Ting Xiao tucked in its two enormous wings.
When it flapped them, it kicked up a considerable gust of wind.
The wind immediately swept up many bits of gravel and dry leaves from the ground.
It tilted its bird head, which was made of tiny purple lightning.
Its sharp eagle eyes stared at Yisela’s face from almost point-blank range.
Those eyes fixed on her from that close distance; thunder flickered in their pupils, and every blink came with tiny arcs of electricity crackling.
Huff—huff—
The breath it exhaled carried a strong smell of sulfur, blowing the loose strands of hair on Yisela’s face into constant motion.
‘This smell is way too strong!’ Yisela screamed wildly in her heart.
‘How long has it been since you last brushed your teeth?’
‘No, wait, you don’t even have teeth.’
‘And that sulfur smell—did you just crawl out of a volcano?’
‘Can you get a little farther away from this princess?’
‘My face is going to be ruined by your spit!’
But she kept her eyes tightly shut, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
She could feel that scorching breath on her face; she could smell the mix of sulfur and burnt reek.
She struggled with all her might to control her breathing, making it weak and erratic, like the last gasps of a dying person.
‘Don’t move.’
‘For heaven’s sake, don’t move.’
‘Bear with it!’
‘Once this princess gets out of here, the first thing I’m doing is taking a bath!’
‘I’ll wash ten times!’
‘I’ll scrub every bit of that bird stink off!’
She chanted this in her mind.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Ting Xiao’s breathing was right in front of her face, just three inches away; each exhalation carried a scorching heat.
She could imagine what expression those eagle eyes were using to look at her—from her hairline on her forehead, to her tightly shut eyelids, to her slightly pale lips.
Cheep?
Ting Xiao let out a low, somewhat doubtful cry.
Its thunder-flickering pupils contracted slightly—it sensed something.
This dragon whelp’s aura was very weak, but it hadn’t completely faded.
It wasn’t the final thread of breath before death.
Still alive.
Cheep! Cheep!!
Ting Xiao immediately straightened up, letting out a sharp cry that was clearly relieved.
The sound carried wild joy and excitement, like a heavy burden had been lifted.
‘So annoying!’ Yisela cursed in her heart.
‘What are you screeching about? You sound like a broken whistle.’
‘This princess’s ears are almost deafened!’
It flapped its wings twice, turned around, and screeched at Yesha in a torrent of harsh sounds.
The screeching was fast and urgent, as if scolding a disobedient subordinate.
“You idiot! How did you knock it unconscious? You almost ruined the master’s important business!”
‘That’s right! Good scolding!’
‘That stupid dog really deserves to be yelled at!’ Yisela thought gleefully.
‘But you’re both about the same—a balding bird and a foolish big dog; neither of you should point fingers.’
Yesha was scolded mercilessly. It lowered its huge wolf head, making a pitiful whining sound from its throat.
It cautiously came closer, nuzzled Yisela’s hand with its nose, and its warm, wet breath sprayed onto her skin, carrying an overwhelming smell of blood.
Ugh—!
Yisela barely managed not to gag.
‘What did you eat now?’
‘This smell is even stronger than that bird’s!’
‘Stop nuzzling!’
‘Filthy!’
She clenched her teeth and forced back the word “Get lost” that had risen to her throat.
After nuzzling, Yesha turned its head and gave Ting Xiao a very impatient look.
That look seemed to say: ‘It’s still alive; it can still be saved. Quit scolding.’
Ting Xiao looked down at it from above, a flash of irritation in its eagle eyes.
It let out another very short cry.
“Try to wake it up, but don’t kill it. Hurry up.”
Yesha couldn’t be bothered to argue—the mission came first. It immediately leaned in, lowered its head, and stared at Yisela’s face for a long moment with its crimson vertical pupils.
Then it opened its mouth, and a dark purple light glowed deep in its throat.
A stream of pure Dark Magic slowly seeped from its mouth, like an invisible thread, and drilled into Yisela’s nostrils.
Warm.
Not a scorching heat, but a cozy warmth that spread from the inside out, as if she were soaking in warm water.
That Dark Magic traveled through her body, repairing the minor wounds; the bruises under her skin gradually faded, and the cuts from the gravel healed.
Yisela almost let out a comfortable sigh.
‘That’s pretty comfortable…!’
‘No!’
‘How can this princess be healed by a stupid dog’s magic?’
‘If this gets out, how embarrassing would that be!’
After infusing its magic for a while, Yesha withdrew its power and nuzzled her face again with its nose.
‘Another nuzzle!’
‘Are you addicted to that?’
Her eyelashes didn’t stir.
Her breathing was still a mess.
Her face was as pale as paper.
Yesha turned its head and let out a low, questioning roar at Ting Xiao: “Why isn’t it waking up yet?”
Ting Xiao flapped its wing impatiently and gave a very short cry: “Wait a bit longer.”
‘What are we waiting for?’
‘The two of you standing here—this princess is almost passing out from your stench!’