One Tail at a Time

The Great Race - 3

"Cities I have, but no houses.  Rivers I have but no water."

The clues are definitely getting harder, because this one is very short and blunt and what even Zhen Zhen would deem a riddle and in my mind, I can see his face scrunched up thinking hard just like Shanhu is doing.

So far, we have found three clues, and managed to thwart the other teams twice, but it looks as if we are all neck and neck, because I can hear many of them whispering the same clue through the hedge and seeing as my hearing cannot be considered magic, I fully use it to listen in on what they might think it means.  Only they seem just as stumped as we are.

"This clue isn't so much in the words, but what they are alluding to." Shanhu says, which doesn't make sense to me, so I ignore him while continuing to listen to Chang Shan who is doing exactly what Shanhu is doing, and that is breaking the riddle down.

"What world would have a city with no houses?  All cities have houses." he is saying which Ling Yu is grunting at.

"Seventeen....  pay attention." Shanhu interrupts which has my fingers quickly smothering his mouth.

"Shhh.... I can hear them talking." I say quietly which makes his eyes narrow in suspicion.

"You know you're not allowed to eavesdrop with your fox ears.  Shifu has forbidden it." he says which reminds me of the fact that other than Shifu, I am the only one on this mountain with super powerful hearing.  If I strain hard enough, I can hear voices a mile away.

"But Shifu said we can use strategy, what's wrong with taking the clue off them?  It beats having to negotiate if we can't figure it out." I argue which he knows he has no comeback but he continues anyway.

"That might be true, but it's cheating.  Winning the prize by our own hard work is far more satisfying that having stolen it with underhand methods." Mr oh so righteous and super boring says with a pinched look and squinty eyes.

"Strategy is strategy.  Even Shifu has used his super powerful hearing to win battles, in fact, Shifu said that when in battle, which we are, one should always use what fate gave them, it is the rule of any war!" I correct him most adamantly.

He stops to think about it, and after a while he agrees, because he is really struggling with this clue.  If we can at least get a hint as to where our minds should be heading, then perhaps we can figure it out before they do.  

"I think it might be something that has these things on it rather than an actual place" Chang Shan whispers which I repeat back to Shanhu.

"And there it is..." Shanhu whispers with a light chuckle.

"It is?"

"Seventeen, if you want to find a city or a river, what would you need?" he asks as his hand takes mine into his own before dragging me off the hammock.

"A map!" I giggle excitedly.  

This game really is so much fun, and now that my belly has enough in it to keep me going, the excitement is really building now.  So far, we have found four clues.  There is only two left and then the treasure and no sooner are we running out of the garden then we collide straight into Chang Shan!.

Now let me tell you something about this senior.  He is smart!  Super smart and probably Shifus most talented intellect here but not only that, he is a stickler for the rules.  No rule can be broken when in his presence, and the many times that I have intentionally and even unintentionally broken them, have ended wtih me and Buddha getting super acquainted.

Only that is just the tip of what motivates this man.  He is also highly competitive and though he will stick to the rules right to the bitter end, he can and will use whatever strategy is necessary to win at all costs, and the flicker of a smirk on his face that lasts not even a second, has us both knowing that he is going to play it up, and big time!