HaMo aimed the short qiang at Hok. “Very impressive, little lady. Now give me the map.”
Hok shook her head, and Ying noticed the map poking out of the collar of her tattered dress.
Ying took a tiny step toward HaMo. HaMo glared at him. “Make a move against me, Ying, and your little sister dies.”
Ying paused. “Go ahead,” he said. “I'd rather you use your only shot on her. It would save me the trouble of having to do it myself.”
“You can't fool me,” HaMo said. “I know you came here with her.”
“Did I?” Ying asked. He began to creep forward.
“I'm warning you—” HaMo began to say, and Ying saw something flash across his field of vision. HaMo yelped, and Ying was shocked to see a small throwing knife stuck in the side of HaMo's enormous neck.
Ying glanced back at the bamboo cage and saw that Charles had removed the heel of one of his boots. The knife must have been hidden inside it.
Ying looked back at HaMo and could hardly believe his eyes. HaMo shook his huge head, and the knife popped out of his bulbous flesh as though it were some sort of child's toy. The wound was bleeding, but it didn't appear to be very deep. HaMo's mounds of fat had protected him from the throwing knife's short blade.
“What the—” Charles said.
HaMo laughed. “Better luck next time, Round Eye.” He turned back to Hok. “Give me the—”
But Hok was already flying toward him. She grabbed HaMo's short qiang with both hands and drove her face into the back of his lumpy hand, biting him hard enough to draw blood.
“Arrr!” HaMo growled through clenched teeth. Still, he didn't let go of the qiang. Hok released her teeth but held firm with her hands. HaMo raised his other lumpy hand high to strike at Hok with an open palm, and Ying leaped for HaMo's raised hand, catching HaMo by the thumb.
Ying wrapped both his hands around HaMo's stubby, fat thumb and pulled back with all his might. Control the thumb and you control the entire body was one of his former teacher's favorite sayings.
HaMo squealed like a child and released the qiang, swinging his bloodied hand wildly in Ying's direction.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ying saw Hok run over to Charles with the qiang.
Ying kept constant pressure on HaMo's thumb, weaving back and forth to keep HaMo off balance. Ying was so busy weaving around and watching HaMo's free hand that he failed to keep an eye on HaMo's feet.
“Look out!” Charles shouted, but it was too late. Ying felt his legs sweep out from under him. Even so, Ying refused to let go of HaMo's thumb. As Ying crashed to the floor, he heard a crack like the sound of dry firewood in a roaring blaze. HaMo roared as the main bone in his thumb snapped in half.
Ying lost his grip on the dangling thumb half, and HaMo pulled his hand free. Ying saw HaMo bend his knees in preparation for a crushing jump, and Ying tried to roll out of the way. After half a turn, however, Ying came to a dead stop against the unconscious body of one of HaMo's henchmen.
Ying looked up in time to see HaMo leap into the air, then jolt suddenly to one side as the all-too-familiar sounds of click … fizz … BANG! filled the room.
The qiang ball hit HaMo in the left eye. His lifeless body crashed down, missing Ying by a hairsbreadth.
Ying sat up and took a deep breath. He wiped his carved brow and looked over at Charles. The round eye still held the smoking qiang in his hands.
Ying stood and bowed to Charles, low and deep. “Thank you. You saved my life.”
Kneeling, Charles bowed back from inside the cage. “And you've saved mine with this rescue.” He smiled a ghostly white smile. “Any chance you could find a way to get me out of here?”
Ying glanced at HaMo and saw a small ring of keys tied to his enormous sash. Ying used the sharp tip of his chain whip to cut the keys free and hurried over to Charles’ cage. The lock opened with the third key Ying tried.
Charles crawled out of the cage and stood on wobbly legs. He took the key ring from Ying and hobbled quickly over to a row of drawers beneath the long counter. Charles fumbled through keys until one fit, then opened a drawer and pulled out three large pouches, each bigger than a man's fist. Charles tossed one pouch to Hok and another to Ying. He kept the third pouch for himself.
Ying heard a distinct series of metallic clinks when he caught his pouch. Coins. He grinned.
Charles nodded. “There is something even more valuable in here,” he said, reaching into a different drawer. “Look.”
Charles pulled out a pair of matching short qiangs.
“Those are yours, aren't they?” Hok asked.
Charles smiled. “Yes. I saw HaMo put them in here. I watched him all day while I pretended to sleep. This boat holds more than a few surprises. Take a look at this.”