Chapter 465: A stubborn dragon

"Mm."

Rory nodded, opened her optical computer, and showed Lian the message Paros had sent her this morning.

"He said he used a sacred medicine of the Dragon Clan to help me, but he didn’t specify what kind of sacred medicine it was."

Now hearing Lian put it this way, Rory was certain that the sacred medicine Paros mentioned was this True Dragon Blood. That thing sounded remarkably powerful.

"Rory, this is no sacred medicine," Lian explained to her.

Just as he had guessed, Rory likely wouldn’t have time to mate with Wen tonight after all. Once she learned the truth about the True Dragon Blood, she would probably go after Paros.

"Not a sacred medicine?" Rory frowned. "Then what is it?"

Lian sighed and explained, "It is half of Paros’s life. Only dragons with the strongest talent in the Dragon Clan possess True Dragon Blood. It’s said that losing it not only causes a drop in ability rank, but the body will rapidly weaken, and it might even cut one’s lifespan down drastically..."

Every single word from Lian felt like a heavy hammer striking Rory’s heart.

Her face instantly turned pale, her fingers clutching the optical computer trembling slightly from the strain.

"You mean... Paros gave me his True Dragon Blood, and now he’s not only dropped in rank, but his lifespan has also been affected?"

"Yes," Lian answered with certainty.

"But... when I chased after him today, I didn’t notice anything different about Paros?" Rory’s brows knitted tightly into a deep frown. "Today on the warship, I observed him carefully. He looked no different from usual—not at all like someone who had dropped in rank or suffered a shortened lifespan."

If she hadn’t seen Paros looking perfectly fine, Rory wouldn’t have returned so directly.

Lian said, "Having given you his True Dragon Blood, there is absolutely no way he is fine. When you saw him, he must have used some method to put up a perfectly normal front in front of you."

Who would have thought? Paros wasn’t just a competitive dragon—he was a stubborn dragon, too.

Rory stood up abruptly, her face flushed with anger.

"I get it. If what you’re saying is true, then he was lying to me today!"

Rory asked Lian, "Since the True Dragon Blood was given to me, can it be extracted and returned to Paros?"

If Paros didn’t want to mate with her, then she absolutely could not keep something that pertained to his very life.

Lian shook his head. "Once this blood enters your body, it merges into one with your own blood. It cannot be extracted."

"You can only return the energy contained within the True Dragon Blood back to Paros. But there is only one way to do that—and that is to mate with him."

Rory took a deep breath and immediately headed for the door.

Seeing her storming out, Lian quickly followed.

"Rory, don’t be angry. That dragon probably got fixated on his own twisted logic. Let me not get upset with a stubborn dragon like him."

"I’m not angry," Rory said through gritted teeth. "I’m going to find him right now, and this time, I’m definitely going to demand a proper explanation for why he did this!"

Leaving Lian’s room, Rory immediately asked Vincent to prepare a warship for her.

She told Vincent about the True Dragon Blood.

"True Dragon Blood?"

Vincent was so amused by the situation that he let out a chuckle. This dragon is truly interesting.

"I’ll go handle it right away. We depart in ten minutes."

Rory nodded, then went to find Wen.

She wouldn’t be able to mate with Wen tonight after all, so she needed to explain things to him.

Returning to her room, Rory saw Wen lying on the sofa, not having even changed his clothes.

Seeing Rory return, Wen raised a hand, and Rory’s body was instantly wrapped in a stream of water, carrying her right into his arms.

Meeting Wen’s smiling, star-like pink eyes, Rory spoke with a hint of guilt.

"Wen, I’m afraid our mating will have to be postponed for a bit," Rory said.

Wen raised an eyebrow. "I can agree to that, but you’ll have to compensate me."

"What kind of compensation do you want?" Rory asked immediately.

Wen reached out and gently caressed her face. "I haven’t thought of it yet. When I figure it out, I’ll tell you."

"Alright," Rory nodded. "Whatever compensation you want, I promise it to you now. Just let me know when you decide."

Wen kissed her forehead gently. "Agreeing so easily—aren’t you afraid the compensation I ask for will put you in a tough spot?"

Rory smiled. "Of course not. I promised to mate with you tonight and couldn’t keep my word. Didn’t I let you down as well?"

Wen sat up while holding her and kissed her deeply on the lips. "When you’re like this, I really can’t bear to let you go after that stubborn dragon."

At the mention of Paros, Rory suddenly grabbed his collar and asked, "Did you already know that Paros gave me his True Dragon Blood?"

He’s so powerful; shouldn’t he have seen through it long ago? Every single one of these males was more scheming than the last. If they weren’t her mates, she wouldn’t even dare talk to them—with her intelligence, she’d probably be sold off by them and still end up counting their money, thinking they were angels! Especially Wen—he hid things the deepest of all.

"Now you’re doing me an injustice," Wen explained with a smile. "I only realized it after Lian came back and mentioned giving you a checkup."

"So that was it." Rory smiled and patted his chest gently. "Then I misjudged you."

She stood up from his embrace. "It’s about time. Let’s head out to find Paros."

Downstairs, Vincent had already prepared the warship.

"Rory, why are you going after Paros again?" Nix was still completely out of the loop. Although he hadn’t been home earlier today, he knew Rory had already chased down Paros’s warship once.

"I have business with him," Rory said, turning to look at Nix. "Nix, you don’t need to come along this time. Stay home and pack the things we’ll need to bring to the Lion-Tiger Clan tomorrow."

"Pack plenty of gifts. As soon as I return tomorrow morning, we’ll head straight out for the Lion-Tiger Clan."

She had already let Wen down tonight, so she couldn’t let Nix down as well. She had already calculated the time: taking the newest model warship Nix had developed to catch up with Paros, bringing him back, and returning to the castle would align perfectly with tomorrow morning.

"But you’ll be way too exhausted like that," Nix said, his heart aching for her. "Rory, we don’t have to go to the Lion-Tiger Clan tomorrow! It’s totally fine if we go the day after!"

It’s just a delay of one single day, no big deal. At most, he’d just endure another day of taunting from those annoying cousins of his.

"That won’t do. Since I promised you, I have to keep my word," Rory said earnestly. "Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the warship and won’t overexert myself."

Rory squeezed Nix’s cheeks playfully. "Get our things ready at home and wait for my return."

Rory didn’t bring everyone along this time. Originally, she only planned to take Wen and Vangar. Since Lian had just returned, she wanted him to rest at home, but he insisted on coming along.

His reasoning was rock-solid: if Paros’s condition turned out to be critical, he, as a physician, could deliver immediate emergency treatment.