The Mighty Mage
Chapter 506: Solution-2

Chapter 506: Chapter 506: Solution-2

Long Yifan narrowed his eyes as he stepped closer to the two beasts. Under the pale moonlight, the blue caterpillar froze—then suddenly flopped over dramatically, pretending to be dead.

Long Yifan stared.

"...Seriously?"

The caterpillar didn’t move.

With a sigh, Long Yifan crouched down and, without hesitation, reached out with his thumb and index finger to pick the big caterpillar up by the back.

It dangled in front of his face, completely still. Its round eyes were shut tight, and its tiny antennae drooped like noodles.

"You think I’m stupid?" Long Yifan muttered. "If you don’t talk, I’ll roast you for real."

A small ball of fire flared up in his other hand, glowing orange and hot.

The caterpillar instantly began to squirm, its whole body wiggling side to side.

Little White, still perched on the railing, smacked a paw to his forehead.

In his heart, Little White muttered, "This guy is done for. Totally done for."

He remembered all too well what happened in the past life—when Long Yifan had found out about the Water Dragon becoming Gu Jin’s new contract beast. The man had lost his mind for two days straight, making a huge fuss and demanding Gu Jin give him more attention than the Water Dragon. He had been ridiculous.

But in this life... Long Yifan still didn’t know. And Gu Jin herself didn’t know either. She hadn’t yet discovered that a Water Dragon had been destined to become her contract beast.

Meanwhile, the poor blue caterpillar—who was, in fact, the secretly powerful Water Dragon in disguise—was trembling as it dangled from Long Yifan’s hand.

"Why? Why me?" the caterpillar wailed in his heart. "Why did he have to look over here? I was so quiet! So hidden! Is my luck really that bad?"

His fuzzy body shook like a leaf in the wind.

Long Yifan’s eyes narrowed further as he studied the caterpillar’s shape. "You... look familiar somehow."

The caterpillar froze again.

Still no response.

"I warned you," Long Yifan said, voice low.

With a snap of his fingers, the fireball in his hand flared brighter and inched closer to the caterpillar’s fuzz-covered belly.

The caterpillar let out a high-pitched squeak and flailed wildly, his little legs waving in panic.

"Stop! Stop!! I surrender! You’re bullying me! You’re a grown man and I’m just a little bug! This is abuse!!" the caterpillar cried out with a wail.

Long Yifan blinked. "So you can talk."

The caterpillar sniffled and glared at him—well, as much as a caterpillar could glare.

"Just you wait! Once I become Gu Jin’s contract beast, I’ll get you back for this! You’ll regret bullying me!"

Long Yifan’s hand froze midair.

His expression changed instantly.

"...What did you just say?"

The caterpillar’s antennae twitched. "I said you’ll regret—"

"No, not that. The part about Gu Jin. You said once you become her contract beast?" Long Yifan’s voice was sharp now, suspicious and intense. "When did that happen?"

The caterpillar immediately covered his tiny face with two stubby arms.

"Ahhh! I wasn’t supposed to say that! You tricked me!!"

Long Yifan’s expression darkened. His heart was beating fast.

Gu Jin had another contract beast? One she hadn’t told him about?

And this weird fuzzy worm was talking like it was already decided?

"...Who are you?" he demanded.

The caterpillar wiggled, still dangling awkwardly. "I’m just a humble, totally ordinary blue caterpillar!"

Long Yifan brought the fireball closer again.

"Okay, okay!!" the caterpillar cried out again.

"I’m the Water Dragon, okay?! The one who’s supposed to become her next contract beast!"

Long Yifan’s hand froze in midair.

His brows furrowed. "What?"

"How do you know that?" he asked slowly, voice dangerously calm. "Don’t tell me you’re just guessing."

The caterpillar’s little face twisted as he panicked. "Because... because I was her contract beast. In her past life."

The second those words left his tiny mouth, his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no," he whispered, eyes shifting to the side.

Long Yifan’s expression darkened immediately. His gaze locked onto the squirming caterpillar like a predator spotting prey.

"You what?" he asked, voice low.

From the side, Little White smacked both his paws to his forehead and groaned loudly.

"This idiot," he muttered. "He’s done it again."

The Water Dragon—still dangling helplessly—started thrashing in a last-ditch attempt to escape.

"Nope! No no no, you misheard me! I’m drunk! I was drinking earlier! I’m just talking nonsense!"

"Drunk?" Long Yifan repeated, clearly unimpressed.

The fireball flared again, growing hotter as it floated closer to the caterpillar’s trembling fuzz.

"W-Wait! Wait!! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!! Don’t cook me!!" the Water Dragon screamed, flailing like a child about to be spanked.

Long Yifan paused, the fireball hovering inches away from the caterpillar.

"Then talk."

The Water Dragon gulped. He sighed like a man who had accepted death.

"In my past life, I was Gu Jin’s contract beast," he said, defeated.

Long Yifan’s jaw clenched, and he stepped back slightly, lowering the fireball—but keeping it active in his hand.

"Her contract beast..." he echoed. "You’re saying you remember your past life?"

The caterpillar nodded slowly. "Yes... yes, I do."

"What kind of past life are you talking about?" Long Yifan narrowed his eyes. "When? Where? What are you even saying?"

The Water Dragon squirmed again, then flopped dramatically, hanging limp like a towel.

"It was a distant past life, alright? A really long time ago! And it has nothing to do with you!"

Long Yifan wasn’t convinced. His voice dropped into something colder.

"From the way you talk... it sounds like you’ve already lived this life once before. Haven’t you?"

The Water Dragon didn’t answer.

Long Yifan narrowed his eyes further. The fireball in his hand flared again.

"Tell the truth," he said flatly. "Or I’ll skip the roasting part and just turn you into soup."

"Alright! ALRIGHT!" the Water Dragon yelled, nearly sobbing now. "Please don’t turn me into soup! I’ll tell you everything!"

Long Yifan crossed his arms and waited.

The Water Dragon took a deep breath and looked up at him with those big, watery eyes.

"In the past life, Gu Jin was my master. But we didn’t live on Earth. We lived in another world—an Elf’s world. She wasn’t human there. She was... different. Powerful. Respected. But also cursed."

Long Yifan’s brows twitched.

"Elves?"

He didn’t believe it. It sounded like a made-up fairy tale. Another world? Gu Jin not being human? What was this?

But then he looked closer—at the way the caterpillar’s body trembled, at the weight behind those tiny words. It didn’t feel like a lie. Not a joke. Not an act.

It felt real.

Long Yifan’s tone changed. He hesitated for just a moment, then asked in a low voice, "If what you’re saying is true... then you should know."

He stepped forward, kneeling so he was eye-level with the little creature.

"Gu Jin has a problem. A serious one. Her emotions... they’re locked away. And it’s killing her. Do you know how to fix it?"

It was a desperate shot in the dark. A wild gamble. But something in his heart screamed at him to try.

The Water Dragon blinked slowly. Then rolled his eyes.

"Oh, please," he muttered. "That’s the easy part."

Long Yifan’s heart skipped a beat. "What?"

The Water Dragon let out a long, dramatic sigh, as if he were about to explain the meaning of life to a particularly slow student.

"Honestly," he said, puffing up his fuzzy little chest.

"You humans always make things so complicated. But fine. You want to help Gu Jin? Then listen up, because I’m only saying this once."

Long Yifan tensed, eyes locked on the little creature in his hand.

Even Little White stopped face-palming and leaned forward to listen.

The Water Dragon wiggled his stubby arms as he spoke, as if giving a lecture.

"Step One: Emotional safety."

He looked at Long Yifan pointedly.

"She’s frozen because she doesn’t feel safe. Not with her feelings, not with people. That’s why her emotions are locked up like a fortress.

She needs someone who stays. Someone who won’t run when she’s cold, or cruel, or silent. She doesn’t need you to fix her — just to not leave."

Long Yifan’s jaw tightened.

"Someone who stays," he echoed.

"Exactly," the Water Dragon said, nodding sagely

Long Yifan frowned. His chest ached at the thought of her alone, afraid to reach out.

"She doesn’t even know how to ask for help," he murmured.

"Because asking feels dangerous to her," the Water Dragon replied, suddenly quiet.

"She’s been punished for being vulnerable. Now she thinks she has to be untouchable."

Then he cleared his throat and sat straighter.

"Step Two: Confront the trauma."

Long Yifan looked back at him.

"It is one of the most important steps, considering that it was the point from which everything started. It plays a huge role in getting her emotions back. Maybe it was the trauma that had caused her to lose all her emotions all along."

Long Yifan felt a sharp tug in his chest. His fingers clenched around the caterpillar just a little tighter.