Feng had a good night of sleep. Even if bangs and moans in the night tried to keep him up. A good dragon could sleep through anything. Nothing could stop Feng from getting his rest. And another thing that couldn’t be stopped, his hunger in the morning. Especially, if he smelled something tasty and he did. His mouth watered enough to drown a small village.

“Feng, breakfast.” A knock on Feng’s door said. He sprang up and rushed to it. Dinner the day before tasted wonderful. He wondered what breakfast would taste like? Feng flung the door open and on the other side of the door, Wenling held a tray—with contents as beautiful as she, and she was beautiful—of eggs, bacon, and rice.

“Thanks for the food, Miss Wenling.” Feng smiled.

“It’s good to see such a bright smile in the morning.” Wenling said.

“Why wouldn’t I smile? Good food’s going into my tummy.”

“If only Liu could be as good as you. That girl is a headache.” Feng couldn’t argue with that.

“She’ll come around. Just feed me and her tasty food and it’ll be okay.” Liu didn’t have unfound concerns. But Feng found it easier to live unstressed. Even if he lied to himself to do it. Him and Liu didn’t know what they were doing; how could they? They never left the safety of their little village. Sure, they played in the rivers and woods but those were close to home, not dangerously far. It terrified him. He didn’t want to die.

“I hope she does. I wouldn’t want my niece to hate me.”

“It’s okay, I like you, and she usually steals what I like. But can I eat now?”

Miss Wenling laughed; it sounded like tinkling water in a calm creek. “Of course, eat up.” Feng rushed to Miss Wenling and grabbed the tray off her hands. He plopped it down on the dining table and rushed into it. He lost himself to the bacon grease and fluffy eggs. So lost that he almost forgot his manners. Feng’s mother would yell at him if she saw him. “Did you eat already, Miss Wenling? I can share.”

“No, but don’t worry about me. I own the place, remember? I can eat whenever I want to.”

“It must be nice to be a big boss lady. You can eat whatever you want, and people will follow you around and ask if you want anything else. I’m so jealous. But can I ask you a question, Miss Wenling? What clan are you from? It must be a pretty one, right?”

“I have dragon blood and rabbit blood.”

“Oh, that’s cool. Do you become a flying bunny?”

“I wish it was something that cute. No, I just become a hairy dragon with floppy ears and buck teeth.”

“A hairy dragon? Can I see it?”

“I can show you a little bit.” Miss Wenling scrunched up her beautiful face and Feng felt Ki come off her. A moment later, her arm transformed. It was hairy, clawed, and Miss Wenling was wrong. The little piece of her transformed body was gorgeous. She had white fur—it shone a bit silver in the morning sunlight—that looked soft and poofy. Her claws looked dangerous—Feng wouldn’t want to get near them—and elegant, like an afternoon cloud. Holding the claws was a cute paw—that surprised Feng, he was used to scaled hands and fingers on a dragon—and it made Feng happy that he could be in the room with such a cute thing. Feng wanted to rub his hands through her soft fur but that would be rude. So, he contented himself with smiling like an idiot at Miss Wenling’s arm. “It’s so pretty. Almost as pretty as Liu’s fur.”

“Really? Well, I’m going to have to see Liu in her tiger form. I love pretty things.” Miss Wenling said.

“You won’t regret it. One time when Liu was in a good mood, she let me lay on her back while she was in her tiger form. It was the softest bed I ever slept on.” That day was good. Liu, Feng, and De stayed out the entire day picking berries. Thinking of De, Feng wished he was here. Reliable De. Liu was reliable too—especially, when it came to picking fights—but De didn’t need to yell or threaten to get his point across. If things went bad, Feng knew De could resolve it. Feng bet he was looking for them now and Feng wished he found them soon.

“I’ll make sure to do that. But I have to go and get breakfast for that fluffy tiger. Once you’re done eating, Feng, meet me in the back courtyard. It’s easy to find, just go back downstairs to the lounge and through the double doors in the back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Feng said. Miss Wenling nodded and left.

A little bit later, Feng stood in a courtyard. A big tree’s branches hovered over it all and added much needed shade. It had pretty pink leaves and red apples growing on it. The courtyard itself was decorated with water that flowed out of a fountain in the center, and bushes filled with flowers that trimmed the edges. Feng took a deep breath and clean air entered his lungs. Only a little of the city’s stink entered; it tasted like a clean summer day next to a barn house.

“I said you’re disgusting!” A loud voice cracked. It was Liu. Feng wondered what ticked her off so bad.

“What’s wrong, Liu?” Feng asked.

“What’s wrong!? You didn’t hear the noises last night?” She must have been talking about the weird moans and bangs.

“I told you to put the ear plugs in, Liu.” Miss Wenling said. Feng kept his ear plugs out himself. He trusted Miss Wenling. But Liu was right, even if she usually wasn’t. What if Miss Wenling did plan on kidnapping them? Slavery seemed scary. Like farming but more miserable. Feng hated farming. Feng fell asleep anyway—he tried not to—in the first few minutes after the weird noises started. Crying all night tended to tire a person out. Feng missed his mother and father and cat. Would he ever get to see his family again?

“Good thing I didn’t. I know who you people really are now, sexual freaks. But I need your training. Just make it quick. The quicker we get out of here the better.” Liu said.

“Good, good, the more arguing there is the less teaching there is.” Miss Wenling said.

“Stop the talking and get started.” Liu said. So rude, just like she always was. And just like always, Feng found it charming and cute.

“Okay, it seems like one of my disciples is getting restless. Are you two ready to begin?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Feng said.

“That’s the attitude, Feng. You’re much better than your sister disciple.”

Liu ignored Miss Wenling’s jab. She looked focused. Her eyes were locked onto Miss Wenling’s.

Miss Wenling ignored Liu’s ignoring and staring. And started her lecture. “First, like I said yesterday, we need to find out which Kis you two are good at. And to do that… Yuan! Bring it out.” Miss Wenling snapped her fingers. Miss Yuan—the pretty lady from yesterday—popped out of the doors from the brothel and carried a blanketed circular object. Feng hoped it was food. He knew better. No way delicious things figured Ki types out, or could it?

“Thank you, Yuan.” Miss Wenling said. Miss Yuan placed the blanketed object in Miss Wenling’s hands. It looked heavy. Miss Wenling carried it like a newborn baby. Maybe, it was food. What else needed to be handled that carefully?

“How is that thing going to help us?’ Liu asked Miss Wenling.

“This thing…” Miss Wenling uncovered the blanketed ball, “… is how we’re going to figure out your Kis.” A crystal ball the size of Miss Wenling’s chest now sat in her arms. Feng smiled when he saw Liu’s scowl reflected in it.

“What do we have to do, Miss Wenling? How do we unlock our awesome powers?” Feng asked.

“You're not going to unlock anything. You're just going to get a better understanding of yourself.”

“Okay.” Feng said. He had no idea what getting a better understanding of himself meant. He already understood himself. He liked flying and good food. And maybe Liu on one of her bad days. She was so much fun then.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Liu, you're up first. Come and place your hand on the crystal ball.”

Liu walked up to Miss Wenling and placed her hand on the giant crystal ball. It glowed for a few seconds and died. Then colors came to life on it, ten colors. The brightest colors were white and red. “Fire and body. Not surprising considering who your father is. Feng, it’s your turn.”

Liu walked back and Feng went up to the crystal ball. He placed his hand on it. It glowed, went dead, and came back to life again. Three bright colors came up for Feng. Light blue, black, and bright white.

“Sky, space, and heaven. Three Kis. Nice, Feng. Let’s start with the actual first lesson now. How to grow your Ki base. Also, don’t let the Kis you’re proficient at stop you from experimenting with other Kis. For example, it’s always good to know a little bit of body Ki. You don’t want to die from a thrown rock while you’re prepping one of your techniques after all. Understand me?

“Yeah, yeah.” Liu said.

“Good. You can grow your Ki in many different ways. But the most efficient way is through fighting or meditation. Fighting and sparring while using your Ki allows you to overexert your Ki core like exercise does a muscle and like a muscle, it’ll tear and grow. With meditation, it’s a little slower, not by much, but it’s noticeable. Meditation allows you to forcibly let in Ki and force it to grow your Ki core. It sounds painful but it isn’t, you two will be fine. I will train you two how to meditate.”

Feng nodded his head.

“What if we want to fight?” Liu asked.

“Who are you going to fight? Just so you know, my ladies hate fighting. They’re lovers not violent psychopaths. And I don’t think Feng wants to fight you.”

Feng shook his head. Fighting Liu? No way. He couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to hurt her and more likely, he didn’t want to be hurt by her.

Liu rushed Miss Wenling. She transformed. Her skin became golden fur with striking black stripes. She had a long tail with a puffy ball at the end. Feng wanted to squeeze it. Her claws were out, and her paws were scaled. Her mother must’ve been a dragon or something for her to have scales. Maybe, a pretty alligator? The tigress also had huge antlers on her head. So, her mother either had to be a dragon or an alligator-deer hybrid.

“Hold on now, dear niece. Let me teach Feng how to meditate first. I’ll fight with you later, since it looks like you won’t take no for an answer with fighting.” Miss Wenling said.

“You can do that after I beat you up.” Liu’s voice in her tiger form still sounded pretty and pleasing. Just a bit more sharp than her already sharp voice. Liu growled and jumped for Miss Wenling’s chest. Miss Wenling stuck her hand out and Liu slammed into it, flew back, and fell over. Miss Wenling stood in the same spot. Liu’s attack didn’t affect her at all.

“I told you to wait, Liu. I’m fine with fighting you. But let me teach Feng the basics first.”

Liu ignored her and got up again. She jumped for Miss Wenling’s throat this time but again, she slammed into Miss Wenling’s hand, went flying, and fell over.

“Fine, you, naughty girl.” Miss Wenling walked to Liu before the tigress could get up for another attack and knocked Liu’s skull like a kind man knocking on a door. Liu crumbled and Miss Wenling walked to Feng.

“Ready to learn?” Miss Wenling said. Feng rushed to Liu and made sure she was okay. Her golden chest rose and went back down. Feng sighed in relief and faced Liu’s attacker.

“She’ll be fine. It’ll help take her edge off.” Miss Wenling said.

“Can we trust you?” Feng asked.

“I thought you did, Feng? Isn’t Liu the paranoid one?”

“I want to trust you. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I can’t. I’m scared, Miss Wenling. Liu said we should be careful who we trust. She says that any moment someone could kill us or kidnap us. Can we trust you? I like you, Miss Wenling. I want to trust you. So please don’t lie.”

“Liu’s right, don’t trust people so easily, Feng. Not everybody has a kind soul like you. You don’t have to trust me, but I swear on my soul that I will do no harm onto you two.” Miss Wenling’s brown eyes stared into Feng’s. They stood like that for a few moments. Feng tried to find any form of insincerity in the woman’s eyes. He found none. She could be lying, but his instincts told him she wasn’t. He could die for it, but he decided to trust in Miss Wenling. He hoped that he wouldn’t regret it.

“Okay.” Feng said.

“Thank you, Feng.” Miss Wenling smiled at him. Her teeth sparkled under the sun and her eyes held true gratitude in them, at least Feng thought so. “Thank you, for giving me a chance. Now, let me prove to you my sincerity by making you strong. Have you ever meditated before, Feng?”

“No, I like to fly, and my father likes to farm. I didn’t have any time to meditate or any need for it.”

“Sit down, let me teach you.” Miss Wenling sat down and crossed her legs. Feng did the same.

“Breath in and breath out.” Feng did. “Extend yourself to the Ki around you. It’s like transforming but instead of feeling for your inner Ki, feel for the outside.” Feng tried and felt nothing.

“It’s not working.” Feng said.

“Keep trying. You like flying, right? Imagine that you’re in the sky, and every breath you breathe in is Ki.” Feng tried, he imagined himself over the Hare plains and taking a deep breath. He felt the cool air enter his lungs and he tasted the fresh scent of grass that came along with it. He imagined Liu and De laughing on his back as he smiled, just happy to be in the sky with his friends. Feng felt something warm fill his chest. A power like the sky ran down his heart and into his fingers. His soul touched the clouds.

“I feel it, Miss Wenling.”

“Keep doing it. Keep doing it until you advance.”

“Advance?” Feng asked.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll know when it happens. For now, just focus on meditating.” Feng did just that.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

De, his father, and Shan rode on the back of red-scaled Hu. They were high in the clouds and De couldn’t see the ground. Birds flew by and De sat back and enjoyed their little chirps. It had been two weeks since they teleported. The search thus far led to zero results. Only worry and a creeping sense of dreaded acceptance. No! De couldn’t accept that. They would find Liu and Feng.

In the last couple of weeks, Shan got angrier, more on edge. His hair was ruffled, and stubble grew on his usually clean-shaven face. His eyes were worse. They looked crazed. It scared De. It scared him so much that he often slept with one eye open now.

“Maybe they’re in the north? We can go look around Chilled River Fort.” De’s father said.

“Chilled river? Is that the city all the way at the top of the Dragon Fire Empire, Father?” When they looked at the map in Qin Ning village, De saw Chilled River Fort at the top.

“No, I think it’s time we visit the capital.” Shan said.

“The capital? We’re wanted men though there, Shan. That’s not a good idea.” De’s father said.

“Wanted men? What did you do?” De asked.

De’s father looked surprised, like he said something he wasn’t supposed to say. “Oh, we stole bread rolls there one time. I heard the guards there have long memories. A father can’t very well be thrown into jail in front of his son now, could he? I won’t let that happened.” De’s father tried to laugh it off. But his father stealing? De couldn’t imagine it.

“But you taught me never to steal.” De said.

“Right. I did, huh? Yes, don’t steal. Actually, we’re wanted men for littering.” De’s father said.

“Littering?” De asked.

“And they are right to do so. Littering is terrible for the earth. As a farmer, I should know. If we returned to the capital, I might just turn myself in.”

“I thought you didn’t want to get thrown into jail in front of me?” De said. Something was fishy. Why was his father so nervous?

Before De’s father could answer, Shan spoke. “If we returned, they’ll string us all up and execute us.” Shan said.

“Execute!?” Who wanted to execute De’s father?

De’s father winced and spoke. “So, why do you want to return to the capital then if you know we’d be killed?”

“Because they have the resources to find my daughter.”

“I agree with Shan. We need everything we can get to find Feng and Liu.” Hu said. His voice in his dragon form rumbled like thunder. It scared off the birds that were flying around them. Which was a shame, De enjoyed looking at the winged creatures. They looked cute. It also surprised De that Hu agreed with one of Shan’s ideas. The two men made sure to avoid one another or speak to one another.

Shan didn’t reply to Hu.

De’s father sighed. “Do you know how to get there, Hu?”

“I see the Forst Fire Mountains in the distance. We can’t be that far from the capital. And you still have that map on you, right, Wei?” Hu said.

“I do. It seems like you two are set on going. I won’t get in the way of it. But how do you plan on getting help from the empire, Shan? I don’t want to bring my son into a death trap.” De’s father said.

“I’ll give them a trade, us, we’ll fight for them again.”

De’s father’s face paled. “No! I’m not doing it, Shan. We left for a reason. I’m not going to go and kill in one of their wars again.”

“War!?” De said, He heard about wars before but that was only in the stories, right?

“Then go home with De. I’m sure Hu can drop you two off. Still, war is closer to us than you think, Wei. Travelers have come to my inn and told their stories. Stories about death. The Flower Fruit Empire’s waging war on Dragon Fire in the east. Sooner or later, that war is going to reach Hilltop Village. Where would you rather want De to be, the strongest fort in the empire or a little village that doesn’t have a single wall?” Empires? De thought there was only one, Dragon Fire. That’s all the map showed at least.

De’s father sat and thought. After a few seconds that felt like hours, he spoke. “Are you sure about this, Shan? Are you absolutely sure Flower Fruit is waging war?”

“As sure as I can be. I was going to take Liu and run before she disappeared.”

“Without telling us?” Hu said.

Shan said nothing. “Answer his question, Shan. I’m curious what you have to say.” De’s father said.

“Why? You know I would. You trying to cause a problem because you’re scared to go to the capital won’t work on me, Wei. You know Hu’s stupid question was stupid. Now answer my question, where would you rather have De be when the war reaches Dragon Fire land?” Shan said.

“I can’t do it. Not again, Shan. I don’t want to kill again. And I can’t afford to die either. De’s barely a man, I still have to be there for him. I want to see the faces of my grandchildren. How long do you think we’ll be in service, Shan? You know as well as I, they won’t let us go so easily this time. I can’t go back, I’m sorry.”

“I understand, Wei. I’ll drop you two off before we head to the capital.” Hu said.

In the direction the conversation headed now, De and his father would be sent back home with neither accomplishing anything. De would not let it end this way. He had friends to find. “Father, I can’t run now. Not with Liu and Feng still missing. I’m not going home before I find them. As a man and as a friend, I have a responsibility towards those two. I won’t cower now. You can go home, father, if you don’t want to see this journey through. But I won’t.” De said.

“De.” De’s father said.

“If we can help Liu and Feng by joining the army, then I’ll do it. If we can help by climbing to the heavens, I’ll do it. I’ll do anything, anything, to get them back home.” De said.

“He’s a lot like you in your younger years, Wei.” Shan said.

“Butt out of their conversation, Shan.” Hu said.

“I’ll do what I please, Hu.”

“You two shut up. I’m trying to talk to my son here.” De’s father said to Hu and Shan. He turned his head to De and looked him in the eye. “If that’s what you have decided, then ok. But you’re staying put in the city. You won’t see a single second of combat.”

“I won’t stay put and do nothing, father.”

“Yes, you will.”

“Father.”

“Quiet, De. That is the end of our conversation.”

When De’s father got like this he was as stubborn… as, well, an ox. No amount of arguing would change his father’s mind. De guessed he didn’t have to join the army, but why were his father and the other two so valuable to the Dragon Fire Empire anyway? Why was Shan so convinced that their mere presence in the army would be enough to convince the Empire to find Feng and Liu? And the crime, the way De’s father and Shan talked about it, it was worse than simply littering. Why were they so important?

“Alright, father. I’ll stay in the city. Maybe I can pick up rumors on Feng and Liu while I’m there. But can I ask you a question? What was the crime you committed?”

“We… uh…” De’s father began.

“Tell him, Wei. It’s not like it matters.” Shan said.

“Shan, quiet. Let them talk on their own. But, Wei, I think Shan is right. We can’t hide it, especially, if the boy is going in the city with us.”

De’s father heard the two’s advice and a look of resignation appeared on his face. “You two are right. It’s no use in hiding it now. Shan, Hu, and I used to be generals in the Dragon Fire army. We deserted. The only reason we weren’t chased after was because we cut a deal. We were to kill the monkey king.”

“Who’s the monkey king?” De asked.

“The king of the Flower Fruit Empire. We’re probably the reason why they’re attacking. They figured out who sent the hit twenty-five years ago.”

“But why would you three be executed? Aren’t you all heroes? You three killed the enemy.”

“No, we failed. That’s why we’re wanted men. Luckily, we had a connection inside the royal court who made it seem like we all died fighting the monkey king. But if we go back, they’ll know we didn’t and we could die.”

“Then how is going back going to help us?” De said.

“Because we’re the only ones strong enough to kill the monkey king. At least that’s how it was twenty-five years ago.” Shan said.

“So, you three are going to redo your old mission in order to get back in the empire’s good graces?” De said.

The three fathers didn’t say a thing. That answered De’s question, they were going to go and kill the monkey king, and this time they believed that they were going to succeed. It looked like De’s future would be an interesting one. He only hoped that it could help his friends.