KOF: Rise of the King of Fighters

As Yan Yue was talking to Heidern, Kusanagi Shizuru and Sakazaki Takuma slowly walked over.

"Brother Haderen, is Flame Moon now under your command?" Takuma Sakazaki asked Haderen, half-jokingly.

"I suppose so..." Haderen nodded silently, pondering what to do next. Then, the two chatted idly.

Meanwhile, Kusanagi Shizuru begins to reminisce with Engetsu.

"Yan Yue, are you planning to bring Xiao Long back to Nan Town?" Kusanagi Shizuru asked.

Yan Yue turned to look at Kusanagi Shizuru and explained, "Uncle Kusanagi, Xiaolong's ability is too special. I can settle down in Nanzhen right now, and I have many friends. Only in Nanzhen can I protect her."

Kusanagi Shizuru had met Xiaolong before, and he was one of the witnesses to the massacre of the Flying Thief Clan.

"Well, this poor girl has really suffered..."

Kusanagi Shizuru never imagined that the Heavenly Demoness covered in deadly poison was Xiaolong. Hearing Yan Yue's explanation, he could only sigh helplessly.

After regaining his senses, Kusanagi Shizuru decided to return to Japan to continue instructing Kusanagi Kyo in his family's martial arts. It was during this time that he happened to join Heidern and Sakazaki Takuma on their mission to support Engetsu.

Seeing that the matter was over, Kusanagi Shizuru suddenly remembered something and said:

"Yan Yue, I thoroughly investigated the family's secret records last time. I've found some clues about your background... it's related to the emperors of your Chinese nation..."

Yan Yue was curious. Rugal had mentioned before that Yan Yue possessed the majesty of an emperor. Moreover, Mature was also surprised when she first saw her own eyes.

"Emperor? Which emperor?"

Kusanagi Shizuru clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and slowly began to ponder: "When I was deciphering the family's secret texts and investigating the Orochi clan, I saw something about the golden pupils."

Yan Yue was somewhat surprised: "Huh? It's related to the Orochi clan?"

Kusanagi Shizuru continued, "Have you ever heard the legend of Qin Shi Huang's pursuit of the elixir of immortality?"

"I've heard of it; it's a well-known story in China." Yan Yue wondered if her background was related to the King of Qin.

"Legend has it that two thousand years ago, during the Qin Dynasty, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, he worried that his lifespan was limited and he would not be able to rule the empire forever."

So in the time that followed, his fear of death and his desire for power drove him to search for the elixir of immortality.

Afterwards, he sent Xu Fu with thousands of young boys and girls to search for them at sea. Xu Fu made several voyages and eventually reached the islands of Japan, never returning to Qin. Those thousands of young boys and girls settled and multiplied there, and are said to be the ancestors of the Japanese people.

Kusanagi Shizuru nodded slightly as he listened to the legend of the elixir of immortality, and then said, "The legend is indeed true... but what the Kusanagi clan's secret manual mentions is somewhat different from what you just said, Engetsu."

"How is it different?" Yan Yue asked.

Kusanagi Shizuru begins his explanation:

"Due to the thousand-year civil war with the Yagami clan, much information was lost from the secret manual..."

However, the remaining records indicate that Qin Shi Huang was not pursuing immortality, but rather sending people specifically to explore and guard against certain things.

"A giant serpent?"

"It should be the giant serpent... but..."

"What does that have to do with my background?" Yan Yue asked hurriedly.

Looking into Engetsu's eyes, Kusanagi Shizuru said earnestly, "The secret manual mentions... that Qin Shi Huang understood that the power of the Golden Eye originated from ancient times, and that this power guided the rise and fall of the human race..."

"Huh?" Yan Yue's pupils suddenly contracted.

The rise and fall of humanity? The power of antiquity?

When Yan Yue heard these words, she felt a sense of déjà vu, as if she had heard them somewhere before... perhaps in that dream.

In her dream, Yan Yue remembered standing on a sea where she could see golden fish and scenes of ancient wars.

But every time I wake up, I can't remember anything, only some vague fragments.

Yan Yue tried to remember, but to no avail.

Finally, Yan Yue shook her head vigorously and asked, "Was anything else mentioned, Uncle?"

“That’s it, just this one sentence…” Kusanagi Shizuru closed his eyes and shook his head.

Yan Yue was a little disappointed, but still thanked him, saying, "Thank you very much, Uncle..."

Kusanagi Shizuru laughed heartily and patted Engetsu on the shoulder: "Don't mention it, Kyoto and I were saved by you! Haha..."

But Kusanagi Shizuru suddenly looked at Engetsu seriously and solemnly instructed him:

"Next, a truly brutal war is about to unfold. Therefore, I need to personally guide Kyo in further training the ancient martial arts of the Kusanagi-ryu style."

Moreover, for some reason, I've always felt that your power seems to be connected to the Three Divine Artifacts in some way. Therefore, Yan Yue, you absolutely cannot slack off; you must work even harder to improve yourself!

Hearing Kusanagi Shizuru's words, Engetsu couldn't help but feel somewhat helpless.

These three divine artifacts and the Orochi clan are truly entangled, and somehow they've ended up getting themselves involved again.

However, Yan Yue nodded and replied, "Alright, alright, I'll do my best. I just hope I don't cause any more big trouble..."

Yan Yue couldn't help but let out a wry smile. The story was starting to go wrong; she had a feeling that she was about to lose Kyo Kusanagi's coattails.

……

morning.

Inside the wooden house, Xiaolong had already tidied up the hidden weapons on the table. As it turned out, most of them were damaged, and only a short sword and the dagger given to him by his master were still usable.

Just then, Yan Yue knocked on the door. "Xiao Long, we're leaving. Are you ready?"

"Coming!" Xiaolong replied hurriedly.

Xiaolong had changed into modern clothes and styled her hair into a simple ponytail. She put away her dagger and short sword.

He hurriedly left the wooden house, carrying his pager and the broken crystal headdress.

When Xiaolong pushed open the wooden door, Yanyue smiled at him, took his hand without hesitation, and prepared to leave Taiwan with the others.

Xiaolong still doesn't know where Duolong is or what fate awaits the Flying Thief, but at least Yanyue has come to her side, and Xiaolong is no longer alone.

……

"Goodbye, Shen." Yan Yue raised her right hand and gave Shenwu a firm fist bump in farewell.

"Goodbye, Brother Yan Yue." Shen Wu responded with a punch of his own, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, and continued:

"Now that the leaders of these three major gangs have all died, the coastal areas will inevitably elect new leaders, and then there will be chaos and civil war again!"

Hahaha... But all of this has nothing to do with me. I need to hurry back to Shanghai and get to work!

"Alright, alright, whatever makes you happy... If you need any help or want to chat with someone, feel free to call me anytime." Yan Yue shook her head helplessly, but her eyes revealed her concern and support for her friend.

Just then, Xiaolong, who had been standing beside Yanyue, stepped forward. She bowed slightly, performed a standard greeting to Shenwu, and then said softly, "Um... Mr. Shenwu..."

Shenwu turned to look at the beautiful girl who was very close to Yanyue and asked curiously, "Xiaolong, what's wrong?"

Xiaolong bit his lip, seemingly hesitant, but finally mustered his courage and said, "Actually, it's nothing else, it's just that if you happen to meet my brother in the future, please help me convey... to him where I am going..."

"Oh? You mean Duolong?" The name Yanyue had mentioned before instantly popped into Shenwu's mind. It was said that Duolong would be his good friend in the future.

"Yes, that's right... Thank you for your help, Mr. Shenwu." Xiaolong nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

"Don't worry! Since he's Yan Yue's friend, he's my friend too!" Shenwu patted his chest, waved to the three masters, and turned to walk towards the port.

Afterwards, Kusanagi Shizuru and Sakazaki Takuma also bid farewell to everyone and headed to Japan.

Yan Yue calmly took out her phone and dialed Tang Fulu's number.

"Grandpa, it's me." Yan Yue's voice came clearly from the receiver.

"Oh, it's Yan Yue. What's up?" Tang Fulu replied.

"It's like this, Grandpa, I want to tell you about the situation between Xiaolong and me..." Yan Yue explained in detail to Tang Fulu the series of recent events and the plans for the future.

After hanging up the phone, Yan Yue turned to Xiao Long beside her, patted Xiao Long's head and said, "Alright, I've explained everything."

Meanwhile, not far away, Haderen was methodically gathering his soldiers.

Immediately afterwards, a helicopter roared in, its huge rotors churning the air and producing a deafening roar.

……

A few days later, Yan Yue and Xiao Long arrived in Nan Town.

Along the way, they moved with the agility of swallows, displaying their lightness skills as they swiftly traversed the buildings of Nanzhen.

After a rapid journey, the two successfully arrived at Yan Yue's residence in Nan Town.

At that very moment, Locke was practicing Yan Yue's piano and guitar in his room.

Suddenly, Locke noticed someone push open the door and turned around sharply to look.

When Locke saw Yan Yue return, his face instantly lit up with ecstatic joy, and he was so excited that he almost jumped up: "Brother Yan Yue! You're finally back!"