Ch28 – The Best Gift

Rong Mingshi in his excited state was very focused and the power of the low-grade energy stone reached the extremes. There was a feeling of heartiness and every knife stroke was smooth.

Soon, the rough form of the three beasts was finished. It was only the simple structure yet it was able to show the proud posture of a soldier.

Rong Mingshi sighed with relief, put away the leopard paw tools and rubbed his thick paws against each other. He looked around and didn’t see Aojia’s figure. The little leopard felt some doubts but he thought Aojia had things to do and started to concentrate on the three beasts again.

These energy stones wouldn’t have any dust flying around, unlike ordinary rocks. The parts carved with the carver’s perception and then the knives would lose strength and directly disappear. Therefore, the rapidly thinking little leopard wasn’t hesitant at all. His head hung lower and his leopard paws moved stably as he acted seriously.

The three beasts might be in beast form but each beast had a military trait. It might be an ordinary standing posture but Rong Mingshi’s carving seemed to emit a proud and magnificent feeling from the flesh and bones. When carved by Rong Mingshi, it wasn’t just the outer appearance but the insides as well.

This was very different from the carving of the cat that Rong Mingshi previously sold on the Star Network. The dragon li cat was a combination of many cat-shaped beasts. The power was activated in the stone but it was essentially different from a privately ordered stone. These three stones would only be used by the three guards. The power that was activated and stored in the energy stone by Rong Mingshi would be more efficient.

After completing these three carvings, Rong Mingshi sighed with relief and carefully observed them. This was his first time carving three different beasts at once and he learnt a lot from it.

The little leopard came back from his focused state and found that the black dragon hadn’t returned…

This was really great! The little leopard was once again excited and his eyes brightened. He hurriedly pulled the black energy stone over, licking his lips as he observed it with great interest. When Rong Mingshi saw this stone, he had the idea to carve it into black dragon cufflinks.

In his previous life, Rong Mingshi didn’t use cufflinks very often. After all, he rarely participated in formal occasions. After becoming an adult, his grandfather took him to participate in one but he got a headache in the middle and there was a bit of confusion at the party. Thus, he rarely participated and most of his clothes were home clothes. He naturally didn’t use any cufflinks but his grandfather had a variety of exquisite custom cufflinks that filled four drawers.

Rong Mingshi flipped the stone and selected two parts that fit the idea in his mind. Then he sat firmly on the table and used the leopard paw cutting tools to open up the material.

The energy stone was classified as a low-grade energy stone because of the colour mixture. However, the two small knuckled sized pieces cut out by Rong Mingshi had a very good colour and density.

The little leopard lowered his head and carefully shaped the two small knuckle-shaped stones with the knives. Through the subtle tremors of the leopard paws, he scraped the extra parts and gradually formed the shape of cufflinks.

The highlight was the square decorative surface of the cufflinks. The golden star points selected by the proud leopard formed the decorative surface.

Rong Mingshi got up and took a breath. His thick tail relieved the pressure by moving in two circles behind him. Then he slowly bent over to finish the cufflinks. It was Rong Mingshi’s first time carving such a small decorative surface and the entire black dragon shape had to be accommodated on the small surface.

Rong Mingshi’s spirit slowly sank into the stone as he sculpted along the golden star point. The golden stars became the black dragon’s majestic eyes. Once the eyes were finished, the little leopard’s perception was integrated into the stone and his carving was smooth and stable, just like flowing water.

Aojia’s dragon head, Aojia’s dragon wings, Aojia’s dragon claws… The fluttering of the black dragon wings and the black dragon’s fire breathing gesture…

Aojia was the black dragon and the black dragon was Aojia.

The small decorative surface seemed to no longer be a small land but was a broad and far-reaching starry sky.

Rong Mingshi gently took back the knives, clear eyes looking at the black dragon on the decorative surface. Then he reached out his paws and started the tool used for micro-carving, writing the character for ‘Aoji’ in the lower left corner. The character was so small that it was completely invisible unless deliberately magnified.

As the little leopard was occupied with the second cufflink, Marshal Black Dragon was having an in-depth student and teacher exchange with Master Wuka. Don’t talk about the small courtyard. The entire mountain had sand flying and was shaking while the simple bungalow had already collapsed. If it wasn’t for the energy defense network Aojia set up for Master Wuka in the early years, this suspended mountain would’ve probably already broken in two.

“Young dragon, don’t you know what it means to respect your teacher?”

Master Wuka cried out breathlessly as he was finally held against the ground by the dragon claws. He hadn’t seen the black dragon react so violently when he hid all the sparkling gems that the dragon had collected for a long time as a child. Even though his only purpose was to let his apprentice he hadn’t seen for a long time accompany him in a fighting game…

The black dragon steadily fell and transformed into a human form. “What about the carvings?”

Master Wuka touched his beard and spoke in a ridiculing tone, “You used to like sparkling stones. Now you want these black stones?”

Aojia squatted down and gazed condescending at his master. It was unknown when but he was holding two bottles of wine. They looked exactly the same as the bottle used to make the little leopard drunk and were absolutely more than 100 years old.

Master Wuka stared. “Where did you pull them from?”

His house was collapsed and the wine should be buried underneath in a solid manner.

“Where are the stones? Where did you hide them?” Aojia asked again.

Master Wuka smiled and sat up. He didn’t answer Aojia’s question and instead asked, “Apprentice, are you serious?”

Aojia nodded without hesitation. He stuffed the two bottles of wine into Master Wuka’s arms and sat beside him. Wuka sighed. “You should think about it again. That little leopard will die. The gap in strength between both partners is too big and it is very dangerous.”

When he said this, Wuka’s eyes flashed with a touch of sorrow but the way Aojia was sitting meant he didn’t see it.

Aojia blinked. “It won’t happen.”

“It will unless you find a master carver to carve you a high-grade energy stone. You haven’t seen any carvers at that level for all these years. You should slowly look for it.”

“I found one,” Aojia spoke bluntly. He didn’t say that the little leopard had the ability of a master carver.

Wuka was stunned before patting his thigh in a happy manner. “Then what am I worried for? Apprentice, you can safely chase after your wife. Don’t worry about your face or your skin. You shouldn’t bat an eyelid…”

The corners of Aojia’s mouth twitched. “Where are the stones?”

“I packed them for you and sent them to your home. Right, did the little leopard have a headache after drinking? It is useless rushing him to see a doctor. You should’ve kissed him and hugged him, understood? Sometimes embracing them in your arms is better than any treatment…”

“…”

Aojia turned around and left.

“Young Ao, I haven’t finished yet. This is all valuable experience from a master!”

After seeing Aojia drive the suspension car away, Wuka opened the bottle of wine and poured some of the ground. “See, Ao Suomeng, your son is more stable than you.”

Aojia left the master’s small courtyard and returned to his manor. The housekeeper’s movements were very fast and the damage manor had already regained some of its original state. It was estimated that it wouldn’t take long to complete the reconstruction.

It was just that Aojia saw the small black dragon carvings placed in various positions around the courtyard and his mouth twitched.

Did he have to fight three times today? Aojia was thinking about how to calm down the housekeeper and get his black dragon carvings back when his quantum computer flashed. His little leopard hadn’t seen anyone for a long time and sent a message.

“Aojia, are you still busy?”

He wasn’t busy, he wasn’t busy at all! Aojia turned the suspension car around and once again flew at the speed of a fighter jet, quickly returning to the aircraft. The moment he opened the door, Aojia saw the three beasts carved by the little leopard standing there steadily…

Aojia experienced an indescribable emotion that burst through his heart. He unconsciously touched the belt that contained the black dragon carved by his little leopard.

Rong Mingshi was a bit nervous. He always felt that sending cufflinks was different from the carvings he previously delivered. The cufflinks in his paws had a burning sensation.

Aojia took a deep breath and walked over. “Are you busy? Are you feeling better?”

Rong Mingshi nodded and slightly gulped. He stretched out his tongue and licked his lips. “Aojia, I… I have something for you.”

The black dragon’s mood was refreshed in an instant. He reached out to pick up the little leopard and patted his head. “What is it?”

Rong Mingshi placed his thick paws in front of Aojia and exposed the things inside. The little leopard’s thick paws contained two small cufflinks carved in a black dragon shape. It was majestic and fierce but didn’t appear sharp because of the black dragon. It was perfect.

Aojia gazed into the little leopard’s clear eyes and held the two thick paws. He bowed his head and gently touched the little leopard’s head. “Very good. I really like it.”

Rong Mingshi felt his face burning and he rubbed it with his paws.