“What do you mean! You’re the one who’s spoiled silly! I am not!”
Yiyi protested indignantly, but her voice trembled with the threat of tears, sounding soft and weak, lacking even a hint of intimidation.
“Yeah, yeah, sure. But at least I’m not as dumb as you.”
Aze let out a mocking snort, his fingertips deliberately twisting Yiyi’s burning dragon tail.
Watching her tense up in an instant, the teasing in his red eyes deepened.
“Hades, you’re the mighty Captain, yet you let people mess with your own body every day, biting people indiscriminately without figuring out what’s what. Where’s your dignity? Lost all your face, haven’t you?”
“I did not!”
Yiyi trembled with rage, tears clinging to her lashes, but she still craned her neck to retort, her dragon horns so red they were about to smoke.
“You did it on purpose! And that broomstick—maybe you were behind it all along, conspiring with outsiders!”
As soon as she blurted it out, she saw Aze’s expression chill in an instant, and her voice grew weaker.
“I… I was just saying…”
“Just saying, huh?”
Aze raised an eyebrow, tugging her dragon tail as he strode two steps forward.
The iron gates of the training ground loomed ahead.
“Crying and shouting in the kitchen just now about wanting to kill me, and now you’re talking about conspiring with outsiders. Hades, is your brain filled with dragon drool or glue?”
“Hmph, not talking to you… And let go of my tail, let me down!”
Yiyi wriggled, her dragon tail numb from his grip, her tone urgent and coquettish, with a hint of helpless complaint.
Aze’s fingers paused but didn’t let go.
Instead, he deliberately shook her dragon tail gently, watching her stagger and nearly fall.
A flash of triumphant amusement glinted in his red eyes.
“Now you know to beg me? Weren’t you just saying you’d obey me completely? What, planning to let yourself get sold off?”
“What’s the rush? We’re almost there.”
Aze dragged her by the dragon tail a couple more steps forward.
The iron gate of the training ground creaked in the wind, his red eyes brimming with mischief.
“Who knows if you, this little baby dragon, still have any of your old strength left? Sigh, probably turned into a little good-for-nothing who only knows how to drink milk every day.”
“I’m not useless!”
Yiyi was shaking with anger, her dragon horns almost blazing, struggling to kick him.
But with her tail being held, she couldn’t muster any force, nearly toppling over instead.
“I used to be able to kill a wild ox with a single punch! I still can!”
“Oh? Really?”
Aze arched a brow and let go on purpose, watching as she stumbled to regain her balance.
He turned, pushing open the training ground’s iron gate, and casually tossed Yiyi out.
“Go. Beat it.”
Yiyi landed hard on her bottom, her whole body numb, staring blankly for three seconds.
Her dragon tail instinctively curled around her calf, her eyes reddening instantly.
It wasn’t because it hurt, but because the sudden disdain stung her pride.
“You jerk!”
She leapt up, dragon horns so red they could drip blood, pointing angrily at Aze.
“I’ll fight! If I lose, I’ll take your surname!”
But as soon as she saw what Aze was pointing at, her bravado deflated by half.
It was a stone rhinoceros, chained to a wooden stake, its whole body pitch black and its muscles as hard as iron, with a single horn glinting coldly.
It was a full two heads taller than her, its head lowered as it pawed the ground, two plumes of white breath spraying from its nostrils.
It looked ferocious.
…
“You… you did this on purpose!”
Yiyi shrank back, dragon tail curling in front of her for protection, but she still craned her neck defiantly.
“This stupid rock beast looks tough. You just want me dead!”
“What, scared?”
Aze leaned against the iron gate, arms crossed, watching her with a face full of mockery.
“Weren’t you just bragging you could kill an ox with a single punch? Now you won’t even face a stone rhino? You’re just a useless little baby dragon who only knows how to drink milk.”
“Yeah, I’m scared! So what? Hit me if you dare, see if I care, hmph X…”
Yiyi craned her neck and backed away, her dragon tail tightly wrapped around the wooden stake behind her, like a puffed-up little beast that didn’t dare step forward.
She deliberately turned her face away, refusing to look at Aze’s mocking gaze.
But her reddening ears and trembling shoulders still betrayed her unwillingness.
“Alright then, useless baby dragon, come with me. How about I sell you off to those slave masters?”
Aze said, reaching for her tail coiled around the wooden stake, his fingertips brushing the warm scales before giving a light tug on purpose.
Yiyi froze in fright, her tail instantly letting go of the stake, and she instinctively ducked behind Aze, eyes red as she glared at him.
“Don’t you dare! I’m not going anywhere!”
She said this while shrinking further into Aze’s arms, her tail tightly coiling around his wrist like a lifeline, refusing to let go.
Yiyi clung stubbornly to the wooden post, but her tail was trapped in Aze’s hand and couldn’t be pulled back.
She could only crane her neck and wail, her sobs tearing through the air.
“Help! Wuwuwu, there’s a dragon trafficker here, someone’s abducting a dragon, wuwuwu~”
Even as she cried, she snuck glances at Aze out of the corner of her eye to see if he would relent.
Her tears flowed like broken beads, soaking the fabric on her chest.
Aze gave her dragon tail a sudden hard tug, yanking her away from the post and dragging her out.
“Hopeless. That’s enough, let’s go back.”
“Uuuwuu X _X so mean~”
Yiyi was dragged along by her dragon tail, tears streaming down, her babyish voice nasal with grievance and accusation.
As she cried, she wiped her tears with her free hand, her tail numb from his grip but still stubbornly trying to pull back, toes scraping the ground, acting like a little mule being dragged away against her will.
“Where’s all that courage you had in the dungeon, huh? Did you eat it?”
Aze dragged her forward, his tone tinged with exasperated teasing, but his fingertips quietly eased their grip, afraid of actually hurting her tail.
“Maybe I should just be your big brother from now on, little baby dragon Hades.”
Aze kept walking, his voice carrying a teasing affection.
His fingertips gently caressed the fine scales on her tail, his touch far softer than it should have been.
Yiyi was caught off guard by the “big brother” comment, her crying stopping short before she exploded again, her little voice indignant and shrill.
“Who wants to be your little sister! You’re the baby dragon!”
As she spoke, she kicked out hard, her tail winding even tighter around his wrist.
“There’s no point arguing with a baby dragon like you, you little good-for-nothing. Go find your little treasure Lilia later.”
Aze dragged her along, his tone filled with mocking disdain.
“If you have the guts, let go of my tail! See if I don’t hit you! Hmph X!”
Yiyi protested, her dragon tail coiling tighter around Aze’s wrist.
Her babyish voice was fierce and sharp, but carried no intimidation at all, more like she was acting spoiled.
“Yeah, right. Let you go so you can bite me?”
Aze snorted, but quietly eased his grip again, careful not to redden the scales of her tail.
He dragged Yiyi along, golden eyes shining with unconcealed amusement.
“So, dragging me around by my tail—what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Help you recover your strength, so you can beat me in the trial.”
Aze’s tone lost some of its teasing edge, a rare seriousness flickering in his golden eyes.