The Dragon Prince's Warrior

Draconian transformation

Within the walls of the Forbidden City palace, a young prince in a wheelchair had not stopped moving, searching for any signs of the old man who had left no trace of how he could break through a reinforced door. For Shun, it was clear that someone must have helped him, but... who would lend themselves to such an act?

Shun had searched the gardens, but found nothing. He made his way through all the corridors on the ground floor, without finding any indication that someone had passed through there.

Upon reaching the cellars, which were dark as no one was working at that moment, he felt a heavy aura in the place, as if from a paranoid foreboding.

“Could that damn old man be hiding here?” Shun thought in desperation. “When I find him, I swear I’ll change that face of his with punches if necessary.”

He looked for a lantern to light the area, as he wanted to inspect every corner of that large room, but to his bad luck, he found nothing, so he was limited to searching almost blindly.

Shun rarely bothered to explore every room, especially the service ones; it wasn’t really his area, so he knocked over many things in his path. The prince’s frustration grew with each passing second.

Shun’s eyes soon adjusted to the little light that reached the large cellar, allowing him to move with a bit more ease. His arms were starting to tire from not stopping for a moment to rest, but something made him pause.

Right at the back of that spacious room filled with objects, Shun spotted a humanoid figure standing still in the right corner of the place. He rubbed his eyes to try to clarify his vision, and then he realized that the old man was there, right in front of him.

In a way, the prince was terrified that he was there in that dark place, not moving or even turning around despite the noise he had made by knocking things over. But fear didn’t prevent him from clearing his throat and starting to speak.

“Hey, sir, what are you doing here?” he inquired, but received no response.

Shun furrowed his brow and stepped a bit closer. The old man seemed like an inanimate mannequin.

“Can’t you hear me? I asked you a question. Turn toward your prince. It’s very rude and suspicious to escape, not answer me, and not obey orders,” Shun’s anger began to rise from his stomach once again.

A deep, husky laughter echoed throughout the cellar, sending shivers down Shun’s spine. He simply swallowed hard in response. He quickly looked around in all directions and the only thing he could find was a bamboo stick, which he grabbed and clenched with all his might.

Finally, the old man turned with a smile that revealed all his darkened and yellowed teeth, but that was nothing compared to the gleam emanating from his eyes. Could it be that Shun was hallucinating?

“Did you want me to turn around... Your Highness?” he inquired, dragging his words as if he were a snake.

“Y-You owe me a lot of explanations!” Shun replied with a stuttering voice.

“Well, now the answers you’ve been so insistent about will come,” he retorted, the sadistic smile not leaving his face.

The old man’s face began to peel away slowly in front of a astonished Shun, and in that cellar, there was no possibility that anyone would hear what was happening in that place; the prince found himself alone in that situation.

(...)

The Yumai Mountain was so silent that the whispers of the women grew louder with every caress Mei bestowed upon the prince; they were possibly excited by the situation. The men were busy attending to Gao, but more than one would steal glances toward her legs and the provocative pose they were in. A growl escaped from Yun’s throat, and it was far from pleasurable. He began to shift uncomfortably.

“Hey, stay still. Can’t you see we’re having a good time?” Mei inquired, as she ran her slender finger over Yun’s lower lip.

At that very moment, Mei realized that something was amiss. Yun’s gaze spoke volumes, and those reddened eyes no longer seemed like those of an ordinary young man. His expression radiated intense anger.

“Curse it...” Mei muttered with her mouth wide open, then turned to all her henchmen. “All of you, get out of here to some cave and take Gao and...

Mei could no longer continue speaking, as Yun had pushed her with incredible force, sending her flying almost a kilometer away from him. The prince felt his body burning with fire and headed towards those who were carrying Gao first. He let out a scream so loud that it made everyone cover their ears. His aura was also visible, red with golden flashes.

The girls carrying Siu let her go, and some screamed in shock as they realized their ears were bleeding due to that infernal noise that erupted from the throat of the young man with long, black hair. The men carrying Gao experienced the same fate.

Yun wasted no time and headed straight for where Siu was. He untied her and took her into his arms. Some of the women looked horrified and didn't want to confront him. Others attempted to attack, but none of their blows were effective.

Meanwhile, Mei got up and ran desperately once again to Gao, who was starting to catch his breath, and her henchmen came to tell her about the protection they were under from that energy emanating from the prince.

Yun headed towards the Fenghuang monument, although doubt still lingered in his heart. He carefully placed Siu in front of the statue, took off his shoes, knelt on his knees, and bowed solemnly, pressing his forehead to the ground.

As he lifted his head and torso to remain kneeling in front of the monument, Yun gazed at the finely carved statue. After that, he reached into his pocket to see if he could find the riddle that the old man had given him. His hand trembled as he searched and didn't feel the touch of the parchment.

His chest tightened once again as he saw the sky preparing for the arrival of dusk. Perhaps that document had fallen during the chaos of the unnecessary and foolish fight, as he considered it.

"No... no," he whispered in a thread of a voice, and desperation filled Yun's chest after he gave up on finding the riddle.

"Oh, yes, of course," he heard Mei's feminine voice right behind him. "I don't think you can do anything for your mission today. And you know what? I'm tired of seeing you alive. Gao, hurry up and don't be useless, come!"

Yun's anger surged back, and he turned to look at her with contempt. He stood up without lowering his gaze. For the first time, he was feeling the desire to kill, an emotion he had never experienced in his twenty years of life.

"Why don't you just leave already? You're wasting precious time!" Yun exclaimed, and without hesitation, he approached Mei to deliver a kick, which she dodged immediately.

"Do you intend to hit a fragile woman like me? You're heartless, prince," Mei said with an innocent girl's expression and lunged to attack him, but Yun kicked her in the abdomen, leaving her once again sprawled on the ground.

Yun drew his dagger from his belt and headed toward Mei, but the henchmen approached to defend her. Yun knocked them down one by one, rendering them unconscious as they were no longer a threat to him. Then a mighty blow to the face knocked Yun down once more. It was Gao.

"Pick on someone your own size!" Gao rubbed his fist and Mei arrived by his side.

“Since this is your last day alive, let me tell you that it’s not just you who’s in trouble,” Mei chuckled softly.

“Shun, Jin, will they be alright or is it already too late? Mother, hold on a little longer, please. Just a little more, I beg you.”

Your siblings are also in a bind with the war that has erupted in those distant parts of the city, so I doubt they can save An.

“Don’t you dare utter her name, you cursed witch! Remember that she’s the Empress of China, and on top of that, she’s my mother. I’ll save her at all costs,” Yun replied, brandishing the dagger and assuming a combat stance.

“Only if you manage to defeat us, truly,” Yao hissed, his eyes glowing with an intense yellow hue.

Yun was taken aback by the sight, and when he looked at Mei, she was in the same condition. In a split second, the bodies of that sadistic couple began to sprout scales all over their anatomy. Their voices sounded raspier than usual, and their nails transformed into elongated, pointed claws that sent shivers down the prince’s spine.

Soon, their skins peeled away, and from the bloody mass, resembling ash swirling everywhere, grew two enormous beings with a gleaming black color—exactly as Siu had described to him a few hours ago.

“What in the world?,” Yun wondered, feeling his heart in his throat. “Could they be... genuine dragons?” Yun took a couple of steps backward, overcome by terror, and he was determined to protect Siu with all his might.

Just in time, Siu half-opened her eyes and was met with the scene in which Yun stood entirely alone, on the verge of battling those horrifying creatures—similar to the ones she had faced, but their size was multiplied to colossal proportions. Those fearsome beasts were gigantic, and Siu began to tremble, both from pain and absolute fear.

“I must help him,” Siu thought, but her vision blurred, and she couldn’t move, so she gazed at the monument. “Please... let me help him.”