“Well, well,” the soldier said. “What do we have here?”
Hok felt a burst of nervous energy jolt her system, and it cleared her head. She glanced at the dress and knew exactly what she needed to do. She looked the man in the eye and sat down on the stone floor, pulling her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around them, shivering as though nervous.
“Don't be afraid, little lady,” the soldier said with a crooked smile. “Here, give me your hand—”
The soldier stepped forward and leaned over Hok, his arm outstretched. When his fat, dirty fingers touched Hok's cheek, she latched on to his wrist with both hands. She kept her knees tucked close to her body and rolled onto her back, pulling the man toward her.
Off balance, the big man teetered forward and Hok slammed both her feet into his chest as hard as she could while still holding on to his wrist and still rolling backward.
The soldier's momentum sent him sailing in an upside-down arc over Hok's head. As soon as the man's body was beyond her, Hok let go of his wrist. The soldier continued his flip backward and crashed into the far wall. Hok hopped to her feet and sailed through the doorway.
Outside, Hok found herself facing the back of a long, low building. The night air was heavy with smoke and she couldn't see which direction would be best to run. She chose left. She reached the edge of the long building and peered around the corner.
Hok saw groups of soldiers battling individual monks. The monks were vastly outnumbered. Orange-robed bodies lay everywhere, riddled with large red holes. The monks didn't stand a chance against the qiangs.
Behind her, the soldier she'd sent soaring through the air cried out, “I just flushed a girl in a red dress! She is mine! I—”
Hok didn't wait to hear another word. She glanced left, right, and left again, trying to decide which way to run. Then she looked up. She saw a large section of roof rafter dangling from the corner of the long building. Hok squatted low and leaped silently straight into the air. Her years of crane-style leg exercises paid off. She caught hold of the rafter and swung her lightweight body onto the roof's clay tiles.
Hok stepped carefully away from the edge, up the roof's steep slope, then tiptoed across the roof tiles, moving as quickly as possible. With every step, she noticed the tiles growing warmer. There must be a fire raging beneath. She had to be extra careful now. The tiles would soon begin to fracture from the heat.
Hok was halfway along the length of the building when her luck ran out. One of the tiles beneath her feet shattered, and several pieces tumbled to the ground.
The soldier hunting Hok looked up. “My, you are a sneaky one!” he said with a laugh, and ran toward her.
Hok decided to trade silence for speed. She started to run, too. As she neared the end of the building, she realized she would either have to jump onto the next rooftop or leap down and fight the soldier. The next building was farther than Hok would have liked, but she decided she had no other choice. She spread her arms wide and soared off the edge in full stride.
Hok landed softly on her feet on the neighboring rooftop with plenty of room to spare. Below her, the soldier whistled.
“I would have never believed it if I hadn't seen it,” he said. “What are you going to do for your next trick, dance? I've got something to make you dance!”
The soldier reached under his armored chest plate, and Hok began to run again. The soldier cursed and followed.
After just a few strides, Hok's heart sank. This rooftop was a dead end. There was nothing beyond it but blackness. She had to stop.
“Ready to dance for me?” the soldier asked from below, out of breath.
Hok ignored him. She glanced over the soldier's shoulder and noticed a wall just beyond his torch's glow. They must be at the far side of the compound.
In the past, Grandmaster had made her jump from the top of Cangzhen's tallest building, over its compound wall, and land on the ground beyond. She wondered exactly how high she was now, and what the dimensions of Shaolin's walls were.
The soldier reached beneath his armor again and Hok stepped farther up toward the peak of the roof. She noticed that the roof tiles were much warmer up there than they had been by the edge. In fact, they were so warm that she found she needed to shift her weight from foot to foot. That gave her an idea. Hok dropped to her knees, formed a crane-beak fist, and slammed it into one of the roof tiles.
The roof tile shattered and flames shot up through the opening, licking the night air.
“Hey!” the soldier called out, fumbling with something. “What are you doing?”
Hok stood and tore the sleeves off her dress, then tied them around a chunk of the shattered roof tile. She left the ends of silk dangling extra long and held on to one piece while lighting the others with the flames dancing up through the hole. With the flaming bundle at her side, Hok headed for the far edge of the roof, toward the compound wall.