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"Lalalala~" Jia Hyson happily swam in the stream, his serpentine body swishing back and forth as he cuts agilely through the water. 

Unlike western dragons that were big and breathed fire, eastern dragons were sleek and were more inclined toward water. It wasn't like they also didn't have fire breathing dragons as well, but they were more known for bringing rain or becoming rivers etc. so Jia Hyson was particularly adept at swimming. 

By his side three wet little mice were paddling and squeaking happily. Maybe it was because they were summons but their ability to pick things up were very fast, especially if you praise them and shower them with affection. They were truly the representation of individuals that respond well to coercion not force. 

Da Gong who was sitting on the bank clucks, enjoying the view of his shiny little worm. He felt a little regret that he couldn't join in ah. But as a rooster his swimming abilities were not as good and he had too much pride to be seen in such an embarrassing state in front of his worm. 

Even though he knew it was impossible, he wanted his worm to see his best features all the time ah. 

Tang Muxin clicks her tongue at this beautiful scene of the soldier admiring the bathing beauty, before stabbing her hand into the cold flowing river with brutal but swift motion. With some strain she pulls her arm back and reveals the large fish that she had caught with some triumph. It seems they'll be having some fresh meat for dinner tonight. 

Duan Mengyao admires her powerful form for a moment, finding the women heroic and beautiful in her strength, before dutifully wading through the river and offering to carry the flopping fish back to the bank. Tang Muxin smiles faintly and hands the fish over to the larger man, with everyone's appetites they'll need more than one fish, and it was indeed difficult for her to keep a good grip on the energetic and slippery carp when wading back to the bank. 

The General looks at her deeply, as if to etch the smile into his heart before giving her his own faint smile and leaving, stunning her. She didn't know why but she felt that ever since the kidnapping incident Meng Meng had become a little bit more handsome ah.

Meanwhile Ye Cheng was enthusiastically teaching Yan Huizhong to weave reed mats. Reed weaving was a major economic source for local residents since ancient times since dried reeds were fibrous and flexible and could be used for multiple purposes. Ye Cheng felt that Cao Huizhong was pretty good with his hands, and decided now that they had the time and resources he may as well teach him some basics.

He had noticed the beautiful cripple's mood had been quite low since the kidnapping. Ye Cheng couldn't empathize but he definitely could sympathize ah. He had seen many men fall into depression due once they received permanent injuries and became lame or disabled. It was admirable that this nobleman had held himself well for so long. 

However it was inevitable that he must have feelings of worthlessness in his heart given how limited his capabilities and contributions were in the group. After all, Cao Huizhong was smart, the most intelligent in their group, maybe the most intelligent man he had ever met if Ye Cheng was honest. But their group was simple and very carefree, only needing someone to count the money and keep track of profits, something Ye Cheng and Tang Muxin were very capable of doing already.

In short, Ye Cheng was like an elite weak accountant from the national bank trying to find a place with a group of fisherman on a boat. The things they require he can't do, and the few things he could, the others could do as well. Frankly it was quite an awkward situation for Cao Huizhong since he couldn't even cook well and was awkward with the animals except Jin Bao who he liked well enough. 

Reed products were always popular and in demand now. If Cao Huizhong learnt it then he could help make more money with them and keep his hands busy. Luckily Ye Cheng's estimate of the noble's abilities were pretty good, and Yan Huizhong quickly picked up the basic techniques after a few failed attempts. 

Ye Cheng grinned when he saw how well the other was doing. "Tsk, it turns out you can learn so quickly? So good! Amazing! Your path in reed weaving is limitless!" He praises generously and vigorously. For people with low self esteem he felt that excessive positivity should be received well. 

However he felt this sort of praise was too crude and simple for such an elegant man like Cao Huizhong. Wracking his brains Ye Cheng finally recalled some of the lines the other had taught him a while back, "It is like the saying, um… The ah, Indigo is obtained from the indigo plant, and the color is just as blue as the plant itself."

"It's Indigo is obtained from the indigo plant, but such colour is bluer than the plant itself.*" Yan Huizhong immediately corrects, but his voice is filled with bemusement and indulgence. "Very close though."

* Qīng chū yú lán ér shèng yú lán: Meaning- Wise schooling has produced excellence beyond the teacher. The follower has surpassed the master.

Ye Cheng sticks his tongue out cheekily, "Aiyah, it's only bluer because the ink makers put more things into it ah. So technically my way is better hehe."

Yan Huizhong's eye twitches, and his mouth inadvertently curls up in a helpless smile as Ye Cheng tries to sell him meng. It was working very well. "Really… swallowing a date along with its stone.**"

**To read something without fully understanding it.

"If you're hungry you would probably eat the stone too." Ye Cheng felt that a lot of these flowery prose was too impractical, it was still better to be more straightforward than play pretentious. Dates weren't easy to get in the countryside, many people there would happily swallow the whole thing stone and all in order to fill up their stomach a little better. 

Yan Huizhong gently poked Ye Cheng's forehead, "Stupid." He chuckles, "The stone is no good for you, that's why the meaning of this line is 'taking in something without fully understanding it,' understand."

Ye Cheng touches his forehead in a slight daze before nodding obediently. "I, en, understand." He mutters, his face inexplicably a little hot. He felt that since the kidnapping, not only was the other man a bit listless but also he had smoothed out some of his prickly demeanor and conversely became a little more gentle and handsome. 

Little Fatty the field mouse and the other animals stared sullenly by the side, and solemnly nibbled on their melon seeds.

Wu, tastes like dog food. 

….

Step by step, hand in hand, people grow old and journeys will end. 

A lot of things had happened since then. Various important things. Unfortunately this story was not really about those important things and mostly focuses on the adventures of a slag host in a dragon body flirting with a rooster. If one would want to read this story, they would probably have to go read the revised version on *******.com. 

Anyway, here is a summary of some of the various important plot points that had happened thus far:

Tang Muxin had become one with her physical body and had learnt a lot of ancient qi techniques both from an enthusiastic Duan Mengyao and a critical Yan Huizhong, surpassing both of them and becoming the strongest in their group save for Da Gong. 

With her improved physical fitness and already OP medical skills, she managed to save many handsome men along the way, not excluding: A bandit king with a sad past, a wealthy frail noble with a 'terminal' illness, a pair of noble twins who had a very convoluted misunderstanding involving a flower… needless to say, a certain general had learnt to appreciate the taste of vinegar which was consistently found in his mouth. 

Fortunately, unlike in the original story, she had not settled down to open her shop, and therefore not many of the men had the time or capability to follow and pursue her. Though they truly tried their best to woo her and convince her to stay. Promises of money, prestige, power and love were constantly thrown at her but Tang Muxin was unmoved.

Suitors: 'We can give you anything you want!'

Tang Muxin: 'Really?'

Suitors: NodsFuriously.gif

Tang Muxin: 'Can you give me another animal as cute as my Jin Bao?'

Jia Hyson: 'Mrp.'

Suitors: 'Well, no…'

Tang Muxin: 'Can you give me a rooster as impressive as Da Gong?'

Da Gong: 'Cluck.'

Suitors: 'Erm…'

Tang Muxin: 'Then at least get me a Ye Cheng and I will promise my heart and body to you ah.'

Bride gift Ye Cheng: '???'

Yan Huizhong, grabbing Ye Cheng: 'Don't you dare!' HissingCat.gif

Suitors: '…' Women these days have very hard demands for a husband now ah.

Duan Mengyao: Even though I'm happy that the suitors cannot compete, laozi just realized he also... also can't compete. Sweating.gif 

Not only were their changes with Tang Muxin and her love life, Duan Mengyao and Yan Huizhong's heart knot* was finally confronted. 

*You guys have probably read cultivation so I'll keep this brief. Heart knot is like a grievance or regret that 

Yan Huizhong found out Duan Mengyao had regained his memory and, after a few very minor conflicts that may have snowballed into one of them almost falling off a cliff- finally talked it out and have both realised their fight had been overseen by an unknown third party. 

The truth of the matter was Yan Huizhong had been led to gather information for the crown prince from a certain informant. Duan Mengyao had been on a secret investigation mission for the third prince he was supporting, which was in fact to investigate the crown prince's suspicious actions recently- leading him to finally find one of the crown prince's secret informants hiding out in the countryside. By coincidence Duan Mengyao and Yan Huizhong met and clashed. Imperial politics was cruel and bloody, with their identities revealed and in such a compromising scene, it was really kill now or be executed later. 

However they were evenly matched, Duan Mengyao was powerful and Yan Huizhong was even more vicious, resulting in both becoming bruised, battered and bleeding profusely. In the end, sensing that he was the weaker one in an endurance battle, Yan Huizhong tried to escape with Duan Mengyao hot on his heels. The chase lasted until nightfall where they reached the alleyway they had originally collapsed in and what proceeded could be, what the experts would say, a very angry slap fight. 

In the end, Yan Huizhong ended up falling first. No matter what, compared to a proper military man, he really couldn't win if he was forced to go head on without some underhanded tricks. And yet, before Duan Mengyao could deal the finishing blow, someone attacked him from behind, causing him to black out. 

Jia Hyson at the time had been hiding and eavesdropping on the conversation the whole time. What could he say? He had some control issues ah. But hearing the full story, even though it was vaguely similar to what he had thought the truth of the matter may be, he couldn't help but sigh.

It was really a classic case of the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. And whoever the oriole was- really fucking hated Yan Huizhong it seems, like damn. 

Most likely they wanted Yan Huizhong to bleed to death in a horrific looking way and pin it on the good general. After all, even though they were torturous wounds mainly in the legs, the femoral artery was there. The femoral artery in the legs constitutes the major blood supply to the lower limb and puncturing it could make one bleed out within minutes. 

Jia Hyson wagged his tail thoughtfully, there's three ways this can go. 

The unknown third party purposely let Yan Huizhong and Duan Mengyao live… for some reason. The unknown party did try to frame Duan Mengyao with the murder of a prince which would result in both the Duan family and third prince's party to suffer a great setback, but they were incompetent hired help like a random thug or bandit that was paid to do the deed and failed to follow through the job. Or the skilled assassin sent by the person responsible just missed by luck thanks to various factors like darkness and the world's consciousness doing their best to maintain the plot and protect an important character.

He was obviously more inclined to the second and third options, maybe even a mix of the two. Jia Hyson still didn't fully understand what exactly the world's consciousness is capable of and how far it will and can go in order to maintain the plot. Another host would probably have a better idea since the world's consciousness would be much stricter toward keeping the plot as it were, however as a Beta host, he had the privilege of being essentially invited over by the world's consciousness to help change and improve said plot so it was especially lax supervision in comparison.

Anyway, with that main misunderstanding solved, and a common enemy at hand, both Duan Mengyao and Yan Huizhong decided to have a truce and alliance, agreeing to work together to find the people that plotted against them and also to not reveal each other's identity to Tang Muxin and Yan Huizhong. Partly because they were afraid about the trouble their identities could cause them, but mainly because they were still trying to seduce them and they were really reluctant to leave the group.

Jia Hyson who heard everything: Hehe :)

Tang Muxin who was nearby and could telepathically communicate with Jia Hyson: Hehe :)

Ye Cheng who didn't know anything and was busy outside cuddling his animals: Hehe :3

Meanwhile during all this plot, Jia Hyson was… Well Jia Hyson was really just fucking around with his makeshift interspecies animal family of three summoned mice with identity issues and one very handsome rooster. The main changes during this journey was he had actually grew, with his body reaching roughly the length of a full adult man's arm and the width of a delicate lady's wrist, making him very eye-catching and harder to hide. Fortunately his horns and mane hadn't grown much at all during this period so if they pose him right, Jia Hyson could come off as a very beautiful golden snake or statue. 

Bebe: 'So in short, Tang Muxin became a martial art god and has amassed a nice number of supporting male leads, Yan Huizhong and Duan Mengyao went through large amounts of character development and solved the ticking time bomb between them, and you… You just grew a bit bigger.'

Jia Hyson: '…Well when you say it that way I look like an asshole don't I?'

Bebe: 'Are you not?'

Jia Hyson: 'Ye Cheng didn't do anything either ah!'

Bebe: 'Ye Cheng provided exposition among being the only decent human being in the group!'

Jia Hyson: 'I'm the comic relief!'

Bebe: 'You're the comic grief!'

Jia Hyson: 'Roll!'

Bebe: 'You roll first!'

Jia Hyson: 'AAAAAHHHH!'

Bebe: 'Oh you wanna play the screaming game? Bebe can play the screaming game! AAAAHHHHHHH!'

Jia Hyson: 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!'

Bebe: 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!'

Tang Muxin who suddenly heard the sound of Jin Bao internally angry screaming out of nowhere: ???