he shouted excitedly. "Master Zhang Jin has a prisoner."
"Who is it?" Chen asked.
"I went to the old temple and found Master Zhang Jin arguing with a man who wanted to pass. The man saw the horse I was ridingand began cursing me as a horse thief and struck out at me with his sword. Master Zhang Jin and I fought with him. His kung fu was really good. He fought the two of us single-handed until finally I picked up some stones and started throwing them at him, and Master Zhang Jin clubbed him on the thigh. It was only then that we managed to capture him."
Chen smiled. "What is his name? What was he doing?"
"We asked him but he wouldn"t say. But Master Zhang Jin says he must be a member of the Han School of Luoyang because he was using Iron Pipa Hand Kung Fu."
Zhang Jin galloped up, dismounted and bowed before Chen, then pulled a man off the horse"s saddle. He was tied hand and foot, but he stood haughtily, exuding an air of insolence.
"I understand you are a member of the Han School of Luoyang," Chen said. "What is your honourable name?"
The man said nothing.
"Xin Yan, undo this gentleman"s bonds," Chen said.
Xin Yan drew his knife and cut the rope that bound the man"s hands and legs then stood behind him, his knife at the ready.
"My friends have wronged you, but please do not be offended," Chen said. "Come into my tent and take a seat."
Chen and the man sat on the ground while the other heroes came in and stood behind Chen"s back.
When he saw Luo Bing enter, the man"s anger flared and he jumped up. "You stole my horse," he shouted, pointing at her.
"So it"s Master Han," Luo Bing replied with a smile. "We exchanged horses and I compensated you with a gold ingot. You did very well out of the deal. What are you angry about?"
Chen asked what had happened, and Luo Bing recounted how she had taken the white horse. The others laughed as they listened.
"In that case, we will return the horse to you, Master Han," Chen said. "There is also no need to return the gold ingot. Consider it a token of our respect and as payment for the rental of your horse."
Han was about to reply when Luo Bing said: "Great Helmsman, this won"t do. Do you know who he is? He"s a Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency man." She pulled out Wang Weiyang"s letter and handed it to him.
Chen"s eyes flashed down the lines. "The great name of Wang Weiyang has been known to me for a long time, but regrettably I ave never met him," he said. "You are a member of the Han School of Luoyang. What relation are you to Fifth Madame Han?"
"And what is your honourable surname and esteemed name, sir?" Han replied.
Chen smiled. "My surname is Chen, my given name, Jialuo."
Han stood up. "You...you are the son of Chief Minister Chen?" he asked in a quavering voice.
"This is the Great Helmsman of our Red Flower Society," one of the Twin Knights said.
Han slowly sat down again and began weighing up this young Great Helmsman.
"Someone in the underworld started the rumour that our society was connected with the death of one of your school"s members," Chen said. "In fact, we know nothing of it. I dispatched one of our brothers to Luoyang to explain the matter, but something came up and he was forced to postpone the trip. So your arrival could not have been better timed, Master Han. I don"t know how this rumour started. Can you tell me?"
"You...you"re really the son of Chief Minister Chen of Haining?" Han asked.
"Since you know my identity, there is no point in trying to deceive you," Chen replied.
"Your family announced a large reward for finding you after you left home," Han said. "It was said that you had joined the Red Flower Society and had gone to the Muslim border regions. My late comrade Jiao Wenqi was engaged by your family to look for you, but he mysteriously disappeared on the way. That was five years ago. Recently, someone found the Iron Plate and Pipa darts that Brother Jiao used in Shanxi province, and we now know for certain that he was murdered. No-one knows the exact circumstances of his death, but consider, sir: if it wasn"t the Red Flower Society, then who did it?"