Inspecting Himself from Tail to Belly

The Antler Serpent blinked its eyes and nodded.

"Hmph! I knew it! He just loves to bully me, even my serpent gets bullied too!" Grace snatched the letter down and slapped it onto the table, refusing to look at it.

The Antler Serpent waited a long while, but seeing she didn’t look, it crawled over, picked up the letter, and delivered it to her hand.

Seeing how obedient it was, Grace didn't want to make things difficult for it anymore, and reluctantly opened the letter.

It was an apology letter.

It said that the person they were searching for was of utmost importance.

It even concerned the safety of the entire Vermilion Kingdom and its vassal states.

After years of searching with no results, finally there was a tiny clue, so he had no choice but to take desperate measures.

Of course, Evan Xiao ended the letter with words asking for her forgiveness.

Grace muttered as she held the letter, "It concerns the safety of the Vermilion Kingdom and its vassals? Why don’t I remember such a crucial person existing?"

If there really was such a person, then it must be... Evan Xiao himself, right?

If the Blue Moon Kingdom could defeat the Vermilion Kingdom and take its place, at least sixty percent of the credit would go to him.

Grace pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out. She turned to fold the letter and put it back in the envelope.

Unexpectedly, when she turned her head, she saw the Antler Serpent holding a brush in its mouth, looking at her eagerly.

"What are you doing? Want to learn how to write?" Grace couldn't help but laugh.

It shook its head and glanced at the letter, then at the blank paper on the desk.

"You want me to write back to him?" Grace asked.

The Antler Serpent nodded.

"Look at you, poor thing!" Grace patted its head. "Looks like if I don’t write back, you won’t be able to go home and report."

She picked up the brush and wrote: I understand General Evan Xiao’s difficulties. I wish you success in finding the person you’re searching for.

Then she stuffed the letter back into the little envelope, tied it to the Antler Serpent’s tail, and said, "Go on!"

Evan Xiao felt that she didn’t seem to be any less angry!

Although the reply was polite, he didn’t like it one bit!

Evan Xiao left the house, went somewhere secluded, and breathed fire onto the tail, burning up the letter.

Looks like apologies don’t work!

He’d have to follow Quentin Chin’s advice and send her a gift.

And it had to be something she truly liked.

What does she like, anyway?

Evan Xiao thought for a moment, then remembered something Grace had once said.

Dragon horns can be used in medicine.

Dragon bones can be used in medicine.

Dragon tendons can be used for forging weapons, or as medicine.

Dragon blood, now that's a real treasure...

"If you ever butcher it one day, could you give me the parts you don’t want? Like claws, dragon scales, organs, whatever—I’ll take anything!"

......

She really seemed to want things from a dragon's body.

Evan Xiao lowered his head and looked himself over from tail to belly...

......

After lunch, Grace was getting ready for a nap.

But just then, the Antler Serpent came back again.

This time, its tail was tied with a bamboo tube.

Grace curiously took the bamboo tube off, opened it, and found several thick golden hairs inside, each about two feet long and incredibly tough.

Besides that, there was a small slip of paper inside, with Evan Xiao’s handwriting: Dragon Mane.

Dragon Mane?

Something from that dragon’s body?

Grace glanced at the Antler Serpent, which was staring at her with hopeful eyes.

"Cutie Pie, you’ve run back and forth twice today—doesn’t he worry you’ll get tired? Why don’t you just stay with me instead?" Grace said.

Cutie Pie shook its head, looking very aggrieved.