Maybe it was his injuries, maybe the poison from earlier still hadn't worn off, or maybe it was simply how dragons slept. Zheng Yichen had dozed all day and could still have slept that night.
But he no longer felt much like sleeping. The town had been strange enough when it stood empty during the day. Now that it was still empty at night, it was downright eerie.
As he scratched at the ground, his mind racing through all sorts of possibilities, Zheng Yichen heard heavy footsteps pounding toward him.
He looked toward the sound. A huge wild boar was charging his way, tears streaming from its eyes and terror written all over it. Zheng Yichen had seen this kind of boar before. They were vicious, and in a fight, they could harden their bristles and fire them with enough force to punch straight through trees.
Their meat was delicious, too. They were just hard to find. Zheng Yichen had only come across two in the past six months, and now a third had appeared—scared out of its wits. Was this really the short-tempered beast he remembered?
He tilted his head and spotted the little girl less than ten meters behind the boar. She had gone out at dusk and was now returning as though out for a stroll. Her steps were slow and graceful, yet her speed was anything but normal. No matter how much the boar accelerated, the distance between them never changed.
Zheng Yichen watched without a flicker of concern. If anything, he wanted to laugh. The boar was easily big enough to crush the little girl, and if its hardened bristles could pierce trees, punching holes in a person should have been easy.
Yet all it could think about was running faster. It didn't even notice Zheng Yichen in its path.
When the boar barreled toward him without showing any sign of stopping, Zheng Yichen swung a claw into its head. He slammed its head straight into the ground. The part of its body still above the surface twitched once, then went completely still.
The little girl, having driven the boar to Zheng Yichen, pointed at it and then at the fire. Did she want him to roast it?
He scratched his head with a claw. That was probably it, right? He hooked a claw into the boar's back, sliced it open, and deftly peeled off the hide. He had just tossed it aside when the little girl came over carrying an enormous water vat, one big enough to fit her inside.
Zheng Yichen's dragon eyes nearly popped out. Chasing the boar had been one thing. This world's fighters were powerful, so perhaps she possessed some special ability. With that in mind, he hadn't been particularly shocked. He could take on ten boars like that himself!
But now... with this new point of comparison right in front of him, his surprise caught up. He wanted to ask whether she had magnets in her hands. How else could she lift a vat just by pressing a hand against its rim?
No matter how he looked at it, the sight was absurd. That vat could have held ten little girls her size!
"Hm? Why is this water a little dark?" Zheng Yichen lowered his head to examine the vat she had set down. The water was fairly clear, but it had a dark tint. Puzzled, he dipped a claw into it. Had she... poisoned it?
At the thought, he cast the little girl a suspicious glance and shook the droplets from his claw. They splashed onto the ground. Hmm. Should he use this water?
He didn't know who she was, and she seemed extraordinarily strong. Would she fly into a rage and do something if he refused? The thought alone made Zheng Yichen feel embarrassed.
He was a dragon now. Was he really hesitating because of one little girl!?
"..." The little girl stared at the droplets Zheng Yichen had flung onto the ground, and her brow furrowed. She stood on tiptoe to look into the vat, gave a soft huff, and pressed her hand against its rim. Before Zheng Yichen's astonished eyes, the huge vat arced through the air toward the end of the street. A loud crash followed.
What... what was that supposed to mean?
Had he caught her poisoning the water, and now she was furious?
Zheng Yichen looked at the lingering anger on her face and pulled his dragon mouth into a grimace. Then he glanced at the skinned boar. He didn't mind roasting it without washing it first. Dragons had formidable digestion. During the first two months, when he'd struggled to find food, he had even gnawed on rocks.
But there was another mouth to feed now, and she had brought the boar here. It wouldn't be right to think only of himself. Fine, he would find water himself. There were plenty of houses in town; a door-to-door search would turn up some. But where had everyone in this town gone?
An accident? There were no signs of a fight. If anything, it looked as though the people here had simply vanished.
"Talk about a ghost story," he muttered. He quickly rinsed the boar meat with the water he had collected. His claws made perfect cutting tools, and he easily tore the meat into small pieces. He laid them on a rack he had scavenged while looking for water and set them over the fire.
He had also found some seasonings in the deserted town. His cooking skills had been practically nonexistent before he crossed over, but after so long fending for himself, he had picked up a few things.
At the very least, he could make sure the meat came out neither burnt nor half-raw. With the seasonings added, the aroma of roasting meat soon filled the air. The little girl, who had been sitting nearby with her chin in her hands and appeared to be sulking, turned her head.
What kind of look was that?!
Disdain mixed with anticipation? Sure, his cooking wasn't good enough to make someone drool from the smell alone, but did that reaction mean she wanted some or not!?
With surprising delicacy, Zheng Yichen speared a cooked piece of boar with a wooden skewer and offered it to the little girl. It was the first piece ready. It was a bit large, but for someone who had just lifted a water vat with her bare hands, its size should hardly matter.
"..." The little girl stared at the skewered meat, which was roughly the size of a human head, and fell silent for a moment. Rather than take it, she came over to Zheng Yichen and gestured for him to put it back. Then she raised a small hand and flicked the gap between his scales!
Zheng Yichen's whole body jerked. Anyone would flinch if they were suddenly jabbed with a needle! This little girl really was ruthless!
If a light flick of her finger could do that, then the slap he had felt during the day must have been her doing!
The little girl held a cup she had found somewhere beneath the spot between Zheng Yichen's scales. After collecting half a cup of his blood, she pulled it away; his wound had already stopped bleeding thanks to his healing ability.
What was she doing now? Surely this little girl wasn't some kind of vampire?
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