Cataclysm Chapter 103: The Dragon’s Prison 01

Chapter 103: The Dragon’s Prison 01

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

After soaking in the hot springs and having dinner, Chen Yang and the others went for massages. By the time they returned to the hotel, it was already past 10 o’clock. During this time, there was still no word from Kou Xuanling or Lu Xiuzhi. Meanwhile, Zhang Qiudao received a link from Mao Xiaoli on his way back. When he clicked on it, he discovered that a collapse had occurred in the old shopping street at the foot of Shiyan Mountain. Someone had taken a blurry photo of an unnamed hero who had been rescuing people at the scene. Due to some reasons, the photo quality was poor, making it unclear.

Mao Xiaoli: [Old Kou?]

Zhang Qiudao recognized Kou Xuanling in the photo and replied: [It should be.] He then shared the news with everyone, saying, “I wonder if he’s injured.”

Chen Yang asked, “If Lu Xiuzhi is with him, Old Kou should be fine. But we still can’t reach them?”

“The phone rings, but no one’s answering,” Zhang Qiudao said.

Big Fatty, lounging with his legs crossed, glanced at Kui Xuan, who was soundly asleep in Ji Jiang’s arms, and the doll cuddled up against Chen Yang, sleeping peacefully. With the tone of someone who’s been through it, he said, “In these kinds of situations, it’s usually when you’ve faced death in a split second and suddenly realize how important the other person is. So, there’s the spark, and they rush to a nearby hotel for a passionate night of combat.”

Chen Yang replied, “That’s filthy.” Everyone else in the room frowned at him.

Big Fatty shrugged. “Otherwise, they could have had a candlelit chat?”

The group fell silent, suddenly thinking that this was more Kou Xuanling and Lu Xiuzhi’s style, as they weren’t strangers to candlelit talks.

Chen Yang remarked, “Spiritual communication is far more enjoyable than physical communication. Fatty, don’t be so shallow.”

Big Fatty, a true cynic, leaned back, resigned to the hopelessness of his life. He swore with his bald head that any man with normal physiology who didn’t engage in physical combat in such a situation had to be an idiot.

Back at the hotel, the manager came over with excitement, saying, “I was waiting for you. Master, the charm you gave us worked wonders. Following the instructions from this young Tianshi, we placed the charm in a hidden corner of the hotel. Today, everything went smoothly, and we narrowly avoided a major disaster. Our customer base is stable. And remember the man who was killed by the marble chandelier a few days ago? The police found out he had been severely mentally disturbed and had actually intended to kill his girlfriend that day. But the problem was, his girlfriend had died in a car accident a month ago. He had mistakenly thought another woman was her. If he hadn’t been killed by the chandelier, he might have harmed someone else. After hearing this, we immediately clarified the situation, so now our marble chandelier is humorously called the ‘Justice Chandelier.'”

Chen Yang chuckled as he walked, “That’s good. But if there are issues with the hotel’s facilities, you should still check them carefully.”

“Speaking of this, I’m even more grateful for your reminder. I had workers come to inspect today, but I pretended to be a regular hotel staff member and secretly observed them. I found that they didn’t inspect properly at all. When they checked the chandelier, they were chatting and only took a quick look before saying it was safe. They were also negligent with the elevator, room safety equipment, and the bathroom facilities. After checking myself, I found out that someone had been pocketing the money and hiring a bunch of unqualified people to maintain the hotel’s safety!” The manager became increasingly angry. “They’re clearly making money off of people’s lives!”

Chen Yang replied, “It’s better to cut losses early than to have a safety incident with no chance of recovery. Congratulations on your business thriving.”

Hearing this, the manager was overjoyed. To him, Chen Yang was a capable Tianshi, and his words brought good fortune. Just hearing his lucky words made him feel more confident and even happier. “I won’t take up more of your time. I’ll have someone bring fresh fruit to your rooms later. It’s on me, as a thank you.”

“Thank you,” Chen Yang replied.

After the hotel manager left, Kui Xuan rubbed her eyes and woke up in Ji Jiang’s arms. “Are there any fruits to eat?”

Ji Jiang pressed her small belly and replied, “Only digestive tablets.” Kui Xuan pouted unhappily, twisted around, and clung to Chen Yang for a hug.

Chen Yang took her into his arms and said, “You ate too much tonight; you can’t eat more. By the way, how’s Kui Xuan’s digestive system? Does she really need some digestive tablets?” Feijiangs generally had poor digestion, and he wasn’t sure if eating too much human food would affect Kui Xuan.

Ji Jiang hesitated and said, “It seems pretty good. Plus, she’s starting to gain weight and grow taller.”

“Is she really gaining weight?” Chen Yang had thought that the talk of Kui Xuan getting fat from the Ma Shanfeng couple was just an exaggeration. He hadn’t expected it to be true. Not only had she gained weight, but apparently, she’d grown taller, too. He placed Kui Xuan on the ground, measured her height, and said, “Her face does look rounder, but I don’t see much difference in her height.”

Ji Jiang replied, “She’s only grown two centimeters; it’s not noticeable to the eye.”

“Feijiangs can grow taller?” Chen Yang asked Du Shuo, puzzled.

“The jiangshi blood suppresses their physical development,” Du Shuo explained. “Her jiangshi blood was replaced with human blood, so her body started to grow again.” He sounded a bit surprised himself. “This hasn’t happened before. I didn’t expect growth to be possible. If that’s the case, she might be able to live through life, aging, sickness, and death like a human in the mortal world. The only question is what will happen once the human blood replacement stops.”

Chen Yang happily hugged Kui Xuan and said, “So Kui Xuan can keep her identity in the mortal world until she’s old? That’s great!”

The others were also happy for Kui Xuan. They had initially thought she could only stay in the mortal world for four or five years. In two or three years, they could explain it away as lack of development, but in ten or twenty years, it would become impossible to explain.

Just then, Ma Shanfeng’s phone suddenly rang. He checked and saw that it was a message from the Daoist exchange conference. “It’s a congratulatory message saying we passed the ‘roadblock.’”

Zhang Qiudao asked, “When did we encounter the disaster that The Mortality Meter mentioned?” As far as he remembered, only Kou Xuanling and Zheng Xiaoyu’s group had encountered disasters. The rest of them hadn’t.

Ma Shanfeng shook his head. “I’m not sure, but they wouldn’t make a mistake. We did pass the ‘roadblock.’ That means the spirit god that gained consciousness has already perished.”

Chen Yang instinctively looked at Du Shuo. “If a spirit god doesn’t encounter bloodshed within a certain time, its consciousness weakens. Its repeated failed attempts to harm people must have led to its eventual destruction. The road collapse that Old Kou encountered, and the dangers we weren’t aware of, probably broke the spirit god. Either way, it’s good that no one else died.” He smiled and added, “Everyone, go back and get some rest. We’re heading to the next city tomorrow.”

Everyone went to their rooms to sleep. Chen Yang also returned to his room and collapsed onto the bed, realizing how exhausted he was. As soon as he closed his eyes, he started dozing off. When he felt Du Shuo lying down beside him, he reached for his sleeve and pulled Du Shuo’s entire arm into his embrace, groggily asking, “When we were in the hot springs tonight, did something unexpected happen?”

Du Shuo pulled up the blanket and answered, “No, nothing happened.” Indeed, nothing had happened—it didn’t have time to.

Chen Yang believed him. “Oh,” he mumbled, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Kou Xuanling and Lu Xiuzhi, who had disappeared for an entire day and night, finally returned. Big Fatty lazily swayed its tail, circling around the two of them. Its sharp eyes quickly caught the red marks peeking out from under Kou Xuanling’s high collar and his occasional movement to rub his waist. Thrilled, Big Fatty rushed off to prove its suspicions.

Mindful of Kui Xuan and the two “kids,” Big Fatty decided to gossip quietly with others instead.

Not daring to gossip with Du Shuo, Big Fatty ran to Chen Yang instead. Chen Yang whispered, “This early in the morning, and your mind’s only on this? Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“I didn’t! I swear!” Big Fatty thumped its six layers of fat proudly as a guarantee.

Chen Yang and Zhang Qiudao exchanged knowing looks. After some quiet discussion, they decided not to let Kou Xuanling find out. A straight-laced guy like him was definitely thin-skinned, and if he knew, he’d probably die of embarrassment.

“What do I need to know?” Kou Xuanling curiously leaned over to ask. Early in the morning, these people were huddled together, whispering and acting all mysterious. Every so often, they’d flash him strange smiles, making his hair stand on end.

Big Fatty blurted out instinctively, “We’re just saying you shouldn’t know we’ve figured out you went to the wilds last night.”

Kou Xuanling’s face instantly turned crimson. He angrily scolded his gossiping colleagues, “Nonsense! We got a room!”

The group chimed in unison, “Ohhh, got a room!”

Lu Xiuzhi gave a couple of light coughs. Du Shuo, standing to the side, glanced at them with a strange look and remarked casually, “Not bad?”

Lu Xiuzhi thought for a moment and replied, “Very satisfying.”

Du Shuo’s gaze then shifted to Chen Yang, who was gleefully teasing Kou Xuanling with the others. His expression seemed thoughtful. Speaking of which, he and Chen Yang really hadn’t enjoyed a simple “just the two of us” moment in a long time. Booking a room every now and then did seem like it could add a little excitement.

 

 

 

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