Thank you, guys, for reading Chapter 2 of The Story of Jinjing 3.
SpiritChannelerJosh: Thank you!
Here's Chapter 3. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Jinjing wandered outside the Jade Palace, still in pain from the training until she heard voices coming from behind her.
"Yeah, that was a complete disaster," a Jade Palace archer #2 commented.
The Jade Palace archer #3 groaned. "I'm glad we're not Po right now,"
"What a loser,"
"What was Shifu thinking?"
"What was Oogway thinking?" the Jade Palace archer #2 laughs until the archers see Po staring at him and Jinjing glaring at them, thinking they heard them.
"Do you have anything else bad to say about Po?" Jinjing questioned them.
The Jade Palace archer #2 whispered to the other two. "I think they heard us,"
"I didn't hear anything," Po denied.
"Uh, he said you're a loser," the Jade Palace archer #3 told him.
"I suggest that you three keep your comments about Po to yourselves or else I will kick your butts from here to the mountains," The female red panda threatened them.
All scared, the three archers walk away and leave Po and Jinjing at the rocks.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Jinjing. You didn't have to do that," Po said.
Jinjing puts her hand on his arm. "No, no. I want to. You are my friend and you're also like my brother, [1]"
The panda's expression then becomes sad and they go to Oogway's statue.
"I'm sorry, Oogway," Po turns around, only to be surprised when Shifu appears in front of him and Jinjing. "AAAH! Would you stop doing that?!"
Jinjing laughed a bit at Po being scared.
Shifu smiles. "How was your first day teaching?" he asks the panda.
"Humiliating," Po answers.
"I heard,"
"Who told you? Did Tigress tell you?" Po turns to the female red panda. "Did you tell him?"
"No, I didn't tell Uncle Shifu. Even if I did tell him, I would've told you," Jinjing responded.
"I heard from Monkey, and Crane, and Mantis, and your dad, and Mrs. Chow from the gift shop, and Yue, and those ducks you just passed, and… Tigress told me," Shifu informed him.
"Yeah, well, did she also tell you that it'll never happen again? 'Cause I'm done," Po asks.
"Teaching? Or being humiliated?"
"Both! I don't know why you ever thought I could teach that class,"
"Oh, I knew you couldn't,"
"What?!" Jinjing and Po yelled in shock.
"Uncle Shifu, how could you?" Jinjing asks.
"You set me up to fail? Why?" Po questions.
"If you only do what you can do, you'll never be more than you are now," Shifu told him.
"I don't wanna be more! I like who I am!" Po complained.
"You don't even know who you are,"
"What do you?... Of course I do. I'm the Dragon Warrior,"
Shifu turns around to see Po at a loss for words. "And what exactly does that mean, Dragon Warrior?"
"It means… you know... just going around and punching! And kicking! Defending the valley! And stuff,"
Jinjing shook her head.
"Punching and kicking? You think that is what the great Master Oogway saw for you? A five-hundred-year prophecy fulfilled, so you can spend your days kicking butt and running through town high-fiving bunnies?" Shifu asks.
"Yes…?" Po hesitantly answered.
"No. Look, Po, Being the Dragon Warrior means believing in yourself, achieving inner peace, and using your strength to protect others. It's not just about fighting skill, but about finding balance within, embracing who you are, and defending the Valley of Peace with wisdom and compassion. The Dragon Warrior embodies the true meaning of Kung Fu—using your power for peace and harmony, both inside yourself and in the world around you,"
"She's right. Oogway saw greatness in you, Po, as did Jinjing. Against my better judgement… More than you can see yourself. Incredible power awaits you. Power beyond anything you can imagine," Shifu places his hands close to each other and forms a stance. As his hands glow a dim yellow, he directs them toward a dying plant. The plant slowly rises back into life.
Po runs to the plant and closely studies it. "Whoa! What was that?"
"That… was chi," Jinjing answered.
"Whoa!... What's chi?"
"The energy that flows through all living things,"
Po then crawls to Shifu and puts his snout in Shifu's face. "So you're saying if I," the panda gasps. "so you're saying if I teach, I'll be able to do cool stuff like that?"
Shifu pushes him back. "No, I'm saying if you teach, I'll be able to do cool stuff like that,"
"Oh," Po disappointedly said. The panda directs his hand on a nearby plant in attempt to bring it to life. He fails.
Jinjing laughed a little at Po's attempt to do chi. "Mastery of chi requires mastery of self. Oogway sat alone in a cave for thirty years asking one question: Who am I? Who am I?"
"I'm lucky to get five minutes before you interrupt," Shifu added.
Po groaned. "So now I have to wait in a cave for thirty years?"
"Eventually. After you master teaching,"
"Teaching? There's no way I'm ever going to be like you,"
"I'm not trying to turn you into me, I'm trying to you… into you," Shifu then hands Po the revived flower before he departs.
"Turn me… into me? Wait a second, that makes no…" Po says to himself, then calls in the direction that Shifu left. "Almost there, Shifu, just a little more confusing and you'll be the next Oogway!" Po turns around to Oogway's statue. "Oh, ah, sorry. No offense, Master Oogway. I just…" he sighs. "I'll let you get back into your eternal peace. Jinjing, are you coming?"
"Um, yeah, I'll be right with you guys. Go on without me," the female red panda answered.
As Po walked away, Jinjing turned to Oogway's statue. Her heart pounded as she gazed up at the stone figure, her eyes catching a faint green aura shimmering above the palace, the same green glow she had seen countless times in her visions. Fear prickled along her spine.
"Oh no… It's happening. My visions… they're coming true." She clenched her fists, her voice barely audible whisper. "Master Oogway… if you were here, what would you tell me to do?"
The silence around her was heavy, but she felt a strange calm settle in, like a reassurance beyond words. Sighing, she turned and headed toward the student barracks, each step feeling heavier. As she reached her room, the enormity of what lay ahead pressed down on her, a daunting path she hadn't anticipated but knew she had to face.
Author's Note:
1) I wanted to show the sibling-like bond between Po and Jinjing. Jinjing sees Po as a brother, which is why she defends him so fiercely when others criticize him. Their friendship runs deep, with Jinjing helping Po to find confidence and Po bringing out Jinjing's lighter side. Moments like these highlight the warmth and loyalty they share as chosen family.
I love having Po and Jinjing have a sibling-like relationship, do you?
What will happen next?
Please review.