Chapter 11

The stars shined brightly over a small village, most of the windows were darken as the people sought a moment of pleasant slumber. However, this one typical village held one of the largest taverns in this part of China, and tonight a young panda had decided to live it up.

Xiong strolled through the darken street, still wearing the armor during his fight against Shen's forces, save for the helmet, he had left that behind and no longer felt the need to hide who he was. Marching up to the tavern's front door, Xiong planted a paw against it and gently pushed, however due to his tensed strength the door flew off its hinges and crashed into the far wall.

"Hey," shouted an overstuff pig, "you're going to have pay that…you…you…"

The pig trailed off, the color along his face as Xiong made his way toward the bar, the sheer might of his muscles cast the pig in darkness.

"Uh…never mind," the pig said sounding terrified by all reason, "that darn door has always been giving me trouble."

Xiong smile as he reached into his knapsack and pulled out a handful of gold coins. "Will this cover for the broken door, and the cracked wall?"

The color instantly returned to the owner's face, his eyes sparkling from the light of the gold. "Oh that will be more than enough," he said while reaching for the gold, only to stop when Xiong brought a paw down to stop him.

"Good," he said a calm cheerful voice, "then how about I buy a round for everyone in the place!"

With that said, every person in the room raised their mugs into the air and cheered for the panda.

Xiong could not stop himself from smiling. This was what life was supposed to be. Having fun and enjoying what life had to offer instead of having shunning from it or hiding in the shadows like common criminals. He knew then and there that he would never go back to that life again.

Xiong woke with a massive headache. His vision was a blur and took several shakes of the head for it to clear, but once it did he feared he had gone blind for all there was nothing but blackness before him.

"What the…where am I!" he shouted in a panic and turned around only to find himself running into a stone wall. "Ouch!"

"Oh you're finally awake," a voice said.

Turning again, Xiong spotted a wood iron frame door. A narrow slot near the top opened up and pair of yellow eyes gazed back at him.

"Who are you?" Xiong demanded. "Where am I? If you think you're keeping me here you got another thing coming."

"Relax there panda," the man said.

Xiong could hear a number of lucks and gears being shifted on the other side of the door, then slowly open to reveal a large heavy set rhino.

"You're free to leave," the rhino said with a friendly smile, "we just wanted to keep you here till you sober up."

Xiong rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little woozy. "Uh, may I ask how long I was in here?"

"About three days."

"Three days?!" Xiong repeated his eyes as large as dinner plates. "Oh gods what did I do?"

The rhino chuckled. "Only destroyed a whole bar with your bar paws."

"Oh…" Xiong muttered, averting the rhino's gaze, his cheeks turning pink. "Sorry about that. I guess I'll need to work on my drinking. To be honest I've never been to a bar."

"Well you could have fooled the owner. Said you cleaned out his entire shore room."

"Oh…" he repeated. The blush along his face deepening, then went into a state of dread when he remember how long he been in there again. "Oh gods Jiao is going to kill me." Stepping up to the rhino he handed him a small bag saying, "Look there's about a hand full of gold in here. Please take it the shop owner and tell him I deeply sorry for whatever I did and that this will hopefully pay for the repairs. As for me, I really need to be going."

The rhino hefted the bag, smiling at the weight within. "Sure thing panda. Take care now."

It took Xiong several more days to return the valley from Chorh-Gom prison, having to cross a number of mountain peaks. The cold winter winds made traveling nearly impossible, but with each night he slept, his thoughts drifted back to Jiao and her loving smiling, warming his body, and he simply could not wait to see her again.

However upon his return a chill crept throughout his body and turned his heart to stone.

The forest had been obliterated. Not so much as a single tree stood up right for miles. It did not appear that the tress had been cut or burned, but somehow shattered along the base, as if some powerful force had tore a sizable chuck of wood causing them to topple over. The sections that still stood were charred and warm to the touch, and a strange smell swept across the breeze which sent shiver after shiver down Xiong's spine.

Xiong ran through the scorched forest, the quiet still air served only to fuel his rising dread. Without the marking to guide, he found himself lost and turned about several times, panic rising his breath came out deep and ragged, legs ached and his lungs burned from breathing in the chard ash, yet Xiong pushed through the pain as he felt his kin were in grave danger.

Xiong came to a sudden stop as the incomplete wall designed to protect his village came into reach. Like the trees, sections of the wall were charred or completely torn away. Columns of smoke rose from within the gates, and the very air smelled of death. Upon reaching the gate, Xiong felt his body slowly begin to fade. He stumbled about the archway; the wooden door fell about the ground at the slightest touch. The sight of slain pandas littered about the main streets was a horrific greeting.

"Dad, Jiao!" He cried again and again, his voice carried off by the wind.

But there was no answer.

Pushing through the vile forming in his throat, Xiong raced for his home near Fang Mouth, prying to which ever god would listen that some of his kin…that Jiao had sought safety inside the cave's depth. Along the way, he noticed several toppled wheel barrels, the very same that they used in the mine. He could not be bothered by this now, he had to find Jiao and his father. He just had to.

Upon reaching Fang Mouth, Xiong found himself panting for the first time since beginning his training. The sight of his village with homes burnt to the ground or bodies laid about darted with arrows or spears was nearly too much for him. Tears flowed along his face drenching his fur. He sought to close his eyes to block out the horrors all around him, but nothing he did could help escape the painful truth.

His people were all dead.

The front door of his house laid across the ground, cracked in two with several gashes in its frame. Chairs and table toppled over or turn to ruin, a painting a friend made featuring him and Jiao now nothing but strips of rags. Blood splattered the walls and he could see paw prints leading to the bed room. With each step feeling weighted down, Xiong crept toward the door, praying that he would not find his beloved dead like so many others outside.

Turning the corner, he said the remains of his bed, torn covers and frame broken in two, but thankful no sign of Jiao.

His heart still ached as there was no sign of what might happen to his wife or where she could have gone. With his legs giving out on him, Xiong barely made to the bed before they gave out all together, collapsing along the ground. His home was in ruin, village destroyed and his kin dead or lost. There was nothing left for him here, only anguish.

He stayed planted on ground for what seemed like hours, arms and legs felt like iron. Breath shallow, with each one, his vision began to blur. He saw things that made no sense, of far off places and courageous warriors. One such warrior stood out more than, he could not see her face but her stance was that of the Tiger Style, flawless and ridge.

He opened his eyes as his lungs begged for the life giving air he had not even know was depriving them. Standing, he turned about the horrific scene. Though it pained him more than the loss of his kin, he could not stay here. There was nothing left for him other than painful memoirs, and he could never endure.

With the rising of the sun, the summer heat warmed the ground burning off the ground water once again causing a vale of mist to rise to the surface. Clouds parted over head to allow rays of light to bath the Valley of Mist, only instead of panda's milling about, chatting with their fellow kin or children playing and laughing, the morning greeted an open court yard littered with unmarked grave stone and one lone figure wearing an oversize tan robe and a rain hat to conceal his face in shadow. He gazed upon the hallow ground with emotionless eyes. It took him all night, rounding up each slain panda and digging a grave for them. With each one he buried, a part of him felt dead inside. By the time he was done, he felt almost nothing, not even his own heart beat.

Before setting out, he burned down his home and collapsed the entrance to the Fang Mouth. In doing so he cast aside everything he was and left him with no reason to ever return. As he turned his back on the only home he ever knew, Xiong fought to keep from crying knowing full well that if he started he would never be able to stop. Instead, he sought to close himself from such emotion that caused him so much pain and hardship.

Making his way down the path, he set his jade eyes upon the horizon, his lips firmly set in a stern frown. He knew not where his feet would take him only so long as it took him as far from this place as possible.