Dragon Tamer

After some thought, Zhu Minglang decided to bring Fang Niannian along. She could help him find the ingredients he needed, and even some lower-tiered enhancement materials. After all, she was familiar with the attributes and tastes of his three dragons.

Of course, in public, Zhu Minglang wouldn’t let her get too close to him. Accompanying Li Yunzi this time was dangerous, and Fang Niannian couldn’t be involved.

“I certainly don’t want to be a little maid!”

“A little housekeeper, that’s a pretty high status.”

“I’ve seen some Dragon Shepherds, and most have large teams supporting them, even whole cities or families. Why are you so shabby?” Fang Niannian inquired.

“We’re slowly building up, aren’t we? If you join, you’ll be an elder of the Master of Dragon Shepherd, in charge of all the dragon food supplies!” Zhu Minglang said.

“When you put it like that, it does sound quite impressive,” Fang Niannian remarked.

“So, you agree?” Zhu Minglang laughed, knowing this little girl had felt aggrieved these past few days, so he spoke some kind words to comfort her.

“It’s not because of you, it’s because I like Little White and Big Clumsy Black!” Fang Niannian declared solemnly.

“Let me make myself clear, if you don’t do well, I will still replace you with someone more capable,” Zhu Minglang stated.

“Hmph, even if it’s a strange place, buying dragon food is just like shopping for groceries!” Fang Niannian declared confidently.

Zhu Minglang didn’t say anything more.

The food for dragons, some can only be obtained by farmers and mountain harvesters. Apart from buying it with money, Dragon Shepherds have basically no other way to get it.

Thus, the more dragons a Dragon Shepherd has, the larger their team tends to be. They have people specifically responsible for the dragons’ diet, procurement, raising Juvenile Spirits, managing finances, collecting taxes from towns, and seeking commissions and assignments…

Of course, these are things that usually happen when you have five or six dragons. Zhu Minglang currently had only three dragons, so hiring a little housekeeper would greatly ease his burden.

Clear ripples on the river, the flickering lights like little boats swaying in the charming night. Winter had long gone, and the women of Ancestral Dragon

City in their cloud-like gowns had become the most romantic scenery of River Light Street.

Modest yet vivacious, free-spirited, alluring, enchantingly graceful…

Purchasing a Night Wish Flower Lantern, writing down wishes never before revealed, and sending them along with the splendid lantern down the distant river, who at the end picked up one’s lantern? Perhaps the sympathetic river goddess, perhaps a man downstream unfamiliar with romance, or perhaps there is no end, like one’s heart unfound…

Each river lantern blooms its own small dream reflection amidst the flowing waves and their reflections. What are the wishes of the multitude?

The most intriguing thing, perhaps, is that everyone is different.

Zhu Minglang gazed at these river lanterns, slowly becoming entranced by them. Even having seen more bustling worlds, he feared that nothing was quite as precious as the tranquility and beauty before his eyes…

Was the Iron Hoof Army that Li Yunzi refused to halt just there to protect this small, present tranquility?

Zhu Minglang bought a lantern and also wrote down his own hopes.

“What did you write?” Fang Niannian leaned over, her crescent eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Peace and prosperity for all, ” replied Zhu Minglang indifferently.

“So cliché.”

“What did you write?” asked Zhu Minglang.

“I’m not showing you.”

“You’ve seen mine.”

“You didn’t hide it. Besides, yours is not a wish that can’t be seen by others.”

“So you’re saying you’ve written a secret that can’t be seen by others?” Zhu Minglang laughed heartily.

Fang Niannian brandished her little fists, ready to give anyone who dared to peek a clear warning with her ferocious posture!

Zhu Minglang wasn’t too curious. He looked up at the night sky, which still drizzled with fine rain, and as he did so, it seemed like the myriad lanterns on the river were mirrored in the sky, little sparks brightening the dense darkness!!

Zhu Minglang showed a hint of surprise, focusing more intently on the sight.

In an instant, a wave of fear without warning surged through him. Above Ancestral Dragon City-State, amidst the scattered rain, streams of flying sparks were slowly slicing through the darkness, illuminating and spreading the dense, fine rain that was previously only visible above River Street!

The rain was widespread, covering the sky of Ancestral Dragon City-State in a fine mist. Due to the sky’s sudden clarity, the rain appeared golden, delicate and dreamlike, visible from both the River Street and outside the State Wall of Ancestral Dragon City-State.

But what made the rain so brilliant, and the objects crossing the sky, why did they instill a fear deep in one’s soul? Was it because the eyes only saw the grandeur and beauty, while the subconscious associated it with an imminent terror, sending a shiver down one’s spine!!

“Stars falling in the night rain, heavens, look everyone!!”

“It really is stars falling from the sky dome, so dazzling! This is an auspicious sign, even the heavens are blessing our Ancestral Dragon City-State, bestowing fortune upon us!!”

“Wow, is there an artist here? Hurry, capture this rare spectacle of the sky!”

Amidst the River Light Street, where lanterns floated, the gasps of astonishment resembled the fervor of New Year celebrations. Such a celestial phenomenon had never been seen before; so breathtaking was its beauty that even the ordinary drizzle turned into golden fireworks that cast the Ancestral Dragon City-State in a light as resplendent and sacred as the Divine Palace…

“Spread out, everybody, spread out! Quick, move!” But just then, someone yelled at the top of their lungs.

This person was nothing like the others, infatuated and admiring; his face was fraught with shock and fear.

And this person was Zhu Minglang!

“Move away, they’re falling!

Zhu Minglang had already used his spiritual power, trying to drown out all the cries of joy and amazement, but still, he struggled to alert the delighted citizens of the Ancestral Dragon City-State of the impending terror…

The sky grew more and more brilliant, the night brighter than day, so dazzling one might call it resplendent, a sight unseen for decades.

“Sssssssssssssssssssssss-

Pink rain and golden dew began to turn into steam; intense heat vaporized them midair, creating thick clouds of obscuring mist.

The heat wave struck Ancestral Dragon City, gradually making the overly joyful population feel uncomfortable.

For a while, there was no wind. Then, in an instant, it became wildly tempestuous. Waves in the city’s river surged violently, engulfing countless lanterns.

Street stalls were overturned, unlaunched colorful lanterns scattered on the ground, and even those hung on the osmanthus trees were swept up; whether they ended up in disarray on the ground or caught on the eaves of houses.

Clothes billowed in disarray, intricately arranged hairstyles became disheveled, and from joy to panic, people began seeking shelter in shops, fleeing the raging atmosphere!

“Scatter, everyone, scatter!”

Zhu Minglang’s voice repeated over and over, but no one listened.

Finally, the sight that made Zhu Minglang’s blood run cold appeared. Within the rain-enshrouded skies above the Ancestral Dragon City-State, a massive Morning Stone, entangled with pink and golden fire, fell like a plummeting sun towards the Ancestral Dragon City-State, heading straight for the area near River Street!

The light was blinding, forcing eyes shut, and with a single loud bang, everyone’s hearing was temporarily deafened, their vision blinded, their heads spinning!

The city trembled, followed by a sky-high tidal wave that swept across, beginning at a riverside tavern, spreading flames and massive shockwaves, shattering tiles, collapsing buildings, upending streets, and sending clustered

crowds into a whirlwind of carnage…

These were not the auspicious signs the people had prayed for.

This was divine wrath, a punishment from the heavens!

Human beings were utterly insignificant in the face of such power, as if the city, built with countless years of wisdom, was equally powerless!

When people could hear and see again, the most bustling part of humanity had become half a charred purgatory.

From joy to shock and then to a collapse in terror, in just a brief span, the citizens who had come to see the lanterns at Ancestral Dragon City-State felt as though they had glimpsed the Ghost Gate, their souls flying, their spirits scattering.

Zhu Minglang shielded Fang Niannian behind him, covering her eyes so she would not see the Asura Hell a hundred meters ahead. He looked up and saw streaks of blazing fire tearing through the higher sky, arching across the long expanse of the sky, flying toward a distant place, unknown where they would fall.

But it was just one such streak, falling into the city, that brought untold grief and despair!

Zhu Minglang’s heart was in turmoil, and as he glared at the sky dome, his eyes filled with blood.

If somebody controlled this heavenly fire, they must be a demon!

The cries, the screams, the calls for loved ones all merged into one, as people forgot their own emotions amidst the falling fire, only awakening as if from a nightmare when surviving the calamity, remembering they should feel fear and sorrow, remembering to search for those who had come with them to see the lanterns; were they still alive?

Some fears can be avoided, some powers allow people time to flee, but this heavenly fire seemed to have already delivered its sentence. Children clung helplessly to their parents, and the parents huddled helplessly under the roofs, watching buildings flattened to the ground, they could only hold their children tight, unsure to what they should pray…

“Quick, disperse the crowd. If another heavenly fire falls by chance, there will be even more casualties!” Zhu Minglang saw the street overseer and called out to him.

The street overseer had completely lost his wits, but when he heard Zhu Minglang speak, an instinct for decency kickstarted him to inform the people, paralyzed with fear, to scatter.

The chaos and helplessness lasted who knows how long; even without any hovering heavenly fire, they struggled to escape the shadow of this deathly proclamation.

Gradually, the army appeared, faces equally etched with horror. They began to clear the Asura field, attempting to dig out some who were still alive.

Zhu Minglang and Fang Niannian were also driven away. In the face of such a catastrophe, they were powerless, at most they could help lost children find their way home, comforting their emotions.

The only relief was that no other heavenly fire fell that night.

But this panic would remain buried in people’s hearts for who knows how lengthy…