Chapter 255
Chapter 255: The Poisoned Saw Jiang Tea Tea as a Tree Demon
Jiang Tea Tea’s lips were pressed to Chong Ming’s throat. She went still, then spoke against his skin.
“I can’t drink blood.”
Chong Ming’s hand stayed firm at the back of her neck. His voice dropped, rough and low. “I know you’re strong even without it. But I want you to drink.”
“Come on. Drink.”
She’d started with about forty percent of her magic power. Now barely fifteen remained.
Jin Lin’s tribulation had forced her to cast a barrier a hundred kilometers wide. Lightning residue battered it without pause. She’d been feeding power into the barrier nonstop, burning through more than half her reserves.
Earth essence, cultivation, merit—any of those could restore magic power.
But Chong Ming’s dragon blood was the fastest tonic.
Jiang Tea Tea fell silent for a beat. For herself, and for the cubs inside her, she opened her mouth and bit down.
Maybe she was too depleted. Maybe her emotions were too raw.
The first bite tore skin. Blood welled immediately, hot and metallic. She swallowed.
Chong Ming slid one arm around her waist and cupped the back of her head, guiding her gently. With his other hand, he controlled the flying board beneath them and descended to the ground.
The mountain was scarred—trees withered, soil charred black by lightning, ash and smoke rising where fire had been drowned by rain.
Above them, the black-gold halo still stretched across the sky, widening as dawn fully arrived. Birdsong echoed faintly.
Dragon blood flowed down Jiang Tea Tea’s throat and into her body, nourishing her and feeding the cubs.
They stirred like they’d all woken at once—lively and insistent. Chong Ming held her so close their bodies pressed fully together.
When the cubs nudged her belly beneath cloth and skin, Chong Ming shuddered. His golden eyes darkened in an instant.
Ten minutes later, Jiang Tea Tea released his throat and tried to pull away.
His hand stayed locked on her waist.
She pried at his fingers. “Let go.”
Chong Ming let her free his hand. “Your color’s better. There’s red in your lips again.”
Jiang Tea Tea stepped back two paces and wiped her mouth, as if blood still clung there.
“Thanks.”
The cubs were too excited, wriggling like they could sense Chong Ming’s presence.
Chong Ming lowered his gaze. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s what I should do.”
Jiang Tea Tea pointed at the wound on his neck. “I bit deep this time. Want some medical spray?”
Chong Ming touched it. His fingers came away bloody. “It’s nothing. Compared to battlefield wounds, this doesn’t even count.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Okay. I’m staying on this mountain for a while. If you have work, go.”
Chong Ming answered without hesitation. “Last night the wind, rain, lightning, and thunder were too violent. My warship parked about a hundred kilometers from here.”
“The weather was so bad many systems malfunctioned. I didn’t force my way in. I handled what I could on the ship instead.”
“Everything that needed arranging is arranged. Nothing urgent remains.” He paused. “I’ll stay with you.”
Then, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, he asked, “Want breakfast?”
Jiang Tea Tea frowned. “Breakfast?”
Chong Ming reached into the storage button on his wrist, took out a table and two stools, and set them neatly in front of her.
“Yes. Breakfast. I brought it.”
He pulled out a food box and began laying out dish after dish—carefully arranged, warm, even sliced nutrient fruit.
Jiang Tea Tea sat. A bowl, chopsticks, everything placed perfectly.
Chong Ming urged, “Eat. What are you waiting for?”
Jiang Tea Tea stared at the storage button on his wrist. “How big is that thing? Why do you have everything in it?”
Chong Ming smiled faintly. “Not telling. Next time you need something, ask me. I’ll get it for you.”
Jiang Tea Tea clicked her tongue, picked up her chopsticks, and ate quietly.
She didn’t eat fast. She didn’t look eager.
It was like she was chewing because she was supposed to, not because she wanted to.
Chong Ming sat close beside her, watching the whole time. He shifted dishes and drinks within her reach. Whenever she glanced at him, he took a few bites, like he was keeping her company.
Twenty minutes later, she finished and yawned.
Chong Ming packed away the table and leftovers without a sound. Then he said, “Get up.”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked, confused, but obeyed.
Chong Ming pulled out a flying board and brought her to a calm high ridge.
There, he set up a temporary tent—transparent on all sides, thick padding, pillows, blankets, climate control. It was a private bedroom in the wilderness.
Inside, you could see the entire mountain in every direction. Open the front screen and a natural breeze flowed through.
When Chong Ming finished setting everything, he patted the pillow.
“Come. Sleep for a while.”
Jiang Tea Tea took a moment to brace herself, kicked off her shoes, and crawled in.
The tent was spacious—about ten square meters, nearly three meters high.
She removed her outer layer, lay down, and pulled the thin blanket over herself, turning her back to Chong Ming like a wall.
Chong Ming sat down behind her, back to her, close enough that if she shifted an inch her back would press against his.
After a quiet moment, Jiang Tea Tea spoke without opening her eyes.
“Chong Ming. Don’t you want to ask me anything?”
His lightbrain board rested on his legs. Multiple projections floated in front of him—urgent government matters he still had to handle.
He answered softly, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”
“No.”
“Then I have nothing to ask.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s hand slid from her waist to her belly.
In the small space, Chong Ming’s soothing ability was thick as mist. Even a small release filled the tent until she felt steeped in it.
His warship had been only a hundred kilometers away last night. That meant he’d probably seen Jin Lin get struck. Probably seen him disappear.
And he said nothing.
Which meant he would pretend he never saw—unless she chose to speak.
Her lightbrain buzzed with messages.
“Sister Tea! Come look—last night was a storm and there was lightning striking a dragon. I don’t know if it died!”
“Sister Tea, that thunder was like the end of the world. If I could’ve, I would’ve gone to the scene.”
“I kept begging photographers online to post the aftermath. They got a few insane shots, then nothing. Gone.”
“Lightning that dense and then just… gone. I swear Beast God rode in on it and blessed Zhen Lin to prosper and become the number one power in the M31 Star System.”
“I’m waiting for the police bureau and meteorological bureau to arrest the dragon who used lightning abilities during extreme weather.”
“I really want to know which dragon clan has a dragon that reckless.”
Jiang Tea Tea enlarged the photos and videos. They were blurry, but she could still make out Jin Lin’s blood-slick body shifting—the flood dragon becoming a true dragon.
She scrolled again. The comments were a chaotic mess.
The Zhen Lin Empire had only issued one severe-weather post from the meteorological bureau. No other official channel mentioned the night’s storm at all.
Jiang Tea Tea understood instantly.
Her barrier helped.
But the lack of exposure afterward was because of Chong Ming. If he didn’t allow it to spread, it wouldn’t spread.
Meaning Jin Lin’s ascension and disappearance—if she stayed silent—would remain unknown to the entire Empire, the entire M31 Star System.
Jiang Tea Tea shut off her lightbrain and let out a long sigh. She pulled the blanket up over her head and closed her eyes again.
Chong Ming didn’t look at her directly, but he tracked every movement. When she covered her head, he glanced over, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, then returned to work.
With food in her stomach and dragon blood in her veins, Jiang Tea Tea slept until 2 p.m., waking refreshed and energized.
The sadness of being left behind—of Jin Lin’s departure—had been shaken loose, like dust.
She stretched, then kicked Chong Ming in the back.
“Chong Ming, Your Highness. Don’t slack off in my tent. Get lost.”
Chong Ming reached behind himself as if he had eyes on his back, caught her ankle, and turned his head to look at her.
“Jiang Tea Tea. There are too many aberrant beasts in the mountains. I’m not slacking. I’m protecting you—so you don’t get carried off while you sleep.”
Jiang Tea Tea yanked her foot free and snorted. “This is my mountain. My name is on it. Aberrant beasts carrying me off? Please. The beasts here answer to me.”
She stood, then added like she’d just remembered. “Oh, right. Tell Adjutant Ai to find me a construction crew. I want a wooden house on this mountain. All wood.”
Her contract with the fake heiress wasn’t complete yet. The remaining consciousness in her body hadn’t fully dissipated.
She could root into the mountain, yes—but she had classmates and friends. She couldn’t transform into a tree right in front of them. A house was still necessary.
Chong Ming nodded. “Fine. I’ll have Adjutant Ai arrange it.”
Jiang Tea Tea put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to dig a hole and bury the ashes. Then I’ll go back to the military department and keep brewing.”
Chong Ming stepped out first, placed her shoes neatly, waited for her to put them on, and handed her coat.
Jiang Tea Tea pulled it on, found a tree, and used her flame staff to dig. She buried the ashes of Chong Xing Qi and Reboot.
When she finished, Chong Ming had already packed the tent away.
Above them, a colossal warship appeared—so huge it seemed endless.
Jiang Tea Tea stared up at it. Which meant while she slept all morning, the ship had been hovering overhead, invisible, watching.
She sighed.
She refused to share a flying board with Chong Ming. She rode her flame staff up into the warship.
Chong Ming followed closely. They stood at the entry, neither moving farther inside, looking out through the open hatch.
The warship cut through the sky at full speed, reaching the military department in moments. The hatch opened; both of them jumped down together.
On the training field, Sui Xuan Chu stared up and elbowed Cheng Lin Yue.
“Cheng Lin Yue. Your Sister Tea—my roommate—how is she this insane?”
Cheng Lin Yue trembled at being elbowed by the Crown Prince and stammered, “A born genius is separated from people like us by a wall. Oh—no, I’m not calling you stupid. I’m calling me stupid.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded solemnly. “True. We can’t compare.”
“But next time you have a chance, remind your Sister Tea—my roommate—not to do too many high-difficulty stunts. Be careful.”
Careful with the dragon hatchlings. The Gold Dragon Clan’s hope. His future chance to act like an older brother. Absolutely no mistakes.
Cheng Lin Yue nodded quickly. “Okay. If I get a chance, I’ll remind her.”
Cheng Xiao Ting and Huang Da Zhuang looked baffled. Sister Tea was strong enough to jump from thousands of meters without blinking. Why would she need caution?
Jiang Tea Tea landed not near them, but back at the brewing spot.
Last night’s blood and scorch marks had been washed clean. No trace remained.
If nobody mentioned it, no one would ever guess a dragon and a rational zombie had died here.
Jiang Tea Tea set the clay pot up again—water in, flame staff beneath, ingredients in.
She sat beside it and watched all day and all night.
When the medicine was finally ready, she lifted the lid.
A wave of fragrance—poisonous and lush—rolled out.
Sui Xuan Chu and the others, who’d stayed with her, inhaled deeply.
“Sister Tea… I didn’t expect thirteen poisons boiled together to smell so good. It’s making me hungry.”
“Yeah. I’m hungry too…”
“Wait. Sister Tea—I’m not hungry. I’m dizzy.”
“I’m dizzy too.”
“What’s happening? Sister Tea—why did you turn into a tree? A green, green tree?”
“Ah! Sister Tea—are you a tree demon?”