Chapter 360 - 259: Warm Fairy Dragon

Wesley and the Mosquito Trio, the chefs, had disappeared somewhere unknown, while Long Yi, Ai Lin, and Little Zi were casually strolling the streets. Although the sight of a Fairy Dragon was not unusual in the Imperial City of the Red Dragon Empire, it was definitely considered novel for the common folk. Furthermore, the status of "wife of the Prime Minister" added a touch of nobility to the Fairy Dragon’s image. As a result, wherever Ai Lin went, she was accorded the utmost respect and was warmly welcomed, which made her feel pleasantly surprised.

Upon leaving a store, Long Yi cheerfully commented, "Who knows, we might get lucky and bump into the wife of the Prime Minister herself! We could ask her about Fairy Dragons then."

"But then I’ll definitely be exposed!" Ai Lin warned.

Indeed, although Ai Lin had assumed the appearance of a Fairy Dragon, she wasn’t actually one. If a true Fairy Dragon discovered someone impersonating their kind, trouble was bound to ensue.

"Brother Long, you should better use your cunning words on the battlefield." Little Zi unexpectedly laughed.

"Why so?" Long Yi queried in confusion.

Little Zi raised her hand and Long Yi looked up, noticing the graceful and noble Fairy Dragon full of warmth was leisurely walking towards them, accompanied by a maid.

The Fairy Dragon seemed a bit disturbed when she realized that both Long Yi and Ai Lin had noticed her. Her expressions were quite perplexed and she appeared as if she was excited to see a long-lost relative. How could that be? Ah yes! She must be thrilled because she hasn’t seen a Fairy Dragon in a long time! I am quite insightful for figuring this out.

"Long Yi, Ai Lin, Little Zi, hello!" The Fairy Dragon tried her best to keep her smile calm and composed, but her excitement was unmistakable.

Long Yi? Ai Lin? Little Zi?

Isn’t that greeting a tad too direct?

In general, first encounters entailed polite addresses such as "Mr." or "Ms.", right? Calling them by their names directly made it seem as if familiarity already existed.

"Greetings, esteemed Lady Prime Minister," Long Yi greeted her politely, whilst bowing. However, the Fairy Dragon seemed flustered and apparently wanted to dodge, clearly because it would be considered rude to sidestep someone’s reverence. She stiffly accepted the courtesies proffered by Long Yi, Ai Lin, and Little Zi, then hastened to say, "Please don’t be so formal, you can simply call me Little Willow."

The Prime Minister’s wife was named Jelly Willow; she had been by the Prime Minister’s side for over thirty years. Considering the average lifespan of Fairy Dragons, two thousand years, Long Yi found it difficult to call her "Little Willow".

"Little Willow?"

Ai Lin tried the name out.

"Yes!" Little Willow responded excitedly, looking at Long Yi expectantly. Long Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. This Fairy Dragon was peculiar indeed. Was she so delighted simply because they called her by her nickname?

"Little Willow," Long Yi echoed.

"Yes!" Little Willow responded, her excitement escalating.

"Little Willow?" Little Zi softly repeated, but Long Yi noticed something puzzling.

He saw a momentary flicker of fear in Little Willow’s eyes when Little Zi said her name.

She?

A Fairy Dragon? A master of magic! She was afraid of a mere female demon?

This would be an incredulous narrative even for the most inept writer! It defies logic!

"So, Little Willow, are you also out shopping?" Ai Lin gingerly inquired, fearing her fake Fairy Dragon identity could be revealed at any moment.

"No, I came looking for you!" Little Willow replied, focusing her attention back on Ai Lin. The fear in her eyes had vanished, but she was obviously restraining herself from looking at Little Zi.

"Actually... I have to say... I am not..."

"I know!" Little Willow exclaimed happily.

"Eh? You know? Know what?" Ai Lin asked in confusion.

"I know how your power came to be!" Little Willow declared.

"What? How did you know..." Ai Lin was confounded.

"Well...hehe, it’s a complicated story, and I can’t really explain it, but you can rest assured. You are a Fairy Dragon! You must be a Fairy Dragon. If you are not a Fairy Dragon, then there are no true Fairy Dragons in this world!" Little Willow affirmed seriously.

"Brother Long, am I imagining this?" Little Zi whispered to Long Yi in perplexity.

"Possibly not," Long Yi answered.

Obviously, both Little Zi and Long Yi had noted that Little Willow had used the respectful term ’you’ when addressing Ai Lin.

"Just now, when she looked at me..." Little Zi whispered.

"I noticed it too." Long Yi nodded affirmatively.

Strange.

The word was written all over the faces of Long Yi and Little Zi.

Fairy Dragon Little Willow was extremely warm and hospitable. She guided Long Yi and Ai Lin around the Imperial City of the Red Dragon Empire, nearly visiting all the famous stores in the Imperial City. Using her status as the Prime Minister’s wife and her accumulated reputation, she bought Ai Lin a lot of items with a massive discount.

Yes, she only bought things for Ai Lin.

This was indeed a case of bonding at first sight.

Throughout their tour, Long Yi had multiple questions for the Fairy Dragon, but she did not offer them a chance to discuss anything. After completing the tour, Little Willow promptly bid them goodbye and went back to the palace with her servant.

Leaving Long Yi and Little Zi exchanging bewildered glances.

"She is indeed a warm-hearted person," Ai Lin remarked.

"Indeed, she is quite a warm-hearted individual," Long Yi nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon, Cain suddenly appeared, dragging Long Yi and Ai Lin, who’d just stuffed themselves full at a restaurant with Red Dragon Empire’s traditional cuisine, outside the city.

The reason is simple.

Someone was not convinced.

To a warrior, the end of one battle often signals the beginning of another. This was the case for Long Yi. Outside the city, the members of the Red Dragon Empire’s First Legion, numbering over five hundred, glared at Long Yi with eyes flaring like fire. However, when Long Yi approached, and Ai Lin appeared, the eyes of all the Dragon Knights instantly softened and filled with respect. Their body language was so expressive it could practically serve as an educational textbook.

Suppressing his laughter, Long Yi strolled through the mass, dodging numerous covert advances. He also stomped hard on the feet of those who tried to trip him up. At last, he met the leader of the Red Dragon Empire’s First Dragon Knight Legion, Luo Ding.

In the White Dragon’s legions, the numbering is based on their function, with each group being responsible for a different main task. However, in the Red Dragon Empire, the legion numbers are awarded based on military merit—the more you’ve accomplished, the higher your legion number. Therefore, each legion in the Red Dragon Empire fights hard to claim glory in an attempt to inch their own legion forward. As a result, the First Legion that you see today in the Red Dragon Empire could very well be the Second or even Third Legion by tomorrow.

Luo Ding was a pale, old man, slightly stooped in his First Legion uniform. You can tell he must have been robust in his youth, but old age had left him somewhat shrunken, with slack muscles and occasional liver spots on his skin.

But, you shouldn’t underestimate him just because he’s an old man. There’s a saying in martial arts novels, "When roaming the world, beware of three kinds of people: women, old men, and children."

These traditionally weaker groups who managed to stake a claim in the martial world naturally had their unique points.

Particularly in the case of the White Dragon Empire’s Third Legion Commander, Fan Sen. He no longer possessed any fighting aura, yet his position remained unshaken.

A commander doesn’t need to possess formidable combat power, but his grasp of the battlefield must be unparalleled!

"Long Yi?"

Luo Ding asked.

"Long Yi,"

Long Yi replied.

"I heard you’ve been quite arrogant recently."

Luo Ding glanced at Long Yi, stating.

"I don’t know who told you that, they obviously got it wrong."

Long Yi, the honest man, sincerely responded as he couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. All these people seemed to be fans of this phrase.

"Oh? Wrong, is it?"

Luo Ding sneered at Long Yi, about to turn his head away.

"Of course, it’s wrong. I’m not just recently arrogant, I’ve always been this arrogant."

Long Yi said.

"Hahaha! Good! Good for you for being consistently arrogant!"

Luo Ding finally turned to face Long Yi, carefully appraising the young man.

Over two meters tall, a large figure, his solid muscles did not have the overly developed look of some, but they nonetheless conveyed apparent strength. His face, however, was deceptive—a naive, honest-looking face. Someone who wasn’t familiar with him might be easily tricked.

"I’ve heard some of your people are not convinced?"

Long Yi was the first to speak.

Hearing Long Yi’s words, Luo Ding was taken aback, immediately grinning wider and saying, "Good lad, I haven’t even started questioning, and you’ve already beaten me to it."

"That’s how straightforward I am." Long Yi grinned.

"Fine then, straightforward Long Yi, actually, the reason for inviting you here wasn’t anything significant. I, an old head, just wanted to get acquainted with a great hero like you. Also, some brothers in the legion know little about you and want to exchange ideas. When would you have the time?"

"I have the time, I have all the time! Let’s start the exchange right now!"

Excitement gleamed in Long Yi’s eyes!

There’s nothing more important than this!

In fact, things were quite straightforward. The thirty Dragon Knights involved in this exchange match had been entirely overturned by Long Yi and his gang. After returning to the legion, their comrades mocked them. Hence, those ridiculed Dragon Knights employed the ultimate debating move: "If you can do better, you go!" Their comrades responded with: "We will, we’re not scared!" Then, a group of them ran to Group Leader Luo Ding to request a challenge and received his support.

So, this led to the current scene.

A group of men with bruised faces.

Nothing more than ten individuals.

Long Yi stood next to them, grinning with some dust on his body but otherwise unscathed.

"You lost?"

Luo Ding inquired.

"We lost..." A warrior confessed, hanging his head in shame.

"Let me check the time, it’s only been ten minutes? So it’s safe to say accounting for the time it took to walk, each of you was wiped out in less than a minute?"

Half a minute!

That’s what a warrior thought, hanging his head even lower.

The battle started, they were annihilated within five minutes. On average, each person lasted half a minute!

The remaining five minutes were purely Long Yi dragging it out, claiming he was trying to leave some dignity for the alliance.

Bastard! Even if it were a full minute, it would already be pretty shameful!

But these ten people didn’t tell the whole truth.

Being fifty steps away, after all, is still a bit better than a hundred, right? (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote and recommend. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com.)