Master Yuan pointed at Zhang accusingly. "When we met

several days ago, I called you a master of the Wudang

School. I did not know then that you were capable of

even killing your own martial brother. Why not end it

cleanly and quickly yourself?"

Zhang calculated that at least five of his opponents

were his equal at kung fu or better and that he would

gain nothing from a head-on confrontation.

With one swift, smooth movement, he drew his sword,

and flung a large handful of Golden Needles at the

heroes. As they ducked, he grabbed Hahetai and

squeezed a key Yuedao point on his right wrist. "Run!"

he shouted.

Hahetai was no longer master of his own movements. He

ran with Zhang back along the path towards the Secret

City, with Tang and Gu following along behind. By the

time the heroes had picked themselves up, the four had

disappeared around the bend. Master Yuan and Afanti

were furious, and shot after them at high speed.

Master Yuan was particularly fast, and in a moment he

had caught up with Tang. He grasped him by the neck

and lifted his fat body up off the ground. Unable to

see his attacker, Tang kicked out backwards with his

foot, but a huge force propelled him through the air,

smashing his head into the rock face, killing him

instantly.

Master Yuan ran on and, rounding the next corner,

found himself confronted by three paths leading off

the main track.

Xu looked carefully at the ground. "Someone trod in

this pile of wolf droppings," he said, pointing. "They

must have followed the trail of droppings back."

"Very good. Let's go," Master Yuan replied. They

followed the droppings all the way to the base of the

White Jade Peak without seeing any sign of Zhang and

the other two. But they noticed the cave mouth above

them, and Master Yuan and some of the others jumped up

the cliff while the rest were hauled one by one by Lu

and Wen.

Master Yuan pushed open the massive stone door, and

ran on ahead of the others down the tunnel. When they

entered the Great Hall, their weapons were snatched

away by the magnetic force, giving them all a bad

shock. But they had urgent business, and picked up

their swords and others weapons without bothering to

work out what had happened and ran on to the Jade

Room, where they saw the tunnel mouth beside the bed.

The further they went into the bowels of the mountain,

the more astounded they became. Suddenly, they emerged

once more into bright daylight, and saw six people

standing around the Jade Pool, three on one side and

three on the other. On the far side were Chen, Huo

Qingtong and Princess Fragrance, while on the near

side were Zhang, Gu and Hahetai.

"Master, master!" Xin Yan called excitedly. "We're

here!"

"Child! Are you all right?" Madame Guan shouted to Huo

Qingtong.

"Fine!" she called back. She pointed at Gu and added:

"Please kill that villain quickly." Bald Vulture drew

his sword and sprung at him, while Madame Guan began

to fight with Hahetai. The other heroes quietly

surrounded Zhang.

Gu and Hehetai fought for their lives, but could not

hope to win against the "Three-Part" sword style of

the Twin Eagles. In the midst of the clash of swords,

Bald Vulture gave a roar and blood appeared on Gu's

chest. He followed with a swift kick, and Gu fell

backwards into the pool, sending fountains of water

spraying out in all directions. A trail of blood rose

to the surface.

A moment later, there was another splash as Gu

surfaced, and began swimming slowly towards the bank.

Hahetai threw down his sword and helped him out of the

water. Gu was badly wounded and had taken in a large

quantity of water, and after laying him down on the

bank, Hahetai massaged his chest.

Zhang watched helplessly as Gu and Hahetai were

overcome. Then 'Scholar' Yu lunged at him. Zhang swept

his left hand across, and as Yu dodged to avoid the

blow, Zhang grabbed him with his right hand and threw

him at a nearby stone wall with a roar. Horrified,

Yuanzhi jumped forward to grab Yu, but Zhang's

strength was too great and the two slammed into the

wall. A sharp 'crack' sounded as Yuanzhi's left arm

snapped.

The heroes's anger flared once more. Master Yuan went

over to Yuanzhi and placed a medicine pill in her

mouth to ease her intense pain while the others

surrounded Zhang.

"The 'Fire Hand Judge' will die as a hero!" he shouted

defiantly. "Well, are you coming altogether or one at

a time?"

"I'll fight you first!" Bald Vulture shouted back.

"This traitor has wronged me too deeply," Wen

interrupted him. "Let me go first."

"He killed my teacher," Yu shouted. "I may not be as

good a fighter as him, but I want to be first. Brother

Wen, you can take over when I can't take any more."

"Let us draw lots," Chen suggested.

"Master Chen," Zhang broke in on them. "We agreed in

Hangzhou to meet at a later date for a duel. Does that

still hold?"

"Yes," Chen replied. "As I remember, we postponed the

meeting because your hand was injured. Now is an

excellent time to settle the affair."

"Then you and I will compete first and the others will

wait their turns, agreed?" Zhang had fought with Chen

on several occasions and knew he could beat him. He

reckoned that if he could capture him, he might be

able to find some way to escape. And if he could not

capture him, he would at least have the satisfaction

of killing the Red Flower Society's leader.

"If you think you are going to escape with your life

today, you are deluding yourself," said Chen. "We

spared your life in that dungeon in Hangzhou, and on

Lion Peak. Only a few days ago, I saved you once again

from the wolves. But the Red Flower Society has run

out of benevolence towards you."

"Well, come on then," Zhang replied impatiently. Chen

leapt at him, his two fists aimed straight at Zhang's

face. Zhang ducked and then jumped up out of the way,

and Chen followed with a sweeping kick, timing it to

strike Zhang as he fell back to earth. Surprised,

Zhang had to thrust his sword at Chen's chest to

extricate himself. Chen moved back and as fast as

lightning, Zhang struck out again.

Lu Feiqing was shocked by Zhang's speed, even faster

than their teacher in his prime. He drew his sword and

watched the battle carefully, ready to help Chen if

necessary.

To one side, Yu and Luo Bing were looking after

Yuanzhi who had fainted from the shock and pain of her

broken arm. Yuanzhi opened her eyes and pointed to the

east with a gasp of surprise. Yu looked round but

could see nothing but the afternoon sun shimmering on

the hills about them.

"What's that?" Yuanzhi asked. "Are we back in

Hangzhou?"

"It's just the sun," Yu said softly. "Close your eyes

and rest."

"No, that's the Thunder Peak Pagoda in Hangzhou," she

replied. "I've been there with my father. Where is my

father? I want to see him."

Yu lightly patted the back of her hand. "We'll go

there together after this, and I'll see your father

with you."

A smile appeared on her face. "Who are you?" she

asked. Yu saw her staring at him, her face completely

devoid of colour and fear struck him.

"I'm your martial brother Yu. I promise I will look

after you from now on."

"But in your heart, you don't like me, I know," she

cried, tears beginning to course down her cheeks.

"Take me back to see my father. I want to die."

On a sudden impulse, Yu embraced her. "I truly love

you," he whispered. "You won't die." She sighed. "Tell

me you won't die," he repeated. Another wave of pain

from her arm struck her and she fainted away.

Meanwhile, Zhang and Chen continued to fight round and

round. At first, Chen was able to contain his enemy

with the 'Hundred Flowers' kung fu style. But as Zhang

gradually came to grips with it, he became more daring

and forced Chen onto the defensive. He swept his sword

across at Chen forcing Chen to jump away, and with a

quick double movement of his sword, struck out at

'Leopard' Wei and Zhang Jin, wounding them both. Wen

roared with anger and was about to leap forward when

Chen slipped past him and struck out at Zhang's face

with his open hands. There appeared to be no force

behind the blow, but they struck Zhang's ears with two

sharp claps. Surprised and angry, Zhang retreated.

The heroes were perplexed by the effortless way in

which Chen had managed to box Zhang's ears.

"Fourteenth Brother," Chen said to Yu. "Play me a tune

on your flute."

"What do you want me to play?" he asked, putting the

flute to his lips.

Chen hesitated for a moment. "The tune 'Ambush From

All Sides'," he replied.

Yu did not understand what he was getting at, but

having received an order from the Great Helmsman, he

complied immediately and began to play with all the

skill he could muster. The tune was a martial piece

written originally for the bamboo flute. Played on the

golden flute, it sounded even more stentorian, raising

the image of armoured troops on the march.

Chen set himself in a pose facing Zhang. "Come on," he

invited, then turned and kicked out into the thin air

as if dancing. Seeing his back undefended, Zhang

thrust his sword at him, and the heroes gasped in

fright. But Chen suddenly turned again, grabbed

Zhang's queue with his left hand and pulled it over

the edge of the sword, slicing it in two. With his

right hand, he gave Zhang's shoulder a sharp blow.

Zhang had now been struck three times, and although he

had not yet been badly hurt, he was obviously baffled

by Chen's kung fu style and had had to suffer the

shame of having his queue cut off. But he was a master

of self-control and he carefully retreated several

steps, staring fixedly at his enemy.

Chen moved forward slowly, his feet following the

rhythm of the tune Yu was playing.

"Look!" Huo Qingtong said to her sister excitedly.

"It's the kung fu style he learned in the cave."

The two whirled round each other. Zhang kept his sword

strictly on the defensive, striking out only when Chen

got too close.

"Master Yuan, I have never had so much respect for you

as I do today," Bald Vulture said. "Your pupil is

doing you proud."

Master Yuan was greatly perplexed: he was probably the

best martial arts fighter in the land and yet he had

never seen anything remotely like the kung fu style

Chen was using. "I didn't teach him this," he replied.

"I wouldn't know how to."

Yu played his flute even more furiously. At first,

Chen had felt unfamiliar with the new kung fu style,

but by now he was using it smoothly, advancing and

retreating with great precision until Zhang's clothes

were covered in the sweat of fear. The melody hit a

high note, then fell like a shooting star exploding,

and Zhang gave a cry as Chen touched the Yuedao point

on his right wrist, forcing him to drop the sword.

Chen followed quickly with two blows to Zhang's back,

then jumped away, laughing. Zhang stumbled forward a

few steps, as if drunk, and collapsed on the ground.

Jubilant, the heroes rushed forward to tied him up.

Zhang, his face deathly white, made no attempt to

resist.

"Master Yuan, Master Lu," Chen said. "What should we

do with this traitor?"

"Feed him to the wolves," Yu interjected. "First he

killed my teacher and now he, now he ..." He looked

down at Yuanzhi's broken arm.

"Good idea! We'll take him to feed the wolves," said

Yuan. "We have to go and see how the pack is doing

anyway."

Lu carefully set Yuanzhi's broken arm and bound it

tightly with cloth. Master Yuan slipped a Snow Ginseng

pill into her mouth and felt her pulse.

"Don't worry," he said to Yu. "She won't die."

"Put your arms round her, and she'll get better much

quicker," Luo Bing whispered to him with a smile.

Huo Qingtong, meanwhile, was examining her map again,

looking for a path from the Jade Pool out to the

Secret City, when she heard shouts and turned to see

Gu running crazily towards her screaming: "Kill me!

Kill me!" Shocked and angry, she raised her sword and

ran it through his chest. As she pulled the blade out

again, a stream of blood spattered her yellow robe and

Gu collapsed on the ground. Hahetai knelt over him and

tried to stop the blood flow, but it was impossible.

Gu gasped in pain.

"Do you have any affairs that need settling, Brother?"

Hahetai asked him.

"I just want to touch her hand, then I can die happy,"

Gu whispered, looking up at Huo Qingtong.

"Mistress!" Hahetai pleaded. "He's about to die. Take

pity...." Huo Qingtong turned without a word, and

walked away, her face deathly pale. Gu gave a long

sigh, and his head fell to one side, dead.

Holding back his tears, Hahetai jumped up and pointed

his finger accusingly at Huo Qingtong.

"You're merciless!" he shouted. "I don't blame you for

killing him, but you could at least have given him

your hand to touch, so that he could die peacefully.

What difference would it have made to you?"

"Nonsense! Shut your mouth!" Zhang Jin said angrily.

Hahetai made no reply. He picked up Gu's body and

strode away. Yu led over a horse for him.

"Brother Hahetai," he said. "I respect you for being

an upright man. Please take this horse."

Hahetai nodded and slung Gu's body over the horse's

back. Yu filled a bowl with water and drank half of

it, then presented it to the Mongol.

"This water can take the place of wine," he said.

Hahetai threw back his head and drained the bowl at

one draught, then rode away without looking back.
关键字:书剑恩仇录
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