Volume Three: Deng Wa
Chapter XLIII
Chi Training
December 15, 1210
The peacock Shen collected his crimson staff from the weapon stand before he extended his train outside the Training Hall. Four corners piled with white marshmallows, the cobalt sky dropping float drops like feathers. Winter was early to arrive, regarding next week will present the celebration. The day that seemed only yesterday was he trekked with his parents throughout the city, giving blessings to the citizens of Gongmen. More likely, as this unfamiliar event could invite masters to the Jade Palace gate, Shen suggested not to show himself ahead of their presence as he was labeled as an outcast and a tyrant in their eyes. To Po's and the Five but their own, he had changed every bit of his character, starting to build what he once was.
Ahead of Shen, Po motioned his lime-green glass Yin-Yang staff with his flabby paw, swiveling on his corners. Beside them, Crane maintained sweeping the snow with his broom with Monkey's help, as Mantis, Viper, Tigress, and Tai Lung were inside, booming their war cries while training. "Ha! Are you ready to dance, Shen? Whoa! This weather is getting my tenders cold!"
"I would define how prospering this cold weather is, panda," Shen rolled his head with his menacing grin yet friendly composure. "Winter is my taste more than summer."
"I approve of what Shen says," Crane smiled.
"Let's get sweating!" Po spun his pole above him, wielding it with both his paws in front of him. "Ready?"
"Ready when you are. Bow to my feet."
Not on my watch.
Po chuckled before he commenced forward, and Shen did the same as he dodged. The panda performed his dodges rolling as his student gained his advantage with acrobatic spins. The peacock stretched his crimson train wide and lowered his sweep, aiming toward Po's feet. They landed plenty of hits on their own while Shen reached for Po's knees, crashing him down, propelling with repeated lunges until the fourth mark.
Po pivoted Shen's fifth attempt by hammering his left side, spinning close to his student as he launched his round belly against Shen's chest.
Shen slid his talons and ceased falling behind, giving harsh chuckles. "What an exhilarating performance. That still does not match your moves, how I engaged you since we met," he said cooly.
"Ha! Let's do that again!"
Tai Lung hammered his combination of elbows, landing against crocodile dummies in the middle with the insect's help around the snow leopard. Tigress leaped on rolling logs once she battered swinging log spikes; Viper launched her rapid slither movement when dodging fire arrows from geese above the roof's supports. They left the doors of the Training Hall open for the rime breeze to enter, giving their sweats to dissipate within the following breaks. After his finest routines of encountering fast-spinning limbs from dummies and hard-to-reach jumps from columns, Tai Lung leveled his posture against the wooden figure of three arms and one leg. He properly maintained his stance with his feet before engaging the model.
His combination of fast blows and swivels went smoothly, with Tai Lung's memories flowing with familiar faces of his family in this Training Hall. Comfortable to reflect these loving creatures of the tortoise, the red panda, and a striped feline who were exhilarated by his latest teaching from his dear mother. Ming reached out to her adoptive son, whose half pose of his body was straight. She explained his only flaw: his hard blows were not registering enough force. By watching his mother angling her hips and receiving energy from her stance, Tai Lung observed her fists landing forceful impacts with wobbles on the wooden dummy motion.
On the stairway platform with the Dragon Warrior, Shifu tapped his grandmaster's root pole. "Begin!"
Lei Lei and Bao Panda clenched their fists, facing forward to action dummies in all emerald. Their paws illuminated lemon dust and indigo turtle shell once all three models aggressed their attacks first, having Lei Lei propel her rays. Bao-Panda sidestepped the boar's feet and bashed his shield on a silver ax, casting another purple beam against the crocodile to his side.
Monkey towered his weight with his palm while spinning, catapulting glints of banana skins. Each skin fastened randomly on the model's body parts, with solid grips enough to burst dust waves. The following student launched his zip line of green impacting jade warrior models, which advanced their action functions toward Mantis.
"Thorax of Sandwiches!" the insect chirped, whose vibrant wings extended in the chilly air, his unusual sense of mentality triggering slow movements elsewhere. From his perspective, driving his incredible speed, he burst his roaring chi when he dove against all seven emerald dummies, surrounding each with his blends of yellow dust trails. Fundamental eyes sought Mantis's instantaneity route, unable to track him before all models sandwiched together with their collision course.
"That's so wicked, Mantis!" Po cheered as a few cheered Mantis's success. Tai Lung, Shen, Shifu, and Tigress showed their posture approval seeing his excellent undertaking.
Crane inclined his flight above once Viper gripped her ruby sash facing the jommies (Bao-Panda made his newest discovery name for two words combining jombie and dummy). Two gallery roofs set geese servants with crossbows and all five jommie archers, whose arms wielded bows with automatic bolts, projecting only green as every subject was wary of porcupines launching their quills. Beginning to spread his extended wings, Crane dove with quick spins, dodging green arrows. Viper flung her whole body forward after she hissed at jommie infantries, breaking her way underneath them once geese servants shot emerald bolts.
The avian hurled his whole arm, whose yellow disk chi spun with serrated edges, landed jommies, rounding his body with haste as he banked right from emerald bolts, advancing toward the following two targets. His other wing swinging to the right, cast gold wave feathers, lashing two objects down before diverting toward the middle above the Arena.
Viper rounded her crimson sash on three models at once after flickering her weapon with flexibility.
Tigress commenced engaging dummies with her paws, which glittered with dawn and bright yellow fist twice the size, grappling their fast and slow limbs all once she committed to spinning her body. She battered her kicks by keeping action models their distance from going near her. With one from behind, Shen threw his dart rope and yanked his whole weight, and his talon plunged its belly, throwing the whole across the square. Lighting his staff with his yellow chi that croaked, Shen deflected limbs and blades with his precision flows of Cai Li Fo and Tai Chi. Executing his acrobatic rolls as he pinned his weapon in front, he sprang into the chilly air and fanned out his train, unleashing his hail as he aimed his staff at the ground.
The ground puffed its waves of butter smoke, streaking toward upward gallery roofs; jommies tumbling back for their hard fall bathed in their oak from Shen's chi. Po was the first to exclaim at his student's succession as these masters cheered at the two warriors.
The peacock, puffing out his wheezing breaths, bathing in sweat, looked upon the feline standing next to him. "Excellent performance, Master Tigress," Shen approved.
A striped feline warrior sweeping off a speck of dust drew her breaths in and out. "Indeed," Tigress said in nonchalance. Her face was natural, but Shen could read her amber eyes full of solemnity. "Without your weapon of choice, this would have been a good fight."
From Shen's perspective, he had regarded her stern figure too well ever since he came to Jade Palace with the Dragon Warrior. After a few months of living here, the Furious Five took time to leave their problems behind. The Masters of Jade Palace followed their honesty towards Po, who craved to have his peacock student seek ahead of his better life. Half were against this decision; the Emperor of China put his matter in Gongmen City after the battle to decide Shen's fate. Tigress, who had a miracle of never forgetting which culprits committed terrible crimes, was part of the opposite vote. She hoped that the incident of losing her friend in the Fireworks Factory would not happen again.
Accepting Tigress's word, Shen lowered his crimson staff as the feline passed by him, the soft growl under her throat thrumming. Po strolled down to Shen before giving a gentle pat behind his upper shoulder. "Don't get too personal, buddy. You'll get around with my best friend."
Shen droned his rich tone, observing the Furious Five surround their feline sister. Tai Lung had only crossed his clouded arms on his upper chest with might and respect, giving the nod to Shen. "Quite the most of your companions. I suspect she remains the only warrior not letting go about what I caused damages," the peacock determined with his concerning insight.
"She's the nicest being, Shen. You compliment Tigress, and that's good," Po proved. "Little by little, Tigress will speak with you more often."
"You may be the world's terrible liar, Po, but I hope so," Shen said dubiously.
Incredible flaps stormed above the Palace Arena, and Zeng, in a midnight robe with a cap, landed near Po in exhaustion. "Masters!" he uttered once the group gathered. "Crocodile bandits! They are closing into the Valley at the Eastern road!"
"It's danger time!" the panda faced the arena gate that geese servants quickly opened. "Tell our citizens to make snowballs and throw them at all reptile bandits!"
Smirking, Tai Lung vibrated his chuffs. "Let's go, then."
The Furious Five propelled on fours as the peacock followed Crane. "Race you there, Shen!" Po ran to one branch and sprang in the air with Tigress and Tai Lung, diving toward the bottom of the stairway with his cheer. "WEEHOO!"
With enough velocity to streak his way toward the steep beside the Jade Palace stairway, Shen leaped in the air with his broad wings and train, enough temerity as he had flown in Gongmen City since his "prince" ages. Gusts of breeze whiffed on his head and feathers once he surveyed the ant-sized crocodile hordes sprinting on the broad path near the Valley of Peace's east road. He and the avian Crane skimmed their wings side by side before banking down. Lowering their altitude with more incredible speed, they reached for Po, Tai Lung, and Furious Five, all mounted on roof tiles, jumping on other roofs as the Dragon Warrior planned out by surrounding the intruders.
Po skidded his steps by dodging the giant crocodile's spike ball hammering near him. With the panda's help, Tai Lung spiraled his kicks in the air and battered the croc's limbs in advance, and their heavy blows leading to the uppercut bowled the giant on the floor, which left with spots and uneven piles of snow on most corners. As she barged into the alleyways, Viper stormed her lengthy body with her ruby sash. Cutting off corners in time, pardoning local shoppers through the walk-in store, Viper pinned the second reptile after rounding her strap around his ankles. Her tail spun as she drew out soft hisses in persistence, waiting for his next move. As he did so, attempting to stomp his feet at every random to smash her head, Viper executed her agility with her sharp tail darting the second crocodile's nerve points, rounding her red sash with aggression. She threw him with all her stretching tension in the air, and her avian brother pulled the bandit with his talons.
Crane managed to strike his feet where the second crocodile kept falling. From Crane's conical hat, Mantis spiraled his glide around him as he burst out his hail, colliding several hits before the insect threw him toward three burglars near the bamboo stand. The fourth bandit threw his silver halberd at the bird, whose dark wings were extending, balancing his glide with a roll.
Engaging the bandit, whose halberd crashed on the fruit stand, Shen dashed and darted his pole on several parts of his body. His scathe hands made his sloppy rounds as the peacock dodged backward and to the left, angling where he could land hits. With the bandit's tongue spitting out, he weighed his tail clockwise, and Shen leaped above, his talon bashing his jaw upward.
With a slight distraction from a hard kick, the crocodile slithered his curved tail upward, snarling his teeth. The peacock spiraled his staff when Po was beside him, fastening his stance; Shen aimed his weapon from underneath his belly when the attacker launched, bouncing upward.
The peacock shoved his staff in front of his chest, and he revolved his rope darts around him; creating his weight in the air with the rope's tension, Shen jerked him toward the cobblestone. Thud! And the bandit, crashing his front body, knocked out cold.
"YAH! Way to go, Shen!" Po threw his fists and gave a hard pat on Shen's back, standing ahead of his student. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
With a slight distraction of achievement, Po turned to the last burglar, who screeched with his lengthy tail, rounding his spike tail. Fast feet crushing the snow followed one's roar above Po, and a brown rabbit thumped his black wok on the seventh crocodile. One of Po's most pleasing guests for the Winter Feast stood on top of the reptile's back, his wooden spoon tapping. "Now, that's what I call the dramatic entrance!"
"Chef Wo Hop!" Po praised the rabbit with his flabby arms wide open.
Wo Hop flickered his chin with a greeting. "Po! Long time no see, my friend!"
"Welcome back!" the panda hugged him dearly. "It's so good to see you, buddy!"
"Me too, Po," the rabbit chuckled, patting the bear's back. "Most bandits keep coming back like every year when I always come. When will they ever learn?"
"Until we're done breathing and stealing," the grumbling crocodile whizzed with chortles, and Wo Hop bashed his head twice, having the bandit wince with dizziness and flatten his head on the snow.
"Wo Hop, you don't have to do that!" Mantis gaped, springing his jumps toward the unconscious reptile. Crane was the only one who dropped his beak wide open with the Five, showing their shock.
"Oh, no worries, Master Mantis. My cousin Hong does bashing woks like crazy, calling herself the iron maiden I heard last time in Gongmen," he mentioned before he hopped on the bandit's back, his fists attaching to his waist as Wu Hop straightened his posture. "The Hop families of doctors and chefs from Heilongjiang Province know how to handle ourselves, like this one I did."
Mantis tapped his raptorial claw to the bandit's cheek, searching for any signs of beatings. The crocodile wheezed with giggles. "He's fine, just being knockout for good," Mantis said with relief.
Po brushed his paws. "That's the last thing we hear, Mantis. Time for lunch breaks!"
Shen dusted off a few specks of snow from his train, which drenched his crimson feathers after the Five followed the panda toward the road, toward the Noodle Restaurant once Mr. Ping called out to his son near the archway. "I wonder how many friends Po has," Tai Lung crooned with low chuffs.
"Many, I presume," Shen said. Before the Dragon Warrior called upon these former adversaries, the peacock inspected three articles pinned on the wooden board next to Mrs. Chao's Gift Shop, displaying crimson headlines with the deer's emerald eyes along with jade warriors marching into gray ridges.
Iron Antlers Marches to Northwest; Wugu City under siege by Jade Warriors.
The peacock sat in his room that shoji walls tinged with amber, his candlelight on his table washing its light with little dazzles ahead of him. The door next to him had slightly closed, keeping him limited his company during his rest. Shen winced out his hissing composure once his talon pressed on his sore chest, where Tigress left her lethal force right through him. To Shen, this was quite ordinary to their training; even in fierce combats, he had survived. He began to ease his posture, not pushing himself further to inspect his flared chest muscle. At his first glimpse above the candle, the picture of his peafowl family with Soothsayer and a young wolf gathered together. Shen was in the middle with his beloved parents.
The first memory impacting him in his youth was the bird strolling on the bridge with the elder goat in colorful robes, her round glasses glittering white from the daylight of blue and silvery clouds. During his favorite season, he could observe the city for hours with his fellow company, the bristling wind brushing on his robe while he needed to speculate matters from his parents' priorities for the town and the taxation. Instead of that, more crucially, his parents expected to have their citizens receive their wood to burn in homes, keeping all warm from harsh winter. Good thing that Madam Soothsayer counseled his father and Gongmen Masters to maintain the people's needs. Observing the whole courtyard with citizens carrying lanterns and the children cheering while throwing snowballs, the holiday was exceptional to the peacock and his wolf companion, to see their classmates reuniting with them before heading homes to meet families from far.
The peacock's shoji door knocked thrice. "Shen, it's Monkey. May I come in?"
"Come in."
Shen addressed one of the Masters of Jade Palace. At this time, a golden simian master was introduced once the green insect interfered behind him and sprang toward another door. "Good evening, Shen."
"Master Monkey," Shen nodded to him. He had adjusted the front neck of his robe when he examined new scrolls from Gongmen City, his son.
"Have I interrupted you in your time?"
The peacock stashed his current parchment beside his candle on the table. "No."
"Good. Because I am here to deliver your noodles to you."
Monkey held a bowl of the Dragon Warrior's pasta flavor, the light steam of special onion and carrot sauce flowing in Shen's beak. "Po wanted me to give you your food, so my buddy can help his dads build their most exquisite decorations in the. . . village. Li and Mr. Ping need their son, and both Crane and Tigress manage illustrations."
"That's fine. I'll eat panda — Po's so-called 'secret ingredient.'"
Monkey handed the food to Shen's table. "By the way, Shen. Viper, Mantis, and I are going to the Winter Feast room, where Shifu offers us to decorate. Servants will need our paws, feathers, and hands. I can clap all four hands at the same time!"
The peacock hummed while golden simian chuckled, clapping his hands simultaneously. "Sounds reasonable to you," Shen sipped noodle soup with his spoon.
"All I am saying nicely, Shen, if you like to come, you are welcome to help. This offering is Shifu's call. Tai Lung may be there, but I told him about it before I spread Shifu's words to you. Maybe he won't because he witnessed me eating a hundred dumplings and had a swollen belly."
Shen nearly swallowed his noodles. He suppressed his hacks, widening at Monkey. "Excuse me?"
"Right?! Tai saw me in his dream that I could not see my hand-toes, and my best friend Mantis ate a whole bowl of noodles with his small, giant mouth," the simian leaned his elbow on the shoji door. "How does Tai remember the rest of his dream that every trance becomes forgettable until you remember it again?"
"What made Tai Lung witness in his dream?"
"Po's dad might have cooked something raw and real, maybe? He saw someone's eyes emerge in his soup."
Shen barricaded his whole feathers against his beak, preventing brief nausea. "I believe I lost my appetite."
"Whoops. I did not mean to spoil you, but that's just a dream, anyway," Monkey serenely explained to the peacock from imagining Monkey from Tai Lung's awkward dream. Mantis, farther down the corridor, hollered his partner's name. "Looks like I better help Shifu. Enjoy your soup, Shen."
The simian waved at him and dismissed, and the peacock forced his cough out. How repulsive!
While clearing his throat, Shen could hear rich thrums chuckling nearby his shoji door.