Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 23 Dragon!
Caesar stood there, his face grave.

We've searched the entire area, but we can't find the bamboo basket.

"Damn it. I wonder if some old man or woman will just pick it up and leave without a trace," he thought, sweating profusely.

Luckily, I had my change in my pocket, as well as a small bag of dried meat that the shop owner had given me.

"What kind of local customs are these? They even steal vegetable baskets." He covered his head and squatted on the ground.

Now I won't be able to explain this to Yumilia when I get back.
Furthermore, I actually played so much that I lost all the groceries I bought; I've truly disgraced the Empire.
He sighed, looked up, and noticed a few drops of oil on the ground.

I touched it with my hand and smelled it; it smelled good.

Oh right, there was also a bottle of sesame oil among the things I bought today. It must be the sesame oil that leaked and dripped out.

The trail extended into the nearby grove of trees.

We have a lead.

"Damn it, we have to catch this vegetable thief! Otherwise, where will the emperor's face be?" he thought bitterly, and strode aggressively into the grove.

Walking in the shady grove, Caesar activated the powers of the Imperial Seal, ruling and constantly observing the surroundings.

The woods were quiet, with the rustling of footsteps on fallen leaves, the sound of wind rustling through the leaves, and the occasional clear bird song.

He followed the oil stains and soon found an onion under a tree.

The onion had been bitten, but the bite mark wasn't big.

After walking a few more steps, I saw a cabbage with a bite taken out of its root, though the bite mark wasn't very big.

"Just a petty thief," Caesar snorted.

Now there's no need to rely on oil stains anymore; the road is littered with discarded vegetables, all of which have already been eaten, so it seems the other party wants to try everything.

There was no trace of meat or eggs; this little thief is actually picky about food.

Following the trail, they arrived at a clearing in the woods, which turned out to be an abandoned stable.
Is this where the petty thief is hiding?

The stable was empty, the water trough was full of rainwater, and there was some straw piled up next to it. On the straw, he found his bamboo basket.

Almost all the vegetables inside had been thrown away; there were only two pieces of meat and a dozen eggs.

The other two cups of milk pudding were finished, and the empty cups were left in a corner.

Caesar realized he had stepped on something soft, and looking down, he saw it was a charred chicken.

The chicken looked as if it had been rescued from a fire; its feathers were charred, it emitted a foul odor, and it died with its eyes wide open in dismay.

In addition, he saw several charred animal carcasses around him, including chickens, ducks, and rabbits. Some were burned beyond recognition, while others were only half burned and blood could still be seen.

It's clear that someone wants to roast these animals, but doesn't have the culinary skills.
However, Caesar found no trace of a fire nearby.
“Something seems off,” he frowned.

In addition, there seemed to be some familiar scents lingering in the stable, but because they were mixed with so many other smells, he couldn't quite place them.

What exactly is this aura?
Caesar closed his eyes and recalled the moment when a leaf fell onto the sink as the wind blew through it.

"dragon!"

Almost the instant he realized it, a dragon's roar resounded behind him, like a thunderclap, causing countless birds in the forest to scatter and fly out.

Before he could turn around, something pounced on him and knocked him down, plunging him into the sink. He choked on water, and his upper body was soaked.

A low growl came from behind him, and hot breath sprayed onto the back of his neck.

"What the hell?" He was about to retaliate when he found that the other person had collapsed on top of him after knocking him down.

He got up, turned around, wiped the water off his face, and was surprised to see that it wasn't a dragon that had attacked him.

It was a child about his age, lying face down in front of him, motionless.

Caesar opened his mouth, though he knew it was unlikely, but it still looked too much like a staged accident.

"woo"

The child's body trembled slightly, and he struggled to sit up and raise his head.

Caesar saw a pair of incredibly beautiful golden vertical pupils.

And a thin, pale face, covered in dirt, yet possessing a sickly beauty.

After staring into those golden vertical pupils for a full five seconds, the other person suddenly reacted, scrambling to their feet and almost staggering as they ran back to the corner of the stable. There, they curled up in a ball, covering their head, their golden eyes wide open, staring at him warily like a frightened kitten.

The other person had a head of black hair that was even more disheveled than a beggar's, dripping with water. He was wearing a shirt and a pair of knee-length shorts, which, although dirty, were finely made and did not look like something a beggar could afford.

Furthermore, Caesar noticed a pair of small, rounded horns, resembling the tips of carrots, protruding slightly from the other person's head.
This is not a characteristic that a normal human being should have.

This is a human formed from a dragon!
How could there be a dragon in such a place?
And it's so small?
It's surreal that my food was snatched away by a dragon.

He learned from history books that dragons are now almost extinct, and even if they exist, they are unknown to humans, becoming extremely mysterious and secretive.

Then this secretive and powerful race actually came out and stole their own vegetables.
Caesar sighed, seeing how afraid the other party was of him, and that there was no magical aura about him.

Forget about stealing vegetables for now, let's calm the other party down and get to the bottom of this.

"you"

As soon as he uttered a syllable, the little dragon roared at him, its golden eyes revealing a cat-like rejection, and low growls emanating from its throat, as if he were a destroyer who had invaded its territory.

Caesar covered his head and shook his head helplessly, then took out a small bag of beef jerky from his pocket.

"Are you hungry?" He waved the beef jerky in his hand at Xiaolong.

The other person's attention was clearly drawn to the bag of beef jerky, but they remained wary and huddled in the corner.

Caesar tried to approach, but was met with only repulsive roars.

He slapped his forehead, as if remembering something, and then said:
"Don't worry, I mean no harm and can help you."

Upon hearing this, Xiaolong's expression froze, his angry aggression vanished, replaced by utter disbelief.

His pale lips moved, emitting a sound that was almost entirely hoarse:
"You can speak Dragon Language?"

“I’ve learned a little,” Caesar said.

After all, he had once allied with the dragons, and one of the seven phantoms in the Formless Heaven Domain was Leogard, the former king of the dragons.

Learning the language of our allies is a basic way to show them respect in communication.

Upon hearing Caesar speak in the dragon language, the other party's vigilance immediately diminished by more than half, and its large, round eyes, which had been wide open to maintain an aggressive stance, drooped down.

“So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m very familiar with your dragon clan; we’re good friends.” Caesar took two steps closer, revealing a friendly smile, and handed over the bag of beef jerky.

He inexplicably felt like a child trafficker pretending to be a good person and using lollipops to lure children.

But the other person actually believed him. While keeping a close eye on him, they leaned forward, tentatively extending their thin, bony arms to take the bag of beef jerky.
After staring at Caesar for several more seconds, the little dragon finally lost its fear, bit open the oil paper of the beef jerky, and buried its head to wolf it down.

(End of this chapter)