Tiger - Jeff Stone [51]
Fu slowed for a moment to steady himself as they entered a sun-drenched clearing. He squinted and coughed quietly to clear his dry throat. Tonglong stepped up to him and screamed in his face.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing,” Fu replied. “I didn't say—”
“Don't deny it!” Tonglong shouted, pushing Fu to the edge of the clearing. He pulled his long, thick braid forward over his shoulder and tucked it into his sash. “You mumbled a secret under that cough. Who is listening on the wind, one of your remaining brothers? Let us find him before he attacks us! You will be my shield.”
Tonglong shoved Fu hard into an enormous bush. Fu was swallowed whole. The soldiers guarding Hok and Malao looked about warily as Tonglong leaped into the bush after Fu. He, too, disappeared completely. Fu lay on the ground, confused, as Tonglong landed on top of him and spoke in whispers.
“I realize none of your remaining brothers are near, young monk. I simply said that as an excuse to get you alone for a moment. I still owe you a life. I am loosening your bonds as I speak. When we get back out in the open, you must pretend to attack me so that I will not lose face.”
“But—”
“Hush!” Tonglong said. “Do not speak. Do you practice Iron Head kung fu?”
Fu nodded.
“Good. I will carry you out into the open and pretend to crush your rib cage with my Iron Arms. Use your Iron Head skills to strike my head just hard enough to render me unconscious. There is a dagger in my sash. Use it to cut your brothers free, but I ask that you leave it behind. It is important to me. You must not take my sword, either. Agreed?”
Fu thought for a moment. Didn't this man know that he had already returned the favor? He had saved his life back at Cangzhen when he distracted Ying by yelling from the burning rooftop after Ying killed Grandmaster.
Tonglong grunted impatiently. Fu nodded in agreement. Without warning, Tonglong slapped him loudly on the side of his bald head. It was a glancing blow, but it still hurt.
“Take that!” Tonglong screamed at Fu. “Don't you dare try to sneak away from me! Now stand up so I can knock you down again!”
Fu stood as best he could amid the dense foliage, irritated by the sharp slap. Tonglong gripped him chest to chest in a tight bear hug and carried him a few steps out into the open, squeezing harder than Fu thought necessary. Fu grunted. If this man wanted to see a little Iron Head technique, then that's exactly what he would get. Fu snapped his head back and then forward with lightning speed. Tonglong looked surprised as Fu's forehead met his left temple. Tonglong slid to the ground, his eyes closed. Fu stepped back and wiggled slightly. The ropes dropped to his feet.
Seeing Fu in action, Malao lunged at the nearest soldier, swinging his head.
The soldier put his hands in front of his face to protect himself, and his fingers were crushed between Malao's iron-like forehead and his own forehead. The soldier dropped to his knees, his crumpled fingers held out before him. He stared hard at Malao with fight in his eyes.
Malao leaped straight into the air, his ankles tied together with a length of rope about half as long as his arm. He tucked into a tight forward flip just as the soldier began to stand and completed his improvised maneuver by thrusting his legs forward, spreading them out as far as the rope would allow, and slamming the taut rope down against the back of the soldier's neck. The soldier's head snapped down and his torso followed, his body going limp after his face ricocheted off a fallen tree. Malao tucked his chin to his chest as his upper back hit the ground smoothly. He rocked forward, popping up onto his feet. Then he turned to face the second soldier who had been guarding him.
The second soldier carried a qiang. Malao stopped his attack. Fu, however, did not. He had retrieved the dagger from Tonglong's