Chapter 396 The Crime He Committed
Filming would last a month, but the show would not air until several months later.
In the meantime, the production team would keep building publicity and online buzz.
Before leaving, however, Zara had something else to take care of.
She wanted to visit the countryside and pay her respects to the old woman who had raised her, the elderly scavenger who had found her all those years ago.
The woman had been buried in the countryside outside a small town near Magior. In Zara's memory, it had always been a beautiful place.
But she had not been back in a long time. Over the past few years, the area had undergone extensive redevelopment, and nearly all the local residents had relocated.
Factories had sprung up nearby as well.
Zara returned once every year, so she had watched the area change little by little.
The old woman's grave stood on a low hill.
Zara had come alone.
Standing before the old woman's grave, Zara told her about everything that had happened in Magior.
No one could hear her, but it had become a habit. She liked sharing her life with the woman who had raised her. If there really was an afterlife, she hoped the old woman could hear her from wherever she was.
When Zara got to Lucian, she fell silent for a moment before sighing.
"I was counting on inheriting his fortune, but now I don't even know whether he's going to die. If I get the chance, I'll bring him here to meet you someday. That sheltered rich boy has never known a day of hardship in his life. Tsk."
As she spoke, the branches of the nearby saplings rustled, as though stirred by the wind.
Something about the sound felt wrong.
Zara's gaze shifted slightly to the side.
A pair of horns seemed to be sticking out from the bushes not far from the grave.
They were silvery white and looked strangely familiar.
Whatever was hiding there seemed to realize Zara had spotted it and immediately turned to run.
Zara reached out.
A startled yelp came from the bushes, and a cauliflower snake suddenly flew into the air.
Straight toward Zara.
She fell silent for a moment. "...Why is it another snake?"
"Let me go! Let me go!" The creature struggled fiercely, clearly unwilling to be caught.
He was obviously the same kind of dragon as Aurelion. He had the same horns, claws, and overall appearance. The only difference was that his entire body was silvery white.
Had they been the same color, Zara might not have been able to tell them apart at all.
What was another dragon doing out here in the middle of nowhere?
Zara was surprised, but she already had a good guess who he was.
"Pyrelion?"
The dragon in her grasp instantly went rigid.
His slender claws stopped struggling, and he raised his eyes to stare at Zara in surprise. "How do you know me?"
Well, that settled it.
Talk about finding exactly what you were looking for when you least expected it.
Aurelion had been searching everywhere for Pyrelion, yet Zara had simply stumbled across him.
Though it had not been quite that simple.
If Pyrelion had not revealed himself in a remote place like this, no one would ever have found him. Zara had only spotted him because he had come out of hiding on his own.
And if she had not returned to visit the old woman's grave, she never would have expected to run into him here.
Zara scoffed. "So it really is you. The Upper Realm has practically turned itself upside down looking for you, and you still haven't gone back?"
At the mention of the Upper Realm, Pyrelion visibly panicked. Apparently, he had mistaken her for one of their people. "Going back would be suicide."
He had committed plenty of crimes alongside Noctilion. Returning now would be the same as delivering himself straight into their hands.
He looked at Zara with growing fear. "Did the Upper Realm send you?"
Considering the crimes he had committed, if the Upper Realm captured him, they would probably skin him alive and tear out his tendons.
"No," Zara replied. "The Upper Realm and I aren't exactly close."
Pyrelion fell silent.
He studied her suspiciously from head to toe. "I don't think I've ever seen you before."
Anyone capable of catching him so easily could not possibly be ordinary, yet Pyrelion had no memory of Zara whatsoever.
"Of course you don't know me. I'm just some random person from Earth," Zara said. "Your younger brother Aurelion is staying with me now. Want to come see him?"
Pyrelion stiffened even further. "Aurelion?"
At the mention of his brother, a complicated mixture of emotions appeared in his tiny eyes.
It was impressive that a dragon could look so conflicted.
That family clearly had its share of melodrama, so perhaps Pyrelion's reaction was not entirely unexpected.
"How did he end up here too?" Pyrelion sighed. "Earth is not a good place."
"Now that's just insulting!" Zara snapped.
Pyrelion fell silent.
"You divine beasts from the Upper Realm come to Earth, lose most of your power, and then decide Earth is a terrible place. If it's so awful, why have you all been trying so hard to invade it?"
She continued, "Your brother Aurelion is with me, and so is Noctilion. We've been looking for you too. I never expected you to be hiding all the way out here in the countryside. You really know how to disappear."
She looked him over. "And just look at you. You're basically a cauliflower snake right now. Aren't you afraid some wild animal will eat you?"
"What animal would dare?" Pyrelion immediately retorted. "I am a proud member of the Dragon Warden clan. How could Earth's ignorant beasts possibly compare to me?"
Great.
Pyrelion was every bit as arrogant as the others.
Just look at him, completely unrepentant.
Zara scoffed. "If you're not afraid, why have you been hiding here this whole time? The moment you show up in a major city, the Upper Realm will find you. Sure, you've committed crimes, but your status is unusual. Maybe they'll show you some mercy."
"I don't think there's any chance of that."
"Even a dragon needs to dream. You never know. It might come true."
Pyrelion stared at her. "I killed Valerius's wife. Didn't you know?"
Zara fell silent.
Holy shit.