209 - Divine Mastering Dragon System

Chapter 209: Overwhelming Thoughts A small white fox, about the size of a puppy, sprawled lazily on Zhu Yun's lap, its fur as thick and plush as the frosty lands it hailed from. The little creature seemed to lack limbs, lying there like a soft fox pelt. Cool to the touch, it carried a scent that was reminiscent of her master, prompting Zhu Yun to lean in and take a whiff. Unable to resist, she buried her face in its fur, rubbing her cheeks repeatedly against its velvety belly. When she finally pulled away, a few strands of fox fur clung to her forehead and collar. Zhu Yun smoothed down the fox's ears, which were turned back, and noticed the little creature’s half-closed eyes gazing dreamily into the air. She scratched its chin, and the tiny fox instinctively squirmed its head in response. Hearing its soft whimpers, Zhu Yun suddenly felt a twinge of embarrassment. She stood up quickly, glanced around, and hastily gathered her scattered clothes. With a guilty heart, she wrapped the fox in her cloak and rushed out. Her attendant was still outside, waiting anxiously. Seeing Zhu Yun sprint out, the attendant instinctively grabbed her arm. "My lady... What happened?" Zhu Yun jumped back dramatically, laughing off her guard. "Nothing. There are elders in the room who aren't accepting visitors. I'm just leaving them be." With that, she made a quick exit. The attendant was left stunned, seeing Zhu Yun holding a bundled object as she dashed towards the carriage. Confounded, she wondered if Zhu Yun had stolen something. Li Huai waited in the hall for quite a while, until his tea went cold, before Zhu Yu, looking pale, came to greet him. Immediately, he noticed the thick bandages wrapped around her shoulders and hurried to help her sit down. "Look at you. If you're not feeling well, just send someone to inform me." "It's nothing. How could I not greet you personally, Uncle?" Zhu Yu smiled faintly. "I didn't have any urgent matters. I was just passing through Huaihai City and heard you were unwell, so I came to check on you." Li Huai still hadn't realized the person before him was Zhu Yu. "You've always been frail since childhood. I don't know what your master and sister are up to, but if it's trouble brewing, best stay out of it." Li Huai had a general understanding of the complications, thanks to Xiang Shi Yan. He discreetly observed the niece he had watched grow up. Li Huai hadn't visited Huaihai City in nearly a century; the last time was during Gong Ning's wedding. Sitting in the Zhu family's hall again left him slightly uneasy. "Are your injuries healing? Could it be..." Zhu Yu nodded, and he understood. Remembering Xiang Shi Yan resting at an inn, he sighed. He had noticed her odd behavior, today's spirit drink bringing out the truth behind her seemingly cold demeanor. Rather than a shared bond, it was her unwillingness to let go. But this was not Li Huai’s affair to meddle in. “I just needed to confirm your safety. I don't know how severe your injuries are, so take these medicinal pills with you." He insisted, removing the jade ring from his thumb and pressing it into her hands. "Your master might hold a grudge against you and your sister. She's used to venting her grievances on innocent people, like a child. Ignore her." Li Huai muttered, "I... I'm still searching for your master's whereabouts. If there's any news from my junior, you'll be the first to know." He carefully noted every fleeting expression on Zhu Yu's face. Though her demeanor was calm, she silently clenched her teeth, and when she abruptly looked up, she seemed eager to tell Li Huai something—only to remain silent in the end. Why can't I say it? Just now... Tell him where my master is, Zhu Yu trembled slightly. The two injured people encountered no more assassins from the Taixu Sect on their journey. However, when their flying vessel landed, they found the Black Dragon already waiting at the city gates. She called upon the Zhu family to help the injured Zhu Yu, and as she was led away, Zhu Yu turned to see He He pulling Zhu Yun close with a smile. His wicked eyes sparkled with mirth, while a pale Zhu Yun hung her head, unsure where to look. Standing before Li Huai, Zhu Yu finally realized that He He had weighed his conscience against his unspeakable affections. She bit her lip, forgetting to refuse her uncle’s gifts, and despondently saw him off. Li Huai dared not leave Xiang Shi Yan alone at the inn, mindful of her instructions to keep a low profile lest they be recognized. He took a detour, narrowly missing Zhu Yun who took a shortcut back to the Zhu residence. Inside the carriage, Zhu Yun cautiously petted the white fox’s fur, frowning as she fiddled with the chains attached to its paws. A fierce, powerful spiritual force emanated from them, indicating the strength of the artifact's owner. However, this force didn’t belong to He He. Zhu Yun frowned, but avoided moving it recklessly. The little fox seemed dispirited, so Zhu Yun cradled it closer to her chest, letting its head rest there. She again curiously stroked from the fox's back to the tip of its tail, firmly feeling the flesh underneath, though Xiang Shi Yan had seemed quite real when leaning against her earlier. Was all this just a dream? Zhu Yun pinched her cheek hard, leaving a red mark. The little fox slipped onto her thigh, its soft white belly exposed, with its limbs curling gently. Xiang Shi Yan was marginally conscious, the world around her a bewildering array of colors. She felt as though she were treading lightly among clouds in her beast form. The slight drunkenness she felt earlier now inexplicably transforming into... She remembered the sudden intrusion, a fleeting clarity before the numbing insects. A wave of nausea hit her, as though a stone weighed heavy in her stomach, and then her limbs went temporarily sore. Her body was swept away, her conscious awareness unable to match the intruder's face to anyone in her memory. Xiang Shi Yan's mind felt submerged in water, filled with swirling mists. She seemed trapped in the space between lowering clouds and a still water surface, thrashing with her limbs but unable to escape. The clouds below were elusive, her footing unsure. Stumbling forward, she found no end to the sky beneath her feet. In a daze, she glimpsed black scales moving within the mist. But then, a convulsion of vision and they vanished. Blinking, the fragmented colors fell apart, merging into a familiar reality—Zhu Yun was bending over her, carefully dabbing medicinal powder onto a small wound where a thin worm had been extracted. Zhu Yun struggled with the fluffy fox fur, unsure how to bandage. Should she trim the blood-matted fur... or wake her master so she could return to human form? In ordinary circumstances, a beast would still be able to speak in human tongue, but Xiang Shi Yan wasn't used to her beast form, especially with her spiritual acupoints sealed. Now she resembled a common wild fox, capable only of cooing delicately. After instinctively batting her hand away, Xiang Shi Yan stopped herself from making any sound, circling clumsily on Zhu Yun’s lap. She found no place in the carriage to escape. Before Xiang Shi Yan could fully awaken, the girl grabbed her forepaws. Zhu Yun looked down, her scrutinizing gaze meeting the fox’s, cautiously calling out, “Master?” Xiang Shi Yan naturally wouldn’t respond, playing the role of a simple spiritual beast. The wound at her neck itched under the powder's healing effect, prompting her hind leg to scratch, causing Zhu Yun to lift her into the air. Watching the endearing little fox clumsily stretch its legs in search of a foothold left Zhu Yun doubtful. Could this really be her master? It might just be a figment of her imagination... How did I end up here? Xiang Shi Yan maintained a serious visage, perched in Zhu Yun’s embrace, unmoving despite the girl’s strokes. Her last recollection before falling asleep in a private room at the inn was now waking up in a carriage with Zhu Yun. Where was her senior, and where were they headed? "Master..." the girl whispered behind her, hugging her tightly and rudely burying her face in the fox’s neck, voice buzzing with emotion. Alone in the carriage, Zhu Yun tucked her legs beneath her on the seat, confining the powerless fox within her grasp. There was a familiar scent... her master's. Noticing Zhu Yun's fervent inhalation of her scent, Xiang Shi Yan was startled into awareness. "System, didn’t you say that Zhu Yun and Zhu Yu wouldn't sense my scent?" "Zhu Yun and Zhu Yu have differentiated into betas... which means they're typically indifferent to scents. There's no need to worry too much, host." The soft lilt of the girl’s voice, though calm with a hint of sweetness, made Xiang Shi Yan's heart skip a beat. For a moment, she forgot she’d set her system’s voice to imitate young He He, turning rigid at the realization. "Host, your hormone levels are slowly returning to normal, please rest assured and wait a moment," the system seemed to notice something. "Moreover, the parasitic entity known as 'Swallowing Thoughts' was just extracted by Zhu Yun, and I’ve temporarily created a field to numb your senses, which should hold until you can move normally again." Xiang Shi Yan trembled slightly; she knew something was amiss even without the system's reminder. After escaping Yu Cang Mountain, she quickly underwent a delayed transformation into her beast form due to the catalyst effect of dragon blood. But for Xiang Shi Yan, who had lived her life as a human and trained in the path of emotionless cultivation, the Yuhu clan's innate ability to boost their cultivation through the consumption of emotions and desires was a burden rather than a blessing. The emotions emanating from others were overwhelming enough to engulf her. Xiang Shi Yan, who had cultivated the path of detachment for centuries, found adapting to these suddenly amplified "sensations" more difficult than starting her cultivation anew after stripping away her power. It was impossible for her to remain isolated in darkness, away from all contact. Thus, she secretly sought assistance from a member of the demon clan skilled in voodoo and obtained a 'Swallowing Thoughts' parasite from them. Unable to suppress her empathy entirely, she could only attempt to stifle the unrest it caused in her heart. This particular parasite was nearly forgotten, originally crafted to counter the Yuhu clan back when they were numerous, but Xiang Shi Yan repurposed it to suppress her own innate ability. The threat 'Swallowing Thoughts' posed to its host was minimal; when it calmed the ripples of emotion, it also burdened the consciousness slightly, explaining Xiang Shi Yan's perpetual fatigue compared to ordinary cultivators. However, suddenly losing it was as shocking as fully transitioning into her beast form for the first time. She had once locked herself away in despair as her vaunted self-control crumbled in the face of mounting emotions. The system was not all-powerful; their understanding of emotions as energy was incomplete, able to offer only this level of assistance to Xiang Shi Yan. As the weight of longing and remorse penetrated the temporary shield erected by the system, embracing her with a warmth softer and more ardent than any girl's embrace, Xiang Shi Yan couldn't help but waver. She had once embraced this girl just like this, yet years later, Zhu Yun had betrayed her expectations. She was willing to find excuses for the girl, but as things unfolded, no matter their hardships, it all traced back to the early ill-fated decision they made. In the end, she had included Zhu Yun and Zhu Yu in her plans, albeit treating them as adversaries to guard against. The carriage swayed as it touched down. The Zhu residence had arrived. Author's Note: Promoting a new book to be released around May. I initially planned to start the one about the scion, but this book took too long to write. My interests are shifting, and I’m now excited about something different... Also, since the other book seems lengthy too, after finishing this one about the master, I really don't want to dive into another long piece anytime soon; it's quite exhausting. To anyone passing through, please consider giving it a bookmark. Thank you so much (bows). "Bloodthirst Syndrome" Brief Summary: Helping a vampire adapt to the new era counts as social work, right? Florina, a bounty hunter, lands a new job—escorting an affluent young lady back home. Given the chance to fleece such a wealthy target during the off-season, the hunter readily accepts, not expecting her employer to be a complete oddity. Watching from the shadows as the young girl licks the blood from a wound, and hearing Miss Mi Si Ti speak with an archaic dialect full of old-world anecdotes, the hunter comes to think she's stumbled upon a millennium-old undead corpse just arisen from its tomb... Being the first to discover her gives Florina all legal rights to this ‘non-human lifeform’ and her assets. “Shh, be good, you wouldn’t want more people finding out you’re a vampire, would you?” 1V1, a mercenary hunter driven by profit X a secretive vampire heiress. Episodic story, a journey of two with concealed secrets. 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