Chapter 35
The plates were cleared away and the feast ended.
The conical building, which had previously been filled with laughter and joy, was transformed into a tower for judging rebels.
The lights on the upper stairs went out one by one, and a beam of light poured down from the dome, falling on the two figures, one big and one small, in the center.
Finks held the somewhat uneasy child in his arms and placed his little head on his shoulder, so that he didn't have to look at the adults who were frightening him and who were also frightened themselves.
The dragon eyes that lit up in the surrounding darkness were like bright lamps, burning the truth that wanted to be hidden.
And they are the center of the torment.
Dragons have long lifespans, especially after transforming into human form, which leads to a long period of youth and adulthood. It's easy to imagine how old those elders with wrinkled faces actually are.
Pairs of old, dead eyes stared at them.
Finks suddenly felt irritated.
This is why he was tired of Scale City and the world of dragons - they were a race at the top of the food chain, possessing the most advanced technology, but they were still trapped in the feudal and ancient curse of the Elder System.
He is the boss of this sub-world, so of course he knows how the game works.
Above him, there are rule makers in higher dimensions, and creators who begin and end here.
Like all the species in the sub-world, he is just a group of diligent workers and chess pieces being manipulated on the chessboard.
But the elders didn't know.
They still think the world is in their hands.
Therefore, the arrogance and conceit of thinking that one can judge everything is simply ridiculous in the eyes of Finks.
"Golden Dragon, Son of Cerny, Phinx." The elders had already moved to the platform. Elder Qiao looked down at them from afar, while Elder Purple Dragon beside her spoke for her. "Some have accused your cub of not being a dragon. Is this true?"
"Respected Elder." Although he said this, everyone knew he had no respect for him. "This is not to defend myself, but snitching is truly despicable."
When he said this, he glanced at the seats of the Black Dragon Family intentionally or unintentionally.
Now Finks was the focus of all the dragons' attention. Every tiny movement of his was watched by countless eyes, and of course they noticed his hints.
The spectators whispered:
"What is he looking at?"
"You should ask where to look."
"Black Dragon Family..."
"Did the Black Dragon Family snitch on us?"
"Chief Hubbard has been at odds with the Golden Dragon for a long time."
"Even so, informing on others is..."
Not all dragons in the Black Dragon Clan knew what Hubbard and Naz had done, and they were suddenly being watched and talked about, feeling uneasy.
Soon, a young dragon couldn't hold back any longer and started yelling, "Why are you looking at us? Are you trying to slander us?"
His companion chimed in:
"That's right, what are your intentions?"
"Don't try to spit blood!"
"There has to be evidence to identify someone!"
Finks found it a little funny: Who pointed out whom first?
Dragons from other families raised similar questions, which made the Black Dragon family even more outraged.
For a time, the courtroom became a vegetable market.
"quiet!"
The words "Elder Qiao" immediately silenced the entire audience.
She is the highest leader of dragons, and everyone gives her face.
Elder Qiao lowered his eyes and looked at the defiant young man. "Don't worry about what others say. You can defend yourself."
——The subtext is, I’m too lazy to listen to what others say, I’d rather see how you write it.
Finks looked her in the eye without fear—ridiculous dragon, many dragons couldn't even do that.
At this point, there is no need to hide anything.
Although it is a little earlier than planned, at least it is still on track.
"Actually, I don't have much to say." Finks touched the curls at the end of the child's hair and gestured for him to raise his face. "You can see for yourself."
Li Jue looked up, his ears still buzzing from the previous argument.
He hugged his parents' neck in the spotlight of dragon pupils: "Mi..."
That is what he calls Finks, and it is also what he really looks like in this world.
"It's okay." Finks spoke in a gentle tone, completely different from the disdain he used when facing the elders. "They won't dare to do anything to you. I'm here."
Although it was soft, he did not deliberately lower the volume.
At this moment when all the dragons were silent because of Elder Qiao's scolding, every word was heard clearly.
What's the difference between "They don't dare to do anything to you" and "I don't care where he is, I'm the best in the world, why the hell are you arguing with me"?
Everyone knows that the Golden Tyrant looks down on everything and never takes the Elders' Council other than Lincheng and Elder Qiao seriously.
But such a direct defiance...isn't it too outrageous?
Elder Zilong's mouth was so angry that it was twisted.
If it weren't for the fact that Elder Qiao didn't say a word and seemed to be waiting to see what would happen, he would have cursed at the brat long ago.
Finks didn't even look at them. He squeezed the cub's hand and said, "Come on, baby."
The dragons were a little shocked at first that the tyrant would address someone so sweetly, but then they went back to the previous sentence, full of questions.
"bring it on"?
What's the meaning?
Where are you coming from?
Li Jue was still a little unsure, his eyes widening as he chirped, "Meow meow?"
The cub's voice was soft and thin, like a dangling feather, which made Finks laugh in this tense moment: "Yeah, that one."
Zizi nodded, reached out and gently pulled out the dragon horn.
——Pulled out the dragon horn.
There was an uproar.
This can no longer be explained by mere surprise; this scene is simply terrifying.
Indeed, many dragons, when they are young and have not yet mastered the ability to transform, will find it difficult to hide their horns. Some dragons even reveal one side while others disappear, which is quite strange.
But no dragon can be plucked.
The little fellow on the judgment stand looked so young that it would take at least several decades before his dragon horns began to fall off and he entered adolescence to be replaced by new ones, just like humans have not yet reached the stage of tooth replacement.
The horns of a dragon cub of his age should be very strong. Not to mention pulling them out himself, even if they were hit, he would cry for his mother in pain.
But this kid just pulled it out like nothing happened?!
All the dragons here have reached adulthood, have gone through the cautious molting period, and have even experienced the pain of being forced to remove their horns when they were attached.
The dragons held their breath, feeling the same way.
However, the little cub, who looked very pampered, neither cried nor cried out in pain.
Pulling out the dragon's horns without any medical treatment not only did not leave any bloody wounds, but there was not even a scar.
There were only two small, thin red marks, no different from the marks left on the pillow by the cheeks after sleeping for a long time.
The cub scratched the red mark: "Itchy..."
Finks grabbed his little hand and said, "Don't scratch it, it will break. Just bear with it."
The cub pouted, rubbed its forehead against Finks' arm, and declared again, "Itchy."
Finks couldn't do anything about him, so he had to bend his knuckles to scratch him.
This once again shocked the audience.
I've heard that tyrants are very kind to their cubs, but to pamper them like this - let alone that cold-blooded and ruthless tyrant, dragons are not born with such a loving gene!
Oops, that's not right.
Youlong suddenly realized that their focus had gone off topic.
Being able to pull out the dragon's horns does prove that the cub is not a descendant of the dragon.
So, what is he?
Elder Purple Dragon's tone still carried the shock of witnessing a dragon's horn being plucked out with bare hands. "Se... ahem, son of Se Ni, do you admit that he is not a dragon?"
"Yes." Finks said calmly, "Do you want to see it?"
Rather than criticize his casual, disrespectful tone, Elder Zilong simply wanted to see what the little thing was: "...Show it."
Finks first patted the cub's head, then turned toward the stairs and asked, "How do I turn this off?"
The dragons looked in the direction of his voice, but couldn't find who he was talking to.
"Sir, this is remote-controlled," another childish voice called from the dimness. "Should I turn it off now?"
Finks nodded: "Turn it off."
The dragons were confused by this conversation.
What is relevant or not.
What is this about?
...Is this family's hobby playing charades?
They were still craning their necks to find out who the young-sounding man who was talking to Finks was, and only after finding nothing did they return their attention to the center of the stage.
……etc.
Where are the children?
No, what is this furry ball in Finks' arms?
It was a really small ball.
If the previous cub looked like a little doll in the arms of the tall golden dragon, then this exquisite and miniature new species was almost like an ornament.
The furry ball sat in Finks' palm. Unlike the timid little cub before, it was very relaxed and raised its paw to lick it.
Even with Elder Qiao's previous rebuke, the dragons could not hide their curiosity and kept talking about it everywhere.
"……What's this?"
“No.”
"What's on him?"
"Uh, it's Mao."
"What is Mao?"
"I can't really say. But hair does grow on the body after transformation."
“But it’s not as cute as this one.”
"Hairy animals..."
"Furry..."
"It looks warm."
"It looks so soft."
"I really want to hug you."
"Me too."
"Oh, little furball."
“I’ve never seen one with long hair.”
"Where did he pick it up?"
"Get me one too."
"I want it too."
In the end, countless questions became the same: What on earth is this?
Finks nodded the little guy's head and said without hiding anything: "He is a cat."
However, this answer is obviously not perfect, and it leads to more doubts:
"cat?"
“Never heard of it.”
"What's a cat?"
"What?"
"cat?"
"What cat?"
Finks, who could hear all the discussions: "..."
Sometimes he felt that his fellow dragons were noble and majestic.
Sometimes I feel like they are just thoughtless parrots.
Outrageous.
Finally, an evolved repeater... no, a dragon, stood up.
"I've heard of 'cats,'" the scholar from the Blue Dragon family adjusted his black-framed glasses. "They're a carnivorous chordate that's been extinct for many years. They're small, agile, and powerful. They have proud and eccentric personalities, and while they can live harmoniously with their owners, they're destined to never be tamed."
The dragons repeated "It turned out to be a cat", some suddenly understood, while some were still confused.
Every dragon family has its own pets and companion animals, such as the armored ape of the black dragon family.
They understand what it means to be untamed, but those species are usually extremely aggressive and ugly, which allows them to accomplish the diversionary tactics or assassination tasks they need.
...But this little animal in Finks's hand is completely different from those companion beasts, right?
His hair looked so soft and shiny, gleaming in the light;
It is golden, but not as dazzling and oppressive as its owner's. Instead, it is a very gentle color.
His bright eyes almost took up half of his face, and his special eye shape was slightly tilted upwards, as if he had his own eyeliner;
The round pupils were innocent and the same color as the hair, like melted golden butter.
You can tell at first glance that he's a sweet little guy.
As if sensing the countless gazes being cast at it, the kitten sat up straight, wagged its tail, and called out to everyone in a delicate voice.
The dragons who prided themselves on having a heart as hard as rock and as cold as ice were all captivated by this meow.
"What's that word called..."
"clever."
"no."
"cute."
"Yes, it's cute, cute!"
“It’s so cute…”
"so cute!"
“So cute.”
"cute……"
"like!"
Finks was really speechless this time.
The repeater started again.
What kind of species are his fellow tribesmen?
Can you not say that you are a dragon when you go out in the future?
But what is certain is that the baby is as charming as ever and can kill everyone as soon as he appears.
Not to mention those cute repeaters, even the elders - especially the only important one, Elder Qiao, seemed to have a ripple in his white pupils when he saw the kittens.
Finks had not forgotten the old woman's delighted reaction when the little cub sweetly called her "Grandma".
If I had known that I could conquer my fellow tribesmen in cat form, why would I have gone through so much trouble to hide my cat ears and be so nervous?
The Golden Dragon wanted to sigh, but couldn't help feeling proud.
No matter how jealous others are, this is his baby.
"——Just because he's a cute little creature, can we ignore the mistake he and his parents made in concealing the truth?"
Amidst the joyful atmosphere, a harsh discordant sound emerged.
Finks frowned and looked at the person who slowly stood up in the corner in the sudden silence.
...Hubbard.
People who should have been detained for suspected kidnapping and intentional harming of cubs used reporting to delay the crime or even to gain meritorious service while serving their sentences.
The Black Dragon family saw their leader, who had been missing for half a day, reappear. Unlike the rumors that he was handcuffed, he was clearly safe and sound.
They seemed to have been injected with a shot of cardiac stimulant and suddenly became agitated.
Amidst the various discussions, Hubbard walked leisurely into the spotlight, bowed to the dais where the elders sat, and then muttered something as if he had prepared it:
"Golden Dragon, Son of Cerny, Phinx, is guilty of several crimes:
"One of the crimes is selfishly marrying and raising a child without reporting it to the Council of Elders, violating the laws of Scale City. Ignoring order and defying the Dragon Code.
"The second crime is that his son is not of dragon blood, and he deceived his superiors and subordinates, desecrating the dragon blood and committing treason.
"The third crime is the unauthorized introduction of unknown species into the city without testing them, putting thousands of citizens in danger..."
His serious words frightened many onlookers and woke them up as if from a dream.
Nowadays, whenever you look at a cute little fur ball, it is like judging the disobedient ones!
However, some people questioned Hubbard's third point of guilt: What bad intentions could a little milk mochi have?
It also "put thousands of citizens in danger." What danger could such a small gadget bring to them?
Because you love someone so much that your blood flows too fast and you die of cuteness?
As for the person involved, he has never been interested in this kind of sermon. He just turns a deaf ear and focuses on the kitten.
When Li Jue was a human-shaped cub, he was afraid of being stared at by so many pairs of eyes in the dark. But when he turned back into a kitten, he felt like he was sitting on top of the world when sitting in his parents' arms. He held his head high with pride, and the tip of his tail was held high, and he was not afraid of anyone.
Because little cats are the most powerful in the world~!
The kitten nudged its parent's hand with its wet nose, signaling him to scratch it.
Raising a cat is different from raising any other pet; the one that is tamed is the one that is kept.
Finks didn't care at all about the predicament he was in. He scratched the kitten's cheeks with his fingers, and the kitten immediately melted into a pool of light golden cream with joy.
He looked at the little cub and felt a little empty in his heart.
When will be the next time I see Li Jue clinging to me and acting like a spoiled child like this?
But Finks also knew that even if there was no ridiculous trial today, the day of separation would come sooner or later.
Li Jue is not his little kitten and does not only belong to this sub-world.
He is the system of infinite space and belongs to all bosses.
Seeing that Finks was absent-minded and did not take the trial seriously at all, even the elders who had originally wanted to protect the cubs could not help but feel dissatisfied.
The elder from the Blue Dragon Family shouted, "Finks, don't you have anything to say in your defense? Is this how you admit your guilt?"
Finks placed the kitten on his shoulder and looked at the man. "Well, I'd like to invite the witness to the stand."
"Witness?" Elder Blue Dragon frowned. He had never mentioned this before. "Who?"
Finks smiled slightly, "My partner, of course."
The elders whispered to each other, discussing whether it was in compliance with the regulations to have witnesses not reported in advance.
Considering that this trial was also very sudden, the one-week observation period was shortened for various reasons, and the first test was directly equivalent to the result, it is not impossible to relax the conditions.
Finally, the leading elder Qiao nodded and said, "I agree."
The bosses of other sub-worlds have the ability to hide their aura. The Siren King has met the dragons twice, but his unique identity has not been recognized.
Hubbard's third charge wasn't entirely groundless; it just picked the wrong target.
Xiao Lijue is completely harmless to this world.
But the Siren King is different.
The tall young man was still wearing a black cloak that covered him from head to toe. In order to ensure that his ear fins and facial features that were different from those of the dragon after transformation could be seen, he even covered his hood tightly.
He is extremely graceful, yet also extremely oppressive. Surrounding him is the deepest sense of oppression that comes from the depths of the ocean. This is the power of water that dragons hate the most and are most restrained by.
A short distance is enough to catch the attention of all the onlookers.
Hubbard narrowed his eyes. He also sent people to investigate this "partner" who suddenly appeared and whom even Naz had never seen before, but to no avail.
No one had ever seen him, and no one knew where he came from.
No one knows who he is.
He said loudly, "Son of Cerny, could you please ask your partner to remove his disguise? There should be no concealment or lies on the judgment seat."
At this time, Qian Xing had already walked to Finks' side.
The little kitten that was originally on the golden dragon's shoulder saw another brother coming, and meowed anxiously, scratching the air with its little paws several times. It needed to be transferred to another embrace.
Qian Xing reached out and hugged him, and the kitten turned back into a human kitten, snuggling obediently in his arms.
With both brothers here, the baby won’t be afraid~!
Finks put his arm on Qian Xing's shoulder, ignoring the latter's sudden stiffness, and replied to Hubbard: "I'm sorry, my lady... has her own family tradition."
If it weren't for the public watching, the Sea Monster King would have definitely broken the Golden Tyrant's unruly hand and his indiscriminate words.
Unfortunately, I can only respond with a glare now.
Finks pretended not to see it. He knew that although this argument sounded nonsense, the dragon clan, with the family as the center and fulcrum, would definitely consider it because they had to respect the customs of each family.
Hubbard saw through his prevarication and asked, "Oh? Then may I ask, what family is your wife from?"
Finks was prepared for this question: "East Sea Dragon Clan."
The dragons looked at each other in bewilderment; no one had ever heard of such a family.
The dragon clan was born from flaming magma and they have a terrible aversion to water. So how could there be a family of dragons living in the ocean?
If aquatic dragons really exist, then are they... the same kind as them?
The Blue Dragon Elder looked at the most knowledgeable descendant in the family, the only one who had previously recognized the species "cat".
The young man nervously pushed his glasses up: "Well... I need more information to verify."
The elders once again fell into their own discussions.
On the judgment platform, Qian Xing said to Finks in a barely audible voice, "Don't lump me in with your kind of closed-minded people."
The Siren King always looked high and mighty, but his current position put him at the lowest point among the crowd, which made him very uncomfortable.
Not to mention Finks's nonsense.
"There's no other way," Finks said with a tut. "It would be too troublesome if the old guys found out that our family of three is made up of three different species."
"Stop." Qian Xing frowned, "Who cares about your family of three?"
Finks approached Li Jue under the pretense of teasing him and chuckled at him: "Why not? You are already my 'wife'..."
The last sentence was drawn out with great pleasure.
Qian Xing secretly swore to herself that after this mess was over, she would have a good fight with this guy.
If you want to tease him or provoke him, you will have to pay the price.
Finks looked at him sideways. They had known each other for many years and had been enemies for many years, so he naturally knew what Qian Xing looked like when she was angry - a faint red would appear on her cheekbones and corners of her eyes, which was surprisingly gorgeous.
The cub in her arms tilted its little head in confusion as it watched its two parents quarreling, its cat eyes sparkling as if it was ready to mediate at any time.
If they really are a family of three, it seems not bad.
But it was just a fleeting fantasy after all.
Finks looked at the elders who had finished their discussion and sat back up straight, and knew that the time was almost up.
I'm too lazy to listen to those old things.
Finks suddenly grabbed Qian Xing's wrist and pulled her towards himself.
The latter lost his balance and was caught off guard by his embrace.
Before he got angry, he heard the man whisper in his ear: "-Now, follow the plan."
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