After leaving the Jade Palace Yuè, Po, and the Furious Five headed to Mr. Ping's noodle shop to plan out their route to Tan Jin City. Po went inside the main building of the shop to speak with his father while Yuè and the others made travel plans on a map. "So, we're gonna go straight north. That way we'll get to the city sooner." Yuè said as he traced his finger along the map pointing north. Tigress shook her head, "That's too dangerous. The roads on that path are teeming with bandits. It'll be safer if we head to the northeast then directly north." Tigress said as she traced her route along the map. Yuè looked up with disapproving eyes, "No. That would take too long." he disagreed in a slightly irritated voice, "If I'm gonna save my daughter and if we are gonna save Tan Jin, then we need to get there quick. We shouldn't be afraid of a few bandits."
Tigress sighed, "Look, I'm just looking out for all of us. I'd rather we don't run into trouble on the way." Yuè looked at her route again. As his eyes traveled along the path something caught his attention, "We really shouldn't head this way." he said, his voice anxious and frantic. Tigress and the others looked at the wolf in confusion, "Why? What's on the path?" Viper asked. Yuè shook his head, "Nothing. Just...I'd rather we not go that way." he said, his ears slightly wilting before perking up again to hear shouting coming from the main building of the noodle shop.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT SURE?!" Mr. Ping shouted. "Daaad! Keep your voice down." Po hushed, trying to keep his father from drawing attention. "This is just like Gong-Men! You leave and what happened? You almost died!" The goose quietly shouted frantically. Po sighed, "Dad, don't you think I know what I'm risking? These people need us." he placed a hand on his father's shoulder, "I'll be fine dad. Trust me." Mr. Ping sighed and looked up at his son with worrisome eyes, "Fine." he agreed, "Just promise me you'll come back." Po smiled at him, "I promise." he said, hugging his father before moving to leave out the kitchen. He walked across the courtyard to meet back up with Yuè and the Five before his father yelled to get his attention, "Po! Did you pack clean underwear?!" Mr. Ping shouted, causing Po to blush and the other warriors to laugh at the embarrassing question. Po rolled his eyes and sighed, "Yes dad! C'mon you're embarrassing me." he whined, his father chuckled and went back to his work in the kitchen.
Yuè stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder, "If it helps, I'm sure that's his way of saying he cares." Po looked at him with a smirk, "Yeah. I'd rather him not shout stuff like that across the entire valley though." Yuè chuckled before packing up the map. Po and the Five packed up their supplies and left the shop, making their way to the village entrance to leave the valley.
Outside The Valley of Peace...
The seven warriors trekked through a large bamboo forest outside the valley. They'd been traveling for a few hours in total silence. Yuè had tried to convince the group to take his route to Tan Jin, but kept being questioned on his reason for wanting a different route. He decided to spend the trip in silence. He looked to sky and began to see dark clouds begin to gather, 'Looks like rain.' he thought to himself before focusing his attention back to the front of him. Po looked around and noticed how quiet the journey was so far, 'Why's everyone so quiet? I should liven this trip up.' he thought to himself.
He turned to Yuè, him being the most reserved of the group, "I spy with my little eye, something green." Yuè looked to his right in bewilderment, "What?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at the panda. "We're playing 'I spy'. So do you know what I saw?" Po asked with a bright smile. "Umm...a tree, I guess." Po made a buzz sound, "Try again." Yuè looked at the panda with an unamused face and sighed, "What do you want panda?" he asked. "I'm trying to liven everyone up. You guys are so quiet and I'm bored." Yuè rolled his eyes, "Well talk to them." he said gesturing at the Furious Five, "I'm not in the mood." Po shook his head, "You're quieter than they are. Besides, I want to know more about you if we're gonna be traveling together."
Yuè scrubbed a hand down his face, "Fine. What do you want to know?" Po looked down then back up at the wolf, "How old are you?" Yuè answered immediately, "Thirty-two. Satisfied?" he asked agitatedly. Po asked another question, "What's your favorite color?" Yuè answered quickly again, "Blue." Po asked a deeper question, "What's your daughter like?" Yuè opened his mouth to answer but his words got caught in his throat. He hesitated to answer, "She's...sweet, cheery, heheh, she a lot like her mother. I think she'd like you." Po looked at the wolf with a grin, "Because I'm cool? Brave? Bodaciously awesome?" he asked puffing his chest out. Yuè chuckled and shook his head, "No. Because, and quoting Fan here, 'You're so cuddly and soft.' Po's hubris instantly deflated and he chuckled at the comment, "That works too...I guess." he said murmuring the last part.
Yuè took the map out of a pouch on his hip and unfolded it, making sure they were on the right path. "There's a village close by. I need to make a stop." Tigress groaned, "If you're asking for a bathroom break there's plenty of trees around." Yuè chuckled, "Not that kinda stop. There's someone up here that'll help us. We worked together and he's a good friend." Tigress looked back with a scowl, "Make it quick." she said as they began to approach the village.
Yuè, Po, and the Five approached the archway leading to the interior of the village. At the top there was a sign that read 'Dàozéi Zhuólù'. "'Thieves Landing' huh? Sounds...inviting." Monkey said with a tinge of nervousness in his voice. Yuè turned to him with a wolfish grin, "Scared?" he asked. Monkey quickly shook his head, "Nononono, definitely not. Why?" Yuè chuckled, "Because wolves can smell fear." Monkey quickly smelled himself to see if he really smelled of fear. "Now let's go. Shouldn't be wasting time." the wolf commanded, putting his hood up and stepping past the archway into the village.
The other warriors followed him. Upon entering the village they began to observe their surroundings. The town seemed to turn grey from the cloudy sky, the road was unpaved and was a dirt trail that led from the entrance to the other side of town. As they walked they entered a small market, the stalls made of wood that was rotten and rickety, the merchants had a look about them as if there word was worth less than the dirt beneath their feet. Yuè was used to the sights of the village but something was wrong. At almost every five steps was a guard. However, these guards wore unfamiliar armor comprised of interlocking iron plates with a red eye shaped emblem on the shoulder guard. Their faces wore a hard, cruel expression that the previous guards lacked. "Keep close and don't make eye contact with anyone." Yuè commanded in a hushed voice. "Why?" Crane asked with apprehension in his voice. "We're being watched. These guards are different than the ones that are usually here." Yuè said as he noticed that he briefly caught the attention of one of them. He turned his attention elsewhere though.
"There's a tavern here I need to get to." he told the others. Tigress scoffed, "That's why we're here? So you can get a drink?" she said in a hush perturbed tone. Yuè chuckled, "Not quite. Though that's a good idea. I'm going to meet that contact of mine I told you about. We usually meet there." he said. Suddenly the travelers heard a scream to their left, near a trinket stall. "DAMN SCUM! YOU CHEATED ME!" shouted a guard yelling at a female fox merchant on the ground clutching her midsection. He was a large and thickly built Komodo Dragon in black iron plate armor. His eyes and voice were filled with rage as he kicked her, eliciting more screams. "PLEASE! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" she shouted.
Tigress moved forward a step before being stopped by Yuè, "No. Don't get involved." he commanded in a stern cold voice, his golden eye shining through the darkness of his hood. Tigress was taken aback, "What do you mean 'don't get involved' ?! She needs help!" she quietly yelled. Yuè growled, "I mean DON'T. GET. INVOLVED! That's just gonna be more trouble than we need." Viper chimed in, "What do we do then?" Yuè looked down at her with a stern expression, "Nothing." he said coldly. They looked up to see two other guards join in, both Komodo Dragons as well, and began to punch and kick the merchant mercilessly.
"They're going to kill her!" Mantis quietly shouted. Yuè shrugged, "That's not our problem." Po was shocked at the coldness of the wolf's words as they watched the beating. "Do you even care?!" Tigress asked, appalled by his lack of emotion. "Look, it'd be more trouble if we get involved. Besides, you can't save everyone." Yuè said with his head hung low and arms crossed. Tigress moved to try to get closer but was stopped by Yuè again. "It's easier if we just walk away." He turned to walk further down the street.
Tigress and the others were conflicted, every ounce of their being wanted to save the helpless merchant but as they looked around they saw more and more guards join to watch the display. Having no idea what they should do, they waited until the guards stopped attacking the vixen. For five long minutes she was mercilessly beaten. Punched, kicked, stomped, and insulted until the guards got either bored or had other people to hassle.
Tigress was the first to run to aid the victim. She carefully lifted her up, leaning the merchant's back against the front of the stall. "Are you okay?" she asked in a soft voice. The merchant coughed roughly, covering her mouth with a fist, "Yes. I'll be fine." The merchant's words were then followed by a bout of coughing. Mantis tended to the areas of her body that were struck. "Is anything broken?" Tigress asked. Mantis shook his head, "No. Just badly bruised." he pressed on her ribs slightly, earning a hiss of pain, "Really bad." Crane stood to the side of Tigress, "Does this village have a doctor?" he asked. The merchant nodded, "He's just down the road. I'll show you." Tigress stood up, "Monkey. You and Mantis take her to the doctor. The rest of us will follow Yuè." she commanded.
As Mantis and Monkey left, Tigress, Po, and the other warriors walked toward the tavern Yuè spoke of. "How could he just let something like that happen?" Po asked, his voice dripping with concern. Tigress shook her head as she walked, clenching her fist in anger, "I don't know. But he has some explaining to do." she growled with rage in her voice.
Yuè leaned against the frame of the tavern named 'The Dragon's Maw', his head tilted down in thought. 'Maybe we should've intervened.' he thought to himself before dismissing the thought. 'No. Getting involved would've only made it worse for us and that merchant.' His thoughts were interrupted by the yelling of an angry woman quickly walking his way, "YOU NO GOOD, HEARTLESS, SON OF A-" Yuè interrupted, "Oh hi Tigress. Nice of you to finally join me. Oh I'm just dandy, it's not like I was waiting or anything." he said sarcastically. "How could you joke after what you did?!" Crane asked, outraged at the wolf. Yuè looked away, "Trust me, not getting involved was the best call." he said, his ears slightly wilting and his tail hugging the inside of his leg. "The best call?! Yu, a woman was nearly beaten to death!" Po yelled.
Yuè looked up, "And we would've just made it worse!" he snapped causing the others to flinch, "We don't even know what's happening around here! These new guards walking like they own the place! All of this is new and unfamiliar. Us doing something could very well damn the people of this town. Now would you rather save one life, or be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of others?" The group fell silent. Yuè took a deep breath and exhaled, "Now, I need you guys to wait out here while I get the guy I'm looking for in the tavern." he explained, turning to enter the establishment. "Why do we need to wait?" Tigress asked. Yuè turned around, "Because one, it's about time you did some waiting on me, and two we don't need anyone in there making you." Viper raised an eyeridge in confusion, "'Making us'?" she asked. "Yeah, like knowing who you are, or recognizing you. The last thing we need is for some bounty hunter in there hunting down China's finest." Yuè explained before pointing to a bounty board on the side of the building. Tigress, Po, Viper, and Crane all spotted wanted posters with their descriptions as well as large rewards on them. They turned to look at Yuè, who was grinning at them, "Yeah. Now if you'll excuse me." he said before entering the tavern.
When Yuè walked in several heads turned toward the entrance, spotting the hooded wolf as he scoped out the room. His hand were close to his weapons in case someone got the bright idea to attack him as he made his way to the bar. He sat down on a stool next to a familiar crocodile. "Hey barkeep, get me a shot of baijiu." he ordered, the familiar rhino quickly pouring the drink in a shot glass. "Is it bad I thought you were dead?" the croc asked just as Yuè downed the liquor. The wolf chuckled, "Nope. Nice to see you too Jian" he answered before looking down on the counter at a shining object, "I see you got a new hand. Old one wasn't doin' it for ya?" he asked. Jian lifted his right hand a flexed its metal joints, "Nah. Got rusty and locked up on me. You find you-know-who?" he asked cautiously. "Waiting right outside. I'm guessin' you know why I'm here right?" Yuè asked. Jian nodded, "And I'm guessin' you know my rates?" Yuè chuckled, "Yeah. Half up front and the rest when the job's done." he said pulling out a small sack of gold.
Jian pushed it back to Yuè and smiled with a toothy grin, "Not this time. This one's on me." Yuè was stunned and looked at him with wide eyes, "Besides, can't have my best bud payin' me to help him find someone that important to him." Yuè's ears folded back as he grinned softly at the reptile, "Thanks." he said before leaving with Jian, leaving three gold coins on the counter to pay for his drink.
Outside, the other warriors joining him on his quest were waiting patiently in front of the tavern. Jian extended his metal hand out in greeting, "I'm Jian. Yuè's never mentioned me has he?" he asked as, one by one, Po and the Furious Five shook his hand. "Now that everyone's acquainted let's go set up camp. It's getting late." Everyone looked up at the sun falling over the horizon. "Why not just stay at an inn?" Monkey asked, everyone murmuring in agreement. "Because this place isn't exactly known for its hospitality." he joked. The warriors complied and left the village to make camp in the woods, unaware of someone watching them in the distance.