Fuling grabbed a strand of her long hair, twirling it around her fingers as she said carelessly, "I'm a Purple Dragon. I was born with the ability to undergo a thousand transformations — what's so strange about turning into a rock?"
"A thousand transformations!" Yang Kai clicked his tongue in admiration. "That's quite the ability!"
If he hadn't accidentally activated his Emperor Yuan earlier and detected a trace of something off, he might well have been completely fooled by her.
Even after noticing the anomaly, Yang Kai hadn't been entirely certain, which was why he'd pretended to leave and actually hidden himself to observe.
He hadn't expected to actually catch a voyeur — and for it to be Fuling of all people.
Because of the Fu Chi affair, he had no favorable impression of the entire Fu dragon bloodline. Fuling's wanton behavior, in particular, never sat right with him. If she'd overheard his private conversation with Zhu Lie today, failing to handle this properly would absolutely become a massive headache.
Fuling finally sensed something was off. Her beautiful brows furrowed tightly as she looked around warily.
"If you're waiting for backup, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."
Fuling's expression changed, and she snapped, "This isn't an illusion array — this is a small world?"
Earlier, when the scenery had suddenly shifted from the sea and the spirit island to this bizarre place, she'd assumed Yang Kai had deployed some kind of illusion array. But now it dawned on her — this was no illusion array at all.
This was a small world!
The moment she grasped this, Fuling's composure shattered instantly. She finally understood why no clan members had come despite her waiting all this time. A small world was an independent space. She had released a distress signal through her secret technique, but how could it possibly get out?
No clan reinforcements meant she had to face Yang Kai's attacks alone.
"Damn it!" Fuling turned and fled, her body transforming into a streak of purple light, her earlier calm and poise nowhere to be found.
She didn't know what kind of place this small world was, nor how Yang Kai had brought her here, but she knew her odds were grim, so she had no choice but to run.
She had barely flown a short distance before Fuling let out a sharp cry. She'd suddenly discovered an unimaginable crushing force pressing in from all directions, pinning her in place in an instant. It was as though she had slammed into an invisible wall, freezing her completely, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.
A force pushed her from the front, propelling her body backward against her will, drawing her closer and closer to Yang Kai.
She cried out in alarm. In all her years of life, this was the first time she had ever encountered something so bizarre.
World force! This was the power of the small world.
Horror and terror filled Fuling's beautiful eyes. The fact that Yang Kai could control this small world filled her with despair. She knew there was absolutely no way she could contend with him.
In the span of just three breaths, all her efforts came to nothing, and she found herself back in front of Yang Kai once more.
Looking up at the massive four-zhang dragon body, Fuling was stricken with terror. She screamed, "You can't kill me!"
Yang Kai was unmoved. His enormous palm came crashing downward, his expression cold and indifferent — the anger he had bottled up all evening was about to be unleashed upon Fuling.
Fuling shrieked again, "I'm Zhu Lie's woman!"
The dragon palm hovered just three inches above Fuling's head. The gust kicked up by it whipped her clothes into a frenzy. Having narrowly escaped death, Fuling collapsed onto the ground, her face deathly pale.
Yang Kai lowered his gaze to look at her. He raised a single finger, the sharp dragon claw pressing against Fuling's forehead, and a drop of crimson blood immediately seeped out. "Say that again!"
"I'm not lying — I really am Zhu Lie's woman." Fuling's body trembled from head to toe. She had never before experienced the sensation of death bearing down on her, and the feeling was nearly enough to break her. All the pride of the dragon race had been flung to the nine heavens and beyond. Her upturned face wore a fawning smile, but thanks to her terror, that smile looked worse than crying.
"You say that with such conviction," Yang Kai chuckled. But being in his half-dragon form, the sound was more unnerving than anything.
Fuling hastened to explain, "It's true! The Elders decided on it, and of course… it was also my own request."
Yang Kai frowned, feeling she might not be lying. "What do you mean?"
"Zhu Qing was betrothed to Fu Chi. As compensation, one member of our Fu dragon bloodline would be married into the Zhu dragon bloodline, and I'm the one being sent over. Zhu Lie is the one who's supposed to marry me."
Yang Kai's mouth twitched.
"We're all family now…" Fuling's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she gazed up at Yang Kai with a pitiful expression, looking at him as though he were the person she admired most in the world. In a sweet, delicate voice, she said, "Brother-in-Law, I'm telling you the truth."
The title slipped from her lips without the slightest hesitation, her expression perfectly natural, as if she truly had become one family with Yang Kai.
Yang Kai's expression turned odd. "Zhu Lie… he agreed?"
He found it rather amusing. Zhu Lie's tastes were certainly bold — Yang Kai didn't believe for a second that Zhu Lie didn't know what kind of woman Fuling was. He'd actually dare to pick up a pair of worn-out shoes? Was he not afraid of turning green in the future?
Fuling forced a smile. "He can't exactly refuse. In the eyes of the Elders, the continuation of the dragon bloodline is the top priority."