"Master, master!" Xin Yan called excitedly. "We're here!"
"Child! Are you all right?" Madame Guan shouted to Huo Qingtong.
"Fine!" she called back. She pointed at Gu and added: "Please kill that villain quickly." Bald Vulture drew his sword and sprung at him, while Madame Guan began to fight with Hahetai. The other heroes quietly surrounded Zhang.
Gu and Hehetai fought for their lives, but could not hope to win against the "Three-Part" sword style of the Twin Eagles. In the midst of the clash of swords, Bald Vulture gave a roar and blood appeared on Gu's chest. He followed with a swift kick, and Gu fell backwards into the pool, sending fountains of water spraying out in all directions. A trail of blood rose to the surface.
A moment later, there was another splash as Gu surfaced, and began swimming slowly towards the bank. Hahetai threw down his sword and helped him out of the water. Gu was badly wounded and had taken in a large quantity of water, and after laying him down on the bank, Hahetai massaged his chest.
Zhang watched helplessly as Gu and Hahetai were overcome. Then 'Scholar' Yu lunged at him. Zhang swept his left hand across, and as Yu dodged to avoid the blow, Zhang grabbed him with his right hand and threw him at a nearby stone wall with a roar. Horrified, Yuanzhi jumped forward to grab Yu, but Zhang's strength was too great and the two slammed into the wall. A sharp 'crack' sounded as Yuanzhi's left arm snapped.
The heroes's anger flared once more. Master Yuan went over to Yuanzhi and placed a medicine pill in her mouth to ease her intense pain while the others surrounded Zhang.
"The 'Fire Hand Judge' will die as a hero!" he shouted defiantly. "Well, are you coming altogether or one at a time?"
"I'll fight you first!" Bald Vulture shouted back.
"This traitor has wronged me too deeply," Wen interrupted him. "Let me go first."
"He killed my teacher," Yu shouted. "I may not be as good a fighter as him, but I want to be first. Brother Wen, you can take over when I can't take any more."
"Let us draw lots," Chen suggested.
"Master Chen," Zhang broke in on them. "We agreed in Hangzhou to meet at a later date for a duel. Does that still hold?"
"Yes," Chen replied. "As I remember, we postponed the meeting because your hand was injured. Now is an excellent time to settle the affair."
"Then you and I will compete first and the others will wait their turns, agreed?" Zhang had fought with Chen on several occasions and knew he could beat him. He reckoned that if he could capture him, he might be able to find some way to escape. And if he could not capture him, he would at least have the satisfaction of killing the Red Flower Society's leader.
"If you think you are going to escape with your life today, you are deluding yourself," said Chen. "We spared your life in that dungeon in Hangzhou, and on Lion Peak. Only a few days ago, I saved you once again from the wolves. But the Red Flower Society has run out of benevolence towards you."
"Well, come on then," Zhang replied impatiently. Chen leapt at him, his two fists aimed straight at Zhang's face. Zhang ducked and then jumped up out of the way, and Chen followed with a sweeping kick, timing it to strike Zhang as he fell back to earth. Surprised, Zhang had to thrust his sword at Chen's chest to extricate himself. Chen moved back and as fast as lightning, Zhang struck out again.
Lu Feiqing was shocked by Zhang's speed, even faster than their teacher in his prime. He drew his sword and watched the battle carefully, ready to help Chen if necessary.
To one side, Yu and Luo Bing were looking after Yuanzhi who had fainted from the shock and pain of her broken arm. Yuanzhi opened her eyes and pointed to the east with a gasp of surprise. Yu looked round but could see nothing but the afternoon sun shimmering on the hills about them.
"What's that?" Yuanzhi asked. "Are we back in Hangzhou?"
"It's just the sun," Yu said softly. "Close your eyes and rest."
"No, that's the Thunder Peak Pagoda in Hangzhou," she replied. "I've been there with my father. Where is my father? I want to see him."
Yu lightly patted the back of her hand. "We'll go there together after this, and I'll see your father with you."
A smile appeared on her face. "Who are you?" she asked. Yu saw her staring at him, her face completely devoid of colour and fear struck him.
"I'm your martial brother Yu. I promise I will look after you from now on."
"But in your heart, you don't like me, I know," she cried, tears beginning to course down her cheeks. "Take me back to see my father. I want to die."
On a sudden impulse, Yu embraced her. "I truly love you," he whispered. "You won't die." She sighed. "Tell me you won't die," he repeated. Another wave of pain from her arm struck her and she fainted away.
Meanwhile, Zhang and Chen continued to fight round and round. At first, Chen was able to contain his enemy with the 'Hundred Flowers' kung fu style. But as Zhang gradually came to grips with it, he became more daring and forced Chen onto the defensive. He swept his sword across at Chen forcing Chen to jump away, and with a quick double movement of his sword, struck out at 'Leopard' Wei and Zhang Jin, wounding them both. Wen roared with anger and was about to leap forward when Chen slipped past him and struck out at Zhang's face with his open hands. There appeared to be no force behind the blow, but they struck Zhang's ears with two sharp claps. Surprised and angry, Zhang retreated.
The heroes were perplexed by the effortless way in which Chen had managed to box Zhang's ears.
"Fourteenth Brother," Chen said to Yu. "Play me a tune on your flute."
"What do you want me to play?" he asked, putting the flute to his lips.
Chen hesitated for a moment. "The tune 'Ambush From All Sides'," he replied.
Yu did not understand what he was getting at, but having received an order from the Great Helmsman, he complied immediately and began to play with all the skill he could muster. The tune was a martial piece written originally for the bamboo flute. Played on the golden flute, it sounded even more stentorian, raising the image of armoured troops on the march.
Chen set himself in a pose facing Zhang. "Come on," he invited, then turned and kicked out into the thin air as if dancing. Seeing his back undefended, Zhang thrust his sword at him, and the heroes gasped in fright. But Chen suddenly turned again, grabbed Zhang's queue with his left hand and pulled it over the edge of the sword, slicing it in two. With his right hand, he gave Zhang's shoulder a sharp blow.
Zhang had now been struck three times, and although he had not yet been badly hurt, he was obviously baffled by Chen's kung fu style and had had to suffer the shame of having his queue cut off. But he was a master of self-control and he carefully retreated several steps, staring fixedly at his enemy.
Chen moved forward slowly, his feet following the rhythm of the tune Yu was playing.
"Look!" Huo Qingtong said to her sister excitedly. "It's the kung fu style he learned in the cave."
The two whirled round each other. Zhang kept his sword strictly on the defensive, striking out only when Chen got too close.