Kung Fu Kellie and the Legend of Anguo

by Shinn A. H.

  Text © 2013 by A.H. Shinn

  Cover and interior illustrations by Phil Powers

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a database or retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Tigerpaw Publishing

  www.tigerpawpublishing.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, phrases, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead are coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Editing by Andrea Bandle

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9887756-1-9

  ISBN-10: 0-9887756-1-1

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-9887756-0-2

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2013931158

  CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

  North Charleston, South Carolina

  ONE

  Chen’s Kung Fu Studio

  TWO

  Temper Lost

  THREE

  The Truth Comes Out

  FOUR

  Principal’s Office

  FIVE

  Skills on the Court

  SIX

  Monks in Milldale

  SEVEN

  Science and Secrets

  EIGHT

  Off to China

  NINE

  Taiping Monastery

  TEN

  The Seer

  ELEVEN

  Shenmi Forest

  TWELVE

  Lucky Bamboo

  THIRTEEN

  The Double-horned Unicorn

  FOURTEEN

  The Lees

  FIFTEEN

  Pei Chow

  SIXTEEN

  Training at Spring Meadows

  SEVENTEEN

  Attack of the Monkeys

  EIGHTEEN

  The Stolen Chi

  NINETEEN

  The Night of Pass

  TWENTY

  The Big Day

  To my family:

  my parents, Deacon John and Othilia,

  my sister, Jenny,

  and my husband, Rajul

  he monk stood under a doorway, looking around the room one last time. His last glance fell upon the young girl sleeping in her bed, clutching a rag doll. He watched her for a moment as she breathed slowly and heavily, in a deep, peaceful sleep.

  “Good night, Bao Yu,” he whispered.

  Quietly shutting the door, he stepped out onto the torch lit dirt pathway and strolled under the moonlight. Inhaling the cool air and looking up at the twinkling stars, clearly displayed against the cloudless black sky, the encounter with the glorious tiger replayed in his head.

  “You must protect her,” the animal spoke.

  “Protect her from what?” he asked.

  “She is special….She was given a gift — You must keep Bao Yu safe —”

  The tiger abruptly stopped speaking and her ears shot up.

  “We are not alone — You must go!”

  The monk left hesitantly, looking back when he heard the feline roar into the densely packed leaves of the trees above.

  His hands behind his back, his eyes pointing up, still gazing at the atmosphere, he wondered who he was protecting Bao Yu from. It had been three months since the warning and he had not yet shared the information with anyone. What could be so grave that a mystical animal would reveal herself to him? He still fluttered at the thought that they really existed.

  Could it be her parents, the ones who abandoned her? Could it be a fellow monk at Taiping Monastery? He shook his head at the thought of one of his brothers wanting to harm her. They all loved her like a daughter and he had no doubt they would protect her with their lives. Then whom could the tiger be referring to?

  Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow, I will go to the masters and share with them my secret.

  He entered his living quarters and lit some candles and incense. The sweet, earthy sandalwood scent brought about a calm feeling as he knelt down to meditate. Just as he closed his eyes, he heard a drag across the floor.

  “Give me Bao Yu!”

  Turning his head toward a dark corner, and noticing that one of the candles had been blown out, he saw a small shadow emerge. He jumped up, almost tripping on his robe, with his hands in a fighting position.

  The intruder screeched with laughter.

  “You think you can fight me?”

  “W-what do you want?” asked the terrified monk. “Who are you?”

  “You know what I want….Now, give me Bao Yu!”

  “I don’t know what you are speaking about….” The monk’s heart pounded furiously and he clenched his fists tightly so the miscreant couldn’t see him tremble. He had to protect Bao Yu, and now understood what the tiger was alerting him to.

  “It doesn’t belong to you — I will ask one more time….Where is it!”

  It? The stranger didn’t know what Bao Yu was. He didn’t know it was a young girl.

  “I do not know.”

  “YOU LIE!” he said and sprang forward, smacking the monk across the head and belting him straight in the gut.

  The speed of the attacker was so swift, the monk didn’t see it coming. Falling on his knees, he hunched over, never having felt a blow like that before. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out. Only a trickle of blood oozed out of his ear.

  His head dizzy and vision blurry, he saw the dark figure ravage through his personal belongings, pulling out drawers and smashing any concealed box. After flipping over the mattress and throwing the incense across the room, the assailant stepped toward him.

  With rage seething through his words, he ordered, “GIVE IT TO ME!”

  The monk attempted to get up, but was stomped back down.

  “Please,” he begged, “I do not have it anymore….I sold it.”

  The intruder did not respond; he seemed stunned by the answer. Then his hairy face moved in close, but the monk could not make out the person in the dark.

  He shuddered with fear as he felt a horrid hot breath on him…then the stranger disappeared.

  He believed him! Bao Yu was safe for the meantime, but he knew this foe would be back. He had to get help and tell the others immediately.

  Painfully, he was pushing himself up when he felt a punch to his chest. Tumbling back down, his head banged on the wood floor. He heard a small crash and flames quickly spread around him.

  Coughing as the smoke filled his lungs, he heard footsteps running into the burning room.

  Someone shouted, “Shifu Lau —”

  Then blackness fell upon him.

  ICK!”

  “EEYAH!”

  “KICK!” Master Chen shouted again, standing in front of a class, full of attentive kung fu students.

  “EEYAH!” they yelled in return.

  Sweat trickled down their foreheads and muscles quivered from the intense training. Hard breathing was heard across the mat.

  “KICK AND CHOP!” he roared even louder as he walked around the red carpet, watching each student’s form with scrutiny.

  Master Chen was old in age and small in stature, but his wisdom and skills commanded respect, no one dared to challenge.

  “EEEYAHH!” they responded with every last bit of energy they could muster up.

  The kung fu master looked around at his worn-out students and then glanced at the wall clock.

  “Class has ended,” he said with quiet authority. “Bow.”

  The students wobbled to the neutral position, put their right f
ist into the palm of their left hand at chest level, and bowed to their teacher respectfully. Master Chen responded by returning the gesture.

  Quickly they dispersed: some grabbed their gym bags and left the studio, while others continued to train on their own or with each other. As the night passed, a teenage girl, Kellie Wei, was the last one in the studio, practicing her tiger form, the first animal style of kung fu she was learning. She ambitiously tried to perfect it by repeating the series of tiger movements over and over again.

  As she stepped forward and threw tiger strikes across her face, she gazed at the neatly tied belts hanging on top of the front wall. The lowest ranking belt, the white belt, was on the far left and the different colored belts hung next to each other in increasing rank, with the black belt on the far right. She noted to herself that they needed dusting. As she gracefully pivoted around, she stared at a pair of swords with red sashes tied to the handles, hanging crisscrossed on another wall. Next to the swords was a three-section staff she recalled smacking her face and body with one too many times. Spinning around again, she became fixated with the bamboo tree sitting on the glass display counter near the front entrance. She curiously wondered how the bamboo grew so intricately, with its roots intertwining one another in a strategically complex design.

  Just as she was finishing the form, Kellie heard a loud crash coming from one of the back rooms. Running toward the source, she yelled, “What happened?”

  “Clumsy, clumsy,” said Master Chen, shaking his head as Kellie entered the office. The wrinkles on his forehead were deeper than usual.

  “Is everything okay, Master Chen?” asked Kellie, scanning the room to investigate the scene. She knew very well that Master Chen was not a clumsy man: he had the reflexes of a cat.

  “I’m fine, Kellie,” he said, as he picked up the pieces of the potted plant he knocked over. “No worrying.”

  “All right…” said Kellie. “Do you need help in here?”

  Master Chen waved her away as he turned his back to her, picking up the broom and dust pan leaning against the corner.

  “I’m gonna close up the studio then…”

  When he began sweeping up the debris and acted as if he forgot she was there, Kellie withdrew back into the training room.

  After locking the doors, flipping the “CLOSED” sign around, and switching off the lights, Kellie went home, which was only steps away. Behind the studio, Master Chen and Kellie lived in a bright yellow house with a huge yard that separated the two buildings. There wasn’t much more on the block, except a few empty buildings and a train track close by.

  When they first came to the neighborhood, Master Chen accidentally made a wrong turn. That was when they saw an old building for sale. The studio was previously an abandoned warehouse with the owner living in the abode behind it. Master Chen was overjoyed when the seller wanted to free himself of the entire property, including the house, as it became the perfect place to open up a kung fu studio and start a new life.

  The two of them traveled from China when Kellie was only seven. Now at fifteen, she still often thinks about her home back at the monastery, never really understanding why they came to America. She also didn’t quite believe the excuse Master Chen gave her: “There are more opportunities in America for young girl.” A gut feeling that there was something he wasn’t telling her nagged at her constantly. Nevertheless, they would be going back soon for a visit. She pestered Master Chen enough times for him to surprise her with two plane tickets to China for their upcoming winter vacation.

  After washing up, Kellie set the table while Master Chen prepared dinner. She wanted to ask what was troubling him in the studio, but instead said, “I got an A- on my math exam.”

  “Very good,” he said.

  “I got a B- on my history quiz, though.”

  “Very good,” he said again.

  “You know me and history,” said Kellie, as she put the spoons and chopsticks down on top of folded napkins. “It’s early in the semester, so I’m not worried.”

  “Very good.”

  Realizing that he wasn’t listening, Kellie casually said, “I think, though, I’m gonna quit school and join the circus and become a rodent eating clown.”

  “Very g —” Master Chen started to say and then looked up at Kellie. “You going to eat rodent?”

  “You haven’t been listening to anything I’ve said — and you’ve been really quiet since we left the studio.”

  Master Chen didn’t utter a word as he scooped the sticky rice onto two plates. He looked as if he was stalling for time while he spooned the stir-fried chicken and vegetables over the rice. As he poured the steaming dumpling soup into two bowls, Kellie placed the entrées on the dining table. She kept glancing at him, waiting for a response.

  The delicious aroma made Kellie’s stomach growl. She was famished from her long workout and immediately began shoveling chicken and rice into her mouth, as she still waited for Master Chen to say something.

  He slowly sipped his soup and glimpsed at Kellie. After a long silence, he said, “I just worrying about bills….”

  “I don’t believe you,” Kellie responded in a flash, as she kept eating. “The studio is doing fine.” Kellie could easily read him now and no longer accepted his simple answers; she believed she was old enough to obtain the truth. There were too many unanswered questions she had for him, especially why they left Taiping Monastery in such a hurry. In a few months, she hoped to get those answers when they went back.

  “Fine. I get it. A wise man once told me that answers will come to you if you pry.”

  “…that is…if you patient,” corrected Master Chen, unable to help himself from cracking a smile.

  His smile quickly faded though and he seemed to avoid eye contact with her. With some hesitation, he said, “Kellie, we postpone trip to monastery.”

  “What? Why?”

  Kellie dropped her chopsticks. “That’s the only thing I’ve been looking forward to!”

  “Master Zheng called…he cannot accommodate us.”

  “Accommodate us? What do you mean accommodate us? The monastery is our home! We have every right to go when we —”

  Master Chen put up his hand with fair warning. “We just postponing. We go later.”

  Kellie lost her appetite. Heartbroken, she picked at the broccoli and carrots on her plate.

  Trying to change the mood, Master Chen asked, “How was training tonight?”

  “Good,” she mumbled. “I worked on my tiger form.”

  “How you feel when you doing tiger form?”

  “A little warm. We need to get a new fan.”

  “You notice anything while doing tiger form?”

  “Yeah, you moved the bamboo plant.”

  “Kellie, you need to focus on energy of movements… on your chi. Should not notice anything else. Next time, close eyes.”

  The next morning, Kellie woke up from the sunrays brightening up her bedroom. She rolled from side to side, not wanting to get out of bed, wishing to sleep just a little bit longer, but the intruding light kept her up. It was the weekend, so she was in no hurry to start the day.

  Every Saturday she practiced kung fu in the yard and today would be no different. When she finally was able to pull herself out of bed, she changed in to her white silk gi, which was her favorite Chinese top and pants to workout in.

  Still feeling sluggish, Kellie dragged herself down the hall of their one-story house. Focus on chi, she reminded herself, yawning. When she opened the front door, she squinted as she scoped out her yard. It was a cool, sunny morning and the fresh air and sounds of chirping birds brought about a calm feeling over her, awakening all her senses. She stared out at the freshly cut grass and the big oak trees surrounding the yard. The leaves on the trees were still as a photo; there wasn’t a breeze in sight.

  Lining the front of the house, Master Chen’s colorful rose bushes were fully bloomed. Kellie rubbed her nose, the scent of the flowers oddly stronger than u
sual.

  Walking out onto the middle of the lawn, she closed her eyes. Chi — focus — focus on chi. Kellie was intent on improving her concentration and not falling victim to any distractions. She took three slow deep breaths and raised her hands up in front of her face. Her stomach made a noise, which made her think about what she was going to have for breakfast.

  Focus, she ordered herself in her head. Taking a moment, she cleared her mind, forcing herself to concentrate. When she was ready, she threw a chopping strike, her step following in the direction her hands went. She thought only about her movement, trying to tune everything out. As she motioned her hands and body to the left, she focused her chi to the left.

  CRACK!

  Kellie opened her eyes and noticed a small branch falling off a tree on the left side of the yard. It must have been a bird.

  After a warm-up, she began the tiger form. She closed her eyes again and moved right, directing her chi to the right. She cross-stepped behind her and twirled around, trying to send her energy in every direction she went. Her concentration broke when she heard leaves rustling around her. She opened one eye and saw some leaves falling off a tree at the other end of the yard.

  How strange the weather was; it was so quick to change. There was a sudden breeze, but even more peculiar, she didn’t feel it.

  She shrugged it off, continuing her training with her eyes shut. Too quickly she lost her concentration and her mind was now wandering. She was thinking about the patch she had to sew on her favorite jeans when she was interrupted by a foreign voice.

  “Hey, I want to find out about classes at Chen’s Kung Fu Studio. It’s closed. Do you know when they’re open?”

  Kellie stopped in the middle of her movement and opened her eyes. She looked at the dark brown-haired boy wearing faded blue jeans and an overwashed black t-shirt and said, “We’re open on weekdays. Come by Monday night and you’ll get a free introductory lesson.”

  He stretched out his hand. “I’m Jake.”

  Not budging from her stance, she muttered, “Kellie.”

  “That was pretty cool what you were doing…” he said, tucking his hands in his pockets.

  Seeing that this person wasn’t leaving, Kellie sighed, dropped her arms, and relaxed her posture.