The two flood dragon heads stood frozen in place, their vertical pupils filled with utter shock as their worldviews collapsed!
The left head was the first to react. She immediately leaned in to act cute, rubbing her horns against the web of Shen Qingci's thumb.
The right head quickly followed suit. The two heads pressed against the back of her hand, one on the left and one on the right. Their whiskers drooped limply as they did their absolute best to look pitiful.
Shen Qingci looked down at them for a long while, suppressing a laugh.
The black-scaled cloud flood dragon species had truly put all their points into the wrong skill tree. Their combat power was maxed out, but they hadn't put a single point into their looks.
With their two heads squished together and rubbing against her, their whiskers tangled like twisted dough. They looked exactly like two giant black loaches, hilariously ugly.
She let the two flood dragons rub against her for quite a while.
Others might be fooled by the docile act of this double-headed Soul Transformation flood dragon, but Shen Qingci saw right through it.
Possessing the dragon bloodline and born with two heads and two cores, their spiritual energy was far greater than that of ordinary Soul Transformation cultivators. They had almost no rivals among those of the same rank.
A creature like this was wild to the bone; they wouldn't easily bow and submit to a hidden great family.
Trying this hard to act cute and play the victim meant they definitely had a guilty conscience.
Shen Qingci pressed down firmly on the base of the left head's horn.
“Out with it. What kind of wicked deed did you actually commit back then to make my aunt chase and thrash you for half a year?”
The two flood dragons instantly froze.
Oh no, we're about to lose our meal ticket.
The left head tried to shrink back but was held fast by her grip on its horn. The right head turned away, its whiskers nervously curling into tiny loops. It was blindingly obvious that something was fishy.
“Please be fair, Eldest Young Lady... We just... made a small mistake,” the right head whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
“Speak.”
Seeing that they couldn't bluff their way out, the left head spilled everything in one breath.
“It was half a year ago. We had just woken up from our meditative trance and were starving. We flew out to find food, and after flying about a hundred miles to the south, we smelled an incredibly fragrant scent at Falling Star Gorge.”
“What scent?”
“Dragon-saliva alfalfa,” the right head chimed in.
“An Earth-grade Mid-rank spiritual plant. It has a miraculous nourishing effect on a flood dragon's meridians. It was growing on the cliffs of Falling Star Gorge, and the scent wafted out of the canyon, making our mouths water like crazy.”
Shen Qingci's brow twitched slightly.
She had heard of dragon-saliva alfalfa. This type of spiritual plant had a very troublesome characteristic.
No storage artifact could hold it, and even Earth-grade magical artifacts designed to store living things were useless.
Once it was removed from its native soil, it would wither immediately, and its medicinal efficacy would disperse. It had to be dug up and transplanted on the spot along with red-sun soil.
“And then?”
“The alfalfa was growing on the cliff...” the right head added in a small voice. “But when we flew down, we realized the Shen family's spirit-gathering flying vessel was parked in the gorge. It was piled high with hundreds of baskets of spiritual plants and spiritual ores...”
“We originally only wanted to pluck a single stalk of alfalfa...”
“But we couldn't help ourselves, so we just snatched it,” the left head grumbled, stiffening its neck. “The guards on the vessel came to stop us. We panicked, and with a sweep of our tail, we smashed two Mystic-grade High-rank flying vessels to pieces. We also injured five or six Nascent Soul cultivators before fleeing back to the cold pool with the alfalfa in our mouths.”
“We figured the cold pool was deep and hidden enough that no one would find us, and that would be the end of it.”
“You only injured a few?” Shen Qingci's expression grew cold.
“It really wasn't that bad! They just needed a few months to recover,” the left head pouted, unconvinced. “It was just a few Nascent Souls anyway. It's not like we killed them.”
Shen Tinglan leaned against the window and let out a cold snort.
“Consider yourselves lucky that you only caused injuries and no deaths. If anyone from the Shen family's merchant caravan had died, this Ancestor would already be using your heads as playballs.”
The two flood dragon heads shrank back simultaneously.
Shen Qingci nodded. “Indeed. My aunt's methods are still far too gentle.”
The two flood dragons were completely dumbfounded. They rubbed their eyes with their claws, their faces filled with utter disbelief.
They had originally thought Ancestor Tinglan was fierce enough, and that this successor of the Shen family would at least be softer-hearted.
Based on the popular storybooks they had read before, most disciples of great families couldn't withstand a spirit beast acting weak and begging for mercy; a few sweet words would usually reduce a major incident to a minor one.
As it turned out, this one was even more ruthless!!!
Her bone age was so young, and her experience should have been shallow—she was supposed to be easier to fool!!!
“No, no, that's not right!” The left head wriggled in anxiety, trying to use someone else as a shield. “That's not what Manager Shen Shun said.”
“Shen Shun?” Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow.
“The manager of the Shen family in Qinghe County who is always smiling,” the left head explained in a rush. “When we were first subdued and went to collect our monthly allowance, we casually asked him what the Eldest Young Lady was like.”
“He said the Eldest Young Lady is approachable, generous, kind, empathetic to her subordinates, and never harsh on anyone...” The right head counted on its claws. “He also said you respect the worthy, are benevolent and gentle... He praised you to high heaven!!!”
The left head stared at her with a deeply aggrieved look. “It was all rumors! You aren't gentle at all. You even think this wicked woman didn't beat us hard enough.”
Shen Qingci replied, “The kindness Shen Shun spoke of is reserved for the Shen family's own people who keep their heads down and behave themselves.”
“You are outsiders who caused trouble and robbed us. Do you think you deserve it?”
“The Shen family guards you two injured are still bedridden recovering. Two Mystic-grade flying vessels and an entire batch of spiritual ores and plants were completely destroyed, and the Shen family had to bear all the losses.”
“Do you think this debt can just be wiped clean?”
The two flood dragons instantly fell silent, drooping their heads and not daring to make a sound.
After a long while, they plucked up their courage and mumbled listlessly, “We've been blasted by array plates every single day for the past half year. Doesn't that count as punishment?”
“Now that we've submitted to become clan-protecting spirit beasts, you still want to bring up old scores?”
Shen Qingci didn't buy their self-pity. She reached out, lifted the flood dragon from her forearm, and weighed her in her palm.
“Getting thrashed is one thing, but submitting is another. The beating you took before doesn't cancel out the mess you made.”
“Since you plan to stay with the Shen family as clan-protecting spirit beasts, that wild nature of yours must be completely ground away.”
“If you see any natural treasures that make your mouths water in the future, will you dare to snatch them again???”
The two heads looked at each other. “We wouldn't dare. We'll just ignore our growling bellies.”
“Good.”
“As the successor of the Shen family, I do not have as good a temper as my aunt. Anyone who dares to provoke the Northern Region Shen Family will not meet a pleasant end...” Shen Qingci left the warning hanging.
Shen Tinglan suppressed a laugh to the side. Seeing her niece lecture the black-scaled cloud flood dragon, she didn't expose her act either.
The two heads didn't dare to continue acting cute. Sensibly, they darted toward the bow of the vessel.
They transformed back into their massive original forms and conjured chains. One end was fastened securely to the flying vessel, while the other was looped around themselves as they buried their heads and began pulling the vessel forward.
“Eldest Young Lady, Ancestor Tinglan, please sit tight. The Black-Scaled Cloud Flood Dragon Express is setting off for Cangwu County.”
The black-scaled cloud flood dragon dragged the flying vessel, breaking through the clouds. They crossed mountains and ridges along the way, and before long, they stepped into the territory of Cangwu County.
The Cangwu Mountain Range stretched for twenty thousand miles, with overlapping peaks and ridges shrouded in mist all year round.
The flying vessel wound its way through the mountain peaks. After nearly an hour, the black-scaled cloud flood dragon suddenly slowed down. Its two massive heads lifted together, letting out two deep, resonant roars toward the towering mountain directly ahead.
The roar reverberated outward, causing the mountain below to tremble slightly.
The illusion arrays on the surface parted to both sides, and the vines that had wrapped around the mountain for thousands of years rapidly retreated.
Deep within the mountain's belly, a city large enough to accommodate millions of people was fully revealed.
Rate on N.U.
