"I have found some more courage," he finally said. He

covered the document with his cap and shouted "Change!

Change!" His hand pointed to left and right, up and

down, and settled on the leather case that contained

the jade vases. "In! In! Go into the case!" he roared.

He picked up the cap, and the document had indeed

disappeared.

"He's got quite a talent, this Turtle," the officer

commented. The dwarf bowed before Master Liang.

"Thank you for your contribution," he said, then

picked up the ingot and handed it to the girl standing

behind him. The crowd clapped in approval.

"All right, now give me the dispatch back," said the

officer.

The dwarf smiled. "It's in the leather case. Please

open it and look," he replied. All the agency men

jumped in shock as he spoke. The case was sealed with

the Imperial seal, and none dared to break it open.

The officer went over and felt the case with his hand.

"Excuse me, my man," said Wang Weiyang. "That is a

treasure belonging to the Imperial court. It cannot be

touched."

"You must be joking," the officer replied and

continued to feel the case.

"Who's joking with you? Back off a bit!" one of the

Imperial Guardsmen warned.

"Yes sir," the officer said. "But please return the

dispatch to me, sir."

"Enough of your tricks!" the guardsman shouted at the

dwarf. "Give him back the dispatch, quickly!"

"It's in the leather case. If you don't believe me,

open it and see," said the dwarf.

The officer flew into a rage and punched him on the

shoulder. "Hand it over!" he roared.

The dwarf put on a sorrowful expression. "I dare not

deceive you," he said. "The dispatch is inside the

leather case, but I cannot spirit it out again!"

Master Liang walked over to the Imperial Guardsman.

"What is your honourable surname, sir?" he asked

politely.

"My surname is Lin."

"Master Lin, these marketplace scoundrels have no

sense of propriety. Please take a hand in this matter

and return the dispatch to him."

"This case is the property of the Emperor," Lin

replied. "Who would dare to open it without the

Emperor's permission?"

Master Liang frowned, as if in a quandary.

"If you don't return that dispatch to me, you will be

guilty of delaying important government business which

is a capital offence," said the officer. "What do you

say brothers?"

Seated around the room were another dozen or so army

officers and men who began to edge towards Lin.

Wang Weiyang, with his decades of experience, felt

there was something strange about the scene. He

guessed that the dwarf was the key to the affair and

stretched out his hand to grab his arm. The dwarf

shrank away, crying: "Master, master, have mercy on

me!"

Wang noted the dwarf's agility and became even more

suspicious. He was just about to chase after him when

the military men began brawling with the lead escorts

and Imperial Guardsmen. He clutched the leather case

to his chest and a lead escort stood guard on either

side of him. The Guardsman Lin pulled out his dagger

and slammed into the table.

"Enough of this!" he roared. "Back off, all of you!"

The army officer drew his sword. "If you don't return

the document, I'll finish you off even if I die doing

it!" he shouted. "Brothers! All together!"

He lunged forward and clashed with Lin. The other

armymen drew their weapons and charged into the fray

and a great battle ensued. Guardsman Lin was one of

the best fighters in the Imperial Guard, but after a

few strokes he found this lowly army officer gaining

the upper hand.

Wang Weiyang shouted repeatedly for them all to stop

but no-one listened. In the midst of the confusion,

another group suddenly surged in through the door and

someone commanded: "Seize the trouble-makers!"

The army men all stopped where they were. Guardsman

Lin took a deep breath and saw that a young official

had entered surrounded by several dozen soldiers. He

and immediately recognized the man as the Emperor's

favorite, Fu Kangan, who held the posts of military

governor of Manchuria, commander-in-chief of the Nine

Gates of Beijing as well as commander of the Imperial

Guard. Lin hastily pushed his way forward and greeted

Fu as the other Imperial Guardsmen bowed before him.

"What's going here?" the official asked.

"They started making trouble, Commander," Lin replied,

and gave an account of what had occurred.

"And where is the magician?" the official asked. The

dwarf, who had hidden himself in a far corner, now

came forward.

"This is a very strange business," the official said.

"You will all come with me to Hangzhou. I wish to

conduct a thorough investigation."

"Yes, sir. A wise decision, sir," said Lin.

"Let us go," the official said, then walked outside

and remounted his horse. The soldiers under his

command gathered together the agency men, the army

officer that had started the trouble and even the

Muslim envoy and herded them out after him.

"Master Fu," said Lin to the official. "This is the

head of the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency, Wang Weiyang."

Wang went over and bowed in greeting, but the official

merely glanced at him once from head to foot and

grunted. "Let's go," he said.

The column of men entered Hangzhou city and made its

way to a huge private residence by the West Lake.

"This must be where the commander is staying," Wang

thought to himself. "Being the Emperor's favorite,

it's not surprising he has such a strong force of men

with him."

They entered the rear hall of the residence. "Please

be seated," the official said to Guardsman Lin, and

continued on into an inner chamber by himself.

A short while later, an Imperial Guard officer came

out and escorted the army officer who had started the

trouble, the conjuring dwarf, Master Liang and his

servants inside.

"I was getting a bit worried during that brawl," said

one of the lead escorts. "There was something funny

about those army men. I thought they might try to

damage the jade vases."

"Yes, their kung fu was surprisingly good for army

officers," Guardsman Lin replied. "It's lucky

Commander Fu turned up or we may have had some

trouble."

"Commander Fu's Inner Strength Kung Fu is superb,"

said Wang Weiyang. "It's very unusual for such a

seniornobleman to be so accomplished in the martial

arts."

"What?" said Lin. "Commander Fu's kung fu is good? How

do you know?"

"You can see it in his eyes."

As they were talking, an officer came out. "Wang

Weiyang of the Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency, come with

me," he said. Wang stood up and followed him out.

They passed through two courtyards and into another

hall in which sat Commander Fu Kangan on a dais. He

had changed into an official gown with a huge plume in

his cap, and the imposing atmosphere was enhanced by

the long official desk in front of him and the many

Imperial Guardsmen standing on either side.

As he walked in, two officers shouted in unison:

"Kneel!" Wang did as he was told.

"So you're Wang Weiyang, are you?" Fu said shortly.

"I am sir," said Wang.

"I hear you have the nickname 'North China Earth

Shaker'."

"That is just what some of my friends call me."

"Both the Emperor and I live in Beijing," Fu said

coldly. "Are you suggesting you can shake us off our

feet too?"

Wang felt a sudden wave of fear. He hastily kowtowed

and said: "This humble person would not dare. I will

immediately do away with the nickname."

"Such insolence!" Fu roared. "Take him away!"

Two soldiers marched up and led him off, and Wang, in

spite of his kung fu skills, did not dare to resist.

The Imperial Guardsmen and lead escorts were brought

in one after the other, and one after another they

were taken away and thrown manacled into the dungeons.

Finally, an army officer marched up to Fu's table

carrying the leather box in both hands, knelt down on

one knee and raised it above his head in presentation,

saying: "Commander Fu, here are the jade vases."

Fu laughed out loud, and stepped down off the dais.

The dwarf and the others kneeling on the ground also

stood up and began laughing.

"Seventh Brother," Fu said to the dwarf. "You truly

deserve the nickname Kung Fu Mastermind!"

The conjuring dwarf was in fact 'Mastermind' Xu, while

the Hangzhou Helmsman, Master Ma, had played the part

of Master Liang. Chen had taken the role of his

double, the Emperor's favorite, Fu Kangan, and the

Twin Knights and some of the other heroes had played

the trouble-making army officers. Xu had remembered

that Han Wenchong would be able to recognize the

heroes and so had arranged for him to be lured away

using the white horse as bait into the forest where he

had been seized.

Chen broke the seal on the leather box and lifted the

lid. Inside were a pair of jade vases about one foot

in height. On each was drawn the picture of a

beautiful girl dressed in Muslim clothes, her hair

plaited in a long queue. The girl was stunningly

attractive with bewitching eyes and cherry-red lips

that almost seemed to move. She looked as if she was

about to walk out of the picture.

Everyone gathered round and voiced their admiration

for the vases.

"When I saw Huo Qingtong, I thought she was certainly

the most beautiful girl under heaven," added Luo Bing.

"But this girl is even more lovely."

"It's just a picture," Zhou Qi protested. "You don't

think there's really anyone that beautiful, do you?"

"I don't think the artist could have invented such a

face," Luo Bing replied.

"Let's bring the Muslim envoy in and ask him," Xu

suggested.

As he entered, the envoy bowed respectfully before

Chen, in the belief that he was a senior court

official.

"You have had a long hard journey, sir," said Chen.

"What is your name?"

"My name is Kaibiexing. May I ask your name?"

Chen smiled but did not reply.

"This is General Li, Commander-in-chief of Zhejiang

Province," said Xu.

The others stared at him in surprise, wondering what

he had in mind.

"I trust Master Muzhuolun is well?" Chen said to the

envoy.

"Thank you for asking, Commander. Our leader is very

well."

"I wonder if you could tell me, sir, who is this

beautiful girl on the vases? Is it a real person, or

did the artist draw it from his own imagination?"

"The vases originally belonged to Master Muzhuolun's

daughter. The girl in the picture is her."

"Is she Huo Qingtong's elder or younger sister?" Zhou

Qi asked.

The envoy was surprised. "Do you know her, miss?"

"I have met her," she replied.

Chen wanted to ask about how Huo Qingtong was, but

stopped himself. "Please go and rest now," he said to

the envoy. "We will talk again later."

The envoy bowed. "Thank you, Commander. Where shall

the vases be kept?"

"We have other arrangements," said Chen.

The envoy was led away.
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