The Lion and the Ox

The Panda Village

As the sun began to set on a long day of chi training, Shifu was staring quietly out at the village down below. He was deep in thought. The Sacred Peach Tree hummed quietly with the gentle dusk wind. He heard footsteps clicking behind him as someone ascended the stairs.

One of Shifu's ears swiveled behind him, but he didn't look to see who it was. Heavy footsteps thumped on the grass, growing closer until Milu sat down next to him.

Shifu had never seen Milu come up to the Sacred Peach Tree before now, and he stared at him, slightly bewildered. Milu, noticing the red panda's quieter-than-usual silence, stared sideways at him, "What is the matter, little panda?"

"I.." Shifu started, "It's just you never come up here. You usually stay in the palace."

Milu shrugged, turning his gaze to look out over the Valley, "I just miss my family. I wonder if I did the right thing by sending Klara away, and making Elena stay in the village."

Shifu nodded in understanding, "You did the right thing; you just want to keep them safe."

Milu nodded, a smile on his muzzle. A light breeze blew past the two, and Milu lifted his head as the gust blew through his fur. He spoke softly, "Sometimes I feel like I can hear them, their voices, on the passing wind. It makes me remember I did this to protect them."

The two fell into a comfortable silence after that. They watched the sunset, and the stars beginning their nightly dance in the darkening sky above. Milu smiled and spoke quietly, "If I knew how peaceful it was up here, I would spend every evening here with Elena and Klara." He closed his eyes wistfully.

Shifu began thinking. Lowering his gaze, he stared at his hands for a while, and a question formed in his head. He turned his head to Milu, "Milu, I know you don't prefer fighting, but do you know any chi? At all?"

Milu blinked as he let Shifu's words register. With a slow nod, he spoke, "When I was in Tibet, I stayed with a village of goat monks. It was a terribly cold winter. Many of them were deathly ill and didn't have the strength to heal themselves using chi. I drained all of my medicine trying to cure them, but nothing would work. I had no other choice but to turn to chi." The wapiti spoke slowly,

"So they taught me. It was...draining, to say the least. They taught me the basics, and I taught myself from there. But after several weeks I managed to heal them all using the techniques they taught me." Milu went quiet for a moment, "But I caught the disease that was plaguing them. They implored me to use chi to heal myself."

Shifu's eyes were wide as he listened to the story. Milu continued, "I was stubborn. I didn't want to have to resort to the power of chi to heal myself. I believed that I would be fine if I simply conjured up some more of my medicine. I tried exercise, eating as healthy as I could in a village of monks, but nothing would work. So..I tried chi. I spent hours sitting in a room, meditating, building up my chi. Then, one evening, I did it. I simply willed my body to heal, and it did. I walked out of there a new wapiti."

It felt foreign compared to the medicine I am used to. But I can't argue with what had happened. I had been healed. So, to answer your question, yes, I can use chi." Milu then quickly added on, "I rarely use chi, though. I prefer...traditional medicine. But," Milu nodded, "I'm familiar with it."

"So you can use chi to heal?" Shifu asked, his ears perked forward with interest, "You should have said so earlier." Shifu emphasized.

"I don't know how to use chi to fight, Shifu." Milu said, "What use would I be against Kai? Heal him to death?" The wapiti shook his head. "Don't be silly."