Chapter 3: A Frozen Smile, Is It Too Late to Back Out Now?
Shen Jiang’s expression didn’t change as she began to confess to the giant dragon with the utmost apology:
“I am sorry, I was too excited. The moment I saw you, I couldn’t help but want to fall to my knees and prostrate myself. It was only when I realized you were sleeping that I understood my own rashness. I entered uninvited, which is nothing short of blasphemy against you!
I was planning to quietly withdraw and await your summons outside, but I never expected to disturb your sweet dreams, Lord Dragon.
I truly deserve to die a thousand deaths and dare not hope for your forgiveness, my lord.”
The more Shen Jiang spoke, the more she felt something was off, and she quickly shut her mouth.
A look of speechlessness flashed in Godwin Caesar’s massive eyes. At least she knows she deserves to die.
On that point, they had some common ground.
This human couldn’t withstand even one-millionth of his attack. Her fragility, her weak point, had instead become her protective coloring. Once the death mechanism was triggered, she could revive again.
Well said, but what could he do to her?
This human of unknown origin was clearly full of contradictions and suspicious points.
Damn it, her appearance of being utterly determined to stay by his side actually made Godwin feel a sense of… not disliking it.
Godwin let out a cold laugh. “Heh.”
Does she really think I can’t do anything to her?
That cold snort made Shen Jiang’s heart tighten. She could hear it in his tone: thirty percent annoyance, forty percent nonchalance, and seventy percent teeth-grinding hatred.
The black dragon’s shimmering golden vertical pupils reflected the tiny human girl before him. His icy gaze, as if looking at a corpse, made Shen Jiang’s heart tremble.
It’s over. I shouldn’t have offered to let the dragon punish me.
Although Shen Jiang was trying her best to act the part of a sycophant, the Grim Reaper’s blade still hung over her head. Beads of sweat slid from her forehead into her hairline and fell to the ground, disappearing without a trace.
“Honorable Lord Dragon, I sincerely wish to become your follower…”
Before she could finish, the black dragon interrupted her coolly, “I can give you one chance.”
Surprise spilled from Shen Jiang’s eyes and the corners of her mouth. She looked up in disbelief, her sparkling eyes filled with incredulity.
Grandma! I actually escaped death at the hands of a giant dragon!
A faint smile also appeared on Godwin Caesar’s lips. Faced with this human who had, for the first time, made him feel frustrated, how could he so easily agree to let her become his follower? Just a moment ago, he had thought of the most suitable test.
“There are a lot of unsightly weeds growing outside. I’m sure you’ve seen them,” the black dragon said, a malicious smile clearly visible on his face. “As long as you are willing to clear those weeds for me, I will agree to let you become my follower.”
Shen Jiang was dumbfounded. She couldn’t ignore the blatant villainous smile on his face even if she tried.
A conspiracy! There’s definitely a conspiracy out there, something even more terrifying than this giant dragon!
“What, you’re not willing?”
Shen Jiang quickly shook her head. She had to see the act through. Having come this far, how could she dare to show any cowardice?
Godwin snorted coldly, and it was clear he was very angry. “If you’re not willing…”
Shen Jiang hastily promised in a loud voice, “I’m willing! I’m so willing!”
“…then get as far away as you can and don’t let me see you again,” Godwin Caesar’s deep voice and the human’s eager, fawning voice sounded at the same time.
Countless question marks slowly rose in Shen Jiang’s mind. ???
…So she had agreed too quickly.
A sharp scream echoed in her mind: You should have said there was such a good deal earlier! If the dragon had finished his sentence, I wouldn’t have delayed. I would have packed myself up and been on my way long ago.
But Shen Jiang hadn’t expected this big black dragon to be so easy to talk to. Either stay and be a gardener, or get out of his territory. This was practically the Great Benevolent Dragon of our time.
Where was the conspiracy in that?
Shen Jiang schemed in her heart about how she would act out the part of being willing but unable.
Her current persona was that of a die-hard fan who sincerely wanted to become a follower of the dragon. Soon, she would have to transition to being a useless fan whose abilities fell short. Because she couldn’t meet the dragon’s requirements, she could only obey his command and reluctantly leave this sacred place of worship.
She would definitely use all her strength to perfectly screw up this opportunity.
*
Godwin was naturally fond of magnificent, brilliant gems and glittering gold ore, and he was passionate about pursuing all things beautiful. He could confidently say that, as the most powerful dragon in the world, the treasure in his lair was deservedly the rarest and most abundant in existence.
But even a powerful and tasteful dragon had his troubles. No matter where he moved, a wide variety of weeds would always grow rampantly outside his lair. Not only were they unsightly, but they were also ordinary plants with no magical energy.
This problem troubled not only him but also other dragons.
Godwin Caesar had tried moving constantly, but finding a dwelling that met a dragon’s requirements was not easy. Often, before he could even get settled in his new home, messy weeds would already start sprouting on the originally flat lawn outside his lair.
The mountain range where Godwin Caesar currently resided was a beloved lair he had lived in ten years ago. At that time, he was only a hundred years old, a young dragon who had just come of age. Young and impetuous, in a fit of anger, he had burned the entire mountain range to the ground with his scorching dragon flame. The fire had burned for more than three months, until there was no sign of any weeds left. However, although the weeds were gone, the mountain had turned into a pitch-black, bald mountain, which almost made Godwin’s eyes cry from the ugliness.
This had once been Godwin Caesar’s favorite home. When he discovered that this dim, ugly black mountain had returned to its former vibrant life, he couldn’t be bothered to search for a replacement and simply moved back.
With his return, those weeds had now also become incredibly lush.
Godwin had never forgotten the human intruders who had spouted nonsense outside his lair, mocking him to the extreme, complaining that his taste was vulgar and unbearable, that the inferior plants that even the lowest-ranking storm boars wouldn’t eat filled the mountains of his dragon’s domain.
“Just a fool with powerful magic, who only knows how to collect shiny treasures and actually chose such a shabby place to live.”
Godwin still remembered those words to this day, not because he couldn’t bear the humiliation, but because the reaction of that group of mages when he subdued them and ordered them to clear the weeds on his mountain by hand, one by one, was simply too interesting.
He still clearly remembered the expressions on the humans’ faces at that time. Some chose death over dishonor, saying that noble mages would never do such lowly work.
Others plucked the weeds with tears in their eyes, as if what the giant dragon was asking them to do was a terrible task that would destroy their very character.
Unfortunately, the speed at which they pulled the weeds couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the weeds grew. In their panic, they tried to escape, and were ultimately mercilessly obliterated by Godwin.
Now, he was going to make this powerful but fragile human personally pull out, one by one, the inferior plants that even storm boars wouldn’t eat.
Would she do it?
Godwin Caesar felt a faint sense of anticipation. For such a humiliating task, a self-proclaimed noble human mage would never be willing to do it unless faced with a life-or-death choice.
Would the “follower-to-be” before him willingly debase herself for her faith, or would she break down on the spot and flee in terror?
“If what you say is true, then let the great Godwin Caesar see your sincerity,” Godwin Caesar said coldly.
So this black dragon is called Godwin Caesar.
“I will definitely not disappoint you!” the follower said with a determined expression, as if she couldn’t wait to gain his approval.
Godwin didn’t pay her any mind, simply releasing his large claw.
Words could deceive a dragon, but actions never would.
*
Shen Jiang was still a little nervous when she walked out of the dragon’s lair. After all, the big black dragon’s final half-smiling, “enjoying the show” look gave her a bad feeling.
But at this moment, she was truly a little shaken by the sight before her.
A scroll of mountains and rivers, completely unobstructed, slowly unfolded before her eyes. The continuous mountain range was like a long dragon with no end. Two nearby mountains seemed to have been split by a giant axe, forming a natural canyon with majestic, steep walls. The lake at the bottom of the valley was like a disturbed palette, showing various shades of clear blue and green. Starting from the foot of the mountain, it was like a blue-green ribbon running into the distance.
And the sky above, as clear as if it had been washed, was as beautiful and graceful as blue velvet. At this moment, sunlight poured into every corner, making everything seem to sparkle.
It was a world-class painting that was a feast for the eyes.
The air here seemed exceptionally clear, a stark contrast to the smoggy weather she was used to.
The scenery at this dragon’s doorstep was even more stunning than the world-class tourist promotional pictures she had seen online.
Wait a minute, she didn’t seem to have ever seen a scenic picture similar to this place on the internet. Shen Jiang froze.
Shen Jiang was startled by the thought that suddenly popped into her head.
Am I still in my original world?
Can I still go home?
“Why are you still standing there in a daze? Do you think these weeds are beneath your notice, not worthy of you bending down for?”
A deep, majestic dragon’s roar, filled with dissatisfaction, escaped from the cave entrance, reminding Shen Jiang of the reality of it all. The Grim Reaper’s scythe was still hanging by her neck; she shouldn’t let her guard down.
Shen Jiang hurriedly replied, “How could that be? It is my honor to be able to do things for you. Please forgive my lack of exposure; I was momentarily stunned by the scenery at your doorstep.”
For now, she had to get through this current crisis first. Otherwise, she might end up dying before her grandmother.
But this mountain was simply too big. It was impossible for her to complete the giant dragon’s task alone. Shen Jiang felt relieved. As long as she put in enough effort to show that the task was too difficult and then retreat, the giant dragon’s words of “get as far away as you can” would soon come true.
Perhaps she would be on her way home before dark.
There was no path on this mountain. After all, no one would be idle enough to wander around a dragon’s lair, and the dragon probably wouldn’t stroll through what it called weeds. Shen Jiang buttoned the cuffs of her shirt and tucked her pant legs into her socks, preparing to put on a good show first to prove her loyalty.
But after walking into the thicket of grass, grass seeds would occasionally get into her socks, pricking Shen Jiang’s feet painfully.
Shen Jiang gritted her teeth. Compared to the pain of being restrained by the giant dragon’s power earlier, this little bit of pain was nothing.
As she calmed down and began to clear the weeds, Shen Jiang was pleasantly surprised to find that the “weeds” the giant dragon spoke of were all plants she recognized: green bristlegrass, green foxtail… she had often seen them when she went up the mountains with her grandmother to collect medicinal herbs.
Now Shen Jiang was relieved. Looking on the bright side, she should still be in her original world, and there wouldn’t be a situation where she couldn’t go home.
Until she was drenched in sweat and had cleared a small patch of weeds, and the new plant that appeared before her left her dumbfounded.
*
Godwin Caesar was currently admiring his treasures out of boredom. The sunlight was just right, and the excellent lighting clearly illuminated the dazzling pile of gold, silver, and jewels. These gems, which made a dragon’s heart flutter, were still as charming as ever, but he was a little distracted.
He was listening for the reaction of the human outside the cave.
After a short while, a commotion came from outside.
An “as expected” expression appeared on Godwin Caesar’s black-scaled dragon face. He wasn’t disappointed, just a little regretful.
Honestly, with her powerful magic level, it didn’t seem so unacceptable for her to bow down to him and become his follower. He was confident that he could pull her back from that crooked path onto the right one.
The next moment, however, Godwin Caesar began to doubt his own ears.
What was with that joyful, admiring female voice from outside?
What was she so happy about?
“Heavens! How can there be so much Cistanche deserticola! A wealthy household, this is definitely a wealthy household…”
At this moment, the sturdy “small pagodas” that were half a person’s height in front of her made Shen Jiang’s eyes gleam. And Shen Jiang swallowed, there were hundreds of such “small pagodas.” In all her life, she had only seen such huge Cistanche deserticola in pictures. To be surrounded by so many living specimens at once gave Shen Jiang a dizzying sense of unreality.
She really hadn’t expected this! A large patch of Cistanche deserticola was just casually growing outside this dragon’s lair! You have to know, their clinic hadn’t been able to get their hands on wild Cistanche deserticola for a long time!
But Shen Jiang was a little hesitant. If she hadn’t misheard just now, the big black dragon had told her to clear the weeds. The Cistanche deserticola in front of her were all growing vigorously and were of excellent quality. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them treasures. She couldn’t just casually pull out the auspicious signs at the dragon’s doorstep.
Was this the trap the big black dragon had set for her?
However, now she sincerely wanted to be a follower of this big black dragon.
Excuse me, if I become his follower, can I harvest the medicinal herbs here for free?