The cottage they settled me in was actually pretty decent, surprisingly so. Odd that it wasn't given to someone else earlier—stone walls, a brand-new tiled roof, and a sturdy wooden door reinforced with iron or steel (honestly, I know nothing about metallurgy; my time as a mechanic involved slightly different things).
Mei, which was the name of the elder's wife, blushing slightly, offered for me to stay with them if I didn't like the house. There was a hint in those words, quite a transparent one, but I politely declined and asked for food to be prepared quickly, after which I burrowed inside the house and sprawled out on the bed.
Why did I decide not to take advantage of my hero status? Nothing strange about it really. Those who follow the path of Kung Fu prioritize the spiritual over the physical. Put simply—for me, as for many others, casual sex isn't particularly appealing. For greater effect, feelings for the partner are mandatory—love, respect, admiration, and so on. Without that, it still works—we aren't eunuchs—but... why bother if you feel nothing for the partner?
Anyway, like any proper solitary hamster, I decided to sit in the lotus position and meditate a bit. I still remember the effect my Chi-infused attacks had on the panda in the cartoon—he simply didn't care. I wanted to understand if something was wrong with me or with him.
I spent the rest of the day immersed in meditation, enjoying the feeling of Chi pulsing through my veins. Toward evening, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," I say loudly, not opening my eyes and continuing to "feel" my Chi. Nothing strange—an incredibly powerful flow of blue energy rushed through my body at immense speed, ready to burst out at any moment. It seems either Po is special, or... I don't know, can fat block Chi? I've never fought fat enemies, so this theory definitely needs testing...
"Master," the horned girl entered with a bow. "I apologize for demanding so much from you again..." She hesitated.
"Get to the point." I open my eyes, making the girl flinch. Well, yeah, my eyes are creepy even in normal mode, like a real predator's, and when I actively use Chi, they turn blue and become even more unnaturally frightening.
"The thing is, one of the hunters noticed an avalanche, but upon looking closer, we realized it's someone running toward the village from Solitude Peak..."
"Which one is that?" I stand up. What the hell is this? Specifically on the mountain where I was held, all the names are some depressive crap. I feel it in my gut that the Wise Old Freak (Wise Kind Turtle) named absolutely everything here, one hundred percent!
"The one furthest from the village and the highest of the peaks. Legend has it that an inconsolable prince of the past dynasty ended his life there, left completely alone after losing his beloved in the struggle for power..." Mei explained...
"That is, of course, very interesting," I refrained from facepalming. "But you'd be better off gathering all the villagers in one place. This intruder can be no one but a master, so if he's in league with that jackal with the iron tooth, you're in danger." What was his name, by the way? "Owl Silver Tooth"? Although he wasn't an owl... Whatever.
"Yes, Master, but if it is a messenger from the city lord, to avoid misunderstanding, I must be with you," the horned girl declared with a serious look.
Well... Logical, I guess. But the issue is different—why would a martial arts master expose themselves like that? I'm not that much of an idiot—I went through the forest. Why is he doing this? To scare bandits? Maybe that...
"Let's go," I say, seeing an organized crowd of villagers already heading into what looked like a sturdy barn. Turns out they thought of it without me... Huh...
Walking past the village, I notice a whirlwind—someone is indeed running quickly toward the village, and this someone controls Chi perfectly, significantly better than I do, otherwise the trail would be much larger...
Tai Lung mastered Chi at a fairly low level back in the day, mainly just enhancing himself and using a couple of techniques. However, during twenty years in prison, the leopard managed to improve his control over internal energy quite a bit. The problem is he couldn't use other techniques during that time, and he had little experience using Chi in battle. So it turned out that in this art, the same turtle was head and shoulders above him. But I thought that besides him, "I have no worthy opponents, I am already at the peak," and now I recall that China is pretty big...
Yeah, need to train more, and not just because of the panda...
A minute later, before us appeared... she who had been running here all this time.
What can I say? An incredibly beautiful girl literally fell from the sky, jumping about fifty meters and landing in a cliché superhero style, falling on one knee, after which she rose quite epicly, I admit.
"My name is Xue Xia, I arrived at the request of this village's elder to help," the girl introduced herself, tilting her head up. "And where are the bandits?" She began shifting her gaze from me to Mei. As I understood by the scent, she's a snow leopard just like me.
And the name hints: "snow wind"... or "snowy and daring," depending on how the tongue twists to translate, but apparently, both options suit the girl.
Mei, seeing that I was silent and just appraising the arrival, took a step forward and bowed again, this time to the new guest.
"Respected Master Xue Xia!" her voice trembled with a mix of relief and excitement. "We are so grateful you answered my husband's call! But..." she made an awkward gesture in my direction, "...this Master has already saved us. He literally dealt with the bandits today."
Xue Xia's gaze shifted to me and filled with thoughtfulness; I was clearly being evaluated. Her bright blue eyes scanned me from head to toe: my old pants, muscular torso, remnants of dried blood I hadn't fully washed off, and likely the Chi aura I still hadn't completely calmed after meditation.
"My husband! Chen!" Mei immediately grabbed Xue Xia by the sleeve, all her formality evaporating instantly. "Did you see him? Is he... is he alive?"
"He is alive and well," Xue Xia nodded calmly. "Chen is running here now. We met in Wei-Jin City. When the city head refused him, he met me, and I listened to his story and decided to help. I think he will be here by morning, maybe a little later. Hearing about the severity of the situation, I rushed ahead to assess the threat and help faster. I am glad everything is already resolved."
Mei burst into tears, this time probably from joy, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Please, Master, stay for the night!" Mei immediately showed hospitality. "The tavern..." she stumbled, remembering there were corpses in the tavern, "...we will find you the best house!"
"The tavern will do," said Xue Xia, still not taking her eyes off me. "Thank you for the hospitality."
Mei, inspired, turned to the village. The realization that her husband was alive and the whole village was saved crashed down on her at once.
"He is alive!" her voice cracked, but she shouted louder, tears in her eyes. "Chen is alive! And we are saved!"
First, there was a second of silence, and then the villagers seemed to burst.
Someone, an old man with a grey beard, suddenly let out a hoarse cry of joy. Others picked it up. Women who had been silently crying from fear were now crying from happiness, hugging each other. Men who had gripped pitchforks and axes lowered their "weapons," and someone laughed deafeningly.
"Today is a holiday!" shouted Mei. "Bring out everything you hid from the jackals!"
The village, previously dead and grey, exploded with life.
I, as the main culprit, was naturally invited with all respect. The celebration was quickly organized right in the square, into the center of which firewood was immediately dragged, and a few minutes later a huge, hot bonfire soared into the sky, illuminating the gloomy faces of the people. In the light of the flames, I saw smiles on them for the first time.
The fear in their eyes changed to gratitude... and still slight apprehension. They laughed but still gave me a wide berth. Children, emboldened, started running around the square playing tag—a sound this village probably hadn't heard in a long time. Someone brought a drum from a house, and someone started beating out a simple, cheerful rhythm.
And then they brought food.
Twenty years. Twenty years I rotted in prison without a tasty steak!
I was served a wooden bowl full of roasted meat. Judging by the smell, it was venison that the hunters had managed to catch after all—oh, those grateful villagers, they decided to make an effort for their savior. Steam rose, and the smell... The smell hit my nose, and I almost fainted. I grabbed a piece with my bare hands and dug into it, starting to devour it quickly.
It was a bit tough, slightly oversalted, but the moment I bit into it, my world exploded.
Juice. Fat. Salt. Flavor. My receptors, dormant for two decades, howled in delight!
I growled, unashamed, tearing off chunks of meat, feeling it fill my empty stomach. Around me, people laughed and shouted, someone proposed toasts to the "Master," but I heard none of it, completely absorbed in the process.
I ate several more such portions, and then Mei, beaming with joy, brought me a bowl of dumplings.
"This is all we could prepare quickly, Master..."
I tossed one into my mouth. Hot dough, spicy broth inside, juicy filling. Closing my eyes, I sat with a contented, idiotic smile.
They brought me a cup of rice wine. It was cloudy, sour. More like mash than wine.
"Not great, definitely an acquired taste," thought my inner sommelier. "But fine by me," answered my stomach. I drained the cup in one gulp. Warmth spread through my body.
I was just reaching for a piece of roasted goat meat (the promised goat was slaughtered in honor of the holiday after all) when the snow leopard approached me. She had already managed to wash up somewhere and change into clean travel clothes. The girl sat opposite me, holding a cup of tea.
"I examined the tavern," she said quietly. I nodded silently, continuing to chew. "You killed them all. Every single one."
"They were bandits," I replied after swallowing, shrugging my shoulders.
She frowned.
"Master..." she chose her words carefully. "I understand the necessity to act, but... unnecessary blood... a massacre... is unworthy of one who walks the path of Kung Fu. A true master must show restraint."
I stopped chewing. Here comes the sermon I expected so much! The teachings of Kung Fu, unlike many other religious doctrines, do not say that killing is terrible; they only say that killing without purpose and meaning is unworthy. Others walking this path also kill when they cannot capture a bandit alive, for example. But the girl's words enraged me because they reminded me of one of Oogway's lectures... My smile vanished.
"'Unworthy'?" I repeated, my voice turning cold. "Their leader had already killed masters."
Xue Xia fell silent. Her confidence wavered. Killing a master is a completely different level of crime; usually, no one tries to do that.
"He... killed masters?" she asked again.
"According to him, it was a 'hobby'," I confirmed. "Do not judge me by my actions; judge by the result."
The girl nodded slowly, lowering her gaze to her cup.
"Then... I apologize for my words," she said quietly. "You rid the world of a great evil." She stood up. "I will wait here for Elder Chen. Tomorrow morning, when he arrives, I will leave." The girl bowed. "Thank you for saving these people, Master."
After these words, the master turned and walked toward the tavern, leaving me alone with my meat.
Well, to hell with her. The girl is certainly beautiful, and of my species too, but I have more important things to do right now, and she looks vaguely familiar... No, can't remember.
POV Master Snow Leopard
The unfamiliar master I met seemed vaguely familiar to me, as if I had seen him somewhere before, but unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, too many images arose in my head, and I couldn't recall anything specific.
At first, when I just entered the tavern, it was as if I had ended up on a battlefield again—corpses of jackal-people torn to shreds, pieces of their bodies... A vile sight, and although I have seen similar things many times, the picture did not become pleasant because of it. I understand that sometimes killing cannot be avoided, but... Why such cruelty?
The strange master raised more and more questions to which I had no answer.
Chen's wife led me to a clean room and said everything would be cleaned up very soon, and also asked to understand the "respected Master" and not make a scene due to his excessive bloodthirstiness, after which she said goodbye, invited me to the celebration, and left...
Who are you...
Dropping my bag of things, I meditated a bit, calming my mind, and went downstairs. The corpses were indeed removed; some pieces of bodies still lay in various places, but an old man, nodding welcomingly, was already collecting them too.
Walking out of the building, I heard the cheerful voices of the residents. No, I heard them before, but now the walls didn't muffle anything, and I could finally see all the residents—dozens of people with horns were drinking, eating, and having fun; there was sincere joy on their faces. My determination to "seriously scold" the overly bloody master began to recede, seeing how happy the ordinary people were.
However, a talk is still worth it. If I can help him not turn onto a bloody path, then I must do it!
The snow leopard sat a little to the side, looking at the big bonfire and eating meat with pleasure, periodically tossing dumplings into his mouth. A strange, satisfied smile again knocked my mood off a bit; it seemed that eating ordinary food, he was so happy that he noticed nothing around except that very food.
Taking a cup of tea on the way, I finally decided to approach the unfamiliar master.
"I examined the tavern," I said quietly, sitting down next to him. The snow leopard only nodded, continuing to enjoy the food. "You killed them all. Every single one."
After my words, silence reigned for a short while.
"They were bandits," he finally replied.
Killing is an extreme measure when there is no other way, and judging by the confidence and strange sense of danger emanating from the master, this matter could have been resolved without blood, which I tried to explain.
"Master..." I sighed. "I understand the necessity of protection, but... unnecessary blood... a massacre... is unworthy of one who walks the path of Kung Fu. A true master must show restraint."
This is what Oogway taught me when I was in the Furious Five, and even after going through the war, I kept this teaching within me. There is no need to take an enemy's life if there is an opportunity to put him in prison.
"'Unworthy'?" The leopard replied after a long silence in a cold voice. "Their leader had already killed masters."
After these words, everything froze. Did I underestimate these bandits? If they are really capable of such things, then...
"He... killed masters?" I asked again, more for myself.
It's one thing when you can resolve a matter without blood, but if your opponent is too strong, then risking your life just to not kill but merely neutralize him... That is foolishness.
The life of a Kung Fu master is worth much more than the life of some bandit, and apparently, the leopard had a hard time in the battle, which is why he was forced to take such measures...
"According to him, it was a 'hobby'," the snow leopard confirmed. "Do not judge me by my actions; judge by the result."
I slowly nodded, forced to lower my gaze into my cup.
"Then... I apologize for my words," I said quietly. "You rid the world of a great evil." I rose from my seat. "I will wait here for Elder Chen. Tomorrow morning, when he arrives, I will leave." And I bowed. "Thank you for saving these people, Master."