I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

“I did not harm that little girl, simply because she was a citizen of Yan.”

“I covered Wei’s eyes, so he wouldn’t have time to tell whether what I said was true or false. I called a deer a horse and used fireworks as bombs. Wei didn’t dare to make a move because he was still afraid of the name of the immortal black snake.”

“Talulah Atrias… Listen to that name, Atrias, one of Victoria’s long-lost crown princes. She took her father’s surname, and according to Yan Kingdom custom, she and her mother were already citizens of another country when her parents married.”

"The Divine Lord protects the people of Yan, and those who harm the people of Yan will be punished a hundredfold."

“But I did not harm a single person from Yan, nor did I damage a single tree in Yan. All I took away were some divine rain and dew... and a foreign friend.”

“I have not violated any of the precepts that would incite the divine authority; the mandate of heaven is mine.”

The black snake picked up a few tea leaves and placed them in its palm. With each sentence it spoke, it removed a leaf. When it finished speaking, its palm was empty, with not a single tea leaf in sight.

Whether she is a citizen of Yan Kingdom or not is not a matter for outsiders to decide.

"But her family abandoned her."

The black snake's words made her unable to restrain herself any longer.

“Wei Yanwu is not my family. My only family is Huijie and the old man.”

She hated the man who killed her father and persecuted her mother, yet thought it was for their own good and for the city's.

The young dragon slammed its fist on the table and roared, its bright golden eyes seemingly burning with a raging fire.

"Little Tower, calm down."

The dragon's hand covered her head, and the warm touch made her feel somewhat dazed.

"Old man..."

She sat down again, her two little hands clutching his sleeve tightly.

"A spell that requires language to evoke emotions as a trigger, like a snake lurking in the dark hunting, with anger and resentment as its favorite food."

The true dragon saw through the black serpent's magic at a glance. Young dragons are at the age of youthful passion, and at this time they are most susceptible to being swayed by words and emotions, leading them to do wrong.

"Don't let his words affect you. Whatever Wei Yanwu does is our own business, and there's no need for a reptile to keep babbling here."

During the day, he lowered his right arm and held the young dragon's slightly cool hand, showing her his trust.

The dragon slightly raised its head and met the black snake's gaze.

"I am willing to put up with your noise here because what you did before did not cross my bottom line."

"But now, you and your language make me laugh."

The black snake could feel its body trembling uncontrollably.

That's a biological instinctive reaction to fear.

Knew it.

If one is not born with such a noble body, it is impossible to give up those intoxicating emotions.

The black snake revealed a smile, but the growing fear on its skin twisted and made the smile ugly.

"The immortal black serpent, even if you crush this body, your soul will escape and find a new form."

"The divine ruler is indeed different from mortals."

Black Snake looked at the still-boiling teapot in front of him, a hint of regret in his eyes.

"This tea is the best quality I could buy with my current body. Now that I'm giving it away, I don't know when I'll be able to smell its fragrance again."

The last memory the Black Serpent knew was a bolt of lightning that cleaved through the deep darkness of the night.

■

"How is life in Ursus?"

Holding the girl's hand, he walked with her through the city streets during the day, asking her about her experiences and feelings during this time.

"Aside from the food being completely different from what we taste in Lungmen, everything else is fine. Oh, by the way, sir, the clothes here are quite stylish."

The girl touched the aristocratic clothes she was wearing, a birthday gift from Black Snake, which surprisingly suited her taste quite well.

"Your adaptability is quite impressive, which surprises me."

The "daytime" refers to the fact that the girl was able to gain weight even while alone in a foreign country.

"Hey, it's that old geezer anyway, might as well eat it."

The little dragon clung to his arm, a silly grin spreading across its face.

"While he has courage, his stubbornness can be quite annoying."

Young Dragon's straightforward nature would probably lead him astray after a few words from Black Snake.

"Waaah... I'm just a little girl of about ten years old, old man. How could I possibly be a match for an immortal old man who has lived for a thousand years?"

The young dragon chuckled sheepishly, then was tapped on the head by Bai Zhou.

"Are you going back to Longmen? Huijie is waiting for you."

Young Dragon suddenly stopped smiling and fell silent. She didn't speak again until they had walked down a street.

“Grandpa, I don’t want to go back. At least… I don’t want to go back empty-handed and without having accomplished anything.”

She hated that guy who thought he could handle everything.

Now that she's left that cold city that was both a warm nest and a cage, and has a life she can control, she wants to make something of herself before going back. She wants to show that guy that she, Talulah, can live just as well without his "efforts."

"Oh, that's quite ambitious, not bad."

After hearing the young dragon's bold words, Bai Zhou clapped his hands in encouragement.

"So, Talulah, what kind of great undertaking do you want to undertake?"

The dragon looked at her, then continued:

"There are many opportunities in this world, and you possess the blood of Drak and a true dragon. Your innate talent will make you successful in whatever you do."

"A strong physique can make you a powerful warrior with just a little training."

"With dragon blood flowing through your veins, you are a natural-born sorcerer. Even without learning magic, once you reach a certain age, you can become a powerful sorcerer like the Witch King."

"You are intelligent and learn knowledge much faster than the average person. If you were to enter academia, you would become a world-renowned scholar in due time through the accumulation of knowledge and experience."

"With so many paths to choose from, as a dragonborn, you won't encounter many obstacles, and you'll soon be able to earn your place in this world."

"..."

The baby dragon tucked its hands into its chest, scrunched up its little face, and bit its nails.

"No, old man, these are not things I want to do."

What Bai Zhou said is right. She, Talulah, a descendant of Draco and a true dragon, is naturally superior in everything she does.

But that's precisely why she's unwilling and refuses to do things that seem ordinary because of her bloodline.

What she had to do was something that bloodline could not give her.

"Old man, do you know?"

Young Draco raised his hand and pointed to the vast land beyond the duchy.

"Before I left Longmen and Da Yan, 'infected' was just three simple words in the textbooks I had studied."

Thanks to the grace of their ancestor, even the incurable mineral disease in Yan Kingdom can be effectively treated.

Everyone in Yan knows that if one suffers from a stone-related illness, one can pray to the God of War and receive a magical stone from the God of War to nourish one's body and mind. Within a hundred days, one can recover one's health and be free from the disease.

Thanks to the Divine Lord's tireless efforts over the past century, while not everyone in Yan Kingdom is equally wealthy, at least every person can live a life free from disaster and illness, with enough to eat and wear, and without lacking anything.

But in this bear territory, on this frozen northern land shrouded in winter, there are countless impoverished people whose families have been torn apart and who have lost their homes.

During this time, Black Snake told her a lot and showed her many things that she couldn't see in textbooks.

After seeing all this, she realized how fortunate she was to be a citizen of Yan, and how tragic it was to be a commoner of Ursus.

"I now have a dream too."

The rising sun cast its rays upon young Draco, illuminating him as if a raging fire had been set ablaze.

"Old man, I am neither a saint without desires nor a white lotus with overflowing kindness."

"I just want to do everything in my power to fight for their survival, a way for them to live like human beings."

Young Draco spoke freely and unrestrainedly before the true dragon.

"I want to ignite this crumbling empire. I want the people here to know that the power to control their own lives does not lie with nobles and emperors, but with themselves."

She, Talulah Atrias, will lead the suffering people of Ursus to overthrow the old, ancient era of Ursus in flames.

"not to mention."

The young Draco lost his earlier arrogance, and the familiar,憨笑 (a kind of simple, honest smile) that the true dragon possessed reappeared on his face.

"Black Snake isn't dead yet, is he, old man?"

When she saw the dragon nod, her smile became even brighter.

"That would be perfect."

“I will personally catch that snake in the ditch and burn this thousand-year-old remnant of Ursus to ashes with my fire.”

She wanted revenge on the guy who took her away from her sister.

A tribute to the 51 Lone Warriors, to the former fighter Tarua.

"If you want to put aside your status and have equal and normal conversations with those poor people, you have to start by experiencing their basic needs like food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Only then can you have the same topics to discuss."

"Grandpa, I understand the reasoning."

Young Draco weighed the brick-like black bread in his hand; it was as hard as a rock, and even a dagger could only leave a shallow mark when cut with it.

"But won't biting into this thing break your teeth?"

"Just soak it in hot water, or mix it with a little borscht."

During the day, branches are turned and campfires are littered with roasting rabbit meat. The golden meat sizzles and drips oil, which makes an enticing sizzling sound as it falls into the fire.

"Hey, is it really okay for the old man not to go back to Da Yan?"