RIIDMDR chapter 154

Nan Xu assumed he would end up in the East Sea after entering the formation. However, when he stepped inside, he saw two familiar faces.

Yun Yi, dressed in red, and Jing Yuan, dressed in black robes, sat on his left and right, respectively. The atmosphere was truly eerie. The small, square table seemed insufficient to contain their imposing presence. Nan Xu swallowed hard, sweeping his gaze over the two of them and subconsciously reaching for the cup in front of him.

He had just picked up the simple teacup when Yun Yi slammed his hand on the table. The wristband struck the surface with a dull thud, startling Nan Xu and nearly causing him to drop the teacup.

“Why are you giving me that look? If I hadn’t intervened, the little fish and shrimp of your South Sea would’ve been bullied by those arrogant scoundrels.”

Jing Yuan glanced at him, his expression utterly nonchalant and seemingly unaffected by Yun Yi’s emotions. “The affairs of the South Sea are none of your concern. My clan will handle them. If you have nothing better to do, why don’t you go southwest and help people farm and pick tea?”

“So you’re saying I’m meddling in other people’s business?” Yun Yi’s voice grew louder. Nan Xu glanced at him, feeling as if the tuft of red hair on his head were about to burst into flames.

“I didn’t say that,” Jingyuan said calmly. “You think you’re being righteous by intervening, but you don’t realize that your intervention has left nearly a hundred demons from the South Sea homeless. Why don’t you ask yourself: Is saving face for a moment more important than your livelihood for years to come?”

Yun Yi suddenly stood up, his eyes wide, and said, “That’s because your Azure Dragon Clan is useless, letting those petty scoundrels run rampant on your territory. If such a thing happened in our Northern Territory, they would be beaten to a pulp by my Golden Crow Clan. They would beg for mercy and never dare to offend us again.”

Yun Yi spoke with radiant pride and boundless arrogance. Nan Xu lowered his head to drink water and realized his cup was empty. He glanced at the teapot near Yun Yi’s hand and hesitated for two seconds.

At that moment, the teapot rose into the air—no, it was lifted by Jingyuan’s hand.

“The Azure Dragon Clan does indeed have some incompetent demons, but that’s none of your business. We, the Azure Dragon Clan, only guard the South Sea from invasion. We don’t concern ourselves with petty disputes.”

As he spoke, Jingyuan refilled Nan Xu’s cup with tea. His movements were elegant and composed, as if he weren’t at odds with Yun Yi.

Nanxu took a sip of the tea, but it was already cold. When he looked around again, the small demons near the tea stall had fled after sensing trouble. Even the tea stall owner, the pangolin demon, was nowhere to be seen, having abandoned his little stall entirely.

With no one to replace the hot tea, Nanxu could only finish the cold tea in his cup.

Speechless at Jing Yuan’s words, Yun Yi felt utterly humiliated by Jing Yuan’s composure. His loud outburst was truly embarrassing. Reluctantly, he sat down again, poured himself a cup of tea, gulped it down, and slammed his hand on the table, yelling, “Shopkeeper! Where have you been? The tea’s gone cold. Don’t you know how to change it?”

He was indeed taking out his anger on another demon. A moment later, a pangolin crawled out of the burrow and instantly transformed into human form. Looking old, either from age or fear, he trembled as he carried the thermos and brewed a fresh pot of tea, placing it on the table.

“P-please…please enjoy your tea,” he stammered.

Nan Xu was certain the stall owner was frightened. He smiled kindly and said, “It’s just a common squabble. Just focus on your business.”

The stall owner nodded, but his expression clearly showed disbelief. Everyone knew that Jingyuan, the Azure Dragon of the South Sea, and Yun Yi, of the Northern Border, were sworn enemies who fought every few days. The stall owner had heard that Jingyuan’s tail had recently been broken, perhaps by Yun Yi.

The stall owner’s gaze fell on Yun Yi, and he felt even more terrified at this thought. The Azure Dragon Clan was the guardian deity of the South Sea. If Jingyuan couldn’t even defeat him, then…

Nan Xu, of course, was unaware of the stall owner’s thoughts. He picked up the teapot, smiled, and poured tea for everyone.

“You just let it go unchecked, and the demons of the South Sea have no objections?” Yun Yi asked.

Jing Yuan took a sip of tea and calmly replied, “It’s been like this, generation after generation. They’ve grown accustomed to it.”

“So you just let those foreign demons run rampant and humiliate the lesser demons under your jurisdiction?” Yun Yi asked, somewhat incredulous.

Jing Yuan glanced at him. “As long as there is no large-scale spiritual loss, why worry?”

These words were truly cold. Yun Yi was speechless for a moment, then finally said, “Be careful. Your Azure Dragon Clan’s status could be threatened, and you won’t be able to amass wealth so recklessly.”

It was common knowledge that the Azure Dragons were greedy. Given the chance, they would seize any rare treasure; they especially loved using glittering, opulent items as decorations. Because the Azure Dragon Clan protected the South Sea, the demons willingly offered them gifts. But, to Yun Yi, giving those treasures to the Azure Dragon Clan and receiving such a response was disheartening, even to an outsider like himself.

“So what if our status is insecure? If the Azure Dragon Clan ever declines, the demons of the South Sea will have to learn to resist on their own,” said Jingyuan.

Upon hearing this, Nanxu looked at Jingyuan. Yunyi thought the Azure Dragon Clan was incompetent, but Nanxu knew Jingyuan’s illness, which had tormented him for over three thousand years and nearly drained him, actually stemmed from his protection of the South Sea demons from disaster.

Although he spoke coldly, when faced with a crisis, he would be at the forefront. Due to the Azure Dragon Clan’s usual indifference, the South Sea allowed its various demon clans to recuperate and become self-reliant. They were able to jointly defend against external enemies after the disaster, when Jing Yuan was too severely injured to care for it.

In contrast, the Northern Territory, which was always protected by the Golden Crow Clan, fell into chaos after the clan’s annihilation. It became the most chaotic place in the demon realm.

But those events had already occurred. This was merely a dream of the past, something Nan Xu was powerless to change.

After the three demons finished their tea and were about to leave, the stall owner refused to accept any money. Nan Xu touched his purse, intending to secretly leave some money, when he saw Yun Yi toss silver coins on the table. “I’ve never drunk tea without paying. Take the money, don’t ruin my reputation.”

The stall owner dared not say anything more. He accepted the money and forced a smile as he saw them off.

Nan Xu felt helpless. Yun Yi’s impulsive nature was fine in the Northern Territory, where most demons were rough around the edges. However, now that they were in the South, his quick temper frightened demons with lower cultivation levels.

After leaving the tea stall, they walked for a while. Seemingly bored, Yun Yi said, “Let’s go to the East Sea and ask the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon how he disciplines those rascals who bully everyone.”

He looked at Jing Yuan and said, “I won’t interfere in your South Sea affairs. Is that all right?”

Jing Yuan glanced at him. “Remember to pay back for the hundred or so houses you destroyed with that hurricane.”

Yun Yi’s eyes widened. “You want me to pay for them?”

“I didn’t tell you to take action. Naturally, you should pay,” said Jing Yuan, sounding perfectly reasonable.

Seeing that Yun Yi was about to explode in anger again, Nan Xu quickly interrupted and asked, “Were those thugs from the East Sea?”

Yun Yi turned to look at Nan Xu’s curious eyes. Barely suppressing his urge to beat up Azure Dragon, he replied, “Yes. There’s a group of idle demons in the East Sea who bully other demons and rob them of their wealth. They act recklessly. They came to the Northern Border, and I captured them. I wrote to the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, and Tingchuan replied, telling me to kill them. He’s even more ruthless than Jing Yuan.”

Jingyuan looked at Yun Yi and said, “You’re criticizing Tingchuan. So, you’re saying he…” “Don’t drag me into this.”

Yun Yi scoffed. “What’s the difference between you two?”

Nan Xu was puzzled. “Since they’re all good-for-nothing scoundrels, it’s normal that Tingchuan wouldn’t protect them!”

Yun Yi clicked his tongue twice. “You haven’t even seen Tingchuan yet, and you’re already speaking well of him? Have you heard rumors that he’s the most handsome man in the demon realm?”

Hearing this, Nan Xu thought of the candlelight they used to see every night when they slept together, the hazy light adding to Tingchuan’s mysterious beauty. He blushed for no reason.

Yun Yi was just joking, and that was it. He didn’t notice the change in Nan Xu’s expression. However, Jing Yuan glanced at him a few more times but didn’t say anything.

After agreeing to a trip to the East Sea, Yun Yi and Jing Yuan instantly transformed back into their original forms. To their left, a golden crow flapped its enormous wings and soared into the air, obscuring the sun and clouds. To their right, an Azure dragon darted through the clouds, moving fluidly and gracefully.

Nan Xu stood rooted to the spot, unsure what to do. No one had taught him how to revert to his original form.

Two minutes later, the golden crow appeared before Nan Xu. “Never mind. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve given you a ride. Get on!”

However, Nan Xu’s gaze was fixed on the Azure Dragon in the sky, filled with longing. “Can I sit on Jing Yuan’s back?”

He had ridden the golden crow before but had never tried the blue dragon. After all, it was an Azure dragon! He had never seen one before, and now the thought of sitting on its back filled him with excitement. Yun Yi looked up at Jing Yuan, who was showing off his agile physique in the sky. Suddenly, Yun Yi felt a pang of jealousy. “Do you want him to give you a ride?”

Nan Xu asked expectantly. “Is it okay?”

Yun Yi pursed his lips and called Jing Yuan down.

“You want to ride me?” Jing Yuan asked.

Hearing his unfriendly tone, Nan Xu hesitated, then said, “I’m just asking for your opinion.”

Seeing Nan Xu’s timid appearance, Yun Yi said irritably to Jing Yuan, “I’ve carried him before, so why can’t you? Are you more noble than me? Last time, he even pulled out some of my feathers—I almost went bald!”

Yun Yi rattled off a string of words, but Jing Yuan pretended not to hear. He only looked at Nan Xu with his dark eyes and asked, “Why do you want me to carry you?”

Nan Xu thought for a moment and truthfully replied, “I have never ridden a dragon before.”

Jing Yuan: …

Jingyuan remained silent. Nan Xu wondered if he had said something wrong, staring quietly at Jing Yuan. Jing Yuan turned his head away. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take you.”

Nanxu’s eyes lit up immediately, and his joy overflowed. “You agreed?”

Jingyuan let him climb onto his back. From a distance, the Azure Dragon didn’t look big, but up close, its size was astonishing. Nanxu felt unsafe sitting on its back. The scales were smooth, and there were no feathers to hold onto. He could only lean forward and press his limbs firmly against the dragon’s back.

After adjusting his posture, Jingyuan suddenly soared into the air, moving even faster than the Golden Crow.

Yun Yi quickly realized what was happening. He flapped his wings and followed at a distance. His tone was full of resentment: “Riding an Azure Dragon makes you this excited? Why weren’t you so happy when I was carrying you? You truly disappoint me.”

His rapid-fire words were carried intermittently to Nan Xu’s ears by the wind, making them indistinct. From the fragmented words, Nan Xu could only discern that Yun Yi was displeased again.

“If the Golden Crow clan ever dominates the demon realm, they’ll surely grow mouths all over their bodies,” Jing Yuan suddenly said.

Perched on the Azure Dragon’s back, Nan Xu didn’t understand at first, but after a while, he realized Jing Yuan was mocking Yun Yi for being too talkative.

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