Chapter 4: A Stranger In The Valley

Kaboom! A chi portal split open, carving a massive crater into the ground. Kai emerged from the glowing green portal, his eyes blazing with chi energy.

He had landed in a field being farmed by a rabbit and a goose. He shot out his blades to keep the farmers from fleeing. Terrified by the sight of Kai, the goose laid an egg.

"What is this place?" Kai asked.

"Uh . . . my brother's farm?" the rabbit ventured.

"Ah." Kai nodded. "If I stepped on you, would you die?"

The frightened goose dropped a few more eggs.

"Yes?" the rabbit replied nervously.

Kai grinned. "The mortal realm." He had returned, finally, after five hundred years!

He looked down at the Oogway amulet around his neck.

"You hear that, Oogway? I'm back," he said. He raised his muscled arms in the air. "Kai has returned!"

The rabbit and the goose looked blankly at each other.

"Who?" asked the rabbit.

"Kai. General Kai. Supreme Warlord of all China," Kai said.

The two farmers shrugged.

"The Jade Slayer. Master of Pain. You may know me as the Beast of Vengeance. Maker of Widows?" Kai tried.

The goose shook his head.

Kai sighed. "Okay. I used to work with Oogway."

The rabbit and goose lit up.

"Oh, Master Oogway! Now he was a great warrior!" said the rabbit.

The goose nodded. "Everyone knows Master Oogway. The wise and mighty—"

"Okay, enough," Kai said. He took several amulets from his belt and tossed them onto the ground. They transformed into kung fu masters made of jade.

"Find Oogway's students and bring them to me!" Kai ordered.

The jade masters, now under Kai's control, ran off. Kai lifted up Oogway's amulet.

"By the time I am done with them, Oogway, there will be no one left who will even remember your name. Kai is coming."

Ghostly green chi illuminated Kai's face as the rabbit and goose shivered with fear.

* * *

That same night, Po visited his dad's noodle shop. Mr. Ping was a goose who had adopted Po when he was just a baby. Through the years, he always made sure the growing panda had plenty of noodles and dumplings to eat. And he was always a good listener when Po was sad or worried.

Po was taking a bath with his kung fu action figures in a big wooden tub in the alley behind the noodle shop.

"Teach me? Oh no, it's the Dragon Teacher!" he made one action figure say.

"Class is in session! Wutaaiii!" he said with another.

Suddenly Mr. Ping burst in to the alley. Po jumped in surprise. "Oh hey, Dad! What's up? I was just stopping by for a little soak," he said, hiding the figurines underwater.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Mr. Ping asked.

"Nothing," Po lied. He casually shook some bath salts into the tub.

"Nothing? I come home to find you taking a bath with your dolls—"

"Action figures," Po corrected him.

"And instead of adding bath salts to the water, you just added Szechuan peppercorns," Mr. Ping informed him.

Po yelped. "Szechuan—oh my tenders! Hot!" He quickly poured some cool water into the bath and sighed.

"Okay, yes, something's wrong," Po admitted.

"There, there, son. Tell your daddy all about it," said Mr. Ping gently as he grabbed a scrub brush and began scrubbing under Po's arm. "Lift your arm."

Po launched into his problem. "Shifu says I don't know what it means to be the Dragon Warrior. And now I have to be a teacher? I thought I finally knew who I was. If I'm not the Dragon Warrior . . . who am I?"

There was a heavy silence until his dad broke in. "A teacher? Teaching kung fu? Po, that's a promotion. Take the job, son! And someday, when you're in charge of the whole Jade Palace, I can sell noodles in the lobby. Woohoo!"

He turned back to Po. "Why are you still here taking a bath like a baby? Get out. Get up. Go, go, go! Franchise expansion awaits us!"

Mr. Ping hoisted Po out of the tub and began to towel him off.

"But what about the Dragon Warrior dumpling-eating contest? I have to defend my title!" Po reminded him.

"No one's going to beat your dumpling-eating record," Mr. Ping assured him.

A pig poked his head into the alley. "Someone's about to beat your dumpling eating record!" he cried.

Po and Mr. Ping looked at each other in disbelief. They hurried into the restaurant. A crowd of villagers was gathered around someone and cheering, but Po couldn't see who was eating the dumplings.

"Go! Go! Go!" the pigs and rabbits chanted.

"Who's eating my dumplings?" Po demanded.

"And who's paying for them?" asked Mr. Ping.

They pushed through the crowd to see the back of a huge, vaguely familiar figure leaning over a table. He was picking up dumplings and stuffing them into his mouth faster than Po had ever thought possible.

"One hundred one, one hundred two!" the villagers counted.

The big stranger pounded his fist on the table. Then he leaped up and turned, his arms raised in triumph.

"One hundred and three! Yeah!" he cried, his mouth full of dumpling.

Po and Mr. Ping gasped. The stranger was a panda! A panda taller than Po and almost twice as wide!

Po was stunned. When he was just a baby, his village had been attacked. Po's mother had made sure he was safe, but Po believed he was the only survivor. No other panda had ever been seen in the valley for years.

"Who are you?" Po asked.

The stranger held up a finger, pounded his chest, and then swallowed his last bite of dumpling.

"I'm Li Shan. I'm looking for my son," he said.

Everyone gasped. The villagers all looked at Po. Mr. Ping looked at Po.

"You lost your son?" Po asked.

Li nodded. "Yes. Many years ago."

"I lost my father," Po said.

"I'm very sorry," said Li.

"Thank you," said Po.

"Well, good luck to you," said Li.

"You too," said Po. "I hope you find your son."

"And I hope you find your father."

Po and Li both turned to walk away. The bunnies and pigs shook their heads.

The villagers looked back and forth from Po to Li. How could these two pandas not see the truth?

Then the two pandas stopped. Po looked at Li's green eyes. And his big belly. And furry feet. Li did the same thing.

"Son?" asked Li.

"Huh?" Po asked, still not quite getting it.

Li's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, it is you!"

Po gasped. He finally realized it! Li was his long-lost father!

"Well, don't just stand there! Give your old man a hug!" Li cried.

Po ran forward and threw himself into Li's arms. His father squeezed him in a big panda bear hug. Mr. Ping watched them, his beak open in shock. The Po action figure he was holding fell from his hand and clattered to the floor.

"I can't believe you're alive!" Po said.

"I thought I'd lost you forever, Little Lotus," said Li, holding back tears.

Po backed out of the hug. "Oh, okay. This is very embarrassing, but I think you've got me confused with a panda named Lotus. My name is Po."

Li nodded. "Oh right, you wouldn't . . . Little Lotus was the name you were given at birth."

"Really?" asked Po. There was nothing little about Po at all. Or flowery, for that matter.

Li knew what his son was thinking. He laughed. "Really!"

Po shook his head. "I can't believe it. After all these years. And you're really here? This is amazing!"

Po turned to Mr. Ping. "Hey, Dad! Come say hi to . . ."

He stopped. Mr. Ping was his dad, but Li was his dad too, right? He turned to Li.

"Um," Po began, "I don't know what I'm supposed to call you."

"I'm pretty sure he said his name was Li," Mr. Ping said. There was a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Li pointed at Mr. Ping.

"You! Come here!" Li ordered in a booming voice.

Mr. Ping started to back away, but Li scooped him up in a hug. "Thank you. Thank you for taking such good care of my son."

Mr. Ping squirmed out of his grasp. "Your son? Now hold on just a minute." He looked at Po. "How do we know this stranger is even related to you?"

Po wasn't paying attention. He stood next to Li, and the two pandas were jiggling their massive bellies.

"Look at that. Our bellies could be brothers!" Li said proudly. "Hey, son, let me teach you how to Belly Gong."

He bumped bellies with Po, and both bellies began to bounce and wiggle.

"Belly Gong!" Li cried.

Po laughed. "That's so cool. They jiggle the same."

"It's like looking in a fat mirror," Li agreed.

Po pulled the village sketch artist from the crowd and asked him to draw the two of them. "I can't believe we're taking a picture together!" Po said excitedly. But when the artist handed them the sketch, Mr. Ping had sketch-bombed them.

"But I still don't understand," Mr. Ping interrupted. "I thought Po was the only panda left."

"No, there's a whole bunch of us," Li told him.

"Where?" Po asked, excitement rising in his voice.

Li bent down and whispered. "A secret Panda Village in the mountains."

"Whoa," said Po. "But how did you know where I was?"

"I received a message that led me here," Li replied.

The villagers began to gather around them. Everyone wanted to hear Li's story.

Mr. Ping's eyes narrowed. "How could you receive a message if no one could find you? Sounds suspicious to me."

The villagers nodded, and all eyes turned to Li.

"It was a message from the universe," Li said.

"Oooooooh," said the villagers.

"Whoa," said Po.

"Rats," muttered Mr. Ping.

"Now what's all this about a Dragon Warrior?" Li asked.

"How'd you know I was the Dragon Warrior?" Po asked. "Did the universe tell you that too?"

"No, the poster did," Li replied, pointing to the restaurant walls. Colorful posters selling DRAGON WARRIOR TOFU! and DRAGON WARRIOR SPICY NOODLES! decorated them.

"And the gift shop. I bought a cup!" Li said, holding up a tea mug with Po's face on it.

Po grinned. "There's so much to show you! You're going to be so awesomely proud! Come on! Come on!"

He grabbed Li's paw and dragged him outside the restaurant. Mr. Ping watched them go. A bunny picked up the Po action figure he had dropped and handed it back to him.

Mr. Ping stared at it. "I'm already awesomely proud," he mumbled sadly.