Chapter 7 Miracle
The Assachi Valley, a miraculous valley, is small in size, nestled against vast, towering mountains. With only one exit, the Xinsheng Gorge, the dramatic altitude difference creates an extremely diverse geographical environment and abundant natural resources.
Leaving the Newborn Canyon and heading towards the Graystone Beach, the forests we passed through were a hunting ground frequented by the Natalin people. There were no large, dangerous predators there, and the trees intercepted the moist air currents from the ocean, creating a perpetually misty forest. Large-leaf laurel, also known as tree ash, spruce, golden vines, and a variety of shrubs intertwined. The ravines and tree roots were covered in wet, downy mosses and lichens, where cunning insects, birds, and animals lurked.
Dragons also love this valley.
Generally speaking, the breeding season of most small and medium-sized social dragons occurs every three years and lasts for about six to eight months. First, several unfamiliar dragon groups will select and gather at the same collective nesting site. Then, the male dragon will choose a location to build a nest in the intervals between fighting with the same sex, drive away thieves who covet the nest and property, and flatter the female dragon by showing off his "treasures" - generally some shiny things.
If the lucky creature is not killed by a jealous male dragon or an impatient female dragon, and is favored by a female dragon, the mother dragon will soon lay one or two dragon eggs.
Next comes the dangerous and arduous process of incubating the eggs. A dragon couple typically takes turns incubating the eggs, with the partner responsible for guarding and providing food until the dragonlets hatch and grow strong enough to join the herd, marking the end of a breeding season.
Most dragons can't lay their own eggs, and most of the dragons hatched from dragon eggs never grow up. A safe and well-stocked nesting ground is key, and the Vale of Asaqi seems perfect—if it weren't for Natalin and Azra the Windrunner.
This was the third group of pretenders that Windrunner had chased away in just a week. The dragon was so angry that it didn't even rush to comb its disheveled feathers. Instead, it screamed and circled frantically in the sky above the valley, like a cat trying to catch a laser dot.
The larger the dragon, the later it reaches maturity. Azra, who is still a teenager, cannot understand the distress of her love-brained peers at all.
To be honest, it was quite noisy.
A long dragon roar is enough to make any scene epic, but the continuous howling becomes an amplified version of a screaming chicken, deafening and extremely annoying - fortunately, not long after, Wind Walker seemed to hear something, suddenly folded his wings, and flew towards the snow-capped mountains.
It was the wise and powerful Lord God's Favored One who once again successfully saved the eardrums of the Natalin people.
The sun is shining brightly this season, but the scree where Azuka is now is infinitely close to the snow line. Most life stops here, and only a few thin but tenacious plants can still barely climb on it.
The wind flows across the body in a unique pattern, forming a stable insulating layer that protects the body from frostbite. The Asachi Valley can be seen from here, but the Natalin people generally do not come here. No one can be sure whether the clouds sweeping over the hills nearby contain deadly hail and lightning, or just a gentle breeze and drizzle that will wet the corners of clothes. Only dragons can roll around here to their heart's content, preening their feathers and scales, and enjoying the precious sunshine of the plateau.
Therefore, this scree beach can barely be regarded as a private and private space for the God-favored One and his giant screaming chicken to communicate with each other.
Wind Walker, who was lying on the ground enjoying the scratching service, suddenly raised his head and narrowed his radiant green eyes.
Azuka also looked down at the direction of the sound - the figure of the person coming was abrupt and disheveled. He was wrapped in a thick robe and carrying a leather backpack. He was climbing up the gentle slope with one foot deep and one foot shallow. Countless gravels were pushed away a little and then fell down again, making it seem that the height he climbed up was not as high as the height he slid down.
Suddenly, the man's body lurched, as if he had tripped. He tried to support himself with his hands, but the constantly sliding debris made it impossible to maintain his balance, and his head slammed uncontrollably into a sharp piece of gravel. Seeing that a bloody tragedy was about to happen, Azuka sighed, and with a slight movement of his fingers, a strange airflow rushed over, pulling the man out of the pile of rocks, and then lifted him to his side and set him upright.
"Thank you, and good morning."
The man panted heavily and answered in a broken voice in the language of the Natalin people.
"Good morning, professor. What are you doing here?" Azuka held the somewhat restless dragon's neck and answered in her native language, her eyes focusing on the bandage on the black-haired young man's neck.
...Has the other party stabbed so deeply before?
"According to calculations, only here can you see the entire Asachi Valley. In order to transform the valley's defense system, I need to estimate some data." The other party finally caught his breath and stared at Wind Walker with a slightly fanatical look, which made the dragon a little irritated. He bared his teeth at the man in dissatisfaction. He then withdrew his gaze regretfully, sat down as if no one was around, opened a parchment book, and began to draw on it with charcoal.
"...Is it really okay for you to start drawing the map of the valley in front of me?" The God-favored One rubbed his brows with a slight headache.
—And isn't this guy's language talent a bit terrifying? In just a few days, he can already speak so many professional terms fluently?
He was answered with a look of disdain: "Soul contracts exist, and something that can be known with just a few glances is considered your secret?"
Azuka: “…”
Ha, an overly lively nemesis.
So the two men and the dragon returned to peace.
Azra was somewhat displeased with the sudden appearance of the stranger, but she didn't believe the skinny, black-haired human could pose any threat to herself or her master, so she slowly lowered her neck and signaled her master to continue his work. Those flexible, lush, and shimmering white feathers were excellent for keeping the dragon warm. Once erected, they became as hard and sharp as metal, allowing enemy claws to simply slide over them, unable to reach flesh. However, these feathers were also difficult to detach from the sturdy quills, requiring regular and meticulous grooming.
The God-Favored One's golden hair swayed softly in the sunlight, its tail reflecting a blazing light, accentuating the richness and vividness of the coral and turquoise. The Wind Walker's streamlined tail fin gradually became transparent at the tip, revealing a faint, greenish-fluorescent fluid surging through the membrane. The strangely beautiful tail fin lazily and contentedly slapped against the gravel beach, making a crackling sound.
The dragon half-closed its eyes, the sun shining warmly on its body, making it so comfortable that it almost wanted to roll on the ground - huh? Wait, something was pressing on its tail, was it a stone?
It flicked its tail lazily a few times, and the thing disappeared. But a moment later, the feathers on its hind legs were gently touched again.
It's not stone! Ezra suddenly opened her eyes, angrily raised her head from her master's arms, and glared sternly at the other human present. The other person looked at her innocently, even holding half of the broken quill in his hand.
“Ouch!”
Damn human thief! Stealing dragon's hair!
"What's wrong?"
Azuka watched in bewilderment as Screaming Chicken suddenly leaped to his feet, seemingly on edge, and yelled at another person present. Seeing his own dragon about to stretch its neck and peck at the other, he quickly intervened, lest the reckless dragon kill the human.
"Qualowax."
The professor showed what he had in his hand to everyone with an expressionless face, and tried to put the small half of the quill into the backpack he brought with him. When he found that there was not enough space, he started to take things out, completely ignoring the angry dragon.
On the other side, Ezra finally got rid of the violent suppression of his master who had bent his elbows outward. He jumped to a nearby place, shook his feathers, roared angrily at the two of them, and spread his wings to fly into the valley, leaving behind the professor who bent down in the sudden airflow to try to protect his backpack, and the God-favored One who was inexplicably hit on the head by the dragon's tail.
"...So what are you doing?"
The God-favored One patted his clothes and stood up, looking down expressionlessly at the culprit who was squatting on the ground sorting out some messy things.
"Collect some animal and plant specimens." The other party answered without raising his head.
"for what?"
The professor did not answer, but avoided a small clump of wild flowers that were blown down by the wind, picked up a small scattered delicate blue flower, and carefully put it in his notebook.
"What's this?"
"A blue flower," said another. "We call it Blue Grom. It has mild analgesic properties."
"This is a miracle of life." The dark-haired young man stared at the petals, almost transparent in the sun, like the blue sky. For the first time, his tone became soft, even gentle. "There is almost no soil here. The temperature has dropped dramatically along the way. The oxygen is thin, and the environment is harsh. It can be called a forbidden zone for life... So who will sow the seeds, who will provide nutrients, who will pollinate it?"
"...I haven't thought about that." Although she didn't understand some of the words, Azuka answered honestly.
"So this is a miracle, telling us that there is always a way out in life..." The black-haired young man closed the notebook, but the other person suddenly felt a strange and hopeless fatigue from him.
"—and I want to remember this rare feeling of emotion."
This reminds Nova Brody that you are still a person with free perception.
Azuka's eyes widened slightly.
"you……"
The professor interrupted him: "Of course, I already have a rough guess as to who will do the pollination."
As if by magic, the other party pulled out a plump, furry insect from his palm. The insect had a black and yellow body and a pair of translucent wings. It lay motionless on the soft deerskin glove. "It's a bumblebee—I don't know what you'd call it—it's a little frozen, but if it gets some sun for a while, it'll be able to continue pollinating."
A crack appeared on the expression of the God-favored One's face.
"...Are you afraid of bugs?"
Although it was not obvious, Nova still noticed the other person's body leaning back slightly.
"No," the other man replied firmly, quickly changing the subject: "By the way, how would you like to adjust the fortifications in the valley?"
The author has something to say:
Inspiration and many descriptions come from the documentary "Wonders of Life" by National Geographic China
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