Chen turned pale. Zhang Jin, Yang and a number of the others drew their weapons and moved forward threateningly.
"Master Wen did come to our humble Manor..." Meng began.
"Well then, please take us to see him," Xu broke in.
"When Master Wen, Mistress Luo Bing and Master Yu here arrived, our Lord was not at home," Meng replied. "It was I who dispatched someone to fetch a doctor. Mistress Luo Bing and Master Yu saw that with their own eyes. Later, the court officers arrived. We are extremely ashamed to say that we were unable to protect our guests and Master Wen was captured. Master Chen, you blame us for not looking after him properly and for failing to fulfil our responsibility to protect friends. We admit it. If you wish to kill us, I for one will not bat an eyelid. But to point your finger at our Lord and accuse him of betraying a friend, what sort of talk is that?"
Luo Bing jumped forward a step and pointed at Meng accusingly. "You!" she shouted. "I ask you! Such a well-concealed hiding-place as that cellar: if you weren"t in the pay of the Eagles"s Claws, how would they have known where we were?"
Meng was speechless.
"Lord Zhou, at the time of the incident, you may not actually have been at home," Priest Wu added. "But just as a dragon has a head, men have masters. As this concerns Iron Gall Manor, we must ask you to explain."
Bodyguard Pan, cowering to one side, suddenly spoke up. "It was his son that talked," he shouted. "Is he willing to admit it?"
"Lord Zhou, is this true?" Great Helmsman Chen asked.
Zhou nodded slowly. The heroes of the Red Flower Society roared in anger and moved in even closer, some glaring at Zhou, some looking at Chen, waiting for his signal.
Chen gave Pan a sidelong glance. "And who are you, sir?" he asked.
"He"s an Eagle"s Claw," Luo Bing said. "He was one of those that seized Fourth Brother."
Chen slowly walked over to Pan, then suddenly snatched the iron hoop out of his grasp, whipped both his hands behind his back and held them together. Pan gave a shout and struggled unsuccessfully to break free.
"Where have you taken Brother Wen?" Chen shouted. Pan kept his mouth shut, and an expression of proud insolence appeared on his face. Chen"s fingers touched the "Central Mansion Yuedao" below Pan"s ribs. "Will you talk?" he asked.
Pan yelled out in pain. Chen touched his "Tendon Centraction" Yuedao point. This time, Pan could endure it no longer.
"I"ll talk...I"ll talk," he whispered. "They"re taking him to Beijing."
"He...he isn"t dead then?" Luo Bing asked quickly.
"Of course he isn"t dead," Pan replied. "He"s an important criminal, who would dare to kill him?"
The heroes all breathed a sigh of relief, and Luo Bing"s heart overflowed with happiness, and she fainted away, falling backwards to the floor. Yu stretched out his hand to catch her, but then suddenly pulled it back again. Her head hit the ground, and Zhang Jin hurriedly knelt down beside her.
"Fourth Sister!" he called, giving Yu a sidelong glance full of disdain. "Are you all right?"
Chen relaxed his grip on Pan"s hands. "Tie him up," he said to his boy attendant, Xin Yan, who tied Pan"s hands firmly behind his back.
"Brothers!" Chen said loudly. "It is vitally important that we save Fourth Brother. We can settle our accounts here another time."
The heroes of the Red Flower Society voiced their assent in unison. Luo Bing was sitting on a chair crying with joy. Hearing Chen"s words, she stood up with Zhang Jin"s support.
The heroes walked to the door of the hall, escorted by Meng. Chen turned and said to Zhou: "Our apologies for the inconvenience we have caused you. We will meet again."
Zhou knew from his tone that the Red Flower Society would return to seek vengeance.
"Once we"ve saved Brother Wen, I, the hunchback Zhang, will be the first to return to do battle with you, you old peasant!"