The young girl jumped, startled, looking left and right.

    Who?

    She looked down at the egg in her hand again, stared at it for a while, then shook it once more.

    "I told you to stop, you stinky face."

    "Wh..wh..what are you?"

    Clearly startled, the young girl gazed at the egg in her hand with wide eyes, her hands trembling, uncertain whether to put it down or keep holding it.

    Fear and hesitation made the little body step back several times.

    The egg, gray and the size of a chicken's egg but with unusual patterns, captivated Yi You as she studied it before carefully placing it on the bed.

    "I am surely a supreme dragon," a small, child-like voice claimed from the egg.

    "A dragon?" Hearing this, the girl couldn't hide her excitement, though wondering how a dragon's egg could be as small as a chicken's egg. Could it be a tiny dragon or perhaps a dragon's offspring?

    Yi You leaned from side to side next to the bed, unable to take her eyes off the peculiar egg.

    "Indeed," the small voice said with a hint of pride tinged with arrogance.

    "And how will you come out of the egg?"

    "When a blood pact is made with the destined one."

    "And who is the destined one?"

    "Originally, it was a man named Liu Fuzhen. He told me he would return to make the pact with me after settling his affairs. But it’s been three years and he hasn’t shown up. I'm tired of waiting."

    Liu Fuzhen was her father's name.

    "Hasn’t anyone touched you before?"

    Before she received the wooden box, Great Grandfather told her that people had rummaged through her father's belongings completely. That meant this egg must have been touched by many others already.

    "Yes."

    "And?"

    "No one else shook me," the small voice sounded slightly gritted.

    "..."

    "And you also have an aura similar to that Liu Fuzhen."

    "Really?" Yi You felt excited.

    Dragons were legendary creatures she had never seen, and now she was eager to see one.

    "Uh-huh," the small voice seemed sad. "I want to get outside already. I can make a pact with you, stinky face."

    Hearing this, the young girl was delighted but hesitated, considering this egg belonged to her father.

    "What if my father comes back?"

    "Is Liu Fuzhen your father? Then it’s easy. He would surely agree," the small voice suddenly sounded cheerful.

    After pondering for a moment, curiosity got the better of her.

    "What must I do?"

    "Just drop some blood on my shell."

    "Blood?" She wanted to say she was afraid of pain, and how much blood would it take? Thinking this, her expression fell.

    "Just prick yourself with a needle and touch my shell."

    The little figure hesitated but finally decided to do it.

    But then…

    Silence…

    "Where is it, where is the dragon coming out of the egg?"

    "Give me some time to incubate, will you, stinky face?" The voice was clearly annoyed.

    "Oh," she nodded in understanding.

    She wondered if dragon hatching was like a hen hatching eggs.

    "Seventeen, returned now, haven’t you?" It was the voice of Grandfather Three interrupting them.

    "You go outside for now; I need to hatch," the little egg said, shooing her away.

    Yi You glanced at the egg once more and walked out.

    "Grandfather Three," the small figure bowed respectfully to the elder.

    "Here’s what you need to make your sweets," he said, handing a large bag to the little girl, which Yi You placed on the table.

    "I will make some for you tomorrow, Grandfather Three," the small figure smiled up to her eyes.

    "I heard that Second spoke against you today," the elder asked seriously.

    "I’m probably actually useless," she muttered softly with a hint of sadness in her voice.

    "How about this—you come live with me. I will take care of you myself. Then no one will be able to chase you away."

    Yi You looked up at Grandfather Three, sensing that he truly cared for her.

    "Why are you so nice to me?" she asked, tilting her head, which made the old man grow even more fond of her.

    "What do you know? I have no wife or children. When I was in trouble, I got your Aunt Five to help me. Besides, you are my granddaughter. Even if not by blood, you are still my granddaughter. Do you understand?" He said while reaching out to gently stroke the young girl's head.

    "Yes," the little figure smiled broadly at Grandfather Three.

    "If you come to live with me, you won't have to fear anyone chasing you away because I will take care of you," the elder spoke softly.

    "Okay, I will go live with you, Grandfather Three."

    The elder exclaimed with approval, "Good, good, good."

    "Then get ready today. Tomorrow, I will come to pick you up," the elder walked away, leaving Yi You standing and watching his back, which seemed aged but still full of life, and she couldn't help but sigh.

    Thinking of her grandfather who lay powerless, merely waiting for death, she thought that if she could read all the books in the library, she might find a way to cure Grandfather Five.

    However, the little figure shook her head in despair. Even with a brain like a high-level computer, without any knowledge stored yet, what could she possibly do now?

    Crack!

    A sound like something breaking came from the bedroom. Yi You, slightly excited, hurried to open the bedroom door. There on the bed was indeed a cracked eggshell. She smiled broadly before scanning the room.

    Where is the dragon? Has it escaped?

    "What are you looking for, stinky- face? I'm right here," a tiny sharp voice came from the bed, but she scanned around and still saw nothing.

    "I'm here. I said I'm here, you blind kid."

    Yi You slowly walked to the bed, looking at the cracked eggshell suspiciously, and lifted it up to find nothing hidden underneath.

    "Where?"

    "I’m up here," said the voice.

    When she looked carefully, she saw a tiny grayish-black creature clinging to the blanket.

    A worm?

    Eww… Yi You was scared then she quickly grabbed the blanket then flapped it off.

    "Whoa, easy, are you trying to kill me?" Now the tiny sharp voice came from the blanket she was flapping.

    Yi You widened her eyes and looked down at the living creature clinging to the blanket in her hand. Whether she looked left or right, this... this... was a worm, and an extremely ugly one at that.

    "You stinky egg, you said you were a dragon. Why are you a worm?"

    "I am a dragon. I said dragon, so I’m a dragon."