In the meantime, however, he needed some sleep. Ying entered the sleeping quarters and opened the trapdoor that led down into the Cangzhen escape tunnel. He'd used the tunnel as a back door to launch the attack, but when he'd lived at Cangzhen it had been a peaceful refuge for him. He hoped it could be a sanctuary for him now. He called out to his number two man.
“Commander Woo! Report to the tunnel entrance in the sleeping quarters. Immediately!”
A moment later, the squat, powerful Commander burst into the room carrying a torch. “Sir? Is everything all right?”
“Yes, yes,” Ying replied. “I'm just going down into the escape tunnel for a while. I do not want to be disturbed for any reason. I will reactivate the monks’ traps down there, so tell the men to stay out.”
“I understand, sir,” Commander Woo said. “I will spread the word.”
“Good. When I come back up, I expect to see additional piles of armor stripped from our fallen soldiers. Order the men to search the compound for bodies one more time, too. I want to review the fallen monks again to double-check that all five boys did indeed escape. It that clear?”
Commander Woo pushed his armor-clad shoulders back and nodded. “Yes, sir!”
Ying grunted and dropped into the pitch-black escape tunnel to try to get some sleep.
“Wake up,” a voice whispered in Malao's ear.
Malao opened his eyes and saw Hok's pale face. It glowed in the moonlight spilling in through the hollow tree's entrance.
“Ying has gone down into the escape tunnel and his number one soldier, Tonglong, has left on a mission,” Hok said. “It's time to get Grandmaster.”
Without another word, Hok drifted out of the hollow. Malao groaned and hurried after him.
As he raced along the ground, Malao struggled to keep up with Hok, who floated effortlessly through the thick underbrush. No matter how many times he saw Hok travel like this, Malao couldn't seem to get used to it. It was just plain unnatural for a human to be able to travel so swiftly and silently through so many obstacles. If anyone could sneak inside Cangzhen and grab Grandmaster's body, it was Hok.
Unfortunately, Hok wasn't very good at planning distractions. Tossing a few rocks might attract the soldiers’ attention, but not for very long. Malao had a plan of his own that was much better—not to mention a lot more fun!
Hok stopped behind a large bush at the edge of the tree line and scanned the area with a quick twist of his long, thin neck. Without a sound, he motioned for Malao to follow and glided across the grassy expanse toward the compound's perimeter.
Malao remained next to the bush in the moonlight shadows.
Hok reached the wall and looked back at Malao with a confused look on his face. Malao smiled and waved.
Hok signaled for Malao to join him. Malao signaled Hok to continue on.
Hok shook one finger at Malao, silently scolding him. Malao waved back dramatically, like he was saying goodbye to an old friend.
Hok shook his head, then flattened his supple body against the rough stone of the compound wall. He slowly made his way toward the front corner. As soon as Hok slipped around to the front, Malao sprang into action.
Malao ripped handfuls of long, dry grass from the edge of the tree line and stuffed them into various openings in his robe and pants. He left most of the grass hanging out at odd angles. Next, he tore a thick vine from a nearby tree and used it to tie a large bundle of grass to his head. After folding the bundle down over his face, Malao collected a handful of rocks and raced across the grassy expanse.
Without slowing, Malao leaped at the stone perimeter wall, his legs working like he was climbing a ladder. The wall was as high as two men, but after three long strides Malao's free hand reached the edge of the wide top. He pulled himself onto it and sprang into the large elm tree he and Hok had discussed. He was barely in position when Hok gave the signal to begin the distraction.
Malao lobbed a rock onto the steep tile roof of the bathhouse and it rolled down noisily. Five soldiers were positioned between the bathhouse and the main gate, but none of them reacted. The bathhouse was smoldering, and apparently a strange noise on the rooftop wasn't worth investigating. Malao tossed another rock. Even though it rolled off the rooftop and nearly hit the closest soldier in the head, none of the soldiers paid any attention to it.
Malao was glad he'd come prepared.
With a mighty leap, he vaulted out of the tree and landed on the roof tiles, which, he was surprised to discover, were scorching hot! Malao began to howl and dance about in the shadows of the flickering flames. The long grass poking out of his robe swayed like ripples of energy radiating out from a ghostly spirit.
This time, the soldiers all looked up, then dropped to their knees and dug their foreheads into the dirt.