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The Book and The Sword

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The Book and The Sword 

Copyright Graham Earnshaw 1995

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?"

** 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."

"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.

** 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. 

** 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.

** 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.

** 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. 

** 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."
  
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