Chapter 4: Haven of heroes

As Shu and her family begun preparing for their much anticipated evening event, the noon hour came and went as the hot summer day continued. Further into the village, within the noodle shop, Mr. Ping washed the bowls and plates that were recently used just a few minutes ago. The middle aged goose dipped each piece of meal-ware into a small tub filled with soap sufficient water, then rubbed all the food stains away until the bowls were clean and ready to dry. Mr. Ping looked out at the dining area, which was now empty, contrasting the large crowd of customers who until five minutes ago were enjoying their relaxing lunch break. Now all the workers had left to return to their fields, stores, and work-stations, resuming another scorching work day in the summer season. Mr. Ping continued to wash his bowls and dishes, focusing on finishing his current task. Then, the door to the kitchen opened, and in came Erdan who was putting away a broom and duster after cleaning the dining room and tables.

Erdan looked at his boss while hunching himself down a bit (due to his growth) and asked the goose, "Mr. Ping, I'm all finished with the cleaning."

Ping looked at the area, gazing and scanning to see the well done job his teenage employee had completed, just like every other work morning.

"Very good Erdan-" Mr. Ping replied. "I'll go get your pay, and then you're excused."

The teen wolf nodded in reply (though with his head lingering down he barely moved) and the goose went upstairs to fetch the boy's weekly pay. Mr. Ping walked into his personal room, which was decorated with paintings of himself and his panda son, Po, back when he was a young cub. Ping took a moment to gaze happily at the imprinted memories. Whether the family art showed a cute family portrait, or his young (and always hungry) son eating his foster father's bamboo furniture, the imprinted memories always momentarily brought him to a simpler time. The goose sighed, thinking back at those wild and joyful days, when even in the past, Po had the largest appetite in the whole village.

After a couple solid minutes of reminiscing, Mr. Ping walked to a locked metal box, which contained his earnings. He pulled out a key that was kept in a buttoned pocket inside his robe, and unlocked the metal case. Inside was a pile of gold coins, money he earned through his service making noodles and soups for sale. Mr. Ping then grabbed two fistfuls and placed them in a pouch, then proceeded to close the box again. Though before he shut the lid, he couldn't help but notice that his earnings count wasn't as plentiful as before. Throughout the year, more and more families moved away from the Valley of Peace, and went to settle in new homes at the Imperial Capitol. And the effects were never unnoticeable to the noodle shop owner or any other business owners living in the Valley. As he held the pocket of coins in his feathery hands, Mr. Ping thought about restoring Erdan's pay to the amount it had been before. But due to the lack of customers, and the steadily declining amount of travelers on the roads to the Valley, the goose has had to make a couple cuts in his only employee's pay. He wished he didn't have to. That young wolf had and continues to go above and beyond for the middle aged goose. As a worker, cooking and serving food to customers, or protecting Mr. Ping's business from thugs and thieves, or as a friend, keeping the man company on lonely mornings. Over time the goose has come to see Erdan like a second son, loyal, respectful, and loving. Ping turned to the exit his bedroom, when he saw another painting, one that was more recent, a portrait of him and Erdan. A reminder of their friendship, that perhaps had something more between the two.

As the middle aged goose walked back to the ground floor, he pondered on such thoughts again. He wished he could pay Erdan as much as he deserved. But he also had to keep his business, his life's work, his living sustainable as well. The goose knew inside that his only employee deserves better for all he's done for him. Mr. Ping may be a… mildly aggressive (to put it simply) business man, but he's not a con swindler.

Mr. Ping walked down to the kitchen were Erdan was waiting, and he handed the boy his week's pay.

"Here you go Erdan, well done today." Mr. Ping said as he dropped the pouch into the boy's waiting paw.

"Thank you Mr. Ping." Erdan replied with a toothy grin.

Ping smiled back and noticed the position of the shadows in the dining area, beaming in reaction to the sun in the sky.

"Well… you better get going." Mr. Ping said, dismissing his teenage employee.

Erdan noticed the time of day and replied, "Ok, I'll see you next week Mr. Ping."

The boy changed out of his apron and hat, grabbed his backpack, and walked out of the restaurant. But before Erdan could exit out of the shop and out into the street, Mr. Ping yelled, "Say hi to my son for me!"

"I will, promise!" Erdan shouted back before waving goodbye.

Ping waved back and in just a few quick moments the boy was out of his sight. A silent minute passed, and the goose looked back at his empty shop. Once again he found himself alone, with nothing but his noodles and kitchen tools to keep him company. The middle aged goose let out a sad sigh before beginning to clean and prepare his shop for the next day.

Erdan quickly walked down the central road that lead to the fabled Hundred Stone Stairs, the only path to the great Jade Palace. As the teen walked by an ally, he heard the sounds of a familiar voice, a young voice. And from the sounds of it, the young friend might be in some sort of a struggle. Erdan then made a quick detour and walked down the path between the hall two houses. After turning around the corner, he saw four boys. Three of whom were young pigs, triplets that Erdan has encountered before. From his point of view, he saw they were cornering a smaller child.

"You got nowhere to go now." One of the pig boys said in confidence.

"What are you gonna do now, huh?" Another young swine said teasingly.

The younger villager, who was backed against a wall, yelled "You think I'm a coward? I'll take on all of you right here, right now!"

Erdan quickly recognized the voice of the smaller animal, a young rabbit boy who no matter what, seemed to get himself into trouble on a nearly daily basis. Erdan sighed before getting down on the ground, readied his legs, and made a jump over the three bullies.

Fang put his fists up, ready for the beat-down he was going to inflict on his village rivals. The three pigs were about to bring down their own fists on their cornered pawn. And then, suddenly something landed between the four boys, something larger, stronger, and more formidable. The three pigs fell on their backs and soon they looked up and they realized who their newest opponent was. A familiar wolf boy, who's walked in on their antics in the past, most of which didn't end well for the triplets.

"Ah great, it's you." The middle brother said annoyingly.

"Yeah, and it's you three again." Erdan said back sternly.

Fang then sported a cocky grin, knowing his odds were just significantly raised. The rabbit walked to his lupine friend's side while saying, "Yeah that's right. What you gonna do now, Huh?"

Erdan looked down at his small friend with a raised eyebrow, and then looked at the three pig brothers who have just gotten back onto their feet.

"Don't worry guys, he can't hurt us." The middle pig said.

Erdan raised his eyebrow again as he asked "And what makes you think that?"

The pig boy then did his best to act bold n' brave and he gave his reply. "Because I know what you really are, a big softy."

His brother to his left said "Well yeah, he's covered with fur."

"That's not what I mean!" the bold pigling said loudly. He then walked close to Erdan, doing his best to not show any fear, despite the towering foe right in front of him. "I know that you look and act tough, but you didn't hurt us before, and you won't hurt us now."

Erdan stayed silent, preferring to wait and think-up his counter argument.

"You can't touch us even if you wanted too. If you so much as scratch any of us, we'd tell our parents, and you'd be kicked out of the Valley." The pig boy explained his logic with a confident grin.

Erdan (within his head) had to give this kid credit. He was weaseling his way into the upper hand. The boy continued as Erdan just stood there taking it all. Fang looked at this sight and was baffled for all the wrong reasons. He had his best friend, who was a Kung Fu, archery, warrior wolf. And yet, he was just doing nothing, instead of kicking these brats' asses. Soon he couldn't take it anymore. Fang grabbed a piece of wood lying by some crates, and while the pigs were focused at Erdan, Fang swung the blunt object right into the lead boy's face. The pig fell back again, with his hooves covering his nose.

"Come on, you wanna fight right? Do ya!?" Fang yelled.

Quickly Erdan held the bunny back, keeping him from hurting the rival boy anymore. The teen wolf grabbed the piece of wood and threw it back while yelling "Fang what you doing!?"

"Well what are you doing?!" Fang yelled back. "You should be teaching these guys a lesson. Not just taking their insults!"

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" Erdan yelled back.

He quickly rushed to the three brothers and the wolf saw that the pig boy had a bloody nose. Red ooze flowed down his face slowly and tears begun to stream from his eyes downward.

"I…I…I wanna go… I… MOMMA!" the boy yelled as he ran from the alley and towards his house, followed by his two brothers behind him.

Fang, being in a state of victory rush, shouted "Yeah you better run!"

Erdan then become furious and picked the bunny up and quickly set him down on those same crates, so that he could have a talk with his friend face to face.

"Fang, do you realize what you just did?!" Erdan said sternly, maintaining his control over his anger.

"I got them to leave us. And now they won't bother us anymore." Fang argued.

"You might have seriously injured that boy!"

"Well he was asking for it!"

"It doesn't matter if he was asking for it you shouldn't lash out with violence!"

"But you do it all the time. You learned Kung Fu and archery, and you beat up bad guys all the time!" Fang argued back.

Erdan sighed and replied. "Fang, they were grown criminals. These were just town boys. It's not the same as a croc bandit or a gorilla mercenary."

Fang crossed his arms as he said "I wish I were a gorilla, cause then I'd be huge n' buff, and no one would bother or make fun of me."

Erdan asked in a half shocked tone, "That's why you started a fight with them?"

"But it's their fault for picking on me in the first place!" Fang shouted.

Erdan calmed down, thinking of what to do with his 'best friend'. He didn't want to just leave him in the village, because who knows what trouble he'd get himself into again. He could see that his bunny companion needed to learn to control his anger, instead of vice versa. After a moment of thinking, the teen wolf got an idea.

(Fire Emblem Echoes ost – "Serenity")

"So-" Fang said, bringing Erdan out of his place of thought. "You gonna tell on me?"

After a moment's pause, Erdan answered "No."

"No?" Fang rightfully pondered out loud.

"I won't tell on you, if you do something for me." Erdan explained.

"I'm not learning pottery, it's not manly." Fang said in protest.

"No not that-" Erdan said with a half annoyed expression. "I want you to come with me at the Jade Palace today."

"Right now?" Fang asked.

"Yeah."

Fang then shrugged his shoulders and said "Eh, why not, got nothing better to do."

"That's for sure." Erdan replied, earning him a sour look from Fang.

"Well, let's go." Fang said.

"One moment though?" Erdan said as he took off his bandana and vest, in an effort to counter the dreadful heat of the summer.

Erdan then became top bared and he placed his vest and scarf into his backpack. Fang noticed Erdan's developing form, with the teen starting to build strong arms and pectorals on his chest. Sure his muscles weren't as big or threatening as his father's, or a gorilla's, but they were certainly enough to intimidate some low level punks.

Fang sighed and thought out loud "Sure, it happens to you."

"What?" Erdan asked.

"Nothing" Fang said he hopped onto Erdan's shoulder before the two headed for the palace.

They reached the foot of the mountain with the Thousand Stairs. A true first test before training even begins. The sun beamed its hot rays down onto the earth, and onto the two boys. Both of them sweating like waterfalls, and Fang was not only heat beaten, but also tired from all the chaos from just a few minutes ago. Erdan was glad he changed out of some of his clothing. With his thick fur coat, he needed as much coolness as possible. Although even if he was in undergarments, it wouldn't be enough.

Fang, who was exhausted, asked "Hey, since we'll be traveling uphill for twenty minutes, can I nap in your backpack?"

"Sure." Erdan answered with sweat flowing down his face, and his mouth panting with his tongue dangling out of his mouth.

Fang then opened the pack and made room on Erdan's vest. But upon climbing in, he then found the smell of a teenage wolf's clothing to be quite miserable.

"Oh man, it smells like wet dog in here." Fang said in disgust.

Erdan made a face of offended annoyance, rolled his eyes, and asked "You sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'll just keep my nose closed, anything to get away from that sun." Fang said from inside the leather pack.

Erdan though wiped his forehead, and begun the upward climb to the Jade Palace. Where once again he'll train to further his skills in the martial arts. Even if the path was paved with sweat, heat, and worst of all, a grumpy bunny. Minutes felt like hours as the wolf teen took step after step, his hind paws feeling every time they contacted with the hot, solid stone ground. He trudged upwards as perspiration fell down his head, his body naturally attempting to cool himself down. Over and over again he continued to climb and climb. Finally he reached the top of the mountain. His lungs breathed heavily, his legs tired, and his entire being felt as if he took a venture in the middle of a never ending desert. Erdan sat on the highest step to take a breather. And as he savored his moment of rest, he looked out at the tremendous view in front of him. The Valley of Peace in all of it's legendary beauty. Homes that earlier that day towered over him were now as small as insects, clean clear rivers of quenching water, and fields of grass and farmland of all kinds of shades of green. Even though the season was one to be dreadful on many people, it still wasn't able to hinder nature's natural wonders.

Erdan then patted his backpack while saying "Fang, Fang wake up."

Within his leather bag the bunny boy was brought out of his nap-like state, and had returned to a rather unpleasant reality. The young kid opened his eyes, sniffed his nose, and instantly jumped out of the pack, urgently getting away from the foul stench that is a teen's smelly clothing.

"AHHGGG! Pheck PHech! AHHHHHH!" Fang made sounds of disgust, some of which one would think were comical. "Aww man, I think it's in my mouth."

Erdan couldn't help but laugh a bit before asking "You ok?"

"PHeck, pheck-" Fang spitted out. "Yeah, just need some water."

Erdan got up and Fang jumped onto Erdan's shoulder, as the two were now ready to move on… well, Erdan was.

"Don't worry, just wait a few minutes." Erdan said reassuringly.

"Well, since we're here, I do have some questions for Shifu." Fang stated as Erdan opened the gate and entered palace grounds.

Erdan made a surprised face and asked, "Really? What kind of questions?"

"It's my own business."

"What kind of business?" Erdan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's just say it involves settling a few scores." Fang said as he pounded his fist into his paw.

Erdan couldn't help but sigh heavily. At times he himself wondered why he's best friends with this mischievous rabbit. Though hopefully, Shifu will be able to help the lad… just not in the way Fang's expecting, whatever that may be.

The two boys made their way through the palace grounds and finally arrived at their destination, the Jade Palace's training hall. A large building that featured a sparing yard just in front of the main area, where warriors of past and present have honed their skills and risen above their potential to become great warriors and legends. Erdan walked down the stone yard and looked around as he made his way to the practice hall. Weapons both real and fake were stored and hung on racks for use, dummies made of rubber and sand stood with blank, expressionless faces, and all types of equipment were laid for continuous pursuit in the martial arts. Erdan walked up the few stairs to the training hall, opened the door and entered. Once both his and Fang's eyes adjusted to the light within the building, they saw the giant training area in its splendor. In the center was a giant, rectangular den, filled with wooden training dummies armed with spikes and iron weapons. Above them hung rings used for acrobatics and aerial combat. In the center was a large jade tortoise, the big green tub-like object was mostly made for balancing and techniques that required a great deal of control over one's footing and weight placement. Behind it was a floor filled with black tubes that would spit out fired upwards. Not the safest equipment, but one that proved to be a true test of one's skill and split second survival instincts. All of this together made one of, if not the greatest environment for teaching the art of Kung Fu.

Erdan took a moment to gaze at the empty hall, and noticed tiny dots of dust lingering amount the rays of light the poured down from the open spaces of the roof. The young wolf breathed deep and released. Finally, he was here, eager to begin yet another session of training. Fang hopped off of Erdan's shoulder and noticed the lack of awesome warriors around this place.

"Hey, where is everyone?" Fang asked.

"They're all probably finishing their lunch break, they'll be here soon." Erdan answered as he set his backpack down and grabbed a pair of shorts and some wrappings out. "I'm gonna go change."

"Okay, sure." Fang said back and right after, Erdan went to outfit himself for his training.

("Serenity" ends)

Fang, who was now alone and to himself, walked around the training hall. He noticed a rack with swords and spears stored on it, and he couldn't help but ponder on thoughts relating to such weapons. The rabbit boy looked through some more items within the palace's armory, and observed all sorts of tools of destruction. Swords of many shapes and sizes, spears that are long and firm, throwing stars used by assassins with edge cutting accuracy, and bows paired with quivers filled with arrows. But after a few minutes of browsing, Fang stumbled upon a weapon that was… unique in its own right. Nunchucks, two wooden sticks connected by a steel chain between the two. It was rather small, definitely not meant for medium heighted fighters, and didn't have any spikes or additions to its ends. Fang picked it up, surprised to find it lighter than he expected. He dangled and moved the weapon a little bit, then twirled it, spinning one of the wooden beams in circles. He found it to be oddly satisfying. But then Fang was taken out of his moment of stolen time, when he heard the sound of a door open and close. He quickly put the nunchucks away and returned to his original spot of waiting.

Erdan returned to the training area, now wearing a pair of dark brown shorts and wrappings around his paws, wrists, and ankles. For the past year Erdan has been training in suitable attire, taking advice from his teacher, Shifu.

As he walked back to his friend, Erdan noticed Fang walked from the armory and asked "What ya doing?"

Fang replied "Oh, just… looking around."

Erdan knew the rabbit better and asked "Really?"

"Cross my heart." Fang said, though his wolven friend knew when he was hiding something.

(Fire emblem Fates ost – "The path to you")

Erdan and Fang then heard the main doors open and in came the palace's residents. In front was Shifu, followed by Po, the Five, and Zhong in back.

Shifu noticed that his youngest pupil arrived, but before he could greet the boy, Po behind the old master shouted "Hey Erdan!"

Erdan gave a warm grin and replied "Hey guys."

Then everyone gathered to greet the young wolf.

"How ya doing kid?" Mantis asked.

"Pretty good. Hot, but good."

"How's you're mother?" Viper asked.

"She's just fine."

One by one each member of the Furious Five greeted their honorary little brother.

Tigress spoke to the young hero with a friendly tone. "Good day Erdan." and bowed in respect.

Erdan did the same and replied "And good day to you too, master Tigress."

The female feline master gave a small smile to the boy, which wasn't an easy feat for many. She truly had a soft side for the prodigy.

Then Po, the large panda gave a big bear hug, almost squishing the boy. "How you been Danny boy?" Po asked.

But then nothing but sounds of wheezes followed. Po suddenly realized what he was doing and set the kid down. Erdan breathed heavily, his lungs grasping as much air as they could at the moment.

"Sorry…he,he." Po said, half with regret and half with humor.

"Its…its ok…Po…good to see you." Erdan said as he returned his breathing to normal.

Before the giant panda could continue their conversation, he saw a familiar young rabbit pop out behind Erdan's back and loudly say, "Hey, I'm here too you know!"

Po, with a surprised tone said "Fang? What are you doing here?"

The bunny then made a smooth smile, trying his best to act with a chill posture as he gave his answer.

"Eh… I had nothing better to do. So I thought I'd chill up here with you guys."

Everybody's mind slightly became confused. It wasn't normal for the young boy to travel all the way up the mountain just to spend an afternoon with some friends.

Erdan, wanting to clear the confusing atmosphere, spoke up. "I invited him over, to keep him out of trouble, at least for a bit."

Fang made a face one would think being offended before he spoke, "Trouble? When do I ever get in trouble?"

Instantly the Jade Palace heroes' minds entered a session of memory, rethinking all of the events from the past where the rabbit kid cause mischief and mayhem, whether intentional or not.

Monkey spoke up saying, "Well… you did almost blow up the barracks here at the palace."

"How was I supposed to know those crates were filled with fireworks?" Fang protested.

"And what about the time you caused a town wide panic over some missing coins?" Viper added.

"My message was lost in translation. It's not my fault my words got changed over and over again."

"Or how about that day when you thought that old man was possessed by an evil spirit?" Mantis said, though partcially to drive on the kid's nerves for fun.

"How was I suppose to know that guy was deaf and dumb?"

Erdan sighed a bit, though he tried his best to hind a slight giggle from hearing all of his best friend's antics. And each time Erdan has had to rescue his best friend. The teenage wolf looked at the group and realized that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's-" Erdan said as the sounds of doors opened and closed came into his ears.

In came Zhong, still bare topped and exhausted, either from the heat or his last of rest during the previous night. The large, one eyed wolf walked in and saw his master and comrades conversing with his foster son. And upon seeing his beloved boy, he sported a large smile that lifted his mood almost instantly. Erdan walked up and hugged his foster father and felt his large arms wrap around his back.

"Hey dad." Erdan said happily as they continued their father/son greeting.

"Hey Erdan, how are you?" Zhong replied, with a happy but tired voice.

"I'm good, though I could do without the summer dread" The wolf son said as they ended their hug. "How are you?"

Zhong took a knee so he could see his son face to face. "I'm… ok…"

Erdan noticed the tired tone of his voice and asked, "… you sure?"

Zhong paused, as his good eye kept getting dreary. Then after a moment he answered, "…ye-yeah… I… I'm fine, just, had a little trouble sleeping last night."

"Are you sure you're gonna be ok?" Erdan asked, expressing his worry.

Zhong took a moment to compose himself and forced his mind to take a-hold on his current reality. "Yeah, I'll be alright."

Erdan sensed a change in the gruff wolf's tone, and though he still thought that something might be troubling his father, he decided to leave his matters alone, and just live in the moment for now.

Shifu then walked up to the two lupines and said, "Anyway, Erdan, are you ready?"

The teen wolf then put his fist against a flat paw together and bowed, as a sign of respect toward his master. "Yes master, I'm ready."

"Very well" Shifu said before turning to the Five. "Tigress, you'll be instructing Erdan today. Just give him a refresh on his forms."

Tigress did the same respectful gesture Erdan performed a second ago and went with the rest of her team members to get the indoor sparing space ready.

The old red panda was about to join them, when he felt Erdan paw on his shoulder. He turned and Erdan then whispered into his ear. Fang however was looking at Zhong. The wolf veteran was wearing only training shorts, and the large muscles on his torso showed with intimidation in the boy's eyes.

Fang walked up to the gray furred giant in front of him and asked "So Zhong, I have a question."

The one eyed wolf looked down and replied "And what is that?"

"How did you get all big and buff?" Fang asked.

Zhong raised an eyebrow and answered "Why do you want to know?"

"No reason, just thinking out loud. So… how'd you do it?"

Zhong chuckled a bit, knelt down, and answered. "Well… if you wanna look tough, you gotta commit to training."

Fang made a slightly disappointed face as he said back, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what they all say. But how long does it take until you get some serious muscle?"

Zhong paused for a moment and analyzed Fang's words, as well as his mood, tone, and facial expression. He was familiar with these questions that he's heard from his past, whenever he'd train young recruits to be royal guards or soldiers to a growing failed empire.

The burly wolf then gave his answer. "Well, it can take as long as a single year, or several. It depends on how much you commit."

Fang thought for a moment and asked "But is their anyway you get all that super quick? Like a magic vegetable or something?"

Zhong smiled a bit and answered "Nope."

Fang then sported an expression of pout and said back, "Well thanks for nothing."

Zhong chuckled and patted the rabbit on the head gently before sitting down against the wall. Meanwhile, Erdan was in the middle of some negotiations with Shifu.

"Please master?" Erdan asked respectfully.

"Erdan… I'm not sure. I don't want to go against his parents' wishes. They don't want their… trouble inducing son to become a student of mine." Shifu protested.

"But master, maybe giving him a lesson might help him keep out of trouble." Erdan pleaded, trying to get his master to understand his point of view.

Shifu looked at the rabbit boy, who was currently watching the Jade Palace master spare each other. He knew very well the various ways this young villager has gotten himself into danger, half of the time via his own doing. Shifu took a quite minute to think and ponder on the situation.

After a moment of thought, he looked at Erdan and said "Very well, I'll give him a little lesson, as long as this is kept a secret."

"Thank you master, I'll keep what happens safe in secret." Erdan said gratefully.

"Of course you will, I'm just worried about Fang." Shifu said.

With the two finding agreement on the proposal, the student and teacher walked over to the bunny and wolf to talk about their Erdan's idea.

Shifu walked over the Fang, and said "Fang, I have an offer for you."

The young boy was suddenly surprised and almost instantly asked "Wait, you do?"

"Yes-"Shifu replied. "If you'd like, I can give you a special lesson here at the palace."

"I accept!" Fang said quickly, not even hearing the details. All he knew was that the greatest Kung Fu teacher was offering to give him a lesson.

"So what am I gonna ler-"Fang said with excitement before Shifu held one of his fingures at the boy's face.

"One one condition though. If I teach you today, you must keep this a secret. Not even your parents can know of what you learn." Shifu explained with a serious tone.

Fang made a smile and said "Oh, secret, sacred wisdom huh… ok, I accept."

"And you'll keep it a secret?" Shifu asked.

"Cross my heart." Fang answered as he made the familiar crossing gesture with his finger on his chest. Unknowing that Erdan made a smirk and raised an eyebrow.

"Very well. Let's go." Shifu said as he walked towards the door.

Fang, in a puzzled tone, asked "Wait, the lesson isn't in the training hall?"

Shifu looked back and answered "This is a special lesson that requires a more… special setting."

Shifu continued followed by Fang, who looked at Erdan and gave a cocky grin, thinking of the special treatment he was getting. Erdan simply smiled with a similar expression, and Zhong noticed this, the two boys grinning at each other for a moment.

"What are you plotting?" Zhong asked in a relaxed tone.

"Oh… I thought Fang could use a little… nothing much." Erdan answered before sitting cross legged in front of his father.

"So what were you two talking about?" Erdan asked.

"Oh…-" Zhong said, playfully mocking his son's expression. Erdan smiled before his old man continued. "He asked me how long it'd take for him to get muscle."

"And you're answer?" Erdan asked gleefully.

"… Let's just say it didn't sound like a good deal for him." Zhong answered.

Erdan chuckled with his father, when familiar memories came flooding back to the veteran's mind.

"If my memory serves me well, didn't you once ask me that same question a long time ago?" Zhong asked.

Erdan took a moment to think and remembered that day. "Yeah, that was back when we were lodging at your house in Gongmen City. I wanted to get as big and buff as you were back then."

"Well, you kinda are now." Zhong replied.

He knew that Erdan was growing in many ways, including his growth into a strong young man. The teen looked down toward his chest and felt his muscle, the strength that had been building through his training.

"Yeah, mom noticed too." Erdan said.

"Oh really, and what did Shu say?" Zhong asked.

"She thinks I'm gonna have girls falling for me because I look attractive." Erdan explained.

"Well, just make sure you find yourself a-" Zhong said before being interrupted.

"A girl who like me on the inside?" Erdan said "Don't worry dad, mom explained it to me this morning."

"Ok, ok…I'll let her do her job." Zhong said in a relaxed tone.

Erdan tilted his head a bit and asked "And what's your job?"

Zhong smirked as he said "This!" And grabbed Erdan into his arms, and then proceeded to rub his son's head teasingly.

As he was being playfully wrestled Erdan laughed and lightly shouted "Hey stop it, come on dad, I'm a warrior now!""

Zhong laughed as well as he replied, "Really? Then how come you couldn't escape my capture tactic?"

"Dad, stop it!" Erdan said playfully.

He then escaped his father's grasp and they begun to wrestle a bit, being lost in their own father/son world of fun. But only a minute in, Tigress came to keep the palace's youngest student on track.

They both looked up and saw the feline master, dressed in her golden robe and sporting a serious face. Instantly the two stood up and quickly put on their serious faces.

Tigress then said "I understand you two are bonding, but Erdan, you need to start your training."

Erdan gave a small sigh and made his respectful bow before going to join the other masters. Zhong looked at his boy with a warm smile. Seeing him happy and pursuing his dream brought contentment within his inner being.

Tigress noticed her friend's change in demeanor and asked him, "You feeling better?"

Zhong then answered "Yeah… I kinda am now." Despite his tired eyes he was now experiencing a lighter, more upbeat attitude.

Tigress gave a supportive pat on his shoulder and expressed a small, yet compassionate smile. Zhong returned her relief with a smile of his own to show his gratitude. Tigress then went to spar with Erdan while Zhong would sit on the side line and watch alongside his brothers and sisters in arms. Erdan stood in the center of a sparring circle drawn on the wooden ground, taking deep breaths and readying himself. Tigress stood at the edge of the circle, ready to face her younger opponent in a mock battle. The teen wolf braced himself, stood his ground, and entered his fighting stance as the crane rang a small gong, and the wolf and tiger begun their friendly fight.

("The path to you" ends)