“My name is Shen Lingshuang, the eldest daughter of the Jiaolong Clan Chief and the first in line heir.”
After the treatment came to a pause, the flood dragon began the familiar self-introduction routine. Her voice was very soft, and she needed to catch her breath after each sentence.
“I came here because I just went through a family trial.”
Xuanxi tilted her head. The eldest daughter of the Jiaolong Clan Chief—how had she ended up in this remote place?
She looked at the wounds on Shen Lingshuang’s body. Some injuries didn’t seem like they could be from a trial; they looked more like the result of being chased by enemies.
“I took my guard team and headed east from the Wasteland for the trial.”
Shen Lingshuang’s condition had improved quite a bit; she only needed to rest after a few sentences.
“We crossed the Wasteland and once reached the border of the Central Continent. Along the way, we encountered magical beasts and beast tribe bandits. But on the way back, we were ambushed near the boundary line between the dragon race and the beast tribe.”
Xuanxi looked at her.
“An ambush? Around here?”
“Yes, this area looks peaceful, but it’s actually very chaotic—almost a lawless zone.”
Shen Lingshuang leaned against the stone wall, her eyes looking especially deep in the green light emitted by the moss.
“This place is exactly at the triple border of the dragon race, beast tribe, and Central Continent. If someone dies, no one will bother to find the culprit. My little brother really picked a good place to send his sister on her way.”
Xuanxi said nothing. Three hundred years ago, the Canglong Dynasty had a civil strife, with the three Dragon Kings besieging the royal city. Now, within the Jiaolong Clan, a brother ambushing his sister was playing out.
When it came to power struggles, whether dragon race or beast tribe, the script was pretty much the same. Power—that thing was truly fascinating.
“What about your guard team?” Xuanxi asked.
“The dignified eldest daughter goes on a trial—surely she wouldn’t go without any guards.”
“They’re all dead…”
At this, Shen Lingshuang’s voice choked up.
“Seven guards who grew up with me. The youngest was only sixteen, about the same age as my brother. How could he!”
“They gave their lives to shield me, giving me a chance to escape. And I ran for three days and three nights without food or water until I barely made it here to catch my breath.”
“Do you have anything to call for help?”
Shen Lingshuang was silent for a moment.
“I did, but I lost it while fighting a Man-Eating Flower before entering this cave.”
Xuanxi pulled out that deep blue stone from her pocket. The stone’s surface was etched with fine patterns, emitting a faint blue glow in the dim cave.
“Is this it? I found it in the forest, with traces of a Man-Eating Flower nearby.”
Shen Lingshuang nodded upon seeing the stone, reached out to take it, and gently ran her fingers over the patterns. After infusing it with her spiritual energy, a deep blue light lit up from inside the stone.
“Yes, this is my distress token. Crush it, and my father’s personal guard will arrive within a week.”
She clenched the stone in her palm and crushed it hard. After a dull, crisp sound, a deep blue light surged out from the cracks, spreading through the stone chamber like a crushed nebula.
The light points floated in the air for a few seconds, then drifted in the same direction—toward the Jiaolong Abyss. Shen Lingshuang watched the light points disappear behind the stone wall, then slowly unclenched her fist.
“The personal guard sets out from the Jiaolong Abyss, crossing most of the Northern Wasteland to get here. It’ll take at least three days. During these three days, I must stay hidden and not be discovered.”
Xuanxi looked at her right leg.
“Your injuries won’t heal in three days.”
“I know.”
Shen Lingshuang shifted her sitting position and looked at Xuanxi.
“So I need someone who can bring me meals, change my medicine, and generally treat my wounds within three days.”
Xuanxi was stunned.
“You want me to work for you?”
“See it through to the end.”
Shen Lingshuang’s voice was still low, but her tone was a bit lighter than before.
“Three hundred gold coins a day. How does that deal sound?”
Xuanxi lowered her head and did the math. Three hundred gold a day, three days would be nine hundred gold. She only spent a few copper coins for a meal at the Academy cafeteria.
Nine hundred gold would be enough to feed her for several years.
“It’s possible, but you’re alone. Where did you get the money? And how can I trust you?”
“We Jiaolong never lack for money.”
Shen Lingshuang took out a money pouch from her waist and handed it to Xuanxi.
“Half of the mineral veins in the Northern Wasteland belong to the Jiaolong Clan. This hundred gold is a deposit. Take it for now.”
Xuanxi took the money pouch. It was heavy.
She remembered Helasi saying that the ores from the North were of very good quality, the only drawback being they were too expensive. So those ores were mined by the Jiaolong Clan. No wonder they were so rich.
“Alright, three days. One meal and one medicine change per day, three hundred gold a day.”
“Deal.”
Shen Lingshuang extended her hand to Xuanxi, and Xuanxi shook it.
“I’ll bring you food tonight. For now, eat some dry rations to tide you over.”
Xuanxi stood up and patted the dust off herself.
“Stay here. The spiritual energy concentration deep in the cave is high, good for healing. Don’t run around—your injuries can’t take it.”
Shen Lingshuang leaned against the stone wall, watching her back.
“Aren’t you curious why I trust you so much?”
Xuanxi didn’t turn around and said matter-of-factly, “Your guards are all dead. You ran for three days and three nights to a strange forest, met a stranger who treated your wounds and brought you food, and only charged you a little (at least, not much for Shen Lingshuang). If you don’t trust me, who can you trust?”
Shen Lingshuang nodded helplessly.
“You’re right. I can only trust you.”
Xuanxi walked out of the stone chamber. Behind her came Shen Lingshuang’s voice.
“I’ll wait for you tonight. Don’t run away.”
When Xuanxi walked out of the cave, she took a deep breath. The air outside smelled so much better, completely different from the stale air inside.
She thought of the nine hundred gold Shen Lingshuang promised her. That much would be enough to buy her adoptive father a new set of blacksmithing tools.
She did the math in her head: a good set of blacksmithing tools—hammers, tongs, anvil, and the like—all replaced with new ones would cost about one to two hundred gold.
With the remaining gold, she could take out another one to two hundred to renovate the Blacksmith’s Shop, buy new furniture, and maybe even upgrade the furnace to a larger size when she had the chance.
She could even keep a little for herself, buy Xige a New Year’s gift, and pay back her debt.
She looked at the pouch Shen Lingshuang had given her.
The deep blue pouch was embroidered with the Jiaolong Clan’s emblem—a coiled flood dragon, very similar to an Eastern dragon, the only difference being that they had only four claws (Eastern dragons have five) and a pair of fin-like wings.
She weighed the pouch in her hand. It was bulging and heavy.
It was nice to have money at home—just casually handing out a hundred gold. She wondered if Xige was like that too; her family seemed quite rich. She’d send a message tonight to share what happened today.
Xuanxi checked the time and quickened her pace. She still had to go back for lunch; she couldn’t keep Helasi waiting. She crossed the forest and took a small path back to the back door of the Blacksmith’s Shop.