Tiger - Jeff Stone [50]
“FU! HELP ME!”
With one great bound, Fu was at Malao's wriggling feet. He reached down and grabbed the chain whip, entering into a tug-of-war with Ying.
A series of piercing shrieks suddenly rang out from the treetops, and Fu turned to see the white monkey leading dozens of brown macaques toward Ying.
“FIRE!” Ying commanded, still holding fast to the chain whip. The soldiers raised their qiangs and shots rang out. Monkeys tumbled from the sky. A lead ball grazed the arm of the white monkey, and it screeched loudly, turning tail. The rest of the monkeys followed its retreat.
Ying laughed. “Fine fighting force you have there, Malao.”
“Finer than the men you lost at Cangzhen!” Fu growled as he continued to heave on the chain while Malao struggled to get free. “At least most of the monkeys … GRRRRR … escaped … ARRRRR … alive!”
Fu gave a tremendous jerk to try and get Malao a little more slack. Ying let go. Fu sailed backward, the chain whip slipping from his grasp. Ying leaped forward with his arms spread wide. He landed directly on top of Malao.
“Don't let him grab you!” Fu cried out to Malao.
But it was too late. Ying already had a crippling eagle-claw grip sinking deep into a pressure point on Malao's neck. Malao's entire body went limp. Lines of blood trickled down toward his shoulder as Ying's long fingernails dug in. Fu knew that he had to break that grip, or Malao would suffer permanent nerve damage.
Fu ran full-force into Ying's arm, breaking Ying's connection with Malao. Ying responded by latching on to the back of Fu's neck with his other hand with amazing speed. This time, it was Fu who went limp. Malao, still temporarily paralyzed, lay motionless. Ying lessened his grip on Fu slightly and removed the scrolls from Fu's robe with his free hand as he addressed his men.
“Did all of you see that? That is how you take care of business! Quickly, efficiently, decisively!”
Ying turned to Commander Woo, who sat in the weapons cart with the hatch open.
“COMMANDER WOO!” Ying said, pointing to Hok hanging from the pole. “Look what Tonglong has caught. There is your restless spirit from Cangzhen, hanging from that pole. He was the one you felt watching you, and he snatched the Grandmaster's body from beneath your nose. Hobble over there on your one good leg and untie the one called Hok so that he can walk. He's going on a little trip.
“CAPTAIN YUE! Get yourself out from behind those curtains this instant.” Captain Yue poked his head out. Ying continued. “You will tie up the two troublemakers known as Fu and Malao, and they, too, will walk. Their paralysis is only temporary, so I suggest you hurry.
“TONGLONG! You have proven your loyalty to me by capturing Hok. Now it is time for you to get your hands dirty. You will finish what was left unfinished back at the temple. Kill these monks. We'll set up camp here for the night, so make sure you take them far into the forest before completing the job. I don't want any tigers coming around here to dine on their corpses or lap up their blood. If you run into any problems, fire a warning shot from a qiang. I'd hate to have to interrupt my reading to clean up any mess you might make, so don't make any mistakes. And make sure you pay special attention to Fu. He's already gotten away from you once.”
“I give you my word,” Tonglong said with a gleam in his eye. “I'll take care of the one called Fu.”
Fu stumbled sluggishly forward as Tonglong pushed him from behind. He nearly fell several times because his legs didn't respond as quickly as they normally did thanks to Ying temporarily interrupting the natural flow of energy through his nervous system. Malao appeared to be in a little better shape, moving forward behind Tonglong while two soldiers pushed him along. Bringing up the rear, two more soldiers followed Hok.
Fu considered their odds. There were four soldiers plus Tonglong against him and two of his brothers. Two of the soldiers carried spears and one carried a qiang, while each warrior monk was tightly bound with rope from shoulder to waist, their