Leaving the Lan Shu Forest

Much like before, we follow Lia to the back end of the room past the head of the crystal carving. Putting her hand up to the wall, a small rumbling can be heard as the walls shake and a small opening is revealed. Looking into the dark hall, not only is the ceiling low, but the path is narrow as well, even Lia can just barely fit through and I need to both bend down and move sideways through the narrow path.

As we enter through the small opening, the path closes behind us, concealing the exit once more. Unlike our initial journey into the tomb, this hidden exit doesn't light itself up with a row of torches. This isn't too much of a problem since we can all see to varying degrees in low light. It helps that the path is a simple straight line, so even if we couldn't see, there isn't really any room for mistakes.

In this dark path, it's difficult to tell how much time has passed since we entered, but after what feels like an hour, Lia stops as we reach the end. Just like every single dead end we've come across today, Lia puts up her hand as the image of the Azure Dragon shines, but this time it isn't the wall ahead of us that parts, but the ceiling above splits revealing the light of dawn overhead.

*Ahh* taking in a deep breath, I say, "finally, feels like it's been forever since I've had the taste of fresh air."

"I know it's just an expression, but in your case, you actually are eating the air. But in any event, it is indeed nice to finally be out of that stuffy pathway," Aurelia says.

"I agree, but we aren't out of the clear just yet, we are still in the forest so we need to leave as soon as possible," Lia says as she shifts back to Dragon form, "let's follow the original plan and escape off my back."

"Not like we have a choice now, I can hear some shouting in the distance, they've found us the moment you transformed. It doesn't matter though, this is probably our best escape chance," Aurelia says.

The rest of us all rush onto Lia's back and she quickly begins to float up into the air and fly away.

"This is much more convenient than riding on Cordelia when in a hurry, although she is much more comfortable than you are, Lia, but I don't need to shield Wanjing from any toxins so it's not all bad. However, you could work on a few things to make this flight more enjoyable."

"Complain more why don't you, I'm sure you'll enjoy some free falling from the clouds."

"Putting their banter aside, are we not being followed, Teacher?" Wanjing asks.

"Doesn't seem like it. At the very least, I can't see anyone following us, but I'm pretty sure they only have one person who can actually follow us," I say.

******Third Person******

Hong Niao, the Scion of the Vermilion Bird, looks out towards the fleeing Dragon. Turning around he sees the two Scions of the White Tiger running towards him, along with the slow moving old Scion of the Black Tortoise.

"So they had a descendant of the Azure Dragon with them? I figured that was the case when the barrier appeared, but it's still surprising. I had been under the assumption they had all died in the rebellion a few thousand years ago," says Hong Niao.

"Why not chase them, chasing prey is fun?"

"Yeah, running after prey feels good."

"I'm not some cat that plays with their prey, unlike the both of you. Also unlike you, I know how to properly measure people, if I chased it wouldn't lead to any results other than a few injuries on both sides. If anyone else here could fly, I would gladly go with them to chase the intruders, but I'm surrounded by two cats and an old tortoise."

"Ignoring that last comment, what should we do about them? Even if they aren't Dragonoids of the Imperial Family, two of them can certainly pass off as one, this makes sending out a warrant for their arrest a little troublesome," says Hei Wugui, Scion of the Black Tortoise.

"I think we can let the Imperial Guard handle it for now. I agree that it would look good if people who resemble the Imperial Family were actively hunted, although it would make finding them much easier. The closest city should be Shiping, so long as they are flying it won't take long for them to arrive. I believe a cousin of mine is currently there, I'll try and see if I can get her to watch out for them," says Hong Niao.

************

Once the forest is out of view and we're sure that no one is following us, Lia finds a deserted area near Shiping to land, shifting back into her humanoid form.

"So how far away from the city are we?" I ask.

"I'm not entirely sure, if I had to guess, I'd say around two hours to three hours," Lia says.

"I know where we are. With our walking speed, we can reach Shiping in a little over two and a half hours, but if we hurry we can arrive in just under two hours," Wanjing says.

"That's good... hey, I didn't notice this before with everything that was happening at the time, but what happened to your eye?" I ask.

"Now that you mention it, Wanjing's eye has changed," Aurelia says.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Wanjing asks.

"How do I explain it, your left eye looks more like a cat's eye than a human one, and your right eye seems to be somewhere in between," I say.

"When we were fighting at the edge of the forest, did you absorb the qi of those people?" Lia asks.

"Yeah, I didn't think it would be much of a problem since they were fighting with us. But more importantly, is something wrong with me?"

"No, I don't think so," Lia says, "if I'm not mistaken, you should be undergoing a sort of metamorphosis, it should be similar to how my scales and hair changed colours. In my case, it was done basically in an instant, but yours looks more gradual and is probably related to how much qi you absorb from others. You should be fine, this is probably beneficial for you, so long as you ignore the part where you will no longer be considered a human."

"Oh, that all? It doesn't matter then, I mean, neither you nor Teacher are human, and Aurelia isn't completely human either, so why should I be the odd one out. Besides, I was prepared to cast away my humanity not long after I found out that I can inherit the power of a Taotie. It's not unheard of for people to disregard their humanity for the sake of an old bloodline here in Shengdi, although it isn't exactly common either. By the way, I took some stuff from the tomb, so I want to see if I can sell it off at the Treasury. Do you mind if we stick around Shiping until after the next auction?"

"I don't mind, actually, I also picked up a few things from the tomb. I wanted to sell some of the small trinkets I got," I say.

"I know you took some of the large porcelain goods as well, what about those?" Aurelia asks.

"No no no, the shiny stuff stays with me. Those belong in my shiny collection."

Moving back towards Lia, Aurelia whispers in her ear, although I can't hear her directly, I can still hear what she has to say through the Soul Connection with Lia, "is there something wrong with her head? Knowing her, wouldn't she be eager to sell those large porcelain goods?"

"For as long as I've known her, Cory has had a strange fondness for anything that shines and actively hordes them. It isn't a big deal and it's good for her to have a hobby other than banditry. By the way, she can hear you."

"Is there something wrong, Teacher? What's that face for, is there something chasing us from behind?" Wanjing asks.

"Don't worry about it, I just remembered there was something I needed to discuss with Aurelia, but it can wait until later. Let's hurry and pick up the pace, I want to speak with Dai Jiang about the stuff we got."