The sky was draped with wisps of delicate mist, exuding a cool and refreshing aura, dispersing the fatigue and drowsiness of the young warlock due to lack of sleep.

Zheng Qing stretched lazily, feeling as if he had never seen such a beautiful view before.

At this moment, he was sitting on the back of the dragon with Jiang Yu, flying in an ocean where sky, clouds, and light converged, with lively magic leaping around them like elves, colliding with the sunlight, emitting a dazzling seven-colored radiance.

It was a little past five in the morning; normally, he wouldn’t be up at this hour, but because they had to make way today, Zheng Qing was pecked awake by the paper crane sent by Jiang Yu early in the morning.

"Originally, I planned to take you back to Zhongshan using the ’Big Clock’ first," Jiang Yu explained simply after helping Zheng Qing settle into his seat, "But I didn’t expect the family to send ’Damao’ over last night... So we can head to Shanglin Garden directly from school. Of course, the journey will take a bit more time."

’Damao’ was the dragon they were riding.

Unlike the common Fire Dragon, Sea Dragon, or Flood Dragon in the Wizard World, this dragon from the Jiang Family didn’t have a single scale armor; its slender body was covered with thick, fine fur, devoid of any ferocious vibe, instead carrying a charming innocence. Especially its plump long face with those big watery eyes and the fuzzy short fur all over its cheeks made Zheng Qing feel as though he was facing a Flood Dragon wearing a ragdoll cat’s skin.

Even the cry of this ’Haired Dragon’ was a chirpy, soft mumble, reminiscent of the gentle dialect spoken by the girls from the Jiangnan water town.

Of course, whether this was actually a little female dragon or not, Zheng Qing didn’t dare to check for the moment.

"I always thought dragons have scale armor."

The boy murmured, stretching his hand to stroke the fine dense dragon hair beneath, marveling at its silky texture, a continuous rumbling noise filling his ears, like thunder rolling across the sky.

"Damao loves it when others groom its fur, and the sound you’re hearing is it acting coy with us." Jiang Yu turned around, smilingly handed Zheng Qing a large wooden comb, signaling him on how to groom the dragon, and introduced, "...Damao belongs to a very rare species under the Dragon Genus—Dragon Genus, No Phosphorus Order, Zhongshan Suborder, Fur Family, Jiao’s. Its scientific name in the Encyclopedia is ’Zhongshan Hairy Dragon,’ only growing around the Zhongshan region. An adult Haired Dragon is about thirty meters long; Damao hasn’t grown up yet, so it’s only... uh, have you reached ten meters now?"

She patted the Haired Dragon beneath, leaning forward to ask loudly.

Yee-wuu!

The Haired Dragon turned its head, nodding vigorously, emitting a cheerful sound.

So it’s still a kid, no wonder it hops around so much!

While Zheng Qing was mocking it inwardly, he realized the witch had just mentioned a familiar term.

"Zhongshan?"

His tone carried a hint of surprise as he leaned forward, tugging at the witch’s cloak, "...Is it the ’Zhongshan’ where your hometown is?"

"That’s right."

Jiang Yu turned around again, giving him a playful smile, "Because this type of dragon is rare and lives within the family territory of the Jiang Family, you can also understand it as a dragon exclusive to our family. It’s very uncommon; it’s normal that you don’t recognize it. I suspect that besides those abnormal doctors, less than a handful of people in the entire First University know about this type of dragon!"

Zheng Qing sniffed.

Listen, a family-exclusive dragon species!

When other wizarding families are fighting tooth and nail over a few dragon teeth, a bit of dragon skin, a couple of ounces of dragon bone powder, or a few ounces of dragon blood, and other Wizard Families are worriedly trying to source dragons for breeding grounds, the Jiang Family has already started raising dragons exclusive to the family.

This understated, low-key shock carries the greatest impact.

"Indeed, really..."

Zheng Qing took a deep breath, shaking his head, as if trying to make himself clearer. The thick wooden comb brushed against the Haired Dragon’s back, its fine soft dragon hair fluttering, combing through the surrounding air while emitting strands of thin, transparent magical aura.

These magical auras intertwined with each other, floating in the wind, as if enveloping the Haired Dragon in an invisible, transparent cloak, shielding against the cold and wind brought by fast flying, allowing the young wizards sitting on the dragon’s back to feel comfortable and at ease.

In fact, compared to the term ’riding the dragon’ which carries a certain restrictive meaning, Zheng Qing preferred using the description ’sitting on the dragon.’ Because this Haired Dragon flew steadily without any wind interference, paired with the thick soft fur beneath, Zheng Qing felt more like sitting on a broad magic carpet.

"Where is Shanglin Garden?" After combing the Haired Dragon’s fur for a while, Zheng Qing felt he was about to fall asleep again, so he forced himself awake, asking the witch about the details of the Spring Hunt: "...Why ride the dragon over? Isn’t using the Big Clock system faster?"

"Riding the dragon is a tradition, and also a threshold."

The witch, at some point, gathered some long hair under her feet, piling it into the shape of a recliner, leaning back leisurely, looking very relaxed: "...Not all Wizard Families have the qualification to participate in the Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt. But since the purchasing power of gold or jade coins is always changing, it’s too simple to measure family strength, so ultimately, all families agreed that riding the dragon grants qualification to participate... Of course, not every family chooses to ride the dragon."

"As for the specific location of Shanglin Garden," said Jiang Yu, showing a hint of hesitation on her face, shaking her head, "I really don’t know, but I guess it should be near Qinling because I’ve seen wild Qinling Pandas in Shanglin Garden!"

"Qinling!" Zheng Qing couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, subconsciously mumbling: "Wouldn’t it be closer from my house? I haven’t had a chance to go home since Chinese New Year..."

"The school hasn’t approved any extra trips!"

The witch was clearly startled, quickly stopping him: "This trip is protected by magic, but if you deviate from the itinerary, you’ll break away from the school’s Guardian Magic... If something happens to you, I have no confidence in getting you back safely! Besides, the reason we aren’t using the Big Clock is because the hunting ground in Shanglin Garden is a Secret Realm, and isn’t connected with the Big Clock system... I’m unsure if it’s actually in Qinling."

Watching her nervous look, Zheng Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

"Just kidding," he said, grabbing the comb and helping the witch tidy the pile of long hair at her feet, comforting, "Don’t worry, I’m always someone who follows rules..."

Jiang Yu sat up straight with a stern look, crossing her arms, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Since you follow rules so well, let’s talk about yesterday afternoon’s practice class... how did you get so distracted and make such a big mistake during practical practice?"