"-and so, that's why Da Gong believes these are our children." Jia Hyson turns to his summoned 'children'. "Ain't that right kids?"
"Mummy Cinderelly! Mummy Cinderelly!" The 'children' shouts. Maybe because they were Jia Hyson's summoned creatures who could telepathically link to him, they could also be understood by Tang Muxin as well.
Tang Muxin: '...' No, no, I really don't want to be honored with this bonus gift.
She wasn't around for only a few hours and it seems her spicy chicken animal companion slash fellow transmigrator had done something incredibly ridiculous and produced three fake children in order to better chain down his golden thigh. Tang Muxin felt like the character of her friend was really... really bad ah.
Thinking about his previous claims of being one of the most handsome men in China she can't help but think that maybe, maybe the title came from a lot of shady behind the scenes deals? The kind filled with all sorts of unspoken rules.
Unknowing that he is now considered on the same level as those slutty sugar baby cannonfodder from entertainment novels that love to hold thighs and will do whatever it takes not to let them go, Jia Hyson starts to show off his new fake children.
"Listen, listen, at first I didn't really want to give them names, just casually call them Bao Yi, Bao Er and Bao San* ah-"
*Baby 1, Baby 2 and Baby 3 lol
Tang Muxin: 'You wanted to raise fake children and not give them proper names?' How disgustingly scum.
"But then Da Gong, he," Jia Hyson sighs. That bird can really make this old man's slag heart flutter.
At the time where he had given out those names, Da Gong had lightly pecked at his head in admonishment, "Silly baby," He had clucked, "We must give them names that are suitable for being our children."
Jia Hyson touched his forehead, while it didn't hurt much it felt a little numb and warm, like an affectionate flick of the fingers. His tail sways shyly. "What do you suggest then?"
Da Gong cocks his head, seriously thinking before using a wingtip to gently coax Jia Hyson closer to his body. Obediently obeying Jia Hyson found himself wrapped up intimately underneath one of Da Gong's wings as the rooster's neck cranes down to better look him in the eyes.
"I quite like the last name Heng*," Da Gong clucks, "It fits with my wishes for our relationship."
*Heng means eternal.
Jia Hyson: 'Fuck, that was good. My tiny shriveled black heart has just grew three sizes.'
Bebe: 'Agreed, that was smooth as fuck. Honestly, that bird is way too good for you.'
Jia Hyson: 'Haha you say that but that doesn't change the fact Da Gong likes me oh~' ☚(ﾟヮﾟ☚)
Bebe: '...' 눈_눈 Really fucking wasted on this guy ah.
Seeing how serious Da Gong was taking it, Jia Hyson felt moved and decided to put some thought and effort into the naming of the summoned mice. While he still didn't really think of them as anything more than pets he felt that since they're going to stick around for so long it's not really a huge inconvenience to spend some time coming up with a good name in retrospect.
Bebe: 'Bebe is starting to see why you didn't have pets as a kid.'
Jia Hyson: 'I'm very self aware ah. I like animals a lot but I'm not sure I'm capable of raising them or doing something horrible in the heat of the moment. So because I like them, I don't raise them.... well I did have fish at one point but fish are boring and my mum took care of them mainly so it doesn't count.'
Bebe: '...' It's host is too self aware of his own problematic tendencies. Bebe can't retort at anything. In fact Bebe can't help but feel it's host was a little pitiful in a strange way.
In the end after some discussion the mice were named Heng Kai*, Heng Dishi**, Heng Jian***.
*Victorious
**Man of Virtue
***Strong, healthy
[Ding, ding! Cinderella's Little Helpers (Active) has increased to Level 4!]
It seems naming them with careful thought and great affection caused another level up.
'This levelling up is way easier than I thought ah,' Jia Hyson muses, feeling pleased at the notification.
Unfortunately Bebe ruthlessly rained on his parade. 'It's because they're now receiving two individual's affection instead of one now.' Bebe points out, before adding snidely, 'Also, looking at the data, it seems 76.3% of that level up was contributed to their rooster daddy you heartless bitch.'
Jia 'heartless bitch' Hyson: '…' Yeah. That does sound about right. _(:3」∠)_
An unforeseen bonus it seems to this lie, was that this skill, which would have been surprisingly difficult for the apathetic and fickle Jia Hyson to level up, was upgrading rapidly thanks to Da Gong's fatherly love which had not only moved the mice babies who now are very happy to call him daddy, but even Jia Hyson was moved.
As Tang Muxin listened to Jia Hyson boast over his big gong* she felt almost nauseated by the sweet dogfood unwillingly stuffed in her mouth.
*Da Gong is meant to translate to big duke but in this case she's using his name to refer to him as a big gong instead because heh.
Pressing her forehead she massages her throbbing temple. "I don't understand. Why didn't you just un-summon them and tell the truth?"
"Well there are multiple reasons." Jia Hyson shrugs, "Da Gong is smarter than Little Fatty and he's hung around Ye Cheng who likes antiques and stories. He would have easily torn apart the lie that these mice were my servants as dragons wouldn't have rodents for servants. There is no legitimate reason for me to be able to summon mice therefore I created an illogical one.
Not only does this throw him off guard, this sort of topic is also something Da Gong isn't familiar with as cross breeding is very rare and the myths and legends of similar stories of interspecies reproduction produce very strange creatures as offspring."
While it seems like a stupid thing to say in the heat of the moment, Jia Hyson didn't think so. Boring people pick boring options. His job is to be interesting and fun and sell meng. If he cleared this thing up so simply and concisely the plot will lose a very unique meng selling point!
Bebe who had previously derided its host for his shameless scheme silently felt that Jia Hyson's idea was not as completely stupid as it had originally thought. Just because you can't comprehend someone's sudden actions doesn't mean there wasn't calculation in the movement.
After all, while it was a bit more troublesome for Jia Hyson, Bebe knew that for the readers, this sort of ridiculously dumb but hilariously cute scenario will get a lot of likes. It can also act as an unique selling point that makes the story stand out from the rest.
For a good story people must experience some trouble and conflicts. Currently the atmosphere is very easygoing with some potential signs of drama brewing in the eighth prince's storyline. However that sort of foreshadowing will only come into play when they get closer to the capital.
Tang Muxin hasn't experienced any cannonfodder to faceslap and Ye Cheng and Meng Meng are quite passive. One playing as a friend slash mentor in charge of exposition and heartwarming scenes, and the other a potential male lead responsible for spreading some slow burn romantic sweetness.
Even if the conflict is between the mascot and his... rooster boyfriend, is very minor and small, it will at least serve to change the pace a bit for the readers and prevent them from growing too bored by this smooth cruising journey so far.
Tsk, even thought it's host was annoying and slag, Bebe had to say that this willingness to wrong himself just for the story is exactly what is needed for a Beta system host.
Bebe just wished it wasn't such a slag way of wronging himself.
…And that it's host would actually feel a little bit more wronged to be perfectly honest.
So with Tang Muxin's help in explaining how the lizard and rooster they owned decided to 'adopt' three weird field mice, that's how Heng Kai, Heng Dishi and Heng Jian joined the party.
Ye Cheng: 'Yaaay! More fur babies! And they're so cute!' (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Meng Meng: 'I also don't mind.' (,, ◡‿◡ ,,)
Yan Huizhong: '…' No, wait, am I the only one who thinks this is weird?
…
The journey is long but the gap between people seemed to shorten with each step of the way.
It had taken them about four more weeks but they finally arrived at the city of Kaifeng. By that time Jia Hyson, while only having increased a little in length, had started to develop more dragon like features. Two small blunt horns the color of jade were just peeking out of his head, light silvery fuzz similar to his tail hair was starting to grow around his neck and down his spine, and even a pair of stubby protrusions had appeared under his nostrils which could only be a sign of the signature dragon whiskers developing.
Don't even mention Ye Cheng who likes antiques and Yan Huizhong who was from the palace and were both extremely familiar with the appearance of dragons, even Meng Meng the amnesiac was constantly giving Jia Hyson funny looks now.
The night before they entered Kaifeng, they went to an inn and all sat in Tang Muxin's room to discuss this.
"So.... that's a dragon right?" Ye Cheng straightforwardly asks as he picks Jia Hyson up from Da Gong's back and plonks him onto the table. Jia Hyson blinks lazily and curls his body into a spiral shape as he stares back at the humans who were peering back at him. Since his physical dragon traits has been developing, he had become increasingly lethargic. After all it takes energy to grow all these things, it's unsurprising he was sleepier than normal now.
"Uh," Tang Muxin glances down at Jia Hyson.
Jia Hyson blinks again, languid and slow, before yawning. He really looked like a dumb little animal right now. 'Just tell them the truth Mu Mu,' he tells her wordlessly, 'At this point it would be stupid to lie. Besides... you trust them don't you?'
Tang Muxin falls silent for a moment as her eyes flash with complicated emotions.
She did trust them.
Her previously life was wrought with anxieties and betrayal. She didn't have any real friends much less any lasting relationships that she felt were genuine. All she had was a bunch of bad overly romantic, lighthearted and fluffy stories to pass the time when she was free and even then she had to go through absurdly great lengths to avoid her phone getting hacked or infiltrated by anyone.
But now... she had Jin Bao her silly slag soul bound companion, Ye Cheng who has helped her when she first transmigrated and never stopped, Meng Meng who is quiet but stable like a mountain and Da Gong who is a fierce but protective rooster. Even Cao Huizhong who is shady as hell, she can easily admit she also trusts him enough that he won't sell her or anyone else out unless he has to.
Jia Hyson: 'Did she have to add slag onto my description? Like, is that really necessary?'
Ye Cheng: 'Why is it only that I helped you ah? Shouldn't you say something about my bright sunny smile that lights up the sky no matter if it's day or night and warms up your heart as well? Why is my part so dull?'
Meng Meng: '...to be honest, I think I also sound a little boring as well.'
Eighth Prince Yan Huizhong: 'What the fuck do you mean shady as hell? And done think I don't know this touching description is going in order of who you trust the most to least. Why the fuck am I less trustworthy than a rooster???'
Tang Muxin: 'Heh.' Everyone's a critic.
Tang Muxin looked at everyone present and couldn't help but feel a little warm inside. While they were a bit annoying in their own ways they were now also people she wouldn't trade for anything and would kill to protect if she had to. Jin Bao was right, it would be stupid to lie about such a big thing and would only serve to drive a wedge in their friendship.
"Jin Bao... is indeed a baby dragon," She confesses. It wasn't as difficult as she had thought. Instead she felt like a weight she didn't know she had was lifted off her chest. Tang Muxin was almost tempted to talk about her transmigration as well but she quickly quelled the desire.
Dragons were one thing, soul swapping is definitely on the lines of black magic. Besides it was hardly something people would suspect and other than Ye Cheng who already accepted her for who she is, she didn't have anyone else connected to the original body that cared enough to notice her changes.
Maybe one day she'll tell them. For now, they all looked like the confirmation of the dragon thing was enough to mull over for half a year.
"Wait a minute, why are we just believing her?" Yan Huizhong snapped out of his daze. "We should find an animal doctor or something first to confirm."
No matter how the royal family called themselves the sons of dragons and loved dragons and so on, there were few and far between that actually believe such a mystical creature exists. Not to mention, if they did, how could they be like this guy who was not only originally gecko size but also only knew how to sell meng and flirt with chickens?
No! He refuses to believe the great noble dragons are like this!
Ye Cheng tsks and smacks the back of the prince's head lightly, "Are you stupid? If Jin Bao ends up to be an actual dragon do you think that an outsider will be able to keep quiet? Even the emperor would have trouble keeping this under wraps much less us!"
"Tang Muxin is the closest to Jin Bao." Meng Meng pipes up, voice slow and words short. Really... very much like a typical male lead who treats his words like gold. Unfortunately the cool, domineering factor of a typical male lead was not very strong and was constantly overshadowed by a certain tyrannical and overbearing CEO rooster.
Nodding his head in agreement Ye Cheng's eyes glance between Tang Muxin and Jin Bao. "I've also noticed that. Out of all the animals Jin Bao will always look for Muxin first and vice versa. Not to mention the time spent between you two silently staring at each other is suspicious to the point even Da Gong would get jealous."
"Cluck." Da Gong flaps his wings. "Cluck, cluck, cluck."
Yan Huizhong looks down at the bird with black lines down his face. Da Gong didn't react to anything until after being depressed from his wife but the moment they talked about Tang Muxin spending time with Jin Bao he suddenly had to be part of the conversation. This bird... really loves to eat vinegar and spread dog food ah.
Sensing the disdain toward himself, Da Gong looks back at Yan Huizhong before 'tch'ing and turning away so the prince could only be faced with his tail feathers. He was too lazy to look at someone more prideful than him yet was just a plant that flowers but does not bear fruit*.
*Said of someone who is all show and no substance. Since flowers are pretty but fruits are much more useful.
Yan Huizhong: '...' He really didn't like this bird who loved to give him no face and only chicken butts ah.
Tang Muxin knocked on the wooden table lightly with her fingernail. Jia Hyson, hearing the command in his mind, yawned and slithered toward her, letting her stroke his back like a docile pet. In the background, Da Gong's clucking became angrier but Jia Hyson heartlessly ignored his cute rooster husband in favor of helping build the scene.
With such a display of control over the dragon it was easier for Tang Muxin to explain how she had accidentally bound to Jin Bao when they met in her courtyard back at the Tang residence. Watching as Jin Bao curl around her fingers playfully and nipping at them gently, the others were already more than half convinced. After all while Jin Bao was the most obedient animals here, he never went around particularly cuddly or being clingy with anyone but Da Gong.
Da Gong: 'Cluck.' Laozi is furious.
Tang Muxin, secretly sweating furiously: '...Jin Bao do you have to be so intimate with me?'
Jia Hyson: 'Hehe a woman's fingers are so soft, it's been a while since I've gotten caresses by a lady ohh~~~'
Bebe: '...' Scum man, I hope you get neutered.
While Jia Hyson has never cheated, it is indeed impossible for a leopard to change his spots. His coquettish and fickle, slag nature could not be curbed even without the current ability to feel sexual desire. Even when he was married to Sefu there were times where he couldn't help but want to tease and string a few bees and butterflies along, wrapping them around his finger before crushing them and running back to his vinegar eating hubby.
...It could be said that if Jia Hyson ever became a eunuch and also got together with some tyrant emperor, he may still be unable to stop flirting with anyone he can ah.
After the explanation there was a lull in silence between the humans. Da Gong took this opportunity to jump onto the table and drag back his cheating wife with his beak, and fling him onto his back in a very handsome move.
Meng Meng and Yan Huizhong: '…' Feeling inadequate in comparison somehow.
Jia Hyson nuzzled into the feathers, patting the angry rooster soothingly and making little kissy noises near his earholes to appease him. "Brother Gong, did you miss me~?"
"Even if I did it, it wouldn't matter to you." Da Gong sulkily clucks.
"Of course it would ah," Jia Hyson licks the bird's neck before curling his whole body around it in his usual affectionate body hug. Now that he's started to grow a dragon's mane, the soft hair brushed against Da Gong's sensitive feathers, making his heart ticklish. His rage had been immediately halved by this one action but Da Gong refused to show this to his little worm.
He needed to teach this naughty worm a lesson! Hmph! <(ಠ ⊝ ಠ)>
While Jia Hyson was acting out a coaxing scum husband with his wife play, the humans were having a more serious discussion.
"Dragons, especially golden ones are a symbol of fortune and luck." Ye Cheng comments, "Could that be the reason we have been so lucky when looking for items and finding treasures?"
"But if we were really blessed by a dragon then would we have run into calamities like droughts and bandits?" Meng Meng points out seriously. Unlike the other two men, he was less superstitious. Even when he was Duan Mengyao, he didn't believe much in the superstitions of the older generation and therefore was much more practical if considered a bit too disrespectful at times.
"It is only an infant dragon," Cao Huizhong mutters, "In the legends they even say the biggest and most ancient ones formed the Heilongjian, Zhujiang, Huang and Yangtze river*."
*Refers to the old folktale of the Four Dragons who turned into these rivers
"Jin Bao said his powers will improve as he grows," Tang Muxin agrees. While she wasn't sure of the validity of the four dragon legend, it was indeed true that Jin Bao had a lot of room to grow.
"Does he have any fighting capabilities?" Meng Meng asks.
Tang Muxin hesitates. After a long time hanging out with Jin Bao she knew he actually was a bit of a braggart and likes to exaggerate a lot of things about himself. While he did say he can fight, given his past actions and his shameful thigh holding… "He, uh, he… shouldn't have much?"
"So he's pretty much a small glowing lucky item right now that's just begging to be stolen." Cao Huizhong summarises, his nails tap the table, betraying a faint anxiety. While this was beyond his wildest calculations… as a man aiming for the dragon throne, wouldn't having a literal dragon by his side practically guarantee his chances?
The closer they get to the capital the more powerful the means to steal Jin Bao, while they can protect the dragon now they may not have the ability to do so later. If the dragon falls into the hands of someone else…
Tang Muxin shoots the eighth prince a cold look. While she had grown close to everyone here that didn't mean she had forgotten the original personality of the eighth prince. The hatred he harbours is deep and impossible to wash away in just a few months alone. While she doesn't doubt that they had all become fond of each other as friends, for the sake of revenge who knows to what lengths Yan Huizhong will go to in order to achieve it.
Now she has Jin Bao and explained her relationship with him, there was no way the prince will backstab her. And to be honest Tang Muxin doesn't believe Yan Huizhong would hurt Ye Cheng either. So Tang Muxin was not currently too worried right now. The only one now really in potential trouble is the still clueless Meng Meng.
If it's just to protect one person, Tang Muxin was fairly confident she could do it.
Still… she needed to keep a closer eye on the prince as they get closer to the capital.