Chapter 14: Fujian
Shifu watched the sun rise beyond the Imperial City. While he was glad he found the scroll, Shifu was more than happy to look back at the city with no thought of returning. Everything about it was pure chaos. The noise. The people. The strict, be or behead, Imperial Rules. He preferred the quiet sanctuary of the Valley of Peace. It is, as the name suggested, one of the more peaceful provinces in China. So, he turned his back to the towering walls and wandered off into an empty field, perching himself atop a grassy hill with a lone plum blossom tree.
Shifu gently ran his fingers over the scroll he had so desperately needed. Finally, it was his. Answers would follow. He knew it. The Yin Yang pendant Tigress had found. The attacks. The mysterious Hidden Valley. Everything, Shifu hoped, would wrap up. The only thing that caused doubt in his mind was Oogway and how cryptic he could be.
"Master Shifu of the Jade Palace?" A voice echoed across the grasslands and hills. Shifu didn't need to look to know it was Emperor Hongwu, but because Shifu liked his head and didn't want it separated from his body anytime soon, he faced the emperor as he walked up the hill. Two guards were always at his side.
Shifu bowed his head, hoping it would be enough to satiate Emperor Hongwu's desire, or need, or respect. Kneeling and bowing as normally demanded from the emperors were hard on the knees, and Shifu was beginning to feel his age. The golden eagle eyed the elderly master panda with a curious twinkle in his eye.
"It is a pleasure, your majesty." Shifu said softly. "What do I owe this visit?"
Emperor Hongwu turned to his guards and brushed them off with a simple wave of his wing. Though they were unwilling to leave him alone in the field, they decided to retreat to the bottom of the hill, still well within range, should anything happen to Emperor Hongwu. Shifu noted how, despite the peaceful aura of the grassy hill, the two guards were not relaxed. When were they ever? Shifu thought. Protecting such an important figure for China must be the most stressful job one could do.
"I came to see you off." Emperor Hongwu said as he began to pace. "I hear the city is not to your liking." He eyed Shifu and continued his attempts to unravel his oddity.
"I hope my displeasure at the Imperial City is not an insult to you. It is simply not my taste." Shifu said calmly.
Emperor Hongwu barely acknowledged Shifu. His eyes darted left and right. His steps were almost frantic. "My empire lost its standing army. A dozen villages have been erased from the records. Your warriors are on a mission could be killed by a threat we know nothing about. Yet, you seem at peace. How? How…" Emperor Hongwu failed to find the rest of the sentence.
"China has seen many dark days, your majesty. All it takes to pull this great nation from the darkness are a few brave souls." Shifu's words made Emperor Hongwu stop and think. "I trust my students."
"You are rather odd." Emperor Hongwu noted.
"Very." Shifu said with a smirk.
Emperor Hongwu knew he was not about to piece together the mysteries of the legendary kung fu master before him. Doing so would take many lifetimes, so he brushed off his curiosity and looked down at the scroll. "I assume you've found what you were looking for. What is it? A simple scroll?"
Shifu nodded and listed the scroll before him. "Long ago, my mentor came to this land. For one thousand years he lived and studied the secrets of China. He was instrumental in the formation of the Valley of Peace, and because of him and his teachings, many threats to this great land have been defeated. His name was Oogway, and I'm sure you've heard of him."
The majestic golden eagle nodded and began rubbing the underside of his beak, but secretly hoped Shifu's words were going somewhere. "Many times." He responded.
"Throughout my years in his service, there is one lesson I took away that I hold most dear above all the rest. That is to trust the ones around you. My students will take care of this threat to China." Shifu handed Emperor Hongwu the scroll. "But there will be more down the line. Threats greater than any of us could possibly imagine. That is why I am here looking for this… simple scroll." Shifu decided to risk it and throw the emperor's words right back at him.
Emperor Hongwu snatched the scroll. "What is inside?"
Shifu shrugged. "Whatever Oogway thought was important at the time." He smiled. "Open it." Shifu closed his eyes and awaited the emperor's reaction to the contents of the legendary Oogway, the wisest of all.
Slowly, Emperor Hongwu slid the black and white casing and removed the scroll. It was old and withered. The page was brown with wear, but it was wrapped so finely that the years have kept it together.
"It's blank."
WHAT?!
Shifu's eyes shot open. He was half tempted to snatch the scroll from the clutches of Emperor Hongwu but refrained. Instead, he sat there, petrified as the eyes of the golden eagle ran across the scroll. The empty scroll. Shifu's heart sank and it sank fast. Emperor Hongwu slowly handed the blank scroll to Shifu. Suddenly, it clicked. He turned the scroll over.
Emperor Hongwu had the scroll flipped.
Finally, Shifu's eyes were able to make out what Oogway had written. His heart settled and he managed to find a deep, satisfying breath. Thank goodness, Shifu thought. He looked up at Emperor Hongwu and smiled with relief. The majestic emperor was unable to make eye contact, as if too embarrassed to accept the simple mistake.
"It's a map." Shifu noted. His eyes continued to draw themselves against the parchment. He took in every detail. He saw China. The Valley of Peace. Bordering nations and the giant ocean to the east. Etched into the paper were landmarks. Some of which Shifu recognized. Others, he didn't. A simple note was written on the bottom of the scroll. Shifu read it aloud. "There are two sides to every history book."
"What does that mean?" Emperor Hongwu asked.
"Oogway had many secrets." Shifu said, tapping a spot on the map that had been marked over and highlighted rather well. Too well to be ignored. "Fujian."
"Fujian?" Emperor Hongwu whispered. "That village was one of many that was raided. I was told there was nothing left but ash."
Shifu nodded. Once again, his heart sank, but his faith in Oogway remained. Whatever was left was still worth the journey. "Whatever remains, I must find it." Shifu said, rolling the scroll up and tucking it beneath his arm. He looked the emperor in the eye. "I doubt these secrets were meant for me, but I fear the time has come to uncover them anyways." He removed the pendant of Yin Yang and looking longingly at it. "The future of my students will require this knowledge."
"And I shall accompany you." Emperor Hongwu stated. Quite loudly.
Shifu was left with a stutter. "A-Accompany? Me?" He was almost left speechless. "My majesty, are you sure?"
Emperor Hongwu nodded and smiled. "I have become curious, Shifu. Too curious to allow any more secrets of yours, or your master, to pass. We will travel to Fujian together, and I will help recovery what information Oogway has left for you, and your students."
Shifu bowed his head. "Thank you, your majesty." Shifu wasn't quite sure if he was truly thankful, but he would be the last one to admit such a thing. The change in Emperor Hongwu's tone since the last time they talked was rather odd, but he certainly wasn't about to reject the emperor. He enjoyed life.
Po took a heavy breath. He thrashed his arms and rolled over onto his belly, then onto his back. His legs kicked like a warhorse. He opened his eyes, but a blinding light forced him to shut them once more. He coughed up a storm that rivaled the worst China had ever seen. He shook his arms, frantically. His muscles ached. With his energy sapped, he allowed his body to collapse. He went limp and slumped to the wet sand below. He gave up.
"What was that?" Mantis asked.
Po opened his eyes and looked up. Mantis stood there. The little bug was inches from Po's nose. He was so close, Mantis looked like a titan.
"What?" Po asked, defensively.
"We thought you were dying." The bug said.
"Maybe I was."
"Eh… No."
Po sat upright. "Was it a bit much?"
Mantis nodded. "Just a scooch dramatic You were acting like we were being drowned."
"Weren't we?" Po was confused.
Mantis sighed. "We had to swim five feet. In knee deep water."
Po fell silent as he looked around. Tigress, Mantis, Monkey, Viper, and Crane all surrounded him. He smiled as he looked into the eyes of each of his friends. Only Tigress kept a straight face, but Po could tell that it was because she had just dried her fur. No doubt she was a bit grumpy from all the water. Suddenly, between Viper and Tigress came a smaller figure, but not as small as Mantis. It was a rabbit. Liang.
Po eyed the rabbit. "You? Don't you work for Lu Fang?"
Liang felt all eyes turn slowly towards him. Still, he waved politely and nodded. "I used to. Correct."
"He saved us, Po." Viper said softly.
Po smiled and tried to act as politely as he could towards his supposed savior, but his following words were seemingly forced from his gut. "How?"
Liang's cheeks turned red. "It wasn't just me." Liang said, backing up and wading out into the water. "I had help."
She breached the water. Her black and white body was lit up by the sun. She breached a second time and swam as close to the sandy shore as she could. Po's eyes lit up as he looked upon the magnificent beast. He pointed, hoping to catch his breath. All he could utter were the few, simple words. "Sea panda."
Their eyes locked. Whale and panda. Her tail flipped through the ocean, joyfully shooting water up into the air. One rogue flip of her tail sent a beam of water ashore. She danced in circles as the Furious Five tried desperately to avoid the water that fell like rain. Tigress was not successful.
"GAH!" She roared, marching away from the beach to pout and mope. And, of course, dry off… again.
Meanwhile, the whale settled down and once again turned her eyes towards the Dragon Warrior.
"I can't believe it!" The whale said. "Liang! Is that really the land whale?"
Po froze and his eyes crossed. "Huh?" Land whale?
"You're a land whale, right?! Just like Lu Fang? I didn't know there was more of you!" Her eyes closely observed the patterns of his black and white fur. "So beautiful." She squealed. "I'm Xin Yi, and it's a pleasure to meet you! I'd shake your furry fin, if I could."
Mantis fell off Monkey's shoulder, laughing.
Liang smiled. "We couldn't be part in whatever Lu Fang was doing. She's a maniac, and I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out. I wish I'd seen it earlier. She told me she was going to burn down the entire island just to find you. If you can strike that much fear into her, we're hoping there's a good reason. You guys might be our last hope."
Again, Xin Yi squealed. "Look at him! He's so cute when he gets serious!"
"You two are a thing?" Po asked, rubbing his chin. "How does-"
Viper struck quick and wrapped her tail around Po's mouth. Po stopped dead in his tracks. "They make a great couple, Po!" Viper hollered with a smile but pulled Po down and hissed silently in his ear. "Trap, shut." She released Po, who stood up and rubbed his neck. Viper had squeezed oddly tight.
"It's all right." Liang said with a nervous chuckle.
"It was just something that happened naturally." Xin Yi continued. Po noted how the sea panda was the more talkative of the two. Liang, Po correctly assumed, was the introvert. "One second I was swimming through the ocean, doing my usual patrol for Madame Fang. Little Liang here was taking a walk on the beach. I breached, like I do, and I swear, it was love at first sight." Her pitch grew higher and higher as she spoke. All in one, mighty breath. "I swear, when I came up out of the water, I thought I was flying! His eyes were like little land rubies!"
Liang blushed.
"That is so adorable." Viper said.
Crane felt the knot in his throat. "Yeah." Crane's voice cracked. He immediately regretted speaking up. Something forced him to continue. "It just goes to show that love works in weird, unexplainable ways." Again, his voice cracked. Twice. He felt the eyes of Mantis and Monkey hound him. His face blistered red. Crane cleared his throat as an awkward silence fell. "So, which way to the Valley of Peace?" He tried to break the tension.
Liang shrugged. "I'm sure you guys will find your way back."
"You're not coming with us?" Monkey asked.
Liang looked back at Xin Yi. Further out to sea, far beyond the horizon, was a black plume of smoke. If they didn't know better, they would've just thought it was an odd form of black clouds. Knowing what they know, however, they figured the truth was much darker. The island, just as Lu Fang promised, was set ablaze, and though the fire was long out of sight, its mark on the world was not. "I can't. I have to stay with-"
"No." Xin Yi interrupted. "Go with them. I'm sure it's safer, Li."
"I don't want safe. I want you."
Po didn't know if sea creatures were able to blush, but he swore he saw a hint of red in the cheeks of the sea panda.
"Oh! He's just too cute." Again, her voice squeaked. "Seriously though, I'll be safe. Maybe one day we can go back to the island, but as long as Lu Fang is around…" She went silent, unable to find the right words to finish her train of thought.
"We're going to stop her." Po promised. "Come hell or high water, we will."
"We know." Liang said. "You guys go back to the Jade Palace. Get as many reinforcements as you can. Whoever you can. We'll wait here, by the shore and keep an eye on Lu Fang and her minions. If she makes her move, I'll come find you."
"That works." Crane said.
"Yeah. Right, Po?" Viper asked.
Po was taken aback. Why were they asking me? His head spun, hoping to find Tigress. When he finally caught sight of her, he knew why she hadn't spoken up. She was still drenched and sat idle beneath a fern. Her face twisted. Her tail flicked like a whip. Po, nor any of the Furious Five, wanted to talk to her when she was grumpy. Or wet. Or… both.
"Tigress? Did you hear that?" Po hollered over to her, hoping he wouldn't meet her grumpy side.
She looked up at the panda. Her amber eyes blazed with fury. "I heard." She called back, rather calm.
"Does that sound like a plan?" Po swore he saw the tiger nod. "Are you all right?"
"Fine."
"Are you soaked?"
"A little."
"Grumpy?"
He was met with stone cold silence.
Po decided to leave the tiger to her ways before he hit a soft spot, so he turned back towards Liang and the rest. The plan was set. Po reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out his map. He handed it over towards Liang.
"If you see anything, come find us." Po said.
"I will." Liang said.
Shifu sensed it long before they reached the village. Fujian, just as he was told, was destroyed. It had been months, but the ash still lingered, and the stench of death and destruction festered. Emperor Hongwu lagged behind the elderly panda, choosing instead to stick close to his imperial escort. Shifu did admit that the escort made him feel much safer. It consisted of a dozen of Emperor Hongwu's finest soldiers. Behind them were fifty battle hardened guards, and though Shifu did not expect a fight, he understood the precaution. They were, after all, traveling with the Majestic Emperor Hongwu of China.
Shifu stopped at the edge of Fujian and allowed the escort to catch up. Emperor Hongwu separated from the soldiers and stood side by side with Shifu. The elderly master heard the cries and gasps from the soldiers in the escort behind.
"Shame." The majestic emperor said as he looked upon the ashes. "Do you think these people stood a chance?" He spoke as if he didn't expect an answer or wanted one. The emperor walked into the village, leaving Shifu behind to stare at the destruction alone. Shifu bowed his head low and followed.
They walked through nothing but ash until Shifu spotted it. A library, now pitch-black standing near the edge of the village, atop a lone hill. It was a simple structure with steep jagged steps leading to the front door. Emperor Hongwu followed Shifu up the steps of the ruined building. When Shifu pushed open the doors, they fell from their weathered hinges and collapsed, forcing a mound of dust and ash into the air. Shifu coughed, but continued further in just as soon as he got his lungs back. He stood in the middle of the building and looked at the scroll.
"Oogway? What did you hide here?" He whispered to himself. He lightly stepped through the ruined building, but there was little to see. Ash. Ash. More ash. Rubble. Rubble and ash. A desk. Ash…
Shifu shivered at the thought of so much knowledge having been lost to time, but he held out hope that whatever Oogway had hidden would've remained untouched. He walked up and down the rows, stepping over charred logs and pillars… and ash.
It wasn't until Shifu reached the back of the destroyed library when he noticed something strange. Something unusual. Something that, by all accounts, should've been burned to ash like the rest of the structure. It was a large, golden crest embedded within the wall. Shifu approached with Emperor Hongwu close behind. The pair stood side by side. Emperor Hongwu didn't know what struck a chord with Shifu, but he examined the wall with him nonetheless.
The crest that caught Shifu's eye was a paw. A tiger's paw.
"What is this?" Emperor Hongwu asked.
Shifu shrugged. "It's just odd." The master noted. His eyes never left the golden symbol.
Emperor Hongwu slowly shook his head. He was in absolute disbelief at the carnage that surrounded him. "Fujian. This is… It's too real." His voice was soft. Easily carried away by the wind. "These were my people. I don't know much about your ways, Shifu. Your teachings are a mystery to me, as is your history, but I beg the gods that whatever Oogway has in store, it will help my people."
"We will find out." Shifu said, finally catching something out of place. A pair of scratch marks that carried themselves down the golden emblem. Shifu pressed his paws to the scratches. He laid his ear flat against the wall, perhaps hoping to hear something on the other side. Though silent, something wasn't right. He knocked the ash ridden wall. "It's hollow." Shifu noted. He backed himself up and continued to observe the wall. The scratches were frantic. Shifu winced, having got a glimpse of the poor civilian who had created the marks. They were desperate, but it did them no good.
Shifu ran his paws along the wall until he came across a small dent. His fingers slid into the dent, and he pulled. The golden crest cracked like an egg and split apart, revealing a room. A large room free from ash and destruction. It was dark.
"Torches!" Emperor Hongwu commanded. In a flash, two of his servants ran up wielding two lit torches. One for Shifu. One for Emperor Hongwu.
Shifu was the first to step inside. He was immediately in awe. Organized and neatly laid about were scrolls and books and maps. Hundreds of each. Perhaps thousands. Shifu knew they were all works of Oogway. His history, or part of it, at least. "Two sides to every history book." Shifu mumbled to himself. Shifu pondered long and hard as to why Oogway had locked these scrolls away, but perhaps it was wasted thought. He turned towards Emperor Hongwu. "We're going to need some extra hands."
"Why?" Emperor Hongwu asked.
"This information is ancient." Shifu looked across the room where a lone desk stood. Shifu approached and saw a book with an old quill sat beside it. With the book being open, Shifu figured that it was unfinished. He flipped through a few pages and on the very last page was a name. Sure enough, it was Oogway. He closed the book but froze when he saw the cover.
It was that of a tiger. A black and white tiger. His eyes widened.
"What?" Emperor Hongwu peered over Shifu's shoulder.
"Oogway spoke of this long, long ago. The Mystic Tiger."
"Who is that?"
"A legend long since passed." Shifu removed the book from the desk and held it up to his torch. The light sparkled across the worn cover. "Have your men carry the rest to the Jade Palace. This is the lost history of Kung fu. Of Oogway. Of… the tigers." His mind raced. "Tigress." He whispered. His heart began to flutter with pride and excitement at the thought of the two finally uncovering her secrets. Her past. Her future. He turned to leave as a dozen imperial servants entered. "Be gentle." Shifu commanded. "This is ancient and cannot be replaced." Shifu held the book firmly to his chest as he walked out of the library.
Emperor Hongwu was too stunned and confused to follow.
A/N: Whoo! Another chapter down, and I can't thank you enough for reading.
I hope you're enjoying the original characters. Lu Fang is the main one for this story, and I promise backstory is on its way, but I wanted to flesh out Liang a little bit. The whole relationship idea between him and the whale was added in last second, because I CANNOT stick to my outline. ;P
I had all these plot threads in my mind, and I was SUPER excited to write them down... then I had to start wrapping them up. That's always the hard part. Hopefully you are enjoying it.
Oh, and I'm sorry. I tried to post weekly, and I was fairly successful early on, but YIKES! I added a plot on a whim (Shifus) and it's taken me a while to fully wrap my head around the conclusion. I think if I write an epilogue, everything in his story will fall neatly into place.
Thank you for all the support and interactions.
