53 Lord Shen
[Tai Lung's POV]
"I accept your proposal. It seems interesting." I said and Shen was oddly surprised at my answer.
"Really? Just like that?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow. "I thought I would have to do more to convince you."
"I am not clueless like most warriors Shen. I can see how an alliance could benefit me even without you having to name them one by one." I said with a scoff.
"What I am more interested in is how you plan to proceed after this."
"To be completely honest with you, I didn't think this far ahead." He said with light chuckles. You could tell that he was absolutely ecstatic at the moment.
"I thought even if I did not fail, you would at least take a few days to think about my proposal." He said and waved his wing.
That was not a meaningless action as I saw all of the cannons which were aiming at the tower from a distance lower their aim.
It was the same thing that happened in the movie, he was willing to bring the down tower in hopes of killing me if things went wrong. I knew he wouldn't have confronted me without any preparation.
That means if things went wrong and I kill him, he was determined to at least bring me down with him.
Turly a mad bird.
"But after our alliance is declared officially, I plan to appoint you as the supreme general of my army. You will have all of my soldiers under your command and you will also be responsible for training them." Shen said.
A general.
"Heh." My lips stretched into a smile as the prospect felt a little silly.
After all the talk I had about not following Oogway's footsteps, I seem to do the opposite and follow behind him. I remember Oogway also used to lead armies when he was young.
"And your plan on how to defeat the other kingdoms?" I asked and Shen shook his head with a smile.
"It doesn't matter anymore after I have you by my side. No one can stand in our way." He said.
"You have quite the confidence in my strength don't you?"
"Of course, I have seen it with my own eyes."
"And after we conquer China, then what?"
"Then we wait." Shen said, "We gather our resources and unite the kingdoms before we begin our conquest."
"Do you think it would be that easy?"
"No. I know there would be problems and challenges along the way but two things gave me confidence." He said, "The rest of the world do not have any clue on what gunpowder even is, they do not have dynamite or fireworks, much less something similar to my weapons."
"And Kung Fu is not widespread like it is in China. The rest of the world lacks powerful warriors and masters, although I have discovered that they have other forms of combat, it is ultimately inferior to Kung Fu." He said, "In a sense, I think it would be easier than uniting China."
I hummed at his words although I did not agree. There was no way the rest of the world would be weaker than China.
Although Kung Fu may not be practised like it is in China, I was sure that there would be powerhouses around the world. Of course, they wouldn't be able to match me but they won't be pushovers.
I looked at the horizon, the storm clouds were slowly retreating. It goes as quickly as it suddenly comes.
I looked around the city below us and I touched the fence surrounding the balcony. A weird memory came into my mind in that moment of seriousness.
"Hey, do you remember the time I pushed you off this balcony?" I asked and turned towards him.
He paused for a few seconds, recalling the memory before he quickly took steps back. "Why do you bring up such unpleasant memories?"
"You said you could fly."
"You knew I couldn't!" He hissed at me.
Although we were not exactly friends, we were the same age and were often forced to spend time together whenever we visited Gongmen City.
He was always arrogant and haughty when he was a kid and after getting annoyed, I insulted him by calling him a bird who can't even fly. He took great offence in that and claimed he could fly.
In the end, like I said I pushed him off this very same balcony to give him a chance to prove his words.
He did not fly.
But that was the day he learned how to glide.
"Your students are in Baoxiang inn located in the Noble District, they must be waiting for you. Since we are done here you should leave." He said, "I shall summon you when the time is right to get into more details about our alliance."
I smirked at him before jumping off the balcony and I headed towards the inn to finally meet my students again after nearly 3 months.
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[3rd POV]
Shen remained on the balcony for a long time even after Tai Lung had gone to meet his students. He watched the city below with a permanent smirk on his face as if everything was going exactly according to plan.
Eventually, someone came to disturb his peace. Soothsayer walked up to him, her cane and footsteps made a clanking nose in the silent tower.
"So he agreed." Shoothsayer said and stopped right behind Shen. He turned around to look at her with a victorious smirk.
"He did."
"Are you serious about this? Or is it just one of your cunning tricks to destroy your enemies?" Soothsayer asked with eyes narrowed with curiosity.
Shen chuckled, "There are no tricks this time. No amount of trickery or manipulation would benefit me more than an honest alliance."
"So you really plan to work together. You are willing to share the glory with him or more likely than not, get outshined." Soothsayer asked.
She laughed, "Yes! I figured the whole world was big enough to share between two people. I will have the power and control I always desired and he can have the glory and legacy he wanted."
"So it's not just China anymore but the whole world huh?" Soothsayer said in a calm voice, "The cup you wish to fill is made of greed Shen, it has no bottom."
"You don't know that. You don't know me."
"Maybe not. But your parents..." She said but was cut off by Shen.
"My parents hated me." Shen said in a heartbreaking voice.
"They wronged me." He said. His parents had always promised him the throne and all of the glory and power it holds.
They promised he will be the great ruler of Gongmen City, the one who would bring the City to height never before seen. He had worked to do just that all his life.
Yet in the end, they banished him and stripped him away of that promise. In a way, it was similar to how Tai Lung was promised to be the Dragon Warrior only to be denied in the end.
It was because of this promise and the sense of responsibility to achieve great things that he did not see the beautiful colours in the fireworks.
He only saw the explosion.
And his parents hated him for seeing the explosions. He still remembered the eyes of disappointment and disgust they threw at him when he excitedly showed what else he could do with the fireworks.
They looked at him like a monster.
He just wanted to help, he just wanted to fulfil his responsibility, he just wanted to show them who he really was.
Well....
They saw him. They hated him.
He had heard of great kings conquering and defeating other kingdoms. They expanded their territory and established an unquestionable rule of power. Shen thought his parent would be proud if he had done the same.
But no. He still remembered the night of his banishment. When he came home after massacring the Panda Village, he thought they would praise him for defying destiny and for breaking the prophecy.
But the looks they gave him. The curses that left her mother's beak and the words his father spit at him, disowning him.
It sticks in his mind forever.
It scars.
"I will make it right." Shen said with a voice filled with psychotic determination.
Shen felt so wronged because he thought he was so right. His methods were correct and he would prove it to his parents by conquering not just China but the world as well.
"Do you think then, you would finally be happy? Will you finally be healed?" Soothsayer asked before the silence stretched too long.
"Scars don't heal, wounds do." Shen rebuked, "But yes, after I have China and the whole world under me, I will be happy."
Soothsayer stills and stares at the hatchling which she had watched grow into what he is now, She then turned around and walked away.
But not before leaving her final words.
"You are right, scars don't heal." She said, "They fade."
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"And happiness is not a destination, it's a direction. Are you happy with what you are now and what you are doing?"
She did not wait for an answer but walked away from Shen, leaving him to watch her back as he contemplated her words.
Shen was not happy with he is or what he was doing. He could not let go of his past and he remained hurt forever.
And he hoped the future would magically be better for him. He can never learn to accept the present.
Lord Shen, the bird who could never let go.
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[IMAGE : Cute]
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Author : Stone for the surprise chappy!!!
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