LBRDI Chapter 26

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Sea of Stars

Bonus ko-fi chapter

“Am I a hero?”

Yan Tan was stunned.

“Can a dragon cub like me, who can’t do anything, be praised like that?”

He Xing said, “Of course you can. Because no matter how powerful the other dragon cubs are, even the Grand Marshal of the Seventh Legion cannot be Livia’s hero because we did nothing for him, but you did.”

Shen Mian slightly lowered his eyes, “Mhm, you did something that even the Grand Marshal didn’t do.”

Lu Yuan squeezed in front of Yan Tan, “I used to be alone too, no other dragon would play with me. I wish I’d met you sooner. He’s lucky, I envy him.”

Gian gently held Lu Yuan’s claws, “Livia must have thought so too.”

Livia actually said that.

Yan Tan was rarely affirmed in this way and looked around a bit at loss.

Yan Huan smiled, “I’m so proud to have a little nephew like you.”

Lu Yuan and Gian swooped in for a huge hug.

Gian’s eyes were clear, “It’s the kind of hero that you have to be very lucky to meet.”

Yan Tan suddenly lifted his paws and pressed them on his face.

It was an action Shen Mian was familiar with – he was shy. Every time Gian was praised, he would raise his paws and press them against his face.

“I’ve always, always been different from the dragon cubs at home,” Yan Tan slowly calmed down from the shyness, “I know that.”

“I’d actually really, really like to get Dad’s approval,” Yan Tan tilted his head up, “But I’d actually prefer to sit in front of a drawing board or the kitchen, but I’ve done everything Dad said.”

“But I can’t really do that well either, you may need to get another dragon cub.”

Yan Huan, “!!!”

Little Yan Tan obviously didn’t say this out of anger, he really thought so.

Yan Tan subconsciously looked at He Xing and Shen Mian. Shen Mian not only didn’t try to persuade him but actually asked He Xing, “Can I raise him?”

Yan Huan: Of course not! Yan Tan is my family’s cub!

Then he heard his intellectually-disabled boss answer, “It is not possible according to the Empire’s decree, but as long as you marry a dragon from the mythical genus, you can.”

Shen Mian, “…”

Yan Tan wipes his eyes, drooped his wings and walked over to Yan Zhou, “Do you like Livia? His parents aren’t here anymore and I can introduce you to him. He has always admired you and little uncle.”

Yan Zhou spoke with difficulty, “Actually I…I just want you to not be like me. I want you to grow up to be a very capable child.”

“Your mother…passed away because of my incompetence. You were so young at the time so you probably don’t remember her, but she loved you a lot.”

“She was a fine soldier, only thirty-seven when she left me and had just given birth to you less for a year ago. She was attacked during her mission. Although the support I led had arrived, it did not save her and almost completely annihilated her…”

“I hope you don’t make my mistakes in the time to come and don’t miss what matters most because of your inability to do so.”

Yan Huan was about to go crazy: Your son is about to give you a new dragon cub, can you say something more useful?

“Do you think that Yan Tan will forgive you if you say that?”

Yan Zhou was a little baffled, “I don’t need him to forgive me.”

It doesn’t matter if he forgives him or not, as long as Yan Tan is sure of what he wants and can hold on to what matters most. He’s going to have to leave Yan Tan someday and Yan Tan repeating his tragedy is the worst possible scenario.

He Xing was really close to Shen Mian, “Sure enough he’s a straight A… his EQ is basically negative?”

Yan Tan sniffed and wanted to cry again: Dad really didn’t like him, after all, he was a dragon cub who couldn’t live up to his dad’s ideals and he couldn’t even remember what his own mother looked like.

Yan Huan, “Then don’t you have to apologize to Yan Tan? You’ve been misunderstanding him for years.”

Yan Zhou hesitated. After his wife died, the frequency of his contact with Yan Tan plummeted and he did not get along with his child. Faced with a petulant child who cries more easily than the other dragon cubs, Yan Zhou learned from Shen Mian and crouched down to be at the same level as Yan Tan, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” there was still a cry in Yan Tan’s voice, “I’ll call Livia later, so tell him whatever you want.”

Yan Zhou, “…I don’t want other dragon cubs.”

Yan Tan wiped his eyes and reply in a muffled voice, “You don’t need to be polite towards me. I, I saved a little money so I can live at school in the future. You can bring home any kind of dragon cub you like. If it’s a holiday…”

Yan Tan subconsciously turned to Shen Mian, “C-can I live here? I’m nearly 11 and can maintain my human form for a while and will not harm other cubs, I can also tutor the other cubs.”

Shen Mian, “Of course you can, Gian and Lu Yuan will be very happy.”

He couldn’t be bothered to pay any more attention to Yan Zhou, took the pot off the stove and put it into his space, then coaxed the three little dragon cubs to go to sleep in the dormitory. Yan Tan held Shen Mian’s hand tightly from beginning to end, his head down and didn’t look at Yan Zhou again.

Yan Huan said slowly, “You’re finished Yan Zhou, your son doesn’t want you anymore, you’re a father without a son.”

Yan Zhou subconsciously chased after him. However, the little dragon cub didn’t turn around to look back at him and he stopped moving, “Why would he think I wouldn’t want him.”

He Xing came out and patted his shoulder, “Maybe you’ve made him feel like he can only be liked if he’s good. You let Yan Tan think that the love you give is based on the excellence of the cub. If you don’t break the barrier between you and your child soon, you may lose the opportunity to do so in the future.”

“What’s worse than him hating you is that he doesn’t believe that you really love him at all and won’t believe in unconditional love.”

Yan Zhou opened his mouth, “I…”

He Xing, “Don’t say of course you love him. Yan Tan didn’t feel it. If you want to redeem Yan Tan, just behave well and don’t overdo it. You should be able to tell that our dean is not very good-tempered, so watch out if he beats you up.”

After he finished, he followed Shen Mian into the dormitory.

Yan Zhou looked at Yan Huan. His own younger brother, who usually had a fake smile on all year round, was expressionless, “I want to give father a call.”

His own younger brother refused to give him ideas and had a tell-all face.

Yan Huan’s call request had gone through and this bad brother opened his mouth to say, “Dad, you have a son who got rid of your only grandson…”

The old father’s roar came from the other end of the quantum computer, “What?! Yan Zhou, are you looking for a beating?!”

Dormitory

Shen Mian and He Xing coaxed three dragon cubs together. When they returned to their dormitory, they glanced at the kitchen with the lights on. Shen Mian was suddenly curious, “Were you bullied by other dragon cubs in your combat class as a kid?”

He Xing thought about it for a while, “My class was basically made up of dragon cubs from other species, but they couldn’t beat me even when added together.”

Shen Mian had already taken a shower and unbuttoned the buttons on his pyjamas, “Then why is Yan Tan still being bullied?”

He Xing held his chin, “Their species is somewhat unique in that their racial instincts are toxins. Sixteen different deadly toxins can be synthesized in the body, three of which have no effective treatment so far and a small amount of which can cause serious damage to other young dragons. Adult dragons can spray a poisonous mist which is the equivalent of a small-scale biochemical weapon. That’s why it’s more difficult for their species to take combat lessons, after all, they just take classes but can’t actually join a real one.”

“Legend has it that the strongest thing a dragon can have is its racial instincts and once it is limited in a fight, the dragon’s combat power plummets. So sometimes it’s not that the authorities are reluctant to release information, it’s just that the mythical dragons are too dangerous and they’re worried about causing a public outcry.”

He Xing leaned on the table, feeling a headache.

Shen Mian looked at him for a moment and extended his hand, “Come here.”

He Xing, “Hm?”

Shen Mian, “I have an idea.”

He Xing got up and sat next to him, “What idea? And you have to tell me secretly? Can’t you just say it?”

Shen Mian motioned for him to come a little closer.

He Xing thought he actually had some idea. When he approached him, he smelled the same shower gel smell on Shen Mian as he did, with traces of gold mint and the same coldness and intensity Shen Mian had.

Shen Mian, “How about letting them chirp? I can dedicate myself to recording videos for you beasts.”

He Xing laughed so hard he almost fell on top of him, “Why are you so obsessed with chirping? How about I chirp for you right now?”

……

The next day, when Shen Mian had finished making breakfast, the three dragon cubs hadn’t gotten up, so Shen Mian went upstairs and knocked on the dormitory door, then pushed the door and went in.

Gian and Lu Yuan were sitting on the bed staring at Shen Mian, looking like they had just been woken up by Shen Mian, while Yan Tan was holding the window and crying.

Shen Mian sat beside Yan Tan.

Yan Tan turned around and burrowed into Shen Mian’s arms.

Shen Mian patted the big baby, “What’s wrong?”

Yan Tan muttered, “I dreamt of my mother last night, but I couldn’t see her face no matter how wide I opened my eyes. They say that when a dragon dies, their soul lingers in the galaxy and doesn’t really disappear.”

He looked up at Shen Mian, “Dean, is my mum also disappointed? I’m not good or excellent at all. Is she unwilling to see me?”

Shen Mian, “Of course not. Your mum is worried about you so she had to come from a faraway place to see you, but because it is too far, you can’t see her clearly.”

Lu Yuan slowly got out of bed and sat down next to Yan Tan, scratching his belly, “I’m familiar with the situation you’re talking about. I grew up with my grandfather when I was little and then he couldn’t take care of me anymore, so I lived with my parents. Grandpa would sometimes come to see me, but I can’t see his face.”

Shen Mian gently put his hand on Lu Yuan’s shoulder: No wonder he didn’t cry when he was separated from his parents.

Yan Tan’s eyes widened, “Is your grandfather gone like my mother?”

“No, he just went off to conquer the sea of stars.”

Lu Yuan’s black eyes were full of seriousness, “The dean is right, they are too far away from us, so we can’t see them clearly. When we grow up and sail to the deepest part of the galaxy in our best starship, we’ll meet them.”

Yan Tan was silent for a moment and suddenly bounced up from Shen Mian’s arms, spreading his wings, “I get it!”

Shen Mian, “??”

Yan Tan: “Livia’s dream is to go to the military academy, then my dream is… to conquer the sea of stars! I need to keep practising my combat skills!”

Gian crawled under the bed to find a worn-out chest, opened it up and inside was ten or so star coins and the crystal spine that the gem dragon had dropped, “Look, we have already started to save money.”

Lu Yuan wrapped his arms around Gian and was very proud, “Gian will be my second-in-command from now on!”

Yan Tan, “What about me? What about me?”

Lu Yuan pondered for a while, “You are… the captain of the guards!”

Shen Mian looked at the three cheerful cubs, feeling that question marks were written all over his body.

Could this be the confusing behaviour of a mythical dragon cub?

The author has something to say:

I seemed to have forgotten to say that all the mythical species in this novel are from Chinese mythology or Nordic mythology.

Unlocked Dragon Guide

Yan Tan:

Species: Mythical dragon genus, Despair species. The fully black dragon species are capable of flying and their racial instincts are toxins. They can synthesise to be highly toxic substances and can spray high a highly concentrated and dangerous mist.

Personality: Yan Tan loves to be childish and sticky. Although he is a childish crybaby, he will take the initiative to block other dragon cubs in the face of danger.

Likes: Has a passion for all things beautiful, all shiny stones are heartfelt.

Small easter egg: Why did I rush towards the dean when I met him for the first time? Because the dean looks good.

Symbol (Source of inspiration): Norse Mythology, Nidhogg, the legendary poisonous black dragon that gnaws on the world tree.

Edited by Whistle

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heart pain :,,( (lol i nearly forgot the authors note.)

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Shallotnoodle

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