Chapter 4: The Draconic Instinct Erupted

Watching Xi Yu eat gave Zhang Qingyuan and the others a strong sense of satisfaction.

Xi Yu wasn’t particularly hungry, but he ate the rations anyway; he needed to replenish his physical strength to better combat the surges of draconic instinct.

He simply ignored the curious gazes of Fang Jianbo and the others.

After finishing his meal, he lay down to rest, seizing every moment to recover his mental energy.

The old house was dilapidated and smelled quite unpleasant.

Having grown accustomed to such a displaced and wandering life in his previous existence, Xi Yu didn’t mind it at all.

However, though he closed his eyes, he didn’t dare to truly fall asleep.

His physical condition had not yet stabilized; if he fell asleep, he might lose control involuntarily.

Fortunately, he was used to this way of living, and once they reached the Middle Continent, he would have plenty of time to nurse his body back to health.

Still, this period was quite trying for him, as he had to constantly fight against the white dragon’s instincts.

Around three in the morning, during the latter half of the night, Xi Yu opened his eyes and sat up from the ground.

Although he couldn’t borrow the dragon’s power right now, his perception was remarkably sharp, and he detected something approaching them.

Fang Jianbo and Ping Feng were on guard while the others rested, but the two of them had yet to notice the approaching danger.

Seeing him get up, both of them immediately looked toward him.

‘Something is coming.’

Xi Yu pointed outside; understanding his meaning, the two began to carefully wake the other team members, while Ding Ren also opened his eyes at that moment.

Suddenly, the house—already dimly lit—became pitch black, as if one couldn’t even see their own hand in front of their face.

In the darkness, the sound of whispering drifted in.

Whoosh!

A yellow eye appeared at the window, staring greedily at the people inside the room.

“Everyone, on guard.”

Before the words had even faded, Ding Ren flicked his wrist, and the yellow eye let out a miserable shriek before instantly exploding.

However, this was the spark that set off a chain reaction, as all sorts of eerie and cold sounds erupted from every direction.

Creak.

Among these sounds, the noise of a door opening was enough to make one’s skin crawl just by hearing it.

Then, long, thin black silk threads began to emerge from every corner of the room, coiling toward everyone.

“Protect Xi Yu!” Zhang Qingyuan blurted out.

Weapon in hand, he moved to stand in front of Xi Yu, looking around warily.

Clang.

Qin Wei, Fang Jianbo, and the others raised their weapons and slashed at the black threads.

Though the threads looked eerie, they weren’t particularly tough, and the team members were not weak—the lowest among them being D-class—allowing them to handle the threads with ease.

The black threads were easily severed, turning into ash.

Immediately, a foul, fishy stench began to spread.

“Watch out, it’s toxic. Put on your masks,” Zhang Qingyuan quickly warned.

He was the small team leader of the six, responsible for managing the group, while Ding Ren was the captain, whose more significant duty was their overall safety.

Zhang Qingyuan pulled out a spare mask for Xi Yu.

These masks looked simple but were highly functional; protection against toxins was one of their features, capable of filtering out various poisons.

Xi Yu thanked him and took it.

“Stay here and guard.”

As soon as he spoke, Ding Ren had already lunged out through the window.

Following a strange, mournful wail from outside, the remaining black threads in the room instantly crumbled into ash.

But the commotion outside did not cease.

“Captain Zhang, you should go out and help Captain Ding. I won’t run off,” Xi Yu said quickly to Zhang Qingyuan.

He didn’t need protection; he was more concerned about the situation outside.

“Don’t worry, the boss will speak up if he needs us. Right now, your safety is more important,” Zhang Qingyuan refused Xi Yu’s well-intentioned offer.

Even though he suspected that Xi Yu likely didn’t need his protection, his stance remained firm.

This was a dragon—the totem of their nation—and he had to guard him well.

Xi Yu didn’t push further, but a strong sense of warmth welled up in his heart.

This was the sense of security he had dreamed of in his previous life.

He was finally feeling it now.

Similarly, a surge of warmth rose in Zhang Qingyuan’s heart.

The fact that Xi Yu would proactively worry about Ding Ren made him feel incredibly flattered.

Despite being a divine dragon, he seemed remarkably human.

Creak.

Just then, a terrifying, ear-piercing sound of a door opening came from outside, making Zhang Qingyuan and the others feel a sharp pang in their chests.

Following a massive boom, everything fell into total silence.

Thud.

The door opened, and Ding Ren walked in, covered in blood.

He had many wounds on his body, most notably a large chunk of flesh missing from his shoulder.

“Boss!” Zhang Qingyuan and the others were shocked, surrounding him with worried expressions.

They could hardly imagine what kind of ghost could inflict such heavy injuries on Ding Ren.

But Ding Ren himself seemed to feel nothing, merely staring blankly at the wounds on his hand.

The group hurried to help him squeeze out the toxic blood and bandage the wounds.

Eventually, Ding Ren seemed to snap out of it and swallowed a few detoxification pills.

Fortunately, the toxins left behind by those ghosts were not lethal, and the pills were effective.

Xi Yu stayed to the side, knowing he couldn’t help and didn’t want to cause more chaos by interfering.

After a short while, Ding Ren’s injuries were finally managed.

“Continue resting here for two more hours; it’s safe for now.” Ding Ren glanced at the sky outside. “It’ll be light soon, and there will be no time for rest during the day.”

“Yes!” everyone responded.

“Boss, you should get some rest. I’ll keep watch,” Zhang Qingyuan said immediately.

Ding Ren gave a small nod.

“Xi Yu, you should rest for a bit too,” Zhang Qingyuan urged, looking at him.

“Mhm.” Although Xi Yu wasn’t tired, he didn’t want to waste Zhang Qingyuan’s kindness.

Zhang Qingyuan nodded with relief.

Xi Yu showed none of the arrogance associated with being a divine dragon and didn’t make things difficult for them at all, which filled Zhang Qingyuan with confidence about bringing him back to the Middle Continent.

Gao Jie and Ji Yunbing were in high spirits and stepped out of the house. They spotted a black wooden door in the courtyard.

Subconsciously staying away from it, they began searching through the corpses of the other ghosts. After a while, both looked very disappointed.

They were searching for an essence left behind by ghosts.

This essence could directly enhance one’s strength, and humans could consume it without any side effects.

However, it was very peculiar and extremely rare; while it could potentially appear in any ghost’s body, there was often not a single one to be found among hundreds of ghosts.

And this time, they had come up empty-handed.

Xi Yu stared at Ding Ren for a while.

In his previous life, they hadn’t had much interaction, but seeing him now, he suddenly understood some of the puzzles from his past.

In the future, Ding Ren would be a renowned A-class giant in the Middle Continent, but he hadn’t grown into that role yet.

Even so, his current combat strength was quite impressive.

Xi Yu closed his eyes, preparing to rest a bit longer.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly snapped his eyes open, feeling something strange.

‘I didn’t expect it to come so soon in this life.’

“Xi Yu, what’s wrong?” Zhang Qingyuan and the others noticed something was off and rushed to his side, unsure of what was happening.

Xi Yu suppressed a powerful surge of draconic instinct that had suddenly erupted in his body.

He said to the two of them, “Captain Zhang, please wake Captain Ding and the others.”

Zhang Qingyuan was taken aback, but before he could ask anything, the sudden transformation occurred.