Chapter 204
Chapter 204: The Tea Tree Blooms, Its Fragrance Enchants the Golden Dragon
Zhong Li He thought that if Chong Ming did not agree with him, he would accuse him of wasting a heavenly gift and challenge him. No matter what, he would still make him train Jiang Tea Tea.
If Chong Ming insisted on not training her and only keeping her as his follower, burying her innate talent, then Zhong Li He would fall out with him, swing his hammer, and dig Jiang Tea Tea out to bring her back to the Western Kingdom.
He had not expected that Chong Ming had been nurturing and supporting her all along, grooming her to one day stand in his place. Good, he really was his friend; their values matched.
Zhong Li He asked: “Does Jiang Tea Tea know you are training her?”
Chong Ming nodded: “She knows, but her ambitions are not here. You have to coax her, flatter her, and give her benefits before she is willing.”
Zhong Li He said in surprise: “She was not impressed by two big baskets of sparkling, fiery gems. What benefits could you give her that she would actually care about?”
She really did not care about gems.
With her ability, if she was ever short on money, she would not even need to say a word. Just a few gestures and countless people would rush to hand money to her.
What kind of benefit could Chong Ming give her that would actually move her?
Chong Ming said mysteriously: “Secret.”
Zhong Li He had thought he would hear about some benefit so great it would shake the heavens and shock the whole galaxy, but instead Chong Ming refused to tell him and even dodged the question.
[And to think he had just said their values matched, that he trusted him, that they were friends. He really had given his trust to the wrong person.]
[Forget it, I won’t stoop to his level. A secret is a secret; he can keep it to himself.]
He asked again: “When Jiang Tea Tea was drawing in all that wind, thunder, lightning, and rain, I did not notice. You did. Does she know that you noticed?”
“I mean, before this you never mentioned that she has so many supernatural abilities. She must be hiding a lot. Does she know that in front of you she is like a sheet of transparent paper?”
The corners of Chong Ming’s lips lifted slightly. He looked a bit proud, a bit showy: “Everyone has secrets. She does not need to know that I know so much about her.”
“She is like a huge treasure hoard. The more you look, the more you discover. The more you dig, the more new things you find. She surprises me all the time.”
[He was showing off in his face again, right? Forcing dog food down his throat again, right? He was the fool for saying so much, right?]
Zhong Li He was both depressed and annoyed. He felt that if he did not win at least one round, he would not sleep tonight. So he opened his mouth and stabbed right at Chong Ming’s soft spot: “She is right not to register your marriage. As long as she does not register, she is still free.”
“A youngling carried by a free woman, according to the law code of your Zhenlin Empire, belongs to her alone. Think about it. In your Golden Dragon Clan there are only you and your eldest nephew, two dragons. Now you finally have a third, but it does not belong to you or to your Golden Dragon Imperial Clan. I am sweating on your behalf. What a pity!”
Chong Ming’s expression tightened, his face blank: “It is only a matter of time before she and I register our marriage. The youngling will belong to both her and me all the same.”
“I am not like you, a lonely bachelor. It would be one thing if you just refused to date or look for a woman, but you are even dragging down the lieutenant general Kong Que next to you.”
Zhong Li He was speechless: “……”
[He was the one dragging Kong Que down? What nonsense! It was that little male Kong Que who refused to date or look for a woman. He himself could not get married or fall in love, and he even wanted to give Kong Que a child to raise. It was not his fault that Kong Que was so useless. What did that have to do with him.]
Chong Ming stepped back and flicked at a bit of imaginary dust on his clothes: “Alright, enough small talk. I’m going to check on Jiang Tea Tea and give my youngling some prenatal education. Do as you like.”
He had no intention of telling Zhong Li He that he had not even touched the youngling yet. He would only keep showing off in front of him until he jumped with anger.
Zhong Li He really did stomp his feet: “Get lost, get lost, what are you even so proud of! Just you wait. Once I finish sharpening my hammer, one swing and Jiang Tea Tea will come back to the Western Kingdom with me.”
If he spirited Jiang Tea Tea away and made her youngling acknowledge him as godfather, then he would be the father of a Golden Dragon cub. Anyone who saw or heard about it would give him a thumbs up and praise him as capable.
As soon as Chong Ming, who hid his achievements and fame, left with his front foot, he immediately called Deputy Officer Ai in with the next and ordered him to see Zhong Li He off the warship.
In the reception room, Zhong Li He stomped his feet for the second time and raised a hand to point at the ceiling as he spat harsh words, swearing to be at odds with Chong Ming and to steal Jiang Tea Tea away.
Deputy Officer Ai did not dare make a sound. He quietly sent a message to Lieutenant General Kong Que, asking him to dock his ship at their interface.
Once Kong Que received the message, he went to pick up his Executive Commander and immediately had to listen to his boss’s endless muttering: “Kong Que, go buy me the brightest, most fiery gems in the whole of Interstellar Space and bring them back for Jiang Tea Tea.”
“Also, call the Phoenix Clan and ask if they have any little darlings. Tell them to hand them over at once. Anyone who refuses, tell them that when I go back I will simply take them by force.”
“And check how much property I have, how much cash, how many subsidies. I refuse to believe that I cannot compete with Chong Ming’s wealth.”
What else could Kong Que do? He answered respectfully: “Yes, yes, I will contact them right away. I will check right away.”
“But, Executive Commander, there are a few important matters here that I cannot handle in your place. Could you take a look at how to deal with them?”
As soon as they touched on official business, Zhong Li He snapped back to seriousness in one second: “What important matters can you not handle? I am telling you, the problem is that you are handling too few of them.”
“Come on, come on, go to my office. You go through them once first and I will watch. Later I will teach you again.”
“I am telling you, you have to be bolder and look further ahead. When you handle things, always put people’s livelihood first and put the nation above all else, and you will not go wrong.”
Kong Que dropped half a step behind him, obedient as a loyal little dog: “Yes, Executive Commander, you are right. I should learn more from you.”
Zhong Li He quickened his pace and did not forget to urge Kong Que to hurry up, telling him to walk faster and not dawdle.
Kong Que neither dawdled nor sped up. He kept his usual pace, following behind Zhong Li He, his eyes resting on the man’s back.
Jiang Tea Tea took a shower and changed into the 59th Encampment patrol combat suit. She did not put on the usual face paint and did not wear her hat.
When she came out of the washroom, she saw Chong Ming sitting on the sofa with a light-brain wrist terminal tablet on his lap and a holo projection screen in front of him. His fingers were flying across a virtual keyboard.
Seeing that he was busy, Jiang Tea Tea went over and sat on the sofa diagonally across from him. She did not call out to him and instead tapped open her light-brain wrist terminal.
Messages were popping up in the small group chat of the eight of them. When she opened it, she saw that every day someone had been talking.
“Have you seen Sister Tea? When is Sister Tea coming back?”
“Sister Tea thinks we are too useless and has dumped us!”
“Sister Tea despises you, not us. We are very smart, okay.”
“Day 1 of missing Sister Tea…”
“Day 2 of missing Sister Tea…”
“Day 3 of missing Sister Tea…”
“Day … of missing Sister Tea…”
“Without Sister Tea, I cannot sleep well, eat well, or drink well. I do not even have the strength to beat up bugs and I got scratched by a bug’s sharp claws.”
“Recently the Insectoid Race’s space Weapons Expo area feels a little off. I have already reported it, so be a bit more careful.”
“Somebody tell Sister Tea and let her be careful too.”
“These days it feels like someone is tailing us, watching us. Comrades-in-arms, keep your eyes sharp and stay alert.”
“Confirmed, confirmed, there really are people watching me, not just one, at least more than ten.”
“Do not startle the snake by beating the grass. Check what their purpose is…”
After reading through their ninety-plus messages, Jiang Tea Tea replied: “I completed the mission safe and sound. I will be back this afternoon.”
Sui Xuan Chu and the other seven were probably busy and did not reply instantly.
When Jiang Tea Tea lifted her head, she saw that Chong Ming was staring straight at her. The holo projection screen in front of him had already disappeared and the tablet on his lap had been put away.
She asked: “Done with work?”
He answered: “Done.”
She said: “Can I drink some blood?”
In the ten days since, the wound on his Adam’s apple had already healed. His self-healing ability was quite strong.
He said: “Come here.”
Jiang Tea Tea turned off her light-brain wrist terminal at once and went over.
The first time had been awkward, the second time familiar, and by the third time it felt as natural as breathing. She straddled his legs skillfully, wrapped her arms around him, and leaned toward his neck like a cat nudging for affection.
Once she got close, she opened her mouth and bit his neck before the scales could rise. As she ground her teeth and tore open his skin, golden scales sprang out around the bitten area, hard and sharp, encircling the patch of torn flesh.
As she bit down, broke the skin, and drank his blood, her eyes stayed fixed on the golden scales, and in her mind she thought: [I managed to refine the Phoenix Clan’s fire into a magical artifact. What about dragon scales? Dragon blood, dragon meat, dragon bones, dragon scales, dragon whiskers, every part of a dragon is a great tonic for us demons and can be refined into artifacts. Dragon bones might be hard to get, but dragon blood, dragon meat, dragon whiskers, dragon mane, and dragon scales, those I can get. With a magical artifact made from Phoenix fire and another one made from dragon parts, I will own two magical artifacts. When I go back to the Demon Clan, how awe-inspiring will I be.]
Chong Ming felt the heat of Jiang Tea Tea’s gaze, smelled the increasing fragrance coming from her body, and watched as a flower bud popped out from her black hair. Under his gaze, the bud bloomed.
White petals, yellow stamens, very fragrant, very beautiful. She did not notice at all, still working hard at his flesh and already thinking about other parts of him.
Chong Ming stared at the blooming flower and breathed in its scent. His hand circled her waist, and the bite on his neck seemed to cause him no pain at all.
After almost twenty minutes, Jiang Tea Tea felt that about half of the spiritual power she had spent summoning wind, thunder, lightning, and rain had been replenished by the dragon blood.
Joy rose in her heart. She wiped the corner of her mouth and said: “Chong Ming, I have a question.”
Chong Ming pulled his gaze back from the flower on her head. His voice was hoarse: “Ask.”
In her usual careless way, Jiang Tea Tea forgot to get off his lap and asked while still sitting there: “In your Dragon Clan, how often do you shed your scales when you are young?”
Chong Ming replied: “It varies from dragon to dragon and depends on the level of their supernatural abilities. A dragon’s size and the strength of their abilities are all different.”
Jiang Tea Tea asked again: “Use yourself as an example.”
Chong Ming said: “I hatched on the battlefield. From the time I broke my shell until I was ten years old, my scales never fully grew in.”
Jiang Tea Tea let out an “Ah” and blurted: “Your scales were never complete when you were little, so you are defective?”
Chong Ming could not help laughing: “No. Before I was ten, my human form was too frail to fight in, so I had to fight in my beast form. I tore into enemies with tooth and claw, and when they struck back, they would tear off my scales and rip open my flesh.”