Strong

A Familiar Mistake

"Come on! We're getting close!" Yueding excitedly bounced.

"Easy, young one," Shang laughed. "You're gonna break the seat if you don't stop bouncing."

"We're getting close to where my father's army is."

Yanshi smiled, "And where is that? My feet are starting to get sore."

"The infamous Jai-Yin mountain. Where my father and Platon defeated a huge gang of ruffians and bandits living on the mountain."

Yanshi stopped in his tracks. "Hey! What's up, old man?" Shang grumbled. Yanshi pursed his lips and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Yanshi?" Yueding softly spoke. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry, let's... let's keep on," Yanshi sighed. He rested the poles of the deer's chair on his shoulders and pulled up his pants, tightening his belt, and moved on. "So... tell me about this... Jai-Yin?"

"The records say that they were a lot of powerful bandits that terrorized the farmlands below the mountain," Yueding rattled off. "But then my father came and with Platon's help, he scattered the villains to the outer edges of the kingdom. But I guess my father's trying to find something there."

"Is he tearing everything down to do it?" Yanshi asked.

"Why does it matter?"

"It. Matters," The gorilla said heavily. 

"Uh? I... I don't know. Yanshi, is something wrong? You seem upset?" Yueding asked.

"Of course not, your majesty. Just a little sore in the foot," The gorilla chuckled. Soon, as they spread the leaves of trees away, they saw the mighty towering Jai-Yin mountain standing many yards ahead of them. The mountain range smoothly switched from green grass to gray rock to white snow at the top, but the clouds always covered its peaks. The Jai-Yin mountain stood with a wide base, taking up half the view of the sea behind it. "We're here." Yueding pulled out a small handheld telescope from his seat and scanned the terrain.

"I never thought it would be this... big!" Yueding exclaimed.

"Well, all I can see is your rear, your majesty," Shang laughed. The deer rolled his eyes but felt a sudden jerk forward. "Whoa! Hold on, old man."

"Come on, your father's in the basin below."

"O-Ookay," The deer stuttered. Yanshi's kind fatherly face had grown cold and hard like it would when he was facing an opponent. But why? They walked down the gentle rolling hill and marched towards the camp of tents where two large rhinos blocked their way with spears. "Open up for Prince Yueding."

He sounded a little pompous, something he hated, but it was the way his father had coached him. Well, his nurses taught him for his father's sake.

The rhinos didn't budge. "The Emperor has restricted ANY access to him."

"But I'm his son!"

"Our orders are final, sir."

Yueding sighed and tossed his hands up in the air. "Of course, he doesn't want to see me." As the two gorillas lowered his sedan chair to the ground, Yueding rested his head on his hand with a pout. "What am I going to do? Now I feel bad. I wanted to see what my father was doing, and I made you two go through this whole journey for nothing."

Yanshi smiled and sat next to the prince. "Going anywhere with you, prince, is okay by us. Besides, there are other things worse than not seeing your dad."

"Prince Yueding!"

"Speak of the demons," Yanshi grumbled. There, with his sword by his side, was Councilman Platon with a big beaming smile. Yueding jumped out of his chair and smiled.