Dragon At the Market

Another lead, another dead end.

Xiao sat at a bench on the busy, busy streets of Macau, the Las Vegas of the Orient, and a tourist destination for everyone in the region, particularly mainland Chinese. After weeks of following a lead on her missing mother, with help from Ellie,  the place she went to ends up to be an abandoned warehouse. She turned off her phone after arguing with Ellie, telling her that Canton Street only went up to number 40; Ellie’s address went up to 48.

Xiao was sad, and when she was sad she was hungry. It was night time, and it didn’t help with all the wonderful food stores selling all sorts of wonderful food, enticing her heightening sense of smell. Her stomach growled loudly, and after having so much western food she was eager to eating her native food again.

She looked at all the bright lights of Macau, the overload on the senses simply dizzying. She evades the crowds and tries to stay on the side roads and communities where the locals actually lived and ate, as touristy restaurants tended to be overpriced and none too authentic. She looked around for a simple noodle or porridge house, and decided to follow some of the elders walking around who might lead her to somewhere promising.

She looked at one elderly man turn into an apparently empty alley, and became curious. His way lit only by a traditional lantern, he walked all the way towards a wall- Xiao was about to call him out when the elderly man tapped a brick and vanished into the masonry!

Xiao rushed over to investigate the wall, slightly in disbelief. She taps the same brick the old man did, and falls in!

Xiao fell face first onto a cobbled road and looked up to see a large Chinese-style market street and promenade... but there was something very different about it.

Xiao’s sense of smell was assaulted by a great wave of unfamiliar scents- the scent of supernatural creatures- living out their day to day lives like they were in an ancient Chinese quarter. Used to the dull, unchanging scent of humans, Xiao was completely unprepared to walk into a place with living, breathing Chinese Mythology. Winged horse people, Ox people carrying sacks of rice, Fox spirits selling wares, animate objects following a walking panda in robes, colourful talking birds, monkey... monks... selling "peaches of immortality, only 100 shilling a kilo" Xiao blinked and wondered if she had fallen asleep somewhere.

Xiao took out her phone to take a photo, and immediately found there was no signal. She snapped a photo, but it only produced a dull brown haze... A small pack of goblin children point and wonder at Xiao, then run away, mentioning something about dragon blood.

Xiao’s head started to hurt, and she decided to duck into the nearest store, a combination tea house and antique shop. She quickly took a seat, and realized it was fairly empty... she’d apologize later, as she closed her eyes trying to make sense of what just happened.

“Well, well, look at what we have here! Oh, a pretty young lady, wandered into this old man’s shop.” An old Chinese man had arrived probably from minding the back of his medicine stores. Adorned in traditional dress, even wearing his hair in a long braid, he strokes his long gray facial hair as he spoke a very formal  mandarin.

“Huh...?”  Xiao looked up, and minding herself, stood up to bow to the man, who was barely five feet being hunched over.

“Please, sit, no need to rise. We’ve not had such a distinguished customer in a long time. Here, have some tea.” The old man came over and poured her a cup. The liquid was dark brown and carried a strong, pungent smell that physically assaulted Xiao’s sense of smell.

“What is this place, old teacher?” Xiao asked, before taking a sip. It was a strong and bitter taste, but oddly familiar.

“Ohoho, my, and manners to boot. You do Confucius proud. This is the Hidden Street Tea Shop, and you are of course, in the Hidden Street. But, it seems like you’ve never been here before.” He suggested, pouring himself a cup and leaving the pot on the table. He took a seat and drank.

“I... I walked through a solid wall to come here... then I saw a monkey selling the heavenly peaches of immortality outside.” Xiao said, rubbing her temple, still in disbelief with all of it.

“Peaches of immortality? Oh please, more like peaches of Guanzhou province, not even in season! Please, may I have your name?” He handwaved the notion, chuckling a bit then asking her name calmly.

“Li Xiaolongnu.” She responded rather unenergetically.

“...Little dragon girl. Or princess.” He said, translating.

“That’s right... like the legend. How about you, old teacher?” Xiao asked, only polite to ask his name but still address them by a title.

“I am called Feng Bo... nothing too special. Legends to you maybe, but history here. The name carries meaning.”

“How did I get here?” Xiao asked.

“Likely because you needed to be. I can see you are a fast growing girl, looking for her place in the world.” The old man turned towards the far wall of the dining area, where the wall was occupied by a mirror.

“That’s... not very specific... Wha?!”  Xiao’s attention turned to the ornately decorated mirror that spanned the width of the dining area, and saw her dragon form in it, standing amidst the chairs and tables.

“The mirror of truth. Novel item, isn’t it? Such a hassle to move around though.” The old man said, stepping into the dining area. His reflection was that of a dragon as well, smaller and more slender and with pale gray scales, like snow.

“You... you can see...You’re also one of... what kind of mirror is this?” Xiao looked at the old man’s reflection, then to the old man standing slightly hunched over.

“Oh, it is an old relic, something from another time and place. It shows us... things as they are, unless they know the mirror’s secrets.” He gestured to the mirror again, and their draconic reflections were gone.

“Yes well... I’m not really here to look at my own reflection.”

“Yes. You are looking for something important. But, you cannot do it alone, can you? The ones who live in the human world can only help you so far. You must have friends here too, in the world hidden from view.”

“Yes... I do... but I don’t know where to begin. How do you... know so much about me?” Xiao said, anxiously holding her own hands, looking around as if the answers were on the wall or ceiling.

“Oh, one doesn't need to be a powerful and wise sage to see a child growing up. There are times to act, times to think... then there are times to wait. Time does not flow as simply here as it does in the mortal world. Come, you are tired. Sometimes, you should learn to rest on your long, arduous journey, before continuing... the Hidden Street is no place for a tired dragon.” The old Chinese man placed a small steaming plate of dim sum on the table. Hungry, Xiao takes a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick stack on the table and helped herself.  She had many questions of this place, and conversed with Feng Bo to know about the market’s rules and ways.

((Post order is Nekro, Ouro then Mr.Wonton))

Shi walked the streets of the peoples republic. Shi never understood the labels such as “Communist” or “Proletariat.” He understood perfectly the differences, though he never understood why humans were so primitive and needed such things. Why could they not be as the Spirits themselves, living in perfect harmony? Perhaps the humans were just too primitive...or perhaps the hidden angst of the Human condition was more then Shi’s mind could grasp. He began to worry about the state of this world. While it certainly was not as bad as the state he had left the world in when he was a spirit, he was certainly not pleased with how it was beginning to decline once more.
 
       He wandered for hours, looking and searching for a sign. He knew that the Spirits wanted him here, though he knew nothing as to why. His patience was tried, especially more so than normal. He had not long ago lost someone very dear to his heart. His loss was an open wound to the heart, still seeping the black blood of sorrow and regret. His tried his usual deep breathing, his usual walking an waking meditation techniques, none of any use. The pain was much too real, and his grieving only made heavier his heart. He had finally reached the limit of his patience, something that was as rare as a blue moon...plummeting towards the earth. He took to an alleyway with an irked tap to his foot and he got to his knees, sitting back and removing his straw hat.
 
”Dragon Spirit of Rain...My kin....Wash away the darkness to illuminate my path.” He said to himself in hushed prayer as he remained ever vigilant. He suddenly felt his hair stand on end. He found that in this new vision...in this new “light” he had found purpose. He was here for a descendant of a Dragon. A friend of Yam...his fallen friend...his fallen son. He stood and with haste he made his way back to where he thought he’d never have found himself again... The Hidden Street.
 
 
 
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      Shi stepped into the street, vendors all around trying to make last moment sales as the sun began to set. Shi did not take his gaze from his path, his mask clipped to his sash by a black chain of death-energy. The peddlers saw Shi and almost seemed to swarm him. That was until one monkey selling something about immortality approached him. Shi stopped as the monkey gripped onto his arm. "Peaches of immortality, only 100 shilling for the Samurai!" It said with a toothy Grin. Shi glared to him, his crimson eyes locking with the amber animal’s. The Monkey’s blood ran cold and his hair stood on end. It let out the cliché monkey screeches as it experienced the same thing that all whom looked into Shi’s eyes did. The Monkey knew he looked upon the face of death...and not only did he look upon it...it just offered Death a fruit that supposedly granted eternal life. The monkey shivered and fell over it’s tail as he scampered backwards trying to get away, but not willing to take it’s eyes away. Where he once saw a Samurai, he now saw only the reaper himself. Shi turned his head and glared to all the vendors around him, and they were all horrified when they realized whom they looked upon.
 
       “I-I-It’s...IT’S RYUROU SHI! RUN!” A turtle said as he turned and slowly began to run away, his glasses falling from his snout. The others all scurried away, tripping over each other as the street cleared. Shi smiled. This is how the Chinese warrior Lu Bu must have felt when he walked through the village of an opposing army. The street was now barren...devoid of all live...it was peaceful as everyone boarded themselves up. Shi smirked as he walked towards the Tea shop he remembered form the days of his youth. As he passed he bent over and picked up the glasses that the turtle had dropped. He then made three short steps and instantly had caught up with the turtle man, only to place a hand on his shoulder. “N-NO PLEASE!” The turtle pleaded. Shi closed his eyes and offered up the glasses with a kind smile. The turtle quivered but with his glasses gently on his rounded nose he stopped. There were slight whispers as everyone had see Shi preform his kindness. All were surprised by this... Shi was known in this day and age as a good man, one of virtue and integrity...to the Chinese and Japanese whom followed the Way of the Spirits he was a symbol of redemption. With this he blessed the turtle man and turned for the Tea shop.
 
       Shi entered the shop with the sun beginning to set, resting upon the horizon. Shi stepped in and brushed a cloth to the side, entering a very old oriental structure that held a simple luxury to it, Shi felt right at home here. Though the sudden presence of the whispering wind was heard unto him. Shi opened his eyes and smiled with an almost predatory gaze at the little older man with a greying beard.
 
       “May I-” The man began and Shi’s smile pierced through from the shadow caused by his straw hat. Shi tipped the straw hat to the man. 
 
       ”It has been a while, Feng Bo.” Shi said in flawless mandarin. To those not of oriental descent, it may have appeared that Shi was somehow a confused Chinese man dressed like a Japanese warrior, however to the trained or oriental eye he was clearly a man of Japanese descent. His predatory smile towards Feng was almost taunting. ”The years have not been kind to you my old friend.” He added.

       “Indeed... Yu Shi.” Feng said with the last part a little bit of emphasis. Shi squirmed at hearing his old Chinese adaptation. True enough once he was a master of rain...but now...he was a master of only Death.
 
       ”I haven’t gone by that name since You, Thunder, and my apprentice- The NEW Dragon of Rain, trained my son to defeat me.” Shi said, a slight tingle of annoyance in his very disciplined voice. ”However... I did keep the name Shi...which is Japanese for Death... I am now Ryurou Shi. You would do well to remember this.”
 
“Yam and Nagataki Rai were the only ones who knew our teachings well enough.”
 
       ”You used my son against me because you knew that even as the Dragon of Rain I could not bring myself to kill him....so I descended into Darkness and became the Spirit of Death. I did not come to fight, Feng. I hold no ill will for what you and Lei Gong had done to me... I was no longer worthy to stand as the Spirit of Rain, and now I forever suffer as Virtues Avenger...the Spirit of Death in a struggle for constant redemption.”
 
       “I see....then you truly have learned Yu Sh-- Ryurou Shi.” Feng said. His eyes seemed to narrow for a moment as he then looked sadly at the Samurai. “The winds have told me... Yam”
 
       ”Yes my old friend....My son...” Shi said. He confessed “My Son" in Japanese with a grimace and a sigh. He then turned and saw a little Chinese girl sitting at a table with a little dish of her own. Shi struggled to recall what it was named. Dim Su he thought...then again other than to speak Chinese he could not remember much else.
 

Spoiler:

"H-hello.." Xiao simply said, still in disbelief at the new arrival's name. A dragon personification of death? Or a warrior who was simply skilled in dealing death?

Feng Bo sighed, a silence falling between the dragons within the room. He peered at Shi's reflection in the mirror of truth, then turned back to him with an offer. "Please, sit, Shi, and join us for tea and dumplings for old time's sake. A long life becomes such a burden, it would be a shame if we did not at least enjoy the simple things in life." He went to the dimsum cart to place a few boxes for Shi, and replacing Xiao's with fresh ones.

He pulled Shi a seat, then poured him a cup of tea. It was a clear yellow liquid with a fragrant smell, carrying the essence of clean mountain air and fresh spring water. "...This tea is worth... fifty american dollars a pot, from Taiwan. I'd say it's worth the expense, the humans bothering to plant their leaves in the old mountain ranges..." He then offered Shi a steaming box of ham seoi gaau and siu lung baau - fried dumplings coated in sweet rice wrap, and dumplings with broth inside, as well as a dipping platter with soy sauce and peanut oil. If the Chinese were good at something, it was cooking snacks. Xiao was still eating all throughout the meeting.

"But, I digress. Our kind's history is dark and troubled, and I am an old dragon in his twilight... the future is our business now. This young lady is Li Xiaolongnu, the little dragon princess, as her birth mother named her. Xia, this is... Shi. He is a friend of Yam's, and one of us." Feng Bo said, slurping up one of the broth filled dumplings.

“Pleased to meet you, old teacher.” She said, addressing him politely, slowing down with the dumplings.

“Ha! What an appetite. I’m sorry we do not have more time to pick up where master Yam left off. You have much to learn and precious little time to learn it...”

"Learn? what else must I learn? I am sorry, but this is all so overwhelming right now. Next thing I know, I will be meeting Sun Wukong later." Xiao asked, sounding overwhelmed.

"Hahaha! Wukong has not been seen in over a thousand years, child. No, I refer to Kung Fu. The old language. Controlling your dragon's greed." He laughed, amused at Xiao. It had been ages since he'd spoken with a young of dragon kind, even one who was only a half-breed.

"...Shi, would you mind explaining this particular trait of our kind, especially among our young? I'm out of tea..." He stood up and slowly shuffled towards the kitchen.

48 Canton Street, The Serpent Den

A reptilian worker emerged from a nearby doorway, coming from the Opium Den's 'smoking lounges', where the cheapest entertainments were- girls chained to beds, nearly comatose from opium. Men and beast men alike lacking in coin for proper slaves paid to have their way with virtual corpses. The worker bowed his head as he passed by Daji, to report to the shopkeeper slaver.  The shopkeeper hissed at the worker, now having to deal with the shade princess's displeasure.

“Oh, I’m sssssorry milaaaady, someone has already bought the lasssst dragon scaaaales by that one there... might we interest you in dragonspawn scales instead?” He said, most apologetic, and prudently taking a step back from the counter.

The figure that bought the scales moved swiftly through the crowds, ducking and keeping out of sight. He was quite in a hurry, though his sniveling nature caused him not to go far, seeing he bumped into a Rhino man twice his height and four his girth. The Rhino man was heavily tattooed, had many scars on his face, snout and horns, and had the largest meteor hammer this side of China. He snorted at the little snake that got in his way... however, once he got a good look at the snake, the Rhino began to apologize vehemently, and let him pass. He headed out into the street, but catching up was not going to be terribly difficult.

”Please little Dragon, I beseech you: Do not refer to me as old teacher, while I am indeed old I have not earned the honor of being a teacher…at least…not in my current state.” He said with a warm smile. Despite lbeing physically twenty eight years in this world, he was still a warm and fatherly person. Though whatever doubt Xiao had about him being an incarnation of Death…it was undoubtly erased when Shi’s red eyes had fallen on her. All whom looked into Shi’s eyes saw him as he was…as a living persona of Death. They could see the skeletal reaper in samurai armor, though after a while it would ease upon the person, hopefully. Shi suddenly realized the error he had made and fixed it by pulling out a pair of decent shades that hid his eyes and actually seemed to compliment the samurai outfit.

At his old friends invitation, Shi bowed his head gratefully, removed his straw hat and took his place at the table. Shi had no need for such mundane sustenance, although the smell itself did entice a bit of greedy salivation. He slowly and properly used his best manners in front of the little dragon girl. He looked to her for a moment and smiled through his sunglasses. Her name was “Dragon Princess” yes? Oh Yam…how many children do you have? He wondered to himself, wrongly assuming that she was the daughter of the Dragon King…or she could have been for all he knew. Upon hearing Feng Bo request Shi to educate the young girl he then looked to her with a warm smile. He placed the cloth on his lap and cleared his throat to speak to her properly.

”Yes…I believe that I can do this.” Shi said with a slight chuckle, reaching onto his samurai sash to pull out a small pocket of golden coins. With a light jingle he dropped it onto the table and pulled the little string, revealing the shiny gold. He sighed and seemed relaxed as the gold shimmers in the light of the room. ” Xiaolongnu… Do not touch this gold.” He commanded. It was direct, to the point and easy enough. He picked up a single gold coin and began to roll it up and down his fingers without the use of anything more than his knuckles, displaying amazing dexterity. He knew that this would entice an irritation, maybe even a feeling of desire to snatch the coin. ”The Humans of this world often refer to a concept known as “The seven deadly sins”…do you know of them?” He asked plainly, hoping for her to list them off.

”Pride, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, and Lust.” Shi said as he yawned and began to flip the coin into the air, and continued to bounce it from finger to finger. ”These seven deadly sins, funny enough are just as applicable to Dragons as they are humans….These seven things are the greatest Bane to Dragonkind. Wrath, you become stupid and mindless,, controlled by the Dragon within and suddenly you make a mistake…you misstep….and die. Envy drives you into competition and with Dragons and envy, competition as well leads to death. Gluttony…eating too much etcetera, that and it’s own needs not be explained. Sloth…the opposite of Wrath…if you wait and wait then eventually that which would have invoked your wrath will eventually be powerful enough to destroy you…many Elder Dragons suffer from this..*aherm Feng.* ahemm.”

“I heard that Shi!” The little Chinese voice came from the kitchen. Shi smiled at Feng’s direction before continuing on.

”Lust, well finding a mate is hard you know, birds and bees and killing others to get it… Pride is another lesson entirely...but at the moment we come to greed.” Shi said as he flipped the coin, it landing right in front of Xiao. ”Gold…the Draconian Achilles heel. The kryptonite of many of our people. Very few Dragons can resist it’s gleam. Much like you I’m sure… Xiaolongnu, DO.NOT.TOUCH.” Shi commanded being very clear, if he was right in his suspicions, she wouldn’t be able to do it.

Xia sighed as Feng instructed Shi to teach her something. "Master Shi, I'm here for an important reason. While I know learning about myself is important, I have an urgent goal. My mother is..." She fell silent when she saw the gold coin. Something in her stirred up.

"I don't understand... It's just gold." Xiao started, but trailed off when she looked at it long enough. The draconic presence within her goaded her to snatch the coin, as she found herself coveting it. She fell silent, and found her hand slowly inching towards it.

Feng Bo watched the young dragon struggle with her dragons' greed, while taking a look outside the window. The streets had become quiet and empty because of Shi's arrival, but people were slowly returning. He loathed to send Xia into battle the way she was now.

Meanwhile...

Once the snake man called for one of the working slaves- a middle aged human woman, Chinese, and a bit too old for the slavers' tastes - to prepare the girl for Daji. Haggard, tired and too thin, she did as was told, doing her best to soothe her panic.

"...Please..." The brunette pleaded with the washer lady, sitting up and moving away. The woman who was going to prep her had an opium pipe, mixed with the snake men's own alchemical creations, to render her much more compliant.

"I'm sorry... we're all prisoners here." The woman gave the chained up slave girl the smoking pipe. She refused it, naturally, crawling to the wall, but eventually she was made to take a whiff of it, and once the poisonous drug was in her, she rolled up her eyes as her mind relaxed, and went blank.


The legitimate customer - not a thief technically, since he bought the scales first - weaved through the crowd expertly like he was almost intangible. He was also very indistinct, standing at the average height of these mythical beings, barely taller than most of the snake-men, and wearing a common brown cloak. Still, one with a strong sense of smell or possessed of determination could track him and his dragon scales. The paper bag it was in could not mask the smell of preserved dragon. He seemed to be heading towards the main street, where it was more open.

Shi watched at the dragon girl struggled with her inner desire. Gold, the Draconian kryptonite. Too many of the race had died for their over zealous attempts at obtaining the shiny coin. Deep within Shi's mind he could hear the stirring and churning of a spirit within him. He had conquered the desire for such materialistic hording long ago, when he ascended to be a spirit. But the temptation was still there, without doubt. Shi was forced to remind himself, Gold was temporary, and not all the gold of the world would bring him the complacency and satisfaction that only his redemption could. Shi saw the look of Feng Bo, the elder was silently thinking of her, and it seemed as though he was slightly displeased about the current event.

      "Xiao...do not touch it. Listen to me... you were speaking...what of your mother child?" Shi asked. He placed a hand over the gold piece he had laid upon the table and leaned over it slightly. "Is not your mother more valuable than gold? Ignore the glimmer, speak what truly makes your heart shine. What is wrong with your mother child?" Shi asked her, slightly more sternly than the first time, dropping the golden coin into his little sack of glittering gold, before tying it up and turning his attentions to the dragon girls mother.