"He was separated from us at the Yellow River," Chen replied. "We later heard that he had been rescued by a girl, but we have no further information. As soon as we have rescued Brother Wen, we will go and investigate. Please don't worry, sir."
"That pupil of mine is very clever but he is not steady enough. Please give him whatever direction is necessary, Master Chen."
"We treat our brothers as blood relations," Chen replied. "Brother Yu is a capable man. We place great faith in him."
"I am very grateful for what you have done today," said Ma. "My brothers! Next time any of you are in Hubei Province, please come to stay at Wudang Mountain." The heroes all thanked him.
"All right, let's go!" Ma told Zhang curtly. Zhang noticed that Luo Bing had slung his Frozen Emerald Sword across her back, and he knew that to try to retrieve it would only result in more punishment. So he bit his lip and followed after Ma Zhen, his head bowed.
When they had gone, the others asked Lu what had happened to him since they had parted. He told them that for a time he had searched unsuccessfully for Yuanzhi. Then, realising that Zhang was the key to the affair, he went south and asked Ma Zhen to help him. They hurried to Beijing only to discover that Zhang had gone to Hangzhou, so they travelled south once more.
The heroes walked slowly down from the peak, talking as they went. Chen turned to Wang and Han.
"You are both free to go," he said.
"Master Chen, I will never forget how you saved my life," Wang replied.
Chen laughed. "I must ask your forgiveness, Master Wang," he said and related how they had stolen the jade vases and provoked the duel between himself and Zhang. Having just escaped from the jaws of death, Wang did not seem to blame him for the deception.
"You are certainly a born leader," he said to Chen, and laughed. "So young and already a hero. I may be old, but I still have a thing or two to learn."
"When our affairs have been successfully concluded, we will drink a few cups of wine together," Chen replied.
They arrived at the lake and returned to Lonely Mountain by boat. Lu Feiqing extracted the Golden Needles from Wang's wounds with the use of a magnet, and then treated them with Golden Scar ointment.
By this time, evening was approaching.
"Most of the work on the tunnel has been completed," Master Ma, the Hangzhou Helmsman, reported. "We should be finished in another six hours."
Chen nodded. "Good, thank you Brother Ma. Thirteenth Brother, please go and supervise the work." 'Crocodile' Jiang bowed and left.
Chen turned once more to Wang and Han.
"We have been looking after a few members of your honourable bodyguard agency," he said. "Why don't you take them to the lake for some recreation?"
Wang watched the Red Flower Society fighters hurrying to and fro and guessed they were preparing to rescue Wen Tailai. He decided that if he were to go out by himself now and the plan should go wrong, they could easily suspect that he had informed the authorities.
"I am getting old, and what with these Golden Needle wounds, I am not feeling at all well," he replied. "I would like to rest here for a day."
"As you wish," said Chen.
4
The heroes ate a full meal and then returned to their rooms to rest. At six o'clock that evening, an attendant reported that the tunnel diggers were already under the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen, but that a large rock was blocking their path which they were trying to dig around. Chen and Xu assigned their forces: some were to attack from the left, some from the right, and some would be held in reserve. At about eight o'clock, the attendant returned to report that the diggers had come up against an iron plate and had decided to stop work for a while for fear of alerting those inside.
"We will wait another two hours and then make our move," Chen said.
During those two hours, the heroes could hardly control their impatience. Zhang Jin paced up and down the hall mumbling curses. Master Ma kept taking out a large gold watch and checking the time while Chen read a book.
"The time has arrived," Ma finally announced.
The heroes all charged for the door. They donned various disguises and made their way separately through the darkened streets of Hangzhou to a house just outside the Commander-in-Chief's Yamen.
'Crocodile' Jiang was waiting for them. "This area is being tightly patrolled by Manchu troops," he said. "Be as quiet as possible."
He stood at the entrance of the tunnel with his iron oar at the ready, as the heroes filed through one by one. The tunnel had been dug deep, and with Hangzhou being such a low-lying area, it was ankle-deep in water. By the time they reached the big rock, the muddy water was up to their chests, while several dozen yards further on, it rose to their heads.
Seven or eight attendants were waiting near the iron plate with torches and spades in hand.
"Start work!" Chen ordered.
With the Great Helmsman there watching them, the attendants worked like demons, and soon shifted the rock to the side of the iron plate. Another moment of furious digging and the iron plate was dislodged, and 'Leopard' Wei, his pair of hooks at the ready, went through first with the rest of the heroes behind.
The attendants held the torches high to illuminate the way as Wei ran along a corridor towards Wen's cell, but found the way blocked by a locked iron gate.
"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother," said Xu suddenly. "Go and guard the exit to the dungeon just in case the Manchus have some secret scheme."
Yang and Wei assented and left. Several of the attendants worked to loosen the stones to the side of the gate, and then with the help of several of the heroes, lifted the gate out of position. Luo Bing ran through, and into Wen's cell only to find it empty.
After so many disappointments, Luo Bing crumpled onto the floor and began to sob. Zhou Qi wanted to comfort her, but her father held her back.
"Let her be," he said. "A cry will do her good."
"Commander Li was afraid we would come to organise a jail break and has moved Fourth Brother somewhere else," Xu said.
"But now we are in the Yamen, we will find him no matter what," Chen replied.
They went to the door of the dungeon and saw Yang fighting fiercely with a group of Manchu soldiers. Priest Wu Chen gave a shout and charged out of the dungeon and finished off two Manchu soldiers on the spot. Further on, they found Wei battling six or seven officers.
"Considering my relationship with Commander Li, I had better not reveal myself," Lu Feiqing thought. He ripped a strip off his gown and covered his face so that only the eyes were showing. Just then, the Manchu soldiers broke and retreated up to the Yamen courtyard in confusion with Wei and the others in hot pursuit.
Xu leapt up onto a nearby wall and saw soldiers standing guard throughout the whole Yamen. A drum sounded, and Xu guessed the commanders were still positioning their soldiers. Then he spotted a lonely two-storey building in the southern part of the main courtyard surrounded by several hundred troops. There was nothing special about the building except for the tight defences, and he decided that was probably where Wen was being held. He jumped down from the wall and whirled his sword around his head.
"Brothers, follow me!" he shouted, and charged towards the building.
The further they went, the more soldiers appeared. But despite their numerical superiority, the Manchu troops were unable to contain the Red Flower Society fighters, each of them a master of the martial arts. In only a short while, the heroes had fought to within a few yards of the building.