Chapter 27: The Birth of the Black Dragon (Second Revision)

  "How long will it take for the dragon egg to hatch?" In the basement, Li Junshan walked around the black dragon egg soaked in a large wooden barrel of acidic liquid several times, looking at Fate suspiciously on one side and said: "Are you sure that the acid you formulated can speed up the hatching of the black dragon egg?"

  Fatie's hands were still in his sleeves, stroking the six-grade sword-toothed dragon crystal core he had obtained during the day. Upon hearing this, he hastily said: "Master, it's true. The black dragon is a dark-attribute magical beast. My grandfather and father both mentioned before that soaking it in acidic liquid can speed up the hatching of the black dragon egg. This is the same principle as hatching the eggs of the yin water black snake, which I've seen my grandfather help others with before. It's definitely not wrong."

  "How's your magic training going?" He turned around a few times, Li Junshan thought that the Black Dragon Egg wouldn't hatch so quickly either, and then he turned around to walk outside, asking Fate along the way.

  Fate followed behind him, shrinking his neck and saying: "It's gotten much smoother to use, but it's still just those beginner-level spells from each system."

  Cultivation is a matter of both innate talent and effort, Li Junshan knew that rushing wouldn't work, and since Fa Te had been diligently cultivating all along, he didn't say anything more.

  "Just watch from here." Li Junshan took a step forward and said, "I heard that the Black Dragon is good material for making magic wands. When I have the chance, I'll get one for you."

  Fa Teng was overjoyed when he heard the words, and he followed Li Junshan with a smile on his face, thanking him profusely. After seeing Li Junshan leave, he excitedly turned back to the stone room, sat down calmly on the ground, and entered meditation in an instant.

  …………

  Early in the morning, I received the news that I would be moving back to my original viscount's mansion. The atmosphere at Crowell Manor was jubilant, with everyone's face filled with genuine joy.

  "Are they all settled in?" In the house, Linda sipped a cup of Molly's specialty red tea.

  "My men are all very enthusiastic, they have basically finished packing and are just waiting to move in." replied the old butler Raymond respectfully.

  Crawford sat beside Linda, holding a cup of cold red tea that he hadn't taken a sip of, his face unable to conceal his excitement.

  "Old steward, how many gold coins are left in our mansion now?" Linda put down the crystal clear glass tea cup and asked softly.

  "The young master obtained the skin of a level 6 magic beast, Sword Toothed Dragon, yesterday. I sold it according to his instructions and got 10,000 gold coins because it was very intact. Adding this to the previous sale of the magic beast's fur, after deducting the wages and rewards for the guards, there is an additional 30,200 gold coins in the account." Raymond said, handing over the account book.

  Linda took it over and flipped through it casually, sighing as she said: "Nicholas is really a surprising kid. Such a large pile of magical beast hides and furs, he actually hunted them himself. The Luoyue Mountains are so dangerous, yet he dared to go there by himself."

  After closing the account book, Linda continued: "Now those who can stay in the house are all people who are loyal and righteous to us, and it is reasonable to reward them."

  "Uh-huh." The old butler bowed and said, "In the afternoon, move back to the viscount's mansion. There are definitely not enough servants now. At that time, I plan to recruit some decent people from their family to come over. On the one hand, it is reassuring to use them, and on the other hand, it is also helping to prop up."

  "Hmm." Mrs. Linda nodded in approval and waved her hand, saying: "You handle it then."

  The old steward nodded and respectfully backed out.

  "My Viscount." Linda turned her head towards Crawley and smiled: "Are you ready?"

  "Mm." Klaud dropped his teacup and nodded excitedly.

  Linda couldn't help but burst out laughing, her pleasant laughter carrying all the way to the courtyard, causing the servants moving things to pause and take a peek.

  "You..." Klaul felt a bit embarrassed, got up and covered the door, suddenly his face was worried.

  Linda thought for a moment and said, "Don't you think Nicholas has changed into a different person? He's completely different now."

  Crawford nodded and sat down, saying: "The more I think about it, the more confused I become."

  "He is our son Nicholas." Linda put away her smile and said, "Can we still recognize our own son? Nicholas has been with us since he was a child and hasn't suffered any hardships. Although this experience doesn't want to be clear, I think there's his own reason. No matter what he does, I will support him, because he is my Nicholas."

  Looking at Linda's determined and peaceful face, Crowell's mood also calmed down, but he frowned and said: "I think he was a bit impulsive yesterday."

  "This isn't impulsive," Linda said, shaking her head. "He took down York in front of the Earl of Rossborough on his first day back and also took care of the earl's guard. It looks arrogant and impulsive, but it's actually the best way to reclaim our title and prove himself to the Harriman family. In extraordinary times, you need extraordinary measures. I agree with what Nicholas did yesterday."

  At this time, Raymond knocked on the door and said outside: "Master and madam, a large team of carriages has arrived outside, saying that they were sent by the Earl to help us move."

  "Don't go interfering with Nicholas." Linda stood up and said to Crawley, "Nicholas can take care of himself. Even if he gets into some kind of trouble, the Hariman family won't just sit back and do nothing about it."

  Crawford was overwhelmed with emotions, stood up and let out a sigh of emotion, then followed Linda out.

  The Earl of Ross sent many people, in addition to the fifteen large carts, more than a hundred servants were also dispatched to help with the move. During Linda's illness, Crawley had almost sold all his valuable possessions to raise gold coins for high-ranking pastors, and now there was not much left to move.

  More than a dozen guards blocked the way in the backyard, saying that Young Master was meditating and cultivating his spiritual power in the backyard. Those servants also lightened their footsteps, fearing to disturb the latest rising young summoner of Florence City.

  Not long after, under the envious gaze of onlookers, a grand motorcade headed towards Viscount Manor.

  The viscount's mansion was renovated very neatly, and two four-meter-high stone lions were rearranged at the entrance. The streets that were destroyed in yesterday's battle were restored to their original state overnight.

  Crawford and Linda walked into the viscount's house with a smile, only to find that all the furniture and other things in the house were not missing, and they were all brand new, which made them even more joyful.

  In the midst of the servants' clamor, the carriage in which Count Roos was riding arrived at the gate of Viscount's mansion. Crawley and Linda hastened to welcome him, leading Count Roos and the clerk of the Imperial Court of Florence into the drawing room.

  After a long time, Earl Ross, with a spring breeze on his face, got into the carriage with a smile under the courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Crawley.

  Crawford's chest now bore an additional medal, symbolizing the Harriman family's Sword and Violet Medal.

  Until late at night, Li Junshan and Fate returned to the Viscount's mansion in a carriage carrying the black dragon egg soaked in acidic liquid under the escort of several guards.

  After dinner, Linda sent away the servant who was waiting on one side and stopped Li Junshan who wanted to slip away.

  "Nicholas." Linda's slender fingers picked up the crystal teacup and took a light sip, saying: "Hei Long Dan, and how did you suddenly become a summoner? Emotionally and rationally, these things should have been told to me and your father."

  Li Junshan dryly laughed a few times, the strong and fragrant black tea in his mouth suddenly felt sour and bitter, saying: "I met a woman in Fenghuo Town, a very good woman?"

  "Huh?" Linda's curiosity was piqued, and she asked: "What kind of woman?"

  "Uh, she's a fat woman whose husband is dead, but she's very kind at heart. At that time, the people who caught me were ambushed and killed by a group of mercenaries, and I managed to escape by pretending to be dead. Later, I ran to Fenghuo Town and met this fat woman - Anna, it was she who took me in and gave me a place to stay."

  "We should thank her well if she is willing to come back to our viscount's house, and not do anything, absolutely will not treat her unfairly." Linda's eyes were slightly red.

  "Never mind." Li Junshan waved his hand and said, "Anna's temperament is too wild, she can only live happily in Fenghuo Town, she won't come."

  "We should leave a message for her. If she encounters any difficulties in the future, we won't just sit back and do nothing." Krow added from the side.

  Li Junshan nodded and Linda asked again: "What happened later? What happened?"

  "Hmm, I originally planned to hurry back, but at the time I was alone and didn't know the way, and I wasn't daring enough to casually tell others my identity. Later... one day, I met an old man with white hair."

  "White-haired old man?" Linda and Crow exchanged a glance, both with a curious expression.

  Li Junshan's brain was racing, and he had a mysterious look on his face as he said: "One day I was wandering around the town, when I suddenly ran into an old white-haired man by the side of the road who was cold and hungry. At that moment, I felt sorry for him, so I gave him some food and clothes. He didn't say anything at the time, just ate what he should eat and wore what he should wear, with a very matter-of-fact attitude."

  "As a result, he stayed there for many days in a row, and I delivered food to him every day. Until the night of the tenth day, he stopped me and gave me a book of summoning techniques, saying that I was a good person and rewarding my kindness."

  Kraul and Linda listened with rapt attention, unconsciously leaning forward a little.

  Li Junshan spoke more fluently as he continued, "After a few more days, that old white-haired man disappeared and I couldn't find him even after searching the entire town. Originally, relying solely on that summoning technique manual, I wouldn't have been able to achieve any results in my cultivation. It was at this time that I coincidentally met Fate, who had drifted into Fenghuo Town, and it just so happened that he came from a family of summoners - his grandfather and father were both summoners. With his help, I was finally able to cultivate the summoning technique."

  As he spoke, Li Junshan took out the summoning book that he had exchanged with the old beggar from Ma La Tang and handed it to Linda. He continued: "Perhaps this summoning secret book is also very useful. I have been cultivating for a short time, but I have already opened up my spiritual space, and my spiritual power has increased greatly. After that, everything went smoothly, and I successfully summoned several summoning beasts in the Luoyue Mountains, which were the ones my father saw yesterday."

  Linda flipped through the book, but couldn't make sense of it either, and handed it to Krowal. The latter took it in his hand, examined it for a few moments, nodded and said: "This book is quite old, you can tell from the pages alone, at least over a hundred years of history."

  "What about the Black Dragon Egg? Don't tell me you defeated the Black Dragon and took it, I wouldn't believe it even if you killed me." Linda asked again.

  Li Junshan smiled slightly and recounted the story of the black dragon from start to finish, naturally leaving out the part about the mutated black dragon. He only mentioned that the magician and the war saint had both been injured, and he had taken advantage of the opportunity to ride his summoned beast and snatch the black dragon egg before making a quick escape.

  "You're too bold." Linda scolded, "Who can ride the Golden Eyed Demon Eagle except for an extraordinary magician? And that War Saint, you..." As she spoke, Linda's tears rushed out.

  Li Junshan hastily smiled and said: "I'm fine, aren't I? Besides, even if my summoned beast can't beat them, it doesn't necessarily mean it will lose in a chase."

  "Nicholas is already back, isn't that nothing?" Crawley comforted Mrs. Lynda.

  Linda was also a little nervous and restless for a moment, but then she suddenly burst out laughing.

  "When Nicholas was tested for his magical abilities, they all said he had mediocre talent and some even called him a waste. I wonder who would dare say that now. Nicholas, the Harriman family will be proud of you." Linda's face was full of pride.

  "It's all right as long as you're proud of me, Hariman family," said Li Junshan with a smile.

  "Fortunately, it's over." Li Junshan said in his heart, wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead.

  …………

  The underground secret room of the viscount's mansion was much brighter than that of the commoner, with walls and floors made of huge bluestone slabs. On the walls, about every ten steps, a crystal nucleus of a fat-headed eagle was inlaid. The light from this second-level magical beast's crystal nucleus was soft and bright, perfect for an underground secret room.

  Of course, the price of Fathead Eagle Crystal Core is not low either. The crystal core of an adult fathead eagle costs around five gold coins, which ordinary civilians can't afford, but it's very common in noble mansions.

  "Master." Fatou suddenly ran over from the underground secret room, greeted Li Junshan who had just walked down, and said excitedly: "Black Dragon... Black Dragon egg is about to hatch."

  Li Junshan was overjoyed and flashed into the secret room at the end of the corridor, where he saw that the wooden barrel inside had a slight tremble, with the Black Dragon Egg rippling in circles in the acidic liquid.

  Li Junshan gazed intently at the Black Dragon Egg, and after a short while, it stopped moving and remained still, causing his heart to tighten.

  "Crack." A faint, soft sound, the dragon egg's shell cracked open a slit, and then the slit spread like a spider web, a fist-sized piece of shell was lifted, revealing a small head, eyes closed, wet brain with two small fleshy buds on top.

  As if afraid of startling it, Li Junshan and Fate held their breath, not even daring to breathe. Hatching was a necessary process for oviparous creatures, and they didn't think of helping the little black dragon.

  As the little black dragon's head was squeezed, the hole in the eggshell grew larger and larger, and the little black dragon's entire head came out. Next, its two front paws also stretched out, making an effort to expand outward.

  With a "plop", Xiao Hei Long used too much force and suddenly crushed the eggshell, his half-person-high body tumbling into the liquor.

  Li Junshan was startled and rushed to the edge of the wooden bucket to take a look, only to see the little black dragon floating out of the acidic liquid, looking like a human and letting out several sneezes.

  "Haha." Li Junshan found it interesting and couldn't help but laugh. At this time, the black dragon opened its confused eyes, looking at him blankly, its mouth slightly open.

  "What should we do now?" Li Junshan asked Fate in a low voice, staring at Heilong without blinking.

  "Hmm... that... it's probably recognizing people." Fati squeezed in behind Li Junshan, also somewhat uncertain, after all, he was also seeing a dragon for the first time.

  "With a splash" sound of water, the small black dragon suddenly jumped out from the acid liquid, pounced on Li Junshan's body, and stretched out its tongue to lick his face.

  Li Junshan was startled, fortunately the acid didn't have a strong corrosive effect and he wasn't injured. He also didn't dare to use force to push, afraid of hurting the little black dragon, his neck strained backwards, dodging the little black dragon's tongue.

  "What's going on?"

  Fatie blinked, a look of uncertainty on his face: "I've heard that some intelligent magical beasts, at birth, will have an inexplicable affection for the first creature they see. It won't think of you as its mother... oh... or that kind of relative?"

  "Ah!" Li Junshan was stunned, gently putting the little black dragon on the ground, but as soon as he let go, it jumped up again and burrowed into his chest, using its horn to nuzzle him.

  Soaking the black dragon egg in acidic liquid accelerates its hatching, Li Junshan's plan was to let the remaining deformed egg attach itself after the little black dragon is born, wanting to have another cool deformed black dragon. Now that the little black dragon has really come out, Li Junshan feels a bit reluctant.

  A body half the height of a person, covered all over with black scales, hind legs unconsciously tapping lightly, front paws grasping Li Junshan's collar, the little black dragon blinked its big eyes, clear eye beads spinning cleverly, mouth making "uh-uh" soft calls, just staring quietly at Li Junshan.

  Li Junshan's heart softened all of a sudden, he knew that Xiao Hei Long had taken him as his mother.

  "Master." Fatt exclaimed: "Hurry up and use the summoning technique to make it your summoned beast, it's just born and has no guard against you, it will definitely succeed."

  "Never mind, now Xiao Hei Long is too small, it's better to grow up a bit before possessing. This isn't me being soft-hearted, maybe having a pure black dragon wouldn't be bad either."

  Li Junshan comforted himself in his heart, concentrated his spiritual power, and drew a talisman pattern in the air with his hand. A white light flashed, and the talisman pattern flew towards the top of Xiao Hei Long's head. As Fa Te said, Xiao Hei Long's spirit did not resist at all, allowing the talisman pattern to enter its mind and imprint a summoning seal on its spirit.

  The summoning was complete, and Li Junshan felt a subtle spiritual connection between himself and the small black dragon, even closer than with the alien.

  A slight movement of his mind, and the small black dragon disappeared from in front of him, appearing in Li Junshan's spiritual space.

  In the spiritual space, the most wonderful thing is that if the summoned beast does not receive the mental command of the summoner, it will fall into a deep sleep state in a very short period of time. The little black dragon was no exception, and as soon as it entered Li Junshan's spiritual space, it fell asleep immediately.

  It was leaning against that huge deformed black dragon and fell asleep.

  The Alien Queen was still like when Li Junshan first discovered the spiritual space, even her posture was exactly the same, and she didn't have any spiritual communication with him at all. If it wasn't for "looking", Li Junshan wouldn't have felt her existence at all.