The Emperor and the Dragon

Lantern Festival pt. 3

    Shen Yuan laughs nervously at Luo Binghe's stunned expression. It takes a little while before Luo Binghe shakes out of his shock. The quiet boy became a very loud one in a moment's notice, "That's a huge secret, Shizun!!!"

Smiling nonchalantly at his student's antics, "I'm not the only one out there. All the visible 'dragons' are not dragons, but Imugis--serpents. Humans just mistake us as dragons."

"Then why lie about being a dragon in the first place, Shizun," Luo Binghe questions exasperatedly.

Shen Yuan may or may not have forgotten that he wasn't one, but he won't tell Luo Binghe that..."Didn't you also believe that I was a dragon at first, Binghe? Humans were the ones who started believing we were dragons; they don't want to believe in what's not visible to them."

"If you told me, I would've believed you, Shizun." Luo Binghe said this quietly, in hoping that Shen Yuan couldn't hear him, but he did. Shen Yuan felt guilty now. Very guilty, as he looks at his crestfallen student.

"Then, what is a dragon," Luo Binghe looks at Shen Yuan with eyes that held some many questions.

Ah, a question he anticipated! "The real dragon resembles fog. You can't see nor catch them. They're heavenly beings not of this world. Humans will never encounter them in a lifetime."

"So, you are an Imugi," asks Luo Binghe with some hesitation, like he was unsure. "Right, I am an Imugi," Shen Yuan replied with excitement. Truthfully speaking, he was still an Imugi, but it was only a matter of time, "Well, you humans were partially correct in your assumptions."

The familiar silence fills the air. At this point, Shen Yuan was almost immune to it. "What do you mean, Shizun?"

"What I mean is, it isn't impossible for an Imugi to become a dragon. I've heard rumors about those who had journeyed through such process, about the importance of a Yeouiju."

"A Yeouiju?" Luo Binghe tests out the strange term on his tongue, "What's a Yeouiju?"

"You tell me, Binghe," Shen Yuan remembers the day he first met the boy. Of how it was almost like heaven answered his prays by presenting Luo Binghe tied up in a trap on that day, "Since you are my Yeouiju."

"I'm sorry, what? I'm your Yeouiju?"

Shen Yuan nods his head, moving to get to his feet. He takes the limp hands at Luo Binghe's sides and holds it in his, squeezing them. Luo Binghe's wide eyes watch as his hands travel from his side into Shen Yuan's hands; his cheeks colored but the lights from the lanterns, in the sky, hide that away from Shen Yuan's sight.

"This might sound a bit embarrassing but on that day when I first met you, it was the day I fully believed in the myth: 'An Imugi can only become a dragon if it caught a Yeouiju which had fallen from heaven.' For all the years that I was in my forest, only you were the one that stayed, that I trust with my heart." He looks deep in those childish eyes, "I've caught you, so won't you be my Yeouiju, Binghe? Will you help me become a dragon?"

The small beating in Luo Binghe's chest grew louder--pitter, patter, his stomach tangles in emotions he's never felt before as he looks at the hands that were holding his and the smile that graces on the face of the most beautiful and prevalent in his life. With no hesitation like before, he grips back those warm hands, "Yes, of course, Shizun. I will be your Yeouiju even if it means being with you for a lifetime!"

A soft chuckle, that flutters in the breeze, erupts from the person standing opposite of Luo Binghe, "En. I hope you keep your word, Binghe." A slight ruffling of hair, Luo Binghe on the receiving end. What Shen Yuan didn't know was Luo Binghe meant every word of what he just said, and that he misinterpreted Shen Yuan's words. He thought he meant something completely different from what Shen Yuan was trying to convey.

Their harmonious atmosphere was interrupted when talisman attached to Shen Yuan's hip glows in a bright red color. Shit, Shā Huálíng! Shen Yuan makes eye-contact with Luo Binghe and the boy nods, connecting the dots. Slipping on the mask that he had pocketed in his inner robes, he and Luo Binghe make their way back into the village with the talisman in hand.

The village was still quite alive, but many had already retired for the night. They passed by many drunks and late-night snack houses, but the talisman still glowed and directed them deeper into the more restricted parts of the village, the red district. As they approached the gates of those parts, Shen Yuan, for some odd reason, hears cries of what sounds to be like a child from a distance. Luo Binghe seems to have noticed it as well, as he looks up concerningly at Shen Yuan.

They continue walking, but notice how none of the passersby look remotely troubled about the crying, now even louder than before. This unnerves Shen Yuan. He tries to locate where exactly the sound was coming from, but as they got closer to the location, the number of people around them grew smaller in number, until there was none at all. He didn't think he would miss the loud chatters of the villagers, yet here he was. The quiet was eerie unlike the quietness of the forest.

The cries grew louder.

Louder.

Louder.

And louder.

Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe found themselves standing outside of an old worn-out building that looks like it was falling apart. Wood blackened with scorch marks, Shen Yuan eyes everything wearily. He could hear the cries, no, those were in fact screams coming from inside the building, just behind the front doors. A sounding wail could be heard, louder than ever before, but then it all stops. He takes a peek through the cracks of the doors, trying to see what is going on, but only manages to see red on the other side. Shen Yuan trying to refocus his eyes, but suddenly he jerks back. What he was looking at wasn't just simply the color red, that was an eye. A hand takes ahold of his arm, nearest to the crack. Cold, veiny, and skeletal.

Luo Binghe looked at his Shizun's startled expression, growing even more cautious. He pulled at his Shizun's robes, trying to get him to leave this area.

The door of the building opens with an audible creak, revealing an elderly woman with bloodshot eyes. She side-eyes the two men with narrowed eyes and red lips pinched into a scowl. "It seems that I have some unwelcome visitors tonight. How can I help you, two young gentlemen?"

Getting straight to the point, Shen Yuan questions her, "We heard some loud cries coming from the building. We just wanted to make sure everything was alright in there."

"Ah. But there is no one, but myself in the building. How could someone be crying when I, myself don't even hear it. Are you men perhaps trying to fool this old woman?"

"No, no. We did hear someone crying," then again, it was silent now. Could he have misheard? He listens in again, trying to hear for any signs of distress, but even with his cultivation, he heard nothing. "I suppose", he pauses, "we could have misheard. We apologize for imposing on your night." The old woman gives them a look, before shutting the door of the building loudly in their faces.

A thought came to his mind, who was screaming just moments ago? Did he imagine those cries? Shaking his head, he takes out the talisman he pocketed for a moment and takes Luo Binghe to where the talisman pointed. This time, no cries or screams were heard.

The site that the talisman lead them to was...a brothel?!

'What was that brat, Shā Huálíng, doing in a brothel? She hasn't even hit puberty yet!'