976: Chapter 278: He Hasn’t Won, I Haven’t Lost_4 976: Chapter 278: He Hasn’t Won, I Haven’t Lost_4 Boom!
His mind was shaken.
His entire consciousness was pulled into the twin orbs of the Azure Dragon wood carving.
An Illusion Realm unfolded before his eyes.
There lay an endless Big Swamp, atop which was a small island dotted with clusters of trees, and beneath a large tree, a wooden house.
In front of the house, a nest woven with Immortal Herbs and Spirit Plants, inside which rested a spotless Dragon Egg.
Ze Water surged, his sister licked up, rippling over the Dragon Egg.
A majestic Azure Dragon coiled atop the island, exuding dignity.
Only a glimpse into the dragon’s eyes revealed the languid gaze within.
The melodious sound of reading came from the front of the cottage, where a Scholar, holding a scroll, walked around the yard in circles.
He would read a passage and then look at the nest and the coiled Azure Dragon, a silly smile appearing on his face.
Turning its head, the Azure Dragon looked at him, its eyes filled with a kind of silly affection, “Idiot!”
This…
was not an illusion, but a memory sealed within the twin orbs of the Azure Dragon wood carving!
Was this the memory of his father, or his mother?
It was impossible to distinguish from the perspective of the scene whose memory it was.
Princess Snow stared at the Scholar in the scene—indeed, a mere mortal!
No wonder there was gossip, but how could a mortal and an Azure Dragon produce her?
Princess Snow watched the Scholar lean against the Azure Dragon, laughing heartily, his eyes filled with doting love.
But the voice of the Azure Dragon was extremely weak, “Husband, I…
can’t take human form anymore…”
Princess Snow’s starry eyes sharpened.
She…
had once taken human form?
Princess Snow’s heart chilled, only to see the Scholar tenderly stroking the Dragon Scales, shaking his head slightly, “Why bother with such thoughts, my wife?
What does it matter if it’s a human or Dragon Body?
If I had known that taking human form came at such a great cost, I would never have allowed you to do it!”
The Azure Dragon bowed its head slightly, a touch of sorrow in its eyes, its lips murmuring something.
Combined with its gaze, Princess Snow immediately knew what it was saying: She had risked everything to attain a human form, yet it lasted only a season…
Her gaze showed no regret for having taken human form, only resentment that it lasted so briefly.
The Scholar laughed heartily, “No worries, no worries!
When my wife has recovered, I will take you home to show off.
Behold, Ji Tianchen has married a Princess of the Dragon clan!”
He laughed, a glint of cunning in his eyes.
Even if he told this story, no one would believe it!
Turning his head, he looked toward the Dragon Egg, his face lit up with joy, “Once our daughter is born, I’ll take you both home to meet our relatives.”
He touched the Dragon Egg, the affection on his face deepening as he babbled nonsense, “Daughter, remember our home is in the Northern Great Jin Kingdom, Jade Pearl City!”
The Scholar’s voice, like chanting from a scripture, had a rhythm as he recited the place names, “To the west of Jade Pearl City are two mountains, joined together like the humps of a camel, and where the two mountains meet, there’s a cave—warm in winter and cool in summer, most suitable for living.
When your father had no other place to stay, he often lived there…”
As he talked, it seemed he slipped into reminiscence, smiling, “But the mountains are too steep, hard to climb…But you won’t be afraid!
You are a dragon!”
The Scholar looked at the Dragon Egg, laughing again.
Chuckling foolishly, he went to pick up many branches to reinforce the Dragon Egg’s nest.
Dragon hatching suited the dragon’s element.
This Dragon Egg was water-affiliated, but the mother was of the earth, so they nestled in a place abundant with Yuan water, using Immortal Herbs and Spirit Plants for the nest, and tended to it carefully.
Memory by memory, the scenes pushed forward—all fragmented, yet none of them useful.
There was no record of how the mere mortal Scholar gained his current Tao Cultivation, nor a record of the reason behind the mother’s transformation.
It was all about the island, the scenes of one man, one dragon and an egg, together from dawn to dusk—fishing, duck hunting, quarreling…
And the Scholar’s clumsy cooking that set the wooden house on fire more than once, even nearly burning the Dragon Egg twice.
The Scholar was then chased all over the island by the Azure Dragon, and when he returned at midnight, he would be covered with bumps on his head, while the Azure Dragon clung to him, grinning from ear to ear…
Dragons could be small or huge—enormous enough to darken the skies, or small like an insect.
Hanging from trees or around the neck, effortlessly.
Segment by segment of memory, day by day passed, every day just like this.
But the Scholar aged more with each passing day…
This memory seemed endless, and Princess Snow watched quietly.
Suddenly, a voice appeared in the scene without any warning.
“Girl, is that you?” The voice was kind and belonged to the Scholar, retained in the memory.
Princess Snow’s expression tightened.
Then she heard a self-mocking voice, “Of course, it’s you.
Who else could enter here?
Girl…
Is your mother still alive…?”
Princess Snow’s breath caught, and the voice continued, “She must be gone…
Her life was so harsh…”
Princess Snow’s eyes focused, as she heard the voice tinged with a sigh and heartache, “That person used your mother’s body as a battlefield to fight me for three thousand years, and for three thousand years, I never managed to save your mother…
He never won, I never lost…”