Chapter 674: Big Sister

Chapter 674: The Eldest Sister

"Pain." That was all Yang Xiaohai could feel—his only sensation as those sharp bone spines pierced his skin again and again. The agony went deep into his bones, yet he couldn’t even faint.

In this unbearable torment that stretched like years, Yang Xiaohai’s will began to grow dim and hazy.

In that daze, he thought he saw the dragon king on the painting slowly stir.

And when the wall painting itself began to move, Yang Xiaohai suddenly understood. The black snake wasn’t the dragon king at all—it was merely a shadow cast by the dragon king. The real dragon king lay behind that shadow!

As the shadow danced faster, countless dragon whiskers—like legs of centipedes—spread out from its edges.

Yang Xiaohai believed they were dragon whiskers, but he also felt they were part of the dragon king himself. These root-like appendages should have been whiskers, yet they looked more like thick, dark tendrils or immature silk threads.

With the slight trembling of the whiskers, the incense smoke floating in the air began to sway with them.

As the dragon whiskers moved, Yang Xiaohai's eyes widened further. A suffocating pressure gripped his chest, making it impossible for him to breathe, no matter how hard he tried.

Through the gentle tremor of the whiskers, Yang Xiaohai caught sight of a corner of the dragon king—a section covered in dazzling scales.

These scales seemed to glide softly through water, revealing the gray, shadowy eyes beneath them, as if they could conceal everything.

When Yang Xiaohai glimpsed his own reflection within those eyes, his consciousness dissolved instantly, swallowed into an endless abyss of profound darkness.

How long had passed? He didn’t know.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice shattered the silence. “Kneel!”

Startled, Yang Xiaohai jolted awake. He turned to look at the painting before him. The black dragon king on the wall remained unchanged. He wasn’t suffocating anymore. Nothing had changed.

As he looked around, still shaken, he saw his parents frantically gesturing at him, urging him to bow.

Only then did he notice the bloodied dragon scale tattoo on his body. Realizing what had just happened, Yang Xiaohai finally understood—he hadn’t been attacked by relatives, but had simply undergone part of the ritual to enter the dragon household.

With that clarity, he quickly bowed once more to the painting of the dragon king, as instructed.

After a flurry of activity led by the elders dressed in fish-skin robes, two sticks of incense later, Yang Xiaohai finally emerged from the dragon temple thick with the scent of incense.

"Mom, why didn’t you tell me about this part of the dragon entry ceremony? It really hurt!" Yang Xiaohai gasped, touching his still bleeding tattoo.

Recalling the ordeal, he wanted to tell his parents, but found himself unsure how to begin.

"You’re such a coward! You're already grown up, and you’re afraid of a little pain?" Chi Bai Shui glanced at him with disdain before turning away and walking off.

Seeing his father’s reaction, Yang Xiaohai felt a sudden pang of injustice.

It wasn’t that he feared pain—it was that no one had told him beforehand.

Though this was his own father, he had seen how the scholar Lü raised his children, and he wouldn’t do things like this.

At that moment, he felt a coolness on his arm. Looking down, he saw his mother gently blowing a pouch of incense ash onto his wound.

"Five-child, don't cry. Just rub some ash on it and it'll stop bleeding. Later, I’ll cook you two eggs to make you feel better."

Hearing her words, Yang Xiaohai felt warmth spread through him. Even though his father was cold, his mother was exactly like the woman he remembered from childhood.

"Mom, I’m not in pain," he said softly, shaking his head slightly and helping her walk outside.

Though the process had been torturous, thinking that he had now truly entered the family made it all worthwhile.

Back aboard the Chi family boat, Yang Xiaohai saw his father standing bare-chested in the water. Before he could react, Chi Bai Shui grabbed his ankle and pulled him under.

Struggling to climb back up, Yang Xiaohai was forcibly held underwater.

He thrashed about for a while, but never felt short of breath.

Then he realized something. With a subtle movement of his hands, he glanced at his father underwater and began swimming rapidly beneath the surface.

At that moment, Yang Xiaohai finally understood what the village teacher meant by “as comfortable as a fish in water.”

He felt as if he had truly become a fish, gliding freely through the water without any awkwardness.

After playing in the water for a while, feeling slightly out of breath, he surfaced and took a deep gulp of air.

Standing in the water, he looked at his tattoo with surprise and joy. His speed underwater must be connected to the new tattoo on his body.

"Hmph! Look at you, like you can’t even take care of your own son?" Chi Bai Shui said proudly, pushing himself up with both hands and climbing onto the boat.

"Dad, since we’ve entered the dragon household, can we swim fast underwater?" Yang Xiaohai swam to the edge and mimicked him.

"That’s right. This is a gift from the dragon ancestor. Only family members are allowed to know about it. We can’t tell outsiders."

Yang Xiaohai touched his still swollen tattoo, unsure what to say. Still, he thought it would be better if his father had told him first.

"Dad! Dad!" A shout drew their attention. Yang Xiaohai saw his little sister, full of excitement and joy. "Dad, guess who’s come back!"

She was eager to announce it herself, but a small-footed woman pushed her aside from behind.

"Dad, I’m back. Still in good health?"

This cheerful woman bore a resemblance to his mother, and judging by age, she was likely his eldest sister.

But Yang Xiaohai wasn’t filled with joy at meeting his eldest sister. Instead, he stared in horror at the black cloth hanging from her sleeve!

The Cult of Law! Yang Xiaohai remembered these people who had once attacked Niuxin Mountain! These were worse than bandits or mountain thieves. And now his eldest sister had joined them too!

While he was stunned, his father walked over and examined the black cloth on his sister’s shoulder.

His face showed no displeasure, but rather great delight. “Oh? Your letter didn’t lie after all! You really work for the court now? Now even cripple women are being recruited?”

"Dad, I paid a bit of silver. Don’t even talk about cripple women—they’ll take old men with no teeth, or kids barely born, as long as they want to eat the emperor’s grain!"

Father and daughter laughed and walked toward the boat canopy.

(End of Chapter)