Chapter 83: The Rouge Dragon Girl, Flayed and Drawn

The long-silent Western Wastelands Great Marsh welcomed a rare bustle. Luo Zhi’s eerie infant wails spread through the darkness in all directions, driving the surrounding beasts to flee heaven and earth to escape the demonic sound piercing their ears. Yet the cries were so terrifying that they even penetrated the marsh mud and rocks to reach the depths below.

Luo Zhi’s lair hid deep in the mountains. The giant pit was filled with white bones and the rotting corpses of various animal demons. Shi Qingyi held the Bright Dust Lamp that repelled demons and monsters. Even with her composure, her face darkened from the child’s incessant wailing outside.

Fearing she might be scared, the System unusually prepared to comfort her and asked with concern, “Host, what are you thinking about?”

Shi Qingyi lifted her skirt to avoid a wolf demon’s leg bone on the ground, her expression blank. “I’m thinking about how to poison it mute.”

The System: “…”

After a pause, the System hesitated between seriously looking up ways to poison Luo Zhi mute and persuading her to act humanely before finally speaking tactfully, “Host, at a time like this, shouldn’t you be concerned about the villain instead?”

Shi Qingyi’s steps paused slightly. Her frost-colored boots remained spotless. The lamp’s faint glow illuminated the cave as she turned back to glance at the pitch-black path behind her.

Faint sounds of gales and shattering rocks came from there, along with bursts of infant cries. Even from this distance, Shi Qingyi felt her eardrums ache faintly.

“I’ve already tossed her outside. Going back now wouldn’t be shedding crocodile tears?” Shi Qingyi turned away and quickened her pace toward the depths of the cave, her voice fading into the wind. “Besides, do you really think she has no hidden tricks up her sleeve?”

If she had no hidden strength, it would have been impossible for her to truly pull off a desperate counter-kill with one claw to the heart.

Ahead, the path was nearing its end. The marsh overhead continued to collapse, and amid the mud, a faint glow slowly emerged, forming a hazy red light with spiritual energy flickering in and out.

The Medical Immortal’s frost-colored skirt had just stepped into the area when the darkness trembled. One scarlet eye slowly opened in the shadows, followed by a second, a third, up to the eighteenth…

—

Gale winds carried torrential rain battering the torn marsh. Amid the rain curtain stood a nine-headed, nine-tailed ferocious beast. Its massive tiger claw swept down with a sky-obscuring momentum. The woman in the storm dodged the strike with a bizarre twist of her body.

The tiger claw, laced with demonic energy, slammed into the marsh, sending mud splattering everywhere. The woman’s legs trembled several times before she slowly stood, a trickle of blood overflowing from her mouth. It dripped along her gaunt jawline, then from her ears, nostrils, and eye sockets—blood seeping in thin threads.

The name of the Demon Dragon Yaoluo resounded through the Three Realms, with few opponents. She had always been the one looking down on others, never once so wretched.

With her strength, facing Luo Zhi should not have been an issue. But thanks to that ruthless woman Shi Qingyi—who had extracted her dragon tendon, stripped her dragon bone, and carved out her flesh—her power was now less than a tenth of what it had been. Even matching this beast evenly was a stretch.

Luo Zhi guarded a heavenly treasure, yet Shi Qingyi had gone to fetch medicine for the leopard, leaving her here to block the way and die.

How nice!

No wonder she had conveniently released her and healed her wounds so thoroughly. Distortion and madness twisted across Yaoluo’s gaunt cheeks. She gnashed her teeth inwardly, calling Shi Qingyi’s name, wishing she could skin her alive, pull her tendons, and dice her into a thousand pieces right then.

But hatred changed nothing. Her body carried the innate bloodline of the Dragon Clan, laced with a trace of divine blood—a treasure coveted by demons and monsters worldwide. It was no surprise Luo Zhi fixated on her, ignoring even Shi Qingyi who had intruded into its lair.

The wind and rain grew fiercer, dark clouds gathering overhead. Amid the infant’s shrill cries laced with inevitable malice, she had reached a point of no retreat.

A flicker of struggle flashed in Yaoluo’s eyes. At this moment, was it worth using her final trump card—

No matter what, death meant losing everything. Even if it meant exposing herself and being dragged back by Shi Qingyi for more drug testing, it was better than rotting in this mud. Madness surged in the woman’s eyes as demonic energy leaked from their corners in wisps.

A massive silver serpent dozens of feet long tore through the dark purple sky. Accompanied by the eerie infant wails, the giant claw crashed down. Before the beast’s thousand-zhang body, the tiny black-clad woman seemed insignificant, as if she could be crushed into blood mist at any moment.

The storm raged darkly. Fine dragon scales silently covered the woman’s arms, neck, then up to her ears and eye corners. Demonic energy overflowed soundlessly from her eyes.

Better to fight to the death than surrender tamely.

At least, there was a slim chance of survival.

Just as the massive claw was about to collide brutally with the frail black-clad figure, a sharp wail suddenly erupted from the distant horizon.

Sensing something, Yaoluo whipped her head around, only to see a blood-soaked figure streaking through the rain toward her. Behind her loomed another Luo Zhi, even larger, its eighteen scarlet eyes glaring in the darkness, its cries stabbing at the eardrums.

Before she could react, an icy hand seized her arm. Spiritual power surged rapidly into her limb, and a cold, unquestionable voice commanded, “Go!”

A white flash streaked by, something exploding in the wind. The black and white figures vanished into the marsh depths as two equally terrifying giant claws clashed with irresistible force.

The entire Fuli Mountain shuddered violently. Rocks and mud tumbled down, low-level demons fleeing in all directions.

Rain poured relentlessly. Even using the Shifting Form Pearl at the brink of life and death, the horrific force still shook the pair until they vomited blood and fell unconscious.

Yaoluo felt as if she floated on the sea, someone gripping her arm tightly.

She had a long dream.

In the dream, it was back when Shi Qingyi had deceived her.

They were still on Fuxi Mountain then. The demon king from the neighboring peak harbored ill intentions and came seeking the Medical Immortal every few days. On the third visit, she could no longer tolerate it.

After leaving the medicine hut, she hurled the demon off Fuxi Mountain, smashing it to pieces. When Shi Qingyi came looking, she immediately struck herself with a palm, spitting blood while stubbornly glaring at the demon king.

The demon king, covered in bruises, trembled with rage at her lips, accusing her of hypocrisy. But the Medical Immortal ignored it entirely, simply furrowing her brow lightly as she came over to ask if the wound hurt.

Just those words made her lose all reason.

Twilight’s sunset had blanketed the sky, crimson clouds stretching to the mountain’s edge.

The usually aloof and distant Medical Immortal held her back, pressed beneath clusters of Wangyou flowers.

Immense joy filled her bewildered heart. She embraced her beloved like a treasure, anxious yet afraid to startle her.

For the Dragon Clan, choosing a mate for the first time required revealing one’s true form. Dragons were innately stunning, but as beasts, the rule had evolved to avoid tragedies like the legend of the dragon hater.

In passion, one transformed into a dragon.

Moonlight flowed over the black dragon’s hard black scales like water. She constantly watched Shi Qingyi’s reactions, fearing her feral true form would frighten her.

The Medical Immortal’s eyes reflected rivers of stars, a complex shadow flashing by. After a moment, she merely frowned slightly.

Her heart clenched. Her dragon tail silently wrapped tighter around the woman’s waist beneath her—was she scared? Regretting? Disgusted by the dragon form?

Before those violent emotions could rise, the Medical Immortal lifted her hand. Her slender, thin fingers traced the old scars on her body, caressing each one inch by inch.

“How did this happen?” Her dark brows furrowed slightly, her usually emotionless eyes filled with silent pity.

“Just some old wounds…”

A tingling current gathered at the Medical Immortal’s fingertips, scorching over her scales, making her bite her lip.

The Demon Clan revered the strong and was warlike to the extreme. Some even devoured purer-blooded kin to advance. From her flood dragon transformation onward, she had been coveted. Countless demons sought to kill and consume her over the years, though many who slipped had been devoured in turn.

Those scars traced back endlessly, but she didn’t want Shi Qingyi to know her dark past.

Pain flickered in the Medical Immortal’s eyes. She flipped them over, pressing her down. Her cool fingers traced the countless scars, followed by intimate, gentle kisses over every old, scabbed wound.

Her voice was bewitching: “I’ll heal you…”

Gentle white spiritual power gathered in her palm, nurturing the Dragon Clan’s ancient injuries. It flowed through limbs and bones, converging at the heart.

The Medical Immortal whispered her name tenderly by her ear. She willingly drowned in that aura, the long-healed scars trembling under the healer’s touch.

The white-clad immortal held her, the boundless night sky above, long winds spanning thousands of miles for this moment alone.

Her heart swelled to bursting. She thought she would tremble and cling to the Medical Immortal’s slender neck, kissing her cool brows as before.

But as she lunged, she sank her teeth into the Medical Immortal’s pale, graceful neck.

Blood gushed instantly. Crimson flooded from the immortal’s neck, filling her mouth with a sweet, metallic taste—warm, bloody, utterly unlike any demon she had slain before. She bit deeper, harder, wanting—

Yaoluo jolted awake from the nightmare, her breathing ragged. Her hand instinctively grasped for something but clutched only sand.

The Shifting Form Pearl teleported randomly, so they had escaped. She recalled the Luo Zhi that had appeared behind Shi Qingyi. Murderous intent flashed in her eyes, and she abruptly turned.

On the beach beside her, the white-clad woman clung to her arm, curled at her side. Her face was as pale as moonlight. Her usual outer robe was gone, but their hands remained clasped tightly, gripping so hard that Yaoluo felt distinct pain.

—She hadn’t woken yet.

Of course. Her true form was just Yaoxiang Grass after all, needing protection—how could it compare to the Dragon Clan’s sturdy physique.

She hadn’t woken, so—

Her dragon tendon was back. Losing the dragon bone only cost a century of cultivation; there was still a chance to start over. Now was the time to break free—

No, wait—she hadn’t woken—

In an instant, Yaoluo weighed the pros and cons and arrived at the optimal choice. Her right hand flashed like lightning, clamping around the woman’s throat, eyes filled with vicious ruthlessness.

Kill her and end it. With her defenseless now, it would be effortless.

The slender neck’s artery pulsed slowly under the Dragon Clan’s palm. The faint blue vein was clear beneath the warm skin. Just a bit more force to snap her neck—

Yet, at the thought of truly killing her with her own hands, the Dragon Clan’s lips twitched involuntarily.

Those hellish days of skinning, tendon-pulling, bloodletting for tests, the heartbreak of betrayal on their wedding night—

Her palm tightened inch by inch, then tighter still. But the iron-hearted woman suddenly recoiled at one moment, her pale palm numbed by the shock.

Yaoluo stared deathly at her tiger-mouthed palm, now bleeding from the rebound. In that instant, her face darkened like an impending storm, terrifyingly ominous, laced with faint sorrow amid near-mad hatred.

She never imagined the thing stopping her from killing Shi Qingyi would be her own Reverse Scale.

A dragon has a Reverse Scale; touch it, and fury erupts.

Her life’s sole Reverse Scale had been given to Shi Qingyi as a betrothal gift. After a century of conquests amassing bloody trophies and treasures—all tainted with gore—she had carved it from her own heart and given it to Shi Qingyi, vowing it would always protect her.

Back then, wholly devoted to a lifetime together, she never dreamed it would end like this.

She couldn’t kill Shi Qingyi because her Reverse Scale still guarded that ridiculous vow.

How pathetic.

The unconscious woman seemed about to wake; her heavy eyelids trembled faintly. The glow at her heart, sensing no killing intent, gradually faded into nothing.

Unable to kill her, Yaoluo turned and left without hesitation, clean and decisive. Once she escaped, she would eventually make that venomous woman pay!

Strip her bones, flay her skin—but first, pry free the hand holding her.

Shi Qingyi clung even in death, nails embedded in flesh. Yaoluo gritted her teeth, separating their hands and leaving bloody gashes on her arm.

The black-clad woman’s staggering figure vanished into the distant night. Only when the heavy, halting footsteps fully merged with the rising and falling tides did low, suppressed coughs sound from the beach.

Shi Qingyi turned her neck a few times, her fingers pressing and rubbing at the spot on her throat that had nearly been twisted off. Even breathing hurt terribly, and she knew without looking that a large swath of bruising must have formed there.

“Cough cough, you really went for the kill…”

The System glanced at her with concern and gave its verdict: “Don’t worry, it’s still not as ruthless as you.”

Shi Qingyi ignored the trash System, cast a spell on herself, and applied some spiritual medicine. She slowly rubbed at her throat. The System grew anxious: “Host, you’re just going to let the villain go like that?!”

“She can’t leave.”

Her throat finally felt a bit better. Shi Qingyi gazed toward the end of the sea and delivered her conclusion, her voice faint but resolute.

…

She truly couldn’t leave. Some people were just that vicious at heart. It looked like she had unlocked the chains, but in reality, she hadn’t unlocked them at all.

Yaoluo’s complexion was extremely poor as she stared at the faintly visible ice-blue chains on her arm. Chains forged from profound ice were undoubtedly the firmest in the Three Realms, but against the full force of a Dragon Clan’s dragon scales, there was surely a chance to break free.

But—

Half a shichen later, footsteps sounded on the fine sand, the chains dragging across the gravel and producing a rough scraping noise. The Medical Immortal still stood quietly in the spot where she had left, gazing at the tides with a somber indifference. A layer of chill seemed to envelop her entirely.

The dark sky was dotted with a few scattered stars. The sound of the tides gently lapped at the shore. On the distant sea surface, waves glittered, stretching all the way to the horizon where sea and sky met. The hem of her white robes was lightly lifted by the sea breeze, and even upon hearing the footsteps, she did not turn back.

“I thought you wouldn’t come back.”

Her usually cold voice carried an inexplicable sigh. Only after a moment did she turn her head. Seeing two streaks of dried blood stuck to the ragged clothes near the woman’s ear, the Medical Immortal’s expression shifted slightly. She abruptly reached out a hand, as if instinctively wanting to touch her ear. But as she drew near, she held back and withdrew it.

“Can’t hear from your right ear?”

The Dragon Clan revealed a hint of mockery. Just as she was about to say something, the white-robed immortal had already turned toward her left ear. Warm breath sprayed against her neck. She spoke with a gentle smile, but her voice seemed laced with firm ice—tender yet vicious.

She said, “If you had really run just now, I would have killed you.”

A sharp glint flashed in Yaoluo’s eyes, and she let out a cold laugh deep in her heart.

That night, they temporarily settled at the Biluo Sea. The Shifting Form Pearl had chosen a spot north of the merfolk territory, where ordinary treasures couldn’t be used lightly. With both of them covered in injuries, they had no choice but to stay there for the night.

The sea breeze that night was unusually quiet. The sound of waves crashing against the shore was long and majestic, and at the end of the sea lay a hazy line of deep blue where sea and sky blended as one.

In the middle of the night, the Dragon Clan, who had been pretending to sleep and couldn’t slumber due to the Luo Zhi’s magic sound piercing her ears, sensed someone quietly approaching from behind. Gentle fingers softly stroked her right ear, with mild spiritual power warming the painful wound.

“Luo Zhi,” the Medical Immortal softly uttered the name in her icy voice, low and deep. “I’ll make them pay the price.”

Moments later, the spiritual power withdrew. That hand restrained itself as it touched the brow and eyes of the sleeping person, her voice like a sigh: “Since you’ve already left, why come back…”

—This was a question destined to get no answer, because she had said it to the right ear of the sleeping person, who couldn’t hear anyway.

The Dragon Clan, born immune to the Luo Zhi’s magic sound and wide awake in the dead of night, kept her eyes tightly shut. In her heart, she thought with no small amount of sarcasm: Of course it’s because my Reverse Scale is still with you. I can’t escape.