"That's great. Now I can rest assured that my Ping is in good hands."
Mushu gently tapped the side of Li Shang's arm.
Li Shang glanced at Mulan and nodded with a smile.
Mulan reciprocated his gesture with a smile.
"If that's all, I'll be going back into hiding. I don't want anyone finding out that I, the terrifying, unstoppable Mushu, exist." Mushu was about to leap into Mulan's arms when Li Shang quickly interjected, "One more thing."
"Be quick about it. It would be troublesome if I were spotted by other humans. Nothing but death would await them," Mushu replied, folding his arms.
"I'm sorry," Li Shang quickly apologised. "I just wanted to ask about master Cri-Kee. If he had also managed to survive. I would like to see him and thank him as well. And I wonder if you could continue to aid us. Our forces still need your protection."
"Cri-Kee is doing okay."
"Cri-Kee. Someone wants to see you."
Mushu said loudly.
Cricket emerged from the same place Mushu had disappeared into within Mulan's attire and waved at Li Shang.
"Thank you for your help, Mr Cri-Kee."
Li Shang spotted the small green cricket and bowed respectfully to him.
Cricket saluted Li Shang with a chuckle before Mushu intervened. "Okay. That's enough... That's enough."
Cricket returned to Mulan's attire.
"What do you think about my other request?" Li Shang quickly asked.
"Hmm…" Mushu pondered, slowly rubbing his chin.
"My only focus is on Mulan, since she's no longer supposedly dead. I can't say I can protect hundreds, or even thousands, of soldiers... It's not... how do I say it... something I do," he added.
"I'll ensure that you're greatly rewarded by renovating your sanctuary and the entire Fa Family residence. I understand that a being like you doesn't need money or material possessions, so this is the best reward I can offer," Li Shang said.
"Please..." Li Shang stretched his hands forward and bowed to Mushu, who was still standing on them.
Mushu rolled his eyes.
"Do I look like a ghost to you?" he muttered almost silently.
Mulan quietly flicked him on the head. Leaning closer, she whispered, "Do it."
Although she was fine with participating in the war and returning alive, she wouldn't refuse Li Shang's reward if he was so insistent on it. Not only would it bring greater honour to her family, but they might truly allow her to do whatever she wished.
She didn't know why Li Shang was honouring Mushu or calling him Cricket master, as Mushu seemed to have left that part out during his recounting. But she didn't care nor bother to find out why, for her mental health.
"Fine. I've listened to your pleas and will grant you and your men my protection once more. Raise your head," Mushu replied.
Li Shang raised his head and sighed in relief. "Thank you."
"You should be thanking Ping. If he wasn't here, you wouldn't have had this privilege."
"Bye-bye, Captain."
Mushu waved his hand at Li Shang before leaping back into Mulan's clothes and disappearing inside them.
"Thank you for granting me such an opportunity, Lieutenant Ping."
Li Shang looked at Mulan.
"You don't need to keep thanking me, Captain. It's an honour to be of service to the army and to China," Mulan replied, sighing inwardly.
Li Shang nodded.
Inwardly, his impression of the new recruit rose by another degree. If he had known there was such a brave and humble young man in China, he would have sought him out and trained him long ago. Regardless, he was here now, so Li Shang intended to make use of every opportunity he had.
"I'm thinking of continuing our training a few hours after the soldiers have recovered mentally. I hope to see you there," Li Shang said.
"I'm sorry, Captain. Mr Aladdin has already taken it upon himself to train me. I've been making visible progress in the way of the sword, and my physical prowess has slowly increased as well," Mulan said, cupping her hands together and bowing respectfully to Li Shang.
Li Shang's brows rose in surprise. "If Mr Aladdin is the one training you, and you can confirm that you're making progress, then that's fine. However, if you don't mind, I think it would be best if we all trained together alongside Mr Aladdin. Perhaps his methods could influence the other recruits as well."
He hadn't expected the mysterious traveller to be so skilled. He intended to use this opportunity to grow closer to him and strengthen the bond between him and the soldiers. Perhaps then, Aladdin would agree to join them in their battle against Shan Yu.
"I'll need to speak with Mr Aladdin first to see if he can incorporate our training with the others. I can't guarantee anything," Mulan responded.
"Just do your best."
"Let's return to the cave before the others begin wondering where we went," Li Shang replied.
Mulan walked beside him as they headed back to the cave.
Somewhere above the cave,
"That's what happened."
Mulan stood on a vast rock bed resembling a plateau, facing Aladdin, with Abu sitting on his shoulders, as she reiterated everything that had transpired with Li Shang.
After returning to the cave, she had quickly bid farewell to everyone before arriving at the appointed location where Carpet carried her up the mountain.
Meanwhile, Mushu and Cricket rode Carpet through the skies.
"Woohoo!!"
"Say it louder, Cri-Kee!! WOOHOO!!"
Aladdin tuned out the noise as he nodded.
"I have no problems training them. We've already covered all the basics of swordsmanship, as well as utilising the weapon I gave you. You only need to continue strengthening your core and muscles to increase the lethality of your attacks. But that isn't something we can accomplish in weeks or days. Nonetheless, if they're sure they can handle the training, then they're welcome to join."
He had also supplemented her training with a few spells, which he described as medicinal enhancements to keep her awake and active day and night, with the only side effect being that a normal human would fall into a deep sleep for a day or two afterwards.
As an immortal, Aladdin didn't need such spells to remain awake. Even if he climbed down and up the mountain for a week, he wouldn't grow tired. He could also eliminate mental exhaustion with a few spells if he wished.
However, Aladdin would never choose to use such spells on himself to avoid sleeping because sleep was one of the few things that reminded him he was still human and kept him grounded.
If he no longer cared whether he remained human or about the consequences it would bring to this world, then he would have made a different wish.
"I'll relay the information to them. Thank you on their behalf."
Mulan bowed respectfully toward Aladdin with her hands cupped.
Even though Aladdin had warned her not to, she saw no reason not to show respect to someone who had provided them with so much help and shown her a glimpse of the world beyond China.
She straightened her back.
"I'll create a path to make it easier for them to climb the mountain, albeit with a few obstacles," Aladdin said.
"I'll be back soon," Mulan nodded. Then she turned and whistled for Carpet.
Carpet swiftly arrived before her.
"Hey, what gives?" Mushu complained.
Cricket stood by his side.
"I'll be leaving. When I return, it'll be with the soldiers, so you guys should find a good hiding spot and stay there," Mulan said.
"Okay... Okay... We hear you... Sheesh!!"
Mushu picked up Cricket and climbed down from Carpet.
Mulan stepped onto Carpet.
"Goodbye..." Mushu waved at her as he watched Carpet turn and soar into the air, descending the mountain.
"My baby is growing bigger by the second."
He wiped the pretentious tears from his eyes.
"Come on, guys. We've got lots of work to do."
Aladdin called out to them as he turned and walked in the direction from which Mulan and the others would return. Now that the story had changed, he was looking forward to seeing where the final battle would take place.
Although Shan Yu and his men were strong, compared to Sa'Luk, the second-in-command of the former Forty Thieves, who could tear through sharks with his bare hands, they were still pretty tame.
Nonetheless, Aladdin wouldn't hesitate to intervene if things went south.
"Hey, wait for us!"
Mushu and Cricket hurried after him.
Mushu leapt and landed on the other side of Aladdin's shoulders.
Mushu turned to Abu and asked, "Got any bananas on you, buddy?"
Abu brought out a banana from his tiny pocket and threw it to Mushu.
"My man," Mushu said as he caught and peeled it open to eat.
Abu took out another banana, peeled it open, sliced off a tiny top and gave the piece to Cricket.
Cricket received the banana with a thankful gesture.
Abu ate the rest.
Thirty minutes later,
Mulan led the group of soldiers along a rocky path with Li Shang beside her.
"Are you sure this is safe? Why couldn't we have this training below the mountain?" Chi Fu asked worriedly, clutching the scrolls tightly in his arms.
"Although Mr Aladdin has agreed to train all of us together, he hopes that we'll be able to handle the intensity of the training," Mulan replied.
"Since he told us to come up the mountain, it means he wants to use this opportunity to gauge our physical capabilities. It isn't about whether it's safe or not, because our lives depend on it."
"Mulan is right. The new recruits have experienced war, so this is a good trial to test who is mentally and physically fit to continue fighting. I would've done the same thing," Li Shang added, glancing at the soldiers behind him.
"How about me? Why do I have to come along?" Chi Fu asked.
"The last time we were captured, you were lucky to escape because the Huns saw that you were weak and decided to keep you alive until the end after learning your identity," Li Shang replied. "You might not be so lucky next time. Rather than leaving it up to fate, let's train your body to ensure that you can defend your own life."
"But... But..." Chi Fu attempted to argue, but found no words to grace his lips.
Li Shang ignored him.
"You seem familiar with this path. Have you perhaps been coming up here to train with Mr Aladdin?" Li Shang asked Mulan with an inquisitive gaze.
"Yes. I've been using it all week while training with him," Mulan replied.
"How was the training?" Li Shang asked quietly.
Chi Fu leaned in to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Intense."
"Intense?"
"Yes. I trained for four days and three nights. He didn't allow me to sleep, and the only time I was allowed to rest was when I was hungry. So that was when I ate."
Li Shang's and Chi Fu's expressions shifted to shock.
"How is that possible?"
Li Shang's expression turned solemn as he scrutinised Mulan from head to toe. He wondered how such a new recruit had it in him to train continuously for three days and three nights, stopping only to eat.
Even he couldn't imagine training for that long. At most, he could endure a day or two of nonstop training before collapsing.
"Mr Aladdin has his secrets. You'll find out once we get there," Mulan said, turning to him with a smile. But to the others, her smile was anything but soothing.
Chi Fu lifted his robe and turned to flee down the mountain. But before he could move an inch, Li Shang scooped him off the ground and threw him over his shoulder.
"Let me go this instant!! Let me go!! I'll report this incident to the Emperor!! Didn't you hear her? This is suicide!!" Chi Fu screamed.
His voice attracted the attention of the soldiers following behind them.
"Mhhmmm!! MHHmm!!"
Li Shang quickly tied a cloth around Chi Fu's mouth before he could continue shouting and cause panic among the others.