Liàng's day was spent primarily observing Po's first day of training. He had intended to use the quartyard to practice forms and meditate, however he was interrupted not long after he began when Shifu, the five, and Po all emerged and began sparring. It was clear, though, that there was hardly any sparring to be done. Each warrior took their turn handing the Dragon Warrior his next beating, and each was followed by the stubborn and driven panda pressing his fist to his palm. Po was determined to keep fighting; for what reason was unclear. Eventually, though, his stubbornness would get him into trouble. By the time the fifth warrior finished with him, Shifu's patience ran too thin.
"I've been taking it easy on you, Panda, but no more. Your next opponent will be me," said Shifu.
To everyone's shock, Po seemed invigorated by the chance to fight his master. "Alright, yeah! Let's go!" He exclaimed excitedly, standing up and taking his position.
When he was ready, Shifu ordered firmly, "Step forth." Po's foot hadn't even hit the ground before the small red panda began his assault. It was clear right from the beginning of their match that Shifu had no intention of teaching the Dragon Warrior. Every move he made was intended to cause pain and humiliation. As he attacked, he spoke constantly in an attempt to further degrade the would-be student. "The true path to victory is to find your opponent's weakness, and make him suffer for it. To take his strength and use it against him, until he either falls or quits."
"But a real warrior never quits!" Po replied as he was pinned to the ground. "Don't worry Master, I will never quit!"
Those words were the last straw for the aged Master. With a look of fury in his eyes, Shifu lifted Po from the ground and tossed him into the air and towards the front gates. With one final kick, the panda was sent flying out the gates and down the mass amount of stairs. It was as if a small cannon was firing off every time the rotund animal bounced; a sound which was accompanied by Po grunting in pain from the impact. Liàng was quick to climb to the top of a nearby tree in order to watch Po bounce, while the furious five simply walked to the landing at the top of the stairs. And as he watched, the young tiger couldn't help but compare himself to Po.
Liàng had arrived in the Jade Palace seeking training, and though he was not accepted as a student, he was still given the chance. He was respected as a warrior long enough to plead his case, and upon being denied, he was escorted out without conflict. Though Shifu denied him, he was left with his dignity. Po's experience was entirely different. Shifu offered him no respect, and wasn't giving him the chance to learn or improve. The difference was clear, though, as Shifu had no choice but to train Po. Given the choice, he would deny the Panda just the same, but having that choice removed angered him. That anger was clearly being projected onto Po, who was trying in earnest but was being treated without the respect or dignity that came automatically to the young tiger.
Liàng watched with eagle's eye until Po finally came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and, without hesitation, began the climb back up. That action made one more difference apparent. When he was denied, Liàng almost gave up. He sulked to the village below with his head hung. Even though he racked his brain for another option, he didn't keep fighting for his place. Po had no business training with the intensity being asked of him, and yet after being thrown down the mountain, he stood and began climbing again. Maybe there was something Liàng could learn from Po, after all. The young tiger watched until Po reached the top, and when he did, the overweight panda keeled over onto the ground. He hadn't the strength to stand after climbing those stairs.
After a few moments, Liàng's gaze grew hot enough for Po to take notice. He glanced up weakly at the tiger still perched in the tree, and despite his spirit and drive, there was still a hint of sadness in his eyes. Liàng could easily sympathize with that sadness, but at the same time he felt he had no right to. He was treated like a warrior when he arrived, while the one given the title of Dragon Warrior by the great Master Oogway was treated like dirt. With a heavy sigh, Liàng climbed down from his perch and made his way to Po's side.
"C'mon," said the tiger, taking hold of Po's arm and hefting him up. "You've only just begun to show them your potential." That said, Liàng gave the panda a shove onward into the palace. "Don't give up just yet."
Liàng's words rang clear in Po's mind. That small amount of encouragement was all it took to lift him up and remind him of what it means to be a Kung Fu student. But not even Liàng himself knew the full impact of his actions, for two members of the Furious Five were still close enough to hear him. Viper and Mantis, both of whom after seeing yet another reminder of the virtues of Kung Fu, felt guilty for their treatment of the one who was meant to be their comrade. Viper was the first to act on these feelings, meeting Po in the courtyard with Mantis close behind.
"Feeling sore?" She asked, a sweet smile on her face.
Po still remained as headstrong as ever, desperate to seem as an equal to the five, replied, "what? Sore? Pff, no, not at all. That was a good warm up."
Though anyone could see through his facade, it was made doubly clear when Viper used her tail to poke his bicep, resulting in him wincing in pain.
"Sure, good warm up," said Mantis as he climbed onto Po's shoulder. "Come up to the barracks. I used to study acupuncture; it'll make you feel better."
Without another word, the two warriors led Po deeper into the palace. Liàng couldn't help but smile at the sight. He watched them all walk in the light of a sun which was slowly falling towards the horizon.
"Why would you say that to him?" A female voice asked. Liàng looked to see Master Tigress approaching him. "You know he has no chance of success."
"I know he has just as much of a chance as any."
"He's a disgrace to our way of life," she insisted.
"We all had to start somewhere, and Master Oogway seems to believe in him. Why shouldn't we?"
"Look at him! The Dragon Warrior was Master Shifu's chance for peace, but look what he has been given: a panda-"
"A panda with the spirit of a warrior within. Where would we be if nobody had given us the chance? Picture yourself in his position. Haven't you ever felt the pain of rejection? Had people taken one look at you and believed that you could be nothing more than what they saw at first glance?" His words struck Tigress silent. "He is one of you, now. Younger, untrained, but a part of the Jade Palace. Give him the chance to prove he can be trained."
Liàng didn't wait for a response. Instead, he left Tigress standing in the quartyard to think on his words. She didn't take long to think before she too walked away, following in Viper, Mantis and Po's footsteps towards the barracks. Liàng took a different path leading into the palace. He had no destination in mind; he simply walked and let his feet carry him while he thought about what he had said. In truth, with no memory of his past, he had no way of knowing if he had been a hypocrite by speaking of the pain of rejection.
"Have I?" he thought. "Have I ever truly known rejection? Is rejection all I've ever known?"
Liàng was glad to have forgotten that much. So glad, in fact, that he thought it strange that the lack of answers plagued his mind like a tick. The frustration stalked him through the Jade Palace as if it were a predator stalking its wounded prey.
"Perhaps I should avoid giving advice. For all I know, I was a fool before my life here."
It was as the white tiger was settling down in his room that he came to this conclusion; as he was placing his items on the ground, no less. And no sooner than he released said items did a familiar Jaguar's voice ring out. He was shocked, however, as instead of her voice being its normal kind or frustrated, it came across as frantic and furious.
"You don't belong here!" she cried.
Liàng whipped around, now facing the back wall of the room they were standing in. "What?" he asked, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by grief.
"You aren't one of us. You were never one of us!" Biyu shouted, tears streaming down her face.
Struggling to speak, he managed only to say, "please."
"I never should have tried to help a coward like you. If we hadn't taken you in, then none of this would've happened! If it wasn't for you, my Master would still be alive."
Liàng was taken aback by those words. Here stood one of the only people in his life who believed in him, but no more. "Biyu," he pleaded.
"You don't belong here," Tigris's voice said, breaking Liàng from his vision.
"Uh, yeah, yeah of course, this is your room-" Po's voice replied, but was interrupted.
"I mean you don't belong in the Jade Palace. You're a disgrace to Kung Fu, and if you have any respect for who we are and what we do, you will be gone by morning."
The young white tiger silently opened his door, poking his head out just to see Tigris slam her door in Po's face.
"Big fan," the panda said, attempting to sound genuine.
"Perhaps Tigress is one who has never known rejection," Liàng thought, before shutting his door and returning to his bedroll. "Po must show great integrity if he is to pass this test."
The next day, when the morning gong was struck and the Furious Five emerged to begin their training, Liàng was already gone. He had left only minutes prior and began making his way down to the village. He felt a severe lack of understanding of the visions he was experiencing, and hoped that walking through town would trigger at least one more. He carried nothing but his staff and a short string of copper coins in a pouch in his pocket, which were all he thought he would need. Liàng walked the streets of the village aimlessly, occasionally speaking to a bunny or a hog about their daily business. The main road held nothing for him; only young boys and girls either playing or running errands for their parents, who were most likely shop owners. In the market, Liàng found all manner of traders. Few of them garnered his attention, and those that did were those who looked more interesting than what they were selling, and even as interesting as they were, the young warrior did not stop. He continued to walk, unfettered by care of where he would end up.
In his now aimless wandering, Liàng became lost in thought. In his mind, he played back the events of the last few days. He thought of Po, who would have great difficulty moving forward. He thought about Tigress, who as much understanding as he could gain of her, still remained twice as much a mystery to him. He thought a great deal on the visions he had been experiencing, and the two characters who had featured so strongly. Biyu, a skilled jaguar who seemed to be either a rival or senior student, and the nameless wolf who he knew oversaw at least one session of his training. But more than anything else, he thought about his battle with the Wu Sisters; the power he had used to defeat them. It was right as he began to truly focus on that subject that he also realized where he was. Liàng, in his thoughts, had managed to wander out of the central village and into the Bamboo Forest.
"Gods help me," he thought, wondering how he managed to go so far without even realizing it. Liàng then began to survey his surroundings. At just before noon, the bamboo forest was well lit with patches of shade scattered at random. There was hardly a noise to be heard, save for the occasional wisp of air going through the canopy overhead. The soil beneath his feet was soft enough to make standing comfortable, yet not so soft that he feared sinking. It was a beautiful day to be out, he decided. "What a peaceful place," he whispered to himself, as if afraid to upset the quiet.
Though he chuckled to himself for his inhibitions, he couldn't help but smile; he had found a wonderful place to train and meditate. His training that day began with forms and stances to warm up, which was a simple enough exercise. It soon became more strenuous as Liàng progressed from basic forms into the more advanced. Though his given style relied much on strength and power, he had also learned to incorporate a good amount of acrobatic movements to both evade and redirect the power used against him. It was a hybrid style, he knew that much. A hybrid of Tiger and Jaguar, more than likely. When his forms were finished, Liàng stood up straight and stretched. As he was doing so, a gust of wind blew strongly overhead and knocked countless leaves from the canopy above. Grinning, the white tiger took his stance.
"Evasion," he thought. "Not a single leaf will touch me. Even if I block, I lose."
At first, his task was a simple game of waiting. Waiting for the leaves to reach his level. As soon as the first one was in range, his challenge began. To dodge a single leaf was simple, but the true difficulty of this task came with the sheer number of leaves that were falling. Hundreds of them, across every cubic inch of open air. Successfully navigating them all not only required great speed and mobility, but spatial awareness and critical thinking akin to a master. One had to be able to judge every leaf at a glance, predict the patterns that they will most likely fall in, and calculate a path through them in any direction. Many who attempt this challenge fail because they never take their feet off of the ground; they think that by running quickly this way and that way that they will be able to avoid each leaf with ease, but this is not the case. If you are not prepared to leap through the air to seize an opening, you will fail.
Liàng had no memory of his own of ever attempting this in the past, but much like he knew Kung Fu, his body had not forgotten. Relying solely on instinct, Liàng glided across the jungle floor with short, quick steps. When no escape was available by foot, he would slip through the leaves by air, jumping through holes and swinging around bamboo shoots. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his anxiety had spiked. Looking around, he could tell he was near the end of the challenge. Not many of the falling leaves remained, but he was caught in mid-air unable to adjust himself or change direction. He plowed face-first into a collection of them and cursed as he landed and slid to a stop.
"Can't even dodge a leaf," he grumbled as he stood. A strangely familiar sense of frustration overcame him for a moment. "How am I supposed to master these powers if I don't even know whether or not I have them?"
He stopped. Where did those words come from? Obviously he had the powers. He had used them only a few days prior against the Wu Sisters. But how, he wondered. What made his chi so strong at that moment? Was it the anger? The guilt? For a few short minutes, Liàng went through a meditative exercise, gliding through different stances while feeling his chi flow with his movements. He repeatedly tried to summon that Chi, using the emotions he felt that day as a guide; repeatedly he failed. His frustration was growing.
Suddenly, Liàng's nose twitched; he smelled something unusual. With a moderate inhale, the smell almost seemed homely. But as he took in a deeper breath to fully experience the strange scent, he recoiled back. The smell became thicker and began to burn in his nose. It was the smell of ash that filled his senses.
"Fire," he said curiously.
Without a second thought, Liàng began walking towards the source of the smell. The closer he got, the more of the scent he was able to make out. Included amongst the ash and cinder was also the faint hint of hickory wood, leading the inquisitive tiger to believe that someone might be cooking. After all, where would one happen upon hickory wood in a bamboo forest? He wasn't walking for long before he came across a small clearing. It was hardly a clearing at all, having no more open ground than was needed for two small tents. That was space enough it seemed, for the fire he found alongside only a single tent. The fire was barely burning at all; it was really only a bed of hot coals.
"Hello?" Liàng called out, searching for whoever it was that set up this camp. No voice responded.
Purely out of curiosity, the young tiger began poking around. More closely inspecting the fire, he noticed a few makeshift skewers laying next to it along with what appeared to be fish bones. The tent was empty, save for a bedroll. While inspecting the outside, Liàng found a line connecting the pole hub to the nearest bamboo shoot, creating a short clothesline. Draped over it were only three items, however each of them seemed oddly familiar. The first he inspected was a very long strip of dark silk. It was in decent condition; only slightly worn down from usage. Liàng assumed it was likely a head or chest wrapping of some fashion and moved on to the next item: a pair of black cotton pants. There was nothing significant about these, save for the scent on them. A scent he had sampled recently, however he could not place it. He then moved on to the third and final item: a gray sleeveless leotard. As soon as he took a closer look at this item, he froze. He knew who these clothes belonged to. He knew who built this camp.
"I hope you dry up!" a female voice cried furiously from the east.
Liàng was quick to leap up, jumping between clusters of bamboo shoots and climbing until he was safely hidden in the canopy. Looking down, he saw the source of the voice emerging from the thicket. A snow leopard, clad in nothing but a linen chest wrapping and cotton briefs. She was soaked, dripping water as she walked and carrying a bamboo harpoon with not but a small fish skewered on it. She could be heard grumbling to herself, obviously angered by something.
"You'd think a river deep enough to fall into would have at least one big fish," she said to herself.
"So this is where she ran off to," Liàng thought. "She certainly didn't make it far."
Still unaware that she was being watched, Wan Wu sat beside her smoldering fire and began prepping her sad excuse for a meal. It wasn't a difficult process, so she allowed her mind to wander. Her face was blank while she thought, save for a grimace every now and then. Still soaked to the bone, she quickly grew cold and began to shiver. Her mind lingered on her sisters, likely locked in a jail cell designed specifically for them. When the fish was finished cooking, she didn't wait to eat what little meat was there.
"I will free you, my sisters," she whispered to herself after finishing. Her voice was full of determination, yet it faltered on the last word.
Even high above, Liàng could see the sadness in her eyes. He thought back to when they had fought outside of Mister Ping's; the emotions that he felt in her when she fled. Sadness, guilt, loneliness, and fear. She was clearly still feeling lost. The despair set in moments later, when the growling of her stomach signaled a hunger not sated. That sound was followed by a quiet whimpering as she buried her head in her arms. She was crying, and as wrong as it felt, Liàng still pitied her. It was conflicting at first, but as she continued to cry to herself, his inner conflict vanished. Wan was unaware of anything happening around her, however she became completely alert when an unknown object impacted the ground beside her. She was quick to her feet and ready to fight in under a second, checking all of her surroundings for any sign of the attacker.
"Who's there?" she called out. "Show yourself, coward!"
Wan stood there in her stance for more than a minute, spastically checking every direction and yet seeing nothing. After that much time had passed, she relaxed her guard and turned her attention to the item that had fallen. Picking it up from the dirt, she found that it was a small leather pouch. She shook it in her hand and her ears perked at the sound of jingling coins. When she opened it, she was pleased to find a short string of copper pieces inside. Wan counted seven copper coins; not much, but enough to get a few decent meals if she was smart about it. Despite her joy over the prospect of a full belly, she couldn't shake an even deeper feeling of confusion. Looking up into the canopy, she wondered: who left her this gift?
