10. Surprises

"And that is the Valley of Peace?" Shenmi craned her neck with interest when she saw the first houses towered up in the distance.

"Yes," Master Shifu confirmed. "This is where kung fu started."

Zedong and Fantao were absolutely delighted. "Cool!"

Shifu turned around. "Po, don't you want to say anything, too…?" The master looked around, searching. "Where's Po?"

"Uh…" Monkey scratched his head helplessly. "He… he said he wanted to leave for a moment."

Shifu narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, he needs to go away for a moment?!" He set back his ears. "How long has he been gone?!"

Crane tapped the tips of his finger feathers nervously. "How long can he have been gone without your being upset, master?"

"Don't just tell me that our main character is absent for the honor festival?!" The little master was beside himself.

The five friends looked at each other in shame. They had tried with all their might to prevent Po from following Shen, but in the end their efforts had been in vain.

"Well, never mind," Mr. Ping said, who was just walking along the way. "Then he'll come later. The way I know my son, he won't miss a kung fu party. A few more days will pass before the other participants are there. After all, we still have to prepare everything for them."

He looked back where Yin-Yu was getting off a cart with the other children. The peacock boy Jian immediately noticed something else.

"What kind of house is that on the mountain?" he asked, pointing upwards.

"This is the Jade Palace," Viper answered his question.

"Is it made of pure jade?"

Monkey shrugged. "Well, most of it."

Wang looked around with interest. "Not much has changed since my last trip here."

Viper and Mantis looked restlessly at each other. "What should you have changed here?", the insect asked.

Master Ox, on the other hand, only stamped forward with his head held high. "We hadn't been to the Jade Palace in a while. Let's see what else is there."

"Zedong! Don't run so fast!" Yin-Yu struggled to keep up with the excited boy.

"I just want to look!" the piebald peacock shouted and ran down the street ahead of the others. Suddenly, he stopped thunderstruck. The others, who followed him, looked at him in amazement.

"What's going on, Zedong?" Xia asked worried.

Zedong didn't answer, he just pointed straight ahead. Everyone followed his hint and was stunned for a moment. They couldn't believe who they saw standing against a wall, or rather half upright, because the person was propped up on a crutch.

Master Ox's mouth stayed open for a moment. "Hey, isn't that the guy who went to Gongmen a few years ago...?"

Shenmi jumped up happily. "Uncle Xiang!"

"Uncle?" Xia thought to have misheard and watched as the white peacock girl ran towards the blue peacock. Xiang backed away in shock and he almost stumbled. Because of his lame right leg, he found it difficult to avoid the white girl who was happily jumping around him.

"Stop it!" he scolded. "Drop it!"

Furiously, he poked at her with the crutched-looking cane. Immediately, Xia rushed forward.

"Hey! Leave my sister alone!" She took Shenmi aside and looked sternly at her ex-father. "What do you want here?"

The blue peacock narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Still so cheeky. You will probably never learn manners."

Xia folded her wings in annoyance. At first, she thought Xiang was her birth father, until her mother had confessed that Shen was her real father.

At that moment, Yin-Yu appeared. "Hello," she greeted him politely and she even bowed. "We didn't expect to see you here."

The blue peacock cleared his throat. "It was Liu's idea."

"Oh, is she here, too?"

"Yes, she's upstairs in the room." The peacock pointed to a window on the first floor in the next building.

But before Yin-Yu could ask anything else, Xiang immediately nagged her again. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"What are we doing here?" Xia repeated indignantly. "What brought you here? Not just because you wanted to do Liu a favor, right?"

Sheng, who has now also joined, tried to relax the situation a little. He still bore a deep grudge against Xiang as his older sister did, but that would only make the blue peacock angrier unnecessarily.

"Or did you plan to spend your first wedding anniversary here?" he asked calmly.

"Wedding anniversary?" Xiang wrinkled his beak. "That was a few weeks ago," he instructed his ex-son. "Even if we had it, I would definitely not spend it here."

"Then why did your wife want to come here?" Yin-Yu asked.

She jumped briefly when she met Xiang's sharp gaze, and it reminded her of their marriage back then, where there was no day when he had not glared at her.

"Ask her," Xiang instructed.

Yin-Yu nodded, not wanting to add Xiang's bad mood towards her. But before she could leave, Xiang held her back with icy words.

"Is he here, too?" the blue peacock asked inquiringly.

Yin-Yu knew immediately who he was talking about. "No, he didn't come with us. He still has something important to do."

Xiang seemed inwardly relieved. But Yin-Yu felt it was her duty to add something to her testimony. "But we're waiting for a message from him, so don't be surprised if he does show up."

Xiang narrowed his eyes dangerously. The peahen met them with a slight fear and determination. As much as she was still afraid of him, the fear from then still sat deep in her, she was sure that he would not be violent in the presence of others. After holding his gaze for a few seconds, she turned away and went into the house. The blue peacock looked after her with a contemptuous expression on his face. Yin-Yu's confidence was a thorn in his side.

Whether or not he was married to Liu, the dominance of women still aroused fear in him.

"Hey, is he even allowed to be here?" Master Ox complained, who had now also joined his colleagues, Master Croc and Master Shifu.

"Aha, the gentlemen from Gongmen City," the blue peacock greeted them in a condescending tone. "Also not a role model when it comes to a polite greeting. Not exactly commendable in the presence of..." His disparaging gaze wandered to the little peafowls. "… of children."

He took a handkerchief from his dark blue robe and rubbed it over his beak as if he were allergic to kung fu masters. "And to come back to your rude question," Xiang continued, undeterred. "I don't see what would argue against the fact that I shouldn't be here."

Master Ox gave a loud snort. "I could think of a number of reasons," he growled. He had not forgotten Xiang's raid on Gongmen City a few years ago. Especially since the city was almost reduced to rubble by the blue peacock.

Xiang, on the other hand, seemed completely indifferent to this remark. Although, he was faced with a group of people who were less than enthusiastic about his presence. And for a moment, Xiang had the feeling of collapsing under the dismissive glances of the others, but he was mentally stable enough not to show any signs of his insecurity. He even found the courage, or rather the audacity, to greet the King of the Huns with less joy.

"Wang, least of all I would have suspected you here. Were you allowed to come to China at all?"

"Just watch your language!" the King of the Huns warned. "I understood your situation with your crazy aunt, but not that you were causing a stir here. So don't play with my indulgence here!"

Xiang snorted in disgust. "Mmpf. Indulgence. Better be careful that you don't have to beg for my indulgence."

King Wang's hooves clenched into fists. Had he not been well-educated, he would have loved to knock the crutch out of the wings of the half-crippled peacock. Xiang seemed to know that and grinned maliciously.

"Hey, guys!" Mr. Ping's voice suddenly answered, noticing the tensed atmosphere. "Which of you is hungry? I pay for a round in my restaurant."

"That's a good idea," Sheng agreed and pushed the children aside. He had the greatest difficulty with Shenmi because she could not take her eyes off the blue peacock. On the one hand because she was still fascinated by Xiang's blue color, and on the other hand because she hoped for something friendly from him. But she waited in vain for that. In fact, Xiang's hateful gaze was particularly focused on her, making the girl afraid for a moment.

"We're going to the Jade Palace," Master Shifu said, declining the invitation. "We still have a few things to talk about." He gave the five friends a warning look. "And informs me immediately as soon as Po arrives here. - And he should contact me immediately!"

The five nodded silently. They always had respect for Shifu's mood. When the masters had left, they relaxed again a little.

"I'd have a hole in my stomach, too," Mantis said, hopping towards Mr. Ping's restaurant.

Xia was the last one, who stayed on the square and give Xiang a punishing look. Both threw poisoned glances at each other, then the blue peacock hobbled away on the crutch.

"Xia?" Sheng came over to her worried. "Are you coming?"

Xia wrinkled her beak. "I just can't believe that she really married him."

Sheng looked at her carefully. "Do you still hate him?"

She looked bitterly at her brother. "I will always hate him."

A little worried, Yin-Yu climbed the stairs to one of the chambers. She was surprised that Liu crouched in the room when the weather was so nice. When she had reached the door to the room, she knocked tentatively.

"Who's there?" a woman's voice asked from inside.

"It's me. Yin-Yu."

There was a short pause before she got a reply. "Yes! Come in!"

Yin-Yu opened the door carefully. To her amazement, the peahen was sitting in bed on a bundle of blankets. Liu didn't even get up, but she greeted the older one with open wings.

"What a surprise," Liu breathed, overwhelmed. "I didn't expect you here at all."

Yin-Yu smiled. Then she went up to the younger peahen and hugged her, Liu hugging her very tightly.

"I'm kind of happy to see you here," Liu said.

"But why?" Yin-Yu looked at her worried. "Something happened? And why are you sitting in bed? Are you sick?"

Liu looked away, embarrassed. "Well, not directly."

With that, she pushed the blankets aside and stood up, revealing something white from under her. Yin-Yu looked at the egg with wide eyes.

Liu smiled. "Do you like it? I laid it a few weeks ago."

Yin-Yu was completely overwhelmed and gently she stroked the eggshell. "Oh, Liu, this is really..." She paused. "A few weeks ago? How long have you been here now? Or did you transport it this far?"

Liu rubbed her neck. "Well, when Xiang heard about my pregnancy, he was a little nervous. I mean... we knew I was going to get pregnant, but when the time came..." She was silent for a few seconds. "Well... then the idea occurred to me that we would retreat to a place where we are not so stressed. Xiang's house in Mendong City, it still reminiscent of days gone by. With you."

Yin-Yu sighed heavily at the memories. When she was pregnant by Shen, and she confessed to Xiang that she was pregnant, believing the children were his, he reacted relatively indifferently.

"Did he take kindly to it?" she wanted to know. "I mean, what did he say when you told him you were pregnant? Did he..." She hesitated to ask that question. "Did he ask... whether... whether this is from him?"

To her relief, Liu did not take offense at the question. In fact, she couldn't blame Xiang for wanting to confirm that the egg was really his and not someone else's. He was wrong about Yin-Yu, though Yin-Yu only wanted to protect her children because her mother had forced her to marry Xiang, even though she was already pregnant by Shen.

"Well," Liu began hesitantly. She took a deep breath. "Yes, he asked about it. Even twice. In fact, he looked me in the eyes so deeply that I feared he wouldn't believe me. It took almost a day before I could talk him out of his doubts." She hugged herself. "It wasn't easy."

Yin-Yu nodded understandingly. Xiang was difficult to convince, she knew that only too well from before.

"When will the time come?" she asked to distract from the subject.

"Very soon. Maybe even the next few days."

"Then we got there just in time." She paused. "But you still haven't told me why you came here, of all places."

Liu shook her head slowly. "Well, I was hoping that this environment would make him a little peaceful. And I thought the Valley of Peace would be the perfect place for it."

Yin-Yu frowned. "But I can't remember that he liked Po. How did you get him to come here? And if you've been here for a few weeks, how does it come that the others don't know about it?"

"Well, when I heard there was a kung fu competition going on," Liu said calmly. "I asked again and found out that the panda and the others would go to a kung fu training camp a few weeks beforehand to prepare for the competition. So, I assumed they would be gone until the child hatched. If the panda were still here, I would hardly have been able to persuade Xiang to come here. But it must have been delayed a little." She sighed. "But... don't get me wrong... but that you would be here, I didn't expect that. Was he mad at you?"

Yin-Yu bit her lower lip. "Well, I've seen him downstairs. He wasn't happy about it."

"Oh." Liu put a wing over her face. "I hope, it wasn't a mistake to come here."

The older woman looked at her pityingly. "Is he still having problems?"

"I don't want to say that he's completely healed," Liu replied after some hesitation, "but it hasn't gotten any worse."

Yin-Yu's gaze fell on the egg again. "How was the wedding?"

"Well, we didn't invite any guests, if that's what you mean." She smiled at her. "I wouldn't have known who to invite either."

Yin-Yu smiled, too. Liu was still as humble as he was then. No wonder, she was without parents, and she had worked as a poor worker and was not used to a life in comfort.

At that moment, they heard hobbling footsteps on the stairs. A short time later someone opened the door.

"Xiang." Liu looked at her husband in surprise. "I thought, you wanted to stay downstairs."

The blue peacock let out a disparaging snort. "If I want to save myself from being looked at, then I must be forced to come up here."

He sat down on a bench. His gaze was especially on Yin-Yu, as if he was expecting a reprimand from her, which made him look at her as sternly as possible.

Yin-Yu tried to smile at him. "I saw that you were expecting offspring."

"So?" Xiang raised his beak arrogantly. "Does that amuse you?"

"I congratulate you," Yin-Yu hastened to say. She realized that her presence was disturbing Xiang and she preferred to say goodbye. "I'll leave you alone now." She hurried to the door and nodded again cheerfully to them. "I wish you the best of luck." She looked at Liu encouragingly. "See you later. Until then."

With that, she disappeared from the room. Xiang looked after her in a bad mood. Then his angry gaze wandered to Liu, who ducked her head apologetically. "I really had no idea they were coming here!" she defended herself. "I really didn't know that!"

"I should hope so, too," the blue peacock snarled. "I didn't marry you so that you could rule my life."

"I would never do that." She walked over to him and held his wing as if she pled for his favor. "Just be so good and stick it out for the next few days. Do it for the child." She squeezed his wings tighter. "I would be so happy if you gave it a smile. At least only once."

Xiang's eyes narrowed. "Provided that it's from me."

Liu was startled. Had Yin-Yu's presence raised his doubts again? However, Xiang didn't look at her, he just pondered that he regretted coming here.

In a good mood, Mr. Ping stood in the kitchen and chopped the vegetables. He was so happy to stand in his own four walls again, although business outside of it hadn't gone so badly. He was so absorbed in his work that he did not notice the figure sneaking in and stopping in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Knock, knock!" someone trilled.

In surprise, Mr. Ping turned around. The knife fell out of his wing when he saw a fatter gander standing in front of him.

"Pong?" For a moment, Mr. Ping didn't know what to say. "What - what are you doing here?! It's a surprise to see you here!"

Happily, he hugged the other gander, who in turn returned his greeting with a loud laugh. "Well, I have to visit my brother sometimes," he cackled in amusement and tapped Mr. Ping on the stomach. "You lost a bit of weight."

Mr. Ping twisted his beak, offended. "And you, you've gained weight again."

Pong laughed. "Still the good old Ping."

Mr. Ping laughed, too. Then he jumped up and called out through the kitchen window onto the terrace, where not only Yin-Yu and the children but also Furious Five and Wang were sitting.

"Hey guys! Look, look!" Mr. Ping called to them and pulled Pong outside to join them. "This is my brother Pong!"

"Pong?" Mantis inclined his head in amazement.

The fat gander laughed. "My name is actually Bing, but we always got mixed up. People struggled to tell us apart by name. Then we tried Bing-Bing. But because my brother's name is Ping, I was always called Pong just for fun, and it stayed as a nickname. So, you can call me Pong."

"And you don't mind?" Xia asked cautiously, not wanting to offend anyone.

"Don't worry," Pong waved it off, his gaze wandering to Yin-Yu, who was particularly noticeable because of her expensive clothes. "And with whom do I have the honor?"

"Be polite," Mr. Ping whispered to his brother. "She is a lady."

"Oh, I'm delighted to see you, madam." Pong took Yin-Yu's wing and kissed her hand. Yin-Yu giggled sheepishly. Then Pong turned back to his brother. "Where is your son? The Dragon Warrior."

"Oh, well, you know..." Mr. Ping rubbed his wings together with embarrassment. "He's not here right now, but he'll definitely show up here very soon. Most certainly."

He looked at the five friends hopefully, although they could not give him an answer or guarantee.

However, Mr. Pong shrugged. "Well, well. Hey! I have to introduce you to my family!"

Mr. Ping jumped up. "Oh, you brought your children with you? Oh, what a joy! I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Well, I thought they should get to know their uncle's restaurant. And I thought, the occasion for the kung fu festival exactly the right time."

"Who did you bring with you? All?"

"Only the older ones. The smaller ones couldn't come along."

"Where are they?"

"Come out. I'll show you! "

They followed Mr. Pong outside the restaurant to the street where a cart was parked. Everyone had already got out and was standing next to each other in a row. In the beginning, there stood a plump goose in a colorful dress.

"This is my wife, Li-Li," Mr. Pong introduced her. "These are my older sons: Peng, Teng, Weng, Feng, Zeng... and my daughter Liana."

Liana was fundamentally different from her brothers. Not just because she was a girl, but also because of her appearance. She wasn't an ugly duckling, despite her gray and white feathers like her brothers and parents. On the contrary. She wore a lavender shirt, her longer feather hair was braided in a braid and a peach blossom on her forehead.

The Furious Five greeted the goose family warmly.

"It's a shame that Po's not here," Monkey remarked with a slight regret.

"So, listen, children!" Mr. Pong called out and pointed to Yin-Yu, Xia, Sheng and the small children. "It's a royal family. I expect you to show your best behavior, understand?"

The geese and Liana nodded and bowed politely. The peafowls did the same. Xia noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sheng neither bowed nor made any movement. She looked at him in amazement. But her big brother stood there frozen. And his eyes were wide open.

"Uh, Sheng?" she asked quietly and nudged him in the side. "Is everything alright?"

But Sheng was numb. Liana noticed Sheng staring at her and bowed again to him. "It's nice to meet you."

Sheng moved his beak, but somehow no useful words came out of it. "Yes, I... I... I... my..."

"He is the kung fu runner-up," Zedong announced proudly next to him.

"Uh... yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm... I'm runner-" Sheng stuttered more and more.

The goose girl giggled, which made Sheng blush under his feathers.

"I have to go!"

Everyone watched in amazement as Sheng ran away quickly. Mr. Pong didn't let that bother him. "Well, now!" he shouted, slapping Mr. Ping on the back with a swing that almost took his breath away. "Show me your father's restaurant. I have to know what else you've got up and running."

Quickly, Sheng disappeared around the next corner. There he leaned against the wall of the house and took a deep breath. He didn't even know what was wrong with him. His heart raced wildly, but he didn't feel sick. Or maybe yes? He touched his forehead, but he couldn't find any under temperature. He even seemed to have an elevated temperature. He rubbed his temples nervously. He couldn't think of anything but one person at the moment and let out a wistful sigh. "Liana."

I picked up the name "Liana" at a kung fu championship on TV. Definitely not a purely Chinese name, I think, but the pinyins would fit. :-D Thanks for reading. :-)