he shouted defiantly. "Well, are you coming altogether or one at a time?"
"I"ll fight you first!" Bald Vulture shouted back.
"This traitor has wronged me too deeply," Wen interrupted him. "Let me go first."
"He killed my teacher," Yu shouted. "I may not be as good a fighter as him, but I want to be first. Brother Wen, you can take over when I can"t take any more."
"Let us draw lots," Chen suggested.
"Master Chen," Zhang broke in on them. "We agreed in Hangzhou to meet at a later date for a duel. Does that still hold?"
"Yes," Chen replied. "As I remember, we postponed the meeting because your hand was injured. Now is an excellent time to settle the affair."
"Then you and I will compete first and the others will wait their turns, agreed?" Zhang had fought with Chen on several occasions and knew he could beat him. He reckoned that if he could capture him, he might be able to find some way to escape. And if he could not capture him, he would at least have the satisfaction of killing the Red Flower Society"s leader.
"If you think you are going to escape with your life today, you are deluding yourself," said Chen. "We spared your life in that dungeon in Hangzhou, and on Lion Peak. Only a few days ago, I saved you once again from the wolves. But the Red Flower Society has run out of benevolence towards you."
"Well, come on then," Zhang replied impatiently. Chen leapt at him, his two fists aimed straight at Zhang"s face. Zhang ducked and then jumped up out of the way, and Chen followed with a sweeping kick, timing it to strike Zhang as he fell back to earth. Surprised, Zhang had to thrust his sword at Chen"s chest to extricate himself. Chen moved back and as fast as lightning, Zhang struck out again.
Lu Feiqing was shocked by Zhang"s speed, even faster than their teacher in his prime. He drew his sword and watched the battle carefully, ready to help Chen if necessary.
To one side, Yu and Luo Bing were looking after Yuanzhi who had fainted from the shock and pain of her broken arm. Yuanzhi opened her eyes and pointed to the east with a gasp of surprise. Yu looked round but could see nothing but the afternoon sun shimmering on the hills about them.
"What"s that?" Yuanzhi asked. "Are we back in Hangzhou?"
"It"s just the sun," Yu said softly. "Close your eyes and rest."
"No, that"s the Thunder Peak Pagoda in Hangzhou," she replied. "I"ve been there with my father. Where is my father? I want to see him."
Yu lightly patted the back of her hand. "We"ll go there together after this, and I"ll see your father with you."
A smile appeared on her face. "Who are you?" she asked. Yu saw her staring at him, her face completely devoid of colour and fear struck him.
"I"m your martial brother Yu. I promise I will look after you from now on."
"But in your heart, you don"t like me, I know," she cried, tears beginning to course down her cheeks. "Take me back to see my father. I want to die."
On a sudden impulse, Yu embraced her. "I truly love you," he whispered. "You won"t die." She sighed. "Tell me you won"t die," he repeated. Another wave of pain from her arm struck her and she fainted away.
Meanwhile, Zhang and Chen continued to fight round and round. At first, Chen was able to contain his enemy with the "Hundred Flowers" kung fu style. But as Zhang gradually came to grips with it, he became more daring and forced Chen onto the defensive. He swept his sword across at Chen forcing Chen to jump away, and with a quick double movement of his sword, struck out at "Leopard" Wei and Zhang Jin, wounding them both. Wen roared with anger and was about to leap forward when Chen slipped past him and struck out at Zhang"s face with his open hands. There appeared to be no force behind the blow, but they struck Zhang"s ears with two sharp claps. Surprised and angry, Zhang retreated.
The heroes were perplexed by the effortless way in which Chen had managed to box Zhang"s ears.
"Fourteenth Brother," Chen said to Yu. "Play me a tune on your flute."
"What do you want me to play?"