The Emperor and the Dragon

Luo Binghe

    The human child was clearly a boy, with long hair tied up high. He's a little bit on the dirty side, but Shen Yuan could see the boy would look decent if washed and cleaned properly. The clothes he wore were nothing but rags; his scrawny little arms and legs were like the damp twigs in the forest, weak and easy to break.

"Little boy, how did you get yourself in this man-made trap?" 

    Before the boy turned around, Shen Yuan took some extra measures by quickly changing his appearance to resemble more human, in case the boy reacted negatively. He didn't want to scare off the kid quite yet.

    The boy turns around towards his direction. His eyes were filled with panic.

"Senior, please help me! Let me out of here!" the boy yelled.  The human stared at Shen Yuan with wide eyes as he gripped the net when it swung from his sudden movements, "I can't get out by myself!" 

    Meanwhile, Shen Yuan was in a state of daze. Should he show his true form to this little guy? Feeling a little mischievous, he bent down to the boy's level.

"Boy, do you know who I am?" He tries making his tone of voice seem scarier, like how a typical dragon should sound while transforming back into his normal appearance.

    Visibly the boy looked rather shaken, his face had turned pale from what Shen Yuan had just said. 

"D-dragon," the boy stuttered. If not for the fact that the boy wasn't trespassing in his woods, Shen Yuan would've felt bad for him, but no, he needs to ward off those who try to hurt his creatures. It's either the kid learns now, or he'll find out the hard way.

    With a pretend smirk on his face, Shen Yuan pulls the net towards him. 

"Correct. If you know, that is what I am, you would also know that dragons will never help humans." To scare the human even further, Shen Yuan adds, "Rather than helping," he grins showing his sharp teeth, "we eat them." 

'Aaa...I must look scary right now. He should be terrified now.'

"Are you hungry?"

"..." He was stupefied for a good while, standing there gawking at the brat. 'What the f*ck is wrong with this kid? Wasn't he petrified moments ago; where did that go?'

    Unable to first think properly, his big mouth went autopilot and spoke before he could stop it, "Well no, I am not hungry at the moment."

    Now he seriously wants to smack himself. Why did he just say that, of all things he could've said. Shen Yuan, are you an idiot? 'After that stunt, yeah. No question about it.'

    Trying to feel less embarrassed about what he just said, Shen Yuan continues with a huff, "Eating is a little annoying when I'm not hungry."

"Perhaps, I won't eat you today." He about to go back to hopefully spooking the boy again when he was cut off.

"So that means you'll let me out," there was hope in that voice. 
The human gaze looked up to him with faith practically sparkling in them. And at the time when he was about to refute, the kid spoke once again, "Thank you so much immortal dragon, is there any way I could repay you?"

    Shen Yuan was about to argue with the human that no, he was not going to help the boy, and also he doesn't want to be involved with him anymore, but suddenly a thought came to mind.

'Maybe there is a use for him after all...I could finally---'

    Once more, Shen Yuan bends to the kid's level and smiles widely at the boy. 

"Little human, I'll save you now. But there is one condition, you have to make a promise with me."

"O...okay."

-----------

"All right, you're free! Now, what's your name, boy?" He had used his sharp claws to cut the netted rope holding the human captive. Such low quality was easy to cut through. 

"M-my name is Luo Binghe. Thank you once again for the help...uh...how should I address you?" Shen Yuan could see the boy...no, Binghe, was fiddling with the rags that were supposed to be what he guessed was a shirt. 

    It doesn't make much of a difference what Binghe calls him. "My name is Shen Yuan, but you can call me whatever you want."

"May I call you shizun?" What was said was but a quiet whisper. Without his high cultivation and powers, Shen Yuan probably wouldn't have caught it. 'Hmm...I never expected one day I would be called shizun, yet it doesn't sound too bad.'

"Sure." 

    The wilting flower that was Luo Binghe roused with such excitement, with a blushed face he exclaims, "Thank you for giving me the honor of calling you shizun, shizun!"

    It almost made Shen Yuan want to pet his head, almost. He just waved his hand in reply, to say that it was alright.

    Could Binghe be related to those demonic dogs that reside around the premises? Maybe he should ask him about that later. The two made their way to Shen Yuan's home, where Binghe was allowed to stay. He was later introduced to Shen Yuan's hoard. 

    Shen Yuan was rather nervous about this outcome on the inside, with how there was now a human living with him and such. It was a normal thought, a normal reaction. Still, he was secretly afraid, but he knew, only time will tell.

    This was just the beginning of their story, though.

------------

Present Day

    There was a man with chained hands sitting in a corner of a jail cell. His inky silk hair was sprawled out beneath the expected dirty floors of the cell, but what was unexpected was the floor was quite clean. The clothes he wore, were not what a typical prisoner would wear. Oh no, he wore the most exquisite robes, with high-quality jewelry decorated upon it and himself. Eyes were the gateway to the soul, yet his were almost lifeless and empty. They stared intently at the figure outside of his cell.  

    The room that he was in was pitch-black, with the only source of light was a small barred circular window, making him look like he was constantly surrounded by darkness. 

    But was this a man? Isn't this person---

"Shizun, you once told me dragons ate humans." The man sitting outside this prisoner's cell hummed after saying this. "You dragons are so weak. I wonder how they could eat humans." 

    Silence was his only reply. He knew it was like this but he continued speaking. With a look of nostalgia, he looked into the distance, away from the prisoner.

"Everything was so easy then. If time were to stop, there would be without any worries, then." He paused and turned back to the prisoner.

"So shizun tell me something...why did you abandon me?"