Disclaimer: Everything from Mulan belongs to Disney. Everything from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon belongs to Ang Lee and the other producers of the movie. Li Xiao-lang belongs to me.

Summary: Mulan/CTHD Crossover (sort of). This is the story about Shang's and Mulan's quest for the Green Destiny sword that eventually came to belong to the warrior Li Mu Bai in CTHD. For the most part the events take place in the Mulanverse so I've placed it in this category.

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Prologue

Li Xiao-lang was the envy of many. He was a rich man from a noble family, descended from a long line of great military geniuses and honored warriors. A great and renowned warrior in his own right, he was a master of martial arts secrets that very few were privileged enough to learn. Like any other man of such privilege he was the object of jealousy of less fortunate men. His talent was resented, his famous weapon coveted. That weapon was what now drew a young boy of nine to Xiao-lang's drawing room where the master kept his most prized collection of weapons, medals and other gifts of honor received for his service to the Emperor in a closed wooden cabinet.

He stood on tiptoe and stretched his arm up as far as he could, reaching for the box of intricately carved bamboo that held the sword, his fingers just touching it and managing to nudge it slowly toward the edge of the top shelf where it lay in its honorary spot. Sweat began to drip off of him as he continued to raise himself up on his toes and reach up to inch the box further and further to the edge with the very ends of his fingertips, resting in between each try. He quickly caught the box as it finally fell from its high place and knelt down hugging it, heaving a sigh of relief that he'd managed to get it down without it crashing to the floor.

Sunlight streamed through the window and into the room, causing the blade of the incredible weapon to glitter when the young boy opened the box to look at it, revealing it in all of its splendor. He stared at it transfixed. It was a thing of beauty and he was almost afraid to touch it even though his fingers itched to grasp the hilt. Li Xiao-lang had been one of the greatest warriors to pass through the school of Wudang, where he himself would attend one day soon and he longed to be a great warrior like his father, to wield a sword such as this.

The idea of leaving home and his family made him a little nervous, but the prospect of beginning his martial arts studies and learning the secret technique of fighting that was passed down to only a very few was exciting. Wudang accepted a limited amount of students, and only those young men with unique talent and promise attended. One day he would equal his father's skill and fight with such a weapon, maybe even this very one.

"Li Mu Bai."

At the sound of the sharp tone of his father's voice the boy snapped out of his reverie and closed the box, setting it down quickly and bowing low to Li Xiao-lang, prepared to take whatever punishment was to be doled out to him for going into the warrior's weapons closet and taking the sword out.

But his father chuckled as he approached the boy.

"Couldn't resist sneaking in here to look at it, could you," he remarked good-humoredly, beckoning him to his feet and taking the box from his hands. "Come and sit down with me."

Li Mu Bai followed his father to the couch and sat beside him, watching eagerly as his father opened the box and reached in, removing the magnificent sword from where it lay. Holding it lengthwise across two open palms he extended it out toward his son so he could get a closer look.

"The Green Destiny, Li Mu Bai. There is no sword like it in existence. It was forged during the Qin Dynasty and the craftsmanship is flawless. No one has ever seen its equal. It belonged to the King of Qin who eventually became our first Emperor. A man who carries this sword is invincible."

Mu Bai raised his eyes to his father, wide with surprise. "A sword can make a man invincible, Father?"

"If he is worthy of it. Just as our ancestors who were sent to seek it out hundreds of years ago were. Go ahead and touch it."

Speechless, the young boy reached out and grasped the hilt. An involuntary gasp escaped him as he felt the power that seemed to emanate from the weapon.

"Yes, you can feel its power. This sword is magic and it is for this reason that our ancestors were sent to find it by the Emperor himself. To prevent it from getting into the wrong hands. Someone who might use it for harm instead of good."

"They were warriors like you, Father?"

"Two of the greatest warriors the Middle Kingdom has ever seen. General Li Shang and his wife, the lady general, Hua Mulan."

Stunned, he stared at his father. He always knew that there had been many warriors and officers of high rank in his family, but he had never realized before this moment that one of his ancestors was the legendary woman warrior that all Chinese children heard stories about.

His father placed the Green Destiny sword back into its resting place and stood up, striding across the room and replacing it on its shelf in the cabinet.

"Come walk with me in the garden, Li Mu Bai, and I will tell you the story of two brave and honorable warriors and their great quest to find this magic weapon."

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A/N: Most of the story will be about the search for the Green Destiny sword.