They continued south in this way, stopping

occasionally to rest. Later in the day, two Muslim

riders appeared, galloping towards them.

"Master Yuan," they shouted. "Did it work?"

"They're coming, they're coming!" he shouted back.

"Tell everyone to get ready." The riders turned and

galloped off ahead.

A short while later, they spied a huge circular wall

rising up out of the desert, at least forty feet in

height with only one narrow entrance. Yuan rode

through the opening with the herd of animals close

behind him. The Twin Eagles and the others drove them

through the gate and then veered off to either side

just as the first of the wolves arrived. The huge wolf

pack charged into the enclosure and threw themselves

at the animals. When the last wolf was inside, a horn

sounded and several hundred Muslims sprang from

trenches on either side of the entrance, each man

carrying a bag of sand on his shoulders. They raced

for the opening and in a moment, the gap was

completely blocked.

As they clapped and cheered, Zhang wondered what had

happened to Yuan inside the stockade. He saw several

dozen Muslims standing on top of the wall, and jumped

off his horse and ran up a flight of steps, arriving

at the top just in time to see Yuan being pulled up by

a rope. He glanced down into the pit and jumped in

fright: down below were the hundreds of camels and

horses, and thousands upon thousands of hungry wolves

tearing and biting at them. The noise was terrifying,

and blood flowed freely about the floor of the pit.

The stockade was built with sand bricks, more than a

thousand feet in circumference and its walls coated

with mud to make sure there were no footholds

available. Yuan stood with the Twin Eagles on the top

of the wall laughing heartily, obviously very pleased

with himself.

"This wolf pack has been terrorizing the Tianshan

mountains for hundreds of years, but you have now

destroyed it, Master Yuan," said Bald Vulture. "You

have done the people a great service."

"It needed everyone's cooperation. How could I have

done it by myself?" he replied. "Just this stockade

alone took three thousand men half a year to complete.

You have also been a great help today."

"I'm afraid it will take a long time before all these

wolves finally die of hunger," said Madame Guan.



"Of course, especially after they've feasted on all

those animals down there."

A cheer arose from the crowd of Muslims below and

several of their leaders came up to express their

thanks to Yuan and the others. The Muslims brought

goat meat and horse milk wine for them to eat and

drink.

"Mistress Huo Qingtong defeated the Manchus at Black

River and we have defeated the wolves here," said one

of the leaders. "Now that the wolves have been caught,

we can go and look for her..." He stopped as he

spotted Zhang, wearing the uniform of a Manchu

officer, standing close by.

"Master Yuan, I have something important to discuss

with you," Bald Vulture said later. "Please don't be

offended."

"Ha! You've learned some manners in your old age,"

Yuan replied, surprised by his formality.

"Your pupil's moral character is very bad and he needs

to be severely disciplined."

Yuan looked startled. "Who? Chen Jialuo?"

"Yes." Bald Vulture told him about how Chen had first

won Huo Qingtong's heart, and then shifted his

affections to her sister.

"He is very reliable," Yuan said firmly. "He would

never do such a thing."

"We saw it with our own eyes," added Madame Guan, and

related how they met Chen and Princess Fragrance in

the desert. Yuan stared at them for a moment, then his

anger exploded.

"I accepted the job of being his foster father," he

exclaimed, "raised him from when he was small. And now

this happens. How can I face Great Helmsman Yu in the

other world? We must go and find him and question him

face-to-face." He leapt off the wall and mounted his

horse: "Let's go!" he roared, and galloped off, with

the Twin Eagles following behind.

Zhang's spirits rose as he saw his enemies departing.

The Emperor had sent him to find Chen and Princess

Fragrance, and before he returned to the court, he

wanted to make sure they had been eaten by the wolves.

If they had, there was nothing more to be said. But if

they were still alive, he would have to catch them.

Chen's kung fu, he knew, was only marginally inferior

to his own, and if Huo Qingtong joined Chen against

him he would lose, so he decided to invite the Three

Devils along as well. He gave Gu's sleeve a tug and

the two walked off a few paces together.

"Brother Gu," he whispered. "Do you miss that beauty?"

Gu thought Zhang was sneering at him. "What's it to

you?" he replied angrily.

"I have a score to settle with that fellow Chen, and I

want to go and make sure he's dead. If you come with

me, the girl is yours, if she's still alive."

Gu hesitated. "They've probably already been eaten by

the wolves," he said slowly. "And anyway, I don't know

if Brother Tang would be willing to go."

"If they've been eaten, then you're out of luck,"

Zhang replied. "But you never know. As to your Brother

Tang, I'll go and talk to him."

He went over to Tang and said: "I'm going to look for

that fellow Chen to settle accounts with him. If you

would be willing to help me, his dagger is yours."

What student of the martial arts would not covet such

a precious weapon? Even if Chen is already inside a

wolf's belly, Tang thought, the dagger will not have

been eaten. He agreed immediately. "Brother Hahetai,

let's go," he shouted.

Hahetai was standing on the stockade wall animatedly

discussing the wolf pack with the Muslims. Hearing

Tang's call, he turned and shouted: "Where are we

going?"

"To look for Chen and the others. If their bodies

haven't been completely devoured, we can bury them

properly. We owe them that much!"

Hahetai respected Chen, and he immediately agreed. The

four obtained some rations and water from the Muslims,

then mounted up and started northwards, back the way

they had come.

At about midnight, Tang protested that he wanted to

stop for the night. But Zhang and Gu insisted that

they continue. The moon was high in the sky, making

the scene look like a silvery painting. Suddenly, a

figure darted from the side of the road and into a

stone grave nearby.

"Who's that?" Zhang shouted, reining in his horse.

A moment passed, and then the laughing head of a

Muslim appeared from a hole between the flagstones. "I

am the corpse of this grave," he said. He wore a

flowered hat and, to the great surprise of Zhang and

the others, spoke in Chinese.

"What are you doing out here if you're a corpse?" Gu

shouted.

"I just wanted to go for a stroll."

"Do corpses go for strolls?" Gu replied angrily.

The head nodded. "Yes, yes, you're right. I am wrong.

So sorry." It disappeared back into the hole.

Hahetai burst out laughing, but Gu was furious. He

dismounted and stuck his hand into the grave, wanting

to pull the Muslim out, but he felt about inside

without finding anything.

"Don't take any notice of him," said Zhang. "Let's

go."

As the four turned their horses round, they spotted a

small, skinny donkey by the side of the grave,

chomping grass.

"I'm sick to death of dry rations," said Gu gleefully.

"Some roast donkey meat wouldn't be bad at all." He

jumped off his horse again and was about to take hold

of the donkey's reins when he noticed the animal had

no tail.

"Someone seems to have cut off the donkey's tail and

eaten it already," he observed with a smile.

There was a whoosh of sound and the Muslim appeared on

the donkey's back. He laughed and pulled a donkey's

tail from his pocket and waved it about. "The donkey's

tail got covered in mud today, which didn't look very

nice, so I cut it off," he said.

Zhang looked at the man's full beard and crazy

appearance and wondered who he was. He raised his

horse whip and rode by the donkey, striking out at the

Muslim's shoulder as he passed. The Muslim dodged to

one side, and Zhang suddenly found himself holding the

donkey's tail, which was indeed covered in mud. He

also noticed a coolness on his head, and found his cap

had disappeared.

"So you're a Manchu officer," the Muslim said,

swinging the cap about on his finger. "You've come to

attack us Muslims, I suppose. This cap is very

pretty."

Startled and angry, Zhang threw the donkey's tail at

the Muslim who caught it easily. Zhang leapt off his

horse and faced him. "Who are you?" he shouted. "Come

on! I'll fight you."

The Muslim placed Zhang's cap on the donkey's head and

clapped his hands in delight. "The dumb donkey wearing

an official's hat!" he excalimed. He twitched his

thighs and the donkey trotted off. Zhang began to run

after him, but stopped as a projectile flew towards

him. He caught the cold, glittering object deftly and

with a surge of fury, recognised it as the sapphire

off the front of his cap. By now, the donkey was

already a long way away, but he picked a stone off the

ground and hurled it at the Muslim's back. The Muslim

made no effort to avoid it, and Zhang was delighted,

certain that this time he had him. There was a loud

clang as the stone hit something metallic, and the

Muslim cried out in despair.

"Oh no! He's killed my saucepan! It's dead for

certain!"

The four men looked at each other dumb-founded as the

Muslim and his donkey disappeared into the distance.

"Was that a man or a demon?" Zhang asked finally. The

Three Devils silently shook their heads. "Come on,

let's go. This place is evil beyond belief."

They galloped off, and early the next morning, they

arrived outside the Secret City. The paths were many

and confusing, but the trail of wolf droppings was a

perfect guide which brought them unerringly to the

base of the White Jade Peak. Looking up, they saw the

cave-mouth that Chen had excavated.
关键字:书剑恩仇录
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