GD Ch. 13

Chapter 13: What Is It Called?

True affection might not sway the heavens, but influencing a dragon seemed more than achievable.

Zhuyou pondered for a moment, contemplating how to raise it. Teaching it to speak and read, teaching it devil technique… That would be like playing both father and mother, quite taxing indeed.

This black dragon had emptied the bowl of the ground dragon eggshell, absorbing all of its essence and dragon energy, yet its body showed no sign of even a trace of spiritual energy. Where did all the food go? Could it be that there’s another world inside this dragon’s mouth?

Zhuyou’s gaze turned peculiar, curious to see what secrets lay within the dragon’s mouth. Could it possibly contain a universe in there?

Standing nearby, Hanzhu, though finding it odd, refrained from asking. After all, being a peafowl demon, she had no knowledge of what immortals were like, let alone their offspring.

The black dragon, tossed into the bowl, remained indifferent, its golden vertical pupils icy, devoid of any warmth.

“Did the lotus demon follow you just now?” Zhuyou finally turned to ask.

Hanzhu nodded. “She followed me into the Black Wind Forest but left shortly after.”

“Second Lord Luo must have expended too much spiritual energy. He probably won’t have the time to invite me to the Mortal Realm these days.” Zhuyou pondered for a moment and then lifted the black dragon out of the bowl, using some technique to remove the smell of flesh from its body.

The dragon, being handled like this, showed no signs of embarrassment, remaining calm and composed, like an old monk in meditation.

The more Zhuyou looked at it, the more peculiar the dragon seemed. Why wasn’t it lively at all? Even if it was born as an immortal, it should still possess a childlike curiosity. Yet, this dragon seemed utterly uninterested, just standing there blankly.

She flicked her pristine white finger. “Take this bowl away. It’s too pungent.”

Hanzhu bent down and lifted the heavy bowl, casually stuffing it into a cabinet, and dutifully lit the incense in the censer. “Mistress, do you intend to descend to the Mortal Realm with Second Lord Luo once he comes?” she asked, turning back.

Zhuyou gestured with her finger, and the emerald-robed peafowl beside her promptly squatted by the edge of the soft couch.

Hanzhu obediently crouched down, her squatting figure resembling some kind of domesticated pet, yet her eyes shone brightly as if they could light up upon seeing her own mistress.

On the soft couch, the great demon that even the Three Lords of the Devil Realm had to be wary of lounged, leaning sideways, her two slender white fingers pinching a fragile dragon’s head. Zhuyou glanced up, assessing her green-robed maid.

Being stared at made Hanzhu a little nervous. “Mistress?”

“After I go to the human world with Second Lord Luo, you’ll assume my appearance and go to Shangxi City to get something for me,” Zhuyou said as she wrapped the slender black dragon around her wrist. Then, with a flip of her other wrist, a wooden carving appeared in her palm. The wooden carving, only two fingers wide, depicted something indiscernible, quite peculiar. The wood itself looked like ordinary wood, nothing rare.

But Shangxi City wasn’t an ordinary place. Situated at the border between the Heavenly and Devil Realms—half light, half dark—it was inhabited by reckless devils.

Some devils were born devils, some turned from demons, and some even became devils from humans. Immortals could become devils, and even Buddhists could become devils, but becoming a devil didn’t guarantee protection in the Devil Realm. These unruly devils were not easily managed.

The celestial beings in heavens sneered at these immortals-turned-devils, while the Devil Realm couldn’t tolerate those who caused trouble. Those in that category could only reside in Shangxi City, living quite freely.

Zhuyou reached out her hand, and Hanzhu understood, quickly catching the stuff within with both hands. Holding the light wooden carving, Hanzhu listened in confusion, “You want me to assume your appearance, Mistress?”

Zhuyou hadn’t spoken yet when the dragon coiled around her wrist moved slightly, as if it understood something. The slender dragon, with its tough black scales, rubbed against her wrist, leaving it red.

As she lowered her head, she met its eyes again, those golden pupils seemingly glued to her. Zhuyou chuckled, reaching out to pinch its mouth again. “Do you perhaps know what Shangxi City is?”

Hanzhu initially thought to respond, How could I not know? But as she raised her eyes, she realized her mistress’ words weren’t directed at her.

The black dragon coiled around Zhuyou’s wrist wouldn’t answer, instead, it twitched its tail weakly, seemingly lacking the strength to coil tightly, its body hanging limp.

Zhuyou inwardly sighed, feeling that this dragon might indeed have some issues. Otherwise, why would it be so weak, unable even to coil around her wrist properly?

Hanzhu, crouching nearby, gathered her courage to gaze at her mistress’ wrist. Her eyes, understandingly, passed over the scar and glanced at the faintly visible diabolic markings beneath the cuff. How could it be so beautiful? Even her markings looked more exquisite than others’.

As Zhuyou played with her dragon, she said, “I will attach a strand of my consciousness to you. Others won’t easily recognize that you’re not me.”

“But, how can I dare…” Hanzhu’s eyes dodged, unexpectedly meeting the golden pupils of the black dragon.

The black dragon wasn’t looking at her mistress, it was looking at her.

Hanzhu averted her gaze, feeling it wasn’t quite appropriate to scrutinize a divine being so openly. What if this dragon held a grudge and decided to turn her into minced meat in the future? She might not be able to retaliate.

“I’m telling you to dare, so you must dare,” Zhuyou said firmly, not allowing her to refuse.

Hanzhu trembled, lowering her head. The hands holding the wooden carving were almost higher than her head now. “What does Mistress want me to retrieve?”

Zhuyou coiled the section of the black dragon’s tail hanging down back around her wrist. “You don’t need to know. You’ll find a ghost named Wu Buzhi. If he’s not at home, set up three teas and five wines outside his door. Then burn this wooden carving. When it gets dark, he’ll return home. If he gives you something, just take it.”

(T/N: Wu Buzhi literally means “knowing everything”)

“Wu Buzhi?” Hanzhu thought the name sounded quite arrogant.

Zhuyou nodded. “Once you have the item, find me in the human world.”

Hanzhu looked puzzled. “But what if he refuses to give it?”

“In that case…” Zhuyou’s voice trailed off, her eyelashes fluttering, a momentary look of confusion appearing on her face. “Then, forget it.”

Hanzhu quickly reassured, “I will make sure to safely deliver the item to you.”

After Zhuyou gave her instructions, Hanzhu left the Grand Hall. The phoenix fire in the center of the shark muslin canopy dimmed slightly, mirroring the mood of the owner of this hall.

Zhuyou had intended to tease the black dragon again, but to her surprise, its golden eyes closed as if falling asleep. After all, it was just a little dragon, not capable of transforming into a human. Apart from sleeping, it couldn’t do much else.

Zhuyou was careless. Just as she looked away, she felt the dragon coiled around her wrist move, slithering toward her sleeve and climbing upward. It was quite strange. The touch was icy and stiff, reminiscent of those eager little devils trying to court her, seeking to cultivate with her.

When she first entered the devil’s domain, she had been eager to mingle with these devils, perhaps because she had been accustomed to being mistreated in the Phoenix Clan. As soon as she arrived in the Devil Realm, she felt like she had returned home.

The devils here were indeed enthusiastic, with each one’s intentions easy to understand, and their words were pleasing to the ears.

But eventually, she couldn’t tolerate their impudence anymore and expelled them all from the Grand Hall. After that, no one dared to approach her without permission.

She stiffened her body, not thinking the dragon was intentionally teasing her. It was just a small dragon, recently hatched and knowing nothing about teasing.

After a while, she felt a light scratching on her chest, and her robe was pushed aside a bit. A small black head poked out, with a pair of beautiful golden eyes.

“Silly thing,” Zhuyou said before realizing she should give this little creature a name. However, she wasn’t very good at naming things.

Although she wasn’t good at it, she could leave this task to Hanzhu.

Because of this naming task, Hanzhu had to search through many allusions and ancient books for her mistress.

The Grand Hall, where there was originally not even a hint of the scent of ink, had seen paper pages filled with writing scattered everywhere the past few days, and the desk was stained with ink.

Zhuyou felt a headache coming on. She casually flipped open a page of a book, copied down some characters, and then tore the paper, which was instantly crumpled into various-sized paper balls.

Hanzhu stared in astonishment as her mistress placed the paper balls in front of the black dragon, arranging them casually as if intending to bury the dragon with scrap paper. “Mistress, what are you doing?” she asked softly.

“Drawing lots,” Zhuyou replied, tapping the black dragon’s head and deflecting, “Since it’s your name, you should decide for yourself.”

Hanzhu thought to herself that her mistress must not have been able to come up with a name.

It was unclear if the little black dragon understood. Its cold, icy vertical pupils scanned over the paper balls before suddenly moving closer to them.

Zhuyou was very satisfied, watching intently.

Hanzhu then realized that these paper balls were all imbued with spiritual energy, explaining why the offspring of the Dragon Clan approached. Understanding this, she exclaimed, “Indeed worthy of being Mistress, coming up with such a clever method. With this, the dragon will truly draw lots!”

The ink stains on Zhuyou’s hand, contrasting with her pristine white skin, added a touch of beauty to them. The seemingly unattainable divine offspring of the Devil Realm still appears alluring, even with these ink stains, Hanzhu thought.

But Zhuyou paid no attention to the ink stains on her hands, instead watching intently as the dragon crawled forward inch by inch, then nudged one of the paper balls with its mouth. After it consumed the spiritual energy attached to the paper ball, she reached out and picked up the crumpled paper. It bore a single character “Chang.”

After a while, she opened another paper ball, revealing the character “Ying.”

Hanzhu didn’t dare to say these two characters weren’t good. Since it was her mistress who chose them, they must be praised no matter what. She quickly said, “What a great name! ‘Chang’ implies longevity and eternity, while ‘Ying’ signifies fulfilling destiny and following cause and effect. It seems this dragon should indeed come to be by Mistress’ side.”

“Changying?” Zhuyou bent her slender index finger, lightly tapping the black dragon’s chin twice. The black dragon, as if understanding, turned to look at her.

However, the black dragon didn’t actually understand, as it immediately lowered its head and bit down on the slender white finger.

Zhuyou noticed a bit of spiritual energy being stolen and promptly pressed the black dragon’s head to the ground.

While the black dragon’s golden eyes remained indifferent, its tail swished lazily.

Zhuyou exclaimed, “Silly thing, such a good name wasted on you.”

Hanzhu, who was watching in astonishment, thought to herself that if it weren’t for her ability to turn black into white, this name wouldn’t have sounded good at all.

The black dragon, who was being pressed to the ground, didn’t make a sound. After swishing its tail a couple of times, it remained still, seeming rather indifferent and unlikely to be easily tamed.