“He, sir?” Tonglong asked.
Ying's eyebrows raised and the furrows in his forehead deepened. “Well, well. I see you've discovered Hok's little secret,” Ying said softly. “I'm impressed. Not too many people know. I only found out after I left Cangzhen. Do me a favor and keep this tidbit to yourself. It's bad enough the men know Hok successfully spied on us the past few days. Their confidence might be further shaken if they knew how hard you had to work to catch a girl.”
“As you wish, sir,” Tonglong replied.
Ying nodded and disappeared up the trail. He soon heard the unmistakable rustle of men racing across the forest floor. The shrieking of the macaques was growing closer and more urgent.
Ying stepped off the trail.
A moment later, a single soldier ran down the trail toward Ying as though his life depended on the speed of his feet. The man spent more time looking back over his shoulder than he did looking forward on the trail. This was unacceptable behavior for a soldier— especially one within Ying's ranks.
I said I would teach the men a lesson, Ying thought. Class is now in session.
Ying locked one arm around the trunk of a tree to anchor himself and thrust his other arm out in front of the fleeing soldier's neck. The soldier's eyes bulged in surprise as his head snapped back and his feet flew out from under him. Ying was on top of the man before he even hit the ground.
“Where do you think you're going?” Ying hissed in the man's face. His forked tongue flickered.
The soldier choked several times before mumbling, “Monkeys, sir … the monkeys have gone mad.”
Ying looked up and saw a number of screeching macaques fanning outward through the treetops.
“You're armed soldiers!” Ying said. “What's wrong with you?”
“They attacked us, sir. They're chasing us down. I swear I've never seen anything like it.”
“Where are Commander Woo and Captain Yue? Have they run off, too?”
“I don't think so, sir. Captain Yue is in his sedan chair and Commander Woo is inside a … aahhh … weapons cart.”
“What?” Ying said. “They're hiding?”
“These are not normal monkeys, sir,” the soldier said. “They seem to be organized and led by a human— a small, dark child monk who carries a white monkey on his shoulder. Some of our men attacked the boy as he tried to release another child monk called Fu from a cage we—”
“Fu!” Ying interrupted. “He's up ahead?”
The soldier nodded.
“What about the scrolls?”
“I think Fu may have them by now, sir.”
“Fu got out of the cage?”
“Yes,” the soldier replied. “The other monk threw him a ring of keys and—”
“ARRRGH!” Ying leaped off the soldier and soared into the nearest tree. From there he could see into a small clearing farther up the trail and, sure enough, there stood Malao and Fu, talking. Fu seemed confused and upset. Malao, as usual, appeared to be making jokes. There wasn't a single soldier around.
Ying spat and sailed to the ground. He worked his way silently through the underbrush, stopping when he reached a large bush directly behind Malao. As Malao continued his banter with Fu on the opposite side, Ying slid his chain whip out from one of his oversized sleeves. In one lightning-fast motion, he wound up and lashed out around the side of the bush at ankle-height. Ying heard the familiar whoosh! and a satisfying clink! clink! clink! Even more satisfying was the sound of air rapidly exiting Malao's lungs as Ying yanked on the chain and Malao slammed into the dirt.
“Come here, you little knuckle-dragger!” Ying snarled as he stepped through the bush and pulled Malao toward him. Both Malao's ankles were wrapped tightly together with one end of the chain whip.
Ying looked over at Fu, and Fu's mouth dropped open. Ying was amused to see the scabbed-over slice in Fu's cheek stretch to a point where it had to hurt. Ying glanced down at Fu's chest and saw a dragon scroll poking out. He was about to lunge for the scroll when he noticed Fu's body go rigid.
Ying turned and saw Tonglong approaching with his men. Near the front of the group was Hok hanging from the pole.
“FU! HELP ME!” Malao cried.
Ying smirked as Fu leaped next to Malao and grabbed the end of the chain near Malao's feet. Fu's robe opened slightly and Ying saw more scrolls. As he prepared to launch himself at Fu, Ying heard monkeys approaching. Angry monkeys. He looked up and saw dozens of macaques racing toward him through the treetops.
“Fire!” Ying commanded, and shots rang out from the qiangs carried by Tonglong's men. Monkeys rained down around them. A piercing screech filled the air, and Ying noticed a white monkey run off into the trees. Blood dripped from its arm. The remaining monkeys followed the white one's hasty retreat.