The Lord of the Li Family and his matriarch left, leaving only Li Yunzi, Luo Xiao, and Zhu Minglang in the grand hall adorned with pear wood.
Luo Xiao waited for a while after the Family Head had left before slowly rising to his feet.
He took a few steps forward, approaching Li Yunzi.
"Miss Yunzi, I have failed in my duties, causing you to be wronged... Miss Yunzi, you need not concern yourself with the opinions of others. Once you return to the Li Family, I will strive even harder to become its pillar of strength. At that time, I will do everything in my power to persuade your father to betroth Miss Yunzi to me. I... I, Luo Xiao, truly have sincere feelings for Miss Yunzi. I... Speaking of this now may seem abrupt and offensive, but I will prove it to you with my actions. Miss Yunzi, please give me some time," Luo Xiao said, his speech stammering and nervous.
Zhu Minglang stood by with his mouth agape.
Am I really that transparent!!
No matter how twisted Luo Xiao's heart was, he seemed to be sincere in his feelings for Li Yunzi, and he had chosen the most suitable moment to confess to her, earnestly showing that he was a man who wouldn't care about Li Yunzi's past.
Li Yunzi did not respond, nor could her emotions be discerned at the moment.
"Miss Yunzi need not rush to reply, as long as you understand Luo Xiao's loyalty and infatuation. Miss Yunzi must be tired; Zhu Minglang, have the servants take the young miss back to rest. I will go to the Family Head to receive my orders," Luo Xiao said.
Luo Xiao also understood that Li Yunzi hadn't yet walked out from the shadows and needed time.
"Alright, I wish you a future as splendid as the scenery in advance, Mr. Luo," Zhu Minglang replied perfunctorily.
Luo Xiao nodded, satisfied, feeling that Zhu Minglang was quite a sensible younger brother.
Finally, with some reluctance, he shifted his gaze away from Li Yunzi and marched towards the Imperial Court of the family head. From this moment on, he, Luo Xiao, was truly embarking on a path to ascend among the clouds!
Power, wealth, women—he would have them all!!
"Red Agate, do you remember those who used to bully us? Hehe, they would never have thought we would return with the status of a Gold-plated Fire Dragon and a Dragon Shepherd!" Luo Xiao wore a smile on his face, unable to resist caressing the red agate ring on his finger.
The ring had an unusual sheen, in which one could see the shadow of a dragon slowly emerging.
In Wutu, keeping rush impulses at bay was wise!
I'll end up with even more, and Li Yunzi will eventually be mine!
After what happened, there are probably not many of noble status who would be willing to marry her. This way, as long as I perform well under the Li Family Head, having him give Li Yunzi's hand in marriage to me is not impossible!
You must know that Luo Xiao was nothing more than a servant in charge of guarding and keeping house in the Li Family, his status abjectly low!
Now everything is different!
...
Pear Wood Grand Hall
Zhu Minglang walked up to the main seat, picked up the handkerchief left by the matriarch, and then handed it to Li Yunzi.
"You're still bleeding. By the way, that man just now, was he your father?" Zhu Minglang asked.
Li Yunzi did not tend to her wound but, when Zhu Minglang wasn't paying attention, a tear slowly slid down her cheek, leaving a trail.
Li Yunzi herself did not expect that after holding back for so long, she still broke down before everybody had left.
Why did her psychological defenses weaken in front of this man?
Zhu Minglang, standing to one side, was at a loss as to how to comfort her for a moment.
If she had broken down in tears, it might have been easier, but instead, she let only a single tear fall. There was no pain, no sadness, but rather a sense of steadfastness that she was bearing it all.
Yet, the sight of this beautiful resilience made one's heart ache.
She was the victim, but in the eyes of others, she was the culprit. Hardly had she returned home than she was greeted with such scorn.
It seemed if the blood relationship could be cut, the Lord of the Li Family would do so without hesitation.
Is this the refuge Li Yunzi traveled so far to return to?
"Let me help you back to rest, don't think too much," Zhu Minglang maintained his courteousness, assisting Li Yunzi as they walked out of the grand hall.
"This way."
"Oh."
...
When they reached Li Yunzi's courtyard, Zhu Minglang indeed found himself turned away at the door.
Zhu Minglang could understand, after all, comforting her was of no use, as he himself was the main culprit.
In a world where status dictated everything, Zhu Minglang wouldn't find it odd if Li Yunzi killed him in a fit of rage.
But now, where should he go?
He had been inexplicably brought to Ancestral Dragon City... With no status, no land, no residence, and no money, surely he couldn't beg on the streets again?
Hey, why do I say again?
I've never begged for food!!
Li Yunzi didn't lash out at him, but she most likely didn't want to see him again either.
In fact, by bringing him to Ancestral Dragon City, Li Yunzi had saved his life; at that time, Luo Xiao had planned to annihilate Xiaosang Town as well.
Since he was here, he might as well settle down and find temporary work that could sustain him, preferably something involving growing mulberry trees, as Little White, the insatiable glutton, would likely make a scene if he awoke without any milk to drink.
Bai Qi, that is, the name of the Ice Bug.
Speaking of Little White, it had not crawled out for air on its own for many days and was now lying unusually still within its Spirit Realm. Preparing for hibernation?
Zhu Minglang gently closed his eyes and checked his own Spirit Realm.
"Strange, why is there an Ice Pupa now..."
Peering into his Spirit Realm, Zhu Minglang was shocked to discover that, at some point, the little Ice Bug had wrapped itself up in ice silk it spat out, transforming into a huge Ice Pupa.
Was it about to undergo metamorphosis?
But it was an Azure Dragon of the Dragon General Level before. No creature of the Azure Dragon Bloodline was said to have this ability, right?
The Ice Pupa hadn't completely closed up yet; there was still a hole at the top.
Through this hole, Zhu Minglang could see inside.
What he saw left him astounded by the world within the Ice Pupa!
The inner world was magically crafted!
The ice silks wrapping around the outside interwove profoundly delicate patterns inside, without the slightest hint of chaos. Instead, they formed a perfect artistry that transitioned from loose to unified.
Amongst those frosty silk nests were sparkling ice grains, shining like rare white diamonds, or like a skyful of white stars in the vast night, orderly scattered within this tiny universe, dreamlike and fantastic.
Each tiny frost strand had a long ancient pattern upon it.
Within each ice grain, there appeared to house an incredible universe.
All of this ultimately congregated around a small Holy Spirit – it was Little White that had gradually grown wings, and its stature had become exceptionally graceful!
At the heart of the pupa, Little White drifted in and out of sleep. It gently stretched its underdeveloped wings, and a pair of beautiful, vibrant eyes tried hard to watch Zhu Minglang who had come into the Spirit Realm.
But the little one was truly too sleepy.
In the end, it closed its eyes.
Momentarily, the frost strands began to dance, the ice grains started to shimmer. As Little White fell asleep once more, the world within the Ice Pupa began to revolve wildly. Tiny buds of life broke through the ice, minuscule ice flowers bloomed, something like life-giving snow trees spread their leafy crowns that shrouded everything, minuscule creatures were created here...
It was as if creation burst forth, as if oceans turned to mulberry fields!
Meanwhile, the hole was filled by the frost strands surging from within, and the Ice Pupa sealed completely.
Zhu Minglang could no longer see anything inside.
From the outside, the Ice Pupa looked unremarkable, but the world inside that had left Zhu Minglang utterly astounded was imprinted in his mind and would not fade away!!
Little White, who slept like a queen in that frosty and vast world, what exactly was it?
This probably marked the fifth year of Zhu Minglang's wanderings.
Once, Bai Qi was an Azure Dragon.
When Zhu Minglang was still a young man, he was already a formidable figure, watched by everyone, adored by everyone.
But just when Zhu Minglang himself thought he would have a splendid life ahead, Bai Qi devolved overnight from a mighty Azure Dragon to the most minuscule and frail Ice Bug among living creatures.
In just one night...
To this day, Zhu Minglang hasn't forgotten the white frost silk that wrapped around half the city!!!
The huge ice cocoon enveloped the Azure Dragon Bai Qi, covering half the city in a vast expanse of sacred white, as if a Snow Spiritual God had descended.
This stunning vision lasted the entire night.
But in the end, as morning light came, all the white silk melted away. The Azure Dragon left behind a shell devoid of any signs of life, melting with the frost silk into water under the sunlight, leaving only a minute Ice Bug, almost devoid of any consciousness, slowly crawling out...
Zhu Minglang stood atop the cold city, watching this tiny Ice Bug emerge from Ice City. How could he, still a young man, believe it!
The White Azure Dragon had actually regressed!
The youth, who was once at his zenith, thus became a grain of sand in the sea of people and began his long, wandering journey.
After so many years, the youth matured into a young man, his grand aspirations dulled to merely getting by.
He had walked so many places that he could no longer remember them all.
However, the little Ice Bug, this grown youth, had been taking care of it diligently all along, and without realizing it, it had become a bond that could even be described as familial.
For years, Little White maintained its status as a small Ice Bug with no change at all.
But this time, it was undergoing transformation!!
From that brief glimpse just now, Zhu Minglang saw the semi-transformed state of Little White, with its thin wings, with its beautiful outline of form, with its delicate tail...
It seemed to possess the gentle grace of a Butterfly Dragon Spirit, yet it also seemed to retain the physique of the original White Azure Dragon!
And unmistakably, these were signs of its imminent transformation into a dragon!!!
The Ice Pupa was its Dragon Gate.
Upon breaking out from the pupa, it would return to its rightful position as a dragon!!!
In that moment, Zhu Minglang's inner self, which had been like stagnant water, suddenly surged with excitement!!
The White Azure Dragon was returning!!
The recent events, which would inspire longing in anyone with a heart grown cold, only held back because they could not see their own future...
But with Bai Qi's return, everything was about to change!!