The Dragon Prince's Warrior

The Qing's Wrath

The Forbidden City’s populace was slowly being consumed, but those few who managed to seek refuge had witnessed the magnificence of that prince who was giving his all for his people, after Shun, the crown prince, had been gravely injured. The young prince, who had proven himself strong in battle, had not been brought down, despite many of his own having fallen defeated.

People whispered that Prince Jin seemed to have become an almost indestructible being. Some who arrived at the refuge swore they had seen his strength increase, toppling his opponents with a single strike of his sword. And as more people arrived, the tales of these anecdotes spread.

“Have they found out who the enemies are?” inquired a woman holding her baby.

“Not yet, but it seems to be the troops of one of the neighboring governors, which one exactly is still unknown,” replied one of the merchants.

They all fell silent, refraining from more comments, as a pair of woodcutters entered the refuge, trembling with excitement from what they had just witnessed. A couple of healers approached to assist them.

“I swear to you...” one woodcutter began, “I saw the prince burst into flames. He looked like a living ball of fire.”

“Yes, I saw it too, before he rescued us,” confirmed the woodcutter’s wife. “And not only that, I swear I saw something golden light up on his arm when his shirt got torn. It looked like a golden dragon tattoo.”

“Let’s pray for Prince Jin, that Buddha sends him the strength of the legendary dragon and the Fenghuang, which seems to have hidden again amidst so much bloodshed,” said a priestess, inviting everyone to join in a prayer for the well-being of the princes and all of China.

Merchants, woodcutters, farmers, boys and girls – theoretically, the entire Forbidden City’s population rose to their feet, raising their supplications amidst the dire situation they were facing.

(...)

The royal healers continued to tend to Shun, and he sank into pain and despair. He was also greatly concerned that his brothers were engaged in such harsh and extremely difficult battles. He began to feel utterly useless, as he couldn’t even console his father, let alone magically heal his mother.

The bile rose from within and seemed to seep into his heart. He needed to do something, anything. He wouldn't allow himself to lie in bed like a good-for-nothing. The thirst for justice was consuming him bit by bit, to the extent that he let out a scream, no longer of pain but of desperation, catching the healers off guard.

"Something tells me that old man knows more about everything that's happening. I wish my father had treated him with a bit more flexibility."

Shun snapped out of his musings to make a decision: he would go and talk to the old man once again. Perhaps he could provide some clues, something more to solve everything. Four in the afternoon was approaching, and according to what the old man had said, they only had until the evening of that day to save her.

The reality was that time was running out, and Yun was nowhere to be seen with that blasted feather. Shun didn't want to blame his little brother, but desperation was leading him to anger, even more so towards the old man.

"I need to go outside urgently. Just bring me a chair to move around," Shun ordered the servants.

Even though they knew he wasn't well with his leg, they didn't dare to imitate or contradict him. Everyone was aware that the young man would soon be the next emperor, and his father had given them the order to obey him as if it were the emperor himself. So, they quickly went to get a wheelchair and seated the crown prince in it.

One of the maids grabbed the handles of the wheelchair to begin pushing him outside, but Shun stopped the wheels with his hands.

"I don't need company, I'll go alone," Shun declared, and everyone watched as he left, disappearing down the hallway.

Determined in his purpose, Shun increased the speed by pushing the wheels with his hands to reach the cells area as soon as possible. There was only the old man there; they hadn't had any criminals in the last few years.

With his hair and face drenched in sweat, not to mention the stabbing pain in his leg, Shun had finally arrived at the location, now devoid of guards, as they had all joined the chaotic battle in the Forbidden City's town.

Due to the wheelchair's low height, Shun tapped the door for the old man to come to the window, but no one appeared in the small opening. This raised a slight suspicion, but he kept knocking and knocking, to the point of banging on the door. That last knock revealed something terrifying to the prince.

The door had been forced open by the strength of his touch, and he realized that the cell was completely empty. Shun's heart skipped a beat in desperation. Where the hell had that "wise man" gone? That's what he wanted to know most.

This had filled Shun's chest with anger. The feeling made his blood boil and his face grow warm with the rage he felt. The sun was about to set soon, and the fact that the old man had fled made him think of the worst possible scenario.

Shun's eyes welled up with tears, and he felt the heat spread from head to toe, but most intensely in his eyes, which burned like bright flames. He wouldn't let the old man escape; he would find him and demand an explanation. Something told him he hadn't gone very far, and he started propelling himself back to the palace.

(...)

The young man, whom he didn't even know where he came from, let alone his name, smiled triumphantly. Then he laughed with a hint of morbidity, perhaps from the pleasure he derived from the situation, likely because he had achieved his goal. But everything seemed so strange to Yun. Why would that fisherman want to do this to them? Could it be related to the other man who kidnapped Mei's children?

"Mrs. Mei... Could they have kidnapped her too?" Yun thought for a split second, but his musings were abruptly interrupted.

"Well, well, well," Gao said with a mocking tone. "Looks like the little sleepyhead has finally woken up. And the young lady here as well. Did you both sleep well?"

Yun looked at him with disdain and didn't immediately respond. He would observe every move to analyze what the hell this man wanted from them.

"Gao... Let us out now! We haven't done anything to deserve this treatment!" Siu demanded, struggling to break free from the strong chains that bound her. The man didn't answer and continued standing in front of them, laughing, as if he enjoyed having them locked up and at his mercy.

"Gao?... So, they know each other," Yun thought, very confused. "But... What does he want from us? There are too many things I can't decipher."

"Oh, young Siu..." Gao said with irony.

"Young? I remind you that I'm already a grown woman, and... you're not the same Gao I knew," Siu retorted, breathing heavily. He was getting on her nerves.

"I still remember when we met," Gao chuckled softly. "We were two little ones playing by the river, in the forest, and together we found the way to the Fenghuang monument. Good times," he said, reclining in front of the archer. "But times change, people change."

"Where are you going with this?" Siu inquired, looking into his eyes with anger.

"To the fact that, for being a busybody, you've ended up here in the same condition as this individual," he replied simply. "Oh... but he omitted telling you that he's not a mere traveler or anything of the sort. The man present here has royal blood in his veins and is seeking a cure to save his mom. Am I wrong? Prince Yun Qing."

Siu turned to look at Yun; she could never have imagined meeting someone from the royalty. No wonder he sometimes acted tough as a rock and cold as ice. To her eyes, the royal family was very mysterious; they never visited villages like the one she lived in, and now one of them was right in front of her.

"But... How the hell do you know about me? Who gave you information? Answer!" Yun inquired with disdain as he tried once again to break free from the chains.

"What naiveté to trust people. Didn't you venture out of your royal house much? It's quite obvious," Gao turned his gaze behind him and beckoned with his index finger.

A feminine figure began to emerge from the shadows, and it was very familiar. In a matter of seconds, Mei was standing in front of them, unharmed, with a smile similar to Gao's. They exchanged a victorious smile before beckoning several more individuals who emerged from the trees to surround them. There were at least twenty of them, all with the appearance of humble people, but nothing was as it seemed. Pure malice reflected on their faces.

"Mei..." Yun said, with great surprise and disappointment.

"You should have listened when they taught you not to talk to strangers," Mei warned, laughing and looking complicitly at Gao.

Yun lowered his gaze for a moment. He couldn't believe it; he truly felt like the most incompetent being in the world for offering his help to Mei, that stranger who "needed help." He blamed himself for getting distracted and not continuing his journey alone. Now, everything seemed truly lost.

On her part, Siu indeed recognized almost everyone who was there. They were people from Yumai village and some from the nearby town. She couldn't believe that everyone had turned bad overnight. What was happening?

"Tell us what you want!" demanded an enraged Yun.

"Wait..." Gao replied coldly.

"We don't have to tell them our plans, but since they insist, I'll give them a hint," Mei said, taking out an hourglass.

"Time," Yun thought. "It's what I have the least of to solve the riddle the wise old man gave them."

"It's only a matter of time, and we'll have triumphed," Gao said, winking at them and instructing his whole group to settle wherever they could.

Yun started to look at the sky visible through the trees and realized. The sunset was drawing nearer, unstoppable. The prince furrowed his brow and began to tremble slightly due to the anger building up within him.

"I won't let myself be defeated so easily," Yun thought. "I would give my life if necessary to save my mother."

Siu simply observed as Yun squeezed his eyes shut and the faint tremor moved the chains that bound him, while Gao, Mei, and the others chatted about absurd things, distracted and overconfident.

The girl saw a faint glow coming from the area of Yun's injured arm; it was shaped like a golden dragon, just like what she had seen in her dream but hadn't been able to discern. If only Mei didn't have her quiver of arrows and her bow, Siu would feel more secure.

Suddenly, the black pupils of the prince turned a brilliant reddish color, resembling two balls of fire ignited by anger. Siu swallowed hard and could only think that this group that had captured them would have to face the consequences. She wasn't willing to die in that place either.