Chapter 142: A Contract with Shibi

Wang Zen looked around the town. This being a foreign place. Shibi was already climbing buildings in his exploration of the town. Wang Ton seemed to know exactly where he was going as he was walking with purpose.

“How long are we going to stay here?” Zen said.

“Not long.” Wang Ton said.

Zen had to stop abruptly when Ton did. Ton looked at a shop before turning to the boy.

“We’re going in here.”

Zen looked around, “I can’t see Shibi.”

“He still stealing peaches?”

Zen kept quite, not daring to even look at him.

Ton sighed in annoyance. “Get him under control.” He said before entering the shop.

“Yes sir,” Zen said sarcastily under his breath.

He looked around as he walked faster, not understanding why the energetic Shibi could not be seen. Then he heard a familiar scream.

“Shibi?” Zen ran to the source of the sound. “Shibi!”

Zen found Shibi. An older boy held him by the tail, making him swing slowly. He and his friends sniggered while Shibi barred his fangs threateningly.

“Hey!” Zen said. “Let him go!”

The boy looked at Zen unconcerned. “Roll away, brat. I’m going to make a contract with this guy.”

“You can’t!” Zen said, stepping closer. “He… He’s already loyal to me!”

“Bull! This ape’s eyes aren’t silver. Meaning he is free game.” The boy said before looking Shibi in the eyes. “Now, sign the contract, or I’ll gut you!”

Shibi’s tail was engulfed I fire for a moment, forcing the boy to let go with a yelp. The Scorch Ape ran to Zen, dodging the other boys who tried to catch him. He climbed up to Zen’s shoulder.

“See?” Zen said. “I told you.”

The boy soothed his hand and glared at Zen. “And I told you. I want that ape and either it comes with me or I gut it.” He withdrew a dagger that curved up in a cruel point.

Zen touched his storage stone and produced the Zen Blade. “I’m not letting you take or hurt Shibi.”

The boys all looked ready to attack. Zen gulped in fear. Each of the boys were close to or already in the Master Ranks, so they could use Elemental Arts.

“No guys,” the leader of the group who wanted to make a contract with Shibi said. “I’ll deal with this brat on my own.” He charged at Zen ad thrust his arm out. Green tendrils grew from the sleeves of his shirt, surrounding Zen.

Zen leapt up and back before the tendrils could wrap around him. Instead, they weaved with each other, forming one thick green tendril which shot for Zen as he landed. He swiped his short sword nd it cut through the tendril.

“That’s one interesting sword,” the older boy said as he ran for Zen. “I’ll take t and the monkey when I’m done!”

Zen was so focused on the boy, he did not see the tendril drop down and wrap itself around his ankle. It pulled him, dropping him on his back and dragging him along the ground and leaving Shibi behind. Zen sat up and cut at the tendril again, untangling the rest off his ankle with his fingers.

The boy was already upon him, stabbing down at Zen with his dagger. Zen rolled back, dodging the knife and rolling onto his feet. Zen stabbed forward with his sword.

“Iron Headbutt!” The boy shouted as cream white ki gathered at his forehead.

Zen stabbed into his forehead but his blade moved no further. The tendril came whipping at him. He manuevred his blade to the side, his Zen Blade biting deep into the tendril and stoddping its momentum.

Shibi leapt over Zen, his fist covered in fire.

The boy moved his headbutt in the path of the fist where they collided. The boy stepped back a few steps but Shibi was sent flying back until Zen caught him, slidling back from the impact. Shibi returned to Zen’s shoulder.

“You okay?” Zen said.

Shibi clenched and unclenched his bruised fist, “Yes.”

Zen focused on the boy ahead of him. He was amazed that a Wood user was this formidable in battle. He had only seen Wood Elementalists heal and grow pretty plants. Although he was frightened, he was also excited that he could experience it like this.

The boy raised his tendril hand. “Oh well, I guess I’ll settle for your blade, you and that overgrown rat can die!” His powerbegan to moved and the tendril creeped up his arm, leaving his arm and forming a sphered at the end of his arm.

Zen stood ready and he could feel Shibi tense at his shoulder.

“Iron Headbutt!” The boy declared before his ki gathered around his forehead. He threw the ball fo green in the air and headbutted the ball, shooting it at Zen.

Zen prepared to cut the fast moving ball in half but to his surprise, it split into a net. The net surrounded him, while also planting itself around him. Vines grew around the holes in the net, blotting out the light as it tried to engulf Zen.

Zen slashed at the surrounding green and it quickly mended itself. He did this a few more times but the vegetation quickly repaired itsef and closed in on him. Zen’s eyes widened in horror, in realisation that he could not stop this and would most likely be crushed.

Shibi hopped onto his head and gathered a ball of fire between his hands. He threw his arms back and screamed, turning the ball into a stream of fire.

The boy was surprised to see the net catch fire and Zen leap out of it, the light casting sinister shadows on his angry face. Zen shouted as he swung his blade down at the boy’s face, who had fallen on his butt in fear.

Green tendrils punched from the ground around the boy. They caught and bound Zen’s limbs and waist.

“No!” Zen shouted as he struggled.

Shibi punched the vine around Zen’s waste, turning it into ash.

“Good Shibi,” Zen said. “Get the one on my sword arm.”

Shibi made his way to his arm but before he could do anything, theboy grabbed him by the tail and slammed him onto the ground.

“Shibi!” Zen struggled, unable to see what was going on as they were behind him but he could feel the killing intent rising from the boy.

“Now,” the boy said, raising his dagger above Shibi, “I’m going to gut you!” He made a stabbing motion but stopped before he could pierce Shibi’s chest.

A man, in a black cloak, held a black bladed sword against the boy’s neck. “You ‘gut’ that ape and it will be the last act you commit in this lifetime.”

Zen fell to the ground, realising that the vines had been cut through. “When did…” Zen looked back as the boy scrambled away from the cloakd figure. Zen rushed to the fallen Shibi, cradling him in his arms as he looked up at the cloaked figure. He knew very well who he was.

The cloaked man picked up the dagger from the ground, clicked his tongue and threw it in the air, before slashning across it, turning it into tiny glowing pieces. “What trash!”

“Do you idiots know who I am?” the boy spat as he was surrounded by his other friends. “I am a member of the Brown Feather Guild! And an important member at that! They’ll come crashing down on you two scum!”

“Brown Feather Guild?” The cloaked man said. “I know that Guild very well. In my day, it had proud and honourable warriors. It’s sad to see that it has fallen to accepting punks like you.”

“He doesn’t really know who you are,’ one of the other boys said.

“Maybe we should show him,” another said, produsing a short sword. The others followed suit, producing their weapons. Zen looked at the 6 other fighters trepidation, unsure if he and the cloaked man would stand a chance.

“Yes,” Wang Ton said as he threw off his cloak, “maybe you should.”

Zen and the other boys gasped in shock at the power that flowed from him. He was in the ranks of an Arch-Emperor, way above the ELmental ranks and into the Celestial energy rank, an energy that was only bound by the user’s imagination.

“Th-Th-This is not o-o-over!” The boy said as he ran away.

When the boys were away, Wang Ton’s rank fell to what Zen had sensed it was before, 5th Rank King.

“What part of ‘don’t draw attention to yourself’ do you not understand?” Wang Ton said as he withdrew the cloak into one storage stone and his sword in another.

“It was’t my fault!” Zen said. “Those guys wanted to enslave Shibi!”

“Well, the Scorch Ape doesn’t have a contract with anyone.” Wang Ton said. “So he is fair game.”

“No!” Zen said. “Shibi didn’t hurt anyone, he should be allowed to roam free without anyone trying to enslave him.”

“Wang Zen, for the past few years, I have worked with some of the most naïve men and wmen ever.” Wang Ton said. “But what you have said is the most naïve thing I have ever heard. You should be there leader.”

Zen looked at Shibi when Wang Ton was away. “You okay?”

Shibi rubbed the back of his head, “A little sore.”

Zen smiled. “Shibi you didn’t tell me you could do that fire move. Cool! Or maybe I should say, fire!”

“I practice.”

Zen nodded. “No wonder, Jao Cong thinks you’re stronger than me.”

“Shibi is stronger than you.”

“Zen, come!” Wang Ton said. “Our time here has been cut short because you may have pissed off the Brown Feather Guild.”

“Are they that bad?”

“If there leadr find out I’m here, we are as good as dead.”