“Soldiers are coming,” Seh whispered.
“Not soldiers,” Mong corrected. “Monkeys.”
I‘ll never understand monkeys,” Seh mumbled to himself as he pushed forward alone, into the darkness.
It had been more than twelve hours since the monkey troop had attacked, and Seh was still finding it hard to believe that Malao had been with the monkeys. Malao's actions to save the monkeys from the bandits’ swords and spears had been crazy, but remarkable. Even more amazing had been Malao's fight with Hung, the enormous bear-style kung fu master who was Mong's right-hand man. Malao may be small, but he was tough. Seh had tracked Malao down less than an hour ago, and Malao had come away from his battle with Hung without a scratch.
Seh rubbed his sweaty, stubbly-haired head as he thought about the new information Malao had given him. Grandmaster was dead, Fu had somehow managed to obtain the dragon scrolls Ying was after, and Hok was at Cangzhen keeping an eye on Ying and, presumably, Tonglong.
Malao was going to rendezvous with Hok tomorrow, and he had invited Seh to join them. Seh had several reasons he'd like to accept the offer, but he had already concluded that it would be best if he went directly to Shaolin Temple. Seh realized that while it would be good to try and get the bandits to help him and his brothers, the monks of Shaolin Temple would be even better allies. They were stronger and far more respectable than a gang of bandits ever would be.
Then again, maybe he should try and get the bandits and the Shaolin monks to help?
Enough! Seh muttered to himself. It was time to give his brain a rest. He slowed to a fast walk and began to push the items in his mind out one at a time. It was a walking meditation exercise he'd learned at Cangzhen. The more he pushed out, the more he slowed down. By the time the sun began to rise on the second day of his journey, Seh was sound asleep in a fern grove with an empty head.
Seh slept most of the day away and woke with only a few hours of sunlight left. Though he was hungry, he spent the remaining daylight sitting next to a small stream, meditating more. His connection with the world had been strained by recent events. He needed to try and reestablish the harmony he normally felt with the world around him. Not just harmony with other people, but harmony with all living things.
Seh sat with his eyes closed on a small patch of sand next to the stream, letting the endless ripples of sound wash every thought from his mind. His breathing was smooth … controlled. Slowly he began to feel alive again. Once more, he felt the energy of life all around him, flowing freely from one creature to the next. And he was part of it. Chi circulated through his body and through the birds in the trees and through the very trees themselves.
Alone, Seh was one with the universe. But when others were around, he became distracted. The only person Seh could be around and still maintain a perfect connection was Hok. And sometimes when they were alone, Seh would feel even more connected.
As Hok drifted into Seh's mind, he opened his eyes. Not surprisingly, he saw a crane standing on the bank downstream.
Seh watched it closely. It was hunting. Oddly enough, the crane's attention was not focused on the water, but on land. Its eyes were glued to a snake.
From where he sat, Seh could see that the reptile was a young beauty snake, about as long as his arm. Beauty snakes were not poisonous. They had three vibrant, distinctly different color patterns on their bodies that often made them look like three completely different snakes spliced together. This one was no exception. Most of the top half was a brilliant green, and the bottom half was solid black. A yellow stripe began at the back of its head and ran down its spine all the way to the tip of its tail. Stranger still was its head. The entire thing was bright blue—almost the same color as Seh's silk robe—and there was a thick black stripe across each eye.
Seh had never seen a snake that strange or that beautiful. He was considering taking a closer look when the crane struck.
The white head of the crane shot toward the snake with astonishing speed. To Seh's surprise—and relief— the snake sent a powerful ripple through its muscular torso, slithering out of the path of the crane's deadly beak.
The snake slithered off toward the forest. Again the crane thrust its beak at the snake, and again the snake sent a pulse along its spine.
Seh grinned, but only for a moment, as the crane hopped forward and came down over the snake. One of the crane's razor-sharp claws dug deep into the beauty snake's yellow stripe. At the same time, the snake thrust its head up and back, connecting with one of the crane's thighs.
The crane squawked and Seh jumped to his feet, heading toward the battle. He saw the crane release the snake and hop backward. It puffed out its chest and fanned its wings powerfully as the snake rose up, poised to strike again.