Heroes' Prison

Chapter 614 - 589: The Master Asks the Young Pupil

Soon, Little Dragon landed beneath a pine tree atop the mountain, and Huang Yi jumped off, stepping onto the fresh soil beneath. A gentle breeze blew by, instantly giving one a sense of detachment from the mundane world.

"Woof, woof!" Little Dragon clearly spotted the dozen or so Spirit Grasses in the vegetable garden, his big eyes blinking as they lit up with excitement, twisting his little butt and ready to rush over for a feast.

"You can’t just do as you please; these belong to someone! They’re not ours!" Huang Yi immediately stopped Little Dragon, not allowing it to be naughty.

With its spirits dampened, Little Dragon turned around and walked back glumly, yet it still kept turning its head to look at the small vegetable garden, nibbling on its own little paws with a craving look.

Moving quietly, Huang Yi came to the front of the thatched hut, where the door was slightly ajar. He peeked inside through the crack in the door but found no one there; it seemed like the owner was out.

In front of the thatched hut was a path leading to the adjacent pine forest. The path looked well-trodden, with some distinct footprints. Judging by the size and shape of these prints, there appeared to be three dwellers here, two children and an elderly person. The freshest footprints were from today, implying that they had gone out for a while and had not returned yet.

Huang Yi decided to wait here for a while. The mere fact that someone was able to cultivate Spirit Grasses in bulk in this wilderness was enough reason for him to explore. If he could also cultivate Spirit Grasses in bulk, finding the Heaven and Earth Treasures that Little Dragon needed for growth would be a lot more feasible.

Currently, he stood at the edge of a cliff, looking down into the distance with an extremely broad view; the ups and downs of the deep mountains and the sea of greenery shrouded in mist made it seem like one could forget all worldly troubles. Huang Yi’s weary heart seemed to settle down at this moment, peacefully enjoying the beauty between heaven and earth.

After waiting for a while, Huang Yi suddenly sensed a faint sound of conversation coming from the path that led to the pine forest; it seemed people were approaching.

He immediately turned his head and saw a boy and a girl, both about eight or nine years old, with clear faces and tender skin, looking exceedingly adorable. They were both carrying little medicinal baskets, seemingly just returned from collecting herbs, chatting as they walked along.

"Would you like me?"

"No, I wouldn’t!"

"Then I’ll teach you how!"

...

Listening to the innocent conversation of the two children, Huang Yi felt like he was seeing himself and Qin Shiyu from many years ago. In their childhood, they too were innocent and naive; the world was simple, people were simple, and even if you didn’t like someone, you could teach them to like you. Everything was simple.

"Woof, woof!" At that moment, Little Dragon spotted the two children and immediately started waving its little paws, babbling like a baby. This was a move Little Wang taught it, to bark as a warning upon seeing strangers, threatening the enemy.

"Huh?" The two children finally noticed the commotion and turned their heads towards Huang Yi’s direction, spotting him beneath the pine tree. When they saw Little Dragon, their faces instantly filled with surprise, and they started whispering to each other.

"What a weird little dog! It actually looks like this, with tiny wings too!"

"The bark is also so unique; it doesn’t sound like a regular dog!"

"It kind of looks like the legendary Golden Holy Dragon, but a dragon can’t bark like a dog, how strange!"

"Could it be the Golden Holy Dog?"

Huang Yi, who was at a distance, listened to the children’s conversation and couldn’t help but glance helplessly at Little Dragon. Little Dragon’s barks were unpredictable; sometimes it was a dragon’s roar, other times a dog’s bark, and always in a babyish tone with no hint of dominance—completely lacking the air of a dragon.

"Woof, woof!" At this moment, Little Dragon barked again at the two children, its large eyes fixed on them as if to warn them not to come closer. However, its bark was too juvenile and its appearance too cute and tiny to be intimidating.

Seeing Little Dragon about to bark again, Huang Yi immediately reached out, covered its mouth, and forcefully suppressed the next bark back into its belly. Struggling, Little Dragon flailed its little paws and teared up, looking incredibly aggrieved.

Before long, the two children had reached the pine tree where Huang Yi was. The little boy looked up curiously at him, then at Little Dragon, and asked with some caution, "Big brother, who are you? Why are you here?"

Huang Yi let go of Little Dragon and smiled warmly at the two children, saying kindly, "I stumbled upon this place by chance and wanted to pay a visit!"

"My master isn’t here! He went to gather herbs." The little girl spoke as she tentatively stretched out her hand, seemingly eager to touch Little Dragon.

The little girl’s words confirmed Huang Yi’s guess: there was indeed an elderly person here, and it was very likely a mysterious hidden master with profound knowledge in herbs, which further cemented his resolve to visit this elder. Feeling more at ease, Huang Yi continued, "Where did your master go?"

"He’s somewhere in these deep mountains! I don’t know the exact spot," the little boy replied, shaking his head.

Huang Yi looked down at the deep mountains below the cliff, with their overlapping ridges enshrouded in mist, wondering where the old man could be at this moment.

"Yi ya yi ya!" Just then, Little Dragon suddenly spotted the medicinal basket behind the little girl, its eyes lighting up as it bit its paws and started wagging its little tail from side to side, looking to make friends with her.

"This is so fun!" The little girl clapped her hands in delight upon seeing Little Dragon’s look and happily exclaimed. Then, bravely, she reached out her hand and finally touched Little Dragon on the head.

Little Dragon’s entire attention was on the herbal basket, with no intent to avoid the little girl’s touch, letting her stroke him like that. Frankly speaking, even if The Seven Archdemons came here, he would still allow them to pet him, as long as they fed him.

"Come on, let me hug you!" The little girl felt that patting the head wasn’t enough, and her motherly instincts immediately kicked in. She went a step further and lifted Little Dragon into her embrace.

Little Dragon was content being held by the little girl, resting in her arms with his neck propped on her shoulder, and his head reached into the basket on her back. Opening his mouth, he began to eat voraciously, showing no courtesy whatsoever.

Huang Yi acutely perceived that there were originally two precious Spirit Grasses in the basket, but in an instant, Little Dragon gobbled up one without giving him any chance to stop it.

"Oh no! It ate your Spring Dew Grass!" The little boy witnessed the whole scene and cried out in alarm to the little girl.

Upon hearing this, the little girl immediately put down Little Dragon, took off the basket on her back, and looked inside carefully. Indeed, one of the Spirit Grasses had disappeared.

Meanwhile, Little Dragon just sat on the ground, both little claws spread out, chewing on something with relish, squinting his eyes, a look of pure enjoyment on his face. And at the same time, his forehead flashed with golden light, and he suddenly grew four Dragon Scales!

"Sorry! It hasn’t really eaten anything all day; it might be a bit hungry," Huang Yi said sheepishly, apologizing to the little girl while pondering how to compensate her.

"What?" At that moment, the little girl was startled and looked up at Huang Yi with an indignant expression. "It’s so cute, and you didn’t let it eat? You’re a bad person!"

With that said, the little girl immediately crouched down, took out the other Spirit Grass from her basket, and offered it to Little Dragon’s mouth. She gently stroked its head and coaxed softly, "Eat up, cutie! Don’t be hungry, okay?"

Huang Yi was frozen in place, dumbfoundedly watching as Little Dragon devoured the second Spirit Grass. He had thought the little girl would ask him to compensate for the loss of the Spirit Grass, but instead, she blamed him for not feeding Little Dragon well and even took the initiative to feed it herself.

After finishing the second Spirit Grass, Little Dragon’s forehead flashed with golden light again, and three more Dragon Scales sprouted. But it was still unsatisfied, licking its lips and staring innocently at the little girl with big eyes, looking pitiful as if it were genuinely starving.

"Oh dear! Take out that Dragon Blood Flower you picked today; this little one must be starving!" The little girl, feeling a pang in her heart upon seeing Little Dragon’s expression, immediately gestured to the little boy with a crook of her finger.

"Isn’t this bad? Master will scold us!" The little boy scratched his head, looking hesitant.

"As long as we don’t tell Master that you found the Spirit Grass, how could he blame you?" The little girl immediately pouted, looking somewhat unhappy.

"Okay then, don’t be mad!" Seeing that the little girl was unhappy, the little boy quickly gave in, took down his own herbal basket, and handed over a red flower.

The little girl’s expression brightened a bit, accepted the flower, and fed it to Little Dragon.

Little Dragon, seeing more Spirit Grass, excitedly wagged its tail and affectionately nuzzled the little girl’s palm as if it had seen its own mother.

At this point, Huang Yi was utterly at a loss for words. He worked himself to the brink of death all day just to gather one or two Spirit Grasses for Little Dragon to eat. But now, the little girl had fed Little Dragon three Spirit Grasses, which was much faster than raising it himself. Little Dragon didn’t refuse any offerings and had no appreciation for manners; anyone providing delicious food was like a mother to it.

Soon, Little Dragon finished the third Spirit Grass, but it was still unsatisfied, pouting and looking at the little girl with tearful eyes, appearing even more pitiable, like a child nobody wanted.

"What do we do? It looks so pitiful, like it’s about to starve! Hurry up and dig up the Spirit Grass from our Medicinal Garden to feed it!" The little girl hugged Little Dragon’s head affectionately and commanded the little boy. She was so devoted to Little Dragon that she was oblivious to everything else, even Huang Yi found it hard to watch.

"No way! Master will kill us!" The little boy shook his head decisively, seemingly reaching his limit.

"What are you afraid of? If Master asks, just say that Double-Horned Pig stole and ate them! It’s not the first time that silly pig has stolen our Spirit Grass," the little girl stubbornly said.

But the little boy seemed to have principles, shaking his head persistently, refusing to comply.

"Hmph! I don’t like you anymore!" Seeing the little boy remain unmoved, the little girl pouted and expressed her displeasure.

Then, she stood up and walked to the small vegetable garden beside the thatched cottage; under the shocked gazes of Huang Yi and the little boy, she quickly uprooted about a dozen Spirit Grasses.

Following that, she ran back to Little Dragon, crouched down again, and presented all the Spirit Grasses to it at once.

"Woof woof!" Little Dragon, feeling unexpectedly blessed, let out an excited cry and immediately dug into the feast.

One after another, the Spirit Grasses made their way into its belly, and the golden light on its forehead never stopped flashing, sprouting Dragon Scales at a visibly insane rate. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)