he asked.
"He was my father."
"He was a very good friend of mine," Lu said. He looked at Yu and added: "You are a pupil of Ma Zhen"s, I presume. How has Elder Brother been recently?"
"He is well," said Yu. "He has often expressed concern about you. He said he hadn"t seen or heard anything of you for more than ten years."
"I miss him too," Lu said regretfully. "Did you know that another of your martial uncles has been here looking for you?"
Yu looked up in fright. "Zhang Zhaozhong?"
Lu nodded. Wen Tailai shuddered slightly at the sound of Zhang"s name, and then gasped in pain. Luo Bing quickly went over and supported him with her hand, her face full of love and pity.
Yu looked on, absorbed. "To have a wife like that would be better than being a god, even if I was badly wounded," he murmured.
"Zhang has brought shame upon our school, but his kung fu is excellent," Lu said. "And I would guess that reinforcements will not be far behind him. With Brother Wen so badly wounded, I think all we can do at the moment is to avoid them."
"We will do whatever you suggest," Luo Bing said. She looked down at her husband, who nodded.
Lu pulled a letter from his gown and handed it to Luo Bing. On the envelope was written the words: "Respectfully adressed to Lord Zhou Zhongying, Iron Gall Manor."
"Do you know him?" asked Luo Bing, delighted.
Before Lu could answer, Wen said: "Who?"
"Lord Zhou Zhongying," replied Luo Bing.
"Is he here?"
"I have never met him, but we have been friends from afar for a long time," Lu said. "I think Brother Wen should hide there while one of us goes to your respected society to report what has happened." He saw a hestitant look on Wen"s face. "What do you think, Brother Wen?"
"Your arrangements would be perfect, but I cannot deceive you. I am involved in a bloody feud with the Emperor Qian Long who won"t be able to eat or sleep in peace until he sees me die with his own eyes. I know Lord Zhou would take us in, but I am afraid he would bring great trouble upon himself by doing so."
"To members of the fighting community, there is nothing more important than helping a friend in need," said Lu.
"But in my situation, the greater the friend, the less I am able to involve him."
"Refusing to involve others in your problems is an upright and manly thing to do. But I do think it"s rather a pity."
"What is?" Wen asked quickly.
"If you refuse to go, we will have to stay here and fight. I don"t want to exaggerate the enemy"s strength or denigrate our own, but who do we have to match Zhang? I am nearly sixty years old, my life is of little value. But my martial nephew here has a promising future and your wife is full of youth. Just because you want to play the hero ... aah ... it means we will all die here."
Wen began to sweat profusely.
"Husband!" Luo Bing exclaimed. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the beads of sweat from his brow, then held his hand.
Wen"s affection for his wife outweighed his sense of duty and he relented. "You are right," he said. "I will do whatever you say." But then he sighed. "Once we reach Iron Gall Manor, the Red Flower Society will be beholden to yet another person."
The Red Flower Society always took care to repay its benefactors and to exact revenge on its enemies -- hence the fearful reaction of the Zhen Yuan agency men.
"What relationship is Zhao Banshan to you?" asked Lu.
"Brother Zhao? He is third master of our society."
"So that"s it!