Tsung clapped once and every soldier pointed his qiang at Ying.
Ying stared up at the Emperor, confused.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” the Emperor asked.
Ying tried to make sense of the question and what he saw around him. “Thank you?”
“Thank you!” the Emperor bellowed. He glared down at Ying.
“Thank you, Your Highness?” Ying said.
“Do you know why you are here?” the Emperor snapped.
“I believe I do,” Ying replied. His eyes darted around the room.
The judge cleared his throat and opened a sizable scroll. “Major Ying, you are under arrest for negligence in the line of duty.”
Ying's eyes widened. “Under arrest? What did I do?”
“You failed to protect my nephew, Yue,” the Emperor said. “He was your captain.”
“With all due respect, Your Highness,” Ying said, “he lost his life while taking the bandit stronghold. He went down fighting—like a soldier. We were victorious.”
“Try telling that to my sister,” the Emperor said. “I couldn't stand him personally, but my sister seemed rather fond of him.”
“I… I don't understand,” Ying said.
“He was under your command, and he lost his life,” the Emperor said. “You are responsible. There is also the matter of your failure at Cangzhen Temple.”
“Failure?” Ying said. “I'm sorry five young warrior monks escaped, Your Highness, but other than that, the mission was a success.”
“What about the Grandmaster's head?”
Ying twitched. “Didn't my man Tonglong deliver it to you?”
“No,” the Emperor replied. “The only head he brought me was Yue's.”
Ying scowled and fought the urge to spit on the floor.
“Does that upset you?” the Emperor asked. “Well, how about this—I've rewarded Tonglong by giving him your troops as well as your title. You've officially been stripped of it.”
Ying's lips curled back, and his entire body began to shake. He struggled to form words. “When did Tonglong know this?”
“Before he delivered the invitation to you.”
Ying snarled. “What is to become of me?”
“You will be punished.”
“How?”
“Slowly,” the Emperor said. “You will sit in prison until the flesh rots off your bones.”
This can't be, Seh thought. Those dumplings Fu ate… ? And that long black hair… ? Seh's stomach began to turn, and he swallowed hard. How many of those dumplings did Fu actually eat?
The only thing that kept Seh from retching was the sound of approaching footsteps. The old man and woman were coming toward him. He closed his eyes completely.
“Hurry up and tie them down,” the old woman said. “You know how quickly that sleeping broth wears off.”
Seh sensed the old woman walk past and heard her lock the front door. When he sensed the old man hover over him, Seh made his move. He opened his eyes and thrust both arms out, latching on to the man's throat. Seh wasn't about to become somebody's dinner.
The old man dropped the ropes and the meat hook and grabbed hold of Seh's arms, just below the elbows. The old man began to squeeze and Seh cried out. The old man wasn't frail at all. He was incredibly strong, and he was clamping down on pressure points in Seh's forearms.
The old man laughed. “You should never judge a book by its cover, boy.” He squeezed harder, and Seh nearly collapsed. Seh struggled to focus enough to lift one knee so he could kick the old man away.
“Eeeeeow!” the old man suddenly shouted, and released Seh. The man took a step sideways and lifted one of his arms. Seh saw blood trickling out of a snakebite.
Seh caught a glimpse of the beauty snake slipping back beneath his robe sleeve. He stepped toward the man but sensed trouble from the rear. Seh ducked just in time. The old woman swung her meat cleaver at his head powerfully from behind. She wasn't the least bit frail, either. Seh realized he was going to have to use every bit of force he could muster.
From his crouched position, Seh slid forward, throwing all his weight into a punch to the side of the old man's left knee.
“Arrrgh!” the old man shouted as he tilted toward the floor. He fumbled for his meat hook. “I'm going to string you up and fillet you into—”
“Quiet, old man!” Seh shouted. He rose and slammed his fist into the old man's jaw, hitting exactly halfway between the man's ear and chin. The old man dropped like a rock, out cold before he hit the floor.
Seh sensed something behind him again and turned to see the old woman launch the meat cleaver at the center of his back. He shifted his weight to one side and watched the cleaver graze his gray cotton robe before it sank deep in the far wall.