ADLH Chapter 2: The Three Vows
How does it feel to fall in love at first sight... with a dragon, still in its original form?
The man in the mirror was tall, handsome, mature, and steady. His long eyebrows slanted sharply, and his starry eyes were as deep as the night. His nose was straight and delicate, and his lightly pressed lips were a soft shade of red.
Near the right side of his lower lip, there was a tiny black mole. The lines from his chin down to his collarbones were smooth and taut, his skin delicate and brimming with youthful vitality.
And below his sharp, towering collarbones, there was a brand—an imprint resembling a slave’s mark.
On his fair skin, heavy strokes of scarlet were etched, bold and imposing. It was slightly sunken, almost glowing, and if you looked closely, it didn't seem printed on the skin — it seemed to grow outward from within...
It was the writing of the dragon race.
Carved was the dragon’s name.
It emanated a divine aura, blazing like fire. It seemed as if a mighty crimson dragon in its prime was watching over the world, proclaiming to all that those it marked were under its protection.
His shirt buttons were undone. His long fingers lightly rubbed over the slight dip in his skin.
He wasn’t the type to smile much, but when he did, the whole universe seemed to gather in his eyes.
阮行舟 (Ruan Xingzhou) licked his lower lip, brushing the tiny mole with the tip of his crimson tongue.
From today on, the world in his eyes had gained color.
He was no longer just a rotting corpse awaiting burial in a decaying world.
A blazing flame had charged into his life, becoming his light.
After meeting that dragon, he suddenly found something he wanted. His rigid shell had come to life...
He had bound himself with the strongest chains to something eternal, allowing a treasure rarer than water in the desert to drown him completely.
"I worked really hard to get you,"
Ruan Xingzhou murmured as he caressed the brand on his chest.
This brand was the dragon’s contract to him.
After encountering the dragon and fainting, when he woke up again, everything around him appeared normal.
Ruan Xingzhou’s heart, bursting with shock and joy, was brutally smashed into pieces. He rushed out of his office to question the receptionist, employees, security guards, and even checked the surveillance cameras...
But there was nothing. No sign of the dragon he saw.
The secretary gave him subtle looks, seemingly guessing that her boss’s mental health had worsened.
Their CEO, young and capable, handsome and serious, was secretly regarded as a "diamond bachelor" by many.
But only she, who served as both personal secretary and life assistant, knew that their Mr. Ruan suffered from severe psychological issues.
There had been a time she almost had to escort him to therapy every single day.
From bits and pieces she overheard, terms like "antisocial" and "personality disorder" chilled her to the bone.
Luckily, their CEO’s episodes didn’t last long. After briefly acting "crazy," he calmed down, assigned her to handle his business matters, and went home by himself.
Relieved, the secretary returned to her work.
Meanwhile, Ruan Xingzhou, his heart cold and his eyes dark, drove home.
He tore off his tie and threw down his suit jacket, standing in the middle of his stylish, spacious living room for a moment before — suddenly!
He grabbed a decorative vase by the entrance and smashed it onto the floor!
"Bang!"
The porcelain exploded!
Water and fresh flowers scattered everywhere—the ones the housekeeper had replaced just that morning.
Could it be... that he really imagined it?
Staring at the wet stains on his pants, Ruan Xingzhou gasped for breath, then clenched his fists, closing his eyes as he tried to regulate his breathing.
An aura of terrifying rage radiated from his body.
"Seems like you have a bit of a temper,"
a stranger’s voice suddenly sounded behind him, deep and resonant like a subwoofer.
Ruan Xingzhou's eyes widened. He quickly turned around.
Behind him, a man with golden snake-like eyes had appeared out of thin air.
This man wore nothing but a white cloth wrapped loosely around his hips, secured by a red rope adorned with jade beads.
His skin was a light bronze tone, his face regal and devastatingly handsome like an emperor.
From his ankles, dark red runic markings spiraled upward, wrapping around his firm legs, climbing over well-defined abs, chest, arms, neck, and up to the edge of his face.
The golden eyes looked down on him, devoid of emotion, high and proud.
He was tall, with short dark red hair swept back, a few locks falling over his forehead, and two tiny coral-red horns emerging from his temples.
Ruan Xingzhou stared blankly, his very soul trembling under the dragon’s overwhelming pressure, his legs nearly giving out.
To worship the divine was instinct.
"Human,"
the imposing man said with a faint smirk.
"I like you. From today on, you will be my enforcer in the human world."
Ruan Xingzhou couldn’t even remember what emotions he felt then.
But at that moment, he made a contract with the dragon.
The dragon, named Qian Ji (千戟), promised him longevity, protection, and endless treasures in the future.
But in exchange, Ruan Xingzhou had to fulfill three conditions:
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Absolute devotion and offering.
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No revealing the dragon's whereabouts to anyone.
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Provide a pure-souled, healthy woman for Qian Ji to use for reproduction.
Upon hearing the third demand, Ruan Xingzhou frowned.
"No," he said.
Pointing at Qian Ji, then at himself:
"You belong to me."
He wanted this dragon.
Somehow, he knew instinctively that the feelings he lacked would be found in this miraculous being.
The proud dragon laughed mockingly.
When he saw the longing and hunger in Ruan Xingzhou’s eyes, his laughter deepened.
"You? Impossible."
"Men are even harder than women to bear offspring."
Qian Ji’s golden eyes turned slightly, without mockery, just cold truth.
With his bronze skin and blood-red runes, he looked like some ancient god from the chaotic beginnings of the world.
Qian Ji crossed his arms, observing the tiny human before him with amusement.
"Besides, I won't be gentle with a man like I would be with a woman."
The dragon suddenly closed the distance, gripping Ruan Xingzhou’s chin, their gazes locking.
His voice was low, almost caressing his ear:
"Do you think your bones are strong enough, human?"
Ruan Xingzhou smiled wider.
Even as a man, he gave Qian Ji a tantalizing, seductive feeling.
He wasn’t afraid.
His pupils constricted from excitement.
"My bones are very hard," Ruan Xingzhou said.
"Want to try?"
"Hahaha! Interesting! You’re really interesting!"
Qian Ji laughed heartily, then released Ruan Xingzhou, and solemnly recited:
"Third vow: you must offer your body to me, to bear my offspring."
Qian Ji narrowed his golden eyes, closely watching Ruan Xingzhou, then raised his palm to touch just under Ruan Xingzhou’s collarbone.
"This will be the seal of our vow—"
A burning sensation and strange power poured into Ruan Xingzhou’s body.
He furrowed his brows, enduring it, as he heard Qian Ji declare:
"Those who break the vow shall be burned to ashes by true fire!"
Crimson runes blossomed on his skin like cinnabar.
Qian Ji gazed at the human and roughly pulled him into his arms.
"From today onward, you belong to me."
Leaning against the dragon’s solid chest, Ruan Xingzhou greedily soaked up the warmth and reality of it.
He thought:
"What a coincidence. That’s exactly how I feel too."
Author's Note - Mini Theater:
Qian Ji: You want to...
Ruan Xingzhou: I want! Please come!
Qian Ji: …………
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