Chapter 176
Hiccups POV:
It's been eleven days since we left the lake where we met Lánbǎoshí and in that time not much has happened besides us keeping to the air most of the time but stopping at every lake so Wā dòng and Lánbǎoshí could moisten their bodies. We had come across the occasional village and stopped by to rest and occasionally stock up on our supplies, but we never stuck around for more than a day. The reason for this is we needed to get out of the villages since I could not deal with the villagers who knew who I was since they're nice and all but most of them act like crazed fans, asking me questions, requesting combat lessons and more. There were those who didn't know that much about me and were mostly just curious about my dragons and were calm with both my dragons and I with their questions and behavior. Sadly, they never lasted long since they'd soon find out what I'd done and make requests like everyone else including asking me about my other adventures.
All of this is why I was confused about what's happening presently since I was currently walking into a village, but nobody was coming out to greet us. It was as quiet as an Irish field in the spring morning with not a single soul in sight, which confused me since the village seemed to be in good condition showing it wasn't abandoned. I admit it was getting close to sundown but even then, there should still be people out on the streets returning home or lighting lanterns and since there weren't any, I was worried. We slowly made our way in as I signaled my dragons to keep their guard up because I felt like there was going to be trouble somewhere down the line in this village. I was brought out of my thoughts when my ninja training kicked in and I quickly raised my real hand and caught three stones one by one without turning my head.
I signaled Toothless and Zhàndòujī to fetch the ones on the roof and they took off onto the roof with me watching until I heard three screams of terror followed by my dragons landing in front of me and dropping off three children in front of me. I looked down at them in surprise since it wasn't the greeting I was used to from children who normally ran up asking me about my dragons and adventures while these children were looking up at me in fear except for one who glared up at me. He then much to my surprise yelled out that my flying snakes and I have caused enough pain for their village and that we should get out and to take our hopping corpses with us.
Before I could even ask him what he was talking about three women ran out of the houses and got between me and the boys, dropping down to their knees and begging me to spare their children's lives and not to tell my master of the disrespect. They were babbling so much I eventually got tired of it, so I let out a high-pitched whistle making them stop and stare at me as I asked.
"Please calm down, I'm not going to hurt your boys, but I would like to know what in the world your all talking about." They all looked up at me in confusion. "Me and my dragons aren't here to hurt anyone since this is the first time me and my dragons have ever been in the area and I don't know what master you're all talking about."
They all stared at me in shock but before they could reply what sounded like a simultaneous marching step echoed from behind us and all the blood seemed to rush from the faces of the women and children who huddled up together. I turned around to see what was happening and was shocked to see creatures I had only read about in old tomes coming towards us at a fast pace. Hopping towards us with their hands out and fangs bared, all in the same robes were jiangshi or as some call them, hopping vampires. They are living corpses who have woken up with stiff joints and an appetite for the life essence of the living and if they're hopping around here it means trouble of the mystic kind. I walked in front of the people and said.
"Get inside and stay there!" I turned to my dragons. "Make sure they get there safely." I then walked between them and the jiangshi, turning my prosthetic into its dragon claw form while taking out my shadow sickle and extending the chain with the blade in my real hand and the sickle in my prosthetic hand. "I'll deal with these hopping corpses." They growled and began pushing the people into their huts while I stared down the jiangshi and began spinning the knife end at his side by the chain with a smile. "Time to put these guys back in their graves."
Nobodies POV:
Hiccup threw the knife of his shadow sickle at the nearest Jianghshi that immediately let out an ungodly scream as its brethren stared in shock before Hiccup pulled the blade back to him. Black smoke oozed out of the wound as the jiangshi's body turned into the same black smoke, clothing and all leaving no proof it was ever there other than the smoke that was evaporating. The jiangshi's screamed out in anger for their fallen ally before hopping towards Hiccup ready to kill him and avenge their slain friend.
One jumped at Hiccup from the side, but Hiccup stepped aside dodging the blow while swinging his sickle at the jianshi, cutting its throat open causing the black smoke to come out of the cut, killing it. Hiccup didn't pay much attention to the fallen beast as its body turned to smoke and focused on another that decided it best to try attacking Hiccup from above. Seeing this Hiccup ignited his sickle with its black flames and swung it towards the jiangshi throwing a ball of black flames at it. The black flames consumed the jiangshi turning it to stone that fell to the ground shattering into countless pieces that turned to dust.
Seeing another one of their brethren destroyed three of them hopped at him making Hiccup smile before he ran at them and swinging his sickle by the chain. He swung it towards them and slashed their throats wide open killing all three of them before he pulled his sickle back to his hand. Hiccup turned around stabbing the sickle into the head of a jiangshi that tried to sneak up behind him before throwing the knife into the chest of another coming jiangshi who fell back on impact. Hiccup pulled the blade back while swinging it sideways slashing the neck of one more jiangshi and scratching the face of the one next to it king them screech in pain as their bodies turned to the black smog.
Hiccup pulled the chain back into the handle and put his shadow sickle back into his spider pack while releasing three of his scimitars throwing knives. He immediately threw them at some of the remaining jiangshi and smiled when they each hit their intended targets in the chests, as did the copies made by their lunar mirage ability. The jiangshi's screeched in pain as the knives imbedded themselves into the bodies of the beasts before their bodies turned to that same black smoke that oozed from their wounds. Hiccup saw there were still a few of them left and knew he needed to deal with them fast before any of them got the upper hand on him.
Two tried to jump at him from the sides thinking he wouldn't have time to react, but Hiccup saw them coming and thrust out two of his spiderpacks legs impaling the jiangshi on them and going right through their bodies. Their bodies turned to the same oozing black smog as the others when they died before Hiccup pointed the legs at the remaining jiangshi while releasing the other two legs. He began launching the red crystals from the tips of the spider legs at the jiangshi aiming for their heads and chests going right through them. One by one the jiangshi fell to the ground as their bodies turned to the black smog before hitting the ground and turning into nothing.
Soon enough there were none left giving Hiccup a chance to take a breather and look around at the village for any more hopping corpses for him to deal with. He was brought out of his search however when his dragons ran towards him with Toothless at the lead before, he nuzzled Hiccup in joy. Hiccup just smiled and rubbed the nightfury's head in affection before the other dragons joined making Hiccup chuckle until the sound of footsteps ruined their moment. The dragons parted to reveal a large group of villagers approaching him each looking at him in both amazement but also suspicion and in this crowd were the women and children who he first met. The dragons immediately got in front of Hiccup ready to protect him, but Hiccup signaled them to stand down but keep their guard up as he walked between them and the people. Hiccup walked towards the people before an elderly man wearing brown pants and shirt with a black vest shirt and a cane in his hand who was staring at Hiccup as he asked.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Hiccup Haddock." The elder's eyes widened before he bowed.
"You honor our village with your presence great hero of China." Hiccup smiled uneasily and waved his arms in front of his body.
"Please don't bow, I prefer to be treated as a normal person, but I would like to know why jiangshi are attacking the village." He stood up straight as he frowned.
"It is not a conversation to be had out in the open." I nodded. "Please join me in my home for the explanation on what is going on." Hiccup nodded and allowed himself and his dragons to be led through the village, past the villagers who now looked at them in stunned surprise.
Half an hour later
Hiccups POV:
I was now sitting in the elders' house only now I knew his name was Guozhi and was the head of the village and he just explained what the deal was with the jiangshi. Apparently, a couple of weeks ago they began attacking the villages in the area under the command of a sorcerer who was trying to form an army. He'd come by a week ago telling them that if they surrendered to him at that moment and joined him then he would spare their lives and when they turned him down he began sending his jiangshi to turn the people into his minions. Along with this he also had some sort of dragon chained up and threatened to feed those who tried to oppose him to it should they come for him. They'd only seen the dragon once but none of them wished to anger it after it let out a single fireball at one of the huts destroying it. Because of this the people remained inside their homes with the doors and windows barricaded to protect themselves and so far, there haven't been any victims. I had my eyes closed during the entire explanation processing everything I'd learnt and when I knew he was finished I opened my eyes and asked.
"Where can I find this sorcerer?" Guozhi stared at me in shock.
"Hiccup, you are not planning on going up against him, alone are you?"
"I've faced worse in my life."
"But he has a small army of jiangshi at his command that he can summon at will." I raised my prosthetic arm.
"I have my own private army that I can summon and even if I didn't, I'd still take him on before he spreads his dark power further than he already has."
"But he so powerful and with the jiangshi at his command he could- "I slammed my hands down as I stood up from the table we were sitting down at.
"It doesn't matter what he could do, what matters is what he will do if we don't take him down before he gets too powerful." Guozhi stared at me in shock before he sighed and looked down.
"You are right Hiccup Haddock; this madness must be stopped before the master of it gains too much power." He pointed against the right wall. "Travel north into the forest and you shall come to an old cave where you shall find his lair." I nodded and stood up before walking towards the door. "And Hiccup!" I turned to him. "Be careful in there for if he is able to turn you into one of his minions then the hope of many people shall be extinguished." I smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm not that easy to kill." With that said I left the house and met with my dragons who were guarding the entrance before we took off to deal with this corrupted magic user.
1 hour later
The moon was high in the sky but thanks to the eye of the dragon and Toothless' nocturnal abilities we were able to find the cave where the sorcerer had set up his base half an hour ago. I knew this was the place since there were two jiangshi guarding the cave, but they were easily dealt with since I was able to take them down from Toothless' back in the sky. When I was standing at the entrance to the cave with my dragons behind me, I signaled them to stay back and stand guard incase more jiangshi came. I could tell none of them wanted me to go in alone, but I reminded them of what I was capable of and how I'd summon a small group of my armies if I needed to. This calmed them down enough to allow me to access the cave alone but only after I took out both Pirus and Ventus for any threats. It was a good thing I did since a minute after entering I had a run in with for patrolling jiangshi who were not happy to see me in the cave. They weren't the only ones I'd faced in the cave since the place was crawling with them, a few of which nearly got the drop on me but I dealt with them.
Now I was standing at a large door that I knew would lead to the main chamber where I believed I could find the sorcerer who was responsible for all these living corpses. My grootslang coat was in its vest coat form, my ox flame boots were in their speed mode, my prosthetic was in its dragon claw form, my eagle shield was sheathed but ready on my real arm wrist, my leather chest plate was activated over my regular armor and in my prosthetic hand was Pirus and Ventus in their combined form so all in all I'd say I was ready to face them. I pushed the door open and found myself in a large cavern with jiangshi lining the walls, a giant metal bowl in the middle with a burning fire in it, behind this bowl was a dragon with creamy yellow scales that was chained to the ground.
I couldn't properly study the dragon though since my attention was drawn to the back of the room where a stone throne stood tall with two feathered wings spread out on the back of it. Sitting in this throne was an old man with a thin mustache that reached down his chin, he was wearing a patchwork outfit that made him look like a refugee, his head was shaved but the thing that caught my attention was the staff in his hands. It was bone white with a head at the top that looked like morphed faces all molded and squished together into a ball with gaping mouths and eyes that were black in color but looked as if they were bottomless with no form of light in them. Still despite this I could make out small glowing red pupils in the eyes giving them a haunting look and also gave away that the staff was most likely the cause of the jiangshi. The elderly man chuckled as he looked at me and said.
"So, you're the one I have to thank for my jianshi patrols disappearing in the past few minutes." I just glared at him. "Might I know your name?" I held Pirus and Ventus tightly in my grip.
"My name is Hiccup Haddock." I pointed the Pirus end at him. "And if you're the one responsible for the jiangshi then I'm here to stop you." He chuckled.
"So, you're the famous Hiccup Haddock who saved China from the general and the snake demons." I nodded. "My name is
Chang and although I am grateful to you for bringing an end to those threats it does not mean I will allow you to stand in the way of my plans."
"And what are these plans?"
"To take command over all of China one city at a time using my jiangshi army and use those who oppose me as food for my minions and future minions." I sighed and shook my head while looking down.
"Oh great, another power-hungry lunatic." He frowned.
"Power hungry lunatic." He shook his head. "No!" He then looked at me. "I am a visionary." He stood up. "Right now, the country is being governed by a child and corrupt nobles who can't be bothered with helping all of people who are below their status and are begging for food on the streets." I saw his grip on the staff tighten. "People like me and my family." He looked down growling. "We were starving on the streets while those nobles walked by getting fatter with every passing day while we fed on scraps if we were lucky before people died of starvation." He gestured to himself. "I myself was forced to run after I stole a single loaf of bread out of hunger and called a filthy thief before being run out of the city like a stray dog." He sighed. "For days I wondered until I came upon this very cave." He then lifted his staff. "It was here in this very chamber that I discovered a spell book that allowed me to create my staff which allows me to create the jiangshi and take control of the country from that child and corrupt nobles."
"Chin Wu and many others are doing their best to help people like you who need help to get onto their feet." He looked up at me with a glare.
"Their best is barely any effort at all!" He held out his staff. "With this staff, I shall reshape China into a country where status means nothing, and everyone is treated as an equal so no man will have to watch his family die of starvation on the streets." I looked down in thought before I began to chuckle. "What are you laughing at?" I didn't raise my head as I answered.
"I'm laughing at the fact that you don't even realize what you're doing." I looked up at him. "You sit there claiming you want to help China when all you really want is revenge on the nobles who refuse to help you by taking away their titles." He glared at me. "I'm not denying that there are nobles who deserve a good punch in the face but there are also those who are doing their best to help others like the refugees but you're so blinded by your anger and hatred you can't see the difference between them." He growled at me.
"Don't taunt me Haddock unless you want me to feed you to my own dragon." I turned to the dragon and I realized it had been giving me a look I couldn't understand turned to Chang with a glare of hatred.
"From what I can see, your dragon would rather be taking a bite out of you instead of me." He chuckled.
"The dragon knows that should it act out of line it shall never fly again as I am the only one who knows how to return its wings to it." He gestured to the wings behind the throne as my eyes widened. "Along with my staff the book I discovered has many spells including how to strip a beast of its limbs but leaving it unharmed so it would still be alive for future use." I stared at him with a blank expression as I replied.
"You disgust me." He held up his staff.
"Let's see what you're saying when you join my army as another jiangshi." He then pointed his staff at me. "Seize him my minions."
Nobodies POV:
The jiangshi that lined charged at Hiccup, but he just stood there calmly as he smiled knowing this was too easy before he raised his double-bladed staff above his head as the jiangshi closed in. When they were all within five feet of him, he rapidly spun the staff creating a flaming tornado that pulled all the jiangshi in turning them all into the same black slime like smog as those he killed while Chang watched in shock. When all the jiangshi destroyed Hiccup put his double-bladed staff down in his real hand while releasing two scimitar throwing knives as Chang stood up from his throne ready to fight Hiccup when the flaming tornado died.
Before the flames extinguished Hiccup quickly threw his scimitar throwing knives at Chang who didn't see them coming. Chang was thrown back into the throne by the knives pinning him to it as his staff clattered to the ground from when he dropped it in surprise. He immediately began struggling against the knives as the flames dispersed while Hiccup walking towards him with his double-bladed staff at his side. Hiccup walked up to the staff used to summon the jiangshi before he stabbed his bladed staff into the ground and picked up Chang's staff with his prosthetic hand and examined it as Chang yelled out.
"DON'T TOUCH MY STAFF!" Hiccup looked up at him and glared at him since with the eye of the dragon he could easily see the dark magic oozing out of the staff before turning to Chang.
"This thing is an abomination and I'll do the world by getting rid of it."
I slammed the head of the staff into the ground as hard as he could shattering the head of the staff making a large cloud of black and grey smoke raise into the air and take the form of pained faces before it dissipated into nothing. Hiccup turned to Chang as the elderly man screamed in pain while Hiccup watched in shock, as he seemed to rapidly age before his very eyes until all that was left of the man was a pile of bone dust. Hiccup walked up to the throne and sighed as he shook his head knowing dark magic always came with a price and when the price was paid it was never a pretty thing to see. He looked down at the staff and knew it may be powerless now, but it was risky to leave it here where anyone could find it so he figures it best to take it with him.
He put the staff into his jacket and allowed his spiderpack to do the rest while turning to the throne or to be more precise the wings behind it. Hiccup turned to the yinglong who was now looking at him in fear but also to the wings in longing and Hiccup knew he had to not only free the dragon but find a way to return its wings as a downed dragon is a dead dragon. Knowing this he slowly walked up to the dragon who growled at him when he was five feet away before Hiccup sat down cross-legged and said.
"I'm not going to hurt you like Chang did." It tilted its head. "I'm a friend to dragons and I'd be more than happy to help you here and if possible, try and help you get your wings back on you where they belong." He slowly stood up. "If you can put your trust in me for just a few moments I'll get these chains off you."
The ying-long kept its eyes on Hiccup as he slowly walked up to him before lowering its head, allowing Hiccup to walk up to his head and the metal collar around his neck that was chained to the floor. Hiccup examined the collar and found the lock was built into the collar and began examining it while making a mental note to make something to help him pick locks in the future. He didn't want to use his prosthetic s acid or lava since it could harm the dragon by accident, so he figured it best to freeze the collar off. Hiccup took hold of the lock and channeled a light blue crystal freezing the lock before he tightened his grip on the lock shattering it making the collar falls to the ground. He smiled at the broken collar as he said.
"Now let's get the rest of those shackles off you." One by one the chains fell until the ying-long was able to run around the cavern freely before running up to Hiccup and nuzzling his chest making him chuckle and rub its muzzle. "Your welcome but save the cuddles until after we get your wings back on you." He looked around the cavern. "We better start with finding the spell book that holds the spell Chang used to sever your wings." The ying-long gestured to the throne making Hiccup walk up to it. "What is it you're trying to tell me?" Hiccup examined the throne and hit the seat trying to figure it out, but it was then he realized it sounded strange. "Is this thing hollow?" He lifted the seat and found it to open up like a chest and inside was a black leather-bound book making Hiccup smile. "Found you." He used his prosthetic hand to lift it up before bringing the seat back down and sitting down. "Now let's do some reading." He opened the book and began reading.
15 minutes later
Hiccups POV:
It's been fifteen minutes since I opened the book and the spells and rituals in this book made me sick and beyond horrified. These rituals were horrific with multiple of them involving human sacrifice while the end results of some these spells had on victims were things that make the blood eagle seem like a slap on the wrist in comparison. When I was done with it I knew that I needed to destroy it since if it ever fell into the wrong hands then I shudder what would happen to the people. Fortunately, I didn't have to read too much of it before I found the section on limb separation and learnt that it was normally used on prisoners to ensure they didn't run away. This was a good thing because there was also a way to reverse it using a thin thread dipped in the tears of a di-long and a golden needle heated by the flames of a qui-long before the wound is breathed on by a pan-long. Fortunately, I had all of I needed since besides the dragons who were happy to help and I could get my threads from my arm and the needle was in my spiderpack since I kept one just in case my shirt ripped.
Now my dragons were all ready to hold the ying-long down since it would be painful for what I now knew to be the male ying-long and I had the needle threaded and ready to use. I looked down at the ying-long with a look that questioned if it was ready for the pain that was to come, and it gave me a single nod to signal it was ready. I gave Toothless who was hovering above us, holding the right wings a nod to lower the wing and he let out a croon before lowering it down to the spot onto the scar from where the wing was removed. I held the needle up to Zhàndòujī who used his flames to gently heat it before I got to work on the difficult job of sowing the ying-longs wing back on.
As I stitched the wing back on Zhàndòujī and Wā dòng had to hold both ends of the yinglong down since it kept struggling and roaring out in pain, but I kept focused on what I was doing. Fortunately sowing the wing back on wasn't that difficult nor did it take that long and immediately after I finished Lánbǎoshí got in there and let out her blast that soothes pain bringing the ying-longs roars of pain down to whimpers. I repeated the process with the other wing before I signaled my dragons to get off the ying-long and said.
"Alright, your wings are back on, but you should wait a few days for the wounds to fully heal before you try using them." The ying-long nodded. "Don't worry though, we'll stay with you until you're back in the sky."
He growled and nodded while I took a moment to take him in fully with his full form now returned to normal, so I know what he's meant to look with the creamy yellow scales traveling from the base of the neck down to the tail he also had a grey underbelly that looked rougher than the top scales on his twenty-nine-foot-long body. He had four toed feet with one at the back and each had whitish talons with green scales on the legs going up to a leg eyes were golden with black circle shaped pupils while his body shape was like those of other Chinese dragons so like a serpent. His wings however were covered in feathers and each wing had a set of tiny claws on the joint of the wing, which were pointed as also two sets of brown horns, two on the back of his head and two slightly lower than them but slightly shorter as well, all of them straight in shape and curving upwards at the end. They were all sticking out of its golden mane that traveled down to halfway of its neck as well as how and had the same hairs on the end of its tail. All in all, he was a beautiful dragon with a mane that I knew from experience was soft yet rough at the same time. I walked up to him and gently rubbed his muzzle as I said.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you but don't worry I'll make sure nobody ever hurts you using the magic from that book again."
I walked back to the throne where I left the book and picked it up before throwing it into the burning flames in the bowl destroying it but as it burned, I could hear people screaming in pain. I just watched with a straight face, knowing the horrors that book contained and when it was ash I smiled since it was far better for the world if the horrors in that book were ashes rather than readable text. When I could tell it was completely ash the screaming stopped and I knew it was done so I turned to the dragons and walked up to the ying-long before I began patting its muzzle making it growl in pleasure as I said.
"Toothless and I will need to return to the village we were at earlier in the morning to let them know that the threat has been dealt with." The ying-long growled in defiance but I scratched harder calming it. "It'll be for a few hours and we'll be right back, and I'll leave Zhàndòujī, Wā dòng and Lánbǎoshí here to keep you company." They all growled and nodded in confirmation calming the ying-long making me smile. "You see, I'm not going to leave you to fend for yourself until you're fully healed." He just crooned and leaned into my touch and I knew it was the beginning of a close bond.
Fourteen days later
It's been fourteen days since we met the ying-long and in that time a lot has happened with us starting with the training of the ying-long followed by him being given the name Fēng. Fēng had begun flying again after five days but he always flew with my dragons and I following him at first to in case something went wrong and Fēng needed help and it was during the time in the sky and on the ground that he was showing himself to be loyal to me. He did this by rarely if ever leaving my side and loyally following me wherever I went like a loyal guard dog looking out for its master.
I didn't mind though since he was helpful whenever I visited the nearby town where I was first confronted by the jiangshi, which resulted in me getting a headache whenever I entered. A lot of the people wanted to thank me for saving their town and practically pelted me with their vegetables and meat to thank me for what I'd done. I admit I was grateful for the food since we did need to restock on supplies, but the problem was really the women who'd flirt with me none stop. It was the on the fourth day I opened a portal door and brought both Blanca and Astrid through so I could get some peace in the village and as usual they giggled at my pain.
For the ten days we stayed in the area we lived in the cave where Chang set up his lair with me living in my tent and it was during my time in the cave, I explored a bit. I didn't find much though besides a small spring and a secret room with a few small bags of gold coins which weren't that much but enough for me to take notice of. Besides that, I'd mostly been helping Fēng get the hang of his wings back and planning out the route to the next targeted dragon species the fu-zang long. This dragon was said to guard great treasures far below the earth in underground caverns and form volcanoes whenever they burst from the ground.
As for the treasures they guard it didn't matter if they were man made or made naturally made by nature itself like gold chunks or uncut jewels. The treasure they guarded the most however was a single pearl that is said they are born with and it has been said that the dragon guards the pearl above all else. This leads many the pearls possess mystic powers, but nobody knows if this is true as nobody ever gotten their hands on one. The lens on the fu-zang long didn't help that much when it comes to the pearl since all it said was that they grow with their dragon and the dragon was the only one who could use the pearls true power.
It was then I was brought out of my thoughts when I saw we were making our way over a rockier terrain that I knew was one of the areas where a fu-zang long could be found. I took us in for a landing as I signaled my dragons to be ready for trouble since fu-zang long were known to be aggressive towards anyone who invade their territory. We landed on the rocky ground and kneeled down to examine the rocks so I'd get a better feel for the land since if I wanted to find the dragon I'd need to know what kind of land it likes to nest in. I immediately recognized the rock as hardened lava meaning a volcano erupted here and I could tell it was a few years ago so no worries about stumbling across an active lava vain.
As I examined the rock, I began walking around in thought of to where the dragon could be, but I was brought out of my thoughts by a roar in the distance catching all our attention. I quickly mounted Toothless and we took off in the direction the roar came from since I recognized it as a roar of anger and pain. Finding the source of the roar did not take long and what we found was something that made me flashback to the days when I was attacking the dragon hunter operations.
There was a group of fifteen men surrounding a large red-scaled dragon that looked as if it were made from rubies with the dragon itself looking very weak. Using my eagle eye mixed with the eye of the dragon I got a closer look at what was happening, and I couldn't help but feel déjàvu. There were three arrows in the dragons hide and when I looked at the archers, I saw the arrowheads were colored green and I immediately recognized them as dragonroot arrows. I knew I needed to find out where they got them, but I'd have to do it later since I did not like the look of those men or what they were doing to that dragon.
It looked as if they'd used shackles that were chained to the ground to tie down the dragon while it was weakened and there were two men walking up with a metal muzzle. The thing that caught my attention the most was the man standing on a boulder smiling down at the dragon who glared at him while also looking longingly at the item the man was holding and that was a pearl the size of my head. I knew this dragon was a fu-zang long and what the man was holding was the fu-zang longs pearl, which the fuzalong no doubt wanted back.
When I zoomed in on the man holding the pearl, I saw the front part of his head was shaved while the rest of his hair was pulled back and tied into a tight but thin braid. The most distinguishing thing about this man was the tattoo of a fu-zang long that took up most of his back and that was the thing that showed me who this was. His name was Kun, a wanted bandit who the local guards had been after him and his group for over a year now for theft, destruction of villages and murder. I knew right then and there I needed to take this guy down before they caused any more harm to the fu-zang long since if they were able to gain control of it somehow there'd be no telling how many lives would be lost.
Knowing this I did a quick look over and saw that there were six archers all armed with dragonroot arrows and they were the greatest threat since they'd be able to take my dragons out of the sky. Before I did anything, I needed to deal with disarming them and then dealing with the archers fast so they wouldn't be able to do anything. It was then I remembered some of the mystic arrows I had at my disposal and knew how to disarm not only them but also all the other armed men. When the men are disarmed from a distance I'd glide down on my own wings and handle the remaining men up close and personal with my dragons covering me from above.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I realized how close the men with the muzzle were getting and immediately got ready to take them down. I released my spirit bow while taking out a banshee arrow before loading it up and took aim right at the ground in front of the archers and let the arrow fly. It flew fast towards them and when it hit the ground the banshee like wail echoed through the area making everyone jump in shock and drop their weapons to cover their ears due to the shrieking.
This in turn left all fifteen men including Kun who had dropped the pearl to cover his ears, making me smile before I folded up my bow and leaped off Toothless and dived towards them. When the shrieking of the arrow stopped, I released my wings to slow my decent as the men looked around wondering what that sound was. I steered myself towards the archers who were looking around in confusion until my shadow landed on them making them look up at me as I smiled knowing the battle was about to begin.
Nobodies POV:
The men stared up at Hiccup in shock until he flapped his wings launching his bladed feathers at them making them run back leaving their bows and arrows behind as Hiccup steered towards one of them. He pulled his wings in and turned his fall into a flying kick that slammed right into the man's stomach throwing him back into another one of the men and slamming them both into a boulder. When they both landed on the ground all the men just stared at Hiccup in shock as he smiled before Kun yelled out.
"GET HIM!"
This was all that was needed for the twelve men to be brought out of their shock and charge at Hiccup who just smiled and got into his battle stance with his fingers in dragon claw form. One of the men charged at him from the side but Hiccup just stepped back and grabbed his arm before swinging him around and throwing the man into another charging man sending them both tumbling down. Another man tried tackle Hiccup from behind but he jumped up in a back flip avoiding the tackle and landing behind him and before the man had the chance to turn around Hiccup delivered a strong hard chop to the back of his neck knocking him out.
Hiccup then dropped to the ground sweeping his leg beneath another charging man who went flying onto the ground and hitting his head. Another man charged at Hiccup from the side and tried to hit him, but Hiccup held up his real arm and stopped the punch mid swing and twisted his arm making the man scream in pain. It was then another man came at him from the other side and tried to hit Hiccup, but he also caught the punch mid-swing before Hiccup slammed the two men into each other knocking them out.
It was then another man charged at Hiccup from behind while another charged at him from the front hoping Hiccup wouldn't be able to handle them from both ends. Hiccup on the other hand just smiled and jumped at the one who was coming at him from the front and grabbed him by his arm before throwing the crook over his arm and into the man who was attacking from behind. Hiccup turned to the remaining five men with Kun who was still standing on the boulder with the pearl back in his arms while his four remaining men stood in front of him. The men charged at him but before they could make reach him a plasma blast was shot in front of them throwing them back and taking them out of the fight. Kun looked up at the circling dragons in shock before they all dived down and surrounded both him and Hiccup but Kun's shock quickly faded and turned to Hiccup as he said.
"So, the dragon riding hero of China has returned." Hiccup nodded.
"I came back to study the dragons of China and imagine my surprise when I find a fu-zang long its being held captive using the same methods as some old enemies of mine."
"I take it you're the one who brought an end to the dragon hunters in the archipelago." Hiccup raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"You know about them?"
"We did business with a man who bought the arrows from a former associate of the dragon hunters who would not stop complaining about how hard business was for him in the archipelago after the hunters were destroyed and dragon hunting became less frequent."
"I'll have to track them down when my business here in China is done but while we're on the subject of dragon hunting, what's with you and your men going after this poor fu-zang long?" Kun just smiled.
"The answer to that simple and that is a great deal of money." He held out the pearl. "This single pearl is worth enough money to buy my own palace alone." He then pulled the pearl back to him and used his other hand to point at the fu-zang long. "A single one of that dragons' scales could be sold for double the market price of a large bag of rubies." He then used his hand to gesture a large hole in the ground. "Along with that these dragons guard great treasures and if me and my men follow its tunnels to the nest, we shall have no problems taking it all for ourselves." He lowered his arm. "With the money I make I'll be able to retire to my own private palace on my own land and live the rest of my life in luxury."
"So, you plan on stealing the fu-zang long's treasures and then skinning it for its scales to sell them all for your own gain."
"Correct but I do not intend to kill the fu-zang long as it's far more valuable to me alive so when my palace is set up I'll have it locked up beneath my home so I can continue to harvest its scales to sell." He then held up the pearl once more. "And I don't intend to sell the pearl as it'll make a nice souvenir and to remind the beast of what its lost." Hiccup glared at him.
"You are a sick man." He shook his head.
"No, I am a man who is willing to do what it takes to get the life he deserves."
"Funny, I've heard similar things from bandits and mad men I've dealt with in the past." Hiccup then rolled his shoulders and neck. "So, do you want to give up now or would you prefer go a few rounds before being handed over to the guards of the nearest city." He put the pearl in a leather bag and pulled the string on the top closing it before placing it down next to him and jumping down from the boulder before walking towards Hiccup while cracking his knuckles.
"I'd like to see how well you do without your weapons and gear since from what I can understand without them, you're nothing." Hiccup growled at this.
"Even without my gear, I'm still powerful enough to take you down." Hiccup punctuated this by dropping his grootslang coat to the ground followed by his spiderpack and then his leather chest plate as he removed his shoes while Kun smiled and got into a battle stance.
"You'll find I'm not as easy to defeat as my men Hiccup, but I assure you that when I've defeated you I'll make sure to deal with your dragons since I still have a few of those special arrows." Hiccup smirked as he got into his own fighting stance.
"Too bad since I'll never give you the chance to use them." With that said they charged at each other and their fight began. (AN: I'm not showing the fight scene since it would take too long and now that I'm back at work I don't have the time so imagine it for yourselves.)
Half an hour later
Hiccup was kneeling over with his hands on his knees to support him as a small trickle of blood went down from his mouth to his chin from a small cut on his lip. The rest of his body didn't look any better since it had a few bruises from the blows he'd gotten in his fight against Kun who proved to be a very skilled warrior who was worthy of his reputation. Still despite this he was in far worse condition than Hiccup with his entire body littered in bruises and one of his eyes swollen due to a hard strike to his face from Hiccup. It was that final blow to the face that ended due to it knocking Kun out which is why the bandit leader was laying on the ground on his stomach unconscious. Hiccup took a breath and bowed to Kun's unconscious form before turning to his belongings and began to approach them but nearly fell over due to exhaustion and pain in his leg from an earlier blow only to be saved by Toothles who caught him. Hiccup smiled at him and said.
"Thanks bud." He slowly stood back up. "I guess that blow to my leg did a bit more damage then I thought." Toothless crooned as he helped Hiccup over to his belongings but before he could put his stuff back on Lánbǎoshí walked up and looked at him in concern. "I'm fine girl, just a little beat up and my leg aches a bit." She crooned as she breathed a mist onto Hiccups leg soothing the pain and making Hiccup let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks girl." He then got all his stuff back on before turning back to the bandits. "We'll need to send word to the nearest city and summon the guards to come to collect Kun and the rest of the bandits." He then turned his attention to the Fu-zang long. "And we'll also have to tend to our injured friend." Hiccup took out some parchment, a coal pencil and a small length of rope. "I'll write a quick message to be delivered to the guards in the city." He then smiled. "Good thing I already met them, and they now know me and my dragons." Hiccup then quickly wrote out the letter before slowly walked over to Zhàndòujī and tied the letter to his horn while saying. "Return to the city we rested in a few miles back and deliver this letter to the guards and be sure to bring them back here, okay Zhàndòujī?" He growled and nodded making Hiccup smile as Zhàndòujī took off before he turned around to face downed bandits and shackled dragon and turned to his own dragons. "You guys look over the wounds on the Fu-zang long and Lánbǎoshí use your mist breath to help soothe its pain until I can get a proper look at its wounds and tend to them and the rest of you get those shackle off." They all growled and got to work.
Ten minutes later
Hiccups POV:
All the bandits were tied together using the thread from my spider pack and as for the fu-zang long, although we'd broken the chains of the shackles, he hadn't moved much other than to growl at me when I got too close. I couldn't blame him though since those arrows did have the effect of weakening the dragon, but I couldn't get near him to tend to his wounds properly or remove the shackles. I originally intended to use my calming flute to calm it enough to relax him, but it was then I realized another way that might help calm him down and show him that I was a friend. I turned to the boulder where Kun once stood and saw the leather bag that held the fu-zang longs pearl and knowing how precious it was to the dragon.
Since the fu-zang long treasured the pearl above all else I figure if I return it to the dragon then it might see that I'm a friend and not out to steal from it so I might be able to get close enough to tend to it properly. I went and grabbed the leather bag which I'm guessing is something the fu-zang long noticed since it growled at me and tried to stand up but fell back down in pain. This was not something I wanted to see so I took the pearl out of the leather bag showing it to the fu-zang long before it turned its attention from me to the pearl and stared at it in longing. I smiled at the fu-zang long as I slowly walked towards it smiling calmly as I held out the pearl towards the dragon as I said.
"Calm down, I don't want to hurt you or steal your pearl from you."
The dragon didn't let its guard down but calmed down slightly allowing me close enough to place the pearl within reach which is when it growled and I smiled as I put the pearl down on the ground and stepped back. The fu-zang long stared at me in shock but the shock was quick to be overshadowed by desire and grabbed the pearl before holding it close to its body making me smile. My smile was quickly overshadowed by a look of shock as the pearl glowed before the wounds on the fu-zang long glowed as well as they healed up making not only my eyes but those of my dragons widened as well. When the wounds were fully healed the fu-zang long stood back up allowing me a full view of the dragons thirty-five-foot-long body before it bowed to me in thanks making me smile and ask.
"See now, I'm not going to hurt you so could you let me get those shackles off you?"
He nodded and lowered his body, allowing me to get close before I got to work on removing the shackles, one by one until the last one fell to the ground allowing the fu-zang long to stretch out its serpent like body properly. I smiled as I began giving the dragons body a proper look at and I was impressed with what I saw since his scales looked to be made of rubies. It was no surprise they are considered great treasures since they were red and bright as rubies except for the spiky fire orange scales traveling down its spine. It also had bright orange scales at the back of his elbows and back feet with these scales being shaped like flames. His talons were black as night with his feet being shaped like the other dragons but unlike the others he didn't have a furry main but there was fire orange fur on the end of his tail as well as whiskers on the end of his nose forming a thin mustache. His eyes were a pinkish red with black slit like pupils that looked as if they had a burning blaze within them. His horns were shaped like flames sticking out from his head with them having a spiral wrapping kind of shape forming them.
I was brought out of my examination when the fu-zang long leaned into my chest crooning happily as he begun nuzzling me making me chuckle and rub his head. I knew now would be the best time to see if I could bond with him and see if I could convince him to join me on my journey before returning with us to my island. I pulled away making him look at me as I lowered my head and held out the palm of my hand. I could feel him smell my hand before I felt his muzzle press into my hand making me smile as I felt a bond form between us. I turned my head to face him as he pulled away and stared at me as I said.
"I'm exploring the land looking for all the species of dragon native to this land and I was hoping you'll join me on this journey and return to my island with me and my other dragons." He stared at me. "I won't force you to come with me nor will I be upset if you refuse but if you do come with us I promise that I won't let anyone steal your pearl and treasure if you have any and I can assure you I'll do my best to make sure nobody hurts you again." He stared at me for a few moments before he nodded making me smile. "Welcome to the flock Táojīn zhě." He growled in approval of the new name. "It could be a while before the guards arrive and we'll be spending a few more days here so feel free to visit your nest to say goodbye." He turned to the sky for a few moments before he turned to me and lowered his head and let out a growl as if asking me to get on making me smile and mount him but turned to my other dragons. "Guard the bandits while we're away gang and if Zhàndòujī returns with the guards before we get back let him know we'll be back soon." They growled and nodded. "Thanks guys." I then turned to Táojīn zhě. "Let's go Táojīn zhě." With that said we took off.
10 minutes later
It's been ten minutes since we took off and five minutes since we flew into a large tunnel which I'm guessing Táojīn zhě a while back since his species were known to live underground so it only makes sense that they'd be able to burrow. The deeper we went though, the hotter it got as well and although I was immune to the heat I could still feel when the temperature increased. As we got deeper, I could see small lava flows flowing around the walls which explained the increase in heat as we got deeper.
It was then we entered a large chamber with a large river of lava surrounding a large stone platform that was covered in gold, jewels and other treasures. This was where we landed and as I looked around at the various things, I saw that although most of it was man made there were some things that were unaltered like chunks of gold and uncut diamond sapphires, emeralds and rubies. Looking around I knew this stuff would fetch a high price in any market place but the problem was I wasn't sure how to transport it all since I admit my spiderpack might be able to hold it all since still hadn't found its limit but there'd be problems with this. For starters there were some large chunks of gold and large statues of that I knew wouldn't fit into the mouth and along with this it would take a while to collect it all and just as long to unload it all.
I was brought out of my thoughts when Táojīn zhě raised his body up and held out his pearl making me raise an eyebrow until he let out a growl and let out a small lightning like blast at the pearl. I was surprised when the pearl didn't take any damage but instead began glowing brightly which is when I remembered that the pearl was magical. Still though I was shocked when it began floating away from Táojīn zhě and then let out a bright flash that blinded me. When I opened my eyes again, I watched as the pearl lowered itself back into Táojīn zhě's waiting claws which is when I noticed all the treasures were gone. I turned to Táojīn zhě to ask him what happened, but I saw him staring down at the pearl and knew that he somehow moved all the treasures into the pearl. I smiled at this and had to say that it made things easier for us since it means I wouldn't have any trouble moving all that gold. Táojīn zhě then lowered his body back down, inviting me to mount him once more as I said.
"When we get back to the island, I know a perfect place to store all your treasures except your pearl that I doubt you will ever let go of it again."
He growled and nodded before we took off down the tunnel and out of the cavern so we could get back to all the other dragons. As we flew through the tunnels I wondered if Zhàndòujī had gotten back with the city guards to collect the bandits yet. I was hoping to help escort them back and see what punishment awaited the bandits for all their crimes against the people of China. Fortunately for me getting out of the tunnels and back to the others didn't take that long and we arrived just in time to meet with Zhàndòujī who brought the guards who were on horseback and bringing three horse drawn prison wagons. We landed down in front of the bandits before a man wearing a different armor to the others dismounted his horse and walked up to me before standing to attention and saying.
"I am captain Jing of the city guard and leader of this squad." He then reached onto his belt and pulled out a rolled-up parchment. "We received your message requesting the collection of a group of bandits you captured and have come to aid you in bringing them back to the city to face justice for their crimes." I nodded.
"Good, I was worried you wouldn't arrive till nightfall though."
"Fortunately, our wagons were already prepared as we'd just dropped off some men who were causing trouble and my squad was on patrol when your dragon arrived with the message." I nodded. "Now could you please hand the bandits over to us."
"With pleasure."
I lead him over to the bandits and soon after we were loading them all up into the wagons before captain Jing asked that I join them on their return to the city just to be safe which is something I agreed to do. The reason is Kun was a dangerous man and is not someone who should be taken lightly with his skills since if he got free then there'd be trouble for the guards. Sadly, I had a feeling in my gut that there was going to be trouble back in the city but all I could do was hope it had nothing to do with the bandits. Just to be on the safe side however I signaled my dragons to be on guard before we began the journey back to the city and picked up the muzzle along the way as a souvenir from this fight.
11 days later
It's been eleven days since we saved Táojīn zhě from the bandits lead by Kun and in that time not much has happened other than me getting a headache after dropping the bandits off in the dungeon. The headache came from the arguing I had to do with the lead guards who paid me the reward for Kun and his group despite me telling them I didn't need it, but it was what came after that caused the headache. The man who ran the city tried to buy my dragons from me claiming they'd be useful to the guards when it came to patrolling the city and when I turned him down he tried to hire me to collect and train dragons for him. The three days there were spent restocking our supplies and dealing with the local guards asking me to reconsider and train dragons for them. Because of all this I was reminded of why I skipped visiting the city when I first entered the area with my dragons, looking for a fu-zang long.
Besides that, it was calm with us continuing our journey to the Luo River where the huanglong or yellow dragon could be found. It has been said that long ago one of these dragons emerged from the Luo River and presented the legendary Emperor Fu Hsi with the elements of writing. I'm not sure if it's true but I knew that they are known for their being one of the more intelligent species of dragons who knew how to outwit their prey or opponents. I just hoped we'd be able to find one of huanglong since they are known to prefer to live in solitude and on their own rather than with other dragons.
I was brought out of my thoughts when Fēng flew up next to me and let out a roar gaining my attention making me turn to him to see what he wanted. He gestured downward with his head making me turn down to see a large river beneath us and I knew right then and there we'd arrived at the Luo River. I smiled and kept my eyes open for the nearby mountain range since it's said they nest in the waters near that area, so I'd be able to find one there. With these thoughts in mind we took off to the area where we'd begin looking.
3 days later
It's been three days since we entered the area and began our search for the huanglong but so far, our search from above has brought us nothing but a nice view of the river. Our search below the river's waters didn't get us any progress in finding the dragon but it did allow us to do a bit of fishing and collect food for later. Now we were trying to a search closer to the ground figuring that we might be able to find one hiding in a cave somewhere. While exploring the mountainsides by flying slow and low with each of us keeping an eye out for anything which lead to the discovery of a large cave that we began to explore.
This leads us to now with me and my dragons exploring the large tunnel we found in the cave with my prosthetic hand, held high and ignited using a red crystal to give us light. I looked around at the cave walls looking for any form of disturbance to reveal that there was some sort of creature living in this cave. So far, we'd come up with nothing, but I had the feeling there was something in this cave that made it special and since I had nothing to lose, I continued down the tunnel. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by Lánbǎoshí growling and nudging my side making me turn to her and found her gesturing ahead with her head.
I turned to see what she was gesturing at and found myself looking at a large stone frame carved into the wall with a disc shaped door in the middle of it. I walked up to the door and after examining it I knew it was not opening which is something my dragons noticed and looked ready to prepare their blasts until I held up my hand stopping them. I began a further inspection of the door and had to say it was incredibly strong making me wonder what was behind this wall that people would work so hard to protect.
A hidden treasury with ancient artifacts, an old hidden library with ancient tomes, a bunker for emergencies or another such thing as one of these. It was these thoughts that went through my mind as I continued my examination of the door. I sighed knowing the only way I was going to find out was to go through the door but then I looked down at my prosthetic and smiled since it meant I could enter without causing any damage to the carving. I turned to my dragons and said.
"Wait for me out here and whatever you do, don't do any damage to the wall."
They each gave a hesitant nod making me smile before using my prosthetic to make my body intangible and simply walked through the wall. I smiled when I was completely through and looked around before my smile turned into a frown since this place was none of things, I thought it would be. This was not some hidden treasure vault or bunker, no this here was a tomb and I knew this because right in the center of the room was a stone casket. The cavern was circle in shape with a large circular pit in the middle of it while a circular ledge circled the hole and standing up against the walls of the circle shaped cave were terracotta warriors, all holding spears, four large torch bowls forming a square against the walls on the same level as the casket but the thing that freaked me out the most was the feeling I was being watched.
I let out a sigh and figured that while I was here, I should at least see if I could find out whose tomb this was so I could pay my respects to them as an apology for entering their tomb uninvited. I looked down at the casket and from my place on the upper balcony and knew that the name might be on it in the form of an engraving. I spread my wings and glided down to one of the torches and lit it before moving onto the others and then I examined the lid of the casket and found the words 'Here lies Emperor Fu Hsi, a great leader and a great man who has earned eternal peace in the afterlife'. I sighed remembering all I'd read about Fu Hsi aside from how he met a Huanglong and knew he was a great leader who truly cared about his people and knew when it was time for him to leave this world it brought great sadness. Despite this the people honored his final wish and gave him a tomb in the same area where he first met a huanglong and for it to be sealed up so he could rest in peace.
It was then I felt a hot breath hit the back of my neck and immediately turned around to see a pair of greenish blues eyes glaring at me. I stared up in shock seeing a huanglong dragon resting here in the tomb of a great emperor. Despite me not knowing what it was doing here I knew one thing and that is it was not happy to see me in the tomb and it wanted me out. I held up my hands to show I wasn't armed before I bowed to it as a sign of respect but despite this the huanglongs glare never left my form. I met its glare with a calm look in my eyes as I said.
"I'm not here to cause any trouble, I was just checking out what was hidden behind the stone door." The dragon just growled until a voice behind me said.
"He is not lying Luo." I jumped and turned around in my battle stance to see an elderly man who was as pail as the moon with a long grey beard dressed in the funeral attire that was put on the person who was laid to rest and he was smiling at me. "It's nice to finally meet you Hiccup Haddock." I raised my eyebrow in confusion.
"You know who I am?" He chuckled.
"Just because I my earth-bound body may rest in this tomb it does not mean I am unable to watch over my country and subjects." Hearing this I realized who I was talking to and dropped to my knees before I lowered my torso in a bow.
"My apologies for invading your tomb emperor Fu Hsi for if I knew it was a tomb I would never have entered and disturbed your rest." He chuckled which shocked me.
"There is nothing to apologize for Hiccup as I was hoping you'd come so I might speak with you." I looked up at him.
"You wished to speak with me?" He nodded.
"I have been watching you on your adventures in these lands and I wanted to thank you for all you've done for my people from defeating both the general and snake demon to your most recent aid in capturing the bandits who caused so much pain."
"I was just doing what I had to in order to help the people of this land."
"And you did it all expecting nothing in return." He nodded. "This is proof of what a great man you are." I smiled.
"Thank you, your majesty."
"It is because of this I have a request for you." He gestured to the huanglong. "I ask that you take Luo with you on your journey." My eyes widened but before I could say anything he continued. "Her family has guarded my tomb for generations and I have always respected them for this but I feel it better she goes with you." The huanglong flew down past me and looked at Fu Hsi in sadness while crooning. "I know it is difficult old friend but your destiny lies with him out there in the world where there are so many new adventures waiting for you." I could see the sadness in her eyes before she bowed her head in understanding and turned to me and pressed her head against my chest and I began petting her.
"Are you sure about this your majesty since if she leaves who will guard your tomb?"
"Don't worry, Luo has many siblings one of which shall return to take her place but the friendship we share shall never be copied." With that he sunk back into his casket with his final words being. "Take care of her young hero." Then he was gone leaving us alone as the flames extinguished but I continued to stroke her head before the sound of stone scraping against stone sounded from the entrance as I turned to see the door opening making me sigh and turn to her. "Let's get out of here."
With that said we left the tomb where all my other dragons were waiting and left the tunnel and got out of the tunnel and back into the sun where I got a good look at Luo. Now that we were in the light I could get a better look and I had to say she was a truly magnificent dragon in appearance. She had horns similar to antlers growing backwards and spikes sticking upward below her whitish blue mane that is near the base of her head. This fur traveled down the spine that ran down her thirty-foot-long serpent like body, to the tip of her tail similar to that of the Qiulong and her talons were grey in color. The thing that was most beautiful though were her scales that were yellowish gold in color and seemed to shine like gold in the suns light. I smiled at her and turned to my other dragons knowing having her added to the team would take some adjustments but that was the case with all my dragons so for now it best to just find a place to set up camp while Luo adjusts to the group.
AN: And that brings an end to this chapter with six down and two to go before Hiccup embarks on another page of this adventure. Till then please be patient while I do my best to get back into my groove and go back to posting once a week so until then be patient. Also please remember to review kindly and actually review since I was not happy with how little people reviewed the last chapter and Guest I will try to take care of your request after the China adventure.