A Daily Life of a Fire Dragon

10.Trouble comes in two

A commotion diverts his attention to the entrance. Several guards come running. There is a young boy fighting to get loose, but to no avail. He is dragged along with no care for his body. Dayin follows behind him. Nobody needs to drag or carry her. She seems to be fine, albeit a bit perplexed. Her bright golden eyes express nothing. Is she in shock? Shi Lang scans her clothes, and nothing seems out of place. The Young master hasn’t done anything to her, yet. Was he interrupted at the right time? Or was there another reason why he took her from the market?

“Grandfather! Tell them to stop!” The Young master protests loudly when he is thrown to his knees in front of them.

“When you start behaving like a responsible adult,” Master Gong shakes his head. “I’m getting tired of cleaning up after you. This time you crossed a line.”

“Dayin!” Shi Lang calls her. A huge stone rolls from his heart when she comes running.

“A-Lang!” She exclaims. “You came.”

“Are you unharmed?” He asks her.

“Yes,” she nods. Then she lifts one of her sleeves to thrust her arm into his face: “Except this bracelet that doesn't want to come off. I don’t like it.”

“It’s not a simple bracelet. It’s designed to trap you. You can’t transform while wearing it,” he growls. “Gong Jun! Undo this, now!”

“Uh, huh,” Master Gong abides right away. He snaps his fingers and a bright glow engulfs the bracelet before it drops from Dayin’s wrist to the floor. The bracelet is a family heirloom. Which means that breaking it by force might harm Dayin. “A-Jin, this time even I can’t protect you. I can only implore Master Shi that he lets you live for old time’s sake.”

“What? Grandfather! You can’t side with a stranger over me!” Gong Jin shouts. The kid really is spoiled to the marrow.

“Gong Jin? Do you understand that it’s just wrong to snatch young girls from the street? Not to mention the restraining cuffs? You can’t just take away some innocent girl’s magic like that,” Shi Lang addresses the boy. He can’t be much more than twenty years old. And he’s very afraid. The stench of fear wafts from him so strongly that Shi Lang can smell it even a good distance away. Afraid of him even before he showed the insolent kid what real power looks like. Now, this should be fun.

“Err? Yes?” Gong Jin mumbles.

“No, you don’t. You can’t answer in such a questioning manner,” Shi Lang scoffs. He gets up, and sits Dayin in his spot. Then he descends the stairs very slowly. His face is cold, his eyes shine red to match the shirt's lapels. His smile is sinister. He is happy that Dayin can’t see it.

The boy scoots back on his knees, but he is flanked by the guards and can’t go far. Shi Lang flicks out his claws and beckons the boy to come to him. An invisible force lifts him from the floor. He flies limply to Shi Lang’s grip. Raising the boy higher to be able to look him straight in the eyes, Shi Lang lets him feel the weight of his full power.

“I’m in no way a stranger in this household. You would know that if you’d be worthy. You picked up my companion, I can’t forgive that,” Shi Lang growls. “Lucky for you, you didn’t harm her in any way, or I would burn you to ashes right here.”

“I…I…” Gong Jin stammers.

“I don’t want to hear it. Go to the library and reflect on it. While you’re there, you can start on your family’s values and doctrines. Transcribe the manual five times,” Shi Lang orders.

“Five times?” Gong Jin gulps audibly.

“No slacking off. I’ll know,” Shi Lang puffs smoke through his nostrils. It’s not an easy feat to do it while in human form, but his anger is boiling over and he needs an outlet.

Watching the boy tremble and trip over his own feet as he tries to get away is satisfying. Shi Lang could do so much worse, but for his old friend’s sake, he let the boy off easy. One look at the petrified guards makes him chuckle. He waves them off before he turns back to Dayin.

“Come, sweetness, you must be tired,” he smiles at her.

“Sleep does sound good,” Dayin coos. She lets the human form go, and a small dark red squirrel hops at his arms. She burrows inside the folds of his robe to get comfortable. It’s her favourite place to sleep. Close to his heart.

“I thought there was something strange about her. I understand the bracelet now. My grandson is very perceptive when it comes to spirits, but he doesn’t understand that not all of them are bad,” Master Gong sighs deeply. “Thank you for letting him live. He’s the only family I have left.”

“What happened?” Shi Lang wonders. He clearly remembers that Gong Jun had four brothers. They were a formidable team the last time he was here.

“My brothers all died before they had any children. I swear my family is cursed. Even my own son died so young. His wife never leaves her room, so I’ve been raising A-Jin.”

“You spoil him too much,” Shi Lang shakes his head.

“I know,” Master Gong nods.

“I expect you to send me a report on him. No cheating!” Shi Lang glares at his old friend.

“Why don’t you stay and help me train him? It’s time for him to grow up,” Master Gong suggested.

“I don’t know. The city is too crowded for my taste,” Shi Lang is grasping for excuses. He did miss his friend, but watching him grow old and die is terrifying.

“Give me three months of your time. If you can’t make him a decent fighter, I’ll give up…” Master Gong sighs. “I guess I will see the ruin of our family before I die.”

“No talking about death while I’m here,” Shi Lang growls. “And I need privacy.”

“The guest house is remote. Surrounded by a bamboo forest. No one will bother you there,” Master Gong smiles.

“That old cottage still stands?” Shi Lang looks over in wonder.

“It’s not a cottage anymore. I had it extended into a proper house,” Master Gong smiles.

The guest house has two spacious bedrooms and a lavishly decked reception room. A desk and a small library shelf behind it round out the reading nook. The recliner looks comfortable enough to spend a few hours reading there. It’s so far remote that even he can’t hear any city bustle. Dayin will be comfortable here. The coal burners give enough heat to warm the place up, but he misses his fireplace.

“I miss the snow,” Dayin says as she stands on the threshold looking out.

“That’s easy,” Shi Lang chuckles. A little magic goes a long way. He makes it snow. The irony doesn’t escape him. A fire dragon creating snow just because a little squirrel asked him to. But, Dayin is happy and that’s all that matters.

“Let’s play outside!” She exclaims. Her childish laugh is music to his ears. He loves her.

“Sure,” Shi Lang nods. He wonders what she’ll come up with next. Following her at his own pace, he gets stunned for a second when a snowball hits his face. “Ah! That’s mean!”

“Got ya,” Dayin laughs. She hits him with another snowball before he realises she means it for real. He joins her in the snow covered courtyard. The game is on. He might even let her win.

Alone time with her is far better than anything a bustling city has to offer. The festival is all but forgotten as he plays with her in the snow. She alone can bring out his inner child. A pang of pain runs through him when he thinks of his old friend. Master Gong doesn’t have many more years to live. Not with all the worry about his only grandson. Staying here was not in his immediate plan, but he couldn’t have turned Master Gong down. Training a young hothead is not a new thing, he’s done it before. It won’t be easy, but he can make it fun. He only promised a period of three months. It’s a short time, but he is confident he can break and remake a young man in less time.