Teaching real Kung Fu

[Tai Lung's POV]

"Shall I repeat myself? To Mr Chen, owner of a tavern near the outskirts of Mongolia. It is located in the Village of Rice, the closest Village to Chorh-Gom Prison. Tell him it's from Tai Lung." I said for the final time to the messenger duck.

"Yes, I will do as you say." The duck said, he also happened to be the same one I caught during my prison escape.

After that, he took off from the training ground to deliver the money thrice the amount I owed and a proper letter of apology.

I went into thought as I watched the messenger disappear into the horizon. 

It would be a lie to say I regret my actions but I knew I was wrong for the way I behaved on my way to home. Until I finally got the closure of home I didn't know I needed, I was quite violent and aggressive in what I did.

Almost like a child who was upset but did not want to throw a proper tantrum so he resorted to being very petty and intense.

I guess being imprisoned for 20 years messed me up in some ways that I did not even realize. There was no need for violence in that tavern, I could just escape and no one would be able to catch up on me.

It might be due to the battle I had with the Anvil of Heaven previously that I was so hot-blooded and so quick to initiate violence. Nevertheless, no one died and I hope the money was enough to compensate for the broken tables.

I was not sorry for the warriors who fought me though. It would be disrespectful to them as warriors if I apologized for beating them up after they stood up so bravely for Justice.

I have also sent a letter to the rulers of Mielin city which explains that the fight that occurred was a duel initiated by their so called protector.

Although he was a great warrior, he was a very bad guardian, blinded by the need for vengeance.

And about the restaurant? I was not going to apologize like I did to Mr Chen because they were the ones who denied me entry.

In this world and era, it was the ultimate show of disrespect if a restaurant denied you food even when you had the money to eat there.

They were establishments that promised to feed the people, food was the basic necessity to life, that was universal. And to deny that even if they were criminals was viewed as disrespect. 

Whoever you are or whatever you do, you have the right to be able to buy food and eat for sustenance. The restaurant probably thought since they were popular and had Gorilla guards, they could deny me entry.

It was also why they were so polite about it, like how people say no offence and proceed to say the most offensive shit ever.

I was not going to take that level of disrespect.

I turned around and left the training ground. I went to the training hall instead and when I entered, I was greeted with the familiar training equipment and obstacles.

There were some changes to new equipment and an obstacle course but the overall layout and the design were still the same. The hall was quite noisy and full of life as the Furious Five were currently in the middle of training.

My eyes wandered around, carefully observing the hall until it fell on Shifu who was watching everything from the side. 

I walked towards him and stood beside him. We observed the ongoing training for a while until I decided to break the silence between us.

"Good morning Shifu." I said.

"Good morning son." He said while nodding and taking a brief glance at me.

That single sentence threw me for a loop as I was caught completely off guard. But in the end, my heart felt at ease being called that.

It's kind of unfair how I could he could make me feel such emotions with just a single word.

"Father." I said and this time, it was Shifu who was caught off guard as he lost balance.

He looked up at me, flabbergasted but I remained stoic. It filled me with an odd sense of satisfaction seeing him just as affected if not more than I was.

He coughed a few times to dispel his shock before he said, "I was aware of what you did. That was truly admirable."

I scoffed, "It was nothing, it was the natural thing to do. I made a mistake, it is impossible to not make mistake as long as we live and breathe. But we should always be able to accept our mistake and take responsibility for it."

Shifu looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "That is indeed true. But I thought with your ego and strength, you wouldn't admit you can make a mistake."

"I know I am not perfect." I said with a laugh, "It's my ability to learn from my mistakes and face them that truly sets me apart."

Shifu joined me in my laughter.

"You've changed." He said.

I shook my head, "I've grown."

I looked at him and he was giving me a proud smile. I was taken aback, remembering the times when I would do literally anything to earn that smile.

We shared a short moment together before we returned to watching the ongoing training. It was quite a sight even for me, the way they moved and the skills they possessed were indeed something worthy of being admired.

"Tell me what you think of them." Shifu said, "You've fought them so you should know."

"Fight is a strong word," I said with a knowing smile, "They are decent."

"Decent huh." Shifu said thoughtfully while rubbing his beard. "That's a high praise coming from you. I guess I must be doing a good job then." 

He smiled.

"Well, don't be too sure. I said 'they' were decent." I said and Shifu turned to me with questioning eyes.

"What do you mean?"

I point at Viper, "She is too nice."

I point at Mantis, "He's sub-par and predictable."

I point at Crane, "Fragile and too smart for his own good, overthinking during fights."

I point at Monkey, "Nothing noteworthy."

But most importantly, I pointed at Tigress, "She's the worst, completely unacceptable."

Tigress with her kneen senses heard my words and she turned to me, only to be hit with a log during her distreation.

Like I said, it's unacceptable.

"They are decent when they fight together, but individually they are all below the standard." I said.

The Furious Five were like parts of a powerful machine. Together, they were strong enough to even defeat the likes of Wubao but alone, they were completely useless.

"I see. Well, they have been fighting together as a team since the beginning so it would make sense if their Kung Fu developed to strengthen the team instead of their personal strength." Shifu said thoughtfully.

"I will let them work on their individual fighting power." He said, "Maybe giving them solo missions will help?"

He went silent as he thought more about the idea.

"And anything you want to say about Tigress in specific?" Shifu asked.

"Well, she is definitely the strongest amongst this generation Furious Five but with her talent and potential, she could be so much more." I said.

"You really think so?"

"I know so." I nodded, "It's just that she had not even found her true Kung Fu and she is stuck between imitating me and trying to control her ferocity."

Shifu coughed three times, "That might be my fault. For the majority of her life, I was trying to teach her to control her strength and fight with precise technique even though it was obvious she was more suited for hardcore style. After that realization, I pushed her to use your Leopard-style Kung Fu since you both have similar builds."

"So you have been trying to turn her into something she is not?"

Shifu sighed, "Yes, I was ignorant. It was only recently that I learned I did not need to turn them into something else, instead I should teach them to be themselves."

'I don't have to turn you into me, I have to turn you, into you!!' The line Po quoted in the third movie rang in my mind.

"I was treating them like I did you. Desperately trying to turn them into something they were not." Shifu admitted.

I was a genius and even if I was able to learn every Kung Fu in the world, yet even I could never be something I was not.

Silence descended on us again as the grunts and screams of the Furious Five filled the silence.

 "Would you mind giving them a few pointers as their senior? It would be beneficial for them to learn from a different master and get another perspective." Shifu offered.

"Are you sure?" I asked, "You know me, I am not gentle when it comes to training."

"By all means, go all out."

I smiled before a question popped in my mind, "Where's the Dragon Warrior?"

"Oh, he works as a waiter in his father's noodle shop so he won't be able to train until evening comes." Shifu said.

I did not know if I should cry or laugh at that information.

Let's just stay neutral.

"Okay." I said and stepped forward before I clapped my hands loudly, causing the training to stop as everyone looked at me.

"Juniors." I announced, "It's your lucky day."

"Today, we learn real Kung Fu."

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Author : Can you give me stones? I really liked the number 1 spot 🥺

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