Faster!"
Tang"s horse was scared out of its wits by the mass of animals bearing down upon them, and it stumbled and threw him. Tang leapt to his feet as a dozen wild cats rushed past him.
"I"m finished," he thought, and began screaming at the top of his voice. Gu and Hahetai heard his screams and turned and headed back to rescue him, the wolves bearing down upon them. A huge wolf, its snow-white teeth bared, charged at Tang, who drew his sword to defend himself even though he knew it was useless. Suddenly, there was the sound of horse"s hooves behind, and the old man galloped up, grabbed Tang by his collar and threw his fat body towards Hahetai. Tang somersaulted through the air and landed in a sitting position on Hahetai"s horse. The three riders pulled their horses round, and flew for their lives.
The Twin Eagles had lived in the desert many years and were well aware that even the most ferocious animal could not survive an encounter with the wolf pack. They galloped on, and as the two tall trees rose before them, thanked the Heavens that they had once again avoided ending up in a wolf"s stomach. Once at the trees, Bald Vulture leapt up in to the branches of one, and Madame Guan handed Huo Qingtong up to him. The wolf pack was approaching fast. Madame Guan whipped the backs of their two horses and shouted: "Run for your lives! We cannot help you!" The two horses dashed away.
Just as the three of them had found somewhere to sit in the branches, they noticed the grey-gowned rider galloping along ahead of the wolf pack. As the rider passed by below, Bald Vulture embraced him with his free hand and lifted him up.
The old man was taken by surprise. His horse shot onwards, while he himself was left dangling in space, a host of animals passing under his feet. He performed a somersault, and landed on his feet on a branch further up the tree.
"What"s wrong?" said Bald Vulture. "Don"t tell you"re afraid of wolves too, Master Yuan?"
"Who asked you to interfere?" the old man replied angrily.
"There"s no need to be like that," Madame Guan interrupted him. "My husband just saved your life."
The old man laughed coldly. "Saved me? You"ve messed up everything!"
He was Great Helmsman Chen"s teacher, Master Yuan. He and Madame Guan had grown up together in central China and had fallen in love. But they had argued constantly, and eventually Yuan left and spent more than ten years travelling in the Northern Deserts. There was no news of him, and Madame Guan presumed he would never come back. Eventually, she married Bald Vulture, but shortly after the wedding, Yuan unexpectedly returned home. Both Yuan and Madame Guan were heart-broken although they never spoke of the matter again. Bald Vulture was also very unhappy, and on several occasions went after Yuan to get revenge, but his kung fu was not good enough, and only Yuan"s regard for Madame Guan"s feelings kept her husband from being seriously hurt. So Bald Vulture took his wife and travelled far away into the Muslim regions. Yuan, however, could not forget her, and also moved to the Tianshan Mountains. He never visited them, but just living close to the woman he loved made him feel a little happier. Madame Guan did all she could to keep from seeing her former lover, but Bald Vulture would not let the matter drop, and the couple had fought and argued for decades since. All three were now old and white-haired, but a day did not pass when they did not think of the entanglement.
Bald Vulture was very pleased with himself for having saved Yuan. You have always had the upper hand, he thought, but perhaps you"ll show gratitude towards me after this. Madame Guan, however, was puzzled by Yuan"s anger.
"What do you mean, "messed everything up"?"