Chapter 175

Hiccups POV:

It's been a week since we arrived here in china and in that time not much has happened in that time since our time in the Forbidden City has mostly been relaxed with the exception of Chin Wu asking me to show him my adventures during the dinner he invited the girls and I to. That was followed by a question and answer session in which both Chin Wu and Ling Cho who were both curious about the threats I took on and the new places I'd been to. Other than that, things had been calm for us with me spending most o my time in the Forbidden Cities archives going through the ancient tomes that held any information on the dragons that weren't contained in the lenses.

When I wasn't doing this, I was enjoying a little down time with Blanca and Astrid since I wouldn't be able to enjoy their company on my journey to train the dragons of China. I admit that I could contact them using my wedding ring but simply talking to them through the ring isn't the same as being there with them. It doesn't compare to being there and being able to hold my sweet Blanca in my arms or get playfully punched in the arm by Astrid as she giggles. When I talk through the ring, I miss being able to feel their breath on my face and when I get back, I'm always eager to be able to rest my head in Blanca's lap or have a spar with Astrid. Still though even when I was meant to be resting and enjoying some down time with the girls away from my studies, I continued to plan out my trip and mentally go through the information I had on the dragons.

I admit there might not be as many dragon species here in China as there are in the archipelago but all of these dragon species were scattered across all of China so it was going to take time to find them. Possibly months but I'm hoping with Toothless and the information I have on their known locations and preferred habitats I'd be able to find them fast and come home to my wife and Astrid. Now I had my supplies packed with the dragon eye and its lenses safely tucked away in my spiderpack, Toothless' saddle bags were filled with extra food and water and I'd even drawn up a map with markings to show where the dragons are said to nest. All in all, I believed we were ready to head out on our latest dragon recruitment expedition and ready to face whatever challenges we encountered along the way. All of this leads to now with me in my usual attire with my grootslang coat taking on a jacket form as I stood in the palace courtyard with Blanca, Astrid, Chin Wu and Ling Cho present to see us off on our journey. I took one last look through Toothless' saddle bag and smiled while nodding as I closed the bag before turning to everyone while saying.

"That's everything, me and Toothless are all set for our expedition." Chin Wu then stepped forward and said.

"Hiccup, the emperor wishes you luck on your expedition and hopes you are able to find the different species of dragon you seek to train." I smiled at him.

"Thank you, your majesty, but to be honest I'm praying this expedition doesn't take a year like I fear since the dragons are scattered all over China."

"At least you shall gain the opportunity to see my kingdom and explore places the emperor has only dreamed of seeing." I smiled at him.

"Don't worry, when I get back I'll be sure to use my golden spider to show you all of those places." He smiled as Blanca walked up and said.

"Be careful out there Hiccup, you don't know how aggressive some of those dragons are." I smiled at her and gently caressed her face with my real hand.

"Blanca, I promise you I will be careful and every time I come into a big city I'll open up a portal door for you and Astrid to come through so we can spend some time together and I can enjoy a short break." She smiled.

"I look forward to it." I then pulled her into a gentle kiss that lasted a few seconds before I pulled away with a smile but our moment was ended when Astrid walked up in punched me in the shoulder making me turn to her.

"That's a warning for you to come back safely." She then grabbed the sides of my jacket and pulled me in for a hard kiss and when she pulled away she smiled. "And that is a taste of what's waiting for you when you get back." I smiled.

"I'll hurry back then." She giggled as I turned back and mounted Toothless before giving one last look to everyone and saying. "I'll see you all when I get back." They all smiled as we took off.

One week later

It's been a week since we left the Forbidden City and that week we'd mostly been traveling to the nearest location of a dragon species but I knew this species might prove to be a challenge. This species is the qiulong or the Horned Dragons who are said to be the mightiest dragons in all of China and hold an immense amount of strength and firepower. The thing that distinguished this dragon species from the others the most though is they have larger horns compared to the other species of horned dragons of China. From what I can tell they mainly live on low mountain ranged or coastal cliff ranges away from people. This was a species of dragon I wanted at my side since I knew that with my luck I'd be pulled into battles in the future and for this I'd need strong fighters to help me along the way.

For this trip I knew I'd need a strong fighter to help me against the more territorial dragons who will want to blast first and ask questions later. I sighed since I knew the qiulong might very well be one of the territorial kinds who do not want to be disturbed and will not be happy to see me and Toothless in his or her territory. I knew they were meant to have a fire blast could turn a fully armored man into nothing but ash and melted metal scraps within a second and have enough strength to rip a healthy old tree from the ground as if it were a weed. All in all, this species of dragon was not one that should be taken lightly since if I did I'd most likely end up getting seriously injured and lose the opportunity to train a new dragon. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by Toothless growling and looking back at me in concern making me smile as I sighed and gave him a gentle pat on the neck as I said.

"Don't worry bud, I'm just thinking about the new dragons we'll find in this land." I then saw a mountain nearby and new we were in the right spot. "Keep your guard up bud, we're in quilong territory now."

He growled and nodded but before we could do anything a large fireball flew up right in front of us making Toothless let out a screech and try to fly back almost making me fall off but my leather chest plate activated and the chains went into the saddle keeping me from falling. I looked down into the dense forest and saw something flying fast through the trees but I couldn't tell what it was due to the branches of the trees camouflaging it. The only moments it slowed down were when it stopped to launch another large fireball at us which we were becoming more difficult for us to dodge with every blast. It was then I noticed a clearing and decided if we wanted to deal with whatever it was that was firing at us it would need to be on the ground where we might have more cover and it would have a tougher time aiming at us through the tree trunks.

We swooped down and landed in the clearing before I looked around and using the eye of the dragon I knew the creature was circling us through the trees. I dismounted Toothless while reaching into my saddlebag before pulling out a raw chicken I bought from a travelling trader and intended to roast for dinner tonight but now it was going to be used as a peace offering. As I walked away from Toothless I signaled him to stand down and remain calm since chances are that any form of aggression would not help with the situation. I held up the chicken for any creature nearby to see and knew the creature that had launched the fireballs at us saw it if how the movement stopped was anything to go by. It was then I saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at me from the darkness of the trees before I slowly made my way towards the eyes with the chicken still in my hands. When I was ten feet away the creature in the shadows let out a growl followed by a breath of hot air as if it were telling me I was close enough and knowing this I tossed the chicken towards the darkness.

For a few intense seconds the only sound that filled the clearing was the sound of sniffing followed by a crunching noise, which I could tell, was the chicken being eaten. When the crunching stopped I could see the eyes were still hostile but had slightly calmed down a bit showing me that I'd at least made some progress in calming the beast. I slowly held one arm up while reaching into my coat as I felt my spiderpack push my calming flute into my hand before I slowly brought it out and held it up to show the creature what I was holding. The eyes never left my flute and body as I slowly brought it to my lips before I began playing a gentle tune that was the lyrics to the song Blanca and I first sang together. I smiled around my flutes mouthpiece, at the memory of when we sang together but I never stopped playing since I knew if I did then the creature might attack.

I continued to play the song and other soothing songs for half an hour and allowed the music to ride across the wind and circle the clearing, filling it with the gentle tune. Halfway through this time the creature actually came out to reveal itself while shaking its head to the tune I was playing to calm it and I was impressed with what I saw. This beast had a serpent like body with a long muzzle rectangular, a furry mane behind its head that went around to the bottom and a spine running down its back but instead of being made of spiky scales this spine was made of the same fur that traveled from the mane to the tip of its tail and in color it was a greenish aqua with a tint of blue on the tips. Its scales on the other hand were a mix of brown and green that no doubt helped it hide itself in the woods since they helped make it more difficult for me to spot it when we were in the sky. In front of its mane were horns that similar to goats' horns but were larger and looked to be barbed on the top. It also had four fingered toes with three toes in the front and one at the back and the feet were the same color as the body scales but the talons were a copper colored.

I knew right away that this dragon was a qui-long, the very dragon I'd been searching for and it looked magnificent with its mane looking soft enough to sleep in. Despite the fact that this dragon looked beautiful and so majestic I knew its appearances could be deceiving since this dragon was known as one of the mightiest species in all of China. Because of this I kept playing my flute since I didn't want it to risk it still being aggressive since Toothless wasn't going to be any help due to him falling asleep halfway through the third song. When I figured the qui-long was calm enough I lowered my flute from my lips and looked at the qui-long who stopped rocking its head to the tune and stared at me with less hostility in its eyes but I could tell its guard was still up.

I slowly walked towards it after putting my calming flute away and holding my hands up to show I didn't have any weapons in my hands as I approached it. When it let out a growl and a puff of hot air at me I knew it was trying to tell me I was close enough to and if I took another step there might be trouble. I stopped and saw I was five feet away from the qui-long before I took a breath to calm down and bowed to the dragon to show respect to it making it lean its head back in shock. The shock wore off quickly before the qui-long bowed its head back and then when I stood back up the dragon raised its head as I slowly took another step forward and said.

"You really are a magnificent creature." The creature growled in appreciation. "Me and Toothless aren't here to fight you or take your territory." I took an experimental step towards it and when it didn't growl I took a few more steps towards the qui-long while never breaking eye contact. "I came from a land far from China in search of all the dragons that roam this land hoping they'd be willing to join me on my island as members of my nests and as friends." I took one more step and was then at arms length from the dragon. "I ask you this mighty qui-long." I bowed. "Will you join me on my journey and my island as a new member of my islands nest and if you do not wish to leave I will not be angered and we shall leave your forest."

I turned my head and held out my arm waiting to see if I'd feel its muzzle against my hand and after what felt like a few intense hours, which was, only three minutes I felt the warmth of its muzzle against my hand and smiled. I looked forward to see the qui-long pressing its muzzle against my hand and smiled before I slowly took a small step forward so I was now standing next to its head and gently rubbed its muzzle before checking what the gender was and discovered it was male. I continued to gently rub his muzzle while smiling before I said.

"You know, I just realized I never introduced myself." I stepped back before bowing. "My name is Hiccup Haddock and the lazy reptile who's napping behind me is my nightfury Toothless." He growled before I returned to rubbing his muzzle. "Now why don't we come up with a name for you?" He growled and nodded. "How's about we call you Zhàndòujī since it means fighter and you look to be quite the warrior." He gave a growl of thought before nodding in acceptance of his new name allowing me to continue rubbing the top of his muzzle until a familiar croon caught my attention and I turned to see Toothless waking up. "Good morning you lazy reptile." Toothless turned to me but immediately stood up and got into battle stance when he saw Zhàndòujī who growled and took his own battle stance until I stepped between them with my arms extended. "Easy there you two, we're all friends here." I turned to Toothless. "Bud, this is Zhàndòujī and he'll be joining us on our journey and I trained him while you were taking a nap and since he's joining us could you two try to get along." He growled and nodded, as did Zhàndòujī making me smile. "Thanks guys." I then looked up at the sky and knew we still had plenty of time left in the day before I turned to Zhàndòujī. "Think you could give us a tour of the area?" He growled and nodded before I mounted Toothless and we took off.

Nightfall

We were back in the clearing surrounding a small campfire with a fish slowly being spun over the flames while Toothless and Zhàndòujī each enjoyed their own piles of fish we caught earlier and my tent set up behind me. As the fish I was roasting for my dinner spun over the flames my mind drifted onto the things that had happened after I met and trained Zhàndòujī. Our day was pretty peaceful with not that many problems other than a run in with a few other qui-longs that were ready to take us on but Zhàndòujī would intercept them and growl or roar at them for a few moments and then they'd back off, returning to whatever they were doing. Aside from that we did a bit of fishing for the dinner we were now enjoying and other than that things were pretty quiet but I knew tomorrow we were going to be travelling. For now however all I could do was enjoy the peace of the night and continue to cook my dinner while I continue to plan out our route to the next dragon on my list, the Di-long dragon.

Four days later

It's been four days since we met Zhàndòujī and in that time not much has happened since we spent most of our time up in the air travelling. I had to say seeing Zhàndòujī fly for so long was actually rather majestic with the way his body moved and his fur flowing in the wind as he flew. When he flew he looked as if he were a sea snake slithering through the sky instead of the water while his mane looked like that of a lions mane flowing in the wind. I never forget the feeling of his fur whenever I saw it flowing in the wind since it felt so soft yet rough at the same time kind of like a lions mane when it first comes in.

Now we were up in the air near a mountain on the lookout for a di-long dragon, which were an all female race with their male counterparts being a species of dragon known as the Shen-long. Along with this piece of information the dragon eye on the di-long also informed me that they are said to be earth dragons whose task is to preside over streams and rivers that are high up in the mountains. They watch over these places with a keen eye doing their best to ensure no damage comes to their streams or rivers whether the damage is natural or man made. Sadly because of this they spent a lot of time in the water but also just as much time up in the air so either way finding one was not going to be easy since it could be below the waters or up in the sky, hiding in the clouds.

I continued to look around the area from above before my eyes landed on a large river running through a large forest and knew this was the river and my mind flashed back to yesterday. We had spent the night in a small farming village that the river ran through and was told that the river was what they rely on to water their crops and supply their village with water. They mostly grew grain that they then sold to nearby cities or to passing travelers, who were on their way home or to cities and the majority of them relied on their crops to keep their village alive, their family's children fed and their families housed.

As for the people themselves, they were nice enough after they saw we weren't there to hurt them and when the village head found out who I was he dropped to his knees and bowed so fast I thought he'd break his back. Apparently this small village was one of the villages that had fallen under the Generals command and was told about how I was the one to stop him. It was because of this he claimed that his village was in my debt which to be honest was not something I liked since I didn't feel like I did anything for them other than just do what needed to be done. After that word spread fast through the village about who I was and what I'd done for not only their village but all of China resulting in them treating me like an honored guest in their village.

This means I didn't get a moments peace with people coming up and thanking me while some children ran up asking me if I was looking for an apprentice, if I could teach them some of my moves or tell them what my adventures were like. Toothless and Zhàndòujī didn't have it any easier since the children thought they were amazing and wanted to play with them but their parents were hesitant until I gave them the go ahead after I told my dragons to try not hurt the children. When the children played with them I laughed since it was bot adorable and funny to see how the kids were using the dragons as play things and climbing on the dragons like trees.

A small feast in my honor followed this where I was sat down next to the village leader who I enjoyed talking with and learning about the village. I wasn't happy to hear how they'd been having some issues with some nobles who had been trying to buy their land for some reason but the villagers won't sell their land, as it had been theirs for generations. The village head claimed that this land was their home and they were not going to sell it to anyone, not even the emperor if he came from the Forbidden City and offered to buy the land himself. I smiled at this since I knew the feeling since I'd do the same for Berk even with my own island and I'd have even done the same before despite all the pain I was caused in my youth. The village head told me that he worried about the nobles claiming that he'd regret not selling the land to them when he had the chance since it made him worry that they were up to something. I told him to relax since from my past experiences, these nobles were just all talk and no action but if I ran into them I'd handle them for the village.

It was then the a large river caught my attention and I steered Toothless down towards its edge with Zhàndòujī following behind us before we landed a few feet away from the edge making me smile as I look around since it was a beautiful place. I turned to Toothless and Zhàndòujī before I gestured to the river as I said.

"Feel free to have a drink guys, you must be parched after the long flight we took to get here."

They each growled and nodded while I pulled out my bottomless water flask and had a drink myself and for a moment I took a breath and enjoyed the sounds of the forest. It was sadly ruined by the sound of men approaching with someone barking out orders but they weren't that close so I couldn't hear them that well. One word that I knew I did hear however was the word 'poison' and 'barrels' and that sent a bad feeling in my gut and I knew right then and there, it meant trouble. I figured it best to investigate what was going on since the last thing I wanted was for any innocent people in the village getting hurt just because I didn't check it out and make sure there wasn't trouble. I signaled Toothless and Zhàndòujī to stay back while I investigated things to which they growled before I had my grootslang coat into its ninja mode, climbed up the nearest tree to a high branch and then used my ninja skills to jump from tree branch to tree branch.

After a few long jumps I finally found the ones who were making such a racket and I was not like what I saw in the least since I could easily tell it meant trouble. There were multiple men with large wagons holding barrels that they were unloading and moving towards the edge of the river and the ones who looked to be commanding the others were a small group of three men wearing some high-class clothes. These men were sitting at a small table and sipping tea with baked goods on the side and behind them was an expensive looking carriage that had two white horses pulling it and four armored guards with spears around them and two guards by the carriage entrance. I knew they must be the nobles the village head spoke about and also knew they were up to no good if what I heard the men moving the wagons was anything to go by.

They claimed that the poison smell was too strong and hurting their noses and heard some of them laugh about how the villagers would never see the destruction of their crops or the sickness's caused by the poisoned water coming. From there it was easy to figure out was happening, the nobles wanted the villagers land and when they refused to sell they decided to force the villagers into a situation where they would have no choice but to sell. They knew the river was used to water the village crops, use the river for fishing and as a water source for the people so using the poison they'd make the river toxic for a few days but it would still cause the fish and crops to die while also making the people sick. All of this would force the villagers to not only give up their land but do accept an amount of money that's nowhere near the amount it was worth. This was absolutely disgusting in my opinion since that village was their livelihood and there were kids in that village that might not survive the poison entering their system but these nobles were willing to destroy lives just to claim some land. I knew right then and there I needed to stop them before that poison touched the water or there'd be major trouble for the village and all those who rely on the river meaning it was time to get to work.

I punctuated this last thought by cracking my neck and looking around at the area to begin planning out the best way to deal with these men since darkness wasn't on my side as it was still morning so the sun was shining. Because of this I figured it best to confront them directly and maybe at least try to convince the nobles to back off since it never hurts to try negotiation before violence. I silently lowered myself down from the tree and used my ox flame boots speed mode to run past the guards without being seen allowing me to silently walk up to the table. When I was close I heard one of the men wearing a red robe with gold embroidery, had a large belly and a short beard chuckle and say.

"Those savages in the village will never know what's happening but it's a shame the poison will only make them sick." The man across from him wearing a blue robe with silver lining with a thin mustache replied.

"Agreed but if they all dropped dead it would mean trouble in the future." The final one wearing dark green robes with bronze lining replied.

"Sadly the filth's death could be followed back to us but if it were up to me, those worthless commoners would be put to work at our feet where they belong."

Hearing this my blood boiled and all thoughts of subtlety was thrown out the window since I knew right there and then these men weren't crooks but scum and I did not negotiate with scum. He poured himself another cup of tea from the clay pot but before he could take the cup I released my golden arrow while using my speed mode to rush up to the table and snatch the cup. I didn't drink the tea though and instead threw it in his face making him sputter and scream in pain as the guards turned to see what was happening. As they turned however I let my golden arrow fly in a circle going through each of them before having it return to me, all in three seconds before the guards fell to the ground unconscious while pulling my golden back into my prosthetic.

The men at the carriage took notice of their comrades falling and looked ready to charge at me but before they could I released two of my scimitar throwing knives and threw them at the men. With their lunar mirage ability the guards were quickly pinned to the side of the carriage and at this point the men who were tending to the wagons and barrels took notice of what was happening. They all began pulling out weapons and began preparing to attack me making me growl in annoyance as the nobles chuckled before the one in red said.

"You just give up now as there is no hope in defeating all our men and if you do we'll let you leave unharmed." I smiled as I cracked my knuckles.

"Clearly you don't know who your dealing with." I then had my grootslang coat turn from its ninja form into its jacket form with my prosthetic exposed as it turned into its dragon claw form while looking at the nobles who leaned back in shock. "I'll deal with you men as soon as I'm done with the others but until then," I pointed my prosthetic at them before launching a bola disc at each pinning their arms to their bodies and upper thighs together. "Don't go anywhere." They immediately began struggling as I turned my backs on them and looked to the workers who were now all armed with either weapons or farming tools. "All right boys," I got into my fighting stance. "Let's dance." With that said we charged at each other ready for a fight.

Nobodies POV:

Hiccup ducked beneath a sword that was swung at him by a large man before using his real arm to deliver a hard punch into his opponents' stomach knocking the air out of him. The man fell down to the ground gasping for air while grasping his stomach in pain as Hiccup walked behind him to face another man with spear held tight in his grasp. He stabbed at Hiccup with it but Hiccup side stepped the blow before bringing his foot down onto the pole of the spear snapping it in two while yanking the wielder forward allowing Hiccup to grab the man and throw him over his shoulder and onto his already downed opponent who was recovering. They fell on top of each other and weren't getting back up from their falls allowing Hiccup to turn back to the remaining men who looked ready to kill Hiccup for what he did.

This was proven right when three men armed with swords charged at Hiccup who smiled as he reached into his coat and pulled his hands back out wearing his ice claw rings. He quickly activated his ice claws making the men pause their charge in shock but they quickly got over it and continued their charge-making Hiccup smirk as he activated his ox flame boots. To the people around Hiccup it looked as if he disappeared and reappeared behind the bandits in a blur before he turned back and gave a smirk as the blades of the swords fell to the ground in pieces. What happened was Hiccup used his ox flame boots to speed past the bandits while using the ice claws to slice through the metal of the blades like a hot knife through butter.

With their weapons destroyed Hiccup collapsed the claws and grabbed the man on the left and right by the shoulders and then slammed them together into the man in the middle slamming their heads together knocking them all out at once. Hiccup put his hands back into his jacket to put the rings away while turning his attention to the remaining men who were glaring daggers at him but some smirked confusing him. He then heard footsteps running at him from the side and turned to see a team of four men charging at him with a small log and ready to hit him as if they were using a battering ram. Hiccup smirked and activated his leather vest and the chains shot out, hooking themselves into the ground before the log struck Hiccup right in the chest. The smiles dropped from the faces of the ones who were watching as the log shattered against the solid projection while the men who were holding the log kept running as Hiccup held his arms out resulting in them running head first into his arms knocking themselves out.

With four more men down Hiccup turned to the last of the men and saw there were still a few of them left meaning he wasn't done yet and still had some work to do. Seeing some of the men were getting ready to charge he released his spirit bow along with one of his bola wrapping arrows as the men got ready to charge. A single leaf fluttered in the wind between the two, it slowly landed on the ground and the second it did the men charged at him while Hiccup let the arrow fly. Five men fell victim to the arrow and ended up cocooned while the others continued on their charge running past their downed comrades.

Hiccup pulled his bow back into his prosthetic just as one of the men stabbed at him with a dagger but Hiccup sidestepped the stab and grabbed his arm with his real arm before twisting it making his opponent scream in pain. As he screamed in pain Hiccup kicked his legs from behind making him fall back but before he could hit begin falling to the ground Hiccup swung him back throwing him into another opponent. Hiccup then did a back flip over a man who took a swing at him with a sword from behind dodging the blow and when he landed he gave the man a three-fingered dragon style nerve strike in the mans back knocking him out cold. Hiccup then turned around and delivered a solid kick into the gut of a man who was charging at him from behind causing a flaming bull to burst out of his back and drag him back towards the river while men dived out of the way to avoid the flaming bull and screaming man. When he landed in the lake the bull vanished as the man crawled out of the water breathing heavily before collapsing on the ground unconscious.

Another man who was heavily muscled decided that using a weapon was not working so it would be better to simply take Hiccup on using only his fists. He ran at Hiccup with his fist raised but all Hiccup did was smile as the man swung his fist down towards Hiccup who just held up his prosthetic hand and caught the fist as if it were nothing before activating a blue crystal. The muscled man let out a scream as lightning was shocked into his body making his hair stand straight up and crackle until Hiccup let his fist go before the man fell to the ground a little crispy. It was then another man charged in and stabbed at Hiccups head with a spear but he ducked and grabbed the pole of the spear and forced the other end down before swinging it into the gut of the man and slamming him into the ground. He then threw the spear at the legs of three more charging men making their legs get tangled so they fell down, hitting their heads and knocking them out.

Hiccup looked around at the five remaining men who were now looking at Hiccup in fear as his prosthetic continued to crackle with power before they all just dropped their weapons and kneeled down with their hands behind their head in a form of surrender. There were two who didn't and immediately made a break for a wagon on the edge of the river but Hiccup quickly released his snake whip and swung it at them. He was only able to get one of them however with the whip rapping around the neck of the one behind the other making him fall back as he choked slightly when the whip tightened around his neck. Hiccup quickly yanked him back pulling him back to Hiccup who just ran past him towards the wagon as the remaining man reached it and turned back to Hiccup with fear in his eyes as he said.

"Stay back or I'll drop the poison into the river!" Hiccup stopped in his tracks seeing the man take hold of the lever that would tip the wagon over and throw the poison in.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know who you are and how could you have such powerful weapons?"

"My name is Hiccup Haddock and as for the weapons, I've gone up against a lot of mystical beings and was rewarded for it by the gods of the lands I fought them in." His eyes widened in shock for a moment as did the eyes of all those who heard him but his shock quickly wore off before it was replaced with a greedy glint.

"Give all those gifts to me and all your other belongings or the poison goes into the river."

"They'll be useless with you as they only work for me."

"Doesn't matter as I'm sure the nobles will pay a high price for the weapons of the legendary Hiccup Haddock."

"I'm not giving you my stuff to pawn it off to some pampered idiots to show off in their homes but I will blood eagle you if you don't surrender now." He growled.

"YOU'LL BE TOO BUSY TENDING TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE POISON!"

As soon as he said this he pulled the lever and the barrels began rolling down the wagon towards the river but before the barrel could reach the water something burst out of it, throwing the barrel and wagon back. The man was on the ground shaking in fear as he stared up in shock and fear at the forest green dragon glaring down at him from behind its muzzle with glowing yellow eyes that looked as if they could kill anyone with a single glare. The man looked ready to wet himself as everyone else simply looked in shock as the dragon reared its head back and got ready to strike but as it lunged forward to kill the man who would poison its home. Before it could hit him however Hiccup activated his ox flame boots to rush between them and hold his arms out in front as if to protect the crook from the dragon.

The dragon stared at Hiccup and knew he'd tried to protect its river when it raised the top of its head to see what all the commotion was about and along with this he could smell dragon on him. This was enough to show that he wasn't a threat and could be trusted so with this in mind the dragon returned to the river and sank below its waters, out of sight. With the dragon dealt with Hiccup turned back to the man on the ground who looked up at Hiccup and gave an uneasy smile right before Hiccup gave him a glare and delivered a hard punch to his face making a sickening crunching sound as his nose broke.

With him dealt with Hiccup turned to the remaining men and knew he needed to report these men to the local authorities or Chin Wu but he was actually tempted to dish out some serious punishment himself even though it would not have been revenge instead of justice. Taking a breath to calm his nerves he let out a high-pitched whistle to call Toothless and Zhàndòujī to help tend to these crooks since he'd need someone to guard them while he got the proper authorities.

Fifteen days later

Hiccups POV:

It's been fifteen days since I stopped the corrupt nobles from poisoning the river and in that time not much has happened with me. Shortly after tying up the remaining men I returned to the village with the men and opened up a portal door return to the Forbidden City with the nobles to face justice for what they did. Chin Wu was surprised to see me back so soon but he was also not happy with what I told him about what the nobles intended to do and had them thrown in the dungeon until he could decide on a proper punishment for them. As they were dragged away they yelled out that they were simply trying to do business and were simply trying to make the decision easier for the people before they were forced to get nasty. After that Chin Wu had me show him where the village was on a map and promised to send soldiers there to collect the nobles forces and I agreed to stay there and help guard them.

The villagers agreed to help guard the men with me until they could be collected and when they heard what had happened treated me like a hero. I couldn't walk through the village without the people who saw me bowing in respect, the farmers offering me free produce, women offering me handmade blankets, children asking me to play with them and other such things. I turned down the offers of the adults since I knew they needed that food to help survive with their village being so isolated so they didn't get much business. I admit Blanca and Astrid coming to stay with me in the village, helped keep me calm with some of the more annoying people but it also annoyed me.

It wasn't the girls who annoyed me though; it was the looks they were receiving from the men and women that annoyed me since I did not like the looks one bit. The men would look at them with desire and lust in their eyes while the women would look at them with envy or downright hostility for one reason or another. Blanca and Astrid didn't like the looks either and after Astrid confronted them she learnt they were actually jealous of them since they got to spend time with me, the man they consider the hero of their village and all of China who was also quite attractive and was known to be wealthy. Those who gave them hostile glares growled about how it wasn't fair that Blanca and Astrid got to be with such a successful man who travels all around the world while they're stuck in this village their entire lives and at most can expect to marry farmers or if they're lucky a simple traveler.

Fortunately we wouldn't need to deal with them much longer as the guards arrived yesterday and took the crooks away so I no longer needed to stick around and guard them in the village. When they were out of sight we left the village with the girls returning to the Forbidden City while I returned to the place where I encountered the dragon. I set up camp there intending to go into the river and find the dragon below the waves using my merrow cap since it might help to encounter the dragon in its own home which brings us to now.

I was standing by the river wearing nothing but my pants and merrow cap as I stared at the slow running water while going over everything that's happened these past few days always going back to the dragon I saw the day I stopped the nobles. I turned to Toothless and Zhàndòujī who were looking at me in concern but I just gave them each a nod of comfort as if to say I was going to be all right before I turned back to the water and dived into the water. Fortunately the current wasn't that strong so I had no trouble swimming around without being carried down the river or slammed into any rocks.

I looked around and had to say it looked like any other riverbed I'd explored so I didn't get why the nobles were so intent on owning this piece of land and the river. It was then I noticed something on the riverbed and swam up to it, moving the rock that was covering it aside to reveal a large hole with four large chests within it. I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to open the chests down here since they'd flood and possibly destroy the contents of the chests and that's the last thing I wanted. I reached towards the side and tried to pull them free but the chest was stuck tight and I could tell the other five were just the same so it was going to be a problem. Before I could do anything I felt a blast of bubbles against the back of my neck and turned to see the dragon from before staring at me with its head tilted to the side as if it were confused.

I couldn't blame it for being confused since I highly doubt it'd ever seen a human swimming so deep in the river without a care in the world. I slowly swam up to its muzzle as it continued to stare at me until I was an arms reach away from it before it would glare at me as if telling me I was close enough. I looked into its eyes with as little hostility as possible and showed nothing but kindness before turning away with my hand held out towards the dragon. I'm guessing it remembered me from before and saw how I'd tried to protect its river from the barrels full of poison since a few seconds later I felt its muzzle against my hand. I slowly turned and smiled at the dragon as it slowly pulled away from me with a look in its eye that showed me we'd formed a bond and I had just trained another dragon.

With the dragon trained I gestured to the chests and made a few hand gestures to show I wanted them out of the ground and on the shore where they could be taken care of. The dragon must've understood what I wanted as it pulled the chests from the ground and took two of them to the surface before returning for the other two until they were all on the side of the river with me swimming up after what I now know was a her. When I was back on the surface the female was having a stare off with Toothless and Zhàndòujī all of whom were in their battle stances looking ready to fight. I sighed and rubbed a hand through my wet hair and climbed out of the river before walking between the three dragons with my arms held out as I said.

"Alright everyone, calm down a moment." They all lowered their heads and bodies from their battle stances as I turned to Toothless and Zhàndòujī. "I don't want you two fighting her when she helped stop the poison from touching the waters and just helped me get the chests out from the river bottom." They both nodded as I walked up next to the girl and gently rubbed her head. "So do you all think we could all just be friends?" They all growled and looked down before nodding. "Good!" I turned to the female. "Now let's take a look at you."

I stepped back and began examining her since all I'd been able to take in so far is her forest green scales and her glowing yellow eyes. When I looked behind her head I saw she had a small brown mane around her head, which looked surprisingly dry despite the fact that she'd just gotten out of the water. In front of her mane she had two deer antler like horns. The spine running down the back of her serpent like body wasn't furry like Zhàndòujī's but completely made of leaf shaped scales down to the tip of her tail and were a slightly darker green compared to the rest of her body. She had four towed feet with three brown talons at the front and one at the back of each foot and looked to be roughly twenty-five feet long and combined with all the other characteristics I knew right then and there that this dragon was a di-long, the very dragon I'd been looking for. Sadly I knew convincing her to come with us wasn't going to be easy since they are protective of their rivers and I'm not sure if this one would be willing to leave this one. I took a breath and looked her in the eyes as I said.

"Listen, me and the boys here aren't going to be here for long but my whole reason for this journey was to train and recruit the dragons of this land, including your kind." She growled and nodded. "I know you're protective of your river so I won't force you to come with us but I would like you to know that there's a place for you on our team and a place for you on my island if you're willing to join us."

She stared at me for a moment before turning back to the river making me think that she'd return to the river but instead she let out a loud roar that echoed through the area and shook the water. For a few seconds I just looked at her confused until the water rippled and a slightly larger di-long rose to the surface and looked down at us until its eyes landed on the smaller di-long who bowed to the larger one. The smaller one let out a few growls and roars to which the larger one responded with its own until the smaller one used her head to gesture to me making the larger one lean in and examine me. She gave me a few sniffs and then continuing her examination of me, then she stopped while turning to the smaller di-long and giving a simple nod before turning back to the river and diving back in. I watched as its body disappeared below the rushing waters before I was brought out of my thoughts as the smaller di-long nuzzled my chest making me chuckle and ask.

"I'm guessing this means you're coming with us." She just let out a content croon as I rubbed her muzzle with my real hand and chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes." I then rubbed my chin with my prosthetic hand. "Now what name shall we give you?" I then snapped my fingers and said. "How's about we call you Wā dòng."

She looked up at the sky a moment before giving a growl of approval and returning her head to its original position while crooning as if asking me to continue rubbing her head, making me chuckle as I begun patting her again. It was then my attention was drawn to the chests that were waiting for me and I knew it would be best to check out what they held since they might be the reason the nobles were so determined to take the river for themselves. I walked away from Wā dòng and up to the four chests to see what they held and hopefully find out what was so important about these four chests.

Ten minutes later

I was sitting down on the ground and staring down at the four items I'd found in the chests and knew I'd stumbled upon some very valuable artifacts but as to how valuable I did not know. Each item rested had been against golden Chinese silk that was carefully prepared inside and gently wrapped around the contents. There was a ring golden with the ying yang symbol on top of it that would open up to reveal the royal insignia and a necklace with a golden dragon head shaped pendant that was encrusted with small diamonds and had the royal insignia in the back. Along with these there was also a sword with the top of golden lions head forming the handle of blade and a polished steel blade with the royal seal on the pommel and in the final one was a head sized statue of a dragon made of pure jade with ruby eyes and the royal seal on the forehead.

I admit they looked valuable and with the royal seals I knew they were something that belonged to the royal family meaning Chin Wu and Ling Cho might have the answer. I sighed knowing they were busy enough dealing with the people so it best to deal with these things at a later time but for now these artifacts would be safe in my spiderpack. I picked up each of them and one by one I wrapped them up in the I the silk I stripped from the chests before I put them into my coat where a leg from my spiderpack was waiting to take them from my hand and put them into the pack. When they were all safely put away I turned to the chests and had to say that without the silk there wasn't anything valuable about them so I figured I'd just give them to the village since they might be able to use them for something. When that's done we'd spend two more days in this area and give Wā dòng a little more time to say goodbye to the place she called home before leaving it for an adventure across China.

Seven days later

It's been seven days since Wā dòng joined our group and in that time not much has happened other than Wā dòng saying goodbye to her old home and me giving the chests to the village. Other than that our days had mostly been full of travel towards a large lake that was said to be the home of the next dragon of China that I intended to train and recruit. This dragon species is known as the 'Pan-long dragons and are said to slither through the waters like a water snake with legs and use their coils to round up fish and gather the underwater plants they enjoy. They also use their coiling bodies to get through narrow openings that lead into the underwater caverns that they make their nests in, so they won't be bothered. I knew it was a dragon I wanted on my team since it would be helpful when it comes to medical treatments due to the fact that according to the lens on them, they are able to breath a mysterious mist that can ease pain but also cause corrosion so I had to be careful. Wā dòng would make finding this dragon easier than normal though since with her we'd be able to swim through the waters quicker than usual meaning we'd be able to find a pan-long faster.

It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Zhàndòujīroaring from my right side making me turn to him and when I turned to him he gestured ahead of us with his head. I turned to see what he was talking about and saw we were coming up on a large lake making me smile since this was the lake where the pan-long dwells according to the lens. I steered Toothless towards the edge of the lake with Zhàndòujī and Wā dòng following us down before we came to land on the grassy field next to the lake. When we landed I took a look around as I dismounted Toothless and smiled since this was a beautiful spot for me to set up camp for our stay here in the area while I looked for a pan-long dragon to train. I took a breath and turned to my dragons.

"Alright guys let's get to work." I turned to Wā dòng. "Wā dòng you hop into the lake and see if you can round us up some fish for lunch." She growled and dived into the lake as I turned to Zhàndòujī. "Zhàndòujī, take to the skies and scout out the area for any possible threats." He growled and took off as I turned to Toothless. "That leaves you with me bud and we're setting up camp." He growled and nodded and with that we got to work.

Half an hour later

It's been half an hour since we landed and that hour had been mostly busy with us setting up the campsite which didn't take that long since my tent was easy to set up as was the fire pit. Zhàndòujī returned five minutes ago while giving a few growls and roars that I assume meant that the area was clear of any threats since afterwards he coiled up his body like a snake and rested by the fire across from Toothless. The only member of our little group was Wā dòng who had yet to come out of the water with the fish I asked her to gather for lunch and it made me worry a little but I figured it was just paranoia. Presently I was wearing nothing but my pants in the field away from both my tent and fire, practicing my duel swordplay with Pirus and Ventus while Toothless and Zhàndòujī watched me from their places by the fire pit. As I stabbed and slashed against imaginary opponent the familiar voice of Pirus echoed through my head asking.

"Does something trouble you master?" I shook my head and slashed his blade.

"It's nothing serious, just wondering where Wā dòng is." Ventus then said.

"Perhaps she has encountered a pan-long and is trying to convince it to come meet with you." I shrugged as I tuck and rolled before I stood up and did a double X shaped slash with the swords.

"Maybe, if that were the case it'd save me a trip into the lake so we'd be able to move on sooner." I did a backwards stab as Pirus said.

"Does that concern you master?" I shook my head before I did a back flip and finished with another slash.

"Not really, I'd just like a few days to enjoy this place since it's a nice place to relax a bit."

I walked back to the fire and stabbed them both into the ground while picking up my bottomless water skin and took a few large gulps before pulling it away and let out a sigh of pleasure since it was refreshing. I then pored it onto my head and down my back to cool off since I worked up a good hard sweat through my training with Pirus and Ventus and needed to cool down a bit. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of splashing behind me and turned to see Wā dòng swimming up from the water with a few fish in her talons as I smiled at her and said.

"Welcome back girl, good hunt?" She growled and nodded as she dropped the fish down in front of me making me smile and rub her head. "Good work girl."

She crooned in joy until she pulled away and looked back at the lake and let out a roar making me raise an eyebrow in confusion until I saw the water ripple before the top of a head with a pair of light blue eyes rose out and stared at me. Wā dòng leaned towards the water and let out a gentle croon as if trying to coerce the owner of the eyes out by showing that nobody was going to hurt it. I'm guessing this was enough to get through to the creature since it then came out of the water to reveal its full glory to all of us and I was stunned by what I saw. Standing before me was a large dragon with dark blue scales that resembled sapphires, spines on its back that were similar to a dew or raindrop in appearance that went all the way down to the tip of the tail. It also had two horns on the back of its head that looked to be as smooth as metal and were pointed back but facing up at the end like most dragons of China. Looking behind it I was able to make out the rest of its serpent like body and I would say it was around twenty feet long but the way it swayed in the water reminded me of a snake showing how flexible it was. I slowly walked towards it as I gently said.

"Easy there now, I'm not going to hurt you."

I took another step forward and when the dragon didn't move I took a few more steps forward with my hands out to show I had no weapons on me. This seemed to calm the dragon that I now realized was a pan-long dragon, the very dragon that we'd come to this lake for so having one right in front of me so soon after we arrived was a stroke of luck. I could see the unease in its eyes though and knew that this dragon was not going to be as easy to train as the others meaning we could be here a while but after my look around earlier I knew it wasn't that bad since this was a nice place to relax. I gently placed my hand down on its muzzle and gently stroked the muzzle of what I now realized was a her and gently began rubbing making her croon in pleasure as I smiled and said.

"There, see now?" I began scratching her muzzle making her croon in pleasure. "I'm not so bad now am I?" She just growled and leaned into my touch as I chuckled knowing that the next few days were going to be pleasant.

10 days later

It's been ten days since we set up camp by the lake and in that time I am happy to say things have been nothing but peaceful with me bonding with my dragons including the pan-long who now has the name 'Lánbǎoshí g' which means sapphire guild. The reason I gave her this name is because her scales looked like the precious gem, especially when the sunlight hit her making her seem as if she were glowing. It was always a lovely thing to see and I am happy to say that she was now a trained dragon and was willing to come with us on our journey but like Wā dòng was going to need help keeping wet since she's also a tidal class but she loses her moisture faster than Wā dòng does.

Now my camp was packed up and my dragons and I were ready to head out and track down the next species of dragon that was closest to our location. I sat on Toothless looking out at the lake and I knew my journey here in China wasn't over yet nor would it be an easy one but I also knew that with my dragons at my side I could take on any challenge head on. Still though I needed to remember it didn't hurt to stop and enjoy these times when I could just stop to admire the beauty of the country that I'm in. With these thoughts in mind I gave Toothless a nudge and we took off into the sky.

AN: Hey all, yes I know it's late but I'm on holiday with my folks meaning most of my time is family time with minimal writing time so just be patient. Anyway if you're wondering why only three dragons were found it's because it was recommended by my friend 'Red dragon emperor 112293' who's been helping me with the research along with 'Rogue Diety Master' both of whom have my thanks. Also for those of you who think dragon collecting is the only thing that shall happen in this trip to China then you're wrong because more shall happen but only be revealed in time but other than that I hope you all had a happy Easter and I hope you're all keeping safe during these difficult times and keep in mind, things are getting better every passing month. Till next time stay safe, don't forget to review and enjoy your day.