Chapter 82
“Chomp, chomp…”
The donkey paid no attention to Ye Bai, focused intently on chewing its bread.
Ye Bai’s voice continued, “But that person said only those who understand the Dragon Script can see him.”
“Chomp… burp.”
The donkey, mid-bite, suddenly choked.
**Chapter 58**
“You really can understand me!”
Seeing the donkey’s reaction, Ye Bai’s eyes lit up. She had noticed this before, and now her suspicions were confirmed.
This donkey was indeed extraordinary!
It could pull items from its own spatial backpack and understand the Dragon language. Wandering alone in the ruins of the Dragon Tomb, how could it possibly be an ordinary donkey?
“Ah, uh, ah!”
Perhaps feeling exposed, the donkey closed its eyes and finished chewing the bread, then called out to Ye Bai, adopting a “what the heck” demeanor.
“What’s your connection to the ancient Dragon clan?” Ye Bai asked. Compared to the mysterious, cursed humanoid, she found herself trusting the donkey, which was bound to her and increasing its taming level, much more.
“Ah, uh!”
The donkey maintained its expression, unable to speak, only able to bray.
“Do you have Dragon blood? Are you a mutated breed?” Ye Bai speculated, then shook her head. Dragon blood was notoriously dominant; even a distant descendant would show clear signs in their appearance. This donkey looked just like any other donkey.
“Ah, uh!”
The donkey brayed again, still wearing that same expression.
Ye Bai said, “Am I wrong?”
“Ah, uh!”
This time, it even rolled its eyes.
Ye Bai’s gaze sharpened as she began to make a bold guess: “You’re actually a Dragon transformed into this form, hiding your identity to take revenge for the ancient Dragon clan?”
“Ah, uh!”
The donkey’s eyes nearly rolled back into its head.
Ye Bai never expected to see such a speechless expression on a donkey’s face. But then again, the ancient Dragons were a proud race; they would only regard the strong with respect. If this donkey were truly of the ancient Dragon clan, it wouldn’t let a mere level twenty-something mortal ride on its back, no matter how much it endured.
This was something ingrained in the Dragon bloodline, the underlying code of behavior for that race.
So what exactly was this donkey?
Feeling a tug on her cloak, Ye Bai turned to look at the donkey.
It released her light feather cloak and gestured forward with its muzzle.
“What’s up? Do you have something else to do in there?” Ye Bai asked.
The most important thing for Ye Bai in the Divine Realm was to obtain fabric from the Luo Zhi clan, but the donkey had always seemed drawn to her bread, showing no signs of ulterior motives. Was this gesture a hint of something else?
“Ah, uh!”
The donkey brayed, winking at Ye Bai, but it didn’t clearly confirm or deny anything.
Ye Bai scratched her head, feeling frustrated by the language barrier. Why hadn’t she triggered some sort of ‘donkey language’ proficiency? …Cough.
Putting aside that ridiculous thought, Ye Bai shook her head and said, “Forget it, let’s just go in first.”
The donkey couldn’t talk, and without triggering any quests, her curiosity was of no use.
“Ah, uh!” The donkey brayed, as if in agreement with Ye Bai.
Ye Bai took a few steps forward. The slope ahead was shrouded in deeper mist, the ground dark and devoid of plants, exuding a faint scent of decay.
It felt like a giant mouth, waiting to devour, filled with an ominous aura.
Ye Bai glanced back at the donkey, which was now following her at a distance of two or three meters, looking even steadier than she was. It was completely silent, not making a sound, and she couldn’t even hear its footsteps. It seemed to understand the danger ahead.
Stepping lightly… Ye Bai’s lips twitched. This creature seemed more suited for stealth than she was.
As the two of them ventured deeper into the mist, the terrain sloped lower, and the light filtering down from above grew dimmer.
It felt like stepping from an ordinary foggy day into a gloomy rainstorm.
Ye Bai knew this was still a good sign; exploring during the day was definitely better than at night.
The Divine Realm was a high-level map, and it wasn’t entirely filled with creatures above level sixty. Weaker races also existed, and among the Dragon descendants, there were varying strengths. Excluding elite monsters and bosses, most creatures were around levels forty to sixty. If she had to face living Dragon descendants, Ye Bai wouldn’t dare to tread here recklessly.
However, once they died and became undead creatures, she felt more confident.
Because, aside from a few exceptionally powerful beings, undead creatures generally didn’t appear during the day and had a significant weakness: light and fire damage dealt triple damage to all undead.
…
Deep within the mist lay a valley. Ye Bai walked down the slope for over thirty minutes. Aside from growing darker, the surroundings remained eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of her footsteps.
From time to time, she would glance back, reassured to see the donkey closely following her.
Finally, the slope began to level out, and Ye Bai sensed she was nearing the valley floor.
“Crash!”
“Ah—!”
Suddenly, Ye Bai felt her feet slip, followed by a sensation of weightlessness as the ground beneath her collapsed. Before she could react, she fell.
“Boom, boom, boom…”
A series of thunderous sounds echoed through the once-quiet valley. In the chaos, Ye Bai quickly pulled out a magic scroll, ready to activate it at a moment’s notice.
Falling from a height could cause damage, but Ye Bai’s armor far exceeded that of her level, and her gear was at least rare quality or higher. With the cushioning and bouncing effects of her light feather set, her defenses were quite high.
But if the fall was from a significant height, like a several hundred-meter cliff, even the strongest non-flying creature would be doomed.
Fortunately, this collapse wasn’t a cliff but more like a small landslide caused by geological shifts. After the rumbling, the fall quickly came to an end, sparing Ye Bai from a frustrating death by “falling off a cliff.”
The light feather set provided excellent cushioning, and Ye Bai emerged from the collapse unscathed, losing only a bit over thirty health points from being struck by falling debris.
In the darkness, with a soft “pop,” Ye Bai lit a candle she had taken from her backpack.
The candlelight illuminated her surroundings, and Ye Bai finally got a good look at her environment—
Aside from the debris from the collapse, it appeared to be an artificially carved passage… or rather, judging by the scratch marks, it might not have been “human” work. Given that this was a dwelling place for Dragon descendants, it could have been excavated by the “Dragon Scale Clan” mentioned by the mysterious humanoid.
The place where Ye Bai had been before was likely above this passage. Perhaps geological instability had caused the collapse, dropping her directly into this space.
Many Dragon descendants maintained a habit of living in burrows, with a lifestyle that was quite primitive. This was a common issue for races that were too powerful; they often failed to develop advanced technology and civilization because they had no need to, being born at the top of the food chain.
Regaining her senses, Ye Bai looked around, her heart sinking.
Where was the donkey?
Just a moment ago, it had been bouncing along right behind her!
Ye Bai raised the candle and looked up, only to see darkness above, with a large stone blocking the crack where she had fallen, maintaining the balance. She had no idea how many more stones were piled up above.
She continued to search the area around the fallen debris, even turning some stones over, but still found no trace of the donkey.
Could it be that only she had fallen, and the donkey hadn’t?
But Ye Bai recalled the noise from earlier; with the extent of the collapse, the donkey had been right behind her, just two or three meters away. It couldn’t possibly have avoided falling.
Subconsciously, Ye Bai wasn’t too worried about the donkey’s safety. After all, it didn’t look like an ordinary donkey. She felt that even if she died, the donkey might not.
So where could the donkey have gone in such a short time?
It seemed she had no choice but to explore the area…
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