Chapter 561 - THE 'SAD' TRUTH ABOUT THE DRAGON (I)

LUO YAN blinked his big blue eyes and stared at Shen Ji Yun who just did a superhero landing.  Then the other quickly walked between him and Shirayuki.

"Are you okay?  Did something happen?" Shen Ji Yun asked. 

Luo Yan first looked at Shen Ji Yun.  He couldn't help the amusement that filled his eyes.  Because it was very obvious that the other purposedly stood in between him and Shirayuki.  He didn't need to be a psychic to know what's going through this guy's mind right now.  His bottle of vinegar was probably turned over again. 

He smiled helplessly.  Well, at least Shen Ji Yun wasn't over the top to the point that he would attack Shirayuki.  Deep down, the other probably understood that the other was an NPC and there's really no reason for him to get jealous.  So, he could only make some small action to prevent him from getting close to Shirayuki.

Luo Yan was about to answer Shen Ji Yun's question when the huge shadow above disappeared and another figure landed nearby.  With that long black hair, golden beastlike eyes, and perpetual annoyed expression on his eyes – who else could it be but Dusk?

The black dragon patted his clothes as if removing dirt that wasn't there.  He raised his head and saw Eclipse that was floating in the blue bubble of light.  "Hey, what's the brat doing there?"

Then Dusk suddenly froze.  Luo Yan could tell that it was because he saw the face of the statue holding Eclipse.  Could it be that his memory was stirred because of seeing Kagetsuki's statue?

But he quickly denied that.  If it was that easy, then their hidden task – 'Awakening Dragon' - would be finished by now.  One of the requirements of that task were to know the real identity of Dusk – which they already kind of knew.  The remaining one was to satisfy his request which was to make him remember his missing memories. 

So, once Dusk remembered everything, then wouldn't it mean that the requirements for them to finish the task were already fulfilled?  Knowing the nature of this game, it would definitely not end like this.  They still needed to go to Achaeus and then to the dragon clan.

He still planned to ask what was wrong though since he might provide them with some important information needed to finish the task.  But before he could, a flash of white moved past them at a terrifying speed and attacked the black dragon.

Because Dusk was in a daze, he didn't manage to protect himself and was therefore thrown back.  The dragon seemed to return to his senses and quickly put his feet on the ground, slowing down the speed of the throw until his body stopped moving backwards.  He glared angrily at Shirayuki.

"What's wrong with you?  Hitting someone out of the blue.  Are you crazy?" he shouted.

"You dare to step foot on our territory even after what you did a hundred years ago?  Are you really so shameless?" Shirayuki shouted back.  The gentleness that she had shown seemed to have disappeared and what only remained was anger.

Luo Yan was a bit surprised by this sudden turn of events.  Although he kind of expected the possibility that Shirayuki knew Dusk.  After all, she's Kagetsuki's sister.  But what he didn't expect was for her to be this antagonistic towards the dragon. 

Knowing how Dusk took over the dragon clan just so he could avenge what happened to Kagetsuki and those others who died from the demon fox tribe, he thought that he would at least be in friendly terms with them.  But seeing the angry expression on Shirayuki's face, that's certainly not the case.

But he couldn't just watch while the two tore at each other.  "You two, why don't we all calm down first?" he said, moving forward to stand between the two.

What he didn't notice was Shen Ji Yun quickly followed behind him.  Although he wasn't sure what exactly was happening right now, he knew that it would be bad if Luo Yan was caught between the fight of those two.  He was already hovering his hand over the hilt of his sword.  That way, he could immediately protect his rabbit if things go awry. 

This time, Shirayuki put her angry gaze on Luo Yan.  "Did everything you say earlier just a lie?  Are you in cahoots with this… this… shameless and stupid dragon?"

Dusk's face turned red in anger.  "You madwoman!  How dare you call this king shameless and stupid?"

Shirayuki glared back at the dragon.  "Then what should I call you when you're exactly that?"

"You- you- you—" Dusk seemed to have been rendered speechless because of too much anger.

Luo Yan knew that he shouldn't let things escalate even further.  He turned to the female kitsune and said in a placating voice, "Miss Shirayuki, didn't you ask earlier how I ended up becoming Eclipse's guardian?  It was indeed partly because of this dragon.  But not in some kind of evil way you might be thinking."

Shirayuki also turned to him, her expression saying, 'continue and I will decide after if I will believe you or not'.  Luo Yan took a deep breath and continued;

"I found Eclipse's unhatched beast egg in a cave in my village.  That particular area was feared by my fellow moon elves because it was said that a dragon was sleeping there.  I accidentally entered that area and they were indeed correct.  The mighty dragon over there was sleeping in that cave.  I was panicked when I saw him.  But when I saw the unhatched beast egg, it felt like it called out to me.  So, despite my worry and fear, I still picked it up and ran away with it."

Of course, he embellished a bit of extra words to make Shirayuki more understanding of his 'plight'.

"When I started my travel out of my village, the beast egg had been with me.  During my travels alone, that beast egg was my only companion.  Even when it hadn't still hatched, I already think of it as my family.  Soon, the beast egg hatched and Eclipse recognized me as his guardian.  Then this powerful and handsome Sir Qilin here joined me later.  Together, we visited my village.  And then, we discovered the sad truth about what really happened to the dragon." 

And Luo Yan made sure to say that last one with an expression full of sadness.