Growing Up with the Demon King Tyrant - Chapter 5

Xue Yi was still half-asleep. Sensing Xi Huai’s breath close by, he let out a yawn and curled back into the pocket.

Xi Huai left the Library, feeding Xue Yi pieces of a small round cake on the way back. Halfway through the snack, he changed direction toward the kitchen and picked up a piece of steaming steamed rice cake.

The rice cake was sweet, and Xue Yi loved it. As soon as Xi Huai tore off a small piece, the cub eagerly opened his mouth to take it. The little dragon cub was not yet a month old and had a small appetite; three meals a day were plenty.

At noon, Xi Huai prepared a palm-sized plate, propping it up with two books, and served some dishes onto it. Remembering the “balanced nutrition” mentioned in the books, he stopped giving any snacks and picked out a few meatballs and carrot sticks instead.

Xue Yi sniffed the meatballs and ate half of them but completely ignored the carrots.

Xi Huai tapped the edge of the plate. “You have to finish the carrots too.”

Xue Yi understood. He hesitantly gave a carrot stick a lick, then looked up at Xi Huai.

Xi Huai urged, “No being a picky eater.”

The carrots tasted like grass and were bitter; the little dragon cub was reluctant and let out a soft “wu.”

Xi Huai picked up a carrot and held it to the cub’s mouth. “Be good. You’ll only stay healthy if you eat this.”

He coaxed the cub patiently until Xue Yi finally opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and swallowed it before taking two more bites of meatball. In this manner—one bite of carrot for every two of meatball—the plate was eventually licked clean.

In the afternoon, Xi Huai had to catch up on the written schoolwork from the past half-month, so he let Xue Yi play in the room by himself.

Xue Yi ran to the balcony to bask in the sun. Beyond the balcony was a vacant courtyard where almost no one ever came. Several plush rugs were spread across the floor, and the little dragon cub lay on them, rolling over occasionally, making himself feel warm and cozy.

After his sunbath, Xue Yi went to find Xi Huai.

Xi Huai was still writing. Seeing the little dragon cub approach, he reached out, scooped him up, and placed him on the desk. The desk was cluttered and a bit messy; Xue Yi cautiously retracted his claws and lay half-down, watching the moving tip of the pen in Xi Huai’s hand.

The schoolwork was voluminous but not difficult. Xi Huai read rapidly and wrote even faster. The tip of the pen moved so quickly it made Xue Yi dizzy; he shook his head, sat up, and jumped from the edge of the desk into Xi Huai’s lap, circling around until he found a comfortable spot to lie down.

The next day was also a holiday. After finishing his homework, Xi Huai used some old clothes to make a few cloth balls. The balls were very round and stuffed with muffled bells that would “gulu gulu” for quite a distance across the floor.

It was Xue Yi’s first time playing with toys. He ran wildly around the room in excitement, pouncing on the balls to send them flying before pouncing back, or picking up the smallest ball in his mouth to bring it to Xi Huai to throw again.

He played with the cloth balls for nearly the entire day. When the little dragon cub got tired, he rested in Xi Huai’s arms, and he ate quite a lot during his two meals.

Before bed, Xue Yi jumped onto the bed with a small ball in his mouth and nudged Xi Huai’s hand.

Xi Huai took the ball. “Still want to play?”

The little dragon cub’s tail wagged incessantly. “Ao-wu!”

Xi Huai couldn’t bring himself to say no, but he wouldn’t let Xue Yi off the bed; they could only play within the bedding. Eventually, Xue Yi grew tired and sleepy, collapsing onto the pillow.

Xi Huai put away the cloth balls, used demonic energy to extinguish the lights from across the room, and lay down to stroke the top of the little dragon’s head. “Go to sleep.”

However, the consequence of playing with the ball before bed was that when it was time for Xi Huai to leave for the Academy the next morning, Xue Yi was still asleep.

Xi Huai forced the little dragon cub awake, feeding him rice cake while giving instructions: “I have to go out this morning. I’ll be back by noon at the earliest. Stay in the room and don’t run around…”

Xue Yi was exhausted. He kept his eyes half-closed and dazed, taking a long time to swallow a thumbnail-sized piece of rice cake; he likely didn’t process a single word.

Xi Huai was very uneasy. Looking at the time, he realized he was about to be late. He simply stood up, went to the door, and told the waiting servant, “Request a leave of absence for me. I’m not feeling well today and won’t be going to the Academy.”

The servant was well-trained and never asked questions, leaving immediately after responding. When Xi Huai returned, the little dragon cub had slumped over by the bed and fallen back to sleep.

Xi Huai helplessly set down the rice cake, thinking that once bedtime arrived in the future, he must not let the little dragon play anymore.

The news of Xi Huai’s leave of absence soon reached Hemonya.

“Unwell? Did you call a physician?” Hemonya asked.

“Not yet,” the adjutant replied. “Perhaps… the Third Prince still feels aggrieved after returning from Ghost Valley.”

This implied that Xi Huai wasn’t actually sick, but simply throwing a tantrum and refusing to go. Furthermore, the day he had been confined happened to be his birthday. While the tribe didn’t usually place much emphasis on such things, it was still a special day.

Hemonya remained silent for a long time. Beside him sat a wooden box containing a letter sent from the Star-Observing Tower half a month ago. He opened the box and took out the paper inside, which read: Demon nature in the soul; the source of calamity.

The year Xi Huai was born, Ayr had already cast his stars, and he recast them every year since. Every year, the content of the letter remained the same.

Xi Huai’s personality was indeed a headache, but as his own child, it was even more impossible to give up on him easily. Hemonya had spoken with Ayr several times trying to find a suitable solution.

Ayr was not optimistic. He believed that if that was one’s true nature, trying to force a change was no different from making a bloodthirsty wolf eat only vegetables. Furthermore, Xi Huai was exceptionally talented and would surely become a leader of the tribe, perhaps even the King, in time.

Since Xi Huai was still young, they could try to guide him. If the guidance failed…

The slip of paper turned to ash in Hemonya’s hand. He ordered the adjutant, “Bring Xi Huai here.”

After a long while, Xi Huai finally appeared, sluggishly following behind the adjutant. He kept his head down with a somewhat weary expression as he bowed to Hemonya. “Father.”

Hemonya signaled for him to sit to the side. “I heard you requested leave from the Academy because you were sick. What happened?”

“A headache,” Xi Huai replied. “It’s not serious. I should be fine after a nap.”

It sounded like an excuse, especially since Xi Huai had been healthy since childhood and had never been sick.

Hemonya didn’t call him out, his tone gentle: “Get plenty of rest. You can make up the missed schoolwork later.”

Xi Huai gave an “mm” and stood up to leave. “Then I’ll head back now.”

“Wait,” Hemonya stopped him. “What’s the rush?”

Xi Huai sat back down patiently.

Hemonya weighed his words. “Your birthday has passed. Is there anything you want?”

He searched his memory; in all the years Xi Huai had been growing up, he never seemed to be particularly interested in anything. He seemed to like nothing—or rather, not like anything enough. A toy he took a fancy to at age five or six would be discarded within two days.

“As long as it can be found,” Hemonya continued, “Father will surely prepare it for you.”

This was both compensation for Xi Huai and a chance to gauge his current interests.

Xi Huai looked up, his expression serious as he thought.

“I want to raise a dragon.”

“Cough, cough…”

The adjutant covered his face and coughed, his face turning beet red.

Hemonya said nothing. Fearing he hadn’t heard clearly, Xi Huai repeated: “I want to raise a dragon. It must be a Silver Snow Dragon, the kind that can use ice magic…”

Hemonya pressed his hand to his forehead. “Are you joking?”

Asking for a dragon as soon as he opened his mouth… that was a dragon, not some cat or dog. Did he expect him to send troops to the Dragon Clan to steal one for him?

Xi Huai fell silent. Hemonya sighed and waved him away. “Fine, go back. Once you’ve thought it through, it won’t be too late to tell me.”

He could only assume Xi Huai was still angry with him and was deliberately proposing an impossible condition.

Xi Huai stood up immediately, took his leave of Hemonya, and walked away quickly.

After he left, the adjutant came to Hemonya’s side. “Just now, the Prince didn’t look like he was joking…”

“Even if he really wants to, it’s impossible,” Hemonya leaned against the back of his chair, resting with his eyes closed. “Aside from everything else, where would I find him a Silver Snow Dragon?”

The adjutant added, “Then should we first send an ordinary small pet to see if the Third Prince likes it?”

Hemonya opened his eyes and mused, “That is an option…”

Xi Huai returned to his sleeping quarters alone. The door was locked from the outside, and threads of demonic energy entwined within the lock proved that no one had been there. He felt relieved and unlocked the door.

Xue Yi was playing with the cloth balls by himself. Hearing the door open, he ran out from behind the openwork door.

Xi Huai bent down to pick up the little dragon cub, asking, “Were you scared, staying in the room alone for so long?”

This was the first time he had been away since bringing Xue Yi back. The room was closed and relatively empty, unlike Ghost Valley with its abundance of thickets; Xi Huai worried Xue Yi would be afraid.

He couldn’t take leave tomorrow; he had to go to the Academy, and Xue Yi would be alone for at least half a day.

Xue Yi wagged his tail and rubbed against Xi Huai’s hand, indicating he wasn’t scared at all.

Xi Huai stroked the cub’s chin and said coolly, “No more playing with the ball before bed tonight.”

The next day, Xue Yi and Xi Huai woke up together.

The little dragon cub yawned as he was carried to the washstand, where a small bowl of warm water was placed in front of him. Xue Yi licked the water, then spat it out, repeating this several times until the bowl was clean. He rinsed his mouth, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the warm towel wipe-down.

“Do you remember everything I told you yesterday?” Xi Huai was still a bit uneasy. “Hide as soon as you hear a noise. You must not make a sound.”

The little dragon cub gave a “wu” and patted his claws on the washstand.

“I’ll come see you at noon,” Xi Huai squeezed the cub’s claws. “I’ll bring you something delicious.”

With another “wu,” the little dragon cub sensed he was leaving and rubbed against his sleeve reluctantly.

A servant was already urging him from outside. Xi Huai carried Xue Yi back to the bedroom. The cloth balls were all there for him to play with whenever he wanted, and there was water and snacks on the table in case he got hungry. Xi Huai had also thoughtfully prepared several stools of varying heights so Xue Yi could easily jump onto the desk. The balcony door was open, and the small toilet had been cleaned.

Xi Huai put on his Academy uniform jacket and looked down. “I’m leaving.”

The little dragon cub looked up while squatting by the bed, wagged its tail, and watched him leave.

With a click, the door was locked from the outside. Then came the sound of receding footsteps until the corridor was silent.

Xue Yi lay half-down, his chin resting on his claws, and suddenly let out a sneeze. The little dragon cub shook its head, licked its wet nose, then turned to pick up a cloth ball in its mouth and jumped off the bed to play alone.

At the very last second before class, Xi Huai walked into the classroom.

The instructor hadn’t arrived yet, and the room was noisy, but it quieted down considerably the moment he appeared. Several Titans who had fought with Xi Huai recently were sitting by the window; they looked down silently to avoid any eye contact.

Xi Huai hadn’t been there for half a month. The outside world didn’t know the reason; some had curiously asked Xi Nian, but he refused to say. However, Xi Nian had a wound on his hand and had also taken leave for a few days to recover; these two things were likely related.

A few probing glances were cast his way, but Xi Huai ignored them and walked to his seat in the back row. He was only thinking about the little dragon cub alone at home and had no interest in anything else.

Xi Huai took his books out of his storage ring and stared out the window at the leaves, dazed. After waiting forever for the morning classes to finish, he was the first to stand up and leave through the back door.

He had instructed a servant to have a beast-drawn carriage ready for him on time and to prepare a short-range teleportation array in advance. Normally, students didn’t return home at noon—Xi Huai used to be the same, sometimes staying in the Academy dorms for days. The servant thought it was unusual but didn’t dare ask.

Fifteen minutes later, Xi Huai hurried back to his quarters as fast as he could. He unlocked the door, entered, and closed it behind him.

The room was very quiet. A moment later, a silver-white figure emerged from behind the openwork door.

“Wu…”

Perhaps from having waited so long, the little dragon cub’s voice was weak, and the speed at which it ran toward Xi Huai was slower.

“I’m back.”

Xi Huai stepped forward and picked up the little dragon cub.

Immediately, his heart sank.

The little dragon cub in his arms was burning hot, as if it had a fever. Upon closer inspection, its spirit was indeed listless, and the light in its golden eyes had faded.

Xue Yi was sick.