Tang Wulin Eyes Gu Yuena: "Is This Dragon for Sale?"

Gu Yuena crouched in the corner of the stall cloth, cradling a cup of hot milk tea in her claws.

Several grease-stained paper bags of fried chicken legs were piled up beside her.

Her mouth was slick with oil as she ate.

Lin Yan had bought these with the hundred yuan from Ouyang Zixin.

The condition was that she had to use elemental purification to clear the toxins from every single mushroom.

Gu Yuena had no objections to this.

As she gnawed on a fried chicken leg, tears were almost falling from her eyes.

Wuwuwu, this is the most delicious meal I've ever had in my life.

What she once considered junk food was, at this moment, the most perfect caloric supplement.

The crispy skin shattered between her teeth, and the piping-hot juices flooded her mouth.

The richness of the grease made every one of her scales glow.

Although it still didn't compare to the high-level spiritual supplements of the Spirit Pagoda, it was the difference between heaven and hell compared to instant noodles and mushrooms.

Life was finally looking up.

She chewed on a chicken bone, thinking vaguely.

To Lin Yan's surprise, the middle-aged women at the vegetable market were much more straightforward than the college students.

They didn't have any particular reaction to Lin Yan's face.

Of course, they still took an extra look; after all, looking like that was indeed eye-catching in a vegetable market.

But what truly made them stop was the small, silver-white dragon crouching on the stall cloth, gnawing on a chicken leg.

"Oh my, this little thing is so well-behaved!"

"What kind of soul beast is this? Can you keep it as a pet?"

"Young man, how much for these mushrooms?"

The women were far more sensitive to price than the college students.

Lin Yan quoted the average market price, they haggled a symbolic two yuan off, and then paid up readily.

They didn't even care if the mushrooms were poisonous.

In less than an hour, the mushrooms on the cloth were wiped out.

Some people genuinely wanted to buy mushrooms.

Some felt sorry for the child who had come out to set up a stall at such a young age and wanted to help out.

A small portion of them recognized Lin Yan as the teenager who had caused such a big stir at the Spirit Pagoda earlier and were purely there to watch the show.

"Young man, aren't you that one from the TV—"

"If you aren't buying, move along."

"...How much per jin?"

Lin Yan had no patience for people looking for excitement, but as long as they paid, he would sell.

Over three hundred yuan.

He clutched the crumpled bills, standing under the dim streetlights at the entrance of the vegetable market, and counted them twice.

Adding the hundred yuan Ouyang Zixin had given him and subtracting the cost of the fried chicken and milk tea, there was over three hundred and eighty left in his pocket.

This was the most money he had ever held in his hands in his life.

Lin Yan stood under the streetlight in silence for a long time.

Then, holding Gu Yuena, he walked toward the nearby Soul Guidance Train station.

This was his first time riding the Soul Guidance Train this year.

In the past, he would run the dozen-kilometer journey on foot, thirty-plus kilometers round trip, until his knees went soft and his soles blistered.

But today, he had money.

There weren't many people in the carriage, the lights were dim, and the city lights outside the window flashed past.

Lin Yan sat down by the window, and Gu Yuena lay on his lap, hugging her round belly, still savoring the fried chicken feast from earlier.

Sitting opposite him was a teenager who looked about his age.

He had an honest, simple face, slightly messy hair, and wore a work uniform washed to a pale color, with a few iron filings still on his shoulders.

He leaned against the seat back, his face weary, eyelids drooping, looking like he had just rushed home after a part-time job at some blacksmith shop.

Lin Yan glanced at him and made a rough assessment.

A peer, a manual laborer, with an economic situation no better than his own.

But he still envied the other boy for being able to find work.

Then he withdrew his gaze and looked out the window.

Tang Wulin noticed the teenager opposite him when the Soul Guidance Train passed the third platform.

To be precise, he noticed the dragon in his arms first.

The silver-white scales shimmered with a soft metallic luster under the dim lights of the carriage.

The round belly rose and fell gently with each breath, the tail draped softly over the boy's arm, the tip sweeping back and forth unconsciously.

Tang Wulin's heart skipped a beat.

It wasn't the excitement of seeing something cute.

It was a deeper throb, surging from the depths of his bloodline.

It was as if something on that dragon was calling to him, making it impossible for him to look away.

That feeling was hard to describe.

It was as if a long-lost relative had suddenly appeared before his eyes.

He opened his mouth, his throat feeling a bit dry.

"You... is this dragon for sale?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

His pockets were emptier than his face, and he only earned a few copper coins a week from exhausting forging work at the studio.

Where would he get the money to buy a dragon?

This was a dragon.

Even if it looked weak, dragons were an extremely rare species; at an auction house, they would start at six figures at the very least.

It was simply not something a poor student like him could afford.

But the throb in his bloodline made him reluctant to let go.

He felt that if he missed this chance, he would lose something very important.

Lin Yan turned his head and looked at him.

Then he smiled.

The smile was faint, the corners of his mouth only lifting slightly, but on that impossibly perfect face, the effect was surprisingly good.

"Sorry, this dragon is not for sale. Unless you give me one million."

Don't you dare sell me for a million!!!

Gu Yuena's mental energy roared in Lin Yan's mind.

She raised her head, baring her teeth and glaring at Lin Yan, her tail puffed up like a feather duster.

This beast! I've been with him for so many days, eating and living together through thick and thin.

I stole instant noodles for him, gave him a god-bestowed soul ring, and worked like a horse for him, and in his eyes, I'm only worth a million?!

She was trembling with rage, turning to hiss repeatedly at Tang Wulin.

And this human.

She recognized him at a glance.

The host of the Golden Dragon King bloodline.

Tang Wulin shrank his neck at Gu Yuena's hissing, but he couldn't help but take another look at her.

He was stunned for a moment, then thought it made sense.

Although a million was an astronomical figure to him.

Given the value of a dragon, this price was actually cheap; there was no intention of price-gouging at all.

"When I have money in the future... I will buy it."

He scratched his head in embarrassment and reached out a hand: "My name is Tang Wulin. Let's get to know each other."

"Lin Yan."

Lin Yan reached out and shook his hand.

Tang Wulin looked down at Gu Yuena.

The little silver-white milk dragon was glaring at him fiercely with a pair of purple pupils, making threatening wuwu sounds.

But he still couldn't help but ask: "Can I pet it?"

His response was an even fiercer hiss from Gu Yuena.

"Pet your ghost! Go back and pet your mother! Stupid human, daring to covet the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King, I will make you pay the price sooner or later—"

Of course, to Tang Wulin, it was just a series of babyish "ang ang ang" sounds.

"Doesn't look like a good idea, it bites."

Lin Yan muttered and withdrew his hand.

Then his movements suddenly froze.

Wait.

Tang Wulin?

He widened his eyes, looking at the honest, simple face opposite him, his brain beginning to spin wildly at thirty thousand revolutions per second.

Tang Wulin. The protagonist of the original work. Golden Dragon King bloodline.

All the information aligned in an instant.