by Dan Lee
Dan Lee spends his time travelling between Asia and Britain. A wing chun master, he also trains in kickboxing and ju-jitsu.
Books in The Tangshan Tigers series
THE STOLEN JADE
THE GOLDEN KEY
THE INVISIBLE CLOUD
THE SILENT ENEMY
THE LIGHTNING STING
TANGSHAN
TIGERS
The Lightning
Sting
Dan Lee
PUFFIN
With special thanks to Brandon Robshaw
PUFFIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
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Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published 2008
I
Series created by Working Partners Ltd, London
Text copyright © Working Partners Ltd, 2008
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
978-0-14-191972-0
CONTENTS
1 The Return of Chang
2 The Power of Chi Sao
3 Heart of a Diamond
4 The Chase
5 Stung!
6 A Clue?
7 The Tournament
8 Leap in the Dark
9 Sky High
Chapter 1
THE RETURN OF CHANG
‘And so I would like you all to welcome back our respected martial arts master and coach… Chang Sifu!’ said Mr Wu, the principal.
Matt clapped as hard as he could. Every student in the huge Assembly Hall, with its light-sensitive, colour-changing mosaic walls, was applauding. But no one was applauding as loudly as Matt and his friends the Tangshan Tigers – Shawn, Catarina and Olivier.
The Tigers were a secret crime-fighting gang that Matt had formed with his best friends from the martial arts squad in his first term at the Beijing International Academy.
Matt’s hands were soon stinging. Even though he had lost his own place on the martial arts squad, he was still really happy to see Chang back in the school.
Master Chang walked modestly on to the stage, his head bowed. Mr Wu waved the audience on to applaud even more, like a ringmaster at a circus.
The only person who didn’t seem glad to welcome Chang back was Carl Warrick.
‘It’s a drag Sensei Ryan’s gone,’ he muttered from his place beside Matt. ‘He knew what he was doing, that guy.’
‘Sure,’ said Olivier dryly. ‘That would be why he’s sitting in a police cell right now, waiting to be deported.’
The Tangshan Tigers laughed. Carl turned away crossly, his face reddening.
Mr Wu had milked the applause as long as he decently could. He walked to the front of the stage and made calming motions with his hands. The light twinkled off his cufflinks and glittering steel spectacles.
‘As you know, I always have the best interests of this school at heart. I knew that Chang was the best man for the job – and Master Chang agrees with me!’
Matt rolled his eyes. It was thanks to Mr Wu that Chang had left in the first place. Not only that, it was the Tangshan Tigers who’d had to prove that Chang’s replacement, Sensei Ryan, was secretly employed by a criminal named Sang. Sang had paid Ryan to ruin Chang’s reputation. Needless to say, Chang had won that fight. Chang was a true master of martial arts.
‘He’s such a hypocrite!’ Matt said out of the corner of his mouth to the Tigers.
Catarina grinned and Shawn winked at him.
‘Don’t worry about it, Matt,’ said Catarina.
‘It’s pretty funny when you think about it,’ said Olivier.
‘We know who got Chang his job back,’ said Shawn. ‘That’s all that matters.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ said Matt, feeling cheered again.
‘And now,’ said Mr Wu, ‘I’d like to ask Chang Sifu to say a few words. Come forward, my friend; yes, that’s right – stand just here, next to me.’ He placed his hand on Chang’s shoulder. ‘Pray silence for Chang Sifu.’
The two men formed a strange contrast, thought Matt as he sat back down. Mr Wu was so smart and dapper in his well-cut black suit, standing stiffly and proudly. Beside him stood the slightly taller figure of Chang in his martial arts attire: relaxed, calm, arms hanging by his side. Chang looks so much more impressive, Matt thought.
Chang Sifu coughed politely. ‘Thank you very much for warm welcome. It means much to me. I am glad to be back. Beijing Academy team has match coming up in two weeks and I must prepare squad. After assembly, could the following students report to the kwoon: Catarina Ribeiro, Shawn Hung, Olivier Girard, Carl Warrick, Lola Adebayo, Paolo Zapata, Wolfgang Becker, Abdul Halwani, Andrei Drago, Jahmal Dangerfield… and Matt James.’
Matt’s heart thudded inside his chest at the sound of his name. He was back in the squad! Matt had suffered an injury after Sensei Ryan had forced him to train too hard, and he’d been dropped to make way for the new boy, Andrei Drago.
The Tangshan Tigers cheered.
‘Yay!’ said Catarina.
‘Way to go, Matt!’ said Shawn.
‘We said you’d get back in the team!’ Olivier added.
Matt smiled. He was too happy to speak.
‘So, you’ve squeezed your way back in somehow, have you?’ sneered Carl. ‘I might have guessed. Teacher’s pet!’
‘Matt is not a teacher’s pet,’ said Catarina. ‘He’s a great fighter and you know it!’
‘All right, all right,’ said Matt, embarrassed. ‘Let Carl think what he likes, I don’t care.’
The rest of the team made it clear they weren’t with Carl on this one.
‘Welcome back, Matt!’ said Lola.
‘Yeah, it’s good to have you with us again,’ said Wolfgang.
Even Andrei Drago gave Matt a faint grin.
The squad was standing outside the kwoon, waiting for Master Chang to open the doors. Through the glass they could see the spacious, high-ceilinged hall. There was a white square of matting for combat in the middle, scarlet dragons painted on the wall, and Chang Sifu himself kneeling at the far end, head bowed in meditation as usual before a training session.
‘Look at him!’ said Carl impatiently. ‘Why does he waste his time on that rubbish? The guy should be running a monastery, not a martial arts team! I’d hoped he’d have shaped up while he was away, but it doesn’t look like it. The guy’s past it, that’s what I reckon.’
Matt wasn’t prepared to hear him cri
ticize Chang. ‘Yeah?’ he said. ‘Well, I think Master Chang is a great coach and so does everyone else! It was thanks to him we won the last two tournaments –’
‘It was thanks to me we won the last one!’ Carl interrupted. ‘If I hadn’t won my bout –’
‘Civilization would have crumbled,’ said Olivier, in his pitch-perfect imitation of Carl’s voice. ‘Without me, the great Carl Warrick, human life would grind to a halt!’
Carl glared at him. The rest of the squad burst out laughing.
Master Chang had risen now and Matt saw him striding towards the door.
‘Come in, team. Ready for session of hard work today, I hope. Welcome, Matt. Vincent Poirier has had to return to France, so space available for you. You would not have been dropped anyway, I’m sure, but for injury.’
‘It’s great to be back!’ said Matt.
Carl made sick noises in his throat.
‘Are you unwell, Carl?’ asked Chang.
Carl shook his head sulkily.
‘Then let us begin. Please to form two lines,’ Chang instructed the squad. ‘I have announcement to make.’
Matt watched expectantly, wondering what the announcement could be. He glanced at the other Tigers. They looked as intrigued as he felt. As usual Chang’s face was impassive, giving no clue as to whether the announcement was good or bad news.
When the squad had settled into two lines, Chang said: ‘We are to take part in another tournament. Against very good team – the elite squad of Kensington International Academy.’
A murmur of excitement ran round the squad.
Matt felt his heartbeat quicken.
‘Wow!’ he murmured.
‘What?’ said Catarina, who was standing next to him.
‘I know that school.’
It was only because his mother had been posted to Beijing that Matt hadn’t ended up at Kensington International Academy. It was the best known, most prestigious international school in London, and its martial arts team had an awesome reputation. They competed against all the top junior teams and hadn’t lost a tournament for a long time.
‘I nearly went there!’ he told Catarina.
‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah, and some of my old friends from London are pupils there. I wonder if Harry’s made the team? It’d be weird if I was competing against him –’
Chang Sifu glanced in Matt’s direction and raised an eyebrow. Matt stopped talking.
‘We will need a captain, of course. Catarina did very good job at tournament in Kyoto, but it is time for new captain. Who shall we choose? We need someone who does not chatter at wrong moment.’ He looked meaningfully at Matt.
‘On the other hand,’ went on Chang, ‘this is first time BIA squad will travel outside Asia for tournament – it will be best to choose someone who knows country and culture. That person will be Matt.’
‘Oh, yesss!’ said Matt, punching the air in jubilation. He’d gone from non-team member to captain in one morning – pretty good going! Catarina let out a whoop and Olivier clapped Matt on the back delightedly.
‘Yay!’ said Shawn. ‘Go, Matt!’
‘Wait a minute!’ protested Carl. ‘How come he just strolls back into the team and suddenly he’s captain? Last time there was a test –’
‘London is Matt’s home,’ said Chang calmly. ‘This makes him most suitable captain for tournament in that city. If ever we have tournament against Sydney Institute of Excellence, you will be nominated captain, Carl. That is fair – yes?’
Carl nodded slowly. Matt noticed he still didn’t look happy. But what was new? Carl hardly ever looked happy, unless he’d just got one up on somebody.
‘And now,’ said Chang, ‘I have some bad news.’ He looked grave. ‘Very bad news indeed.’
‘What do you think it is?’ whispered Catarina.
‘Dunno,’ mouthed Matt.
‘Because we fly to London tomorrow,’ said Chang, ‘we must spend all of today training and preparing. Very sorry to say this means all of today’s lessons are cancelled for you.’
‘Hooray!’ shouted Catarina.
‘Great!’ said Olivier.
‘Awesome!’ added Shawn.
Everyone was cheering and whooping. Even Carl was smiling and shaking his head.
It was funny, thought Matt, laughing along with the rest of the team. Chang did not usually play jokes on them like this. He must be as pleased to be back as I am!
The noise subsided as Chang Sifu held up his hand for silence.
‘Time to be serious,’ he said. ‘Today I teach you something important. It is a little trickier than last lesson I taught you – centre line theory, you remember?’
There were nods and murmurs of assent around the kwoon.
‘Let me make check before we move on,’ said Chang. ‘Matt, tell us what centre line theory is.’
Matt paused for a moment to get his thoughts in order. ‘It’s a technique you can use with any martial arts discipline. You have to face your opponent, and have all your body – shoulders, hips, knees – pointing in the same direction. When you strike, you strike straight at an imaginary line in front of you, running through the opponent’s body. No roundhouse kicks or punches – everything moves along the most direct lines of attack and defence.’
Chang nodded. ‘Show.’
Matt went into the stance, his legs a shoulder’s width apart, weight resting on his back foot. He threw a few straight punches and mimed stiff blocks – all running along the imaginary line in front of him.
‘Good. Everyone.’
There was the sound of feet shuffling on the mat as the rest of the squad assumed the stance. Master Chang walked round, checking, nodding approval, occasionally pausing to adjust a knee or an elbow.
‘Good,’ said Chang again. ‘A lesson well learned. Now to move on to subject of today’s lesson. I am going to teach you Chi Sao game. Does anyone know of this?’
Matt looked at Shawn, who knew a lot about martial arts theory. He was a judo practitioner, and his grandfather was a kung fu exponent. But Shawn shrugged – even he didn’t know about Chi Sao.
‘Very well,’ said Chang. ‘Chi Sao is a training drill. Principal aim: to improve sensitivity, makes one better able to anticipate attacks. If you play this game regularly your anticipation will improve so that you expect attack almost before it is made.’
Carl put up his hand. ‘Hey, what’s wrong with just using our good old-fashioned reflexes? If you’ve got good reflexes – like me – you’ll always be able to react to an attack in time. And reflexes get better the more you use them, everyone knows that, so –’
‘It is true you have good reflexes, Carl,’ said Chang mildly. ‘But are they fast enough? Let us test them. Come forward.’
Carl strode forward confidently.
‘Take this coin,’ said Chang. He dropped a small gleaming silver coin into Carl’s outstretched palm. The rest of the team crowded round to watch. ‘Keep hand flat, like so, yes. In a moment I shall pluck coin from your hand – but you must try to close hand before I can do so. Understand?’
‘Yeah,’ said Carl. ‘Easy.’
‘You are ready?’
‘Sure –’ began Carl, but before the word had finished leaving his mouth, Chang’s hand had flicked out and removed the coin. Chang held it up between finger and thumb.
Carl’s face flushed a dull red. ‘That wasn’t fair! I wasn’t ready, you did it while I was still speaking!’
‘Then let us try again.’
He dropped the coin back into Carl’s hand. Carl tensed, eyes fixed on Chang. Matt could see he was on the alert for the slightest movement.
Again, Chang’s hand swept out. Again, Carl’s hand closed on empty air. Again, Chang held up the coin for everyone to see.
Matt couldn’t help smiling. A few of the squad giggled. Carl’s boasting hadn’t been entirely false – it was true, he did have good reflexes – but Chang was far too quick for him.
‘OK, OK,’ said Carl
loudly. ‘I’m not used to this game, but I reckon I’ve got the hang of it now. Gimme one more chance and I bet you won’t beat me this time!’
‘Very well.’ Matt saw a faint smile flit across Chang Sifu’s face.
Once more, Carl held out his hand with the coin in it. Chang’s hand shot forward. It happened almost too fast for Matt to follow – there was a blur of motion, Carl’s hand closed tight, and then Carl raised his fist in triumph.
‘Yes! I did it!’
He danced round the motionless Chang, punching the air.
‘I did it! That’s what reflexes can do, right?’
‘Show the class the coin, Carl,’ said Chang Sifu quietly.
‘What? Oh, sure.’
He held up the coin.
Matt gasped.
Then the rest of the class gasped as they saw what Matt had already noticed. The coin in Carl’s hand wasn’t silver.
It was copper.
Chapter 2
THE POWER OF CHI SAO
‘Did you see that?’ said Shawn. ‘He switched coins –’
The grin faded from Carl’s face as he realized what had happened. He stared at the copper coin in bewilderment.
‘Is this what you are looking for?’ asked Chang. He opened his hand to display the silver coin. ‘You may return to your place, Carl.’
Scowling, Carl fell into line once more.
Chang walked in front of the semicircle of students, making eye contact with each in turn. ‘Purpose of this demonstration is to show that reflexes are not enough. Before Carl’s fingers can close there is process of many stages. His eyes have to see slight movement on my part, then a message has to be sent to brain, then brain must send a message via nervous system to muscles that control fingers…’ Chang lightly touched his own eyes, head, arm and fingers as he spoke to show the stages.
‘This takes only fraction of a second – but fraction of second is long enough for me to do what I had always planned to do: snatch coin. This is trivial example, but principle applies in many situations – using brain can slow movement down.
