Chapter 16
Deep within a dense forest where ancient trees reach for the sky and branches intertwine, a babbling brook flows tirelessly onward.
In the stream, there was a fish-like figure, constantly thrashing and rolling around. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small dragon frolicking in the water.
Only a few rays of sunlight, like scattered gold, pierced through the airtight dome and shone down onto the small dragon that was emitting a golden glow.
Jia'er frolicked inside. This water source was something he and his mother had searched for a long time to find. The environment here was secluded, quiet, and cool. As soon as Jia'er saw it, he jumped in, gulped down his fill of water, and then started taking a bath.
He was lying at the bottom of the stream, comfortably feeling the water flowing gently over his body, just like his mother's hand caressing him. Occasionally, a small fish would dart across his body, tickling him and making him laugh.
Although this place is not as vast as the East Sea, it is still a cool and refreshing spot. Jia'er stayed at the bottom of the stream, unwilling to leave.
Yinglong saw that the child was refusing to come out of the water, so she tried to scare him:
"If you don't get up, another monster will come and get you soon."
"No, no, that won't happen."
Jia'er's voice came through the stream in a muffled tone.
They've grown up, and they're not so easy to fool anymore.
"Mommy isn't lying to you, monsters really will come to catch you."
No, it won't.
Jia'er is very confident.
Yinglong threw a small pebble into the water.
With a "pop," the pebble hit the water's surface with a crisp sound, and then quickly sank to the bottom.
At that moment, Jia'er emerged from the water with a "splash," revealing his wet body. He casually wiped his face, then opened his eyes, his childlike face beaming with a bright smile:
"Haha, Mom didn't hit me!"
His laughter echoed through the woods, even scaring away several birds overhead.
You're so happy just from taking a shower!
"No wonder he's my silly son!" Yinglong thought to himself, praising the man's strong genes.
Seeing that Jia'er's hair was still wet, Yinglong picked up Xiaolong and placed him steadily on the ground, then handed him the clothes.
"You're all grown up now, you need to learn to dress yourself, okay?"
"I know, I can dress myself."
Jia'er answered crisply that he had been dressing himself for a very, very long time, about two or three months ago.
As she put on her clothes one by one, Jia'er worked in a chaotic yet orderly fashion. Just as she was buttoning up her clothes, a loud rumble suddenly came from the sky, sounding like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
Jia'er looked up at the sky. Although the green leaves blocked out the sun, the sky was clear and bright.
It didn't rain.
Before he could react, the ground shook three more times, as if an earthquake was about to occur. Hearing the noise, the birds and small animals around him scattered in all directions.
Jia'er felt his feet leave the ground for a moment. He didn't understand why, and just stared blankly at his mother. His mother beckoned him over.
He was carrying his clothes, and before he could even reach his mother, a deafening roar suddenly came from afar:
"Who dares to trespass on the territory of my Muyun Clan?!"
"ah?"
Jia'er stopped walking. He was very sensitive to these sudden noises now... let alone this blatant roar. How come his mother just said that a monster had come, and now it's here?
"Boom!"
The ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. Jia'er was quickly pulled behind his mother, leaving only his eyes showing as he stared blankly and warily at the source of the sound.
The strange and grotesque beasts they had expected did not appear. Instead, they began to hear rustling sounds all around them. Jia'er kept turning her head to look and noticed that the thorny bushes around them were swaying.
The rustling sound echoed continuously beside his ears, getting closer and closer. Jia'er unconsciously tightened his grip on his mother's hand, while his mother gently comforted him.
"Who dares to trespass on the territory of my Muyun Clan?!"
The roar came again, sounding extremely angry. Jia'er looked around, feeling very nervous. He watched as the thorn bushes swayed more and more violently, as if countless figures were passing through them.
And he was right. In a split second, the thicket of thorns parted, revealing countless horned monsters all around them.
These monsters appeared wave after wave, relentlessly parting the thorny thicket like an unstoppable tide tearing open the once impenetrable bushes. Their roars shook the entire forest—not a chaotic, intermittent howl, but a unified, rolling thunderous roar that made the air hum.
Jia'er stayed close to his mother, anxiously looking around. How could there be so many of them...?
They were surrounded!
Yes, no matter which direction they went, they were surrounded by these horned monsters... As the formation continued to expand, the monsters had formed a circle, tightly surrounding Jia'er and her mother... They were stuck in the center, unable to escape even if they had wings.
I've never experienced anything like this before.
Jia'er tugged at her mother's sleeve and asked in a very soft voice:
"Mother, what's going on?"
His wet hair was roughly touched, making it even more disheveled.
"Jia'er is fine, just some new friends."
Yinglong stroked his little dragon cub to reassure him.
"A new friend?"
"No, they don't look like them," Jia'er wondered. Although they had horns, their horns were different from his own, so why did they look so fierce?
With these questions in his mind, his thoughts drifted somewhat.
But the next second, the thunderous sound brought him back to his senses.
"What race are you from? How dare you trespass on the territory of my Muyun Clan and destroy my sacred water?" said the ferocious and enormous monster at the head. He was covered in black hair, so long that his face was obscured. But his two eyes were piercing, like torches, staring at people as if trying to see through them. Moreover, his two horns were like the roots of an old tree, twisting and growing upwards, their surfaces crisscrossed with grooves, recording the marks of countless battles in the jungle.
Jia'er didn't know who was on the other side, but he was very alert. His intuition told him that they were going to cause trouble for him and his mother!
Yinglong casually placed her hand on the child's head. Ignoring the leader's question, she spoke calmly and slowly:
"You said you belong to which clan? The Muyun Clan?"
The Muyun tribe, who have hidden in this polar region for generations? She had been struggling to find the entrance to this tribe, but unexpectedly, she stumbled upon it here by sheer luck.
When the leader saw that she not only did not answer, but also casually asked him a question, his brows suddenly furrowed.
The accumulated power over the years erupted at this moment, and the generals scattered around Yinglong and Jia'er all felt the tangible pressure from their clan leader.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet, and Jia'er sensed that danger was imminent... He had already made up his mind that while his mother was fighting, he would go and deal with those little demons.
However, after scanning the area, it seemed there were no little demons...
The leader's brow furrowed deeply, as if carved by a knife, causing even the surrounding air to freeze. Though it remained silent, its copper-bell-like eyes gleamed with a dangerous glint, as if it were about to devour anyone in the next moment.
Upon receiving the chieftain's signal, the surrounding tribesmen were all on high alert, and the air began to resound with the sounds of cold weapons cutting through the air.
"Since this is your first time in this area, my Muyun clan will not hold it against you. Please leave quickly!"
The leader stared at the two in the center of the circle again and spoke. His voice was rough, deep, old and powerful. Even this light sentence carried just as much pressure as the previous roars.
Despite this, none of the well-trained monsters around them lowered their weapons; they were all on high alert, clearly convinced that they hadn't stumbled in by mistake but had deliberately intruded, and that they weren't going to let them leave at all.
Yinglong, however, had no intention of leaving.
"I had heard long ago that many demons have lived in this Northwest North Pole for generations, and among these demons, the Muyun Clan is the leader, ruling this territory and controlling all waterways... However, the Muyun Clan is very secluded and has always lived in seclusion, so ordinary demons and humans have no chance to meet them. Today, by chance, I didn't expect to meet them here."
She spoke lightly, but her words clearly indicated ill intent.
The old clan chief had sharp eyes, as if he had already guessed her motives.
The two people in front of me definitely don't belong here. I wonder where they came from and why they're looking for the Muyun Clan... The two of them, one big and one small, clearly look like dragons!
Dragons?
The dragon race lives thousands of miles away, usually dwelling in the seabed, and will never leave the deep sea unless absolutely necessary. Now, dragons have appeared here, and there is only one woman and one child...
The situation seemed rather strange and baffling... But then again, the clan leader admitted that he hadn't seen much of the dragon clan, so perhaps it had guessed wrong.
However, finding out their origins is not important. The most important thing right now is that this woman and this child have trespassed into this area and refuse to leave!
They were clearly prepared!
"Hmph, you trespassed on my territory and even used holy water. Now that I'm giving you a chance to leave, you don't even appreciate it. Do you really think you're courting death?"
These words were quite blunt, but Yinglong was puzzled:
"What do you mean by using your clan's holy water?"
"This stream is called Qingyaojin, the sacred water of our Muyun clan, which we have worshipped for thousands of years. The jade cong and bone bells that our ancestors threw into the stream during sacrifices are buried in the water. Whenever someone trespasses, three bells will ring in the clan, which is the finger bone of the first high priest resonating with the water... Now you dare to play in the water? You have blasphemed the spirit of the sacred water! Shouldn't you pay with your lives?"
As the clan leader spoke, a massive aura of azure light condensed within him.
Yinglong nodded slightly. So that's how it is. No wonder so many demonic beasts arrived all at once.
Looking at his little dragon's big, blinking eyes, Yinglong comforted his child:
"But we didn't contaminate the holy water, where is the evidence?"
They just took a shower.
"Look at your child, his hair is still dripping wet, and he's not even wearing shoes yet, and he still dares to resist?"
Just then, the cyan light from the clan chief's hand suddenly shot over, but Yinglong casually waved his hand to block it, and it immediately dissolved.
Following its words, Jia'er quickly looked down at his bare feet and regretted that he should have put on his shoes first.
Seeing how easily the woman in front of him deflected his attack, the leader's expression turned serious.
This woman was no ordinary person. Even when surrounded and facing enemies many times her size, she remained calm and composed, displaying ease in every gesture. Moreover, she was carrying a child with her...
We must not let them go today!
There were sounds of shifting formations in the thicket of thorns, and strange noises began to emanate from the encircling circles of demonic beasts, suggesting they were setting up an array or barrier.
Yinglong didn't care at all; she negotiated terms with the leader:
"It's just a child taking a bath, no need to make a fuss. Could you take us to stay with your Muyun tribe for a while?"
Hearing that his mother seemed to be stalling for time, Jia'er quickly put on his shoes and straightened his clothes.
The fight is about to start, so he needs to prepare!
The woman's tone was too casual, as if she didn't take him seriously, let alone his hundreds or thousands of subordinates. It was simply too much!
The clan chief held up a large sword, its blade gleaming coldly.
"Do you know what you're saying?" The sword was drawn and the man was on the scene. The chief didn't have time to waste any more words. The tribe's border had already been opened. Could it be that some sworn enemy had taken advantage of the chaos to sneak in? At this moment, those left in the tribe were all the old, weak, women and children. Moreover, they had been instructed by their ancestors that they should never escape into the mortal world unless absolutely necessary, lest they bring trouble upon themselves.
Therefore, it planned to finish the fight quickly, deal with the mother and child, and return to its clan as soon as possible.
"If you truly refuse to repent, then you'd better pay with your life!"
Therefore, anyone who trespasses into the Muyun tribe must not be left alive, and this has been the case for thousands of years!
A massive blade came crashing down on him. Jia'er swallowed hard; the blade was longer than his own body.
"Snap!" Yinglong caught the blade with her bare hands. Although she directly blocked it with her bare hands, the sound of cold blades clashing rang out in the air, and the aftershocks brought a lot of impact to the monsters on the ground.
"Mother is so amazing!" Jia'er watched as the knife seemed to slowly bend, and his eyes practically sparkled with admiration for his mother.
"Hmm?" The leader was still exerting force, but it watched as all the strength it used was easily blocked, and it was futile to try to exert any more force... and its knife was slowly breaking.
Yinglong calmly gripped the blade and slowly, inch by inch, bent the knife.
She was so relaxed and carefree that she even had time to glance at her little dragon cub.
A chill began to envelop my entire body, seemingly appearing from nowhere.
"What terrifying strength!" the clan leader thought to himself. "This woman is completely unafraid of the devouring power of my Cold Moon Blade. It's just bizarre."
Ordinary monsters that encounter this sword would have been devoured and driven mad, and then cleaved in two by its blade.
Seeing that the woman was using his knife like a toy to amuse a child, the clan chief quickly withdrew his knife and instead pointed it at the small figure on the ground.
It was fast, but someone was even faster. However, this time it didn't have much time. Before it could even react to what was happening, its entire body had been smashed into the ground by Yinglong's ice hammer.
In the broad-leaved forest, pine needles were falling in a rare, fluttering motion. The commotion of the fight was considerable. A group of demonic beasts around them were covered with pine needles that had fallen from the trees. When the demons saw their chieftain being so easily dragged to the ground, they couldn't help but gasp as they cleaned the pine needles off their bodies.
What is the origin of this demon? How could it so easily block their chieftain's attack and even seriously injure him?
You must know that the Muyun Clan is the largest demon clan in this area. Their leader has been cultivating for over a thousand years. Over these thousand years, his spiritual power has naturally become extremely strong. Many of the hundreds and thousands of demon beasts below have never seen their clan leader defeated like this since they were born.
There were some surprised voices from the group of monsters, but most of the tribesmen quickly helped their chieftain up and prepared to treat his wounds.
"If you won't listen to a toast, you'll have to drink a penalty cup." Yinglong clapped his hands, then bent down slightly to straighten Jia'er's clothes.
It's time to tidy up Xiaolong's appearance; after all, it's been a long time since we've seen him... They absolutely must enter the Muyun Clan today.
But the yak demon was indeed highly skilled; after being helped up and given some treatment by the other demons, he regained his senses.
The moment it opened its eyes again, it looked at Yinglong and Jia'er not far away, its eyes filled with ruthless killing intent.
"Today you will pay for this debt in blood—take the lives of this mother and child, and take their remains back to offer as sacrifices to our ancestors!"
The last half of the sentence was almost roared out with internal force, shaking the entire valley. Amidst the flying dust, every hair on its ferocious face burst forth with overwhelming killing intent, like a vengeful ghost from the deepest hell.
In an instant, almost all of its people received the decree. Amidst the swirling shadows of the trees, they swarmed like leeches, completely taking over the area.
They were all cattle, sheep, and antelopes that had cultivated into spirits. Each of them looked enormous. Now, they flew through the air and surrounded Yinglong and Jia'er, blocking out even the light in the sky for a moment.
Koji felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and he knew that the battle was about to begin!
A series of booming sounds began to come from above, all around, making it impossible to avoid. When his ears started to ring and he could no longer hear clearly, Jia'er felt his mother grab him. In this critical situation, he picked up a tree branch from the ground, and then he felt his mother taking him up into the sky.
Holding her child in one hand and an ice hammer in the other, Yinglong watched as the dark figures surged towards her like a tide, her eyes flashing with a cold light.
Jia'er kept his eyes closed, gripping the branch tightly in his hand. He could feel the fierce battle around him, and dark shadows seemed to be constantly moving in front of him, while strong gusts of wind swept across his face...
His mother would loosen her grip on his sleeve every now and then, and he would float in the air for a moment, only to have his sleeve grabbed by his mother again just as he was about to fall...
Yinglong skillfully controlled the child, and in doing so, dealt with the endless stream of monsters that pounced on him.
Jia'er bounced around in mid-air, accurately dodging enemy attacks with each swift movement of his sword, but with his eyes closed, he knew nothing.
It felt like a long time had passed when the clanging and banging sounds around him grew louder and louder, all of them the sounds of various weapons clashing. Amidst this sound, Jia'er adjusted his state and began to poke around in mid-air with a tree branch.
Whatever, poke whoever you want. He wants to help his mother, and he'll solve as many problems as he can.
With his eyes closed, Jia'er danced and twirled in mid-air, using his fragmented moves to poke and stab outwards with all his might... He was determined to kill a few people.
This sudden fight completely shattered the tranquility of the deep forest. Not to mention the creatures here, even those living within dozens of miles, upon hearing the commotion, had already fled.
So the dense forest is now empty, with only the sounds of heavy objects falling and wailing coming from the stream.
Yinglong aimed for a swift victory this time, and in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she slowly lowered the ice hammer and gently lowered Jia'er from the height.
All around were screams of agony; not a single one could withstand the onslaught, all were smashed to the ground or into tree roots...
Seeing the tragic state of its tribe, the chieftain felt a chill run down his spine. In such a short time, his Muyun tribe's strong and robust soldiers had met such a fate, and this was all while the woman was protecting her child with one hand and fighting with the other...
In that instant, life and death were uncertain. The leader began to have a little respect for life. In his panic, he spoke in a trembling, bewildered voice:
"Who are you? What brings you to my territory?"
The crushing defeat has forced the clan chief to stop being careless and underestimating his enemy. He should have asked the mother and son what they were doing in the Muyun clan's territory from the beginning, and what their purpose was... He must never be so careless next time!
It immediately regretted it!
Yinglong had wasted a lot of time here today, and she was finally satisfied to hear the old clan leader ask her this question.
She glanced around, then said calmly and unhurriedly:
"Elder Chief, it is a pleasure to meet you today. May I ask that you take my son and me to your Muyun Clan?"
"impossible!"
Three resounding words echoed in the air.
The leader refused without hesitation, a request that surprised and alarmed it. Their Muyun clan had long lived in seclusion, rarely venturing out and maintaining a low profile, having cut off all contact with the outside world for years. And now these two women wanted to go to the clan? Perhaps some old feud was coming to settle things… Thinking this, its resolve hardened!
It's impossible! As the leader of its tribe, it would never betray its people. Even if it dies today, it will never bring these two demonic beasts into its tribe!
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
After the old chieftain finished speaking, a tremendous commotion occurred. In the blink of an eye, all the tribespeople who had been lying on the ground to the east and west had vanished—swept away by the woman's hammer to the back of a small valley...
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