Aftermath

[Tai Lung's POV]

"So, what are we going to do next?"

Tigress asked me after we finished sending off all the remaining soldiers to run back home. There was no need for mindless slaughter after they had given up and we wanted to show some class by sparing thier lives.

We could do that because now it didn't matter. I was strong enough to make a few hundred soldiers irrelevant. It won't give us any problems in upcoming wars.

Now the ruined city was completely empty and other than us - the kung fu masters of China - there was not a single soul left.

The kung fu masters all gathered around me. They were the Furious Five, Po, Master Hyena, Master Gorilla, Mighty Eagle, the Wu sisters and finally Master Hippo.

There were thirteen of us in total.

"All of you should return back to China." I said and crossed my arms. "I thank you all for coming to my aid, we wouldn't have won without you all. Butt you must return. "

"But what about you?" Po asked.

"Yeah, what are you going to do?" Crane asked.

"Me? I will keep on staying here. Maybe hop to the next city and stay there until Shen is done with his unification back in China." I said, "I still have a duty to fulfil, I need to act as a protection from any more attacks."

"That won't take long." Master Gorilla said and everyone turned to him, "I am the guardian of the West and our king has already agreed to surrender. Its just that there are still some people and princes with ambitions who are leading a revolt. I shall interfere in the war myself after I return."

"But are you sure you need to keep staying here? Can't you return for just a bit? A huge celebration will be awaiting you." Monkey said.

"And by celebration, he meant party." Mantis added with a smile. They were tempting me.

"I don't particularly find the proposal attractive. And you have to remember, what you fought today was merely a broken fraction of the Northern Army. The Gupta Empire still has its capital, East, West and Southern regions. They could attack us again anytime." I said

"And Tibet?" Master Hippo asked.

"Tibet is no longer a threat." I said and then smiled, "I already have thier greatest weapon with me. Without that, they are nothing but ants."

"But if that is the case, if another attack is still possible, won't it be wise for us or at least some of us to remain with you?" Tigress asked me with firm eyes.

"Yeah." The Wu sisters said and moved swiftly to surround me. They pressed their bodies against mine and released attractive pheromones.

"We will stay with him." one of them said, and "It will be delightful." said another.

"Wait, that's not what I meant-"

"There is no need for such things. Return to China, bask in your victory and be there for the people. And then all of you can help Shen in quickly finishing his conquest." I said.

"I made a breakthrough in our last battle." I said and looked at my hands, "I am stronger than ever before, I won't need help this time. I can handle everything on my own. "

"And ladies?" The Wu sisters froze in thier spot.

"I'm not interested." They deflated and then moved away from me after that. Although they were of the same species as me, they looked like a chore to handle. They were named the greatest criminal after all.

And they seemed to come in a - get one get two free - package which I was not sure I wanted.

"If that's the case, I'm leaving." Mighty Eagle said with a huff and spread out his wings before quickly taking off.

"We would take our leave as well." The guardians said before they left the ruined city as well. There was no need to loiter around, after all, they had done thier job and were free to leave.

We all watched them as they disappeared from our vision and then my dearest students turned to me again.

"Take care, brother." Tigress said and she walked forward. Seeing what she was trying to do, I opened my arms to receive her hug and then we embraced each other.

"Wait!" Po said, "What about us?"

"Come here." I said and pulled him into the hug as well. Not long after, the rest of the furious five joined our group hug.

"Thank you all for being there when I needed." I said with a soft smile.

We stayed in that moment for a few minutes until my students left as well. I waved at them until they fade away in the horizon.

"I have truly grown soft." I said to myself but it wasn't a bad thing.

I like how I am now.

'Now onto the final person remaining in the city.' I thought to myself and used flashsteps to quickly get to her. In no time at all, I was standing in front of her.

She sat on the edge of the wall, her feet dangling off like a ribbon. Her hair fluttered in the wind and she was not wearing her mask.

The setting sun, warm orange, lit up half of her face and she looked quite stunning. She did not react to my presence and just continued staring into the horizon.

"That was cute." She finally said to me and I coughed once or twice due to embarrassment.

She turned to face me and she had a smile on her face. Her face was extremely expressive as she never had to learn how to control her expression due to her mask. I could see the relief on her and her joy at seeing what she just saw.

"So, what are we going to do?" She asked me.

"As you've probably heard, we will be moving to the next city and this time with a proper disguise. We shall remain until I get a message from Shen and then you will follow me back to China." I said.

"That sounds fun."

"Does it?"

"Yes." She said, "I've never been to China before."

"You'll love it." I said and turned to the horizon to look at the setting sun.

"It is the most beautiful place in the world." I said honestly. There was a reason why everyone wanted to have a piece of China and why the people there were all-powerful compared to the rest of the world.

There was something magical about China.

Mei dragged herself off the edge and stood up. She dusted off her white dress and stood in front of me.

"Shall we go then?"

I nodded and to my shock, she leapt off the edge and fell from the top of the wall. Her hair fluttered and she let out a laugh while she made her descent to the ground.

She looked happy and free.

And here I was, trying to do something to punish her for lying to me. I guess punishment can wait.

I followed behind her.

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Author : Do you like the pic? lol. She was a possible female lead.

By the way, three chapters released