Joshua momentarily froze at the sound of the gunshot, and for a few seconds his mind raced for any probable explanation. The sound wasn't exactly foreign to his ears; the Dragons always had some sort of infighting going on between rival factions, not that he would know much about, as his family fortunately wasn't closely related to one. Occasionally one would ring out [i]during[/i] his weekly lesson, and he learned to grow less startled from it over time, as Shifu simply gave him a sly wink and bade him continue. However, [i]before[/i] a lesson, and from what he could tell with growing anxiety, in very close proximity to his location, was certainly new. He heard whispers that his current wuguan (dojo) also doubled as a meeting place between the Triad leaders, but as the room was normally bare except for a few mats laid on the floor for when he usually came in, no evidence showed of any such gathering. Plus, why assassinate someone in public rather than in their own private quarters? A planned murder in a room where a weekly visitor was expected wasn't exactly smart, and defied the Dragon's usual modus operandi of crime scene cleanup, unless it was out of desperation...or setting an example.

Josh took a deep, quiet breath to steady his nerves, and as he exhaled toe walked to the edge of the entrance. He flattened his body against the wall, and steeling himself for the sight to come, slowly peeked his head around the corner.