Chapter 18: The Enchanted Swirl of Bewilderment

“Xiao, why do you give me the feeling that you’re not entirely human…? And the child inside me… it doesn’t seem ordinary either.”

Xiao Junwang led Mo Liuli out of the Illusion Gate City to a desolate courtyard in the eastern district. Using his sorcery, he restored a corner of the yard to its original state, then gently placed Mo Liuli on a reclining chair, focusing intently as he took her pulse.

However, Xiao Junwang’s method was unlike any other. He conjured a delicate golden feather out of thin air and laid it upon Mo Liuli’s wrist. The feather shimmered with a vibrant glow, as if tiny lights danced within its golden sheen.

After a long while, Xiao Junwang’s expression grew solemn. Though his mask concealed much of his face, one could sense the subtle raising of his brow.

Mo Liuli watched his every move, silently waiting for his answer. She had not questioned the child within her until today—when she glimpsed the faint image and heard the distant roar of a dragon—her thoughts began to churn over the origin of her unborn.

According to the memories tied to this body, the dragon race had long since become extinct. Since the summoners vanished from the martial world, dragons and their roars had not been heard again. The reasons behind this remained a mystery. Over generations, people had come to equate summoners with dragons. Among various powers, it became a widely accepted law: where dragons appear, summoners are born.

It was precisely due to the hundreds of years without summoners that the relations among several continents had deteriorated to a dangerously tense state.

This was also why the Mo family had confined Mo Liuli, training her in secrecy. At birth, she bore a birthmark resembling dragon scales on her back. Dragons were considered auspicious, so the dragon omen she carried became a secret within the family.

“Someone actually placed a Mini Worm Curse on you!” Suddenly, Xiao Junwang looked up, eyes wide with shock as he stared at Mo Liuli.

The Mini Worm Curse was one of the most insidious among the myriad curse techniques. Tiny white worms could lurk inside a human body for years, initially causing little harm, but over time leading to memory loss, bodily damage, reproductive decline, and often infertility. If left untreated for too long, the victim’s body would age rapidly, skin turning pale and withered, and even their lifetime cultivation would soon dissipate.

“The Mini Worm Curse? What is that? Does it have anything to do with the blood I coughed up and the white worms I spat out?” Seeing Xiao Junwang’s grave concern, Mo Liuli frowned, trying to recall and inquire.

“This…” Faced with her ignorance, Xiao Junwang’s face darkened. He found it impossible to explain the cruel nature of this curse to her. A woman should cherish her husband above all, yet he had already miscalculated, causing her to lose her status and husband. He could not bear to add the knowledge of the harm inflicted on her body.

Though she was still able to conceive now, it was due to the unique nature of the child she carried—a dragon. Had it been an ordinary fetus, whether she could sustain it remained uncertain.

Moreover, from the pulse he read, he detected numerous traces of internal injury.

For a moment, his mood sank, his lowered eyes radiating boundless loneliness.

“Miss Mo, the toxins in your body will take several more hours to clear completely. Your body is still weak—rest for now.”

Hiding his melancholy, Xiao Junwang finally looked up and spoke to Mo Liuli, deliberately avoiding her pleading gaze. Without another word, he rose and left the courtyard alone.