Chapter 4
Alo didn't initially have such a plan; it stemmed from his unexpected discovery that a human woman named Ajane had an unusual relationship with a human prince.
He himself is currently being held hostage by humans. If he were to also take this woman hostage, could he trade one for the other?
Although they, the dragon race, have already taken human form, their thinking is far less cautious and astute than that of humans.
He didn't carefully consider whether this hastily made decision was feasible, and Alo didn't bother to speculate either. Whether it works or not, you have to do it to know. You'll never get a real conclusion if you keep thinking about it.
Opportunity knocks but once.
Looking at the panicked faces in the room, Pei Jian cursed inwardly: Idiots!
Knowing that the dragon race is an uncontrollable factor, they still tried to get closer to them in such a ridiculous and naive way!
stupid!
That's so stupid!
Ze Yi stood at the very front of the noisy crowd, looking anxiously at the dagger held against Pei Jian's neck.
He spoke to Alo in a calm, even somewhat ingratiating tone, "Please don't be impulsive, everything can be discussed... How about this... can I exchange myself for that young lady?"
"Your Highness!" The guards behind him hurriedly stopped Ze Yi.
Ze Yi impatiently gestured for the people behind him to be quiet.
He kindly analyzed the advantages of replacing Alo, saying, "You can completely agree that I am the prince of this country, and I am more valuable than her."
A Luo sized him up, then looked down at Pei Jian, who was barely shoulder-high in front of him and was trying his best to suppress his trembling. "No, no."
Human females are much easier to manipulate than males.
Especially noblewomen like A-Jian are as fragile as a piece of paper that has been soaked in water; they can be killed with the slightest force.
"Okay, okay," Ze Yi stared nervously at Pei Jian, "Then tell me, what do you want to do?"
"Take off these shackles."
"No!" the ministers exclaimed in unison.
The reason Alo was allowed to participate in the ball was not only because he was constantly being watched, but more importantly because of the shackles on his wrists.
These shackles are made of a special material; once worn on a dragon's wrist, the dragon can only remain in human form.
Clearly, Ze Yi also knew the importance of the shackles.
“Besides this, you can offer something else. We can renegotiate the issue of territorial demarcation,” he offered enticing terms. “We can discuss anything.”
Meanwhile, Gar and the other two were placed under guard by the guards.
Before they arrived, they were forced to drink a cup of dark water, the purpose of which was to keep them in human form for a month, thus cutting off the terrifying threat at its source.
“Jane,” Alo whispered mischievously in her ear, “what do you think I should do?”
But he didn't wait for Pei Jian's reply, nor did he need it. "Prepare a horse for me."
"Your Highness, we cannot let him go back!"
Ze waved his hand and said, "Give him the horse."
The minister was on the verge of tears: "Your Highness!"
“As long as these shackles are in his hands, he will never have a peaceful day, and he will come back to us one day.”
Ze Yi's thinking was very simple.
Alo's thinking was even simpler: he was simply fed up with living under someone else's thumb. He thought that after a few days in the wilderness, he might come back and reconsider the conditions offered by humans.
He finds the loss of freedom, with every move under human surveillance, even more unacceptable than the restriction on his physical form and movement.
It's so frustrating.
A servant brought a horse, and A Luo, carrying Pei Jian, leaped onto it and galloped away.
Pei Jian was taken away by Shui Lingling, leaving everyone bewildered and Ze Yi anxious.
-
On the bumpy horseback, Pei Jian was like a bean, tumbling back and forth in a winnowing basket.
She needed to use all her strength to suppress the urge to vomit.
If I had known then what I know now, I shouldn't have eaten so much food back then.
Alo left the city without hesitation.
Outside the city are mountains stretching endlessly.
The night was dark.
Alo chose to take a secluded path.
There were no inns along the way, and it would take at least three days without sleep to get directly back to the dragon city. They needed to find a sheltered place to rest for the night.
"When do you plan to let me go?" Pei Jian couldn't help but ask.
"Who said I was going to let you go?"
!
"Ke Zeyi has already given you the horse?" Pei Jian was shocked and tried to reason with him and appeal to his emotions. "I am just a woman who is powerless. Even if you release me, I can't make any waves."
System: [Isn't this a good opportunity?]
I'm afraid I'll become his food.
A Luo dismounted, reached under Pei Jian's armpits, and lifted her off the horse.
He held the horse's reins with one hand and Pei Jian's hand firmly with the other, saying to himself, "Looks like it's going to rain later, we need to find a place to take shelter."
Pei Jian followed him relentlessly.
"Please, please let me go," she pleaded, looking out at the dark jungle ahead, its branches sprawling and swaying like ghosts in the wind. Beneath her feet lay a muddy path, covered in rotting leaves, making it slippery underfoot.
"Release me? Why should I release you? You humans have imprisoned me for so long, don't expect me to release you so easily."
Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor!
This attitude clearly indicates that he wants to take revenge on himself for the evil that humanity has done to him.
Pei Jian felt a chill run down her spine. She didn't know what kind of revenge A Luo would take, and her heart was pounding in her chest, neither rising nor falling.
Soon the two found a cave where they could shelter from the wind and rain.
Alo easily pushed aside a section of tree trunk blocking the entrance to the cave and commanded, "Go in."
Pei Jian staggered in, his steps unsteady.
"Cough cough cough cough cough."
She coughed incessantly, covering her mouth. The cave was filled with ash, not only ash but also the skeletons of wild animals that had been eaten. The blood that had flowed all over the ground had long since congealed, forming a strange brown pattern.
Alo easily found a pile of dry leaves and a dry tree trunk, then sharpened some wood shavings with his dagger to make a simple tool and started a fire.
Pei Jian hugged his knees, curled up in the corner, and stared blankly at the flames.
How did things get to this point?
System: [Thank you for your hard work.]
[My life is miserable.]
Her pure white dress was now a mess, covered in mud splattered from riding the horse and mud from the walk.
Pei Jian secretly regretted it; she quite liked the dress.
As Alo added firewood to the fire, he glanced at her and instructed her, "Jane, go find some more dry branches."
Pei Jian found the way he addressed him awkward and corrected him, "My name is Pei Jian, you can just call me by my name."
"Oh, so your surname isn't 'Ah'."
"Of course, there's no such surname as 'A'."
Silence...
Pei Jian tried to salvage the situation, saying, "What I mean is that humans don't have the surname 'A'."
"Alright," Alo waved his hand impatiently, as if swatting a fly, "Go find it, you can do that, right?"
Pei Jian hurriedly left the cave.
The night was dark and the wind was high.
The branches, leaning and twisting, tore at her skirt. Pei Jian immediately tore off the obstructing fabric.
She clutched her chest; it wasn't just her chest that felt tight, but her whole body felt uncomfortable. But she only had two hands, no other hands to clutch.
She could only cover this spot first, then move to another place, and only after she was completely out of A Luo's sight did she dare to breathe heavily.
【Ah Luo, I thought he was an easy person to get along with because of his name, but it turns out he's... sick.】
System: [You can't judge a book by its cover.]
Pei Jian didn't dare to go far or run away. She picked up some branches about the thickness of a thumb along the path in the cave, tied them into a bundle with the skirt she had just torn off, and then walked back with a pounding heart.
They walked very slowly, extremely slowly.
An intense fear gripped her legs, and her upper body seemed to transform into that of a emaciated old woman, struggling to drag her lower body along.
However, no matter how slowly she walks, this road eventually comes to an end.
Pei Jian looked ahead at the only light in the darkness and shivered. "Let's go," she whispered to herself. "It's just a mission. As long as we finish it, we can go home."
"That's right, as long as we complete the mission, all of this will end."
"Hey!" Alo's hearing was excellent. "What are you whispering about? Why haven't you brought the things in yet?"
“Oh, you’re here,” Pei Jian took a deep breath and forced a very stiff smile, like a failed puppet. “I’m here.”
She went inside, walked around the wreckage at the entrance, and placed the dry branches beside the fire.
A Luo glanced lightly at Pei Jian's altered dress and scratched calf, without saying a word.
The two sat silently on the ground. Pei Jian leaned far away against the cave wall, while A Luo sat by the fire, the flickering flames reminding him of that humiliating war.
midnight.
Pei Jian couldn't fall asleep. She hugged her knees and looked up at A Luo across from her.
He was fast asleep; you could hear his gentle breathing.
Suddenly, Pei Jian hunched over and leaned against the cave wall as he walked out.
His footsteps were hurried and disordered.
She didn't vomit until she walked to a tree about ten meters away.
She even felt like she was going to throw up everything she had eaten months ago.
After vomiting, my stomach was empty.
Pei Jian leaned her head against the tree trunk, using her arm to support herself, and for a moment the thought of giving up flashed through her mind.
The system asked with concern: "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I ate too much tonight, I'll feel better if I throw up."
A Luo woke up after Pei Jian left the cave.
People who have been through many battles will remain alert and vigilant even while sleeping.
He initially thought Pei Jian wanted to take this opportunity to escape, and he had already devised countless ways to intimidate her.
Disappointingly, Pei Jian had no intention of running away; she simply went out to vomit.
Poor, fragile human women.
In fact, he hasn't done anything yet.
Pei Jian stood there for a long time, going from standing to squatting, and finally sitting.
At this point, there's nothing left to worry about.
Even if Alo says he's going to eat her now, she'll kindly remind him to start with her thighs, because that's where she tastes best.
After that, Pei Jian did not return to the cave. She sat alone, drowsy, by a broad-leaved tree outside the cave.
A cool breeze was blowing, and she repeatedly rubbed her thighs and forearms to warm herself up.
Pei Jian didn't know whether she fell into a deep sleep or simply passed out in the middle of the night.
I was woken up by Alo the next day.
He frowned, looking down at Pei Jian with a disdainful gaze, seemingly puzzled as to why humans could be so weak.
Before Pei Jian could even get up, A Luo picked her up and carried her straight away.
Pei Jian gasped in surprise, instinctively grabbing A Luo's neck and sitting limply on his arm.
This was a posture similar to holding a child, and Pei Jian never expected that she could relive her childhood at her age.
But based on her entire night with Alo, she knew that this devil wasn't so kind; he must have thought she was too much of a worry!
"Look at me, I'm already like this," Pei Jian said weakly, "Why don't you just let me go?"
Don't even think about it.
"..."
I have no idea what he's so fixated on.
On horseback, Pei Jian leaned against A Luo's chest; he was warm, like a giant hot water bottle. Although a taut string in his mind constantly reminded him, at this moment, a strong urge to sleep prevailed.
Gradually, Pei Jian fell asleep and unconsciously snuggled into A Luo's arms in a comfortable position.
While riding his horse, Alo felt a weight on his chest. He looked down and saw a furry head resting against him without any warning.
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