What's up readers, Drac0tam3r Rod here. So I would like to apologize about the delay in chapters, I've been busy and a few things came up. However, I'm glad to say that I've been able to write a good majority of the story and chapters will be pumped out more consistently. Thanks for reading and I look forward to any reviews you wish to post.
Elsewhere in Tan Jin, Jian's team was tending to their assignment at the local bazaar. Jian was standing at a fruit stall, holding an apple in both of his hands and carefully inspecting it. He watched a group of passing wolf guards carefully out the corner of his eye, memorizing their positions and where that would be on the map. "I can't decide which one I should buy. Which one's more ripe?" he asked a dhole that was the vendor at the stand. He sighed heavily, "For the hundredth time, they're exactly the same!" he said angrily. "Right." Jian said as he saw the patrol move on from their location. He dropped five yuan on the stall's counter and took both apples with him and walked away.
As he walked through the crowded marketplace following the guards, Jian felt a presence to his right. He looked down to see Viper slithering beside him, avoiding the bustle of the crowd and trying to avoid getting stepped on. "Was wondering where you went." Jian said with a smirk. I thought we were watching the guard patrols. Why were you just at that stall?" Viper asked as she dodged the hoof of a passing deer. Jian grinned, "We are. I'm trying to maintain a cover. We wouldn't want them spotting us, would we?" the croc asked rhetorically. Viper nodded, "Makes sense." She skillfully dodged the foot of a passing canine. Jian took notice of the serpent's struggle to keep from being trampled and slid his tail under her wiry form. "Maybe you'd have an easier time being at head-level." he said. Viper was slightly stunned by this act but decided to go with it and coiled herself loosely on Jian's right arm.
The reptiles moved among the crowd like ghosts as they made mental notes about where every guard was stationed, what armor and weapons they had, what species they were, and how many were stationed. The walk was dead silent apart from the multiple conversations being had in the crowd. Viper decided to strike up a conversation with her fellow reptile to try to get to know him better. "So, how long have you been a bounty hunter?" she asked curiously. "Mercenary. I'm a mercenary, and to answer your question since I was sixteen. I wanted to be like my dad." he explained while spying a group of soldiers near a vacant cart and making a note of it. Viper began to think of another question when she looked down and saw Jian's iron hand, the metal clinking with every twitch of his fingers. "How'd that happen? The hand I mean." she asked raising a scaled eyeridge. The crocodile looked down for a brief moment at his prosthetic with a slight grin before focusing back on mapping out guard locations, "This mercenary group I used to run with was contracted to assist some army waging war on some province in the east. I remember I was fighting this huge bear, fur as black as night. We crossed blades and he knocked mine outta my hand. Less than a second later I lost all feeling in my right hand." he said as he spotted another group of guards posted at the side of a tailor's shop. Viper looked down glumly, "That's horrible." she said. "Don't feel sorry for me. To be honest, I was pretty lucky that day. I could've lost a lot more, but I didn't. Now stop frowning. It doesn't look good on a face like that." Jian said nonchalantly as he peered through the crowd, eyeing another mark.
If reptiles could blush Viper's face would've been a deep crimson from the croc's last comment. A face like hers? What did he mean by that? Her thoughts were broken when Jian came to a sudden halt. She looked around cautiously, "Why'd we stop?" she asked. Viper looked in front of them to see, surprisingly enough, a butcher shop. Different cuts of meat were hanging up on hooks and were a light red. The owner of the shop was a large, heavily built binturong. "I'm pickin' up a present for wolfy when we get back. If you couldn't tell, he loves meat." Jian said with a wide grin. He reached for a small bag of coins on his side and dropped it on the counter. "Lemme get three of your finest round cuts of beef." he said. With a grunt the bearcat turned and pulled of a slab of meat from the hook and began to skillfully cut the requested pieces. Viper was a little caught off guard by the mere presence of such an establishment. "Why is there a butcher shop in the city? Wouldn't that put some people off?" she asked raising an eyeridge. Jian chuckled lightly, "Maybe if you're a grazer and you're new to the city. It's no secret that there's more than just grazers living in the city. So, people adapted. The meat you see before you is imported from settlements populated by more carnivorous inhabitants. That way the grazers of the city don't have to worry about ending up on someone's plate." he explained. Just as the croc finished talking the binturong finished slicing the large cuts of meat. He wrapped them up in parchment and put them in a small burlap sack and set them on the counter. "Thank you." Jian said before grabbing the product and going about his way, Viper still coiled around his right arm.
The scaled duo walked silently for several minutes before Viper once again broke the silence. "So, what do you think of the clothes Yuè got us?" she asked. "I like them. Better than wearing that armor in this weather. What about you? What do you think?" he asked, reversing the question on Viper. She looked down at her sleeve-like garment. "Well, it's better than what I wore before." she joked, earning a laugh from Jian. "You mean the lotus flower clips that you're still wearing?" he asked. Viper touched the clips with her tail and giggled, "Yeah, those." she said, smiling brightly. Jian looked at his armor. It was a sleeveless vest with scale armor plating on the back and shoulders. Black fur lined the collar and arm openings and the chest was leather with fur lining the inside, trapping any and all heat and keeping the crocodile warm. "I'm glad Yuè got us these. It beats freezing to death, plus I like the black." Jian said with a grin. The crocodile stopped walked and entered a marketplace. He leaned against a vacant stand with his arms crossed. Viper slipped off Jian's right arm and moved to the stand's counter. "It was a nice choice. Black looks good on you." she said. Her eyes quickly widened as she realized what she just said. Jian chuckled lightly, "Thanks." he said looking off to the other side of Viper. The serpent let out a breath of relief before following his gaze and seeing a familiar golden furred primate moving their way. Monkey approached the pair and greeted them with a wave, "Finished?" he asked. Jian nodded, "Yep. Let's head back to the inn and show the others." Monkey nodded and looked at a small sack hanging off Jian's hip. "What's that?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. The croc looked at the sack and happily patted it, "Lunch." he answered before the team left for the inn.
Meanwhile, Above The Market District...
Fan's team bound from rooftop to rooftop with surprising speed and balance. Not a single step slipped or faltered as Tigress and the weasel sprinted, stopping every other second to spot a patrol and memorize their route. Crane flew overhead and had the best vantage point of the three, spotting more distant patrols and mentally mapping those out. The group traveled anything but silently. Crane was bragging to Fan about great battles he participated in and how he alone triumphed overwhelming odds, "...then I flew the entire Furious Five back to the Jade Palace with barely a wing and a half." he said pridefully as he soared overhead. "You guys really survived fighting Tai Lung? I heard he could wipe out an entire village with a single move." she said in an amazed tone. "Yeah, he 'could'. But we put a stop to that." Crane said, puffing his chest out pridefully. Fan cocked an eyebrow, "I thought Po beat him with the Wuxi Finger Hold?" she asked, seeing through Crane's bragging. "We softened him up for Po." he remarked to cover his lie. Tigress scoffed loudly, "Could you two focus on the mission? I actually want to get this done." she said grumpily, as she sprinted on all fours across the rooftops. The pair promptly shut their mouths as they continued on their route.
The three warriors stopped once again to catch sight of another cluster of guards patrolling an alley. They watched the guards for several minutes and saw their pattern. The soldiers walked a full circle around a small marketplace before heading through an alley, turning a corner near a bakery and repeated the route. After memorizing the pattern the warriors continued their trek across the rooftops. "I just remembered another time where I defeated a pack of Lin Kuei wolves all by myself." Crane said in a conceited tone. Fan stumbled a bit and fell off a building, but saved herself by throwing a rope dart into the side of the building she was leaping to. Using the dart as a rappel she stood on the side of the building. Crane and Tigress looked down into the alley between the structures to see the weasel hanging off the side of the building. "Are you okay?" Tigress asked, calling out to the mustelid. Fan chuckled wryly before pulling herself up and on to the roof. "Yeah, just slipped. I didn't know you guys encountered the Lin Kuei. Did you meet their leader?" she asked inquisitively. "Yep, and I kicked his butt." Crane bragged, his hubris inflating exponentially. Fan's face was stern for half a second before going back to her usual cheerful disposition, a grin creasing her muzzle. Tigress took notice of this but shrugged it off, keeping the reaction in the back of her mind to question at a later date. "Let's keep going. Tell me about your encounter with the Lin Kuei. How'd you do it?" Fan asked Crane as they continued on their way.
"So, about a year ago my mother decided to pay a visit to the Valley and we let her stay at the Jade Palace. Then that night we got attacked by the Lin Kuei. They were invisible because of these crowns and were beating the tar outta Tigress and the others. Even Shifu. Then their leader made the mistake of attacking my mother. So I said 'Nobody touches my mother.' and the leader guy was all like, 'what are you gonna do about it?' They swung these huge chain hammers and I caught them with my talons. I swung them by their hammers into the leader and tossed him clean off the mountain. Saving my mother and the Jade Palace." Crane said, flaking over several details in the story. Fan listened with great interest in the story as she ran across the wall of a building to her right and landed with a roll on a separate building below her. This was very suspicious to Tigress. At first Fan only feigned interest in Crane's ramblings about his supposed greatness, but now she was generally interested in the subject of the Lin Kuei. Just before Tigress could question it Fan stopped them and gazed at a towering building across from them. "What's that?" she asked as she stood at the end of the rooftop, gazing at the important looking structure. "That's Geng Jinhai palace. It's named after Lord Geng Jinhai who used to rule over Tan Jin some sixty years ago. He died to invaders attacking Tan Jin but defended the city to his last breath. The people of the city survived the assault and named the palace after him because of his heroics." she explained. Crane nodded, "That's really interesting. It reminds me of another time where-" he said, beginning another story before being interrupted by Fan, "We should go check it out." she said. "No, we shouldn't. Our job is to map out the guard patrols." Tigress disagreed. Fan flashed a grin, "We are. There's a guard patrol near the entrance of the palace." she said, pointing down at the gated palace courtyard, the premises heavily secured by troops with hulking suits of metal armor. Tigress looked down and saw several archers securing several floors of the tall building. "Okay. We'll sit here for a few minutes so we get their routes memorized then we'll head back to the inn." Tigress suggested, trying to come to a compromise. "We could do that, or we could get a closer look." Fan suggested in a mischievous tone. Tigress scoffed, "Are you insane? Those archers would get us before we even get to the front gates." Fan looked over to Crane, "You said you carried the entire Furious Five with barely a wing and a half, right?" she asked with a twisted grin. Crane chuckled wryly, "Yep. That was me. Heh."
Several seconds later the avian found himself flying both females to the top floor of the palace. Fan clung to his ankles and Tigress on hers. "You do realize this stunt could get us killed, right?" Tigress asked in a hushed grumble. "Only if we get caught. Which we won't." Fan said confidently in an equally quiet voice. Crane and his passengers landed on a balcony overlooking the city that led to a large room. The room was decorated with luxurious furniture fit for a noble aristocrat. The floor was scarlet colored hardwood with a rectangular scarlet and gold rug in the center of the room. The rug covered the majority of the floor and stopped a short distance from the walls. The walls, also wooden, mirrored the scarlet red of the floors. On the far right of the room a golden dragon statue made its place on the wall, its large head and gaping mouth staring across the room with ruby eyes. On the far left wall of the room were several cabinets and glass display cases. The display cases contained several different items, most likely treasured by their owner, ranging from swords to jewelry, and scrolls to ancient looking parchment fragments. In the center of the room, near the balcony, sat a large desk and chair, also colored red but a shade darker than scarlet.
As the three warriors stepped inside the room they could help but let out a gasp of awe. They could tell that whoever lives, or lived, there had been very wealthy and held power in the city. "Okay, we saw the palace now let's go." Tigress said eager to leave before they get caught. "We barely got a glimpse of what's in here. Aren't you at least curious?" Fan asked as she walked further into the room with Crane following close behind, ogling everything from the various trinkets on display to the scarlet colored carpet. Tigress had to admit the weasel had a point and decided to check the room out as well. She walked more to the right side and cast her gaze upon the dragon statue on the wall. The feline stared up at the deep red ruby eyes as if she were in a trance, captivated by the sparkle of the gems. Across the room Fan and Crane were occupied by other parts of the room. Fan carefully picked the lock to a display case holding several different gems, each a different type and color. She picked up a rather large diamond in the center of the collection and eyed it critically, "Wow! This thing must be worth millions! Maybe even more." she exclaimed in a hushed voice. She carefully placed the gem back in its place and closed the case, moving on to the next thing that caught her eye. Crane cleared his throat before speaking up, "So, Fan, I've told me quite a bit about me but I don't really know much about you. How'd you meet Yuè?" he asked as he followed Fan to another display case, this one housing a seemingly ancient dagger. "Well, I met him a few years ago. I was seventeen and working a contract in Choo Song city. I was tracking down this rhino when I found the grumpy old wolf in the middle of a bar fight. He was losing, to say the least, and I lent him a helping hand. I come to find out he was completely wasted and I had to drag his tail to a nearby inn. He woke up the next morning, I told him what happened, and got along pretty well. He helped me out with the contract and I helped him out with his bounties whenever he needed it, free of charge." she said as she looked away from the relic. Fan looked across the room and caught sight of the gleaming jewels imbedded in the golden dragon statue.
She strolled across the room to get a closer look, standing beside Tigress, "Now those, I like." she said as she looked up at the ruby eyes. Fan unsheathed a knife from behind her back and climbed onto the head of the statue. "What are you doing?" Tigress asked. Fan pried one of the gems free, "Just taking a little souvenir. I'm sure these guys wouldn't miss them." she said, prying the second one free as well before climbing down from the dragon. She held one of the gems up to see it sparkle, "Nice." Fan said congratulating herself. "Fan, you should put that back before-" Tigress said sternly before being interrupted by a sound coming from outside the room. Listening closely she identified it as yelling and several sets of feet matching toward the room. "Quick, everyone hide!" Crane said in a frantic hushed tone. Tigress jumped off the wall and hugged the ceiling, her claws digging deeply into the wood to secure her position. Fan quietly sprinted across the room and concealed herself behind a large display case housing a battered war hammer. Crane, with nowhere else to go, leapt off of the balcony and hovered, just out of sight, over the entrance. A moment later the doors to the room swung open, banging loudly against the scarlet colored walls. A large armored reptilian figure marched inside, followed by another figure in a black hood and three soldiers, one being dragged by the others. Tigress looked down and saw the soldier that was forced inside the room was a tiger, the same tiger from the roadblock. Just as the realization hit her, he began to speak, "Please sir, I-I didn't want to run! I was overwhelmed! They had me out numbered!" he pleaded. The reptile, covered in pitch black iron armor bearing the same eye shaped emblem, spoke in a deep and cold voice, "I do not tolerate cowardice in my army." he said as he removed his helmet, revealing himself to be a komodo dragon as well as several scars running across his head, "Give me one good reason why I should spare your life." The tiger's whimpering fell silent for a moment before he spoke up, "Be-because you'd be losing a soldier! Yes, a-a good soldier. I'm still useful!" the soldier pleaded. The reptile looked down at the tiger, standing about three heads taller, with cold and heartless eyes, "You make a compelling argument." he said as he slowly began to circle the feline, "A very compelling argument. But...there's one problem with that. I have more than enough useful soldiers. Each one more competent and less cowardly. However, I believe I need a second opinion. Zhuo. If this was your soldier how would you discipline him for such a...disgraceful failure?" he asked, turning to the figure in the black hood. The only part of his body exposed from the garment was a white muzzle. "Not sure, sir. That depends on the one runnin' the troops. But, had I been the one in charge, I'd make an example. Just to show I don't tolerate failure." the figure said, his voice gruff and deep. The monitor lizard stopped pacing and stood in front of the tiger. He moved his face closer to the soldier, staring into his eyes as if he was searching for something.
The reptile backed away and turned his back and began looking around the room. He turned around quickly and grabbed the tiger by the throat, his amber eyes burning with rage and hatred as he choked the soldier. "P-please...spare me..." the tiger begged as he struggled to breath. The giant lizard began to flick his tongue out rapidly, the forked muscle tasting the air, "You had one job. To guard the roads...and you failed. I gave you a second chance. To prove you had something to live for. You failed again. I. Don't. Tolerate. Failure." he said, tightening his grip as he emphasized the words. He pulled the tiger closer to his face and gazed at him one last time. The reptile's next action shocked Tigress, as he opened his mouth wide and bit down into the soldier's shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain. He moved his muzzle side to side, gnawing at the bloody flesh as it hemorrhaged, staining the reptile's mouth crimson as well as the tiger's fur. He dropped the tiger to the ground, the feline gasping for air and groaning in pain. The reptile licked his lips before spitting on the floor, "I can taste the weakness in your blood. It's disgusting." he said as he sauntered over to the desk, taking a seat in the chair behind it. His gaze shifted around the room, first to the display cases, then to the dragon statue, and lastly, the wounded soldier, now writhing and twitching on the ground as he foamed from the mouth. "I hope you enjoyed the show. It was for you after all." he called out loudly in the room. Another soldier, a rhino clad in heavy black iron armor, looked around in bewilderment, "Uh...Yes Lord Jūnfá, it was spectacular. There should be no such weaklings in your army." the rhino praised.
Jūnfá shifted his gaze to the soldier, the mere look causing him to stiffen up, "I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to our uninvited guests in the room." he said, shouting the last part, "I've tasted their scent since I first walked into the room. Also, the ruby eyes of the dragon are missing. These...thieves are foolish indeed. I'm just waiting for them to come out of hiding." Tigress could feel her heart rated spike as she stared down at the reptile, the soulless gaze he had as he watched his own soldier die by his hands, the body now completely still save for the occasional twitch. She shifted nervously, causing a small splinter of wood to break and drop from the ceiling. With no time to catch the shard, it fell until it hit the desk Jūnfá was sitting at with a nearly inaudible thud. Jūnfá slowly shifted his gaze upward and spotted the feline, "There you are." he said, curling the corner of his mouth in a sadistic smile. Without a second thought Tigress dropped from the ceiling, landing to his far left and bolted for the balcony. Behind her she heard the panicked yells of the guards in the room as the one known as Zhuo ordered them to capture her. She heard a large thump behind her and turned for half a second to see Fan sprinting from her spot as well. She took another half second to notice the incapacitated guard with a knife in his shoulder. The two met at the balcony, and without a second thought, leapt from the platform. Crane swooped down and caught them, flying out of sight from their pursuers to avoid capture.
Back At The Palace...
Jūnfá remained seated in the chair, resting his head on the knuckle of his left hand, "My sincerest thanks Zhuo on luring the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior to Tan Jin. That letter was utter brilliance." he praised the tiger. "It seemed fairly simple. He couldn't resist helping people in danger." Zhuo remarked as he leaned against the display case housing the ancient dagger. He removed his hood, revealing that he was a tiger with white fur instead of the usual orange and blood red eyes. Jūnfá sighed heavily, "If you'd be so kind, go find someone to clean up this mess." he said, gesturing to the body of the slain soldier. Zhuo scoffed, "Last I checked, you paid me to gather intel and kill people. Not be a house maid." The komodo dragon shot the hooded tiger a petrifying glare, seemingly ineffective to him. "Fine. Guards! Remove this corpse. It's an eyesore." he commanded as two guards, both wolves, rushed in and removed the body from the room. Jūnfá stood from his seat and walked over to the balcony overlooking the city, "Now, there's only the question of where you are Dragon Warrior." he muttered to himself. Zhuo cleared his throat, gaining the attention of Jūnfá, "I think I have an idea of where he might be."