Duan An came galloping up, whipping his horse and shouting in such haste that he seemed to be carrying military intelligence of the utmost urgency. Yet when he opened his mouth, all he wanted to know was whether the Daoists from Shangqing Palace had arrived. Clear as his question had been, Bao Chuxiong still felt he must have misheard and could not help asking for confirmation:
"Hall Master Zhang? Which Hall Master Zhang do you mean?"
"Ahem... the one sent by True Person Ling Xu, the head of Shangqing Palace, to help His Lordship suppress the bandits... Shangqing Palace's... Four Seas Hall's Zhang Xingyan, Hall Master Zhang..."
Still gasping for breath, Duan An delivered the sentence in broken fragments.
"Oh, him. Hall Master Zhang is already here!"
Bao Chuxiong pointed at Xing Yan, who stood nearby.
Xing Yan stepped forward to offer his greetings:
"I am Zhang Xingyan. May I ask what you wish to see me about?"
Before he had finished, Duan An cut in:
"Thank heaven! I caught you in time! Whew..."
After catching his breath a little, Duan An continued:
"My master was afraid you'd already set out!"
At this, Bao Chuxiong immediately grew tense and asked urgently:
"Has the situation with the bandits changed?!"
"No. Lord Duan wishes to come in person to see you all off. He feared you might have left already, so he sent me ahead on a fast horse to let you know."
"Oh, so that's it."
Hearing this, Bao Chuxiong's heart settled back into his belly. He thought:
That's more like it. I've sent scouts to Firecloud Mountain every day lately, and none of them reported anything unusual there.
Just then, Bao Chuxiong seemed to remember something. Puzzled, he asked Duan An:
"Say, Duan An, didn't His Lordship tell me to