Si Qing, the entire dragon, leaped up!
Yan Hua patted him gently.
Si Qing reverted to his original form with a bang.
Still in his most primitive young dragon form, cuddly and adorable.
His little paws were also fleshy.
Si Qing whimpered, and Yan Hua, holding him by the tail, dangled him upside down in mid-air, struggling incessantly.
Yan Hua gave his rear a light pat, saying as he did, "You little brat, you thought I wouldn't notice, didn't you? I've noticed your sneaky behavior for a long time, but I just never exposed you. You little rascal."
Si Qing whimpered and struggled.
Yan Hua made Si Qing cry, then hung him at the very top of the coral at the bottom of the sea.
Si Qing, with teary eyes, looked at Qi Yu and opened his fleshy little paws towards her:
"Sister!"
After being patted back into a child, his tear ducts became more active, and whether his actions were mature or immature, he looked incredibly cute.
Qi Yu had been smiling, but upon seeing this scene, she suddenly found the teary-eyed Si Qing rather endearing. She lightly tapped the ground with her toes, leaped into the air, and rescued the pitiful Si Qing from the coral.
Yan Hua snorted from the side, slowly sipping his tea without intervening.
Chen Xi nudged him with his elbow, "I find you old fogies truly detestable. When I was little, you used the same trick to bully me. How can you still be bullying children after living for so many years?"
"I'm willing to," Yan Hua raised his chin. "Who told him to play a prank on me? Did he think I didn't know he wrote 'Old Fogey is Here' on that slip of paper?"
Chen Xi, who was already smiling, couldn't help but laugh even more upon hearing this.
Si Qing, crying and whimpering, buried his head in Qi Yu's neck, making a series of mournful cries and wails. While sobbing uncontrollably, he pointed a finger in Yan Hua's direction, signaling Qi Yu to help him get revenge.
Qi Yu disdained Si Qing's current method of relying on his young dragon form, using tears to act cute and get her to help.
Si Qing wailed and cried.
"Little friend Si Qing, although I understand your feelings, I think you should consider your age this year." Qi Yu tried to peel the sticky candy off herself.
Si Qing held onto her neck tightly, refusing to let go, and his crying showed signs of intensifying.
Qi Yu felt that his crying was practically noise when heard up close, so she couldn't help but cover his mouth, "Alright, alright, I'll get revenge for you, I promise. Is that enough?"
Under the onslaught of Si Qing's wails, she had no choice but to yield.
Yan Hua had been listening the whole time, and as soon as he heard the word "revenge," he immediately looked up at Qi Yu.
Qi Yu gave a well-behaved smile.
She walked over, gently patted Yan Hua's dragon horns, and then, as if her mission was accomplished, turned back to tell Si Qing, "I got revenge! I beat him up for you!"
Si Qing sat on the table, looking furious, and cast a contemptuous glance at Qi Yu.
Did she take him for a fool?
Gently patting his dragon horns counted as revenge?!
Si Qing's dissatisfaction was almost overflowing from his face, making Chen Xi next to him laugh heartily.
Qi Yu walked over and saw his expression, then couldn't help but make excuses, "Why are you looking so unhappy? At least I touched his dragon horns, and you didn't even get to touch them. Anyway, he beat me up too, so if you think about it carefully, I was still more powerful."
Si Qing felt there was some logic to her words, but he was still unwilling.
He sat on the stone table with his arms crossed, sulking.
His warm, young dragon tail swished back and forth, incessantly and irritably tapping the chessboard.
Yan Hua looked at the chessboard in front of him, which was cracking and the pieces were in disarray, with a wry smile. He gently poked Si Qing's tail, "Little friend..."
Si Qing snorted, glanced at him, and then quickly averted his gaze.
Yan Hua felt even more like laughing. "Little friend, you can't throw a tantrum like this just because you got hit. This is not right. You've messed up the chessboard."
"..." Si Qing looked back defiantly, then flipped the chessboard over with his tail.
Chen Xi pounded the table, laughing hysterically, "Yan Hua, your little one is angry, he's throwing a fit, he's really mad. Look, he even flipped the chessboard. Why don't you go and comfort your disciple, your little one?"
After flipping the chessboard, Si Qing didn't forget to cross his arms and look up at Yan Hua with a defiant gaze.
It was as if he was saying: Hit me, go on, hit me.
Qi Yu quickly pulled her younger brother back, preventing him from his suicidal actions.
Yan Hua raised an eyebrow at Si Qing, gently patted the table, and then pointed at his forehead.
The next moment, Si Qing reverted to his human form with a bang.
Si Qing, now back to his normal human appearance, cast an arrogant glance at Yan Hua, as if he wasn't going to bother with him.
Qi Yu was full of regret, feeling that Si Qing in his adult form was not as cute as his little cub form.
Yan Hua messed around with them for a while. As it was getting late, he stood up, gathered the chessboard and pieces on the ground with his spiritual energy, and then turned to instruct Qi Yu and Si Qing:
"You two need to practice the new spells I just taught you frequently. In terms of practical combat, Qi Yu, although your spiritual power is high, Si Qing has more experience than you, so you need to learn more. Do you understand?"
Qi Yu and Si Qing bowed, indicating their understanding.
Chen Xi finally waited for Yan Hua to finish his lesson. Seeing him stand up, he immediately grabbed him and ran towards the land, wanting to pick ripe wild walnuts from the forest.
Once the outer husks of these walnuts were peeled off, and they were dried in the sun, they could quickly be made into a string of bracelets.
They smelled very fragrant.
Yan Hua was tired after such a long lesson and let Chen Xi drag him away.
Qi Yu and Si Qing stood in the garden, watching their receding figures. Just as they were about to go back to rest, the footsteps of a maid suddenly echoed from outside.
Qi Yu turned to look.
The maid bowed and replied, "Dragon King, the strategist from the North Sea has sent word that a spy, who seemed to be gathering intelligence for the North Sea, has been apprehended within the North Sea's territory. He requests your presence to inspect."