[Day and Black] True dragons are not afraid of flames

"The Mad King is dead."

A few drinkers at adjacent tables in the tavern talked loudly about the current situation, drank swayingly, and their pronunciation was a little slippery.Yan Sheng sat aside, sipping ale, his waist-length ponytail had already been dyed black.Usually he hated these noisy drunks the most, but at this moment, he had to rely on the chatter in the tavern to gain information.

"He likes to burn people so much, he deserves to be killed by wildfire." The drunk raised his glass, "I heard that Ghost Mai Tsuji buried wildfire in his banquet hall and killed everyone in the hall. The fire burned for three days and three nights..."

"Except for the current king... the iron guard saw him come out of the fire naked, and brought a dragon with him."

"You also believe such exaggerated rumors."

"It's true. I saw that dragon. It's white. When the king hung Wu Mi's right hand on the city gate, the dragon was flying in the sky."

"It doesn't want to eat people, does it?"

"who knows."

"How did Wu Mi, the fire magician, sneak into the banquet hall to bury wildfire? Didn't he be kicked out of the palace by the mad king?"

"...I heard that the Pyromancer colluded with the eldest son of the mad king. It is the brother of the new king. King's Landing City and the Ubuyashiki family in the Western Territory are sending people to arrest him. You must have heard the rumor, right?"

"I have an impression that it's that cursed... born lunatic?"

Yan Sheng squeezed the wine glass tightly.

He had heard more accurate and detailed versions of the following anecdote about the royal family countless times, and this chat was no longer worth listening to.

He paid for the drink and got up to go to the port.

Every time a child is born in the successor family, the gods toss a coin in the air, choosing between madness and greatness.In the year when he and Yuanyi were born, the Immortal Palace on the other side of the sea had prophesied to the twins that the two ends of the coin would be distributed to the two children, one of whom would shine as bright as the sun and become the king of dragons. Father, in the dragon fire that covered the sky and the sun, two giant dragons, one black and one white, reappeared in the world through his hands.The other is born mad and will curse every one of his kin to death.

The father doesn't know who is the crazy side between him and Yuanyi. He subconsciously regards Yuanyi with the strange birthmark as "unlucky" and the eldest son as "great".If it wasn't for his mother's desperate rescue, Yuan Yi might not survive the second day of his life.As he grew older, Yan Sheng's performance did not disappoint him, which made his father believe in the revelation of the Immortal Palace even more, and even drove his mother and Yuanyi to the tower to isolate him from the court.

But Yan Sheng couldn't see the sign of the prophecy coming true. When he sneaked up the tower for the first time, his weak brother threw himself at his mother's side, acting like a spoiled child, and his dull red eyes were as wet as a young deer in the forest.

"You are not crazy, we are all normal." He couldn't help but patted Yuanyi's head.Although the younger brother was ignorant and unable to speak, he rubbed his cheek against his hand.

"Yan Sheng, don't you believe in prophecies?" His mother looked at him in surprise and relief.

"I don't believe much, or..." He smiled at his mother, "I only choose the good part of the letter."

And now, he has never hated that illusory coin so much as now.

The golden dragon circled in the air and landed in Yan Sheng's palm.The head of the father, known as the Mad King, was printed on the gold coin and looked at him mockingly.

Before this escape, he rarely tossed a coin, which was inappropriate.He had performed for his younger brother a few times when he was young, and after being seen by his father, he understood with his swollen and purple cheeks that this was not the behavior of the heir to the Iron Throne.

Now he is not, so he can throw his fill.

Yan Sheng tossed it again, and just like last time, the coin was facing him, not the side of the dragon. Master Xuecheng once said that after a certain number of coin tosses, the number of dragon emblems and portraits will tend to be uniform.Yet there was only one throw between him and Yuan, and this one foolish chance sealed fate, Yuan Yi would sit aloft on the Iron Throne, while he fled to the port in a country farmer's hay cart , destined to be displaced.

He stared at the coin, no longer tossing it, but turned it over with the dragon's head pattern engraved on it, and quietly placed it in the palm of his hand.

Yan Sheng does not believe that Yuan Yi will become crazy and kill his relatives, but he is very interested in the dragon part in the prophecy. All the real dragons in the following country died in the civil war a hundred years ago, although each prince can still get a Dragon eggs, but they are just priceless stones that cannot be hatched.After the successor family lost the dragon, the deterrence gradually dissipated. In my father's generation, there were already several border disputes, and my father also got the title of mad king and burner because of his excessive deterrence against the rebel lord.

Re-hatch the real dragon and become the king of the Zhongxing family, as bright as the sun.The prophecy laid out such a tempting future for him.In addition to practicing swordsmanship and learning knowledge, Yan Sheng spent his spare time on dragon research.He believed that one day, he would be able to become the radiant sun as prophesied——

He sat up from the haystack where he was lying down, and the farmer driving in front saw him getting up, a little surprised: "Master Samurai, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, how far is it from Black Water Bay? I want to catch the last boat at night."

"Hurry up, hurry up, my lord warrior."

He tossed a silver stag to the farmer, who accepted it gratefully, and immediately whipped the poor mule a few times, trying to pretend it was a strong steed of the Kingsguard.

Yan Sheng took the golden dragon back into his luggage, and subconsciously touched the depths. A black dragon egg was lying there safely.

The white dragon has hatched, but the black one is still sleeping.The prophecy is obviously not accurate.

Is there any chance for this dragon egg to break out of its shell?If there is a chance to hatch a giant dragon on the other side of the strait and get the support of the Free Trade City, does he still have a chance... to compete with Yuanyi again?

"Master Samurai, ahead, ahead!" The farmer who drove the cart stopped the hay cart and shouted in panic.

"What's the matter?" Yan Sheng raised his head impatiently.

Then he held his breath.

Under the moonlight, the shadow of a huge dragon enveloped the entire carriage. The silver-white dragon rushed to the ground like the white waves of a tsunami hitting the rocks, grabbed the poor mule in front of the hay cart, and swallowed the beast's body in one bite. The neck was bitten off.

"It can't be..." he muttered to himself, "it just hatched..."

The farmer screamed and fell down in front of the mule's carcass, his legs so weak that he forgot to run away.And the white dragon bent down, spread its wings, and a familiar figure slid down the dragon's back. The long silver hair with fiery red ends was dazzling even under the faint moonlight.

"Sorry, Moonlight is still a little hungry." The figure bowed his head to the farmer, "I will compensate you for your loss tonight."

The farmer was stunned and did not answer, a golden dragon flew across the night sky and landed on the farmer's palm.The dragon rider stopped looking at the frightened farmer, turned around, and stared at him with red eyes from afar.

"...how sad, elder brother." Yuan Yi said.

"Where is your brother planning to go?"

This brotherhood meeting was unexpectedly peaceful, and Yan Sheng thought he would hear his younger brother's more angry questioning.Why did you cooperate with Wu Mi, why did you kill your closest relatives, why did you kill those innocent people... why did you kill your own brother.And there are countless answers full of malice and jealousy in his heart waiting to be told before he dies.

However, Yuanyi standing under the moonlight was very calm, as if he ran into him every morning in the Red Castle and asked him about his plans for today.

Yan Sheng could no longer utter those fierce words.

"...Go to the port to find a boat, and then go to the Free City in Slaver's Bay, or the Great Wall in the north." Yan Sheng replied, "Whether you go north or south depends on how you and Yuyashiki stop me."

This statement is half true, he really wants to go to the Free Trade City, but he has no intention of wearing a black robe to guard the Great Wall. The night watchmen on the Great Wall do not marry wives, have children, hold lands, wear crowns, and compete for honor and favor. .The former two are easy for Yan Sheng, but the latter is difficult.

"Junlin City suggested that I ask someone to assassinate you. If you go to the Free City, it will be very dangerous." Yuan Yi sighed, "The same goes for the Great Wall in the North. It's extremely cold there, and the soldiers are precarious. Brother will be very hard."

He choked, "You came to me...that's all?"

Yuanyi shook his head, "No, I invite you to go back."

He stared at Yuanyi's face, those red pupils were still like a pool of stagnant water, only reflecting the faint moonlight, and his brother's ugly and jealous face.But there is no trace of anger.

"Go back?" He raised his voice, "Go back and hang my head on the city gate...or hang my left hand, so as to be symmetrical with Oni Wu Tsuji?"

Hearing Wu Mi's name, Yuan Yi's expression was a little gloomy, but he quickly returned to his low-browed and pleasing expression.

"You are different from him. He is the main criminal. And you were deceived by him."

"...Do you really believe this kind of rhetoric? Or will the people of King's Landing City believe this kind of rhetoric?"

"Oni Wu Tsuji is a notorious fireman, never caring about other people's lives, but you are a noble warrior in the eyes of the common people, and you never kill innocent people indiscriminately."

"Never kill innocent people indiscriminately", "a noble warrior", he thought of the scene where the banquet hall was burned by wildfire, and he was very ironic when he heard these beautiful words from Yuanyi.Yuanyi's pure kindness made him sick.

"Brother, come back with me. I will guarantee your safety." Yuan Yi lowered his head and did not look at him.As if he was Yuanyi's king.

"You might as well let that dragon spew dragon flames at me now, it's better for you and me."

"Brother..."

Yuan Yi was silent, raised his eyes, and looked at him very aggrieved.

"...Yuanyi." He couldn't help sighing, "You are too naive."

"As long as you are with me in King's Landing, we are each other's threats. Any assurances from those old and treacherous lords and ministers are nothing but lies."

"But they propose..."

"I know they seem benevolent and trustworthy, but they're the best at taking one of the nine truths and using the rest to kill you."

Although it was a bit funny, he was indeed talking in the tone that he usually taught Yuanyi, "...after I am gone, you must remember these."

Yuan Yi stared at him deeply, but he didn't dare to look at Yuan Yi again, so he could only turn his head away and stare at the dragon he was thinking about day and night.

"Brother really doesn't want to go back with me?"

"...if you want to bring back a corpse, I'm no match for you," he replied.

Yuan Yi was silent.With the blood of a real dragon, the sun that fell in the world once again felt pity for the mortals.And as long as he makes good use of this mercy, he can leave the territory of the Seven Kingdoms and get another chance to fight.

"Okay, my lord brother, I'll take you to the port." Yuan Yi finally said, "But I have one last request."

"What request?" Yuanyi didn't have to ask him for anything.

"Brother, please ride with me on the moonlight... my dragon, and accompany me for a while."

"……why?"

"My elder brother always secretly told me stories about dragons when I was young. At that time, I thought that if I could see a real dragon one day, I would sit on the dragon's back with my elder brother and enjoy the scenery of the Seven Kingdoms."

"If I'm not mistaken about your plan... this is the last time we meet in this life, brother." Yuan Yi said sadly.

Bailong was not vicious towards Yan Sheng who almost killed his master, on the contrary, he was very affectionate. His big head rubbed against his shoulder lightly, then he bent down obediently and let him climb up the dragon's back.

Maybe he also has a little bit of real dragon blood, Yan Sheng was a little proud for a moment.

However, the moment Yuanyi also climbed onto the dragon's back, this complacency disappeared, and Bailong probably just gave him a bit of a face for the sake of his master.The giant dragon soared into the sky like Yuanyi's half body, and rushed straight into the clouds.Startled by the feeling of weightlessness, he subconsciously grabbed Yuanyi's arm, while his younger brother hugged his waist.

"It doesn't matter, brother, I've already caught it, you won't fall."

Since Yuanyi explained it in this way, it is not easy for him to pursue the overly intimate gesture.

"Brother, look, Yun."

My younger brother pointed at the passing clouds under the dragon like a child. The scene at night was not clear, and the mist shrouded the mountain like a blue veil. It was what he dreamed of when he was young. country land.Beneath him was the dragon that he had longed to see with his own eyes since he was a child.The younger brother leaning docilely by his side is what he firmly believed in when he was young, and he was born to belong to his wife.A difficult dream.

However, Ji Guo Yan Sheng did not have the talent to be immersed in happiness.He still woke up with a start, and suddenly pushed Yuanyi away.

"...You let me go near the port in a while. I won't stay long, and I won't return to the land of the Seven Kingdoms. You can rest assured."

"I'll talk about the matter later." Yuan Yi was somewhat childishly dissatisfied, "Do you want to touch the moonlight, brother?"

He felt that it was a bit of a shame to agree to Yuanyi, but he couldn't bear his curiosity about the dragon, so he nodded, and Yuanyi didn't know what he had told the dragon.Bailong slowed down, turned his head and let him caress the smooth scales.

Yan Sheng stared at the dragon head, its dark red eyes like Yuanyi, and the dark blue mountains leaking out of the clouds behind it, and fell into a peaceful silence.

But it's a little weird.

"Wait, Yuanyi, the direction of the port is in the east, how do you fly west?"

"Yes, my lord brother." Yuan Yi turned around obediently, "...we are flying back to the Red Castle now."

……

"Ji Guoyuan--"

He took a deep breath, and it took a few minutes to control the desire to push his brother directly off the dragon, preventing himself from becoming the only legendary murderer in the history of the Seven Kingdoms to kill two kings within three days. Monarch.

"...The brotherhood you just played, and the desire to ride a dragon with me since childhood...just to lure me back to King's Landing?"

"Brother, I didn't lie to you, I really want to ride a dragon with you once." Yuan Yi looked at him with the innocent eyes of childhood:

"...It was you who taught me just now that you have to tell half-truths and half-false lies."