Shiren sat down in a little garden with a pond in order to make a short rest after he and Mantis were travelling trough the corridors of this ruin for quite some time.
It was harder at this location than at the other ruins before since these one here was more fallen out of place than any other.
But not just due to the passing of time or all those signs of fights.
Plants grew here from each and every angle and the closer they came to the core of this structure, the more they had to fight their way trough plants.
And the next issue was these corridors had different architectures than the ones from before. Smaller hallways, hidden rooms behind cracking walls or even smaller paths which could not have been called hallways any more have become normal.
The size of the corridors and rooms was comparable to the height of this little "rat hole" from before where the hidden room with the painting was behind.
This was definitely a more snake focussed building and less dragon friendly.
Someone, probably someone who was bigger than a snake, has been opening their own ways trough some of these walls a long time ago. Another proof of a conflict to Shiren.
But despite of being hidden or harder to reach, yet nothing really new anywhere.
At least nothing one could hope for finding in this place.
Like someone took everything with them without considering to leave a hint to someone who could find this place later and maybe learn from it. Also he was not an expert on archaeology.
He wasn't able to tell which things could have belonged together, what a purpose of some fragments, if they were fragments and not just stones on the ground.
It could have been money but he could not say for sure.
When he heard the stream of water, Shiren decided to follow its track and make a rest there.
Water always was a good sign. So he found the little garden.
Unlike to the one where Viper apparently met this dragon this was more a classic chinese garden with these small hallways.
A little waterfall made a perfect ambience to lay down and clear his head.
He and Mantis decided to generally slow down their journey instead of running past everything to just get as fast as possible to the sacred halls of this place.
Without the professor, pushed by Viper and Tigress, they were easily capable of doing so and hopefully it was not a mistake.
Though Shiren did not let his guard down completely, it was one of the first moments he had some peace again since he firstly lost faith to the people of China.
No pressure was to be found at this place. No need to be paranoid. He took a deep breath and watched the lake moving from the stream.
"I hope my presence does not make you uncomfortable?" Mantis who rested some meters away from him asked carefully.
Shiren did not respond for a few moments like he did not hear him. He then slowly shook his head and looked at him, the tiny green mantis.
In real it was the quite opposite: His presence made him quite comfortable. Shiren was glad to have him by his side.
"Your presence is most welcome. Why do you ask?" he then answered and looked back to the lake where even some water plants had the time to grow.
Mantis was one of the few he actually did not felt disturbed by. He was a doctor and took his job seriously from what Shrien was able to see, there was nothing wrong with it. And even if he might not would like to admit it in this moment, Shiren actually enjoyed having some company.
Mantis answered calmly: "Well, because you have been pretty quiet the entire time."
"I have never been the great speaker," Shiren responded. And looked at Mantis for a moment again.
"So," he started a small talk: "how did you become a doctor? Is this Kung Fu training not a full time investment? How could you learn medicine on the way? It's not an easy job to do, especially with very different kind of people."
Mantis begun answering with a thoughtful "Well…" before he started explaining: "What I do, both Kung Fu and being a doctor are two things that go very well hand in hand actually. One of my specialities is patience. A very useful trait as a doctor. I must admit, I gave it up when I joined the furious five but I got the hang of it again during my training under Shifu. Especially when Po arrived and spread the word about inner peace, knowing who you are and stuff. So I did what I thought was my inner core. Training on duty, doctor in my free time. It's the passion that drives me doing things I love, you know?"
"I see," Shiren agreed: "Passion. I remember having that too. Besides my training I actually started working in a library during my free time."
"You were a librarian?"
Shiren had to grin for a second when he thought about his time in the province Lu Lan where he worked in the near by library. "Well, I worked under a watchful eye of Mrs. Shu. I like books, so it's what I did. Bringing order in there, sorting them, knowing where they were… Well, until I got banned."
Mantis slowly came closer and remembered: "I have heard about that. But you did the right thing there. You know, Po is also doing the right thing and gets hurt because of it. But he keeps doing it because he knows it's the right thing to do. Even if it means you… sabotage the plan of your companions, stealth your way into a weapon factory we were about to blow up, make us stopping the gunpowder so we get arrested and get blown out of this factory." He was really talking in depth that he realised pretty late that Shiren started wondering and looked at him confusedly.
"Eh…" Mantis continued a bit ashamed: "Oh, well, it was not the most heroic thing I've ever seen. But at the end despite all of that, he found his way back, saved us, saved the day and…"
"It's okay. I don't need to hear more. I got it." Shiren sighed and shook his head with a tone of disgust: "Po is just so lucky at times. Being the dragon warrior and stuff. Getting trained for free, getting treated like a hero, never had to worry about his existence…"
"Relax, bud'," Mantis calming him down: "Whatever you may heard from him, you know they always put things in a brighter light than it appears. Po was… not always the hero. He got the hero because he understood the secret of the dragon scroll earlier than everyone of us ever did. And maybe because he was just lucky being immune to any nerve shocking attempt from Tai Lung. But he worked hard getting there. It might looked like it was easy but he often had to rely on us. Just being with us gave him so much determination to move on."
Shiren sighed again but smiled at him slightly: "Thank you. I guess I understand this better now. I just wish there was some prophecy about me that would tell me what I would become or what I should do. I don't need any details but… knowing I would life to see another day when I am out there somewhere in the world would be nice," he told while slowly looking to the pawn again.
"You sure know how to scare me. Why do you fear for your life like that? I thought the whole time you wasn't valuing it enough!"
"No," Shiren answered calmly: "I value it very much. That's why I was fighting for it. And that's why I wanted to be here. Where I am free from this fear. Free from the feeling that somewhere in the next bush could be the next crossbow, waiting for me."
He remembered this crossbow. The one that was meant to kill him but instead killed his aunt.
"And nobody there to protect me. That's why I stood hidden. Used my camouflage ability to move undetected. There are people even these days who want to see me dead for what I did. And when you remember Kai, then you might know that not even death can save you from your enemies in the long term."
"I did not meant to bring any bad memories up. Just forget about this topic, okay? You don't like the people of China and that's… okay for now."
Shiren looked down and started narrating:
"You know? After the war was over and I became a loner, I started to work as a mercenary. Something that would kept me going while I was on my search. The day I lost hope for the people was the one I took a normal job like any other. It was the day I actively started hating people."
"Why? Did something go wrong?"
"You could say as much. I will keep it short because the depth doesn't matter as much. This happened multiple times. Same patterns, different details.
I got hired to receive a family amour. Good and simple. But because the client was worried, he insisted four people working on it. There was me, a sheep, a goat and a cobra actually. Without any big conversations we made our way to the robbers outpost and I suggested to sneak in, retrieve the amour and back out there.
And it was quite simple. The only troubling part were my teammates. The sheep was not patient enough and engaged the fortress. So I went out and we tried to get him back. Since the goat got shot on the way he was not able to carry the amour so we had the sheep to do it since it was the only other person capable to run fast with such an amour. But he was stubborn. Wondering why I did not do it but at the end he did it. In fact we took too long there and one of us got shot again.
Sadly it was the cobra. You know, when you hit a rhino, one shot doesn't really matter, especially when you just shot the arm or leg or something. But no matter where you hit a snake it can be very lethal for it.
I asked them to carry him but they refused, arguing it could bite. This sheep just did not want to listen to reason. And the goat even backed him up, saying, we all knew what was at stake.
At the end I stood with him, sought for a save spot but I'm afraid he didn't make it at the end. Don't ask how. We did not reach a medic in time. He asked me to take his money he would have earned for the job and give it to his family which needed it. Long story short.
When I returned to the client they ever said I died on the mission when I entered. And then they refused to give me the money the cobra earned. No matter what his family may have needed or not needed. No one mentioned it was the sheep's fault. No one mentioned they both were way too nauseated to even touch him when they could have. Reason being he could have bitten them on the way. I took my money, gave it to the cobras family and then… I robbed the sheep when it was asleep. I did not leave a message or anything.
I may have done something wrong but this guy was no longer innocent in my eyes. It was the last time I tried to work with other people." He looked at Mantis who was very good at listening to his story. He paid attention while sometimes looking at the lake and back to Shiren.
"And I do not plan to do it again so easily," Shrien ended his narration and sighed, waiting for a response from Mantis.
"I am sorry to hear that," he replied honestly.
"Don't be. It's in the past now. I have learned my lessons. Bad things happen everywhere every time."
"But you trust me?"
"You have been honest to me so far. You looked out for me when I couldn't. I wouldn't say you are a friend to me yet but you have at least earned my respect."
"Then you would allow one last personal question?"
"On the way. We have rested enough for now I'd say. The pawn is not going to disappear."
"Since we are going systematically, the next part lies in this direction."
"Go ahead."
"So, what was your question?" Shiren asked on the way.
"Well, you know pretty much everything there is to know about mine, so, what is about your family? I guess it's not easy as well?"
Shiren really would have loved to just look at him and then walk away but he did not want to say absolutely nothing at all.
So he said: "Family… that's a difficult topic to say the least I'm afraid and honestly there is not much to talk about there either. So I'd like to drop the topic.
It's already bad enough that Viper acts like she is my mother and needs to tell me what to do and what not to. Like she thinks everything I know is just wrong and I don't understand why."
Mantis shrugged: "To be honest, going around and getting beaten by bandits you destroyed wouldn't be something I would see as particularly… good lifestyle to me either but heh. I'm just a doctor. Who am I to judge you?"
Shiren hesitated answering to that question as he longly thought about his next response.
"It's not like it was what I wanted to do with my life. But it was what I had. My parents were the kind of parents which were never there for their child. I have two sisters but they did not live in my life very often. I felt like the only brother I ever had was Chang and he was my cousin. It does not have worth talking about that since none of them is in my life right now and probably never will be again. Everyone is missing since the war. Now you know it. Any more questions?"
"No. I'm good for now, thank you. Let's continue."
They moved on without another conversation or any big problems.
A good few hours they investigated the same rooms, each with other details and it went a bit frustrating for Shiren. Even though he liked this place, since it was like made for him, he still did not understand the purpose of any room. But they patiently kept looking for anything interesting they could draw their attention towards. Eventually the most interesting thing has been a path which collapsed due to a tree growing trough the corridor and make the rocks fall out of their position eventually.
"Fresh air," Mantis commented as he was looking down..
They might not have found much the last few hours but at least they got confirmed there was nothing to find either. And the more Shiren saw these rooms, the more he got familiar with them and knew what to look for and where to maybe find something new.
"It's very deep," Shried discovered when he was looking down. It seemed like they were at an edge of this land since underneath them the huge canyon of nothingness raised with it's huge fog.
He inspected the surroundings. Plants, broken stones, ruins and stuff. Looked very difficult to manoeuvrer trough but it looked manageable for him. Mantis moved forward but jumped back when the ground underneath him broke.
"Looks like this place falls apart with the most tiniest tremor on the ground," he realised in shock: "And I make the tiniest ones you can imagine. Let's go back."
Shiren moved on the path Mantis was just about to take and nothing happened.
He grinned and said: "Luckily I'm not doing any tremor when I'm walking. And it's easier for me to not stumble anywhere accidentally."
"Great. And how do I got over that? I can't jump that high."
"I'm feeling slightly disappointed but okay. Go on my back and move the fewest you can move, okay?"
Mantis asked in disbelieve: "What? You carry me that is now?"
Shiren did not pay attention to him directly as he already figured out a way to cross this very dire web of roots and rocks. Shiren completely had to abuse his unique being a snake in this moment. Crawling and climbing has always been his best ways of moving.
"As long as you don't have a better idea."
"Eh, yeah, like, going back for example."
"It's not a good strategy. This is the only way so far we can get there and I am not interested in taking any risks."
"Like, a risk climbing this dangerous path?"
Shiren looked at Mantis and explained: "It's not dangerous. Not for me."
He waited for a response but when no came he spoke on:
"And we are not splitting. If anything goes wrong you can easily jump of me and call it a day. I generally can't carry people but I will make an exception for you."
Mantis silently agreed with this statement, now being sure Shiren knew exactly what he was doing.
And he was decently manoeuvring his way over the last left overs of what ever this has been once. He carried Mantis so his steps are not collapsing anything and Mantis did only grab carefully on Shiren's body so he had no problem keeping the balance even though Shiren was moving slowly and cerefully. As slowly but surely he was moving towards the other side of the corridor they came from.
"Shiren, on the left. I think I see a small entry," Mantis announced to him and Shiren followed his view. There were no words needed to prove he was excited to see what it was. After all this could have been the only chance to go into that little hole in the wall.
Mantis went in first after climbing on Shrien's head and right into the hole, Shiren following.
And he got excited when he saw the architecture in this. He gasped in joy after seeing this place looking like some kind of temple. The size was not made for dragons and it seemed to not have been touched by any.
The stone was different as well. More dark and just flat. He did not want to guess how long the snakes have been working on this without being seen.
It was an empty corridor stopping at something like a gate.
Mantis put up a torch to see properly and he was inspecting the dead end.
"Looks like we have been a bit too late here. Whoever was here first, already took everything that was here."
Shiren looked at Mantis wonderingly since he was seemingly not seeing this "dead end" being just a gate. But that only made it more exciting to figure out what was behind it when it was that hidden.
The thing he would be after the most: Science. Whisdom. Knowledge. Money was rarely the core of a temple. And what could have been more valuable to hide?
He hemmed to Mantis and moved to the wall. There was no clear entry or lock but that did not stop him. He slowly put up his tail and touched it.
"What is it?" Mantis asked but mainly just watched Shiren inspecting the wall.
At some point he found the middle and a short green light came out of the slit between the two gate parts. They were shaking for a second after opening themselves.
Shiren was happy about himself. He felt like he figured this place out.
Though he did not know how to use the Chi, he knew that here it's presence was the only thing needed. And he entered the dark hallway, knowing Mantis followed since he still had the light.
This place seemed to be some kind of monument or memorial maybe or something. There were snake statues around this round room. Shiren and Mantis separately took a look at the surroundings. Sadly he did not recognise any of them but they seemed to be important figures of this place.
There were nine snakes in total but that was it on the first impression.
Suddenly Mantis called for him: "Shiren, look at that!"
Shiren looked to the source of light, Mantis' tourch and came to him, realising he was looking at something underneath the statue.
"They even have names this time," Mantis elaborated.
Shiren nodded and read the name. "I expect them to be something special. Maybe the most important leader during the war… conflict… whatever it was.
Mantis was looking around and looked at each name.
"Qiuniu, Yazi, Chaofeng, Pulao, Susanni, Bixi, Bi'an, Fuxi and Chiwen."
"Fuxi? Isn't he a direct descent of the dragons?" Shiren looked at the statue that was called Fuxi. A cobra. Seemed to be true. Surely Viper could have confirmed. Though he did not look as threatening as the story describes him.
"That's what Viper said when she talked about him," Mantis confirmed: "But look at this name. Chiwen. Reminds me of you. Shiren. Sounds familiar."
Shiren looked at the statue Mantis stood before. It was a viper kind, sure, but no family tree to confirm."Honestly since I was told to have some epic Chi or whatever to this place I would not deny being one of heir descendants."
Mantis wondered and looked at Shiren: "But then what about Viper? Isn't she one as well?"
The question did irritate him and he asnwered: "I don't know how this works, Mantis. I am sure she figures out herself when she asks the dragon about it. It could be the only source of knowledge about this topic. But for now we should focus on the facts given to us. Nine names. Perhaps nine people who left this place. Or they… I don't know. They are something at least. If we are lucky we find out more about them."
"Or we can ask the dragon itself maybe in case it knows something?" Mantis suggested but Shiren did not like that answer.
Whatever this dragon was, if Shiren would not have seen it for himself, he would not even believe it's existence, even if Viper said it. Viper told long tales in this place.
And even if the dragon would know something about the past, Shiren would not like to believe it that easily. He still remembered the words from the professor, that victors are writing the history the way they want it to be presented.
The dragon was most likely one of the winners in this conflict so it would only say things it would like them to know. From Mantis he heard how few on an impact the furious five did in Gongmen City, after he was told they brought Shen down in an epic battle.
"… I wouldn't like to hear some straight answers at this point. We have been here for a very long time now. And every ruin looks the same than the last one. Every one giving some hints here and there about what happened but nothing that gives us straight answers. Viper already talked to the dragon once. Why did she not ask it about this places history? This could have been over very quickly already!"
Even if he did wouldn't believe everything the dragon said, he would like to know what it would have told Viper, just to compare what it said to places like this. THIS only proves there are things the dragon doesn't know and if there is a proof for a lie from the dragon, then he could have confirmed the dragon being a liar.
"Shiren: Patience," Mantis reminded him gently: "One of the most valuable lessons. We will get our answers eventually. We are up to something big, I can feel it."
"The entire history of my people. Okay. Alright. Let's check if here is something else but an empty altar for nine old legends," Shiren agreed and started looking but the only thing he found behind the statues was a weird looking metal. It form did little to no sense. Like it was a broken part of something. Maybe a circle? It had the shape of a half of a circle at all. But without it other part or parts, it was not easy to tell. It really just looked like trash and he would have ignored it if it would have been in every place but this. He quickly took it into his bag for later. Maybe it could be in use at some point.
"Did you find something there?" Mantis asked and slowly came closer while looking around.
"Nothing very interesting so far. We should go and try to look for more of these halls. Good find, Mantis. We should keep looking around this place for more of these temples of whatever they are. Or where."
"Sounds promising," Mantis agreed and with that being said they slowly made their way back to the outside and Shiren took Mantis on his back again to safely bring him and himself to the next hallway.
Authors note
This chapter took a lot of time to research some facts I used in the story(like the nine names of the snakes to mention one of the most obvious facts), confirming those and also figuring out how to express the dialogue the best.
I hope you enjoyed it.
