Jeff Stone_Five Ancestors 05

by Eagle

  “Sounds like jealousy to me.”

  Ying spat and glared at Hok, but she wouldn't let it go.

  “I had no control over how Grandmaster treated you,” Hok said. “Neither did any of the others. For you to take it out on us, that's unfair.”

  “You could have stood up for me,” Ying said.

  “How do you know that I didn't?”

  “Don't be ridiculous,” Ying said. “I never heard you utter a single word in my defense.”

  “That doesn't mean that I remained silent. I stood up for you many times.”

  “Give me one example.”

  “Remember the time I spent an entire week scrubbing the floor of every building within the Cangzhen compound? I distinctly remember you mocking me for days.”

  Ying thought back. “Yes, I suppose I do.”

  “Do you remember what you did the day before I started scrubbing?”

  “No, I … wait a moment, yes,” Ying said. “Grandmaster made a big fuss about me hiding down in the escape tunnels. It was the first time Fu had woken me. I attacked Fu.”

  “That's right,” Hok said. “I told Grandmaster that Fu should never have done that. Everyone knows how you react when you're woken without warning, including Fu. I told Grandmaster that punishing you was unfair. You weren't bothering anyone by going into the tunnel. Fu was bothering you.”

  Ying stared at Hok, dumbfounded. “You said that to Grandmaster? How did he respond?”

  “He got really angry at me, of course. He told me I was the one who should mind her own business. Scrubbing the floors was my punishment.”

  “How come you never told me this?”

  “What difference would it have made?”

  “A lot. I would have known that you were on my side.”

  “So, if a person is not openly fighting for you, then he or she is against you?” Hok asked.

  “I … I don't know,” Ying said.

  “I think you do know,” Hok said. “You need to rethink how you think everybody else thinks. For someone so smart, you sure can be stupid. Most people are neither for you nor against you. They have too many other things to worry about in their own lives. They don't have time to spend wondering about your situation. Don't flatter yourself so much.”

  Ying didn't know what to say. He was beginning to feel dizzy again. He lifted his hand to take another bite out of his dinner bun when a small boy suddenly darted out of the alley's darkest corner. The child managed to grab Hok's and Ying's bags of coins before Ying even thought to act.

  As the boy scurried away, Ying dove at him, catching the boy by one scrawny ankle. The boy squealed and squirmed as Ying clamped down hard with an eagle-claw grip, compressing skin, muscle, and tendon. The boy yelped, tears welling up in his dirty eyes. He dropped the bags of coins.

  Hok stood. “Let him go, Ying.”

  “I don't think so,” Ying replied. “Nobody takes what's mine. I'm going to teach him a lesson.”

  “You've hurt him plenty,” Hok said. “He's just a little boy and he's probably starving to death. Look how skinny he is. Take the coins back and give him a bun.”

  “No,” Ying said. “I'm not in the mood for charity. He took my coins with his right hand, so I am going to break that hand for him.” Ying reached out for the boy's tiny hand.

  “I'm warning you, Ying. Don't harm him.”

  Ying could see the seriousness in Hok's eyes. After seeing the damage she did back at the pet market, Ying wasn't sure he wanted to tangle with her tonight. He pulled his free hand away from the boy and slightly loosened his eagle-claw grip on the boy's ankle. The kid stopped crying, and Hok sat back down.

  Hok sighed. “Please just let him go, Ying. I'm tired of arguing with you. He can even take my coins if he truly thinks he needs them more than I do.”

  “Have you lost your mind?” Ying said. “You'd let him take your money?”

  Hok nodded. “It looks like he's in a worse situation than you or me. I bet he has no family. No home. No food.” She looked at the boy. “Is that true?”

  The boy nodded, sniffling.

  “See,” Hok said.

  “So what?” Ying replied. “I was an orphan, too.”

  Hok gave him a disgusted look. “Give me a break, Ying. You always had food on your table, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back.”

  Ying ground his teeth but said nothing.

  Hok looked at the boy. “What is your name?”

  “ShaoShu,” he replied.

  “Little Mouse?” Hok asked.

  The boy nodded.

  Ying snorted. “It's fitting.”

  Hok ignored his comment. “Did your parents give you that name?”

  “I don't remember who gave me that name,” ShaoShu replied in a small voice. “That is the only thing anyone has ever called me. Well, that and some curse words.”

  Ying smirked. “Imagine that.”

  Hok glared at Ying. “Give him a break. I bet ShaoShu would feel terrible stealing from us if he knew our situation.”

  “Don't be ridiculous,” Ying said. “He is a little thief. He doesn't care about you or me. He only cares about himself.”

  “That's funny,” Hok said. “Sounds like somebody else I know.”

  Ying hissed loudly and stood, releasing ShaoShu. “That's it,” Ying said. “I've had it. This conversation is over. I'm leaving.”

  “Me too,” ShaoShu squeaked. He shoved a dinner bun in his mouth and scurried away.

  Ying watched ShaoShu go and smiled. He pointed to the large bag jingling in ShaoShu's left hand.

  “ShaoShu!” Hok called out. “My coin bag! Bring it back! Running off like this isn't the right thing to do! Not until we finish talking. Don't make me look like a fool!”

  ShaoShu rounded a corner and was gone.

  Ying snickered. “He certainly did make you look like a fool.”

  Hok pointed toward Ying's feet. “Is that so? Then what did he make you out to be?”

  Ying looked down and ground his teeth. ShaoShu had somehow managed to steal his coin bag, too.

  “Why, that little—” Ying began to say.

  “Get over it, Saulong,” Hok interrupted in an ag gres sive tone. “We still have your precious dragon bone.”

  Ying froze and his eyes darkened. “What did you call me? Don't ever use that name again.”

  “Why not?” Hok asked. “You've never been happy with the name Eagle. Vengeful Dragon suits you perfectly.”

  “I'm warning you, Hok. You have no idea what it's like to have had your name changed.”

  Hok surprised him with a shrill laugh. “You never cease to amaze me, Ying. What makes you think you are the only one with a different name?”

  Ying didn't reply.

  “That's right,” Hok said. “I had a different name, too. Except I also had to shave my head and dress like a boy every day for nine years. How many times did you have to put on a turban and dress like a girl to hide your true nature?”

  Ying said nothing.

  “That's what I thought,” Hok said. “You never had to do it. Not even once. Complaining about your life doesn't do you any good. Get over yourself.”

  Ying frowned. His head ached. He needed to get away from Hok, but she continued to push him.

  “Let's talk about your mother,” Hok said.

  “No.”

  “Come on, Ying,” Hok said, her voice softening. “It will help you. I've been through this.” She pulled the tiny jade crane out from behind the collar of her dress. “You asked me about this earlier. My mother gave it to me before she took me to Cangzhen. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

  Ying didn't respond.

  “Trust me, Ying,” Hok said. “I can help.”

  “I trust no one,” Ying replied.

  Hok shook her head and sighed. “I think that might be your biggest problem.”

  “I don't want to talk about it.”

  “Of course you don't,” Hok said. “You want to run away like y
ou always do. Either that, or you want to smash something. Running and smashing solve nothing, Ying.”

  “Stop talking!” Ying shouted. He clenched his fists and bit his lip, his pointed teeth drawing blood. He needed to go. Another shout like that and he'd draw unwelcome attention to himself. Ying grabbed the bag of powdered dragon bone and tore the turban from Hok's head.

  Hok didn't budge.

  Ying unrolled the turban and poured half the dragon bone in a pile in the center of it. He scowled at Hok. “You may know a thing or two about me, but you know nothing about my mother. I put my trust in her, and she abandoned me. Everything I know about trust I learned from her and Grandmaster.”

  “Do you want me to come with you when you go to find her?” Hok asked.

  Ying didn't reply. He rolled Hok's turban around her share of the dragon bone and handed it to her.

  “How do you know that the directions the pet vendor gave you were accurate?” Hok asked. “He could have been lying.”

  “He was telling the truth,” Ying said.

  “You trust him?”

  “No, I don't trust him. But I believe him.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the directions that he gave me aligned perfectly with the dragon scroll map in my head,” Ying said. “That can't be coincidence. Goodbye, Hok. Find someone else to take care of.”

  Ying turned and walked quickly away.

  For the next half hour, Ying clung to the shadows, snaking his way in and out of Xuzhou's blackest alleyways. Traveling this way would make him take much longer to return to the skiff, but at least he could make certain he wasn't being followed. After the skirmish with the pet vendor and his argument with Hok, he couldn't be too careful. Especially in his state of mind.

  Hok had nearly driven him mad. Who did she think she was, talking to him that way? She had spoken to him as if he were a child. She had acted as if she were his parent, as if she were in control. He would show her who was in control. He was taking the skiff. Hok could find her own way home.

  Ying was almost to the canal front when something heavy dropped from the sky. It crashed in front of his feet. It appeared to be a bag of coins. In fact, it appeared to be his bag of coins.

  Ying heard jingling overhead and looked skyward. A second bag of coins came plummeting down, landing next to the first bag. It was Hok's bag.

  ShaoShu, Ying thought.

  “Show your face!” Ying hissed.

  ShaoShu's tiny head appeared over the edge of the rooftop directly above Ying. The boy was silhouetted by the bright moonlight.

  Ying pointed to the coin bags. “What is this about?”

  “I thought about what your friend said,” ShaoShu replied. “She is right. Stealing is wrong. Keep your stupid coins.”

  Ying's carved eyebrows rose. “This had better not be a trick, you little rodent. If these bags are poisoned, I will hunt you down and—”

  “No tricks,” ShaoShu said. “I promise.”

  Ying eyed the boy suspiciously. “You're returning these simply because you feel bad?”

  “I didn't exactly feel bad taking them from you,” ShaoShu said, “but I feel bad taking them from her.”

  Ying scowled at the boy. “What about my dinner bun?”

  “I ate it,” ShaoShu replied. “But I don't feel bad about that. I have some news for you that is worth a whole lot more than a dinner bun. Someone called

  General Tonglong is here in Xuzhou. He has men hiding in boats all along the canal, waiting to catch you.”

  Ying stared up at ShaoShu. “Who told you this?”

  “I overheard two soldiers talking about it. They said they were going to capture you and then kill you. Your friend, too.”

  “Why are you telling me these things?” Ying asked.

  ShaoShu shrugged, his little shoulders rising over the roof's edge. “Because it's the right thing to do.”

  Ying scoffed. “How did you know I would be passing through this alleyway?”

  “This is the way I would have come if I wanted to stay out of everyone's sight,” ShaoShu said. “This is the closest alley to the canal front.”

  “How did you get here before me?”

  “Shortcuts. I know a million of them.”

  “So, you know the city streets well?”

  “Better than anyone,” ShaoShu said.

  “What about the canal?” Ying asked. “Can you handle a boat?”

  “I know the canal as well as the streets, and I can handle a boat. I've, uh, borrowed one or two before.”

  Ying smirked. He might just have a way out of here yet. “If I describe a certain skiff to you and tell you where it is docked, do you think you could take it down the canal for me?”

  “Sure,” ShaoShu said. “But why would I?”

  Ying picked up his bag of coins. “Because I'll give you half of these.”

  “It's a deal!” ShaoShu said.

  “Good,” Ying said. “Is there a spot downriver that I can walk to quickly in relative security and you can travel to in the skiff?”

  “Yes,” ShaoShu replied. “I know the perfect place. There is a fancy park about two It downstream from where we are now. You can follow side streets and alleys south along the canal until you reach it. There is an old elm tree on this side of the canal that hangs low over the water. I will take the skiff down the canal and beach it under the tree for you.”

  Ying looked up at him. “Where will you be?”

  “Inside the skiff, waiting for you.”

  “Why?”

  ShaoShu looked confused. “Because I'm coming with you.”

  Ying's carved brow rose. “No, you're not.”

  “Yes, I am,” ShaoShu said, “or I'm not going to help you. I hate it here. I want to go somewhere else.”

  “Well, you aren't staying with me.”

  “I won't stay with you. You are mean. I'll find a dry corner in some other city, just like I had here. I only want a ride out of here.”

  Ying gave up. “Fine. Are you sure I can trust you to deliver the skiff to the park?”

  “Of course,” ShaoShu said. “I have to trust you, too, you know. You're the one who wanted to break my hand.”

  Ying nodded. He had a point. “All right, then. Let's get on with it.” Ying turned to walk away.

  “Hey, where are you going?” ShaoShu asked.

  Ying looked up at him as if he were crazy. “To the park.”

  ShaoShu's eyes widened with surprise. “What about your friend?”

  “What about her?”

  “Isn't she going, too?”

  “No.”

  “You are just going to leave her here?” ShaoShu said. “You can't. The soldiers are looking for her, too. I told you that.” He glared at Ying.

  Ying lowered his head and rubbed his temples. His headache was coming back. “All right, you go get the skiff and head downstream. I'll go find her.”

  ShaoShu didn't reply.

  Ying looked up and saw that ShaoShu was staring farther back into the alley, over Ying's shoulder. Ying spun around and was shocked to see Hok walking silently toward him.

  “How did you find me?” Ying asked her.

  “I have been following you,” Hok replied. “You are very good at traveling undetected, but I am better.”

  Ying frowned. “How long have you been standing back there?”

  “Long enough,” Hok said. She locked eyes with him. “I am glad that you decided to look for me. Thank you.”

  Ying looked away. He didn't know what to say.

  “The polite response would be ‘You're welcome,’ ” Hok said.

  Ying shuffled his feet and looked at her. “You're welcome.”

  Hok nodded and looked up at ShaoShu. “My name is Hok, ShaoShu, and his name is Ying. Do as he said and go get the skiff now. We will meet you downstream as you suggested. Hurry.”

  At daybreak, Ying and Hok found ShaoShu right where he said he would be, with the skiff. Except for a few elderly individuals
exercising, they had the entire park to themselves. ShaoShu looked at Ying, and a huge grin spread across the boy's face.

  “What?” Ying asked.

  “I told you that you could trust me,” ShaoShu said.

  “I suppose you are right,” Ying said. “I'll keep my end of the bargain, too, to show that you can trust me. You may remain with us. Just make sure you stay out of the way.”

  “You won't even know I'm here,” ShaoShu said. “Thank you.”

  Ying nodded.

  Hok turned to Ying. “Where to?”

  “We will head south,” Ying replied.

  “How far?” ShaoShu asked.

  “To the end of the Grand Canal, just beyond the city of Hangzhou.”

  “Wow!” ShaoShu said. “I've always wanted to go there. Are we going to meet someone?”

  Ying paused and looked at ShaoShu. “We need to get something straight right now. Hok doesn't talk much, and I talk even less. If you are going to travel with us, you're going to have to keep your mouth shut. No more questions.”

  ShaoShu made a gesture as if he were locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

  “I am serious,” Ying said.

  ShaoShu nodded back, silent. He suddenly seemed serious, too. Very serious.

  Ying rubbed his carved chin and turned away. Perhaps there was more to ShaoShu than met the eye.

  They shoved off, with Hok taking the first shift on the oar and Ying and ShaoShu under cover beneath the skiff's canopy. Their plan was to travel continuously, stopping only long enough to stock up on basic supplies such as food. Hok would not try to find any additional herbs for her medicine bag. They hoped that as long as they kept moving, Tonglong would not catch them.

  Ying and Hok soon settled into a routine similar to the one that they had established heading to Xuzhou, with ShaoShu constantly on the lookout for trouble.

  They were running with the current, so rowing wasn't much of a chore. Ying and Hok took turns, with Hok taking many of the daylight hours. Ying got plenty of rest, and that, plus the new dragon bone—at least in his opinion—helped get his sore shoulder quickly back on the mend.

  True to his word, ShaoShu kept quiet. So much so that Ying had to look at him whenever he asked the boy a question because ShaoShu would often reply with only a head shake or a nod. ShaoShu spent hour after hour silently staring at the world around them, seemingly soaking it all in. Ying spent a lot of time beneath the canopy with ShaoShu, but somehow Ying hardly noticed the small boy. He had a way of disappearing right under Ying's nose. ShaoShu seemed to enjoy curling into a tight ball and hiding in the most impossible places, even on this tiny boat. Ying found he didn't mind having the kid around at all.