The dragon who forgets me
The snow in Qingyuan Village never melted.
It had been falling for three hundred years, ever since the black dragon left.
Qing Li stood at the edge of the frozen lake, her red cloak the only color in a world of white. In her hands, she held a broken jade hairpin — the only thing he had left her.
"Li-er," the village elder whispered behind her. "He won't come back. Dragons don't love mortals. Forget him."
Qing Li didn't turn. Her breath turned to mist.
"I made him a promise," she said softly. "I said I would wait where the plum blossoms fell. Even if it takes a thousand years."
The elder sighed. "He erased your name from his heart to become the Dragon God. He doesn't remember you anymore."
The wind suddenly stopped.
The lake, frozen for three centuries, cracked.
Qing Li's eyes widened. From the sky, black clouds swirled, and a massive shadow fell over the entire village. Scales black as night, eyes like molten gold.
The Dragon God had descended.
He landed on the lake, his true form so beautiful and terrible that everyone fell to their knees. Everyone except Qing Li.
He looked at her — his gaze cold, unfamiliar.
"Who are you, mortal?" His voice shook the mountains. "Why does this place... feel painful?"
Tears finally fell from Qing Li's eyes, freezing on her cheeks.
He really forgot her.
She held up the broken jade hairpin with trembling hands.
"You said..." Her voice broke. "You said if I ever felt cold, you would become my blanket. You said if I was scared, you would become my sword. Li Jue... did you forget everything?"
The Dragon God's golden eyes stared at the hairpin. A sudden, sharp pain shot through his head.
A memory — a small girl in red, laughing, calling him a stupid lizard.
"Ugh —" He clutched his head. The snowstorm grew violent around him.
The elder screamed, "Qing Li! Run! He will kill you! He remembers nothing!"
But Qing Li stepped forward, onto the cracking ice, walking towards the dragon that could kill her with one breath.
"If you have forgotten," she whispered, "then I will make you remember. Even if you kill me."
She placed her hand on his cold snout.
And the entire frozen lake — exploded with light.Then something bizzare took place
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