Chapter 682

February 4th, Geng-Xin Day.

Purple clouds floated above the mountain peaks, and faint golden light burst forth.

The accumulated snow on the roof tiles cracked and shifted, the faint sound of friction carrying far in the quiet morning.

Light shone through the paper, and in the hall, the Jiang Ta grabbed its companion's fur, kicked out wildly a few times, turned over, and continued to sleep.

Unlike the Grand Morning Assembly which starts before dawn, the sacrifice to Heaven and Earth naturally waits for the bright daylight when the sun is abundant.

Inner room.

A-Wei rested on the jade-quality bamboo tube, while the little Shen Dragon circled in front of the bronze mirror, dancing its body enchantingly.

One moment it posed as a majestic coiled dragon, the next as a flying dragon with claws dancing.

I wonder if it's a case of things turning into their opposites when they reach the extreme.

Ever since the Shen insect turned into the little Shen Dragon, it has become quite vain; whenever there is a mirror, it must lean in to take a few looks.

Liang Qu hadn't paid much attention at first; he got up, dressed, and washed, but as he brushed past the bronze mirror, his gaze suddenly froze.

Wait a minute.

Today's little Shen Dragon looks a bit different...

He scrutinized it for a long while.

"Where did those dragon horns come from?"

The little Shen Dragon was "posing and preening," full of various expressions, completely absorbed in self-admiration, and didn't notice Liang Qu reaching out from above his head with a large hand.

A pair of white jade dragon horns on its head shone brilliantly, majestic and peerless.

They were clearly not there when he saw it yesterday.

Liang Qu was curious; he reached out, pinched the dragon horns, and applied a little force.

Poof!

The dragon horns exploded into faint white smoke, slipping through his fingers.

The little Shen Dragon let out a cry, raised its claws to touch its bald head, and collapsed limply, as if its dream of becoming a dragon had been pricked.

Liang Qu chuckled.

He flicked his hand.

"Let's go, Third Prince!"

Third Prince.

The Shen insect's new name.

Since it had turned into a little Shen Dragon, calling it Fatty Insect was clearly no longer appropriate.

Liang Qu had originally wanted to call it "Third Crown Prince," like the Third Crown Prince of the East Sea Jade Dragon, but then he thought, what if he accidentally blurted it out while out and about and caused people to make a big fuss? So he changed it to Third Prince.

The little Shen Dragon flew out of his palm, opened its mouth to spit mist, manifested the dragon horns again, and then circled the edge of the jade belt at his waist, hiding beneath his clothes.

Wealth without returning home is like wearing silk robes in the dark.

Today was specifically for taking it out.

A small fisherman finding a little Shen-clan dragon monster as a companion is like a child holding gold in a busy market; although no one knows the little Shen Dragon's abilities, its appearance alone is enough to make people harbor thoughts of seizing it.

A few days ago, Liang Qu had heard that on Yanxie Street, young masters from noble families fought in public over a good-looking civet cat monster.

But for the youngest Hunting Tiger Martial Artist of the Great Shun Dynasty to possess one, this is a symbol of status and extraordinary fortune!

"A-Wei, I'm counting on you at home!"

A-Wei on the bamboo tube turned a circle and opened and closed its mouthparts.

At the beginning of the year, the days are counted; the first Xin day is called a Heavenly Auspicious Day.

In the southern suburbs of the Imperial Capital, the daylight was just right.

The snow on the roads had been cleaned away by the officials, revealing the yellowish-brown ridges of the fields.

On the square in front of the Agricultural Altar, the hundred officials gathered.

Following the eunuch's guidance, Liang Qu arrived at the square and stood with Meng Qiang and the others.

The time had not yet arrived, the atmosphere was relaxed, and everyone was chatting among themselves.

Liang Qu looked at Wang Chao: "How is your arm growing?"

"Not bad, but it itches, it itches unbearably, and sometimes it even brings a bit of pain." Wang Chao shook his shoulders; the state of his forearm couldn't be seen under the white gauze, but it was clearly a circle larger than before. "Every day it's like ants are drilling into the bones. It's fine during the day, but at night when I sleep, that feeling... I really want to smash the bone and use a knife to shave off a few pieces of flesh. It's just that as a Great Martial Artist, my energy is good; I haven't slept in three days."

Meng Qiang pondered: "Judging by your appearance, it will probably take another half a month to grow completely."

"No choice, I just have to endure it." Wang Chao said carelessly, "Half a month of pain and itching in exchange for a promotion, three great merits, and a body tempering breakthrough—many people would beg for it. Wait, Commandant Liang, your belt..."

Everyone's gaze shifted downward.

Seeing the lifelike white dragon coiled around Liang Qu's waist, half-hidden and half-revealed, everyone's eyes lit up.

There are true dragons in the world; naturally, they cannot be used as symbols for the Son of Heaven, but they are still a symbol of extraordinary power, like tigers or rhinoceroses, which many high-ranking generals have carved onto their armor and even belts.

Liang Qu lifted his clothes, supported his waist with both hands, and fully revealed the "belt" to everyone, drawing even more exclamations.

What a beautiful decoration!

The familiar Heavenly Feather Guards all stopped talking and gathered around to observe.

"Hiss, this dragon head, these dragon scales, these dragon claws..." Meng Qiang's heart was greatly moved. "Commandant Liang, where did you buy this? Which Heavenly Artisan made it? Introduce me. It's incredibly realistic; it must have cost a lot of silver, right?"

"Just for this craftsmanship, you couldn't get it for less than several thousand!" Wang Chao asserted.

"How does it look like it's alive?"

Li Bingzhong reached out and poked it; the little Shen Dragon coiled on the edge of the jade belt suddenly opened its eyes and fiercely scratched him with a claw.

This scene gave everyone a big fright.

"Damn, it's really alive!"

Li Bingzhong raised his hand, and faint white marks appeared.

The little Shen Dragon simply stopped pretending, extended its dragon claws, hooked onto Liang Qu's clothes, climbed up to his shoulder, tilted its head forty-five degrees to look at the sky, and acted like an arrogant little white dragon.

Everyone's gaze followed, deeply shocked.

This damn thing.

It's too handsome!

Liang Qu revealed the secret: "You can't buy it, you can't find it in the Heavenly Ship Chamber of Commerce, and no Heavenly Artisan can make it, unless they have the art of turning stones into gold and the dead into the living."

"Commandant Liang, this little beast is..."

Everyone was a young master from a noble family, and their knowledge was beyond that of ordinary people; naturally, they knew that what was in front of them couldn't be a true dragon, at most a pseudo-dragon with true dragon bloodline.

Perhaps it didn't even have dragon bloodline and just happened to look like one.

"Jianghuai Shen clan." Liang Qu followed his usual practice of pushing it onto an "old familiar monster." "I have a white ape friend in the Jianghuai Great Marsh who once gave me a fat white insect and told me to take good care of it. I raised it for half a year; the insect ate until full and slept until rested, and before I knew it, it spun a cocoon. Two days ago, it broke out of the cocoon and became like this."

After listening.

Jealousy!

Damn jealous!

"Do Shen dragons have horns?" Hua Qingdu asked.

"It put them on itself."

In public, Liang Qu didn't pop those fake dragon horns, leaving some vanity for the Third Prince.

Hua Qingdu revealed his eagle eyes and stared intently, indeed noticing some awkwardness at the base of the dragon horns.

The little Shen Dragon was a bit dissatisfied and raised its claws to cover its head.

"Can it speak? Monsters should be able to speak by now, right? The wolf monster in my house can."

"Not for the time being, no time to learn."

"Commandant Liang, teaching a monster to speak is not an easy task. How about this, I'll take a small loss; you lend it to me for a few days, and I'll have my wolf monster teach it. Before leaving the capital, I guarantee it will be taught properly—performing crosstalk, storytelling, or doggerel will be a piece of cake!"

"Your abacus beads are hitting my face."

"Does it have any abilities?"

Liang Qu had the little Shen Dragon perform the spitting of mist to create beasts.

Five or six little white dragons flew together, swallowing clouds and spitting mist, completely confirming the claim of the Shen clan.

Really good.

The more they looked, the more envious they became.

Martial artists love fierce beasts; many keep tigers or lions, and the bold ones keep exotic monsters. Those with connections and ability can even have monsters guard their homes, each one more majestic than the last. But compared to a Shen dragon, it's completely not in the same league!

The key is that it's so small; it can be taken anywhere, whether eating or watching a play!

"When it grows up, can it advance to Martial Saint?"

"Not necessarily." Meng Qiang shook his head. "If that were the case, wouldn't there have been hundreds of Shen dragons in the Shen clan back then? Why would it be an insect first and then a dragon? For the Shen clan to become a dragon, it's the same as human cultivation—one step at a time. It's just that nowadays, let alone becoming a monster, even Shen clan members who are Great Spirit Monsters are rare. Commandant Liang belongs to the lucky ones."

"I have long heard of Commandant Liang's title of 'Dragon Crossing the River'; it is well-deserved."

The young people's excitement attracted the attention of officials in the outer circle, who cast many glances.

Unfortunately, the excitement didn't last long.

Crack!

The whip tip exploded.

The Honglu Temple official cracked the whip.

(End of chapter)