What's up readers, Drac0tam3r Rod here. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, this was a LONG chapter as you can see. I figured that I'd finish it up and have it posted today since it so happens to be my birthday. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The next morning Yuè woke from a sound slumber with a yawn and a nice stretch, the kind of stretch that melts away the haze of sleep and leaves a pleasurable tingling feeling in your spine. Last night he'd slept soundly for the first time in five months. No nightmares and no struggling to get to sleep. The moment he got in bed, Yuè left China and eagerly embraced the dark, sound touch of sleep. He got out of bed at his own pace, not quite lazily but not in any hurry. The wolf was clad in only a pair of light brown pants he always wore to bed. His heterochromatic eyes scanned the room, slightly lingering on a scars and punctures on the walls, "Note to self: Remember to pay Mr. Hsu for damages." he said before exiting and walking into the hall. As usual, it seemed that Po and the Furious Five were already up. In Yuè's opinion, they got up way too early. He walked across from his room and stood outside Kuo's door, feeling something was off about the she-wolf. He didn't want to linger there any longer so he decided to go wake his daughter. When he approached the door however, he was greeted to a silhouette of a figure crouched next to her bed. Following his instincts, Yuè quickly slid the door open and stormed into the room. "What's goin–" he said before being shushed by Kuo, who sat beside the young pup. "You're going to wake her!" she whispered. Yuè was confused by the sight, but his confusion melted into agitation.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with hostility in his voice. Kuo placed a hand on Li's shoulder as the young wolf slept, "She had a nightmare and it woke her up. She came to me last night and I stayed by her side until she went to sleep." Kuo said in a soft voice. Yuè was dumbstruck by what she'd said, 'That's my job. Why would Li go to her?' he asked himself in his mind, but then it hit him. As far as he knew, and from what Li told him, Kuo had been Li's only company for five months. Five months that should've been spent with him, her father. This made him feel terrible inside, but he didn't let it show. "I need to talk to you." he said to Kuo before walking into the hall. Kuo was confused for a moment, taking one more look at Li before leaving and walking into the hall. Just as she entered the hall, Kuo was face to face with Yuè and caged against a wall by his arms, "Why the hell are you doing this, huh? Why do you care so much?" he asked, demanding answers. Kuo scoffed, "Someone has to." she said angering Yuè further, "The hell's that supposed to mean?" he said moving his face closer to hers. "It means if you cared you wouldn't have left an eight-year-old home alone for anything to happen to her." she nearly shouted. "You don't know a damned thing about our situation! I was working to provide for us!" Yuè shouted in a hushed voice, still conscientious of the sleeping wolf in the room beside them. Kuo scoffed, "Yeah, right." she muttered not so quietly. Yuè moved his arms and backed away a little, "What were you doing in my house anyway? Why'd you go outta your way to kidnap a girl in a house on a small hill?" he asked. Kuo was speechless and looked away, "I was there for Li. You know that." she said. "Thanks for the information captain obvious. I meant what was your reason? Why would you go to the trouble of kidnapping some random kid in some random house?" he asked, pressing the question.
Kuo was silent and focused her eyes to the floor. It suddenly clicked in Yuè's head, "You were the assassin Jong sent, weren't you?" Kuo nodded slowly. Yuè growled lowly and unsheathed his claws, "You got three seconds to explain yourself before I throw you outta this inn. Through the window." he threatened. "He contacted me and said he had a job. He wanted me to kill someone at a cabin near Tan Jin. I don't kill, so all I was gonna do was tell whoever it was to disappear and make sure Jong never hears about them again. The usual way I handle things. Then he sent me a dead drop in the city giving me Li's name and description, leaving out the part about her being a kid. When I got to the house and saw your daughter, I didn't know what to think. She asked me who I was and I told her I was a friend of yours. Then we ran away into the city. The first day I had an associate send fake confirmation that the job had been done and she was dead. Jong was happy enough to not come looking for us." Kuo explained, feeling out of breath from the long explanation. Yuè retracted his claws and his face softened slightly but still kept its agitated looked. "He came to me a few days ago and told me she was dead. Do you have any idea how I felt? I almost killed someone because I was so pissed." he said turning around and scrubbing the fur on his head back. He let out a breath an turned back to face Kuo, "But you took care of Li and I'm grateful. So, thank you for what you did." he said, anger dissolving from his voice. Kuo grinned triumphantly, "You know you owe me one, big time, right?" she asked almost rhetorically. Yuè rolled his eyes and started walking down the hall and towards the stairs, but was stopped by Kuo, "Wait. I didn't catch your name." Yuè turned to face her and grinned slightly but still somewhat noticeably, "Yuè. Yuè Làng. What about you? Li told me your name but I was never formally introduced." He asked with a slight grin. "Kuo Yang." Kuo said crossing her arms. "Yang, eh? I'll remember that." he said before walking down the staircase into the bar. Kuo smiled and went back into Li's room to wake her up.
When Yuè reached the bar Po and the Furious Five were sitting at a table near the center of the room eating a breakfast of dim sum and jasmine tea. Yuè looked over at the bar and saw the inn owner, Mr. Hsu, hunched over and, most likely, hung over. This baffled the wolf. When he and the old goat first got to know each other, he was very much sober. Whatever happened since Yuè left must've been devastating to force him to turn to drinking. After saying brief greetings to Po and the others, Yuè went to sit beside the inn owner. "So, Mr. Hsu, what happened?" he asked bluntly. Mr. Hsu's eyes were slightly squinted and bloodshot, but for the most part, he was conscious. "What're you talking about?" Mr. Hsu asked, his voice hoarse and words a bit slurred. "What happened to make you take up drinking? You never touched a bottle in your life before I left, and now I find you in a drunken stupor. What's the deal?" he asked. The goat sat up on the bar stool with a groan, "It started last month. I was seeing this magnificent woman. Her name was Mei Xiu and she was the most beautiful rabbit in all of China. We'd been dating for some time before you left and I had just proposed to her. She accepted. Four months after you left, Jūnfá stormed the city and killed everyone that resisted. During the siege we were running to the inn to take cover, and she was struck by a stray arrow. It killed her instantly." Mr. Hsu explained as a tear welled up in the pit of his eye before streaking down his face, dampening his fur.
Yuè's ears fell and hugged his skull. He was all too familiar with the pain Mr. Hsu felt. He lived with it for eight years, though the love he felt for his daughter quelled the pain and filled the void in his heart. The loss of Lilu became more bearable and he was able to move on. But for Mr. Hsu, the pain was still fresh. Tugging at his heart and twisting his feelings. Leaving only misery in the place of happiness and joy. "I'm so sorry Mr. Hsu. I had no idea you were going through that." Yuè apologized. "It's fine Yuè. You had to find Li and that's completely understandable. I started drinking to dull the pain." he said reaching for an unfinished bottle of choujiu. Just as he was about to put it to his lips, the bottle was snatched from his hooves by Yuè. "I'm not gonna sit by and let you drink yourself to death." he said in a stern voice, "I've been where you are now and I know for a fact that this–" he shook the bottle, "– isn't how you wanna go out." The wolf walked around the bar counter and put a cork in the top of the bottle before placing it back on the shelf. "I'm gonna go by the trust system when I tell you that I don't want you to have another bottle at your lips." he said before walking over to take a seat at a table beside the Furious Five and Po. He looked at the group of the warriors out the corner of his eye and was met by a collective stare and grin. "What?" he asked. Viper smiled brightly, "We saw that. You did the right thing, you know." Yuè chuckled softly, "I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Must be losing my touch." he said as he reached over and snagged a dumpling from the dim sum they were eating. When he bit into the bun he tasted nothing. Not something sweet or bitter or even vegetables. Nothing at all. 'It beats the taste carrots every day.' he thought as he tossed the rest of the bun into his mouth and wolfed it down before getting a cup of tea.
A few minutes later Yuè saw his daughter rush down the stairs and run straight for him, "There's my girl. Ready for breakfast?" he asked with a bright smile on his face. Li nodded, "What are we having?" she asked. "Well, the Dragon Warrior made dim sum. Would you like that?" Yuè asked. Li's eyes brightened and she nodded more vigorously. Yuè chuckled and pulled a nearby seat for Li before walking off to fetch her a plate. "Good morning." she said, greeting the Five and Po with a wide smile. They all greeted her with a collective 'good morning'. "How'd you sleep?" Po asked. Li's ears fell at the question and her tail curled around the leg of the chair she sat in, "I had a bad dream." she said looking down. Po walked over and took a seat next to her, "It's okay. We all have bad dreams sometimes." he said in a gentle and comfortingly tone. "Even the Dragon Warrior?" Li asked looking the panda in the eyes. Po nodded, "Even the Dragon Warrior." he reassured. Just then, Yuè returned with a plate of dumplings and a pair of chopsticks for Li. The young wolf eagerly grabbed the chopsticks and picked up a dumpling, "What's in them?" she asked turning to her father. "Why don't you ask the chef?" Yuè said, looking at Po and dodging the question. Li looked at Po with her ear cocked in curiosity, "They're filled with tofu. I thought I'd give your dad a break from veggies." Po said with a smile. Li looked down at the dumpling and cautiously took a bite, then another, and another until the dumpling was gone. Yuè chuckled and ruffled the fur on Li's head, "Glad you like it." he said before getting up, "I'm gonna go get dressed. You stay here and finish your breakfast, 'kay pup?" he said. Li nodded and continued eating as he left to get prepared for the day ahead.
Yuè changed out of his bed attire of brown pants, and swapped them out for an attire of all black. He began buckling his leather vest when he heard the door to his room slide open. He turned to see Li standing in the doorway with a somewhat saddened look on her face, "What's wrong pup? Are you okay?" Yuè asked walking to her and getting down on one knee. He eyes glazed over as tears began to form, "I don't want you to go. What if something bad happens? What if you get hurt?" Li asked as her tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. Yuè gently pulled into a hug as her heard a low whine come from the pup, "It's okay pup. Don't cry. Daddy promises that he'll be okay. As long as I have you, nothing bad will ever happen." Yuè said, comforting Li as best he could. He hated seeing his daughter cry. It made him feel terrible inside, like it's all his fault. Yuè let out a small whine that turned into a low howl, a comforting sound to the young pup that slowly calmed her. She soon mimicked her father with her own quiet howl, one at a slightly higher pitch that complemented her voice. They howled like that for a moment before Yuè looked at his daughter and wiped the tears away, "Feel better pup?" he asked. Li nodded with a still somewhat gloomy look on her face. "Was it your dream? Did that make you worry?" Yuè asked. Li nodded again. "Tell daddy about your dream. If you want. If it's too scary you don't have to tell me." he said gently stroking behind Li's ear comfortingly. "In my dream it was really hot and there was smoke and I couldn't find you. And then everything went black and I couldn't see and I was really scared. And then I woke up." Li said with a sniffle as tears threatened to return. Yuè pulled her into another hug and howled into her ear again, "Sshhh, don't cry. It was just a dream. It's all over now pup. Daddy promises that as soon as he's done with work, it'll just be you and me and we'll do whatever you want. Okay pup?" Yuè promised pulling away from the hug slightly to look Li in the eye. "Can we play 'tag' and 'follow the leader'?" she asked. Yuè smiled, "Sure thing pup. Whatever you want." he promised as he put his forehead to Li's, "Now daddy has to finish getting ready for work and the sooner he's done the sooner we can go home. 'Kay pup?" he said standing up. Li nodded vigorously and walked out of the room. Yuè sighed and finished preparing, buckling his vest and strapping his weapons to his hip.
Yuè stepped into the hall and felt something running down his cheek. He wiped it away and realized it was a tear. He sniffed and wiped his eyes to keep more from forming. The lupine continued walking and returned to the bar. Po and the Furious Five all stood at the table in the center of the room, ready to plan their next move to liberate Tan Jin. Yuè took his place at the table and unrolled the map of the city, "Let's begin, shall we?" he asked rhetorically before stating the plan, "Now that we know where the guards will be and when, we can start on the next phase." Tigress cocked an eyebrow, "Shouldn't we be planning this with Jian and Fan?" she asked. "Yeah. Where are they?" Mantis asked. "Doing their part in the plan. Last night, I asked them if they could scout out potential points of interest to cripple the army's hold on the city. They should be getting back right about now." Yuè said. As if on cue, the aforementioned croc and weasel walked into the bar and over to the table. "You guys find anything?" Yuè asked. "Yeah. We spotted some garrisons set up around parts of the city. Mainly near the entrance to the city and close to the palace. There are five that have the most traffic. I also took the liberty of scouting out the guards along those routes." Jian said as he marked off the locations on the map. "I took a peek in one and saw all the basic necessities for an army. Barracks, rations, an armory. These guys are armed to the teeth and the five Jian mention are the most well stocked. And are more heavily guarded." Fan said. "Well, we're gonna have to do something about that." Yuè said grabbing a satchel from his hip and placing it on the table.
Inside the satchel was a variety of explosives, some having cylindrical wooden cases and others with round metal casings. The wooden ones had slight color variations. The wolf picked out five bombs with wooden casings that were painted orange and had short fuses at the top. "These are what we're gonna use to disrupt the troops. We're gonna split up into five teams of two. Each of us are gonna have a bomb and we're gonna destroy their supplies. When we finish, we're gonna comeback here. Make sure no one sees you and you aren't followed." he said grabbing his satchel and putting it back on his hip. "Jian, you're with Viper, head to the garrison in the west near the Warrens. Crane, you're with Mantis. Head to the garrison northeast of here. Monkey, you and Po are going to the garrison in the east. Tigress, you go with Fan south to the garrison in the Noble's Court. I'll go solo and head north to the garrison near the palace." he said designating teams. "What about Li? You two just got back together." Viper asked in a concerned voice. "I told her that I have some work to do. She'll be fine staying here, where it's safe." Yuè said reassuringly. "Wait, you do realize that the person that kidnapped her is here with her, right?" Tigress asked dubiously. Yuè grimaced slightly at the comment. He'd nearly forgotten that Kuo was still at the inn, recuperating from her injury. "Yeah. But she wouldn't get far if she tried something. She's hurt and I've got her scent. If she goes anywhere with Li, I'll find her in a heartbeat." he said before heading to the door. He stopped just before opening it and turned to face the others, "Let's get this done. I have five months to make up for and I don't wanna miss a second of it." he said with a grin before leaving the warmth of the inn and walking into the frigid streets of Tan Jin after a flurry.
In The Warrens...
After leaving the Silver Horn, everyone split off into their teams, each team armed with an explosive to destroy the supplies held in the garrisons. Jian and Viper took to the Warrens, a more impoverished part of the city, to destroy the supply stockpile in that district's garrison. The pair took to the rooftops and looked down at the slums. Litter lined the alleys and sides of the streets as the people trudged through the snow, heading to whatever occupation paid enough to get by and feed themselves. City goers in this district of Tan Jin were dressed heavily in tattered garbs to keep warm in the frigid mountain city. Viper couldn't help but have a glum expression as she watched the civilians struggle through life, "How can people live like this? Why isn't anyone doing anything?" she asked Jian. The crocodile shrugged limply, "Sometimes people with power get too caught up in their own endeavors to worry about those that need their help most. Other times, they don't care and would rather worry themselves." he said looking at the serpent, slightly less dejected but equally moved by the sight. "That's terrible. At the Valley of Peace everyone helps each other as best they can. I've never seen anything like this." she said in an almost repulsed tone. "If only more places could be like that. But unfortunately that's just how things go around here." Jian said. Viper sighed, "Maybe it'll be better when we defeat Jūnfá." she said. "I'm sure it will." Jian said placing a hand on Viper's back.
The serpent turned to see the croc smiling at her. She couldn't help but feel a little bashful. The day before, she and Jian went to scout out guard positions together which led to some comments that left her wondering how she felt about the larger reptile. A moment later she felt his touch disappear and was replaced by the sound of footsteps. She turned back to see Jian standing near the edge of the building, "Let's go. We can't change anything by just sittin' around now, can we?" he said with a grin. Viper smile and slithered over to accompany him as they continued on their path to destroy the military garrison.
After two hours of navigating the rooftops of the Warrens, Jian and Viper finally reached the garrison stationed in the district. It was very similar to the outpost outside the city with how the walls surrounded the outer perimeter, but the inside of the garrison differed majorly from the outpost. Instead of tents and a hastily constructed barracks area, the soldiers used commandeered buildings for sleeping quarters, supply stockpiles, and to house rations. With living spaces being scarce enough in the Warrens, the loss of more homes to the hands of Jūnfá's soldiers made it harder for impoverished civilians to have places to live. Looking in the garrison from above, Jian spotted two guards posted in towers at the entrance and four posted at the entrance. The were several guards patrolling the garrison courtyard and possibly more around and inside the commandeered buildings. As Jian scoped out the garrison he spotted a point of entry, a deserted alley between two burned out buildings. He relayed the information to Viper and the two made their way above the alleyway. Jian went first and jumped down between the buildings. He sunk his iron claws into the side of one of the buildings and slid down in a shower of small stones falling onto the snow covered ground below.
Several seconds later Jian landed on the ground crouched with a slight thud. Viper followed behind and landed beside him in the snow. Wasting no time, the pair quickly, and silently, moved to the edge of the alley and peeked around the corner. A soldier had just passed by and was heading to one of two other buildings situated in the garrison. The building was missing a large portion of the front, where the entrance would be, and scorched bricks lined the opening. Jian and Viper had a clear look inside the building and saw several racks of weapons, sacks of rice and grain, and, interestingly enough, several red barrels labeled gunpowder. They backed up and returned to the alley, "Any plans?" Jian asked Viper. She rubbed her chin for a moment and looked around the alley. To their left was a solid brick wall, but to their right was a burnt out old store. A large gaping hole was in the side of the building and gave them a view inside. She could see a back door that led to another alley that was much closer to the supply stockpile. "We'll head through the store into that alley. Hopefully there aren't any guards to slow us down and then we can plant the bomb in their supplies." Viper whispered. Jian nodded and climbed through the hole in the side of the store.
As the reptiles moved through the store, Jian was so silent that if he wasn't in clear view of Viper, she wouldn't have known he was there at all. Despite his size, the crocodile was very quiet, contrary to what Viper knows about other members of his species. The crocodiles she encountered were much louder and clumsier than the one beside her. They successfully moved through the store without being spotted and were in the alley. Jian looked around the corner and saw that the stockpile was a clear shot across from them. The only problem was the lack of cover. The building next to the shop had no openings on the side and to top it off, the soldiers had a clear view of the stockpile, so if the pair decided to make a run for it, they'd be caught instantly and most likely killed on sight. "Dammit. Now what?" Jian asked. Viper looked around for anything that could help them. She thought about how they needed to get close to the supplies to place the bomb, but they also needed to light the fuse. The latter was easier than the former, which is where the problem was. The fuse was also very short, which meant they needed a way to leave as well as not get spotted, another problem. Jian tapped her on the side, "I got a plan. I'll light the fuse and toss the bomb in the supplies. Then when it goes off we get outta here." he said. "But how're we leaving? The entrance is on the other side of the camp, and the soldiers posted there would spot us." she pointed out. Jian smirked, "Not if we leave in a more unconventional way." he said pointing at the stone wall behind them. His iron claws were strong enough to break through the stone and he could use them to climb out of the garrison.
Viper thought for a moment then nodded, giving Jian the go-ahead for the plan. He pulled out a piece of flint, a throwing knife, and a loose scrap of parchment. Then he stuck the bottom half of the bomb in the snow so that it was in place to light the fuse. He struck the flint across the side of the blade, causing sparks to fly out and light the parchment. He lit the fuse and quickly tossed the bomb into the stockpile, landing on the red barrels. In less than two seconds the bomb exploded with much larger boom than anticipated, capturing the attention of every soldier in the garrison. It seemed the red barrels were filled with gunpowder which amplified the destructiveness of the bomb. Satisfied with their work, Jian and Viper made a hasty escape up the brick wall. Jian used his claws and a knife to make the climb easier, and Viper coiled loosely around his neck to hitch a ride up as well. They climbed onto the roof of the building and looked back at the garrison. Guards ran frantically to try to put out the fire the explosion created and were shouting indistinctly at one another. Jian and Viper grinned at one another and made their way back towards the Silver Horn Inn.
Meanwhile In The Noble's Court...
Fan guided Tigress through the Noble's Court, a much more wealthy district of Tan Jin city. The people in that part of the city differed greatly from those in the Warrens. The streets were cleaner and free of debris. Buildings were made of more carefully carved wood and expertly sculpted stone, and were less damaged than most of the buildings in the city. The people had finely groomed fur, scales, and feathers, and wore more luxurious clothing, like silk robes and jewelry encrusted in expensive gems. They were also more pretentious and judgmental about outward appearances. Tigress looked around at the sights the district had to offer but couldn't help but be put off by snide comments being made just out of earshot. "Do you see what that tiger's wearing? Ugh, that coat is hideous." one voice said, "That fur and that color? Ew." said another. Tigress was taken out of her eavesdropping by a slight bump on the arm, "You okay?" asked Fan. Tigress nodded, "Yeah. Just staying focused and keeping watch." she said dismissively. "Okay. But try not to take what they say to heart. These people have more money than sense and most of their wealth comes from trust funds and daddy issues." Fan said with a grin as a pair of female tigers dressed in vibrant red daxiushans walked by and scoffed at the pair. Tigress nodded and kept walking with Fan, doing her best to tune out the rude comments being made about them.
The walk through the Noble's Court had been completely silent, aside from the varying conversations from passersby. Fan and Tigress had barely spoken a syllable to one another. Fan was half focused on making her way to the garrison and half wondering how much she could steal from the pompous aristocrats wandering the streets. However, Tigress was thinking about something she remembered from the previous day. When Crane brought up the Lin Kuei Fan lost focus, almost like he brought up something she'd rather he didn't. She became more suspicious when asking about their leader, a one-eyed wolf that tried to steal from the palace and kill Po. "Fan, yesterday when Crane brought up the Lin Kuei you acted a bit strange. Why?" she asked. Fan looked at Tigress with feigned bewilderment, "No reason. I heard a good bit about the Lin Kuei and was surprised to know you guys took them on. Especially their leader." she said. Tigress cocked an eyebrow, "Is that so? Well, what do you know about them?" she asked, becoming more dubious of the mustelid. Fan shrugged, "About as much as anyone, I guess. They're a wolf clan of assassins and thieves. And their leader, well, leads them. That's it." she said innocently. Tigress couldn't help but get the feeling that Fan knew more than she led on. Her occupation practically required her to know things most people wouldn't. From secretive groups of assassins to having tabs on just about every lowlife in China. So why would she hide information now? Just before she could question the weasel more, the garrison came into view, just several meters away. The pair ducked into a nearby alley and continued toward their objective more stealthily. They continued going down the alleys and climbed a tall building overlooking the garrison. The outpost looked similar to the garrison Jian and Viper encountered, but the commandeered buildings were not as destroyed and run down. In fact, they looked as if they were built specifically for the soldiers occupying them. The building were made of slate grey stone and each were two stories high. There were three buildings, each with a specific use. Closest to the entrance was a mess hall that looked like it could be a five-star dining hall, if it wasn't for the rations being fed to the soldiers that is. In the far back of the base was the largest building, most likely used for storing weapons and supplies. Next to that building was the barracks, the structure looking more like an inn for the exceptionally wealthy. The building Tigress and Fan stood on was positioned near the side wall of the garrison and was about four stories tall. "I'll go in and set off the bomb. You distract the soldiers and keep them out of blast radius. The last thing we need are bodies." Fan said. Tigress nodded and the pair set off to infiltrate the garrison.
Activity inside the garrison was surprisingly low. The guards were either manning their posts around the entrance and in the watch towers, or relaxing in the mess hall and barracks. This caught Tigress and Fan a bit off guard. They expected a small army like the one in the outpost outside of the city, but only a few guards patrolled the perimeter inside the garrison. In almost no time at all, Fan and Tigress arrived at the building housing the supplies, but something felt off, "This was too easy. There should have been guards everywhere." Tigress whispered. "Yeah, I feel the same way. I expected at least some traps or an alarm." she said pushing the door to the supply stockpile open. Just as the door opened, the sound of a thinly stretched rope snapping cracked through the air. The rope quickly slipped through a network of intricate loops before coming to a raised mallet held by two connecting strings of the rope, forming a sort of pendulum. The string of rope keeping the mallet pulled back slipped, allowing the small hammer to swing freely into a large gong. The sound of the gong resonated throughout the camp, alerting every soldier occupied in the barracks, mess halls, and patrolling the garrison. "Aaww crap." Fan said and quickly set the bomb on the ground next to the supplies. "You may wanna hurry!" Tigress nearly yelled as she looked back to see dozens of soldiers going on full alert, grabbing blades and rushing to the supply stockpile. Fan took out a knife and sliced a portion of the fuse off, drastically lowering the amount of time required for the bomb to explode and for them to escape the blast. She then took out a piece of flint and struck it against the knife, lighting the fuse. "We need to go now!" Fan yelled as she quickly ran out of the building, Tigress following close behind. They made a run for the far side wall and dashed past a guard, "Hey! Stop!" shouted the boar. Just then, the fuse reached it end and the bomb detonated, sending stone, wood, and debris everywhere. Luckily, the soldiers were unharmed and only pushed back by the shockwave of the explosion, disorientating them. By the time they came to their sense and search for Fan and Tigress were long gone and on their way to rendezvous with the others at the Silver Horn Inn.
In North Tan Jin...
Yuè was completely focused on his mission and worked quickly. The northern part of Tan Jin was one of the busiest districts in the city and he used the crowds to his advantage. He was virtually invisible to the guards stationed in the district. The sun was due to set soon and Yuè was still a good distance away from his target. As much cover as crowds provided, they were a terrible way to get around. Having to push through a sea of fur, feathers, scales, and the bodies that come with them made it a difficult mode of staying hidden. After nearly two hours of wading through several hundred pounds of people, Yuè's target was within sight. He stopped short and squeezed out of the crowd to take a breather at small noodle stand. Beside him stood a hooded figure, presumably a tiger due to his muzzle being exposed, with his arms crossed. His fur was a very uncommon white instead of the usual orange, and his muzzle creased with a slight scowl. "Crowds, huh? Can't help but hate 'em sometimes, eh?" he asked in a deep, gruff voice. Yuè flashed a wolfish grin, "Yeah. They get in the way." The stranger chuckled lightly, "Yeah. They tend ta do that." he said before holding an open hand out to Yuè, "The name's Zhuo." he said. Yuè took the hand and shook it, "Call me Yu." he said in a friendly tone. "Well then Yu. Sorry ta cut our meeting short, but I got some things ta take care of. Maybe we'll meet again soon." he said, his blood red eyes meeting Yuè's heterochromatic green and gold eyes. Looking into the tiger's eyes filled Yuè with a brief sense of familiarity, like he was looking into his own eyes, but something was off. Zhuo broke off the handshake and pushed off of the counter of the noodle stand, walking off from the lupine. Before leaving he turned back to face Yuè, "Hey. I think you dropped this." he said tossing a cylindrical wooden object to Yuè. He quickly caught the item and looked up to see Zhuo had disappeared. Looking down at the object, he recognized it as the bomb he had hanging on his hip. To make matters worse, the fuse was lit and didn't have much time left.
He quickly pushed away from the stand and ran into a nearby alley. Yuè tossed the bomb as hard as he could into the air as the fuse ran out. With a loud bang, the explosive went off, shattering nearby windows and destroying the stone walls of the buildings in the blast radius. The shockwave pushed Yuè to the ground and disoriented him. The sound deafened his sensitive ears, leaving him with a high-pitched ringing in his ears. For a few seconds Yuè was planted firmly in the snow, reflecting on the events that transpired moments before the explosion. The crowd, the friendly tiger, and the lit fuse. It didn't make sense why the tiger tried to kill him, but Yuè knew he wanted to get him back. That would have to come later though. For now, he'd have to return to the inn and tell the others what happened. The wolf gingerly stood and leaned against the wall of a nearby building until he felt his footing was stable. A moment later, he walked out of the alley into a crowd of screaming civilians, and felt himself regretting the fact his hearing returned seconds before entering the crowd. He didn't slow down and ran with the crowd to stay hidden from the now active guards.
Outside The Silver Horn Inn...
After evading the heavy concentration of people and soldiers, Yuè sprinted through the streets of Tan Jin on all fours. By the time he made it back to the inn, the sun was dropping quickly and it's light was fading from the sky. When he'd made it to the entrance of the inn, the other teams had just made it back as well and they all gathered together around the door. "Hey Yu. The garrison in the Warrens is taken care of." Jian said. "Same with the Noble's Court." Tigress said. "And in the east. It was a piece of cake." Po said confidently, crossing his arms. "The one in the northeast is gone." Mantis said. Yuè's face held an expression of anger mixed with disappointment, "I messed up. Some tiger screwed me over on my way to the garrison in the north." Tigress cocked an eyebrow, "A tiger? What'd they look like?" she asked. "White fur, red eyes. He had a gruff voice too." Fan's eyes went wide, "Did he wear a black hood?" she asked. Yuè nodded, "Yeah. His name was Zhuo. You know him?" he asked. "He was with Jūnfá in the palace, but he wasn't a soldier. He's a mercenary or something. All we know is that he works for Jūnfá." Tigress said. "Well, that would've been nice to know before he tried to blow me up." Yuè said with a scoff. "Let's just head inside and plan our next move." he said, opening the door to the inn and stepping inside.
When everyone got inside Yuè stopped them at the door. Further inside he could hear someone humming, but it didn't sound like anyone that was at the inn before. The hum had a deep bass tone, and the tune was happy and nonchalant. The nine warriors stepped cautiously into the bar and found the source of the humming. The bar was filled with around twenty soldiers sitting at the tables. At the center of the soldiers sat Zhuo, leaning back in a chair with his leg propped up on the table with an empty shot glass in his hand and a bottle of baijiu resting next to his foot. Yuè began growling deeply at the sight of Zhuo and the soldiers. If they were in the inn, that meant that Li was in danger, and he couldn't afford to lose his daughter twice. Zhuo heard the growling and took his feet off the table, "Yu! Good ta see ya pal." he said flashing a toothy smile. "What the hell are you doing here? How'd you find this place?" Yuè asked with a snarl. Zhuo put the shot glass down and stood from his seat, "Wasn't too hard. I've been followin' your group since you got in the city. Plus it helps when you use the same safe house more than once." he said as he paced around his table. Yuè looked around the room at the soldiers. They were all armed with swords, axes, and other weapons fitting for close combat. "So what do you want with us exactly? To kill us or take us to your master." he said with disdain, putting emphasis on the word 'master'. Zhuo chuckled lowly before getting more serious, "He's not my master, 'dog'. He's my employer. And as for bringin' you in, all he wants is the Dragon Warrior. Which means the rest of you are disposable." he said darkly as the soldiers all stood and drew their weapons.
Yuè quickly drew a dagger he had strapped to the small of his back and flipped it in a reverse grip. Jian and Fan also drew their weapons as Po and the Furious Five got into their stances. Zhuo drew a hook sword he had on his back and pointed it at the warriors, "Show no mercy and make sure you capture the Dragon Warrior alive." he said, sending the soldiers to attack Yuè and the others. Yuè charged forward and leapt over a charging rhino, sending the pachyderm into Jian's iron fist as the others charged into the fray. The lupine landed between a wolf and a crocodile, both armed with swords. They swung at Yuè horizontally but missed when the wolf ducked their attack. He slashed at the crocodile's shin, forcing him to a knee, and launched himself upwards. He drove his knee into the croc's chin and kicked the wolf in the face. After dispatching the two, he continued to make his way to Zhuo. Meanwhile at the bar Monkey and Viper were combating five snow leopards seeking to challenge the kung fu masters. Monkey leapt on top of the counter and swung his legs into the face of one of the soldiers, sending him stumbling backwards. Viper slithered at breakneck speed down the path his legs made and slammed into stumbling feline. Monkey, then, leapt onto a bar stool and flipped it at another snow leopard, sending him crashing to the ground. The three remaining soldiers rushed him with punches that were deflected. Monkey held their arms in place as Viper wrapped her body around them and forced the soldiers to knock themselves out with their own fists. Monkey and Viper looked down at their work and high fived each other before going into the battle to assist in clearing out the bar.
Tigress and Fan were back to back in a circle of soldiers wielding large clubs and great swords. Fan drew several throwing knives, the iron gleaming in the light. A bear charged the females, beginning the assault. Fan bent down and Tigress rolled off her back toward the bear, landing a palm strike that sent him into a table, shattering it and sending splinters flying. Fan turned to the other side and tossed five knives at the same time in a horizontal arc, landing in the shoulders, legs, arms, and chests of the soldiers on that side. Three lynxes charged Tigress at once, attacking with a flurry of sword swings. Tigress dodged them with a backflip, catching one of the swords and planting it firmly in the floor. Another lynx thrust his blade at Tigress's chest. She moved to the side and caught his arm before slamming her palm into his elbow, bending the appendage in a direction it wasn't meant to bend. The lynx cried out in pain, but Tigress silenced it with a leg sweep, sending him to the ground, and firmly punched him in the face. The last soldier faces Tigress with fear and uncertainty in his eyes. Tigress moved to the side and allowed Fan to handle him. The weasel stepped forward and looked the feline in the eyes, sensing his fear. She winked at him then roundhouse kicked the lynx across the face, sending him spinning in the air before landing on the floor with a thud.
The wolf was slammed back first against the surface of the table, shattering the furniture. Jian stood ready for the next challenger with four others knocked out on the ground. "C'mon! That's it? Where's the challenge?" he asked overconfidently. Just then a large, heavily armored gorilla approached the crocodile, his hands covered with heavy iron gauntlets. "You called?" he asked sarcastically with a smirk. Jian smirked just as arrogantly, "Damn right I did. Let's do this." he said getting into a stance for dragon style kung fu. The gorilla slammed his fists together, creating a loud clanging sound, and pounded his chest as he howled like primal ape. The two behemoths ran at each other with fists drawn back and ready to strike. The gorilla swung first, but his fist was caught by Jian, the croc following up with a headbutt. The blow sent the ape staggering back but only momentarily. He charged at the reptile again, this time tackling him to the ground and pinning him. The gorilla lifted both his fists into the air and brought them down fiercely with a double axe handle slam. Jian moved his head to the side and avoided the attack. The gorilla's fists shattered the floor, leaving a crater that could've been Jian's head. Jian kicked the ape off of him and stood up, getting back into his stance. He rushed the gorilla and jumped forward with a spinning jump punch. His attack landed on the side of the gorilla's head, but he shrug it off as if it never happened. The gorilla retaliated by slamming his shoulder into Jian's chest, effectively knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground. He grabbed the dazed croc by the tail, picked him up, and savagely slammed back to the ground. He stood over Jian and was about to strike the last blow when his arm tensed up and he was unable to move. He tried to move the appendage by shaking it, but it was firmly stuck in place. Jian stood up with slightly shaken footing and an arrogant grin, "You look a little stuck." he said before punching the ape in the nose with his metal hand, breaking it and causing the gorilla to stumble backwards, still unable to move his arm. Jian then grabbed him by the sides of his head and slammed it on his knee before ending the fight by picking up the primate by the throat and throwing him out of a nearby window. Jian panted heavily as Mantis jumped on his shoulder, "Nice save there. We should fight together more often." he told the insect before walking off to find a less exhausting challenge.
The bar became more and more clear of soldiers willing to fight and filled with more that were either unconscious or writhing in pain from the beating they got. Po punched the last remaining soldier, a lynx, in the face, knocking him out. Then, it was just nine angry warriors and Zhuo left standing. "Well, they were useless. But then again I'd expected nothin' less from the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five." he said before focusing his gaze on Yuè, Fan, and Jian, "But you three surprised me the most. Especially you Yu. I'm actual glad you didn't get turned into a stain on the snow. Because I've decided ta take all of you in alive. Hell, Jūnfá might pay me double for that. I'm sure he wants ta kill you himself for that stunt with the garrisons." he said before drawing a small staff from his back. He spun it with a hand for a moment before it extended into a full length bo staff. Jian was the first to attack and rushed the tiger. He swung his claws, aimed at Zhuo's throat in an attempt to end the fight quickly. Zhuo countered with his bo staff, slamming the base end into Jian's shin, knocking him off balance. The tiger followed up by slamming the other end into his gut and ending with a jab at his chin, hitting a certain spot under his jaw and sending Jian to the ground. The room went silent and all that was heard was a deep rumbling coming from the downed crocodile, "One down, eight ta go." Zhuo said stepping over Jian.
Yuè growled loudly with his fangs bared and charged at Zhuo on all fours, Fan following behind with a knife in each hand. Yuè leapt at the tiger with his claws unsheathed and slashed at his face. Zhuo dodged with a back step and Fan followed up with Yuè's attack with a horizontal slash with one of her knives. Zhuo blocked the knife with his staff and pushed Fan back. He followed up with by striking her in the chest with the base end of the staff and followed up with a strike across her face with the other end, pushing her back. While Zhuo was occupied with Fan, Yuè jumped on his back, claws digging into the tiger's shoulders. Zhuo growled in pain and shook to try to loosen Yuè's grip. Meanwhile Fan drew five more throwing knives and threw them at Zhuo as Yuè held him in place. The tiger slammed Yuè into the back wall and got the canine to release his grip. He dove forward to dodge the knives, leaving the blades on a course toward Yuè. The lupine saw the knives headed his way and dodged to the side, leaving them to stab into the wall. Zhuo crouched and looked up, only to receive a kick to the face from Fan, pushing him back down to the ground. She jumped on top of him and stabbed down with a knife aimed at Zhuo's head. He caught her hands kept the blade at bay as she pushed down harder. Zhuo pressed a foot against Fan's stomach and used her weight against her, judo tossing her off of him. They both stood up and Fan attacked him again with her knife, slashing at his chest horizontally. He caught her arm and retaliated by jabbing her in the neck with two fingers. When he pulled his hand back a dart was sticking out of her neck. Fan stumbled back two steps before dropping to the ground and losing consciousness. "That's two. Who's next?" Zhuo said as he approached Po and the Furious Five.
The Furious Five all rushed him at once, leaving Po to check on the condition of Fan and Jian. Yuè accompanied him and went to check on Fan. He removed the dart from her neck and sniffed the needle to inspect the type of poison Zhuo used. It was a poison made of valerian, a plant used as a cure all remedy, but it's roots can be used as a sedative. Luckily, the poison's effect didn't last long, but maybe that was his plan. Yuè looked up and witnessed the battle between five kung fu masters against one mercenary. He'd heard tales of their battles, how they all worked as if they were one warrior, but seeing it was very different from hearing it. Before, when they were in combat, the five were split up to dominate large numbers of opponents, like at the outpost or in the bar. Now they had one focused threat to strike down as one. Tigress led the frontal assault on Zhuo and was joined by Monkey. The two attacked furiously and followed close behind every strike to decrease the window of recovery for Zhuo, as well as any openings he could find to retaliate. Meanwhile, Viper, Mantis, and Crane struck at all other angles with at practically the speed of light. Mantis struck at the tiger's nerves to try to subdue him quickly and Viper amplified Crane's more aerial based assault by launching from his strikes, doubling their combined force.
It seemed like the Five could overwhelm Zhuo with numbers and force alone, but this wasn't the case. The merc was surprisingly able to keep up with their attacks, and even anticipate their moves. Tigress attacked him with a front kick, but he countered by kicking her leg back and followed up by thrusting his elbow into her chest. Tigress was staggered by the attack and was pushed back. Monkey covered her by flipping into the air and coming down with an axe kick. Zhuo blocked the attack with his forearms and pushed Monkey back, causing him to flip backwards. He followed up with a side kick landing on Monkey's back, sending the primate flying onto the ground with a floor with a thud and rendering him unconscious.
"Monkey!" Viper shouted with concern as she lunged at the mercenary. Zhuo caught her by the neck and swung her to the side, swatting Mantis out of the air during one of his attacks and knocking him out of commission. Crane dove at Zhuo talons first in a dive kick. The tiger dodged to the side and tossed a bolo at the avian, ensnaring him as the trap wrapped around his wings and torso and sending him to the floor. Viper quickly slithered over to Tigress's side as they stood against the formidable threat. "You know, this would go so much faster if you just gave up." Zhuo taunted, his voice giving away hidden agitation. Tigress quietly growled and readied herself to attack the mercenary. He growled and lunged at the two warriors with claws drawn. He attacked first with a flying roundhouse kick aimed at Tigress. She deflected the kick and countered with a palm strike to Zhuo's chest. The attack pushed the tiger back, his toe claws dung into the floor boards and splintered them as he skid back. Viper followed up with the attack and lunged forward. She struck him across the face with a tail whip, slicing his cheek and drawing blood. Tigress continued the attack with a flying kick to Zhuo's face. The tiger was sent to the ground but quickly recovered and stood back up. Viper quickly attacked him again but Zhuo intercepted the attack with a knee strike, hitting Viper on the head and sending her to the ground. She tried to get back up but was hit with a sleep dart and was knocked unconscious. Tigress was about to lunge at him but was met with a sleep dart to the shoulder. She resisted its effects but was still groggy. Zhuo threw two more, both making their mark in Tigress's palm as she tried to block them. A second later, the master fell to the floor unconscious.
With a brief satisfied grin, Zhuo turned toward Yuè and Po, only to be met with a massive punch to the face, sending him across the room and landing in a chair. He looked up as he adjusted his nearly broken jaw to see an angry panda in a ready stance. "You really shouldn't have pissed the big guy off." Yuè said standing to Po's side and getting into his wolf style stance, "And you made an even bigger mistake p***' me off." he said with a snarl. Zhuo growled lowly and jumped from his seat, charging at the wolf and panda. Po and Yuè charged at the tiger as well, Yuè running on all fours. The wolf lunged at the merc with his fangs bared and claws unsheathed, and swiped at him. Zhuo dodged under the attack with a roll and got up with a jumping uppercut to Po, striking the Dragon Warrior on his chin and causing him to get staggered. Yuè came back and lunged at the tiger again, this time tackling him. He punched Zhuo in the face several times before getting kicked off by the feline. The merc rolled backwards and got back on his feet only to be met with a flying kick to the face from Po. The ursine followed up with a palm strike to Zhuo's chest, pushing him back even further and keeping him staggered. Before the tiger could come to back to his senses, Yuè vaulted over the panda with his dagger drawn, in a reverse grip, and stabbed at the tiger. Zhuo caught the knife as it was inches away from his face, positioned directly over his right eye. As Yuè pushed the dagger closer, Zhuo's back was pushed against the edge of a nearby table. The tiger moved his head to the side as the knife came down and got stuck in the table. He headbutted Yuè, causing the wolf to stagger back slightly and release his grip on dagger. Yuè recovered quickly and swiped his claws at Zhuo. He dodged the attack and quickly pulled the dagger from the table and brought it down on Yuè's left hand, effectively pinning him to the furniture.
He hissed in pain and pulled back slightly, causing more pain to shoot through his hand. Blood began to pool under his hand from the wound and drip off the side of the table. He tried to pull the dagger out, but the blade was lodged deeply in the wood, making it difficult remove. Meanwhile, Zhuo shifted his focus to Po, his other target and more immediate threat. He lunged at the panda, but was grabbed out of the air and tossed into another table, shattering it to splinters. Zhuo growled angrily as Po stood across the room triumphantly with a slight grin, "Don't seem so tough now, huh?" he asked. Zhuo's scowl turned into a grin, "Maybe you should check your arm, Dragon Warrior." he said confidently. Po looked at him with bewilderment and looked at his forearm. The mercenary jabbed him with a sleep dart. "Any second now, you'll be well on your way ta dream land." Zhuo said. But several moments later, nothing happened. The poison failed to work on Po. "So, uh, how long does it take to work?" he asked Zhuo. "The hell?! It should've worked by now!" the tiger yelled. "Maybe that one was a dud." Po said with a slight shrug. Zhuo growl loudly and jumped to his feet. He pulled out his collapsible bo staff and extended it before spinning the staff into a ready position, "Screw the poison. I like the old-fashioned way better anyway." he said before twisting the middle of the staff and having a four inch blade pop out of both ends. "That's soooo cool! I want one of those!" Po said gleefully. "Focus, panda!" Yuè shouted as he continued to try to pull the dagger from his hand. "Oh, right." Po said before getting back in his panda style stance as Zhuo charged at him while spinning the double bladed staff.
The tiger spun the staff to his side before jumping into the air and bringing the weapon down on Po. The panda moved to the side, dodging the staff, and ducked when Zhuo followed up with a horizontal swing aimed at his torso. Po retaliated with a jumping roundhouse kick, but Zhuo dodged with a back flip. He retaliated with a diagonal slash with the bladed end of the staff, slashing through Po's vest and lightly cutting his chest. The panda recoiled in pain and leaned to the side as Zhuo jabbed at him with the blade of his staff, dodging the attack. Po began to back away from his opponent as Zhuo began spinning his bo staff threateningly. He stalked toward the panda with an intimidating glare as he spun the staff before stopping. He turned around in a circle and swept Po's legs from under him, sending the panda to the ground with a thud that shook the furniture in the bar. Zhuo retracted the blades from the ends of the staff and slammed the base into Po's forehead, knocking the panda out cold. And then there was one. Zhuo pulled the ends of his bo staff together, collapsing the weapon into a more compact baton and sheathing it on his back. Across the room, the mercenary heard a pained grunt accompanied by a heavy sigh. He looked over to see Yuè with the dagger removed from his hand. The wolf clenched his injury tightly to control the bleeding, looking around for something to bandage it with. A grin crept across the corner of Zhuo's muzzle and he began to saunter toward the canine. "Your backup's down mutt. Now it's just you, and me." he said as he drew a knife from his belt. Yuè growled as the tiger neared him, "I don't need backup." he snarled as Zhuo got closer. When he was within range, Yuè unsheathed the claws of his right hand and swiped at the mercenary, but the tiger caught his hand and forcefully twisted it behind his back. Before Yuè could make an attempt to retaliate, he stopped in his tracks by a knife held to his throat, "Calm down Fido. I'll give you two choices. One, surrender and come along quietly like a good dog, or two, I slit your throat and take he rest of your pals ta my boss, he kills them, and I get paid. Choose."
For a moment, Yuè's pride almost got the best of him and he was going to accept the second option. But he couldn't do that to Li. His daughter already lost her mother before she even knew who she was, he couldn't allow her to lose another parent. Especially one that meant so much to her. Just before he was about to surrender, a loud crashing sound, like the breaking of a bottle, sounded off behind him, accompanied by a pained grunt. Zhuo released the wolf and shoved him, pushing him out of the way so he could find who threw the bottle. Both warriors gazed toward the bar and saw a goat standing fiercely with a bottle in his hand. "You leave my friend alone and get the hell outta my inn!" he demanded with a shaky fist. Zhuo growled loudly and bared his fangs, "You threw a bottle at me. You got a death wish old man?" he asked with a snarl. "Don't you threaten me, fish breath. I won't sit by while you attack my friends. Now leave before I make you leave!" Mr. Hsu shouted, tossing the other bottle at Zhuo. The tiger turned to the side and let the bottle fly past him before throwing his knife at the old goat. The blade made it's mark in his chest, causing the wind to be knocked out of him. Mr. Hsu was stunned and stumbled backwards before falling into a sitting position on the floor and sat back against the bar counter. Yuè ran to his side, "Why Mr. Hsu? Why'd you do that? You should've just left!" he said in a hurt, almost angry, voice. The inn owner chuckled weakly, "Because I wanted to protect the last good friend I had in this world." he said as blood began to drip from the corner of his mouth, "You were right, you know? I didn't wanna drink myself into a grave. Mei wouldn't have wanted that. She wouldn't want me to give up without a fight." he said as his strength began to fade. Yuè began to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, but Mr. Hsu stopped him, "Don't bother trying to stop the blood. It pierced my left lung *cough*. I don't have much time and you know it." he said, moving Yuè's hand from the wound. "There's nothing I can do to help, is there?" the wolf asked. Mr. Hsu motioned for Yuè to move closer, "Get that tyrant outta my city." he whispered. Yuè nodded and stood up, looking down at his old friend as he took his final breaths. "Mei? Is that you?" he asked, reaching his hand out to something he saw in the distance, "I'm coming. I'll be right there." Mr. Hsu chuckled weakly for a moment for his breath died down. His hand dropped and his head slumped down. Yuè had seen enough people die to know this meant the old goat had passed on. Then he felt a hard bang on the back his head and was out like a light.
Zhuo looked down at the unconscious canine with satisfaction before walking out of the inn, stepping over the bodies of the defeated soldiers he'd brought with him. In the street in front of the inn stood a troop of around thirty soldiers, forty at the most. He pulled his hood over his head, his muzzle and ears poking out while his crimson red eyes pierced through the night that had fallen on the city. "Search the building and take the prisoners ta the palace. Jūnfá wants a word with them. When you're done, burn the place down." he commanded before walking off down the street. The soldiers filed into the building and ransacked the establishment. Moments later, the Silver Horn Inn was up in flames, incinerating everything inside, including the body of the owner, Mr. Hsu. Meanwhile, the warriors were bound and on their way to Geng Jinhai palace.