KFP 3: Stripes of the Past Chapter 5

Meanwhile, in a patch of wilderness some distance from Bao Gu Orphanage, the remaining bandits (led by the clouded leopard Commander, the only one out of the three horde Commanders who hadn’t been subdued and captured by the six famed warriors) hurried into the cover of a gingko copse. When she judged that they had gone deep enough, the leopard Commander called the subordinates to a halt, and they needed no second bidding. The leopards leaned against the trees with dignified grace, whereas the crocodiles slumped on their stomachs carelessly upon the grass as they struggled to catch their breath, and the wolves seated themselves upon the scaly backs of their reptilian comrades as they set about licking their wounds.
   The leopard Commander shook her head disdainfully at lounging soldiers. She was just about to rebuke them on their failure, when she noted the dappled patches of light on the ground before her dimmed out as a large shadow loomed out from behind her. Whipping out her fenghuo lun ring, she wheeled around to confront her would be attacker, only to find that it was a familiar ox. Letting her limbs relax, she stowed away her fenghuo lun and pressed a fisted paw into the palm of her other paw as she bowed in salute to the ox. The lounging soldiers immediately scrambled up into attentive stances and did likewise.
   Gazing formidably before the leopard, with hefty arms folded and a foothoof tapping impatiently, the ox had only one response to give: “Well?”
   The leopard Commander raised her head slightly and opened an eye. “Sir?”
   “Where is the Yang Stone?” the ox asked. He then looked to the meagre remnants of the horde. “And why are there less of the soldiers present than you and those other two nitwit Commanders were alloted when you were sent to storm that orphanage?”
  The leopard Commander dipped her head ruefully as she answered, “We were searching for the Yang Stone in the orphanage, but then came along these warriors who called themselves the Startling Six – they were all Kung Fu Masters. There was a mantis, a monkey, a crane, a snake, a tiger and a panda. We had them outnumbered three to one, but they fought like tenfold our number and defeated many of us. The other two Commanders were beaten, and I had to flee with what was left of the scouring band.”
  The ox blinked down at the leopard, his flat, indifferent expression unchanged, but then he shut his eyes as he began to sway his head from side-to-side in either disappointment or mock pity. “Those six warriors must’ve hit you too hard in the head while you were battling them – pandas are extinct, and the only tiger left in all of China is…well, you know who. Unless…did it look like a Bengal tiger, or a Malaysian, or Sumatran, or Siberian, or something?”
  “No, sir. The only injuries I have gained are a few bruises and scratches, and I find it safe to assume that the same can be said for the others,” replied the leopard. “My head is perfectly intact and I know what I had seen—it was a panda and a tiger, a Chinese tiger born and bred in China; the markings on her forehead do not lie.”
  The remaining soldiers began chattering in support to the leopard Commander’s claims.
  “It was a panda, all right. I saw it we my own two eyes!”
  “I’ve only got one, but it’s like a hawk’s and it’s never lied to me before—I saw that panda clear as day, and the markings of a Chinese tiger were as plain as…well, as the markings stamped on that tiger’s forehead. It couldn’t be any plainer.”
  “I saw those markings, too; they were like a leaf surrounded by a flame. I’ve met many tigers of many different variations, but I’ve never known another kind who bears markings like the ones I just saw.”
  “And I saw the stripe running from her palm down her forearm, too! Only Chinese tigers have that!”
  “And that bear was a panda, no doubt—I met plenty of bears myself, but I don’t know any other bear whose got a paunch like a panda’s, even if it just painted itself to look like a panda.”
  The ox found it difficult to argue with so many voices, even though they were only seven of the original eighteen, for he knew that there had to be some out of this number who were perfectly sane and knew what they were talking about. Nevertheless, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around another living panda and Chinese tiger. “But that’s impossible—the last living colony of pandas known was wiped out in a genocidal massacre over two decades ago, and there hasn’t been another sighting of a living panda since. Same thing for all the Chinese tigers, that is, unless you include…well, you know who. Hmm… Could there really be survivors?” He fondled a horn with a hoof, a gesture oxen usually do when they feel inquisitive.
  One of the wolves lightly nudged another fellow canine. “Can you believe they didn't credit the ones who got rid of those pandas?” He gestured a paw to himself and the fellow wolf.
  “They don't need to," said a croc, who overheard the remark, as he stood looming over the two lupines. "We all know who were the ones that did it." He gestured a scaly hand to himself. "Just as we all know who were the ones that dealt with all those tigers. Now keep your trap shut—Jing Lì's is talking.”
  The ox, Jing Lì, then shrugged. “Ah well, that’s the least of our concern. Our mission here is to retrieve that Yang Stone, which is supposed to be somewhere in that orphanage. We can’t return to the Chief without it, so we’ll have to find some other method of getting it. Apparently sending eighteen soldiers to storm the place isn’t enough.”
  One of the croc soldiers blurted a suggestion. “Maybe if we sent a greater number…?” Reproving glares from everyone else shot his way, as if to tell him that he had spoken out of turn. He sheepishly murmured a rueful apology.
  “Perhaps there might be a better method of obtaining the Yang Stone through other means other than through greater numbers or any other means of brute force,” said the leopard Commander, as she returned her attention to the ox.
  The hulking ox snorted in near skeptical scorn. “Oh, really? Like what?”
  “Instead of sending soldiers to storm the area in such our usual assertive, brutish manner, perhaps we could send troops to infiltrate the orphanage and retrieve the Yang Stone by means of stealth.”
  “Will you look around you?” asked Jing Lì as he gestured a hoof to the remaining soldiers brought back by the leopard Commander. “These soldiers are trained to be headlong-charging warriors, not sneaky spies. Who are going to find to do that kind of job?”
  “Actually,” replied the leopard, “not all of us are just headlong charging fighters.” She placed a paw on her chest to gesture to herself, and then gestured another paw to the other leopards. “If you’re looking for soldiers who know a thing or two about stealth, look no further.”
  Jing Lì nodded in consideration. “All right, any more requirements for your plan?”
  “All I need,” said the leopard Commander, “are a few more leopard troops, perhaps a few snakes and monitor lizards even, some black silks, and some time to bide.”
  “Time to bide?”
  “Of course. The safest time for our troops to infiltrate the orphanage is when the people inside have settled down and don’t expect another infiltration. Nighttime would be the appropriate time, that’s when everyone’s guard is at its lowest, because that is when they’re all asleep.”
  Jing Lì stamped a foothoof as he straightened himself to his fullest height. He was clearly appalled by the clouded leopard’s strategy. “You mean we have to wait until dark to get that Yang Stone?”
  “It’ll be worth it once the Yang Stone is within our grasp,” said the leopard Commander, smiling confidently. “I assure you.”