***
Master Wu is in the fight of his life. He did not charge into the room with the others. When the others ran into the great hall, Master Wu stayed outside and shook his fist at the helicopter.
King looked out the chopper window to see the seventy-year-old shaking his fist at him. Because of the noise of the helicopter, he couldn’t hear a word that Master Wu was saying but from the expression, King knew the old man was angry.
“Stay close,” King shouted over the din. The pilot nodded.
King jumped out the side door of the chopper from fifty feet. Master Wu ran to the spot where King would land. When King hit the earth, Master Wu cushioned the blow.
Master Wu instantly recognized the facial features and resemblance to Chin.
“Your father was wrong.”
King takes a swing at Master Wu and knocks the old man down. “Forget my father. I want what is rightfully mine.”
“That is blood money. It does not belong to you.”
Master Wu runs at him, fists and legs flying in every direction. “You and your father have destroyed thousands of lives. You have attacked Heaven. This legacy of evil must die.”
Seventy years of martial arts knowledge bind into the next forty-five-second battle.
Three fingers toward the eyes, sidekicks to the legs, jackhammer fists to the body and face, hand chops that would break a table. All would kill most ordinary men of any age.
But King is not ordinary. His father threw him into the fire, knowing that he would only survive if he could conquer fire. He easily absorbs every one of Master Wu’s blows.
“Sayonara, old man.” With the ferocity of an injured cobra, King strikes at Master Wu. Hammer fist. Iron Head. Double kick to the head.
Superbly conditioned for his age, Master Wu is no match for King in his prime, especially after battling Jingsha.
With a final act of ferocity, King pounds his palms against Master Wu’s ears, bursting his eardrums.
The master collapses.
King yells out, “Reid, you better come out to say goodbye.”
***
Inside the grand hall, Noah hears King scream. “If you don’t give me my money, the old man is gone.”
Noah hobbles to the door. His money? How can he say that?
The answer is immediate, once he fumbles into the courtyard. Like Master Wu, Noah instantly sees the resemblance between Chin and King.
“It’s no longer your money. We’re giving it back to the people your father took it from. Every street kid, every prostitute, every destroyed family is getting a share back.”
“You can’t do that!” screams King.
“I can and I have. All of them I can find and more.”
It’s not just the community centers and youth groups that Noah’s been giving money to—he is giving money back directly to victims too. Noah had to explain to law enforcement officials, community organizers and social agencies that this idea of giving one thousand dollars to every “victim” that they could find was not an act of insanity. Yes, the Foundation knew there was a high probability that the recipients would just find a way to give the money back to people like Chin. But for some, that thousand bucks, that crazy act of kindness might be life changing.
“You’ll never live to enjoy your stupidity.”
King unleashes a martial arts blitz on Noah unlike anything else seen on celluloid or in real life.
His fists explode at lightning speed.
King launches himself in the air, corkscrewing his body, with arms out straight, ready to demolish Noah’s face.
At the last split second, Noah ducks. King flies over him but kicks Noah’s head from mid-air.
King throws three spear-like fingers at his throat.
Noah leans back, missing the impact, deflecting the charge with a sidearm swipe.
Then, with energy that comes from an unknown source, just like when he was battling King’s father, Chin, Noah erupts.
Noah’s fists explode in the air like a cannonball aimed at King’s ribs.
King steps back and puts himself in the Horse Ready position, with two fists together under the jaw and arms underneath and elbows touching.
Arms snap forward, releasing two simultaneous punches toward Noah’s head.
With lightning reflexes, Noah ducks and head-butts King’s exposed chest.
Senses tingling on alert, Noah follows up with step movements and palm strikes to the head, Left. Right. Left. Right.
King leaps up to avoid the onslaught and comes down on Noah’s head, knocking him to the ground.
As Noah struggles to get up, King launches a barrage of devastating hammer fists. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right.
Switching motions, King twists the right arm back as the left arm comes up, arms moving in harmony like engine pistons, up and down.
It’s too much. Sheer willpower is not enough for the injured and depleted Noah to defeat a well-rested and conditioned opponent. He crumbles to the ground unconscious, next to Master Wu.
King sneers. “Monk and disciple. You can keep each other company in hell.” King unzips a pocket in his jacket and takes out two poisonous dwarf adders. He throws one at Master Wu and one at Noah.
Master Wu is awake and pulls the adder off his body with his left hand before it bites. With his right arm, he reaches to try and take the one off Noah but is too late. The adder has bitten Noah in the arm.
Master Wu tosses the dwarf adder into the air. Sam appears, takes a sword swipe and quickly slices its head off. The enraged King punches Sam in the nose, breaking it and knocking him out.
Noah begins to shake. Master Wu reaches over and puts his mouth over Noah’s wound and sucks the venom out.
The enraged King dashes over and holds Master Wu’s mouth shut. The aged master cannot open his mouth and the venom invades his blood system. He begins shaking and then convulsing... there is nothing that can save him.
***
Wangdan hears Noah bellowing, “No!” and rushes out of the grand hall.
He sees Master Wu collapsed on the ground in pain, Sam bleeding and unconscious and Noah barely able to move.
With feet like deer, he races across the courtyard and takes a flying leap at King, head and fists first.
King throws his upper arm to deflect Wangdan’s targeted punch but is unable to stop the full force of his opponent’s legs when Wangdan grabs King’s arm and straightens his body.
Wangdan’s feet plow into King’s midriff and the snake master goes down.
King gets up and makes an Eagle Claw move toward Wangdan’s windpipe with his thumb, index and middle fingers.
With the flexibility of an elastic band, Wangdan’s leg kicks straight up, knocking the claw to the side.
Wangdan counters with an Elephant trunk with his fist curled toward King.
However, King counters with a straight-arm attack to the chest, allowing the Elephant to knock his head.
Both men, seasoned warriors, the blows barely affect them.
Wangdan and King both stand in ready position. King whips out his left leg but Wangdan squats and with a lightning kick pushes King’s stationery leg, causing King to topple.
As King falls, he grabs at Wangdan’s groin.
Wangdan leaps back. This dirty move of King’s has transformed the battle. No longer a battle of Shaolin titans, it is now a down-and-dirty street fight, something King is a master at and Wangdan has never experienced.
A potential nose-crushing blow by King is pushed aside with Wangdan’s side punch.
Wangdan counters with two fingers aimed directly for King’s corneas. A last moment sidearm swipe prevents King from being blinded.
King thrusts his knee into Wangdan’s thigh. When Wangdan buckles over, King elbows his head and Wangdan crashes to the ground.
King grabs Wangdan’s arm and threatens to snap it in two when Wangdan swings blindly and luckily lands a roundhouse on King’s head.
King’s head knocks back but like
a punch-drunk boxer, the snake master keeps coming and he shakes the stars out of his head.
King’s fists are savage machines. Blow after blow to the head and body. Wangdan’s eyes, nose and mouth bleed profusely.
Crippled and dazed, Wangdan drops to the ground.
King leaps in the air and is about to apply a coup de grâce double elbow to Wangdan’s head and neck when Wangdan suddenly moves to the side and jumps up.
King’s elbows crash to the dirt. Wangdan lifts King up and begins his own barrage.
Wangdan shouts, “Five Animals of the Shaolin.”
“Snake!” With the speed of the serpent, Wangdan uses three fingers to attack pressure points on King’s throat, causing him to chortle and gasp for breath.
“Tiger!” The claws of the striped cat rip King to the ground where Wangdan applies a supreme kick
“Crane!” Wangdan spreads his arms like the magnificent bird and then brings them together clapping King’s head between his wings. A sweeping leg kick sends King reeling backward.
“Leopard!” With the agility and speed of this ferocious cat, Wangdan does short, sharp kicks to King’s abdomen followed by a blaze of little jabs to the stomach.
“Dragon!” Like the huge winged reptile’s curved body, Wangdan’s arms circle and grab him by the elbows. He lifts him and tosses him ten feet in the air, giving him solid palm strikes on the head during his descent.
King is lying in the dirt helpless, when he suddenly reaches inside his jacket and pulls out another dwarf adder. He tosses it at the fatigued Wangdan.
Lisa recognizes it as one of the serpents with a fast acting lethal venom. It seems to move in ultra-slow motion. The snake is opening its jaws to insert its poison into Wangdan when Lisa jumps in the way to shield the monk. The snake’s jaws close on her neck instead. She rips the snake from her throat and bites it in half.
She immediately starts shaking, sweating and breathing hard.
“No!” Wangdan turns and crawls over to the dying Lisa.
“Go, Wangdan. Take Noah and go. You’ve already done more for me than you’ll ever know.”
“But you... “
Lisa touches Wangdan’s lips with her fingers. His eyes meet her gaze. He sees the liquidy film over her almond pupils. “Save yourself. It’s too late for me.”
Wangdan grabs the groggy Noah and then picks up the unconscious Sam. Carrying Sam over one shoulder and Noah over the other, Wangdan hobbles toward the exit gates of Heaven.
King scrambles back to the closed bag from the snake box. He opens it and pulls out a thermite grenade and a rocket launcher, more powerful versions of the ones that Captain Cheryl used on the Tao Princess.
King’s body shakes as he aims the rocket launcher at the mountain peak guarding Heaven. He aims and fires.
BOOM. There is a huge explosion. As if in slow motion, the mountain begins crumbling.
King is knocked to the ground but he has enough energy for one final act of destruction.
He runs back to the helicopter, hops on and flies in the direction of the falling rock.
He pulls the pin on the thermite grenade and throws it to Heaven’s ground.
BOOM. There is a huge crater twenty feet in diameter.
Ten seconds later the helicopter crashes into the mountain peak.
BOOM! What started as a small rockslide escalates into a full-blown rock avalanche.
Finding a small protective ledge, Noah, Sam and Wangdan huddle together as they watch boulders the size of houses come tumbling down in front of them.
BOOM! Another detonation sees Heaven crumbling to dust.
Huge rocks continue to pile on the ancient structure and Heaven is buried underneath the rubble.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Going downhill is a whole lot faster than going uphill, especially if you don’t have to carry someone on a stretcher. Sam woke up an hour later at a mountain stream. All had a chance to recuperate for a few hours.
Noah, Sam and Wangdan made it back to base camp in two days and from there, Noah splurged and broke the no-technology rule. He got in touch with the Foundation and hired the biggest limo they could find. During the whole journey back to Shanghai he, Sam and Wangdan slept.
They go to Wangdan’s family home, two blocks away from Shaolin Paradise. It’s much like the area that Master Wu’s studio is in and modeled on the same concept. Wangdan’s father doesn’t ask for any money from any student that wants to study Shaolin with him. Like Noah’s missionary family home, somehow there is always food on the table, clothes on the body and a place to stay, not only for family but anyone who needs a home for a day or month or lifetime. Somebody’s providing from somewhere.
At the family table, Wangdan’s mother has prepared a simple meal of tofu, nuts, rice crackers, seaweed and brown rice. She bows and then leaves the three travelers alone.
Sam looks at the meal somewhat aghast. “When can we stop eating rabbit food? I think I’m going to grow ears and start hopping.”
Noah hands him ten bucks. “There’s a noodle shop down the street. Don’t get lost.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” cries Sam as he rockets out.
Noah regards Wangdan. “I knew there was going to be a problem with the money when I saw it. The source of the money was hurt, the robbery of those who couldn’t help themselves. How could any good come out of it then?”
“Noah, everything good comes from pain. There is no good without evil. They are opposite sides of the same coin.”
“I wanted to burn the money. See what trouble it has caused? It’s caused the death of Master Wu, Sigong Zhang, Master Jingsha... and so many more. It’s caused the destruction of Heaven.”
“And according to what Sam has told me, it is turning the lives of thousands of people around, including his. Look at him, Noah. He’s not dealing drugs. He’s not in a gang, both of which he was before he met you. If all that was accomplished with the money was to rescue someone like him, it was worth it.”
Noah shakes his head. “I don’t know. I have never seen a place like Heaven before. Everyone was truly dedicated to personal awakening, to prayer, to meditation. And I have to admit Master Wu was right. The key to mastery of Shaolin arts is spiritual, not physical. The spirit grows, the body prospers.”
Noah takes a deep breath. “Heaven was destroyed but it must be re-built.”
“Rebuilding a legend is not easy.”
“I have the money. I’ll give it so that it can again be a place for the true Shaolin way of life, where Heaven meets Earth, where the physical and spiritual come together in harmony.”
“Even if you did that, there is no one to run it.”
“There is you, Wangdan. I want you to be the Sigong. There is no one else that could do it.”
“I... I... am flawed. I... was tempted.”
“Which makes you the perfect person to be in charge of Heaven. You know how difficult it is to resist temptation. You know what the feel of a woman is like. And yet, you overcame it. You rejected it.”
Wangdan is silent for a few moments before he speaks. “Actually, Noah, I want that experience again. That is why I cannot be part of Heaven, neither the old nor the new.”
“You’ve been there your whole life. Are you sure about this?”
Wangdan nods slowly. “I have been thinking of this awhile. What held me back was my father’s promise that I would take his place in Heaven. If there is no Heaven, then the promise is no more... I have been watching you. I have been talking to Sam. He told me what you do and I think I could help. I don’t know anything about basketball, but perhaps you might like to incorporate the Way of the Shaolin as part of the program.”
Noah smiles and then offers his hand. “Done. You are going to be our International Director of Martial Arts Training for the Chad Huang Foundation.”
“Um, can I say something?” chimes in Sam. “If you’re gonna start hanging out with us, you’re gonna need a new name. Like I mean, there’s not
hing wrong with Wangdan, but if you’re gonna relate to kids, they’re not going like someone whose name sounds like ‘Yellow Egg.’”
Sam is referring to the fact that depending on the Chinese characters used, “Wangdan” when translated, means “Yellow Egg.”
“What would you call me?”
“How about JJ?” grins Sam.
“JJ?”
“Jackie Junior as in Jackie Chan Junior.” Sam does a quick martial arts turn with his hands.
Wangdan laughs. “I like it. Why not? New direction in life. New name. JJ.”
Epilogue
The bandaged man stares at the King Cobra in front of him. For a week, the animal slept, but it chose today to awaken.
Hungry, it smelled the bandaged man and made its way up onto his bed.
The snake looked curiously at its prey, wondering why it was not moving. It was also checking him out for a place to sink its fangs into. After all, this creature seems to have no exposed area from head to toe, save for its eyes and mouth.
Rising up three feet, it poises for attack from a foot and a half away.
It spits out its forked tongue menacingly and then strikes toward the eyes.
However, the bandaged man tilts his head back a little and then forces his body toward the snake. The man’s mouth bites at the snake’s throat.
It is as tough as leather but the man refuses to let go and his teeth sink into the snake. The reptile writhes, trying to shake the man off, but the man keeps moving his head so that counterattack is virtually impossible.
However, one movement of the snake thrusts itself toward the man’s eyes.
For a moment, the man releases his bite and averts the snake’s fangs.
Like a pit bull, he then goes after the snake’s throat with an even harder bite, this time snapping the cobra’s neck.
The serpent flops around weakly but it is useless—the game is up and it stops moving.
The bandaged man starts sucking the blood from the wound on the corpse’s throat, a little at a time. There’s no hurry and it takes an hour and a half for him to drain the snake of its life-giving elixir.
The Noah Reid Series: Books 1-3: The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series Boxset Page 41