Sui You never expected that he, the dignified Ancestral Dragon, could shrink to such a small size.
He cupped his fists and declared his defeat, then turned and casually found a spot to sit down.
Qi Yu slept soundly, his dragon tail wrapped around Shao Feng's arm.
Si Qing held Qi Yu tightly, unwilling to let go.
The siblings were like a set of nesting dolls.
Shao Feng gently scratched Qi Yu's chin. Qi Yu wasn't a cat, so he wouldn't react to such a gesture and continued to sleep soundly. He only felt a slight tickle from the dragon scales near his chin in his dream.
He used his small claws to scratch at it, then hugged Shao Feng's sleeve again and fell back asleep.
Shao Feng pinched Qi Yu's tiny paws and tail, then poked his dragon horns. After flipping Qi Yu over to sleep in a different position, he finally couldn't help but chat with Yan Hua and the others:
"Have you guys noticed? The scales on these two little ones seem to have grown a bit more."
Upon hearing this, Yan Hua immediately looked down.
Indeed.
Qi Yu and Si Qing's dragon scales had grown a new row of scales, each about the size of a fingernail.
These new scales were tender and soft, feeling like fish scales to the touch, only a thin layer. It would take a long time for them to grow large and thick.
"But their true forms are growing so slowly," Ming Lou leaned in, craning his neck, "When they revert to human form, they seem to be about our size, but when they become their true forms, they're just this tiny."
Sleeping on Sui You's prototype head, they looked like two small snakes.
"The growth period for dragons is a very long process," Yue Zhi Yin gestured to Ming Lou, "These two have only been born for a short time. After a few thousand more years, they'll be as big as I was when you first saw me."
Ming Lou looked enlightened.
He sneakily reached out his hand to touch them, but halfway there, Shao Feng slapped it away.
"You brat, why are you touching my cubs?" Shao Feng looked disgusted. "Don't you know that the Dragon Pearl Princess's scales can't be touched casually? Go touch Si Qing."
Even as he said this, he protected both of them fiercely.
Ming Lou was exasperated. "I haven't done anything heinous, I just wanted to touch their backs. What's the big deal? Or touching their paws is fine too. Shao Feng, Dragon King, aren't you being a bit too stingy?"
Shao Feng remained resolute. "Any touch that isn't a prelude to becoming Dao companions is improper."
"Becoming Dao companions? I wouldn't dare," Ming Lou quickly waved his hands. "If you don't let me touch them, then I won't touch them. Alas, there's nothing I can do. I would never dare to have any thoughts about Qi Yu, otherwise Si Qing would skin me alive."
Not to mention that he only saw her as a junior sister.
Even if he did have thoughts, Ming Lou couldn't imagine how badly he would be beaten by this group if he angered Qi Yu and made her cry after becoming Dao companions with her.
No.
Qi Yu herself was not someone to be trifled with.
Yue Zhi Yin seemed to know what he was thinking and calmly added while drinking tea, "Ming Lou, don't covet what you shouldn't. This is a good thing, otherwise you might be beaten into a sieve by us in the future."
Yan Hua raised an eyebrow. "Qi Yu is still young. Don't keep talking about Dao companions, be careful not to corrupt her."
Everyone else pouted at him.
Corrupt her?
Who would corrupt whom?
Qi Yu wasn't an ordinary cub; she was a cub with memories from a past life.
This brat who often tricked them and squeezed them dry, it was more likely that she would corrupt them, and Yan Hua actually said they would corrupt her.
Yan Hua didn't feel that what he said was outrageous at all. After speaking, he calmly took the two cubs into his arms.
Shao Feng looked at his suddenly empty hands and looked at Yan Hua with some dissatisfaction. "Big brother, you and the other Ancestral Dragons seem to like cubs quite a lot. Since that's the case, why haven't you ever thought about becoming Dao companions and having cubs yourselves since you've lived from ancient times until now?"
The dragons of the four seas were all formed from a portion of Nuwa's flesh and blood, along with divine power, that Yan Hua, Chen Xi, Jin Yan, and Yu Yuan had given her back then.
So, although they were technically descendants of the four Ancestral Dragons, they were not direct descendants.
"Just look at the King of the West Sea Dragon. Raising cubs is not an easy task," Yan Hua said with revulsion. "What if you end up with a not-so-smart one who can't learn no matter how you teach them, and they haven't even inherited a few of the ancestral techniques? It's too embarrassing. So it's better not to have any and just wait to teach other people's cubs."
Shao Feng had never heard this theory before and was stunned, his expression blank.
Chen Xi woke up from his sleep and happened to hear their conversation. He couldn't help but open his eyes groggily and look around curiously. "What, what? What are you talking about? Whose child was born?"
"No one's child was born. Go back to sleep," Yan Hua said, pulling out his handkerchief and covering Chen Xi's head with it.
Chen Xi grumbled an "mm" and then, swaying, slumped back onto the table, falling into a deep sleep through the handkerchief.
With his breathing, the handkerchief fluttered back and forth.
Yue Zhi Yin couldn't help but want to laugh at the scene before him. Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside, and someone delivered news:
"Report! The malevolent energy above the South Sea has suddenly intensified. Many strange plants have appeared above the barrier. They look like seaweed, but they're not seaweed. They're some kind of indescribable plant. After appearing above the barrier, they are rapidly diluting the barrier's power. It feels like they will fall into the sea soon."
Qi Yu, who had been in a semi-awake state, immediately sat up from Shao Feng's embrace upon hearing this.
Si Qing was still a bit groggy, but quickly regained his composure and reverted to human form.
"Strange plants? Quickly take me to see them." Si Qing pulled Qi Yu and Shao Feng, leading the way.
Chen Xi woke up groggily in Yan Hua's palm. Upon seeing the plants clinging to the outside of the barrier, his expression sank.