"What is one plus one?"

*crickets chirping*

BAM! and the youngest emperor Mu BoLin laughed his guts out. The healthy laughter of the kid echoed to the whole hall. He was laughing for the whole day, making everyone look at him as he clutches his own sides. A clear throating made the young emperor stop laughing.

"Sorry, sorry," Mu BoLin said, wiping his tears. "I just got... pffft-... carried away."

The one who cleared his throat is the innocent emperor, Chang MingYu. Everyone moved in unison, shifting their accusing gazes towards the emperor. They look at him with "why did you ask that" eyes. The culprit only returned their look as he was saying, "well I did ask a question, right?"

Nobody said that he couldnt ask simple questions like this. Who assumed that he would give a difficult one? The rules are not clear. And by just that Lang Yuan could get another point for himself.

Chang MingYu gently arched his brows waiting for Lang Yuan to answer. As for Lang Yuan, he was a bit stunned. His bad condition did not stop him from making a distorted face, wondering what kind of brain this emperor is bringing. But just then, that question isn't really something nonsense.

It has a meaning.

Lang Yuan slightly lowered his head to hide the tips of his lips as they curled up slightly. If anyone could see that face, they will think that Lang Yuan is just a maiden who was flattered by a compliment. Chang MingYu cleared his throat again. He's reminding Lang Yuan to quickly answer.

"Your Highness," Lang Yuan called softly. "The answer is two."

Mu BoLin stood up from his chair and started clapping as if he was injected with chicken blood. Chang MingYu shrugged his shoulders with a wide grin and nodded. He looked around, seeing the astonished faces of the crowd. Now that Lang Yuan answered it correctly, why are they not cheering? Only Mu BoLin made his expectations right.

"Well, what should I say? Lady Candidate Lou, should I ask the scholars to confirm if he answered it correctly?" Chang MingYu asked him with a sarcastic tone. "Or would you rather want me to ask more questions? Well, it's not that I don't like it but I'm afraid I only have DIFFICULT questions at hand."

Lou MuLan who thought that Lang Yuan would actually fall this round seethed in anger. What's more, she didn't expect that this emperor would just play coyly this time. Her fault or his fault, she can no longer stall time. Her actions are actually more questionable from the first place. Why accuse Lang Yuan cheating if everyone saw how Lang Yuan reacted to the materials given to him? All can see that the youth seems so shock and did not use the materials.

The human thought that those things are useless and used a 'new' method to solve it.

"Well...? I am waiting," Chang MingYu said.

"I... T-this servant has nothing to say," Lou MuLan stammered. "The E-empress Candidate i-is free to go."

"Good," the emperor nodded.

The maids hurriedly returned to Lang Yuan's side and helped him walk out. Zhong Song carefully watched Lang Yuan. And when he was out, he searched around to look at Chang MingYu. The emperor only gave him a solemn face and nod before sitting. Zhong Song did not want to have a favor from him but this would be the best. He nodded, thanking Chang MingYu grudgingly to his heart.

When Lang Yuan was out, the first thing he did is to look for a warm source. The Higher Realm has a pleasant temperature. However, due to dragons being cold-blooded, they can't have the same warm tolerance as the humans. They can't last for colder regions either. That's why the temperature is regulated to not make them toast or become a popsicle.

But in special circumstances, warmth and cold is nothing for them. The regulated temperature is for the infants who still didn't have the ability to regulate temperature by cultivation.

"Lady Candidate, we will bring you to your room," one of the maids said.

"Please..." Lang Yuan said.

The shadow guards who are tailing Lang Yuan 24/7 also decided to help. They cleared the way in front, making the spectators who are waiting outside make a path. One carried Lang Yuan on his back to fasten the steps. After a few minutes, they are already heading towards the Emperor's room. It's just that when they are about to cross border, a sudden interruption happened.

A fluctuation of energy created a wave making every dragon suffer from severe tinnitus. The maids who have smaller cultivation practices did not fail to fall when the wave touched them. The Shadow Guards who are surprised with the sudden attack surrounded their brother who carried Lang Yuan. Looking around, they remained on position waiting for the attacker to come out.

But who knows that the attacker is so cowardly that he did not only use this trick but also to shoot the shadow guards with pin arrows. This wasn't invention of this world and a product new to the people. One shadow guard tried blocking the pin arrow by his arm. But the sharp metal only penetrated his thick gear and wounded him. Ten seconds after and his mouth started foaming.

There are five shadow guards on duty with the one carrying Lang Yuan. No matter how they wanted to protect the treasure, they were defeated by the pin arrow that was carrying a potent poison. It can't kill a dragon. But it can make them unable to move for days. The four shadow guards that surrounded Lang Yuan was reduced to zero leaving the one carrying him on the center.

Shit, the shadow guard cursed. Ignoring whatever bomb or knife will be thrown to him, he started sprinting for his life. He was sure that the attacker will not harm Lang Yuan but he still made a barrier for the youth. But as what was expected, he also fell down in one knock. Five pin arrows was shoot to him hitting his nape and legs sending more toxic than the four.

His mouth foamed, nose spraying blood, his eyes become bloodshot, and for the last moment enacted another barrier for Lang Yuan before he died in honor. Lang Yuan is now only half conscious and can only feel the harsh movements of the people around him. He was, sadly, thrown to the floor. If not for the shadow guard serving as his cushion, he will land face first to the ground.

Lang Yuan opened his eyes shakily. His vision is no longer clear. The frost is getting closer to his heart. One flick and it will stop from beating. He tried moving his arms, his one hand extending forward. A blurry image of black shoes walking towards him filled his perception. That black shoes stopped before his eyes for a while, then walked to his side. Lang Yuan was turned over by a kick.

The shoes were extended. He's now seeing the complete figure of the man. It was that person, clad in black robes and black cloak, hiding his upper face with a half-black mask. He was smiling sinisterly, looking at Lang Yuan with desire. He crouched down beside his (LY) head to see Lang Yuan's face clearly.

He parted the messy strand of Lang Yuan's hair and tucked them to the side. Smiling, the black masked man brushed the cold cheeks of the youth. The rough gloves rubbing his cheeks made Lang Yuan feel pain, droplets of water forming on the tip of his eyes.

"Hush, don't worry anymore, Yuan-er," he said. "You will no longer feel pain once you drink my blood."

From the start, it was only a set-up. It is to make Lang Yuan suffer as his body digested the blood of Yu XueQin. As the blood of the emperor diminishes, the magnanimous power of the realm will quickly overwhelm the body of the human. Due to Lang Yuan's golden finger (cheat), he still manages to last longer. But there's a limit to what his body can handle. And when the time that peak was reached, the black masked man will get his little prince.

And indeed, the formidable Lang Yuan is lying half dead in front of him.

Lang Yuan, who can no longer tell black from white, forces his hand to touch the hand on his face. One can see how desperate he was to the warmth. His body is no longer listening to reason as the alarm of survival was injected to his brain. He will reach to the closest being that will help him ease the pain. And this reaction only aroused the black masked man's desire.

Closing their distance, the black masked man bit his own lip. Dark red blood started to pop out in circles. He deepened the bit to release more blood. And when the blood is ready, he slowly elevated Lang Yuan's head to perform the marking.

It's just that he's not really up to this role.

Before Lang Yuan could drink any blood from him, a feisty creature dashed on the scene kicking the black masked man away. But the black masked man already sensed the danger and shifted his position quickly. It was only a flick. Earlier, he was holding Lang Yuan. Now, he was almost a dozen of meters apart from the youth.

JiDan hurriedly caught his mother before Lang Yuan's head meets the ground. Dots of blood dropped to the pale face of the youth making the rage inside of the dragon grow bigger. It was said in the books of the ancients that an adult dragon has a huge bag of emotion that makes him handle a lot of rage in control. But a dragon youth that can only carry a small bag will eventually erupt in no time.

Thus, JiDan exploded completely.

The pair of small horns in each of his temples suddenly protruded out. Red to golden orange scales started to blink on his skin. An unusual warmth for a crimson dragon surrounded him, his eyes dancing in red flames. If Lang Yuan is not on his hold, he might have able to burn the palace whole. His control on his rage is still intact due to Lang Yuan's presence beside him.

"Mother... mother..." JiDan called Lang Yuan. He disgustingly wiped the blood off from his mother's face and made sure to burn it in air. Lang Yuan has no strength to open his eyes but he can hear his son's call. He nodded, saying he was still here.

"Thank goodness..." JiDan softly cried.

How many times... how many times does he have to see his mother suffer?

"What a dramatic encounter," the voice said in mockery. "It's all because of you why he can't leave this world."

JiDan snarled at the existence of the stranger. He gently gave Lang Yuan a kiss on his cheeks before placing him down carefully. A warm spiritual fire surrounded Lang Yuan to keep him away from cold. JiDan stood up and faced the black masked man. The gentle and innocent eyes of the child are no longer present.

"Who are you?" JiDan went straight to the point.

"Who am I, what am I... how important is it to you?" The black masked man said.

"You are worthless to be remembered. But I should be considerate to the dogs. I don't want to feed them a being that will only cause their stomachs hurt."

The black masked man laughed evilly. "Smart words, little dragon." Then his reaction started to grim. "But you are still not powerful."

The image of the black masked man flickered again leaving only a trail of black dust on his previous position. JiDan alerted his senses, his vision catching the slowest movement of the time. It's just that he has no experience in real fight and an amateur in close combat. The Black masked man is suddenly on his front, one of its fists dug to his stomach. It only needed one small movement and a compacted amount of energy to make JiDan throw out blood as the black masked man punched him.

The image flickered and the black masked man is away again. JiDan clutches his gut, wiping the dripping blood away on the sides of his lips. His rage has increased to another space, only wanting to kill the black masked man more on the spot. The black masked man is not scared to deal with this dragon. After all, JiDan is only half-breed and he is a full blood. Not only with their experience that they differ but also with the power that each can hold.

Though, the black masked man did not continue. He can feel a pair of golden eyes watching him with bloodlust. He can only sneer as he decided to retreat. If he can't get Lang Yuan now, then he still has more chances. After all, this is only a small part of his plan. He did not need to be hasty.

Before he left, he parted some words to JiDan. It might not mean anything to anyone but each word hinted a mystery. With looks of disgust, he glared at the small inexperience small dragon.

"For the sake of Yuan-er, I will not kill you. However, it doesn't mean that I can't. Your existence is the reason why he was trapped. And your death will only bring him freedom,"

Woosh, and the black masked man dissipated like a dust in the air. JiDan heard each word clearly. What does he mean by being trapped? Is Lang Yuan suffering because of him? Is his mother trapped because he existed?

Will his mother not suffer anymore of he dies?

JiDan shook his head to clear his mind. Those are only provocations. He knows very well that he is Lang Yuan's happiness, and so as his happiness. Nobody can break the bond that they created. The horn returned to its size and the scales became skin again. He walked towards his mother and saw Lang Yuan breathing shallowly. With his small strength, he carried his mother inside.
____________________________________________
Yay! Another update! Ah, the weather is sooooooooo good. The more I want to stay inside the house and read 😂😂😂