Volume 4 Chapter 14

Volume 4 + Chapter 14: Ultimate Technique

In the Violet Swallow Valley, Xia Yi found Dorothea.

Dorothea was no ordinary dragon. She belonged to the Golden Dragon Clan—once a powerful lineage of the Dragon Kingdom that had been wiped out after violating a forbidden law. Only she survived, having converted her body into a doll-like construct and hiding away in the Violet Swallow Valley ever since.

Her strength was considerable, and she even seemed to be friends with Xia Lulu.

To befriend Xia Lulu in the Dragon Kingdom—there might truly be no one else besides Dorothea who could manage that.

Therefore, Xia Yi was certain that if Xia Lulu came all the way to Violet Swallow Valley to find Dorothea, the matter must be extremely important.

Yet when she heard the words that came out of Dorothea’s mouth, she almost suspected she had misheard them.

“Xia Lulu couldn’t wait for you…” Dorothea said dejectedly. “She has already left this world.”

“……”

Xia Yi staggered back a step and fell to the ground.

That ominous feeling she had been fighting in her heart… had finally come true.

“Princess!!”

Serra rushed forward to support Xia Yi.

“You—you’re lying!! Utter nonsense!!” Xia Yi stood up, gritting her teeth as she demanded answers.

The little princess simply could not accept such a reality—her body moved on instinct, refusing to believe it.

She was the Queen of the Dragon Race—the strongest dragon in this world!

How could she vanish from this world just because Xia Yi didn’t see her for one morning?

“See for yourself.”

Dorothea sighed, took out a hair ornament, and placed it into Xia Yi’s hands.

The moment Xia Yi saw it, her whole body trembled.

This was the accessory Xia Lulu always wore—and even now, it carried faint traces of her aura.

There was absolutely no way it could be forged.

“What happened to her? What did she encounter? Why would she leave this world without even saying goodbye to me?!”

Xia Yi lunged forward, grabbing Dorothea by the shoulders, on the verge of tears.

“She…”

Dorothea’s expression turned complicated.

“Dorothea, hurry up and tell me! Stop dragging it out!!”

“The truth is, Xia Lulu had already—”

Before Dorothea could finish, ice-aligned magic surged through the sky above.

She looked up to find countless ice swords forming in the air.

Serra reacted instantly, pulling Xia Yi aside.

A heartbeat later, the ice swords rained down—piercing through Dorothea’s body, punching several gaping holes straight through it.

“Wh—what…”

Xia Yi stared, stunned speechless.

Looking back, she saw Xia Lulu standing not far away.

“Xia Lulu!!”

A radiant smile burst across Xia Yi’s face. She rushed forward at full speed, leaping into Xia Lulu’s arms and tackling her into the flowerbeds. The two silver dragon girls rolled together into the blossoms.

“You scared me to death!! I thought something happened to you! I searched all the way here—then Dorothea said all that just now and I—”

“Alright, alright. I’m fine.”

Xia Lulu stroked Xia Yi’s head, soothing her flustered daughter.

Afterward, the two of them stood up.

“Really now, you’ve broken one of my dolls again.”

The Dorothea who had been speaking earlier had been just one of her puppet bodies—now destroyed by Xia Lulu’s magic.

From another corner, a different doll unit finished its reboot. Dorothea stood up, irritation on her face.

“Ah!! You—you tricked me!!”

Only now did Xia Yi realize the truth.

Xia Lulu was completely unharmed. Dorothea had been deliberately messing with her—using her words to mislead Xia Yi into thinking Xia Lulu had died, forcing her to emotionally break down.

“Dorothea, you’re awful!”

“Little silver dragon, you almost cried when you thought Mommy was gone,” Dorothea teased. “You really do love Xia Lulu.”

“I—I… I don’t… that’s not…!!”

Xia Yi clutched her skirt, face burning red, desperately trying to find a rebuttal.

“Dorothea, that’s enough.”

Xia Lulu shot her an annoyed look.

“If I’d woken up even a little later, would you have revealed things you shouldn’t?”

“Waking up quickly means my method worked, doesn’t it?” Dorothea smirked.

“Huh? What are you two talking about?”

Xia Yi was completely lost.

“What was Dorothea trying to say earlier?”

“Why, interesting things of course. Like how little Xia Lulu used to act all cute in front of me when she was a child—”

SWISH!!

Several ice swords shot out, skewering the puppet in front of them.

For some reason, Xia Lulu seemed a bit panicked this time.

“Xia Lulu! What kind of attitude is that?! You destroyed another one of my dolls!”

From yet another direction, a fresh Dorothea body appeared.

“Dorothea, you have plenty of spare bodies, don’t you?” Xia Lulu said. “Losing one or two won’t matter.”

“They’re handcrafted works of art!! How dare you say they ‘don’t matter’! Every one of them is a precious masterpiece, more intricate than any other puppet in this land! Perfectly lifelike!” Dorothea huffed. “Easy to talk big when you’re the one lifting your skirt at people!”

“Alright, Dorothea, I’ll buy you some of the newest trendy dresses on the market. I’ll also compensate you for the damaged dolls.”

“…Fine. That’s acceptable.”

Only then did Dorothea settle down.

She approached Xia Lulu and circled her several times.

“Looks like your condition’s good. You’re adapting well?”

“No issues.”

“Good. The rest isn’t my responsibility. If anything happens, don’t come crying to me.”

“I understand,” Xia Lulu nodded.

Xia Yi truly couldn’t understand what sort of riddle the two were speaking in.

And Xia Lulu…

Was it Xia Yi’s imagination, or did she feel slightly different compared to yesterday? Her aura seemed much steadier…

“Let’s go, Xia Yi,” Xia Lulu said. “It’s time to return.”

“Okay.”

Xia Yi nodded.

Serra bowed to the Silver Dragon Queen and prepared to unleash her true dragon form to carry them away—but at that moment, Dorothea called out to Xia Lulu.

“Wait, you’re just going to leave like that?” Dorothea said boldly. “Where’s my payment?”

“I’ll send it to you later…”

“You know that’s not the payment I’m talking about.”

Xia Lulu frowned with clear exasperation. After thinking for a moment, she leaned down and whispered a few quiet words into Xia Yi’s ear.

“WHAT?!”

Xia Yi nearly exploded on the spot.

“Xia Lulu, why don’t YOU do it yourself?!”

“Because you’re here.”

“Why do I have to listen to you!?”

At that, Xia Lulu simply smiled and unleashed her ultimate technique:

“Because I’m your mom.”

“You—!!”

Xia Yi was speechless, furious.

Anger!

Anger!

Anger!!

But it was useless. If she didn’t comply, Dorothea wouldn’t let them leave the Violet Swallow Valley.

Damn it… she had no choice but to temporarily suppress her noble, unyielding Sword Saint spirit…

Xia Lulu, I’m writing this grudge down!!

With no way out, the little princess reluctantly followed Xia Lulu’s instructions, stepped in front of Dorothea…

and performed the extremely humiliating action she had been ordered to do.