Snake (Five Ancestors #3)(33)
Author: Jeff Stone

Sanfu nodded. “Ying is responsible for the destruction here, too. Amazingly, only a few people were hurt.” He looked at Fu. “After Fu and Malao escaped, I stunned Ying with a tiger-claw fist to the head. The villagers and I scattered and hid in the forest. Fortunately, Ying didn’t bother to have his men chase us down. But as you can see, he did torch the village.”

Seh pointed to the group of men still standing near the bun vendor’s shop. “Is that everyone? I don’t sense anyone else around.”

“The women and children have left,” Sanfu said. “They went to stay in other places, but some will likely come back after their homes have been made livable again.”

“What about the Governor?” Fu asked.

“He has gone to Kaifeng,” Sanfu said. “Alone. His son, Ho, is with your friend Ma. Ma’s mother took both of them to her sister’s house in a neighboring village. I have been staying at her home here, doing what I can to repair it. You boys may stay there with me.”

“I’ll help you fix it up,” Fu said. “I learned a few things about construction at the bandit stronghold.”

“Me too,” Seh said.

“Thank you,” Sanfu said. He looked at Malao again. “Speaking of help, let’s see if I can do anything for poor Malao.”

Sanfu untied one of several small pouches from his sash and waved the pouch beneath Malao’s nose. Malao twitched, and his eyes flew open. He began to mumble incoherently.

“Excellent,” Sanfu said. “Malao’s sleep is not so deep that we cannot reach him.” Sanfu untied a second pouch and withdrew a small decanter. He pulled the plug and dribbled some liquid into Malao’s open, babbling mouth.

Malao choked twice and his parched lips closed, followed by his eyes. He stopped mumbling and drifted into unconsciousness.

“I suspect Malao is going to be just fine,” Sanfu said.

“What was that drink?” Seh asked.

“Blood tonic,” Sanfu replied. “I made a batch for myself after my leg was punctured by a qiang ball weeks ago. It’s a combination of herbs boiled in water that helps revitalize your blood. It also helps fight off dehydration.” Sanfu pointed to Malao’s dry lips. “He would not have survived much longer without fluid. You boys should be proud of yourselves for getting him here before it was too late.”

“Proud?” Fu growled. “I’m angry. I am going to get Ying for this and everything else he’s done!”

Sanfu sighed. “Ying is very powerful, Fu.”

“Then we’ll get help,” Seh said. “I think Mong will help us.” He lowered his head. “If he survived the attack.”

“Mong will be fine,” Sanfu said. He rested a huge hand on Seh’s shoulder. “Did Mong happen to give you any emergency rendezvous plans?”

Seh nodded. “We’re supposed to meet him in Kaifeng in a month on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival.”

“Good,” Sanfu said. “I’ll come with you. Where are you supposed to meet him?”

“An inn called the Jade Phoenix.”

“I’m familiar with it,” Sanfu said. He looked at Fu. “They make the best soy sauce chicken.”

Fu’s eyes widened, and he licked his lips.

Seh glanced down at Malao. He thought about how he would hopefully see his father again and how Fu was already with his. Seh looked at Sanfu. “Do you happen to know anything about Malao’s father?”

Sanfu paused and scratched his scraggly beard. “I do. This isn’t common knowledge, so I’ll ask that you keep it among yourselves. Malao’s father used to live in this region and was known by most people as the Monkey King. He kept to himself, and very few people ever saw him. He ran off recently. He’s not coming back.”

“Is he still alive?” Fu asked.

“No one knows,” Sanfu replied.

“What was he running from?” Seh asked.

“Not what,” Sanfu said. “Who. Someone called Bing.”

“Ice?” Seh said. “That’s Cantonese.”

“Yes, it is,” Sanfu said.

“Then we’ll add Bing’s name to the list right after Ying’s!” Fu said. He slammed his fist into his palm.

Sanfu shook his head. “You are no match for Bing. If you feel you must take action, Fu, focus on Ying. He is too powerful to attack head-on, so you’ll have to chip away at him slowly. Start by undoing the evil things he’s done.

“I vowed long ago to no longer be part of anyone else’s business,” Sanfu continued, “but it appears as though I must break that vow. I will help you. We will start with patching up Malao, then we’ll do what we can to help the villagers before leaving for Kaifeng and your meeting with Mong. Together, we won’t accomplish much, but if you can convince Mong to help us, we might just have a chance.”