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| Author: Return of Han & Tang |
Original Source: SFACG |
Word Count: 2317 characters |
| Translator: Fishead |
English Source: Re:Library |
Word Count: 1490 words |
In front of Jasmine stands a creature covered in rough, armor-like scales of brownish-red, its head as large as a carriage was adorned with bony horns, and a pair of long jaws filled with sharp, jagged teeth coated in viscous saliva. Its deep green eyes, each the size of a roulette wheel, fixate on her silently.
Although slightly different from the myths, its likeness was roughly the same.
Dragon she really ran into a dragon…1
The Chicken-Feather man actually called it; a genuine dragon was hidden in this forest.
“Gudong…” After staring at each other for a while, the white-haired girl swallowed hard, then suddenly began screaming and shouting uncontrollably, as if her body was no longer hers.
“Save meee, there really is a dragon in this forest, somebody come save me waaa!”
The brown dragon opened its huge terrifying mouth revealing an abyss-like darkness that seemed able to swallow whole the entire forest.
Suddenly it leaned forward, and the two human traffickers who had fainted from fright entered that huge bottomless mouth.
Not even a bone was spat out; perhaps a couple of lackeys like themselves weren’t even enough for it to stuff its teeth…
So, am I going to be next??
Jasmine’s pretty face now paled with fright, her body trembling like a rattle, tears welling up in her exotic eyes. Unlike before when her tears were meant to sell her pitifulness, this time she was genuinely terrified to the point of crying.
To make matters worse, Jasmine, pale with fear and unable to express the terror in her heart due to her immobility, emitted a foul stench from under her body…
Upon seeing an actual dragon for the first time in both her lives Jasmine embarrassingly couldn’t hold it.
Not caring about her wet pants, Jasmine stared in terror at the slowly approaching dragon head, desperately attempting to retreat.
“S, s, s, sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you sleeping! I’ll leave right away right away!” Jasmine stuttered apologizing. She wanted to flee immediately but alas her body was still tightly bound and immobile.
“It’s over…” Jasmine muttered hopelessly.
She only hoped that when the dragon ate her, it wouldn’t chew with its teeth so that her death could be less painful.
I’m about to be swallowed into the dragon’s belly right.
Now that it’s come to this, what does it look like inside a dragon’s belly?
Is it the same as a human’s or does a dragon’s belly really lead to another dimension or an incinerator or something.
……Weird, why hasn’t this dragon devoured me after so long?
When Jasmine opened her eyes again, the dragon still loomed in front of her, its large head swaying back and forth giving it an air of cuteness.
“You, you, what are you doing, are you going to eat me or not? Are you trying to drive me crazy??”
“Hm, hm?” The dragon sniffed through its nose a couple of times and tilted its head seemingly not understanding what Jasmine was talking about.
Suddenly, it extended one of its claws.
Is, is it coming?
With a ripping sound, the rope binding Jasmine was severed.
“Eh?” Jasmine who had regained her freedom was befuddled but the events following shocked her even more.
The brown dragon bowed low, prostrating itself on all fours, pressing its entire body from head to tail tightly against the ground, as if showing reverence and humility towards its perceived deity, its eyes closed in solemnity.
“Brown Dragon Nuolai, pays respect to lord Qian Baiyu.”
The voice echoing in her mind left Mo Li slightly stunned. Glancing around, she fixed her gaze on the brown dragon before her, feeling somewhat incredulous.
“You’re talking to me?”
“Besides me, there are no other dragons here.”
“Lord Qian Baiyu… you mean me?” Jasmine questioned.
“This subject sensed the noble blood in you as soon as you entered this forest, for my previous offenses please forgive me.”
“You… aren’t planning to eat me?”
“Eat?… Lord Qian Baiyu jests; this subject wouldn’t dare.” The dragon deliberately spoke slowly, maintaining a posture and attitude of utmost deference before Jasmine.
Jasmine was quite unused to a dragon showing her so much respect.
“Um, can’t you get up and talk? Isn’t talking while prostrated tiring.”
“Lord Qian Baiyu, this subject is merely a sub-dragon. In terms of status, this subject will likely never have the opportunity to speak face-to-face with the supreme royalty of the dragon race, Qian Baiyu, in their lifetime,” Nuolai respectfully explained.
Alright, mate if you wanna keep prostrating then go ahead.
Understanding that the other party had no ill intentions towards her, Jasmine’s vigilance lightened but at the same time, untold shame arose in her heart.
If you’re not going to eat me then why purposely scare me, was it on purpose? I even…
The mysterious liquid on the ground gave Jasmine a feeling of intense shame.
So embarrassing, I’m so old already but my endurance is still like that of a little kid… wait, it seems this body is that of a kid, just a moment of weakness caused it to leak…
Disregarding these thoughts, this was the first time Jasmine had a taste of the BUFF being a Qian Baiyu gave her, aside from Qian Baiyu, dragons of other species will bear a sense of fear and reverence towards her.
“Lord Qian Baiyu, this subject’s name is Nuolai.”
“Um? Ah, I got it, you already introduced yourself a second ago.” Jasmine, recovering from her shame, understood the meaning behind Nuolai’s words.
Elsa had previously taught her that dragons only give their names when speaking to another dragon.
“My name is, um, my name is Jasmine Qian Baiyu, many thanks for your help previously.” Although Mo Li had scant relations with the Qian Baiyu, to the point that Elsa was the lone dragon he knew among the ranks of the Qian Baiyu. That fact didn’t prevent Jasmine from using her bloodline to fabricate an identity2.
“Lord Jasmine, this subject, has an unreasonable but heartfelt request.” Nuolai, after seemingly hesitating a long time, carefully voiced her request.
“Oh? What request?” It didn’t matter if Nuolai told her, regardless Jasmine couldn’t help.
“Although requesting something after our first meeting is a bit rude, I can also tell that the current you is very weak and in need of assistance.” Nuolai frankly expressed her thoughts.
In reality, Nuolai didn’t need to say a word; being abducted by two humans made the situation abundantly clear. After all, even in the eyes of a sub-dragon like Nuolai humans were nothing more than insignificant pests.
Jasmine understood Nuolai’s intentions.
Nuolai’s intentions were clear: a straightforward exchange, offering their assistance in return for Jasmine’s help.
Put bluntly, Nuolai would help Jasmine deal with the issue of lacking fighting power while Jasmine would help Nuolai with their issue.
“What, do you want me to help you with?” Jasmine wasn’t in a rush to accept
“For you, it’d be effortless, this subject hopes to return to the shelter of The City of the Sky with your help.” Nuolai explained slowly.
The City of the Sky??
Jasmine vaguely recalled the name, remembering it seemed to be the home of the Qian Baiyu and the entire dragon race, situated beyond the Orchid River’s borders.
Realistically speaking, how could she possibly assist in this matter? She wasn’t a dragon with significant influence among the Qian Baiyu, on top of that there was a high likelihood she would be detained and interrogated if seen by another Qian Baiyu.
From Elsa’s tone, Jasmine could already sense that the Qian Baiyu harbored a certain degree of ill-intent towards those of mixed blood. Back when Jasmine’s mom and dad fell in love it was likely that her grandpa didn’t give his consent and they could be considered to have eloped, as such…
“This request, I probably can’t be of much help.” Jasmine didn’t want to lie and replied honestly.
“… Don’t be in a rush to refuse, I’m not asking you to help for free.” After seeing that Jasmine was unwilling, Nuolai got a little anxious.
“Over time I’ve collected many treasures, if they can be of help…”
“It isn’t a matter of treasure.” Jasmine held her head, a troubled expression visible as the tail behind her swayed back and forth to its owner’s emotions.
What Jasmine hated most was owing someone a favor, viewing it as a great annoyance.
This dragon did just save her from an extremely perilous situation, if Nuolai hadn’t been here, she may have already been trained into a young dragon toy3.
Jasmine had her own principles, and since Nuolai had helped her, in a life-threatening situation no less, she was determined to repay her, regardless of whether Nuolai was human or dragon.
“How about this, in the future if I can help you on this matter I’ll definitely lend you a hand.” Jasmine took a deep breath and replied prudently.
