Zhang Xiaoshan was instantaneously enraptured.
...
He did not know how much time had passed.
He lay among the clouds.
At that moment, the woman was also pressed against Zhang Xiaoshan's side, her head on his shoulder, drawing circles on his chest with one hand while softly speaking into his ear.
"Husband, now that we have the reality of husband and wife, I have a favor to ask of you."
"You say, as long as I can help you, I will certainly do it," Zhang Xiaoshan promptly agreed.
The woman then spoke.
"I would like my husband to help me escape my predicament."
"Escape my predicament?" Zhang Xiaoshan was a bit puzzled.
The woman smiled and said,
"Don't you wonder about my identity?"
"You, you are?"
"I am the White Dragon that your White Dragon Village has been worshipping for generations, you can call me Susu."
"What, you, you are the White Dragon?"
Zhang Xiaoshan was so scared that he suddenly became much more alert and kept some distance from the woman.
"Giggle giggle giggle..."
Susu laughed, her voice playfully chiding.
"Rest assured, husband, I will not harm you."
Zhang Xiaoshan was somewhat at a loss.
"Then, what exactly is going on?"
Susu explained,
"Telling you too much is of no use. You just need to know that I am a Spiritual Body now, accidentally came to White Dragon Village, helped your ancestors, who then established a temple to worship and preserve my Spiritual Body with incense. Today, the mural stained with your blood allowed me to awaken and leave that mural, but I am far from fully recovered."
"Then, how should I help you, what can I help you with, I am just an ordinary person," Zhang Xiaoshan felt a bit melancholy and helpless.
"I have already transmitted to you the Nine Dragon Devouring Sky Skill, the secret technique of my Dragon Clan, and I have also helped you cleanse and renew yourselves with the little remaining Dragon Qi I had. You are no longer an ordinary person by now, and my Dragon Spirit is attached to you. When you reach a certain level, my Dragon Spirit can be completely free to move."
Zhang Xiaoshan seemed to understand and not understand.
Susu patiently explained,
"Yes, there is a kind of energy between heaven and earth that makes people stronger, which we call Spiritual Energy. However, the Spiritual Energy here is now very scarce, and obtaining it through breathing exercises is very slow. However, the Nine Dragon Devouring Sky Skill is mysterious and can harness various powers."
Susu moved up to Zhang Xiaoshan's ear and whispered a sentence.
Zhang Xiaoshan became even more confused.
"Giggle giggle." Susu covered her mouth and chuckled.
As they spoke, Susu's figure began to fade.
"Oh?"
Susu furrowed her brow and continued speaking to Zhang Xiaoshan,
"Husband, my Dragon Spirit has just awakened, too weak, and I have given you some of my Dragon Qi, now I must sleep again, please remember today's promise."
"Lastly, I will give you one of my life's treasures"
The Dragon Girl opened her mouth and spat out a sparkling transparent pearl, which turned into a stream of light and zoomed into Zhang Xiaoshan's eye.
Afterward, Susu's figure completely vanished.
"Susu..."
Zhang Xiaoshan tried to grab Susu, but his feet found no purchase, feeling only the vertigo of falling from an immense height.
"Ah."
Zhang Xiaoshan shouted loudly, suddenly sitting up.
He was still located in the corner of the ancestral hall.
"What a ludicrous dream!"
Zhang Xiaoshan grumbled as he stood up, but when his gaze fell on the White Dragon Mural, he was stunned.
On the mural, there were only some landscapes left, and the figure of the White Dragon had disappeared.
"No, this is not a dream, this is all real." Zhang Xiaoshan's heart thumped wildly.
He felt his body was somewhat greasy, and when he looked down, he saw lots of black mud and filth on his body, which was also emitting a foul smell.
"This isn't right."
Zhang Xiaoshan looked outside again.
The moon had already hidden behind the clouds, and while the world was dark on one side, Zhang Xiaoshan's eyes were clear as day. Not only could he clearly see the road and the houses, but even the insects crawling in the gaps of the tiles and the grasshoppers hopping on the village path were visible.
He stood still, his gaze moving all around.
In a large locust tree outside the ancestral hall, a few little sparrows were dozing off while a cauliflower snake was quietly approaching; my goodness, even the spots on the cauliflower snake were clearly visible to Zhang Xiaoshan, and inside the tree, dense termites were eating away at the heart of the tree...
"Gurgle."
Zhang Xiaoshan was both alarmed and delighted.
"I, my eyes are not only able to see through things now but can also do long-distance and night vision."
"Is it because of the bead that Susu transferred into my eye when she left just now?"
Zhang Xiaoshan tried hard to recall the dream he had just had, and some information in his mind became increasingly clear.
Vast as clouds and smoke.
"Forget it, it's too complicated, I'll go home first and study it slowly."
Zhang Xiaoshan walked home with some excitement.
Although today's marriage arrangement with Wu Xiaoru had encountered changes, the fact that he had received a great and extraordinary opportunity was somewhat consoling.
It was already deep into the night at eleven o'clock, and the villagers who had worked all day had long been asleep, leaving the village path very quiet.
Zhang Xiaoshan walked, mulling over things.
"It really is true that you can know someone's face but not their heart. Today Luo Meili said that Wu Xiaoru went on a blind date, and I was still defending Little Ru, but in the end, I ended up looking like a joke."
"I gave up a good job for Wu Xiaoru and returned to the countryside, only to end up with such a result."
Zhang Xiaoshan wallowed in self-pity, his long-standing affection for Wu Xiaoru having greatly diminished by now.
"Indeed, I can't leave my destiny to others; making myself stronger is the true solution."
Zhang Xiaoshan's mind drifted to the scene today where he had given Luo Meili a massage in the infirmary.
Only because he was still deeply in love with Wu Xiaoru at that time, he was unmoved by Luo Meili's seduction, but now Zhang Xiaoshan couldn't help feeling somewhat regretful.
For a woman like Wu Xiaoru, was she worth it?
"If I am given another chance, I will definitely win over Luo Meili."
Zhang Xiaoshan was lost in thought and speculation.
Suddenly, from the silent cornfield came a series of shouts.
"Help, help."
"Hmm?"
Zhang Xiaoshan was shocked, halting his steps and turning his head to look toward a large expanse of cornfield not far away, where about a dozen meters away a large set of cornstalks was shaking.
"Wu Yong, you're crazy, I'm your aunt, let go of me..."
A woman cried out heart-wrenchingly.
"Is that Luo Meili's voice?"
"Wu Yong?"
How did these two people end up together?
Zhang Xiaoshan hurriedly rushed into the cornfield.