Growing Up with the Demon King Tyrant - Chapter 7

Xue Yi had no idea what was happening; the classmate’s movements in the front row were completely blocked by the upright book pages.

There were many people in the classroom, and the instructor’s voice was constant, but lying on Xi Huai’s lap, surrounded by a familiar and reassuring scent, he wasn’t afraid at all.

The little dragon cub let out a yawn, accidentally making a tiny soft noise. He scratched at the book pages a few more times, leaning in to sniff the scent of the printing ink.

The classmate in the front row sat with a stiff spine, trying his hardest to ignore the strange movements behind him.

This was the largest academy in the capital. The students came from various races, and the academy advocated for equality, focusing only on grades and rankings. However, Xi Huai was, after all, a Prince of the Heteromorphic Demon Race; his status was distinguished, and his talent and strength were outstanding among his peers.

Moreover, he had a bad temper… Most students were somewhat afraid of him and didn’t dare provoke him easily. Even the instructors didn’t meddle much, so long as Xi Huai attended class quietly and completed his assessments on time.

Throughout the lesson, Xi Huai kept his head down almost the entire time, occasionally waving a pen around, though no one knew what he was actually doing.

During the break between classes, Xi Huai found the classroom too noisy and the number of people moving around too high. He carried the little dragon cub in his arms to the corridor, finding a quiet corner. Just before the next class started, he brought the cub back.

By the time the morning classes were over, everything had gone smoothly, and no one had discovered Xue Yi’s existence.

Next, Xi Huai needed to visit the cafeteria.

The academy cafeteria required extra payment, but the most expensive tier was no worse than the food made in the palace. Xi Huai carefully navigated the crowd, produced two gold coins from his storage ring, bought a set meal, and prepared to return to his dorm alone.

As he turned away holding the food container, someone called out to him: “Xi Huai?”

It was Xi Nian. He walked up quickly, his gaze scanning Xi Huai from head to toe. “Is everything okay with you lately?”

Xi Huai found the question baffling. He cast a faint glance at him and turned to leave.

Xi Nian followed behind. “Why did you throw away so many clothes this morning? Did Father say something to you again…?”

He was genuinely curious, thinking that perhaps Xi Huai had developed some mental issue from being locked in Ghost Valley and was cutting up clothes in his room to vent his anger.

Without looking back, Xi Huai said coldly, “Is your hand fully healed?”

Xi Nian immediately recalled the painful experience from not long ago, his face stiffening as he stopped in his tracks. In truth, during that incident, he hadn’t even known which sentence had provoked Xi Huai; by the time he realized what was happening, his palm had been pierced clean through.

Xi Nian considered himself a person who didn’t hold grudges, and Xi Huai was his brother, but those semi-threatening words successfully quelled the youth’s curiosity. He curled his lip and turned to walk away.

On the path through the center of the cafeteria, a classmate waved to Xi Nian: “Xi Nian—”

Xi Nian waved back dismissively: “Scram, scram, scram!”

The dormitory buildings were on the far side of the academy. Most rooms were shared by two people, but there were also single rooms. Xi Huai lived in a single room. He entered, locked the door, and set the food container on the desk.

Xue Yi jumped out of his arms on his own, braced himself on the desk to stretch, and then circled the food container, sniffing the aroma wafting from it.

Xi Huai pulled out a chair. “Hungry?”

He first touched the little dragon cub’s paws and then laid a thin blanket on the desk as a pad. Xue Yi squatted obediently, eating every bite of food Xi Huai fed him.

Once full, the little dragon cub scratched at the plush blanket beneath his claws and tilted his head slightly. “Ao-wu!”

He had been in the classroom all morning and couldn’t make a sound freely; now, the restrictions were finally gone. A newly hatched dragon cub is naturally dependent on its guardian; as long as Xi Huai was around, Xue Yi didn’t feel bored.

Xi Huai wiped the soup from the little dragon cub’s mouth and pulled him over. “Time for medicine.”

Xue Yi’s body temperature was normal today, and he had only let out two quiet sneezes, but according to the physician’s orders, he had to take medicine for at least two more days.

Seeing the bitter medicinal powder being brought out again, the little dragon cub buried his head to pretend to be asleep, trying to escape his fate.

“Drink it quickly,” Xi Huai coaxed. “If you drink it, I’ll take you out to play this afternoon.”

The little dragon cub opened his eyes instantly and hesitantly bit the feeding tube.

The two afternoon classes were Potions and Practical Magic, usually attended by two or three classes together.

Today, it happened to be the turn of Xi Huai and Xi Nian’s classes. Xi Nian entered the classroom and instinctively searched for Xi Huai’s figure, but found nothing.

For the second class, Practical Magic, the students headed to the plaza, which was larger and had a wider view. When the two instructors arrived, Xi Nian scanned the area and confirmed one fact:

Xi Huai was skipping class.

He had actually skipped class…

At first, Xi Nian thought it was impossible. Xi Huai never skipped class; even if he didn’t listen to a word, he would always show up. In fact, his sick leave two days ago was a first.

During the break, Xi Nian found a classmate and asked quietly, “Has Xi Huai been acting unusual these past two days?”

The classmate shook his head blankly. “Sorry, I’m not really sure.”

At the same time, Xi Huai was on the hillside behind the dormitory building. This area was a semi-abandoned site where very few people ever came, and the weeds grew tall.

Xi Huai stood at the highest point of the hill and squatted down. He pressed his palm firmly against the ground. Dark demonic energy quickly surged and spread through the grass, driving away the various insects and damp, cool moisture hidden within, making the entire patch of grass warm and dry.

Only after doing this did Xi Huai allow Xue Yi to play in the grass. He also brought a small cloth ball, controlling his strength as he tossed it forward.

The little dragon cub had been eager for a long time. He leaped from the crook of Xi Huai’s arm and pounced into the grass, rolling twice. The weeds were a bit deep, and Xue Yi pounced around excitedly, finding the fallen ball and wagging his tail as he brought it back to Xi Huai’s side.

Mindful that Xue Yi hadn’t fully recovered, Xi Huai put away the small ball once they had played enough. Xue Yi was also tired and gradually fell asleep pillowed against the youth’s wrist.

Xi Huai also lay in the grass, which almost completely hid him and Xue Yi. He closed his eyes, his other hand slowly stroking the little dragon’s horns.

Suddenly, Xue Yi moved, kicking his legs and letting out a low “wu.”

Xi Huai opened his eyes instantly and sat up with a snap. The little dragon cub was still sound asleep; he seemed to just be dreaming. Xi Huai checked Xue Yi’s temperature and felt relieved.

He lay back down, quietly watching the clouds drifting above. If it were half a month ago, he surely wouldn’t have believed he would be so concerned about a dragon. However, he truly did like this little dragon. Since he had brought him back, he naturally had to raise him well.

Though he didn’t know if the little dragon would still be as obedient when he grew up. If, after growing up…

No, the little dragon he raised would surely be the cutest and could never be like the ones written about in those books.

Xi Huai closed his eyes, shielding the little dragon cub in his arms.

The afternoon classes were short, and when Xue Yi woke up, it was just about time for school to let out. The surroundings were quiet, with a hint of noise coming from far away.

Xue Yi let out a yawn, rolled over and scrambled up, moved close to Xi Huai, and licked his cheek.

Xi Huai opened his eyes and stood up with the little dragon cub. “Let’s go home.”

For several days in a row, Xi Huai was absent from the afternoon classes. Xi Nian noticed this and quietly told Queen Wei.

“He doesn’t eat in the cafeteria anymore; he stays in the dorm the whole time at noon,” Xi Nian added. “And he’s always skipping class. That can’t be good, right?”

The instructors didn’t care at all, perhaps due to Xi Huai’s status.

After listening, Queen Wei said hesitantly, “Perhaps he just has other things to do? Besides, even if your brother misses a few classes, his assessment scores are still higher than yours.”

Xi Nian never liked hearing such words and covered his ears. “I already took top three! I’m also very impressive, okay!”

Queen Wei patiently persuaded him for a few more sentences, urging him to go do his schoolwork. Xi Nian stopped mentioning the matter, but he still kept it in mind.

At noon the next day, he specifically stood guard downstairs at the dormitory in advance and saw Xi Huai walk inside. Xi Huai had a stronger sense of magical perception, so Xi Nian didn’t dare get too close, maintaining a certain distance.

Once Xi Huai entered his dorm, Xi Nian faintly heard a click—the door had been locked from the inside.

Being so mysterious… there must be a problem.

Xi Nian changed direction and went to the other end of the corridor. His room was also on this floor; if he climbed out the window and walked along the protruding section of the wall, he could reach Xi Huai’s room.

Xi Nian knew this carried a huge risk and might even lead to a beating. But he was just too curious, and Queen Wei always told him to look after his solitary brother.

Xi Nian rubbed his hands together and stepped onto the windowsill. He’d just take one look, and once he saw what Xi Huai was doing inside, he’d come right back.

At this very moment, Xi Huai was feeding meatball pieces to Xue Yi. The meatballs were a bit large and very firm, so Xi Huai used chopsticks to break them into small pieces and mixed them with some shredded greens in a spoon. The little dragon cub by his hand waited to be fed, opening his mouth promptly to receive the food.

There was a sudden, slight movement outside the window. It was keenly captured by Xi Huai, but he wasn’t on guard, never expecting someone would approach from outside.

With a slight hesitation in his movements, he looked up.

Xi Nian had just jumped onto the windowsill and saw Xi Huai through the glass, waving at him with a “hei hei” grin. Then, he saw the food container on the table and the little dragon cub beside it.

Xue Yi also saw Xi Nian, his eyes wide: “Wu?”

“Eh?”

Xi Nian froze. Before he could react, Xi Huai’s expression instantly turned dark.

A small burst of pitch-black demonic energy erupted, piercing a small hole through the glass window and quickly entwining around Xi Nian’s eyes.

Caught off guard, Xi Nian frantically grabbed the edge of the windowsill. “I can’t see!”

Swoosh—

The sound of the window being pulled open rang out. Someone grabbed Xi Nian by the collar and yanked him inside with force.

Xi Nian tumbled to the floor, finally brushing away the demonic energy wrapped around him. When he opened his eyes again, Xi Huai was standing not far in front of him, looking over with a cold gaze.

The food container and utensils were still on the table, but the little dragon cub Xi Nian had seen earlier had vanished, as if it were just a hallucination.

He didn’t have time to look further and backed up half a step. “That… I didn’t do it on purpose…”

Xi Huai’s expression was wrong; the consequences of his actions just now seemed even more severe than he had anticipated… Xi Nian was filled with regret and turned to try and slip out the door.

“Stop,” threads of demonic energy entwined around the door lock. Xi Huai approached him. “How much did you see?”

“I didn’t see anything,” Xi Nian turned around, his smile looking worse than a crying face. “I just wanted to know why you’ve been skipping class so often lately…”

Xi Huai took a few more steps forward, staring intently at Xi Nian. “If you dare reveal a single word, I will definitely kill you.”

His tone had no ripples, and his gaze held not a hint of warmth; he was even more terrifying than the last time he had stabbed Xi Nian’s hand with a blade.

Xi Nian stammered: “I… I understand…”

He was truly afraid and did not doubt the truth of Xi Huai’s words. So, what exactly was it that he had seen just now?

Xi Huai withdrew his gaze. “Scram.”

Xi Nian took a few deep breaths, finally calming down. Since he had already been threatened like this, he might as well just ask clearly.

“You’ve been skipping class so much lately, even Father knows about it,” Xi Nian squatted down, rubbing his knees which had gone weak from fear. “If you need it… I can help cover for you.”

When he was outside the window, he had clearly seen Xi Huai holding a small spoon and feeding a little beast. Xi Nian recalled carefully: that little beast was snowy white, seemed to have a pair of horns, a tail behind it, and…

And a pair of golden pupils.

Xi Nian wasn’t stupid. There is only one beast or race on this continent that possesses golden pupils. And the other features seemed to match as well…

Realizing what he had seen, his knees went even weaker, and he was left slack-jawed.

Xi Huai was impatient: “I told you to scram.”

“You…” It took a long time for Xi Nian to find his voice, his expression dazed. “You’re feeding a dragon?”

The word “dragon” was heard by Xue Yi, who was hiding in the bedding, and he couldn’t help but poke his head out to observe. The heritage within the Dragon Clan is special, making them very intelligent from the moment they hatch, with an understanding different from other beastmen.

Xue Yi vaguely felt that Xi Nian was talking about him. Xi Nian’s line of sight happened to be level with the edge of the bed, meeting a pair of innocent golden eyes.

He was quiet for two seconds, then scrambled up in terror: “Xi Huai, you’re crazy!”

“You’re really…” Xi Nian was filled with shock. “Aren’t you afraid of getting infected?”

His brain was under too much impact to think about other questions, such as where Xi Huai’s dragon had come from.

Xi Huai picked up Xue Yi from the bedside, frowning. “Quiet down.”

He knew there would be a day he couldn’t keep it hidden; since he had been discovered, he wouldn’t hide it now.

“You’re still holding it!” Xi Nian was anxious, yet didn’t dare get close. “It has the Dragon Disease! It’s contagious!”

Xi Huai’s face darkened. “What Dragon Disease? You’re the one who’s diseased.”

The little dragon cub in his arms tilted its head and let out an “ao-wu,” as if echoing his words, its voice tender and crisp.

Xi Nian choked, looking over cautiously as if he were facing a terrifying, ferocious giant dragon. He soon quieted down, scratching his head after a while. “It’s really not sick?”

Three minutes later, Xi Nian was ordered to stand by the door and not get close. Xi Huai continued to feed Xue Yi, while Xi Nian couldn’t stop staring: “It’s really a dragon? Why is it so small? Did you give it a name?”