In the days following the events with the Shinchū, Po spent most of his time practicing with Master Oogway's ten tea scrolls. The fact that he finally made himself a close friend in Shi Xin filled him with joy, and he decided to channel this energy into his studies. Nothing seemed more satisfying to him than repeating each recipe and serving it to the Furious Five as well as to Master Shifu.

In the spawn of a week, Po managed to push all ten tea recipes (chamomile tea, iced raspberry tea, slow-cooker chai tea, ginger cardamon tea, spiced apricot tea, medicinal herbs tea, sweet tea concentrate, spicy mint tea, jasmine tea and lemon thyme green tea) to their maximum level. In the process, his cooking skill rose to level 14, meaning the Furious Five could expect to eat even more delicious meals from now on. But most importantly, it meant that Po could finally move to the 11th scroll. Viper and Monkey assured him that it was not another tea recipe.

"I wonder what it's gonna be," Po mumbled to himself, struggling to stay seated on his bed, the 11th scroll in his paws. "Cool technique or else, it doesn't matter to me as long as it's not another tea recipe. Seriously, if I see another tea cup, I'm gonna be sick. Now, Oogway, please be nice to me..."

Po took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and gently unrolled the scroll. Begging to not be disappointed, he gently opened one eye... to see diagrams of a feline figure in different poses with a stick. At least 40 different poses with instructions written along. The panda widened his jade eyes and brought the piece of paper to his face.

"For the sake of dumplings, is this scroll teaching how to fight with a stick? Like Master Monkey and Master Golden Cat?! Too cool!" Po exclaimed with slamming his feet on the floor like an excited kid. "Let's see the name of this scroll... Techniques to master the art... of sweeping?"

The young panda blinked his eyes multiple times. Upon further inspection, he realized that, indeed, the feline on the diagrams was holding not a stick but a broomstick and performing sweeping motions that were supposed to 'leave an impeccable floor, guaranteed', according to the instructions.

"So... after learning to do ten different tea recipes, I'm now supposed to learn... housework?"

Master Shifu just so happened to pass by and took notice of the scroll in his student's paws. "I see you have reached the 11th scroll, Po," he remarked with stepping inside his bedroom.

"Yeah, and it's teaching me about cleaning the floor with a broomstick, Master!" Po exclaimed, looking like a child who received a terrible birthday present. "This sucks; I thought I was supposed to learn Kung Fu, not how to keep my house clean!"

The old red panda stared at Po without saying anything for many seconds. Then, he approached and placed his paw on his knee. "Po, Kung Fu is something present in absolutely everything we do, not only in combat. It's present when you get off your bed, it's present when you eat, when you drink, it's present when you breathe, and it's present... when you clean the floor with a broomstick."

Po stared at his master, letting that information sinking in. He looked at the floor. "I don't know, Master. That's hard to believe."

A few more moments of silence passed before Shifu talked again. "Po, follow me, I will show you where Zeng keeps his broomstick. For the next few days, I want you to focus on mastering the 11th scroll, meaning no training in the hall with the Five until then."

"What?!" Po exclaimed. "B-But Master, how am I supposed to become a good Kung Fu warrior if I don't practice my skills?"

"By learning something a lot more important than skills. Now follow me."

Thus began the next part of Po's training. After finding Zeng's broomstick (that was surprisingly long enough for Po to carry), the young panda spent the entire day cleaning the Jade Palace's grounds, from the Hall of Warriors to the students' barricades and the training courtyard. Watching the Five sparing and flying across the Training Hall while he was forced to clean the dust was nothing short of torture for the young panda.

Master Crane had the kindness to stop and come to see him at one point. "Oh, you are at the 11th scroll," he understood with a little frown. He expressed his sympathies to Po, knowing it was a difficult step of his training, but assured him that it was going to be useful to him. "The others and I all went through this, too. Don't worry," he said.

These words were not enough to ease Po's mind. In fact, not even cooking a spicy noodle soup for tonight's dinner helped to change his mood. For the first time since arriving at the Jade Palace, Po did not feel overtired and excited to go to bed - all the energy he had made him feel crazy!

"I don't understand why Master Shifu's doing this," he said on the morning of the second day, after doing breakfast for everyone. He barely touched his soybean milk and deep-fried dough sticks, just resting his head on his paw with a deep, thoughtful look.

The Furious Five (minus Tigress) gave him worried looks. "Come on, Po, stop beating yourself over this. I'm sure Master Shifu has a good reason," Monkey assured. He then pointed at Po's untouched plate. "Are you going to eat it at all?"

Po replied by pushing his breakfast at his simian friend, who happily gobbled it up. "This doesn't make any sense... I wanna be a Kung Fu master; not a cleaning master... No, it doesn't make any sense at all..."

BANG!

Everybody in the dining room jumped. Tigress had just slammed her finished cup of tea on the table with the firmness of someone who just received an insult. "I am tired of hearing you complaining like a baby!" she practically yelled with a burning glare pointed at the panda. "If you don't trust Master Shifu, then leave this palace and stop wasting his time!" She got up from her seat. "I'm going to train now."

An awkward silence settled in the dining room and remained even after the feline master left the room. Master Viper was the one who decided to talk and break the tense atmosphere. "... Oookay. We probably should get going, too, guys. Master Shifu probably wouldn't be happy if we get late for training. See you later for training, Po." She slapped her forehead with her tail. "Sorry."

After his first day of 'special training', Po had nothing left to clean with his broomstick, since the floors of the Jade Palace were all clean. Unfortunately, this did not mean he could resume his usual training, as Master Shifu sent him down the village to go help the villagers who could require his help. The only advantage was that it allowed him to see Mr. Ping and Jin Cei on his second day of training. The goose chief accepted his help to clean his restaurant. During his work, Jin Cei showed him the new drawings she made and even invited him to play a game of W&D after his work. He tried to get Mr. Ping to reveal his Secret Ingredient Soup's ingredient, but the old goose firmly refused to comply.

At last, the weekend arrived. In need of fresh air, Po decided to go outside the village after breakfast and as far as possible from anything dust-related. Summer was still rolling around, a perfect time to take a little walk in the bamboo forest. Po got there by following one of the valley's commercial roads, the sight of the delicious plants making his stomach grumbling.

"Wish I could come to this place more often; it's awesome!" the young panda beamed to himself, happily munching on a piece of bamboo he picked up after entering the forest. Pandas were known for liking food in general, but bamboo was amongst their favorite - Po's mom told him once that she ate fifty bamboo trees for one meal... and still had space for two bowls of noodles.

This thought made Po realize that he did not send any message to his mother for quite a while now. She must be worried about him. Therefore, he decided that he would write to her and then ask Zeng to send his message to the Kung Fu Express after his walk today. The only thing bothering him was he didn't know if he should tell her about Shi Xin and how they chased a demon or not.

Not only was the bamboo delicious, but the sector of the bamboo forest had a much fresher atmosphere than in the open areas of the Valley of Peace. Deciding to take advantage of this, Po stepped outside the commercial road, making sure to memorize the path so that he would not get lost, and navigated his way through the forest - not an easy feat for someone with a potbelly like his.

The young panda walked in no particular direction and simply enjoyed the cool atmosphere between the bamboo trees. At one point, he arrived in a clearing with a lonely house standing in the very middle. This caught Po's curiosity. Who would want to build a house in the middle of such a remote place, far from other villages? Maybe it would be a good idea to visit the residents and ask them himself.

"Hello?" Po called with knocking on the residence's wooden door. "Is anyone there?"

No response. Perhaps the residents were absent. Po was about to leave when he noticed that a big dual door leading inside the side part of the house had been left open. Maybe he could... No, it would be rude to enter someone's house without permission. But just a quick look wouldn't hurt anyone. Master Shifu would not agree to this; it was better to just leave. But nobody would know what he did, if he acted quick...

Gah, the temptation was too strong! Po turned on his heels and pulled the doors open to enter the room. It was big! A lot bigger than Po's bedroom and Mr. Ping's kitchen combined, and square. It had a workshop with plenty of tools, a desk with large pieces of paper, and a table with slates of different materials. Some crates were lying around, indicating that the owners probably moved in recently. A few candles were lying on a wooden pedestal, far from anything that could catch fire, and there were a total of three chairs in the whole room. This room was beige and lacked any window. Maybe the residents were shy people who liked to work without getting disturbed.

Taking a few steps inside, Po noticed large, blue pieces of paper stack on the wall. They looked like blueprints for... a machine that Po failed to identify. "What is this place?" he asked himself. "It's almost like a garage. Which is weird; there's not a lot of things to fix around here..." Po was about to touch the tools on the workshop when a voice boomed behind him.

"Who's there?! Come out of my garage right now!"

Po gulped. Was he going to be in trouble? Maybe if he could just calmly talk with this person, then everything would be fine, and he wouldn't get scolded. The young panda rose his paws in the air and slowly turned around. "Listen, sir, I'm not looking for trouble. I didn't steal anything, it's just that... Bian Zao?"

"Po?"

In the garage's entrance stood a young warthog teenager who reached up to Po's shoulders in terms of size. He had beige skin with black hair modified into a mohawk on top of his head. Clothing side, he only wore green trousers with a blue sash. Being a warthog, two large defenses were coming out from the sides of his mouth, and he had a nose the size of a grapefruit.

Po did not have many friends, back in Gongmen City, but Bian Zao was definitely one of them. Just like Po, his notes at school weren't very good, but unlike his panda companion, it was due to a lack of motivation, not a lack of intelligence. Where Po was an enthusiast, filled with energy, and had a larger-than-life goal, Bian Zao was, for lack of a better term, lazy, devoid of motivation, and had for a goal to just live his life. The two of them could not be more different in terms of personality. However, that did not hurt their friendship for more. Behind his wall of laziness, Po knew that Bian Zao had a great sense of morality and knew how to take good care of his friends.

"DUDE!" Po practically yelled, rushing over to his warthog friend and squeezing him in the biggest hug he could give. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S REALLY YOU! I MUST BE DREAMIN' OR SOMETHING!"

"Po... Can't breathe...," Bian Zao coughed, crushed into the panda's grip.

"Oh, sorry," Po quickly apologized and pulled his friend back on the ground. "What are you doing in the Valley of Peace? You no longer live in Gongmen City?"

"That's a long story," Bian Zao admitted with rubbing the back of his head. "Why don't we go inside my house to talk about it?"

A few moments later, Po and Bian Zao were seated in the warthog's living room, each with a soda can in their paw... and hoof. Surprisingly, the main part of Bian Zao's house was smaller than his garage, consisting only of his living room and bathroom. His bed was located opposite to his couch with a wooden table between both. He had the little fridge from where he got their soda cans in a corner.

"That's a nice place, BZ," Po remarked while admiring the small, but comfortable-looking house. "You've been living here a long time?"

"Nope; barely a few days. I think I arrived here three or four days ago," the warthog nonchalantly replied after taking a sip from his soda.

"Is your father here too?"

"No. In fact, I don't think he even knows I'm here. You know how he is..."

Po nodded his head. Even though he never got to meet him in person, Bian Zao told a lot of things about his father to Po... and they weren't very good. Apparently, his father was a criminal who tried to build weapons and sell them on the black market to make a profit. This got him in trouble with the Imperial Army and even a few crime syndicates many times in the past. He did get arrested on many occasions, but always got released with a warning. He cared more about his business than his son, which is why Po got a lot of time to hang out with him outside his work at his mother's restaurant. Not getting to spend a lot of time with their father was one thing they had in common.

"What do you mean? Did you run away from home?" Po asked.

"I guess you can say that." Bian Zao took another sip of his soda before starting his explanation. "I was getting tired of my father and his lame schemes to win a lot of money and become a famous criminal in the underworld. He always tried to get me to help him, without even taking the time to ask me if I wanted to. That was seriously lame. Plus, I wasn't learning anything interesting at that stupid school - the teachers were always scolding me for not giving any effort in my academic work. So, one day, I decided to use all of my cumulated allowances to move out while my father was gone. Good thing there are many moving companies in Gongmen. I decided to buy this little house in the middle of nowhere to have some peace... And so far, it worked."

"But what about money?" Po inquired. "Do you have a revenue source to buy food and other supplies?"

"Don't worry; I already figured that out," Bian Zao assured with a little smile. "I still have a lot of money from my allowances, but I found a solution for the long run: I left posters on all the announcement boards across the valley's commercial roads inviting animals to come here if they have broken tools, carts or anything and want to get them to get fixed. For a good price, of course."

"Oh? And is it working so far?"

"Yes; I received two clients yesterday. They were both satisfied by my work. If I'm lucky, they're gonna spread some good words about my garage, and money won't be a problem for a long time," the warthog concluded, taking a good sip from his soda afterwards. "What about you? Done anything interesting since the last time we saw each other?"

"Oh, BZ, it's crazy! I'm not even sure you would believe everything that happened to me in the last months!" Po beamed, trying to figure out a way to explain his adventures to his friend. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm gonna start at the beginning. See, a few months ago-"

"You discovered your Chi power thingy, right?"

Po froze. He stared blankly at Bian Zao for many seconds before finding his voice again. "... H-How do you know that? Are you a psychic or something?"

Bian Zao chuckled at his friend's naïveté. "You really thought you could just leave Gongmen without me ever learning about it? A few weeks after your departure, I went to your home because I wanted to hang out with you. Your mom told me everything that happened: how you got your power, how you got accepted at the Jade Palace to learn Kung Fu, the day you moved out, and she even shared everything you wrote to her with me. Is it true that you fought a possessed girl shooting beams with a harp and saved an artifact belonging to the Emperor himself?"

"Yes, it's all true!" Po confirmed. He then gave himself a little slap on the forehead. "I'm so sorry for forgetting about you, BZ. I was so excited to finally begin my Kung Fu training that it got out of my head to tell you about it."

"It's okay, Po. Actually, I was planning to pay you a little visit after getting settled in. That probably would've been for tomorrow or the day after," Bian Zao explained, taking the final sip of his soda can and tossing it in the recycling bin.

"Thanks, man. Say, you wanna see my power? It's super cool!"

"Sure," BZ responded, leaning forward with what little anticipation he could express.

"Alright. Invitation, Bian Zao!" Po quickly talked before his friend could start asking too many questions like Crane and Shi Xin. "Don't panic; this is my power. Just click on 'accept'." Bian Zao blinked his eyes a few times before doing as commanded, and seemed just as confused when the other tabs appeared before him. "My Chi works like a track system of my skills, techniques, and plenty of other stuff. It allows me to follow my progress at all times!"

Bian Zao looked away from the menu and at his panda friend. "Wait, you mean that your power works like in that RPG video game we used to play on your console when we were younger?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Po confirmed with a nod.

"Wow, that's pretty cool, I admit it. Is Master Shifu helping you to develop your power?"

The smile left Po's face. He crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "Not exactly. He did help me with my fighting style and my technique... but now, all he does is forcing me to clean the palace's floor with a broomstick. And when it's not the Jade Palace, I have to go clean other places. It's ridiculous, really..."

Bian Zao's features twisted into a frown. Cleaning floors with a broomstick did sound more like a chore than actual Kung Fu training. However, he was not exactly in a position to question Master Shifu's methods of teaching. "Hey, I've been working on a special creation of mine for two months now, wanna see it?" he offered in hopes of cheering up his panda friend.

Po's face immediately illuminated. "Sure, is it a cake machine or somethin'?"

"Not exactly. Follow me."

Bian Zao led Po back to his garage, where he started searching through all of his unopened crates. "Come on, come on, where is it?" the young warthog mumbled to himself. "I told the moving staff that I wanted it to be in a special crate easy to distinguish... Ah! There it is!" He grabbed his creation and pulled it down on the garage's table for Po to see.

It looked like a star-shaped backpack with two straps that were probably supposed to go over the shoulders. It had a tube connected to a nozzle with a switch on the side. Upon giving it a deeper look, Po realized that this backpack contained water. "What's this... thing?" he asked, poking at the backpack to see bubbles forming inside.

"I present to you this little wonder that is my creation, the Starcosta," Bian Zao replied with a smile.

"The Starwhatsa?"

"No, the Starcosta," Bian Zao corrected.

"The Starrocka?"

"Star-Co-Sta! Starcosta, it's not hard!" Bian Zao repeated with an annoyed stare, hoping his panda friend would get it right.

"Oh, okay..." Po leaned down and stared at the machine. "And what can it do?"

"You see those five pointy sections that give it a star shape?" Bian Zao asked, pointing his hoof to the pointy part on the upper part of the Starcosta. "They are actually compartments where I can stock different liquids like water or any material that can be sucked inside using this nozzle." He grabbed the tube and showed it up close to Po. "This is where I can suck, expel or shoot the matters. You'll notice that at the moment, all five compartments are filled with water. That's because I'm trying to make myself a little garden behind my house for food and medicinal herbs, which requires a lot of water... And also to refresh myself when the days get too hot."

"Wow, that thing is so awesome!" Po beamed, looking at the machine with an excited smile.

"Thanks," Bian Zao replied, chuckling at his friend's enthusiasm. "Outside water, it's also useful to clean dust, as I just have to press a button to suck it all away."

"Wish I had something like this." Po opened his menu and got took his broomstick out of his inventory. Master Shifu insisted on him taking the cleaning tool absolutely everywhere with him, prompting the panda to keep it in his inventory all the time. At least, it now had other uses outside simply carrying his snacks. "That's the broomstick I have been forced to use in the last few days. I really don't understand why Master Shifu wants me to use this when dust can be cleaned by today's technology..."

Bian Zao reached a hoof to pat Po's arm. "Stop thinking about it, Po. Guess what, it just so happens to be time for me to go spill water on my garden. Wanna come and see it?"

"Sure!"

The two friends stepped outside the garage. Bian Zao was one of the most intelligent animals Po knew, so he was expecting to see his Starcosta doing a great job quenching his garden's thirst. What he did not expect to see, however, was a large group of crocodiles carrying spears in their hands... and mean looks on their faces.

"Huh... Are those guys friends of yours, BZ?" the young panda uneasily asked, without looking away from the crocs.

"Nope, never saw them before," Bian Zao replied, his eyes just as wide open as his panda companion. "Who are you, guys? Do you have tools that need to be fixed?" he politely demanded, even though a voice in the back of his mind told him it clearly wasn't the case.

"Not exactly." One of the crocs stepped forward. This one was wearing a helmet and carried a battle axe instead of a spear. "Hand over all the money you have right now," he commanded.

Po innocently blinked his eyes. "Why?"

"Because we're bandits!"

"Really? I didn't notice that."

The croc wearing a helmet, probably the leader, tilted his head in confusion. "Dude, a group of armed crocs coming out of nowhere and telling you to give your money, how can you not get the cue? But that's not the point, give me all the money you have!" he ordered once more.

"What makes you think we have any money on us? We're just two young adults in the middle of nowhere," Bian Zao remarked.

"I saw two guys coming here yesterday and handing you some yuan in exchange for some service!" the crocodile leader declared, pointing a claw at the young warthog. "You're gonna give us all of it! Now hand it over before I lose my patience."

"Wait a second," Po said, pointing a finger at the reptiles. "You guys wouldn't happen to be with the Imperial Golden Croc Gang, out of curiosity?"

At this question, all the crocs lowered their arms with annoyed expressions. "Darn it!" the leader exclaimed, tossing his helmet on the ground. "Why does everyone always think we're with the Imperial Golden Croc Gang? Is it because we're crocodiles too? That's racist!" He picked up his helmet and placed it back on his head. "Anyway, no, I have a cousin who's with the Imperial Golden Crocs, but we are not. My name's Fung, and this is my gang!"

Po did not move for a moment, staring blankly at the croc leader named Fung. "No offense, dude, but of all the criminals I have fought so far, you're the least intimidating. Are you new in the business?"

Fung's eye twitched a bit before narrowing into a glare. "Alright, enough talking. ATTACK!"

The crocodile gang charged forward and attacked the two young friends. Most of them went after Po, while only three circled around Bian Zao. Surprisingly, the young warthog did not seem intimidated and simply let out a yawn before clicking his tongue. "I came all the way here from Gongmen to escape this kind of crap. Looks like I just can't avoid my fate..."

"Stop talking and just give us your money! And that weird star-shaped thingy too, while you're at it!" one of the crocs ordered, pushing the tip of his spear dangerously close to his target. However, the three of them did not expect Bian Zao to simply press a button on his Starcosta that made him spin on the stop like a spinning top and shoot jets of water, knocking them away and sending them crashing into bamboo trees. "Lame," the warthog mumbled after turning his water pack off.

Things were not so simple for Po. The crocs surrounded him and forced him to keep deviating their attacks with their spears, allowing them to remain too far for Po to attempt strikes while also being close enough to attack. How was he going to get out of this situation? None of his Kung Fu techniques were going to help him. Usually, he would receive backup from one of the Furious Five to fend off the many enemies... But none of them were present right now!

Something strange eventually happened: one croc attempted to stab Po with his spear, only for the panda to deflect it with his broomstick and then swiftly sweep him off his feet with the cleaning tool. Po blinked his eyes upon realizing what just happened. "H-How did I do this? It's weird, I just remembered those cleaning moves from the scroll Shifu gave me, and...?!"

That was it.

Standing up, Po grinned and dared the crocs to approach with a move of his paw. "Come and get me if you dare, smelly reptiles!" His taunt worked, as the crocs attacked with more energy than before. This time, instead of awkwardly dodging and deviating the attacks, Po used his broomstick to deflect the spears with precision, using the very same cleaning moves he learned from the 11th scroll. When seeing an opening, he would hit or knock the crocs down with the wooden handle of his new trusty weapon.

"Come on, guys, a little effort here!" Fung commanded, annoyed that his guys were getting taken down so easily.

"Sorry, boss, but he's just too good with that broomstick!" one of the crocs apologized, lying on the ground with a hurt expression.

"Darn it!" Fung once again tossed his helmet on the ground before piking it back up. "Alright then, big guy, if that's how you wanna play, then I'll take care of you myself!" With a battle cry, Fung charged at Po and swung his axe at him. The panda avoided all the attacks before blocking one swing with his broomstick, shoving its tip into Fung' stomach to almost make him vomit, and then wacked it across his face, sending him flying next to his partners.

"Want some more? Cause I still gotta a lotta give ya with my Panda Style!" Po declared, taking a fighting stance with his broomstick.

Fung groaned and then pointed at Po. "This isn't over yet! You'll hear about the Fung Gang again one of these days! Come on, boys, let's get outta here!" He ran away with his companions on his heels. One of them stopped and waved at Po with a smile.

"See you soon, dude," he politely said.

"GAHRI!" Fung yelled, prompting the nice croc to leave.

Bian Zao approached Po with what looked like a slightly impressed expression. "Whoa, congratulations, Po. I think it's the first time I see someone defeating bandits with a broomstick."

"Yeah, I also thought it was impossible," Po admitted, looking down at his broomstick with a smile. "Master Shifu was right; Kung Fu really is in everything we do, even cleaning the floor with a broomstick. You know, BZ, I think I'm gonna keep that little buddy in my inventory all the time from now on."

Just as Po opened his menu after pulling the broomstick away, a little notification window popped in front of him: "Broomstick Skills lvl. 1 unlocked!"

A group of three bandits walked down a road in the Valley of Peace, joking and laughing amongst themselves. They had just stolen money from a group of middle-class workers with which they would be able to live for quite a long time, pulling them in a good mood.

"Have you seen that guy's face when I took out my dagger?" one of them, a Pekingese, chuckled.

"Totally! He was, like, 'Oh no, please, don't hurt my wife! We have children, have some mercy!'," the second one, a vulture, mimicked with a high-pitched voice and his wings on his cheeks. "You gotta be pathetic and weak to beg someone like this!"

"Hold up, guys, there's someone over there!" the third one, a warthog, exclaimed, pointing at the road ahead.

The trio approached the sight in question. Someone was lying down in the middle of the road, seemingly tired or hurt - it was not easy to say. Once they got closer, they could hear what sounded like muffled whimpers. The animal then rose its head to finally reveal its identity. A young snow leopardess lady wearing a red vest and sweatpants. A red umbrella was resting on her lap.

"A-A girl?!" the Pekingese exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing out here, all alone?"

"May the Jade Emperor be blessed, my prayers have been answered!" the young lady beamed, using her gloved paw to wipe away some tears from her deep, beautiful ice-blue eyes. "I have broken my ankle. Can you help me to get back home? It's not very far from here. I can give you all the money I have in exchange." Reaching into her vest, she pulled out a pretty big coin bag.

As soon as they saw the bag, the three bandits' eyes turned into yuan, drool almost falling out of their mouth. "First, those lonely peasants, and now, this? It's our lucky day!" the vulture mumbled to his two companions, struggling to contain his excitement.

"You said it!" The warthog turned back toward the young leopardess. "Very well, you're in luck, little one, we just so happen to be in a good mood today. We're gonna help you... But first...," he took the coin bag from her paw, "... we're gonna check how much you're offering us here."

The trio of bandits tried to open the bag, but the knot was tied in a pretty solid way. It took them an entire minute before opening the bag that contained... little rocks? "What the-"

"Thank you, guys!" The three bandits quickly turned around to see the young leopardess miraculously standing on her two feet with her umbrella resting on her shoulder... and three bags in her other paw. "It's very rare to meet gentlemen willing to offer everything they have to a lady! I'll be sure to make good use of it."

It was at this moment that the bandits realized the bags containing their money had disappeared from their belts. "Hey, you puny little thief, come back here! Give us our money back!"

"I'm afraid I don't have time for this, sorry." Giving a sweet smile, the leopardess grabbed a round object from inside her vest and tossed it on the ground, creating a large cloud of smoke. The bandits jumped into it, trying to catch the thief... but by the time the smoke cleared, she was already gone without a single trace of her whereabouts.

"Where is she?! Where is she?!" the Pekingese frantically asked, looking all around for the feline. "Damnit! She escaped with all of our money!"

"That's not our lucky day, after all," the vulture mumbled.

Author's note: I give my thanks to my good friend, TheDragonSaver, for giving me the idea for the 11th scroll. As stated in the 'Lotus Lake' chapter, I ran short on ideas for the Thousand Scrolls, so I asked for help, and he suggested doing a 'wax on, wax off' style training. I required some explanation, as I never saw the original Karate Kid movies. Yeah, I know, shame on me. But I saw the 2010 reboot and I knew about the 'everything is Kung Fu' concept. Hope you liked the way it was incorporated here.

This chapter saw the introduction of Bian Zao, the son of Taotie from LOA. Honestly, I always felt like BZ was one of the most underrated KFP characters as he had a lot of potential as a character, but... Well, you know how LOA is. But I thought that he and Po could have an interesting brothers bond in this story. If Po is like Naruto, then Bian Zao could be the 'Shikamaru' of the story - a lazy butt who's capable of taking action for the greater good and uses his brain instead of his muscles.

The Starcosta is inspired by F.L.U.D.D. from Super Mario Sunshine. Bian Zao needed a way to take part in fights, and I didn't want to give him his lightning power from the show, as it would've made him too OP too soon. Plus, I want BZ to rely on his intelligence to win rather than brute strength, so I created this cleaning tool that he can use in creative ways.

2022 is in barely four days, so I believe this is gonna be the last chapter I publish, this year. If that's the case, then I wish a happy 2022 to all of you in advance! Make sure to enjoy the fun things and take good care of your beloved ones and yourselves!