Chen smiled. "All right. It's all the same to me." The
giant ripped off his upper clothing, exposing ranks of
huge, rippling muscles. Huo Qingtong glanced furtively
at her sister and saw her gazing
intently at Chen, her
eyes full of
adoration and love. Huo Qingtong sighed
and looked over at Chen, and as their eyes met, he
smiled warmly. She blushed and looked away.
"We will draw lots to decide who strikes first," said
the envoy.
"You are the guests. You may go first," replied Chen.
He took two steps towards the giant and thrust out his
chest, "Hit me!" he said.
"Please come over here," the envoy said to Huo
Qingtong. "We two will act as judges. Whoever moves
his feet, uses his arms to deflect a blow, bends or
dodges away will be considered the loser."
Huo Qingtong walked over and stood with the envoy as
Chen and the giant faced each other, less than an
arm's length apart. The huge crowd stood silently
about them, watching
intently.
"The Manchurian gentleman strikes the first blow," the
envoy called out. "The Muslim gentleman will strike
the second blow. If both are still all right, then the
Manchurian gentleman will strike again followed by the
Muslim gentleman. Right! The Manchurian shall strike!"
The silence was broken by the sound of First Tiger
breathing deeply. Joints all over his body cracked
loudly as he concentrated his strength. Suddenly, the
right side of his chest bulged outwards and his right
arm swelled to almost twice its normal size. Chen
leaned slightly forward. "Punch me," he said.
Several Muslim men moved behind Chen to catch him.
Muzhuolun and Huo Qingtong silently prayed to Allah,
but Princess Fragrance was unworried. If Chen said he
was unafraid, there was certainly nothing to be afraid
of.
The giant crouched slightly, then with a
mighty roar
slammed his right fist at Chen's chest. But at its
maximum
extension, the fist only lightly grazed the
lapel of Chen's gown. Dumbfounded, the giant stared at
Chen, neglecting even to withdraw his fist.
"Is that it?" Chen asked. The giant blushed deep red
and hastily retracted his arm.
To the crowd, it looked as if the blow had struck
home, and they were puzzled that Chen seemed
unaffected. Muzhuolun and Huo Qingtong, however, knew
that he had made use of Inner Strength Kung Fu to draw
in his chest. Huo Qingtong smiled
brilliantly and
breathed a sigh of relief. The envoy, also a kung fu
expert, scowled in annoyance.
Chen smiled. "Now it's my turn," he said.
"Go ahead!" First Tiger roared. He thrust out his
hairy chest and Chen's fist shot out and punched it
lightly. The giant felt no pain, but was aware of a
great force pushing him
backwards and put all his
weight into countering it by leaning forward.
Suddenly, Chen
withdrew his fist, and with no time to
stabilise himself, the giant toppled forward and
crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust. All this
took place in the blink of an eye. There was a stunned
silence for a second, then the crowd erupted in
applause and laughter. The envoy rushed over to help
First Tiger who was wailing as blood poured from his
mouth: two of his front teeth had snapped off.
Seeing their brother injured, the other three giants
charged at Chen with a single howl of rage. Chen
skipped around behind Third Tiger and shoved him at
Second Tiger. Fourth Tiger lunged at Chen with his
arms out-stretched, but Chen ducked down and ticked
his armpit as he passed. Fourth Tiger was very
ticklish, and he immediately rolled into a ball,
laughing hysterically.
Chen danced
amongst the four, making them look foolish
without even hitting them. The envoy could see that
Chen was a
martial arts master and tried
vainly to
stop the fight. But once roused, the four Tigers were
impossible to stop. They closed in on Chen again,
First Tiger from in front while the other three closed
off his line of retreat behind. Chen waited until
First Tiger was within arm's length then toppled him
over
backwards with a push, grabbed his leg and hurled
him away so that he landed head-first in the hole
where the tree he had up-rooted had stood.
Fourth Tiger roared and kicked out with his right leg,
but Chen grabbed his trousers and shirt, lifted him up
and with a solid kick sent him flying through the air.
The giant landed with a thump on the
corpse of the
camel he had himself killed.
While Fourth Tiger was still in the air, Second and
Third Tiger charged at Chen from opposite directions.
Chen waited until they were almost upon him before
leaping out of the way, and the two giants smashed
into each other and toppled like a great pagoda to the
ground. Before they could
clamber to their feet, Chen
tied their two queues together, then with a laugh, he
walked back to Princess Fragrance's side. The Princess
clapped her hands in delight as the other Muslims
cheered and shouted.
The Four Tigers picked themselves up and the envoy
rushed over and struggled to undo the knot in Second
and Third Tigers' hair. The four giants looked across
at Chen, not in hate but in respect. First Tiger
raised a thumb in Chen's direction.
"You're good," he said. "I
concede defeat." He bowed,
and the other three giants followed suit. Chen
hurriedly returned the
compliment. Seeing their simple
nature, he began to rather regret the way he had
played with them.
Fourth Tiger suddenly ran over and brought back the
camel's
corpse while Third Tiger led their horses over
to Muzhuolun.
"It was wrong of us to kill your camel," he said. "We
give these four horses to you in compensation."
Muzhuolun declined the offer with thanks.
The envoy was extremely embarrassed by this turn of
events. "Let's go!" he shouted to the Four Tigers and
leapt onto his horse. He turned to Princess Fragrance.
"Do you really dare to go?" he asked.
"What is there to be scared of?" she replied. She
walked over to Muzhuolun. "Father, write out a reply
and I will deliver it for you." Muzhuolun hesitated.
If she didn't go, the whole tribe would lose face, but
if he let her go, he would worry endlessly. He
motioned Chen over, and led him by the hand into the
tent with Huo Qingtong and her sister following
behind. Once inside, Muzhuolun immediately hugged him.
"Great Helmsman," he said. "What fortuitous wind is it
that has blown you here?"
"I was on my way to the Tianshan Mountains on personal
business and heard some important news which I wanted
to pass on to you. By
coincidence, I met your
daughter, who brought me here." Princess Fragrance was
dumb-struck at
hearing her father call Chen 'Great
Helmsman', and
seeing the shocked expression on her
face, Chen said: "There is something I must apologise
for. I did not tell you that I am Chinese."
"Great Helmsman Chen is a good friend of our tribe,"
Muzhuolun added. "He recovered our sacred Koran for
us. He has saved your sister's life and recently
intercepted the Manchu army's rations which slowed
their advance and gave us time to collect our forces.
The favours he has rendered us are truly uncountable."
Chen
modestly declined the
compliments.
"I don't blame you at all," the Princess said with a
smile. "I'm sure you didn't tell me who you were
because you did not want to bring up all the things
you have done for us."
"That Manchu envoy was unforgivably arrogant," said
Muzhuolun. "It was fortunate that you intervened,
Great Helmsman. You certainly deflated his pride. He
chose my daughter to be our envoy. What do you think
we should do?"
Chen was
reluctant to
meddle in the affairs of the
tribe. "I come from the interior of China and know
nothing of the situation here, sir," he said. "If you
decide that she should go, then I will do my utmost to
protect her. If you feel it would be better for her
not to go, then we will think of some other way to
deal with him."
"Father, you and my sister worry
everyday about the
affairs of the tribe," Princess Fragrance interrupted.
"Making one trip as an envoy is no big affair. And if
I don't go, the Manchus will laugh at us."
"I am just afraid that they will want to harm you,
sister," said Huo Qingtong.
"Every time you go out on the battle field you risk
your life, so it is only right that I should risk my
life this once," the Princess replied. She looked at
Chen. "He is so capable, if he goes with me I won't be
the slightest bit afraid, not at all."
Huo Qingtong could see how deep her sister's feelings
were for Chen, and an inexpressible emotion swept
through her heart.
"Father," she said. "Let her go."
"All right then, Master Chen, I
entrust my young
daughter to you." Chen blushed and Princess
Fragrance's eyes, as bright as autumn rain, gazed up
at him. Huo Qingtong looked away.
Muzhuolun wrote out a reply which said simply: "We
will fight. Allah will protect us." Chen nodded his
head in
approval. Muzhuolun handed the note to
Princess Fragrance, then kissed her cheeks.
"Allah will protect you, sister," said Huo Qingtong.
"I hope you come back soon." The Princess hugged and
thanked her. A feast was organised to entertain the
Manchu envoy, after which there was music and dancing
to see off the guests, then the envoy raised his hand
and galloped off with Princess Fragrance and the
others following behind. Huo Qingtong watched the
seven figures disappear into the darkness and felt a
great emptiness in her chest as if her heart had
disappeared with them into the
infinite desert.
"Your sister is very brave," Muzhuolun said. She
nodded, then suddenly covered her face and ran inside
the tent.
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