"I wonder how long the wolves will wait outside the mountain for us?" said Huo Qingtong. "This has became a contest between us and the wolves, so we will have to make the food and water last as long as possible."
For the past several days, Chen and the two sisters had not had a moment in which they could relax. Now, in this silent jade room, an immense exhaustion came over them and before very long, they fell into a deep, deep sleep.
PART EIGHT
1
Zhang and the Three Devils watched the wolves swarm after Chen and the girls with great relief, although they felt a tinge of regret at the thought of two such beautiful girls being ravished by the animals. The four men sat down to rest for a while, then roasted and ate one of the dead wolves left behind. Gu noticed that the supply of tree branches was almost exhausted, and too lazy to go and get more, he threw piles of wolf's dung onto the fire to stoke up the flames. Before long, a column of thick, black smoke was rising towards the heavens.
Just as they had eaten their fill of wolf meat, they noticed a dust cloud approaching from the east. Assuming it to be another wolf pack, they frantically jumped up and ran for the horses. Only two horses were left, both of which had been brought by the Three Devils. Zhang stretched out his hand to take the reins of one of the mounts, but Hahetai lunged in front of him and grabbed them first, shouting: "What do you think you're doing?"
Zhang was about to attack him when he spied Tang and Gu with weapons in their hands closing in. "Why are you getting so excited?" he protested. "They aren't wolves."
The Three Devils turned to look and Zhang vaulted onto the horse's back. Only then did he notice that his lie was in fact the truth: in the midst of the dust cloud was a large herd of camels and goats. He galloped off towards the herd, shouting: "I'll go and have a look!"
After riding only a short way, he saw a rider coming towards him. The rider, an old man dressed in grey, raced up and stopped his mount instantly with a tug on the reins. Zhang marvelled at his horsemanship.
The rider saw Zhang was wearing the tattered uniform of a Manchu military officer and asked in Chinese: "What happened to the wolves?" Zhang pointed west.
By this time, the herd was upon them and in the midst of the dust and noise and confusion, Zhang noticed a bald-headed, red-faced old man and a white-haired old woman riding herd. He was just about to ask who they were when the Three Devils came over and bowed respectfully before the old man in grey.
"We are honoured to meet you again, sir," Tang said obsequiously. "How are you?"
The old man grunted. "Nothing to complain about," he mumbled. It was the Strange Knight of the Heavenly Pool, Master Yuan.
Zhang knew nothing of the old man, but he noted the respect with which the Three Devils treated him.
Master Yuan examined the four of them for a moment, then said: "We are going to catch the wolves. You will all come with me."
They started in fright and wondered if he was insane. But the Three Devils knew his kung fu was formidable and did not dare to refuse.
Zhang, however, emitted a "humph" of astonishment and said: "I want to live a few more years. Sorry, but I will be unable to accompany you." He turned to leave.
Absolutely furious, Bald Vulture grabbed for Zhang's wrist shouting: "So you refuse to heed Master Yuan's orders! Do you wish to die?"
Zhang deflected his hand deftly with a 'Dividing The Clouds and Moon' stroke, and the two fought closely for a while, neither gaining the upper hand. Then they leapt apart, both surprised that they should come upon such a master of the martial arts in the middle of the desert.
"What is your name, friend?" Zhang shouted.
"What makes you think you're good enough to be my friend? Will you or will you not do what Master Yuan says?"
Zhang knew he was as good a fighter as himself, and yet he still respectfully referred to the other old man as "Master Yuan", indicating Yuan's kung fu was probably even better. Who is this Master Yuan? he wondered. "What is your full name, sir?" he asked Yuan. "If you are my superior, I will naturally respect your orders."
"Ha! So you wish to question me, do you?" Master Yuan exclaimed. "It is I that does the questioning. I ask you: just now, you used a 'Dividing the Clouds and Moon' move. But what would you have done if I had replied with a 'Descending the Mountain to Kill the Tiger' stroke on your left while going for your Spiritual Yuedao point on your right?"
Zhang thought for a second. "I would have kicked out with an 'Arrow Shooting the Hawk' move, and grabbed your wrist."
"Then you are obviously a member of the Wudang School," Yuan replied, to Zhang's evident surprise. "Once when I was in Hubei, I sparred with Master Ma Zhen." Zhang went deathly pale. "Now then, if I used a 'Secret Hand' move to counter your attempt to seize my wrist, and then struck at your face with my left hand, what would you do? Master Ma Zhen was unable to avoid this move. Let's see if you can work it out."
Zhang thought deeply for a while. "If you were fast, I would naturally be unable to avoid the blow," he said finally. "I could aim a 'Yuanyang Kick' at your left ribs to force you to retract your hand to defend yourself."
Yuan laughed. "Not bad. Of all the fighters in the Wudang School, you are probably the best."
"I would then aim to touch your 'Xianji' Yuedao point," Zhang continued.
"Good! A master always attacks if he can. But I would then step into the 'Guimei' position and attack your lower body."
"I would then retreat to the 'Song' position and strike out for your 'Heavenly Spring' Yuedao point."
Gu and Hahetai listened in bewilderment to the strange words. Hahetai gave Tang's gown a tug and whispered: "What's this code they're speaking in?"
"It's not code, they're using the names of the Sixty Four Positions and the Yuedao points on the human body," Tang replied.
"I advance to the 'Ming Ye' positon and attack with a Qimen move," Yuan said.
"I retreat to the 'Zhong Fu' position and counter with a Phoenix Eye move," replied Zhang.
"I advance to the 'Jizhai' position and go for your 'Huan Jiao' Yuedao."
The pressure was begining to show on Zhang's face, and there was a pause before he answered: "I retreat to the 'Zhen' position and then to the Fu position."
"How come he keeps retreating?" whispered Hahetai, but Tang waved him to silence. The verbal sparring continued, Yuan smiling and obviously at ease, Zhang beginning to sweat and sometimes taking a long time to come up with a response. The Three Devils knew that in a real fight, he would have had no time for such thinking, and would have been beaten long ago.
After a few more moves, Zhang said: "I attack with a 'Xiao Shu' move and then strike at your wrist."
"That's not good enough," Yuan replied. "You lose."
"Please explain," said Zhang.
"If you don't believe me, I'll show you. Be careful!" Yuan's right leg kicked up at Zhang's knees.
Zhang jumped away shouting: "If you touch me…" but before he could finish, Yuan's right hand had shot out and touched a Yuedao point on his chest. He felt a surge of pain and immediately began to cough uncontrollably.
Yuan smiled at him. "Well?" he asked.
The others were amazed by this nonchalant display of such profound kung fu skills. Zhang, looking deathly pale, did not dare to continue his intransigence. "I will do as you say, Master Yuan," he replied.
"But your kung fu is first class," Bald Vulture added. "What is your name?"
"My surname is Zhang, my given name Zhaozhong. And may I ask your names?"