When they said they had many alarms, they dang well meant it. Almost the whole room was filled with them! Huge bamboo sticks stretching across from one side of the room to another with small silver bells fitted onto them. I had no choice but to take off the bag I was wearing and put it down at the side of the door. As far as I could tell, at least fifty of them had been placed around, all of them surrounding a large metal container with six sides, big enough to fit someone inside. Thanks to the detail and shape and a little history, I realized what it was and who it was meant to be for...

"Is that what I think it is"? I asked, wanting to confirm my suspicions.

Yùzú gave a small chuckle, knowing what I was talking about without even needing to look.

"Indeed it is Master Mike. The sarcophogus of Su Wu itself".

I thought as much. The prison for one of the three most dangerous criminals ever to terrorise China. At one point, freed by her two sisters long ago and almost caused a full scale war against the Emperor and the Imperial army. Almost. If it hadn't been for three great masters who stood in their way, well I shudder to imagine what China would be like now. Still, there was one thing that didn't make sense. As Yùzú slowly and carefully led us through the alarms, I couldn't fight the temptation to ask one more question.

"But I don't understand. I thought that thing was meant to be transferred to a museum somewhere"...?

"Actually Mike, that one was a replica. This one here is the real thing". Viper answered for me as she ducked her head under a low bamboo stick.

"How do you know that"?

"Po got himself stuck inside it at one point while trying to fix a hole in the roof, which he caused. At the end of the day, Shifu and the five realised he was missing and we eventually found him sleeping in it. Thankfully the lock was a fake and could be undone without the need for a key".

I shook my head. It did seem like something that Po would do by accident. I quickly ended up with my back to the wall as I realized that I had almost slithered into an alarm thanks to my thoughts. I really need to be more careful. The further we got, the more I was able to see the front of the sarcophogus. It was similar to the back of it, only with a small rectangular hole for the captors eyes to look out of. Although, when I tried to get a glimpse, I could see nothing inside. Was it empty? Or perhaps too dark to actually see inside? There could have easily been the top Wu sister inside of the metal husk and I wouldn't have been able to tell...

"Feeling scared Master Mike"? Yùzú suddenly spoke up, making me flinch.

"Me? Scared? Hah. Not even a little". I spoke with a slightly loud voice, as though I was trying to convince everyone, even myself. I mean, this is a very dangerous criminal locked away only a few feet from my position. Even if she was locked away in some top notch cage, I still couldn't help but be a little worried.

"Just to clarify, that cage was built specifically to keep her in, right"? I asked as I had cleared the last bamboo stick in my way. All three of us were now right next to an outside balcony with a view of the whole city. Again Yùzú chuckled.

"I know where you are going with this Master Mike. Allow me to put your worries to rest, because the Wu sister no longer remains within Jinzhou after her escape".

I turned from the sarcophogus to face the large gorilla with surprise. That made me feel a little better.

"Then who's inside of it"?

"No one".

No one? So it was actually empty?

"So, where are the Wu sisters now"?

"I'm not at liberty to say".

Well, I suppose that's understandable.

"But, I don't get it. If there's no one inside that thing, then why keep all the traps ready and waiting? Doesn't it seem a bit wasteful"?

"Not really. Since this city is considered to be along the lines of a criminal hive"... I noticed that Yùzú sounded a little disappointed as he spoke those last two words. "Many criminals that are newly thrown in here seem to be more obiedient when we mention that such a dangerous being remains locked up in this building. Maybe it's because they've heard the rumors of what the Wu sisters are capable of, with power that can only be matched by the Three great masters. Not that it works on everyone, but most criminals seem to be more obiedient, especially when we give them the duty of fetching supplies from the very top room, well, they almost start promising that they'll be good for the rest of their lives. Codswallop in my opinion. Once a thief always a thief. That's why the guards keep up the charade. I'm sure because of it we've managed to avoid a riot or two".

My interest was caught as he mentioned supplies. At least that explains why we had to travel all the way up.

"That reminds me, what supplies are you offering if you don't mind me asking"?

Water, food, warm cloting, the works". Simple answer, yet promising. "Since I can't allow you to go any further, I will fetch them for you".

I nodded and Yùzú headed to the left of the room through a thick wooden door just before the balcony which had a huge iron lock on the side of it. From there it was just me and Viper. That reminded me, she had been quiet for a bit. Hope she isn't as freaked out about the sarcophogus as I was. I turned round and found her outside on the balcony with her back to me... I think she was muttering something underneath her breath.

"Viper"?

I slithered closer to her.

"Vipes"?

I slithered until I was right behind her. I was able to catch a mouthful of her mumbling. Something weird...

"Two... two stand apart... one of red, one of green... together in death yet forever alone"...

"Viper"!

As I snapped, she jumped. She looked round until she faced me. She looked confused.

"Mike"?

"Mind explaining what was that about"?

"What what was about"?

"What you were just talking about. One of red, one of green, forever alone".

Viper turned her head.

"I... didn't say that". She spoke. She sounded so sure of herself, I almost believed her.

I opened my mouth to say something else, only I didn't get the chance. Yùzú returned not a moment too soon with the promised supplies. A decent sized water containers in one hand, and a small crate of fruits and vegetables to last the four days if rationed carefully in the other. I looked back to Viper with a look of concern. One way or another, we both knew that we were going to discuss what just happened later. For now however, the both of us bowed in respect to the large captain and allowed for him to lead us back out through the several dozen bamboo wires and up to the front door where Yùzú stepped through first with the supplies, then Viper. Before I entered however, I took one last look through to the balcony. Night was a good several hours away. Still, knowing Viper, she'll be persistent enough to have us rest for the night, have us save our strength. Bad idea. Hiring a hotel room in possibly one of the most dangerous cities in all of China where you could be robbed at any moment? Then again, why the heck was I worrying so much. I'm a kung fu master for petes sake! It's not like I can't take on a group of bandits or worse right?

"Mike? Are you coming"? I heard Viper call. I sighed and slithered out of the room. Even with a comfy bed, it was going to be a rough nights sleep for me.

...

Hi guys, got another chapter up. This was a tough one to do surprisingly due to the Wu sisters and whether I should have added them to the story or not. In the end I chose not to and made up some false information on them. ^^

Moving on, I apologise for how short these chapters have become. It feels like I've written longer when in reality, I haven't. For those who are unaware, I use Wordpad to write my stories, which does not come with a word count option like it does with Microsoft word. I'll try and write longer when and if I can. I've just been somewhat tired and depressed the last few days so I guess I'm not at the top of my story writing skills ^^; Still, I'll move past that and get back to writing some actual interesting chapters in the future. Cheerio!