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"Brothers," Chen said"We will stop here and let the horses drink some water and recover their strengthWe should be able to catch up with Fourth Brother in another two hours
Luo Bing's blood surged and her cheeks reddenedYu saw her expression and he walked slowly over to her
"Sister Luo Bing," he said quietly
"Mm?"
"I am willing to give up my life to rescue Fourth Brother for you," he said
She smiled slightly"That's being a good brother," she sighed
Yu quickly turned away
"Fourth Sister," said Chen, "Lend your horse to Xin Yan and let him go on ahead to investigate
Xin Yan mounted the white horse and flew off
The others waited until their horses had drunk their fill, then mounted up and raced awayNot long after, with the sky already light, they saw Xin Yan riding back towards them
"The Eagle's Claws are just ahead," he shouted
Their spirits rose a hundred-fold and they charged forward with renewed vigourXin Yan and Luo Bing exchanged horses
"Did you see Fourth Brother's carriage?" she asked
Xin Yan nodded excitedly"Yes! I rode close to the side of the carriage hoping to get a look inside but the Eagle's Claws raised their swords to scare me off
The group galloped on, the horses' hooves sounding like thunderA large replica gucci handbags line of men and horses came into sight ahead, and they saw it was the column escorted by government soldiers
"Fourth Brother's carriage is another two miles further on," Xin Yan said to ChenThey spurred on their horses and overtook the columnOnce passed, 'Crocodile' Jiang and Yu turned their mounts around to block the road
Yu saluted the government troops as they caught up"Good sirs, you are working too hard," he said politely"The scenery here is excellent, and the weather is exceptionally clearWhy don't we all sit down and have a chat?"
"Out of the way!" shouted one of the Manchu soldiers at the front"This is the family of Commander-in-chief Li
"His family? Well, that's even more reason for having a restThere's a pair called Black Death and White Death in front of us, and we wouldn't want to frighten the ladies
Another of the soldiers flourished his horse whip and cracked it in Yu's direction"You destitute scholar! Stop your nonsense," he shouted
Yu laughed and dodged out of the wayThe commanding officer of the escort rode forward and loudly asked what was going on
Yu brought his hands together in salute"What is your respected surname?" he enquired
The officer could see that Yu and Jiang were not reputable men and hesitated to cartier pasha answer
Yu took out his golden flute"I have a rudimentary knowledge of music," he said"I often lament how rarely I come across people with discerning musical tastesYou, sir, have a dignified appearancePlease dismount and rest while I play you a tune to alleviate the loneliness of the journey, what do you say?"
The officer was Deng Tunan, escorting Commander Li Keshou's family to HangzhouHe started in surprise when he saw the golden flute, and remembered what he had heard of the fight in the inn that day between the Yamen officers and a scholar with a golden flute"Let each go his own road," he shouted"Please make way!"
"I know ten songs," said Yu"Some are impassioned and rousing, some are sweet and captivating, but all are melodicI haven't played them for a long time, but this chance meeting with such an esteemed gentleman as yourself has made me eager to show off my talents
He lifted the golden flute to his mouth and a series of beautiful notes rose clear and sharp into the sky
Officer Deng could see that the affair could not be concluded amicablyHe raised his spear and threw it straight at Yu who continued to play until the tip was almost upon himThen his left hand shot out and grabbed the spear then struck it with the golden flute, snapping d |
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