The rickshaw was prepared ready to take me and Viper back home to the Jade palace. The attack from last night had cut mine and Vipers trip short, so we were now on our way back to the Valley to inform Shifu of the situation. This... demon... was something big. Big enough that he needed to be informed at once. A small portion of the village area had been wrecked. Destroyed buildings, supplies and property both private and public were enough to show me what it was capable of. It was certainly enough for Viper to spend most of last night talking to her father, doing what she could to persuade him to let her stay at the village with him, just in case. I don't know how long I listened to them from upstairs. Sometimes it would be a calm discussion and other times... it wasn't. When they were finally done, I listened to Viper heading upstairs, opening the door to the bedroom, and just coiled onto the bed next to me. She didn't say a word but instead just kept close by me. For one of the first times ever, I didn't know what to say to her...

After I had woken up this morning, the great master came to talk to me after Viper had gone down. He said that he required something from me. To make sure that I would keep Viper safe and happy. Of course, I agreed. Once I had, he said that his daughter couldn't have picked a better choice for a mate than me, ignoring the blush in my face. But even so, I felt a sense of pride in that moment. It showed that he trusted me and gave me his blessing. I just now hope I was able to keep that promise.

The rickshaw set off, and Ti'an was waving Viper and myself goodbye. Y'ang gave Viper one last hug before she had gotten on the rickshaw. Her eyes were a little teary. Whether because she was sad to see us go or because she didn't get as much time as she wanted to spend with her elder sister, I didn't know. The great Viper just smiled as we left and wished us a pleasant trip back to the Jade palace. I hoped that I would be able to visit the village again in time. I took another look around at the buildings that remained in one piece and just sat there. As I turned to Viper, she was worried about them. Her family and her village. I understood her pain as I put my tail under her chin and pulled it in my direction, getting her to look at me.

"Viper, I know what you're thinking. They'll be fine. I know they will and you do too".

It was enough to get Viper to smile softly before hugging me. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep as we exited the village and begun the long journey back home.

Two hours later and I could tell that Viper was still fearful of the Mèngyǎn thing that I had run into back at the village. She didn't speak to me but every now and then I caught her mumbling to herself about how everything would be fine. It was starting to worry me. At one point she did speak to me but rather than it being a casual talk about the weather...

"Mike, about what you faced"-

"Viper, I know where you're going with this, and the answer is no. Your father told you everything would be alright and talking about it is not going to help".

Instead of using words, Viper just looked at me, looked away and then put her head on my chest. The rest of her body hugged me and I was forced gently into the side of the rickshaw. She was concerned for both her family and for me, I knew this.

"Viper, please don't do this to yourself".

"...Do you know how many times I thought I had lost you, even before we begun dating"?

"Why does that"-

"Four times, as far as I'm aware. I don't want to risk five".

"Viper, those were all my own choices which I have come to regret. Sure I ran away, got shot and so on, but I've always gotten back up". I tried my best to reassure her.

The only response I got was Viper tightening her grip. I think I was making matters worse rather than making them better. I sighed and stroked the top of her head while continuing to speak.

"Just know that I'll always be here for you Vipes. If you have something you need to get off of your chest, please don't hesitate to say it".

Another moment of silence passed.

"...Do you promise"?

I looked down at her and found her looking right at me.

"Promise what"?

"To always be here for me"?

I tightened around her body just as tight. Guess I'm making plenty of promises today.

"I always keep my promises. So yes, I promise I'll always be here for you".

At this, Viper carefully slithered up to my head and kissed me slowly before rubbing her head into mine as she would whenever she was worried or even happy. I was glad to say that this time it was out of happiness.

"Thanks Mike. You've no idea how much that helps me".

"Of course".

Another hour down, ten more to go. My thoughts were gnawing at me to put Vipers mind at ease. I might as well get this thought out of my head.

"Do you still want to know what the Mèngyǎn was when I faced it"?

Viper looked at me and went from my head back to my chest, eager to hear.

"Please".

This was going to bring back memories.

"When I first saw it, the beast was twelve feet tall, maybe bigger. It was based off of a game that my uncle had, called Resident Evil two. In technical terms it was known as a T103, but the original name was Mr. X who tries to kill the player and follows them throughout the game. And this is going to sound crazy, but I'm glad it chose to be that". I was wondering if Viper was following a single word of this, until she asked a question.

"How do you see that as good"?

"Because. There was one worse thing this... Mèngyǎn thing could have chosen to be from that game".

"Who"?

"You don't want to know".

"So... what is this... resident evil two you speak of"?

I gave a laugh at this.

"It's a video game. Now before you ask what a video game is, I don't really understand the full mechanics behind it. It's... a form of entertainment. Let's just leave it at that".

"And... this T103 you mentioned, that's the only monster you've fought in a game isn't it? The last thing we need is for you to be giving it any more ideas".

I looked away and sighed feeling a little uncomfortable at her words.

"Mike"?

"...I think I need to be alone for a moment. Please".

Viper granted my request and headed onto the other side, though she still held my tail for comfort until an hour had passed.

Thankfully, I had asked back at the village if I could buy a scroll and quill to write back to Yinshen about the last few days. I thought very carefully whether I needed to mention that the Sh'e village had been attacked by a Mèngyǎn soul. In the end, I chose not to. She had enough to deal with just being in the Masters Council. Besides, demon or not, I doubt very much that it would be stupid to attack such a well populated area.

Still, writing took my mind off of yesterday. The same could be said for Viper as every now and then I found her looking over my neck to check for any mistakes I might have made. By the time I had finished, there was a total of eighteen Chinese symbols crossed out and re-written. I knew I should have brought more scrolls...

I put the scroll down under the seat of the rickshaw and just looked up to the clouds. There were only a couple but they were still large enough to block out the sun for a minute or so. Viper decided to help pass the time by telling me of how this journey reminded her of a road trip with the rest of the five, Po and Shifu to find the secret museum of kung fu. At the end, I think I am glad to say that I was not become a member of the Jade palace on that day as most of the trip was nothing but arguing. But what seemed to be the icing on the cake was that Viper kept defending herself on how all she was trying to do was play I spy. In fact, that's what she decided to do right now to help me pass the time. Kind of hard when the only clue was the word "Grey". Everything for miles around except the rickshaw was bloody grey. The rocks, the clouds, ground and so forth. In the end, I gave up at about four guesses. Turns out the answer was me. Sneaky little...

"Well, I don't know about you Vipes but I'm going to get some sleep".

"Good idea. I need to shut my eyes for a moment as well".

Before I could coil up, Viper slowly wrapped around me before pulling me onto the soft seat of the rickshaw. I guess she didn't want to sleep on her own right now. Who could blame her? I didn't fight it but instead let her wrap around me. I waited for her to fall asleep before I did myself.

At some point I woke up to a cute sight. Viper was still asleep on me so I went ahead and tried to remove her. Though when I tried, her smile faded and her tail tightened. I shook my head and laid her back down on me, making her smile return. Seems I'm stuck under her until she wakes up herself.

So... half an hour later, she chose to finally wake up and get off of me. She apologized for not thinking clearly but I just passed it off.

SOME TIME LATER...

As we finally reached the Jade palace, we thanked the driver for his services and headed up the stairs and while Viper went to speak to Shifu, I just went back to my room and just cleaned my tail blade.

I had to use a small green rag to wipe the dust among the iron hinges. I really need to start practicing with this thing again. I can't stress how many times it would have come in handy over the last few weeks. A few minutes of non stop wiping, I inspected the blade at all angles to make sure that I hadn't missed anything. The blade seemed to shine in response. I smiled and put it back safely in the left cupboard before slithering onto the bed.

It didn't take long for Viper to open the door and enter. I decided to get straight to the point.

"Did Shifu say anything about the Mèngyǎn"?

"He said that it was a rare demon. Very few roam around China, but the most they seem to do is cause havoc and chaos. It's seen more of an annoyance and prefers to frighten its victims rather then harm them". It sounded a lot like she didn't want to talk about it.

"Could have fooled me". I muttered, remembering how the thing had nearly crushed my heart and lungs. "Do you believe him"?

"...Mike, this is master Shifu we're talking about. Student of Oogway".

"You and the five used to be students of his too. Even Po for a short time".

"Yes but Shifu has known Oogway since he was a child decades ago".

"That long huh"?

"Yes".

I said nothing in response and just tried to sleep. The only problem was that I've already slept half the day away already so I just sat down and closed my eyes.

"Don't tell me you're still tired". Viper chuckled as she watched me trying to get some sleep.

"Not really, but there isn't much else to do tonight is there"?

"Not if you don't make anything of it".

"And you have a suggestion"?

"Well, it is a clear night outside. It would be nice to watch the stars".

"I hope you enjoy it then". I smirked as I kept myself from looking at her. I bet she was glaring at me right now.

"Oh come on Mike. Be a little adventurous".

Tell me she didn't actually say that. I mean, seriously? When in the last six months have I NOT been "A little adventurous"?

Next thing I knew, she was in front of me and was rubbing her head next to mine in an attempt to get me up. And it worked. Hard to believe that this was the same snake who was worried only a few hours ago.

"Okay fine. Let's go".

So we headed out and just took a long walk under the full moon. The star consolations sticking out clearly on the silent night. Not a single soul could be seen throughout the Jade palace making the scenery much more peaceful and enjoyable than I first imagined it would be. After a few minutes of just walking in silence, Viper told me that she wanted to go up to the peach tree and just sit there. So that's what we went to do.

The night light shined on the town below as myself and Viper just sat at the edge of the cliff side. The soft wind blew a few petals off of the peach tree above. A couple slid past and tickled my skin, but the view almost kept me from noticing.

While I often came up here to look at the scenery, I always admired it with a sense of pride. But this was the first time that I had done this with someone else. Someone to share the same feeling I got whenever I chose to be at peace. Viper felt the same way. This I knew as she leaned into me and just rested on the side of my body. It was a nice feeling.

"You know, I must say. We may have been dating for a long time Viper, but this is one of the few times that it's felt... romantic".

"What do you mean"? She asked.

"Well we didn't share many events together except for a few dates. We never really got the chance to go out into the world and explore the sites together. But this, right here is one of those rare moments that you treasure forever".

"You mean you would like to do something like this more often"?

"If we can".

I wrapped my tail around her back and held her close. A sense of emotions nearly overwhelmed me and I just ended up putting my head on top of Vipers and cuddled her while keeping my eyes on the site in front of me. I'm not sure how long we stayed in that position for but it didn't matter. As long as she was happy, so was I. Nothing else at that moment mattered.

Altogether, it was a good night.

...

Okay guys, this is going to be the last chapter I'm going to post until 1-2 weeks time. I've only three days until I leave home for Uni and I need to make sure I have everything prepared to take up with me. Afterwards I'll be needing to settle in, unpack and so forth. So hopefully the wait will be worth it. Until next time. Cheerio!