Chapter 267: Heat Toxin Flare-up
Long Li woke up.
She was awakened by a sudden, inexplicable heat.
As a silver dragon, and the majestic leader of all races, she was born with the ability to wield seven types of magic, including the fire element. Therefore, it was hard to imagine that despite her powerful dragon physique and her control over fire, she would be awakened by such a straightforward heat.
Fortunately, this was not the first time she had experienced the heat toxin flare-up, so she quickly found the antidote.
The antidote was a person.
He looked over and took her hand that was clutching his robe, then lifted her entire body. The girl was now like a young beast, her face flushed, desperately trying to burrow into his embrace.
Perhaps only Long Li knew how terrifying the heat toxin in her body was. Ever since she was young, her heat toxin would flare up periodically, and each episode was longer than the last. In those days, she had no antidote and could only hide in a corner, enduring the pain alone until her skin cracked, her face turned pale, and she broke out in a sweat before the pain slowly subsided.
Her father and mother were often worried because they couldn’t help. Even the coldest and most miraculous treasures they found could not suppress it even slightly.
This situation continued until a person appeared. Long Li remembered that according to her father, this person emerged from their ancestral tomb, a chance bestowed upon her by the Dragon Ancestor’s manifestation. She had initially disdained such a fortunate encounter… but an accident caused Long Li’s thoughts to quietly shift.
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June, Dragon King’s Palace.
This was the third night of the grand mourning ceremony. The moonlight was cool, casting its glow upon the massive structure of the Dragon King’s Palace.
After spending the night at the ancestral tomb, the person finally subdued her grief and, with red eyes, walked back to the palace alone. She dismissed everyone, even sending away Sister Qing, who had grown up with her, with an excuse.
Now, the palace was silent, with only the faint sounds of her footsteps. As she walked through the corridor adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, the young lord’s steps suddenly halted.
Because in the pavilion ahead, there was a figure who was still very unfamiliar to her. Perhaps they could not even be called acquaintances, as they had not exchanged a single word. The figure did not seem to notice her arrival, merely looking down at a roll of blue cloth on his wrist with a dazed expression.
This was the first time Long Li clearly saw the face of her “Prime Minister Father.” Before, in her father’s chambers, the man had remained in the shadows, and she could only discern his outline, not his true appearance. Now, the clear moonlight shone upon him, allowing Long Li to see him clearly. His eyebrows were clear and sparse, and he seemed to be frowning slightly, lost in thought. His other features and his slender fingers…
Long Li glanced at him briefly. She couldn’t quite describe the feeling, but he was undeniably handsome, perhaps about one-tenth as attractive as she was. This slightly lessened her inner resistance. Although the thought of calling a human “Prime Minister Father” still annoyed her, at least she felt more at ease.
Finally, the man noticed her and looked up. “Good evening,” he greeted.
Long Li narrowed her eyes, snorted coldly, swept her moon-white palace dress, and turned to leave. She was not in the mood to ponder how this person dared to trespass into the palace. However, the man’s next words made her stop. “We should go,” he said.
Go where? Her father had only been buried for three days, and was he already so eager to return to Dragon City and officially take up the position of “National Teacher”? Long Li sneered internally, turned back to face him, and her amber vertical pupils fixed on the man, a hint of a glare. The king possessed an inherent aura, and an invisible pressure, like a tide, washed towards the man.
Her expression was icy as she spoke, word by word. “Are you telling me what to do?”
“Don’t think that just because you tricked and deceived Father, you’ve truly become the National Teacher!”
“What do you think you are?”
These three cold words cut through the air between them. As far as Long Li was concerned, she didn’t care about falling out with him.
For a moment, the man remained silent. After a brief pause, he calmly said, “Your Highness, I was merely suggesting…”
“But I don’t need your suggestions!” Long Li immediately interrupted. After she finished speaking, she didn’t rush to leave but stood still, waiting quietly. She wanted to see the man become flustered with anger or start cursing. But the scene she expected did not unfold; he simply nodded, said nothing, and continued to look down at the blue cloth on his wrist.
The crescent moon illuminated them, casting a long shadow of his figure. It evoked a feeling that was difficult to describe, yet undeniably melancholic. For some reason, Long Li suddenly felt a pang of pity. Just as she was about to say something, she felt a surge of heat erupting from deep within her body.
Her amber, glass-like vertical pupils, and her already slightly red and swollen eyes, instantly flushed with a rosy hue. Long Li was startled. She knew that ever since her heat toxin was discovered, it had always flared up with remarkable regularity over the years. According to the pattern, the next flare-up shouldn’t be for at least another ten days.
However, heat toxins do not speak and certainly do not reason with her. Under the moonlight, the girl bit her cherry lips tightly, her palms clenched, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her flesh. Everything in the world seemed to turn fiery at that moment. The heat spread throughout her body, causing her to collapse onto the ground, where she began to roll frantically, trying to alleviate the pain of the heat toxin consuming her heart. The two small cloth bags wrapped around her head scattered with her movements, revealing two small, delicate dragon horns. Muffled gasps and groans filled the pavilion. Her moon-white palace dress was soaked with sweat, and strands of hair fell from beside her dragon horns, obscuring most of her face.
“Do you need help?” The voice was still unhurried.
“No, don’t, don’t touch me.” With almost all her strength, she trembled out these words. But faster than her voice was the man’s palm reaching out. His palm met her burning forehead, bringing an unprecedented sense of coolness. Long Li was stunned. The gasps of pain she had been suppressing now sounded inexplicably delicate as they left her lips.
“Ah, you don’t need it? Alright.” But soon, heaven and hell seemed to be only a thought away. As the man withdrew his hand, the terrifying heat sensation once again engulfed her entire body. As if she were in a sea of fire, the girl’s amber vertical pupils grew blurry again. The young lord, driven to the brink of losing her sanity by this back-and-forth, ignored any semblance of dignity or annoyance, greedily rubbing against his palm.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Mmm…” The girl whimpered, responding hazily. His palm opened again, and this time she seized the opportunity to burrow into his embrace. Pressing tightly against him brought an unspeakable sense of comfort.
“What do you think I am?” Hearing his leisurely question, Long Li’s face flushed. She wanted to sound tough, but in the end, she meekly whispered, “Prime Minister Father…”
(End of this chapter)
