The Book and The Sword Read Free

desolate and the evening mist was thickening. He wondered why anyone would set out on a journey at this time of day.
    Not long after, the muletrain entered the town. Officer Deng led them to a large inn and Yuanzhi and her mother were shown to one of the best rooms. Lu was given a smaller room, and after he had eaten dinner, a servant lit the lantern. All was quiet, and he was about to go to sleep when a dog barked. From far away he heard the faint sound of galloping horses approaching and he thought again about the four riders they had passed on the road.
    The clip-clop of horses' hooves came closer and stopped right in front of the inn. There was a knock on the front door and Lu heard a servant open it and say: "You've been riding hard. There's food and drink prepared for you."
    "Go and feed the horses quickly," said a rough voice. "We must start out again as soon as we've finished eating."
    Lu considered the situation. Groups of men hurrying northwest, and judging by the way they rode, all of them experts in the martial arts. In all his years in the border areas, he had never seen the like of it. He slipped quietly out of his room, crossed the courtyard and went round to the back of the inn.
    "All right, you say the Young Helmsman is very young," he heard the rough-voiced man say. "Do you think he will be able to control all the brothers?"
    Lu followed the voice and stationed himself underneath the window.
    "He'll have to," he heard the other say. "It was the old master's wish whether the Young Helmsman likes it or not."
    The man had a deep, sonorous voice, and Lu could tell his Internal Strength was profound. Not daring to make a hole in the window paper to peep through, he continued to listen from where he was, breathing as lightly as he could.
    "Of course," the rough-throated one replied. "But we don't know if the Young Helmsman will be willing to do it."
    "You don't have to worry about that," said the other. "He'll follow the old master's wishes."
    He said the word 'follow' with a peculiar southern Chinese accent, and Lu's heart jumped. "Where have I heard that voice before?" he thought. He sifted through his mind, and finally remembered that it belonged to his old friend Zhao Banshan, whom he had known 20 years before in the Dragon Slayers' Society. Zhao was about 10 years younger than he, but the two had often trained together, and had a great respect for each other. Lu had heard no news of him since the Dragon Slayers' Society had broken up and he was delighted at chancing upon an old friend in such an unlikely place. As he was about to call out to Zhao, the light in the room was suddenly doused and a dart shot out of the window.
    But it was not aimed at Lu. A figure shifted in the shadows nearby and caught the dart, then stood up, about to challenge the dart thrower. Lu leapt over and whispered fiercely: "Don't make a sound! Come with me." It was Yuanzhi.
    No one chased them. Lu pulled Yuanzhi into his room, and under the light saw an expression of such eagerness on her face that he was both angry and amused.
    "Yuanzhi, do you know what sort of men they are? What were you doing trying to pick a fight with them?" he asked sternly.
    "What were they doing shooting a dart at me?" she replied defiantly.
    "If they aren't outlaws, then they are secret society men," he said. "One of them I know, and his kung fu would not be weaker than mine. Travelling through the night as they are, they must be on very urgent business. That dart was not meant to injure you, it was just telling you not to be nosy. If he had really wanted to hit you, I doubt if you would have been able to catch it. Now go and sleep."
    They heard a door open and the sound of horses' hooves as the two men galloped away.
    The next morning, the muletrain started out again, and travelled ten miles in just over two hours.
    "Look, teacher," said Yuanzhi. "There's someone coming."
    Two chestnut horses galloped towards them, and because of theprevious night's