27. By the Cold Grace of the Lord

They didn't know how long they stayed there, but at some point, Shen couldn't take the hug any longer. He pushed the panda gently, but also firmly, away. Po was not angry with him about it. When the two of them were again less than three feet apart, they only now seemed to realize again why they had actually come here. But the lord didn't want to hear or say anything more. Without a word he picked up his lance sword and both went back the way they had come.

Both were silent for the entire boat trip. Po didn't dare to ask questions. Shen just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He was very confused that the panda did not attack him even at the place where his mother died. And it would take a while to work that into his universe of thought.

They dismounted again in the harbor of Gongmen City. Fortunately, the boat owner didn't charge a fee, so Shen could carry his thoughts with him without that they were interrupted. Po followed him with slow steps. The sun was so deep now that it turned the horizon a milky red.

On the way, they passed the destroyed part of the city. But Shen paid no attention to the debris field. Po deemed it best to keep silent, but instead, another voice called over to them, followed by a high-pitched whistle.

"Hey!"

Both turned their heads in the direction where the voice had come from. It was Wang. He stood on a fallen house wall and waved them over to him. "Over here! We've got him!"

Po's heart missed a beat. Anxiously, he looked at Shen, who was still standing there, propped up on his lance sword. He seemed undecided. But then he swung his sword tightly and walked towards the king of the Huns. But before he could open his mouth, Po stepped in. "Oh, well, did you fix him?"

Wang snorted. "I wouldn't sweat it. He won't come far anyway."

He nodded aside. The panda and the peacock followed his hint. A little further away something crawled over the rubble. But so slowly that it barely moved. With every movement, the individual began to tremble. Po had to narrow his eyes several times just to get a close look at the burned form of Xiang. The defaced peacock tried hard to move forward with his injured wings. But as hard as he tried, he only got an inch with each crawl. If any. Even a snail would be faster than him.

Po sighed compassionately. He remembered how he had burned his paw in the childhood. And that hadn't been a pleasant experience.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Shen started moving and approached the crawling, more recumbent peacock. Po was about to follow him, but a warning gesture from Wang let him froze.

Shen walked slowly over the rubble. It was a shambles that consisted mainly of shattered house walls and roof tiles. When he was less than ten feet away from Xiang, he realized how the burned peacock winced. Shen's eyes narrowed. Now they were only a few inches apart.

Xiang didn't turn around. He felt the withering look on his back. With an effort, panting, he propped himself up on his damaged wings and bowed his head. It almost looked like he was getting ready for that the white lord stabs him in the back.

Shen brandished his lance sword a little, making a hissing, eerie sound in the air. He was amazed that his rival could even straighten up. It was unapparent how badly his inner body was really damaged.

Suddenly, Xiang threw himself forward and tried to crawl on.

Shen raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he tossed a feather knife that pierced the burned robe of the former blue peacock. The remaining garment was partially coalesced to the feathers so that the doctor could not completely remove it. Besides the bandages that were tied on, this was the last thing what Xiang was wearing.

When Xiang saw that the lord had nailed him to the floor with the knife, he tried to pull himself away, his trembling only intensifying. But he was too extremely exhausted, so he couldn't struggle with his full power anymore.

Shen, still narrowing his eyes on Xiang, lifted his foot and pressed it on the back of his incapacitated opponent. Xiang gasped loudly, tried to keep his body over the floor, but it was easy for the white peacock to press his belly to the ground. Xiang simply buckled under the low load.

Another choked scream escaped the fallen lord as Shen dug his claws into his back. Then he yanked him aside, and Xiang rolled onto his back. And before he could do anything else, Shen put his foot on Xiang's chest. The black peacock sucked in a sharp breath. He found it hard to breathe. In vain, he tried to roll over to the side. Shen put little pressure on him, but that was enough to keep Xiang in place. When Shen finally held his sword in front of him, the other peacock did everything and anything to raise his wings or to raise his legs to push Shen away. But all he managed was a measly twitch of the limbs.

The blade went to his neck. Xiang wriggled under the white lord's foot, always keeping an eye on the tip of the sword, which gradually moved to his throat. It was only a few millimeters apart now to destroy his larynx, which was already damaged.

When Po saw that, he turned away. He couldn't force Shen, but at the same time he couldn't watch it. Only Wang observed the scene.

A loud, high-pitched peacock cry tore the air, followed closely by a whimpering wailing sound.

Po closed his eyes tightly. The whimpering became a little quieter, but it still sounded awful enough in his ears to make all his hair stand on end.

A few seconds later he heard footsteps coming towards him. Hesitantly, Po looked aside. Shen was just about to wipe the blade of his sword with his white finger feathers, which was a little bloody. Po looked at him with wide eyes.

"What have you done?" He breathed.

"I cut his wing tendons," Shen replied flatly. Then his gaze wandered to the panda. "That's my mild punishment."

Po's mouth stayed open. However, Shen paid no more attention to him and turned to King Wang.

"Now you can take care of him," the lord remarked disparagingly. "He's in your hand. Do with him what you think is right."

With that, the white lord departed. Po looked up at Wang, who was watching the lord with his arms crossed.

"What do you want to do with him now?" Po asked carefully.

"Lock up first," Wang replied sullenly and beckoned the guards over. Then he pointed hard at the whimpering peacock on the ground. "Take him away! I have no respect for him, but be a little careful with him. I don't want that he falls apart."

Under the gaze of Wang and Po, the soldiers dragged the still whining peacock with them, who struggled in pain under their grips. Po tried not to say anything about it. He walked away from the place in silence, still the scream of pain in the back of his head.

The way back to the guest residence was arduous. At least for Po. As Shen strode through the streets with the lance sword over his shoulder, the panda shuffled more than he walked.

"Does that mean he'll never be able to fly again? If he should survive?" Po asked timidly.

"Maybe," Shen replied indifferently. "If it does, it will be rather painful."

He paused on the stairs of the guest residence and turned to the panda. Both looked at each other. Po looked crestfallen as Shen returned his gaze seriously. But the white peacock refrained from a discussion and both withdrew to the guest residence, where they were already anxiously awaited by Yin-Yu. She had withdrawn into the lounge, from which one you had a beautiful view over the city and the sea. The room had equipped with all kinds of seating and tables. But the peahen did not notice any of these pieces of furniture. Instead, she paced restlessly the whole time. Only the Furious Five had sat down together in a round and were also awaiting the return of their best friend. Sheng stood by the window and thoughtfully gazed at the sea lit by the sunset. Xia stood leaning against a wall, staring into the air.

Only when they heard footsteps from the door, new life came into the room again.

Everyone turned their heads toward the entrance to the hall.

First, Shen and Po stopped and looked at the questioning faces they received. The white lord's eyes ultimately stopped over Yin-Yu. Without a word, he went up to her and chucked his sword on the floor.

His wife dared not move. She waited patiently until he came to her and took her wings. Shen whispered a few words which Po couldn't understand, but he guessed that Shen was informing her of his judgment. First, the two birds looked deeply and seriously into each other's eyes. Then they fell into each other's arms. Yin-Yu's finger feathers almost clawed Shen's back while the lord stroked her back soothingly.

Sheng and Xia approached Po curiously. The panda looked shyly at the siblings. Then he also told them in short sentences what had happened with their ex-father.

Xia couldn't understand that. "But why? He harmed us so much. Why didn't he get rid him of?"

"This is forgiveness," the voice of Soothsayer said next to her.

Po was surprised that she had appeared out of nowhere so quickly, but at the moment he didn't care about anything anyway. At least none of Shen's family had been injured. Except…

The Dragon Warrior's face changed again to deep sadness. He would have wished so much that it would have turned out differently.

"Po, are you okay?"

The panda turned to his five friends and wiped a tear from his eye quickly. "Hey guys, I need a really big hug."

He spread his arms. First, the Furious Five were undecided. But then Tigress first threw herself forward and put her arms around him tightly. Po was a little taken by surprise, but then he also happily wrapped his paws around her. Then the arms of Monkey and Crane followed, while Viper curled around Po's neck and Mantis clung to his ear.

"Excuse me?"

The six friends raised their heads in surprise. A large yak and a small ram had appeared behind them. The yak had quite long fur and carried a large straw backpack on his back. The little ram was in thick jackets and looked at the Furious Six with a scrutinizing look.

"Is there a Lord Shen and a Lady Yin-Yu around here?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

Po quickly released himself from the hugs of his friends and stared at the two strangers in confusion. "Uh ... y-yees."

"Why do you want to know?" Tigress asked.

The ram shrugged. "Well, we only wanted to ask you if these are yours."

With that, he reached behind himself and took something out.

It was a basket - with four eggs.

How I said, I hate tragedies. :-P