Chapter 52 The Little Dragon's Horns
The old ancestor was determined to die.
Duan Jiuyou looked at them hesitantly.
Di Jiang stretched out his claws and nudged the child's hand, meaning: Ignore her, I'll eat!
He thought the hot porridge was good, and the side dishes suited his taste perfectly.
He wants to eat his fill here before leaving.
Duan Jiuyou hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
She really didn't want to leave Di Jiang alone outside, but he was adamant and showed no intention of leaving. Duan Jiuyou could only say to the old woman, "After we finish eating, could you please bring him back for me?"
She used "you" instead of "you (formal)," which sounds a bit impolite at first glance, but in reality she was much older than that old woman!
The mother-in-law, more perceptive than the child, knew that the person in front of her must be someone of great importance, and hurriedly waved her hands, saying, "No, no, I wouldn't dare."
Duan Jiuyou thought to himself, "I'm the one who shouldn't dare."
Who is Di Jiang? Just hearing his name would probably scare everyone present away.
The dragon clan members shout slogans to destroy the wilderness every day, seemingly full of fighting spirit, but if they really knew that the Imperial Territory was still alive, probably none of them would dare to go up.
He was once the nightmare of the entire Heavenly Realm, especially for the Dragon Clan.
The most crucial problem is that he hides his emotions too deeply; you simply can't tell whether he's about to kill someone or just take a walk.
For example, one night when he was in the Ten Realms, he couldn't sleep, so he wandered out alone and hunted the entire Shifeng Ridge bare. Amidst the blood mist, he sat alone on the mountaintop admiring the moon and was extremely satisfied with the night.
That scene still chills Duan Jiuyou to the bone.
The bloodlust of the Wildlings is in their nature. Even though the Emperor's army only kills ferocious beasts, the way they slaughter them, leaving corpses strewn all over the ground, is still quite horrifying.
Duan Jiuyou said he would ask his mother-in-law to feed him and bring him back, but his feet were rooted to the spot, staring at Dijiang and not daring to leave.
Emperor Jiang had just been trampled on several times by the people here, and the footprints were still on his body. She was afraid that he might be displeased and slaughter the entire village.
Di Jiang looked at Duan Jiuyou, who dared not leave, and let out a heavy snort in his heart.
So no matter how much she flattered him, he was always a tyrant in her eyes.
She had previously said that rumors shouldn't be believed, and that he wasn't what they described. He believed her nonsense, but seeing her today, it's clear she's still afraid of him!
Especially in front of these dragon cubs, she was so nervous that it was as if he was about to "eat" at any moment!
She wanted to wait, so he made her wait. One of them looked unhappy, and the other looked nervous. The people around them were confused, but no one dared to ask any questions. They just felt that the atmosphere was so heavy that it was hard to breathe.
The disciples of the Ao Sect knew roughly what was going on, but at most they could tell that "Wolf Lord" was angry with the Ancestor again. The two of them seemed to get angry often, and it was hard to say who had a worse temper.
The children here are the most innocent; they can't feel the oppressive atmosphere and only know that the little wolf is hungry and wants to eat porridge.
The little boy scooped a spoonful of porridge, and the little girl added some bamboo shoots and crisp bamboo shoots. The wolf opened its mouth and fed the girl bite by bite.
Duan Jiuyou stared at Di Jiang's sharp teeth the whole time, thinking to herself that it was no wonder she was nervous. Di Jiang was really unpredictable, just like her. When he was happy, he would coax her in every way, saying sweet words and being very intimate. But when he turned his back, he would turn cold and act like he didn't even recognize her.
Now, look at him, he seems to be eating happily. Who knows when he might suddenly become unhappy and bite a child's tender little hand.
Fortunately, the whole process was relatively peaceful. After feeding him a bowl of porridge, the thoughtful little girl took out a small handkerchief to wipe Dijiang's mouth.
This was like a little game of make-believe to them. Once the little wolf was full, he could go to sleep. The little girl went into the room to get her own little blanket and carefully wrapped Di Jiang up. Di Jiang stared at her for a while, then slowly raised his paw.
—So powerful!
Duan Jiuyou's heart tightened, and he used telepathy to communicate with the other two.
What are you afraid of?
Di Jiang's eyes were full of mockery. If he wanted to take the life of this "little dragon woman," even if she were right in front of him, could she stop him?
He just thought the little thing was cute, much cuter than Duan Jiuyou, but it was a pity that it had dragon horns on its head, unlike the children of their Wilderness Clan who were born with fluffy ears.
How cute it is to be fluffy! Isn't it prettier than those cow-like horns?
He touched the horn on the child's head with his wolf paw. The child thought he was playing with her and giggled, as if they were very close.
At that very moment, Yan Kuo arrived, and all the celestial officials and commoners except Duan Jiuyou went to greet and pay homage to him.
Duan Jiuyou took the opportunity to carry him back to the Imperial Territory. He was really worried about letting him stay with the little dragon for too long, and his expression and tone were somewhat helpless: "He's finished eating. Can't you vent your anger when we get back?"
Di Jiang didn't insist any further, and Duan Jiuyou carried it towards Yan Kuo.
Yan Kuo ignored Duan Jiuyou and only came to a conclusion after checking on the Fire-Eating Beast.
"This disease is incurable and will only get worse. The only way to reduce casualties is to kill the fire-eating beast."
"No! Absolutely not!"
The dragon elders were the first to object, as they had previously stated that the Fire-Eating Beast was an auspicious creature, and killing it would harm the fortune of Tiansheng.
"Are we just going to let ordinary people wait to die?" Some people disagreed.
"They can move!"
"Didn't Bai Hugong just say that the people also rely on the Tianlong Fruit here for their livelihood? They like heat and dislike cold. If you ask them to leave here, not to mention that they have never heard of this kind of fruit outside of Yanshan in the Wanli Divine Mountain, how can these old people and children endure such a long journey?"
"The Heavenly Realm has never killed a Fire-Eating Beast since its founding. Are we going to set a precedent? Do you want to make the Emperor a sinner of the Heavenly Realm? If war breaks out because of killing Fire-Eating Beasts, how will the world view our Heavenly Ascension Clan? How will future generations judge our monarch?!"
"Then what do you suggest we do? On one side are innocent civilians, and on the other is the auspicious beast—"
Duan Jiuyou glanced at the Fire-Eating Beast amidst these discussions.
It lay on the ground, looking timid, still unable to recall when it had done these evil deeds, but everyone said it had made a mistake, and it was powerless to refute it.
Will it die?
Will they kill it?
But it really didn't intend to hurt anyone.
Duan Jiuyou turned to Yan Kuo and asked, "Why did this illness begin? Isn't there any way to control it?"
Yan Kuo didn't even give Duan Jiuyou a second glance, looking at the Fire-Eating Beast and saying, "It's its nature, how can it be controlled? After the Fire-Eating Beast reaches adulthood, it develops a condition of irritability and anger, which can only be relieved by destroying and venting. If you forcibly control it with medicine, it's no different from forcibly suppressing the fire inside its body, which will only make it backfire more severely and cause it to explode and die."
Duan Jiuyou looked puzzled: "The Fire-Eating Beast clan has never had any reports of violent attacks on people before, so why does this last one have such a disease?"
Yan Kuo said, "I have lived too short a life and have only ever seen one live fire-eating beast. I can only make a judgment based on its pulse."
This wasn't just said in anger. The Fire-Eating Beast originally lived in Red Wax Mountain. When the Heavenly Realm was calamized, the Fire-Eating Beast emerged to save the world. Although it relieved the world of its predicament, its own clan suffered enormous losses. By the time the fifth emperor ascended the throne, only this one survivor remained.
The Emperor, showing compassion for the Fire-Eating Beast clan, took great care of the "only offspring," granting it the Flame Heart Pool of Flame Mountain to live in. However, this little offspring was unruly and began to wreak havoc and destroy things after arriving at Flame Mountain. Duan Jiuyou had beaten it once when it was young, but it didn't remember it.
But if we're talking about serious mistakes, this child certainly didn't make any, at least not when he was in a conscious state and actively wanted to kill anyone.
So what should we do?
The problem has returned to square one: nothing works, so should we just give up?
Who should be sacrificed became the topic of their discussion again.
This discussion dragged on from day to night.
Bai Hugong and the villagers did not participate in the discussion; they simply waited for their fate with pale faces.
They were so insignificant, as small as a grain of sand or a handful of yellow sand, that they could only be disposed of at will due to their low status and position.
The dragon clan elders, usually so rigid, suddenly became quite clever. They all looked at Duan Jiuyou, who held the highest official rank, and bowed in unison.
"Whether to kill or spare, we beseech the priest to make the decision."
They could not bring themselves to harm their own kind, nor would they dare to take responsibility for hunting auspicious beasts. They did not ask Bai Yanxing for permission because they were unwilling to let the Dragon Emperor bear any sins.
They needed to find someone to take the blame, and the person in front of them was the perfect choice.
Only Duan Jiuyou could kill the Fire-Eating Beast, and only Duan Jiuyou dared to defy the world!
Duan Jiuyou laughed, as if to say: You guys really know how to find people!
The dragons bowed their heads in disbelief at that smile, their former pride nowhere to be found.
"Please, priest, make the decision."
Their repeated requests inadvertently placed Duan Jiuyou in the highest position.
The common people looked at her, the fire-eating beasts looked at her, and even Yan Kuo looked at Duan Jiuyou.
Duan Jiuyou knew there was no way to avoid this matter, and said calmly, "The people don't need to relocate, and the fire-eating beasts don't need to die."
She refused to believe she couldn't come up with a solution that satisfied both sides!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com