Anxious Gains and Losses

Night had not yet passed.

Dragonfolk patrolled back and forth, while the White Sturgeon rested among the lotus fields, its fish fin gently swaying and stirring a little dust from the sand.

Then Big Black Fish darted in, charging wildly about before plunging headfirst into the mud. It rooted up tender Green Lotus Root and chewed so fiercely that mud and sand scattered everywhere, shattering the quiet peace.

Large masses of yellow smoke rose up, shrouding the grove.

The White Sturgeon wanted to stop it, but the patrolling Dragonfolk held it back and let Big Black Fish do as it pleased.

It was late summer in August, harvest season for lotus roots and lotus seeds. By custom, Fat Catfish had come to the Dragon Man Tribe's lotus fields to feast and drink to its heart's content.

The Elders loved the house and its crow alike, and were equally tolerant of the several Water Beasts by Liang Qu's side. They had issued permission long ago, so the Dragonfolk had grown accustomed to it and even took the initiative to bring over several thick Green Lotus Roots.

Long Zongyin invited the two into the house and sent someone to summon the First and Second Elders.

"Lord Liang, why do you suddenly say E Ying is about to advance? We Dragonfolk are not like Demon Beasts. To pass the Three Tribulations alone, we must consume Long Qi just like humans do. You gave Yan Rui a Spirit Fish before, so you should know this..."

The claim that the Dragonfolk gathered sunflame in exchange for Wishful was entirely a story Liang Qu had made up on the spot. The Dragon Man Clan Grounds knew nothing of it. Upon suddenly hearing that Long E Ying was about to advance to Grandmaster, Long Zongyin felt only