Next morning, Chen and Princess Fragrance awoke to

find the Twin Eagles gone, and were puzzled.

"Look, what's that?" Princess Fragrance asked

suddenly. Chen turned and saw several huge characters

drawn on the sand: "Your evil deeds cannot be

forgiven. You will have to die." The characters were

five foot square and looked as if they had been drawn

with the tip of a sword. Chen frowned, wondering what

the message meant. Princess Fragrance could not read

Chinese and asked what is said.

"They had some other business and went on ahead," Chen

replied, not wishing to worry her.

"Sister's teacher and her husband are really nice..."

Suddenly, she stopped in mid-sentence and jumped up.

"Listen!"

Chen had also heard the distant, blood-curdling howl,

and having lived in the northwest many years,

instantly recognised it.

"There's a wolf pack coming," he said urgently. "We

must go quickly!" They hurriedly packed up their tents

and provisions and galloped away just as the wolf pack

closed in on them. Luckily, they were both riding

extremely fast horses and the pack was soon left far

behind. But the wolves had been hungry for a long time

and having glimpsed them, continued to track them,

following the hoof prints in the sand.

After half a day of hard riding, they dismounted to

rest, but just as they had prepared a fire to cook

some food, the wolf howls neared once more, and they

hurriedly re-mounted, and rode off again. Only when

darkness had fallen and they estimated the wolf pack

to be at least thirty miles behind them did they stop

and rest. Around midnight, the white horse began to

neigh and kick about, waking Chen. The wolf pack was

closing in once more. With no time to pack their

tents, they grabbed up their rations and water bags

and jumped onto the horses. They travelled a great arc

through the desert, never managing to shake off the

wolves. The chestnut horse could finally take no more

and dropped dead of exhaustion, and they had to

continue with both of them on the white horse. The

extra weight slowed the horse down, and by the third

day, it was no longer able to outrun the wolf pack.

They spotted a clump of bushes and small trees and

went over.

"We'll stop here and let the horse rest," said Chen,

dismounting. With Princess Fragrance's help, he built

a low circular wall of sand and placed some dead

branches on the top. When lit, the branches became a

protective ring of fire for themselves and the horse

inside.

Not long after, the wolf pack raced up. Afraid of the

flames, the wolves milled around outside the circle

howling, not daring to get too close.

"We'll wait for the horse to recover its strength and

then break out," said Chen.

"Do you think we'll be able to?"

"Of course," he replied. But he had no idea how.

Princess Fragrance saw how thin and emaciated the

hungry wolves were. "The poor things," she said. "I

wonder how long it's been since they last ate?"

Chen laughed shortly. The long, sharp fangs of the

wolves gleamed through the flames, the saliva

dripping, drop by drop from their mouths onto the

sand. They howled angrily, waiting from a slight

opening in the flames through which they could leap.

Princess Fragrance knew the chance of them getting out

alive was very slight. She moved closer to Chem and

took his hands.

"When I'm with you, I'm not afraid of anything," she

said. "After we die, we will live happily together in

heaven forever."

Chen pulled her towards him and embraced her. She

sighed, and was just about to close her eyes, when she

noticed the flames were dying down in one section of

the circle. She screamed and jumped over to add more

branches, but three wolves had already slipped inside.

Chen pulled her behind him. The white horse kicked its

hind legs up and sent one wolf flying back out of the

fiery circle. Chen grabbed another wolf by the scruff

of its neck and slung it bodily at the third, a huge

grey beast which dodged out of the way, then opened

its mouth and reared up on its hind legs to go for

Chen's throat. Chen picked up a burning branch and

rammed it down the wolf's throat, and the animal leapt

back out of the circle and rolled about on the ground

in great pain.

Chen added more branches to the gap.

After a while, their reserves were getting low, and

Chen decided he would have to risk going to get more

from some bushes about one hundred feet away.

"I'm going to get some more wood," he told Princess

Fragrance, taking out his shield and Pearl Strings.

"Build up the fire a bit more until I get back."

She nodded. "Be careful," she said, but did not add

any more wood to the fire. She knew that the branches

kept the two of them alive, and that when the flames

were extinguished, they would be too.

Chen leapt out of the burning circle and raced off

using Lightness Kung Fu, fending off the wolves as he

went. The wolves surged at him, but in three leaps he

was already beside the bushes. He quickly collected

firewood with one hand while protecting himself with

the shield in the other. Several dozen wolves

surrounded him, snarling fiercely, but the flashing

hooks on his shield kept them at bay. He collected a

large pile of wood and was leaning over to tie the

branches up when a large wolf lunged forward. He

swirled the shield, and the animal died instantly. But

its carcass was caught on the hooks, and the other

wolves barked even more frantically as it swung

lifelessly before them. He dislodged the body and

flung it to one side, and the wolves charged forward

to rip it apart. He took advantage of this diversion

to pick up the firewood and return into the ring of

fire.

Princess Fragrance ran forward and threw herself into

his arms. Chen smiled and embraced her, then threw the

firewood on the ground. As he looked up, he started

involuntarily: there was a third person in the circle,

a large man whose clothes had been ripped to shreds by

the wolves. In his hand was a sword. His whole body

was covered in blood, but his face was calm. It was

his enemy, Zhang Zhaozhong.

The two gazed at each other silently.

"He must have seen the fire and run over this way,"

said Princess Fragrance. "See how exhausted he looks."

She poured a bowl of water from the water bag and

handed it to Zhang, who grabbed it and slurped it down

in one draught. He wiped the blood and sweat from his

face with his sleeve, and Princess Fragrance gasped as

she suddenly recognised him as the Manchu official

Chen had fought with.

Chen rapped his shield with the Pearl Strings. "Come

on!" he shouted.

Zhang's eyes glazed over and he fell forward onto his

face.

He had been tracking Chen and Princess Fragrance with

Prince Herda when he had met the wolf pack. Herda had

been devoured, but with his superb kung fu, Zhang had

managed to escape after killing several dozen of the

ferocious creatures. He had fled across the desert for

a day and a night, but finally his horse had dropped

dead under him. He had no alternative but to continue

on foot and kept going for another day without food or

water. Finally, he had spotted the flames in the far

distance and had fought his way over.

Princess Fragrance moved to help Zhang up, but Chen

stopped her.

"This man is extremely dangerous. Don't fall for his

tricks," he warned. He waited for a while to make sure

Zhang really was unconscious before going closer.

Princess Fragrance wiped some cold water onto Zhang's

forehead, then poured lamb's milk into his mouth.

Zhang slowly revived, drank half a bowl of the milk,

then fell back onto the ground, sound asleep.

Chen wondered what sort of devil's emissary had

delivered this traitor into his hands. Killing Zhang

now would be as easy as blowing away a speck of ash,

but taking advantage of another's hardship was not a

manly thing to do. What was more, Princess Fragrance

would certainly be unhappy to see him kill a

defenceless man. He decided to spare Zhang once more.

In any case, he thought, Zhang would be a great help

in killing wolves. Perhaps the two of them together

could save Princess Fragrance. He knew he would never

be able to do it alone. He drank a few mouthfuls of

lamb's milk, then closed his eyes to rest.

After a while, Zhang woke again. Princess Fragrance

passed a piece of dried mutton to him, and helped him

to bandage several wolf bite wounds on his legs.

"Brother Zhang, all three of us are in great danger,"

Chen said. "Let us temporarily put aside our

differences and cooperate."

Zhang nodded. "Yes, if we fight now, we will all end

up inside a wolf's stomach." Having rested for more

than two hours, his strength had partially returned,

and he began to consider how he could kill Chen and

escape with the girl.

Chen wracked his brain for a way out of their present

predicament. He saw the many piles of wolf droppings

outside the circle of fire, and remembered how Huo

Qingtong had used them to fuel signal fires. Using his

Pearl Strings, he dragged some of the piles over,

formed them into one heap and lit it. A thick pall of

smoke rose straight up into the heavens.

Zhang shook his head. "Even if someone saw it, they

wouldn't dare to come to help us," he said. "It would

take an army to chase away so many wolves."

Chen also knew it would probably do no good, but it

was better than doing nothing.

The daylight faded, and the three gradually added more

branches to the ring of fire and took turns to sleep.

"He is a very bad man," Chen whispered to Princess

Fragrance. "When I'm asleep, you must watch him with

especial care." She nodded.

Towards midnight, the moon rose and the wolves began

to howl mournfully, a sound which made their skin

crawl. Early next morning, they saw the wolves were

still pacing around outside the ring with obviously no

intention of leaving.

"The only thing that would draw these devils away

would be a herd of wild camels passing nearby," said

Chen. Suddenly they heard more wolf howls from the

distance.

"It looks like more of the devils are coming," Zhang

said.

A cloud of dust arose, and three riders galloped

towards them with several hundred wolves on their

heels. The wolves on that side of the ring of fire

spotted them too, and surged forward, encircling the

three riders, who fought them off frantically.

"Help them!" Princess Fragrance shouted.

"Let's go," Chen said to Zhang. They charged out of

the ring, carving a path of blood through the wolf

pack and led the three back into the circle. They

noticed one of the horses was carrying a second

person, apparently a Muslim girl, lying limply across

the saddle with her hands were tied behind her back.

The three riders jumped off their horses, and one of

them pulled the girl down after him.

"Sister!" Princess Fragrance screamed, and threw

herself onto the girl.

It was Huo Qingtong. She had run into the Three Devils

again while searching for Chen and her sister and had

had no strength to resist. Hahetai had wanted to kill

her immediately to avenge the death of their brother,

but Gu overruled him saying they should take her back

and kill her in front of their dead brother's grave.

They started heading back east, but after a day or so,

they found themselves being chased by a wolf pack. As

they fled, they happened to spot the column of black

smoke started by Chen and rode towards it.

Huo Qingtong began to regainconsciousness. Princess

Fragrance looked at Chen beseechingly. "Tell them to

let my sister go," she implored.

Chen turned to Gu. "Who are you and why have you

seized my friend?" he asked. Tang strode in front of

Gu and coldly sized up Chen and Zhang.

"We thank you two gentlemen for saving us," he said.

"What are your names?"

Before Chen could answer, Zhang said, "He is the Great

Helmsman of the Red Flower Society, Chen Jialuo." The

Three Devils started in shock.

"And you, sir?" Tang asked.

"I am Zhang Zhaozhong."

Tang gasped. "It's the Fire Hand Judge. No wonder

you're both so capable." He told them his name and

those of his two colleagues.

Chen's anxiety immediately increased, and he wondered

again how they were going to escape. With four tough

opponents to deal with now, it would be even harder

than before.

"Let us forget our differences for the moment," he

said. "Do any of you have any idea of how we might

escape?"
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