Chapter 105: No Need to Be Too Gentle with You.

"Your hand...what's wrong?"

Ying Shixue didn't even glance at it, staring only at the blue flames surging deep within the lava pool. She said coldly, "It's nothing."

The old Dragon King suddenly spotted a ruffled phoenix feather caught in his snow-white robe. As if a thought struck him, most of his dragon body and soul slowly sank beneath the lava, letting out a heavy, helpless sigh.

"That child is on the side of the Heavenly Dao after all, and her stance differs from yours. You..."

"It's okay." Ying Shixue lowered her icy gaze, her breath as still as frost. "She's just a little phoenix; it's normal for her to have some pride."

...

The Undersea Divine Realm, completely enveloped by the dragon bone energy.

For several days, He Zhimo had carried Shang You on his back, exploring most of the waters. Returning to the Crystal Palace, he had memorized the routes and locations of some important guard posts.

Shang You didn't wallow in sorrow anymore. After a few days of adjusting to the new life, she'd gained a better understanding of her transformed dragon tail. For example, if she swung it correctly, she could reach incredible speeds, though it was very exhausting for a young cub like her.

She shared this with He Zhimo, who hadn't been willing to let her swim much, especially these past two days, constantly urging her to conserve her energy.

In the stillness of the night, the two cubs lurked in a corner behind the shell bed. Shang You clutched the night-shining pearl, a light source, while He Zhimo lay beside her, drawing a blueprint.

After Shang You reviewed the escape route that He Zhimo had secretly drawn, she understood what was going on. She traced her little finger from the long stretch of water at the palace gate marked on the blueprint to the connecting port at the other end, and whispered, "The distance here is the longest, brother. When the time comes, hold my hand tightly and I'll take you out."

He Zhimo nodded, pointed to the connecting port, and whispered, "Sister Shuihe will leave the barrier here after taking care of us every day. We'll lie in ambush here, and when Sister Shuihe opens the barrier, we'll sneak out behind her."

Shang You looked down at her little dragon tail and suddenly thought of another question, "But brother, if we really escape, where are we going to find mom?"

"Didn't Youyou say that the last time we saw mom was in Kunlun Mountain? Let's go there."

Shang You clenched her little hands and nodded vigorously, her thoughts becoming more resolute at this moment.

She and her brother would definitely escape from here, find mom, and meet her.

He Zhimo and Shang You rehearsed their escape plan several times, ensuring it would be foolproof in practice. When sleepiness set in, the two cubs hid their blueprints and carefully retreated to their shell beds for the night.

The next day, everything went according to plan.

He Zhimo and Shang You stayed in the Crystal Palace. After eating and drinking, Sister Water Crane came to lull the cubs to sleep. The two cubs obeyed, closing their eyes and covering themselves with blankets, feigning the sleep they had so many times simulated.

Believing the little princess to have fallen asleep, the Water Crane tidied up the palace before retreating through the palace gates, carrying the food box.

Just as the Water Crane slowly departed from the water corridor, the two cubs timed their exit from the side hall and immediately dived into the coral reef.

He Zhimo placed two adorable jellyfish he had caught earlier on his and Shang You's heads, disguising themselves as jellyfish.

Shang You immediately grasped her brother's hand, her tail twirling behind her as she began to gather energy. "Brother, I'm going to accelerate."

He Zhimo also clutched Shang You tightly, nodding his head to indicate his readiness.

The next second, a whoosh of water spray emanated from the coral, trailing swirls of foam. Shang You swiftly swung her short, pouty, translucent blue tail, sprinting along the path her brother had memorized.

Before the water crane arrived, the cubs reached the barrier and continued to lurk, pretending to be jellyfish swimming nearby, at the edge of the dark cavern.

When the water crane appeared, the barrier recognized the crane's raised palm print and automatically opened.

At the exact moment the crane entered the barrier, Shang You, hiding in the shadows, had already gathered enough energy in her tail. In a split second, Shang You and He Zhimo burst through the closing barrier, leading He Zhimo out in a flash.

...

deep within the dragon's cave.

The attendant, bearing brand new clothing as ordered by the king, arrived before reaching the Evil Water Pond, finding Shang Youqing unconscious at the edge of the water curtain. The backs of her hands were scratched by the rebounding ice, and several wounds were bleeding.

The attendant instinctively wanted to rush through the water curtain to help the little phoenix to her feet. Just as she was about to step in, the king's decree suddenly flashed through her mind. She put the things she had brought on the ground and hurried to the main hall.

The main hall door was closed, presumably the king was inside conferring some urgent matter.

The attendant noticed Elder Changyi outside the hall and hurried forward to tell him about the situation at the Dragon Cave. His expression shifted subtly, but he didn't say anything immediately, simply letting her in.

Thinking of the little phoenix still unconscious at the water curtain, the attendant anxiously glanced toward the closed hall door, but the king hadn't emerged.

The attendant couldn't help but run over to ask Elder Changyi, "Elder Changyi, have you told the king? She's injured again, and..."

"Yes, but the king is deploying defenses for the sea with the other leaders, so she might not be able to come out soon."

"Then can I enter the water curtain barrier first..."

"No," Elder Changyi shook his head slowly. "The king hasn't given such an order."

The attendant had no choice but to wait, his face growing increasingly worried.

An unknown amount of time passed before the palace gates finally opened.

First came a few leaders, and after a while, the snow-white robe finally appeared at the palace gates.

The attendant, not caring about anything else, hurried forward to reassure the king about the little phoenix's condition.

Ying Shixue calmly said, "I understand," and without asking the attendant to follow, she returned to the depths of the dragon's cave.

Just as the attendant had said, Shang Youqing collapsed at the edge of the water curtain, his hands crisscrossed with ice scratches, and even the marks of Shang Youqing's dragging legs and knees as he crawled from the ice bed to the water curtain could be seen.

Ying Shixue lowered his eyes for a few seconds, then silently destroyed the water curtain barrier in front of him.

He slowly picked up Shang Youqing with his dragon tail and returned to the ice bed.

When he put on her soft silk pajamas, Shang Youqing was still in a daze, severely injured by the cold current from the water curtain. She didn't know what kind of nightmare she had, but the half of her face pressed against his dragon scales was wet with tears.

She didn't cry, but just shivered with cold and curled up in his dragon tail, silently shedding tears, and the area around her eyes was burning red.

Even so, Ying Shixue didn't let her go.

The dragon tail wrapped around her tightly, and the cold breath released by the dragon scales soothed the wounds on the back of her hand that were cut by cold blades after being rebounded by the water curtain.

He listened indifferently as she snuggled in his dragon tail, repeating the word "kill" in a cold and vague voice...

When Shang Youqing woke up from the nightmare, Ying Shixue was still holding her wrists expressionlessly, checking if there were any other wounds on her hands.

Shang Youqing hadn't fully regained consciousness yet. He had just opened his wet eyes when he heard Ying Cixue's voice overhead.

"There's no need to be too gentle with you. Last time we made you bleed, I should have just let you crash into the water a few times. You like hurting yourself anyway."