Chapter 624

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 624: Only the Dragon

"Master, who is the dragon?"

"Not a who, but a concept, an existence."

"Is it very scary?"

"Yes, very scary."

"Did it kill all of my family?"

"It was a dragon that killed your family, I am certain. I have been searching for the dragon, and when I saw the jade pendant, I knew."

"Where do we need to go to find the dragon?"

"Dragons exist in the heavens, in the water, and in the mountains. They are powerful creatures nurtured by the earth. You must continuously kill dragons to become stronger, until you are worthy to challenge that enemy."

"Master is so powerful, Master can slay dragons."

"I have slain one."

"What kind of dragon?"

"A mountain-sized dragon."

"The master is very powerful."

"Even I can’t defeat the only dragon. I have lost to it many times, so I call it the Sole Dragon."

"If the master can’t win, can I win?"

"You can, because you are special. Meeting you might be my luck. You are destined to slay dragons, born to kill them. Even the Sole Dragon may not escape your dragon-slaying destiny."

"Master, I don’t understand. What is destiny?"

"It’s a coincidence and a necessity, like how you met me, like how I met you."

"Destiny is a good thing then."

"Haha, when you grow up, you might not think so."

…

Longque grew older day by day, and finally found a new companion in Bai Wei.

She became Bai Wei’s apprentice, and he passed on all his knowledge to her. Although he claimed to have taught her everything, she actually learned most of it herself.

Bai Wei was not naturally talented, but he was a good talker and could deceive others. Despite his efforts to catch up, he couldn’t make up for his lack of natural talent. He could handle some situations and defeat a few monsters, but when faced with formidable opponents, he could only escape. On the other hand, Longque had exceptional talent and by the age of twelve, she had already surpassed Bai Wei in strength.

Out of respect and trust, Longque never doubted the great strength of her master, no matter what he said, she believed him.

She followed Bai Wei everywhere, from being a mere follower to becoming his trusted right-hand person.

Bai Wei relied on deceit to make a living, but Longque didn’t inherit this talent from him, as she was too straightforward.

Some people practice martial arts to keep fit, some can move mountains, and others can cause earth-shattering impacts. These differences come from natural talent and bloodline advantages. In any case, Bai Wei didn’t have these innate conditions, so he had to rely on reasoning with people.

Over the years, he built up a network of contacts.

Initially, he would mooch off meals, treat others, drink, chat, deceive, scold, speak the truth, deceive again, speak the truth again, then leave, and come back after some time to deceive and repeat the process, ultimately earning people’s trust without them realizing.

Eventually, the steps simplified to – invite, behead, accept as a pet.

The gradually foolish actions also lost some excitement and freshness.

Bai Wei spent a lot of effort setting up many things, causing many nobles to go bankrupt, many warriors to get injured, creating chaos and even rivers of blood and bones everywhere.

Longque couldn’t fully understand this, so he didn’t understand it at all.

The little girl didn’t think about these things, all she wanted to do was slay dragons.

When she was thirteen, she went to a cold mountain cave carrying a sword.

When Bai Wei found her, she was already lying in the snow, with a young dragon’s head on her back.

Even he himself was shocked, only thirteen years old?

Just because of a casual remark that she didn’t know was true or false, she completely believed it, treating slaying dragons as a lifelong goal, and believed that as long as she wished, she could do it because it was her destiny.

Dragons are powerful and sometimes intelligent creatures that people admire. The older the dragon, the stronger it becomes, and some even can speak human language.

Each dragon embodies the forces of nature, so they can be unpredictable and terrifying like earthquakes, floods, thunderstorms, and wildfires.

She slays dragons with a sharp blade, raising it against the natural world, making her unpopular among many.

Because many people fear and respect the natural world, someone who slays dragons shows disrespect towards the heavens; what else can make her in awe or respect anything?

Having no fear doesn’t always mean being brave, sometimes it means having no boundaries.

Longque is unafraid of dragons and mythical creatures, yet she is still very scared of her master.

Although her master is usually kind, sometimes he appears exceptionally terrifying.

Especially when he stays silent, his stern expression always makes others extremely anxious.

Her memories of her mother are not very strong, but she always remembers her father as incredibly busy and exhausted.

One day, the father came back home, held her and cried, said sorry for many things, then died.

She didn’t even know what had happened.

This left a deep psychological shadow on the girl, she sat there overnight not knowing what to do.

So she was very scared of being left behind and abandoned, kids are like that, they follow older people, follow elder siblings, like a little tail.

Even as she grew up, her habits didn’t change.

The two of them walked through mountains, rivers, and countless cities over the years, and Longque turned fifteen.

After arriving in a city, Bai Wei went off to do things alone, while Longque returned to the place where she grew up as a child, where she had lived for several years. Although she hardly remembered it, and was starting to forget what her parents looked like, surprisingly, the house was still there, but it had been renovated and looked very different. A couple with two children lived there now.

The children thought she was a bad person when they saw her at the door, they tried to scare her away, but she bribed them with candy.

She entered the house, looked at the completely different scene inside, stayed for a while, and then left, only realizing it was a holiday as she left.

The streets were decorated with lights and festivals, and everyone seemed to be happier. There were not many poor people struggling to survive anymore, and ordinary people could now afford to buy delicious food and drinks.

She walked along the street feeling a bit lost. After walking for a while, she realized she didn’t know where to meet her teacher. She walked a few more steps and then saw a familiar figure ahead. She felt relieved like finding a lifeline, ran toward the figure eagerly, but slowed down as she got closer, calling out timidly, "Teacher."

Bai Wei woke up and noticed her red eyes, asking, "What’s wrong? Your eyes are red."

Longque touched her eyes, feeling a bit teary. Was she jealous of others? Why?

"Missing home?" Bai Wei asked.

"No," she shook her head.

"Haha, you’re still a child," Bai Wei said, lifting a wine jug. "It’s time to go. Let’s also pay a visit to your father’s grave. You are fifteen now."

They arrived at the gravesite, cleared the weeds, and burned incense.

Longque knelt in front of the grave and softly asked. Teacher, where is the Longque? Why have I never seen its trace?

Bai Wei looked up and drank his wine, "Because it’s not an ordinary dragon."

He poked his chest with his hand, "What gives birth to the only dragon is not a common natural phenomenon, but this place."

Longque asked softly, "Is it human nature?"

"What do you think of the world?" Bai Wei asked.

Longque didn’t know how to answer, as it was difficult to explain.

Bai Wei asked again, "Putting aside the term ‘world’, just talk about yourself. You have come a long way, circling back here. You have grown up. In the past, you couldn’t understand this world, didn’t comprehend why someone wanted to snatch your father’s burial jade. Now, do you understand why?"

"Because the weak have no qualifications?" Longque’s voice trembled softly as she knelt here, still as helpless as the little girl she was back then, able to empathize with those past feelings of bitterness, injustice, and confusion.

"This is how the world works," Bai Wei said solemnly. "This is human nature!"

"So that’s why there is only the dragon?" Longque asked softly. "Did the only dragon kill all my relatives?"

"There’s no one else but him." Bai Wei finished his drink and poured the remaining liquid on the ground. "The ceremony is over. You’re fifteen now. Just north of this city, sixty miles away, there is a pond where a poisonous dragon lives. It has been polluting the water source and creating a poisonous forest. In the past decade, it has been shedding its skin, its poison glands have degenerated, making it the weakest now. Go and kill it, remember to consume its gallbladder, it will give you the power to withstand any poison."

Longque was surprised, he stood up and clasped his hands together. "Yes, Master."

She knew this was the master’s test, but in the past, when slaying dragons, he was mostly there beside her. Today, he wouldn’t be there anymore.

Bai Wei waved his hand to dismiss Longque. After the little girl left, he glanced at the grave and muttered to himself.

"The dragon must show itself now…"