Seeing Chu Yuan make no further move, the dragon-leopard lowered its head. Opening its mouth to reveal a row of fine baby teeth, it then began to gnaw on the eggshell. Crunch, crunch, crunch!!! Gu Su Die ate very seriously, biting the eggshell into pieces mouthful by mouthful and swallowing it. With each bite, the scales on its body grew brighter, the dark golden luster gradually shifting from dull to vivid. Everyone present found the dragon-leopard’s habits peculiar. Once the eggshell was finished, the dragon-leopard let out a satisfied burp and licked its paws.
Just as Chu Yuan reached out to pet it, Gu Su Die puffed up and huffed: “Sss-woo-woo (What do you think you’re doing? Don’t think about petting me! A mere rebellious subject, what right do you have to pet me!)!”
The dragon-leopard’s sudden defensive reaction made Chu Yuan quickly withdraw his hand, his face full of disappointment and apology. Seeing this, Gu Su Die felt secretly pleased: Hmph~! Dare to betray me? I’ll make you properly experience what it means to ‘chase your wife into the crematorium’! Unless you promise that from now on your heart will only have me in it, I absolutely will not forgive you. Thinking this, she raised her chin high, determined to give this wretched man before her a hard time.
Seeing this, Chu Zhenshan beside them was puzzled: “Strange! Logically, dragons should recognize the first person they see as their mother dragon and become close—it’s their nature! Why is it so resistant to you???”
Chu Yuan also pondered this: Yes, it is the nature of dragons. In the previous life, the Sovereign didn’t dare resist that Eagle-Nosed Grand Elder—on one hand, because of related restrictions; on the other hand, it was also because, deep in her heart, her nature recognized him as her mother, not daring to harm him. Logically, now that we’re back at the very beginning, she should be very close to me. Unless… Chu Yuan began to study the dragon-leopard’s proud and aloof demeanor, thinking: Could it be that the Sovereign has also been reborn???
[Congratulations, Your Majesty, for discovering the divine artifact [Divine Dragon Whip]! Please complete the binding by touching the [Divine Dragon Whip].]
At the same time, Ji Xuanyuan beside him was equally shocked. Not because she realized the Black Dragon had been reborn, but because the System suddenly prompted. Hearing this, Ji Xuanyuan was even more speechless: The [Divine Dragon Whip] the System mentioned is actually this young dragon? How did the System mix up a divine artifact with a living creature again???
Studying the dragon-leopard’s long tail, Ji Xuanyuan hesitated: What to do? Take it? But Junior Brother worked so hard for all this, doesn’t he just want it to have a happy childhood? She glanced at Chu Yuan. Her junior brother was staring at the young dragon, his gaze gentle yet tinged with self-reproach. She had never seen him like this before. All this time he had been by her side, he always had that indifferent, lukewarm demeanor. She thought that was just how he was, treating everyone the same. But now she realized, Junior Brother wasn’t incapable of gentleness; his gentleness just wasn’t for her.
A sour emotion suddenly welled up in Ji Xuanyuan’s heart: When will Junior Brother also be able to… No! How can I think like this? Didn’t I already choose to give up? Ji Xuanyuan knew clearly in her heart: The moment she decided to drain Junior Brother dry, she lost the qualification to compete with other girls for him.
But on the other hand, a voice in her heart told her: No! This dragon could also have a happy childhood with me! Especially now that Junior Brother’s heart is tied to his Sovereign, if I can keep it by my side, wouldn’t he be able to come to my place often? Once this thought emerged, it grew like wild grass, impossible to suppress.
Regarding this old rival, Ji Xuanyuan honestly didn’t harbor any feelings of disgust. On the contrary, because she was aware of the Sovereign’s plight, she felt more pity and sympathy for it. Ji Xuanyuan’s eyes flickered slightly as she looked at the young dragon, then at Chu Yuan. The more she pondered, the more she felt this was a good idea. To some extent, this dragon might become a bridge and a bond between her and Junior Brother in the future.
Without further thought, Ji Xuanyuan cleared her throat, trying to make her tone sound as casual as possible: “Since this little dragon is afraid of Young Master Yuan, why not let this princess raise it instead? The auction money can also be charged to this princess’s account. After all, I’ve troubled Young Master Yuan quite a bit lately.”
Before she could finish, she felt a surge of killing intent directed at her. Following the source, she saw a maidservant standing in the corner, head bowed low. Su Xuanxuan, disguised as a maidservant, wore a proper smile on her face, but her back teeth were grinding audibly: This wretch! Isn’t draining my Yuan’er dry enough? Now she wants to snatch Yuan’er’s dragon too? Is this a declaration of sovereignty? Su Xuanxuan took a deep breath, steadying her emotions. She couldn’t expose herself, at least not now.
Looking at Chu Yuan, he was also on guard: What does this woman want? Isn’t draining my spiritual power enough, now she has designs on his Sovereign? That Sleeping Art was one thing, it’s just a technique, she can have it; but the Dragon Egg is different! This is what I owed the Sovereign from my previous life! I absolutely cannot let the Sovereign fall into the hands of this wicked woman!!!
Chu Yuan quickly spoke up: “No. The money for the Dragon Egg must be paid by me. Here are three million and sixteen thousand. Please, Great Elder of Chu, count it.” With that, he took out a storage bag he had prepared earlier from his sleeve and tossed it to Chu Zhenshan.
Chu Zhenshan instinctively caught the bag, still somewhat hesitant, unsure whose words to heed. Meanwhile, Su Xuanxuan in the corner felt her anger subside a little. Watching this child she had raised from a young age now standing straight, his gaze firm as he looked at the Crown Prince, not yielding an inch, the Fox Venerable suddenly felt a bit gratified: This child has finally grown up. Throughout the Immortal Dynasty, how many dare to say “no” to the Crown Prince? Su Xuanxuan’s lips curved up slightly: This is the child I raised!
Wait! Is this child really the one I nurtured? The moment Su Xuanxuan thought that the current Chu Yuan might have been possessed, she felt disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly.
Looking back at Ji Xuanyuan, she was frowning slightly. She hadn’t expected Chu Yuan to refuse her so resolutely. All this time, he did whatever she said; she thought he had grown accustomed to obedience. “But!” To establish a long-term bond with Junior Brother, Ji Xuanyuan argued her case: “Young Master Yuan, right now this dragon isn’t close to you either. Continuing like this isn’t a solution, is it?”
Chu Yuan’s expression stiffened. What she said was true. From the moment that little dragon crawled out of its shell until now, the look in its eyes when it looked at him was always wary, as if angry. The meaning of rejection was clear. When he reached out to touch her, she shrank back, puffing up her scales and huffing at him. Even though those teeth weren’t fully grown yet, biting would have no intimidating power, but that rejecting attitude cut into his heart like a knife.
He remembered how in his previous life, the Dragon Emperor never let anyone get close, except him alone. Every time she tasted food, the Sovereign always loved to wrap her tail around him and pull him to her side. But in this life, this little dragon-leopard was so wary of him. If the other party had also been reborn and was angry about past events, that was one thing; but what if the other party was genuinely physiologically repulsed by him???
Chu Yuan was at a bit of a loss. At that moment, Chu Zhenshan spoke up to offer a plan.
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