The Ugly Little Snake: My Dragon Son | Chapter 53 | The Melodramatic Physician | Novela.app

A warm-up before the scene begins. Leng Qingqing was picking his nose, while Leng Jing was touching up his makeup—specifically, polishing his scales. The one in charge of the polishing was the stylist, the White Marten. Qingqing: "Jing-er, why are you bothering to polish your scales?" Leng Jing: "Starting today, we’re going VIP." Qingqing: "What does that have to do with polishing?" Leng Jing: "Nothing much. I just feel like I should look more magnificent to be worthy of the readers who are paying." White Marten: "Young Master, is it absolutely necessary to stick rhinestones and lace on every single dragon scale?" Leng Jing: "……Just do it." White Marten: *Crying* T_T (I’m exhausted...) The Raccoon Dog pulled out the clapperboard and snapped it: "Everyone in position! Action!" ******************************************************** Picking up from last time, Leng Jing pressed his palms against Bixuan’s back and began to circulate his power to heal the injuries. Soon, waves of heat began to rise from Bixuan’s body, and steam started to puff from his mouth. "Good, just a little more effort and he’ll wake up!" Leng Qingqing cheered from the sidelines. Half an hour later, the Leng family trio faced an irreconcilable predicament. Bixuan had reverted to his true form—a rather long green dragon that nearly filled the entire room. He still hadn't woken up; instead, his eyes had rolled back into his head. Leng Jing sighed. It seemed he hadn't managed to save Bixuan; rather, he had pushed him to the brink of death. Leng Qingqing and the White Marten both stared at Leng Jing with flat expressions. "I’d better take him to find someone who can actually treat him." Leng Jing dragged the green dragon to the balcony, then transformed into a white dragon, coiling around the half-dead green dragon and soaring into the sky. At that moment, the immortal Gu Fengchen had finally recovered from his previous shock. Carrying buns and pastries, he was happily riding a cloud to find his dragon baby. But as he reached the airspace above the inn, he only saw Baby White Dragon entwined with a green dragon, flashing past him. Entwined! Entwined! Entwined! Entwined! Gu Fengchen froze in place, countless thoughts racing through his mind—was that green dragon male or female? Why were they in such a position? The baby is so small, is he being coerced? Why, why, why?! "Baby————!!" Gu Fengchen wailed toward the rooftops, his heart weeping blood. Buns and pastries scattered all over the ground. Having been struck by another blow, a despondent Gu Fengchen departed once more. No one understood the anatomy of a dragon better than another dragon. The first person Leng Jing thought of was the Dragon King. It was said that Bixuan was the Dragon King’s fourteenth prince. But who was the current Dragon King? He didn't know. He simply dove from the high clouds into the Eastern Sea and quickly located the current Crystal Dragon Palace. The palace still looked much as it did when Leng Jing and Leng Qingqing had visited years ago. He wondered if that little fish prince from back then was still alive. As it happened, today was a day for a dragon clan gathering. When Leng Jing arrived at the Crystal Dragon Palace dragging Bixuan, it caused an immediate sensation. The elegant and refined Fourteenth Prince Bixuan had been gravely injured and was near death—this was a serious matter. Bixuan was carried into the palace, while several Dragon Kings and the clan's young talents emerged, surrounding Leng Jing to interrogate him. "Little White Dragon! What is your background? Why is the Fourteenth Prince so heavily injured?" "What happened to our fourteenth brother? Speak quickly! Or we’ll haul you to the Dragon-Beheading Platform!" "Big Brother White Dragon, I’ll give you some candy if you tell me who hurt my fourteenth brother." Leng Jing pushed aside the jostling dragons and said, "The Fourteenth Prince was injured by me by mistake." The gazes of all the dragons instantly turned sharp. The crowd parted to make way for the Dragon King. Looking like a gentle elder, the Dragon King stroked his beard and walked down the crystal steps, musing, "Little White Dragon, I find it hard to believe you could gravely injure my fourteenth son. What is your true origin? Tell me the whole story, and be quick about it." "It was an accidental injury," Leng Jing repeated. "Therefore, I am willing to cover all medical expenses and run any necessary errands." "Even if it was an accident, I doubt you can afford the responsibility." A pleasant voice came from behind the imperial throne. A beautiful white-haired man with arrogant phoenix eyes stepped gracefully from behind the curtains. He was the Dragon Palace’s Chief Medical Dragon. The Medical Dragon wore a perpetual, mysterious smile. He said slowly, "I have just examined the Fourteenth Prince’s injuries. Aside from the internal damage caused by external force, there is also a demonic hex-poison in his body. This poison, known as 'Soul Chaser,' can only be cured by the Demon Royalty. Little White Dragon, you wouldn't happen to be a spy sent by the Demon Race, would you?" Leng Jing looked around. All the dragons were eyeing him like tigers watching their prey, each with spiritual energy gathered in their hands, ready to strike. "Little White Dragon, do you really think fate is something that can be changed? Do you think you’ve escaped? Do you think you can save everyone?" The Medical Dragon laughed softly. He even produced a white jade tobacco pipe, holding it between his thumb and forefinger as he placed it gently in his mouth. With his chin tilted up, he looked down at Leng Jing with a disdainful gaze. Leng Jing stared at the glamorous, white-haired Medical Dragon. It seemed this man knew something significant. The Medical Dragon exhaled a smoke ring and said unhurriedly, "Your Majesty, leave this little dragon to me for interrogation." All the other dragons shuddered. One had to know that the Medical Dragon’s methods were feared throughout the entire Heavenly Realm. ********************************************************* Back at the inn. Leng Qingqing was slumped over the table. Leng Jing hadn't returned yet, and the noodles he’d left for him had gone cold. *Sigh.* Xie Ting, who had already woken up, sat on the bed and finished another bowl of noodle soup. He held a cup of tea in silence. The White Marten, meanwhile, was busy stuffing its face from a bowl. It was going to rain again. What on earth was Leng Jing doing? Leng Qingqing gazed at the sky outside the window. Ever since he’d had a son, he hadn't had a life of his own for a very, very long time. Everything revolved around his son. It really was like that. But... Things were different now. Leng Qingqing’s eyes sharpened with resolve. He was going to live his own life! He was going to step out from his son’s shadow! Thus, the "Transcendent Immortal" Leng Qingqing sat up, turned around, and put on his trademark elegant smile as he said to Xie Ting, "Divine Physician, please allow me to feel your pulse!" That’s right—he was going to enter the martial world and stand as an equal to his son! "I was asleep for so long and you never thought to check my pulse. Why suddenly..." Xie Ting was slightly surprised. "Besides, I know my own physical condition better than anyone." "……Uh……" Leng Qingqing couldn't think of a comeback for a moment. "Just let me check! Perhaps I can find a... new development." The Divine Physician: = = (What do you mean, a "new development"?) "Just let him do it," the White Marten said, patting its belly. The tea cup fell from the Divine Physician’s hand. A... a marten that talks? A perfect opportunity! Leng Qingqing snapped open his folding fan and smiled. "Master Xie, you see? A new symptom has appeared. Looking at you, it seems you’re having hallucinations—thinking that a white marten is speaking?" *************************************************** "Have some tea." The Medical Dragon placed a cup of fragrant tea in front of Leng Jing. The Medical Dragon’s quarters were simple and tidy, with all the furnishings in pure white. Even the tea in front of Leng Jing was white. "Is this milk?" Leng Jing asked, sitting at the white jade table. "It is Ambergris. Spices were added, so it turned white." The Medical Dragon looked at him with some disdain. "And you call yourself the Savior Dragon Lord? You don't even know this?" Leng Jing didn't touch the tea. He looked up and asked, "You know my origin?" "Heh." The Medical Dragon leaned back on a couch covered in silver-thread cushions, still fiddling with his pipe. He smiled. "Not just your origin; I know everything about you." "Why did you bring me here?" Leng Jing asked. "Haha," the Medical Dragon laughed softly, a faint trace of misery appearing between his brows. He parted his crimson lips and said in a soft, melodic voice, "Dragon Lord, have you ever tasted the feeling of something being etched into your very bones? When deep passion turns into the most profound pain, when love becomes a sorrow that cannot be unraveled... Do you know? Every day, every moment becomes the torment of a deep abyss! This torment is endless, like a raging fire burning a heart riddled with holes, tearing, crushing, and trampling a heart that was once soft. "In the end, it causes that tender heart to be tightly encased in a glacier that will not melt for ten thousand years. A passionate lover becomes a heartless, tearless demon. The heart, unable to withstand too much pain, becomes incredibly hard. The exterior becomes cynical and mocking, but it is actually an escape from a pathetic reality. The pain is no longer shown on the face but is hidden deep within the heart, flaring up in the dead of night when no one is around, stinging like the bite of ten thousand ants! That kind of pain cannot be expressed in words, nor can it be told to others! The tears once shed for passion have now run dry because too many were shed; the sadness has exceeded its capacity, and on the surface, one becomes better and better at pretending! "Once upon a time, a passionate person became heartless, learning to use a hypocritical smile to cover deep sorrow, becoming indifferent to the ridicule of others, while the heart forever buries that bone-deep love from years ago! So-called 'calmness' is actually a disguise for grief. Who knows that a heart has long since gone numb from pain, and love is... blah blah blah blah... blah blah... blah blah... blah blah..." Two hours had passed, and Leng Jing still hadn't heard a single word from the Medical Dragon’s mouth about why he had actually been brought there. This was the Medical Dragon’s famous "Torture Method" in the dragon realm—"The Medical Dragon’s Education and Reflections on Emotion." The Medical Dragon, still caught up in his own world, felt the need to heart-wrenchingly share his realizations on love to "reform" others every single time, all while maintaining an air of elegant allure and nonchalance to prove how "calm" he was. This was why everyone avoided him. Everyone except him knew his true reputation: The Chatterbox Dragon. *What exactly does he want? Is anyone going to serve dinner?* Seeing that the sky had turned dark and the lanterns were being lit in the Dragon Palace, Leng Jing leaned on the table with his head in one hand, his other hand tapping irritably on the surface as he stared gloomily at the incessantly rambling Medical Dragon. Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation --- | --- | --- 造型师 | Stylist | 水钻 | Rhinestones | 花边 | Lace | 少东家 | Young Master / Young Boss | Refers to Leng Jing as the son of the "boss" (Qingqing). 铡龙台 | Dragon-Beheading Platform | A mythical execution stage for dragons. 医龙 | Medical Dragon / Physician Dragon | 追魂 | Soul Chaser | The name of the demonic poison. 龙涎香 | Ambergris | Literally "Dragon Saliva Fragrance," used here as a tea. 叨叨龙 | Chatterbox Dragon | A nickname for the talkative Medical Dragon.