Tang could see something funny was going on, and with

a wave of his hand sent a sleeve dart flying towards

Huo Qingtong's right wrist, hoping to knock the sword

from her grasp. But she blocked the dart with her

sword and with a wave of the reins, galloped around

them and into the lead. The Three Devils began

shouting and chased after her. After two or three

miles, her legs and arms were numb, and she could hold

on no longer. The horse gave a jolt and she toppled to

the ground.

The Three Devils spurred their horses on. Huo Qingtong

struggled to get back onto the horse, but she was too

weak. Then in a flash of inspiration, she slung the

water bag's leather strap over the eagle's neck and

threw the bird up into the air. Tang and the others

forgot Huo Qingtong at the sight of their water bag

being carried away and chased frantically after the

eagle. The water bag was almost full of water and not

light, so the eagle was not able to fly high or fast,

and the three were able to keep up with it.

A few miles further on, the eagle glided downwards

just as two riders appeared in a cloud of dust ahead

of them. The eagle circled twice and landed on the

shoulder of one of the riders. The Three Devils

spurred their horses on and saw that one of the

strangers was a bald, red-faced old man, and the other

a white-haired old lady.

"Where's Huo Qingtong?" the old man barked, and the

three stared at him in surprise. The old man removed

the water bag from the eagle's neck and hurled the

bird back into the air. He gave a harsh whistle and

the bird answered with a squeak and headed back the

way it had come. The old couple took no further notice

of the Three Devils and galloped past them, chasing

after the eagle. Tang saw the old man still had the

water bag, and with a wave of his hand to the others,

followed along behind.

The two old people were the Tianshan Twin Eagles, Bald

Vulture and Madame Guan. After three or four miles,

they saw the eagle glide downwards to where Huo

Qingtong was lying on the ground. Madame Guan leapt

off her horse and grabbed the girl up into her arms

and began sobbing.

"Who has been treating you so badly?" she demanded,

looking down at the girl's deathly appearance. Just

then, the Three Devils rode up. Huo Qingtong pointed

at them, then fainted away.

"Well, are you just going to sit there?" Madame Guan

demanded angrily of her husband. Bald Vulture wheeled

his horse round and charged at the three, and began

fighting furiously with them.

Madame Guan slowly poured water into Huo Qingtong's

mouth and the girl gradually regained consciousness.

Only then did she look round to see how her husband

was doing. He was struggling to keep the three at bay,

and so she drew her sword and jumped into the melee.

She struck out at Tang, who swung round to counter the

stroke, but immediately found her style had changed.

Amazed that this thin old woman could be such a

formidable swordswoman, he concentrated completely on

defence.

Huo Qingtong sat up and observed the Twin Eagles

gradually gaining the upper hand. As she watched, she

faintly heard a strange sound floating towards them on

the wind from far off, a sound full of violence and

dread, hunger and evil, as if hundreds of wild beasts

were howling in unison.

"Teacher, listen!" she cried. The Twin Eagles

disengaged themselves from the fight and cocked an ear

to listen carefully. The Devils had been hard pressed

to hold their own, and did not dare to attack the old

couple.

The sound increased slightly in volume, and the Twin

Eagles turned pale. Bald Vulture ran over to his horse

and stood on its back.

"Come and look!" he shouted. "See if there's anywhere

we can take cover."

Madame Guan picked Huo Qingtong up and placed her on

her own horse, then vaulted up onto her husband's

horse and stood on his shoulders.

The Three Devils looked at each other, absolutely

baffled. Their attackers had broken off the fight when

they had already won, and were now building human

pyramids on a horse's back.

"What devilry are they up to?" Gu growled darkly. Tang

had no idea what was happening and could only

concentrate on being prepared for anything.

Madame Guan gazed about in all directions, and then

shouted: "I think there are two big trees to the

north!"

"Whether there are or not, let's go!" her husband

replied. Madame Guan jumped over to Hua Qingtong's

horse, and they galloped off north without taking any

further notice of the Three Devils.

Hahetai noticed that in their hurry to get away, they

had left the water bag behind, and bent down to pick

it up. By now, the terrifying howling sound was

becoming even louder. Gu's face turned grey. "It's a

wolf pack!" he cried. The three leapt onto their

horses and galloped after the Twin Eagles. Looking

back, they saw large wild cats, camels, goats and

horses racing for their lives before a grey tide of

thousands of hungry wolves.

A few dozen yards ahead of the multitude was a rider,

galloping along as if leading the way. In a flash, his

powerful horse raced up and passed the Three Devils,

who saw he was an old man. The rider turned to look

back at them, and shouted: "Do you want to die?

Faster!"

Tang's horse was scared out of its wits by the mass of

animals bearing down upon them, and it stumbled and

threw him. Tang leapt to his feet as a dozen wild cats

rushed past him.

"I'm finished," he thought, and began screaming at the

top of his voice. Gu and Hahetai heard his screams and

turned and headed back to rescue him, the wolves

bearing down upon them. A huge wolf, its snow-white

teeth bared, charged at Tang, who drew his sword to

defend himself even though he knew it was useless.

Suddenly, there was the sound of horse's hooves

behind, and the old man galloped up, grabbed Tang by

his collar and threw his fat body towards Hahetai.

Tang somersaulted through the air and landed in a

sitting position on Hahetai's horse. The three riders

pulled their horses round, and flew for their lives.

The Twin Eagles had lived in the desert many years and

were well aware that even the most ferocious animal

could not survive an encounter with the wolf pack.

They galloped on, and as the two tall trees rose

before them, thanked the Heavens that they had once

again avoided ending up in a wolf's stomach. Once at

the trees, Bald Vulture leapt up in to the branches of

one, and Madame Guan handed Huo Qingtong up to him.

The wolf pack was approaching fast. Madame Guan

whipped the backs of their two horses and shouted:

"Run for your lives! We cannot help you!" The two

horses dashed away.

Just as the three of them had found somewhere to sit

in the branches, they noticed the grey-gowned rider

galloping along ahead of the wolf pack. As the rider

passed by below, Bald Vulture embraced him with his

free hand and lifted him up.

The old man was taken by surprise. His horse shot

onwards, while he himself was left dangling in space,

a host of animals passing under his feet. He performed

a somersault, and landed on his feet on a branch

further up the tree.

"What's wrong?" said Bald Vulture. "Don't tell you're

afraid of wolves too, Master Yuan?"

"Who asked you to interfere?" the old man replied

angrily.

"There's no need to be like that," Madame Guan

interrupted him. "My husband just saved your life."

The old man laughed coldly. "Saved me? You've messed

up everything!"

He was Great Helmsman Chen's teacher, Master Yuan. He

and Madame Guan had grown up together in central China

and had fallen in love. But they had argued

constantly, and eventually Yuan left and spent more

than ten years travelling in the Northern Deserts.

There was no news of him, and Madame Guan presumed he

would never come back. Eventually, she married Bald

Vulture, but shortly after the wedding, Yuan

unexpectedly returned home. Both Yuan and Madame Guan

were heart-broken although they never spoke of the

matter again. Bald Vulture was also very unhappy, and

on several occasions went after Yuan to get revenge,

but his kung fu was not good enough, and only Yuan's

regard for Madame Guan's feelings kept her husband

from being seriously hurt. So Bald Vulture took his

wife and travelled far away into the Muslim regions.

Yuan, however, could not forget her, and also moved to

the Tianshan Mountains. He never visited them, but

just living close to the woman he loved made him feel

a little happier. Madame Guan did all she could to

keep from seeing her former lover, but Bald Vulture

would not let the matter drop, and the couple had

fought and argued for decades since. All three were

now old and white-haired, but a day did not pass when

they did not think of the entanglement.

Bald Vulture was very pleased with himself for having

saved Yuan. You have always had the upper hand, he

thought, but perhaps you'll show gratitude towards me

after this. Madame Guan, however, was puzzled by

Yuan's anger.

"What do you mean, 'messed everything up'?" she asked.

"Messed what up?"

"This wolf pack is growing bigger and bigger, and has

become a real plague on the desert," Yuan replied.

"Several Muslim villages have been completely wiped

out already. The wolves eat people, animals,

everything. So I prepared a trap and was just leading

them to their deaths when you interfered."

Bald Vulture knew Yuan was telling the truth, and felt

acutely embarrassed.

Yuan saw the apologetic expression on Madame Guan's

face and brought his anger under control. "But you

were doing what you thought was best," he added. "I

thank you, anyway."

"What sort of trap is it?" asked Bald Vulture.

"Save them!" Yuan suddenly shouted, and jumped down

from the tree into the midst of the wolves.

The Three Devils had already been overtaken by the

wolves, and their horses had been ripped to shreds.

The three of them were standing back-to-back fighting

furiously, and although they had killed more than a

dozen wolves, others continued to lunge at them. All

three were already wounded in several places, and it

looked as if they could not hold out for long. Yuan

raced over, his hands flew out and smashed the skulls

of two wolves. He picked Hahetai up and threw him up

into the tree, shouting "Catch!", and Bald Vulture

caught him. In the same way, Yuan threw Tang and Gu

up, then killed another two wolves, grabbed one of the

corpses by the neck and swung it round and round,

opening up a path to the tree, then leapt up into the

branches. The Three Devils, having been literally

snatched from the jaws of death, showered him with

thanks. They were astonished by the speed and strength

he had displayed, and the way he made killing wolves

seem as easy as catching rabbits.

Several hundred wolves circled the base of the tree,

scratching at the trunk, raising their heads and

howling. A short distance away, several dozen of the

fleeing animals had been cut off and encircled by the

wolves, who filled the air with their cries and howls.

The animals leapt frantically about as the wolves tore

and gnashed at them. It was a horrible sight. In only

a moment, the animals had all been ripped apart and

eaten. Those sitting up in the tree were all brave

fighters, but it was the first time any of them had

witnessed such a terrifying scene, and they were very

frightened.

Bald Vulture eyed the Three Devils suspiciously.

"They are not good men," Huo Qingtong told him.

"All right, then," he replied. "They can go and feed

the wolves." Just as he was about to push them off the

tree, he looked down once more at the tragic scene

below and hesitated just long enough for Tang to

shout: "Let's go!" He leapt over to the other tree and

Gu and Hahetai followed him.

Madame Guan looked at Huo Qingtong. "My dear, what do

you say?" She wanted to know if the girl wanted them

to chase after the three and kill them.

Huo Qingtong's heart softened. "Forget about it," she

said.

"I am Huo Qingtong," she shouted to the Three Devils.

"If you want to get your revenge on me, why don't you

come over?" Tang and the others were astonished and

infuriated by her words, but they did not dare to

return to the other tree.

The wolf pack came fast, and left fast too. They

swirled around the trees for a while, howling and

barking, then chased off after the remaining wild

animals.

Madame Guan told Huo Qingtong to pay her respects to

Master Yuan. Seeing her sickly appearance, Yuan took

two red pills from his bag and gave them to her,

saying: "Take them. They're Snow Ginseng Pills." Snow

Ginseng pills were made from the rarest medicinal

herbs, and were well known for their ability to even

restore life to the dying.

Just as Huo Qingtong was about to bow before him, Yuan

jumped down from the tree and ran off. In a moment, he

had become just a black dot amidst the swirling desert

dust.
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