"That snuff box is very precious," one of Liang's servants warned. "Don't damage it now."
The dwarf smiled. "Please look in your pocket, sir," he replied. The servant felt around in his coat pocket and pulled out the snuff box.
Liang and his servants were amazed, and so were the Lead Escorts and Imperial Guardsmen. All crowded round to watch the dwarf's conjuring. Liang pulled a jade ring off his left hand and handed it to him saying: "Make this disappear too."
The dwarf put the ring on the table, covered it with his cap and blew on it.
"Alter east and transpose west, Topsy-turvy like the rest!" he shouted and whipped away the cap. The ring had disappeared. The onlookers gasped.
"Please feel in your pocket, master," the dwarf said, and Liang pulled the ring out and stared at it in surprise.
"Excellent, excellent!" he cried.
Several dozen people had entered the restaurant by this time, to see what was going on, including a number of army officers.
"What's so special about a trick like that?" one of the officers said. "Let's see if you dare to make this disappear." He slapped an official document down on the table and the onlookers saw it was marked "Urgent dispatch for Master Wang, Beijing Military Bureau", underneath which was written "Zhejiang Provincial Commander-in-chief Li".
"Please don't be offended, sir," the dwarf replied. "I may earn my living in a rather casual way, but I would never dare to touch an urgent official dispatch."
"What does it matter?" Liang said to the dwarf. "It's just a game. Go on, make it disappear." He turned to his servants. "Give me five taels of silver," he said. One of the servants pulled an ingot of silver from a bag and handed it to Liang who placed it on the table. "If you make the dispatch disappear, this silver ingot is yours," he said to the dwarf.
The dwarf looked at the ingot, then turned and held a whispered conversation with the girl.
"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 senior nobleman 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.
PART FIVE
** 1 **
`Mastermind' Xu went later to see the Muslim envoy.
"I will take you to see the Emperor," he said, and they left, accompanied by Meng carrying the leather box containing the vases. Unknown to the envoy, one of the vases had been removed.
When they arrived at the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen, Meng handed the leather box to the envoy and pointed to the main gate.
"Go in on your own," he said.
That afternoon, an attendant handed a visiting card to Great Helmsman Chen. It was signed 'Your servant Deng Tunan', the trusted lieutenant of Commander Li Keshou.
"Your plan has probably worked, Brother Xu," Chen said. "Brother Wei, please go and receive him."
'Leopard' Wei went to the reception room and saw a robust military official seated in a chair. "What is it you wish to see our master about, Master Deng?" he asked.
"I have come with instructions from Commander-in-Chief Li to see the Great Helmsman of your society to discuss a certain matter with him," Deng replied.
