14. Butterflies in the Stomach

At the same time, in the Valley of Peace, the sun threw its first rays down over the high mountains into the valley. Just at that moment, the morning gong sounded in the Jade Palace. It had hardly faded away when the doors opened and the Furious Five stood in front of their rooms in the corridor.

"Good morning, master!" everyone greeted in unison.

But Shifu immediately noticed that someone was missing. "Sheng? Sheng?"

He ran to another room and pushed open the door. Sheng was still in bed and turned on his side, moaning when Shifu asked him to get up.

"Do you always get up so early here?" the peacock murmured under the blanket.

Viper giggled. "You're a late riser, aren't you?"

"Not always," the peacock defended himself sleepily, his beak peeking out from under the blanket. "I just couldn't sleep that well. I had to think about so many things."

Shifu's eyebrows drew together. "There is still time for that during the day. So get out now."

Sighing, Sheng crawled out of the warm bed and followed the masters out of the house to the training hall. Master Storming Ox and Master Croc were already inside and doing a few exercises.

"What are we going to do now?" Sheng asked after stepping over the threshold.

"We will continue with the daily training program for now," Shifu replied, but his expression was extremely gloomy. He was probably still upset that Po had just bolted.

Sheng, seeing all this for the first time, looked around in awe. "So this is the training hall?"

Meanwhile, Master Ox and Master Croc had finished their warm-up training and joined the group.

"Master Ox?" Sheng said quickly before the Ox could start any other topic. "Had my father actually been here in the Valley of Peace?"

Master Ox immediately twisted his mouth. He was reluctant to start the day with a thought about Shen, so that Master Croc answered for him.

"When he was in kung fu class - yes. But that's quite a long time ago. It was more like a class trip. Just this once."

"But not long enough for me," the ox snorted.

Shifu saw it as his duty to relax the situation a bit and enlightened the young peacock. "Your family has not been involved in kung fu for long, but your grandfather, Lord Liang, was one of the first students of the three great masters."

Sheng looked at him in surprise. "Oh, my grandfather was also in the kung fu class?"

"Yes, thanks to him, the kung fu council had settled in Gongmen City."

"How's that?"

"Well, after the three masters, Master Thundering Rhino, Master Storming Ox and Master Croc, were appointed by Master Oogway to be the head of kung fu, they also wanted to train students. For this reason, they went all over China and everyone they met who had the right fighting spirit and the best intentions was accepted into the class." He pointed across the hall. "They were schooled and trained here." He paused briefly before continuing. "While the Valley of Peace was a good spot for the core of kung fu, it was too remote. We wanted to choose a prosperous city for the council where it would be easier for the disciples to get there." His gaze wandered to the five other masters. "Only the Furious Five were trained here alone in the palace. But as I said, we, the three great masters, Master Oogway and I came to the decision to take the city from which our best student came. Whoever lived in a city, or even ruled one, took part in a competition. And the winner had the honor of making their city available to kung fu."

"And that was my grandfather?" Sheng guessed.

"Yes, he was the best among the students. And when he won the contest, the council settled in Gongmen City, to this day."

"And how was it with my father?"

Shifu put his ears back. "He was in the kung fu class like your grandfather wanted, but he wasn't very good. His health had often not given him the necessary energy to do so. He was even the worst student."

This surprised Sheng very much. "And how did it come that… After all, he's very good at fighting." But then Sheng thought about it again. "But when I think about it, his fighting style isn't pure kung fu."

Master Croc agreed. "You're right. It contains some elements, but he had learned something different. Another type of fight. But not from us."

"Then by whom?" the piebald peacock wanted to know.

"Shen could give you better information about that," Master Ox snorted. "He should say alone which scum he got involved with."

Sheng frowned. "Did he only learn something else because he was bad at kung fu?"

The ox shrugged indifferently. "I don't know? Am I clairvoyant?"

Sheng narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "What exactly happened back then that my father hates kung fu so much? Surely not just because he wasn't that good at it, right?"

"What makes you think that?" Mantis asked.

"Isn't that obvious? My father sometimes overreacts in certain situations, but he's not that uncontrolled either."

"How do you know that?" Master Ox growled. "We know Shen... from the cradle." He shied away from using the word "baby". For him, Shen had never been an innocent baby, just a monster. Master Croc looked at him reproachfully and tried to answer neutrally.

"There was a conflict here and there," the crocodile replied, somewhat sadly. "Which was common among kids and teenagers, even in a kung fu class. But I had the impression that something blew up higher and higher. But your father was always so withdrawn into himself..."

"Excuse me."

Everyone turned to the door in surprise, where a palace goose was standing.

"What is it?" Shifu wanted to know.

"There is a lady," the palace goose reported. "She wants to speak to Sheng."

Sheng looked up in surprise. "With me?"

The palace goose nodded. "Yes, with you. She is waiting in the yard by the gate."

Deep in thought, Sheng climbed down the stairs through the palace garden towards the main gate. The conversation with the masters had made him thoughtful. Just what had Shen experienced in his childhood? How had he learned his martial arts and what did master ox mean by scum? He hoped his father could give him an answer, provided he wanted it. He rarely spoke about his past at his childhood home in Gongmen City. Maybe he didn't even talk to Yin-Yu about it. But maybe he could ask his mother after all.

Sheng was so preoccupied with these questions that he looked up until he was almost at the gate. He wasn't expecting anyone in particular. Maybe it was his mother or his sister Xia. But in the moment, when he lifted his head, he froze. There was a bird in the yard, but it wasn't a peafowl. Sheng stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Liana standing just a few meters in front of him. The goose girl bowed respectfully to him and even smiled at him. Quickly, Sheng looked away. They actually looked each other straight in the eyes. Yesterday evening too, but here, they were completely alone. The peacock swallowed hard. There was a total emptiness in his head. What was she doing here?

"I'm sorry," Liana's voice sounded in his ears. "Did I disturb you?"

Sheng dared to look at her again, yet he wished he could vanish into thin air now, somehow become invisible. He was just glad that she couldn't see him blushing under his feathers.

Finally, he pulled himself together and lifted his head, clearing his throat loudly.

"Well, not exactly," he answered in a controlled voice, walking towards her as gracefully as possible, always wondering what she had brought her here. He could only hope it wasn't about his embarrassing performance last night.

He finally came to a halt in front of her, although he wanted to turn and run away.

"I heard you wanted to see me?" he asked uncertainly.

Liana nodded. "Yes, mh, here." With these words, she pulled out a long white-green-blue colored peacock feather. Sheng's eyes widened. It was the same feather which someone had accidentally ripped out of him yesterday.

"You lost that in the restaurant yesterday," Liana explained, holding it out to him. "I thought, you might want it back."

Sheng blushed even more. This time not out of embarrassment, but because she had run up the many steps especially for that reason. "Oh, uh... Thanks, but that wouldn't be necessary... This whole way..."

The goose girl giggled. "It doesn't matter. Look. It's as good as undamaged."

"You can keep it", Sheng ground out in one breath.

Sobered, Liana lowered the feather in her wing a little.

"Not because I wouldn't appreciate your attention!" Sheng added hastily. "It's just I have no use for it. You can have it if you want."

The goose girl looked at him in bewilderment. "Are you serious? Peacock feathers are rare and very expensive."

"Er, yeah, that's because... we're reluctant give up our feathers."

Liana smiled. "I can understand that. They are very beautiful. I like them." She stroked the long, soft, bushy feather branches. "Thanks."

Sheng raised the beak angles. He would have liked to look in a mirror to make sure he didn't have anything on his face. But suddenly there was a low growl.

Frightened, Sheng held his wings over his stomach, although that didn't help anymore either.

"Er... I haven't eaten anything today," he said sheepishly. He blushed again. The whole thing was embarrassing for him.

Liana looked at him in surprise. "Really? I could cook something for you."

Sheng blushed even more under his feathers. "I don't want to cause any trouble." He bit his lower lip. Why hadn't he said 'no'?

"Oh, that's not a problem," the goose girl assured him and smiled at him. "I grew up in the kitchen. Come on, the restaurant is free right now."

Sheng became stock still. Liana had touched his wing and pulled him gently towards the stairs. That was their first touch! Sheng thought, he was about to faint. At that moment, he only felt her wings on his. And that was completely new territory for him. Although he was already in his 20s, but now he felt like a teenager who no longer knew what to do with his feelings at the sight of a pretty girl. Maybe it was because he had never been together with a girl. Xiang had never tolerated such a visit. Even the school lesson was always cut off from the world. He and his sister had never played with other children and they had never experienced what it was like to be with someone their own age, or even to think about kissing. Everything spun around in Sheng's head again. Now his entire isolated childhood seemed to be catching up to him in one fell swoop.

"Everything okay? Are you alright?"

Liana's calls brought him back from his emotional chaos from far away. She was still holding his wing. Now even both! She looked at him worriedly, as if checking to see if he was ill. The peacock moved his beak, but he noticed to his dismay that his mouth was now dry with excitement.

"I'm… fine," he stuttered with difficulty.

"Or are you worried that someone will step on your long feathers again?" Liana asked. "You don't need to worry about that. There are currently no guests present. So, you have enough space to move around there."

"Uh, no," Sheng tried to explain the situation, "it's just that I have to ask first if I can go to the valley."

Yin-Yu had slept well, but as soon as she woke up, she began to ponder again. The uncertainty bothered her a lot. If only she knew what Shen was doing. And if he and Po got along at all. After some back and forth, she decided to sit down at a table and to write a letter. The old goat had assured her that she would wait in Gongmen City, maybe she could give her some information. Perhaps Shen was already back in his hometown. When she had finished writing, she turned to the landlord.

"Excuse me, is there a post office here?" she asked.

The landlord, an elderly bunny, waggled his ears in the affirmative. "You can submit letters three blocks away. Do you prefer express mail?"

The Furious Five had chuckled a little when Sheng informed them and the other masters that Mr. Ping's niece had invited him to breakfast. At least no one stopped him. Especially when Viper and Monkey gave Shifu a nasty swipe in the ribs just to let the peacock go.

While Sheng walked down the long stairs with Liana, the peacock couldn't think of anything else to talk about the valley or the weather. He was all the more relieved when they finally arrived at the restaurant.

"Do you prefer a special meal in the morning?" Liana asked, tying on an apron.

"Oh, I'd better rely on your knowledge," Sheng replied politely. "Can I help you with that?"

"Have you ever been in a kitchen?" Liana asked in surprise and immediately she bowed again apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I imagine that you get everything delivered by the staff."

Sheng waved it off. "Oh, that doesn't matter. Just tell me what to do."

Liana thought about it. "Well, you could bring the bowl from the shelf to me."

Sheng immediately rushed to the shelf while Liana got some spices from a cupboard. She had to be careful not to step on his long peacock feathers.

"I'm starting to understand why peacocks don't work in the kitchen," she smiled.

In surprise, Sheng looked back at her and only now noticed that she was standing with one raised foot over his peacock tail.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sheng turned around and his long feathers waved to the other side of the kitchen.

"We have to be a bit smart about that," the goose girl suggested.

"And how should we do that?" the peacock wanted to know.

"Well, listen. I'll stay here and you hand me the things which I name you."

Sheng nodded. "Okay."

"Alright, first thing, I need the bowl from the shelf," Liana said, while she was pulling chopping boards and knives from the cupboards.

Sheng first had to look for which bowl she meant. When he finally found it, he took it off the shelf and handed it to her.

"Thanks, now the rice."

The rice was on another shelf. Just as Sheng was about to pull out the rice sack, a jar slipped out because Sheng had accidentally hit it again with his long feathers. Liana reacted quickly and caught the jar before it hit the ground.

"She has good reflexes," Sheng thought appreciatively.

"Well, look at that," an amused voice said. "Who is standing in front of the stove so early?"

Mr. Pong stood in the doorway. Along with Mr. Ping. Above all, Mr. Pong laughed and held his big belly and looked cheerfully at the two young birds. "That's a great picture. It reminds me of my youth."

"Why father?" Liana asked.

"That's exactly how I met your mother."

"Really?" Sheng blushed under the feathers again.

"Yes, of course. I owned a small snack shop at the time. Nothing of great importance, but I'd had a lot of customers. Until one day, Li-Li ordered something from me. She was also an enthusiastic cook and then at some point, we stood together at the stove and tried and discussed recipes. And then we cooked and cooked, every day. Until I finally ask for her wing in marriage while a banana-rice menu." His gaze wandered to his brother. "And you're still single, Ping? That surprises me a lot. You should invite women into your kitchen more often. Maybe Armor's arrow will kiss you one day, too."

Mr. Ping twisted his beak in insult.

"Well, let's leave them alone," Mr. Pong said and simply pulled his brother behind him.

It became quiet in the kitchen. Finally, goose girl and peacock looked at each other mischievously.

"Shall we continue?" Liana asked after some hesitation.

A growl in Sheng's stomach gave the answer. "Er, yes, we must maybe."

Outside, the sun was shining warmly on the terrace. Liana had offered to take Sheng's bowl to a table on the pretext that she was used to serving orders. As soon as Sheng sat down, he held Liana back.

"Wouldn't you like to sit with me?" he asked.

Liana looked at him in surprise. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, no, it's just..." Sheng searched for the right sentence. "It's so lonely to eat alone."

The goose girl frowned. "And you don't mind? Strictly speaking, I belong to the kitchen staff. I don't know if that's good for your image."

Sheng looked at her with wide eyes. Then he laughed. "I'm not the emperor of China. Besides, what does it matter?"

"Are you sure?" she asked uncertainly.

The peacock folded his wings and looked at her with played sternness. "And if I order you to do it?"

"Oh." Liana akimbo with a cheeky grin. "If that is so, I suppose I have no choice, my lord, haven't I?"

Sheng lifted his beak. "Too right."

Then they burst out laughing.

"Okay," Liana gave in, giggling. "I'll just get something from the kitchen quickly."

Sheng looked at her in surprise. He could understand that she had to put out her own food, but what else?

Liana came back quickly. In one wing she held her own bowl, and in the other a small jar of herbs.

"Here, this one on top." She sprinkled it first into Sheng's, then into her own bowl. "Bon appetite," she wished him. Then she sat down, too.

Sheng took the chopsticks in the wing. He had tasted it in the kitchen, but the herbs enhanced the taste even more.

"Mm, tastes good," he praised.

"My father picked up the recipe from a Thai customer," Liana explained.

"Your father seems to be picking up quite a few recipes."

"Yes, he is always eager to try as many new things as possible, which his own father would never have allowed him to do."

When he heard the word "father", Sheng thought of something else. "Have you heard from my father, too?" he asked uncertainly.

"A lot, maybe not all, but a lot. My uncle Ping wrote to us about it."

Sheng turned his head to the side, a little embarrassed. Did she feel comfortable in his presence at all?

"I'm glad that my cousin was able to help your father," Liana said, to Sheng's amazement.

"Oh, you mean Po?"

Liana smiled sheepishly. "Well, we're not blood relatives, but figuratively, he's my cousin. Or adoptive cousin." She laughed.

Sheng rubbed his chin. "Mmm, that's right."

"Zedong, why don't you play with the others?"

The little piebald peacock scowled when his mother asked him that. They were walking down the street together. The other peacock children were already outside, only Zedong didn't feel like going anywhere with them.

"Because none of them want to fight with me," Zedong complained. "Shenmi is making her paper pieces again, Fantao is scribbling and Jian is playing his harp. What should I do? Boxing with my shadow?"

Yin-Yu looked at her little son thoughtfully. "Don't you want to try it with Xia?" she suggested, but Zedong was not enthusiastic about it.

"Xia is a girl. I want to fight against boys."

"You should never underestimate girls," his mother admonished. "Think of Tigress and Viper. They are girls, too, and they are very good at fighting."

"They are fully trained. It annoys me that they aren't even down here and are swarming up in the palace instead."

"Well, there's still a lot to do," Yin-Yu tried to soothe him. "They don't have much time."

Zedong let out an annoyed growl. "Everybody doesn't have time for me."

At that moment, they passed the restaurant. Zedong stopped immediately. His mother looked at him in surprise. "What's the matter, my son?"

"There's Sheng!" the little peacock cried, pointing to the terrace. There really sat Sheng and Liana at the table and talked with each other.

"Wasn't that too exhausting for you?" Liana was asking.

Sheng shook his head. "No, it's just that nobody told me that working in the kitchen is so much fun."

"Sheng! Why didn't you tell me you were here?!"

Sheng looked up in surprise as Zedong ran towards him and tugged at his shirt. "Did you just come down here because of me?" Zedong continued to ask excitedly. "Then come, let's train!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," his older brother apologized. "But I can't now. You see, I'm eating right now."

"Then after that," the little peacock urged.

But Sheng shook his head. "No, I might have to go back to the palace." With disappointment, Zedong dropped his wings.

"Maybe later," his older brother comforted him. "We can still practice together."

At first, Zedong looked at him soberly, then his gaze wandered to Liana and his facial features darkened. "Oh, but you hang around with her voluntarily, don't you?!"

Before Sheng could reply, Zedong just ran away and even nudged his mother. Then he disappeared into the street. Yin-Yu considered running after him, but then she decided against it. Zedong was in a buck phase that he had to get out of before someone could speak with him. She sighed. He was just as stubborn as his father. Quickly, she smiled upon noticing Sheng and Liana's looks.

"Don't mind me," she said quickly and hurriedly continued on her way, where she couldn't help but smile.

Sheng didn't feel comfortable about offending his little brother. But it bothered him even more that he had insulted Liana.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "My little brother."

But Liana didn't seem to have bothered. "I also have a couple of younger brothers. Sometimes they are like that. But they stayed at home."

"Oh really, how many are there?"

While Sheng and Liana continued their conversations, Yin-Yu found the post office. After delivering the letter as an express mail, she strolled through the village and enjoyed the morning sun. She was still plagued by the oppressive feeling, but Shen would surely drum it into her that brooding wasn't going to last long either. On her way, she met Wang. The King of the Huns sat on a bench and dozed.

"Good morning," Yin-Yu greeted him.

The big ox blinked. "Oh, good morning."

He stretched a few times, which would have been considered rude among royals, but here in this village, you felt very relaxed with everyone. Perhaps there was something to the name 'Valley of Peace'.

"I'm glad to see you here," the peahen began. "Yesterday and the days before, I didn't get the chance to talk to you anymore."

The king raised his eyebrows in surprise. "So? What did you want to talk about?"

The peahen smoothed a fold out of her dress. "Well, it's because of Xiang. How has he done in recent years? You live near Mendong City. Was there anything unusual about him? Or did he change something in town? Liu has already told me a few things, but how do you assess the situation? I don't hope, he complained to you in any way."

The ox folded his hooves over his belly and thought for a moment. "Well, for the whole two years, he was actually quite calm. Huan said, he was very withdrawn like in a snail's shell." His expression darkened for a moment. "I just wonder what's on his mind."

"Do you still think, he's capable of a revolt?" Yin-Yu asked.

Wang was silent for a few seconds. "Honestly, I don't know. Just because he got married, on a voluntary basis, doesn't mean to me that he's now an innocent lamb."

Yin-Yu nodded understandingly. After everything they had been through with Xiang, there was no guarantee that they could trust him completely.

Wang started when he saw another familiar figure walking towards him out of the corner of his eye. "Look who's coming."

Yin-Yu looked at the street where Liu was walking along. Yin-Yu held her finger feathers in front of her beak and motioned to Wang not to talk about Xiang anymore.

"Good morning," Liu greeted and bowed.

"Good morning to you, too," Yin-Yu replied. "Where's Xiang?"

"He wanted to stay in his room," Liu explained. "By the way, I hope we didn't spoil your stay with our presence."

Yin-Yu shook her head. "We don't mind, do we?"

She looked at Wang warningly. He was forced to agree with her. "Of course not," he said. "We're used to worse..."

"I just delivered a letter," Yin-Yu quickly distracted from the topic.

"Why didn't Shen come with you?" Liu wanted to know.

Yin Yu smiled at her. "Oh, that's a crazy story. I can explain it to you."

With that, she took the younger peacock aside while Wang sat back and left the two to their women's talk.

Bored, Zedong punched some grasses and kicked some stones. Hardly anyone stayed on the outskirts of the village. Not even the village children. Only Zedong's little brothers passed the time with their hobbies. Fantao had found an old wall and painted whatever came to mind on it. Jian sat not far away and plucked his musical instrument. Fantao tried to use the plucking as a rhythm for the brushstrokes and didn't let it bother him. Only Zedong was driven insane.

"So could anybody do something different here?!" he complained. "Why doesn't anyone want to train with me?!"

Fantao twitched his eyebrows in annoyance. "Could you turn down your speaking organ a bit? I can't concentrate at all."

Zedong narrowed his eyes. "You want me to make less noise? Well, you can have it."

With that, he leapt forward and snatched Fantao's brush from the wing.

"Hey, give me back my brush!" Fantao scolded.

"Catch it!" Zedong scoffed, holding up the brush in triumph.

But when his brother tried to grab it, Zedong dodged and ran away.

"Give it back!" Annoyed, Fantao ran after Zedong.

"Yes, great!" Zedong cheered. "Let's get some running practice," and sped through the trees. Jian shook his head disapprovingly and struck up some upbeat music on his pipa.

The children's shouts also reached Xiang's room. As soon as the blue peacock heard the children's cries, he hobbled to the window, where he sat down on a chair and looked outside. There he saw Zedong running through the forest with Fantao's brush in his wing, cheering gleefully. Xiang sighed and rubbed his numb leg. He longed for the time when he could still run fast on his own. But that would probably be the end of it for him forever. His gaze wandered to the egg, which was lying innocently on the blankets. Xiang narrowed his eyes. Once the child hatched, it would probably want to play sometimes, too. Maybe even with him. At least that's how Liu would want him to be. But how should he? His grip on his lame leg tightened. At moments like this, he hated his body. It captured him as if in chains. No matter what he did, he never got free. He glanced at the egg again. Should the child see him at all?

At that moment, there was a hesitant knock on the door.

"Door is open," he growled.

But nobody opened. Instead, there was a hesitant throat clearing. Then someone knocked again.

With an annoyed growl, the peacock struggled to his foot and hobbled to the door on his crutch. He tore it open with a dash. "WHAT?!"

To his amazement, the aisle in front of him was empty. Or at least almost...

"Uh, hello," a small voice answered from the bottom up.

Xiang's gaze wandered to the floor where little Shenmi was standing in front of him with her head slightly ducked. Immediately, his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"What do you want again?!" he snapped at her angrily.

Ashamed, the white peacock girl rubbed her finger feather tips together. "I'm sorry about yesterday," she said tentatively.

Xiang raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"And the one before that, too," the girl continued, although she had done nothing.

Xiang's facial muscles relaxed a little and Shenmi gave him a hopeful look as he even leaned down a little towards her.

"Apology... NOT ACCEPTED!"

With a loud bang, Xiang slammed the door shut again. Then he turned around quickly, hobbled to the window and yelled loudly: "LIIIIUUU!"

The scream was unmistakable. Even the villagers looked up, startled, wondering if something bad had happened.

Hearing the call, Liu hastily said goodbye to Yin-Yu and ran up the street. In front of the house, Shenmi came towards her and ran away completely frightened. Liu didn't get around to asking her what was wrong. She raced up the stairs and yanked open the door to the room.

"What happened? Is the baby coming?!"

"While you're at walking outside," Xiang growled, "tell my ex to keep her brat away from me! You hear?!"

Liu looked at him in bewilderment. She couldn't believe that was the only reason he had called her. Finally, she nodded, concerned. "It's fine, I'll tell her."

With that, she turned and gently she closed the door behind her again. Outside in the corridor, she leaned against the wall and buried her face in her wings, sighing.