Volume 1 Chapter 178
by Need_More_SleepVolume 1 + Chapter 178: Slept The Day Away
“It is indeed a curse. A very well-hidden and tricky one.”
The little creature’s expression was serious, her small face uncharacteristically showing a trace of steadiness. She looked completely different from her usual gluttonous, playful, sleepy, and carefree self, appearing not at all like she was joking.
Though she was young, Jian Yan trusted her on an instinctual level.
This trust wasn’t without reason, it was innate, deeply rooted from the very first day they met.
Moreover, although the little creature was usually mischievous and lively, she had never joked with Jian Yan about truly important matters, nor had she ever let her down.
At her core, she was still a sensible child who wouldn’t make groundless claims.
Therefore, faced with the conclusion the little creature presented, Jian Yan harbored no doubt.
But that was precisely the problem, how could Ying Chun, perfectly fine, possibly be cursed? She couldn’t figure it out.
On the way here, it was the Hemera Empire’s famously accomplished and battle-hardened General who personally escorted them all the way to this inn. Up until this point, Ying Chun had almost no contact with outsiders.
Furthermore, the mother dragon had been by Ying Chun’s side the entire time. Even though she was asleep, with her keen senses, how could she possibly remain completely unaware if someone had truly tampered with things in secret?
The more Jian Yan thought about it, the more wrong it felt. The faint unease in her heart gradually amplified, almost turning into a dark cloud looming in her mind.
This matter was absolutely not that simple. There must be some hidden, ulterior conspiracy behind it.
After all, her relationship with the Academic Examination Institute had long since completely soured, one could even say they were like fire and water.
That those people would seek revenge on her was something Jian Yan had long anticipated. What she hadn’t expected was that they wouldn’t target her directly but would instead reach out to someone close to her.
This method was even more despicable and infuriating than using underhanded tricks or schemes against her directly.
If they had come at her, she might have been able to take it in stride. But now, they had set their sights on Ying Chun, so who would be next? Would it be Elenna, or even the little creature?
At this thought, Jian Yan’s anger could no longer be suppressed. Surging fury churned in her heart, as if a raging flame burned in her chest.
She couldn’t help but clench her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, her palms aching faintly. Yet she was oblivious to it, only feeling an unbearable tightness in her chest.
“Those bastards!”
She gritted her teeth, the words almost squeezed from her throat, her voice low and bone-chillingly cold.
“Miss Jian Yan, this… this won’t cause me to miss my exam this afternoon, will it?”
Ying Chun’s voice trembled slightly, her eyes filled with a trace of despair and anxiety.
For her, the afternoon exam was more important than anything, even more important than life itself.
Because she knew very well that opportunities to turn one’s life around were few and far between. Sometimes, even when an opportunity arrives, one might not notice it.
And this time, perhaps, was her closest chance at success, an opportunity she had fought for with all her might. She didn’t want to, couldn’t, just give it up!
She had to seize it, hold onto it firmly, not let it slip through her fingers!
“Don’t be afraid, it’s alright. I’ll think of a way.”
Jian Yan comforted her softly, her gaze steady, though she couldn’t hide the gravity in her heart.
Her knowledge of curses wasn’t extensive. While solving the problem was certainly possible, the real difficulty lay in time.
If she could calmly consult books and spend a day researching, perhaps she could find a countermeasure. But the problem was, she didn’t have a day.
Ying Chun’s exam was this afternoon, and in a few more hours, she would need to head to the examination venue early to prepare.
The time left for Jian Yan was perhaps less than three hours.
Three hours… To start from scratch in a completely unknown field and quickly find a way to break the curse was undoubtedly a tremendous challenge, even bordering on the impossible.
Three hours, catching the culprit would probably be faster than that.
However, Jian Yan had no room to retreat. No matter what, she had to find a way to solve the problem within this limited time. Otherwise, Ying Chun’s efforts, all her perseverance, would come to nothing!
“I have a way, Mama.”
Just as Jian Yan was frowning, racking her brains on how to deal with the curse, the little creature suddenly stepped forward with light steps. Lifting her small face, she looked utterly confident.
“You have a way?”
Jian Yan was slightly taken aback, clearly surprised. After all, curses fell within the realm of magic, and she herself didn’t have much expertise in magic, making it difficult to resolve.
“That’s right, I have a way!”
The little creature proudly lifted her chin, the corners of her mouth turning up in a confident smile. “Things like curses are related to magic. It’s normal for Mama not to be good at them.”
As she spoke, she stood on tiptoe and gently patted Ying Chun’s head. Her tone was light, her expression carrying a hint of mystery, like a little priestess, naive yet somewhat adorable.
In Jian Yan’s eyes, it was hard to imagine she was helping Ying Chun solve a curse…
“Alright.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a point of sparkling light suddenly materialized in her palm. The radiant glow was dazzling, shimmering with starlike brilliance, as if she had truly plucked a star from the sky and was cradling it in her hands, so beautiful it was hard to look away.
But the essence of this thing was far from as pure and beautiful as its appearance.
Beneath that dazzling light, what was truly hidden was the curse itself, lurking within Ying Chun’s body, affecting her!
“Following this, you can find the person who cast the curse.”
The little creature shook the sparkling cluster of light in her hand, her tone relaxed as if discussing the simplest of matters. “This kind of curse is very low-level. For dragons, curses of this level aren’t even worth using, children wouldn’t bother with it. It’s completely insignificant.”
Her demeanor was frank, even carrying a hint of nonchalance.
Indeed, for her, a curse of this level was really nothing.
The might of dragonkind was innate. Whether in physical constitution or magical aptitude, they far surpassed humans. Their starting point in magic alone was leagues beyond humanity’s endpoint.
Not to mention such a low-level curse, even more complex magic was merely child’s play for dragons, easily performed.
Of course, a certain mother dragon who had been snoozing away was an exception…
Such an obvious curse, and that mother dragon hadn’t detected it at all? Looking at it this way, the mother dragon’s usefulness was really even less than that of a guard dog…
Wait? The mother dragon was still asleep?
Jian Yan paused slightly, a thought suddenly flashing through her mind.
She snapped back to reality, her gaze turning sharp.
If even the little creature could easily detect and dispel such a simple curse, how could the adult mother dragon remain completely unaware?
Dragon’s magical aptitude far exceeded that of humans. With the mother dragon’s capabilities, it was impossible for her not to sense the presence of such a low-level curse. Yet she had shown no reaction at all…
Jian Yan slowly turned her head, her gaze shifting to the bed, the mother dragon was still sprawled out in a “大” shape, utterly without grace on the soft bedding. Her breathing was long and steady, completely immersed in her own dreams, looking as if she was sleeping incredibly soundly.
This one… had already slept for a full day and night!
[Translator’s Note: I decided to focus on my other translated projects because they’re more interesting. If another Translator want to pick this Novel up and continued it, feel free to pick this Novel up.]
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