"Tantai!" Qin Xuan was stunned.
Before he could recover, his legs suddenly felt tight, and an unprecedented sensation surged through his entire body.
"Tantai, you..."
Qin Xuan looked at Tantai Yue in the covers with disbelief.
...
The next morning, Qin Xuan slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Tantai Yue sleeping soundly in his arms. Qin Xuan rubbed his head, recalling the absurd events of the previous night. Tantai had actually bitten him!
Although nothing more outrageous had happened, it was close.
That feeling was unlike anything Qin Xuan had ever experienced.
Qin Xuan's heart was a mix of emotions that Tantai Yue could set aside her modesty to do such a ridiculous thing for him.
Qin Xuan gently removed Tantai Yue's hand from his body, covered her properly with the quilt, and tiptoed out of bed.
As soon as he stepped off the bed, Qin Xuan's legs went weak, and he almost couldn't stand.
"Hoo..." Qin Xuan exhaled.
"I didn't expect sleeping could be so tiring. Now I understand why ancient emperors didn't live long."
He left the room and checked on Qin Lin. She was still asleep, likely still shaken by yesterday's events.
After all, she was just a young girl, and her resilience was naturally weaker than Tantai Yue's.
Qin Xuan brewed a pot of restorative soup for both of them, then sat cross-legged on the sofa and entered a meditative state.
Despite resting for a night, Qin Xuan's body was still relatively weak. His dragon power was less than a tenth of its full capacity.
The dragon shadow from yesterday had almost drained Qin Xuan's dragon power.
The dragon pill also seemed somewhat fatigued, and its dragon power was recovering slowly.
At this rate of recovering one-tenth of his dragon power per night, it would likely take at least ten days to fully recover.
To understand the dragon shadow from yesterday, Qin Xuan submerged his spiritual sense into the dragon pill. This was the first time he had actively used his spiritual sense to interact with it.
Immediately, the dragon pill flashed with white light, and a towering golden phantom appeared before the form created by Qin Xuan's spiritual sense.
"Finally, I've been waiting for you."
The golden phantom's voice was ethereal.
"Who are you?" Qin Xuan looked at the golden phantom, which had its back to him, with caution.
The golden phantom heard him and slowly turned around. Qin Xuan then got a clear view of the golden phantom's appearance.
Although several times taller than Qin Xuan, it was still human in form, dressed in the attire of the Han Dynasty. It was a middle-aged man with a weathered look, two horns on its head, and exuded an aura that could conquer mountains and rivers.
Even as a phantom, a single glance made one feel an urge to submit.
"You inherited my dragon pill and you ask who I am?" the golden figure spoke again.
Qin Xuan was shocked.
"Are you... Ying Long?"
The golden figure remained silent, which was an implicit confirmation.
Qin Xuan immediately knelt down, cupped his fists, and said,
"Junior Qin Xuan greets Senior Ying Long."
Qin Xuan felt a genuine respect for Ying Long. If not for the dragon pill in his body, he would likely be a corpse by the Jiangbei River now.
And the fates of Tantai Yue and Qin Lin, the two most important people in his life, would likely have been tragic beyond measure.
Therefore, Ying Long had bestowed upon Qin Xuan a grace of rebirth.
"No need for formalities. Rise. You have obtained the dragon pill, which is also a form of destiny," Ying Long said, waving his sleeve.
"Thank you, Senior." After rising, Qin Xuan asked again,
"Senior Ying Long, have you been living inside the dragon pill all this time?"
Ying Long shook his head.
"You misunderstand. I perished many years ago. This phantom you see now is merely a spiritual body I left within the dragon pill, waiting for you. It will dissipate once I have imparted some matters to you."
"Waiting for me?" Qin Xuan was puzzled.
Ying Long said,
"As the inheritor of the dragon pill, you are naturally who I was waiting for. Do you perhaps want to know why you were able to transform into a dragon shadow yesterday?"