Chapter 437: Breaking the Shell

Bai Lang shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, but I don't think murder would be that terrible." He raised his hand, "I won't attack Draco Malfoy." Bai Lang glanced at Hermione Granger, "I swear." Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were all worried, especially Hermione pointing out the unwise nature of Hagrid keeping that dragon.

Bai Lang wouldn't try to persuade Hagrid; he was poking the little dragon with his finger, the dragon bit his finger, but to no avail, and Bai Lang pinched it and lifted it up. Hagrid took the hatchling and began preparing food for it. Bai Lang also commented, "The dragon's fine, but it would be even better if it were a true fire dragon."

Bai Lang was the first to take his leave; the trio was probably still trying to persuade Hagrid, Harry's relationship with Hagrid was unusual, so he should be able to convince him. Bai Lang thought it was no big deal—just raising a dragon; if Hagrid were smarter he could keep it in the Forbidden Forest—Bai Lang didn't think a dragon was any more dangerous than a three-headed dog.

Unfortunately the three-headed dog can't breathe fire, otherwise it would surely be more dangerous than this Norwegian Ridgeback dragon. Since Bai Lang promised Hermione not to act against Draco Malfoy, he truly wouldn't strike—after all, the dragon in the book had been sent away. Moreover, Draco Malfoy probably liked dragons, as his name suggests; if he didn't hate Harry Potter, he might not have reported it.

Draco Malfoy, though always wearing a strange smile beside Harry Potter and the others as if ready to expose them, said nothing. And Bai Lang, like the trio, went to Hagrid's almost every day to see the dragon he had named Nober. Of course, Bai Lang sometimes fed it for Hagrid; Hagrid was clearly fascinated by the dragon, not even performing his gamekeeper duties for a whole week.

The dragon's growth was absurd; in just one week it had tripled in size, almost as big as a medium‑sized dog, and its food had switched to whole boxes of dead rats. As a dragon, Nober's temperament was extremely ferocious; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley saw it clearly, while Hagrid was full of affection, thinking the dragon was pitifully weak.

Bai Lang could subdue the hatchling with one hand; even when it tried to bite him, Bai Lang would simply palm its head down—he didn't strike because Hagrid would be very reluctant. That was already impressive; a dragon's strength is great, and once it almost bit Ron, but Bai Lang saved him.

The trio kept urging Hagrid, and actually succeeded in persuading him to give the dragon to Ron's older brother—sending it to Romania to be raised. "Don't be sad, Hagrid, at least you still have Lu Wei," Bai Lang added, "Next time let's see if we can get a golden lion."

Bai Lang's remark surprised the trio as well, especially Hermione immediately pointing out that Bai Lang's action absolutely violated the Ministry of Magic's statutes, not only the British Ministry but also the International Confederation of Wizards' protection edicts, and that wherever he was he would be headed straight for a prison sentence.

Bai Lang raised both hands and laughed, "Just kidding, just kidding." He flicked two fingers as if marking punctuation.

The night the dragon was sent away, Bai Lang didn't show up, because his egg seemed to be undergoing a mutation. "Whoa, this thing is actually expanding?" pulling the egg from his satchel, Bai Lang saw it was at least a third larger than when he put it in.

The egg visibly kept growing, larger than the dragon egg Hagrid had obtained. Yet Hagrid, busy saying goodbye to his dragon with the trio, was unavailable for Bai Lang to find. So the guy hurriedly carried the egg through a secret passage into the Forbidden Forest, where he found a clearing bathed in moonlight, and unicorns glittered.

"Get out of the way, old master!" Bai Lang whispered, though it wasn't necessary— the unicorns had already spotted him, retreating quickly yet unwilling to go far. Unicorns are highly intelligent and very sensitive; they knew Bai Lang harbored no ill will, the little wizard was just being mischievous.

Bai Lang set the egg on the grass, which grew long and soft, tangled together like a cushion. The egg had swelled to about half a person's height, and Bai Lang sensed a cavity inside—meaning the egg was no longer fully occupied by its contents, but had extra space.

The egg trembled, shaking back and forth before the expansion halted. Bai Lang saw protrusions on the shell that shifted locations quickly, indicating a creature inside was trying to break out. He crouched, staring intently at the egg. Suddenly his body twitched, darting to the side, eyes sharply fixed on the depths of the Forbidden Forest; his posture lowered, his joints cracking. The unicorns had vanished, and the forest was dead silent.

Bai Lang felt his spine as if soaked in boiling water, his hair standing on end—this was a terrifying killing aura, not directed at him but the naturally emanating murderous energy was ferocious. Bai Lang said nothing as two distinct footfalls echoed from the Forbidden Forest.

"Aren't you going to help break that eggshell?" a deep, powerful voice asked, and the killing aura suddenly dissipated. In the moonlight a massive silhouette emerged from the shadows. It was a dwarf‑sized figure, barely shorter than Hagrid's nearly three‑meter‑tall half‑giant stature, with a lion‑snout wide mouth and extremely developed muscles; he wore only trousers and a huge fur mantle, and a gigantic X‑shaped cleaver was strapped to his back.

Bai Lang smelled a familiar scent, that of a warrior who, like him, roamed battlefields invincible, slaying thousands of troops, and beside the giant stood a woman who could not possibly be human—her beauty was strikingly unusual, her attire woven from exotic plants.

"If it can't struggle out, that means the creature inside the egg isn't strong enough to survive in this world," Bai Lang replied, without asking who the person was. "Right, sorry for the disturbance. We'll leave soon, my kindred," the giant said.

Bai Lang's pupils contracted instantly; before he could speak, the giant added, "Your … told me all this." He tapped his chest; Bai Lang wore Yu Yu at the same spot. "I don't know if your luck is good or bad, but it's the same as mine…"

The man stepped forward, "We'll leave right away, but before that—my friend, I have a small gift for you, a surprise from our unexpected meeting." He crouched, touching the egg, and a drop of blood appeared on his massive fingertip, falling onto the egg. The woman, though silent, placed a blackish object beside the egg.

A gale rose, the wind like a blade softening around Bai Lang before splitting away; the man vanished—replaced by a jet‑black behemoth nearly as tall as a tree, its lion‑like head bearing twisted massive horns, and a massive set of dragon wings unfurled from its sturdy upright torso. The woman had already mounted the beast; the creature leapt, spreading its wings and soaring with her through the sky, disappearing in an instant into a black rift.

Bai Lang said nothing, turning his head to stare at the egg, now turned red, its top already cracked…