“My name is Shen Lingshuang, the eldest daughter of the Flood Dragon Clan’s chieftain, and also the first in line of succession.”
Once the treatment came to a pause, the flood dragon began her familiar introduction routine.
Her voice was soft, and she needed to catch her breath after every sentence.
“I came here because I had just undergone a family trial.”
Xuan Xi tilted her head.
The eldest daughter of the Flood Dragon Clan’s chieftain— ‘how did she end up in this backwater?’
She glanced at the wounds on Shen Lingshuang’s body.
Some of those injuries didn’t look like they came from a trial; they looked more like the result of being hunted by enemies.
“I was journeying eastward from the wasteland with my guard squad as part of the trial.”
Shen Lingshuang’s condition had improved considerably; she could speak a few sentences before needing to rest.
“We crossed the wasteland and even reached the border of the Central Continent. Along the way, we encountered magical beasts and Beast Tribe bandits. But on the return trip, right near the boundary between the Dragon Race and the Beast Tribe, we were ambushed.”
Xuan Xi looked at her and asked, “Ambushed? Around here?”
“Yes, this area looks peaceful, but it’s actually extremely chaotic—practically a lawless zone.”
Shen Lingshuang leaned against the stone wall, her eyes appearing especially deep in the green glow of the moss.
“This place sits right at the tri-border junction of the Dragon Race, the Beast Tribe, and the Central Continent. If someone dies here, no one would ever bother finding the culprit. My younger brother really picked a fine spot to send his sister off.”
Xuan Xi said nothing.
Three hundred years ago, the Azure Dragon Dynasty fell into civil war when the Three Dragon Kings besieged the royal capital.
Now, within the Flood Dragon Clan, a similar drama of a younger brother ambushing his older sister was unfolding.
When it came to power struggles, whether it was the Dragon Race or the Beast Tribe, the script was always the same.
Power—that thing was truly intoxicating.
Xuan Xi asked, “What about your guard squad?”
“Surely the eldest daughter wouldn’t go on a trial without any guards.”
“They’re all dead…” Shen Lingshuang’s voice choked up at this point, “Seven guards who grew up with me since childhood—the youngest was only sixteen, about the same age as my brother. How dare he! They shielded me with their lives to give me a chance to escape. And I ran for three days and three nights without food or water before I made it here to catch my breath.”
“Do you have anything on you to call for help?”
Shen Lingshuang was silent for a moment.
“I did have something, but I lost it while fighting a Man-Eating Flower before entering this cave.”
Xuan Xi pulled a deep blue stone from her pocket.
The surface of the stone was carved with fine markings, and it glowed with a faint blue light in the dim cave.
“Is this it? I found it in the forest, with traces of the Man-Eating Flower nearby.”
When Shen Lingshuang saw the stone, she nodded and reached out to take it.
Her fingers gently traced over the markings, and after infusing her Spiritual Energy, a deep blue light glowed from within the stone.
“Yes, this is my SOS Token. If I crush it, my father’s Elite Guard will arrive within a week.”
She clenched the stone in her palm and crushed it with force.
After a muffled, crisp crack, deep blue light burst forth from the cracks, spreading through the stone chamber like a shattered nebula.
The specks of light floated in the air for a few seconds, then drifted in the same direction—toward the Jiao Long Abyss.
Shen Lingshuang watched the light specks disappear behind the stone wall, then slowly unclenched her fist.
“The Elite Guard sets out from the Jiao Long Abyss. Crossing most of the Northern Wasteland to get here will take at least three days. During those three days, I must stay hidden and not be discovered.”
Xuan Xi glanced at her right leg and said, “Your injury won’t heal in three days.”
“I know.” Shen Lingshuang shifted her sitting position and looked at Xuan Xi.
“So I need someone who can bring me food, change my bandages, and tend to my wounds for three days.”
Xuan Xi was taken aback, “You want me to work for you?”
“Help someone to the end, see them through to the finish.” Shen Lingshuang’s voice was still low, but her tone was slightly more relaxed than before.
“Three hundred gold coins a day. How’s that deal?”
Xuan Xi lowered her head and did the math.
Three hundred gold coins a day meant nine hundred gold coins for three days.
A meal at the Academy cafeteria only cost her a few copper coins.
Nine hundred gold coins would feed her for years.
“I could accept it, but you’re alone here—where would you get that kind of money, and how can I trust you?”
“The Flood Dragon Clan never lacks money.” Shen Lingshuang pulled a coin pouch from her waist and handed it to Xuan Xi.
“Half of the mineral veins in the Northern Wasteland belong to the Flood Dragon Clan. Consider this hundred gold coins a down payment. Take it for now.”
Xuan Xi took the coin pouch.
It was heavy.
She remembered Hellas mentioning that the ore from the Northern Wasteland was excellent quality, with the only drawback being its high price.
So it turned out that ore was mined by the Flood Dragon Clan.
No wonder they were so wealthy.
“Alright, three days it is. One meal a day, one bandage change a day, three hundred gold coins a day.”
“Deal.” Shen Lingshuang extended her hand toward Xuan Xi, and Xuan Xi shook it.
“I’ll bring you food tonight. For now, eat some dry rations to hold you over.”
Xuan Xi stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
“Stay right here. The Spiritual Qi concentration deeper in the cave is higher, which is good for healing. Don’t wander off—your injuries won’t hold up.”
Shen Lingshuang leaned against the stone wall, watching her back.
“Aren’t you curious why I trust you so much?”
Xuan Xi didn’t turn around, speaking matter-of-factly, “Your guards are all dead. You ran for three days and three nights before reaching an unfamiliar forest, and you ran into a stranger who treated your wounds and offered to bring you food, all for a modest fee (at least, modest by Shen Lingshuang’s standards). If you don’t trust me, who else can you trust?”
Shen Lingshuang nodded helplessly, “You’re right. I can only trust you.”
Xuan Xi walked out of the stone chamber, and Shen Lingshuang’s voice followed from behind, “I’ll be waiting for you tonight. Don’t run off.”
As Xuan Xi exited the cave, she took a deep breath.
The air outside smelled so much better, completely different from the stale air inside the cave.
She thought about the nine hundred gold coins Shen Lingshuang had promised her.
That was more than enough to buy her adoptive father a brand-new set of blacksmithing tools.
She did the math in her head: a high-quality blacksmithing set—hammer, tongs, anvil, all replaced with new ones—would cost about one to two hundred gold coins.
With the remaining gold, she could set aside another hundred or two to renovate the Blacksmith Shop.
She could buy new furniture, and if she got the chance, she could even upgrade the furnace to a bigger one.
She might even be able to keep some for herself, buy Sige a New Year gift, and pay back the money she owed her.
She looked at the cloth pouch Shen Lingshuang had given her.
Embroidered on the deep blue pouch was the emblem of the Flood Dragon Clan—a coiling flood dragon that looked very similar to an Eastern Dragon.
The only differences were that their claws had only four toes (while Eastern Dragons had five), and they had a pair of wing-like fins.
She weighed the coin pouch in her hand.
It was plump and substantial.
It must be nice having money at home—a hundred gold coins handed over without a second thought.
She wondered if Sige was the same way; her family seemed fairly wealthy too.
She’d send a message tonight to share what happened today.
Xuan Xi checked the time and quickened her pace.
She still needed to get back for lunch—she couldn’t keep Hellas waiting.
She cut through the forest and took the small path back to the back door of the Blacksmith Shop.