When Yuè and Monkey stepped outside the palace doors they were greeted with a rising sun. It wasn't quite on the horizon but it was clear that morning was still prominent. They began to walk forward and made their way to the top of one thousand step stair case into the valley, "This seemed a lot easier to walk without a busted leg." Yuè said as he began to stumble while walking down the stairs.
After several minutes of walking they reached the bottom of the stairs, Yuè observing the sights of the village. He'd seen them before when he first arrived but only now has he taken the time to really look at them. He saw villagers moving busily back and forth, doing menial tasks for their daily lives so they could make an earning. He sighed quietly, 'Lilu would've love this place.' he thought to himself. "Ahem." Yuè looked down to see Monkey looking at him, "So, where do you wanna go?" he asked.
Yuè didn't think as far as to where he'd go once he was outside but his stomach answered for him with a low rumbling, "Let's get some food. I know a great noodle shop." he suggested as they headed off toward Mr. Ping's shop. As Yuè walked walked down the street he couldn't help but notice everyone watching him. It didn't bother him much but it was a little too obvious for his taste. With every pig, rabbit, goose, and goat looking at him he couldn't help bit feel a little uncomfortable, especially since he wasn't wearing his cloak to hide his face.
When they'd reached their destination Yuè and Monkey walked into the open courtyard to find a table, all eyes on Yuè as he walked through the sparsely packed restaurant. Finally reaching a table Monkey flashed a wry smile, "Aren't you popular." he said jokingly, Yuè scoffed and looked off to the side, to see Mr. Ping walking his way. "Hey Mr. Ping!" he called waving a hand in the air to flag him down. Mr. Ping quickly waddled his way to the table with pad and pencil in his hand, "It's you again. So how'd your meeting with Po go?" he asked. Yuè looked over at Monkey with wry smile before turning back to Mr. Ping, "Not as I expected but pretty well." he said while rubbing his shoulder, bandages hidden by his vest. "Well that's good. I taught him his manners." Yuè chuckled, "Is that so? Remind me to come to you for hospitality training." he joked, Mr. Ping laughing along. "So what can I get you two?" he asked holding his pencil to the pad. "Same thing as yesterday for me. What about you Monkey?" Yuè said turning to Monkey, "I'll get the usual." he ordered. "Two orders of my Secret Ingredient Soup coming right up." Mr. Ping said rushing off to the kitchen.
While waiting Yuè was scoping out the restaurant out of habit, noticing all the people watching him and ears picking up several conversations about him. "Who do you think that is?" asked a goat to a pig they were sitting with. "That wolf looks like trouble. What's he doing with Master Monkey?" asked a rabbit to a goose they were next to. Yuè yelped slightly at the feeling of someone tugging his tail roughly. He looked down with a low growl at a young rabbit holding his tail. His face softened after seeing it was a child that shook in fear of him. The child's father quickly ran to his aid, "Please sir, my son didn't mean it. Just don't eat him." he pleaded, "Eat him? Why would I? He's a kid." Yuè said to the trembling rabbit. "We just don't want any trouble." the father said rushing his child out of the restaurant.
Without warning several other customers got up from their seats, some leaving their meal behind, and left as well. Mr. Ping came back to the table with Yuè and Monkey's orders and saw the restaurant near empty, with only Monkey and Yuè still there. "Where'd everyone go?" the goose asked, earning a shrug from Yuè in response as he dug into his meal.
After eating Monkey and Yuè began to walk around the village, Yuè taking in the sights and Monkey carefully watching the canine. Suddenly Monkey felt a small nick on his shoulder, "Ow!" he yelped looking at Yuè. "What?" Yuè asked with a confused look, "Did you pinch me?" Monkey asked with a cross look on his face. Yuè scoffed, "No. It was probably a mosquito or somethin'" A few minutes later Monkey began to feel dizzy. He leaned against a nearby wall to his right, "Ugh...I don't feel too good." he groaned. He turned to see Yuè with a sly grin on his face, "What's so funny?" Monkey asked in a slurred voice as his vision faded to black.
Yuè picked up the unconscious primate and pulled him into a nearby alley, "Sweet dreams fuzzy." he said leaving Monkey on a pile of discarded and torn cushions. Exiting the alley Yuè looked down at the claws on his right hand, the index and middle claws tipped with blood, "Glad I snuck some of that sleeping medicine on my claws when I was in the palace." he said to himself as he walked off.
Earlier At The Jade Palace...
"Will you hurry up?" Monkey whined as Yuè sifted through the clothes in the cabinet. In his left hand held a bottle labeled sleeping medicine and dipped the first two claws of his right hand in the thick liquid. "No cloaks?" he asked as he put away the bottle in the heap of clothes.
At The Jade Palace(Present Time)...
Shifu and the others exited the training hall and entered the Hall Of Heroes. On a nearby table Master Shifu spotted a note from Monkey saying he was in town with Yuè. "Viper, Tigress. I need you to go into the village and find Monkey. He's with Yuè and I want to know what they're up to." he commanded. The two warriors stepped forward, "Yes Master." they said bowing and rushing off to the village.
Tigress looked around the village in search of Monkey and their wolf guest for 3 hours before they picked up a trail. Several villagers reported seeing a mysterious wolf with Master Monkey near a pottery shop. They later saw Monkey pass out and the wolf carry him into a nearby alley and him leaving without Monkey. After finding the alley in question they found Monkey on a pile of discarded cushions snoring.
"Monkey wake up." Viper said shaking him a little to wake him up. Monkey's eyes opened and batted a few times so he could shake the drowsiness away. "Viper? Tigress? What are you two doing in my room?" Monkey asked yawning. Viper and Tigress looked at each other quizzically before turning back to Monkey, "We're not in your room." Viper said. Monkey looked around and saw the brick walls and paved ground of the alley before realizing where he was. He placed a hand on his chin, thinking for a moment before remembering what happened, "Yuè!" he shouted, "That wolf did something to me! I don't know what but he knocked me out somehow." Tigress had a critical look on her face, "Do you know where he is?" she asked. Monkey shook his head, "All I remember is feeling a pinch on my shoulder then I blacked out and ended up here."
Tigress and Viper looked off in thought for a moment, "Can I see your shoulder?" Viper asked. Monkey complied and showed her the spot where he was pinched. She saw a small scratch with a small amount of blood coming from it, "It looks like he may have poisoned you. He scratched you and whatever was on the weapon must've been the poison." she explained. "But he didn't have any weapons. Master Shifu took them all." Tigress said, "He must've used his claws. But where would he get his hands on poison?" she asked openly. "We can worry about that later. We have to find him before Shifu finds out." Monkey said frantically. Viper and Tigress nodded and took off from the alley to search for the rouge wolf.
Elsewhere in the village the wolf in question was walking down a road sporting a new pitch black cloak with the hood up, ears sticking out from holes at the top, "Now this is what I'm talkin' about." he said to himself as he admired the color and soft fabric of the cloak. His right ear twitched at the sound of a rock being kicked. He ignored this at first before realizing that it came from above his right. He turned and looked up to see a tiger, a viper, and a monkey standing on top of a jewelry shop glaring daggers at him. "S***." he said before getting on all fours and taking off down an alley to his right.
He groaned with every stride as he ran, straining his bruises. He turned to look behind him and saw the three masters quickly gaining on him as they leaped from building to building in pursuit. As he reached the end of the alley a cart stacked with crates blocked his way. Thinking swiftly he jumped to the wall on his right and propelled himself over the cart but fell in the process, landing with a thud. He quickly got to his feet and ran into another alley in front of him. As he ran down the alley he realized it was shorter and was a dead end. He slowed his running and stopped at the wall. Yuè turned around to see his pursuers scowling at him. "Hi Monkey. Uh...like my new threads?" he asked trying to distract them.
At The Jade Palace...
Tigress, Viper, and Monkey escorted Yuè back to the palace and into Master Shifu's room. "I told you specifically NOT to lose track of him!" Shifu yelled, Monkey turning his gaze to the ground in shame, "Yes master." he said glumly. Shifu then turned to Yuè with an angrier scowl, "I see that I'll have to have more strict watch over you. From now on, you're not allowed to leave the palace unless either Master Tigress or I accompany you." Yuè chuckled quietly, "Sounds good. I mean, if I could ditch Fuzzy here I'm sure you guys wouldn't be too hard to lose." Shifu grinned deviously. Yuè wouldn't know how wrong he was.