Honor and Glory is NOT dead, people!
Happy Easter, everyone! Sorry for the delays. I've been really busy with school and art. It took a while for me to write out this chapter, though. I'll try to write more this summer. I'll be continuing this fic and add more chapters as much as I can, even if not in a regular basis.
Enjoy the chapter!
Aftermath
"What an uneventful day," he thought. A bitter frown ran across the ivory fowl's face as he looked around, finding relief at the sight of the bothersome children leaving the training house. It would have been a whole lot easier for him, had it not for their nagging teacher who kept throwing pointless insults at him. He clenched his wing in frustration. Surely, he would have wanted to murder that annoying peahen on the spot, but it was not meant for him to accomplish at this time.
Someday, he vowed that he would.
One last rabbit child bid her teacher good bye before finally hopping home, and Jiang's two equally annoying friends left the woman in his presence. Shen's ruby red orbs wandered off for a while to find something more interesting to look at; anywhere but on Jiang.
"You're still here?" the master bitterly muttered as she set her eyes on Shen.
"You have a problem with that? You can't tell me what to do!" the peacock snapped; glaring at the peahen who, to his surprise, was calmer than he expected.
"No, I don't," she coolly walked past him, not even sparing him a look "and I don't plan on starting a fight right now…"
Smirking, she quickly turned around to look at him with bitter blue eyes "…unless you do," eyeing the bandages that covered the white peacock. She clicked her tongue and let out a soft chuckle "how VERY unfortunate," she clicked her tongue again. Before Shen could retort, Jiang had already walked past him, unwilling to hear any more of his useless blabbering.
The quad had arrived at the tower earlier than expected. Which much energy left from the morning training, Master Ox jestingly called for a sparring, which Jiang had politely declined. Without her, the bovine and his alligator comrade left for the training grounds.
"You should have come with them" Shen eyed the female peafowl with much irritation.
"No thanks, I've already had quite a… rough sparring session" replied Jiang, who was no different.
"Hmph!" Shen turned around, carrying with him his bandaged body and left her side.
"Pompous, white idiot" Jiang murmured, turning around and going the opposite direction.
Clutching her tired wing, the Indian peahen retreated to her quarters, not minding the I heard that sort of screech as she disappeared from Shen's sight.
"Master Jiang! Master Jiang!"
Jiang turned around and smiled at the small wolf pup jestingly running towards her, picking up his shorts every now and then as he did so.
"Good day, Cheng" she greeted him.
"Aww, are you done training already?" the wolf pup's cheerful expression turned gray.
"Well yes, for the morning, my dear. I didn't see you there, where were you?"
"Dad told me to do some stuff like clean my stuff and all. Do you perhaps have any make-up classes?" he twiddled his paws, eyeing the master and hoping for her consideration.
Jiang chuckled for a bit, seeing how Cheng looked cute when he talked like that. She nodded, and gently placed a wing on his head "of course, but after lunch. Is that okay with you?"
"Oh yes of course! Thank you, master!" In his excitement, he tripped over his toes and landed on his stomach.
The peahen raised a brow and smiled. She crouched a bit down to help the young wolf up.
"You're really nice, Master Jiang. Just like Lord Shen!" A sunny smile ran across Cheng's face as he fixed his shorts once again.
"Excuse me?" Jiang retorted, trying to hide her disgust. She assumed that it was just the pup's innocent remark, as he was never there when circumstances would have proved otherwise.
"You're nice, just like Lord Shen. One time I tripped on my toes and he used his really awesome tail feathers to help me up!"
"Uh-huh…?" Jiang could hardly believe what the pup was telling her, so she just dismissed it as a misunderstanding. Shen would've planned to kill him, if I didn't know better, she thought. With another pat on the head, she sent the young pup off to its own business and headed down the hall to eat her lunch.
The sun's heat and shine had almost completely gone when Jiang walked up to the training grounds. An excited pup happily clutching a bamboo pole waited for her in the middle of the bricked floor.
"I'm ready master!" Cheng lifted up his bamboo pole and switched to his fighting stance.
"Oh no, you're not," Jiang tugged at his shoulders and immediately, he fell down to his side, "you haven't warmed up yet, have you?"
Cheng quickly lifted himself on his feet and just as always, he dusted off his short, "aww, do I have to?" he groaned, "but it's in the afternoon! You don't do Tai Chi in the afternoon, do you?"
"Apparently not," Jiang replied "because Tai Chi is usually done in the morning but unfortunately, you missed it. So, you'll have to do a Tai Chi in the afternoon"
"Okay, okay…" Cheng placed his bamboo pole gently on the ground and started with his Tai Chi routine. As he did, Jiang stood nearby and observed his every move. This kid's getting quite stronger every day, she thought.
"Alright, do that for a couple of minutes and we'll start with your training session"
"Yes, master Jiang" he paused for a while and waved at behind his master "hi, daddy!"
The gray wolf approached the two with his one eye fixed at Cheng. He cleared his throat, and in a hoarse voice spoke, "son, isn't it a little too late to be training? I thought you don't do Tai Chi in the afternoon" Jiang turned around and she could've sworn she saw Wolf Boss almost tripping in his hurry to greet her with a courtesy bow.
"I missed morning training because you wanted me to clean and tidy my bed up so I'm doing Tai Chi in the afternoon" Cheng innocently replied.
"Oh umm… sorry about that Master Jiang," he quickly glanced at the master and tried to explain "his room was getting really dirty and unhealthy so… so, yeah"
"No worries about that. It's nice to know he's doing his chores" she smiled sincerely at the wolf.
"Is he getting any better?"
"If by that you mean combat-wise, I guess he's on the right track, considering his age. However, judging by what he told me earlier, I don't think his judgment is strong enough yet," As she said the last sentence, she pulled Wolf Boss off a little farther from Cheng so he could not hear "but, well, he's still an innocent child. Someone as young as him wouldn't understand"
A bit puzzled, Wolf Boss took a peak behind Jiang and watched as Cheng do his Tai Chi without noticing them walk away. He then turned back to look at the peahen master and whispered, "What do you mean by that?"
Jiang sighed a bit and looked back at her student, "He said something earlier about Shen being all kind-hearted and all. I found it quite disturbing that a sinister, evil peacock like Shen will get a remark like that from a child," she looked at Wolf Boss, seriousness and deep concern for Cheng in her eyes, "Wasn't he one who wanted the Dragon Warrior—as a kid—dead? I don't know about you, Wolf, but I advise you not to leave your child hanging around with that scum of a bird"
Wolf Boss could hear the evident strain in the master's voice. He watched as she looked away, "I didn't believe him, too, when he said that" Wolf Boss said in a low voice "but even I, myself, was surprised to see that not even a hint of fear is in my son's eyes when he handed over guarding Shen to me yesterday"
"I'm not too sure. You can never be too careful. Knowing Shen, he's up to dirty tricks, I'm sure. And speaking of which, why isn't he with you?"
Their gaze met, and Wolf Boss tried so hard to hide the nervous feeling that's starting to creep in.
"The Soothsayer was changing his bandages when I exited his room. I'm assuming he will be resting for the rest of the day," Wolf Boss gulped.
Jiang lowered her head, while her frustration slowly built up, "you know very well than to leave him like that, Wolf—and now you're telling me that you don't trust him. Why did you leave him like that?"
"Master Jiang," Wolf Boss said nervously "he's very weak and injured—you weakened him so much. What could possibly happen? I doubt he'll be—"
"Good afternoon, Lord Shen!" The two heard the wolf pup chirp.
Their confrontation ended as they turned to see Shen approaching them, with Cheng waving happily in the background.
"Good afternoon," Shen—with a slight smug—responded to the young wolf. He walked up to the two, with his iron feet disturbing the silence of the afternoon. "How odd that a child has better manners than an accomplished master and a petty guard"
"Manners are for only those who deserve it. I'm surprised you still manage to get up after looking like a sick, weak peachick when the Soothsayer replaced your bandages" Wolf Boss scoffed.
Shen's smug had faded into irritation as he raised a brow at his old ally. Jiang shook her head at him and turned back to her student.
"Alright, Cheng, that's enough Tai Chi for you. Let's proceed to your training," she said calmly.
"Yes, master!" Cheng took a bow as Jiang led him to a safer distance, while Wolf Boss proceeded to walk over to sit on the low flight of stairs where Shen had already gone ahead.
"Now, there is one thing I must ask you to do for today, Cheng" Jiang spoke as she corrected his stance while she crouched down to his level.
"What is it, Master Peaco—er—Peahen?"
"Today, you're going to learn one of the most useful Tai Chi Chuan techniques, and that is how to divert an attack from an opponent to another"
"Huh? How do I do that?"
"Using the basic moves, dear" Jiang smiled at her student, and motioned him to throw his strongest punch.
The wolf pup breathed in slowly, and then lunged for ward to attack his master. As he was about to hit her, she raised her wing in a familiar manner and blocked his attack, after which, the next motion that he also knew very well had pushed him back.
As the two went on, Shen carefully observed from a far. Upon realizing how familiar Jiang's moves were, he narrowed his eyes and glared at the memory that came running back to him—a memory that of a bitter defeat when the Warrior of Black and White used the very same moves this woman was playing to reflect the fiery cannonballs he launched at him back to his army where it fell in defeat. He clenched his wing, only to be dragged back to reality by the stinging sensation he felt beneath the bandages.
Wolf Boss stared at him for a while, wondering what has gotten to him at that moment. Shen felt his guardian's stare, and shrugged it off to think of something else; something less hostile and infuriating.
"Woah! So that's what the Tai Chi does, Master Jiang?" Cheng said with much awe as he picked himself up and resumed to his spot.
"That is one thing, Cheng" Jiang lectured "remember that Tai Chi Chuan—in fact—uses Tai Chi moves for self-defense. Not only does it help the chi flow in your body and give you peace of mind, but it's also very useful in combat. Besides," Jiang added "you've gotten pretty darn good with your kicks and punches. I think you're ready to learn some basic blocking"
"Aw yeah! Dad, did you hear that? I'm going to be a Kung Fu master!" Cheng cried out in glee , smiling at his proud father.
"Couldn't be any more proud of you, son!" Wolf Boss replied.
"What?" Shen interrupted, "A Kung Fu Master in that age? Preposterous!"
Ignoring the white peacock's understatement, Jiang prepared her student for his next lesson. "Don't worry Cheng, I have faith in you" she said to him calmly.
"You know, you shouldn't say that in front of the boy" Wolf Boss told Shen dryly "he's a child after all. Maybe you should not only pack some extra bandages with you, but an extra serving of patience and manners as well"
"What's wrong with you?" Shen finally snapped "Don't you dare snap back at me like that as if you have a clean reputation yourself!"
"You're testing my patience"
True indeed, Wolf Boss could only manage to restrain himself from standing up and hitting his former master. He lacked the action, but his depleting patience was evident in his glaring, ruby-red eye. His growing impatience had drawn a smirk over his ex-master's face, as if feeding on his negative vibe. "Scrub that smirk on your face before I do" he muttered bitterly.
"Is that a challenge?" Shen replied sardonically when suddenly, a spear head landed in between the two. In their surprise, they tilted their heads to the source of the weapon where they saw an exasperated Indian Peahen with an eyebrow raised to them. "No fighting in my class" Jiang ordered in a grim, commanding voice which did not end in vain. The two men lowered their glares, Wolf Boss more out of respect, while Shen only wanted to avoid further trouble.
"Master Jiang" Cheng interrupted "I don't really get how the defense things work"
"I suggest a little demonstration, master" Wolf Boss added, gesturing over to Shen who flinched at the suggestion.
"Good point" Jiang smirked "Now, Lord Shen, please step up and help me show little Cheng here how blocks work"
"I think I'll—
"Please, Lord Shen!"
"—pass…" Shen let out an exasperated sigh while rubbing his temples "No, I don't think I can put up with further humiliation for this day" he turned around, his pride slightly hurting.
"Well, Cheng" Jiang turned around and faced the pup "I guess we'll just have to find an alternative since Lord Shen's obviously scared to scar his girly white feathers"
Shen's eyes widened and turned back around "Say that again?"
"Alright Cheng, let's go back to training" Jiang instructed, a slight grin slowly forming on her face.
Shen had finally enough of this. I'm not taking this from a low-life woman! He thought to himself. His anger was beyond comprehendible, as he had indeed taken too many insults that day and for once he would like to prove this ridiculous woman wrong. He clenched his white, injured wing and walked towards Jiang, discarding the thought of his injuries and acting as if he had none of them at all "I don't back out from petty things like this" he sneered.
"Are you sure?" Jiang replied, not wiping the mischievous grin off her face.
"Of course I'm sure! Now let's get this stupid thing over with before I change my mind!"
Jiang shrugged indifferently and replied with an "okay" before she proceeded to position herself and Shen in front of Cheng who waited patiently for the demonstration.
"Now Shen—er—Lord Shen" she started "since your wings are badly injured, I'll give you the honors of using your feet". "Now Cheng" she continued "remember this move?" In the same familiar manner that both master and student were accustomed of, Jiang raised her feathery hands and proceeded to demonstrate one basic Tai Chi move.
"Yes, master!" Cheng answered.
"Good, now watch this" Jiang motioned Shen to throw off an attack. In agreement to the prior instruction, as well to what his body is currently instructing him to do right now, Shen proceeded to attack Jiang with a roundhouse kick. As the attack almost hit her, Jiang raised her wing and performed the same Tai Chi action, albeit this time, it was swift—more powerful than Cheng or even Wolf Boss had perceived it to be—and the final throw was enough to send Shen sliding back; his metal claws slightly scratching the tiled pavement.
Cheng's eyes widened in admiration of the self-defense his teacher had just performed. He had just realized how powerful a Tai Chi move was if performed properly! "Wow, that is so cool!"
Jiang nodded. Of course it was.
Shen, on the other hand, was displeased by the outcome of the block but nonetheless stood his ground, just so that he will hear nothing else from the peahen.
"Okay, now for another demonstration" Jiang repositioned herself and Shen once again, and repeated the ordeal.
The demonstration lasted for 3 rounds, the same moves being maneuvered repeatedly until Jiang finally decided that Cheng had learned quite enough for him to perform the blocks by himself.
When his job was done, Shen immediately—without a word—walked away from the field and started on the stairs.
"You're not staying?" Jiang asked him; her voice still indifferent but eyed him as if she was surprised.
"I have no reason to stay. My job is done, isn't it?" Shen replied bitterly without looking back. Secretly, he grabbed his bandaged wing and walked up the stairs. He had had a rough day and he hadn't even had a peaceful rest to nurse his wounds. He wanted to deny it but they awfully hurt at the moment, but he chose to ignore the pain and brave it. Wolf Boss trailed along behind him, securing his every move and eyeing Jiang to tell her that he'll have to excuse himself.
"Well what do you know…?" Jiang spoke to no one in particular.
"I think Lord Shen has had a pretty tough day, master" Cheng told her briefly as he stood his stance.
"Yeah well, I suppose he did" she replied, not taking her eyes off the stairway where her comrade and her alleged enemy had long disappeared.
"I just hope you don't go too hard on him though" Cheng talked in a more subtle voice than his usual "He looks like he's in great pain, and he's a really good guy if you get to know him!"
Jiang raised an eyebrow on the pup. His trust towards Shen is just that huge that she could hardly believe what he's saying. This man he calls a "good guy" massacred a village of pandas, attempted to destroy Kung Fu and is now back with an evil plot that could put all of China—or worse, the whole world in danger. How on Earth could that weight of sin disperse the image of the real him? How can a child like Cheng not fear him at all?
"Believe me, Cheng" Jiang started "You do not want to trust that man. Stay away from him and never fall for his goodness speeches or whatsoever. He'll deceive you and he will hurt you if he gets the chance" her eyes narrowed and her voice was more serious. It was rare for Cheng to hear her this way. Jiang had always been the gentle peahen he knew, but around Shen she just seems to turn into another person.
"But Master Jiang—"
"No more but's, Cheng"
Out of fear and respect, the wolf pup could only lower his head and nod.
"I am no longer carelessly leaving you with him as I see that he has deceived you quite well already" she added "I'm doing this for your own good. Now let's resume with your training"
The afternoon training resumed while somewhere inside the palace, a door was closed and a peacock comfortably sat himself on his comfy bed.
"You look awful, Shen. What happened?" The Soothsayer said with much concern.
"I don't want to talk about it" Shen snapped at her, looking away and removing the wasted fresh bandages to put on new ones.
Seeing this, the Soothsayer immediately grabbed the essential herbs and more bandages to help Shen with his wounds. Wolf Boss was standing guard nearby and observed every movement in the room which grew silent for more than a few minutes. Shen was immersed in deep thought. He could have murdered Jiang the night before but he knew it wasn't part of his plans.
His plans.
She couldn't, he thought. He cringed at the thought of what could have possibly happened had Jiang spilled his plans to the masters. Jiang knew about his plans and he expected that they would have been foiled and ended on the spot because for some unknown reason she found out about it. But at this point in time, when Gongmen City—their beloved city—is in danger of another invasion, Jiang would have second thoughts before sending him out. They need his intellect, his canons and his strategies.
She needs him. The council needs him. Most of all, Gongmen City needs him.
They would never refuse his help at this time.
He chuckled silently at the thought as the Soothsayer cured his wounds.
"You seem to be lost in thought, Shen" The Soothsayer finally broke the silence.
"I have things to think about" he replied coldly.
Without another word, the Soothsayer proceeded to putting on his bandages. She knew exactly what was going on in his head, but it was something she cannot argue with him any further.
"Soothsayer, what do you see in my future?"
"I see" the Soothsayer spoke in an almost whisper that even Shen cannot anymore hear "I see some light coming"
"Light? What—AUGH!"
Suddenly, Wolf Boss cut in with a huge fire lamp in front of them where he unintentionally—or intentionally—hit Shen with his paw. "Oops, sorry" he said, very less apologetically "It was getting dark so I fetched you some light". He did not wait for Shen or the Soothsayer to answer before he went back to his post.
"Always making a fool and doing that kind of joke huh?" he said calmly, contrary to how he spitefully looks at the old goat with his shaking fist that is clenched to a feathery ball.
"Maybe" she said to him without a hint of fear "or maybe not"
"Hmph—!" the white peacock displayed a disgusted smile as he averted his gaze from his healer.
"If you keep searching outward for that light where you only focus on hatred and violence, chances are, you'll never find it because of your ignorance" she said as she started finishing up his bandage "but if you learn how to search yourself inward—"
With one last knot, she finished.
"—the light will find YOU"