Ryosuke reached out both hands, his fingers brushing Kozi’s slender arms—

Lord Sima Luan Tong sensed her trembling.

"You don’t need to do this for me…"

Ryosuke’s tone remained utterly flat.

"But… Neruru… Holy Dragon Lord! You *must* save her! Isn’t that why you took that mission?! Look!"

Kozi nervously pulled a contract crystal from her undergarments.

"What… How did *my* item end up with you?!"

Ryosuke instinctively felt danger.

"Eh~ No need to dwell on such things, haha!"

*[This concerns my chastity! How can I ignore it?! But… now’s not the time…]*

"Take me to my father…"

Ryosuke didn’t notice his own hands gripping Kozi’s arms tightly.

"It hurts… Holy Dragon Lord…"

Kozi’s face flushed crimson. She dared not—*could* not—resist the man before her.

"S-Sorry…"

Ryosuke slowly loosened his grip.

"Oh… Your Lordship is too kind… Ah! Never mind that! Let me take you there right away!"

Kozi yelped, hooking her arm through Ryosuke’s and dragging him toward a hidden stone hut.

Ryosuke didn’t resist. He merely shook his head with a wry smile. *This woman truly is one of a kind.*

Kozi pulled him straight to the hut. As she pushed the stone door open, a wave of icy air rushed out. Even Kozi, a Peak Dou King, had to summon a barrier against the chill.

Ryosuke stood unmoved.

His pupils locked onto a frail old man.

"Holy Dragon Lord, this bed is carved from millennium ice crystal. To contain the poison’s spread, we had to—"

Ryosuke seemed not to hear her.

His mind went blank.

He stared, dazed, at his father—the Apsen Giant—lying peacefully on a massive stone bed. Beside him lay a pale, bluish-tinged girl.

Two-thirds of Apsen’s body had withered from the Emerald Dragon’s breath. His once-mighty frame had shrunk, his skin a sickly blue, wrinkles carving deep trenches across his face. He looked like a man already halfway into his coffin.

"Holy Dragon Lord…"

Sensing the silver-haired youth’s distress, Kozi spoke softly.

"Tell me… what must I do…"

Hearing Ryosuke’s voice again, Kozi sighed in relief. She’d feared he might collapse under the shock.

"Well! Since Your Lordship consumed the Emerald Dragon’s core, normally you’d just need—"

"JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!"

Ryosuke roared. His usually dull eyes now blazed with fury.

"H-Holy Dragon Lord…"

Kozi flinched. The icy air around them turned glacial.

"SPEAK!!!"

Ryosuke’s roar shook the stone walls.

"Blood!"

Kozi blurted it out instinctively, her legs buckling as she collapsed to the floor. Her thin shoulders trembled.

A terrifying pressure crushed down from the silver-haired youth—

Like an eternal glacier.

"Blood, huh…"

Ryosuke muttered. His left hand shot up. His right palm flared with azure Battle Qi, forming a blade—

—and slashed across his left wrist’s artery without hesitation.

Crimson blood gushed out.

"Not like *that*!"

Kozi yelped, scrambling up. Purple Battle Qi wrapped around Ryosuke’s wrist, weaving into threads to stitch the wound—only for him to shove her away.

"If not this, then *what* do you want from me?!"

"Please… calm down…"

Kozi’s voice cracked. Ryosuke froze. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

He took a slow breath, tilting his head back. He stopped struggling, letting her mend his wound.

"…Sorry."

His apology was blunt, yet it filled Kozi with unexpected joy.

"It’s fine! Leave it to me, Holy Dragon Lord! Before training in Battle Qi, I was a doctor, you know! Heh… after all that happened… well…"

Her voice grew wistful.

*All that happened…*

Ryosuke sighed inwardly.

Everyone carries a past.

Everyone hides unspoken pain.

Their own story. Their own scars.

Only they truly understand…

And that’s why we crave someone to share the weight. To share the light.

"Didn’t know you were a doctor once."

Ryosuke’s tone softened.

"Hehe! Surprised?"

Kozi beamed, though her eyes still held shadows.

"From here on… I’m in your hands."

"Leave it to me!"

Inside the dim stone hut, only one massive bed stood.

Three figures lay upon it:

Neruru. Sima Liangjie. Apsen.

Ryosuke lay between them, arms outstretched, palms upturned.

Tubes pierced the veins of his wrists, their other ends connected to Neruru and Apsen.

Two crimson threads of blood flowed steadily through the tubes, feeding the girl and the old man.

"Is the Holy Dragon Lord really alright? Neruru’s condition isn’t critical yet… we could’ve waited…"

A young maiden sat cross-legged on the floor, watching the silver-haired youth with worry.

"It’s fine. Taking that dragon core was partly for her sake too…"

"Holy Dragon Lord…"

Unseen by anyone, the hut’s door cracked open.

As it silently closed again, a pretty maiden pressed against it, sliding to her knees.

"How… it really *is* him… Miss… what should I do… What should Xier do…"

She squeezed her eyes shut, tears spilling.

After a long moment, she rose unsteadily and walked away.

Her eyes, once bright, were hollow.

Time slipped like sand through fingers.

At dusk…

A lavish carriage rolled into Sicily City.

A golden-haired girl yanked aside the curtain, shouting at the old driver:

"Hey! Old Bolong! Are we there yet?!"

The driver beamed, twisting around with a fawning grin:

"Almost, almost! Patience, little Alice!"

"Don’t call me ‘little’! You filthy old pervert!"

*[Somewhere, a heart shattered into a thousand pieces.]*

As the old man turned to speak, the carriage horse jostled a vendor’s stall at the city gate.

"Hey! Watch where you’re going, old man! Pay for my goods!"

"…"

Inside the seaside stone hut, a silver-haired youth opened his eyes.

*Fell asleep again without realizing…*

*Hah… Guess I’m becoming just like Alpha…*

He smirked wryly, sitting up to check the two beside him.

Their faces had regained color. They’d be fine.

But the old man’s withered muscles… those would never heal.

A sharp ache pierced Ryosuke’s chest.

The hut door creaked open. The young maiden stepped in.

"Ah! Holy Dragon Lord, you’re awake… Eep! You shouldn’t move yet! You lost so much blood—rest first!"

"My body’s tougher than you think."

Ryosuke brushed past her expressionlessly, striding out.

"Where are you going, Your Lordship?!"

"To clear my head…"

The maiden blinked. Then—

"*Clear your head?!*"

At Sicily City’s gate, Bolong stood on the edge of eruption.

First scolded by a cute loli, now bullied by a street vendor.

*Is there no justice left in this world…*

*(Mantou: My setting never had justice to begin with!)*

Bolong leaped down from the carriage, his face colder than ice. The vendor rolled up his sleeves, fists raised.

A crowd gathered, eager for a show.

*Bolong vs. Street Vendor!*

Even Alice in the carriage leaned out excitedly—until a black-haired loli popped up beside her.

The crowd gasped. The golden-haired girl was a porcelain doll, but this black-haired beauty outshone her.

Her dewy eyes shimmered like they might spill tears any second. Her porcelain cheeks flushed pink, as if waiting for a lover.

A breath of fresh air swept through the onlookers. Even the vendor’s anger melted away.

"Master! Master!"

The black-haired loli called sweetly, hitching her skirt to jump down.

"Alpha! What are you doing?!" Alice cried after her.

Alpha—barefoot—darted through the crowd.

"I smell him! Alpha smells Master’s scent!"

She vanished into the throng. Alice hesitated only a second before leaping after her, her sapphire eyes alight with hope.

Bolong stood dumbfounded, too stunned to stop them.

He fished ten gold coins from his ragged pocket and tossed them at the vendor.

"Gratefully accept this compensation! Now… this old man has business to attend to. Time to visit an old friend… As for the young ones…" He chuckled. "Let them sort their own chaos."

The vendor stared at the coins. When he looked up, the old man was gone.

At Sicily City’s bustling gate, only one lavish carriage sat forlornly abandoned.