In the center of the room, a golden stone pillar stood tall. It was not so much a pillar as a pedestal, and upon it rested the object of Kasahara's quest: the Pan Ku treasure box.
"Come, you are mine now."
Kasahara reached into his pocket, intending to pocket the Pan Ku treasure box from the pedestal.
Just then, from who knows where, Jade appeared with a flying kick, sending Kasahara sprawling. The Pan Ku treasure box clattered to the ground, rolling a good two meters away.
Landing on his feet, Jade declared with righteous indignation, "I don't know what you're doing, but every artifact here belongs to the country."
Kasahara scrambled to his feet, glaring at Jade with fury. In all his years, no one had ever kicked him before.
"Very well, you asked for it."
With that, Kasahara was enveloped in a purple light, his body rapidly transforming into a sheet of paper, crumpled and folded. After a few seconds of manipulation, a paper figure materialized before Jade.
"You're... a paper person?"
Jade's shock did not deter Kasahara in the slightest. His hands transformed into paper blades, and he attacked Jade from both sides.
Under Kasahara's fierce assault, Jade dodged constantly, darting behind the stone pillar for cover.
Before Jade could catch his breath, a paper blade flashed, slicing an X into the stone pillar. Chunks of stone fell away, and the unbalanced pillar toppled over, crashing against the wall.
Jade used the tilting pillar to climb onto the rafters. But in the next instant, Kasahara, transformed into a paper spider, was right behind him, his front legs extending like paper blades, shooting towards Jade. Despite Jade's best efforts to dodge, he was still grazed on the arm by the sharp paper.
As Jade and Kasahara engaged in a heated battle, neither noticed two figures stealthily entering the room.
They were Little Jade and Paco.
Little Jade, sharp as ever, spotted the Pan Ku treasure box, distinctive in its corner, at a glance. With a few quick strides, she rushed forward, grabbed the box, and prepared to flee.
As she ran, she called out, "Uncle Long!" waving the Pan Ku treasure box and signaling Jade to grab the item and make their escape.
But before Little Jade could get far, she ran headlong into someone.
Little Jade looked up with a whimper. How unlucky she was to collide with a mercenary who had entered with Kasahara.
Little Jade tried to resist, but faced with an insurmountable disadvantage in strength, power, and height, the mercenary easily snatched the Pan Ku treasure box from her grasp.
Seeing the treasure box secured, Kasahara immediately abandoned Jade and quickly approached the mercenary. "Well done. Let's go."
The mercenary looked at Kasahara and said, "I'm leaving. You figure out how to get out yourself."
With that, the mercenary pulled out a dial, upon which was depicted the mutated King Snake.
The mercenary turned the dial with one hand. The activated King Snake dial transformed into energy and flowed into the mercenary's body. In the next moment, the mercenary transformed from an ordinary human into a mutated King Snake with a contorted expression.
"The Ch'ien Shang commands us to retrieve the box and retreat immediately. You will find your own way out."
Without giving Kasahara time to react, the mercenary used the reflective marble floor as a mirror and entered the mirror dimension.
Seeing the treasure taken, Kasahara couldn't stay any longer. He transformed into a paper Pterodactyl and rapidly exited the room.
Jade, Little Jade, and Paco watched, helpless, as the mercenary and Kasahara departed. They couldn't possibly catch up to Kasahara, and the mercenary, who had transformed into a monster, had simply vanished. How could they pursue?
Kasahara, now a paper Pterodactyl, abandoned the downed mercenaries and flew swiftly down the snow-capped mountain alone.
Soon, the members of the Dragon Team arrived at the room. Upon hearing that Kasahara had escaped with the item, they angrily berated Jade.
"Ah! Jade! How could you let them get away with it?!"
As he spoke, he tapped Jade's head firmly with two fingers.
Jade felt wronged by his father's scolding. "Dad, I couldn't do anything at the time. That mercenary who turned into a monster, he just vanished with the item. There was no way to pursue him."
Little Jade asked, "Dad, do you know what kind of box Kasahara and his group took?"
Little Jade was very curious. What was so important that it would cause Kasahara to lead so many people on a journey here?
"That, we will only know once Father finishes deciphering the inscriptions here."
Father walked to the screen and, raising his eyes, began to read the carvings.
With nothing else to do, the Dragon Team members rested on the spot to recover their strength.
Soon, Father had deciphered all the carvings on the screen.
"Oh, no!"
"What is it, Dad!?"
Seeing their father's great commotion, Jade and the other Dragon Team members rushed over.
Father pointed to the carvings on the screen and said, "These carvings tell of the Ch'ien Shang, one of the eight demons who disrupted the ancient era. Each had different powers: fire, sky, moon, lightning, apprentice, ship, wind, and water. These demons were subdued by eight immortal generals, ancient heroes. Humans trapped the demons in another dimension and used the Pan Ku treasure box to seal the gates. Each demon had its own gate, and only the Pan Ku treasure box could find and open these gates. And now, you have allowed the Black Hand to take the Pan Ku treasure box. Do you realize the danger the world will face?"
Father descended and said, "We must find the Ch'ien Shang before he releases the other seven demons."
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Jade dared not delay any longer and immediately prepared to return to the US. However, as soon as they exited the temple, they were apprehended by fully armed soldiers. Several military helicopters circled overhead.
"Nobody move!"
Seeing Jade and the others emerge, the leading platoon commander shouted.
Then, a multitude of gun muzzles were pointed directly at Jade and his companions. Among them were two military mages holding staffs. Perhaps the mages were too low in rank, as they did not recognize Father, a great mage. In fact, Father's immense magical aura made the two mages even more nervous.
Seeing the situation, Jade and his companions dared not resist. Jade slowly walked up to the platoon commander and asked, "Excuse me, what crime have we committed?"
"Whether you have committed a crime is not for you to decide. Take them all away."
The reason Jade and his companions were treated this way, and why the army appeared here, was all because of one person: Kasahara.
Kasahara, after escaping the temple, flew rapidly down the mountain. Once at the foot, he immediately called the police, claiming that he and his climbing team had been attacked by terrorists and that he had narrowly escaped. He said all his team members had been captured and that these terrorists were using children as a cover, and that there were even mages among them.
Due to the revival of the Ch'ien Shang and a recent speech, China was in a state of tension. Upon hearing of terrorists and the presence of mages, they immediately mobilized helicopters and headed to the location mentioned in the call, not forgetting to bring two military mages along, just in case.