One Tail at a Time

Clues

Fu Yu isn't on my pillow when I wake up, but Im not too concerned because he has made friends with one of the Disciples, so I guess he's gone to meet with him for breakfast.  I've been on this mountain for two months now, and Shifu has been gradually learning more and more words.  So far he's learned all the action words,body parts,  numbers, animals as well as yes and no.  Though he did try to get me to teach him the names for well known realms and historical sites, but having never travelled, I find these too difficult.  I know he is hoping that one of them might give him a clue as to where I'm from, but Zhen Zhen said that Qing Qiu and those that live within its boundaries, rarely travel the realms so its little wonder that I don't know any of the places he's mentioned.

Though the mention of a Music Hall gets my attention.  Zhen Zhen said he had played in a music hall once.  He plays several instruments including the guqin and hulusi, both of which I love to listen to, but it is a flute that I like the most because it is easy to hold and simple to play.  Zhen Zhen said that music is the void between tragedy and ecstasy.  You can either turn your back to the loneliness and embrace the solitude or allow the euphoria to wash over you until you're crying.  Either way, music is a healing balm for the soul no matter what state its in.  Zhen Zhen is very wise like that.

Though Shifu doesnt yet understand when I tell him how proud I am that Zhen Zhen played in the music hall.  Instead today I'm going to teach him foods seeing as this is the book he has chosen to learn from today and that book was selected because of dinner the previous night.

Being a fox, I am very fussy about what I eat.  Not because I don't like certain foods, but there are some that I cannot eat.  Chang Shan cooked chicken for the first time, but seeing as they don't eat meat, he really doesn't know how to flavour it, but Kunlun has an enormous garden filled with all kinds of vegetables and herbs, while the spices they have are purchased from a nearby market.

Only he added peppers and garlic to the chicken which is very dangerous for a fox especially a little bitty one like me.  Because within a few mintues of eating the chicken, I was on the floor and struggling to breathe.  If Shifu hadn't been there, I might have died.  He said it was a serious situation because my body isn't strong enough to cope with what is in effect, a poison to my system.   

But he forced me to drink a big cup of milk because Shifu said it was full of fatty goodness that would soak up the toxins in my body quickly and thankfully it worked because my sore belly felt as if it were on fire.  After that, Shifu let me have an extra long cuddle on his lap as he told me a story about a goat that lost its coat while the rest sat goofy faced watching and listening as the goat searched all over the world for his lost coat only to eventually grow a new one when the winter colds came.

It was a silly story but I like it very much and so does my tongue which has a mind of its own took to lapping all over his face and making them all laugh.  

Now wide awake and ready to start my day even though Shifu rose hours earlier, I make my way out the door that he's left open for me.  He is allowing me a little freedom to wander the mountain, though there are rules I have to abide by.  Im not allowed anywhere near the walls that surround the mountain and nor am I allowed to enter the area where the Disciple chambers are.  Shifu said I can visit with them in the dining hall, but Im not to approach them when they're training because I'll get hurt.

Zhen Zhen says the same thing to me when he and father are training, so I agree, but I do want to see whats so special about the walls.  I mean its just stones stuck together, its not as if its a magical barrier or anything.  And I would have sneaked away, only Shanhu sees me and quickly bundles me up into his arms.

"Breakfast is ready Xiaobai and its your favourite porridge." he tells me with a warm smile.  

Shanhu has large eyes like mine, though they turn down a little at the corners so he kind of looks sad.  Only the sparkle in them that morning seems much brighter than before.  I think Shifu might have found out about what they got up to, because the next day and two days after that, I didn't see him or Cheng Bao.  And when they returned, they were not looking very happy, not even my nips on his ankles made him smile, though he did reach down to pet my fur before quickly lowering his head to his work without a word.