Cloudless Authors

Chapter 十四

Tai Lung decided to stay away from the Jade Palace for a bit in order to give everyone time to cool off. They'd probably go out looking for him, but that wasn't something he was too concerned about. He'd rather confront everyone on a clean slate rather than with an angry mob. Because he anticipated a man-hunt for him, the snow leopard took to hiding along one of the nearby mountain passes. There were plenty of caves and roads to confuse even the cleverest of masters and it would be the perfect cover. Tai Lung decided to hide out in one just over-looking a local gorge and kept himself alert in case of any surprise visitors. 

The entire night passed by without any incident, as did the following morning. Tai Lung decided, after a while, to take a long power nap and curled up behind some rocks to avoid being seen. He soon fell asleep and passed the morning away. Around mid-afternoon, the snow leopard's blissful power snooze was suddenly interrupted by a loud shout of noise. 

"HEEELPP!" came the terrified voice of what sounded like an older man. "LET ME UP!" 

Startled, Tai Lung turned his head towards the direction of the noise and proceeded to walk out of the cave and see what was going on.

"I'll go help," came the voice of a different man, this one younger sounding. 

"No no no! There's no time! I'M SLIPPING!" 

Tai Lung quickly came across the source of the noise, which turned out to be a young antelope reassuring an elderly goat who had somehow fallen off the cliff. 

"I can't help! My legs hurt from all the running!" the antelope was protesting. 

"Need a hand?" Tai Lung volunteered. 

The antelope took one look at him and ran down the lane screaming at the top of his lungs. Tai Lung didn't have much time yo react thought as the ledge the elderly man held in his hooves finally crumbled. Tai Lung quickly reached down and grabbed him, pulling him back to the safety of the road. The old man was breathing heavily out of fear, but calmed himself enough to smile at Tai Lung. 

"Thank you...very much...young man," he said in between huffs. "I'm sorry my...rickshaw driver...wasn't much help." 

"Don't worry too much about it. That's usually the reaction I get nowadays, I'm afraid."

The old goat firmly caught his breath and began to address Tai Lung calmly. "A troublesome past, I presume?" 

"Afraid so. I'm...It's taken me a while to find my conscience again." 

"Well, you seem to have succeeded in that matter. I'm glad of it."

"Because I helped you up?" 

The old goat chuckled. It startled Tai Lung for a brief moment before he regained his composure. It reminded him of how Oogway used to chuckle when he knew something you didn't. 

"There's a lot more behind it than just helping me out of a death-defying drop," he assured Tai Lung. "Your manner, for one thing. Your instinct, for another." 

The old goat brushed some dust off and added, "Would you mind escorting me down the mountain? It's a bit steep for my old legs and I don't feel like falling back down and joining my poor cart." 

"I don't mind," Tai Lung promised. "Where are you headed?"

"The Valley of Peace. Don't worry, I see that look. I just need to get to even ground and I'll be alright." 

It took a solid two hours for the elderly goat to make it down the mountain, but he was grateful for the help. Tai Lung offered to grab anything that had fallen with the rickshaw cart, but he was simply told that the only thing of his was broken beyond repair and was no longer of use to him. The two then bid each other farewell and went their separate ways. The old goat then proceeded to make his way toward the village, taking his time to stop and smell some of the flora along the way. Once there, he stopped at a local tea shop and inquired after the grandmaster of the Jade Palace.  He then sent a message, hoping all was well and complimenting the local tea shop. Not even fifteen minutes, Master Shifu came flying in and hurriedly made his way to the old goat's table. 

"I'm terribly sorry, Master Kwai!" he apologized, sitting down at the old man's table. "An incident came up last night and I've been worrying about it all this morning-!" 

"There is no need to apologize," Master Kwai assured him. "You have many responsibilities to see to. One little mark of tardiness is not the end of the world."

Shifu's adrenaline rush started to slow down and he began to breathe a little more normally. "You're quite right," he said. "Some things cannot be helped." 

"Absolutely." 

Master Shifu was poured a cup of green tea which he was more than happy to drink. Mr. Kwai took a sip himself before talking again. 

"Before we get to the business of masterful martial arts, I'll need to purchase a new abacus. My rickshaw lost a wheel and went over the edge and it took the abacus with it, I'm afraid." 

"Oh my goodness! I'm glad you're alright." 

"As am I. I was actually helped up by an old student of yours by sheer coincidence. He didn't recognize me, though that's to be expected considering how young he was. You know, I wouldn't have guessed he would have gone to prison and dishonored the Jade Palace. He was so polite and considerate when keeping me from falling to my death. He even offered to go down and grab stuff from the rickshaw after helping me down the mountain." 

Shifu gave him a surprised look. "Indeed," was all he had to say. 

Master Kwai silently smiled to himself before finishing his tea. "It's such a wonderful thing that people are not static, set in their ways," he commented. "I always love a little change." 

"That would depend on the type of change, would it not?"

"Perhaps so. But who am I to make judgments, hmm? Now what say we finish up our tea and then I can measure the harmony and rhythm of your students."

THE END

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