After looking at my last chapter, I have realised that I personally do not like the way my story is currently going. I am not sure whether it's because of writer's block or college causing a distraction, but my fan fiction has taken a different direction than what I had originally intended. So starting from this chapter, I am going to pull my story in the right direction. There will be no major changes, just a couple a tiny insignificant plot points which I am going to drop. It's for my peace of mind more than anything.

It had been an explosive day. Literally.

It had been a revealing night. Practically.

Shifu was more than glad to finally be back in his room, ready to rest for what little of the night remained. When he entered, he was surprised to find Su still awake, propped up against the pillows, reading from a scroll. Several scrolls were lying at the foot of the bed.

"Why are you still up?" He asked.

Su gasped, so engrossed in her reading that she hadn't noticed the red panda come in.

"I still can't sleep." Su said. "And yes, it's because of the monster hiding in my closet."

"Are you feeling okay?" Shifu asked, his first thought being complications from smoke inhalation.

Wait, did Su just use sarcasm?

"Sure." Su said. "Aside from not being able to sleep. Why were you shouting earlier?"

Shifu's ears flattened against his head as the memories of the night's revelations came back to him.

"You heard that, huh?"

"Uh huh." Su said. "What happened? Did Master Po fall asleep on you again?"

Shifu sighed. Su was a good girl. One of the loveliest little girls he had ever met. The least he could do was be honest with her.

"It turned out Monkey knew what the monster was and didn't tell us. The shouting you heard was me confronting him about it."

"You didn't hurt him, did you?" Su stared at him anxiously.

"No, I didn't." Shifu replied assuredly. "Po managed to persuade him to tell us the truth before I could do any damage."

"Oh, good. So what is it? Is it a Yeti?"

Shifu blinked.

"How did you know?"

"I read about it in the library half an hour ago." Su said. "After I encountered it in the burning building I began to suspect it may be one of those mythical creatures, like the Qilin Mr. Ping likes to tell stories about. I didn't want to say anything until I was absolutely certain."

Shifu fought the urge to laugh. He was going to have to get used to Su's newly revealed brilliance. He and Xian even had a conversation about it while he had been escorting the weary emperor back to his quarters…

"That young girl, Su." Xian said, breaking the silence in the torch lit corridor. "How is she doing?"

"Very well, Emperor Xian. The healer is quite sure that she is in the clear, but should be confined to the bedroom tomorrow, just in case."

"Thank god for that. That mons-Yeti must have had real guts to venture into an army camp to destroy a building."

"Speaking of which…" Shifu gave the tiger a hard look. "Why were there powder kegs intended for cannons kept in that building?"

"I gave you a reason earlier." Xian replied coldly.

Shifu was about to retort that Xian had given him an excuse, not a reason, when it suddenly occurred to him that that may have been exactly what the emperor had intended. For beneath Xian's cold words, he sensed a warning. Of something he couldn't say even in the most isolated place in all of Asia.

Shifu decided it would be wise to drop the subject for the time being.

"I'm still shocked…" He said. "Su has been with us for several months. Why is it that she hasn't displayed this kind of intelligence before?"

"Maybe it's because she's a peasant."

Shifu wasn't entirely sure what look he gave the emperor at that moment, but it was enough to make him step back in alarm and hold his paws up in front of his face. For a moment, he was once again the troublesome teen caught pranking his master.

"Woah, hang on there!" Xian exclaimed. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what did you mean then?"

"I'll put it like this; for the first few years of her life, Su has lived in a farming village that has had little or no contact with the outside world." Xian said. "From what you told me, the only education there is from her parents and a weekly cooking class."

"Go on."

"And then one day, she moves into the Jade Palace, spends some time in its impressive library, and bam! So much knowledge that she's finally able to bring her remarkable brain to its true potential!"

"So you're saying it's because she loves reading?" Shifu asked dryly.

Xian laughed.

"Not exactly what I meant, but now that you bring it up, yes."

Shifu brought himself back to the present and turned his attention to the scrolls scattered on the bed. Many of them looked so old the paper had turned yellow, though it was hard to tell because of the thick layer of dust covering them.

"Did you get those from the library?" He said.

"Nope." Su replied. "I found them under the bed."

"You what?" Shifu spotted the wooden box at the foot of the bed.

"I found them under the bed. It looks like they form someone's journal."

That got Shifu leaping onto the bed and sitting down beside her.

"Let me have a look." He said, only for Su to hold the scroll away from his outstretched hand.

"Wait, you should read them the right way!" She scolded, and picked up another one. "Here, this is the first one."

Shifu took the scroll and started to read.

Just as it seemed Lord Shi'xie was about to explode with impatience, a messenger arrived. We had at last been granted an audience with Ember, the Dragon Empress who rules the white fortress. I have been sent not just as an ambassador, but as a spy. My Lord is determined to claim this building and the wonders within as its own. I wonder if perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned this.

When I entered the throne room, I was rather taken aback at her appearance and her demeanor. Her body was completely obscured in silken clothing, making it impossible to determine her species. A frightening mask covered her face. I could not see her eyes through the black holes in the mask, but I knew they were focused on me. Much to my surprise, she was completely alone for the entirety of our meeting. Even the general of her armies waited outside the throne room, rather than stand by her side. A very puzzling and unnerving day indeed.

"Lord Shi'xie…" Shifu whispered. "So it's true. He knew about the fortress's existence."

Ember… He felt a strange chill in the air as his mind repeated that name over and over. Perhaps he had just learned the identity of the sarcophagus's resident.

"Su, which one is the second scroll?"

"That one."

Shifu read the scroll, in which the ambassador wrote about his visit to the library. Aside from the ambassador's fascination with the third floor, which he had been forbidden to enter, the scroll wasn't very informative.

"Here, this is the third one." Su handed him the scroll she had kept from him earlier. This one was far more interesting.

I was able to make a good observation of Ember's army this morning. Dozens of strange creatures. Domed heads… a physical strength that would make the Asian elephant look like a wimp… these are the Yeti for sure. My Lord will never believe me, though. However, my job is to assess the strength of her armies. And I know for sure that they are the most formidable soldiers I have ever seen. Attempting an invasion may not be the best idea.

When I was sure that no-one was guarding me, I snuck into the third floor of the library. After much searching, I found that one of the torches, when pulled, revealed a secret passage. I did not find much. Just a hall full of treasure that I didn't dare touch, and a second room with an empty stone coffin. The room was illuminated enough that I was able to discover a second door. It was completely sealed and there was a circular depression with an engraving that strangely resembled the Seal of Yingxiong that my Lord has recently acquired.

Tomorrow I will return to my Lord's fortress and inform him of what I have learned. He will send me back if he is not satisfied, but whether or not I will be allowed to is entirely up to Ember.

Shifu picked up the next scroll.

As I anticipated, my Lord was not happy. In his rage, he blurted out something called the Eternal Ember. I wasn't sure whether or not he meant the empress, but when I asked he ordered me to hold my tongue. Once he had calmed down, I told him about the sealed door, and how the Seal of Yingxiong may be the key to opening it.

In case you didn't know, the Seal of Yingxiong came into my Lord's possession several years ago when he took an interest in the legend of the Temple of Heroes. It was a simplistic golden disc, with a dragon engraved on both sides. A few throats had had to be slit to acquire it, and even then there was still the dilemma of finding the temple itself. When I told him about the sealed door, his mood lifted instantaneously. He has sent me back to this place, with the seal in hand, with one last order: find out what is behind the sealed door, or die trying.

"A golden disc…" Shifu stared at the girl by his side. "It can't be…"

He grabbed the fifth and final scroll, sure it must be a coincidence.

The seal is gone.

When I woke up this morning and pulled out my box of scrolls, I found the seal gone. This was no accident. They knew what I had planned to do.

After my request to meet Ember was granted, I politely asked her about the seal, and why it is missing. What she said rocked me to my core. As it turned out, she had a hand in constructing several ancient structures throughout China and beyond, and each one required a key to unlock it. The Seal of Yingxiong is that key. It could open every door Ember had helped build. She told me that the seal has been returned to its rightful place. I doubt my Lord will ever see it again. I must return to him, inform him that Ember knew our intentions all along, and that she is never to be trifled with. To anger the Dragon Empress would lead to our destruction.

The bottom of the scroll was slightly charred.

"Pretty creepy, huh?" Su said. "What do you think happened to him?"

"I'm not sure." Shifu said.

He realized that he was breathing heavily.

It was just too coincidental. Su's lucky coin, the key to the Temple of Heroes, couldn't possibly be the key to the door in the underground chamber. Speaking of which, why hadn't he, Xian, Mantis and Viper come across that door before? They must have had missed it in the darkness. He should inform Xian at once. The ambassador's journal had been a lucky find, and the emperor should be the first to know. But it was very late, everyone was exhausted. He would tell him in the morning.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by loud yawn coming from the panda cub sitting next to him.

Despite himself he chuckled.

"What do you say we tidy up these scrolls and call it a night?"

"Okay!"

Together they gathered the scrolls and put them back in the box. After putting the box in the corner, they bade each other good night and Shifu sat down on his mat while Su got settled beneath the covers of the bed. Carefully, gracefully, Shifu lit the single candle in front of him, closed his eyes and began his breathing rhythm.

"Inner peace…" He mouthed rather than spoke so as not to disturb Su. "Inner peace…"

He inhaled… a shiver ran down his spine as his ears caught the sound of the wind picking up… he exhaled… the candlelight flickered slightly… he inhaled… memories of dominoes and golden fields flooded his mind as he fought to clear it… he exhaled…

"Master Shifu?"

Shifu opened his eyes to find Su standing right next to him, a pillow clutched between her tiny paws. She looked like she was trying to avoid direct eye contact.

"Su? What's wrong?"

"Could I sleep next to you?"

Shifu was so taken aback he nearly knocked the candle over.

"W-Why would you want to do that?" he asked once he was sure he hadn't started a fire.

"It's a little lonely in that big bed." Su said quietly. "And I don't feel very well."

At that, the red panda reached up and placed a hand on the girl's forehead. She was burning up.

"Does your chest hurt?" He asked, trying to remember the symptoms of smoke inhalation the medic had told them to watch out for.

Su shook her head.

Shifu lowered his hand.

Su wasn't coughing, and her breathing was more or less normal. Her voice was also okay. The only abnormality was her high temperature, but the medic did not mention that as a smoke inhalation symptom.

"It's probably just a cold." Shifu said. He wondered if he should take any chances, but then again if it was a cold, taking her outside to visit to medic was probably not a good idea. "Viper has extensive medical knowledge, so she'll have a look at you in the morning."

"Okay." Su gave him a little salute.

"If it will help you feel a little better, you can sleep next to me."

Su brightened up at that, and she grabbed the blanket from the bed and lay down next to Shifu. The red panda felt his heart rate speed up a little from the close, warm presence.

"Goodnight." Su, and a few minutes later she was out like a light.

Shifu pushed the candle to his other side, got back into position, and closed his eyes again.

This time, his mouth didn't move.

Inner peace… said a voice in his head. Inner peace…

One of his ears twitched when Su mumbled lightly in her sleep. For some reason, his eyelids refused to lift. There was a rustle as she pulled the blanket further around herself. When she became quiet again, Shifu returned to his breathing exercise.

Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale… his felt his heart rate slow down again… inhale… exhale… it was an odd feeling to have someone sleeping so peacefully next to you, banishing all loneliness and fear… it was a feeling he hadn't felt since Tai Lung's childhood and the time a little Tigress caught the fever…

Guuuhhh... I could have done this chapter a lot better. I hate writer's block.