An Immortal Love

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Yijun sets himself carefully down the ground, afraid he will make a sound that will offend the dragon. It's been five days since they parted from the villagers and they've run twice. Perhaps it was shock that made Yijun cling onto the dragon even though he saw him murder those villagers. Or fear of being alone, as he felt that stronger kind of fear moments before his fingers grip at the dragon's robe and the dragon sped them away again. The dragon may be a cold-blooded murderer, but he wouldn't kill Yijun for no reason.

The dragon does not tell him to go away, but he does not pay attention to him either, just like the deer and small animals that occasionally accompany them as they walk through the forest. When Yijun sees the dragon walking in the direction of running water, he feels comfortable sitting down to rest also. By his observation, the dragon intends to nap. He does it quite a lot these days, always looking about for sounds of water when they stop running. He did not even notice Yijun tumbling forward at his feet due to the sudden stop. His gaze is always aimed at his front and he never spares a glance to those below him.

Yijun's eyes follow the dragon until he sees him reach the end of a clearing. He stands up and he sees the dragon is wading on the water, towards some rocks. When the dragons is doing the motions of preparing his bed to nap, he looks around him for a tree to climb.

The forest is unfamiliar to him. Its trees were like posts of a temple, the trunks going up and forming a vast, green canopy that filtered the sunlight into dappled patterns on the forest floor. His feet pushes at the soft carpet of fallen needles and leaves while his hands grasp at the rough bark to pull himself up. As he climbs, he smells the thick earthy scent of moss and decaying leaves, mingled with the sweet, sharp aroma of pine.

He finds a tree whose tops are higher than the rest and starts climbing. He has no idea where they are; the destroyed village is a distant memory now. While he was clinging to the dragon's robes, he saw unfamiliar mountains speeding by. He must be a thousand miles away from his home village, so it is important that he not lose the dragon. Not only does he doubt that he can go home, he may be in an Enlightened Beast's territory. It will not end well if he is left alone without the dragon to explain his intrusion.

He finally reaches as high as he could go and part the tender leaves before him. A vista of endless mountains appears before him and as he suspects, the place is not familiar to him. There is no sign of civilization as far as he can see. Not a village or a hut he can inquire or take refuge in.

He sighs and climb back down. He will have to wait for night to get his bearings if the dragon does not decide to run again. While the dragon naps, he will take the opportunity to forage for his food. Before, he was too terrified to make a sound, so he endured not eating for two days. Fortunately, the dragon likes to naps in waters full of life, and as he sleeps, Yijun would be searching for lotus roots or catching fish. There is always food to find where the dragon decides to nap in, and Yijun very easily filled his makeshift pack made of woven grass with food. The dragon apparently does not eat nor object to Yijun catching waterfowls and fish behind his back. He does not pay any attention to Yijun at all.

Yijun reaches the foot of the tree and as expected, he instantly finds food. There are mushrooms growing around, big and fragrant and his hand picks them quickly and roughly, almost snapping their tender stems in half. He has to admit he eats better than he did back at home, though his cooking is limited. He did not have any spice or cooking utensil on him, so he would have to make do on roasts. He thought of making mud-baked chicken, but it takes too much time to make an oven and the dragon might be gone by then.

Aside from the mushrooms, he also finds some herbs. He picks the soft leaves off, thinking excitedly of the fowl meat he will wrap it in. Now he just needs some big leaves to roast it with.