In less than a day, they had passed Lanzhou. Two daysfurther on, Xu discovered markings on the road left byChen saying that everyone should meet in Kaifeng. ZhouQi was delighted to hear that the main group was allright. She had been very worried about her father, butshe now relaxed and drank some wine to celebrate. Thewound on Xu's shoulder had by now closed and he wasfully recovered. They chatted as they travelled. Xutold her stories of the fighting community andexplained all its taboos and rules. She took it all ineagerly.

　　"Why didn't you talk about these things before,instead of always quarrelling with me?" she asked.

　　That day they arrived at Tongguan, a gateway townbetween central China and the northwest, and searchedfor lodgings. They heard that the old Yuelai Inn wasthe best, but when they got there, they were toldthere was only one room left.

　　Zhou Qi was impressed with how refined and polite Xuhad been towards her, a real gentleman. But now,suddenly faced with the prospect of having to share aroom with him, she was both embarrassed andsuspicious.

　　As soon as they were in the room, Xu barred the door.

　　Zhou Qi's face went bright red and she was just aboutto speak when Xu hurriedly silenced her with a wave ofhis hand.

　　"Did you see that Zhen Yuan Bodyguard Agency scoundreljust now?" he whispered.

　　"What?" said Zhou Qi, startled. "You mean the one wholed the others round to capture Master Wen and causedthe death of my brother?""I only caught a glimpse of him so I can't beabsolutely sure. I was afraid he would see us, whichis why I rushed us into the room. We'll go andinvestigate in a while."The servant came in with some hot tea and asked ifthey wanted anything to eat. Xu ordered a few dishes,then said:

　　"Several eminent gentlemen from the Zhen YuanBodyguard Agency are also staying here, I think?""Yes," replied the servant. "Whenever they passthrough Tongguan, they always give us their custom."Xu waited for the servant to leave. "That Lead EscortTong is the ringleader and chief troublemaker," hesaid. "We'll finish him off tonight and properlyavenge your brother and Master Wen."Zhou Qi thought once again of her brother's tragicdeath and the burning of Iron Gall Manor, and heranger surged.

　　"Lie down for a while and rest," said Xu, seeing herimpatience. "We can wait until nightfall before makingour move and still have plenty of time."He sat down at the table and settled himself for sleepwithout so much as glancing further in Zhou Qi'sdirection. Zhou Qi had no option but to suppress heranger. She sat down on the kang and tried to rest. Thetime dragged by until the second bell struck, one hourto midnight, and she decided she could control herselfno longer.

　　"Let's go," she said, drawing her sword.

　　"There are many of them, and some may be goodfighters," Xu whispered. "Let us investigate first.

　　We'll think of some way to lure Tong out, then dealwith him alone."Zhou Qi nodded.

　　They went into the courtyard and saw a lamp shining ina room on the eastern side. They walked stealthilyover. Zhou Qi found a rip in the window paper andlooked through while Xu stood behind her keeping alook out. Suddenly, she stood up and kicked out at thewindow. Xu started in fright, and shot in front ofher, blocking her way. Zhou Qi hurriedly retracted herleg as it was about to strike Xu's chest, andoverbalanced. He knelt down close to her.

　　"What is it?" he whispered.

　　"Do something, quick," she hissed. "My mother's inthere. They've got her tied up."Xu was startled. "Back to the room quickly and we'lldiscuss it there," he said.

　　They returned to the room.

　　"What is there to discuss?" demanded Zhou Qidesperately. "They've captured my mother.""Control yourself. I will rescue her for you," Xureplied. "How many people were there in the room?""About six or seven."Xu hung his head, deep in thought.

　　"What are you afraid of?" Zhou Qi asked. "If you won'tdo it, I'll go by myself.""I'm not afraid. I'm thinking of a way to save yourmother and kill that fellow at the same time. It wouldbe best if we did the two things together."Just then, footsteps passed by the door, and theyheard a man muttering: "Midnight and these leadescorts are still at it. What are they doing drinkingat this time? Damn their mothers! May the blessedBuddha make sure they meet up with robbers on theroad."Suddenly, Xu had an idea. "That Doctor Cao gave youtwo packets of medicine, didn't he?" he said to ZhouQi. "Give me the one he said would make youunconscious, quickly."Zhou Qi gave him the packet. "What are you going todo?" she asked. Xu didn't answer, but opened thewindow and jumped out with Zhou Qi close behind.

　　They ran along the corridor. Suddenly Xu whispered:

　　"Get down, don't move."Zhou Qi wondered what trick he was up to. A momentpassed, then suddenly they saw a flicker of light asthe servant came back towards them carrying acandlestick and a tray. Xu picked a pebble off theground and threw it, extinguishing the candle.

　　The servant started in surprise. "This is damnridiculous," he cursed. "There's no wind at all, andyet the candle goes out."He put down the tray and turned to relight the candle.

　　While his back was turned, Xu darted out, and in aflash, he had tipped the medicine into the two pots ofwine on the tray and slipped away without the servantnoticing.

　　"Let's go and wait outside their room," he said toZhou Qi.

　　They made their way round to the exterior of the leadescort's room and settled down to wait. Xu looked inthrough the hole in the window covering and saw amiddle-aged woman seated on the floor with her handstied behind her back. There were several men sittingaround her, including Master Han, the white horse'sformer owner, and Lead Escorts Qian and Tong. Theywere engaged in a lively discussion.

　　"When people talked of Iron Gall Manor, they alwayssaid it was impregnable as if it had walls of iron,"Tong was saying. "But with just my one torch, it wasrazed to the ground. Ha ha!"Outside the window, Xu shook his hand at Zhou Qi,afraid that she would have a fit of rage.

　　"Old Tong, stop bragging," Han replied. "I've met Zhouand I doubt if all of us together could beat him. Ifhe ever comes looking for you, you'll be in a prettysituation!""But look!" replied Taong. "We must have a lucky star,otherwise how could Zhou's old woman manage to findus? With her in our hands, how would he dare to doanything to us?"Just then, the servant entered with the wine and food,and the bodyguards immediately began eating anddrinking heartily. Han was quiet and dispirited andTong continually urged him to drink the wine, saying"Brother Han, even heroes are helpless when they'reoutnumbered. Next time, we'll take the Red FlowerSociety one to one and see who's the better.""And who are you going to take on, old Tong?" askedanother of the bodyguards.

　　"I'm going to find that daughter of Zhou's..." Beforehe could finish, he slumped to the floor. The othersall started in fright, but as they jumped up to helphim, and one by one, they dropped to the groundunconscious.

　　Xu prised the window open with sword, then leapt intothe room. Zhou Qi hurriedly cut the ropes which boundher mother............