Aladdin gently rubbed his nose.
Mulan chuckled in amusement at his behaviour.
A few minutes later, Mushu descended before them with his legs crossed and arms folded, as though he were seated on an invisible seat.
Carpet floated beneath him.
"Hello, land dwellers. I have come to grace you with my presence from above. What is it that you want this great dragon, Mushu, to do for you? Speak up! Don't be afraid!" Mushu spoke proudly.
Mulan massaged her temples awkwardly.
"I want you to follow Mirage to track down the Huns and report back everything you see."
However, Aladdin chose to play along. During times like this, it wasn't every day he got to have this much fun.
"Is that all?" Mushu asked, inspecting his nails.
Aladdin nodded. "Yes."
"Then consider it done," Mushu declared.
"Let's go, birdy. Race you to the Huns," Mushu said, turning to Mirage before shooting skyward and vanishing into the heavens.
Mirage took flight and chased after him.
"He said investigate, not compete... Mushu," Mulan covered her face in exasperation. Although she was glad that Mushu could now fly, she couldn't help feeling embarrassed by watching his behaviour.
"Is it okay to let them go like that?" she turned to Aladdin.
"Mirage will handle anything that happens, as long as they don't reveal themselves to the Huns. Although the chances of that happening with Mushu around are rather high, we should at least trust in the abilities of your guardian."
Aladdin wasn't worried about anything happening to them. Mirage was his familiar. Although he wasn't as powerful or brilliant as Abu, he was more than capable enough for this mission.
"You are right," Mulan agreed. She felt ashamed that Aladdin trusted Mushu more than she did.
Nonetheless, the feeling vanished as quickly as it had come.
"You should rejoin the others. I have prepared a surprise for you all down the mountain," Aladdin said.
"What surprise?" Mulan leaned in with a raised brow.
"You will find out with the others," Aladdin replied.
"Please..."
"No. You can return whenever you want. I will be waiting for you all down the mountain."
Aladdin walked away, making his way down the mountain.
Mulan's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Why does he like to act so mysterious? Is it because he has so many magical items?" She folded her arms and made various comically exaggerated mouth expressions.
Seeing Abu turn to look at her with a solemn expression, she quickly looked away and covered half of her face with one hand.
"Do you know what's wrong with that monkey? He's been acting weird ever since the first time I saw him," Mulan whispered to Cri-Kee with furrowed brows.
While Aladdin and Carpet were both approachable and amazing individuals to be around, Abu had always been the odd one out.
Remembering what had transpired yesterday between Abu and Mushu, Cri-Kee quickly shook his head and hid inside Mulan's collar.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of him? I can't say I could confidently face him even as I am now, but he definitely wouldn't try to harm you or me," Mulan said, gently rubbing the little cricket's head with a finger.
Cri-Kee wanted to ask her how she was so certain that Abu wouldn't attack them. But Mulan couldn't understand his words. He could only remain silent and hope the conversation would soon pass.
Seeing Cri-Kee remain hidden and silent, Mulan sighed in defeat.
"Let's get back before they start looking for us." She stepped toward the direction of the cave.
Abu narrowed his eyes at Mulan and Cri-Kee from a distance before withdrawing his gaze as well. He doubted that the cricket would be foolish enough to reveal the secret to Mulan.
An hour later,
Li Shang led the men down the mountain.
When they arrived, they saw countless horses grazing on the field by the riverbank.
They were instantly taken aback by the sight.
Although Aladdin had informed them that they could descend whenever they felt like it, due to the intensity of the training, many of them had returned to their caves to rest, only to continue training again tomorrow.
"I think one of them looks like my horse," one of the soldiers said, stepping forward hesitantly.
"Me too," another soldier stepped forward.
Several others stepped forward, recognising that the horses were their own.
Without waiting for approval, they all dashed toward the horses.
Li Shang looked at them with a frown. All of their horses had been lost during the raid on the camp. So what were the chances that they had somehow survived and arrived at the foot of the mountain to meet them?
Mulan looked around eagerly to see if she could also find her horse.
Suddenly, they spotted a figure approaching them on horseback in the distance.
It was none other than Aladdin.
Soon, he arrived before them.
"You all are finally here," Aladdin said.
"Are you the one who brought these horses here?" Mulan quickly asked before Li Shang could utter a word.
He simply nodded in response.
"Yes. I sent Mirage to a nearby village I encountered some time ago to get us some horses. It seems they were trustworthy enough to take my money and send us the horses. However, it was unexpected to see that some of them were among the horses that had been lost during your camp's attack," Aladdin said, looking at the soldiers, who were all reuniting with their horses nearby.
"I truly don't know how to thank you." Li Shang bowed respectfully toward Aladdin.
Mulan, Chi Fu, and the other soldiers still standing behind him did the same.
Aladdin accepted their show of gratitude silently.
"Go and claim your horses. They all seem oddly calm, so you don't have to worry about getting bitten or kicked," he said.
Li Shang and the others nodded.
Before they could take a step forward, Mulan ran ahead, searching for her horse.
Aladdin followed behind her as they dispersed across the plain.
Mulan moved from horse to horse, putting her face in front of every black-coloured horse before moving to the next one once it became startled and fled from her.
"Are you searching for someone?" Aladdin asked.
"Yes. My horse," Mulan nodded hurriedly.
Hope filled her eyes as she moved on to the next horse, only for it to flee from her in fear as well.
Suddenly, she climbed onto a large rock beside the riverbank and stood on top of it.
"Khan!! Khan, where are you?!" Mulan shouted, waving her hands in the air. She looked for her trusted black horse but received no response.
Instead, the horses around her fled from her.
"Mulan," Aladdin looked at her worriedly.
"KHAN!!"
Mulan ignored him. She continued to shout.
Realising what was happening, Aladdin got down from his horse and climbed the rock to pull her down.
"Mulan!"
"KHAN!!"
Mulan shouted once more, looking distraught. She tried to wrestle free from Aladdin's grip, but realised that she could not. She held his arms as she gazed at him.
Her eyes brimmed with tears as she asked, "Where is Khan? He's my horse. If the other horses survived, then he must have survived as well. He's loyal, brave, and strong. He wouldn't die easily. I know he's here. If he sees me, he will definitely recognise me."
Aladdin closed his eyes and lowered his head.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Mulan trembled, bursting into tears.
She collapsed into his arms.
"He shouldn't have died. He didn't deserve it. I was the one who brought him onto the battlefield. I promised to protect him, and he did the same."
"…But I failed."
Aladdin silently held her as she wept profusely. Unable to bear the scene, Abu, hidden within Aladdin's cloak, wiped his tears with a handkerchief.
Meanwhile, Li Shang and the others observed the scene from a distance with raised brows.
"They seem to be really close to each other," Yao remarked.
"You think? Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Mr Obvious," Ling retorted. "Can't you see that Ping seems to have lost his horse and Instructor Aladdin is comforting him? It's obvious that they have become best friends during their time together."
"Lucky we are in the midst of war... I'll give you something to find comfort in," Yao snickered in annoyance.
"You guys should not fight. We should be like Ping and Instructor Aladdin, comforting each other in our hardest times," Chien Po chimed in, hugging himself.
Li Shang paid no attention to their discussion, having grown accustomed to it. He smiled lightly at the scene. No matter how he looked at it, they seemed like the best pair of friends. He didn't know if they had realised this yet.
"Stop watching like idiots! Go and prepare your horses so we can head out. I will not hesitate to leave anyone who slows us down," Li Shang turned to the quarrelling trio and the other soldiers behind him and ordered.
"Yes, Captain!!"
"Yes, Captain!!"
They shouted in salute before running off into the field to get their horses.
A few minutes later,
Mulan wiped her tears away, slowly regaining her composure.
"Do you feel better?" Aladdin asked.
"No," she shook her head.
"It's okay. I'm sure Khan would be glad that you are still alive. He wouldn't want you to fall apart after his passing," Aladdin responded.
"Come on, let's go pick another horse. It won't replace Khan, but it will at least serve as a mount until you return home and properly mourn him."
Mulan nodded, holding Aladdin's hand as he helped her to her feet.
They walked toward the horses.
After going back and forth several times, Mulan ultimately decided to pick a white horse with dark spots because she didn't want to replace Khan by choosing a lookalike.
After mounting their horses, Aladdin and Mulan regrouped with the others.
"Is everyone ready?" Aladdin asked.
"Yes. We are all ready and prepared to head out," Li Shang responded. He stole a glance at the red-eyed Mulan.
"I will leave the reins of command to you, Captain Li Shang," Aladdin replied.
"I will take it from here then," Li Shang nodded in response.
He turned to face the soldiers behind him.
"You have all received your orders. Don't hesitate to carry them out. If we encounter the Huns' army or fail to meet with the escort team, it changes nothing. Our goal is to ensure that we reach the Mountain Pass and meet up with the Imperial Army on time," Li Shang ordered loudly.
"Move out!"
The soldiers parted the way for him as he rode forward with Chi Fu beside him. He led the soldiers onward.
Thousands of hooves galloped across the open plain.
Aladdin and Mulan trailed behind the troops.
***
Somewhere above a rocky wooded valley,
"Where do you think they are? I don't see Shan Yu or any of the Huns, do you?" Mushu formed a telescope with his hands before shaking his head and turning to Mirage.
Mirage screeched and soared down.
"Oh please, what are the odds that they are still here, even if you encountered them here previously?" Mushu soared after Mirage as they hovered above a wooded area before landing in a tree.
"It is very obvious that they have given up on locating Mulan and the others and are on their way to the Captain," he added.
Hearing Mirage screech once more, Mushu responded, "How do I know?! Well, you are listening to a tracker with hundreds of years of experience speaking." He placed a hand on his chest and pointed at himself before leaning back and yawning.
"Besides, it's common sense, and Shan Yu is no fool."
He folded his arms and looked around below with a solemn expression.
There were footprints, but they appeared to have been several days old. There was nothing to indicate that Shan Yu and his men had been there recently.
"Come on, let's check under every rock and tree across this valley and the other regions before reporting back. I don't want to look like a disappointment before my Mulan, and I also want Mr Aladdin to see this ring as a worthy investment in my life."
He gently rubbed the ring on his index finger with a soft smile.
//////
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