Cloudless Authors

Chapter G

Tai Lung turned back towards Shifu. Then towards the fleeing figure. Then back to Shifu. Then back to the door. The dark cloaked figure disappeared for a moment before leaping onto the front gate at the bottom of the stairs and gliding out of his sight. Tai Lung groaned but then turned around but then turned and ran back over to Shifu. He had really wanted to catch the mysterious figure and bring him to justice, but it was either that or tend to Shifu. And truthfully, Shifu was a little more important at the moment. 

Tai Lung almost effortlessly moved the rubble off of his formal master and then picked him out of the pile and laid him on the floor. 

"Shifu?" he asked.

No answer.

Tai Lung carefully looked at Shifu's unconscious form as every fiber of his body stiffened tensely. He finally saw Shifu's chest raise ever-so-slightly and he let out a huge sigh of relief. 

Okay, he's not dead, he thought, picking up his former master. Just unconscious....That's good. 

Tai Lung walked through the rubble and over to the lone bedroom in the back of the Sacred Hall of Warriors. He assumed that with Oogway gone, Shifu had probably moved from the teacher's quarters into the grandmaster's room. The snow leopard gently nudged the door open and immediately spotted several scrolls laying open across the marble floor. 

Oh yeah. He's definitely made himself at home. 

The snow leopard gingerly stepped over the mess and laid Shifu gently down on his bed. The red panda has some scrapes on his face along with some bruising, but thankfully other than that he was okay. 

I probably shouldn't stay here long, Tai Lung thought to himself. Someone was bound to hear that blast. His gaze suddenly fell on a small box hastily stuffed underneath Shifu's bed. Though then again....One quick peek wouldn't hurt....

Tai Lung knelt down by the bed and took out the wooden box. He then carefully opened it and immediately spotted his stuff. There wasn't much inside; there was simply a broken piece of wood, some pictures clearly drawn by an amateur, and a purple blanket. He actually kept it? Tai Lung thought in surprise, picking up the piece of wood. I thought he only said that to humor me. He looked so confused at the time. The snow leopard reached into the box and pulled out the hand-drawn pictures that were inside. One was of a snow leopard, and interpretation of what he might look like older, holding up the valley with big muscles. The other was of a small cub hugging a poorly drawn Master Shifu. Boy, I forgot how terrible my drawings used to be, he thought. Not that I draw much, but I can at least make a decent-looking map. 

Tai Lung looked the stuff over, gently fingering the blanket before putting everything back in the box. Guess I don't have that much, he noted as he quietly shoved it back underneath the bed. He sat there for a second and pondered for a moment before getting up and walking out of Shifu's room. I wonder if my sword would be hanging around here if that man hadn't stolen it, he wondered as he strode over to the doors at the front of the Sacred Hall of Warriors. That actually still baffles me. Why would a villager want my sword? It's not like he knew kung fu! I think...I mean, he did a good job of sneaking it, but that doesn't mean I'm not still mad about that!

The snow leopard quietly walked out and closed the doors behind him. He then walked down the first flight of stairs, walked across the empty arena, and walked out of the Jade Palace and started down the Thousand Steps. 

I actually don't understand why Oogway named the stairs, Tai Lung thought as he casually looked around at the valley below. It's not even close to a thousand steps. I counted 747. 

He eventually made his way down the stairs and silently slipped into the forest nearby. The conversation with Shifu hadn't gone very well and he wasn't really sure what to do next. Should he try again? Skip town? Hang around and see if he did anything? Or maybe see whether or not that mysterious figure would strike again? 

Tai Lung hadn't been able to really get a good look at whoever had thrown the explosive. It was just a dark cloak flitting past the doorway and...nothing. And he couldn't even get a good look at the fabric, so he couldn't tell from what region they could be from. He paused in the middle of the forest to think. I really should go back. I mean...what if that assassin comes back....I mean, technically I'm not even allowed up there, but that was a pretty nasty blast. Though then again. I'm sure the other masters in the Jade Palace were on their way over anyway, so maybe this is for the better. 

Tai Lung thought for a moment before slowly moving back through the forest. He'd sleep on it later when he had found somewhere to hide out for the night. He considered hiding out in another nearby tree, but with the strange figure having just injured Shifu, he figured that the masters would probably start scouring the area to track him down. Staying close by would not be a good idea. The snow leopard continued on walking before he finally found himself at a cliff. It wasn't too steep; he could climb down within a matter of minutes. As he looked around at the scenery before him, he spotted a bridge that led to a steep path at the end. 

Oh, that's the pathway to the Molten Village, Tai Lung remembered. They actually don't get that many visitors down there except when Shifu has supplies brought down. Heck, I've never been down there. Maybe I could hide there for the night; they may have no idea who I am!

A sudden rustling from the woods behind him startled Tai Lung out of his thoughts. 

"Hello?" the snow leopard called out. 

No answer.

Tai Lung frowned in confusion, but then headed over to the edge of the cliff and proceeded to climb down. 

Choose what happens next. Skip to chapter: 

q- Tai Lung runs into the figure

r- Someone cuts the bridge on him