Kong Hou dawdled and fussed as she transformed, turning into a huge silver-white dragon. She aggrievedly stretched out her claws, then looked back at her tail, and said tearfully, "My scales have gone all dull, it’s so ugly. The front claws are this short, the hind claws are that long, totally unbalanced. And these wings on my back—Dong Xiao, I have to admit now, feathered wings really do look better. Look at my wings, not a single feather on them..."
Dong Xiao didn’t say anything. Instead, he took out a Recording Stone and quietly recorded Kong Hou’s current appearance. He’d let Kong Hou admire it herself later.
Tianmiao climbed onto Kong Hou’s back and stepped on her spine a couple of times. "Alright, let’s go, catch up with them. No matter what Kong Hou turns into, in my heart she’s always the cutest."
"Really? Really?" Kong Hou asked again and again in delight.
"Really. In my heart, no one can beat our little chubby girl; you’ll always be number one in cuteness." Tianmiao declared solemnly, then looked at Dong Xiao flying up beside them and added, "Dong Xiao will always be number one in handsomeness."
Alright, both one dragon and one phoenix felt utterly satisfied in their hearts.
Kong Hou flapped her wings, getting used to her current body shape, then let out a long roar and beat her wings, soaring into the high sky.
Everyone in Buck’s house ran out to look up at the sky.
"It’s Miss Tianmiao!"
"Has Miss Tianmiao been captured by the Dragon Clan?"
"Have you ever seen the Dragon Clan capture someone and then let them ride on their back?"
"My goodness! Miss Tianmiao rode away on a dragon. Is she a Dragon Knight too?"
"But Miss Tianmiao is a Mage! Not a Knight."
"Then... a dragon-riding Mage?"
"Hurry and report to Mr. Buck—no, wait, Mr. Buck has already set out for the Dark Swamp. Go report to Your Majesty!"
...
Tianmiao rode on Kong Hou, soaring through the sky.
"Master, look, that’s Reya Town below," Dong Xiao suddenly said.
Tianmiao looked down and sure enough saw a vast apple grove.
"Let’s take some apples before we leave. We’ll see if we can grow those apples ourselves. Especially those really big ones," Tianmiao said. Reya Town’s apples included a super large variety, almost half the size of a basketball. Crisp and sweet—Tianmiao was very fond of that kind of apple. Besides tasting good, hugging such a big apple to gnaw on felt great in the hands too.
Dong Xiao agreed, then paused and suddenly said, "Master, someone down there is watching us."
"It’s that meat shop Boss," Kong Hou lowered her head to look down and said.
"That man used to be a Knight. No one knows why he retired into seclusion here," Tianmiao said. "And his strength is nothing to sneeze at."
"Maybe his heart was broken? He’s seen through the vanity of the world?" Kong Hou guessed.
"Well now, our little chubby girl knows about seeing through worldly vanity too." Tianmiao teased.
"Of course, I’m not the same as before. I know lots of things now," Kong Hou said proudly.
"Yes, yes, our little chubby girl is much more formidable than before. Alright, fly quickly now." Tianmiao patted Kong Hou’s back in praise.
The Silver Giant Dragon quickly flew off into the distance.
In Reya Town, the meat shop Boss stood at his door, head tilted back as he stared at the sky, not lowering his gaze for a long time. It seemed something was happening these days. First that Red Giant Dragon, then the Griffin Knight Order. And now a Silver Giant Dragon flew past.
Only... a Silver Giant Dragon... are there even silver-colored dragons in the Dragon Clan?
And the person on the Silver Dragon’s back was that child called Tianmiao!