Scholar' Yu, under orders to investigate the

whereabouts of Wen Tailai, made discreet enquiries

along the road as he went. But he discovered no clues,

and in less than a day arrived at Liangzhou, a

prosperous busy city and one of the largest in Gansu

province. He found a room in an inn, then went to a

tavern and drank alone, bemoaning his fate. He thought

of Luo Bing's voice and smile, and a tide of longing

rose within him. He knew it was hopeless, and the more

he drank, the more melancholy he became. He was just

about to leave when two men came in. Yu knew he had

seen one of them before and quickly turned his head

away. He thought frantically and placed him as one of

the Yamen officers he had fought at Iron Gall Manor.

Luckily, the man and his companion paid no attention

to him.

They chose a table near the window which happened to

be just next to Yu's and sat down. Yu sat with his

head on the table, pretending to be drunk.

The two men chatted for a while, then one said:

"Brother Rui, it's remarkable How you captured that

fellow. I wonder what sort of reward the Emperor will

give you?"

"I'm not concerned about the reward," Rui replied. "If

we can get him to Hangzhou nice and safely, I'll be

happy. When we left Beijing, there were eight of us

bodyguards, and now I'm the only one left. It was that

fight in Suzhou. I'm not selling myself short, but I

still get the shivers just thinking about it."

"You're with Master Zhang now," the other said. "I'm

sure nothing more will be wrong."

"That's true," Rui replied. "But it means that the

Imperial Guardsmen get all the credit. What do we

Imperial Bodyguards get out of it? But tell me, old

Zhu. What are they doing sending him to Hangzhou

instead of to Beijing?"

"My younger sister is from the family of Great Scholar

Shi, as you know," Zhu replied, lowering his voice.

"She told me quietly that the Emperor plans to go down

south. Perhaps he wants to question him himself."

Rui grunted and drank a mouthful of wine. "So the six

of you rushed out from Beijing to see that the

Imperial command was complied with?"

"And to give the rest of you some help. The Red Flower

Society is very powerful in the south. We have to be

especially careful."

As he listened, Yu groaned inwardly at the sheer luck

of it all. If he had not happened to be there and hear

them, the Red Flower Society heroes would have been

racing to Beijing to save Wen when he was really being

taken to Hangzhou.

"Brother Rui," Zhu said. "Exactly what crime has this

fellow committed that the Emperor wants to question

him personally?"

"How would we know?" Rui replied. "We were just told

that if we didn't catch him, we would all be removed

from our posts. I just hope I can keep my head on my

shoulders."

The two laughed and drank, and their conversation

turned to the subject of women. Finally, they paid the

bill and stood up to leave. Rui looked over at Yu

prostrate on the table.

"Scholars," he said and laughed harshly. "Three cups

of wine and they can't even walk."

Yu waited until they had gone, then hastily threw five

silver coins onto the table and dashed out of the

tavern. He spotted the men entering the city Yamen. He

waited for a long time but didn't see them re-appear,

and decided they must be lodging there.

He returned to his room and as soon as it was dark, he

changed into a set of dark clothes, stuck his golden

flute into his belt then ran over to the Yamen. Making

his way round to the back, he clambered over the wall.

All was pitch black in the courtyard except for a

shaft of light coming from a window in the eastern

hall, and as he crept closer, he heard voices coming

from inside. He wet the tip of his finger with a drop

of saliva, then lightly moistened the window paper and

made a small hole. Looking through, he started in

fright.

The hall was full of people. Zhang Zhaozhong was

seated in the middle with the bodyguards and Yamen

officers on either side of him. A man standing with

his back to Yu cursed angrily, and he knew from his

voice that it was Wen Tailai.

"You can curse to your heart's content," a voice off

to the side said darkly. "I may not be as proficient

in the martial arts as you, but you will still get a

taste of my hand."

Yu was distressed. "They are going to humiliate Fourth

Brother," he thought. "He is the person Fourth Sister

respects and loves most. How can I allow him to be

insulted by these villains?"

He saw a tall, thin middleaged man wearing a blue gown

advancing on Wen with his hand raised. Just as the man

was about to strike Wen, Yu inserted his flute through

the hole in the window paper, and with a puff, shot a

small arrow into the man's left eye.

The man fell to the ground in agony and there was a

moment of confusion in the hall. Yu shot another arrow

into the right cheek of one of the bodyguards, then

kicked open the main door of the hall and ran straight

in.

"Don't move!" he shouted. "The Red Flower Society has

come to the rescue!"

He raised his flute and struck the Yamen officers

beside Wen, then pulled a dagger from his legwrappings

and cut the ropes binding Wen's hands and feet.

Zhang Zhaozhong thought a largescale attack was in

progress and immediately drew his sword and went to

the hall door to prevent Wen and Yu from escaping and

those outside from getting in.

As soon as Wen's hands were free of the bonds, his

spirits surged. An Imperial Bodyguard lunged towards

him and Wen struck him hard with his fist, sending him

reeling away. The others were so afraid of Wen's power

that for a while they did not dare to get too close to

him.

"Fourth Brother, let's get out!" Yu said.

"Are the others here?"

"No," Yu replied quietly. "There's only me."

Wen nodded once. The wounds on his right arm and thigh

had not yet healed, but he ran for the door with his

right arm resting on Yu's shoulder.

Zhang strode foward a step. "Stop!" he shouted, and

jabbed at Wen's stomach with his long sword. Wen was

slow on his feet, so using attack as his defence, he

struck out at his opponent's eyes with the index and

middle fingers of his left hand, and Zhang was forced

to retract his sword.

"Good!" he exclaimed. The two men were incredibly

fast, but Wen only had the use of his left arm and

after a few more moves, Zhang hit his right shoulder.

Unable to keep his balance, Wen sat down heavily on

the floor.

"I shouldn't have done this," Yu thought as he fought

off the Imperial Bodyguards. "I will save Fourth

Brother and then let the Eagle's Claws kill me so that

Fourth Sister will know that I, Yu Yutong, am not an

unchivalrous oaf."

He saw Wen fall to the ground and flipped round to

strike out desperately at Zhang.

"Fourth Brother, get out quick!" Yu shouted. Wen

rested a moment and then with difficulty clambered to

his feet. The golden flute flew and danced, completely

neglecting to defend or parry. Yu was completely

unconcerned about his own safety. Even with his superb

swordsmanship, Zhang was forced to move back several

paces in the face of his suicidal attack. Wen saw an

opening and shot out of the door, with the mob of the

bodyguards and officers howling after him.

Yu blocked them at the door, ignoring his own safety.

"Don't you want to live?" Zhang shouted. "Who taught

you that kung fu style?" Yu was using the traditional

style of the Wudang School, the school to which Zhang

belonged, and Zhang had so far spared him because of

it.

"It would be best if you killed me," Yu said, smiling

sadly. After a few more moves, Zhang's sword struck

him once more, this time on the right shoulder, so Yu

shifted the golden flute to his left hand and

continued the fight without retreating a step.

The mass of the bodyguards charged forward again and

Yu's flute danced, hooting strangely as the wind

whipped through it. A bodyguard chopped at him with

his sword, and gashed Yu's shoulder. His body was now

covered in blood, but he continued the fierce battle,

and there was a sudden crack as the jawbone of another

bodyguard was shattered. The bodyguards pressed

forward, knives, swords, whips and clubs all thrusting

towards Yu simultaneously. Yu's thigh was hit by a

club and he fell to the ground. His golden flute kept

up its dance for a few moments, then he fainted away.

There was a sudden shout from the door: "Stop!"

The bodyguards turned and saw Wen walking slowly back

into the hall. He ignored them and went straight over

to Yu. Seeing his bloodied body, he couldn't stop his

tears. He bent down and was relieved to find Yu was

till breathing.

"Treat his wounds quickly," he ordered.

The bodyguards were so fearful of his power, that they

did as he said. Wen watched them bind Yu's wounds and

carry him through to the inner hall, then placed both

of his hands behind his back.

"Tie me up," he said. One of the bodyguards looked

over at Zhang, then walked slowly over.

"What are you afraid of?" Wen asked. "If I was going

to hurt you, I would have done so long ago."

The bodyguard bound his hands and took him back to the

dungeons. Two bodyguards were left to guard him.

Early the next morning, Zhang went to see Yu and found

him in a deep sleep. He was told by a guard that the

doctor had visited Yu and prescribed some medicine.

Zhang visited him again in the afternoon and Yu

appeared to be more alert.

"Is your teacher surnamed Lu or Ma?" Zhang asked him.

"My teacher is surnamed Ma, his given name is Zhen."

"So that's it. I am your martial uncle, Zhang

Zhaozhong."

Yu nodded slightly.

"Are you a member of the Red Flower Society?"

Yu nodded again.

"Such a nice young man," Zhang sighed. "What a pity

that you have fallen to such a state. What relation is

Wen Tailai to you? What were you doing risking your

life to save him?"

Yu closed his eyes and was silent. A moment passed.

"In the end I did save him, so I can die in peace," he

finally said.

"Huh! Do you really think you could snatch him away

from me?"

Yu was startled. "Didn't he escape?" he asked.

"How could he? Stop day-dreaming!"

Zhang tried to interrogate him, but Yu took no notice,

and after a while he began to sneeze.

Zhang smiled slightly. "You stubborn boy," he said,

and left.

He ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to organise an

ambush with Wen as bait. After dinner, Wen was brought

out of the dungeon and interrogated once more, in the

same manner as the night before when Yu had

unexpectedly burst in and disrupted the proceedings.

This time, however, heavily-armed troops were hidden

all around the Yamen, waiting to catch any Red Flower

Society rescuers. But they waited in vain.

The next morning, Zhang received a report that the

waters of the Yellow River were rising rapidly, and

that the current at the point where they intended to

cross was very strong and ordered an immediate

departure. He had Wen and Yu placed in separate

carriages and was just about to start out when Officer

Wu and the Zhen Yuan Agency Lead Escorts raced into

the Yamen. Zhang hastily questioned them, and Officer

Wu breathlessly told him how they had been attacked

and captured by the Muslims and the Red Flower

Society, and how Lead Escort Yan had been killed by a

young Muslim girl.

"Brother Yan was a very tough fighter," Zhang said.

"Extraordinary." He raised his hand. "We will meet

again in Beijing."

Zhang immediately went and told the Liangzhou Military

commander that he wanted four hundred crack troops

transferred to his command to help escort criminals

wanted by the Emperor. The commander did not dare

refuse and also dispatched Colonel Cao Neng and

Chief-of-Staff Ping Wangxian to lead the escorting

soldiers until they reached Lanzhou, the provincial

capital, where provincial troops would take over.

Zhang's column surged out of the town, stealing and

pilfering from the common people in the usual way as

they went.
关键字:书剑恩仇录
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