The Dragon Prince's Warrior

Escaping the enemy

A shrill sound, reminiscent of an explosion, echoed at the top of Yumai Mountain. Gao, Mei, and their henchmen turned startled immediately. They rushed to where they were sure their hostages had been, but instead, they realized that the makeshift cages they had crafted had been blown into a thousand pieces, and there was no trace of the youths.

"Damn, they escaped," Gao grunted, his breathing too loud.

Mei hit him on the head, infuriated by what had happened.

"i***t! I told you not to take our eyes off them, but you never listen to me," scolded the woman.

Gao furrowed his brow and rubbed where she had hit him.

"There's no time for your damn scolding," Gao turned to the others. "Didn't you hear? They escaped, search for them tirelessly; I don't think they've gone far."

Everyone, men and women alike, nodded with a slight bow and set out around the area to search for the pair of youths, but especially for Prince Yun.

From the treetops, Yun watched, particularly focusing on those two whom he had deemed harmless and from whom such a drastic change hadn't been expected. His eyes stung with heat, and he had to control his breathing to conceal the anger that was consuming him from within.

Siu had done the same. She had leaped to another tall tree but hadn't taken her eyes off Yun; she didn't want to lose sight of him. He was her only hope to get out of this mess.

"Where could those two have gone?" Mei wondered aloud as she pushed aside bushes with her hands, only to be met with the surprise that neither was there.

Mei started to raise her gaze to see if she could spot them among the trees, but to no avail. Meanwhile, sweat was starting to bead on Yun's forehead, and he noticed that the woman he had tried to help was now looking in the direction where Siu was positioned.

Siu brought a hand to her mouth at the mere thought of being discovered at that moment, but Yun gestured to calm her fear. It was clear that they shouldn't move from where they were, or else she would signal the others to their location.

"Please, Yun, think of something monumental that gets you and her out of this mess," she thought with her nerves on edge. "You can't let your mother die; you have to try everything. If only you could reach the monument... something tells me you'll find at least one answer there."

Yun squinted; the monument was so close to him. He looked in all directions and realized that perhaps being separated put Gao, Mei, and the others at a disadvantage. He had to act quickly.

Without a trace of doubt, Yun lunged at Mei from the treetop. Immediately, he grabbed her arms and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Somehow, the time they had spent together had allowed Yun to gain an advantage in understanding anatomy.

Mei attempted to scream and kick; she even tried to bite Yun's hand, but the strength emanating from the prince's core was far greater than hers... or so he initially thought.

That woman, who seemed incredibly fragile, started to breathe heavily; Yun could feel it through his touch. He didn't want to take any risks and began to walk along with Mei toward the monument. His steps turned into strides as soon as he found the way clear. Silently, Siu moved through the tree branches to follow her fighting partner.

"I'm almost there," Yun thought, triumphant.

With each step, the stone monument grew larger in Yun's view. His heart beat with joy as he spotted the statue almost right before him. He was just a few steps away when Yun felt a kick to his abdomen, so strong it knocked the wind out of him and brought him back to the ground.

Mei immediately leaped, performing a mid-air somersault that landed her on her feet in front of him. She had delivered that blow using one of her free feet, which, as it seemed, were highly flexible. The strength in her legs resembled that of a muscular and burly man, something Yun couldn't believe as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Did you think I was a submissive and docile woman, Prince Yun?" Mei laughed heartily. "For your information, I can take care of myself, and if you want to save your mother, you'll have to step over my dead body," she declared, crossing her arms while toying with shuriken weapons between her fingers. "That won't be an easy task."

Yun got to his feet, but one of those shuriken sliced his shoulder. He winced, but just in time, he saw another one flying towards him and managed to dodge it.

"Mei... What do my reasons for being here have to do with you?" Yun questioned while trying to stop the bleeding with his hand, but the blood slipped through his fingers.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, so shut up and fight, or leave... Wait a second... You can't leave, because you're headed straight for the grave," Mei launched more sharp shuriken, and Yun dodged them side by side.

"This game is amusing me," Mei commented while quickly tearing her dress at the skirt and sleeves, revealing the slimness of her figure.

"I'll attack her and wound her enough to make her leave me alone."

Yun growled and charged at her, but she moved a step back and threw shuriken at him again. Yun jumped to avoid them and kept running, but a sharp pain in his leg made him stop and see Mei smiling at someone behind him.

"Looks like someone is surrounded," Gao commented, who had thrown a knife that lodged itself into the back of Yun's leg.

"He won't be able to escape us," Mei affirmed with a mischievous smile.

Just in time, an arrow pierced Gao's chest, leaving him dumbfounded. He saw blood spurt out and then fall to the ground, preceded by a piercing scream from Mei. That arrow seemed to come out of nowhere, possibly from one of the many trees surrounding the mountain.

"Siu," Yun thought, his heart racing at feeling her support even if he couldn't see her. Yun furrowed his brow and assumed a combat stance as he saw more enemies approaching. "I won't run anymore. For my mother, for my father and siblings. For Siu... I'll fight."