“Actually, he is stopping here on his way to the bandits’ former stronghold. We are going to wait there with a man named Commander Woo until the troops arrive from the south and east.”
“Nice work,” Ying said. “What else do you know?”
“Lots of things,” ShaoShu replied. “For one, Tonglong is a very bad man. Sometimes, when he wants information from someone and they won’t give it to him, he tortures them by—”
“I can imagine,” Ying interrupted. “Look, we do not have much time to talk. Can you give me any specific troop information? How many men does Tonglong have?”
“Ninety-nine. He calls them his ‘elite force.’ They are nasty, and they love to use pistols. They wear red uniforms like the one I am wearing, and like the Southern army wears.”
“How many men is he expecting to arrive later?”
“No one knows for sure. He has tens of thousands already, and he gets more every day. It is unbelievable.”
Ying spat. “This is far more serious than I thought. The Forbidden City has its own sizable force, but I believe it is only a few thousand men. Tonglong might be able to overrun it with sheer numbers. I need to get to him before he reaches the Forbidden City. You said that he is going to see Commander Woo now?”
“I believe so,” ShaoShu said.
“Do you know anything about their short-term plans?”
“One man Tonglong tortured told him that the bandits are training a rebel army. Tonglong wants to hunt them down and exterminate them before he gets to the Forbidden City.”
“Thank you, ShaoShu. This helps a lot. You are very brave for staying with Tonglong all this time. Do you have any news about the Emperor?”
“Tonglong has captured him and is keeping him alive at least until we get to the Forbidden City. Everyone knows that the Emperor is traveling with Tonglong, but they think the Emperor is traveling in style with the main army. We are actually transporting him secretly, against his will, in a crate built to carry pigs. It stinks so bad no one goes near it. He is all alone inside. I sneak him extra food and water every once in a while, even though I have been punished once for doing it.”
“That is very kind of you,” Ying said. “What about Hok and the others?”
“Seh is supposed to be with the bandits, and Hok, Malao, and Fu were going to try to find him. I bet Long went with them, plus a man called Xie, who was the Emperor’s personal bodyguard. Tonglong killed Xie’s father—the Western Warlord. Tonglong even killed his own mother, AnGangseh. He is heartless.”
Ying scowled. “This is unbelievable. I have been alone in the mountains and knew almost none of this. I need to find the bandits and give them an update as soon as possible. Do you know where they might be?”
“No. Tonglong plans to ask Commander Woo the same question when we get to the stronghold. What were you doing in the mountains?”
“Practicing.”
“Practicing what?”
Ying reached behind him and lifted a rusty straight sword from the rooftop. The blade was covered with scaly clumps of orange and red, but the handle was shiny and gold and covered with entwined dragons. While ShaoShu hated weapons, he considered this one beautiful. It must have been what had caught his eye while he was on the ground.
“Wow,” ShaoShu said. “Is that yours?”
“I suppose it is now,” Ying replied in a sad tone. “It belonged to the Grandmaster of this temple, my grandfather. I threw it up here after I killed him, so that it could die, too. I have decided to try to breathe life back into it. Perhaps it will help me right some of my wrongs.”
ShaoShu did not know what to say. He looked away to avoid eye contact with Ying, and noticed a soldier headed in their direction. Fortunately, the man seemed to be looking inside the buildings, not up on the rooftops. He shouted into the doorway of a nearby structure, “ShaoShu! Where are you, you little rodent? I am not in the mood for hide-and-seek. Get out here and give us a hand!”
“Uh-oh,” ShaoShu said. “I had better get going.”
Ying nodded. “It was good seeing you.”
“You too.” ShaoShu turned to go, then stopped and reached deep into the folds of his robe. He pulled out the two dragon scrolls he had stolen from Tonglong, and held them out for Ying. “I almost forgot these. Maybe you can use them. One even has sketches of a guy holding a sword like your grandfather’s in one hand, and a chain whip like yours in the other hand.”
Ying’s eyes widened and he took the scrolls from ShaoShu, unrolling them quickly. When Ying saw the sketches of the figure with a sword and a chain whip, ShaoShu swore that he was going to kiss him. Fortunately, Ying only patted him on the head.