They flicked to the black back of his chauffeur, standing with arms folded on the edge of the dais, and then to Fang Yu as she rose from her bow. The Master of Sinanju stood beside her, his clear eyes on the chauffeur. Wu Ming Shi's eyes were on the teakwood box.
"Bring the box of Temujin to me," he hissed.
Fang Yu accepted the box and brought it to the edge of the dais, where she raised it to the chauffeur's outstretched hands.
"Bring it to me, Sagwa," he said.
Helpless, Remo Williams accepted the box and carried it to the man seated on the throne.
"Thank you," Wu Ming Shi said.
"Shove it up your ass," Remo Williams said.
"Return to your place, insolent slave," Wu Ming Shi said. "And still your tongue."
Obediently Remo returned to the dais edge. He folded his arms. The uniform was too tight for him. His back itched. He looked at Chiun, who avoided his gaze, thinking at least he didn't have to wear that stupid black mask.
Wu Ming Shi carefully removed his nail protectors, revealing curved talons. Taking care not to break the brittle nails, he solved the secret of the teakwood box within seconds. The lid sprang.
"I first learned of this," Wu Ming Shi said, "when one of my Blue Bees gave refuge to the so-called people's hero, Zhang Zingzong. The inscription on the skull was reported to me, but without the skull itself, it was of no use."
Wu Ming Shi stopped. His eyes locked on the skull's cracked brow.
"This is not the Skull of Targutai!" he said with sibilant violence.
"True," Chiun said smoothly. "That skull led to the broken dragon, whose skull bore an inscription which led to another skull buried in Karakorum. That skull is the one you now hold in your hands. You have my word on this."
The hateful glitter in Wu Ming Shi's eyes faded. His narrow chest rose and fell with his slight breathing.
"Five-Dragon Cave," he murmured. "I know it well."
Returning the skull to the box, he rose to his feet painfully, clutching the box like a square football.
"Know, Master of Sinanju, that with this gift you erase the memory of the insult that was done to me so long ago. I vow to you that from this day forward, the village of Sinanju and all who dwell within need fear naught from the mandarin Wu Ming Shi."
"If you will so inform your blue Bees, I will consider our business done," Chiun returned with a slight stiff bow.
"They will be so informed before we leave."
Chiun's wispy beard trembled. "We?"
"Many li separate Sayn Shanda from Five-Dragon Cave. The Gobi is overrun with Mongols, stirred up by a new khan. I will need protection if I am to reach the place I seek."
"I have not offered my protection."
"But you will give it," Wu Ming Shi said with a cracking of his lips into a brown smile. "Else my Blue Bees will hear nothing from me before we leave. I know you will not wish me to depart Sayn Shanda without word going out-and you will happily see me to my destination. For I am without my faithful Sagwa. "
Chiun considered. "I agree. On one condition."
"And this is?"
"Your new servant. I wish him back, for without the treasure of Genghis, I will be forced to return to America. He is not the best servant I have had, but he is at least somewhat housebroken. You may have Zhang Zingzong for him."
Wu Ming Shi looked to his chauffeur. "Ah, so he does mean something to you."
"It is as I have said," Chiun insisted quietly.
"Yes. This can be arranged. Prepare to ride." Wu Ming Shi turned to Fang Yu, saying. "Let the Blue Bees of the world know my directions. And assemble a group of them for the journey."
Fang Yu bowed and padded away.
Chapter 37
Remo walked ahead of the mandarin Wu Ming Shi only because the mandarin Wu Ming Shi commanded him to do so.
The long black limousine was parked outside the monastery. Before it, over forty blue-clad Chinese workmen sat on short-legged Mongolian horses, in rows four deep. Directly behind the limo, the Master of Sinanju waited astride a pony, as did Zhang Zingzong and Fang Yu. Zhang's head was bowed, his wrists bound to his saddle. Fang Yu sat proudly, attired in a blue work uniform.
"My Blue Bees," mandarin Wu Ming Shi said proudly.
"I'll bet they're good little Doo-Bees, too," Remo told him.
"Open the door for me."
Remo obliged, hating every second.
The mandarin Wu Ming Shi paused at the door. His dead brown teeth showed in an ugly smile.
"You are silent," he hissed. "Good. You learn."
Remo decided he had enough. He brought his foot down for where the mandarin Wu Ming Shi's instep should be. To his surprise, he stomped the hem of the mandarin's gown flat without encountering flesh and bone.
"Where do you keep your feet?" Remo asked, dumbfounded.
Wu Ming Shi swiftly eased into the limo interior, his guttural, "Close the door and take your rightful place," coming as if from a well.
Remo obeyed and climbed in behind the wheel.
The horses started off, and Remo, unable to resist the orders coming through the glass partition behind his head, followed them.
They rode south, out of Sayn Shanda and into the hard desert. Remo doubted the car would handle the rough terrain, but then he realized that was why the so-called Blue Bees rode ahead. Their pony hooves packed down the sandy gravel so the car's tires found traction.
They passed several clusters of gers, and while curious Mongol eyes followed the procession, none followed them with their bodies.
They made good time, the horses cantering, the limo moving at a steady pace. Occasionally its tires would hit a gully. The Blue Bees hastily dismounted, and wielding brooms and shovels, filled in the rough spots. And they would continue.
Remo drove monotonously. After a few hours the mandarin laid his head back against his seat and fell asleep, his head tilted back, his mouth open, as if in rigor mortis. He looked dead, his face a varnished death mask.