Chapter 5: Bound by Fate

[System Notification: Host has killed 1 elk and 3 Tier-2 Silvermoon Wolves. Since they were only hostile targets, system points are halved. Congratulations, Host, you have earned 16 system points.]

The system's notification echoed in Su Nian's mind, but it did little to ease his concern. Before him, Anna's face was flushed red—she was clearly running a fever.

In such an environment, what could a dragon like him possibly do? Go out and search for medicine now?

Su Nian rummaged through the fragments of memory in his mind. Aside from basic combat skills and the use of dragon breath, all he could recall was a jumble of information about what was edible and what wasn't. The rest of his memories? They were filled with romantic tales of princesses and dragons, and… sleeping!

"The Proud Princess and Her Domineering Dragon King."

"The Soft and Sweet Princess and Her Black Dragon Groom."

"The Tsundere Princess Training Plan (Dragon Edition)."

What the hell?!

What kind of useless dragon was this? Where was the magic? He didn't know a single spell!

Su Nian was on the verge of a breakdown.

[System Notification: Host has accumulated the first batch of system points. Sub-function "Store" is now activated. Based on the host's current situation, the system recommends using 10 system points to purchase the medicinal herb Scutellaria baicalensis (Huang Qin) at a discounted price.]

[Note: This is a special offer. After this purchase, the price of Scutellaria baicalensis will return to its original cost of 100 points.]

"Scutellaria baicalensis? My grandpa mentioned this before—it's supposed to have antipyretic properties," Su Nian mused.

His grandfather, who lived in the countryside, occasionally ventured into the mountains to gather herbs to sell. Every summer when Su Nian visited, the old man's favorite pastime was showing him his collection of medicinal herbs. As a result, Su Nian had a basic understanding of the effects of some common herbs.

But Scutellaria baicalensis was a herb from Earth. Could it really exist on this Western fantasy continent?

Now wasn't the time to dwell on such questions. Pushing aside his doubts, Su Nian silently commanded, "System, redeem Scutellaria baicalensis for me."

[System Notification: Item materialized.]

As the system's voice faded, a white light, visible only to Su Nian, flashed before his eyes. On the ground in front of him appeared a bunch of vibrant green herbs, adorned with purple flowers. They looked incredibly fresh, as if they had just been plucked from the soil.

Su Nian recognized it instantly—this was indeed the Scutellaria baicalensis he was familiar with. The only difference was that his grandfather's version was always dried.

Now came the next problem: How was he supposed to feed the Scutellaria baicalensis to Anna?

He glanced around, searching for a container he could use. After a thorough search, all he found were a pile of useless romance novels and two gold coins.

Truly, this was a dragon's lair stripped to the bone. What a disgrace to dragonkind!

Time was slipping away. Su Nian stopped hesitating. There was no room for decorum when a life was at stake.

He crawled to the water pool at the back of the cave, rinsed his mouth to remove the taste of meat and blood, then picked up the herbs with his mouth and began chewing them. His sharp, dense teeth, combined with his dragon saliva, acted as an excellent grinder. Soon, the herbs were reduced to a sticky, gooey paste.

Muttering a silent apology, Su Nian used the back of one claw to gently lift Anna's face. With another claw, he carefully pried open her small mouth. Then, he pressed his dragon mouth directly against hers.

The herb paste, mixed with fragments of the plant, slowly flowed from his mouth into hers. Though unconscious, Anna instinctively swallowed, allowing the mixture to enter her body and begin its work.

Since he had already gone this far, Su Nian decided to go all in. He chewed up the berries he had gathered earlier and fed them to Anna in the same manner.

Having done all he could, Su Nian curled up beside Anna, trying to transfer his body heat to her. His dragon wings, large enough to feel like a blanket to her, enveloped the two of them completely, shielding them from the cold wind blowing in through the cave entrance.

"Drip, drip, drip..."

The faint sound of water echoed. Su Nian knew it had started raining outside.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Pain surged through Su Nian's body, a sensation even more debilitating than when he had first awakened. Weakness crept into every corner of his being, gnawing at his nerves.

He couldn't hold on any longer.

Before losing consciousness, Su Nian caught sight of Anna's status panel. The "Unconscious" debuff in the status section was gradually fading from red to a lighter shade—a sign of improvement.

"You'd better wake up… My survival depends on you, my SSR!"

That was Su Nian's last thought before his vision went black and he passed out.

...

"So hot... so thirsty..."

Anna trudged through an endless expanse of yellow sand. Her once-fair face was now sunburned red, and her entire body was drenched as if she had just been pulled from water. Even her fox tail clung to her back, matted with sweat.

The scorching heat and thirst, coupled with her illness, tormented her relentlessly.

She knew she was dreaming, but the pain felt all too real, making her suffering unbearable.

Moments ago, she had been fleeing from a Flame Demon in the Forest of Elves. The terrifying creature had crushed her to death. Before she could even scream, she found herself in this barren desert.

"Someone... save me..."

Her hoarse cries barely escaped her lips, sounding more like raspy gasps.

Collapsing to her knees, Anna felt herself nearing death. Her mind drifted to memories of her parents and the people of the Forest of Elves. The beautiful moments played out like a painting, only to be consumed by demonic flames and torn apart by human swords.

The world around her turned pitch black. In the endless darkness, she stood alone.

A cool breeze brushed past her, accompanied by the gentle sound of rain. Suddenly, a bitter taste filled her mouth. A cool liquid trickled down her throat, soothing the burning sensation in her body.

What was this?

Before Anna could process her thoughts, a sweet taste followed. A fragrant aroma spread through her senses.

This time, she recognized it—it was the juice of berries.

Her hunger drove her to greedily swallow this rare source of energy.

Was this an illusion?

Anna didn't know. But if she could taste the long-lost flavor of berries before dying, it wouldn't be such a bad ending…

For some reason, Anna thought of the dragon. Her fate had long been sealed. If she hadn't fallen ill, she might have been sold to a noble of a powerful kingdom, becoming a plaything in his hands.

Now, stricken with disease, she had been bought by this small kingdom's king as bait. Her end, no matter what, was death.

Though the dragon had kidnapped her, it hadn't eaten her. It had even covered her with bear pelts when she was cold.

The dragon had given her a final warmth.

This was nothing like the stories her elders and late relatives had told her. At least, the dragon she had encountered seemed kind.

Too bad she wouldn't have the chance to repay him.

As her thoughts wandered, Anna's consciousness gradually faded...

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