Chapter Six- Swords, Sharks, and Snakes
Back at Bā hén's hideout, he and the hyenas were resting after their battle. Lǐng xiù had a bite mark on her leg from when Lin had bitten her after hitting the hyena away from Shifu. Jiǎo was rubbing his rear end from where Shifu had given it a good kick.
"Stupid Shifu." He said. "I think he broke my butt!" Bèn zhuō laughed stupidly. "Shut up, Bèn zhuō!" Bèn zhuō shut his mouth with a stupid grin on his face.
"At ease, my friends." Bā hén told the hyenas. "This is just a drawback. Obviously, I have underestimated the power of that dragon."
"You can say that again." Lǐng xiù muttered.
Bā hén growled. He had lowered his hood to reveal his face and mane. "As I was saying, it seems as though I cannot gain the trust of the dragon. But if I can gain Shifu's trust, then I will get the dragon easier."
"Good luck with that." Jiǎo said sarcastically.
*****
At the Jade Palace, Zhan shi, Chen, and Yī fù were waiting for Shifu, Lin, Tigress, and Po to return. When the warriors reached them, Zhan shi sighed with relief.
"Glad to see you alive." He said.
"Shifu, Tigress, we need to talk to you." Yī fù told them. "Bring Lin as well." Shifu and Tigress obeyed, bringing Lin as they followed the three werewolves to the Sacred Peach Tree. Po walked off to train with the rest of the Five.
Once everyone was comfortable under the tree, Yī fù began their talk.
"Now, as you know, there have been two attempts to capture Lin." She said.
"And in both attempts, Shifu almost got killed." Chen added. A stern look from Zhan shi silenced the cub immediately.
"As I was saying, we need to figure out who was trying to get Lin and protect Lin from them." Yī fù continued. "And if we can't do that soon, I would suggest that Lin be taken elsewhere."
"What do you mean?" Tigress asked.
"Don't take it the wrong way." Zhan shi asked. "But Yī fù and I think it would be safer if Lin wasn't at the palace. Or in the Valley of Peace."
"We can't leave her with just anybody!" Shifu said. "Besides, she's safe as long as she stays with me or Tigress. Or anybody here in the palace. Except Bā hén. Lin doesn't trust him."
"Shifu, it may be the only way." Zhan shi said.
"Why don't we let Lin decide?" Chen asked. Zhan shi gave him another angry look.
"No, Chen's right." Shifu said. "Lin can make her own decisions." The little dragon smiled at her father.
"Alright then." Yī fù said, smiling at Lin. "What'll it be, little dragon?"
Lin didn't hesitate. "Lin stays with Baba and Tiga." She galloped to Tigress and nuzzled her.
"Tiga?" Yī fù asked, confused.
"She can't say, 'Tigress.'" Shifu explained. Yī fù smile and she and Chen laughed. Shifu noticed Zhan shi's sour look.
"Uh, Chen, would you like to take Lin and go play?" Shifu asked the pup.
"Sure!" He and Lin ran off, laughing.
"I'll go watch them." Yī fù said. "No doubt they'll get into all sorts of trouble." She laughed again and left. Tigress smiled and followed. She turned to look at Shifu.
"Aren't you coming?" she asked. Shifu silently motioned over to Zhan shi, who was standing at the cliff edge with his back to them. Tigress nodded in understanding and left. Shifu transformed to his werewolf form and walked to his brother. Zhan shi glanced over at Shifu's eyes, still amazed by them.
One iris was blue, like always.
The other was blood red, from when the Werewolf Spirit had controlled Shifu's body to defeat Chu-Jung the elephant.
"What's wrong?" Shifu asked, still staring straight ahead at the horizon.
"It's just that you've gone thru two life-threatening incidents in just two days." Zhan shi admitted. "All because someone wants that dragon."
"You think someone's going to kill me to get the dragon?" Shifu guessed.
"Yes." Zhan shi grumbled. Shifu laughed. "It's not funny!"
"The only funny part is the fact that you're acting so much like your mother." Shifu said.
"She's your mother too." Zhan shi said.
"Yeah." Shifu said, walking away. "But you act more like her." Zhan shi growled playfully before tackling Shifu. Together, they chased each other around, fighting playfully. They didn't stop until Shifu tackled Zhan shi and they went tumbling down the side of the mountain. Fortunately, it was a bit of a soft landing, so they didn't die. Unfortunately, they landed in some thorn bushes, so they looked a little like porcupines when they came out. As Shifu pulled his thorns out, he gave his werewolf brother the look.
"What?" Zhan shi asked, pulling thorns out of his tail. "It's not my fault we fell into the thorns."
"Well you were the one who tackled me first." Shifu said, pulling five thorns out of his back.
"Well you hit me off the mountain!" Zhan shi countered, pulling out the thorns on his stomach.
"Would both of you stop it?" The two werewolves turned and saw Viper, soaking wet. That's when they remembered that, during their play, they had knocked down a bucket full of water. Viper must've been right where it landed.
"Oops." Zhan shi said sheepishly. Viper rolled her eyes and helped the boys take out the thorns. Once done, they started back up to the palace. Then, Shifu stopped and turned. Viper and Zhan shi did the same.
"Did you hear that?" Shifu asked.
"Yeah." Zhan shi said.
"It sounds like water." Viper said. "Maybe it's just the river."
"The river's supposed to be five miles away from the mountain." Shifu said, walking towards the sound. "And this water sounds like splashing." Zhan shi and Viper followed, knowing they couldn't drive Shifu away no matter how hard they tried. The three of them ventured thru the forest until they reached some large bushes. By then, the sound was louder.
"Look around here." Zhan shi said. Everyone obeyed, looking around. Viper was the first to go and poke her head thru the bushes. When she did, Zhan shi and Shifu heard a scream. They looked back and saw Viper trembling.
"What's wrong?" Shifu asked.
Viper pointed to the bushes. "Very, very, very, large snake." She squeaked.
"Aren't you a snake?" Zhan shi asked.
"So?" Viper said.
"So, appeal to his better nature." Zhan shi suggested.
"If you think I'm going to flirt with a snake that could swallow me whole you're the craziest thing alive." Viper said.
"Both of you relax." Shifu said. He transformed to normal. "Let's go." With Shifu leading the way, the three of them wandered thru the bushes. When they got to the other side, they gaped at the sight in front of them.
It was a giant wooden tank. From top to bottom, it was a hundred feet high, and fifty feet in diameter. A ladder was attached to the side, and it led up to a wooden plank, fifteen feet long, and twenty feet above the water. Water would splash out once in a while, and Shifu noticed a flash of grey.
"What's that supposed to be doing here?" Viper asked.
"I don't know." Shifu said. "But I'm going to find out." Shifu walked forward towards the ladder. Viper and Zhan shi followed. Shifu climbed up high enough to see over the edge. When he did, he almost fell off in shock.
"What's wrong?" Zhan shi asked.
"Heavens above!" Shifu said. "There are three giant great white sharks in there!" Shifu stared at the great beasts swimming around until a yelp made him whip around to his brother and student. He looked down and saw them engaged in a furious battle with two giant anacondas. Shifu slid down the ladder and joined them, transforming to a werewolf. They fought for a while until a loud whistle rung out. The anacondas turned towards the sound, and then hissed menacingly before slithering off.
"Should we head to the palace?" Zhan shi asked. Shifu stared after the large snakes, not taking his eyes off them.
"Yeah." Shifu, Zhan shi, and Viper rushed off. By the time they had gotten to the Jade Palace, it was sunset. Viper went off to bed, Zhan shi went to find Yī fù and tell her about the incident, and Shifu walked off to find Lin. Turns out, she was playing with Tigress. Shifu watched, smiling. Tigress was laughing as Lin jumped on her, twirled around her head, and tugged on Tigress' ears playfully. Being half the size of a small tiger cub, Lin could easily get away from Tigress trying to catch her. Shifu hadn't seen Tigress so happy. When the sun finally disappeared, Shifu walked forward. Tigress saw him and stood up straight, bowing. Shifu rolled his eyes.
"Time for bed now." He told the girls.
"K." Lin said. She leaped up into Tigress' arms and gave her a dragon kiss. "Goodnight, Tiga." Lin leaped down and galloped to her room.
"Goodnight Tigress." Shifu said, following the dragon.
"Goodnight Master." Tigress said, walking to her room.
Once in Shifu's room, Lin did a flying leap and canon balled into Shifu's bed. Shifu laughed as Lin bounced around for a bit before settling down. Shifu hopped into bed after the little dragon. When Shifu was settled, Lin curled up against his chest, yawning.
"Goodnight, Baba." Lin said before she fell asleep. Shifu smiled, blew out his lantern, and went to sleep.
*****
The next afternoon, after training, Bā hén challenged Shifu to a sword fight.
Shifu seemed surprised. "Might I ask why?"
"I just want to see your blade skills." Bā hén said. "Everyone knows you're the greatest kung fu master ever. I just want to know how well you do with a blade." Shifu smiled and nodded. Po grabbed him a sword, and Bā hén took out his own. Then, in a clash of metal, the battle began.
Shifu had to admit, Bā hén was a very skilled swordsman. Shifu had to smile at it. But after a minute of intense sword fighting, Shifu frowned, pushing harder. When Bā hén countered, Shifu knew he had seen those moves before, but he couldn't remember where. When Bā hén swung his sword and Shifu parried the blow, the old master caught a looked at the blade. He stared at it.
It was a katana. But the handle was pure gold. The blade was pure silver. But the one thing Shifu really noticed was the jagged red line on the blade.
It looked just like the sword that belonged to the ninja that had attacked Shifu.
Shifu resumed the battle, knocking away Bā hén's sword and kicking him to the ground. With the battle over, everyone resumed their day. Po walked to Shifu as Bā hén picked up his sword, sheathed it, and walked off.
"What is it?" Po asked his master.
"I know that sword from somewhere." Shifu said. "And if I'm right, we'll have figured out who is after Lin."
A/N: Almost done! A few more chapters to go! Read and Review!
