Shoutout to @Arashi, @sparklyhex, @nobody, @punpun, @Suzami, @Bebe (we call her BB tho lol) from the BTBAB discord server who won this shoutout prize after cashing in tickets they earned from sending holiday cheer and hot eye candy (just a lot of hot anime guys lol)! Merry Christmas to you cuties~
Also, shoutout to CattyCoopster who has pretty much always been one of the top fans on WN here. Like bruh, love you. No need to give any gifts this time just spend it on yourself as you totally deserve it~ hehe~
Happy holidays to everyone!! Wishing you a good holidays and stuff~
.....
…..
Unknowing of his dragon father's thoughts, Jia Hyson happily sucked the bone marrow of a six-legged cloud boar that his father had given him. As a powerful leader of the dragons, father dragon had one of the best spatial storages of heaven. As a father who missed his child, 80% of the things inside the storage were all items, he had wanted to give his son that he had collected since Jin Bao went missing.
Jia Hyson personally preferred mothers over fathers, given his original life experience. Even when he was a spoiled Samotrelian prince, he instinctively preferred being around the queen than King Kro.
Though in fairness, maybe because there was really too many children and responsibilities, he didn't actually spend so much time with those two as much as one would think. Not to mention he was an adult man inside and was too busy enjoying the high life to cater to his need for parental love. Still, despite his bias, he couldn't help but truly be moved by father dragon's sad love for his son.
People handle grief differently. However it can't be denied that the more open and obvious display was the one that triggered the most sympathy, even if the person more subdued in their loss felt it more. Jia Hyson's original father used this concept a lot in order to manipulate people to believe he was a loving father and husband. He was a very disgustingly fake man, so Jia Hyson could more or less tell that in comparison, father dragon was more genuine just by looking at the contents in the storage space alone.
Constantly thinking about his son, slowly collecting food that his son may like, toys young dragon enjoy playing with, shiny things, interesting looking things… all these small useless trinkets that overtime amassed into a hoard of useless treasure. There were only a few essential items for survival, such as high-grade healing potions and concentrated bottles of spiritual energy for emergencies that were really pitifully few in comparison. To be honest, those potions might not exclusively be for the older dragon's sake and could be technically considered as a reserve in case they found Jin Bao injured or dying.
Aiyah, in the original timeline, how sad must father dragon have been in that moment?
Da Gong, who sat next to him, was quiet with a wing covering over him like a blanket.
As someone who wasn't even considered a minor character in the story, he had not been given any information about the plot. However, because of this lack of information, he knew that there was something not right.
From what Chef Wen said, the human with big brea- Tang Muxin, was the true protagonist of the plot. Therefore if Da Gong was supposed to travel with her like he did in this life, he would've been given a lot of relevant information about the plot. However, because he had nothing, he knew he was not a character and therefore shouldn't be hanging out with the protagonist… unless there was an anomaly.
Silver eyes stare at his little worm.
The information he gains after awakening his shard is really not a lot. But Da Gong was a smart chicken and understood that if he could be what he is, an outsider to the world, then there must be other outsiders. However, he didn't know what these outsiders' goals were, but the plot would not have changed so drastically if their aims were similar to himself. That meant his little worm had a mission that needed the story to change for a certain purpose.
Da Gong: …
Da Gong: …
Da Gong: Well, I guess my little worm is both smart and cute ah. (,,ಠ⊝ಠ,,) ♡
To be honest, it didn't matter, really. After all he was just a rooster living his rooster life. While he was curious, it was only that.
Outsider or not, good or bad intentions. This little worm had captured his heart and had never done anything to wrong him. There was no need to harbour baseless suspicions that would ruin their current relationship. All he had to worry about was spending all the time he could with his cute little worm while his relatively short life lasted.
Thinking about his new self-awareness of a rooster's lifespan, Da Gong fluffed up his feathers in faint distress, and pushed the still distracted worm closer to his body with his wing to comfort himself. While his little worm had indeed grown very big, to the point even he admittedly could not move him if the other refused to, his little worm was still obedient and cute. Feeling Da Gong's intentions, the dragon stopped his gnawing to allow himself to be moved, happily scooting closer, so the cool golden scales of his body pressed against fluffy black feathers.
Jia Hyson sighs in his heart as he nestles against Da Gong's fluffy body. It's really over. Now he thinks even rabbits, dogs and cats cannot compare to the natural fluff of soft feathery birds. When he moves on from this world, his little squishy stress ball rabbit Fishball will not be enough anymore.
Fishball, in the safe space: QwQ ??
Thinking about moving on from this world, a strong sense of reluctance wells up in him.
This sort of feeling was not a stranger to Jia Hyson. After all, who would be truly without regrets when leaving the world? But it was rare to have such a strong and visceral effect on himself.
Probably the most similar feeling to this could be compared to when he was dying as Prince Farrell. He had been really unwilling to leave such a good world. After all, it had something that made his heartbeat and made him feel incredibly happy and satisfied all the time.
Unlimited money and power.
Sefu, waiting for his name to be called out: …oof.
Between a man and financial security, of course, financial security took precedence in Jia Hyson's hedonistic heart. When he was Prince Farrell, he was sexy, with great status and just so obscenely rich that he could plate an entire city with platinum if he had wanted to. Not to mention his Samotrelian body, which defied human limits, was so fit and healthy that he almost never got backaches from poor posture; he didn't get more than 5% body fat despite eating so much shit.
Sefu was great. Definitely one of the best lovers Jia Hyson had, fitting many of his tastes both physically and emotionally. It would be a lie to say he wasn't sad to separate from him either. The fact he didn't divorce the man till death finally parted them was a good indicator of how satisfied he was with him. However, what Sefu probably lacked as a man was… self-respect?
Sefu with no self-respect: …
It is hard to value a man or woman who doesn't respect themselves and only wants to please their partner. While Sefu did put up some resistance, he was ultimately very docile and full of submissive and subservient acceptance. It was rare to fight, and their relationship was very harmonious, but at the same time, total harmony in a relationship was the same as monotony. Fortunately, it was a very comfortable and pleasant monotony, but it was monotony nonetheless.
Either way, between a life of luxury and a husband, Jia Hyson could only say he would hesitate a bit before decisively and righteously picking the high life.
Jia Hyson contemplates silently before glancing at Da Gong. Noticing the little dragon's gaze astutely, Da Gong leans his neck down and nuzzles the dragon with the side of his feathery head in an intimate gesture. He almost instinctively accepts and returns the action, enjoying the closeness and simple yet delightfully sweet affection.
Maybe it was because Da Gong was an animal; it was easier for the heart to become softer. At the very least, if someone offered him the rich life or having Da Gong by his side, he would at least try to bargain with the other before deciding.
As for what he would pick? ….still the life of the spoilt ah.
Da Gong, who still lost to money: …
Sefu, who wouldn't even be bargained for: ….
…
As expected, the seventh prince came with his small army after two weeks.
Why did it take so long?
Well, it wasn't like anyone had been ready for a fight ah. Provisions had to be made, the men had to be gathered, strategic planning, weeding out spies, assassins and traitors. Not to mention they had to fight their way to the capital now that the emperor was aware of the seventh prince's rebellious thoughts.
It was a fairly large undertaking. To be honest, two weeks was a pretty good time.
While it wasn't as large as the emperor's 100,000 imperial army, there were at least 15,000 men amassed under the seventh prince's rule, which was no laughing matter. Especially if one considers how well trained and disciplined, they must be.
After all, the problem of large armies were they were prone to a lot of inner conflicts due to politics and rivalries, so the unity may not be as good as the seventh prince's cult army. The talented young general Duan Mengyao who had been schemed upon, was a good example of this.
Fortunately, there was the protagonist, her potential male lead, and the villainous boss (that gets defeated before the true final boss is finally revealed) to help control the forces and also weed out a few corrupt officials from both the crown and third prince's factions. This produced many good face slapping scenes for everyone as well as provided some vindication for Duan Mengyao and Yan Huizhong, which helped tie up the biggest conflict in their storylines.
Even Ye Cheng and Pan Shuchun, who had more or less insisted on staying away from the battle preparations, had been roped in during the past few days. Jia Hyson had been quite pleased with the developments so far. Maybe because he did a lot at the beginning, he found that after most of the foundation had been established, it was very easy for him to take a step back and let things just flow as they were, only personally stepping in a few times to make his presence known or to correct a few things in the scene he wasn't really liking.
Pan Shuchun had helped quite a bit with Tang Muxin and Duan Mengyao's plotline, showing off that one didn't necessarily have to be a fierce and stoic warrior woman like Tang Muxin to kick some ass and be a valued voice in the discussions. With her agricultural system and her own personal knowledge, she ended up helping advise the blacksmiths, introducing better concepts of camouflage, armoury, and nutritional food to eat on the go.
Surprisingly though, she was much more vocal in aiding Yan Huizhong, who predominantly was against his fellow brothers like the crown prince and the various other officials, having a more political plot that suited him well. With her modern ideas and golden finger system, and his intelligence and scheming, they proposed new ideas, pointed out the loopholes of arguments, and essentially won a lot of praise and respect among the officials.
Ye Cheng, in contrast, was mainly helping Tang Muxin and Duan Mengyao. His own ability and charm with animals, as well as his care and experience handling them, was shown off after he was called in by Tang Muxin to solve a problem with the warhorses, which were a critical part of the army. Not only that, his character was friendly, and his body was fairly strong.
Compared to the cold faces of Tang Muxin and Duan Mengyao who used their skills and brute strength to quell the initial dissatisfaction, Ye Cheng who was kindhearted, had an honest face and knew how to flatter without being cloying, was very much welcomed by the majority of the soldiers. Seeing this, Tang Muxin apologetically asked Ye Cheng to mingle and essentially act as their eyes, ears and mouth, as his social abilities and EQ really outweighed everyone else's in the group. After some hesitation Ye Cheng had accepted, after all, the shop opening could be delayed, but friendship cannot wait.
Of course, this was also a good way to bring complications to the secondary relationship in the story, with Yan Huizhong feeling jealous and inferior after seeing Ye Cheng surrounded by so many handsome, muscular and physically able men that at a glance were far more gong then himself. It was also not unwarranted as there were many cut sleeves in the army and there were not just a few who were indeed a little interested in Ye Cheng who had a sweet mouth and a sunny temperament.
Jia Hyson felt that for a sweet and brainless, laid back story there shouldn't be too many misunderstandings, especially for the side couple so he kept a close eye on this development especially. After all some jealousy is fun, it's great really, but too much jealousy can be grating. Fortunately spending all that time together during their travels wasn't for nothing. Ye Cheng was good with emotions and knew how to comfort his lover, and Yan Huizhong, while understandably insecure had strong trust in Ye Cheng's words and heart.
Once this problem had been solved, Ye Cheng then also brought his animals to help out on Yan Huizhong's side of the plot. Da Gong especially stood out with Jia Hyson usually not far behind. While Ye Cheng was not as helpful on the political side, he brought comedy into the seriousness with his animals and also more opportunities to allow the cannon fodder to come up and get their face slapped. Not to mention the animals under Da Gong's rule and supplemented by Tang Muxin's cooking were more intelligent and full of talent.
Finding corruption evidence, acting as spies, protecting their master by dropping themselves into the enemies' robes… it was very good gag material ah.
Overall the characters in this arc of the story interacted well; the tone was still more or less consistently lighthearted, there was nobody in the group who was obviously pushed out of the story in this period since everyone contributed to the cause.
Jia Hyson silently claps for everyone. Good, very good. Daddy is so proud.
Tang Muxin, Duan Mengyao, Yan Huizhong, Ye Cheng, and Pan Shuchun: …Why do we feel condescended all of a sudden?
Still, with all the preparation, it would be useless if the seventh prince wasn't worth it. The seventh prince as the secret hidden final boss, of course was worth it though. He had not only caused the palace to go into turmoil with his plans being revealed, he had also many of his people planted around that also caused chaos to further weaken the palace's abilities. While most of the hidden spies that had been dealt with by Tang Muxin, it was inevitable there would be a few clever ones that had not revealed their fox tail* and slipped through their grasps.
*Their true identity.
This caused the palace to be in a state of tension and distrust that even Ye Cheng's brightest smile still couldn't completely shake off.
Despite being wary though, they were still caught by surprise when the seventh prince's army attacked. That was because the seventh prince did not come in the dead of the night nor before the rising dawn. Instead he boldly and crazily began in the middle of the day when the sun was hottest and brightest.
Still there was a reason for the madness. The seventh prince was not stupid. Before he started his assault he used something that was most effective during a hot day.
Fire.
Burning the surrounding forest, shooting flaming arrows, the surrounding temperature which was already uncomfortable became a little more than unbearable. Pan Shuchun had designed more breathable armour but there was only so much the tailors could work and so much the clothing could do, that at least half the imperial army who still had their heavy defensive armour felt like they were this close to experiencing what a roast duck must feel like.
Not to mention, the seventh prince's people were really trained well, and proficient in qigong and to a small extent utilising spiritual energy, making the burning arrows reach up higher and fall more powerfully. A few arrows had actually surpassed the wall of the capital and breached the inside, making many people feel fearful at these dragon worshipping monsters raised by the seventh prince.
What was worse was that in ancient times hygiene was not good and no matter how prosperous the capital was it doesn't change the fact a lot of buildings and stalls are made up of wood. Small fires would occasionally start when a burning arrow managed to enter which served to produce further panic.
It was really too bad the seventh prince was going against the protagonist and her party, no matter how good he was he could only serve as their foil*.
*Stepping stone. A person who is there to make others look better.
Jia Hyson of course, as Tang Muxin's spiritual animal and closest companion, was also by her side in this climatic battle. It would be embarrassing otherwise really. And of course Da Gong refused to let his little worm head to danger alone ah. As Tang Muxin calls for order and starts to say a very motivational speech to bring up the morale of the people while Duan Mengyao looks at her with love in his eyes, Jia Hyson and Da Gong stood next to her and silently did their best to look handsome and composed.
Da Gong's silver eyes looked out at the crowd of soldiers and his heart trembled a little. No matter how domineering Da Gong was he was still just a rural rooster who had not seen the mountains beyond mountains. Now that they were close to true war it was inevitable he felt concerned and nervous. But it was not wholly for himself.
His eyes move from the soldiers to his worm. "Baby," He clucks, "You-" Da Gong hesitates, before clucking softly, "No matter what happens remember that your life is the most important to me. I don't want you to go into danger, but I don't want to cage you like a human… But if you do something reckless baby, laozi might not be able to control myself okay?"
Jia Hyson: This… is this the rooster version of the little black box ah?
Da Gong realised his kindhearted doting husband image was a bit ruined now and kicked the dirt under his feet shyly. "Tsk, never mind."
This sort of dark possessiveness was very unflattering and Da Gong consequently felt very ashamed at his words. Da Gong had always been more inclined toward showing off his cute little worm to everyone rather than locking him up and hiding him away. It was only recently where he comprehended his inability to guarantee Jin Bao's safety that he began to feel this possessiveness of his grow, urging him to catch and protect his mate and his children, trapping them in a safe and well hidden nest, away from predators and rivals.
Jia Hyson looks at Da Gong with some surprise. The rooster was usually very self-confident, and doting. It was rare for him to act like this. It was very… Jia Hyson absentmindedly touches his chest which felt a little ticklish and warm.
The sensation seemed to spread from his chest, through his serpentine body, until it reached even the tips of his claws and tail. It was a bit like there were bubbles touching all over his scales, it was a little itchy and uncomfortable to be honest, like second hand embarrassment but in a sort of good way.
Instinctively, Jia Hyson leans toward Da Gong, wanting to soothe the feeling by rubbing all over the other's body. Slowly like an affectionate snake toward the plumpest prey, Jia Hyson who couldn't be satisfied by merely nuzzling himself against Da Gong, had slowly begun to encircle and entwine around the bird's body.
Da Gong was a big bird, Jia Hyson was a golden dragon. The soldiers who had been listening to Tang Muxin's speech inevitably noticed the movement. Watching as the dragon seemed ready to strangle the large bird with it's body like an anaconda, it was hard to pay attention to anything else really. There was a strange sweetness to it, but at the same time… they all kind of wanted to watch the dragon swallow some big black cock.
Fortunately Tang Muxin was too impassioned by her own speech to notice or the soldiers would have instead witnessed the blasphemy of the dragon saintess beating up her dragon companion before getting attacked by a giant rooster in while a war was starting.
Da Gong however could not pay attention to anything else.
His worm! He was being so clingy and affectionate! Tangling their bodies together in front of everyone! Da Gong who had felt embarrassed by his previous words was now ashamed beyond comparison. He wanted to hide his face but because of his little worm's aggresive and wanton actions he had no way to move and was enveloped by golden scales.
Even though he was a brave and domineering rooster, right now he just felt like a coquettish quail, heart thumping and very nervous but delighted. This sort of feeling of being watched while he and his little worm were so intimate… he really liked it ah.
Finally understanding the pleasure in the shame, Da Gong hesitated before moving his head, using his beak to lightly scratch at his beautiful little worm's paler scales that were found on the underside of Jin Bao's figure. Like his own feathers, they were softer and more delicate there. And more sensitive.
Jia Hyson: !!!
"Mreep~!" Jia Hyson shuddered and leaned closer, the uncomfortable bubbly feeling had become a more obvious burning itchy feeling that desired to be scratched and rubbed. His whole body warmed, though it was hard to tell if it was because of himself or Da Gong, whose temperature had seemed to grow exponentially hotter ever since he had entangled with him.
Unintentionally, Jia Hyson trembled under the unexpected action and squeezed the rooster lightly with his whole body, causing a strange sound to come from Da Gong, that was not purely of pain. Craving even more touch, Jia Hyson begins to move his tail around while his also claws gently went back and forth, brushing up and down the soft feathers as he carefully ate the rooster's tofu with great affection and relish. Finally though his exploratory tail ended up naturally finding a certain area, brushing against something slightly wet in spot underneath his beautiful large tail feathers…
Da Gong: !!!
Da Gong felt very humiliated and oddly full of anticipation as his excited cloaca was touched by the soft tail hairs of his little worm. It was like the finest paintbrush swiping against him, making his body stiff from the strange electric feeling that shot through him.
Jia Hyson was also affected upon the discovery. His golden eyes flashed brightly before darkening in faint hunger and growing desire. Since his growth period had been accelerating thanks to Father dragon's gifts full of spiritual energy, Jia Hyson had not only been feeling more energetic but also… friskier.
He was at the point where he really was about to shed his human morals and become a beast who was willing to mate with another animal ah. Besides… while roosters have no penile attachment like many mammals and reptiles, they do have a cloaca hole…. Therefore it's not impossible to-
Bebe: …
Bebe: …
Bebe: …If this arc doesn't end, Bebe will.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you were, there was really no time for fraternising with your rooster friends as the seventh prince's army breached the capital's barriers.
Father dragon who had been laying on the roof of the palace to nap, woke up blearily at the ensuing chaos before suddenly sitting up. His golden eyes burning bright and fierce as his nostrils flared. "Those bastards!" He swore as he stared angrily down at the ensuing warfare, "How do they still have those disgusting weapons?!"
Chef Wen who was still in prison for obvious reasons, touched his nose awkwardly. Ah, his memory was really not good these days. It seems he's forgotten to confess something important…
Dragon slaying weapons.
A long time ago there were very powerful weapons forged. Weapons created with the scales, teeth, blood, bone and flesh of a dragon.
Generally, when a dragon likes a human enough they would give them a bit of their discarded scales or some whisker hairs, which, while not as good, could still create formidable weaponry. However, humans over time became less grateful and even disliked these castoffs, especially when they compared themselves to the few humans who had gained a dragon's love and were given much better and fresher parts of the dragon body as a courtship gift.
So they decided to do something about it.
Forcibly taking and using parts of a dragon was taboo but at the same time, it was undeniable that the items, were extremely powerful. So powerful that humans disregarded the ire of the dragons, and clans disregarded their feuds, to all band together and kill many young and elderly dragons. The only reason why they rarely targeted the healthy adults despite them having better bodies that could provide better materials, was because they were cowards who feared the strong and looked down on the weak.
This sudden rise of violence was really the last straw between the tense relationship of the two species. Father dragon who had been just a child at the time, had also experienced being attacked when he was young. However his luck attribute was incredibly high, even among the other golden dragons, so even the weapons embedded with golden dragon blood and scales were not enough to bring him down.
Still, just because he came out of the experience alive, that doesn't mean he wasn't faintly traumatised by it.
Thinking about it now, father dragon suddenly felt the rooster as a mate wasn't bad…. Well… sort of…
…No it was still too hard to fully accept right now.
Anyway, before the dragons left to heaven, they obviously would not let the people who used their kin as weapon materials off easily. Golden dragons can bless but they were also proficient in cursing as well, it was just much less well known since they were more closely entwined with the laws of karma, which, as we all know, is kind of a bitch. Therefore they almost never curse others.
However, the humans really went too far. Father dragon's own father had been utterly infuriated, especially when his own child was involved. He had deeply cursed all those people who were involved to live short lives, experience painful betrayals and leave no intact corpses. Whoever was greedy enough to covet the weapons would also experience the lingering residue of this curse, plagued with misfortune, shorter lives, and so on.
The curse was also quite a vicious one that shouldn't have faded yet. While it won't have the same potency, the owners who had died due to the curse, the unwilling souls full of regret and bitterness, should have also served to fuel the weapons and maintain it to a fair degree. However like how the oils humans naturally exude can dirty and damage a plant after touching it too much, the negative emotions of the humans would slowly contaminate and corrode the dragon's own will left in the weapon.
Without the will, there was no way, and as more lives of owners consumed by the curse would be lost, more human corruption will infect the dragon materials and the weaker the dragon weapons become. Therefore the weapon will still be just as dangerous to the user but without the great rewards of power and strength and other benefits, deeming it less than useless.
Once they finally throw the weapons away, the dragons who had been carved up into pieces for their selfish wants could finally rest in peace knowing that they were no longer in human hands.
But it turns out! It turns out they had all thought too beautifully!
To be honest, humans looked down on dragons for being beasts, but it wasn't like dragons didn't look down on humans either. Humans were many things, both good and bad. Unfortunately, due to various very legitimate reasons, dragons mainly took in the bad and dismissed the good traits of humanity- their resilience, creativity, adaptation… even if they were indeed shortsighted and selfish, they were indeed observant and clever creatures, something that dragons had overlooked, maybe even noticed but did not even take seriously because of their collective superiority toward the humans.
Everyone was flawed and everyone felt they were superiority to the other. Maybe both species' arrogance was the core cause of their current states. Maybe it was the humans' insatiable greed and lack of contentment, or the dragons' demands to be worshipped and treated as all powerful gods that fuelled too many expectations. But it didn't matter now did it.
In terms of the weapons, humans were clearly in the wrong. Unfortunately, like a lot of the history of dragons, much knowledge about them and their shared past had been buried and destroyed long ago. A plank of wood was easier to keep throughout generations than the intangible and inedible stories of the past. Much less intangible and inedible stories that essentially called out the shit they did and that humans suck.
Only a few families like the Wen family probably still retained these stories, and even then they probably didn't take them very seriously after so long until recently.
However Chef Wen, as a branch member of the Wen family, had been different.
The Wen family back in the day were heartbroken and full of sadness at the dragons' departure, however they also could not stand by and let their fellow humankind be exposed to such a vicious curse. Therefore they waited until the main culprits had all died under the curse to respect the dragons' wishes. Once they had confirmed the deaths, the Wen family then began doing their best afterwards to hunt down the weapons and seal them in an unknown location.
With their luck blessed by the dragons they were very successful, and for a period of time were truly feared as great assassins and thieves throughout the lands.
However it did not come without a cost. After all their blessings were very strong but the heavy curse filled with the dragon's wish of bloody revenge was of course far stronger. Many of the Wen family perished in the quests to secure and seal the accursed weaponry.
Because of their own personal grievances due to this loss, plus their own blessing that counteracted the curse's lure to some extent, the Wen family did not think of using the weapons no matter how mighty they were and hidden them in various places. Overtime they more or less forgot about it and treated it like an old family fable like most things related to their fantastical dragon worshipping past.
Unfortunately Chef Wen did not hold the same general skepticism that seemed to pervade his generation in the family. Chef Wen was a very bold, reckless and curious character in his youth, but also very talented and intuitive. He held great interests in these stories and felt there was always some truth in them. Even though he was only a mere branch member, the elders of the Wen family at the time had been very fond of him who was still respectful of their old traditions, stories and culture and accepted him into the main branch and let him access various things.
Finally Chef Wen figured out how to truly utilise spiritual energy for himself. The effect was much better than the usual qigong techniques which filled Chef Wen with many ambitions and dreams.
But of course like most peoples hopes and dreams, they were destined to die.
Chef Wen had to utilise external spiritual energy with his internal energy that was cultivated through qigong. But as what had already established, the spiritual energy on this place was scarcer then finding a politician with good morals and a heart for justice and the people. The heart is there, but it's pretty diluted and stretched thin ah. Therefore he could only use his ability for something minor such as cooking.
Unsatisfied but helpless, Chef Wen left the Wen family to make a name for himself as a chef and made his way to the capital, mingling with the crouching tigers and hidden dragons, tempering himself and his craft, before finally entering the palace. It was there where he had met the seventh prince who had been similar to himself as a child. Albeit a bit more outrageous.
A little moved by this, Chef Wen impulsively decided to help the seventh prince with his strange and convoluted long term game. Even though Chef Wen in the original story was probably made out to be just a small cannon fodder, the truth of the matter was that he could be considered half a mentor to the seventh prince. The Wen family's knowledge on dragons and various historical matters could not be looked down upon and probably were even better then the books in the palace given there were many unwise monarchs and tyrants that liked to fuck around with the history books.
One could say that without Chef Wen, it was hard to tell if the seventh prince could have been so believable or knowledgable about dragons. Though it was also hard to believe the pair were so close given how quickly Chef Wen sold the prince out.
Then again, given the seventh prince's lack seemingly lack of connection with his maternal family, and Chef Wen's ingratitude toward the main branch of the Wen family who took good care of him, maybe they were just both similar in this aspect as well.
But that didn't matter really, what mattered was that with so many weapons that could have the capability to slay dragons, the battled would definitely take a turn for the worse for the emperor's side. Father dragon was very agitated in his heart seeing the sight. On one hand he wanted to destroy the seventh prince's faction for handling the weapons made from the flesh, bones, blood and tears of his kin, but at the same time the weapons reminded him of the past and the previous hatred many dragons had toward the greedy emperors and leaders that were the source of this tragedy in the first place.
After some hesitation, Father dragon merely used his karmic insight and passed on a small blessing for the good men regardless of their side of the fight. He wasn't so blind to think all humans were bad, but in his opinion they were rare. He might as well try promote the goodness of humanity by keeping the honest ones a little bit of safety.
The current emperor was also a pretty good person as well, Father dragon also personally didn't dislike him. Thinking like this, he gestured to his cute son to be wary of the weapons of the more powerful soldiers, confident with their lucky attributes that the boy would coincidentally see his action, before confidently slinking back inside the palace.
He planed to renew and strengthen the emperor's blessing which will take a bit more time and effort. This action tacitly showed Father dragon favour, and if anybody knew what he was doing then they would understand which where the wind will blow in the subsequent few hours.
But other than Jia Hyson who was a dragon, of course no one had the understanding and insight on Father dragon's actions as long as Father dragon chose not to explain.
Jia Hyson meanwhile was enjoying himself. While he wasn't allowed to kill someone in cold blood, as father dragon had informed him the consequences of incurring bad karma, he was allowed to kill in self defence. Of course, not many soldiers were willing to target the dragon, especially the men who were actually dragon fanatics in the seventh prince's army. From what Jia Hyson understood, they believed the emperor had a secret medicine that caused the dragons to be enslaved and controlled by the scent of this medicine, and the seventh prince had promised to free the dragons once he becomes emperor.
…It had to be said, the lies the guy could so confidently spout were really amazing.
Well, it didn't matter, Jia Hyson took great pleasure in seeking death and counter killing in turn. Even though many men weren't willing to harm him, that was part of the challenge really. Though it did slow his progress somewhat.
However even if his killing process was slow and had requirements, it was still a big blow to the seventh prince's army, given that there was a dragon willing to fight and oppose them. It couldn't be helped that many would feel a great loss of morale at the sight. Therefore the dragon must perish.
No matter what, Jia Hyson had been fairly idle in this world, and to be honest he wasn't really physically active in any of the worlds he's lived through. Even as Prince Farrell where he lived his most athletic life, he still slacked off to go play around. Therefore, once Jia Hyson began to be targeted by soldiers above the level of a simple foot soldier, Jia Hyson realised that the fight was not as easy as he had initially assumed.
"Tsk, even the horses are better trained," Jia Hyson complains as he tries to leap in front of the war horse again. Unfortunately the second wave of calvary was of a higher level, the horses were more obedient and didn't lose their minds and rear their hooves in fright. However it was inevitable for their to be a little hesitation and fear, as unlike the imperial horses that have become more or less desensitized, they had never come across a dragon before.
Taking advantage of the gap, Jia Hyson used his body to agilely spring up and shove the soldier to the ground. The soldier however had seen through Jia Hyson tricks after he had used them multiple times on the foot soldiers and the first calvary group, and had already prepared for the fall, rolling onto the ground before quickly getting back up again with a spear pointed at the dragon.
Jia Hyson was about to let himself get attacked again in order to justify his kill before his intuition kicked in and he jumped back at the last minute, the spear plunging deeply into the hard ground where he was beforehand. His expression changed. This weapon the soldier had was strange!
Fortunately his lucky aura wasn't for nothing and before the soldier could try get a second attack in, his warhorse without a rider during the chaotic battlefield accidentally kicked him in the head.
Enemy Soldier: …
Jia Hyson: :3
Seeing the man was down he unhesitatingly stepped on the fallen soldier's body and grabbed the weapon with his mouth. The moment he was close enough to bite onto the spear, his nostrils flared and almost instinctively took a step back.
Fuck, this weapon had dragon parts in it!
Glancing toward the direction father dragon was meant to be, he realises father dragon wasn't there, further confirming his thoughts. If the seventh prince's army had such weaponry then father dragon would definitely not sit still. However… it was strange father dragon didn't tell him this given his love for his son.
Could it be that father dragon was assured at his abilities? That couldn't be it, or Jia Hyson wouldn't have had such a keen sense of danger emanating from the weapon. Then again one really couldn't underestimate the good fortune attribute of his ah.
Or maybe this was a trial of some sort. Wanting to observe in the shadows how he would react in such a situation.
…Alternatively Jia Hyson felt like the most probable answer was he just missed it.
To be honest, despite being a lucky golden dragon, Jia Hyson felt like most of his luck was only good for blessing the protagonist. After all, while it served for comedic moments, things like getting caught taking a shit, Da Gong finding out about the three mice children at such an inopportune time, and so on, were objectively not lucky situations. While it wasn't anything major, it was enough that if Jia Hyson didn't see firsthand how Tang Muxin literally tripped over literal buried gold once, Jia Hyson would really doubt he was the dragon species he was.
In short, Jia Hyson wanted to file another complaint ages ago. Unfortunately the systems upstairs refused to accept this complaint and compensate him given that this was literally karma at hand.
Bebe: 'Who told you to be so perverted that heaven couldn't stop some of your original bad karma from seeping through? Peh.'
Jia Hyson: 'Well, fucking excuse me for murdering innocent people's lives for my own sick amusement and curiosity, as well as mentally and emotionally manipulating people for similar reasons.'
Bebe: 'No… The whole point... of karma… is to not excuse you…' This fucking guy.
As he was getting ready to rile up his system some more, Jia Hyson's ears prick up and he immediately rolls to the side, a broad sword barely missing him by a few breadths of hairs. Reacting fast, Jia Hyson uses his most powerful skill to subdue his new foe.
[Cutie Beam!]
The enemy who was hit by the level 8 [Cutie Beam] immediately blushed and stared at Jia Hyson in daze. Ah! Ah! Ah! So cute! How could this dragon be so cute!
It was simply a sin to destroy such cuteness from the world!
Kneeling down, the soldier began to crawl on his knees toward Jia Hyson with pure adoration in his eyes. "Please…" The soldier gasps, reaching out to him with trembling hands, "Please let me pet- ah!"
Da Gong flicks his wing in disgust, as if he could shake off the germs of the human he had just slapped in the face with had passed onto him. "Tsk, idiot human. Only I can pet my wife."
Jia Hyson's tail wags happily as Da Gong kicks some dirt at the confused soldier before striding toward his little worm. Even though he was dirty, and dusty and there was blood staining his talons, Jia Hyson couldn't help but find the bird exceedingly heroic and handsome in his eyes. His favorite type of man was the warrior military type after all, now that Da Gong had even fulfilled this aspect, he was really irresistible ah ah ah!
Jia Hyson: 'Bebe…'
Bebe: 'No.'
Jia Hyson: 'But Bebe…'
Bebe: 'NO.'
Jia Hyson: 'I think my hemipenis wants to come out.' (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)
Bebe: (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Fortunately his dragon genitals did not come out. Because that would be really unhygienic given their current environment.
Instead, Jia Hyson used his current frustration to fight the seventh prince's men. With Da Gong by his side, their tacit understanding was very high, and it had become significantly easier for them both to battle these human warriors. Of course the downside was they were really too eye-catching. It was inevitable that, in order to reclaim the morale of the army, the seventh prince would choose to destroy the most symbolic eyesore of the battlefield.
On a mighty grey steed, the seventh prince cuts his way through until he finally reaches Jia Hyson and Da Gong who had just ripped out a fallen soldier's neck in a fairly smooth and painless manner. After all there was so many people to fight, it was just easier to go as quick and simple as possible. Still, no matter what, their stamina really couldn't compare to others and was starting to run low.
Even Da Gong could not continuously maintain his high attack output. As a rooster it was already really good he could beat up bandits. But soldiers were better equiped with armour, discipline and techniques. The seventh prince's men especially were all good quality fighters who knew martial arts. Therefore it was understandable how ruffled and frayed he was becoming as time went on.
Jia Hyson was really not much better. He had the physical advantages, with strong scales, strength,, sharp claws and fast reaction speed. However his defences had already become more or less redundant with the introduction of dragon slaying weaponry that many of the higher level soldiers and generals had their hands on, and his muscles and battle prowess were very lacking on account of his previous laziness.
In short, upon seeing who was about to descend upon them, the pair both gave each other a troubled look.
The seventh prince, contrary to his handsome puppy dog look before, was now a fierce and ferocious wild wolf. Blood stained his clothing and face, and his eyes were chillingly gloomy. It was worse then Yan Huizhong's expression in the beginning. For at least the Yan Huizhong was full of emotions whether it was rage, bitterness, hatred or sorrow, but the seventh prince's eyes were almost dull and empty, detached.
When he looked at Jia Hyson, Jia Hyson felt such a gaze was unnervingly familiar.
Ah, it reminded him a bit of himself.
"If only you never came here," The seventh prince sighs, "My plan was really good you know, and it was all going so well." He shrugs half-heartedly, "Well, I don't really blame you, I just think it's a pity ah, a bad gamble."
"Still, even though I don't blame you," The seventh prince finally smiles, vicious and almost innocently childlike, "You can't blame me for wanting you dead right?"
He jumps off his horse and unsheathes his weapon- a golden sword that seemed to be carved and inlaid with scales all over. "After all, if I go down, at least I'll go down as the first man to slay a dragon in the dynasty. That's a fairly good consolation prize I must say."
Jia Hyson could feel the power emanating from the weapon and he knew that things really were not in his favour.
Da Gong also sensed it too. How could he not? The weapon practically screamed raw and unadulterated power, and felt like the ultimate predator was pressuring all in its' path. There was a part of him that wanted to run, the intelligent and primal parts of him that was urging him to run far and fast. But… his little worm was in danger.
He supposes he was allowed to be a little bit stupid for love ah.
Even though his feathers were no longer glossy and beautifully clean as he loved it to be, now matted with blood and dust and dirt, his body worn down and tired, his silver eyes were still as bright as ever. Like a fire that refuses to back down, and was willing to not bend or fizzle out for anything.
Domineeringly he stood in front of his little worm and clucked provokingly.
…
Meanwhile father dragon's ears prick up uneasily. He was currently painstakingly carving runes and an incredibly complex array on the throne while slowly dripping blood into each indent. This blessing was highly advanced and usually required at least three very experienced and trained dragons to do this, with a minimum of one golden dragon.
But because humans were shunned and disliked, most dragons have lost the art and only a few leaders like father dragon was capable of it. Still, he needed a lot of time, energy and focus, not to mention the ritual would be more successful during a time of great turmoil where the fate of the country is unstable and full of uncertainties. That way he could grasp the fate and karma of the country and its future, a feat that is impossible without requiring such a great and complex ritual array.
Sacrificing a few precious seconds, father dragon thinks about his son, worried and a bit fearful. After all his child is so small, and there were dragon slaying weapons. Of course he will have some of his intuition and karmic insight focused on Jin Bao. After all, his son took precedence over everything else.
Once his perceptions and instinct assured him his son would ultimately be safe after undergoing this trial, father dragon relaxed a little and continued focusing on his own task at hand.
No matter what, the boy was his son. It would be hard for him to die so easily. Besides his human companions from what he saw during his stay, were not only kind hearted but also very strong.
Not to mention that rooster….
Father dragon who had figured out the oddity of Da Gong, smiles and shook his head bemusedly. Aiyah, what was he really worrying about? He supposed that was just his paternal instincts ah.