Hilbert exhaled a puff of smoke casually and grinned, saying, "Just to correct you, the Dragonbone Cross from Norton, that was a gift from me to you, not theft."
"Can I ask why?" Xia Mi looked at the elder seriously.
This matter, from start to finish, she couldn't figure out.
What was Hilbert's goal in giving a Dragon King's most precious remains to another Dragon King who was an enemy of humans?
Was the greatest dragon slayer in history actually a 'Dragon King'?
That would be an absurd joke.
"Why not devour his Dragonbone Cross?"
Hilbert didn't answer directly but instead stared at the girl with interest, countering, "From what I know, devouring the bones of your own kind should make you stronger, right?"
"Devouring Dragonbones requires cocooning, transforming from human form into a Dragon King form. There isn't enough time," Xia Mi explained.
"Lie."
Hilbert ruthlessly called out her lie, a mocking smile curling on his lips.
Xia Mi remained expressionless and said flatly, "Then what other reason could there be?"
"It's simple, you can't bear to leave your current life."
Hilbert's gaze was penetrating, as if seeing straight into her heart, staring at the girl intently:
"You're addicted to the easy, peaceful school life. You don't want to regain the Dragon King's identity so soon, and you don't want to leave Chu Zihang. Am I right? King of the Earth and Mountain, Jormungandr!"
Xia Mi's eyes grew cold as she looked up and sneered at the elder: "You speak as if I've fallen in love with Chu Zihang."
"Isn't that so?"
Hilbert seemed to return to his flirtatious demeanor, making a suggestive face and winking:
"Chu Zihang, top three on the school popularity list, good-looking too. Oh, right, maybe not as handsome now, but with your dragon clan's taste, he must still count as handsome, right?"
"Can you be serious for once?" Xia Mi felt speechless with the old man. If her hands weren't bound by chains, she would've punched him by now.
"It's fine, young people these days are a bit shy, I get it," Hilbert chuckled, his tone playful.
Xia Mi was furious, quickly retorting, "I am the Dragon King!"
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Hilbert replied casually.
"I, the great Dragon King, how could I fall in love with a human?!"
"Ah, yes, of course," Hilbert agreed, still smiling.
"No, I, Jormungandr, the Dragon King, am here to destroy humanity!"
"Oops, sorry, couldn't hold it in. Continue," Hilbert said, trying to suppress a laugh.
In just a few lines, Xia Mi's smooth forehead had a cross-shaped vein popping out from anger.
"Can you be more serious?!"
The young girl gritted her teeth, her fangs showing as she glared at the old man, "Did you come here just to piss me off today?"
"Jormungandr, if you really want to devour Norton, then why didn't you notice that skeleton was fake?" Hilbert stopped laughing and spoke seriously.
"Jormungandr, you actually don't want to devour Norton. You don't want to break this peaceful life, and you don't want to return to being the Dragon King."
"Fake?!"
Xia Mi widened her eyes in shock, "Are you saying… you gave me a fake bone?"
"Of course, who would give you the real one?"
Hilbert looked at her strangely and laughed, "Handing over the Dragon King's remains to another Dragon King? Betraying allies? Do you think I'm that stupid?"
"No, but that's not right! I checked, the remains were definitely..." Xia Mi started, but then stopped abruptly, glaring at him.
"You really are something! No wonder you're the greatest dragon slayer, and here I was touched for so long, only to find out it was fake!"
If there hadn't been a fence in the way, she would've rushed out and punched that disgusting face a hundred and eighty times by now!
"Forget it, it's my own fault for not being careful enough to tell real from fake."
But soon, Xia Mi returned to her calm state. After all, they were all people who were about to die, so why bother arguing over so much?
Looking at Xia Mi's indifferent face, Hilbert suddenly spoke: "By the way, there's one more thing. I thought about it carefully and decided to tell you."
Hearing this, Xia Mi looked up, waiting for what he would say next.
To her surprise, Hilbert's words were earth-shattering: "According to the decision of the board of directors, because Chu Zihang's dragon blood concentration is too high and he might lose control, he will soon be handed over to the board for strict supervision and imprisonment. Of course, his life will be spared."
Xia Mi, who had just been indifferent and had no attachment to life or death, suddenly became agitated: "How could this happen?!"
"I did my best, but the board insisted on this."
Hilbert sighed, looking helpless, and said, "No matter what, the board will never ignore Chu Zihang's situation. Especially after what happened with the Gattuso family, this decision is in line with their philosophy of controlling risks."
"You can't do this to him!"
Xia Mi stood up, glaring at Hilbert: "If it weren't for Chu Zihang, Pompeii's plan would've succeeded. Keeping him locked up like this is no different from killing him!"
"At least he's still alive."
Hilbert said coldly, with no emotion on his face.
"Is this how humans treat heroes?"
Xia Mi gritted her teeth, a fierce golden light flashing in her pupils, her tone clearly filled with anger.
The shackles binding her, sensing the power of dragon blood, suddenly released a high-voltage current, with dazzling arcs of light flashing.
The girl let out a painful groan, uncontrollably falling to her knees. Struggling, she looked up with difficulty:
"Hilbert, you should know, Chu Zihang doesn't deserve this ending!"
"Of course, I know. But so what?"
Hilbert sneered and mocked, "Isn't this always how we treat dragons? Even if he saved humanity, so what? He chose that path, so he must bear the risks, right?"
"He's your student!" Xia Mi's pupils turned blood-red, as if feeling anger for Chu Zihang's fate.
"But this outcome is of his own making."
Hilbert grinned and said, "Besides, didn't you say you don't care about him?"
"I…"
Xia Mi opened her mouth but hesitated.
But when she saw Hilbert's half-smiling, half-sneering expression, a sudden flash of realization struck her: "Are you lying to me?"
"I'm not exactly lying to you. The board originally decided this."
Hilbert spoke indifferently, "But I stopped it. My student is not someone anyone can touch."
"Xia Mi, if I gave you another chance, what would you do?" Hilbert's expression turned serious as he looked at the girl in the cell, his voice deep, "Would you be willing to give up your dragon heritage, abandon revenge, abandon power, and become a human from this point on?"
These words were like a sharp arrow, piercing Xia Mi's heart. She looked lost, "What... does that mean?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
Hilbert revealed a mysterious smile, then turned and left, leaving behind a final sentence: "Xia Mi, you shouldn't die here. Destiny is something none of us can defy."
Destiny? Destiny!
Xia Mi's pupils contracted sharply, and she heard that word once again.
"Wait, come back!"
She shouted at the disappearing figure, "What does it mean? Who are you? What is destiny?!"
However, Hilbert did not answer her questions. In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished.
Click~
The chains that bound her were undone, and the prison door automatically swung open.
"I'm free?"
Xia Mi looked around in confusion, her restraints removed, but her mind was a mess.
********
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