Ying said nothing.
“That's what I thought,” Hok said. “You never had to do it. Not even once. Complaining about your life doesn't do you any good. Get over yourself.”
Ying frowned. His head ached. He needed to get away from Hok, but she continued to push him.
“Let's talk about your mother,” Hok said.
“No.”
“Come on, Ying,” Hok said, her voice softening. “It will help you. I've been through this.” She pulled the tiny jade crane out from behind the collar of her dress. “You asked me about this earlier. My mother gave it to me before she took me to Cangzhen. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
Ying didn't respond.
“Trust me, Ying,” Hok said. “I can help.”
“I trust no one,” Ying replied.
Hok shook her head and sighed. “I think that might be your biggest problem.”
“I don't want to talk about it.”
“Of course you don't,” Hok said. “You want to run away like you always do. Either that, or you want to smash something. Running and smashing solve nothing, Ying.”
“Stop talking!” Ying shouted. He clenched his fists and bit his lip, his pointed teeth drawing blood. He needed to go. Another shout like that and he'd draw unwelcome attention to himself. Ying grabbed the bag of powdered dragon bone and tore the turban from Hok's head.
Hok didn't budge.
Ying unrolled the turban and poured half the dragon bone in a pile in the center of it. He scowled at Hok. “You may know a thing or two about me, but you know nothing about my mother. I put my trust in her, and she abandoned me. Everything I know about trust I learned from her and Grandmaster.”
“Do you want me to come with you when you go to find her?” Hok asked.
Ying didn't reply. He rolled Hok's turban around her share of the dragon bone and handed it to her.
“How do you know that the directions the pet vendor gave you were accurate?” Hok asked. “He could have been lying.”
“He was telling the truth,” Ying said.
“You trust him?”
“No, I don't trust him. But I believe him.”
“Why?”
“Because the directions that he gave me aligned perfectly with the dragon scroll map in my head,” Ying said. “That can't be coincidence. Goodbye, Hok. Find someone else to take care of.”
Ying turned and walked quickly away.
For the next half hour, Ying clung to the shadows, snaking his way in and out of Xuzhou's blackest alleyways. Traveling this way would make him take much longer to return to the skiff, but at least he could make certain he wasn't being followed. After the skirmish with the pet vendor and his argument with Hok, he couldn't be too careful. Especially in his state of mind.
Hok had nearly driven him mad. Who did she think she was, talking to him that way? She had spoken to him as if he were a child. She had acted as if she were his parent, as if she were in control. He would show her who was in control. He was taking the skiff. Hok could find her own way home.
Ying was almost to the canal front when something heavy dropped from the sky. It crashed in front of his feet. It appeared to be a bag of coins. In fact, it appeared to be his bag of coins.
Ying heard jingling overhead and looked skyward. A second bag of coins came plummeting down, landing next to the first bag. It was Hok's bag.
ShaoShu, Ying thought.
“Show your face!” Ying hissed.
ShaoShu's tiny head appeared over the edge of the rooftop directly above Ying. The boy was silhouetted by the bright moonlight.
Ying pointed to the coin bags. “What is this about?”
“I thought about what your friend said,” ShaoShu replied. “She is right. Stealing is wrong. Keep your stupid coins.”
Ying's carved eyebrows rose. “This had better not be a trick, you little rodent. If these bags are poisoned, I will hunt you down and—”
“No tricks,” ShaoShu said. “I promise.”
Ying eyed the boy suspiciously. “You're returning these simply because you feel bad?”
“I didn't exactly feel bad taking them from you,” ShaoShu said, “but I feel bad taking them from her.”
Ying scowled at the boy. “What about my dinner bun?”
“I ate it,” ShaoShu replied. “But I don't feel bad about that. I have some news for you that is worth a whole lot more than a dinner bun. Someone called
General Tonglong is here in Xuzhou. He has men hiding in boats all along the canal, waiting to catch you.”
Ying stared up at ShaoShu. “Who told you this?”
“I overheard two soldiers talking about it. They said they were going to capture you and then kill you. Your friend, too.”