Chen held the dagger in his hands and stood watchingdumbly as Huo Qingtong caught up with the Muslimcolumn and gradually faded towards the horizon. He wasabout to go and ask Lu Feiqing about his pupil when henoticed a horse galloping towards him fast. As it camecloser, he was disappointed to find it was only XinYan returning on the white horse.

　　"Master!" he shouted excitedly. "Master Zhang Jin hasa prisoner.""Who is it?" Chen asked.

　　"I went to the old temple and found Master Zhang Jinarguing with a man who wanted to pass. The man saw thehorse I was ridingand began cursing me as a horsethief and struck out at me with his sword. MasterZhang Jin and I fought with him. His kung fu wasreally good. He fought the two of us single-handeduntil finally I picked up some stones and startedthrowing them at him, and Master Zhang Jin clubbed himon the thigh. It was only then that we managed tocapture him."Chen smiled. "What is his name? What was he doing?""We asked him but he wouldn't say. But Master ZhangJin says he must be a member of the Han School ofLuoyang because he was using Iron Pipa Hand Kung Fu."Zhang Jin galloped up, dismounted and bowed beforeChen, then pulled a man off the horse's saddle. He wastied hand and foot, but he stood haughtily, exuding anair of insolence.

　　"I understand you are a member of the Han School ofLuoyang," Chen said. "What is your honourable name?"The man said nothing.

　　"Xin Yan, undo this gentleman's bonds," Chen said.

　　Xin Yan drew his knife and cut the rope that bound theman's hands and legs then stood behind him, his knifeat the ready.

　　"My friends have wronged you, but please do not beoffended," Chen said. "Come into my tent and take aseat."Chen and the man sat on the ground while the otherheroes came in and stood behind Chen's back.

　　When he saw Luo Bing enter, the man's anger flared andhe jumped up. "You stole my horse," he shouted,pointing at her.

　　"So it's Master Han," Luo Bing replied with a smile.

　　"We exchanged horses and I compensated you with a goldingot. You did very well out of the deal. What are youangry about?"Chen asked what had happened, and Luo Bing recountedhow she had taken the white horse. The others laughedas they listened.

　　"In that case, we will return the horse to you, MasterHan," Chen said. "There is also no need to return thegold ingot. Consider it a token of our respect and aspayment for the rental of your horse."Han was about to reply when Luo Bing said: "GreatHelmsman, this won't do. Do you know who he is? He's aZhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency man." She pulled out WangWeiyang's letter and handed it to him.

　　Chen's eyes flashed down the lines. "The great name ofWang Weiyang has been known to me for a long time, butregrettably I ave never met him," he said. "You are amember of the Han School of Luoyang. What relation areyou to Fifth Madame Han?""And what is your honourable surname and esteemedname, sir?" Han replied.

　　Chen smiled. "My surname is Chen, my given name,Jialuo."Han stood up. "You...you are the son of Chief MinisterChen?" he asked in a quavering voice.

　　"This is the Great Helmsman of our Red FlowerSociety," one of the Twin Knights said.

　　Han slowly sat down again and began weighing up thisyoung Great Helmsman.

　　"Someone in the underworld started the rumour that oursociety was connected with the death of one of yourschool's members," Chen said. "In fact, we knownothing of it. I dispatched one of our brothers toLuoyang to explain the matter, but something came upand he was forced to postpone the trip. So yourarrival could not have been better timed, Master Han.

　　I don't know how this rumour started. Can you tellme?""You...you're really the son of Chief Minister Chen ofHaining?" Han asked.

　　"Since you know my identity, there is no point intrying to deceive you," Chen replied.

　　"Your family announced a large reward for finding youafter you left home," Han said. "It was said that youhad joined the Red Flower Society and had gone to theMuslim border regions. My late comrade Jiao Wenqi wasengaged by your family to look for you, but hemysteriously disappeared on the way. That was fiveyears ago. Recently, someone found the Iron Plate andPipa darts that Brother Jiao used in Shanxi province,and we now know for certain that he was murdered.

　　No-one knows the exact circumstances of his death, butconsider, sir: if it wasn't the Red Flower Society,then who did it?""I killed Jiao Wenqi," Lu Feiqing interrupted. "I amnot amember of the Red Flower Society, so this matterhas nothing to do with them."The others were startled. Lu stood up and told thestory of how Jiao had found him one night, how hefought one against three, and had been injured, buthad still managed to kil............