novelraw Chapter 237
Chapter 237
Chapter 237: Growing Up Means Doing Grown-Up Things
Qin Chuan always had the words ‘fate’ and ‘causality’ on his lips.
He said Xia Li changed his fate.
Little did he know that the so-called ‘theory of causality’ is a mutual influence.
While Xia Li changed his fate, Xia Li’s own trajectory of fate also changed.
He and Lucia accidentally traveled to the past of Azure Continent…
This might just be another accident.
However, in Xia Li’s view, any accident is a kind of predestination.
Night fell.
Unknown birds and beasts circled in the sky, their hoarse and desolate cries echoing over the town along with the dull bells of the tower. Xia Li found an inn to stay in.
Although Mrs. Fang had prepared a complete set of camping gear for them before they left, Xia Li naturally preferred to stay indoors if he could.
For Xia Li now, the one thing he didn’t lack was money.
He could not only stay in the best inn in the entire human town, but he could even choose the most expensive room.
The last time he came to Azure Continent, Xia Li was just a Brave Hero in name only, without any salary. In order to improve his living standards, he had hunted many magical beasts and mixed-scale dragons, and then sold the dissected materials on the black market.
After being cheated many times, he gradually went from a novice to a veteran of the black market.
This time, by relying on the information gap of the goods brought from Earth, he even fooled those self-righteous wealthy merchants.
Unfortunately, the camping gear Mrs. Fang prepared for them was limited.
After Xia Li ‘sold’ the lighter and flashlight, there weren’t many things left on him that he could sell.
He was reluctant to sell clothes, pants, and backpacks, the kind of things he wore.
In the end, he could only trade some of Lucia’s snacks.
Things like biscuits, jelly, and big bags of potato chips.
These were the snacks Fang Xia had prepared for Lucia for the journey, but they were taken by Xia Li and exchanged for gold coins.
Lucia felt distressed as her little biscuits were snatched away by the Brave Hero, but at the same time, she couldn’t close her mouth as she looked at the increasingly bulging money bag.
“Hehe…”
“Hehehe…”
The weight of this gold coin bag was astonishing.
It was so heavy that even she found it difficult to lift with her strength!
If she spread these gold coins on the bed, she would definitely have a good sleep tonight.
If it were spread in the lair…
Just listening to the ‘clinking’ sound of the gold coins would make a dragon happy. In such favorable conditions, she would definitely be able to lay a smooth and beautiful large white egg!
Thinking of this, Lucia blushed and wrapped the gold coin bag in her coat.
As if feeling that this was not safe enough, she stuffed the packed gold coin bag into Xia Li’s backpack and put some dry food on top as a cover.
At the same time, Xia Li happened to come out of the small compartment.
The town’s facilities in this world were very backward. If one wanted to take a hot shower, they needed to heat the water with magic stones themselves. Sometimes, if the strength of water magic and fire magic was not well controlled, it was common for people to get scalded by the boiling hot water.
Xia Li found it troublesome and simply poured two buckets of cold water over himself before coming out.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only a pair of underpants on his whole body.
A pure cotton towel from Earth was draped over his shoulder, and the contours of his abdomen exposed to the air were quite well-defined.
Without the cover of clothes, the prominent muscle lines made Lucia’s eyes go straight.
“…”
“Haven’t you seen it before? What are you staring so intently for?”
Xia Li glanced at Lucia and walked over nonchalantly, sitting down on the soft bed.
Summer was coming soon in Qingcheng City.
He couldn’t possibly walk around at home wearing clothes all day in the heat, could he?
They were an old married couple, she should get used to it.
“…I, I’m going to take a shower.”
Lucia was still quite nervous.
Even on Earth, it was normal for human males to be shirtless… But when she saw Xia Li in this state, she still couldn’t help but feel her heart beat faster.
Th-this, this was probably the feeling of heart fluttering that those little nurses talked about?
It was all Xia Li’s fault for taking off his clothes for no reason. It wasn’t even hot right now…
She would strip herself naked and let Xia Li experience this strange feeling of nervousness too!
Grumbling to herself, Lucia went into the compartment.
When she came out, she had wrapped herself tightly in a bath towel.
“Why are you wearing so many layers?”
Xia Li couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the dragon wrapped in three layers inside and out.
“This is not at home… I don’t feel safe without wearing more!”
“You’re a dragon, just wear one piece for show.”
“No, I want to wear three!”
Muttering to herself, Lucia climbed onto Xia Li’s bed, her big tail swaying.
Speaking of which.
This was their first time ‘getting a room’.
During the time Lucia was on Earth, she slept at home every night.
Even when Xia Li jokingly said he wanted to take her to Home Inn for a night, he still took her back home in the end.
Lucia secretly thought about it while hiding under the covers. Feeling Xia Li putting that soft big sheep plush toy into the bed, she quickly reached out her little hand and hugged it.
This sheep plush toy was really something.
It actually traveled back to Azure Continent with her.
It would definitely get very dirty after they went back, and she would have to wash it properly in the washing machine then.
Pricking up her ears, Lucia secretly listened to Xia Li’s movements.
He walked to the bedside and extinguished the magic lamp, closed the window, and then rustled as he turned over and lay down on the bed.
Because they had booked the most luxurious king-size bed room, the two of them had to sleep together.
Lucia’s dragon tail had long since stretched out, blocking the middle of the two of them as if drawing a dividing line.
Suddenly, she felt Xia Li grab the tip of her tail.
Xia Li was moving her tail, seemingly to make more space for himself.
“Your tail is in my way.”
“Oh, oh.”
Lucia quickly retracted her tail and curled it around her legs.
There was silence for a moment, then Xia Li looked at the unfamiliar ceiling and suddenly spoke.
“I’ve actually always wanted to ask a question.”
“Ask…”
Lucia was so nervous that she even tucked her calves in.
“Why is it that after returning here, your human form hasn’t changed? Before, it was because of insufficient magic power, so you could only maintain a childish… youthful girl’s appearance. Now that you have enough magic power, it’s enough for you to freely transform, right?”
Xia Li’s question was met with a short silence.
Lucia’s head then emerged from under the covers, and she said angrily:
“…You really do like big ones!”
“I didn’t say that!”
“Then why do you sound so regretful!”
“It’s not regret, just curiosity…” Xia Li said doubtfully.
“Don’t you dragon race like to use your outward appearance to disguise yourselves? Now that you’re back in Azure Continent, why are you willing to use the appearance of a little girl to interact with humans?”
To this day, Xia Li still remembered the heroic, graceful, tall, and imposing Lucia with her disdainful eyes.
No wonder humans called her the ‘Silver Dragon Queen’.
That arrogant look would make anyone swoon.
Just thinking about it made Xia Li feel dizzy.
Dizzy with desire.
“…No reason, it’s just that I’m used to it!”
Lucia rolled over and wrapped herself in the quilt.
◈◈◈
“It’s not good to change your appearance randomly. You tricked… traded so much money today, many people in the city must have a deep impression of us. If they see that my appearance has changed, they will definitely think of me as a demon or dragon, wouldn’t that be troublesome?”
Lucia explained a lot in a rambling manner.
This was said for Xia Li to hear, and also for herself to hear.
She was finding excuses for herself.
Actually, she was just afraid…
Growing up means doing grown-up things.
Lucia hadn’t figured out how to make a move on Xia Li… No, that’s not right, she hadn’t mentally prepared herself for how to deal with Xia Li.
Xia Li listened quietly and didn’t ask any further questions.
The little dragon had her own concerns, and his concerns were very simple…
Tomorrow, he had to find a merchant caravan and follow it north, blending into the main city of the Lyon Empire.
He had heard from those merchants today that the main city of the Lyon Empire, the Royal Capital, was not far from Taro City, where they were now.
However, due to the recent frequent rebel activities, the inspection at the Royal Capital was very strict. To enter the city smoothly, one not only needed to go through the relevant procedures but also needed someone to recommend them.
Therefore, blending into a merchant caravan was the fastest shortcut for Xia Li.
A place like the Royal Capital must have the two-way teleportation scroll that Xia Li wanted, as well as enough magic crystals that stored magic power.
These two things were the main purpose of Xia Li’s trip this time.
He didn’t want to continue exploiting Qin Chuan anymore. Since he had come back this time, he had to be well prepared when he returned to Earth.
He planned to bring back a large number of magic crystals so that Lucia could be self-sufficient in the future when she needed magic power on Earth.
Thinking about this, Xia Li looked at the ceiling and fell into a drowsy sleep.
A man’s way of thinking was mostly like this, dealing with things rationally and efficiently.
But it was completely different for Lucia.
She was jumping back and forth between the thoughts of ‘Is Xia Li very excited?’ and ‘Xia Li will definitely be restless tonight’, and finally, she peeked at Xia Li uncertainly.
As a result, Xia Li had already closed his eyes and fallen fast asleep.
Lucia: “…”
Was her charm only this much?!
They were outside, they were in a hotel room for the first time!
Xia Li just fell asleep like that?!
Lucia raised her head and stared at Xia Li’s sleeping face angrily.
An unfamiliar environment always gave people an inexplicable sense of excitement, but the familiar person in front of her would dilute this excitement, and her uneasy mood gradually calmed down.
Lucia quietly crawled over and chose to abandon the sheep plush toy, gently hugging Xia Li.
Even though they had returned to Azure Continent.
Lucia didn’t really feel anything.
It was as if they were really just on an ordinary trip.
It was probably because only the environment had changed, while the people around her hadn’t.
The human towns in this world didn’t have any nightlife.
As the afterglow of the sun faded, there were no more figures to be seen on the streets.
The cool breeze blew into the room, and Lucia felt a chill, pulling the small quilt over herself.
After thinking for a moment, she covered Xia Li with it too.
No matter what, the belly button had to be covered, otherwise, she would get diarrhea ━ this was the common sense Aunt Fang had taught her.
Lucia had a bit of insomnia.
The girl’s brown eyes reflected the starry night sky as she stared blankly outside, lost in thought.
Xia Li said… they had traveled to the past.
Lucia didn’t understand all the logic and principles, but there was one thing she was sure of.
There must be a reason for this time travel.
In about fifty years, Xia Li would be summoned to this world, then he would draw the Demon Repelling Sword and become the hero of mankind.
After that, he would ‘meet’ her, the Silver Dragon, for the ‘first time’ during a crusade.
This event was still just a ‘future’ that was about to happen for them now.
Lucia knew she couldn’t change this future, otherwise, she might not be able to meet Xia Li.
If they couldn’t meet, there would be no subsequent acquaintance and love.
Xia Li might complete his mission and go home, or he might really kill her with one slash during a dragon slaying crusade.
This kind of future couldn’t happen.
Therefore, neither she nor Xia Li should do anything to change the future.
But there was one thing Lucia wanted to change.
She rolled around on the bed restlessly.
Lucia leaned out of the bed, reached for her small bag, and then took out a rectangular box from the innermost part of the cloth bag.
Her phone!
The greatest invention of Earth!
Although there was no signal here, the phone still had 50% battery!
Lucia couldn’t access the internet, and she couldn’t play short videos or mobile games either.
She flipped through it, looking here and there, and suddenly clutched her chest, looking very sad.
It’s over.
She was having electronic device withdrawal symptoms!
Just one day without touching her phone, and it felt like ants were crawling all over her dragon body.
And Xia Li said it might take some time to go back.
No way!
I want to go back online now!
After tomorrow, the phone battery will be completely drained, and then I won’t even be able to look at the screen!
Xia Li, who was sound asleep, didn’t know that the evil dragon was having a severe internet addiction at this late hour.
If Xia Li woke up at this moment, he would definitely laugh at the evil dragon.
After confirming that all the small games she had downloaded required an internet connection to play, Lucia closed all the software with a mournful face.
Finally, she opened the phone’s photo album.
Lucia didn’t like taking selfies, nor did she like taking pictures of scenery.
Apart from the ugly photos of Little Cotton, her phone only had photos of Xia Li.
“Hehe…”
Lucia stared at the photo of the roller coaster at the amusement park and laughed.
Xia Li’s hair was blown up in the photo, revealing his flat forehead, which was rare.
Because he was frightened, his handsome face was a little pale, and his hands were tightly gripping the railing in front of the roller coaster.
Heehee… The Brave Hero’s number one embarrassing moment!
After going back, she would frame it and treasure it together with this pile of gold coins!
She would take it out and tell Xia Li about it every few decades, and it would be fun to see him get flustered!
Oh… Right, decades were too long for humans.
Then, every few months.
Lucia’s tail lifted up and then dropped powerlessly.
The corners of her mouth, which had been pursed in laughter, stiffened for a few seconds. She smiled sweetly again, turned over softly, and hugged the sleeping Xia Li.
“Xia Li, Xia Li…”
Lucia’s voice was very soft, and she wriggled in Xia Li’s arms like a caterpillar.
“Go to sleep…”
Xia Li really couldn’t open his eyes. He half-hugged the evil dragon’s waist and muttered in his sleep.
“I like you a lot!”
Lucia propped herself up and gave Xia Li a wet kiss on the cheek.
Xia Li had a dream.
In the dream, his hands and feet were captured by something, and his whole body was buried in the soil.
He felt like a cabbage in the ground, and a huge silver dragon appeared in front of him. The silver dragon stretched out its face and just nudged him like that.