BUT before checking what was really at the end of these stairs, Luo Yan should take care of Eclipse first.  He took out a high-grade cooling potion from his Items Tab and gently helped the little fox drank it. 

[Does it help?] – he asked.

The little fox barely nodded his head.  [It- it doesn't b-burn that much anymore.]

Luo Yan let out a sigh of relief hearing that.  It's a good thing that he always bought all kinds of high-grade potions.  [If you need more, just tell master, okay?]

[Mashter, Eclipse- the gem on Eclipse's forehead, it's like telling Eclipse to go there.] – Eclipse said, weakly raising one of his paws towards the stairs.

[Master knows.  We will go there.  Eclipse can stay here in your master's arms safely.] – Luo Yan said while hugging the little fox and gently rubbing the other's back.

He felt the little fox's head nodding.  He gazed down and saw that Eclipse closed his eyes, almost as if asleep.  He patted his back gently once again and just let the other rest.

He raised his head and looked ahead.  Based on what Eclipse said about the gem telling him to go to wherever these stairs were leading, it's evident that there was indeed something there.

But before going there, he should probably contact Shen Ji Yun.  So, he touched the earring on his right ear and said, "Connect me to YUN."

According to the item's description, this was the method to contact the other person who had the other pair of the earrings.  It didn't take a few seconds before he could hear Shen Ji Yun's voice.  It was so clear that it almost felt like he was standing right beside him.  No- it's more like he was whispering to his ears.

If Shen Ji Yun was here, he would probably see Luo Yan's ear tips turning red.  Then he would probably be all shy again because of that.  Or maybe his hidden Casanova trait would awaken again and instead do something that would make Luo Yan shy.  In any case, he had already missed such a great opportunity to see such a rare scene.

"Yan Yan," Shen Ji Yun called.  "Is there a problem?"

Luo Yan quickly shook off the shyness he felt earlier and just focused on what was happening right now.  "I'm not yet sure if it's a problem.  The gem on Eclipse's forehead seemed to have broken some kind of illusion.  Now we're standing in front of a long stair that looked to be the entrance to a shrine.  We're planning to go there now.  How about--"

He stopped when he heard some kind of background noise from where Shen Ji Yun was.  Like a sword clashing against a hard object.  The sound was so clear that he was sure of it.       

"Brother Ji Yun, is something happening there?" he asked instead.

Luo Yan heard some kind of 'woosh' sound before he heard the other's response.  "Well, we also have a bit of trouble here."  Another sound of the sword cutting up something.  "Dusk couldn't find anything.  So, being the genius that he is, he decided to just blow up everything.  We've attracted a lot of monsters.  And now, we're being surrounded."

Then Luo Yan heard Dusk shouting, "Hey, you!  Are you badmouthing this king?" 

In which Shen Ji Yun replied with, "I called you a genius, didn't I?"

Despite the situation, Luo Yan almost wanted to laugh.  Because he could already picture the dragon having a confuse expression wondering if Shen Ji Yun was really telling the truth or not. 

But he couldn't say that he was surprised to hear what was happening with the two right now.  With Dusk's personality setting, he would certainly do what Shen Ji Yun had said.  He wasn't worried though.  Since his earring was not giving him a signal that the other owner was in danger, that must mean that Shen Ji Yun could easily handle the monsters attacking them right now.

"The dragon and I will immediately go to where you and Eclipse are after we take care of the monsters here," Shen Ji Yun said to him.

Aside from sending them 'danger signal', the earrings could also act as some sort of GPS signal.  So, its two owners could easily know the location of one another.  Just as Luo Yan said before, it's really quite the convenient item.

"Okay.  Be careful, Brother Ji Yun."

"You as well."

Then, they ended the contact. 

Luo Yan then started climbing the stairs.  He made sure that Eclipse was safely tucked in his arms before sprinting ahead.  Then he felt Eclipse's body started to shiver.  It only got worsened as they got nearer towards the entrance.  Because of that, he had to stop in his tracks. 

[Eclipse, do you need me to feed you the potion that you drank earlier?]

The little fox shook his head.  [M-Mashter… someone- someone is calling Eclipse.  T-they wanted me to go th-there.  P-please, Mashter, take me there.]

Luo Yan easily understood where this 'there' was.  It's most likely what's waiting beyond this torii gate.  He was worried about this 'voice' that Eclipse mentioned.  But if he didn't go there, then this narrative wouldn't progress.  He just had to be ready for any attacks that might come.

[Okay.  We will go there now.]

He once again bundled up Eclipse in his arms and continued running forward.  When he was about to cross the torii gate, he felt a strong invisible force preventing him from going ahead.  He could feel how much it wanted to repel him.  He gritted his teeth, protected the little fox in his arms, and continued forward.

The resistance of this invisible barrier just became stronger until he felt like he would be thrown out.  So, he had no choice but to step back. 

[M-Mashter… it h-hurts…]

Hearing Eclipse's whimper, his heart felt like it was pinched.  He gently rubbed the other's back once again and tried to comfort him.  [It's okay.  Everything is going to be okay.  Master will make sure that it won't hurt anymore.  So, just bear with it for a little while, okay Eclipse?]

He glared at the torii gate as if it was the bane of his existence.  When he was thinking of using his skill – [Shadow Walk], the gem on Eclipse's forehead shone once again.

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