Desire

[Tai Lung's POV]

"This is amazing!!"

I was expecting that sentence the moment it was decided we would have fish for breakfast. But the thick emotions behind the sentence were what caught me off guard.

She continued stuffing the fish in her mouth along with rice. She would lift her mask subtly as she ate and if not for that, I'm afraid she would've inhaled the whole thing.

"You don't have to eat so quickly. No one is taking it away from you, plus you can eat as many as you want." I said with an almost smile. I was quite content with showing someone the wonders of fish and also to finally find someone who shared my exquisite taste.

Just as I would expect from a fellow feline.

"Although, it's quite surprising that you haven't had fish before," I said and brought the bowl closer to my mouth so that I could take a sip of the fish broth.

"Didn't your parents ever made you fish?"

"They died a long time ago." She said without skipping a beat, "And no, the royal chefs never had the courtesy to serve me either. Those bastards, how can they do such a thing? They have been cooking for me for more than 20 years now." She said with a huff.

So some information about her slipped from that. Her parents died when she was young and she seemed to be someone important if she had royal chefs and probably lived in a castle.

Was she a spoiled princess? But what kind of Empire would send thier own princess to the enemy?

Maybe she was really the princess but the new Emperor, who came into power after her parent's death, wanted to eradicate the original royal family bloodline so he sent her to certain death.

If she had royal blood in her or something, it would give some explanation to her unique nature of chi.

Hmm, quite the theory I have come up with.

"Hey." I called out to the person a few meters behind me. He was an aged Lion who seemed to know a great deal about the world. He also loved fish as I saw him almost every day in the restaurant,

He raised an eyebrow towards me when he heard me.

"Do you Tibetans have a princess or something?"

"Of course, we have a princess. Our Emperor is quite keen on making heirs, there are lots of princesses, male and female." He answered me with a shrug before he took a big swig of his wine.

"Thank you."

So my theory was probable. Good to know.

"Can I get another one?" I turned my head to Mei when she spoke. I watched with wide eyes at her empty plate.

This girl had finished her bowl and mine while I was looking away. She probably took off her mask and quickly ate it while I was not looking.

In a weird mixture of amazement and annoyance, I ordered another set of meals.

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*Ting-Ding-Ding*

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"So, Mei. You lived in the castle and have royal chefs to cook for you?" I asked.

"Hn. Yes." She answered simply.

"So were you like a princess or something?"

"I am WAY more important but sure, you can say that."

"Then you must know a lot about how structure of the castle and even the plans of the Emperor." I said and she nodded.

"Good, then you must tell me all about those as well."

"What? No! Why would I do that and betray my own Empire?"

"I was not asking." I said and she looked at me, wronged.

If she really did have such information, it could prove to be invaluable. I thought about how lucky I was to catch her. She was a literally a discovery and a great piece of walking information,

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*Ting-Ding-Ding*

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"Is there anything you want to do in life?" I asked the girl as she sat across me.

After we had breakfast, we did a short tour around the city before we head back to the inn to get more into studying about her chi.

I had made her do the enhancing techniques multiple times and I was closely observing how her chi works and how it functions the way it did.

One of the things I learned from this was that her Chi was awfully below average if we take away its quantity and unique nature. That made me puzzled.

It seemed that for all the talents and gifts she was born with, Mei had zero experience or skills as a master of chi.

After careful observations, I had noticed that she lacked one of the most vital parts of controlling chi and creating miracles.

She lacks desire. The desire or need to do the impossible. Her gift alone was carrying her, if not, she would even be worse than your average civilians.

"What?" She asked back, clearly puzzled.

"I said do you have anything you want to do at all in this world? A dream?"

"An ambition?"

She stayed silent and simply stared at me.

The answer was no.

We need to work on that.

"Yes, an ambition. Its what drives a man to live every day and fight for tomorrow. Its what gives meaning to life. Its what separates us from the inanimate who just lived for the sake of living." I told her.

"Ambition, desire, passion etc. Everone has them. It could be your family, your children, to provide for them, making noodles, your duty, money and everything in between." I said, "I'm sure you have it as well, you just need to find it."

She stayed silent and digested my words for a few long seconds.

"Do you have an ambition? Tai Lung?"

"Of course." I answered and spread my arms while raising my nose.

"I want to conquer the world and carve my name in the annals of history. I wish to leave a legacy that will forever mark this world." I said and she stared. i did not know if she was impressed or confused because her mask hid her face.

But I continued.

"Your grandson's grandson will talk about me. Their grandson's grandsons will tell in vivid detail who I am. The world shall forever hear my name until it eventually collapses on itself. That is my ambition." I said with a signature smile.

It always feels good to say it out loud. Like a wise man once said, if you can see it and have the courage to speak it, it will happen.

"Now that I've told you, its your turn." I asked, "What do you want to do?"

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*Ting-Ding-Ding*

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"I don't know."

*Faceplam*

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[IMAGE]

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