Mulan maneuvered around the three monks to the altar behind them. “Are they dead?”
No.
A flicker of doubt flourished as she unfastened Cheng from her sash and set him near the altar. He seemed his strongest when close to the goddess. Outside, the sky turned dark and starlight emerged on the distant horizon, each silver speck blinking into existence.
Old straw creaked, a footstep on an old, dried mat. Mulan spun and came face-to-face with three standing monks, each of them facing her.
“Elder Jian. Elder Fasu. Elder Han-shi,” Cheng spoke from behind her with surprise and reverence in his voice. He moved to Mulan’s side and bowed, so she quickly followed suit, still bewildered by their sudden wakefulness.
“You know them?”
“These are the same keepers of Yüying’s temple from my childhood. They counseled many wisely during those days.”
“We are, and it is our honor to stand before the true emperor once more. Long we have awaited your return, refusing to obey the false ruler on the Jade Throne,” said the monk in the middle. He bowed in return, as did the other two monks.
“You knew what was done?” Cheng asked.
“Yes, we were aware of your imprisonment as well as the deceiver’s actions against you, but helpless to stop him. Here, we waited with the blessing of the goddess, as it was foretold to us that one day a hero would restore the rightful ruler and heir of Yüying to the throne.”
“And now his heirs control the throne,” Cheng said, slipping into the robe Mulan offered. The monks hadn’t even blinked at his state of undress.
“Not his heirs. Da-Wio himself,” Jian said. “Dark magic extends his life, allowing him to take a new persona every generation.”
The news twisted her gut with disgust. Cheng looked equally appalled.
“How?” he asked.
“We believe it is due to you. He did not kill you, Emperor. He needed you alive. Trapped.”
“With each generation, he claims the souls of his heirs then consumes their flesh to assume their lives. He weds a new wife, sires a new child, and begins the foul process again.”
Bile rose in her throat. Mulan couldn’t imagine any parent taking their child’s life. A parent should always protect their children and love them.
“How…how do you know this?”
“Dreams,” Jian said.
“Dreams and the voice of Yüying.”
“Ours did not begin until after his first renewal. We suspected then, and when we were caught trying to locate you, he led soldiers to the temple. He slaughtered our brothers. The shrine maidens. Everyone. Only we managed to escape, by Yüying’s grace.”
“This…this cannot be. My uncle was not—” Cheng looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose, and drew in a shuddering breath. “How did I never see his ambition?”
“Your uncle was a different man long ago. We sense the work of Dobravia at play. There are times when great men become even greater adversaries, but this did not happen by chance. Only the two of you can uncover the truth.”
“How has no one realized what he is doing?” Mulan asked. “Does he truly…? Is he actually eating them? His own children?”
“It is a black art,” Jian said, “forbidden long ago by the first rulers of Liang, before your ancestors united the warring territories. The dark spells copied from the blood witches were too dangerous. Too unclean. They were not only abominations against our gods, but those of every nation in the gulf.”
“Why?” Mulan dared to ask.
“Their darkness. Should you devour the tongue of an enemy, you claim their voice; feast upon the brain, you learn their secrets; and by consuming the heart, their face is yours. None have guessed. It is a truth too abhorrent for many to entertain.”
“He must be stopped.” Cheng said, posture rigid and eyes hard. “I must put all of this right again.”
“Then you must pray to Yüying. Only she can reveal the path you must tread.”
“Which is why we came to begin with. I had no idea the temple had been attacked. The stories we were told…” Mulan shook her head and closed her eyes. It was hard to believe that, for centuries, her people had been deceived and denied their goddess due to one man’s insatiable lust for power.
A gentle hand settled on her arm. When she opened her eyes, she met Elder Fasu’s kind gaze. “Do not berate yourself too harshly. Centuries gave credence to the lies told to the people.”
“The fact that everyone believed—”
“Is not your burden.”
“Now please,” Jian said, “come with us. Our young emperor is in need of appropriate garments, and I am sure you both must be starved.”
Cheng hadn’t expected the monks to provide him with anything but a monk’s robe, but instead, Jian gave him a fine emerald silk robe to don. He enjoyed a soak that evening in their personal bathing house and donned the layers of soft cotton and silk that he’d longed for since first taking human form again.
During this time, Han-shi fished in the lake and caught enough for their supper, claiming the rest of their dinner from the supply stores seemingly renewed by the imperial spies waiting to enter.
Cheng raised a cluster of rice to his lips and ate eagerly, suddenly aware that he’d been starving “What will you do with the imposters?”
“Fae magic may be powerful, but they won’t remain asleep for long. By the time they rouse, you will be long gone. We will face whatever must come at that time,” Fasu said.
Mulan ate just as voraciously. She stopped then, and she stared. “They’ll kill you.”
“We will not go easily,” Han-shi said.
“It is possible they will not even recall what happened, nor be aware that we have awakened,” Jian said. “They have not been able to breach the inner sanctum in centuries. That shall not change.”
He didn’t like it, but Cheng had few options. The monks couldn’t travel with them, and if they left the temple unguarded, he could only imagine what damage the soldiers would cause.
“Elder Jian, my magic has been…unreliable.”
“That is no surprise. Magic is a renewable resource, Your Majesty—one which Da-Wio has stolen from you relentlessly for many centuries. He has weakened you, but it is under the moon that you are closest to Yüying, and under the moon, she restores your connection to her. It will take many before you return to your previous strength, though…” The older man’s gaze jerked to Cheng’s throat. “What is this?”
“A gift from my uncle that seems to hamper my draconic magic. How can I remove it?”
The monk moved around the table to Cheng’s side and studied the collar, tracing a finger across the cold metal.
“Hm. I am uncertain. Such creations are beyond my understanding. It is possible the collar will lose its power upon his death. It is tied to you both, somehow linking you together.”
Cheng sighed, his hope withering. “He’ll never do so willingly.”
“Then we make him,” Mulan said with resolve. “We already plan to shut down his gate. This is simply another task along the way.”
Jian began to collect their used rice bowls while Han-shi refilled their tea. The fragrant hints of jasmine wafted up to Cheng and reminded him of how long had passed since he enjoyed a good yet simple meal with the qualities of home. What was given to officers of Mulan’s station hardly passed as food on some days.
“Destroying that gate will be no small task,” Han-shi said. “It is a creation of great and powerful magic, crafted by several sorcerers.”
“You will require more than you have,” Jian agreed.
Fasu rose first and beckoned them. “It is time that we showed you the true secret of this temple, while the moon still shines and your connection to the Jade Mother is greatest.”
The monks led them back to the room where they had found them in stasis. Glancing around, Cheng saw nothing that would make him suspect a secret or anything deeper than a place to simply pray. Then Jian laid his hand against
the statue of Yüying and spoke a few words in prayer.
The statue slid aside in strange silence, no scrape of marble against stone, revealing a perfectly cut square in the floor below. Jian stepped down into the darkness and vanished.
“Please follow,” Han-shi invited, bowing.
Cheng swallowed and pushed back his fear. He had no desire to return to darkness—any darkness—but the monks had no reason to trick or harm him. So he followed, stepping down after the elder.
Han-shi led the way with a lantern in his hands, its blue flame the only source of light in what appeared to be a lasting, magical darkness beyond its reach. Even his gifted vision could barely penetrate the shadows.
When they reached the lowest step, a cool draft touched Cheng’s cheeks, the source evident where an enormous stone door waited, engraved with unfamiliar, alien symbols. It was no language he’d ever learned from his teachers.
“What is this?”
Han-shi and Jian lingered on the lowest steps, the light flickering against their solemn and weary faces.
Fasu touched Cheng’s shoulder. “The reason this temple was built millennia ago. This is the great secret we have devoted our lives to guarding, and only the worthy must tread here. This is where we part, Emperor. May you both fare well on your journey.”
“Journey?” he blurted out, bewildered. “Where are you going? What—”
The monk stepped away as the blue light extinguished and plunged them into darkness.
When Mulan’s breath quickened, he reached out and took her hand, as much for his comfort as hers. She didn’t pull away.
“What now?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“I do not—”
A pale line of red light broke the darkness. The door the monks had left them before cracked open, bringing a rush of cool, water scented air. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dim, crimson glow beyond.
Cheng took her hand. “I suppose we follow the path ahead and see what secrets the monks are truly protecting.”
Damp earth and wet stone permeated the air with the sporadic whiff of plant life. A hint of plum blossom perfumed the air, but then the phantom scent was gone.
The wooden soles of Mulan’s sandals clicked against the occasional rock pebbled throughout the hard-packed ground. They wandered for what felt like hours with no way to judge the passing time. Eventually, glowing specks appeared in the ceiling above them in a constellation of silver light.
The longer he admired it, the more apparent it became to him that they were a constellation—many constellations, the night sky imprinted in rock. Moss and soft patches of clover grew beneath their feet, green life sprouting without the touch of the sun.
Somewhere along the way, the red glow had vanished, replaced by the soft silvers and blues above them, and pale green below. The further into the cavern they ventured, the brighter it became, a glowing wonderland deep beneath the lake. Trickles of water ran down the eastern wall.
The path led from the cavern through another narrow passage. The light dimmed somewhat, but not entirely, providing enough for his enhanced vision to pick out a gap in the path ahead. Cheng jerked Mulan back against him, his arm around her middle. She gasped as she stumbled into his body.
“I didn’t even see it.”
“Few would. We should tread cautiously,” he warned, his breath warm against her ear. He hesitated to remove his arm from her, pleased with the softness of her frame and how perfectly they fit together.
“A little warning would have been nice,” she grumbled.
Cheng laughed and gave her a gentle squeeze before releasing her. “This passage is old. They may not have realized the danger. But you and I will make it through. Come, I sense…something ahead. Something powerful, almost like…”
“Like what?”
“Almost like my mother.”
13
The most gorgeous creature Mulan had ever seen lay coiled upon a bed of velvet clover, the sinuous ribbons of a draconic body woven around itself. Lush feathers of green fanned down the start of its neck in a silky mane and blended into softer down that became sleek scales. The creature barely stirred, didn’t appear to be breathing.
Not a creature. Not just any dragon.
It had to be Yüying herself, her features as radiant in living flesh as the depictions of her throughout all of Liang.
The breath caught in Mulan’s throat, refused to budge. As a mesmerized Cheng stared at their goddess, Mulan squeezed his hand. “It’s her. It’s truly her.”
All along, she had slept beneath her own temple.
“How could this be?” Cheng took a slow step forward and paused. Mulan understood his hesitation. She was torn between wanting to kneel in supplication, run forward in joyous awe, or flee. She felt unworthy to be in the presence of a living goddess.
“I have no idea. I thought… I thought the goddess lived in the heavenly realms, watching over us.”
I do watch, child.
The words came from all around them. Or perhaps it was only in her head. Whichever it was, the voice was warm and silken, yet weary.
This time, Mulan did fall to her knees and bow her head. Her pulse thundered. “My apologies. I meant no insult, I—”
You apologize too swiftly, sweet blossom, for perceived slights against others. I have taken no offense to your harmless wondering. A long moment lapsed, a silence that stretched for so long Mulan would have thought the goddess was gone. Much time has passed since my form soared through the heavens. This is where I must be to reach my children, where my connection to the land is strongest. I tire.
Cheng knelt beside her, as awestruck as she. “Yüying, you bless us.”
A soft chuckle floated around them. The dragon never roused, nor moved, still as stone before them. If not for the voice, Mulan might have thought the creature was part of the earth itself, an elaborate sculpture.
I have waited long years for you both to arrive. I knew this day would come.
“How?” Mulan asked. “I…I never imagined I would meet you. I’ve prayed to you so many times for guidance.”
You have come a long way, Hua Mulan. You are a woman of profound honor. You, who would fight in your elderly father’s stead, risking your life not once, but many times for the sake of a kingdom that has rotted from within.
“Then you know everything?” Cheng asked.
I do. All comes to me in my dreams…I rest here, conserving my strength. My days are not long, and I am fading.
“You’re…” Mulan wet her lips. Cheng froze beside her, his eyes widened in alarm.
As with all things, I will die.
“How? Why? Yüying, I don’t understand.” How could a goddess die? The panic inside her clawed to the surface and tears misted in her vision.
Before them, the mountain of scales shifted, and at last took a breath, a mighty shift of the great body that revealed something glowing and oval wrapped within the scales.
An enormous jade egg that stood as tall as Mulan, had been nestled within the serpentine body.
The breath left her all at once.
The warlock drains me. Through Cheng, he also leeches my power… For many years, my life force has been connected to the Imperial Family, my gift to Liang so that you may always be protected from those who would do you harm. I am unable to leave, for my egg needs me. I must guard her at all costs.
“A new goddess,” Cheng whispered.
Yes. A new hope for Liang.
“We have to stop him,” Mulan said. “Now more than ever. We have to save you.”
It is too late for me. This egg is all that matters, and the safety of Liang. The corrupted bonds must be broken.
“Can you remove the collar?” Cheng asked.
I cannot. Only the one who placed that collar can remove it. At my peak, this would be no small deed, but waning…
“Then we are back to where we started.” The crushing weight of defeat settled heavy on Mulan’s shoulders.
Fear not,
child. There is still some power left in me. Power enough to grant you the means to win this battle.
‘What do you mean?” Mulan asked, only for her mouth to gape open when the dragoness opened her eyes and the sinuous coils of her body slowly unraveled. She moved to a stone, leaving the lower half of her body wrapped around the enormous egg. With one claw, she fished through the lazy river drifting alongside her home and returned with a sword.
It was the most gorgeous sheath Mulan had ever seen, dark emerald in color with a satin sheen.
I present you the Sword of Integrity, Qi Xing Long Yuan, a blade befitting only the most righteous and loyal, a sword for a woman who would not leave her companion to an unknown fate. A sword for a hero who would risk her life for her empire.
Mulan had never admitted it, but not having the family sword at her side had felt strange. It had been a little heavy in her hands, true, but she had come to master its unwieldiness in the years serving in the army.
This sword felt perfectly balanced in her hand, almost as if it were an extension of herself. It felt…right.
“I will wield it with honor.”
Try it, Yüying coaxed.
She drew the sword, the sound ringing through the air with crystalline clarity. Glyphs shimmered along the blade, their glow spreading up her arm and over her entire body, until she was bathed in their light and warmth.
The silk against her skin vanished. In its place, a suit of close-fitting armor hugged her curves and encased her in lavender and jade as warm as her skin.
This armor will protect you always for as long as you possess the sword. It is a blade that has served many, wielded by heroes across this land. Yüying retreated from them and curled in upon herself again. The weariness of her voice had transferred to her draconic face, exhaustion there that Mulan hadn’t seen while the goddess slept.
“What will you do now?” Cheng asked softly.
Rest. Sleep. Wait until my final moments. You must stop Da-Wio. He knows I am here, and his men are coming. But I must warn you, he is not alone in his evil.
Mulan and the Jade Emperor: an Adult Folktale Retelling (Once Upon a Spell: Legends Book 1) Page 11