“I will try to remember that.”
“Good,” Golden Dragon said with a bow. “Now, I believe it is time.”
ShaoShu returned the bow and watched as the guard walked back over to them. He bowed to Golden Dragon and opened the door as the announcer cried, “Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Golden DRAGON!”
Golden Dragon entered the pit arena to enthu siastic applause. He bowed to the crowd, and Shao Shu heard someone behind him down the tunnel shout, “Enjoy this moment, Dragon, for it will be your last!”
ShaoShu turned to see Lei approaching, and he suddenly remembered what he still needed to do. As the guard began to close the pit arena door, ShaoShu said, “Wait, sir! Let me have just one more look.”
“Hurry up,” the guard grumbled.
ShaoShu poked his head into the pit arena and quickly snatched a handful of dirt from the ground. He took one last look at Golden Dragon, then pulled his head back inside the tunnel. The guard closed the door, and ShaoShu shoved his dirt-filled hand between his sash and his robe, next to the mouse's pouch.
“Fancy seeing you here,” Lei said.
ShaoShu turned around, and Lei stepped up to him.
“I'm sorry,” ShaoShu replied nervously. “I would have helped you if you asked.”
Lei raised his hand as if to hit ShaoShu, but the guard intervened.
“Lei,” the guard said. “You're about to go on. I need to see what you're packing tonight.”
Lei scoffed and pulled open his robe to reveal six loaded pistols in their holsters across his chest.
“Anything else?” the guard asked.
“No,” Lei replied.
ShaoShu's eyes widened. Was Lei lying? There was only one way to find out.
As Lei began to pull the folds of his robe back over his pistols, ShaoShu bent down and pulled his hand out of his sash. He shoved his face into his dirt-filled palm and inhaled deeply, unleashing a violent dirty sneeze all over the lower portion of Lei's right pant leg.
Lei recoiled in disgust, but ShaoShu had already taken hold of Lei's pant cuff and begun to wipe the snot from it. Lei stumbled, and as he attempted to right himself, ShaoShu leaned forward to block his view. He grabbed Tonglong's pistol from the folds of his robe and made the switch. Lei had indeed been lying.
By the time Lei regained his balance, ShaoShu was back to wiping snot. Lei and the guard were none the wiser.
Lei kicked ShaoShu in the ribs, and ShaoShu whimpered loudly. He rolled away, acting far more injured than he actually was. He knew the more distractions Lei had, the better.
Lei began to curse at him, and the guard said, “You're up, Lei.” The guard opened the pit arena door, and ShaoShu heard the announcer say, “Everyone … let's make some noise for THUNDER!”
The crowd yelled even louder for Lei than they had for Golden Dragon. Lei entered the pit arena and flashed his guns to the crowd. Their roar grew deafening.
The guard shut the door and shook his head, rubbing his ears. “I hate when he does that. It gives me a headache every time.”
The guard turned his face to the small barred window in the pit arena door.
ShaoShu looked around and realized that that window offered the only view into the pit arena. There was no way he could wait through the entire match without seeing at least some of it. What if Golden Dragon needed his help? Wasn't that part of a ring boy's job?
“Excuse me,” ShaoShu said to the guard. “May I take a look?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I said so.”
“But I am Golden Dragon's ring boy. I need to watch to see if he needs anything.”
The guard chuckled. “He won't be needing anything where he's going.”
ShaoShu pouted. “Will you help him if something bad happens?”
“Nope. Not my job.”
“Whose job is it?”
“Don't know, don't care. Now be quiet. The fight is about to start.”
ShaoShu had had enough. He was worried for Golden Dragon. Without giving it any more thought, he leaped onto the guard's back, wrapping his legs around the man's midsection like he'd seen Golden Dragon do.
“What the—” the guard began to say, but his words were cut short by ShaoShu's right arm digging into his throat. ShaoShu grabbed his own right wrist with his left hand and leaned back hard.
Unfortunately, for some reason the big man didn't go down. Instead, he thrashed and swung his arms wildly at ShaoShu, and ShaoShu thought he was going to get his head knocked off. He shifted his arms several different ways, but that merely made the guard more angry. ShaoShu gave the big man's neck one last squeeze, and the guard twisted around, trying to buck ShaoShu from his back. In the process, the guard tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face, his left temple striking the stone floor with tremendous force. The man went limp.