Cold weather, cold feet, cold rice from yesterday.
It wasn't the ideal breakfast, but better than nothing, Po thought while their rickshaw pulled them through the snow. Fortunately, the cold journey didn't take long. After a while, Po tapped Xia on her shoulder. "Hey, look!"
In a valley they could see a long-bent water street.

"Could you repeat that, please?"
A gander and a pig didn't know what to say when the lord was standing in front of them after they had given him an answer whether they could bring them with a ship up the river.
"As I said," the pig started again. "Nobody sails up this river, only downstream. At this time of year, there are particularly many bandits lurking in the upper areas. For this reason, we avoid this river way."
Both village people cried as a sharp sword stopped very close in front of their faces.
Po tried to ease the situation. "Shen, that's not necessary."
A hissing of the lord, and Po lost his courage.
"I take what I want and I take what I need." Shen's voice was more than angry. "Either we take this ship or we have to conquer it by force!"
The harsh voice of the warlord let the mariners cringe. The pig raised his hand. "I'm for a peaceful variant."

The ship wasn't big enough to transport a coach. For this reason, they had to leave the coach and rickshaw. The sheep and the ram agreed to drive back to town, while the others continued their journey. The shipowner didn't prevent them to take the ship, albeit grudgingly.
Po got a bad feeling in his stomach when they put out to the river, because the village people only shook their heads and muttered a farewell sailing.

The river trip began slowly and without troubles. There was not much activity on board. The ram conned the ship, while the others sat and walked on the aloft.
Shen had placed himself on the roof of the ship cabin and overlooked all. Especially his eyes stuck on Po. When the panda felt his glance, Po waved his paw at him. But the lord just avoided his gesture and looked away.
"Did he stand up with the wrong foot or what?"
"Don't worry," the old goat said. "He is just a little nervous."
"Oh, of course, meeting an old love must be exciting."
"She isn't my old love!" the lord said next to him like he came from nothing. "We are just traveling to her to sort things out!"
"Don't forget my brother, please," Xia said. "Maybe it will be the first and last time that you see him."
The lord snorted with a derogatory gesture. "Alright, but don't expect I will let him welcome in my life. I will treat him like every stranger."
She lowered her face, until something crossed Po's mind.
"Hey! Wait! You still didn't say the name of your brother!"
"Didn't I?"
The panda shook his head. "No, you didn't."
"Oh, sorry, after so many things, I forgot. Uhm."
Her glance glued on Shen's face. Did he want to know the name too?
"Well, his name is Sheng."
"Sheng?" Po looked at her in surprise. "Sounds similar like Shen."
A gentle smile played on Xia's beak. "Maybe my mother wanted to keep a memory."
She sent to her "father" a hopeful look. But Shen just turned around and walked away a few steps and stared down the river.
Po petted the sad peahen on her shoulder. "He needs just more time."
She nodded depressed. With lowered face, she leaned against the railing and watched the soft movements of the water.
Meanwhile, Po took together his courage again and walked over to the silent lord. Before he could clean his throat for a first sentence, the lord cut panda's breath. "You should stop intervening in things what doesn't concern you."
"Maybe it's not my concern," Po replied. "But her behavior concerns something to me. Just do her a favor and don't treat her like a stupid girl."
"Her mother wasn't different."
Po gasped for air, but he controlled his anger. "Alright, we should talk about that later when we will meet her."
The lord said nothing. He just stared ahead. Po sighed and turned around.
"Our peace agreement still holds, doesn't it?"
The panda looked at him in big surprise. "Of course, why do you ask?"
"Just to make sure."
Po didn't know what he should think about that insinuation.
"Oookay, if you think that I would forget my oath in my village, I have to disabuse you. I often quote the words of my master Shifu, who always use to say, holding his vows is an obligation for a kung fu warrior."
But Shen didn't listen to him anymore. With tensed eyes, he watched the hilly riverside, where he had seen a quick movement of a shadow.
Soothsayer discerned his tension first. She knew him good enough. And he showed her, something wasn't right in the environment. Slowly, he pulled out his feather knife more out of his wings. Meanwhile, Po didn't realize anything and spoke on.
"And this is why you can trust my inner conviction..."
"TAKE COVER!"
Shen pushed him so hard away that the panda slithered a few meters over the deck.
In the next second, two big figures landed with a loud crash on the wooden ship floor.
"What do you say, today is our lucky day!"
A big goanna looking animal, covered in thick fur clothing and a second one raised their swords.
Po meanwhile had recovered from the wild greeting.
"In this case you must be the bandits, who paint the river red."
"You know much, in this case, give us what we want."
They laughed.
Po rubbed his paws. "Not without a fight!"
The lizards hissed amused. "Nice invitation."
With loud cries, they ran at them. Po took the first one, Shen the second one.
First, the bandits thought to have an easy battle, but the kung fu panda and the white warlord were hard enemies. But shortly after, another danger appeared.
"Surprise from behind!" Po cried over to the rest of the group.
Three more lizards were climbing over the railing and rushed upon them. Meanwhile, the ram Wulong had taken his sister-in-law aside and fended off the attackers with his ram forces. Xia scared when one of the big lizards stood in front of her at knife point.
"Hey!" Po cried over to her. "Take something and hit him!"
The young woman looked around and grabbed for the next best rod.
The goanna laughed. "What do you want with that toothpick?"
Xia took a deep breath, but before she could swing the cane, the bandit snatched it from her wings and pushed her with all forces. The peahen stumbled. With a splash, she fell backwards into the cold floods of the river. Fortunately, the current wasn't strong.
Po waved at her. "Swim over!"
But the girl just crawled without control. "I can't swim!"
Po's eyes went over to Shen, who had dispelled the last lizard from the battlefield. But instead of doing something, he just looked at the struggling girl in the cold water.
"Do something!"
But Po's cries didn't reach the lord's head. Either he ignored it or he didn't listen.
The panda's eyes grew wider. Xia was going to sink.
With a big jump, Po landed in the river deeps and swam to her. His fingers searched in the coldness and felt wet feathers of a wing. He grasped and pulled it. As fast as he could, he swam back to the ship. Shortly after, he had reached the ship body, some strong arms pulled out the soaking wet castaways. Carefully, Wulong put them on the board.
In Po's head was just rushing, but accompanied by loud curses from far away. The Dragon Warrior rested upon his upper body and saw how the bandits sought refuge in flight. But then his view was directed at Shen, who still stood there calmly with crossed wings.
Po narrowed his eyes and stood up. "Why didn't you rescue her?!"
Shen showed himself unimpressed. "Why on earth should I do that?"
"Are you water-shy or what?!"
Now there was an angry wave over the lord's face. "Be careful what you say!"
"Stop it!" Soothsayer cried. "Both of you."
"What did you think?!" Po cried. "She could have drowned!"
The white bird just raised an eyebrow. "Not my problem."
Po cramped his fists, but a loud exhausted cough let him wince. The peahen lay there with strong trembling body.
Gently, Po took her in his arms. "She will freeze to death. We have to make a campfire."

With glowering eyes, the lord watched how Po was lighting up a fire on the riverside. Of course, they couldn't make a fire on the ship, so that they had to make a stop on the dry land.
"Why didn't you rescue her?" it still echoed through the bird's mind. He narrowed his eyes more.
My hate was stronger.
"It will be warm soon," Po said and blew into the small starting flames. Xia sat on a stone, covered with a thick blanket. The panda walked behind her and rubbed her back quickly.
She forced a smile at him.
"I'm such a coward."
"Hey," Po said and laughed. "For your first fight time, it wasn't so bad. But why can't you swim?"
She was silent.
"Xiang," was her only answer.
And Po understood. "We will add swim lesson for later."
Xia coughed.
Gently, Po petted her back. "Take it easy. You don't have to learn all in one chunk."
At this moment, Soothsayer came and handed a bowl to the girl.
"Drink this."
The lord's eyes became wide. The smell pushed him far away into the past.

17 years ago...

He couldn't sleep. He had never slept with another person in one room. At least not with a woman. But her presence was not the only reason why he couldn't fall asleep. From time to time a cough echoed through his head. No, it wasn't a dream. He opened his tired eyes. The room of the cave was almost dark. Just a bigger fire burned near the entrance of the cave to warm the cave and so that smoke could escape outside.
A new soft cough. His eyes wandered to a corner, where some blankets lay on the floor, while he spent the night in a more comfortable bed. When he couldn't stand it any longer, he put his blanket aside, left the bed and walked over to the still coughing peahen.
After he had reached her, he stopped and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, but she didn't sleep. She lay there with cramped body and held her neck.
The lord yawned quietly, then he came back to his dignified posture and cleaned his throat. His annoyed sound let open her eyes widely. Shortly after, she sat up, looking ruefully at him.
The prince smiled innerly. He enjoyed her servileness.
"Could you do me a favor and don't disturb my sleep?" he asked tiredly and stressed.
She lowered her head more. "I'm sorry, it's just something in my throat."
He sighed. Moments of silence surrounded them. Finally, the lord turned around.
She followed him with her eyes and watched how the peacock walked over to the fire. After he had reached it, he looked back at her and beckoned her over with gentle movements of his wing.
"Come here."
Her beak started to tremble.
"Please!" she pleaded. "It wasn't my intention to wake you up."
Quickly, she stood up and wanted to leave the cave. "I will sleep outside."
But before she could pass the peacock near the fire, she felt an iron grip around her right wing.
Fear rose inside her. "No, don't hurt me!"
She pulled, but the hand around her wing didn't come loose. Giving in, her force sank. A gasping sob escaped her beak lips.
"Didn't I say, I wouldn't hurt you?"
His voice induced her to look at his face. The eyes of the peacock were still cold, but not hard.
"I keep my word," he continued calmly and seriously. "As long as you don't break yours."
She stared at him. And he looked back.
"Come closer."
Gently, he guided her to the fire and placed her in front of him.
"Open your mouth."
She hesitated, but she obeyed, so that he could look inside. Like he had thought. Her throat was red and sore. She closed her beak again and coughed hoarsely.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" he asked with serious face.
She nodded and rubbed her throat. He watched her thoughtfully. Then he nodded his head to the cave. "Go back to bed."
She did and he stayed.

Minutes passed. The white peacock was still standing next to the fire and looked into the flames. He heard her rolling in her improvised bed. She couldn't find sleep. And he could understand it very well. He had been ill very often in his childhood. What had they made if he had got a cold? But who cares? Why should he take care for her? He still mistrusted her. What had she done in the lonely mountains?
A louder wheeze let him wince. He turned to her and walked over.
She heard him coming. Ashamed she sat up and covered her face. "Forgive me. I try to quash."
Her tries were difficult. He could see her trembling shoulders. Usually, he would shout at her. Everyone didn't look at him a strong ruler inside him. But she was so subservient that he felt almost sorry for her.
Finally, he shook his head. "Never mind. I will look for a place in my new quarter."
With that, he left her.

The storm had become stronger. Cold, hard snowflakes flew into his face. In the darkness of the snowed night, he wondered about himself why he had left the cave instead of her. He banished that thoughts and wanted to take the chance to inspect the factory.

With pride, the lord stood on a wooden beam and overlooked the unfinished but almost finalized factory which will make true his dreams.
One day, China will bow to me. One day.

The next morning started without a sun ray. Clouds covered the sky and sent a depressing atmosphere. But Shen wasn't in a bad mood. The night in his new residence had been a benefaction for him. The entrance of the cave had been blocked with high snow, but there were in every level part small doors to climb inside. He just pushed aside some planks and walked in.
The fire was almost gone. The lord didn't care and passed the fire place. But suddenly, his feet ran into something on the floor. The object winced and lifted its head. In the gloomy light, he realized the peahen, hidden in her blanket.
"Why are you lying here?"
She trembled. "I- I fe-el cold."
He narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't right with her and she didn't look very good. He reached out his wing and touched her forehead. She was really cold, maybe low temperature. He took back his wing and looked down at her with head held high.
"Alright. I will make a fire again. But go back to bed and don't interrupt my work."

His annoyance grew. For a half hour, he sat over his papers, thinking about a new design of his weapon, but concentration became difficult. Every minute he had to hear a cough, one times louder and other times quieter.
With a loud hissing grow, he slammed the pencil down.
There fell an awful silence, followed by a moving chair and hard footsteps, which approached a scared person. Shen didn't know what to say and to do. He just stared down at her. His face filled with one question: What should he do with her?
Tears filled her eyes. The young woman didn't know what to do. She only sat there with lifted wings and begged. "P-please, help me."
He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Why on earth should I do that?"
She opened her beak, first without a word, then with a pleading sound. "I'm afraid."
"You are afraid?" He chuckled darkly. "There is no reason."
Turning around, he ignored her starting sobbing.
"Why are y-ou so h-hard?" she wept.
He stopped; his eyes burned.
"The world ignored me," he whispered bitterly. "Nobody has the right to demand my attention instead." He looked behind; his glance scared her. "But one day, nobody will ignore me anymore."
The peacock kept his stern face, until he laughed spitefully. "You see, I have no reason to give you something back."
In anticipation of more begging, she dropped her gaze completely.
"M-maybe you're right."
Her answer surprised him.
"Maybe I'm not w-worth to stay a-live."
She gasped for air. "E-everyone told me, I'm only li-ving to stand still and doing nothing more. I – I didn't believe, but maybe my parents were right. I'm unimportant, I ju-st have to o-obey."
His gaze leaned on her. "Your parents didn't seem to love you, did they?"
"They – they are dead," she spat. "And I don't care. I never loved them – and they never loved me. I just thought - they lied and I'm something more. B-but you've got the luck to be a man. I'm just a woman, wi-ithout rights. You could feel blessed."
She couldn't continue. A hard pertussis blocked her voice.
Slowly, he came closer and kneeled down next to her. But this time she couldn't say a word. Now her lung ached and breathing became a hurting process for her.
Shen didn't care and sighed. "Believe me, parents can be crueller than you think."
She winced. A white wing covered her face and pushed her down on the pillow slowly. The woman didn't resist. She wanted to do nothing anymore. Meanwhile, the young peacock stood up and went away.
Abstracted and silent, he walked through the cave. Not until after 3 minutes he left the private domain.

"I should do what?"
The boss wolf and a few other wolves stared at their master speechlessly.
"You heard right," their master replied. "I insist that you and the others bring me these herbs which I wrote down."
"But the next village is far away..."
"DO IT!" the peacock screamed. "Just DO IT! DO IT!"
As fast as they could the wolves left the unfinished factory building.

She heard him coming back. But she didn't look up. Still laying on the side, she wrapped the blanket closer around her trembling body. Steps walked through the cave room and back to her. But instead of a voice, a rustling sounded and something heavy lay down on her. She lifted her head. Next to her stood the white lord and covered her with a second and a third blanket. Then he lifted a part of the blankets.
"What... what are you doing?"
"Don't be afraid," he said calmly. "I will warm you up."
With that, he crawled under her blanket. She couldn't believe what he was doing and flinched. When Shen had taken his place next to her, he smiled.
"Don't worry. But you have to keep warm. I will stay with you until my soldiers bring you medicinal plants."
Still staring at him, he could see her fear.
"Trust me. Nothing will happen. But you have to come closer."
"I – I don't know."
Carefully, he laid his wing on her shoulder. With soft pressure, he pushed her on her back.
"Don't worry." In the shine of the fire, he could see how her breath became faster.
"Why don't you trust me?" he whispered.
"Y-You are stronger than me."
How cute it sounded in her voice. Her silver stains glimmered in the dim light.
"Just imagine the snow would clasp you in its arms." He smiled. "You like the snow, don't you?"
She didn't know what happened to her. The peahen fell like in a dream, while the white colored peacock moved his head ahead until a few centimeters lay between them.
"Close your eyes." His voice had a calming effect. "It's okay."
He couldn't help it. He didn't want to command. She should acquiesce voluntarily. He tried everything to be caring. She should feel in safe, what his parents never let him feel. In their eyes, he had been always a weakling.
Her resistance became weaker. She gave in. Still staring, she let him move her body to his. Their chests almost touched each other until her body rested on his upper body. He felt her tension. It was strange, but wonderful at the same time. Slowly and gently, his finger feathers stroked over her neck. Her tension became stronger. She was still dreading his touch, but she didn't dare to resist.
The white