9. A father's worries

In the meantime, the ship from Gongmen City continued sailing north along the coast. Fortunately, the journey was quiet, even when Shenmi had stepped in as a stowaway. As a result, the ship had to go ashore again to find a messenger so that Shen could send a message to Gongmen City. Because those who stayed in the city had to be informed that Shenmi was traveling with them before panic broke out.

The rest of the day was spent playing games, which was mainly given to Po. Then nap and most importantly, at least for the dragon warrior, dinner.

When dusk fell, it was time for little Shenmi to go to bed. Shen took her to the cabin that also housed Po. At least that was decided a few hours ago. Actually, everyone should sleep in his own compartment, but because Shenmi liked being with Po so much, the panda had to move into the finely furnished royal cabin, too.

After Shen had put the little girl to bed, the lord retired for a walk. Po has been just as tired of playing as Shenmi. Exhausted, he let himself fall into his sailor's sleeping bag and after a while he began to snore. But luckily not so loud that the girl woke up.

The sun disappeared more and more from the sky until it was replaced by the starry sky with the moon. Peace returned to the ship. The wind blew gently over the sea and rocked the ship gently. At some point, Po woke up. When his gaze fell on the bunk where Shenmi was sleeping, he immediately noticed that Shen still hadn't gone to sleep.

He looked through the cabin window. It was already dark outside. The lord had said some time ago that he wanted to go and get some fresh air. Had he fallen asleep anywhere else?

The panda tiptoed out of the cabin so that he didn't wake up Shenmi. Then he scurried down the corridor and the stairs outside onto the deck.

Outside, the stars shone in the night sky. The ship's lamps shone on the sides.

The panda looked around, searching.

Finally, he found the peacock. Shen stood at the bow and seemed to be staring into the far distance of the ocean.

Hesitantly, Po went to him.

"Hi," he began. "Still awake? Do you have problems in sleeping?"

Shen didn't answer, just looked straight ahead, what Po didn't like at all.

"Have I done anything wrong?" He asked meekly. "Do you think of Yin-Yu?"

Again he got no answer.

"Maybe we're falsely alarmed," Po tried again. "Or is it because of Shenmi?"

The peacock's comb feathers tensed a little, which embarrassed Po.

"I know you don't like it that she comes with us," Po continued. "But what should we have done instead? Okay, I'm sorry I didn't check my backpack beforehand. But how could I have known she was in there? Well, maybe I should have eaten something beforehand, even though I'm not always hungry at first. My appetite usually comes a little later. When you are on the high seas, the air stimulates the gastric juices very late..."

Po winced. Shen had raised his right wing and the panda fell silent.

Did the peacock want to say something?

The panda waited with excitement. For a while, nothing happened and Po was about to open his mouth again when Shen began speaking.

"Panda, how long have you mastered Kung Fu?"

"Uh, how long? Well, I…"

The panda scratched his head thoughtfully. "Uh, that must have been a few years ago when I was named the Dragon Warrior. Well, before that I managed to make some moves and kicks. At least a little Kung Fu... well, at least as long as you could call it Kung Fu..."

"How did your father react?" Shen asked, still with his back turned so the panda couldn't see his face.

"Mm, well, at first he wasn't too enthusiastic about it, but then he was completely fascinated by it and he even renamed the restaurant…"

"I'm surprised you survived the years," Shen interrupted his speech. "Now she's already 4 years old and she can't even handle the easiest grip."

Po felt a little taken by surprise and it took a few seconds for him to understand what Shen actually meant.

"You mean Shenmi? But Shen. Just because she can't do Kung Fu right now, it doesn't mean she'd never make it. I told you I learned it very late, and lo and behold ... now I'm the Dragon Warrior!"

"She has to learn it now," Shen chipped off Po's cheers.

Sobered, Po folded his hands and scraped the floor with his foot. "Maybe she just needs more time. Wait until she hits her puberty, a lot can change. I mean, look at me. I never liked tofu before puberty and now... my goodness. Today I would die for it."

"She can't wait. She has to be able to do it now."

Po drew her eyebrows together. "Why do you want to urge her to learn Kung Fu? Maybe she has different abilities. Maybe her strengths are somewhere else..."

Suddenly, Shen turned to him. His face filled with wild determination. "She has to learn it!"

"Why?!"

"So that nobody can harm her if someone wants to take revenge on me!"

There was silence. Po looked startled at the peacock. Shen was breathing hard. His eyes had a gloomy countenance, which was intensified by the light of the lamps. Still, it wasn't malice that the panda saw, but rather desperation.

Po looked at him sadly. "Is that still bothering you?"

But Shen just turned away from him. "She has to learn to fight," he muttered bitterly. "She has to learn. And until then, I have to be there for her."

Po tapped her fingertips nervously together. "Okay, but you can't be around her forever either. I mean, my dad didn't just have to take care of me, he also had to take care of the restaurant. All alone. And I'm still fine."

"Did he have so many mortal enemies around him and did he have to watch out for blood avengers?" the white peacock growled.

Po looked down. "No."

"Then I declare the conversation closed."

Po was about to open his mouth again, but then thought it best not to irritate Shen unnecessarily. With bowed shoulders, he turned, but then he took another deep breath. "I don't want to say that I can imagine that there would be someone who doesn't really like Kung Fu or any other martial art, but you can't force it on anyone. Even I can't force it on anyone. Everyone has their place in the world, and everyone has their own interests and skills. Think about it."

With that, the panda departed and left the peacock alone.

Po was awake when he heard Shen come into the cabin. The panda pretended to be asleep. He listened. Shen's steps were slow and quiet. The Dragon Warrior watched in silence as the white ruler stepped to the bed, where his daughter was sleeping. He gently pushed the blanket aside and carefully, he took the sleeping girl in his arms.

"Nothing will ever happen to you," the panda heard him speak softly.

Po felt a lump in his throat. When he thought of how they had been hostile to each other years ago. Shen's face, overflowing with battle madness, had really scared him. Now there was nothing to be seen of it. Just a father who no longer knew how to protect his family from what he did in the past.

Po's tears welled up with emotion. He wished he could do something, but he just didn't know what.