Zhang and the Three Devils watched the wolves swarm

after Chen and the girls with great relief, although

they felt a tinge of regret at the thought of two such

beautiful girls being ravished by the animals. The

four men sat down to rest for a while, then roasted

and ate one of the dead wolves left behind. Gu noticed

that the supply of tree branches was almost exhausted,

and too lazy to go and get more, he threw piles of

wolf's dung onto the fire to stoke up the flames.

Before long, a column of thick, black smoke was rising

towards the heavens.

Just as they had eaten their fill of wolf meat, they

noticed a dust cloud approaching from the east.

Assuming it to be another wolf pack, they frantically

jumped up and ran for the horses. Only two horses were

left, both of which had been brought by the Three

Devils. Zhang stretched out his hand to take the reins

of one of the mounts, but Hahetai lunged in front of

him and grabbed them first, shouting: "What do you

think you're doing?"

Zhang was about to attack him when he spied Tang and

Gu with weapons in their hands closing in. "Why are

you getting so excited?" he protested. "They aren't

wolves."

The Three Devils turned to look and Zhang vaulted onto

the horse's back. Only then did he notice that his lie

was in fact the truth: in the midst of the dust cloud

was a large herd of camels and goats. He galloped off

towards the herd, shouting: "I'll go and have a look!"

After riding only a short way, he saw a rider coming

towards him. The rider, an old man dressed in grey,

raced up and stopped his mount instantly with a tug on

the reins. Zhang marvelled at his horsemanship.

The rider saw Zhang was wearing the tattered uniform

of a Manchu military officer and asked in Chinese:

"What happened to the wolves?" Zhang pointed west.

By this time, the herd was upon them and in the midst

of the dust and noise and confusion, Zhang noticed a

bald-headed, red-faced old man and a white-haired old

woman riding herd. He was just about to ask who they

were when the Three Devils came over and bowed

respectfully before the old man in grey.

"We are honoured to meet you again, sir," Tang said

obsequiously. "How are you?"

The old man grunted. "Nothing to complain about," he

mumbled. It was the Strange Knight of the Heavenly

Pool, Master Yuan.

Zhang knew nothing of the old man, but he noted the

respect with which the Three Devils treated him.

Master Yuan examined the four of them for a moment,

then said: "We are going to catch the wolves. You will

all come with me."

They started in fright and wondered if he was insane.

But the Three Devils knew his kung fu was formidable

and did not dare to refuse.

Zhang, however, emitted a "humph" of astonishment and

said: "I want to live a few more years. Sorry, but I

will be unable to accompany you." He turned to leave.

Absolutely furious, Bald Vulture grabbed for Zhang's

wrist shouting: "So you refuse to heed Master Yuan's

orders! Do you wish to die?"

Zhang deflected his hand deftly with a 'Dividing The

Clouds and Moon' stroke, and the two fought closely

for a while, neither gaining the upper hand. Then they

leapt apart, both surprised that they should come upon

such a master of the martial arts in the middle of the

desert.

"What is your name, friend?" Zhang shouted.

"What makes you think you're good enough to be my

friend? Will you or will you not do what Master Yuan

says?"

Zhang knew he was as good a fighter as himself, and

yet he still respectfully referred to the other old

man as "Master Yuan", indicating Yuan's kung fu was

probably even better. Who is this Master Yuan? he

wondered. "What is your full name, sir?" he asked

Yuan. "If you are my superior, I will naturally

respect your orders."

"Ha! So you wish to question me, do you?" Master Yuan

exclaimed. "It is I that does the questioning. I ask

you: just now, you used a 'Dividing the Clouds and

Moon' move. But what would you have done if I had

replied with a 'Descending the Mountain to Kill the

Tiger' stroke on your left while going for your

Spiritual Yuedao point on your right?"

Zhang thought for a second. "I would have kicked out

with an 'Arrow Shooting the Hawk' move, and grabbed

your wrist."

"Then you are obviously a member of the Wudang

School," Yuan replied, to Zhang's evident surprise.

"Once when I was in Hubei, I sparred with Master Ma

Zhen." Zhang went deathly pale. "Now then, if I used a

'Secret Hand' move to counter your attempt to seize my

wrist, and then struck at your face with my left hand,

what would you do? Master Ma Zhen was unable to avoid

this move. Let's see if you can work it out."

Zhang thought deeply for a while. "If you were fast, I

would naturally be unable to avoid the blow," he said

finally. "I could aim a 'Yuanyang Kick' at your left

ribs to force you to retract your hand to defend

yourself."

Yuan laughed. "Not bad. Of all the fighters in the

Wudang School, you are probably the best."

"I would then aim to touch your 'Xianji' Yuedao

point," Zhang continued.

"Good! A master always attacks if he can. But I would

then step into the 'Guimei' position and attack your

lower body."

"I would then retreat to the 'Song' position and

strike out for your 'Heavenly Spring' Yuedao point."

Gu and Hahetai listened in bewilderment to the strange

words. Hahetai gave Tang's gown a tug and whispered:

"What's this code they're speaking in?"

"It's not code, they're using the names of the Sixty

Four Positions and the Yuedao points on the human

body," Tang replied.

"I advance to the 'Ming Ye' positon and attack with a

Qimen move," Yuan said.

"I retreat to the 'Zhong Fu' position and counter with

a Phoenix Eye move," replied Zhang.

"I advance to the 'Jizhai' position and go for your

'Huan Jiao' Yuedao."

The pressure was begining to show on Zhang's face, and

there was a pause before he answered: "I retreat to

the 'Zhen' position and then to the Fu position."

"How come he keeps retreating?" whispered Hahetai, but

Tang waved him to silence. The verbal sparring

continued, Yuan smiling and obviously at ease, Zhang

beginning to sweat and sometimes taking a long time to

come up with a response. The Three Devils knew that in

a real fight, he would have had no time for such

thinking, and would have been beaten long ago.

After a few more moves, Zhang said: "I attack with a

'Xiao Shu' move and then strike at your wrist."

"That's not good enough," Yuan replied. "You lose."

"Please explain," said Zhang.

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you. Be careful!"

Yuan's right leg kicked up at Zhang's knees.

Zhang jumped away shouting: "If you touch me..." but

before he could finish, Yuan's right hand had shot out

and touched a Yuedao point on his chest. He felt a

surge of pain and immediately began to cough

uncontrollably.

Yuan smiled at him. "Well?" he asked.

The others were amazed by this nonchalant display of

such profound kung fu skills. Zhang, looking deathly

pale, did not dare to continue his intransigence. "I

will do as you say, Master Yuan," he replied.

"But your kung fu is first class," Bald Vulture added.

"What is your name?"

"My surname is Zhang, my given name Zhaozhong. And may

I ask your names?"

"Ah, so it's the Fire Hand Judge," Bald Vulture

replied. "Brother Yuan, he's a martial brother of

Master Ma Zhen."

Yuan grunted. "His brother is not as good as him.

Let's go." He galloped off.

There were several horses mixed in amongst the camels

and goats, and Zhang and Hahetai chose a mount each

and began helping to herd the animals after Master

Yuan.

As they galloped along, Zhang said to Bald Vulture:

"Excuse me. These wolves are very numerous. How do you

intend to catch them?"

"You just do as Master Yuan says," Bald Vulture

replied. "What's so terrifying about a few little

wolves?" Madame Guan, riding nearby, smiled to hear

her husband bluffing Zhang.

They rode on. Suddenly Yuan wheeled his horse round

and shouted: "The wolf droppings are very fresh. The

pack passed here not long ago. From the look of it,

we'll catch up to them in another ten miles or so.

We'll ride another five miles and then all pick fresh

horses. When we have caught up to them, I will lead

the way. The six of you must divide up, three on each

side to make sure the animals don't escape, otherwise

the wolf pack will split up." Just as Tang was about

to ask a question, Yuan turned and galloped off.

The wolf droppings around them became increasingly

moist as they went.

"The pack must be just ahead," said Madame Guan. "With

our camels and horses making such a noise, it's

surprising they haven't turned back already."

"Yes, it is strange," her husband replied. A couple of

miles further on, the topography began to change and

they saw a cluster of hills ahead with a tall white

mountain in their midst. The Twin Eagles had long

lived in the desert, and had heard many stories about

this beautiful mountain, sparkling in the bright

sunshine.

"The wolves must have gone into the maze!" Yuan

shouted. "Everyone whip the animals!" They raised

their horses whips and began beating the camels and

horses, and a great roar went up as the beasts snorted

and neighed in pain and anger. Before long, a large

grey wolf appeared, running towards them from the

hills.

Yuan whirled his long whip about his head and cracked

it sharply in the air. Then with a shout, he whirled

his horse round and galloped off south, with the Twin

Eagles, Zhang and the Three Devils driving the herd

after him. After a couple of miles, the howls of the

wolf pack arose from behind. Bald Vulture glanced back

and saw the grey tide moving towards them across the

desert. He spurred his horse on and caught up with the

others. Zhang, Gu and Tang appeared to be having

difficulty keeping their terror under control, but

Hahetai was shouting and whistling crazily, driving

the animals on and intercepting strays. He was a

herdsman by birth and he made sure not one was lost.

The wolves were ferocious and persistent, but they

lacked stamina. After four or five miles, they had

already been left far behind, and another five miles

further on, Yuan shouted: "Let's rest for a while!"

They all dismounted and ate some rations while Hahetai

herded the animals together. When the wolves began to

close in, they started off again.
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