"You'll never beat my Ancient Galloping Fury Power!"
"Up Smash! Up Smash!!"
"Okay, Sandy! Okay?! I'm trying! I'm trying!!"
Mei, MK, Sandy, and his cat, Mo, were gathered at the street corner to play Monkey Mech, a game that has been enjoyed by many generations.
While they were having fun, you did nothing except observe them playing it for about 20 minutes while sitting on Sandy's shoulder lazily.
Grandma said she wanted to spend time with Monkey King again, leaving you all by yourself... again.
You wanted to play just once, but they won't let you!
Basically, you begged them to let you duel Mei on the game. Sadly, MK won't allow it, even Mei, because they said you're too 'skilled' and knows all the 'cheats' for each character.
However, all you heard was that they were losers who didn't want to lose against someone who's actually stronger than them.
Mei's phone buzzed out of nowhere, causing you and the others to peek curiously at it. As she took out her phone out of her pocket, Mrs. Dragon, Mei's mother, was calling her.
You furrowed your brows in confusion, wondering why she called Mei this time.
You've only heard Mrs. Dragon's voice twice in your whole life. She once asked you about where's Mei since she hadn't returned home. The second time was when Mrs. Dragon asked for your help to look after Mei while she went on a five-month business trip.
Just from that, you could see right away that Mei and her parents don't really get along that well.
Mei let out a big sigh before turning around to respond to the call.
She proceeded to do her own thing as you climbed off of Sandy's shoulder and took over her controller.
You knew right away that if Mei's character wasn't being played, MK would easily defeat her and win this round.
You can't allow that to happen, not when he is obviously cheating.
MK was too busy beating up Mei's character to notice that you were standing by his side, ready to beat his character's butt.
You stretched your fingers first before rapidly clicked the controller's buttons, showing off your skills while eliminating MK's character like a fly.
"WHAT?!" MK gaped in disbelief. His character was defeated by Mei's right away! He was unable to even launch an attack because hers kept relentlessly hitting his.
The round came to an end in a heartbeat, announcing your win.
"Oh, come on!! Ughh!! This game is horrible! I'm never going to defeat you or (Y/n)! What did I do wron-..."
When MK realized that it was you who had been playing for Mei, he quickly stopped whining. He gave you an anxious look as you smirked, knowing that you had surprised him.
He thought Mei had finished talking with her mother, but it was actually you the entire time.
No surprise he was unable to fight back, you were his opponent!
"Pfft-! I'm just messing with you, MK."
MK rolled his eyes as he pouted, "I thought I already told you not to battle against me in Monkey Mech! You beat my character's butt easilyy... It wasn't even enjoyable anymore!"
"It's not my fault that I am such a pro gamer," You tossed your hair dramatically, showing how skilled you are before you both laughed at your childish gesture.
You and he then overheard Mei stated that she needed to watch her house, but she appeared to be displeased by it. MK, however, assumed Mei said sleepover so he dashed over to her and stopped in front of her.
"Did Mei say sleepover at her house?!" Excitedly, he questioned, showing all of his necessary sleepover stuff.
"How did you get that-" Quizzically, you stared at him.
Sometimes, it's difficult to understand how he operates.
MK then came running up to you and gave your shoulders a shake, "I've always wanted to see inside Mei's secret dragon house, full of secret dragon's stuff! Come on, Mei!" His head turned to Mei with pleading eyes, "Please, please, pleasee!"
You shrugged your shoulders and joined MK, begging. You won't lie; you also wanted to visit her house. In the news, Mei's home always appeared to be so gorgeous that it even glowed through the screen.
Your interest was piqued immediately because of it.
Since Mei comes from a long line of legendary noble dragons, it shouldn't be a surprise if her home is a castle and has hillsides for a backyard.
Mei looked away, defeatedly, "Sleepover it is..."
You and MK beamed at each other and hopped around like kids, couldn't contain your glee.
Sure, you are a descendant of the original Jiu Wei Hu, a strong heroine who fought side by side with Monkey King, and you readers will likely think, 'Oh! (Y/n) probably has a mansion that is considerably larger because she has the same case like Mei!'
WRONG.
Nobody even knows that Jiu Wei Hu has a family because she vanished from existence of history.
Heck, nobody probably even knows Jiu Wei Hu had a daughter or even a grandchild.
Your grandma prefers keeping things secret from the public, and sometimes, even though you despise it, she also hides secrets from you.
Finally, you all arrived to Mei's residence, the home of the Dragon's Family, and you were really amazed. It was loaded with several massive temples, pricey things, lush gardens, and everything was decorated in shades of green.
"I-I think my poor financial soul just died-" You tried to process what you saw in front of you while you gape at it.
Even better than on television, this residence was exquisite!
"Growing up here must've been great!" MK lit up with joy.
Mei wasn't feeling as thrilled as MK was. She frowned as she avoided her friends' gaze and appeared much more gloomy.
"Uh.. yeah, I guess." Mei looked at the ancient artwork on the side of her house and laughed nervously, "But, I don't know. When I was growing up, I just wanted to be rough and tumble, break stuff, look at bugs! You know, have fun. Just like normal girl's stuff."
"But when your house is pretty much a museum and you come from a long line of ancient noble dragons," She sounded more polished than before (that made you laughed a little bit), "That's kinda frowned on."
She sighed and turned to look at you, expected an excited expression only to see the sorrow on your face at her childhood tale.
Such things that Mei was forbidden from doing were experienced by you so you don't know how she feels.
Almost all of your childhood memories are forgotten by time, but you do recall Jiu Yuzhou's love for you and her support of your endeavors. For instance, she agreed to let you venture into a very suspicious, unknown forest and climb a very tall, steep waterfall because you insisted that you wanted to see the view from there.
Mei faked a smile while pointing her house's main door, "Anyway, onwards to the definitely not gonna be terrible sleepover..."
"Come on, boys!" You said, leaving Mei behind as you, Sandy, and MK sprinted to the area where she was pointing.
The three of you then approach it. Given that the door was spectacular, imagine what the inside will seem like. It will appear even more amazing.
When you looked up, you noticed the home security, a robotic green dragon head, beaming a red laser at you three. Suddenly, its jaws opened and several guns and laser beams were directed at you, you and two of your friends instantly stopped moving.
They were all prepared to shoot you three to death at any moment. Fortunately, Mei arrives to rescue the day and quickly enters the passcode to deactivate the weapons.
Mei said nervously, "Yeah, my parents are a bit serious about the whole security thing."
'Um, what,' You blinked several times as you struggled to process what had just occurred.
Do they even have the government's permission to have this many weapons?
The door eventually automatically opened, showing a very lovely long corridor with many more ancient items decorated with banners portraying golden and green dragons that were properly arranged.
The floor was painted white and very clean, which is a really horrible color choice if you walk with your shoes to enter the house. You walked carefully inside, fearing that if you even touched the floor with your shoes it would be tainted.
"This is amazing!" MK again gaped in admiration. Slowly nodding in agreement with MK, Sandy said, "What is all this stuff?"
"Oh you know, gifts, artifacts, offerings," Mei responeded, genuinely uninterested in the subject, "Yeah, it's just stuff that's been in my family for..."
You stopped caring about what Mei said right away.
You looked around, planning to perhaps 'borrow' some things as you strolled around with a mischievous grin on your face and an interest glint in your eyes.
Think about the price if you were to sell these on the illegal market. It can handle all of your finances!
Ah, yes... The fox instincts will always be ingrained in your blood as the granddaughter of the Nine-tailed Fox herself.
But then you came upon a really lovely green traditional folding fan that was designed with a green dragon and a creature that resembled a fox bounding through the skies.
When you used Blood Eyes, the drawing moved, making you gasped in awe.
'Whoever made this is brilliant!'
You slightly squinted your eyes, and you recognized Jiu Yuzhou as the fox. The way the fox's facial was drawn, the way its body was portrayed, and the charming way the nine tails were illustrated appeared to move and flick in a stunning manner—were all Jiu Yuzhou's attitude.
Your grandma was the fox in the folding fan's artwork.
Unexpectedly, a touch on your shoulder pulls you out of your thoughts.
"(Y/n), you coming?" MK questioned, he flashing a concerned look, "You okay?"
You gave him a glance before smiling slightly, squeezing his hand gently, "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
MK shrugged and led the way to where Sandy and Mei were waiting for you two, "You seemed worried as if you wanted to cry when you look at the fan...."
"And that worries you?" You softened your expression as he nodded slowly. It's cute how he noticed simple things about you.
You put your hand into his and smiled, "You're truly a gentlemen, MK."
'That's why I love you.'
You returned to the rest of your friends and followed Mei as she gave you a tour.
The garage was the first room that was shown to you; inside, you can see all of the most recent models of branded vehicles, "This is the garage filled with all the awesome things I'm not allowed to drive."
"This is one of our many long hallways. We also have the Celestial Jade garden, the room with the thirty centuries of antiques, pool of a thousand tears, tea and snack room, and... my bedroom! And this is the Dragon Claw chamber."
You and MK both noticed something flashing in the chamber, making you walked backwards to see.
It turned out there's a white dragon statue with gold scales was wielding a cool-looking weapon.
"Oh wow," You whispered in wonder. You approached it cautiously and gave it much more attention compared to the other artifacts you had previously seen.
It feels unique, like a strong energy radiates around it.
"Now this thing is cool!" MK gave it a closer look and tapped it, "So, what's the deal-io with this deal-y, yo?"
Mei looked at it briefly before pointing to a banner portraying a dragon, "Oh, that's the sword of my great great great great times a thousand great grandfather. The Dragon of the West! Legends say that my grandfather imbued it with unimaginable power so that our clan would always have the strength of the dragon to protect them."
'Oh? Same like Huli Mianju.' You made a curious hum.
Mei went on, "Its true power will only show itself to those deemed worthy, a true member of our clan who's proven themselves strong enough to protect our family from the forces of evil. But I'm not allowed to touch it." She then turned her head around, "Hey! Anyone wanna see the game room?"
As soon as Mei said that, everyone's attention to the weapon, including yours, quickly vanished!
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Finally, you all made it to Mei's favorite room of all—the gaming room. There was this golden pinball machine sparkled more brightly than any other pinball machine stood at the end of the room, surrounded by arcade games and gaming consoles.
MK was awestruck as he gazed upon it and pressed his cheek against the glass, "A pinball machine?! I've always wanted to try one of these! Ever since I broke Jiu-..."
He stopped his blabbering when he noticed you glaring at him furiously, 'You almost spilled her name!'
You vaguely remember Jiu Yuzuhuo had a pinball machine because she bought it out of boredom when you were a child and MK accidentally smashed it.
'Oh damn, I'm in sooo much danger,' MK muttered, keeping his mouth shut and looking away from you while sweating hysterically.
"Now this is home." Mei gestured to the entire room, "Alright. You three boot up the ol' TV! I will go get some snacks! Don't break anything while I'm gone!" Before closing the gaming room's door, she strike a pose.
You gave a worried glance at her as she dissapear from your sight.
You get the sense that she was having a problem. She is bothered by something. However, you let Mei have some alone time to think first.
MK laughed at Mei's statement, "'Don't break anything while I'm gonee'! Yeah, right."
Then somehow, the plunger of the pinball machine was accidentally pulled too forcefully, ruining it by the one and only, MK.
In an instant, his heart suddenly dropped from his chest to his knees while you already passed away in the spot as your spirit attempted to flee Mei's wrath.
"....MK, I swear on Buddha, please don't say you just jinxed yourself..." You whispered, unable to even speak up because your spirit was on the verge of departing from your body.
You wouldn't want Mei to be furious ever again if you had ever experienced her true wrath.
Sandy sweat dropped before thinking out a way out, "Why not try using tape? Does this room have any tape?"
In most needed, Sandy gave you and MK, who were prepared to die, hope.
MK's gloomy expression changed into one that was almost crying, "Sandyyyyy!!" He wailed, "You're the best!"
You stood up straight instantly, "I'll look for it, but you, MK, need to fix it all by yourself!"
"Yes, ma'am." MK gave you a salute before you searched for a tape (almost 10 minutes).
Once you finally found one, you quickly gave it to MK, who was already gathering the parts of the pinball machine that fell out.
After many attempts to repair the pinball machine, it eventually broke much more severely. The plunger wasn't the only thing that was damaged; everything was.
"Life is hopeless at this point," You collapsed to the ground and sob theatrically, "I am deceased."
MK Hearing your sob impacted him as well, and suddenly a tear began to fall from his eye.
"HUAAAAAAAA!!"
While Sandy frantically attempted to calm you two down, you two cried (and when MK tried to go near to you, you kicked him).
"MK, you'd better tell Mei about this! Be responsible as a hero and a friend!" You wiped your tears away, posing heroically while directing your finger towards MK.
MK's lips slowly stretched into a smile as his eyes sparkled up to you, "Yeah! I broke it. Part of being a hero is owning up to your mistakes."
"Exactly. Now do the right thing!"
The three of you went outside in fear, but with just enough confidence to tell Mei the truth.
"So... Mei, you know that really cool-" MK gasped as he discovered several antiques scattered on the ground, all dusty and disorganized.
"Mei, what happened?!" Your eyes widened in horror and Sandy peered behind you to see what was causing all the ruckus.
Mei smiled wide with delight as she heard two of your voices. She turned her head, and you could see the same weapon that you had seen before, in the Dragon Claw chamber, in her hand.
"(Y/n)! MK! Someone tried to steal the dragon sword. I stopped them with this!" She presented a green sword with a gradient from light green at the tip to dark green at the bottom and it has designs on it. The grip is white and scaled, and the pommel is shaped like a dragon, "The Dragon Sword!"
You congratulated Mei with a proud smirk and a thumbs-up. Just like that, Mei had an immediate rush of happiness. She perfectly knew, with just that one gesture, you are proud and happy for her, without the need for words or compliments.
Mk stared in awe, "Whoa! The Dragon Sword! That's-" He wanted to compliment her even more, but when he noticed three pairs of eyes glaring at him, he tensed up and sighed aloud, "Mei, I'm really glad you stopped him, but I have a confession to make. I accidentally..."
"Accidentally what?" Mei asked gleefully, making you and MK feel more worse if MK announced the bad news to her.
He took a brief pause before going on hesitantly, "Accidently... didn't know what was going on! Wow, that thing is amazing."
You agreed and gave a quick nod until you heard a fake cough coming from a very large hole in a wall.
'Oh damn-'
You slowly turned around to see Mei's parents standing there, each of them wearing a frown.
Mei let out a horrified gasp upon seeing them. Right now, her mind was a total mess. She was unable to logically think or muster words to defend herself.
As soon as you noticed how terrified she was, you instinctively reached out and gently patted her shoulder while wearing a smile of assurance, encouraging her to have bravery and to confront them with pride.
Mei's terrified look somehow slightly turned into an almost unnoticeable thankful smile.
She turned to face her parents, nervously walking towards them, "Mom, Dad.. You're back."
"We were on our way when we realized 'somebody' forgot our luggage." Mr. Dragon anxiously looked aside as Mrs. Dragon glared at him with daggers.
"I-I can explain!" Mei showed the sword to them, "Someone tried to steal the sword. I-I didn't let them! A-and.. A-and I used this."
She lost all confidence and bowed down to her parents, offering the sword for them to take back when she saw that none of her parents made any reaction or expression.
"I'm sorry..."
Mr. Dragon breathed deeply before speaking, "We saw the whole thing. And we're so proud of you!" He grinned broadly with glee.
Mei immediately turned to face him, puzzled by what he had just said, "What."
He laughed as he and Mrs. Dragon proudly beamed at their daughter, "The Dragon Blade is the pride of our family heritage! Its power only showed itself to those that embraced their history, their family."
Mrs. Dragon kneeling down to be at the same level as her daughter, "We may not always see eye to eye and uhh your friends are more u-unique than we expected. But you are a part of this family and it is part of you... We love you."
"I love you too, Mom... Dad."
The sight of this wonderful heartwarming family moment made your heart ache as you stood back and watched the Dragon family hugged each other caringly.
You're jealous and you're unwilling to acknowledge it.
Letting out a trembling sigh, a tear slipped from your watery eyes.
You have no memory of ever having parents. Except your mother's compassion and tolerance, everything is a haze in your mind.
You want to experience motherly love and you desire a father's protective feeling.
You wished for a family... However, the world won't allow you experience those.
Since the beginning, your grandma has been all you have.
"Ugh..." You frowned, allowing the tears to flow down and as you turned to look at your right side, MK was smiling worriedly at you.
"Are you okay?"
You spat a trembling laugh, "P-Please help... I can't stop these tears."
MK wiped your tears away with his thumb, chuckling at your effort to blink the tears out from your vision, "Let it all out, Fox."
"...Aghhh!! You make me cry even more, MK!"
"Pfft-! Sorry!" MK gave you a tight, warm hug and gently rubbed your back to help you relax.
You slowly raised your arms to hug him back, hiding your face away from everyone.
In situations like these, in the silence, You and MK found comfort in each other.
After the whole incident, you and your friends hang out and play games till late at night. You also create a fort using chairs, cushions, and blankets. Once you were finished, you three were able to sleep comfortably inside of it because it was big enough to accommodate ten people.
As you fall asleep, all you can see was darkness. A never-ending black emptiness all around you.
The blackness gradually transformed into a more peaceful place before you suddenly realized you were dreaming and could hear a gentle, soft hum.
You were surrounded by pink, blue, and green trees, as you felt soft grass beneath your feet, lightly tickling it. If you made an effort to look far out, you might see a crystal clear river and to protect the area, hills and fog could be seen in the distance.
The sky resembled a work of art. It was blue and the white clouds decorated the sky.
"So, you've finally made it here!! My dear, welcome to Qingqiu Mountain where it only exist in my dream."
Your ears perked up as you heard the familiar voice that you hadn't heard all day.
Your grandma approached from behind you, and you turned around with a smirk.
"Back from disturbing Monkey King?"
"Yup! I'm still planning to stay on Flower Fruit Mountain for a few days. Don't forget about our training schedule."
You shook your head childishly, "I don't want to train! I'm too lazyyy.."
Jiu Yuzhou ruffled your hair, making it extremely messy, "Funny as always... How are you today, love?"
"Glad you ask 'cause I am very exhausted!"
You immediately gave her detailed explanation of what happened.
About Mei's lavish home, her wealthy parents (who are descended from a highly noble dragon bloodline), and the commotion involving Mei and you.
Jiu Yuzhou paid close attention and took a strong interest in your story, making you felt genuinely happy at having someone listen to your experience.
Maybe it's not that horrible after all to just have a grandmother.
"I used to recall when I had more wealth than Ao Ji," Jiu Yuzhou stated with a dreamy gaze, "I remember how many houses I had, how much money I had, and how much fun I had playing cards with those guys. Oh my goodness, the money! I believe we still have a thousand times more money than those Dragons."
You furrowed your eyebrows in disbelief and didn't take a word she had just spoken, "Grandma, I think you're hallucinating."
She simply shrugged her shoulders, "I'm telling you the truth, whether you want to believe me or not. I sell all of those properties and palaces just to spend the profits on my future. We can buy even larger residence than the Dragons have, but I'm just trying to maintain a decent standard of living here."
"Wha-?" You become confused.
The Jiu Wei Hu could be wealthy, which makes sense in a way considering that Jiu Yuzhou constantly spent money on shopping and consistently purchased the most recognizable brands without caring about the price.
"Grandma, are you being for real?"
"I don't knoww..."
"Just answer with yes or no! It's not that hard!"
"You know me, dear. I don't give answers straight away."
"Damn it!"
Your mind will always be troubled by Jiu Yu Zhuo's statement that the Jiu Wei Hu's family might be 10 times better and wealthier than the Dragons.