“No,” Ying said. “There are too many keys on this ring. By the time I figure out which ones will open their cells, we could be dead from smoke or something else. I won't risk it.”
“I am not leaving here without Fu and Malao,” Hok said.
“Then my debt has been repaid,” Ying said. “Goodbye.”
Ying rounded another corner and began to run. Foolish children, he thought. Don't know when to cut their losses.
Ying reached the end of the next passageway and came to a halt. The tunnel split in two directions. One way led to a set of stairs that went up to the fight club, while the other corridor sloped gently upward toward a ground-level exit door. If he were to encounter any guards or others fleeing the burning fight club, this would be the place.
Ying squeezed the key ring tight so it wouldn't jingle and peered around the corner. Smoke was streaming toward the exit. That meant the exit door was open, sucking the smoke toward it.
Ying listened closely.
Down the corridor in the direction of the exit, he heard footsteps. Someone coughed. “I can't believe we're being sent back in here,” a man said. “We should just wait by the exit door. It's the only way out for those kids.”
“I don't make the orders,” another man replied. “I only follow them. The captain said to make a quick sweep of the tunnels, then get out of here. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get some fresh air. Men, prepare your qiangs.”
Ying noted the unmistakable click of a qiang mechanism being engaged, then another, and another. He might be able to get past a single soldier with a qiang, but not three. Especially in his weakened state. Unfortunately, he needed help.
Ying silently ran back toward the others, cursing his terrible luck. As he neared the cells, he could hear Malao sobbing. He also heard Fu pounding furiously against the bars.
Hok saw Ying first. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ying cut her off. “There are at least three men coming this way with qiangs,” he said. “They intend to finish us. If I release Fu and Malao, will you follow my orders?”
Fu growled, but Malao said, “I'll do it, Ying! I'll do whatever you say! I'm a little dizzy and my shoulder is sore, but I can still fight. Get me out of here!”
“Hush!” Ying said. “Keep your voice down.” He stared hard at Fu. “What about you, Pussycat?”
Fu didn't reply.
Hok gave Fu an icy stare. “Be logical, Fu,” she said. “There isn't much time.”
“Fine,” Fu grumbled, locking eyes with Ying.
Ying fought back a smirk. Fu was irritating and immature, but at least he was always ready for a fight. Fu would go first.
Ying flipped through the ring of keys, selected one, and stuck it into Malao's cell door. The door swung open.
“Hey!” Malao whined. “You said you didn't know which key would open this door.”
“Lucky guess,” Ying snapped. He walked over to Fu's cell and unlocked it. As the door swung open, Fu snarled in Ying's face and muscled past.
“After you, Pussycat,” Ying said. “Put those feline instincts to use.”
Fu rushed forward.
Ying started after Fu, and Hok handed the monkey stick to Malao. Malao grinned excitedly. “Where did you get this?”
“From HaMo while I was inside the fight club,” Hok replied. “I'll tell you about it later. Are you sure you're okay?”
“I'm fine,” Malao said. He and Hok followed, with Seh in between them.
Fu soon stopped, and Ying watched Fu's head tilt to one side. Fu's low-light eyesight was excellent, but his ears were even better. Fu sank to his haunches and held up four fingers.
Four guards, Ying thought. That's five against four. No problem. He looked back at Hok, Seh, and Malao and held up four fingers. Hok and Malao nodded back. Hok whispered the information into Seh's ear.
Ying sank to the ground and slipped the chain whip from around his waist. He gathered it up in one hand, shoving the key ring behind his sash. He slid over to Fu's side and mouthed five words: Angry Tiger Moves the Mountain.
Fu nodded once and compressed his body into a large ball. A heavy boot scraped the floor just ahead of them, and Fu sprang with a tremendous roar.
“Oooof!” the lead guard groaned as Fu slammed into his midsection. The guard's long qiang fired on impact with a characteristic click … fizz … BANG!, the lead ball burying itself harmlessly in the wall of the tunnel. Fu hammered a tiger-claw fist into the man's jaw, silencing him.
“What's going on up there?” a guard called out.
No one offered a reply.
Ying eased his back against the tunnel's stone wall and saw the outline of a second guard creeping forward with his long qiang leveled at Fu's head.