POV Tai Lung
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" I ask without opening my eyes, addressing the figure who hasn't even touched the door yet.
I was currently in my old room, which felt as though nothing had been touched since the moment I was sent to prison. Except there was no dust, and the air was fresh rather than stale, so I suspect cleaning had been done regularly. Which is actually quite strange; for all these years, I was considered the arch-villain here, a name used to frighten children. It would have been logical to completely clear the "traitor's" room of his belongings and consign them to oblivion.
But no, everything stood in its place; even my old training scrolls lay in the same order.
"I've come to talk," the door answered with Tigress's voice.
Well, it was her after all. It was difficult to identify exactly who had come by their footsteps; as I mentioned before, Kung Fu masters are quite skilled in stealth. Even I could only determine that a strong master, presumably female, was behind the door.
"Talk?" I sigh, emerging from my meditation and immediately stretching my stiff neck. "Well, come in—let's talk."
The door creaked open, and Tigress indeed appeared on the threshold. A very serious Tigress—though granted, she always looks that way, and I must admit, it actually suits her.
"Outside," the girl barked shortly, before... turning around and leaving.
Man, these Chinese cat-girl tsunderes. I wonder what she wants to talk about this early?
I stand up, sighing and rolling my eyes for the umpteenth time (it seems to be becoming a habit), and follow her out, involuntarily glancing at a poster-drawing of the previous Furious Five lineup hanging on the wall...
My "room" was actually a separate small house near the general dormitories where the other Jade Palace students lived. When I was taken in for training, Shifu was going through a very difficult stage in his life, so he wasn't taking other students. Since I wasn't initially viewed as an official ward, they didn't house me in the dormitory.
The house is small—just one living room—but I always liked it. The sense of nostalgia that hit me as soon as I arrived in the Valley of Peace was strongest here, rivaled only by the training hall.
"We are outside..." I hint to the cat, who is frozen in a thoughtful pose, gazing into the distance at the morning mist shrouding the mountains.
"Yes..." she agrees, without moving a muscle.
Mhm, and how am I supposed to take this? Obviously, she doesn't particularly enjoy interacting with me, but what's with this trend of behavior? I understand a "wise master" is supposed to act like a mysterious, silent statue, but she's the one who came for a conversation!
"It is hard for the Master," Tigress finally continued, without turning around. "You returned and proved through your actions that you have changed... The Master blames himself deeply for everything and... Yes, it is very hard for him to accept that Master Oogway could have been wrong about you..."
"Well, I hold no grudge against Shifu, and the old turtle is already in the next world, so I don't see the problem," I shrug, leaning against a wooden pillar.
"Even if it isn't a problem for you, it is for Shifu," the girl turned sharply, searching my face with her amber eyes. "I... Shifu became a father to me, and I see how burdened he is now. First, he thought you killed us, then he fought you—the one who was like a son to him. He fought to the death... After that, having already lost, Shifu saw you chatting amiably with the 'dead' us, and now... the Master blames himself. He believes he made a mistake twenty years ago by trusting Master Oogway and losing faith in you, Tai Lung."
Genuine pain rang in her voice, and moisture glistened in her eyes.
Whoa, I definitely didn't expect that.
The usually silent Tigress, who never shows emotion, is so openly worried about someone? I remember the second movie very vaguely, but the scene where she comforted Po stuck in my memory. It seems that in real life too, she only wears a cold mask to avoid showing weakness.
"I hear you. What specifically are you proposing?"
"I am not skilled in relationships between people; I spent my entire childhood in training, rarely leaving the Jade Palace..." the girl began from a distance, looking away. "...But I think you and Shifu must discuss... all of this. You gave up the title of Dragon Warrior, but what next? Will you leave or stay? And who are you now to the Jade Palace? The Master is confused and doesn't understand how to act or how to treat you after everything... Speak with him."
Yeah, her childhood was no better than mine, apparently. Shifu is definitely not the best educator, considering his first ward became a "villain" in a maximum-security prison, and his second pretends to be an emotionless brick while actually being a quite sensitive soul.
"Well..." I scratch the back of my head. "I wanted to talk to him myself, so I think you're worrying for nothing. I just don't think I should do it right this second—Shifu isn't in the best state, and... I need to think things through myself."
"When we walked here," the cat continued, nodding and looking at the sky again. "I was certain you would stop at nothing in your thirst for the Dragon Warrior title, but..." She looked me straight in the eyes again, piercingly and demandingly. "Now, I don't understand your goals at all. You reached the Jade Palace, defeated the strongest master on this mountain, obtained the Dragon Scroll, but... you simply gave it all up. Why?"
As she said this, the girl began to peer into my face with even greater intensity, making the beauty—already lovely with her features and ears—look even cuter...
"Heh, am I really so handsome that I have so many girls chasing me?" I say with a smirk, looking not at Tigress, but at a tree growing a couple of meters away.
My hand blurred forward, fingers clamping onto the throat of an invisible observer whom I managed to sense only with incredible effort and a stroke of luck. Thanks to Tigress for approaching my house so stealthily—it had forced me to stay on high alert.
The world around the stranger shuddered. Her small silhouette (about 150-155 cm tall), previously almost transparent and blending with the bark, momentarily gained color—and in the next second, the ninja appeared before us in all her glory.
A shock of thick, midnight-black hair framed her face, but the gaze was immediately drawn to a pair of large, sharp, sand-colored animal ears sticking out on top of her head. From beneath the thick fabric of a black mask hiding everything but the upper face, huge, piercing amethyst-colored eyes stared straight at me. Her body was hugged by a solid ninja suit, perfectly fitted to her figure, with a wide belt at her thin waist, and a fluffy tail resembling a fox's was visible behind.
"W-what?" Tigress, momentarily flushing red (presumably from my remark), now stared in shock at the girl squirming in my grip. To give Tigress credit—she didn't freeze; she instantly dropped into a combat stance, scanning the area for other "guests."
"And who might you be, my dear stalker?" I say, smirking, while internally feeling far from pleasant emotions.
To be honest, I didn't kill the stranger for only three reasons: the desire to find out what the hell is actually going on, the assumption that she might be a messenger from Xue Xia, and the locals wouldn't appreciate such a move—snapping the neck of a petite girl without trial or investigation isn't their style.
"Kh-hckh..." the stranger tried to answer, but failed; I had no intention of letting go, and not wanting to lose the nimble prey, I squeezed her throat—perhaps even too hard.
Alright, I don't sense anyone else around, I've roughly assessed her skills and realized she's alone, so I can let her go—if anything happens, I'll catch her; she won't get far.
I release my fingers.
"Kha-kha!" falling on her dainty backside, the girl first began to cough, greedily gulping air. Apparently, I really did squeeze a bit too much... Oops?
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Tigress asked sternly, looming over the spy. It's understandable—not only is being on Jade Palace grounds without permission strictly forbidden, but the stranger had been nearby this whole time and heard everything. Our conversation wasn't meant for extra ears, even if those ears are so cute and fluffy... A little fox? Though she looks more like a fennec; they are also technically foxes, but very different in color and size from the ones I'm used to.
"Khm, eee..." Recovering herself, the stranger panicked, looking from me to Tigress and "inconspicuously" glancing around for an escape route. Her gaze darted to a tree branch, then to the roof of the house...
"Don't even think about it," I whisper in her ear, appearing behind her back in the blink of an eye with a puff of my usual blue Chi.
"Waaa!" the ninja gave a cute squeal, jumping away from me... straight toward Tigress.
At the same time, she wasn't at all concerned that she had jumped with her back toward one opponent while fleeing another, leaving her rear open for a strike...
"Mhm..." I whisper, catching the thought that with such a level of stealth, making such childish tactical errors is at least strange... On the other hand, the fame of the Furious Five precedes them, and all of China knows about the new team of "strongest Kung Fu masters" and their valor, kindness, and other virtuous traits. Apparently, she decided Tigress wouldn't strike her in the back. "But I'm still waiting for an answer to my question. And if I don't like that answer, then... Do I need to say WHAT I will do to you in that case?"
The Capital, Imperial Palace, The Underground
"Who did you say you sent to keep an eye on Tai Lung?" Xue Xia asked, barely suppressing a twitch in her eye as she sat at a large mahogany table whose appearance and carving literally screamed that it was created by a grandmaster of the craft.
The Imperial Palace had always been a massive structure inspiring respect and awe even in the wealthy aristocracy, let alone common folk arriving in the capital for the first time. However, the underground—a full-fledged, albeit small, city beneath the city—inspired much greater shock. Though few knew of its existence: the secret of this place was carefully guarded, and only a handful knew of the network of hidden passages that allowed the Shadows and others to move through the entire Capital unnoticed.
"The new girl," the man in dark clothing repeated, his entire body hidden except for the lower part of his face. "Lin. She's a commoner, picked up at a young age from an orphanage."
"Great, so I didn't mishear..." the snow leopard sighed, wearily rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Be so kind as to explain the reasons for choosing her specifically to carry out my personal order."
"Reasons?" the man frowned, not quite understanding the reaction of his lady and superior. "She is the only available Shadow. All others are currently on assignments, some of which are critically important. That strange movement of 'merchants' from the West is still ongoing, and the island bandits have become active again; despite our fleet outclassing everything they have, they continue to carry out sabotage and rob traders. You are well aware of the problems with the north—it's not for nothing that General Chi Guan (the Rooster) has been guarding the border there for decades..."
"And so you decided it would be a brilliant idea to send a girl who has just finished her training to observe Tai Lung?" the head of the Shadow Corps inquired calmly, but with noticeable irritation in her voice, arching an eyebrow and crossing her legs.
"Lady Shadow of the Emperor, I was present on that mission myself and saw what... Tai Lung is capable of," the man paused for a second, picking a name for the monster of Chorh-Gom. "But Lin is a very capable girl. In stealth, she is no match for seasoned Shadows and has perfectly mastered the Concealment Technique. None of her classmates could detect her at graduation; why, even Wei Wuxian, who evaluates the newcomers, had great difficulty recognizing her presence, and he is one of our best masters in that regard, so I don't see the problem, my lady..."
Previously, only non-inheriting aristocrats—third and fourth sons, second and third daughters who had no hope of inheritance—were recruited into the Shadow units. With the Blood Emperor's rise to power, much changed: now children from orphanages were also selected for many structures. Those who previously dared not hope for anything more than a place as a blacksmith's apprentice or shop worker gained access to a full-fledged specialized education and subsequent employment—from scribes to Shadows.
And this reform was already starting to bear fruit—healthy competition was being created in positions previously reserved only for aristocrats, and the level of loyalty to His Highness among such children was beyond even the most optimistic expectations.
"I know this, Chen," Xue interrupted her deputy's reasoning. "However, she lacks experience. And also..." she sighed, looking at Chen as if at an ignorant child. "You are once again underestimating the 'opponent.' Tai Lung noticed all of you back then. He simply said and did nothing because we were surrounded by the enemy and he had other things on his mind; I suspect he took you for observers sent by that trash."
"Why do you think so, my lady?" the man frowned, nervously licking his lips. "He certainly didn't speak of being followed, I remember that clearly, and... How could he have noticed us? Usually, Kung Fu masters cannot do so without using rare detection techniques."
"Oh, you are still the same naive youth..." the girl said, shaking her head, causing her companion to inconspicuously roll his eyes (his lady said that phrase far too often). "Tai Lung is no ordinary 'home-grown master.' Though he spent his entire youth in the Jade Palace, he was taught by Shifu..." Xue said, falling into a meaningful silence at the end.
"I know..." the man replied when the pause stretched out. "But what does that mean?"
"Currently, Shifu is raising 'kiddos,' and even that is debatable..." the girl corrected herself. "But before, he raised true warriors. Though Tai Lung had little combat experience, Shifu provided full, comprehensive, and high-quality training. He knows how to hide—not like the Shadows, but enough that even a wandering master wouldn't notice him. He can kill—not as bloodlessly as the masters from the Capital, but very effectively. He knows how to talk to people—not as persuasively as advisors, but at a decent level. And he is capable of detecting a master of almost any level. Shifu was raising an heir for himself, a protector of the Valley, and generously shared all the necessary skills."
"Are you saying he will be able to detect Lin?" Chen asked simply, a hint of doubt in his voice. "But then who was I supposed to send by your order? If you say he can detect anyone, then..."
"The veterans know what he's capable of and would keep a respectful distance, but this new girl you praise so much will clearly overestimate herself and get too close to her target. If it were me, I wouldn't even think of approaching—because I understand the limits of Kung Fu masters' abilities. Even if Tai Lung senses attention, he won't be able to find the source unless they make a mistake, and Lin lacks that understanding..."
"Hmm... I see. Then I will give her the order to return..." the man nodded, conceding to his lady's logic.
"No need," the Emperor's Shadow shook her head, a sudden smile playing on the corners of her lips. "Simply give her the order to stay further away. She has the skills; that is enough to fulfill her task, but a warning will only make her more cautious. Let her decide for herself how to act and learn through practice. If it all works out, she will become an excellent agent. If not... then it wasn't meant to be."
"I understand," the man nodded again. "I will relay the order to her."
"And as soon as possible."
"And now, if you permit, let us return to the observers' reports on Lord Shen..."