WangXian Forever 7

Chapter 5 Conch Shell

Suanni landed with an ear-splitting roar. Wei Ying ran to him, and saw that he had brought guests with him; Shen Ling and Shen Qing, and their three adult babies.

Suanni licked Wei Ying first, followed by Lan Zhan, who pulled out a handkerchief and discreetly wiped Wei Ying's face and then his own. The huge beast made himself comfortable and settled in the sand, letting Li XiWang climb on top his great mane.

Meanwhile, an equally wet reunion was happening on the side between JingYi and his babies, who were so happy to see him, they kept him in a circle of red bodies, as they licked him and spoke in little hoots and whistles. JingYi seemed to have no trouble understanding them. Zhitiao was on the side, watching them until one of the babies noticed and brought her into the circle with JingYi, who was smiling proudly at her.

"You're one of us now." He told her, grinning.

"Why did you call me, Young Master?" Suanni asked Wei Ying through their mental connection.

"No reason, we just missed you." Then he had another thought. "Are we...are we not allowed to? Were you busy? I'm sorry if we called you away from something important."

Suanni huffed out a laugh.

"No one has ever called me because they missed me." His protruding canines stretched over his lips. "The ones that pray, they always want something. But you...you only want my company. It makes a change, is all."

Wei Ying went up to his massive head and hugged it as much as his arms allowed, and then he remembered his wing span was broader. So he unfurled his magnificent wings to curl around the Great beast as far as he could go.

Perhaps no one thought how hard it was for celestial beings, but they had feelings too.

Li XiWang was scratching behind his ears, and he began to whisper growl, a purring from deep within his chest.

Shen Ling and Shen Qing were both waiting for him next to Suanni, watching his friend and the babies.

"Young Master. We heard the bell and thought you were in danger." They said when Wei Ying untangled himself from Suanni.

"No...thankfully, this is just a family holiday. But I did have a question for you." Wei Ying went to hug his friends too.

"We are at your service, Young Master. What would you like to know?" Shen Ling preened, his golden whiskers fluttering in the sea breeze. 

"Do you remember Dashi? He is the master of the Flowers of Venus, and we rescued him from the Nether world. The poor man suffered from memory loss, and the healers advised us against bringing him with us. However, would you know of any cure? Might there be a herb or plant that can restore forgotten memories?" Wei Ying tapped his nose. "I would like to think that in this huge universe of ours, if there is an ailment to be suffered, then surely there must be the means for a cure."

"Perhaps. Although nothing comes to mind immediately, I am sure we can find an answer. Let me ask around, see if anyone remembers anything. I shall let you know as soon as I find anything." Shen Ling bowed.

"I'm glad you brought your babies." Wei Ying laughed.

The Dragon babies were even a little bigger than their parents by now.

"They miss their nanny." Shen Qing replied.

They watched the group of five thoroughly show each other how much they were missed.

Daden Yaonu beckoned Li XiWang to come to her then, and the little girl jumped into her father's arms from her seat upon Suanni. Wei Ying set her down and she ran to her aunt.

"Child, do you remember how you summoned me that first time, all those months ago?"

Li XiWang nodded and searched through her sleeves, pulling out the famous conch shell. She walked towards Tiaopi De Long and handed it over.

"This belongs to you." She whispered. 

"You can play this too?" He asked her incredulously. 

Li XiWang nodded.

"This was a gift that my eldest brother gave me when I left." He said, his throat thick with tears. "I have not met my family for over ten years. How about we give them a heads up?" He grinned at his daughter.

His fingers caressed the intricate carvings a few times, before he took a deep breath and brought the cool shell to his lips.

The sound, the rich note serenaded their hearts, the echoes of the shell ringing out across the sea. Something changed in the air, as ripples of an energy cast away from the dragon.

Nothing happened for a few seconds...and then...

Suddenly, from the centre of the ocean, there burst five dragon Kings and their five matching consorts. Tiaopi De Long tossed the conch shell to his daughter and transformed into his dragon, a blue body wriggling like a massive snake. Zai Shu Xia joined him and they flew up into the sky to join their family. The Dadens blew a quick kiss to their niece and changed into their red dragon forms, so now the sky was lit with  purple, green, orange, yellow, pink and the red and blue of the latest dragons as they joined their family.

Then began a wonderful performance of dancing dragons, their movements as old as time. Their huge bodies turned into streaks, streaming like ribbons in the air as they wove in and out in this secret ritual.

Li XiWang wiped the shell and then put it to her lips too, somehow it was fitting for her to join in with her family. 

And then with a wave, the dragons dived into the water. One after the other, like arrows fired into the seabed, all fourteen members disappeared under water.

"Shall we join them?" Wei Ying asked Li XiWang. 

She nodded excitedly.

"We should meet with Shui too." She said, sounding hopeful. 

Hongse created the bubble spheres for those who wanted to visit the Crystal City.

JingYi was happy to stay with his babies, for these were fire breathing dragons and they were not happy about going into the water. It was the same for Shen Ling and Shen Qing, but Suanni was quite happy to dive in.

Wei Ying took off his outer robes, smiling because Lan Zhan was of the opinion that nobody else should see his exposed torso, and so he was making exaggerated moves with his arms so no one would see. He folded his tunic and weighed it down with a stone before helping Lan Zhan take off his robe as well.

"If it makes you feel better, Hanguang-Jun, I feel the same way about your body. No one should see my husband like this." Wei Ying whispered this into Lan Zhan's ear, delighting in the shivers he caused. 

Li XiWang also removed her outer robes, because she needed to have bare arms for when she was underwater.

The Flowers of Venus were also ready.

"Then, let's go." Wei Ying called out, climbing on top of Suanni. 

He reached down to give Lan Zhan a hand after he passed their daughter to him. Jin Ling, SiZhui, Jiang Cheng and XiChen all climbed onto the massive beast too.

Suanni let out an almighty roar, before he soared into the sky. They let out cheers of jubilation and excitement as he dived into the sea.