CH 22

Chapter 22: Fear Emerges

Xiao Qingyang continued to insist on giving Long Jinze a dose of healing potion every day, regardless of whether the other party wanted to drink it or not. He would either coax or force the little golden dragon to consume it.

From initially being reluctant to cooperate to obediently drinking the healing potion as soon as Xiao Qingyang took it out, it only took three days for Long Jingze to adapt.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that after drinking the healing potion for so many days, there seemed to be a slight sign of recovery in his injuries.

However, because the effect wasn't very obvious, Long Jingze thought it was merely his imagination and didn't pay much attention to it. On the contrary, Xiao Qingyang's online store became increasingly popular, with many people coming to buy the healing potions. They even urged him to release new products.

Normally, for healing potions without any significant effects due to their minimal efficacy, even if they weren't expensive, there wouldn't be many buyers.

Yet, Xiao Qingyang's potions seemed to possess some sort of magical power. Once people bought them, they couldn't help but come back for more. They even hoped that he could sell higher-grade potions.

However, Xiao Qingyang currently couldn't produce more or higher-grade potions due to a lack of magical reserves and restrictions on the variety of spiritual plants he possessed.

But the fact that he couldn't make them now didn't mean he couldn't in the future.

Thanks to the flourishing business of his online store, Xiao Qingyang gradually accumulated some star coins. However, he used them all to purchase various types of spiritual plant seeds.

His spiritual farmland had expanded from its initial size to three plots. Every day, he would infuse these spiritual plants with the power of nature, resulting in their excellent growth. Even if he directly sold the spiritual plants, there would likely be many alchemists competing to buy them.

However, Xiao Qingyang hadn't considered selling the spiritual plants directly, at least not for now. After all, these spiritual plants were barely enough for his own use. How could he bear to sell them to others?

Long Jingze always accompanied Xiao Qingyang to cultivate the spiritual plants in the spiritual farmland. He had already grown accustomed to the fact that the plants here grew faster and better than those cultivated by other alchemists. The surprise he felt had gradually turned into a habit.

"The low-level spiritual plants are ready for harvesting. Little golden dragon, I can soon try to refine some low-level healing potions. Your injuries will recover even faster," Xiao Qingyang said with a smile to Long Jingze, his eyes filled with pure joy.

Long Jingze felt his heart suddenly beat faster. Recently, he had been experiencing these strange sensations—either a sudden increase in heart rate or a tight squeeze, as if someone were gripping it. The feeling was unfamiliar, yet... not as unpleasant as one might expect.

Previously, Long Jingze hadn't noticed any pattern when Xiao Qingyang purchased the spiritual plant seeds for cultivation.

But gradually, he realized that all the seeds Xiao Qingyang bought were specifically for making low-level healing potions. He only bought this type of seed and ignored the others. Coupled with Xiao Qingyang's daily preparation of healing potions and his insistence on making him drink them... Was all of this for him?

It must be because Xiao Qingyang wanted more customers interested in buying healing potions that he bought so many spiritual plants and produced a large quantity of potions. Taking care of him was just a byproduct, not something he specifically intended to do. Long Jingze silently mused in his heart, unsure whether it was to convince himself or for some other reason.

Because the variety and steps involved in refining healing potions in this world were not suitable for him, Xiao Qingyang had to search for substitute spiritual plants, experiment with different proportions and sequences between various plants, and develop a new formula for the healing potions before he could produce them in large quantities.

Failures were inevitable before finding the suitable formula, and while Xiao Qingyang wasn't afraid of failure, the resulting explosions did have some consequences.

To prevent the little golden dragon from being injured or frightened by the explosions, Xiao Qingyang sent him to the living room downstairs and entrusted his care to the old butler.

Long Jingze didn't know what Xiao Qingyang was planning, but he only knew that he had been separated from the little guy for the first time since arriving here. It made him feel uneasy and a little anxious, so he clung onto Xiao Qingyang's arm and refused to let go.

"Be good. Stay here and play with Grandpa Du for a while. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done," Xiao Qingyang said gently and patiently to the little golden dragon.

However, no matter what he said, Long Jingze refused to let go.

This little guy had such audacity. After raising him, Xiao Qingyang actually dared to "abandon" him. How unreasonable! Was he the Dragon Prince who could be summoned and dismissed at will?

"You'll be in danger if you come with me now. Once I refine the low-level potions, your injuries will heal even faster," Xiao Qingyang remained patient and showed no signs of impatience as he continued to coax and appease.

Hearing the mention of danger made Long Jingze even more reluctant to let go. Since he knew there was danger and Xiao Qingyang still dared to send him away, perhaps he had been spoiling the little guy too much these past few days, allowing him to become arrogant?

No matter how Xiao Qingyang tried to coax the little golden dragon, he couldn't succeed. He also didn't want to use force to pry open his claws, so in the end, he had no choice but to carry the little golden dragon back to the room. He placed his little nest as far away as possible from where he was refining the potions, to prevent any possible impact.

"You stay quiet here and don't come near me, understood?" Xiao Qingyang instructed more seriously than before.

This wasn't a joke. Explosions were a common occurrence for him and didn't pose any substantial danger, but it was different for a small golden dragon.

At first, Long Jingze didn't take Xiao Qingyang's words seriously, but he also didn't go against his wishes, fearing that it would upset him. It wasn't until the first explosion occurred, and his fur stood on end, that he instinctively ran towards Xiao Qingyang.

In that instant, his heart was filled with suspense, and he experienced fear for the first time. Although he didn't know what exactly he was afraid of, his instincts compelled him to move forward.