Piao Zhen is furious; how could he, considered one of the great Kung Fu masters of his age and being Sect Leader of Kunlun Sect, one of the largest Martial Arts Sects in China, be unable to capture a girl and a simple bandit? However, Hong Long's lightness skill was excellent, so how could he capture them?1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CHBFyW2jn
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6uONyhG9G
Piao Zhen's eyes emit the light of fire in them and his face is red. When Piao Zhen enters the Office of Magistrate Chao, the Magistrate sees how furious he is and cold sweat runs on his face.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdenIwiTWx
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWX91B6rEV
"Please Master Piao, come in.", the Magistrate says and leads Piao Zhen to a silk mat. Piao Zhen sits on the mat and Chao quickly brings a cup of tea.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7himEe6Fz8
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV35Q3v2tBc
"Please, drink this tea. It is one of the best in all of China. It is called 'Green Dragon Tea'."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HSR8PeKf6
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3RQJkfn501
Piao Zhen sips the tea and gets the pleasant feeling of warm liquid entering his stomach. He also feels that his throat is better and that he will be able to speak even more clearly than before. But, most of all, he absolute loves the taste of this tea. For Green Dragon Tea has a very sweet taste and is indeed one of the best Teas in all of China. This tea is very rare to be found and Piao Zhen had never tasted before. Being a great lover of tea, Piao Zhen feels his anger retreating and calms. It is not hard for him to calm. After all, he is the "Gentleman Swordsman", a swordsman who never gets angry and is always a gentleman.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQ0snKlQox
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYoitDDQJwB
Magistrate Chao is relieved to see that the tea had the expected influence on his guest; Chao had given the tea to Piao Zhen in order to calm him down.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSUYABPU2c
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQ1xnesnV6
"Master Piao, what can I do for you?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovikyO9i67
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEQLp9FHFN
"You know what I want you to do. You must find the whereabouts of the bandits!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6b4hU3Y8s
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHm6zPzauHX
"Sir, it is not my wish to offend you, but I really cannot find the location of the bandits. My soldiers have searched all of the city and they have been unable to find anything suspicious."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyltAIXU2Ff
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBojIVKf7tg
"Maybe, instead of trying to find out their location, we could lure them to come here. Have you heard of a man called Hong Long?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRo3kWfk2hu
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkYQYysH9Q
"Yes. He is the self-proclaimed leader of the bandits."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxd4q1ec97H
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7jWeQuyp3
"Announce to all of the city that he has been captured and shall be executed in public in two days."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9o0ao56XC
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQB2rkBeUV
"But, this bandit must have returned to his stronghold by now. So, his comrades shall not be fooled."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtKBqNT6Dg
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm31PX6k04u
"It is impossible for all bandits to have returned to their stronghold and to know where their leader is. Some of them must have remained here, and one of them should be loyal enough to try and rescue his leader. So, we should be able to capture at least one bandit. Hong Long is a loyal and chivalrous person, so I am sure that he will try to rescue this fool who will fall in our hands, especially since he would have been captured while trying to 'save' him."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Bzh93E6Es
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeOcUPYgGns
Meanwhile, in a bamboo forest outside Luchow, Hong Long and Wu Lan are walking. Hong Long had taken Wu Lan to the stronghold of the bandits and allowed her to rest there. Now, they are taking a walk a few miles away from the stronghold.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIpBu6oCIjM
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJH234MBKk
"Miss Wu.", Hong Long says. "I saved you from this Piao Zhen. So, I want to ask you for a favor. "1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnDDueJnE4
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ49cMDjRYX5
"What favor? I will do my best to repay your help."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKO9V1mj8G7
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzms8oW4e75
Hong Long gives Wu Lan the map with the locations of the Ming armies.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLAT1ctx3R
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3TP4ILP41
"Please take this map and leave this place. This map should not fall to Piao Zhen's hands."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAPE1PIOT9
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0d6JxNFBXE
"I will do my best to protect this map. I bid you farewell."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFi2uiOmAcP
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDcnFPzjN8
Wu Lan walks away and Hong Long gazes at her, silently praying that the map will be safe with her. If that map were to fall in the wrong hands, it would be disastrous. For if that map was given to an enemy of China, the enemy would know the exact locations of all Ming armies and thus would be able to easily defeat the Ming Empire, by surprising and encircling all of it's armies in the frontier and would know the exact routes which the Ming armies would have to use in order to counter the invasion, thus giving the invader the chance to prepare ambushes. Although, to say the truth, even if the map did not fall in the wrong hands, the Ming Empire would still be very likely defeated by a foreign invasion, considering how corrupt and incompetent the Generals are, how the Imperial Court believes in slanders and executes the few competent patriotic Generals, like Yuan Chonghuan, and how untrained and undisciplined the Ming soldiers are.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7tb9vqWtP
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbSHTYmwNK
At the same time Hong Long thinks about the desperate situation of Ming China, the soldiers of Magistrate Chao have set up a platform in the middle of Luchow. Two of them bring a hooded man onto the platform. They kick him and spit on him, shouting insults at him, like "You bastard Hong Long, you though that you could escape us? Now we shall drink wine using your skull! Hahaha!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5yJhbLFLQt
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8fiqOY8aj
Suddenly, a middle-aged man wearing a brown gown somersaults onto the platform. Three soldiers charge at him with their swords, but the man sends out his palms at them, creating a gust of wind which sends the soldiers flying miles away.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRcLxjSWke5
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87YcZILrcc
"Chief!!", the man shouts and charges at the two soldiers which hold the hooded man. The soldiers are scared out of their wits; they throw away their weapons and run away. The man bows before the hooded man and says: "Chief, are you alright?".1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCyF9dm0p9
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3btn0TZ2x
Instead of replying, the hooded man seals the Vital Points of the man with a swift move. He then takes off the hood, revealing that he is in fact Piao Zhen, not Hong Long! Piao Zhen laughs. "Soldiers, take this man to the Office of Magistrate Chao!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxMQRxetth
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKpcYiZSrd
"Yes, sir!", fat Colonel Li says and two soldiers grab the middle-aged man.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIKZe3gZit
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoD97Vbhu3
A few hours later, Piao Zhen and Magistrate Chao talk once again about the bandits, sitting on the silk mats and drinking Green Dragon Tea.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubPMNd2ZuK
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQgqsV3fZA
"Master Piao, I want to ask your permission to take the prisoner to an other place."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjzhosilIa
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJpb4xCxDY
"Why?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqXeox2PKU
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfdqwOv8i4
"You see, by searching for the bandits, we have already disrupted once the peace in the city. If we were to hold the bandit here in my Office, the bandits would surely try to rescue him. And since my Office is in the center of the city, there will be civilian casualties and businesses here would take a heavy blow. And this will be bad for the local economy. If the owners of the shops do not have any money, who can I blackmail for gold?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6ooawfPPf
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuXbZgfZJO
"And where do you want to take the bandit to?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOk8JJjHkr
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwkDHBxIOos
"To a Buddhist Monastery a few miles away from the city. I will then have some of my soldiers to go to a tavern here, pretend to be drunk and reveal that we have moved to bandit to the Monastery. Thus, the bandits will try to save their comrade and shall fall into our trap. Also, hiding the bandit in the Monastery will make it more unlikely for the bandits to suspect that we are setting up a trap."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqiHg7Ivtc
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJxIanfwXt
"You are right. Very well, do as you say. But if anything wrong happens, both you and your Colonel shall be beheaded!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksBH7lUmqF
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRnI88lj9X
"I will do my best to serve you, Master Piao!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB84vc8u1Jo
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXAWzDDxJR
Indeed, three days later, one the bandits that was staying in the city and was used as a spy by the bandits, comes to the stronghold of the bandits. He enters the Main Hall and bows before Hong Long, who is sitting on a wooden throne and is surrounded by his comrades.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9VQB5Lw6Ut
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplNCiwrWL3
"Talk!", Hong Long orders.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt737ZsOKih
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw6CG8L9yv
"Sir, I have learned that the bastard soldiers have taken Comrade Peng to the Buddhist Monastery."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HzB0pI6nd
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvtKG4kRAB
"How did you learn this?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSszxaRwHSv
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQHKgj2jY2u
"I came to a tavern in the city to scout for news about Comrade Peng and heard two drunken soldiers bragging about how they will force him to reveal our whereabouts and how we shall never find out that they have hidden him in the Monastery."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx66EtMx3T1
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAnAhIR1tX
One of the comrades of Hong Long, a very fat man who wears only purple trousers, allowing everyone to see his naked huge belly, and who is nicknamed as the "Fat Zhuge Liang", whispers to Hong Long's right ear: "Chief, I believe that it is a trap. We should not go to the Monastery. Those soldiers may have been bragging in order to lure us to go there."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDppjD4MZQ5
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJUVarxs3T
Hong Long shouts: "How can I not go there?! I would go even if I knew that it was a trap! Comrade Peng put his life in danger in order to save me, how can I not do the same? Will I be a real man and hero if I hide here like a coward and let my comrade be tortured to death?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRdzrIYFF6
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtJLs1xN1Z
"But, Chief, you should think carefully of how we can save Brother Peng."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZqZJrUwKu
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8izGBvgT4
"You are the 'Zhuge Liang'. So, why do you not think of some idea?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkGHIy2nO6
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjXg3nFpt6
"I have an idea! Monk Chaoxiang and Scholar Jue, come here!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIChjH2f4b2
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPFDlUVm0W
A young handsome Buddhist monk in his mid twenties and a middle aged scholar covered with dirt and oil and holding an old and broken black oil paper fan in his hands bow before Hong Long. "Chief! We await you orders!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2qXVVJW9i
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhTZI159MI
Hong Long says: "Fat Zhuge, tell them your plan."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Wy5Fdryso
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YVB1Yjara
"I will, Chief! You two, listen well. You, Chaoxiang, will pretend to be a Monk in the Monastery.". Chaoxiang, before joining the bandits, was actually a Monk in that Monastery, so not only he knows the ways in the Monastery, but he is also friend with many of the Monks and so the chances of the soldiers discovering that he is not a Monk in that Monastery anymore will be minimal. "You, Jue, will pretend to be a poor scholar who wants to take shelter to the Monastery for a day. Of course, Piao Zhen will suspect you and the soldiers shall be spying on you. Your job will be to sneak out of the Monastery in the middle of the night. The soldiers that spy on you will follow you and will be lured away from the Monastery, allowing Chaoxiang to save Peng."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9bM5p7A9P
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGsuaaqN0A
"Excellent plan!", exclaims Hong Long, in awe of Zhuge Liang's brilliant plan.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYLUnxFgSZ
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HBaAoFp4Z
The two bandits follow Zhuge Liang's plan; Chaoxiang sneaks into the Monastery and pretends to be a Monk while Jue asks the Monks for shelter for a day in the Monastery. The same night, Jue sneaks out of his room and with slow steps he moves towards the Monastery's outer stone wall. He then uses his Qinggong to somersault and jump above the wall, landing outside of the Monastery. He looks around for a few moments and then runs away. As expected, ten soldiers follow Jue, but Jue pretends not to have seen them.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SqvFanCjt
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5FqHs9EoI
Chaoxiang, being a 'Monk' in the Monastery, is able to move more freely and so he heads quickly towards Jue's room. Seeing that Jue has left his room, he understands that he must act fast and heads towards the Back Hall of the Ten Buddhas, called so because that Hall has ten golden statues of Buddha in it.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMHz9usdEh
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXVyEZErPH
Chaoxiang sneaks into the room and, hiding behind one of the ten statues of Buddha, sees twelve soldiers guarding Peng, who is tied with a rope. Chaoxiang work a number of darts into his right palm and flings them at the soldiers, silently killing all of them. He then unties his comrade.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfWgn4eZfM
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfCFtFWpKs
"Brother Peng.", he whispers. "Are you alright?"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWNDUQW3Kur
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jYA7NnLTT
"I think so.", Peng replies.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBdJ8Fpnuh
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3wvc67iPr
But before the two of them can walk away, Piao Zhen, along with twenty archers and ten spearmen, enters the Hall. The soldier surround the two bandits, making it impossible for them to escape.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6LI00KEzg
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1fMZiBdjv
Piao Zhen laughs. "When my spies reported that the scholar was sneaking out of the Monastery, I immediately understood that you wanted to lure my soldiers away. And so, I prepared this trap for you."1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8B9IqQyiU
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4kh88ttQK
Chaoxiang and Peng know that any further resistance is futile, so they allow themselves to be arrested. Jue kills six of the ten soldiers that follow him and, after waiting for the whole night Chaoxiang, goes back to the bandit's stronghold the next morning. He bows before his Chief and with tears in his eyes, he informs him of the situation: "Chief, our plan failed!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzB0GpY5VFm
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡju5yQkyOGb
"Dammit!", Hong Long shouts. "I will undertake myself the task of saving them. All men, prepare for battle!"1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtfOnvD0Z0
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOAgFKUEoy
The bandits are quite powerful in that area. Hong Long is able to muster up to 100 men, all well trained fighters. The soldiers march in battle formation towards the Monastery. Jue had confirmed that the Magistrate had send only 65 soldiers to the Monastery. But the real strength of the soldiers is lower, since Jue had killed six of the ten men that followed him the previous night and Chaoxiang had killed twelve soldiers in his failed attempt to save Peng. Surely, Piao Zhen would not expect that Hong Long would be rash enough to attack openly with all of his men the Monastery.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQ7HDNp7LC
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSeh7lWxoQ
Hong Long leads the men on horseback, riding a black horse. Soon, they reach the outskirts of the Monastery. Hong Long sends Zhuge Liang, who is on foot, along with two horsemen to scout the enemy forces. The horsemen ride froward and Zhuge Liang uses his excellent lightness Kung Fu to follow them. Zhuge Liang, being so fat, cannot ride a horse, for it will not withstand his huge weight. A few minutes later, Zhuge Liang and the two other scouts return and report that the Monastery is guarded on the outside by twenty-eight archers and thirteen spearmen.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOQJ6g6xKG
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLO7HtprGP
"Attack!", Hong Long shouts and more than 100 bandits charge with their swords at the few Ming soldiers. The soldiers expected the enemy and were on high alert, but they also expected only a few pugilists, not an entire mini army of bandits. The archers quickly take positions and form three straight lines. The archers of the first line are on their knees and are almost almost bowing, in order to allow the other two lines of archers behind them to fire their arrows. The archers of the second line stand up, but because those archers are shorter than the ones of the third line, the archers of the third line are able to fire their arrows.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0AWy7bMTc
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fSlWqJy9Y
The archers shoot their arrows, killing tens of bandits, but soon more bandits come and the formation is broken. The thirteen spearmen try to repulse the bandits, and to their honor, they fight quite bravely, unlike most Ming soldiers, who are usually untrained and lazy.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYOpFd0v3b
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrryj0bJ4Pe
Soldiers fight on top of tens of dismembered bodies. Heads, hands, chests, even eyes and ears are lying on the ground, all covered in blood. The soldiers on both sides fight their enemies with every weapon they can find. They use rocks to break the head of their enemies. They even fight with their bare hands. But, the Ming soldiers are heavily outnumbered and so they are defeated.1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RJJVhfdnT
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XmTIIwHwd
The bandits charge into the Monastery, only to see that aside from the corpses of the Monks, who seem to have been massacred, there is no one in the Monastery. Zhuge Liang immediately understands that something is wrong, but before he can inform Hong Long, the Monastery becomes engulfed in fire. It seems that Piao Zhen had moved away Chaoxiang and Peng the previous night and was expecting the attack, so he sacrificed the soldiers guarding the Monastery in order to lure the bandits into it and burn them alive. And he had also massacred the Monks in order to make sure that no one would inform the bandits or help them find a way out of the flaming hell that the Monastery has become. What a brilliant plan!1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1FphLvVHg
1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCRcbCiUCW
Will the bandits be able to escape the flames alive? Or shall they be burned to death? Will Piao Zhen manage to reclaim the map? What is Lung Chang doing all the while? Find out in the next chapter! 1303Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDM5KiXM8Z1
Penana
search
Loginarrow_drop_down
Registerarrow_drop_down
