Keztranslations

Chapter 30

Bai Huo woke up bright and early, finding several jars around him, all overflowing with fragrant beer. He was so happy that he opened another one without thinking.

“Liu Jian Guo-” Bai Huo shouted.

There was a sound of rolling stones below the mountain, and a short hairy dragon climbed up a few moments later, covering his forehead as he looked at Bai Huo: “Boss …”

“Not bad,” Bai Huo said, raising his jug with a smile. “You’ve gone above and beyond your task.”

Liu Jian Guo was dumbfounded: “Huh?”

“The beer ah,” Bai Huo tossed the lid at him. “Just two altars would’ve been enough. You didn’t bring out all the beer in the cellar, did you? Bahahaha …”

Liu Jian Guo covered his head and dodged the lid, when he took his hands away, a whip mark appeared on his forehead.

“Yo, what’s wrong with your head?” Bai Huo was surprised. “Who hit you?”

Liu Jian Guo giggled foolishly: “It, it’s nothing.”

As soon as Bai Huo heard this tone, he knew that something had happened. He lowered the jar and got up, patting the dust off his body, saying over the noise of jingling chains: “Who bullied you, just say it, boss will support you.”

Liu Jian Guo scratched his face, then said: “Okay…Foreman Deng did it. I said that I was bringing some beer to you last night, but he wouldn’t allow it, so we had a fight. In the end, I didn’t win, and I got whipped… “

Bai Huo didn’t understand, gesturing to the jars behind him: “You didn’t win, so where did all these come from?”

Liu Jian Guo followed his motion, finally noticing the five or six altars by the rock wall, his eyes widening.

When Bai Huo saw this expression, he knew that this silly child had not lied. He couldn’t help but wonder: “Didn’t you come back here last night?”

Liu Jian Guo shook his head like a rattle: “No, absolutely not!”

“It wasn’t you?” Bai Huo was bewildered, could it be that the beer jugs ran over here by themselves?

“The dragon sect visitors brought along … um …” Liu Jian Guo painstakingly counted on his fingers, then held up six of them, “They brought this much.”

A total of six altars were gifted to Yao Mountain, and in the end, all the altars were moved to his nest. Why did this shameless act seem like … something he’d do himself?

Bai Huo couldn’t help but look down, pulling the chains on his wrist, after repeatedly making sure that they were really too strong to break out of after getting drunk, he turned back to Liu Jian Guo: “Bring the key for me.”

“Key?” Liu Jian Guo’s eyes widened. His no-good brain was finally enlightened, and he slapped his thigh and said, “Boss! You want to go out!”

“Okay, don’t dawdle.” Bai Huo waved his hands bashfully, “I want to give everyone a nice surprise.”

Nice surprise? Liu Jian Guo wasn’t sure about that, but ‘horrify them’ was a certainty.

The ‘better looking than an immortal’ Bai Huo hadn’t changed his clothes or combed his hair in more than a month. His body was still covered in bruises and bloody scars from struggling against the iron chains. When he suddenly appeared in the dining room in this bloody cloak, he immediately caused a commotion. ——A few of the timid ones even burst into tears, thinking that a white grim reaper had come to demand their lives.

Jing Lan and the palace owner, Zhao Lan, were having breakfast in the VIP room in the inner hall. Hearing the commotion outside, Jing Lan smiled faintly: “It seems that everybody is very energetic today.”

Li Lin Xi, sitting by Jing Lan’s side, was originally digging into his meal. When he heard a familiar voice, he suddenly choked, burying his face below the table as he coughed.

Jing Lan looked at him with a smile, and handed over a cup of tea.

Zhao Lan was the supervisor in charge of the construction of the underground palace in Yao Mountain. In human society, he’d be called the prison chief. When he heard this, his face blackened, then he smiled apologetically: “The guys are probably having a good chat.” After those words, he hurriedly called his subordinates to go take a look.

Jing Lan tilted his head slightly, and quietly asked Li Lin Xi, “Do you want to go out and see?”

Li Lin Xi froze, both hands nervously rubbing his knees.

*

Bai Huo had been in retreat for a whole month, the guys were very happy when they saw him, but they each stayed one meter away from him.

“Is your estrus really over? Don’t lie, I heard that the last spouse-less dragon who went into estrus didn’t even spare the hens.” A busybody asked him from across the table, nervously covering his chest.

“Relax.” Bai Huo sat at the table, holding the beer jug in one hand, and reaching out to massage his shoulder with the other, smacking it vigorously. “How can you, this plain grandpa, afford to be picky? Don’t worry, you’re safe! “

Bai Huo’s clothes were so ragged that he could use them as a fishing net. Someone with sharp eyes saw the bite mark on his shoulder and asked curiously, “Old Bai, are you sure you don’t have a wife? Then what about the bite mark on your shoulder? Who bit you? “

Bai Huo shrugged deliberately, beaming, “Guess?”

The crowd booed, a few familiar workers quipping: “I didn’t realize that you played so openly.”

“What baseless assumptions are you making?” Bai Huo patted his shoulder and snorted. “My son bit me.”

The crowd didn’t believe him at all: “I always hear you mentioning your son this, your son that. Where’s this son? You’ve been here for almost five years, why hasn’t he come to visit you?”

Bai Huo drunkenly turned around, his long leg kicking out: “You talk too much!”

“What’s all this commotion?! Don’t you know that I’m entertaining a VIP today–” During the liveliness, three men aggressively ran into the hall, all dressed in black and brown uniforms, the phoenix mark embroidered on each shoulder. These were the foremen of Yao Mountain, equivalent to the prison guards in human society.

When Bai Huo saw the dragon heading the procession, his brows jumped. Grinning, he walked over to clap the other man’s shoulder: “Foreman Deng, long time no see.”

Foreman Deng felt pained as soon as he saw Bai Huo: “So it’s you, no wonder today is so noisy!”

“What’s noisy? Yao Mountain is so deserted, what’s wrong with livening things up a bit?” Bai Huo lazily hugged his beer jar and sat down cross-legged.

“Where did you get this?” As soon as Foreman Deng saw the familiar jug, his blood pressure began to soar. “Bai Huo, you thief!”

“Thief?” Bai Huo was upset. “Deng Hei, where is your evidence? It’s true that I drank a stolen altar yesterday, but the altar in my hand is clean. Which eye did you see me steal it with?”

“This is the beer that the distinguished guests gave to Supervisor Zhao. There were six altars in total, and each altar was engraved with a phrase. Look at it yourself, how can you not call this stealing?” Deng Hei was furious.

Bai Huo’s cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol, he unhurriedly turned the jug around, and really found a few words written in beautiful, flowing cursive -it’s a pity that the words were unrecognizable.

Deng Hei calmly looked around the room, seeing Liu Jian Guo, who was shrinking behind the crowd, he scolded: “And you, Liu Jian Guo, come out! I caught you stealing things last night, yet you still haven’t learned your lesson! It seems that the whipping wasn’t enough for you, huh?! “

Liu Jian Guo timidly tried to flee. Deng Hei’s whip swung out, the gale it generated instantly entering the ears.

All dragons sentenced to forced labor had a special black needle nailed into the divine bone at the back of their necks. Its size was similar to that of an ordinary embroidery needle. Once the dragons were nailed with this black needle, they would lose all their spiritual powers, only retaining basic functions such as changing shape and self-healing. This black needle was forged from special materials, and needed to be taken out by a specialist after completing their sentence. If another dragon forcefully removed it, it would damage the divine bone, in serious cases, it could even endanger life.

 This measure was mainly to prevent the criminals from escaping. Dragons didn’t serve prison sentences like humans wearing manacles and shackles. Their personal freedom wasn’t restricted. But if you wanted your spiritual power to be restored, you could only honestly finish your prison term. After completing the sentence, you can go get the black needle taken out.

Liu Jian Guo was originally slow, with no spiritual power, even a strong human could beat him up. Seeing the whip before his eyes, he covered his face in fright.

A “whack” sounded, but the expected pain didn’t come. Liu Jian Guo tremblingly peeked between his fingers, and saw Bai Huo standing lazily in front of him, holding the beer jar in one hand, the other firmly wrapped around the whip.

The hall went silent, everyone dumbstruck.

“Deng Hei,” Bai Huo stared expressionlessly at the dragon across from him. “It’s just a jar of beer, don’t you think you’re taking this too far? With this whip, he wouldn’t be able to walk for a month.”

Deng Hei fiercely tugged the whip, unexpectedly, he couldn’t pull it back. Angry, he roared: “Let go!”

“Oh …” Bai Huo tilted his head.

Since Deng Hei was pulling so eagerly, when Bai Huo suddenly let go, the whip naturally rebounded in the opposite direction, “whack”, smacking into its master’s chest.

Deng Hei stumbled back from the hit, almost vomiting blood.

The spectating dragons all burst into roaring laughter, Bai Huo also laughed, holding the beer jar as he bent over in laughter.

Deng Hei’s face turned purple, ignoring the pain, he crawled up, obviously furious. He gritted his teeth and pulled another silver whip out from his bosom: “See if you can still laugh!”

Bai Huo glanced over, his face changing: “Silver ring?”

One of the divine weapons of the fire dragon tribe-the silver ringed whip. If this whip descended, in the best-case scenario, the flesh would be lacerated, in the worst case, the soul would be scattered!

Bai Huo turned around and kicked Liu Jian Guo away: “Go hide.”

Seeing that the situation was escalating, the other two foremen hurriedly retreated, afraid that they would be affected. Deng Hei waved his whip, smacking it onto the ground, the floor cracking instantly.

Many of the gathered dragons had witnessed the terror of this whip first hand, as soon as it came out, they didn’t stick around to watch, tripping over each other to escape. Deng Hei was already muddle-headed from anger, seeing that Bai Huo was about to slip away, he caught up in two steps, and raised his whip: “Bai Huo!”

However, the whip had barely swung out when, as if spelled by someone, it settled in the air, a blue aura quickly spreading out along the whip and wrapping it up. Then, the silver whip broke away from Deng Hei’s hand and fell softly into a pair of slender, fair hands.

Deng Hei was stunned, hurriedly looking back.

A long-haired man of extraordinary temperament seized the silver whip, shaking his head at him with a mild yet grave expression: “Don’t.”

“Jing Lan?!” Bai Huo rubbed his eyes fiercely, worried that he had started hallucinating from all the alcohol.

Deng Hei’s face flushed red, suddenly straightening out, embarrassed. He saluted Jing Lan, then, unexpectedly disregarding Bai Huo still on the ground, he turned and hurriedly retreated.

Bai Huo was completely dumbfounded. He staggered up, glancing down at his hands, he looked up at Jing Lan again: “Just how much did I drink?”

Jing Lan bowed his head and chuckled, slowly approaching, he helped up the star struck Liu Jian Guo: “Are you hurt?”

Liu Jian Guo stared at Jing Lan, his mouth wide open. He nodded blankly, then shook his head.

Jing Lan’s medical skills had already surpassed divine, Liu Jian Guo’s injuries were examined in a short time. When he finally turned to look at Bai Huo, his pair of peach blossom eyes were somewhat doubtful: “Why do you … look like this?”

“Ah …” Bai Huo grinned wantonly, causally patting the dust off his body. “I just let myself go since I have no one to impress.”

Having said that, he peered out behind Jing Lan, excited: “If you’re here, then Lin Xi …”

Jing Lan turned around, but there was no one behind him.

“He was just here a minute ago.” Jing Lan said truthfully.

Bai Huo shook from head to toe, immediately sobering up: “He … he’s here?”

“His injury has already healed.” Jing Lan nodded.

For the first time, Bai Huo was annoyed at himself for getting so drunk so early in the morning. If he hadn’t drunk so much, how could he have forgotten to check his son’s position after leaving the mountain?

It’s been five years … he hadn’t seen him in five years. He didn’t know if the little cub would still remember him. Although he was very clingy back then, he was still very young, the two had only been together for no more than half a year, much less than his time spent at the Water Dragon Palace. Maybe, the child has long forgotten this father. Now, the little cub might be more close to Jing Lan than with him.

He was obviously here, but he didn’t want to see him. Thinking of this, Bai Huo was like a 100-year-old man whose heart was broken by his son, unable to hide his disappointment.

“Has Lin Xi already forgotten me?” Bai Huo slid down to the floor, and leaned against the table, feeling depressed.

Jing Lan looked at him quietly, apparently unable to understand the meaning behind this question.

Hearing his silence, Bai Huo’s heart broke even more. He hugged the table’s leg, choking with emotion, he smiled wryly: “I know … It’s my fault, I’m not a good dad …”

“You don’t know just how adorable and clever he was when he was small …” Bai Huo resolutely wiped his eyes, then poured the remaining half of the beer into his mouth, apparently planning to drown his sorrows.

There was a slight movement behind him, Bai Huo sniffed, feeling a light tap on his shoulder, he drunkenly looked back.

In the middle of his spinning field of view, a young boy in modern clothes stood squarely in front of him, a pair of quiet eyes staring intently at him.

Jing Lan looked at the boy’s new clothes, the ones he had refused to wear all throughout the journey. The cuteness was so overwhelming that Jing Lan’s brain was starting to bubble again. Ah, did you leave just to change your clothes?

Bai Huo looked at the young boy’s lovely facial features, speechless, then he slapped his thigh with a bitter expression, slurring, “You … really look like my son.”

The young boy was eight or nine years old, almost reaching Jing Lan’s shoulders. When he heard his words, his expression changed slightly, and he silently crotched down, fixedly staring at Bai Huo. He just stared at him stubbornly, as if he wanted Bai Huo to confirm something.

“You don’t know how good my son is …” But Bai Huo was looking into a distant place, caught up in some kind of memory, “Even when he could barely stand up, he brought me flowers. He ate everything I gave him. He followed me everywhere I went. His name is Li … “

Bai Huo hiccupped, turning back to look into the young boy’s eyes.

The world went quiet.

Bai Huo sat upright: “Lin … Lin Xi?”

Li Lin Xi looked at him for a long time, his shoulders clearly relaxing in relief: “You’ve woken up?”

Bai Huo stared at him in suspicion, then he silently laid down, hugging the beer jug, mumbling as he turned in his sleep: “It’s time to stop drinking so much.”

Li Lin Xi: “…”

“Send him to his room.” Jing Lan chuckled.

Li Lin Xi looked back with a helpless expression.

Jing Lan walked over slowly, looking at Bai Huo’s bloodless lips, he explained, “He’s not like this just because he’s drunk. His pulse is unstable, he has most likely suffered internal injuries.”

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T/N:

Almost reaching Jing Lan’s shoulders- I swear that’s what it says, just how short is Jing Lan. The average 9yr old is like 4ft 5in, he has to be at most 5ft 6in.