A shout of surprise went up from the others, and greatly frightened, Xin Yan lunged to one side, but one of the spiked balls struck his left shoulder. There was no pain, but the shoulder immediately went numb. The heroes edged their little boats forward, all eager to match themselves against Long.
The other Imperial bodyguards were ashamed that Long should use such a low trick against a boy in front of the Emperor. But protecting His Highness was of overriding importance, and they immediately pulled out their weapons. Commander Li gave a sharp whistle, signalling the troops on the shore to mobilise.
"Brothers!" Chen called. "Master Dongfang is my honoured guest. We cannot show any impoliteness towards him. Move back, all of you."
The heroes rowed back several yards. Yang and Zhang Jin had already put the target boat back to the water, and Luo Bing was inspecting Xin Yan's wound. 'Mastermind' Xu also jumped over to see how he was.
"Don't worry, it's not painful," Xin Yan said. "But it's very itchy."
He moved his hand up to scratch the wound and Xu quickly stopped him. He could see the spiked ball had been dipped in a very powerful poison.
"Let go of me," Xin Yan yelled. "It's too itchy to bear!" He struggled powerfully to break free.
"Be patient for a moment," Xu told Xin Yan, trying not to look as worried as he felt. He turned to Luo Bing. "Ask Third Brother to come over."
Another boat moved swiftly up alongside with the Red Flower Society's Hangzhou chief Master Ma standing on the brow. He leapt over next to Xu and whispered: "Master Xu, the whole lake is surrounded by Manchu troops including Imperial Guard units."
"How many altogether?"
"Seven or eight thousand not counting the reserve forces waiting further away."
"Go and call together all the brothers in Hangzhou and surrounding areas. Tell them to gather near the lake and await orders. Also tell them to have a red flower hidden on their persons." Ma nodded.
"How many can you get together immediately?" Xu asked.
"Including the workers from my factories, about two thousand," he replied.
"Two thousand of our brothers should be enough to deal with fifteen thousand of them," said Xu. "And what's more, many of the troops in the Chinese units are society members. Go and make the arrangements." Ma nodded and left.
'Buddha' Zhao's boat glided over. He looked at Xin Yan's wound and frowned deeply. He carefully pulled out the poisonous spiked ball, then took a large medicine pill from his bag and placed it into the open wound. He looked up at Xu.
"There's nothing I can do," he said, desolation in his voice. "The poison is extremely potent. No-one can save him except the man responsible."
"How long can he hold on?" Xu asked, greatly frightened.
"At the most, six hours."
"Third Brother, let's go and get that fellow over here and force him to deliver the antidote."
Zhao leapt in three great bounds over to the boat in which Chen and Qian Long were sitting, with each bound touching down on the deck of a different boat.
"Master Lu," he said. "I would like to ask this gentleman to acquaint me with some of his tricks."
Chen, who was furious at the wonding of Xin Yan, turned to Qian Long.
"This friend of mine is also quite good with projectiles," he said. "It would be interesting to see them matched against each other."
The Emperor was eager to see any spectacle, the more dangerous the better. "Go on," he said to Long. "But don't lose." Long bowed.
"That's the Thousand-Arm Buddha," Bai whispered. "Be careful."
Long knew the name well, and shuddered at the thought of facing him. But he had never yet met his equal in the field of projectiles. "This is just between you and me," he said to Zhao.
"Do you think we would trick you?" Zhao demanded angrily.
"Right. That's what I wanted to hear you say," Long replied, and leapt onto the prow of a boat nearby.
Zhao sent off a flurry of darts and sleeve arrows after him, and Long's heart froze at the sight of such speed. He threw himself down onto the deck and the darts struck the boat with a quick succession of popping noises.
Long jumped up again, and spotting Zhao's figure in the moonlight, flung a dart at him. Zhao dodged to the right to avoid it, and suddenly found three of the poisoned spiked balls winging towards him. He leant over backwards and the spiked balls whizzed passed the tip of his nose. Three more spiked balls followed in quick successsion. Zhao knocked two of them into the water with darts of his own, then caught the third and placed it inside his gown.
Long leapt towards another boat and Zhao threw out a boomerang-shaped blade. Long ducked and watched in surprise as the blade swirled over him and returned to Zhao's hand. Fascinated by the sight of the strange weapon, Long failed to notice two other darts flying towards him which simultaneously struck both his shoulders. His body went limp and he fell to his knees.
The Imperial Guards were astounded at the sight of him falling. Chu Yuan, one of Long's comrades, raced over to defend him, but another swordsman intercepted him. Chu saw in the moonlight that the man was dressed in Taoist robes.
"Who are you?" he barked.
Priest Wu Chen smiled. "Do you mean to say you are a swordsman and you don't know me?" he asked.
Chu attacked with a 'Buddha Ambushing the Tiger' stroke followed by a 'Nine Successions' stroke.
"That's very good," Wu Chen said, still smiling. "Now continue with a 'Gold Wheel' stroke".
As he spoke, Chu did indeed attack with a 'Gold Wheel' stroke. "How did he know?" he wondered, startled. The priest also guessed his next two moves correctly, just as if he was a teacher instructing a pupil. Chu retreated two paces and stared at him, embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Zhao had grabbed Long and was pressuring him to hand over the antidote. Long, however closed his eyes and said nothing. "Just as long as I don't give in, the Emperor will surely reward me when we get back," he thought.
Priest Wu Chen continued his game of forcing Bodyguard Chu to counter with the moves he called out. Qian Long, although a mediocre fighter himself, had a thorough knowledge of kung fu and was amused by the spectacle. But he felt the chill of anxiety too.
"Chu is one of the top Imperial Bodyguards," he thought. "What use are they if these bandits can play with them in such a fashion?" He watched for a few more moves and then decided he had had enough.
"Tell him to come back," he said to Bai.
"Brother Chu," Bai shouted. "The Master asks you to come here."
Chu breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor's order was like a reprieve from the death sentence, and he prepared to jump away. Priest Wu Chen, however, had other ideas.
"Just a moment," he said. He struck forward with his sword and Chu felt a cool breeze course across his face and body as the sword flashed about him. The courtesan Beautiful Jade suddenly laughed out loud, and Chu looked down and saw that his clothes had been cut to shreds by the priest's sword. Not only that: he felt his head and found his hair and queue had been shaved completely off. As he shook with fear and shame, his trousers suddenly fell down.
"These friends of yours are extraordinarily skilled in the martial arts, Master Lu," Qian Long said to Chen. "Why don't you all offer your services to the court? It is a pity to waste such talent."
Chen smiled. "We would prefer to do just as we please," he said. "But thank you. We are very grateful of the offer."
"Since that is the case, I will take my leave. It is getting late." Qian Long looked meaningfully over at Bodyguard Long in the other boat.
"Brother Zhao," Chen called. "Let Master Dongfang's servant come back."
"Absolutely not!" Luo Bing answered. "Xin Yan has poisoned by him and he refuses to hand over the antidote."
Qian Long whispered some instructions to Commander Li, then turned to Long. "Give him the antidote," he ordered.
"I deserve to die," Long replied. "I didn't bring the antidote with me. I left it in Beijing."
"Brother Zhao, give me two of those spiked balls," said Xu. Zhao pulled them out of his bag and handed them over. Xu ripped Long's gown off his chest and drove the balls into him. Long cried out in panic.
"Master Lu," Xu shouted. "Please send over some wine. We want to drink a toast with our friend here to seal our friendship, and then we will let him go."
"All right," said Chen. Beautiful Jade filled three cups with wine, and Chen threw them one by one over to the other boat. Zhao calmly stetched out his hand and caught them without a drop being spilled.
Xu took one of the cups. "Master Long, let us drink a toast," he said. Long knew that the alcohol would greatly speed up the effects of the poison and clamped his mouth shut.
"Go on, have a drink. There's no need to stand on ceremony," said Xu with a smile. He grabbed Long's nose between his third and little fingers then pressed strongly on his cheeks with the thumb and forefinger, forcing Long to open his mouth, and poured all three cups of wine into him.
Long decided his life was more important than his reputation. "Let me go," he said. "I...I...I'll get the antidote," Zhao laughed and loosened his grip. Long pulled three packets of medicine from his bag.
"The red one should be taken orally, the black one sucks out the poision and the white one closes the wound," he said and fainted away.
Zhao hurriedly poured the red medicine into one of the wine cups, mixed it with some lake water and gave it to Xin Yan to drink, then spread the black medicine onto the wound. A moment later, black blood welled out of the gash. Luo Bing wiped it up as it appeared, and gradually the blood turned red. Xin Yan cried out in pain as Zhao administered the white medicine.
"Please forgive my friends," Chen said to Qian Long. "They are very unrefined."
Qian Long laughed. "It has certainly been an interesting day. I will take my leave now."
"Master Dongfang wishes to go home," Chen called. "Head back to the shore!"
The flotilla glided slowly off, and soon reached the lakeside. Commander Li jumped ashore and helped Qian Long across onto land as the bodyguards formed a protective semi-circle. Li pulled out a pipe and blew three sharp notes on it, and several hundred Imperial troops appeared.
"You insolent wretches!" Li shouted at the Red Flower Society fighters. "You are in the sight of the Emperor and still you don't kowtow?"
Xu gestured with his hand, and Master Ma and his son fired flares up into the air above the lake. A moment later, a huge roar went up from all sides, and men rushed out from the trees, from behind buildings and from under bridges, each one with a red flower on his lapel and a sword in his hand.
"Brothers!" Xu shouted. "The Great Helmsman has arrived!" The society men roared their approval and surged forward.
The Imperial Bodyguards and troops drew their swords, fixed arrows to bows, and the two sides confronted each other, each determined not to yield. Commander Li mounted a horse and waited for Qian Long's order to seize the Red Flower Society fighters.
Chen walked calmly over to an officer of the Imperial Bodyguard and pointed at the horsewhip he was holding. Hypnotised by Chen's gaze, the officer meekly dismounted and handed the whip over. Chen then leapt onto his horse and pulled a red flower from his pocket which he fixed to his gown. The flower was made from the finest silk stitched with gold thread and the green leaves around it were studded with jewels which glittered and sparkled in the torchlight. It was the badge of the Great Helmsman and the Red Flower Socety heroes bowed before him in respect.
Suddenly, a large number of the soldiers broke from the Manchu ranks and swarmed forward despite shouts from their officers. They raced over to Chen, bowed, then ran back to their ranks as another batch ran out to pay their respects. The Red Flower Society's power was so great in the south that many soldiers in the Manchu armies, especially those in units under Chinese command, were members.
Qian Long was flabbergasted at the sight of so many of his own troops breaking ranks to bow before Chen. The Imperial Guard units he had brought with him from Beijing were clearly the only ones he could trust, and considering the danger of his position, he decided a fight had to be avoided at all costs.
He turned to Commander Li.
"So these are your trusted soldiers," he said coldly. "Tell them to retire."
"Yes sir," replied Li, stunned with fear. He ordered the troops back to camp.
"Brothers!" 'Mastermind' Xu shouted when he saw the Manchu troops were retreating. "Thank you all for your trouble. Please go now."
An answering roar went up from the mass of the Society followers: "Great Helmsman, goodbye!" The thunderous cry echoed out over the lake.
Qian Long raised his hands towards Chen. "Thank you for a very pleasant outing on the lake," he said. "We will meet again."
** 3 **
Chen and the heroes returned to the boats and ate and drank to their hearts' content. They had handed out a crushing defeat to the Imperial Bodyguard, and were in good spirits.
"Brother Ma," Xu said to the society's Hangzhou Helmsman. "After such a setback, the Emperor certainly won't let matters rest. Advise all the brothers in Hangzhou to be very careful, especially those in the Manchu ranks."
Ma nodded, finished off his cup of wine and departed with his son.
Chen also drained his wine cup and sighed as he watched the broken reflection of the moon floating on the lake between the lotus lily leaves.
"What date is it today?" he asked Xu, looking up. "We have been so busy lately, I have completely lost track of time."
"It's the seventeenth. It was the mid-Autumn festival the day before yesterday. Don't you remember?"
