[分享]书剑恩仇录英文版

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The Book and Sword was the first novel Cha wrote. The story has a panoramic sweep which takes as its base a few unbeatable themes - secret societies, king fu masters, the sensational rumour so dear to Chinese hearts that the great Manchu emperor Qian Long was in fact a Chinese and not Manchu. It mixes in the exotic flavours of central Asia, a lost city in the desert guarded by wolf packs and the Fragrant Princess. This lady is an embellishment of an historical figure, although whether she actually smelled of flowers, we will never know. I hope you enjoy the translation. I was as faithful to the spirit of the original as I could be, but took the view that it was necessary to simplify some elements of the story and the writing in order to make it more acceptable to an English-reading audience. Mr Cha agreed with my approach. As a result, there are some differences between the original and my translation, but they are differences only of omission. In other words, I have added nothing. --------译者

The Book and The Sword

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Written by Louis Cha, translated by Graham Earnshaw

You can find, download and read my translation of the Louis Cha Chinese kung fu novel The Book and the Sword by clicking on the icon above. Here's some background:

Louis Cha is the biggest-selling author by far in the world of Chinese novels. During the 1960s and 1970s, he wrote a series of kung-fu epics which transcend anything attempted before in Chinese literature, and they are still monster sellers. They find favour with all levels of society from the university professors who savour his command of the Chinese language, to kids who just love the fight scenes.

They have since been re-published in a number of Asian languages, including Japanese and Vietnamese, and published, in many pirated and official Chinese versions, in Taiwan and on the Chinese mainland. They have all been filmed several times for television and on the cinema, and many of the characters Cha created have become a part of life for Chinese people, in much the way that Dickens' Oliver Twist was a part of the lives of Victorian readers.

The Book and Sword was the first novel Cha wrote. The story has a panoramic sweep which takes as its base a few unbeatable themes - secret societies, king fu masters, the sensational rumour so dear to Chinese hearts that the great Manchu emperor Qian Long was in fact a Chinese and not Manchu. It mixes in the exotic flavours of central Asia, a lost city in the desert guarded by wolf packs and the Fragrant Princess. This lady is an embellishment of an historical figure, although whether she actually smelled of flowers, we will never know.

I hope you enjoy the translation. I was as faithful to the spirit of the original as I could be, but took the view that it was necessary to simplify some elements of the story and the writing in order to make it more acceptable to an English-reading audience. Mr Cha agreed with my approach. As a result, there are some differences between the original and my translation, but they are differences only of omission. In other words, I have added nothing.

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PART ONE

** 1 **

It was a hot summer's day in June, l754, the eighteenth year of the reign of Emperor Qian Long. In the inner courtyard of the military commander's Yamen in Fufeng in Shaanxi province, a fourteen-year-old girl skipped towards her teacher's study, eager for a history lesson. All was peaceful: not even a thread of cool wind stirred. The girl hesitated, afraid that her teacher had not yet woken from his afternoon nap. Quietly, she circled round to the window, pierced a hole in its paper covering with one of her golden hair clips, and peeped inside.

She saw her teacher sitting cross-legged on a chair, smiling. His right hand waved slightly in the air, and there was a faint clicking sound. Glancing over to where the sound came from, she noticed several dozen flies on a wooden partition opposite, all as still as could be. Puzzled, she looked more closely and noticed a golden needle as slender as a hair protruding from the back of each fly. The needles were so small that she was only able to see them because they reflected the rays of the late afternoon sun slanting in through the windows.

Flies were still buzzing to and fro around the room. The teacher waved his hand again, there was a small noise, and another fly was pinned to the partition. Absolutely fascinated, she ran to the door and burst in, shouting: "Teacher! Show me how to do that."

The girl was Li Yuanzhi, the only child of the local military commander, Li Keshou. Her fresh, beautiful face was flushed with excitement.

"Hmm," said her teacher, a scholar in his mid-fifties named Lu. "Why aren't you playing with your friends? You want to hear some more stories, do you?"

Moving a chair over to the partition, she jumped up to look, then pulled the needles out of the flies one by one, wiped them clean on a piece of paper and handed them back to him. "That was a brilliant piece of kung fu, teacher," she said. "You have to show me how to do it."

Lu smiled. "If you want to learn kung fu, there's no-one better at it within a hundred miles of here than your own father," he said.

"My father knows how to shoot an eagle with an arrow, but he can't kill a fly with a needle. If you don't believe me, I'll go and ask him."

Lu thought for a moment, and then nodded. "All right, come tomorrow morning and I'll teach you. Now go off and play. And you're not allowed to tell anyone about me killing the flies. If anyone finds out, I won't teach you."

Yuanzhi was overjoyed. She knelt before him and kowtowed eight times. Lu accepted the gesture with a smile. "You pick things up very quickly. It is fitting that I should teach you this kind of kung fu. However ..." He stopped, deep in thought.

"Teacher," said Yuanzhi hurriedly. "I will do anything you say."

"To be honest, I don't agree with much of what your father does," he said. "When you're older, I hope you will be able to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil. If you accept me as your teacher, you must also accept the strict rules of the Wudang Martial Arts Order to which I belong. Do you think you can?"

"I would not dare defy your orders," she said.

"If you ever use the skills I teach you to do evil, I will take your life as easily as turning my hand over."

His face and voice became stern and hard, and for a moment Yuanzhi was frightened. But then she smiled. "I'll be good," she said. "Anyway, how could you bear to kill me?

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** 2 **

The Wudang kung fu sect to which Lu belonged, one of the most famous, stressed the use of Internal Force Kung Fu. In his prime, Lu had roamed China fighting for justice, and had become a famous member of the Dragon Slayer's Society, a secret anti-Manchu organisation whose power and influence had been widespread during the reign of Yong Zheng, the former Emperor. But the society had been rigorously suppressed, and by the seventh or eighth year of Emperor Qian Long's reign, it had disintegrated. Lu fled to the border areas of China. The Manchu court dispatched men to look for him, but he was quick-witted and a good fighter and managed to avoid capture. Working on the principle that 'small crooks hide in the wilderness, middling crooks in the city and big crooks in officialdom', Lu eventually made his way to Commander Li's household and set himself up as a teacher.

From that day, Lu began teaching Yuanzhi the basic techniques of the Wudang school's kung fu style, known as Limitless Occult Kung Fu. He taught her control of her emotions and thoughts, the ten Tapestries and the thirty-two Long-arm Blows. He trained her to use her eyes and ears, and showed her the use of hand darts and other hidden projectiles.

More than two years passed. Yuanzhi, hard-working and clever, made fast progress. Her father, Commander Li, was transferred toGansu province as military commander at Anxi, one of the major towns in the northwest border regions, bordering on the great desert of central Asia. His family, including Lu, went with him.

Another two years passed as Lu taught Yuanzhi the Soft Cloud sword technique and the secret of the Golden Needles. She did as her teacher had ordered, and did not tell a soul that she was learning kung fu. Every day she practised by herself in the rear flower garden. When the young mistress was practising her kung fu, the maids did not understand what they saw, and the menservants did not dare to watch too closely.

Commander Li was a capable man, and he advanced steadily through the ranks of officialdom. In 1759, the twenty-third year of the Emperor Qian Long's reign, he distinguished himself in the battle of Ili, in which the largest of the tribes in the Muslim areas was defeated, and received an Imperial decree promoting him to the post of Commander-in-Chief of Zhejiang Province in the southeast.

Yuanzhi had been born and raised in the border areas of the northwest, and the prospect of travelling to new and beautiful lands filled her with excitement. She pressed her teacher to come as well, and Lu, who had been away from the central areas for a long time, agreed with pleasure.

Li Keshou went ahead with a small escort to take up his post and left his chief-of-staff and 20 soldiers in charge of his family who were to follow him. The officer's name was Deng, a vigorous and energetic man in his forties who sported a small moustache.

The entourage consisted of more than a dozen mules and a few horses. Madame Li sat in a mule-drawn carriage, but Yuanzhi couldn't bear to be cooped up and insisted on riding. Since itwould have been improper for the daughter of a high official to be seen riding in public, she changed into boy's clothes which made her look so extraordinarily handsome that she refused to change back into her normal attire no matter what anyone said. All Madame Li could do was sigh and let her daughter do as she pleased.

It was a deep autumn day. Lu rode far behind the group looking at the passing scenery as the colours of late afternoon merged into evening. But there was little to see around the ancient road except yellow sand, withered grasses and the occasional crow flying homewards. A breeze sprang up from the west and Lu began to recite:

"His body and name scarred by a hundred battles The general approaches a bridge across a river And turns to look back 10,000 miles At the dead men left behind. Cold are the waters of the River Yi And the whistling west wind, Full of cloaks and crowns like snow. The hero's song of lament has not yet ended....."

"The poet Xin Jiaxuan could have been writing of my own feelings," he thought. "He was much like me when he wrote it, watching China fall to the barbarian tribes, with no way of knowing when the old days would return. No wonder he sang such a sad song."

The entourage crossed the summit of a hill. Looking at the darkening sky, the mulemen said that another three miles would bring them to Twin Pagodas, a large town, where they planned to spend the night.

Just then, Lu heard the sound of galloping hooves and saw far in front two magnificent chestnut horses racing towards them through a cloud of dust. The two riders flashed by, one on either side of the line of mules, and were gone. Lu slapped his horseand caught up with Yuanzhi.

"Did you get a good look at those two?" he asked in a low voice.

"Were they bandits?" she replied excitedly. She would have liked nothing better than for them to be outlaws bent on robbery, giving her a chance to display the skills she had worked so hard to attain over the past five years.

"It's hard to say," said Lu. "But judging by their ability in the martial arts, they wouldn't be ordinary highwaymen."

"Are they kung fu masters?"

"From the way they ride their horses, I'd say it's unlikely they are novices."

As the entourage neared the town, two more horsemen galloped past.

"Mm, this is very strange," mused Lu. The country was desolate and the evening mist was thickening. He wondered why anyone would set out on a journey at this time of day.

Not long after, the muletrain entered the town. Officer Deng led them to a large inn and Yuanzhi and her mother were shown to one of the best rooms. Lu was given a smaller room, and after he had eaten dinner, a servant lit the lantern. All was quiet, and he was about to go to sleep when a dog barked. From far away he heard the faint sound of galloping horses approaching and he thought again about the four riders they had passed on the road.

The clip-clop of horses' hooves came closer and stopped right in front of the inn. There was a knock on the front door and Lu heard a servant open it and say: "You've been riding hard. There's food and drink prepared for you."

"Go and feed the horses quickly," said a rough voice. "We must start out again as soon as we've finished eating."

Lu considered the situation. Groups of men hurrying northwest, and judging by the way they rode, all of them experts in the martial arts. In all his years in the border areas, he had never seen the like of it. He slipped quietly out of his room, crossed the courtyard and went round to the back of the inn.

"All right, you say the Young Helmsman is very young," he heard the rough-voiced man say. "Do you think he will be able to control all the brothers?"

Lu followed the voice and stationed himself underneath the window.

"He'll have to," he heard the other say. "It was the old master's wish whether the Young Helmsman likes it or not."

The man had a deep, sonorous voice, and Lu could tell his Internal Strength was profound. Not daring to make a hole in the window paper to peep through, he continued to listen from where he was, breathing as lightly as he could.

"Of course," the rough-throated one replied. "But we don't know if the Young Helmsman will be willing to do it."

"You don't have to worry about that," said the other. "He'll follow the old master's wishes."

He said the word 'follow' with a peculiar southern Chinese accent, and Lu's heart jumped. "Where have I heard that voice before?" he thought. He sifted through his mind, and finally remembered that it belonged to his old friend Zhao Banshan, whom he had known 20 years before in the Dragon Slayers' Society. Zhao was about 10 years younger than he, but the two had often trained together, and had a great respect for each other. Lu had heard no news of him since the Dragon Slayers' Society had broken up and he was delighted at chancing upon an old friend in such an unlikely place. As he was about to call out to Zhao, the light in the room was suddenly doused and a dart shot out of the window.

But it was not aimed at Lu. A figure shifted in the shadows nearby and caught the dart, then stood up, about to challenge the dart thrower. Lu leapt over and whispered fiercely: "Don't make a sound! Come with me." It was Yuanzhi.

No one chased them. Lu pulled Yuanzhi into his room, and under the light saw an expression of such eagerness on her face that he was both angry and amused.

"Yuanzhi, do you know what sort of men they are? What were you doing trying to pick a fight with them?" he asked sternly.

"What were they doing shooting a dart at me?" she replied defiantly.

"If they aren't outlaws, then they are secret society men," he said. "One of them I know, and his kung fu would not be weaker than mine. Travelling through the night as they are, they must be on very urgent business. That dart was not meant to injure you, it was just telling you not to be nosy. If he had really wanted to hit you, I doubt if you would have been able to catch it. Now go and sleep."

They heard a door open and the sound of horses' hooves as the two men galloped away.

The next morning, the muletrain started out again, and travelled ten miles in just over two hours.

"Look, teacher," said Yuanzhi. "There's someone coming."

Two chestnut horses galloped towards them, and because of theprevious night's incident, they paid particular attention to the riders. The horses, fine and spirited, were identical. Even stranger, the two riders were also identical. Both were aged about 40, tall and thin with faces as yellow as wax, sunken eyes and long slanting eyebrows: the effect was frightening.

As they passed by, the two men glanced at Yuanzhi with their strange eyes. She reined in her horse and stared back belligerently, but they took no notice and raced on westwards.

"Where did that pair of ghosts come from, I wonder," she said.

Lu glanced back at the receding figures. "Aha, it must be them," he cried.

"You recognise them?" she asked excitedly.

"They must be the Twin Knights of Sichuan. Their surname is Chang, but everyone calls them Black Death and White Death."

Yuanzhi laughed. "They've got good nicknames. They look like a couple of skeletons."

"Little girls shouldn't make jokes about other people," said Lu. "They may be ugly but they are skilled fighters. I've never met them, but from what I've heard, they travel the country fighting evil and doing justice. They are widely known as outlaws, but they steal only from the rich and help the poor. They have made a great name for themselves."

"But if they are identical, why are they called Black and White?"

"From what I've been told, the only difference between them is that one has a black mole in the corner of his eye, and the other doesn't. There's probably no one better at Black Sand Palm Kung Fu than those two."

"What are they doing in the border areas?" Yuanzhi asked.

"I have no idea," Lu replied. "I've never heard of them operating out here before."

As he spoke, they heard more horses coming towards them. This time, the riders were a Taoist priest and a hunchback dressed in brightly-coloured clothes. The priest had a longsword slung across his back. His face was pale and sickly and he had only one arm: his left sleeve was tucked under his belt.

Seeing the hunchback's ugly face and his garish attire, Yuanzhi laughed. "Teacher," she shouted before Lu could stop her, "Look at the hunchback!"

The hunchback glared at her angrily and as he passed, stretched out his hand to grab hold of her. The priest seemed to have guessed what he would do, and stopped the hunchback's hand with a flick of his horse whip. "Tenth Brother," he growled, "Don't make trouble."

Lu and Yuanzhi looked back and saw the two horses breaking into a gallop. Suddenly, the hunchback did a reverse somersault off the back of his horse, and with three steps covered the distance to Yuanzhi. Yuanzhi's sword was in her hand, but the hunchback did not attack her. He grabbed the tail of her horse, and the animal, which was galloping along, reared back on its hind legs with a loud scream. The hunchback's strength was frightening: the horse had not pulled him forward an inch. He chopped at the horse's tautly-stretched tail with his right hand, and snapped off the end as if with a knife. The horse lunged forward, and Yuanzhi was almost thrown. The hunchback turned and ran off swiftly. In a second, he caught up with his horse, still galloping westwards, leapt onto its back and soon disappeared from view.

"Teacher!" Yuanzhi called out in a plaintive voice. Lu frowned and was about to berate her. But seeing her eyes glistening with tears, he stopped himself.

Later, they heard a shout from behind: "Weiyang...Weiyang."

Yuanzhi was mystified. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's the call of a bodyguard agency shouter," he said. "The agencies hire out bodyguards or escort goods and people, especially on long journeys. Every bodyguard agency has a different call, and they use it to let both outlaws and friends know who they are. The bodyguard agency business is based seven parts on goodwill and three parts on fighting ability. If the head of an agency is generous and creates a lot of goodwill, he will gain many friends, and his business will prosper. Outlaws will hear the call and let them pass without attacking. 'Being friends is better than being enemies,' as the saying goes. Now, if you were to try the bodyguard agency business...ha! With allthe people you have annoyed in less than half a day, you would have trouble travelling an inch, even if you were ten times the fighter you are now."

"Which bodyguard agency's call is that?" she asked, ignoring his teasing.

"The Zhen Yuan Agency from Beijing, probably the biggest in north China. The head of the agency is 'North China Earth Shaker' Wang Weiyang. He must be seventy by now, but they're still calling 'Weiyang', so he hasn't retired yet. Ah, perhaps he ought to. The Zhen Yuan Agency has been making big profits for 40 years now. That should be enough for anyone."

"Have you ever met him?" Yuanzhi asked.

"I've met him. He uses an Eight Diagram sword and the Eight Diagram boxing technique. In the old days, there was no one in north China who could beat him."

Yuanzhi was elated. "They're travelling very fast. When they catch up to us, you can point the old hero out to me."

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"Now why would he come out himself?" Lu said. "You really are a silly girl!"

Yuanzhi sulked. She was always being told off by her teacher. It wasn't fair. She spurred her horse forward and caught up with the carriage, planning to talk to her mother for a while to relieve the frustration. Glancing round, she saw the stub of her horse's tail and shuddered. There was nothing unusual about breaking a spear with one blow, but a horse's tail was pliable. How had the hunchback managed to snap it? She reined in her horse, meaning to wait for Lu to catch up so she could ask him, but changed her mind and galloped up the line to Officer Deng instead.

"Officer Deng," she said, pouting. "My horse's tail looks very ugly."

"I don't know what to do with this horse of mine," Deng replied, guessing her meaning. "He's in a bad mood today and won't do anything I say. You are a good horsewoman, mistress. Perhaps you could help me break him in."

"I probably won't be able to handle him either," she said modestly. The two exchanged horses. Deng's horse was of course very docile.

"Very good, mistress," he complimented her. "Even horses do your bidding."

The bodyguard agency's call came closer and closer, and before long, a muletrain consisting of a score or more heavily laden animals began to pass.

Lu was afraid one of the agency men would recognise him, so he covered the top part of his face with a large fur cap. As the lead escorts trotted past, he heard one of them remark: "According to Brother Han, Brother Jiao Wenqi's body has been found."

Lu's heart missed a beat as he heard the name. Jiao was one of the Six Devils of Guandong and a formidable fighter. Five years before while on an errand to the Muslim regions, Jiao had discovered Lu was hiding in Commander Li's household and had come at the dead of night with two other fighters with the aim of capturing Lu and taking him back to Beijing to claim the reward on his head. After a hard fight, Lu had killed all three and hidden their corpses on a deserted hillside.

Lu looked round at the escort who had spoken, but had time to see only that he had a full beard and a face as black as thunder. Once he had passed, Lu saw he was carrying on his back a red knapsack and a pair of Five Element Wheels, steel rings covered in knives.

"Could it be that the Guandong Devils have become bodyguard agency escorts?" he wondered. Of the six Devils, Lu had only ever seen Jiao, but he knew that the rest were excellent fighters, and that two of them, the Yan brothers, used Five Element Wheels.

Lu thought about the number of top fighters they had met in the past two days and wondered if it had anything to do with himself. From the look of things, the Zhen Yuan Agency men were actually on an escort assignment, so they posed no threat. As to the fighters travelling westwards in pairs, they did not seem to be looking for him. But where were they going and why?

Having exchanged mounts with Officer Deng, Yuanzhi reined in her horse to wait for Lu to pass.

"Teacher," she smiled. "How come no more riders have passed us? I want to see a few more of these heroes."

Her words jogged Lu's mind and he slapped his thigh. "Ah, you old fool," he rebuked himself. "Why didn't you think of the 'Greeting The Dragon's Head Ceremony'?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"It is the most solemn of the ceremonies held by the secret societies to honour an important personage. Usually, the six most senior men in the society are chosen to go to greet the guest, but for really important meetings, 12 are chosen and they go in pairs. Five pairs have passed us now, so there must be still be one pair in front of us."

"Which secret society do they belong to?" Yuanzhi asked.

"That I don't know. But if the Twin Knights of Sichuan and that hunchback are members, the society's power and influence must be tremendous. Whatever you do, don't provoke anyone else, do you hear?"

Yuanzhi nodded, and waited expectantly to see who else would pass them by.

** 3 **

Midday came and went, but there was no sign of anyone on the road in front. Lu was surprised and wondered if he could have guessed wrongly. Finally, instead of riders approaching from in front, they gradually became aware of the sound of camel bells from behind, and saw a dust cloud rising as a large desert caravan hurried towards them.

The caravan consisted of dozens of camels with 20 or 30 horses squeezed in between them, all ridden by Muslims with high noses and sunken eyes. They had thick beards on their faces and white cloths tied around their heads. Scimitars hung from their waists. Muslim traders were a common sight on the road to the central areas and Lu did not consider it unusual. Amidst the group, he noticed a graceful young girl, dazzlingly beautiful, dressed in yellow robes and riding a black horse.

Lu was impressed, but did no more than glance at her. Yuanzhi, however, stared in open-mouthed wonder. Growing up in the northwest border areas, she had seen few well-groomed girls, let alone girls as beautiful as this one. She was about the same age as Yuanzhi, 18 or 19, with a dagger at her waist and long braids hanging down over her shoulders. She wore a full-length yellow gown, leather boots and a small hat embroidered with gold silk, on the side of which was fastened a turquoise feather. She was an enchanting sight.

As the girl trotted by, Yuanzhi spurred on her horse and followed, gazing fixedly at her. The girl was annoyed at being stared at disrespectfully by a Chinese boy, and she whirled her whip above her head and wrapped it round the mane of Yuanzhi's horse. Giving it a sharp tug, she pulled out a large clump of hair, and the horse reared in pain, almost throwing Yuanzhi to the ground. The Muslim girl cracked the whip in the air and horse hair flew in all directions.

In a fit of pique, Yuanzhi pulled out a steel dart and threw it at the girl's back. But, not wishing to harm her, she also called out: "Watch out for the dart!" The girl leant to one side, and the dart shot past her right shoulder. She waited until it was about ten feet beyond her, then flicked her whip, caught the dart by its tip and smoothly sent it flying back towards Yuanzhi, calling out: "Hey, little boy! Here's your dart!" Yuanzhi caught it neatly.

The Muslims in the caravan applauded loudly at the superb skill with which the yellow-robed girl handled her whip. A tall, thick-set man with a heavy black beard went over and said a few words to her, to which she replied: "Oh, father!" But she took no further notice of Yuanzhi. The dozens of camels and horses moved on and gradually disappeared.

"That girl was impressive, wasn't she?" said Lu.

"These Muslims ride day and night. They ought to be good with their whips. But it doesn't mean she knows any real kung fu," Yuanzhi replied.

Lu laughed. "Really?" he asked.

Towards evening they arrived in the town of Bulongji. There was only one large inn in the town, outside of which was planted the flag of the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency. With two large groups to look after, the inn's servants were very busy.

Lu had a wash, and then strolled into the courtyard of the inn with a cup of tea in his hand. In the dining hall, he saw two tables full of agency men drinking and talking loudly. The lead escort with the Five Element Wheels had put the weapons down but kept the red knapsack on his back.

Taking a sip of tea, Lu gazed up at the sky.

One of the lead escorts laughed. "Brother Yan, once you've delivered this toy to Beijing, General Zhao will reward you with at least a thousand, won't he? You can go and have a good time with that girlfriend of yours, Xibao."

So it really is one of the Yan brothers, Lu thought, and paid even closer attention to what was said.

"A reward?" said Yan. "Ha! Well, everyone will get something."

"Your Xibao has probably gone off with some other man willing to make an honest woman of her," added an effeminate voice. Lu looked over out of the corner of his eye, and saw a man with a sly face and a slight figure, also dressed as a lead escort.

Yan grunted, obviously not pleased.

"You bastard, Tong," added the first lead escort. "You never have anything good to say."

Tong laughed. "All right," he said. "But Brother Yan, fun is fun and serious is serious. Don't think about Xibao too much or you might find someone has stolen that red knapsack off your back. It's not important if lose your head or not, but the agency's reputation has to be maintained."

"Don't worry," Yan replied angrily. "If those Muslims try stealing it back, I'll soon put an end to their nonsense. I am one of the Six Guandong Devils and I got where I am with real kung fu, not like some of the weaklings in the bodyguard agencies these days who can do nothing but eat and fart!"

Lu looked at the red knapsack on Yan's back: it wasn't big, and from the look of it, whatever was inside was very light.

"It's true that the Six Devils of Guandong are famous," Tong said. "It's a pity that Brother Jiao was done in. We don't even know who the murderer was."

Yan banged the table. "Who says we don't know? It has to be the Red Flower Society!"

That's strange, Lu thought, I killed Jiao. What is this Red Flower Society? He walked slowly around the courtyard inspecting the flowers, moving closer to the group of lead escorts.

Tong would not let the matter drop. "It's a pity," he said. "If I wasn't such a weakling, I would have settled things with the Red Flower Society long ago."

Yan shook with anger. One of the other lead escorts broke in to mediate: "Anyway, the Red Flower Society's leader died last month," he said. "They've lost their man in command, so who is there to settle with? And another thing, where is the proof that Jiao was murdered by the Red Flower Society? When you find them and they deny the charge, what are you going to do?"

"Yes," said Tong changing his tack. "We daren't provoke them, but surely we've got enough guts to bully a few Muslims. This little toy we've snatched is as precious to them as life itself. In the future, if General Zhao ever wants money from them, or cattle and sheep, do you think they'd dare to refuse? I tell you Yan, stop thinking about that little Xibao of yours. When we get back to Beijing, you should ask General Zhao to give you a little Muslim girl to be your mistress. Then you can really..."

Before he could finish, a piece of mud brick flew out of nowhere and lodged itself in his mouth. Two of the other lead escorts snatched up their weapons and rushed outside while Yan picked up his Five Element Wheels and looked warily around. His younger brother came running in, and both stood together, not daring to move for fear of falling into some trap. Tong spat out the piece of mud and began swearing.

The two other lead escorts, Tai and Qian, rushed in through the door. "The little bastard's gone," one of them said. "There's no sign of him."

Lu had observed the whole incident and laughed inwardly at the helpless expression on Tong's face. Then he saw a shadow darting across the rafters in a corner of the dining hall, and went slowly outside. It was already growing dark, but he spotted a figure leap off the corner of the roof, land noiselessly, and speed off eastwards.

Lu wanted to know who had treated Tong to a mouthful of mud and, making use of Lightness Kung Fu * (* a type of kung fu that makes extra-fast running and super-human leaps possible.), he followed, the teacup still in his hand. The pace was fast, but the person he was following was not aware of his presence.

Lu's quarry had a slim figure and moved daintily, almost like a girl. They crossed a hill and an ink-black forest loomed ahead. The person ahead slipped into the trees with Lu close behind. Underneath, the ground was covered with dead leaves and twigs which crackled as he stepped on them. Afraid of giving himself away, he slowed down. Just then, the moon broke through the clouds and a shaft of clear light shone down through the branches, covering the earth with jumbled ghostly shadows. In the distance he saw the flash of a yellow gown, and his quarry moved out of the forest.

He followed to the edge of the trees. Beyond was a large expanse of grass on which were pitched eight or nine tents. His curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to go and have a look. He waited until two guards had turned away, then jumped across with a 'Swallow Gliding Over Water' leap and landed among the tents. Crouching low, he ran to the back of the largest tent, pitched in the centre. Inside, he could hear people talking agitatedly in the Muslim language. He had lived in the border areas for many years, and understood some of what was said. Carefully, he lifted up the corner of the canvas and looked inside.

The tent was lit by two oil lamps under which a large number of people were seated on carpets. He recognised them as the Muslim caravan that had passed them that day. The yellow-robed girl stood up and drew a dagger from her waist. She cut the index finger of her left hand with the tip of the blade and let several drops of blood fall into a cup of horse's milk wine. Then one-by-one, every Muslim in the tent did likewise. The tall Muslim that the girl had called father raised the wine cup and made a short speech of which Lu could only understand something about 'The Koran' and 'Our Homeland'. The yellow-robed girl spoke after him, her voice crisp and clear, and concluded by saying:

"If the sacred Koran is not recovered, I swear never to return to our homeland." The Muslims lustily repeated the oath. In the dim light, Lu could see determination and anger on every face.

The group belonged to one of the richest and most powerful of the nomadic Muslim tribes of the Tianshan Mountains, numbering nearly 200,000 people. The tall man was Muzhuolun, the leader of the tribe; a strong fighter, fair and just, he was greatly loved by his people. The yellow-robed girl was his daughter, Huo Qingtong.

The tribe lived by nomadic herding and contentedly travelled the great desert. But as the power of the Manchu court extended into the Muslim areas, its demands for taxes increased. At first, Muzhuolun went out of his way to comply, and worked hard to meet the demands. But the Manchu officials were insatiable and made life impossible for the tribe. On several occasions, Muzhuolun sent missions to the Manchu court to appeal for a reduction of taxes. But far from achieving a reduction, the missions only served to arouse the Court's suspicions. General Zhao Wei was given an Imperial order to supervise military affairs in the Muslim areas and he discovered that the tribe owned an ancient hand-written Koran, originally brought from the sacred city of Mecca, which they had treasured for generations. The General decided to get the Koran to use to blackmail the Muslims into submission and he dispatched a number of top fighters who stole it while Muzhuolun was out on a long journey. The Muslims had organised a group to recover the Sacred Book.

Lu decided that the Muslims' plotting had nothing to do with him, and he carefully stood up to return to the inn. At that instant, Huo Qingtong noticed him.

"There's someone outside," she whispered to her father and shot out of the tent in time to see a shadow running fast for the trees. With a wave of her hand, she sent a steel dart speeding after him.

Lu heard the projectile coming and leant slightly to one side. As it passed, he stretched out the index finger of his right hand and, carefully calculating the speed and direction of the dart, tapped it gently as it passed so that it fell into the teacup he was holding. Then without looking back, he made use of his Lightness Kung Fu and almost flew back to the inn, where he went straight to his room. He took the dart out of the cup and saw it was made of pure steel with a feather attached to it. He threw it into his bag.

adamlau

** 4 **

The bodyguard agency group started out first early the next day, the shouter shouting the agency's call. Lu noticed that most of the lead escorts were stationed around Yan. It seemed the red knapsack on his back was the real treasure being escorted.

Once the agency men had left, Officer Deng led his own column out onto the road. At noon, they rested briefly at a place called Yellow Crag after which the road sloped steadily upward into the mountains. They planned to cross three ranges that day before stopping in Sandaogou.

The mountain road became increasingly precarious and Yuanzhi and Officer Deng kept close by Madame Li's mule-drawn carriage, afraid that if an animal lost its footing, it could send the carriage crashing into the gorge below. Around mid-afternoon, they arrived at the mouth of Black Gold Gorge and saw the agency men seated on the ground resting. Officer Deng directed his men to follow suit. Black Gold Gorge was flanked by high peaks with an extremely steep mountain track leading up between them. Stopping on the track was difficult, so the top of the gorge had to be reached at one stretch. Lu hung back at the rear and turned his back, not wishing to exchange glances with the agency men.

Once rested, they entered the gorge, the bodyguard agency men and the soldiers under Officer Deng's command forming a long snaking column. Men and animals alike panted up the mountain. The shouts of the mulemen melded into a continuous drone. Suddenly, Lu saw a figure darting across the crest of a peak, and heard the jangling of camel bells from in front as a group of Muslims mounted on camels and horses charged down towards them from the top of the gorge. Their hooves sounded like thunder, and the agency men began shouting, calling on them to slow down.

In an instant, the Muslim group was upon them and four camels quickly encircled Lead Escort Yan who was carrying the red knapsack. Each of the four Muslim riders raised a large iron hammer with both hands and smashed it down viciously on his head. The mountain road was narrow, leaving little room for manoeuvring, and the camel-men had the advantage of height. Even if he had been a better fighter, Yan would have been unable to avoid the four hammers, each weighing more than 100 pounds. Both he and his horse were beaten to a bloody pulp.

The yellow-robed Muslim girl, Huo Qingtong, jumped down from her horse and with a flash of her sword cut one of the straps holding the red knapsack to the corpse that had been Yan. But before she had time for a second stroke, she felt a gust of wind at her back as a blade sliced towards her. She dodged to one side and cut the other strap. Her assailant aimed a cutting stroke at her waist to stop her from picking up the knapsack. Unable to avoid the stroke, she raised her sword to block it, and the two blades clashed in a shower of sparks. Looking up, she saw it was the handsome young boy who had stared at her so disrespectfully the day before. In a sudden fit of anger, she lashed out with three attacking sword strokes, and the two began a fierce duel.

Her assailant was Yuanzhi, still dressed in boy's clothes. Without stopping to consider the rights and wrongs of the situation, she had decided to get her own back for the damage done to her horse's mane.

Huo Qingtong could see her chance of recovering the Koran slipping away and wanted to finish the fight quickly. She changed to the 'Three Part' sword style, and in a few strokes had forced Yuanzhi into retreat. The 'Three Part' sword style was the highest achievement of the Tianshan school of kung fu. It was called 'Three Part' because only a third of each stroke was completed. As the opponent moved to counter each one, the stoke changed. Intricate and vicious, the style included no defensive strokes: attacking and killing was all.

The two went through a dozen or more moves without their blades ever touching, Huo Qingtong completing only a third of each stroke, and then changing it without waiting for her opponent to defend. She cut and thrust at the air around Yuanzhi's body, and the Chinese girl, knowing she could not match her opponent's speed, leapt away. Huo Qingtong did not pursue her but turned back to the knapsack, and found it was already in the hands of a small, thin man standing beside Yan's body. She lunged at him with her sword.

"Oh dear," the man cried. "Uncle Tong had better get back in place!" Lead Escort Tong jumped clear with three quick steps and Huo Qingtong followed hard on his heels. She raised her sword to cut him down, but the stroke was blocked by a Five Element Wheel thrust forward by the surviving Yan brother.

Huo Qingtong fought briefly with Yan, and recognised him as a strong and capable adversary. Then she heard a loud whistle coming from the hilltops, the signal for retreat, and knew that help for the agency men was on the way. She saw Tong scampering away with the knapsack and quickly changed to the Three Part sword style, forcing Yan to retreat, and then raced after him. The whistles became louder.

"Daughter! Retreat quickly!" Muzhuolun shouted. She abandoned the chase and directed her comrades as they lifted the Muslim dead and wounded onto camels and horses. Then the Muslim column charged on down the mountain path. But a little way further on, they found several dozen Manchu soldiers blocking their path.

Officer Deng rode forward, his spear held crosswise. "You insolent Muslims!" he shouted. "What is this insurrection?" Two of Huo Qingtong's steel darts hit his hands and the spear clattered to the ground. Muzhuolun raised his sabre high and charged forward with some other Muslim warriors, and the Manchu troops scattered. Boulders crashed down from the mountain tops, pulverising more than a dozen Manchu troops, and in the midst of the melee, the Muslims made good their escape.

Throughout the battle, Lu had remained on the sidelines, his hands folded inside his sleeves. Yuanzhi had been of great assistance to the agency men even though she had been beaten by Huo Qingtong, and the Muslims had been unable to get what they wanted. As the agency men tended the wounded and carried off the dead, Lu gave her a severe lecture, criticising her for interfering in the affairs of others, and needlessly making even more enemies.

"There are very few good men amongst the bodyguard agencies, and many bad ones. Why bother helping people to do evil?" he scolded her. She hung her head, not daring to look up.

They crossed through the pass and arrived in Sandaogou, a medium-sized market town, as dusk was falling. The mulemen said there was only one inn, called the Antong, and both the agency men and Officer Deng's column headed for it. The inn was crude and simple in the extreme with earthern walls and mud floors. Seeing no servants coming out to greet them, Tong shouted: "Is everyone dead in there? I damn eighteen generations of your ancestors!" Yuanzhi frowned. No-one had ever dared to use such language within her hearing before.

Just then, they heard the sound of clashing swords from inside. Yuanzhi was delighted. "Here's some more fun to watch!" she cried and ran into the inn ahead of the others.

The entrance hall was empty and silent, but passing through to the courtyard, she saw a young woman fighting fiercely with four men. In her left hand was a sword, and in her right, a knife. She was obviously battling for her life. It seemed to Yuanzhi that the four man were trying to force their way into the room outside which the woman was standing. The four were all strong fighters: one wielded a whip, one a staff, one a sword and one a Devil's Head Knife.

Lu also entered the courtyard. "How is it that we are continually running into these secret society people?" he thought.

The woman dodged and parried, holding all four men at bay until suddenly the one wielding the Devil's Head Knife swung his weapon towards her as another of the attackers thrust his sword at her heart. She fended off the sword with the knife in her right hand, but she could not dodge the Devil's Head Knife and it struck her on the left shoulder. But she did not give up, and as she continued to fight, drops of blood flew in all directions.

"Don't kill her! We need her alive," shouted the man with the whip.

Lu's chivalrous heart was moved at the sight of four man attacking one woman, and despite his own sensitive situation he could see he might have to take a hand himself. He watched as the swordsman attacked with a slicing blow from the left. The woman parried it obliquely, but she was already wounded and out of breath. The two blades clashed, and the knife was jolted from her hand and clattered to the ground. The swordsman then thrust his blade at her again, and she frantically dodged to the right, opening a way through which the man with the Devil's Head Knife charged towards the door.

Ignoring all dangers, the woman plunged her left hand into her gown and drew out two throwing knives which she slung at her enemy's back. One of the knives embedded itself in the door post but the other plunged into his back. Luckily for him, the woman's hand lacked strength due to the wound in her left shoulder and the knife did not kill him. He staggered back, screaming with pain, and pulled the knife out. Meanwhile, the woman was struck on her thigh by the staff. She swayed unsteadily, but defiantly resumed her position blocking the doorway.

"Go and help her," Lu said quietly to Yuanzhi. "If you can't beat them, I'll come over as well."

Yuanzhi was bursting to test herself. She leapt forward, her sword at the ready, shouting: "Four men fighting one woman! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Seeing someone coming to the aid of the woman, and one of their number already wounded, the four men turned and ran from the inn.

The woman's face was deathly pale and she leaned against the door, breathing heavily. Yuanzhi went over to her.

"Why were they bullying you like that?" she asked, but the woman was temporarily incapable of speech.

Officer Deng walked over to Yuanzhi. "Madame Li would like to see you mistress," he said, and added in a whisper: "She's heard that you were involved in a fight on the road and is very upset. You'd better go quickly."

The woman's expression changed as soon as she saw Officer Deng's military uniform; she pulled her throwing knife out of the doorpost, went back into her room and banged the door shut without answering Yuanzhi.

Rather unhappy at having been snubbed, Yuanzhi walked over to Lu. "Teacher, what were they fighting about?" she asked.

"It was probably a revenge attack," he said. "But it isn't over yet. Those four will be back."

Yuanzhi was about to ask another question when she heard someone inside the inn shouting and swearing.

"Damn your ancestors, what do you mean there are no good rooms? Are you afraid we don't have the money to pay?" It was the voice of Lead Escort Tong.

"Please don't be angry sir," an employee of the inn answered. "We in the inn-keeping business would not dare to offend such eminent persons as yourselves. But it is a fact that all of our few good rooms are occupied."

"Who have you got in them? I think I'll go and have a look," Tong said walking out into the courtyard.

Just then a door opened, and the young woman leaned out. "Please bring some hot water," she said to a servant.

Tong saw the woman's smooth white skin and the beauty of her face and eyes, and noticed on her left wrist, a bracelet of pearls, all perfectly formed. His mouth watered. The woman spoke with a southern Chinese accent and the exotic touch to her voice excited him greatly.

"I, Lead Escort Tong have passed along this road on business dozens of times, and I have never stayed in anything but the best rooms," he shouted. "If there are no good rooms vacant, why don't you make one vacant for me?" The door to the woman's room was still open and he walked straight inside.

"Ai-ya!" the woman exclaimed. She moved to obstruct him, but felt a stab of pain in her thigh and sat down.

As Tong entered the room, he saw there was a man lying on the kang. The room was dimly-lit but he could see that the man's head was wrapped in bandages, his right arm was in a sling and that one of his legs was also bandaged.

"Who is it?" the man asked in a deep, resonant voice.

"My name is Tong and I'm a lead escort with the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency," he replied. "We are passing through Sandaogou on business, but there are no rooms available here. I was wondering if you could move. Who is this woman? Is she your wife, or your girlfriend?"

"Get out," the man ordered. His wounds were clearly serious; he was unable to talk loudly.

"One's a girl and the other's too badly wounded to even move," thought Tong, who had not seen the woman fight. "When am I going to get such a chance again?"

"If you don't want to give up your room, that's all right too," he said with a grin on his face. "All three of us can snuggle up together on this kang. Don't worry, I won't push over onto your side."

The man on the kang shook with anger.

"Don't get involved with these ruffians," the woman urged him quietly. "We can't afford to make any more enemies at the moment." And then to Tong: "You stop your nonsense and get out."

Tong laughed. "Can't I stay here and keep you company?"

"Come over here," the man on the kang said hoarsely.

Tong took a step towards him. "Why? Do you want to see how handsome I am?"

"I can't see clearly," the man replied.

Tong laughed out loud and took another step towards him. "Take a closer look. This is like a big brother choosing a husband for his sister...."

Before he could finish, the man on the kang sat up, and as fast as a lightning flash, touched a yuedao point* (*Yuedao points are nerve centres on the body which, when struck, can cause paralysis or even death. The same points are used for a different purpose in acupuncture) on Tong's ribs and followed with a blow to his back. Tong flew straight out of the door, and landed heavily in the courtyard. The agency shouter, Xun, rushed over to help him up.

"Brother Tong," he whispered. "Don't provoke them. It looks like they're members of the Red Flower Society."

"Ahh, ahhh, I can't move my leg," Tong cried. "The Red Flower Society?" he added suddenly. "How do you know?" He broke into a cold sweat of fear.

"One of the porters told me four Yamen officers were here a while ago to arrest those two, and there was quite a fight before they left," Xun said.

Lead Escort Yan came over. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Brother Yan," Tong shouted. "One of those bastards from the Red Flower Society used Yuedao kung fu on me!"

Yan frowned and pulled Tong up by his arm. "We'll go back to the room and talk about it," he said. His first thought was for the agency's reputation. It created a bad impression when an agency's lead escort was floored and couldn't even get up. Lead Escort Qian came over. "Are you sure it was the Red Flower Society?" he asked Xun.

"When those four officers left, they told the porter that the couple in there were fugitives," he whispered. "They told the porter to inform them if they left. I overhead them talking."

Qian glanced at Yan and pulled Tong up.

"Who are they?" Yan asked quietly.

"Red Flower Society. I think we ought to let it pass," Qian said. "When Tong is better we can reconsider. Did you see what happened when those men tried to arrest them just now?" he asked Xun.

"It was some fight," said Xun, gesticulating wildly. "There was a woman with a sword in her left hand and a dagger in her right hand. Four men couldn't beat her."

"She must be one of 'Divine Knife' Luo's people," replied Qian, surprised. "She used throwing knives, I suppose?"

"Yes, yes, she's really accurate. It was incredible!" Xun exclaimed.

Qian turned to Yan. "Master Wen of the Red Flower Society is here," he said. They carried Tong back to their room in silence.

Lu had observed the whole incident, but the lead escorts had talked in such low tones, that he only managed to catch Qian's last two utterances. Yuanzhi walked over and asked: "Teacher, when are you going to teach me Yuedao kung fu? Did you see how fantastic that move was?"

Lu took no notice of her, but said to himself: "If it is one of 'Divine Knife' Luo's people, I can't just stand by and do nothing."

"Who is 'Divine Knife' Luo?" Yuanzhi asked.

"He was a good friend of mine. I hear he's passed away now. All the moves used by the woman we saw fighting a minute ago were of his school."

Just then, the two lead escorts Qian and Tai helped Tong over to the woman's room. Xun coughed loudly outside the door and announced in a low voice:

"Lead Escorts Qian, Tai and Tong of the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency have come to pay their respects to Master Wen of the Red Flower Society."

The door creaked open and the woman stood in the doorway staring at them. "What do you want?" she asked.

"We did not know that you and Master Wen were here," Qian said. "We have insulted you and we have come to apologise. Please be forgiving and don't be offended by what happened." He bowed low and Tai and Xun followed suit.

"Mistress," Qian continued. "We have never met before, but I have heard a great deal about you and your husband. Master Wang, the head of our agency, was always on very good terms with the leader of your honourable society, Master Yu, and also with your father 'Divine Knife' Luo. Our brother here is very bad-tempered, and is always talking nonsense..."

The woman cut him off. "Our master has been wounded, and he just went to sleep. When he wakes, I will pass on your message. We are ignorant of etiquette, but his wounds are not light, and he hasn't slept well for two days." There was an expression of apprehension on her face.

"What sort of wounds does Master Wen have?" Qian asked. "We have some Golden Wound ointment with us." He wanted to put them in their debt so that they would be obliged to help cure Tong.

"Thank you, but we have medicine," the woman replied, understanding his meaning. "Your colleague was not touched on a major Yuedao point. When our master wakes, I will send one of the inn's servants round."

Seeing that she had agreed to cure Tong, Qian and the others started to retire.

"By the way," said the woman. "How did you know our names?"

"With your swords and throwing knives, who wouldn't be able to guess?" Qian replied. "What's more, who apart from Master Wen uses Yuedao kung fu like that? It had to be 'Rolling Thunder Hand' Wen Tailai and his wife Luo Bing."

The woman smiled, flattered at having been recognised.

adamlau

** 5 **

Yuanzhi sat for a long time with her hands on her cheeks, annoyed that Lu would not teach her Yuedao kung fu. After dinner, she went to see her mother, who nagged her for causing trouble on the road, and told her she was not to wear boy's clothing any more.

"Mother, you're always talking about how you have no son," she replied with a smile. "Aren't you happy now that you have one?"

Madame Li gave up and went to bed. Yuanzhi also got ready for sleep, and was just about to take off her clothes when she heard a light tapping on the window sill and someone saying: "Come out, little boy! I want to ask you something."

Yuanzhi picked up her sword and ran out to the courtyard where she spotted a figure standing in the shadows.

"Follow me if you dare!" the figure said and jumped over the courtyard wall. Like a young calf unafraid of a tiger, Yuanzhi followed without a thought for what might be waiting for her on the other side. As her feet touched the ground, she found a sword thrusting towards her.

Yuanzhi raised her own sword and parried the stroke, shouting: "Who is it?" The yellow-robed figure retreated two steps, and said: "I am the Muslim girl Huo Qingtong. What were you doing helping the agency men to mess up our plans? Why don't you mind your own business?"

"I'll do whatever I want to," Yuanzhi replied. "I happen to like meddling in other people's business. Let me give you another lesson in swordsmanship..." Her sword flashed out, and Huo Qingtong raised her own sword to parry it.

Yuanzhi knew that she couldn't beat the girl on equal terms, so she retreated steadily as she fought, heading towards Lu's room.

"Teacher, teacher!" she called out suddenly. "Someone is trying to kill me!"

A sneering laugh exploded from Huo Qingtong. "Ha! You useless object! You're not even worth killing!"

She began to walk away, but Yuanzhi attacked, forcing her to face her once more. Yuanzhi heard someone behind her and knew that her teacher had emerged; seeing Huo Qingtong's sword bearing down on her, she jumped behind Lu's back.

Lu fended off her strokes with his sword and Huo Qingtong soon realised that his sword technique, while the same as Yuanzhi's, was far superior. She became anxious and attacked fiercely, waiting for an opportunity to retreat. But his strokes followed each other without pause, sticking to her closely.

Yuanzhi put her sword in its scabbard and joined the fray using Boundless Occult Hand kung fu. Huo Qingtong couldn't even beat Lu alone, so how could she manage against both of them? Yuanzhi displayed great cunning: a touch on one side, a hook with her leg on the other. She was not aiming to hurt the Muslim girl, but was intentionally having fun at her expense to pay her back for the tuft of her horse's mane ripped out the day before.

Lu, for his part, had been impressed earlier that day by the Muslim girl's swordsmanship and simply wanted to test her. His sword thrust at her and she raised her own blade to ward it off. Meanwhile, Yuanzhi moved in towards her back, shouting: "Watch out for my fist!" and struck out at her left shoulder with a 'Ferocious Rooster Snatching Grain' blow. Huo Qingting's left hand twisted round and diverted the blow by grasping for Yuanzhi's arm. With both the Muslim girl's arms now occupied, Yuanzhi seized the opportunity, and the flat of her hand struck at Huo Qingtong's chest. If the blow had been in earnest, it would have caused serious injury, but there was no strength behind it. She ran her hand heavily over the girl's chest and then jumped back laughing. Huo Qingtong was consumed with fury, and ignoring Lu's sword, swung round and attacked Yuanzhi using the Tianshan School's 'Mirage' style. Lu could not stand by. He raised his sword and accepted the brunt of the attack, while Yuanzhi stepped back.

"All right," she laughed. "Don't be angry. You marry me and we'll forget about it."

Huo Qingtong had been deeply insulted, but she knew she could not overcome Lu, so with no other way for her to avenge herself, she threw her sword at Yuanzhi with all her strength aiming to take the girl to the grave with her.

Lu started in fright and threw his own sword at Huo Qingting's. The two swords collided in mid-air with a clang and fell to earth together. He then pushed Huo Qingtong back five or six steps with a light touch on her left shoulder. "Please don't take offence, miss," he said. "There's something I want to say."

"Well?" she replied angrily. "What are you waiting for?"

Lu looked over at Yuanzhi. "Don't you think you ought to apologise to the lady?"

Yuanzhi walked over and bowed low, a wide grin on her face. Huo Qingtong replied with a fist.

"Oh, no! Don't hit me!" Yuanzhi laughed. She dodged away, and pulled off her cap, revealing her head of beautiful hair.

"Now look," she smiled. "Am I a boy or a girl?"

Seeing Yuanzhi's real face under the moonlight, Huo Qingtong was struck dumb. Her anger and shame evaporated, leaving only irritation.

"This is my pupil," said Lu. "She is always disobedient and I am unable to control her. I am sorry for what happened just now. Please don't be offended."

He brought his hands together in salute and bowed. Huo Qingtong turned slightly away, refusing to accept the apology.

"What is your relationship with the Twin Eagles of Tianshan?" he asked her. Huo Qingtong's eyebrows shot up and her lips quivered, but she maintained her silence. "I have always been on good terms with the Twin Eagles, Bald Vulture and his wife Madame Guan," Lu continued, "so we should not be enemies."

"Madame Guan is my teacher," Huo Qingtong said. "I will go and tell her that you bullied me and told your pupil to attack me, and even joined in yourself."

She gave them both a look of intense hatred, then turned to go.

Lu waited until she had gone a few steps, and then said: "And when you go and tell your teacher, who are you going to say bullied you?"

Huo Qingtong stopped and turned. "Well, who are you?" she demanded.

Lu stroked his beard and laughed. "You've both got the tempers of children," he said. "All right, all right. This is my pupil, Li Yuanzhi, and you can tell your teacher and her husband that I am 'Hidden Needle' Lu. Please convey my congratulations to them on having such a good pupil."

"A good pupil you say! I have lost face for both my teacher and her husband by allowing myself to be bullied in such a fashion."

"Miss, don't think that you have lost face by being beaten by me," Lu replied seriously. "There are few in the fighting community who could last for several dozen moves with me as you did. I suspected you knew the Twin Eagles when I saw you fighting earlier today, but your use of the 'Mirage' sword style just now decided it. Do they still argue all the time?" He laughed.

Huo Qingtong saw that Lu knew all about her teacher, but she was still reluctant to relent.

"If you are my teacher's friend, why did you tell your pupil to interfere, stopping us from taking back our Sacred Book? I don't believe you are a good man."

"Being beaten in a sword duel is not worth worrying about," Lu said. "But failing to recover your Sacred Book is a different matter. If your people are bullied and insulted, you must be prepared to risk even your own life to get satisfaction."

Huo Qingtong knew he was telling the truth, and bowed before him. "Please tell me how the Sacred Book can be recovered," she said. "If you are willing to help, I and the rest of my tribe will be eternally grateful."

"It was stupid of me to interfere," said Yuanzhi. "My teacher has already given me a long lecture. Please don't worry, I will help you get your Sacred Book back. It's in that red knapsack, isn't it?" Huo Qingtong nodded. "Well, let's go," Yuanzhi added.

"We will discuss the situation first," said Lu. The three talked in low tones for a while then, with Lu keeping a look-out, the two girls crossed over the wall into the inn.

They ran crouching over to the room occupied by the lead escorts, and squatted under the window in the shadow of the wall. Inside, they heard Lead Escort Tong crying and groaning for a while and then stop.

"You are talented, Master Zhang," one of the lead escorts said, "being able to cure Brother Tong so quickly."

"If we had known you were coming, we wouldn't have had to apologise to that Red Flower Society bastard," said another.

"I want you all to watch that pair," a powerful voice replied. "Tomorrow, when Wu and the others arrive we'll make our move."

"Once we've got him, I'm going to kick that bastard in the head a few times, very hard," said Tong.

Yuanzhi slowly extended herself and found a tear in the window paper through which to look. She saw five or six people seated around the room. In the middle was an awe-inspiring man whom she decided must be the one they called Master Zhang. His eyes flashed like lightning and his temples were high and protruding, indicating profound Internal Strength.

"Tong, give me the knapsack," Lead Escort Yan said. "Those Muslims won't give up so easily. I'm afraid we will have more trouble on the road."

Tong began to untie the knapsack hesitantly, as if unwilling to hand it over.

"Now don't worry," Yan said. "Once we've got this knapsack to Beijing safe and sound, we'll all reap the benefits."

Yuanzhi thought swiftly. Yan was a powerful fighter, and once he had possession of the knapsack it would be difficult to recover. She whispered a few words into Huo Qingtong's ear, took off her hat and pulled her long hair over her face. Then she picked two bricks up lying nearby and hurled them through the window. As they crashed into the room, the lamp was suddenly doused. The door opened and several men rushed out.

"Who is it?" one yelled.

Huo Qingtong whistled at them, then leapt over the wall, and the lead escorts and Zhang chased after her. As soon as they had gone, Yuanzhi burst into the room.

Tong was lying on the kang when he saw the Thing come through the door, an unghostly ghost, and inhuman human, with its hair dishevelled and wild. The Thing hopped towards him squealing loudly, and his body went limp with fright. It seized the red knapsack from his hands and ran from the room.

The lead escorts chased after Huo Qingtong for a while, but Zhang suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Damn," he said. "This is just a diversion to lure us away. Get back quickly!"

They returned to the inn to find Tong lying on the kang in a state of shock. It was a while before he managed to tell them how the ghost had stolen the knapsack.

"What ghost?" Zhang said angrily. "We've been tricked."

Yuanzhi hid beside the wall, holding the knapsack tightly, and waited until all the lead escorts had re-entered the room before jumping back out of the courtyard. She whistled softly and Lu and Huo Qingtong appeared from the shadow of the trees.

Yuanzhi was feeling particularly smug. "I've got the knapsack," she laughed, "so you can't..."

Before she could finish, Lu shouted: "Watch out behind!"

As she turned, someone slapped her on the shoulder. She quickly tried to grab the hand but failed and her heart jumped in fright as she realised how formidable her assailant was: he had followed her without her being at all aware of it. She quickly looked around and in the moonlight saw a tall, powerful man standing beside her. She stepped backwards in fright, and threw the knapsack at Huo Qingtong.

"Catch!" she yelled, and brought her hands together to face the enemy.

He was extraordinarily fast. As the knapsack left her hand, he leapt after it and caught it in mid-air just as Huo Qingtong attacked him. With his left hand holding the knapsack, the man swung his arms out using the Long-Arm style. There was great power behind the blow, and both girls were forced back several paces. Yuanzhi now recognised him as Master Zhang. The Long-Arm style was one of the basic techniques of the Wudang School's kung fu, and Yuanzhi gasped involuntarily at the sight of Zhang using it. She glanced around, but Lu was nowhere to be seen.

Yuanzhi advanced a step and attacked using the same Long-Arm technique and as their fists clashed, she felt a prickly numbness run through her arm followed by an unbearable ache. She stumbled, then jumped off to the left.

"Tell me, child!" Zhang said. "Is your teacher surnamed Ma or Lu?"

"He's surnamed Ma," she said to deceive him. "How did you know?"

"Well that makes me your martial uncle. Don't you think you ought to kowtow before me?" He laughed.

As soon as Huo Qingtong heard mention of a connection between them, she abandoned Yuanzhi. She could see that the Koran could not be recovered, and ran quickly away.

Yuanzhi chased after her a short way, but suddenly, a cloud bank covered the moon plunging her into pitch darkness. She started in fright as several thunder claps rolled across the sky and turned back to find that Zhang had disappeared too. By the time she leapt back over the wall into the inn, large droplets of rain were falling, and as she entered her room the downpour came.

adamlau

** 6 **

The heavy rain lasted all night. Next morning, having washed and combed her hair, Yuanzhi looked out of the window and saw it was still pouring. Her mother's maidservant came in.

"Officer Deng says the rain is too heavy and we can't leave today," she announced.

Icy gusts blew in through a tear in Yuanzhi's window. She felt bored, particularly as the inn was in such a desolate area. She walked over to the room occupied by Master Wen of the Red Flower Society hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but the door was firmly shut and no sound came from within. The Zhen Yuan Agency had not left that morning either, and several of the lead escorts were lounging about in the dining hall, chatting. Master Zhang was not among them. A gust of wind blew from the west and Yuanzhi began to feel rather cold. She was about to return to her room when she heard the sound of bells outside the front gate and a horse galloped in from the rain.

A young scholar dismounted and ran inside. As one servant led his horse off to be fed, another asked the scholar if he would be staying at the inn.

"I'll have to get back on the road again soon," he replied, taking off his raincape. The servant invited him to take a seat and poured him a cup of tea.

The scholar was tall and slender with a handsome face. In the border areas, such elegance was a rare sight, and Yuanzhi could not help but stare at him. The scholar saw her too and smiled; she flushed and quickly looked away.

There was the sound of horses outside the inn and four more men came in. Yuanzhi recognised them as the ones who had attacked the young woman the day before and she quickly retired to Lu's room to ask what they should do.

"Let us go and have a look first," Lu said and the two peeped into the dining hall through a hole in the window.

One of the four, a swordsman, summoned a servant, quietly questioned him for a moment, then said to his companions: "Those Red Flower Society bastards haven't left yet. We'll deal with them when we've eaten."

The scholar's expression changed slightly and he began to observe the four men out of the corner of his eye.

"Shall I help the woman again?" Yuanzhi asked.

"Don't do anything until I tell you," Lu said. He paid no further attention to the four officers, but focussed his gaze on the scholar.

Once he had finished eating, the scholar moved his bench into the corridor leading to the courtyard. He pulled a flute from the bundle on his back and began to play a pleasant, lilting melody. Strange to say, the flute looked as if it was cast from pure gold. The road they were on was unsafe, and a golden flute openly displayed by a lone scholar was bound to attract thieves.

When the four men had finished eating, the swordsman jumped onto the table and announced in a loud voice:

"We are Yamen officers and we have come to arrest fugitives of the Red Flower Society. Peaceful citizens need not be afraid."

He jumped down from and led the others towards the courtyard. The scholar, still blocking the corridor and playing the flute, ignored them. The swordsman approached him. "Don't stand in the way of Yamen officers," he growled.

The scholar leisurely put down his flute. "The fugitives you gentlemen wish to arrest: what law have they broken?" he asked. "Confucius said, 'Do not do unto others what you would not wish on yourself'. Do you really have to arrest them?"

The officer with the staff stepped forward. "You stop your chatter," he shouted. "Get out of the way!"

"Please calm yourself, honourable sir," the scholar replied. "There's no need to get agitated. Let me be host. We'll all have a drink and become friends, what do you say?"

The officer stretched out his hand to push him away, and the scholar swayed to one side. "Ai-ya," he exclaimed. "A gentleman uses words, not force."

He fell forward as if over-balancing and put out the golden flute to steady himself, finding support on a Yuedao spot on the left thigh of the officer, who involuntarily knelt down as his leg went limp.

"Ai-ya!" the scholar exclaimed again. "There's no need for such courtesy." He bowed before the officer.

Those watching could tell the scholar was highly skilled in the martial arts and Yuanzhi, who had originally been anxious on his behalf, was overjoyed to see him using Yuedao kung fu.

"This bastard might be with the Red Flower Society as well!" cried one of the officers fearfully. The officer with the paralysed leg collapsed on the floor and the others pulled him to one side.

"Are you a member of the Red Flower Society?" the swordsman asked, a slight touch of fear in his voice.

The scholar laughed. "I do indeed. My name is Yu Yutong. I play but a small role in the society, ranking only 14th in seniority." He waved the flute at them. "Don't you recognise me?"

"Ah, you're 'Scholar' Yu!"

"You are too kind," said the scholar. "That is indeed who I am. You sir, with the flashing sword, face of cunning and rat-like eyes. You must be the famous officer from Beijing, Wu Guodong. I'd heard you had retired. Why are you doing getting involved in this kind of game?"

Swordsman Wu's blade flicked out, steely yet smooth and Yu countered with his golden flute, fighting the three officers simultaneously, working through a complex series of moves which soon had them completely flustered. After a moment, Yuanzhi turned to Lu in surprise.

"That's the Soft Cloud sword style," she said.

Lu nodded. The Soft Cloud sword technique is a secret style known only to our school, he thought. If this scholar is a member of the Red Flower Society, then he must be a pupil of Elder Brother Ma.

The school to which Lu belonged consisted of three pupils, among whom Lu was placed second. The most senior was Ma Zhen and the youngest Zhang Zhaozhong, the Master Zhang with whom Yuanzhi had tangled the night before. Zhang was highly talented and very diligent, but he had thrown in his lot with the Manchu court, and, rising swiftly in seniority, had already attained the rank of Major in the Imperial Bodyguard. Lu had long ago severed relations with him.

His guess that Yu was a pupil of Elder Brother Ma Zhen was correct. Yu came from a respected family in southern China, and had already passed the first Imperial Civil Service examination when his father became involved in a dispute over a burial plot with a wealthy family. The ensuing law suit forced him into bankruptcy, and he was imprisoned on a trumped-up charge and died in jail. Yu left home in anger and met Ma Zhen, whom he accepted as his teacher, abandoning his studies in favour of the martial arts. He returned and killed the rich landlord and then became an outlaw, and later a member of the Red Flower Society. He was alert and intelligent, and could speak many different dialects. On this occasion, he was travelling on society business to the city of Luoyang and had been unaware that his fellow society members, Wen Tailai and his wife, were holed up in the inn.

Hearing the fight, the agency men all came in and stood to one side watching. Lead Escort Tong noticed a catapult on the back of one of the officers, and shouted: "If it was me, I'd leave two to take care of the bastard while the third used the slingshot on him."

The officer with the catapult realised Tong was right and jumped onto a table, readied his weapon and sent a shower of stones flying towards Yu.

Yu dodged them one by one while parrying the other two officers. But his opponents gained the upper hand, and after a few more moves, one of the missiles struck Yu's cheek and the pain began to slow his movements.

"You might as well give up," Tong called to Yu. "Pull down your trousers and we'll give you a taste of the cane."

But Yu did not panic. With a sudden flourish, he drove his left hand at a Yuedao point on Swordsman Wu's chest. Wu quickly retreated two steps and Yu thrust the flute into the stomach of the other officer who grunted loudly and buckled in agony. Yu moved to strike him again, but Wu intercepted him.

Fighting back the pain in his stomach, the third officer moved stealthily up behind Yu as he fought Wu and raised his Devil's Head knife to smash it down on Yu's skull. But before he could do so, a throwing knife plunged into his chest, killing him instantly, and the Devil's Head Knife clattered to the floor.

Yu turned and saw a woman standing nearby, supporting herself on the table with her left hand, thje slender fingers of her right hand clasping another throwing knife as if it was the stem of a fresh flower. She was indescribably lovely, and as soon as he saw her, Yu's spirits rose.

"Kill the Eagle's Claw with the catapult first!", he shouted. Eagles Claw was their slang for thugs employed by the Imperial Court.

The officer with the catapult turned round frantically, just in time to see the flash of the blade as it flew towards him. In desperation, he held up the catapult to try to stop it, but the knife still cut into the back of his hand.

"Uncle Wu!" he screamed, "It's too dangerous. Let's get out of here!"

He jumped off the table and fled. Wu forced Yu back with two more strokes from his sword, slung the officer with the paralysed leg over his shoulder, and rushed for the door to the hall. Instead of chasing them, Yu raised the flute to his mouth end-on instead of crosswise, and puffed. A small arrow shot out of the end which buried itself in the shoulder of the paralysed officer, who screamed with pain.

Yu turned to the woman. "Where's Brother Wen?" he asked.

"Come with me," she said. She was wounded in the thigh, and supported herself with a long door bar.

Meanwhile, as the officers rushed out of the inn, they collided head-on with a man coming in, and Wu reeled back several paces. When he saw it was Master Zhang, his initial anger turned to delight.

"Master Zhang," he cried. "I am useless. One of our brothers has been killed by the bastards and this one has been paralysed."

Zhang grunted and lifted the officer up with his left hand, then squeezed his waist and slapped his thigh, freeing the blood flow. "Have they escaped?" he asked.

"They're still in the inn."

Zhang grunted again. "They've got guts," he said, walking into the inn courtyard. "Resisting arrest, killing an official, then brazenly staying on here."

They led Zhang towards Wen's room, but just as they reached the door, Yuanzhi slid out of a room nearby and waved a red knapsack at Zhang.

"Hey, I've stolen it again," she laughed and ran towards the inn's main gate.

Zhang was startled. "These agency men are truly useless," he thought. "As soon as I get it back for them, they lose it again."

He shot after her, determined to teach her a good lesson. It was still raining, and before long, they were both soaking wet. Yuanzhi saw him closing in and ran off along the side of a stream, Zhang following silently. He increased his pace, closing the distance between them, then stretched out his hand and caught hold of her jacket. Greatly frightened, Yuanzhi pulled away with all her strength, and a piece of cloth tore out of the back. Her heart pounding, she hurled the red knapsack into the stream.

"It's yours," she shouted.

Zhang knew how vital General Zhao Wei considered the Koran to be and immediately leapt into the stream while Yuanzhi laughed and ran off. As he fished the knapsack out of the water, he saw it was already soaked. Frantically, he opened it to see if the Koran was wet, and then let fly with a stream of coarse language. There was no Koran in the knapsack, only two registers from the main desk at the inn. He opened one and read of money collected from rooms for meals, and of servants' wages. He groaned at how he had allowed himself to be cheated and threw the registers and the knapsack back into the stream. If he took them back and someone asked about them, he would certainly lose face.

He returned quickly to the inn and quickly found Lead Escort Yan with the red knapsack still safely fastened to his back.

"Where did Wu and the officers go?" he asked.

"They were here a moment ago," Yan replied.

"What damned use is there in the Emperor employing people like that?" he demanded.

He walked up to Wen's door. "You Red Flower Society fugitives! Come out immediately!" he shouted. No sound came from the room. He kicked at the door and found it slightly ajar.

"They've escaped!" he yelled, and burst into the room only to find it empty. He noticed a lump under the bed covers, and flung them off, revealing two of Wu's officers lying face to face. He prodded his sword lightly at the back of one of them but there was no movement. He turned them over and saw they were both dead. Both their skulls had been smashed in. It was obviously the work of a master of Internal Strength kung fu, and his respect for Wen Tailai increased appreciably. But where was Wu? And in which direction had Wen and his wife escaped? He called for one of the servants and interrogated him without obtaining even half a clue.

But Zhang had guessed wrong: the officers were not killed by Wen Tailai.

adamlau

** 7 **

Lu and Yuanzhi watched the whole fight through the window, and saw Zhang enter as the officers were leaving.

"That's the man who took the knapsack from me last night," Yuanzhi said.

"Go quickly and draw him away, the further the better," Lu whispered. "If I'm not here when you return, start out tomorrow without me and I will catch you up."

He watched Zhang chase Yuanzhi out of the inn gates then picked up a writing brush and hurriedly wrote a letter which he placed inside his gown. He ran to Wen's room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice called.

"I am a good friend of 'Divine Knife' Luo," said Lu. "I have important news for you."

There was no answer from inside. Wu and the other two officers appeared and stood at a distance keeping watch, obviously suspicious of Lu. The door suddenly opened and 'Scholar' Yu looked out.

"May I ask who you are, sir?" he asked.

"I am your martial uncle 'Hidden Needle' Lu."

A look of hesitation appeared on Yu's face. He had heard of Lu but had never met him.

"I'll prove it to you," Lu whispered. "Stand aside."

Yu's suspicions deepened, and he planted his foot firmly on the opposite door post, blocking the way with his leg. Lu's left hand shot out, aiming to hit Yu's shoulder. Yu dodged, and Lu slipped his right hand underneath Yu's armpit and pushed him to one side using the first move in the Wudang school's Long Arm Fist style. "It really is 'Hidden Needle' Lu!" Yu thought, both surprised and delighted. As Yu back, Luo Bing raised her sword and dagger ready to attack, but Yu stopped her. Lu waved his hands at them, indicating they should stand clear, then ran back outside into the courtyard.

"Hey, they've gone!" he shouted to Officer Wu. "Come and see!"

Wu rushed into the room with the other two officers and Lu closed the door behind them.

Wu saw Yu and the others in the room and shouted frantically: "It's a trap!" But before the officers could turn, Lu's two fists smashed into their heads, shattering their skulls and killing them instantly.

More quick-witted, Wu leapt onto the kang, and with both hands raised to protect his head, threw himself at the window. Wen Tailai, who was lying on the kang, sat up and struck out with his left fist, breaking Wu's right shoulder with a sharp crack. Wu wavered, but steadied himself against the wall with his left foot, then broke through the window and escaped. Luo Bing launched a throwing knife after him which lodged itself in his back. But he ignored the pain, and fled for his life.

Yu and Luo Bing no longer harboured any suspicions about Lu, and they both bowed before him.

"Uncle Lu, please forgive me for not being able to pay my respects to you properly," Wen said from the kang.

"There's no need," said Lu. He looked at Luo Bing. "What is your relationship with 'Divine Knife' Luo?" he asked.

"He was my father."

"He was a very good friend of mine," Lu said. He looked at Yu and added: "You are a pupil of Ma Zhen's, I presume. How has Elder Brother been recently?"

"He is well," said Yu. "He has often expressed concern about you. He said he hadn't seen or heard anything of you for more than ten years."

"I miss him too," Lu said regretfully. "Did you know that another of your martial uncles has been here looking for you?"

Yu looked up in fright. "Zhang Zhaozhong?"

Lu nodded. Wen Tailai shuddered slightly at the sound of Zhang's name, and then gasped in pain. Luo Bing quickly went over and supported him with her hand, her face full of love and pity.

Yu looked on, absorbed. "To have a wife like that would be better than being a god, even if I was badly wounded," he murmured.

"Zhang has brought shame upon our school, but his kung fu is excellent," Lu said. "And I would guess that reinforcements will not be far behind him. With Brother Wen so badly wounded, I think all we can do at the moment is to avoid them."

"We will do whatever you suggest," Luo Bing said. She looked down at her husband, who nodded.

Lu pulled a letter from his gown and handed it to Luo Bing. On the envelope was written the words: "Respectfully adressed to Lord Zhou Zhongying, Iron Gall Manor."

"Do you know him?" asked Luo Bing, delighted.

Before Lu could answer, Wen said: "Who?"

"Lord Zhou Zhongying," replied Luo Bing.

"Is he here?"

"I have never met him, but we have been friends from afar for a long time," Lu said. "I think Brother Wen should hide there while one of us goes to your respected society to report what has happened." He saw a hestitant look on Wen's face. "What do you think, Brother Wen?"

"Your arrangements would be perfect, but I cannot deceive you. I am involved in a bloody feud with the Emperor Qian Long who won't be able to eat or sleep in peace until he sees me die with his own eyes. I know Lord Zhou would take us in, but I am afraid he would bring great trouble upon himself by doing so."

"To members of the fighting community, there is nothing more important than helping a friend in need," said Lu.

"But in my situation, the greater the friend, the less I am able to involve him."

"Refusing to involve others in your problems is an upright and manly thing to do. But I do think it's rather a pity."

"What is?" Wen asked quickly.

"If you refuse to go, we will have to stay here and fight. I don't want to exaggerate the enemy's strength or denigrate our own, but who do we have to match Zhang? I am nearly sixty years old, my life is of little value. But my martial nephew here has a promising future and your wife is full of youth. Just because you want to play the hero ... aah ... it means we will all die here."

Wen began to sweat profusely.

"Husband!" Luo Bing exclaimed. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow, then held his hand.

Wen's affection for his wife outweighed his sense of duty and he relented. "You are right," he said. "I will do whatever you say." But then he sighed. "Once we reach Iron Gall Manor, the Red Flower Society will be beholden to yet another person."

The Red Flower Society always took care to repay its benefactors and to exact revenge on its enemies -- hence the fearful reaction of the Zhen Yuan agency men.

"What relationship is Zhao Banshan to you?" asked Lu.

"Brother Zhao? He is third master of our society."

"So that's it! Just what your Red Flower Society is involved in, I don't know. But Zhao and I would willingly die for each other. In the old days when we were both in the Dragon Slayers' Society, we were closer than natural brothers. If he is a member of your society, then your affairs are certain to be just. What does it matter what great crimes you have committed? The biggest crimes are supposed to be the assassination of officials and rebellion. Ha! Well, I just killed two running dogs of officialdom!" He gave one of the corpses a kick.

"There's too much to explain," Wen said. "After this is over, if I live, I will tell you everything. But briefly, the Emperor sent eight Imperial Bodyguards to arrest my wife and myself. I was wounded in a fight at Jinquan but we escaped and came here. They'll get me sooner or later, but the Emperor has a secret I must expose before I die."

Lu asked where the Red Flower Society leaders were.

"The Red Flower Society has 12 masters of the Incense," said Yu. "Apart from Brother Wen and Luo Bing, they are already gathered in Anxi. We have asked the Young Helmsman to assume the leadership of the society, but he is unwilling to do so. He says he is too young and inexperienced and insists that Second Brother, the Taoist priest Wu Chen, should be leader. At present, the matter is deadlocked. The meeting to choose a new Helmsman will not start until Brother Wen and Luo Bing arrive."

Yu turned to Wen, his superior in the society's heirarchy. "Should I first return to Anxi to report?" he asked.

Wen hesitated, uncertain of what to say.

"Let us do it this way," suggested Lu. "You three start out immediately for Iron Gall Manor. Once you are settled there, Brother Yu can continue on his business. Meanwhile, I will go to Anxi to report."

Wen pulled a red silk flower from his gown and handed it to Lu. "When you arrive in Anxi, fasten this flower to your lapel and you will be met by someone from our society," he said.

Luo Bing helped her husband up while Yu lifted the two corpses from the floor onto the kang and covered them with the bedclothes. Then Lu opened the door and strode calmly out, mounted a horse and galloped off westwards.

After a short while, the others also emerged from the room, Yu leading the way. Luo Bing supported herself with the door bar in one hand and held up Wen with the other. The inn's staff shrank away as the three approached, and Yu threw three taels of silver onto the front desk.

"There's money for the room and the food," he said. "We have left two very valuable items in our room. If there is anything missing when we get back, we will deal with you."

The manager nodded rapidly, almost too scared to breathe. Servants led out their horses. Wen could not get either of his feet into the stirrups, so he placed his left hand on the saddle and with one push flew lightly onto the horse's back.

"Excellent kung fu, Master Wen," Yu praised him. Luo Bing gave a dazzling smile and mounted her own horse, and they rode off.

In the town, Yu enquired about the way to Iron Gall Manor, and they raced off southeast. Luo Bing was happy: she knew that once they got to the manor, her husband would be safe. Lord Zhou commanded great respect throughout the border regions.

The road was covered with loose stones and long grass which gave it a rather desolate air. Suddenly, they heard the sound of galloping hooves ahead and three horses raced towards them. The riders were all large, strong men, but one was particularly tall and impressive with silver-white whiskers and a smooth rosy face. In his left hand, he jiggled two iron balls together. As they passed, the riders looked at Wen in surprise, but they were galloping fast, and flashed past in an instant.

"I'm afraid that was Lord Zhou," Yu said.

"I was thinking that too," replied Luo Bing.

"We'll find out when we get to the Manor," said Wen.

A few miles further on, as evening drew near, Iron Gall Manor appeared before them. The wind was strong and the clouds low, but the rays of the setting sun shone brightly through the twilight. They looked at the lovely manor, set amidst an endless expanse of withered grasses and yellow sand. Seeking sanctuary as they were, the mood of the three was despondent, and the desolation of the area affected them all. They spurred their horses forward and found the manor was surrounded by a moat, the banks of which were covered with willow trees. The bare branches whirled and danced in the strong west wind. Around the manor were fortifications and a watchtower: it was an imposing sight.

One of the manor's attendants invited them in, seated them in the great hall and brought them tea. Then a middle-aged man with the air of a housekeeper came out to receive them. He said his name was Song, and asked Wen and the others for their names.

"I have heard much about you," he said, startled to hear that they were members of the Red Flower Society. "But I had thought that your honourable society was based in southern China. I wonder if you could tell me why you have come to visit our Lord? I am afraid he went out a short while ago." Song carefully weighed up the visitors and wondered what their intentions were.

Wen, meanwhile, was becoming angry at Song's coolness. "Since Lord Zhou is not at home, we will excuse ourselves," he said. "We came at an inopportune time." He stood up using a chair for support.

"There's no rush," Song replied. "Please stay and have a meal before leaving." He turned and whispered a few words to an attendant.

Wen insisted they would go.

"Well, please wait a while first, otherwise our Lord may blame me for neglecting honoured guests." As he spoke, the attendant re-appeared carrying a tray on which were two large silver ingots. Song took the tray.

"Master Wen," he said. "You have come a long way to visit our humble manor and we have not had a chance to look after you properly. Please accept this as a favour to me for your travelling expenses."

Wen, filled with rage, picked up both of the ingots with his left hand. "We did not come to your honourable manor to extort money," he said. "You underestimate us, friend Song."

Song quickly protested that he would not dare to suggest such a thing.

Wen laughed coldly and placed the ingots back on the tray. "Goodbye," he said.

Song looked down and started in fright. With just one hand, Wen had crushed the two ingots together into a flat cake of silver. He led the three toeards the gate, offering profuse apologies as he went. Wen ignored him. Three attendants led their horses up, and they mounted immediately.

Luo Bing took out a gold ingot many times more valuable than the silver offered by Song and gave it to the attendant holding her horse. "Thank you for your trouble," she said. "Here's a little something for the three of you to have a drink." For a moment, the attendants did not seem to believe their luck, then they began thanking her over and over again. Luo Bing smiled in reply.

Just as they were about to ride off, a rider galloped up, leapt off his horse and saluted Wen with his fists. "Please come into our humble manor and make yourselves comfortable," he said.

"We do not wish to trouble you," Wen replied. "We will visit again another time."

"We passed you on the road a while ago and our Lord guessed you were coming to the manor," the man continued. "He would have liked to turn back, but he has important business to attend to. So he ordered me to come to receive you. He is eager to make your acquaintance. He said he would definitely return tonight, and insisted that you stay at our humble manor."

Wen's anger melted as he heard the sincerity in the newcomer's voice, and they went back into the manor. The man introduced himself as Meng, Zhou's senior pupil, as Song stood to one side looking very uncomfortable. Guests and host sat down and fresh tea was served. An attendant whispered something to Meng who stood up and bowed before Luo Bing.

"Our lady invites you to go into the inner hall to rest," he said.

A maidservant led Luo Bing through a passageway and a woman in her forties strode out and grasped Luo Bing's hand familiarly.

"They told me just now that some members of the Red Flower Society had arrived and then left again. But you've come back and saved face for me. Our Lord will be so happy! Now, don't rush away. You can stay for a few days. Look, all of you," she said, turning to her maidservants. "Look how beautiful this girl is! She puts our girls to shame."

Luo Bing thought the woman was rather indiscreet. "What is your name, Madame?" she asked. "My husband is surnamed Wen."

"See how muddle-headed I am!" the woman said. "I'm so happy at seeing such a pretty girl that I've gone silly!"

"This is our lady," one of the maidservants explained.

The woman was Lord Zhou's second wife. His first had borne two sons, but both had died in fights. This second wife had given birth to a daughter, Zhou Qi, a wild girl of eighteen always getting into trouble, and it had seemed as if Zhou was destined to have no more sons. But in his fifty-fourth year, another was unexpectedly born. The couple were overjoyed to gain a son so late in life.

"Call the young master in quickly," Madame Zhou said after seating herself comfortably. "Let Madame Wen see him."

A lively, good-looking child emerged from the inner rooms and Luo Bing judged from his bearing that he had already received several years of training in the martial arts. He kowtowed

towards Luo Bing, who took hold of his hand and asked him his name and age.

"My name is Zhou Yingjie and I'm ten this year," the child replied.

Luo Bing unfastened the pearl bracelet from her wrist and gave it to him.

"We have come from far away, and I don't have anything nice to give you, but you can put these pearls round the edge of your cap," she said. Madame Zhou protested, but to no avail.

While they were talking, one of the maidservants rushed in crying: "Mistress Wen! Master Wen has fainted!"

Madame Zhou quickly gave orders to fetch a doctor while Luo Bing ran back to her husband. Wen's injuries were already serious, and he had used up a great deal of his remaining strength to squeeze the silver ingots together. Wen was unconscious, his face drained of colour. Luo Bing ran to him, calling his name over and over again. Slowly, he regained consciousness.

Meng dispatched an attendant to report to Lord Zhou that the guests were settled in. As he turned back inside after seeing the attendant gallop off, he noticed a figure dart behind a willow tree. He made no sign that he had seen anything unusual, but slowly walked back into the manor and ran up to the watchtower. After a while, he saw a a short man creep furtively out from behind one willow tree and run behind another.

Meng called for Lord Zhou's young son and whispered some instructions to him. Then he ran out of the manor gate, laughing and shouting: "Little brother, I'll pretend to be afraid of you, all right?"

The boy followed close behind, shouting: "Where do you think you're running off to? You won't admit defeat, will you? Come here and kowtow before me!"

Meng bowed and mockingly begged for mercy. The boy made a grab for him and Meng ran straight for the willow behind which the intruder was hiding. He charged straight into the man, knocking him flat.

It was the Zhen Yuan Agency's Lead Escort Tong. He had seen Wen and the others leave the inn and had followed them, determined to prove wrong those who said he was good for nothing but eating and talking. Tong had few abilities, but he was quick-witted and knew immediately that Meng had planned the collision to test his kung fu, so he let his whole body go loose,pretending that he knew none at all. Since his kung fu was mediocre, pretending to know none at all was not difficult.

"Excuse me," said Tong. "Is this the road to Sandaogou?" He tried to get up, but cried out in pain: "Ai-ya! My arm!"

"I'm very sorry," Meng said. "You're not hurt, are you? Please come into the manor and I'll have a look at you. We have some excellent medicinal ointments."

Tong was powerless to refuse. Meng helped him up and led him into an ante-room.

"Please undo your clothes and let me examine your wounds," Meng said. He felt around Tong's body, testing him. When an enemy's fingers touch fatal spots, a kung fu initiate would be forced to flinch.

"Heroic Uncle Tong is not afraid to die," Tong thought. "Act the lamb until the end!" Meng pressed the 'Solar Yuedao' points on his temples and toughed other Yuedao points on his chest and armpits, making Tong giggle.

"Ai-ya! Stop that! I'm very ticklish," he said.

They were all fatal points but Tong seemed unconcerned. Meng decided he really didn't know any kung fu. "From his accent, he isn't a local," he thought, still suspicious. "Could he be a petty thief, I wonder?"

Meng could not detain Tong without authority, so he walked him back towards the gate. Tong peered about him as they walked through the manor, trying to discover to where Wen and the others were. Meng decided he must be a scout for a gang of thieves.

"Be careful, my friend," he said. "Remember where you are."

Tong looked around in mock awe. "Such a big place! It looks like a great temple. Except there's no Buddha."

He asked Tong what his business was in the area.

Meng escorted him over the drawbridge and laughed coldly. "Goodbye friend," he said, clapping Tong heavily on the shoulder. "Come and visit us again sometime."

The pain from the blow went straight to Tong's marrow. Swearing profusely, he found his horse and galloped back to the Antong Inn in Sandaogou. As he entered the room, he saw Master Zhang, Officer Wu and the agency men together with seven or eight men he didn't know. They were in the midst of a discussion on where Wen Tailai might have escaped to. No one could think of an answer, and their faces were gloomy.

Tong smugly related how he had followed Wen, naturally omitting the part about his encounter with Meng.

Zhang was delighted. "Let's go," he said, adding with uncustomary warmth: "Brother Tong, you lead the way."

The whole group immediately set out for Iron Gall Manor, rubbing their hands in anticipation as they went. Tong boasted extravagantly of how he had used Lightness kung fu, and of the risks he had taken in tracking Wen. "This is an assignment from the Emperor himself, so Uncle Tong went all out against the renegades," he said.

Officer Wu, who had already employed a bone-setter to help mend his fractured shoulder, hurriedly introduced Tong to the newcomers. Tong started in fright as he heard their names: they were all top fighters employed by the court, famous martial arts specialists, both Manchu and Chinese, who had come specifically to arrest Wen Tailai.

adamlau

** 8 **

Lu Feiqing galloped westwards, braving strong winds which whipped his face. Passing through Black Gold Gorge, he noticed the blood spilled during the previous day's battle had already been washed away by the rain. He covered about twenty miles in one stretch and arrived at a small market fair. Although the sky was growing dark, he was impatient to continue on his way but his horse was exhausted. As he considered what to do, he saw a Muslim at the edge of the fair leading two large, well-fed horses and looking around as if waiting for someone.

Lu went over and asked if he could buy one of them. The Muslim shook his head. Lu reached into his cloth bundle and took out a large silver ingot, but the Muslim shook his head again. Anxious and impatient, Lu turned the bundle upside down and six or seven more silver ingots fell out: he offered them all. The Muslim waved his hand to indicate the horse was definitely not for sale, and Lu dejectedly began to put the ingots back into his bundle. As he did so, the Muslim glimpsed a dart amongst the ingots, which he picked up and examined closely. It was the dart Huo Qingtong had thrown at Lu after he followed her to the Muslim camp site. He asked where the dart came from. In a flash of inspiration, Lu said Huo Qingtong was his friend and that she had given the dart to him. The Muslim nodded, placed the dart back in Lu's hand and passed over the reins of one of the horses. Delighted, Lu pulled out an ingot of silver again, but the Muslim waved his hand in refusal and walked away.

"I would never have guessed that such a flower of a girl would have such great influence among the Muslims," Lu thought.

He rode off, and in the next town, came across more Muslims. He pulled out the dart and was immediately able to trade his mount for another strong horse.

Lu continued to change horses the whole way and, eating dry provisions as he rode, he covered two hundred miles in a day and a night. Towards evening on the second day, he arrived at Anxi. Lu was a man of great strength, but he was getting on in years, and galloping for so long without rest had exhausted him. As soon as he entered the city, he took out the red flower Wen had given him and stuck it in his lapel. Only a few steps later, two men in short jackets appeared in front of him, saluted and invited him to accompany them to a restaurant. Once there, one of the men sat with him while the other excused himself and left. Lu's companion was extremely courteous, and ordered food and wine without asking any questions.

After three cups of wine, another man hurried in, came over to them and saluted with his fists. Lu quickly stood up and returned the salute. The man, aged about thirty, wore an ordinary gown. He asked Lu for his name and Lu told him.

"So you are Master Lu of the Wudang School," the man said. "We have often heard our Third Brother Zhao speak of you. I have great admiration for you. Our meeting today is very auspicious."

"What is your honourable name?" Lu asked.

"My name is Wei."

"Please take a seat, sir," Lu's first companion said. He saluted both Lu and Wei, and then left.

"Our Society's Young Helmsman and many of our brothers are here in Anxi," said Wei. "If we had known you were coming, they would certainly have all been here to greet you. In a moment, if you don't mind, we will go and everyone can pay their respects to you."

They left the restaurant and rode out of the city.

"You have met our Fourth Brother Wen Tailai and his wife," Wei said.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"The flower you are wearing is Brother Wen's. It has four green leaves."

Lu was surprised at how openly Wei talked about their society's secret signs, treating him not in the slightest like an outsider.

After a while, they arrived at an imposing Taoist monastery surrounded by tall, ancient trees. Over the main gate was a wooden tablet inscribed with four large characters: "Jade Nothingness Taoist Monastery". Two Taoist priests standing in front of the monastery bowed respectfully. Wei invited Lu inside, and a young apprentice priest brought tea. Wei whispered in his ear, and the apprentice nodded and went inside. Lu was just about to raise his cup when he heard someone in the inner hall shout: "Brother Lu! I've been worried to death about you..." It was Lu's old comrade, Zhao Banshan.

Zhao's questions came thick and fast. "Where have you been all these years? What brings you here?"

Lu brushed the questions aside. "There is an urgent matter to be discussed first. Your honourable society's Brother Wen is in serious trouble."

He outlined the predicament of Wen and his wife. Even before he had finished, Wei ran inside to report. While he was still talking, Lu heard Wei arguing loudly with someone in the courtyard.

"Why are you holding me back?" the other shouted. "I must go to help Brother Wen now!"

"You're too impatient," Wei replied. "It must be discussed by everyone first, and then it is up to the Young Helmsman to decide who goes." The other continued to protest.

Taking Lu by the hand, Zhao walked into the courtyard, and Lu saw the hunchback who had severed the tail of Yuanzhi's horse.

Wei gave the hunchback a push. "Go and pay your respects to Master Lu," he said. The hunchback walked over and stared dumbly at him for a moment. Lu knew the hunchback remembered his face and, uneasy at the thought of how Yuanzhi had laughed at him that day, he was about to apologise when the hunchback said:

"You have ridden more than two hundred miles in a night and a day to report on behalf of Brother Wen. I, Hunchback Zhang Jin, thank you!" He knelt down, and kowtowed to Lu four times, his head banging on the flagstones.

Lu wanted to stop him but it was already too late, so all he could do was to kneel down and return the gesture.

The hunchback stood up. "I am leaving now," he announced. As he passed through the circular doorway, a very short man coming in the other way caught hold of the hunchback. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I am going to find Brother Wen and Mistress Luo Bing. Come with me." Without waiting for an answer, the hunchback pulled him along by the wrist.

The hunchback Zhang Jin had been born with a deformed body, but his strength was frightening. When talking to others, he often referred to himself as 'Hunchback Zhang', but anyone else calling him a 'hunchback' was courting disaster. He ranked 10th in seniority in the Red Flower Society; his travelling companion was Xu Tianhong who ranked seventh. Xu was very short and slight in build, almost the size of a dwarf, but his wisdom and resource made him the Red Flower Society's chief tactician, and the fighting community had dubbed him 'The Kung Fu Mastermind'.

One by one, the other members of the Red Flower Society came out and were introduced to Lu. They were all famous heroes and Lu recognised most of them after having passed them on the road several days before. The formal greetings were kept to a minimum, and after a moment the one-armed Taoist priest, who ranked second within the society, said: "Let us go and see the Young Helmsman."

They went through to the rear courtyard and entered a large room. On one of the wooden walls a huge 'encirclement chess' board had been carved.* (* the game, Wei Qi, is best known by its Japanese name - Go.) Two men were sitting on a couch about thirty feet away, fingering chess pieces and throwing them at the vertical board, each piece lodging itself in the lines which formed the squares. In all his wide experience, Lu had never seen chess played in such a manner. Playing white was a young man with a refined face wearing a white gown who looked like the son of a nobleman. His opponent, playing black, was an old man dressed in farmer's clothes.

"I wonder who this old hero is," Lu thought. "Never have I seen anyone with his strength and accuracy." He could see black was in a dangerous position, and that with just one more move by white, all the black pieces would be lost. The young man threw a piece, but his aim was slightly off: the piece failed to embed itself in the intersection of the lines and fell to the floor. The old man laughed.

"You missed," he said. "Admit defeat!" He pushed the chess pieces aside and stood up.

His opponent smiled. "We'll have another game in a while, teacher," he said. The old man saw the group entering, and strode out of the room without so much as a greeting.

"Young Helmsman," Zhao said. "This is Brother Lu Feiqing of the Wudang School." And to Lu: "This is our Young Helmsman. I hope you will get to know one another well."

The young man brought his two fists together in salute. "My name is Chen Jialuo. I would greatly appreciate your honoured counsel."

Lu was surprised to find that this Young Helmsman gave every appearance of being a dissolute young man from a wealthy family, the complete opposite of the rest of the bandit-like bunch.

Zhao informed the Young Helmsman of how Wen had taken refuge in Iron Gall Manor, and asked him for a plan of action. The Young Helmsman turned to the Taoist priest. "Priest Wu Chen," he said. "Please give us your advice."

A large, fat man, whom Zhao had introduced a moment before as 'Iron Pagoda' Yang, stood up and shouted: "Fourth Brother is badly wounded, someone we have never met before has ridden hard for a day and a night to report to us, and we are still deferring to each other. We will kill Fourth Brother with all this deference! Can we stop this nonsense? Who dares to disregard the wishes of the old Master? Young Helmsman, if you do not respect the dying wish of your foster father, you are unfilial. If you despise us brothers so much that you are unwilling to become our leader, then the Red Flower Society's seventy or eighty thousand members may as well go their separate ways."

Everyone began talking at once: "We cannot remain leaderless like this! If the Young Helmsman continues to defer, our devotion will be finished! Fourth Brother is in trouble! We must follow the Young Helmsman's orders and go to save him!"

The young man, Chen, looked greatly distressed. His eyebrows drew together in a deep frown as he silently pondered the problem.

"Brothers!" shouted one of the Twin Knights of Sichuan. "Since the Young Helmsman obviously despises us, we two intend to return to Sichuan as soon as Fourth Brother has been rescued."

Chen saw he had no alternative and saluted the heroes with his fists. "Brother Wen is in trouble and we can wait no longer. All of you insist that I become Helmsman, and because of the respect I have for you, I will do as you say."

The heroes of the Red Flower Society shouted and applauded with delight and relief.

"Well then," said the Taoist priest. "The Great Helmsman should now pay his respects to his predecessor and accept the Flower of Authority."

Lu knew that each society had its own special rites and ceremonies of which the initiation of a new leader was by far the most important. As an outsider, Lu felt uncomfortable about being present during such a ceremony, so he congratulated Chen and immediately excused himself. He was extremely weary after his journey, and Zhao led him to a room where he washed and slept. When he awoke, it was already night.

"The Great Helmsman has left with the others for Iron Gall Manor," Zhao said. "But he left me here to keep you company. We can follow on tomorrow."

And then, after two decades apart, the two men talked. They talked of the doings of the fighting community over the years, the good and the bad, the living and the dead, until the east grew light.

"Your Great Helmsman is so young," said Lu. "He looks like nothing more than just another rich man's son. Why are you all willing to follow him?"

"It would take a long time to explain," Zhao replied. "You rest for a while longer and we can talk again later when we're riding."

adamlau

PART TWO

** 1 **

Lead Escort Tong eagerly led Zhang and the others to Iron Gall Manor. This time, having some support with him, he walked brazenly up to the manor gate.

"Tell your Lord to come out and receive Imperial officials," he shouted to an attendant.

The attendant turned to go inside, but Zhang decided they could not afford to offend such a respected man as Lord Zhou. "Say that we have come from Beijing and that there is some official business we would like to consult Lord Zhou about," he called.

He glanced meaningfully at Officer Wu, who nodded and went round to the rear of the Manor with one of the officers to prevent anyone escaping.

As soon as he heard the attendant's report, Meng knew the officers had come for Wen Tailai. He told Song to go out and keep them occupied, and then went immediately to Wen's room.

"Master Wen, there are some Eagle's Claws outside," he said. "There's nothing we can do. We'll just have to hide the three of you for a while."

He helped Wen up, and led him to a pavilion in the garden behind the Manor house. Meng and 'Scholar' Yu pushed aside a stone table in the pavilion, exposing an iron plate. They worked free an iron ring on top of the plate and pulled it up. Underneath was a cellar.

Just then, they heard people outside the back gate, and at the same time shouting from in front as Zhang forced his way through towards the garden. Wen saw that they were surrounded and hurried down the steps into the cellar. Meng replaced the iron plate, and pushed the stone table back over it with the help of two attendants. Zhou's young son kept getting in the way as he tried to help. Meng looked round quickly to make sure nothing was out of place, then ordered the attendants to open the rear gate.

Zhang and the others entered the garden. Seeing Tong amongst the group, Meng said coldly: "So you are an official. I should not have been so impolite to you earlier."

"I am a lead escort with the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency," Tong replied. "Haven't you made a mistake, brother?" He looked round at Zhang. "I saw the three fugitives enter the manor. You should order a search, Master Zhang."

"We are peaceful citizens," said Song. "His Lordship, Master Zhou, is one of the most respected gentlemen west of the Yellow River. How could he dare to harbour either bandits or rebellious intentions?"

Meng asked Zhang to explain the purpose of his visit. Zhang did so, and Meng laughed out loud. "But the Red Flower Society is a secret society in south China," he protested. "Why would they come to the northwest border areas? This lead escort has a wild imagination."

Zhang and the rest were professionals, and they knew Wen was in the manor. If they conducted a thorough search and found him, there would be no problem. But if the search failed to find him, the matter would certainly not rest there. Causing offence to a man such as Lord Zhou was no game and they hesitated.

Worried that he would be laughed at if Wen wasn't caught that day, Tong decided to trick Zhou's son into talking. He smiled and took him by the hand, but the boy snatched his hand away.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Little brother," Tong said. "Tell me where the three visitors who came to your house today are hiding and I'll give you this to buy sweets with." He took out a silver ingot and presented it to the boy.

The boy made a face at him. "Who do you think I am? Do you think any member of the Zhou family of Iron Gall manor would want your stinking money?"

Zhang studied the child's face and guessed he knew where Wen was hidden. "Just you wait until we find them," he warned. "We will behead not only your father, but you and your mother as well."

The boy raised his eyebrows. "I'm not afraid of you, so why would my father be afraid of you?" he replied.

Suddenly, Tong noticed the boy was wearing a pearl bracelet on his left wrist and recognised it immediately as Luo Bing's.

"Those pearls on your wrist. They belong to one of the visitors," he said. "You must have stolen them from her."

Why should I steal?" the boy replied angrily. "She gave them to me."

Tong laughed. "All right. She gave them to you. Well, where is she?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Stop chattering with the child," Zhang interrupted. "They wouldn't let a child in on the great affairs of the Manor. He would certainly have been shooed away before they hid the three guests in their secret place."

As he hoped, the child rose to the bait. "How would you know?" he shouted.

Meng was becoming anxious. "Let's go inside, little brother," he said.

Zhang seized the opportunity. "Yes, go away little boy. You don't know anything."

The boy could stand it no longer. "I know!" he shouted. "They're in the garden, in the pavilion!"

Meng was greatly alarmed. "Little brother, what nonsense are you talking? Go inside quickly!"

As soon as the words were out, the boy knew he had made a mess of everything. He flew indoors, panic-stricken and on the verge of tears.

Zhang could see that the pavilion, wide and empty with red-painted railings around its sides, provided no hiding place. He leapt onto one of the railings and looked up into the roof, but saw no sign of a hiding-place. He jumped down again and stood silently, deep in thought. Then he had an idea.

"Master Meng," he smiled. "My kung fu is unsophisticated, but I have some clumsy strength. Let us have a competition."

"I wouldn't dare to be so presumptuous," Meng replied. "With weapons or without, I leave the choice to you."

Zhang laughed loudly. "There's no need for fighting, it would injure this amiable atmosphere. No, I suggest we take turns at trying to lift this stone table. I hope you won't laugh at me if I can't."

Meng started in fright. "No, it's...it's not a good..." he stuttered.

The others were surprised at Zhang's desire to engage Meng in a test of strength, and they watched intently as he pushed up his sleeves and grasped one of the round legs of the stone table with his right hand. He shouted the word "Lift!", and raised the 400-odd pound table off the ground using just the one hand.

They applauded him for his strength, but the shouts of applause quickly changed to calls of surprise as they noticed the iron plate that had been exposed.

The officers lifted up the plate and saw Wen in the hole beneath them, but none dared to go down and arrest him. They couldn't use darts either as they had been ordered to capture him alive, so all they could do was stand at the entrance to the cellar, weapons in hand, shouting at him.

"We've been betrayed by Iron Gall Manor," Wen said quietly to Luo Bing. "We are husband and wife, and I want you to promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Whatever I tell you to do in a moment, you must do."

Luo Bing nodded, her eyes full of tears.

"Wen Tailai is here," Wen shouted. "What's all the noise about?"

A sudden silence descended on the group above.

"My leg is wounded," Wen added. "Send a rope down and lift me up."

Zhang turned round to ask Meng to get some rope, but he had disappeared, so he ordered an attendant to go instead. A length of rope was brought, and an Imperial Bodyguard named Cheng Huang grabbed one end and threw the other down into the cellar and lifted Wen out.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Wen jerked the rope out of Cheng Huang's hands, and with a roar, whirled it round and round his head. Caught off guard, Zhang and the others ducked in panic as the rope swept towards them. Tong, who had already suffered at Wen's hand, had hidden behind the others, and didn't see the rope until it was too late. With the piercing force of an iron rod, the rope smashed solidly into his back, knocking him to the ground.

Two other Imperial Bodyguards, Rui and Yan, raced towards Wen from either side while 'Scholar' Yu, wielding the Golden Flute, leapt up the stone steps and attacked Cheng Huang.

Cheng was wielding a brass staff, but despite its advantage of length over the flute, Yu quickly forced him onto the defensive. Luo Bing limped up the steps, supporting herself with her sword, but found her way blocked by a tall, muscular man standing at the mouth of the cellar, with his hands on his hips. She pulled out a throwing knife and threw it at him. The man, Zhang, made no move until the knife was only an inch from his nose, then stretched out his hand and grabbed it by the hilt. Luo Bing saw his leisurely reaction, and drew a ragged breath.

Zhang forced her sword to one side, then gave her a push which threw her off balance. She fell back down into the cellar.

Wen, meanwhile, was battling simultaneously with the two Imperial Bodyguards, Rui and Yan. His mind was numb with the excruciating pain from his wounds, and he fought like a madman, striking out wildly. Yu, however, had gained the upper hand in his fight with Cheng Huang. Zhang noticed his technique contained many elements peculiar to the Wudang School. Greatly surprised, he was about to go over and question him, when Yu suddenly jumped back into the cellar to help Luo Bing.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"It's nothing. Go and help Fourth Brother."

"I'll support you up," Yu said.

Wen looked around and saw that his wife had not yet managed to get out of the cellar, and he realised he could continue no longer. He threw himself at Cheng Huang, paralysed him with a blow to the kidneys, then grabbed him round the waist and fell into the cellar with him.

They landed on the cellar floor with Wen on top of Cheng Huang, neither of them able to move. Luo Bing quickly helped Wen up. His face was completely drained of colour and covered in sweat, but he forced a smile, and with a "Wa" sound, a mouthful of blood sprayed out onto the front of her tunic. Yu understood what Wen was planning, and shouted. "Make way! Make way!"

With Cheng Huang in the hands of the enemy, Zhang decided against any precipitous action. He heard Yu's shout and waved his arm at the others, indicating they should clear a path for them.

The first one out of the cellar was Cheng Huang with Luo Bing grasping his collar and holding the point of a dagger to the small of his back. Next came Yu supporting Wen. The four shuffled slowly out, pushing and pulling each other as they came.

"If anyone moves, this man dies," Luo Bing shouted.

The four passed through the forest of swords and spears and made their way slowly towards the rear gate. Luo Bing spotted three horses tied to the willow trees just outside, and she silently thanked Heaven and Earth.

Zhang could see the fugitives were about to escape and decided that capturing Wen Tailai and taking him back to Beijing was more important than saving Cheng Huang's life. He picked up the rope Wen had thrown on the ground, fashioned it into a lassoo and flung it at Wen using all his Inner Strength. The rope flew whistling through the air and encircled Wen, and with a tug, Zhang pulled him out of Yu's grasp. Wen cried out and Luo Bing turned to help him, ignoring Cheng Huang. But her thigh was wounded, and she fell to the ground before she had taken two steps.

"Go! Go quickly!" Wen shouted.

"I'll die with you," said Luo Bing.

"You agreed that you would do what I told you..." he replied angrily, but before he could finish, the officers swarmed over him. Yu raced over and picked Luo Bing up, then charged straight out of the gate. One officer moved to stop him, but one of Yu's legs flew up and kicked him so hard that he fell to the ground five or six paces away.

Yu ran with her over to the horses and placed her on the back of one just as three officers raced through the gates after them.

"Use your throwing knives, quick!" he shouted.

A string of knives flashed out from her hand and there was a blood-curdling shriek as one of them planted itself in the shoulder of one of the officers. Yu freed the reins of the three horses, mounted one and pulled the head of the third round so that it faced the gate. He rapped it sharply on the rump with his flute and the horse charged straight to the officers, trapping them in the gateway. In the confusion, Yu and Luo Bing galloped off.

Luo Bing lay on the horse in a semi-delirious state. She tried on several occasions to pull the horse round and return to Iron Gall Manor, but each time Yu stopped her. He slowed the pace only when he was sure there was no-one chasing them.

Another mile further on, Yu saw four riders approaching led by a man with a flowing white beard: it was the Lord of Iron Gall Manor, Zhou Zhongying. Seeing Yu and Luo Bing, he reined in his horse and called out:

"Honoured guests, please stop! I have called for a doctor."

Full of hatred, Luo Bing flung a throwing knife at him. Zhou started in fright, and threw himself down flat on his horse, and the knife flew over his back. Behind him, one of his followers deflected the knife with a stroke from his sword, and it plunged into the trunk of a large willow tree beside the road. The rays of the blood-red setting sun reflected off the blade, the light flashing and dancing all around them. Just as Zhou was about to question them, Luo Bing began cursing him.

"You old thief! You betrayed my husband! I will have my revenge on you!" she shouted, tears coursing down her face. She urged her horse forward, brandishing her pair of swords.

"Let us discuss this first," Zhou called out, greatly puzzled.

"We must save Fourth Brother first," Yu said to Luo Bing, restraining her. "We can raze Iron Gall Manor to the ground once we've rescued him."

Luo Bing saw the logic in what he said, and pulled the head of her horse round. She spat on the ground in hate, slapped her horse and galloped off.

Lord Zhou wondered what was behind this young girl's anger and questioned the attendant who had been sent to the town to fetch a doctor. But he said only that when he left, Lady Zhou and Master Meng had been looking after the guests, and that there had been no disgreements.

Zhou galloped all the way back to the manor, and strode quickly inside shouting: "Call Meng!"

"Master Meng is with her Ladyship," one of the attendants told him. Then the rest all began talking at once, giving him accounts of what had happened, how the officers had arrested Wen Tailai and taken him away, and had left the manor only a short while before.

"Who tolf the officers the three guests were hiding in the cellar?" Zhou asked.

The attendants looked at each other, not daring to speak. The sound of Zhou's two iron balls clacking together in his hand was even louder than usual. "What are you all standing there for?" he shouted. "Go and get Meng quickly!"

As he spoke, Meng ran in.

"Who let the secret out?" Zhou shouted hoarsely. "Tell me! You..."

Meng hesitated, and said: "The Eagle's Claws found it out for themselves."

"Nonsense!" Zhou roared. "How would that bunch of dog thieves ever find a place as well-hidden as my cellar?"

Meng did not answer, not daring to meet his master's gaze. Lady Zhou came in hugging her son, but Zhou ignored her.

His gaze swung round to Song's face. "As soon as you saw the officers, you took fright and talked, didn't you?" he shouted. Meng was trustworthy but Song was a coward and knew no kung fu.

"No...it wasn't me who talked," he replied, scared out of his wits. "It was...it was the young...the young master."

Zhou's heart missed a beat. "Come over here," he said to his son.

The boy walked, cringing, over to his father.

"Was it you who told the officers that the three guests were in the garden cellar?" he asked.

The boy had never dared to lie to his father, but he could not bring himself to confess. Zhou brandished his whip.

"Will you speak?" he shouted.

The boy looked at his mother, so scared he wanted to cry. Lady Zhou walked over and stood close beside him.

Meng saw that the deception would not work. "Master," he said. "The officers were very cunning. They made out that if the young master did not talk, he would be a coward."

"You wanted to be a hero, so you told them, is that correct?" Zhou shouted.

The boy's face was drained of colour. "Yes, father," he replied quietly.

Zhou could not control his anger. "Is that any way for a brave hero to act?" he shouted. He threw the two iron balls in his right hand at the opposite wall in frustration, but at that very moment, his son threw himself into his arms to beg for mercy, and one of the balls hit the boy square on the head. Zhou had put all of his rage into the throw and its power was extraordinary. Blood sprayed in all directions.

Greatly shocked, Zhou quickly took hold of his son and embraced him.

"Father," the boy said. "I...I won't do it again...Don't hit me..." He was dead before he finished speaking. Everyone in the room was stunned into silence.

Lady Zhou grabbed her son, shouting: "Child, child!" When she saw he had stopped breathing, she stared dumbly at him for a moment then, like a crazed tiger, struck out at Zhou.

"Why...why did you kill the child?" she sobbed.

Zhou shook his head and retreated two paces. "I... I didn't..."

Lady Zhou put down her son's corpse, and grabbed a sword from the scabbard of one of the attendants. She leapt forward and struck out at her husband, but he made no move to avoid the blow.

"It will be better if we all die," he said, closing his eyes.

Seeing him in such a state, her hand loosened. She dropped the sword to the ground and ran out of the hall, sobbing.

adamlau

** 2 **

Luo Bing and Yu Yutong kept to the back roads for fear of meeting Yamen officers and rode on until the sky was completely black. The countryside was desolate: there were no inns and they couldn't even find a farmhouse. They stopped to rest beside a large rock.

Yu releaed the horses to graze, then cut some grass with Luo Bing's sword and spread it out on the ground.

"Now we have a bed, but no food or water," he said. "All we can do is wait until tomorrow and try to think of something then."

Luo Bing cared about nothing but her husband. She cried continuously. Yu comforted her, saying the Red Flower Society would certainly come in force to help them rescue Fourth Brother. Luo Bing was exhausted, and hearing his words, she relaxed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In her dream, she seemed to meet her husband, who held her gently in his arms, and lightly kissed her on the mouth. She felt deliciously happy and lazily let her husband embrace her.

"I've been so miserable thinking about you," she said. "Are all your wounds healed?"

Wen mumbled a few words and held her even tighter, kissed her even more passionately. Just as she was beginning to feel aroused, she suddenly started in fright and awoke. Under the starlight, she could see that the person embracing her was not her husband, but Yu.

"I've been miserable thinking about you too!" he whispered.

Ashamed and angry, Luo Bing slapped him heavily on the face, fought her way free and stumbled away a few steps. She fumbled for her knives, and shouted harshly: "What are you doing?"

Yu was stunned. "Listen to me..."

"You listen to me!" she replied angrily. "Which four classes of people does the Red Flower Society kill?"

"Tartars and Manchus; corrupt officials; landlords and tyrants; and villains and scoundrels," Yu recited quietly, his head hung low.

The space between Luo Bing's eyebrows closed. "Which four crimes by Red Flower Society members are punishable by death?"

"Death to those who surrender to the Manchu Court. Death to those who betray the Society...death to those who betray their friends, and death to those who violate others'...wives and daughters."

"If you have the guts, you will quickly punish yourself with the 'Three Thrusts and Six Holes'!" Luo Bing shouted.

According to the Society's code, a member who had committed an offence in a moment of confusion and sincerely regretted it could pierce his own thigh three times with a knife so that it penetrated right through, an act known as the 'Three Thrusts and Six Holes.' The member could then plead to the Great Helmsman for forgiveness, and could hope that his case would be dealt with leniently.

"I beg you to kill me," Yu cried. "If I die at your hand, I will still die happy."

Luo Bing's anger blazed even more intensely. She raised the knife in her hand, her wrist steeled, ready to throw.

"You don't know anything," Yu said in a shaky voice. "How much I have suffered for you over the last five or six years. From the moment I first saw you, my heart...was...no longer my own."

"I was already Fourth Brother's then," Luo Bing said angrily. "Do you mean you didn't know?"

"I...knew I couldn't control myself, so I never dared to see too much of you. Whenever the Society had any business to be done, I always begged the Great Helmsman to send me to do it. The others thought I was just hardworking, no-one knows I was really avoiding you. When I was away working, there was never a day or an hour when I did not think of you."

He took a step towards her and pulled up his left sleeve, exposing his arm. "I hate myself," he said. "I curse my heart for the animal it is. Every time the hatred overcomes me, I cut myself with a knife here. Look!"

Under the dim starlight, Luo Bing saw his arm was covered in motley scars, and her heart involuntarily softened.

"I always think, why couldn't Heaven have allowed me to meet you before you married," he continued. "We are about the same age, but the difference in age between you and Fourth Brother is huge."

Luo Bing's anger surged up once more. "What does the difference in our ages matter? Fourth Brother is loving and just, a great man. How could he be compared with someone like you, you..."

She gave a snort of contempt, then turned and walked over to her horse. As she struggled to mount it, Yu went over to help her up, but she shouted "Keep away!" and got up of her own accord.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"It's none of your business. With Fourth Brother in the hands of the Eagle's Claws, I might as well be dead anyway. Give me my swords."

Yu lowered his head and handed the pair of swords to her.

Seeing him standing there, so lost and bewildered, Luo Bing suddenly said: "As long as you seriously work for the good of the Society, and are never impolite to me ever again, I won't tell anyone about what happened tonight. And I'll also help you find a nice girl who has both talent and beauty."

She smiled briefly, slapped her horse and rode off.

Luo Bing rode on for a mile or so, then stopped, searching the sky for the North Star to get her bearings. If she went west, she would meet up with the fighters of the Red Flower Society; to go east would be to follow after her captured husband. She knew that, wounded as she was, it would be impossible for her to save him single-handed, but with her husband heading eastwards, how could she possibly turn away from him? Broken-hearted, she let her horse wander unrestrained for a few miles. Then, seeing she had already travelled a long way from Yu, she dismounted and settled down to sleep in a spinney of small trees. Angry and bitter, she cried for a while and then fell into a deep sleep. In the middle of the night, she woke suddenly with a burning fever and called out in a blurred voice: "Water! I must drink water!" But there was no-one to hear her.

Next day, her condition was even worse. She managed with a struggle to sit up, but her head hurt so badly she was forced to lie down again. She slept, and awoke feeling the sun beating down on her head. She watched as it sank towards the west. She was thirsty and hungry, but remounting the horse was impossible.

"It is not important that I die here," she thought. "But I will never see Fourth Brother again." Her eyes glazed over and she fainted away.

Suddenly, she heard someone say: "Good. She's coming round!"

She slowly opened her eyes and saw a young, doe-eyed girl standing beside her. The girl was eighteen or nineteen years old with a tanned face and thick eyebrows. She looked very happy to see Luo Bing awaken.

"Go quickly and get some millet gruel for the Lady to drink," she told a maid.

Luo Bing realized she was lying on a kang in between the folds of a quilt. The room she was in was clean and tastefully furnished, obviously in the house of a very wealthy family.

"What is your honourable surname, miss?" she asked the girl.

"My surname is Zhou. You sleep for a while. We can talk again later."

The girl watched as Luo Bing ate a bowl of gruel and then quietly left. Luo Bing closed her eyes and slept once more.

When she woke, the lamps had already been lit. Outside the door, she heard a girl's voice saying loudly:

"Father shouldn't have allowed them to bully people and run riot here in Iron Gall Manor! If it had been me, I would have taught them a good lesson!"

Luo Bing started in fright when she heard the words 'Iron Gall Manor'. The girl and her maid walked into the room and looked through the canopy over the kang, but Luo Bing closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. The girl went over to the wall and took down a sword. Luo Bing noticed her own swords on a table close by and prepared herself. If the girl struck out at her, she would throw the quilt over her head, grab the swords and fight her way out. But all she heard was the maid saying:

"Mistress, you mustn't make any more trouble. His Lordship is very distressed. Don't make him angry again."

"Huh! I don't care," the girl replied. She raced out of the room, sword in hand, with the maid at her heels.

Luo Bing guessed correctly that the girl was Lord Zhou's daughter, Zhou Qi. She was a bold, straight-forward person, very much like her father, and had a love of minding other people's business. On the day Wen was seized, she had wounded someone in a fight, and had spent the night away from home, planning to wait for her father's anger to subside before returning. On her way back, she came across Luo Bing unconscious by the road and brought her to the manor, where she discovered to her horror that her father had killed her brother, and her mother had run off.

"If they can betray Fourth Brother to the authorities, why did they save me?" she thought darkly. "There must be some other evil scheme afoot."

The wound on her thigh had not yet healed, and she couldn't afford the slightest mistake. Having been in the Manor once before, she had a vague idea of its layout, and planned to stealthily make her way round to the garden, and then leave by the back gate. But as she passed by the great hall, she saw the lamps were burning brightly inside and heard someone talking very loudly. There was something familiar about the voice, and she put her eye close to a crack in the door and saw Lord Zhou in conversation with two other men, one of whom she recognised as Lead Escort Tong. Seeing him, she thought again of her husband's cruel fate and immediately ceased to care about whether she lived or died. She pushed open the door and slung a throwing knife at Tong.

adamlau

** 3 **

With his wife missing and his son dead, Zhou had spent two unhappy days fretting endlessly.

After nightfall on the second day, an attendant reported that two visitors had arrived, and Zhou ordered Meng to receive them. One was Tong, the other an Imperial Bodyguard surnamed Pan, one of the fighters who had helped to seize Wen. Meng guessed that no good would come of the visit.

"His Lordship is not feeling well," he told them. "If you have any message, I will convey it for you."

Tong laughed. "We are here on a goodwill visit," he said. "Whether Lord Zhou sees us or not is up to him. Iron Gall Manor is faced with a crisis that may destroy every member of the Zhou family. What is the point of putting on such airs?"

Meng had no option but to allow them through. The iron balls in Zhou's hand clacked sharply together as he listened to what the visitors had to say.

"What do you mean by saying Iron Gall Manor is faced with a crisis?" he demanded.

Bodyguard Pan pulled a letter from his gown and spread it out on the table, holding it down with both hands as if afraid that Zhou would snatch it away. Zhou peered down and saw it was a letter written to him by 'Hidden Needle' Lu Feiqing of the Wudang School asking him to help some friends of the Red Flower Society who were in difficulties.

Wen had had no opportunity to present the letter to Zhou, and it was found when he was searched after being captured. Lu was a well-known fugitive, and the letter clearly indicated he was collaborating with Iron Gall Manor. The bodyguards had discussed the matter, and decided that reporting the existence of the letter to their superiors would not necessarily result in Lu's capture and could even increase their own workload. It would be more beneficial to use the letter to extort a sum of money from Zhou and divide it up amongst themselves.

Zhou was shocked at the sight of the letter. "What do you gentlemen want?" he asked.

"We have long admired the famous Lord Zhou," said Pan. "We know of your enthusiasm for charity and making new friends. Friends are much more important than money, and I'm sure you spend thousands of silver ingots to establish friendship without even creasing half an eyebrow. You of course realise, Lord Zhou, that if the authorities ever see this letter, the consequences would be disastrous. When we brothers found it, we resolved to destroy it in the spirit of friendship, even though it meant risking our own heads. Everyone agreed never to say a word about Iron Gall Manor harbouring the fugitive Wen Tailai. We decided to shoulder this monstrous responsibility and not to report to our superiors."

"That was very good of you," Zhou replied dryly.

"But," Pan continued, "The thing is that we brothers have had a lot of expenses on this trip out of the capital. We are carrying heavy debts. If perhaps Lord Zhou could spare a thought for us, we would feel eternally grateful."

Zhou was extremely angry. He had let down his friends, his beloved son had died as a result, and the officers were to blame. Now these same officers had come back to try to blackmail him.

"We are villains, that is true," Tong said. "We villains accomplish little and bungle much. If we had to build a Manor as big as this one, we'd have to admit defeat. But if we were asked to destroy it..."

Before he could finish, Zhou's daughter, Zhou Qi charged into the hall, and shouted harshly: "Let me see you try!"

Zhou motioned to his daughter and the two walked out of the hall. "Go and tell Meng that whatever happens, these two Eagle's Claws must not be allowed to leave the Manor!" he whispered.

"Good!" replied Zhou Qi, very pleased. "I was getting angrier and angrier listening outside."

Zhou returned to the hall.

"Since you refuse to do us this favour Lord Zhou, we will take our leave of you," Bodyguard Pan said. He picked up Lu's letter and ripped it to shreds as Zhou stood by dumbfounded, completely taken aback.

"This is a duplicate of the letter," Pan explained. "The original letter is with the 'Fire Hand Judge' Zhang Zhaozhong."

It was at that moment that Luo Bing's throwing knife flew towards Tong. Zhou detested Tong, but he couldn't allow him to die in the Manor. With no time to consider the matter carefully, he quickly threw one of the iron balls in his hand at the knife. It hit the knife with a "Clang" and both knife and ball fell to the ground.

"Ah-ha!" Luo Bing shouted. "So you're all in this together. You old thief! You've already betrayed my husband, why don't you kill me as well?" She raced into the hall, her swords held high, and struck out at Zhou.

With no weapon in his hand, Zhou hurriedly picked up a chair to deflect the blow. "Not so fast!" he protested. "Explain yourself first."

But Luo Bing was in no mood to listen. Zhou retreated steadily as she attacked, heading for the wall. Suddenly, Luo Bing heard the sound of a blade swishing towards her back, and ducked as the blade cleaved over her head. She turned to find Zhou Qi standing behind her, seething with anger.

"You ungrateful woman!" Zhou Qi shouted, pointing her finger accusingly. "I saved you out of the goodness of my heart. What are you doing attacking my father?"

"You of Iron Gall Manor with your fake charity and fake generosity!" Luo Bing replied bitterly. "But you keep away and I won't harm you."

She turned and resumed her attack on Zhou, who dodged left and right, shouting "Stop! Stop!" Absolutely furious, Zhou Qi jumped in front of her father and began fiercely fighting with Luo Bing.

In terms of martial skills and experience, Luo Bing was far superior to Zhou Qi, but because of the wounds on her shoulder and thigh coupled with her resentment and anger, the greatest taboos of the martial arts fighter, she gradually lost the initiative.

"Stop!" Zhou shouted repeatedly, but both girls ignored him. Pan and Tong stood to one side watching the battle.

Suddenly, they all heard a weird cry and saw a black figure lunged at Zhou's daughter. It was a short hunchback wielding a short-handled Wolf's Tooth club, the sharp teeth on the end of which sparkled and flashed as it swung steeply towards Zhou Qi. The girl jumped in fright and countered by chopping at his shoulder. The hunchback blocked her sword rigidly. Under the intense shock of the impact, Zhou Qi's arm went numb and her sword nearly fell out of her hand. She leapt back. The hunchback didn't press his attack, but instead turned to Luo Bing.

"Tenth Brother!" she cried. Tears coursed down her face.

"Where's Brother Wen?" the hunchback, Zhang Jin, asked.

Luo Bing pointed at Zhou, Pan and Tong. "They betrayed him! Tenth Brother, avenge him for me!"

Without waiting for details, Zhang Jin threw himself onto the ground and rolled towards Zhou. Zhou leapt up onto a table and shouted "Stop!" again, but Zhang Jin was not interested in explanations, and aimed the wolf's tooth club at his thigh. Zhou jumped into the air, landing on the ground just as the club slammed into the sandalwood table. The fangs sank deep into the wood, and for a moment the hunchback was unable to pull the club free.

Just then, Meng rushed into the hall and handed Zhou his gold-backed sword. He had no idea of the hunchback's motives, but anyone attacking his master was an enemy. Zhou and Meng attacked the hunchback together, but Zhang Jin held them off with his club and shouted: "Seventh Brother, if you don't get in here quickly and protect Sister Luo Bing, I will curse your ancestors!"

Zhang Jin and 'Kung Fu Mastermind' Xu had raced day and night without stopping towards Iron Gall Manor. Hearing Zhang Jin's call, Xu ran into the hall and made straight for Luo Bing. Her heart leapt for joy as she spotted him, and she pointed at Tong and Pan.

"They betrayed Brother Wen," she called.

Xu leapt at Tong. Xu was like a dwarf in stature, but his kung fu was superb, and in a second, he had his opponent on the retreat. Tong dodged to the left as Xu stabbed towards him with his knife, then hit the floor with a thud as Xu kicked him off his feet.

Xu felt a current of air hit his back as Bodyguard Pan attacked him holding a pair of tempered iron hoops, and with no time to turn round, he stepped on Tong's chest with his left foot and flipped over to face his attacker. Tong yelled out in pain.

On the other side of the hall, Zhang Jin was battling furiously with Meng, Zhou and Zhou Qi simultaneously.

"Go quickly and guard the manor gate," Meng shouted to an attendant. "Don't let anyone else in."

"Everyone stop!" Zhou called out. "Listen to what I have to say!"

Meng and Zhou Qi immediately stepped back several paces. Xu also retreated a step, and shouted to the hunchback: "Hold it, Tenth Brother. Let's listen to him."

But as he did so, Bodyguard Pan drove his hoops at Xu's back. Caught off his guard, Xu flinched away, but his shoulder was struck. He stumbled, and angrily called out: "Right! You Iron Gall Manor people are full of tricks." He did not know that Pan was not of the Manor. He raised his knife and fought furiously with Pan.

Tong stood at a distance, staring at Luo Bing. She had only one throwing knife left and was unwilling to use it rashly, so she raised her sword and chased after him. Tong nimbly raced about the great hall, dodging around the tables and chairs.

"Don't be violent," he told her. "Your husband is already dead. Why not be a good girl and marry your Uncle Tong?"

On hearing him say that Wen was dead, everything went black before her eyes, and she fainted away. Tong raced over to her as she collapsed.

Zhou's anger surged up as he saw what was happening, and he also ran towards Luo Bing, his gold-backed sword held high. He planned to stop Tong from molesting Luo Bing, but with misunderstanding piled on misunderstanding, he heard someone at the door to the hall shout loudly:

"If you dare to hurt her, I will fight you to the death!"

The newcomer charged at Zhou with a pair of hooks in his hands, aimed at Zhou's throat and groin respectively. Zhou noticed the man's handsome features and strong, vigorous movements. He raised his sword and lightly deflected the hooks, then retreated a step.

"Who are you, honourable sir?" he asked.

The man ignored him, and bent down to look at Luo Bing. Her face was white and her breathing very shallow and he helped her up and put her in a chair.

The fighting in the hall was getting more furious all the time. Suddenly, there was a shout outside followed by the sound of weapons clashing. A moment later, an attendent raced into the hall closely followed by a tall, fat man holding a steel whip.

"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother!" Xu shouted. "We must kill all of these Iron Gall Manor today, or our work isn't over."

The fat man was 'Iron Pagoda' Yang, ranking eighth in the Red Flower Society's hierarchy, while the one with the handsome face and the hooks was 'Nine Life Leopard' Wei who ranked ninth. Wei was a fearless fighter but had never been wounded and was consequently said to have nine lives.

Zhou looked around at the battle, awed by the fighting skills of the intruders. "Heroes of the Red Flower Society!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Listen to me!"

By this time, 'Leopard' Wei had taken over from Xu and was fighting Bodyguard Pan. He slackened off slightly as he heard Zhou's shout, but Xu called out: "Careful! Don't be tricked."

Even as he spoke, Pan raised his hoops and struck out at Wei. He was afraid of Iron Gall Manor and the Red Flower Society getting together, and couldn't allow them any opportunity to talk peace.

Xu observed the desperate battle in progress in the hall. The hunchback Zhang Jin was fighting three people at once and was under pressure, although not yet ready to admit defeat. 'Leopard' Wei, meanwhile, was also having difficulty maintaining his defence. Victory, Xu could see, was impossible.

"Set fire to the place, quick!" he shouted to disconcert the Manor people. "Twelfth Brother, go and seal the rear gate. Don't let anyone escape!"

On hearing the shout, Zhou Qi ran for the door of the hall planning to look for the arsonists.

"So you want to escape, do you?" a deep voice outside said as she reached the doorway.

She started backwards in fright. In the flickering candlelight, she saw two men blocking the doorway. The face of the one who had spoken looked as though it was covered with a layer of frost. Gleaming shafts emerged from his two eyes, sapping the life from those they fixed upon. Zhou Qi wanted to look at the other man, but she found her eyes caught by the first man's stare.

"Holy Ghost," she cursed softly.

"That's right," he replied. "I'm 'Melancholy Ghost'." It was the Red Flower Society's Superintendant of Punishments, 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi. There was no warmth in his words. Zhou Qi had never been afraid of anything before but she shuddered at the sight of this sinister man.

"Do you think I'm afraid of you?" she shouted to bolster her own courage, and struck out at him with her sword.

The man countered with his own sword, his eyes still fixed on her, and in only a few moves, he had completely mastered her.

On the other side of the hall, Meng was battling Zhang Jin, but it had already become obvious that he was no match for him. Tong, meanwhile, had not been sighted for some time. Only Zhou, fighting against Xu and Wei, had managed to gain the upper hand, but just as he was on the point of winning, someone else leapt forward shouting: "I'll fight you, old man!"

He was using an iron oar as a weapon. It swung up from behind the man's back, over his right shoulder and smashed down towards Zhou with astonishing ferocity. The man was 'Crocodile' Jiang, thirteenth in the Red Flower Society's heirarchy.

Zhou noticed Jiang's great strength and dodged to the left, then began to retreat as he fought, keeping constantly on the move. He spotted Bodyguard Pan being chased by 'Iron Pagoda' Yang, and as Pan ran close by him, Zhou struck out at him with his great sword.

Zhou knew that the Red Flower Society's misunderstanding of the situation was deep, and could not be explained away with just a few words. Furthermore, his several attempts to halt the battle had been sabotaged by Pan. With the Red Flower Society's fighters became increasingly numerous, and fighting more and more fiercely, it was only a matter of time before someone was wounded, if not killed, and when that happened, the misunderstanding would become a matter of true vengeance and the situation would be irretrievable.

Seeing Zhou's sword slicing towards him, Pan started in terror and frantically dodged out of the way. He fully realised Zhou's intention.

"We joined forces to capture Wen Tailai but it was you who killed him," he shouted at Zhou. "What are you planning now? You want to murder me and keep the whole Manchu reward for yourself, is that it?"

Zhang Jin howled and smashed his wolf's tooth club at Zhou's thigh. But Xu, who was more attentive, finally realised what was happening. Fighting with Zhou earlier, he had noticed how the old man had several time stayed his hand, and he knew there had to be a reason for it. "Tenth Brother!" he shouted. "Not so fast!"

Zhang Jin's blood lust was up, however, and he paid no attention. 'Copper-head' Jiang's iron oar swung forward, aimed at Zhou's midriff. Zhou leant to one side to avoid it, but unexpectedly, Yang swung his steel whip down towards his shoulder from behind. He heard the gust of wind behind his ear and blocked the blow with his sword, causing both Yang's and his own arm to go numb for a second. The physical strength of the three society fighters was frightening, and battling all three single-handed, it was obvious that Zhou was gradually being worn down. Then Jiang's iron oar struck upwards at Zhou's great sword: Zhou lost his grasp, and the sword flew up out of his hand and stuck straight into a beam in the roof of the hall.

The Red Flower Society fighters pressed in closer around Zhou, now weaponless, and Zhang Jin and Jiang's weapons smashed down towards him. Zhou quickly picked up a table and heaved it at the two of them. As he did so, the candleholder on the table fell to the floor and the flame went out.

In a flash of inspiration, Meng pulled out a catapult and "pa, pa, pa!" shot out a string of pellets at the other candles, extinguishing them all.

An inky blackness descended on the hall.

adamlau

** 4 **

Everyone held their breaths and stayed completely silent, not daring to make any sound that would give away their position.

In the midst of the silence, footsteps sounded outside the hall. The door was thrown open and a shaft of light struck their eyes as a man carrying a burning torch strode in. He was dressed as a scholar, and in his left hand, he held a golden flute. As soon as he had passed through the door, he stood to one side and raised the torch up high, lighting the way as three other men entered. One was a one-armed Taoist priest with a sword slung across his back. The second man, wearing a light gown loosely tied around the waist, looked like the son of a nobleman. He was followed by a young boy in his teens who held a bundle in his hands. They were in fact 'Scholar' Yu, the Taoist priest Wu Chen, and the newly-appointed Great Helmsman of the Red Flower Society, Chen Jialuo. The young boy was Chen's attendant, Xin Yan.

Yu presented Zhou with a letter of introduction, bowed, and then announced in a loud voice: "The Great Helmsman of the Red Flower Society has come to pay his respects to Lord Zhou of IronGall Manor."

Zhou put his hands together in salute. "Honoured guests," he said. "Welcome to my humble Manor. Please be seated."

The tables and chairs in the great hall had all been overturned and thrown about during the fight and everything was in great disorder.

"Attendants," Zhou roared. The tables and chairs were quickly rearranged, the candles relit and the guests and hosts seated. Great Helmsman Chen took the first of the guest's seats on the eastern side of the hall and was followed, in order of seniority, by the other Red Flower Society heroes. Zhou took the first seat on the western side, followed in order by Meng, Zhou Qi and his attendants.

Yu stole a glance at Luo Bing's beautiful, joyless face. He had no idea if she had told anyone of his misdemeanor. After she had left him that night, he had not known where to go, but after two days of roaming around aimlessly, he ran into Great Helmsman Chen and Priest Wu Chen, who were on their way to Iron Gall Manor.

With the two sides being so polite to each other, Bodyguard Pan could see the game was up and began to sidle towards the door in the hope of slipping out unnoticed. But Xu leapt over and blocked his path.

"Please stay here," he said. "Let us all explain our positions clearly first."

Pan did not dare to object.

"Master Wen Tailai, our humble society's Fourth Brother, was attacked by the Eagle's Claws and suffered a serious injury," Chen said coldly. "He came to you for refuge, and we are much indebted to you for the assistance extended to him. All the brothers of our society are grateful, and I take this opportunity to offer our thanks."

He stood and bowed deeply.

Zhou hurriedly returned the bow, extremely embarrassed.

"Great Helmsman, you don't understand!" Zhang Jin shouted, jumping up. "He betrayed Fourth Brother!"

'Leopard' Wei, who was sitting next to Zhang Jin, gave him a push and told him to shut up.

"Our brothers have travelled through the night to call on you," Chen continued, ignoring the interruption. "We have all been extremely anxious about Brother Wen. We are unaware of the state of his injuries, but I imagine you would have invited a doctor to treat him. If it is convenient, Lord Zhou, we would like you to take us to him."

He stood up, and the heroes of the Red Flower Society followed suit.

Zhou stammered, momentarily unable to answer.

"Fourth Brother was killed by them," Luo Bing shouted, her voice choked with sobs. "Great Helmsman, we must kill this old peasant in payment for Fourth Brother's life!"

Chen turned pale. Zhang Jin, Yang and a number of the others drew their weapons and moved forward threateningly.

"Master Wen did come to our humble Manor..." Meng began.

"Well then, please take us to see him," Xu broke in.

"When Master Wen, Mistress Luo Bing and Master Yu here arrived, our Lord was not at home," Meng replied. "It was I who dispatched someone to fetch a doctor. Mistress Luo Bing and Master Yu saw that with their own eyes. Later, the court officers arrived. We are extremely ashamed to say that we were unable to protect our guests and Master Wen was captured. Master Chen, you blame us for not looking after him properly and for failing to fulfil our responsibility to protect friends. We admit it. If you wish to kill us, I for one will not bat an eyelid. But to point your finger at our Lord and accuse him of betraying a friend, what sort of talk is that?"

Luo Bing jumped forward a step and pointed at Meng accusingly. "You!" she shouted. "I ask you! Such a well-concealed hiding-place as that cellar: if you weren't in the pay of the Eagles's Claws, how would they have known where we were?"

Meng was speechless.

"Lord Zhou, at the time of the incident, you may not actually have been at home," Priest Wu added. "But just as a dragon has a head, men have masters. As this concerns Iron Gall Manor, we must ask you to explain."

Bodyguard Pan, cowering to one side, suddenly spoke up. "It was his son that talked," he shouted. "Is he willing to admit it?"

"Lord Zhou, is this true?" Great Helmsman Chen asked.

Zhou nodded slowly. The heroes of the Red Flower Society roared in anger and moved in even closer, some glaring at Zhou, some looking at Chen, waiting for his signal.

Chen gave Pan a sidelong glance. "And who are you, sir?" he asked.

"He's an Eagle's Claw," Luo Bing said. "He was one of those that seized Fourth Brother."

Chen slowly walked over to Pan, then suddenly snatched the iron hoop out of his grasp, whipped both his hands behind his back and held them together. Pan gave a shout and struggled unsuccessfully to break free.

"Where have you taken Brother Wen?" Chen shouted. Pan kept his mouth shut, and an expression of proud insolence appeared on his face. Chen's fingers touched the 'Central Mansion Yuedao' below Pan's ribs. "Will you talk?" he asked.

Pan yelled out in pain. Chen touched his 'Tendon Centraction' Yuedao point. This time, Pan could endure it no longer.

"I'll talk...I'll talk," he whispered. "They're taking him to Beijing."

"He...he isn't dead then?" Luo Bing asked quickly.

"Of course he isn't dead," Pan replied. "He's an important criminal, who would dare to kill him?"

The heroes all breathed a sigh of relief, and Luo Bing's heart overflowed with happiness, and she fainted away, falling backwards to the floor. Yu stretched out his hand to catch her, but then suddenly pulled it back again. Her head hit the ground, and Zhang Jin hurriedly knelt down beside her.

"Fourth Sister!" he called, giving Yu a sidelong glance full of disdain. "Are you all right?"

Chen relaxed his grip on Pan's hands. "Tie him up," he said to his boy attendant, Xin Yan, who tied Pan's hands firmly behind his back.

"Brothers!" Chen said loudly. "It is vitally important that we save Fourth Brother. We can settle our accounts here another time."

The heroes of the Red Flower Society voiced their assent in unison. Luo Bing was sitting on a chair crying with joy. Hearing Chen's words, she stood up with Zhang Jin's support.

The heroes walked to the door of the hall, escorted by Meng. Chen turned and said to Zhou: "Our apologies for the inconvenience we have caused you. We will meet again."

Zhou knew from his tone that the Red Flower Society would return to seek vengeance.

"Once we've saved Brother Wen, I, the hunchback Zhang, will be the first to return to do battle with you, you old peasant!" Zhang Jin shouted.

Zhou Qi leapt forward a step. "What sort of creature are you that you would dare to curse my father?"

"Huh!" he replied. "Go and call your big brother out and tell him I wish to meet him."

"My big brother?" she asked, puzzled.

"If he has the guts to betray a friend, he should have the guts to meet another friend," Zhang Jin added. "Your big brother betrayed our Fourth Brother. Where is he hiding?"

"This hunchback's talking nonsense," Zhou Qi said. "I don't have an elder brother."

"All right," Zhou said angrily. "I will hand over my son to you. Follow me!"

Suddenly, there were shots from outside of "Fire! Fire!", and flames began to cast a glow into the great hall.

Zhou paid no attention. He strode out and Great Helmsman Chen and the others followed him through two courtyards. The fire was already burning fiercely and the heat from the flame was oppressive. In the dark of the night, the red glow reached skywards through the billows of smoke.

"Let's work together to put out the fire out first," Xu called.

"You tell someone to commit arson and then pretend to be a good man!" Zhou Qi said indignantly. She remembered his shout earlier about setting fire to the Manor, and was convinced that the Red Flower Society was responsible. Full of grief and resentment, she struck out at him with her sword, but Xu nimbly dodged out of the way.

Zhou appeared not to noticed any of this, and continued to walk towards the rear hall of the Manor. As they entered the hall, they could see that it was arranged for a funeral. A pair of lighted candles were placed on the altar before the 'Spirit Tablet' bearing the name of the deceased, along with white streamers and piles of 'death money' for the deceased to spend in the other world. Zhou parted a set of white curtains, revealing a small black coffin with its lid still open.

"My son revealed Master Wei's hiding place, it is true," he said. "If you want him...then take him!" His voice suddenly broke. In the sombre candlelight, the heroes looking into the coffin and saw the corpse of a small child.

"My brother was only ten years old," Zhou Qi shouted. "He didn't understand what was going on. He was tricked into letting out the secret. When father returned, he was so angry, he killed my brother by mistake, and as a result, my mother has left home. Are you satisfied yet? If not, why don't you kill my father and myself as well?"

The heroes realised they had unjustly accused Zhou, and that the whole incident should never have happened. Zhang Jin, who was the most direct of them all, leapt forward and kowtowed before Zhou, his head hitting the floor with a resounding thump.

"Master," he cried. "I have wronged you. The hunchback Zhang begs your forgiveness."

Chen and the other heroes all came forward one by one to apologise. Zhou hurriedly returned the bow.

"Never will we forget the assistance that Lord Zhou has extended to the Red Flower Society," Chen called out. "Brothers, the important thing now is to put out the fire. Everyone lend a hand quickly."

The heroes raced out of the hall. But the flames were already lighting up the sky, and the sound of roof tiles smashing to the ground, and of rafters and pillars collapsing intermingled in confusion with the shouts and cries of the Manor attendants. The Anxi region is famous throughout China as a 'wind storehouse', and the wind now stoked the flames. It was soon clear that it the fire could not be extinguished, and that the great Iron Gall Manor would soon be completely razed.

The heat in the rear hall was intense, and the cloth streamers and paper money on the altar were already smouldering. But Zhou remained beside the coffin.

"Father, father!" Zhou Qi shouted as the flames started to curl into the hall. "We must leave!"

Zhou took no notice, and continued to gaze at his son in the coffin, unwilling to leave him there to be cremated.

Zhang Jin bent over and shouted: "Eighth Brother, put the coffin on my back."

Yang grasped hold of the two sides of the coffin, and with a surge of strength, lifted it up and placed it on Zhang Jin's hunched back. Maintaining his crouching position, Zhang Jin then charged out of the hall. Zhou Qi supported her father, and with the others gathered around to protect them, they ran outside the Manor. Not long after, the roof of the rear hall collapsed, and they all shuddered at the thought of how close it had been.

"Ai-ya!" Zhou Qi suddenly shouted. "That Eagles's Claw Tong may still be inside!"

"For people as evil as him, being burnt alive is not an unjust end," 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi replied.

"Who?" Chen asked.

Meng told them about how Tong had come to Iron Gall Manor, first to spy, next as a guide for the officers when they came to seize Wen, and finally to engage in blackmail.

"Yes!" Xu shouted. "It must have been him who started the fire." He glanced furtively over at Zhou Qi and saw that she was also looking at him out of the corner of her eye. As soon as their eyes met, they both turned their heads away.

"We must catch this man Tong and bring him back," Chen said. "Brothers Xu, Yang, Wei and Zhang: the four of you go and search along the roads to the north, south, east and west. Come back to report within two hours whether you find him or not."

The four left, and Chen went over to apologise to Zhou once again.

"Lord Zhou," he said. "The Red Flower Society is responsible for your being brought to this state of affairs. Our debt to you will be difficult to repay. But we will find Lady Zhou and invite her to return to you. Iron Gall Manor has been destroyed, and we undertake to have it completely rebuilt. All your people will receive full compensation from the Society for whatever they have lost."

"What kind of talk is that, Master Chen?" Zhou replied. "Wealth and riches are not a part of the flesh. If you continue with that sort of talk, you will not be treating us as friends."

He had been greatly upset at the sight of Iron Gall Manor burn down, but he valued friendship above all, and now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, he was happy to have established relations with so many heroes in such a short time. But a moment later, he caught sight of the tiny coffin and another wave of sorrow flooded his heart.

The four heroes sent out to look for Tong returned with nothing to report, and they guessed that he must have taken advantage of the fire and confusion to escape.

"Luckily we know that the fellow is with the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency," Chen said. "We will catch him one day no matter where he runs to. Lord Zhou, where should the attendants of your honourable manor and their families go for temporary refuge?"

"I think they should all go to Chijinwei, the town to the east of here, after it gets light," Zhou replied.

"I have a small suggestion, Your Lordship," Xu said.

"Brother Xu is nicknamed 'The Kung Fu Mastermind,'" Chen explained to Zhou. "He is the wisest and most resourceful of us all."

Zhou Qi gave Xu a look of contempt and harrumphed.

"Please speak, Brother Xu," Zhou said hurriedly, embarrassed by his daughter's behaviour.

"When Tong gets back, he is certain to embellish his story with a lot of nonsense, accusing Your Lordship of many more crimes," Xu replied. "I think it would be best for your people to go westwards and lie low for a while until we have evaluated the situation. It may not be safe for them to go to Chijinwei now."

Zhou agreed immediately. "Yes, you're right," he said. "I will send them to Anxi first thing tomorrow. I have friends there they can stay with." He turned to his attendant, Song. "You take them all to Anxi," he said. "When you get there, you can stay temporarily at the residence of Great Official Wu. All expenses are to be paid by us. I will contact you when I have completed my business."

"Father, aren't we going to Anxi too?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Of course not. Master Wen was seized in our Manor. How can we stand by and do nothing when he has still to be rescued?"

Zhou Qi and Meng were delighted at the news.

"We are greatly moved by your goodwill, Lord Zhou." Chen said. "But saving Brother Wen is an act of rebellion. You are peaceful citizens. It would be best to leave it up to us."

"You needn't worry about implicating us," Zhou replied, stroking his beard. "And if you do not allow me to risk my life for a friend, then you are not treating me as a friend."

Chen thought for a second then agreed.

"Time is pressing," Zhou added. "Please issue your orders, Master Chen."

The embers of Iron Gall Manor had not yet been extinguished and the smell of burning wood hung heavily in the air. As they listened solemnly to Chen's orders, the flames crackled to life again, fanned by the wind.

The Twin Knights had been sent on ahead to discover Wen's whereabouts, and 'Scholar' Yu was told to link up with them, while the rest of the heroes split up into groups of two and three.

"Fourteenth Brother, please start out immediately," Chen said to Yu. "The others should rest or sleep here on the ground. We will meet up again inside the Great Wall. The Eagles's Claws on the Jiayu Gate will most probably be examining everyone rigorously, so we must be careful."

Yu saluted the heroes with his fists, and mounted his horse. As he rode off, he glanced furtively round at Luo Bing, but she was deep in thought with her head bowed. He sighed, whipped his horse and galloped wildly off.

"Seventh Brother," Chen said quietly to 'Mastermind' Xu. "You go with Luo Bing and Lord Zhou. Take extra care that no officials recognise him. Fourth Sister is wounded and she is greatly feeling the absence of Brother Wen, so you must be careful not to let her do anything rash. There is no need for you to travel fast. Just avoid getting involved in any fighting."

Xu nodded.

They settled down to sleep, but less than four hours later, dawn broke. 'Thousand Arm Buddha' Zhao with Zhang Jin and 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi were the first to leave. Luo Bing, who had not closed her eyes the whole night, called Zhang Jin over.

"Tenth Brother, you are not allowed to cause any trouble on the road," she said.

"Don't worry," he replied. "Rescuing Fourth Brother is the important thing, I know."

Meng and a number of attendants covered the body of Zhou's son with shrouds and buried it beside the Manor while Zhou Qi wept bitterly, and Zhou stood tearfully by. The heroes paid their respects before the grave.

adamlau

** 5 **

Zhou Qi continued to be antagonistic towards Xu as they travelled along. No matter how often Zhou sternly reproved her, or Luo Bing tried to mediate with smiles, or how calmly tolerant Xu was, Zhou Qi jeered at him, not giving him the slightest bit of face. In the end, Xu became angry as well.

"I've only been nice to her to give her father face," he thought. "Does she think I'd really be afraid of her?" He reined in his horse and dropped behind.

On the third day, they passed through the Jiayu Gate, which marks the western end of the Great Wall.

Seeing his daughter being so disobedient, Zhou several times called her over and tried to reason with her. Each time she would agree, but as soon as she saw Xu, she would start arguing with him again. Zhou thought his wife may have been able to discipline their daughter, but she had gone he knew not where.

They arrived in Suzhou, and found rooms in an inn near the east gate of the city. Xu went out for a while, and when he returned he said:

"Fourteenth Brother hasn't met up with the Twin Knights yet."

"How would know?" Zhou Qi demanded. "You're just guessing."

Xu glanced at her in contempt.

"This place was called Wine Spring Prefecture in ancient times," said Zhou, fearing that his daughter would say something else equally impolite. "The wine here is very good. Brother Xu, let's you and I go to the Apricot Blossom Tavern on Great East Street and drink a cup."

"Good idea," said Xu.

"Father, I want to go too," Zhou Qi said. Xu stifled a laugh. "What are you laughing at? Why shouldn't I be able to go?" Zhou Qi asked angrily. Xu turned away and pretended he hadn't heard.

"We'll go together," Luo Bing said with a smile.

Being a chivalrous man, Zhou did not object.

The four arrived at the Apricot Blossom Tavern and ordered wine and food. The spring water of Suzhou was clear and cold, and the wine that was made from it was fragrant and rich, and was considered to be the best in all the northwestern provinces. The waiter brought a plate of Suzhou's famous roasted cakes, as fragile as spring cotton and as white as autumn silk. Zhou Qi couldn't stop eating them. The tavern was crowded and it was inconvenient to discuss Wen's coming rescue, so instead, the four talked about the scenery they had passed and other things.

"Your honourable society's Master Chen is very young," said Zhou. "What style of kung fu does he use?"

"A style invented by his teacher," Xu replied. "When he was fifteen years old, Master Chen was sent by our former Great Helmsman Master Yu to the Muslim regions to become the pupil of 'The Strange Knight Of The Heavenly Pool', Master Yuan, and he never returned to southern China. Only Priest Wu Chen and some of the other senior members of the society saw him when he was young."

"Master Chen is certainly a remarkable man," said Zhou. "Truly: 'A man's worth cannot be measured by his looks'."

Xu and Luo Bing were very pleased to hear Zhou praising their leader in such glowing terms.

"In these last few years, the fighting community has produced many new heroes," Zhou continued, addressing Xu. "The rear waves of the Yangtse push forward the front waves', as the saying goes. It is rare to find someone who combines the qualities of intelligence and bravery as you do. It is important that such skills are not wasted, but are used to achieve something worthwhile."

"Yes," said Xu, agreeing with Zhou's view that his skills should be used to good purpose, but Zhou Qi grunted and thought: "My father praises you and you agree! Such modesty!"

Zhou drank a mouthful of wine. "I once heard that old Master Yu of your honourable society was a member of the Shaolin School of kung fu, very similar to my style," he remarked. "I had long wanted to meet him and learn from him, but with him in southern China and myself in the northwest, my wish was never fulfilled and he has now passed away. I enquired about the origins of his martial arts skills, but everyone had a different story, and from beginning to end I never heard a reliable report."

"Master Yu never talked about who he studied under, and it was only just before he died that he said he had once learned kung fu in the Shaolin monastery in Fujian province," Xu said.

"What illness did Master Yu die of?" Zhou asked. "He would have been a few years older than me, I think?"

"Master Yu was sixty-five when he passed away," Xu replied. "The cause of his illness is a long story. There's a very mixed bunch of people here and we might as well travel on another few miles this evening. We'll find a deserted place and talk at length there."

"Excellent!" Zhou said. He asked the cashier to make up the bill.

"I'll just go downstairs for a second," Xu said.

"I am the host," Zhou warned. "Don't you snatch the bill away."

"All right," he replied, and went down to the ground floor.

"He's always so furtive!" Zhou Qi said with a pout.

"Girls must not talk such ill-mannered nonsense," Zhou scolded her.

"Brother Xu is always full of strange tricks," Luo Bing told her with a smile. "If you make him angry, you will have to be careful he doesn't play some of them on you."

"Huh!" she said. "He is no taller than I am. Why should I be afraid of him?"

Zhou was about to berate her again, but hearing footsteps on the stairs, he said nothing.

"Let's go," Xu said, walking up.

The four covered ten miles at one go. They noticed a spinney of a dozen or so large

tree to the left of the road screening rocks and boulders behind.

"What about here?" Zhou asked.

"All right," said Xu. They tied their horses to the trees and sat down, leaning on the trunks. The moon was bright and the stars sparse, and the night air was as cool as water. The wind blew through the grass with a low whistling sound.

Xu was about to speak when he heard the muffled sound of horses galloping from far off. He lay down with his ear to the ground and listened for a while, then stood up.

"Three horses coming this way," he said.

Zhou waved his hand and they untied their horses and led them behind the boulders. The sound of hooves came gradually closer, and three horses passed heading east. In the moonlight, they could see only that the riders all wore white turbans and long striped gowns, the clothing of Muslims, while sabres hung from their saddles. They waited until the riders were a long way off, then sat down again. Zhou asked why the Manchu court had arrested Wen.

"The authorities have always considered the Red Flower Society to be a thorn in the eye," Luo Bing replied. "But there is another reason for them dispatching so many martial arts masters to catch our Fourth Brother. Last month, Master Yu went to Beijing, and Fourth Brother and I went with him. Master Yu told us that he intended to break into the Imperial Palace and see the Emperor Qian Long. We were very surprised, and asked what he wanted to see the Emperor about, but he wouldn't say. Fourth Brother warned him that the Emperor was very dangerous and cunning and advised him to enlist our best fighters and to get Brother Xu here to devise an absolutely fool-proof plan."

Zhou Qi studied Xu. "Is this dwarf so talented that others come to him for help?" she thought. "I don't believe it!"

"Master Yu said that he had to see the Emperor on a matter of great importance, and that only a small number of people could go with him or there could be problems. So Fourth Brother agreed. That night, the two of them crossed the wall into the palace while I kept watch outside. I was really frightened. More than two hours passed before they came back over the wall. Very early next day, the three of us left Beijing and returned to the south. I asked Fourth Brother if they had seen the Emperor and what it was all about. He said they had seen him, and that it concerned driving out the Manchus and restoring the throne of China to the chinese people. He said he couldn't tell me more, not because he didn't trust me, but because the more people who knew, the greater the danger of the secret getting out."

"After we returned to the south, Master Yu parted from us," Luo Bing continued. "We returned to the Society's headquarters at Tai Lake, while he went on to Haining. When he returned, his whole appearance had changed. It was as if he had suddenly aged more than ten years. He never smiled, and a few days later he contracted the illness from which he never recovered.

"Just before he passed away, he called together the Lords of Incense and said that it was his last wish that Master Chen should succeed him as Great Helmsman. He said this was the key to the restoration of the throne to the Han people. He said it was not possible to explain the reasons then, but said we would all find out one day."

"What was Master Chen's relationship with Master Yu?" Zhou asked.

"He was the old Master's foster son," Luo Bing said. "Master Chen is the son of the Emperor's former Chief Minister Chen from Haining. When he was fifteen, he passed the provincial civil service examination, and soon after that, the old Master took him to the Muslim regions to learn the martial arts from the Strange Knight Of The Heavenly Pool, Master Yuan. As to why the son of a Chief Minister would honour a member of the fighting community as his foster father, we don't know."

"I imagine one of the reasons Master Wen was seized is that he knows something about all this," Zhou said.

"Perhaps," Luo Bing replied. "At the time of old Master's death, there was one important piece of unfinished business on his mind and he wanted very badly to see Master Chen once more. When he first got back from Beijing, he sent a messenger to the Muslim border areas with instructions for Master Chen to go to Anxi and wait there for orders. The Old Master knew he wouldn't last long enough to see his foster son again, so he urged us all to hasten to Anxi to work out a plan of action together with Master Chen. He entrusted all the secret information to Fourth Brother to pass on personally to the Young Helmsman when they met. Who would have guessed that he..." Her voice choked with sobs. "If anything should happen to Fourth Brother...no-one will ever know what the old Master hoped to achieve."

"You mustn't worry," Zhou Qi consoled her. "We'll soon rescue him."

Luo Bing squeezed her hand and smiled sadly.

"How was Master Wen wounded?" Zhou asked.

"We travelled in pairs to Anxi, and Fourth Brother and I were the last pair. When we were in Suzhou, eight Imperial Bodyguards came to our inn and said they had orders from the Emperor to accompany us back to Beijing. Fourth Brother said that he had to see the Young Helmsman before he could comply, and a fight broke out. It was a hard battle, two against eight. Fourth Brother killed two of them with his sword and three more with his bare hands, while I hit two with my throwing knives. The last one sneaked away. But Fourth Brother was badly wounded.

"We knew we couldn't stay in Suzhou, so with difficulty we made our way through the Jiayu Gate. But Fourth Brother's wounds were serious and it was really impossible for us to go much further, so we stopped at an inn to give him a chance to recover quickly. Little did we guess that the Eagles's Claws would find us again. What happened afterwards, you already know."

"The more the Emperor fears and hates Fourth Brother, the less his life is in danger in the immediate future," Xu said. "The officials and the Eagles's Claws know he's important so they won't dare to harm him."

"That's very shrewd, Brother," Zhou said.

"It would have been better if you'd gone to meet a bit earlier," Zhou Qi suddenly said to Xu. "Then Master Wen wouldn't be in any trouble, and you wouldn't have had to go venting your anger on Iron Gall Manor..."

"You stupid girl!" Zhou shouted. "What are you talking about?"

"Brother Wen's and Sister Luo Bing's kung fu is excellent, so who would have guessed that anyone would dare to attack them?" Xu replied.

"You're the 'Kung Fu Mastermind'," Zhou Qi said. "How could you have failed to guess it?"

"If Seventh Brother had guessed it, we wouldn't have become acquainted with these good friends from the Red Flower Society." Zhou told her. He turned to Luo Bing. " By the way, who is Master Chen's wife? Is she the daughter of some great family perhaps, or a famous martial arts fighter?"

"Master Chen hasn't married yet," Luo Bing replied. "But Lord Zhou, when are we going to be invited to your daughter's wedding reception?"

"This girl is crazy, who would want her?" Zhou answered with a smile. "She might as well stay with me for the rest of her life."

"Wait until we've rescued Fourth Brother, then I'll become her match-maker," Luo Bing said. "You're sure to be very satisfied with my choice."

"If you're going to keep on talking about me, I'm leaving," Zhou Qi said quickly, deeply embarrassed. The other three smiled.

A moment passed, then Xu suddenly stifled a laugh.

"What are you laughing at now?" Zhou Qi asked him angrily.

"Something personal. What business is it of yours?" he countered.

"Huh," she replied. "Do you think I don't know what you're laughing at? You want to marry me to that Master Chen. But he's the son of a chief minister; how could we possibly be matched? You all treat him like some precious treasure, but I don't see anything special about him."

Both angry and amused, Zhou shouting at her to be quiet. "This stupid girl talks without thinking," he said. "All right, everyone sleep now. As soon as it gets light, we'll be starting out again."

They took their blankets off the horses' backs, and lay down beneath the trees.

"Father," Zhou Qi whispered. "Did you bring anything to eat? I'm starving."

No, I didn't," Zhou replied. "But we'll make a move a little earlier tomorrow and stop when we get to Twin Wells."

Not long after, he began snoring lightly. Zhou Qi tossed and turned, unable to sleep due to her hunger. Suddenly, she noticed Xu stealthily get up and walk over to the horses. She saw him take something out of his bag, then return and sit down. He wrapped the blanket around himself, and started eating noisily and with relish. She turned over away from him and shut her eyes, but finally, she could bear it no longer, and glanced over out of the corner of her eye. It would have been better if she hadn't. She saw a pile next to him of what were obviously the famous Suzhou roasted cakes. But having spent the whole time arguing with him, how could she now beg him for food?

"Go to sleep and stop thinking about eating," she told herself. But the more she tried to sleep, the less she was able to. Then the fragrant smell of wine hit her nostrils as Xu took a swig from a drinking gourd and she could suppress her anger no longer.

"What are you doing drinking wine at two o'clock in the morning?" she demanded. "If you have to drink, don't do it here!"

"All right," said Xu. He put down the gourd without re-corking it and settled down to sleep, letting the fragrance of the wine drift over towards her.

She angrily buried her face in the blanket, but after a while, it became too stuffy. She turned over again, and in the moonlight, she saw her father's two Iron Gallstones glistening beside his pillow. She quietly stretched her hand over, picked one of them up and threw it at the wine gourd. It shattered and the wine spilled out over Xu's blanket.

He appeared to be asleep, and paid no heed to what had happened. Zhou Qi saw her father and Luo Bing were sleeping peacefully and crept over to retrieve the Iron Gallstone. But just as she was about to pick it up, Xu suddenly turned over, trapping it beneath his body, and then proceed to snore noisily.

She jumped in fright and pulled back her hand, not daring to try again. Despite her bold character, she was still a young lady, and could not possibly put her hand beneath a man's body. There was nothing she could do, so she went back and settled down to sleep. Just then, she heard a laugh escape from Luo Bing. Completely flustered, she didn't sleep well all night.

adamlau

** 6 **

Next day, she woke early, and curled up into a ball hoping that the dawn would never come. But before long, Zhou and Luo Bing got up. A moment later, Xu awoke, and she heard him exclaim in surprise.

"What's this?" he said.

Zhou Qi pulled the blanket over her head.

"Ah, Lord Zhou!" she heard him say. "Your Iron Gallstone has rolled all the way over here! Oh, no! The wine gourd has been smashed! That's it, a monkey in the hills must have smelt the wine and come down to have a drink. Then it saw your Iron Gallstone and took it to play with. One careless slip and the gourd was smashed to pieces. What a naughty monkey!"

Zhou laughed heartily. "You love to jest, Brother," he said. "There are no monkeys in this area."

"Well then, maybe it was a fairy from heaven," Luo Bing suggested with a smile.

With Xu having called her a monkey, Zhou Qi was even more furious than before. Xu pulled out the roasted cakes for everyone to eat, but out of spite, she refused to eat even one.

They got to the town of Twin Wells, and had a quick meal of noodles. Then, as they were leaving, Xu and Luo Bing suddenly stopped and began closely examining some confused charcoal markings at the foot of a wall that looked to Zhou Qi like the scribblings of an urchin.

"The Twin Knights have found out where Fourth Brother is and are following him," Luo Bing announced joyfully.

"How do you know? What are these signs?" Zhou Qi asked.

"They are a code used by our Society," she said, rubbing the marks off the wall with her foot. "Let's go!"

Knowing that Wen had been found, Luo Bing's face was suddenly wreathed in smiles. Their spirits rose and they covered nearly fifteen miles at one go. At noon the next day in the town of Qidaogou, they came across markings left by 'Scholar' Yu saying he had caught up with the Twin Knights. The wound on Luo Bing's thigh was now just about healed, and she no longer had to use a walking stick. Thinking about her husband, she found it increasingly hard to control her impatience.

Towards evening, they arrived at the town of Willow Springs. Luo Bing wanted to keep going, but Xu remembered Chen's orders. "Even if we weren't tired, the horses just can't do it!" he pointed out.

Luo Bing reluctantly agreed, and they found rooms in an inn for the night, but she tossed and turned unable to sleep. In the middle of the night, she heard a pitter-patter sound outside the windows as it started to rain and suddenly remembered how she and Wen had received an order from the old Master soon after their marriage to go to Jiaxing to save a widow who was being persecuted by a local ruffian. They completed the assignment, and spent the evening at the Misty Rain Tavern on the South Lake, drinking wine and enjoying the rain. Wen held his new wife's hand and sung songs at the top of his voice as he tapped out the rhythm with his sword on the severed head of the ruffian. Her memories of the scene flooded back as she listened to the rain on the window.

"Brother Xu does not want to travel fast because of Lord Zhou and his daughter," she thought. "Perhaps I should go on ahead first?"

Once the idea had occurred to her, it was impossible to ignore and she immediately got up, picked up her swords and left a message to Xu in charcoal on the table. Zhou Qi was sleeping in the same room and, afraid that opening the door would awaken her, she quietly opened the window and jumped out. She went to the stables and found her horse, then threw on an oil-skin raincoat and galloped off eastwards. She hardly noticed the raindrops as they struck her hot cheeks.

At dawn, she stopped briefly in a town. Her mount was exhausted, and she had no alternative but to rest for an hour. Then she raced on another ten or fifteen miles. Suddenly the horse stumbled on one of its front hooves. She frantically pulled in the reins, and luckily the animal did not fall. But she knew that if she kept up such a pace, it would die from exhaustion, and so she was forced to proceed much more slowly.

She hadn't gone far when she heard the sound of a horse behind her. She turned and saw a white horse which caught up with her almost as soon as she heard it, and flew past. It was so swift, she had no opportunity to even see what it's rider looked like.

Soon after, she arrived in a small village and saw the snow-white horse standing under the eaves of a house as a man brushed its coat, its hoar-frost coloured mane stirring in the wind. It was tall, with long legs and an extraordinary spirit and as Luo Bing approached, it neighed loudly, causing her mount to retreat a few steps in fright.

"If I rode this fine horse," she thought, "I would catch up with Fourth Brother in no time at all. Its master will certainly be unwilling to sell it, so I'll just have to take it."

She slapped her mount and charged forward. A throwing knife flew out of her hand, and severed the white horse's reins, then holding her bag with her left hand, she leapt from her own horse onto the back of the white horse. The magnificent animal started in fright and neighed loudly again, then, like an arrow loosed from a bow, galloped off down the road.

The horse's owner was taken completely by surprise, but after a second's hesitation, he raced after her. Luo Bing had already gone some distance, but seeing him giving chase, she reined in the horse, took a gold ingot out of her bag and threw it at him.

"We've exchanged horses," she shouted. "But yours is better than mine, so I'll compensate you with this gold!" She gave a captivating smile, and with a slight press from her thighs, the white horse shot forward. The wind whistled by her ears and the trees on either side fell behind her row by row. She rode for over an hour, and the horse still showed no signs of fatigue, his hooves prancing high as he galloped along. Soon, fertile fields began to appear along the side of the road, and she arrived in a large town. She dismounted and went to a restaurant to rest for a while, and in reply to her question, she was told the town was called Sandy Wells, and was more than twenty miles from the place where she had stolen the horse.

The more she looked at the animal, the more she liked it. She fed him hay herself and stroked its coat affectionately. As she did so, she saw a cloth bag hanging from the saddle. Opening it up, she found an Iron Pipa inside.

"So the horse belongs to someone from the Iron Pipa School of Luoyang," she thought. "This could cause some trouble."

She put her hand into the bag again and pulled out twenty or thirty taels of silver coins and a letter inscribed with the words: "To be opened only by Master Han Wenchong. Sealed by Master Wang." The envelope was open, and as she unfolded the letter, she saw it was signed: "Yours sincerely, Weiyang".

She started slightly in surprise. "So the fellow is connected with Wang Weiyang of the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency," she thought. "We still have to get even with them, so stealing this horse could be considered part payment. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have given him a gold ingot."

She looked again at the letter and saw it urged Han to meet up as soon as possible with the Zhen Yuan agency's Yan brothers and assist them in protecting an important item being brought back to Beijing. Then Han was to help escort something to south China. It added that Han should suspend his investigation into whether or not 'Guandong Devil' Jiao Wenqi had been killed by the Red Flower Society, and resume it at some future time.

"Jiao Wenqi was also a member of the Iron Pipa School in Luoyang," Luo Bing thought. "It's rumoured that he was killed by the Red Flower Society, but in fact it was not so. I wonder what the important item is that the Zhen Yuan Agency is escorting? After Fourth Brother is rescued, we can go and collect it together."

Very happy at this thought, she finished her noodles, mounted up and sped off again. The rain continued to fall, sometimes light, sometimes heavy. The horse galloped like the wind, and she lost count of how many horses and carts they overtook.

"This horse is going so fast, if the others ahead are resting for a while, I might miss them altogether by just blinking," she thought.

Just then, someone slipped out from the side of the road and waved. The horse stopped instantly in mid-gallop and backed up several paces. The man bowed before her.

"Mistresss Wen," he said. "The Young Master is here." It was Great Helmsman Chen's attendant, Xin Yan.

Xin Yan walked over and took the horse's reins. "Where did you buy such a good horse?" he asked in admiration. "I nearly missed you."

Luo Bing smiled. "Is there any news about Fourth Brother?" she asked.

"The Twin Knights say they have seen him. Everyone's in there." He pointed to a small, decrepit temple by the side of the road.

"Look after the horse for me," she said. Inside, seated in the temple's main hall were Chen, the Twin Knights and the other heroes. Seeing her entering, they all stood and warmly welcomed her. Luo Bing bowed before Chen and explained that she had been too impatient to wait for the others, and hoped that he would forgive her.

"Your concern for Fourth Brother is understandable," Chen said. "As to your failure to follow orders, we will discuss a penalty when we have rescued him. Twelfth Brother, please make a note of it." 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi nodded.

Luo Bing smiled like a flower and turned to the Twin Knights. "Have you seen Fourth Brother? How is he? Is he suffering?"

"We caught up with him and his escort last night at Twin Wells," one of them replied. "But the Turtles were many and we didn't take any action for fear of alerting them. I went to a window to have a look and saw Fourth Brother lying on a kang resting. He didn't see me."

"The Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency Turtles and the Eagle's Claws are all in it together," said the other. "By my count, they have ten first-class martial arts masters among them."

The Twin Knights were from Sichuan, and often used the slang of their home province when they cursed people, calling them 'Turtles'.

As they were speaking, 'Scholar' Yu came into the temple. He flinched on seeing Luo Bing, then made a report to Chen.

"The Muslims have set up tents beside the stream ahead of us," he said. "The guards are carrying swords and spears and look very formidable. I couldn't get close during daylight, but we could go and investigate again when it gets dark."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a column of men and animals pass by outside the temple. Xin Yan dashed in and reported: "A large train of mules, horses and carts has just passed escorted by twenty government soldiers with a military official in command." As soon as he had finished, he left to resume his guard.

Chen discussed the situation with the others. "There are very few people in the area to the east of here, which is perfect for our operation. But we don't know what the Muslims and this column of government troops are doing. When we make our move to rescue Fourth Brother, they may try to interfere."

"We have all heard much about the famous 'Fire Hand Judge', Zhang Zhaozhong," said Priest Wu Chen. "He was in command of this operation to capture Fourth Brother, so let me fight him."

" All right," Chen said. "We cannot let him escape."

"It's lucky that Master Lu isn't here yet," said 'Buddha' Zhao. "It would perhaps be difficult for us to kill Zhang before his very eyes. After all, he is his martial brother."

"Well then, we should act quickly," one of the Twin Knights added. "I estimate we should catch up with them by early tomorrow morning."

"Right," said Chen. "Please tell us in detail what you know so that we will know what to expect tomorrow."

"At night, Fourth Brother sleeps in the same house as the Eagle's Claws, and during the day, rides in a carriage with his hands and feet manacled," one replied. "The carriage curtains are kept tightly closed, and two Turtles ride on either side."

"What does this man Zhang look like?" Priest Wu Chen asked.

"He's about forty years old, tall and robust with a thick short beard. Damn his ancestors, he looks very good."

They were all eager for the fight, but there was nothing they could do but wait. They ate some dry rations and then asked the Great Helmsman to give his orders.

"That group of Muslims is unlikely to be in collusion with the Eagle's Claws," he said. "Once we have rescued Fourth Brother there is no need for us to take any more notice of them. Brother Yu, you and Thirteenth Brother will be in charge of obstructing that military official and his twenty troops. Bloodshed isn't necessary, just don't allow them to interfere." Yu and 'Crocodile' Jiang nodded.

"Ninth Brother, Twelth Brother," Chen continued, turning to 'Leopard' Wei and 'Melancholy Ghost' Shi. "You two overtake the Eagle's Claws, and set up guard at the mouth of the gorge as early as possible tomorrow. The Eagle's Claws must not be allowed to escape." Wei and Shi left the temple and rode off.

"Priest Wu Chen and the Twin Knights: the three of you deal with the Imperial Bodyguards; Third Brother, Eighth Brother, you two deal with the Bodyguard Agency fellows. Fourth Sister and Xin Yan will make straight for the carriage. I will coordinate and give assistance to whichever group encounters problems. Brother Zhang Jin, you stay here and keep guard. If any government troops come by heading east, you must think of some way to stop them."

The forces having been divided up, the heroes left the temple, mounted up and waved farewell to Zhang Jin.

When they saw Luo Bing's white horse, they all tutted in approval. "I should have presented it to the Great Helmsman," she thought." But Fourth Brother has suffered so much, I'll give it to him after he's been rescued."

"Where are the Muslims camped?" Chen asked Yu. "We can circle round and have a look."

Yu led the way, but as they approached the wide space where the Muslims had been, they could see that the tents and people were gone, leaving only piles of mule and horse droppings.

"Let's go!" Chen said. They spurred their horses forward and galloped off along the road. Luo Bing's horse was so fast that she had to stop occasionally to let the others catch up with her. As dawn broke, they came to the banks of a small stream.

"Brothers," Chen said. "We will stop here and let the horses drink some water and recover their strength. We should be able to catch up with Fourth Brother in another two hours."

Luo Bing's blood surged and her cheeks reddened. Yu saw her expression and he walked slowly over to her.

"Sister Luo Bing," he said quietly.

"Mm?"

"I am willing to give up my life to rescue Fourth Brother for you," he said.

She smiled slightly. "That's being a good brother," she sighed.

Yu quickly turned away.

"Fourth Sister," said Chen, "Lend your horse to Xin Yan and let him go on ahead to investigate."

Xin Yan mounted the white horse and flew off.

The others waited until their horses had drunk their fill, then mounted up and raced away. Not long after, with the sky already light, they saw Xin Yan riding back towards them.

"The Eagle's Claws are just ahead," he shouted.

Their spirits rose a hundred-fold and they charged forward with renewed vigour. Xin Yan and Luo Bing exchanged horses.

"Did you see Fourth Brother's carriage?" she asked.

Xin Yan nodded excitedly. "Yes! I rode close to the side of the carriage hoping to get a look inside but the Eagle's Claws raised their swords to scare me off."

The group galloped on, the horses' hooves sounding like thunder. A large line of men and horses came into sight ahead, and they saw it was the column escorted by government soldiers.

"Fourth Brother's carriage is another two miles further on," Xin Yan said to Chen. They spurred on their horses and overtook the column. Once passed, 'Crocodile' Jiang and Yu turned their mounts around to block the road.

Yu saluted the government troops as they caught up. "Good sirs, you are working too hard," he said politely. "The scenery here is excellent, and the weather is exceptionally clear. Why don't we all sit down and have a chat?"

"Out of the way!" shouted one of the Manchu soldiers at the front. "This is the family of Commander-in-chief Li."

"His family? Well, that's even more reason for having a rest. There's a pair called Black Death and White Death in front of us, and we wouldn't want to frighten the ladies."

Another of the soldiers flourished his horse whip and cracked it in Yu's direction. "You destitute scholar! Stop your nonsense," he shouted.

Yu laughed and dodged out of the way. The commanding officer of the escort rode forward and loudly asked what was going on.

Yu brought his hands together in salute. "What is your respected surname?" he enquired.

The officer could see that Yu and Jiang were not reputable men and hesitated to answer.

Yu took out his golden flute. "I have a rudimentary knowledge of music," he said. "I often lament how rarely I come across people with discerning musical tastes. You, sir, have a dignified appearance. Please dismount and rest while I play you a tune to alleviate the loneliness of the journey, what do you say?"

The officer was Deng Tunan, escorting Commander Li Keshou's family to Hangzhou. He started in surprise when he saw the golden flute, and remembered what he had heard of the fight in the inn that day between the Yamen officers and a scholar with a golden flute. "Let each go his own road," he shouted. "Please make way!"

"I know ten songs," said Yu. "Some are impassioned and rousing, some are sweet and captivating, but all are melodic. I haven't played them for a long time, but this chance meeting with such an esteemed gentleman as yourself has made me eager to show off my talents."

He lifted the golden flute to his mouth and a series of beautiful notes rose clear and sharp into the sky.

Officer Deng could see that the affair could not be concluded amicably. He raised his spear and threw it straight at Yu who continued to play until the tip was almost upon him. Then his left hand shot out and grabbed the spear then struck it with the golden flute, snapping it in two.

Deng was startled. Reining in his horse, he backed up several paces, snatched a sword from one of the soldiers and charged forward again. He fought Yu through seven or eight moves, then Yu found an opening: the golden flute struck Deng's right arm, and the sword flew out of his hand.

"You really ought to listen to these ten songs of mine," Yu said. He put the flute to his lips, and started to play once more.

Deng waved his hand at his soldiers. "Seize this fellow!" He roared. The soldiers swept forward, shouting and yelling as they came.

'Crocodile' Jiang leapt off his horse brandishing his iron oar, and with a 'Stirring The Grass To Find The Snake' move, tapped the first soldier lightly on the legs, toppling him onto the oar, then swung the oar upwards, and deposited him into the crowd of his comrades. He scooped and dumped one Manchu soldier after another as if shovelling earth, and the soldiers behind yelled out in fear and retreated.

Just then, the curtain on a large carriage the soldiers were escorting suddenly parted, and a girl dressed in red and holding a glistening sword lunged at him. Jiang's oar struck powerfully at the blade, and the girl, seeing the strength behind it, leapt back. Jiang was a Cantonese with a thick accent, and he had found that few people outside his native province understood what he said. As a result, he had never been a great talker. He flourished his oar and began to fight with her without saying a word. He was surprised to discover that her swordsmanship was excellent.

Yu looked on from the side. He had forgotten all about playing the flute and was engrossed in watching the young girl who was using the traditional Soft Cloud Sword style of his own school.

He leapt forward and stuck his golden flute in between their weapons, separating them. "Stop!" he shouted.

The girl and Jiang both retreated a step. By this time, Officer Deng had found another spear and was spurring his horse forward, but the girl ordered him to stay back.

"What is your esteemed name, mistress, and who is your honourable teacher?" Yu asked.

"I don't feel like telling you," the girl replied with a smile. "But I do know that you are 'Scholar' Yu, and that you are a member of the Red Flower Society."

Yu and Jiang looked at each other in surprise. Officer Deng was even more astonished at the sight of his commander-in-chief's daughter joking with these notorious bandits.

The three startled men were looking at the laughing girl not knowing what to say, when they heard horses approaching. The Manchu soldiers parted and six horses raced up from the west. The front rider was Lu Feiqing. Yu and the girl, who was of course Li Yuanzhi, both greeted him, one calling him Uncle and the other Teacher.

Behind Lu came Zhou, the two groups having met on the road.

"Yuanzhi, what are you doing here with Brother Yu and Brother Jiang?" Lu asked.

"Brother Yu insisted on us listening to him play the flute," she replied with a smile. "We didn't feel like listening but he wouldn't let us leave."

"There is a dangerous situation ahead," Lu said to Yuanzhi. "It would be best if you all stay here so as not to frighten Madame. When this business is finished, I will come and find you."

Yuanzhi pouted angrily at being forbidden from going to watch the fun, but Lu took no further notice of her, saluted the others and rode on eastwards.