EVEN though he had already expected something along this line, Luo Yan was till very much surprised by what he heard.  He had suspected that this woman was somehow connected to Kagetsuki.  But who would have thought that she would turn out to be her sister? 

He walked beside the female kitsune and also looked at Eclipse.  "It's because this one is Kagetsuki's son," he said, not even beating around the bush.  He turned to the female kitsune.  "She's your sister, correct?"

This time, it was the turn of the female kitsune to be shocked.  Her expression was akin to that of someone who had heard something that she didn't think she would hear even in her wildest imagination.  It was even more pronounced because the gentle expression on her face finally changed.  Like a peaceful lake that had been disturbed.

She turned sharply towards Eclipse and narrowed those light blue eyes at the little fox.  Luo Yan had a guess that she was most likely looking at the blue gem on Eclipse's forehead.  She would definitely recognize it as the same one that was on her sister's forehead – the symbol of being the leader of the demon fox tribe.

After a few seconds, her expression returned back to normal.  But if one looked closely, they would see that her light blue eyes had a new kind of vigor in them.  Like a plant that was dying in drought and was suddenly showered by an invigorating rain. 

She was now looking at Eclipse as if she was gazing at a very important treasure.  The love in those gentle blue eyes was blooming at an unbelievable speed. 

Luo Yan was relieved seeing her reaction.  At least he could be sure that this NPC was not some hidden villain boss that was connected to the massacre of the demon fox tribe a hundred years ago.  It would be really heartbreaking for Eclipse if newfound aunt of his turned out to be an enemy.

He was actually readying for an attack just in case this woman turned out to be one of those bad characters that was coveting the blue gem.  Thank heavens she wasn't.  But now, he had to worry about another thing.  Whether this female kitsune would demand for Eclipse to remain here and be the next leader of the tribe or something.

But before he worried about that, he had to make sure of something first.

"Do you know what's happening right now?" he asked, referring to Eclipse being suddenly surrounded by that blue light and flew over to this statue of Kagetsuki.  "Is it dangerous?  Would it hurt him?"

The female kitsune finally looked at him.  Her expression showed a kind of relief, as if she was glad that he was worrying about Eclipse.  Ah, really, the expression pack of these NPCs was really top notch. 

"No, this situation won't hurt the little one.  It would only be to his advantage."

Luo Yan finally breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard that.  "Then, what exactly is this 'situation'?"

"He's currently inheriting what is rightfully his."

That answer confirmed Luo Yan's guess since earlier.  So, Eclipse was indeed getting his inheritance right now.  He didn't expect that they would get the inheritance right off the bat.  But this was better in a way.  At least they didn't have to go to some treasure hunt or convince the demon fox tribe to give them the inheritance.  He probably should thank that blue gem in a way.  It made this errand a lot easier.

"Can you explain to me this 'inheriting' process?" he asked because he really wanted to know.

"If you already know about my sister, then I assume that you have an idea what the blue gem on the little one's forehead is."

"I only know that it's the symbol of the leader of the demon fox tribe," Luo Yan answered honestly.

"That's one aspect of it.  But more importantly, it contains the power that only the leader of our tribe should have.  An almost infinite amount of Mana and a complete mastery of the element they are most attune with.  That's why the gem was given the name Elementum," the female kitsune explained.  "When a leader of our tribe dies or decided to abdicate from their position, the Elementum then would choose the next owner.  And henceforth, the next leader."

Luo Yan understood one important thing from that.  "You mean, this Elementum is not inherited through blood connection or something?"

Based on what the other said, it seemed that Eclipse didn't have this gem because Kagetsuki chose to give it to him.  But more like the gem itself chose Eclipse.

The female kitsune shook her head.  "The Elementum is the only one who has the right to choose its next owner.  And it seemed that it had chosen this little one here," he said that last part while looking at Eclipse.  "For the Elementum to completely activate, it needed the Mana, no matter how small, of the former owner.  This statue contains the Mana of my sister.  Now that I thought about it, it was probably a good thing that she decided to save a small amount of her Mana before that… incident happened."

The moment she said that, a gloomy atmosphere almost instantly surrounded her. 

Luo Yan was certain that she was talking about that incident a hundred years ago when Kagetsuki, her partner, and other members of the demon fox tribe were killed.  It was supposed to be a happy event – the official union between Kagetsuki and her partner.  But ultimately, it ended in tragedy.

The female kitsune tried her best to shake off the loneliness and sadness she was feeling.  She didn't speak again until she managed to calm down.  "May I know what's the name of the little one?"

"I named him Eclipse," Luo Yan answered.  "It probably doesn't conform to how your tribe usually name your newborns.  I hope the people of your tribe won't dislike it."

"I can assure you, we won't.  You're right that this name wouldn't be heard in our tribe.  But it's beautiful nonetheless. I could see that you didn't just randomly give him this name and gave it a lot of thought."  The female kitsune turned to him, her eyes had a bit more kindness in them.  "Thank you for that.  Sir…?"

"No, I didn't really do that much.  And my name is Noctis.  How about you, may I know your name?"

"Look at my manners, not introducing myself first," she said, appearing a bit disappointed about herself for not immediately introducing herself.  "My name is Shirayuki."

Shirayuki, it oddly rhymes with Kagetsuki.  If his knowledge of Country R's language was correct, 'Shirayuki' meant 'white snow' while 'Kagetsuki' meant 'shadow moon'.  That's a pretty great naming sense.

Shirayuki once again looked at Eclipse.  "Seeing the little one's – no, Eclipse's current body.  He looked like he had only broken out of his shell.  Which was almost impossible considering that we had lost him a hundred years ago.  Can you tell me how you found him and how you became his guardian?"

Before Luo Yan could answer, a huge black dragon suddenly covered the sky.  And then a handsome qilin jumped from its back.

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