84: My things

Her voice trembled, but she was still holding out, "Making the great Dragon Clan bow... is impossible!"

Jiang Xun looked at her, his tone appreciative.

"Fine, you've got backbone!"

Then he raised his hand.

*Smack!*

The branch lashed against her wrist.

A long, thin red welt instantly appeared on her fair, tender skin.

Long Ninger let out an "ah," and her tears finally couldn't be held back, streaming down.

But she didn't beg for mercy.

She just gritted her teeth and glared at Jiang Xun, the stubbornness in her eyes not fading one bit.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

Long Ninger stared fixedly at Jiang Xun, tears still flowing down.

"Still crying, are you?"

Jiang Xun raised his hand and struck again.

*Smack!*

A second red welt overlapped the first.

Long Ninger let out a muffled groan, her body trembling slightly. She sniffled, her voice thick with a sob:

"Jiang Xun, you're just taking advantage of me being small to bully me..."

"When I grow up, I'll pin you down and whip you with an even more powerful whip!"

Hearing this, Jiang Xun laughed out of anger.

"Then I definitely have to take advantage of you being small right now." He added a bit more force to his hand.

"Let you know who's the boss."

*Smack! Smack! Smack!...*

He struck ten times in a row.

Every strike was controlled; it wouldn't actually damage her bones, but it was painful enough and left plenty of marks.

The ten red welts spread across Long Ninger's wrist, merging into one, looking like a red bracelet.

Jiang Xun originally thought that after five or six strikes at most, the little thing would soften up.

He didn't expect her to be so resilient.

He stopped and threw away the branch.

Long Ninger saw him throw away the branch and thought he was out of options, even forcing a smile.

Even though tears still hung in her eyes.

"Jiang Xun."

Her voice was raspy, "Even if you apologize now, I won't forgive you."

"I will always remember what you did to me today."

"Sooner or later, I'll make you pay it back!"

She clutched her swollen wrist, her large eyes glaring at Jiang Xun, filled with grievance and defiance.

Jiang Xun looked at her; it seemed threats or violence wouldn't subdue Long Ninger.

The Dragon Clan was naturally proud; the more he hit her, the more defiant she became.

Jiang Xun said, as if giving up:

"Then I'll just throw you away."

"Throw you far away so you can never find me again."

"In the future, if you want revenge, you'll only be able to do it in your dreams."

After speaking, he bent down, picked up Long Ninger again, turned around, and walked toward the door.

This time, he didn't stop.

One step, two steps, three steps... "No!!!"

Long Ninger screamed.

Jiang Xun's words seemed to have touched the thing she feared most in her heart.

She could handle anything, but the threat of leaving Jiang Xun sparked a massive panic within her.

"I won't seek revenge against you anymore."

She began to struggle desperately, her small hands clutching Jiang Xun's lapel, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Don't throw me away! I'll be obedient, okay?! I'll be obedient!!"

Jiang Xun didn't stop.

He walked to the courtyard entrance, raised his foot, and stepped over the threshold.

Right then.

Long Ninger completely broke down.

"Jiang Xun! Don't throw me away!!"

She began to wail, her tears like a burst dam:

"I'll be good... I'll listen to whatever you say! I really will be obedient!!"

This time, Long Ninger suddenly seemed like a different person.

She became very clingy toward Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun stopped.

He looked down at the sobbing little thing in his arms.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really! Really!" Long Ninger nodded vigorously, tears flying everywhere.

"Now."

Jiang Xun said, "Hold back your tears."

Long Ninger was stunned for a moment, then she actually started to hold them back.

She sniffled, trying hard to swallow her tears, and used her small hands to messily wipe her face, clearing away the remaining tears in her eyes.

Although her eyes were still red, she finally stopped crying.

[Ding! Task completed. Rewards have been distributed.]

"Good."

Jiang Xun carried her back, "Now, do as I said at the beginning."

Long Ninger closed her eyes, her small face tensed up.

After a few breaths, the pair of white jade-like dragon horns on her forehead slowly disappeared.

Her loose golden hair also began to turn ink-black, inch by inch, starting from the roots.

When she opened her eyes again, she looked like an ordinary human girl.

Black hair, black eyes, her skin fair, and her features as delicate as a porcelain doll.

Only her eyes remained amber.

Jiang Xun reached out and patted the top of her head.

Although the dragon horns were no longer visible, he could still feel that they hadn't disappeared when he touched her.

They were just invisible.

"This is my Dragon Clan's Illusion Technique," Long Ninger said softly, her tone full of grievance. "Ordinary people can't see through it... but you can still feel them when you touch."

Jiang Xun nodded.

"This is good enough."

He carried her back into the courtyard, sat on a stone stool, and placed her on his lap.

Long Ninger lowered her head slightly, her small hands unconsciously rubbing her swollen wrist.

Jiang Xun said, his voice softening, "Be obedient from now on, and I won't throw you away."

Long Ninger nodded without speaking.

After a while, she spoke softly:

"Then can I return to my original form in front of you?"

Jiang Xun was taken aback.

"Why?"

"The Illusion Technique consumes too much Spiritual Energy."

Long Ninger said, her voice getting smaller and smaller, "My current Spiritual Energy... isn't enough to maintain it for long."

She turned her head away, "Besides, I only promised you that I wouldn't let outsiders see me."

Long Ninger maintained a final bit of stubbornness.

"If those Mortals can't see my true face, it's not considered an offense to me."

"I won't make you gouge out their eyes anymore."

She looked up, her amber eyes looking at Jiang Xun wetly:

"And..."

"I only want to show my appearance to Jiang Xun from now on."

Jiang Xun's body stiffened.

He suddenly felt those words were very familiar, as if he and Yan Qingning had a similar conversation when they first entered Black Sand City.

He looked into Long Ninger's eyes, trying to find something in them.

But he found nothing.

He raised his hand and gently ruffled her hair.

"As you wish."

Long Ninger's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth finally curved into a small arc.

Although her wrist still hurt and her tears hadn't dried.

But she smiled.

"Jiang Xun, you said as long as I'm good, you'll never throw me away, is that true?"

Long Ninger added the word "forever" to her sentence.

Jiang Xun didn't think much of it and said casually, "It's true."

Since he knew how special Long Ninger was, he wouldn't just let her run around.

True Dragons had already gone extinct in the world.

Only hybrids with leftover Dragon Clan Bloodlines remained, but these were all called the Flood Dragon species.

Once Long Ninger was discovered, she would surely face capture and slaughter by various big shots in the Cultivation World.

Furthermore, with Long Ninger's personality, Jiang Xun was truly afraid she wouldn't even survive five hundred years.

"I will also stay by Jiang Xun's side forever."

Long Ninger grabbed one of Jiang Xun's hands, stuck out her little tongue, and gave it a gentle lick.

Jiang Xun was startled; he felt a very strange power in the spot she licked.

"What are you doing?"

He raised his hand; a small glistening patch remained on his wrist.

Long Ninger said, "I'm marking you with my scent, so from now on, you are my property."

"If other dragons smell it, they'll know you belong to me, Long Ninger."

Jiang Xun was stunned, then suddenly felt it didn't matter.

"Fine then!"

Anyway, you're the only dragon in this world.

There aren't any other dragons.

Who else could possibly smell it?