26. Chiwa's new ultimatum
"The palace is over there!" Xia shouted and pointed down from her eagle.
The sight of the huge walls brought back memories in the young peahen. She had lived in this city since she was born and was never really allowed to go out. Actually, she had sworn she would never set foot in this area again, but today she had to make an exception.
Her brother Sheng was less reluctant to see his old homeland again.
"Not much has changed," he said calmly.
Master Ox instructed the eagles to circle the building.
"Do you see anyone?" he asked. But present had to say no.
Even Tigress, who had very good eyesight, couldn't even see her friends.
"Maybe they're inside," Monkey guessed.
"But where are my brothers?" Xia asked.
Master Croc could only guess. "Maybe they disappeared somewhere in the mountains. And Mantis, Viper and Crane are after them."
"Then we land at the palace," Master Ox decided. "Let's see what the dragon warrior says about it."
Xia narrowed her eyes. What her father thought of his sons did not seem to interest him at all.
After the eagles had delivered them there, they said goodbye and flew away.
"That's an odd thing," Monkey muttered. "No guards in front of the gate?"
"Maybe they've a pass," Master Croc joked.
Master Ox twisted his mouth. Then he lifted his hoof and knocked hard at the large front door. But even after just under a minute nothing happened. Master Ox knocked harder on the door and this time with shouts.
"Hello! Hello! Open the door!"
When that didn't help either, the ox tried to get the door open, but it was locked.
Sheng couldn't explain it. "That's strange. Normally there should be at least one person in the house."
Master Croc looked around. "Maybe he'll take that long. With so many rooms. Maybe he's even in the basement and didn't hear us."
After more than five minutes of unsuccessful knocking, the others couldn't take it any longer. Tigress searched the entrance wall. The windows were high, but easy to reach with heir clawed paws.
"I could climb up to one of the windows," she suggested.
Monkey looked at her in surprise. "Wouldn't that be a trespass?"
Sheng folded his wings. "I think that's okay. After all, I'm also an owner of this building, and from my point of view, that's just a justified rough admission."
Tigress nodded. "Okay, I'll climb up there now."
"All right," Sheng said. "But I'll follow you then. I know how to come to the door."
The tigress skillfully climbed the wall. When she reached the top, she smashed a part of the window and opened it. As soon as she was through, Sheng fluttered up and joined her in the room. Inside, they looked around.
"Why all these rooms?" Tigress asked at the sight of the white sheets on the furniture." It used to be a very inviting palace," Sheng explained. "But nobody has been allowed in here since Xiang's reign. Most of the rooms have been standing around unused for years."
It took a while for the two to reach the main door and to open it from inside and removed the latches. Master Ox looked at them expectantly.
"And? Did you see anyone inside?"
Tigress and peacock shrugged their shoulders.
"We didn't meet anyone inside," Tigress said.
Master Croc scratched his head. "Maybe nobody is home today."
Monkey looked around searching. "But where is Po?"
"And father and Shenmi?" Sheng added.
"And what about mother?" Xia asked the group. But no one could form an answer to that either.
"Maybe they've found another trace," Monkey guessed. "And that's why they're no longer in the palace."
Sheng wasn't so convinced. "But why is there no one here to take care of the house? That does not make sense."
The monkey shrugged. "Maybe there was no other way."
Master Ox snorted. "Well, we probably have no other choice. Let's look around."
Together they set off. Thanks to Sheng and Xia, they couldn't get lost in the maze of corridors. If possible, they looked into every room. But it seemed as if the palace had really been abandoned. It was only when they got into the kitchen that they noticed a trace of past activity.
"This stove had been used at least many hours ago," Master Ox concluded. The others agreed with him.
"Even the dishes are still damp in some places," Monkey remarked. "What was there actually?"
"Seems to have been soup," Tigress said, looking at the cooking utensils that had been washed. "Po must have been working in the kitchen."
Monkey looked at her in surprise. "What gives you that idea?"
Tigress paused for a moment, then she pointed to the washed bowls. "He always puts the bowls to dry like this."
Master Croc also found something. "Look. Here is a small white feather under the table."
"It can only belong to Shenmi," Xia said.
Monkey touched the table. "Either they only ate dinner here or they also had breakfast."
Suddenly they heard a dull rumble. Everyone looked around.
"That came from the pantry," Master Croc concluded.
They went there immediately. Master Ox took the liberty of opening the small door.
Everyone kept their mouths open when they saw a little gecko in there with his hands full of food.
But before anyone could say anything, the gecko suddenly jumped up and raced out of the kitchen.
"Hey, after him!" Master Ox yelled. "Halt!"
Immediately, everyone ran after him. Only when they reached one of the hallways, Shen held his sister back and usher her into an alcove.
"Xia, you stay here."
She looked at him indignantly. "What?"
"It doesn't seem to be safe here," Sheng urged. "You are not yet experienced enough of the fight. Only on the training ground…"
"I also defended myself against the geckos!" Xia shouted angrily.
But Sheng stuck to his opinion. "As soon as we are sure that the air is clean, we will get you."
With these words he ran, leaving the young peahen indignant.
"He ran in there!" Master Ox shouted.
By now they had followed the gecko down to the lower floors. There they came to a large room with bare stone walls.
As soon as they were inside, they saw the gecko run outside through another door. Immediately, they all headed for it. But at the next moment, a stone wall sank and the access to the door was blocked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the ox complained.
"The other door is closing, too!" Monkey shouted.
They had to watch in horror as the way back was also blocked by a stone wall.
The masters looked for another way out. But apart from these two doors, there were no windows. Only a lone torch lit the stone room.
"Search the walls," Master Ox ordered and touched one stone after the other in the hope of finding a hidden way there. But as hard as they tried, other than the blocked two doors, there seemed to be no way out.
"We're trapped," Tigress concluded bitterly.
"Oh, no, not with me!" the ox shouted and started running. Then he raced against the locked door. But apart from a slight scratch, the stone wall suffered little damage, whereas the ox saw only stars for a moment.
The others looked at each other helplessly.
"And what do we do now?" Master Croc asked and looked at Sheng.
But the peacock had no answer. "I don't know. This function of the room was unknown to me until now."
Tigress leaned against the wall indignantly. "Then someone else here seems to think to be smart."
Monkey looked at her uncertainly. "Do you think maybe this person has Po…"
He didn't really want to say that thought.
Tigress didn't look at him and nobody wanted to talk further about this topic.
Satisfied, Chiwa folded her wings after pulling the lever for the doors.
"Well, it's an advantage if my nephew didn't know all the possibilities in this palace."
"Will they not suffocate in it?" the gecko asked, who had joined her after his escape.
"Don't worry, there are air vents, but they are so small that not even a flea could get through."
The peahen withdrew. The gecko looked after her in surprise.
"And what do we do with them now?"
Chiwa waved her wing disapprovingly. "They can stew for a while now. I have something against burglars. They always make such a messy racket."
In the meantime, Xia remained in hiding, albeit reluctantly. Only when she heard voices in the corridor, she straightened up.
"Shouldn't we go to the sheep village immediately?" She heard a voice.
"I just don't want her to grab my throat when she finds out that her despised nephew is still around," another familiar voice answered.
She dared to look around the corner. At an aisle crossing, she saw a group of geckos. The peahen recognized Tongfu immediately, which made her angry. But she was even more concerned with the question of whether the others were prepared for these new intruders. And above all, why couldn't Po, her father and her little sister be found in the palace?
After the group had passed her, she left the alcove and followed them at a safe distance. Finally, the corridor ended in the Hall of Mirrors, a room with mirrors on both sides. Actually, this was the room for the male peacocks, but Chiwa insisted on doing to admire herself in her new clothes from all sides.
When the peahen saw Tongfu come in, she averted her gaze from her reflections.
"Oh, back so early, Tongfu?" she asked in surprise. "Where is my order?"
The gecko cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you about it."
Chiwa narrowed her eyes a little and pulled out a black hand fan, which she opened with a loud bang and fanned herself with fresh air.
"Well, I'm curious about that," she said acidly.
Meanwhile, Xia had ventured to come close enough to the door frame to the Hall of Mirrors to hear everything. But before she could follow the conversation, someone pushed her in the back from behind.
"Hey!" A dark voice snapped at her. "Eavesdropping is rude."
The young peahen couldn't defend herself. The black shadow spread its dark wings, grabbed her with its claws and brutally dragged her into the hall of mirrors. Xia immediately wanted to get up again and attack. But the black vulture gave her no opportunity to do so. He knocked the girl to the ground, jumped onto her back and pressed her belly down.
Chiwa kept her mouth open. "Is it "open house" today?" she complained, her poisonous gaze wandering to Tongfu. The gecko was very surprised.
"I didn't bring her here!" he shouted. "I thought, she was in Gongmen City."
Again the peahen opened and closed her hand fan loudly. "Obviously not. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here. Just like the rest of her."
The gecko leader's jaw dropped. "Huh? I don't understand."
Chiwa wrinkled her beak and turned to the vulture. "Ah, Laishi, haven't seen you in a long time. What is the gravedigger business doing?"
The vulture giggled. "Oh, it is wilting, in a positive way."
"Get off me!" Xia shouted, lifting her head with difficulty. "Where are my brothers?! I want my brothers! Where are they?!"
Chiwa narrowed her eyes and gave Xia a few slight blows on the head with the hand fan. "Well, well, well. Behave yourself. I suppose then you are probably Xiang's non-biological daughter."
Xia looked at her in amazement. "How do you know that?"
"Your mother and I had a little chat and we forgot the time."
Xia's eyes widen. "My mother? Where is she?"
"She ran away," Chiwa replied. "Together with the rest of the people who were here yesterday evening in my residence."
"Your residence?" Xia didn't understand everything yet, but at the moment there was only one thing she wanted to know when the gecko came back into focus. "Why did you kidnap my brothers?! Where are they?!"
"This measure was necessary," the older peahen replied. "They didn't want to leave him to me."
"Who are you talking about?"
"From my nephew Xiang."
That let Xia fall silent for now. She never knew much about Xiang's family. Xiang always resisted saying anything about it. Only the family gallery was known to her. Xia struggled to sort everything in her head, but then she realized something else.
"Does that mean, Xiang was here, too?" She asked in shock.
Chiwa raised her eyebrows in surprise. "So, would you like to see him? If so, then you just missed him."
Xia's wings clenched. "I hate him!" She yelled. "I never want to see him again! Where is my father?! And my mother?!"
Chiwa raised her wing admonishingly. "Now put a bridle on your tongue!"
Her gaze shifted to Tongfu. "So what is it now? Didn't you do what I wanted?"
"I said I had a reason," the gecko defended himself.
The peahen took the gecko aside and shooed him into a corridor where they could talk to each other undisturbed.
Then the peahen opened her hand fan and looked at him sternly. "Well, I'm listening."
"The refugees didn't go home as expected," Tongfu said. "They left the ship on the way. Even very close. I thought you wanted to cut their necks. Or whatever."
Chiwa thought about it. "Mm, sounds exultant. But to bother me about it… No, proceed as agreed. Bring them the message that they should hand over my nephew to me, otherwise he can hang his brats in the window as voodoo dolls."
The gecko nodded in annoyance and shrugged. "All right, I just thought, otherwise the panda could cause trouble again. If he had double-crossed a peacock with weapons. Doesn't look like the rest of the others are stupid when they've been able to trick us like that."
Chiwa frowned and her gaze wandered over to Xia, who was still crouching under the claws of the vulture.
"Wait a minute," she ordered, holding the gecko's tail with her foot.
"Hey!" Indignantly, Tongfu pulled his tail back to himself. But the peahen no longer cared about him and returned to the Hall of Mirrors. Xia looked up at her while Chiwa looked down at her suspiciously.
"You don't seem to like your ex-father that much, do you?" the dark peahen asked irrelevantly.
Xia narrowed her eyes bitterly. Chiwa did not miss this expression and went on talking.
"I heard a lot about what he had done," she continued in a neutral voice. "For example, that he got off pretty mildly after killing almost every one of you."
Xia snorted. To this day, she was still annoyed that Xiang was not thrown into the dungeon at least.
"Well," Chiwa said and fanned herself with the hand fan again. "Because of him, I've suffered a loss that he can never make up for." She sighed. "He wasn't always a good boy, so I want to give him a harsh punishment that was never given to him. But when I wanted to do that, the others got in my way. Maybe they will prevent it again. Obviously, they sympathize a lot with my depraved nephew, so I need some persuasion with the help of the three offspring. I just wanted to suggest a swap to them."
Xia said nothing, but she was in consternation. Chiwa turned to her. "And what about you? Do you want that, too?"
Xia's wings clenched.
There was a lot more that made her angry…
Almost 20 years ago ...
The little peahen girl couldn't scream for help. Even if she did, she wouldn't be heard. Her mother's room was too far away and her door was locked. She hid herself fearfully in the corner of her children's room.
The blue peacock stood menacingly in front of her and looked down at her angrily. Something metallic flashed in the moonlight.
"I will teach you not to make a stand against me!"
He came closer. The girl started to cry…
"So?" Chiwa asked. "Would you like it if he received a severe sentence?"
Xia looked up at her determinedly. "Yes, I want that!"
The dark peahen looked a little surprised. But then she shrugged. "Then let's make it short and easy. You make sure, that Xiang comes to me, and in return I will give you your brothers."
Xia raised her eyebrows. "Aren't you doing anything to them either?"
Chiwa wrinkled her beak. "I'm not interested in them. I just want him. You hand over Xiang to my people at a certain point. He's kept hidden somewhere by your friends out there. Then you will also have your three brothers. As soon as Xiang is with me, the others will also be released."
Xia's eyes widened. "The others? Does that mean…?"
"I only had them locked in a room," Chiwa said. "They are fine. I don't want to get into trouble." She raised her eyebrows. "Or does that change something in your decision?" She waved her hand-fan in front of her face again. "Unless you want Xiang to get away with it. Although I would not like that very much…"
"No, I'll do what you want!" Xia interrupted her. "If you release everyone."
"Of course. As long as you do what I tell you."
She watched the young lady very closely. Xia seemed a little reluctant to keep something from her parents. But then she remembered the images of her childhood that made her shiver.
"I agree," shouted Xia. "What exactly should I do?"
Chiwa chuckled inwardly. Today had to be her lucky day.