Binding the Dragon for the Empress Chapter 68

For You When the Child is Born

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The nature of animals makes them wary of danger.

Hu Le stood up and opened his arms in front of Xuan Long, his icy blue fox eyes glaring menacingly at Yan Yuan as if he would immediately tear him to pieces if he dared to come over.

In fact, it was ridiculous for a demon who had lost all his Taoism and was covered in scars to make such a move, but that gesture of protecting Xuan Long even if he was fighting for his life managed to displease Yan Yuan.

Not to mention the fact that this fox had just intended to abduct Xuan Long and leave with him.

"Taoist Master Shi, take this fox demon away for me and teach him a lesson.” Yan Yuan's deep, cold voice fell in the hall.

Behind him followed an old man in grey and white Taoist robes, with white hair and sunken eye sockets. He obeyed the order and bowed slightly towards Yan Yuan, then stepped forward, throwing the sceptre in his left hand to the ground and raising the vajra shield in his right hand to cast a spell at Hu Le's face.

The monk had come to the palace yesterday. Not long ago, Yan Yuan had secretly issued a notice among the public looking for a high-level Taoist cultivator who could subdue demons and remove devils for a heavy reward.

He knew that Xuan Long had 10,000 years of Taoism, and if he changed his mind one day, he could leave him at any time. He sought this monk not to subdue demons, but to imprison Xuan Long.

When he came out of Ning Zhiyu's bedchamber, Yan Yuan met this Taoist Master Shi and brought him here to cast a spell to set up a boundary outside Qiankun Palace, but no sooner had he arrived than he heard Xuan Long and Hu Le talking about leaving the palace.

How could he not be angry?

"Stop."

Seeing that a golden light seemed to be coming out of the vajra shield, Xuan Long gently pushed Hu Le, who was in front of him, away and got up to get off the ground.

"If you have a grievance, just come at me, don't hurt others." Xuan Long had just woken up, even his lips were pale, the profane clothes that should have fitted him looked loose across his body, and his abdomen was not obvious in any way, with no sign of pregnancy.

He was too thin.

Yan Yuan saw the scar on his face and felt annoyed, and when he saw him fighting against him for Hu Le, his face became even more ugly and his rear teeth clenched tightly, "This fox demon knows just how to confuse you, what's the use of keeping it? Is he that important to you?"

Xuan Long didn't understand why Yan Yuan was angry; he didn't love him, so why bother with this? This man was always inexplicable.

Hu Le was the only family he had in the world, so he was important.

There was nothing to be gained by angering Yan Yuan at this time, so Xuan Long did not reply, merely saying, "If you don't like him, let him go."

Sensing that something was wrong, Hu Le stepped forward and grabbed Xuan Long's hand: "You said you would go with me."

Yan Yuan stared at their hands touching each other and laughed angrily, "Why should I let him go? He is the fox demon that I asked you to subdue, isn't he? He hurt my people and took the lives of so many people, it was already kind of me not to kill him. For your sake, the death penalty can be forgiven, but the living penalty cannot be escaped."

"Men, take this little eunuch who has violated the law below to me, beat him heavily with five hundred lashes, and put him in the dungeon!” Yan Yuan was deliberately humiliating him, and if he was given five hundred lashes, he was bound to be beaten back to his original form.

The imperial guards came in and seized Hu Le's hands from both sides to escort him out. Hu Le struggled frantically, but his eyes inadvertently collided with Xuan Long's. Perhaps he was afraid that he would worry, but he suddenly quieted down and smiled at him with a crooked head:

“A'Po, don't worry, I have thick skin, I'll be fine."

"I'm a fox, I have nine lives."

"As long as he doesn't kill me, one day, I'll leave with you."

"We agreed... to take Shui Shui and go to Suzhou together to live a good life."

Xuan Long's hands hanging at his side were clenched into fists, the tips of his fingers embedded deep in the bloody flesh, and as he saw that Hu Le was about to be taken out of his sight, he closed his eyes, "Let him go. You left me behind, wasn't it for the dragon heart... I'll just give it to you."

Yan Yuan turned back to look at Xuan Long in surprise, ordered the guards to stop for the moment, and said uncomfortably, "I don't want the dragon heart, I just want your inner elixir."

Xuan Long opened his icy turquoise eyes and calmly met his gaze, "The inner elixir is gone."

Yan Yuan furrowed his pretty brows, "Gone? Where did it go?"

Xuan Long was silent.

Yan Yuan took a few steps forward, his long fingers raised Xuan Long's jaw, and he spoke with a cold face:

"Don't deceive me just because I can't bear to dig your heart out."

"I hate it when people lie to me."

"I want your inner elixir."

Xuan Long: "You release Hu Le first."

Hu Le was so clever that he immediately understood why Xuan Long had said so confidently that he had a way. It turned out that what he meant by having a way meant using his heart as a bargaining chip in exchange for his freedom.

Xuan Long had never wanted to leave.

Hu Le struggled like a madman, breaking down and crying out:

"Don't… A’Po… don't…"

"I said, if you don't go, I won't go either!!!"

"I forbid you from dying for me, I don't want you to die!!!"

Yan Yuan had a headache from the noise, he waved his hand and ordered the guards to lock Hu Le up first to await his disposal. Hu Le was soon dragged out, his heart-rending cries getting further and further away.

Xuan Long's eyes reddened a little as they followed. Yan Yuan found it strange that this dull, taciturn man had such a vulnerable side. At the same time, he felt unhappy that he could be soft-hearted for someone other than himself.

As his fingertips applied force, Xuan Long's cheeks were pinched to the point of redness, and Yan Yuan stared at him grimly, refusing to let go of any expression on his face, "You and that fox demon, you really do have a strong bond. You don't really like him, do you?"

Xuan Long lowered his eyes, his tree-shadowed black lashes covering the emotions beneath them, "He and I, we are kin."

Yan Yuan snorted and let go, "You'd better be. It's the first time I've seen a dragon and a fox become kin. It's no use for you to like him, he's a eunuch now, there's no way he can satisfy you."

When Xuan Long heard this, he was a little angry. He was angry and disappointed, but did not show it, he only said indifferently, "Who I like is none of your business."

Like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on, Yan Yuan exploded, "It's relevant, you promised to stay by my side, so you can only treat me with all your heart and soul!"

Xuan Long sat down on the edge of the bed, not looking at him, his eyes downcast, and asked awkwardly, "What about you? I have never found you so heartless and cruel before. You also said that although you could not love me with all your heart, you would treat me well... it was all a lie, was it not? I am... just a mere tool to you."

Yan Yuan held his anger. He wanted to be angry, but it did not make sense, and so he suppressed his dissatisfaction, "Where am I being heartless and ruthless? I just want to keep you by my side, how have I ever treated you badly?"

"I even let you live in this side hall in Qiankun Palace, and asked the palace staff to serve you with good food and drink. Isn’t it more comfortable than the bottom of your broken pond?"

Xuan Long raised his eyes and looked out of the window, "To me, this palace is just a prison."

Yan Yuan: “You stayed willingly, you said you liked me."

Outside the window was a large willow tree. In the autumn, the leaves had turned yellow, and the blue sky was beautiful, but the world outside had long been far away from him.

What little life he had left was destined to be exhausted within these cold walls.

Xuan Long withdrew his gaze, his eyes downcast.

"I regret it."

"I shouldn't have come."

Had he known that Yan Yuan did not want their child, he would not have come. But if even Yan Yuan couldn't accept their child... then after his death, how would he survive in this cruel world?

"You are not allowed to regret!" Yan Yuan moved and sat down at Xuan Long's side, grabbing his hand hard and almost childishly making his presence known, "You can only love me in this life."

Xuan Long's wrist was squeezed until it hurt and he tried to pull it back, but failed, and Yan Yuan's grip loosened slightly.

"It's useless for you to regret. Last night, the cultivators sprinkled the palace with spirit-removing powder, any demon who enters this palace won't be able to cast even half a spell, you won't be able to get out."

"Try it if you don't believe me."

Xuan Long moved his lips, “Really?"

In fact, Yan Yuan was not sure if the monk's words were true or not, he was just testing Xuan Long; if he still had his powers, why would he bother talking to him here, he could just use some spiritual power to save Hu Le.

If it was true, there would be no need to set up the boundary.

"You should have noticed already."

The corners of Xuan Long's lips curled up, "Yes."

Yan Yuan took his hand and firmly interlocked his fingers. Looking at his well-defined side, he said, "Then stay by my side and don't think about all that nonsense, I won't harm you even if I see that fox demon in a bad way. This scar of yours is a bit ugly, but I can put up with it."

Xuan Long spoke in a muffled voice, "You don't have to put up with it."

Yan Yuan frowned in displeasure, not letting go of his hand, "Don't be ungrateful. Who else would want you but me? That fox demon is probably trying to cheat you out of your inner elixir too, otherwise what would he be doing pestering you all the time, what do you have that he might want?"

Xuan Long lowered his head and didn't even look at him: "... Not everyone is like you."

Yan Yuan's face went cold: "I'll get angry if you keep doing that."

The old Taoist had just been dismissed by Yan Yuan, and there were only the two left in the hall. Xuan Long was not accustomed to arguing with Yan Yuan and moved away from the topic, "When will you release Hu Le?"

Yan Yuan was annoyed to hear him mention someone else, and shook off Xuan Long's hand to stand up, "When you give me the inner elixir, I will release him."

Xuan Long's throat twitched slightly, "Let him go first... When the child is born, I will give you the inner elixir."

Yan Yuan fiercely turned around, "No, this child cannot be born."

Xuan Long's hand on the edge of the bed tightened and his voice was muffled: "Why not?"

Yan Yuan seemed to have become particularly restless recently. He paced back and forth in the hall, the hem of his clothes fluttering, before he suddenly stopped and said to Xuan Long, "You are a dragon, I am a human, what will our child look like? Didn't I tell you that day that this child would not be accepted by the world and would be treated as a monster!"

Even if Xuan Long was strong, hearing that the child's biological father disdains his existence like this, it is inevitable that his heart will still feel like a knife was twisting inside it. His fingertips unconsciously dug into the bed board, and he was not even aware that blood was coming out.

"He... won't be very strange, it is just that he will have dragon horns on his head, and in the dragon race, it is a nice thing to have a nice pair of horns. If you really don't like him... there is no need to announce to the world that you are his biological father. The palace is so big, you can give him a room and a mouthful of food..."

Yan Yuan felt that this man was simply incomprehensible and interrupted him impatiently, "Get it straight! This is Earth, not the Dragon Clan! Besides, if A'Yu finds out that you are pregnant with my child, what do you want him to think?"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: August 8, 2022