That his beloved younger daughter had found a boy she loved was a great surprise and a great joy to Muzhuolun. He watched her intently with tears glistening in his eyes.

Princess Fragrance glided round and round, passing along the edge of the circle that had formed. In her hands, she held a brilliantly-embroidered belt and she softly sang:

"Please come out,

You who picked the snow lily for me.

I am searching for you,

You who saved my little deer."

The words hit Chen's ears like a clap of thunder. A white hand touched his shoulder and the embroidered belt fell around his neck. The Princess tugged gently and Chen, scared out of his wits, followed her. The crowd cheered, and all around him people started singing.

In the hazy moonlight, Muzhuolun and Huo Qingtong failed to recognise Chen, and walked forward to congratulate him along with the others thinking he was an ordinary Muslim. Suddenly, they heard three blasts from a distant horn, the signal for danger, and the crowd immediately dispersed. Muzhuolun and Huo Qingtong returned to their seats. The Princess took Chen's hand and led him off to sit at the back of the crowd. Chen felt her soft body leaning towards him, and a light fragrance entered his nostrils, intoxicating his senses. He truly could not tell if he was in a dream or in heaven.

5

All eyes turned in the direction from which the horn blast had come. Two Muslim guards rode up and reported to Muzhuolun: "The Manchu General Zhao Wei has sent an envoy who requests an audience."

"All right," replied Muzhuolun. "Bring him here." The two riders galloped off, and returned with five other riders who dismounted about a hundred feet from the crowd.

The Manchu envoy was robust man and walked towards them with powerful strides. But his four attendents made the Muslims jump in surprise. All four were giants, a good two heads higher than ordinary men, and their bodies were broad and thick.

The envoy strode up to Muzhuolun and nodded at him. "Are you the head of the tribe?" he asked arrogantly. The Muslims were outraged, and several of the younger warriors drew their sabres. The envoy ignored him.

"I am under orders from General Zhao Wei to give you an ultimatum," he announced loudly in the Muslim tongue. "If you know what's good for you, you will surrender immediately, in which case your lives will be spared. Otherwise, our two armies will meet at daybreak the day after tomorrow and you will be completely annihilated. It will be too late then for regrets."

The crowd of Muslims sprang to their feet in rage, but Muzhuolun, with a wave of his hand, ordered them to be seated and turned to the envoy. "You come without reason or justification and kill our people, steal our property. The True God on High will punish you for your dishonourable behaviour. If you want to fight, we will fight. Even if our army is reduced to only one man, that man will still never surrender."

The Muslims raised their sabres and repeated his words in unison: "If you want to fight, we shall fight!" they roared. "Even if our army is reduced to only one man, he will never surrender!" The mood was sombre but determined. The Muslims knew the Manchu force was powerful and that in a battle to the finish, the chances were they would lose. But they were loyal believers in Islam, they loved freedom and would be no man's slave.

The envoy looked about him and sneered. "All right," he said. "The day after tomorrow, each and every one of you will die." He spat savagely onto the ground in a calculated insult, and three young Muslims leapt towards him. "Today, you are an envoy, so you will be allowed to leave safely," one of them shouted. "But when we meet on the battlefield, we will not be so polite."

The envoy's mouth twisted in anger, and his four giant attendants roughly pushed aside the three Muslim boys and took up positions around him.

"Ha!" The envoy cried in contempt. "You useless scum! We'll give you a taste of our Manchu skills!" He clapped his hands and one of the four giants glanced round and strode over to a poplar tree nearby to which several camels were tethered. He grasped its trunk in his arms and after a few rigorous shakes, pulled the tree bodily from the ground. Then he snapped the reins of one of the camels and gave it a kick on its rump, sending it racing away in great pain. When the camel was more than a hundred feet away, another of the giants sprinted after it and in a moment caught up with the animal. He swung the huge camel onto his shoulders, ran back towards the bonfire and set it back on its feet, then stood proudly beside it. "Huh!" exclaimed the third giant in contempt, and drove a fist at the camel's head. The animal swayed unsteadily and crashed to the ground. The fourth giant grabbed hold of its two hind legs and swung it round and round above his head, then with a shout let it go. The camel fell to earth sixty or seventy feet away.

The giants, known as the Four Tigers, were quadruplets, and their mother had died giving birth to them. Their father was a poor hunter in the forests of Manchuria, and with his wife dead, he had no milk to feed the four babies, but soon after, he heard a mournful cry outside in the forest and found a female tiger caught in a trap. He and a companion were tying the animal up when he happened to notice three tiger pups lying close by. In a flash of inspiration, he killed the pups and took the tiger back to his hut where he reared her, feeding her meat every day, and milking her to feed his four sons. From the start, they were uncommonly big and strong, and became more so as they grew. The only problem was that they were a little stupid and impetuous.

The Muslims were startled by this amazing show of strength, but unwilling to appear weak before the enemy, they roared out their defiance.

"What are you doing, killing a good camel? Are you inhuman?" someone shouted. The envoy curled his lips into another sneer. The crowd became even more incensed, and it looked as though he would be mobbed.

"So you're going to bully an envoy, are you?" he shouted.

Muzhuolun restrained the crowd with difficulty. "You are an envoy, but you ordered your men to kill one of our camels, which is a great insult," he said. "If you were not guests here, I would not let you get away with it. Leave immediately."

"Do you think we Manchus are afraid of you scum?" the envoy shouted. "If you have a reply, give it to me to pass on. I'm sure none of you would dare to go and hand it to General Zhao Wei personally." Another roar went up from the Muslims.

Huo Qingtong jumped to her feet. "You say none of us would dare to go to see General Zhao Wei. Huh! Every single person here would dare, men and girls alike." The envoy looked stunned for a second, then threw back his head and roared with laughter. "If any of these girls didn't die of fright on seeing General Zhao Wei, I would be amazed."

"Don't underestimate us," replied Huo Qingtong angrily. "We will send someone back with you immediately. Pick someone yourself. Whoever you choose will go. You will see what spirit we followers of Mohammed have," The Muslims roared their approval and everyone began shouting "Choose me! Choose me!"

"All right," said the envoy coldly. He wanted to find the weakest, most useless girl who would immediately burst into tears so that the Muslims would lose face completely. His eyes roved over the crowd, searching back and forth, and suddenly lit up. He walked over to Princess Fragrance and pointed at her. "Let her go!" he said.

The Princess glanced at him and slowly stood up. "For my tribe, for my brothers and sisters, I would go anywhere without fear. Allah the true God will surely protect me," she said.

Her apparent weakness had given way to calm dignity. Faced with her stunning beauty, the envoy involuntarily lowered his eyes, and he felt a tinge of regret at his choice. Muzhuolun, Huo Qingtong and the other Muslims, although proud that she had not displayed weakness, were nonetheless anxious. Huo Qingtong was particularly worried. Her sister knew no kung fu, and could not be allowed to enter the Tiger's Lair unprotected. "She is my sister," she said. "I will go in her place."