Leng Yaozhu said slowly:
"At first, we thought this boy was merely the host chosen by the End Dragon, or a special vessel capable of holding part of her power. That was why almost all our earlier investigations focused on the End Dragon."
She paused, tapping a fingertip silently against the table.
"But now it seems we misunderstood their relationship from the very beginning."
A council member frowned. "What do you mean? Lin Yan is the one in control?"
Leng Yaozhu did not answer immediately.
She raised a hand and brought up a video.
The projection shifted, settling on an ordinary barbecue restaurant in Eastsea City.
The footage clearly came from the restaurant's security cameras. The image was grainy and the angle crooked, but it was clear enough to see what had happened.
Lin Yan reached out and rapped Gu Yuena on the head.
The Little Silver Dragon instantly clutched her head and ducked her neck, curling her tail under her belly. She looked furious but dared not say a word—not even a whimper.
The meeting hall fell so quiet that they could hear the projector humming.
The footage continued.
Apparently fed up with Gu Yuena after she had caused trouble, Lin Yan got up and walked away.
Gu Yuena first sat frozen on the tabletop, staring at his retreating back for several seconds. Then she abandoned even the pork belly still sizzling with fat on the grill.
Her four stubby legs scurried furiously as she trotted after him, trying to burrow into his arms as she went.
She looked like a kitten terrified of being left behind. Where was even a trace of the End Dragon's majesty?
At last, someone in the meeting hall made a very faint sound, somewhere between a cough and a choke.
Only moments earlier,