"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going," Chi Fu said hurriedly, eager to reunite with the General and show him the gains he had made from his training.
"Hold on. There's one more person we need to get permission from." Li Shang quickly grabbed Chi Fu, halting his steps as he turned to look at Aladdin.
"Will you be escorting us as well, Instructor Aladdin?"
"Yes," Aladdin nodded.
"Does that mean that you would be assisting us in battle against Shan Yu and his army?" His eyes shone, hoping he would get a different answer from Aladdin this time.
"My answer remains the same." Aladdin folded his arms. "Besides, you are grown stronger than you were the first time I met you. You have the capacity to defeat the Huns. I believe even Advisor Chi Fu could give them a beating."
"You are right. I'm going to drag Shan Yu and his men down to the Forbidden City myself and have them bow before the Emperor and ask for his forgiveness for all of the atrocities they have committed. Then, I will have him beheaded in front of the entire country so every other invader and nation will know the greatness of China," Chi Fu nodded in agreement.
Li Shang covered his face with his right palm and sighed in shame.
"I'm certain that you can," Aladdin responded.
"I will order my men to make arrangements to leave immediately. I will inform you when we are done," Li Shang said, bowing respectfully with his fist pressed against his palm toward Aladdin.
Chi Fu did the same. After his transformation, he now looked at Aladdin with immense admiration and respect. Now, he was certain Aladdin was second only to the Emperor in his heart.
They left to assemble the soldiers.
Mulan stayed behind.
Aladdin stepped away, with Mulan beside him.
Aladdin didn't return to the plateau up ahead but instead walked around the mountain until he was a certain distance away from the cave.
"What do you plan on doing now?" Mulan asked, knowing that Aladdin wouldn't simply accompany them until they reached the escort group.
"I'm going to have Mirage track Shan Yu and his men first so we won't encounter them by mistake," Aladdin responded.
He had been too focused on training the soldiers, ensuring there were no side effects from the elixirs, and visiting the Huns' former camps and those of the Imperial Army to uncover why the Huns had attacked the military encampment.
He hadn't had the time to monitor the Huns' movements after placing various obstacles in their path to slow down their march if they chose to pursue them.
However, he knew that the Huns were not foolish. At some point, they would realise that something was wrong, and rather than continuing their pursuit, they would not hesitate to march toward the Forbidden City.
Their only route there would be through the Mountain Pass, where Li Shang and his troops had confronted the Huns' army before Mulan had secured a narrow victory over them.
It was also where Aladdin had received the vision of Mulan's death from the Book of Destiny.
With the preparations he had made, Aladdin had ensured that Mulan wouldn't die and that the Imperial army would emerge victorious.
All he needed to do now was locate the Huns' current position and force that encounter to happen before they returned to the Forbidden City and risked Mulan exposing her identity.
"You have worked hard." Mulan gently ruffled Mirage's feathers as he remained perched on Aladdin's arm.
Mirage chirped gently.
"Why don't Mushu accompany him?" she suggested.
"Are you sure?" Aladdin asked with a raised brow.
"Yes. He's a good tracker," Mulan nodded. "With him and Mirage working together, it should be easier to locate the Huns. Besides, he has also been lazing around for some time now. I'm going to make full use of his capabilities because he's also my guardian."
"I don't think he's needed for the mission, but it wouldn't be bad to have him tag along with Mirage and learn one or two things," Aladdin said.
He wouldn't be around to protect Mulan forever, so it was best to strengthen the trust between Mulan and Mushu. After what had happened a few weeks ago, he feared what might become of their relationship if something similar were to happen again.
"Call him over," he said.
Mulan nodded. She immediately went to fetch Mushu.
A few minutes later, she returned on Carpet with Mushu, Abu, and Cri-Kee beside her.
They all stepped down.
Carpet flew off to keep watch over the perimeters since they weren't too far from the cave.
Mulan leaned toward Aladdin and said, "I haven't told him yet."
"Told me what? You shouldn't be standing so close to Sir Aladdin like that, Mulan. You never know if he has a jealous lover ready to attack," Mushu said, stepping forward and separating them.
Mulan and Aladdin stepped away from each other.
They quickly realised what was going through Mushu's mind. They couldn't help but chuckle lightly as they looked at him in amusement.
Mulan bent down and flicked the little dragon on the forehead.
"Ouchh! Keep your hands to yourself, woman," Mushu winced in pain as he slapped Mulan's hand away.
"Well, stop your mouth from running off-topic about things you don't know anything about," Mulan retorted.
"Me… I'm looking out for you, girl! You have no idea about the things I have to go through just for you," Mushu responded, pointing a finger at Mulan.
"I don't doubt that you have done a lot for me, Mushu. If there's anything on your mind that you are finding difficult to handle, you know that you can always talk to me." Mulan sighed and knelt before him, noticing his emotional outburst.
Cri-Kee took the opportunity to climb up Mulan's arm.
"It's like this…" Mushu wanted to speak before he suddenly paused and looked at Abu, who was currently seated on Aladdin's shoulder.
Abu sniffed his arm and casually drew a finger across his neck.
Mushu gulped.
"Mushu? I'm waiting," Mulan called out.
"No, I don't. Let's get this show on the road. What do you want to tell me? Go on, be quick. We don't have all the time in the world," Mushu responded with a burst of laughter as he swung his trembling arms through the air.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Mulan asked with a raised brow.
"Me? Nope!" Mushu gestured to himself and shook his head. "I was just checking to see if our relationship is still intact since you have been spending all day with Mr Aladdin here… I'm not jealous."
"Don't say something like that so loudly." Mulan's cheeks turned red as she turned her head away. She glanced at Aladdin and swiftly withdrew her gaze, her blush fading as quickly as it had appeared.
"We have just gotten to know each other a little better than before," she added.
"Hmmhh hmmmH!!" Mushu hummed and snapped his fingers in front of Mulan. "I definitely see that it's a little better than before."
Mulan sighed.
Aladdin cleared his throat, drawing their attention.
"We don't have time to waste," he said. "I will explain the plan to you."
He looked at Mushu and continued, "You will head out with Mirage to track the Huns and report information about their current whereabouts. They shouldn't be that far from this region, so be careful and stay alert. Otherwise, you might get spotted by Shan Yu's pet falcon."
"And how do you expect me to do that? I can float for a short period, but I can't fly… I know it's surprising, but it didn't come with this body." Mushu grabbed his stomach, let it wobble, then slapped it to emphasise his potbelly.
"Don't tell me you want me to give that birdy a reverse piggyback ride?"
Aladdin frowned. Eastern dragons could fly even without wings. However, the animators had made it so that Mushu couldn't fly like a dragon despite his small frame, instead having him run everywhere as a gag.
The problem was that Aladdin had seen Mushu fly in his visions, as well as while riding Carpet.
He shook his head. He was no longer watching Mushu through a movie; this was his reality. If Mushu could only fly for a short period, then perhaps he simply preferred running on the ground because it was safer. Then, it made sense.
"I thought you said you were a dragon? Why can't you fly?" Mulan frowned and asked, also coming to the realisation that she had never seen the dragon fly.
"I'm not like other dragons. I'm special. Besides, you can't fly either. The only one here doing spins in the air is Carpet," Mushu replied, folding his arms and turning his head away.
Mulan quickly stood up and bowed toward Aladdin as she apologised. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about this issue until now."
"You don't need to apologise. This is my first time seeing a dragon that can't fly as well," Aladdin waved a hand dismissively.
Mushu snorted and turned, facing them with his back.
"I think I have a way to make you genuinely fly," Aladdin said.
Mushu turned again, now facing them.
"Come again?" He cleaned out his ears with a finger and asked.
"I said I can make you fly," Aladdin repeated.
"You know, I had my misunderstandings about you earlier. But you can't really tell who people are unless you truly get to know them," Mushu stepped closer to Aladdin, climbed up his torso, and sat on his shoulder.
"Let's get straight to the point. How can you... You can give me wings to go waaahhh?"
Abu snorted at Mushu's antics but didn't do anything, seeing that Aladdin allowed it.
Aladdin chuckled.
"Can you really make him fly?" Mulan asked, taken aback by Aladdin's words.
"I can't do so directly, but I have something that can," Aladdin lifted his right hand toward them, displaying the five silver rings on it.
He snapped his fingers.
A flash of light shone from the rings, briefly blinding their vision.
As Mulan and the others regained their sight, their eyes widened in astonishment. The silver rings on Aladdin's fingers had transformed into dazzling golden rings, each adorned with gems and other precious stones.
They no longer looked like an eccentric fashion choice, but treasures crafted for opulence and extravagant displays of wealth.
Mulan covered her mouth in astonishment.
"Hmmh hmmmhhh!! Talk about being made of wealth. Are you sure you are an ordinary traveller? You sure you don't have a dungeon filled with gold and silver? Because I don't mind filling out the application and becoming the dungeon's guardian," Mushu whistled.
"Let's get back to the topic," Aladdin said, steering the conversation back. He removed one ring from his thumb and slipped it onto one of Mushu's fingers.
"What's this?" Mushu asked, confused.
"This will help you fly. All you need to do is think about flying and the direction you want to go," Aladdin responded.
Mushu's eyes lit up with excitement. He hopped off Aladdin's shoulder without hesitation.
Before he could hit the ground, a warm breeze wrapped around him. He came to a stop and slowly began to ascend into the air.
"Mulan, look at me!! I can fly!! I can fly!!" Mushu screamed with excitement as he dove down before soaring back into the sky.
Cri-Kee silently cheered for Mushu's ascent.
"I'M A DRAGON!! I'M A FLYING DRAGON!! MAMA, PAPA, ARE YOU SEEING THIS?! I CAN TOUCH THE SKIES!! I CAN FFFLLYYYY!!!"
Unable to hold back his excitement any longer, Mushu shot skyward like an arrow.
Carpet emerged from around the corner of the mountain. He glanced at the flying Mushu, then at Aladdin, before quickly realising what was happening. He immediately chased after Mushu to make sure he didn't accidentally fall out of the sky.
"At this point, I'm starting to wonder if there's anything you can't do?" Mulan asked, glancing at Aladdin with a piercing gaze as if wanting to tear him open piece by piece and uncover what other strange miracles he possessed.
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A/N:I have been dealing with depression for a while now and had to shift my writing schedule. I will still release the remaining chapters on the weekends. Thank you, guys, for your patience.
Happy new month!