Snake (14 page)

“Ice?” Seh said. “That's Cantonese.”

“Yes, it is,” Sanfu said.

“Then we'll add Bing's name to the list right after Ying's!” Fu said. He slammed his fist into his palm.

Sanfu shook his head. “You are no match for Bing. If you feel you must take action, Fu, focus on Ying. He is too powerful to attack head-on, so you'll have to chip away at him slowly. Start by undoing the evil things he's done.

“I vowed long ago to no longer be part of anyone else's business,” Sanfu continued, “but it appears as though I must break that vow. I will help you. We will start with patching up Malao, then we'll do what we can to help the villagers before leaving for Kaifeng and your meeting with Mong. Together, we won't accomplish much, but if you can convince Mong to help us, we might just have a chance.”

T
wo days after he'd captured the stronghold, Ying sat alone at the head of the huge table in the center of the bandits’ banquet hall, drafting a report he would submit to the Emperor. Things were going better than he had expected.

Ying had gone into the battle with roughly one hundred soldiers against an estimated one hundred bandits. The bandit body count was seventy. The soldiers, fifty. His men were getting better with the
qiangs.
Next time, he would have his men hunt their enemy down instead of letting them escape.

Ying was about to dip his brush into the bottle of black ink for the finishing touches on his report when someone knocked on the front door. He scowled and set the brush aside. “Enter.”

Tonglong walked through the door with one hand behind his back. “Greetings, Major Ying. I have something of great significance for you.”

Ying's carved brow rose. “Three young heads with short black hair?”

“No, sir,” Tonglong said. “The boys are headed to Kaifeng.”

Ying scowled. “All three of them?”

“As far as I know, sir, yes. The small one was unconscious when I last saw him, but he was still alive. The young warrior monks intend to rendezvous with Mong in a month. Assuming Mong is still alive.”

“Mong's body is not among the dead,” Ying said. “I checked myself.” He looked at Tonglong's arm. “What is behind your back?”

Tonglong held out a sheet of fine parchment, rolled up. The paper was of even higher quality than the material Ying was using for his report. Ying noticed immediately that the document carried the Emperor's seal.

“For you,” Tonglong said. He bowed.

Ying snatched it out of Tonglong's hand. “Where did you get this?”

“I happened upon the Emperor in the forest and—”

“Again?” Ying interrupted. “You also ‘happened upon’ the Emperor when I sent you to deliver the Cangzhen Grandmaster's head.”

“I know,” Tonglong replied, his narrow eyes fixed on Ying's. “I could hardly believe it myself.”

Ying could not read Tonglong's expression. “What is this?”

“I don't know, sir,” Tonglong said, his eyes still glued to Ying's. “However, if I were to guess, I would say the Emperor wishes to congratulate you on all your recent accomplishments. He already knows about Cangzhen, and I told him about everything that happened here. He seemed most interested in hearing about the events in your words.”

Ying fought back a grin and broke the seal on the rolled-up document with one of his long fingernails. It was indeed an invitation. The Emperor wanted to see him in twenty-one days. Something big was being planned. The Emperor rarely invited anyone to his summer palace—Ying had never been there before.

“It looks like I will be busy,” Ying said. “You will be, too. Make arrangements for Commander Woo to take a group to Kaifeng to search for the boys. You will stay here and devise a defense strategy for retaining the stronghold in case the bandits return. Train the remaining men in the strategies you feel would be most helpful.”

“I have no intention of letting anyone take this fortress,” Tonglong said in a matter-of-fact tone. “And I already know how I will lead the men.”

“It sounds like you have given this some thought,” Ying said as he picked up his brush.

“You have no idea, sir.”

“Then get out of my sight and show me what you are made of!” Ying snapped.

“I intend to,” Tonglong said with a bow. As he turned and headed for the door, a thin smirk played upon his lips. “I fully intend to.”

F
or three weeks, Seh and Fu put their new construction skills to good use. Seh helped shape and install replacement rafters for numerous roofs while Fu single-handedly cut, stripped, and delivered support timbers to nearly every work site.

When they weren't working, Seh split his time between solitary meditation sessions and trying to cheer up Malao. Malao had regained consciousness after one day in Sanfu's care and he was making a speedy recovery, but he was sad. Sanfu had confirmed that the Monkey King was Malao's father, and Malao now knew that the Monkey King was missing thanks to someone called Bing—or “ice.” Malao barely spoke with anyone.

Today, however, things were beginning to turn
around. Malao had gone into the forest early in the morning and found the white monkey. This had made a noticeable difference in Malao's mood. By early afternoon, he was up on the roof of Ma's mother's house with Fu, giggling as he speculated about the size of the hole that would be left in the front yard if Fu happened to slip.

A few houses away Seh was working with Sanfu. Sanfu was on the ground positioning a new support post while Seh was dangling from a rafter, joining two replacement beams. They were discussing Kaifeng.

“So, we'll leave tomorrow?” Seh asked.

“Yes,” Sanfu replied. “First thing in the morning. Malao and I are still moving slowly, so it will take us extra time to get to the section of the road where inns begin to appear. I'd rather not sleep on the side of the road. Too many thieves and other questionable characters lurking about.”

“I heard it will take us six or seven days to walk there,” Seh said, pulling a large wooden mallet out of his sash.

“That's right,” Sanfu said. “Probably seven. That would put us in the city on the fifth day of the fifth moon—day one of Kaifeng's Dragon Boat Festival.”

“I'm looking forward to it,” Seh said. “I've never been to a big city.” He began to pound a long peg, joining the beams to the post that Sanfu was holding.

Sanfu raised his voice. “It certainly is an experience. You've never seen so many people in your life. It's good that you'll have Mong to show you around. He's very familiar with the city.”

Seh nodded. “I want to see him again.” He paused his pounding mid-swing. He'd had something on his mind for a couple of weeks. “Do you think Mong will bring AnGangseh?”

Sanfu scratched his scraggly beard and looked up at Seh. “I don't know. She is rather … independent.”

“I noticed that.”

Sanfu looked surprised. “So you've met?”

“Yes,” Seh said, starting to work again. “Once. She introduced herself at the stronghold.”

“That's good,” Sanfu said. “Very good.”

Seh thought Sanfu sounded sincere. He decided to ask a more personal question. He stopped pounding again. “What do you think of AnGangseh?”

Sanfu's body stiffened and he looked at the ground. “Well, I… haven't spent enough time around her to form an opinion. Why do you ask?”

“I don't know,” Seh said. “I guess I haven't formed an opinion of her, either, but I entrusted her with two of the dragon scrolls from Cangzhen.”

Sanfu stared up at Seh. “You did
what?”

“I met her just before Ying attacked,” Seh said. “She told me to give the scrolls to her for safekeeping, and it sounded like a good idea at the time. Do you think I made a mistake?”

Sanfu shook his head. “I don't know. It seems strange that she would want them. Maybe she was just trying to help. Weren't there four dragon scrolls?”

“Yes,” Seh replied. “I still have one scroll. Ying has the other.”

“Well, there's not much we can do about it now,”
Sanfu said. “Can I see the one you have? I've seen all the Cangzhen tiger scrolls but never a scroll from another animal style.”

“Sure,” Seh said. He set the mallet down and reached inside his robe. He pulled out the scroll, careful to keep the beauty snake concealed under his sleeve. Seh dropped the scroll down to Sanfu.

Sanfu opened it. He stared at the
chi
meridian sketch on one side and the pressure point sketch on the other. “This is basic material that all Cangzhen monks learn. Are you sure it's a dragon scroll?”

“I think so,” Seh said. “It has dragon characters in several places, and it was among the ones Ying stole.”

“I suppose,” Sanfu said.

Seh glanced down at the sketches as Sanfu lifted the scroll up to the bright sunlight. “I—” Seh's voice caught in his throat.

“What is it?” Sanfu asked.

Seh stared at the pressure point sketch on the back of the scroll. As Sanfu held the scroll up to the sunlight, the
chi
meridian sketch on the front showed through and the two sketches merged together. The
chi
meridians became roads or rivers, and the pressure points lined up along them like landmarks.

“I don't believe it,” Seh said. “It's a map! See how it looks when you hold it up to the sun?”

“Amazing,” Sanfu said, tilting his head to one side. “It is indeed a map. Excellent observation.”

“Do you recognize anything?” Seh asked.

Sanfu shook his head. “I've crisscrossed this entire region, and I'm certain none of these places are
here. Perhaps it's Canton. Grandmaster was from Canton, and he's the one who brought the scrolls to Cangzhen.”

“AnGangseh is from Canton,” Seh said. “Maybe she'll know.”

“It's possible,” Sanfu said. “Maybe that's why she wanted them. Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll be in Kaifeng. Now let's hurry and finish up what we can here as soon as possible so that we can get a good night's rest. I want to leave before dawn tomorrow.”

Sanfu wasn't kidding about leaving before daybreak. Seh felt bad that Malao had to find the white monkey in the dark to say goodbye. As Sanfu pointed out, they would be traveling on a road frequented by humans, so it was likely Malao wouldn't see his friend for a while.

When Malao had finished his farewell, he followed Seh to the bun vendor's shop to meet Fu and Sanfu. Sanfu gave them each a tattered gray peasant's robe to change into to help them blend in, and the bun vendor loaded up a sack with enough buns for several breakfasts.

“We'll skip lunch while we're traveling,” Sanfu explained as he threw the sack over his shoulder, “and eat like the Emperor at supper time.”

By the time they thanked the bun vendor and stepped outside, everyone that remained in the village had gathered in the square to see them off. Goodbyes were exchanged, and before the sun had risen, they were on the road to Kaifeng. It was nothing more than
a well-worn trail at this point, but Sanfu assured them it would widen twentyfold by the time they reached the gates of the region's capital.

“We should break into two groups,” Sanfu said as the sun came up. “Malao, since you and I are both still hobbling about, I suggest you travel with me today.” He tossed a small pouch to Fu. “Fu, you and Seh go on ahead. The pouch contains enough coins to get us all a nice meal and lodging for the night. Sometime around sunset, pick a place for us to stay. Feel free to order up some food while you wait for Malao and me.”

“I think I can manage that,” Fu said with a smile.

Sanfu looked at Seh. “There are some unscrupulous types all along this road, and the innkeepers are no exception. Be careful. If any place seems the least bit suspicious, leave and find another one. It is much better to be safe than sorry—especially out here.”

“I understand,” Seh said.

Fu didn't seem to be paying the least bit of attention. He licked his lips as if in a dream. “Do you think the inns will serve chicken?”

“For a price, they'll serve you just about anything,” Sanfu said.

“What are we waiting for?” Fu said. “Come on, Seh!” He clapped his hands once and raced up the road, reciting a menu fit for the Emperor. “Savory smoked chicken livers, pheasant feet, lark's tongue—”