Chapter 562 — A Conversation with a Dragon
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 3
Anyone who had lived through the collapse of Gondor, the disaster of the magic tide, death on the battlefield, and rising from the coffin could surely face every strange thing in this world with composure—Meiheng Pernia had to admit that Gao Song's reasoning was sound.
What she did not know was that Gao Yang had been through far more than that—her tally would have to add a plane crash, crossing through time and space, and hanging in space for hundreds of thousands of years before it could account for the whole of Gao Song's life.
In that unimaginably long existence, the appearance of a dragon was for Gao Yang no more than a trivial fleck of color in the blink of an eye.
He was surprised, even a little astonished, but on the whole… it was no great matter.
No more astonishing than someone inventing chemical fertilizer in the distant Typhon Empire.
"To be honest, most humans believe dragons are only legend, but nearly everyone who has delved into history or dabbled in the transcendent knows dragons truly exist—you simply seldom show yourselves in public," Gao Yang said, watching Meiheng Pernia's eyes above her veil. In her ordinary state, one truly could not tell that those eyes belonged to a dragon. "Who would have thought? You are right among us, disguised… so very well."
"Transformation magic itself spread outward from the dragon race," Meiheng said with a light laugh. "We excel at disguising ourselves as any species. Though, frankly, there is one race even better than we are at mimicry and disguise."
"The sea sirens? Oh, I know—Tir will even disguise herself as a clump of seaweed to dodge work. If seaweed could not possibly grow in a shipyard, she might well have pulled it off…"
The two talked as casually as old friends, as though their identities as human and dragon had been forgotten by the wayside. For a time the atmosphere turned strangely harmonious—but in the end, the conversation returned to Meiheng's race and the purpose of the dragons.
Since the agent lady had chosen to speak openly, Gao Song made his questions blunt: "So the Mithril Treasury is actually controlled by the dragons?"
"That is so. In fact… it was we dragons who established the Mithril Treasury," Meiheng said with a candid nod. "But let me stress once more: there is no conspiracy here to be dug up—the dragon race bears no ill will toward any species on the continent…"
"Then what of the land empire destroyed in the War of the Counter-Tide?"
Gao Yang abruptly brought up a historical event that, to Meiheng's ears, could only be called sensitive, and her breathing visibly paused.
"You know a great deal…" The dragon in human form fixed her eyes on Gao Song's. "This goes beyond the records of human history—beyond what humanity knows of this world."
Gao Rong laughed aloud. "You know I have many 'remarkable' people around me; when it comes to those ancient secrets, I may not know less than you."
"That sea siren…" A flicker of understanding crossed Meiheng's eyes, and then she shook her head. "It seems you truly do know a great deal—then we may speak even more openly. But regarding the Counter-Tide Turmoil, I advise you not to ask too much for now; and if you meet another dragon, it would be best not to raise it rashly."
In an instant Gao Yang noticed something: Tir called that ancient war the "War of the Counter-Tide," while Meiheng called it the "Counter-Tide Turmoil." A single word of difference carried a vast amount of information.
And it seemed… that among the dragons this was even something of a taboo?
Curious as he was about that ancient war, which might involve the "Black Pit," Gao Yang did not press the matter; instead he deftly shifted the subject. "Actually, I'm quite curious—why reveal your dragon identity so readily? Your kind are so mysterious before the eyes of the world; surely disguise is a matter of great importance?"