"Watch the dart!" Xu yelled with a wave of his hand, and his opponent hastily withdrew. But it had been merely a feint, and Xu took advantage of the trick to escape round the corner.
The old woman chased after him.
"Watch out!" Xu yelled.
"You bastard monkey," the old woman cursed. "You can't fool your grandma again."
She made a grab for him, but this time, it was no feint: a piece of tile Xu had picked up from the roof hurtled towards her. Unable to avoid it, the old woman blocked the tile with her hand and it shattered. The Twin Knights, standing guard on the eighth floor, appeared to be fully occupied dealing with the old woman's partner, for they gave Xu no help. Xu's kung fu was no match for the old woman's, and after a few moves, he was forced to dodge out of the way again.
Qian Long watched with pleasure as the two new-comers fought their way up, but Chen also seemed strangely unconcerned. He pulled a chair to the window so that he could sit and observe the battle. There were only two of them, he thought. In the end, they could not overcome all the Red Flower Society's fighters.
Then he heard the sound of more dogs barking in the distance intermingled with shouting and galloping horses.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Xin Yan raced in.
"The guards outside report that more than two thousand Manchu troops are approaching, heading straight for us," he told Chen, using the Red Flower Society's secret language.
Chen nodded and Xin Yan raced back downstairs. Qian Long did not understand what Xin Yan had said, but seeing Chen's anxious expression, he knew it was unwelcome news. He looked into the distance and spotted amongst the maple trees a white flag on which was written one large word: "Li". Overjoyed, he realized Commander Li had come to save him.
Chen leaned out of the window and shouted: "Brother Ma, retreat into the pagoda and prepare the bows and arrows!"
Suddenly the old woman rushed into the room with the heroes close behind. Lord Zhou attacked her with his great sword while Chen pulled Qian Long into a corner.
Xu motioned some of the others to guard the windows, and Chen shouted: "Throw down your sword and we'll spare you!"
The old woman could see she was surrounded, but she continued to fight, completely unafraid.
"I've seen her sword style somewhere before, I'm sure," Zhou Qi said to Xu.
"Yes, I thought it was familiar too," he replied.
The old woman forced Lord Zhou back a pace, then shouted at Qian Long: "Are you the emperor?"
"Yes, I'm the emperor," he replied hastily. "Are all the rescue forces here?" The woman leapt onto the table, then with her sword pointing straight out, flew at him like a great bird, thrusting the blade at his heart. The heroes had assumed she was one of Qian Long's underlings come to rescue him, and were caught completely unaware by this fast move. But Chen, who was standing by Qian Long's side, thrust his fingers at a Yuedao point on the old woman's arm. Her blade slowed, giving Chen time to draw his dagger and place it in the way of the sword. The two blades clashed, then both retreated two paces. Chen pulled Qian Long back and placed himself in front of him, then saluted.
"What is your honourable name, Madame," he asked.
"Where did that dagger of yours come from?" she replied.
Chen was surprised by the question. "A friend gave it to me," he said.
"What friend?" the woman demanded. "You are a servant of the Emperor. Why would she give it to you? What is your relationship with Master Yuan, the Strange Knight of the Heavenly Pool?"
"He is my teacher," said Chen, answering the last question first.
"So that's it," the woman said. "Your teacher may be peculiar, but he's an upright gentleman. How could you have dishonoured him by becoming a running dog of the Manchus?"
"This is our Great Helmsman, Master Chen," 'Iron Pagoda' Yang shouted. "Don't talk such nonsense."
The old woman's face took on a puzzled expression. "Are you the Red Flower Society?" she asked.
"Correct," said Yang.
She turned on Chen. "Have you surrendered to the Manchus?" she screeched in rage.
"The Red Flower Society is just and upright. How could we bend our knees before the Manchu court?" he replied. "Please sit down, madame. Let us discuss this calmly."
Her expression softened slightly. "Where did your dagger come from?" she asked again.
Having seen her kung fu style, and hearing her questions, Chen had already almost solved the puzzle.
"It was given to me by a Muslim friend," he said. The exchange of presents between boys and girls was not an ordinary thing, and Chen was unhappy about discussing the matter in front of everyone.
"Do you know Huo Qingtong?" the old woman demanded. Chen nodded.
"It was Sister Huo Qingtong who gave it to him," Zhou Qi interjected. "Do you know her? If you do, we're all on the same side!"
"She is my pupil," the old woman said. "Since you say we are all on the same side, what are you doing helping the Emperor, and stopping me from killing him?"
"We caught the Emperor," said one of the Twin Knights. "If he is to be killed, it will not be you who does it."
"Huh!" the woman exclaimed. "You mean you caught the emperor and brought him here?"
"This is a misunderstanding, Madame," said Chen. "We invited the Emperor to come here. We assumed you were palace bodyguards coming to rescue him, that is why we tried to obstruct you."
The old woman went over to the window and stuck her head out. "Come down, husband!" she shouted at the top of her voice. An arrow shot in through the window from below and the old woman grabbed it by its tail, then turned in one movement and threw the arrow so that it implanted itself in the table top.
"You untrustworthy rascal," she screeched at Chen as the arrow quivered. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Please don't be angry Madame," replied Chen hastily. "Our brothers at the base of the pagoda are not yet aware of the situation." He walked to the window planning to tell the heroes to stop firing and saw that the pagoda was already surrounded by Manchu troops.
"Third Brother," he said to 'Buddha' Zhao. "Tell the others to guard the doorway, but not to go outside." Zhao nodded and went downstairs.
"You must be Madame Guan," said Lord Zhou to the old woman. "I have long respected you."
Madame Guan nodded slightly.
"This is Lord Zhou Zhongying," said Chen to her.
"Ah, I have heard about you too," she said, then suddenly screeched out: "Husband, come down! What are you doing?"
The others all jumped at this unexpected outburst.
"Your husband is fighting with Priest Wu Chen," said Lord Zhou. "Let's go and explain the situation to them quickly."
Chen motioned to the Twin Knights to guard Qian Long, and the rest raced up the stairs to the thirteenth floor.
"Husband!" Madame Guan shouted. "They're the Red Flower Society!"
Her husband Bald Vulture, locked in fierce combat with the Taoist priest, started in surprise, and hesitated in his attack. "Really?" he said.
There was a laugh from above their heads and Master Lu Feiqing dropped to the floor.
"Excellent swordsmanship, excellent," he chuckled, nodding appreciatively at both Bald Vulture and at Priest Wu Chen.
"Do you recognize me?" he asked Bald Vulture.
Bald Vulture looked at him closely for a moment, then gave a shout.
"Ah! You're 'Hidden Needle' Lu," he exclaimed.
"That's right," Lu smiled.
"What are you doing here?" Bald Vulture asked.
Lu turned without answering and bowed before the old woman. "Madame, it has been many years since I last saw you, but your kung fu is better than ever!"
"Ah," exclaimed Bald Vulture again, staring at Lu's blade. "That's a very precious sword you have there!"
Lu smiled. "It belongs to someone else," he said. "I'm just using it temporarily." But let me introduce you. He introduced all the heroes, to 'Bald Vulture' Lin and his wife Madame Guan, the Tianshan Twin Eagles.
"I thought you two were living happily in the Tianshan mountains," Lu said. "And here you are, trying to kill the Emperor."
"You have all met my young pupil, Huo Qingtong," replied Madame Guan. "This affair started with her. The Emperor sent an army to attack the Muslims, but they couldn't match the Manchu troops' strength and lost some battles. Later, the Manchu grain supplies were ransacked..."
"That was the Red Flower Society," interrupted Lu. "They did it to help Muzhuolun."
"Mm, I heard about that," said Madame Guan. She glanced at Chen. "No wonder she gave you that dagger."
"That was before. We met when they came to recover their sacred Koran."
"You also helped to get that back. The way the Muslims talk of you, you're all great heroes!" Her tone suggested she disagreed. "After the Manchu troops lost their grain, they also lost a battle and Muzhuolun suggested peace talks. But just as the truce talks were getting started, the Manchu general got hold of some rations and attacked again."
"Manchu officers have no sense of honour," said Lu, shaking his head sagely.
"The ordinary people of the Muslim areas have been brutally treated by the Manchu troops," Madame Guan continued. "Master Muzhuolun asked us to help. We originally didn't want to have anything to do with it...."
"It was you!" Bald Vulture butted in accusingly. "Now you're trying to feign innocence."
"What do you mean, me? Look at the way the Manchus are burning and pillaging across the Muslim lands, oppressing the people. Don't you care?"
Bald Vulture grunted in indignation and was about to argue further when Lu raised his hand.
"You two are just the same as ever," he said with a smile. "As soon as you open your mouths, you're arguing. Don't take any notice, Madame, please continue."
She eyed her husband distastefully, then said: "We first thought of assassinating the Manchu general, Zhao Wei, but there wasn't much point in killing one general, because the Emperor would just send another and it would go on for ever. So we decided to kill the Emperor instead. We went to Beijing, but heard on the road that he had come down south. We followed him out of Hangzhou with our dogs using the tunnel you used to bring him here. At the time, we were very puzzled as to why the Emperor would suddenly want to travel around in tunnels."
"What? So you captured the Emperor?" said Bald Vulture. Chen nodded. "You did pretty well," Bald Vulture commented.
Suddenly, there was a roar from the Manchu troops around the base of the pagoda.
"I'll go and tell the Emperor to shut them up," said Xu, and ran downstairs. A moment later they saw Qian Long stick his head out of the window on the seventh floor and shout: "I'm here!"
"There's His Highness!" called Bai Zhen down below and the troops all prostrated themselves on the ground.
"I am all right up here!" Qian Long added. "There is no need for such noise." There was a pause, then he added: "All of you retire thirty paces!" They complied immediately.
"Seventh Brother directs the Emperor and the Emperor directs the troops," said Chen with a smile. "That's much better than charging out and killing and slaughtering. The Emperor is the most precious object under heaven. It is better to use him than to kill him." The others laughed.
'Leopard' Wei, who was watching the Manchu soldiers withdraw, saw several men in their midst with hunting dogs on leashes.
"Ah, I was wondering how they found their way here," he said. He took a bow from one of the attendants, and shot off two arrows, and there were two long screams and two of the dogs fell to the ground, dead. A roar went up from the Manchu troops, who speeded up their retreat.
"Master Lu, Lord Zhou," said Chen. "Please entertain the Twin Eagles while I go downstairs and have another talk with the Emperor."
As Chen reached the seventh floor, the Twin Knights and Xu bowed to him and retired. Qian Long was sitting despondently in a chair.
"Have you made a decision yet?" asked Chen.
"Since you have caught me, you might as well kill me if you are going to. What is the point of talking?"
Chen sighed. "It is such a pity," he said.
"What's a pity?"
"I have always thought of you as an extremely talented man and have pride in the fact my parents gave birth to such a good son, my brother. But..."
"But what?"
Chen was silent for a moment. "But although outwardly you appear to be a man of courage, you are virtually hollow inside. Not being afraid of death is the easiest thing in the world. But the formation of a grand designs, the making of great decisions, that is something that can only be done by a man with true courage. That is precisely what you are incapable of doing."
Qian Long was silent, but he appeared to be moved by Chen's words.
"All you have to do is to decide to restore the Chinese nation and we unruly fighters will immediately follow your every instruction," Chen added. "I can strike my chest and guarantee that they will not dare to do anything disrespectful towards you."
Qian Long nodded several times, but there was still an area of doubt in his mind which made it impossible for him to speak out. Chen guessed his thoughts.
"All I want is to see you throw the barbarian Manchus out of China," he said. "Then I will be content," he said. "Then I will ask you to allow me to retire to the seclusion of the Western Lake and live out the rest of my life in peace."
"What sort of talk is that?" said Qian Long. "If this Grand Design was achieved, your assistance would be required in planning affairs of state."
