:Early next morning:

Zhu had stopped on his journey before nightfall and spent the night at a family member's place that was situated, if slightly out of his way, on the path back to the Valley. He didn't fancy his chances travelling at night to the Valley due to the bandits that sometimes roamed China's countryside at night... However, he made sure to wake up early and eat a hearty breakfast before bidding his farewells and leaving the house to continue on his travels back to The Jade Palace. Due to being the winged variety of animal, he actually flew over The Thread of Hope rather than going over it by foot, making sure to stop on some of the platforms situated in between the bridges to catch his breath before continuing on, knocking quite a bit of time off the journey.

He reached The Jade Palace a few hours later by flying over many of the obstacles such as cliffs and steep hills that would otherwise hinder others who could not fly. Upon reaching the village at the foot of The Palace, he came in for a landing and took a deep breath, feeling a bit tired from his journey. On his way out, he'd flown above and away from the village, but now he decided to take a walk through it to catch his breath and relax a little before trekking up the 1000 steps or flying up to the Palace. However, he was shocked to find the place was not as lively as he'd seen it the last time... Sure it was still busy, but something was amiss among the citizens...

Continuing to make his way through the village, Zhu was shocked as he witnessed a Rabbit getting his cart overturned by a angry looking Jackal before being grabbed and pinned to a nearby wall threateningly. "Listen you cutesy little shit, pay up now, or else you lose your entire stock." he threatened as a nearby Wolf walked over and lit a torch, holding it over the Rabbit's cart, threatening to torch all of his goods.

The Rabbit held his hands up and shook his head, shaking like a leaf in the Jackal's grasp. "N-n-no one wants to buy from us... They're... They're too s-s-s-scared..." said Rabbit's teeth then started chattering from the amount of shaking.

The Jackal dropped the Rabbit to the ground and began laughing loudly. "Scared? Scared of what? Of us? We're not scary! ...Right?!" The Jackal asked, putting his face directly in front of the Rabbit's and baring his teeth in a grin.

The Rabbit shrieked at the Jackal's sudden intrusion into his personal space, but shook his head. "No, no no of course not... No..." he managed to say as the Jackal laughed even louder then. "Well... I guess we need to pay the other villages a visit then to make sure they're spending their money at the right places." the Jackal decided, and the Rabbit looked horrified at what that could mean for the other villages... "Come on." he gestured to the Wolf to follow him. The Wolf then doused the torch and followed the Jackal, giving a warning glare to the Rabbit as he passed by.

Zhu was horrified at what he saw was happening here... The Five and Po had only been occupied with repairing the Palace for 2 months, and bandits had already moved into the Valley to take advantage of their brief absence... Shifu must be told at once! Deciding to not take any chances, Zhu snuck through the Village, but the steps leading up to The Jade Palace were guarded at the bottom by two armed bandits, a Leopard and a Gorilla. No way he'd be able to sneak past... And one of them was watching the skies so they'd see him flying... "Hey, you seen that Goose that flew away from The Palace?" the Gorilla asked the Leopard as if on cue.

Said Leopard kept his eye on the sky but still shook his head at that. "Nah. Boss said to watch the skies for him though. We can't let him get back. He could snitch on us, and if the Jade Palace finds out we're here... It's all over." he pointed out to his Gorilla companion, who nodded at that, as the Leopard resumed his attention to fully watching the skies while the Gorilla watched the streets.

Zhu had an idea then, but he needed some help to put it in motion... He quickly ran over to Mr. Ping's Noodle Shop, which apparently still saw a significant amount of custom even with the bandits at large in the village. Making sure none were currently nearby, he approached the counter. "Mr. Ping?" he asked hurriedly.

Said Goose came to the counter promptly at hearing he had a prospective customer. "Hello, welcome to Dragon Warrior Noodles & Tofu, the home of The Dragon Warrior prior to The Jade Palace. What can I get for you today?" he asked Zhu, who leaned in close so as not to be overheard.

"Mr. Ping, I need your help. I work at The Jade Palace-" he said, but before he could finish Mr. Ping quickly pulled Zhu over the counter with a shocked squawk from both parties. He bade Zhu to stay low as they crouched down, with the customers at first looking confused at the situation before shrugging at Mr. Ping's antics and going back to their food.

Mr. Ping seemed rather concerned. "You must go back! Tell my son and the Furious Five what is happening in the village!" he begged Zhu.

Zhu nodded to the Goose then. "I would, but the steps are blocked and they're watching the skies. I need your help." he said to Mr. Ping, who looked at him worriedly.

Eventually after some thought, Mr. Ping nodded to Zhu. "What do you need me to do?" he asked...

...

Mr. Ping pulled his Noodle Cart towards the steps of The Jade Palace, a smile on his face as he bounced over to the guards. One of them pointed his weapon at the Goose, who held his happy demeanour, but was trying not to freak out internally. "Halt! Who are you?! What do you want?!" The Gorilla demanded.

The Goose then put on his best customer service voice, using his years of experience to his advantage. "Oh, my friends! You both look tired and hungry!" he exclaimed to them in feigned concern.

The Leopard's stomach then growled and Mr. Ping nodded in sympathy, loading two bowls of noodle soup and giving them to the guards. They both quickly downed their soup and licked their lips. "Mmm, delicious!" The Gorilla nodded in appreciation.

Mr. Ping smiled in satisfaction at them enjoying their soup, a tinge of pride in his chest. "You see my friends, I need to make my usual delivery to The Jade Palace, and you wouldn't deprive them of this wonderful food now, would you?" he said to them in an almost pleading voice.

Both guards looked at each other, then to Mr. Ping. "Well, we're not supposed to let anyone up there..." the Leopard shook his head to the Goose.

Nodding in understanding, Mr. Ping produced two tickets and gave them to the guards. "These are for two free bowls of noodle soup at my shop for when you finish your shift!" he chirped happily, buttering them up. "But you see, I have to make this delivery quickly, otherwise, my son The Dragon Warrior might wonder why his father hasn't delivered their monthly food and tea supplies, and he may come looking..." Mr. Ping said as if worried for the guards before shrugging and turning. "But if you insist, I shall go back to my shop an-"

"Stop!" both the Leopard and Gorilla said at once. "We can't have The Dragon Warrior come down here looking for his father. Not yet..." the Gorilla pointed out to the Leopard.

The Leopard for his part gave a nod. "It could ruin everything..." he said, thinking for a few seconds. "You, Goose. You can make your delivery, but we will accompany you from a hiding place. You'll leave your cart at the Palace entrance and tell whoever answers the door that you're too busy to stay and chat. If you go squawking to anyone about us or disappear inside the Palace, we'll burn the entire village down along with your precious Noodle Shop, got it?" the Leopard threatened Mr. Ping, who gulped nervously and nodded in understanding.

Mr. Ping pulled his Noodle Cart up the steps of the Palace with little issue apart from the weight, which made him a little slower than usual, however he eventually got to the top of the steps. Entering the first set of doors into the courtyard, he crossed it, feeling the eyes still on him... He walked over to the doors and gave a knock. Shifu was the one to answer the door, and seemed surprised. "Mr. Ping? What are-"

Mr. Ping smiled at Shifu very widely. "Here you go Master Shifu! Your monthly delivery of food and tea supplies!" he exclaimed over enthusiastically, pushing the cart to Shifu, who hesitantly took it.

He seemed a little bit confused. "Thank you, but why-"

Mr. Ping suddenly interrupted the Old Master. "Can't talk! Must run!" he exclaimed and quickly waddled away and left The Jade Palace grounds before anyone could say anything more.

Shifu was confused by the whole interaction... While Mr. Ping did supply The Jade Palace with noodles, dumplings, tea and various other food and drink, it usually came in bulk via large crates, and he hired larger animals to carry the supplies to the Palace. Why he delivered a small cart by himself was rather... Odd... Shifu shrugged at that and pulled the cart inside the Palace. Deciding to inspect the impromptu and rather strange delivery, he looked over the supplies before opening up the bottom of the cart...

And, well, there was no food inside... "Zhu!?" Shifu exclaimed as the Goose seemed shocked for a second before popping out of the cart he was stuffed into hurriedly with a small squawk at finally being able to move freely again.

He was erratic and unfocused in his movements and words. "Shifu! Master Shifu!" Zhu exclaimed in a panic. "IhavetheletterbuttherearebanditsinthevalleyandthepeopleneedyourhelpsoI-" Shifu calmly closed his hand around Zhu's bill to stop him talking for a second so they could both get their bearings.

Shifu took a deep breath, finding his own inner peace so could remain calm. "Zhu. Take deep breaths and start again. Slower this time." he spoke calmly to the Goose in question, releasing his bill.

Zhu did indeed do just that, getting his breathing under control quickly. "I have the letter from Mailbox #3, Master." he informed Shifu, handing him the letter.

Shifu seemed pleased by that. "Excellent." He nodded, forgetting for a moment how Zhu had re-entered The Palace.

Zhu shook his head frantically then. "That's not all Master. It's the village. Bandits. They've taken up residence down there. They've put the steps to the Palace on guard so no one can call for help while extorting the citizens below. It's why I hid in the Noodle Cart to get back here, there was no other way." he told Shifu about the situation in the Valley of Peace.

Shifu was shocked by this news. "Bandits? How? How could we be so blind...?" he asked himself in despair while shaking his head, knowing this had happened under his watch. "We've been so preoccupied with our own troubles, we've neglected the needs of those who rely on us for protection." Shifu realised in horror that they'd failed the Valley of peace, and in a way, Master Oogway himself. "Zhu, one last thing. I need you to summon The Furious Five and The Dragon Warrior immediately." he ordered, and Zhu nodded, gladly fulfilling the request given to him.

Shifu decided to read Hunter's reply to him while waiting for Zhu to bring the others.

Dear Red Master

I will be there as soon as possible. The hours of Dawn and Dusk are the two most likely times I will arrive at the Green Tranquillity to retrieve the medicine.

Yours

The Hunter

The reply was simple and meant Shifu should wait for him at Dawn and Dusk in the Palace... Not long after, the Five and Po were all assembled in The Hall of Warriors. "You summoned us, Master?" Tigress asked as they all bowed respectfully to Shifu, wondering why they had been summoned so urgently.

Po struck a pose. "We're ready to kick butt, Master." he poke decidedly to Shifu, who turned to them with a look of concern on his face.

Viper mirrored his expression as she noticed Shifu's look before anyone else did. "Master? What is it?"

Shifu sighed sadly at that. "We have failed in our duties." he said to the Masters present, who all looked unsure as to what he meant but were concerned by that statement alone. "Bandits have taken up residence in the Valley of Peace under our watch, and have been allowed to flourish." he informed everyone, who were all shocked at this news. "We have been looking inwardly for 2 months now. 2 months too long. The Valley is in danger because of our lack of oversight. We must make amends. All of us will go down there immediately and assess the situation." he decided.

Monkey seemed surprised by that. "All of us?" he asked, wondering if Shifu meant what they thought he meant by that.

He nodded in response, confirming what Monkey had said. "I will accompany you. To help atone for letting the Valley succumb to such filth." He decided, and Po looked like he was about to yell in excitement at having everyone together, only to be stopped by Shifu. "No 'butt kicking' this time. This is reconnaissance only." He looked to Po at that, who nodded in understanding at Shifu's plan of action, reigning in his excitement, trying to remember he is Grand Master, and should show a little restraint from time to time.

"Of course, Master."