Good news and Questions

Po made a sudden intake of breath after reading those last words. Kill? the panda gaped.

Po flipped the pages, intensely curious for the next things Yuè is going to tell. But all the Dragon Warrior came across were empty pages. "Wait—that's it?" He ran trhough the pages again, and he was very disappointed when went by the same blank papers.Where are the rest? He went back to the page Yuè had last written something on...

...and there, on the bottom left corner, written in very small characters, Po spotted something he missed earlier:

The date when Yuè last wrote something in her memoir,

Fourth month of the Lunar New Year, Eigtheenth Summer

Wait the minute... Po thought back to what he had discovered about the snow leopardess. She was four-years-old when she was rescued by Master Oogway. This memoir couldn't have been written the moment she stepped into the Jade Palace, it would likely be in her teens, and she last wrote in it when she was eighteen years old. So if Po used Shifu's age as basis, from this day, fifty-eight years had passed since Yuè last wrote in her memoir. What happened to her? Po thought.

The last thing she stated is that they went on a mission—she and Shifu—and then...nothing. Nothing else was said. Something must have happened on that mission, something bad, obviously. Either that, or Yuè ceased writting because everything was not turning out well for her. If it's the latter, then she would probably still be around, maybe teaching Kung Fu too like Master Shifu; or was trasnfered to a different temple because Oogways somehow disapproved of her secret behavior; or worse, she was banished from the Jade Palace?

But what if the former happened? What if some sort of tragedy occured on that mission that had taken Yuè's life?

Sighing heavily, Po closed the book. He returned Yuè's belonging's into the box in the same order as before he violated her private stuff, and then returned it where he had found it. He got up and left the Storage Room and proceeding down the hall. Po couldn't help but think why Shifu never told them anything about her? Well, he understood that there are certain things that was too personal for the red panda to reveal, but this slightly maniacal obsession over a position and person of someone who was apparatly following a dark path, the panda couldn't help but worry.

Po shuddered. How would Yuè react if she found out that Shifu received the very thing she was dreaming of? He thought.

Shifu did his best to focus. He had been meditating for years, but at that particular moment the Grand Master of the Jade Palace was having a hard time. He thought after so many times he'd done that simple thing it would come naturally to him now...

Sighing, the red panda got up from his meditative position and grabbed his staff that he had laid on the jade floor next to him. He hadn't felt this much stress since Tai Lung's rampage, or when Po was named Dragon Warrior and how he tried to accept the fact that Master Oogway had chosen a big, fat, flabby panda to fulfill an ancient prophecy...

Shaking his head to get rid of the agitating thoughts from his mind, Shifu made his way towards the large double-doors of the Hall of Warriors. He needed some fresh air, and maybe some tea to calm his nerves. One cup surely wasn't enough, so he intended to have two, or three...or five.

Just as he was about to make his exit, Zeng came hurtling towards the elderly red panda and if not for his quick reaction, the goose would have slammed into him.

Zeng landed roughly on his belly a few feet away from Shifu. The red panda immediately ran to his side to help him up, and only until he grabbed the messenger's feathered arm did he notice the wooden tube the goose held with his duckbill feet.

Shifu took the vessel keeping the scroll from Zeng once he was in the proper standing position. He gazed at it in wonder, thinking where it couldn've come from since it has no seal to indicate the province from which it was. sent

Zeng, who seemed to have read Shifu's thoughts, said, "Someone just handed it over when I flew from the village. The messenger didn't say anything else except that it needs to be delivered to the Jade Palace immediately."

Shifu removed the lid and fished the scroll inside. He read the message thoroughly, and then all of a sudden, Shifu dropped the scroll's container. His expression ultimately changed from the depressed, stressed one he wore almost everyday since Tigress' disapperance, into that of shock.

"Master, what did the—"

Zeng wasn't given the chance to finish because the red panda had whirled to face him with an urgent look on his face. "Get the Four and the Dragon Warrior."

"Wha..?"

"Now Zeng." Shifu urged.

The goose nodded then off he went flying in haste.

When he was out of earshot, Shifu finally allowed himself to smile—broadly and beamingly—as if he had never smiled in the entirety of his life. The red panda felt like bouncing up and down to show just how happy he is right now. Thank you...thank you! Oh Lord, thank you so much! Finally, what he had been waiting for in the past two weeks...

About five minutes later, the Four and Po were at the Hall of Warriors, alerted and expectant of their Master's news.

"Master Shifu! What's wr—"

"Someone had spotted her in a village somewhere south of Gansu!" Shifu exclaimed before Po could finish. His students already knew who he was referring to. "About two-thousand miles from here."

All five students of the red panda were both shocked and exhilirated by the news, and they, too, grinned ear to ear.

"Finally!" Viper exclaimed in relief and overwhelmed joy. "What is the village's name Master?"

Shifu glanced at the parchment again. "Bìnàn suǒ," he replied.

His students stepped forward, a firm and resolute expression on their faces. Shifu didn't need to issue the order for him to know what was on their minds. "So when can we—" Crane was the one who said this, but was cut off.

"Immediately," Shifu said, rolling up the scroll, "while we still have the chance. All of you will go. There's no telling whether Tigress will soundlessly comply with our wish for her to return, you need all the help there is."

"But...what if she doesn't want to come back?" said Monkey, asking a very important question.

Everyone fell silent.

"Send word to me then," Shifu answered firmly. "Stay close to Tigress and keep an eye on her for a while. Give precise directions, and I will come and try talking with her."

Seeing the determined expression on their master's face, they all nodded.

"Alright then!" Mantis said, pumping his pincers in the air, "let's go get our friend back!"

As the five kung fu warriors raced to the long flight of stares to begin their journey towards the place where their friend could possibly be, one student of the Grand Master, however, stopped to face him with worriful, yet firm eyes.

"Po, is something wrong?" Shifu asked.

"Um," Po rubbed the back of his head, "Master Shifu...there's something I wanted to ask about someone..."

"Who—Tigress? As I said, she's been seen in Bìnàn suǒ. Now please, Po, you must hurry before it's too—"

"It's about Mei Yuè." Po said flatly, stopping the red panda before he could finish his inteded speech.

Shifu visibly stiffened at the mention of the name. It took him a few seconds, blinking in surprise, before answering the Dragon Warrior. "What did you say?"

"Mei Yuè," Po repeated. "I just wanted to ask...whether anyone by that name ever trained here in the Jade Palace?"

Shifu looked horrified. The good news brought to him shortly before this new topic melted like ice on a hot summer day. "W-where did you...how did you know about..." Shifu shook his head violently then assumed a stern composure. He glared at the Dragon Warrior, gripping Oogway's staff tightly. "This is not the time to talk about that, Po. A certain matter is at hand and we must address it immediately before it slips from our grasp."

"ButShifu, I..." Po shut his mouth as Shifu held out his paw in a gesture to silence him. "No more inquiries, Dragon Warrior."

"Master—"

"Po, please." Shifu held up a hand, "let's not talk about her now. It is...a rather complicated story." He sighed, closing his eyes as he piched the bridge of his nose to express how exasperated he is. "And it is one I do not wish to remember..."

"So someone named 'Mei Yuè' did train here?"

"...yes," Shifu answered truthfully, though it was against his will. "Dragon Warrior, I don't see the point in this. Why you brought her up is—" he grumbled under his breath, then shot him a serious look—"Go now. The others are waiting."

"But Master Shifu, I just have this weird feeling that..."

"No more buts, Po. We can talk about it when you get back." He turned around and started walking towards the Moon Pool, but he stopped all of a sudden so he could threw one last message to the Dragon Warior behind him, "and I hope and pray...that you return with her..."

Po lowered his head in defeat, shaking his head. He gave his Master a respectful bow before running after the rest of his comrades who had a ten-minute head start. But little did he know, that the red panda had contemplated his question.

She was someone he doesn't wish to talk about. Especially...that dreadful day. His first big mistake.

Shifu raised his head so he could look at Master Oogway's portrait, his eyes pleading as they gaze right at the large canvass. He gave off an exhausted sigh, his grip loseening against the ancient wooden staff he held in one paw. Please, Master Oogway, help us...give me a sign

The red panda could've sworn that the wind suddenly chilled and he could smell peach blossoms perfuming the air as it whispered somewhere beyond. For sure—though Shifu didn't want to believe—he heard the voice of Master Oogway somewhere inside the Hall, calling his name.