Wei Ying stirred awake, hearing a distant voice. His eyes snapped open, wondering if too much time away from Lan Zhan was making his mind play tricks on him.
A pain, muted before but now lodged where his heart lay, made itself known, and his hand moved to the spot almost unconsciously, the heel of his palm rubbing to try to alleviate.
He needed Lan Zhan.
But first, he had to find Li XiWang.
And nothing could be achieved by staying here, locked against his will. He sat up, and felt along the edge of one wing. These were an amazing gift. Who knew they would come in so handy?
They were soft and supple, yet incredibly strong. As it was, he had noticed his strength increasing day by day, ever since Shen Ling had helped him return. He was just waiting for the day when he could show Lan Zhan and finally get him to stop worrying about him so much.
But who was he kidding? That would probably never happen...
He was just going towards the door to try and open it, when he heard the voice again.
"Young Master, can you hear me? Where are you?"
"Shen Ling! You came? Where are you? I can hear you but it's very faintly!" Wei Ying shouted, both in his mind and out loud.
At this point, he didn't care if he was overheard.
"Young Master? I can hear you, but there must be something in the way. Can you tell me exactly where you are?" Shen Ling sounded confused.
"I am trapped. The Jiaoren have me locked inside a room in their Palace!" For the first time since his confinement, Wei Ying allowed hope to bloom in his chest.
Shen Ling could get him out of here...maybe.
"I am above the water, but I am sensing many things. I sense the presence of many other dragons? Six more, perhaps. And Young Master, I am unsure what effect my dragon breath will have under the sea. Do you think the excessive water will quench my flames?"
Wei Ying had never thought of that. Was that even possible? Was Shen Ling right to be concerned? If he could not defend himself when attacked, was it right that Wei Ying ask for his help?
Wei Ying was pretty sure that the Jiaoren were the 'attack first, ask questions later' kind of people, and above all, he didn't want anything to happen to his friend.
"Thank you for your concern, Young Master. But I believe I have a better solution to our problem. Please be patient with me, I will return as soon as possible."
Wei Ying felt their connection stretch and then break as distance tore them apart. He slumped onto the floor, dejected.
Shen Ling had left.
Wei Ying sighed, watching the bubbles leave his mouth. Lan Zhan must be so worried about him. And where exactly was Li XiWang? Why had the Siren taken her away? He hoped against hope that she was unharmed.
The sound of the key in the lock had him standing up again, alert.
Kedou slipped in, closing the door behind him.
"How did you get the key?" Wei Ying asked, delighted to see him. He pulled a surprised boy into his arms, grinning all the while. "I'm so happy to see you. How long have I been in here?"
"Just one day." Kedou also smiled at him. "We should go."
They swam out of the door and Wei Ying had never been happier to leave somewhere. There was nothing wrong with the hospitality of the Jiaoren King, but being held against his will and being a guest out of free will, left a lot to be desired.
But he stumbled to a stop, when he saw the bodies of the guards outside his room.
"What happened to them?" Wei Ying looked to see their gills still opening and closing like normal but just that they were unconscious.
"I tricked them into eating algae. It knocks us out...and-" he stopped speaking, just chuckling to himself.
"And what?" Wei Ying wanted to know now.
"Well, it kind of produces a laxative result, you know, later when they start to wake up. But you didn't hear it from me, right?" Kedou winked at him.
Wei Ying laughed and accidentally swallowed seawater. He choked, still laughing while Kedou patted his back.
"So when they wake up..." Wei Ying spluttered.
"Exactly." Kedou beckoned him to follow.
The Palace was strangely quiet.
"Where is everyone?" Wei Ying asked, looking at all the empty halls and places outside doors where previously guards had floated on attention, tridents in hand.
"The king emptied the Palace. He's marching upon the Crystal Realm as we speak. I thought you might want to get your daughter out before the fighting starts." Kedou threw him a grin before swimming faster ahead.
"Good idea." Wei Ying also speeded up.
Outside the Palace, the grounds were also empty. A few faces looked out here and there, but for the most part, the city was emptier than a ghost town. Nobody paid them any attention, and Wei Ying was glad. He just wanted to reach Li XiWang now.
They could see the last of the Jiaoren army moving away into the distance, their bodies creating a small amount of the seabed to be stirred up, clouding the seawater with dust particles.
"If they're going that way, we have to go this way." Kedou pointed to a large overgrown area, full of reeds and floating seaweed.
"I trust you, Kedou. I will follow you wherever you lead me."
Kedou grinned at him, a mouth full of pointy teeth. "Then come on."
They swam fast, and Wei Ying knew as they cut through the current, that they would be faster than the Jiaoren army because it was only the two of them, even if this was turning out to be a roundabout route.
The seaweed parted to reveal dozens of ships that had sunk upon the sea, sinking to their watery graves. Wei Ying glimpsed a skeleton or two and shuddered, swimming faster. Now they had to dodge dislodged chunks of wood, debris from the vessels and then, all of a sudden, Kedou stopped. His arm flashed out, stopping Wei Ying from swimming on ahead, and he put a finger upon his lips.
He took Wei Ying's arm and led him behind the wreck of a ship that had everything missing except for it's port side of a huge belly. He watched from a small gap, and then pointed. Wei Ying watched, wondering what had the boy so scared, but it wasn't long before he realised.
A group of hunting sharks, teeth ever on display, swam past their hiding spot, eyes prowling from side to side. Their silver bodies, sleek and efficient predators, gleamed in the blue light.
Kedou forced him to duck until they had swum away.
"Have you ever been attacked by them?" Wei Ying whispered, not daring to raise his voice, even though they had long disappeared from sight.
"No. My uncle was. Hardly anything was left of him." Kedou replied softly. "They seemed to be looking for something."
"Probably something to eat."
Kedou agreed.
They were about to swim away, when Wei Ying noticed a few pearls on the ground. He pointed at them and looked at Kedou.
"Look!"
Kedou swam down to take a closer look. He and Wei Ying saw a trail of pearls, missing in some places, but still, a clear trail. They followed it after mutual agreement.
The scattered pearls, luminescent on the seabed, shone whenever the light hit them, but the shadows of the ship remains darkened their path. The trail led all the way up to a makeshift door on the ruined body of another vessel.
They listened for sounds but nothing except for the little fishes disturbing the waters came to them.
Wei Ying pointed to the door. Kedou nodded, and stood back. Wei Ying used his shoulder to break the rotten wood, revelling in his stronger body. Just as they swam inside the dark space, they heard a scream.