Peerless Bodyguard of a Stunning Beauty

Chapter 64: Chapter 56 To Stay Alive, One Must Bluff

Zhao Rong opened his eyes, his vision hazy and blurred, and saw a gigantic western dragon looming before him. He jumped up in fright.

Seeing the human wake up and immediately jump to his feet instead of answering, the giant dragon, Mark, repeated his question.

”Human, how do you have my brother Ma Long’s Dragon Crystal?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rong realized that he had accidentally fallen into the Dragon Cave while trying to save Liu Tianxiong. The giant dragon before him was the brother of the one he had encountered at the manager training center.

Zhao Rong looked at the Dragon Crystal in Mark’s hand, then felt his own chest. He realized the giant dragon had taken it from him.

Zhao Rong looked at Mark and tried to calm his racing heart.

If I tell him I tricked this Dragon Crystal away from his brother, Ma Long, Mark will definitely not let me go. Discretion is the better part of valor. If I want to survive, I have to keep bluffing.

Thinking on his feet, Zhao Rong blurted out, ”Big Brother, Ma Long and I are sworn brothers.”

Hearing that his Dragon Clan brother had actually befriended a human, Mark asked skeptically, ”Really? If you and my brother are friends, then why did you take his Dragon Crystal?”

Mark then explained that the Dragon Clan cultivated in the sunless Dragon Cave, their goal to raise their Dragon Crystals to level fifty so they could finally leave. Furthermore, if a dragon lost its Dragon Crystal, it would be completely unable to cultivate.

Hearing this, Zhao Rong was stunned. If I can’t spin a convincing tale, I might really end up being killed by Mark right here in this Dragon Cave.

So, Zhao Rong said, ”Big Brother, don’t get me wrong. Ma Long entrusted it to me. He wanted me to bring it here and give it to you so you could help him cultivate.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao Rong felt his lie was incredibly flimsy.

However, what Zhao Rong hadn’t anticipated was that Mark’s brother, Ma Long, was naturally lazy and disliked cultivating. As a result, his Dragon Crystal was only level twenty-five. As his older brother, Mark knew Ma Long very well.

He checked the level of the Dragon Crystal and scoffed, ”That Ma Long is such a lazy bum. He was born a level-twenty divine beast of the Dragon Clan, and after all this time in the Dragon Cave, he’s only managed to reach level twenty-five? I’ve seen lazy, but I’ve never seen *this* lazy.”

With that, Mark said to Zhao Rong, ”In that case, you can leave my brother’s Dragon Crystal with me. I’ll help him cultivate it.”

Mark then prepared to send Zhao Rong on his way.

Seeing the Dragon Crystal he’d worked so hard to get from the Dragon Cave being taken away just like that, Zhao Rong thought begrudgingly, How can I trick this dragon out of his own, higher-level Dragon Crystal?

With this in mind, Zhao Rong deliberately asked, ”Big Brother, compared to your brother, what level have you cultivated your Dragon Crystal to?”

Hearing Zhao Rong ask about his cultivation, Mark said proudly, ”My brother is a layabout, but I am not. As a divine beast, I have already cultivated my Dragon Crystal to level forty-five.”

Zhao Rong was momentarily stunned to hear that Mark had already reached level forty-five.

My goodness! The Dragon Clan and humans are sworn enemies. Once a dragon cultivates its Crystal to level fifty, it can leave its cave and undergo a metamorphosis. If this dragon were to fly out of his cave, wouldn’t he become a plague upon the world? No matter what, I can’t let him reach level fifty. I absolutely cannot let him leave the Dragon Cave and harm humanity. But how can I possibly trick the Dragon Crystal out of Mark’s hands?

So, Zhao Rong continued his ruse. ”Big Brother, I forgot to mention, your brother Ma Long asked me to give you a message.”

Hearing his brother had a message for him, Mark asked curiously, ”That lazy bum? Besides complaining about cultivation, what else could he possibly want to tell me?”

Seeing Mark’s curious expression, Zhao Rong said, ”Big Brother, the reason your brother isn’t cultivating diligently isn’t laziness. It’s because he’s been injured... He doesn’t have enough strength or energy to do it.”

Hearing that Ma Long was injured, Mark asked with concern, ”Ah, how could he get injured? Is it serious?”

Zhao Rong froze. I’m such an idiot. I can’t even lie properly. How could a huge creature like him get injured in a sunless cave with no natural predators? But if I can’t come up with a believable injury for Ma Long right now, all this bluffing will have been for nothing.

Zhao Rong racked his brain before finally saying, ”Big Brother, your brother’s injury is... rheumatism... arthritis.”

I’m screwed. This injury, this lie... it’s absolutely ridiculous. Mark will never believe me... It’s over. He’s about to see right through my bluff.

But to Zhao Rong’s surprise, Mark not only believed him but also spoke with deep empathy. ”Sigh... though we of the Dragon Clan are powerful and sacred, this place we inhabit... it’s really no place fit for living. The Dragon Cave is dark and damp. Any dragon who stays here long enough is bound to suffer from rheumatism and arthritis.”

As he spoke, Mark pointed to his own joints for Zhao Rong to see. ”Look at me. My leg joints also have a touch of rheumatism, just not as severe.”

Zhao Rong was completely stunned. He had never imagined that dragons, living in such a damp environment, could actually suffer from rheumatism and arthritis just like humans.

Overjoyed, Zhao Rong seized the opportunity and continued his ruse. ”Big Brother, compared to your own health, your brother’s rheumatism is far more severe... He can barely walk, and his joints are constantly deforming...”

Hearing that his brother’s joints were deforming from rheumatism, Mark said with heartfelt pain, ”His rheumatism is that serious? How will he ever be able to cultivate or take flight in the future?”

Zhao Rong knew his chance had come. ”That’s why your brother wants me to bring your level-forty-five Dragon Crystal to him. After all, yours is already at level forty-five. If he can just grit his teeth and push through five more levels, he’ll reach the full fifty and be able to fly out of the Dragon Cave...”

Hearing this, Mark nodded. ”You have a point. Very well, take my Dragon Crystal to my brother.”

As he spoke, Mark handed his own Dragon Crystal to Zhao Rong.

When Zhao Rong took hold of Mark’s level-forty-five Dragon Crystal, his hands trembled with excitement. The level-forty-five Dragon Crystal was dazzlingly brilliant and translucent. Like a cut gem, it refracted light from within, creating a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Just as Zhao Rong was lost in his excitement, Mark was suddenly struck by a thought. He asked Zhao Rong, ”Human, why do I feel something isn’t right?”

Hearing that something wasn’t right, Zhao Rong immediately tensed up. Could it be? Did Mark spot a flaw and realize I’m deceiving him?