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. |
