ent Zhao Min wore on the side of her head. Zhao Min’s face changed slightly; Zhang Wuji was able to snatch the hair ornament on her temple without her feeling anything. If when taking the ornament he slightly touched the left hand ‘tai yang xue’ [sun acupoint] on her head, then her little life would have been gone. But she was quick to think and she smiled. “If you like that pearl flower, then I’ll gladly give it to you; you don’t have to snatch it away from me,” she said.

Zhang Wuji was slightly embarrassed by her words; his left hand waved, tossing the pearl ornament back to her. “I’ll return it to you!” he said. Turning his body he was about to leave the pavilion.

Zhao Min held out her hand to take the head ornament. “Wait a minute!” she called out.

Zhang Wuji turned around. “Why did you steal two of the biggest pearls?” she said with a smile.

“You are talking nonsense, I don’t have time to joke around with you,” Zhang Wuji said.

Zhao Min lifted the head ornament high and with a stern voice said, “Look here, aren’t two of the pearls missing?”

Zhang Wuji shot a glance and he noticed two golden threads without any pearl on them. He knew she must have had taken those pearls herself; she wanted to lure him to come back so that she could carry out some other dirty trick. “Humph,” he snorted, ignoring her.

Zhao Min pressed the edge of the table with her hand and sternly said, “Zhang Wuji, I dare you to come within three steps of me.”

Zhang Wuji was not fazed by her intimidation, he said, “It’s up to you if you say that I am a coward who fears death.” While talking he had already taken two steps down the stairs.

Seeing none of her tricks worked, Zhao Min’s beautiful face changed; with a miserable voice she cried out, “It’s over! It’s over! I am defeated, how could I still have a face to see my Shifu?” Reaching back she pulled one of the dagger stuck on the pillar. “Zhang Jiaozhu,” she called out, “Thank you for your help!”

Zhang Wuji turned his head around only to see a flash of white light; she thrust the dagger into her own chest. Zhang Wuji laughed coldly, “I won’t fall …” he had not finished whatever he wanted to say when he saw the dagger enter her chest. She cried out miserably and fell on the edge of the table.

To say that Zhang Wuji was extremely shocked would not be an overstatement; he did not expect her to be so hard-headed that she committed suicide just because she failed to overcome him. He thought that as long as the dagger did not strike her heart, he might still be able to save her. Hence he turned around to examine her wound.

He walked to within three steps of the table and was going to reach out to pull her shoulder when suddenly his foot stepped on empty air; his body dropped vertically down. While groaning inwardly he flicked both of his sleeves, so that his drop was slightly halted. In the meantime his palm struck the edge of the table. If his palm struck its target, then he could borrow the momentum to leap out from this trap. Who would have thought that Zhao Min’s suicide was a fake; she had already anticipated his action. Sending her strength to her right palm she managed to block his palm from reaching the table.

This ‘rabbit-rose-up-falcon-fall-down’ exchange happened in a blink of the eye; by the time two palms met, Zhang Wuji’s body had dropped half of his height. Flipping his hand over he tried to grab four of Zhao Min’s fingers. But her fingers were slippery, they immediately slipped away from his grab. Yet within this fraction of a second Zhang Wuji exerted his strength – taking the opportunity as their fingers touched- to reach out to grab Zhao Min’s upper arm. Only the force of his falling down was too great; as soon as he pulled, the two of them fell together.

All of a sudden darkness enveloped them; they kept falling, but heard the slam of the trap door close above their heads. The trap was about four, five ‘zhang’s [about 12 – 15 meters or 40 – 50 feet]. As his feet touched the bottom immediately Zhang Wuji leaped up, using ‘bi hu you qiang gong’ [gecko roaming the wall skill] to the fullest he crawled along the trap wall to the top, trying to push the trap door open. His hand touched something icy cold; turned out the door was made of a giant iron panel, reinforced by some kind of contraption to hold it firmly on its place. Although he had the divine strength of ‘qian kun da nuo yi’, but his body was suspended in midair; he did not have a strong foundation, unlike if he were standing on the ground. As he pushed, the iron panel did not move even so slightly, while he fell back down to the bottom.

Zhao Min chuckled and said, “The door is reinforced with eight thick steel bars; you are pushing it from below. Although your strength is exceptional, how can you push it open?”

Zhang Wuji was mad at her treachery; ignoring her remarks he groped around the four walls, trying to find a way out. Unfortunately the walls were all icy cold and extremely smooth and hard.

Zhao Min laughed and said, “Master Zhang, your Gecko Roaming the Wall is excellent. These walls were made of pure cast steel, they were polished and very slippery; not a single crack exists, yet you were able to crawl along the wall. Hee .. hee … heh … heh …!”

Zhang Wuji angrily said, “You are with me in this trap together, what’s so funny?” Suddenly he remembered, “This girl is very crafty. There must be a way out of this trap. I can’t let her escape alone.” He moved forward two steps and grabbed her hand.

Zhao Min was frightened. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Don’t ever think of escaping alone,” Zhang Wuji replied, “If you want to live, you should open the trap door quickly.”

Zhao Min laughed and said, “Why worry? We won’t starve to death in here. If they cannot find me, they will let us out. The worse case is if my men think I am going out of the Manor; then that would be too bad.”

“Is there any secret mechanism to get us out of this trap?” Zhang Wuji asked.

Zhao Min laughed. “You don’t look like an idiot, how come you asked such a stupid question?” she said, “This trap was not built to amuse ourselves. It was to trap an enemy inside; why would we provide a secret mechanism for the enemy to escape?”

Zhang Wuji thought what she said was reasonable. He asked, “There are people falling into the trap; how come nobody outside knows? Hurry up and call someone to open the door.”

“All my men are on assignments outside. You saw a moment ago there was nobody else in the pavilion, did you not?” Zhao Min said, “They will come back by this time tomorrow. Just be patient; take a rest for a moment. You have just had your meal; certainly you are not hungry, are you?”

Zhang Wuji was angry; he thought, “I have no problem staying for a while, but how can I save (Maternal) Grandfather and the others?” Thereupon tightening his grip with 20% of his strength he roared, “If you don’t let me out, I am going to kill you first and talk later!”

Zhao Min smiled and replied, “If you kill me, then you can forget about getting out of this trap forever. Hey, men and women are not supposed to be intimate; why are you holding my hand?”

Hearing her words Zhang Wuji immediately released her hand and withdrew two steps; and then he sat down with his back against the wall. This steel trap’s perimeter was only several feet; even when he tried to sit as far as possible from her, their distance could not be more than one step. He was anxious and angry at the same time. He could smell her breath, and the sweet fragrance if her perfume; he could not help but feeling agitated. Finally he stood up and angrily said, “Our Ming Cult people and you are not acquainted with each other; we did not have either resentment or enmity. Why did you deliberately plan to put us all to death?”

Zhao Min replied, “Things that you don’t understand are too much; but since you asked, let me explain it to you. Do you know who I am?”

Zhang Wuji did not think it was a good idea; he wanted to know this young girl’s origin and her true intentions, but if he had to wait for her to tell her story in its entirety, then Yin Tianzheng and the others might be dead because of the poison. Also, how would he know whether she would tell a lie or not; if she fabricated a lie and told him a whole bunch of nonsense, then he would be stuck in that trap for a long time. His sole purpose right now was to force her to open up the trap door; therefore, he cut her off by saying, “I don’t know who you are, and right now I don’t have time to listen to your story. Are you or are you not going to call somebody to open the door for me?”

“I can’t call anybody,” Zhao Min replied, “Even if I shout as loud as possible down here, people above won’t be able to hear. If you don’t believe me, just give it a try.”

Zhang Wuji was really angry; his left hand reached out and grabbed her arm. Zhao Min cried out in fear and tried to move her hands to fend off; but early on her acupoints had been sealed so she could not move. Zhang Wuji’s left hand choked her throat; he said, “If I exert a little bit more strength, your life will be gone.”

By now those two stood very close to each other; he could feel her hurried breathing, it smelt like orchid. Zhang Wuji looked up to give some distance away between his face and hers. Zhao Min suddenly broke up in tears; choking and sobbing she said, “You bully me, you bully me!”

Zhang Wuji did not expect this turn of events; he was startled. Releasing his left hand he said, “I don’t want to bully you, I only want you to let me out.”

Still crying Zhao Min said, “It’s not that I don’t want to. All right; I’ll call!” Raising her voice she shouted, “Hey, hey! Come here! Open the door, I fall into the steel trap!” She called out for a while, but nothing astir overhead. Zhao Min said with a smile, “You see? It’s useless.”

Zhang Wuji’s anger had reached the top; “Shameless! Crying and laughing. What kind of person are you?” he said.

“You are the shameless one!” Zhao Min shot back, “A big man like you bullying a weak girl like me.”

“You, a weak girl?” Zhang Wuji replied, “You are so crafty that even ten grown men are not your match.”

“Thank you for your praise, Zhang Da Jiaozhu [Big Cult Leader Zhang]!” Zhao Min laughed, “Little girl does not dare to accept.”

Zhang Wuji thought the situation was getting urgent; if he did not make a drastic move, the Ming Cult people would be annihilated. Gritting his teeth he reached out and with a scoff he tore a piece of Zhao Min’s skirt.

Zhao Min thought he suddenly had an evil intention; finally she was really scared. “You … what are you doing?” she called out.

Zhang Wuji said, “If you decide to let me go, just nod your head.”

“Why?” Zhao Min asked.

Zhang Wuji ignored her question. He spat his saliva on that piece of silk cloth to make it wet. “Please forgive me,” he said, “I don’t have any choice.” Immediately he sealed up her nose and mouth with that wet cloth.

Zhao Min could not breathe; a short moment later she felt her chest constricted, she felt utterly miserable. Unexpectedly she was so unyielding and did not want to nod her head at all; after a while her body slumped and she passed out.

Zhang Wuji took her wrist to examine her pulse; he felt her pulse to be weak. Immediately he took away the wet cloth covering her nose and mouth. After half a day Zhao Min slowly regained her consciousness; she moaned lightly.

“It didn’t feel good, did it?” Zhang Wuji asked, “Now, are you or are you not going to let me go?”

Zhao Min hatefully said, “Even if I have to faint a hundred times I still won’t let you go. You’d better just kill me.” Swiping her mouth with her hand she spat several times and said, “Your spittle! Pei! It stank to the high heaven!”

Seeing her hard-heartedness Zhang Wuji was temporarily at a loss. After remaining in this stalemate situation for some time, he was getting more anxious than ever. Finally he said, “In order to save everybody’s life I have to play rough. I apologize for being inappropriate.” Grabbing her left foot he tore away her shoe and sock.

Zhao Min was both angry and scared. “Stinky boy, what are you doing?” she asked.

Zhang Wuji did not answer. He grabbed her right foot and also took her shoe and sock away. With both hands extended he touched the ‘yong quan xue’ [bubbling spring acupoint] on the bottom of her feet; then he transmitted heat toward these acupoints using the Nine Yang Divine Energy.

This ‘yong quan xue’ was located at the center of the crook of the foot; it was the end of the ‘zu shao yin shen jing’ [foot’s ‘little yin’ kidney passage], thus it was very sensitive to the touch. Zhang Wuji was very proficient in medical science, hence his knowledge was profound. When children play, they used to tickle their friend’s foot; making their body tingled from the sensation. This time he transmitted the warm Nine Yang Divine Energy into her ‘yong quan xue’; the sensation was a hundred times more difficult to bear than if she was tickled using feather or soft plume. At first Zhao Min could not help but broke up in laughter. She wanted to pull her foot away, but her acupoints were sealed; how could she move away? Later on she felt discomfort more painful than if she were cut with blade or flogged with a whip. She felt like millions of fleas were creeping and crawling in her internal organs; nipping and gnawing at her bone marrow and blood veins. Her voice became hoarse from laughing, and gradually her laughter turned into crying.

Zhang Wuji hardened his heart; he ignored her crying and continued his torture. Zhao Min felt like her heart nearly jumped out from her chest; she felt like the hairs on her body fell off from their roots because of the itch. “Stinky kid … Thief …” she cursed, “One day, I … I will cut you … to thousand pieces. All right, all right … mercy … have mercy on me … Zhang … Master Zhang … Zhang Jiao … Jiaozhu … Boohoo … boohoo …”

“Are you or are you not going to let me go?” Zhang Wuji asked.

Sobbing Zhao Min replied, “I … I’ll let you go. Stop … stop it!”

At last Zhang Wuji let his hand go and said, “Please forgive my offense!” He rubbed her back and unsealed her acupoints.

Zhao Min gasped for breath before scolding him, “Thief, give me back my shoes and socks!”

Zhang Wuji took the sock and grabbed her left foot. When he tortured her just a moment ago, he did not have any other thought in his mind; but now as soon as he touched her warm and soft foot his heart was beating faster. Zhao Min pulled her foot; she felt an unspeakable shyness so her face was blushing. Luckily in that darkness Wuji could not see her face. Silently she put her shoes and socks back on. A strange feeling crept into her heart; suddenly she wanted him to touch her foot again.

“Quick, hurry up!” suddenly she heard Zhang Wuji’s stern voice, “Let me go!”

Without saying anything Zhao Min stretched out her hand to trace a circle engraved on the steel wall, and then with the end of her dagger’s hilt she rapped the center of the circle seven, eight times; sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes long, sometimes short. As soon as she stopped a crashing noise was heard, a bright light came down as the trap door opened. The circle on the steel wall was actually connected to the outside by a narrow tube. The people outside immediately opened the door as she knocked the wall in a previously agreed pattern.

Zhang Wuji did not expect her to open the door as soon as she said so; he could not help but feel surprised. “Let’s go!” he said.

Zhao Min hung her head low; she stood on the side without making any noise. Zhang Wuji remembered she was only a young girl and he had repeatedly tortured her; he felt sorry. He bowed and said, “Miss Zhao, just now I did not have any other choice. Please accept my most sincere apology.”

Zhao Min turned her head toward the wall; her shoulder slightly trembled as if she was sobbing. She was very crafty and ruthless; when he was engaged in a fierce battle of wits with her, Zhang Wuji did not have any distracting thoughts. But now he was overwhelmed with guilt; especially looking at her graceful and elegant, slender back, the skin on the back of her neck white as jade, her beautiful and fluffy hair. With pity and regret in his heart he said, “Miss Zhao, I am leaving. Old Zhang has offended you.”

Zhao Min’s back moved slightly, but she still was not willing to turn her head. Zhang Wuji did not dare to tarry much longer; using the ‘bi hu you qiang gong’ he crept upward. When he was about a ‘zhang’ away from the trap door, his right foot kicked the steel wall and he flew out of the trap, while sweeping his sleeve away to protect his head and face for fear somebody set up an ambush by the trap door. Before his feet even touched the ground he swept his gaze around, but did not see a single soul in the pavilion. Without wasting a single second he leaped over the outer wall and rushed along the trail towards the place where the Ming Cult leaders took a rest.

By this time the sun was setting behind the mountains; he had been delayed for more than an hour inside the trap, without knowing Yin Tianzheng and the others’ condition. With an anxious heart he ran faster and not too long afterwards he was not too far away from his destination. His heart skipped a beat because he saw a large group of Mongolian cavalry charging forward; surrounding the Ming Cult people, shooting arrow after arrow.

Zhang Wuji thought, “Our Cult leaders are poisoned, nobody gives orders; how can we withstand the enemy’s besieging?” He picked up speed and rushed forward.

When he got closer he heard a clear female voice from among the crowd calling out, “Sharp Metal Flag attack to the northeast, Flooding Water Flag outflank the southwest.” It was Xiao Zhao’s voice. Just as her voice trailed off, a group of the Ming Cult people under a white flag came out, charging toward the northeast. Another group under a black flag outflanked toward the southwest. The Yuan soldiers divided themselves to engage the enemy. Suddenly the yellow flag of Thick Earth and the green flag of Gigantic Wood came out from among the Ming Cult people like a yellow dragon and a green dragon shoulder to shoulder attacking the enemy. The Yuan soldiers were thrown into confusion and were forced to retreat.

With several leaps Zhang Wuji arrived in front of the Ming Cult people. As they saw their Cult Leader came back, they burst out in cheers and their spirit was greatly aroused. Zhang Wuji saw Yin Tianzheng, Yang Xiao, Zhou Dian and the others, as well as the Five Elements Flags commanders and their second-in-commands, were still sitting cross-legged on the ground. Xiao Zhao, holding a small flag in her hand, was standing on a mound, commanding the Ming Cult people to defend against the enemy.

Actually, everybody in the Five Elements Flags and the Heavenly Eagle Flag was a warrior with excellent martial art skill; only their leaders were poisoned that they were in disorder. As soon as Xiao Zhao arranged the defense line according to the Eight Diagram the Yuan soldiers actually could not penetrate their defense for a long time.

“Master Zhang,” Xiao Zhao happily called out, “Come and assume the command.”

“I can’t,” Zhang Wuji replied, “You can command better. Let me kill some officers first.”

With ‘swish, swish’ sound several arrows came toward him. Zhang Wuji grabbed a lance from among the Ming Cult people and struck the incoming arrows one by one to the ground. Raising his arm he hurled the lance like an arrow penetrating a ‘bai fu zhang’s [leader of a 100 men unit] chest, nailing him to the ground. The Yuan soldiers cried out in alarm and withdrew several dozens of steps.

Suddenly they heard a bugle sound; about a dozen riders came fast. Zhang Wuji saw the ones in the front were Zhao Min’s Eight Divine Archers. He creased his brows and said in his heart, “These eight people’s shooting skill is too strong. If they attack I am afraid the damage to my brethren will not be small. I’ll have to attack first!” But he saw the leader of the Eight Divine Archers, Zhao Yishang, wave a short golden dragon-head staff and called out, “Master’s order: withdraw troops immediately.”

The commander of the Yuan troops, a ‘qian fu zhang’ [leader of a 1000 men unit], shouted some Mongolian words. The Yuan soldiers turned their horses around and galloped away. Qian Erbai dismounted his horse. Holding a tray in his hands he walked toward Zhang Wuji, bowed down and said, “My Master is asking Jiaozhu to accept this as a souvenir.”

Zhang Wuji saw yellow brocade spread out on the tray; on the brocade was a small exquisitely carved golden case. He was not afraid of any crafty trick; holding out his hand he took the box. Qian Erbai bowed in respect, walked backward three steps, turned around to mount his horse and galloped away.

Zhang Wuji handed over the golden case to Xiao Zhao. He was very concerned over his people’s condition that he did not care to look what was inside the case. Immediately he took the flower tree from his pocket and gave an order for someone to fetch some clear water. He crushed the deep purple root along with the dark green small beads and put them in the water. One by one he gave the concoction to Yin Tianzheng, Yang Xiao, as well as to the Five Elements Flags commanders and their second-in-commands. Practically every one of the Ming Cult leaders who joined the banquet at the pavilion, except Zhang Wuji who was protected by the Nine Yang Divine Energy, was poisoned.

Yang Buhui accompanied Yin Liting outside the pavilion; Xiao Zhao and the rest of the Ming Cult people ate at the side reception hall. Everybody followed their Cult Leader’s order; every dish was quietly tested with silver needles before they ate it; hence they were free from poisoning.

The antidote was very effective that in less than an hour the toxicity inside their bodies was neutralized; they no longer feeling dizzy, only they were still feeling very weak. Immediately they asked the whole story on how they got poisoned.

Zhang Wuji sighed and said, “We were being very careful; the water, wine and the food did not have any poison. I am sure about it. How would I know that that Miss Zhao’s evil mind was very cunning that she employed an unthinkable method? This kind of ‘shui xian’-like flower is called ‘zui xian ling fu’ [drunken immortal phantom lotus]. It is extremely rare but in itself it is not poisonous. The fake Yitian sword was made of a ‘qi ling xiang mu’ [marvelous pangolin fragrant wood], which grows on the ocean floor. In itself it is also not poisonous. But if these two fragrances are mixed together, they become violently poisonous.”

Zhou Dian slapped his thigh, “It was my bad; who told me to have an itchy hand and pull that Yitian sword out to take a look at it? Damn it!”

Zhang Wuji said, “She had already planned to harm us; even if Zhou Xiong did not pull it out, she would have sent someone else to draw it out and poison us. It was unavoidable.”

“Come!” Zhou Dian said, “Let us burn that Green Willow Manor to the ground!”

He barely closed his mouth when in the distant they saw black smoke rose up to the sky, red flame flickered; the Green Willow Manor was on fire. They looked at each other, dumbstruck; everybody had the same thought, “This Miss Zhao has anticipated everything; she knew that as soon as the poison in our bodies is neutralized we will settle the debt by burning the manor, so she beat us by setting the manor on fire first. This person is young, she is also a girl, yet she is a formidable enemy.”

Zhou Dian slapped his thigh, “She burned the manor, so what? We can still catch up and kill them all.”

Yang Xiao said, “Since she had already burned the manor, she must have prepared everything. We may not necessarily be able to pursue them.”

“Yang Xiong,” Zhou Dian said, “Your martial art is not bad, but when it comes to scheming, you beat Zhou Dian by half a notch.”

Yang Xiao laughed and said, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare! Zhou Xiong’s strategic ability is divine; how can Little Brother match it?”

Zhang Wuji smiled and said, “You two don’t need to be modest. This time we do not suffer too much damage, except for thirteen, fourteen brothers who suffer some arrow wound; we should thank our lucky stars. Let’s continue our journey.”

Along the way they asked Zhang Wuji how he knew the cause of their poisoning. Zhang Wuji replied, “I remember in the Poison Manual there is an article: If the fragrance of the ‘qi ling xiang mu’ is mixed with that of some kind of lotus flower, the resulting mixture oftentimes can cause someone to become intoxicated for a few days. It can be neutralized by drinking the mixture of the beads of the flower with water. If the poison is not dispelled immediately, the toxicity will greatly damage the heart and the lung. This ‘zui xian ling fu’ is several times more severe than regular lotus. That was the reason I asked everybody not to circulate your internal energy. Otherwise the fragrance would have entered all passages and pulses, and then your life would be in danger.”

Wei Yixiao said, “I am surprised that this little girl Xiao Zhao has rendered a great service today; if it wasn’t for her bravely stepped forward in critical situation, our casualty would be very heavy.”

Initially Yang Xiao believed that Xiao Zhao was the enemy’s spy; but her actions that day could be considered a great service to the Ming Cult. It was so totally beyond his anticipation that for the time being he did not know what to think.

Along the way they tried to guess Zhao Min’s origin, but nobody was able to offer a plausible explanation. Zhang Wuji did not tell anybody that they fell into the trap together, and that he touched her feet, ripped her skirt, and the circumstances surrounding that occasion. Although he felt that he did not do anything shameful, he still didn’t feel comfortable talking about it in public.

That evening they decided to stop by an inn a little bit early. The rest of the Ming Cult people went their separate ways to find temples and ancestral halls to spend the night. Xiao Zhao took some water to Zhang Wuji’s room for him to wash his face.

“Xiao Zhao,” Zhang Wuji said, “Today you have rendered a great service; you don’t have to act as my servant anymore.”

Xiao Zhao flashed one of her captivating smiles. “I am very happy to attend to your needs; what servant are you talking about?” After waiting for him to wash his hands and face; she took the golden case out and said, “I wonder what kind of poisonous bugs or secret projectiles are in this box?”

“Right,” Zhang Wuji said, “We have to be very careful.”

Placing the case on the table he pulled her away from it. Taking out a copper coin he tossed it away. ‘Ding!’ the coin hit the edge of the golden case and opened up its lid. Nothing strange happened. He came near to take a look. Inside the box was a pearl head ornament; it still vibrated lightly. It was precisely the head ornament he took from Zhao Min’s temples, except the two big pearls, which Zhao Min said were missing, were back on their golden stems. Zhang Wuji was taken aback; he could not guess Zhao Min’s real intention in doing this.

Xiao Zhao smiled and said, “Master, that Miss Zhao is very good to you, she sent somebody to deliver this precious pearl head ornament to you.”

Zhang Wuji said, “I am a man, what am I supposed to do with this kind of girl’s jewelry? Xiao Zhao, you can keep it.”

Xiao Zhao shook her hand; she laughed and said, “How can I? Others show their affection to you; how do I dare to take it?”

With three of his left hand fingers Zhang Wuji took the pearl ornament. “Catch!” he laughed, and tossed the ornament away. His strength was neither light nor heavy; the ornament landed on Xiao Zhao’s hair without the golden pin scratching her skin.

Xiao Zhao reached up to take it away, but Zhang Wuji shook his hand and said, “Can’t I give you some trinkets?”

Xiao Zhao’s cheeks blushed; in a low voice she said, “Thank you very much, then. I am only afraid my Miss will be angry with me.”

“What you did today was not a small matter,” Zhang Wuji said, “How can the Left Emissary Yang, father and daughter, still suspect you?”

Xiao Zhao’s heart was filled with joy; she said, “You have been gone for a long time, I was really worried; plus those Tartars came to attack. I don’t know how, but suddenly I was swept by a great courage. If I think about it now, I was really scared. Master, can you talk to the Five Elements Flags and the Heavenly Eagle Flag brothers: asking them not to be offended by Xiao Zhao’s boldness and unseemly behavior?”

Zhang Wuji smiled and said, “They can’t thank you enough, how can they blame you?”

Less than a day later they arrived within the Henan borders. By that time the world was in chaos; everywhere heroic and patriots raised their arms to fight the invaders. Mongolian officers and soldiers conducted an even stricter questioning and searching of insurgents. It was inconvenient for the Ming Cult people to travel together as a large group, therefore, they traveled in smaller groups to the Mount Song [Song Shan] and regrouped at the foot of the mountain before they finally traveled together up the Shaoshi Peak.

The Gigantic Wood Flag Chief, Wen Cangsong, was sent ahead to deliver Zhang Wuji and the others’ name cards to the Shaolin Temple. Zhang Wuji knew that this time they went up to the Shaolin Temple to ask for justice and although they did not want any fight, the end result would be difficult to tell. Supposing that the Shaolin monks did not want to talk but resort to violence instead, the Ming Cult could not balk at the challenge. Thereupon he passed on an order: while the leaders were entering the temple, the Five Elements Flags and the Heavenly Eagle Flag were to disperse around the temple and wait outside; as soon as they heard him whistle three times, they were to