The heroes ate a full meal and then returned to their

rooms to rest. At six o'clock that evening, an

attendant reported that the tunnel diggers were

already under the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen, but that

a large rock was blocking their path which they were

trying to dig around. Chen and Xu assigned their

forces: some were to attack from the left, some from

the right, and some would be held in reserve. At about

eight o'clock, the attendant returned to report that

the diggers had come up against an iron plate and had

decided to stop work for a while for fear of alerting

those inside.

"We will wait another two hours and then make our

move," Chen said.

During those two hours, the heroes could hardly

control their impatience. Zhang Jin paced up and down

the hall mumbling curses. Master Ma kept taking out a

large gold watch and checking the time while Chen read

a book.

"The time has arrived," Ma finally announced.

The heroes all charged for the door. They donned

various disguises and made their way separately

through the darkened streets of Hangzhou to a house

just outside the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen.

'Crocodile' Jiang was waiting for them. "This area is

being tightly patrolled by Manchu troops," he said.

"Be as quiet as possible."

He stood at the entrance of the tunnel with his iron

oar at the ready, as the heroes filed through one by

one. The tunnel had been dug deep, and with Hangzhou

being such a low-lying area, it was ankle-deep in

water. By the time they reached the big rock, the

muddy water was up to their chests, while several

dozen yards further on, it rose to their heads.

Seven or eight attendants were waiting near the iron

plate with torches and spades in hand.

"Start work!" Chen ordered.

With the Great Helmsman there watching them, the

attendants worked like demons, and soon shifted the

rock to the side of the iron plate. Another moment of

furious digging and the iron plate was dislodged, and

'Leopard' Wei, his pair of hooks at the ready, went

through first with the rest of the heroes behind.

The attendants held the torches high to illuminate the

way as Wei ran along a corridor towards Wen's cell,

but found the way blocked by a locked iron gate.

"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother," said Xu suddenly. "Go

and guard the exit to the dungeon just in case the

Manchus have some secret scheme."

Yang and Wei assented and left. Several of the

attendants worked to loosen the stones to the side of

the gate, and then with the help of several of the

heroes, lifted the gate out of position. Luo Bing ran

through, and into Wen's cell only to find it empty.

After so many disappointments, Luo Bing crumpled onto

the floor and began to sob. Zhou Qi wanted to comfort

her, but her father held her back.

"Let her be," he said. "A cry will do her good."

"Commander Li was afraid we would come to organise a

jail break and has moved Fourth Brother somewhere

else," Xu said.

"But now we are in the Yamen, we will find him no

matter what," Chen replied.

They went to the door of the dungeon and saw Yang

fighting fiercely with a group of Manchu soldiers.

Priest Wu Chen gave a shout and charged out of the

dungeon and finished off two Manchu soldiers on the

spot. Further on, they found Wei battling six or seven

officers.

"Considering my relationship with Commander Li, I had

better not reveal myself," Lu Feiqing thought. He

ripped a strip off his gown and covered his face so

that only the eyes were showing. Just then, the Manchu

soldiers broke and retreated up to the Yamen courtyard

in confusion with Wei and the others in hot pursuit.

Xu leapt up onto a nearby wall and saw soldiers

standing guard throughout the whole Yamen. A drum

sounded, and Xu guessed the commanders were still

positioning their soldiers. Then he spotted a lonely

two-storey building in the southern part of the main

courtyard surrounded by several hundred troops. There

was nothing special about the building except for the

tight defences, and he decided that was probably where

Wen was being held. He jumped down from the wall and

whirled his sword around his head.

"Brothers, follow me!" he shouted, and charged towards

the building.

The further they went, the more soldiers appeared. But

despite their numerical superiority, the Manchu troops

were unable to contain the Red Flower Society

fighters, each of them a master of the martial arts.

In only a short while, the heroes had fought to within

a few yards of the building.

"Third Brother, let's go and have a look inside,"

Priest Wu Chen said to 'Buddha' Zhao.

"Right," said Zhao, and they sprang over to the

doorway with two long strides. A sword sliced towards

them, but with one thrust from the priest's blade, the

swordsman screamed and his weapon clattered to the

ground. They raced into the building with Luo Bing and

the others close behind.

As the fighting continued, the heroes found the

numbers of Manchu soldiers diminishing. Suddenly they

heard Priest Wu Chen yell from upstairs: "Fourth

Brother is here! We've got him!" The heroes shouted in

joy.

Zhou Qi raced up the stairs and saw everyone gathered

round an iron cage. Chen was sawing at the bars with

the Frozen Emerald Sword. Zhou Qi went close and

noticed that inside the iron cage was another smaller

cage in which Wen sat with his legs and arms manacled

like a captured wild animal. Chen sawed through two

bars, and Zhang Jin used brute strength to twist them

back. Luo Bing, thanks to her slim figure, managed to

wriggle into the outer cage, then took the sword from

Chen and began to saw away at the lock on the small

cage. The heroes were all smiling jubilantly. Suddenly

they heard a bugle sound, and the remaining Manchu

troops retreated out about one hundred feet and formed

themselves into ranks around the building.

"Master Chen!" someone shouted from amongst the Manchu

ranks. "I wish to speak with Master Chen!"

Chen went to the window and spotted Commander Li

outside. "I am here. What is it, Commander?"

"Come out quickly or you will all die."

"We will not come out alone, even faced with death,"

Chen replied. "I am sorry, but today we intend to

leave with Master Wen."

"Don't be so stubborn," Li shouted. "Start the fire!"

The troops pushed out huge piles of firewood and grass

and surrounded the building with them. The firewood

was soaked in oil and a second after a torch was

thrown into it, a fiery ring sprang up with the heroes

trapped inside.

Chen could see how dangerous the situation was, but he

remained calm. "Everyone together," he said quietly.

"Cut through the bars as quickly as you can."

A man walked out from behind Li and pointed angrily at

Chen. "Death is staring you in the face and still you

don't go down on your knees and beg for mercy?" he

boomed. "Do you realize what we have in that

building?"

As Chen stood thinking, he heard Xu exclaim in their

secret code: "Oh no, they've packed the place with

gunpowder."

Chen noticed a row of wooden barrels around the room

they were in. With a quick movement, he smashed one of

them open and black dust flew out in all directions,

the smell of saltpetre filling their noses. His heart

froze. "Is the whole Red Flower Society going to be

blown to pieces today?" he wondered. He turned and saw

the inner cage had been opened and Luo Bing helping

Wen out.

"Sister Luo Bing, Brother Zhao!" he shouted. "You two

look after Fourth Brother. Everyone else follow me."

He charged down the stairs. Zhang Jin bent over and

heaved Wen onto his back while Luo Bing and Zhao

escorted them down to the ground floor. As they

reached the door, they saw swarms of arrows like

locusts flying at them. Wei and the Twin Knights tried

several times to break out of the building, but each

time they were forced back inside.

"You are standing in a gunpowder keg and I have the

fuse here," Commander Li shouted. He raised a fiery

torch and waved it.

"As soon as I light the fuse, you will all be burnt to

ashes. Put Wen down immediately."

Chen knew that what he said was true, but he also

guessed that because of Wen's importance to the

Emperor, Li would not dare to light the fuse.

"Put Fourth Brother down!" he shouted. "Let's get out

of here!" He brandished his long sword and charged out

with Wei and the Twin Knights at his side.

Zhang Jin, running flat out with his head down, didn't

hear what Chen had said.

"Put Fourth Brother down," Zhao told him. "It's too

dangerous. We've got to get out or he'll get killed."

Zhang Jin placed Wen on the ground near the door. Luo

Bing hesitated, but Zhang Jin grabbed her arm and

charged on after the others. Li saw in the firelight

that they had abandoned Wen, and with a wave of his

hand ordered the archers to stop firing to prevent him

being hit by mistake.

Having made it out of the building, the heroes

regrouped by the wall.

"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother and the

Twin Knights, you five lead an attack on the Manchu

troops and disperse them," ordered Chen. "Brother Xu,

you think of a way to cut the gunpowder fuse. The rest

of you, as soon as that's done, we will go back and

rescue Fourth Brother."

Commander Li was just about to order someone over to

keep watch on Wen when he spotted the Twin Knights

approaching. He hastily shouted to a detachment of

Imperial Bodyguards who raced over to intercept the

Red Flower Society fighters.

Lu Feiqing was the first to spot a way out of the

dilemma. He ran like an arrow straight for Commander

Li. Li's bodyguards moved to stop him, but Lu dodged

to left and right and slipped past them all. In a

moment, he was at Li's side. Yuanzhi, wearing boy's

clothes, was standing by her father's side. Seeing

this strange masked man charging forward, she cried

out shrilly: "How dare you!" and thrust her sword

straight at his chest. Lu ducked under the stroke,

then slipped round behind Commander Li and gave him a

powerful shove which sent him reeling forward. Full of

fear for her father, Yuanzhi struck out again with her

sword, but Lu dodged out of the way once more, picked

Li up in his arms and ran inside the circle of fire.

The Manchu troops shouted in alarm, but the heat from

the flames was so intense that none dared to follow

him.

The Red Flower Society heroes saw Lu carrying

Commander Li into the danger zone, and Zhang Jin and

'Crocodile' Jiang went in after them.

"That's enough," ordered Chen. "No-one else need go

in."

The Manchu troops completely ignored the Red Flower

Society fighters, and stared anxiously at the men in

the centre of the ring of fire. Suddenly, someone with

a torch leapt over to the gunpowder fuse and lit it.

Deng Tunan recognized him as Imperial Bodyguard Fan

who had shamed himself in front of the Emperor the day

before. He bore such a deep grudge over the incident,

that he wanted only to snatch victory away from the

Red Flower Society with no concern for whether

Commander Li lived or died.

The thread of sparks whirled off at an incredible

speed. Once it reached the circle of fire, disaster

would be inevitable. The Manchu troops scattered in

panic and in the midst of the confusion, a figure, his

face covered with a blue silk mask, raced forward and

threw himself down on to the gunpowder. His clothes

burst into flames, but the fuse was stopped.

The immediate danger past, Zhang Jin and 'Crocodile'

Jiang charged out through the circle of fire with Wen

Tailai in their arms. The flames were now even more

fierce, and all three caught fire. The Twin Knights,

racing forward to meet them, shouting: "Roll! Roll!"

Zhang Jin and Jiang first put Wen down and rolled him

about until all the flames on him had been

extinguished, then put out their own fires. Luo Bing

ran up to attend to Wen.

The Twin Knights meanwhile ran over to rescue the

masked man, who had collapsed on the ground. By the

time the flames had been extinguished, his body was a

mass of burns.

Once Wen was out of danger, Lu slung Commander Li over

his shoulder, took a deep breath and leapt back out of

the circle like a great bird.

"We've done it!" Chen shouted. "Retreat, retreat!"

Priest Wu Chen led the way, his sword flying, and the

others followed, the Twin Knights carrying the masked

man, Zhang Jin carrying Wen and Lu with Commander Li

over his shoulder.

The Manchu troops chased after them, shouting and

yelling, but none dared get too close. The Imperial

Bodyguards, however, were frantic at the sight of Wen

escaping: his loss could cost them their heads. Among

them was Fan, the one who had lit the fuse. Chen

handed the Frozen Emerald sword to 'Buddha' Zhao.

"Cover the others as they retreat, Third Brother," he

said. "I'm going to deal with this fellow." He pulled

out his 'Pearl Strings', the ropes with steel balls

fastened to the ends, and with a flick of his hand,

sent them flying towards Fan.

Fan tried to leap out of the way, but he was not quick

enough, and the strings wrapped themselves round his

legs. Chen yanked them back fiercely, and threw Fan

into the heart of the roaring flames.

By this time, almost all of the heroes had escaped

over the Yamen walls. Chen raised his hand and shouted

to the rest: "Retreat!"

'Leopard' Wei raced over to the gunpowder fuse and

relit it, and the Manchu troops cried out in fear as

the remaining Red Flower Society fighters retired.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and a roar as

the gunpowder stacked in the building ignited.

Explosion followed explosion, black smoke swirled up

and bricks flew in all directions. The soldiers and

guardsmen threw themselves on the ground, but despite

their great distance from the building, several dozen

of them had their heads smashed to pieces by stray

bricks and pieces of wood. By the time the rest

crawled back onto their feet, the Red Flower Society

heroes were gone.

Only when they were certain they were not being chased

did the heroes relax. They rode out of Hangzhou and

arrived at a river with more than a dozen boats lined

up along the bank. The heroes joyfully boarded the

craft.

"Master Chen," Lu Feiqing whispered. "I have had

connections with Commander Li in the past. Now that

Brother Wen is safe, why don't we let him go?"

"Whatever you say," Chen replied, and on his orders,

an attendant untied Li's bonds and released him.

"Anchors aweigh!" Chen called. "Head for Jiaxing!"

The rivers and canals of Zhejiang Province are an

endless maze with countless twists and turns, and in a

moment the boats had disappeared.

"We'll head west and take Fourth Brother to Heavenly

Eye Mountain to convalesce," said Chen. "Let Commander

Li race off to Jiaxing after us!"

The heroes all burst out laughing and the accumulated

low spirits of several months were swept away.

Dawn was just breaking as Luo Bing wiped Wen's body

clean. His manacles had been sawn off with the Frozen

Emerald sword, and he was in a deep sleep.

"Great Helmsman," said Xu. "That masked man who saved

Fourth Brother is very badly wounded. Shall we have a

look at him?"

"Since he keeps his face covered, he obviously does

not wish to be recognized. I don't think we should,"

said Lord Zhou.

Xin Yan gently applied white soya sauce to the masked

man's burns, but his whole body had been blistered by

the flames, and he cried out incessantly in pain. His

hands were clawing about aimlessly as he screamed in

pain, and suddenly ripped the mask off. The heroes all

cried out in unison: "Fourteenth Brother!"

It was 'Scholar' Yu. They looked at his face,

red-black and swollen with countless blisters, and

were horrified. Luo Bing brought over a wet cloth and

lightly wiped the dirt and gunpowder from his face

then applied more white soya sauce. Whenever she

thought about his disgraceful behaviour that night

near Iron Gall Manor she still felt angry, but having

seen what he was willing to go through to save her own

husband, she knew that his infatuation was more than

just lust. She looked down at him and wondered how she

could ever repay him.

The boats docked and Master Ma sent someone hurrying

off to find a doctor. When he came, the doctor

examined Wen and said: "This gentleman's wounds are

only superficial. He is strong and healthy, and with

several months of recuperation there should be no

problem." Pointing at Yu, he added: "This gentleman,

however, has extremely serious burns. There is a

danger that the fire poison will attack his heart. I

will make out a prescription to counter it and have

another look later." From his tone, he appeard to

consider it hopeless.

The doctor went ashore. A while later, Wen opened his

eyes and looked at everyone standing around him.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked wearily.

Luo Bing burst into tears. "Brother!" she cried

happily. "You've come back. You've come back!"

Wen nodded slightly and closed his eyes again.

During the night battle at the Yellow River crossing,

Yuanzhi had been cut off from the Red Flower Society

fighters. She spotted a carriage and jumped into it,

urged the mules and raced blindly away. It was only

next morning when she had put a great distance between

herself and the Manchu army that she stopped to rest.

Opening the carriage curtain, she found 'Scholar' Yu

lying inside unconscious and badly wounded. After

carefully considering the situation, she climbed back

onto the carriage and drove on to Wenguang town.

As the daughter of an official, she was used to doing

things in an impressive manner. She chose the largest

residence in the town and knocked on it's door to ask

for lodgings. The residence belonged to the evil

landowner, Tang, who took them in. When Tang was found

murdered, Yu realized immediately that they could be

implicated, and they escaped in the confusion. Yuanzhi

was planning to go to Hangzhou to be with her parents

and Yu, knowing that Hangzhou was also where Wen was

being held, decided they may as well go together. He

was still seriously wounded, and Yuanzhi looked after

him carefully as they travelled.

When they reached Hangzhou, Yuanzhi told her parents

that Yu had been wounded while saving her from

bandits, and her father, Commander Li, allowed him to

stay in the Yamen as an expression of his gratitude. A

doctor was called to treat his injuries. When Li saw

what a refined person Yu was, skilled in both

scholarly and martial pursuits, he decided that once

his wounds had healed he would invite Yu to become his

son-in-law. Little did he know that Yu was also a key

member of the Red Flower Society.
关键字:书剑恩仇录
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