Zhang calculated that at least five of his opponents were his equal at kung fu or better and that he would gain nothing from a head-on confrontation.
With one swift, smooth movement, he drew his sword, and flung a large handful of Golden Needles at the heroes. As they ducked, he grabbed Hahetai and squeezed a key Yuedao point on his right wrist. "Run!" he shouted.
Hahetai was no longer master of his own movements. He ran with Zhang back along the path towards the Secret City, with Tang and Gu following along behind. By the time the heroes had picked themselves up, the four had disappeared around the bend. Master Yuan and Afanti were furious, and shot after them at high speed. Master Yuan was particularly fast, and in a moment he had caught up with Tang. He grasped him by the neck and lifted his fat body up off the ground. Unable to see his attacker, Tang kicked out backwards with his foot, but a huge force propelled him through the air, smashing his head into the rock face, killing him instantly.
Master Yuan ran on and, rounding the next corner, found himself confronted by three paths leading off the main track.
Xu looked carefully at the ground. "Someone trod in this pile of wolf droppings," he said, pointing. "They must have followed the trail of droppings back."
"Very good. Let"s go," Master Yuan replied. They followed the droppings all the way to the base of the White Jade Peak without seeing any sign of Zhang and the other two. But they noticed the cave mouth above them, and Master Yuan and some of the others jumped up the cliff while the rest were hauled one by one by Lu and Wen.
Master Yuan pushed open the massive stone door, and ran on ahead of the others down the tunnel. When they entered the Great Hall, their weapons were snatched away by the magnetic force, giving them all a bad shock. But they had urgent business, and picked up their swords and others weapons without bothering to work out what had happened and ran on to the Jade Room, where they saw the tunnel mouth beside the bed. The further they went into the bowels of the mountain, the more astounded they became. Suddenly, they emerged once more into bright daylight, and saw six people standing around the Jade Pool, three on one side and three on the other. On the far side were Chen, Huo Qingtong and Princess Fragrance, while on the near side were Zhang, Gu and Hahetai.
"Master, master!" Xin Yan called excitedly. "We"re here!"
"Child! Are you all right?" Madame Guan shouted to Huo Qingtong.
"Fine!" she called back. She pointed at Gu and added: "Please kill that villain quickly." Bald Vulture drew his sword and sprung at him, while Madame Guan began to fight with Hahetai. The other heroes quietly surrounded Zhang.
Gu and Hehetai fought for their lives, but could not hope to win against the "Three-Part" sword style of the Twin Eagles. In the midst of the clash of swords, Bald Vulture gave a roar and blood appeared on Gu"s chest. He followed with a swift kick, and Gu fell backwards into the pool, sending fountains of water spraying out in all directions. A trail of blood rose to the surface.
A moment later, there was another splash as Gu surfaced, and began swimming slowly towards the bank. Hahetai threw down his sword and helped him out of the water. Gu was badly wounded and had taken in a large quantity of water, and after laying him down on the bank, Hahetai massaged his chest.
Zhang watched helplessly as Gu and Hahetai were overcome. Then "Scholar" Yu lunged at him. Zhang swept his left hand across, and as Yu dodged to avoid the blow, Zhang grabbed him with his right hand and threw him at a nearby stone wall with a roar. Horrified, Yuanzhi jumped forward to grab Yu, but Zhang"s strength was too great and the two slammed into the wall. A sharp "crack" sounded as Yuanzhi"s left arm snapped.
The heroes"s anger flared once more. Master Yuan went over to Yuanzhi and placed a medicine pill in her mouth to ease her intense pain while the others surrounded Zhang.
"The "Fire Hand Judge" will die as a hero!"