Not much going on in this chapter, I'm afraid, but I've been neglecting Emperor Xian these last few chapters. Please read and review.
Emperor Xian went through the same morning ritual every time he awoke from a night of restless dreams. After dragging his weary body out of bed, he would prop the bed against the wall and perform a hundred pull-ups on the intricately carved rail, then put the bed back and have a drink of water from the jug on the bedside table, and then finally pull out the gold locket from beneath his shirt and gaze sadly at the picture inside.
He had been performing this ritual for almost thirty years, and being stuck in an ancient fortress somewhere in the biggest mountain range in the world wasn't going to stop him.
With a small sigh, he slipped the locket back beneath his shirt and got dressed. After slipping on his sleeved vest and pants, he grabbed several knives from his personal set and hid them in several places on his body. He knew they probably weren't necessary, but he'd much rather have a weapon and not need it than need a weapon and not have one.
Deciding that the first thing he'd do this morning would be to venture to the mess hall where everyone else would be, Xian walked out of the bedroom and made his way down the wide staircase that led down to the guestrooms where Shifu and his students had taken residence. When he reached the bottom, he spotted Di Tan emerging from one of the guest rooms.
"Good morning, Di Tan." Xian forced himself into a smile as he approached the aged goose. "Sleep well?"
Di Tan yawned as he turned to the tiger.
"Very well, thank you, Xian." He replied. His smile faded as he gazed upon the larger animal. "I wish I could say the same about you. Are you feeling alright?"
Xian opened his mouth to say that he was feeling fine, but decided against it. Due to being up half the night, he didn't feel up to lying.
"To be honest, I'm not." He rubbed his eyes. "I didn't have a very good night's sleep."
"Bad dreams?" Di Tan asked.
Xian nodded silently. Di Tan sighed.
"I'm not surprised." The goose replied sadly. "You've been having terrible dreams ever since that night." The goose suddenly clapped his wings over his beak as he realized what he had said.
"Don't get upset, I'm not angry." Xian said calmly.
Di Tan slowly lowered his wings.
"Maybe you should go back to bed." Di Tan said, his eyebrows slanted in concern. "You've been having sleepless nights for weeks. You're going to make yourself ill if you stay up."
"I appreciate your concern, but-"
"Grandmaster Shifu and the others and taking care of everything." Di Tan interrupted. "You don't have to lift a finger."
Xian scowled.
"Di Tan, I came to this fortress so I could help resolve the crisis at hand!" he said. "I didn't come here to stay cooped up in my bedroom while the men who fight for my country are dying!"
"I didn't say that!" Di Tan took a step back in alarm. "I was only suggesting that you catch a couple of hours more sleep before you face that awful Tujiu!"
"I know, I know…" Xian sighed, regretting his anger. "I'm sorry, Di Tan."
"It's alright." Di Tan stepped forward again and put a comforting wing on Xian's arm. "I know you're upset about what's happening, but a little extra sleep won't hurt."
"You're right." Xian admitted. "But before I return to my room, do you think you could tell me what's happening so far?"
Di Tan stroked his mustache.
"Well, this probably wouldn't interest, but something very odd happened to two of Shifu's students early this morning."
"What happened?"
"Well, I don't exactly what happened, but when I woke up I found that both the Dragon Warrior and Master Crane had vanished. According to Shifu they found the pair in the library. Apparently they sleep-walked."
Xian raised his eyebrows.
"What a strange thing to happen…" he murmured. "Where are they now?"
"They've gone with Tigress, Monkey and Eagle Jr. to the entrance to that tunnel we went through on our way to the fortress." Di Tan explained.
"Why would they go there?"
"From what I heard, there's been a landslide. The entrance is completely blocked."
Xian suddenly no longer felt tired.
"Are you serious?!" he hissed. "If that's true, then we're practically trapped here!"
"I know, I know, but until the warriors come back then we'll just have to wait and hope that something can be done about it." Di Tan replied soothingly. Xian forced himself to calm down. He took several deep breaths before speaking.
"What of Shifu and his other students?" he asked.
"Shifu is speaking with Tujiu about the current events, and Viper and Mantis are in the library with Su."
"You're talking about the girl, right?" Xian said, remembering the little panda girl he'd met at the Jade Palace.
"Yes. They're in there looking for any information that might be helpful for the mission."
"Do you think they'd mind if I looked with them?" Xian asked hopefully. He had to do something… anything… otherwise he really would fall ill.
"I don't see why they would." Di Tan replied. The look on his face indicated that he understood Xian's plight. "If you're really serious about staying awake and doing something, then at least let me make you something to help you feel better. I know how to brew a tonic that will do you a world of good."
In General Tujiu's private study, a much less peaceful conversation was underway.
"What do you mean someone was spying on you last night?" Tujiu said in outrage, glaring at the red panda. "I'll have you know that I was up late that night keeping watch. If some outcast little thief had snuck into the fortress late last night, don't you think I'd know about it?"
"Then how do you explain this?" An irritated Shifu pulled out a piece of dark hair and held it out to the vulture.
"What's this?" Tujiu asked testily, not even looking at the hair.
"It's hair that I discovered on the balcony last night." Shifu said slowly. "It doesn't belong to any of my students and especially not the little girl who was sharing my room."
Tujiu's eyes narrowed as he leaned down towards the hair to examine it.
"It looks like gorilla hair." he said. "I told you it was bandits."
"It's most certainly not gorilla hair." Shifu retorted. "Gorilla hair has a bluish tint. This hair is brownish black."
"Then it's a different kind of gorilla."
Shifu resisted the urge the whack the vulture over the head with his staff. Maybe it was Tujiu's way of trying to rationalize what was happening, or perhaps he really was that stubborn and foolish.
"This is not gorilla hair!" Shifu snapped. "To be honest, I don't recall any animal this hair may belong to."
"So what are you saying?" Tujiu demanded. Quick as lightning he snatched the hair from Shifu's hand and waved it in front of his face. "That we're being attacked by a brand new species? A monster perhaps?"
Any other time, Shifu would have replied with a calm voice denying Tujiu's infuriating accusations and assuring him that he understood that the vulture was probably under a lot of stress at the moment. Instead he said;
"Listen, you bird-brained son of a…"
"I have to debrief the soldiers in the camp." Tujiu abruptly and turned to the open window. "This conversation is over."
Shifu's hands clenched into fists. He couldn't believe that the general was just going to walk away from this.
"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" he snarled.
"This conversation is over!" Tujiu repeated, and within a second he was out the window.
Shifu's grip on his staff tightened and he fought the urge to roar in frustration. Why was Tujiu so god-damn determined to be enemies? Shifu and his students had come to this god-forsaken mountain to help, for crying out loud!
Shifu turned on his heel and stormed toward the door, intending to speak with Xian. Tujiu may be willing to disrespect the Master of the Jade Palace, but only a bona-fide moron would disrespect the Emperor face-to-face.
He opened the door and got a shock when he found himself staring at Viper and Mantis.
"M-Master!" Viper stammered, looking almost terrified. Shifu realized that he was still wearing a furious expression, and quickly composed himself.
"This had better be important." he said. "I told you not to leave Su by herself."
"We didn't, Master." Viper said quickly. "Emperor Xian and Di Tan are in the library with her at the moment."
"Well? What brings you here?" Shifu asked impatiently.
"We found out a little information about this fortress that may be important." Mantis said "It's not much, but you did tell us to come straight to you if we find anything even the slightest bit significant."
"Well?"
"We were going through the history section when I found a scroll talking about a certain Lord Shi-xie." Viper said.
"Isn't that the name of the warlord who used to live in this fortress?" Shifu asked.
"No. It was the name of the warlord's great-great-great grandfather who originally built the fortress."
Shifu blinked.
"I was never aware of that particular bit of information. At least we know roughly how old this building is."
"Actually we don't." Mantis said. "And this is the interesting part. You see, the scroll was talking about the lord's fortress located farther up north, and whether or not it would be a threat."
"In other words, the scroll wasn't talking about this fortress, it was talking about another, more recent one." Viper said.
"So you're saying…" Shifu trailed off.
"This place didn't belong to a warlord. It belonged to someone else." Viper said. "Someone much older than the warlord or his ancestors. Probably even older than Master Oogway."
"Right…" Shifu stroked his beard. "And what does this have to do with the murders?"
"Well, when we found this information, Su suggested something that may be very helpful." Viper said. "She suggested that the history of this fortress may be connected to the murders."
"And we think she may be onto something." Mantis said. "I mean, the murders happening after General Tujiu and his men moved into the fortress seems a bit too coincidental."
Shifu stopped stroking his beard as he realized that the two warriors were right. It indeed seemed too much of a coincidence.
"So, you're suggesting changing priorities to finding out the history of this building." Shifu said.
Viper and Mantis nodded nervously.
"We wouldn't suggest it if it wouldn't bring up results." Mantis said. "I mean, searching for clues to its identity isn't bringing up anything useful, and figuring out the motive could be more useful than finding out what it is."
"You may be right…" Shifu muttered. "Alright, you may change tasks. But don't forget to keep an eye out for anything that may help us find out who or what these killers are."
Mantis and Viper saluted him.
"But before you return to the library, I want you both to go down to the army camp and tell Tujiu that if he isn't back here in five minutes I'm going to pluck off his feathers one by one until he looks like a scrawny pig."
"Yes, Master."
Oh dear. I don't think Shifu and Tujiu are ever gonna get along, do you?
Going to get my hair and eyebrows done tomorrow. Yippee.