Chapter 5
The dragons have a vast territory.
From afar, the shouts of the dragon people could be heard: "Prince Alo is back! Prince Alo is back!"
Pei Jian forced himself to stay alert, looking at the city that was getting closer and closer, his heart gradually filled with panic.
During the two or three days of travel, she didn't get a good night's sleep. They passed through some scattered small towns, where they changed their clothes, had a hearty meal, and then continued on their way.
They rushed here almost without a moment's delay.
Upon entering the city, Pei Jian looked around at the "people" dressed no differently from humans, but with dragon horns and tails, and tightened his hands.
A Luo took Pei Jian to his palace and handed her over to his nanny, saying with obvious disgust, "Take her to wash up, she stinks."
Pei Jian was speechless; her current state was all thanks to him.
"Let's go," the old woman said, bowing her head as she led the way for Pei Jian.
Pei Jian asked curiously, "Why doesn't A Luo have dragon horns on his head?"
System's answer: [Because he belongs to a high-ranking group among dragons, he can shed his horns during transformation. However, many dragons belong to lower-ranking groups, and their abilities are not yet sufficient.]
I see.
The nanny led her to another secluded palace. The room was very simple, with only a small bed and a set of wooden tables and chairs.
The room included a bathroom, and the nanny told Pei Jian that she could use the items inside as she pleased, and that she would bring over some clean clothes later.
Pei Jian nodded and went into the bathroom without hesitation.
She was so dirty that she desperately needed a thorough wash from head to toe.
Having traveled day and night for the past two days, coupled with A Luo's intimidation, Pei Jian remained highly vigilant at all times, except for occasionally allowing himself a short rest.
She sat in the bathtub, the warm water reflecting her weariness from the past few days, gradually rising above Pei Jian's shoulders.
...
"The situation is not good; her stomach seems to have been damaged in the past few days."
Pei Jian opened her eyes and saw a blurry white expanse before her. After a while, her vision gradually cleared. She stared at the white ceiling. Wasn't she taking a shower? How did she wake up here?
She tried to sit up, but she didn't even have the strength to lift a finger. Her throat hurt, and swallowing saliva felt like being cut by a knife. Her head felt the same way, as if a large rock was pressing down on it.
The doctor continued, "You need to drink plenty of water these next few days, especially warm water. Avoid raw, cold, and spicy foods. Be careful not to get drafty. If you have any other problems, please let me know immediately."
"good."
The maid escorted the doctor out.
As the door closed, the room became eerily quiet. Pei Jian listened to her own faint breathing and felt inexplicably afraid.
She didn't know what she was afraid of. Maybe it was that she was in a completely unfamiliar place, without a single person of her own kind. Maybe it was that she was lying there weak and helpless, at the mercy of others. Maybe it was that she was sick and people tend to overthink things in such vulnerable moments. Maybe it was something else entirely.
Tears silently slid down my cheeks and into my ear canal.
For the next week, Pei Jian mostly lay in bed, bored out of her mind. She occasionally tried to chat with someone, but no one here would respond to her.
Alo seemed to have forgotten about her; they hadn't seen each other once in the past week.
Besides, this accident left Pei Jian with some aftereffects, such as needing to get up at night and not daring to eat too much.
Once bitten, twice shy; now she only dares to eat until she's half full, for fear of encountering such a thing again, turning delicious food into a painful burden.
One month later.
Pei Jian's body gradually recovered, and she began to move around. A Luo did not restrict her movements. She could leave the palace and go into the city. Except for leaving the city, she could go to almost anywhere in the inner city.
When she went out for the first time, people around her looked at her with curiosity and whispered among themselves.
The local indigenous people rarely see humans, so it's understandable that they are curious when they see living humans for the first time.
Some of the bolder ones would throw rotten vegetable leaves at her.
Strictly speaking, it can't be called throwing her away, since the vegetable leaf landed quite far from Pei Jian. They didn't dare to really provoke Pei Jian, so they could only vent their resentment in this way.
If it weren't for the frequent wars started by humans, many of them might not have faced the hardship of being separated from their families.
Pei Jian didn't take these things seriously; they were all fake. These trivial matters weren't worth her attention or concern. She could simply avoid them next time.
However, Pei Jian still made new friends here—a few children.
Once, she was taking a walk by the river when she saw three children pushing and shoving each other. One of them, a girl named Xiaomeng, fell down during the fight and burst into tears.
Pei Jian took out a rope, tied both ends together, and squatted down to braid a flower rope for Xiao Meng to see. Because of this action, Pei Jian suddenly became much more impressive in the eyes of the three of them.
They had never seen the game of cat's cradle before, and they kept clamoring for Pei Jian to make a few more for them to see. Bored, Pei Jian patiently used all his knowledge, and the four of them became friends.
Xiao Meng and her two friends agreed that Pei Jian would come over every weekend to play cat's cradle with them.
Children are more accepting of different people than adults.
...
What has she been doing lately?
"They always seem to be running outside the palace."
After bringing Pei Jian here, A Luo had never met her. If it weren't for Garr mentioning her today, he might not have remembered this restless 'hostage' for some time.
A month ago, Gal and his companion drank a potion that forced them to remain in human form. They managed to escape the human palace and rushed back as soon as the potion wore off.
"Running out of the palace?" Alo asked doubtfully. "Is there something outside the palace that's attracting her?"
Garr shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
"Are you really going to leave this human woman here?" Gar didn't understand Alo's actions.
Logically, he should have killed her on the way, or used her to threaten the human royal family in exchange for the key to the handcuffs.
However, Alo has done nothing so far, neither killing her to vent his anger nor using her as a bargaining chip.
“No,” Alo denied, “I’m waiting.”
He didn't say anything to Gardo about this. "Let's go see what this human woman has been up to lately."
Finding out Pei Jian's whereabouts is very simple; she's the only human in the entire city, so you can just grab anyone and ask them.
"Your Highness, that human has gone to the river."
A Luo went to the location he gave him and immediately spotted Pei Jian by the stone bridge.
She sat on a stone bench, surrounded by five or six children. She lowered her head and seemed to be fiddling with something in her hands.
When did she become so thin? A Luo recalled their first meeting a month ago. Comparing the two, Pei Jian had indeed lost a lot of weight, no wonder she was so noticeable at a glance.
The nanny and maid clearly didn't value her, dressing her in the simplest white linen dress, which didn't fit her well and hung loosely on her body.
A Luo didn't pay much attention to whether she was thin or fat. He quietly approached and saw that she had a red string wrapped around her hand. The red string was folded back and forth in her hand, and it could turn into a clear pattern in less than ten seconds.
There are stars, flowers, spider webs...
"What are you doing?"
Pei Jian looked up in response, instinctively letting out an "Ah," and the rope in his hand slipped and fell to the ground.
"What are you doing?"
Alo asked again.
A child chuckled and answered for Pei Jian, "Sister Pei is amazing, she can do cat's cradle."
"Cat's Cradle?"
"Yes, Sister Pei can make anything with rope."
A trick to coax children.
"What's wrong?" Pei Jian asked, regaining his composure. "Did you call me here because you need something?"
"It's nothing, I just came to check on you, afraid you might run away if you're not careful."
The child gently shook Pei Jian's arm, saying, "Sister, make another one."
“Okay,” Pei Jian said, his gaze falling on the child’s face. He gently pinched the tip of her nose. “What do you want to see?”
"Can we see the big trees?"
"Hmm...this is a bit difficult. How about I make a bridge for you?"
"Okay, okay!"
Amidst cheers and applause, the afternoon passed by in a flash.
Pei Jian stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "That's enough for today. I'll bring some other things over tomorrow so we can play together, okay?"
"good!"
Her buttocks felt a little numb. After saying goodbye to the children, she slowly walked back to her residence, with A Luo following behind her the whole way.
Pei Jian quickened her pace, trying to distance herself from him, but no matter how fast or slow she walked, A Luo was able to keep up with her pace.
"Hey," she turned around, puzzled, "what are you still doing following me now?"
"Not doing anything."
Pei Jian secretly rolled her eyes at him and followed him.
The next day, after Pei Jian went out, A Luo followed him. He was curious about what Pei Jian would play with these children.
This time he followed very discreetly, without arousing Pei Jian's attention or suspicion.
He followed Pei Jian to the riverbank again and saw her sitting on the boulder. Soon, several children, barely waist-high, came and rushed up to greet Pei Jian.
They chattered excitedly, asking Pei Jian, "What are you going to play with us today, sister?"
"Is there anything you'd like to play?"
The children shook their heads and whispered, "We don't know. We didn't know what we could play with before either."
Pei Jian thought for a moment, "How about we play skipping stones today?"
What is skipping stones?
“Pick up a slightly flat stone, throw it sideways into the river, and see who can make the biggest splash.”
As Pei Jian spoke, he stood up, bent down, found a flat, round stone by the river, and threw it into the river, creating three splashes.
"Wow!" A child exclaimed, crowding around. "That's amazing!"
The group followed closely behind, eager to find stones.
Standing in the shadows, A Luo watched the group of people having a great time not far away. He couldn't understand why Pei Jian could play with these naive and ignorant children.
They are two completely unrelated people.
Suddenly, he remembered that last night, he and Pei Jian went back together and, unusually, ate at the same table. Not only the two of them were eating together, but also Gar and his wife.
She remained silent throughout the entire meal and quickly finished eating before leaving.
A Luo looked up and saw the group of people who were having fun just by "throwing stones," and a different feeling arose in him.
Last night, he sent someone to inquire and found out that these children were living in a nearby shelter. Their parents were forced to separate from them because of the war. In this era of underdeveloped information technology, their parents may be fighting on the front lines or may have already passed away.
I heard that Pei Jiandian pawned her personal jewelry for a considerable sum of money, which he used to bring them a lot of food and daily necessities.
The director of the shelter said that Pei Jian comes every week, and the children here like her very much.
A Luo remembered that when he was a child, he was left behind at home just like Xiao Meng and the others. He stood in the empty corridor, hoping that someone would talk to him, but everyone's footsteps were so hurried, and they kept moving forward without stopping.
Day after day he sat on the steps, watching his people hurry by.
Alo couldn't see their faces or hear what they were saying.
Spring goes and autumn comes, year after year.
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