she called. But it was "Scholar" Yu, still seriously wounded. Suddenly hearing Luo Bing"s voice through his stupor, he could only think that it was a dream, or that he had died and was meeting her in the other world.
"You"ve come!" he cried happily.
Luo Bing knew that the voice was not her husband"s and ran to the next carriage. But before she could pull aside the curtain, a saw-toothed sword chopped at her from the right. She parried with her sword, and looking up at her attacker in the watery moonlight, recognised him as one of the eight bodyguards who had attacked Wen and herself in Suzhou. With a surge of hatred, she redoubled her attack. Rui was aware of her ability with throwing knives and speeded up his strokes to avoid giving her an opportunity to use them. Then two other bodyguards joined the battle while the soldiers closed in from all sides.
Four more of the heroes led by "Leopard" Wei galloped towards her through a hail of arrows. One arrow planted itself in the neck of Wei"s horse, and the pain made it gallop even more furiously. The animal"s hooves hit the chest of one of the soldiers, Wei flew off the horse with his hooks raised, and amid a chorus of screams, gouged them into the breasts of two other soldiers. Wei then aimed the hooks at Bodyguard Rui who was forced to abandon his attack on Luo Bing. "Hunchback" Zhang Jin and the others also raced up and the soldiers scattered.
Free once more, Luo Bing threw herself into the carriage and hugged Wen"s neck, then burst into tears.
After a while, Zhang Jin stuck his head in through the carriage curtain. "Fourth Brother," he grinned. "We"ve come to take you back."
He climbed onto the driver"s seat and the carriage moved off northwards away from the river, and stopped by the side of a mound, from which they could get a good view of the battle.
Suddenly, Zhang broke away from his duel with Chen and ran for Wen"s carriage.
Luo Bing saw him coming and brandished her sword at him. But Zhang"s sword was extraordinarily tough, and as they clashed with a "clang", it snapped her blade in two. With the rest of his strength, Zhang leapt up into the carriage and pulled Luo Bing in with him. Greatly frightened, the other heroes raced up to save her, and Zhang lifted her up and threw her at them. The Twin Knights raced over and caught her.
Meanwhile, Zhang turned and grabbed Wen, and pulled him to the carriage door. "Wen Tailai is here," he shouted. "If anyone dares to come any closer, I"ll kill him!"
The cold gleam of Zhang"s "Frozen Emerald" sword was poised at Wen"s neck.
"Fourth Brother," Luo Bing wailed, and tried to throw herself at the carriage, but Lu Feiqing held her back and took a step forward himself.
"Zhang!" he called out. "Can you see who I am?" Zhang and he had not seen each other for a long time and it was difficult to see clearly in the moonlight, so Lu drew his White Dragon sword, took hold of the tip of the blade, and bent the handle back so that it formed a circle. Then he let the tip go and the blade bounced back upright and swayed slightly.
Zhang grunted. "Ah, so it"s Brother Lu," he said. "Why have you come looking for me?"
"You are wounded," Lu replied. "All the heroes of the Red Flower Society are here as well as "Iron Gall" Zhou Zhongying. It is going to be hard for you to escape today with your life. But in memory of our benevolent teacher, I will give you a way out."
Zhang grunted again, but said nothing.
Suddenly they heard shouts and cries drifting over from the east, as if a thousand armies were racing towards them. The heroes were filled with apprehension, but Zhang was even more worried.
"This Red Flower Society is truly resourceful," he thought. "Even here in the northwest, they can still call up huge reinforcements."
"Release Master Wen," Lu Feiqing continued, "and I will ask the heroes, out of respect for me, to release you. But there is one thing you must swear to."
Zhang eyed the strong enemies surrounding him. "What?"