The exquisite dining cart was pushed over by Lucifer. It was an item he had specifically brought from home. The gilded dining cart was adorned with delicate tea sets and a plate of pastries, a meticulous preparation Lucifer always made when hosting guests.
The red tea in the gilded white porcelain teaware emitted steaming vapor. A light, elegant aroma wafted from the ruby-like liquid, a tea impeccable in both appearance and taste.
“Protecting Liliya?” Bai Cha took the teacup handed by Lucifer and took a gentle sip of the light tea. Her palate was rather delicate, and Lucifer always catered to her taste, preparing a cup of very light tea for her each time.
She appeared unhurried, even nonchalant, as if conducting business or perhaps indifferent. This made Korola even more uncertain.
He had, of course, heard the rumors about the Shadows, especially Bai Cha, but none of them were positive. Most spoke of ruthless methods, cold indifference, and a leader taken to the extreme of rationality.
“Yes, I can make a deal with you.” Korola leaned forward, his hands resting on the cool marble coffee table, his eyes suppressing anxiety and worry. “I know it’s not proper to casually ask you to do things, but I can give you all my power. Help me protect Liliya and our child.”
A smart person, he had come with a price. It was just that the condition was rather absurd.
“Korola, do you know what you’re saying? Give me your power?” Bai Cha narrowed her eyes dangerously, her calm gaze unreadable. “Korola… are you tired of living?”
A dragon’s power was divided into three cores, hidden respectively in the brain, heart, and spine. Apart from the brain, the destruction of either of the other two would severely injure a dragon. However, these cores would repair themselves as long as the brain remained intact. Otherwise, even if forcibly extracted from a dragon’s body, they would dissipate the moment they came into contact with air.
Therefore, the most direct way to kill a dragon was to destroy its brain.
There were only two methods to extract the cores. One was to melt the dragon’s entire body directly, using power to simultaneously envelop and compress the body, transforming it into a single core, much like how Bai Cha had melted those dragons with her blood that night.
Another method was for the dragon itself to voluntarily merge its three cores into one within its body and then extract it. Obtaining this fused core would grant the dragon’s complete power. However, this would render the core unable to provide energy to the body, meaning the dragon would gradually die over a period of time.
In fact, this situation often occurred when a dragon, at its wit’s end, gathered all its power to self-detonate. This three-point fusion could only be achieved when the dragon willed it.
However, no matter how one looked at it, it was a dead end. Dragons could not survive without their life cores, just as humans could not live without their hearts and brains.
“I… I have no other choice.” Korola’s expression was somewhat grim, his fists clenched in frustration. “I can feel that someone has already set their sights on me. That incident last time was definitely not a coincidence. My power is difficult to accept. If I’m subjected to inspection, I’ll be imprisoned for life. No dragon can accept that.”
Bai Cha nodded in understanding.
Evil power and divine power were two different forces. The appearance of divine power signified warmth and hope, while evil power was the opposite. Its corrosive ability and destructive power were immense, which was also one of the main reasons why evil dragons were hunted.
Whenever evil power appeared, many would become vigilant. Even if not killed, they would be closely monitored. If it weren’t for someone with Bai Cha’s special status, imprisonment for life would not be impossible.
“Give up your life, and you don’t want your wife and child anymore?” Bai Cha asked again. “Your wife lost her husband, and your child lost their father.”
“I had no other way. In my memory, I seem to have been sleeping all along. When I opened my eyes, I was lost. I didn’t know where I was,” Korola lowered his head and sighed sadly. “Later, I hid in the sea and occasionally came ashore to breathe.”
“And then you met Liliya,” Bai Cha interjected. She was too familiar with this plot; it was on TV every day.
“Ahem, yes, it might be a bit cliché, but it’s true.” Korola blushed slightly and scratched his head sheepishly. “She was truly beautiful. When I looked into her eyes, she wasn’t afraid of me. I secretly went to the ice rink to watch her, and she pulled me to skate with her. You know how much better a dragon’s physique is than a human’s, so their coach took me in.”
“We skated together, competed together, and won many awards. I was truly happy. The coach didn’t stop us from dating; they even funded our wedding at the ice rink. I was so happy.” As he spoke, Korola couldn’t hide his smile. “So, no matter what, I just want her to be well.”
“Let me ask a question.” Bai Cha looked at Korola, who was smiling radiantly, and twitched her lips. She interrupted him and asked her question: “During that time, did you feel anything strange?”
At Bai Cha’s words, Korola paused, his expression turning grim.
“For a while, I had a terrible headache and my mind was very chaotic. A voice kept calling me, and I became very irritable,” Korola frowned, but he clearly didn’t know the reason for this and even found it strange. “However, I had already met Liliya by then and only thought about how to see her every day. I thought it was just me feeling unwell and didn’t pay it much mind. After a while, the feeling of mental confusion disappeared.”
Bai Cha nodded thoughtfully.
She understood now. Korola was likely a dragon with a penchant for romance. Perhaps when infatuated, he had forcefully suppressed the interference and commands from outer space.
Hiss, is there such a thing as a dragon being a love-struck fool? Thinking about it, perhaps being a love-struck fool saved him.
“Another question, aren’t Dragon Knights not allowed to be athletes?” Bai Cha still found it a bit strange.
“Because I didn’t resonate with Liliya,” Korola said a bit sheepishly. “Dragons can choose their resonance partners, but I knew Liliya wanted to be an athlete, so I didn’t resonate with her.”
As for him, human instruments could not detect the difference between a dragon transformed into a human and an ordinary human for the time being. They could only detect changes in the Dragon Knight’s physical strength and energy fluctuations. Dragon control abilities were relatively stronger, and ordinary instruments could not detect them.
“What are your plans?” Bai Cha asked.
She could not possibly come forward to protect Korola. She was a registered personnel, specialized in eliminating dissidents for the country. To protect an evil dragon in front of so many countries, even if she didn’t care about her reputation, China did.
“I want to participate in one last figure skating competition with her. I can survive for a while after the core leaves my body,” Korola said earnestly. “Then, I just want you to testify that Liliya was deceived by an evil dragon and that she is an ordinary person, so she won’t be held accountable.”
Bai Cha shook her head. “I’m afraid it won’t be that smooth.”
“However, it’s not impossible,” Bai Cha said, as if remembering something. She stood up and sat beside Korola, a playful smile on her face. “However…”
“Bang!”
The door was suddenly flung open. Not only Bai Cha and Korola, who were in conversation, but even Lucifer, who was pouring water, flinched. Before they could even see what had happened, a golden figure darted in and wrapped an arm around Bai Cha’s neck.
“Xiao Bai! What’s going on!” Mo Ziye had been restless since he saw Bai Cha last night.
Bai Cha’s bloodthirsty appearance that night, his father’s stern expression and words, and the nagging of the elders. And then Bai Cha had taken leave today and wasn’t in the dormitory.
The sudden turn of events caught Mo Ziye off guard. Even the teacher noticed Mo Ziye’s unusual state and told him to rest. When he finally heard that Bai Cha had returned to the dormitory, Mo Ziye rushed over immediately. However, upon pushing the door open, he saw Bai Cha sitting on a sofa with a handsome man, sitting so close.
How could this be! Although this guy was taller than him, in terms of looks, he was definitely superior!
Mo Ziye immediately became displeased. He didn’t care about his shyness. Overcome with jealousy, he directly clung to Bai Cha’s neck.
“Xiao Bai! Although you haven’t accepted my confession, you can’t just get together with someone else so easily!” Mo Ziye said with great sorrow.
“Ziye! Why are you running so fast, wait for me… huh?” Michael followed Mo Ziye into the room and froze as soon as he entered.
Beside them, Lucifer was smiling menacingly, about to pull Mo Ziye off Bai Cha. Bai Cha looked cold, Mo Ziye looked mournful, hugging Bai Cha’s neck, while Korola looked utterly confused.
And Cang Liu stood not far away, looking bewildered.
“A love quadrangle?” Michael fell silent for a long moment and said something astonishing.
Bai Cha: “……”
Cang Liu: “……”
Korola: “?”
Lucifer was the first to react. He touched Mo Ziye’s neck and waist twice, and Mo Ziye’s limbs immediately went soft. Lucifer directly grabbed him by the collar, pulled him off Bai Cha, and threw him aside.
Bai Cha held her forehead in a headache.
She had never felt so speechless in her life. After meeting Mo Ziye, she felt like this wasn’t the first time he had caused such a startling misunderstanding. She now truly suspected that Mo Ziye had some blood relation with some black and white animals.
“I was discussing work.” Bai Cha said speechlessly, giving Mo Ziye a look.
“Ah? Work?” Sensing the awkward atmosphere in the room, Mo Ziye could only laugh dryly and scratch his cheek, explaining with a forced smile, “I was just too excited to see Xiao Bai return…”
“Is this, your boyfriend?” Korola was a bit bewildered. He hadn’t fully processed the inexplicable situation and looked at the people who had suddenly appeared in the room, feeling somewhat at a loss.
“No!”
“Impossible!”
Cang Liu and Lucifer spoke almost in unison, startling Bai Cha and Korola again.
“I’m pursuing her!” Before Bai Cha could speak, Mo Ziye quickly explained, “We are friends now, and I will work hard to win her over!”
Bai Cha was speechless. Mo Ziye’s words were truly straightforward.
“Forget it, we’ll talk about it next time.” Bai Cha sighed, stood up, and pushed Korola towards the door. “Don’t threaten to die at every turn. I have other ways.”
Although he didn’t know what had suddenly happened, Korola wisely nodded and left. In China, he only knew Lucifer and Bai Cha.
However, that was enough.
The moment Lucifer spoke his name, Korola knew he hadn’t come in vain. Even though countless years had passed, their former king still remembered the names of all those who had followed him.
Even after enduring many setbacks and hardships, Korola knew that he was their faith.
The one who once dared to face the gods, their king.
Korola walked far away. When he looked back, he could only vaguely see several figures in the room, caught in a chaotic scene.
Beside the woman as pure as the moon, there was a gentle figure, as if refining jade and carving wood, yet her presence did not conflict with the magnificent and domineering aura of the king from tens of thousands of years ago.
It seemed like a dream, as if the grand uprising had happened only yesterday.
But they were no longer by his side, and he was no longer the emperor ruling the world. Everything, in the end, was no longer as it once was.