Growing Up with the Demon King Tyrant - Chapter 16

Halfway there, Xi Nian caught up from behind. “Mother wanted you to stay for dinner…”

“No need,” Xi Huai said, holding the little dragon in his arms tighter. “It’s inconvenient.”

“What’s so inconvenient?” Xi Nian muttered under his breath. “If you need to feed the little dragon, you could just feed him here before heading back.”

Originally, he had suggested sending Xue Yi to Queen Wei’s place so he could have more chances to see the little dragon himself, but Xi Huai wasn’t giving him even the slightest opening.

Xi Huai said nothing, casting a faint, sideways glance. His eyes already showed signs of impatience; Xi Nian looked over and happened to spot the small wound on his face. Recalling the miserable state of the classmates who were helped into the infirmary, Xi Nian’s footsteps faltered. He turned around immediately. “I get it…”

Xi Nian returned to the bedchamber, where Queen Wei was standing at the door waiting. Seeing him alone, she wasn’t surprised, guessing that Xi Huai had once again refused to stay for dinner. Fearing Queen Wei would be sad, Xi Nian led her inside. “Mother, don’t mind him. I’m so hungry…”

“Will the little dragon… be sent here again tomorrow?” Queen Wei asked. “How long will he stay in the capital?”

She hadn’t asked too much about this before; Xi Mengya was busy, and the adjutant had left with Xi Huai, so she could only ask Xi Nian.

“I don’t know,” Xi Nian shook his head. “He might not be sent here anymore.” Looking at Xi Huai’s attitude, he acted as if someone might eat the little dragon if he stayed a second longer. Xi Nian was surprised he had even sent him over this afternoon.

Queen Wei gave a soft response, her expression looking somewhat disappointed.

Xue Yi knew nothing of this. On the way back, he kept staring at the gauze on Xi Huai’s hand. There was a faint scent of blood coming from the gauze, making the little dragon cub feel uneasy; he wanted to get closer but was afraid of accidentally touching it.

Did Xi Huai go out hunting in the morning and afternoon? Is that why he’s injured?

The little dragon cub hugged the wrist in front of him tightly with a sense of heartache, whimpering softly. Xi Huai simply took it as Xue Yi missing him and stroked the dragon’s horns to soothe him.

During dinner, Xue Yi was exceptionally well-behaved. Not only was he not a picky eater, but he also proactively buried his head to gnaw on the meatballs, without needing Xi Huai to break them apart.

Xi Huai scooped up a spoonful of soup to feed him and asked, “Do you still want to go tomorrow?”

The little dragon cub licked the soup from the spoon and tilted his head in thought. Actually, Xue Yi wanted to be with Xi Huai more, but Xi Huai asking this meant he still had to go out tomorrow. Queen Wei was indeed very gentle and would feed him biscuits; her room had many plants, and he could play with the white cat or the adjutant when bored.

The little dragon cub tapped Xi Huai’s wrist with a paw and gave an “awoo.” By now, Xi Huai could fully understand the meaning of every one of Xue Yi’s single-syllable sounds. He lowered his eyes. “Okay.”

After dinner, the attendants came in to clear the tableware. It was no longer a secret that the Third Prince had a juvenile dragon with him. Xi Huai sat on the lounge chair by the window, holding the golden-eyed little dragon in his arms and feeding him dried fruit. The attendants kept their eyes forward, lowered their heads to collect the items, and left, silently closing the door.

He couldn’t eat too many snacks after dinner; Xi Huai only fed him two pieces, stroking the little dragon cub’s horns. “That’s enough. You can have the last piece before bed.”

Xue Yi licked his lips and licked up the crumbs scattered in Xi Huai’s palm as well. The sky outside was very dark, and the wall lamps were lit, making the wound on Xi Huai’s face more apparent. Xue Yi looked up for a while, stepped onto Xi Huai’s arm to climb up, and finally lay by his shoulder, licking the small wound.

The little dragon cub licked very carefully. His tongue instinctively carried a bit of frost, making the skin feel cool. It didn’t hurt Xi Huai; he leaned back against the lounge chair and waited. After licking for a while, Xue Yi stopped to inspect it closely; the wound seemed to have gotten a bit smaller.

Afterward, Xi Huai picked up the little dragon cub from his shoulder and fed him some warm water. It wasn’t until he washed up before bed that Xi Huai caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror; the wound on his face had almost completely vanished. However, since the constitution of the Different Demon Tribe far surpassed ordinary races, he didn’t pay it much mind, set down his towel, and left the bathroom.

The next day, before departing for the academy, Xi Nian deliberately lingered at the door for a while. Finally, he saw the familiar figure appear carrying the little dragon, followed as usual by the adjutant and a large group of soldiers.

Xi Nian was both surprised and delighted, rushing inside to announce: “Mother! Xi Huai is here!”

Queen Wei rose and went to the door to greet them, seeing that Xi Huai had brought the necessary items just like yesterday. Everything seemed to repeat itself; Xi Huai carefully soothed the little dragon before they parted, then stood up and told Queen Wei, “I’m troubling you.”

Queen Wei was all smiles. “Alright.”

After the two of them left together, Queen Wei lifted her skirt and knelt down, asking Xue Yi on the chair, “Do you still remember me?”

Xue Yi seemed like he hadn’t quite woken up yet; he let out a big yawn and nuzzled against Queen Wei’s hand. The white cat also jumped onto the chair, “meow-meowing” while nuzzling Xue Yi’s horns. Xue Yi nuzzled back but accidentally got a few hairs in his mouth; he quickly pushed the cat away and stood up to spit them out, jumping off the chair and heading toward the balcony. The white cat licked its fur and followed quickly.

For several days in a row, Xi Huai sent Xue Yi over on time. But no matter how much they tried to get him to stay, as soon as he returned, he would invariably take Xue Yi away and return to his own bedchamber.

After a few days, Xi Nian couldn’t take it anymore. Returning from the academy this afternoon, Xi Nian watched silently as Xi Huai took the little dragon away, then went to his room to do his homework. Halfway through, he threw down his pen and left the room without a word.

Xi Huai was in the courtyard outside the bedchamber, bending over to pick up withered leaves from the ground. He selected them personally and handed them to an attendant to be washed and dried as toys for Xue Yi. Dry, withered leaves were brittle; the little dragon cub loved stepping on them with his paws to play. But since it had been cold lately and the courtyard was damp, Xi Huai didn’t allow Xue Yi to run out as he pleased.

It was almost dark now, with gusts of cold wind; the little dragon cub curled up in the crook of Xi Huai’s arm, quietly tucking his paws into the sleeve to stay warm. There weren’t many withered leaves on the ground, and after picking through them, there weren’t many suitable ones—they probably wouldn’t last long for play.

Looking at the trees at the edge of the courtyard, Xi Huai simply used his demonic energy. Before long, several dark shadows covered the branches, sweeping down a large number of leaves. The leaves spun in the air as their Wood element was drained and dismantled by the demonic energy, turning them a withered yellow. The prepared withered leaves fell onto the corridor, waiting for an attendant to collect them.

However, as a result, the trees in the courtyard looked bare and somewhat unsightly. Xue Yi had sharp eyes and saw a familiar gray bird perched on one of the branches. The little dragon cub waved a paw as a greeting. The mechanical bird tilted its head to look over and quietly flew away before Xi Huai’s gaze turned toward it.

Xi Huai squeezed the little dragon cub’s paw and turned to go back inside. At that moment, Xi Nian found him. He stood in the corridor and watched Xi Huai for a while before speaking: “What’s your deal lately?”

Xi Huai frowned, first sending Xue Yi into the room and closing the door. His face was expressionless. “What are you talking about?”

“Lately,” Xi Nian seemed a bit angry, his eyes wide. “You want Mother to help, but you also run back and forth so many times every day. You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you…”

Queen Wei had always wanted to be closer to Xi Huai. Although he wasn’t her biological son, as the Queen, she had the right and obligation to discipline an underage prince. She also quite liked Xue Yi. When Xi Huai came by at noon, she had personally asked him to stay twice, but Xi Huai had refused.

It wouldn’t have mattered before, as Xi Huai rarely saw Queen Wei anyway, but things were different now with the little dragon. Queen Wei felt a bit dejected because of this, and Xi Nian didn’t believe Xi Huai was completely unaware.

Xi Nian was indignant, but he saw that Xi Huai still looked cold and indifferent, as if he didn’t care at all. He felt frustrated and stared at Xi Huai. “Why do you hate us so much…”

As soon as he finished, Xi Huai looked up. “I don’t hate you.”

“Nor do I hate your mother,” he said calmly, as if discussing the weather. ” I just feel that you don’t have a reason to exist.”

It was just that he didn’t “hate” them; that didn’t mean he liked or accepted them. It was more of an indifferent attitude. He wouldn’t stay if he didn’t want to, and naturally, he didn’t care about anyone’s feelings.

Xi Nian was slow to react, and after processing that sentence, he glared at Xi Huai. “You…”

Xi Huai met his gaze coldly; the tension between the two was palpable. The attendants had long ago retreated far away. At that moment, the bedroom door suddenly opened a crack. A little dragon cub squeezed out with great effort, looking up at the two of them. “Awoo?”

Xue Yi had heard the commotion inside and couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. The door was too heavy; it took Xue Yi several tries to find a way to squeeze it open. The light in the corridor was dim, with only Xi Huai and Xi Nian there. Xue Yi turned his head to look at each of them in turn, then came to Xi Huai’s side and nuzzled his pant leg.

The previously tense atmosphere seemed to dissipate instantly. Xi Huai bent over to pick up Xue Yi. “Why did you come out?”

Xi Nian also breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If he had truly lost his temper and fought Xi Huai just now, he would have only been beaten… “Forget it…” He took one last look at the little dragon cub and turned to leave.

A week later, Al’s assistant came to notify Xi Huai. “The gentleman wishes to see you and the dragon.”

It happened to be an academy holiday, so Xi Huai didn’t have to go to school. He slowly put on his coat and took Xue Yi out with him. The assistant led the way; the adjutant wasn’t here today, perhaps busy with other matters.

Al was still living in the same place as last time. There were even more mechanical birds perched on the corridor outside the front hall, flying in and out from time to time. When Xi Huai entered the hall, a mechanical bird was perched on Al’s shoulder.

“Prince,” Al raised his right hand slightly. “Sit.” He seemed to have been sitting there all along, maintaining the same posture.

Once Xi Huai was seated, Al got straight to the point. “The observers have gathered enough information. They won’t disturb you anymore.”

Xi Huai’s breath hitched. “And the result?”

“You care deeply about the young dragon and want to give him absolute protection, but…” Al’s tone shifted. “You haven’t changed in any other aspect.”

Beside him was a small booklet containing images recorded by the mechanical birds. Fighting classmates with a heavy hand, preferring to be late rather than leave before the little dragon finished breakfast, completely ignoring Xi Nian’s anger… everything had been recorded.

Xi Huai said nothing, his breathing unintentionally growing heavy. Does Al mean he doesn’t agree?

“What do I need to change?” he said in a cold, hard tone. “I can change it.”

Al shook his head gently. “Don’t be anxious. You can continue to keep the young dragon by your side. I only have one requirement.”

Xi Huai had little patience. “Say it.”

“Follow me to the Star-Gazing Tower,” Al said. “Quietly study for five years.”

The Star-Gazing Tower was at the edge of the capital, not too far from the palace. But Al’s words sounded as if he intended to lock Xi Huai away for five years.

“You need to take the young dragon with you,” Al continued. “But he may go out at any time; you may not.”

As expected, it was house arrest in another form. But Al said he could take Xue Yi with him. Xi Huai hesitated for almost no time. “Fine.”

Hearing this, a shallow arc appeared on Al’s lips. “I will also guide you in learning astrology, if you are willing.”