Immortal Druid

After settling matters with Zhen Ai by the lake, I brought her back to my camp to introduce her to the others. The forest was calm as ever, leaves swaying gently as if nothing in the world could possibly go wrong. It was almost convincing enough to forget the looming trouble she carried with her.

Almost.

When we arrived, Li Ming and Guo Yimu were already there, tending to their usual tasks. Namely, chopping wood and sweeping the leaves. Zhen Ai had decided to wear one of the robes from the storage ring, a flowing blue garment that clung to her form with a kind of effortless elegance. It wasn’t something I paid much attention to at first, but judging by the reactions, apparently it mattered.

“It looks beautiful on her. I knew my eyes for feminine fashion are the best,” Guo Yimu declared.

I blinked at him.

The baldy was hunched over slightly, eyes wide, mouth half-open, and… was he drooling? I stared at him for a second longer than necessary, trying to process what exactly I was witnessing. Dude… what was your problem?

Before I could say anything, Li Ming stepped in and smacked him at the back of the head. “Please, stop. It’s just annoying at this point.”

Guo Yimu straightened abruptly, clearing his throat as if trying to recover some dignity. “Amitabha… the heart must remain still like a tranquil lake, unmoved by fleeting beauty. This humble one merely observed with pure intentions—”

Smack.

“You are not even a monk, Yimu! Just stop!” Li Ming snapped.

I winced slightly at the second hit. Poor guy. I glanced at him, then looked away with a quiet sigh. I felt sorry for Guo Yimu, but at the same time… yeah, no, I didn’t think I could fix whatever was wrong with him.

Clearing my throat, I decided to move things along before this turned into something even stranger.

“This is Zhen Ai,” I said, gesturing toward her. “She’s the local dragon guest of the forest.”

Zhen Ai gave a small nod, her expression composed. “Please take care of me. I am residing by the lake, so if you require fish, I can provide them.”

A thought popped into my head out of nowhere. I had talked to birds and all manner of animals, even the occasional overly talkative squirrel, but… fish? I hadn’t actually tried that before. Could I? Would they respond? I made a mental note to test that out later.

“Oh my, where do I even begin?” Li Ming stepped forward, her eyes practically sparkling as she circled Zhen Ai. “Your hair is absolutely gorgeous, so long and smooth. And this shade of blue, it complements you perfectly. Honestly, everything about you just feels so refined.”

Zhen Ai seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden barrage of compliments, though she handled it better than I expected.

Meanwhile, Guo Yimu had gone a little too quiet.

I glanced at him and noticed his eyes were wide again, though this time there was something different in them. Less drooling, more… alarm?

“Whoa… she’s got a strong presence…” he muttered, his tone shifting. Then, hesitantly, “Erm… Senior, what’s your cultivation?”

Li Ming immediately shot him a glare. “You really have no tact, baldy.”

To my surprise, Zhen Ai answered anyway, her voice calm. “I am at the Nascent Soul realm. Early stage.”

There was a brief pause.

Then both Li Ming and Guo Yimu reacted at the same time.

“Nascent Soul?!” Li Ming exclaimed.

“Early stage Nascent Soul?!” Guo Yimu echoed, his voice rising an octave.

I scratched my cheek, glancing between them and Zhen Ai. Huh.

Now that I thought about it… yeah, that did sound like a big deal.

Guo Yimu remarked with absolutely no tact, “Shit, she’s more of a big shot than gramps or that Sword Frenzy guy.”

Before I could say anything, Willow fluttered down and landed on one of the wooden beams above us, her wings settling neatly at her sides. “That’s just the way things are,” she remarked. “Apparently, our continent is considered a backwater place. To them, someone at the Nascent Soul realm might not even be worth mentioning.”

Li Ming’s expression shifted quickly. The admiration from earlier vanished, replaced by tension. She straightened, her posture tightening as her eyes locked onto Zhen Ai. “Are you from a different continent?” she asked, her voice carrying a cautious edge. “Wait… do you know about the Dark Order?”

I glanced at her, feeling a small sense of relief. At least she wasn’t completely in the dark anymore. Her grandmother must have told her something after everything that happened. Good. That meant I didn’t have to be the one awkwardly explaining things or I have to walk in eggshells around her.

Zhen Ai looked genuinely puzzled. “No, I’m not from the Dark Order. What even is the Dark Order?”

She glanced at me briefly, probably remembering that I had asked the exact same question not too long ago. Fair enough.

Li Ming exhaled slowly, her shoulders dropping just a little. “Apparently, they’re bad people who want to go after me because of some mysterious lineage,” she said. “They want to keep me, harvest me… things like that. They attacked my village before. If it weren’t for Senior Wo Li here, my village would’ve probably been annihilated.”

She paused, her expression dimming slightly.

“According to grandmother, they were willing to take me back even if it cost me my life. That’s how valuable my body is to them.”

Zhen Ai’s gaze softened as she listened. “I am sorry you had to endure such a fate,” she said quietly. “No one should be treated as a mere resource.”

I watched the two of them for a moment, the connection between their experiences becoming painfully obvious. Different places, different circumstances, same outcome. Or at least… it would have been the same outcome if I hadn’t stepped in for Li Ming back then.

It made me think.

Cultivators really were something else. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Why were they so ready to trample over someone else’s life just to advance their own? I understood ambition, I understood survival, but this… this felt excessive.

I could have blamed it on culture, but that didn’t sit right with me. There were plenty of mortals living normal lives without turning into monsters. No, this wasn’t just culture. This was something deeper, something twisted in the way power was pursued.

“Man… I really dodged an arrow there,” Guo Yimu suddenly said, breaking the mood entirely. He let out a breath and scratched his bald head. “Good thing Xing Ning happened when she did. Otherwise, who knows what kind of mess I’d be in right now.”

Li Ming slowly turned her head toward him, her expression utterly flabbergasted. I could practically see the disbelief written all over her face. Not too long ago, this same guy had been trying to woo her with the subtlety of a charging bull.

She picked up a piece of wood and brought her hand down with a sharp chop, splitting it cleanly in half. “Remember that,” she said flatly. “It could’ve been you.”

Guo Yimu smirked, completely unfazed. “What? You mean you wanna slay my wood or something?” he shot back. Then, with a grin that spelled trouble, he added, “My morning wood’s tough work, you know?”

Li Ming’s face flushed red instantly.

I sighed.

Yeah… this guy was hopeless.

Zhen Ai tilted her head slightly, confusion evident in her expression. “What is a morning wood?” she asked, her tone genuinely curious.

Willow perked up at once, clearly eager to contribute. “Hmm,” she began thoughtfully, “it might be a type of tree that’s related to the morning. Or perhaps a species that only grows at dawn… though I might be wrong.”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah… that sounds about right.”

Honestly, I couldn’t blame Willow for this one. Wisdom and knowledge were two entirely different beasts, and sometimes… it really showed.

I glanced at Li Ming after the conversation settled, remembering something I had meant to ask earlier. “How is your grandma doing?”

Her entire expression lit up instantly, like someone had just opened a window to let sunlight in. “She’s doing much better,” she said, almost too quickly. Then she hesitated, shifting slightly. “Actually… I was hoping to ask for permission to leave the forest for a bit. I received word that she should be in town right now.”

I nodded without hesitation. This was perfect timing.

“Then lead the way,” I said. I turned slightly, gesturing to the others. “Zhen Ai, Willow, you’re coming with us. Guo Yimu, you stay.”

Baldy froze for half a second before slowly lowering the broom he had been holding. Then, with exaggerated disbelief, he pointed at himself. “This is unfair! Why are you only taking the ladies!?” he cried out. He straightened, striking a dramatic pose. “I knew it, Senior, we’re both gentlemen of culture!”

I did a double-take at him.

Was he getting this comfortable because I’d been too lenient? Even the way he spoke was starting to sound suspiciously like me. That wasn’t a good sign. At this rate, I might have to ask Roo to give him a proper beating one of these days. Builds character.

Zhen Ai stepped forward slightly, her tone calm and straightforward. “Do you want to ride me?”

I immediately brought a hand to my face.

Li Ming turned further bright red at the question, clearly not ready for that kind of phrasing. Meanwhile, Willow tilted her head and added helpfully, “If I were any bigger, I’d let you ride me.”

I exhaled slowly. I understood exactly what they meant, but I also understood that the two humans here definitely did not interpret it the same way.

Behind us, Guo Yimu dropped to his knees dramatically. “Why isn’t it me!?” he shouted toward the heavens. “Senior, you can’t keep getting away with this! You just can’t!”

I stared at him for a moment before replying in the most deadpan tone I could manage. “I appreciate it. I’ve really wanted to ride a dragon before.”

And I meant that very sincerely.

Zhen Ai nodded as if everything had been settled. Without hesitation, she began to strip.

Guo Yimu’s nose started bleeding almost instantly.

Li Ming covered her face with one hand, though the way her fingers parted slightly made it clear she was still peeking.

In the next moment, Zhen Ai’s form shifted, her body expanding and reshaping as azure scales rippled into existence. A beautiful dragon emerged, her long body coiling gracefully as she rose into the air. The sunlight caught her scales, giving them a shimmering brilliance that made the entire scene feel almost surreal.

She lowered her head toward me, hovering steadily as her tail extended downward in invitation.

I stepped onto her tail, feeling it lift me effortlessly. With a smooth motion, she guided me upward and placed me atop her forehead, her presence steady beneath my feet.

“Li Ming, lead the way,” I said.

She nodded quickly, regaining her composure as she pulled a sword from her storage ring. With practiced ease, she stepped onto it, the blade rising into the air as it carried her forward.

Willow flapped her wings and took off alongside us, easily keeping pace as Zhen Ai surged forward, her massive form cutting through the air with surprising grace.

I glanced back one last time before we left the camp’s proximity, catching a glimpse of Guo Yimu still kneeling dramatically in the distance. I raised my voice just enough for it to carry.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can!”

Whether he heard it or not, I had no idea. He was too busy mourning whatever injustice he thought he’d suffered.

The wind picked up as Zhen Ai surged forward, her massive form cutting cleanly through the air. From my vantage point atop her head, the forest stretched endlessly beneath us, a sea of green that gradually gave way to signs of civilization.

When we finally reached our destination, I narrowed my eyes slightly.

To call it a village now felt… outdated.

The last time I had heard of this place, it had already been upgraded to a town. But what stood before me now was something else entirely. Tall walls encircled it, sturdy and imposing, with watchtowers rising at intervals. The gates were reinforced, and there was a steady flow of people moving in and out. It looked less like a town and more like a proper city.

Li Ming flew ahead on her sword, clearly energized by the sight. She turned her head slightly toward Zhen Ai, her voice brimming with excitement. “There are so many things I want to show you! The market, the food stalls, the training grounds… everything’s changed so much!”

Zhen Ai didn’t respond immediately, but I could feel her attention shifting, taking everything in as we descended.

…

..

.

[POV: Zhong Zhong]

Zhong Zhong leaned back lazily in his chair, one hand idly scratching the stubble along his jaw as he let out a long yawn. The midday sun filtered through the window of his office, casting a warm glow over the room. For once, things were quiet.

And he was enjoying it.

It had been a few years since he took up the position as Leafhome’s captain of the guards. Back then, it had been nothing more than a growing settlement, still finding its footing after that incident. The attack had nearly wiped the place out, but they rose from their ashes like the phoenix. Since then, everything had changed, especially for him.

His actions during that crisis had not gone unnoticed.

The praise came first. Then the offers.

Invitations from sects, recommendations from influential figures… even the Serenity Cliff Sect had extended an offer for him to join their ranks. For a wandering cultivator, that kind of opportunity was something most would kill for.

But he turned it all down for Leafhome.

Zhong Zhong stretched his arms behind his head, a faint grin forming on his face. He had always wanted to settle down somewhere, to plant roots instead of drifting endlessly from one place to another. This city, this once-small village, felt right.

Besides, with how quickly it was growing, the foot traffic alone made it worth staying.

Plenty of opportunities for wife-hunting.

He coughed lightly, straightening a bit in his chair. Right. Opportunities to find a dao companion. Yes, that was what he meant. Not… anything else.

Just as he was about to relax again, a sudden shout shattered the calm.

“Dragon! DRAGON!”

The bell rang out almost immediately after, loud and urgent, echoing across the city.

Zhong Zhong frowned, pushing himself upright. A runner burst into the room moments later, slightly out of breath.

“Captain! There’s a dragon approaching!”

“A dragon?” Zhong Zhong scoffed, waving a hand dismissively as he stood. “Yeah, sure. And I suppose it’s here to apply for residency too?”

He stepped outside anyway, more out of habit than concern.

Then he looked up.

And froze.

High above the city, a massive azure dragon slithered through the sky, its body coiling with effortless grace as sunlight reflected off its scales.

Zhong Zhong’s expression stiffened.

“Huh?” he muttered under his breath.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he focused.

“…Was someone riding the dragon?”