All eyes turned in the direction from which the horn

blast had come. Two Muslim guards rode up and reported

to Muzhuolun: "The Manchu General Zhao Wei has sent an

envoy who requests an audience."

"All right," replied Muzhuolun. "Bring him here." The

two riders galloped off, and returned with five other

riders who dismounted about a hundred feet from the

crowd.

The Manchu envoy was robust man and walked towards

them with powerful strides. But his four attendents

made the Muslims jump in surprise. All four were

giants, a good two heads higher than ordinary men, and

their bodies were broad and thick.

The envoy strode up to Muzhuolun and nodded at him.

"Are you the head of the tribe?" he asked arrogantly.

The Muslims were outraged, and several of the younger

warriors drew their sabres. The envoy ignored him.

"I am under orders from General Zhao Wei to give you

an ultimatum," he announced loudly in the Muslim

tongue. "If you know what's good for you, you will

surrender immediately, in which case your lives will

be spared. Otherwise, our two armies will meet at

daybreak the day after tomorrow and you will be

completely annihilated. It will be too late then for

regrets."

The crowd of Muslims sprang to their feet in rage, but

Muzhuolun, with a wave of his hand, ordered them to be

seated and turned to the envoy. "You come without

reason or justification and kill our people, steal our

property. The True God on High will punish you for

your dishonourable behaviour. If you want to fight, we

will fight. Even if our army is reduced to only one

man, that man will still never surrender."

The Muslims raised their sabres and repeated his words

in unison: "If you want to fight, we shall fight!"

they roared. "Even if our army is reduced to only one

man, he will never surrender!" The mood was sombre but

determined. The Muslims knew the Manchu force was

powerful and that in a battle to the finish, the

chances were they would lose. But they were loyal

believers in Islam, they loved freedom and would be no

man's slave.

The envoy looked about him and sneered. "All right,"

he said. "The day after tomorrow, each and every one

of you will die." He spat savagely onto the ground in

a calculated insult, and three young Muslims leapt

towards him. "Today, you are an envoy, so you will be

allowed to leave safely," one of them shouted. "But

when we meet on the battlefield, we will not be so

polite."

The envoy's mouth twisted in anger, and his four giant

attendants roughly pushed aside the three Muslim boys

and took up positions around him.

"Ha!" The envoy cried in contempt. "You useless scum!

We'll give you a taste of our Manchu skills!" He

clapped his hands and one of the four giants glanced

round and strode over to a poplar tree nearby to which

several camels were tethered. He grasped its trunk in

his arms and after a few rigorous shakes, pulled the

tree bodily from the ground. Then he snapped the reins

of one of the camels and gave it a kick on its rump,

sending it racing away in great pain. When the camel

was more than a hundred feet away, another of the

giants sprinted after it and in a moment caught up

with the animal. He swung the huge camel onto his

shoulders, ran back towards the bonfire and set it

back on its feet, then stood proudly beside it. "Huh!"

exclaimed the third giant in contempt, and drove a

fist at the camel's head. The animal swayed unsteadily

and crashed to the ground. The fourth giant grabbed

hold of its two hind legs and swung it round and round

above his head, then with a shout let it go. The camel

fell to earth sixty or seventy feet away.

The giants, known as the Four Tigers, were

quadruplets, and their mother had died giving birth to

them. Their father was a poor hunter in the forests of

Manchuria, and with his wife dead, he had no milk to

feed the four babies, but soon after, he heard a

mournful cry outside in the forest and found a female

tiger caught in a trap. He and a companion were tying

the animal up when he happened to notice three tiger

pups lying close by. In a flash of inspiration, he

killed the pups and took the tiger back to his hut

where he reared her, feeding her meat every day, and

milking her to feed his four sons. From the start,

they were uncommonly big and strong, and became more

so as they grew. The only problem was that they were a

little stupid and impetuous.

The Muslims were startled by this amazing show of

strength, but unwilling to appear weak before the

enemy, they roared out their defiance.

"What are you doing, killing a good camel? Are you

inhuman?" someone shouted. The envoy curled his lips

into another sneer. The crowd became even more

incensed, and it looked as though he would be mobbed.

"So you're going to bully an envoy, are you?" he

shouted.

Muzhuolun restrained the crowd with difficulty. "You

are an envoy, but you ordered your men to kill one of

our camels, which is a great insult," he said. "If you

were not guests here, I would not let you get away

with it. Leave immediately."

"Do you think we Manchus are afraid of you scum?" the

envoy shouted. "If you have a reply, give it to me to

pass on. I'm sure none of you would dare to go and

hand it to General Zhao Wei personally." Another roar

went up from the Muslims.

Huo Qingtong jumped to her feet. "You say none of us

would dare to go to see General Zhao Wei. Huh! Every

single person here would dare, men and girls alike."

The envoy looked stunned for a second, then threw back

his head and roared with laughter. "If any of these

girls didn't die of fright on seeing General Zhao Wei,

I would be amazed."

"Don't underestimate us," replied Huo Qingtong

angrily. "We will send someone back with you

immediately. Pick someone yourself. Whoever you choose

will go. You will see what spirit we followers of

Mohammed have," The Muslims roared their approval and

everyone began shouting "Choose me! Choose me!"

"All right," said the envoy coldly. He wanted to find

the weakest, most useless girl who would immediately

burst into tears so that the Muslims would lose face

completely. His eyes roved over the crowd, searching

back and forth, and suddenly lit up. He walked over to

Princess Fragrance and pointed at her. "Let her go!"

he said.

The Princess glanced at him and slowly stood up. "For

my tribe, for my brothers and sisters, I would go

anywhere without fear. Allah the true God will surely

protect me," she said.

Her apparent weakness had given way to calm dignity.

Faced with her stunning beauty, the envoy

involuntarily lowered his eyes, and he felt a tinge of

regret at his choice. Muzhuolun, Huo Qingtong and the

other Muslims, although proud that she had not

displayed weakness, were nonetheless anxious. Huo

Qingtong was particularly worried. Her sister knew no

kung fu, and could not be allowed to enter the Tiger's

Lair unprotected. "She is my sister," she said. "I

will go in her place."

The envoy laughed. "I always knew the word of a girl

could not be relied upon. If you don't have the nerve,

why bother sending anyone? War or surrender, I can

take the message for you."

"If we meet on the battlefield and if you don't run

away, I'll let you see whether us girls are useless or

not," said Huo Qingtong, livid with anger.

"I would naturally be merciful with a beauty such as

you," he replied, smiling. The Muslims gnashed their

teeth at his insolence.

"Sister, I will go," the Princess said to Huo

Qingtong. "Don't be afraid." She pulled Chen up by the

hand. "He will go with me."

In the light of the flames from the bonfire, Huo

Qingtong suddenly recognised Chen and stared at him in

shock. Chen surreptitiously motioned with his hand

indicating that she should not reveal his identity

yet, then turned to the envoy.

"We mean what we say," he said. "I will go alone with

her to see General Zhao Wei. Unlike you, we do not

require four giants to protect us. What use are these

giants anyway?"

"A camel can carry a load of thousand catties, but a

man can only carry one tenth as much," added the

Princess. "Should the man ride the camel or the camel

the man?" A great laugh went up from the crowd at this

taunt.

"What are they laughing at?" one of the four giants

asked the envoy.

"They say that you are useless even though you are

large and strong."

Incensed, the giant beat his chest with his hands.

"Who dares to match himself against me?" he roared.

"What use are you?" the envoy said to Chen. "You've

just a little stripling. Even if you were ten times

stouter, you would still not be as strong as he."

Chen decided this envoy needed to be cut down to size

to save the face of the Muslims. He took three steps

forward.

"I may be the most useless member of our tribe but I

am still better than you Manchus," he said. "Tell

those four hulks to come over here."

By this time, Muzhuolun had also recognized Chen.

"Daughter, look who it is!" he cried to Huo Qingtong

in surprise and joy. The girl did not answer.

Muzhuolun looked over and saw her eyes brimming with

tears, and realised both his daughters were in love

with the same man. He wondered how Chen had met his

younger daughter.

Next to the giants, Chen looked like a small child. He

had come forward, the Muslims decided, for the honour

of the Princess and the tribe, but was obviously no

match for the giants. Chen raised his hands to the

crowd.

"Brothers," he said. "These Manchurians are useless.

Let me deal with them by myself."

The envoy translated his words to the four giants, who

angrily sprang forward to grab Chen. Chen stood solid,

smiling faintly, and the envoy hurriedly restrained

the four.

"Since this gentleman wants a contest, there will be

no blame if anyone gets hurt," the envoy said to

Muzhuolun. "It must be one against one, no-one else is

allowed to interfere."

Muzhuolun grunted once.

"What fun is there in one to one?" said Chen. "Tell

the four of them to come at once."

"How many will there be on your side?" the envoy

asked.

"How many? Why, just myself of course." A murmur ran

through the crowd: he had gone too far this time.

The envoy laughed coldly. "Are you Muslims really so

formidable? First Tiger," he said to the largest of

the four giants. "You first." First Tiger strode

forward. "You will take it in turns to punch each

other. Neither is allowed to block or retreat. The

first one to fall loses."

"One is not enough," Chen said. "If we are going to

fight, let them all fight together."

The envoy began to suspect Chen had some plan worked

out. "Don't worry," he said. "If you beat this one,

the others will come after you of their own accord."
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