Skinwalker Belle – Chapter 243 – Frost Condensation in the Dragon Clan’s Territory

Night.

Azurewood City Lord’s Mansion, the rear courtyard.

Steam rose from the open-air hot spring, shattering the moonlight into a hazy, silver veil.

Long Yan, his powerful upper body bare, leaned against the smooth jade edge of the pool with his eyes closed.

His newly grown golden Dragon Scales refracted a faint halo in the steam, exuding a powerful beauty.

The fatigue and killing intent from a day of slaughter were slowly dissipating with the warm spring water.

Suddenly, a soft splash of water was heard.

Long Yan’s eyes snapped open, a flicker of vigilance in his golden, vertical pupils.

A figure had entered the hot spring at some unknown time and was now leaning against the edge not far from him.

Amidst the swirling steam was a graceful figure wrapped only in a thin bath towel.

Her long, snow-white neck, delicate collarbones, and the astonishing curves hinted at beneath the towel were enough to test the nerves of any male creature.

It was Long Wu.

She tilted her head to the side. Her long golden hair, soaked by the steam, clung wetly to her cheeks and shoulders, shedding some of its daytime arrogance for a touch of nocturnal languor and allure.

“Aren’t you bored, soaking all by yourself?” Lin Fan’s voice, tinged with a playful hoarseness, was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Long Yan’s body tensed for an instant before relaxing again. He silently turned his head away, avoiding the overly stimulating sight, his voice flat and emotionless. “Is there something you need?”

“Can’t I come chat with you if there’s nothing I need?” Lin Fan chuckled softly and slowly moved closer to him.

Reаd oո KαtReαⅾiոɡСafе

Beneath the warm spring water, her smooth calf intentionally-or-unintentionally brushed against Long Yan’s thigh.

Long Yan’s body went rigid as if electrocuted. He shot a great distance to the side, his brow tightly furrowed. “Please have some self-respect.”

Seeing him act so avoidant, as if she were some kind of monster, Lin Fan couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

Not bad, this kid.

To be able to remain composed in the face of this combination of a myth-grade Skin and God-level charm…

It seems Ning Shuang’s place in his heart has become unshakable.

Very good. He’s getting more and more mature.

“Tch, no fun.” Lin Fan pouted, no longer in the mood to tease him. She spread her arms to rest on the edge of the pool, tilted her head back to look at the moon, and asked casually, “How is it? Are you used to living in Azurewood City these past few days?”

“…” Long Yan was silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his words. “It’s alright.”

“That’s it?” Lin Fan turned her head to look at him. “It’s just killing and more killing. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

“I don’t,” Long Yan’s reply was simple and direct. “Slaughter makes me stronger.”

The air once again fell into an awkward silence.

Lin Fan felt that talking to such a one-track-minded guy was sheer torture.

She changed the subject, her tone growing serious. “Long Yan, how much do you know about the Otherworld Rifts?”

Long Yan was taken aback, not expecting her to suddenly ask this.

He thought for a moment and said, “I’ve only heard that they were the work of the Dragon Clan’s old ancestor. They are war passages, opened for the conquest of all realms.”

Rеαԁ oո KаtRеαԁіոgCаfe

“And then?”

“There is no ‘and then’,” Long Yan shook his head. “After the old ancestor opened the one hundred and three Rifts, he was never seen again. All affairs are handled by the Elder Council and the lords of each city.”

As expected.

Lin Fan understood.

She had rummaged through Long Wu’s memories for a long time, and the information she found was almost identical to what Long Yan had just said.

She had thought that a direct-line princess of the Pureblood Dragon Clan like Long Wu would know more core secrets about the Dragon Clan’s upper echelons.

Unexpectedly, she was just as clueless.

That so-called old ancestor of the Dragon Clan was like a shadow living in legends—powerful, mysterious, yet unreachable.

To be able to open one hundred and three stable interdimensional rifts, and for them to operate stably for years without needing to be personally maintained… that level of understanding and control over the laws of space was beyond Lin Fan’s current comprehension.

The thought of potentially facing an enemy of this caliber in the future made even Lin Fan feel a long-lost sense of confusion and pressure.

It seems that to figure everything out, I’ll eventually have to go to the true core of the Dragon Clan—that legendary ancestral land—and have a “close encounter” with that bunch of undying old geezers.

“Hmph, a bunch of cowards hiding in their shells.” Lin Fan pulled back from her thoughts, snorted coldly, and looked at Long Yan. “Actually, while you were still recovering your strength in the Mist Forest, Ning Shuang and I already went to the other side of the Rift.”

“What?” Long Yan whipped his head around, his golden pupils contracting abruptly.

“We wanted to find allies who could fight against the Pureblood Dragon Clan.” Lin Fan began her performance, a trace of reminiscence and gravity appearing in her eyes. “The other side of the Rift is a world called ‘Blue Star’. The people there, although not very strong individually, have… unimaginable potential.”

At this mention, Long Yan immediately thought of that guy named Lu Yuan.

Rеаⅾ oո КаtReаԁіոgСаfе

The man who could turn into a beam of light. Although he was only level six, the strangeness of his ability and his speed had indeed left a deep impression on him.

“So,” Lin Fan looked at Long Yan, her gaze burning, “I’m preparing to go to Blue Star again.”

“What do you need me to do?” Long Yan asked immediately.

“No, you’re staying.” Lin Fan shook her head. “This time, I’m going alone.”

She saw a flash of confusion and urgency in Long Yan’s eyes, so she dropped the bombshell she had prepared long ago.

“Ning Shuang… she’s recuperating in a very safe place right now.”

Boom!

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Long Yan’s mind, and his entire body froze.

“Where… where is she?” His voice trembled violently with agitation, barely coherent.

“She gave you her Dragon Bone. That is the very source of a dragon’s being; the damage was too great.” Lin Fan’s face showed a timely expression of sorrow and heartache. “She’s very weak right now and cannot leave that place.”

“Where… where is it?!” Long Yan grabbed Lin Fan’s arm, his grip so tight it felt like it could shatter her bones.

Lin Fan winced in pain but didn’t struggle. She just looked at him quietly and said, word by word, “The Dragon Clan’s ancestral land.”

Long Yan froze as if struck by lightning.

“I hid her there.” The lie rolled off Lin Fan’s tongue without a blush or a flutter of her heart. “The most dangerous place is the safest place. Those old fools in the Elder Council would never dream that the renegade they’re looking for is right under their noses.”

She gently pulled her arm free from Long Yan’s grasp, her voice becoming incredibly soft, yet carrying a bewitching power.

“Long Yan, Ning Shuang asked me to tell you to live well and become stronger.”

Reаԁ оո ΚаtReаԁіnɡСаfe

“Carry her share with you and fulfill the vow you made together!”

“She said she will always be watching you.”

“And when the day comes that you can stand at the pinnacle of this world, with the heads of all the Pureblood Dragon Clan beneath your feet…”

“You will naturally see her then.”

Dead silence.

By the hot spring, only the sound of rising steam remained.

Long Yan’s head was bowed, his body trembling violently. A scalding hot drop of liquid fell onto the water’s surface and evaporated in an instant.

He didn’t cry out, but the emotion, a mixture of suppressed, extreme grief and wild joy, was more heart-wrenching than any loud wail.

After a long while.

He snapped his head up.

In his golden dragon eyes, all the sorrow, regret, and pain had vanished in that instant, leaving only one thing.

A crazed battle intent, ferocious enough to incinerate the entire world!

“I understand.”

He looked at Lin Fan, his voice hoarse but as firm as iron.

“Tell her to wait for me.”