Back to a Familiar Place
Back to a Familiar Place
The Zodiacs slowly opened their eyes, looking around and out the windows of the cabin.
"Are... are we there yet? Did we make it?"
Ao Qin asked aloud, taking a good look at his surroundings. There was a clear blue sky with just a few clouds scattered. More importantly, the gentle light of the sun shined upon their ship, bringing about a feeling of warmth.
It took just a few moments and the moment they realized, Ming Yue's voice suddenly popped up.
"Did we make it?" she asked.
Everyone's head spun around to see her and the rest of their group standing behind them nonchalantly. Even Liang Wei was licking its paw, looking at them without much care for their shocked faces.
"Is something wrong?"
Ming Yue looked at them, seeing the surprise on their faces.
"Where did you go? Zhu Xie had done a full tour of the ship? Don't tell me that you're an actual ghost?" Qiang Rong asked.
But Zhu Xie just chuckled in response to the monkey-kin's questions.
"Hehehe, I didn't show them everything", he said.
The boar-kin stepped forward and stopped at a random spot in the cabin. He then knelt down and put a hand forward, pressing down on the floorboards. Without making a single sound, a trap door opened up in front of them, revealing a hidden passage underneath.
"What?! There were hidden passages in this place?! Why didn't you tell any of us?"
Ao Qin asked, feeling slightly offended that such an important thing was not mentioned.
"What do you mean? I told you all, didn't I? I talked about it during the tour I gave you all, it was part of the changes I made to the ship."
"I- err- never mind."
The dragon-kin quickly took back his words before trying to change the subject.
"So you were all hiding in there then?"
Ming Yue nodded, looking at Zhu Xie as she replied.
"He had shown us the hidden passages when he took us to our room earlier. I wasn't sure if it could fit us all but it wasn't a really tight fit. But, did we make it? Are we in the Human Continent?" she asked.
The Zodiacs all shared a look before looking at her.
"Why don't we have a look for ourselves?" said Lao Yang.
Together, everyone walked out of the cabin and towards the bow of the ship, looking down below. They weren't very high, just ten or so meters above the Teleportation Array, Compared to the one in the Beast Continent, this Array was in much better condition.
But there was one other thing awaiting them.
"Lower your ship and exit it promptly! You will only have this one warning!"
Someone shouted at them, causing the entire group to look in that direction. There was a small squad of people, about twenty of them pointing their staffs at the ship. They wore cloth uniforms and masks on their faces instead of armor, resembling more like guards than warriors.
As Ming Yue looked, her eyes sort of flashed as she saw the masks.
"Hm, I've seen this mask before. I think it's..."
It took her a moment but the answer soon came to her.
"The Dark Water Kingdom!"
The young woman turned to Zhu Xie, who looked back.
"We should land, I know this place and they should know me", she said to him.
The boar-kin hesitated, looking to the others who nodded and then went back inside. The floating ship descended, landing in front of the group of guards. They were vigilant, pointing their staffs while the doors opened and everyone walked out.
Ming Yue led the way followed by Hongyu, the trio of beasts, and then the beast-kin.
As each person walked out of the ship, the eyes of the guards grew large as their staffs lowered just a touch. There was shock and disbelief, unable to understand what was happening.
"This... from there... the... Beast Continent?"
The captain could barely muster any words, trying their best to keep calm.
Ming Yue looked behind, realizing the absurd group she came with but did her best to explain.
"I don't know if you recognize me but I was here years ago. I am the disciple of the Shen Zhong, I came here years ago to seek guidance from the Grand Researcher Ou Fenhuang."
As the guards turned their attention back to her, the shock seemingly skyrocketed when they recognized her.
"One of the heroes of the war... the Fairy of the Moon..." one of them muttered.
"Huh."
She raised a brow after hearing that title.
"Hero? Fairy of the Moon? What?"
Ming Yue was confused and rightfully so.
The guards quickly lowered their weapons, putting them away before kneeling in front of her. They even lowered their heads and cupped their fists in respect.
"Your return is a momentous occasion!"
"Yes! We will bring you along with your allies back to the Grand Researcher! Please!"
Standing back up, the guards parted, letting Ming Yue and the others walk through while the captain of the guards led them down a path. The young woman looked down at Hongyu, who looked at the guard's masks with interest.
"Come on, Hongyu, let's go."
Holding her hand, the duo followed along.
"Oh, but what of the ship?"
Zhu Xie turned towards the ship, pointing at it with concern only for the captain to reassure the boar-kin.
"Do not worry, it will come along with us."
"O- oh I see."
Unfortunately, Ming Yue was still very confused.
"What do you mean hero? Why did you call me Fairy of the Moon? What happened in the war?" she asked.
"Ah it would be better if the Grand Research told you in person but because of you, we were victorious", the guard captain explained, "However, there was no sign of you, everyone had thought the worst but chose to let everyone know of your heroics. There were already rumors of your deeds during that war but that final battle truly made your name known throughout the continent."
The guard captain continued to talk, conversing with Ming Yue while the others quietly listened.
The Zodiacs all looked at each other, listening to the conversation made them all realize one thing. Ming Yue was certainly not an ordinary individual.
But the conversation didn't last too long as they reached a small building where a smaller Teleportation Array was set. It was carved into the floor, containing mechanisms more complicated than the other arrays.
"What?! This is a Teleportation Array?!"
Lao Yang couldn't help but exclaim in surprise and the others were just as surprised. But there wasn't enough time as the guard captain stood at the center of the array, pressing his staff into the very center.
The staff fully entered and the Array hummed to life.
"Please be careful and don't move needlessly", the guard told them.
Ming Yue pulled Hongyu Closer, making sure that everyone was accounted for. Their surroundings began to warm and shimmer before transforming as everyone arrived at the other side. Moving from one room to another, the guard captain retrieved his staff and quickly led everyone out.
Entering a familiar hall, Ming Yue looked around, seeing the gnarled roots as pillars and the stained glass pieces where the windows were. Everyone aside from the guard captain, looked around with a sense of awe in their eyes.
"What is this place?" Ao Qin asked.
"This is the main hall of the Dark Water Kingdom, we are in the capital city, Dark Water Capital", the guard captain introduced.
Their pace quickened as they climbed up the stairs.
"We're nearly there, I'm sure the Grand Researcher will be happy to see you."
Stopping in front of a pair of doors, the guard captain knocked gently and waited a few moments.
"Come in."