Dragon Tamer

The darker the night, the more restless it became.

And this night was excessively long.

In her separate court, Li Yunzi opened her eyes and glanced out at the sky beyond the curtain.

Dawn had not broken.

Was dawn not gracing us with its presence anymore?

At this time, daylight should have already unfolded, even if heavy clouds enveloped the sky, it shouldn’t be this dark.

The air was murky, and the wind had blown for a long time without dispersing it. She was already aware of what had happened last night, but she didn’t leave her courtyard, opting instead to send a squad of army guards…

“Miss, chaos reigns outside. The day remains dark; there’s a group of people with malicious intent gathered at the ancestral altar, condemning you! Heavens, your army guards were the first to arrive there. You are the only one who cares about the people’s lives, yet they want to push all the blame onto you,” Frost said indignantly.

Li Yunzi remained silent, her gaze fixed outside the window. Such gloominess, even an eclipse in an inauspicious year, should not last this long. What exactly had caused the cosmos to enter this endless night?

She stayed indoors, quietly healing.

“Miss, sir… Zhu Minglang has moved into the residence. Is he to be arranged in the nearest courtyard?” Frost came to ask.

“Clean up the left court’s room,” Li Yunzi said.

“Ah? Isn’t that living in the same courtyard? How can you allow a man to reside within your courtyard, Miss? Although separated by the central courtyard…” Frost expressed her surprise.

Li Yunzi did not respond. She was very tired and seemed to not even have the strength to speak, or perhaps she was contemplating and had no intention to repeat herself.

Frost knew that her miss was not the kind of lady who dithers. What she said had to be done.

Frost hurriedly set about tidying up, clearing the left court’s room, and at the same time, pondered whether she should add a temporary door between the central and left courts. She would stand watch at this door at night to prevent any mishaps.

Zhu Minglang moved into the left court’s room, and Fang Niannian quickly became friendly with Frost. The two women seemed to have endless conversations, always seen smiling between the two courts…

Li Yunzi did not leave her room.

Zhu Minglang only went to the back mountains when it was time to train dragons.

The day still had not brightened, and it was now the fourth day. This strange phenomenon caused even greater panic throughout the Ancestral Dragon

City-State, as more and more skywatchers began to wildly spread their views.

These opinions, unsurprisingly, all pointed towards Li Yunzi.

“Li Yunzi is a malevolent star, wherever she goes, warfare follows without end. The divine stone fell from the sky, directly onto Ancestral Dragon City, isn’t it informing us, the people of Ancestral Dragon City-State, that we must eliminate this evil star, or else we will never see the clear cosmos again!!”

“Li Yunzi’s cruel actions have provoked the heavens’ wrath. Heavenly Capital punishes her people, yet you still follow her so blindly. In my opinion, she should take her own life to atone for her sins; otherwise, celestial fire will be our punishment!”

Inside and outside the city-state, all was chaos.

Without the light of day, eternal darkness shrouded the earth. It was thought that spring and summer were approaching, and the Li Chuan Plain would become fertile once more. Yet, the sunshine seemed to have been taken away by the heavens, and even outside the Li Chuan Plain, only a faint light could be seen.

Without sunshine, there were no crops; without crops, there was no meat. If this continued into late spring, chaos would surely engulf the world!

Sacrifices.

Prayers to the heavens.

Repentance.

Supplications.

All sorts of religious rites had been performed to no avail.

Gradually, under the guidance of countless opinions, people began to believe in the only solution.

Vendetta!

Vendetta against the root of the disaster!

She ceaselessly ignited wars, her greed boundless, again and again encroaching upon the territories of others. People started to believe that the wars she stirred were not for the protection of territory or to strengthen the Ancestral Dragon City-State, but simply to satisfy her cruel bloodlust!

“Miss, more and more people are condemning you. There are even gatherings

at the ancestral altar every day, calling for your head, and they say those filthy and vile words. Now that you command a strong force, why not execute those who spread such nonsense!” Frost was increasingly anxious.

The situation was becoming ever more unfavorable.

The sky sees no light, and with that, the rage only grows stronger!

“Heaven’s anomaly is beyond anyone’s control, yet anger needs to be vented. Someone will inevitably be condemned by thousands, and they think I am to blame. So let them think that,” Li Yunzi said indifferently.

“When the heavens punish mankind, people do not resent the heavens, yet they make you bear the burden—what kind of reasoning is that? If they have the guts, let them tear down the heavens themselves, a bunch of cowards, a rabble. You’ve achieved so much for Ancestral Dragon City-State, they reaped the benefits, they were spared from the ravages of war, yet they never had the slightest gratitude. It’s bad enough other city-states blame you, but why must even our Ancestral Dragon City do the same!” Frost’s eyes were red with anger.

Li Yunzi could endure such slander, but Frost couldn’t bear seeing Li Yunzi being criticized and prosecuted by the outsiders and felt it was unjust.

How can one blame people for heaven’s calamity?

And to blame it on someone who fought on the battlefield and never let a single war reach the Ancestral Dragon City-State??

Are the world’s people really like this?

Then why bother for them at all!!

“This is just the way people are; don’t harbor any resentment towards them,” Li Yunzi consoled Frost, who was almost in tears from anger.

Having said that, Li Yunzi saw a figure standing in the courtyard, upright and clean-cut, with eyes once scattered and gentle, now several degrees deeper and more composed.

“It’s not man-made.” Zhu Minglang approached and spoke to Li Yunzi.

“Hmm, it is the will of heaven.” Li Yunzi nodded.

In this world, there might be divine mortals powerful enough to summon those heavenly fires that ravage the cities, but absolutely no one could plunge the sky into Eternal Darkness!!

Zhu Minglang was initially extremely angry because all of this seemed premeditated, just to turn Li Yunzi from a glorious female warrior into a malevolent, wicked star.

But that was not a man-made heavenly fire, and the eternal night was not the doing of any divinely skilled being either.

It was this catastrophic natural disaster that pushed Li Yunzi, already beset on all sides, into an abyss!

“How much time do we have?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“Whether this sky brightens or not, how could Miss know!” Frost replied indignantly.

“After seven days, it could happen any day,” Li Yunzi responded to Zhu Minglang.

“Seven days… that should be enough. Rest assured and heal your wounds, no one will be allowed to set foot in this courtyard,” Zhu Minglang stated.

“Hmm.”

Frost, standing by, completely failed to understand the conversation between

Li Yunzi and Zhu Minglang.

What exactly is the time, and who would dare to storm this yard, the Li Imperial Palace, indeed? Do those disorderly masses actually dare to prosecute a Female Monarch??

Zhu Minglang hadn’t spoken to Miss earlier, so how could he seem to know everything?

Why did it seem like there was some kind of tacit understanding between them that she could never reach?

Is something big about to happen??

“Thump, thump, thump!”

Someone was knocking on the courtyard door. Frost, full of confusion and somewhat distracted, took a moment before she realized she had to check who it was at the door.

Gathering her skirts, she hurried to the front of the yard.

After a while, she returned, skirts gathered, rushing back to Li Yunzi’s side.

“Miss, Sect Palace’s Du Cheng has arrived, and the Family Head hopes you will also attend the grand hall; otherwise, it would seem rather rude,” Frost whispered.

Li Yunzi was about to speak when a shout came from the left side of the courtyard.

“There’s no need. Tell the messenger that Miss is focusing on healing and won’t attend any discussions or receive any guests,” Zhu Minglang’s voice came through.

Frost looked at the white wall, wondering how he could hear despite the distance??

“Respond as he said, ” Li Yunzi directed.

“Alright, alright.” Frost nodded, gathered her skirts again, and walked back to the front of the yard, not as hastily this time, feeling that since both Miss and

Zhu Minglang didn’t take the Sect Palace seriously, there was no need to rush.

Thus, not having gone far, she let go of her skirts and walked slowly, replying leisurely to the messenger..