32. Yin-Yu's Risk

The dusk had a calming effect with its last sunlight. Even Shen couldn't deny this feeling. He was standing in one of the many palace corridors and was looking thoughtfully out a window. His wing was bandaged and his eye was a little swollen. At least no one could see the bruises under his plumage, at most the bloodstain from the reopened surgical wound, which had only been poorly cleaned. Every muscle still ached that had caused Chiwa with her blows. Otherwise, he had no bad wounds. He was just exhausted, the doctor had diagnosed on his arrival and, to the relief of his family, it hadn't been long before the white peacock came to. It had been like a release for him to let go after he had used up his last strength.

A few steps behind the white ruler the five masters crouched, next to them also Master Storming Ox and Master Croc. Every now and then, they glanced at a door. Shen had accepted tentatively the ox's rebuke for setting everything on fire again with humor. In addition, after these events of the day, hardly anyone uttered a word. Everyone was at their limit and everyone would have loved to leave this place if it hadn't been for a big worry.

Shen's gaze wandered back to where Yin-Yu and the children were sitting. The three boys had pressed close to their mother and were sleeping. Shenmi had snuggled into her mother's lap, too. Everyone was pretty exhausted. Even Sheng and Xia occasionally escaped yawns.

Finally, the door opened. Everyone raised their heads at the same time. The former army doctor took off his white coat and looked around.

"How is he?" Tigress asked immediately.

The monkey massaged his fingers. "Well, he's got a... well, thick fur, it'll be fine. It could have been worse, but he'll be back on his feet soon."

Relief spread among the friends. Only Yin-Yu was worried about someone else.

"What about her?" she asked.

The army doctor folded his arms behind his back and leaned over to the lady. "She had more luck than everything. Even though he had pulled the knife out of her, the bleeding was still limited." He wrinkled his nose. "It really could have been worse. I always say, never take an object out of the body without a doctor."

"Can we see him?" Monkey asked impatiently.

The doctor shrugged. "He will still be a bit foggy from the narcotic. But you can try to contact him."

The friends entered the room quietly. The children followed them, too. Xia and Sheng looked questioningly at their mother. But she had no objections for looking after the Dragon Warrior. Only Shen stayed in the background.

There were two beds in the room. In one was the panda. He was still under anesthesia.

Shenmi jumped on the bed and looked at the panda with concern. "Po, are you in pain now, too?"

"I don't think, he can hear you," Mantis said and tapped Po's nose carefully.

Yin-Yu, who had come into the room now, too, looked over at Liu, who was accommodated in another bed. She was lying on her stomach, probably so as not to strain the wound in her back. Yin-Yu looked over her shoulder, but the younger peahen was still unconscious.

Suddenly, a murmur filled the room. The panda had started to blink. "Hey, guys," Po said in a tired voice.

"Po!"

His five friends leaned over him in concern. Even Xia and Sheng craned their necks. In the next moment, Master Ox pushed himself forward and pushed the others aside. "Dragon Warrior, if I should punish someone, then tell me!"

Po looked tiredly at the master. "Punishing? For whom... Where is Shen?"

"He's over there," Mantis replied, pointing to the background.

Carefully, Po looked at the white peacock. "You look pretty worn out. Are you still okay?"

Normally, Shen would have glared at him now, but the peacock smiled instead. "You don't look any better either."

Po smiled. "Don't worry. I have a... thick fur."

"Lucky for you that you weren't on a diet," Mantis joked.

"What happened?" Po wanted to know. "Mm... Where is that crazy aunt?"

"She is dead," Tigress answered for the others.

"Mm…" Po pricked up his ears. "Uh... and who did it?"

His gaze wandered to a white figure standing a little further away from his bed.

"No, it wasn't him," Viper corrected his gaze. "It was Xiang."

Po sat up with a jerk. "Wh... Ouch!"

"Po, you should stay lying down," Tigress warned worriedly and pressed the panda back onto the pillow.

Shen folded his wings and stepped closer to the bed next to the panda. "Yes, your... thick fur won't help you either."

Po looked at him in surprise. "You cracked a joke, didn't you?" He raised his paw and gave the bird a side nudge. "By the way. Your knives are really sharp. My compliment."

Shen wrinkled his beak, then he smiled. "You'd better stop being a target, Po."

Po smiled. "Hey, hey, yeah, you... Wait a minute! Did you say my name?"

Shen froze, then he lifted his head. "No, I didn't."

"Yes, yes!" the panda insisted. "You said my name!"

Shen turned away. "No, I didn't."

"You said my name...!"

Shen ignored the panda's further words and gave Yin-Yu an apologetic look that he wanted to leave anyway. The peahen nodded to him and the white peacock left the room, while Po rocked around in bed with enthusiasm, which, however, did not do so well for his fresh wounds. "HEY! He said my name! Did you hear that? He said my name... Ouch!"

Thoughtfully, the white lord strode down the splendid corridors. He hadn't liked to call the Dragon Warrior, this panda, by name, but it was a strange feeling to talk to his ex-archenemy like that. His facial features hardened when he thought of something else when he thought about the keyword "enemy".

He looked up when he saw Wang walking towards him in the corridor. The King of the Huns looked expectantly at Shen. "And?"

"He woke up," Shen answered the question about the Dragon Warrior. "He doesn't seem to have sustained any permanent damage." But that wasn't the reason why Shen had left the room. "What about him?"

Wang pointed to the floor. "We have placed him on the lowest floors. He's under guard. Do you want to see him? But I cannot guarantee that the conversation will be flawless."

The white lord folded his wings thoughtfully. Not only because of he had to think about the conversation he'd had with Liu the other day, but also that Xiang's actions had made it difficult for him to sentence him to death.

Finally, he raised his head and nodded. "Then take me to him."

The room was more like a large, bare basement room. Wang opened the door and Shen's eyes fell on the blue peacock immediately. Xiang was sitting on the floor with two tall guards standing to his right and left. Because of his lame leg, it was not considered necessary to chain him. When the white peacock entered, Xiang raised his head only fleetingly. He was still completely numb from his action towards his aunt and was no longer as confident as he was at the beginning. One could almost have got the impression that he was afraid his aunt would somehow come back again.

Wang stood in front of him and crossed his arms, while Shen stood next to him. For a while, no one said a word, until it became too much for the peacock who was lying on the floor.

"What are you all staring at?" Xiang muttered bitterly.

"I honestly don't know what to do with you," Wang growled.

Xiang just sat there with downcast eyes. He swallowed hard. Then he forced a smile. "Then make it easier for yourself," he suggested shyly. "Just knock me down, then at least I'll no longer stand in your way." He raised his head. "Or what is preventing you?"

King Wang let out a snort. "It depends more on what you plan to do."

Xiang smiled bitterly. "What am I supposed to be doing?" His gaze wandered to his palsied leg. "I'm no longer good for anything useful anyway."

"That looked very different many hours ago," Shen said.

The blue peacock narrowed his eyes. "I just hated her! Just hated! I was just waiting for an opportunity."

The two rulers briefly exchanged glances, then Wang rubbed the back of his neck. "Normally, I would send you what I know where," he said sternly. "But we don't want to behave unfairly towards you either…"

Xiang's wings clenched. Then he jerked his upper body upright and gave the ox a poisonous look. "I'm not going back there! You have no right to do that!"

King Wang clenched his fists. "I was more than lenient with you to send you to a cure residence…!"

"Damn it!" Xiang yelled at him. "I don't want clemency! I don't want any mitigation! I don't want mercy! And least of all - I don't want pity!"

Shen knit his eyebrows. "What do you want?"

"You should get out of here!" Xiang ordered with a petulant undertone. "All of you! This is still my house!"

Wang believed he had misheard. The insolence of this blue peacock alone infuriated him. "The whole thing had turned your head, right?!"

Xiang let out a loud hiss. "Just because I can't walk doesn't mean that you can push me around as you want!"

Yin-Yu looked up when she noticed something moving in the second bed. Quickly, she left the assembled kung fu warriors and went to Liu's sickbed. The young peahen began to blink, but she still looked very dazed.

"Xiang…" she muttered.

Yin-Yu took her wing in hers. The peahen in bed responded to her touch and looked up at her. Yin-Yu forced a smile. But before she could inquire about her well-being, Liu urgently wanted to know something else.

"How is he?" she asked in a weak voice.

Yin-Yu knew immediately who she was talking about. "He's fine. He has not suffered any injuries."

She felt Liu return her grip on her wing.

"Please, please…" she pleaded. "Don't lock him up like an animal ... He doesn't like being locked up." She began to sob.

The others, who gathered around the Dragon Warrior's bed, raised their heads in surprise, while Liu pleaded unhindered. "Please... please... he shouldn't suffer... he has been through enough already…"

Yin-Yu leaned over her. "I'll see what I can do."

She wrapped her wings around her, which in turn ultimately made Liu cry. Yin-Yu couldn't say whether it wasn't the after-effects of the anesthetic and turned to the former army doctor. "Doctor, could you give her something to calm her down?"

The monkey shrugged. "As you wish. You won't find peace here anyway. That's not exactly how I imagined my retirement."

"Take it easy, buddy," Po said in the next bed. "Our vacation fell though, too..." He paused for a moment. "Good gracious! Our vacation!" Dejected, he sank down on the pillow. "Goodbye, beautiful water slide."

Meanwhile, Yin-Yu hurried out of the room and walked down the hallways. As soon as she knew Xiang, he would only talk himself into a rage again. And Shen was someone who rarely could control his anger when he was really angry. If these two met, it could only end in a catastrophe.

"THIS IS MY HOUSE!" Xiang yelled. "I DON'T LET ME ROUT OUT OF HERE!"

Shen narrowed his eyes and thrust the blue peacock angrily. "Shut up! Be quiet! Besides, I haven't forgotten that you kidnapped my daughter! I would love to see you…!"

"Well then, do it!" the blue peacock jibed at him cheekily.

He screamed when Shen jumped on him and kicked him to the ground, looking him straight in the eyes. "Besides, that doesn't just apply to her!" He leaned down even further so that their heads were almost touching. "I know what you did with Xia!"

Now it was Xiang who narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Did she tell you? Actually, I forbade her to say anything to anyone…"

He let out a choked scream as Shen pushed him further to the ground.

"Hey!" the blue peacock complained. "Are you asking me to apologize to her now?!"

Shen dug his claws into his throat. "It wouldn't even be enough for that…!"

"That's enough!" Wang pushed the two peacocks apart, but his anger only being directed at Xiang. "You seem to be forgetting what kind of situation you are in! No matter what happened back then, that doesn't change the fact that you deserve a punishment."

Xiang lay panting on the floor and stared up at the king of the Huns with his eyes burning with hatred. But then the corners of his beak lifted in an evil smile. "I would love to see you lying dead on the floor in front of me."

Again, Wang's hooves clenched into fists.

"Xiang, stop it!" Yin-Yu's voice echoed in the room suddenly. "You can keep your house if you would just calm down."

Wang and Shen looked up at the same time. "What?!"

Even Xiang was completely confused for a moment, while Yin-Yu walked up to him with firm steps. "We'll give you the chance if you don't continue to act like a madman and talk to us sensibly."

Xiang bent his neck threateningly. "After you treated me like that?!"

"You would have acted the same way, if you were we!" Yin-Yu defended her point of view. "Now do us a favor and take a deep breath first."

She looked at him pleadingly. She was standing right by him now. But there was no question of calm with Xiang. On the contrary. He jumped on his left leg and tried to hit her, but Yin-Yu raised her wing just in time. Xiang looked at her with wide eyes. For the first time, she had warded off his slap. Yin-Yu even went so far that she held his wing and forcibly pushed her ex-husband back to the ground.

Still stunned, Xiang stared at her, then he lowered his gaze in submissiveness. He didn't seem to be able to hold his own against anyone.

Yin-Yu rubbed his wings nervously. "At least try it. You can't turn back time anymore. Either you do it today or you can go to jail tomorrow. Don't blame your mother for ruining your whole life even more."

Xiang let out a derogatory snort. "It's easy for you to talk."

"No, I know whereof I speak," Yin-Yu replied in a firm voice. "I can understand you in one way or another."

Her ex-husband laughed. "Since when has your brain been smart enough to understand anything?"

"Because I was in a similar situation like you." Before Xiang could utter another vile remark, she quickly went on, "Did you never wonder why my mother died so suddenly after arriving in town?"

Shen's eyes widened. He knew what had happened to her mother, but he wondered if it was wise to let Xiang know. But he didn't interrupt her. Xiang, on the other hand, was very little interested in this statement. "It was the absolute exception that I had given her access to Mendong City at all. I didn't even let her into the palace."

Yin-Yu sighed. "You know, I was pregnant before we got married."

Xiang's wings clenched briefly.

"My mother knew it, too. She wanted to take the children away from me and wanted to do bad things to them. I couldn't let it happen, so I did it."

There was a pause that aroused a certain curiosity in Xiang. "What have you done?"

The peahen swallowed. "Don't get me wrong. I could have run away, too, but she held me firmly in her power until I had laid the eggs. So, she hadn't given me any other choice. Either the life of my children's or she." She paused for a moment. "I did it out of self-defense."

For a while no one spoke a word. Wang was neutral. Yin-Yu hadn't made a secret of it to him, and he didn't even blame her. Shen, however, kept his eyes on Xiang and watched carefully his reaction. And for a moment, Xiang really seemed to have lost his language in one fell swoop. He just stared at Yin-Yu in disbelief. Had her explanation now turned everything in his universe upside down? Or had that only reinforced his belief that all women were dangerous?

But before he could get a word over his beak lips, Yin-Yu raised his wing admonishingly. "Your mother and aunt did not have the right to rule your life in this way. I never let it get that far either, although she had stolen everything from me in my youth. I lived without Shen for 17 years. 17 years of my life that I can never catch up. But I live out every moment. I have to turn off the past. Stop thinking about what you've missed out on in life, just think about what you have ahead of you. And what you can do."

She approached him. Xiang crouched on the ground like a frightened dog. When Yin-Yu lowered her wing onto his shoulder, he began to tremble. But the peahen was not deterred and tried to continue to talk into his conscience. "Take it slow. First, take a rest and think about what you want to do then."

Suddenly, Xiang pulled away from her and pressed himself against the wall. "Do you think I'm blind?! I know exactly what you concoct in the back of your heads…!"

"Xiang!" His ex-wife cut off his angry speech. "If you continue like this, you will not only lose your freedom, but also in the worst-case scenario your life." She shot Shen a slight sideways glance. One more time, the white peacock would not allow an outrage. She was absolutely certain of that. "Do you really want to risk that?!"

That silenced the blue peacock for the time being. He didn't even seem to know what to think about all, so Yin-Yu took the opportunity and tried again. "Xiang. Look at us. Are we armed? We don't want to threaten you." She didn't want to push her ex-husband any further and drew a line. "You can always change it. Just think about it. Tell Huan which room you want and he will take you there. We won't guard you and we won't lock you up. You should choose everything of your own free will."

Shen and Wang glanced at each other in surprise. Both were wondering if Yin-Yu was serious or not. Xiang seemed to be wondering that, too, but Yin-Yu just stared at him, then she looked down. "This time it's your decision."

With these words, she turned away. On the way back, she passed Shen. Their eyes met briefly. Yin-Yu looked at him, wondering if she had said the right thing. But Shen just looked down and didn't say a word.

"I can understand that you don't want to have him executed, but not by giving him his place of residence again!"

Both had retired to one of the many rooms, and Shen wasn't exactly thrilled with the result.

"Shen." The peahen lowered her wings on his shoulders. "I know there is a risk, but I couldn't help it."

Shen narrow his eyes. "It is a dangerous risk. He is physically restricted. But he could instigate someone at any time. I don't trust him."

"Me neither."

"Then why do you want to dare it?"

"I'm not just doing it because of him, but also because of someone else." Shen raised his eyebrows as Yin-Yu explained it to him. "She woke up. She keeps asking what about Xiang."

She shot Shen a pleading look, which met with little understanding.

"And what do you expect from me now?" he hissed.

She lowered her silver eyes, which made Shen suspicious. "Oh, come on." Shen turned away from her. "You don't want to tell me that she likes him."

"Are you really convinced of it, or do you just not want to admit it?"

"It's impossible."

"But I know it."

"How?!"

"Because I would have done the same for you." Shen looked at her in surprise, but Yin-Yu insisted on what she said. "If the cannon had fallen on you, I would have thrown myself in front of you. It wouldn't be fair to her. She put her life on the line."

Dark shadows hung over Shen's face. "But I didn't need a thousand attempts to understand that." He folded his wings. "If we let him get away with this, the next thing he'll ask that he get the power of city authority back. And if we let him get away with that, too…"

Yin-Yu shook her head ruefully and turned his back on him. "Everything is gray."

Shen looked at her in surprise.

"Not in the literal sense," the peahen added. "It's just… I can't find a clear line here. Between black and white. What will he be? Black or white? Dark or light?" She looked at him. "What were you?"

Shen let out a loud snort. "That would be the third time! He absolutely refuses to see it."

Yin-Yu sighed. "I'll give him more time. I would have given it to you like that."

She noticed Shen's wings clench slightly. "And who guarantees you that it will work this time?"

Yin-Yu looked down. So deep that you would think she was hurting. "Shen, I hate to say it, but you two are kind of alike."

Shen turned away, offended. The old goat had already said the same, and he didn't like being compared to him at all. Yin-Yu didn't want to bring up this issue either. "But let's leave it at that. We'd better talk more about it tomorrow." She looked around. A shiver ran through her body.

Shen noticed how she hugged herself. "What's the matter?"

"After all the excitement, I almost forgot where I am."

The white peacock looked at her in amazement. "Forgotten?"

"When I came here, I was most desperate that I would never see you again. You didn't know where I was and I didn't know what became of you. Here I was kept like in a cage. And my mother…" She hugged herself. "I don't know what would have happened to the children if I hadn't…"

Quickly, Shen put his wings on her shoulders. "Just don't think about her anymore. It no longer exists. It's over. Now we only have each other. Nobody will tear us apart anymore. Not today either." He leaned against her. "Do you think you can bring yourself to spend the night here?"

He remembered that this building plagued Yin-Yu not only because of the past, but now also because of what had happened a few days ago. It was as if there was a curse on this palace in which one you could never find peace.

"I don't want to stay here long," she said softly. "Just do me a favor and don't leave me alone while we're here. At least not at night."

He hugged her as if the building were grabbing them with claws. "Then we'll try to get through the night tonight."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Both raised their heads.

"Come in," Yin-Yu said hesitantly.

At the next moment, the door opened and not only Xia stuck her head in, but also the four little peacock children, who quickly stormed in and surrounded their parents.

"What did you talk about?" Xia asked quickly before her younger siblings bombarded their parents with questions.

"That will be shown later," Yin-Yu said, fending off her question and lifting Shenmi in her arm. She didn't want to talk about Xiang any more today. "Do you think you can bring yourself to stay here overnight?" she asked instead.

Xia looked around. She hated this house, but as long as her parents were with her…

"As long as we don't have to sleep individually in one room," she said finally.

Shen smiled slightly. "We'll think of something. Do not worry."

At that moment, Sheng came in. Shen's eyes widened when he saw what his son was holding in his wings. "Here, father."

He handed him his lance sword. "The soldiers found it in a corner."

Shen accepted it gratefully and regarded it thoughtfully. He caught a look from Yin-Yu and the white peacock made her understand with a stern gesture that the last word on her previous discussion topic had not been spoken yet.