Read Tiger for Free Online

boy,” the soldier said. “I have no interest in killing a child. I'll only take you prisoner. I'll ask you again, where were you hiding?”
    Fu snarled and leaped at the soldier.
    The soldier jumped backward gracefully and pulled a straight sword from a sheath slung at his side. Fu stopped and took notice. That jump was impressive, and only the most elite fighters carried a straight sword.
    “Stand down, young monk,” said the soldier as he draped his long braid forward over his shoulder and tucked it into his wide red sash. “You are no match for me.”
    Fu's mind began to race. Swordplay was his strong suit, but he knew nothing about this stranger's skill. And what he knew about the stranger's weapon worried him. While broadswords took one thousand hours to master, straight swords, like this soldier's, took more than ten thousand. The soldier had unsheathed it perfectly and held it in one hand instead of two—one hand to swing the long, rigiddouble-edged blade, and the other to counterbalance and fight. This man knew what he was doing.
    Despite the night's coolness, Fu began to sweat. The tiger hooks he held were specifically designed to counter weapons like the straight sword, but he had never fought with Sing's pair. He had only fought with his own tiger hook swords, and every weapon had a spirit of its own. Fu put his faith in the spirits within Sing's hook swords and rushed forward.
    The soldier took a defensive posture as Fu swung one hook sword high and one low, attempting to confuse his opponent—but the soldier expertly jumped over the low swing and blocked the high swing with his straight sword. On his way back to earth, the soldier let loose a terrific kick straight into Fu's exposed chest. Fu stumbled backward and groaned from the impact of the soldier's hard-soled boot. Fu was quite sure he had never been kicked that hard in his entire life.
    A smile rose from the soldier's thin lips. “I will give you one more chance, monk. Lay down your weapons.”
    Fu took a deep breath and attacked again. This time, he slashed low with both swords. The soldier jumped high over Fu's sweeping weapons, but Fu twisted both wrists up powerfully and continued his swing toward the airborne soldier. The soldier swung his sword down to protect himself.
    As the soldier's straight sword met the hook swords, Fu twisted both wrists outward and pulledhis arms apart, locking the hooks around the soldier's straight blade. Fu dropped to the ground and rolled 360 degrees on his side, ripping the straight sword from the soldier's grasp. As Fu flipped up onto his feet, he arched his back and released the pressure on the hooks slightly. The soldier's sword sailed onto the roof of the burning bathhouse.
    The soldier stood before Fu, weaponless. He smiled again and adjusted his long braid.
    “I've never seen that particular maneuver, monk. Very dangerous for you, yet most effective.”
    “It's an original,” Fu growled.
    “Excellent. Though you appear to be very young, you're already quite skilled. I'm impressed. It's a good thing I've come prepared.”
    The soldier pulled a dagger from his sash and something fell to the ground. Fu realized that it was one of the dragon scrolls. The soldier saw the spark of recognition in Fu's eyes and nodded his head.
    “If this document were not of the utmost importance, I might have considered giving it to you in exchange for an education in your unorthodox hook sword attacks. As it is, I cannot. My apologies.”
    When the soldier bent over to retrieve the scroll, Fu attacked for the third time. The soldier leaped back with the scroll in one hand, his dagger in the other. Fu took a basic swing with one hook sword to test the man's reaction with the short knife. The soldier leaped backward again, this time landing awkwardly on the helmet Fu had removed from the dead soldier.Fu sprang forward, hitting his off-balance opponent square in the chest with a flying side kick. The soldier hit the ground