Disclaimer- Kung Fu Panda does not belong to me. If it did, then why am I posting a disclaimer?
"You can do it Po!" Monkey's cheering voice floated over to the row of tables where he sat. Po didn't really pay attention, he was to busy stuffing himself with jiaozi, or dumplings, aiming to win the eating competition for Chinese New Year. Shifu had disapproved of abandoning training for the festival, but gave in to Monkey's and Po's pleading.
"And...time's up!" the proud voice of Mantis called out. Po glanced at his competitors. Several looked like they weren't even alive and the bunny next to him groaned. Mantis came by, holding a paper, recording scores.
Suddenly, Tigress arrived and dragged Po away by the arm. Mantis sighed, dropped the paper, and hopped on Monkey's shoulder to follow.
"Hey!" Po exclaimed, irritated. "I was just about win the dumpling eating contest!"
"Well," Tigress pushed through a large crowd, "that can wait. There has been a murder." Po gasped and Mantis looked shocked. Monkey said nothing, but his eyes gave away the abrupt fear in his mind.
"I'm coming," Po glanced at a red tent, a large sign in front, "right after this noodle eating contest." The panda moved toward the tent, but Tigress grabbed his arm even harder and kept on walking. Monkey stifled a laugh, the edges of a grin poking out from under his hand. After a while of being dragged over wet cobblestone, Po gave in and followed his comrades toward a secluded village not far from the Valley of Peace.
A massive pagoda-looking structure stood before them. The tiles were polished to a bright sheen and there was intricately carved dragons on the arched doorway. Red lanterns with golden silk tassels hung from the rooftops. All around the porch there was red columns and porcelain pots with bonsai trees inhabiting them.
"Wow, this guy must have a lot of money." Mantis pointed out. Tigress chose to ignore him.
"This is Lord Chen's house. Viper and Crane are already here." Tigress explained. As if on cue, a snake and a white bird approached them.
"This is so terrible!" Viper wailed. "A murder on Chinese New Year!" Crane hushed her and motioned to the curious villagers looking at them.
"Let's go inside." Tigress suggested. "Maybe it was an accident." It was clear that Tigress was doing her best to be optimistic and not cause an epidemic of panic throughout the village. Crane nodded and the Furious Five entered Lord Chen's house.
They found the antelope lord in his office, slouched in a chair. They quickly set to work, searching for any signs of blood or pawprints. Crane was sent upstairs to the higher levels, along with Mantis and Viper. Monkey and Po were to search outside and the neighboring houses while Tigress surveyed the bottom floor.
Monkey and Po returned first, declaring that the village and its inhabitants had no clues to offer.
"Yeah, they all seem to hate him." Po recalled.
Viper, Crane, and Mantis returned, twenty minutes later with the same response.
"Nothing." Viper reported flatly. "All of them are just extra rooms. They were hardly ever used at all."
"Yeah, everything was covered in dust." Mantis agreed. Tigress sighed, obviously disappointed by the rest of the Furious Five. She felt like that she was the one responsible for their failures and was the only one who knew the depth of the situation. The tiger sifted through the last of Lord Chen's documents. Most of the stuff was bills and various letters. She spotted an open scroll, just recently opened.
It was addressed to Lord Chen, but with no return address or name. She handed it to Crane, who looked equally as baffled. Po snatched it and unrolled it. The scroll said:
'Jade Palace, I send my regards.'
Po nearly screamed and dropped the scroll. Viper slowly approached it.
"He knew, " Viper paled. "The assassin knew we would come." Po reached to pick it up again, but Crane swatted his paw away.
"Hey! I was just going to pick it up!" Po snapped angrily.
"Exactly, and you would have died a few hours later." Crane retorted, a bit coldly. "That ink isn't normal ink."
"He's right. That ink has a bluish tint to it." Tigress observed closely. "It's poison ink."
"But why?" Monkey asked curiously. "Why would someone kill Lord Chen, let alone with poison ink?" No one answered him, so Monkey fell silent. The shock and cruelty of this murder had finally started to affect them. Tigress carefully picked the scroll up, making sure her paws wouldn't touch the ink. She stared at is very closely for several minutes. Then she put it back down and sighed.
"What is it, Tigress?" Mantis inquired. Tigress looked a bit depressed and her gaze shifted away. After a few awkwardly quiet moments, she spoke.
"I don't know what's worse..." Tigress paused. "The poison ink...or the fact I know who did this."