Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

234. An Unexpected Encounter

“Dragon?!” Jin Shu blurted out.“Ancestor?!” the young woman exclaimed at the same time.

“…Huh?”

“…What?”

They stared at each other, equally baffled by the other’s outburst.

“How did you know I’m a dragon?” she asked warily. “Did I forget to put my disguise back on again?”

“What do you mean by ancestor?” Jin Shu shot back.

She hesitated, then reached behind the counter and produced a small statuette.

It bore a striking resemblance to Jin Shu—as if carved from the same mold. The only differences were the dragon horns, silver hair, and faint silver scales tracing its surface.

Jin Shu recognized it instantly.

Long Jinshu.

“You look exactly like my ancestor…” she whispered.

Jin Shu was surprised, but nodded calmly. “That’s because I’m his reincarnation. That’s also why I can see through your transformation technique.”

At first glance, she appeared to be an ordinary human woman—long black hair reaching her ankles, a delicate face, and a simple pink dress. But the moment he’d sensed something off, his instincts had taken over. He’d activated his dragon transformation technique, shifting his vision into dragon eyes capable of piercing her disguise, since it came from the same origin as his technique.

What he’d seen then was the same girl—but with flowing blue hair, pearly white dragon horns, and faint, multicolored scales shimmering along her cheeks.

“You’re really my ancestor?” she asked incredulously. “The Long Jinshu?”

For a brief moment, Jin Shu considered explaining that the original Long Jinshu was long dead—in both body and soul. But that felt unnecessarily complicated. Technically speaking, he was Long Jinshu’s remnant soul, cleansed and altered to shed lingering karma from time-traveling shenanigans.

Close enough.

“I’m his reincarnation—Jin Shu,” he said instead. “Though I retained most of my memories… so, you could say I'm still Long Jinshu. And you are?”

“Oh!”

She hurried out from behind the counter, dispelled her transformation entirely, and bowed deeply.

“Junior Long Ling greets Ancestor!”

Jin Shu paused, unsure how to respond to that title, and chose the safer route, changing the topic.

“Which lineage are you from?”

If he were still a dragon, he could’ve sensed it instinctively. But in a human body, he had to ask outright.

She blinked, then pointed to her hair. “Azure.”

Silence followed.

Jin Shu stared at her, stunned.

At most, he’d assumed she was a Water-tribe dragon—or perhaps a jiao dragon mixed with a mermaid. Azure Dragon had never even crossed his mind. Blue hair alone meant nothing, and there could only ever be one Azure Dragon at a time—the leader of the entire clan.

Even Long Jinshu himself had never claimed that title. His father had still ruled the clan until the very end of his life.

“You’re… the matriarch of the Azure Dragon Clan?!” he demanded.

His shock wasn’t just at the title—but at her cultivation.

Peak Spirit Realm? Had the Azure Dragon Clan really fallen so low that a Spirit Realm dragon had to lead it?

She shook her head so hard it looked like it might snap off. “No, no, no! Why would you think that?”

“You said you were the Azure Dragon.”

Long Ling tilted her head, realization dawning.

“Oh. Right. You’re from a past era.”

She shook her head. “The Azure Dragon Clan isn’t what it once was. We aren’t as powerful due to our dwindling numbers. However, each of us now has a chance of awakening the Azure Dragon bloodline. It’s somewhat diluted, but it grants even Fire-tribe dragons absolute control over water.”

She gestured toward the window. “I’m sure you noticed the lack of mist and rain around the inn. That’s my doing.”

“So you’re saying the main dragon tribes are all born as Azure Dragons now?”

“Not exactly. Only those descended from the original Azure Dragon,” she clarified, pointing at the statuette. “That’s why you’re my ancestor. You were the son of the last true Azure Dragon at the end of the previous era.”

Jin Shu fell silent as thousands of thoughts surged through his mind like a raging river.

He had finally met another dragon—one of his own bloodline.

Yet instead of joy, he felt only confusion… and a hundred new questions.

But one rose above the rest.

“…Is my family still around?”

“Your family…?” Long Ling echoed uncertainly. “Oh—um. No.”

His expression fell.

But she quickly corrected herself.

“I mean—they’re still alive, I think. They just aren’t with the clan anymore. Technically… they aren’t in this world. They ascended several hundred years ago,” she rushed to explain.

He sighed softly. That was only to be expected.

Even Long Jinshu had likely known that outcome. Not that it mattered. He was still bound by karmic backlash—blocked from ever seeing them again.

After a moment, Long Ling hesitated.

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course,” Jin Shu nodded.

“You’re really my ancestor’s reincarnation?”

“Yes… Why? Do I not fit the image?”

She shifted awkwardly. “You look identical. I just thought you’d be stronger…”

He tilted his head, confused by her phrasing.

“You make it sound like you expected to meet me someday.”

She nodded without hesitation. “I did.”

“You… did? How?”

“Great Ancestor Long Zui left behind a message. She said you would return one day. That’s why every member of the clan carries your statue.”

He had wondered why she possessed a statuette of him.

Now it made sense.

But how had his Aunt Long Zui known he would reincarnate?

She had always been unfathomable. Perhaps, in the centuries since they’d parted, she had only grown more so.

He was about to press further—

When a thunderous crash shook the inn.

The entire building trembled.

Jin Shu turned toward the window just in time to see a massive plume of dust rising from a newly formed crater at the inn’s entrance.

A middle-aged man descended slowly from the sky, standing atop a flying sword—every inch the image of a sword-bound immortal.

With a casual wave of his hand, he dispersed the dust.

Another man lay sprawled in the crater below, arms bent at unnatural angles, blood trickling from his lips.

The two Master Realm cultivators.

“We should leave,” Long Ling said sharply, already forming a series of swift hand seals.

Jin Shu barely had time to process her words before the scene outside blurred—

Just for a split second.

Then the crater, the dust, and the sword immortal vanished.

In their place lay a tranquil moonlit pond filled with blooming lotuses. Insects buzzed softly in the night air, and bullfrogs leapt between lily pads.

The atmosphere was serene.

Peaceful.

As though nothing violent had ever existed.

Long Ling exhaled weakly. “Teleporting an entire building is surprisingly exhausting.”

Jin Shu glanced between her and the window several times, just to make sure he wasn’t imagining things.

Teleporting an entire building shouldn’t have been possible.

Yet here he was.

Under normal teleportation principles, a structure that large would have to be broken down, transported piece by piece, and reassembled at the destination. Anything else would be inefficient—if not outright impossible.

And yet the inn had been moved in its entirety.

With them still inside.

Long Ling noticed his expression and explained, “This inn is a magic treasure.”

That answered one question—

And raised several more.

How could an entire building be refined into a magic treasure?

“Normally, I would shrink it and store it in my storage ring,” she continued. “But I couldn’t risk that with those two outside. Luckily, it has an emergency teleportation formation for situations like this.”

Jin Shu nodded slowly, then glanced out the window again.

The tranquil scenery unsettled him.

It didn’t match his understanding of demon cult territory.

A faint sinking feeling settled in his chest.

“How far did we travel…?”

“Master Realm cultivators have vast divine senses, so we had to go quite far.” Long Ling pulled out a map and spread it across the counter. “We’re here now.”

He leaned over and studied it.

Then blinked.

“…Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

He pointed out the window. “There’s a forest. A pond. Wildlife everywhere. How are we in the middle of a barren desert?”

“A pond? What are you talking about?” Long Ling frowned.

She stepped out from behind the counter, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

She looked left.

Then right.

Her confusion deepened.

“…Where the heck are we?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

She shook her head firmly. “No. I know I set the coordinates to the center of the desert.”

Jin Shu stepped out beside her. “Then where did you actually send us?”

“The desert! I’m certain of it!”

“Doesn’t look like any desert I’ve ever seen.”

He walked toward the pond a short distance from the inn and crouched down to test the water.

It was cool.

Clear.

Real.

So much for it being an illusion.

When he turned to call Long Ling over—

He froze.

On the opposite side of the inn, where empty land should have stretched endlessly—

There stood a sprawling city.

Its skyline shimmered beneath the moonlight.

And from its gates, streams of figures were already approaching.

Spirit beasts in countless forms.

And human women.

All heading directly toward the inn.