Chapter 130 Demonic Festival 11

This time, because Xia Qi had specifically instructed him, the demon dragon deliberately flew very steadily, and no one got sick this time.

They safely arrived at a towering mountain near the Rose Kingdom.

According to the plan, Ding Xiang disguised himself as a member of Moon Castle and set out to infiltrate Rose Castle for reconnaissance.

Worried that Ding Xiang might encounter danger inside the castle, Xia Qi gave him more information about Margaret.

Once Ding Xiang left, Xia Qi and Sister Hong started preparing their disguises, getting ready to head down the mountain.

"Growl."

The demon dragon crouched behind Xia Qi, letting out a dissatisfied whimper. He pawed at the ground, quickly digging a small pit.

Xia Qi covered his face with a scarf, turned around, and said, "I'm just going down the mountain to take a look, and I'll be back tonight."

"Growl!" The demon dragon lowered his head dejectedly and spat out a few sparks.

He really wanted to accompany Xia Qi down the mountain, but his size was now too large, making it easy to expose their position.

If he could return to his original form, it would be much more convenient, and he could do other things with Xia Qi... Of course, all of this was entirely the fault of that Lin guy!

Before Xia Qi entered the dungeon, the demon dragon had never given up on restoring his original form. He had always been injured because Lin had built large-scale dragon bows and artillery on Demon Dragon Mountain specifically targeting him.

The demon dragon wanted to go on a rampage on Demon Dragon Mountain, but he was worried that if he got seriously injured, he might miss the chance to meet Xia Qi, so he never took action.

"Once we have the strength, I'll accompany you to Demon Dragon Mountain," Xia Qi said, noticing his agitation, and gently stroked his scales.

In fact, Xia Qi was more anxious than the demon dragon about restoring his original form. He wished he could rush to Demon Dragon Mountain and seize the volcano right now.

Unfortunately, he currently had neither the people nor the strength, and he had lost two teammates—his sister and the old man. Rashly going to Demon Dragon Mountain would only endanger the demon dragon.

"Growl!" The demon dragon, worried about Xia Qi, urgently responded again, muttering to him.

"I know, I know," Xia Qi patted his scales and repeatedly assured him that he would return safely.

The demon dragon clung to him for a long time before Xia Qi hardened his heart and, amidst the oppressive dragon roar, left with many reluctant glances back.

"Xiao Xia, I didn't expect you to be quite good at foreign languages, able to learn dragon language so quickly," Sister Hong said enviously after they reached the foot of the mountain.

She had observed that Xia Qi and the demon dragon were communicating more fluidly, as if they had endless heart-to-heart conversations.

However, despite listening for so many days, she hadn't learned the dragon language.

Could this be the power of soulmates? Sister Hong wondered in her heart. If she hadn't rushed into marriage without really knowing her husband, she wouldn't have ended up with a cheating ex-husband and a tragically deceased daughter.

"I figured it out," Xia Qi said, pursing his lips.

"Ah?" Sister Hong slightly opened her mouth, looking at him in surprise. "I thought you had some special ability, like being a dragon's heir or something."

Xia Qi: "..."

In fact, he couldn't understand the demon dragon's language at all. The reason he could communicate smoothly with the demon dragon was entirely because he was familiar with someone's temperament and actions, combined with the demon dragon's specific expressions. He could usually guess what the demon dragon was saying with about 80-90% accuracy.

If he guessed wrong, he’d just go along with whatever the demon dragon wanted, like when he was pinned under a bamboo bed by the Witch God. That trick always worked.

Seeing that Xia Qi's expression didn't seem fake, Sister Hong once again looked at him with admiration. "...You’ve really got it tough."

The two of them chatted as they walked briskly, and in less than an hour, they arrived at a small town where commoners lived.

Ever since the old Count gave up on treatment, the vampire families of the Rose Kingdom have re-emerged. Those with vampire blood no longer hid in the shadows and began to ruthlessly capture humans.

The town was not far from Rose Castle. As Xia Qi and Sister Hong arrived near the town entrance, they found the place in utter chaos.

Several ugly-looking vampires squatted on the city walls, their eyes glowing with bloodlust. They attacked anyone in sight, leaving no one unharmed. Perhaps because the vampires were too hungry, human screams could be heard intermittently from within the walls.

While they were still some distance away from the town, a nauseating stench of blood hit them.

Xia Qi was taken aback. What happened to this place? It used to be so peaceful. Under the Count's governance, the surrounding area was orderly, and the people lived in harmony. He hadn’t expected that after just half a year, the castle would be in such shambles. If this had been the state of the dungeon when he first arrived, he never would have made it through.

The two of them dodged the vampires' gazes and wandered around for half a day before finally finding a secluded tavern run by humans. According to the tavern owner, he had managed to survive in the vampire-infested town because his brewed alcohol was specially supplied to Rose Castle.

Xia Qi used the coins given by Ding Xiang to bribe a bartender for information about Rose Castle.

After a brief exchange about the current state of Rose Castle, Xia Qi brought up his old acquaintance, the old Count.

“Hey, are you talking about the Duke?” The bartender, a sleazy-looking fat man, took Xia Qi’s money and started talking nonstop, spilling all the gossip. “Do you know why the Duke became a painter?”

“...Painter?” Xia Qi paused, almost thinking he had misheard.

The current Duke was the old Count. In Xia Qi’s memory, the old Count was a cunning and ruthless vampire. It was hard to imagine him as an artist.

“That’s right! The painting in the corner was done by the Duke. You can go take a look,” the bartender said with a laugh, pointing to a painting in the corner covered by a black curtain.

Xia Qi looked closely at the painting’s curtain, which was covered in a thick layer of dust. He reached out and carefully tried to lift the curtain, but ended up shaking off a large amount of dust.

After unveiling the curtain, Xia Qi saw that the old Count had painted a vampire blood sacrifice scene.

A man resembling the Count sat on the sacrificial altar. His eyes were fierce, his lips stained with blood, and his fangs were visible at the corners of his mouth. In his arms was a dead young man with black hair and black eyes, his features delicate. However, the young man’s neck had two gaping wounds, and other parts of his body were bitten, leaving him drenched in blood.

Looking at the familiar brushwork, Xia Qi felt a mix of emotions. When he saw those terrifying paintings on the second floor of the central hall, he had guessed they were the old Count’s work.

After half a year, the old Count’s painting skills had improved dramatically. Not only did he vividly depict the blood-soaked Count who had ascended to become a Blood King, but he also depicted him as a lifeless, blood-soaked figure.

There must be deep-seated hatred...

Even after leaving the dungeon, the old Count still insisted on making him a sacrifice for the Count. Despite everything, Xia Qi felt a grudging respect for the old man’s persistence.

“Xiao Xia, this person looks a lot like you,” Sister Hong wandered over and remarked, “Is that you?”

Xia Qi: “It’s me.”

Sister Hong: “……”

After examining the painting, Xia Qi carefully lowered the curtain back down.

“Didn’t expect that, huh? Our Duke is a horror painter!” The bartender, seeing their unpleasant expressions, couldn’t help but laugh. “Since losing his son, the heir to the title, the Duke has become eccentric and spends his days painting.”

Sister Hong felt quite speechless and added dryly, “No wonder his paintings are left to gather dust.”

“That’s right. I only bought it because I liked the handsome young man in the painting,” the bartender said with a lewd chuckle. The old Count’s paintings often featured good-looking people.

Xia Qi twitched at the corner of his mouth, not expecting to become famous through the old Count’s paintings. Fortunately, he was well-covered; otherwise, he might have been recognized by others.

Sister Hong shot Xia Qi a look and stifled a laugh.

"What about the vampires in that town?" Xia Qi asked again.

The bartender’s face darkened, and he leaned in, whispering mysteriously, "They say the Rose Kingdom hides a man-eating demon, and the nobles, corrupted by it, have turned into vicious vampires. Watch out on your journey—don’t let them snatch you!"

Hearing this, Xia Qi couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

What do they mean by "harboring a demon" and "bewitched by a demon"? The old Count and those nobles are the real monsters!

After getting more information from the bartender, they left the town near Rose Castle and headed back to the mountains.

"The Duke hates me, so he’ll be tough to handle," Xia Qi analyzed. "Plus, his vampire minions are everywhere, and they’re incredibly strong."

Sister Hong, with her arms crossed, snorted. "So what? They can’t stand up to dragon fire!"

No matter how strong vampires are, can they stand up to dragon fire?

Xia Qi frowned. "The old Count is a speed-type vampire, and after all this time, I bet he’s way stronger than before. Rushing in would be too dangerous."

Sister Hong, who’s always ready to explode, got mad when she heard how tough the old Count would be to handle. "We’ll have the demon dragon strike at dawn and burn Rose Castle to the ground!"

"Unless it’s absolutely necessary, we shouldn’t destroy the dungeon," Xia Qi shook his head.

Though destroying the dungeon was an option, Xia Qi had never gone that route. Instead, he always used the rules to either vanish the dungeon or restore peace. He felt that creating the dungeon took a lot of effort, and destroying it would be like trashing someone’s hard work. It just didn’t feel right.

"Sigh, then what should we do?" Sister Hong scratched her head and sat down dejectedly.

Xia Qi couldn’t help but wonder if targeting the Rose Kingdom first was a mistake.

The two waited on the high mountain for another day, and at sunset the next day, they finally saw Ding Xiang coming back from below.

"Xiao Xia, Ding Xiang has brought someone back!" Sister Hong said in surprise, pointing at the two people walking up the mountain one after another.

Xia Qi looked closely and saw, on the mountain path below, a person in a black cloak following Ding Xiang. The figure was completely covered, not showing an inch of skin. But judging by the figure and walking posture, it seemed to be a relatively light-weight woman.

As it grew darker, in the last moments before nightfall, Ding Xiang and the cloaked woman reached the mountaintop.

As soon as the woman saw Xia Qi, she quickly lifted her cloak and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my daughter-in-law, I have finally seen you again!"

Author's Note:

Someone: I want to regain my true form.

Xia Qi: It's fine not to regain it; you can still be used as a vehicle.

Someone: I drive faster after regaining it.

Xia Qi: ……