Rapturous Rhapsody

'What... just happened?' Xiao Tian asked his teacher, trying to make sense of the last minute of his life.

He hadn't even had time to use his bloodline's first level feature to flee before a Profound Sky realm expert was beaten by a pair of children.

'That child, Sarig, has touched upon the Dao of War,' the old war god said gravely. 'I... can't tell how much, but it is no less than my own attainments.'

'A Dao! Is he-?'

'No.' Wang Xiang cut off his pupil. 'He still hasn't cultivated.'

'That isn't possible.'

'It shouldn't be possible,' the teacher corrected. 'One needs their Nascent Soul to even be able to feel Dao, let alone understand it. Yet it is his brother that frightens me.'

'Master!?'

'Jiraiya Senju completely suppressed my own Dao.' It was a frightening thing for the old war god. His Dao was all that was keeping his soul anchored to this world. 'If he had used it for more than a moment, I would have disappeared for good.'

Murderous impulse sired within Xiao Tian.

He refused to lose his teacher after he already lost everyone else in his life.

'Do not!' Wang Xiang ordered instantly. 'You are not their match. No one under the Dao Hall realm is. You will be as helpless as that demonic sect elder, even if you surprise them.'

'But-'

'But nothing. Take from this a lesson. There is always a taller mountain. There is always a greater talent.'

Xiao Tian felt bitterness well up at the words. Reluctance when confronted by the truth of them.

He, with his Bloodline and heaven defying luck, had risen too quickly.

Less than a year ago, he'd been a mortal and now he was a Spirit Building realm cultivator, an unheard of feat. He'd nursed within his heart an arrogance that had gone unchecked all this time.

Were those who were stronger than him? Certainly, but Xiao Tian had always believed it was solely due to the advantage in time and recourses they had over him. His talent and dedication would make it so that, eventually, he'd be the one standing on top.

Even if he started the race late, he'd finish first.

Yet now...

'This is a blessing,' Wang Xiang sensed the fluctuations in his disciple's soul and directed his mind in another direction. 'Without this demon sect elder, we would have tried to attack them ourselves. Even if the heavens themselves descended to help us escape, we would not be able hide from a Dao Hall cultivator, even with your bloodline. Even the weakest has unfathomable means. And whatever faction these dragons are from are certainly not weak.'

That did make Xiao Tian feel slightly better. If nothing else, his luck held strong.

The aforementioned dragons were, during this discussion, engaging in the second greatest tradition of fighting.

Looting!

(It should be noted that the third greatest tradition of fighting is the silent respect held between worthy foes.

The greatest tradition of a fight is, without a doubt, the trash talk.

This list was, of course, made by Mikael and posted over the entrance to the training yard so every child saw it before and after their daily practice.)

"Why is he so poor?" Sarig complained, holding up the robe that was too big for him and trying to find pockets he had missed.

"Because he was weak?" Jiraiya guessed with a shrug, still standing next to Ling Mei.

"That can't be right," Sarig disagreed. "Daddy said weak bandits don't last long and this guy's really old."

"Young Masters," Ling Mei, who had remained quiet until now decided to take a chance to escape these terrifying little boys. "Perhaps this one might be able to help? This one suspects Mo Xi has quite a bit of wealth."

"Yeah?" Sarig asked eagerly. "Where is it?"

"If this one is able to find enough treasure to satisfy the Young Masters, would you permit this one and her Junior Disciples to return to their mission with our own meager possessions?"

Ling Mei, though she was acting very humble in front of the little dragons, actually had a pretty descent impression of the two boys. They were terrifyingly strong for their age but, despite that, they hadn't really hurt her or he companions when they had the chance.

(Mu Bang's injuries were ignored as minor wounds taken from a senior cultivator teaching a junior their place.

What a sad world this was for those without power.)

Jiraiya and Sarig had even defended them from an ambush from a demonic sect elder. If not for them being here, Ling Mei shuddered to think what would have happened to her.

So, if she could convince them to let her leave without further issues, this would be a profit within disaster. Now, how to convince them that she didn't-

"Ok.""Sure."

... Never mind.

"Then allow this one."

Still accompanied by Jiraiya, Ling Mei approached the old cultivator.

Averting her eyes so she didn't have to see his wrinkled nude form, the darling of the Twin Heavens sect retrieved the plain ring from the small pile of looted goods.

Normally it would be impossible for a Golden Core cultivator to break the spirit seal on a Profound Sky cultivator's storage ring but since the man was unconscious, he could not resist.

In less than a minute, Ling Mei had removed everything of value from the ring, pilling it up on the road.

Dozens of mystical and esoteric weapons. Piles of raw materials, each rarer than the last. Hundreds of refined pills of all sorts. A small mountain of High Grade Spirit Stones.

The most precious contents were the handful of precious plants and fruits that even gave Ling Mei a flicker of greed at the sight.

That was a thousand year old Ginseng! And Bloodbark Willow Fruit! And there was a Beastmarrow Pellet!

Not even her father, the Second Elder of the greatest sect in the province was this wealthy.

So why did those boys look disappointed?

"So, it's like a bottomless box," Jiraiya looked at the ring with more interest than the treasures. "Are the others like that?"

"Where is the rest?" Sarig asked, looking at Ling Mei suspiciously.

"This- This one has emptied it completely," Ling Mei hurried to answer, her heart skipping a beat. "This is everything and not even a petal is left."

"Hmmm." Sarig said suspiciously.

"Aha!" Jiraiya cried out in triumph, holding up the ring to his brother.

Then he wilted.

"Darn it!"

"What?"

"This thing works on Aura," Jiraiya explained. "If you poke it with a bit of it, you can see inside. But its so small. There's not even enough room for Andromeda!"

Sarig pouted but eventually sighed and patted Ling Mei on the lower back. (The highest he could reach on her.)

"Sorry for not believing you Princess," he said consolingly. "I guess he really was poor. Thanks for trying to help though."

Ling Mei didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"With everything else it... might be enough?" Jiraiya said hesitantly. "Maybe the Boss hasn't tried some of this stuff? Anything new counts as double, right?" There was a note of hope in his voice, but it was small.

"Right," Sarig sighed again.

One would be forgiven for having pity on these two little boys who looked like they were going to cry... If one forgot they were looking at enough treasure to found a small sect and considering it poor.

Such was the nature of evil, unable to be satisfied.

"Does this not satisfy the Young Masters?" Ling Mei asked with a bow. "If so, this one can provide more should we arrive in Wulin, in thanks for your aid."

"Nah," Jiraiya joined his brother on patting Ling Mei on the back consolingly, looking up at her kindly. "Daddy said we should always keep our promises so, even though the baddie was poor, we won't rob you anymore."

Ling Mei's eye twitched, but she swallowed the retort in her heart.

Why were these boys so close to her!? And touching her!

Didn't their parents teach them about decorum!?

Instead she just bowed again.

"Many thanks to the Young Masters. Will this one have-"

Whatever Ling Mei was going to ask was cut off by another voice.

"There you are!"

The disciples of the Twin Heavens sect felt their heart fall at the familiar call out.

Only... That voice was surprisingly squeaky for a demonic cultivator, wasn't it?

Barely had the voice called out that the sky darkened.

Ling Mei, with dread in her heart, looked up to see a terrifying sight.

A red... beast of some sort flew above them.

An enormous monstrosity larger than the greatest pavilion. Its skull was shaped like a dragon and it was covered in scales but that was where the similarities ended. A long sinuous neck connected to a thick body. It's arms were large leathery wings and its legs were thick before ending in three sharp talons. Great spikes ran from its horned head, along its back, and down a long pointed tail.

'What sort of beast is that?' Xiao Tian asked his teacher, almost in awe at the elegant yet brutal form. And its size!

'I... do not know.' Wang Xiang faltered slightly. 'A dragon-bird of some sort? Look at the base of its neck!'

It was only thanks to his cultivation that Xiao Tian was able to notice the small form nestled between two spikes.

A... little girl?

"Jiraiya! Sarig!" She called down.

"Olivia! Andromeda!" Jiraiya called out, waiving up at the girl. "Check it out! We're bandits!"

He said it with such innocent joy that one could forget that he was speaking as an agent of evil.

Unfortunately, even chaos gremlins have fears and both brothers paled as their younger sister yelled back the most dreaded words in their Family.

"You're gonna be late for dinner!"

A beat of silence.

""Shit!""

Sarig and Jiraiya moved fast, grabbing handfuls of their loot and shoving it quickly into fist sized boxed that hung from their belts.

"Hurry hurry hurry."

"Get the food first!" Jiraiya told his younger brother. "If we can get it and get home befo-"

"Mrow."

Both boys froze.

It was here!

The one they fear!

""Boss!"" The twins greeted, pale faced and sweating.

Ling Mei, already looking toward the sky and the red beast, had seen the other three approaching from the distant skies at terrifying speed.

It was with despair that Ling Mei realized the one carrying the girl was the smallest of the four.

The largest, a good twenty percent larger than the others, was the source of the sound that froze the bandits in place.

...No. It wasn't the massive beast.

It wasn't even the little girl, barely older than four, that trundled down the creature's neck as it lowered its head near the ground.

The sound had come from the fat cat in the little girls arms.

"Mrow!"

The sound was distinctly displeased as the tubby creature rose from the small child's arms on tiny wings.

It flapped toward the little boys, a displeased rumbling coming from its thoat.

""Sorry Boss."" Jiraiya and Sarig both lowered their heads at the chastisement.

"We lost track of time robbing people," Sarig tried to defend themselves sheepishly.

"Mom said the food's getting cold. She made Aunt Circe's Kykeon."

The little girl looked like she was ready to cry at the thought, which seemed to incense the chubby cat more.

"MROW!"

""Sorry Ismene.""

Both boys knew how much their littlest sister loved Mommy Medea's Kykeon and nobody, not even the Boss, liked seeing the baby of the Family sad.

They were in deep trouble.

The Family only had one absolute rule: No matter how busy one was, everybody was to be back for dinner together.

They were in for a chewing out when they got home.

Yet even in the darkest of nights, there is light.

"I forgive you." The smile on Ismene's face was positively angelic, her cheeks laden with baby fat dimpling as her little hands gave her older brother gentle 'pat pats' on their head.

Now both boys looked like they were ready to cry as well.

The tubby feline did not look so forgiving though, the rumbling coming from its tummy exacerbating its displeasure at having its meal delayed.

All four of the great red beasts shifted slightly further away from the cat and the children all flinched.

Olivia, since her little sister had already forgiven them, decided to give her older brothers a lifeline.

"Did you get any good stuff?" She said, looking suggestively at the pile of treasures.

"We did. We did." Let it not be said that Mikael's oldest was unable to recognize an opportunity when given, even if he wasn't a Dragon of Knowledge like Olivia.

"Mrow?"

Both Sarig and Jiraiya hurried to empty their bottomless boxes on the ground.

Items and treasures began pouring from the small boxes as if flowing from a river.

Ling Mei lost all decorum as her mouth gaped and her eyes nearly popped out of her head as the more wealth than she could imagined poured forth.

No wonder they thought Mo Xi was poor! Did these boy rob a dozen sects or something?!

Suddenly, Ling Mei realized a horrifying implication.

If they didn't understand how to use storage rings, then all this loot was simply what was loose.

Forget sects, they must have looted an entire province!

And all before dinner?!

Ling Mei felt feint.

"We got stuff for everyone," Sarig said, pointing at enough jade manuals to fill an imperial library. "These are books... I think? Anyway, Mommy Robin will like them." Olivia's eyes shone with childish greed. "These are medicines for Mom. Some weapons for Daddy and Mommy Diana. Some clothes and toys for you and Mommy Medea." Ismene's face lit up with joy and she clapped with a childish squeal of delight. "And food for you Boss!"

The 'food' the little boy pointed at was... a mixed pile. Some of it was understandable, like a small mountain of bloody corpses of various beasts and an assortment of mystical plants.

Some of it was... less understandable.

Why was the treasure trove of spiritual stones counted among the food?

"Mrow."

The cat sniffed haughtily, its tiny wings carrying its floofy magnificence closer.

Faster than Ling Mei could follow, a round paw reached into the pile of bodies and withdrew a heart, still covered in fresh blood. A heart as big as the cat itself.

Everyone present seemed to hold their breath as small, pink, sandpaper-like tongue licked the heart once.

The cat paused as if in consideration. Its tiny wings flapped quickly to keep it hovering in place, as its tongue poked out of its mouth, like Daddy did when he was concentrating really hard.

With a dismissive "Mrow," the fat feline threw the heart over its shoulder.

Hengeron II's long neck darted forward, swallowing the heart in a happy gulp.

That seemed to be a signal for the other three drakes, as all four descended on the pile of bodies like a flock of crows, their draconic heads descending to take a big mouthful of meat before backing away to let the others get a bite.

In only a few seconds, under the horrified eyes of the sect disciples, the mountain of beast corpses become naught but bloody remains.

While her followers fed themselves, Medea the Boss Cat moved over to the rest of the food pile.

Jiraiya and Sarig clenched their fists.

This was it.

If the Boss liked what they got enough, she'd help them sneak out again.

If not, then she'd tattle on them whenever they tried until they pleased her.

Nobody got on or off the Island without the Boss' knowledge.

Medea landed on the mountain of spirit stones, batted one around with her little paw, and knocked another tumbling from the pile.

It was drawing it's decision out to tease the boys, Ling Mei realized. This... beast, despite not being in human form or speaking the human language, was just as smart as everyone here.

And, if the those terrifying dragon children called this thing 'Boss,' Ling Mei could only shudder in horror to imagine its power.

Finally, the cat opened its mouth to deliver its verdict.

"Mrow."

"Yes!"

"Woohoo."

"Good job!"

Unlike her sister, who celebrated their older brothers' achievement by cheering with them, Olivia just clapped lightly.

Then she ruined their fun.

"We are officially late for dinner."

""Crap!""

"Bad word!" Ismene immediately gasped and pointed at her brothers in accusation.

"Sorry," Sarig said without any repentance, shoving the stuff back into his box as he shot a look to his older brother. "I'll grab the stuff. You grab her."

A bad feeling arose in the sect disciples.

"Wha-" Ling Mei didn't even have time to ask her question before Jiraiya had grabbed her, thrown her over his shoulder, and jumped onto Cassandra's scaly neck.

For some reason, no matter what she tried, Ling Mei couldn't escape his grasp.

"This one doesn't understand!" She called out. "You said you wouldn't rob us?"

"We're not going to rob you," the blond 'reassured' her with a kind smile. "This is a kidnapping."

Dumbfounded by the shamelessness of the statement, Ling Mei stuttered in a most unladylike fashion at the rogue's audacity.

Thankfully, someone here had some morals-

"Kidnapping is wrong," Ismene declared with a fierce glare (adorable pout) at her older brother as she placed her hands on her hips.

"She's a Princess."

"Oh." Ismene blinked, both her and Olivia looking at Ling Mei in a new light. "That's okay then."

-...unfortunately, 'some morals' wasn't saying much. She was still Mikael and Medea's daughter.

"This one is not a Princess." Ling Mei, seeing no rescue coming, hurried to explain. "This one has no relation to the Imperial Court. This one is simply the daughter of a Sect Elder. Not even the Sect Master."

"Do you think we are bad people?" Olivia asked Ling Mei with a frown and the Young Miss didn't know what to say for a moment. Thankfully, Nico Robin's daughter was more than happy to explain her thoughts. "It's wrong to judge others because they aren't as lucky as us. Just because you are a poor Princess doesn't mean we'll look down on you."

Ling Mei gaped at the girl.

On the one hand, that was a very admirable stance to take. Especially for one as privileged as Nico Olivia, Mikael's eldest daughter. Forget a silver or gold spoon, being a child of Existence was being born with a divinely crafted mythril spoon. To have some sort of guiding principles this young, despite her separation from day to day life, spoke to a moral code, despite only being five years old.

On the other hand...

Ling Mei was still being kidnapped!

"All done!" Sarig called, jumping on Llamrei II's head. "Go! Go! Go!"

Ismene, who had already retaken her place on Hengeron II's neck, held out her hands and Medea landed in her arms with a tiny cat burp.

Ling Mei turned her head to see the road was completely clear of anything except a few splotches of blood and her Junior Brothers, who watched the occurrence silently with wide eyes, helpless to do anything in face of beings capable of defeating Sky Striding cultivator.

The Young Miss' heart froze.

Where was Mo Xi's unconscious body?

Medea the Floofiest Boss Cat stuck her tongue out in a little blep as she opened a grey door in the sky toward the Island, one large enough for all four drakes to fly through.

The last thing Xiao Tian heard before everyone disappeared was Jiraiya Senju's voice yelling loud enough to hear.

"Daddy look! We kidnapped our first princess!"

Then the sky was clear.

...

"Should... Should we tell the sect?" Mu Bang asked hesitantly, blood dribbling from his lips.

Nobody had an answer.

How were they supposed to return to the sect when their Young Miss, the darling of the Second Elder and chosen disciple of the Sect Master, who they were supposed to protect, had been taken?

Wasn't that just asking for death?

And what were they supposed to say?

'Help! My Senior Sister, the Sect Princess, was kidnapped by Dragons!... But they were children!'

…That sounded like a children's tale, did it not?

Or perhaps, looking at it from another's perspective it could be called something like this:

'Kidnapping Princesses 101: How I met your mother.'