Chapter 10 (1/2)
Translator: Exodus Tales
Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by Mianbao
Edited by RED
“Let’s make a bet, then. I’ll walk in right now, and that person at the copperwood gate will definitely not stop me. If I can get in, then you’ll have to give me this basket of peaches,” Zhu Minglang bet the peach selling girl, roused by her words.
“Sure, but what if I win?” the peach girl smiled, her tanned skin and bright eyes forming a distinct contrast.
“Then I’ll buy all your peaches.”
“Looking at your appearance, you don’t seem to have the money,” the peach girl replied.
“Don’t worry about that!”
When others enroll into an academy, they might not have to dress especially well, but they have to look clean and presentable, at the very least. After escorting Li Yunzi back to Ancestral Dragon City State, then making his way to the Dragon Tamers Academy, Zhu Minglang didn’t even have many chances to take a bath. Furthermore, his coarse clothing made him look sloppy.
Zhu Minglang didn’t want things to be like this, either. Being poor was one thing, but looking presentable wasn’t an issue. Him being mistaken for a beggar was because he had encountered bandits and fallen into difficult times…
As he stepped onto the white stone bridge, the number of hawkers around gradually lessened. When he got closer to the copperwood gate, it even seemed like an elegant place, quiet and neat.
“I’m here to enroll. This is my letter.” Zhu Minglang handed his enrollment notice over politely.
“Why do you look like this?” the uncle guarding the gate asked.
“I was out training and came across bandits. I only managed to keep this letter after risking my life,” Zhu Minglang explained casually.
“Hmm. Go in front and get your Academy emblem, then wait at the side.” The gate guard uncle nodded, signalling the people behind to guide Zhu Minglang in.
Zhu Minglang kept the letter, then purposefully looked back at the tanned girl who sold peaches at the end of the bridge, ready to crack a smile like a fierce dog’s.
However, the peach girl seemed to be negotiating prices with a plump madam, talking animatedly.
She had completely forgotten about their bet!
A cold breeze blew across the lake, making a certain person look rather bleak…
In the end, Zhu Minglang could only sigh and walk through the gate.
-Sii, it feels worse than losing the bet!-
—
After crossing the gate, the bridge was nowhere to be seen. It turned out the white stone bridge was only a broken bridge. Beyond the gates was a moon-shaped abutment that gently extended under the clear lake water.
Down in the lake water, a long necked dragon with a wide back was waiting at the side of the abutment. It was as large as a single room apartment, its neck able to reach the gate on the bridge from underwater.
The long-necked dragon’s skin was firm and smooth. While it was huge, it gave off a docile and gentle feeling. There was no pressure even when coming into close contact with it; it seemed to be a completely different creature than Luo Xiao’s gilded fire dragon.
“We’ve gathered enough passengers; we can set off now.” The gate guard quickly brought four more people there.
There were already five people on the long necked dragon’s back. Including Zhu Minglang and the four that came after, there were a total of ten people.
Ten people on a dragon carriage crossed the lake!
“Li Shaoying, you’re our village’s hope! You have to become a dragon tamer no matter what!” a middle-aged man who came to send them off yelled out loudly from the abutment.
Li Shaoying looked embarrassed. After all, there were so many fellow students around!
“It’s fine even if you can’t become one. Quickly return to the village. Someone has to herd the cows and goats back at home, anyway. If they aren’t fed well, then they won’t grow well. And if they don’t grow well, they won’t produce much milk. With no milk, the baby goats and cows won’t make it through the winter,” the herder continued shouting.
A wave of low laughter rang out around them, especially the girls who were about to cross the lake on the long necked dragon to the Academy. They covered their mouths, but couldn’t suppress their laughter.
That youth known as Li Shaoying really wanted to jump into the lake to hide himself. He sent away the herder who had come to send him off impatiently, “I know, I know! Uncle Hua, you’d better quickly return!”
“Remember to share the bag of smoked deer meat with your peers. With nothing or anyone familiar around you, you need to form a good relationship with your peers and teachers! That way you wouldn’t get bullied easily!”
“Uncle, please return, I beg you!”
“Aiya, I forgot to give you some ointment. Here, here, if you get beat up, you’ll recover quickly if you apply some on your wounds.”
Finally, the warm and caring herder was persuaded to leave. If he stayed any longer, the freshman known as Li Shaoying might really jump into the lake to kill himself!
“You three are rather late in enrolling. You’d probably only get to choose the dragonlings that were left unpicked when you arrive at the Dragon Storage Hall. Even if the journey is far, you should have left earlier,” the gate guard uncle said to Li Shaoying, Zhu Minglang, and another tall and cold young master.
“You have only just enrolled, too?” Li Shaoying was surprised, and began to size up Zhu Minglang and that cold young master.
That tall and cold young master didn’t bother paying him any heed. It was obvious he had zero intention of forming any sort of relationship with someone like Li Shaoying, who had come from some poor, remote area to enroll in the Dragon Tamers Academy.
Having taken the initiative to start a conversation and getting ignored, Li Shaoying couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.