The warrior of the Dragon Prince

"My dear pupils, today we will talk about our protective and sacred beings. Our people have grown under the care of many spirits that watch over us at all times. That's why China feels blessed every time we visit the temples and pray to these magnanimous beings of light. Young Shun, could you start the reading?"

The boy cleared his throat, stood up, and began to read the scriptures.

"Fenghuang... the legendary and sacred bird par excellence for the people of China. It is said that this mythical creature represents the unity of all peoples since ancient times. It also has the reputation of bringing good luck to anyone who believes in it, which is why many people have placed its image in the great temples and also on the altars of their homes to seek protection. It is also a custom to use jade pendants with the image of the Fenghuang for protection while away from home."

"That's all, Prince Shun. Now it's your turn to continue the reading, Prince Jin," said the Laoshi* of the three young rulers of the Forbidden City.

"But of course..."

"Wait, wait, please, Laoshi. Let it be my turn, okay?" Yun intervened, raising his hand insistently.

"Young prince, you have to wait for your turn. Things can't always be the way you want," he gently lectured. "That's not what Father tells me when I ask for something," Yun pouted.

"Ugh... all right, go ahead," the Laoshi conceded, resigned. It was always the same with the youngest of the Qing.

"You're spoiled child and capricious, brother," Shun huffed, the eldest of the three.

"Shut up and listen to the reading," Yun retorted and cleared his throat. "It is also said that since ancient times, the Fenghuang is the protector of the Empress, being her amulet of good luck at all times."

"Very well, that's enough, Yun. Now it's Jin's turn." The Laoshi interrupted the reading.

"But I've only just started!" Yun protested.

"You know that when you take your brothers' turn, I shorten your time," he warned, looking at the young boy with authority, signaling him to pass the book to his brother.

"It's not fair." Grudgingly, he handed over the book and crossed his arms.

"Continue, Jin, please. We're listening," the Laoshi clasped his hands together, paying attention to the prince.

"Okay," Prince Jin smiled and continued the reading. "The significance of the Fenghuang is entirely positive for the Chinese people and represents honesty and loyalty, especially when its image is present in a household. Additionally, its spirit is only present when the ruler is just and there is no corruption involved. It is said that the Fenghuang possesses the five colors of the elements, which are..."

The young prince stopped paying attention to the reading and looked towards the large window as the gentle breeze swayed the cream-colored curtains in the study hall. Suddenly, a colorful flash faster than lightning passed before his eyes, filling his soul with curiosity instantly.

Yun turned to look at his brother Jin, who was engrossed in his reading turn. Then he glanced at Shun, who, like a good student, was taking notes in his notebook, and the Laoshi was simply observing the one who was supposed to be reading at that moment. He was truly proud of his royal pupils.

Without a second thought, the youngest prince quietly got up from the table to go unnoticed, tiptoed out of the room, avoiding a few guards and servants by hiding behind furniture, vases, and ornate columns of the palace. Those were the advantages of being small, but it didn't spare him from feeling the fear he knew as disobedience.

In a dash, he put on his sandals, which were right in front of the door leading outside, next to his brothers', and headed towards the backyard garden where he had seen that strange flash. He wandered around but, unfortunately, saw nothing. Perhaps his eyes played a trick on him, and it was indeed just lightning. Disappointed, he slowly made his way back inside the palace.

He was almost at the main door when he saw it again, shimmering with a warm and gentle light from above, precisely from the crown of that pink tree, as ancient as it was beautiful. Without a second thought, Yun ran towards that cherry tree, which, to the child, was as tall as the sky. He looked up, and a hint of vertigo filled his senses. He swallowed hard, but no discomfort would stop him from reaching that shimmer that seemed to be calling him.

He climbed as best as he could and spotted the luminous aura at the top of the tree or... perhaps even higher. Every now and then, he looked down; there was no way he could move forward. This was beginning to frustrate him greatly. He didn't intend to stay at the foot of the tree; the need for discovery was greater than he could imagine because in a matter of minutes, he had already climbed halfway up the tree. Yun felt that with each step, he was getting closer. Something told him that he was very close to finding out what that light was that seemed to call him.

"Why did you suddenly leave the class, young prince?" The Laoshi looked down at him with a challenging gaze.

"It's just that... you wouldn't believe what..."

"Just come down now, or the Emperor will be angry with me if he sees you out here instead of in class," the Laoshi scolded the little prince, and he immediately climbed down, feeling like he had missed something exciting. "Let's go inside." The Laoshi gave him a gentle push to encourage him to enter the palace. "The reading is not over yet, and it's your turn to continue, just as you wanted."

Meanwhile, high in the cherry tree, one of the oldest trees in the palace, a bird with red feathers and a long, colorful tail watched as the little prince entered his home, and its feathers sparkled again in the light of the evening.

-----------------

Glossary:

Laoshi: teacher or tutor.

Fenghuang: Chinese phoenix bird.

The Chinese population could not escape their discontent after learning about the catastrophe that had just begun in the Qing dynasty. An, the beloved wife of Emperor Heng and Empress adored by all in the Forbidden City, had fallen victim to a strange illness.

The woman suffered from vomiting, spasms, and pains in all her joints, in addition to fevers so high that no healing method seemed to bring them down. The oppressive feeling in her chest made it seem like her heart would stop at any moment.

The ruler had made a public announcement to the entire kingdom, offering a substantial reward to anyone who could find an immediate cure for such a cruel and painful affliction. Healers came from all over China, offering potions and concoctions that turned out to be nothing but deceptions to the Emperor and his three sons, only adding to the sorrow and desolation in the Qing dynasty.

Days passed, and An's condition worsened; no one could find a solution. When the Emperor had almost given up hope, an old man appeared out of nowhere, requesting an audience with him. He claimed to be the wisest among the wise and said he had the solution that Heng and his sons desperately sought: the healing of their beloved wife and mother of their children.

The hunched man bowed respectfully and requested permission to burn incense and use a "magical" crystal in front of the ailing woman. With doubts lingering in his mind, Heng agreed. Anything was better than doing nothing for An, and he realized just how desperate he was at that point.

"My lord, thank you for allowing the magic of wisdom to work. A being as malevolent as hell itself has cast a curse upon your family, and your wife was the main victim."

"How is that possible? Everyone who knows me knows I have no enemies," Heng claimed indignantly.

"I second that assertion; everything here leaves room for doubt," Shun, the eldest son and future successor of Heng, dared to speak up.

"My lords, perhaps someone did it secretly, someone with dark intentions. But what matters now is that there is only one cure for the terrible affliction plaguing your wife," he said, bowing again.

Neither the Emperor, his advisors, nor the three sons fully believed the man's words.

"I have never heard of your existence, nor has my council, and now you come boasting of a wisdom you have not demonstrated to anyone. Prove your honor!" Heng demanded, as Shun, Jin, and Yun nodded in silence.

"My lord, what I tell you is not a falsehood. You will frequently seek my wisdom in the future; just let me tell you that it is genuine and effective. Here is the solution," he extended a thin scroll to the Emperor.

Heng took the scroll immediately and read it in silence, raising his gaze with bewilderment and disapproval in his expression.

"The feather of the Fenghuang? But that creature is a legend; no one has concrete evidence that it can physically appear," Heng covered his face with his hand.

The three brothers listened and looked at each other. Soon, they began to whisper, engaged in a silent discussion.

"You must believe me, please," the man pleaded. "As the Fenghuang hides from crowds and disturbances, only a valiant and daring soul can bring back its feather. The curse will be lifted, but it must be done before the sunset of the day after tomorrow, or your lady... will not see the light of a new day."

"Father! I request permission to make a proposal," Yun spoke up before the entire council.

"Speak, my son," Heng said with heaviness in his voice.

"We had a brief dialogue, and considering that Shun and Jin have more obligations here with you, I offer myself to seek the Fenghuang and pluck as many feathers as needed to save Mother," Yun offered with conviction.

"No, my son, you cannot expose yourself. The price could be your life or, worse yet, your soul may end up entirely belonging to dark forces. I will send one of my strongest and trained ninjas for this mission."

"I feel that I have never done enough for Mother or for you. I need to prove that I am a worthy son of the Qing dynasty!" he exclaimed firmly, head held high.

Princes Shun and Jin nodded with some fear at their brother's words and turned to look at the elderly man, who flashed a soft and raspy smile.

"Well, the boy is courageous," the old man said with a grin.

Heng did not expect this situation to become even more complicated, but after meditating for a while in the sanctuary, he returned and, with a heavy heart, gave his approval for Yun to undertake such a risky mission.

"Sir, you won't regret it. You've made a wise decision," the man said with satisfaction, bowing once more.

"I will remain skeptical until I see my son and wife safe and sound. Until then, you will not leave here, and you will be guarded by soldiers at all times until what you say comes to pass," Heng declared, and two burly guards escorted the elderly man away.

Heng remained silent, watching as his youngest son prepared a light pack and the necessary equipment. When he was ready, holding the scroll in his hand, he approached him.

"Father, I won't fail you. You know I can take care of myself, and I will bring the feather no matter the cost," Yun said, placing a hand over his heart.

The heartbroken Emperor gave his blessing to Yun, and then Shun and Jin did the same. The determined young man set out on his journey in a four-horse carriage. Heng knelt in front of his wife, with Shun and Jin by his side, praying for a long time.

As soon as Yun left through the grand gate and crossed the bridge marking the exit of the palace, he felt his heart pounding with fear and excitement because he had never ventured so far from that place before. Not even the royal guards realized that the carriage carried the youngest prince of the Forbidden City, setting out on a seemingly impossible mission for most people.

For a moment, Yun looked back as the palace receded, and he ventured into the unknown, but he quickly composed himself not to be recognized, at least until he left the city.

"Two sunsets," he sighed with his chin resting on his hand. "By all the heavens, it's so little time."

Not much time had passed since Yun set out on his journey. He was calm because he dressed as a servant and chose one of the humblest carriages to avoid recognition. While traveling through the town, he read the riddle.

"Its head is like the sky, its eyes shine like the sun.

Its back is like the moon, and its wings like the wind.

On its feet, fertile land can be seen,

and the power of the planets resides in its tail.

If the help of the Fenghuang is desired,

one's heart may hold the answer."

"Gosh! This is puzzling. Perhaps I should search for elements related to it, maybe I should go to a secluded mountain, recite the riddle, and invoke the Fenghuang to make it appear. Yes... that's what I'll do," he mused, not entirely confident in his plan, but it was a start.

He decided to go to the outskirts of the Forbidden City, to a place with abundant nature, to find objects related to the Fenghuang.

For hours, he traveled dusty roads, passing through two different towns, gathering feathers of various types and sizes and soil from rice fields, but he still needed much more.

Yun did not know how far he had gone until he found no more villages. When he checked his map, he realized he had arrived in an extremely secluded area. Fear gripped him; he had never imagined going so far from civilization.

His horses needed rest and food, so he stopped by a river to allow them to drink and graze while he continued searching for similarities with the legendary creature.

He soon noticed that something or someone was in the river. Could it be a human or an animal? He would have to approach cautiously to find out.

"Wow, this river is deep enough for someone to submerge in," he analyzed, with his nerves on edge.

"Who goes there?" he said threateningly.

Yun took a few steps back and touched the hilt of his sharp dagger, which he kept at his waist.

A person's head started emerging from the water, but their gender and age were not discernible. All of Yun's senses were on high alert.

Suddenly, the young man realized it was a girl with tanned skin and light brown hair, and in a matter of seconds, she had an arrow aimed at him.

"This woman is going to kill me," Yun thought, feeling that his end might be within reach of that arrow.

The strange young woman couldn't stop pointing her arrow at Yun, and he feared the worst. Suddenly, he noticed something unusual: the girl's mouth was full of water, making her cheeks look inflated. It seemed strange but not threatening.

He hadn't given much importance to that detail and continued with his defensive posture until he felt a wet touch on his forehead, and instantly his face was soaked with water. He expected an arrow, but instead, the girl had practically spit at him and then laughed at him.

"But how amusing..." he frowned, wiping the water off his face and removing his coolie, which was dripping. "I was about to attack you with a weapon, don't do that again, you're crazy!" he scolded.

"Well, you're the intruder here; I'm where I usually am, living in a village nearby," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Well... you shouldn't be wandering alone or talking to strangers, let alone pointing arrows at peaceful people like me," he retorted, but the girl continued smiling, which irritated the young man even more.

"I couldn't guess that," the girl defended herself. "Hey... what are you doing here? Almost no one comes around these parts, and if they do, they are ruffians. Not to brag, but I've always known how to defend myself from those people," she said with a proud chuckle.

"I noticed that you use weapons... I'm just passing through; it's not important where I come from or where I'm going," he said curtly, crossing his arms.

With a nimble movement, the girl emerged from the water, revealing an incredible figure, her worn red qipao sticking to her skin from the water. Her fringe dripped small drops that slid down her finely featured face, shimmering like crystals in the sunlight-it was a magical sight.

In the blink of an eye, the prince felt his cheeks burning like fire, and he turned his gaze away. He put on his coolie again, but immediately he noticed they were not alone. He looked at the girl, and she was already in an attack position, pointing her arrow again.

Yun was on alert; they could be harmless people, but their appearance... definitely indicated otherwise. All were young and poorly dressed; some had tattoos on their skin, but it was their looks that radiated malevolence, and they might even be carrying white weapons.

"And what do you want?" the prince spoke with a furrowed brow.

"Calm down, calm down... you know, we're hungry; we just want some coins, and then we'll leave," one of them replied.

Yun didn't have time to respond because one of the ruffians was rummaging through the carriage, perhaps looking for valuable items. As he laughed, he had already been hit in the arm with an arrow, and the girl smiled triumphantly.

"You scoundrel, I'll give you what you deserve!" the man shouted while pulling the arrow out of his arm with a painful groan.

"I want to see you dare," Yun responded defiantly, moving to stand next to the girl, and she smiled bravely.

The entire group attacked them with their sharp weapons, while Yun and the unknown archer began to defend themselves with kicks, punches, and the white weapon he had with him, but it wasn't enough. They were ten men against two individuals. While some were injured by the pair of warriors, others hit them with great force.

One of the men jumped quite high and aimed a knife strike at Yun, who immediately used his own weapon to block the blow. Both of them were locked in a struggle with their weapons until, with a kick to the face, the girl sent him flying, and Yun smiled at her victorious laughter.

Yun and the girl smiled at each other for a moment, but someone grabbed his combat partner by the neck and lifted her up to choke her. He immediately hit a couple of opponents who tried to block his path and jumped quickly over their heads to reach the other side and hit them from behind.

After knocking them out, he ran to help the girl, who was sitting, breathing heavily to catch her breath. He offered her his hand to help her up, and once on her feet, she brushed off her qipao, which was covered in dirt.

Before they could engage in conversation, he realized that it was all an ambush to take away his carriage. The leader of that group had fled with everything Yun had to survive, which infuriated him greatly.

Suddenly, the men who were still there, upon turning to where the two were, Yun sensed fear or maybe panic in their looks. They tried to flee like cowards, and he was perplexed by their actions.

"But what the hell! Did something scare them?" The prince couldn't continue with his thoughts as, in the blink of an eye, the ruffians fell to the ground with arrows in their backs. He turned to look at the girl, who now had her face covered in sweat and flushed from the exertion of battle.

"I told you I know how to defend myself," the girl said, breathing heavily.

"I noticed; indeed, you know how to fight," Yun replied with a smile, which immediately faded as he thought about everything the man had taken from him.

"For Buddha's sake!... now I am truly lost," he lamented with desperation, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I came here completely alone, with time running out, and the nearest village is so far away that it would take days to return there."

"You're in such a hurry?" she approached to talk.

"Too much, to be honest," Yun took out the scroll with the riddle and stopped to look at it. "And now, I'll have to start over with my mission."

"What kind of mission? Maybe I can help you," the dark-skinned girl tried to encourage him.

"I promised not to talk about it, and part of the mission is to figure this journey out alone."

"I understand, but now you need help; you've been left with nothing," the girl looked at him with concern that puzzled Yun.

"Well, if you want, I can guide you back to your village since you said it's nearby. After that, I'll continue on my way, and maybe your people can give me some directions," Yun said gently.

"That would be great, then we can get to know each other better," the girl seemed excited, and Yun felt a bit uneasy about her attitude.

The two young people began walking along those dirt paths, surrounded by nature and fresh air. Under different circumstances, a walk through these places wouldn't be so bad.

They didn't walk too far; the girl's village was just past a small row of bushes.

Literally, that village had five wooden huts and only one rice plantation. It was clear that they lived in poverty, and Yun couldn't believe such a place existed, but his map marked it as Yumai Village.

"Well, we've arrived," the young man said, while still observing the place.

"Thank you; you are very kind and polite. By the way, what's your name?" she showed a wide smile while tidying a strand of her straight hair.

Yun hesitated about revealing his real name since it would reveal his social status. However, he decided to do it since this place was so remote, and no one would think a prince arrived in these parts, let alone dressed as he was.

"Yun... my name is Yun," he extended his hand as a courtesy.

"Nice name, unusual, and you dindn't tell me your last name, but is ok... mine is Wu Siu." Yun was surprised by the girl's confidence.

"It's been a pleasure," Yun shook her hand politely.

"Siu! Who is that man?" a worried-looking woman called her from one of the huts, and other faces peered out to see what was going on.

"Go with her, I'll go now," he told the girl.

"Are you leaving so soon?" Siu's big eyes seemed to be asking him not to leave so fast.

She had something mystical and captivating, or something in her words that emanated trustworthiness, and he still couldn't explain why he felt that way about someone he had never met before.

"Excuse me, what can I do for you?" a man approached Yun to question him.

"I'm a traveler; I just guided the young lady back, and now I'll continue my way and won't disturb anymore," he said, bowing respectfully, and immediately, the man softened his stern gaze.

"Father, this young man was just ambushed at the village's exit; they left him with nothing," Siu said, almost pleading with her father to help him.

"Damn ruffians, those people look for secluded places to rob travelers," the man replied with disappointment, and his wife nodded.

"Although sometimes strange things happen with those ruffians, it's a matter of waiting," the woman said.

"What kind of things? Like the fact that they ran away for no reason? That was strange," Yun thought.

"I know; if only I could get my transport back, but I'll think of something. For now, I'll continue on my way," Yun said.

"Young man, if you need shelter from the cold night, don't hesitate to ask for lodging here with us. We don't have luxuries, but we do have warm food and shelter," the woman offered with a smile.

"Thank you very much. Believe me, I will reward you generously for your kindness. Now, I must be on my way," the prince said, bowing goodbye, smiling at the kind family, and turning around.

"May the spirit of the Fenghuang protect you," Siu said, and Yun immediately turned, surprised by those words.

"What did you say?" he asked the girl, feeling his heart racing.

"Will it be closer than I think?"