Eagle (13 page)

“Good idea,” Charles said. “I know the place.”

PawPaw smiled and looked at each of the boys in turn. “Don't any of you forget to come back here and visit me! I am sure NgGung will keep me up to date about your escapades, but it's always good to see old friends face to face.”

“We will see you again,” Charles said. “That's a promise. Are we all set, then?”

“Not quite,” Seh said. “We are forgetting about Tonglong. There is a chance he will get to Hok before you do. NgGung, do you have any news of Tonglong's whereabouts?”

“My sources claim he is headed down the Grand Canal, along with the Emperor and a garrison of soldiers,” NgGung replied. “If I were a betting man, I'd wager that Tonglong was in Xuzhou at this very moment. I've heard the city is hosting a special Mid-Autumn Festival fight club event. The Emperor never misses a major fight club event. In fact, I believe your brother Long—I mean, Golden Dragon—is scheduled to fight.”

Malao squawked, “Wait! You said Hok was near Xuzhou!”

NgGung nodded.

“We need to do something right now,” Fu said. “What if she tries to see Long at the fight club?”

“You are already doing everything that can be done,” NgGung said. “All we can do is hope for the best and plan for the worst.” He turned to Charles. “Your plan is a good one.”

“Thank you,” Charles said. “I guess as long as Hok and Ying aren't in Xuzhou tonight, they should be fine, right?”

“Right,” NgGung said. “There is no point in discussing it further. Let's get you three moving.”

Y
ing and Hok arrived in Xuzhou under the light of a dazzling full moon. The waterway was crowded with travelers vying for dock space, and the canal front buzzed with a carnival-like atmosphere. Colorful lan terns hung everywhere, and the smell of grilled food and moon cake was thick in the night air.

Ying looked over at Hok. “Mid-Autumn Festival,” he said.

Hok nodded.

Remarkably, a slip opened up ahead of them, and Hok eased the skiff in. Ying tied the skiff off, adjusted the black silk scarf across his face, and climbed ashore.

Hok followed, tightening the green turban on her head. She pointed to a posting board farther down the
canal front. Even from a distance, Ying recognized that it was a fight club poster. He also recognized the sketch of tonight's featured fighter. It was Long.

“Should we try to see him?” Hok asked.

“No,” Ying said. “Too risky. The Xuzhou Fight Club is much more secure than the one in Jinan. There are three times as many guards, and there are sure to be soldiers, too. The Emperor never misses a fight club event here.”

Hok tilted her head to one side. “We didn't see the Emperor or his men pass us along the canal.”

“We spent a lot of time on the bank with you in the villages. They could have easily passed by without us noticing.”

“I suppose,” Hok said. “Where is it we are going, then?”

“To the Pet Market,” Ying replied.

“Why?”

“I once bought a large supply of dragon bone from a pet vendor here. We'll start with him.”

“There is a market for pets?” Hok asked.

“Yes. It has been fashionable for some time here to keep wild animals as pets. The more exotic the pet, the more expensive it is, and the more expensive it is, the more fashionable it is.”

“That is unfortunate,” Hok said.

Ying shrugged. “It is what it is.”

Ying worked his way through the crowd to a series of small, out-of-the-way streets and back alleys. Half an hour later, they arrived at an open-air marketplace.

It was essentially a long, narrow street illuminated by hundreds of oil lamps hung from the eaves of the surrounding buildings. Various vendors had laid out blankets and set up tables, stacking bamboo cages high into the air.

The Pet Market had the feel of a typical outdoor night market but smelled very different. Thousands of animals were on display, each supplying its own assortment of odors, none of them pleasant. For once, Ying's face scarf wasn't such a peculiar sight. Many of the vendors and customers wore them to shield themselves from the horrible smells. There was also a tre mendous amount of noise. Birds chirped, cats meowed, and dogs barked. It was as if each animal group was trying to outdo the others.

Everything was represented here, from scales to fur to fins. Some of the animals were in decent shape, but most were not. The majority of creatures were housed in dirty woven-bamboo cages without food or water. Ying saw lizards and snakes of all sizes, their bodies covered in sores, their noses rubbed raw from trying to push their way out of the enclosures. There were rats and monkeys cowering in their own filth, their mange-ridden fur falling out in clumps. Turtles and tortoises were stacked upside down in large pyramids, serving as boundaries between vendor displays. Even Ying, who normally cared little about the welfare of lower life-forms, was uncomfortable.

Hok leaned close to him. “I don't like it here. Please hurry.”

Ying nodded and scanned the marketplace. About halfway down the street, he saw the man he was looking for standing next to a gigantic cage filled with hundreds of small, colorful birds.

“Follow me,” Ying said, pushing his way into the crowd.

The pet vendor Ying was heading for was a grizzled old man with short, thinning gray hair. His hands were heavily scarred from handling creatures with claws much of his life. Without question, he had the largest collection of exotic creatures in the market. His display contained stack after stack of cages, but it was the sole uncaged creature that captured Ying's full attention. It was an eagle. The bird was not in a cage, but instead was tethered to a large perch.

Ying stared at the enormous bird as he pushed forward. Eagles were powerful, intelligent, and tenacious. They were to be respected, and they were to be feared. Though he would never admit it, if he'd had to pick a kung fu style to learn besides dragon, Ying probably would have picked eagle style.

Sadly, the bird Ying was looking at was dull brown and covered in grime. Many of its feathers had fallen out. Its talons were covered in sores and its eyes were cloudy. It was in horrible condition. Even so, the eagle managed to retain a certain pride and strength that could be felt as well as seen. Ying supposed that was why it was on display. It was likely going to die soon, yet it was clear that when the time came for this eagle to leave the world, it would gladly take
you
along with it.

The pet vendor straightened when he saw Ying and Hok coming. “Good evening,” he said with a slight bow.

Ying nodded back. “Good evening. You and I have done business in the past. I am hoping we can do more tonight.”

“Excellent,” the pet vendor said, clasping his scarred hands. “How can I be of service?”

“I am looking for powdered dragon bone.”

The pet vendor paused and looked around, then leaned forward. “Dragon bone, you say? What do you need it for?”

“What difference does it make?” Ying asked.

“I could get in serious trouble for selling it to you.”

“Trouble? For selling dragon bone?”

The pet vendor nodded. “The leader of the largest black-market network in the region is prohibiting anyone from selling it, even if they're not in his network—which I'm not. He usually doesn't pay attention to me, and I want it to stay that way. If I sold some and word got out, my days would be numbered.”

“I promise not to say a word,” Ying said. “How much dragon bone do you have?”

The pet vendor glanced around again. “How much money do you have?”

Ying grasped the coin pouch Charles had given him from HaMo's boat and untied it from his sash. He set it on the small table in front of the man. “This much,” Ying said, opening it. He turned to Hok. “What about you?”

Hok was staring at the enormous birdcage. She
replied without looking at him, “I will contribute an equal amount of coins to purchase an equal amount of dragon bone.”

The pet vendor's eyes lit up. “Wonderful! I don't keep any here, for obvious reasons, but my supply is not far away. I can retrieve it and be back in less than a quarter of an hour. After I return, we will negotiate specific pricing.”

“Good,” Ying said. “We're in a hurry.”

“I'll leave this instant. Before I go, is there anything else you are considering?”

Ying glanced at the stacks of bamboo cages and smacked his lips. “Yes, a snake or two.”

Hok cringed.

“Of course,” the pet vendor said. “I have plenty to choose from. How about this Asian vine snake?” He pointed to a snake that appeared to be nearly as long as Ying was tall, but was only as big around as his middle finger.

“Too skinny,” Ying replied. He pointed to a very colorful snake with a more robust build. It had a bright blue and black head and looked exactly like Seh's snake. “What is this one?”

“That is a cave-dwelling rat snake. It lives in caves and eats, uh, rats. Bats, too. It's a type of beauty snake.”

“It fills its belly with bats and rats?” Ying said. “No thanks. What about these?” He pointed to a large ball of snakes writhing in a small cage. The snakes were black and gray with brilliant yellow triangles and diamonds on their backs.

“Those, my friend, are Mandarin rat snakes. Very beautiful, also.”

“I guess,” Ying said. “But how do they taste?”

“Excuse me?”

“I asked you how they taste.”

“These are … ahhh … pets.”

“So?”

The pet vendor scratched his head. “Well … I … ummm … never mind. Do you want one or not?”

Ying smacked his lips again. “Absolutely.”

“Which one?” the pet vendor asked.

Ying thought for a moment. His wounds were healing remarkably fast, and mixing the powdered dragon bone with fresh snake's blood would cure him even faster. However, his left shoulder was quite sore. Wrangling a snake would be a good test to see how far his healing had come.

“Give me the meanest snake you've got,” Ying said.

The pet vendor chuckled. He pointed to a small, tightly woven bamboo cage on the ground beneath the table. In it was a snake patterned much like the cave-dwelling rat snake and equally vibrant, but with different coloration. It was primarily yellow in the sections where the cave dweller was blue.

“That is a true beauty snake,” the pet vendor said. “I hate that snake. He's more trouble than he is worth. I'll give him to you free of charge if you purchase some dragon bone.”

“Perfect,” Ying replied.

Hok cleared her throat and turned away from the
birdcage. She knelt in front of the beauty snake's cage and frowned. “He looks amazing.”

“Yes, he does,” the pet vendor said. “But he's the meanest creature I've ever laid eyes on. Go ahead, get closer.”

Hok leaned toward the cage, and the beauty snake reared its colorful head. It opened its mouth, hissing loudly.

Hok stood and backed away, but the snake did not settle down. It kept its eyes locked on Hok.

“Maybe he's just upset that he's in such a small cage,” Hok said.

“That's nonsense,” the pet vendor replied. “Snakes can't reason. He has plenty of space. Snakes of his type live in cages that size their whole lives and never have any problems. He's just plain mean.”

Ying squatted down and put his carved face close to the snake's cage. The snake raised its head even higher and pulled back, forming an
5
shape with its neck. The snake hissed louder and began to vibrate its tail amazingly fast. Ying could feel nervous energy pouring out of the beauty snake, permeating the air around it.

Ying stood and looked at the pet vendor. He grinned. “I'll take it.”

“Done!” the pet vendor said with a laugh. “Shall I go get the rest of the merchandise?”

“Yes,” Ying replied. He nodded toward the cage with the writhing ball of Mandarin rat snakes. “I'll take them, too.”

The pet vendor's eyes widened with delight. “The whole lot?”

Ying nodded. “We can work out a price for them along with the dragon bone.” He pointed to a small dagger in the pet vendor's sash. “I'll take that knife, too.”

“Sorry,” the pet vendor said. “The dagger isn't for sale.”

“Do you have knives that are for sale?”

The pet vendor shook his head.

Ying glanced at his fingernails. They were nowhere near as long as they used to be—nor as sharp—but they would probably still work. They would have to do.

“Forget the knife, then,” Ying said. “What about a goblet?”

“A goblet?” the pet vendor said. “What do I look like, royalty? I have a drinking bowl, like everybody else.” He pointed to a small wooden bowl on the table-top. “You're welcome to use it. I will return shortly.”

“Remember, I'm in a hurry,” Ying said.

“Of course,” the pet vendor replied. He stepped through the curtain at the back of his booth and disappeared.

Ying grabbed the drinking bowl and heard Hok shuffle her feet.

“You're not going to do what I think you're going to do?” Hok asked. “Are you?”

“I most certainly am,” Ying said.

“Well, I can't watch,” Hok said.

“Suit yourself,” Ying said. “You can go off and look for an additional supplier in case this man does not have enough dragon bone for both of us.”