The Centipede shouts in Cantonese: The Centipede flails with many feet! as he leaps high in the air, spinning and kicking multiple times like a tornado of feet!
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HAH!! HUP!! HUP!! HAH!! HYAA!!
The kunoichi glances at Sifu Centipede... Sifu Centipede wiggles his eyebrows at the ninja!
HUP!! HUP!! HAH!! HAH!! HYA!! Sifu Centipede lands two solid blows on Sifu Scorpion, drawing blood! In Cantonese to Sifu Scorpion: It would give me no joy to kill you, Brother Scorpion... But if you insist on forcing me to do so, I will not hesitate!
In Japanese: Your music brings beauty and joy into the world, Mister Fox... I cannot allow it to be silenced by base greed!
HAP!! HYAA!! HUP!! HUP!! HAA!! Master Centipede unleashes a flurry of punches and kicks, but lands only the first punch, which breaks Master Scorpion’s nose! *CRUNCHHH!!*
Sorekara watashi no yō ni anata wa kono kitsune o shiranai... Anata wa kare ga subarashī ongakukadeari, tengoku kara no okurimonoda to iu koto o shiranai! Chinese-accented Japanese:
Then you do not know this Fox as I do... You do not realize that he is a gifted composer and that his music is a gift from Heaven! In Cantonese: I cannot allow you to kill this musical genius, my brother... It would be a terrible taint on your karma!
Sukōpion wa anata o sukuu tame ni koko ni imasen, misutā Fokkusu... Watashi wa anata ga ima nigeru koto o o susume shimasu... Watashi wa sorera o ryōritsu sa seyou to shimasu! Chinese-accented Japanese:
Scorpion-Sensei is not here to rescue you, Fox-San... I suggest you run away now... I will try to hold them off!
But yet another watcher now intervenes! Watching from the shadows of the doorway of a closed glassblower’s shop across the street from the pottery shop, Master Centipede (an old fellow student of Master Scorpion’s) steps out of the shadows and moves adjacent to the combatants with startlingly swift and silent steps!
Johann bows and says silently, "You are a slippery foe, brother. I will take your movements to heart and think on them; how I can copy what you have shown me. Perhaps, my heart wasn't into this match, after you mentioned the Fox. Tell me, why is there such a bounty on him?" That, I cannot say. I only know that someone very powerful and very wealthy wants him dead. Perhaps your friend, Mister Fox can shed light on the matter. The monk bows respectfully to Johann. Mister Fox is lucky to have such a powerful friend looking out for him. I’m afraid he will need all the friends he can get.
The elusive monk evades Bear's massive arms... Now tell me, Mister Bear... How does one wrestle a centipede? Are they not too wriggly and too sinuous too grab hold of? And when one believes they have a hold on the centipede... Is it not so that the centipede in fact has hold of them instead? The monk attempts to throw the great bear over his shoulder... Straining to move so great a load, even using leverage, he fails... Ah! Very good, Mister Bear! You are an immovable object when you plant your feet as you just did...
Sifu Centipede evades Bear’s grasp like smoke or water! He attempts to get a hold on the Bear but his arms do not quite reach around the great brute’s torso! Haha! You might be too big for this centipede to grab hold of, Mister Bear!
Then you might be interested to know that there is a considerable bounty on his head... The monk assumes a strange stance on one leg, fingers splayed out like the legs of a centipede... Sprinting forward suddenly, the monk spins, his leg sweeping to knock the Bear’s legs out from under him! But Bear leaps over the monk’s leg sweep! Very good, Mister Bear! You move quickly for one so large!
. The monk moves back and forth with fluid, undulating motions, like the tide... So... You are friends with Mister Fox, is that so, Mister Bear?
The Chinaman smiles and bows. Very well, Mister Bear! Let us wrestle!
Also on Tuesday morning, a monk from far Cathay presents himself to Johann as he is admiring the training in wrestling and grappling the monks of Sant’Angelo are engaged in. Ni hao, Mister Bear! That means hello in my native tongue... I see you are enjoying the good monks of Sant’Angelo’s sport... Would you like me to teach you this Way? It is called kung fu, which means time and effort... It will require considerable time and effort to achieve mastery of good kung fu... but I believe you would make an excellent student in the ways of the Centipede, whose many legs hold its prey fast to deliver its lethal venom...
Watching Toshio Okumura interact with Pope Eugenius, Dukes of Florence and Savoy, John Dunstaple, and others, Master Centipede almost feels a pang of pity for the Fox... This kitsune has made something fine of himself. He has strong kung fu in music. If I kill him to win the bounty, I am eliminating something fine from the world, a source of entertainment, inspiration, and beauty. After hearing him play those wondrous melodies... I am not sure the bounty is really worth killing him. Is it?... Of course it is, you foolish monk! Twenty thousand taels would feed the Monastery on Wudong Mountain for decades! I will be a hero! A very wealthy hero... |