Chapter 143: Chapter 143: The Unclaimed Fuzai Zaizai

The Imprisonment Cave had a peculiar quality: you could faintly hear sounds from the outside while inside, but no sound from inside could be heard on the outside.

After trying all sorts of methods to get out to no avail, Ao Wu gave up and lay on the ground, staring at the cave ceiling.

He had been in here for so many days that he had finished counting the illuminating Fluorite stones on the ceiling—and had even counted them several times over.

There were a total of three hundred and sixty-two Fluorite stones, thirty-one of which were broken. He’d have someone replace them once he got out.

"Sigh—"

That was his five thousand, one hundred and sixty-second sigh since entering the Imprisonment Cave.

Just as he finished sighing and was about to start counting again, the faint sound of voices suddenly came from outside the cave.

The voices were intermittent, but when Ao Wu pressed his ear to the stone door to listen closely, he was sure someone had arrived!

He was instantly thrilled and quickly straightened his messy clothes, ready to escape this godforsaken place.

He had it all planned out: first, he’d change his clothes, then swing by the clan’s main kitchen to raid some food, and finally, he’d set off to find Yu An and Zaizai!

It was a nice thought, but in reality, Ao Si only stayed for a short while with Da Hu and Xiao Hu before heading elsewhere.

When the stone door remained shut and he heard the footsteps fading away, Ao Wu’s spirits plummeted.

’So they were just passing by. When on earth will I get out of here?!’

"Brother, what kind of flower is that? It’s so pretty!"

Everywhere they went, if Xiao Hu so much as glanced at a flower for more than a moment, Ao Si would immediately pluck it for him to play with. Even Ao Si himself was surprised he could be so good to two strange cubs.

For some reason, whenever he saw Da Hu and Xiao Hu, he felt the urge to lay all the treasures in the world before them, just for them to play with.

’It must be because Zaizais are too cute.’

He was a grown-up, destined to be ruled by cute little things like cubs for his entire life!

Ao Si muttered to himself, then looked in the direction Xiao Hu was pointing. "It’s pretty, huh? Brother will pick it for you... No, no, you can’t pick that one, Zaizai!"

When Ao Si saw the flower Xiao Hu was pointing at, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Seeing that the two clansmen guarding the flowerbed hadn’t noticed what he’d just said, he quickly pulled Da Hu and Xiao Hu aside and warned them, "Zaizais, the flowers in that flowerbed are all Dragon Pups. Each flower represents an unborn pup. You absolutely, positively cannot touch them!"

No matter how mischievous, naughty, and lawless he and his younger brother Ao Wu were as children, they never dared to touch the cub flowers. Even when they were fooling around, they stayed far away from the flowerbed.

If they accidentally hurt an unborn cub, they wouldn’t even need the clan to punish them; they would have chopped themselves into mincemeat out of guilt.

Ao Si always had a playful grin on his face, so it was rare to see him this serious. Da Hu and Xiao Hu nodded repeatedly. "Brother, we’ll remember!"

"Actually, you don’t need to be so nervous," Ao Si said, pinching their soft little cheeks. "We don’t usually come over here anyway. Come on, Brother will take you to look around somewhere else."

Just as they were about to leave, Da Hu felt a weight on his foot. He looked down and saw a vine wrapped around his ankle.

"Brother," he said, asking Ao Si for help. "My foot is tangled."

Ao Si looked down and was scared out of his wits for the second time. "!!!"

"Zaizai, don’t move! Don’t you dare move!"

’Can someone please tell him why a vine from a cub flower would stretch out of the flowerbed and wrap itself around Da Hu’s ankle!’

He had just carefully untangled the vine when something happened on Xiao Hu’s side.

"Brother, Brother, my foot is tangled too!"

So, Ao Si went to untangle the vine for Xiao Hu. The moment he freed him, Da Hu’s ankle was caught again...

This went back and forth several times, with some vines even poking his forehead and tickling his butt. Ao Si couldn’t take it anymore.

’Damn it, which naughty cub is messing with me?!’

Fuming, Ao Si scooped up Da Hu and Xiao Hu and marched straight to the flowerbed.

"Fourth Young Master, what brings you here?"

"Here to file a complaint," Ao Si said, setting the Zaizais down. Scowling, he pointed at the vines on their ankles. "Who’s being so naughty? Are you even going to let us leave?!"

As he spoke, he scanned the flowers in the bed. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

’Can’t hit them, can’t scold them, can’t even touch them right now. They’re so delicate. Just wait until this little troublemaker is born. I’ll teach them a lesson then.’

One of the guards took a look and chuckled. "It’s Fuzai’s vines. The little one is just playing with you."

With that, he started negotiating with the most beautiful golden flower blooming in the center. "Fuzai, you’ve had your fun. How about you let these little brothers go now? They need to go home for dinner."

The other guard was simply enjoying the show. "My, my, that’s our Fuzai for you! Only two months old and can already control so many vines. How amazing!"

After Dragon Pups are born, their Female Mother and Beast Father give them names. Since Fuzai had not yet been claimed by any adult dragons, no one knew which family the cub belonged to. But because it had brought so much good news to the Dragon Clan, the guards had simply given it a nickname to call it by.

Ao Si himself had been spoiled by his elders into his own lawless personality, so he saw nothing wrong with an adult praising a cub for pulling a prank.

It was unclear whether Fuzai was being obedient or had simply had enough fun, but the vines on Da Hu and Xiao Hu’s ankles automatically loosened. Just as Ao Si was about to lead them away, the vines returned.

This time, a small flower bloomed on each vine. After placing them on Da Hu’s and Xiao Hu’s heads, the vines retreated again.

The guard was surprised. "It seems Fuzai really likes you. Fourth Young Master, you should bring the two Zaizais to play more often."

This was the first time Ao Si had ever received an invitation to "come play often." In the past, he was always turned away from such a delicate place; people would be on guard against him when he was still miles and miles away.

He marveled at the unpredictability of life, picked up Da Hu and Xiao Hu, and left. Unseen by anyone, the leaves of the golden flower drooped a little.

’The brothers left.’

’Not happy.’

...

For the members of the Invincible Alliance, roughing it while out on missions was a common affair.

When thirsty, they would find any river and drink some cool water. When hungry, they would hunt any wild beast for a bite to eat. When tired, they would find any tree branch to lie on and rest.

But this time, their trip was a real eye-opener.

When they were thirsty, there was sweet honey water. When they were hungry, there were delicious meals. Even at night, they slept in things called tents.

Yu Huang’s subordinates looked at Yu An as if he were a walking treasure chest; all sorts of things could be pulled out of his pile of luggage.

"Female Mother, have some water."

Yu Huang had her own waterskin, which contained diluted Divine Spring Water. The others drank genuine honey water.

Yu An had once used the pretense of acting cute to give her a thorough physical check-up, discovering that while Yu Huang’s body seemed perfectly fine on the surface, it was actually very fragile on the inside.

It wasn’t a problem day-to-day, but if something serious were to happen, she would definitely be the first to collapse.

’Memories and all that can be put aside for now. Getting her body back in shape is the real priority.’

Yu Huang was already used to drinking the water Yu An gave her, so she took it without a second thought. Seeing Yu An get up after only a short rest, she asked casually, "Where are you going?"

Her gaze swept over Yu An’s slightly bulging belly, and she frowned imperceptibly.

"To dig up some bamboo shoots," Yu An said, pointing to the base of a tree not far away. "Later, I’ll show Uncle Chu how to make chicken stew with mountain bamboo shoots."