Hsiao Lung could feel his face burning as Viper followed him around the village. He was very shy of female snakes, and Viper was very pretty. She was trying to have a conversation with him, but he could only stammer in response until he gave up trying and slithered away instead. But now she was following him.
Viper sped up to keep up with the anaconda. For someone so big, he was very quick and maneuvered easily around the houses and stalls. Finally they came to a stop when Hsiao Lung ran into his swan friend, Syau Yen. All he had to do was address Syau Yen to respond to anything Viper said. The girls were not very thrilled about it, but they reasoned that sooner or later Hsiao Lung would get over his shyness.
Back in the Hall of Heroes at the Jade Palace, Po was telling Syaudi about the different artifacts there. The blind panda held onto the younger panda's shoulder, occasionally asking a question about different legends and heroes. Eventually he asked about Mulan, "Do you have any relics of her?"
"Not in here, but Master Shifu has a painting in the storage room."
"I'm sure Chwun Hwa would like to see it, and I'd like to hear what she says about it."
So the two pandas called Chwun Hwa to come see the painting with them. When the girl saw it, she said, "The painting we have makes her look more relaxed. She seems very tense here."
"How did you guys get a painting of Mulan?" asked the Dragon Warrior.
Syaudi answered, "It's a family heirloom, Mulan is my ancestor."
Po felt his body go numb as he remembered the loophole he had found, that the Dragon Warrior could only marry a descendant of Mulan. He slowly turned to look at Chwun Hwa, who was still examining the painting. Was this really happening?
"I said no!" said Tigress in a threatening voice as Chiszle grinned at her.
"But you didn' give a reason why not!" the tiger folded his arms across his chest.
"Do you need a reason why I won't go out with you?" the poor tigress was getting tired of his pestering.
"Not if it's too personal, but I'm just gonna keep askin' 'til you either say yes or give me a good excuse!"
Tigress groaned. Lihai had been right about her brother's persistence. Should she accept his attention? Or could she outlast his perseverance? "So?" the tiger waited.
Amah was sitting on the steps outside of the palace, sewing. From behind a pillar, Shifu watched. Checking his breath, he walked over and greeted, "Hello, Amah."
The foreigner looked up at him with a smile, "Hallo, Shifu! How is you?"
"Very well, thank you," the kung fu master tried to ignore his wobbly knees as he sat down beside her. "And you?"
"Very goot, t'ank you," she answered. Her nimble fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as they continued their work, guiding the needle through the cloth. "Mah free-ends seem to haf goot time her."
"Yes, they get along very well with my students and the villagers," Shifu responded. "How do you like it here?"
"Is very goot her," she continued looking at him as her hands continued to sew, "more essiting (exciting) in village than at Shou."
Shifu nodded, then looked out into the distance. The sun was beginning to set. Taking a breath, he asked, "How would you like to go to Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop with me tomorrow? Just for a little change of scene."
Amah kept her eyes on her sewing, but she smiled as she answered, "I like it."
