The following morning as Po began to stir, the gong rang out through the valley. The Five quickly woke up and began to head off to eat breakfast and train while Po got out of bed with a yawn and stumbled out of his room. The first private conversation he was having was with Madame Zhou, and while she was a pretty nice lady, they had also had some negative interactions in the past. (Anyone who worked with a food thief was high up on Po's butt-kicking list). The master wasn't sure where to look for her, so he decided to head outside and wait a moment to see what would happen. None of the girls had told him where they'd be having their mini-dates, so Po was going to have to guess where exactly he'd be going with each date. 

You know, we really should have coordinated this better, he thought to himself as he waited outside the barracks. 

Not even a second later, he was startled by the sound of a "Good morning!" directly behind him. Po jumped in the air and turned to see Madame Zhou standing behind him with an amused smirk on her face. 

"You're out of bed," she remarked. "Goodie gumdrops. I was worried I'd have to wake you up. I got everything set up in front of the main stairs if you're ready to head out." 

"Yep, sure thing," Po said. 

He followed the gazelle across the grounds and to the main gates where a small platter of fruit was laid out for consumption. She walked over to the set-up and sat down with a smile. "Dig in" she invited. 

Po looked around at the location, glanced over at the direction of the training hall, and then looked back at her. "The Furious Five will come through here in a little bit to train though," he said. "Maybe we should move everything over?" 

"Oh, don't worry about it," Madame Zhou assured him with a non-chalant wave of her hand. "I don't mind the company, really." 

Po opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn't really think of how to respond except to just sit down and enjoy the fruit platter in front of him. There were some apples, cherries, bananas, and blueberries. As the two began to munch, Madame Zhou took the initiative to start asking Po a ton of questions. 

"What kind of food is your favorite?" she asked. "You seem to like so many I decided I'll just start off with a fruit platter and see from there." 

"Well, I kinda' have a soft spot for dumplings," Po admitted. "But fruit-wise, apples are always a go-to for me." 

"Personally, I prefer blueberries," Madame Zhou admitted, taking a few from the plate. "Or imported raspberries. But of course I can easily afford them." 

"From high prices on your goods?" Po asked with a stern knowing expression. 

"Business is business," Madame Zhou said simply. She smiled and added, "Doesn't mean it's all that bad though. I get some of the rarest food from all the way across the seas. Coconut cake is paws down the best thing I've ever eaten." 

Po perked up when he heard the word "cake'. "What's in it?" he asked. 

"Oh, all the things that you put into cake, but then you add some vanilla, and the sweetened milk and dried shavings from some ripe coconuts. I brought a few with me, so maybe I can make later on while I'm here. Plus a few other things, but that's a surprise." 

"Well don't tease me. It's making my mouth water!"

Madame Zhou smirked and popped some more berries into her mouth. "So how long have you been away from the valley?" she asked. 

"I left the Jade Palace three years ago," Po answered, grabbing an apple. "It was a little unexpected, but it's been such a fun opportunity. I get to train all these adorable kids in kung fu and watch them go from tripping over training dummies to doing backflips!"

"Well, I guess you'd be pretty perfect for teaching them to get around that," Madame Zhou joked, alluding to some of the conversation she had hear yesterday. 

Po turned red and chuckled nervously. "Well...it was my first time too...." he offered. 

"How did you even get the chance to move? Did you get bored of getting chewed out by Shifu?"

"Hehehe....that's funny, but no. Actually, I was surprised I was even allowed to go. Normally students aren't allowed to leave unless they've mastered the highest mastery of kung fu....."

Master Shifu watched as the masters finished tidying up the Sacred Hall of Warriors. Po kept himself to the other side of the room to avoid knocking the Urn of Whispering Warriors...again. 

"Does Master Snigdei normally launch surprise last-minute visits?" Mantis asked from the ceiling. 

"The Tsung Village masters are very protective over their inhabitants," Shifu explained. "So they try to avoid calling attention to themselves whenever they leave." 

"I guess that makes sense," Po said, lighting a few candles by some of the artifacts. "Don't want to let any bandits have a raiding party while everyone's out." 

"I'm just glad Zeng caught him on the way back from delivering that message I sent out. I'm personally not a huge fan of surprises and I wouldn't want to make a bad impression." 

The masters quickly finished tidying up the Sacred Hall of Warriors before heading down the stairs to greet the incoming master. As they came halfway down the stairs, the main gates opened up and Zeng presented a very elderly snail who was coughed and wheezed a bit from the climb.

"Master Snigdei of the Tsung Valley!" he said to the Jade Palace masters before leaving the old snail to greet Shifu. 

"I apologize for the sudden intrusion, Grandmaster Shifu," Master Snigdei said. "But I must leave the village with the impression all are still present." 

Po nearly gawked at the ancient master but did his best to refrain himself and be presentable to such a legendary warrior. 

"I understand completely," Master Shifu assured him. He then gestured to the Furious Five and Po before adding, "These are my students. This is Master Po, Master Tigress, Master Mantis, Master Crane, Master Viper, and Master Monkey." 

Everyone bowed to Master Snigdei and he bowed back. He wheezed a little more before clearing his throat to keep talking. "I have heard of your skills and missions," he admitted. "Especially of the Battle of Suvera Cliffs. What an exhilarating story! I was very impressed by the accounts of your skills and teamwork." 

"Really?!" Po squeaked in excitement. 

Shifu cast him a subtle look to get him to calm down. He then turned to Master Snigdei and asked, "Would you like some water?"

"Oh, yes please," the master said gratefully. He wheezed again and added, "I hope you don't think me impertinent if I asked one of your students to carry me to some shade. Trying to make my way up those stairs is a bit much for my poor body." 

"I can carry you into the Hall of Warriors," Monkey offered. 

"Oh, that'd be perfect. Just let me climb onto the back of your hand and we can be off. Don't mind the cold slime. It's just a little climbing aid." 

Monkey put his hand down so that Master Snigdei could climb aboard. He then proceeded to take him up the remaining Thousand Steps and into the Sacred Hall of Warriors. Po then quickly offered to grab the master some water and bolted off to the kitchen before anyone could attempt to calm him down. When the Dragon Warrior was out of sight, the remaining masters headed upstairs where Master Snigdei was cooling off in the temple's shade. 

"What a nice place this is," he admired, looking about at the various artifacts and even the dragon sculpture above the moon pool. "Master Oogway took great care when initially building it. I'm so glad you've all taken such good care of everything. Not even a scratch." 

"Well, we do try to keep infiltrating bandits and power-seekers out of the Jade Palace," Shifu agreed, a little flattered. 

Master Snigdei chuckled and looked at him. "I wasn't implying there's never been damaged," he corrected. "But you've restored any trauma to it's rightful glory. Some say that just adds to the charm of the place, and while I could agree, it would be a shame if any of these magnificent carvings had a crack in them. You really want to show this temple off at it's absolute best. And I'm impressed, I must say."  

The Furious Five wanted to ask him about his arrival, but the sound of Po wheezing soon caught their attention. Master Snigdei laughed and told the group he was glad he was not the only one who had trouble with the stairs. Not even a minute later, Po came barreling through the door with the cup of water he had offered to fetch. 

"I'm back I got it here's the water-ahhhhhhh!!!" Po yelled as he stumbled through the doors and tripped over the air. The cup sailed onto the marble floor and shattered with a loud CRASH, much to Po and the Five's embarrassment and Shifu's irritation. 

"Po!" he snapped. "You need to be more careful!" 

Po wheezed heavily, his face flushed bright red. "Sorry, master," he apologized. "I just...he's...I didn't want to.....I'll be more careful next time." 

Master Snigdei chuckled. "As I have often heard and find to be true....when life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue," said he. He then asked to be placed down at the far end of the spilled water puddle to avoid getting cut with the glass shards. The master then slid off of Monkey's hand and proceeded to lap up some of the water that was on the floor. He let out a relieved sigh before then jumping into the puddle and sliding about carefree on the floor with a happy smile.

"That feels nice," he admitted. 

"Won't your slime get diluted, Master Snigdei?" Tigress asked from the sidelines.

"No, no, it'll be quite fine my dear. But I appreciate the thoughtfulness."

The ancient master hung out in the water puddle for a moment or so, asking everyone how their day had been going and how it was protecting the Valley of Peace. He had guessed (correctly) that the mountain on which the valley was built around offered some backside protection. However, it also served as a great disadvantage if a serious raid was going on as there was really only one way out. However, he was glad to know that the masters had good evacuation plans in order. He then took an interest in knowing how all of Shifu's students adjusted to training at the Jade Palace, how their first day went, who they made friends with. He seemed especially interested in Tigress' story as he had met Tai Lung once before when visiting Oogway and the man didn't seem anything like the tales that he heard so many years later. 

"He was actually quite mature and respectful, even with some initial misgivings," Master Snigdei recalled. "He took one look at me and gave me this perfectly hilarious blank stare of which I had never seen before. He actually spent the first five minutes asking me how I performed kung fu since I moved so slow. I reminded him that he's more than sextuple my size and then threatened him with a kung fu match after I said that my slime can help me move faster than a rickshaw in mid-air. He was quick to decline. Though perhaps he was a little afraid of losing to a snail." 

"Sounds like Tai Lung," Tigress grumbled. 

"Well, I'm glad things have turned out alright for you," he told her sympathetically. "I can't imagine the strain that would have been on you around that time." 

The conversation between everyone continued on until Master Snigdei turned his attention to Po and how he was picked to be Dragon Warrior. 

"So, I heard this great warrior found his way to Oogway with a rocket chair," he laughed. "Definitely an unusual entrance, but I guess if you need to make  a good first impression, might as well go out with a bang." 

"Hey, how did you know it was a chair with fireworks strapped to it?" Po asked in surprise. "Most people just say I came in a ball of fire."

"Well, I heard that version too. But you're not a phoenix nor a dragon, so I figured the rocket chair was the more plausible story." 

Po laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess that would make more sense," he admitted. 

After some more discussion, Master Snigdei told everyone that he wanted to talk to Master Shifu about the reports in the Tsung Valley, his primary reason for travelling so far. The masters all bowed and left him and Master Shifu to talk things out while they went and prepared lunch. (Master Snigdei warned them to not salt his food as he was deathly allergic to it). Po then prepared him a specialized rice ball recipe before making food for the rest of his team and his master. 

"He sounds like a fun master," Madame Zhou commented. 

"He was," Po said sadly. "He passed away within the first year of my arrival at the village." 

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."  Some silence. "What were the reports about?"

"The condition of the Tsung village and of the masters who were there. I didn't know anything about them at first. Master Snigdei never said anything worrisome. He would just take happy strolls around the Jade Palace grounds and talk to us and watch our kung fu on occasion. He actually thought it was funny whenever Shifu reprimanded us. Not sure why. He kind of had a weird sense of humor." 

"So how'd you get picked to go to the Tsung Valley?" 

"Actually, I chose to go on my own. I had to grab something from the basement of the Jade Palace when I overheard Shifu and Master Snigdei talking about what was going on over there....." 

Po held his breath and quickly shut the door to the main temple floor as he heard footsteps coming towards the front door. The stairway to the basement wasn't dark, but the stairway was still cramped and made him a bit claustrophobic. He heard the muffled voices of Master Snigdei and Master Shifu as they walked towards the Moon Pool. 

"I think Master Ox and Croc have their hands full with protecting Gongmen City," Shifu was saying. "And the Shaolin Temple doesn't have any students graduated to full-teaching masters yet."

"That's been the difficulty, I'm afraid," Master Snigdei said sadly. "I don't mind training less-advanced masters to take over duties in the Tsung Village, but most temples aren't willing to send out their prize students into the unknown. The only person I've managed to recruit is a young lady named Rai. She's coming all the way from the Orion Mountain Pass, so it'll be a month before she arrives."

A little silence fell over the temple as Shifu and Snigdei sat down by the Moon Pool. Po desperately wanted to move and not get caught eavesdropping, but he couldn't really get out without Shifu noticing. Also, he was kind of intrigued by the conversation. 

Master Snigdei sighed. "Masters are so hard to come by, even when there are plethora in a certain area," he recounted. "You need many paws to protect many people , and willing masters, much less experienced ones, are hard to find." 

"I'd be more than willing to offer you mine," Shifu told him. "But I also know that none of them would want to leave. Tigress left once to train somewhere else, but she came back within a week because she hated it there. Viper and Mantis want to have a family, Crane's not too into kids, Monkey isn't really a traveler, and Po would have to sacrifice his responsibility to take over teaching." 

Po blinked in surprise after hearing those words. Wait, he thought. Teaching? He reflected over the conversation for another moment before thinking, Wait a moment!!!! Is he...looking for someone to teach children's kung fu?! What's so bad about that?! That sounds awesome!!!!

"I wouldn't dream of asking the Dragon Warrior to give up his title," Master Snigdei told him. "Or forcing any of your students to move where they don't want to. They all seem perfectly happy here protecting the valley and functioning as a close-knit team."  He sighed. "I just worry about what will happen once I pass. I've lived a good 1,423 years and most of that was learning kung fu alongside other fellow masters and then passing that knowledge onto others. But I need fresh blood to teach those youngins. I can't keep up with them anymore, as much as it pains me to admit it. Children have so much energy and so much potential. But a bit too much over me I fear. And when I pass, who will continue their training? Rai can't do it alone and every other master I meet doesn't want to deal with the raw and playful energy of a child. It's too immature for them, as I'm often told." 

"Seriously?!" Po exclaimed from his hiding spot, only to quickly shut his mouth when he realized he had said that out loud.

As was to be expected, the conversation between Shifu and Snigdei stopped immediately at the sound of an unexpected third party. 

"Po, what are you doing over there?!" Shifu called out angrily. 

Po gulped in terror and meekly stepped out from his hiding spot. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, honest!" he protested. "I just...I had to grab this for the Presentation of Legends, like you asked us to, and then you guys came in and started talking and I didn't want to interrupt your conversation....." 

He scuffed the floor with his foot before repeating, "Sorry, master." 

Shifu sighed. "That's fine, Po," he assured him. "Just don't let it happen again." 

Po bowed and went to leave the Sacred Hall of Warriors and set up the mystical artifact he held in his paws, but he quickly spun around to give Master Snigdei a sympathetic look.

"You have children's kung fu classes where your from?" he asked. 

"Indeed," Master Snigdei confirmed. "There are many children wanting to learn the ways of kung fu, but not a lot of teachers left to teach them. And I'm afraid most do not have the patience or perspective able to conduct lessons that would improve a child's maturity and form while also maintaining their childhood enthusiasm." 

"Well that's no fair. Who doesn't love kids?! They're so much fun!" 

"I'm afraid many do not share your good opinion on that subject, Dragon Warrior." 

Po sighed and turned to leave again, but then had a thought and turned back around. "What if I helped out?" he asked. "If you need as much help as possible-"

"Po, that is absolutely out of the question," Shifu interrupted. "You are the Dragon Warrior. You were chosen to not only learn the highest mastery of kung fu, but also to protect the whole of China during times of distress. You are needed whenever an issue arises, and teaching these children will not be like the mini-classes set up here to encourage excellence of self. These will be full-on kung fu classes with very young children. And in order to give all that time and energy to them, you'd have to sacrifice your position as Dragon Warrior. Which is not something I think you'll want to do." 

Po stopped, looking a little horrified, but sighed and cast his eyes off to the side thinking over the whole of what Shifu had just said. 

"Po, please take care of the legendary artifacts before the Imperial Counsel arrives, please," Shifu said. 

Po blinked but then regained his focus and bowed. "Yes, master," he said. 

"I'll go and pack my things for tomorrow's journey," Master Snigdei told Shifu, walking back to the spare room. 

Po went down the stairs to set up for the new arriving company along with his friends. He tried to continue on with the day as normal, but the idea of children being denied kung fu because of their age and lack of experience disturbed him a great deal. He couldn't grasp the idea that no one wanted to help these little ones grow up into high-ranking masters who could easily kick his but and any invaders. He didn't know how many masters were left in the Tsung Village, but it really sounded like they needed help. The day wore on and Po soon made lunch for everyone, chatted with everyone, and presented the legendary artifacts with everyone. Right before dinner however, with a determined look on his face, he stormed back into the Sacred Hall of Warriors and told Master Shifu and Master Snigdei that he wanted to help out. 

"Po, we've already discussed this," Shifu told him sternly.

"Yeah, and I've been thinking about it," Po answered back just as seriously. "Look, I don't know much about teaching, much less teaching kids, but I want to help them reach their full potential. I want to turn a bunch of wide-eyed dreamers into awesome kung fu warriors! I want to help!"

"If you choose to help, you'll have to abandon your course as a Dragon Warrior Master. And we all know how much that means to you."

"It does!" Po admitted. "Being Dragon Warrior is one of the greatest things ever! But this is more important to me! I can still kick butt even without being the Almighty Dragon Warrior. I can still be a kung fu warrior even without the fancy title or attention or dragon scroll hanging out by my bedside." 

Seeing the look on Shifu's face, Po sternly added, "You told me earlier that being Dragon Warrior means protecting all of China whenever they need me. Well, there's a village with few kung fu masters to protect it, and that seems like a pretty big deal. And if sacrificing my title will help protect the Tsung Village in the long run, then that's going to be my final priority as Dragon Warrior!" 

No one said anything for a moment. Master Snigdei looked very touched and had a smile on his face that seemed to reach to the top of his antennae. Shifu looked at Po in surprise for a few moments. But slowly he began to smile too, though more sadly. "Po," he said. "I think of all the incredible things you've done as Dragon Warrior, this is by far the noblest and humblest I've ever seen." 

"That's one crazy story," Madame Zhou admitted when Po finally finished telling the tale. "This job must be really important to you."

"It is," Po told her. "Master Snigdei was one of the last surviving masters there, so getting new kung fu masters to train students was pretty urgent. And it is kind of hard sometimes, but I mean they're kids. Kids are always a handful."

"So would your future wife need to know kung fu?" Madame Zhou asked with a smirk. "To give an extra boost in trainers?"

"That would be cool," Po admitted. "But not necessary. Rai's fiance doesn't know kung fu, but he's definitely a nice guy who likes to watch everyone and offer a little help every once in a while." 

"Well that's a very sweet thing to do." 

"It is, and I appreciated him doing it. Speaking of which, where did you learn to use whips in combat? You're pretty effective at-"

A few small dings went out next to the two and they looked over at the mini pendulum swinging around and knocking into the metal frame. Time was up. 

"Has it really been an hour already?!" Po exclaimed in surprise. 

"You did talk for nearly a half hour about Master Snigdei's kung fu history between your tale of how you went to the valley," Madame Zhou reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. Guess I should probably fix that for my next meeting." 

Madame Zhou chuckled. "Well, I wish you well on that," she said. "I'd better get this fruit bwol cleaned up." 

She then proceeded to walk away with a cheerful wave while Po picked up the timer and began to walk back to the barracks. He was surprised the Furious Five hadn't interrupted him as they always came that way, but perhaps they had seen him talking to Madame Zhou and didn't want to interrupt the conversation. He had to wait a half-hour before talking to Master Leopard, so he simply went back to his room and sat on his bed and thought over the conversation he just had. 

Wait a second, he thought after several long minutes of sitting, reflecting, and laying down and yawning. I don't think I asked Madame Zhou any questions aside from the whole 'How do you make Coconut cake?'. Actually, that sounded really good. Hmm...okay, mental note for talk two, ask Master Leopard questions too. Just maybe not about her husband. That might be a sore spot. What do you even ask a former member of the Furious Five? Okay, I am so asking her questions about Shifu. And someone was totally the jokester on the team like Monkey. Probably not Shifu, but it never hurts to ask. And what was Oogway like? And what is her favorite color? And how many kids does she have? I think she says she has kids. <yawn> How old are they? How far away does she live? Is it true that Master Shifu.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........................