That scent is that cloud leaf and pepper root.
Still sharp even in your scabbard.
You used to brew that after missions said it cut the fatigue
without cutting the soul. Yes I did, hadn't made it in
years, forgot all about it actually till they scent hit me
just now. The memories like that, we think
it's the names, the battles, the losses that define us.
But often it's the small things, a blend of leaves, the warmth of
a familiar cup, the little things that ring through toward
our hearts. Happiness.
Yes, the path back isn't always pain.
Sometimes it just remembering what we loved.
Yeah, I guess sometimes it's just remembering what we loved.
Master. Yeah, Sun's not up yet, but my
thoughts are as loud as ever. Yeah, storms passed, but the but
the damage still sits in the walls.
Funny thing about memory, I think forgetting hurts less, but
the worst pain? This is really when it starts to
come back to you. We do not choose what we bury,
Daniel, only what we're brave enough to uncover.
Well, let's see what's waiting when the town wakes up.
You're listening to Way of the Jaded Fist Swing, a Project Zion
Theatre original. Beneath broken stone, the name
you feared becomes yours, and peace grows from pain.
Danny, Marta, Esmeralda, the sworn siblings of Master Cyan
were broken and are now being pieced back together.
As for Kai Lum, his journey towards self renewal actually
started a while back. Today you'll get to hear his own
spiritual trial, but be warned, Redemption's path is not for the
faint of heart. I'm Raymond Getty, your show
announcer. Thanks for listening and enjoy
the show. Harbour Town is not perfect.
It has weathered storms of sea, of spirit and of ambition.
But its strength lies not in its walls.
It lies in its willingness to stand together when the tide
rises. Esmeralda's actions cannot be
erased, nor should they be. But a soul that bends toward
accountability, that is not a soul beyond redemption.
The sentence is not exile. It is service.
She will not be punished. She will be needed because
darker winds gather beyond these streets.
Captain Marta has warned us. Kai Lung has spoken.
We face enemies that move in memory, in shadow, in the unseen
parts of ourselves. So we must choose fear or
fortitude, division or unity. Today, Harbour Town does not
cast out one of its own. It calls her to stand with us.
And may that choice echo far beyond this square.
Judge Theron has ruled Esmeralda has been sentenced to community
servitude, one full year of service to the people of Harbor
Town service of no monetary benefit to Esmeralda herself.
Meanwhile, back at the Jade Lantern Inn, Danny and Kai Lung
sit in the back of the inn, whisper steel in tow, enjoying a
quiet game of pie Show. We face enemies that move in
memory and shadow in the unseen parts of ourselves, and may that
choice echo far beyond the square.
You know, I always forget how loud silence can be after a
sentence gets passed. Indeed.
That was no sentence. That was a call, the kind most
people spend their lives avoiding.
And Esmeralda won't avoid it, She never has.
Uh huh, Hold on. I'm pretty sure that's an
illegal move in the southern variant.
Southern variant prioritizes rhythm over rigidity.
A river does not follow rules, it flows.
Uh huh. So we're playing River rules
now. You're barely playing at all.
Your form lacks conviction. I've seen drunken villagers
place tiles with more intent. You've got to be kidding me.
Are you still holding a grudge about the cabbage barrel?
Pool Marta entrusted me to your care.
Not as decoration, as legacy. And I carry that legacy now, not
as a student, but as a master at the Fist of Jade and Steel.
Well then play your next tile like 1.
Always adapting your levity veils your strong skill as a
player. Hey, hey, hey Shesh, not so
loud. I may want to get over on
somebody later. Goodness, Grace.
You know, Kai, when Marta and I came back, they said you'd gone,
didn't say where. Oh, trying out one of Little
Jade's new blends, Drayson made cookies.
That's not what I meant. I was.
I was referring to when me and Esmeralda went Bao Guang May
said that you had taken a pilgrimage somewhere, ah?
Yes, Shinbara, a shrine in the Highlands past the Stone Mist
Valley. I see.
So you went there to face it? To see it clearly, the E rouke,
it was no longer just something inside me, it had taken root.
I needed to know if I could live without losing myself.
You took the path of the second forging monk.
I but I didn't forge, I unburied.
Did you fight it? I did not.
I let it speak. I let it wear my voice, walk in
my shape. It offered power without pause,
strength without restraint. And.
I listened, I endured, and then I named it.
It still moves within me, but it no longer dictates the current.
I feel it, but I am not it. Wow.
That's incredible. That's not submission, that's
command. Esmeralda would have a field day
with this sort of epiphany. Balance without fear.
A rare blade indeed. Wow, I can feel myself getting
excited again. So Mesta Kai Lung, Are you ready
to show me this new ability of yours?
Yes, because if you want to understand what's coming, you
need to see what I buried to get here.
In Shenbara, I learned that if you want to kill a demon, you
must first let it tell you its name.
Way of the. Jaded Fist.
They called it Shinbara, the place where even silence has
memory. My rock, my salvation.
The old monks came here not to find peace, but to remember what
they were hiding from. No prayers, no offerings.
Only truth. Erukeo Mesemeo.
That's what it manifested. Yours.
You've come to bury me. Is that it enough?
I came to name you demon. Name me you.
Don't even remember who spoke first, me or you.
Suddenly, all at once, the Iruke flooded Kailang's mind with
memories of his darkest hour, the day Kailang brought the
martial arts world to its knees, beating and incapacitating
nearly every fighter in Harbour Town.
That day. Kailang.
Watch out to the man, I will not give in.
I know who I am. One mistake does not make a man
that was not me, but it felt like you and.
It fit like you. You were free, no code.
No restraint, just power. No, what you offered was hollow,
hollow hunger. I offered.
Fire that didn't ask permission, I offered strength that didn't
need forgiveness. I feel you in my bones.
I I can leave. I'm filled with my voice.
I feel you trying to become me this whole time, demanded an
invitation. Then stop.
Me or say yes. Either way, you know my name.
You are. You're with the Fury.
I am never slow you and I never let you.
You are. You are the nightmare.
You are your nightmare that sounds like me, but you are not
me. I, I am not worth this day.
I, I am not our darkest hour. We are not the same, and I sure
as hell am not you. Demon.
Silence. You foolish vessel.
You are and will continue to be my.
Unless, of course, you know my. Name.
Well, do you know it or? Not it's over.
I knew it. He doesn't even Chagrah fury of
the deep. This cannot be.
How did he know who told him that?
Looms and lingers, the lake that remembers.
Although your evil will endure for a spell more.
I have now captured the fractions of your power.
What you meant for evil, my God has transformed and losing my
holdover. No, you will not have me,
Chagora, so you might as well leave this.
Is an over vessel. We're not done.
Do you hear me? Do you silent?
That may be true, but from now on we walk forward on my own 2
feet. No, I refuse.
I by the rift and by the teaching of mine own Master
Lord, a rift God of the most time, Kagura.
I command you Seal. Seal should hold it.
I pray it does. I got the Oguzaimus spirit of
the rift. Thank you for protecting me.
That was difficult. I did not destroy the E Rouke.
I contained it not in stone, not in chains, but in understanding.
Here's hoping understanding is made of steel.
A wonderful way of the jaded fist.
Just outside Harbour Town, past the southern rise where mist
touches sea and wildflowers bloom without audience, 2
warriors stand alone, not in challenge, but in remembrance.
The field is unmarked by war. No banners, no blood, only dew,
breeze and silence. Precious things in a world that
remembers too much. And on this morning, as the sun
struggles past Cloud and Kai Lung adjusts the wraps on his
hands, Danny Rose breathes in deep.
Peace like this rarely lingers. You know, I always liked it out
here. Smell of pine and salt.
Reminds me of the nights I used to sneak out the training halls,
pretend I was just a man with no past.
In the Iron Mountain sect, we had no trees, only stone and the
wind between cliffs. We trained in silence because
echoes make poor teachers. But I remember when I first
heard of the Verdant Path, they said one of their disciples
moved like water and fought like a question no one could answer.
Yeah, I mean, what about you, Mr. Wipe out an entire sect of
the New Republic's Grand Central Dojo?
I mean, if you ask me that's I mean, that's pretty impressive.
I mean, what? Too soon.
Much too soon, my friend. Much.
But hey, yeah I do remember that match.
You broke my stance five times in the 1st 2 minutes.
I thought you were made of granite, my friend.
I had forgotten that detail. Oh yeah?
Well, my shins haven't forgotten.
That's grace. Why do you think I wear this leg
brace brother? I thought you were made of wind.
Fast, unpredictable and always slipping past my reach.
You were the first to defeat me, but not through force, through
rhythm. Thank you for that.
But the truth is I was scared. Wasn't trying to win.
I was just trying not to get folded into the dirt.
Truth is, you hit like a sermon, one of those loud ones where the
preacher don't even need to shout I.
Think it's time I gave you a demonstration of my new found
power, Rose Niru K and I have become one in a sense it's.
Fine by me, old buddy. I've got just one question for
you. It's not contagious, is it?
Prepare yourself no. Ward drums.
No wager, just two men standing in the morning quiet, where the
field breathes mist and the sky forgets its wig.
One moves like a question, the other like an answer carved in
stone. Danny Rose, his stance loose
like wind, waiting for purpose. Kylong grounded, rooted, his
cheek pressing down like mountain weight.
They do not speak. The opening blows are not blows
at all, but greetings dressed in motion, Tests of rhythm, tests
of memory. Danny circles Kai anchors 1,
adapts, 1 endures. There is no fury, no need to
prove. This is not combat, this is
communion. The field listens.
It knows the difference between war and remembrance.
When Danny strikes, it is not to harm but to recall.
When Kai Lung counters, it is not to dominate, but to steady
the echo of who he used to be. Verdant Path.
Iron Mountain. The wind does not resent the
stone. The stone does not envy the
wind. For a brief and beautiful
moment, they move as one. You ever think maybe you were
built too sturdy, Brother Kai? It feels like punching a Cliff
side and expecting it to move. Better than chasing a breeze I
can't catch. You fight like memory, always
slipping just out of reach. Is that your way of saying I'm
annoying? It's my way of saying you're
still the only one who's ever made me take a second stance.
Coming from you, that's something I've seen how you
train. Half those poses look like they
were carved into you by Thunder. And what about yours?
Rose like water wearing down stone.
Shucks. Slow, patient, precise.
Nah, mine's just what happens when a man's too tired to fight
the same way twice. I needed this, the motion, the
peace, the reminder that I am not what once held me.
You're more than that, Kai Lung. Always have been.
I knew it the first time we fought.
I just didn't have the words back then.
Now you do. Yep.
Now I do. I'm grateful.
Sure you are, big fella. Now come on back to the Jade
Lantern, huh? It's time for a drink.
I suppose I will. In the late hush of afternoon,
the Jade Lantern's kitchen becomes something sacred, not
for the tea, nor the perfect rice, nor the way Dre slices
Daikon like a surgeon, but because Danny is back, and May
is not quite ready for him to be anywhere else.
You whistle like someone trying to convince the house ghosts
they're welcome. Tough crowd.
Nah, just trying to keep my hands company.
Cooking's easier when you give the air a little tune.
Bonus credit for being a pleasant tune, uncle.
Oh, brutal. I definitely deserve that,
probably. I'm so glad to be back home
where everyone loves me, especially my niece whom I love
dearly. Love you too, Uncle Danny, but
your whistling still sounds like retirement.
Music. Hey now, these bones paid full
price for their piece, might as well enjoy it now.
Help out and chop those carrots. I'm tied up with this fickled
mango fruit. I want to try and have the mise
en Plas done for family dinner tonight.
All right. All right, all right.
I did something to upset you, didn't I?
No, I mean, yes. Well, a little.
No, a little. Yes, a little.
It wasn't my uncle's fault I'm so flustered right now.
Uncle. It's all right to be flustered,
little one, and nothing wrong with stumbling over your words.
The truth has weight to it. Heavy things rarely come out
smooth. I hate Esmeralda, I hate her, I
hate what she meant to me when you were gone.
Oh goodness. Mailing.
And I hate what she means now, invading our lives like a
shinobi. I'm sorry.
You're not staying, are you? What makes you say that?
The way you polished your staff yesterday, the way you keep
glancing at the window like it's calling your name.
Oh may link. Only truth, uncle, no strafing
this please. I must know if I should prepare
for my heart to break again. By the rift May I had no idea
how much I hurt you little one. I'm so sorry.
You always did read me too well. That's what family's for, right?
And besides, I just got you back, Uncle.
I don't know if I don't know if my heart can take you leaving
again. Come now, I love you more than
life itself. It's going to take a lot more
than creepy demon worshipping cult freaks to keep me from
loving you. I know, Uncle, I know, but what
about? Listen, little 11 motion one
moment. That's how blades and people
stay sharp. I'm sorry, Uncle I, I must sound
incredibly selfish. I just, I don't want to go back
to waking up and not knowing where you are.
Not again. I never wanted to leave in the
1st place back then I thought I was protecting you by vanishing
I. Was so scared uncle.
But all I did was hand you an empty space and call it safety
go. Daddy.
I am so sorry mate. I never should have left so
abruptly the way I did. How could I be so callous toward
the feelings of my own flesh and blood?
Unforgivable. And mean.
Yes indeed, how very mean of me. I'm so sorry.
Mailing. I blamed Esmeralda, told myself
it was easier to be mad at her. At least she was in the room to
blame. Low and slow on that please
heard. And yeah, I can see where you're
coming from. I have my own reservations about
Esmeralda. You weren't wrong, but not
entirely right either. I know that now.
It's not her I hated. It was the silence.
Few letters, fewer words. Just silence.
My uncle becomes a myth folks in a harbour town whisper about.
Yeah, I became a ghost in my own life.
You remind me of your mother when you talk like that.
Uh huh, she would have decked you for going off without saying
goodbye. Come now, I said goodbye.
I just did it poorly. Really, Uncle?
She always did have the meanest right hook in the family.
So are you going to leave again? Not without saying goodbye.
Not without promising I'll find my way back again.
I don't need promises uncle, just a little more time.
Fair enough, then time you shall have.
The Jade Lantern doesn't run on magic.
It runs on memories stitched together with moments like this,
in kitchens, over tea, between breaths not yet broken by
goodbye. Some wounds do not close, they
simply grow quiet until a name, a scent, or a broken oath wakes
them again. You've been listening to Way of
the Jaded Fist, written and produced by Desmond Childs.
The full fury of uncovered, unaddressed and uninvited sorrow
has now washed over our heroes. The cascading effects of a
selfish wish, a hero's journey and even the thought of pushing
through until things get better have all led to things falling
apart. But as we've said before,
sometimes things have to fall apart to be placed back
together. I'm Raymond Getty, your show
announcer. Today's episode stars Desmond
Childs as Danny Rose, Dominique Cherry as May Carter, the
Mountain King as Kai Lung, Leah Wade as Captain Marta, Sir
Donald McLeod as Whisper Steel, and Mack Bolan guest stars as
the E rou K. Thank you all so much for
listening. Next time, the emotional Things
We Bury wraps up with more reckoning and accountability.
See you all next time. Take care.
Shattered gold and the stories left untold.
The night home soft. A lover's plane drifting far
like waves on the sea. Oh, Hoshi no Namita, shining
bright, cutting through the endless night.
Dreams collide where shadows wind.
Will we ever meet again? Now the sakura falls like rain,
staining the earth with its fleeting pain.
But the quiet always seems stars never truly leave our dreams.
Project Zion Theater. Disclaimer A mix of real and AI
assisted voices were used in this series, all with paid
permission. Remote recordings were submitted
by participating actors. No voice cloning occurred
without consent.