by Jeff Stone
“Exactly,” Long replied. “I will rebuild it.”
There was a pleased murmur along the length of the table, and Wuya said, “Pardon me, Sire, but Tonglong stole a fortune from Ying’s—I mean Saulong’s—family. He gave much of that treasure to me, believing he was buying my support. Since Saulong and Long are cousins, that treasure is rightfully Long’s.”
Long shook his head. “Saulong’s mother, my aunt, is still very much alive. The treasure belongs to her.”
The Emperor rubbed his freshly shaven chin. “You will need to fund the rebuilding somehow, Long. Let me help. I owe you at least that much.”
Long paused. He remembered the trouble his grandfather had gotten into taking money from the Emperor. On the other hand, he would likely never be able to raise enough on his own, and he possessed none. “Thank you for the generous offer,” he said. “May I think about it? Oftentimes, we dragons like to do things our own way, even if it makes life more difficult.”
“Of course,” the Emperor said. “Take all the time you need. Now, who is ready for a celebration?”
The Emperor clapped his hands twice, and servants began to pour into the banquet hall, carrying tray after tray of elaborately prepared food. Malao and Fu looked at each other with huge smiles, and Shao -Shu squealed with delight.
“I hope they aren’t serving Greasy Goose!” Malao said.
Fu blushed, and Sanfu laughed. “I see it affects you the same way it affects me, son. Nothing to be ashamed of. If Malao gives you any more trouble, let me know and we’ll sit on either side of him with Greasy Goose drumsticks in our hands. His stinky feet kung fu will have nothing on us.”
The bandits and the young monks all broke into laughter and began to talk among themselves. Everyone, that is, except Long. He stood, suddenly feeling as though the walls were closing in around him. He bowed to the Emperor and approached the throne. “Pardon me, Sire, but I could use a little fresh air.”
“Certainly,” the Emperor said. “Wuya can show you the way to the courtyard. It is a fine winter day.”
“If it is all the same to you, Your Eminence, I would prefer to show myself out.”
“As you wish.”
Long bowed again and slipped out of the room. Instead of heading for the courtyard, however, he went directly to the Emperor’s suite. No one stopped him.
Long blinked as he entered alone the room where just three hours ago his life had changed forever. Ying’s and Tonglong’s remains had been taken away, and the floors had already been scrubbed clean. All that remained were a few small puddles that would soon dry and disappear. It was almost as if nothing had occurred here.
Almost.
In the back corner of the room, Long saw Ying’s chain whip and their grandfather’s sword resting on an ornate table. He walked over and picked up the items. He was not sure how he felt about someone separating these things from Ying’s body, but at least the weapons had been treated with the utmost respect. Both had been thoroughly cleaned and dried, and someone had even coated the sword’s blade with a thin sheen of oil to help protect it against rust. Long nodded his approval.
He unfurled the chain whip and wrapped it around his waist like a sash, loosely tying the ends in front of him. This was how his grandfather used to carry his chain whip into battle.
Straight sword in hand, Long crossed the room and found the secret panel door that led to the Emperor’s escape passageway. He had no key, but found that one was not necessary from this side. He opened the door, passed through it, and closed it tightly behind him. The others would understand if he did not say goodbye. They knew where they could find him.
Turning his back on the Forbidden City, Long headed for the ashes of Cangzhen Temple.
Like his main characters, Jeff Stone was an orphan who went in search of—and found—his birth parents. He also has a black belt in Shaolin-Do kung fu, which he tested for at the legendary Shaolin Temple in China. Originally from Detroit, Jeff lives in the Midwest with his wife and two children and their two dogs—sibling “schnoodles” Ricky and Roxie. Thanks to this series, he’s also kept a number of snakes, mice, mountain horned dragons, scorpions, and praying mantids. To his wife’s relief, all tiger, monkey, and crane research was done at the zoo.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2010 by Jeffrey S. Stone
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
The Five Ancestors is a registered trademark of Jeffrey S. Stone.
Visit us on the Web! www.randomhouse.com/kids
Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at www.randomhouse.com/teachers
www.fiveancestors.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stone, Jeff.
Dragon / Jeff Stone. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (The five ancestors ; bk. 7)
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Long, a dragon-style kung fu master and the oldest of the five survivors of the destroyed Cangzhen, must get to the Forbidden City before Tonglong declares himself emperor.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89319-3
[1. Martial arts—Fiction. 2. Human-animal relationships—Fiction. 3. China—History—1644–1795—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.S87783Dr 2010 [Fic]—dc22 2009032416
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.0