Chapter 21: Escape
Talos got up, and the first thing he did was look down at his own scales.
His expression changed drastically in an instant.
The fatigue, relaxation, and lingering aftermath from moments ago vanished completely in the blink of an eye, replaced by a soul-deep terror.
He stared fixedly at the scales on his chest. On the deeply blue scales, which were clean enough to shine, there were a few tiny spots, and Talos's dragon eyes froze.
Talos opened his mouth then closed it, then closed it then opened it again; the entire dragon was on the verge of a mysophobia breakdown.
The next second, he started cleaning.
This wasn't just a casual wipe; this was a deep clean.
He lowered his body, stuck out his tongue, and meticulously licked his scales.
Starting from his chest, one scale after another, not a single one was spared. After licking, he would gently rub it once with his claw, repeatedly confirming that there were no traces left, no foreign smells. His tongue was preposterously flexible, able to burrow deep into the crevices of every scale, licking every corner spot until it was spotless. Every time he finished a small section, he would narrow his eyes to examine it closely. Only when it passed inspection would he move on to the next scale.
After licking his chest, he licked his belly.
He simply flipped over, belly facing upward, all four claws curled obediently, looking exactly like a giant turtle that had been flipped over and couldn't move. He twisted his neck into a strange angle, but it didn't affect his focus at all. He lowered his head and licked downward bit by bit. Every single belly scale was attended to until it was gleaming and smooth.
After licking his belly, he licked his foreclaws.
He raised his claws in front of his eyes and licked them joint by joint. He went over every nail crevice three times, then smeared saliva evenly over the area, finally using his claw to press down and smooth everything out. Left foreclaw, right foreclaw—the process was identical, the attitude the same. His obsessive-compulsive disorder was plainly on full display.
Livia lay quietly to the side, silently keeping time in her mind.
Minute 1: Talos focused on cleaning his left foreclaw.
Minute 5: He finally got to cleaning his right foreclaw.
Minute 12: He returned to the chest area.
Minute 20: He moved to the abdominal scales.
Minute 30: He started cleaning his hind legs. He lifted a hind leg high, licking all the way from the base of the thigh to the tip of the toe. Each leg took a quarter of an hour; each toe took exactly three minutes.
Minute 45: It was finally time for his most prized possession—his tail.
Livia just watched quietly.
Talos wrapped his entire body around his tail, moving inch by inch from the base toward the tip. His expression was focused, his movements gentle. Occasionally, he would pause to feel the smoothness with his claw. His devout and earnest appearance was even more persistent than that of the girls in the department stores in his previous life meticulously refining their makeup in front of a mirror.
The tip of his tail trembled slightly, not from nervousness, but from the comfort of his mysophobia being satisfied.
Minute 97: The cleaning area finally extended to his back.
His body was twisted as if practicing advanced yoga. His claws reached desperately backward, his tongue stretched as far back as possible. His face was slightly flushed from the effort. The muscles beneath his scales were taut, yet he still refused to stop, as persistent as if he were completing a sacred and undisturbed ritual.
Livia slowly and silently got up.
Talos didn't notice her at all.
His back was to her, immersed in his own world of cleaning, emitting a faint, contented purring sound from his throat, like a large cat that had just been thoroughly pampered.
And his pile of treasure was not far away.
Gold coins, gems, and magical equipment were piled into a glittering small mountain, dazzling his dragon eyes under the green light of the luminous pearls. At the very top of the treasure pile, the fist-sized ruby was particularly striking, radiating an eerie red glow in the green light.
Livia took a deep breath, steadying her heartbeat.
She gently opened her mouth and spat out a palm-sized piece of pitch-black stone, its surface covered in dense, fine runes.
This was an illusion rune stone she had prepared long ago, carved from the volcanic rock of her own volcano. She had carved it according to the system blueprint for three days, scrapping seven stones before succeeding. Once activated by injecting Dragon Breath, it could create the illusion that the treasure was untouched, lasting for a full three hours.
She used her claw to firmly wedge the rune stone into a crack in the cave wall and gently injected a faint trace of Dragon Breath.
The runes flashed a dark red light, then immediately vanished completely.
An invisible wave gently spread out, firmly enveloping the entire treasure pile.
From the outside, the treasure pile still looked intact: mountains of gold coins, scattered jewels, weapons stuck in the center, and the ruby still glowing at the top—exactly the same as before.
But under the illusion, the real treasure could now be safely taken.
Livia moved as lightly as a shadow, silently approaching the treasure pile. With her tail, she flexibly and precisely coiled up the most valuable parts:
Fist-sized, top-quality rubies and sapphires;
Jewel-encrusted sword hilts and enchanted weapons glowing with magical blue light;
A heavy bag of priceless Orichalcum;
And the pair of luminous pearls that Talos had arranged.
She firmly tucked everything into the interlayer beneath her scales, wedging it tightly and securely so it wouldn't easily fall out.
After finishing everything, she turned and walked silently toward the cave entrance.
Before leaving, she glanced back.
Talos was still cleaning his back.
Time elapsed: Minute 147.
He was struggling to lick the area between his shoulder blades, his tongue stretched extremely long, his face showing an expression of intoxication and focus, completely immersed in the satisfaction of his obsessive cleaning.
Livia no longer lingered and moved lightly up the passage.
The passage was dim, with only a faint glimmer emanating from the crystal walls. Her paw pads were soft, landing silently, like a soundless red shadow.
About a quarter of an hour later, the light from the crack exit finally appeared ahead.
She quietly poked her head out and squeezed through the crack.
Outside, it was already evening. The sun hung low over the distant sand dunes, dyeing the sky a brilliant orange-red. The clouds looked like burning cotton, the dunes cast long shadows, and the wind whipped up fine crystal sand, refracting a multicolored glimmer.
She completely emerged from the crack and took a deep breath of the dry, warm desert air.
Immediately, she spread her wings and took flight.
Minute 148.
She flew in mid-air and looked back.
The boundless Crystal Desert spread out beneath her, the dunes like golden waves. The rock formation that housed the crystal lair had long since shrunk into an insignificant black speck.
Only she knew that below, a Blue Dragon was still self-forgetfully licking its scales.
Minute 149.
A string of absurd metaphors couldn't help but pop into Livia's mind:
Like a homeowner halfway through a shower, humming a tune while scrubbing their back, completely unaware that the house had been emptied;
Like someone engrossed in their phone while squatting on the toilet, only to look up and realize they were out of paper, trapped in a dilemma;
Like watching a show at its climax, only for the commercial break to end with the membership having expired.
She couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle, flapped her wings, and accelerated away.
Minute 150.
She continued flying forward, soaring over the Crystal Desert, the Gobi wasteland, and the scorched plains.
The land rushed backward beneath her feet—scorched rocks, dry riverbeds, and sparse drought-resistant plants flashed by. The sun sank lower and lower, and the horizon gradually turned deep purple.
In the distance, she saw the familiar volcano crater.
Then, the entire dragon froze abruptly.
Above the volcano crater, three familiar figures were perched in a row, looking eagerly in her direction with intense longing.
Livia: "..."
Crap, she had completely forgotten about these three.
She instantly hovered in the air.
The next second, the three dragons also saw her simultaneously and immediately flapped their wings, rushing toward her.
The Bronze Dragon took the lead, flapping its wings rapidly;
The Green Dragon followed closely behind, shouting from a distance;
The Water Dragon lagged slowly at the rear, still tightly clutching that coral mattress in its claws.
Heart-wrenching shouts instantly came from behind:
"Miss! Where are you going?!"
"We've been waiting for you for a whole half a month!"
"I even dried the mattress! It doesn't smell! I even soaked it in seawater!"
Livia didn't look back, flying wildly ahead.
While fleeing, she casually opened the system panel, clicked on [Mate Location], and scanned the surrounding five hundred kilometers.
The information for the three pursuers popped up in sequence.
She quickly scrolled down, and a new notification at the very bottom sent a chill down her spine:
[New Target Detected: Talos Thunderhowl (Mating Complete). Current Status: Scale cleaning finished, discovered treasure stolen. Emotional Assessment: Enraged. Tracking Status: Scent locked, currently in full pursuit. Estimated Arrival Time: Within 45 minutes.]
Livia stared at that line of text and fell silent for three seconds.
She abruptly turned back.
In the direction of the Crystal Desert, a blue figure shot into the sky, wings spread, electricity coiling around him, his aura ferocious as he rapidly approached this direction.
And ahead, the three dragons were also getting closer; she could almost clearly see their excited faces.
She hung in mid-air and opened the system map.
Within a five-hundred-kilometer radius, it was densely packed with red dots representing pursuers; there was not a single safe zone.
Livia took a deep breath, opened [Mate Location] again, and performed a full scan.
[Scan Complete. Matching individuals: 0.]
She stared at the cold '0' and remained silent for a long time.
Just then, a golden rare notification popped up from the system, the text itself glowing:
[Congratulations on achieving the Hidden Achievement: A Dragon's Pursuit of a Wife's Crematorium · Sequel]
[Achievement Reward: Special Skill — Scent Concealment]
[Description: Upon use, your aura will completely disappear, rendering all tracking methods ineffective. Duration: Permanent. Cooldown: None. Use now?]
Livia's pupils contracted.
Permanent?
She didn't hesitate for half a second and fiercely tapped [Use].
The next instant, her body began to turn transparent, then completely vanished into the air.
This wasn't simple invisibility; it was the complete disappearance of her scent, heat, Dragon Might, sense of presence—everything.
She looked down and couldn't see her claws; she raised her wings and couldn't see them. Her entire being had completely merged with the wind, the sky, and the air.
Below, the three pursuers whistled past.
Above, the enraged Blue Dragon Talos flashed by.
The four dragons brushed past each other, yet none of them noticed that suspended between them was a completely invisible Red Dragon.
As Talos flew past the spot where she was invisible, Livia could even clearly see the expression on his face—a mix of rage, anxiety, and a hint of bewilderment. He scanned everywhere with wide eyes, his nostrils constantly flaring as he frantically tracked scents, but he couldn't capture anything.
The several dragons flew closer and closer, finally meeting in mid-air.
The next moment—
"BOOM—!!!"
A chaotic battle immediately erupted.
The Bronze Dragon spat lightning, the Blue Dragon spat thunder. The two currents of electricity collided with a deafening crash, the white light blinding; the Green Dragon sprayed acid, causing Talos to roar and turn; the Water Dragon swept a column of water, making the Blue Dragon stagger.
The four dragons fought fiercely in the sky, scales flying, drops of dragon blood splashing. Roars, furious cries, and the sound of Dragon Breath explosions merged into one, becoming a chaotic pot of boiling dragon stew.
Livia watched silently for a moment.
Then, she silently turned around and flew toward her volcano crater.
This time, there was no tracking aura behind her.
But she didn't know that this chaos, started because of her, was far from over.
And the dragon egg that had just formed in her belly, along with this handful of hot potato treasure in her embrace, would bring her future troubles far greater than those posed by the four chasing dragons...