Tiger - Jeff Stone [49]
“What was THAT all about?” Fu asked Malao, bewildered.
Malao casually leaned his small head back and pinched the bridge of his nose to slow the flow of blood out of his nostrils. “What was what?”
“The white monkey!” Fu said. “All the monkeys!”
“It's a long story,” Malao replied, shrugging his shoulders. “A really long story.”
Fu growled. He took a step toward Malao, then stopped suddenly and looked suspiciously up into the trees behind Malao. Malao giggled.
“Don't be a scaredy-cat,” Malao said. “You can approach me.”
“I'm not afraid,” Fu snapped. “I'm just… confused. Did you command those monkeys to attack?”
“What did it look like?” Malao asked, flashing a devilish grin.
“I'm not in the mood for riddles,” Fu said. “If you're not going to answer my questions, just say so.”
Malao pouted. “Come on, Pussycat. Humor me. I save your life, and this is how you treat me?”
“You know how much I hate your games, Malao. I appreciate your saving me and all, but I'm really not in the mood. I don't want to get angry at you.”
“You appreciate me?” Malao said, grinning wide. He put his hand on his heart. “Really? Brother Fu, I'm touched!”
Fu growled again. “Don't push me, Monkey Brains.”
“That's the Fu I know!” Malao exclaimed. “Welcome back!”
Fu closed his eyes and ground his teeth. “The Fu you know will never be back. I left him at Cangzhen.”
“Whoa, what's with all the drama?” Malao said. “Those villagers must have really worked you over.”
Fu opened his eyes and cocked his head to one side. “How do you know about the villagers?”
“A little bird told me.” Malao smiled.
“Stop screwing around, Malao.”
“What!” Malao said, stomping his foot. “I'm talking about Hok!”
“Hok?” Fu said, surprised. “When did you see Hok?”
“I don't know. You know how easily I forget things. I just remember that I saw him a couple of times after you ran away from Cangzhen.”
“Ran away!” Fu said in disbelief. “I didn't run away. You guys did. I stayed and fought. I got the scrolls. You guys left me to fight, alone.”
“Not exactly,” Malao replied. “We all ran like Grandmaster said, but Hok and I circled back separately. I was just heading to the village now to help you. My new friends were showing me the way when they got hungry and decided to raid the caravan. I had no idea you were in the cage until I heard your voice.”
Fu didn't know what to say. He looked over at Malao, speechless. Malao seemed to read the look in Fu's eyes.
“You're welcome, Pussycat,” he said.
Fu lowered his eyes and shuffled his feet.
Malao scratched his small, bald head. “Hey, are those the dragon scrolls?”
Fu saw that one of the scrolls was poking out of his robe. “Yeah,” he said. “I have all four.”
“How did you get ahold of them?”
“It's a long story,” Fu replied. “A really long story.”
Malao laughed out loud. “That's pretty funny! Good one, Fu! Can I see one of those scrolls for a moment? I've always wondered what they look like.”
“Sure,” Fu said. “Just make sure you—”
As Fu reached into his robe, he heard a whoosh! and a quick clink!-clink!-clink! Malao's face hit the dirt as his feet were jerked out from under him by a chain whip.
“Come here, you little knuckle-dragger!” Ying snarled as he stepped out of a thick bush behind Malao, holding the chain whip. The deep grooves in his face seemed to slither under the strain as he began pulling Malao toward him, hand over hand. Several paces away, Fu was about to make a move when a battalion of well-armed soldiers appeared on the trail. Leading the group was a man with a long ponytail braid riding a raven-black stallion. Fu recognized the man immediately. Directly behind the horse, two men each carried one end of a long pole with something orange strung to it, hanging down, swaying as they walked. The swaying object was Hok. His pale wrists were bound together, and so were his ankles. The long pole passed beneath the bindings, and Hok hung from it like a hunting trophy. Fu paused to take it all in until Malao's cries brought him back