The sun hung high above Heaven Punishing City in the Black-Corner Region. A silver Heavenly Thunder Dragon streaked across the sky, a long crimson trail blazing in its wake. Two figures sat astride the giant dragon, one large, one small, both dressed in white, both watching the landscape blur beneath them, lost in the thrill of impossible speed.
The larger figure was Xiao Tian. The smaller was Zi Yan. As for why Yun Yun and the others hadn't come—the six of them were still sprawled unconscious in Xiao Tian's bed. When Zi Yan heard he was returning to his homeland, she had volunteered on the spot. Xiao Ling and Xiao Meng had been entrusted to their grandfather, a request Xiao Zhan had accepted with boundless enthusiasm. The bond between grandparents and grandchildren was sacred territory. Even though his granddaughters had yanked out a considerable portion of his beard, he savored every moment, practically spoiling them rotten.
The Heavenly Thunder Dragon's three gun-wings on each side spewed crimson energy, sonic booms cracking in their wake. Xiao Huiying maintained a protective barrier around Xiao Tian and Zi Yan, insulating them from the violent airflow.
"Hui Ying is so fast! Woohoo, we're taking off!" Zi Yan watched the cities and forests flash by below, her small face alight with excitement as she deployed a phrase she'd picked up from Xiao Tian's stories.
Xiao Tian gazed at her exhilarated expression, a gentle smile touching his lips. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. "Careful. What if you fell? I'll hold you. It's safer this way."
Zi Yan rolled her eyes but didn't push his hands away. Ever since she'd arrived in the Heaven Punishing Divine Realm, Xiao Tian had taken to hugging her for no apparent reason. And truth be told, she had come to love the feeling of being cared for. In the Heaven Punishing Divine Palace, she had found something she'd never experienced before—a sense of belonging. Everyone treated her like family, showering her with endless warmth and affection. She adored it here.
"I'm not a child. Why would I fall for your nonsense? I'm far older than you. You should be calling me Sister Zi Yan. Giggle giggle~" She reached back and pinched his face, watching it deform under her fingers, then let out a peal of bell-like laughter.
"Yes, yes, yes. You're absolutely right." Xiao Tian gazed at the thousand-year-old legal loli before him and let her do as she pleased with his face. He would exact his revenge later.
"I feel like I'm about to break through to Dou Huang soon. Don't forget—you promised to tell me about my true form." She had tired of playing and now rested her head against his chest.
"I will. The moment you break through, I'll tell you everything. And then I'll take you somewhere—a place that matters more to you than you can imagine." His tone had grown serious.
"Alright. It's a promise." She didn't press for details. Even if she asked, he wouldn't tell her. But she trusted Xiao Tian not to harm her, and she would find out when the time came.
The Heavenly Thunder Dragon tilted her head to glance at the two figures on her back. A faint smile touched her draconic features, tinged with a trace of envy but utterly free of jealousy. She belonged to her master, and her master doted on her constantly—even more than he doted on Zi Yan. She had even slept curled beside him many times. The only regret was that her master didn't treat her quite the same way he treated Sister Ya Fei and the others. He always said she needed to wait one more year.
---
In less than an hour, Xiao Huiying had carried them across the entire Black-Corner Great Plains and continued streaking toward the Jia Ma Empire. Zi Yan nudged Xiao Tian's chin with her head, her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and indignation, her voice trembling. "That's enough! You're impossible! If you bully me anymore, I'll bite you to death!"
The reason was simple. After Xiao Tian had embraced her, his hands had grown progressively bolder. One had slipped beneath her clothes and was now tracing slow, lazy circles on her belly.
He studied her shy, threatening expression but made no move to withdraw his hand. "How is this bullying? I only thought your belly might be chilled from the wind. I'm warming it for you. Getting a little closer. Don't go making baseless accusations."
Her face flushed even deeper. She glared at him. "Sister Cai Li was right. Your skin is thicker than a city wall! If you keep this up… if you keep this up, I'll really get angry. Hmph." But her threat carried no weight whatsoever. If she were honest, she quite liked the feeling of his hand on her belly. It was warm. Just as he said. *Ptui, ptui, ptui. What am I thinking? This big bad guy must be corrupting me.*
"Alright, alright. Seeing as my dear Miss Zi Yan is so cute and charming, I'll stop." Xiao Tian ceased stroking her soft belly. The moment the pleasant sensation vanished, Zi Yan's brow furrowed before she could stop it.
"I'm not yours. Hmph. Shameless." She crossed her arms, thought for a moment, then tilted her chin up with practiced arrogance. "But since you praised me so nicely, I'll reluctantly allow you a few more rubs. Only a few. No more." Xiao Tian's lips curved. She was clearly enjoying every second of it, yet she absolutely had to wrap it in tsundere excuses.
Xiao Huiying, overhearing their conversation from the front, couldn't suppress a quiet chuckle.
---
Another twenty minutes of flight passed atop the Heavenly Thunder Dragon.
"Mm~" Zi Yan's body suddenly trembled. She shot upright and, without a shred of hesitation, planted a kick squarely into Xiao Tian.
He looked at her, rubbing his nose. The sight of his hand at his face only incensed her further, and she delivered a second kick for good measure. Then she fled toward the front of the dragon. With a wave of her hand, a deep purple energy shield enveloped her.
Two minutes later, she reemerged. Her white two-piece mini-skirt had been replaced by a purple mid-length dress.
"Oh? Zi Yan, why did you change? Was the wind too strong for your other dress?" Xiao Huiying, sensing Zi Yan's Dou Qi, turned her head with genuine confusion.
"No. The previous dress got dirty. I changed." As she spoke, she shot Xiao Tian another searing glare. Her lips moved soundlessly, but he understood perfectly: *This is all your fault.*
Xiao Huiying didn't press further. She turned back and resumed piloting her body at breakneck speed.
Xiao Tian's face held a deeply amused smile. He studied Zi Yan's fierce expression with open delight and mimed her lip movements in return: *You gave your silent consent.*
"I'll bite you to death!" Zi Yan's face was on the verge of detonating. Wisps of steam practically rose from her head. She threw herself at Xiao Tian, opened her mouth wide, and sank her teeth into his arm. Even as she bit down, her mind was a frantic storm. *What kind of spell was I under earlier? How could I have given silent consent?*
"Ouch! That hurts! It hurts so much!" Xiao Tian didn't push her away. In fact, he relaxed his physical defenses just enough to give her a satisfying bite, and played along with a few theatrical yelps.
After a long while, she seemed to tire of biting. She released him, plopped down beside him with a huff, and turned her head away, her lips pursed in a pout of pure indignation.
Xiao Tian admired her expression, then glanced down at his arm. A perfect ring of teeth marks was imprinted there. At the sight, something stirred in his chest. He released a gentle pulse of Dou Qi, and Zi Yan's soft, boneless body drifted into his arms as if carried by an invisible current.