Tiger - Jeff Stone [8]
Ying cleared his throat and looked at Fu.
“Hello, boys,” he said casually. “Or should I say girls? I had a feeling you would all be hiding like a bunch of females.”
Fu locked eyes with Ying. He released a low growl.
“Stay calm, Sister Fu,” Ying said, smiling. “I won't bite. At least not just yet.”
Fu growled again and tensed his whole body in preparation for an attack. Hok drifted over to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Relax, Fu,” Hok said. “I understand your urge to attack. But you must resist. Ying is only throwing words at you, not daggers. He is up to something. I can feel it.”
“The birdbrain speaks!” Ying announced. “Fu, this must be serious. Hok rarely utters a peep. Maybe I really am up to something.”
“Who are you to call Hok birdbrain?” Fu snarled. “You're an eagle!”
“Do I look like an eagle to you?” Ying asked.
“You look like a fool,” Fu replied.
Ying opened his mouth wide and hissed at Fu. He flicked out his tongue and flexed its tip.
“What are you going to do with that?” Fu asked. “Lick me to death?”
Ying slipped his tongue back into his mouth and spat on the floor. He took a step toward Fu, and Fu roared. Every muscle in Fu's body began to shake.
Hok lifted his hand from Fu's shoulder and took a step back.
“Aren't you precious?” Ying scowled at Fu. “Purring like a little kitten. Would you like me to scratch behind your cute little ears?”
Fu could contain himself no longer. He sprang at Ying's throat with his teeth bared and arms outstretched. Ying dropped the qiang and repositioned himself to intercept Fu.
But Fu never reached Ying. Fu gasped and doubled over in midair as Grandmaster's narrow, bony shoulder struck him square in the diaphragm. Fu hit the ground flat on his back with a loud THUD, the wind completely knocked out of him. Grandmaster rolled over Fu's chest and whispered, “The pain you feel now is nothing compared to what you will feel if Ying gets his hands on you. You cannot defeat him alone. His kung fu is too powerful. This time you will listen to what I say! You will stay back! I will handle this.”
Fu wheezed and hacked as he sucked air, struggling to reclaim his breath for the second time that night. He nodded his head.
Grandmaster stood and spun around to face Ying.
Ying grinned. He bent down and picked up the qiang.
“My dear old man,” Ying said. “How could you be so cruel to that poor little kitten?”
Fu lifted himself onto his hands and knees. He glared at Ying.
Grandmaster said nothing.
“If you ask me, I think that was precious,” Ying said. “It was almost worth him escaping my grasp to see the fearless giant of a tiger boy knocked down by a brittle old toothpick of a monk. Aaah … no matter, I'll snap his fat neck soon enough.”
Grandmaster remained silent.
“Oh, come now,” Ying said. “Your eldest prodigy has just returned after being gone nearly a year. Don't you have anything to say?”
“I am sorry I have failed you, Ying,” Grandmaster said. Fu thought he saw tears forming in Grandmaster's eyes.
“Oh, now you're sorry,” Ying said. “After I've destroyed nearly everything you care about—just like you've destroyed everything I care about. It's a little late to apologize, don't you think?”
Grandmaster said nothing.
Ying scowled. “You haven't changed one bit, old man. Somebody asks you a question, and you respond with a blank stare. Like a stupid child, as the Emperor would say. You know, you could have learned a thing or two from him last year, but you decided to leave his palace. Why?”
“Because our job was complete,” Grandmaster replied.
“Was it?” Ying said. “The Emperor asked us to stay and serve as his full-time protectors. He was going to pay us with gold. But you refused his generous offer. You even refused to accept the gold he offered as payment for what we had already done. Why?”
“We are monks, not bodyguards