"Chen Shao, honestly, how confident are you that this cub has the bloodline of the Grand Year White Tiger?" Long Xiaoxuan seemed more worried about the cub than Jiang Chen himself.
"I can't say I'm a hundred percent sure. But I'd put it at eighty to ninety percent. The thing is, it's still just a cub. Not a single inherited memory has awakened yet, and its bloodline hasn't even begun evolving. It looks no different from an ordinary Cloud-Gulping Tiger on the surface. But judging by its temperament and innate aura, there's absolutely no comparing it to those stupid Cloud-Gulping Tigers."
"This cub does have a different air about it." Long Xiaoxuan stepped up to the cub and suddenly unleashed a burst of dragon might.
The cub's previously lazy expression shifted instantly, replaced by one of wariness and vigilance. The long whiskers at the corners of its mouth bristled one by one as it immediately assumed a highly combative posture, staring down Long Xiaoxuan with absolute refusal to back off.
"Little guy, your Lord Dragon is right here. You gonna submit or what?" Long Xiaoxuan chuckled mischievously.
Jiang Chen knew Long Xiaoxuan was deliberately trying to provoke the cub and didn't interfere. He was curious to see how the cub would react to Long Xiaoxuan's dragon might.
If it were a Cloud-Gulping Tiger, it would have been trembling from head to tail by now.
But this cub, small as it was, had bright eyes that burned with an indomitable fighting spirit — fierce and unyielding, clearly unwilling to submit.
Fortunately, Long Xiaoxuan hadn't actually intended to suppress it with his dragon might.
"All right, kid, I'll give you that. I won't stoop to bullying a child. Grow up a bit and then come at me with those fangs. We'll see whether your Grand Year White Tiger clan is superior, or my Eastern True Dragon clan!" Long Xiaoxuan spoke with the dismissive air of someone who refused to pick on kids.
"Chen Shao, how exactly are you planning to help it through its bloodline evolution? Looking at how frail it is, even with the Grand Year White Tiger bloodline, catching up to me seems like a long shot."
Bloodline evolution — Jiang Chen had plenty of methods for that. In fact, he'd helped others complete bloodline evolution more than once.
The Gold-Munching Mouse clan, for instance.
While they were talking, the Peerless Emperor had finished detoxifying Madam Yun.
"Brother, you can come up now," the Peerless Emperor called.
Long Xiaoxuan curled his lip. "You go on up. I'll watch from down here."
Long Xiaoxuan still had that cold, proud streak that came with being a dragon. Though he thought the Peerless Emperor was a decent fellow, a dragon's emotions always warmed up slowly.
The only human he truly trusted remained Jiang Chen.
As for the Peerless Emperor — even knowing the man was a powerhouse and Jiang Chen's sworn brother, he still couldn't bring himself to accept him wholeheartedly. Let alone an even more unfamiliar woman.
Jiang Chen understood that this was simply the nature of dragons and didn't push the matter. He strode upward.
"Congratulations, Brother Mo. Your wife's condition is far better than I expected." After completing his examination, Jiang Chen smiled. "If you're certain all the toxins have been cleared, your wife will be perfectly fine. The Pine Crane Pill's efficacy wasn't affected by the Seven Emotions Poison. Her life energy has visibly increased significantly."
This was something both the Peerless Emperor and Madam Yun were well aware of.
"Brother, thanks to your Pine Crane Pill, you've saved your sister-in-law's life twice over," the Peerless Emperor sighed. "Ah Yun, what merit does a man like me, Mo Wushuang, have to have earned such a brother — such a loyal, sincere friend? You don't know — while we were unconscious, he ventured out alone into danger to find the antidote and save us. That's a debt I can never repay."
"Brother Zhen, this sister-in-law is terrible with words and doesn't even know how to thank you properly. It's rare enough that your elder brother is such a warm-hearted soul — if you two hadn't bonded as brothers, none of this would have happened. From now on, whatever comes up between you brothers, just say the word. If he won't agree, I'll make sure he does."
Jiang Chen laughed. "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. Whatever I ask, would Brother Mo ever refuse?"
The Peerless Emperor burst out laughing. "Exactly! And besides — my brother here has first-rate status and strength. Given time, his achievements will far surpass mine. Whether I'll be the one asking him for help or the other way around remains to be seen. Right now, I haven't been able to help him at all, but I've racked up one enormous favor after another."
That was, of course, just being polite.
Without the Peerless Emperor's help, Jiang Chen would never have been able to smoothly acquire Mu Gaoqi at the auction. Much less calmly rescue Elder Yun Nie. And he certainly wouldn't have had protectors of the Geng brothers' caliber escorting them back to the Crystal Royal City.
And this time, without the Peerless Emperor stepping in, Third Master Jing would never have gone from haughty to obsequious.
Naturally, Jiang Chen wasn't about to bring any of that up now. Instead he said, "Brother Mo, Madam Qing is still over there. Whether to save her or not — that's for you two to decide."
The Peerless Emperor sighed softly, his gaze tender as he looked at Madam Yun. "Ah Yun, Sister Qing is your fellow disciple-sister. You decide."
Madam Yun had clearly already heard the full story from the Peerless Emperor. She sighed gently. "Sister Qing has been my sister ever since we were three years old. We've depended on each other for as long as I can remember. But the fact that she harbored feelings for Brother Mo — I had no idea whatsoever. I wasn't attentive enough as her elder sister. Perhaps... this truly was too unfair to her."
The Peerless Emperor quickly said, "Ah Yun, matters of the heart — how can they ever be measured by the word 'fair'?"
"Brother Mo, if I don't save Sister Qing, I'll never find peace for the rest of my life. I'm going to save her — you won't blame me, will you?" Madam Yun sighed softly.
The Peerless Emperor shook his head. "Sister Qing isn't a bad person at heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken such devoted care of you."
"Mm. I'll go save her," Madam Yun said.
The Peerless Emperor looked worried. Madam Yun had only just begun to recover, and he clearly didn't feel at ease about her going to detoxify Madam Qing.