CH 39

The night was windy, and they slept at the edge of the forest. Without the shelter of the trees, the air temperature was getting colder. The little dragons weren’t afraid of the cold, especially Third Cub, who had a high body temperature and was spread out on all fours, with half of his head exposed outside.

Ning Chu was only covered with a thin coat, and the statuses in the contract service were only used for combat, not to help protect him from the cold. As he slept, Ning Chu hugged Fifth Cub tightly, burying half of his face into his jacket.

A heat source appeared behind him and blocked part of the cold wind, and the frown between Ning Chu’s eyebrows gradually loosened. He unconsciously leaned back, his hair brushed against the tip of Wuuth’s nose, and Wuuth held his breath, stiffening.

After a long time, Ning Chu’s breathing calmed and he fell asleep.

Wuuth’s tense nerves then relaxed, he raised his hand and gently touched Ning Chu’s hair. He really couldn’t guess Ning Chu’s mind and thoughts, but as long as he was with Ning Chu, his mind was thinking about this almost every moment.

Whenever Wuuth thought he could get close to Ning Chu, Ning Chu pushed him away again. He wanted to get to know Ning Chu better, and couldn’t stand seeing Ning Chu resisting and rejecting him. Wuuth couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to leave. He lay quietly for a while and reached out to pull the edge of his jacket for Ning Chu.

At that moment, Ning Chu suddenly rolled over and faced Wuuth.

Wuuth held his breath again, more nervous than ever. However, Ning Chu didn’t wake up, but instead rubbed himself against Wuuth’s arms, shuffling his face into his neck and chin. Wuuth’s heart beat faster for a moment, as if manipulated by some magical spell, he frowned and suppressed it to bring himself back to normal.

When he looked at Ning Chu again, Wuuth’s breath was still messed up.

It wasn’t that Wuuth hadn’t slept with Ning Chu before in the dormitory, and they were also very close to each other as they were now, but in human form, the perspective and feelings were completely different.

Ning Chu was thin, a little shorter than Wuuth, so Wuuth could just reach out and take him into his arms. In addition, he was sleeping, quietly closing his eyes, looking both soft and well-behaved.

Wuuth was tempted to hug Ning Chu in his human form and wondered what it would feel like. He silently counted Ning Chu’s distinct eyelashes in his mind, but finally didn’t move.

The next morning when Ning Chu woke up, the little black dragon was lying on his pillow.

The young dragons were all awake, Fifth Cub was still in Ning Chu’s arms waiting for him to get up, and the other three dragons were playing by the stream. There were small fish in the stream, so Second Cub watched the water closely, dived in, and came out with a fish in his mouth. He threw the fish onto the grass and flung his neck, splashing water from his neck fur onto Third Cub and Fourth Cub.

Third Cub hated water, and Fourth Cub hated getting dirty, so the two dragons chased Second Cub and fought.

Ning Chu yawned and sat up with sleepy eyes.

It wasn’t the first time he slept in the wild, but probably because the weather had turned cooler recently, and because he was a bit distracted by what happened yesterday, he woke up feeling like he hadn’t slept well. He put away his pillow and cushion, washed himself with the daily necessities he had brought along with him in the clear water of the stream, and called the dragons for breakfast.

Ning Chu ate dry food, and Wuuth turned back to human form and took half of it from his hand.

While feeding Fifth Cub, Ning Chu asked, “How long will it take to get to Eldest Cub from here?”

Wuuth frowned and swallowed a piece of dry bread before replying, “Five days.”

“That long…” A round trip like that would take at least ten days on the road. But the dwarves still had one last wave of commissions to pick up, so the time was just right to go when they returned.

Only the Eldest Cub remained to be found, and the thought that she was now alone on an island made Ning Chu even more anxious.

Wuuth saw that he wanted to get there quickly and added, “The journey can be shortened to three days if we travel day and night.”

This would require the dragons to take turns flying and trying not to stop in the middle of the journey.

Ning Chu brightened up and asked the other dragons what they thought. Fourth Cub also wanted to go faster and was the first to agree.

Second Cub and Third Cub were fine with it, and the three of them, excluding Little Five and Wuuth, agreed on their own how to take shifts.

Wuuth put down the dry bread he couldn’t finish and volunteered, “I can do it too.”

He had more stamina than the other dragons, and his flight speed was comparable to Second Cub’s when he reached his peak.

Unfortunately, before he could get that out, Ning Chu shook his head, “You can’t.”

Wuuth had attacked the Church chapter not long ago, and although he said he hadn’t left a trail, there was no guarantee that the Church wouldn’t notice anything, so it was best for Wuuth to stay out of sight for a while, except when necessary.

Seeing Ning Chu’s firm attitude, Wuuth lowered his eyes and said, “Okay.”

The three dragon cubs discussed for a while, and finally decided the order, with Second Cub coming first and the three taking turns to fly for half a day.

After breakfast, Ning Chu tried his best to cover up and destroy the traces of their stay here, and picked up Fifth Cub, “Let’s go.”

He thought for a moment and took out the small disc again. At that moment, Second Cub changed back to his dragon form, and Ning Chu saw the pointer rise abruptly, stopping at the yellow area without moving.

Ning Chu’s hand tightened as he squeezed the disk, and he guessed the use of this thing. No wonder the night it rained, he went with Third Cub to look for Fourth Cub and the Church people came after him so quickly. They should have been nearby or in the Academy at that time, but tracked the aura of Third Cub’s adult form with the disc.

Ning Chu felt some hesitation since he didn’t know how many more of these the Church had and might fly all the way over. If they were found… 

Wuuth saw his sudden silence and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ning Chu told Wuuth what he had found, and the other dragon cubs who were waiting on the sidelines. To confirm his suspicion, Second Cub turned into his juvenile form.

Sure enough, after Second Cub became smaller, the needle loosened and gradually dropped down.

But the dragons weren’t as worried as Ning Chu, and Wuuth looked calm, “If they dare to come after us, they’re asking to die.”

Ning Chu looked at him, and his worries were dispelled by these words. He had five dragons with him, one of which was the most powerful legendary class. It should be the Church that would feel fear and trepidation.

“Awo!” Fifth Cub also tapped her claws, and the wings on her back, which had grown another size, vibrated slightly.

Ning Chu stroked Fifth Cub’s head and nodded, “Okay, let’s go.”

Ning Chu spent the rest of the day sitting on the dragon’s back. At noon they stopped for lunch, and then Second Cub changed with Third Cub and set off again without stopping, and again at night.

When night came, Ning Chu looked up at the starry sky passing behind him and yawned.

Fifth Cub had already fallen asleep in his arms, and the cushion used last night had been modified by Ning Chu into a bowl shape, in which Second Cub and Third Cub could sleep.

Wuuth spoke up from behind Ning Chu, “Go to sleep.”

Ning Chu also wanted to sleep, but he was holding the cushion with one hand and Fifth Cub in his arms, which wasn’t convenient. He hesitated, “Why don’t you go ahead…”

Wuuth, however, took Fifth Cub from his arms without saying a word and put her in the cushion so that she could join the other two dragons.

“Go to sleep,” he said again, “I’ll watch.”

Ning Chu was indeed sleepy and nodded, “Okay then, I’ll take a nap and then we’ll switch.”

The scales on Fourth Cub’s back weren’t too flat and a person could barely sleep on them, but it was best not to roll over too much. Ning Chu found a suitable position to lie down on his side, with the soft cushion and the dragon cubs above his head and Wuuth beside him.

Wuuth used dark magic to make a wall to block the wind blowing in front of him. Ning Chu soon fell asleep, occasionally moving a few times along the way and being stopped by Wuuth when he was about to move to the side, gently pulling him back.

In the second half of the night, Fourth Cub stopped and prepared to switch with Second Cub.

Third Cub also woke up and held the edge of the cushion with Second Cub, putting down Fifth Cub inside first.

Ning Chu was still sleeping, and Wuuth hesitated, but didn’t wake him up in the end.

He reached out his arms and picked Ning Chu up.

Ning Chu still didn’t wake up, he hummed dazedly and buried his face into Wuuth’s arms and went back to sleep. Wuuth’s spine suddenly tensed up, and he kept his arms in this position without moving, his gaze signaling Second Cub to change with Fourth Cub.

Second Cub silently changed back to his adult form and lowered his back.

Fifth Cub in the cushion rolled over, and this time it was Third Cub and Fourth Cub holding the edge and bringing the cushion up the spine. The last one to go up was Wuuth, who moved carefully, fearing he would disturb Ning Chu.

After sitting on Second Cub’s back, Wuuth then adjusted the position of the two to let Ning Chu sleep more peacefully.

During this process, Wuuth’s heartbeat was fast.

This didn’t seem to be anything unusual, but rather he was getting excited because Ning Chu was in his arms.

When the dragons were seated, Second Cub flew high into the sky calmly.

Ning Chu wasn’t awake, but being in Wuuth’s arms was much more comfortable than falling asleep on cold scales, and he unconsciously moved further forward, resting his forehead on the nape of Wuuth’s neck.

This was a completely dependent and very intimate position, Wuuth was more excited, and the position made his temple jump. He didn’t hold back and slowly tightened his arms, lowering his head and gently sniffing Ning Chu’s bangs, the tip of his nose vaguely brushing against a small patch of skin.

The next morning, Ning Chu opened his eyes and saw a black collar close at hand. Before he could react, his eyes moved upward and saw Wuuth’s chin.

Ning Chu was frozen for a moment, and his sluggish brain began to function.

It was already dawn.

He had slept through last night and Wuuth hadn’t woken him up in the middle of the night.

He was now lying in Wuuth’s arms.

“Awake?” Noticing Ning Chu waking up, Wuuth lowered his head.

As soon as he said that, Ning Chu got up and sat up straight.

“I…” Ning Chu stepped back a little, panicking, “You… Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Wuuth’s arms were empty, he paused and slowly withdrew his arm, which hadn’t moved much for most of the night, “I’m not sleepy.”

Ning Chu began to feel the heat radiating from his face. He had overslept, Wuuth didn’t wake him up, but even if he didn’t wake him, how did he end up in Wuuth’s arms? He coughed lightly and wiped his face with his sleeve, “Then you… You haven’t slept all night?”

Wuuth let out a “hmm” and looked at Ning Chu, “I’ll sleep now.”

Ning Chu nodded and hurriedly moved him out to a spacious position, when he heard Wuuth say, “Hold me.”

Ning Chu stiffened, almost suspecting that he had heard wrong. What did Wuuth just say? Sleep with him? Although it was Wuuth who held him last night… Did this have to be switched too?

He mechanically turned his head, but saw Wuuth turned back into a small black dragon.

The little black dragon flew over and folded its wings to lie in his arms.

…So that was what he meant to hold him while he slept.