"Don't go away too far," Yin-Yu called after Shen, who had preferred to go outside for a moment.
"Don't worry," he reassured her. He wasn't angry with her for her care, but he still found it a little embarrassing if someone had watched him.
When he was finally a few meters away from the house, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was very fond of Yin-Yu, but now and then, when he was looking at himself in the mirror, for example, he wondered what had become of him.
Many years ago, he wanted to conquer China with iron severity, and now what was he now?
The soothsayer had spoken to him often enough about this ambiguous topic. She had to calm him down more than once to keep him from relapsing again. At first, it was extremely difficult. But over time the urge to conquer China subsided, but it still flared up again and again.
The former white tyrant looked over the valley with a sigh. When he thought of that time, he met it with mixed feelings. For one thing, he wondered if he had met Yin-Yu again if he hadn't listened to the dragon warrior's words. On the other hand, he wondered what would have happened if he had won the fight against the Kung Fu masters. What would he be today instead? A proud indomitable ruler? With a powerful empire? Shen imagined what China would look like then. Would flags with his symbols hang on every corner? Guards posted in every village and town? And above all... would everyone have bowed to him... from fear of his weapons?
He remembered how the villagers from the Valley of Peace had bowed to him. Not out of fear, but out of respect. Even the panda...
The white peacock shook his head. No matter where his thoughts went, they always ended with this black and white warrior.
Annoyed, he sat down on the grass. He would love to have a day when he didn't have to think about this panda. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that he wasn't dead because of him...
Shen winced. The slight pain in his stomach reminded him again of the pain in the dungeon, in the torture room... His torn-out feathers... his broken wing, his broken leg... There was nobody who helped him... except for one...
Shen let out a snort and dropped into the grass. Again that black and white dead end. He had to think of something else. He looked up at the sky. White clouds passed over him in the blue sky...
His train of thought stopped again.
Blue.
"I like blue," Shenmi's words came back to him.
The lord turned his head to the side.
Why blue of all things?
And why did he have to be blue of all people?
The white peacock propped up on his elbows and looked down at the hut. The thought of the person sitting there who ruined almost his entire future made his stomach contract.
He sighed.
His future...
A future he hadn't planned on. All through his youth, he had been working towards something completely different. Even back when his parents were still alive...
Shen's thoughts made a huge leap in time into the past.
His father was blue. Is that why it was in Shenmi's nature to like the color blue?
He raised his wing and looked at his white feathers. Then he rubbed his feather fingers together. His gaze wandered back to the sky and he held his white wing against the blue sky.
Why was he white? Would his father have wished for a different colored son?
If his feathers had turned blue like his father's...
Blue feathers...
Blue...
Almost 40 years ago ...
Shen was just a few years old and was glad not to have to stay in bed anymore after getting sick all the time. At least from his point of view. Actually, he wasn't allowed to go out of his room, but today he couldn't take it anymore. Whenever he escaped from his room, he was caught again and again. But that shouldn't happen today. He had chosen a hiding place where he wouldn't be found so quickly. In his parents' bedroom. No sooner had he opened the door, he slipped under the large bed. He chuckled inwardly. They would certainly not suspect him here.
He lay on his stomach and imagined how the ladies-in-waiting and attendants would look for him in vain. Maybe he was even lucky and his parents would check on him sometime. He had hardly seen them. Neither of them had really looked after him lately. The staff was responsible for that.
While the little white peacock was following his thoughts, he calmly let his gaze wander. From this point under the bed, he had a good overview of the floor. He could even see under the cupboards.
He winced, when he saw something under the bedside table. Curiously, he crawled up to it and reached under the cupboard, where he took out a small black casket. He looked at it in amazement. It didn't look very valuable. The surface consisted of a black base painting, yellow decorations and around the edge it was coated with mother-of-pearl. Usually, such things were neatly tucked away in closets, but not tucked under them where they could get stained with dust.
Shen crawled closer to the edge of the bed to the light, just to see what was hidden in this little box. He loosened the lock and opened it. He looked in. Instead of finding gold or something else of value, there was nothing but a small blue feather inside.
Shen raised his eyebrows. What kind of strange treasure was that?
He took out the blue feather and looked at it from all sides. The feather was small, but it wasn't a down feather. It was stable and straight. It had to be a kind of feather finger, but it was far too short for that. He looked at his wing, then he held the little blue feather to one of his finger feathers.
"It fits."
He put it in his plumage and looked at the blue feather in his wing among the white feathers.
Could he even fly with it?
He crawled out from under the bed and flapped his wings hard, but he couldn't feel the difference. Maybe he would need more of that little kind of feather.
He knelt down and looked under the bed table, but everything underneath was empty. He went over to the other large closet, but there was no box underneath.
"Shen!"
Startled, the white chick turned. His father, Lord Liang, stood in the door frame.
Shen got up quickly. "Oh, hello dad..."
"What are you doing here?" the blue peacock asked agitatedly. "Everyone is looking for you! You shouldn't leave your room!"
The boy shuffled his foot shyly on the ground. "I'm fine..."
"Only you mean that!" Lord Liang admonished sternly. "Now go back to your room before you fall over again!"
Pouting, the young peacock retreated. But before he could get past his father, Liang's eyes fell on the open box on the floor.
He ran over there immediately. When he realized it was empty, he turned angrily to his son.
"Shen! Did you get something out of here?!"
Shen turned to him in surprise. "Why? There was only the one in here..."
He held up the little blue feather in his wing.
"GIVE IT BACK!"
Lord Liang tore the feather out of his son's wing as if he were afraid that Shen would break it like glass. The big blue peacock hugged the blue feather while the little white peacock looked at his father questioningly.
"Who does this feather belong to?" Shen asked.
The peacock father hesitated.
"It's m-mine..." he replied timidly.
It didn't sound that convincing somehow.
"Now go back to your room!" He ordered sternly, even before the boy could bombard him with questions.
Shen turned to the door, feeling offended. But before he left the room, the white chick looked behind him again and saw how his father put the blue feather back into its hiding place and closed the lid...
He had never seen that little box again...
Shen's brow furrowed. Who had that blue feather belonged to? He had almost forgotten that question over the years. He no longer believes that it came from his father. Maybe it belonged to someone of his ancestors.
The peacock raised his head when he heard a thud against a tree trunk in the woods. Then someone uttered a mumbled curse, followed closely by hissed words.
"Self-control, self-control, self-control!"
The peacock got up with difficulty and followed the cursing voice. A few trees further, he saw the panda, who kept beating against a tree and grumbling the same word over and over again.
"Self-control, self-control..."
"Panda!"
Immediately, Po turned into a pillar of salt. "Yes?"
Shen stepped out of the thicket and looked at the black and white bear skeptically. "Is that the Kung Fu way of wasting one's strength in the fauna? Or has something happened that justifies your behavior?"
"Uh, my behavior?" Po put his hands together in embarrassment. "Uh, I do that all the time.... Every day. Or almost every day, sometimes I also knock stones." He looked around, searching. "Oh, there is already one of them."
Po quickly picked up a small stone. "You see, the tree was for pain management. Now comes accuracy."
He threw up the stone, then he kicked it. The bullet flew through the bushes. Suddenly, someone gave a startled cry. "GASP!"
Po lifted his head in surprise. Did he accidentally hit someone?
At the next moment, Liu emerged from the undergrowth.
"Oh, sorry," Po apologized. "Did I hit you?"
But the peahen shook her head. "No, I was just scared."
The panda was uncomfortable with the whole thing. "I'm very sorry about that..."
"It's okay," Liu reassured him. "I was just looking for you."
"For whom? For me or him?" Po pointed between himself and Shen, but Liu's gaze stayed on Po.
"I wanted to ask you if you could help me with one thing?"
The panda's jaw dropped. "Help from me?" But then his look became serious again. "With what?"
Liu's eyes wandered uncertainly to Shen, who guessed what she was looking for help with.
"Is it about him again?" Shen asked inquiringly.
Liu looked down a little. "I just want to take care of his injuries. But he won't let me get to him. So I need some support."
Po was initially completely perplexed. Only recently had he been complaining loudly about Xiang, and now she expected him to help her out?
"Well, I don't know..."
"You are so strong," Liu intervened. "It won't take long either."
The panda glanced sideways at Shen. But the peacock looked at him sternly.
"Don't you dare ally yourself with my enemy," Shen hissed.
"But if she just needs a little help..."
"Out of the question!" Shen cut him off. "I don't allow him any extra treatment."
Liu narrowed her eyes. "As with you?"
Shen glared at her. "What do you mean by this?"
The peahen raised her head. "I know a lot about you, too. Would it has been of any use to you if you had just been left standing when you needed someone the most?"
With these words, she turned away and simply left the two dissimilar warriors standing.
"I'll be waiting for you at the hut if you decide to come," Liu said as he left.
As soon as she disappeared into the trees, Po looked at Shen in amazement. Usually, the white peacock was seldom left speechless, but in this case, Liu seemed to have touched a sore spot that the white ruler could not answer immediately.
Instead, Shen stood there now, his face covered with anger and hurt. And yet it seemed as if someone had brutally pushed him back into the inner swamp of his filthy past.
Po watched him for a few more seconds, then he shrugged and walked away.
"Panda," Shen stopped him. His voice sounded strangely monotonous. "How long do we have to sit around here in this village?"
"Wang said, he would be back this afternoon," Po replied. "He'd have to mobilize a few more soldiers, just in case. But he will come back today."
Then he quickly turned away before Shen would confront anything else.
Shen looked after the panda suspiciously.
"I hope so."
Xiang had sunk down on his bed, tired. All of these disturbances during the day had made him pretty down. He crouched on the blanket all the more annoyed when he heard someone open the door again.
The blue peacock didn't bother to look up and stayed in his huddled position, hoping to be overlooked.
Footsteps approached him. To his horror, he felt that his wings were starting to tremble.
That feeling of helplessness again. The lost feeling of being at the mercy of someone alone.
Someone came closer... closer... like his mother...
"Lord Xiang?"
The blue peacock rolled over in a flash and jumped onto his good leg. He stayed in a crouched position, as if a predator was about to attack him at any moment. His body tension increased when he saw Liu standing in front of him. The peahen carried a small bag in her wings and looked at him calmly but firmly.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you..."
"What do you want here?!" he hissed at her. "Can nobody leave me alone?!"
Liu took a deep breath. "I would leave you alone, but your legs need treatment."
Xiang looked down at himself. He felt nothing in his lame leg, only his left leg, it throbbed somewhat unpleasantly, which was probably due to the cuts made by this new nurse.
Liu narrowed her eyes. A couple of spots were infected. She had noticed that yesterday, but she couldn't do anything about Xiang's anger for the time being.
Now she knelt down to take a closer look at the legs.
"Your cut has become a little infected. Some pus has formed there. I have to open it a little."
"Open?"
The horror rose in Xiang's limbs. Liu tried to be as neutral as possible and just nodded.
"It won't hurt, just tweak something. Then you will feel better again."
The peacock backed away a little. "Don't you dare! You don't touch with me!"
Liu had expected this reaction and stood up.
"But if I don't, the wound will get worse."
Xiang turned his head away. "I don't care!"
"Xiang... uh... sorry, Lord Xiang, in the worst-case scenario, you will not be able to move both legs!"
"Then be happy. Then you have more work to do with me."
The peahen gasped for air. Then she narrowed her eyes angrily.
"Fine. You leave me no other choice."
The next moment, Po's head appeared in the doorway, which Xiang didn't like at all.
"What is he doing here again?" he scolded.
"He'll help me a little," Liu explained to him.
"Help with what?"
The panda gave no answer to that. He entered the hut with a serious expression. Gradually, Xiang realized what he was up to and backed away again.
"Stay away from me! No!"
But Po was much faster. He grabbed the peacock by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground.
Although Xiang was paralyzed on one leg, he was still extremely good at defending himself.
"Let go of me!" he swore and hit the panda like mad.
But these punches ricocheted off Po without any problems.
"Oh, don't make such a fuss now," he said annoyed and lay down on the bird with almost his entire heavy body, while he pressed his wings down.
"Get off!" Xiang cursed.
Meanwhile, Liu had taken the opportunity and leaned down on Xiang's legs. Since he could not move one leg, it was no problem for her to just hold one leg with her wing in order to be able to work undisturbed. As soon as the peacock felt her wing, he immediately wanted to pull his leg away, but Liu held him firmly. When that didn't help, the peacock tried to drive her away with words.
"Let me go! Let me go...!"
"Now be quiet," Po said, annoyed. He was still angry with the peacock, but he held back his rebuke as best he could.
In the meantime, Liu had taken a small scalpel. She was glad Xiang didn't see it because the panda blocked his view, but immediately she prepared for a shout of protest. The wound did not have much pus under the skin, but every touch would seem like a knife stab to Xiang.
She took another deep breath. "Okay, it doesn't look too bad. I don't have to do a lot, just push a little."
Po felt Xiang become extremely tense. And no sooner had the scalpel touched the skin, the peacock screamed. But before he could curse everything together, Po held his beak shut. Xiang could defend himself as much as he wanted, but he had no chance against the panda's firm grips.
"Po?"
In surprise, Po turned his head to the door. "Shenmi? What are you doing here?"
"Does it hurt him again?" Shenmi asked timidly, standing lonely in the door frame.
"It's nothing bad," Po dismissed her. "Just stay outside."
But the white girl entered the room and approached the two lying persons on the floor.
When the girl came into Xiang's line of sight, the peacock tore his head back and forth so wildly that his mouth was briefly free.
"YOU DAMN...!"
"You don't need to be doing that!" Po admonished firmly and quickly held Xiang's beak shut again.
Shenmi was somehow not afraid. As if the panda were like a protective shield in her presence. She even dared get so close to Xiang's face that she could almost touch him. She did nothing, just looked down at him.
Liu meanwhile worked as fast as she could. At the end, she smeared everything with a disinfecting liquid and tied a bandage around the opened area. Fortunately, things looked better on the toe of the lame leg that Chiwa had last sawed around. The cut had already partially healed well. Liu thought it best to leave it for today and got up after the work was done.
"Alright. You can let go of him again."
The panda had barely loosened his grip and was just standing on his feet when Xiang, furiously, gave him a huge kick. Po stumbled backwards, but he found his balance in time. Xiang swung himself neatly, if unsteadily, onto his foot. It looked like he was going to beat up the panda. When his gaze fell on the little Shenmi, however, he seemed to want to vent his anger on the "little woman" first. He fell forward, but no sooner had he reached her, someone hit him with full force in the chest and the blue peacock slammed against the wall. Groaning, he got up again. When he saw Shen's angry face at the next moment, he ducked his head a little.
Po was paralyzed. Shen had fought off the blue peacock fiercely. Now the two rivals stared tensely into each other's eyes. It was like water meeting fire and vice versa. Even water could be extremely destructive. But the white peacock kept his power in check. Instead, he just looked down at Xiang with condescension. Then, to the surprise of the others, he turned and picked up Shenmi.
"Don't do that again!" Shen hissed at him, then he left the hut with his little daughter in his arms.
The panda and the peahen watched everything with open mouths. Only Xiang was still sitting panting against the wall and didn't seem to notice anything around him, except for the open door, where he was still staring outside.
Finally, the others hurried out of the room. Outside, Po and Liu stood in silence on the meadow. Then the peahen looked over at the panda.
"Thanks for your help."
Po looked at her in amazement. Then he nodded. "No problem."
"Now say where they are!"
Tongfu was getting more and more angry with every passing second. In the meantime, they had set out again with the vultures and caught up with the ship, which was still sailing down the river. But when they couldn't find the refugees, they were looking for, they confronted the crew.
The captain, an antelope, just shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.
The gecko gritted his teeth and would have loved to let the vultures loose on them if he hadn't had anything else up his sleeve.
"So, so, you prefer to play the mute, don't you?" Tongfu growled viciously. "Fine. That's up to you."
He snapped his fingers briefly. Another gecko immediately took out a cloth bag and handed it to Tongfu. The gecko reached in and took out a feather.
The antelope's face petrified, which only made Tongfu grin.
"Well, do you recognize this colorful thing?"
He waved the little green and white peacock feather back and forth. "Where we come from, we have a lot of more of this chicken creatures. And as far as I can tell, it's your boss's offspring, right? Yes, we persuaded them to go on a little trip. The only question that arises is whether we shouldn't bring them another ticket to the afterlife. Free of charge, of course."
The vulture Laishi laughed overhead. "Oh yeah. That would be a nice job for me."
Tongfu ignored his comment and looked expectantly at the ship's crew, who seemed to be more than indecisive about giving him an answer to his question.
Tongfu narrowed his eyes. "Or do you want to be responsible if we carve one of the three chicks?" He dropped the feather. "So has that loosened your mouth now?"
The antelope swallowed hard, then he raised his head. "Okay."