5.23 Used to it by now

Saye did leave the palace grounds before the king initiated a lockdown. They didn't have their hiding spot out side the capital, as they would be staying in the dragon kingdom for a while. Saye and FengYi had both reached there before the palace lockdown was initiated.

Meanwhile, in the palace Shu XinYi locked Saye's cell door again and walked away without alerting anyone. Once the palace gates were sealed Shu XinYi made his way to find the king who at the moment was very busy, trying to command for a city wide lockdown in the capital. Shu XinYi respectfully asked the right people to guide him to the king, as a visitor from the Elven land who came here to have negotiations about peace. The king had already promised a peace treaty with the Elven kingdom, to the Gods so he won't go back on his words.

So once the old king finally made time to talk with Ilseu, Shu XinYi greeted. "I see that your evening is not going according to your wishes. My condolences."

The old king rubbed his temples saying, "That damn elf ran away and my grandchild is no where to be found."

Shu XinYi said surprised, "Oh, that's not so difficult of a problem. When I arrested Mr.Bane, I put a tracking spell on him." Shu XinYi took out a golden wine glass from his sleeve pocket and handed it to the old king through a servant. "You can use it to find the culprit, just fill it with water and spill some crushed dandelion leaves. As long as Mr.Bane is alive and on this land under the Gods, he'll not be able to escape."

The old king looked very pleased, he was obviously familiar with this device, he himself had used it several times. Shu XinYi continued, "As for the young dragon, I am aware of his antics. Actually, I came here following behind the young dragon, as I thought that Mr.Bane must be conspiring something. Turns out, he was."

The old king was concerned as he asked, "So, do you know where he is now?"

Shu XinYi shook his head politely to say, "Your Grandchild is strong willed. Even at such a young age, he was able to somewhat control the power of his pearl. Yet he is still a kid. I wouldn't blame him if he wants to run far away from the city where the murderer of his parents is held in."

The old King nodded in understanding, once they get Bane back, he'll find that pearl and have that man hanged. Then he can only wait for FengYi to come back on his own. "Master Calian, I am thankful to you for handing this glass to me. If there is anything you want to ask then-"

Shu XinYi politely interjected, "Yes. There is. I wanted to give you the cup regardless since the culprit is under your command now. Yet I also want to negotiate a term."

The old hummed as he said, "What is it that you ask of me? Is it the Dào pearl that WangZi brought back?"

Shu XinYi politely nodded as he said, "Naturally, The pearl was settled in the Elven kingdom, yet your first prince was chosen who eventually bought it back to your lands. I would have to politely request our pearl back."

The old king thought about it for 5 minutes. WangZi refuses to become king. The second prince is dead and FengYi is yet to come of age. There is no one, who can make use of that damn pearl. It's better to let them have it and ask for something useful in return. He motioned for his servent and sent him away with an instruction.

"Master Calian, the pearl will be bought back to you. Hence, in return-" The old king wanted to continue yet Shu XinYi interjected again politely, "You are just returning something that you owed me, Sir. I don't think I owe you anything for the Dào pearl. Or, do you not want to return the pearl and owe me something instead?" Shu XinYi had measured his words. The king was angry yet he couldn't do anything. If he fought now then there would be no peace treaty, moreover even if they had a war, the Elves were morelikely to win. Not only because they were weak, but also because the second dragon kingdom was becoming powerful.

Shu XinYi obviously knew this, giving the cup was only the build up to ask for the Dào pearl. But that build up was necessary, so Shu XinYi had to free Bane. Well it's good that Bane gets another taste of victory, before crashing down in the pits of hell. The king still gave the pearl to Shu XinYi saying, "I am afraid you can't leave the palace until Bane is bought back."

Shu XinYi bowed to say, "Don't worry, I will find a way to accommodate myself with your help."

Staying in the palace was not bad but Shu XinYi was very impatient. He had already realised that FengYi had decided to leave the palace. He wanted to go meet with Saye and FengYi, but until Bane is caught, he would have to stay here.

Soon Bane was tracked down by the old king's personal guards, by sundown the next day. He was bought back to the cells and questioned.

"Who was it that helped you escape? Who dares to go against me in my own palace?" The old king questioned as he clenched his fists. As he did so, Bane screamed in agony as if his bones were being crushed. Shu XinYi was there too by the cells. He was called by the old king, as the old king had started to trust him.

Bane chuckled through the blood seeping through his lips. "You are really optimistic; To think that I would tell you." Bane was sure that the powerful man from before would find him again, so he kept his mouth shut. The old king tortured Bane for longer, Shu XinYi was satisfied with this treatment, it was okay to leave Bane with the old king.

Late at night the old king finally found time to say farewell to Shu XinYi. Before leaving the palace Shu XinYi went back to Bane's cell. There were no gaurds around as Bane was kept in a special cell. Inside Bane was held by chains, his body had no wounds but Shu XinYi could tell that he was suffering.

"Who is it?" Bane asked. He couldn't see very well but he could tell by the man's aura that he was the same man who freed him.

"You can't even recognize my face? Mr.Bane that is truly pathetic, isn't it?" Shu XinYi said.

"Ilseu.. You. No. Why?" Bane realised what went on. Master Calian rescued him, why?

"You have all the time in the world to think the answer through. I just came to say farewell. Oh and old warehouses don't usually have traps set in, mostly they are placed by people with malicious intent." Shu XinYi said.

"What do you... You have the pearl!" Bane was truly shocked this time.

"No. The pearl is where it belongs. I hope you live a long life, Mr.Bane." Shu XinYi said, as he left.

--------x--------

"What do you want huh? You don't deserve to be missed by that little old man at all." FengYi said seeing how lazy his uncle had become. He even cooked only chicken rice, although it was the tastiest meal FengYi ever had, it was still Lazy.

"Come on, YiYi, I sat in the same spot for 25 years. So this much can be expected. And My Ilseu is not an old man." Saye replied reclining on a sofa. This house technically belonged to Saye, but none knew that it actually belonged to the first prince. Everyone just knows that a very sophisticated person used to come here every so often. Shu XinYi found this place through FengYi. It was a one storey house, with everything necessary for living. So Shu XinYi chose it as the hiding location, but now it just became a holiday house.

"Oh, so are you saying I am little?" Both Saye and FengYi instantly looked towards the door. Shu XinYi just shook his head. How come they messed up the house this much, when they were only left alone for a few days. Shu XinYi didn't like the way the house looked, so he started to clean after he set down his coat.

Saye quickly got up and hugged Shu XinYi, "I am so happy Ilseu. I really love you."

Shu XinYi had paused his hands to listen. Yet he continued to clean the kitchen as he answered, "Did Yi'er tell you to confess?"

"Uh.. No. Obviously I was going to do it, I even gave you a ring. I definitely didn't think of myself as undeserving and thinking about only my perspective of this matter." Saye said hugging Shu XinYi more tightly from behind.

Shu XinYi chuckled saying, "You mean the ring you secretly tied around my neck? Help me clean, I don't like messy people. We'll stay here for more than a week so keep this place habitable." Shu XinYi looked at FengYi with warning eyes.

FengYi sighed and got up, as he too started to clean. "Ok. ok little old man. But can you tell this lazy guy to take care of the cooking?"

Shu XinYi just looked at Saye and Saye quickly responded, "I will be a diligent house husband."

Well they did spend a week here. After Bane was caught, the lockdown was lifted and Shu XinYi made his way back to the Elven kingdom. Obviously the 2 idiots followed him, even though they knew that they would have to hide themselves for the most part. Yet they still came.

Shu XinYi didn't tell anyone about the Dào pearl, and waited for the peace treaty to be signed successfully. The old king actually made some good negotiations, and Levay too proposed his ideas.

Once the treaty was signed, the probability of Bane becoming the protagonist finally went down 0%. Bane was still alive. The old king still was trying to find his grandchild using all methods he could to make Bane talk, yet he kept saying lies like he was decieved.

A year passed and several more years passed. 5 years later when Bane was long dead, and the old king was losing his will. That's when his grandchild and his son both showed up. Yet his Son came with a ... male wife? His Son and grandson had returned, yet they only listened to the "little man" and the old King could do nothing but accept it.

Meanwhile in the Elven kingdom, Levay didn't die yet the kingship changed from him to Yuè. Shu XinYi had only recently handed over the pearl because now the 26 year old Yuè was prepared to be king. Along with that Shu XinYi had retired as the military commander at the young age of 31 and handed the mantle to Zither, after training him for these past 5 years. Although Levay never understood why his sons refused to marry, he couldn't make this decision for them.

For the next 200 years, Shu XinYi lived a life as a husband and father. He really cared for Saye and FengYi. Both him and Saye were present when FengYi had become king and took the throne. The first thing FengYi did was to arrange a proper marriage, the first ever marriage of an elf and a dragon. With this years bought change for the many centuries to come. FengYi had grown to be mature and sensible young man, yet when Shu XinYi was on his death bed; he was the same old Yi'er.

"Little old man. Why did I call you like that? I don't like it now that you have become actually old." FengYi said with tears in his eyes. Saye, wasn't supposed to age the way he did yet he kept up with how Shu XinYi aged. He didn't want to be left behind, so both him and Ilseu were reclined on the same bed. FengYi was devastated, yet he kept his calm as best as he could.

"Yi'er You have led a good life with us. We hope you continue to live a good life after us." It was Saye who said this as he held Shu XinYi's hand to comfort him. Obviously, Shu XinYi didn't have it in himself to say a word without crying. Once FengYi left the room Shu XinYi said "In the next life let's not have kids. It's depressing."

Saye lightly chuckled saying, "Whatever you say, Master. Your feelings for FengYi were real, so don't let them be forgotten unless it becomes painful."

Shu XinYi sighed saying, "So you're here huh. Must mean death is close. Good. It aches everywhere. Being old is tough."

Saye chuckled again saying, "You should get used to it by now. If it hurts a lot then let's sleep, my XinYi."

Author notes:

So here it is. The end for this arc. I have been trying to experiment with my writing style, I know I have a long way to go in becoming a good writer but I love writing so I'll keep doing it. I appreciate all the people who have been reading my work, I hope to not dissapoint. Have a nice day. Thankyou for the reads and reacts.