The night was windy, and they slept at the edge of the forest. Without the shelter of the trees, the air temperature was getting colder. The little dragons werenât afraid of the cold, especially Third Cub, who had a high body temperature and was spread out on all fours, with half of his head exposed outside.
Ning Chu was only covered with a thin coat, and the statuses in the contract service were only used for combat, not to help protect him from the cold. As he slept, Ning Chu hugged Fifth Cub tightly, burying half of his face into his jacket.
A heat source appeared behind him and blocked part of the cold wind, and the frown between Ning Chuâs eyebrows gradually loosened. He unconsciously leaned back, his hair brushed against the tip of Wuuthâs nose, and Wuuth held his breath, stiffening.
After a long time, Ning Chuâs breathing calmed and he fell asleep.
Wuuthâs tense nerves then relaxed, he raised his hand and gently touched Ning Chuâs hair. He really couldnât guess Ning Chuâs mind and thoughts, but as long as he was with Ning Chu, his mind was thinking about this almost every moment.
Whenever Wuuth thought he could get close to Ning Chu, Ning Chu pushed him away again. He wanted to get to know Ning Chu better, and couldnât stand seeing Ning Chu resisting and rejecting him. Wuuth couldnât sleep and didnât want to leave. He lay quietly for a while and reached out to pull the edge of his jacket for Ning Chu.
At that moment, Ning Chu suddenly rolled over and faced Wuuth.
Wuuth held his breath again, more nervous than ever. However, Ning Chu didnât wake up, but instead rubbed himself against Wuuthâs arms, shuffling his face into his neck and chin. Wuuthâs heart beat faster for a moment, as if manipulated by some magical spell, he frowned and suppressed it to bring himself back to normal.
When he looked at Ning Chu again, Wuuthâs breath was still messed up.
It wasnât that Wuuth hadnât slept with Ning Chu before in the dormitory, and they were also very close to each other as they were now, but in human form, the perspective and feelings were completely different.
Ning Chu was thin, a little shorter than Wuuth, so Wuuth could just reach out and take him into his arms. In addition, he was sleeping, quietly closing his eyes, looking both soft and well-behaved.
Wuuth was tempted to hug Ning Chu in his human form and wondered what it would feel like. He silently counted Ning Chuâs distinct eyelashes in his mind, but finally didnât move.
The next morning when Ning Chu woke up, the little black dragon was lying on his pillow.
The young dragons were all awake, Fifth Cub was still in Ning Chuâs arms waiting for him to get up, and the other three dragons were playing by the stream. There were small fish in the stream, so Second Cub watched the water closely, dived in, and came out with a fish in his mouth. He threw the fish onto the grass and flung his neck, splashing water from his neck fur onto Third Cub and Fourth Cub.
Third Cub hated water, and Fourth Cub hated getting dirty, so the two dragons chased Second Cub and fought.
Ning Chu yawned and sat up with sleepy eyes.
It wasnât the first time he slept in the wild, but probably because the weather had turned cooler recently, and because he was a bit distracted by what happened yesterday, he woke up feeling like he hadnât slept well. He put away his pillow and cushion, washed himself with the daily necessities he had brought along with him in the clear water of the stream, and called the dragons for breakfast.
Ning Chu ate dry food, and Wuuth turned back to human form and took half of it from his hand.
While feeding Fifth Cub, Ning Chu asked, âHow long will it take to get to Eldest Cub from here?â
Wuuth frowned and swallowed a piece of dry bread before replying, âFive days.â
âThat longâŠâ A round trip like that would take at least ten days on the road. But the dwarves still had one last wave of commissions to pick up, so the time was just right to go when they returned.
Only the Eldest Cub remained to be found, and the thought that she was now alone on an island made Ning Chu even more anxious.
Wuuth saw that he wanted to get there quickly and added, âThe journey can be shortened to three days if we travel day and night.â
This would require the dragons to take turns flying and trying not to stop in the middle of the journey.
Ning Chu brightened up and asked the other dragons what they thought. Fourth Cub also wanted to go faster and was the first to agree.
Second Cub and Third Cub were fine with it, and the three of them, excluding Little Five and Wuuth, agreed on their own how to take shifts.
Wuuth put down the dry bread he couldnât finish and volunteered, âI can do it too.â
He had more stamina than the other dragons, and his flight speed was comparable to Second Cubâs when he reached his peak.
Unfortunately, before he could get that out, Ning Chu shook his head, âYou canât.â
Wuuth had attacked the Church chapter not long ago, and although he said he hadnât left a trail, there was no guarantee that the Church wouldnât notice anything, so it was best for Wuuth to stay out of sight for a while, except when necessary.
Seeing Ning Chuâs firm attitude, Wuuth lowered his eyes and said, âOkay.â
The three dragon cubs discussed for a while, and finally decided the order, with Second Cub coming first and the three taking turns to fly for half a day.
After breakfast, Ning Chu tried his best to cover up and destroy the traces of their stay here, and picked up Fifth Cub, âLetâs go.â
He thought for a moment and took out the small disc again. At that moment, Second Cub changed back to his dragon form, and Ning Chu saw the pointer rise abruptly, stopping at the yellow area without moving.
Ning Chuâs hand tightened as he squeezed the disk, and he guessed the use of this thing. No wonder the night it rained, he went with Third Cub to look for Fourth Cub and the Church people came after him so quickly. They should have been nearby or in the Academy at that time, but tracked the aura of Third Cubâs adult form with the disc.
Ning Chu felt some hesitation since he didnât know how many more of these the Church had and might fly all the way over. If they were foundâŠ
Wuuth saw his sudden silence and asked, âWhatâs wrong?â
Ning Chu told Wuuth what he had found, and the other dragon cubs who were waiting on the sidelines. To confirm his suspicion, Second Cub turned into his juvenile form.
Sure enough, after Second Cub became smaller, the needle loosened and gradually dropped down.
But the dragons werenât as worried as Ning Chu, and Wuuth looked calm, âIf they dare to come after us, theyâre asking to die.â
Ning Chu looked at him, and his worries were dispelled by these words. He had five dragons with him, one of which was the most powerful legendary class. It should be the Church that would feel fear and trepidation.
âAwo!â Fifth Cub also tapped her claws, and the wings on her back, which had grown another size, vibrated slightly.
Ning Chu stroked Fifth Cubâs head and nodded, âOkay, letâs go.â
Ning Chu spent the rest of the day sitting on the dragonâs back. At noon they stopped for lunch, and then Second Cub changed with Third Cub and set off again without stopping, and again at night.
When night came, Ning Chu looked up at the starry sky passing behind him and yawned.
Fifth Cub had already fallen asleep in his arms, and the cushion used last night had been modified by Ning Chu into a bowl shape, in which Second Cub and Third Cub could sleep.
Wuuth spoke up from behind Ning Chu, âGo to sleep.â
Ning Chu also wanted to sleep, but he was holding the cushion with one hand and Fifth Cub in his arms, which wasnât convenient. He hesitated, âWhy donât you go aheadâŠâ
Wuuth, however, took Fifth Cub from his arms without saying a word and put her in the cushion so that she could join the other two dragons.
âGo to sleep,â he said again, âIâll watch.â
Ning Chu was indeed sleepy and nodded, âOkay then, Iâll take a nap and then weâll switch.â
The scales on Fourth Cubâs back werenât too flat and a person could barely sleep on them, but it was best not to roll over too much. Ning Chu found a suitable position to lie down on his side, with the soft cushion and the dragon cubs above his head and Wuuth beside him.
Wuuth used dark magic to make a wall to block the wind blowing in front of him. Ning Chu soon fell asleep, occasionally moving a few times along the way and being stopped by Wuuth when he was about to move to the side, gently pulling him back.
In the second half of the night, Fourth Cub stopped and prepared to switch with Second Cub.
Third Cub also woke up and held the edge of the cushion with Second Cub, putting down Fifth Cub inside first.
Ning Chu was still sleeping, and Wuuth hesitated, but didnât wake him up in the end.
He reached out his arms and picked Ning Chu up.
Ning Chu still didnât wake up, he hummed dazedly and buried his face into Wuuthâs arms and went back to sleep. Wuuthâs spine suddenly tensed up, and he kept his arms in this position without moving, his gaze signaling Second Cub to change with Fourth Cub.
Second Cub silently changed back to his adult form and lowered his back.
Fifth Cub in the cushion rolled over, and this time it was Third Cub and Fourth Cub holding the edge and bringing the cushion up the spine. The last one to go up was Wuuth, who moved carefully, fearing he would disturb Ning Chu.
After sitting on Second Cubâs back, Wuuth then adjusted the position of the two to let Ning Chu sleep more peacefully.
During this process, Wuuthâs heartbeat was fast.
This didnât seem to be anything unusual, but rather he was getting excited because Ning Chu was in his arms.
When the dragons were seated, Second Cub flew high into the sky calmly.
Ning Chu wasnât awake, but being in Wuuthâs arms was much more comfortable than falling asleep on cold scales, and he unconsciously moved further forward, resting his forehead on the nape of Wuuthâs neck.
This was a completely dependent and very intimate position, Wuuth was more excited, and the position made his temple jump. He didnât hold back and slowly tightened his arms, lowering his head and gently sniffing Ning Chuâs bangs, the tip of his nose vaguely brushing against a small patch of skin.
The next morning, Ning Chu opened his eyes and saw a black collar close at hand. Before he could react, his eyes moved upward and saw Wuuthâs chin.
Ning Chu was frozen for a moment, and his sluggish brain began to function.
He had slept through last night and Wuuth hadnât woken him up in the middle of the night.
He was now lying in Wuuthâs arms.
âAwake?â Noticing Ning Chu waking up, Wuuth lowered his head.
As soon as he said that, Ning Chu got up and sat up straight.
âIâŠâ Ning Chu stepped back a little, panicking, âYou⊠Why didnât you wake me up?â
Wuuthâs arms were empty, he paused and slowly withdrew his arm, which hadnât moved much for most of the night, âIâm not sleepy.â
Ning Chu began to feel the heat radiating from his face. He had overslept, Wuuth didnât wake him up, but even if he didnât wake him, how did he end up in Wuuthâs arms? He coughed lightly and wiped his face with his sleeve, âThen you⊠You havenât slept all night?â
Wuuth let out a âhmmâ and looked at Ning Chu, âIâll sleep now.â
Ning Chu nodded and hurriedly moved him out to a spacious position, when he heard Wuuth say, âHold me.â
Ning Chu stiffened, almost suspecting that he had heard wrong. What did Wuuth just say? Sleep with him? Although it was Wuuth who held him last night⊠Did this have to be switched too?
He mechanically turned his head, but saw Wuuth turned back into a small black dragon.
The little black dragon flew over and folded its wings to lie in his arms.
âŠSo that was what he meant to hold him while he slept.