Kung Fu Panda Fanfic - The Shadow of Gongmen City

(VI) The Vestiges of the Shadows

Tigress entered the darkest area of ​​the city, unprepared for what she was going to find. The houses were very dilapidated, and a strong odor filled the area. A fetid odor, but impossible to determine its origin. The silence was abrupt, broken only by the occasional cries of children clamoring for attention or food, or the sound of boxes falling as drunks crashed in the alleys. The streets, unlike the rest of the city, were not covered with cobblestones, but with a viscous mud that was formed when the earth mixed with the sewage that ran through a small channel located right in the middle. It was common to see garbage cans on every corner, as well as the body of citizens who had succumbed to alcohol.

Tigress had never witnessed such an unpleasant scenario, and the combination of all those sensations was a strong blow that saturated all her senses. The feline was somewhat dizzy, even so, she continued advancing using the highest points in that part of the city to observe every movement in the surroundings. As a feline, Tigress possessed excellent night vision, and was able to detect the slightest movement, and was even able to hear the voices of the citizens speaking in the surroundings. But nothing particularly caught her attention, until:

A little more than a hundred meters from where she was, Tigress could see two strange hooded beings who were walking in a hurry through one of the alleys. Those characteristics were not relevant at all, but what caught Tigress's attention was that both individuals had their tails sticking out of their clothes. Tails with a lot of hair, bulging in the center and pointed at the tip. Tails like the ones that Shen's lackey wolves had.

Tigress hurried to catch up with them before losing sight of them. She tried to follow them over the rooftops, but there was a big problem. In that area of ​​the city, the houses were so poor that the roofs were made of improvised logs and strips of bamboo. If she set foot on it, they would surely collapse, so she had no choice but to follow them down the muddy path very carefully so as not to attract their attention.

Tigress followed closely until they reached an area where the slums met the river that ran to one side of the city. There, the strange citizens met with other more hooded ones and began to talk in a low voice. Tigress was hiding behind some boxes in the distance, and she couldn't hear anything they were saying. She tried to get a little closer, but hid again when she saw how two barges driven by two other hooded citizens docked in that area of ​​the port.

Suddenly, another hooded citizen appeared along with two more. This one in particular, was bigger than the rest, and his voice was very strong and could be heard slightly from where Tigress was. Apparently, that was who was in charge of everyone.

Hooded boss: - Unload everything and take it to shelter two. Don't make noise. We don't want prying eyes here. -

The hooded citizens began to unload some wooden boxes from the barges, while the one who seemed to be the boss watched without intervening. Tigress was curious about the contents of those boxes, so she slowly approached to try and take a look. She advanced slowly, hiding her silhouette behind the pillars, boxes and junk that was lying in that part of the port. But when she was close enough, something unforeseen happened.

????: - Hey! You! What are you doing there!? -

Tigress turned around and realized that one of the "hooded citizens" had seen her. Quickly, the "citizen" took a knife from his pocket and attacked the teacher. They were bandits, and now they had discovered her.

Tigress quickly turned around and knocked the bandit out with a powerful blow to the chin. The bandit fell onto his back, the hood revealing his face as he stepped aside. As Tigress suspected, it was one of the wolves that served the tyrant Shen. Apparently, some managed to escape and have been doing rogueries ever since. Tigress knew that she shouldn't stay in that place, but before she could turn around, she realized that she was already surrounded by more than fifteen wolves that blocked each of her escape routes. At that point, the teacher had no choice but to confront them.

The wolves pounced on the teacher, while they brandished their swords, axes, and other types of weapons that they hid under their hoods. Still, they were no match for the highly experienced master. Tigress managed to evade their attacks and knock out those that her powerful fists reached. The wolves followed her closely without giving her a moment to breathe, however, the one who seemed to be the leader, simply limited himself to watching from a distance.

The fight caused quite a bit of noise, yet none of the residents dared to stick their heads out. It was more than obvious that something was wrong, and no one wanted to get involved. Unfortunately for Tigress, more wolves were arriving little by little, and the feline was increasingly overwhelmed by the enormous number of enemies that surrounded her. But such was the concentration of the teacher in the combat that she could not appreciate something strange that was happening far from the fight.

The bandit leader opened one of the boxes and took out a strange device from inside. It was a long wood rod that had at one end a metal cylinder with various parts sticking out. The leader poured some kind of black powder into it and then added a small metal sphere. He grabbed the wooden part with her hands and pointed the metal part towards the fight, and when Tigress least expected it:

-¡BAN!-

A loud noise echoed in the silence of the night.

Tigress fell backwards, with a sharp pain on her right shoulder. He rested his hand on the pain and realized that there was blood coming from a circular wound on his shoulder. What the bandit leader carried was a hand cannon(1), a lighter version of the powerful cannons Shen designed, only this one was less heavy and could be easily carried. Still, it was just as lethal.

Tigress was lying on the ground, blood gushing from her body, and she was practically unable to move her right arm. But worst of all, was that the teacher began to feel very weak, and it seemed that she would lose consciousness.

Wolf: - What are we supposed to do with her? - Asked one of the wolves that surrounded her when he saw her lying on the ground.

Bandit Leader: - I don't have time for this. Kill her. The rest of you take these boxes out of here. -

The bandit leader turned and walked away, followed by most of the wolves carrying the heavy wooden crates. Only five wolves were left in the place and their intentions were obviously not the best.

Tigress could not do more than try to crawl and support her body on some boxes to remain seated while the wolves slowly approached, waving their swords and axes. Tigress didn't have the strength to move, and her vision was beginning to look somewhat blurry. "I guess this is the end." The teacher thought.

Before the wolves could get to her, Tigress could no longer keep her eyes open; still, she could hear his footsteps getting closer little by little. But suddenly, a loud noise was heard shaking the springs. The wolves moaned in pain as their bodies splashed forcefully on the water.

Tigress, with her last strength, felt a hand touch her face while a strange voice repeated her name. Even so, the feline fainted after a few seconds.

(1) The weapon is a hand cannon whose origin dates back to 1287 and its design is exactly the same as the description. Experts believe that their origin could have been in previous years, but they agree that it was in China where they were developed. This is considered the forerunner of modern weapons.