Zhu Qiu trotted along, following the path from her memory of the last time she was here until she found the First Grand District of the Dragon Race: Night Market Street. It was another night to enjoy delicious food.
“Princess, did you come alone this time?” a passerby asked.
“Yes, yes. Mother is busy today, so I came by myself.”
This time, before Zhu Qiu could even step forward to buy anything, the street food vendors proactively brought over delicacies.
At first, Zhu Qiu worried whether it was wrong to take things for free, but as more and more people brought food to her, she gradually relaxed and accepted them happily.
“Princess, these are for you.”
By the time she returned to the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, two hours had passed.
“La la la~ Another fulfilling day~”
The first thing she did upon returning home was find Zhu Xiaxia to share her joy.
Coming to the second floor, she found Zhu Xiaxia busy in the workshop. When Zhu Xiaxia saw Zhu Qiu, she immediately revealed a smile.
“My dear daughter is back~”
“Mother, I went to that Night Market Street you took me to last time. So many people gave me food.”
“That is wonderful.”
“I am telling you, their Xinjiang mutton skewers are super delicious, and the Changsha stinky tofu, the Nan’an roujiamo…”
Zhu Qiu babbled on, getting so excited that she claimed she wanted to go out and eat every day.
However, Zhu Xiaxia listened with a troubled expression.
“Mother? Are you unhappy?”
Zhu Qiu noticed Zhu Xiaxia’s abnormality and asked.
“No, no. My precious daughter’s happiness is the most important thing.”
“Hehe~ Okay, I am going to see how Xiao Hei is doing. I wonder if she has confessed yet.”
With that, Zhu Qiu prepared to leave.
“Xiao Hei? Who is Xiao Hei?”
Zhu Xiaxia was confused.
“Xiao Hei is the name I gave the Demon King. She even confirmed it herself. We can all call her that from now on.”
“Huh?”
Zhu Qiu skipped to the room on the first floor where the Demon King was being held.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Xiao Hei’s haggard appearance.
“Hungry…”
Having endured Zhu Xiaxia’s spiritual and physical “baptism,” she was in a half-dead state.
“Huh? Xiao Hei, what happened to you?”
“Are you hungry?”
“I am not hungry! I don’t want to eat!”
This sentence immediately startled Xiao Hei into alertness.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Xiao Hei focused her gaze. Seeing that the person was Zhu Qiu, her emotions flared up: “Darned young dragon! Where did you run off to just now!”
“How did you know I ran off? Wait, how did you find out?”
“How could I not know? If you hadn’t run away, that female dragon wouldn’t have forced me to eat crap! It is all because of you! Pay me back for my tongue! Pay me back for my brain!”
Only Zhu Xiaxia could create something so pungent that it could damage the brain through the taste buds.
“Oh~ So that is how it is~”
Zhu Qiu understood. Zhu Xiaxia’s original dark cuisine was meant for her, but since she had fled, it was all fed to Xiao Hei.
“How did it taste~”
“You have the nerve to ask! After how you’ve treated me, there is no way I am talking!”
“Oh.”
Zhu Qiu replied with only one word and then left the room, ignoring her.
“Hey, don’t leave! Let me go first!”
No matter how much Xiao Hei made a fuss, no one paid her any attention.
It was fine; this girl would naturally stop once she got tired.
Zhu Qiu went to the second floor and followed her usual routine of bathing and sleeping.
As everyone knew, Zhu Qiu was a restless sleeper.
This time, she accidentally knocked off the necklace around her neck, though she didn’t realize it was a problem.
The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Zhu Qiu woke up before Zhu Xiaxia.
She didn’t want a repeat of yesterday; Zhu Xiaxia’s cooking was truly unsuitable for eating—it was better used as an interrogation tool.
Zhu Qiu picked up the buns she had kept warm under her covers, planning to eat half and give the other half to her old father downstairs.
Where did the buns come from?
She had bought them at the Night Market last night… or rather, they were given to her.
However, despite being kept under the covers, the buns had gone cold overnight.
She had no choice but to go to the kitchen to heat them up before taking them down.
Dragon Kingdom, House of Sodlan.
Sodlan had also woken up early, crouching by the door to wait for his son’s return.
‘Sigh, this child. He didn’t come back all night and didn’t even say where he was going. How can I, as a father, feel at ease?’
He began to worry that this separation would last another two months.
“Father! I’m back!” a voice called out from not far away.
‘Hehe~ I can finally let Father have a normal breakfast today.’
Zhu Qiu ran over excitedly, carrying a bag of buns.
However, Sodlan, who was standing at the door, turned pale, and his pupils constricted.
“Dragon! There is a dragon!”
Seeing Zhu Qiu running toward him, he was scared out of his wits.
He immediately retreated into the house and slammed the door shut without hesitation.
‘Sure enough, my guess was right. The Dragon Race really is up to no good. But if they aren’t eating us directly, what are they after?’
Sodlan was completely baffled.
Zhu Qiu, still a short distance from the door, was bewildered.
A dragon? Where was there a dragon? She instinctively looked behind her but found nothing.
‘Huh?’
Zhu Qiu scratched her head.
‘What is going on?’
She walked to the door and knocked.
“Father, open up! I brought you some fragrant meat buns.”
Hearing the knocking, Sodlan immediately rushed to the kitchen to grab a kitchen knife.
He was so nervous that he misheard “I brought you some fragrant meat buns” as “I’m going to turn you into fragrant meat buns.”
“Don’t come over! My son is the Sword Saint! If you dare attack me, the Sword Saint will never forgive your entire race!”
Sodlan replied with trembling hands.
“Father, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Zhu Qiu didn’t take it seriously and pushed the door open, placing the buns on the table.
“Evil dragon! I advise you to behave yourself!”
Sodlan was so terrified that the kitchen knife fell from his hand.
“Evil dragon? Father, I’m your son. Are you having a nightmare?”
Zhu Qiu said this instinctively, but one second later, she realized something was wrong.
She looked down at her neck; there was nothing there.
At that moment, Zhu Qiu’s brain felt as if a whole galaxy had streaked through it, leaving her frozen in place.
‘Oh no! How is the necklace gone? Now Father can see my true appearance! Putting aside how we will get along in the future, just the fact that his son turned into a dragon—what father could accept that? Crisis!’
Unable to think of a solution, Zhu Qiu could only use the most common method—running away.
It wasn’t simple running, though; she used magic to perform Shadow Integration.
What she needed to do now was rush back to the Dragon Race Imperial Palace, retrieve the necklace, and prove her innocence.
Seeing the dragon in front of him suddenly vanish, Sodlan rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had seen correctly.