After finishing the treatment on Aurelia, Bai immediately rushed over to Vera’s side, with Xiao Hei following closely behind.
The massive creature crushed countless branches underfoot along the way.
When they finally reached the designated spot, they found Vera lying there peacefully, seemingly asleep—and it looked like she had been for quite some time.
Well, she was still breathing.
Bai increased the power of her Healing Magic, the green glow intensifying significantly.
Fatigue was etched deeply on her face.
“Roar roar roar ‘Bai, your body can’t hold on much longer. If you keep healing, the one lying on the ground next will be you,’” Xiao Hei murmured a warning.
He lowered his head and nudged Bai, who forced out a faint smile and said, “I’ll rest after Sister Vera is better.”
The healing continued for a full ten minutes before Vera finally showed some reaction.
Her fingers twitched, then she struggled to open her eyes—and saw the dragon’s head!
“Pfft!”
The sudden shock made her lose her breath, and she coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, nearly passing out again.
“Don’t get so worked up. Your injuries are too severe; the wounds will worsen if you push yourself,” Bai hurriedly said, pressing Vera back down when she tried to sit up.
Vera coughed violently, pointing behind her at the giant dragon, her words slurred in fear.
“Xiao Bai, wha-what is that thing behind you? Am I still half-asleep or something?”
“He’s Xiao Hei, Bai’s friend. Thanks to him, we were saved,” Bai explained briefly.
Vera pointed at Xiao Hei in disbelief.
“What do you mean your friend?! How did you even meet a dragon? And why is there a dragon here? What happened while I was unconscious?”
Her loud voice made Bai’s ears ache; it was hard to imagine someone so badly injured could shout so loudly.
She rubbed her ears and said, “Xiao Hei is someone I met in the Northern Region. Sister Vera only needs to know he’s not bad.”
She pressed down on Vera’s raised finger again and added, “Also, Xiao Hei doesn’t like it when people point at him.”
“I…”
Vera had a dozen questions swirling in her mind, none answered yet, and just as she was about to ask more, the dragon named Xiao Hei shot her a glance before snorting dismissively and looking away.
“Did he say something about me?”
Vera asked, confused.
“No, Xiao Hei is well-behaved.”
“Snort.”
“Don’t say bad words, Xiao Hei,” Bai admonished.
“See? He did say something about me! Wait—how do you understand what he’s saying?”
Bai looked up, tapped her chin thoughtfully, and vaguely answered, “Hmm… heart-to-heart? After all, Xiao Hei was raised by me. It’s only natural I understand him.”
“……”
Vera slowly lay back down and closed her eyes.
Yes, she must be dreaming.
Only after Vera’s wounds were about thirty percent healed did Bai finally manage to stand with difficulty and ask, “What about the others who were injured by bloodbreaking, and the vampires? How did the battle end?”
Bai replied, “After Xiao Hei arrived, he wiped out all the Vampire Beasts. The vampires were also driven off—probably all dead.”
Vera fell silent.
No wonder he’s a dragon—one swipe of his tail and they were all gone.
She turned her head and inadvertently saw a terrible bite wound on one of Bai’s hands.
She grabbed the hand gently, heart aching.
“What happened to this wound? It’s so serious! You can almost see the bone!”
“It’s nothing, Bai. It was from a vampire’s bite. It… doesn’t hurt anymore,” Bai reassured her.
After all, Vera’s injuries were much worse.
“There’s no way it doesn’t hurt! Such a big wound!”
Vera said anxiously, tearing a piece of cloth from her own clothes to carefully bandage Bai’s hand.
But it did little good.
She stroked the small hand Bai had been holding tightly all this time, frowning with concern and sorrow.
“When I get back, I’ll give you some of our Elf Medicine. It’ll definitely heal you well.”
Bai was momentarily stunned, then a slight smile curved her lips, a warm feeling spreading in her heart.
She softly replied, “Mm, Bai will wait.”
Afterwards, Vera sneaked another glance at Xiao Hei, who snorted once more.
💢 Definitely saying bad things about me again!
After Vera left, Bai stood up a while later, her vision flickering as she staggered a few steps.
Her back was soaked with cold sweat.
The long treatment had drained her energy.
Though already weak, she still forced herself not to collapse.
Xiao Hei sensed something was wrong and quickly lowered his head, pressing against Bai’s back to steady her, preventing her from falling.
Bai struggled upright, holding her dizzy head.
“Bai’s fine, Xiao Hei. Just a little dizzy.”
“Roar roar roar ‘I don’t understand. Is it worth it, for these lowly humans?’”
Bai only smiled gently.
She tapped Xiao Hei’s head softly and said with warmth and seriousness, “Xiao Hei, Bai is human too. They’re just like me—flesh and blood. I won’t allow you to speak about them like that… I don’t want you to become proud like Yarabella-sama.”
Xiao Hei was silent for a moment, seemingly pondering Bai’s words.
Then he quietly replied, “I understand.”
***
Back at the camp, the pairing of a girl and a dragon was so conspicuous it immediately drew the attention of many people passing by.
Of course, most looked at Xiao Hei with fear and caution.
Bai noticed Aurelia and Uncle Skarn standing tensely in one spot.
Approaching, she realized it was the very pit where Sera had been struck and flung.
“Sister Aurelia, Uncle Skarn.”
“It’s Bai. How is Vera’s condition?”
Skarn asked with concern.
“She’s fine now, though she still can’t walk alone. Brother Goda is checking her other injuries,” Bai replied.
“That’s good to hear.”
Skarn exhaled in relief.
“By the way, what are you two looking at?”
Bai couldn’t help but ask.
Aurelia shook her head and sighed.
“That one… got away.”
She stepped aside, revealing a dirt pit stained with fresh blood—obviously from that vampire—but the person was long gone.
“We should have come earlier to catch her. Didn’t expect that bastard to have the strength to escape,” Skarn frowned.
Capturing a vampire alive was extremely rare for them.
So far, they’d only managed it once. If they had arrived sooner, this one wouldn’t have gotten away.
“Miscalculation,” he sighed again.
Though the immediate crisis was over, a greater one—or rather, a troubling question—remained.
Aurelia and Skarn both turned to look at Xiao Hei… the strange and mismatched sight of a girl and a dragon.
So, what are we supposed to do with this dragon?
Vampires are one thing, but dragons—this is unprecedented!
This is way beyond what we can handle!
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