Spear Splits Plough

1

GUO JING AND LOTUS SNEAKED ROUND TO THE BACK OF THE palace and climbed over the wall into the courtyard.

"You have excellent lightness kung fu," Lotus whispered to Guo Jing.

Guo Jing beamed with pleasure from where he was crouching, looking out for movement inside.

Just then they heard footsteps and then laughter. Two men were walking towards them.

"What do you think the Prince is going to do with her, now that he's got her locked up?"

"Do you have to ask! Have you ever seen a girl as luscious as that since the day you were born?"

"Watch that the Prince doesn't hear your dirty talk, or he'll cut your head off! She may be pretty, but she's got nothing on the Consort."

"That lowly country girl? Of course she's got nothing on the Consort."

"But I thought you said the Consort came from—" He suddenly stopped and coughed. "The Prince took a beating today from that old Taoist. You'd better not upset him, or he'll take it out on you."

"If he tries, I'll duck to the left, kick to the right."

"Sure." The first man laughed.

So Wanyan Kang has a sweetheart, Guo Jing said to himself. No wonder he refused to marry Mu Yi's daughter. But then he should never have joined the competition, let alone taken her embroidered shoe. But what was that about keeping his lover locked up? Was he forcing her to stay against her will?

The two simply dressed servant boys came closer, one carrying a lantern and the other a basket of food.

"First he locks them up," the one with the food basket said, "then he worries that they'll go hungry. This late at night!"

"Winning over a lady takes charm and a gentle touch, don't you know?"

They laughed as they passed by and disappeared around a corner.

"Let's go and see how pretty she is," Lotus said in hushed tones, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"But Elder Wang's herbs!" Guo Jing replied.

"I want to see the young lady first!" Lotus scuttled off after the two servants.

What's so interesting about a young lady? Guo Jing said to himself. I can't understand it. He knew that if a woman heard another described as beautiful she would have to see it with her own eyes, especially if she was herself considered pretty. And Lotus was the type of girl who had to get what she wanted. So he set off after her.

They followed the two servant boys through the vast Zhao Palace until they came to a large stand-alone house guarded by an officer armed with a sabre. Lotus and Guo Jing hid and listened as the servant boys exchanged a few words with the guard. He then opened the door and the young men went inside.

Before they could close the door again, Lotus picked up a stone and threw it at the lantern, extinguishing the flame with one poof! She then grabbed Guo Jing's hand and slipped through the door. The guard did not think it too strange; rocks were known to fall sometimes from the roofs. The servants cursed and went to fetch tinder and a flint to relight it. They then carried the lantern across a small inner courtyard and in through another small door.

Lotus and Guo Jing crept behind them and saw a large cage with iron bars. Inside sat two prisoners: a man and a young woman.

One of the servants lit a candle, which he fed between the bars and placed on a table. Guo Jing peered closer. The man had a large grey beard. He looked angry. It was Mu Yi! And the young maiden sitting beside him, her eyes firmly set on the floor, was his daughter Mercy. But what were they doing here? Wanyan Kang had taken them hostage. But why? Had he fallen in love with her, after all?

The servants proceeded to pass some snacks and dishes through the bars.

"Kill us already, if that's what you're planning! I'm fed up with being pampered like a pet. Hypocrites!" With that, Mu Yi took one of the plates and smashed it on the ground.

Just then a voice came from outside. "Your Highness!" It was the guard.

Lotus and Guo Jing exchanged glances and slipped behind the door, just as Wanyan Kang entered.

"Who has angered the valiant Mu Yi?" he announced. "Be careful or I'll break your stinking legs!"

The servants dropped to their knees.

"Please, sir."

"Go, get out of here."

"Yes, sir."

They stood up and scurried away, but as they got to the door, they turned and poked out their tongues and made faces at each other.

Wanyan Kang waited for them to close the door before speaking. "Please don't be alarmed. I invited you and your daughter here to the palace for a special reason."

"Then why lock us up like common thieves?" Mu Yi snarled in response. "How dare you call it an invitation?"

"My apologies, please be patient. I truly am very sorry."

"Such excuses are good for convincing a three-year-old, but don't try them on me. It's just typical of you greedy officials – always feeding off us common folk. I've seen enough of it to know."

Wanyan Kang tried several times to reply, but each time Mu Yi cut him off with another flood of angry retorts. Somehow, the Jin Prince managed to keep a smile on his face.

"Father, let him speak," Mercy pleaded quietly.

Mu Yi snorted, but at last fell silent.

"Your daughter possesses rare talent, and is of course extremely beautiful. I have eyes that can see, how could I not acknowledge it?"

Mercy's cheeks flushed crimson and she lowered her gaze even further.

"But you see, I am the eldest son of the Prince of Zhao. My father is strict. If he found out I had agreed to marry a young girl of no family, a wandering performer from the rivers and lakes, he would be furious and the people would despise him for it."

"What are you saying?"

"I would like you to stay a few days, rest, recover from your injuries, and then go back to your village. Wait until two summers have passed and talk has died down, and then either I will go south to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage, or you can send her here. Wouldn't that be better?"

Mu Yi made no reply. He was thinking about something else.

"My father has had to suffer enough from my mischief. Not three months ago he reprimanded me severely for my conduct. If he were to find out about this, there could never be a wedding. I beg you, sir, to keep it a secret."

"You mean my daughter is forever to be your secret wife? Your marriage will never be out in the open?"

"No, of course not. I will make proper arrangements when the time is right. I will have some men of the court act as matchmakers and we will have a proper celebration."

Mu Yi's expression changed suddenly. "Bring your mother here, we can discuss it with her."

"How could I let my mother know?" Wanyan Kang laughed.

"There will be no agreement if your mother does not come!" He grabbed the carafe of wine and threw it through the bars.

Mercy had taken a shine to the young man ever since their duel. To her, the plan sounded perfect. She was both surprised and aggrieved by her father's reaction.

Wanyan Kang flicked aside his sleeve to reveal the wine jug in his hand; he had caught it before it smashed to the ground. "I'm going now!" he announced with a smile, turning to leave.

Guo Jing, too, thought the plan sounded a good one; who would have guessed Mu Yi would turn it down in such a rage? I will try to convince him of his error, Guo Jing said to himself. But just as he was about to stand up and reveal himself, he felt a tug at his sleeve and he was pulled back down.

Outside, more voices.

"Did you bring it?" Wanyan Kang said.

"Yes, sir," the servant replied.

They peeked out through the window. He had in his hand a small rabbit. The Prince coughed, and then snapped the animal's hind legs, before placing it inside his robe and striding away.

How odd! Guo Jing and Lotus glanced at each other before slipping out again and scurrying after the Prince.

They circled a bamboo fence and came to a cottage with white walls and black tiles on the roof. It had been built to look exactly like the peasant homes of the south. To Guo Jing, everything in the palace complex was new, so he saw nothing odd in the design, but to Lotus it looked most out of place. They watched as the Prince opened the front door and disappeared inside.

They crept to the back of the cottage and peered in through a window. What was the Prince doing in such an unassuming place? He had to be up to no good. But just then they heard him speak:

"Ma!"

A woman murmured an indistinct reply.

Wanyan Kang went through to another room. Lotus and Guo Jing shuffled along to the next window. There they spotted a middle-aged woman sitting by a rustic wooden table, her head held in her hands as she stared into space. She could not have been more than forty, and was possessed of such natural beauty that there was no reason to smother it in make-up. She wore the simplest of cotton garments.

The Consort is many times more beautiful than Mu's daughter, Lotus thought, but why is she dressed like a peasant woman? And why does she live in such a shabby cottage? Did she do something to offend the Sixth Prince?

Guo Jing was thinking the same thing, but put it down to some strange custom he did not understand. Had Lotus not done the same, pretending to be a beggar boy? It must be a game women here liked to play, pretending to be poor.

Wanyan Kang walked up to his mother and touched her on the arm. "Ma, are you feeling unwell again?"

The woman sighed. "I worry about you so," she said.

Wanyan Kang leaned in closer and smiled. "But look, your son is here now. And he's all in one piece, isn't he?" His behaviour struck the two onlookers as most arrogant and unfilial.

"Except your eyes are puffy and your nose has been bleeding. All this messing around. It would be one thing if your father were to find out, but if your shifu were to hear . . . you'd be in big trouble."

"Ma, do you know who that Taoist was who appeared yesterday?"

"Who?" she said, looking up at her son.

"My shifu 's martial brother. Which would make him my martial uncle, I suppose. I pretended not to recognise him, just called him Elder this, Elder that. I could see it made him angry, but he couldn't do anything about it." He laughed.

"Oh dear." The Consort looked worried now. "I've seen your shifu angry. He has killed people before. He is very frightening."

"You've seen my shifu kill? When? Why?"

The Consort looked up at the light as if gazing far into the past. "It was a long time ago, I can barely remember."

But the young Prince was too impatient to listen to his mother's story. "The old Taoist, my martial uncle, asked what I was going to do about the young girl today, and I told him I'd do whatever he said as long as he brought her to me."

"Have you asked your father's permission?" the Consort said, brought back to more urgent concerns than reminiscences of days past. "He said yes?"

"Ma, you're too naïve. I got my men to trick them into coming here. I've got them locked up. That way the old Taoist won't be able to find them."

Outside, Guo Jing was fuming. To think I believed that he had good intentions! The valiant Mu Yi is too wise to fall for such a dirty trick.

"How can you mock his daughter like that, and lock them up?" His mother too was displeased at her son's conduct. "Go back to them and apologise. And give them some silver as recompense."

This was a good idea, Guo Jing thought.

"Ma! You don't understand. The men of the rivers and lakes don't care for money. A man's reputation is more precious than gold. If I release them, he will tell everyone what happened and my shifu will find out."

"So you plan to keep them locked up forever?"

"I told them to go back to their village and wait for my return. Ten, twenty years, it's up to them – a lifetime, if it pleases them." The young Prince was really laughing now.

Guo Jing was about to bang on the door and let the Prince know what he thought of him when a soft, smooth palm covered his lips and another hand seized his wrist. "Be calm."

Guo Jing turned to Lotus and smiled faintly before turning back to the window.

"That old Mu is smarter than I thought, though," the Prince was saying. "He hasn't fallen for it yet. But we'll see how long he'll hold out."

"Miss Mu is beautiful. I like her. Why don't I tell your father that you could do worse than take her for a wife? Then all will be well."

"Ma, do I have to keep reminding you? We are a royal family. How can I marry some wandering peasant girl from the rivers and lakes? Father says he will find me a suitable wife. It's just a shame we are Wanyans."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise I could marry the Princess and become the heir to the whole Jin Empire!"

His mother sighed. "Peasant girls aren't good enough for you," she said under her breath. "If only you knew . . ."

"Ma, let me tell you something funny. Old Mu says he will only say yes if he gets to meet you!"

"I'm not going to help you cheat and lie! It's not right."

Wanyan Kang walked around the room, laughing. "I wouldn't have let you see him anyway. You're such a bad liar. You would have given it all away within seconds."

Guo Jing and Lotus looked around the room, with its simple wooden furniture and farm tools. A rusty spear and a broken plough hung on the wall, in the corner sat a broken spinning wheel. Why did the Consort live in a house like this?

Wanyan Kang tapped his chest and the rabbit inside his robes yelped.

"What's that?"

"I almost forgot. I came across an injured rabbit just now, so I picked it up. Why don't you look after it?"

He removed the rabbit from his robes and placed it on the table. Its hind legs were broken and it could not move.

"You're such a good boy." She got up and went to a cabinet, from where she fetched some herbs and other medicines to tend to the animal's injuries.

This only made Guo Jing even more furious. Hurting an animal on purpose to gain his mother's affection? To distract her? How could someone stoop so low as to trick their own mother like that?

Lotus could feel him shaking, and fearing that he might explode, she started pulling at his sleeve. "Come, never mind them. Let's go and find the herbs for Elder Wang."

"Do you know where they keep them?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "We'll have to look around."

How could they possibly find the medicine store in such a vast complex? And what if Hector Sha and the others found out they were back? But just as he was about to discuss it with Lotus, a lantern flickered into view up ahead.

"My dear, my love, who is it you hold dear? Why not love me instead . . .? " a man was singing as he approached.

Guo Jing was going to duck behind a nearby tree when Lotus stood up and rushed towards the stranger. He froze in alarm, and before he could react, she had already raised a pair of glinting Emei Needles to his throat.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"The . . . I'm . . . the housekeeper," the man managed to stammer. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? I'm about to kill you, that's what. The housekeeper? Excellent. The younger Prince ordered people of the household to buy herbs. Where did you put them?"

"The younger Prince took them. I . . . I don't know!"

Lotus gripped his arm and twisted, while pressing the tips of the blades deeper into his throat. A sharp pain surged in his neck and wrist, but he was too scared to call out. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. I really don't know!"

Lotus removed his cap and stuffed it into his mouth, before twisting harder on his wrist. A loud crack. She had broken a bone in his right shoulder. The housekeeper screamed and fainted, but no-one else heard his muffled cry.

Guo Jing was stunned by Lotus' vicious actions. He continued to watch as she jabbed the housekeeper twice in the shoulder and he came to with a groan. "Do you want me to do the other one?" she said as she put the cap back on his head.

Tears gathered in his eyes and he knelt before her. "Miss, I really don't know. Killing me won't change that."

She seemed to believe him, albeit grudgingly. "Go to the young Prince and tell him you broke your shoulder in a fall. Say that the doctor told you to take cinnabar, resina draconis, notoginseng, bear's gall bladder and myrrh for the pain, but you can't find any anywhere in the city. Beg him to give you some."

The housekeeper nodded. He dared not refuse her.

"He's with the Consort. Go! I'll be right behind you. If you fail to get the herbs, or reveal in any way what actually happened, I will break your neck and scoop out your eyeballs. Do you remember which herbs I asked for?" She scratched her fingernail across his cheek as she spoke. He trembled, but struggled to his feet. Clenching his jaw against the pain, he stumbled to the Consort's house.

Wanyan Kang was still talking to his mother when the housekeeper's sweaty, tear-soaked face appeared in the doorway. Snot bubbled in his nose. He repeated Lotus' list. The Consort noticed his arm dangling from the shoulder socket and the scars of pain etched across his face. Before her son could answer, she was urging him to go and fetch the herbs for him.

"Old Liang's got them, go and get it yourself," the Prince replied with a frown.

"May I beg the Prince to write me a note?"

The Consort placed paper, a brush and ink before her son, and he scribbled a few characters. The housekeeper bowed in gratitude.

"Go, take the medicine as quickly as possible and rest," the Consort said.

The housekeeper was only a few steps out of the door when he felt the cold blade against his neck again. "I'm coming with you to see Old Liang."

But the housekeeper could barely stand the pain, and after a few steps he staggered and collapsed.

"If you don't get the medicine, I'm going to cut your neck in two," she snarled, grabbing him by the back of the neck and twisting his head.

Cold sweat ran from every pore, but somehow the housekeeper found his last reserves of strength and he pressed on. They passed at least half a dozen other servants, but though they clearly saw Lotus and Guo Jing, no-one said anything.

2

THEY REACHED OLD LIANG 'S QUARTERS AND THE HOUSEKEEPER went to check the door. Locked. He asked a passing servant boy, who replied that the Sixth Prince was holding a banquet in the Hall of Perfumed Snow. Guo Jing propped up the hobbling housekeeper and together they made for the hall.

Just as they were approaching the entrance, two guards with lanterns and sabres called out, "Stop! Who goes there?"

The housekeeper passed them the note he had been given by Wanyan Kang. They stood aside, but just as they were about to stop Guo Jing and Lotus, the housekeeper intervened. "They belong to the household too."

"The Prince is hosting some very important guests, he mustn't be disturbed. You can come back tomorrow—"

The guards felt a numbing sensation in their ribs and they could not move. Lotus had her fingers on their pressure points.

Having dumped the guards in a nearby bush, Lotus took Guo Jing's hand and followed the housekeeper to the door of the Hall of Perfumed Snow. She gave the man a nudge and then flew up onto the large window frame above with Guo Jing. From there they could see what was happening inside.

The hall was lit with hundreds of candles, and at its centre guests sat around a large wooden table. Guo Jing's heart was thumping. There they were, from last night: the Master of White Camel Mount, Gallant Ouyang; the Dragon King, Hector Sha; the Three-Horned Dragon, Browbeater Hou; Old Liang the Ginseng Codger; the Butcher of a Thousand Hands, Tiger Peng; and, in the seat of honour, the Sixth Prince of the Jin, Wanyan Honglie. A large armchair was placed beside the table, piled up with sumptuous cushions, upon which sat the Lama Supreme Wisdom, his eyes barely open and his face puffy and jaundiced. He was clearly in great pain. Serves him right for plotting against Elder Wang, Guo Jing thought with a smile.

The housekeeper entered and approached Old Liang with a bow. He then passed him the note he had received from the young Prince. Old Liang read it, glanced at the housekeeper and then gave the note to the elder Prince Wanyan Honglie. "Your Highness, does this look like your son's handwriting?"

"Yes, do as he requests, Liang," the Prince replied.

Old Liang turned to a servant boy who was standing behind him and said, "Go and fetch half a tael of each of the herbs the young Prince gave me today, and give them to the housekeeper here."

The boy nodded, and followed the housekeeper outside.

"Let's get out of here before they see us," Guo Jing whispered in Lotus' ear. But she just smiled and shook her head. He felt the soft silken strands of her hair brush against his cheek and the tickle throbbed through his whole body. Instead of arguing with her he made to jump down from the sill, but she grabbed his hand and leapt up, hooking her feet in the eaves. She then placed him down on the ground softly.

If I'd just jumped, they would have heard me thudding against the ground, Guo Jing realised. He was yet to learn the subtler tricks of the jianghu .

The housekeeper and the servant boy emerged from the hall and Guo Jing followed. After fifty feet or so, he turned back and saw Lotus perform a Roll Down the Bead Curtain somersault from the eaves. She then turned back to the window and glanced in, her robes flapping in the breeze like a blooming white lily in the night.

No-one had noticed her, so she turned to Guo Jing and watched him disappear into the darkness, before turning back to the action in the banqueting hall.

Just then Tiger Peng started looking around the room. Lotus ducked out of the way of the window and listened intently.

"Did Wang Chuyi turn up yesterday by coincidence, or is something going on?" a husky voice asked.

"Never mind his intentions," another voice boomed. "If he doesn't die from the Lama's attack, he'll surely be crippled." Lotus peeked inside. This was Tiger Peng, a stocky man with eyes like lightning.

A clear and crisp voice replied: "Quanzhen kung fu is famous even out in the far west where I come from. If it weren't for the Lama Supreme Wisdom's Five Finger Blade technique, we would have all been killed."

"No need to flatter me, Master Ouyang, we were both hurt. There was no winner in that fight." The Lama's voice was thick and deep.

"His injuries were graver than yours. Your Reverence will be fine after some rest," Gallant Ouyang replied.

Silence descended, before a toast was proposed. "My esteemed guests, you have travelled thousands of li between you to be here today. I am most honoured. The Jin Empire is humbled by your presence." This must be the Sixth Prince Wanyan Honglie, Lotus thought. The others replied with polite protestations, which the Sixth Prince waved away before continuing. "The Venerable Supreme Wisdom is Kokonor's most celebrated lama, Master Liang controls the region beyond the passes of the north-east, Master Ouyang's fame extends further than the Empire, Tiger Peng controls the Central Plains, and the Dragon King Sha is Master of the mighty Yellow River. If just one of you heroes gathered here today were to come to the aid of the Jin, we would surely prevail. But if all of you were to join us, well . . ." He paused to chuckle. "It would be like a lion fighting a rabbit."

Old Liang smiled. "Your Highness need only say the word, and we would be happy to. But my kung fu is nothing to boast about, so I am perhaps not fit to bear such a heavy responsibility as aiding the Great Jin Empire represents."

Tiger Peng added some similar comments of his own.

These men were all used to being the chieftains of their own domains, and in reality they spoke with as much arrogance as the Prince.

Wanyan Honglie made another toast: "And now it comes to me to explain why I invited you all here. The matter in hand is too important for me not to address it directly. All I ask is that, once we have spoken of it here, you do not share what I have said with anyone outside this hall. I don't want our enemies to have time to prepare. But I trust that you all have the Jin's best interests at heart."

This had the men's attention. "Fear not, Your Highness," they all reassured the Prince. "We will not speak of it."

They were to be entrusted with a most important and difficult task, that much was evident. He had sent them gold, silver and other treasures before their arrival, and he was at last going to reveal the reason for the special attention. Anticipation filled the room.

"In the third year of the reign of our great Emperor Taizong," the Prince began, "that is, almost one hundred years ago, when the Huizong Emperor ruled the Song, two of our great generals led a mission south against the Chinese Empire, taking first the Emperor and then his successor captive. It was a victory without parallel in the history of our people."

The men cheered.

Shameless! Lotus fumed. Apart from the Lama and Master Ouyang, they were all Chinese, born and bred. How could they applaud the capture of two Song Emperors, especially after the Jin had betrayed an alliance agreed only four years before?

"The Jin army in those days was strong and disciplined. We should have been able to take the entire Chinese Empire. But now, almost one hundred years later, the Song still holds court in Lin'an. Do you know why this is?"

"Please, let Your Highness explain," Old Liang said.

Wanyan Honglie sighed. "The following year we were defeated by General Yue Fei – of this everyone is aware. I need not repeat it. Our great Commander Wu was a most brilliant strategist, but in all his days he never once defeated Yue Fei. And though we brought Chancellor Qin Hui onto our side and he helped us kill General Yue, our momentum had been stalled and we did not continue our attack south. But this is where my ambition comes in. I want to make a great contribution to my people, to take my place in history. But you see, it is a mighty task and I cannot do it on my own. That is why I need the help of you heroes gathered here today."

The guests exchanged glances, unsure what the Prince meant. Charging enemy lines, laying siege to cities, that was all very well. But was he asking them to kill the southern Song's great commander?

Wanyan Honglie smiled, pride written across his face. He continued, with a slight quiver in his voice. "A few months ago, I happened upon some poems in the palace. In fact, they came from the brush of General Yue himself. But the phrasing was most strange. It took me days to decipher their meaning. Yue Fei was in prison when he wrote them, with no hope of escape. People are not exaggerating when they call him China's greatest patriot. He was in fact recording a campaign strategy, the sum of his many years of learning and practice, in the hope that it could be sent out of the palace without our knowledge. But Qin Hui had anticipated that Yue Fei might attempt to communicate with the outside world. He selected the guards watching over the General for their unwavering loyalty, so that no such letters would get out. Had Yue Fei's instructions got out, there would have been no stopping such a rebellion against Qin Hui's corrupted court. Yet, ever the patriot, Yue Fei was reluctant to move against a Chinese Emperor, even if the heart of the court was working on our behalf. What Qin Hui did not realise, however, was that Yue Fei was concerned more with saving the rivers and mountains of his homeland than himself. Fortunately, the poems never left the palace, even after his execution."

Everyone was so enthralled by the story, they forgot to drink their wine. Lotus was just as riveted from where she was listening outside the window.

"He wrote four poems, to be exact," the Prince continued. "To the tunes 'The Bodhisattva of the Barbarian South', 'The Ugly Slave Boy', 'All Hail the Emperor!' and 'The Heavens are Joyful'. But they are incomplete and do not follow the proper rules of prosody. Sentences are jumbled to the point of nonsense. Even Qin Hui, famed for his learning and intellect, could not make them out. So he sent them to the Jin, which is how they ended up here, in the palace. Everyone assumed they were nothing but the ravings of an angry and frustrated man. Nobody realised the secret hidden within the lines. But after rereading them many times, I realised that if you take every third character and then read them in reverse, the message is revealed. He was setting down a plan for a renewed offensive against our Jin army. But no-one ever got to read it!"

The guests were astonished that the Prince should be the one to decode Yue Fei's writing.

"I think there must be more poems buried with him, in his tomb. Yue Fei's military prowess is without equal, no-one was able to beat him while he was alive. So imagine if we had his secret strategies. The entire Song Empire would be ours!"

The Prince wants us to dig up his grave and steal Yue Fei's poetry!

The Prince paused, and then continued. "You are all the bravest men for thousands of li . You must be wondering, how could I be asking you to rob his grave? And while Yue Fei may have been an enemy of the Jin, he is admired everywhere for his determination and loyalty to his country. To disturb his last place of rest would be most disrespectful. I've been reading through the papers my men have obtained from the Song court and it appears that, after he was executed at Storm Pavilion and buried at the nearby Peace Bridge, his body was then moved to his current resting place by the West Lake, where the court built a memorial hall for him. But his clothes and personal effects were taken and buried elsewhere. This is where I believe the rest of his poetry will be found."

He examined his guests intently. They were waiting for the exact location of the tomb.

"For a while, I feared that the poems might have been lost in the move. But after extensive research, I no longer believe this to be the case. The people of the Song hold the General in such high esteem that they could not possibly disturb his tomb. I am certain this is where they are, in Lin'an. But it is of vital importance that word of this does not spread. Others may go looking first. This is a very serious matter that concerns two great nations. I could not begin to undertake it without the help of the greatest heroes of the wulin ."

The men nodded in agreement.

Just as Wanyan Honglie was about to give the precise location of the tomb, the main door to the hall burst open and a young boy, his face swollen and his cheeks as white as the snow outside, came rushing in. He ran straight for Old Liang. "Master!"

Everyone recognised the servant that Old Liang had sent to fetch the medicine.

3

GUO JING WENT WITH THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE SERVANT boy to fetch the medicine, to make sure the housekeeper had no opportunity to explain to the young boy what they had done to him. They hobbled down a long corridor, passing many doors before arriving at Old Liang's storeroom. The boy unlocked the door, entered and lit a candle.

Guo Jing stepped inside. His nose was assaulted by the aromas of hundreds of different medicines. The table, bench and floor were all covered with bottles of strange dried plants, seeds, tree bark and insects, jars big and small, bowls, vats and barrels. Old Liang may have only been a guest at the palace, but he had built up a considerable collection with which he could concoct all kinds of tinctures to treat every ailment. The boy knew exactly what he was looking for. He measured the herbs and divided them into packets wrapped in rice paper. He then gave them to the housekeeper.

The housekeeper reached out and took them, before turning to leave. Now he had the medicine, he wanted to get out. Guo Jing made to follow, but suddenly the housekeeper pushed the door shut, locked it and started shouting, "Thief! Thief!" Guo Jing threw his weight against the door, but it would not budge. The housekeeper then thew the medicine packets out of a small window and into a pool of water outside.

Guo Jing was panicking now. He placed both palms against the door and, using his internal energy, pressed against it. The bolt cracked and the door flung open. Guo Jing rushed out and jabbed at the housekeeper's jaw, splitting it. Luckily the storeroom was so far out of the way no-one in the palace could hear what was going on.

The boy had followed Guo Jing out into the corridor and was making for the banqueting hall. Guo Jing gave chase and caught the boy by the neck. The boy aimed a low sweeping kick. Clearly he had experienced many a fight while travelling with Old Liang.

Not only had Guo Jing lost the medicine, but he was now in danger of alerting the palace to his presence. Lotus, too, would be in mortal danger. He used a move from his Split Muscles technique in an effort to control the boy.

Within moments he had managed to render the servant unconscious. He hid him in some nearby bushes and then hurried back to the storeroom, lit a candle and looked inside. The housekeeper was still lying on the floor.

Which jars had the boy taken the medicine from? Guo Jing cursed himself for not having paid more attention. The bottles were marked with strange symbols, but no Chinese characters that he could decipher. Perhaps he should just grab a small amount from as many as he could. That way, Elder Wang could choose for himself. The boy had been standing here when he made his selection. Guo Jing grabbed a pile of paper packets and began filling them with handfuls of herbs.

But just as he finished folding a wrap, he turned and knocked a large bamboo basket over. The lid rolled clear and a loud hissing sound filled the storeroom.

A blood-red snake launched itself at Guo Jing's face.

Guo Jing jumped back.

Most of the snake's body was still curled up inside the basket and there was no knowing how big it was. It flicked its tongue at him. Guo Jing had never seen such a large snake before; the ones in Mongolia had been stunted by year after year of cold winters. He stepped back and banged into the table. The candle went out with a poof! The darkness was instant and absolute.

He turned to the door, but just as he reached the handle he felt something wrap itself around his leg. He tried to jump clear, but at that moment, a cold sensation went through his arm. He could not move it!

With his free hand he fumbled for the little dagger Temujin had given him. A bitter stench filled his nostrils and something cold moved across his cheek. The snake's tongue! He grabbed it by the neck, but it pulled closer. Guo Jing squeezed as hard as he could, amazed at the animal's power.

Guo Jing was growing weaker and he was having difficulty breathing. The snake was now wrapped around his chest and pulling tighter all the time. He pushed back with what he had left of his internal energy, gaining a moment of relief before the snake tightened again around his lungs. He had barely any strength left in his good arm now. The snake's breath was making him feel nauseous. He would not be able to hold on much longer.

Meanwhile, the servant boy awoke in the bushes. Where was the intruder? He ran back to the storeroom, but all looked dark and silent. The young man must have fled. He ran back towards the Hall of Perfumed Snow to report to his master.

4

LOTUS LISTENED IN SHOCK AS THE BOY RELATED WHAT HAD just happened. She dropped back to the ground silently in a Goose Lands on the Sandy Bank. Everyone had been too enraptured with the Prince's story to pay attention to what had been going on outside the hall, but now they were on the alert.

Old Liang had heard her. Seconds later, he was standing before her, blocking her way. "Who are you?"

Lotus could see Old Liang's kung fu was more accomplished than her own, and he had a room full of companions also famed for their martial arts. "Isn't this plum tree beautiful? Could you break off a small branch for me?"

Old Liang had not expected to be confronted by such a pretty young girl. Her smile was radiant, like a string of pearls. He reasoned that she must be a lady of the palace, perhaps even the Prince's young betrothed, and so he did as she requested.

"Thank you, sir," Lotus replied with a shy smile.

The others were already standing at the entrance to the banqueting hall, watching the exchange.

"Your Highness, is she a lady of the palace?" Tiger Peng asked the Prince.

"No indeed," Wanyan Honglie replied.

"But she must have heard the Prince's story just now."

Tiger Peng rushed forward. "Wait! Young lady! Please let me break off a branch for you too." He reached out, but made a grab for her wrist instead. Then he formed a claw and lunged at her throat.

Lotus had intended not to reveal her kung fu skills, but Tiger Peng had already seen through the pretence. She had no time to duck the move and instead blocked him with her right hand, which she shaped like a flower in bloom, her thumb and index finger touching and the remaining fingers splayed. It was a beautiful move.

Tiger Peng's elbow went numb, followed by his whole arm. But he had barely felt any contact. How did this pretty young girl know about such an obscure pressure point? And how was she able to hit it so quickly and precisely? He had never, in all his years in the wulin , seen anything like this Orchid Touch kung fu, a technique that emphasised speed, accuracy, surprise and clarity. It was this last aspect, clarity, which really distinguished the accomplished practitioner, as it principally required a stillness of the heart, graceful movement born of an unhurried mind. Too urgent, too brutal, and the move would be clumsy and unbefitting of Orchid Touch style. Clarity: that was the hardest part to master.

Everyone had noticed it and all were watching in amazement.

"Young lady, may I ask your name?" Tiger Peng said. "Who is your shifu ?"

"This plum blossom is most beautiful. I'm going to put it in some water," came her reply.

This made the men even more suspicious.

"Didn't you hear Brother Peng's question?" Browbeater Hou snarled.

"What question?" she replied with a smile.

That smile, that laugh. She was the dirty little beggar boy that had so tormented Browbeater Hou the day before! Tiger Peng realised.

"Old Hou, don't you see who this is?"

This startled Browbeater Hou, and he looked her up and down.

"You played hide-and-seek together for most of yesterday. Have you forgotten?"

Browbeater Hou looked even more shocked. "It's you, you stinky little rascal!" He charged forward, but Lotus dodged his clumsy hands, and all he managed to grab was a fistful of air.

At that moment, Dragon King Hector Sha rushed at her, seized her wrist and snarled, "Where do you think you're going?"

Lotus scratched at his eyes with her free hand, but Hector Sha caught the move in time.

"Shameless brute!" she spat in his face.

"Shameless? Who are you calling shameless?"

"Bullying a child. A young girl!"

This hit right at Hector Sha's sense of pride; it did seem like an uneven fight for someone of his reputation. He relaxed his grip somewhat. "Let's go inside and talk instead."

Lotus realised she had no choice and followed them inside.

"Let me give the stinky little rascal a good beating first," Browbeater Hou said, preparing to strike again.

"Let's find out who her Master is, who sent her," Tiger Peng said. Her level of kung fu and rich clothing were enough to tell him it had to be someone very influential. They had to know who they were dealing with before making any rash decisions.

But Browbeater Hou could not contain himself, and launched his fist at Lotus. She dodged again. "You really want to fight?" she asked.

"You think I'm joking? You won't get away this time." He did not want to have to chase her again, knowing he would be unable to keep up.

"Fine, let's fight to see who has the better skills." She picked up a bowl filled with wine and placed it on her head, then took two more, one for each hand. "Want to try?"

"What is this nonsense?"

Lotus turned to the others and smiled. "This old uncle with the horns and I have no long-standing grudge to speak of. Surely it would cause the rest of you gentlemen great offence, were I to beat him in a fight?"

"Beat me?" Browbeater stepped forward in anger. "How dare you? And these are not horns, they're cysts! See?"

Lotus ignored him and continued to address the other men. "We each take three bowls of wine, and whoever spills the first drop loses. How does that sound?"

Old Liang, Tiger Peng and Hector Sha were all much better fighters than her, she knew that, but this old man with the horns on his head was slow. She only needed to rely on her lightness kung fu, and her wits, and she was confident she could humiliate him. But what if she were overestimating her own abilities? Her best tactic was to continue playing the fool. That way they would not take her seriously.

"I'm not here to play parlour games!" exclaimed Browbeater Hou angrily, and he ran at her with his fists raised.

Again, Lotus dodged out of his way. "Fine, we'll do it like this. I'll have the three bowls of wine, you fight empty-handed."

Browbeater Hou had never been able to claim a reputation equal to his martial brother Hector Sha, but he was a well-regarded fighter, nevertheless. He did not take kindly to being humiliated like this, so, without pausing for thought, he placed a bowl of wine on his head and grabbed two more, one for each hand. He then bent his left leg and kicked with his right.

"That's more like it!" Lotus called out, before flying across the room in a graceful display of lightness kung fu. Browbeater Hou followed, kicking wildly, but he was never even close to hitting her. The hall erupted in laughter. Lotus kept her focus steady and her body balanced, her robes fluttering after her. She looked as if she were floating on clouds, or had wheels attached to her feet. Browbeater Hou's strides were clumsy where hers were delicate and smooth. He puffed and clattered. She danced around him, aiming at his wine bowls with her elbows, forcing him to lurch out of her way.

The girl has skill, Old Liang thought to himself. But I still fancy Browbeater Hou the better fighter. But Greybeard Liang's main concern was protecting his store of medicines, so while the others remained transfixed by the fight, he slipped towards the door. If I'm missing cinnabar, resina draconis, notoginseng, bear's gall bladder and myrrh, then I'll know Wang Chuyi sent her. The medicines Wang Chuyi needed weren't expensive, but Old Liang had many valuable ingredients in the storeroom that had taken him years to collect.

5

THE SNAKE WAS PRESSING TIGHTER AROUND GUO JING 'S chest and he was about to faint. The strange smell attacked his nostrils again. The snake was getting closer to his face. If it were to bite him, would he survive? He could feel its body brushing up close to his mouth, nose and brow.

He strained to reach for the snake's neck, and using the last of his strength, he bit into its taut flesh just below its head. The snake hissed and writhed in pain, pulling tighter around him. Guo Jing kept biting, until he felt a burst of bitter blood flood his mouth. It tasted disgusting. Was it poisonous? But he did not want to let go either, in case the snake got free and attacked him again. If he could make it lose enough blood, it just might loosen its grip. He kept clamping his teeth down harder, until he found it easier to breathe. A few spasms, and the snake dropped to the floor. Dead.

Guo Jing was exhausted, his body ached. He grabbed hold of the table, but his feet were too numb for him to make his escape just yet. He took a moment to rest like this while a warm sensation flowed through him. He was a piece of meat roasting by the fire. He began to panic. To his surprise, he found movement returning to his arms and legs, but his body temperature did not seem to be going down. He placed the back of his hand against his cheek: scalding hot.

He felt for the herbs tucked inside his robes. I've got the medicine, I can still save Elder Wang, he said to himself. But Mu Yi and his daughter need my help first. Who knows what the Prince will do with them?

He stumbled out of the storeroom and looked around him. He then hobbled in the direction of the cage where father and daughter were being held captive.

6

JUST AS BEFORE, THERE WERE GUARDS KEEPING WATCH OVER Mu Yi and his daughter Mercy. Guo Jing waited, but could sense no opportunity presenting itself as it had last time. He moved round to the back and waited for the patrol guards to walk past, before jumping silently onto the roof and down into the courtyard. He leaned against the wall and listened. Once he was sure there were no guards inside, he slipped through the door and hissed, "Mr Mu, I've come to help you escape."

"Sir, who are you?" Mu Yi was shocked to see the young man.

"My name is Guo Jing," he replied.

Guo Jing? When the name had been spoken the day before, exhaustion and injury had prevented him from making the connection, but now the name struck at his eardrums. A sharp jolt shot through his body.

"What? Guo Jing? Your . . . family name is Guo?"

"Yes, I was the one who fought with the Prince yesterday."

"What is your father's name?"

"My father was Skyfury Guo. But he's dead now." Guo Jing had learned his father's name from Zhu Cong, not his mother.

Tears flooded Mu Yi's eyes. He looked up and sighed. "Heavens above!" He then reached though the bars and grabbed at Guo Jing's hands. Guo Jing could feel the old man shaking, and a few drops of hot, salty tears fell on his skin.

"I have a small dagger. We can use it to pick the lock, then sir will be able to escape. Pay no attention to what the Prince was telling you before. I overheard him, it's all lies."

"Your mother," Mu Yi continued. "Is her family name Li? Is she still alive?"

"Oh, you know my mother? She's in Mongolia."

Mu Yi was even more excited now. He clutched even tighter at Guo Jing's hands.

"Sir, please, I should break the lock."

But Mu Yi gripped on to the young man's hands as if they were the most precious treasure he had ever had the pleasure to hold. "You're . . . I only have to close my eyes and I can still picture your father."

"Sir knew my father?"

"We were brothers-in-arms, we took an oath together. A bond closer than blood. We are not really looking for a husband for my daughter; we came looking for you, dear boy. This silly competition was just a ruse." At this point, Mu Yi started choking on his sobs and was unable to continue.

Guo Jing's eyes were blurred with tears.

Mu Yi was, in fact, none other than Ironheart Yang. That fateful day, eighteen years previously, in Ox Village, he had taken a spear to the back, but the horse had carried him many li until he fell into some long grass. When he awoke by the first light of the following day, he managed to crawl to a nearby farm, where they fed and nursed him for a month until he was well enough to get out of bed and move around with the aid of a walking stick. He had ended up in Lotus Pond Village, fifteen li from Ox Village, and had been most fortunate to encounter such a kind family, whose young daughter had been particularly doting. Once strong enough, Ironheart was keen to go back to Ox Village to look for his wife, but dared only return by cover of darkness for fear that it was under watch. As he approached their old house, he saw the door was ajar. His heart clenched tight as if seized by a cold hand. He pushed open the door and entered. He saw, laid out on the bed, the clothes his wife Charity had been sewing for him the night Justice Duan's men had arrived. He looked up at the spot where the two spears had hung on the wall. One had been lost in battle, but the other remained, lonely and abandoned just like Yang himself. Everything else was as it had been that night. His wife had not been back. And neither had the Guos.

Perhaps she had returned to her parents in Plum Blossom Village? On his way, he passed Qu San's inn, but it was locked, with no-one in sight. He arrived at his parents-in-law, only to discover Charity's mother alone with Qu San's daughter. They had heard nothing from Charity and her father had died from the shock. With Qu San also missing, Charity's mother had taken the young girl in.

In despair, Ironheart turned back to the family that had been looking after him in Lotus Pond Village. But misfortune never strikes just once, and by the time he had returned, an epidemic of the plague had broken out. Within days it had taken three members of the family, leaving only the little girl. Yang decided he would raise her as his own daughter. Wherever he went, so did she, following him on his searches for Skyfury's wife and his beloved Charity. But one had ended up on the steppes and the other was lost somewhere in the north, and despite years of searching, he had been unable to locate either.

Until now.

In all these years, Ironheart had dared not use his real name, adopting instead the name Mu Yi , whose meaning in Chinese was "Change", an oblique reference to his previous identity. For more than ten years, father and adopted daughter had travelled around the rivers and lakes of the south, during which time Mercy Mu had blossomed into the young woman and capable fighter she was today. He had come to accept that his wife had probably not survived, but still hoped that the heavens had been good enough to bestow their mercy on the Guo family at least. It had always been his dearest wish that their little competition would uncover his sworn brother's son and that he might be able to join the families in marriage, finally fulfilling the promise he had made Skyfury Guo that day as they drank by the fire. But over the years, many men had taken up the challenge, and Mu Yi's hopes had begun to fade. He had had no indication that Lily had survived, let alone borne a son all those years ago. He would have been content with any decent man of the wulin , so long had they searched in vain. And yet the young fighter who had come to his daughter's rescue the day before was just the man he had been looking for all these years. It was almost too much for the old man to take in.

Mercy, meanwhile, had been listening impatiently. Guo Jing had come to rescue them, she wanted to remind her father – there would be time later to talk. And yet, it struck her suddenly, if they were to leave now, she would never see the Prince again. She shrank back and decided not to interrupt.

Guo Jing was all too aware that time was precious and he must act now if he was going to get them out of the palace alive. He reached back inside the bars and was about to strike at the lock with his dagger. Just at that moment, a light flickered beneath the crack in the door and he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Guo Jing slipped back behind the door just as it was thrown open. He watched what was happening through a small crack in the wood. The first to enter was a guard carrying a lantern, followed by Wanyan Kang's mother, the Consort.

"Are these the prisoners my son took into custody yesterday?" she asked the guard.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered.

"Release them at once."

The guard hesitated, but the Consort continued, "If my son asks, you may tell him that I gave the order. Now!"

The guard slid the key into the lock and let the prisoners free. The Consort approached Ironheart Yang with two silver ingots. "Hurry now," she said.

But Ironheart merely stood there staring at the Consort.

He must be angry, she thought, noticing the strange look the old man was giving her. "Please forgive my son," she said quietly, feeling deeply how they must have suffered. "He has wronged you most gravely."

But Ironheart could not take his eyes off her. He reached out, took the silver and placed it inside his robes. He then took his daughter's hand and led her out.

"Don't you have any manners?" the guard said gruffly. "Won't you thank the Consort?"

But Ironheart gave no sign that he had heard him.

Guo Jing waited until everyone had left. Once he was sure the Consort had gone, he opened the door and peered around in the darkness. There was no sign of Mu Yi or his daughter. They must have left the palace, he thought, so he decided to go to the Hall of Perfumed Snow to drag Lotus away from her eavesdropping. He still needed to get the medicine to Elder Wang, after all.

But before he was even halfway there, he spotted two figures carrying lanterns, rounding a corner up ahead. He ducked behind a small rockery covered in plants. But he had been seen.

"Who's there?" The man was running at him, seemingly ready to fight. A palm struck at him. Guo Jing blocked the attack. By the flickering light he saw that it was none other than the young Prince Wanyan Kang.

The guard had gone straight to the Prince to tell him of the Consort's orders.

My mother has always been too kind, she doesn't see the bigger picture, Wanyan Kang had said to himself. What if they go to my shifu ? I won't be able to deny what I've done.

He had run out at once to try to find father and daughter before they could escape. Guo Jing was the last person he expected to encounter on the way.

And now they would have to fight – again. Guo Jing tried to run a few times, eager to get the medicines to Elder Wang, but Wanyan Kang blocked his path. He caught sight of the guard drawing his sword, ready to assist the Prince. There was no way out now.

7

JUST AS BROWBEATER HOU THOUGHT HE HAD THE YOUNG girl, a cry went up from the onlookers. Lotus jumped up and threw the three bowls of wine straight up above her. She then launched two fists at him in a move known in the wulin as Eight Steps to Catch the Toad. With his hands occupied by his own wine bowls, Browbeater Hou was unable to defend himself, so he lurched to the left. Lotus went in again with her right palm, Browbeater Hou blocked. Wine spilled onto his hands and the bowl balanced on his head fell and broke against the stone floor.

Lotus leapt and caught two of her bowls, the third landed on her head as if cushioned by a cloud. She had not spilled a single drop. The crowd gasped in wonder, and Gallant Ouyang exclaimed out loud: "Wonderful!"

Hector Sha shot him an icy glance, but he took no notice. "Most wonderful indeed!"

"Try again!" Browbeater Hou snarled.

"Haven't you had enough?" she said sweetly, tapping him on the cheek.

"You are a tricky young thing," Hector Sha said, furious on his martial brother's behalf. "Who is your shifu ?"

"Let's save that for another time. Right now, I have to go."

But Hector Sha was already in the doorway, blocking Lotus' exit. She was perfectly aware of the extent of his kung fu, but she did not let her concern show. Instead, she frowned and spoke in a tone of frustration rather than fear. "Why do you stand in my way?"

"I want to know which school you belong to and why you're here."

"And what if I don't want to tell you?" she replied, arching her brow.

"When the Dragon King asks a question, he gets an answer!"

She was not going to get out easily with all these fighters in the hall. But she saw Old Liang was also making for the door. "Uncle, this horrible man won't let me go home!"

Old Liang could not help but be amused by her flirtatious manner. "The Dragon King asked you a question. Be a good girl and tell him what he wants to know? I'm sure he'll let you go after that."

"But I don't feel like it," she said, giving him her sweetest smile. She then turned to Hector Sha. "If you won't step aside, I'll just have to run past you."

"Ha! See if you can," he sneered.

"But you mustn't hit me," she said.

"The Dragon King doesn't go around hitting young ladies."

"Good. A gentleman never goes back on his word. Look, over there!" She pointed up into a corner of the room. Despite himself, Hector Sha glanced in the direction she was pointing and Lotus dashed at him.

She moved like lightning, but he was even faster. He held out two fingers at the same height as her eyes. If she didn't stop she would be blinded. Lotus jumped back just in time. She kept trying, each time from a different angle, but still she could find no way past the bulky man. When one last attempt nearly resulted in her nose breaking against Hector Sha's shiny bald head, she squealed with frustration.

"You can't beat the Dragon King at this game." Old Liang laughed. "Why not give up?" He slipped past Sha and hurried for his storeroom.

8

THE SMELL OF FRESH BLOOD ASSAILED HIS NOSTRILS. ALL WAS not well. He raised his torch. There, on the ground, was his red snake, its body already shrivelled. Its blood had been sucked dry. Everywhere, medicine jars had been knocked over and opened. More than ten years of collecting, now in ruins. And his precious snake. He could not help the tears from gathering in his eyes.

Greybeard Liang had started out as a hermit in the Mountain of Eternal Snow, until one day, an injured old traveller came by. When the hermit realised the man was carrying a manual full of secrets of the martial world, he decided to kill him. There, in the man's bag, he also found a dozen or so assorted herbs and medicinal potions. From that day forward, Old Liang devoted himself to studying the book and its many prescriptions, the most potent of which required the venom of a specific species of deadly snake. He had searched deep in the mountains and forests to find just one specimen, which he then raised on a strict diet of marten flesh and medicinal remedies such as cinnabar, ginseng and deer antler. Gradually, over many years, the snake began to turn from greyish black to scarlet red. It had been only a few days away from completing its final transformation when Old Liang was called to the Jin capital by the elder Prince Wanyan Honglie. Once the snake was ready, he would only need to drink its blood to become immortal, and one of the most powerful fighters of the wulin .

But now it lay dead on the stone floor, all his hard work lost for good. The thought that someone else might have drunk the blood and gained the benefit of all those years of careful nurturing was almost too much for him to bear.

He managed to regain his composure and studied the scene before him. The spots of blood had yet to congeal. The thief must have just left. He ran out and found a nearby tree from where he could get a better view. That's when he saw the Prince and Guo Jing fighting.

By the time he had drawn close, he could smell the stench of the snake's blood on Guo Jing's clothes. He burned with fury.

9

GUO JING HAD STARTED THIS FIGHT AT A DISADVANTAGE, AND now he was distracted by a fiery sensation in his stomach, as if his blood had become a pot of boiling water. His mouth was dry, his skin was itchy and felt like it was going to split open.

I'm dying, he thought. The snake poison is taking hold.

Wanyan Kang continued to beat and punch at his back, but he could no longer feel it.

Old Liang was sure the young man did not know to drink the blood himself; it was a most guarded secret in the wulin . Someone must have sent him to collect it on their behalf. And he was almost certain it was Wang Chuyi. "You little thief!" he snarled from the fringes of the fight. "Who sent you to steal my precious snake?"

Guo Jing looked up and saw Greybeard Liang. "So the snake was yours? It attacked and poisoned me!" He ran at the old man with his fists at the ready.

Old Liang could smell the herbs on the boy's body. A thought struck him. If he killed the boy and drank his blood, perhaps he could still gain the effects of the potion? Perhaps they might even be enhanced? Buoyed by this thought, Old Liang fought back, and within seconds he had Guo Jing in a powerful lock and pinned to the ground. Now he would at last harvest the fruits of his labours.

10

LOTUS WAS TRAPPED. WHAT IF HECTOR SHA DECIDED TO STOP toying with her? She needed a new tactic.

"If I get past you," she said to Sha, "and through the door, do you promise not to come after me?"

"Then I will admit defeat, yes," he replied.

"But my father only taught me how to enter, not how to leave." She sighed.

"How to enter but not to leave? What good is that?" Hector Sha said, unsure what she meant.

"Your Shape Changing kung fu is good, but not as good as my father's. Not even close. At least a hundred thousand li behind, in fact."

"Stop talking nonsense, you silly little girl. Who is your father?"

"If I told you that, it would scare you senseless. So I won't. He taught me how to enter a room using kung fu. He stood blocking the doorway just like you are now. He knew all the tricks. Made it very difficult. But if it were you trying to block me, I'd have no problem."

"What difference does it make whether you're going in or going out of the room?" Hector Sha sneered. "Come on then, show me." He moved aside so that she might demonstrate these great skills of "entering".

"Ha!" Lotus cried out as she ran outside then turned to face them. "Tricked you! Now I'm through, you must admit defeat – you said so yourself. I got out, didn't I? You are an honourable man, Dragon King, I'm sure you will keep your word. And so, goodbye to you, sir."

He scratched his head. She was right, he could not go back on his promise. His cheeks flushed red. There was nothing he could do.

But Tiger Peng was not about to let her get away so easily.

He raised both arms and threw two copper coins, which flew just over her head. Lotus watched as they passed her, but just as she was wondering how a master of the martial arts could be so hopelessly inaccurate, she heard a pang! as they hit the marble pillar out in the corridor and came bouncing right towards the back of her head. As she could not block them, she leapt forward. Tiger Peng threw a dozen more, each one forcing her forward a little more, until she found herself standing back in the banqueting hall.

This had been exactly Tiger Peng's intention, and the others howled in delight. "Come back to join us?" he laughed.

"What exactly is honourable about using weapons to bully an unarmed young girl?"

"Bully you? I never laid a finger on you."

"Then let me go!"

"First tell us who your shifu is."

"I taught myself while still in my mother's womb!"

"In that case, I will find out another way," Tiger Peng retorted, and launched himself at her shoulder.

Lotus neither dodged nor attempted to block the attack. He could not possibly be as dishonourable as to hit a girl who had no wish to fight.

He noticed her reluctance to engage and pulled back at the last moment. "Come on, silly little girl! I bet I can determine your shifu within ten moves."

"And what if you can't tell after ten moves?"

"Then you may leave here in peace." And without waiting for her response, he launched into a Triple Chain Penetration.

Lotus turned and touched her first finger and thumb as she had done before, creating a fork with the remaining three fingers, in a move known as Trident Searches the Sea by Night.

"Brother, that's one of ours!" Browbeater Hou called out.

"Nonsense!" Hector Sha said, reasoning that she must have observed Browbeater Hou performing the move in one of their earlier encounters.

Tiger Peng laughed and swirled round to attack again. This time Lotus turned left and suddenly jumped to the side without so much as bending a knee or taking a step.

"A Shape Changing move!" Browbeater Hou called out again. "Did you teach her that, Brother?"

"Hold your tongue! Stop talking such hogwash." But Hector Sha was secretly impressed that she could execute these skills after only observing them once. Perfect they weren't, but good enough to avoid Tiger Peng's attacks.

Lotus followed up with moves from Shen's Spirit Cleaver blade technique and Ma's Soul Snatcher whip.

"Brother! Brother! She has studied with the Daemon Se—!" Browbeater Hou caught sight of Hector Sha's furious expression just in time to stop himself from blurting out any more.

Tiger Peng was growing more and more furious. I've been gentle so far, he thought, but she is a crafty little witch. I must use fiercer skills on her if I'm going to get her to reveal the identity of her shifu .

It was common for fighters of the wulin to adopt and experiment with certain moves from rival styles, but when it came to life and death moments, they always reverted to the repertoire they had first learned and were most comfortable with.

His fifth move came like a hurricane. The others were concerned for the girl. She may have been crafty, irritating even, but they bore her no real grudge. They could not say they wanted such a pretty young girl to actually come to harm.

Except for Browbeater Hou, of course, who felt the sooner the little vixen was dead the better.

Lotus defended herself with some of Wanyan Kang's Quanzhen kung fu to force back the attack, and then a bit of Guo Jing's Southern Mountain Fists style. She had only learned them the previous day while watching the Prince and Guo Jing fight in the marketplace. Her seventh move was Tiger Peng's Triple Chain Penetration, which she had only seen for the first time at the start of this very fight!

The fighting was growing more furious and more dangerous, however, and she would most probably struggle to hold him off using her own kung fu, let alone with borrowed moves she had only seen and never tried. She was taking a risk, based on the assumption that he would not actually try to kill her.

"Clever girl, using Outlaw Peng's moves against him. Oh, wait – careful, go left!" Gallant Ouyang found he was now giving her advice.

Tiger Peng's style was to mix feigned and real moves, switching between the two at great speed. His eighth was just such a false strike to the left as he lunged to the right. Lotus had expected him to do just the opposite, and come in on his left despite faking a right. She had meant to dodge to her left, Tiger Peng's right, but after Gallant Ouyang's cry, she dipped low and sailed right. It was a most elegant move, everyone could see that.

Tiger Peng was furious. Who was this Gallant Ouyang to interfere? And who said he wouldn't kill her? He wasn't known as the Butcher of a Thousand Hands for nothing, after all. He had a terrible cruel streak when he was angry, and with only two moves left and still none the wiser as to the identity of her shifu , his scruples were fast dissolving. He moved into an Open the Window to Gaze at the Moon, his left hand yin, his right hand yang, and with all his strength, pushed both out at once.

Lotus knew she was in grave danger. She stepped back as his fists came at her face. All she could do was duck, bend both her arms and strike at his chest with the points of her elbows.

Tiger Peng had expected her to try to block him, and was going to follow with his tenth move. He was halfway through a Falling Star when she made her surprise attack, so all he could do was gather his internal energy to stop himself from falling over from the momentum of his own forward thrust. But it was like pulling on the reins of a horse at the edge of a cliff.

"You must have studied kung fu under Twice Foul Dark Wind!" he cried out as a shiver shot through him and into his voice.

Lotus jumped back several feet. Fear grasped the room. Everyone present, apart from the Sixth Prince of Zhao, Wanyan Honglie, knew about the fearsome might of Twice Foul Dark Wind. Even Tiger Peng, who had killed hundreds without the merest pang of remorse, was scared to touch her now.

Lotus pushed him away and steadied herself. Every part of her ached and her arms were numb. But before she could say anything, a cry pierced the night sky. Guo Jing! He sounded like he was in danger. The blood drained from her cheeks.

11

OLD LIANG HAD GUO JING PINNED TO THE GROUND SO THAT he was unable to move a muscle. The young man watched as his opponent strained towards his throat, teeth bared.

But just at that moment, a strange surge of power pulsed through his body, and he performed a Jumping Carp, flipping the old man off him and landing on his feet. But Old Liang responded immediately with another attack, and despite Guo Jing's attempts to get away, he felt a heavy thump to his back.

It felt like the old man's meaty fist had penetrated his flesh and had entered his spine. Wanyan Kang's punches had been nothing compared to this. Guo Jing pressed forward, mobilising what he could of his lightness technique, as he dodged and threaded through the palace gardens. Old Liang could not keep up.

After a while, Guo Jing gasped and came to a halt. He inspected the back of his robe. A large hole had been torn through it. He felt for the large, bloody wound where a chunk of flesh had been torn from his back.

He needed somewhere to hide. The Consort's cottage! It was just up ahead. He ran round the back, hoping they would not think to look there, allowing him to escape later. He found a spot by the wall at the rear, and there he lay, waiting.

Soon, he heard Old Liang and Wanyan Kang calling to each other. They were drawing near. He could hear the anger in Old Liang's voice.

They'll find me if I stay here, Guo Jing thought. If the Consort finds me, however, she may take pity on me.

Given the gravity of the situation, he had no time to stop and really consider the merits of this plan, and instead slipped inside the small house. He saw only a lit candle placed in the middle of a table. The Consort must be in another room. He looked around and spotted a wooden cupboard in the corner. He ran over and slid inside. He pulled the door shut, leaving just a crack so that he could keep watch. He removed his golden dagger and let himself relax a little.

At that moment, he heard footsteps as the Consort entered the room. She sat down at the table and seemed to stare at the candle. Not long after that, Wanyan Kang appeared at the door. "Mother, did a young man come past here?"

The Consort shook her head, and Wanyan Kang left to continue his search with Old Liang.

The Consort closed the door and started to prepare for bed.

I'll slip out through the window just as soon as she's blown out the candle, Guo Jing thought. No, I'd better wait, in case I meet the Prince and Old Liang. Guo Jing's thoughts began to turn back to the fight, and his opponent's strange kung fu. He tried to bite me! I must ask my shifus about that when I see them next; I've never heard them mention biting as an appropriate way to fight. And what about Lotus? She must be gone by now. I'd better make my escape soon, or she'll be wondering what's happened to me.

Just then the window opened and a man leapt in. Guo Jing and the Consort froze in shock. To his even greater surprise, Guo Jing realised almost at once that it was Mu Yi. He had assumed the old man and his daughter had already fled the palace.

The Consort too recognised him. "Quick, please. Before they find you."

"I must express my gratitude for the Consort's concern. Had I not come here in person to thank you myself, I would have regretted it until my dying day." Yet a hint of bitterness and sarcasm could be heard in his voice.

"Never mind that. My son wronged you and your daughter."

Ironheart Yang cast his eyes around the room. A cupboard, lamp and bed – that was it. The furniture was worn, but familiar. A well of sadness grew inside him, and a tear gathered in one eye and spilled down his cheek. He wiped it away with his sleeve and walked over to where a spear was fastened to the wall. He unhooked it and saw that the iron tip was russet in colour from lack of care. He could still make out the characters carved on the shaft: Ironheart Yang .

He caressed it and sighed. "The tip is rusty. It hasn't been used in a while."

"Please don't touch that," the Consort said softly.

"Why?"

"Because it is my most precious possession."

A pulse of anger surged within him. "Is that so?" Ironheart Yang paused, and then continued, "This spear used to be one of a pair."

Surprise was evident on the Consort's face, but Ironheart did not explain and instead placed it back on the wall. "The tip is worn," he murmured, still staring at it. "Someone should go to see Carpenter Zhang tomorrow to see if he can fix it."

The Consort felt a bolt of lightning flash through her. "Who are you?" she managed eventually.

"Someone should go to see Carpenter Zhang tomorrow to see if he can fix it," Ironheart repeated, looking the Consort in the eyes.

The Consort felt her knees going weak. "Who are you?" she stammered again. "Why are you saying that? My husband said exactly the same words the night he died."

The Consort was none other than Charity Bao, Ironheart Yang's wife. She had saved Wanyan Honglie's life, all those years ago, in Ox Village. The Prince of Zhao had been unable to forget her, and so had bribed Justice Duan and his men to fake an attack on the village so that he might go back and "save" the young woman and bring her back to his palace. With her friends and family dead, she would have no-one else to turn to, and he would be her hero. He had been sure that she would agree to marry him eventually, at least once she had given up hope of ever being able to return south.

She had barely aged at all, having lived these eighteen years in luxury in the palace. His face was scarred by hardship and his travels across China looking for her, so much so that she had not recognised him. And now they were reunited, but under such dangerous circumstances that it did not seem real.

Ironheart made no reply, but walked over to the table and pulled open a drawer. There they were: two blue cotton shirts, just like the ones he used to wear. "You shouldn't have wasted your energy sewing them. You were pregnant," he said, lifting one up to examine it.

Charity Bao ran to him and tugged at his sleeve. There it was: the scar! For eighteen years she had thought him dead, and here he was, her husband, standing before her, like a spirit reincarnated. She fell into his arms and clutched him tightly. "Quickly, you must take me with you. I will show you how to get out, no-one will see us. I am not afraid."

Ironheart held his wife in his arms and tears cleaned his cheeks. "Afraid? Why would you be afraid of me?" he said.

"Even if you are a ghost, I will never leave your arms again," she managed to say through her heavy sobs. "But how? All these years, you were still alive? Where were you?"

Ironheart was about to reply when they heard Wanyan Kang's voice from outside the window, startling them both. "Mother! Are you crying? Who are you talking to?"

"No-one, it's nothing!" Charity called back. "I was sleeping."

But Wanyan Kang had heard the sound of a man's voice coming from inside the room. He walked round to the door and knocked gently. "Mother, I want to talk to you."

"Tomorrow, my boy," she replied. "We can talk tomorrow. I'm very tired and I want to go back to sleep."

His suspicions only increased. "I will be quick and then I'll go."

Ironheart Yang moved towards the window he had come through and pushed at the wooden shutter, but he could not open it. It had been locked from the outside! Charity continued talking to her son outside the door as she scoured the room for somewhere for her husband to hide. She pointed at a cupboard, but when Ironheart opened the door, he found tucked inside it none other than Guo Jing.

Charity yelped.

Concerned for his mother's safety, Wanyan Kang began bashing at the door with his shoulder. Guo Jing grabbed Ironheart and tugged him in, only just managing to pull the door shut as the iron bolt creaked and the door burst open.

Wanyan Kang rushed in to find his mother crouched in the middle of the room, her pale cheeks wet with tears. "Mother, what's the matter? What's happened?"

Charity paused and looked up at her son, trying to steady herself. "Nothing, son. I am just feeling a bit unwell."

"Please, Mother," he said, coming to her side. "I promise I won't do anything like that ever again. I know I have been a bad son to make you worry so."

"Don't worry, child. I'm just a little tired. I think I will go to bed; I need to sleep."

But Wanyan Kang could detect a slight quiver in her voice. "No-one has been in here, have they?"

"What do you mean?"

"Two bandits entered the palace tonight."

"Is that so? You should really be going to bed yourself. Let the servants deal with it. It's not for you to worry about."

"Yes, Mother, I'm sure the guards have taken care of it, incompetent as they are. You must get some rest."

But just as he was about to leave, he spotted a piece of clothing sticking out from under the cupboard door. His suspicions were alerted again, but instead of saying anything, he went to the table, poured himself some tea and sat down. He sipped at the tea, contemplating the scene. Perhaps his mother was unaware that someone was hiding in the cupboard?

After a few more sips, he got to his feet and sauntered over to where the spear had been fastened to the wall. "Mother, what did you think of my spear technique today?"

"I've told you before, I don't like you bullying people like that," Charity chastised him.

"Bullying? It was a competition, we were fighting fair and square." Wanyan Kang's tone was a little aggrieved. He reached for the spear and traced a Rising Phoenix Soaring Dragon through the air, the red tassel dancing behind him, until the point thrust forward, straight at the cupboard. Charity fainted, fully aware that Ironheart Yang and Guo Jing were in grave danger in their shared hiding place.

So she knew! He leaned the spear against the wall and went to pick up his mother, his eyes fixed on the cupboard door all the while.

Charity was only unconscious for a few seconds. Her eyes opened and searched immediately for the cupboard; the door was still intact. Her body flopped in relief. The events of the last hour or so had drained her to the point of collapse.

"Mother, am I not your son?" Wanyan Kang demanded.

"Of course, my dearest. Why would you ask?"

"Then why do you keep so many secrets?"

Charity knew she should tell him about the day's events and let him be reunited with his real father. But this would also mean he would lose his mother, as she had not been loyal and chaste as widows were supposed to be. She had betrayed her husband by living with a Jin prince and lying to his son about who his real father was. She was not destined to be reunited with Ironheart Yang after all. Tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Wanyan Kang was unsure what to make of his mother's behaviour. He waited for her to speak.

"You must take a seat and listen to me."

Wanyan Kang sat his mother down and took a seat beside the spear. But he did not take his eyes off the cupboard.

"Do you see those characters written on the spear?" she said.

"I asked you about them when I was a boy, but you wouldn't tell me what they meant. Ironheart Yang ," he read aloud.

"Now you shall know."

Ironheart could hear every word from where he was crouching in the darkness. But Charity was used to life in a Jin palace; how could she possibly return to him and live in a dirty hut? Go from Prince's Consort to farmer's wife again? Could she be about to reveal his identity? His son might kill him.

He listened intently as she began.

"This spear comes from Ox Village, a small hamlet on the outskirts of the Song capital Lin'an. I sent some men many li to fetch it for me. The plough, the table, lamp, bed and cupboard," she said, pointing around the room, "all of it came from Ox Village."

"I've never understood your affection for these dingy farmhouse furnishings. You could have the finest comforts money can buy, but you won't take them!"

"To you they are dingy, but to me this is the most beautifully decorated room I could hope for. I pity you sometimes, my son, that you have never lived with your real mother and father in a place just as dingy as this."

Ironheart Yang could feel tears bubbling up inside him as he listened.

But Wanyan Kang's response was laughter. "Ma, you really are getting stranger and stranger. Why would Pa agree to live in a place like this?"

"It is a shame indeed that he has not had the chance. He has spent the last eighteen years wandering the rivers and lakes of the south. A room such as this would have been more than enough for him."

"Mother, what are you saying?" There was a tremor in his voice now.

"What do you think I'm saying? Do you know who your real father is?" Charity's tone was sharper than she had intended.

"My father is the Sixth Prince of Zhao, Wanyan Honglie. Mother, why are you asking me these questions?"

Charity rose to her feet and took the spear in her hands. She cradled it to her bosom, and with the tears once again in full flow, she turned to her son. "My child, it is not your fault. I should have told you long ago. This spear . . . it belongs to your father. Your real father." She traced her fingers along the characters carved into the shaft of the spear. "Ironheart Yang."

"Nonsense! Stop it, Ma! You've gone mad!" The young Prince's body was shaking violently. "I shall call for the doctor."

"Nonsense is it? Son, you are no Jin prince, you are Chinese. Your real name is Yang Kang."

"I will ask my father!" He turned to leave the room.

"He's here," Charity cried. "Your father is here." She opened the cupboard door, reached for her husband's hand and pulled him out of the darkness and into the room.

"You!" Wanyan Kang grabbed the spear and aimed it at Ironheart's throat.

"But he's your father, don't you understand?" Charity ran towards her husband and then fell to the floor.

Wanyan Kang froze, lurched a few steps and pulled the spear back. She was covered in blood. Had he killed his own mother? He stood watching, helpless.

Ironheart Yang scooped his wife into his arms and ran for the door.

"Put her down!" the young Prince cried out, launching into a Wild Goose Leaves the Flock, thrusting his spear at Ironheart's back.

Ironheart heard the rush of air and reached back, seizing the spear five inches from the tip with his left hand. His Yang Family Spear technique was unrivalled. He thrust backwards in a Returning Horse, a move unique to the Yang family. Usually he would have spun round and grabbed with his right too, but he was still holding Charity in his arms. "This is a move we Yang men teach our sons, but your shifu won't have taught it to you."

The force pushing from both ends snapped the old spear in half.

"He's your own flesh and blood! Your father!" Guo Jing, who could bear to watch no longer, rushed forward. "Why do you disrespect him in this manner?"

The Prince hesitated.

Ironheart Yang dropped his end of the spear, and holding his beloved wife tight to his chest, stumbled out of the room. Following her directions, he supported her as they ran through the complex to where Mercy was waiting outside the palace walls. She helped them climb down the other side, and together they fled.