Chapter 172 I’ll Always Be Biased Towards You

Chapter 172: My Undying Partiality for You

The rain intensified. After observing the commotion for a while, A Chan returned to her lodging with Bai Xiuming.

Though she hadn't been drenched, a persistent damp, fishy smell seemed to cling to the air around her.

A Chan took a bath. When she emerged from behind the screen, dressed, she saw Bai Xiuming reclining by the bed, engrossed in a book. Without a second thought, she climbed onto the bed and stretched out across his lap.

Her wet hair cascaded onto his thigh, a warm dampness seeping through the fabric to his skin. Bai Xiuming set his book aside, his fingers gently scratching the soft flesh beneath her chin. "Lazy," he remarked.

A Chan closed her eyes, feigning deafness.

Bai Xiuming's slender fingers combed through her long, damp hair. The room was dim, punctuated only by the occasional rustle of fingers against strands. A Chan shifted, finding a more comfortable position, and soon her breathing grew shallow and even.

A Chan dreamt. In her dream, she was a dragon—a young dragon, born with impaired vision.

Injured in a skirmish with her kin, her water territory seized, she was forced to seek a new dwelling.

Blind and disoriented, and gravely wounded, she found refuge in a mountain. At its foot lay a small human village.

Before long, a boy from the village discovered her.

Instead of fear, the boy tended to her, cutting away the decaying flesh from her wounds, finding herbs to staunch the bleeding, and even offering her a rabbit he had painstakingly caught.

They gradually grew close, and she learned his name: Xia Xun.

The food Xia Xun brought was never enough to sate her hunger, and her wounds never fully healed. She grew increasingly weak.

Then, Xia Xun brought the villagers to her.

Initially, the villagers were terrified, but their demeanor quickly shifted.

They offered her their meager food stores and purchased large quantities of medicine for her. Slowly, she began to recover.

She had encountered the most genuine and kind-hearted humans, yet she never knew what they looked like.

Once healed, she should have departed, but she couldn't bear to leave the villagers, captivated by their warmth. So she lingered, day after day.

One day, Xia Xun tearfully informed her that a girl named Ning Ning was on the verge of death, pleading with her to save the child.

She didn't know how to heal humans, but she knew her blood might be potent.

So she offered Xia Xun her blood, instructing him to save the girl.

But the girl was too frail. Instead of recovering, she fell into a coma after drinking the blood.

The village chief's family brought the girl to her, hoping she might have another solution.

She sensed the girl's soul was exceedingly fragile; left unchecked, the girl would likely perish soon.

She admitted she didn't know how to save her, only speaking the truth.

The chief's family appeared heartbroken. Then, Xia Xun recalled an ancestral saying: if a human soul was imbued with dragon energy, it would become robust.

But how could a soul acquire dragon energy?

Xia Xun suggested she infuse her soul into Zhou Ning's body and sustain it for a period, allowing Zhou Ning to absorb enough dragon energy to survive.

She found the idea promising and attempted it. It proved somewhat effective.

Thus, she transferred her soul into Zhou Ning's body, shielding Zhou Ning's frail spirit.

Once inside the human body, she discovered she could see. She saw Xia Xun, and she saw the chief's family.

Though the world through her eyes still differed from what ordinary people perceived, the mere ability to see filled her with immense joy.

Using Zhou Ning's body, she ran and played in the mountains with Xia Xun and Zhou Ying. Xia Xun would pick fruits for her, and Zhou Ying would give her beautiful new clothes. They treated her so kindly. She felt those were her most carefree and joyful days.

Half a month passed this way. Though somewhat reluctant, she began to yearn for the sensation of being in her own body again and decided to return.

However, she couldn't.

On that very day, she realized she was trapped within Zhou Ning's body.

Xia Xun consoled her, saying it was likely a temporary mishap and not to worry; she would recover soon.

The chief's family also urged her not to fret, promising to care for her as their own daughter if she stayed with them.

Years passed, one after another. She never returned to her own body.

She witnessed the small mountain village rename itself White Dragon Village. They erected a temple, called White Dragon Temple, ostensibly to commemorate the white dragon. Yet, beneath that temple lay her own body.

Suddenly, one day, she realized she had been ensnared in a conspiracy, though she couldn't even pinpoint when it had begun.

She, a dragon, had become a little girl named Zhou Ning. The chief's family raised her, treating her exceptionally well.

They provided her with beautiful clothes and hair ornaments. Every meal at home included meat, and her bowl always held the largest portion.

Aside from forbidding her to leave the village, they indulged her every whim.

But she found herself increasingly unable to face them. She stopped speaking to them, merely observing them with cold detachment.

Years continued to pass. The chief aged, Xia Xun and Zhou Ying grew up, and the village transformed. Because of her presence, the village now had a consistent water source.

The chief told the villagers that these were blessings bestowed by the white dragon they had rescued years ago. They designated the eighteenth day of the third lunar month as the White Dragon Festival, commencing rituals ten days prior.

Initially, it was merely a simple procession and offering. Later, they cut her flesh, drew some of her blood, and stained the offerings with it before distributing them to the villagers who revered her.

Xia Xun claimed this would deepen the villagers' devotion to her.

Subsequently, their need for her blood grew, and their prayers to the White Dragon intensified.

Every day, she could hear prayers echoing from all corners of the village: elders praying for family harmony, adults for the safety of their livestock, children for candy the next day.

The ceaseless prayers, day after day, caused her increasing torment.

Unable to return to her body for so long, her spirit weakened, and her physical form grew frail. She was on the verge of collapse.

A Chan awoke. She hadn't slept long. When she opened her eyes, her hair was already dry, and the rustle of turning pages sounded above her.

She reached for the pouch at her waist, opened it, and drew out the small scale.

Now she understood why Zhou Ning had given her this reversed scale.

Zhou Ning's eyes possessed a unique power, capable of seeing through illusions. This was likely a divine ability of the dragon race, so potent that the young dragon was born blind.

When she entered Zhou Ning's body, this ability was transferred, albeit greatly weakened, yet it still allowed her to perceive extraordinary things.

When they met yesterday, Zhou Ning must have seen her spirit, or its ethereal form.

No wonder Zhou Ning didn't believe her when she said she was only nineteen. Though the young dragon was a bit foolish, she knew a fox capable of growing eight tails shouldn't be merely nineteen years old.

When Zhou Ning gave her the dragon scale, she must have been hoping A Chan could save her.

A Chan toyed with the scale in her hand and said to Bai Xiuming, "After dark, let's go check out that White Dragon Temple."

"Alright."

"Bai Xiuming, if humans managed to trap a dragon using their own abilities, from a human perspective, they shouldn't be considered at fault, right?"

Bai Xiuming set his book aside, his gaze falling upon A Chan. "You want to free that dragon?"

She wasn't surprised he knew. Even without the dream, she had suspected a dragon was trapped in this village. Bai Xiuming dealt with such matters constantly; given his keen perception, he had likely sensed the anomaly long ago.

"What if I choose to free her?" A Chan's tone carried a hint of probing. She wasn't sure if Bai Xiuming, being human himself, would side with them.

"As you wish."

"If I do this, the villagers might face dire consequences."

"One must bear the consequences of their choices," Bai Xiuming said indifferently.

"If I choose not to free the dragon, perhaps nothing bad will happen at all." From A Chan's angle, she could see his sharply defined jawline. She raised her hand to touch his face, and Bai Xiuming did not stop her.

"They should blame their own greed, their own lack of ruthlessness, their own insufficient strength—never you for freeing the dragon." He paused, then added, "Besides, you dislike them."

That last reason alone was sufficient.

A Chan emphasized, "I merely dislike all hypocritical and greedy people."

Bai Xiuming smiled faintly. "You don't need to ask me for an answer."

He said, "I will always be partial to you."

A Chan's hand moved to his lips, her fingertips brushing his lower lip. "Then remember, you can never change that."

Night fell, and the rain outside continued to patter. Earlier, Lie Xian had informed them that their luggage was packed. As was customary, the sky would clear by morning, and the caravan would resume its journey.

A Chan acknowledged him and dismissed him.

After Lie Xian departed, Bai Xiuming and A Chan also left the room.

White Dragon Village remained lively at night. Despite the rain, the villagers were in high spirits, visiting familiar households, gathering to chat and share stories. Tonight's dinner was even more lavish than a New Year's feast.

They were celebrating another year of favorable weather and growing prosperity.

The two figures vanished into the night, arriving at the mountain and entering the White Dragon Temple, a place forbidden to outsiders.

The White Dragon Temple appeared quite ordinary. Upon entering, one found the main hall, where a clay white dragon statue occupied half the space. Before it lay an offering table and three kneeling cushions.

The offering table was laden with abundant tributes, and incense still smoldered in the censer.

Beyond the main hall, a side room served as a tidy bedroom. Further inside was a storage room, containing rice, flour, vegetables, and cured meats hanging from the rafters.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

A Chan didn't bother searching. She tugged Bai Xiuming's sleeve and whispered, "Where is she?"

Bai Xiuming led her back to the main hall. They circled behind the dragon statue, where a dark opening lay.

A Chan instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck as Bai Xiuming carried her into the underground.

They made no sound, naturally not disturbing the people already below. The two stood in the shadows, their presence and forms completely concealed.

Beneath the temple lay an underground palace, dimly lit by oil lamps hanging on either side, illuminating most of the space.

This underground palace did not appear to have been constructed by the villagers; its existence likely predated the temple by a considerable margin. All surrounding passages had been sealed, leaving only this cleared area.

A moderately sized white dragon lay coiled in the center.

The dragon's scales were patchy, many having been torn away. Its body bore numerous wounds, smeared with a dark, muddy herbal paste, making it resemble the fire-scorched wooden dragon A Chan had seen earlier that day.

Furthermore, the dragon was entangled in numerous red threads, which converged and were pressed down by four stone tablets positioned at the four cardinal points around its body.

Each tablet bore the engraved character "suppress," its strokes seemingly painted over many times, with some dye bleeding beyond the character's outline, yet still clearly visible.

Zhou Ning, who had been taken into the White Dragon Temple earlier and hadn't reappeared, now sat leaning against the dragon's body, motionless. Xia Xun sat beside her, gently stroking her hair.

Xia Xun's actions sparked a thought in A Chan's mind.

Before she could ponder it further, she heard Xia Xun softly say, "Ning Ning, you've come of age this year."

Zhou Ning did not react. He continued, "After Zhou Ying gets married, the village chief said he would arrange our wedding. Then we will become a family. Are you happy?"

At his words, Zhou Ning slowly turned her head, silently gazing at him.

Xia Xun's tone was earnest. He said, "For a very, very long time, I've wanted to marry you and bring you home."

The current Xia Xun was quite different from his childhood self.

He had been scrawny as a child, but now his body was robust—because he, too, had drunk her blood.

"Xia Xun, I won't live to see that day," Zhou Ning said. "If I don't return to my own body, I will die."

Xia Xun fell silent for a moment, then suddenly embraced her. "No, Ning Ning. You are a dragon. How could you die?"

Zhou Ning did not struggle. Her gaze drifted past Xia Xun's shoulder to the flickering lamplight, but her heart was filled only with boundless darkness.

After a while, Xia Xun seemed to notice something amiss. He released Zhou Ning and reached out to touch her forehead.

"Ning Ning, why do you have a fever?"

The question was so strange that Zhou Ning almost laughed.

"Wasn't it you who bound my spirit to that wooden carving? When you burn it, you burn me. Isn't it normal for my body to heat up?"

"But before, whenever it rained, your body would return to normal," Xia Xun challenged her. "Are you doing this on purpose, trying to make me worry?"

Just then, a somewhat familiar female voice called out.

"Brother Xun, are you there?"

Xia Xun turned and replied, "I'm down here."

Soon, Zhou Ying and her mother, Wu Shi, climbed down the ladder.

Xia Xun stood up to greet them warmly. "Auntie, Ying Ying, what brings you here?"

Zhou Ying glanced towards the dragon's body and said, "Actually, I needed to talk to you. My mother just came along with me."

"What is it?"

Zhou Ying stammered for a long time before finally revealing her purpose: she had come for dragon blood.

The family she was betrothed to was not from White Dragon Village. Although her fiancé's family had received offerings during this White Dragon Festival, offerings alone were not enough.

All the men in their village had drunk dragon blood. Drinking it would prevent illness and make their bodies stronger.

Zhou Ying wanted a bowl of dragon blood for her fiancé.

Xia Xun hesitated. He looked back at Zhou Ning and said to Zhou Ying, "We've already drawn a lot of blood today. Ning Ning is much weaker, and she's running a fever."

Zhou Ying frowned. "It's fine. Ning Ning recovers very quickly; she'll be fine by tomorrow. Since we've already drawn so much blood today, what's one more bowl? Besides, if we wait for the wound to heal before cutting it open again, wouldn't that just cause her more pain?"

Wu Shi, standing nearby, chimed in, "Ying Ying is right. Just make an exception, Xun. After all, Ning Ning only suffers for a few days a year. Nothing will happen to her."

Xia Xun hesitated for a long while before finally nodding.

Wu Shi quickly handed the prepared bowl to Xia Xun. Xia Xun took it and walked back to the dragon's side. He then peeled away the herbal paste covering a wound. The flesh beneath had already begun to heal. Seeing this, he drew a dagger and cut an incision into the flesh. Thick dragon blood dripped into the bowl.

While Xia Xun was drawing blood, Wu Shi and Zhou Ying approached Zhou Ning, feigning concern as they asked, "Ning Ning, how are you? Are you alright?"

Zhou Ning did not answer. Zhou Ying continued, "Ning Ning, don't be afraid. You only need to stay here for three more days, then you can go home. When you do, tell Mother what you want to eat, and she'll make sure you get a good recovery meal."

Wu Shi quickly nodded. "Yes, you'll be home soon. Just bear with it a little longer."

The scene before her made A Chan realize for the first time that ordinary people could also possess a chilling, terrifying side. They were truly frightening.

Soon, Xia Xun handed a bowl of dragon blood to Zhou Ying. Zhou Ying thanked Xia Xun, made him promise to keep it a secret, and then left the underground chamber with her mother.

As night deepened, Xia Xun left Zhou Ning in the underground chamber and returned aboveground alone.

He wasn't worried that Zhou Ning could destroy the formation here; these red threads would harm the dragon's soul. She had tried many times before and failed.

After Xia Xun ascended, the entrance to the underground chamber was closed, followed by the sound of a lock clicking into place.

At that moment, Zhou Ning, who had been as still as a wooden figure, turned her head towards A Chan's direction. She parted her lips and uttered three words: "You're here..."