"Could you help put out the flames on Mount Fry-Pan?" Ox-King asked.
Wuchen had no objections. Bulma and Yamcha felt the same way. Puar naturally followed Yamcha's lead, while Oolong silently swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.
"Shenron, please put out..." Ox-King began making his wish, only to be interrupted—and by Shenron, no less.
In an instant, the flames on Mount Fry-Pan went out. Shenron turned back into the seven Dragon Balls, which scattered in every direction, leaving only an echo in the sky: "Your wish has been granted. Farewell."
"..." Maybe it was just their imagination, but everyone thought the Dragon Balls looked like they were fleeing—frantically, at that. They flew so far away, as if they never wanted anyone to find them again. Every last one of them.
"Wonderful! The fire's out. I can finally go home." Ox-King was the only one satisfied with Shenron's service. He leaped about like a child in his burly frame, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
"Oh, right, right! Don't go anywhere, you lot. I have gifts for you." Even in his excitement, Ox-King remembered to show his gratitude. He charged up Mount Fry-Pan and soon returned with a heap of treasures, just as the sun was rising.
But the so-called treasures had mostly been ruined or melted. Only a few had withstood the trial by fire, including some gold ingots that had almost—but not quite—melted. Ingots, not flatbreads.
For various reasons, everyone waved the offer away, but Ox-King's enthusiasm was impossible to resist.
So, once the treasures had cooled and solidified, Bulma picked out a bead that had withstood years of exposure to the flames. Yamcha carefully chose an equally special chain and gave it to her so she could string the bead on it.
Puar and Oolong each picked out a gold ingot, both of them eager yet cautious.
As for Wuchen, after failing to refuse, he chose one item each for himself and Goku: two irregular chunks of unknown metal, one black and one blue.
Then it was time to part ways. Carrying the sleeping Goku on the Flying Nimbus, Wuchen asked Bulma for her address, said his farewells first, and set off for Mount Paozu.
The other four were all headed to West City. Bulma was going home, and Yamcha... well... to meet her parents, probably.
Puar was a typical sidekick. Wherever Yamcha went, Puar went too.
As for Oolong, he no longer dared to cause trouble. He just wanted to tag along with Bulma, eating and drinking for free, and occasionally scoring a little eye candy.
Wuchen told the Flying Nimbus to take its time. Like Goku, he started catching up on sleep atop the cloud.
By the time he woke, it was already evening, and they had reached Mount Paozu. His injuries had nearly healed, too.
"Big brother, why are we back? What about Grandpa? Did he come back to life?" Goku had woken up at some point. The moment he saw Wuchen open his eyes, he asked.
Seeing the faint despair beneath Goku's hopeful expression, Wuchen opened his mouth several times, wanting to tell a kind lie, but he could never bring himself to do it.
In the end, he had no choice but to tell the truth. "Goku, I'm sure you've already guessed. On nights with a full moon, we turn into mindless monsters. And Grandpa... he most likely..." As he spoke, the two of them found themselves standing before Son Gohan's grave.
"Grandpa couldn't be brought back. Even though we managed to gather all seven Dragon Balls and summon Shenron, he can only revive people who died within the past year."
Grief and guilt kept the brothers silent for a long time. Only after dusk fell did they prepare food and share a meal with Son Gohan.
Wuchen had long suspected the cause of Grandpa Son Gohan's death. He had also noticed that there was something unusual about him. He wasn't like a cultivator, but he possessed formidable strength.
Even if both brothers had transformed into Great Apes at once, Grandpa might not have been able to defeat them, but he could surely have escaped. If Grandpa had died, it must have been because he was trying to wake Wuchen and Goku—or perhaps to stop the brothers from fighting each other...
They didn't return to the house to rest until late that night. The next morning, Wuchen got up early, ate a couple of spirit fruits, then kept himself busy.
He gathered a large number of spirit fruits and plants, packed them into several bundles, and stowed them in the control room of the mech they had taken from Pilaf and the others. Then he turned the mech back into a Capsule.
After that, Wuchen took the Capsule and the dispirited Goku and left on the Flying Nimbus.
Before long, the two arrived at their first stop: Turtle Hermit Island.
"The Flying Nimbus? Are those the two strange children with tails?" Master Roshi, who was hanging laundry, adjusted his sunglasses and looked up at the sky.
"Greetings, Grandmaster." Wuchen and Goku bowed to Master Roshi, addressing him that way. The title left Master Roshi somewhat bewildered.
"Please allow me to explain, Grandmaster. When Goku and I were infants, your disciple, Grandpa Son Gohan, took us in. He treated us like his own grandchildren. Since you were Grandpa's master, you are naturally our grandmaster."
Yes, one of Wuchen's reasons for coming here was to visit his grandfather's master, the grandmaster he shared with Goku—Master Mutaito.
"I failed to recognize you last time we met. That was already a grave discourtesy. I'm even more embarrassed that I accepted such a generous gift from you."
"I've come to apologize. Please punish me as you see fit, Grandmaster."
"Gohan's grandsons?" Master Roshi was taken aback, then seemed to recall something. "Gohan did write to me once, saying he'd found two children with tails inside a strange, round machine..."
"So you're those two children! How is your grandfather, Son Gohan?" Master Roshi sounded both moved and nostalgic. Now that he thought about it, it had been a long time since Gohan last wrote to him.
"Grandpa passed away four years ago, because Goku and I... Although we've resolved the problem with our transformations, Grandpa can never come back." Wuchen didn't hide the truth about Son Gohan's death or the brothers' transformations under the full moon.
"I see. The world has lost another good man."
Master Roshi sighed, then hurriedly added, "But it has gained two good men as well. Gohan raised two fine boys. He'd be proud to know you solved the problem of turning into monsters on full-moon nights through your own efforts."
"Someone as good as Gohan must have gone to heaven after he died. You don't need to blame yourselves so much." Master Roshi showed Wuchen and Goku a great deal of trust and care. He trusted anyone who could ride the Flying Nimbus, and all the more so children raised by Son Gohan himself.
His words helped, too. Goku seemed much better, and even asked Master Roshi about heaven. Master Roshi patiently reassured him.
Wuchen, too, found some comfort in his words.
"Thank you for your guidance, Grandmaster. This is a small token of our gratitude. My brother and I don't have much, but we gathered some wild fruits and vegetables. Please accept them." Holding out a burlap sack with both hands, Wuchen respectfully offered it to Master Roshi.
"Good boys." Smiling, Master Roshi took the sack, deeply pleased. Gohan had raised two sincere and filial boys.
After looking the brothers over, Master Roshi recalled their last meeting and spoke again. "It seems Gohan taught you a bit about training, too. You've both grown strong. How about it—would you like to train with me?"
Before you continue