In the early morning, the animals in the forest were still sound asleep when suddenly, several fierce wild boars appeared in the woods.
Their muscles were tensed, and their hard snouts plowed into the ground in a row.
Grass, who was sleeping soundly: ?
How did its home suddenly disappear?
The wild boars snorted loudly. The flat ground was torn apart in patches, and the soil, along with the roots of plants, was flung to the side.
The half-asleep ants in the dirt looked on in bewilderment at the scene.
The newly sprouted green shoots were all devoured by the wild boars, and they didn’t spare the stems and leaves either. In no time, the once-tidy land was left in a mess.
“Have you pigs gone mad?” screeched the birds the loudest.
They usually enjoyed trading insults with Ji Zhaoxi, and faced with this, they couldn’t stand it one bit.
Their two little Dot Eyes darted around the wild boars, but the boars got dizzy from the circling. With a flick of their heads, the two Dot Eyes were sent smashing into a tree, nearly knocked out cold.
The other animals hid in the forest in fear. The plants had no way out; they watched in despair as the boars ravaged them.
It’s okay, close your eyes and you’ll be in heaven.
The two Dot Eyes grew frantic. They decided to seek help from the most powerful being in the forest—the Miss Dragon.
Inside the cave, it was warm and cozy. A servant was cleaning, and the Miss Dragon was asleep.
“Miss Dragon, something terrible has happened!”
“Wake up, wake up!”
The two Dot Eyes called out urgently, finally rousing Ji Zhaoxi.
They chattered and chirped about something. Celeste glanced at them; he couldn’t understand them, but he could tell these birds were highly agitated, crying out and pecking at their own feathers.
The fastidious Celeste picked up the feathers they dropped, gathering them one by one as they fell.
“These damned pigs have gone too far!” Ji Zhaoxi fumed. “They don’t respect this dragon at all!”
Even though she was the weakest in the dragon clan, she could surely handle a few wild boars, right?
Ji Zhaoxi shifted back into her dragon form, grabbed the two Dot Eyes, and flew off. In her haste, she accidentally knocked a candle off the wall.
Celeste calmly picked up the candle and placed it back on the wall.
This was a lazy dragon who never noticed the chores around her.
By now, the forest was eerily quiet. All the creatures cowered in fear at the sight of the vicious boars.
Just then, a streak of light cut through the dense woods. A massive shadow fell over the boars, and a long dragon tail swayed gently in the air.
“You pigs! Stop eating right now!”
“The Miss Dragon is here!”
The two Dot Eyes shouted loudly.
Seeing the hope in the eyes of the forest’s other creatures, the Miss Dragon’s vanity was greatly satisfied.
She raised her sharp claws and pinned the wild boars down precisely. The boars let out a piercing squeal and scrambled away, rolling into a ball as they tumbled down a slope in their panic.
The forest, once filled with fear, finally returned to normal.
“Miss Dragon, you’re amazing!”
“You’re the guardian of the forest!”
“Miss Dragon, I think you’re even more powerful than Prince Lorian!” said the Dot Eyes, cleverly placing a flower crown on Ji Zhaoxi’s head as she reverted to human form.
Ji Zhaoxi’s heart swelled with joy at those words.
She decided these idiots weren’t so blind after all.
The two Dot Eyes exchanged a glance—as long as they praised the Miss Dragon, she would keep protecting them.
Recently, a scandal had stirred up the kingdom, causing the commoners to resent the False Prince.
A heavy rainstorm had destroyed several villages, and refugees came to the palace gates for help. After all, during his parade, the False Prince had sworn to everyone:
“I will do everything in my power to help all people…”
He’d even spouted nonsense about being able to converse with God, and the refugees had actually believed him.
But the False Prince, afraid the refugees’ stench would ruin the ball he was hosting, not only refused to open the palace gates but also had soldiers drive them back with spears.
Feeling utterly deceived, the refugees furiously hurled dung—all kinds of it—into the palace.
“I thought that prince looked shady the last time I saw him,” one person muttered.
“And now you say he doesn’t look like a decent man? Back then, you said his face was the very picture of a prince,” another replied.
Several commoners whispered among themselves.
Celeste passed by with downcast eyes, and the commoners couldn’t help but glance at him.
“I think a prince ought to be handsome,” one said, “or else other kingdoms will think our country is full of ugly people.”
Another person, sneaking a look at Celeste, added: “But he looks so poor.”
His shoes had holes, and he didn’t have a single gem on him.
An old soldier, Flynn, solemnly led an old dog, Ers, through the forest near the palace. Whenever the dog started wagging its tail excitedly, Flynn knew where the dung-throwing refugees were hiding.
After all, dogs couldn’t resist the lure of excrement.
The forest was a bit gloomy. Suddenly, the old dog barked eagerly, its nose twitching.
Flynn’s expression hardened, and he led the dog deeper into the woods.
To his surprise, he saw a tall man standing in the shadows. The dog lunged at him excitedly.
Flynn eyed the man warily—would this guy suddenly pull out dung and hurl it at him?
A calm voice rang out in the forest.
“Ers, your sense of smell is sharper than before,” the man said, patting the dog’s head.
Hearing the voice, Flynn’s eyes went wide. “Your Highness?!”
But how? Prince Celeste was supposed to be in the palace!
Celeste stepped out of the darkness. Flynn didn’t know what Celeste looked like exactly, but recognized him by his build.
Ers kept sniffing for the scent of food—though, to be fair, the palace staff didn’t allow it to eat dung. Yet, back when it was a puppy, it had once had the chance to taste it, and that one time had imprinted on its memory the exquisite flavor forever.
Listening to the two men talk, Ers drooled as it lay on the ground.
After hearing Celeste’s account, Flynn’s face paled. He hadn’t realized the man in the palace was the False Prince.
“Your Highness, I will investigate this as soon as possible. Where are you currently staying?” Flynn asked, frowning deeply.
Celeste thought of the cave but didn’t answer directly. “Flynn, I can’t say for now.”
“Please take me to the treasury.”
Flattered, Flynn replied, “Your Highness, it’s my honor to serve you.”
He was now even more certain that this was the real Prince Celeste.
After all, the real Prince Celeste would never order soldiers to drive away refugees with spears.
But when he saw Celeste leave the treasury carrying three large chests of gems, Flynn couldn’t help tearing up.
The prince’s life must have been terribly hard.
What Celeste was thinking, however, was that night had fallen, and he’d been gone too long—the Miss Dragon was sure to be furious with him.
So, to make his own life easier for the next few days, he had to bring back a few chests of gems.
Sure enough, when Celeste returned on horseback, Ji Zhaoxi, who was practicing fire-breathing at the entrance, saw him and immediately ran over, fuming.
What kind of servant ran off to wander around all day? Did he even have any respect for her, his noble dragon master?
Just as she was about to scold him, Celeste looked down at her, holding a few gemstones in his hand.
The gems had red veins flowing through them, different from ordinary stones—they clearly looked valuable.
“Just a few…”
Before Ji Zhaoxi could finish, Celeste calmly set three large chests of gems in front of her.
The light from the rubies glimmered in overlapping layers, surrounded by a red glow that made even the chests look luxurious.
Ji Zhaoxi stared at the scene, stunned, while Celeste looked at her and smiled.
“Miss Dragon, let me help you put the gems away.”
Ji Zhaoxi nodded, staring eagerly as Celeste placed the gems inside.
She still hadn’t finished her sword practice for the day.
Even though she had told her mother dragon that she didn’t want to train anymore, she still felt a little guilty if she didn’t do it at all. So she practiced a little every day—enough not to tire herself out, but enough to ease her conscience.
That was her way of finding comfort in her usual contradictions.
