âWhy are you acting so excited? Itâs not even your dragon! Stop acting so flustered and go inform Duan Lanâs family!â the old mister said.
âInforming family again? Master, please think of something. This disciple doesnât want to see Sister Duan Lan die,â Xiaoli pleaded, nearly crying out loud.
âWhat do you mean, die⌠Her soul is severely damaged. If her family doesnât find spirit medicine for her, she wonât wake up again!â the old mister said, irritated.
âOh, sheâs not dead. Then what if they found spirit medicine for healing the soul?â Xiaoli asked, calming down quickly.
âItâll still take about half a year. Her injury is too severe. Fortunately her dragon survived. If it died and her soul was further damaged, not even the deities could save her then!â
â
Xiaoli left in a hurry. Spirit medicines werenât easy to find. It was best to have Duan Lanâs family look for some as soon as possible. Otherwise, who knew when sheâd wake up from her coma?
The old mister went to wash his hands. Afterwards, he couldnât help but be drawn to the black crocodile spirit who was in the midst of dragonizing in the healing pool.
âYouâre that little black crocodile that liked eating silkworms, arenât you?â the old mister said, narrowing his eyes.
When he had nothing to do in the Infirmary Hall, the old mister liked going to the Dragon Storage Hall. Spending time with the lively little creatures was very enjoyable for him. Heâd feed them from time to time, and also help with distributing young spiritlings to the poor students.
The old mister recognized every spiritling in the Dragon Storage Hall, including those he had released back into the wild.
They were like a bunch of little pets with nowhere to return to. The old mister hoped every single of them would find a good home, no matter if they were dragonlings or ordinary spirits.
âYouâve dragonized so soon. Looks like you found a pretty decent master. Itâs been a very long time since a spiritling from the Dragon Storage Hall truly dragonized. If I record your feat, the Institution Head will probably not order my Dragon Storage Hall to be shut down.â
âââ
The palace was surrounded by pine trees, and tightly guarded.
Li Ying sat in the main hall starting early in the morning, facing a stack of documents related to Ancestral Dragon City State. For a moment, he didnât know where to begin handling all this work. Every one of them seemed to concern the fate of the Ancestral Dragon City State!
âTake a break,â Kong Tong said gently as she came walking, holding a cup of hot tea.
âThe east is very concerning,â Li Ying sighed.
Kong Tong walked behind Li Ying and massaged his shoulders, saying, âLingxiao Cityâs envoy will be arriving soon. After our truce is confirmed, we can focus all our attention to dealing with the rebels from Wutu. They can forget about raising any waves from then on.â
At this moment, a guard walked quickly across the main hall. Kong Tong glared fiercely at this guard who didnât know to act any better.
However, the guard looked flustered. Without greeting the lady, he walked towards Li Ying and quickly whispered something in his ear.
Li Yingâs expression immediately changed, nearly shooting up from his seat and slamming his palm on the table.
Concubine Kong Tong jumped in shock, immediately wanting to console him.
âQuickly summon the general of the Flying Birds Battalion here!â Li Ying ordered angrily.
â
Shortly after, the general of the Flying Birds Battalion arrived.
The general half knelt at the front of the hall, asking in a low voice, âPatriarch, whatâs the matter?â
Li Ying almost couldnât control his emotions and exclaimed angrily, âSomeone from the Dragon Tamers Academy reported East Dawn Stronghold has been breached, and the rebel army is marching straight for the Lichuan Plains?â
âWe havenât received any report of that sort. Who said that?â the Flying Birds Battalionâs general asked, flabbergasted.
âThe messenger is already on the way here. He will explain the situation in detail. This matter mustnât be delayed. Immediately send the Flying Birds Battalion over to Glory Valley City and cut down all the rebels. Donât let any of them enter the Lichuan Plains!â Li Ying commanded.
Together, East Dawn Stronghold and Glory Valley City acted as a natural barrier, keeping Wutu out. The Lichuan Plains were vast and flat. If the rebel army split up to attack the various cities in Lichuan Plains, they would need to send a huge army to thoroughly eradicate them!
Not only that, the other cities in Lichuan Plains had army equipment and rations stored away, more or less. If the rebels took the weapons and armor for their own use, they would become an actual army with extremely high capability to fight back!
âBut the Flying Birds BattalionâŚâ the general hesitated.
âGo!â Li Ying ordered.
The Flying Birds Battalionâs general received the order and quickly left the empty hall.
Hot tea spilled all over the table. Kong Tong took out her handkerchief to help wipe the spillage as she said to Li Ying softly, âIf that is the truth, why havenât we received any news?â
âThe messengers were intercepted and killed,â Li Ying explained.
âWho did that? How did the rebel army know who our messengers were?â Kong Tong asked in shock.
The East Dawn Stronghold was indeed remote, the roads difficult to traverse. It was a fact that it wasnât easy for the messengers to do their job, but they werenât necessarily all in the army. Some were be disguised as merchants or commoners. Only the upper echelon of the army knew about them; how could the rebel army intercept and kill them so swiftly?
âWe have a traitor among us. That student from the Dragon Tamers Academy is on his way here. Heâll explain the situation to us in detail,â Li Ying explained.
âThe Flying Birds Battalion is already on their way. You can stop worrying for now. On the other hand, Lingxiao City Stateâs envoy is arriving soon. We canât afford to delay the peace negotiationâŚâ Concubine Kong Tong said.
âI know. Tell everyone to gather,â Li Ying said.
âIâll withhold the news for now. Try not to spread the news of East Dawn Stronghold for now,â Kong Tong said.
âMhm,â Li Ying nodded.
Lingxiao City State was their biggest problem. If both sides could come to peace, they wouldnât have to worry about the west anymore. Perhaps they could even flatten Wutu before winter!
Of course, they couldnât allow the Wutu rebels to march straight at them, either. They needed to send reinforcements to the east as soon as possible. The Flying Birds Battalion was the strongest battalion of the Ancestral Dragon City State, and also the force with the highest flexibility. The Wutu rebels would soon be a thing of the past if they were sent as reinforcements.
ââ
In the Affairs Office of the Li Clanâs royal court, a vermillion-clad group, guards of honor, slowly walked across the palace hall, slowly walking up the stairs.
Leading the guard of honor was a man dressed in green and red luxurious official robes. He had a feather crown on his head, his facial features were sharp, and his every gesture was filled with nobilityâŚ
Behind him were a group of soldiers carrying wooden boxes, wearing ceremonial flowers on their chest. Obviously, they werenât here to fight, but here to welcome some joyous event.
The wooden boxes were exquisite, carved with all kinds of flowery patterns. They were placed at the sides of the palace hall, and were opened at the order of the feather crown man.
When the boxes were opened, gold, silver, jewelries, and fine silk were revealed. The Ancestral Dragon City State was a wealthy state, but in terms of fortune, they couldnât hold a candle to the Lingxiao City State. Lingxiao had inexhaustible gold mines, and an endless supply of food.
âWe, the Lingxiao City State, have always been generous to our neighbors. Naturally, our city lord wouldnât be stingy with the marital truce, either. These are the betrothal gifts for marrying Her Highness the Crown Princess. We hope the nobles of Ancestral Dragon City State like them,â the feather crown man proclaimed, showing hints of pride in his words, but not lacking in etiquette by any means.