The Book and The Sword (54 page)

T
hat afternoon, the heroes had a large meal and then waited for the time to leave. At about four o'clock, Bai Zhen arrived with four bodyguards to accompany them. The heroes put on formal gowns, and rode to the Lama Temple. Bai Zhen noticed with relief that none of them were carrying swords.

At the temple gate they dismounted, and Bai Zhen led them inside. Three tables had been prepared in the Hall of Tranquillity, and Bai Zhen solemnly invited the heroes to be seated. Chen sat at the head of the middle table while Bald Vulture and Master Lu took the head seats on the other two tables. Underneath a statue of the Buddha, a fourth table had been set up with one large chair covered with satin and brocade, obviously the Emperor's seat. The heroes began to weigh up the distances in preparation for the assassination attempt.

Dishes of food were brought out and placed on the tables and the heroes quietly awaited the arrival of the Emperor. After a while, footsteps sounded outside and two eunuchs marched into the hall with a senior military official whom the heroes all immediately recognised as Li Keshou, the former Commander-in-Chief of Zhejiang Province. Yuanzhi gripped Yu's hand and almost cried out in surprise at the sight of her father. She wondered when he had been transferrd to the capital.

"Here is an Imperial pronouncement!" one of the eunuchs shouted, and Commander Li, Bai Zhen and the other officials present immediately knelt kown. Chen and the rest of the heroes had no alternative but to do likewise.

The eunuch unrolled a scroll and announced: "On the orders of the Heaven-ordained Emperor, the following proclamation is made: We are benevolent in order to encourage talent just as our ministers and the common people should strive for merit in order to gain rewards. Chen Jialuo and the others have been loyal citizens and deserve to be honoured. Accordingly, I bestow upon Chen Jialuo the title of Successful Candidate of the Imperial Civil Service Examination, while the others are to be given good positions in the Board of Rites and the Military. We invite you to dine at the Lama Temple. The Commander-in-chief of the Imperial Forces in Zhili Province Li Keshou will host the banquet." The eunuch looked up from the scroll and shouted: "Express thanks for the Imperial benevolence!"

The heroes realised with a shock that the Emperor had cheated them and was not coming.

Commander Li walked over to Chen and bowed before him.

"Congratulations, Master Chen. You are honoured to be so highly favoured by the Emperor. It is truly unexpected." Chen replied with a self-deprecating remark.

Yuanzhi and Yu walked over together. "Father!" Yuanzhi said quietly.

Commander Li turned to find his lost daughter standing beside him, as if she had dropped out of nowhere. He grasped her hand, tears welling into his eyes.

"Yuanzhi," he said, his voice shaking. "Are you all right?" She nodded. "Come, come and sit with me," he added, and pulled her over to a table on the side.

The two eunuchs, obviously kung fu experts, walked over to the central table and stood before Chen. One of them saluted with his fists, then turned and shouted: "Boy!"

Two young attendants entered carrying a tray on which was placed a pot of wine and several cups. The eunuch lifted the pot and filled two cups, then picked one of them up. "I drink to you!" he said to Chen, and drained the cup at one draught. He picked the other one up and offered it to Chen.

But Chen had been watching intently, and had noticed two small holes on the side of the wine pot. The eunuch had put his thumb over the left hole when he poured the first cup of wine, and had moved it to cover the right hole as he poured the second cup. Chen guessed the pot was divided into two compartments inside, and that the flow of wine from each could be controlled by covering one or other of the holes. He glanced at the eunuch in distaste and knew that if it had not been for Princess Fragrance's warning, he would have drunk the cup down.

He saluted with his fists in thanks, and lifted the cup as if to drink it. Expressions of delighted anticipation sprang to the faces of the eunuchs, but then Chen put the cup down again, picked up the wine pot and poured out another cup. This cupful he drank then offered the original cup to the second eunuch.

"You drink a toast as well, sir," he said.

The eunuch turned pale as he realised Chen had seen through the trick. His right foot shot up and kicked the cup out of Chen's hand and the other eunuch shouted: "Get them!" Several hundred Imperial bodyguards and guardsmen sprang into view from every side.

"If you gentlemen don't wish to drink, then don't," said Chen with a smile.

"His Imperial Highness decrees," one of the eunuchs shouted, "that the Red Flower Society has engaged in rebellion and continues to harbour evil intentions, and that its members must be immediately seized and killed."

Chen waved his hand and the Twin Knights leapt over to the two eunuchs, paralysing each with a blow to the neck. The Red Flower Society heroes brought out their weapons from under their gowns, and Priest Wu Chen charged for the door with the other heroes close behind. He seized a sword from one of the guards and killed three others as he passed.

Commander Li grabbed his daughter's hand and dragged her after him as he directed his forces to stop the heroes, but Yuanzhi pulled herself free and ran off shouting: "Look after yourself, father!"

Commander Li stared after her for a moment, then began urgently calling: "Yuanzhi, come back!" But she had already left the hall and had joined Yu who was fighting fiercely with five or six guardsmen in the courtyard outside.

Flames were licking up towards the sky from a nearby hall, and the noise of the battle was deafening. As Chen and the other heroes broke out of the Tranquillity Hall into the open, they were surprised to find several dozen Lama monks fighting with a group of Manchu soldiers outside the burning hall. From the look of things, the monks could not hold out for long, but as they watched, Bai Zhen led some of the Imperial guards over and helped them force the Manchu troops back into the hall. Chen had no knowledge of the enmity between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, but he immediately recognised the fight as an excellent diversion and quickly ordered the heroes to escape over the temple walls.

As they touched the ground, the heroes involuntarily sucked in their breaths: in front of them were rank upon rank of Manchu troops, all with bows drawn or with swords in hand. The scene was brightly lit by several thousand torches.

"He has arranged things very carefully," thought Chen. Priest Wu Chen and Bald Vulture charged into the Manchu ranks, killing as they went, and a hail of arrows descended on them.

"Everyone try and make a break for it!" shouted Huo Qingtong. The heroes fought like demons.

Priest Wu Chen noticed seven or eight Imperial Guardsmen attacking Zhang Jin, and he leapt over to help him. He stabbed three of them in the neck, and the rest howled and retreated.

"Tenth Brother, are you all right?" he asked.

Zhang Jin looked up at him and dropped his wolf's tooth club. "Second Brother, I'm finished," he said. In the fire-light, Priest Wu Chen saw he was covered in bloody wounds. With only one arm himself, the Priest could not support him.

"Lie on my back and hold on," the priest said between clenched teeth. He squatted down, and Zhang Jin put his arms round his neck. He felt the warm blood spurting out of the hunchback's wounds, but stood up and charged off again with sword raised to continue the killing.

Chen could see things were going badly and ordered the heroes to return to the wall to regroup.

"All right, Tenth Brother, get down," said Priest Wu Chen as they reached the comparative safety of the wall. Zhang Jin did not move. Luo Bing went over to help him, but found that his body was stiff and his breathing had already ceased. She threw herself onto his corpse and began to sob.

Just as the Manchu troops moved in for the final attack on the heroes, their ranks parted and several dozen monks fought their way through, their yellow robes glowing in the firelight. Leading them, his long white beard dancing and shaking, was Lord Zhou.

"Come with me, all of you!" he shouted to the heroes, and they charged after him through the Manchu blockade, and found Heavenly Mirror and the monks battling fiercely with the Manchu troops.

Huo Qingtong surveyed the situation with dismay. The heroes were killing large numbers of the enemy, but no matter which direction they went, they were always surrounded. She looked around for some possible solution and spotted a dozen or so people standing on a nearby Drum Tower.

"One of those men must be the commander," she shouted to the others, pointing at the tower. "Let's seize him."

The heroes immediately saw the wisdom of her words.

"Let's go," Priest Wu Chen roared. Wen and the Twin Knights ran after him. They quickly reached the foot of the Drum Tower, and leapt up onto the balcony just as several dozen guards moved to intercept them. Wen, however, dodged nimbly past them and charged straight for an official standing in one corner who wore a red cap signifying senior rank. As he caught sight of the official's face in the firelight, he almost called out "Great Helmsman!" He was almost an exact twin of Chen's. Wen remembered his wife telling him about the resemblance of Qian Long's favorite, Fu Kangan, to Chen. This must be Fu, he decided.

It was indeed Fu, who was also the Beijing Garrison Commander. Wen deftly dodged the swords of two surprised bodyguards and lunged at Fu with Priest Wu Chen close behind. Down below, the Manchu troops ceased their attack and stood watching the drama above them.

Fu knew no kung fu and he cringed in fear as Wen lifted him bodily into the air. A gasp went up the Manchu troops. By this time, the Twin Knights had killed the last of the bodyguards on the tower balcony and ran over beside Wen. Fu raised his command flag and shrieked: "Stop, all of you! Return to your units!"

Three bodyguards bravely charged forward, but Priest Wu Chen placed the tip of his sword on Fu's throat and smiled at them. "Come on," he said. "Don't be shy."

The bodyguards hesitated, glanced at each other, then withdrew.

Wen squeezed Fu's arm and he screamed in agony. "Retreat!" he shouted. "Back in position, all of you!" The Manchu troops did not dare to disobey and immediately formed up at a distance.

Chen gathered the heroes and the Shaolin monks together on the Drum Tower balcony. He counted up the casualties and found that apart from Zhang Jin who was dead, eight or nine of the others had been wounded, only one of them seriously. He surveyed his followers in the lights of the flames from the temple.

"Let us attack the Palace and kill the Emperor to avenge Tenth Brother!" he shouted. The heroes roared their approval, and the Shaolin monks joined in.

"The Shaolin Monastery has been destroyed by him," Heavenly Mirror added. "Today, the Commandment against killing is suspended."

"What?" asked Chen, shocked. "The Shaolin Monastery destroyed?"

"Yes, it's been burnt to the ground. Brother Heavenly Rainbow died protecting the sacred scriptures."

The news compounded Chen's anger. With Commander Fu as their hostage, the heroes marched through the ranks of Imperial Guards encircling the Lama Temple. When they had passed the last rank, they saw Xin Yan and a number of the Society's followers standing at a distance with several dozen horses. They ran over and mounted up, one or two to each horse, and with a defiant shout, galloped off towards the Imperial Palace.

Xu rode up alongside Chen and shouted: "Has an escape route been planned, Great Helmsman?"

"Ninth Brother has gone with some of the others to the West Gate to wait for us. What are you and the monks doing here?"

"Those Manchu devils!" replied Xu, his voice full of hatred. "They came one night and sacked the monastery. Heavenly Rainbow would not leave and was burned to death. They even kidnapped my son! We have been looking for the officers responsible ever since, and the chase brought us to Beijing. We went to Twin Willow Lane and they told us you had gone to the Lama Temple."

By this time, they had arrived at the Forbidden City with the Imperial Guardsmen pressing in on them from behind, loath to leave them alone even if they did not dare to attack.

Xu looked over at the Twin Eagles. "If the Emperor gets wind of this and hides somewhere in the depths of the palace, we'll never find him. Could you two go on ahead and investigate?" he asked.

The two old people were delighted to have the opportunity to show their worth, and immediately agreed. Xu took four flare rockets from his bag and gave them to Bald Vulture.

"When you catch sight of the Emperor, kill him if you can, but if he is guarded too tightly, signal us with these," he said.

The Twin Eagles leapt over the palace wall and ran swiftly across the courtyard inside and then up onto the rooftops. As they raced along, they saw the heavy palace gates and the endless courtyards and pavilions, and wondered how they could ever hope to find the Emperor in such a place.

"Let's grab a eunuch and question him," Madame Guan said.

"Good idea!" replied her husband, and the two jumped down to the ground and hid themselves in a dark corner. After a while, they heard footsteps approach and two figures walked quickly by.

"The thin one knows kung fu," Bald Vulture whispered.

"Let's follow and see where they go," Madame Guan replied.

The Twin Eagles silently shadowed the two figures, one very thin, the other fat and much slower on his feet. The thin man had to constantly stop to wait for him to catch up, and at one point said: "Faster! Faster! We must report to the Emperor as soon as possible."

The Twin Eagles were overjoyed when they heard this. They passed through doorways and courtyards and finally arrived in front of the Precious Moon Pavilion.

"You wait here," the thin man said and disappeared upstairs, leaving the fat man standing alone by the front door. The Twin Eagles crept round to the side of the pavilion and climbed up onto the roof. Then, with their feet hooked onto the eaves, they hung down over a balcony smelling of fresh paint and flowers and saw a row of windows, one of which glowed with the faint light of a candle. They slipped onto the balcony, just as a shadow passed across the window paper. Madame Guan carefully wet the paper with her finger, making a hole and then looked through to find Qian Long seated in a chair, a fan in his hand, and the thin man kneeling before him: it was Bai Zhen.