Xuan Long nodded and took the old man's hand, then slightly tilted his head and drank the spirit dew in the bottle. Bitterness wrapped around his lips and teeth, a coldness rose in his belly, then a strange warmth rose, which actually relieved some of the pain.
The liquid rushed down his throat, and unable to swallow it in time, Xuan Long choked and coughed. A lot of it came out from his lips, and when the old man saw that he was coughing to death, his face turned pale and he spoke bitterly.
"A waste, a real waste. Such a big dragon can't even drink the medicine properly, it's useless."
It was clear that he had poured it out too quickly.
Xuan Long didn't argue with him. His violently heaving chest gradually calmed down and the back of his head leaned against the door frame, he was unable to hold on and close his eyes.
"Don't sleep, there's still some left, hurry up and drink it." The old man unceremoniously cupped both of Xuan Long's cheeks and poured the remaining mouthful of spirit dew in. "You'll have to endure more later."
Xuan Long subconsciously swallowed it and opened his turquoise demon eyes to look at the old man. His eyes were already a little out of focus, he couldn't last much longer.
"In this case, you have to perform the Flowing Cloud Reversal Technique to recall the broken spirit body of the foetus in your womb and reshape it. It hurts a bit, so bear with it and don't scream too loudly, I'm old and I hate it when other dragons yell in front of me, it gives me a headache."
Xuan Long nodded.
The old man put the empty white jade bottle into his pocket, then ceremoniously went to the inner room to find a soft cushion made of gold thread and laid it on the floor before sitting down cross-legged in front of Xuan Long. A purple-red ball of light coalesced in his palm and he slowly pressed it against Xuan Long's abdomen with a solemn expression.
The moment the ball of light poured into Xuan Long's body, he tensed up violently, his breathing tightened at a speed perceptible to the naked eye, hideous blue veins burst out from the backs of the hands that were digging into the ground, his head tilted to one side, his lips pursed and he panted lowly, but he didn't say a word.
Cold sweat slid down from the corners of his forehead like rain, and his eyes dropped to the ground.
When he remembered the way Yan Yuan had smiled, it seemed to hurt less, and he could bear any further pain… That person is still waiting for him, he needs to get better and go back sooner.
If it takes too long, A'Yuan is bound to be worried, right?
That is the only person in the world who will care for him, and he must not let him down.
"You can endure it, but this Flowing Cloud Reversal Technique is even more painful than crushing bones while alive, as if there is a knife gouging back and forth in the abdomen. If you were an ordinary dragon, you would have been rolling on the ground in pain."
The old man glanced at Xuan Long's hand on the ground, which was straining so hard that blood was seeping from his fingers.
In the past, he had performed the Flowing Cloud Reversal Technique for many pregnant dragons, and most of them were accompanied by their husbands, but this was the first time he had seen such a miserable dragon come alone to seek medical help.
The old man's palm magic did not stop and did not diverge from its path.
"Look at you, what does a good dragon have to do with a useless human? I'm afraid he can't even enter this dragon realm, leaving you to suffer this worse than death experience alone. No good."
Xuan Long originally had a solitary nature and was not good with words, he had always listened to the vitriol of others with deaf ears, but when he heard Yan Yuan being slandered, he couldn't help himself and muttered something to himself.
"……No matter how bad he is, he is the person who treats me the best in the world."
He is the only one I have.
The old man sneered, "Humph, if you look at the six realms, the human race is the most selfish and self-serving. For the sake of power and status, they can betray their best friends and kill their brothers, they are worse than pigs and dogs. One day you will understand that what you are suffering today is a joke."
Xuan Long lowered his eyes and stopped speaking.
It did not matter if the other side misunderstood Yan Yuan, as long as he was clear in his own mind.
There was also no need to tell others about his relationship with Yan Yuan.
Two hours later.
The old man withdrew his hand, the purple light in his palm fading instantly: "Count yourself lucky, after all this suffering, the foetus is preserved."
Xuan Long was half unconscious, his eyelids too heavy to lift, and he squeezed out an inaudible breath in his throat: "Thank you, Senior."
With a cold snort, the old man suddenly ripped open Xuan Long's wet lapels to reveal the long-lasting purple and black wound on his chest. With a flick of his hand, he found a red coral medicine bottle, ripped off the lid and poured a large amount of medicine powder on it.
"You must be mentally prepared, your body now is no better than that of a weak and useless human, if you don't know how to take care of yourself, you may die before you can survive the tribulation, and whether or not the foetus can be born successfully is another matter."
"You pulled this scale yourself, didn't you?"
If it was not done voluntarily, who could pull the scales protecting a dragon's heart?
With ten thousand years of Taoist practice and a good path, if he survived this heavenly tribulation, he might not be far from becoming an immortal…
Seeing that he did not reply, the old man knew that he had passed out. He stood up, gathered the long hair on Xuan Long's back to one side and sprinkled the remaining powder on the hideous wound on the back of his neck: "It's really a bargain for you, it took me so much effort and I gave you a bottle of immortal muscle powder for nothing, it is not a loss at all to charge you for a thousand years of Taoism."
"I've lost a lot of money."
Two days later.
Outside the bamboo building, the sun was shining brightly. Xuan Long woke up on his bed, the back of his hand covering his eyes, and sat up weakly, taking a moment to realise where he was.
The soiled clothes had been changed and the pain in his abdomen was gone. He slowly looked down and stretched his slender hand to his belly and was about to touch it when he hesitantly stopped half an inch from it, curling his fingers and returning them to his side.
The little thing inside was so fragile that he felt as if it would shatter if he touched it. It was surreal that he could have a child with Yan Yuan.
It was undoubtedly a strange and odd thing, but when he thought about it, if he could have a child with his and A'Yuan's blood in it, their family would be more complete.
That was something he had never… dared to think about.
"Finally, you are awake, you stupid, useless dragon, you have been occupying my bed for two days!" The person's voice arrived before he did, and in the next breath, the log bead curtain was lifted and the old man walked into the inner room with big strides, holding fragrant sesame bread in his hand to nibble on.
Xuan Long turned his head to look and the old man had stopped in front of the bed: "The matriarch is your mother?"
Having not heard anyone mention his mother for a long time, Xuan Long froze and then lowered his eyes, "Yes."
The old man: "The day before yesterday, after you fell unconscious, she came over with her longsword and said she wanted to kill you and cut off your other dragon horn, but I stopped her."
"Hm." Xuan Long answered calmly, his eyes attached to the green luan brocade quilt on his body, not knowing what he was thinking.
The old man stared at his pale profile for a while, but in the end he didn't ask anything. Sitting down on a rattan chair and crossing his legs to munch on the sesame bread, he wiped the oil from his mouth with a handkerchief after taking a bite: "Now that you're well, hurry up and leave, there's no room for you here. The matriarch is such a relaxed woman, but when she sees you, she goes crazy like that and I can't stop her for more than a few moments."
"Thank you, Senior, for saving me." Xuan Long whispered as he lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
He stood up straight and put his hands together with two fingers in front of his chest, his fingertips coalesced into a black spirit ball as he chanted a spell under his breath. He was about to transfer a thousand years of Taoist energy to the old man, when the old man's figure flashed and moved instantly in front of him, raising his hand to bounce the spirit ball back into Xuan Long's body.
Xuan Long opened his eyes in confusion, and the old man had sat back in his original rattan chair, "Wait until you have passed the great tribulation before you pay your debt, I don't want one corpse and two lives to dirty my house, it’s bad luck. Hurry up and get going."
"Many thanks… I will pay back double when the time comes."
This dragon is really stupid, he can't even say something nice, just a word of thanks. The old man rolled his eyes at his back and ate the last bite of sesame bread.
"You can live well before you do. Remember, the foetus is weak and you are only one month pregnant, so you must be careful. Do not let your spiritual energy fluctuate too much, do not bump against it, do not have intercourse, and do not pull out the dragon scales again."
"Too much blood loss can also endanger the life of the foetus."
"Do you hear me?"
After swallowing the sesame bread in his mouth, he turned his head and saw that Xuan Long had long gone.