"Listen to our 'big brother'?!?" Tigress repeated, barely containing herself. Her amber eye twitched, and she even bared her fangs a little. At that moment, she reminded me not so much of a Kung Fu master as an enraged cat; I dread to imagine what they told her about me in the Jade Palace all these years... "You are a bloodthirsty killer!" she spat every word like poison. "Who betrayed Shifu, who replaced your father! Who betrayed the entire Jade Palace!"
"Well, technically..." I tried to intervene, scratching the back of my head, but Tigress continued, ignoring my words.
"You killed dozens of innocent residents, after which you broke into the Jade Palace and tried to take the Dragon Warrior scroll for yourself! Injured Shifu in the process! And if Master Oogway hadn't stopped you, then..."
"Enough already!" I interrupted this fool, tired of listening to all the accusations of the old turtle, which the girl broadcasted to me like a broken record. "Although I understand you, I killed all your friends, right?" I theatrically looked around and sighed loudly, "noticing" Viper and Monkey lying unconscious. "Oh wait, look at that. None of your friends were harmed after all; they are just lying unconscious, so spare me this stupid propaganda." After which I waved my hand dismissively, showing how I perceive such accusations.
Inside me, of course, it stung.
Yes, Tai Lung really snapped in the past, and because of his actions, which have now become mine, innocent residents really died; I'm not going to deny this, but it was done in a state of affect when the world collapsed before his eyes, and I served my term—twenty years in a stone sack without food, light, and hope. Fully.
I haven't hurt ordinary workers since then.
"So, now back to business..."
"If you really want us to listen to you," Crane stepped forward. His voice trembled, but the core of a true Kung Fu master was felt in it. During this short skirmish, he realized they had no chance of winning in a direct clash, but this did not frighten him. On the contrary, fear made him more collected. "Then first bring them to their senses." He nodded at Monkey and Viper lying at my feet. "You said they are alive, so prove it. We won't negotiate with someone holding our friends hostage, having plunged them into a state we don't understand."
I chuckled. A reasonable demand. And, what's funniest, quite doable.
"Don't you see they are alive?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Breathing, hearts beating. Or didn't Shifu teach you that?" They were silent, looking at me tensely. It seems they still underestimate me, thinking I won't understand exactly why they need this "check." They want to make sure I control myself, as well as return comrades to the ranks before a possible continuation of the battle. "Well, alright, I'll do it," I nodded, taking a step toward the lying guy with a tail.
Tigress immediately tensed, but Crane stopped her with a movement of his wing. They all understood: if I wanted to finish off those lying down, I would have done it on the bridge or when I just stepped off it onto solid ground. Attacking now was stupid.
Ignoring them, I squatted near Monkey.
He looked bad: pale, breathing shallow, almost imperceptible. His constantly cheerful face was now relaxed.
"You know," I began, reaching for his neck. "Knocking out an opponent with a Chi impulse blocking nerve nodes is an art I learned for a long time. It requires high Chi control and precision. One wrong burst—and the opponent's heart will stop forever, although on Kung Fu masters this might not work at all, but bringing to senses..." I felt the needed point under the jaw, where the carotid artery branches, and, concentrating a tiny drop of my energy on the fingertip, pressed sharply. "...Shifu teaches this almost at the very beginning of training. Basic technique of stimulating Chi flows."
A press. Then another—in the solar plexus. And the final one—a sharp slap on the wrist, starting the heart meridian.
Monkey's body arched, he convulsively sucked in air as if surfacing from icy water, and coughed.
"Kha! Kha-ha!.. What the...?!" he blurted out, rolling his eyes wildly and trying to focus his gaze. Overacting, young man, oh overacting...
"Woke up," I stated, getting up and approaching Viper, simultaneously starting to explain exactly what happened to their comrades. "They didn't just lose consciousness from a blow. I temporarily stopped their energy circulation in the Chi core. It's more of a coma than sleep; without my help, they could have lain like this for a couple of days at least."
Why am I explaining all this to my opponents? Oh, everything is simple here—need to explain my superiority over them not only in deed but also in words. If instinctively a person understands that someone stronger is in front of them, it doesn't mean their mind realizes it too. It happens the other way around, hence various misunderstandings often arise, which over time lead to all sorts of stupidities and unnecessary victims.
I'm not saying the new Furious Five are idiots; I don't even think so. They are talented, just young and inexperienced, so this is rather actions just in case, so there are definitely no misunderstandings.
I repeated the procedure with the snake-girl. With her, I acted a bit more carefully—a lady after all, and her skin, covered with rare, barely noticeable scales on cheekbones and neck, seemed more tender than the rough skin of Monkey, who clearly knows the meaning of the word "Labor."
Pressing on the point between the collarbones. Impulse.
Viper opened her eyes; her pupils, vertical like a reptile's, instantly focused on me. She didn't scream or try to hit, as someone less restrained might have done, but only quietly exhaled and tried to rise, leaning on her hands. Recognition mixed with apprehension flashed in her eyes.
"I..." she whispered, touching her neck.
"Alive, healthy, and not even dented," I finished for her, stepping back so as not to provoke them into stupidity. "As promised, I returned your comrades to a normal state; hope now you don't see a bloodthirsty psycho in me and are ready to listen?"
While the "victims" came to their senses, rubbing bruised places and restoring breathing, I felt an attentive, studying gaze on me.
Mantis.
This shorty, barely reaching my elbow in height, sat on a boulder and didn't take his attentive green eyes off me. As far as I remember the cartoon (and comparing the approximate roles of the new Furious Five with the past composition), he was the team's medic, an acupuncture master, so Mantis, better than anyone else here, perhaps excluding Viper, understood exactly what I just did.
"Point strike to the 'Sleeping Dragon' meridian," he muttered, rubbing his small hands. "And unblocking through the 'Gates of Wind'. I thought these techniques were lost after Master Thundering Rhino's library burned down..."
"I studied all possible Kung Fu techniques, and Shifu remembers a lot," I replied, looking at Mantis. "And I remember everything he taught me. Even if he himself would prefer me to forget it."
Now that their entire "gang" was conscious, albeit in varying degrees of batteredness, the tension subsided a little, but only a little—Tigress still looked at me as if I personally ate her favorite... I don't know, bowl of rice?
"So," I spread my hands, demonstrating the purity of my intentions this way. "Everyone is alive, no one became a cripple; can we at least talk like civilized masters now?"
"What is there for us to talk about with a criminal?" Tigress growled, helping Viper up.
"About the fact that I am going to the Jade Palace not to arrange a massacre there," I answered calmly, looking her straight in the eyes. "I am going for what belongs to me. Or, at least, for answers, since no one thought to give them to me for twenty years."
Inside myself, I chuckled—of course, I'm lying.
Well... More precisely, withholding—I know Shifu perfectly well, and this old stubborn... beast (figuratively speaking, of course, he is still a human with red panda ears) won't talk, but will get into a stance, start spouting "wise phrases" and try to stop me, telling about the WISDOM of a Crazy turtle... In general, it's unlikely we'll part peacefully, considering his fanatical trust in Oogway. There will be a fight, possibly not to the death, but he is unlikely to listen to me...
But they don't need to know that.
"I don't want to kill any of you," I continued, making my voice softer. "And I don't want to kill the residents of the Valley, but you seem sure that I am some maniac who will slash everyone left and right, just 'because'."
"And isn't that so?" Monkey voiced, rubbing his bruised back of the head. "You look quite... threatening. No offense, dude, but you kicked our asses pretty good..."
"Appearances are deceptive, and anyway—you attacked first!" I parried. "Let's do this, I have a proposal."
The Five exchanged glances. They clearly didn't expect the Evil Villain in my person to offer any deals, which is quite insulting, because look what a heroic hero I am—didn't kill anyone, didn't cripple, and generally—white and fluffy! Literally!
Let them thank the Heavens that I am a Snow Leopard, not an Arctic Fox!
"Since you are so afraid for the safety of local residents and your precious Palace..." I paused, letting them realize my words. "Then accompany me."
"What?" Crane asked again, flapping his wings in surprise.
"You heard. Accompany me to the Jade Palace and see for yourself that I am not a crazy butcher thirsting for massacre." I explain my idea to them. "Hell, I won't even kill bandits—I'll leave all forceful showdowns to you to prove what a kind guy I am. So, great idea, right?"
Silence hung. They were digesting what they heard. The idea was absurd and logical at the same time.
"You want us to... guard you?" Tigress seemed about to burst with indignation. Her tail nervously twitched from side to side, betraying a storm of emotions. "Are you mocking? We must stop you, not walk around the Valley of Peace accompanied by the most wanted and dangerous criminal in all of China!"
"You cannot stop me," I cut off coldly, suppressing irritation. "It's understandable that they are just youngsters who sincerely believe in my evil nature, and not without reason, but I never—neither in this nor in past lives—was distinguished by a soft character, and attempts to reason with them like silly kittens aren't very pleasant to me." "You already tried. You see the result." I nodded at the bridge, or rather, at the void where it used to be, and at themselves, now looking quite beaten. "You have a choice: either you try to kill me again, and defending myself, I might accidentally break someone's spine for real this time, or you come with me and watch over order. It's up to you."
"This is madness," Crane shook his head. "We cannot bring a wolf into the sheepfold. We must... we must return and warn Shifu! Let's fly! I mean... run!"
He was about to turn around, but a quiet, yet unexpectedly commanding voice stopped him.
"Wait, Crane." It was Viper. She stood leaning on Tigress's shoulder, looking at me not with hatred, like her friend, and not with distrust, like Crane. She looked with curiosity and... hope? "Wait," she repeated, addressing the bird-man. "He is right. We lost the fight and if we attack again, we will simply die. Then there will really be no one to stop him..."
"And what do you propose?" Tigress snapped. "Lead him to the master by the hand?"
"I propose to think," Viper softly besieged her, after which she turned to me. "Master Tai Lung... Can we ask you to wait a couple of minutes? We need to... discuss your proposal."
I shrugged, showing with my whole appearance that I absolutely didn't care.
"You have five minutes. Then I go. With or without you." I don't want to wait longer; there is neither an interesting companion nor a fun adventure here for me to sacrifice time for empty talk.
Viper nodded and pulled Tigress by the sleeve of her yifu.
"Let's go."
The whole Five, limping and supporting each other, moved away a good ten meters, to the very cliff edge, and began discussing my proposal.
I remained standing by the boulder, arms crossed over my chest. The wind from the gorge ruffled my hair and loose pants, but this didn't stop me from listening to their whisper—my hearing, enhanced by Chi, allowed me to make out every word, but I pretended to admire the landscape. I was interested in what they would come to.
"He is crazy!" Tigress hissed. "We cannot trust him! It's a trick! He wants to use us as hostages so Shifu can't do anything to him!"
"And what if not?" Monkey objected, rubbing a bump. "Listen, he knocked me out with one blow! If he wanted to, he would have broken my neck and thrown me off the bridge; Viper alone as a hostage would have been enough for him!"
"Maybe he is saving strength for Shifu?" Mantis suggested. "Not that our master would have chances in a direct clash, judging by how he scattered us, but... Why does he need us?"
"Or maybe he really changed?" Viper asked quietly. "Twenty years is a long time... There was no bloodlust in his eyes. Only... fatigue and some kind of determination?"
"Viper, I know you are excellent at understanding people, but people don't change," Tigress cut off. "Especially ones like him. The darkness in his heart consumed him long ago."
"But we have no choice, Tigress!" Crane intervened. "If we attack now, we are corpses! Even if we go with him... Although in that case we will have a chance to strike in the back if he starts making trouble, or help the teacher in battle... Although, I doubt we can help with anything..."
I smirked with the corner of my lips. "Strike in the back."
Naive children. Especially Tigress and Crane—it's immediately obvious they became Shifu's students in childhood, like me, hence haven't seen life, unlike Monkey, Viper, and Mantis, who had experience of life outside the Palace walls.
But I liked their train of thought—looks like they might agree...
While they argued, I shifted my gaze to the Valley of Peace spread out below.
It was beautiful; looking at it and remembering the old days, I couldn't help but smile—this place, thanks to the Jade Palace, was one of the safest in China, and therefore residents lived here without fear of tomorrow and possible attacks by bandits. In the past, their optimism was transmitted to me too, pushing forward and assuring that I would succeed and become the Dragon Warrior...
Somewhere there, in this greenery, my "father" and my "replacement" at the post of Dragon Warrior were waiting for me...
Well, let's see what decision the defenders of the Valley of Peace will make.
In any case, it won't be boring...