“Papa, are you alright?”

Bai Wu was hugging Xu Lan tightly, but it does not seem to be doing much. The strong pressure continued its assault from every direction and forced Xu Lan to curl up into a ball.

“Papa, don’t be scared. I’m here. I will stay by your side, Papa.” Conscious of the change that Xu Lan underwent, Bai Wu cried and comforted him.

Not long later, Xu Lan was enveloped in some mist, and he could clearly perceive that the pressure was decreasing. It felt like the mist blocked out some of the strong pressure. Xu Lan could straighten his body if he withstood the pain. Bai Wu’s body temperature slowly began dissipating, while the mist became all the denser.

“Bai Wu?” Xu Lan called out as he had lingering fears. Almost immediately, the sharp claws of a dragon carried him up.

“I’m here.”

“I’m sorry Bai Wu. I don’t want to die, and I also don’t want to see you being experimented on like a little white lab rat.” Ashamed and uneasy, Xu Lan apologized to Bai Wu.

Like the pricking of silk-thin needles on Xu Lan’s flesh, Bai Wu’s expression at that very moment sent unending waves of anguish toward Xu Lan.

“Mm. I know Papa only wants the best for me. I don’t blame Papa, but I’m a bit angry” the upset Bai Wu voiced out.

The man was able to imagine Bai Wu’s pouty, silent, and teary expression, but he did not know how those actions would look on Bai Wu full-fledged dragon state.

“I think I’ve made you angry a lot recently. Can you forgive me?” Xu Lan asked, feeling as though a burden had been lifted off his mind. He hugged Bai Wu’s dragon claws tightly to avoid falling down.

Pressure began increasing as time dragged on. As Xu Lan spoke, he felt as though a steamroller was crushing his body. In addition to that, he felt his body moving toward one side since the pressure on that side was comparatively lesser.

“Papa’s always like that. You know I’ll be angry, but you still do it. It’s because Papa knows that I’ll forgive Papa, that’s why Papa makes me angry, right?” Bai Wu remarked annoyingly.

Xu Lan raised an eyebrow. Apparently, it was no small matter for Bai Wu.

“No, of course not. I wanted to stay alive so at least you can think of me. If I die just like that, you’d be lonely if you go to another world. Cough cough…am I right?” All of Xu Lan’s honest thoughts were pouring out. He did not expect Bai Wu to understand that, but Xu Lan felt that it was something that needed to be said.

“It won’t happen, because I will be with Papa wherever I am.”

“…” The void’s power became stronger. Xu Lan strained to breathe, and naturally, he was unable to reply.

“Papa?”

“…”

“Awoo!” From his full-fledged dragon mode, Bai Wu immediately went into full-on battle mode when Xu Lan did not reply. More mist was emitted from Bai Wu’s body.

It was like Xu Lan had been thrown into a giant cement mixer. With each turn of the machine, the slurry firmly coated Xu Lan, tossing him in all directions. Drops of cement landed on him; they were like rocks hitting against his body.

Something seemed to have penetrated into every pore on his body. It was pressuring him inwardly with all its might. Xu Lan’s whole body curled up like cooked shrimps ¹ on a dinner table. Bai Wu was forced to shed his dragon state in order to grip Xu Lan tighter and prevent them from separating in mid-air.

“Papa, I’m scared.” He was afraid that Xu Lan would end up in the same predicament as the previous person, that Xu Lan was unable to go any further. If that happened…

“Don’t be scared. I’m here. Let me hug you.” His strength freely flowed away like spilled water, but regaining it was as difficult as attempting to grasp a handful of sand. When he moved his fingers, he felt like a carp that had been nailed onto a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered. There was no telling of the pain that he might have to endure if he wanted to hug Bai Wu.

“Papa, Papa, I’m scared.” Bai Wu was still able to cry as though things were not as bad as they seemed. Xu Lan strained to curl the edge of his lips into a smile, but even that simple movement could not be completed.