Yellow Loong#

In robes concealed, a loong lies, Trapped within the currents of life's ties. Soaring high, Golden Lining arise, Fate's trials from which none can hide.

The plan he had was simple: since the old man could foresee destiny, he would surely sidestep misfortune. By staying with him, he believed he could elude all danger.

After his brothers each fled to distant realms, he transformed into a loong pattern on Yuan Shoucheng's robe.

For the next hundred years, he followed the old man across the vast lands, watching him decipher omens and foretell futures. But what good did his words change? Most, in their hubris, fell into the same snares. Whenever this occurred, the old man would seek refuge in drink. By

fortune's grace, he possessed a gourd that brewed its own wine, and thus, he often drowned his sorrows in a self-spun stupor.

In his drunken haze, the old man would often converse with the shadows. At times, he would mutter wistfully, "What use is it to see through the game if you cannot play it? And if you do not enter the game, what is the use at all?"

At other times, he would be spirited and cheerful, exclaiming, "With life and death are predetermined, so why not be bold and give it a try!"

Occasionally, he would speak with a heavy heart, "What's done shapes what's to come. How many can truly defy destiny?"

And sometimes, he would sigh and question, "If you could predict where you would die and deliberately avoid it, could you really escape?"

The loong often wondered if these words were meant for him. But since the old man never exposed or drove him away, he assumed the old man was just rambling in his drunkenness.

As time went on, these words gnawed at his heart, leaving him torn and unable to decide whether to leave.