“Xiao Jing, you’re back! Why are you covered in dust?” Leng Qingqing, just out of the kitchen and wearing an apron, came to greet the long-returned Leng Jing, only to find him looking quite bedraggled.
Leng Jing carried a large bundle, from which he produced travel souvenirs for everyone. There were hawthorn cakes, cloud cakes, and the mung bean noodles Leng Qingqing had long been pining for. Watching Leng Qingqing hug the mung bean noodles with such simple, giddy joy, Leng Jing finally couldn't help but say, “Dad, did you know? I actually hate noodles. I like steamed rice.”
“Then Daddy will grind the rice into flour and make rice vermicelli for you~” Leng Qingqing replied with a beaming smile.
Leng Jing: “……”
Having returned from his adventure at the Great Dragon Lake, Leng Jing sat in the main hall in a daze, staring at the rowdy crowd.
Leng Qingqing sat beside him, clutching his noodles in a daze, also staring at the rowdy crowd.
Why were there so many people in the hall? What were they all doing? What was everyone arguing about? Leng Qingqing looked at Leng Jing, bewildered.
Leng Jing rested his chin on his hand, watching the people in the hall. His senior brother, Ling Suyan, was the center of the commotion. A crowd had swarmed in, led by a flashily dressed young man who was pointing at Ling Suyan and hurling abuse, accusing him of bringing calamity to the country and seducing the Crown Prince. Then, a fierce woman entered—supposedly the Crown Princess—who also wept and cursed at him, ordering her subordinates to seize Ling Suyan. The flashily dressed youth was her younger brother. As it happened, the Master and the other senior brothers were away; only Leng Jing and Leng Qingqing were home to mind the door.
The dazed attitude of the Leng father and son only emboldened the troublemakers. They kicked Ling Suyan to the ground and brought in several large wolves, intending to let them maul him. The Crown Princess unleashed a vocabulary of insults that seemed to span from ancient times to the present. Not only that, but fifteen minutes later, the Ninth Princess burst in to join the fray, cursing the moment she stepped through the door.
However, when the Ninth Princess spotted the dazed Leng Jing, her profanities turned into a shriek: “Leng Jing!!!!”
In the next instant, an even more unbearable torrent of abuse was directed solely at Leng Jing.
“I told you we aren't a good match,” Leng Jing said with an indifferent air to the agitated Ninth Princess.
“I won't have it!! You must come back to the palace with me today! Otherwise, I'll burn this place to the ground!!” The Ninth Princess stepped forward, reaching out to grab Leng Jing’s collar.
Leng Jing avoided her hand with a look of disgust, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back. Though Ling Suyan was slumped on the floor, he still turned pale and cautioned, “Leng Jing, do not act rashly. You are a Sacred Beast; you cannot take a life!”
“True. I would only collapse the house.” Leng Jing shifted his gaze to Leng Qingqing. Suddenly, the little snake-dragon let out a contemptuous remark: “Snakes are the ugliest things in the world! Utterly hideous!”
Leng Qingqing’s blank face suddenly twitched. He turned his head with a stiff, beaming smile. “Xiao Jing, what... did... you... say? Hmm?”
“A snake demon! AHHH!” The commotion in the hall turned into pure panic. In the blink of an eye, a massive, smiling white snake appeared in the hall, flicking its tongue. Seeing this terrifying sight, everyone scrambled to get out, tripping over one another.
The hall was instantly cleared.
However, outside the house...
The Ninth Princess leaned sweetly into Leng Jing’s embrace. “Jing, you really do care about me. You stayed by my side just to protect me. Jing, I love you~”
Leng Jing’s lip twitched. Strange—how did he end up running out here too? He pushed the princess away and returned inside. Behind him, the princess was still calling out: “Jing! You must destroy that snake demon! I’ll be waiting for you~~~”
Leng Jing gave a dismissive click of his tongue and opened the front door. The white snake slithered over, flicking its tongue and affectionately licking Leng Jing’s face.
Leng Jing stiffened for a moment but said nothing, heading back to his room to sleep.
The storm had finally passed. Leng Jing, Leng Qingqing, and Ling Suyan stayed to guard the house, waiting for the Master and the other disciples who had suddenly announced they were going on a journey. The three of them had nothing to do every day except eat and sleep, or listen to the White Mink tell strange tales from across the land.
A heavy snow began to fall. Leng Jing curled up in his bed, clutching a hot water bottle and wrapped in a thick cotton quilt, tossing and turning on the large bed. It was so comfortable in bed; outside, the snow fell like goose feathers and the dripping water turned to ice, but inside, a brazier was lit, making it warm and cozy. Leng Jing lay on the bed cracking melon seeds, reading casual books, and snacking—it was incredibly pleasant.
As for Leng Qingqing, although he felt very sleepy due to his hibernation instincts, he forced himself to stay awake to cook noodles. Once the noodles were ready, he carried them to Ling Suyan, who was reading and writing in the study. Ling Suyan took the noodles and asked, “What’s wrong with the Little White Dragon lately? Why is he always lying in bed? Is he sick?”
Leng Qingqing rubbed his dry eyes and shook his head, then walked out with the tray. He felt so pitiful; his son wasn't filial at all. He was nearly freezing to death himself, yet he still had to labor over food and drink. *Waaaah...*
Walking back to the room exhausted, seeing Leng Jing lounging leisurely on the bed made Leng Qingqing feel even more upset. His eyes reddened, and he was on the verge of tears. Leng Jing seemed to read his mind and pointed to the large bed. “Come here.”
“Xiao Jing... *sniff*...” Leng Qingqing rushed toward the covers in a fit of grievance and dove in.
Once inside the quilt, Leng Qingqing reverted to his original form, coiling tightly around Leng Jing. Leng Jing did as he usually did—closed his eyes and played dead. Hermit Ziling and the senior brothers had been gone for over half a month and hadn't returned, so the Donghua Pavilion had fallen under the sole rule of the Leng father and son. Even Hermit Ziling’s large bed had been occupied by them.
Wrapped in Leng Qingqing’s coils, Leng Jing’s breathing gradually became long and steady as he drifted into sleep. Seeing him asleep, Leng Qingqing loosened his tail, licked his son’s face, and then transformed back into human form. He pulled up the quilt, tucked in the bed curtains, and hugged his son to sleep. Leng Jing seemed to have the constitution of a Thunder Dragon; Thunder Dragons lean toward the Yang element, so his body was quite warm. Being near him, one could feel the pure spiritual energy radiating from him, which made Leng Qingqing feel very comfortable.
In the midst of this peaceful, snowy night, an uninvited guest arrived quietly.
Leng Jing was having a nightmare. In the dream, he was in a dark place. The sky was overcast, grey snow was falling, and a thick layer of snow covered the ground. He seemed to be standing on a field of ruins. In the distance, there was a faint, brilliant glow, appearing to be a capital city.
However, the sights around the ruins were truly shocking—corpses were scattered everywhere. Giant monsters floated in the air, very similar to the one he had seen at the Great Dragon Lake.
A sense of oppression emanated from that distant capital, as if something was at the center of the city. He felt instinctively that it was a dangerous, forbidden existence that must never be approached. Moreover, he had a very strange feeling; clearly, he had never been to this place before, yet he felt a sense of familiarity, along with a warning thought: *“Anyone who approaches the center of the city will meet a terrible end.”*
Even as this thought occurred, a tense voice echoed in his mind: *“It’s already very close!! You can’t go any further! Otherwise, you’ll be discovered!”*
This suffocating thought made his breathing rapid, yet he couldn't resist the urge to go into that glowing city to investigate. What exactly was inside?
In the real world, Leng Qingqing was startled awake by Leng Jing’s gasping. He saw Leng Jing’s eyes moving rapidly under his eyelids; he was covered in a cold sweat, looking as if he were being crushed by something.
“Xiao Jing?” Leng Qingqing knew he was having a nightmare, but if it was just an ordinary nightmare, why were burn marks gradually appearing on Leng Jing’s arm?
“Xiao Jing, wake up!!” Leng Qingqing suddenly thought of a terrible possibility and hurriedly began to shake Leng Jing.
In the dream, Leng Jing had reached the outskirts of the glowing city, standing before a massive lava chasm. Flames thousands of feet high erupted periodically. Leng Jing instinctively raised his arm to shield his face, immediately feeling a searing pain.
Just then, a massive fire beast began to rise from the lava chasm. Before Leng Jing could see what it was, he was shaken awake by Leng Qingqing, feeling as though he had been pulled back from somewhere far away.
“Xiao Jing!!” Leng Qingqing held him in his arms. “Come back!!! That’s not a place you should go!!”
Leng Jing woke with a start, drenched in cold sweat. The burn marks on his arm gradually faded as if nothing had happened. Leng Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, stroked his head, and said softly, “Xiao Jing, my mother told me that young creatures can get lost in the chaotic Otherworld while they sleep. You must have been sucked into something! Don't be afraid, baby! Daddy will give you this!”
Leng Jing’s gaze was somewhat vacant; it took him a while to react, his thoughts still lingering in that vivid dream. By the time he came to his senses, Leng Qingqing had produced a glittering golden chain and fastened it around his wrist, telling him it was a protective amulet.
Leng Jing let out a breath and went back to sleep, while Leng Qingqing held him even tighter.
Leng Jing tossed and turned, finally unable to resist speaking. “Dad, I just had a dream. Maybe I dreamed of Hea—”
“Shh—don't talk nonsense in the middle of the night! The bad immortals will hear you!” Leng Qingqing covered his mouth.
It was now nearly dawn, the darkest hour before the light. At that moment, a commotion broke out outside the main gate. Leng Jing wanted to go check, but Leng Qingqing refused to let go, so Leng Jing had to lie back down. They only heard the sound of Ling Suyan next door getting up to open the door, followed by a cry of surprise.
Leng Jing, Leng Qingqing, and the White Mink peeked through a crack in the window at the woodshed. The black wolf that had arrived at dawn, knocking at the door on the verge of death, was now sitting arrogantly in the shed, using chopsticks to shovel rice into its mouth.
“How rare, a dog that knows how to use chopsticks!” the White Mink exclaimed.
“Look! It even burps!” Leng Qingqing added to the amazement.
“Young Master, look! It understands us! It just spat out its rice!” the White Mink continued.
“How boring. I’m going back,” said Leng Jing, who had only come along out of boredom and was now losing interest.
“Have you lot had enough?! This great one is the Little Overlord of the Wolf Clan! Qi Shan is the name!” The black wolf could no longer contain itself and started shouting. His agitation aggravated his wounds, and he immediately began to yelp in pain.
After finishing the meal, the black wolf endured the pain and finally took on human form. Though he was wearing Leng Jing’s old clothes, he appeared to be a sturdy, rebellious, and healthy youth. He limped out of the woodshed with a swagger and found the trio who had been gossiping about him. He hollered, “It was you lot of death-seekers talking nonsense in front of this great one, wasn't it!! Apologize to me at once!!”
But there was no reaction. The black wolf gritted his teeth as he sized up these three idiots. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he let out a whistle. “Hey, you’re quite the beauty! Interested in having some fun?”
“Me?” Leng Qingqing’s face turned red, and he hid behind Leng Jing.
“Big brother, you’re really cool and good-looking! I like you!” The black wolf walked over and began to flirt with Leng Jing, who was a head taller than him and expressionless.
“If you’ve taken a liking to the Young Master, I suggest you drop that thought,” the White Mink advised, crossing its paws.
The black wolf ignored him entirely, saying to himself, “Hey, I say, big brother, are you free tonight? I can keep you company.”
“Not free.”
“Your life is really dull. Why don't I teach you how to have some fun?” Despite the height disadvantage, the black wolf reached out to pat Leng Jing on the shoulder.
“Not interested.”
“Hey! Don't be ungrateful! How about this: I want to soak in a hot spring. There’s one on the back mountain; let’s go together later. I won't treat you poorly.” The black wolf continued to pat Leng Jing’s shoulder with over-familiarity.
The White Mink’s teeth began to chatter. It remembered the last time it accompanied Leng Jing to the hot spring—a ferocious dragon had blocked the entire spring, sharpening its claws, horns, and teeth, nearly destroying the place. It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying!
Meanwhile, Leng Jing was thinking: *What should I use this black wolf for? A guard? A pet? Stew him for dinner?*
At lunch, Ling Suyan, the trio, and the black wolf sat at one table. The black wolf spoke of his unfortunate encounter; it turned out he had fallen into a hunter’s trap while chasing a beauty, which was how he got injured and ended up fleeing here.
“Take me in, big brother!” the black wolf said brazenly to Leng Jing, seemingly under the impression that Leng Jing was the boss here.
“And how will you repay me?” Leng Jing asked in return.
“Just say the word, and I’ll go through mountains of swords and seas of fire for you!” the black wolf said, thumping his chest.
“Chopping wood, carrying water, and lighting the stove every day—you will do all of that,” Leng Jing commanded.
“Piece of cake.” The black wolf scratched his head and grinned.
And so, an extra laborer joined the pavilion, and the trio became even more idle.
Hermit Ziling had been gone for two months. Even Ling Suyan found it strange; the Master had never left for so long without a word. He discussed the matter with Leng Jing.
The two of them searched Hermit Ziling’s bedroom but found no useful clues, and divination failed to reveal where the Master and the senior brothers were. With no leads, they had no choice but to drop the matter for now and continue their vigil.
***
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The Ugly Little Snake: My Dragon Son | Chapter 21 | Winter Dreams and a Wolfish Guest | Novela.app | Novela.app
