Out, out, out
Yu Lian walked slowly around the dragon's body. She did not find any major wounds. She stopped in front of one of the lidless eyes. She could see almost her entire form as if in a huge mirror. The young Predor Mermaid swallowed. What if I wake him up and he eats me right away? But I can't leave him here either. He helped Yan Da, she surely would be sad if it turned out that I left her big friend behind out of fear. Slowly she blew out her breath, and tapped the dragon's eye with her staff. Immediately the slit of the eye contracted and focused on her. Yu Lian fell back in shock. The dragon raised its head in one swift move and blew smoke from its nostrils. He mustered the Predor Mermaid briefly, then looked around, searching. When he saw an unconscious Yan Da lying on the ground, he immediately straightened up and formed a hollow with his huge claws. He carefully lifted up Yan Da's body and inspected her wounds. "Can you help her?" He asked the Predor Mermaid in his booming voice. The Predor cleared her throat, and answered in the firmest tone she could produce. "Not me, but the world out there can." With that she pointed to the exit portal, which was already getting smaller. The dragon followed her outstretched hand with his gaze, and his already huge eyes grew even rounder and bigger. "Climb on my back!", he roared.
The surface of the entrance portal had rippled like waves in water when Ying Kong Shi's body floated through it, head first, surrounded by a blood-red cloud. A murmur went through the crowd as the first responded and ran towards the motionless body. Calls for help rose when it was clear that the Ice Prince was badly injured. Huang Tuo pushed past the onlookers, Piang Feng and Xing Gui helped him to gain some space. There was no time to lose. The healer immediately began his work. After a while the healer sighed in relief. "Even though Ying Kong Shi is badly injured, he will make it. We need a stretcher and we need to get him to the surface as soon as possible." The council of the Mermaid Tribe began to move. Orders were shouted, blank fear was written on their faces. Whatever had happened on the other side ... if it had battered even the most powerful immortal of all the tribes like that, then how was the Mermaid Saint? Was she still alive at all? Huang Tuo frowned. Stone fragments stuck in the wounds of the Ice Prince, as if a devastating shock wave had hit him. Large bruises spread over his hip and chest, as if he had fallen very badly on hard ground. But luckily, all vital organs seemed unharmed, and there were no major wounds on Ying Kong Shi's head. Huang Tuo looked worriedly at the shimmering surface of the exit portal. Why hadn't Yan Da and the Predor Mermaid come through?
An underwater horn sounded, and a scout quickly approached on some sort of mount. At the last second he slowed the animal's course with a whistle and jumped off. "Bad news! The entrance gate to the realm of transition is impassable. The troop of soldiers whom the council wanted to send through tried everything. But nobody can get in!" The Predor Mermaid's advisor widened his eyes. His gaze fell on Ying Kong Shi's wounded body. "Oh no! The Ice Prince, he was right. What the hell has happened there?" Another councilor, an elderly woman with gray hair, put her hand on his arm. "Now we can do nothing but wait. And hope that Queen Yan Da and our Mermaid Saint will return to us alive."
A murmur suddenly sounded as the shape of the Ice Prince stirred. Piang Feng and Huang Tuo immediately knelt beside him. Ying Kong Shi's eyes fluttered. Slowly the hazy shadows sharpened before his eyes and became the familiar faces of his friends. "Slowly, your Majesty," Piang Feng hurried to say as Ying Kong Shi straightened his upper body with his help and looked around. Confusion emerged on the prince's face as he looked into the many worried faces of the council members. But then the realization hit him like a blow. "Where are Queen Yan Da and the Mermaid Saint?" Xing Gui looked at him uncertainly. "I'm sorry, Ying Kong Shi. They haven't come back yet. Can you tell us what happened on the other side?" Ying Kong Shi stared at her, silent, his fists clenched. His friends knew well enough that this was a bad sign. "Ying Kong Shi, my prince ...?" Huang Tuo grabbed his arms.
Suddenly the light changed. Brightness broke through the twilight of the underwater world and shone on their faces like the rays of the sun. The surface of the exit portal rippled again. A current, like a gentle wind, came up, accompanied by the whispers of thousands of voices. The water around them grew warmer and warmer until it became almost hot. The bystanders had to protect their faces with their arms, so strong became the flow of souls that greeted their freedom. Their transparent bodies flew towards the surface of the water, refracting the light in spectral colours. The mouths of all beings who witnessed this were wide open. The members of the Mermaid Tribes had never hoped to see this day. And yet it happened, at that very moment. The souls of the realm of transition, they were free at last. And there were infinitely many of them. It felt like an eternity before the last pale figure emerged from the portal. It was Shuo Gang. Ying Kong Shi sucked in a sharp breath, and frowned, not knowing how to react. But Shuo Gang smiled. It was an honest smile. "I entrust you with my sister. Take good care of her!" With these words he turned around and followed the other souls to the light.
For a short time the surface of the portal seemed to glow from within. Everyone was looking at the gate expectantly. Then, very slowly, a huge head pushed its way through. Its scales shone black, its eyes were gold discs, and its pupils were slit. When the soldiers of the Mermaid Tribe reached instinctively for their weapons, a deep voice thundered over them. "Take care, immortal children! I bring you the leader of the Mermaid Tribes, Yu Lian the Wise who leaves no one behind, and the immortal phoenix, Queen Yan Da, the Liberator of souls and Destroyer of the Realm of Transition!" The huge, scaled body forced its way through the gate. When the tip of his tail slipped through it, the portal behind the dragon closed for good.