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racing through his mind, and his eyes on his work, Charles didn't seethe others until they were standing on the bank not fifteen swimming strokes from his sloop.
    “Ahoy, matey!” Malao said. “Permission to come aboard?”
    Charles set down his tools and stared at them across the short span of water.
What are they doing here already?
he wondered. It had only been one day.
    “Well?” Fu growled.
    “Of course you can come aboard,” Charles said. “But what about Ying's mother?”
    Someone coughed—a deep, wet cough—and a slender, attractive woman with long black wispy hair stepped forward from behind Ying. She bowed.
    Charles was dumbstruck. It was WanSow, Ying's mother.
    WanSow stumbled, and Ying grabbed her by the waist.
    “Don't let her fool you, Charles,” Hok said gently. “She is not as strong as she might look. She needs treatment.”
    “I am fine,” WanSow retorted, and Charles heard a slight gurgle in her voice.
    “She has fluid in her lungs,” Hok explained. “Can you take us to the large apothecary in Hangzhou?”
    “That is where you had planned to take her all along, isn't it?” Charles asked.
    Hok nodded in the darkness. “Yes, I'd like to wait for her to get stronger, but we have to leave this location. WanSow believes others may come now that Tonglong has the treasure.”
    “I don't understand,” Charles said.
    “Tonglong stole a famous treasure hoard,” Ying replied. “It included a set of legendary white jade swords and a suit of white jade armor. The swords and armor are purely symbolic, but the treasure can be used to bribe any number of officials. Remember the Southern Warlord I told you about?”
    “HaiZhe?” Charles said. “Yes. I remember that sniper's tattoo.”
    “That's right,” Ying said. “My mother has told us that HaiZhe has been after that treasure and those powerful symbols for years, and he suspects that my mother knows where the treasure was hidden. I am certain no one was spying on us before Tonglong attacked, so the sniper must have arrived afterward. HaiZhe probably sent someone to follow Tonglong's ship, and once word got back that Tonglong came here, HaiZhe posted the sniper. As soon as Tonglong starts spreading the treasure around, or HaiZhe realizes that his sniper hasn't reported back, HaiZhe will come looking for my mother. We need to leave.”
    “Aye, aye,” Charles said. He grabbed a stout rope and tied one end to the sloop's sturdy mast. Then he hurled the remaining rope to shore and grabbed a length of sailcloth. “Pull that rope taut and tie it to a tree. I'm going to rig up a sling to get WanSow aboard. With any luck, we'll make it to the apothecary before sunrise.”

CHAPTER
8

    S haoShu opened his eyes to find that he had a splitting headache, a dislocated shoulder, and no idea what time it was. Even so, he grinned as his eyes adjusted to the near pitch-black darkness. His mouse was snuggled up against his neck, nibbling on his hair. It didn't appear to have been injured while ShaoShu squeezed through the hole in the wall or when he fell.
    His happiness didn't last long, however.
    “ShaoShu,” Tonglong called from outside the small building. “Can you hear me?”
    “Umm … yes, sir,” ShaoShu groaned, his cloudy head beginning to clear.
    “Is anything broken?”
    ShaoShu thought for a moment as he struggled topull his robe back on. “My shoulder is still out of joint and it really hurts, but I think that's all that's wrong.”
    “That's not what I meant,” Tonglong hissed. “Did you break anything that belonged to my father?”
    “I don't think so.”
    “Good. Look up. I have something for you.”
    ShaoShu looked up at the small round window and saw something float down. It was a silk bag.
    “Pick it up,” Tonglong said.
    “Ouch,” ShaoShu said with a grunt, struggling to stand with his one good arm. “I need to do something first, sir.” He made it to his feet and walked to one of the walls. ShaoShu tapped it with his