I Am A Little Green Dragon

Chapter 2 - I Am A Little Green Dragon

"...I am a little green dragon, I have many little secrets. I am a little green dragon, I have many little secrets. I have many secrets, I won't tell you, I won't tell you, I won't tell you..."

Awakened by the ringtone and buzzing vibration, Li Bai opened his eyes, dazed for a moment. It felt like he'd had a long, strange dream. On habit, he reached out, and the flat, cool smartphone landed precisely in his palm.

The caller ID on the screen: True Man Zhou.

He was the dean of Seventh Hospital, Li Bai's direct superior, a man who loved to use the catchphrase "A true man speaks no nonsense"—True Man Zhou, Zhou Tong.

Li Bai swiped his finger. The moment the call connected, Zhou Tong's furious voice blasted through.

"Comrade Li Bai, what time is it? Do you still want this job? If you screw up today's exchange meeting, you can hand in your resignation yourself!"

Slap! The call ended immediately.

"Ah! The exchange meeting! Oh no!"

Li Bai suddenly remembered there was an important exchange meeting today, hosted by Seventh Hospital, with participants from three provinces and one city in East China—a major conference covering psychiatry and mental health.

If he made True Man Zhou lose face, the old man would show him no mercy. He'd probably even want to eat him alive.

The time on the phone screen was already 9:30 AM. He threw off the covers to get up, but his movements froze, his eyes widening. Coiled on his stomach was a little green snake.

A snake?

Wait... why did the snake's head have a tiny little horn? What kind of species was this?

"Hehe!"

A woman's giggling reached his ears. Before Li Bai could figure out what was going on, the little green snake shot up without warning, straight for his neck.

"Ah!"

That sudden morning bite was certainly bracing, but the furious little green flood dragon confirmed one thing for Li Bai.

It hadn't been a dream. It had been real.

He had just come back from another world.

From the border town of West Yan in the Great Wu Dynasty, into the Demon Domain, meeting the Dragon Girl, entering Little Lin Temple, repelling the Demon Tide, entering Great Yellow Ridge, learning the Azure Wave Sword, then entering the Great Wu Imperial Capital, Tianjing City, reuniting with the Bai Family Father and Daughter, accidentally helping Miss Xiang Jun—who had disguised herself as Young Master Deng Fang of the Jingguo Duke's Mansion—seize the Imperial Throne, scheming and plotting through the five palaces, seven sects, and thirteen schools, uncovering the hidden threat of the Heavenly Evil Cult, intercepting the Holy Court's Eastern Expeditionary Army, and finally beating that Outer Heavenly Evil God back to his home turf. The ending wasn't perfect, but at least the world could have peace for a while.

For a walking human-shaped disaster like the Great Demon, it counted as a full merit.

Her Majesty the Empress and little sister Ying'er, and Senior Sister Zhi Rong too, might be sad for a while over his disappearance, but at least they could live safely, no longer worrying about the disasters stirred up by those Westerners and the Heavenly Evil Cult.

But the other Little Demoness who had vanished with him into the Heavenly Gate made Li Bai worry a bit more.

As a psychology master's graduate, Li Bai quickly adjusted his mindset. Since I'm back, I'm back. No use overthinking.

Although Hong Li wasn't by his side, at least the strands extending from that Innate Exotic Treasure, the Chaos Green Lotus, into the endless void still existed. That meant the few members of the Demon Race he had awakened with his blood essence were still alive, including the little red carp, Hong Li.

The green flood dragon demoness's lingering fury was completely understandable. Who could easily accept spending endless effort to cultivate a dragon body, only to have it all undone in an instant, reverting to a flood dragon's form? Before she could even enjoy a moment of being heaven's favored child, she was knocked from paradise to hell. The demoness cried and demanded Li Bai compensate her. How could he possibly pay that back? It was a mercy she hadn't eaten him outright.

He who makes his own bed must lie in it. Having morning bites become routine was no one's fault but his own.

Standing by the roadside hailing a cab, Li Bai rubbed his still-aching neck. At least the demoness had some conscience, licking the two sesame-sized blood holes clean. Otherwise, if they accumulated day by day, people might mistake him for an addict with "ants climbing a tree."

Back in his original world, that scathing phone call left him no room to slack off.

Dean Zhou's orders concerned his livelihood. After paying rent, water, electricity, and gas each month, the little salary left was barely enough for food.

If he got fired, he'd probably end up like those poor recent graduates, sending out resumes everywhere.

"Seventh People's Hospital!"

Li Bai hailed a taxi and climbed in.

"Whoa, doing cosplay?"

The young cab driver gave Li Bai a surprised once-over.

But a set of ancient robes paired with Seventh People's Hospital easily led to wrong assumptions.

Cosplay? Li Bai looked down at himself, the corner of his mouth twitching. He'd been so busy dealing with that unreasonable green flood dragon demoness that he'd forgotten he was still wearing a Scholar's Robe.

"Urgent business. Forgot to change."

Li Bai gave a wry smile.

Obviously, he hadn't just brought back exotic souvenirs like the green flood dragon demoness from another world, but also this outfit—the very clothes he'd worn when he and the two demonesses rammed the Outer Heavenly Evil God back through the Heavenly Gate.

"No wonder?"

The cab driver nodded with an understanding expression and stepped on the gas, quickly merging into the busy traffic.

Li Bai could still hear the hint of insincerity in the driver's tone.

Damn, wearing ancient clothes to a mental hospital. Is this guy brain-damaged?

Well, he had to admit, he was going to see a doctor. There was no way to explain it. The more he said, the worse it got.

Ignoring the cab driver's occasional weird glances, Li Bai soon arrived at his destination: Seventh People's Hospital.

He glanced at the time. Luckily, he hadn't been delayed too long. A few nice words, and Great Dean Zhou probably wouldn't fire him.

As he hurried toward the changing room, nurses and patients alike saw Li Bai and reacted as if they'd seen a ghost—stunned, then hastily dodging out of his way, afraid they might get hit.

These little nurses usually spend their time casting flirtatious glances, but when it really counts, they're completely unreliable.

Just as he reached the fourth floor, someone came charging out shouting and yelling, knocking over several people in one go like a maddened bull, unstoppable as if no one stood in their way.

"Damn you, I'm Zhen Guanxi, Zheng Tu himself! Who dares to hit me? Lu Da, come out!"

From behind came shouts: "Stop him! Prepare a 5 ml injection of Chlorpromazine!"

The Seventh People's Hospital never lacked a formidable Security Team, every member a former Special Forces Soldier. Li Bai couldn't help but grin when he saw them.

The one charging ahead wildly, looking to pick a fight with Lu Zhi Shen, was a regular. He always imagined himself as the butcher from Water Margin that Lu Ti Xia beat up. As luck would have it, they even shared the same name—both called Zheng Tu. Probably got so obsessed with Water Margin that it triggered paranoid schizophrenia.

When he was normal, you couldn't tell at all—he spoke logically and coherently. But once an episode hit, he'd instantly transform into Master Zheng, shouting for revenge. In ancient times, they'd call it demonic possession, subject him to all kinds of torture until the exorcism was complete. Nowadays, he's just a psychiatric patient, an acute case at that—one sedative shot and it's handled.

Normally, an unstable patient like Zheng Tu should have been sent to the "Back Palace" (inpatient ward) long ago for long-term treatment. With Granny Wang, the Back Palace's grand overseer, back on the job, wielding a Tranquilizer Gun that hits wherever she aims, no matter how fierce the madness, one shot takes them down. If they even make it to the elevator, that's impressive.

One shot doesn't take them down? Then two. Granny Wang's reign over the "Back Palace" for twenty years had never seen a single incident.

Behind them, surrounded by security guards and a couple of nurses, was a flustered white-coated Doctor—Zheng Tu's Attending Physician, Chen Sheng. As if sensing someone watching him, he met Li Bai's gaze, froze for a moment, then his expression turned gloomy.

It was precisely because Chen Sheng couldn't withstand the patient's family's pleas that he hadn't had this Martial Maniac hospitalized. Lucky for them, the episode happened in the hospital. If it had been outside, who knows how big a mess it would have caused.

Li Bai smiled, watching with amusement. This guy had some friction with him. Recently, the psychiatry department got one Attending Physician slot, and the top contenders were him and Chen Sheng.

In the other's eyes, Li Bai—a master's degree holder—had always been favored by True Man Zhou. Jealousy inevitably made him see Li Bai as a rival, and they rarely exchanged more than a few words without clashing.

"Li Bai, stop him!"

Seeing Li Bai appear right in front of Zheng Tu, Chen Sheng felt a flicker of secret delight, even though his face showed the same panic as everyone else.

This patient was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a tuft of black chest hair. At first glance, he looked like the reincarnation of Master Zheng, the butcher of Zhen Guanxi.

Screams filled the corridor. Among psychiatric patients, the most feared were these Martial Maniacs—they could kill without paying with their lives!

Li Bai silently formed a hand seal, ready to use a small trick, but suddenly froze.

The spiritual energy in his middle dantian was nearly gone, eerily condensed into a bean-sized lump as hard as granite, completely immovable. And from the outside world, not a trace of spiritual energy could be drawn upon.

He had forgotten that the Heaven and Earth Rules of these two worlds were completely different.

But Master Zheng still charged like a mad bull, heedlessly barreling toward Li Bai.