Dragon Tamer

Pear Blossom Gully’s Second Village lost its water source to contamination a week ago, and the entire village of four to five thousand people could only rely on some old wells for sustenance.

They sent people out daily to find clean water, yet it was often these very people who were most likely to fall prey to the Mourning Dragons.

Over at First Village, a team had been selected to travel to the Second Village just to bring a few buckets of clean water, but now they had been ambushed by Mourning Dragons, plunging the villagers deeper into panic.

“Our own village is still in a relatively good situation, we have water and food, and as long as we don’t go out recklessly, those Mourning Dragons wouldn’t dare to show themselves readily, after all, their cultivation base isn’t excessively high. However, the situation in the other villages is not optimistic at all, and I fear they won’t survive much longer.” The village leader expressed his deep concern, worried about their current predicament while also pondering a solution for the other villages.

“If you are willing to assist, it’s best to head to the Second Village to see for yourselves, and the most important thing is to get the drinking water there; otherwise, even if the Mourning Dragons are eliminated, many people might die of dehydration.”

“Then prepare some portable water bags for us, we’ll rush over there overnight,” Hu Bailing said.

“Oh, and take these gemstones with you as a token of our gratitude for you risking your lives to come here,” the village leader said.

He gestured with a wave, summoning a few women who carried embroidered bags woven by themselves, then poured out green, light blue, crystal yellow, and pinkish-white transparent gemstones one by one, tied them in a larger jewelry bag, and then handed it to Zhu Minglang.

Zhu Minglang was momentarily stunned, his hand moving involuntarily to accept this hefty bag filled with jewels.

“We panned these from the stream these past months, and they are all yours now. In the current circumstances, these things are useless to us. We only hope that you can help us through this difficult time in Pear Blossom Gully, and in the future, should you need anything, feel free to come and talk to us,” the old man said with remarkable generosity.

The large bag of gemstones was quite valuable and of very high quality.

Zhu Minglang had not anticipated that the remuneration for this rescue mission would be so generous, especially having just arrived at the first village and only slain three Mourning Dragons.

“They are rich in gemstones here, and the Di Clan Financial Group has always wanted to conduct long-term business with them, but they were not very willing. Master Zhu, if we go all out this time and Runyu City can later encompass the gemstone trade here, it will add a substantial annual income to our city,” Hu Bailing whispered to Zhu Minglang.

“Helping those in need is inherently my desire, gemstones or not, they are not that important,” Zhu Minglang said, yet he neatly tucked away the entire bag of gemstones.

Zhu Minglang didn’t feel right counting them in front of others.

At any rate, if the bag of gemstones could be sold at a good price, it would be worth two to three hundred thousand gold.

This was simply the first commission payment from the village chieftain…

Being able to save neighbors and receive gemstones, Zhu Minglang found this to be quite an appealing and rewarding proposition.

Towards the back of the village, the people of First Village had already prepared several plump sleeping bags, now hanging on the backs of several Beasts.

These Beasts were robust and extremely docile, making them very well suited for transporting goods through the mountains; however, without the protection of some powerful individuals, these Beasts could easily become prey to Demon Spirits and even more to the cunning and malicious Mourning Dragons.

“I’ll guide you,” said the young man wearing a beast fur hat.

“That’ll work, and there’s no need for anyone else to come, just take good care of the village,” Zhu Minglang nodded.

It was already night, and the forest was pitch black. With lives at stake, they couldn’t afford to delay any longer and continued en route to the Second Village of Pear Blossom Gully.

Along the way, there were several villages that had also been inhabited by villagers, but the people from these villages had all moved to walled villages for safety. Of course, some didn’t manage to evacuate in time, and one could see bloodstains all around the villages, with bones unburied by anyone.

The Beasts did not walk very fast, after all, they were burdened with hefty water bags.

Zhu Minglang sat on the back of one of the Beasts, glancing back at the Prophet, his niece by marriage, who looked a little pale.

Miss Xinghua clearly wasn’t suited for such long-distance sprinting, worried that she might catch a cold, Zhu Minglang fetched a blanket and wrapped her delicate body in it.

“Tired? How about you and Yu Suo wait for me in the First Village? I can go and deliver the water by myself,” Zhu Minglang said.

Li Xinghua shook her head, revealing a beautifully gentle smile and said, “I feel safer being with you all.”

“Did you use your prophecy skills?” Zhu Minglang looked into her eyes, which had a special light about them, as dazzling and enchanting as the starry sky.

“Many people will die,” Li Xinghua said softly.

“We do the best we can, don’t think too much,” Zhu Minglang reassured her.

The night was unusually quiet, without even the sound of insects or birds, let alone the low roar of wild animals; the area had become a mountain of deathly silence, as if every creature held its breath, in a state of self-preservation.

“Help… help!”

“Help… help!”

A low cry for help came from below the cliff, carrying numbness and despair, and yet it was continuous, as though hoping someone would hear it.

Was someone in danger out in the wild?

Could it be those people who had gone out to deliver water earlier?

Zhu Minglang looked in that direction and saw that the area was shrouded in a pitch-black night mist, surrounded by an abundance of vegetation, with vines, dead wood, and old trees swaying like sinister claws in the cold night.

“I heard someone calling for help; I’ll go take a look,” Zhu Minglang said.

At that moment, Li Xinghua grabbed Zhu Minglang’s hand, holding it a bit tighter.

Zhu Minglang could feel the coldness in her palm and sense her nervousness.

“Don’t go,” Li Xinghua shook her head, her exquisitely beautiful face conveying seriousness and gravity.

Zhu Minglang was somewhat puzzled. Didn’t the prophetess young lady have a compassionate heart? Why wouldn’t she save someone when it was so easy to lend a hand?

Zhu Minglang glanced at the reactions of the others.

It was strange; it seemed that aside from himself, no one else had heard that low and weak cry for help.

It was probably because his spiritual power perception was stronger.

“Danger?” Zhu Minglang asked.

Li Xinghua nodded.

In fact, Li Xinghua didn’t know what was happening there, nor could she hear the so-called cries for help.

All she knew was that Zhu Minglang shouldn’t go alone into that black night mist at the moment—it was dangerous!

Although her heart ached, she would rather not see Zhu Minglang come to harm.