Zeshia couldn't understand what they were saying but she could tell Lu Cai's expression was awful.
Since that was the case he leaned forward and growled!
To show his majesty!
The dragon's roar was so deafening that Xiao Yu screamed in fear and anger falling to the ground, not daring to move.
Lu Cai: "..."
I brought the dragon out of the valley myself.
Lu Cai silently pulled Xiao Yu to her feet but Xiao Yu blushed and pushed him away: "If you don't believe me, forget it! Why are you bullying me!"
Lu Cai turned to look at Zeshiya.
Zesya blinked his golden eyes, his face full of praise!
Forget it.
Lu Cai numbly said: "What business is it that the Dragon King bullies someone?"
"You're not the Dragon Queen!?" Xiao Yu was shocked and angry.
Lu Cai readily corrected himself: "What business is it that the Dragon King bullies someone? I'm the Dragon Queen. We've only known each other for a few hours."
Zesya didn't understand anyway. He even noticed that Zeshiya was very concerned about his reputation in front of outsiders as evidenced by her mindless posing and self-protection.
Even if he found out later he probably wouldn't blame me. After all, we were different species so there was nothing wrong with just saying it casually.
Xiao Yu was speechless. She glanced at Zeshiya warily. After confirming that she wouldn't attack again she struggled to his feet and said in a trembling voice:
"Seriously, if you don't want to die, run. I don't know when they'll attack you."
Lu Cai narrowed his eyes: "They?"
Zeshiya took one look and quickly followed suit, glaring at Xiao Yu with narrowed eyes.
Although I didn't understand, I had to be full of energy!
Xiao Yu: "..."
She lowered her head: "My dad and the others want to kill the Dragon King. If you and the Dragon King enter the ancestral hall together they will definitely kill you both."
The sky was gray and a cold wind blew in bringing with it a strong fishy smell from the direction of the village.
Lu Cai was stunned: "Aren't they going to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King?"
Human sacrifices and the Dragon King marrying a wife? After bringing the "Dragon King" out they're going to kill him?
Did they discover Zeshia wasn't the real Dragon King?
Lu Cai frowned. He didn't rule out the possibility but he could only say the logic was far-fetched. He suspected many things but he hadn't considered that.
Xiao Yu replied, "They worship the Dragon King so they can kill him when he appears!"
Her voice was rapid and her pale face flushed again. "I really don't know why you're getting involved in all this. I don't know if this thing is the Dragon King but you're a good person unlike them. So run or you'll die!"
Lu Cai was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly, "Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? Why are you walking around here if you don't want to run!" Xiao Yu's nervousness didn't seem fake. She was indeed the kindest person Lu Cai had met since entering the village.
Lu Cai thought for a moment then replied softly, "How can you run so easily? There are monsters everywhere outside and the village must be excited."
Xiao Yu choked.
Lu Cai continued, "I'm just an ordinary person. This thing next to me.I don't know what it is let alone what happened in the village. If you want to save me please tell me what happened here, okay?"
Lu Cai asked sincerely, his expression unwavering. Xiao Yu wasn't present during his morning display of divine power and he assumed Xiao Yu wouldn't be discussing the matter with the villagers so he just spoke without thinking.
Though such a lengthy speech wasn't typical of him he could bend and stretch in times of crisis.
Zeshia was puzzled by his dragon knight's drastic change of expression but guided by the belief that everyone shares weal and woe, his demeanor softened a bit—he thought to himself, but to Xiao Yu the dragon stared at her with wide eyes.
Xiao Yu: "Okay."
Lu Cai asked Xiao Yu to go into the courtyard so he could speak slowly. But Xiao Yu looked up and saw the ancestral hall wall collapsed by Zeshia's blow and she couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Zeshia, exhausted from posing, ignored the girl's gaze and turned to follow Lu Cai inside, accidentally collapsing the other wall.
Xiao Yu: "..."
He felt good about himself. If anything was wrong it must be because the house wasn't well-maintained.
A dragon can't make mistakes; it's always right.
Lu Cai witnessed this but he suppressed his desire to avoid trouble and didn't stop Zeshia. He also wanted to see Xiao Yu's attitude towards the ancestral hall and the attitude of the people here.
If they were truly a group of infected people who couldn't be saved the ancestral hall would have no meaning for them.
Xiao Yu's anger was evident but she held it back under the immense pressure of Zeshia.
Lu Cai averted her gaze.
"The story begins a month ago," Xiao Yu said huddled across from Lu Cai, her voice muffled.
"A month ago our village's dispersal device broke and a thick fog rose around us. Many terrifying monsters lurked within and no one could enter or leave the village."
Lu Cai nodded. This was perfectly normal. Without the dispersal device dark matter would quickly envelop any living creature. The thick fog might have been caused by some extraordinary creature which to humans was also considered a monster.
Thinking of this he glanced at Zeshia.
Zesia responded with a dignified wink gleaming brightly.
Xiao Yu didn't notice the interaction between the man and the dragon and continued her story. "But around this time a woman suddenly arrived in our village. She arrived through the fog claiming to be a messenger from the Dragon King."
Xiao Yu trembled slightly as she spoke. "She was alone and to be able to pass through the fog she was definitely no ordinary person! But at first, none of us in our village believed in the idea of a Dragon King messenger. Although we worship the Dragon King on the East China Sea everyone knew it was just a legend. How could dragons really exist? If there were dragons we wouldn't have had such a hard time these past few decades."
Lu Cai thought about it and didn't respond.
If there were a dragon it's hard to say. What if it was like Zeshia? Life would probably be even worse than it is now even more difficult.
"But that woman eliminated the monsters that had invaded the village right before our eyes, earning the trust of a large number of us. Gradually, some began to believe she was here to help us." Xiao Yu clenched her fists and gently closed her eyes as if recalling that painful moment.
Lu Cai asked thoughtfully, "Since she's here to help you, why is she still..."
"Haven't you always been curious about Sister Zhang Xue? Well, let me tell you, sacrificing the women of the village to the pond, begging the Dragon King for a response, is the price that women paid for helping us." Xiao Yu opened her eyes with a warm red tinge in his eyes.
Lu Cai remained silent. He had almost guessed the cause and effect but hearing the sudden confirmation left him feeling a little uncomfortable.
Xiao Yu choked up, saying, "She told the villagers to sacrifice a young woman every two weeks and the Dragon King would bless us. When the Dragon King is finally satisfied he'll appear again and eventually there'll be no need for further sacrifices."
Lu Cai frowned. "Doesn't anyone doubt the consequences of this?"
Xiao Yu smiled grimly. "There were doubts and some questioned her but none of that could compare to her being the first to jump into the water demonstrating her resolve."
Lu Cai was stunned. "She was the first to jump?"
Zeshia didn't know what had happened. He only saw Lu Cai suddenly become agitated quickly following suit, his sharp jaws wide open a ferocious expression on his face!
Lu Cai, interrupted from his thoughts, didn't know whether to curse or laugh. He reached out and touched Zeshia's neck in comfort. The silver dragon couldn't help but raise its neck and gasp a few times.
Lu Cai's face was distorted as if he'd petted a dog.
Xiao Yu, still lost in that horrific memory, her lips trembling slightly. "Yes, she really was dead. And as expected the surrounding fog didn't enter the village again. The body floated on the surface of the pool and sank three days later."
Lu Cai slowly withdrew his hand from stroking Zeshia and rubbed it stiffly on a dry cloth beside him.
But his mind raced, speculating that something must indeed be beneath the surface. He and Zeshia had both come into contact with water before yet they clearly hadn't noticed anything.
Xiao Yu covered her head, choking with pain. "So they've all started to believe that if they sacrificed the bride the Dragon King would protect us. They've all gone crazy."
Lu Cai rested his chin on his hands frowning slightly. "So what does this have to do with you telling us to leave quickly or we'll be killed?"
Ordinarily, the Dragon King's manifestation would complete everything and the Dragon King's reign over the region would be the logical outcome.
Xiao Yu raised her head, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. She turned to look at Zeshia beside her and said with a tone that was hard to tell between sadness and joy: "Because that woman told them that the condition for the Dragon King's manifestation, without sacrifice, was to kill him and eat his flesh and blood."
Lu Cai paused, suddenly remembering the strange smile those villagers had given Zeshia before they left today.
It wasn't that they were mismanaging their expressions, it was genuine joy, joy at the thought of feasting on dragon meat.
Lu Cai's face darkened.
This group of people.
They truly had no respect for life.
Xiao Yu looked at him with a pale face. "So you know why I let you run? If you run, you might have a fighting chance. Staying here would be certain death."
Zeshia looked suspiciously at the two twos differing expressions then resolutely decided to adopt Lu Cai's same "whoever stands in my way will die" look.
What kind of place is this? Why aren't they saying anything dragons can understand?
This made the dragon unhappy.
The sky darkened and the fishy smell on the wind grew stronger almost as if there were an aquaculture farm nearby.
Lu Cai was silent for a long time before slowly nodding, "I understand."
Xiao Yu seemed relieved to have finally convinced Lu Cai. "You finally listened. They should be holding a wedding banquet for you in the village tonight so it's safe for now. I'll cover for you and you can just take this opportunity to escape!"
Lu Cai's forehead twitched when he heard the talk of a wedding banquet for him. He glanced at Zeshiya with a puzzled expression but Xiao Yu's next words quickly brought him back to his senses. He asked, half-seriously, half-confused, "You're covering for me but you're not going to escape yourself?"
Xiao Yu glanced at him wanting to laugh but unable to. "You're a researcher and you have to go back to contribute to humanity. This is my home. Where else can I go if I leave?"
If someone can sacrifice their fellow villagers to a Dragon King whose existence is unknown does that make them true saviors?
This is a world where dark matter infects humanity, a world where monsters eat people and a world where people eat people.