Chapter 41: Self-Contained Cement
“Are you okay?” Depressed Panda asked, noticing the changing expressions on Wang Ming’s face.
Wang Ming: “…”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Wang Ming nodded.
Just a little nauseous, Wang Ming added mentally after answering Depressed Panda.
“That’s good. You looked like you were pregnant with a dragon child just now, you scared me,” Depressed Panda said, patting his chest.
Wang Ming: “…”
“Dragon…what? Child?” Wang Ming asked.
“I was worried you might be pregnant,” Depressed Panda dropped the bombshell, seemingly nonchalant.
Wang Ming: “…”
“Speaking of which, I remembered something,” Wang Ming said.
He didn’t react with the indignant denial typical of men accused of pregnancy, but with the cautiousness of a scientist conducting an experiment.
“Do you think Ao Chen and I are reproductively isolated?” Wang Ming asked Depressed Panda with a biologist’s air.
Depressed Panda: “…”
If I put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a lab coat for this young man, he’d look the part, Depressed Panda thought.
“No,” Depressed Panda replied decisively, his thoughts still racing.
“Really?” Wang Ming was amazed.
“Really,” Depressed Panda said.
“Dragons can pretty much mate with any kind of spirit, including humans,” Depressed Panda explained.
Wang Ming: “…”
“Is this the legendary ‘glare-and-get-pregnant’ technique?”
Wang Ming once again expressed his amazement.
Depressed Panda: “…”
“It’s not that supernatural,” Depressed Panda waved his hand dismissively.
“If they have this skill, isn’t that supernatural?” Wang Ming argued.
Depressed Panda: “…”
“It still requires… physical… you know,” Depressed Panda said vaguely.
“This so-called ‘glare-and-get-pregnant’ doesn’t exist,” Depressed Panda said, vowing not to spread rumors.
“I see,” Wang Ming nodded.
“But it’s still pretty amazing,” Wang Ming added.
“Yeah, well, as you can see, dragons tend to have a lot of children,” Depressed Panda shrugged, indicating that everything has its pros and cons.
“Oh, so Ao Chen has many children?” Wang Ming asked.
Depressed Panda: “…”
“That’s impossible,” Depressed Panda waved his hand dismissively.
“Our master just got engaged to you, and you two are in the process of getting a divorce; where would the children come from?” Depressed Panda rolled his eyes.
Wang Ming: “…”
“So, according to you, all the children of the legendary Dragon Emperor were born to his betrothed? That would only prove that dragons aren’t reproductively isolated from a specific type of spirit, not that they aren’t isolated from all spirits,” Wang Ming, now a master of logic, countered.
Depressed Panda: “…”
That’s what they call a master of logic, Depressed Panda thought.
“That’s not quite it. The old Dragon Emperor was an exception; why would anyone follow his example?” Depressed Panda said dismissively.
Wang Ming: “…”
Wow, Wang Ming thought inwardly, even the paranormal world has office gossip about the boss.
That night, Wang Ming returned to one of his numerous rental apartments, exhausted from a day of palace intrigue and family drama.
Wang Ming: “…”
What is this life? Wang Ming thought, finding the situation rather complicated.
I never thought that, besides reading online novels, I would get entangled in palace and family dramas, Wang Ming thought self-awarely.
Actually, Wang Ming felt that, given his honest and law-abiding nature, the closest he’d ever come to “fighting” would be the highly flamboyant, cement-wearing, village-gathering “Dou-wu” (a type of competitive dance).
Wang Ming: “…”
In fact, I’ve won the village championship for ten consecutive years in that, Wang Ming thought.
Remembering those glorious days of cement-clad village dance battles, a surge of pride filled Wang Ming.
Wang Ming: “…”
Why am I not thinking of something more constructive on such a quiet night? Wang Ming, after reminiscing about his “Kill-Matt” aristocratic past, realized he should do something more meaningful.
But after looking around his familiar room, he saw no stage suitable for strategizing, and decided to follow the flow and go to sleep.
Before bed, Wang Ming went to the meticulously cloned, cramped bathroom and took a perfunctory shower.
The perfunctoriness wasn’t due to negligence but because Ao Chen had used his purification technique on Wang Ming earlier, so showering was unnecessary.
Wang Ming thought he might have a masochistic tendency.
Before he learned about the purification technique, Wang Ming was indifferent to showering, especially washing his hair. He felt that as long as he wasn’t dirty, he didn’t need to wash too often.
However, now that he theoretically could avoid showering and washing his hair forever, he started missing the feeling of a good hot shower.
Wang Ming: “…”
It’s nothing really, Wang Ming justified.
I just fell prey to a common human weakness—the “zhenxiang” (true fragrance) law, Wang Ming thought.
And so, under the influence of the true fragrance law, Wang Ming finished his shower.
After showering, Wang Ming looked at his clothes and confirmed they didn’t need washing.
Come to think of it, what else on me needs cleaning? Wang Ming, lying in bed after his shower, wondered.
He thought for a moment, then sat up.
Right, didn’t Ao Chen give me a dragon scale when we were dealing with the visitor? Wang Ming suddenly remembered.
Wang Ming checked himself, but he didn’t find any new organs.
So where did my fiancé hide the dragon scale? Wang Ming wondered.
After searching without success, Wang Ming decided to try anything.
He shouted, “Dragon scale, come forth!”
And then, Wang Ming really saw a translucent dragon scale appear before his eyes.
Wang Ming: “…”
Looks like I do have what it takes to be in the paranormal world, Wang Ming thought, seeing the dragon scale he’d summoned so easily. I’m back in the game!
It shouldn’t be dirty, but to prevent scratches, I should still wipe it, Wang Ming thought carefully as he picked up a cloth.
Wang Ming began wiping the dragon scale.
Meanwhile.
Ao Chen: “…”
Ao Chen, who was about to enter a state of tranquility, felt a slight vibration from the dragon scale he’d separated from his body.
Wang Ming, unaware of Ao Chen’s feelings, was diligently wiping the dragon scale.
As he wiped, he noticed something strange.
The dragon scale, under his diligent polishing, was becoming increasingly mirror-like.
Wang Ming: “…”
Interesting, Wang Ming thought.
This is much clearer and bigger than the little mirror in my apartment!
Thinking this, Wang Ming struck a pose in front of the mirror.
Right, the annual cement-wearing village dance competition is coming up soon, Wang Ming thought.
This big mirror will be my practice room, Wang Ming cleverly thought.
Remembering something, he reached under his bed and found a storage box.
He blew off the dust, opened it, took out a bright pink, Kill-Matt-style wig, put it on, and started dancing in front of the large mirror.
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