The walk up the hill was dead silent. Yuè had led the group to a set of stone stairs and was now walking up the set. "Yuè you don't have to do this." Fan said in a low voice, "We could just keep heading to Tan Jin and we cou-" she said before being interrupted, "Fan!" Yuè said in a stern voice, "I know what you're doing. Please, just...stop." he said lowly as they continued moving. Fan lowered her eyes and continued walking with the others.

The rest of the walk was silent as they reached the top of the stone steps. "There it is. Home sweet home." Yuè said gesturing toward the house before them. The structure was mid-sized and made completely of wooden boards with a step stone walkway leading up to the porch. The front of the house had a large porch with a chair swing in the far left corner. There was a door in the very center of the porch leading to the interior of the house with two windows on either side. Yuè walked onto the porch and reached for the door. He turned back to see everyone still standing at the top of the stone staircase, "Well? You wanted to know what was up with this house, right?" he asked. Slowly everyone began to join Yuè on the porch of the house he called his home. Yuè turned the door knob and pushed open the way inside the house.

Upon opening the door the travelers were all greeted the the smell of stale air and old wood. They all pinched their noses to avoid the stench to no avail. "Ugh! What's up with that smell?!" Monkey asked before realizing he was out of line, "Oh. Sorry Yu." he apologized. Yuè chuckled, "It's okay. Imagine having a nose that can track a scent for a few hundred miles." he joked before walking inside his former home. The living area was a wide open space with sparse furniture. The floor was hardwood with a large round rug decorated with a faded dingy green color. On top of the rug was a large couch that looked like it could hold four to five people facing the far left wall. The far left wall was covered with several bookshelves dedicated to holding volumes of stories and informational texts. The far right wall was covered with several cabinets with see-through glass doors. Inside the cabinets were an assortment of bottles, vials, and tools. In the far back of the room was a dining room and kitchen area. The dining room had a wooden table large enough to sit two people with two chairs sitting at both sides. The kitchen area housed an open fireplace with a cooking spit hanging over it and four cupboards hanging on the wall above it.

Po and Mantis walked over to the right wall to examine the cabinet while Tigress, Viper, and Crane walked over to the bookshelves. Monkey and Jian decided to rest their feet by sitting on the couch and Fan stood close to Yuè. Po looked through the glass doors to the cabinets and noticed that they were all filled with medical supplies like syringes and herbal medicines. "What's with all the doctor stuff? Were you a healer?" Mantis asked Yuè. The wolf smirked and walked over to the cabinet as well, "No, I doubt anyone would like my bedside manner. That was Lilu's thing. She was a healer and ran an apothecary out of her house. This house. That's also how we first met." Yuè said as he drifted off into a memory.

10 Years Ago...

A lone wolf struggled to stay awake as he stumbled through a dense forest. He grimaced as he held his abdomen covered in blood that gushed from a deep wound. "I'm gonna kill that guy when I find him again." he sighed as he continued to traverse the muddy grounds. After walking a few feet he tripped over a root sticking out of the ground, and fell into the mud and water. He hissed in pain as the dirty mud, and who knows what else, covered his wound. He writhed in pain as the substance burned the injury. Finally looking up he saw a small cottage on a hill, "Let's hope the owner's home." he said to himself as he held onto the side of a tree and lifted himself up, careful not to make the hole in his abdomen worse.

In The Cottage...

"...aaand there. All better Mr. Hsu. Try not to move that leg too much." a she-wolf said as she firmly tied a splint onto the leg of an old goat sitting on an examination table. The she-wolf helped the goat to his feet and supported him with an arm around his shoulder as they walked to the front of the house. She rested him on the back of a couch resting in the middle of the living area and walked to a nearby cabinet to get a wooden cane. "Here." she said as she gave Mr. Hsu the cane, "Stay on this, and in around two weeks, your leg will be healed." she said with a bright smile. The goat smiled back, "Thank you so much. How can I ever repay you?" he asked. The she-wolf waved his offer away, "Just get better. That's payment enough." she said with a chuckle. Just as Mr. Hsu started to leave thunder roared loudly as the door to the house flew open. The old goat lost his balance from the shock and fell back but the she-wolf caught him before he fell to the ground. She looked up at the open door to see a figure covered in shadow standing there, his face covered by a hood. "You." the figure said pointing a finger at the two people in front of him. Mr. Hsu pointed at himself, "Me?" he asked. "Not you grazer. The wolf. Are you a doctor?" he asked. "Yes." the she-wolf nodded gingerly. "Good." the figure said stepping forward, revealing himself to be another wolf as well as revealing the gash in his belly. "Oh gods!" the she-wolf gasped. The intruder fell to the floor landing on his knees with one arm helping support him, the other arm holding the wound, as he voided his stomach, the contents being blood and whatever he had to eat earlier that day. Without hesitation the she-wolf sprang forward to help the stranger, leaving Mr. Hsu to fall to the floor on his back. She ran forward to lift the wolf up, careful not to step in the vomit on the floor, "Heh, sorry for the mess." the wolf joked as he was propped up on the she-wolf's shoulder. "Don't worry about the puke. You need help." she said as she began to move the mysterious visiter to the examination room in the back of the house. "Mr. Hsu, I could really use your help right now." she called out as the goat stood up from his trip to the ground. With a groan he reluctantly agreed to assist the medic.

In moments, the wolf was carefully placed on the examination table and his upper body was stripped of all clothing. The she-wolf gasped quietly at the size of the injury and the amount of blood coming from it. Quickly snapping out of her daze, the doctor quickly reached for a cloth and a bottle of antiseptic sitting on a shelf to her right, "This may hurt...a lot." she said as she began to pour the liquid on the fabric. She practically drenched the cloth before placing it on the male wolf's hemorrhaging gut. The stranger shouted in pain as the solution burned his wound. "I have to clean the wound! How'd this happen anyway?" she asked only to see the wolf had passed out from either shock, blood loss, or both. "Well this does make it easier. Mr. Hsu, can you go into the living room and go into the third cabinet? There's a bag in it that has what I need." she asked as she held the cloth in place, putting pressure of the large cut. Mr. Hsu quickly limped away and came back moments later with the bag in tow. He handed it to the she-wolf who opened it and pulled out a pair of retractors.

She placed the tools to both sides of the laceration and carefully pulled the abrasion open to see if anything on the inside was damaged. The she-wolf could see the slash went through the other side but, miraculously, his internal organs had minimal damage with nothing more than a few nicks and no internal bleeding. She quickly went to work, threading a clean suture and started to stitch the wound closed. For three hours the medic worked diligently patching up her patient and keeping the wound from causing him to bleed out. When she finished, the she-wolf let out a sigh of relief. She moved closer to the strange wolf and checked his vital signs. His breathing was stable and apart from a slower pulse than normal, due to the blood loss, his heartbeat was steady and it looked like he would pull through. "Thank you Mr. Hsu. You can leave if you want, I'll have to watch over this guy to make sure he wakes up." she said. Mr. Hsu limped out of the house and closed the door behind him. Looking out of a nearby window the doctor saw that the rain had let up and the moon began to shine in the sky, its light filtering in through the window. She sat on the countertop of the cabinet and gently rested her head against the door. Her eyes became heavy and she began to doze off.

The next morning the strange wolf woke to find himself topless on top of an examination table, "Doesn't feel like I'm dead. Then again, I don't know what being dead feels like." he said to himself before attempting to sit up, resulting in a pained groan, "Yep. Definitely not dead." he grunted. Out the corner of his right eye he could see a sleeping she-wolf sitting on the countertop of a cabinet. "Hey. Wake up." he called out. "Five more minutes." the she-wolf mumbled groggily in her sleep. The stranger sighed and tried to sit up again, causing him to groan louder in pain. Finally sitting upright, he turned to the left and stepped off the table but the pain in his abdomen was too much for him to handle and he fell. He tried to grab ahold to a table and knocked over a small bag filled with medical tools, sending the metal instruments crashing loudly to the ground. The she-wolf was jolted awake by the commotion. She saw the wolf was missing from the table but could hear his strained panting on the other side. She quickly rushed over to him, "What are you doing?!" she scolded. "I'm trying to walk. Damn stomach. What happened last night?" he asked with a groan. The doctor helped him to his feet and sat him back down on the examination table. "You barge in here with a sliced up gut, throw up on my living room floor, then you try to kill yourself after I just saved your life." the she-wolf said in an exasperated tone, backing away from the table, "How'd that even happen?" he asked, placing both hands on her hips. The stranger chuckled, "I remember now. *sigh* I was going after this bandit, an ox, and the guy jabbed a big a** sword through my gut and left me for dead." he explained. "Why would you go after him? What'd he do?" the she-wolf asked, crossing her arms. "The guy's a murderer and he had a pretty decent sized bounty. So why not?" the stranger said. The she-wolf shook her head disparagingly, "Uh, because you could've died! That's why not!" she said in a disapproving voice. "Well what do you care? You're just some stranger! You didn't have to save me!" the strange wolf shouted. "I couldn't just let you die! I'm a doctor, it's against my job description." she argued. The wolf opened his mouth to try to argue back but had nothing to say. He looked away with his ears wilted, "You did save me, right?" he asked quietly. The doctor's expression softened, "Yeah, I did. And I'm gonna see to it that you get back on your feet." she said. The stranger quickly turned back to the doctor, "You've done enough. You don't have to do that." he said. The doctor walked forward and placed and hand on the wolf's chest and gently pushed him down to a lying position on the table, "Yes I do. You're my patient and you're gonna stay here until I say you're ready to go." she said stubbornly. The wolf sighed, "You know it's never a good idea to try to put a leash on a wolf, right?" he asked. The doctor giggled, "Yeah. That's why I'm not putting a leash on you." she said as she began to leave the room. "Wait." the stranger called, stopping the she-wolf. She turned around in the doorway, "I didn't get your name." he said. The she-wolf smiled, "It's Lilu. What's yours?" she asked back. "Yuè." the stranger said. "Well Yuè, try to get some rest. I'll be right back." she said disappearing around a corner.

Present Day...

Yuè and the rest of the party were all standing in the doorway of the same examination room the wolf talked about in his story. The room had long since been converted into a room for a child. A small bed sat in the far left corner of the room and several small toys were scattered across the floor. In the place of the medical cabinet sat a small dresser. Yuè walked into the room and walked over to the bed. The blanket on top was pink and had a small stuffed panda sitting on top. Yuè got down on one knee and picked up the toy. He turned back to look at Po and lifted the bear to show it off, "She really liked you Po. This was her favorite." he said with a smile. Po couldn't help but feel honored but also felt sorry for Yuè. They were wasting time that could be used to find the wolf's daughter all because of stupid curiosity. Yuè placed the toy back in its spot and turned to leave the room, his ears wilted.

He walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, "That's how we first met. After a while we got closer until we just fell in love. I just so happened to propose to her at a party." he said continuing his story.

9 Years Ago...

Yuè stood in front of the mirror in his and Lilu's bedroom fidgeting. He was preparing for a local citywide festival celebrating something he was completely ignorant about in Tan Jin city. Were it up to him, he'd just stay home and read a scroll, but Lilu insisted that he come with her. He was wearing a white vest with black trim and matching pants. He was fidgeting with the collar and buttons when Lilu walked into the room wearing a matching white qipao with a gold trim around the collar. "Still messing with your shirt?" she asked while giggling. Yuè's muzzle creased with a wry smile, "I just wanna make sure I look nice." he said. "Aaww. I'm sure everyone will love what you're wearing." Lilu said, planting a kiss on Yuè's cheek. The wolf chuckled, "I don't care what everyone else says. I just want to look good for you." he said sweetly, kissing Lilu back on the cheek. "Isn't that nice? Well, I'll go wait in the living room. And don't take too long." she said as she walked out of the room. Yuè looked around the corner to make sure she was gone before reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small wooden box. He opened the box to reveal a golden ring with the characters, 永恒的爱(eternal love), etched into it, "Right. Don't take too long." he said to himself as he pocketed the ring and left to join Lilu in the living room to escort her to the party.

In Tan Jin City...

Lilu ran around quickly, excited by the music, smells, and sights of people enjoying the festival. In the streets, children ran about with sparklers and vending carts were set up every few steps, each one selling something more unique than the last. Yuè trailed behind in a more timid manner. This had been the first festival he'd ever attended for enjoyment. Any other time he'd go to a large celebration it'd usually be to track a bounty, but this time he was there to unwind and have fun. Something he never did much of in his spare time. "Isn't this all just amazing?" Lilu asked in an ecstatic tone, "The festival comes once a year, and every time it's in town there's so many new attractions. Makes me wonder how people don't run outta ideas for stuff." she looking back at Yuè, who could only put a wry smile on his face, his expression screamed uncomfortable. "Yeah it's really somethin'." he said looking off at a group of giggling children popping firecrackers before turning back to look at Lilu, who gave him an unconvinced look. "Yuè, for the past half hour I saw you looking around and barely even paying attention to anything. What's up?" she asked with her arms crossed. Yuè scratched the back of his head nervously, "There's something I've, um...something I want to ask you." he said, his voice tinged with nervousness. Lilu cocked an eyebrow curiously, "Oh? Well spit it out." she said. Yuè reached into his pocket, "I want to know if..." he started as he gripped the small box, "I wanted to know if...you want to get something to eat. I'm pretty starved, heh." he lied with a chuckle. Lilu looked at him with an unamused look, "Really? That's it? Why didn't you say something earlier?" she asked. Yuè took a second to come up with an excuse, "Well, you were having so much fun and I didn't want to bother you with a dumb question." he said, 'Yeah. Asking you to marry me is a real stupid thing to ask.' he thought to himself. Lilu smiled, "Well, I know an awesome vendor pretty close by that sells some amazing beef curry with rice. Let's go." she said grabbing Yuè's hand and guiding the way.

A Few Minutes Later...

Yuè was ravenously stuffing his muzzle with the curry as he stood in front of the vendor, "Thish shtuff ish amazing!" Yuè said with his mouth full. Lilu giggled at the wolf as he messily ate and pieces of beef and rice got lodged in the fur around his mouth. "How do you know this guy?" he asked after taking a break from eating, "Well, Mr. Tao was a patient of mine once and he said that he owed me one. I just decided now was a good time to pull a favor." she explained. Yuè nodded and resumed feeding. "So what was it you really wanted to say?" Lilu asked. Yuè choked a little on his food, "What do you mean?" he asked innocently through a cough. "The food was obviously a cover for something. I just want to know what." Lilu said. Yuè gulped roughly and placed his bowl on the cart's counter, "Okay." he said quietly as he reached down in his pocket and pulled out the small box. Lilu cocked an eyebrow at the sight of it, "What's that?" she asked curiously. "Lilu, I've known you for an entire year, and I'm surprised that you even wanted to date me. So, I want to ask you something very important to me." he said. Just as he was about to open the box a knife flew past him and landed in his bowl of curry. He turned in the direction the knife was thrown and searched through the crowd, "Okay, who the hell just ruined my food?!" he shouted.

A large ox accompanied by a small gang of five water buffalo walked through the crowd, "I did." the ox said in a deep bass voice, "Whatcha gonna do about it?" he challenged. Yuè growled lowly "Yuè I think you should let it go. I can get you another bowl of curry." Lilu said trying to convince him to walk away. "Sorry babe. Can't let this one go." he said walking toward the bovine. Yuè approached the large ox, standing about three heads shorter, and studied his face carefully, instantly recognizing him, "Wait a sec. You're that d*** that stabbed me last year!" he said. The ox chuckled, "And you're that lapdog bounty hunter wannabe with that weird stance." he said, his goons chuckling. "Hey, know any tricks dog?" one of them asked causing the others to laugh. "Yeah. Hey, roll over." another said making them laugh again. "Nah, I got a better one." a water buffalo said picking up a stick and tossing it, "Go fetch." he said, everyone going into another fit of laughter. Yuè grinned, "I got a better trick. It's called, 'Wolf kicks all of your a***'. What do you think of that?" he asked, silencing the laughter. The ox hunched over to look Yuè in the eyes, "I'd love to see you try. Dog." he said before standing up straight and unsheathing a massive sword from his back, his gang brandishing their weapons as well, "Hey guys! Let's teach this lapdog how to play dead." he commanded as his gang started to approach the wolf. 'I knew I shoulda brought my bladed claws.' Yuè thought to himself as he got into his improvised, and more feral, wolf style stance.

The water buffalo were the first to attack as one of them wielding a battle axe swung downward to strike the crouched wolf. Yuè swiftly sidestepped the strike and went on the offensive, tackling the henchman to the ground and swiftly punching him in the face and knocking him out. Yuè stood up and stepped over the unconscious bovine and got into the more traditional stance for wolf style, "So, anyone else?" he asked arrogantly. The ox snorted loudly, "Don't just stand there! Kill that dog!" he ordered. His henchman immediately ran to engage the wolf. Two water buffalo armed with iron maces rushed Yuè and swung their weapons, at head level, simultaneously. Yuè ducked the strike, causing the weapons to clash and send a shocking vibration through the arms of the users, making them drop the maces and clench their arms. While ducked, Yuè swept a leg in a full 360 degree spin, tripping the stunned water buffalo. Yuè stood up and looked to his left and right, searching for the fourth water buffalo. From behind, the buffalo punched Yuè in the back of the head, sending him to the ground clenching his skull. The wolf looked up to see the bovine was armed with a pair of metal gauntlets, "That hurt." Yuè said bluntly before standing up and getting back into his stance. The two sized each other up for a moment before the water buffalo ran forward, wildly swinging his metal fists. Yuè weaved between the punches before grabbing his arm and twisted it. The wolf swept his opposer's legs, sending him to the ground, before stomping on his shoulder and dislocating his arm.

With all the other henchmen incapacitated the last and most intimidating one stepped forward. He stood a head and a half taller than Yuè and his weapon of choice was a kanabō made of bluntly spiked ironwood slung on his shoulder. Yuè looked up at the new threat, slightly intimidated by his enormous height but more intimidated by his choice of weaponry compared to the wolf's lack of weaponry. "Well, aren't you a big one?" Yuè mocked. The water buffalo smirked before swinging his club horizontally, hitting Yuè in the ribs and knocking him to the ground. "Okay. I'm gonna feel that for a week." he groaned as he held his side. The buffalo sauntered up to the wolf, his hooves clicking sinisterly against the stone paved streets. He stood over Yuè and raised the mace high in the air before bringing it down with a loud crash. Lilu gasped at the sight, believing her boyfriend to be dead. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, "Damn that was close!" shouted a familiar voice. The she-wolf quickly opened her eyes to see Yuè lying to the side of the crater created by the massive weapon.

Yuè quickly jumped to his feet, "Let's try that again." he said getting into his stance. The buffalo heaved his club from the crater and slung it on his shoulder again. Placing both hands on the handle, he swung the large club horizontally again. Yuè ducked the strike, "Gotta do better than that." he taunted. The bovine angrily snorted and swung his club again from the opposite direction, Yuè once again ducked it. The water buffalo lifted the kanabō and brought it down to where Yuè stood, hoping to smash the lupine. The wolf only stepped backwards as the club came down, creating another crater on the paved road. Yuè jumped on the tip of the club and ran up its length. He got up to its handle before jumping forward and drop kicking the water buffalo in the face, sending them both crashing to the ground. The only difference was that the buffalo was out cold and Yuè had minor back pain.

The wolf stood up and dusted his clothes off before looking at the ox in front of him. "There goes your lackeys. You wanna turn yourself in now, or would you rather catch a long awaited a** kicking?" he asked in an arrogant and taunting voice. Now enraged, the ox roared loudly before running forward and swinging his sword at Yuè. The wolf only moved backwards, barely using effort to dodge the reckless and uncontrolled attacks. Yuè slid under and horizontal swipe and knocked the bovine's legs from under him and causing him to drop his weapon and face plant on the ground. Looking up from the ground the ox snorted loudly, fuming with rage. He looked up to see a she-wolf in a white gown standing next to a food cart, 'You look like a good hostage.' he thought sadistically. He stood up quickly and bolted towards the bystander, quickly grabbing her by the throat and lifting her in the air. "Lilu!" Yuè shouted as he began running towards the two. "One more step and I snap her neck like a twig!" the ox said stopping Yuè in place as he squeezed Lilu's neck tighter, causing her to gasp in pain. Yuè watched as the ox strangled his love, causing his eyes to tinge red with rage. "Your girlfriend's pretty. I'm sure she wouldn't mind giving me a little kiss." the bovine taunted as he puckered his lips and began moving them closer to Lilu's, making Yuè growl loudly with anger. He looked around for any possible way to free her and spotted one of the unconscious water buffalo with a knife tucked in their pant's waistband. He quickly bent over and grabbed the knife, flipping it so he held the blade. The wolf took aim at the ox as his mouth came closer to Lilu's and threw the knife at his wrist. The ox bellowed in pain and quickly dropped the she-wolf in his grasp, sending her to the ground coughing and gasping for air. "You son of a-" the bovine said, being cutoff as Yuè jumped forward and kneed him in the chin, sending him toppling to the ground. Yuè crouched above him and began punching him furiously, "Don't. You. Ever. Touch. Her. Again!" he shouted between punches, ending the assault with an elbow to the face and knocking the ox out cold.

He stood up, exhausted from the battle, and walked over to his girlfriend, his eyes reverting back to their normal colors of gold and jade green. "Are you okay?" he asked as he crouched down next to her with a hand on her shoulder. Lilu nodded and pulled Yuè in a tight embrace, tears flowing from her eyes. Yuè closed his eyes and rubbed her back comfortingly, "I'm so sorry you got involved Lilu. I'll make sure something like this never happens again." he said sympathetically in her ear. Lilu pulled back from the embrace with a wide smile on her face, "I'm not crying about that. I'm just a little sad you didn't notice the new jewelry I'm wearing." she said sniffling. Yuè looked over her, confused, before noticing the gold ring on her right ring finger with the characters 永恒的爱(eternal love) etched on it. The wolf was speechless and did what words couldn't say, he passionately kissed Lilu, the crowd of bystanders cheering loudly at the unorthodox proposal. Guards soon came by to arrest the ox and his compatriots as Yuè and his new fiancé continued to enjoy the citywide festival, one he still didn't know the occasion for but couldn't care less.

Present Day...

Yuè sighed heavily as he finished his story. "So that's why you hate parties?" Po asked earning a smack to the back of his head from every member of the Furious Five. Yuè chuckled, "Nah, parties just aren't my thing. It's probably the crowds. They always make me feel like someone's watching me, like, in a creepy way." he explained. "But that's not the reason I didn't want to come here. I didn't want to come here because there're too many painful memories. *sigh* My wife...died in this house bringing our daughter into this world only for me to lose her eight years later. Heh, I can only imagine the sort of yelling she'd do if she was still here." he said as a single tear came to his eye. He wiped it away before walking to a backdoor in the kitchen. Without another word he walked through, leaving everyone in the living room. Po was the first to follow with everyone following close behind. Outside they saw Yuè standing at the top of the hill gazing outward. He turned his head to look behind him and turned back, pointing to something off in the distance, "There." he said cryptically. Everyone gathered around him to see what he was pointing at. "That's Tan Jin." he said. Out in the distance they could just make out a large city built near the side of a mountain. "When we get there I'm gonna have to split off from you guys." the wolf said abruptly, getting a barrage of protesting comments. He raised his hand, chest level, silencing them, "Po, you and the Five have your mission. You have to save the city. Me, I have to find my daughter." he said turning to Jian and Fan, "You two are just along for the ride. You don't have to keep going if you don't want to." he said earning a hard punch to the arm from Jian. "I came along because you needed me. As far as I can see, Tan Jin is a huge place, and you're gonna need an extra pair of eyes to help you look." he said as Fan came behind him and punched Yuè in the arm as well, "Make that two pairs." she said with a smile placing a hand on her hip. Yuè couldn't help but smile, "Thanks." he said as a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned and saw that its owner was Tigress, "Yu, you're a real pain to deal with. But we can't, in good conscience, let you go alone. You came to us for help and that's exactly what we're gonna do." she said gesturing to Po and the rest of the Five. Yuè chuckled, "Actually I asked Po for help." he said earning another punch to the arm from Tigress, "You ask one of us, you ask all of us." she said with a slight grin. "Thanks." Yuè said rubbing his arm. "Now let's get going. I'm sure Li's really eager to see you." Po said as he began to walk down the hill, everyone else following behind him. "Gimme a sec. I'll be right behind ya." Yuè said as he turned around to look at his old home on last time, drifting off into his memories once again.

Eight Years Ago...

Lilu was screaming painfully as she lay in bed, her legs open wide. "C'mon! One more push!" encouraged a goat. Lilu started to push as the door in front of her burst open, Yuè quickly rushing to her side. "I'm here! I'm here!" he said as he held her hand. Lilu had been in labor for the past six hours, her midwife being close by helping her through it. Unfortunately, Yuè was tied up in town when it happened and received the news from Mr. Hsu. "Just a little more!" the midwife encouraged as Lilu gave it one last push. Suddenly the cries of a healthy baby filled the air, causing Yuè to laugh joyfully. "It's a girl!" the goat announced as she passed the newborn puppy to her mother. Lilu cradled the baby in her arms lovingly, panting heavily from the effort. The pup had snow white fur, contrasting the gray fur of her father and mother. "She's so small." Yuè said in amazement. Lilu smiled and lightly shoved his arm, "That's because she's just a pup." she said giggling. Yuè chuckled, "I know. Just, didn't expect something that small." he joked earning a chuckle from his wife. "So what do you want to name her?" Lilu asked. Yuè looked down at his daughter in thought, "Zhang Li." he said after a moment of thinking. "Why Zhang?" Lilu asked teasingly. Yuè shrugged, "It sounds cute. I've always liked that name." he said chuckling. "Since when have you liked anything cute?" Lilu teased, "And what about Li? Where'd you get that name?" she asked. Yuè was quiet for a moment, looking down at his child before looking back up at his wife, "You. I chose Li because she looks like you." he said looking down at the newborn and gently rubbing the fur on her head. Lilu looked at Yuè with soft caring eyes before nuzzling him, the wolf returning the affection.

"Can I hold her?" Yuè asked. Lilu nodded before carefully passing the puppy to her father. The lupine couldn't help but feel a warmth and softness in his heart when he saw the pup yawn. That feeling quickly dissipated when he heard harsh coughing. He looked up to see Lilu hacking loudly. "Are you okay?" he asked in a worried tone. "I'm fine. Just a tickle in my throat." she said dismissively only to be interrupted by another fit of coughing, this one followed with blood. The midwife rushed over to Lilu's side, "This is bad." she said gravely, causing Yuè to panic. "Wait what do you mean bad? What's wrong?" he asked frantically as he moved closer. "I've seen this before. She's lost too much blood during labor. She isn't strong enough to pull through...I'm sorry." she said defeatedly. Yuè felt his heart drop. He dropped down next to Lilu and gave her Li, "I promised I'd protect you. There must be something we can do, something I can do." he said as tears streamed down his face. Lilu smiled faintly and placed her hand on Yuè's, "It's okay Yu. Everything is gonna be fine." she said hopefully, "You have Li. I know you promised to protect me, but now you have someone else to protect." she consoled, rubbing Yuè's hand. She looked down at the pup in her arms, its eyes still closed and its ears flat on her head. She gently scratched the child's belly with a finger, "You hear that Li? Your daddy's gonna keep you safe. But I want you to do something for me. I need you to keep an eye on him. He's a little rough around the edges, but he has a good heart. And I need you to keep him happy and smiling. Because I've always loved his smile. Can you do that for me?" she asked the pup in a soft voice. Li only whimpered softly, as if she answered her mother's question. "Good girl. Now be good for mommy okay?" Lilu asked as her eyes slowly closed. "Lilu?" Yuè asked, receiving no answer, "Lilu?!" he called more frantic as he gently shook her shoulder, tears flooding down his cheeks. He slowly stood and picked his daughter, cradling her in his arms. He bowed his head down and nuzzled his nose against pup's in his arms. He, then, walked over to the body of his wife and kissed her on the forehead, "Good bye Lilu. I love you." he whispered. He looked over at the goat in the room and gave her a somber look before walking out of the bedroom, his eyes bloodshot from crying.

Present Day...

Yuè wistfully walked inside the old cottage, staring at various spots and recalling the memories he'd had there. He circled a spot in the middle of the living room, remembering Lilu convincing him to dance with her, much to his disapproval. He walked inside the kitchen and looked at the cooking spit, remembering a time where he surprised his wife with a bouquet of wildflowers after a day of hard work in the apothecary they called home. Finally he walked into the small bedroom Li slept in. He looked around as the phantoms of the past eight years circled him. From every bedtime story to the flute he'd play for her during thunder storms. He walked over to the small bed and once again picked up the small toy panda. As he stared at it he began to notice something out of place. He quickly sniffed the stuffed animal and caught the scent of someone that had been there, someone he didn't know. From the faintness of the smell he estimated that someone had been inside the house a few months earlier, close to the time his daughter had gone missing. He sniffed the toy once again to make sure he caught the scent and quickly walked out of the house, following the scent toward his intended destination: Tan Jin City.