Snake (Five Ancestors #3)(15)
Author: Jeff Stone

Fu tossed the bow, arrow, and quiver into the trees. The archer attempted to stand, but Fu pounced on his chest.

“Don’t you EVER point that thing at my little brother,” Fu growled in the archer’s face. “Do you understand?”

The archer nodded.

Seh took a step toward the spearman, and the pit of his stomach began to tingle again as a spasm ripped through the snake on his arm. Seh spun around, expecting to see Malao behind him on the ground. Instead, he saw a medium-sized man with big brown eyes, a large nose, and strange, droopy ears jump out from behind a bush. The man landed on all fours and raised his head, sniffing the air.

Sniff, sniff, sniff. “Let’s see….” Sniff, sniff. “A snake, a tiger, and a …” Sniff, sniff, cough! “Whew! A monkey? What fun!”

Seh grimaced. “Who are you?”

The man stood, grinning, and folded his hands like a Cangzhen monk. “I am Gao. Welcome to the stronghold, my brothers.”

I can’t believe we came all the way back here because of a stupid dream,” Captain Yue said.

Commander Woo looked up from the morning campfire. “Lower your voice!” he whispered. “Don’t criticize Major Ying’s decisions or his dreams. You’ve seen the kind of mood he’s been in since we left Shaolin.”

Captain Yue yawned and examined the sleeve of his ornate silk robe. “I don’t care anymore. I’m thinking about ending this assignment. My uncle—the Emperor—promised me adventure and excitement. So far, all we’ve done is trudge through the forest in a big circle. Now we’re back at Cangzhen, right where we started. This is ridiculous.”

“Major Ying has his reasons for returning,” Commander Woo said. “As Major Ying’s third in command, you’re in no position to question him. And as his number two, it would be my responsibility to stop you. Besides, where would you go?”

“My uncle’s summer palace isn’t all that far from here,” Captain Yue said. “I’m sure I could find it easily enough. If my leg weren’t still injured from that encounter with the Drunkard, I’d be on my way right now.”

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Commander Woo said. “I outrank you and—”

“Oh, please,” Captain Yue interrupted. “It’s not like you could stop me. Your leg is much worse than mine. Tell me again, how was it that you hurt yours?”

Commander Woo stood on his good leg. “Listen to me, you—”

Ying emerged from the shadows beyond the campfire. “That’s enough!” he hissed. He looked at Commander Woo. “You should know better than to argue like this out in the open. What if the men heard you?”

Commander Woo sat down and lowered his head.

Ying looked at Captain Yue and the grooves in his forehead deepened. “I promised your uncle—the Emperor—I would personally keep an eye on you. You will go nowhere until I say so. You and Commander Woo had better be ready to strike camp the moment Tonglong arrives.”

“Yes, sir,” Commander Woo said. “Do you expect him soon? He’s followed the young monks from Shaolin, right?”

“Yes,” Ying replied. “I expect he’ll meet us here in the next few days. He rode that demon horse of his, which will speed his travel considerably.”

Commander Woo nodded.

“One more thing,” Ying said. “I need you to find a green tree snake for my drink tonight. The blood from the brown ground dwellers you’ve been using lately doesn’t seem to taste as good with the powdered dragon bone.”

“Of course, sir,” Commander Woo said. “As you wish.”

Ying looked at Captain Yue. Captain Yue was brushing his eyebrows with a tiny jade comb.

Ying shook his head and turned away. “Hopeless!” he muttered, heading across the Cangzhen compound toward Grandmaster’s residence. It was time to take care of what had brought him back here. With every step, Ying grew angrier.

“Grandmaster disrespected me,” Ying said to himself. “His family and friends will suffer like I have suffered. I will smash his network and hack off every limb of his family tree. I will erase his entire clan as if they never existed.”

Enraged, Ying reached the broken gate of Grandmaster’s residence and found it hanging by one of its massive hinges. Ying slammed his fists into the gate, splintering it into a thousand pieces.

Ying had always hated Grandmaster’s personal compound. He remembered once asking Grandmaster why a second series of walls was necessary around his residence. Grandmaster responded by making Ying scrub every speck of every wall with a small brush. Cleaning the walls was supposed to give Ying time to “cleanse his mind of trivial interests” that didn’t concern him. Instead, it raised more questions. It also made Ying’s arms ache. It took him two weeks.