behind him, he couldn't help but slow down. Looking back, a beautiful dragon with a silvery-white body appeared in his sight and it was flying towards him cursing.

“You stupid dragon, even if you lack heart, you don't even listen to the words of a dragon. What are you doing running so fast, rushing to reincarnation?!"

Xuan Long subconsciously stopped and took his human form to stand on the clouds waiting for him, and in the blink of an eye the silver dragon reached him, shifting into an old man.

"Senior." Just as Xuan Long spoke, the old man threw something into his arms. Xuan Long raised his hand to catch it, only to hear him say: "Take it. This is a holy medicine to calm the foetus, it’s extremely precious. If you feel sick in your belly, take two of them."

"Thank you, Senior…" Xuan Long looked at the small porcelain bottle in his hand and gently rubbed it.

The old man's right hand unfolded, two sesame buns wrapped in kraft paper appeared in his palm and were stuffed into Xuan Long's arms as well, "And this, take it and eat it on the way."

Xuan Long took them. Few beings were willing to be kind to him, and he was speechless for a moment, “… I'll be there soon."

The old man interrupted him, "Stop talking nonsense, eat when you're told to, you don't know how hungry the little brat in your belly is. Remember, you are not as strong now as you were before, you must…" Blah blah blah, repeating the precautions painstakingly, the old man said uneasily, "Do you remember?"

"Mm." Xuan Long nodded his head.

"All right, go on, go on." The old man waved his hand at him impatiently.

"Thanks a lot, Senior, I…" Xuan Long stood still.

When the old man saw him mentioning thanks again, he said breathlessly, "You have such a dull nature, what exactly does that human see in you? Be careful with everything, don't be stupid and believe everything people say."

"Mhm." There was little expression on Xuan Long's face, but a warm emotion surged in his heart, and the sesame bun in his hand was still faintly warm.

"I'll go if you don't." The old man turned and walked a few steps away before transforming into a silver dragon and flying away, soon becoming a very small silver dot, his voice fading away, "Torture this old man, why should I worry about you, you stupid dragon, I must have had too much to eat last night…"

Until the beautiful silver dragon disappeared from sight, Xuan Long looked down at the sesame bun in his hand. After a long time had passed, he opened the kraft paper bag and put the sesame bun to his lips, gently taking a bite. The crispy sesame bun was wrapped in not too salty but not too light smoked fish meat, which was exceptionally tasty.

He didn't know when the dragons had started cooking food like the humans did.

He had not been back for too long, and had become so unfamiliar with the dragon lands that there was no place for him there, and he wanted to go back to Yan Yuan.

Where A'Yuan was, that was his home.

……

Outside Luanfeng Hall, Yan Yuan's face was taught as he paced back and forth. Shortly after, a young eunuch hurriedly trotted in from outside and knelt down and bowed before Yan Yuan.

"Have you found him?" Yan Yuan asked urgently.

Xiao Dezi wanted to cry and straightened up, not daring to look up: "In reply to Your Majesty's words, there is still no…"

"Go look again, if you can't find him by tomorrow, your head is no longer needed." Yan Yuan's gaze was cold, and with a lift of his sleeve, he turned and entered through the hall door.

Xiao Dezi was so scared that his face paled and he crouched on the ground, shivering.

Chen Yan looked at Yan Yuan's back and gently went over to help Xiao Dezi up, lowering his voice and saying, "What's going on? How could a living person suddenly disappear?"

“This servant doesn't know, but that morning, this servant went to the thatched hut in the backyard to relieve himself, and when he came back, Master Han had disappeared… The door was wide open, and when this servant went in to take a look, there was blood all over the floor, and the bed was also covered in blood…” Xiao Dezi's voice was tinged with sobs, and the corners of his eyes were red. "Master, do you think that Master Han… will be… will be…"

"It won't happen." Chen Yan said comfortingly.

"Although the palace is large, it is only a square inch compared to the outside of the palace. If a person dies, they will find the body. If they don't find it, then they are still alive."

"However, Yanbing House is located at the back of the mountain, there is no one there, where can Master Han go?… The cliff is just beyond the courtyard. Could Master Han have tried to go down the mountain alone and then lost his footing and fallen off the cliff?…" Xiao Dezi's eyes were filled with despair.

That day, Yan Yuan took the palace staff with him down the mountain in a carriage, leaving Xiao Dezi to keep watch outside the house. He only left for a few moments, and when he returned, the courtyard was empty.

If a normal person had lost that much blood, he would not have survived. Xiao Dezi did not dare to tell the whole truth, only telling Yan Yuan that Master Han had disappeared, otherwise he would have been executed for dereliction of duty.

"Now that the Empress has awakened, I think the Emperor will forget about Master Han after some time. When the time comes, Master will put in a good word for you and you will not be sentenced to death." Chen Yan patted Xiao Dezi's back and sighed, “You go and look for him again."

Xiao Dezi answered and left with his head hanging in despair.

Inside the hall.

Ning Zhiyu strained to sit up from the bed, and when Yan Yuan saw this, he hurriedly went over to hold him up with tension in his throat: "Why did you wake up so early today? You're not sleeping?"

Ning Zhiyu shook his head and smiled. Although he had woken up, his face was still bloodless and his speech was breathless, making people feel distressed, "… I vaguely heard A'Yuan reprimanding the palace staff, why is there always such a strong anger lately?"

Yan Yuan’s face was unsettled, "The reason for this is not because they are stupid. The ingredients for your medicine have all run out, I asked them to find them, but they have been searching for days and still haven't found it."

"It doesn't matter, I feel much better, A'Yuan doesn't need to worry about me…" Ning Zhiyu smiled like a spring breeze, but before he finished his words, his face suddenly changed and he covered his lips and coughed quietly, coughing up a handful of blood.

Yan Yuan's complexion suddenly changed and his eyebrows wrinkled tightly. He opened his hand and looked at it, the corners of his eyes gradually turning red, "It's all my fault for being useless, as the ruler of a country, I can't even save the person I love the most."

Ning Zhiyu lifted his left hand and touched Yan Yuan's cheek: "I am the one who is useless, I have been weak and sick since I was a child, if it were not for the good treatment I received from A'Yuan, I am afraid I would not have lived to see my crown. Don't be too sad for me, if you are sad, I will be sad too…"

Yan Yuan did not say a word as he grabbed Ning Zhiyu's right hand and took out a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe away the blood on his hand, "How can I not be sad? The pain is in your body, and the pain is in my heart. I will definitely heal you."

Ning Zhiyu looked at Yan Yuan's beautiful eyebrows and curved his lips, "Mmm."

Ning Zhiyu's body was still weak, and he was only awake for a few hours every day. After talking with Yan Yuan for a short time, he was tired again. Yan Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand, waiting for Ning Zhiyu to fall asleep before he got up and left.

He wanted to lead the men to find Xuan Long himself.

The dragon had unexpectedly disappeared without his consent, and Yan Yuan was both anxious and furious.

With a sullen face, he walked out of the hall door, only to see Xiao Dezi, who had wilted not long ago, rushing over with a joyful face, "Your Majesty, Master Han has returned…"

Yan Yuan's expression relaxed, "What did you say?"

Xiao Dezi knelt down and bowed in a dignified manner, saying with pressed joy, "In reply to Your Majesty's words, Master Han has returned and is in Qiankun Palace."

Not only had he returned, but he had returned intact, so his head would not have to be removed!

"Where did he come back from? Did he say anything when he came back?" Yan Yuan's eyes were dark and shadowy.

Xiao Dezi: "When this servant went back to Qiankun Palace just now, he saw Master Han coming out of the side hall, wearing the same black veil hat as when he went to Yanbing House that day, and he asked this servant where His Majesty was. Your Majesty, go and have a look."

Yan Yuan: "Just asked where I was? Other than that, he didn't say anything else?"

Xiao Dezi: "No."

"Go back to Qiankun Palace." Yan Yuan relaxed, withdrew his eyes, walked around Xiao Dezi and left, with Chen Yan following behind him with boosted steps.

So it seemed that Xuan Long had not left because he had discovered A'Yu's existence, but for some other reason.

What could the reason be?

In any case, the fact that he had suddenly left without saying goodbye made him very angry.

Inside Qiankun Palace, Xuan Long sat at the table and waited for a long time. When he saw that Yan Yuan had not yet come, he unconsciously looked out of the window and became lost in thought.

Before he returned, he had only thought of returning earlier to tell the man about the pregnancy, but after he returned, he began to hesitate again, not knowing how to speak.

Would the child of a man and a dragon be born a man or a dragon? Or would it be half human and half dragon?… If Yan Yuan knew, would he really be able to accept it?

After all, even he himself found it strange.

While lost in thought, the door to the hall was suddenly pushed open vigorously from outside and Yan Yuan walked in with an expressionless face, his gaze colder than ever.

"Where have you been for the past two days? Why did you leave without telling me? What do you take me for?"