Fu found a seam where two blankets overlapped and peeked out. He saw a bend in the trail ahead. On it was a second caravan headed straight toward their caravan. A stocky man clad in armor stood at the head of the second caravan, glaring at Captain Yue's sedan chair. Fu assumed he was Commander Woo.
Fu saw Captain Yue stick his head out from behind the silk curtains.
“Oh, so it is you,” Captain Yue said to Commander Woo.
Commander Woo looked around. “Where is your horse? Have you given him away so that you can travel like a princess? Be a man for once in your life. Get down here and walk with your troops.”
“I can't walk, you ignorant oaf,” Captain Yue replied. “I've been injured and so has my horse, not that it's any of your business. Where is Major Ying?”
“Excuse me?” Commander Woo said. He stepped forward and his eyes narrowed. “The Emperor may be your uncle, Captain Yue, but that doesn't give you the right to talk back to me that way. I am your superior. Never forget that.”
“Sorry, sir,” Captain Yue said. He closed his eyes. “Commander, could you please tell me where Major Ying is?”
“Major Ying had some business to attend to, so he sent me and these men to rendezvous with you. Were you successful in obtaining the scrolls and the young monk?”
“Of course,” Captain Yue replied.
“Then hand them over.”
“Nothing would please me more than to be done with this nonsense,” Captain Yue said. “My own number one man has the scrolls. He will retrieve them now. As soon as they are in your hands, I shall be on my way. I must seek treatment immediately.”
Commander Woo snorted. “You will go nowhere until I say so, Princess.”
A moment later, Fu saw one of Captain Yue's men appear with all four scrolls. The soldier handed them over to Commander Woo.
“Would you like to see the boy in the cage?” Captain Yue asked. He yanked his curtains open and leaned back.
“Not just yet,” Commander Woo replied. “I want to check the scrolls first.”
“I can assure you, they're authentic,” Captain Yue said.
“I'll be the judge of that.”
Commander Woo opened one of the scrolls, and Fu saw his tiny eyes widen. He handed the three remaining scrolls over to a skinny man and instructed the man to follow. The scroll-bearer put the three scrolls into the folds of his robe. Fu watched both men leave the narrow trail and walk over to a small clearing.
Fu shook his head. Who did this Commander Woo think he was? Cangzhen monks had to prove themselves elite before they were allowed to view the secret scrolls for their style. Fu could tell simply by the way this man walked he had not studied kung fu very long. His stumpy torso and short legs wobbled in opposition as he ambled toward the clearing. Commander Woo may be powerful and know how to fight other soldiers in combat situations, but kung fu was another story altogether. Especially the advanced kung fu found in the scrolls. Worst of all, the Commander's body style was completely inappropriate for most dragon-style techniques. Things were about to get ugly. Very ugly.
Commander Woo assumed a sloppy Horse Stance and adjusted the flexible armor draped over his wide torso. He handed the remaining scroll to the scroll-bearer.
“Hold this scroll open in front of you for a moment,” Commander Woo said. “I want to try something.”
From the awkward, shoulder-width Horse Stance, Commander Woo kept his right foot rooted and stepped backward with his left. After shifting his center of gravity, he leaned forward with his upper body and formed dragon claws with both hands by extending his fingers, separating them, and bending only his fingertips at the first knuckle. He put his left claw slightly in front of the right, overlapping at the thumbs. Then he positioned both claws up near his face and brought his elbows in. He compressed every muscle in his body, as if bracing for an impact. Though his form was poor, Fu recognized this as a classic defensive dragon position.
What is he going to do from here? Fu wondered.
Without additional preparation or adjustments, Commander Woo suddenly whipped his back leg around at waist height. His leg was bent, and as it neared the front of his body, he straightened it, snapping it powerfully as though it were a dragon's tail. Fu and the others heard a tremendous POP!, and the powerful man pretending to be a dragon fell to the ground, howling in pain. The scroll-bearer ran to his side, tucking the open scroll into the folds of his robe along with the other three. He helped Commander Woo up.
The Commander clamped his jaws shut and bit down hard, grunting loudly as he rested all his weight on his left leg—the one that had swung like a dragon's tail. It held his weight just fine. Then he attempted to lift his right leg—the one that had been firmly rooted. He managed to raise his thigh up parallel to the ground, but nothing else attached to that leg responded. Everything below the knee dangled like a tired fish flopping at the end of a silk fishing line. Commander Woo howled again.