Descendants of the Dragon, Book One: The Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 19: Monsters of the Sea

There was a soft breeze in the air, moving in from the ocean. It swept through Liang's long hair, blowing it to the side and into his right eye. For the millionth time, he considered getting a haircut or at the very least, tying his hair back. He liked his hair long and shaggy, as it was, but it was beginning to be impractical.

"Oof!" Aiden yelped, as he landed awkwardly on the beach, sending up a spray of sand, as he landed.

"Earthquake!" Liang cried, stumbling to the side and waving his arms in a comic attempt to keep his balance.

Aiden stood up, brushing sand off of his clothing and out of his hair. "Hilarious and original," he said scornfully. "Leave the comedy to people who are actually funny."

Liang snickered. His teasing was meant to be all in good fun, but few people could understand or tolerate his sense of humor. He didn't really care if his jokes weren't appreciated though. Getting a rise out of Aiden was almost as funny as getting a rise out of Jia.

"That couldn't have felt good," Sam said sympathetically. He offered out his hand and pulled Aiden to his feet.

Aiden made a face and spit several times, trying unsuccessfully to clear the grains of sand from his teeth. "It's okay. I've got some extra padding," he said good-naturedly, patting his stomach.

Liang couldn't resist another jab. "So your fat is a defensive measure then?"

"I might be fat, but fat people are lovable. Just look at Santa. Nobody cares about you though," Aiden shot back.

Liang's hand tightened around his ji. He didn't allow himself to show any anger, instead allowing the action to speak for itself. He knew he was probably overreacting, but growing up in the Jade City had taught him that you couldn't afford to show weakness. If you let someone push you, and you didn't push back, they'd push you even harder the next time. It was a philosophy that often got him into fights with other kids, but no one had ever come back for seconds.

"I'll give you a chance to take that back," Liang said.

Sam stepped in front of Liang before he could escalate things or before Aiden could fire off another volatile insult. "Dude, you need to chill out and leave Aiden alone. You're the one who started it. Play with fire, and you'll get burned."

Liang glared at them. He didn't mind getting stood up to. He respected it, in fact. He just didn't like getting ganged up on.

Aiden poked his head out from behind Sam's back. He winked at Liang.

Liang ground his teeth together. Easy for you to be so brave, when you've got your bodyguard to fight all your battles.

Surprisingly, it was Jia who diffused the situation. "The testosterone is overwhelming. If you three would finish dealing with your inferiority complexes, then perhaps we could move on to the next step of our quest," she said in a bored voice. "Heaven will not wait forever."

All three of them realized that they had a common and far greater enemy in Jia. They shouldered their backpacks and followed after Jia, who was already walking away from them. Liang gave Aiden and Sam a parting glare before turning to follow after, making sure that he was walking fast enough to stay in front of them.

The portal had opened over a sand dune, somewhat close to the shore. Jia seemed to be making a beeline toward the water.

"Are we going to talk about the fact that we don't know where we are?" Aiden said to no one in particular. He picked up his pace so he could keep up with the group.

"I've given up trying to follow these things," Sam said over his shoulder. "I'm just letting things happen now as they happen."

"We are on Jejudo, better known as the island of Jeju. Curiously, this is a Korean province. I feel a little out of place here," Jia said.