ROCH unabridged

[Mojo Jojo]

Chapter 20

A Hero’s Imperative

Yang Guo had wanted to keep himself away from this dispute but when he saw how cruel Gong Sun Zhi was, his anger erupted and decided to step forward to argue with him. Just as he was about to do this, Xiao Long Nuu dashed forward and picked up Qiu Qian Chi. She patted her ‘Jade Pillow’ pressure point a few times and controlled the bleeding. She then tore off a piece of cloth from her sleeve and covered her wound before shouting out at Gong Sun Zhi, “Mr Gong Sun, she is your wife, how can you treat her like that? Since you’ve already got a wife, why do you still want to marry me? Even if I married you, won’t you treat me just as you treated her?”

Those three sentences were asked fervently, Gong Sun Zhi’s tongue was tied and couldn’t reply. Ma Guang Zuo couldn’t help himself and cheered.

Xiao Xiang Zi said coldly, “This miss is right.”

Gong Sun Zhi really did love Xiao Long Nuu, though he was made speechless by her he didn’t get angry, he was just embarrassed, he lowered his tone and said to her, “Sister Liu, how can you compare yourself with that evil woman? I can’t love you enough, if I have any ill intent towards you then let heaven condemn me where I stand.”

Xiao Long Nuu said coldly, “All I need is him to love me, even if your love for me is a hundred times stronger I wouldn’t care.” She then went over to Yang Guo and held his hand.

Yang Guo was filled with resentment, he thought, “Gu Gu loves me like this yet I just have a few days to live and it’s all because of this bastard.” He pointed to Gong Sun Zhi and shouted, “You said you have no ill intent towards my Gu Gu, huh, you left me for dead and then lie to my Gu Gu to get her to marry you, is that good intent? She’s been poisoned by the passion flowers and you know that there isn’t an antidote to cure her yet you don’t tell her, is that good intent?”

Xiao Long Nuu was shocked and quivered, “Is this true?”

Yang Guo said, “Don’t worry, you’ve already taken the antidote.” He then gave a smile that was filled with grief along with joy, he thought, “I’ve given the antidote to you, I’m willing to die for you.”

Gong Sun Zhi looked at Qiu Qian Chi and then looked at Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo, his eyes swept across them; jealousy, yearning, anger, shame, embarrassment and disappointment all filled his heart and disturbed him. Although he had great self control, right now he had fallen into a semi mad state, he suddenly bent down and took out his yin yang twins blades from under the red cover, he clashed them together and shouted, “Fine, fine! We’ll all die together!”

Everyone gasped, they could never have thought that he had actually prepared weapons at his wedding procession.

Xiao Long Nuu chuckled, “Guo Er, we don’t have to be polite to such an evil person.”

A ‘qiang lang’ sound was heard as she took out a pair of swords from underneath the bride’s gown, it was the ‘Gentlemen’ and ‘Lady’ swords. Though she wasn’t versed in the ways of the world, she did not have an ounce of mercy in her when dealing with such evil people, when she went to take revenge for grandma Sun, she scared all the Taoists of Chong Yang Palace witless and the Blithe sage Hao Da Tong almost lost his life to her. The thought of killing him entered her mind when Gong Sun Zhi had stopped her and Yang Guo from getting back together today. She had hid the weapons underneath her gown so that when Gong Sun Zhi cures Yang Guo, she would immediately take the opportunity to attack him with Yang Guo, if it doesn’t work then she would kill herself for Yang Guo, not allowing herself to be sullied in this Passionless Valley.

All the guests were shocked when they saw that both of the newlyweds had prepared weapons, only Fa Wang and the others who were experienced and knew that this celebration would end in tragedy weren’t surprised, they were only surprised with the fall of Qiu Qian Chi in one attack, this did not match the abilities of someone with the profound internal energy she had just shown.

Yang Guo took the ‘Gentlemen’ sword from Xiao Long Nuu and said, “Gu Gu, today we’ll kill that man to take revenge for me.”

Xiao Long Nuu’s ‘Lady’ sword trembled and she said surprised, “Take revenge for you?”

Yang Guo was filled with sadness in his heart but he couldn’t tell her about this, he just said, “This bastard has harmed many people.” His flipped his sword and went for Gong Sun Zhi’s left side. He knew that this battle was extremely dangerous, though Xiao Long Nuu’s passion flower has been cured, he was still poisoned, if they come together and use the [Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Swordplay] and stir feelings of love, he would break out in unbearable pain. He kept his eye on the enemy and used [Quan Zhen Swordplay], every stance and form of his were extremely stringent and cautious. If these stances were performed by Ma Yu, Qiu Chi Ji and the other old Taoists, the stances will of course be performed steadily and controlled, profound and intense, in the hands of Yang Guo it displayed maturity beyond his years but his stances were slightly jerky.

Gong Sun Zhi knew that when the two used their combined swordplay they were powerful so he immediately used the [Yin Yang Wild Blades] with the black sword in his right hand and the gold sabre in his left, his stances getting fiercer and fiercer with every stroke. The [Quan Zhen Swordplay] that Yang Guo was using was developed by Wong Chong Yang, though it wasn’t vicious and fierce like the opponent’s, it was subtly and had variation, Yang Guo defended cautiously and did not attack as he received three stances. Xiao Long Nuu called out and raised the ‘Lady’ sword, attacking Gong Sun Zhi’s back.

Gong Sun Zhi was furious, he thought, “This beautiful girl was going to be my wife and now she’s joined an outsider to attack me.” He continued thinking, “This evil ***** coming back here suddenly and revealing all the things I’ve done has caused me to lose all my respect and face, not only can’t I force sister Liu to marry me, it looks I won’t be able to keep my position here in the valley.” Though today’s matters are troublesome, he was going to rely on his martial arts to get him out of this mess, all he wanted to do was beat Yang Guo and then kidnap Xiao Long Nuu and run away. He didn’t know that Xiao Long Nuu’s passion flower poison had been cured and still thought that she had less than thirty six days to live, even though she had thirty six days to live, he was still going to force her to marry him. His thoughts were becoming more and more evil and the wild twin blades in his hands were becoming more vicious by the minute.

Xiao Long Nuu used the [Jade Maiden Swordplay] so that when Yang Guo and her become one, they will be able to unleash the power of the [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Swordplay] but his eyes did not glance over at her once, he was just concentrating on himself as he fought.

Xiao Long Nuu was extremely surprised and asked, “Guo Er, why aren’t you looking at me?” Her love was gradually being stirred and the light from her sword suddenly enhanced.

When Yang Guo heard her voice, his heart trembled and his chest broke out in an unbearable pain. His sword slowed and a ‘chi’ sound was heard as the black sword cut his sleeve. Xiao Long Nuu was alarmed and unleashed three stances in a row, blocking Gong Sun Zhi’s attack.

Yang Guo said, “I can’t look at you or listen to you.”

Xiao Long Nuu said tenderly, “Why?”

Yang Guo was afraid that he would meet danger again and replied coarsely, “If you want me to die then continue talking to me!”

As soon as his anger stirred the pain immediately stopped and he received the stances of Gong Sun Zhi’s black sword.

Xiao Long Nuu was extremely sorry and said, “Don’t be angry, I won’t say anything anymore.” Her mind suddenly lit up, “My poison has been cured but his hasn’t! He got the antidote but he didn’t take it and returned here to give it to me.” She was extremely touched and the love in her was boundless, as soon as this feeling grew, the power of the [Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Swordplay] enhanced greatly, the stances that she unleashed protected all the vital points of Yang Guo. Since she was protecting Yang Guo, Yang Guo should protect her but he didn’t dare to glance over at her and so she was completely unprotected and exposed to the enemy’s attack.

Gong Sun Zhi’s eyes were very sharp, he discovered the weakness in just a few stances but he didn’t want to harm a single hair of Xiao Long Nuu’s and directed all his vicious sword and sabre stances towards Yang Guo. He was attacking like a crashing wave but Yang Guo was defending like an immovable cliff and along with Xiao Long Nuu using all her efforts in protecting him, all of Gong Sun Zhi’s attacks were actually rendered useless.

By this time, Luu E had woken up and stood next to her mother watching the battle. She watched as Xiao Long Nuu concentrated only on guarding Yang Guo, ignoring all dangers to herself and she couldn’t help by ask herself, “If that was you, could you disregard all the dangers to yourself to protect him?” She sighed lightly and said, “I would definitely be able to act like miss Long but he would not act the same way towards me.”

Just at this time, Qiu Qian Chi hissed, “The false sabre is not a sabre, the false sword is not a sword!”

Both Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were startled when they heard this, they didn’t know what she meant by these two sentences.”

Qiu Qian Chi called out, “The sabre is a sabre, the sword is a sword!”

Yang Guo had fought Gong Sun Zhi twice; all along he has been pondering about where the essence of the [Yin Yang Wild Blades] lies but the light, airy black sword chopped solidly while the heavy gold sabre was swift and flighty, following the way of the sword, the stances he was using were the complete opposite to the orthodox martial arts theories. It’ll be fine if the sabre was using sword techniques only and the sword was using sabre techniques only but the reality was in the midst of the sword techniques there were sabre stances, buried within the sabre stances were the lethalness of sword strokes, the variation was mysterious and difficult to grasp, when he suddenly heard these words of Qiu Qian Chi he thought, “Could it be that the sword techniques of the sabre and the sabre techniques of the sword are all illusions?”

He saw the black sword chopping across his shoulders, this was definitely a sabre stance. He then treated it as a sword and extended his ‘Gentlemen’ sword forward, the swords collided and they both took a step back. Only then did he know that the black sword was still just a sword, the sabre stances that it was using were just trying to confuse the opponent but if the opponent’s martial arts were slightly poor, the sabre techniques were still able to cause harm.

With this immediate success, Yang Guo was delighted and continued to search for weaknesses in the opponent’s sword and sabre. He was thinking that although the jumbled stances were mastery, the ways of these blades would not be refined. A few more stances passed when suddenly he heard Qiu Qian Chi say, “Attack his right leg, attack his right leg.”

Yang Guo saw that Gong Sun Zhi’s sabre was like a blur, there was no open space to attack on his lower body at all but he thought about how although Qiu Qian Chi was not able to perform martial arts anymore, her knowledge was still there and she was the one who taught Gong Sun Zhi her martial arts, she would definitely know what was real and what was false so he listened to her and attacked his right leg. Gong Sun Zhi swept his sabre across and there was no way to his right leg but as he did this his left shoulder and left side were left unprotected. Yang Guo did not wait for Qiu Qian Chi to prompt him and flashed his sword towards him, cutting through his gown underneath his armpit.

Gong Sun Zhi cursed and leapt back, he stared angrily at Qiu Qian Chi and shouted, “Old *****, you think I’m going to let you go?” He then continued to attack Yang Guo with the sabre and sword.

Yang Guo raised his sword to block the attack. Qiu Qian Chi continued, “Kick his back!”

The two of them were facing each other, there was no way he could kick his back but Yang Guo was confident in Qiu Qian Chi, he knew that there was a deeper meaning behind her words, he didn’t care what would happen and dashed towards the back of the opponent’s. Gong Sun Zhi used his sabre to cut backwards.

Qiu Qian Chi called out, “Pierce his forehead.”

Yang Guo thought, “I’ve just turned towards his back and now you’re telling me to pierce his forehead?” It was an urgent situation and he didn’t give it much thought, he turned back towards the enemy’s front and he was just about to pierce his enemy’s forehead when Qiu Qian Chi called out, “Cut his arse!”

Luu E watched with sweaty palms, she knitted her brows and thought, “By calling madly like this, isn’t mother helping father instead?” She kept her thoughts to herself but Ma Guang Zuo couldn’t contain himself and shouted out, “Brother Yang, don’t fall into the trap of that old woman, she wants to kill you.”

Yang Guo had twisted and turned many times and had an inkling to her meaning behind this, when she called out go forwards he turned forwards and when she shouted go backwards he immediately dashed behind him. Indeed, after a few twists and turns, Gong Sun Zhi’s right side was uncovered. Yang Guo sent his sword towards Gong Sun Zhi’s right side and a ‘chi’ sound was heard as it the sword cut through his gown, piercing about an inch into Gong Sun Zhi’s side; blood immediately flowed down his side.

The crowd gave an ‘a’ call and stood up. Fa Wang and the others now understood, just now Qiu Qian Chi was not instructing Yang Guo on how to gain victory but was instructing him on how to gain an opportunity to win in a situation where it was impossible to gain victory. She was not pointing out the weakness of Gong Sun Zhi but was trying to make Yang Guo force a flaw out of the opponent from his flawless stances. After being prompted by Qiu Qian Chi a few times, Yang Guo immediately understood this advanced martial art notion, he was in awe of her and thought, “If the opponent is a skilled fighter, what flaws will they show in their stances? This piece of advice from this senior is more than enough for a lifetime’s use.”

But to force a flaw from Gong Sun Zhi requires not only for one’s martial arts to be higher than his but one must also be familiar with his stances. One must be clear on all his variations and reactions over ten stances beforehand before luring him step by step to make an error, only Qiu Qian Chi was able to do this, Yang Guo understood but he was not able to realise it. He heard her prompt and the sword suddenly flashed out, attacking Gong Sun Zhi’s back, front and sides urgently. Over twenty stances later, Gong Sun Zhi’s leg was cut.

Though this cut wasn’t deep, it was wide, at least five, six inches long.

Gong Sun Zhi thought, “The two of them are guarding each other, I can’t hurt the one named Yang, if this continues on with the old hag giving advice, I’ll die under this bastard’s sword.”

Years ago, in order to save his own life he killed his own lover, it was now getting desperate and he couldn’t care about Xiao Long Nuu anymore, he motioned his black sword and swiped his sabre, slashing towards Xiao Long Nuu’s shoulders.

Yang Guo was alarmed, he stretched his sword forward to protect her from this attack when he heard Qiu Qian Chi call out, “Stab his waist.” Yang Guo was startled and thought, “Gu Gu is being attacked right now, how can I not save her? But each time senior Qiu Lao has given me advice, it has a deeper meaning behind it, looks like this is a ‘surrounding Wei to rescue Zhao’ plan.” He changed his mind and the sword arrived at Gong Sun Zhi’s waist. Suddenly Xiao Long Nuu called out, her right arm was cut and the ‘Lady’ sword fell onto the floor. Gong Sun Zhi’s black sword slanted across and blocked Yang Guo’s sword.

Yang Guo was extremely shocked and quickly called out, “Move back, I’ll take him by myself.” His love and care for her was stirred and his chest broke out in an aching pain again. Xiao Long Nuu’s injury was not light, she moved backwards and tore off a piece of her sleeve, wrapping it around her wound. Yang Guo fought with his life, he was furious with Qiu Qian Chi and glanced at her with rage.

Qiu Qian Chi chuckled, “Why are you blaming me for? I’m just helping you defeat your enemy, who’s trying to help you to rescue someone? Haha, what’s her life got to do with me? It’s better if she dies!”

Yang Guo said angrily, “You and your husband are a perfect match, there isn’t an ounce of goodness in either of your hearts!”

Qiu Qian Chi just chuckled, she didn’t get angry and remained composed as she concentrated on the battle.

Yang Guo glanced over at Xiao Long Nuu and saw her leaning on a chair with her wound wrapped up, it looked like it wasn’t serious and his spirits was roused, his sword techniques suddenly changed from [Quan Zhen Swordplay] to [Jade Maiden Swordplay]. Gong Sun Zhi saw his swords stances had been steady and cautious but suddenly they were now supple and lively, graceful and attractive, it was like as if Yang Guo had changed into another person, Gong Sun Zhi was surprised and thought, “This person is extremely crafty, what is he trying now?” After taking a few stances, he felt that the opponent’s swordplay had the same elegant and lofty air of a distinguished family, the same type of swordplay that Xiao Long Nuu had used. Gong Sun Zhi’s doubts were all erased and he attacked with both his sword and sabre.

After ten or so stances later, Yang Guo was gradually being put on the back foot and forced to retreat. Qiu Qian Chi gave advice to Yang Guo repeatedly but he was furious with her for deliberately intending to get Xiao Long Nuu injured, he ignored her and said to himself, “Who needs your annoying words?” He unleashed four strokes and hummed, “The minutiae of a fine horse, a radiant and beautiful coat, the left grabs the many weak, the right receives the forgotten retreat.” The verses matched the sword stances and he performed the swords strokes with great elegance.

Gong Sun Zhi was startled and said, “What?”

Yang Guo continued, “The galloping wind and the flashing lightning, the chasing image flying away. Swift and powerful from the central plains, appearance is the aim.” The stances were grouped in fours, reflecting the verse. Where it said, ‘the galloping wind and the flashing lightning, the chasing image flying away’, the sword stances were extremely quick, when it said, ‘swift and powerful from the central plains, appearance is the aim’, the sword strokes were swift and vicious yet also carrying elegance along with it.

Gong Sun Zhi has never seen these sword stances before. The verses were pleasing to the ear and he slowed down his attacks, trying to concentrate on the meanings behind each line. He knew that the sword stances and the verses matched each other, all he has got to do is to grasp the meaning behind the verses and he’ll be able to defeat this swordplay.

Yang Guo continued, “Stopping at the orchid garden, the horse is fed at mount Hua. The eyes returns unto the swan, the hand strumming the five strings.” The verse was said with a modest tone but the sword strokes was towering and majestic, especially the last two stances which were extremely exquisite and sudden, it appeared to go to the east but went west, the sword hinted up but went down, one stance but two strokes, it was difficult to tell what was real and what was false.

Xiao Long Nuu had now finished wrapping up her wound. She watched Yang Guo’s swordplay and felt it was pleasing on the eye but she has never heard him talk about this swordplay before so she asked, “Guo Er, what swordplay is this, who taught you?”

Yang Guo laughed, “I thought of it myself. Gu Gu, is it good? A few days ago I was resting in bed from some injuries and I saw a poetry book by the bed. I thought the poems were quite nice so I committed them to memory. At the heroes’ feast, Zhu Zi Liu merged calligraphy into martial arts, I thought it would definitely be possible to merge poetry into martial arts.”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “It’s very good…”

Suddenly, Jin Lun Fa Wang praised, “Brother Yang, I can only look on in awe at your intelligence and wisdom. The following verse is of course, “Bowing to and revering one’s content, the good mood of the heart is too obscure, fishing and searching for something, the trap is forgotten once the fish is caught.”

Gong Sun Zhi’s mind lit up, “That monk is trying to help me.” He didn’t think about what the monk wanted but concentrated on the first line of the verse, ‘Bowing to and revering one’s content’, the sword will definitely be aimed upwards followed by a downwards stroke. He guarded his upper body with the black sword and chopped out his gold sabre from the middle of his body.

Jin Lun Fa Wang was versed in both martial arts and culture, though he lived in Tibet, he knew Han philosophies, their history and Confucian classics. When he heard Yang Guo reciting the poem, he knew long ago what the following verses would be. He revealed this to Gong Sun Zhi in hope that he would be able to use Gong Sun Zhi to kill Yang Guo for him.

Gong Sun Zhi did indeed managed to get the first move in when he heard this, before Yang Guo unleashed his sword strokes, Gong Sun Zhi had sealed off all of the sword’s paths while at the same time, chopping out his jagged golden sabre from the middle of his body to attack him.

Luckily, Yang Guo had heard Fa Wang and was prepared for this, he didn’t continue on with his [Four Lined Poem Swordplay] and guarded his mid drift with his sword while the middle finger of her left hand flicked out, striking the back of the golden sabre.

Gong Sun Zhi’s arm trembled and the joints in his hand felt slightly numb by this flick, he was shocked and thought, “This little punk has many strange kung fu.”

This flick of Yang Guo’s was the [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger] that Huang Yao Shi taught him but he was unable to subdue his enemy because his internal energy wasn’t strong enough. If Huang Yao Shi performed this move, the jagged golden sabre of Gong Sun Zhi would have flown out of his hand as soon as it was struck. However, this flick of Yang Guo’s was still good enough to allow him to regain the upper hand, he motioned his sword forwards and used Huang Yao Shi’s [Jade Flute Swordplay]. The [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger] and [Jade Flute Swordplay] both concentrated on attacking the opponent’s pressure points. When they were used together, it was ingenious and subtle and even though Yang Guo’s mastery of these skills weren’t refined, it was still good enough to trouble Gong Sun Zhi after a bout of urgent attacking.

At that time, Qiu Qian Chi called out again, “His sword is going for the waist, his sabre is chopping out towards the neck”. “The sword is going to slash towards your right shoulder while his sabre guards his left.” She called out every stance of Gong Sun Zhi’s in advance.

Yang Guo now held the upper hand completely. With his poetry ceased, Fa Wang was unable to tell where his sword will go and couldn’t aid Gong Sun Zhi.

Gong Sun Zhi’s family art the [Yin Yang Twin Blades] were inspected thoroughly by Qiu Qian Chi and then subsequently improved by her, all of Gong Sun Zhi’s stances were known to her, no matter how sudden his changes were, Qiu Qian Chi would call it out in advance.

Just as they were absorbed in battle, Qiu Qian Chi suddenly called out, “Both his sword and sabre are going to attack your upper body.” These words were called out at just at the exact time as Gong Sun Zhi had sent out both his sabre and sword; it was now difficult for him to change his stance halfway through. Yang Guo had more than enough time to block this attack.

Yang Guo lowered his head and dashed forward while protecting his back with his sword. His left finger came out and jabbed the opponent’s ‘Ocean of Air’ pressure point an inch and a half below the navel.

Yang Guo was delighted with this successful attack at the first attempt. He thought that his opponent would suffer a serious injury with this attack but Gong Sun Zhi’s leg came flying out, striking him in the jaw.

Yang Guo was shocked and leapt to the side a few feet. He then remembered how strange the pressure points were on this person, previously he had used the golden sphere silk belt to strike his pressure points but it had no effect on him. Gong Sun Zhi came at him once again.

Qiu Qian Chi called out once again, “His blades will cross, the right sword attacking left, the left sabre attacking right.”

Yang Guo did not give it much thought and defended with all his might.

When it comes to internal energy, Yang Guo was not a match for his opponent and would have lost out long ago if it weren’t for Qiu Qian Chi’s advice.

Yang Guo and Gong Sun Zhi continued for another seven, eight hundred stances. The members of the valley watched on with their hearts on the verge of jumping out of their mouths while Xiao Xiang Zi and the others were also fixed onto the battle, they couldn’t tell who would win this great battle.

In the midst of the blurs of the sabre and sword, one could see Gong Sun Zhi panting while Yang Guo was soaked in sweat. The movements of the two were now not as quick as before.

Gong Sun Luu E thought that if the two carried on like this, one of them would be seriously injured. Of course she didn’t want Yang Guo to lose but she couldn’t bear to see her father get hurt so she whispered to Qiu Qian Chi, “Mother, tell them to stop. We’ll settle this by talking it over.”

Qiu Qian Chi gave a ‘heng’ grunt and said, “Pour two bowls of tea.”

Luu E was confused but did as she was told and bought the bowls of teas to her mother. Qiu Qian Chi took off the piece of bloody cloth that was wrapped around the wound on her head. When she was knocked into the pillar, blood poured out of her head and it was Xiao Long Nuu who tore off her sleeve and covered her wound. The bleeding on her head started again as she took off the cloth.

Luu E was alarmed and called out, “Mother!”

Qiu Qian Chi called out, “I won’t die!”

She threw the bloody cloth onto her knees and took the bowls. Her four fingers held the bowls but the thumb of each hand was soaked into the tea. The blood on her thumbs mixed into the tea. She quickly swirled the tea and the traces of blood were gone. She called out, “You should be tired now, have a bowl of tea!”

She said to Luu E, “Give one bowl of tea to each one of them to quench their thirst.”

Luu E knew her mother hated her father deeply and wouldn’t have any good intentions for him. This bowl of tea wasn’t meant to quench his thirst but to poison him. However, she poured the bowls of tea herself and there was no poison in any of them, they were just ordinary bowls of tea. It must be because her mother sympathised with Yang Guo. If her father didn’t have a bowl, he would not stop and Yang Guo would not be able to take a drink.

She saw that the two were really very tired so she went to the middle of the hall and called out clearly, “Please have some tea!”

Gong Sun Zhi and Yang Guo were both very thirsty, when they heard the call of Qiu Qian Chi, they both stopped and jumped backwards.

Luu E first took the tray of tea to her father. Gong Sun Chi knew that it was Qiu Qian Chi who ordered her to bring these bowls of tea to him and so there’ll definitely be something wrong with it, most likely it had poison in them. He held up his hand and said to Yang Guo, “You drink first.”

Yang Guo had no fear and casually picked up a bowl of tea, he placed it by his lip and took a sip.

Gong Sun Zhi said, “Good, I’ll have that bowl!” He took Yang Guo’s bowl from his hand.

Yang Guo laughed, “It was your daughter who poured the tea, don’t tell me you think there’s poison in them?” Yang Guo took the other bowl of tea and drank it in one go.

Gong Sun Zhi looked at her daughter’s face and saw that it was calm and relaxed, he thought, “Luu E loves that punk, of course there would be no poison in his cup of tea, I’ve already swapped the bowls, what have I got to be scared of?” He too drank the bowl of tea in one go and then clashed his weapons, saying, “There’s no need for a break, continue. Huh, if it weren’t for that old ***** giving you tips, you would of died under my black sabre and gold sabre long ago even if you had ten lives to spare.”

Qiu Qian Chi replaced the bandage on her head and said evilly, “His [Closure of the Pressure Points] has been defeated, you can hit his pressure points.”

Gong Sun Zhi felt a slight taste of blood on his tongue and was shocked; a shock that was indescribable. This particular family art has one big drawback; the practitioner cannot taste an ounce of meat otherwise this art will be neutralised immediately. His ancestors were afraid that they’ll taste meat by accident and so passed a strict order in the valley; no one can eat meat. Though others didn’t practise this art, they were still forced to be vegetarians with them. Gong Sun Zhi had always been very careful but how could he have known that Qiu Qian Chi would actually use such an evil plan and put her own blood in the bowls of tea?
Yang Guo was not affected by drinking this bowl of blood tea but the [Closure of the Pressure Points] technique that Gong Sun Zhi had been training bitterly all his life was gone just like that.

He turned his head around in fury and looked at Qiu Qian Chi who had a plate of dates that was used to serve guests on her knees. She was eating them, savouring the taste. She said slowly, “I told you before twenty years ago, this art of the Gong Sun family is hard to learn yet easy to neutralise, it’s not worth practising.”

Fire erupted in Gong Sun Zhi’s eyes and he raised his weapons, dashing forwards towards Qiu Qian Chi. Luu E was alarmed and dashed in front of her mother to protect her when suddenly a gust of wind brushed past her ear; it sounded like some kind of projectile.

Gong Sun Zhi howled. Blood poured down from his right eye and he turned around, dashing out of the hall with his sword and sabre. A trail of blood was left in his wake. His wretched howl was getting further and further away, gradually getting quieter and quieter until silence fell back within the mountain walls of the valley.

Everyone looked at each other, all wondering how Qiu Qian Chi achieved this.

Only Luu E and Yang Guo knew that she had used her date stone spitting kung fu to do this.

When Gong Sun Zhi and Yang Guo were fighting, she had placed seven, eight date stones in her mouth in advance. She saw that Gong Sun Zhi’s martial arts had improved greatly and even if she had made a sneak attack, he would be able to avoid them. Once he’s on his guard, it would be difficult to harm him. Because of this, she waited until he was completely absorbed into the battle before using the blood tea to defeat his [Closure of the Pressure Points] technique. While he was furious, she took the opportunity to suddenly launch her date stone at him. This was the one and only martial art she had and she has trained it bitterly over the years, the power and accuracy of it was not below any of the world’s greatest projectiles. If it weren’t for Luu E dashing forward and blocking her view, not only would both eyes of Gong Sun Zhi’s be blinded, the pressure point between his eyes would have also been struck which would have immediately sent him to his death.

Luu E couldn’t bear this and she stood there stunned for a while before calling out, “Father, father!” She wanted to go after him.

Qiu Qian Chi said sternly, “If you want your father then go, don’t see me ever again.”

Luu E stopped her feet, she was in a difficult position but then she thought about how all this was the fault of her father’s and the suffering that her mother endured was tens of times greater than what he endured. And anyway, her father had long gone and she couldn’t catch up if she wanted to so she stopped and turned around from the door, returning back into the hall slowly with her head hung down silently.

Qiu Qian Chi sat on her chair and looked either side of her, she chuckled, “Great, you’ve all come here for a celebratory drink, won’t everyone’s mood being ruined if we don’t have a drink?” Her icy cold eyes gave everyone goose bumps, they were all afraid that she was going to spit out some kind of strange projectile at without any warning. The people of the valley were all in fear while Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi and the others prepared themselves.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were both surprised with the state that Gong Sun Zhi ended up in. They both gave a long sigh and reached out for each other’s hands, holding it tightly. The two’s thoughts were one and they made their way towards the exit.

When they reached the door, Qiu Qian Chi suddenly shouted out, “Yang Guo, where are you going?”

Yang Guo turned around and made a long bow to her before saying, “Senior Qiu Lao, miss Lu, we’ll be leaving now.” He knew that he didn’t have long to live and so he didn’t say things like ‘see you again’.

Luu E returned the greeting and kept silent in misery.

Qiu Qian Chi’s face was filled with anger and she shouted, “I’ve betrothed my only daughter to you and you dare to not call me mother in law? And you’re leaving just like that?”

Yang Guo was startled and thought, “Though you’ve betrothed your daughter to me, I didn’t say that I accepted.”

Qiu Qian Chi said, “We’ve got everything here, decorations, candles and guests. We’re martial artists, we’ll go straight to the point, you two are getting married today.”

Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others had just seen Yang Guo fight Gong Sun Zhi with his life for Xiao Long Nuu, when they heard Qiu Qian Chi say this they all knew that there was going to be another great show. They all looked at each other, some had a wry smile and some were shaking their heads lightly.

Yang Guo held Xiao Long Nuu’s elbow with his left hand and his right hand held the handle of the ‘Gentleman’ sword. He said, “I am extremely touched by senior Qiu Lao’s offer. But my heart belongs to someone else.” He moved backwards slowly after he said this. He was afraid that Qiu Qian Chi would spit out date stones at them in anger and so he held his sword just in case.

Qiu Qian Chi’s angry eyes swept over Xiao Long Nuu and said coldly, “Huh, that little seductress is indeed beautiful, no wonder both old and young go mad over her.”

Luu E said, “Mother, brother Yang and miss Long have decided to marry each other long ago, I’ll tell you about all the details later on.”

Qiu Qian replied angrily, “What kind of person do you think your mother is? How can I take back what I’ve said? The one named Yang, my daughter is beautiful and she’s more than worthy of you but even if she was an ugly troll, I’m still going to make you marry her today.”

When Ma Guang Zuo heard how unreasonable she was he couldn’t stop himself from laughing and calling out, “This particular couple of this valley are a perfect match, the husband forces a young girl to marry him while the wife forces a young man to marry her daughter and they don’t want anyone else but them, right or wrong?”

Qiu Qian Chi said coldly, “Wrong!”

Ma Guang Zuo opened his mouth and laughed out loud. Suddenly a ‘bo’ sound was heard as a date stone flew towards the heart of his brows, the stone came like lightning and there was no way to avoid it. Ma Guang Zuo lifted his head in shock; a ‘pai’ sound was heard as three of his front teeth fell out. Ma Guang Zuo was furious and roared while he threw himself forwards. Another two ‘bo’ sounds were heard as the ‘Linking Jump’ pressure point on his right lap and the ‘Yang Pass’ pressure point on his left leg was struck. Both his legs went soft and he fell down onto the floor, unable to get up.

Those three date stones were extremely quick. Yang Guo knew that Qiu Qian Chi would make her move when Ma Guang Zuo was laughing and drew his sword to go and save him but it was too late. He picked him up and unsealed his pressure points. Ma Guang Zuo admitted defeat; this old bald woman didn’t move her legs or arms and was able to defeat him just by opening her mouth. He had great respect for her, he spat out his teeth and said with a mouthful of blood, “Old woman, you’re more powerful than me, the one named Ma do not dare to offend you anymore.”

Qiu Qian Chi ignored him and stared at Yang Guo. She said, “You’ve decided to not marry my daughter, right?”

Gong Sun Luu E couldn’t bear to be suffer such embarrassment like this in front of everyone and took out a dagger from her waist. She pointed it at her chest and said loudly, “Mother, if you ask again then I’ll kill myself right in front of your very eyes.”

Qiu Qian Chi opened her mouth and a stone shot out, knocking right into the handle of the dagger. There was great power behind that stone, the dagger flew out and planted itself inches into the wooden pillar, the handle swaying under the candlelight.

Everyone gasped.

Yang Guo knew that his time would be wasted if he remained here for much longer so he flicked his blade with his finger and said clearly with the resonation of the blade, “The lonely rabbit, going east watching west. The clothes are not of new, the person not like that of before.”

He motioned his sword in a flurry and turned around with Xiao Long Nuu’s hand held in his hand.

When Luu E heard the last two sentences, ‘the clothes are not of new, the person not like that of before’, her hurt became even greater and she took off the ragged gown that Yang Guo gave her. She went to him and offered it back to him, saying, “Brother Yang, it’s better to have old clothes.”

Yang Guo said, “Thank you.” He stretched out his hand to take it. He and Xiao Long Nuu knew that Luu E was deliberately standing in front of them so her mother wouldn’t be able to attack them with the date stones. Xiao Long Nuu had a faint smile on her face and nodded her head, showing her thanks. Luu E pointed her lips to the side, telling them to leave quickly.

Qiu Qian Chi mumbled ‘the clothes are not of new, the person not like that of before’ a few times before she suddenly raised her voice and said, “Yang Guo, you don’t want my daughter but don’t tell me that you don’t want your life as well?”

Yang Guo gave a bitter laugh and retreated another step, stepping out of the hall.

Xiao Long Nuu’s heart trembled and said, “Wait.” She asked clearly, “Senior Qiu Lao, have you got an antidote to the passion flower poison?”

Luu E has been thinking about this all along. Yang Guo gave the only passionless pill that her father had to Xiao Long Nuu while his poison has yet to be cleared, the only hope that he had was her mother who might have a way to cure this poison. But she knew that her mother would use this to blackmail Yang Guo, to force him into marrying her; this is why she hasn’t mentioned this yet but in this urgent situation she could no longer care about her embarrassment and turned herself around, saying, “Mother, if it weren’t for brother Yang, you would still be trapped down in that gave. Brother Yang has not done anything to offend you. We need to pay back this kindness, please cure his poison.”

Qiu Qian Chi chuckled, “Repay kindness with kindness? Repay vengeance with vengeance? How can the world’s vengeance and kindness be distinguished like that? Was that thanks I got from Gong Sun Zhi?”

Luu E said loudly, “I hate men whose hearts are not loyal, men who likes new and forgets those of old. If the one named Yang Guo wants to leave his lover of old and marry me, I’d rather die than marry him.”

Those words rang in Qiu Qian Chi’s ears but after a thought, she immediately knew what her daughter was trying to do, her daughter loved him dearly and if he agreed to marry her, she would leap for joy. It was because the situation was pressing, her daughter was just hoping that she would save him first before doing anything else.

Jin Lun Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi and the others looked at each other in amusement as they watched this second show of a forcing marriage. Fa Wang now knew that Yang Guo had been poisoned and he was feeling pleased. He hoped that Yang Guo would stick to his guns, refusing to marry Luu E to save his life but he was worried about the craftiness of Yang Guo who might lie about agreeing to the marriage to get the antidote and then refuse; but then he thought that even if Yang Guo tries something, he’s there to see through him and alert Qiu Qian Chi of his tricks.

Qiu Qian Chi’s eyes swept across all the guests slowly and then said, “Yang Guo, amongst the people here they are those who wishes that you’ll live and those who wishes that you die. Think about whether you want to live or die.”

Yang Guo placed his hand around Xiao Long Nuu’s waist and said with a clear voice, “If either of us can’t marry each other then we’d rather die together.”

Xiao Long Nuu smiled sweetly and said, “Yes!” The two of them were as one, their love for each other was so deep that life and death was no longer anything important.

Qiu Qian Chi did not know understand Xiao Long Nuu and said, “If I don’t save him then he will die, do you understand this? Do you know that he can only live for another thirty six days?”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “If you do agree to save him and let us be together for a few more years then of course we’ll be extremely touched. If you refuse, we’ve still got thirty six days together, that’s fine as well! In any case, if he dies, I won’t carry on living.” Her beautiful face showed no signs of concern as she said this.

Qiu Qian Chi looked at her and then looked at Yang Guo; she saw the two staring at each other, their love for each other so passionate, their devotion for each other so intense, this is something that she has never experienced nor even thought about before; so such devoted lovers actually exists in this world. When she saw how devoted they were, she couldn’t help but muse over her and Gong Sun Zhi and the way they ended up. She gave a long sigh and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Luu E went to her and threw herself into her arms, she cried, “Mother, just cure him please, we’ll go and find uncle, he misses you, doesn’t he?”

Qiu Qian Chi’s tears stirred her compassion but then she immediately thought about the words in her brother Qiu Qian Ren’s letter; “Ever since first brother died under the hands of Guo Jing and Huang Rong on Iron Palm Peak…”

She herself was crippled and her brother had become a monk, saying something like ‘I dropped my knife of slaughter and followed the ways of Buddha’, does this mean that her brother’s death can never be avenged? Yang Guo’s martial arts weren’t weak, though he refuses to marry her daughter she could order him to help her avenge her brother.

She then said, “There were actually quite a lot of passionless pills but apart from three pills, the rest have been ruined by me when I soaked them in frosty arsenic water. Out of the three pills, that bastard Gong Sun Zhi took one, another he took from me when I was drunk and that was the pill that you gave to that girl. There is only one pill remaining in this world. This pill has been with me for over twenty years. If one doesn’t prepare a passionless pill for themselves while living in the Passionless Valley, then they are not in complete control of the fate of their lives. Right now, I haven’t got long to live and my daughter might not stay here for much longer…” She then took out the last remaining passionless pill on this earth slowly and broke it in two with her nail. She took half a pill and placed it in her palm before saying, “I can give you the pill. You don’t want to marry my daughter, fine but you have to promise to do one thing for me.”

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu looked at each other, both surprised with her sudden kindness. The two weren’t worried about life and death but since there’s a way to live for them, of course they’ll be happy to take this chance and both said at the same time, “We’ll do our best to fulfil senior’s request.”

Qiu Qian Chi said slowly, “I want you to get me the heads of two people.”

When Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu heard this, they both thought that she wanted them to kill Gong Sun Zhi. Yang Guo had no good feelings towards Gong Sun Zhi and now that he’s lost an eye and his [Closure of the Pressure Point] has been destroyed, it won’t be hard to kill him even though he still has his other martial arts remaining. But he was Gong Sun Luu E’s father, this girl loves Yang Guo deeply, killing her father might cause great distress for her and he couldn’t help but hesitate a little.

Xiao Long Nuu thought that although Gong Sun Zhi was evil, he was still the one who saved her life but from Qiu Qian Chi’s expression, if she doesn’t kill him Qiu Qian Chi would never agree to give the pill to Yang Guo.

Qiu Qian Chi saw that they had a troubled expression on the faces and said coldly, “I don’t know what ties these two people have with you but I must kill them.” She then flung half of the pill lightly upwards in her hand.

From her tone, it didn’t appear that she was talking about Gong Sun Zhi so Yang Guo asked, “With whom does senior Qiu Lao have a feud with? Whose head do you want me to take?”

Qiu Qian Chi said, “Didn’t you hear that scoundrel when he was reading out that letter? The names of the people who killed my brother are Guo Jing and Huang Rong.”

Yang Guo was delighted and called out, “That’s great. These two people killed my father, even if senior Qiu Lao didn’t ask I’ll still kill them.”

Qiu Qian Chi’s heart trembled and said, “Is this true?”

Yang Guo pointed to Jin Lun Fa Wang and said, “This reverend has cross paths with those two people. I have told him about this matter before.”

Qiu Qian Chi looked at Fa Wang and he nodded his head and said, “But at that time, that brother Yang helped Guo Jing and Huang Rong to oppose me.”

Xiao Long Nuu and Luu E were both furious with Fa Wang for trying to stir trouble time after time, they both stared at him with anger.

Jin Lun Fa Wang ignored them and smiled, “Brother Yang, did such a thing happen?”

Yang Guo said, “Yes. Once I’ve avenged my father I’ll need to exchange a few stances with reverend.”

Jin Lun Fa Wang folded his arms and said, “Great, great!”

Qiu Qian Chi held up her left hand and said to Yang Guo, “I don’t care if this is true or false, just take this pill.”

Yang Guo went forwards to accept it when he saw that it was just half a pill but then immediately understood, he laughed, “I need to get their heads in exchange for the other half?”

Qiu Qian Chi nodded and said, “You really are clever, you don’t need anyone to tell you.”

Yang Guo thought, “It’s better to take half a pill than take nothing.” He took the half pill and swallowed it.

Qiu Qian Chi said, “There is only one passionless pill left in the whole wide world. You’ve just taken half of it. The other half will be kept in an extremely secretive place. If you bring the heads of Guo Jing and Huang Rong in eighteen days time then I’ll give you the other half. Even if you hold me at knifepoint and threaten me or throw me down that cave again I will never give it to you. The word of Qiu Qian Chi’s word is as solid as rock, I’ve never taken back what I’ve said. To all the guests, please leave at your own accord. Master Yang, miss Long, we’ll meet again in eighteen days time.” She then closed her eyes and ignored everyone.

Xiao Long Nuu asked, “Why have you set a deadline of eighteen days?”

Qiu Qian Chi said with her eyes closed, “The passion flower poison in his body originally would have reacted in thirty six days time. Now that he’s taken half a passionless pill, the poison has all come together and is now concentrated in one place; the poison will now react twice as quick. The poison will be cleared if he takes the other half of the antidote eighteen days later, otherwise… otherwise… haha!” After she said this, she waved out her hand, ordering everyone to go quickly.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu both knew that this person does not listen to reason and so the two bid farewell to Luu E and quickly left the Narcissus manor. Yang Guo couldn’t be bothered to find a boat to get out of the valley and instead, he and Xiao Long Nuu utilized their lightness kung fu and left the valley by going over the mountains.

Yang Guo had stayed in this valley for three days only but within these three days, he had experience many near deaths. Now that he’s left this place of danger with his lover, it was like he was now in a different world.

It was now dawn. The two of them stood on top of the mountain ridge shoulder to shoulder and looked down at the valley. Their eyes were filled with green as the morning light dazzled on the luxuriant emerald forest. They were filled with boundless joy, their hearts floating and swaying around as if they were one with the clouds.

Yang Guo held Xiao Long Nuu’s hand and the two walked up to a locust tree. He said, “Gu Gu…”

Xiao Long Nuu lent on him and smiled, “I don’t think you need to call me Gu Gu again.”

Yang Guo stopped viewing her as his master long ago, the reason he called her ‘Gu Gu’ was because he was used to it. When he heard this, his heart was filled with a sweet feeling and stared into her black eyes. He said, “What should I call you?”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “Call me whatever you want, it’s up to you.”

Yang Guo thought for a little while and said, “The happiest time of my life was when we were in the tomb together. At that time, I called you Gu Gu. Just let me call you Gu Gu until I die.”

Xiao Long Nuu laughed, “I used to spank you in those days, were they happy days?”

Yang Guo stretched out his arms and embraced her. Yang Guo’s soul was completely enchanted as he smelt the fragrance of Xiao Long Nuu’s scent mixed up with the fragrance of the surrounding flowers and trees, he seemingly lost himself and said softly, “Let’s just live like this happily for the next eighteen days, we don’t need to go and kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Living happily and peacefully for eighteen days is better than rushing about and fighting with our lives.”

Xiao Long Nuu smiled and said, “We’ll do whatever you say. Before, I wanted you to listen to me but from now, I’ll listen to you.”

She has always had an icy cold disposition but now she was filled with love, she felt warmth all over her and just felt that the greatest thing in life is to listen to Yang Guo with her heart and soul.

Yang Guo looked at her startled and said slowly, “Why are there tears in your eyes?”

Xiao Long Nuu took his hand and stroked her cheek gently with the back of his hand. She said tenderly, “I… I don’t know.” After a while, she said, “It must be because I love you too much.”

Yang Guo said, “I know what you are sad about.”

Xiao Long Nuu lifted her head and suddenly tears burst from her eyes as she threw herself into his arms. She cried, “Guo Er, you… you… we’ve only got eighteen days, how is that enough?”

Yang Guo patted her shoulder lightly and said softly, “Yes, it’s not enough.”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “I want you to treat me like this forever, I want a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousands years.”

Yang Guo lifted her head and kissed her on her pale red lips. He said resolutely, “Fine, we’ll go kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong.” When he tasted her tears on his tongue, the love is his heart was stirred and his whole body felt like as if it wanted to explode.

Suddenly, a voice laughed out loudly from some high place to the left of them that said, “You don’t have to be that intimate.”

Yang Guo turned his head around and saw Jin Lun Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi, Xiao Xiang Zi, Ni Mo Xing and Ma Guang Zuo standing shoulder to shoulder about a hundred feet away. The person who said this was Jin Lun Fa Wang. When the two left the valley hurriedly together, Fa Wang and the others followed. The two of them were oblivious to everything around them, they didn’t see or hear anything about from each other and when the two stood below the locust tree acting lovingly towards each other, they did not notice that Fa Wang and the others watching them from faraway.

Yang Guo recalled the many times that Fa Wang tried to stir trouble for him in the valley which almost made him lose his life on many occasions, if he could turn back time he would chose to kill Fa Wang when he had the chance when Fa Wang was recuperating on the mountain top instead of helping him to recuperate. He’s meant to be a great master of this generation yet he repays kindness with ingratitude.

Xiao Long Nuu saw the fiery anger in Yang Guo’s eyes and said, “Ignore them, those people will never experience a second of the happiness that we have.”

Ma Guang Zuo called out, “Brother Yang, miss Long, let’s leave. There’s nothing around here in these wild mountains, no wine, no meat, it’s boring around here.”

Yang Guo just wanted to spend some quiet time with Xiao Long Nuu but these people had to come around here and disturb them. However, he knew that Ma Guang Zuo meant well and so he said clearly, “Brother Ma, you go first, I’ll be there in a second.”

Ma Guang Zuo said, “Fine, just hurry up when you’ve finished.”

Jin Lun Fa Wang laughed, “Who needs you to worry about them? They just want to spend eighteen days here in the wild mountainside.”

Everyone had heard Qiu Qian Chi talk about how Yang Guo’s poison would react in eighteen days. When Ma Guang Zuo heard this he couldn’t stop himself from getting angry and grabbed hold of Fa Wang’s sleeve, cursing him, “Bald scoundrel, you really are evil! We came here together with brother Yang, you should have helped him but you didn’t and instead tried to stir things, what are you trying to do?”

Fa Wang gave a wry smile and chuckled, “Are you going to let go?”

Ma Guang Zuo said angrily, “I’m not letting go, what are you going to do about it?”

Fa Wang threw his right fist towards his face.

Ma Guang Zuo said, “Fine, you want to fight?” He raised his massive hand to grab Fa Wang’s fist but this fist of Fa Wang’s was a decoy, he left hand suddenly came out and pushed him on the back. He used soft and hard force at the same time, causing the great body of Ma Guang Zuo to immediately fly away and down the mountainside. Luckily for Ma Guang Zuo, the mountainside was covered in long green grass and he was thick skinned so he wasn’t seriously injured. However, his forehead was covered in green bruises. He roared and climbed back up.

When Yang Guo saw the two starting to fight, he knew that Ma Guang Zuo would suffer under Fa Wang’s hands so he went forwards to help him but it was too late, he had moved just three steps and already Ma Guang Zuo had been sent tumbling downwards.

Though Ma Guang Zuo wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, he knew how to protect his life. He saw that he would not be able to beat that monk face to face and he cried and hollered out, “Oh no, oh no, that bald bastard’s broken my arm.”

Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing did not like the fact that Jin Lun Fa Wang had been proclaimed the First Protector of Mongolia by Khubilai, they were now even more angry with him when they saw how brutish he was and the two glanced at each other.

Xiao Xiang Zi said, “Reverend’s martial arts are indeed excellent, you are worthy of the title of the First Protector of Mongolia.”

Fa Wang said, “You’re too kind.”

Fa Wang knew that the two wanted to make their move on him right now while Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were also edging forwards to make their move. As to what Yin Ke Xi was thinking, Fa Wang wasn’t too sure. He knew his martial arts were strong but if the five great fighters join up together and attacks him all at once, not only will he not be able to fight them off but his life will also be threatened. While his mouth replied dutifully, in his mind he was thinking of a way to escape.

While Ma Guang Zuo was calling and hollering out, he was making his way slowly towards Fa Wang. Suddenly, he threw out a fist and struck the back of Fa Wang’s head. With Fa Wang’s abilities, this sneaky attack of Ma Guang Zuo’s would never have succeeded but at this moment in time, he was just concentrating on Yang Guo, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others. The idiot he had ignored actually managed to strike him on the back of his head. This attack was hammer like, hammering him into a starry daze. In his anger, Fa Wang sent his elbow backwards striking Ma Guang Zuo squarely in the chest. Ma Guang Zuo called out and his body fell forwards right onto the shoulders of Fa Wang. Fa Wang’s legs bent a little and he dashed straight down the mountainside.

Yang Guo was the first one to chase after Fa Wang as everyone shouted out. Though Fa Wang had a great three hundred ‘jin’ body on his shoulders, he still moved like the wind. Yang Guo, Xiao Long Nuu, Ni Mo Xing and the others all had first-rate lightness kung fu but since Fa Wang made the first move, they were not able to catch up with him for the first hundred feet. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu increased their speed and gradually got closer to him.

Fa Wang suddenly stopped and he turned his head around. He laughed, “Fine, are you all going to come up on me at once or will it be one on one?” He then picked up Ma Guang Zuo and placed his head next to a large rock by the mountainside, showing that he was about to send Ma Guang Zuo into the rock.

Yang Guo went around him to first block his way before saying, “If you kill him then of course we’ll all attack you at once.”

Fa Wang laughed and threw Ma Guang Zuo to the ground before saying, “Do you think I’ll trouble myself with this kind of idiot?”

He then sent his arms into his gown and out came a white light in his left hand and a yellow light in his left, he had taken out his silver and bronze wheel. He clashed the wheels together and the sounds resonated throughout the valley. He said arrogantly, “Who’s first?”

Yin Ke Xi laughed, “I’m just a merchant, I’ll just watch by the side and watch everyone test out each other’s skills.”

Fa Wang thought, “That’s one less strong foe for me to face.”

Xiao Xiang Zi thought that he should let someone else go first and allow them to wear Fa Wang down a bit before he steps in and finish him off so he said, “Brother Ni, your martial arts are better than mine, please go ahead!”

When Ni Mo Xing heard his words, he knew what Xiao Xiang Zi was planning but he thought about how good his martial arts were, he was matchless in India and has never met a match in his life, even if he can’t beat Fa Wang he wouldn’t lose to him so he went over to the side and casually grabbed hold of a large rock. He shouted, “Fine, I’ll test out your two circular things.” He picked up the large rock and smashed towards Fa Wang’s chest. This rock was at least three hundred ‘jin’ and everyone was startled when they saw him using this to fight.

Jin Lun Fa Wang did not know that this dwarf would possess such strength and would actually use a large rock to attack him. He didn’t dare to meet it head on and dodged to the side and swept his bronze wheel across the back of Ni Mo Xing. Ni Mo Xing used the large rock to block the attack. The wheel and rock collided with each other and sparks flew everywhere with the sound of the collision echoing throughout the valley.

Fa Wang’s left arm felt slightly numb and he thought, “This dark dwarf’s martial arts are extremely strange, I cannot be careless. But even if he was stronger, how long can he last holding up such a large stone?” So he motioned his wheels, circling it around Ni Mo Xing’s body.

Yang Guo helped Ma Guang Zuo up and then stood next to Xiao Long Nuu. Both were surprised with Ni Mo Xing’s great strength and his strange martial arts.

The two of them battled for a while before suddenly Ni Mo Xing shouted out, “A Po Xing!” He lifted the large rock and shot it forwards towards Fa Wang.

This throw was one of the greatest skills of Indian monks, it was called [Elephant Shooting of Shijia]. In the scriptures it recorded; ‘When Shijiamouni (Buddha) was still a prince, he left the city one day and found a elephant blocking his path. He lifted the elephant by the legs and shot it up into the sky. The elephant came back down three days later and when it landed it made a deep ditch, now called the Shooting Elephant Ditch. This was of course just a story that just describes the unimaginable wonders of Buddhism. The later Indian martial artists developed a powerful external martial art that allowed the user to shoot large objects and was subsequently named after this story. Ni Mo Xing called upon the divine strength of this technique and shot the boulder towards Fa Wang. The large rock travelled extremely fast towards Fa Wang, creating a ferocious wind as it went forwards.

Though Fa Wang was greatly skilled, he still didn’t dare to receive such a large heavy object head on and moved out of the way. Ni Mo Xing suddenly flew up and struck the large stone with his palms, sending the stone back towards Fa Wang once again. This second attack was much stronger than the first because it was the combined force of the second propulsion from his palms with the remaining force from the first attack.

Fa Wang was better at martial arts than Ni Mo Xing but because he has never seen this [Elephant Shooting of Shijia], he was actually forced on the back foot by Ni Mo Xing and when he saw the rock coming towards him again, he could only move out of the way once again. Ni Mo Xing pressed his advantage and the force of the rock become more and more ferocious as he repeatedly increased the force behind it.

Fa Wang thought, “If this continues I’m going to lose to this dark dwarf, I need to think of something else. Luckily he’s up by himself, when I kill him that zombie face would not dare to come up against me. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu have been poisoned and won’t be able to use their [Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Swordplay] smoothly.”

Suddenly, the thunderous sounds of horses were heard from nearby. Flags fluttered in the air as a group of men on horseback rushed towards them. Fa Wang and Ni Mo Xing were in the middle of a heated battle and had no time to look. Yang Guo and the others saw it was a division of Mongolian soldiers armed with bows and sabres on horseback. About a hundred feet from Yang Guo and the others, the leader of the division held up his hand to order his men to stop proceeding. The soldiers all reigned in their horses.

Below the flag, a person watched the battle on his horse for a while before riding up towards them and called out, “Stop, stop!” This person wore a yellow gown and carried an iron bow, it was the Mongolian prince Khubilai.

When Ni Mo Xing heard his voice, he struck the rock with his palms and sent it rolling down the mountainside. Vast amounts of dust and dirt were thrown up as the boulder rolled along down the slope.

Khubilai leapt off the horse and held Fa Wang in his left hand and Ni Mo Xing in his right. He laughed, “So you two are exchanging a few stances here, it really was a great spectacle.” He knew that the two were having a real battle here but he said this to keep the faces of both sides. Fa Wang gave a wry laugh and said, “This brother Ni’s martial arts has its good points, a rare sight, a rare sight.”
Ni Mo Xing’s eyes glared at him and said, “I thought the First Protector of Mongolia would be someone extraordinary, but you’re just… bah!”

Fa Wang was furious and thought, “Do you really think I can’t beat you?” He was just about to say something when Khubilai laughed, “This place has everything, but where’s the wine? Men, bring wine! We’ll drink three bowls here!”

Mongolians have always lived in the wild and made the world their home, eating and drinking outside in the wild was no different to eating in a hall to them. One of the guards bought some wine and food to them and laid a rug on the floor.

Khubilai looked at Xiao Long Nuu and was shocked, “There’s actually a girl with such beauty here on this earth.” He saw Yang Guo and her holding hands, standing next to each other intimately, he asked Yang Guo, “Who’s this girl?”

Yang Guo said, “This is miss Long, she is my master and she is also my wife.”

After the life and death experiences at the Passionless Valley, all the world’s customs and traditions now meant completely nothing to him, he deliberately wanted everyone in the world to know that I, Yang Guo married my master.

Mongolians weren’t as strict as Han’s when it comes to adhering to custom and traditions, when Khubilai heard this he wasn’t surprised but instead he had great respect for Xiao Long Nuu when he heard that she was the one who taught Yang Guo martial arts, he laughed, “You two are indeed a match made in heaven, excellent, excellent. Everyone, let’s all congratulate these two.” He raised his bowl of wine and drank it all in one go. Fa Wang gave a wry laugh before he too raised his bowl and drank it all in one go. The others followed and Ma Guang Zuo drank three bowls in one go.

Xiao Long Nuu did not hate or like Mongolians but when she heard Khubilai praising her and Yang Guo as a great match, she was wild with joy. She drank half a bowl of wine and her face became even more beautiful. She thought, “All those Hans say that I and Guo Er can’t marry each other while this Mongolian prince kept on saying excellent, excellent. It looks like that Mongolians are more knowledgeable than the Hans.”

Khubilai laughed, “I missed everyone here while you were gone for these last three days. However, matters at Xiang Yang were getting urgent and so I was unable to continue my hosting for our esteemed guests. I have left requests for you at the camp to meet up with the army at Xiang Yang to aid us. Things can go a lot smoother now that we’ve met here.”

Fa Wang asked, “My highness, how have our army being doing in our attacks of Xiang Yang?”

Khubilai knitted his brows and said, “Luu Wen De, the general who’s guarding Xiang Yang is just a mediocre general, the person I’m worried about is Guo Jing.”

Yang Guo’s heart trembled and asked, “Is Guo Jing really at Xiang Yang?”

Khubilai said, “This Guo Jing is my senior, he was my father’s sworn brother and was my grandfather Genghis Khan’s most beloved general. This person was both brave and wise, he commanded an army towards Xi Yu and used an extraordinary plan to succeed in his task. My father once said to me, ‘The Song’s courts are led by an unable king and scheming ministers, they have timid generals and a weak army, though they have great numbers they will not be able to defend against our skilled army but if you come across Guo Jing, you must be careful.’ Father’s foresight was indeed right, our army has attacked Xiang Yang many times but all attempts have been unsuccessful and the reason behind all this is Guo Jing.”

Yang Guo stood up and said, “That Guo Jing is the person who killed my father, I would like to request the order to assassinate him.”

Khubilai said with joy, “I have gathered all you heroes together because of this exact task. But from what I hear, Guo Jing is the best martial artist out of all the Hans and he has got many able people under his command. I have ordered many warriors to go assassinate him but all have failed, they were either captured or killed, none of them returned. Brother Yang might be brave but it will be difficult for you to achieve this on your own. I want to send everyone here to go into Xiang Yang and work together to kill him. Once this person is killed, Xiang Yang will fall.”

Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others all stood up, they crossed their arms and said, “We will use every ounce of our strength to follow your highness’ order.”

Khubilai was delighted and said, “It doesn’t matter who kills Guo Jing, those who goes along to help will also be greatly rewarded. However, the Khan will be informed of the person who killed Guo Jing and be given the title of viscount and be called The Greatest Warrior of Mongolia.

Xiao Xiang Zi, Ni Mo Xing and the others did not care about the viscount position but if they got the title of The Greatest Warrior of Mongolia, they’ll be famous throughout the world, achieving their life’s dream. The influence of the Mongolia army has spread far and wide, they have countless miles of territories in the western regions and have taken two thirds of the land in China. It would take a fast horse a year to travel from the centre of their empire to its boundaries, if they had the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia, all of the world’s heroes bar none will be in awe of them. Everyone’s spirits were motivated and even Fa Wang reacted to this news, there was a glint in his eyes when he heard this.

Yang Guo gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. Xiao Long Nuu looked at him lovingly but she was thinking, “Who cares about the title of viscount, the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia? I just hope that you can stay alive and well.”

Everyone drank a few bowls of wine and then stood up. A Mongolian soldier led a few horses to them and Yang Guo, Xiao Long Nuu, Fa Wang and the others leapt on the horses and followed Khubilai, riding southwards towards Xiang Yang.

It was a site of destruction along the way; nine out of ten buildings were empty, the ground was covered in corpses, whenever the Mongolian soldiers see Hans, they would just kill with unrestrained violence. Yang Guo was furious when he saw this and wanted to stop them but he stopped because of Khubilai, he thought, “The Mongolians are so violent and cruel and treat my Han people worse than animals, after I’ve kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong I’m going to kill a few of the most evillest Mongolian soldiers to vent my anger.”

A few days later, they arrived outside of Xiang Yang. The two sides have now been battling for around a month now and the ground was covered with the remnants of fighting, broken spears laid strewn across the floor, blood and bodies covered the ground.

When the general and commanders of the army outside Xiang Yang learnt of the fourth prince Khubilai’s arrival , they all went to greet him thirty miles outside of Xiang Yang. The sounds of the horses’ hoofs and the clanging of the soldiers’ armour reflected the grandeur of the army. When the generals and commanders saw Khubilai’s banner, they all leapt off their horses and crouched down by the roadside.

Khubilai rode up near them and reigned in his horse. He took a look around and didn’t say anything for a long while. He then gave a ‘humph’ grunt and said, “Xiang Yang city has been under attack for so long yet you still have yet to capture it, isn’t that a disgrace to the mighty Mongolian army?”

All the generals and commanders replied at the same time, “We deserve to die, please punish us your highness.”

Khubilai whipped his horse and galloped forward. All the generals and commanders kept themselves down on the ground for a long time, not daring to get up.

Yang Guo saw that Khubilai was very peaceful and easy going towards him and Fa Wang and the others but when he was disciplining his army he was very strict. He thought, “The Mongolian army is so strong and so disciplined, how can the Songs defend against them?” His brows knitted as he thought about this.

Early next morning, the Mongolians attacked Xiang Yang once again. Arrows and stones were sent towards the city of Xiang Yang like rain and hail. The soldiers at the front of the attack placed ladders around the city of Xiang Yang and climbed up. The city was guarded tightly, groups of eight soldiers held a wooden ram in the arms and were knocking the ladders off the city walls. After a prolonged attack, a hundred or so Mongolian soldiers eventually managed to get themselves on top of the city walls. The Mongolian army hollered and another hundred or so soldiers climbed up towards the city walls for support. The watchman’s rattle rang urgently and a group of archers appeared, shooting arrows down on the advance, forcing them back. Another group of Song soldiers appeared with torches in their hands and they burned the ladders, sending the Mongolians on the ladders plummeting down to the ground.

The city walls were covered with shouts and calls as a group of men appeared along the city walls with long spears and sharp sabres, attacking the Mongolians who had climbed up to the city walls. This group of men did not wear the uniform of the Song army, some wore short black garments while some wore long green gowns. When they attacked, they didn’t attack in a group; their movements were swift and showed that they possessed martial arts. The Mongolians who had managed to get themselves on top of the city walls were all great warriors of the Mongolian army and has never met a match before but when they came across this group of Hans, they were all killed. Some died on the city walls while others fell to their deaths. There was an especially commanding Han in the Song army. This person wore a grey gown and was fighting empty handed, he scoured the walls and when he saw Han soldiers in distress, he would immediately dash over and help them. Wherever his palms went, Mongolian soldiers fell, it was like a tiger that was thrown amongst a herd of sheep.

Khubilai was commanding this battle himself and when he saw how brave and heroic this Han was, he was stunned and didn’t say anything. After a while he sighed and said, “Out of all the warriors in the world, who can compare with this man?”

Yang Guo was standing besides Khubilai and asked, “Your highness, do you know who that is?”

Khubilai was startled and said, “Could it be that he’s Guo Jing?”

Yang Guo said, “Yes!”

By this time, most of the hundreds of Mongolians soldiers who had climbed up the city walls had been killed, only three brave jagen (100 man squandron) sergeants had survived and they were still fighting on in the corner with their spears and shields. A noyan (rank in Mongolian army, leader of a division of 10,000) below blew their horn and another group of soldiers attacked the city walls, intending to bring the three remaining jagen sergeants back down.

Guo Jing roared and stepped forward. One of the jagen sergeants pierced his spear forwards towards him. Guo Jing grabbed the spear and pushed forwards. He then kicked out at the shield of the other jagen sergeant’s with his left leg. Though these two jagen sergeants had great valour, how can they resist the divine strength from such a push and kick? They somersaulted down the wall and landed to their deaths.

The third jagen sergeant was fairly old and had grey hair. He knew that today was the day when he would meet his maker and just slashed his long sabre wildly like a mad tiger. Guo Jing stretched out his left hand and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding the sabre. He was about to chop down with his right hand when he suddenly stopped in alarm. The jagen sergeant recognised Guo Jing and called out, “Jin Da Fu Mao (Title given to Guo Jing when he was betrothed to Wah Jeun the Mongolian princess, can’t think of a translation right now), it’s you!”

He was actually one of the soldiers that accompanied Guo Jing when he was sent conquer the western regions. When Huang Rong made the plan to take Sa Ma Er Han, he was amongst the first warriors who made the first attack on the city.

Guo Jing recalled his past memories and said, “You are E Er Duo?”

The jagen sergeant cried when he saw that Guo Jing remembered his name and he called out, “Yes, yes it’s me.”

Guo Jing said, “Fine, I’m going to spare you life today on what happened in the past. If I capture you again, there will be no mercy.” He turned to one of his aides and said, “Get a rope and send him back down!”

Two soldiers tied a rope around E Er Duo’s waist and sent him back down.

E Er Duo was a famous warrior amongst the Mongolian army, when the Mongolian soldiers saw him being lowered down on a rope by the Song army, they were all surprised, they didn’t know what had happened and retreated a few hundred feet. The Song soldiers at the top of the city stopped firing their arrows and the two sides ceased the battle for the time being.

When E Er Duo got back down, he turned to Guo Jing and bowed to him on the ground. He said clearly, “Since Jin Dao Fu Ma is here, servant here will not dare to cause trouble again.”

Guo Jing stood at the top of the wall with a commanding aura around him and shouted out, “The commander of the Mongols, listen: years ago the Mongols and Hans worked together to rid the Jins, why are you Mongols now invading our land and killing our citizens? We have ten times as more citizens as you Mongols have, if you don’t quickly retreat then we’ll gather our armies and kill the hundred of thousands of soldiers you have, not even leaving them with a body that can be buried.” He spoke in Mongolian with great vigour. Though the wall was high and there was a large distance between the two armies, the Mongolian soldiers could every single word clearly and they couldn’t stop themselves from looking at each other pale faced.

A noyan led E Er Duo to Khubilai and told him what had happened. E Er Duo told Khubilai about how he followed Guo Jing to the expedition to the west and described how the Jin Dao Fu Ma used his troops like a god, how he subdued and defeated the enemy, explaining all this with great enthusiasm.

Khubilai’s face turned heavy and shouted, “Execute him!”

E Er Dou called out, “Please, I’m not guilty!”

The noyan said, “Please your highness, this E Er Dou has achieved many great deeds for our army…”

Khubilai waved his hand and four guards came. They took E Er Dou away and executed him, bringing his head back to Khubilai. All the generals trembled with fear.

Khubilai said to the noyan, “Apart from the money to E Er Duo’s family for his services to the army, give his wife ten ‘jin’ of gold, thirty slaves and three hundred livestock.”

The noyan was puzzled but replied, “Yes, yes.”

Khubilai said, “I’ve killed him yet I’m also rewarding his family, you do not understand this, do you?”

All the generals bowed to him and said, “Please enlighten us your highness.”

Khubilai said clearly, “That jagen sergeant bowed down to Guo Jing and talked about how powerful Guo Jing is, shouldn’t he die for disturbing the morale of the soldiers? But he was brave and led the attacks, he fought with his life up until he reached the final man, shouldn’t he be rewarded?” All of the generals bowed to him.

But after this event, the Mongolian army’s morale was low. Khubilai knew that if he continues to battle on today, he would just suffer more loses. He was exasperated when he saw the hundreds of corpses of his experienced spirited soldiers lying across the battlefield. He then looked at the fortified wall of Xiang Yang, it was guarded tightly and there was no way to break through, he couldn’t stop himself from giving out a sigh. He immediately gave the order to retreat back forty miles.

Two of his guards looked at each other and both said, “Servant would like to share the burdens of your highness and will go to dampen the morale of the Songs.” They leapt onto a horse and galloped towards the city. The two mounted their bows and shot the arrows towards Guo Jing.

The two were skilled in riding and their archery skills were accurate, their horse galloped like the wind and the arrows were shot out like lightning. By the time cries were heard from both the top and bottom of the city walls, the arrows had reached Guo Jing’s chest and stomach. It appeared that Guo Jing had no way to avoid the arrows but he gathered his hands towards himself and grabbed the arrows. He then raised his hands and shot the arrows back down. Before the two guards had turned their horses around, the arrows had arrived and it pierced through the chests. The two fell onto the floor. The Song army at the top of the city wall cheered thunderously.

Khubilai was not pleased and ordered his men north. The army had travelled for a few miles when Yang Guo said, “There is no need to be troubled your highness, I will now go to the city to take Guo Jing’s life.”

Khubilai shook his head and said, “That Guo Jing is both valiant and wise, he indeed does live up to his reputation. This matter is more troublesome than I thought it would be now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Yang Guo said, “I have lived with Guo Jing for many years and I have helped him before, he will have no suspicions towards me. There’s a saying; a spear out in the open is easy to dodge but a arrow in the dark is hard to avoid.”

Khubilai said, “Just now when you were standing next to me watching the battle, you were afraid that he would recognise you from the top of the city’s walls?”

Yang Guo said, “I was wary of this so when you were attacking the city, miss Long and I wore hats to cover our faces and fur garments to gather our bodies, he would not be able to recognise us.”

Khubilai said, “Well then, I hope you succeed. I will keep my word about the rewards.”

Yang Guo casually thanked him and he was about to turn around to Xiao Long Nuu to leave with her when he saw Jin Lun Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Ke Xi and the others all with a strange expression. His mind lit up, “These people are afraid that I’ll get the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia if I succeed in killing Guo Jing, they’ll definitely try to stop me.” He turned to Khubilai and said, “Your highness, I have something to tell you. The reason I am going to assassinate Guo Jing is because I want to avenge my father’s death and because I need his head in exchange for an antidote to save my life. If I succeed in helping your highness, I cannot accept the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia.”

Khubilai asked, “Why?”

Yang Guo said, “My martial arts can’t compare with these people, how can I be the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia? I will only dare to make my move if your highness promises me this.”

Khubilai heard him say this with great sincerity and thought that this really was what he wanted. He then looked at the expression of the others and then knew what he meant by this. He said, “Since you’ve decided like this, I can’t change your mind. I will not force you.”

When Fa Wang and the others heard this, they indeed did show signs of relief.

Yang Guo turned his horse around and headed for Xiang Yang with Xiao Long Nuu. They took off the disguises along the way and dressed themselves back into Han clothing. It was beginning to get dark by the time they reached the walls of the city and when they got there, a closed gate greeted them. Soldiers with torches with patrolling the city walls.

Yang Guo called out, “My name is Yang Guo, I’ve come to see Guo Jing master Guo.”

The general who was guarding the city walls heard his calls and saw that he was just accompanied with a girl. He immediately went to tell Guo Jing of the news.

After a while, two youngsters arrived at the top of the city wall and looked down at them. One of them called out, “So it’s brother Yang. There are only two of you?”

When Yang Guo saw the Wu brothers he thought, “When Guo Jing killed my father, I wonder whether or not the Wu brother’s father was there to help him?”

He said, “Big brother Wu, second brother Wu, is uncle Guo in the city?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Just come in.”

The soldiers opened the gate and lowered the drawbridge down to allow Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu through.

The Wu brothers led the two to a large house. Guo Jing’s face was filled with joy and he dashed out of the house to meet Yang Guo. He greeted Xiao Long Nuu and then held Yang Guo’s hand and smiled, “Guo Er, you’ve come here just in time. The Mongols are attacking us urgently at the moment and you can help me now that you’re here, the citizens of the city are very fortunate.”

Xiao Long Nuu was Yang Guo’s master and Guo Jing treated her as an equal, politely inviting her into the house while he treated Yang Guo with great care.

Guo Jing held Yang Guo’s left hand. When Yang Guo thought about that act that that his father’s murderer was doing now, pretending to be caring and loving towards him, he really wanted to draw out his sword and kill him right there and then but he was worried about how good Guo Jing’s martial arts were and so he didn’t dare to make a rash move. He forced himself to smile and said, “I wish uncle Guo great health.” He was filled with anger and did not kneel down to him. Guo Jing was a broad-minded person and did not take little details like this to heart.

When they arrived in the hall, Yang Guo wanted to go and see Huang Rong.
Guo Jing laughed, “Your auntie Guo is about to give birth and hasn’t been feeling well in the last couple of days, you can see her in a few days time.”

Yang Guo was delighted and thought, “Huang Rong is extremely wise and clever, I was afraid that she would be able to see through my plan but she’s ill at the moment, it looks like that even heaven wants me to succeed.”

As they were talking, a soldier came in and reported, “General Luu requests master Guo’s presence at a feast to celebrate our victory of the Mongols today.”

Guo Jing said, “Go and tell the general, thank you for the invitation. However, I have a guest and cannot attend.”

The soldier looked at Yang Guo and saw that he was just a young man with nothing special about him, he didn’t know why Guo Jing would treat this young man with so much respect that he would actually reject the general’s invitation to the celebratory feast because of him. His mind was full of questions as he went back to report this to Luu Wen De.”

Guo Jing prepared a family meal in the inner hall in honour of Yang Guo’s and Xiao Long Nuu’s arrival. Zhu Zi Liu, Liu You Jiao, the Wu brothers and Guo Fu were in attendance. Zhu Zi Liu kept on thanking Yang Guo, saying that only he could get the antidote from Huo Dou to cure his poison. Yang Guo just gave a lifeless smile and said a few modest words.

Guo Fu saw that Yang Guo had an aloof expression on him and she called out, “Brother Yang.”

Guo Jing scolded, “Fu Er, if it weren’t for brother Yang risking his life to save you from the hands of Jin Lun Fa Wang, not only would you have been in trouble but also your mother, why aren’t you thanking him?”

Guo Fu stood up and said, “Thank you brother Yang for saving me.”

Yang Guo said, “We’re not strangers, why is there a need to say thanks?”

Guo Fu didn’t say anything and sat down. During the meal, Guo Fu’s brows were knitted and it seemed that there was something on her mind. The Wu brothers were seemingly avoiding her glances. But Liu You Jian and Zhu Zi Liu were extremely happy and were chatting about the victory against the Mongols.

By the time dinner finished, it was around eleven o’clock. Guo Jing told her daughter to let Xiao Long Nuu inside to rest and he himself took Yang Guo to his room to sleep in the same bed. When Xiao Long Nuu was about to go inside, she glanced at Yang Guo, telling him to be careful. Her face was filled with love and concern. Yang Guo was afraid that his intentions would be revealed and so turned his head away, not daring to look at her directly.

Guo Jing led Yang Guo to his room and praised Yang Guo in how he saved Huang Rong, Guo Fu and the Wu brothers from Jin Lun Fa Wang at the restaurant and the stone formations. He then asked about what happened to him afterwards.

Yang Guo was afraid that he might let something out if he talks too much and so he kept the events of how he met Cheng Ying, Lu Wu Shuang, Sha Gu and Huang Yao Shi from him and just said, “After I was injured, I recuperated in a wild valley. Afterwards, I met my master again and we decided to came here to help uncle Guo.”

Guo Jing got himself readied for bed and said, “Guo Er, there is a strong enemy pressing against the boundaries of our land, the Song’s empire is in great danger. Xiang Yang is a barrier into our Song’s land, if this city falls then the thousands and millions citizens that we have will become the slaves of the Mongols. I have seen the brutality of the Mongols when they kill with my own eyes, it causes one’s blood to boil.”

When Yang Guo heard this, he remembered the tragic and terrifying scenes of the actions of the Mongols he encountered along his travels. He couldn’t stop his teeth from biting down in anger as his chest filled up with fury.

Guo Jing continued, “Why do we learn martial arts? Lending a helping hand and getting people out of danger is of course something that we must do but this is just one of the minor parts of being a hero. The people of Jiang Hu call me ‘Hero Guo’ because they respect me for serving my country and my citizens, guarding Xiang Yang without care for my life. But my abilities are limited, I cannot get my people out of this trouble, I really am not worthy of the title ‘hero’. You are ten times more intelligent than me, your future achievements will definitely exceed mine. I just hope that you remember these words, ‘a hero’s imperative is to serve your country, to serve your people’. You will be a famous true hero of the people if you remember this.”

These sincere words moved Yang Guo. He saw that Guo Jing had a stern face on him and although Guo Jing was his father’s murderer, Yang Guo couldn’t help but give his respect to him and replied, “Uncle Guo, after you’ve gone, I will definitely remember the words that you have said tonight.”

How would Guo Jing know that Yang Guo was planning to assassinate him tonight? He stretched out his hand and stroked his hair and said, “Yes, bending your body to the task until your dying day. If our country perishes then your uncle Guo’s life will go along with it. I have heard that Khubilai is skilled in warfare, he has retreated today but he will come back to attack again soon, there’s definitely going to be a great battle in the upcoming days. There’s going to be a spectacular battle. It’s getting late, let’s go to sleep.”

Yang Guo replied, “Yes.” He undressed himself for bed and hid the dagger from the Passionless Valley on him. He thought, “I’ll wait until you’re deep in your sleep and then stab you, even if your martial arts were a hundred times better, how can you avoid this attack?”

Guo Jing had fought in a great battle today and he immediately fell asleep. How can Yang Guo sleep with the thoughts that he had? He lied on the bed and listened to the breathing of Guo Jing. Every inhalation and exhalation was spaced out with an extremely long gap, he admired how profound Guo Jing’s internal energy was.

Some time passed. It was silent everywhere with the exception of the noises from the guards. He sat up quietly and felt out the dagger from underneath his clothes. He thought, “I’ll kill him first and then go kill Huang Rong. She’s a pregnant woman, what can she do? Once I’ve killed them, I’ll immediately go back to the Passionless Valley with Gu Gu to get the other half of the antidote. Once I’ve got the antidote, I will go back to the tomb with Gu Gu and enjoy the pleasures of life, who cares about whether this empire is the Song’s or Mongol’s?”

He felt extremely pleased with himself as he thought about this but suddenly he heard the crying of a baby from one of the neighbouring residences. He then heard the mother of the baby comforting it; the baby gradually stopped crying and fell asleep.

Yang Guo’s heart trembled and remembered the time when he saw a Mongolian soldier holding up his spear in midair with a baby hanging off the end of it, the baby had not died and was crying miserably. He thought, “It would be easy for me to kill Guo Jing now but once he dies, it would be difficult to protect Xiang Yang. This city has thousands and thousands of babies, won’t they all be killed by the Mongolian soldiers for fun? My avenging of my father will lead to countless deaths, is this right?”

But then he thought, “If I don’t kill him, how can I get the antidote of Qiu Qian Chi? If I die, Gu Gu will not live on.” Nothing in the world could compare to his love for Xiao Long Nuu and he made up his mind, “Fine, fine, who cares about the lives of Xiang Yang, who cares about the empire of the Song? When I was suffering, who cared about me apart from Gu Gu? The people of the world don’t love me, why should I love the people of the world?”

He raised the dagger and gathered all his strength into his right hand. He aimed for Guo Jing’s chest.

The candlelight in the room had gone out long ago but Yang Guo had the ability to see things in the dark. When he was about to thrust the dagger forwards, he glanced over at Guo Jing’s face. There was a peaceful expression on his face and he was in a deep sleep, all the love that Guo Jing showed him when he was younger suddenly surfaced in his heart; how he treated him lovingly on the Peach Blossom Island, how he took him all the way to mount Zhong Nan to learn martial arts, how he betrothed his only daughter to him, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking, “Uncle Guo is a straight and honest man, he is an extremely sincere and kind person, he cannot be the person who killed my father. Could it be that Sha Gu was confused and was talking rubbish? If this knife goes forward and kills an innocent man, I won’t be able to redeem this with ten thousand deaths. Wait, I need to make sure.”

He put away his dagger slowly and thought about all the things that had happened ever since he met the Guo couple, pondering over every single memory. He remembered how Huang Rong always felt uneasy with him around, there were many times when she and Guo Jing were talking about something but would immediately change the subject once she saw him. There was no question about it, the couple were keeping something from him. He continued thinking, “When auntie Guo took me as a disciple, how come she only taught me to read and write and didn’t teach me martial arts? Could it be that the reason why uncle Guo treats me so well is because he’s trying to make himself feel better for killing my father? But if he really did kill my father then how come he is not wary of me at all? He lets me sleep with him and gives me the chance to kill him with one stab of a knife. He was troubled as his thoughts went to and fro like the tides.

Though Guo Jing was sleeping, he noticed that Yang Guo’s breathing was quickening and he opened his eyes. He asked, “Guo Er, what is it?”

Yang Guo trembled a little and said, “It’s nothing.”

Guo Jing laughed, “If you’re not used to sleeping with someone then I’ll go and sleep on the table.”

Yang Guo said quickly, “No, it’s nothing important.”

Guo Jing said, “Fine, just go to sleep. Us martial artists need to make sure our states of mind are well rested.”

Yang Guo replied, “Yes.”

Another while passed. Yang Guo could not hold it in any longer and asked, “Uncle Guo, that year when you took me to mount Zhong Nan, I asked you a question at the Cow Head monastery at the foot of mount Zhong Nan.”

Guo Jing said, “What was it?”

Yang Guo said, “When I asked the question you became furious and smashed down on a stone obelisk, that was how you got all the trouble from the Quan Zhen Taoists, do you remember what I asked?”

Guo Jing thought for a while and said, “Yes, I remember, that day you asked me how your father died.”

Yang Guo stared at him and said, “No, I asked you who killed my father.”

Guo Jing said, “How do you know that someone killed your father?”

Yang Guo choked, “Could it be that my father died just like that?”

Guo Jing stayed silent for a while before giving out a sigh and said, “It was no one’s fault but his that he died like that.”

Yang Guo sat up, he was extremely emotional and said, “You’re lying! How can someone cause their own death? Even if my father killed himself, someone must have forced him to do it.”

Guo Jing felt sad and tears rolled down from his eyes. He said slowly, “Guo Er, your grandfather and my father were very close, your father and I were sworn brothers. If your father was killed by someone don’t you think I would have avenged his death?”

Yang Guo shook all over and he wanted to say, “You’re the one who killed him, how can you avenge him?” But he knew that if he said this, Guo Jing would be wary of him and if that happens, it would be difficult to assassinate him so he nodded his head and stayed silent.

Guo Jing said, “Your father’s death is a long complicated story, it cannot be explained in one sentence. When you asked me all those years ago, you were still young, you wouldn’t be able to understand all the causes behind all this and this is why I didn’t tell you then. You can distinguish between right and wrong now that you’ve grown up, once we’ve made the Mongols retreat, I’ll tell you all about it from the beginning.” He then laid his head back on his pillow and went to sleep.

Yang Guo has always known him to be completely honest, if it was one he said it was one and never lied but when he heard this he wasn’t convinced and was semi suspicious of him, he cursed himself, “Yang Guo, Yang Guo, you have always done things with an indomitable will, whatever you dared to do you did, why are you acting so timid today? Could it be that you’re afraid of how good his martial arts are? If I keep on changing my mind tonight and lose this opportunity, Huang Rong might find out about my motives in the near future and when that happens, I’m afraid that even Gu Gu will be killed without a corpse that can be buried as well.”

When he thought about Xian Long Nuu, his spirits stirred again and he stretched out his hand to check the dagger. The dagger tip was hot after being pressed against his body.

End of Chapter 20

[Mojo Jojo]

Chapter 21

Fierce Fighting at Xiang Yang

Yang Guo was just about to take his dagger out and stab Guo Jing when he suddenly heard three light flicks on the outside window. He quickly shut his eyes and kept still.

Guo Jing immediately woke up alarmed and said, “Rong Er? Is there some kind of problem?”

No more noises came from the window.

Guo Jing saw that Yang Guo was in a deep sleep and could hear his even snoring. He saw how easily he slept and didn’t want to wake him up so got up from the bed quietly and went to the door. He opened the door and saw Huang Rong in the courtyard signalling him with her hand.

Guo Jing went to her and said quietly, “What’s the matter?”

Huang Rong did not reply and lead him to the garden. She took a look all around before saying, “I heard your and Guo Er’s conversation. He’s up to no good, do you know that?”

Guo Jing was startled and asked, “He’s up to no good?”

Huang Rong replied, “I could tell from his words that he’s been suspicious of you killing his father a long time ago.”

Guo Jing said, “He may be suspicious but I’ve promised that I’ll tell him all about the reasons of his father’s death in detail.”

Huang Rong said, “Are you really going to tell him everything?”

Guo Jing said, “I have always blamed myself for his father’s tragic death. Though Brother Yang Kang went down the wrong path, we did nothing to save him.”

Huang Rong gave a ‘humph’ grunt and said, “How can he be saved? I just wished that I killed him earlier. If I did that, would your masters have died on Peach Blossom Island?”

When Guo Jing recalled this bitter event, he couldn’t stop himself from giving a long sigh.

Huang Rong said, “Brother Zhu sent Fu Er to tell me that there’s something odd with Guo Er and told me how you two were going to sleep on the same bed. I was worried that something might happen and I have been guarding by the window all along. It’s better not to sleep in the same room as him. You need to know that people’s thoughts are hard to fathom. His father… his father died from poison as a result from striking me on the shoulder.”

Guo Jing said, “It can’t be said that you killed him.”

Huang Rong said, “Both of us had the thought of killing him in our minds and in the end he did die because of me, we didn’t kill him with our own hands but there’s not much difference.”

Guo Jing thought deeply for a while and said, “You’re right. I won’t tell him about this. Rong Er, you’ve been up for half the night, quickly go back to your room and rest. After tonight, I’ll move to the camp.”

He knew that his wife’s wisdom exceeds his a hundred times and although he didn’t believe that Yang Guo had any ill intent towards him, he did as she said. He stretched out his hand and supported her waist and led her into the inner halls slowly. He said, “Guo Er used every ounce of strength that he had to take back the position of the Chancellor of Wulin for us, he knows what’s right and wrong when it comes to matters about the country; he risked his life in saving you and Fu Er twice, how can his father compare with his heroic nature?”

Huang Rong nodded her head and said, “Yes, this is something that’s great to see in this young man but he has two clouds hanging over him; one is the reasons for his father’s death and two, his relationship with his master. I made miss Long leave him but Guo Er seems to be all knowing, somehow he found her again. From the two’s expression, it looks like they’ll never be separated ever again.”

Guo Jing kept silent for a while and then suddenly said, “Rong Er, you’re even more all knowing than Guo Er, think of a way to stop Guo Er from going down the wrong path.”

Huang Rong sighed and said, “I don’t even know what to do about our daughter let alone Guo Er. Brother Jing, I just have you in me heart and you have just me in yours. But our daughter isn’t like us, she has two men in her heart, she treats the Wu brothers the same as each other. This makes things difficult for us parents.”

Guo Jing accompanied Huang Rong to her room and helped her onto her bed. He covered her with the blanket and held her hand, sitting by the bed waiting for her to go to sleep. The pair has been busy with helping the country and hasn’t had anytime to spend any quiet time with each other like this. The two looked at each other, in silence, in peace.

Huang Rong held her husband’s hand and brushed it gently across her cheeks. She whispered, “Brother Jing, you name our second child.”

Guo Jing laughed, “You know I’m not good at that, why are you making fun of me?”

Huang Rong said, “You still say that you’re not able. Brother Jing, there’s no one in the world that’s better than you.” She said these words with great sincerity.

Guo Jing lowered his head and kissed his loving wife on her face gently. He said, “If it’s a boy, we’ll call him Guo Po Lu, what if it’s a girl?” He thought for a while and shook his head saying, “I can’t think of one, you think of a name.”

Huang Rong said, “Elder Qiu named you ‘Jing’ so that you would not forgot the shame of the Jing Kang years. The Jin’s have been destroyed but now the Mongolians are threatening us. This child is going to be born in Xiang Yang, we’ll call her Guo Xiang so in the future she’ll remember that she was born in this city that is surrounded by warring soldiers.”

Guo Jing said, “Great, but hopefully she will not be like her sister. She’s grown up now and she still make us worry about her.”

Huang Rong smiled lightly and said, “It doesn’t matter if we have to worry but…” She gave a sigh and said, “I really wish that it will be a boy so that the Guo’s will have a heir.”

Guo Jing stroked her hair and said, “Aren’t a boy and girl the same? Just go to bed, don’t think too much.” He pulled the blanket over her and blew out the candles. He returned to his room and saw Yang Guo in a deep sleep. The chime for the third hour could be heard. He returned to the bed and slept.

How would he know that when he was talking to his wife, Yang Guo was hiding behind the pavilion and heard every single word they said. When Guo Jing returned to the inner halls with his wife, Yang Guo stood there in a daze. His mind was repeatedly going over what Huang Rong had said, “I just wished that I killed him earlier… his father died from poison as a result from striking me on the shoulder… both of us had the thought of killing him in our minds and in the end he did die because of me.” He thought, “There’s no more doubts, my father died because of them two. That Huang Rong is really wily, she’s already suspicious of me. If I don’t make my move today then I don’t think I’ll ever get another chance like this.” He then returned to the room and slept on the bed quietly, waiting for Guo Jing to return.

Guo Jing slipped himself in to the bed and heard Yang Guo’s faint snoring. He thought, “This child sleeps so soundly.” He rested his head lightly on the pillow, afraid that he would wake him up. A short while passed and he was about to fall asleep when suddenly he felt Yang Guo turning his body around slowly but while he was turning over, his snoring continued. Guo Jing was startled, “Everyone stops their snoring when they turn over in their sleep. There’s something wrong with his breathing, could it be that when he’s practising his internal energy he circulated it in the wrong way? This isn’t anything trivial.” The thought of Yang Guo pretending to sleep never entered his mind.

Yang Guo slowly turned around slowly and saw that Guo Jing did not notice him so he continued his faint snoring and got down from the bed. He had wanted to make his move while he was underneath the blanket but he was worried about how close he was to Guo Jing, it would be extremely dangerous for him; if Guo Jing sends out a last gasp palm out at him then surely he would be killed. He had thought about sitting up to do it but he was still worried about how good Guo Jing’s martial arts were. In the end he decided to first get off the bed and stab Guo Jing in one of his vital areas before escaping out of the window. He was also afraid that if he stops his snoring, Guo Jing would notice so he kept on pretence while he got down from the bed.

But by doing this, Guo Jing was fooled even more. Guo Jing was thinking, “Could it be that the child has a sleepwalking disease? If I make a noise now, he would break out in a shock, his chi in his dan tian would surge the opposite way and he would immediately fire deviate.” So he didn’t make a move and listened out for his actions.

Yang Guo took out his dagger slowly and braced it against his chest with his right hand. He made his way to the bed step by step and suddenly gathered his chi into his arm to make his attack. Just as he was about to throw the dagger forward, he heard Guo Jing call out, “Guo Er, what kind of nightmare are you having?”

Yang Guo was extremely shocked and he immediately darted out of the window. He was fast but Guo Jing was faster; before he touched the ground Guo Jing had already managed to grab him. Yang Guo’s mind went into despair, he knew that his enemy was much stronger than him and there would be no use to resist so he closed his eyes and kept silent.

Guo Jing carried him back into the room. He placed him on the bed and sat him up with his hands hanging down in front of him, assuming the form of practising Xuan Men chi.

Yang Guo was bitter and afraid, “I wonder what kind of evil method he’s going to use to torture me.” He suddenly remembered Xian Long Nuu. He breathed in deeply and wanted to call out to her, “Gu Gu, I’ve been captured, quickly run away.”

When Guo Jing saw him suddenly breathe in deeply and circulate his chi, he was even more convinced that he was having problems with the circulation of his chi and thought, “In a situation like this one can only breathe in out slowly and shallowly, it’s extremely dangerous to breathe in so quickly and deeply like this.” He quickly placed his palm against Yang Guo’s lower abdomen.

Yang Guo’s ‘dan tian’ was suppressed by Guo Jing’s profound internal energy and he couldn’t call out. He was concerned for Xiao Long Nuu’s safety and struggled until his face went red but with his ‘dan tian’ suppressed, he couldn’t move an inch.

Guo Jing said slowly, “Guo Er, you were too anxious in circulating your chi, this is called desiring speed and not transmission, stop moving, I’ll help return your chi back to their original sources.”

Yang Guo was startled and didn’t know what he meant by this but then he felt a warm gradual chi entering his ‘dan tian’ from his palms that was extremely comforting. He then heard Guo Jing say, “Slowly expel your chi and slowly let this warm chi transmit through the ‘Water Divide’ to the ‘Interior Strengthening’ through the ‘Great Tower Gate’, ‘Turtledove Tail’ to the ‘Jade Hall’, ‘Florid Canopy’, first clear the conception vessel, ignore the other meridians.

After hearing these words and feeling his chi clearing his meridians, he more or less gathered what was happening. He thought, “Shocking! He thinks I’ve lost my mind due to me suffering a fire deviation.” He secretly circulated his internal energy and deliberately let his chi run wild, appearing not to be in control of his chi. Guo Jing was worried and increased the power in his palms, gathering his wild chi into one place. Yang Guo’s internal energy was now not shallow, Guo Jing found it slightly difficult to cope for a while when Yang Guo sent his chi surging wildly around his body. He had to waste around an hour’s time before he managed to return his contrary chi back into their original channels.

After this struggle, Yang Guo was completely drained off his strength and Guo Jing too was extremely tired. The two of them sat in meditation until the sky lightened before they recovered.

Guo Jing smiled, “Guo Er, are you okay now? I didn’t know that your internal energy has reached such a good level already, even I almost couldn’t control it.”

Yang Guo knew that in trying to save himself, Guo Jing had wasted a lot of his internal energy and was touched by this. He said, “Thank you uncle Guo for saving me, last night I was almost crippled.”

Guo Jing thought, “Last night while you were confused, you actually raised a dagger to kill me, luckily you didn’t know about this, otherwise wouldn’t you be ashamed of yourself?” He was afraid that if Yang Guo knew about this he would feel sorry about it so he changed the subject and said, “Come with me outside of the city, we’ll take a look at the city’s defences.”

Yang Guo replied, “Yes!”

The two of them mounted a warhorse each and rode shoulder to shoulder outside of the city.

Guo Jing said, “Guo Er, the internal energy of the Quan Zhen sect is the most orthodox in the world, though progress is slow, you will not run into any trouble. You can learn other sect’s and school’s martial arts but when it comes to internal energy it would be advisable to practise Xuan Men martial arts. We’ll study this together once the enemy has retreated.”

Yang Guo said, “Don’t tell auntie Guo about me fire deviating last night. If she finds out she’ll laugh at me for learning Long Gu Gu’s unorthodox martial arts and blame me for making uncle Guo suffer a bout.”

Guo Jing said, “Of course I won’t say. Miss Long’s martial arts aren’t unorthodox, it’s just that you weren’t concentrating and didn’t practise with a clear mind.”

Yang Guo knew that if Huang Rong found out about this she would immediately know the truth. When he heard Guo Jing promise not to tell Huang Rong, his mind relaxed.

The two of them headed west of the city and arrived at a stream.

Guo Jing said, “Though this is a small stream, it is very famous, it is called the Tan torrent.”

Yang Guo said, ‘Oh. I have heard people talk about the story of the Three Kingdoms, they mentioned that Emperor Liu of Shu leapt over the Tan Torrent on horseback, so, the Tan Torrent is located here.”

Guo Jing said, “The horse that Liu Bei rode that year was called De Lu, the horse handler said that it will harm its rider but in the end De Lu actually leapt over the Tan Torrent and escaped from the chasing army, saving Emperor Liu of Shu’s life in the process.” When he talked about this, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about Yang Guo’s father Yang Kang. He gave a heavy sigh and said, “The people of the world are just the same as the horse Du Lu, to the good it does good, to the evil it does evil. Is there a thing as a definite good or evil person? The only difference between the two is that there is one contrast in thought.”

Yang Guo’s heart trembled and he took a look over at Guo Jing. There was an extremely hurtful expression on his face, it appeared that these words weren’t meant as an attack to him.

Yang Guo thought, “Your words might be right but what is good? What is evil? You and your wife killed my father, could that be the actions of someone who’s good? Your words really are brash, you don’t know how shameful you are.” He has always had great respect for Guo Jing but whenever he remembers how his father died under their hands, evil thoughts fill his mind.

The two rode on for a little while and arrived at the top of a hill. From above one can see the flow of Hans going southwards, refugees from all over were descending onto Xiang Yang. Guo Jing stretched out his horsewhip and pointed at the refugees. He said, “The Mongolians must have intensified their slaughter of our people in Si Xiang, destroying the homes of our citizens. They’re abominable.”

Looking down from the hill, one could see a stone slab with some words written on it by the side of the road. It said: Minister of Works of the Tang Dynasty, Du Fu’s hometown lies thus.

Yang Guo said, “Xiang Yang is no ordinary city, so the hometown of this great poet is here.”

Guo Jing swept his whip and recited, “The great city unlike metal, the small cities of over ten thousand zhangs… the joined clouds of lined up battles, the flying birds unable to rise beyond. Self-guarding with ruin, how can Xi Dou be recovered? … Struggling with long halberds, history needs one man.”

Yang Guo heard him recite this with great passion and he recited it himself, “Self-guarding with ruin, how can Xi Dou be recovered? Struggling with long halberds, history needs one man. Uncle Guo, this is a really good poem, was it written by Du Fu?”

Guo Jing said, “Yes. A few days ago, your auntie Guo and I were discussing the guarding of Xiang Yang and this poem by Du Fu came up. She wrote it out for me. I really like this poem but my memory is bad, I went over this poem many times but all I can remember are just a few lines. There have been many educated men in our history who have written poems but over the years, they have proclaimed Du Fu as the greatest poet of all and it’s all because of his worry for his nation and people.”

Yang Guo said, “You said, ‘a hero’s imperative is to serve your country, serve your people’, literature and martial arts are different but the same can be applied to both.”

When Guo Jing heard him grasp this he was delighted and said, “I do not understand anything about literature but no matter what one becomes in their life, a merchant, a slave, a solider, as long as the thought ‘serve you country, serve your people’ is there, one can be a true man, a true hero.”

Yang Guo asked, “Uncle Guo, do you think you will be able to defend Xiang Yang?”
Guo Jing thought for a while and then pointed to the hills and trees to the west before saying, “In Xiang Yang’s history, the most famous person is Zhu Ge Liang. Twenty ‘li’ west of here is a thriving place. This was the place where he lived in seclusion. Coarse people like me can’t fathom the deeds that he did is saving our nation and bringing peace to our people. He once said that all he knew was that one must follow the phrase ‘bending your body to the task until your dying day’, whether it will lead to success or failure, he didn’t know. When your auntie Guo and I talked about whether Xiang Yang can be guarded or not, we ended up with these same words.”

Just as they were talking, they saw that the refugees who were at the doors of Xiang Yang had suddenly turned around while the refugees behind kept on flowing forwards towards Xiang Yang. It was chaos.

Guo Jing was shocked and said, “Why aren’t the guards letting them into the city?” He galloped towards the city and saw a line of archers with their bows armed pointing at the refugees.

Guo Jing called out, “What are you doing? Quickly open the gates.”

When the guards saw that it was Guo Jing, they quickly opened the gates and let him and Yang Guo in.

Guo Jing said, “These people are being persecuted by the Mongolians, why aren’t you letting them in?”

The general guarding the gates said, “General Luu said that spies have smuggled themselves amongst the refugees, we cannot let them in just in case.”

Guo Jing shouted, “Even if there are one or two spies, how can we disregard these hundreds of lives? Quickly open the gates.”

Guo Jing has been guarding the city for a long time now and has made many great achievements, though he did not have an official post, the general guarding the city did not dare to disobey his orders and could only open the city gates. At the same time, he ordered a messenger to report this to Luu Wen De.

Old and young all converged towards the city. Suddenly, a dust cloud appeared far away; the Mongolian army were moving in from the north. The Song soldiers scattered and went back inside the walls of the city. A large group of people stood themselves out in front of the incoming enemy; there were all clothed in rags and all had a stick in their hands, none had a real weapon and they were scattered. They all called out, “Don’t shot arrows up there, we’re Song citizens as well!”

The Mongolian army however hid themselves behind the refugees.

Ever since the times of Ji Si Kahn, whenever the Mongolian army attacked a city, they would first send the citizens of the country they were attacking towards the city; if the soldiers who were guarding the city weakened at the sight of this the Mongols would immediately come forwards and attack. By using this method, the Mongolian army were able to slaughter the citizens of the nation they were attacking and disturb the opposition, killing two birds with one stone. It was extremely brutal and cruel but effective.

Guo Jing had been with Mongolian army a long time and knew about this tactic but there was nothing he could do to counter it. The Mongolian soldiers held the spears and long sabres forwards as they forced the citizens of the Song forwards. The people were forced closer and closer and the people closest the city began to climb up the ladders.

Luu Wen De rode his horse and took a look around at what was happening. When he saw the urgent situation they were in he immediately ordered, “Defending the city is the main priority, fire the arrows!”

Arrows rained down and many people were struck down. Those who weren’t, headed backwards. The Mongolian army chopped heads with their sabres and pierced holes with the spears, the refugees were forced back towards the city.

Yang Guo stood next to Guo Jing and watched this tragic scene in anger.

Luu Wen De called out, “Fire the arrows!” Arrows rained down once more.

Guo Jing shouted out, “Stop, you can’t kill good people wrongly!”

Luu Wen De said, “In such a urgent situation, even if it is a good person, we have to kill them.”

Guo Jing shouted, “No, how can you kill good people wrongly?”

Yang Guo’s heart trembled, “You can’t kill good people wrongly! How can you kill good people wrongly?”

Guo Jing called out, “My Beggar Clan brothers and my wulin friends, follow me!” He then rushed down towards the city gates. Yang Guo followed him.

Guo Jing said, “You suffered an injury when practising chi last night, you cannot exert any kind of strength today, go back up to the city walls and watch what’s happening.”

Yang Guo saw his fellow Han being treated worse than animals by the Mongolian army and wanted to go down with Guo Jing and do a bout of killing. He was startled when he heard this and he couldn’t tell Guo Jing that last night was just an act and so he returned back up to the city walls.

Guo Jing led a group of people and opened the western gate. They rushed out and attacked the Mongolian flank. The Mongolian troops who were forcing the refugees forwards dispersed towards Guo Jing.

The people who Guo Jing were leading were good fighters of the Beggar Clan and patriots that have been gathered from all over china. They all shouted out and attacked; immediately over a hundred Mongolian soldiers were forced off their horses. The Mongolian army saw that these thousand soldiers were not able to fend them off and so another thousand came forward from the side. Mongolian soldiers were all experienced and were brave and vicious, though the group who Guo Jing were leading knew martial arts, they were not able to subdue them for the time being. When the refugees saw that the Mongolian soldiers were not pushing them forwards any longer, they all scattered.

A horn blew from the east and two minghan regiments (division of 1000 men) surged forwards. Another two minghan regiments from the west dashed forwards and surrounded Guo Jing and his group.

Luu Wen De was scared witless when he saw the might of the Mongolian army, how did he dare to send men out for a rescue?

Yang Guo stood at the top of the city walls and kept on going over what Guo Jing had said, “You can’t kill good people wrongly! How can you kill good people wrongly?”

When he saw Guo Jing heavily surrounded he thought, “All the guards had to do was to let some arrows fly and kill a few people and they would have been able to stop this Mongolian attack. The reason uncle Guo is in all this danger is because he didn’t want to kill good people wrongly. He doesn’t know these people yet he risks his life to save them, why did he want to kill my father?”

He saw the tragic killings below but all he could think about was this riddle, “He and my father were sworn brothers, this isn’t any ordinary kind of relationship but in the end he still wanted to harm him, could it be that my father was an evil person?” Ever since he was little he has always thought of his father as someone who was chivalrous, brave and heroic, one of the greatest men on earth, to acknowledge that his father was an evil person was something that he could not do. But in his heart long ago, he had the feeling that his father could not compare to his uncle Guo but whenever he had this feeling, he forced it back down. Right now however, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about this point.

The cries below the city walls were earth shattering. Guo Jing and his group dashed left and surged right but they still unable to break out. Zhu Zi Liu led a group of men and the Wu brothers and Guo Fu led another to save them but the Mongolian horn was blown once again; another four minghan units surged forwards to the city gates. Khubilai was indeed skilled in warfare. If the city gates open to save Guo Jing and the others, the four divisions would break into the city.
Luu Wen De was shocked senseless now and ordered, “Do not open the city gates!” Two hundred men were ordered to guard the city gates to kill whoever dared to try to open the gates. General Wang led a group of archers at the top of the city walls and fired their arrows down incessantly.

Chaos ruled both outside and inside the city while Yang Guo’s mind was the same, sometimes he wished that Guo Jing would perish in this battle while at others, he wished that Guo Jing would be able to drive the enemy back.

Suddenly, the formation of the Mongolian soldiers were broken up, thousands of mounted soldiers collapsed backwards towards the sides like the tides as Guo Jing galloped forwards with a long spear in his hands, the Hans behind him formed a tight formation and they surged forwards. They managed to get to the city gates. Guo Jing turned his steed around and went to defend the back of the group. His long spear knocked seven, eight Mongolian generals off their steeds. The Mongolian soldiers stopped pressing for the time being.

Luu Wen De relied on Guo Jing heavily and when he saw him escape danger he was ecstatic, he quickly called out, “Open the gates! But only a little, don’t open the gates too wide!”

The city gates opened three, four feet and just allowed one rider in at one time. All the men returned to the city. The yellow flag of the Mongolian army was motioned and two divisions of soldiers on horseback charged forwards from both sides.

Luu Wen De called out, “Brother Guo Jing, quickly get back into the city! We can’t wait for others.”

How could Guo Jing enter the city while he still had men outside? He turned his horseback and killed two Mongolian soldiers that had rode up to him.

But once the army was motioned, they moved like the waves of the sea. Guo Jing was skilled in martial arts but how can one person defend against the attack of a large army?

Zhu Zi Liu saw the situation was urgent and quickly lowered down a rope. He called out, “Brother Guo, grab it.”

Guo Jing turned his head around and saw the final Beggar Clan member had entered the city but he was followed by over ten Mongolian soldiers. The guards at the gates fought them off and closed the city gates. The two foot thick metal gate slowly closed. Guo Jing shouted out and killed an arban chief with his spear before leaping up to take the rope. Zhu Zi Liu pulled up with all his efforts and Guo Jing rose up ten feet.

The noyan who was supervising the troops ordered, “Arrows!” Immediately a thousand bows released their arrows. Guo Jing was prepared for this. He tore off the lower part of his gown and motioned it in front of his body with his left hand like a shield while he kept hold of the rope with his right hand. The gown was unyielding and blocked off all the arrows but the steed that he had left behind outside the city walls were killed under the raining arrows. Zhu Zi Liu pulled with both hands and pulled Guo Jing up higher and higher.

Guo Jing was around twenty feet away from the top of the city walls when suddenly a tall skinny monk appeared amongst the Mongolian army who was wearing a yellow Buddhist gown; it was none other than Jin Lun Fa Wang. He took a bow from one of the Mongolian soldiers and mounted the bow. He knew that Guo Jing and Zhu Zi Liu’s martial arts were high and would be able to avoid any arrows he shot at them so instead he aimed for the rope. It was a vicious move, the arrow were ten feet away from both Guo Jing and Zhu Zi Liu; the two had no way to stop this arrow. Jin Lun Fa Wang was afraid that the two might come up with a way to stop this arrow so he fired two more arrows, one at Guo Jing and the other at Zhu Zi Liu. The first arrow severed the rope in two while the second and third arrow headed for Guo Jing and Zhu Zi Liu with great force.

When the rope severed, Guo Jing dropped and the arrow aimed at him missed. Zhu Zi Liu felt his hand lighten and called out, “Oh no!” The arrow had arrived. It was a very forceful arrow; the person who fired it must have very profound internal energy. The top of the city walls were filled with people, if Zhu Zi Liu lowered his head to avoid this arrow, someone behind might be injured so he stretched out his second finger on his left hand and touched the stem of the arrow, diverting it back down the city walls.

Guo Jing was slightly alarmed when he felt the rope severing; though he won’t be injured by the fall, he would be surrounded by thousands and thousands of soldiers; how could he fight his way out of that? The Mongol army are right next to the city gates now, if my side opens the gates to let me in, the Mongols would definitely take the opportunity to open the city gates. There was no time to think in this danger, his left foot flicked up against the wall and he lifted up over ten feet. His right feet followed and he rose up another ten feet. Very few people were proficient in this [Stairs to Heaven] technique. Even those who were well versed in it could only manage a two, three feet per step but on this slippery wall, each step of Guo Jing’s took him over ten feet; Guo Jing’s martial arts were frighteningly good. Silence broke out on the battlefield as everyone fixed their eyes on him.

Jin Lun Fa Wang was slightly startled when he saw this. However, he knew that when one uses the [Stairs to Heaven], they must make their leap in one breath; if Fa Wang could distract him and disturb his breathing then Guo Jing would not be able to make his third step so Fa Wang mounted his bow again and shot it towards Guo Jing’s back.

The arrow flew like the wind. Shouts of, “No arrows!” were heard from soldiers from both the top of the city walls and down below. Both sides saw the terrifyingly good skills of Guo Jing and were in awe; they all hoped that he would make it. The Mongolians were the enemy but had great respect for great heroes and great men, they were all furious when they saw someone had fired an arrow at Guo Jing.

Guo Jing knew that the arrow behind him had a tremendous force with it and he called out in alarm, “Oh no!” He had to use his hand to deflect it away. Both sides cheered when they saw that the arrow failed. But in this earth shattering noise, Guo Jing was falling back down the city wall. There were only a few feet to the top of the city walls but Guo Jing had now way to climb up it.

When the two sides were fighting, the same was happening within Yang Guo’s heart. In the short space of time that Guo Jing climbed up, dropped down, climbed up and dropped down again, Yang Guo’s mind repeatedly went over, “He killed my father, should I kill him or not? Should I save him or not?”

When Guo Jing was using the [Stairs to Heaven] technique, Yang Guo had thought about throwing out a palm at Guo Jing. Guo Jing was in midair and had nothing to support himself with, he would definitely suffer a serious injury and fall back down the city walls.

But as he was hesitating, Fa Wang had already fired out an arrow at Guo Jing and stopped him from coming up. Yang Guo’s mind was in confusion. Suddenly, he grabbed the severed rope in Zhu Zi Liu’s hand with his left hand and leapt down the city walls towards Guo Jing, grabbing Guo Jing’s arm with his right hand.

This was a move out of the blue but Zhu Zi Liu responded with great speed, he first lowered the rope down slightly before gathering strength into his arms and urgently pulled the rope upwards. Yang Guo and Guo Jing arced in circle like two large birds flying in the sky. The soldiers on both sides watched with their mouths wide open.

When Guo Jing was in midair, he thought wouldn’t it mean he has lost out in this exchange if he doesn’t reply to this sneak attack by this evil monk? He saw Fa Wang had fired out another arrow. As soon as his left foot touched the top of the city walls he immediately grabbed a bow from one of the guards and fired an arrow of his own towards Fa Wang’s arrow. The arrows collided in midair and Fa Wang’s arrow was split into two. Fa Wang was stunned. Suddenly, a fierce gust arrived; a ‘zheng’ sound was heard as the metal bow in his hands was snapped into two.

Though Guo Jing’s and Fa Wang’s martial arts were within a hairbreadths of each other, Guo Jing’s archery skills were unsurpassed; he has learnt archery from one of the greatest Mongolian archers Zhe Bie ever since he was young and his internal energy was profound – when it comes to archery, Fa Wang loses out.

Guo Jing had fired three arrows; the first divided Fa Wang’s arrow, the second snapped Fa Wang’s bow and the third was fired out towards Khubilai’s flag.

Khubilai’s flag had fluttered in the wind gloriously amongst the thousands of soldiers but now it had fallen down. Soldiers from both sides shouted and hollered.

Khubilai saw that his army’s morale had lowered after Guo Jing’s display and immediately ordered his men back.

Guo Jing stood at the top of the city walls and watched the Mongolians retreat. They were marching back in formation, in line, those who were at the front didn’t rush and those who were at the back showed no fear, he couldn’t stop himself from sighing and thinking, “Our weak Song army cannot compete with the great Mongolian army.” His brows knitted as he worried about the fate of his nation.

Zhu Zi Liu, Yang Guo and the others were in awe of Guo Jing when they saw that he had no signs of pride of his face even after displaying his might in front of thousands.

Khubilai pulled his men back tens of miles and then started to think of a plan to take the city. With Guo Jing at the helm, it would be difficult to take the city.

Fa Wang said, “Your highness can see for yourself, if it weren’t for Yang Guo, Guo Jing would be dead by now. I knew that Yang Guo was not a man of his words.”

Khubilai said, “No! I think it’s because he wants to kill Guo Jing with his own hands and not at the hands of others. He appears to be a brave and valiant man, he is not a conniving fellow.”

Fa Wang didn’t agree but he didn’t dare to answer back, he just said, “Hopefully your highness is right.”

Xiang Yang city was safe now that the Mongolian army had pulled back. Luu Wen De was delighted and threw another banquet to celebrate this. This time, Yang Guo was also invited.

Everyone praised him for his swift and life risking actions in saving Guo Jing. The Wu brothers sat at another table and were filled with jealousy. Yang Guo had made a great achievement immediately after arriving at Xiang Yang and they were also afraid that after this event, Guo Jing would insist furthermore on betrothing his daughter to Yang Guo. The brothers didn’t say a word and just sat there, drinking wine.

Everyone returned to the Guo Jing residence when the banquet finished. Huang Rong invited Yang Guo into the inner halls and praised him. Yang Guo replied with modest words.

Guo Jing said, “Guo Er, you’ve just exerted a fierce force, does your chest hurt?” Guo Jing was worried that by using unrestrained force, Yang Guo’s internal injury would flare up.

Yang Guo was worried that Huang Rong would ask about this further and see through this so he quickly replied, “I’m fine, I’m fine.” He changed the subject immediately and said, “Uncle Guo, the kung fu that you used to fly up the city wall was great, there isn’t another who can match that in the world of wulin.”

Guo Jing gave a little smile and said, “I learnt this kung fu a long time ago and haven’t practised it for years, I’m a little rusty with it and that was why I ran into a bit of trouble.”

In actual fact, if he hadn’t used his chi and internal energy to help Yang Guo protect his ‘dan tian’ last night, he would have been able to fly up the city walls using the [Stairs to Heaven] technique even with Jin Lun Fa Wang’s interference. Naturally, he didn’t mention this and just said, “Years ago in Mongolia, the red sun elder Ma taught me this skill, who would have thought that I would have to use it today. If you like this skill I’ll teach you it in a few days time.”

Huang Rong saw that Yang Guo seemed absent minded and his thoughts were somewhere else but his rescue of Guo Jing was seen by thousands, there was nothing suspicious about this but she still felt uncomfortable and said, “Brother Jing, I’m not feeling well tonight, stay with me.”

Guo Jing nodded and said to Yang Guo, “Guo Er, you’re tired, go and rest.”

Yang Guo said his goodnights to the two and went back to his room alone. He heard the call for the second hour. He sat in front of the table and stared at the flickering candlelight with many thoughts running through his head. Suddenly, a noise came from the door. A girl’s voice said, “You’re not sleeping?” It was Xiao Long Nuu.

Yang Guo leapt up in delight and opened the door. Xiao Long Nuu was standing in front of him dressed in a light green gown.

Yang Guo asked, “Gu Gu, what’s the matter?”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “I wanted to see you.”

Yang Guo held her hand and said tenderly, “I was just thinking about you.”

The two of them strolled to the garden. The scent of the flowers and trees filled the air. Xiao Long Nuu looked at the semi-circled moon in the sky and said, “Do you have to kill him with your own hands? We haven’t got much time left.”

Yang Guo quickly whispered into her ear, “The walls have ears here, don’t talk about this here.”

Xiao Long Nuu looked at him enraptured and said, “When the moon is full, time will be up.”

Yang Guo was alarmed and counted with his fingers; it has been nine days since they parted from Qiu Qian Chi, if he doesn’t kill Guo Jing within the next two days, there will not be enough time to hurry back to the valley before the poison reacts. He gave a sigh and sat down on a taihu (limestone rocks found in lake Tai) stone with Xiao Long Nuu. The two looked at each other without saying a word and they became wrapped up in their love, forgetting all about matters of killing and avenging.

Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps could be heard from behind the garden mountain, two people were approaching.

A girl’s voice said, “If you’re going to keep forcing me then you might as well just get a sword and slit my throat to stop my torment.”

A angry male voice said, “Huh, don’t you think I don’t know that you’ve got more than one man in your heart? That Yang punk showed off immediately in front of everyone after arriving at Xiang Yang. Do you remember what you’ve said before?”

It was Guo Fu and Wu Xiu Wen.

Xiao Long Nuu made a face at Yang Guo, trying to scold him for flirting with girls everywhere and tormenting them. Yang Guo gave a smile at her and pulled her closer to him. He shook his hand lightly, telling her not to make a noise.

When Guo Fu heard these words, she became furious and raised her voice, “Since you’ve made your mind up then forgot everything I’ve said before. I’ll go somewhere faraway by myself, I’m not going to see Yang Guo, I’m not going to see you.”

A tearing sound was heard; Wu Xiu Wen must have tugged her sleeve and Guo Fu must have pulled it back.

Her voice became even angrier as she said, “What are you doing? So what if he shows off? What’s it got to do with me? If my parents betroth me to him I’d rather die then agree to it. If father forces me then I’ll run away. That Yang Guo has always being an attention grabber since he was young but I choose not to give a damn about him. Father thinks he’s some kind of treasure whereas I think that he’s not a good person.”

Wu Xiu Wen said quickly, “Yes, Yes. I was stupid just now, please forgive me sister Fu. If I act like that again, then I won’t have a good death and when I reincarnate, I reincarnate as the king of cowards.” Feelings of joy seeped through as he said this. Guo Fu giggled.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu looked at each other and smiled; one was thinking, “Look, look at how others view me.” The other thought, “I was wrong just now, I love you but others love someone else.”

Though Guo Fu’s voice had a scolding tone in her voice and treated Wu Xiu Wen almost like a child, making him obedient and completely enchanted, she had tender feelings for him.

Wu Xiu Wen then said, “Master wife loves you very much, beg her day and night non stop. If master wife agrees not to betroth you to the one named Yang, then master will not be able to say anything.”

Guo Fu said, “Huh, what do you know? Father may listen to mother but when it comes to important matters, mother will not stand up against father.”

Wu Xiu Wen gave a sigh and said, “It’ll be great if you treat me the same.”

Suddenly, a ‘pa’ sound was heard and Wu Xiu Wen called out in pain. He said quickly, “Why are you hitting me”

Guo Fu said, “Who told you to say things like that? I’m not going to marry Yang Guo, and I’m not going to marry you, you little monkey.”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Fine, fine. Finally you’ve admitted it. You don’t want to be my wife but you want to be my sister in law. Let me tell you something… let me tell you something…” He was flustered and couldn’t finish his sentence.

Guo Fu’s voice suddenly became gentle and tender as she said, “Little brother Wu, you’ve told me a thousands times, a million times how you feel about me, I already know. Though you brother hasn’t even said one word of this kind, I know that he loves me. No matter who I pick, one of you brothers will be broken hearted. Don’t you know how hard it is for me?”

Wu Dun Ru and Wu Xiu Wen had always relied on each other ever since they were young because they lost the care of their parents but in the last few years, the two of them had falling madly in love with Guo Fu and both were troubled by the other. Wu Xiu Wen’s heart was filled with angst and tears actually fell from his eyes.

Guo Fu took out a handkerchief and gave it to him. She sighed, Little brother Wu, we all grew up together, I have great respect for your brother but I find it easier to talk to you. I am not biased towards any of you. You’re trying to force me to make a clear choice now, if you were me, what should I say?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “I don’t know. All I know is if you marry someone else, life would not be worth living.”

Guo Fu said, “Let’s stop talking about this. Father fought with his life against the enemy today while we’re talking about some trivial stuff here in the garden, if father founds out about this then we’ll both be in trouble. Little brother Wu, let me tell you, if you want to please my parents then why don’t you try to stand out, achieve some great deeds in battle? Won’t my parents look down on you if you keep on hanging around me?”

Wu Xiu Wen leapt up and said loudly, “You’re right, I’ll go and assassinate Khubilai and rid the threat to Xiang Yang. When that happens, will you agree to marry me?”

Guo Fu smiled, “If you can do such a thing then I would have no other choice but to marry you, wouldn’t I? But Khubilai has many guards around him. Even my father may not be able to beat that Jin Lun Fa Wang. Stop dreaming, just go and sleep.”

Wu Xiu Wen stared at Guo Fu’s elegant face and said, “Fine, you go and sleep as well.” He turned around and walked away a few steps before suddenly stopping. He turned and asked, “Sister Fu, are you going to have a dream tonight?”

Guo Fu laughed, “How do I know?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “If you do dream, what do you think you will dream about?”

Guo Fu gave a little laugh and said, “Most probably about a little monkey.”

Wu Xiu Wen was filled with joy and skipped away.

Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo listened to their words behind the flower thicket. They couldn’t stop themselves from smiling at each other and comparing themselves with them: one was madly in love with the other while the other didn’t have a set mind while themselves had only each other in mind and could die without regret, their joy and happiness could not compare with the joy and happiness of themselves.

After Wu Xiu Wen left, Guo Fu sat on the stone bench and looked up at the moon in deep thought. She stared at it for a long while before giving out a sigh.
Suddenly, someone came out from behind the garden mountain and said, “Sister Fu, why are you sighing?” It was Wu Dun Ru.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were both slightly startled. Wu Dun Ru must have hid himself here a long time ago, he was here even before them in fact, otherwise the two would have noticed him when he arrived here.

Guo Fu said with a slight angry tone, “You are always weird like this. You heard everything we said, right?”

Wu Dun Ru nodded and stood opposite of Guo Fu at quite a distance away but his eyes were still filled with love. The two looked at each in silence.

After a while, Guo Fu said, “What do you want to say to me?”

Wu Dun Ru said, “Nothing. You know what I have to say.” He then turned around slowly and then walked away slowly.

Guo Fu stared at his back while he walked away towards the mountain garden. He didn’t turn around even once. She thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if there existed only one of them?” She gave a deep sigh and returned to her room alone.

Yang Guo waited until she had gone before laughing, “If you were her, who would you marry?”

Xiao Long Nuu turned her head slightly and thought for a while before saying, “You.”

Yang Guo laughed, “I don’t count. Miss Guo does not like me one bit. I said if you were her, which one of the Wu brothers would you pick?”

Xiao Long Nuu compared the two Wu brothers in her mind but still came up with, “I’ll still marry you.”

Yang Guo was amused and touched. He embraced her and said tenderly, “Others have more than one in their hearts but my Gu Gu loves me only.”

The two of them stayed in each other’s loving arms until daylight.

The sun was on the eastern horizon. The two still did not want to part. Suddenly, a servant rushed up to them and greeted them before saying, “Master Guo requests Master Yang’s presence immediately,”

Yang Guo saw that his face was anxious and knew that it was something important. He left Xiao Long Nuu and followed the servant to the inner halls.

The servant said, “I searched for master Yang everywhere, so master Yang was appreciating the scenery in the garden.”

Yang Guo said, “Has master Guo been waiting a long time?”

The servant whispered, “The two master Wu’s suddenly disappeared, master and madam Guo are worrying about them and miss Guo cried a few times!”

Yang Gu was startled when he heard this but knew what had happened, “The two Wu brothers are trying to fight for the hand of their apprentice sister and to do something outstanding, they must have went to assassinate Khubilai. He hurried inside and saw Huang Rong looking distressed in her nightgown with Guo Jing pacing to and fro. Guo Fu’s eyes were red and it looked like she was going to cry at any time. There were two swords on the table.

As soon as Guo Jing saw Yang Guo he quickly asked, “Guo Er, the Wu brothers went to the Mongolian camp, do you know why?”

Yang Guo glanced over at Guo Fu and said, “The Wu brothers went to the Mongolian camp?”

Guo Jing said, “Yes. You young ones always talk to each other, do you have any clue about why they went?”

Yang Guo said, “I didn’t notice anything. The two Wu brothers did not say anything to me. It’s probably because they were worried about the danger that Xiang Yang was in so they went to the camp to kill a few senior generals. It’ll be a great achievement if they succeed.”

Guo Jing sighed and pointed to the swords on the table. He said, “Even if their hearts are in the right place, they don’t know what they are getting into, their weapons have been taken away and sent back here.

Yang Guo was rather surprised by this. He knew that the Wu brothers would not be able to succeed with such great fighters such as Jin Lun Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi, Xiao Xiang Zi and the likes around but he couldn’t predicted that would happen in the last few hours and that their weapons would be sent back.

Guo Jing gave the letter that was on top of the weapons to Yang Guo and glanced at Huang Rong. The two of them shook their heads. Yang Guo opened the letter and saw:

To Hero Guo of Xiang Yang from the First Protector of Mongolia Jin Lun Fa Wang,

Last night when I was hunting, I unexpectedly came upon your disciples by the name of Wu. People say that great masters will produce great disciples; I cannot deny this. I have long admired and marvelled at hero Guo’s great name. Last time we meet at the heroes’ feast, we did not get the chance to make acquaintances. I have written to you to invite you the camp so we may do so under the flow of wine. As soon as you arrive, your disciples will return safely. Will you accept this invite?

The letter had a humble tone and it appeared to be an ordinary invitation for Guo Jing to go to the camp and make acquaintances with Fa Wang but what the letter really was saying is that the Wu brothers will only be released if Guo Jing agrees to go to the camp.

Guo Jing waited for Yang Guo to finish reading before saying, “Well?”

Yang Guo knew what this was about, “Auntie Guo’s wisdom is ten times greater than mine, auntie Guo would have come up with any plan that I can think of. The reason she summoned me to discuss this matter is for one reason only; she wants me and Gu Gu to accompany uncle Guo to the Mongolian camp. Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others together might beat uncle Guo but it isn’t guaranteed that they’ll be able to kill and capture him. If Gu Gu and I help him, uncle Guo will be able to escape.” He then immediately came up with, “But if Gu Gu and I suddenly changed sides, to harm him will be easier than turning my palm. If I can’t kill him with my own hands, I’ll just let Fa Wang and the others to do it for me, wouldn’t that be great?” He then gave a wry smile and said, “Uncle Guo, my master and I will go with you. Auntie Guo has seen our swordplay defeat Jin Lun Fa Wang, they might not be able to keep us there if the three of us go together.”

Guo Jing was delighted and smiled, “No one can compare with your intelligence apart from your auntie Guo. This is the exact thing that your auntie Guo came up with.”

Yang Guo thought, “Huang Rong, oh Huang Rong, you’ve been clever all your life but today you lose out to me.” He said, “We’ll go right now. Gu Gu and I will pretend to be your attendants, this way we will be able to emphasis your heroic manner of coming to this meet all by yourself.”

Guo Jing said, “Great!” He turned to Huang Rong and said, “Rong Er, you don’t need to worry, with Guo Er and miss Long, even if it was a dragon’s lagoon or a tiger’s lair, we’ll still be able to return safely.”

He straightened his gown and said, “We’ll get miss Long.”

Huang Rong shook her head and said, “No, I just wanted Guo Er to go with you. Miss Long is like a porcelain doll, I cannot let her meet any dangers. I want her to say with me.”

Yang Guo was startled but then immediately understood, “Auntie Guo is indeed wary of me. She wants to keep Gu Gu with her as a hostage, this way I won’t be able to do anything. If I insist of having Gu Gu with her, she will be even more suspicious.” He didn’t say anything about this.

But Guo Jing said, “Miss Long’s swordplay is excellent, it will be a great help if she comes with us.”

Huang Rong countered, “Your Po Lu, Xiang Er are about to be born. If miss Long is here to guard here, I can relax a bit more.”

Guo Jing said quickly, “Yes, yes, I’m so dumb. Guo Er, let’s go.”

Yang Guo said, “Allow me to tell my Gu Gu.”

Huang Rong said, “I’ll tell her in a minute, you two are just going to the camp for half a day, it’s not some great event.”

When it comes to using their minds, Yang Guo found himself losing out to Huang Rong every time so he decided to use it against the honest and sincere Guo Jing instead. He decided he’ll make his move against him at the camp and then come back to save Xiao Long Nuu afterwards. He made his mind up and left the city with Guo Jing.

Guo Jing rode the precious red horse and Yang Guo rode his skinny yellow horse. The two horses were fast, they arrived at the camp within one hour.

Khubilai was startled and delighted that Guo Jing actually decided to come here and he quickly invited him into his tent.

Guo Jing entered the tent and saw a middle-aged prince sitting in the middle of the tent. He had a square face and large ears with deep eyes; Guo Jing was stunned when he saw this and thought, “This person looks so much alike his father Tuo Lei.”

He was very close with Tuo Lei when he was younger but now he has passed away, he couldn’t stop his eyes from going red and he almost cried.

Khubilai left his seat to greet him and bowed down to him, saying, “When my father was alive, he always praised the heroic and righteous uncle Guo, I have always admired uncle Guo. To have the opportunity to meet you is the fulfilment of my lifelong dream.”

Guo Jing bowed to him and said, “Tuo Lei and I were like brothers, when I was younger, me and my mother lived under Genghis Khan’s territory, it was your father who looked after us. It is very sad that he died suddenly at such an age.”

Khubilai heard that his words were sincere and they moved him. He then introduced Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Ke Zi and the others to him and then invited him to his place.

Yang Guo stood behind Guo Jing and pretended that he didn’t know any of them. Fa Wang and the others did not know why he came but when they saw him ignoring them, they ignored him.

However, Ma Guang Zuo called out, “Brother Ya…” Before he finished saying ‘brother Yang’, Yin Ke Xi had pinched his leg tightly.

Ma Guang Zuo called out, “What are you doing?”

Yin Ke Xi turned his head around and ignored him. Ma Guang Zuo didn’t know who did this and kept on shouting out insults. He forgot about greeting Yang Guo.

Yang Guo sat down and drank some Mongolian milk wine. Yang Guo saw that the Wu brothers were not present and was about to ask their whereabouts when Khubilai ordered his attendants, “Invite the master Wu’s in.” The attendant did as he was told and pushed Wu Dun Ru and Wu Xiu Wen into the tent.

The two’s hand and legs were tied tightly with cowhide. The restraints between their legs were just a foot long so the two couldn’t make their normal strides. They could only struggle slowly forwards. The two’s face was filled with embarrassment when they saw their master. They called out, “Master!” and then lowered their heads in silence.

Guo Jing had been extremely angry with them for taking such a risk without telling anyone and causing this mess but when he saw the two, his feelings changed; the two’s clothes were strewn and blood stained and they were tied up so pathetically, his anger turned to pity and thought that although the two were reckless, their hearts were in the right place in trying to help the nation so he said warmly, “A martial artist will endure countless sufferings and countless defeats, what you’ve suffered is nothing.”

Khubilai pretended to scold his attendants and said, “I ordered you to look after these two master Wu’s with great care, why have you treated them like this? Quickly untie them.” The attendants followed his orders. However, the cowhide was soaked in water after being tied and they were shrunk tightly onto the skin, the attendants couldn’t untie it. Guo Jing left his seat and took the ends of Wu Dun Ru’s restraints. He pulled outwards lightly and the restraints snapped. He then did the same with Wu Xiu Wen’s restraints. Guo Jing’s movements looked plain, ordinary and lacked insufficient force but by succeeding, he showed he possessed great internal energy. Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Ke Zi, Ni Mo Xing and the others all looked at each startled, all secretly praising his martial arts.

Khubilai said, “Bring some wine quickly so you can apologise to the two master Wu’s.”

Guo Jing thought, “Today’s not going to be plain sailing, something’s going to happen soon. If the Wu’s don’t leave now, I’m going to be distracted.” He then made a bow to everyone in the tent and said clearly, “Thank you your highness for teaching my disciples a lesson for their insolence.” He then turned to the Wu brothers and said, “Go back and tell your master wife that I’m going to stay here for a while and talk with an old friend’s son, I’ll be back soon.”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Master, you…”

Last night they failed in their assignation attempt and were captured by Xiao Xiang Zi. He knew that the camp was filled with great fighters and he couldn’t stop himself from worrying about Guo Jing.

Guo Jing waved his hand and said, “Leave now! Go and tell general Luu to guard the city tightly and no matter what happens, do not open the city doors in case of an attack by the enemy.” Guo Jing said this with a mighty aura and was telling Khubilai that even if something happens to him, Xiang Yang will not surrender.

When the Wu brothers saw that Guo Jing had come personally to save them, they were touched but also ashamed with themselves. They didn’t say anything else and made their goodbyes with Guo Jing before returning to the city by themselves.

Khubilai laughed, “Uncle Guo must have not known about your disciples coming here to assassinate me.”

Guo Jing nodded and said, “I did not know about this. My disciples don’t know how tall the sky is and how deep the earth is, they were extremely impudent.”

Khubilai said, “Yes, uncle Guo and my family has deep ties with each other, the thought of assassinating me would never cross uncle Guo’s mind.”

Guo Jing said with a serious expression, “You’re wrong here. The matters of the people are more important than my own. Years ago when Tuo Lei led an army here to attack Xiang Yang, I once thought about trying to kill him to force the army to retreat but at that exact time, Genghis Khan had fallen ill and the army retreated and so our brotherhood was preserved. There’s an saying, ‘place righteousness above family loyalty’, since family can be gotten rid of, what about friends?”

These words were said with a righteous air and Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi and the others all looked at each other with their faces changed.

Yang Guo’s chest trembled and he thought, “Yes, killing brothers is his best skill. I wonder what my father done all those years ago to eventually die under his hands. Guo Jing, oh Guo Jing, could it be that you’ve never made a mistake in your entire life?” As he thought about this, hate and fury slowly filled his chest.

Khubilai did not have any signs of anger on his face and he had a smile on his face as he said, “So why does uncle Guo reproach your disciples when you have the same view?”

Guo Jing said, “Looking at the two’s lowly abilities, what chance have they got in succeeding in this task? Their failure is not important, it’s just that once they failed, you will be even more wary of someone assassinating you, this task would be made even more difficult for later assassins.

Khubilai laughed and thought, “I’ve heard that Guo Jing is a honest and simple person who’s not very good with words, who knew that he can actually speak with such spirit and gusto.”

Actually, Guo Jing was just saying what was in his mind and because he knew what he wanted to convey, he was able to say it with great spirit.

When Fa Wang and the others saw that he came alone and empty handed to this vast army without any signs of fear on his face, they were in complete awe of him as none of them could match the spirit that he was displaying.

Khubilai couldn’t stop himself from admiring Guo Jing when he saw Guo Jing’s lofty air and thought that if he could convince him to go under his command, it would be better than taking down ten Xiang Yang cities so he said, “Uncle Guo, the Song’s are in disarray. You have a king who is blind to the people’s plight, you have scoundrels in your courts and those who are loyal are punished, am I right?”

Guo Jing said, “Correct, king Li Zhong Huang is a blind king and the Prime Minister Jia Si Dao is the biggest crook of them all.”

No one predicted that he would actually insult his own king and leaders and everyone was startled.

Khubilai said, “Yes. Uncle Guo is a great man and a hero of our time so why do you work for such men?”

Guo Jing stood up and said clearly, “Even if the one named Guo is unworthy of being used, why would I allow myself to let these people use me? When I see you violent Mongols invading our land and killing my people, my blood boils. I’m doing this because for my people, the angry blood that flows through me is because of them.”

Khubilai patted down on his rest and said, “What great words. Everyone, give a toast to uncle Guo.” He raised his bowl and downed the wine in one go.

Everyone was getting anxious as they were all afraid that with these stirring words and his relationship with Khubilai’s father, Khubilai might actually let him go. It would be extremely difficult to capture him again but everyone could do nothing. When they saw Khubilai raise his bowl, they did the same and drank it down in one go. The attendants filled their bowls once more.

Khubilai said, “I once heard an old man say, ‘It’s the people of the land that’s important, not the king.’ What a truthful phrase. The land of Mongolia is in a state of peace, my people live happily and have what they need. My khan could not bear to see the people of the Song suffer and when he saw that no one was doing anything about it, he motioned his troops south to help rid the troubles of the people. This thought is the same as uncle Guo’s, both have the same heroic view. Come, let’s toast again.”

Fa Wang and the others all raised their bowls to their lips. Guo Jing swept his sleeve and sent a gust of wind over. There was a bout of ‘qiang lang lang’ noises as everyone’s bowls fell to pieces on the floor.

Guo Jing angrily shouted, “Stop! Ever since you Mongols have invaded our land, you have kill and slaughtered, corpses and bones mount up while blood flows like rivers. My citizens have lost their homes and countless have died under your army’s sabres and arrows. What troubles of my people are your ridding?”

Though this sweep of the sleeve was extremely sudden and was completely unexpected, it still managed to knock the bowls out of the hands of Fa Wang and the others who possessed great martial arts. Everyone felt shame and they all stood up, waiting for Khubilai’s orders to attack.

But Khubilai gave a long laugh to the sky and said, “The generals of the Mongolian army say that uncle Guo is a hero without a match, everyone is in admiration of uncle Guo. Indeed after seeing you with my own eyes, I now know that your great name is not a myth. I do not dare to harm the brotherly relationship of my father’s, on account of the past, how about we stop talking matters about the country?”

Guo Jing saluted with his hands and said, “Tuo Lie’s son is a magnanimous and open-minded man, none of the other Mongolian princes can compare with him, he will no doubt lead the country one day. I have some advice for you, would you like to listen?”

Khubilai said, “I am willing to listen to uncle Guo’s teachings.”

Guo Jing folded his arms and said, “The land of the Southern Song is vast and the people many. Talented and learned men are everywhere, and since history began, these kinds of men have not submitted to anyone. You Mongols might be able to expand your territory for a little while but in the future, you will be forced back north. When that happens, it will be disastrous for you and to regret it then would be too late. Please reconsider what you are doing.”

Khubilai smiled, “Thank you for your words.”

Guo Jing heard that him say these words casually and said, “We’ll say our goodbyes at that. Goodbye.”

Khubilai waved his hand and said, “Escort the guests out.”

Fa Wang and the others looked at each other startled and all thought, “It wasn’t easy to catch him, how can we let the tiger escape back into the mountains?” When they saw Khubilai sending Guo Jing out politely, they all felt that it was inappropriate to make a move on him.

Guo Jing strode out of the tent and thought, “This Khubilai is no ordinary person, he is indeed a strong foe.” He signalled with his eyes towards Yang Guo, telling him to hurry towards their steeds.

Suddenly, eight Mongols dashed forwards from the side. The leading Mongol said, “You’re Guo Jing? You injured many of my brothers at Xiang Yang and you’ve actually dared to come here to our camp to show off your might again. His highness has allowed you to go but we cannot allow it.” A shout was heard as all eight men dashed forwards towards Guo Jing. These eight men all used Mongolian wrestling techniques as sixteen hands went to grab Guo Jing.
Mongolians were unmatched in wrestling and these eight men were first-rate fighters of the Mongolian army. Khubilai had hid them nearby to capture Guo Jing. But Guo Jing grew up in Mongolia and was versed in riding, archery and wrestling, when he saw the eight pair of arms coming towards him he stretched out his hands and swept his right leg. In a flash, he had flung four men over ten feet away and tripped the over four to the ground. He used orthodox Mongolian wrestling techniques but because he had advanced martial arts as a base, the strength in his arms and legs were stronger than any normal men. How could the eight men defend against this?

Khubilai had stationed his personal minghan unit outside the tent and each one of them was skilled in wrestling. They saw how fast and clean Guo Jing’s movements were in throwing down eight men to the ground in one go, they have never seen such a display and they all cheered.

Guo Jing held out his fist towards the crowd and took of his hat, spinning it in his hand. This was the routine that one did to the crowd after winning a wrestling match. The crowd cheered even louder when they saw him do this. The eight men picked themselves up from the floor and looked at Guo Jing in shock. They didn’t know whether to go again or just leave it at that.

Guo Jing said to Yang Guo, “Let’s go!”

Suddenly, a horn could be heard and minghan regiments from everywhere galloped towards them. Khubilai had moved his troops and surrounded Guo Jing and Yang Guo.

Guo Jing was slightly shocked and thought, “Even if we had the greatest of skills, how can we break out of this? Who would have thought that Khubilai has gone to such lengths to get me captured?”

He was afraid that Yang Guo would get worried so he kept a normal expression and said, “Our steeds are fast horses. Our main priority is to break out of this encirclement. We need to get two shields to protect ourselves from their archers.” He then whispered into his ear, “First gallop south and then go north.”

Yang Guo was shocked, “Xiang Yang is south of here, why go north?” But he immediately understood, “Hmm, yes, Khubilai must have placed his men around Xiang Yang in case he goes south. The north will be free from soldiers. First go south and then go north unexpectedly, they will not be able to respond in time and we can escape. How should I stop him?”

Yang Guo’s was trying to make his mind up when he saw a few people dart out of the tent. These people had blocked their paths. A ‘ming ming’ sound followed as a bronze and iron wheel flew towards the steeds; it was Fa Wang.

Guo Jing saw that the wheels were coming in with great force and did not dare to use his hands to catch it. He lowered his head and pressed down on the necks of the two horses with his hands; the horses lowered their front legs just in time for the iron and bronze wheel to brush over their heads. The two wheels turned in midair and flew back into Fa Wang’s hands. This slight delay allowed Ni Mo Xing and Yin Ke Xi to arrive in front of Guo Jing and Yang Guo. Fa Wang and Xiao Xiang Zi arrived a little later and the four surrounded them.

Jin Lun Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others were all first rate fighters and normally would not lower themselves and fight in numbers but Guo Jing was too strong and they were all thinking about the title of ‘The Greatest Warrior of Mongolia’. White and golden light glimmered as all of them took out a weapon.

Fa Wang was holding a bronze and iron wheel. Yin Ke Xi was holding a golden jewel embedded whip. Xiao Xiang Zhi was holding a short Ku Sang Rod. The person holding the strangest weapon was Ni Mo Xing. In his hand was a short iron Snake whip that looked like a live snake as it was motioned on his arm.

From their running movements and their hand movements in taking out their weapons, Guo Jing could see that the weakest out of the four appeared to be Yin Ke Xi. He immediately threw both his palms forwards towards Xiao Xiang Zi. Xiao Xiang Zi extended his rod forwards, aiming for Guo Jing’s palm. Guo Jing looked at his weapon and saw white silk twirling around it and there was a hemp at one end. Guo Jing saw that Xiao Xiang Zi’s martial arts was high and his weapon strange, he’ll definitely has some strong points about him so he turned his right arm around and used a stance of [Divine Dragon Sweeping its Tail], immediately grabbing Yin Ke Xi’s golden whip. Yin Ke Xi wanted to use his whip to attack his opponent but it had already been grabbed. He followed the opponent’s pull and threw his body forwards with a glittering dagger in his left hand. This stance was using an attack as a defence and it was the top skill of the [Eighteen Little Grabbing Hand Technique].

Guo Jing called out, “Good!” He used his grabbing hand technique on him as well. His right hand still held onto the whip as he went for his dagger. Guo Jing’s arms were crossed over as his right hand held onto the whip in Yin Ke Xi’s right hand and his left hand held onto the Yin Ke Xi’s left hand. Yin Ke Xi was sure that by thrusting his dagger forwards, his opponent would have no choice but to let go of his whip and avoid the dagger. Who would have thought that his dagger would also be held?

Just at this time, Fa Wang’s wheels and Xiao Xiang Zi’s short rod attacked. Guo Jing did not manage to snatch away the golden dragon whip with his first pull and he shouted out; a surge of great chi went through the whip into Yin Ke Xi. Yin Ke Xi felt as if a metal hammer struck his chest heavily, his eyes saw stars and he threw up a mouthful of blood. Guo Jing let go of the whip and blocked the attacks. Yin Ke Xi knew that he had suffered a severe injury and he pulled back slowly. He sat down on the floor and circulated his chi through his ‘dan tian’ and held back the urge to vomit blood.

Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing were both delighted and afraid when they saw Guo Jing injuring Yin Ke Xi with his first attack; they were delighted because there was now one less competitor for the title of the ‘Greatest Warrior of Mongolia’; they were afraid because they saw how powerful Guo Jing was, they themselves might suffer the same fate if they weren’t careful. The three of them did not dare to make any rash moves and defended themselves.

Guo Jing responded to every stance that came to him and studied the strange weapons of the Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi carefully. The Ku Sang rod was made out of pure iron and apart from being heavy and sturdy, he couldn’t see anything special about it. Ni Mo Xing’s snake shaped weapon was very strange, the head of the weapon was like the head of a poisonous snake and the body of the weapon was soft and crooked. Both the head and tail of the snake shaped weapon were sharp but the most powerful aspect of the weapon was that it was hard to predict the weapon’s movements. One couldn’t tell when the body of the snake would bend over, the head and tail of the weapon had no certain direction; the iron snake whip would suddenly leap up and motion around in Ni Mo Xing’s arms and then suddenly curl up and slither around, the weapon had hundreds of variations.

In his younger years, Guo Jing had seen the stances of Ou Yang Feng’s snake staff, the staff was like a real snake and it had venomous poison with it. Even if Ni Mo Xing’s weapon was extremely powerful, it was still a dead object. When he attacks and when he takes the snake back, there will be certain principles behind it that can be seen through. Because of this, the only person that Guo Jing was worried about was Jin Lun Fa Wang.

The four of them had exchanged several moves when suddenly someone shouted out and stepped forward, a man mountain appeared; it was Ma Guang Zuo. He was holding a thick and long bronze rod in his hand and smashed it down towards Guo Jing’s head from behind Ni Mo Xing. The four of them were in a heated battle and all of them defended tightly, there was not an ounce of spare space in between any of them. The exchange from Guo Jing’s palms, Jin Lun Fa Wang’s wheels, Xiao Xiang Zi’s short rod and Ni Mo Xing’s iron snake had formed a net of force around them. By smashing the rod down, Ma Guang Zuo was running up against the force created by the four. Ma Guang Zuo’s rod suddenly bounced back up as it met this invisible force. He noticed something was wrong and shouted out as he gathered strength into his arms to keep control of the rod. Even though he managed to do this, the joints in his hands bled. He called out loudly, “Evil, evil!” He increased the strength in his arms and smashed down once more.

Fa Wang was standing in front of him and he saw what was happening, the greater the force he smashes down with, the more he’ll suffer and Fa Wang just chuckled.

Yang Guo watched by the side and knew what would happen, though Ma Guang Zuo was strong, his martial arts could no way compare with that of Guo Jing’s. If he makes a fierce attack blindly and meets up with the world’s most yang and unyielding [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm] of Guo Jing head on, what chance has he got of living? Even if he doesn’t die under the palm of Guo Jing, he would be seriously injured under the weapons of Fa Wang, Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi. He liked this dim-witted person for his simple and straightforward character and for standing up for him on many occasions, if Ma Guang Zuo strikes down he would definitely meet great danger so Yang Guo called out, “Ma Guang Zuo, watch out for my sword!”

The gentlemen sword went for his back.

Ma Guang Zuo was stunned and stopped his bronze rod in midair. He said with shock, “Brother Yang, while are you fighting me?”

Yang Guo insulted, “You dumbass, what do you think you’re doing? Get lost!” The long sword quivered as several stances were thrust forwards. Ma Guang Zuo could do nothing but retreat. Yang Guo pierced forwards furiously and forced him back step by step. Ma Guang Zuo had long legs and every step of his was the equivalent of two ordinary steps of a normal person. Ten steps later and they became quite a distance away from Guo Jing and the others.

The sword glimmered in front of his eyes. He could never have dreamed that Yang Guo would suddenly try to kill him and even if he used every ounce of strength he had, he would not be able to fend off these attacks of Yang Guo’s.

Yang Guo waited until he had retreated back a few steps before quietly saying, “Brother Ma, do you know that I’ve just saved your life?”

Ma Guang Zuo said loudly, “What?”

Yang Guo said quietly, “Keep your voice down, don’t let the others hear.”

Ma Guang Zuo said with his eyes wide opened, “Why? I’m not scared of that Guo Jing.” These words were still said clearly and loudly. To him, he was speaking at a normal tone but to others his voice was as if someone was shouting and hollering.

Yang Guo said, “Okay, don’t speak, just listen to me.” Ma Guang Zuo listened to him and nodded. Yang Guo said, “That Guo Jing knows witchcraft. All he has to do is to recite a curse and he’s able to chop someone’s head off. It’s better if you run away as far as possible.”

Ma Guang Zuo’s eyes were wide open when he heard this and believed his words though he had doubts.

Yang Guo wanted to save his life and he knew if he said that Guo Jing’s martial arts was too high, he would never admit defeat but if he said that Guo Jing knew witchcraft, this slow witted person would probably be scared and he continued, “You tried to smash his head in with your rod but before you even touched his head, the rod bounced back up, isn’t that strange? That merchant’s martial arts are excellent but how come as soon as he went up to fight him, he was injured?” Ma Guang Zuo was becoming slightly more convinced and nodded his head but looked over at Fa Wang and the others.

Yang Guo knew what he was thinking and said, “That monk knows how to write charms. He gave one to that zombie and one to that dwarf, if you have one on your body, you will be protected against witchcraft. Did that monk give you one?”
Ma Guang Zuo said angrily, “No.”

Yang Guo said, “Yes, that old baldy didn’t give me a charm as well. We’ll sort him out afterwards.”

Ma Guang Zuo said loudly, “You right. What should we do?”

Yang Guo said, “We’ll watch by the side, the further away the better.”

Ma Guang Zuo said, “Brother Yang, you’re a great friend. It was lucky you told me about this.” He put away his weapon and watched the battle from afar.

Guo Jing was using the great wulin skill, the [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms]. Fa Wang and the others kept tight on him thinking that even if his internal energy was more profound, he would not be able to keep up so a powerful palm technique for much longer. But Guo Jing had been practising the [Nine Yin Manual] diligently for the last twenty years; at first his real power did not show but tens of stances later, the [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms] suddenly became powerful and then suddenly gentle, from great hardness came softness. This was something that Hong Qi Gong did not manage to grasp all those years ago. By using this kind of palm technique to fend off these three fighters, not only did he remain on an even keel with them, he was able to counterattack when he had the chance and he was getting more and more fluent as he went on.

Yang Guo watched on in awe from the side. He too has practised the [Nine Yin Manual] before from the ancient tomb but because he had no one to instruct him, he didn’t know that the manual was this extraordinary. He followed Guo Jing’s palm techniques with the teachings of the manual and immediately he understood countless profound fist theories. His mind concentrated on this and for the time being, he forgot about the thought of killing Guo Jing to avenge his father.

Fa Wang’s martial arts and Guo Jing’s martial arts were separated by the smallest of margins, Guo Jing may have had more fortunate encounters than Fa Wang but Fa Wang was twenty years older than him; he had twenty years worth of internal energy more than Guo Jing. If the two fought one on one, they would have to exchange over a thousand stances to decide who was better. With first-rate fighters such as Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi by his side, it wouldn’t have been difficult to gain victory over Guo Jing but Guo Jing’s [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms] were too powerful and along with his palm technique, he was using Quan Zhen’s [Big Dipper Formation], he went to and fro as he fought and it was like as if he had separated into seven. Another reason why he was still holding them off was because of his immediate victory over Yin Ke Xi; this was a warning to the others and the remaining three made defence their main priority and did not dare to make a rash attack so although it was three against one, Guo Jing held his own against the three.

After a few more stances later, the power in Fa Wang’s wheel gradually increased. The force of the attacks from Ni Mo Xing’s iron snake was increasing as well.

Guo Jing was getting anxious and thought, “If this continues, I won’t be able to hold them off. Guo Er is over fighting with that giant. That giant’s martial arts are just average, Guo Er will be able to manage. I need to meet up with him as soon as possible and think of a way to get out of this place.” The four were putting all their concentration into their battle and did not dare to even blink, they did not notice Yang Guo and Ma Guang Zuo were just watching their battle a couple of feet away.

Suddenly a strange whistling noise was heard. Xiao Xiang Zi leapt up several feet into the air and pointed his Ku Sang rod downwards. Guo Jing stepped to the side to avoid it when suddenly everything went dark; a black smoke was being emitted from the Ku Sang rod. A stench filled Guo Jing’s nose and he felt slightly faint. He called in alarm to himself and knew that there was something poisonous within the Ku Sang rod and he quickly moved backwards.

Xiao Xiang Zi had seen Guo Jing had definitely taken in the black smoke but he did not faint. He was extremely shocked and thought, “Lions, tigers and any kind of wild beasts will faint as soon as they come across my toad poison but it doesn’t seem to have any kind of effect on him, that is strange.” He leapt up once again and shot out some more poison from his rod.

Years ago when Xiao Xiang Zi was practising martial arts in the wild mountains of Hu Nan, he saw a toad that was hiding itself in a broken coffin poison a large python to death. He understood what the toad did and gathered some toads to extract the venom from them. He developed a poisonous dust and hid it in the Ku Sang rod. There is a lever at the end of the rod. When his finger presses down onto the lever it will shoot the poison out. The higher he fires the poison from, the more effective it becomes. He has used this poisonous dust on pythons and wild beasts before and it knocked them out immediately but he could not have guessed that Guo Jing’s internal energy was so profound that he was actually able to suppress the effects of the poison.

Fa Wang and Ni Mo Xing were to the sides of Guo Jing and although they did not come in direct contact with the dust, they had smelt a little and they immediately had the urge to vomit. They immediately leapt away from it. Xiao Xiang Zi had plugged the antidote to this poison is his nose beforehand and he dashed forwards into the black smoke, waving out his rod to attack.

Guo Jing used a stance of [Seeing the Dragon in the Field] and sent it towards Xiao Xiang Zi’s kneecaps. Xiao Xiang Zi used his rod to block the attack and before he had any more time to fire some more poison out, he had been forced back five feet by the palm.

Guo Jing slanted his body to the side only to see Ni Mo Xing coming in with an attack with his iron snake. He sent out a stance of [The Forbidden Submerged Dragon]. Ni Mo Xing quickly placed the Iron Snake across his chest and held each end with his hands. However, the power of this palm of Guo Jing’s came from the area around the palm from where it was fired and not in the palm itself, though the palm was going for Ni Mo Xing’s chest, Ni Mo Xing’s chest had no kind of force going towards it and he blocked thin air. By the time he knew something was wrong, his abdomen and his face had felt the power of the palm. Luckily for him, he was very short and as a result was very nimble, he quickly threw himself onto the ground and rolled away on the floor like a ball.

Guo Jing saw his chance to escape and called out, “Guo Er, let’s go!” He leapt out into the open plains. Fa Wang flew after him. Guo Jing’s back was just a few feet away from the Mongolian soldiers and immediately over ten spears were pointed towards his back. Guo Jing used his arms to parry away the spears and then grabbed and threw two soldiers towards Fa Wang. He called out, “Catch!”

If Fa Wang caught them, it would slow him down and give Guo Jing the chance to run further away so he slanted his left shoulder and knocked into the soldiers and sent them flying over ten feet away. He threw his golden wheel towards Guo Jing’s back.

Guo Jing knew if he returned just one stance, he would get caught up in a fight with Fa Wang and when Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi catches up, it would be difficult to escape again so he grabbed two spears and thrust it backwards. He did not slow down one bit as he did this and it was as if he had a third eye on his back; one of the spears went towards Fa Wang’s right shoulder and the other for Fa Wang’s chest. Both the direction and power behind it was complete. Fa Wang secretly praised this and then swept his golden wheel across, smashing the spears in two. By the time his sights were back on Guo Jing, he had already darted into the Mongolian army.

This division of soldiers were ordered by Khubilai to station themselves deeply around the tent to capture Guo Jing. But when Guo Jing darted into their formation, the soldiers could do nothing about him, they could not capture him nor harm him. Sounds of spears and sabres could be heard amongst calls and shouts. These soldiers actually hindered Fa Wang and the others in their chase after Guo Jing.

Guo Jing hiding himself amongst the soldiers and horses was like hiding himself amongst a dense forest; it was actually easier for him to escape danger like this than in the open land. He ran up to a noyan and pulled him down from his horse. He leapt on the horse and galloped left and right amongst the crowd of soldiers. Soon he managed to break through the back of them and he galloped forwards, whistling as he went. The red horse was left at a faraway place and when it heard its master summoning it, it galloped like the wind towards him.

Yang Guo watched from afar as the red horse galloped towards Guo Jing. He called out to himself, “Oh no!” He knew that once Guo Jing got on the red steed, Khubilai would have no way to catch up with Guo Jing even if he summoned all the world’s men after him.

In this urgent situation, he suddenly called out, “Oh no, I’m feel like as if I’m dying!” He wobbled a bit as if he was about to fall down onto the ground. He then whispered to Ma Guang Zuo, “Don’t say anything, run away now! The further away the better.” He had circulated his chi through his ‘dan tian’ when he called out and even in this clamour, Guo Jing would definitely be able to hear it. Once Guo Jing hears this, he would definitely come back for him but if he sees Ma Guang Zuo with him, Guo Jing might actually throw out a palm and send Ma Guang Zuo to his death. Ma Guang Zuo was very obedient of Yang Guo’s words and although he didn’t understand what he meant by this, he ran away towards the royal tent.

When Guo Jing heard Yang Guo’s call, he was indeed worried. He didn’t wait for the red horse and turned his horse back towards him. He went back into the swarm of soldiers and galloped towards where Yang Guo was standing.

A thought went through Fa Wang’ s mind and he knew what Yang Guo was trying to do. He allowed him to past and instead blocked his escape route.

Guo Jing rode up to Yang Guo and said anxiously, “Guo Er, what’s wrong!”

Yang Guo swayed a little and said, “That giant is not a match for me but for some reason, whenever I try to use any real strength, a surge of chi runs through me and my ‘dan tian’ feels as if it’s being cut up by knives.”

This was a completely believable lie; Guo Jing could tell that Ma Guang Zuo’s martial arts was very ordinary when he attempted to smash down on him with his rod so if Yang Guo said it was Ma Guang Zuo who injured him, Guo Jing would be suspicious. But if he said that something’s wrong with his chi, Guo Jing would not be able to tell if he was lying or not from the outside. There was also the fact that Guo Jing mistook Yang Guo for fire deviating the previous night. Such a type of injury recurring again in the heat of battle so soon after is not uncommon.

Guo Jing saw that he was holding his abdomen with his left hand and his head was covered in sweat. It appeared that the injury was not light and he said quickly, “Get on my back, I’ll carry you out of here.”

Yang Guo said with a false pretence, “Uncle Guo, quickly go, my life isn’t worth anything but Xiang Yang’s fate depends on you. The country, the army, the people, all their hope rests on you.”

Guo Jing said, “You came here because of me, how can I leave you here? Quickly get on me.”

Yang Guo dallied as Guo Jing lowered himself. Guo Jing pulled him onto his back. Just at this time, the horse that Guo Jing had snatched was killed under the Mongolian soldiers’ arrows.

Guo Jing has experienced countless dangerous situations in his life, the more dangerous the situation the greater his bravery. He pondered on how to get out of this situation and he said to Yang Guo, “Guo Er, don’t be scared, we are going to fight our way out of here.”

He stood up and dashed north.

Fa Wang, Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi were now attacking Guo Jing once again. Guo Jing looked around and saw that soldiers surrounded them; this situation was even direr than the previous time that they were surrounded.

Underneath the camp’s banner stood Khubilai. He was holding a bowl of wine and was watching the battle with a monk by his side. There was an arrogant expression on his face as he watched on with victory assured.

Guo Jing gave a shout as he carried Yang Guo towards Khubilai. He arrived in front of Khubilai just after three leaps. Khubilai’s bodyguards were alarmed and they pointed their spears at Guo Jing. Guo Jing’s palms overcame all obstacles as it sent one of the guards flying away. Just a few more feet forwards and Khubilai would be in range of Guo Jing’s palm. All Khubilai’s guards defended him with their lives but how could they stop Guo Jing?

Fa Wang saw it was getting desperate and he threw his golden wheel towards Guo Jing’s head. Guo Jing lowered his head to avoid the wheel but did not stop and continued forwards.

Yang Guo thought, “If he holds Khubilai hostage, the Mongolians will have no choice but to let him go. If I don’t make my move now, when am I going go make it?”

He hesitated a little and eventually said, “Uncle Guo, was my father really a tyrant that left you with no choice but to kill him?”

Guo Jing was stunned with this question but he had no time to give it much thought in his reply in their present situation and immediately replied, “He took a scoundrel as his father, he betrayed his country and plotted against his people, he deserves to die.”

Yang Guo said, “Fine!” He hesitated no longer and raised his gentlemen sword and thrust it towards Guo Jing’s back.

Suddenly, a white blur appeared and a rod swept across him and blocked his sword. Yang Guo followed the rod and dispersed the opponent’s force. He looked carefully and found out that it was Xiao Xiang Zi who had stopped his sword. He was surprised and thought, “My sword was just about to go through Guo Jing, why are you stopping me?” But he immediately understood his reasons, “That’s right, if I kill Guo Jing then the title of ‘Mongolia’s Greatest Warrior’ will be mine. Huh, this zombie doesn’t know that I’m just trying to avenge my father, I don’t care about titles and whatnot.”

He unleashed several stances and forced Xiao Xiang Zi’s rod away. He turned his sword back towards Guo Jing and thrust it towards him once again. Xiao Xiang Zi used his rod and blocked his sword.

At this moment, Guo Jing was fending off Fa Wang’s wheel and Ni Mo Xing’s Iron Snake with his palms, he didn’t know what Yang Guo was up to. He just thought that Yang Guo was trying to fight Xiao Xiang Zi with all his might and he said, “Be careful of the poison in his rod.”

Fa Wang and Ni Mo Xing was in front of Guo Jing and could see what was going on clearly and both shouted, “Xiao Xiang Zi, what are you doing?”

Xiao Xiang Zi cackled and suddenly swept his rod towards Guo Jing. Guo Jing moved out of the way. Yang Guo was about to send his sword through Guo Jing for the third time but once again, Xiao Xiang Zi blocked his sword.

Guo Jing was worried about Yang Guo’s injury and was afraid that he would not be able to cope with Xiao Xiang Zi’s rod so he sent out his left palm towards Xiao Xiang Zi’s chest. Xiao Xiang Zi quickly jumped out of the way.

Yang Guo had no one to stop him anymore and he sent out his sword towards Guo Jing’s back. However, Xiao Xiang Zi was worried that Yang Guo would succeed and he advanced immediately after his retreat and sent his rod towards the vital pressure points on Yang Guo’s back, forcing Yang Guo to save himself first.

Guo Jing was using his right palm to compete advanced internal energies with Fa Wang. Both he and Yang Guo were in great danger. He ignored his own safety and went to save Yang Guo first. His left palm used a stance of [Divine Dragon Swinging its Tail] and collided with Xiao Xiang Zi’s short rod. Xiao Xiang Zi burned up and his ghastly white face turned red.

But at that exact time, Ni Mo Xing had rolled towards him and extended his Iron Snake towards Guo Jing’s left side. Guo Jing was using seventy percent of his energy against Fa Wang and the remaining thirty percent in blocking Xiao Xiang Zi’s rod. He had nothing left to block this attack of Ni Mo Xing and could only move his left side back half a foot. He was able to avoid the iron snake’s main attack but the head of the iron snake still managed to embed itself inches into his side.

Guo Jing circulated his chi and his muscles flexed and stopped the head of the iron snake from going in any further. He immediately followed this by a flying left kick and sent Ni Mo Xing tumbling. Ni Mo Xing saw that his iron snake had struck one of his vital areas and thought that the title of the ‘Mongolia’s Greatest Warrior’ would be now be his. But he would never have dreamed that his enemy would have such martial arts that would allow him to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat. This kick landed on Ni Mo Xing’s chest and broke three of his ribs.

Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing had both been defeated but Fa Wang took this opportunity to gain victory and quickly increased the strength in his palm. Guo Jing’s chi on his left side has now been disturbed and he could hold on no longer. He felt a mountain shattering and ocean turning force coming towards him. If he continues to take this head on, the result would be death. He could only disperse the power in his palm and rely on his twenty years worth of internal energy to take this stance. His body swayed continuously and he threw up a mouthful of blood. His life was in danger but his thoughts were still on Yang Guo. He called out, “Guo Er, go and get a horse, I’ll hold them off.”

After seeing Guo Jing protect himself with his life, Yang Guo’s emotions were stirred and he no longer cared about his revenge. He thought about how righteous and virtuous his uncle Guo was, if he didn’t repay a life with a life then he would have wasted his life on earth. He leapt off his back and flurried his ‘Gentleman’ sword to protect Guo Jing. He was like a mad tiger and fought with his life with every stance.

Fa Wang and Xiao Xiang Zi was stunned and shouted, “Yang Guo, what are you doing?”

Yang Guo did not reply and sent out a stance towards Fa Wang. The tip quivered and another stance was sent out towards Xiao Xiang Zi. The two saw that his eyes were red and that he had a strange expression on him and they both took two steps back. They assumed that he wanted to kill Guo Jing himself in order to get the title of the ‘Greatest Warrior of Mongolia’.

Guo Jing said, “Guo Er, don’t worry about me, save yourself.”

Yang Guo replied, “Uncle Guo, it’s my fault that you’ve ended up like this. I’m going to die with you.”

The sword glimmered as he ignored his own safety and protected Guo Jing.

Fa Wang and Xiao Xiang Zi raised their weapons and attacked Guo Jing together. But Yang Guo’s sword stances were extremely lively and he actually kept the two at bay. The Mongolian army surrounded them and roared as they watched the three fight.

Guo Jing kept on urging Yang Guo to run away but all he saw was Yang Guo protecting him with his life. He was worried but also touched. His internal injury flared up and he could hold on no longer; his knees went soft and he fell to the floor.

Ni Mo Xing held down the pain of his broken ribs and advanced forwards slowly with his iron snake to kill Guo Jing. Yang Guo sent out several wild stances and then put Guo Jing on his back. He dashed north.

His martial arts could not compare with Fa Wang normally but now with Guo Jing on his back, how long could he last? Several exchanges later, his left arm was slashed open by Fa Wang’s golden wheel.

End of Chapter 21

[Mojo Jojo]

Chapter 22

The Baby Girl of the City in Danger

Just as Guo Jing and Yang Guo thought they had ran out of luck, the Mongolian soldiers and horses suddenly started to disperse. An old crippled man with a metal crutch in his left hand and a hammer in his right advanced towards them. He called out, “Master Yang, quickly escape, I’ll hold the fort.”

Yang Guo took a glance at him and recognised it was one of Peach Blossom Island’s disciple Feng Mo Feng. He was extremely surprised by this event but in this perilous danger, he didn’t give it much thought on how he suddenly appeared.

When Feng Mo Feng was forced into working for the Mongolian army, he used the chance to assassinate members of the Mongolian army and had already killed a Noyan and a Jagun leader. He was very careful in making his moves and was yet to be discovered. Today, he heard a great commotion and so he headed up to a high vantage point to see what was happening. He saw that Guo Jing and Yang Guo were surrounded so he fought his way in to help them. His iron hammer caused gusts of winds as it was motioned and those who met it died instantly. A bloody trail was left in his wake.

Yang Guo was delighted with this development and motioned his sword to try to break out. However, Fa Wang used his wheel to intercept Yang Guo’s and Feng Mo Feng’s stances at the same time. Whenever Xiao Xiang Zi’s rod came down towards Guo Jing’s back, Fa Wang would allow Yang Guo to save Guo Jing. If Fa Wang used his wheel to smash down on Guo Jing, Xiao Xiang Zi would block his attack with his rod. If the two weren’t fighting amongst each other, even if Yang Guo gave his life in trying to protect Guo Jing, Guo Jing would have been dead long ago.

When Khubilai came up with reward of being ‘Mongolia’s greatest warrior’, he had hoped that his men would use all their efforts to achieve this goal but instead they fought amongst each other, this was something that he did not predict.

Guo Jing’s life may be safe for the time being but the Mongolian army had position themselves all around him like an iron wall, a metal boundary. Fa Wang and Xiao Xiang Zi were fighting for first place. Ni Mo Xing bit down on his tongue as he held his pain and looked for a chance to attack, attacking with vicious stances here and there.

By now, Yang Guo and Guo Jing had been battling within the army for over an hour. The sun was now skewed to the side. Fa Wang suddenly changed his stances and his wheel collided with Yang Guo’s long sword. The ‘Gentlemen Sword’ was a blade that can cut through metal like butter, as soon as the weapons collided; a hole was made in the golden wheel. Fa Wang followed the momentum and kept on going forward. The wheel caused an extremely strong pressing wind over. Yang Guo was afraid that if he moved out of the way, Guo Jing would be injured so he used his sword to take this attack head on. The wheel slanted slightly and a light ‘chi’ sound was heard; Yang Guo’s right forearm was slashed open. Though the wound wasn’t deep, it had cut a vein; blood rushed forwards. As he fought, he felt his legs go soft and was running out of breath, but under these attacks, how could he stop defending in order to stop his bleeding?

Feng Mo Feng swung his metal hammer urgently and used every ounce of his efforts in help Yang Guo and Guo Jing but Fa Wang’s left palm blocked and attacked, rendering Feng Mo Feng in a state where he could only defend; if Feng Mo Feng hadn’t fought with his life, he wouldn’t have even been able to save himself.

Xiao Xiang Zi saw his chance had come; he first sent Ni Mo Xing’s iron snake to the side and suddenly leapt up into the sky. He pointed his rod towards Guo Jing and was about to release the poisonous dust.

Yang Guo was shocked by this and quickly stretched out his left hand to take the rod. At the same time, he sent his sword forwards. At that time, his body was completely open; all Fa Wang had to do was strike him lightly with his golden wheel and he would have been sent to his death but Fa Wang wanted to use Yang Guo to send Xiao Xiang Zi away. Fa Wang forced Feng Mo Feng away with his palm and sent out his arm to grab Guo Jing’s back. Capturing him alive would be a great achievement. Xiao Xiang Zi did not predict that Yang Guo would actually risk his life to stop him. Before he came back to ground his rod had been held and he couldn’t exert any force in midair. A white light flashed across his eyes as the sword arrived at his chest. He could do nothing but let go of his rod and move out of the way to save his life.

Feng Mo Feng smashed forwards with both his hammer and crutch at Fa Wang’s back. Two ‘dang dang’ sounds were heard as Fa Wang used his wheel to repel the attack. Feng Mo Feng’s joints bled from the force. Fa Wang’s left hand went out for Guo Jing’s back. Feng Mo Feng gave a howl and abandoned his weapons and grabbed Fa Wang’s back. The two fell down onto the ground. Fa Wang was furious and struck his shoulder with a palm. Feng Mo Feng felt as if his insides were turned upside down. Feng Mo Feng saw how cruel and vicious the Mongolians were from the camp and saw how they used his citizens to attack Xiang Yang; he also saw how Guo Jing fought with his life to drive the enemy away. He didn’t know Guo Jing personally and had no idea that Guo Jing was his master’s son in law, he just knew that if this person dies, Xiang Yang would fall so he made up his mind; he was going to endure anything in order to get Guo Jing out of danger. Fa Wang’s palms came out with unspeakable speed. Feng Mo Feng’s bones were broken and his innards severely damaged but still, Feng Mo Feng did not let go and dug deep into Fa Wang with his ten fingers.

The Mongolian soldiers had decided to watch by the side because they thought that Fa Wang would definitely be able to handle the situation but when they saw him fall down to the ground, they all rushed forwards.

In such a situation, even if Guo Jing was perfectly healthy and his and Yang Guo’s martial arts were better, how could they fight off the rush off thousands and hundreds of soldiers?

Yang Guo sighed to himself, “It’s over, it’s over!”

He waved out Xiao Xiang Zi’s rod wildly when suddenly there was a light ‘po’ sound; black dust spurted out from the end of the rod. The ten soldiers that were directly in front of the smoke fell down immediately. In his wild movements, Yang Guo had accidentally triggered the release of the poisonous dust.

Yang Guo was slightly startled but immediately understood. He carried Guo Jing and made his way forwards; whenever Mongolian soldiers came to meet him, he would trigger the poison and send more men lying to the ground with the poison.
Though the Mongolian soldiers were great in battle, they were all superstitious. When they saw how their own men suddenly fell down dead to the floor as soon as black smoke came from the rod, they all hollered, “His rod is covered by an evil spell, everyone hide!”

Khubilai’s personal guards were all extremely brave and regarded his orders above all else; even though they saw how dangerous it was for them, they still went forwards to catch Yang Guo and Guo Jing. Yang Guo sent out some more poisonous dust and immediately sent another ten or so men to their deaths.

Yang Guo whistled and summoned his horse. His yellow horse stretched its legs and flew towards him. Yang Guo used every last ounce of his strength to place Guo Jing on the horse’s back but felt his limbs were all drained of energy and felt he had no strength left to get onto the horse. He could only strike the horse’s back lightly and call out, “Quick, leave quickly!”

However, the yellow horse was very loyal to its master, when it saw that Yang Guo had no strength to get on, it reared its head and neighed. Yang Guo saw that the Mongolian soldiers were closing down on him; though the poison of the rod was lethal, there’s a limit to the amount of poison it holds. He raised his sword and wanted to stab his horse to force it to leave but in the end he couldn’t bear to. He called out, “Leave!” He poked the horse with the end of the rod. Because he strength had been drained in battle, his poke wasn’t accurate and actually struck Guo Jing. Guo Jing had been unconscious but after this sudden poke, he opened his eyes. He immediately picked up Yang Guo and helped him onto the horse. The yellow horse gave out a joyous neigh and galloped away.

However, the sounds of horns followed closely behind them. Guo Jing gave a whistle and his red horse galloped towards him. The Mongolian army was right behind them. The red horse galloped by the yellow horse’s side and kept on stroking Guo Jing. Yang Guo knew that although that his yellow horse was a fine animal, it was still inferior to the red horse. He drew a deep breath and with Guo Jing in his arms, leapt on the yellow horse. Just at this time, he heard a ‘ming ming’ sound could be heard; Fa Wang’s golden wheel was flying towards them.
Yang Guo’s heart ached as he thought, “Feng Mo Feng has died under Fa Wang’s hands.”

His thoughts stilled as the wheel came closer and closer. Yang Guo lowered himself to the horse’s back and hoped the wheel would brush past him. But the wheel sounded from below; it was actually aiming for the horse’s legs.

After Fa Wang had killed Feng Mo Feng, he stood up and saw that Yang Guo and Guo Jing had already gotten onto their horses; it was too late to chase after them. He immediately shot out his golden wheel low to the ground. Fa Wang knew that if the wheel strikes Yang Guo and kills him, the red horse would still escape with Guo Jing. Only by cutting off the horse’s legs would he have a chance to succeed in his task.

As the wheel got closer and closer, Yang Guo had no other option but to use his sword to repel the wheel. He knew that he had no strength left and knew that it was nigh on impossible for him to succeed but he had no choice but to give it his all. The wheel was now just two feet away from the horse with the wheel generating a soul shaking noise. He hung his sword down to the protect the horse’s legs but who would have thought that as soon as the horse realised it’s life was in danger, it galloped faster and faster. The wheel remained two feet away from the horse. Yang Guo was delighted as he knew that the wheel would only get slower and slower. Indeed, a little while later the distance between the wheel and the horse’s legs increased to three feet, to four feet, to five feet; the gap was getting larger and larger. Eventually a ‘dong’ sound was heard as the wheel landed on the ground.

Just as Yang Guo was filled with delight, he heard a pitiful neigh behind him; he turned around and saw his yellow horse filled with arrows in his stomach, still staring lovingly at its master. Yang Guo’s heart was filled with sadness and tears fell from his eyes.

The red horse galloped like the wind and travelled like a shooting star. In just a short while, it had left the chasing army behind.

Yang Guo held Guo Jing and asked, “Uncle Guo, are you okay?”

Guo Jing gave a moan.

Yang Guo checked his breathing and felt that it was still deep and strong; he knew that he was okay. He was now able to relax and he could hold on no longer. He fell down in a semiconscious state on the back of the horse and let it go wherever it pleased.

Suddenly, countless numbers of soldiers and horses appeared in front of him to capture Guo Jing. He immediately motioned his sword and called out, “Don’t harm my uncle Guo!” He cut and slashed wildly around him. He couldn’t see clearly as faces appeared here and there. After a bout of slashing around wildly, he eventually fell off the horse. But he was still calling out, “Kill me, kill me, it was my fault, don’t harm my uncle Guo.” Suddenly, he felt as if the world was spinning around him and he eventually fell unconscious.

Some time passed before he woke up again. He called out, “Uncle Guo, uncle Guo, are you okay? Don’t harm my uncle Guo!”

A tender voice by his side said, “Guo Er, relax, uncle Guo will be okay after some rest.”

Yang Guo turned around and saw Huang Rong with an extremely grateful expression. Behind her was someone with tears in her eyes, someone staring at him tenderly and lovingly; it was Xiao Long Nuu.

Yang Guo called out in alarm, “Gu Gu, why are you here? Have you been captured as well? Quick, run away, just leave me.”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “Guo Er, you’re back, don’t be scared. We’re all safely back at Xiang Yang.”

Yang Guo gave a relieved sigh. His limbs felt lifeless and closed his eyes again.

Huang Rong said, “He’s woken up now, he’ll be fine. You stay with him here.”

Xiao Long Nuu agreed but her eyes never left Yang Guo. Huang Rong stood up and was about to leave the room when suddenly a noise came from the rooftops. Her expression changed slightly and with a wave of her left palm, she distinguished the light in the room.

When Yang Guo felt the room plunging into darkness, he sat up in alarm. His injuries were just superficial; the reason he had fainted was due to losing a lot of blood and due to over exerting himself in the heated battle. He has rested for half a day now and Huang Rong had fed him the Peach Blossom Island’s great medicine the Nine Flower Reveal Jade pill and along with him being young and in great shape, he had almost recovered completely by now. When he felt that someone was on the rooftop, he immediately became alert and was about to get up to face this enemy. Xiao Long Nuu blocked his way and unsheathed the ‘Gentlemen Sword’ that was besides the bed. She whispered, “Guo Er, don’t move, I’ll guard here.”

A laugh came from the rooftop followed by, “I have come to deliver a letter, could it be that it is the custom for Song’s to greet their guests in the dark? If you are busy, how about I come back later?” It was Fa Wang’s disciple, Huo Dou.

Huang Rong said, “It is the custom of us Song’s to meet esteemed guests in broad daylight; we meet those who sneak about under the cover of darkness.”

Huo Dou’s voice seized up and he lightly leapt down to the courtyard. He said, “I have a letter for Guo Jing hero Guo.”

Huang Rong opened the door and said, “Please enter.”

Huo Dou did not dare to enter the pitch-black room and stood outside the door. He said, “The letter is here, please take it.”

Huang Rong said, “You described yourself as a guest so why don’t you enter?”

Huo Dou chuckled, “A gentlemen in a dangerous place should prepare for the worst.”

Huang Rong said, “What kind of gentlemen views others with the mind of a scoundrel?”

Huo Dou’s face flared up. With someone with such expertise with words as chief Huang, it would be difficult for him to gain any sort of upper hand so he decided it would be better to keep quiet. He stood outside the door in silence with the letter held out in front of his hands.

Huang Rong stuck out her bamboo rod and suddenly attack Huo Dou’s front. Huo Dou jumped out in shock and leapt back a few feet but something was wrong; his hands were empty. Huang Rong had placed the end of her rod on the letter and trapped it on her rod while Huo Dou was jumping back. She was soon to give birth to her child and didn’t want to see outsiders, which is why she kept away from her enemy. After that shock, Hou Dou became despondent, the confidence he had gained from entering the city had all but disappeared. He shouted loudly, “I have delivered the letter, we will meet again tomorrow night.”

Huang Rong thought, “If I let you come and go as you please from the city, how will that make us look?” She picked up a teapot from the table and shook it to the side; a spout of hot tea shot outwards.

Huo Dou had been on his guard for projectiles shot at him but the water from the teapot came out without any kind of noise, it wasn’t like your typical projectile that cuts the air with a sound. By the time he found out something was wrong, his neck, chest and right arm was covered in the tea. He felt a hot tingling sensation and called out ‘ai ya’ in shock while leaping to the side. Huang Rong stood by the door and while Huo Duo’s feet were still unsteady, she stuck out her bamboo rod and used the [Dog Beating Stick Technique’s] ‘trip’ formulae. She flicked the stick up and sent Huo Dou to the floor. Huo Dou leapt up but the rod strokes of this particular ‘trip formulae has each stroke faster than the last, if you are able to dodge the first stroke, you might then be able to think of a way to evade the next but Hou Dou had already been sent to the ground with the first stroke, how easy was it going to be for him to avoid the next? He felt as if his feet had stepped into a pool of slippery mud; he also seemed to have found himself caught in between countless numbers of tree branches and found himself tripping up as soon as he picked himself up from the ground again.

Huo Dou’s martial arts were by no means weak, if he fought Huang Rong fair and square, though he would eventually find himself to be a level lower than Huang Rong, he wouldn’t be tripped up so pathetically like this just after one stance. The reason he was in such a state was because he thought that the tea that had landed on him was some kind of lethal poison. Just as he was thinking in fear about what kind of horrible death the poison would bring him, Huang Rong suddenly attacked. Once the first attack succeeded, there was no way to defend against the second and in the pitch-blackness, he tripped up until he was black and blue.

Just at this moment, the Wu brothers had arrived after hearing all the commotion.
Huang Rong shouted, “Capture that little bastard!”

In his moment of danger, Huo Dou became alert. He knew that if he picked himself up again he would definitely be sent down to the ground again so he called ‘ai ya’ and pretended to have a serious fall. He lied on the ground and didn’t make a move. The Wu brothers threw themselves forwards to capture him. Huo Dou’s metal fan suddenly came out and then ‘da da’; he had sealed the two’s pressure point on their legs. He pushed the two forwards at the same time to block Huang Rong’s rod stances and leapt up to the top of the wall. He made a bow with his hands and said, “Chief Huang, terrific rod techniques but shame about your disciples!”

Huang Rong chuckled, “With that poison on your body, who in their right mind will come and touch you?”

As soon as Huo Dou heard this, he was scared witless, “This poison burns one’s skin and carries the scent of tea with it, what kind of weird powerful poison is this?”

Huang Rong knew what he was thinking and said, “You’ve been poisoned yet you don’t even know what the name of the poison is, I guess if you die, you won’t die in peace. Fine, there’s no harm in telling you. This poison is called ‘The tea of Bones from Midnight to Noon’.”

Huo Dou mumbled, “The tea of Bones from Midnight to Noon?”

Huang Rong said, “Correct. If even one drop of this poison lands on your skin, your whole body will dissolve away to your bone. From midnight you won’t see noon, from noon you won’t see midnight. You’ve still got about twelve hours to live, you better make the most of it.”

Huo Dou knew that this chief Huang has great martial arts and possesses an unfathomable mind. Her father Huang Yao Shi is a greatly educated man and with the name Yao Shi (translates as master of medicine), he of course must be especially skilled in medicine. With Huang Rong’s intelligence and her family’s skills, to make a poison such as ‘The tea of Bones from Midnight to Noon’ would be easier than turning one’s palm. He stood on top of the wall in a daze, not knowing whether to go back and wait for his death or to lower his head and beg her for the antidote.

Huang Rong knew that Huo Dou was not an idiot, if a little time passes he would see through this little deception so she said, “I have no feuds with you to begin off with, if it weren’t for your little act of disrespect towards me just know I wouldn’t have sent you to your death.”

When Huo Dou heard these words he knew he had a chance to live. He abandoned his pride and leapt down from the wall. He bowed to the ground and said, “I have been disrespectful to chief Huang, I ask her for her forgiveness.”

Huang Rong hid behind the door and with a light flick of a finger; she shot out a Nine Flower Reveal Jade pill. She said, “Take it quickly.”

Huo Dou caught it and didn’t waste anytime in taking this life saving pill. He felt a clear fragrance entering his dan tian and noticed an extremely relaxing feeling throughout his body. He made another bow and said, “Thank you chief Huang for the antidote!” By now, all his arrogance had disappeared and retreated slowly to the wall before flipping over and making a swift exit out of the city.

Huang Rong watched him leave and then went over to the Wu brothers and unsealed their pressure points. She then recalled Huo Dou’s words; ‘Chief Huang, terrific rod techniques but shame about your disciples!’

Though she managed to get rid of Huo Dou with her intelligence, she felt no pride. She may have used the exquisite and deft [Dog Beating Stick Technique] to trip Huo Dou up but her womb still acted up. She sat down on a chair and rested for a while.

Xiao Long Nuu lit up the candles. Huang Rong opened the letter to see:

To Hero Guo from the First Protector of Mongolia Jin Lun Fa Wang;

To be able to meet and admire hero Guo was a great honour. I had hoped to converse through the night but our meeting was cut short. What did I do to make you leave in such a hurried manner? I will come and visit hero Guo tomorrow. Until then.

Huang Rong was alarmed and handed the letter over to Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu to read. She said, “The walls of Xiang Yang may be solid but how can it hold out skilled fighters? The enemy is planning an attack but your uncle Guo is hurt and I can’t do much, what are we going to do?”

Yang Guo said, “Uncle Guo…”

Xiao Long Nuu looked at him with a scolding glance. Yang Guo knew she was angry with him for risking his life and saving Guo Jing. He closed his mouth and didn’t say a word.

Huang Rong began to get suspicious and said, “Miss Long, Guo Er has not fully recovered yet, we can only rely on brother Zhu Zi Liu and you to fight off the enemy.”

Xiao Long Nuu has always said whatever that was on her mind and said coldly, “I will protect Guo Er and only him, other people’s lives are nothing to do with me.”

Even more questions appeared in Huang Rong’s mind but she didn’t say much about this and said to Yang Guo, “Uncle Guo said that it was down to your efforts that you managed to escape.”

Yang Guo thought about the many times he had wanted to kill Guo Jing and felt ashamed with himself. He said, “I’m useless, it was my fault that uncle Guo has become injured.”

Huang Rong said, “Just rest. When the enemy comes, we’ll win by our wits if we can’t win with force.” She turned to Xiao Long Nuu and said, “Miss Long, come with me, I have something to say to you.”

Xiao Long Nuu hesitated, “He…” Ever since Yang Guo returned to Xiang Yang, Xiao Long Nuu has not left his bedside one single step. When she heard Huang Rong summon her, she was afraid that something might happen to Yang Guo.

Huang Rong said, “The enemy said that they will attack tomorrow, nothing is going to happen tonight. I have something to say to you about Guo Er.”

Xiao Long Nuu nodded and whispered instructions to Yang Guo to be careful before leaving the room.

Huang Rong took her to her own room and closed the doors. She said, “Miss Long, you want to kill my husband and I, don’t you?”

Xiao Long Nuu might be naïve but she was by no means a fool. Xiao Long Nuu had made her mind up about killing the Guo couple to save Yang Guo’s life so no matter what Huang Rong would ask her, there was no way she was going to reveal anything to her. However, Huang Rong knew what she was like so she went straight to the point and asked her just like that.

Xiao Long Nuu was shocked by this and hesitated, “I… I… you treat us so well, why should I… why do I want to kill you.”

Huang Rong saw her face had become red and knew that she had guessed correctly so she continued, “You don’t have to keep it from me, I knew long ago. Guo Er blames us for his parent’s death and wants to kill us to avenge his father. You love Guo Er so of course are going to help him achieve his wish.”

Xiao Long Nuu could not deny any of this and kept silent for a while. She eventually gave a sigh and said, “I really don’t understand.”

Huang Rong said, “Don’t understand what?”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “Why did Guo Er risk his life today to save master Guo? He and Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others had agreed to kill master Guo together.”

When Huang Rong heard this, she extremely shocked. She knew that Yang Guo was up to no good but she never could have imagined that he would actually hook up with the Mongolians. She didn’t let any of this show on her face and pretended that she knew all along and said, “It must be because of how well master Guo has treated him. In the end, Guo Er could not make himself go through with it.”

Xiao Long Nuu nodded and said mournfully, “There’s nothing more I can say. Since he has decided to let his life slip away then so be it. I have always known that he is the kindest person in the world. He rather die then hurt his enemy.”

Many thoughts ran through Huang Rong’s mind but she could not figure out what her words meant. When she saw Xiao Long Nuu’s mournful expression, she comforted, “There are still some things you don’t know about the death of Guo Er’s father, we’ll clear everything up to him later on. His injuries are not serious, all he needs are just a few days rest, there’s no need for you to be upset.”

Xiao Long Nuu stared at her for a while before bursting into tears and sobbing, “He… he’s only got seven days to live, how’s resting a few days going to help?”

Huang Rong was stunned and quickly asked, “What is this about only seven days to live? Quickly tell me, we’ll find a way to save him.”

Xiao Long Nuu shook her head but eventually she revealed all; the events of Passionless valley, how Yang Guo fell victim to the passion flower, how Qiu Qian Chi gave him half the antidote only and telling them to swap the other half of the antidote with the lives of the Guo couple in a deadline of just eighteen days, the suffering that one goes through when poisoned by the passion flower and how that half antidote is the only antidote that exists in the entire world.

The more that Huang Rong heard, the more shocked she became. She could never have guessed that Qiu Qian Ren and Qiu Qian Zhang would have a sister named Qiu Qian Chi and that this sister would end in such a state.

After explaining everything, Xiao Long Nuu said, “He’s only got seven days left, even if we kill you and your husband tonight there’s no guarantee that we’ll make it back in time, why should I still want to try to harm you? I just want to save Guo Er, I don’t care about avenging his father.”

Huang Rong had previously thought that the only reason that Yang Guo was up to no good was because of his father’s death but who would have thought that there are so many other reasons buried within. Saving Guo Jing is just the same as deciding to kill himself. A person that can do such a heroic deed as this is really something to commend.

She stood up slowly and paced back and forth across the room. Even with her intelligence, she could not come up with something to get out of the pressing situation they were in; in just a few hours time, the enemy will come and attack. She may have consoled Yang Guo that if they can’t win with force then they’ll win by wits but how? How?

Xiao Long Nuu had just one thing on her mind; Yang Guo. Huang Rong however had two; her husband, and her daughter. She was thinking, “How can I keep brother Jing and Fu Er safe?” A thought went into her mind, “Guo Er could risk his life for others so why can’t I?” She then turned around to Xiao Long Nuu and said, “Miss Long, I have a way to save Guo Er, will you agree to it?”

Xiao Long Nuu trembled in delight in reaction to this and said, “I… I… even if I have to die… what’s death, even if it’s something ten times as worse as death… I’m… willing…”

Huang Rong said, “Fine, only you and I can know about this, you must not let this slip out.”

Xiao Long Nuu agreed incessantly.

Huang Rong said, “Tomorrow, you and Guo Er will protect master Guo, once the danger is over, I will give you my head and you can ride the red horse to get to Passionless valley to obtain the passionless pill.”

Xiao Long Nuu was stunned. She asked, “What?”

Huang Rong said softly, “You value Guo Er more than you value your life, don’t you? As long as he’s safe and well, you will be happy even if you’re dead, right?”

Xiao Long Nuu nodded, “Yes, how do you know?”

Huang Rong gave a smile and said, “It’s because I love my husband the same way as you love Guo Er. You don’t have a child so you don’t know that a mother’s love for her child is also as strong. I just want you to protect the safety of my husband and daughter, what else do I want?”

Xiao Long Nuu didn’t reply.

Huang Rong said, “If you and Guo Er don’t fight together, we won’t be able to fight off Jin Lun Fa Wang. Guo Er has saved my husband and I on many occasions, can’t I save him for once? The red horse can run a thousand lis in a day, you will be able to reach Passionless valley within three days. Let me tell you, Qiu Qian Zhang and Guo Er’s father were harmed by me only, it has nothing to do with master Guo. Once Qiu Qian Chi sees my head, she will have no choice but to hand over the antidote even if she feels it’s not enough. Afterwards, it would be great if you two can help to defend the country but even if you decide to live in some secluded place by yourselves, I will still be touched.”

It was clear, there was no other way. In the past few days, Xiao Long Nuu has been trying to come up with a way to kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong to save Yang Guo but after hearing these words from Huang Rong’s own mouth, she felt uncomfortable and kept on shaking her head, “We can’t, we can’t!”

Huang Rong was about to explain again when suddenly Guo Fu’s voice came from the door, “Mother, mother, are you there?” Her voice sounded urgent.

Huang Rong was shocked and asked, “Fu Er, what is it?”

Guo Fu opened the door and threw herself straight into her mother’s arms, ignoring the fact that Xiao Long Nuu was there. She called out, “Mother, the Wu’s are…” She burst into tears.

Huang Rong creased her brows and said, “What is it now?”

Guo Fu choked, “They… they are fighting outside the city.”

Huang Rong was furious and shouted, “Fighting? They are fighting amongst themselves?”

Guo Fu has rarely seen her mother get so angry and was frightened herself. She mumbled, “Yes, I told them to stop but they didn’t listen… they said… they said they were going to fight to the death. They said only one would return… even if the loser doesn’t die, they will not come back to… to see me.”

The more Huang Rong heard the angrier she got. The lives of the army and the people of the city were at stake here and these two brothers were actually fighting amongst themselves over a girl. Her anger disturbed her womb causing her great pain; sweat could be seen on her forehead. She lowered her voice and said, “It must be your doing, tell me everything now.”

Guo Fu glanced at Xiao Long Nuu and became red. She called out, “Mother!”

Xiao Long Nuu was longing for Yang Guo and had no time to hear about this matter. She turned around and left the room to be with Yang Guo. Her mind was pondering over Huang Rong’s words.

Guo Fu waited for Xiao Long Nuu to leave the room before saying, “Mother, it was all my fault that the two went to assassinate Khubilai, father ended up hurt to get them was my fault. If I don’t tell you all about it, how can I face mother and father?” She then told her mother about how the brothers were trying to please her at the same time and how she suggested going to assassinate Khubilai. Anger filled Huang Rong but she could not let it out, she just rolled her eyes at her with displeasure.

Guo Fu said, “Mother, what shall I do? Each of the brothers has their own good points, how can I choose one over the other? Isn’t my suggestion about killing our enemy what you and father want? Whose fault is it that they are so useless, getting captured immediately?”

Huang Rong said, “The Wu’s martial arts aren’t the best, you know that.”

Guo Fu said, “What about Yang Guo? He’s only a few years older then them, how did he battle Fa Wang and break out of the camp at the same time and never got caught?”

Huang Rong knew that her daughter has been spoilt ever since she was little and so even at times when Guo Fu knew that she was wrong, she would still try to argue her way so Huang Rong did not continue to inquire further about this matter and just said, “They’ve come back now, why are they fighting outside the city?”

Guo Fu said, “Mother, it’s your fault, it because you said they are shameful disciples.”

Huang Rong was shocked and said, “When did I say that?

Guo Fu said, “I heard from the Wu’s that when Huo Dou came with the letter, you told them to capture him but instead they had their pressure points sealed. You then blamed them for being useless.”

Huang Rong gave a sigh and said, “If they can’t compete with others, what can I do? Huo Duo was the one who called them shameful disciples.”

Guo Fu said, “Even so, you didn’t argue with him and just stayed silent. The two brothers couldn’t accept it and started arguing amongst themselves, saying how it was each other’s fault, one blamed the other for being too slow and one blamed the other for getting in the way. The argument became heated and soon they drew their swords. I said ‘If you fight in the city and let others see, what’ll happen then? Anyway, father is still recovering, if you bring any more trouble to him I will never see either of you again.’ They then said, ‘ Fine, we’ll fight outside the city.’”

Huang Rong stayed silent for a while before saying with anger, “I’ve got much more pressing matters on my mind at the moment. If they want to fight then let them fight all they want.”

Guo Fu hugged her elbow and said, “Mother, if either of them gets injured, what then?”

Huang Rong replied, “If the two were injured while trying to fight off the enemy then they deserve our care. But they deserve to die if they are fighting amongst themselves.”

Guo Fu saw that her mother had an angry expression on her and was completely different to how she normally talks to her so she didn’t dare to say anything else. She left the room and closed the doors.

It was now dawn. Light was coming through the windows. Huang Rong was along in her room. Though she was angry with the Wu’s, she was still concerned about them; after all, she has seen them grow up over all these years. Her thoughts then turned to the impending danger and tears flowed from her eyes. She was worried about Guo Jing’s injury so she went to see how he was.

Guo Jing was sitting on his bed in meditation when she entered the room. Though his face was pale, his breathing was even and deep. She knew that all he needed was to rest for a few days and he will be back to full health. Memories of when they were recuperating in Lin An when they were younger came flooding back.

Guo Jing slowly opened his eyes and saw that his wife had been crying. A smile still appeared on his face as he said, “Rong Er, you know my injury is not serious, what are you worried about? You need more rest than me.”

Huang Rong smiled, “Yes. My womb has been acting up over the past few days. Your Po Lu or Guo Xiang is about to see their father.” She was afraid that Guo Jing would worry if he knew about Huo Dou and the letter so she kept it from him, as well what the Wu’s were up to.

Guo Jing said, “Tell the Wu brothers to be on extra alert when patrolling the city, the enemy knows that I’m injured and will most probably take this opportunity to attack.”

Huang Rong nodded.

Guo Jing continued, “How’s Guo Er’s injury?”

Before Huang Rong could reply, the sound of footsteps followed by Yang Guo’s voice could be heard from outside the room, “Uncle Guo, my I just have superficial injuries, I’m fine now after taking auntie Guo’s Nine Flower Jade Reveal Pill.” He then opened the door and entered the room. He continued, “I’ve been to the city walls and took a look around, everyone is on high alert but the Wu’s are…” Huang Rong coughed and made a signal to him with his eyes. He immediately understood and said, “The Wu’s said that it was their fault that you are injured so if the enemy comes to attack, they will fight to the end to repay their debts to you.”

Guo Jing sighed, “After this experience, I hope that the Wu’s are now wiser and don’t see everything as achievable.”

Yang Guo said, “Auntie Guo, isn’t Gu Gu with you?”

Huang Rong replied, “I had a little chat with her just now, she’s probably gone back to her room for some rest. Ever since you came back, she hasn’t slept a wink.”

Yang Guo gave an ‘en’ sound and assumed that after their little chat, Xiao Long Nuu must have went back to see him but must have missed him just as he went out to take a look around along the city walls. At first when he arrived at Xiang Yang, he had his mind set on killing the couple but after the experiences of these past few days of seeing how they risked their lives for the country and seeing how Guo Jing risked his life in saving him, he changed his mind and has now decided to repay them by helping them in anyway he can. He knew that he only had seven days to live but he didn’t care, as long as he could do one or two good deeds in these couple of days he can say that he has been able to do something with his life. He knew that while Guo Jing was injured, the enemy would definitely take this opportunity to attack the city so as soon as he recovered; he immediately went along the city walls to survey the current situation.

He was longing for Xiao Long Nuu and was about to leave the room in search of her when suddenly laughter could be heard from the rooftops about one hundred feet away. Two loud noises followed as gold clashed with iron; Jin Lun Fa Wang had arrived.

Guo Jing’s face changed slightly and pulled Huang Rong, trying to hide her behind him.

Huang Rong said, “Brother Jing, what’s more important, Xiang Yang or us? Are you more important or am I?”

Guo Jing let Huang Rong go and said, “Yes, the country comes first!”

Huang Rong took out her bamboo rod and went over to the door. What she had discussed with Xiao Long Nuu has yet to reach Yang Guo’s ears, what was he going to do? Will he help to repel the enemy or will he take advantage of the situation to avenge his father and save his life? His thoughts have always been shrouded in mystery, if he does turn on them then it will be even more trouble. Though she was guarding the door, she kept his eye on him.

Though what the Guo couple had said didn’t seem much, in Yang Guo’s ears, they rang loud and true. Guo Jing’s kindness had touched him and he had already decided to pay him back with his life and helping him, but as he heard the words ‘the country comes first’, something stirred in him and he began to remember the teachings of Guo Jing a few days earlier of, “a hero’s duty is to serve your country, serve your people,” and, “holding your body to the task until your dying day”. He saw how deeply the couple loved each other but even in such dangerous times, they put the country first yet he could not let the death of his father go and he could not let Xiao Long Nuu out of his mind, when has he ever thought about his country? When has he ever worried about the suffering of his people? He felt extremely shameful with himself.

Suddenly, a childhood memory came flooding back to him. It was a memory of Huang Rong teaching him on Peach Blossom Island; the teaching was along the lines of ‘dying for a righteous cause’ and ‘giving your life for justice’. It was now clearer to him than ever. He seemed a little frightened by this yet at the same time felt inspired. With life and death now on the line, many things that he’s never thought about, never cared about suddenly became crystal clear. He seemed to be a different person with this newfound spirit, taller, bigger and brighter.

Though many thoughts flickered through his mind, all this had happened in a short space of time. Huang Rong watched as his face turned from confusion to shame, from poignant to resolute but she couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.

Suddenly Yang Guo said quietly, “You can relax!”

Unsheathing the Gentleman Sword, he made his way to the door.

Jin Lun Fa Wang stood on the rooftops with a wheel in each hand. He laughed, “Brother Yang, how does it feel to be a man who goes back on his words?”

If it were the Yang Guo of old, these words would definitely have angered him but the present Yang Guo was calm and clear, he thought to himself, “You’re right, my mind has never been set up until this day. From now on, no matter how long I live, I will never be one who’ll go back on their words.” He laughed, “Fa Wang, you’re right. I don’t know what came over me that day, I don’t know why I helped Guo Jing escape. But once he got back to Xiang Yang, I don’t know where he’s gone and I can’t find him, It’s only now that I’ve regretted what I’ve done. Do you know where he is?” He then leapt up to the roof and stood a few feet in from of him.

Fa Wang squinted his eyes, he knew that this little kid was very crafty and didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or telling a lie. He laughed, “If you find him, what will you do?”

Yang Guo said, “There’s a sword in my hand.”

Fa Wang scoffed, “Huh, you’ll actually dare stab him?”

Yang Guo said, “Who said I’ll stab him?”

Fa Wang replied with surprise, “Who then?”

The Gentleman Sword pierced the air as it come towards Fa Wang left side with great force. At the same time, Yang Guo laughed, “You of course!” This attack came out of nowhere and with great force, with the close distance and being caught unawares, if Fa Wang’s martial arts were just a little lower like that of Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi, he would surely have died under that attack. Fa Wang managed to react in time and gathered chi in his left arm and blocked the attack. However, the Gentleman Sword is an extremely sharp blade, his arm was cut by the sword with a wound inches deep and blood flowed.

Fa Wang might have known that Yang Guo was sly, but he would never have guessed that he would actually attack him. Getting injured like this just as he has entered Xiang Yang enraged him and he attacked furiously with the golden wheel in his right hand and at the same time, he threw the silver wheel in his left towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo stood his ground and took three stances before replying with three stances. He laughed, “I owed you one from your attack at the Mongolian camp. Let me tell you something, do you know that there’s something up with this sword?”

Fa Wang couldn’t help himself and asked, “What?” as he attacked continuously with his silver wheel.

Yang Guo laughed, “Let me just tell you that it’s not my fault.”

Fa Wang said, “Damn punk! What’s not your fault?”

Yang Guo said smugly. “This sword came from the Passionless Valley. Gong Sun Zhi likes to use a bit of poison here and there so if you want to take revenge, go find him.”

Fa Wang was slightly alarmed as he wondered whether Gong Sun Zhi would have laced his swords with poison. Unsettled, his stances become slower.

In reality, what poison was there on the sword? Yang Guo had remembered how Huang Rong had scared away Huo Dou with tea and because he knew that his martial arts was not Fa Wang’s match, he tried to use words to disturb his enemy. As soon as he saw it worked, he concentrated on defending and waited for a chance to pounce. Though Fa Wang’s injury was not serious and even without poison, the wound bled non-stop and as time goes by, he would definitely tire. With the current situation, it would be to his advantage to have a quick battle so he hurried his wheels and attacked with even more vigour.

Yang Guo knew what Fa Wang had intended to do and he defended even harder than usual. The power behind Fa Wang’s wheel was getting greater and greater. Suddenly, Fa Wang’s golden wheel attacked upwards and his silver swept across leaving Yang Guo with no other choice but to leap back. Fa Wang tore a piece of his sleeve off to wrap up his wound but as soon as he did this, Yang Guo came at him again. This game of cat and mouse continued on for a little while before Fa Wang decided on another plan; as soon as Yang Guo leaps back, he would leap back also and at the same time, throw his silver wheel out, forcing Yang Guo to go back even further. This will leave him with enough time to tend to his wound.
By the time Yang Guo had come back for another attack, Fa Wang had wrapped up his wound and with the fact there didn’t seem to be any discomfort from his wound indicating that the blade was more probably not laced with poison, he relaxed.

At that same time, the sounds of clashing weapons could be heard from a southeastern direction. Yang Guo glanced over and saw Xiao Long Nuu engaged in battle with Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing. In Xiao Xiang Zi’s hand was a rod that looked exactly like the one that Yang Guo had snatched away and lost in his daze at the Mongolian camp, did this one contain poison as well. With the Guo couple directly below him, Yang Guo knew that it would be disastrous if Fa Wang finds them, he needed to lure him away. He must make sure that he didn’t reveal his intentions to Fa Wang so he called out, “Gu Gu, don’t worry, I’m coming!” After a few leaps, he landed behind Ni Mo Xing and he sent his sword forwards.

Fa Wang was of course furious with Yang Guo after being wounded by him but he had come to Xiang Yang for Guo Jing; Yang Guo can wait. He called out loudly, “Guo Jing hero Guo, I’ve come to visit, why aren’t you here to greet your guests?” He called out a few times but there was no reply.

Shouts and calls could be heard from the northwest; it was his two disciples Da Er Ba and Huo Dou fighting Zhu Zi Liu. The fight between Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu and Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi wasn’t going to end anytime soon while more and more guards were coming to see what was going on. Fa Wang knew that these guards wouldn’t be able to do anything to him but in numbers, they would make things cumbersome for him so he called out again, “Guo Jing, oh Guo Jing, you are a so called hero so why are you hiding away like some coward?”

He was becoming more and more insulting as the calls went on in his attempt to anger Guo Jing out but still, there was no sign of him. He thought, “There are thousands of homes in Xiang Yang, who knows where he’s hiding? He’s willing to accept this abuse to keep his life, once his injuries have recovered it will be difficult to kill him.”

He pondered for a little while and an evil plane hatched. He leapt down from the roof and found where the firewood was kept. He took out his fire knife and splint to the firewood and lit it. He went around and lit several piles of firewood before leaping back up to the roof. Once the fire spreads, Guo Jing will have no choice but to come out.

Though Yang Guo was in battle with Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing, he kept his eye of Fa Wang. When he saw Fa Wang suddenly set the place on fire and the rooms north and south of Guo Jing’s room smoking, he became alarmed and as he did so, he almost let Ni Mo Xing’s Iron Snake strike him across the chest. He quickly moved out of the way. If Guo Jing didn’t break Ni Mo Xing’s ribs a few days earlier, this attack would have left Yang Guo seriously injured.

Yang Guo thought, “That was close!” His thoughts then turned to Guo Jing. “Uncle Guo is seriously injured and auntie Guo’s due, if the two don’t come out then they’ll be trapped by the fire but if they do, they’ll run into that bald scoundrel.”

He had no choice but to leave Xiao Long Nuu along to fight the two and so, he thrust out two stances quickly towards Xiao Xiang Zi and leapt down. He dived into the fire and flame to look for the Guo couple.

He found Huang Rong by Guo Jing’s bed but at same time, smoke was pouring through the windows. Guo Jing had his eyes closed and was meditating; Huang Rong appeared weak and fragile. When she saw him enter, she could only smile. Yang Guo was put at ease a little when he saw that the two wasn’t alarmed and immediately thought of a plan. He whispered, “I’ll lure them away. Take uncle Guo to some place safe and hide.” He then lightly took off Guo Jing’s hat and leapt out of the window.

Huang Rong didn’t know what he was up to but the smoke was getting closer and closer. She reached out to help Guo Jing up and she said, “Let’s find another place to rest.” As soon as she used an ounce of her strength in her arm, she felt a pain in her stomach. She sat down on the bed and cursed, “You little devil, you’ve got a great sense of timing haven’t you, do you want to kill your daddy and mummy?” There were a few days before she was actually due but all this stress and commotion of the past few days had inadvertently sped the birth along.

As soon as Yang Guo leapt out of the window, he saw guards shouting and clamouring everywhere; some were taking buckets of water to dampen the flames, others were firing arrows towards the rooftop and there were some who were flailing their weapons about jumping and cursing. He leapt behind a guard in grey and sealed his pressure point. Yang Guo placed Guo Jing’s hat on him and lifted him onto his back. He then leapt up to the rooftops whilst swirling his sword around.

At this time, Xiao Long Nuu and Zhu Zi Liu who were fighting two opponents each in the form of Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi, Huo Dou and Da Er Ba, were losing. Jin Lun Fa Wang on the other hand was threatening Guo Fu with his wheels, waving them around inches away from her face to force her to reveal her parent’s location. Guo Fu’s hair was in a mess and her sword tip had been smashed to pieces by Fa Wang’s golden wheel but she bit down her tongue and kept on fighting, ignoring Fa Wang’s questions. She was extremely angry inside as she thought, “If the Wu’s hadn’t gone off to kill each other, the three of us could take care of this bald scoundrel.” She couldn’t help herself blurting out, “Fine, go and fight amongst yourselves, I don’t care who wins, they’ll just be coming back to a corpse!”

Fa Wang was dumbfounded by her words, “What? Where is Guo Jing?”

He was waiting for Guo Fu to reply when he spotted Yang Guo making his escape in a northwesterly direction with a person on his back; this had to be Guo Jing. He left Guo Fu and immediately chased after Yang Guo. Huo Dou, Da Er Ba, Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing too had spotted Yang Guo and they left their opponents and chased after Yang Guo. Zhu Zi Liu followed to help Yang Guo protect Guo Jing.

When Yang Guo was on the roof, he ran past Xiao Long Nuu, winked and smiled at her with a crafty expression on his face. Xiao Long Nuu knew he was up to something but she didn’t know what. With so many people chasing after him, she wanted to go after him to help him but at the exact same time, she heard crying from below; the crying of a baby.

Guo Fu said with joy, “Mother’s given birth!” and leapt down.

Xiao Long Nuu was curious and with the fact that Yang Guo seemed to have things under control, she wanted to take a look at Huang Rong’s child so she too leapt down from the rooftops and followed.

Jin Lun Fa Wang chased after Yang Guo with great effort and saw the distance between Yang Guo and him get smaller and smaller. He thought, “Let’s see how you are going get out of this one.” He saw that the person on Yang Guo’s back was wearing the same hat that Guo Jing was wearing a few days ago and was sure that it was Guo Jing.

The Ancient Tomb’s lightness kung fu that Yang Guo has learnt could be said to be unequally under heaven’s skies, even with someone on his back, Fa Wang would not be able to catch up with him for the time being. Yang Guo ran along the rooftops for a while but soon he heard the footsteps behind him getting closer and closer so he leapt down into the alleyway and ran around in circles, playing hide and seek with Fa Wang.

Yang Guo’s lightness kung fu may be a level higher than Fa Wang’s but after all, there was someone on his back, if it was in the open, Fa Wang would have caught up long ago but in the dark and twisty alleyways, he was able to keep one step ahead of Fa Wang. After circling the alleyways a few times, Ni Mo Xing, Xiao Xiang Zi and Zhu Zi Liu arrived.

Fa Wang said to Ni Mo Xing, “Brother Ni Mo, guard the end of the alley, I’ll chase the rabbit out of its den.”

Ni Mo Xing rolled his eyes and shouted, “Why the hell should I listen to you?”

Fa Wang felt that Ni Mo Xing was being unreasonable. He leapt up to the rooftops and took a look around; he spotted Yang Guo trying to catch his breath in a dark corner with Guo Jing on his back. He quietly went closer to him overhead but just as he was about to jump down and catch him, Yang Guo suddenly cried out and disappeared into the smoke.

Fa Wang had set the fire to force Guo Jing out but right now the smoke from the fire was making it difficult for him to catch Yang Guo, just as he was looking around, Da Er Ba suddenly called out, “He’s over there!”

Fa Wang followed his voice to find Da Er Ba fighting Yang Guo with his golden rod. Fa Wang went forwards to first block Yang Guo’s escape route. Yang Guo dashed forward and in a flash, he was by Da Er Ba’s side. At the same time, Fa Wang’s silver had come shooting out.

The silver wheel came like the wind leaving Yang Guo with no time to dodge; a tearing sound was heard as it brushed past Guo Jing, leaving a deep wound.
Fa Wang was delighted and called out, “Gotcha!”

However, Yang Guo kept on running forward, ignoring whether Guo Jing was still alive or not.

Yang Guo made his way the end of the alley to hear a cackling voice, “Little boy, just give up!” It was Xiao Xiang Zi with his rod blocking the end of the alleyway. Yang Guo had no way forward and no way back, he looked upwards and saw a black figure; it was Ni Mo Xing. Yang Guo leapt up but No Mo Xing used his Iron Snake to strike downwards, wanting to force him back down into the alleyway. Yang Guo calculated that by now, he had given the Guo couple enough time to escape so he took the guard off his back and threw it towards Ni Mo Xing, calling out, “Here, I’ll let you have Guo Jing.”

Ni Mo Xing was delighted by this turn of events, he had thought that Yang Guo would give him a lot of trouble but who would have thought that he would surrender and actually give him such a great gift? He stretched out his hands to catch him. Yang Guo sent out a powerful kick and struck him on the behind, sending him down into the alleyway.

Ni Mo Xing called out in delight, “I’ve got Guo Jing, I’m Mongolia’s greatest warrior!”

Da Er Ba and Xiao Xiang Zi were never going to let him take this prize on his own without a fight and both went over to him. The three of them held on to the guard pulling at him with great strength, with such force, the guard tore into three pieces. The hat fell off the guard’s head and only then did the three see that it was not Guo Jing. Stunned, they stood there speechless.

When Fa Wang saw that Yang Guo had left Guo Jing, he knew something was up so he did not go forward to struggle with the three. After seeing the three standing there in a daze, he scoffed, “Idiots!” He continued to go after Yang Guo, thinking that even if he does not capture Guo Jing, Yang Guo’s life would be a good day’s work.

But by now, Yang Guo was nowhere to be seen, how was he going to find him? Fa Wang thought for while and came up with a plan, “Yang Guo must have lured us away from the real target. Guo Jing must have been near where we first started. Fine, I’ll lure him out.”

He made his way to where the flames were strongest.

Yang Guo was hiding underneath a rooftop, observing what was happening. He watched on as Fa Wang headed in Guo Jing’s direction. Yang Guo did not know whether Guo Jing had escaped to another place yet so followed Fa Wang quietly. Fa Wang ran back to somewhere near the room where Guo Jing was and leapt down. He called out, “So Guo Jing, you’re hiding hear. Come with me!”

Yang Guo was shocked and was about to jump down when he heard the sounds of clashing weapons. Fa Wang called out, “Guo Jing, surrender now!” The sounds of clashing metal rang loudly.

Yang Guo rolled his eyes and laughed, “Bald bastard, I almost fell for your trick. Your plan is flawed, why the sound effects? In uncle Guo’s condition, how can he exchange stances with you? And how could he last so long? I’ll hide here and watch what else you’ll get up to.”

Suddenly, Fa Wang called out, “Yang Guo, this time you die!”

Yang Guo was puzzled, “What’s this about me dieing this time?” He then knew what Fa Wang was planning, “Oh, you can’t get me to come out so now you’re trying to get uncle Guo to out to save me.”

He heard Fa Wang laughed, “Yang Guo oh Yang Guo, you’ve lived long enough.”

As soon as he finished, a white blur came out of the smoke; a young girl had darted forward and was thrusting her sword forwards.

Yang Guo called out, “Gu Gu, I’m here!” However, Fa Wang motioned his wheels and blocked Xiao Long Nuu off. When Fa Wang was trying to give the impression that Yang Guo was in danger, Xiao Long Nuu heard him and of course she was concerned so she came dashing out.

Yang Guo went forwards armed with his sword and after a smile at each other, the two of them used their [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Swordplay], trapping Fa Wang with the boundary of the swords.

Fa Wang cursed, “What have I done?”

Scalding smoke, burning pillars and falling debris were all around them.

Fa Wang put everything he had behind his wheels to fend off the swords and quickly retreated to the northwestern corner.

Yang Guo said, “We can’t let him escape, we must get rid of him once and for all.” He aimed for Fa Wang’s back with his sword.

After tasting defeat under the [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Swordplay], he pondered and tried to come up with way that will defeat this swordplay. But this swordplay was deep and profound, the two users became as one and it was like fighting against a great martial artist who had four arms and four legs. He didn’t have much confidence whether he could actually defeat this swordplay but in this dangerous situation, he had no other choice but to use the [Cyclone of the Five Wheels] that he has been working in. Though there were still many weaknesses with this technique, he had to give it a try so he searched his body and after a ringing sound, three wheels were in the air and one each were in his hands. His five wheels were of different weights and of slightly different sizes, and they come to and from his hands as he pleased, suddenly slanting in the air sometimes suddenly straightening up.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu felt their eyes dazzled and were slightly alarmed. Yang Guo sent two stances to the left as he leant right, Xiao Long Nuu immediately responded and she too sent out numerous stances to the right with her Lady Sword. She moved with the force and shifted towards Yang Guo. The two saw that the enemy’s stances were too strange so they decided to defend first and try to grasp the techniques that Fa Wang was using before coming up with a counterattack in response.

Fa Wang’s wheels turned and flew about but the two’s swords crissed and crossed, forming a net of light. Though the power of the five wheels were great, it was unable to penetrate the swords. He sighed, “Looks like even with using five wheels, I am still unable to defeat the two’s swordplay.” Just as he was feeling dejected, a baby’s crying could be heard coming from Xiao Long Nuu’s arms. Fa Wang was shocked but this sudden turn of events but he wasn’t the only one, Yang Guo was extremely surprised. Under this shock, their stances slowed.

Xiao Long Nuu patted the child in her arms with her left hand and said, “Don’t cry precious, watch me beat that monk away.” However, the baby cried even louder.
Yang Guo said, “Its auntie Guo’s?”

Xiao Long Nuu nodded and sent a piercing stroke towards Fa Wang.

Fa Wang swept his golden wheel across and blocked the attack. He didn’t hear Yang Guo and didn’t know what Xiao Long Nuu was doing with a baby in her arms but since she’s got extra baggage, her swordplay will suffer so he rushed out his golden wheel and attacked Xiao Long Nuu.

Yang Guo intercepted the attacks and turned his head towards Xiao Long Nuu, asking, “Uncle and auntie Guo are safe?”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “Chief Huang and master Guo escaped…” A clashing sound was heard as she parried Fa Wang’s bronze wheel. She continued, “It was becoming dangerous as it looked like the beam in the ceiling was about to collapse so I took the baby girl…”

Yang Guo slashed out at Fa Wang’s right leg and neutralized the lead wheel’s attack directed at Xiao Long Nuu before asking, “It’s a girl?” Yang Guo was slightly surprised that it was another girl since Guo Jing had a daughter already.
Xiao Long Nuu nodded, “It’s a girl, here quickly take her…” She was about to hand the baby over to Yang Guo.

But amongst the cries of the baby, Fa Wang’s attacks were becoming more and more ferocious. Three wheels circled above and attack from the air while vicious attacks came from the wheels in Fa Wang’s hands. Yang Guo had to use every ounce of strength he had to fend off these attacks, how could he take the baby?
Xiao Long Nuu called out, “Quickly take the baby and use the red horse to go to…”
Ringing sounds were heard as the two wheels became more and more threatening, Xiao Long Nuu no longer had time to speak. The two’s thoughts were not in line and so they could not unleash the full power of the swordplay.

Yang Guo knew that if he took the baby from Xiao Long Nuu, she would no longer be distracted so he moved towards her slowly. Xiao Long Nuu wanted to hand the baby over to him and now that their thoughts were the same, the power of the swordplay suddenly increased. It was as if the sword had lengthened and Fa Wang was forced backwards two steps.. Xiao Long Nuu handed the baby over to Yang Guo and he was just about to take it when a black blur suddenly came towards them; the iron wheel was sent flying towards the baby. Xiao Long Nuu was afraid that the baby would get hurt so she loosened her grip of the baby and used her left hand to catch the wheel. The iron wheel was coming towards her with great force and it was extremely sharp but Xiao Long Nuu was wearing the golden silk gloves, and as she met the wheel, she followed the force of the wheel and pushed it to the side to dampen the urgent spinning of the wheel before finally pushing up and catching the wheel; it was a great use of the ‘four liangs against a thousand jins’ theory.

By now, Yang Guo had the baby in his hands and when he saw the wheel in Xiao Long Nuu’s hand, he called out, “Great!”

If Fa Wang has sent the wheel towards Xiao Long Nuu, she would not have been able to catch it, she was only able to catch it because the wheel was aimed the baby.

Xiao Long Nuu was delighted when she caught the wheel but her icy expression on her face remained. Suddenly, she copied the form of Fa Wang and raised the wheel, smashing it towards her enemy; she wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Fa Wang was alarmed, with one wheel missing, his [Cyclone of the Five Wheels] was neutralised. He decided to take in two of his wheels and just use two in his hands, cutting and slashing forwards.

Yang Guo held the baby with his left arm and said, “Let’s kill this bald scoundrel first and talk later.”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “Fine!” Her left hand held the iron wheel across her chest as she attacked with Yang Guo. With another powerful weapon in her hand and with one thing less to worry about, she should have become more powerful but after a few stances, she found that her sword strokes did not match Yang Guo’s and they found it difficult to unite.

This swordplay’s power lies within the user’s pure and complete love for each other, right now the between the two swords was an extra wheel, it was like placing a third person between a pair of lovers, causing trouble and unrest, how can their thoughts become one now? The two did not know what was wrong for the time being and after a few more exchanges; they actually found themselves worse off than fighting individually.

Xiao Long Nuu was getting anxious and she said, “We can’t beat him today, quickly take the baby to Passionless Valley and…”

Yang Guo now knew her intentions; if he rode the red horse now, he would definitely be able to reach Passionless Valley within seven days time, though he wouldn’t have the heads of Guo Jing and Huang Rong for Qiu Qian Chi, by taking the baby to Qiu qian Chi and telling her that they’ll definitely come for it, she would be able to come up with her own way to take revenge. Qiu Qian Chi would definitely hand over the antidote. As soon as he recovers, he can rescue the baby out of danger. Qiu Qian Chi would definitely fall for this plan. If it were two days ago, Yang Guo would have agreed without any hesitation but now, Guo Jing’s patriotic spirit has left him in complete awe, he cannot risk Guo Jing’s daughter for himself, taking his daughter to Passionless Valley is taking advantage no matter what was you look at it, it is not the act of a true man and because of this he kept quiet before saying, “Gu Gu, no!”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “You… you…” She had only said two words before a tearing sound was heard as the cloth on her left shoulder was cut Fa Wang’s golden wheel.

Yang Guo said, “If I do such a thing, how can I face uncle Guo? How can I still be worthy of using this sword?” He raised the Gentleman Sword.

Xiao Long Nuu did not know about his sudden change of mind, all she was concerned about was to rid the poison is his body, now after hearing him say that he can’t treat the person who killed his father like this and how he wants to be a honourable gentleman, she couldn’t stop herself from being shocked.

With the differing thoughts, it was even more difficult for the swords in their hands to respond. Fa Wang took this chance to advance forwards and elbowed Yang Guo on the left shoulder.

Yang Guo felt a numbness go over him and the baby in his arms dropped. The three of them had been fighting on the rooftops and now as the baby fell, it headed towards the ground. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu both cried out and wanted to jump after it but it was too late.

Fa Wang had heard what the two had said and now knew that the baby was Guo Jing’s and Huang Rong’s daughter. He may not have caught Guo Jing but by having his daughter as hostage, he could force Guo Jing to surrender, what more could he want? It was now getting urgent and he sent out a golden wheel with his right hand, which intercepted the falling baby.

The wheel was five feet above the ground, carrying the baby with it. The three of them all leapt down from the roofs to grab the wheel. Yang Guo was closest and saw that the wheel was flying closer and closer to the ground and soon it would have fallen onto the ground. He immediately rolled over to the wheel, wanting to sandwich himself between the ground and wheel so he can take wheel and baby at the same time, keeping her safe. Suddenly, an arm stretched out from the side and grabbed the wheel, taking the baby with it. The person turned and ran.

Yang Guo got up and Xiao Long Nuu and Fa Wang dashed over to him. Xiao Long Nuu said, “It’s my apprentice sister.”

Yang Guo saw that the person was wearing an apricot yellow gown and was holding a flywhisk; it was indeed Li Mo Chou. How would the baby be safe now that it has fallen into the clutches of this evil woman? He immediately ran after her.

Xiao Long Nuu called out, “Apprentice sister, apprentice sister, that baby is very important, what are you doing?”

Li Mo Chou did not turn back and replied from afar, “Every generation of my Ancient Tomb sect have been virgins yet you have actually given birth, how shameful!”

Xiao Long Nuu said, “It’s not my child, give it back to me.”

She called out many times but as she did so, she loosened her chi and she was left behind. She saw that they headed north and so she followed.

The city was filled with soldiers as some tried to control the fire and others hunted down the spies. Xiao Long Nuu ignored them all and ran to the city walls to find Lu You Jiao with a group of beggar clan members patrolling the northern gate in case that the enemy would take advantage of the city being on fire and attack.

As soon as he saw Xiao Long Nuu he asked, “Miss Long, are chief Huang and hero Guo safe?”

Xiao Long Nuu ignored his question and instead asked, “Have you seen master Yang and Jin Lun Fa Wang? Have you seen a woman carrying a child?”

Lu You Jiao pointed outside of the city and said, “The three of them leapt down from the walls and left.”

Xiao Long Nuu was startled; the wall was extremely high, even with supreme martial arts your legs and arms will break if you jump down from such a height, how did the three manage this feat? She was just about to inquire further when she spotted a beggar clan member brushing the precious red horse and a thought went through her mind, “Even if Guo Er somehow manage to snatch the baby back, without this horse, how can he get to the Passionless Valley in time?” She darted over to the horse and took its reigns before saying to Lu You Jiao, “I have an urgent matter to attend to and I need to leave the city with this horse.”

All Lu You Jiao was concerned with was the safety of Huang Rong and Guo Jing and he asked again, “Are chief Huang Rong and hero Guo safe?”

Xiao Long Nuu mounted the horse and said, “They’re safe. Chief Huang’s baby daughter has just been snatched away, I need to get her back.” Lu You Jiao was shocked by the news and immediately ordered the gates to be opened.

The city gate was only opened a few feet and drawbridge had yet to touch the ground when Xiao Long Nuu had made her way out. After one slap, the gallant red horse flew over the moat spectacularly. The on looking guards all cheered at the spectacle.

Outside the city walls, Xiao Long Nuu saw the crushed corpses of two soldiers by the city walls along with the carcass of a horse. She looked all around but how would she know what direction they headed into?

She was now anxious and desperate. She stroked the neck of the horse and said, “I’m trying to find your baby master, please take me there!”

Who knew whether the horse understood or not but it reared its head and neighed before galloping in a northeasterly direction.

After chasing Li Mo Chou to the top of the city walls, both Yang Guo and Jin Lun Fa Wang thought with the walls being at such a height, there would be no where else for her to go. However, as soon as she reached the top of the city walls she grabbed a soldier and threw off the wall before following herself. Before the guard reached the ground, she used him to break her fall and threw herself forward, gliding down to the ground without disturbing the baby one bit. The soldier died without even making a sound.

Fa Wang cursed, “What a vicious woman!” He did as she did and sent a guard down the wall before using it to break his fall.

Yang Guo could not bring himself to use someone else as a stepping sound for him but it was getting urgent. However, just at this time, his mind lit up and he sent a steed off the city walls and before it landed, he leapt onto the steed’s back and while the horse met its death, Yang Guo continued his chase.

During the battle at the Mongolian camp a day earlier, Yang Guo was wounded twice by Fa Wang’s wheels and though the injuries themselves were not serious, he had lost a lot of blood, his body was weak and after another day of intense fighting, he felt he could not last any longer but as he thought about the dreadful fate that would fall upon his uncle Guo’s daughter under either Li Mo Chou or Jin Lun Fa Wang, he ignored his pain and chased after them urgently.

The three of them had been running extremely fast but with Li Mo Chou having to carry a baby and with Fa Wang taking precautions of his possible poisonous sword wound, each of them were no longer travelling as fast as before. A few miles later with Xiang Yang far behind them, there was still about a distance of a hundred feet between them; Fa Wang could not catch up with Li Mo Chou, and Yang Guo could not catch up with Fa Wang.

After a while, Li Mo Chou saw that there were hills and mountains in front of her so she sped thinking it would be easier to lose her pursuers in the mountain valleys. Though she had heard Xiao Long Nuu say it was not her child, after seeing how Yang Guo risked life and limb for it, she was sure that it was their bastard child and as long as it was in her hands, they would be forced to hand over her sect’s [Jade Maiden’s Manual] to her.

The further they got, the higher they went as the terrain become more mountainous and wooded. Fa Wang was afraid that if he doesn’t stop her now, once she hides amongst the dense woodland, it would be difficult for him to find her. He has never fought Li Mo Chou before but after seeing her excellent lightness kung fu, he knew that she would be a strong foe. He had lost two of his wheels and didn’t want to risk throwing any out but it was getting urgent, he could not waste any more time so he called out, “Lady, leave the child and I’ll spare your life, if you don’t then don’t blame this monk for being merciless.”

Li Mo Chou laughed and sped up once again. With a wave of his right arm, he sent out his silver wheel. The wheel became a white streak as it headed for Li Mo Chou’s back.

Li Mo Chou could not ignore the force of the incoming weapon and she turned around, deciding to use her flywhisk against it. However, as soon as she saw how fast the wheel was turning she changed her mind, as she was afraid that her weapon would break; she decided to move out of the way instead. Fa Wang advanced two steps and threw out his bronze wheel. This time, he threw it outwards so that it would curve in, smashing its target on its way back. Again, Li Mo Chou did not dare to take this attack head on; she moved back three steps and bent her waist, using advanced lightness kung fu to avoid this attack. Now, there was only about thirty feet between her and Fa Wang. Fa Wang caught his silver wheel with his left hand and smashed forwards towards her left shoulder with the lead wheel in his right hand.

Li Mo Chou whirled her flywhisk to the side, forming thousands of golden needles that rained towards Fa Wang’s eyes. Fa Wang threw his lead wheel upwards to block the attack while at the same time with his free hand, he caught his incoming bronze wheel. His crossed his arms and his wheels collided, ringing out throughout the valley. His silver and bronze wheels had changed hands and now started to use lethal attacks with both.

With a great foe in front of her, Li Mo Chou’s spirit stirred, who would have thought that this tall and skinny monk would possess such great strength and be so swift in his attacks. She fought with everything she knew and gave it everything she had.

After a few exchanges, Yang Guo had made his way to them. He watched by the side, catching his breath and waited for a chance to snatch the baby back. The two of them was fighting quicker and quicker with a flywhisk whirling about amongst the three wheels.

When it comes to martial arts and internal energy, Fa Wang was a level higher than Li Mo Chou and with the fact that Li Mo Chou was carrying a child with her, she would surely be defeated within a hundred stances.

However, towards the beginning of the fight when Li Mo Chou was trying to protect the child from the sharp blades of the wheels, she noticed that whenever the wheels came close to the baby, Fa Wang would quickly take the attack back and she then knew what he was trying to do, “That bald bastard wants to take child but he doesn’t want to hurt it.”

With her ruthless nature, she didn’t care about the safety of others and now that she knew what Fa Wang was up to, whenever she found herself unable to withstand his vicious moves, she would hold the baby up and protect herself. The baby was now no longer a hindrance but instead a powerful shield, as soon as it was raised, no matter how vicious and ruthless Fa Wang’s stances were, they would all be taken back.

Fa Wang attacked several times with the wheel but each time he was forced back by Li Mo Chou using the baby as a shield. Yang Guo watched on with anxiety; a mistake by either of them would surely send the baby to its death. Just as he was about to make his move, Fa Wang suddenly smashed out and inwards with the silver wheel in his right hand and pushed forwards with the bronze wheel in his other hand; by doing this, the wheels trapped Li Mo Chou within his arms.

Li Mo Chou went red; what kind of monk would actually use such a stance? She whirled her flywhisk behind to block the silver wheel and raised the baby in front of her to protect her chest. When Fa Wang had decided to use this particular stance, he had calculated the response; he loosened his left finger and his bronze wheel shot upwards towards her face.

The wheel was only about an inch away from her, with the wheel suddenly flying towards her like that with such great force, it was not going be easy to fend off this attack; luckily for her however, she was an experienced fighter after all these years in the world of Jiang Hu, experience that far exceeded that of Fa Wang’s. In this danger she leant back with her feet nailed to the floor and sent an attack of her own towards his shoulders. Fa Wang shrugged his shoulders and the flywhisk brushed past; however there were a few threads that had struck his shoulder. His left hand was empty and so, he chopped down onto her left arm. Li Mo Chou’s arm immediately went numb and she cried out in pain. She leapt away but something was missing; the baby had been snatched away by Fa Wang.

Just when Fa Wang thought he had succeeded, a gust of wind came from his side; it was Yang Guo throwing himself forwards to grab the baby. Rolling on the floor, he flurried his sword into a web of light to protect his body and as he got up, he used a stance of [Sailing with the Waves], stopping his two foes from getting close to him.

When he saw that the baby had fallen into Fa Wang’s hands, he knew that as soon as Fa Wang got a proper hold of her, it would be nigh on impossible to snatch her back so he risked life and limb to snatch her back. In a flash, the baby had exchanged hands twice.

Li Mo Chou praised, “Yang Guo, exquisite move!”

Fa Wang was furious and he knocked his wheels together, the wheels ringing like the roar of a dragon. He waved out his left sleeve and threw the wheel in his right hand towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo pretended to stab forward before turning around to run but something breezed past him; it was Li Mo Chou blocking his path with her flywhisk. She smiled, “Yang Guo, no running! Let’s see you fight a bit with that monk first.” Yang Guo saw that Fa Wang’s bronze wheel was only an inch away from him, he had no choice but to raise his sword and block the attack.

After duelling with each other for so long, the two were very familiar with the other’s martial arts and both attempted to beat the other with speed. The two became a blur as three streaks of light danced around; in a flash the two had exchanged over twenty stances.

Li Mo Chou was shocked, thinking, “It wasn’t too long ago since I saw him, how on earth has achieved such a level of martial arts?”

Yang Guo has made improvements in his martial arts but right now, some of the improvement was due to the fact that because he knew that he didn’t have long to live, he decided to repay Guo Jing back with his life and so, when a dangerous stance came at him, he didn’t care and instead replied with one of his own, forcing Fa Wang to adjust.

Yang Guo may not have cared about his life but it was a different story with the life of the baby. Though he saw that Fa Wang’s and Li Mo Chou’s stances avoided the baby during their fight, this was Guo Jing’s child and he was not going to employ the tactic that Li Mo Chou used, risking the safety of the child. By putting the safety of the child first, he was soon facing death in the face.

Against Li Mo Chou, Fa Wang had to take extreme care in avoiding the baby but with Yang Guo doing the opposite of Li Mo Chou and protecting her, he began to aim for the baby more than he did at Yang Guo. As a result, Yang Guo was forced on the back foot ever further and he couldn’t last much longer. He called out, “Martial uncle Li, quickly help me against this bald scoundrel.”

Fa Wang glanced over at Li Mo Chou who was standing there watching the two fight with a smile on her face.

He didn’t understand, “Xiao Long Nuu called her apprentice sister and she is indeed his apprentice uncle, why isn’t she helping? Are they planning something? I need to wound this kid and snatch the baby first.” He increased the power in his attacks leaving Yang Guo almost defenceless.

Li Mo Chou knew that Fa Wang would not harm the child, no matter how many times Yang Guo asks for help she’ll just ignore him, she placed her hands behind her back and watched at leisure.

After a while, Yang Guo felt a throbbing pain in his chest. He knew that his internal energy could not compare with his opponent; he would not be able to last much longer fighting so hard like this.

He hadn’t heard the baby’s cries for a while and was afraid something was wrong so he looked within his arms, only to see an adorable face with pearl black eyes starring back at him.

Yang Guo has never got on with Guo Fu but he felt something towards this baby girl in his arms, “In seven days time I’ll be dead, I’m risking my life and limb for her today and if by some miracle I managed to save her, I wonder whether she’ll remember me when she’s all grown up like her sister a few years from now?” In such an emotional state, he almost cried.

Li Mo Chou saw that he was exhausted and that he’ll soon die under the twin wheels, she was about to go forward and help him when she thought, “This kid’s martial arts have made great improvements, I better leave it to the monk to finish him off to save me future trouble.” So, she kept to the side.

Amongst the three, Fa Wang had the highest martial arts, Li Mo Chou was the most ruthless but Yang Guo was the most cunning. After he got over his sadness, he immediately came up with a plan, he thought, “When auntie Guo told me the story of the Three Kingdoms, she said that Cao Wei was the strongest and when Shu Han rebelled against Cao Wei, Shu needed the help of Sun Quan.” Li Mo Chou may not offer her help but he can offer his help to her, he blocked Fa Wang’s attack and threw the baby over to her calling out, “Catch!”

This action was something that Li Mo Chou did not predict, she didn’t know what he meant by this but took the baby anyway.

Yang Guo called out, “Apprentice uncle, take the baby and run, I’ll hold the monk up!” He sent two strokes forward with all his might, keeping Fa Wang back.

Li Mo Chou thought, “Oh, he’s hoping I’ll still respect the fact that we are of the same sect and so I’ll keep it alive.”

How would she know that Yang Guo had an ulterior motive, as soon as she tried to make her escape, Fa Wang smashed his silver wheel towards her back, switching his attention from Yang Guo to her. This stance came at her extremely fast and she tried to adjust her movements but the silver wheel followed her like a shadow. Li Mo Chou had no choice but to use her flywhisk to block the attack.

Yang Guo breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that his plan had worked but he did not wait by the side and watch the two destroy each other like Li Mo Chou had done, as soon as he gathered his breath he immediately dived in and attacked Fa Wang.

The sun was in the sky and light shone through the canopy of the forest. Yang Guo felt freshened and his swordplay became more fluent. A ringing sound was heard as the Gentlemen Sword slashed a piece of the bronze wheel off. Fa Wang was slightly alarmed but his attacks became even more vicious.

Yang Guo thought of another trick and called out, “Martial uncle Li, be careful of that wheel, don’t let where the wheel was cut touch you, it has poison on it.”

Li Mo Chou said, “How?”

Yang Guo said, “My sword has poison on it!”

After Yang Guo wounded Fa Wang, Fa Wang had been worried about being poisoned but because he has yet to feel any kind of effect from wound, he eased his worries. Now upon hearing these words of Yang Guo, he thought, “Gong Sun Zhi is ruthless man, its more likely than not that there is indeed poison on that sword.”

Li Mo Chou suddenly whirled her flywhisk forward and said, “Guo Er, pierce him with your poisoned sword.” She waved her hand out, appearing to shoot some kind of projectile. Fa Wang used his wheels to protect himself. Li Mo Chou was trying to scare him off, she knew that with Fa Wang’s martial arts, her Soul Freezing needles would most probably miss its target but this little pause allowed her just enough time to move out of the wheels’ range and escape.

Though Fa Wang suspected there was poison on Yang Guo’s sword, his wound had not swelled up and there were no ill effects after all this time, he did not want to leave empty handed after all this trouble and immediately chased after Li Mo Chou.

Who knows when the battle will end with them chasing and fighting like this, Yang Guo was worried that if this was kept up, the baby would catch a chill or something of the like, even if he does managed to rescue her it might end up all in vain. He knew that the first thing he must do is to use Li Mo Chou’s help to defeat Fa Wang before dealing with her. He called out loudly, “Martial uncle Li, there’s no need to run! This bald scoundrel has been poisoned, he won’t live for long.” As soon as he finished, Li Mo Chou darted forward into a cave.

Fa Wang stopped in his tracks and did not dare to enter. Yang Guo did not know what she was going to do with the baby and without care for his life, he burst into the cave with his sword across his chest. He saw a silver flash and immediately knocked three Soul Freezing needles out of the air. He called out, “Martial uncle Li, it’s me!”

It was pitch black in the cave but he had the ability to see in the darkness; Li Mo Chou was holding the baby with her left hand and her right was holding some silver needles. To show that he had no intent, he turned his back to her and said, “We need to defeat that bald bastard first,” guarding the entrance of the cave.

Fa Wang knew that the two would not come up for the time being and so he loosened his gown and tended to his wound. He saw that his blood was crimson red and when he touched the wound it ached, after circulating his internal energy and discovering there wasn’t anything wrong, he was happy but also furious with Yang Guo after being tricked by him into worrying for almost half a day. The entrance of the cave was covered with grass and only allowed for one person to enter, with his height he would not find it easy to manoeuvre if he burst in and would most probably fall victim to an ambush.

Just as he was trying to come up with a plan, he heard a strange voice behind him calling out, “Hey monk, what are you doing here.” It was the voice of the Indian dwarf, Ni Mo Xing.

Fa Wang kept his eye on the cave and said, “Three rabbits had just entered the cave, I’m going to force them out.”

After leaving empty handed from Xiang Yang, Ni Mo Xing was on his way back to the Mongolian camp when he saw from a distance Fa Wang’s silver, bronze and lead wheels flying about in the air and knew that he was in battle with someone and tracked him down. After seeing Fa Wang staring at the cave, he asked, “Guo Jing is in there?”

Fa Wang scoffed, “There’s two male rabbits and a female one.”

Ni Mo Xing was delighted when he heard this and said, “So, not only are the Guo couple in there but also that rascal Yang Guo.”

Fa Wang ignored him and after a look around, he had come up with an idea. He gathered some dry wood and placed it in front of the cave before lighting it. The wind was blowing southwesterly and the smoke poured into the cave.

When Fa Wang was placing the dry wood in front of the cave entrance, Yang Guo knew what he was up to and said quietly to Li Mo Chou, “I’ll check if there’s another exit.”

He went back into the cave which was about sixty feet deep and found that it was a dead end. He returned to her and said, “Martial uncle Li, they are trying to smoke us out, what shall we do?”

Li Mo Chou thought that there was no way that she would be able to escape from FA Wang if she dashes out but staying in the cave and getting suffocated wasn’t a good plan either, if worse comes to worse she’ll just leave the baby and with Fa Wang’s main target being the baby, he’ll probably leave her be so she wasn’t anxious and just smiled.

Not long after, the smoke had filled the cave and the two of them held their breath. The baby however started crying and coughing.

Li Mo Chou chuckled, “Are you upset?”

After the life and death battle that he had experienced with the baby, he had become growing attached to her and when he heard her crying louder and louder, he said, “Give her to me!” He stretched out his hands and advanced two paces.

Li Mo Chou snapped her flywhisk down towards his arm and said, “Don’t come any nearer! Aren’t you afraid of my Soul Freezing needles?”

Yang Guo leapt back. When he heard the words ‘Soul Freezing needles’, a thought suddenly popped into his head. He remembered the time when he first met Li Mo Chou and picked up her needles. After just holding it for a little while, he was poisoned. He tore off a piece of cloth from his gown and wrapped it tightly around his right hand before going over to the three needles that Li Mo Chou had previously shot to the ground and picked them up. He planted the needles in the ground leaving about an inch of the tip above ground and then he covered it with sand and dirt to conceal the shininess of the needles. The cave entranced was covered with a fire and the cave was filled with smoke, Fa Wang and Ni Mo Xing did not see what Yang Guo had done.

After he had finished his trap, Yang Guo went over to Li Mo Chou and said quietly, “I’ve got a plan, try to stop the baby from crying.” He then called out, “Great, there’s an exit, we can get out of here.” His voice was filled with joy.

Li Mo Chou was surprised and actually believed that there was another exit. Yang Guo then whispered into her ear, “It’s a lie, I’m trying to lure that bald scoundrel into my trap.”

Fa Wang and Ni Mo Xing was shocked when they heard this and believed that they had escaped especially when it suddenly became quiet and the cries of the baby had died down, how would they know that Yang Guo had covered the cries of the baby with his sleeve. Ni Mo Xing did not take any time to think and immediately flew around to the other side of the mountain to stop them. Fa Wang however took his time and noticed that cries of the baby were just muted, they were not coming from afar. He knew that it was Yang Guo trying to trick him into going around the back of the mountain so he could escape with the baby.

He chuckled, “Do you think I’m stupid!” He hid by the side of the entrance of the cave and armed himself with his wheels as he waited for Yang Guo to come out.

Yang Guo then called out, “Martial uncle Li, that scoundrel has gone, let’s leave.” Suddenly he whispered, “We’ll both shout in surprise at the same time and trick him into the cave.”

Li Mo Chou didn’t know what he had planned but she was well aware of his cunning after falling for his tricks before, since he was sure of his plan, it would definitely work. Luckily for her, the baby was still in her hands so driving away Fa Wang, Yang Guo would still have no choice but to bring the [Jade Maiden’s Manual] to her so she nodded.

Both of them cried out, “You…!” Yang Guo pretended that he was wounded and called out, “Why… why?” He then whispered, “Pretend that you are about to die.”

Li Mo Chou said furiously, “You… though I… have died under your hands today, I’m… not going to die alone.” Her voice silenced.

Fa Wang was delighted when he heard this, he thought that the two had fought over the people and had destroyed each other before even leaving the cave. He was afraid that the baby would die along with them and if that happened, he would not be able to blackmail Guo Jing so he brushed away the firewood and entered the cave. Just two steps in, he felt a pain at the bottom of his foot.

He made a swift adjustment, before he trodden down fully, he immediately pushed back with his right root and leapt back out of the cave. When he landed, his left leg was numb and he almost fell down. With his profound internal energy, even after suffering several hacks and slashes with a knife, he would still remain upright; he realised at once that he had trodden on something extremely poisonous and just as he was about to take off his shoe and examine the wound, he heard Ni Mo Xing had returned who was calling out, “That lying punk, no entrance at back, Guo couple still in there.”

Fa Wang took his hand away from his shoe and acted normal, saying, “You’re right, but there’s no more noise coming from the cave, they must have fainted from the smoke.”

Ni Mo Xing was delighted when he heard this thinking that finally he has managed to capture Guo Jing alive. However, he did not give a second to himself to think about why Fa Wang would allow him to do this without a fight and he whirled his Iron Snake to protect himself as he dashed into the cave.

Yang Guo had planted the needles in such a way that no matter how large or small your stride is, you will, step into one of them. Ni Mo Xing was short, had small steps and had a fast pace, his right foot stepped into one and before he could react, he left foot stepped into another. India is a hot and dry place and the people their don’t wear shoes, Ni Mo Xing was no different; though his feet had been conditioned into being as hard as leather, the Soul Freezing needles are extremely sharp and they punctured his feet. He was a manly fellow, a little pain was nothing to him. He used his Iron Snake to check if there were sharp objects and found nothing. Just as he was about to continue on his way to catch Guo Jing and his wife, his legs suddenly went soft and he collapsed. It was only now that he knew that the poison on the sharp objects was extremely venomous and he quickly rolled out of the cave.

He saw that Fa Wang had taken off his shoe and was holding a black and swollen left foot. Fa Wang was currently using his internal energy to suppress the poison.

Ni Mo Xing was furious and he roared, “Bastard, you fell for that trap so why the hell didn’t you tell me about it?”

Fa Wang smiled, “I felled for it and you felled for it, none of us have suffered.”

Ni Mo Xing could no longer control his anger as he yelled, “I, no need capture Guo Jing, Ni Mo Xing, rotten monk, a fight to the death!”

He could no longer use his legs, Ni Mo Xing pushed the ground with his left hand and threw himself forwards at Fa Wang while his right hand smashed down towards Fa Wang’s head with his Iron Snake. Fa Wang raised his bronze wheel to block the Iron Snake and then swept his arm across, throwing his elbow out. With his body in midair, it was difficult for Ni Mo Xing to avoid this blow; Fa Wang’s elbow came at him extremely fast and struck him in the shoulder.

Ni Mo Xing may have been thick boned, but this attack from Fa Wang left him in great pain however, in such a state of fury he didn’t give a damn about his life and threw himself at Fa Wang. He hugged him tightly and bit down on Fa Wang’s ‘Qi Abode’ pressure point. If everything were normal, Ni Mo Xing would never be able to get so close to Fa Wang and hug him. Even if he did manage to grab him, how would he ever get a clear path towards Fa Wang’s ‘Qi Abode’ pressure point? But right now, Fa Wang had fallen victim to an extremely lethal poison and was using all his internal energy to suppress the poison as the ‘Bending Spring’ pressure point. As long as he doesn’t let the poison spread, the most serious thing that would happen to him is a lost of a foot; his life would be safe. When Ni Mo Xing threw himself at Fa Wang, Fa Wang in effect had lost his internal energy and was relying on his external martial arts to fend him off. Ni Mo Xing however was giving everything he got and he bit down on the pressure point and didn’t let go.

Fa Wang hooked out his right foot and with Ni Mo Xing having lost use of his legs, they both fell down. Fa Wang tried to pull him off but with a vital pressure point held down, his strength had diminished, how could he pull him off? He could only hold Ni Mo Xing’s ‘Great Shuttle’ pressure point on his neck to stop him from making a fatal blow. The two were great martial artists but after falling victim to prison, they were now brawling on the ground, not reflecting their status.

The two of them rolled around and were getting dangerously close the edge of the cliff. Fa Wang saw what was happening and he called out, “Let go, another step and we’ll fall to our deaths.”

But Ni Mo Xing had lost all his senses, with his internal energy unoccupied, his internal energy was greater than Fa Wang’s, Fa Wang was unable to stop Ni Mo Xing from pushing forwards. With just a few inches away from falling into a deep chasm, Fa Wang survival senses came to life and he called out, “Guo Jing’s here!”

Ni Mo Xing stopped and said, “Where?” As he said this, his mouth loosened. Fa Wang’s pressure point was no longer blocked and he regained his strength, sending out a left palm. Ni Mo Xing knew that he had been tricked and he lowered his head and threw his waist forwards.

Fa Wang’s palm had meant to force Ni Mo Xing back but he had forgotten that Ni Mo Xing’s legs were no longer in his control after being poisoned, how could he jump back? Instead of sending him back, Ni Mo Xing was now going forward and the two bundled into each other, knocking themselves over the edge.

When Li Mo Chou saw that Yang Guo’s plan had worked, she secretly praised him. After hearing FA Wang and Ni Mo Xing struggling against each, she thought the danger was over and was about to exit the cave when suddenly she heard the two giving out a strange scream.

This was a scream that the two let out when they fell over the edge but with the cliff being over a hundred yards away and with a boulder blocking their view, they could not see what was happening.

Li Mo Chou said, “Hey kid, what are they up to?”

Yang Guo could not have guessed that the two had actually fallen off a cliff and said, “That damn monk is very sly, it could be possible that he is copying our trick of being injured to lure us out.”

Li Mo Chou agreed and whispered, “Yes, they must be trying to trick us out to get my antidote.” She walked to the entrance in order to take a look at what exactly was happening.

Yang Guo said, “Be careful of the needles.” As soon as he said this he regretted his words; “Why should I remind that witch?”

Li Mo Chou quickly pulled her feet back. The fire at the entrance of the cave was now out and she could not see in the dark like Yang Guo could, if she continued her steps, she would surely have stepped onto the needles. She may have the antidote but the poison was very lethal, it would leave her in great pain and if she had stepped on it, Yang Guo would have taken advantage and she would have died under her own poisonous needles.

She said, “Remove the needles, why should we stay in here?”

Yang Guo said, “Let’s wait for the poison to finish them off.”

Li Mo Chou scoffed at his reply. She was extremely wary of Yang Guo, the longer she stayed with him in the cave the more danger she was exposed to; when it comes to martial arts, she wasn’t confident that she could defeat him and she certainly wasn’t going to outthink him. She lowered her head and tried to think of a way out.

Silence filled the cave. The two was preoccupied with their own thoughts. Suddenly, the baby cried. Ever since she was born, she hasn’t been fed; it was a cry of hunger.

Li Mo Chou chuckled, “Where’s my apprentice sister? Don’t tell me that she’s going to let her child starve to death?”

Yang Guo replied, “Who said its Gu Gu’s child, its hero Guo’s.”

Li Mo Chou said, “Do you think using hero Guo’s name would scare me? If it were someone else’s child, why would you risk life and limb for it, it’s got to be the bastard child of you and her.”

Yang Guo shouted angrily, “Yes, I do want to marry Gu Gu but we’re not married yet, how can we have a child? Watch your words.”

Li Mo Chou scoffed, “If you want me to watch my words then you should watch your actions.”

Yang Guo worshipped Xiao Long Nuu, how could he not be furious? He shouted, “My master is pure and chaste, don’t tarnish her name.”

Li Mo Chou said, “Pure and chaste sounds so nice, just a shame that the virginity spot on her arm has gone.”

A whooshing sound was heard as Yang Guo flung his sword towards her chest. He shouted, “You can insult me but not my master, I’m going to kill you.”

Whoosh, swish, swoosh; three strokes in a row were unleashed. His swordplay was clever, his eyes could see in the dark, Li Mo Chou only survived because she could hear the weapon through the air. Though she didn’t get hit, these stances left her staring at death. Luckily for her, Yang Guo was watching out for the baby, he held back on his most threatening stances in case she decided to take the child with her.

The two of them fought for over ten stances when suddenly the baby gave a howling cry before falling silent.

Yang Guo was scared and immediately took back his sword. His voice was shaken as he said, “You’ve hurt the baby?”

When Li Mo Chou saw how much he cared for the baby, she was even more convinced that he was the father and said, “Right now its alive but if you don’t follow my orders, you’d think I’ll keep it alive?”

A chill went through Yang Guo, he knew that she was a cold blooded murderer, even if someone offends her just one little bit she would kill and destroy their whole family let alone just killing a newly born child. He said, “You are my martial uncle, as long as you don’t insult my master, of course I’ll follow your orders.”

Li Mo Chou could hear that he was willing to back down and knew that as long as the baby was in her hands, he could do nothing so she said, “Fine, I won’t insult your master, you’ll obey me. Go out and take a look and see how they are doing against the poison.”

Yang Guo obeyed and went outside. He took a look around and didn’t see anyone but he was wary that Fa Wang was hiding around somewhere so he hacked and slashed the surrounding trees and bushes. He found no one so he returned to the cave and said, “They’re gone, the poison must have scared them off.”

Li Mo Chou said, “Huh, even if they ran, how far are they going to get after falling victim to my poison? Go and pick up the Soul Freezing needles from the cave entrance and hand them over to me.”

After hearing the non-stop cries of the baby, he knew that he should go out and find something to eat for the baby so he followed her instructions. He wrapped his hand with a piece of cloth and gave the needles back to her.

Li Mo Chou put the needles away and headed for the exit. Yang Guo followed and asked, “Where are you taking the baby?”

Li Mo Chou said, “Back to my home.”

Yang Guo said anxiously, “Why do you want the baby? It’s not yours.”

Li Mo Chou blushed before immediately saying with a serious tone, “What are you saying? If you hand over the Ancient Tomb’s [Jade Maiden’s Manual], I’ll hand the baby back to you without harming a single of its hair.” She then started to use her lightness kung fu and headed north.

Yang Guo followed her and said, “You’ve got to feed her some milk first.”

Li Mo Chou turned around with a flushing face and shouted, “What the hell are you saying boy?”

Yang Guo said with surprise, “What? I’m just saying that the baby needs milk, otherwise, wouldn’t she starve?”

Li Mo Chou said, “I’m a pure and chaste virgin, how will I have milk for her?”

Yang Guo smiled, “Martial uncle Li, I’m saying that you should find some milk for her to drink, I’m not asking for your milk…”

When Li Mo Chou heard this, she couldn’t help but give out a laugh. She has kept chaste and single, she has only ever lived a life of swords and sabre, she knew nothing about caring for a child. She said, “Where can we get milk? How about feeding her rice?”

Yang Guo said, “Has she got any teeth?”

Li Mo Chou opened her mouth and shook her head, saying, “Not even one.”

Yang Guo said, “We’ll go to a village, find a woman who’s just giving birth and can produce milk to feed her, how about that?”

Li Mo Chou said with delight, “You are indeed full of ideas.”

The top of them climbed to a top of a hill and looked all around. Far away in the west, there was smoke. The two of them travelled very quickly and arrived at a small settlement in a short period of time. The area around Xiang Yang had been incinerated and the Mongols have destroyed the large towns and villages near the main roads, the only types of settlements remaining were those in the wild and secluded valleys.

Li Mo Chou checked the houses one by one and when she got to the fourth one, she found a woman feeding a year old child in her arms. Li Mo Chou was delighted that she had found someone, she went in and picked up the child from the woman’s arms and flung it away towards the stove. She then placed the baby girl’s mouth in the woman’s bosoms and said, “This child’s hungry, feed it.”

The woman’s child was flailing its arms and legs, crying its eye out on the bed. The woman quickly went to pick up her child. When Yang Guo saw that the woman was exposed, he quickly turned his back to her before hearing Li Mo Chou say, “I told you to feed my child, didn’t you hear? Who told you to hold your own child?” Yang Guo heard a thud and quickly jumped around just to see the woman’s child by the wall with its head covered in blood.

The woman was distraught and put Guo Jing’s daughter down and threw herself onto her child, crying and sobbing as she did so.

Li Mo Chou was furious and she lifted her flywhisk to strike down onto the woman’s back.

Yang Go quickly used his sword to block this blow and thought, “How can there be such an irrational woman?” However, the words that came out of his mouth were, “Martial uncle Li, if you kill her, there won’t be anyone else left to feed the child.”

Li Mo Chou replied angrily, “I’m looking out for your child yet here you are sticking your nose in where its not wanted.”

Yang Guo thought, “This child isn’t mine yet you keep on saying so, and if it is, then how can I be sticking my nose in?” He smiled and said, “The baby is hungry, the most important thing right is to feed her.” He then stretched out his hands for her.

Li Mo Chou raised her flywhisk and blocked his arm, saying, “You dare pick her up?”

Yang Guo took a step back and smiled, “Fine, fine! You take her.”

Li Mo Chou picked up the baby and was just about to place it back into the arms of the woman when she discovered that she was gone. When the two was arguing, the woman had slipped out with her child. Li Mo Chou’s was filled with rage and dashed outside to see the woman running away. Li Mo Chou flew up and struck down with her flywhisk with a gust of wind; both mother and child died under that strike. She went to find another woman to feed the child but the settlement was filled with men. Li Mo Chou became even angrier and she killed a few people at random. She then picked up a light from a stove and set a few thatched houses on fire before leaving the settlement.

Yang Guo sighed to himself when he saw how vicious Li Mo Chou was. The two didn’t say a word as they wandered across the plains for miles. The baby had cried itself to sleep in Li Mo Chou’s arms.

Li Mo Chou suddenly stopped in her tracks; there were two cubs in front of her playing with each other. She took a step forward with the intention of kicking them away when she heard a roar from the side as a leopard threw itself at her. She was startled by this and moved to the left. The leopard immediately turn around and threw itself forwards once again, clawing and slashing. Li Mo Chou raised her flywhisk and slap; the leopard was struck between the eyes. The leopard cried in pain and became even more vicious as it showed its sharp white teeth. It crouched on the ground and stared at its enemy with its gleaming eyes, waiting for a chance to attack.

Li Mo Chou waved out her left hand and shot out two needles at the leopard’s eyes. Yang Guo called out, “Wait!” He blocked the needles with his sword; at the same time, the leopard pounced; it leapt ten feet into the air and threw itself at him. Yang Guo leapt up and after knocking the needles out of the air with his sword, he punched the leopard on the spine. The leopard was left in pain by this blow but immediately after it landed, it attacked again. Yang Guo moved to the side and sent out a left palm with half his energy. The leopard was sent rolling back.

Li Mo Chou wondered what he was up to; the needles that she had shot out would have killed the leopard, why is he wasting so much effort to defeat it after saving it? She watched on as Yang Guo sent out a left palm and right palm there, keeping the leopard on the ground. He was relentless but each palm of his avoided the vitals of the leopard. The leopard’s roars were becoming quieter and quieter, and after ten palms, it could take it no longer and ran away. Yang Guo was prepared for this and reached out for its tail to pull it back but after being defeated, the leopard ran away dejected with its tail hanging down between its legs and Yang Guo missed. He was about to use his lightness kung fu to chase after it when he saw the leopard turn around and called at its cubs to run. Yang Guo now knew what to do and he picked up the cubs, one in each hand.

After seeing its cubs being captured, the leopard no longer cared about its life and threw herself at Yang Guo once again. Yang Guo threw the cubs at Li Mo Chou and called out, “Catch them but don’t kill them.” He leapt up higher than the leopard and aimed to land on its back. When he landed, he pulled at its ears. The leopard used all her strength to throw Yang Guo off but she was no longer in control of her movements.

Yang Guo called out, “Martial uncle Li, quickly get some tree bark and make some rope to tie it up.”

Li Mo Chou said with annoyance, “I don’t have time to mess around with you.” She turned around to walk away.

Yang Guo said quickly, “Who’s messing? This leopard can give milk!”

Li Mo Chou now understood and was filled with delight, she laughed, “Only you can come up with something like this.” She then went off and tore off ten pieces of tree bark and made some rope with it. She first tied its mouth before tying its legs.

Yang Guo patted the dust off him and smiled. The leopard could not move and its eyes showed that it was filled with fear.

Yang Guo stroked its head and said, “We just want your milk, and we won’t kill you.”

Li Mo Chou then placed the baby at its teat. The baby was starving and suckled immediately. The leopard could provide a lot of milk and soon the baby was full. The baby closed its eye and slept.

The two’s gaze never left the baby girl as it fed and fell asleep. The two of them was filled with delight as they watched smiling in her sleep and both of them smiled at each other.

This smile between the two dissolved most of the wariness between the two. Li Mo Chou’s face was filled with tenderness and she hummed a song as she held the baby in her arms. Yang Guo found some soft hay and made a bed on a large rock beneath a shady tree. He said, “Let her sleep here!”

Li Mo Chou quickly signalled with her hand, telling him to be quiet. Yang Guo stuck his tongue and made a face at her. As he watched the baby sleep peacefully, he gave a sigh of relief before turning his heads to the cubs who were feeding off their mother.

The scent of flowers filled the air, a warm breeze blew through their clothes, the aura of death disappeared as both man and beast felt at ease.

Yang Guo has been through hell and high water in the past few days and it was only now that he could unwind but it was in the strangest of circumstances; there was a cold blooded murderer to one side of him and a vicious beast to the other.

Li Mo Chou sat besides the baby and used her flywhisk to chase away the forest’s flies. Her flywhisk has killed countless people and could send the shivers down the people of wulin yet now it was doing the first kind thing it has ever done. Yang Guo watched Li Mo Chou as she stared at the baby. Sometimes there was a smile, at others there would be sadness on her face, then she would look overwhelmed before suddenly, peace would fill her face. Yang Guo guessed that she must have been looking back on her life.

Yang Guo did not know much about her, all he knows were a few things that Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang had told him. Behind all these cruel and vicious acts was someone who must have endured a bitter suffering, he has always hated her but right now, he couldn’t stop himself from pitying her a little.

After a while, Li Mo Chou lifted her head and her eyes met Yang Guo’s. She was slightly taken aback by this. She said quietly, “It’s getting dark, what are we going to do about tonight.”

Yang Guo looked around and said, “We can’t take that large leopard with us, we’ll find a cave to spend the night in for the time being and decide on what to do tomorrow.” Li Mo Chou nodded her head.

Yang Guo looked all around and eventually found a cave that was just about suitable. He gathered some long grass and made a small and large bed in the middle of the cave.

He said, “Martial uncle Li, rest here, I’ll go find something to eat.” He then went off in search of some food. He was back within the hour with three rabbits and some wild fruits. He untied the leopard’s mouth and fed one of the rabbits to it. He then gathered some firewood and roasted the other two rabbits for Li Mo Chou and himself.

After, Yang Guo said, “Martial uncle Li, go to sleep, I’ll go outside and guard the cave.” He took out a long rope and suspended it between two trees, sleeping on the rope in midair.

This didn’t surprise Li Mo Chou at all; after all, it was a skill of the Ancient Tomb’s. Apart from occasionally travelling with her disciple Hong Ling Bo, she has always wandered alone. Tonight she had spent time with Yang Guo who tended to all her needs, what a contrast it was to the all the times she spent alone in the wild. As she thought about this, she gave out a sigh.

End of Chapter 22

[Mojo Jojo]

This part of chapter 23 was done by Lanny Lin.

Chapter 23

Sibling Rivalry

It was pass midnight already. Something woke Yang Guo. Chirrups from a condor rose from the northwest. The chirrups were somewhat croaked, bleak yet intense and lofty. Feeling very curious, he leapt off the rope bed gently and sought his way toward the direction of the sounds. The chirrups would sometimes rise and sometimes stop, but they were much louder than the chirrups from the two condors on the Peach-Blossom Island. The path in front of him descended as he went forth and soon he found himself in a valley. The chirrups weren’t far from where he was. He crept forward on tiptoes and then quietly pushed aside the bushes in front of him. After a quick peep, he was astonished.

Right in front of Yang Guo’s eyes stood a giant condor, taller than a human, yet more ugly even than one’s wildest imagination. Sparse feathers covered the condor’s entire body as if most of its feathers were simply pulled off by somebody. The feathers were in the color of darkish yellow, which made the condor appear dirty and filthy. It did look somewhat similar to the two condors on the Peach-Blossom Island, but its ugliness made the difference as vast as from Heaven to earth. The giant condor had a hooked beak, and a big lump of tumor, as red as blood, occupied the top of its head. There were probably thousands of bird species in the world, but Yang Guo had never seen any bird of prey as imposing and grand as this one. The condor strode about in big steps with its two extremely thick legs. Sometimes it would extend its two short wings, so short that one would wonder if the condor was capable of flying. But the way it walked, with its head held high, certainly showed great power and grandeur.

After some more chirrups from the condor, rustling sounds came from nearby, and suddenly, under the vivid moonlight, four poisonous snakes in bright colors shot at the ugly condor like four arrows. The ugly condor turned its head back and forth swiftly, and with four precise pecks, killed the four snakes instantly. The accuracy of the pecks and the speed it displayed were almost in match with first-class elite fighters in the Marital World.

Yang Guo was shocked by the magnificent skills the condor had put on display. Immediately, his belittling thoughts turned into surprise and admiration. The ugly condor opened its giant mouth and soon swallowed the four snakes down its throat.

“If I can catch this ugly condor and put him next to Guo Fu’s two condors, I am sure this condor would be no inferior to her condors,” Yang Guo thought aloud.

As he was still pondering hard how to trap the condor, a sudden stinking smell caught his attention. Something poisonous and big must be close by.

The ugly condor raised its head and chirped three times as if sending a signal of challenge to the hidden enemy. A loud whistling sound echoed as a giant serpent, as thick as the diameter of a bowl, with a triangle shaped head, emerged, hanging down from a big tree. And within a fraction of a second, the giant serpent had launched its attack on the condor viciously. The ugly condor didn’t yield, but lunged forward instead. Thrusting its beak out like a flash, the condor had taken the poisonous giant serpent’s right eye out. The condor’s neck looked short and thick, and it seemed as if it would have a hard time turning its head around, but when the condor shot the beak out and then retracted it back in lightening speed, Yang Guo couldn’t even tell how the condor had blinded the giant serpent even though he had sharp eyes.

The giant poisonous serpent apparently experienced excruciating pain from losing its right eye. It opened its giant mouth wide and then clamped the huge jaws down hard, biting onto the big tumor on the ugly condor’s head. Yang Guo was astounded. He couldn’t help but utter a cry of shock.

Excited by the success, the giant poisonous serpent let itself fall off the tree, and then immediately wrapped its over-twenty-feet-long body around the ugly condor tightly. It seemed that the ugly condor was not going to get out alive this time.

Not wishing to see the ugly condor die from the poisonous serpent’s attack, Yang Guo sprang forward with his sword and hacked the blade toward the serpent’s body. Suddenly, the condor swung its right wing swiftly and smacked on Yang Guo’s right arm with tremendous force. Yang Guo was taken by complete surprise. His “Gentleman Sword”[1] flew out of his grip and traveled dozens of feet in the air before falling back down to the ground. Dumbfounded, Yang Guo stared at the ongoing fight and saw the condor pecking continuously on the serpent’s back. Every peck would end up with blood spurting out of the wound like a small fountain.

“I guess you must be certain about your victory and don’t want any help from me then!” Yang Guo thought.

The poisonous serpent squeezed tighter and tighter with its giant body. The ugly condor’s feathers almost stood up as it struggled to get out of the grip. Seeing that the condor seemed to be losing the battle, Yang Guo picked up a large rock and smacked the serpent’s body with it again and again. Feeling the pain, the giant serpent let lose of its grip slightly when the ugly condor suddenly reached out its beak and blinded the serpent’s right eye with a swift peck. The giant serpent opened its jaws wide and bit madly. Because both of its eyes were taken out, the bites were vicious but aimless. Its huge and poisonous fangs only landed on thin air. The ugly condor grabbed the serpent’s neck with its claws and pressed it against the ground with all its weight on top. Meanwhile, its sharp beak never stopped pecking down hard on the serpent’s head again and again. The serpent twisted and turned and slapped the ground hard with its giant body, trying to get out of the grip, but the condor seemed to have endless of strength and kept the serpent’s head under his claws. After a long while, the serpent finally stopped twitching and lay still, dead.

The ugly condor raised its head high and let out three loud chirps. Then it turned its head toward Yang Guo and chirruped in a much softer tone, as if it was calling out to him.

Hearing the friendly chirrups from the condor, Yang Guo walked slowly near the condor. “Brother Condor, your strength is so incredible! It’s so impressive!” he cheered.

The ugly condor answered with some more soft chirrups. Slowly, it walked next to Yang Guo and then patted him on the shoulder gently with its left wing. Seeing how smart and unusual the condor was, Yang Guo was very pleased, so he also patted the condor gently on its back.

The ugly condor let out some more chirrups in low pitches. Holding the corner of Yang Guo’s shirt in its mouth, the condor pulled a couple of times before letting lose of the grip and started walking away in big strides. Yang Guo knew the condor had wanted him to follow, so he tagged along. The ugly condor’s legs moved so swiftly that its speed was no slower than a galloping horse. Yang Guo had to use his Qing-Gong techniques in order to keep up with it. He couldn’t help feeling very impressed inwardly. The path the condor took descended lower and lower. Soon, Yang Guo found himself inside a deep valley. After walking continuously for another good while, they came to the entrance of a big cave. The ugly condor nodded its head three times with three chirrups as if it was saluting toward the cave. Then it turned its head to stare at Yang Guo.

“There must be some kind of a hermit master who lives in the cave. Then of course the giant condor must be a tamed pet of his. I must show my respect,” Yang Guo thought to himself. So he knelt down in front of the cave and kowtowed.

“Yang Guo hereby shows his respect to a senior master. Please forgive me for disturbing your peace,” he said and then waited. But no one answered from inside the cave.

The condor pulled Yang Guo’s shirt again and then walked inside the cave. Yang Guo stared at the dark cave in front of him, not knowing if there was really an elite Kung Fu master inside or some kind of goblins or trolls. Feeling a bit uneasy and anxious, he decided to give no thoughts about his own safety and followed in.

The cave was actually not deep at all. Only about thirty feet into the cave, they had already reached the end. Other than a table and a bench made out of stones, there was nothing inside the cave. The ugly condor chirped again, signaling toward a corner of the cave. Casting a glance toward the corner, Yang Guo saw a pile of rocks and stones of all shapes and sizes jumbled together. It looked like a grave.

“This must be the grave of a lofty hermit. Too bad the condor doesn’t know how to speak and can’t tell me more about him,” Yang Guo thought aloud.

He looked up and then something caught his attention. The rock wall seemed to have some words written on it. But thick dust and moss almost covered the entire rock wall, and it was hard to tell what words they were in the dark. Lighting a dry stick, Yang Guo wiped the moss off with his hand, and not to his surprise, three lines of words appeared. The strokes of the words were thin but were carved into the rock wall very deeply. It seems that the words were carved in using a very sharp blade. The three lines of words said,

“Having roamed the martial world for more than thirty years, I have killed all my villainous foes and defeated all heroic champions. There’s no one who can be my equal under the same sky. Without any other choice, I could only retreat to this deep valley, living a hermit’s life in seclusion, having only a condor as my companion. Alas, throughout my life I searched for a match in vain. Unbearable loneliness is my destiny.”

The signature at the bottom was, “Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss.”

Yang Guo read the three lines of words back and forth. Astonishment and deep admiration filled his heart. He could clearly feel the sadness and loneliness behind the words. Because there was no match for him in the entire world, this lofty master had to live a hermit’s life in seclusion in the deep valley. His understanding of martial arts must have reached the ultimate high. His title was “Demonic Swordsman,” then his skills in sword art must have been miraculous. And his name was “Seeking-A-Loss,” then he must have traveled all over the world looking for someone who can defeat him, but all his efforts were in vain and he eventually passed away in great disappointment. His mind filled with imaginations of how the sword master had roamed the marital world, Yang Guo was lost in thoughts.

A long while passed before Yang Guo finally got hold of himself again. Holding the burning stick, he searched around in the cave, but failed to find anything else related to the sword master. The grave made out of a pile of rocks and stones didn’t have any sign or tombstone on it. He figured that after the sword master had passed away, it must have been the divine condor that had picked all the rocks and stones and piled them on top of the sword master’s dead body.

Feeling his admiration growing bigger and bigger, Yang Guo couldn’t help but kneel in front of the grave and kowtowed. The divine condor seemed to be pleased to see him show great respect to the grave and gently patted him on the shoulder a couple of times.

“The sword master Dugu had called the condor a companion. Then even though the condor is only an animal, it really is a senior of mine. It would be very appropriate if I call him Brother Condor,” Yang Guo thought to himself. So he said, “Brother Condor, it must be fate that has brought us together. I need to leave now. Would you like to go with me or would you rather stay here guarding sword master Dugu’s grave?”

The divine condor answered with some chirrups. Yang Guo couldn’t understand what the condor had said, but seeing that the condor stayed by the side of the grave, he thought, “The many senior masters in the martial world never mentioned somebody named Dugu Seeing-A-Loss, then he must have been someone only existed sixty or seventy years ago. The divine condor has lived here for a long time and became attached to it. Of course he would rather stay than leaving together with me.”

He put his arms around the divine condor’s neck and stroked the condor’s feathers gently. Then he walked out of the cave.

Throughout his life, other than the intimate relationship he had with Little Dragon Girl, he didn’t have any other closer friend. Now when he met the divine condor, although the condor was only an animal, he really felt for a close relationship, and was reluctant to part with him. After every couple of steps, he would turn and cast a glance back. And every time when he turned around, the divine condor would also answer with a loud chirp. Although the two of them were soon hundreds of feet apart, the divine condor could still see him clearly in the dark and chirped every time when Yang Guo turned his head around.

Suddenly, Yang Guo’s heart burned with indignation. He shouted out loud.

“Brother Condor, I don’t have much life left in me. After I take care of the business regarding Uncle Guo’s baby daughter and after I bid my farewell to my aunty,[2] I will come back here. If I get to be buried next to Great Hero Dugu, then my life wouldn’t have been a waste of time after all.”

He bowed and then headed out in big strides.

[Mojo Jojo]

He was worried about the safety of Guo Jing’s daughter so gathered his sword and hurried back to the cave.

As soon as he got back to the cave, Li Mo Chou said, “Where have you been? There’s some kind of damn annoying ghost around here.”

Yang Guo said, “What ghosts?” As soon as he finished, he could hear a distant cry.

Yang Guo was taken aback by this and said quietly, “Martial uncle Li, look after the baby, I’ll take care of this.”

The cries were getting closer and closer until distinct words could be made out, “What a tragic life I lead, what a tragic life I lead! My wife has been killed and now my own two sons are trying to kill each other.”

Under the starlight, Yang Guo could see a large, scruffy man stumbling around, sobbing with his hands over his face. He could not see his face clearly.

Li Mo Chou said, “So it’s a madman. Send him away, don’t let him wake the baby.”

The man continued to sob, “I only have two sons and yet these two sons of mine have decided to fight amongst each other, what is there left for me to live for?” He gave out a long sorrowful howl.

Yang Guo remembered something and thought, “Could it be him?” He walked out of the cave slowly and said, “Is it senior Wu?”

This person has gone all the way out here in the middle of the night because he wanted to let all his emotions out, he had not expected that anyone would be out here as well, as soon as he heard Yang Guo’s voice, he immediately controlled himself and shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing sneaking around here?”

Yang Guo said, “My name is Yang Guo. Is senior’s surname Wu with first names San Tong?”

This person was indeed Wu San Tong. After being injured by Li Mo Chou’s silver needles in Jia Xing, he fell unconscious. By the time he came round, he saw his wife crouching down above him and was sucking the poison from the wound above his left eye.

He was shocked and said, “San Liang, the venom of this poison is lethal, how can you suck it out?” He quickly pushed away.

Wu San Liang spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground and smiled, “The blood has now become red again, you should be alright.”

Wu San Tong saw that her cheeks were purple and was extremely alarmed. He trembled, “San Liang, you... you…”

Wu San Liang knew that by saving her husband, she would die immediately afterwards, she stroked the head of her two sons and said, “I know that you have been unhappy ever since we’ve been married. It’s too late to correct the mistake now, all I’m asking now is that you take care of our children and watch them grow into men, teaching them brotherly love and friendship…” She could no longer finish her words.

Under this shock, his madness came back to him once more. As he watched his two sons crying over the body of their dead mother, his mind became blank and he left them as they were.

He roamed the realm in this state of confusion for many years but as time went on, his mind became clearer. After the Heroes’ Feast, Si Shui Yu Yin left with a few friends of the Jiang Hu world and as they conversed, talk of a particular character whose description matched his martial brother Wu San Tong came up. He went in search of this man and eventually came across his martial brother.

When he heard that his two sons were at Xiang Yang, Wu San Tong was filled with joy and immediately made his way to Xiang Yang. He got there just after the great battle with Fa Wang. Guo Jing was still injured and Huang Rong had just given birth. After meeting with Zhu Zi Liu and Guo Fu, he found out that his two sons were actually fighting against each other outside the city. Memories of his wife’s last request came back at him and he was filled with sorrow. He immediately left the city to look for them. He past a run down temple and heard the clashing sounds of weapons from within and after taking a peak inside, he saw Wu Du Ren and Wu Xiu Wen in battle with each other. At first, he wasn’t able to recognise his two now grown up sons but after seeing the two use a sword in their right hands and the [Solitary Yang Finger] with the left to seal the other’s pressure points, he knew they were his sons and immediately jumped in and ordered them to stop.

The two were of course delighted after being reunited with their father but as soon as the name Guo Fu came up, the tension between the two flared up once again. No matter what Wu San Tong said or done to stop the two fighting over Guo Fu, nothing worked. The two of them did not dared to argue in front of their father but whenever he was out of sight, the two bickered once more. The two then arranged a meeting that night to have a duel to decide this matter once and for all. Wu San Tong had overheard them and had decided to get to their meeting point first to stop them. The more he thought about this situation them more depressed he got and he could not longer help himself but to let it all out.

Just at this time, a young man popped out from a cave, his natural reaction was one of wariness and he shouted, “Who are you? How do you know my name?”
After hearing that this man was indeed Wu San Tong, Yang Guo replied, “Uncle Wu, my name is Yang Guo, I used to live on Peach Blossom Island with your sons in hero Guo’s residence, I have always admired uncle Wu’s name.”

Wu San Tong nodded and said, “What are you doing here? Ah, that’s it, Du Ru and Xiu Wen have arranged to duel here and you’ve come to officiate the two. Huh, you’re supposedly a friend to them, why haven’t you tried to stop them? Instead, you’re here to egg them on, what kind of friend are you?” By now, his voice was becoming shouts and yells as he let out all his anger on Yang Guo. He cursed as he advanced forwards with a raised palm, wanting to teach this troublemaker of a youngster a lesson.

Yang Guo knew what he wanted to do by his body language and thought wasn’t a need to a get into a fight with him so he took two steps back and smiled, “I didn’t know that the Wu’s had arranged a duel here, you cannot accuse me falsely.”

Wu San Tong shouted, “You are still trying to deny it? If you didn’t know about this then why the hell are you here? Of all the places you could be, why have you turned up in this particular place?”

Yang Guo thought what an unreasonable fellow but this meeting was indeed quite a coincidence; he was lost for words as he searched for a reply.

When Wu San Tong saw his hesitation, he was convinced that Yang Guo was up to no good. When he was younger love wasn’t the kindest to him and because of this, every time he saw a handsome young man, he would feel a bit of repulsion towards them. He thought, “This kid might not even know who my sons are, he must be up to no good sneaking around here like this.” He did not give it any more thought as his anger took over. He raised his right palm and struck downwards towards Yang Guo’s shoulder. Yang Guo shifted his body leaving the palm striking thin air but Wu San Tong immediately followed with an elbow. Yang Guo saw that his stances were very powerful so he did not dare to take it easy, he slanted his body and moved his feet, avoiding another stance.

Wu San Tong called out, “Not bad kid, your lightness kung fu is pretty good. Now raise your sword and attack!”

Just at this time, the baby in the cave suddenly woke up and started to cry. Yang Guo thought, “Martial uncle Li killed his wife, if the two see each other, it’ll surely get ugly. When the two fights, each stance will be a fatal strike, it will not be easy for me to protect the baby in that situation.” So he smiled, “Uncle Wu, how can junior exchange stances with a person of your stature? But since you’ve got it in your mind that I’m up to no good then I’m left with no choice. How about this, I’ll let you have three stances to attack. If you don’t kill me within these three stances, then you’ll have to leave this place. How about it?”

Wu San Tong was furious and shouted, “You arrogant punk, I held back on that last palm and have yet to use my best skills, how dare you look down on me?”
His right index finger suddenly stretched out and used the [Solitary Yang Finger]. He has trained this skill for many years and has profound internal energy. Yang Guo saw his index finger moving around and though it was coming at him at a fairly slow speed, all the major pressure points of his upper body were covered within the finger’s range leaving him guessing which pressure point was being targeted. Just as he was trying to figure out which of his pressure points were being targeted, all nine of his major pressure points were being threatened. He immediately flicked out his index finger and used Huang Yao Shi’s [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger].

The [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger] and the [Solitary Yang Finger] have been famed in the Jiang Hu world for years. Both have their virtues but Yang Guo’s internal energy was shallow, he learned it in a very short space of time and has yet to train it diligently, how could it match the years that Wu San Tong has put into his skill? As soon as the two fingers touched, Yang Guo’s right arm trembled and his whole body heated up. He staggered back five or six paces and had to hold himself up with a tree stump to force himself from falling over.

Wu San Tong said, “This kid has indeed lived on Peach Blossom Island.” Out of respect for Huang Yao Shi and out of admiration for this martial art talent who could actually block this attack at such a young age, he called out, “The second finger is coming, if you can’t take it then don’t force yourself to, I won’t take your life.” As he said this, he advanced forwards a few more steps and once again stretched out his finger; this time, Yang Guo’s abdomen was targeted.

This time, even more major pressure points were targeted; the twelve major pressure points of the surging channel, the ‘Free Gate’, ‘Open Valley’, low to mid ‘Pillar’, ‘Fourfold Fullness’, the ‘Public Bone’, ‘Meeting of Yin’, all of these places were under the threat of the finger. Yang Guo saw that the incoming force of the finger was extremely quick, if he tried to use the [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger] again, not only would his finger probably break under this attack, his innards will be at risk as well so he immediately used the stance [Clearing of the Zither’s Heart]; a light swooshing sound was produced as he unsheathed the Gentleman Sword and protected the area two inches away from his abdomen. Wu San Tong quickly took his finger back from the threat of the blade and sent out a third finger. This attack came out like lightning and the finger aimed for the spot between Yang Guo’s eyes. He thought that Yang Guo surely would not be able to block this attack with his sword. Yang Guo knew that it would be difficult to neutralize such a fast attack so he quickly used a move from the [Nine Yin Manual]. He crouched down and darted forwards between Wu San Tong’s legs. Though this move was swift and agile, it looked quite pathetic, using it will just make the user lose face but luckily for Yang Guo, he was a junior so there wasn’t much shame in using it.

Before Wu San Tong could give out a cry of ‘Oh no’, he felt Yang Guo patting him on his shoulder before hearing him say, “Uncle, that third finger was very powerful.”

Under this shock, he lowered his hands and moved away before saying with gloominess, “Well, it looks there really are heroes amongst the young, there’s no more use with the old like me anymore.”

Yang Guo quickly sheathed his sword and bowed to him. He said, “That last stance was extremely unsightly, if that was a real duel, it would be a lost for me.”
Wu San Tong felt a bit better and sighed, “There’s no need for that, if you had attacked me from behind, I’d have no chance of surviving. It was a very clever move, an old and dumb man such as I can’t compete with smart youngsters such as yourself…” Before he could finish, the sounds of footsteps could be heard; there were two people coming towards them. Yang Guo tugged at Wu San Tong’s sleeve and the two hid behind a bush. The footsteps were gradually becoming louder and louder; the two people that had come were indeed Wu Dun Ru and Wu Xiu Wen.

Wu Xiu Wen stopped and took a look around before saying, “Brother, it’s wide and open here, let’s pick this spot.”

Wu Dun Ru said, “Fine!” He didn’t like talking much. Swoosh; he drew his sword.
However Wu Xiu Wen did not draw his sword, he said, “Brother, if I can’t beat you today, even if you don’t kill me, I won’t be able to live. Remember the three major tasks you have do; get revenge for our mother’s death, look after father and love and protect sister Fu.”

When Wu San Tong heard these words, tear dropped from his eyes.

Wu Dun Ru said, “We all know this, why talk? If you beat me, the same applies.” He raised his sword and took an open stance.

Wu Xiu Wen still did not draw his sword and took a few steps forwards before saying, “Brother, we lost our mother when we young, our father left us, we have always relied on each other and never argued, but now that its come to this, you don’t blame do you?”

Wu Dun Ru said, “Brother, its fate, none of us decided this.”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “No matter who lives and who dies, this secret can never be revealed to prevent grief for father and sister Fu.” Wu Dun Ru nodded and held his brother’s left hand. The brother’s looked at each other in silence.

When Wu San Tong heard how deep their brotherly bond was, he was deeply comforted and he was about to jump out to stop them from doing anything stupid but suddenly, the two brothers both called out, “Let’s start!” They both jumped backwards at the same time. Wu Xiu Wen stretched out his hand and unsheathed his sword; three swift strokes were unleashed. Wu Dun Ru parried the first two strokes and blocked the third before replying with two stances of his own, both of them aiming to strike Wu Xiu Wen down. Wu San Tong’s heart jumped when he saw this but Wu Xiu Wen moved his body and leapt to the side, easily avoiding the attacks.

Sounds of clashing weapons echoed throughout the valley as the two brothers fought a duel to the death. Wu San Tong was worried but also sad at the same time, he loved his sons with his life and loved them equally, with the two fighting so viciously like this as if they were fighting their sworn enemies, one of them would come to harm sooner rather than later. If he come out now and tell them to stop, the two of them would stop the fight but if things don’t end today, it will continue on tomorrow, he can’t always be there to watch over them. The more he watched the greater the pain he felt, as he thought about how tragic his life was, tears fell from his eyes.

Yang Guo did not get on with the Wu brothers when they were younger and after meeting each other again, there was still some animosity. He was a stubborn fellow and wasn’t the most forgiving, when he first saw the Wu brothers fighting, he had hoped that something would happen to them but after seeing the anguish that Wu San Tong was in, he thought about the little time that he has left and his compassionate side surfaced, “I haven’t done much good in my life, after I die, Gu Gu will obviously be upset but apart from her, only Cheng Ying, Lu Wu Shuang and Gong Sun Luu E will remember me. Why don’t I do something good today and let this old man remember my virtues?” He made his mind up and whispered in Wu San Tong’s ears, “Uncle Wu, I have a plan to stop your sons from fighting.”

Wu San Tong turned his tearful face around and gratitude filled eyes looked back at him. However, he was not sure how Yang Guo was going to stop his sons from fighting.

Yang Guo said quietly, “I hope that uncle will not be offended when your sons are humbled.”

Wu San Tong’s could not express his thanks and just held Yang Guo’s hands tightly. Wu San Tong did not experience what love when he was younger, his marriage was arranged by his parents and because of his struggles with love, he was unable to find peace but after his wife sacrificed her life for him, he began to appreciate his wife more and the feelings that he had for He Yuan Jun gradually faded. The only thing that he cared for now are his sons, if he could keep them safe and warm, he would gladly trade his own life for them. Hearing these words of Yang Guo in such a desperate situation like this was like suddenly meeting the Goddess of Mercy in times of difficulties.

When Yang Guo saw his expression, he couldn’t stop his heart from aching as he thought, “If my father was still alive, he would definitely love me as much as Wu San Tong loved his sons.” He whispered, “Don’t let them know you are here otherwise my plan won’t work.”

The duel between the Wu brothers was becoming more and more heated. Both of them were using the [Yue Maiden Swordplay]. This skill belonged to Han Xiao Ying of the Seven Freaks of Jiang Nan. The two have practised and trained this swordplay countless times over the years but this time, it was not a sparring session; it was a life and death duel where one mistake will be fatal.

Yang Guo watched them for a while and thought, “Uncle Guo’s martial arts reign supreme but it appears that his students have not arrived upon these skills and with the Wu brother’s martial arts talents just plain ordinary, I don’t think they have learnt even just twenty percent of uncle Guo’s martial arts.” He suddenly laughed out loud and slowly walked out.

The Wu Brothers leapt back in shock and pointed their swords in the direction of the laugh. When they saw that it was Yang Guo, they both shouted together at the same time, “What are you doing here?”

Yang Guo laughed, “What are you, doing here?”

Wu Xiu Wen gave a laugh and said, “We both felt bored tonight so we’ve come out here to practice our swordplay.”

Yang Guo thought, “Little Wu is pretty alert, he’s acting as if nothing was happening.” He chuckled, “Practising so hard that you don’t give a care for you life? How hard working you two are.”

Wu Dun Ru yelled, “Scram, this is none of your business.”

Yang Guo chuckled, “If you guys were really only just working hard practising, of course it wouldn’t be my business. But between every stance you are unleashing, you are filled of thoughts for my sister Fu, if this is none of my business then whose business is it?”

Yang Guo’s words of ‘my sister Fu’ pierced into the brothers’ heart, leaving their bodies shaking and swords quivering.

Wu Xiu Wen roared, “What the hell are you saying?”

Yang Guo said, “Isn’t Sister Fu uncle and auntie Guo’s daughter? Don’t the parents arrange marriage? Uncle Guo has betrothed her to me a long time ago, you guys know about this but yet here you are, fighting over me fiancée, what kind of person do you take me for?”

His tone was becoming more and more serious as he said this and he left the brothers speechless. They both knew that Guo Jing had always wanted to marry his daughter off to him but Huang Rong and Guo Fu had always disliked Yang Guo, when the two’s thoughts were revealed by Yang Guo, they could only glance at each other and didn’t know how to reply.

Wu Xiu Wen was again alert in urgent times and chuckled, “Huh, fiancée? Only you can say a thing like that! Has their been an agreement between the matchmakers? Has the engagement been stamped down on paper?”

Yang Guo replied, “Okay, so both of you brothers have had the permission from the your parents and the agreement from your matchmakers I take it.”

Custom was extremely important during this time, marriages must have the agreement of parents and the matchmakers. The two brothers had assumed that after one of them loses, only the winner will go back to Guo Fu leaving with her with no choice so she’ll definitely agree to the proposal leaving just the task of convincing the Guo couple to agree. They were not prepared for this meddling from Yang Guo.

Wu Xiu Wen took a second to think before replying, “It might true that master wants to betroth sister Fu to you. But master wife has planned to betroth her to one of us. The three of us are in the same boat, none of us can truly say their claim is right, it looks like sister Fu’s future is going to be complicated.”
Yang Guo laughed at the sky.

Wu Xiu Wen snapped when he saw that Yang Guo was laughing loudly non-stop without saying anything and said, “What are you laughing at? Are my words wrong?”

Yang Guo laughed, “Wrong, so wrong. Uncle Guo loves me, auntie Guo loves even more, how can you two compete with me?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Huh, who’s going to believe your words?”

Yang Guo laughed, “Why should I lie? Auntie Guo had long agreed to this marriage, otherwise, why would I risk my life to save them if they weren’t my in laws? It’s all because of sister Fu. Tell me, has your master wife ever promised you they’ll betroth their daughter to you?”

The two brothers looked at each other in alarm, their master wife has indeed not said a single word about this matter, not even hinted that she’ll say something about it, could it be that she has indeed agreed to betroth her daughter to this punk? The two brothers were having a duel to the death with each other but with this sudden appearance of a common enemy, they both moved closer towards one another.

Yang Guo had heard their conversation with Guo Fu earlier on and wanted to make the two jealous so he smiled, “Sister Fu said to me; ‘those two brothers are annoying me to death’, she couldn’t brush you guys off so she said that she liked both of you. Tell me, is there a virtuous girl who’ll says she loves two people at once? My sister Fu is more than virtuous, of course she’ll never do a thing like this. Let me make it clear for you, when she says that she likes both of you, she’s actually saying that she doesn’t like either.” He then impersonated Guo Fu’s voice on that night and said, “Little brother Wu, you’ve told me a thousands times, a million times how you feel about me, I already know. Don’t you know how hard it is for me? You are always weird like this, what do you want to say to me?”

The two brother’s faced turned. Those words were said by each of them to Guo Fu with no one else around, if she didn’t tell Yang Guo, how would he know about this? The two of them felt their hearts’ breaking, both of them thinking that Guo Fu has refused all along to agree to marry them because of this.

When Yang Guo saw their faces, he knew that his plan had worked, he put on a serious face and said, “Look, sister Fu is my fiancée, we’re going to stay married for years to come, we’ll have sons, daughters, grand children and all…” At this point, a long quiet sigh came from behind; it was Xiao Long Nuu’s voice.
Yang Guo let out a call of, “Gu Gu!” But there was no reply; he immediately understood that Li Mo Chou had made this sigh, this person cannot met the Wu family at all so he said loudly, “If you two continue to act like this, people will only laugh at you. In respect of my in laws, I’ll forget about this matter. You two better go back to Xiang Yang and help my in laws guard the city.” He was actually calling the Guo couple his in laws.

The Wu brothers were now despondent and we now holding each other’s arms
Wu Xiu Wen said gloomily, “Fine, brother Yang, I wish you and apprentice sister Fu… a long and prosperous life. We’ll leave this place for somewhere else, we’ll disappear from the world.” The two of them turned to leave.

Yang Guo was feeling pleased with himself, the two brothers were still angry as ever at him and now they’ll only hate Guo Fu but the two brothers relationship will now be stronger than ever after this, their father’s wishes will at least be fulfilled.

Wu San Tong was listening amongst the bushes and when he heard that Yang Guo had convinced his sons to stop fighting, he was overwhelmed with delight, as he saw he sons walking away, he couldn’t stop himself from calling out, “Wen Er, Ru Er, let’s leave together.”

The two brothers were slightly startled when they heard their father’s voice and both replied, “Father.”

Wu San Tong bowed deeply to Yang Guo and said, “Brother Yang, I will never forget your kindness.”

Yang Guo creased his brows, how could he say this in front of the two brothers? By the time he wanted to say something to throw them off the scent, Wu Xiu Wen had become suspicious and said, “Brother, that punks words may not be the truth.”

Wu Dun Ru may not be as articulate as his brother, but he was just as alert, he looked at his father and then nodded at his brother.

Wu San Tong had saw that he had made a mess of things and quickly said, “It’s not what you think, I did not get brother Yang to stop you fighting.”

At first, the Wu brothers were just suspicious but after seeing their father trying to cover up his words, they both immediately thought about how Yang Guo and Guo Fu has never gotten on with each other, he and Xiao Long Nuu were deeply in love, the things that he had just said were most probably lies.

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Brother, we’ll go back to Xiang Yang and ask sister Fu about this.”

Wu Dun Ru replied, “Yes! We can’t fall for other people’s lies.”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Father, come with us as well. Master and master wife are your old friends, you should go see them.”

Wu San Tong replied, “I… I…” His became flustered as he tried to decide what to do, he wanted to use his authority to order his sons from fighting but was afraid that they’ll just agree to stop to please him and then go off fighting as soon as his back was turned.

Yang Guo said coldly, “Little brother Wu, how can you say the words ‘sister Fu’? From now on, not only can’t you say it, you’re not allowed to even think it?”

Wu Xiu Wen yelled, “What’s this, the world’s most unreasonable person? I have said the words ‘sister Fu’ for years now, not only do I want to say it today, I want to say it tomorrow. Sister Fu, sister Fu, my sister Fu…” Suddenly, smack! Yang Guo slapped his left cheek.

Wu Xiu Wen leapt back two steps and held up his sword. He lowered his voice and said, “Fine, the one named Yang, it’s been a few years since we’ve had a fight.”

Wu San Tong shouted, “Wen Er, why start a fight?”

Yang Guo turned to him and said with a serious face, “Uncle Wu, who exactly are you trying to help?” Logically, he would of course help his son but it was clear to see that Yang Guo was trying to help him to stop his sons from fighting, his mouth froze.

Yang Guo said, “How about this, go and sit over there. I won’t hurt them and more likely than not, they won’t be able to harm me, just watch the show.”

He was a lot younger than Wu San Tong but as he said this, Wu San Tong couldn’t stop himself from complying with his instructions and sat down on a rock.

Yang Guo unsheathed his Gentleman Sword and chopped a large Pine tree by his side in two. He pushed out his left palm and toppled the top half of the tree. The sword left a straight and smooth cut. When the brothers saw how fine a weapon his sword was, they couldn’t help but to look at each other in shock.

Yang Guo returned the sword in its sheath and laughed, “Do you think you are worthy of fighting against this sword?”

He casually stretched out his hand and snapped a branch. He removed the leaves and left himself with a three-foot long wooden rod. He said to them, “I know that you don’t believe that my mother in law favours me. How about this, I’ll use this wooden rod and you two use your swords against me at the same time. You can use the martial arts that my father and mother in law taught you, or you can use the [Solitary Yang Finger] that your martial uncle Zhu taught you. I, however will only use the martial arts that my mother in law has taught me, if I use a stance from another sect’s martial arts then that means I’ve lost.”

The brothers had been worried about how good his martial arts were, they had seen him in action twice against Jin Lun Fa Wang and the stances that he had used were completely new to them. But with Yang Guo referring to Guo Jing and Huang Rong as his in laws as if he had already married Guo Fu, how could they not get angry? Also, Yang Guo was being too arrogant and insulting towards them, two against one with a wooden rod against swords and limiting himself to using only martial arts that Huang Rong has taught him, with these three advantages, if they don’t win then it will be a disgrace.

Wu Dun Ru felt that this wasn’t fair and shook his head. He was about to say something when Wu Xiu Wen said, “Fine, you were the one who made the rules, it wasn’t us brothers who asked for it. If you happen to use a stance of Quan Zhen or Ancient Tomb martial arts, what then?” He was thinking that though this punk’s martial arts were good, it was only because he has learnt the advanced techniques of Quan Zhen and the Ancient Tomb, when we were living on Peach Blossom Island, we beat the hell out of you and you had to run away, how good were you then? He said these words so that the two of them can fight him together at once.

Yang Guo said, “We are fighting today not because of old grudges or today’s feud, we are fighting because of sister Fu. If I lose, just one word or glance at her then I’m a worthless and shameless scoundrel.” These words were meant to force the brothers to say the same thing.

Wu Xiu Wen could only say, “If we lose, then we too won’t sister Fu again.”
Yang Guo faced Wu Dun Ru and said, “What about you?”

Wu Dun Ru said angrily, “Me and my brother share the same view, what else am I going to say?”

Yang Guo laughed, “Fine, if you lose today and you don’t keep to your promise, then you are a worthless, shameless scoundrel, yes?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Correct. The same applies to you. Let’s start!” He stretched his sword forwards and aimed for Yang Guo’s leg. Wu Dun Ru attacked at the same time but he came from the left. Within a stance, the two had moved themselves into the pincer position.

Yang Guo leapt forwards and called out, “You brothers are pretty powerful when you fight together.”

Wu Dun Ru attacked again and Yang Guo raised his wooden rod but he did not counterattack, instead he just moved left and right and said, “A wife is like a piece of clothing, brothers are like limbs, if a piece of clothing is torn it can be mended but if limbs snaps, there’s no return! Have you heard this poem before?”

Wu Xiu Wen shouted, “What are you babbling on about? Why aren’t you showing us the martial arts that master wife taught you?”

Wu Dun Ru did not say a word as he fought harder.

Yang Guo said, “Fine, you better watch out, here comes the masterful martial arts that my mother in law personally taught me!” He then aimed his wooden rod downwards and used the ‘trip’ codex from the [Dog Beating Stick Technique]. At the same time, he stretched out his left index finger and pretended to go for Wu Dun Ru’s pressure point. Wu Dun Ru leapt back to avoid this attack. Wu Xiu Wen called out as he was tripped.

When Wu Dun Ru saw that his brother was in trouble, he raised sword forwards and quickly attacked Yang Guo.

Yang Guo said, “That’s right, brothers should share the same fortune.” The wooden rod became a blur and within the blink of an eye, the rod was behind him and poked him in the behind. The wooden rod appeared to turn around in a clumsy fashion but the position it came from was one where the opponent had no chance of guessing, the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] is mystifying and unpredictable, not even a ghost or god can guess where it’ll end up. Though Wu Dun Ru didn’t feel much from this attack, he had already lost a stance to him and on the inside, he was starting to get worried.

Wu Xiu Wen leapt up from the ground and called out, “That’s the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], when did master wife teach you that? You only learnt a few stances when we watched in secret as master wife teaching Lu You Jiao, how does that count?”

Yang Guo stretched out his wooden rod and tripped him up once again, this time throwing him forwards. Wu Dun Ru slashed across to protect his brother.

Yang Guo waited until Wu Xiu Wen picked himself up from the ground before laughing, “We both watched at the same time yet how come I know how to use it but you don’t? My mother in law was only teaching Lu You Jiao the codex that time, she taught me the stances personally. Even my sister Fu doesn’t know how to use it, how would you know?”

Wu Xiu Wen didn’t know that Yang Guo had learnt the techniques from Hong Qi Gong during the battle between Hong Qi Gong and Ou Yang Feng, Wu Xiu Wen was thinking what Yang Guo had said was most probably true, otherwise how come he was unable to use the technique after just one listen to the codex while he himself couldn’t even understand a single point but he still argued, “That’s because each one’s character is different. Only the Beggar Clan Leader can use the stick technique, we only accidentally overheard it, without master wife’s permission, how can we learn it in secret? Only shameless scoundrels will hold onto what they’ve heard. You’re shameless, other’s will only mock you.”

Yang Guo laughed out loud. The wooden rod made two noises as it poked the backs of the two brothers. The brothers leapt away with red faces. Yang Guo laughed, “Since I haven’t got any evidence at the moment, though I may have used the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] to defeat you, you guys will not accept defeat. Fine, I’ll let you experience another martial art that my mother in law taught me.” He looked at big Wu and then at little Wu before asking, “My mother in law’s martial arts, who taught it to her?”

Wu Xiu Wen said angrily, “Mother in law this, father in law that, you’re shameless, we’re not going to speak to you anymore.”

Yang Guo gave a laugh and said, “Why are you so bad tempered? Fine, let me ask you, before your master wife entered the tutelage of Hong Qi Gong, who taught her martial arts?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “My master wife is the daughter of the Lord Huang of Peach Blossom Island, her martial arts was taught by Lord Huang, who doesn’t know about this?”

Yang Guo said, “That’s right. You guys have lived on Peach Blossom Island for many years, do you know what are the greatest skills of Lord Huang?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Lord Huang’s knowledge is vast and wide, he’s versed in all, you can’t distinguish what a great skill and a great skill isn’t.”

Yang Guo said, “You are right there. When it comes to swordplay, what technique does Lord Huang use?”

Wu Xiu Wen, “Why the questions when you are already know the answer? Lord Huang’s Jade Flute Swordplay is peerless in the world of wulin, it is famed throughout the lands, everyone in the word of Jiang Hu knows this.”

Yang Guo said, “Have you ever seen Lord Huang before?”

Wu Xiu Wen said, “Lord Huang is drifting through the lands, he is in one place one moment and gone the next, even master and master wife cannot find him, what chance have we juniors of meeting him?”

Yang Guo said, “Have you seen senior’s [Jade Flute Swordplay] before?”

Wu Xiu Wen gave out a cold laugh and said, “One year when it was Lord Huang’s birthday, master wife dedicated a feast in his honour and after the feast, she performed the swordplay once. My brother and I along with sister Fu saw it with our very own eyes. By that time, brother Yang was in the tutelage of Quan Zhen sect.”

Yang Guo smiled, “That’s right. Later on, my mother in law…my mother in law taught me the [Jade Flute Swordplay] in secret.”

The Wu brothers looked at each other in disbelief, they were thinking that although that Yang Guo had entered Huang Rong’s tutelage, all she had taught him was reading and writing, she did not teach him any martial arts, it was because of this that he was not a match for them in the fight they had, they had heard from Grandpa Ke that the final push that he did on Wu Xiu Wen was Ou Yang Feng’s [Toad Stance]. The [Jade Flute Swordplay] is complicated and ingenious, even though Guo Fu was Huang Rong’s daughter, she was not taught it even up to this day. Ever since Yang Guo returned from mount Zhong Nan, the meetings that he had with Huang Rong was brief, even if their master wife wanted to teach him this swordplay, she may not have found time to.

Yang Guo swept his wooden rod lightly and called out, “Watch out, this stance is called [The Flute’s Notion to a Dragon]!” Using the rod as a sword, the rod suddenly straightened and thud, the rod struck Wu Dun Ru on the right side of his chest. If the wooden rod were a sharp sword, the sword would have gone through him leaving his life on line.

Wu Xiu Wen was alert and quickly attacked with his sword and attacked Yang Guo’s right side but he was still too slow, Yang Guo’s wooden rod had turned around and suddenly pierced towards his right side. This stance started second but finished first, before Wu Xiu Wen’s wrist would have been struck by the rod before his sword reached his opponent, if that happened he would surely be disarmed. He quickly changed his stance, pulling his waist in and taking his sword back, he kicked out with his left leg. However, Yang Guo’s rod was now going towards Wu Dun Ru’s shoulder, the rod moved and so did Yang Guo, displaying attack and defence at the same time, avoiding Wu Xiu Wen’s kick without dodging. Wu Xiu Wen’s kick fell unto thin air while Wu Dun Ru’s situation became dire, he used his sword and defended tightly to avoid any more blows to his body.

Within a few more stances, both brothers were struggling, even if he defended with his life it wouldn’t be enough, how would he even have time to try to cut the wooden rod?

Yang Guo called out the stances, “[The Clear Tone Away from the Mountain], [Gold Ringing and Jade Resonating], [The Long Call of the Phoenix Song], [The Sound Across the Stage], [The Flowing of the Boat’s Song]…” The wooden rod attacked continuously, graceful and flowing with every stance an offensive one, before the Wu brothers could neutralize a stance, out come a second, a third and so on. He pierced and slashed with the wooden rod and forced the Wu brothers to defend together who did not dare to take a step away from each other. When the Wu brothers saw Huang Rong performed the swordplay, they didn’t ponder much on it and thought that this handsome and graceful swordplay was only used for show, how would they know that it could be used in such ingenious ways. The stances that Yang Guo called out sounded familiar to the ones that Huang Rong had called out when she was performing the swordplay, with their swords under someone’s control and struggling to respond, their spirits were dampened further more and both of them were now convinced that Huang Rong had taught Yang Guo this [Jade Flute Swordplay]. How would they know that Yang Guo had spent many days with Huang Yao Shi and had his personal tutoring of the [Jade Flute Swordplay] and the [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger]?

When Yang Guo saw their miserable expression, he felt slightly bad about it but he remembered that he must see this to the end, if he doesn’t convince them one and for all today to not see Guo Fu ever again, these brothers will definitely fight over her again until one of them loses their life.

What medicine is there that doesn’t taste bitter? For good to come out of this, there must be a little suffering. He hurried his swordplay and kept on pressing relentlessly. The brothers became more and more alarmed as they fought on but with the rod like a blur threatening all their vitals, they could only bite down on their teeth and defend with all they had.

The [Yue Maiden Swordplay] that the Wu brothers has learnt was actually itself a powerful swordplay but the two had yet to reached a high level of proficiency with it, and when Guo Jing taught them he wasn’t too good with his words so he wasn’t able to pass on the more intricate and subtle points of the swordplay to them. As a result, if the Wu brothers fought your average wulin fighter, the brothers would prove more than a match for them but under the rod of Yang Guo, there were weaknesses galore. Yang Guo’s [Jade Flute Swordplay] had yet to be perfected as well but his martial arts were a lot better than the Wu brothers, plus, the Wu brothers were in an emotional state and so their stances were even more flawed.

Yang Guo did not use his fatal stances and instead, slowly transferred his internal energy into the rod. After fighting for a while, the two brothers felt that their opponent’s rod exuding a strong sucking force, forcing their swords to twist and turn. One sword aimed forwards towards the opponent but the tip of the sword turned towards the opposite direction of where it was meant to go. The force that the rod emitted got stronger and stronger until it forced the brothers to fight each other. One stance of Wu Dun Ru’s that aimed for Yang Guo almost struck his own brother and Wu Xiu Wen himself almost slashed his own brother; Wu Dun Ru had to use all his strength to block the attack.

Yang Guo gave a long laugh and said, “There’s more to the [Jade Flute Swordplay] that this, you better be careful!”

‘Dang’, the wooden rod met with Wu Dun Ru’s sword. The rod had met with the face of the sword and remained completely intact. Wu Dun Ru felt an extremely powerful sucking force pulling outwards almost forcing the sword out of his hands. He had to quickly transfer his energy to the sword to snatch it back. Yang Guo’s wooden rod followed his force and trapped Wu Xiu Wen’s sword as well. Yang Guo then pushed downwards and forced the swords to the ground. The brothers pulled with all their strength and just as when they felt their swords were becoming loose, Yang Guo stepped forwards onto the swords and raised the wooden rod towards them, lightly touching their throats. Yang Guo laughed, “Well?”

If the wooden rod were a sharp sword, the brothers’ throats would have been cut open. And even with the wooden rod, if Yang Guo had put a bit more force behind the attack, the brothers would surely suffer a serious injury. The brothers’ faces were ash grey and they kept silent in misery. Yang Guo raised his left foot and leapt back three paces. He watched the brothers’ wretched expressions. Memories of the insult of being beaten up by the two filled his mind, now that he’s gotten his own back today, satisfaction filled his face.

The brothers no longer had any more suspicions and were now convinced that Yang Guo had indeed received teaching of great skills from Huang Rong but the brothers have been in love with Guo Fu ever since they were young, to end it like this in a single fight and not see her ever again was something they were not prepared to do. Also, just now in the sword fight, the opponent had gotten the initiative straight away and they were forced on the back foot, they had not even used ten percent of what their master had taught them and they was no chance for them to use their newly learnt [Solitary Yang Finger].

Wu Xiu Wen shouted, “Brother, if we leave it like this, what point is there in living on? Let’s just fight to the death!”

Wu Dun Ru’s heart stirred and he called out, “Yes!”

The two of them lifted their swords and attacked, they no longer cared about defending themselves and attacked with every stance.

This change in approach was indeed impressive, by just attacking and not defending, they were going to try take Yang Guo’s life even if it meant dying under his hands in the process. Yang Guo pointed at their vitals but the two of them ignored it, using a sword in their right hand and unleashing the [Solitary Yang Finger] with their left, their used all their best skills as they tried to kill their opponent.

Yang Guo laughed, “Great, this is more like it!” He threw away his wooden rod and moved around within the blades. The brothers fought more and more vicious as they went on but still they were unable to harm him.

Wu San Tong watched by the side with mixed feelings; he hoped that Yang Guo would win so his sons would forget about Guo Fu but he also hoped that his sons would be able to defeat Yang Guo as they delivered their dangerous strokes.

Suddenly, he heard Yang Guo give a crisp whistle and then saw him flicking the swords with his finger; ‘dang’, ‘dang’, the two swords flew towards the sky. Yang Guo caught the swords in his hands and laughed, “This [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger] was also taught to me by my mother in law!”

Now that its got to this stage, the brothers knew that continued fighting will just result in further embarrassment for them. Yang Guo flipped the swords around and shot the swords towards them. He bowed and said, “Apologies.”

Wu Xiu Wen gave a replied miserably, “Fine, I’ll never see sister Fu again.” He then held his sword across and moved the blade towards his throat. Wu Dun Ru’s feelings were the same as his brother and he too held his sword across his neck to kill himself.

Yang Guo was shocked to see this and quickly flew across to them; two ‘dang’ sounds were heard as he flicked their swords away with his finger once again. The handles of the sword flipped outwards and swords collided, ‘dong’; the swords broke in twos.

As this happened, Wu San Tong had urgently leapt out and grabbed his sons around the neck from behind, he yelled, “The two of you are giving up your own lives for a woman, you don’t deserve to be called a man.”

Wu Xiu Wen lifted his head and said forlornly, “Father… didn’t you… didn’t a woman cause a life of unhappiness for you as well? I…” Before he could finish, he saw the remnants of tears on his father’s face under the starlight showing he was extremely hurt by their actions, fighting with his brother like this has given his father great pain and as he thought about this, he cried out. Wu San Tong loosened his grip and hugged him. His left hand hugged Wu Dun Ru and the three of them was held in an embrace. Wu Dun Ru thought about how he has given his heart to Guo Fu but she and Yang Guo had already become a couple and even their master wife had kept it from he and his brother that she had picked him out to be her son in law and taught him her greatest skills, it appeared that everyone has treated them with a false pretence, only the love between father and brother is real, he hugged his father and couldn’t stop himself from crying out.

Yang Guo has always been an impetuous fellow, though on this occasion his intentions were good, he had caused the Wu brothers great humiliation, as he watched the father and sons in their loving embrace, he felt great satisfaction in his heart, he thought that although he hasn’t long to live, he has at least done one good deed before he has died.

Wu San Tong said, “Stupid boys, why should a man worried about not having a wife? Since that Guo girl doesn’t love you why should you keep her in your hearts? We have a great mission that we need to do, what is it?”

Wu Xiu Wen raised his head and said, “To avenge mother’s death.”

Wu San Tong shouted, “Yes! We have to kill that Serpent Deity Li Mo Chou even if we have to go to the ends of the earth.”

Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “I have to lure these three away, if martial uncle Li sees them there will be trouble.”

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Li Mo Chou say coldly from the cave, “Why go to the ends of the earth? Li Mo Chou has been waiting here a long time.” She came out for the cave with the baby in her left hand and her flywhisk in her right, her gown was fluttering in the wind as she exuded a graceful aura.

The Wu family could not have predicted that this demoness would appear right here right now, Wu San Tong roared as he threw himself forwards. Wu Dun Ru and Wu Xiu Wen picked up their broken swords and attacked in a pincer formation.

Yang Guo called out, “Please stop everyone, listen to what I’ve got to say.”

Wu San Tong called out, “Brother Yang, we’ll talk after this demoness is dead.” As he said this, his left palm and right finger had unleashed three deadly stances, the Wu brothers’ swords may have been broken but in close combat the broken blades acted like a dagger and they still packed a considerable punch.

Yang Guo knew that they had a blood feud between them and his words alone would not stop them, he was just worried about the safety of the baby and he called out, “Martial uncle Li, pass the baby to me.”

Wu San Tong was shocked when he heard this and leapt back two paces. He asked, “Why did you call her martial uncle Li?”

Li Mo Chou laughed, “Good martial nephew, you attack him from behind while I hold the baby.”

After taking three of Wu San Tong’s stances, she felt that his internal energy has made great improvements, he was a complete different opponent to the one she faced in Jia Xing all these years ago and with the Wu brothers who were no weaklings attacking her without disregard for their lives, it would be difficult to fend them all off. She deliberately called Yang Guo her ‘good martial nephew’ to distract the three of them.

Wu San Tong did indeed fell for her trick and shouted, “Dun Er, Wen Er, you be careful of that one named Yang, I’ll take care of this witch myself.”

Yang Guo kept his hands by his side and moved away. He said, “I’m not helping anyone but you must not harm the baby.”

Wu San Tong relaxed when he saw that Yang Guo had moved away and increased the power of his palms as he moved forwards.

Li Mo Chou defended with her flywhisk and then said, “Young master Wu’s, what I saw just now showed me that you belong to the sentimental kind, you are not like those vile heartless men. Because of this, I will spare your life today, now leave!”

Wu Xiu Wen replied angrily, “You evil, despicable *****, what do you know about sentimentality?” He then advanced forwards and attacked with vicious stances.

Li Mo Chou said with fury, “You don’t know what’s good for you punk!” The flywhisk turned around from in to out, forming a circle as it was whipped out. The flywhisk collided with Wu Xiu Wen’s sword and he felt a throbbing pain in his chest, almost forcing him to drop his sword. Wu San Tong chopped a palm forward and Li Mo Chou turned her flywhisk back to defend. Wu Xiu Wen avoided danger for now.

Yang Guo moved behind Li Mo Chou slowly so that as soon they was a slight opening in her stances, he could dive in straight away and rescue the baby. But the Wu’s were fighting extremely hard, forcing Li Mo Chou to defend her entire body with her flywhisk. He could not a single opening. Yang Guo watched on as the Wu’s fought without restraint, there was no intent to avoid the baby in their attacks, if something happens, how could he face the Guo couple? He called out loudly, “Martial uncle Li, pass the baby to me!” He advanced forwards and sent a palm out to knock the flywhisk away and went to snatch the baby away.

Li Mo Chou was completely surround with enemies to the left and right, in front and behind, she had no time to have a struggle with him but she was not willing to give up the baby so easily like this and she yelled, “You dare snatch her away? If I just squeezed my arm, what do you think is going to happen to the baby?”
Yang Guo was taken aback by this, how could he continue his advance?

With Li Mo Chou slightly distracted, Wu San Tong threw out a fierce left palm that had a finger coming behind it; the index finger of his right hand had sealed a pressure point on her waist. Li Mo Chou immediately felt half her body go numb, forcing her to stumble and almost fall but she moved with her momentum and threw out a kick that disarmed Wu Dun Ru and then she swept down viciously with her flywhisk at Wu Xiu Wen. Wu San Tong quickly pulled Wu Xiu Wen back and allowed him to avoid this fatal strike. Li Mo Chou’s injuries were not light and she motioned her flywhisk about as she escaped back into the cave.

Wu San Tong was delighted with this and he called out, “That evil witch has taken a blow from my finger, it’s going to be difficult for her to escape from us today.”

The Wu brothers held their broken swords out and wanted to advance into the cave.

Wu San tong called out, “Wait, be careful of her poisonous needles, we’ll wait here and think of a plan to…” Before he finished, a roar came from within the cave and an leopard leapt out.

The Wu’s were all shocked by this sudden appearance of this beast, and as they were shocked, there was a flurry of silver light; silver needles had suddenly been shot out from under the leopard. They could have predicted that this was going to happen but luckily for Wu San Tong, his study of martial arts was deep, his reactions swift and agile, he was able to leap away from this danger but he heard his sons’ crying out, giving him the fright of his life. He watched on as Li Mo Chou mounted the leopard from underneath, with her flywhisk behind her neck, the baby in her left hand and holding the leopard’s neck with her right, she gave a cackle as the leopard leapt away to her escape into the mountain brook.

Even Yang Guo was shocked by this sudden turn of events, he watched as the leopard ran away and quickly chased after it as he called out, “Martial uncle Li…”

Wu San Tong was worried to death as he saw his sons lying on the ground unable to get up, he called out, “I’m going to kill you today.” He reached out to grab Yang Guo.

Yang Guo was taken by surprise and was caught by him, he said quickly, “Let me go! I need to get the baby back!”

Wu San Tong said, “Fine, let’s all die here today.”

Yang Guo quickly used the [Little Trapping Hand Technique] to try to release his fingers. Wu San Tong was extremely restless and anxious, his mind was slightly unclear, however his martial arts were completely unaffected. He held onto Yang Guo’s waist with his left hand and he too used the [Little Trapping Hand] with his right hand against Yang Guo.

Yang Guo saw that Li Mo Chou and the leopard was out of sight, he was not going to catch up with them anymore and sighed, “Why are you holding onto me? Te most important thing right now is to tend to their wounds.”

Wu San Tong said with joy, “Yes, yes, can you cure the poison from the needles?” He released Yang Guo from his grasp.

Yang Guo examined the Wu brothers and saw that Wu Dun Ru had been struck by a needle on his left shoulder, Wu Xiu Wen a needle on his right leg. By now, the poison had taken effect and the two’s breath were now shallow as they lied there unconscious.

Yang Guo tore a piece of cloth from Wu Dun Ru’s and removed the needles.

Wu San Tong quickly asked, “Have you got the antidote? Have you?”

Yang Guo saw that it would be difficult to save them from the poison and sadly shook his head.

Wu San Tong loved his sons deeply and he was full of pain. He remembered how his wife died from sucking the poison from he himself and suddenly, he threw himself onto Wu Xiu Wen and moved his lips towards the wound.

Yang Guo was alarmed by this and called out, “You can’t do this!” He sealed his ‘Great Shuttle’ pressure point with his finger.

Wu San Tong was not prepared for this and immediately fell down. He couldn’t move and tears rolled down from his eyes as he watched his sons.

Something popped into Yang Guo’s head, “In five days time, the Passion Flower poison in me will take its effect. There is not much difference between whether I live five days more or five days less. The Wu brothers are not outstanding characters but this uncle Wu is one who love with all his heart, just like me, he has had a life of misery, let it be, I’ll give up my five days so their family can be reunited and his wishes fulfilled.” He placed his lips on Wu Xiu Wen’s wound and sucked the venom out. After spitting out a few mouthfuls of the poison, he tended to Wu Dun Ru’s wound.

Wu San Tong watched by the side with indescribable gratefulness, he cursed the fact that his pressure point was sealed and could not join him in extracting the poison. Yang Guo took turns on each of the wounds and after a while, he felt the bitter taste had gradually become slightly salty. His felt himself getting dizzier and knew that he was poison deeply, he forced himself to suck a few more mouthfuls and after spitting the poison out, his eyes darkened and he fell unconscious.

He was out for a long, long time. Gradually, he could see the blurry images of many people in front of him. He wanted to see what exactly was happening but as he did so, he found it more difficult to focus and his eyes closed once again. A long time passed again before he was able to open his eyes once more and as he did so, he saw the delighted face of Wu San Tong in front of him calling out, “Great, finally!” Wu San Tong suddenly knelt in front of him and kowtowed to him many times. He said, “Brother Yang, you… you saved… you saved my sons and you’ve saved my old life.” He picked himself up and then threw himself down in front of another person and kowtowed to him. He called out, “Thank you martial uncle, thank you martial uncle.”

Yang Guo looked at the person closely and saw that he was dark faced with a tall nose and deep eyes, his appearance was similar to that of Ni Mo Xing, he had short and curly white hair, a man of old age. Yang Guo knew that Wu San Tong was a disciple of Reverend Yi Deng but he didn’t know that he also had an Indian martial uncle. He wanted to sit up but found that his strength had escaped him, he looked around and saw that he was lying on a bed, it was the room that he had stayed in while he was in Xiang Yang. Now that he knew he was still alive and still had a chance to see Xiao Long Nuu one more time, he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “Gu Gu, Gu Gu!”

A person went over to his bed and gently placed their hand over his forehead. The person said, “Guo Er, you need to rest, your Gu Gu has some other business to attend to outside the city.” It was Guo Jing.

Yang Guo saw that he had recovered from his injuries and was greatly relieved but immediately thought, “Uncle Guo’s injuries requires seven days and nights to heal, could it be that I have been unconscious for this period of time? But why hasn’t the Passion Flower poison in me taken effect?” With this shock, his mind went into a daze and he fainted once more.

By the time he woke up again, it was night. There was a red candle in front of the bed and Wu San Tong was still watching him by his bedside.

Yang Guo smiled, “Uncle Wu, I’m alright, you don’t have to worry. The young masters Wu’s are fine?”

Wu San Tong’s eyes were filled with tears and he just nodded, not saying a word.

Yang Guo has never received such gratitude from anyone in his whole life and felt uncomfortable with this so he changed the subject and asked, “How did we get back to Xiang Yang?”

Wu San Tong wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, “My apprentice brother Zhu received instructions from your master Miss Long to take the red horse to you in the valley. When he got there, he found the four of us on the ground and quickly rescued us back to the city.”

Yang Guo asked with surprise, “How did my master know that I was in that valley? Why did she have to ask uncle Zhu to take the horse to me, why not herself?”

Wu San Tong shook his head and said, “When I returned to the city, I did not see miss Long. Apprentice brother Zhu said that though she is of a young age, her martial arts are terrific; it’s a pity that I did not have the chance to greet her. Aiii, look how able the young are.”

Yang Guo was delighted with his sincere praise of Xiao Long Nuu. According to age, Wu San Tong was more than old enough to be Xiao Long Nuu’s daughter but he actually used the word ‘greet’ in his sentences, this respect to the master is due to the debt to the disciple.

Yang Guo smiled and said, “My injuries…”

Wu San Tong interrupted, “Brother Yang, though helping others in times of need in the world of wulin is a common practice, you risking your life to save others, saving of all people my sons who have deeply offended you in the past, no one can match your kindness except my master…”

Yang Guo kept on shaking his head and told him to stop. Wu San Tong ignored him and continued, “If I call you great benefactor, I know you will not agree to it. But if you keep on calling me uncle, you are showing that you do not respect me.”
Yang Guo has always been straightforward and has always avoided small talk, he has already set his mind on making Xiao Long Nuu his wife, he didn’t care about custom and tradition so he said, “Fine, I’ll call you brother Wu. But it will be a bit inconvenient to use this greeting in front of your sons.”

Wu San Tong said, “What about that greeting? You saved their little lives, they should listen to your every request, even if it means being your slave.”

Yang Guo said, “Brother Wu, there’s no need to thank me. I have already contracted the Passion Flower poison, I wouldn’t have lived long anyway, saving your sons isn’t a very big deal.”

Wu San Tong said, “Brother Yang, you can’t say that. Even if your poison is incurable, a normal person would still want to live as long as possible.”

Yang Guo smiled and asked, “How long have we been in Xiang Yang?”

Wu San Tong said, “Today is the seventh day.”

Yang Guo had a look of confusion on his face and said, “Logically, I should be dead by now, how come I’m still alive, that’s strange.”

Wu San Tong said with joy, “My martial uncle is a great Indian sage, when it comes to healing wounds and curing poison, he’s probably the world’s best. Years ago when my master mistakenly took a poison that Mrs Guo sent, it was him who cured my master. I’ll go and get him.” He hurriedly left the room.

Joy filled Yang Guo’s head as he thought, “Could it be that while I was unconscious, that great Indian sage gave me a miracle panacea that purged even my Passion Flower poison? I wonder where Gu Gu is now? If she finds out I don’t have to do, she’ll be filled with joy!” As he sentimental thoughts filled his head, his head ached and his chest felt as if a hammer had smashed against him, the pain was unbearable and he couldn’t stop himself from crying out. He hasn’t felt such pain ever since he took half of Qiu Qian Chi’s antidote, it must be that the effects of the antidote has now passed while the poison has remained, he clutched his chest and bit down on his teeth. His head was covered with sweat.

Just as when the pain was becoming excruciating, the door suddenly opened and a voice said, “Nanwu Amituofo.” The Indian monk’s arms were folded as he entered. Wu San Tong followed and when he saw Yang Guo in distress, he was shocked and asked, “Brother Yang, how are you feeling?” He turned to the Indian monk and said, “Martial uncle, his poison is flaring up, give him the antidote quickly!” The Indian monk did not understand what he was saying and went over to Yang Guo and checked his pulse.

Wu San Tong said, “Oh yes!” He quickly went to get Zhu Zi Liu. Zhu Zi Liu was well versed in Sanskrit and he was the only person who could communicate with the Indian monk. Zhu Zi Liu arrived to translate.

Yang Guo gathered himself and as the pain lessened, he explained to the Indian monk how he contracted this poison.

The Indian monk asked in great detail of what the Passion Flower looked like and was shocked with what he heard. He said, “The Passion Flower is a species that has been extinct a long time ago. According to the scriptures: the Passion Flower once ravaged the lives of many people, the Buddha WenshuShili eradicated the flower with his great wisdom. Who would know that some still existed in the central plains. I have never seen this flower before, I really don’t know how to cure this poison.” His face was filled with pity.

After Wu San Tong heard Zhu Zi Liu’s translation, he kept on calling out, “Have mercy martial uncle, have mercy!”

The Indian monk folded his arms and recited, “Amitoufu.” He closed his eyes and went into deep thought. Silence filled the room; no one dared to make a noise.

After a while, the Indian monk opened his eyes and said, “When master Yang sucked the poison from my martial grandsons, the poison from the Soul Freezing needles should have killed you. But master Yang has survived until now. The date for the Passion Flower’s poison to activate has passed, yet you are still alive. Could it be that the poisons are fighting each other and has allowed master Yang to reap his rewards for his deeds?”

Zhu Zi Liu nodded his head and after translating, Yang Guo too felt that this was a reasonable explanation.

The Indian monk continued, “People say what comes around goes around, master Yang has saved the lives of others with his own, if this saying is true, an antidote will surely exist.”

After hearing Zhu Zi Liu’s translation, Wu San Tong leapt with joy and said, “I implore martial uncle to come up with an antidote as soon as possible.”

The Indian monk said, “I need to visit the Passionless valley.”

Yang Guo and the others were shocked. The journey to Passionless Valley was not a short one, getting there and getting back will take a long time.

The Indian monk said, “I need to see the Passionless valley with my own eyes and test the poison before I can make an antidote. Before I return, master Yang must refrain from sentimental thoughts, otherwise, the pain will get stronger and stronger each time. If you damage your life line then there will be no return.”

Before Yang Guo could reply, Wu San Tong said loudly, “Apprentice brother, let’s go to the Passionless Valley together and force that old hag to hand over the antidote.”

After being injured by Huo Dou, Zhu Zi Liu was able to receive the antidote thanks to Yang Guo, he had wanted to repay him a long time ago and said, “Yes, we’ll escort martial uncle and whether we’ll take the antidote by force or whether martial uncle can make one himself, we’ll get the antidote one way or the other.”

The apprentice brothers spoke spiritedly but the Indian monk was looking at Yang Guo with worry within his brows.

End of Chapter 23

[Mojo Jojo]

Chapter 24

Turbulent Emotions

Though Yang Guo saw that the Indian monk had a glint in his eye, his lips seemed to have a sorrowful expression and from that, he knew that it would be extremely difficult to cleanse his body of the poison. By now, the monk had finished his examination and so, Yang Guo smiled at him and said, “Reverend, please be frank.”

The Indian monk said, “The suffering from the passion flower is different to that of other poisons. The poison becomes one with sentiment and thus suffering goes straight to the heart. From what I can tell, the roots of love in you are deep, separating the poison from it will be very difficult. Even if we manage to get the other half of the antidote, you may not fully recover. But if you can sever your roots then there will be no need for any antidote at all. Going to the Passionless Valley is something that we feel that must be done, whether you can recover can only depend on you.”

Yang Guo thought, “You want me to stop loving Gu Gu? What’s the point of living then? You might as well let me die and just leave me be.” His mouth gratefully replied, “Thank you for the advice reverend.”

He had wanted to talk Wu San Tong and the others from going to Passionless Valley but he knew that these people value the code of brotherhood strongly and would not listen to him, talking to them would just be a waste of his efforts.

Wu San Tong smiled, “Brother Yang, take care and rest peacefully. We’ll leave first thing in the morning and come back as soon as possible. When you’ve recovered, we’ll have a drink at your and miss Guo’s wedding.”

This took Yang Guo aback, but he knew that this matter was complicated and would not be able to clear this up in a short period of time so he just agreed. After seeing the door close behind the three as they left, Yang Guo closed his eyes once again and rested.

Again, he slept for hours. By the time he woke up, dawn had broken and the sounds of bird’s chirping could be heard. Yang Guo had not eaten for days and by now was starving, he saw four dishes by the side of the bed and took a few slices of the cakes that was there. After eating two slices, the door suddenly sounded and after a creak, the door opened lightly.

The red candle that was by the bedside was now about an inch long and was still alight. Yang Guo could see that the person who had entered was wearing a pale red gown and had an angry expression on their face; it was Guo Fu.

Yang Guo froze before saying, “Miss Guo, how early.”

Guo Fu replied with a ‘humph’. Without saying a word, she sat down on a chair in front of the bed with her light brows stood up, her pair of angry eyes staring at Yang Guo. A long time passed and still, she did not make a sound.

Yang Guo was made uncomfortable with this stare and smiled, “Has uncle Guo told you to come here to tell me something?”

She replied, “No!”

After spoken to twice like this, the Yang Guo of a few days back would have just turned his back and ignore her but now he saw that there was something up with her but he couldn’t tell why she was here so early in the morning so he asked again, “Is auntie Guo okay after give birth?”

Guo Fu’s face seemingly became even more frost like and she replied coldly, “My mother’s health is none of your concern.”

Apart from Xiao Longnuu, Yang Guo would never back down from anyone, after being treated like this today, Yang Guo could no longer suppress his pride and thought, “So what if your father is hero Guo and your mother is chief Huang?” He replied with a scoff of his own.

Guo Fu said, “What are you scoffing at?”

Yang Guo ignored her and scoffed again.

Guo Fu said loudly, “I said what are you scoffing at?”

Yang Guo was amused by this and thought, “Looks like in the end, the little girl can’t keep her patience, I just scoffed twice and she’s already agitated.” He said, “I’m feeling unwell, scoffing like this makes my body feel a bit better.”

Guo Fu said angrily, “Always making things up, what a liar, you really are a despicable person.”

After being insulted by her, Yang Guo suddenly thought of something, “Could it be that she knows about the things I’d said to the Wu brothers to stop them fighting?” Though he saw that she was angry, her beauty made him pity her. He was born with a flirtatious nature and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling, “Miss Guo, are you offended with what I said to the Wu brothers?”

Guo Fu lowered her voice and said, “What did you say to them? Tell me with your own mouth.”

Yang Guo smiled, “I did it for their own good, I stopped those brothers from fighting each other to the end and stopped the grief for their father. Uncle Wu told you this, didn’t he?”

Guo Fu said, “As soon as uncle Wu saw me, he began to congratulate me and started to praise you to high heaven. How…how can I let you dirty my chaste name as you please?” By now, her voice was starting to break and tears flowed down her cheeks.

Yang Guo lowered his head and didn’t say a word, he was extremely regretful of what he said that night, he let his tongue move too fast when he was talking to the Wu brothers and the more he said, the more arrogant the words became, he did not consider that he had sullied Guo Fu’s name. It was his words that have caused this trouble; it would not be easy for him to repair it.

When Guo Fu saw that he had lowered his head and stayed silent, she was even more angry and cried out, “Uncle Wu said that big and little brother Wu couldn’t beat you and so were forced by you to never see me again, is that true?”

Yang Guo sighed to himself thinking, “Wu San Tong doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, why did he have to tell her this?” He could deny no longer and could only nod his head, saying, “I know I shouldn’t have said all these lies but there was no ill intent behind my words, please forgive me.”

Guo Fu wiped away her tears and said with anger, “Uncle Wu said that once you’ve recovered from your illness, he wants to… wants to drink at our wedding, why did you agreed still?”

Yang Guo thought, “Oh no! So he also told her about what I said last night.” He could only argue, “I was still feeling a bit woozy then, I did not hear uncle Wu’s words properly.”

Guo Fu could tell he was lying and said loudly, “You said that my mother taught you martial arts in secret and had picked you out to be her son in law, it this true?”

Yang Guo blushed at her questions and was feeling embarrassed, he thought, “Joking with miss Guo will just lead to her insulting me a bit more, I’m not a gentleman so it doesn’t really matter much but lying about auntie Guo teaching me martial arts is a completely different matter altogether, I can’t let auntie Guo know about this.” He said quickly, “Miss Guo, this again was due to me speaking without thinking, I implore you, ignore this and don’t let your parents know about this matter.”

Guo Fu laughed coldly, “Since you are afraid of my father, why do you still make up lies to insult my mother?”

Yang Guo quickly said, “I had no intention of insulting auntie Guo, at that time all I was concerned about was making the Wu brothers forgot about you, I was speaking without thinking…”

Guo Fu grew up with the two brothers and had feelings for both of them, when she found out that Yang Guo had lied to the Wu brothers to forgot about her and never see her again, how could she control her anger? She asked loudly again, “I’ll sort this out later. Where’s my sister? Where did you take her?”

Yang Guo said, “Oh yes, please get uncle Guo, that’s what I wanted to speak to him about.”

Guo Fu said, “My father has left the city to look for my sister. You… you despicable person, you actually wanted to exchange my sister for your antidote. So it’s like that is it, your life is worth something unlike my sister’s.”

Yang Guo had been ashamed with himself concerning this matter, but now on hearing her bring up the matter about the baby, he felt he had no shame and said clearly, “All along my mission was to rescue your sister and bring her back to your parents, no such thoughts about exchanging her for my antidote entered the mind of Yang Guo.”

Guo Fu said, “So where’s my sister then? Where is she?”

Yang Guo said, “Li Mo Chou has her, I’m ashamed with myself for not be able to rescue her. As soon as my strength has returned and I’m still alive, I will immediately go search for her.”

Guo Fu laughed coldly, “Li Mo Chou is your martial aunt isn’t she? You two had been hiding together in a cave, hadn’t you?”

Yang Guo said "That’s right, she is my martial aunt but my master and her has never gotten along with each other.”

Guo Fu said, “Never gotten along with each other? So why did she listen to your request and took my sister away to exchange for the antidote?”

Yang Guo sat up and said angrily, “Miss Guo, watch your reckless words, I Yang Guo may not be a person of great worth but how would I even contemplate such thoughts?”

Guo Fu said, “Well said, this ‘contemplate such thoughts’! This came from your own master, could it be a lie?”

Yang Guo said, “What did my master say?”

Guo Fu stood up and pointed her finger at Yang Guo’s nose before saying with anger on her face, “Your master told uncle Zhu that you and Li Mo Chou were in that cave in that valley, she asked uncle Zhu to take the red horse to you so you can race to the Passionless Valley with my sister…”

Yang Guo interrupted, “Yes, my master did have this thought, she wanted to take your sister there and get the antidote first before doing something about the matter afterwards but this was just one of the ideas that came up, and this wouldn’t result in harm to your sister…”

Guo Fu butted in, “Within a day of being born, you handed her over to a cold blooded murderer, and yet you talk about not harming my sister. You scoundrel! When you were all alone as an orphan when you were younger, how did my parents treat you? If they didn’t take you to Peach Blossom Island and took care of you, where would you be now? Who knew that you’d repay kindness with vengeance, you conspired with the Mongols and while my parents were unwell, you took the opportunity to steal my sister away…” Her insults were becoming more and more vicious, how could Yang Guo argue back? His body was weak after being poisoned and as his breathing became agitated, a thudding sound was heard as he fainted onto the bed.

After a long while, Yang Guo came around. Guo Fu stared at him coldly and said, “I could never have guess you still knew what shame was, you knew that this was your intention, you can’t face live with yourself can you?” Her expression was icy and cold, her words were as sharp as a blade.

Yang Guo gave a long sigh and said, “If I really had this thought then why didn’t I take your sister to Passionless Valley?”

Guo Fu said, “It would be difficult for you to travel in your condition so you asked your martial uncle. Luckily, it seemed fate had other ideas, I overheard your master’s and uncle Zhu’s conversation, I immediately hid the red horse away. Let’s see how you and your master’s evil plan will work now…”

Yang Guo said, “Fine, whatever, say what you want, there’s no point in me arguing. Where’s my master? Where is she?”

Guo Fu’s face became a little red and said, “Like master like pupil, your master is not a nice person as well.”

Yang Guo was furious and sat up, saying, “You can shout and insult me all you like, I’ll let it go in respect of your parents. How dare you insult my master?”

Guo Fu said, “Bah! What about your master? Who told her to say those words?”

Yang Guo thought, “Gu Gu is an innocent person and does not show the emotions of the human world, how can she provoke her with words?” He scoffed and said, “It’s probably your warped little mind twisting the words of my master.”

Guo Fu had not wanted to reveal what Xiao Longnuu had said to her but after being aggravated by him, she could not control her anger and said, “She said, ‘Miss Guo, Guo’Er is a person with heart of pure good, he has suffered and been lonely all his life, she must take care of him.’ She then said, ‘You two are… are a match made in heaven! Tell him to forget me, I will not be offended.’ She then gave me a sword and said this was called the Lady sword, it’s a match with… with your Gentlemen sword. If this isn’t rubbish then what is?” She was angry and embarrassed as she said this and did not carry the sincere and mournful tone that Xiao Longnuu had said these words with.

Each time he listened to one sentence, Yang Guo felt as if his heart was suddenly being rammed violently, his mind was full of confusion, he didn’t understand how Xiao Longnuu could say something like this. After a while, he heard that Guo Fu had finished and slowly raised his head. His eyes flashed as he shouted, “You liar, why would my master say something like this? Where’s the Lady sword? If you can’t show it to me then you are a liar!”

Guo Fu gave a cold laugh and turned her wrist, she removed a sword from her back that was black; it was the Lady sword from the Passionless Valley.

Yang Guo was filled with disappointment and blurted out, “Who wants to be a match with you? This sword belongs to my master, you stole it from her, you stole it from her!”

Guo Fu has always been a proud girl, even her parents gave her a little leeway, the Wu brothers let her have her way no matter what, how could she take these harsh words? She only decided to pass on Xiao Longnuu’s words because Yang Guo had provoked her and left her with no choice, but who knew that he would come up with such a reply, and now the words said seemed to suggest that it was her that made this whole thing up and her who wanted to marry him while he plainly refused.

Under such anger, her hand held the sword hand and was about to chop down with it but a thought came into her mind, “Since he respects his master so much, let me tell him something that will drive him mad.”

Right now, she was filled with anger and she did not even give a thought about the possible terrible consequences that will result from her words. A swooshing sound was heard as she sheathed the half exposed Lady sword and sat down onto a chair, laughing as she did so. She said, “Your master is beautiful and her martial arts are strong, she is indeed a rare breed but there’s just one thing that’s not proper about her.”

Yang Guo said, “ What?”

Guo Fu replied, “It’s just a pity that she does not act in a respectable manner and has been sneaking around to meet up with those Quan Zhen Taoists.”

Yang Guo angrily replied, “My master has a fued with the Quan Zhen sect, why would she be meeting up with them in secret.”

Guo Fu gave a cold laugh and said, “When I said that she was ‘sneaking around to meet them’, I said the polite version. There are some things that would be in appropriate for girls to say.”

Yang Guo was becoming more and more furious as he listened on, he shouted loudly, “My master is pure and chaste, if you say another lie I’ll tear your mouth off.”

Guo Fu seemed to have an icy air between her eyes as she said coldly, “That’s right, she was able to do it but I’m unable to say it. What a nice pure and chaste girl, going around intimately together with a rotten Taoist.”

Yang Guo’s face became green and he shouted, “What did you say?”

Guo Fu said, “I heard it with my own ears, don’t tell me I’m wrong. Two Quan Zhen Taoists came to pay their respects to my father but they turned up just when the city was in a mess, my parents were unwell and couldn’t see them so I had to take care of the guests…”

Yang Guo shouted angrily, “Then what?”

Guo Fu saw that he was furious, his eyes were red and his forehead was tensed up, her plan was working and she continued, “One of the Taoists was called Zhao Zhiging, the other called Yin Zhiping, heard of them?”

Yang Guo said, “Then?”

Guo Fu gave a dry laugh and said, “I instructed my servants to prepare quarters for them and didn’t take notice of them anymore. But in the middle of the night, a beggar clan member came to me tell that those two Taoists had drawn swords and were fighting each other in their room…”

Yang Guo gave a scoff as he knew that the two have always been as arms with each other, fighting each other in their room wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.”

Guo Fu continued, “I was curious so I quietly went to their window and looked in. By then, the two had sheathed their swords but they were still arguing. The one named Zhao said that the one named Yin and your master did this and that and the one named Yin did not deny it, he was just angry with him for being so loud…”

Yang Guo suddenly flung his blanket off him and sat up on the bed, he shouted, “What this and that?”

Guo Fu’s face blushed a little, she looked a little embarrassed and said, “How would I know? Don’t tell me its something good. Your precious master knows what she’s done.” She said this with a derisive tone.

Yang Guo was angry and agitated, his emotions were in a mess and he flung his hand out, ‘slap’, Guo Fu was slapped on the face. Under the cloud of fury, his slap came out with great force and knocked Guo Fu into a daze, her face was red and swollen, if it weren’t for the fact that Yang Guo was still not at full strength, this slap would have knocked her teeth out.

When has Guo Fu ever suffered such an insult? In her anger, she unsheathed the Lady sword from her waist, and went for Yang Guo’s neck.

After slapping Guo Fu, he thought, “I’ve insulted uncle and auntie Guo’s precious daughter, this girl is the princess of this city, even if uncle and auntie forgives me, how can I stay?”

He stretched out his leg to put on his shoes and saw Guo Fu’s sword coming towards him, he gave a cold laugh and pulled his left arm inwards and shot his right hand, with some light movements, he had snatched the Lady sword back.

Failing with two strokes in succession, Guo Fu’s anger rose further. She saw that there was a sword by the head of the bed and grabbed it. Unsheathing the sword, she chopped at Yang Guo’s head. Yang Guo saw a glimmer of light coming towards him and raised the Lady sword across him to block the attack but after being unconscious for seven days, he had no strength to back up his movements; just after raising the Lady sword up to his chest, his arms felt soft and limp and he could raise it no further. Guo Fu’s sword came in across and after a light clanging sound as the two swords collided; the Lady sword fell out of his hand.

Guo Fu was furious about the slap that she had received, she thought, “You’ve bought harm to my sister you despicable person, I’ll take your life today to avenge my sister. My parents will not blame me for this.” She saw him sitting on the floor without any strength to retaliate, he was just holding his arm up across his chest to protect himself but there was no signs of pleading for mercy in his eyes, Guo Fu bit down on her teeth and increasing the strength in her hand, she chopped down with her sword.

That day when Xiao Longnuu was looking for Yang Guo and JinLun FaWang on the red horse, she had headed in the wrong direction. The horse galloped over ten li’s in one go and by the time she reined in the horse to go back, she had lost them completely. She was very anxious as the more time passed, the more at risk Yang Guo’s life would be. She rode around within thirty to forty lis of Xiang Yang searching for him.

The red horse may be fast but the valley was well hidden, it was only until after midnight that she heard the cries of Wu SanTong. Heading in the direction of the cries, she soon came across the sounds of clashing blades of the Wu brothers and then the sound of Yang Guo’s voice. She was delighted that she had found him but was afraid that he had come across some strong foes so she decided to hide and help him in secret. She tied the red horse to a tree and quietly moved behind the rocky outcrop and watched Yang Guo face his foes.

There was no need for her to be anxious after she took a look but what she heard shocked her: Yang Guo was declaring that he and Guo Fu had been engaged long ago and calling her his fiancée, he was addressing Guo Jing and Huang Rong his in laws, she heard how Guo Jing and Huang Rong had picked him to be their son in law and secretly transmitted martial arts to him, she also saw how he broke out in a temper at the Wu brothers, saying they were not allowed to see Guo Fu. Every word of his stuck out at her heart like lightning, she was confused and felt that her whole universe had changed within the blink of an eye. If it was someone else who saw that Yang Guo’s actions had changed suddenly like this, they would become suspicious and would ask him to explain everything afterwards but Xiao LongNuu’s mind was as clear as a crystal, untouched by earthly dust, she did not know the lies and tricks of humankind. Yang Guo’s tongue was silky smooth and talked rubbish to others but to Xiao LongNuu, he has never said a single lie and its because of this that Xiao LongNuu has never doubted his words. As she saw that the Wu brothers losing, she pitied herself and gave out a sigh. When Yang Guo heard the sigh and called out ‘GuGu’, she did not reply and hid faraway. Yang Guo thought that it was Li MoChou who gave out the sigh and it was he who was mistaken so he did not give it much thought.

Leading the red horse, Xiao LongNuu walked around without aim trying to think but she did not know what to do. She was now over twenty years of age but she has spent her whole life in the tomb, she did not know a thing about the world, her relative experience was akin to that of a newborn baby. She thought, “Since Guo’Er is going to marry miss Guo, that means he won’t be able to marry me. No wonder the Guo couple did not allow Guo’Er and I to get married. Guo’Er has kept this from me because he didn’t want me to be sad, ah, he’s still thinking of me.” Her thoughts continued, “He failed to kill hero Guo on many occasions to avenge his father was all because of miss Guo, it appears that his love for miss Guo runs very deep as well. If I go give him the red horse now, he may begin to think about my good points again, this might disrupt their wedding in the future. It’s better for me to return to the ancient tomb alone, this outside world is making me mad.

She pondered for a while and made her decision, even though her heart was in great pain, she was still thinking about saving Yang Guo, so she rode the red horse through the night back to Xiang Yang and handed the horse over to Zhu Ziliu so he can deliver the red horse to Yang Guo in the valley.

At this time, though the attackers of Xiang Yang had left long ago, Guo Jing and Huang Rong had yet to recover and the city was in chaos. The able Zhu Ziliu along with Lu YouJiao worked together on the important task of looking after the security of the city. Right in the middle of all this, Xiao LongNuu walked up to him with red horse and wanted him to take it to Yang Guo, saying that she wants Yang Guo to get to the Passionless Valley as soon as possible, saying to use the baby daughter of Guo Jing’s to exchange for the antidote leaving Zhi Ziliu confused. He tried to ask her to explain but Xiao LongNuu’s mind was in turmoil and she did not want to speak much, she just said to get there as fast as possible, any delay may put Yang Guo’s life at risk.

She ignored the Guo Fu who was standing next to Zhu Ziliu and thought, “Your sister will be fine for a few days in the Passionless Valley, this is about the life of your fiancée, you yourself will naturally do all you can.” As soon as she mentioned the words Yang Guo, her heart filled up with pain, before she could explain herself clearly tears rolled from her eyes and she ran to her room; lying on her bed, she sobbed despondently.

Zhu Ziliu did not anything about anything related to this matter and so how would he know what Xiao LongNuu was talking about? But the words ‘to get there as fast as possible, any delay may put Yang Guo’s life at risk’ was startling, all he could do was to go to the valley and then act accordingly. By the time he began to made his way to the valley, the red horse was nowhere to be seen, when he asked one of the soldiers, he said that miss Guo had taken it away. Zhu Ziliu wanted to find her but she had hidden away. Zhu Ziliu sighed to himself and thought that all these young girls are unfathomable, without saying anything or explaining themselves they just do what do want without leaving a trace.

He was worried about the safety of Yang Guo so he found another fast horse and took a few beggar clan members with him. Following Xiao LongNuu’s directions they found the valley only to see Yang Guo and the Wu brothers lying on the ground with Wu Santong sitting on the ground meditating. The three lying on the ground had shallow breaths, the words ‘to get there as fast as possible, any delay may put Yang Guo’s life at risk’ was indeed true. He immediately took Yang Guo back to Xiang Yang and his recently arrived martial uncle Indian Monk immediately tended to Yang Guo.

After crying on her bed for a while, Xiao LongNuu was getting more and more depressed as she pondered her thoughts, she wasn’t able to stop her tears. This cry left her sleeves completely soaked. She went to take a handkerchief from her waist to wipe away her tears when her fingertips touched her the Lady sword. She thought, “It’ll be worthwhile to go and give this sword to miss Guo so they’ll have a matching pair of swords.”

She was deeply in love with Yang Guo, no matter what it is, as long as something will bring Yang Guo benefit, she will go and do it without any qualms. She got off the bed and without wiping away the traces of her tears, she went to see Guo Fu.

It was in deep into the night now, Guo Fu was of course in bed. Xiao LongNuu did not wait for any servants to call her, opening the window, she leapt into the room and woke Guo Fu up and then said ‘You two are a match made in heaven!’ etc, the words that Guo Fu passed onto Yang Guo. She handed the Lady Sword to Guo Fu and went to leave the room.

Guo Fu did not know what she was talking about and said, “What are you saying? I don’t understand a thing.”

Xiao LongNuu did not reply and leapt out of the window. Guo Fu stuck her head out of the window and called out, “Please come back miss Long.” However, Xiao LongNuu did not turn back.

With her head lowered, Xiao LongNuu made her way to the garden. A rose bush’s fragrance floated about and it reminded her of the time in mount Zhong Nan when she and Yang Guo were practising the Jade Maiden’s Manual between the bush thickets. She wanted to go back to way things were when they were living together as master and disciple yet there was no way it could happen.

In her daze, a voice came from the room to her left called out, “It’s always Xiao LongNuu this, Xiao LongNuu that, can you stop saying that name for just one day?”

Xiao LongNuu was shocked, “Who’s always talking about me?” She stopped her footsteps and listened. Another person sounded a few dry laughs before saying, “So you can do it while I can’t say it?”

The first person replied, “We are at someone else’s home, with all these ears and eyes here, what would happen to the name of the Quan Zhen sect if someone overhears?”

The other person laughed and said, “Oh, so you still remember about Quan Zhen’s name? That night by the rose bushes on mount Zhong Nan, that wonderful feeling… haha.” As he got to this point, he just continued laughing and did not say anything else.

Xiao Longnuu was even more shocked when she heard this, her suspicions were roused and she thought, “Could it be that when Guo’Er and I were intimate, we were seen by those two Taoists?” From the sounds of the voices, she could tell it was Zhao Zhiging and Yin Zhiping so she moved quietly to the window and lowered her body as she listened. By now, the two’s voices had become quieter but Xiao LongNuu was quite close to them and could still hear everything clearly.

A frustrated Yin Zhiping said, “Martial brother Zhao, you torture me day and night, what exactly do you want?”

Zhao Zhiging said, “You know what I want.”

Yin Zhiping said, “What do you want me to do? I’ve already agreed, all I wanted was for you stop going on about this yet you are getting worse. Do you want me to die in front of you?”

Zhao Zhijing gave a cold laugh and said, “I don’t know, I just can’t help myself, I’ve got to say it.”

Yin Zhiping suddenly raised his voice a little and said, “You really think I don’t know? You’re just envious of me, envious of brief moment of bliss.” These two sentences were very strange, Zhao Zhijing did not reply, he seemed to want to give a cold laugh but could not.

After a long while, Yin Zhiping mumbled, “Yes, that night within the rose bushes, her acupoints were sealed by the Western Poison Ou YangFeng, she wasn’t able to move and I was able to fulfil my dream. I’m not going to deny it. If I didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t know about it, right? After I’d told you, you torment non stop… yet, yet I do not regret it, no, not one single bit…” By now, his voice had become soft, it was as if he was talking in his dreams.

As Xiao LongNu heard this, her heart dropped and her mind seemed ran amok with noise. “Could it be that it was him, it wasn’t my beloved Guo’Er? No, it wasn’t him, it can’t be him, he’s lying, it must be Guo’Er.”

She heard Zhao ZhiJing continue in a cold tone, “Yes, of course you wouldn’t regret your actions. You didn’t have to tell me about this but you couldn’t keep your joy to yourself, you had to tell someone. When I started to remind you day and night about it, why had you become afraid to hear what I had to say?” Suddenly, a thudding noise on the wall was heard; it was Yin ZhiPing banging his head against the wall. He said, “Fine say it, tell everyone, tell everyone in the world, I don’t care… no no, apprentice brother Zhao, I’ll agree to whatever you want, just stop bringing this up.”

In the space of a night, Xiao LongNu had heard two heart shattering news, she stood outside the window in a dazed state, although she heard what they were saying, she was for the team being, unable to grasp the meaning behind their words.

Zhao ZhiJing chuckled a few times and said, “As practising Taoists, we need to keep a clear mind, a slip in our thoughts will lead to a drop into evil. The reason I keep on mentioning Xiao LongNu is so that you will soon begin to hate and detest that name. I’m just helping you to adhere to the Taoist teachings.”

Yin ZhiPing said quietly, “She’s a celestial being, how can I hate and detest her?” Suddenly he raised his voice and said, “Don’t try to paint a pretty picture with what you are doing, do you think I’m blind to your ill intentions? One, you are jealous of me and two, you hate Yang Guo, you want to reveal this to everyone so that the two of them will have to live with this for the rest of their lives.”

When Xiao LongNu heard the name ‘Yang Guo’, her heart skipped a beat. Quietly she repeated, “Yang Guo, Yang Guo.” As she said these words, she was filled with a tender feeling and hoped that the two would keep on talking about Yang Guo. As long as someone mentions his name, she would be happy.

She listened on and now heard it was Zhao ZhiJing’s turn to raise his voice. He said with hate, “I won’t rest until I teach that bastard a good lesson, humph, it’s just that…”

Yin Zhiping said, “It’s just that his martial arts are too high, neither you or I are a match for him, right?”

Zhao ZhiJing said, “That’s not definite, what’s so special about his evil’s sects unorthodox martial arts? Once he’s in my hands… haha! Our Quan Zhen sect’s martial arts are the orthodox way of the arts, why should we be scared of that punk? Apprentice brother Yin, just you watch, I’m not going to let him die easily, I’ll break an arm here or a leg there, I’ll make him wished that he was dead. How wonderful it would be if that Xiao LongNu is there to watch him suffer.”

Xiao LongNu trembled as she heard this, if it was at any other place and time, she would have flown through the window and killed the two with one strike long ago but now, her despair had completely overwhelmed her, her body felt as if it was no longer under her own will.

She heard Yin Zhiping laugh coldly, “You can believe what you want. Our sect’s orthodox arts may not be able to compete with their so called unorthodox martial arts.”

Zhao Zhijing shouted, “You dog, you Quan Zhen traitor! You even praise that Xiao LongNu’s martial arts to high heaven!”

Yin Zhiping has been under this torrent of abuse long enough and could take it no longer, he shouted, “Why are you insulting me? You must know when you are pushing your limits!”

Zhao Zhijing knew that his opponent could do nothing to him, if this matter is leaked back amongst the sect, the previous sect leader apprentice uncle Ma and the current leader apprentice uncle Qiu will surely sentence him to death, that was why he had been sending out insults to him day and night. Yin Zhiping indeed did not retaliate. Now, he could tell that Yin was actually showing signs of rebelling, if he didn’t make sure that he was in complete control, it would be difficult for his great plan to succeed so he took a step forward and sent out a palm.

Yin Zhiping had not predicted that he would actually come to arms, he lowered his head quickly but ‘smack’, the palm struck him heavily on the back of his neck, almost sending him to the ground. Out of rage, he unsheathed his sword and sent it forwards. Zhao Zhijing moved his body out of the way and laughed, “Oh, so you’ve actually got the gall to raise your sword against me.” He unsheathed his sword and replied with a stroke of his own.

Yin Zhiping lowered his voice and said, “I’m going to die sooner or later under this constant torment of yours anyway, I might as well get it over with and let you kill me today.” He hurried his sword strokes and pressurized his opponent. He was Qiu Chuji’s head student, he and Zhao Zhijing’s martial arts both had their strong points. They both learnt the same stances, once a fight starts between the two, it would be difficult to tell who was going to be the winner but Yin Zhiping had made up his mind, all he wanted was to take his opponent down with him while Zhao Zhijing had something else planned and wasn’t going to take his life, twenty, thirty stances later, Zhao Zhijing had been forced into one of the corners of the room and was losing.

The two’s struggle had long been reported by a beggar clan member to Guo Fu. Guo Fu dressed hurriedly and rushed to the scene to see Xiao Longnu standing outside. She called out, “Miss Long!”

Xiao Longnu’s mind was somewhere else and she did not hear her.

Guo Fu was curious and so decided not to enter immediately. She too stood outside the window only to hear Zhao Zhijing coming out with derisive comments between his sword strokes, with every single comment related to Xiao Longnu.

When Guo Fu heard their words becoming more and more inappropriate, she decided to move away from the window. When she turned her head to move away, she caught a glimpse of a disorientated Xiao Longnu, it appeared that she did not take offence of what the two were saying, Guo Fu became extremely curious and quietly asked, “Are what they saying true?”

Xiao Longnu nodded her head and said, “I don’t know, maybe… maybe its true.”

Feelings of condescension towards Xiao Longnu gathered inside Guo Fu and she left with a scoff and did not turn back.

During the fight, Yin and Zhao both heard someone talking outside their room, after a clashing of weapons, the two separated and leapt back and both asked at the same time, “Who’s there?”

Xiao Longnu said slowly, “Me.”

Yin Zhiping trembled all over and asked with a shaking voice, “Who’s me?”

Xiao Longnu replied, “Xiao Longnu!”

Once those three words came out, not only did Yin Zhiping froze, Zhao Zhijing did so as well. That day at the Heroes’ Feast of Da Xingguan, just one stance of hers allow her to place a palm on his chest, the resulting injury was serious and took days to completely recover, there was no way he could defend himself against her. He could never have predicted that Xiao Longnu would be in Xiang Yang as well, all the insults that he had just said were most likely heard by her, he was scared witless and was just thinking, “How am I going to get out alive?”

Yin Zhiping was shocked as well but he was not thinking about how to escape, instead, he stretched out his hand and pushed open the window. Beside the flower bushes stood a silent, sombre girl in white; it was the person who had filled his thoughts day and night and in his dreams, the most enchanting girl in the world, Xiao Longnu!

Yin Zhiping replied in disbelief, “It’s you?”

Xiao Longnu replied, “Correct, it’s me. What you two said just know, is it true?”

Yin Zhiping nodded his head, “Yes! Just kill me!” He turned his sword towards her and handed it to her through the window.

Xiao Longnu’s eyes lit up, her sorrow had reached its peak, her anger had met its limit, she felt that even if she killed a thousand people, or even ten thousand, she would no longer be the pure and chaste girl she once were, she could no longer love Yang Guo as deeply as she did before. When she saw the sword through the window, she did not take it and just looked at the two of them in uncertainty, she really could not decided on what to do.

Zhao Zhijing saw his chance had come, the girl has seemed to lost her mind right now, if he doesn’t take this chance to escape, when could he? He grabbed Yin Zhiping’s arm and said with a snide, “Let’s go, let’s go now, it looks like she can’t bear to kill you!” He pulled hard and staggered out of the door. Yin Zhiping’s ming was completely elsewhere, his body put up no resistance and he followed. Yin Zhiping utilized his lightness kung fu and ran. Yin Zhiping had allowed himself to be pulled by him but after a few lis, he himself started to use his own lightness kung fu. Both of them had began practising martial arts before Guo Jing had started, as soon as they put effort into it, they soon arrived at the gates of the eastern part of the city.

They were a few beggar clan members patrolling the area by the gates. The leader of the pack recognised the two and knew they eminent members of the Quan Zhen sect and when it comes to status, they were Guo Jing’s peers, when he heard Zhao Zhijing say that they had to leave the city due to urgent business, he immediately allowed the gates to be opened. The gates were opened just wide enough for one person to exit when the two of them leapt out of the city in one leap. The beggar clan member praised, “Excellent lightness kung fu!” Just as he was about to close the gates, a white blur passed his eyes, it seemed that someone had left the city. In shock, he said, “What?” The person had long gone. When he went to the take a look from the gates, the day had just broken at dawn, he could only see within sixty, seventy feet, how could he even see who was there? He turned around to ask the others but no one saw anything. He narrowed his eyes and cursed, “Must have been a ghost!” He has been working tirelessly the past few days, it must have been his eyes playing tricks on him.

Yin and Zhao did not dare stop and only after running a few lis from the city did they slow down their steps. Zhao Zhijing used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his head and called out, “Damn, that was close!” He turned around and looked back. His knees went soft and he nearly fell to the floor at what he saw, about a hundred feet behind them stood a girl in white, looking at them fixated, if it wasn’t Xiao Longnu, who else could it be?

Zhao Zhijing was frightened with what he saw, he let out a ‘no’, he had thought that they had left her behind long ago but who knew that she was following behind them without making a sound; he himself did not notice it. He immediately grabbed Yin Zhiping’s arm and ran.

He ran over one hundred feet in one breath but when he turned his head back once again, Xiao Longnu was still in sight, following closely behind them with a gap of around thirty, forty feet between them. Zhao Zhijing did not know what to do, he just lowered his head and ran with all his might but he did not dare to keep on checking whether Xiao Longnu was there or not because each time he did, his heart would suffer a shock and legs became weaker as a result. He said, “Apprentice brother Yin, she could kill us right here right now if she wanted, she must be up to something.”

Yin Zhiping asked with confusion, “Up to something?”

Zhao Zhijing said, “From what I can tell, it looks like that she wants to capture us and then reveal what you done in front of the world’s heroes thus ruining the reputation of the Quan Zhen sect forever.”

Yin Zhiping’s heart skipped a beat, he no longer cared about his life, if Xiao Longnu wanted to kill him, he would not retaliate but he has been in the tutelage of Qiu Chuji ever since he was young, he loved his teacher, he couldn’t let the reputation of the world renowned Quan Zhen sect be tarnished by his hands, as he thought about this, his spine broke out in a cold sweat. He increased his efforts in his leg and ran shoulder to shoulder with Zhao Zhijing.

The two picked pathless grounds to run through. Sometimes, they would take a peek back but still, Xiao Longnu would still be there, just a few zhangs away from them at all times. The Ancient Tomb’s lightness kung fu is unmatched in the world, following the two would not take much effort but she really did not know what she wanted to do, all she could do was to keep the two within her sights.

The two of them had already been frightened and confused when they saw Xiao Longnu but after watching her follow them like a shadow, they couldn’t stop themselves from conjuring up worse and worse scenarios that Xiao Longnu was planning for, they became even more frightened. From dawn to noon, and from noon to the afternoon, running ten or so hours like this non-stop was something the two could not keep up even if the two had profound internal energy. The two were out of breath and were struggling, they were now a lot slower than before. It was now deep into the day and air was hot, the two was soaked in sweat. After another a while, the two were hungry and thirsty. They soon came to a brook and thought, “Even if I get captured, I can’t do anything about it.” They threw themselves to the brook and drank.

Xiao Longnu strolled casually by the brook and she too took a few mouthfuls of water to drink. Amongst the crystal clear running water of the brook was an image of a girl in white, a picture of beauty, an image of the Ling Bo Goddess. Xiao Longnu’s heart felt empty and forgot about her state of mind for the moment and plucked a flower besides the brook bank. She placed it into the side of her hair and stared at the reflection in the water whilst drifting into a trance.

The two of them was drinking and glancing over at her at the same time. Seeing that it appeared that she was preoccupied by something else and looked as if she had completely forgotten about her intentions, the two signalled to each other with their eyes and quietly got up. The silently made their way behind Xiao Longnu and moved away slowly. After looking back a few times to see her still standing by the brook, the two quickly sped up the steps and ran forward. Not long after, they came to a main road.

The two of them thought that this time, they’ve finally managed to escape but a glance over his shoulders from Yin Zhiping revealed otherwise, Xiao Longnu was still following them.

Yin Zhiping’s face became grey and called out, “Alas, it’s no use! Apprentice brother Zhao, just let her do what she wants!” He stopped running.

Zhao Zhijing was furious and shouted, “You deserve to die, why should I die with you?” He pulled his arm to take him with him but Yin Zhiping did not want to run anymore. Zhao Zhijing was frightened and angry at the same time, he raised his palm and struck out across his face.

Yin Zhiping said angrily, “Hitting me again?”

Xiao Longnu felt that it was extremely odd when she saw the two of them suddenly start to fight once again.

Right at this time, two horses came galloping towards them. The riders were Mongolian dispatches. A thought came into Zhao Zhijing’s head and he quietly said, “Snatch the horses! We’ll pretend to fight, don’t let Xiao Longnu know what we are going to do.” He then chopped forwards with a palm. Yin Zhiping raised his arm to block and sent out a palm of his own. Zhao Zhijing took a few steps back and two gradually moved towards the centre of the road. With the road blocked, the Mongolians reigned in their horses and shouted. Yin and Zhao suddenly leapt up and pulled the Mongolians to the ground. They then mounted the horses and galloped north.

Both these horses were top class steeds and they galloped with great speed. When the two turned back to see that Xiao Longnu was no longer behind them, they finally managed to let a sigh of relief. After travelling over ten miles or so, they reached a three-forked road.

Zhao Zhijing said, “She saw us head north, we’ll change directions and head east instead.” He pulled his reigns to the right and they headed along the easterly road. By nightfall, they had reached a small town.

After running all day, the two were extremely tired and hungry. They immediately found a restaurant and ordered a plate of beef and a few jins of pancakes.

Zhao Zhijing sat down and calmed himself. But fear still lingered in his heart as he recalled the days events. Xiao Longnu has been following them all day yet why has she yet to make a move on them? Yin Zhiping’s face was grey as ash, his head was lowered and it seemed that his mind drifted away. The beef and pancakes soon arrived but just as they were picking up the chopsticks to eat, sounds of horses neighing and people shouting arose from outside the restaurant.

Someone shouted, “Who does those horses belong to? Why are they here?” There was a Mongolian accent behind those words.

Zhao Zhijing stood up and went to the entrance. He saw a Mongolian sergeant with a group of seven, eight soldiers with him pointing at the horses that Zhao Zhijing and Yin Zhiping had rode. The waiter at the restaurant was frightened and bowed to the Mongolian as he said, “Sir, Sir!”

Zhao Zhijing’s anger has been building up all day after being chased by Xiao Longnu, he’d long for a release and when he saw the Mongolians, he immediately went up to them and shouted, “The horses belong to me! What about it?”

The sergeant said, “Where did you get it from?”

Zhao Zhijing said, “They’re mine! What is it to you?”

By this time, all the land to the north of Xiang Yang had fallen into Mongolian hands, all the hans were being oppressed by the Mongolians, who would dare raise their voice to a Mongolian like this? The Mongolian saw that Zhao Zhijing looked a bit shifty and he had a sword by his waist, he was suspicious of him and said, “Did you buy them or steal them?”

Zhao Zhijing shouted, “What are you talking about? I reared this horses myself.”

The sergeant signalled with his hand and ordered, “Get him!”

Seven, eight armed Mongolians encircled forwards.

Zhao Zhijing placed his hand on his sword handle and shouted, “What’s your problem?”

The Mongolian sergeant laughed coldly and said, “Horse thief! You really have got guts, these horses belong to the Mongolian army, are you going to admit now?” He then went up to the horses and brushed their tails to the side to reveal a Mongolian print. All Mongolian horses had a print on them to distinguish which camp they belong to. Zhao Zhijing stole these horses from some Mongolians, how would he know about this? When he saw this, he became silent but continued to argue, “Who said they belong to the Mongolian army? I like to mark my horses, is that a crime?”

The sergeant was furious, ever since his travels to the south, he has never met such a brazen fellow, he took a step forward and reached out to grab Zhao Zhijing’s chest. Zhao Zhijing’s bent his left arm and grabbed the Mongolian’s wrist. Then he sent out his right palm and grabbed the Mongolian’s back before lifting him up and lassoing him around his head three times before throwing him forwards. The sergeant was flung forwards and landed in a porcelain shop. Non-stop smashing sounds were heard as shelves of porcelain plates and bowls came crashing down. The sharp debris sliced up the Mongolian sergeant and he was bleeding all over. How could he get up amongst the debris? All the other soldiers came to help him, some moved the shelves and debris away while others helped him up. They no longer cared about trying to capture the horse thief.

Zhao Zhijing laughed out loud and walked back inside the restaurant to continue his meal. However, all the towns shops had closed and had boarded up as a result of the clash and all the customers that were in the restaurant had long cleared off. Everyone thought that with the Mongolians’ malicious nature, surely they would be back to wash the town in blood. Zhao Zhijing had a few more bites of his food when the owner of the restaurant came up to him and suddenly fell down to the floor and started to bow to him. Zhao Zhijing knew that owner was afraid of the trouble that he would bring so he stood up and laughed, “Don’t worry, we’ve eaten enough, we’ll go immediately.”
The owners face became even greyer with fright and continued to bow to him.

Yin Zhping said, “He’s afraid that once we’ve left, the Mongolians will be back for us.” He has always been thoughtful and a strong man, it was only because of his mad love for Xiao Longnu that led him to his actions, his method of approach to everyday problems surpassed Zhao Zhijing in everyway and it was because of this that Ma Yu, Qiu Chuji and the others wanted to pass on the sect’s leadership to him. He suddenly had a thought and said, “Bring me the best food and wine, we’ll take responsibility for what we’ve done, why are you afraid?” The owner picked himself up and agreed compliantly before giving out orders to bring them food and wine.

The Mongolian sergeant was injured pretty badly and had to be carried onto his horse.

Zhao Zhijing laughed, “Brother Yin, after what we’ve been through today, we’ve really got to let out some steam once they’re back.”

Yin Zhiping gave a grunt and looked on as the Mongolians left. After steadying their nerves, everyone in the restaurant bought food and wine to them and filled up a table.

The two of them ate for a while when suddenly Yin Zhiping got up and raised his palm, sending the waiter who was serving him to the ground. The owner was alarmed and quickly walked forward and smiled, “This idiot doesn’t know what he’s doing, please don’t get mad sir…” Before he finished, Yin Zhiping had kicked out with his left leg and lightly kicked him to the ground.

Zhao Zhijing thought he had lost it and called, “Brother Yin… you…”

Yin Zhiping flipped a table to the ground and sent bowls and plates smashing to the ground before immediately sending another two waiters to the ground. He then sealed everyone’s acupoints before bringing his hands together and said, “When the Mongolians come and see you in this state, they won’t vent their anger out on you anymore, do you understand? You should add a few injuries here and there as well.”

Everyone suddenly understood and thought what a great plan. Everyone then started to beat each other up and tore each other’s clothes, eyes were blue and noses were bruised. Not long later, the sounds of the hoofs of many galloping on the streets pavement could be heard. Everyone in the restaurant fell to the ground and cried out, “No, please stop!” “Mercy, mercy!” “Please sir, I beg you!”

The horses did indeed stop outside the restaurant. Four Mongolian soldiers entered and were followed by a tall and skinny Tibetan monk and a short and dark man. This dark man had both his legs removed and was supporting himself with crutches.

When the soldiers saw the state of the restaurant they knitted their brows and shouted, “Hurry up and bring us some food, we’re in a rush.”

The owner was taken aback by this and thought, “So these guys are from another group. What am I going to do when those other soldiers get back?” Just as he was hesitating, some of the soldiers struck at his head with their horse whips. The owner took the blows and complied but struggled to get up. One of the other waiters served and set places for them.

The Tibetan monk was Jinlun Fawang, the dark and short man was Ni Moxing. That day after both of them fell victim to the ‘Soul Freezing Needles’, the two of them struggled outside the cave and fell down a cliff. Luckily, the Cliffside had a large tree growing from it and Fa Wang managed to grab onto it just in time. Ni Moxing was in a dazed state by now but he still clutching onto Fa Wang. Fa Wang took a look at his surroundings before he gathered his strength to his left arm and pushed, the two of them fell down towards the bushes at the bottom of the cliff before rolling down the steep hill for around a hundred feet, only stopping once they’ve reached the deepest part of the valley. The two of them were scratched all over by thorns.

Fa Wang flipped over and used his minor grappling techniques on Ni Moxing’s arm and shouted, “Are you going to release me or not?”

In his dazed state, Ni Moxing had no more strength to resist, from Fa Wang’s pull, his left arm loosened but his right arm was still clutching onto the back of Fa Wang.

Fa Wang laughed coldly, “Your legs have contracted a lethal poison yet why aren’t you trying to save yourself and instead still trying to struggle with me?”

These two sentences made Ni Moxing look down at his legs. His lower legs had swollen up badly, if he doesn’t do something about it soon, his life would be in danger so he bit down on his teeth and took out his Iron Snake weapon from his waist and cut his lower legs off. Blood poured out violently and he passed out. Fa Wang admired this steely behaviour and now that as a cripple, he’s no longer a threat to him, he decided to help him; he sealed his knees’ ‘Crooked Spring’ acupoint and his thigh’s ‘Five Li’ acupoint to stop the bleeding. He then took out some medicine for external wounds and tore off Ni Moxing’s outer garment to bandage his legs.

A lot of Indian martial artists have practised pain resisting arts such as sleeping on a bed of nails or sitting on a seat of knives. Ni Mo Xing was well versed in such arts and as soon as his wounds stopped bleeding, he sat up and said, “Fine, since you’ve saved me, we’ll forget all our past feuds.”

Fa Wang gave a bitter smile, “Though you’ve lost your legs, the poison in your body has been cleansed. However, I’m still in danger.” So he sat down with his legs folded and circulated his chi, slowly forcing out the poison from his feet. It took him an exhausting two hours to force just a minute amount of the poison out.

The two of them rested in the remote valley for a few days. Fa Wang used his advanced internal energy to force the poison out and Ni Moxing’s wounds no longer bled. Ni Moxing made two crutches from some tree branches and the two made their way out of the valley. They soon came across a group of Mongolian soldiers and they made their way back to Khubilai’s camp. On the way back, they came across the same town that Yin and Zhao were in.

When Zhao Zhijing and Yin Zhiping saw FA Wang, they looked at each other with shock. They both were present at the Heroes’ Gathering at Da Xingguan and saw Fa Wang demonstrate his amazing martial arts and both remembered when his disciples Da Erba and Huo Dou attacked the ChongYang Palace years ago, even some of the Quan Zhen masters found them difficult. They were both filled with fear with this encounter. The two signalled to each other with their eyes and wanted to slip away.

That day at Da Xingguan, there were hundreds and thousands of heroes attending the gathering, Zhao and Yin may have recognised Fa Wang but Fa Wang did not recognise the two. Though Fa Wang saw that the restaurant was in a state, it was during a time of war, this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. This fruitless attack on Xiang Yang that ended with defeat was not going to be his greatest moment in front of Khubilai, al he was thinking about at the moment was how to cover it up, he didn’t care about the Taoists who were eating their meal.

Just at this time, there was a commotion outside the restaurant, a group of Mongolian soldiers came bursting in, as soon as they saw Yin and Zhao, they all roared and went forwards to capture them. Yin Zhiping saw that Fa Wang was sitting near the door, if they dashed out and go past him, most probably he will intervene so he said quietly, “Exit through the backdoor!” He pushed a table and bowls and plates, causing a sudden noise as they crashed to the ground. The two of them leapt back and ran towards the backdoor.

Just as he was about to make it to the backyard, Yin Zhiping glanced over at Fa Wang and saw him holding a cup thinking to himself, ignoring what was going on in the restaurant. He was delighted and thought, “He’s not going to interfere.” Suddenly, a black blur came across him, the short xiyu person had come across and was waving his left hand, striking out at the heads of Yin and Zhao with his crutch. Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing have never seen this person before but seeing his swift movements and powerful attack, the immediately lowered the shoulders and dodged to the side.

Hitting thin air, Ni Moxing cried out ‘Oh’, these two Taoists weren’t weaklings and he was slightly surprised, he used his left crutch as a support and then attacked with his right crutch, blocking the twos path. The two of them unsheathed their swords and attacked from both sides, trying to force him back and make a path for an escape.

Though Ni Moxing’s martial arts were stronger than that of Yin and Zhao, he had lost his legs only just recently and has yet to recover fully. Fighting with his crutches against the two will require at least one crutch to remain on the ground at all times, a few stances later, he could no longer keep it up. Fa Wang walked forwards slowly and saw Zhao Zhijing’s sword going for Ni Moxing’s chest. Ni Moxing raised his crutch to block the attack and as he did so, Yin Zhiping went for his right side. This stance was extremely vicious, Ni Moxing had to abandon his crutch and leap back if he wanted to avoid it. Fa Wang took a stride forwards and met with Ni Moxing’s leaping body, Fa Wang supported him with his left arm and then placed his right hand on Ni Moxing’s arm. Ni Moxing’s crutch and Zhao Zhijing’s sword had yet to separate at this point. Fa Wang transferred his internal energy through the crutch. Zhao Zhijing felt his arm shaking violently and half his upper body had heated up, a ‘dang’ sound was heard as he dropped his sword.

Ni Moxing’s internal energy was lacking but his changes in stances were extremely swift, as soon as he saw Zhao Zhijing’s sword fall from his hands, he immediately swung his crutch towards Yin Zhiping and trapped his sword. Fa Wang touched Ni Moxing’s arm once again. Yin Zhiping saw what had happened with Zhao Zhijing previously so he immediately circulated his internal energy to counterattack but Fa Wang’s internal energy had both softness and hardness within, after a ‘kala’ sound, the sword broke, leaving Yin Zhiping with a broken sword in his hand. Fa Wang let Ni Moxing to the ground lightly and then stretched out his hands, placing them on the shoulders of the two. He smiled, “Why come to arms with strangers? With your martial arts, you two must be first class fighters of the central plains, why don’t we sit down and have a chat?”

There didn’t seem to be any malicious intent in his movements but once his hands touched them, the two could not move. All they felt was a force of a thousand jins immediately pressing down on their shoulders and all they could do was to circulate their internal energy to resist the force, how could they even reply? If they opened their mouths, their internal energy would disperse and their bones from their shoulder to their waist would surely be crushed.

The soldiers who had rushed in had by now, completely surrounded them. The leader of the pack was Noyan and he recognised Fa Wang, who was the Protector of Mongolia and commanded great respect from Khubilai. He immediately went up to Fa Wang and bowed, “Your eminency, these two Taoists stole our horses and beat up our soldiers, thank you for your eminency’s help…” Before he had finished, he glanced over at Yin Zhiping a few times and suddenly asked, “Is this the parson Yin Zhiping?”

Yin Zhiping nodded but he did not recognise this man.

Fa Wang loosened his grip on the two and reduced the force he was exerting and thought, “These two Taoists are only forty years of age or so yet their internal energy is so pure.”

The Mongolian noyan said, “Does master Yin not recognise me? Nineteen years ago, we were eating roast lamb in the desert, I’m Sa Duo.”

Yin Zhiping looked at him carefully and said with delight, “On, yes, that’s right! I can’t recognise you with that beard!”

Sa Duo smiled, “I’ve rode thousands of lis all over the place, all my hair has gone white yet you haven’t changed much. No wonders Genghis Khan claimed practising Taoists are immortal.” He turned to Fa Wang and said, “Your eminency, this Taoist has visited Xiyu in the past, he was a guest of Genghis Khan, it could be said that he’s one of us.” Fa Wang nodded and released his hands from the twos’ shoulder.

Years ago, Genghis Khan had invited Qiu Chuji to Xiyu to see him, hoping he could learn the secrets of immortality. Qiu Chuji travelled thousands of lis and took nineteen disciples with him. Yin Zhiping was his senior student; he of course was within the group. Genghis Khan had sent two hundred men to accompany Qiu Chuji and his disciples. Sa Duo was just a lowly soldier at that time and he was within that group and that is why he was able to recognise Yin Zhiping. He has fought for over twenty years and his deeds were rewarded with a promotion to the position of noyan. He was delighted with this unexpected meeting with Yin Zhiping. He had great respect for Yin Zhiping and laughed off what happened with the horses. Sa Duo asked him about the well being of Qiu Chuji and the others that were on the expedition and as he talked the past, his pride became visible.

Fa Wang has also heard about Qui Chuji before and knew that he was Quan Zhen’s best fighter. He saw that Yin Zhiping’s and Zhao Zhijing’s martial arts weren’t bad and thought that the reputation of Quan Zhen is deserved, he was lucky that he was able to strike first and take the initiative, otherwise if a fight had really broken out, it would take him at least twenty, thirty stances to beat them.

Suddenly there was a blur at the door, a girl in white had entered. Fa Wang, Ni Moxing, Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing were all alarmed to see that this girl was Xiao Longnu. Only Ni Moxing had no fear of her and said, “The Passionless Valley’s bride, greetings!”

Xiao Longnu nodded slightly and then sat down in the corner by a small table. She ignored everyone and quietly ordered some mushroom noodles from a waiter.

The faces of Yin and Zhao were white one minute and green the next; both of them were agitated. Fa Wang was afraid that Yang Guo would soon arrived, there was nothing that he feared in the world except the two’s ‘Pure Heart of Jade Maiden’ swordplay. The three of them were occupied with their thoughts and just ate without saying a word. Yin and Zhao were full a long time ago but if they suddenly went quiet, others would be suspicious of them so they ate without stop to occupy their mouths.

Sa Duo however was in a joyous mood, he asked, “Master Yin, have you ever seen our fourth prince?”

Yin Zhiping shook his head.

Sa Dou continued, “Khubilai is the fourth prince of the fourth prince Toulei, he is wise and compassionate, he has the respect of everyone in the camp. I was just on my way to report to him, if you two have nothing to do, why not come along and see him?”

Yin Zhiping shook his head with other things on his mind. Zhao Zhijing suddenly had a thought and asked, “Reverend, are you going to see the fourth prince as well?”

Fa Wang said, “Yes! The prince is a real man of the world, you two must see him.”

Zhao Zhijing said with joy, “Great, we’ll go with you and Sa Dou.” He patted Yin Zhiping’s leg beneath the table and made a signal with his eyes to him.

Sa Duo said with delight, “Great, great!”

Yin Zhiping’s intelligence is normally above that of Zhao Zhijing but as soon as he saw Xiao Longnu, he had drifted off into his own world and only after a long while did he get Zhao Zhijing’s plan. He wanted to rely on Fa Wang’s protection to escape from Xiao Longnu.

Everyone quickly finished their meals and all left at the same time, making their way on horseback. Fa Wang was relieved to see that Yang Guo was still nowhere to be seen and thought, “The Quan Zhen sect is one of the central plains largest sects, if I can enlist their help to aid Mongolia, it would be a great achievement. I at least have something to report back to his highness tomorrow.” He then tried to convey his intent of enlisting through his words to the two.

The sky was now getting dark, after riding for a while, the sounds of hoofs could be heard from behind them. They looked behind and saw Xiao Longnu following slowly behind them on a donkey.

Fa Wang was alarmed and thought, “She can’t beat me by herself so why is she being so brash and following us? Could it be that Yang Guo is following along is secret as well?” He had just met Yin and Zhao and did not want to lose any face in front of them so he pretended that he did not know that Xiao Longnu was following them.

The group rode for half a night before they reached a forest. Sa Duo ordered his men to take rest. About a hundred feet away, Xiao Longnu too had gotten off her donkey and sat down by the forest. The more secretive her actions were, the harder Fa Wang concentrated, he did not dare to make a rash move. Zhao Zhijing remembered that Ni Moxing had greeted Xiao Longnu but also did not know what ties Fa Wang had with Xiao Longnu, he dare not look at her. After resting for an hour, everyone got on their horses once again and after they left the forest, the sounds of hoofs could be heard again as Xiao Longnu followed once again.

Day had broken and still, Xiao Longnu was following them with a distance of about a hundred feet between them.

By now, they had reached an open plain. Fa Wang looked all around and saw that there was no signs of anyone else, evil intent stirred in him as he thought, “I have been invincible all my life yet as soon as I stepped into the central plains, I was defeated by those kids Yang Guo’s and Xiao Longnu’s twin swordplay. She’s following me non-stop and must be up to something, why don’t I attack out of the blue and kill her? Even if she has help, they’ll be too late. Once this girl dies, no one in the world can threaten me.” He had made his mind up and just as he was about to reign in his horse, sounds of bells ringing in front of them could be heard, a dust cloud could be seen a few lis in front of them as horses galloped towards them.

Fa Wang regretted his missed opportunity, “If I knew that her help would arrive now, I would have killed her long ago.”

Suddenly, Sa Duo cried out, “Oh! That’s strange.”

Fa Wang saw that a group of four horses were riding towards them and the first horse on the right was carrying a flag, on the flag pole were seven different types of white wool fluttering in the wind; it was Khubilai’s banner yet from afar, they appeared to be no riders on the horse.

Sa Duo called out, “His highness is here!” He rode forwards and about a distance of half a li from the horses, he got off and stood in a respectful stance.

Fa Wang thought, “Since his highness is here, it would not be appropriate to kill the kill now.” If Khubilai see him a girl on her own, Khubilai would look him down upon him. He rode forwards slowly and saw that within the four horses sat a man in midair. The man had white hair and a white beard with a big smile on his face, it was none other than Zhou Botong.

From afar Zhou Botong called out, “Great, great, the big monk is here and the dark shorty is here, we meet again, oh, and that young girl is here as well.”

Fa Wang was curious, this person was full of tricks but how was he able to sit in midair? Once the horses got closer, he was able to see what was happening, the horses was holding a makeshift net from ropes on their backs and he was sitting on the net.

Zhou Botong has always kept away from the Chong Yang Palace and very rarely see the Quan Zhen masters, because of this, Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing did not recognise him. Though they have heard from the masters that they have a grand martial uncle who was a free wanderer, they have not heard from him for a long time and so most probably he must have passed away. The thought that this was him had never entered their minds. Years ago at that great battle at the Smokey Rain Pavilion, when Zhou Botong, the place was covered with fog and no one could see anything, though Yin Zhiping heard of him, he did not see him.

Fa Wang creased his brows, this person’s martial arts are extremely high, it would be best not get mixed up with him. He asked, “Is his highness behind you?”
Zhou Botong pointed behind him and laughed, “About thirty, forty lis back is his tent. Hey monk, a word of advice, I don’t think it’s the best time to see him right now.”

Fa Wang said, “Why?”

Zhou Bo Tong said, “Right now, he’s pissed off, if you go see him now, you’ll probably lose your bald head.”

Fa Wang said angrily, “Rubbish! Why would his highness be angry?”

Zhou Botong pointed to the flag and laughed, “I stole his highness’ flag, why shouldn’t he be angry?”

Fa Wang was shocked and asked, “Why did you steal it?”

Zhou Botong said, “Do you know Guo Jing?”

Fa Wang nodded and said, “So?

Zhou Botong said, “He’s my sworn brother. I haven’t seen him in years, I miss him a lot so I decided to go see him. He’s fighting the Mongols at Xiang Yang at the moment so I went and stole the Mongol’s royal banner to give it to him as a gift.”

Fa Wang was shocked and thought this was terrible, they are unable to break Xiang Yang down and now, the royal banner has been stolen, this would bring great disgrace to the Mongols, he must come up with a way to get the banner back at all costs.

Zhou Botong shouted and the horses all galloped forward, galloping like the wind in a westerly direction before making a circle and returning. The banner fluttered in the wind. Zhou Botong stood up with four reigns in his hands as he rode across the open plains with a fluttering flag, he looked like a great general.

He looked extremely pleased with himself and as he got close to them, he shouted out and the horses immediately stopped; his hands must be extremely powerful to be able to control the four horses with the reigns as he pleased.

Zhou Botong laughed, “Hey monk, how’s my riding skills?”

Fa Wang gave a thumbs up and praised, “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!” In his mind, he was trying to come up with a way to get the flag back.

Zhou Botong waved his left hand and laughed, “Big monk, little girl, the Old Urchin’s going!”

When Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing heard the ‘Old Urchin’, they both let out, “Grand martial uncle?” They both leapt off their horses.

Yin Zhiping said, “Is this senior Zhou of the Quan Zhen sect?”

Zhou Botong’s eyes rolled around and said, “Hmm, what’s this? You better start your kowtows.”

The two of them were about to greet him but when they heard his words, they were shocked and were afraid that they were mistaken.

Zhou Botong asked, “Who is your master?”

Yin Zhiping replied respectfully, “Zhao Zhijing is the disciple of the Jade Sun elder Wang, I am the disciple of the Eternal Spring elder Qiu.”

Zhou Botong said, “Hmm, looks each generation is getting worse and worse, it looks like you two are bad characters.” Suddenly he kicked out with both his legs and his shoes went flying forwards towards both of them.

Yin Zhiping saw that the shoe was coming at him quite slowly without much force, even if it struck him in the face it wouldn’t hurt, he dare not lose his manners and kept bowing but Zhao Zhijing stretched out his hand to catch the shoe. But who knew that as it arrived within three feet of them, the shoes suddenly curled back. Zhao Zhijing grabbed empty air as the left shoe turned right and the right shoe turned left. The shoes circled back and crossed each other and went back to Zhou Botong. Zhou Botong stretched out his feet and the shoes slipped on.

Though this was just a trick, without extremely profound internal energy, it would be impossible to kick the shoes with the right weight and force like this. Jinlun Fawang and Ni Moxing had seen him throw some spearheads in Khubilai’s tent that dropped midway in the air, the shoes were done with the same type of skill except that an extra back force was added, that was why they weren’t shocked when they saw this. But when Zhao Zhijing stretched out his hand and missed, he was shocked; with his martial arts, even the most lethal projectile would be plucked out of the air by him yet he wasn’t able to catch this slow shoe. He no longer had any doubts and did as Yin Zhiping did and bowed, saying, “Disciple Zhao Zhijing greets great martial uncle.”

Zhou Botong laughed, “Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi eyes must be bad, none of their disciples are up to it, just forget it, who wants kowtows from you?” He roared, “Onwards!” The four horses galloped forwards.

Fa Wang leapt off his horse and blurred towards the horses’ path. He called out, “Wait!” Each of his palms was pressed onto one horse each. The horses were advancing forwards at this time but this press by Fa Wang actually made them move two steps back.

Zhou Botong was furious and shouted, “Big monk, do you want a fight? The Old Urchin hasn’t found a worthy opponent for years, my fists are getting a bit itchy, come now, let’s have a few rounds.” He loved martial arts but in the recent years, his martial arts have been getting better and better, finding a worthy opponent was an extremely difficult task, he knew Fa Wang’s martial arts were of a high standard, someone worthy to exchange stances with so he got off his horse to fight.

Fa Wang shook his hand and said, “I never fight with shameless scoundrels. Fight if you want, I won’t.”

Zhou Botong was angry and said, “You dare call me a shameless scoundrel?”

Fa Wang said, “You knew that I wasn’t at the camp so you went and stole the banner, wouldn’t you call that shameless? You knew that you weren’t a match for me so you waited until you were sure that I weren’t there before you sneakily stole the flag. Haha, Zhou Botong, looks like you don’t want your pride.”

Zhou Botong said, “Fine, we’ll know whether I’m a match for you after we’ve had a fight.”

Fa Wang shook his head and said, “I said I don’t fight with shameless scoundrels, you can’t force me to fight. My knuckles are very proud, once they hit any shameless scoundrels, the knuckles would be covered with a stench that’ll hang around for three years and six months.”

Zhou Botong shouted, “What do you want to do?”

Fa Wang said, “Hand the banner back to me and then come back later tonight to steal it while I’ll guard it. No matter what method you use, if you are able to steal it again, I’ll give my respects to you as a great hero.”

Zhou Botong can never resist challenges and the harder it is, the greater the urge that he wanted to do, he immediately shot the flag back to him and said, “Catch, I’ll be back for it tonight.”

Fa Wang stretched out his hand and caught the flag pole only to realise the great force behind the throw, he quickly circulated his internal energy to resist but in the end, he still had to take two steps back before he steadied himself.

The horses had been pressing forwards but was held back by Fa Wang, now, Fa Wang’s hold on them had loosened and all the horses suddenly leapt forwards at least twenty feet and galloped ahead. Everyoe watched as Zhou Botong and the horses race away further and further into the distance until they were small dots.

Fa Wang mind was occupied for a while before he passed the flag over to Sa Duo and said, “Let’s make a move.”

Fa Wang knew that Zhou Botong’s actions were hard to fathom, how was he going to win? He thought for a while on the horseback but couldn’t come up with anything. By chance, he looked around and saw Yin and Zhao was speaking quietly to each other and was constantly looking back at Xiao Longnu with fear on their faces. He thought, “Could it be that she has come for them?” So he decided to investigate and said, “Brother Yin, do you know miss Long?”

Yin Zhiping’s face changed and he replied, “Hmm.” Fa Wang knew that there more to this so he continued, “You two have offended her and now she’s looking for you to get her own back, right? That girl is extremely powerful, to offend her is not a good idea.” He had no idea what was going on but from the fearful look on the twos’ faces, he took a guess and tested the two, managing to get the right answer straight away.

Zhao Zhijing took this opportunity to reply, “She has offended you as well, that day at the heroes’ gathering she beat you, you must avenge what she did to you.”

Fa Wang scoffed, “You know as well?”

Zhao Zhijing replied, “Everyone in the world of wulin knows about this.”

Fa Wang thought, “This Taoist is not so simple. I want him to help me defeat my enemy yet he’s trying to use me to help him escape his predicament.” He continued, “These two men are not your average men, if I just let it out in the open, things will go a lot easier.” So he said, “That miss Long wants to kill you but you can’t beat her so you seek my protection, right?”

Yin Zhiping replied furiously, “Do I look like someone who needs to rely on others to save myself? Besides, the good reverend here may not be able to beat her.”

Fa Wang was shocked by his proud reply and thought, “Could my assumptions be wrong?” He could not tell what the two were thinking so he smiled, “Her twin swordplay with Yang Guo is indeed extremely powerful. But she’s alone right now, it would be extremely easy for me to kill her.”

Zhao Zhijing shook his head, “I’m afraid it’s not as easy as it sounds. Everyone in the jiang hu world says that Jinlun Fawang was defeated by Xiao Longnu.”

Fa Wang laughed, “I have meditated for years, how can your words anger me?” From what Zhao Zhijing said, he knew that Zhao Zhijing was hoping that he would defeat Xiao Longnu for him. Before Zhou Botong arrived, he had planned on killing Xiao Longnu but with the bet he made with Zhou Botong, he had a use for the two, if he killed Xiao Longnu, he no longer had the leverage over the two so he cupped his hands and said, “Since it is so, I will make my way. After you’ve sorted out the matter with Xiao Longnu, please come and visit his highness’ camp.” He pulled his reigns and rode forwards.

Zhao Zhijing was getting anxious, he knew that as soon as Fa Wang leaves, Xiao Longnu would catch up with them and torture them, as he thought about the suffering that he had under the jade bees on mount Zhong Nan he couldn’t stop himself from worrying, it appeared that this Tibetan monk possessed not only terrific martial arts but also a calculating mind that exceeded his own. Seeing Fa Wang ride ahead, he quickly caught up and called out, “Reverend, please wait! I am not familiar with the roads here, I will indebted forever if reverend would trouble yourself to enlighten me.”

When Fa Wang heard ‘indebted forever’, he smiled and thought, “It looks like it’s the one named Zhao that has offended miss Long, that’s why he is so scared, it looks like it has nothing to do with the one named Yin.” He said, “Fine, but I might need to trouble you later on.”

Zhao Zhijing said quickly, “No matter what the reverend requests, I will follow the order.”

He and Fa Wang rode together and as they did so, Fa Wang asked about the situation at Quan Zhen and Zhao Zhijing told all. Yin Zhiping followed behind in a daze.

Fa Wang said, “Oh, so elder Ma no longer runs the sect because of old age. I hear that the current leader elder Qiu is getting on as well.”

Zhao Zhijnig said, “Yes, martial uncle Qiu is already seventy years of age.”

Fa Wang said, “So after elder Qiu hands over the leadership, elder Wang would be the leader.” These words struck out at the thoughts of Zhao Zhijing, his face changed slightly and said, “My master is also of an old age. In recent years, the masters have been studying the ways of life, the matters of the sect are passed on mostly to my apprentice brother Yin.”

Fa Wang saw that he had a slightly angry expression on his face and said quietly, “From what I see, though your apprentice brother Yin’s martial arts are good, they are not as good as yours and when it comes to intelligence, yours is far superior. The important of task of sect leader should fall to you.”

These words have been hidden away in Zhao Zhijing’s mind for seven, eight years now but he has never said it publicly, hearing these words from Fa Wang, his anger was even more telling. By appointing Yin Zhiping as the head disciple of the third generation, the Quan Zhen masters are indicating they want him to be the next sect leader. At first, Zhao Zhijing was just jealous and couldn’t accept it but ever since he managed to find a way to blackmail him, he has been pondering on ways to snatch the sect’s leadership from him. Yin Zhiping raping Xiao Longnu broke major rules of the Quan Zhen sect, if the masters found out his life would be at risk. But Zhao Zhijing well knew that he was a reckless man and has never pleased the Quan Zhen masters, he did not get along with most of his apprentice brothers so even if Yin Zhiping’s name and reputation is tarnished, the title of sect leader would not fall onto him. This is the reason why he has kept it to himself all this time.

Having figured out his thoughts, Fa Wang thought to himself, “If I help him get the sect;s leadership, he will follow my orders completely. The Quan Zhen sect has great influence and have followers everywhere, if I can enlist them to our side, it will greatly aid his highness’ task of invading the south, this would be a great achievement, probably even more so than killing Guo Jing. Fa Wang looked back and saw that Xiao Longnu was standing about a li away and was not advancing further. He thought, “With her there, those two Taoists will definitely fall for the bait.”

Everyone entered the royal tent and Khubilai was in a temper at losing his royal flag. The royal flag is the army’s lead, in a battle, the thousands and thousands of soldiers follow the flag’s actions and it is an extremely important object. Losing the flag like this without anyone knowing what happened was like losing an important battle. Khubilai’s mood changed when he saw Fa Wang enter the tent with the flag in his hand and quickly went up to greet him.

Khubilai had both knowledge and valour in abundance and has followed his ancestor Genghis Khan, when he heard Fa Wang introduce Yin and Zhao as Taoists from Quan Zhen, he immediately welcomed them with open arms showing he appreciated great people. He forgot about the incident with the flag and immediately ordered a banquet for them. Yin Zhiping was not concentrating and was thinking only about Xiao Longnu. Zhao Zhijing has always respected people of importance, when he saw how Khubilai treated him, he was out of this world.

Khubilai did not mention the failure to assassinate Guo Jing and instead, kept on mentioning how loyal Ni Moxing was and because of his legs, he was invited to head the banquet. Khubilai and him drank with each other. Ni Moxing was extremely touched and thought that no matter what Khubilai needed, he would do so without any qualms.

After the banquet, Fa Wang accompanied Yin and Zhao to their tents. Yin Zhiping’s mind was tired and he went to sleep. Fa Wang said, “Brother Zhao, we have some idle time, let’s take a walk.”

From faraway, Zhao Zhijing saw Xiao Longnu sitting underneath a tree with her donkey tied to it. His face changed at the sight of her. Fa Wang pretended he did not see her and asked more about the situation at Quan Zhen.

In Northern Song, there originally was only one Taoist sect, Zheng Yi and was originated from Sanxi’s Mountain of Dragons and Tigers, headed by Zhang Tianshi. After the invasion by the Jurchens, the Songs moved south and in Hubei, three new Taoist sects emerged; Quan Zhen, Da Dao and Tai Yi. Quan Zhen was the most successful and its members were heroic and came to the aid of the needy. At this time, the northern areas were in chaos, the citizens were suffering; they saw that there was no hope from the royal courts and everyone saw the Quan Zhen sect as their saviour. At that time, someone said, “The Central Plains are shifting, the Southern Songs are weak, all the heroes of the world, join they all must… The Founder Chong Yang, The Eternal Spring Elder Qiu, a model to all, their unique sect of conduct, influence all men of promise, bringing peace to the nation, it is the way of the heavens to have leaders like these” etc, etc. North of the great river during this time, the power of the Beggar Clan and the Quan Zhen sect were sometimes greater than that of the authorities. Zhao Zhijing saw that Fa Wang was treating him with great respect and was touched by this, whatever Fa Wang asked, he answered, telling him where the sect’s influence lied and where its strong holds were.

The two talked and walked at the same time and soon reached a place where they were alone. Fa Wang sighed and said, “Reverend Zhao, for your sect to be what it is today is no mean feat. Please forgive me, I must saw that elder Ma, Qiu and Wang do not know what they are doing in this matter, how can they elect brother Yin as the next sect leader?”

Recently, Zhao Zhijing has been thinking about how he was going to wait until Yin was the sect leader and until all the Quan Zhen masters have passed away before forcing Yin to hand over the leadership. But he was an impatient man, even if this was going to succeed, it would take years before it would happen. This remainder made him give a sigh and he looked at Xiao Longnu once again.

Fa Wang said, “I will take care of the matter concerning miss Long, there is no need to worry. The most important matter right now is to make sure the leadership of your sect do not fall into the wrong hands.”

Zhao Zhijing became excited and said, “If reverend came enlighten me on this matter then I will follow be your aide for life.”

Fa Wang raised his brows and said clearly, “A gentleman’s word is a promise, you cannot take back your word.”

Zhao Zhijing said, “Of course.”

Fa Wang said, “Fine, I’ll guarantee you that you’ll be the sect leader within half a year.”

Zhao Zhijing was delighted to hear this but he knew that it would be difficult to achieve this so had a little doubt.

Fa Wang said, “You don’t believe me?”

Zhao Zhijing said, “I do, I do. The good reverend is full of wisdom, he must have a plan.”

Fa Wang said, “I have no ties with your sect, whoever becomes the sect leader is the same no matter what. But for some reason, when I saw you it was like seeing an old friend, I had to intervene.”

Zhao Zhijing was excited and did not know what was the best way to express his thanks.

Fa Wang said, “The first step is that we must gain a strong supporter for you within the sect. Whose position is the highest within the sect?”

Zhao Zhijing said, “That is of course grand martial uncle Zhou that we met today.”

Fa Wang said, “Correct. If he agrees to support you, brother Yin would most likely have no chance.”

Zhao Zhijing said with joy, “Yes, martial uncle Ma, martial uncle Qiu and my master all have to call him martial uncle. Whatever he says must be respected. But by what ingenious plan would the you use to persuade great martial uncle Zhou to support me.”

Fa Wang said, “I made a bet with today about stealing the royal flag. Do you think he’s going to come?”

Zhao Zhijing said, “Of course he’ll come.”

Fa Wang said, “The flag will not be hoisted on the flag pole tonight, we’ll hide it in a secret place. The camp has thousands of tents, even if Zhou Botong has the ability to move heaven and earth, there is no way he’ll be able to find the flag in one night.”

Zhao Zhijing said, “Yes!” But he was thinking, “This isn’t the most honourable thing to do”

Fa Wang said, “You must be thinking, this isn’t the most honourable thing to do. But I’m just thinking of you.” Zhao Zhijing looked at him and didn’t understand what he meant.

Fa Wang patted his shoulder lightly and said, “I’ll tell you where I hid the flag and then you’ll go and tell Zhou Botong where the flag is and let him find it, how wonderful would that be?”

Zhoa Zhijing said, “Yes, yes, that will definitely please great martial uncle Zhou.” But then he said, “But won’t that mean you’ve lost the bet?”

Fa Wang said, “For friends, men like us can ignore a defeat here or there, what’s so important about that?”

Zhao Zhijing was extremely touched by this and said, “I do not know how to express my thanks.”

Fa Wang smiled, “Once you’ve got the support of Zhou Botong, with my help you’ll be able to elect yourself as sect leader.” He then pointed to the left and said, “Let’s take a look over there.”

About a li away from the camp were some small hills, in a short while they reached one of the hills. Fa Wang said, “We’ll find a cave and hide the flag there.” The first two hills they came across were open and bare without any caves there. On the third hill they came across, they found that it was covered with woodland and there were caves after caves.

Fa Wang said, “This looks like the best place.”

Between two large trees, he saw a cave with a well-hidden entrance that was not easy to spot at a glance, he said, “Remember this place, I’ll place the flag in here later on. Later on tonight, bring Zhou Botong here.”

Zhao Zhijing kept on saying yes, he was filled with delight. He looked hard and long at the two trees thinking with these two trees as a marker, he will definitely remember the right cave. The two returned to the camp and did not mention this again.

After supper, Zhao Zhijing kept talking to Yin Zhiping. Yin Zhiping just stared and sometimes said a word here or there, not really replying. The sky was getting dark and the gong for the first hour sounded. Zhao Zhijing slipped away from the camp and saw besides a sandy hill. He saw the patrols and how heavily guarded the camp was and thought, “It really would be difficult to take just one step into this camp. Yet great martial uncle Zhou went and came as he pleased when he took the flag, his abilities are unimaginable.”

The sky above him was now dark blue, like a Mongolian tent that covered the plains. The stars were twinkling in the sky and the stars of the dipper were especially bright. He thought, “If Fa Wang’s words are true, three months later I’ll be the leader of the Quan Zhen sect, it’s three thousand branches and eighty thousand disciples would be under my command, haha, it would be so easy to take the life of that punk Yang Guo.” The more he thought about it, the more arrogant he became. He stood up and looked into the distance and made out Xiao Longnu was still sitting underneath that same tree. He thought, “That miss Long’s beauty really is unmatched, even I feel something, no wonder apprentice brother Yin is so crazy about her. But how can those who want to achieve greatness let things like women get in the way?”

Just as he was feeling pleased with himself, he suddenly saw a black shadow coming from the west. The shadow was darting within the camp and soon reached the flagpole. The person had a broad gown and large sleeves, his white beard was fluttering in the wind; Zhou Botong had arrived.

End of Chapter 24

[Han Solo]

CHAPTER 25 - DOMESTIC STRIFE, FOREIGN AGGRESSION


Translated By Rayon


Zhou Botong raised his head, searching the top but finding no flag there, he could not help being startled. He had only thought that Jinlun Fawang would be hiding somewhere below, waiting to ambush him then seize the opportunity to route him completely.

It was a smooth plan but not even ten thousand guesses could prepare him for this: the flag was not hoisted.

He looked around. The camp was filled with numerous tents. Yet, he must try to find it before leaving.

Zhao Zhijing was about to move forward to greet him but he changed his mind. He thought, If I go and tell him now, he'll be suspicious. I must first let him look everywhere and when he doesn't succeed, then he can't help feeling dejected. At that time, I'll go out and tell him where the flag is. Only then will he be able to show his gratitude towards me.

He crouched behind a tent to watch the motionless Zhou Botong only to see his body shoot upwards towards the top of the flag pole. He leapt several chi high and used one hand to brace himself against the pole. Then he used his other hand to quickly pull himself up until he reached the top.

Zhao Zhijing was secretly astonished. Grand Martial Uncle Zhou must be almost a hundred years old. Even if he practiced the Taoist doctrines, he still would not be able to avoid the slowing effects of old age. Yet, he is still as agile as a youth. So the stories in Wulin are really true.

Once up there, Zhou Botong scanned the whole camp, seeing several flags fluttering in the wind but none of them was the king's flag. He raised his head and shouted: "Jinlun Fawang, where is the king's flag?"

This angry yell was carried far and wide, its faint echoes bouncing off the cordillera to the West. Fawang had already reported the matter to Huo Bilie so even though the whole army heard his shout, they remained silent.

Zhou Botong warned: "Fawang, if you still don't reply, I might have to scold you."

There was still no response.

Zhou Botong scolded: "Jinlun Fawang, you rotten dog, you call yourself a hero? You're worse than a turtle who refuses to come out of its shell!"

From the East, someone suddenly called out: "Mischievous Old Urchin, if you want to steal the king's flag, it's right here."

Zhou Botong quickly rushed down the pole, shouting: "Where?"

But after shouting, that person was silent. Zhou Botong searched countless tents but did not know where to start.

Farther away, the person shouted: "The king's flag is right here! The king's flag is right here!"

Zhou Botong dashed towards that sound but that person's voice was softer now, growing fainter and fainter. Zhou Botong only took a few steps but the voice was already fading in and out like gossamer until finally it stopped.

In reality, he did not know how far the voice was from camp.

Zhou Botong called out angrily: "Fawang, you rascal, are you playing hide-and-seek with me? Do you want me to burn down this whole camp so you'll come out?"

Zhao Zhijing thought, If he sets the camp on fire, that can't be good. He hurried forward and said in a low voice: "Grand Martial Uncle Zhou, don't light a fire."

Grand Martial Uncle Zhou said: "You Taoist priest, it's you! Why can't I light a fire?"

Zhao Zhijing quickly lied: "They intentionally want you to light a fire because the whole camp is filled with explosives. When you ignite it, the whole place could explode."

Zhou Botong was shocked. "It's a clever trick but also mean and cruel."

Zhao Zhijing was relieved to see that he believed him. He added: "I secretly inquired around and found out about this clever trick. I was afraid that you did not know about this so I had to tell you."

Grand Martial Uncle Zhou said: "Mmm, your intentions are good. If you hadn't told me, this Mischievous Old Urchin could have been killed."

Zhao Zhijing replied: "I also took a great risk by finding out where the king's flag is. Grand Martial Uncle Zhou, please come along with me."

But Zhou Botong suddenly said: "Don't tell me, don't tell me! If I can't find it, then I must admit defeat."

The bet to find the flag was an amusing game. But if Zhao Zhijing gave him directions, he would feel bad even if he won because this kind of game required stealth.

Zhao Zhijing felt anxious. Then suddenly, he remembered, He is known as the Mischievous Old Urchin, his mood is not ordinary. I must tempt him first so he can get hooked.

He said: "Grand Martial Uncle, I also want to steal the flag. Let's have a race as to who finds it first."

After saying that, he quickly rushed towards the hills. When he got there, he turned to find Zhou Botong following behind. He then darted to the third hill, pondering aloud: "They said that it's in a cave between two elm trees but where are these two elm trees?"

He rushed around the place but actually did not approach the cave where Fawang hid it. Suddenly, he heard Zhou Botong exclaim: "I found it first!" He was standing between the two elm trees.

Zhao Zhijing smirked, thinking, He stole the king's flag. He'll surely favor me now. What's more, I stopped him from setting the camp on fire. He thinks I saved his life. Everything is going exactly as Fawang planned.

Satisfied, he started to step inside the cave.

Suddenly, he heard a loud shout, the sound extremely sharp. Zhou Botong cried out: "Poisonous snake! Poisonous snake!"

Shocked, Zhao Zhijing quickly withdrew his foot that was already inside the cave. He asked: "Grand Martial Uncle! There's a poisonous snake inside the cave?"

Grand Martial Uncle Zhou replied: "It's not a snake... it's not a snake..."

The voice was already getting weaker.

Zhao Zhijing anxiously gathered some twigs and lit it, using it as a torch so he could see inside the cave.

He saw Zhou Botong on the ground, his left hand still clutching the flag. He was brandishing it as though trying to keep him away.

Zhao Zhijing asked: "Grand Martial Uncle, are you all right?"

Zhou Botong replied: "I have been poisoned...venom...venom...was bitten..."

But before he could finish his statement, his hand had gradually grown limp.

Zhao Zhijing had seen him enter the cave but despite his high kung fu, he was still seriously injured. That was why he did not want to rush in without knowing what kind of fierce poison it was that afflicted him. What's more, the flag that Zhou Botong was clutching was not the same color as the king's flag.

He thought, Fawang had connived with me to trick him into entering the cave but it was really his intention to harm him by poisoning the thing.

He was extremely vexed. He only wanted to flee. So, without even bothering to see what it was that harmed Zhou Botong or what kind of poison it was, he just turned around and ran away.

The fire from the torch that he dropped on the way out was beginning to die out.

Halfway out, he was stopped by someone who was holding out a hand to him.

That person spoke softly: "Are you always this disrespectful to your seniors?"

The voice was distinctly stern but also as pure and as clear as jade.

In the darkness, he saw the lithe form of a woman dressed in flowing white clothes.

She was none other than Xiao Long Nuu.

The light from the torch shone on her, revealing a beautiful face. Though delicate-looking, the face actually bore an angry expression.

Zhao Zhijing was taken aback and rendered speechless. He was not expecting her and now that she was here, all he wanted was to run away. But, he could not even take a single step.

In truth, Xiao Long Nuu had been observing Zhao Zhijing from a distance, watching his every action. When he made Zhou Botong chase him towards the hills, Xiao Long Nuu followed as well.

Zhou Botong knew this but did not pay attention to it. Zhao Zhijing, on the other
hand, was completely unaware.

Xiao Long Nuu bent down and picked up the torch, using it to illuminate Zhou Botong's prostrate form. His face was shadowed and green-like in its pallor.

From her bosom, she casually took out her golden silk glove and slipped it on before lifting his arm to inspect it. She was shocked to find three spiders appear, their mouths firmly attacked to Zhou Botong's finger.

The spiders looked extremely strange. Their bodies had alternating red and green stripes that were so bright, one could get mesmerized watching them.

She knew that venomous animals were usually bright in color. The brighter their color, the more lethal the venom.

These three spiders were still firmly biting unto Zhou Botong's finger.

If she tried to capture them, they would only evade her grasp. Finally, she raised her right hand and sent three jade bee needles into the air, killing the three spiders immediately.

While sending the jade bee needles towards them, she had used the right amount of force to kill the spiders without injuring Zhou Botong.

This species of spider was called "Cai Xue Zhu" (Snow-Colored Spider) and they only lived in the snowy mountains of Tibet. Their venom was one of the three most deadly poisons in the world.

Jinlun Fawang had brought them with him from the East, intending to use it against famous poison experts in the Central Plains.

That time when he tried to kill Guo Jing in Xiangyang, he had not thought of using the venomous snow-colored spiders but after he was hit by Li Mo Chou's Bing Po Yin Zheng (Soul Freezing Silver Needle), he angrily returned to the encampment and took the spiders out of their golden case. He only hoped that he would meet Li Mo Chou again and then have her taste their venom.

Thus, it was just Zhou Botong's misfortune to make the bet with him in stealing the flag. After making a deal with Zhao Zhijing, he placed the venomous spiders on the flag and hid it inside the cave.

Once the snow-colored spiders saw flesh and blood, they would immediately throw themselves against it and bite down hard. They were attracted to blood and once one got bitten, one could never escape.

Their venom was so lethal that no one, not even Fawang, knew the antidote. He himself was not willing to stick the spiders too close to his body, afraid of getting bitten.

Such a disaster he could ill-afford.

Xiao Long Nuu's jade bee needles also came from highly venomous insects, the jade bees of Mount Zhong Nan. Although the lethalness of their venom was inferior compared to that of the snow-colored spiders, the needles managed to enter their bodies, forcing them to produce the anti-venom.

The venomous spiders were still biting on to its prey when they were hit. Because they were still in the process of producing anti-venoms and also sending out their own venoms to their prey, they could not fight off the venom from the needles.

However, right before they died, their bodily fluids spurted out of their mouths, sending the anti-venom into Zhou Botong's blood stream.

It was extremely fortunate that Xiao Long Nuu had rushed in to save him and saw the venomous spiders. Not daring to touch them, she instead launched three needles and luckily hit them, thus managing to discover the antidote to the world's most lethal venoms.

Xiao Long Nuu spied the three snow-colored spiders' lifeless forms on the ground, their bright red-green colors still managing to look fearsome.

She also saw Zhou Botong lying motionless as though he was dead.

In truth, she actually felt quite grateful to Zhou Botong. If not for him, Yang Guo would not have come to Passionless Valley and she would have been forced to marry Gongsun Zhi.

His whole body was covered in cold sweat and his breathing had grown irregular. Who would have thought he would die like this? In her heart, she was deeply moved.

But all of a sudden, Zhou Botong's left hand began to move and she heard him say in a faint voice: "What was it that bit me with such...such fierceness?"

He tried to get up but his body was too weak so that he stumbled.

Xiao Long Nuu was overjoyed to find that he was not yet dead. She lifted the torch closer to his face and saw that traces of the spiders's venom was no longer there.

Relieved, she asked: "You did not die?"

Zhou Botong chuckled: "Well, it doesn't look that way. I am right between half-death and half-life...haha..."

He wanted to laugh heartily but his hands and feet were twitching to get up. His smile faded.

Laughter came from outside the cave. The sound was so strong that it resembled the ear-defeaning sound of thunder rumbling.

That person spoke: "Mischievous Old Urchin, have you stolen the king's flag? In today's wager with you, who won? You or me?"

The speaker was precisely Jinlun Fawang.

Using her left hand, Xiao Long Nuu snuffed out the light. The fire went out immediately. As long as she was wearing her gold silk glove, no sharp objects or raging fires could harm her.

Zhou Botong replied: "Whether the Mischievous Old Man has lost in this game is not yet decided. But I'm afraid I've lost my life to you. Fawang, you rascal, what sort of poisonous spider is this, so evil and cruel?"

When he spoke these words, his voice sounded soft and thin. Even though he was angry, he was far too weak. Still, his voice was as deep as Fawang's rumbling laughter.

Fawang was secretly amazed. He was bitten by my Cai Xue Zhu (Snow-Colored Spider) but he didn't die. From his voice, it is clear that his internal strength is profound, not below mine. Luckily, he fell for the trap, thus removing a powerful enemy. If he doesn't die soon, he'll only suffer for a short while.

Zhou Botong added: "Young Taoist Zhao Zhijing, you worked with this man to trick me. Go quickly to Qiu Chuji and ask him to kill you!"

Outside the cave, Zhao Zhijing hid behind Fawang, fearing for his life. He thought in terror, How could I ask that of Martial Senior Qiu?

Fawang laughingly said: "Taoist Priest Zhao is very good. Once I inform our prince of his great deed, he will rever him as an honorable teacher of the Quanzhen School."

But, he thought, If Zhou Botong dies, Taoist Priest Zhao won't have a way out. From this time on, he is under my control. His level of skill is ordinary but Zhou Botong acts like a crazy person. Senior generations, like Qiu Chuji and so on, may honor him, but who would take his words seriously? How can the Quanzhen School depend on the words of the Mischievous Old Urchin?

Indignant, Zhou Botong let out a snort of contempt.

Most of the venoms in his body were gone but the cai xue zhu was extremely venomous. Its effects wouldn't vanish that easily. Just as a tiny drop of it could kill several people so could the slightest anger in Zhou Botong lead to a feeling of dizziness.

Xiao Long Nuu said: "Jinlun Fawang, you strike others, then use this kind of venom to injure another. Is that a rule of your school? Quick, give us the antidote to cure Old Gentleman Zhou!"

Seeing Zhou Botong dazed, Fawang was relieved to find that the venom was working. He thought, How could you depend on this chit of a girl against me?

He remembered what Zhao Zhijing said to him earlier in the day, that he was once defeated by her. Making up his mind to get her and show her exactly who was more powerful or stronger, he dashed into the cave, raising his left palm while his right hand moved as though to grab Xiao Long Nuu.

He said: "Here's the antidote. Take it."

Xiao Long Nuu waved her right hand and a burst of soft tinkling could be heard. A golden bell attached to a silken belt flew out, heading towards his Qi Men Xue point.

Fawang thought, If I still can't catch you today, how can I teach that Taoist priest Zhao not to laugh?

Swaying his body to avoid the golden bell, he reached into his vest to grasp two wheels, beating the two together to produce a loud sound that shook one's eardrums.

Maintaining her position, Xiao Long Nuu shifted slightly, aiming for his back where his Da Chui Xue point was. The change of moves was extremely fast; Fawang leapt back, exclaiming: "Your level of kung fu is rarely seen in women!"

The two of them fought inside the narrow passage and within the blink of an eye, they have already exchanged ten or so moves. When it came to power, Xiao Long Nuu was no match against Fawang, however, he was still worried about that day when entered the cave in the hill and pricked his foot on a Bing Po Yin Zhen (Soul Freezing Silver Needle), nearly costing him his life.

Although Xiao Long Nuu and Li Mo Chou came from the same school, Li Mo Chou was actually a level higher than her. Still, what he was worried about were the clever tricks that Li Mo Chou's master must have taught her as well. He was not only unwilling to get inside the cave and make the same mistake again, he also knew that there were poisonous spiders there. One bite from them would mean sure death for him. So although he was anxious, he was not bold enough to brave the danger.

In the darkness, one could only hear the clang of metals as the lead and silver wheels met the golden bell, the sound almost resembling music made from small gongs.

Standing afar, Zhao Zhijing listened to the sounds of the two fighting while his heart beat wildly. Although it was not his intention to kill Zhou Botong, he knew that he could not escape from the blame of his murder. In Wulin, no crime went unpunished.

If Fawang killed Xiao Long Nuu, that would be great. But what if Xiao Long Nuu won? Even if she withdrew or ran away, the news would still spread. What should he do then?

Grasping his sword, he started to pace, listening to the sound of the wheels and the golden bell grow louder as his sweat continued to stream and soak his robes.

Even though Fawang's kung fu was higher than that of Xiao Long Nuu, his weapon was shorter than hers so he could not enter the cave. Eventually he found it difficult to gain the upper hand. After six or seven moves, he still could not penetrate her defenses.

Xiao Long Nuu saw that Zhou Botong was once again motionless on the ground, close to death. Because she wanted to save him, she did not want the fight to last long.

As the two of them fought in the darkness, her better vision gave her an advantage. She saw Fawang wield his wheel to the right before slanting and smashing down to create a crack. Immediately, she moved her silken belt to the right, aiming for him while at the same time, her left hand released ten Yu Feng Zhen (Jade Bee Needles), sending them shooting in his direction.

With very little distance between them, the YuFeng (Jade Bee) needles shot out noiselessly so that Fawang did not realize it at once until they were only about a foot from his body. However, his wugong (martial arts) was no small matter and in the face of danger, he hurriedly turned over his wheel to block the small golden bells of the coiling silken belt, bracing himself with both feet as he did at the same time he let out a loud shout. His body rose several zhang or so, allowing the ten or so YuFeng needles to fly past the soles of his feet.

In the haste, he used a great amount of his force, raising both arms up as his body rose along with his silver and lead wheels, which were still successively blocking the small golden bells of the silken belt, sending them flying from his hands into midair.

The wheels made a "wuwu" sound while the small golden bell let out a "ding-ding" noise as both shot straight up into the sky about twenty feet from the ground.

Under the starlight, one could only see circles of gray and silver amidst the fiercely flying strip of belt above.

Xiao Long Nuu did not wait for him to fall back to the ground before she released another YuFeng needle in his way. Fawang's body was still in midair and no matter how strong his wugong was, there was no way for him to deflect it. Although the distance between them this time was big, the circumstance was actually quite dire for him.

However, when Fawang leapt he had anticipated that the enemy would certainly try to strike again so he immediately grabbed at his chest, using his external force to rip off two strips of cloth from his gown. As the gown tore into pieces, his laughter rang loud.

Just as the YuFeng needles shot towards him, he waved the strips of cloth, allowing the tiny needles to only pierce the cloth. He gave another laugh as finally both his feet touched the ground, throwing away the strips of cloth as he did. He then stretched out his hands to catch his two wheels as they fell from the air.

Twice, he was able to get away from danger, both made possible without using his wugong but his shrewd mind. At a crucial moment, he escaped not only with his life but with Xiao Long Nuu's weapons as well.

As soon as his feet fell on the ground, he rushed up to the mouth of the cave and sneered: "Long GuNiang (Miss Long), you still don't give up?"

He was afraid that Xiao Long Nuu might ambush him in the cave so he did not dare enter. However, Xiao Long Nuu did not know this so she hid herself near the entrance to the cave, silently clutching a single golden needle.

Fawang waited for a moment. Seeing nothing move, he formulated a plan. He held his two wheels in his right hand and used his left to pick up the two strips of cloth. He quickly tossed the wheels one after the other into the interior of the cave, using them to shield his feet from the poisoned needles on the ground while at the same time wielding the strips of cloth in the air, blocking his front. The two strips of cloth still bore the YuFeng needles so they actually served as virulent weapons.

He laughed and said: "The wolf's fang cudgel! Long GuNiang, why don't you test the severity of my wolf's fang?"

But before he could even finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a tug in his hand. A half section of the cloth was unexpectedly grasped by Xiao Long Nuu!

Ordinarily, she would not have so easily grabbed a wolf's fang cudgel with her bare hands but she was wearing her gold silk gloves, not even a wolf's fang could withstand it.

Taken by surprise, Fawang hurriedly applied strength to snatch it back but in between that space of an instant, Xiao Long Nuu already shot out the golden needle in her hand.

Fawang shouted in the dark, sensing the life-threatening situation. He then grabbed Zhou Botong's body which was lying on the ground and using his heel to raise him and use him as cover, following the stance of the "*Dao Cai Qi Xing Bu."

Afterwards, he hurriedly leapt out of the cave, glad to have escaped with his life. However, the life-and-death situation that he has just been through filled him with fear so that he only stopped when he was well away from the cave, gasping for breath.

Those twenty or so YuFeng needles pierced Zhou Botong's body. Xiao Long Nuu gasped, thinking that he was dead. Also, his body was lying still, only serving to increase her guilt.

But unexpectedly, Zhou Botong suddenly said: "Good pain, good pain! What in the world bit me?"

Although startled, Xiao Long Nuu was happy. She said: "Zhou Botong, you are not yet dead?"

Knowing nothing about proper addresses, she spoke his name plainly.

Zhou Botong said: "Seems like I'm passed death. Can it be that I'm alive again? I didn't know that once you're dead there is still enough life left."

Xiao Long Nuu replied: "You're not dead. That's good. That Fawang was frighteningly good. Not even once did I hit him."

She then took out an iron stone, using it to suck back the YuFeng needles from his body.

Zhou Botong scolded: "Fawang, that thieving dog, he speaks nothing but lies, taking advantage of me because I'm dying, even using me to block the tiny needles..."

Xiao Long Nuu never stopped removing the needles and he also did not stop scolding the person.

Xiao Long Nuu smiled faintly, saying: "Zhou Botong, these needles that pricked you are mine." At that moment, a sudden thought came to her, prompting her to ask: "My YuFeng needles are steeped in bee venom, does your body feel bad?"

Zhou Botong replied: "I feel very comfortable. Prick me again."

Xiao Long Nuu thought that he was joking so she took out a tiny jade bottle from her chest, saying: "This bottle of jade bee honey is the antidote to my golden needles. If you drink it, then you'll be all right."

But Zhou Botong shook his hand, saying repeatedly: "No, no! The pricks of your needles make me feel comfortable. It appears to counteract the venom of the spiders."

Xiao Long Nuu thought that Lao Wantong (Mischievous Old Urchin) was speaking nonsense again, but because he firmly refused to take it, she decided not to force him. Besides, it looked as though this strange old man's neigong (internal strength) was immeasurably deep if he was bitten by the venomous spiders and he did not die. Being hit by the YuFeng needles was no hindrance.

In truth, the honeybees' sting, although extremely poisonous, could nevertheless treat various illnesses. The mysterious benefits of the jade bee included cure for rheumatism and other such diseases that affected man under the heavens. However, Xiao Long Nuu together with Zhou Botong were not familiar with medicine so they did not know that the YuFeng needles can be used to combat poison with poison and the Cai Xue Zhu (Snow-Colored Spider) poison was only one of many.

Fawang was listening to Zhou Botong's scolding words from outside the cave and was startled. He thought that this man scolding him must be an immortal god that could not be killed. If he really wanted to kill him, he must do so now while he was off his guard. Otherwise, the opportunity might not present itself again.

He advanced but before he could enter the cave's entrance, he paused. When he successively used both his silver and lead wheels to see if there was a trap waiting inside, he had also lost them and so now the only weapon he had in his possession was Xiao Long Nuu's silken belt.

He called out: "Long GuNiang, I have your weapon with me!"

Then, with one shake, the silken belt unfolded and flew straight inside. His wugong had reached a level where he could wield any weapon without any problem. So although Xiao Long Nuu's silken belt was weird, he thought he could use it like one would use a whip. But its ability was unexpected and not only that, he was able to use it even from where he was standing. He was not afraid anymore that the opponent would suddenly attack him with the golden needles.

With child-like innocence, Xiao Long Nuu rose to pick up the silver and lead wheels. She struck the two together and spoke: "Good, let's exchange weapons so we can start the fight."

She stretched out her right arm but a quick pain she felt in her hand made her stop and refuse to push forward.

The lead wheel appeared small but it was actually made of very heavy metal. So when Xiao Long Nuu extended it, she was not prepared for its weight. She quickly pulled back and clutched the two wheels to her chest.

Fawang saw an advantage and quickly dashed forward, extending his hand to grab the double wheels. Xiao Long Nuu took a step back as her left hand shot up as though to release the silver wheel. But it was only a feint move because she used this chance to release several YuFeng needles in his direction.

These YuFeng needles were the same ones she had extracted from Zhou Botong's body so they were no longer as poisonous. Still, they could still be used as a weapon. Fawang was prepared, however. When he could not grab the silver wheel, he quickly leapt to the side, allowing the YuFeng needles to shoot past him, hitting nothing but empty air.

Zhou Botong laughed, saying: "Great, let the bald thief come and then you prick him in the butt with your tiny needles!"

Xiao Long Nuu said: "Ai! I've used up all my YuFeng needles!"

Dismayed, Zhou Botong scratched his head and said: "That's one annoying problem."

He had two personalities in him - one old, the other young - but he did not have the ability to balance the two, so whatever it was he thought or felt, he always said it without misgivings.

Jinlun Fawang had a scheming mind, but he was really unaware of Zhou Botong or Xiao Long Nuu's personality. Believing that no one under the heaven could outsmart him, he thought: You said that you've used up all your YuFeng needles. Why should I believe you? It's clear that you want me to believe that to entice me to lower my guard down. That old ploy is not going to work on me.

Thus, Xiao Long Nuu's frank speech instead caused Fawang to be even less daring, especially when only days ago in the cave in the hills, Yang Guo had tricked him. He did not want to suffer the same fate as Ni Moxing and be crippled in both legs. He would rather wait twelve long hours than go through that.

One hour soon turned to two hours until finally the sky showed first light.

Zhou Botong sat in a kneeling position, trying to circulate his qi in order to get rid of the poison still in his body. But the venom of the Cai Xue spiders was really strong because as he tried to move his qi, his chest suddenly tightened and he felt nauseaus. There was no spot where he did not experience any problem. He had tried circulating his qi through different paths, but each try had the same result.

Finally, he sighed defectedly and said: "Ai, Lao Wantong! You've tried it so many times it's no longer amusing!"

Fawang was peeping from outside, but since he did not wait and stay in his place for long, he did not know the problem.

He thought to himself: This is not good. The old man is trying to practice nei gong!

Upon this new development, he carefully took out a golden box from his bosom, removing the cover to reveal several crawling Cai Xue spiders inside. When exposed to the sun, the light made their variegated red and green colors brighter and even more eye-catching.

Next, Fawang took out a pair of rhinoceros horns and used it to clip the spiders in between and gently lifted them from the sticky web. Gently, he flung the Cai Xue spiders towards the mouth of the cave where it stuck. He repeated his movements and threw the rest of the venomous spiders in the small box towards the cave.

Their sticky web covered the entire cave's entrance. The spiders had been inside the small box for a very long time and they had not been fed so as soon as they were able to get out, they immediately set to work, climbing up, moving east, dropping low, and approaching west, hanging suspended, until they were able to create a network of webs in just a very short time.

Xiao Long Nuu and Zhou Botong watched with interest as the spiders spun its web, yet it never occured to either one of them to stop their progress. Only when the web reached about ten feet in diameter, covering the entire mouth of the cave, and the red-green venomous spiders start to crawl around did they look troubled.

Xiao Long Nuu said softly: "What a pity I don't have any more Yufeng needles left. I could have used one to remove these nasty spiders."

Zhou Botong picked up a dried branch, intending to use it to remove the spider web when suddenly a huge butterfly came flitting near the mouth of the cave and ended up caught in the spider web. The species originated form the Kunlun Mountains so when it fell on the web, it had enough power in its body to attempt to struggle and escape. However, although the butterfly's body was huge, one touch of the spider silk and it went straight into paralysis.

Xiao Long Nuu realized this and quickly said: "Don't! The web is poisonous!"

Alarmed, Zhou Botong leapt away and hastily flung the stick to the ground.

Indeed, when Fawang released the venomous spiders, he not only intended to use it to seal the cave, but he also hoped that they would use their hands to destroy it. One touch would cause the poison to seep into the skin and enter the body.

Sitting cross-legged again, Zhou Botong watched as the spiders crowded around the butterfly and started to eat it. He thought: My internal flow is still unstable. It will be some time before I recover.

Xiao Long Nuu, on the other hand, was thinking: If he is going to remain inactive, how will Lao Wantong be able to move the poison up his body in order to remove it completely? So she asked: "How many days and nights will it take for you to recover your internal energy?"

Zhou Botong sighed and said: "I need one hundred days and one hundred evenings before I can manage."

Xiao Long Nuu was surprised to hear this so she asked: "How are we going to survive?"

Zhou Botong chuckled, saying: "Even if that bald thief gives us food to eat, being trapped in this cave for several years is not fun."

Xiao Long Nuu replied: "He'll never give us food." She let out a sigh. "If it were Gou Er with me in this cave, I wouldn't mind spending a lifetime here."

"What makes you place Yang Guo above me?" Zhou Botong said indignantly. "Is he also stronger than me? You don't think I'm good company?"

Although his words made no sense, Xiao Long Nuu did not mind it. She only gave a cool smile and said: "Yang Guo knows the Quanzhen swordplay. Together, we can easily defeat this Buddhist priest and send him running away into the wilderness."

Zhou Botong snorted: "Humph, the Quanzhen swordplay is not that difficult to understand. Even I can use it. Will Yang Guo be able to beat me?"

"When we combine combine our swords together in a technique called *Yunu Suxin swordplay, it is important that his heart is filled with love for me and my heart is filled with love for him so we become united and be able to subdue the enemy."

When Zhou Botong heard her speak about the love between a man and a woman, he was filled with apprehension. He immediately waved his hand and said again and again: "Stop, stop - I don't love you! You also can't possibly love me. But I'm telling you it's much better that there's two of us in this cave. Years ago I was trapped in a cave in Taohua Island and had no one to accompany me. I was
forced to fight with myself the whole time. But this time, it's entirely different because I have you. It's going to be fun!"

And on such happy thought, he could imagine being in that cave for a long time.

Xiao Long Nuu asked dubiously: "Fight with oneself? Is there such a method?"

Pleased, Zhou Botong immediately launched into a discussion of the **Fen Xin Er Yong Zuo You Hu method.

Xiao Long Nuu thought to herself: If I could learn this method, then I could use the Quanzhen sword play with my left hand and the Yunu sword play with my right. With the two combined, I will be able to complete the Yunu Suxin sword play. But I'm afraid that I won't be able to learn this kung fu in just one evening.

"This kung fu is difficult to learn," she told him.

Zhou Botong replied: "If you say it's difficult, then it will really be difficult. If you say it's easy, then it will be easy. There are people who spend their entire lifetime learning yet never understand a thing while there people who only need a few days to understand it. You've heard about those two kids, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, right?"

Xiao Long Nuu nodded.

Zhou Botong continued: "Who do you think is more intelligent?"

Xiao Long Nuu answered: "Madame Guo is a thousand times more clever. Guo Er told me once that there is no one in this generation who could surpass her intelligence and wisdom. Great Hero Guo is virtuous, but his level is actually ordinary."

Zhou Botong laughed. "What do you mean "ordinary? Are you saying he's stupid? Tell me, am I intelligent? Or stupid?"

Xiao Long Nuu smiled and said: "I look at you and although you're not young, you act silly. Sometimes, you say weird things and you act a little mad."

Zhou Botong clapped his hands, saying: "Ah, you're right. I once taught this Zuo You Hu method to Brother Guo Jing and it only took him a few days to learn it. Afterwards, he tried to teach the same lesson to his wife. You said that this child, Huang Rong is sharp and clever with a mind higher than that of a seventy-eight year old man, but she could not understand this kung fu. I thought that the little idiot Guo Jing probably did not teach her properly, so Lao Wantong decided to come and teach her himself. I taught her how to draw a picture with her left hand and a circle with her right, but she could not do both together. It was then that I realized that some men may learn a method that other men would spend a lifetime learning, yet never understand. You see, intelligence is not the only measure to success."

Xiao Long Nuu said: "Don't tell me that when stupid people learn this kung fu, they can surpass even the smart ones. I can't believe it."

Zhou Botong grinned and said: "I look at you and see that your intelligence is more or less equal to that of young Huang Rong. Your wugong is not that far from hers either. Since you don't believe, why not try to draw a square on the ground with your left index finger and a circle with your right at the same time?"

Xiao Long Nuu followed his instructions and extended both her index fingers to the ground, making downward strokes to create the figures. However, it turned out that the square looked like a circle and the circle looked like a square.

Zhou Botong laughingly said: "See? I told you it's not easy."

Smiling faintly, Xiao Long Nuu emptied her mind before extending her index fingers again. This time, she was able to draw a perfect square and a perfect circle.

In his astonishment, Zhou Botong could only stammer: "You...you...you..." A moment passed before he could speak: "You studied this before?"

"Ah, I haven't," Xiao Long Nuu replied. "Besides, didn't you say this is difficult?"

Zhou Botong scratched the white hairs on his head and asked: "Then how did you know how to draw?"

Xiao Long Nuu said: "I don't know. I didn't think. I just held out my fingers and drew the figures."

As she said this, she wrote the three characters "lao wan tong" with her left hand and the three characters "xiao long nuu" with her right. The two hand strokes were so neatly written they looked like the ones found in books and the handwriting was also very elegant.

Delighted, Zhou Botong declared: "This shows that you learned this method even when you were still in your mother's womb! This is so much better!"

Thereupon, he taught her how to attack with her left and defend with her right, strike with her right and block with her left. It was in Taohua Island that he first learned this strange kung fu that was unmatched under the heavens so when the old man spoke, she listened.

In truth, the essence of the Zuo You Hu technique was the four characters "Fin Xin Er Yong." Often, people with high intelligence have complicated thoughts and they always rushed form one thought to another. *During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zi wrote the Qi Bu Shi, which depicted the turbulence of Wu Dynasty. The poem could be likened to that of a person trying to learn the Zuo You Hu kung fu technique, only that the turbulence that makes it impossible to learn occurred purely inside the person's mind.

Xiao Long Nuu's kung fu was based on suppressing all emotions and desires. Even when she was only eight or nine years old she mastered her feelings, stopping them like one would water. After she fell madly in love with Yang Guo, however, the constant pain in her heart from thinking of him caused her kung fu to gradually decline. But then, this weird technique was introduced, unexpectedly helping her to recover.

After she resumed practicing the Gumu Pai nei gong, she was actually at the same level as Lin Chaoying when she was pining over her lost love. Their mind sets were the same for the most part so they had more or less the same capacity for understanding. As soon as Zhou Botong moved his finger, she understood his meaning quickly. But it was only because Zhou Botong, Guo Jing, and Xiao Long Nuu shared the same personality - innocence of heart - that people like Huang Rong, Yang Guo, and Zhu Ziliu could not learn it.

Zhou Botong had yet to remove the poison from his body, but he continued to speak and draw with enthusiasm. Xiao Long Nuu, on the other hand, kept on nodding her head, but in her mind she was secretly trying to figure out how to use the Yunu sword play with her right hand and the Quanzhen sword play with her left. And so after several hours of playing this Chinese finger game with him, she finally grasped the idea.

"I understand completely," she spoke.

To test it out, she moved her hands, making circular and thrusting motions with it.

Zhou Botong's jaw dropped. He could only shout: "Strange! Strange!"

Guarding the cave outside, Fawang and Zhao Zhijing heard the two of them muttering and laughing with each other so they pressed their ears closer but they could only hear snatches of their conversation, not enough to make the meaning clear.

Xiao Long Nuu raised her head at that moment and saw them eavesdropping. She straightened and said, "We're getting out of here!"

Zhou Botong looked at her blankly, asking: "How exactly?"

"If we go out and catch that bald thief, we can force him to give you the antidote," Xiao Long Nuu replied.

Zhou Botong stroked his beard, saying, "You think you can beat him?"

As they spoke, they suddenly heard a buzzing sound. A honeybee got stuck to the spider web and tried to struggle. Earlier when the big butterfly touched the spider's silk, it immediately went into paralysis. This honeybee was small in size, but it seemed unafraid of the poison of the Cai Xue spiders and even succeeded in splitting the web open.

The venomous spiders zealously eyed it fom the side, but dared not to go forward and tangle it within their silk. After a long while, the honeybee would not be able to keep itself conscious and only then would the venomous spiders attack it.

In the Ancient Tomb, Xiao Long Nuu kept swarms of jade bees as pets together with honeybees all year long so no doubt her technique of controlling bees was vey good. Moreover, she regarded all bees as a friend. When this honeybee was in trouble, she could not stand it.

Suddenly changing her mind, she said: "Although these venomous spiders are evil-looking, my bees won't necessarily be afraid of them."

She then took out the jade bottle from her bosom, opened the lid, and used her right hand to fan the air around it, allowing the fragrant aroma to spread and penetrate through the thick spider web.

Surprised, Zhou Botong asked: "What are you doing?"

"Do you want to see an amusing trick?" Xiao Long Nuu asked.

Zhou Botong was delighted, saying: "Wonderful!" Then, asked: "What trick is that?"

Xiao Long Nuu only smiled, not responding as she continued moving her palm.

This was the season where the wild flowers in the valley were in full bloom. Whereever the sweet scent of honey could be smelled, the numerous wild bees gathering honey rushed in that direction. When the wild bees rushed inside the cave, they got tangled in the spider web, and immediately began to struggle. Some died after being biten by the venomous spiders while others were able to sting a few spiders. Although the Cai Xue spiders were considered among the world's most poisonous, too much bee venom in their bodies caused them to become stiff and gradually die.

Zhou Botong was ecstatic as he looked on while, outside the cave, Jinlun Fawang and Zhao Zhijing watched in helpless astonishment.

In the meantime, the Cai Xue spiders still had the upper hand. Only three poisonous spiders were dead while about forty or so honeybees were killed violently. However, the wild bees continued to swarm. At first, there were only thirty of them, but fifty more came and got caught in the web. Afterwards, dozens more of them came, numbering up to a hundred so that the spider web covering the mouth of the cave soon began to fill up, stinging the venomous spiders until they died.

Zhao Zhijing had experienced firsthand the honeybee's sting. Seeing them now with his own eyes, he realized the circumstance was grave. Hastily, he dives into the bushes to avoid them.

Fawang, on the other hand, knew that the Cai Xue spiders were rare. If they are annihilated, there would be none who could their job. Therefore, he and the venomous spiders share a common hatred against this swarm of wild bees. However, he did not know that it was Xiao Long Nuu who summoned them. All he thought about was how to force Zhou Botong and Xiao Long Nuu out of the cave with their lives.

Young Xiao Long Nuu dipped a finger into the jade bottle and shot some honey towards Fawang, hitting him on both sides. He howled into the cave's entrance as several wild bees made an about-face and headed towards him.

Fawang was panic-stricken as he realized the dire situation he was in. He dashed forward quickly. Although the wild bees were fast, his lightness kungfu was faster so within moments, he was already ten or so feet away.

His figure appeared like a wisp of black smoke, rushing further and further away. Failing to catch up, the wild bees merely scattered around.

Xiao Long Nuu stamped her foot again and again, saying repeatedly: "What a pity! What a pity!"

Zhou Botong asked: "What a pity?"

"He ran away before I could snatch the antiidote from him," Xiao Long Nuu replied.

Indeed, she planned to summon the honeybees so they could cover Fawang's flank, effectively trapping him within a sphere. However, these wild bees came from different nests and therefore came from different directions. Unlike the tamed jade bees of the Ancient Tomb, when she wanted them to pursue, sting the enemy, return, outflank him, or make a circle like in a battle formation, the wild bees were helpless.

Zhou Botong, however, was full of admiration. He was the sort who liked games and when he played, his spirit usually improved. So when he clapped his hands with enthusiasm, he forgot all about the poison still in his body.


Translated By Foxs


Xiao Long Nu saw the spider web was eliminated; she leaped out and shouted, “Come!”

Zhou BuoTong followed, but he fell down as he was about to leap. “I … I can’t exert my strength!” he said. Suddenly his body shivered and his teeth chattered, like he was plunged into an ocean of ice. His lips turned white and his face turned blue, while his beards could not stop swaying.

Xiao Long Nu was startled. “Zhou BuoTong! What happened?”

“Prick … prick me … with your needle again,” he said unevenly.

Xiao Lung Nu was surprised, “My needles are poisonous.”

“Then … the poison … is good,” the old man responded weakly.

Xiao Long Nu remembered the battle between the spiders and wild bees; she thought, “Could it be that the bee’s venom is the antidote of the spiders’?” She quickly picked several needles from the ground and pricked them into his arm. “Good! More! More!” Zhou BuoTong called out.

Xiao Long Nu pricked him some more while keeping her eyes on him. She saw the effect of the spider’s poison had faded from his face. After more than ten pricks, Zhou BuoTong stopped shivering. He sighed and said, “It is truly poison against poison.” He tried to exert his energy but turned out the poison had not been completely neutralized.

Suddenly he slapped his knee and said, “Miss Long, your bee poison is not strong enough and they are no longer fresh.”

“That case I am going to call some bees to sting you,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, thank you …” the old man said, “Hurry up!”

Xiao Long Nu then opened the jade bottle to lure a crowd of wild bees. Zhou BuoTong was grinning from ear to ear; he took out his clothes and let the bees stung him while he exerted his internal energy. First he sucked the bees’ venom to his [dan tian – pubic area, lower stomach] and then spread them out toward all his veins. Approximately [the time needed to eat a bowl of rice] later the spider venom had been completely neutralized. The bee sting started to hurt him. “Enough! Enough!” he cried, putting on his clothes back, “More bee sting and I am dead.” Xiao Long Nu smiled and drove the bees away.

She picked her [jin ling ruan so – belt with golden bells (lit. golden bell soft rope) – from Noodles translation: white silk belt] from the ground and asked, “I am going to Mount Zhong Nan. Are you coming?”

Zhou BuoTong shook his head, “I have an important matter to deal with. You go ahead.”

“Ah! I almost forget,” said Xiao Long Nu. “You are going to Xiang Yang to give Hero Guo a hand.” As soon as the word ‘Guo Da Xia’ came out of her mouth, Guo Fu came into her mind. From Guo Fu, her mind went to Yang Guo. “Zhou BuoTong, if you see Yang Guo, please don’t let him know you have seen me,” she sadly said.

Zhou BuoTong mumbled some incoherent words, like he was thinking really hard. A moment later he looked up and asked, “What did you say?”

“Never mind,” she answered. “Farewell then.”

Zhou BuoTong was preoccupied; he simply nodded and waved his hand. Xiao Long Nu turned around and started walking; but before reaching the plain she heard strange noises from Zhou BuoTong direction, similar to her own commands to the bees. She thought it was peculiar and quietly walked back. Hiding behind a tree she saw Zhou BuoTong – with one hand holding a jade bottle, flailing his arm around and howling noisily. She groped into her pocket and sure enough, her jade bottle was gone. The funny thing was, after calling for a while only a handful of wild bees were flying around his jade bottle.

Xiao Long Nu could not help chuckling. Coming out from behind the tree she called, “Zhou BuoTong! Let me teach you!”

Zhou NuoTong blushed, he was caught red handed with the jade bottle in his hand. He kicked the ground and leaped several meters and quickly ran downhill.

Xiao Long Nu laughed heartily. This old man was really strange and interesting. But as the echo of her laughter was fading away, she began to feel lonely and miserable; and her tears flowed without inhibition. She had fought Jin Lun Fa Wang, both with her strength and wits; and then she had Old Urchin’s company for the rest of the night. Now that the friend and foe were gone, she felt utter loneliness, like an orphan without anybody to care.

In another moment she remembered Zhao ZhiJing and Yin ZhiPing. Even if she cut their bodies into ten thousand pieces, would her hatred be alleviated? She could easily kill those two, but she thought what good would that be? She stood and stared blankly under a big elm tree for a half a day; then said to herself, “Let me find them first.”

She went down the hill and found her donkey grazing on the foothill. When she arrived at the fork road going to the Mongolian camp, she saw dust flying up, flags fluttering, and heard the sound of hoofs moving south toward Xiang Yang. Xiao Long Nu hesitated, “How could I find those two priests among this mighty force?”

Suddenly she saw three horse riders in the distance. They wore yellow robe and Taoist hat. “Why three?” she wondered. She strained her eyes and could see Yin ZhiPing rode in the back, with Zhao ZhiJing and an unknown young Taoist priest in front of him. Xiao Long Nu pulled her reins and followed with her donkey.

Yin ZhiPing heard the donkey and turned his head. His countenance paled.

“Martial Uncle Zhao, who is that woman?” the young priest asked.

“Our archenemy,” he answered, “Don’t ask too much.”

The young priest was startled. “The Scarlet Immortal Li MoChou?” he asked, trembling with fear.

“No, but she is her martial sister,” ZhiJing explained.

The young priest was Qi ZhiCeng, a Qiu ChuJi’s disciple. He knew Li MoChou had fought with the Quan Zhen’s masters, and they were troubled by her. Naturally her martial sister would not be friendly toward Quan Zhen Sect.

Zhao ZhiJing anxiously whipped his horse and galloped away. Both Yin and Qi did not have any choice but followed, leaving Xiao Long Nu far behind. But the donkey had a good stamina; it could not run fast, but it ran steady. After about four – five li’s the horses panted and slowed down; and Xiao Long Nu gradually catching up with them. Again ZhiJing lifted his whip and struck his horse, but the horses’ strength were already spent; they ran for while, then slowly trotting down.

“Martial Brother Zhao,” Qi ZhiCheng said, “Let us block the enemy to give Martial Brother Yin a chance to escape.”

Zhao ZhiJing’s face turned green from anger. “You talk rubbish!” he snapped. “Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“Martial Brother Yin bears the heavy burden of becoming our new Sect Leader [zhang jiao],” answered Qi ZhiCheng. “We have the responsibility to protect him.” He was sent by Qiu ChuJi to summon Yin ZhiPing back to Chong Yang Palace to be the new Sect Leader.

ZhiJing snorted and ignored him. He thought, “You don’t know the height of the heaven, nor the depth of the earth; yet you want to block her with your meager skill?”

Qi ZhiCheng saw his angry face and did not dare to say anything. He held his reins to wait for Yin ZhiPing; then he spoke to him in a low voice, “Martial Brother Yin, you bear a very heavy responsibility, you’d better go first.” ZhiPing simply shook his head. “No need,” he said, “She can do anything she wants.”

Qi ZhiCheng saw his calmness and could not help but admired him. “No wonder Master wants him to take over,” he thought. “Merely his calmness, who among the third generation disciples can match?” Actually, he did not know that Yin ZhiPing at this time had no regard for his own safety. If Xiao Long Nu were to kill him, he would stretch his neck voluntarily.

Zhao ZhiJing saw those two were calm, but he was always thinking of ways of escaping. It was good that Xiao Long Nu did not seem to plan any attack soon. Even so, he could not help but turned his head in anxiety every now and then.

The four of them proceeded north. By now they were already far away from the Mongolian troops. The wind still carried a muffled sound of horse hoofs and a faint sound of military bugle; but the area they were traveling on was desolate. The houses were in ruin. Common people have left to avoid the enemy troops. That day Yin ZhiPing and Zhao ZhiJing could still find a place to eat. But now, not even a house was left standing.

That evening the three of them spent the night in a house ruin without any windows or doors. Zhao ZhiJing took a look outside, and saw Xiao Long Nu slept on a piece of rope strung between two big trees. Qi ZhiCheng also saw this amazing skill and was scared. ZhiJing did not dare to close his eyes. He was ready to jump and dashed out whenever any noise came from the trees. Yin ZhiPing was the only one who slept soundly all through the night.

Early the next morning they continued their journey. Zhao ZhiJing was tired; he rode his horse in silence. Qi ZhiCheng and Yin ZhiPing rode together, about two – three meters behind. Qi ZhiCheng could not contain himself much longer and said, “Martial Brother Yin, I have seen both your and Martial Brother Zhao’s martial art skills. Each of you have his own strengths and weaknesses, it really is difficult to compare. But speaking of character, there is no comparison between yours and his.”

Yin ZhiPing smiled wryly. He asked, “How long will Master and Martial Uncles live in seclusion?”

“Master said at least three months, but it could be as long as a year,” Qi ZhiCheng answered. “That was the reason he anxiously summon Martial Brother Yin to take over.”

Yin ZhiPing was lost in thought. “Their skills are already very high, what kind of martial arts are they developing?” he thought aloud.

Qi ZhiCheng answered in a low voice, “I heard the five Masters want to develop something to defeat the Ancient Tomb Sect.”

Yin ZhiPing said, “Oh” and could not help but cast a glance toward Xiao Long Nu.

The fact that during the Heroes Summit Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo had defeated Jin Lun Fa Wang and his disciples was already well known throughout the river and lake [Jiang Hu] world. The Yang-Long couple did not realize the significance of their actions since all they cared was their love to each other. The news spread fast throughout the central plains, and soon people started to say that the Ancient Tomb Sect was number one in the world.

Hao DaTong and Sun Bu Er, as well as Yin ZhiPing and Zhao ZhiJing have seen it with their own eyes. They saw the exquisiteness of their lightness kungfu and fierceness of their palm techniques. Later on they also heard how with their complementing swords they were able to beat Jin Lun Fa Wang. All of these had certainly shaken Quan Zhen’s confidence. Quan Zhen and Ancient Tomb used to have a special relation. But then Hao DaTong accidentally hurt and killed Grandma Sun. They always thought Li MoChou, Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo would someday come to Mount Zhong Nan to seek revenge. While dealing with Li MoChou alone had given them much headache, what would happen if she were assisted by Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu? The fact that there was enmity between Li MoChou and Xiao Long Nu was unknown to them.

Only five survived among the seven masters of Quan Zhen; Tan ChuDuan had died prematurely, and by this time Ma Yu had also died. They realized that their strengths had diminished due to old age; while among the third and fourth generation disciples there was no outstanding or talented person. If the Ancient Tomb Sect went up the mountain to seek revenge, as long as the five of them were still alive, they still had a chance to save Quan Zhen. But what if Xiao Long Nu came ten years later; would Quan Zhen be able to stand? Therefore, the five Masters decided to live in seclusion and developed a special skill to face the Ancient Tomb Sect. Hence they summoned Yin ZhiPing to hold the interim Sect Leader position.

Yin ZhiPing and the others were heading northwest. Xiao Long Nu followed them not too far behind. One day they entered the Shaanxi province. “Martial Brother Yin,” said ZhiCheng. “We are getting close to Chong Yang Palace. Do you think this Miss Long would dare to pursue us?”

Yin ZhiPing only mumbled, “Hmmm.” He had no idea what her intention was. He had pondered this in his heart for a while now. “Would she expose my evil conduct to the Quan Zhen Five Masters? Would she attack mercilessly? Perhaps she was only going to the Ancient Tomb and took the same way. Also … also … she had shown mercy to me before, would she forgive me?” He couldn’t help blushing, secretly ashamed at his foolish delusion. He had always regarded her as a deity. How could a mortal be compared to the immortal? He had already disregarded his own life or death, honor or disgrace; but in reality his heart was filled with fear.

Several days later they arrived at the bottom of Mount Zhong Nan. Qi ZhiCheng took out a whistling arrow; and with his arm strength flung it to the sky. It shot up and made a loud whistling noise. Not too long four priests wearing yellow Taoist hat descended the mountain. Bowing to Yin ZhiPing in respect one of them said, “Reverend Jing He [lit. ‘with clarity’ – I don’t have a better translation], you’re back. We have been waiting for a long time.”

‘Jing He’ was Yin ZhiPing’s religious title; but apart from his own disciples, nobody had called him by that title before. These four Taoists were the third generation disciples from various Masters; they were the same level as he was, one of them was even older than he was. These four suddenly changed their way of addressing him, Yin ZhiPing felt uncomfortable. He quickly dismounted his horse and reciprocated their bow he said modestly, “Four Martial Brothers are my seniors, your Younger Martial Brother is not worthy of such title.”

The oldest priest was Ma Yu’s disciple. He said, “Five Martial Uncles had issued a decree that as soon as Reverend Jing He arrived, he is to take the Interim Sect Leader position. The official inauguration will have to wait until the Fourth Uncle [that is, Qiu ChuJi] finish his meditation.”

“How long have Master and four Martial Uncles been in seclusion?” Yin ZhiPing asked.

“It has been 20 days,” came the answer.

While they were still talking, there came a sweet sound of music from the mountain. Sixteen Sheng- player [zither? – not sure, any help?] Taoist priests came near and arranged themselves on both sides of the road. Another set of sixteen Taoist priests came. They carried in their hands some wooden musical instruments, swords, earthen bowls, and other religious articles. They bowed toward Yin ZhiPing and surrounded him, acting as human shields around him; and together they walked back the mountain, unwittingly left Zhao ZhiJing behind without paying any respect to him. He was angry and envious at the same time. “Just wait till the Sect Leader position falls into my hand, I want to see your face then,” he said in his heart.

They arrived at the Chong Yang Palace at dusk. There were more than five hundred Taoists arranged themselves from the main hall all the way to the entrance outside the palace. Drums, cymbals and bells were struck simultaneously. The several hundreds Taoists austerely bowed to welcome their Sect Leader.

Seeing this grand scene Yin ZhiPing spirit soared. Escorted by sixteen most senior disciples he walked to worshipfully bow to the Taoist deity, Tai Shang Dao Jun. Next, he bowed to the painting of Wang Chong Yang, the founder of Quan Zhen Sect in the second room. And then he entered the third room, where the Quan Zhen Seven Masters used to convene to discuss the Sect’s business. There he reverently bowed to seven empty chairs. Only then did he walk back to the main hall.

Qiu ChuJi's second disciple Li ZhiChang took out the Sect Leader decree and read it out loud while Yin ZhiPing knelt down, listening attentively. The decree assigned Yin ZhiPing to take over the Interim Sect Leader position. Yin ZhiPing was proud to accept this lofty position; but he was touched and ashamed at the same time. He stole a glance toward Zhao ZhiJing who stood in one side. Zhao had a smirk in his face. Suddenly Yin ZhiPing shuddered.

As soon as the decree was read Yin ZhiPing stood up to express his humble acceptance. But before he could say anything, suddenly a priest barged in, loudly said, “Reporting to the Reverend Sect Leader, you have a guest waiting outside!”

Yin ZhiPing was startled, he did not expect Xiao Long Nu would dare to confront him during that important ceremony. He did not know how to deal with it, and thought that since he could not run away, he might as well brace himself and face her. He simply said, “Please come in.”

The priest bowed and turned around; and came back with two people. Not only Yin ZhiPing, but the others were surprised as well. The guests were a high-ranking Mongolian officer and the other was Xiao XiangZi whom he had met at Khubilai’s camp. The Mongolian officer spoke with a clear voice as he was walking toward the main hall, “His Majesty the Emperor has made a decision to grant an Imperial Decree to the Sect Leader of the Quan Zhen Sect.” Stopping at the center he produced a yellow satin scroll; unrolled the scroll with both hands he read out, “Imperial decree conferred to the Sect Leader of the Quan Zhen Sect the special position to act as: [shen sian yan dao da zong zhi – lit. the deity/divine person to develop an excellent model of learning and integrity]. To be the religious leader of the Great ‘Way’ [dao of Taoism] to reveal the mystery of respectable and perfect mankind. To be in charge of various sects of Taoism …” [This is a very difficult part to translate with my meager Chinese literacy; any help with better translation will be appreciated]

Reading to this point he saw nobody knelt down; he was annoyed and said, “Sect Leader, please kneel to accept the imperial decree.”

Yin ZhiPing moved forward and bowed in respect. “My Master Sect Leader Qiu ChuJi is currently meditating in a closed room. I am the Interim Sect Leader. The Imperial Decree is not bestowed to me; how would I dare to accept it?” he said.

The Mongolian officer smiled and said, “His Majesty the Emperor have said that the Venerable Reverend Qiu – who was well respected by our Great Genghis Khan, is old; His Majesty was not sure if he is still in this world. Therefore, His Majesty has bestowed this decree not to the Venerable Reverend Qiu but to the Sect Leader of Quan Zhen Sect. Whoever the Sect Leader is, he is worthy to accept this.”

“The lowly priest does not have competency; how would he dare to accept?” Yin ZhiPing insisted on refusing the decree.

The officer laughed and said, “Don’t be bashful; quickly accept this order.”

Yin reluctantly said, “This decree is unexpected, I can’t accept it just like that. I respectfully ask Your Honor to take a rest and have some tea while I discuss this matter with my martial brothers.”

The officer was not happy, but he could not do anything. He tucked the imperial decree back and said, “Very well. But I really do not know what to discuss.”

Four priests on duty ushered the guests to the guest chamber and served tea.

In the meantime Yin ZhiPing invited sixteen third generation disciple to convene in another room at the courtyard. “This is not a small matter, Junior does not dare to act without Martial Brothers’ approval,” he said, “I will respectfully listen to your valuable suggestions.”

“The Mongolian Emperor has shown us kindness, it is just proper for us to gracefully accept it,” Zhao ZhiJing said. “Obviously our Sect is getting more prosperous than ever that the Mongolian Emperor does not dare to look down upon us.” He was speaking with self-satisfaction in his voice and could not hold his happy laugh.

“No, I don’t agree!” Li ZhiChang shook his head. “Mongolia had invaded our country and cruelly massacred our people. How can we accept this decree?”

“Uncle Master Qiu himself had accepted Genghis Khan’s royal invitation and had traveled thousands of miles to the west,” Zhao ZhiJing countered. “Sect Leader Yin and you, Martial Brother Li, were among those who accompany him in the journey. Having this precedent, why do we refuse the imperial decree now?”

“It’s different,” Li ZhiChang said. “At that time Mongolia was at war with the Jin dynasty and had not invaded our country. They were even forming an alliance with our great Song dynasty. How can you compare our situation now and then?”

“You opinion is very dangerous,” Zhao ZhiJing threatened. “Mount Zhong Nan is under Mongolian rule; our Chong Yang Palace is within Mongolian territory. If we refuse the decree, wouldn’t that mean we are inviting a great disaster?”

Li ZhiChang was offended. “Martial Brother Zhao’s opinion is not right,” he said.

“What do you mean ‘not right?” Zhao ZhiJing said harshly, “Would Martial Brother Li give us direction?”

“Give you a direction, I do not dare to,” Li ZhiChang said. “But let me ask Martial Brother Zhao: what kind of person Founder Reverend Chong Yang was? What kind of people are the Quan Zhen Seven Masters?”

“Our Founder, Master and all Uncle Master are religious people who held high position in our Sect,” Zhao ZhiJing answered with consternation.

“They were also real men and woman with determined spirits; patriotic citizens who protect suffering people without regard to their own lives. They took arms fighting the Jins who came invading us,” Li ZhiChang added.

“Reverend Chong Yang and Quan Zhen Seven Masters are honorable people who have shaken the river and lake [jiang hu]. Who in the martial arts world doesn’t respect them?” Zhao ZhiJing tried to change the subject.

“I am deeply touched by our predecessor,” Li ZhiChang boldly said. “Without exception they were fearless people who resolved to save other people through ocean of water and fire. They taught us the meaning of bravery. Our bodies may perish, but our honors will have to stand.”

His speech had touched Yin ZhiPing’s heart, as well as more than ten other Martial Brothers’. Zhao ZhiJing on the other hand, kept pushing his agenda. He sneered and said, “Is Martial Brother Li the only one who is fearless of death? Are other people fear deaths and covet life? Our founder had undertaken great difficulty in finding our Sect. Our Sect has reached where we are today; I wonder how much pain and suffering the Founder and Quan Zhen Seven Masters had taken? If Quan Zhen Sect fell due to our inability, how would we face our Founder in the underworld? How would we be accountable to the Five Masters when they finish their meditation?”

His speech sounded reasonable, several martial brothers voiced their support. Zhao ZhiJing was encouraged and continued, “The Jin dynasty was our archenemy. Now the Mongolian had destroyed their country, wouldn’t that make them our ally? In the past our Founder was defeated by the Jins which resulted in him living in seclusion inside the [living corpse grave]. If he knew his enemy was defeated, wouldn’t his soul in heaven be comforted?”

Hearing his comment in praising the enemy, Wang ZhiTan, another Qiu ChuJi's disciple said, “If after defeating the Jins the Mongolian forming an alliance with our Great Song and live in peace with our people we certainly will treat them as brothers. However, the Mongolian armed force had continued their large scale maneuver to the south fiercely attacking Xiang Yang. Our Great Song is in grave danger. You, I and all of us are the people of the Great Song. How could we accept the enemy’s decree?” He turned his head to Yin ZhiPing and said, “Martial Brother Sect Leader, if you accept this decree, you are a big traitor of China; you will be condemned forever from our Quan Zhen Sect. I, Wang ZhiTan; even if the blood of my neck splash to the ground, I will not let you disgrace us.” He spoke with a solemn voice and stern countenance.

Zhao ZhiJing leaped up and smacked the table. “Martial Brother Wang!” he bellowed, “Do you want to resort to violence? How dare you threaten the Reverend Sect Leader insolently?”

“We stand on justice!” Wang ZhiTan harshly shot back. “Fight if you want, do you think I am scared?”

Both sides looked at each other’s eyes, ready to draw their swords to fight. A grey haired Taoist priest quickly intervene, “Hold it! Both Martial Brothers don’t have to fight. We can talk it over.”

“What is Senior Martial Brother’s opinion?” Wang ZhiTan asked, eyes bulging out.

“My opinion,” the senior priest said, “We … we are devout people, we have to show mercy toward the people, we have to help them. If … if we accept the Mongolian Emperor’s Imperial Decree, we will be able to persuade the Mongolian rulers and the officers not to commit atrocities. Wasn’t Fourth Martial Uncle Qiu ChuJi did the same and was able to save multitude of lives?” Several of Zhao ZhiJing’s supporters echoed their agreement.

A terse and forceful Taoist priest shook his head. “The circumstances then and today are beyond comparison. Junior had followed Master’s journey to the west and had met Genghis Khan himself. I saw with my own eyes how the Mongolian troops destroyed cities and massacred their people, committed great atrocities. If we accept this decree, it means we fall under Mongolian’s influence. Wouldn’t that mean we are assisting a tyrant to do evil? We might be able to save ten or twenty lives, but as the Mongolian power rise up, I wonder how many thousands or tens of thousands people will die.” The short and stocky priest who said that was Song DeFang, one of nineteen disciples who came with Qiu ChuJi to the west.

Zhao ZhiJing smirked and said, “You have seen Genghis Khan, so what? Recently I have met the Mongolian’s Fourth Prince, Khubilai. The Prince treats skilled martial artists and scholars with utmost courtesy. He is generous and open-minded. How could someone like that be ruthless?”

“Great!” Wang ZhiTan shouted, “You have received Khubilai’s order to spy us out!”

Zhao ZhiJing was enraged, “What did you say?” Wang ZhiTan snapped, “Those who congregate with the Mongolians are traitors to our country!”

Zhao ZhiJing made a sudden leap and thrust a palm toward Wang ZhiTan’s head. But as he started to move, two palms blocked his attack. They belonged to Qiu ChuJi's other two disciples, one of them was Qi ZhiCheng.

“Great!” Zhao ZhiJing was livid and loudly shouted, “The disciples of Uncle Master Qiu ChuJi relied on numbers to bully others.”

Yin ZhiPing immediately clapped his palms and loudly said, “Martial Brothers! Please sit quietly. Listen to what Junior has to say.”

The Sect Leader position granted the bearer an enormous authority. They immediately sat down and did not dare to disobey. “Right,” Zhao ZhiJing said, “Let us listen to what our Sect Leader has to say. If he wants to accept, then we accept. If he wants to refuse, then we follow. The Imperial Decree is his; it’s neither mine nor yours. Why fight?”

He thought he had Yin ZhiPing in his hands. Yin ZhiPing would not dare to oppose him. On the other hand, Li ZhiChang, Wang ZhiTan and the others have known Yin ZhiPing for quite some time. They knew he was loyal and patriotic. They were sure he would not betray the country and die as a traitor. They thought it was wise to leave the matter into his hands and let him to adjudicate.

“Junior does not have the competency and skill to hold the Sect Leader position. It was with humble and heavy heart I accepted this weighty responsibility,” Yin ZhiPing slowly said. “Who would have known I have to face this difficult matter on my very first day.” He looked up and stared blankly at the ceiling. Sixteen third generation disciples fixed their gaze toward their Sect Leader. The room was quiet. Nobody made any noise.

After a long while Yin ZhiPing finally continued, “Quan Zhen Sect was founded by Grand Master Chong Yang. After him was honorable Master Ma Yu; followed by Uncle Master Liu ChuXuan and my Master Qiu ChuJi carried forward their legacy. Now Junior has to carry the torch. How could I dare to disobey the basic teachings of my honorable predecessors? Martial Brothers! Presently the Mongolian troops attack the city of Xiang Yang, invade our land, and massacre our people. If it were any of the four Masters, would they accept, or would they refuse?”

The group listened carefully to his word, they reflected on how the Grand Martial Master Chong Yang, Masters Ma Yu, Liu ChuXuan, and Qiu Chuji would usually handle affairs: Grand Martial Master Chong Yang had died a long time ago, none of the third generation disciples had ever met him. Master Ma Yu was kind and honest; he would handle any matter quietly without much fanfare. Master Liu ChuXuan was deep; the disciples could not easily discern his thought. Master Qiu ChuJi was like a raging fire. He was loyal and patriotic. The disciples had deep impression on him, and without prior agreement they answered almost in unison, “Sect Leader Qiu ChuJi would refuse the decree!”

“The Sect Leader now is you, certainly not Uncle Master Qiu!” Zhao ZhiJing shouted disrespectfully.

“Junior’s talent is ordinary. I do not dare to violate our Masters’ teaching. Moreover, I have committed a great sin, deserving harsh punishment.” After saying this Yin ZhiPing hung his head. Nobody but Zhao ZhiJing knew what he was talking about. They thought he was simply being modest. But ‘a great sin, deserving harsh punishment’ was a little bit too hard, unclear, and had nothing to do with the matter at hand.

Zhao ZhiJing snorted; standing up he asked, “So, you have made the decision to refuse, hmm?”

“My insignificant life is worthless,” Yin ZhiPing mournfully said. “But I can’t disgrace the Quan Zhen’s name.” He started talking in low voice, but as he spoke the later sentence his voice was actually getting ardent. “Presently the heroes of our country have united themselves to fight the invaders. The Quan Zhen Sect has been known as an orthodox school of the central plains. How would we face the heroes of this world if we fall under Mongolian feet?”

His speech was applauded by loud cheers of Li ZhiChang, Song DeFang, Wang ZhiTan, Qi ZhiCheng and many others. “The Martial Brother Sect Leader’s word was right on target,” they enthusiastically said.

Zhao ZhiJing flicked his sleeve and furiously walked out of the room. He paused at the doorpost, sneered and coldly said, “Martial Brother Sect Leader, your words were pleasant to the ear. Heh, heh … I am sure you know the consequence you can expect.” Then he turned around and walked briskly out.

As soon as he left many Taoists spoke at once. They agreed that Yin ZhiPing had made a wise decision and praised him accordingly but about four or five Zhao ZhiJing supporters also left the room without saying anything.

Yin ZhiPing’s agony was unspeakable. He retreated to his own chamber. He knew that Zhao ZhiJing would not take this setback lightly; Zhao would certainly reveal his secret to the public. He realized that he had condemned himself to die by declaring his intention to refuse the decree. He had suffered great anxiety and fear for several months, and now that he knew he was going to die, his mind became clear and his spirit calmed. With a steady hand he bolted the door of his chamber from inside. With a wry smile in his face he unsheathed his long sword and lifted it toward his throat …

Just before the sword touched his skin, suddenly someone leaped from behind a book shelf and a claw reached toward the sword. Yin ZhiPing did not expect this, he was caught off guard. The long sword suddenly flew from his hand. Startled he quickly turned his head only to see Zhao ZhiJing with the long sword in his hand.

Zhao ZhiJing flaunted the sword in his hand, he smirked and said “You have ruined the Sect Leader reputation and now you think you can easily settle the score by dying? Not that easy! That Miss Long is standing guard outside the Chong Yang Palace. You tell me how we should answer her if she decided to come.” “Good!” Yin ZhiPing answered, “Then I will come outside and slit my own throat in her presence to apologize.”

“Even if you killed yourself, this matter is not over,” Zhao ZhiJing said. “After they finish their meditation, the Five Masters would certainly decide to investigate. You have ruined Quan Zhen Sect’s reputation. Surely you will be condemned forever!”

Yin ZhiPing’s spirit was crushed. Suddenly cold sweat poured down his face. He fell on a chair, holding his head with both hands and desperately muttered, “What do you want? Tell me, what do you want me to do? Death is inadequate, then what …?”

He spoke to his fellow disciples with confidence then, but now that he was alone with Zhao ZhiJing, unexpectedly he had lost his will to fight.

“Very well,” Zhao ZhiJing smiled. “If you leave this matter to me, I guarantee I will help you taking care of Miss Long’s problem; while preserving the Sect and your own reputations at the same time. Definitely you will not have any trouble in the future.”

“Do you want me to accept the Imperial Decree?” asked Yin ZhiPing anxiously.

“No! No! I don’t want you to accept the Imperial Decree,” Zhao ZhiJing answered.

Yin ZhiPing was relieved. “What then? Tell me quick! I will certainly listen to you,” he anxiously asked.


Translated By IcyFox


After an hour, the bell in the hall sounded and everyone assembled there. Li Zhi Chang instructed all of Qiu Chu Ji’s diciples to conceal weapons under their gowns in case Yin Zhi Ping was coerced into submission by Zhao Zhi Jing and his supporters. The Taoists filled the hall; their faces grim and filled with anxiety.

Yin Zhi Ping stepped out slowly from the inner hall and his face was very pale. He stopped in the centre and said, “My fellow Taoist brothers, I have been commanded by Head Priest Qiu to assume the Sect Leader’s position, but unfortunately I have contracted a terminal illness which cannot be cured…” This came like a bolt from the blue and many Taoists involuntarily exclaimed, “Ah!” Yin Zhi Ping continued, “I cannot undertake such a heavy responsibility, now I hereby appoint Elder Wang’s most senior diciple Zhao Zhi Jing to assume the position!”

When he said this, the hall was filled with an unnatural silence which only lasted for a moment. Then Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Dan, Song De Fang and company opposed loudly, “Priest Qiu wanted Brother Yin Zhi Ping to become the Sect leader, how can you pass it on to others?” “You’re supposed to be fine, how did you contract such a terminal illness?” “There must be some huge conspiracy behind this, you must have fallen into a trap.” The 4th generation diciples did not dare talk loudly but they were all debating among themselves. The hall was thrown into confusion. Li Zhi Chang and company glared at Zhao Zhi Jing but he looked indifferent to the matter and just folded his arms silently.

Yin Zhi Ping raised his hands and waited for everyone to become silent. He then said, “This is indeed very sudden, you’re not at fault for your reaction. Our sect is facing a great disaster and I have commited a great sin – so great that even death cannot atone for it.” When he said this, he grimaced and continued, “I have thought carefully and I found that only Brother Zhao Zhi Jing is capable enough to lead our sect through this crisis. Everyone must not look upon him with prejudice but assist him in bringing glory to our sect.”

Li Zhi Chang said clearly, “It’s human to err. As for your sin, just await for the five elders to return from their meditation and then report the matter to them. We really cannot acknowledge your abdication. Yin Zhi Ping sighed, “Brother Li Zhi Chang, we’ve been friends for many years and are as close as brothers. Please just cooperate and don’t make things difficult for me.”

Li Zhi Chang was full of suspicions and saw that Yin Zhi Ping looked like he was seriously troubled and his speech had little conviction so he gave up arguing and hung his head in silence. Wang Zhi Dan said, “If you really wish to abdicate, you should still wait for the five elders to return and investigate carefully to prevent any foolish decisions. Yin Zhi Ping sadly said, “This is too urgent to postpone.” Wang Zhi Dan said, “Alright, even if it is so, among our generation of brothers, there are many who surpass Brother Zhao in character and leadership abilities. Brother Li Zhi Chang is well-versed in the Tao while Brother Song De Fang is able at handling matters. Why, then, do you choose the unpopular Brother Zhao?”

Zhao Zhi Jing had a hot-tempered character and he tried very hard to restrain himself. Now he could not control himself and he laughed coldly, “Then what about the brave Brother Wang Zhi Dan?” Wang Zhi Dan angrily said, “I’m not very capable and I cannot be compared to our fellow brothers. But comparing with Brother Zhao, I’m superior.” He only laughed and stared at the ceiling; his manner was extremely arrogant. Wang Zhi Dan said loudly, “My martial arts and sword skills may not be superior to Brother Zhao’s but at least I won’t be a traitor.” Zhao Zhi Jing lost his cool and shouted, “If you have the guts then say it clearly, who’s the traitor?” The exchange of words became more intense and heated.

Yin Zhi Ping said, “Please don’t quarrel, listen to me.” They stopped arguing but still glared at each other. Yin Zhi Ping said, “Our sect’s constitution decrees that the position of the Sect Leader will be appointed by the previous Sect Leader and not nominated by the Taoist Brothers, is that right?” Everyone unanimously shouted, “Yes!” Yin Zhi Ping said, “I hereby command Zhao Zhi Jing to succeed me as the new Sect Leader. Do not oppose this. Brother Zhao, please come forward and listen to them.” Zhao Zhi Jing proudly swaggered forward and bowed.

Wang Zhi Dan and Song De Fang still wanted to speak but Li Zhi Chang held their sleeves and signalled to them with his eyes. They knew he was apt at handling matters and must have planned something so they remained silent. Li Zhi Chang whispered, “Zhao Zhi Jing must have some foothold over Brother Yin rendering him incapable of any opposition. We must secretly investigate his devious plan then we can contend with him. Let’s just obey Brother Yin for now. If we oppose him now, it may reflect badly on us.” They nodded their head in agreement and acknowledged the Sect Leader’s command.

Quan Zhen Sect experienced two change-of-command ceremonies in one day so of course many were surprised and found it hard to accept.

Once the ceremony was over, he stood at the centre and bade his own diciples to stand guard at his sides. He said, “Invite the Mongol Khan’s envoy.” Wang Zhi Dan wanted to abuse him verbally when he heard this but Li Zhi Chang stopped him with his eye signals. Before long, 4 diciples escorted the Mongolian envoy and Xiao Xiang Zi into the hall.

Zhao Zhi Jing quickly rushed forward to welcome him and laughed, saying, “Please come in!” The envoy had already waited for very long and was getting impatient. Now he saw that Yin Zhi Ping was absent his face became blacker. One of the escorts knew what was bothering him and said, “Our Sect Leader’s position is now undertaken by Master Zhao.” The Mongol envoy was surprised and delighted and said, “Oh, I see! Congratulations!” He cupped his hands to salute him. Xiao Xiang Zi was just standing 2 feet behind but his zombie-like face did not display any emotion.

Zhao Zhi Jing brought the envoy into the main hall and said, “Your Honour, please announce the Edict.” The envoy smiled and thought, “People like you should originally have been made the Sect Leader. That previous leader.” He took out the Edict and opened it. Zhao Zhi Jing knelt on the floor and heard the envoy say, “Quan Zhen Sect’s Leader is hereby conferred…”

Li Zhi Chang and company saw Zhao Zhi Jing knelt down and accepted the Edict respectfully and exchanged glances. They suddenly drew their swords from under their gowns and the flashes were seen throughout the hall. Wang Zhi Dan and Song De Fang rushed up and pointed their swords at Zhao Zhi Jing’s back. Li Zhi Chang shouted, “Our sect’s most important commandment is loyalty, we’ll never surrender to the Mongolians. Zhao Zhi Jing betrayed our ancestors and abandoned our honour, he shall not remain as the sect’s leader.” Another 4 Taoists drew their swords and surrounded the envoy and Xiao Xiang Zi.

This sudden change of events was too abrupt. Although Zhao Zhi Jing knew Li Zhi Chang was very unhappy with him, he thought the power and prestige of the sect leader’s position would prevent anyone from daring to rebel. He assumed that if he became the leader he would be the highest-ranking member of the sect and even the 5 elder masters could not oppose his orders easily. He obviously never expected them to take action against the sect leader. Now the swords were pointed at his back, he was shocked and angry but he did not show it. He shouted, “You daring rebellous diciple! You dare to create trouble?” Wang Zhi Dan shouted, “Traitor! If you move we’ll bore 2 holes right through you!”

Although Zhao Zhi Jing’s skills were better than them, but this was unexpected as he was attacked while kneeling down so he had no chance to retaliate. Zhao Zhi Jing had instructed about 10 of his trusted supporters to bring weapons along with them but Li Zhi Chang and company were Qiu Chu Ji’s diciples who were well-respected in the sect and they acted swiftly and suddenly so many of Zhao Zhi Jing’s close supporters did not dare make a move. A few did try to draw their weapons but their accupoints were sealed the moment their arms moved. Among them were Zhang Zhi Guang whose face was injured by Granny Sun, Jia Zhi Fan who once fought with Lu Wu Shuang and Zhao Zhi Jing’s diciple Lu Qing Du.

Li Zhi Chang said to the envoy, “Mongolia is now at war with the Song Empire and we are citizens of the Song Empire, how can we accept a Mongolian edict? Please return, when we meet on the battlefield we shall talk again.” He said this with gusto and many Taoists in the hall cheered when they heard this.

The envoy flashed his sword and did not betray any emotion, laughing coldly, “You people have acted rashly today. You don’t know what’s good for you and the glory of Quan Zhen Sect shall be destroyed soon, what a pity.” Li Zhi Chang replied, “Our territories have been levelled by your armies; we are only a small sect, how can we withstand you? But if you don’t leave soon, don’t blame me for being impolite, I can’t control myself much longer.”

Xiao Xiang Zi sneered, “Impolite? In what way? I want to see it!” He stretched out his long arms and snatched Song De Fang and Wang Zhi Dan’s swords. Zhao Zhi Jing immediately jumped up and executed the [White Clouds Exiting the Cave] to defend his back and then he stood next to the envoy. Xiao Xiang Zi handed him one of the swords and slashed the other sword towards Li Zhi Chang. Li Zhi Chang raised his sword to parry but his hand became numb when his sword hit the other sword. He tried to use his Internal Strength to resist the sword but the 2 swords snapped.

Xiao Xiang Zi’s strokes in snatching and deflecting swords were extremely fast and in the blink of an eye he raised his hands and threw out his palms, disarming 4 senior Quan Zhen diciples. He carried out three strokes continuously and defeated 7 Quan Zhen experts. The several hundred people in the hall were shocked; they did not expect this zombie-faced man to be so highly-skilled.

Zhao Zhi Jing has never thought greatly of Wang Zhi Dan and Song De Fang and now that he was trapped in a kneeling position by them in front of so many people, he was furious and stabbed towards Wang Zhi Dan. This [Big River Heads East] move was one of Quan Zhen’s most powerful and swiftest sword techniques. The sword sliced through the air and pierced towards Wang Zhi Dan’s abdomen.

Wang Zhi Dan quickly jumped back to evade the thrust. Zhao Zhi Jing’s sword moves were merciless and aimed to take his life and the tip of the sword followed within 2 feet of him. It seemed like Wang Zhi Dan could no longer evade this blow and everyone looked at them stunned. Suddenly a sleeve flew out and wrapped around the sword. The sleeve was ripped apart but the sword was impeded and Wang Zhi Dan was able to jump to safety. Two swords were quickly stretched out to block Zhao Zhi Jing’s sword. The man with the torn sleeve was Yin Zhi Ping.

Zhao Zhi Jing was very angry and pointed at him, shouting, “You… you… How dare you do that!” Yin Zhi Ping said, “Brother Zhao, you promised not to accept the Mongolian edict. That’s why I abdicated in your favour. How could you go back on your word in such a short time?” Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Hey, you asked me, ‘You want me to accept the Mongolian edict?’ I said, ‘No, I’ll never want you to accept the edict!’ How did I break my word? The one accepting the edict is me, not you.” Yin Zhi Ping muttered, “So it’s like this, you’re despicable!”

Now Li Zhi Chang took a sword from one of his diciples and shouted, “My good Quan Zhen brothers, we’ll still recognize Master Yin as our sect leader. Let’s arrest this traitor Zhao and punish him according to our sect leader!” He charged up and fought with Zhao Zhi Jing. Wang Zhi Dan, Song De Fang and 5 other Taoists quickly got into the ‘Big Dipper Formation’ and surrounded Xiao Xiang Zi. Although Xiao Xiang Zi’s martial arts were good, but he could not comprehend the formation’s changes and he saw 7 people flying up and down in front of him and he became confused.

The envoy had already retreated into a corner when he saw that things were not going right. He quickly took out a horn and blew it. Two Taoists rushed up and snatched the horn and captured him. They were however a split second late and the horn sounded out clearly.

Yin Zhi Ping knew he had summoned reinforcements and knew that danger was near. He suddenly jolted into attention and commanded, “Brother Qi Zhi Cheng, watch this Mongolian official. Brother Yu Dao Xian, Brother Wang Zhi Jin, take three brothers to help Brother Sun guard the Jade Cave at the back of the mountain to prevent any Mongol soldiers from distracting the 5 elder masters from their meditation. Brother Chen Zhi Yi, take six people to guard the front of the mountain. Fang Zhi Qi, take 6 people to guard the left of the mountain, Liu Dao Ning, Take 6 people and guard the right of the mountain.”

The people guarding the left and right were all his fellow diciples under Qiu Chu Ji. Among the people sent to guard the Jade Cave, Yu Dao Xian was Liu Chu Xian’s diciple while Wang Zhi Jin was Hao Da Tong’s diciple. Liu Chu Xian and Hao Da Tong were meditating inside the cave and these 2 diciples were upright and honest, so they would not harm their masters. Yin Zhi Ping had made such careful arrangements in such a short time, and he made sure there were trustworthy people guarding every strategic position and everyone could support each other effectively. Even if a large body of troops attacked them, it would be hard for them to get through the defences. Everyone saw that his eyes were keen and alert and his commands clear and forceful and his manner imposing so none dared disobey him and all carried out the orders without question.

Suddenly they heard shouting and weapons clashing outside. A few Taoists were still moving to take their positions when there was a whistle and a few dozen people jumped over the wall. The troops at the east was led by Yin Kexi, the west Nimo Xing and the front Ma Guang Zuo; their troops were veterans who were involved in the Khan’s western expedition.

Kublai was attacking Xiang Yang for many months and an illness broke out in the Mongolian army. Coupled with their failure at the seige, the army withdrew. The body of troops that Xiao Long Nu saw speedily heading south previously was the last division to attack Xiang Yang. Before the army withdrew Kublai ordered his men to recruit capable men from the Central Plains. The Mongol Khan’s edict to take over Quan Zhen Sect was part of Kublai’s plan. However he knew Quan Zhen Sect was loyal and upright so they may not submit so he ordered Jin Lun fa Wang to lead skilled wulin fighters to wait around Mt. Zhong Nan. If Quan Zhen Sect rejects the edict, they would use force to bring it under their control.

Mt. Zhong Nan’s security was usually very tight but in just one day they experienced two leadership changes and Chong Yang Palace was thrown into chaos. Those who were supposed to guard the mountain were recalled to witness the change-of-command ceremony. Therefore it was only when Yin Kexi, Nimo Xing and company came right up to the Chong Yang Palace were they discovered. Their sudden appearance caught Quan Zhen Sect unprepared and many of the defenders had not even left the hall. There were enemy soldiers in all directions and although the Taoists outnunbered the enemy forces, most of them were unarmed. Moreover they were surrounded and could only crowd into a small area. The commanding positions all lacked the manpower and it looked like they were going to be utterly defeated.

The Mongolian envoy was held captive by Qi Zhi Cheng but now he shouted, “Diciples of Quan Zhen Sect, throw down your weapons and suffer your sect leader Zhao’s punishment.”

Yin Zhi Ping said, “Zhao Zhi Jing betrayed our ancestor and masters by surrendering to the enemy; he has commited a great sin and therefore is no longer our sect leader.” Although he saw that the situation was highly unfavourable, he decided to put up a struggle and repel the enemy. But many of them fought barehanded and before long, there were more than 10 dead bodies scattered around the hall. Then Yin Zhi Ping, Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Dan, Song De Fang and Qi Zhi Cheng and company were either injured, lost their weapons, had their accupoints blocked or even killed. The rest were forced into a corner by Yin Kexi’s troops and could not retaliate.

The envoy’s rank was very high and even Yin Kexi, Xiao Xiang Zi and company had to obey him. He saw his side had gained a complete victory and said to Zhao Zhi Jing, “Master Zhao, I’ll give you face. I won’t report Quan Zhen Sect’s rebellion to the Khan.” Zhao Zhi Jing bowed and thanked him profusely and suddenly remembered something. He quickly turned to Xiao Xiang Zi and whispered, “I need a big favour from you. My 5 masters are meditating at the back of the mountain. If they suddenly rush here, then… this…” Xiao Xiang Zi drily said, “So be it. I’ll help you fight them.” Zhao Zhi Jing did not dare say anymore but was not satisfied. He worried, “Don’t underestimate the 5 masters, if they really come here you won’t defeat them so easily. If they really drive the Mongolians away, it’ll be hard to keep my life.”

The envoy said, “Master Zhao, you will first accept the imperial edict and then you will punish your rebellous diciples.” Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Yes!” He knelt down to listen to the edict.

Yin Zhi Ping, Li Zhi Chang and company all had their hands and feet bound when they heard the envoy read the edict and Zhao Zhi Jing kowtowed and thanked him, so they became livid with anger. Song De Fang sat next to Li Zhi Chang and whispered to him, “Brother Li, untie my bonds. I’ll dash out and report the matter to the 5 masters.” Li Zhi Chang leant on his back and circulated his internal strength and exerted it with his finger. He managed to undo the bonds and whispered, “But please report calmly. Don’t shock the 5 masters – they are now cultivating their internal energy…” Song De Fang nodded his head.

After reading the edict, Zhao Zhi Jing stood up and the envoy and Xiao Xiang Zi congratulated him.

Song De Fang suddenly saw many people get up and surround Zhao Zhi Jing. He quickly got up and dashed behind the dieties’ statues. Nimo Xing shouted, “Stop right there!” He obviously did not care and ran off as fast as he could. Nimo Xing’s legs were amputated so he could not give chase so he waved his hand, throwing out a snake-like dart. The dart hit Song De Fang’s left leg. Nimo Xing shouted, “Go down!” He stalled for a while but did not collapse. Instead he tolerated the pain and continued running. The Chong Yang Palace was huge and complex; he turned a few times and the Mongolian troops lost him.

Song De Fang got out and extracted the dart and bandaged his wound. He went to the medicine room and took a sword and ran to the back of the mountain. He turned round a row of pine trees and got to the Jade Cave’s entrance. He groaned in dismay. There were several Mongol soldiers there lifting rocks to block the entrance. A tall and skinny monk stood there and beside him were two people directing the soldiers. He immediately recognized the 2 people to be Daerba and Hou Du and knew that their skills were not below that of Hao Da Tong’s. The tall monk looked extraordinary and his martial arts appeared to be much better than the other two. The entrance was now almost 80% covered and he did not know if the 5 masters were still alive. He thought, “Master has treated me very well, today Master’s in trouble; I must sacrifice my life to save them, or my presence in the world would be in vain.”

He knew very well that by going up to stop them he would surely lose his life and would still be unable to help the 5 masters. However Quan Zhen Sect was having a great disaster and he would not save his own skin. He unsheathed his sword and rushed out from behind the tree. The sword flew through the air and pierced towards the tall monk. He wanted to kill off their leader, so if he succeeded he would throw the group into confusion.

Unfortunately the monk was none other than Jin Lun Fa Wang. He had already questioned Zhao Zhi Jing about the situation at Quan Zhen Sect and headed straight to the Jade Cave on reaching the mountain. He knew that once he trapped the 5 masters, the 3rd and 4th generation diciples would be powerless to resist.

Song De Fang’s sword was less than a foot away from Fa Wang’s back and he saw that he did not seem to notice him, so he was secretly happy. Suddenly a golden light flashed and Fa Wang held out a round golden wheel and smashed his sword. Song De Fang shouted in pain and the sword flew out of his hand. He was internally injured and threw up a pool of blood. He became giddy and vaguely heard people shouting around him but he did not know what had happened and fainted.

Fa Wang had also heard shouting at the hall but he thought with Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Kexi and the other experts there, he did not think anything amiss and did not bother. He only told his men to cover the entrance quickly to prevent Qiu Chu Ji, etc. from charging out and wasting his energy.

Once Song De Fang left the hall, the situation changed again. The envoy said to Zhao Zhi Jing, “Master Zhao, the people who stirred up trouble were numerous, I think your position is not very secure.”

Zhao Zhi Jing also knew the people were unhappy with him and would immediately turn on him once Xiao Xiang Zi and the others left. Since it had already come to this, he said loudly, “According to our sect’s rules, how should those who disobey the sect leader be punished?” The Taoists remained silent but they all thought, “You disobeyed the sect leader yourself.” Zhao Zhi Jing repeated his question and stared at his dicible Lu Qing Du, wanting him to answer. Lu Qing Du said, “Execution in front of the 3 deities’ statues.”

Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Correct! Yin Zhi Ping, do you admit your offense?” Yin Zhi Ping said, “No!” Zhao Zhi Jing said, “OK! Take him here!” Lu Qing Du pushed Yin Zhi Ping forward and stood in front of the statues. Zhao Zhi Jing also asked Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Dan and the others, but everyone said, “No!” Among those captured however were some who feared for their lives and submitted, so Zhao Zhi Jing ordered their bonds to be untied. Altogether there were 24 people who did not submit and Wang Zhi Dan could not control his fiery temper and he cursed and swore.

Zhao Zhi Jing said, “You’re so stubborn. Even though I, the sect leader, am merciful, I won’t be able to spare you. Lu Qing Du, you act on behalf of our founding ancestor!” Lu Qing Du said, “Yes!” He raised his sword and killed Yu Dao Xian who was first in the line.

Yu Dao Xian was warm and kind and he had many friends in Quan Zhen Sect. When they saw Lu Qing Du execute him, they shouted in fury. What Song De Fang and Fa Wang heard was their cries of protest. Yin Kexi waved his hand and several Mongolian soldiers blocked the Taoists.

When Lu Qing Du saw such fierce reaction, he was afraid. Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Quickly do it, why are you delaying?” Lu Qing Du said, “Yes!” He raised his sword and killed another 2 people. The 4th person in the queue was Yin Zhi Ping and just as Lu Qing Du raised his sword to stab his chest, a female voice coldly said, “Stop. Don’t kill him.”

Lu Qing Du turned around and saw a young lady in white. It was Xiao Long Nu. She said, “Get aside! Let me kill him.”


END OF CHAPTER 25

[Han Solo]

CHAPTER 25 - DOMESTIC STRIFE, FOREIGN AGGRESSION


Translated By Rayon


Zhou Botong raised his head, searching the top but finding no flag there, he could not help being startled. He had only thought that Jinlun Fawang would be hiding somewhere below, waiting to ambush him then seize the opportunity to route him completely.

It was a smooth plan but not even ten thousand guesses could prepare him for this: the flag was not hoisted.

He looked around. The camp was filled with numerous tents. Yet, he must try to find it before leaving.

Zhao Zhijing was about to move forward to greet him but he changed his mind. He thought, If I go and tell him now, he'll be suspicious. I must first let him look everywhere and when he doesn't succeed, then he can't help feeling dejected. At that time, I'll go out and tell him where the flag is. Only then will he be able to show his gratitude towards me.

He crouched behind a tent to watch the motionless Zhou Botong only to see his body shoot upwards towards the top of the flag pole. He leapt several chi high and used one hand to brace himself against the pole. Then he used his other hand to quickly pull himself up until he reached the top.

Zhao Zhijing was secretly astonished. Grand Martial Uncle Zhou must be almost a hundred years old. Even if he practiced the Taoist doctrines, he still would not be able to avoid the slowing effects of old age. Yet, he is still as agile as a youth. So the stories in Wulin are really true.

Once up there, Zhou Botong scanned the whole camp, seeing several flags fluttering in the wind but none of them was the king's flag. He raised his head and shouted: "Jinlun Fawang, where is the king's flag?"

This angry yell was carried far and wide, its faint echoes bouncing off the cordillera to the West. Fawang had already reported the matter to Huo Bilie so even though the whole army heard his shout, they remained silent.

Zhou Botong warned: "Fawang, if you still don't reply, I might have to scold you."

There was still no response.

Zhou Botong scolded: "Jinlun Fawang, you rotten dog, you call yourself a hero? You're worse than a turtle who refuses to come out of its shell!"

From the East, someone suddenly called out: "Mischievous Old Urchin, if you want to steal the king's flag, it's right here."

Zhou Botong quickly rushed down the pole, shouting: "Where?"

But after shouting, that person was silent. Zhou Botong searched countless tents but did not know where to start.

Farther away, the person shouted: "The king's flag is right here! The king's flag is right here!"

Zhou Botong dashed towards that sound but that person's voice was softer now, growing fainter and fainter. Zhou Botong only took a few steps but the voice was already fading in and out like gossamer until finally it stopped.

In reality, he did not know how far the voice was from camp.

Zhou Botong called out angrily: "Fawang, you rascal, are you playing hide-and-seek with me? Do you want me to burn down this whole camp so you'll come out?"

Zhao Zhijing thought, If he sets the camp on fire, that can't be good. He hurried forward and said in a low voice: "Grand Martial Uncle Zhou, don't light a fire."

Grand Martial Uncle Zhou said: "You Taoist priest, it's you! Why can't I light a fire?"

Zhao Zhijing quickly lied: "They intentionally want you to light a fire because the whole camp is filled with explosives. When you ignite it, the whole place could explode."

Zhou Botong was shocked. "It's a clever trick but also mean and cruel."

Zhao Zhijing was relieved to see that he believed him. He added: "I secretly inquired around and found out about this clever trick. I was afraid that you did not know about this so I had to tell you."

Grand Martial Uncle Zhou said: "Mmm, your intentions are good. If you hadn't told me, this Mischievous Old Urchin could have been killed."

Zhao Zhijing replied: "I also took a great risk by finding out where the king's flag is. Grand Martial Uncle Zhou, please come along with me."

But Zhou Botong suddenly said: "Don't tell me, don't tell me! If I can't find it, then I must admit defeat."

The bet to find the flag was an amusing game. But if Zhao Zhijing gave him directions, he would feel bad even if he won because this kind of game required stealth.

Zhao Zhijing felt anxious. Then suddenly, he remembered, He is known as the Mischievous Old Urchin, his mood is not ordinary. I must tempt him first so he can get hooked.

He said: "Grand Martial Uncle, I also want to steal the flag. Let's have a race as to who finds it first."

After saying that, he quickly rushed towards the hills. When he got there, he turned to find Zhou Botong following behind. He then darted to the third hill, pondering aloud: "They said that it's in a cave between two elm trees but where are these two elm trees?"

He rushed around the place but actually did not approach the cave where Fawang hid it. Suddenly, he heard Zhou Botong exclaim: "I found it first!" He was standing between the two elm trees.

Zhao Zhijing smirked, thinking, He stole the king's flag. He'll surely favor me now. What's more, I stopped him from setting the camp on fire. He thinks I saved his life. Everything is going exactly as Fawang planned.

Satisfied, he started to step inside the cave.

Suddenly, he heard a loud shout, the sound extremely sharp. Zhou Botong cried out: "Poisonous snake! Poisonous snake!"

Shocked, Zhao Zhijing quickly withdrew his foot that was already inside the cave. He asked: "Grand Martial Uncle! There's a poisonous snake inside the cave?"

Grand Martial Uncle Zhou replied: "It's not a snake... it's not a snake..."

The voice was already getting weaker.

Zhao Zhijing anxiously gathered some twigs and lit it, using it as a torch so he could see inside the cave.

He saw Zhou Botong on the ground, his left hand still clutching the flag. He was brandishing it as though trying to keep him away.

Zhao Zhijing asked: "Grand Martial Uncle, are you all right?"

Zhou Botong replied: "I have been poisoned...venom...venom...was bitten..."

But before he could finish his statement, his hand had gradually grown limp.

Zhao Zhijing had seen him enter the cave but despite his high kung fu, he was still seriously injured. That was why he did not want to rush in without knowing what kind of fierce poison it was that afflicted him. What's more, the flag that Zhou Botong was clutching was not the same color as the king's flag.

He thought, Fawang had connived with me to trick him into entering the cave but it was really his intention to harm him by poisoning the thing.

He was extremely vexed. He only wanted to flee. So, without even bothering to see what it was that harmed Zhou Botong or what kind of poison it was, he just turned around and ran away.

The fire from the torch that he dropped on the way out was beginning to die out.

Halfway out, he was stopped by someone who was holding out a hand to him.

That person spoke softly: "Are you always this disrespectful to your seniors?"

The voice was distinctly stern but also as pure and as clear as jade.

In the darkness, he saw the lithe form of a woman dressed in flowing white clothes.

She was none other than Xiao Long Nuu.

The light from the torch shone on her, revealing a beautiful face. Though delicate-looking, the face actually bore an angry expression.

Zhao Zhijing was taken aback and rendered speechless. He was not expecting her and now that she was here, all he wanted was to run away. But, he could not even take a single step.

In truth, Xiao Long Nuu had been observing Zhao Zhijing from a distance, watching his every action. When he made Zhou Botong chase him towards the hills, Xiao Long Nuu followed as well.

Zhou Botong knew this but did not pay attention to it. Zhao Zhijing, on the other
hand, was completely unaware.

Xiao Long Nuu bent down and picked up the torch, using it to illuminate Zhou Botong's prostrate form. His face was shadowed and green-like in its pallor.

From her bosom, she casually took out her golden silk glove and slipped it on before lifting his arm to inspect it. She was shocked to find three spiders appear, their mouths firmly attacked to Zhou Botong's finger.

The spiders looked extremely strange. Their bodies had alternating red and green stripes that were so bright, one could get mesmerized watching them.

She knew that venomous animals were usually bright in color. The brighter their color, the more lethal the venom.

These three spiders were still firmly biting unto Zhou Botong's finger.

If she tried to capture them, they would only evade her grasp. Finally, she raised her right hand and sent three jade bee needles into the air, killing the three spiders immediately.

While sending the jade bee needles towards them, she had used the right amount of force to kill the spiders without injuring Zhou Botong.

This species of spider was called "Cai Xue Zhu" (Snow-Colored Spider) and they only lived in the snowy mountains of Tibet. Their venom was one of the three most deadly poisons in the world.

Jinlun Fawang had brought them with him from the East, intending to use it against famous poison experts in the Central Plains.

That time when he tried to kill Guo Jing in Xiangyang, he had not thought of using the venomous snow-colored spiders but after he was hit by Li Mo Chou's Bing Po Yin Zheng (Soul Freezing Silver Needle), he angrily returned to the encampment and took the spiders out of their golden case. He only hoped that he would meet Li Mo Chou again and then have her taste their venom.

Thus, it was just Zhou Botong's misfortune to make the bet with him in stealing the flag. After making a deal with Zhao Zhijing, he placed the venomous spiders on the flag and hid it inside the cave.

Once the snow-colored spiders saw flesh and blood, they would immediately throw themselves against it and bite down hard. They were attracted to blood and once one got bitten, one could never escape.

Their venom was so lethal that no one, not even Fawang, knew the antidote. He himself was not willing to stick the spiders too close to his body, afraid of getting bitten.

Such a disaster he could ill-afford.

Xiao Long Nuu's jade bee needles also came from highly venomous insects, the jade bees of Mount Zhong Nan. Although the lethalness of their venom was inferior compared to that of the snow-colored spiders, the needles managed to enter their bodies, forcing them to produce the anti-venom.

The venomous spiders were still biting on to its prey when they were hit. Because they were still in the process of producing anti-venoms and also sending out their own venoms to their prey, they could not fight off the venom from the needles.

However, right before they died, their bodily fluids spurted out of their mouths, sending the anti-venom into Zhou Botong's blood stream.

It was extremely fortunate that Xiao Long Nuu had rushed in to save him and saw the venomous spiders. Not daring to touch them, she instead launched three needles and luckily hit them, thus managing to discover the antidote to the world's most lethal venoms.

Xiao Long Nuu spied the three snow-colored spiders' lifeless forms on the ground, their bright red-green colors still managing to look fearsome.

She also saw Zhou Botong lying motionless as though he was dead.

In truth, she actually felt quite grateful to Zhou Botong. If not for him, Yang Guo would not have come to Passionless Valley and she would have been forced to marry Gongsun Zhi.

His whole body was covered in cold sweat and his breathing had grown irregular. Who would have thought he would die like this? In her heart, she was deeply moved.

But all of a sudden, Zhou Botong's left hand began to move and she heard him say in a faint voice: "What was it that bit me with such...such fierceness?"

He tried to get up but his body was too weak so that he stumbled.

Xiao Long Nuu was overjoyed to find that he was not yet dead. She lifted the torch closer to his face and saw that traces of the spiders's venom was no longer there.

Relieved, she asked: "You did not die?"

Zhou Botong chuckled: "Well, it doesn't look that way. I am right between half-death and half-life...haha..."

He wanted to laugh heartily but his hands and feet were twitching to get up. His smile faded.

Laughter came from outside the cave. The sound was so strong that it resembled the ear-defeaning sound of thunder rumbling.

That person spoke: "Mischievous Old Urchin, have you stolen the king's flag? In today's wager with you, who won? You or me?"

The speaker was precisely Jinlun Fawang.

Using her left hand, Xiao Long Nuu snuffed out the light. The fire went out immediately. As long as she was wearing her gold silk glove, no sharp objects or raging fires could harm her.

Zhou Botong replied: "Whether the Mischievous Old Man has lost in this game is not yet decided. But I'm afraid I've lost my life to you. Fawang, you rascal, what sort of poisonous spider is this, so evil and cruel?"

When he spoke these words, his voice sounded soft and thin. Even though he was angry, he was far too weak. Still, his voice was as deep as Fawang's rumbling laughter.

Fawang was secretly amazed. He was bitten by my Cai Xue Zhu (Snow-Colored Spider) but he didn't die. From his voice, it is clear that his internal strength is profound, not below mine. Luckily, he fell for the trap, thus removing a powerful enemy. If he doesn't die soon, he'll only suffer for a short while.

Zhou Botong added: "Young Taoist Zhao Zhijing, you worked with this man to trick me. Go quickly to Qiu Chuji and ask him to kill you!"

Outside the cave, Zhao Zhijing hid behind Fawang, fearing for his life. He thought in terror, How could I ask that of Martial Senior Qiu?

Fawang laughingly said: "Taoist Priest Zhao is very good. Once I inform our prince of his great deed, he will rever him as an honorable teacher of the Quanzhen School."

But, he thought, If Zhou Botong dies, Taoist Priest Zhao won't have a way out. From this time on, he is under my control. His level of skill is ordinary but Zhou Botong acts like a crazy person. Senior generations, like Qiu Chuji and so on, may honor him, but who would take his words seriously? How can the Quanzhen School depend on the words of the Mischievous Old Urchin?

Indignant, Zhou Botong let out a snort of contempt.

Most of the venoms in his body were gone but the cai xue zhu was extremely venomous. Its effects wouldn't vanish that easily. Just as a tiny drop of it could kill several people so could the slightest anger in Zhou Botong lead to a feeling of dizziness.

Xiao Long Nuu said: "Jinlun Fawang, you strike others, then use this kind of venom to injure another. Is that a rule of your school? Quick, give us the antidote to cure Old Gentleman Zhou!"

Seeing Zhou Botong dazed, Fawang was relieved to find that the venom was working. He thought, How could you depend on this chit of a girl against me?

He remembered what Zhao Zhijing said to him earlier in the day, that he was once defeated by her. Making up his mind to get her and show her exactly who was more powerful or stronger, he dashed into the cave, raising his left palm while his right hand moved as though to grab Xiao Long Nuu.

He said: "Here's the antidote. Take it."

Xiao Long Nuu waved her right hand and a burst of soft tinkling could be heard. A golden bell attached to a silken belt flew out, heading towards his Qi Men Xue point.

Fawang thought, If I still can't catch you today, how can I teach that Taoist priest Zhao not to laugh?

Swaying his body to avoid the golden bell, he reached into his vest to grasp two wheels, beating the two together to produce a loud sound that shook one's eardrums.

Maintaining her position, Xiao Long Nuu shifted slightly, aiming for his back where his Da Chui Xue point was. The change of moves was extremely fast; Fawang leapt back, exclaiming: "Your level of kung fu is rarely seen in women!"

The two of them fought inside the narrow passage and within the blink of an eye, they have already exchanged ten or so moves. When it came to power, Xiao Long Nuu was no match against Fawang, however, he was still worried about that day when entered the cave in the hill and pricked his foot on a Bing Po Yin Zhen (Soul Freezing Silver Needle), nearly costing him his life.

Although Xiao Long Nuu and Li Mo Chou came from the same school, Li Mo Chou was actually a level higher than her. Still, what he was worried about were the clever tricks that Li Mo Chou's master must have taught her as well. He was not only unwilling to get inside the cave and make the same mistake again, he also knew that there were poisonous spiders there. One bite from them would mean sure death for him. So although he was anxious, he was not bold enough to brave the danger.

In the darkness, one could only hear the clang of metals as the lead and silver wheels met the golden bell, the sound almost resembling music made from small gongs.

Standing afar, Zhao Zhijing listened to the sounds of the two fighting while his heart beat wildly. Although it was not his intention to kill Zhou Botong, he knew that he could not escape from the blame of his murder. In Wulin, no crime went unpunished.

If Fawang killed Xiao Long Nuu, that would be great. But what if Xiao Long Nuu won? Even if she withdrew or ran away, the news would still spread. What should he do then?

Grasping his sword, he started to pace, listening to the sound of the wheels and the golden bell grow louder as his sweat continued to stream and soak his robes.

Even though Fawang's kung fu was higher than that of Xiao Long Nuu, his weapon was shorter than hers so he could not enter the cave. Eventually he found it difficult to gain the upper hand. After six or seven moves, he still could not penetrate her defenses.

Xiao Long Nuu saw that Zhou Botong was once again motionless on the ground, close to death. Because she wanted to save him, she did not want the fight to last long.

As the two of them fought in the darkness, her better vision gave her an advantage. She saw Fawang wield his wheel to the right before slanting and smashing down to create a crack. Immediately, she moved her silken belt to the right, aiming for him while at the same time, her left hand released ten Yu Feng Zhen (Jade Bee Needles), sending them shooting in his direction.

With very little distance between them, the YuFeng (Jade Bee) needles shot out noiselessly so that Fawang did not realize it at once until they were only about a foot from his body. However, his wugong (martial arts) was no small matter and in the face of danger, he hurriedly turned over his wheel to block the small golden bells of the coiling silken belt, bracing himself with both feet as he did at the same time he let out a loud shout. His body rose several zhang or so, allowing the ten or so YuFeng needles to fly past the soles of his feet.

In the haste, he used a great amount of his force, raising both arms up as his body rose along with his silver and lead wheels, which were still successively blocking the small golden bells of the silken belt, sending them flying from his hands into midair.

The wheels made a "wuwu" sound while the small golden bell let out a "ding-ding" noise as both shot straight up into the sky about twenty feet from the ground.

Under the starlight, one could only see circles of gray and silver amidst the fiercely flying strip of belt above.

Xiao Long Nuu did not wait for him to fall back to the ground before she released another YuFeng needle in his way. Fawang's body was still in midair and no matter how strong his wugong was, there was no way for him to deflect it. Although the distance between them this time was big, the circumstance was actually quite dire for him.

However, when Fawang leapt he had anticipated that the enemy would certainly try to strike again so he immediately grabbed at his chest, using his external force to rip off two strips of cloth from his gown. As the gown tore into pieces, his laughter rang loud.

Just as the YuFeng needles shot towards him, he waved the strips of cloth, allowing the tiny needles to only pierce the cloth. He gave another laugh as finally both his feet touched the ground, throwing away the strips of cloth as he did. He then stretched out his hands to catch his two wheels as they fell from the air.

Twice, he was able to get away from danger, both made possible without using his wugong but his shrewd mind. At a crucial moment, he escaped not only with his life but with Xiao Long Nuu's weapons as well.

As soon as his feet fell on the ground, he rushed up to the mouth of the cave and sneered: "Long GuNiang (Miss Long), you still don't give up?"

He was afraid that Xiao Long Nuu might ambush him in the cave so he did not dare enter. However, Xiao Long Nuu did not know this so she hid herself near the entrance to the cave, silently clutching a single golden needle.

Fawang waited for a moment. Seeing nothing move, he formulated a plan. He held his two wheels in his right hand and used his left to pick up the two strips of cloth. He quickly tossed the wheels one after the other into the interior of the cave, using them to shield his feet from the poisoned needles on the ground while at the same time wielding the strips of cloth in the air, blocking his front. The two strips of cloth still bore the YuFeng needles so they actually served as virulent weapons.

He laughed and said: "The wolf's fang cudgel! Long GuNiang, why don't you test the severity of my wolf's fang?"

But before he could even finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a tug in his hand. A half section of the cloth was unexpectedly grasped by Xiao Long Nuu!

Ordinarily, she would not have so easily grabbed a wolf's fang cudgel with her bare hands but she was wearing her gold silk gloves, not even a wolf's fang could withstand it.

Taken by surprise, Fawang hurriedly applied strength to snatch it back but in between that space of an instant, Xiao Long Nuu already shot out the golden needle in her hand.

Fawang shouted in the dark, sensing the life-threatening situation. He then grabbed Zhou Botong's body which was lying on the ground and using his heel to raise him and use him as cover, following the stance of the "*Dao Cai Qi Xing Bu."

Afterwards, he hurriedly leapt out of the cave, glad to have escaped with his life. However, the life-and-death situation that he has just been through filled him with fear so that he only stopped when he was well away from the cave, gasping for breath.

Those twenty or so YuFeng needles pierced Zhou Botong's body. Xiao Long Nuu gasped, thinking that he was dead. Also, his body was lying still, only serving to increase her guilt.

But unexpectedly, Zhou Botong suddenly said: "Good pain, good pain! What in the world bit me?"

Although startled, Xiao Long Nuu was happy. She said: "Zhou Botong, you are not yet dead?"

Knowing nothing about proper addresses, she spoke his name plainly.

Zhou Botong said: "Seems like I'm passed death. Can it be that I'm alive again? I didn't know that once you're dead there is still enough life left."

Xiao Long Nuu replied: "You're not dead. That's good. That Fawang was frighteningly good. Not even once did I hit him."

She then took out an iron stone, using it to suck back the YuFeng needles from his body.

Zhou Botong scolded: "Fawang, that thieving dog, he speaks nothing but lies, taking advantage of me because I'm dying, even using me to block the tiny needles..."

Xiao Long Nuu never stopped removing the needles and he also did not stop scolding the person.

Xiao Long Nuu smiled faintly, saying: "Zhou Botong, these needles that pricked you are mine." At that moment, a sudden thought came to her, prompting her to ask: "My YuFeng needles are steeped in bee venom, does your body feel bad?"

Zhou Botong replied: "I feel very comfortable. Prick me again."

Xiao Long Nuu thought that he was joking so she took out a tiny jade bottle from her chest, saying: "This bottle of jade bee honey is the antidote to my golden needles. If you drink it, then you'll be all right."

But Zhou Botong shook his hand, saying repeatedly: "No, no! The pricks of your needles make me feel comfortable. It appears to counteract the venom of the spiders."

Xiao Long Nuu thought that Lao Wantong (Mischievous Old Urchin) was speaking nonsense again, but because he firmly refused to take it, she decided not to force him. Besides, it looked as though this strange old man's neigong (internal strength) was immeasurably deep if he was bitten by the venomous spiders and he did not die. Being hit by the YuFeng needles was no hindrance.

In truth, the honeybees' sting, although extremely poisonous, could nevertheless treat various illnesses. The mysterious benefits of the jade bee included cure for rheumatism and other such diseases that affected man under the heavens. However, Xiao Long Nuu together with Zhou Botong were not familiar with medicine so they did not know that the YuFeng needles can be used to combat poison with poison and the Cai Xue Zhu (Snow-Colored Spider) poison was only one of many.

Fawang was listening to Zhou Botong's scolding words from outside the cave and was startled. He thought that this man scolding him must be an immortal god that could not be killed. If he really wanted to kill him, he must do so now while he was off his guard. Otherwise, the opportunity might not present itself again.

He advanced but before he could enter the cave's entrance, he paused. When he successively used both his silver and lead wheels to see if there was a trap waiting inside, he had also lost them and so now the only weapon he had in his possession was Xiao Long Nuu's silken belt.

He called out: "Long GuNiang, I have your weapon with me!"

Then, with one shake, the silken belt unfolded and flew straight inside. His wugong had reached a level where he could wield any weapon without any problem. So although Xiao Long Nuu's silken belt was weird, he thought he could use it like one would use a whip. But its ability was unexpected and not only that, he was able to use it even from where he was standing. He was not afraid anymore that the opponent would suddenly attack him with the golden needles.

With child-like innocence, Xiao Long Nuu rose to pick up the silver and lead wheels. She struck the two together and spoke: "Good, let's exchange weapons so we can start the fight."

She stretched out her right arm but a quick pain she felt in her hand made her stop and refuse to push forward.

The lead wheel appeared small but it was actually made of very heavy metal. So when Xiao Long Nuu extended it, she was not prepared for its weight. She quickly pulled back and clutched the two wheels to her chest.

Fawang saw an advantage and quickly dashed forward, extending his hand to grab the double wheels. Xiao Long Nuu took a step back as her left hand shot up as though to release the silver wheel. But it was only a feint move because she used this chance to release several YuFeng needles in his direction.

These YuFeng needles were the same ones she had extracted from Zhou Botong's body so they were no longer as poisonous. Still, they could still be used as a weapon. Fawang was prepared, however. When he could not grab the silver wheel, he quickly leapt to the side, allowing the YuFeng needles to shoot past him, hitting nothing but empty air.

Zhou Botong laughed, saying: "Great, let the bald thief come and then you prick him in the butt with your tiny needles!"

Xiao Long Nuu said: "Ai! I've used up all my YuFeng needles!"

Dismayed, Zhou Botong scratched his head and said: "That's one annoying problem."

He had two personalities in him - one old, the other young - but he did not have the ability to balance the two, so whatever it was he thought or felt, he always said it without misgivings.

Jinlun Fawang had a scheming mind, but he was really unaware of Zhou Botong or Xiao Long Nuu's personality. Believing that no one under the heaven could outsmart him, he thought: You said that you've used up all your YuFeng needles. Why should I believe you? It's clear that you want me to believe that to entice me to lower my guard down. That old ploy is not going to work on me.

Thus, Xiao Long Nuu's frank speech instead caused Fawang to be even less daring, especially when only days ago in the cave in the hills, Yang Guo had tricked him. He did not want to suffer the same fate as Ni Moxing and be crippled in both legs. He would rather wait twelve long hours than go through that.

One hour soon turned to two hours until finally the sky showed first light.

Zhou Botong sat in a kneeling position, trying to circulate his qi in order to get rid of the poison still in his body. But the venom of the Cai Xue spiders was really strong because as he tried to move his qi, his chest suddenly tightened and he felt nauseaus. There was no spot where he did not experience any problem. He had tried circulating his qi through different paths, but each try had the same result.

Finally, he sighed defectedly and said: "Ai, Lao Wantong! You've tried it so many times it's no longer amusing!"

Fawang was peeping from outside, but since he did not wait and stay in his place for long, he did not know the problem.

He thought to himself: This is not good. The old man is trying to practice nei gong!

Upon this new development, he carefully took out a golden box from his bosom, removing the cover to reveal several crawling Cai Xue spiders inside. When exposed to the sun, the light made their variegated red and green colors brighter and even more eye-catching.

Next, Fawang took out a pair of rhinoceros horns and used it to clip the spiders in between and gently lifted them from the sticky web. Gently, he flung the Cai Xue spiders towards the mouth of the cave where it stuck. He repeated his movements and threw the rest of the venomous spiders in the small box towards the cave.

Their sticky web covered the entire cave's entrance. The spiders had been inside the small box for a very long time and they had not been fed so as soon as they were able to get out, they immediately set to work, climbing up, moving east, dropping low, and approaching west, hanging suspended, until they were able to create a network of webs in just a very short time.

Xiao Long Nuu and Zhou Botong watched with interest as the spiders spun its web, yet it never occured to either one of them to stop their progress. Only when the web reached about ten feet in diameter, covering the entire mouth of the cave, and the red-green venomous spiders start to crawl around did they look troubled.

Xiao Long Nuu said softly: "What a pity I don't have any more Yufeng needles left. I could have used one to remove these nasty spiders."

Zhou Botong picked up a dried branch, intending to use it to remove the spider web when suddenly a huge butterfly came flitting near the mouth of the cave and ended up caught in the spider web. The species originated form the Kunlun Mountains so when it fell on the web, it had enough power in its body to attempt to struggle and escape. However, although the butterfly's body was huge, one touch of the spider silk and it went straight into paralysis.

Xiao Long Nuu realized this and quickly said: "Don't! The web is poisonous!"

Alarmed, Zhou Botong leapt away and hastily flung the stick to the ground.

Indeed, when Fawang released the venomous spiders, he not only intended to use it to seal the cave, but he also hoped that they would use their hands to destroy it. One touch would cause the poison to seep into the skin and enter the body.

Sitting cross-legged again, Zhou Botong watched as the spiders crowded around the butterfly and started to eat it. He thought: My internal flow is still unstable. It will be some time before I recover.

Xiao Long Nuu, on the other hand, was thinking: If he is going to remain inactive, how will Lao Wantong be able to move the poison up his body in order to remove it completely? So she asked: "How many days and nights will it take for you to recover your internal energy?"

Zhou Botong sighed and said: "I need one hundred days and one hundred evenings before I can manage."

Xiao Long Nuu was surprised to hear this so she asked: "How are we going to survive?"

Zhou Botong chuckled, saying: "Even if that bald thief gives us food to eat, being trapped in this cave for several years is not fun."

Xiao Long Nuu replied: "He'll never give us food." She let out a sigh. "If it were Gou Er with me in this cave, I wouldn't mind spending a lifetime here."

"What makes you place Yang Guo above me?" Zhou Botong said indignantly. "Is he also stronger than me? You don't think I'm good company?"

Although his words made no sense, Xiao Long Nuu did not mind it. She only gave a cool smile and said: "Yang Guo knows the Quanzhen swordplay. Together, we can easily defeat this Buddhist priest and send him running away into the wilderness."

Zhou Botong snorted: "Humph, the Quanzhen swordplay is not that difficult to understand. Even I can use it. Will Yang Guo be able to beat me?"

"When we combine combine our swords together in a technique called *Yunu Suxin swordplay, it is important that his heart is filled with love for me and my heart is filled with love for him so we become united and be able to subdue the enemy."

When Zhou Botong heard her speak about the love between a man and a woman, he was filled with apprehension. He immediately waved his hand and said again and again: "Stop, stop - I don't love you! You also can't possibly love me. But I'm telling you it's much better that there's two of us in this cave. Years ago I was trapped in a cave in Taohua Island and had no one to accompany me. I was
forced to fight with myself the whole time. But this time, it's entirely different because I have you. It's going to be fun!"

And on such happy thought, he could imagine being in that cave for a long time.

Xiao Long Nuu asked dubiously: "Fight with oneself? Is there such a method?"

Pleased, Zhou Botong immediately launched into a discussion of the **Fen Xin Er Yong Zuo You Hu method.

Xiao Long Nuu thought to herself: If I could learn this method, then I could use the Quanzhen sword play with my left hand and the Yunu sword play with my right. With the two combined, I will be able to complete the Yunu Suxin sword play. But I'm afraid that I won't be able to learn this kung fu in just one evening.

"This kung fu is difficult to learn," she told him.

Zhou Botong replied: "If you say it's difficult, then it will really be difficult. If you say it's easy, then it will be easy. There are people who spend their entire lifetime learning yet never understand a thing while there people who only need a few days to understand it. You've heard about those two kids, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, right?"

Xiao Long Nuu nodded.

Zhou Botong continued: "Who do you think is more intelligent?"

Xiao Long Nuu answered: "Madame Guo is a thousand times more clever. Guo Er told me once that there is no one in this generation who could surpass her intelligence and wisdom. Great Hero Guo is virtuous, but his level is actually ordinary."

Zhou Botong laughed. "What do you mean "ordinary? Are you saying he's stupid? Tell me, am I intelligent? Or stupid?"

Xiao Long Nuu smiled and said: "I look at you and although you're not young, you act silly. Sometimes, you say weird things and you act a little mad."

Zhou Botong clapped his hands, saying: "Ah, you're right. I once taught this Zuo You Hu method to Brother Guo Jing and it only took him a few days to learn it. Afterwards, he tried to teach the same lesson to his wife. You said that this child, Huang Rong is sharp and clever with a mind higher than that of a seventy-eight year old man, but she could not understand this kung fu. I thought that the little idiot Guo Jing probably did not teach her properly, so Lao Wantong decided to come and teach her himself. I taught her how to draw a picture with her left hand and a circle with her right, but she could not do both together. It was then that I realized that some men may learn a method that other men would spend a lifetime learning, yet never understand. You see, intelligence is not the only measure to success."

Xiao Long Nuu said: "Don't tell me that when stupid people learn this kung fu, they can surpass even the smart ones. I can't believe it."

Zhou Botong grinned and said: "I look at you and see that your intelligence is more or less equal to that of young Huang Rong. Your wugong is not that far from hers either. Since you don't believe, why not try to draw a square on the ground with your left index finger and a circle with your right at the same time?"

Xiao Long Nuu followed his instructions and extended both her index fingers to the ground, making downward strokes to create the figures. However, it turned out that the square looked like a circle and the circle looked like a square.

Zhou Botong laughingly said: "See? I told you it's not easy."

Smiling faintly, Xiao Long Nuu emptied her mind before extending her index fingers again. This time, she was able to draw a perfect square and a perfect circle.

In his astonishment, Zhou Botong could only stammer: "You...you...you..." A moment passed before he could speak: "You studied this before?"

"Ah, I haven't," Xiao Long Nuu replied. "Besides, didn't you say this is difficult?"

Zhou Botong scratched the white hairs on his head and asked: "Then how did you know how to draw?"

Xiao Long Nuu said: "I don't know. I didn't think. I just held out my fingers and drew the figures."

As she said this, she wrote the three characters "lao wan tong" with her left hand and the three characters "xiao long nuu" with her right. The two hand strokes were so neatly written they looked like the ones found in books and the handwriting was also very elegant.

Delighted, Zhou Botong declared: "This shows that you learned this method even when you were still in your mother's womb! This is so much better!"

Thereupon, he taught her how to attack with her left and defend with her right, strike with her right and block with her left. It was in Taohua Island that he first learned this strange kung fu that was unmatched under the heavens so when the old man spoke, she listened.

In truth, the essence of the Zuo You Hu technique was the four characters "Fin Xin Er Yong." Often, people with high intelligence have complicated thoughts and they always rushed form one thought to another. *During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zi wrote the Qi Bu Shi, which depicted the turbulence of Wu Dynasty. The poem could be likened to that of a person trying to learn the Zuo You Hu kung fu technique, only that the turbulence that makes it impossible to learn occurred purely inside the person's mind.

Xiao Long Nuu's kung fu was based on suppressing all emotions and desires. Even when she was only eight or nine years old she mastered her feelings, stopping them like one would water. After she fell madly in love with Yang Guo, however, the constant pain in her heart from thinking of him caused her kung fu to gradually decline. But then, this weird technique was introduced, unexpectedly helping her to recover.

After she resumed practicing the Gumu Pai nei gong, she was actually at the same level as Lin Chaoying when she was pining over her lost love. Their mind sets were the same for the most part so they had more or less the same capacity for understanding. As soon as Zhou Botong moved his finger, she understood his meaning quickly. But it was only because Zhou Botong, Guo Jing, and Xiao Long Nuu shared the same personality - innocence of heart - that people like Huang Rong, Yang Guo, and Zhu Ziliu could not learn it.

Zhou Botong had yet to remove the poison from his body, but he continued to speak and draw with enthusiasm. Xiao Long Nuu, on the other hand, kept on nodding her head, but in her mind she was secretly trying to figure out how to use the Yunu sword play with her right hand and the Quanzhen sword play with her left. And so after several hours of playing this Chinese finger game with him, she finally grasped the idea.

"I understand completely," she spoke.

To test it out, she moved her hands, making circular and thrusting motions with it.

Zhou Botong's jaw dropped. He could only shout: "Strange! Strange!"

Guarding the cave outside, Fawang and Zhao Zhijing heard the two of them muttering and laughing with each other so they pressed their ears closer but they could only hear snatches of their conversation, not enough to make the meaning clear.

Xiao Long Nuu raised her head at that moment and saw them eavesdropping. She straightened and said, "We're getting out of here!"

Zhou Botong looked at her blankly, asking: "How exactly?"

"If we go out and catch that bald thief, we can force him to give you the antidote," Xiao Long Nuu replied.

Zhou Botong stroked his beard, saying, "You think you can beat him?"

As they spoke, they suddenly heard a buzzing sound. A honeybee got stuck to the spider web and tried to struggle. Earlier when the big butterfly touched the spider's silk, it immediately went into paralysis. This honeybee was small in size, but it seemed unafraid of the poison of the Cai Xue spiders and even succeeded in splitting the web open.

The venomous spiders zealously eyed it fom the side, but dared not to go forward and tangle it within their silk. After a long while, the honeybee would not be able to keep itself conscious and only then would the venomous spiders attack it.

In the Ancient Tomb, Xiao Long Nuu kept swarms of jade bees as pets together with honeybees all year long so no doubt her technique of controlling bees was vey good. Moreover, she regarded all bees as a friend. When this honeybee was in trouble, she could not stand it.

Suddenly changing her mind, she said: "Although these venomous spiders are evil-looking, my bees won't necessarily be afraid of them."

She then took out the jade bottle from her bosom, opened the lid, and used her right hand to fan the air around it, allowing the fragrant aroma to spread and penetrate through the thick spider web.

Surprised, Zhou Botong asked: "What are you doing?"

"Do you want to see an amusing trick?" Xiao Long Nuu asked.

Zhou Botong was delighted, saying: "Wonderful!" Then, asked: "What trick is that?"

Xiao Long Nuu only smiled, not responding as she continued moving her palm.

This was the season where the wild flowers in the valley were in full bloom. Whereever the sweet scent of honey could be smelled, the numerous wild bees gathering honey rushed in that direction. When the wild bees rushed inside the cave, they got tangled in the spider web, and immediately began to struggle. Some died after being biten by the venomous spiders while others were able to sting a few spiders. Although the Cai Xue spiders were considered among the world's most poisonous, too much bee venom in their bodies caused them to become stiff and gradually die.

Zhou Botong was ecstatic as he looked on while, outside the cave, Jinlun Fawang and Zhao Zhijing watched in helpless astonishment.

In the meantime, the Cai Xue spiders still had the upper hand. Only three poisonous spiders were dead while about forty or so honeybees were killed violently. However, the wild bees continued to swarm. At first, there were only thirty of them, but fifty more came and got caught in the web. Afterwards, dozens more of them came, numbering up to a hundred so that the spider web covering the mouth of the cave soon began to fill up, stinging the venomous spiders until they died.

Zhao Zhijing had experienced firsthand the honeybee's sting. Seeing them now with his own eyes, he realized the circumstance was grave. Hastily, he dives into the bushes to avoid them.

Fawang, on the other hand, knew that the Cai Xue spiders were rare. If they are annihilated, there would be none who could their job. Therefore, he and the venomous spiders share a common hatred against this swarm of wild bees. However, he did not know that it was Xiao Long Nuu who summoned them. All he thought about was how to force Zhou Botong and Xiao Long Nuu out of the cave with their lives.

Young Xiao Long Nuu dipped a finger into the jade bottle and shot some honey towards Fawang, hitting him on both sides. He howled into the cave's entrance as several wild bees made an about-face and headed towards him.

Fawang was panic-stricken as he realized the dire situation he was in. He dashed forward quickly. Although the wild bees were fast, his lightness kungfu was faster so within moments, he was already ten or so feet away.

His figure appeared like a wisp of black smoke, rushing further and further away. Failing to catch up, the wild bees merely scattered around.

Xiao Long Nuu stamped her foot again and again, saying repeatedly: "What a pity! What a pity!"

Zhou Botong asked: "What a pity?"

"He ran away before I could snatch the antiidote from him," Xiao Long Nuu replied.

Indeed, she planned to summon the honeybees so they could cover Fawang's flank, effectively trapping him within a sphere. However, these wild bees came from different nests and therefore came from different directions. Unlike the tamed jade bees of the Ancient Tomb, when she wanted them to pursue, sting the enemy, return, outflank him, or make a circle like in a battle formation, the wild bees were helpless.

Zhou Botong, however, was full of admiration. He was the sort who liked games and when he played, his spirit usually improved. So when he clapped his hands with enthusiasm, he forgot all about the poison still in his body.


Translated By Foxs


Xiao Long Nu saw the spider web was eliminated; she leaped out and shouted, “Come!”

Zhou BuoTong followed, but he fell down as he was about to leap. “I … I can’t exert my strength!” he said. Suddenly his body shivered and his teeth chattered, like he was plunged into an ocean of ice. His lips turned white and his face turned blue, while his beards could not stop swaying.

Xiao Long Nu was startled. “Zhou BuoTong! What happened?”

“Prick … prick me … with your needle again,” he said unevenly.

Xiao Lung Nu was surprised, “My needles are poisonous.”

“Then … the poison … is good,” the old man responded weakly.

Xiao Long Nu remembered the battle between the spiders and wild bees; she thought, “Could it be that the bee’s venom is the antidote of the spiders’?” She quickly picked several needles from the ground and pricked them into his arm. “Good! More! More!” Zhou BuoTong called out.

Xiao Long Nu pricked him some more while keeping her eyes on him. She saw the effect of the spider’s poison had faded from his face. After more than ten pricks, Zhou BuoTong stopped shivering. He sighed and said, “It is truly poison against poison.” He tried to exert his energy but turned out the poison had not been completely neutralized.

Suddenly he slapped his knee and said, “Miss Long, your bee poison is not strong enough and they are no longer fresh.”

“That case I am going to call some bees to sting you,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, thank you …” the old man said, “Hurry up!”

Xiao Long Nu then opened the jade bottle to lure a crowd of wild bees. Zhou BuoTong was grinning from ear to ear; he took out his clothes and let the bees stung him while he exerted his internal energy. First he sucked the bees’ venom to his [dan tian – pubic area, lower stomach] and then spread them out toward all his veins. Approximately [the time needed to eat a bowl of rice] later the spider venom had been completely neutralized. The bee sting started to hurt him. “Enough! Enough!” he cried, putting on his clothes back, “More bee sting and I am dead.” Xiao Long Nu smiled and drove the bees away.

She picked her [jin ling ruan so – belt with golden bells (lit. golden bell soft rope) – from Noodles translation: white silk belt] from the ground and asked, “I am going to Mount Zhong Nan. Are you coming?”

Zhou BuoTong shook his head, “I have an important matter to deal with. You go ahead.”

“Ah! I almost forget,” said Xiao Long Nu. “You are going to Xiang Yang to give Hero Guo a hand.” As soon as the word ‘Guo Da Xia’ came out of her mouth, Guo Fu came into her mind. From Guo Fu, her mind went to Yang Guo. “Zhou BuoTong, if you see Yang Guo, please don’t let him know you have seen me,” she sadly said.

Zhou BuoTong mumbled some incoherent words, like he was thinking really hard. A moment later he looked up and asked, “What did you say?”

“Never mind,” she answered. “Farewell then.”

Zhou BuoTong was preoccupied; he simply nodded and waved his hand. Xiao Long Nu turned around and started walking; but before reaching the plain she heard strange noises from Zhou BuoTong direction, similar to her own commands to the bees. She thought it was peculiar and quietly walked back. Hiding behind a tree she saw Zhou BuoTong – with one hand holding a jade bottle, flailing his arm around and howling noisily. She groped into her pocket and sure enough, her jade bottle was gone. The funny thing was, after calling for a while only a handful of wild bees were flying around his jade bottle.

Xiao Long Nu could not help chuckling. Coming out from behind the tree she called, “Zhou BuoTong! Let me teach you!”

Zhou NuoTong blushed, he was caught red handed with the jade bottle in his hand. He kicked the ground and leaped several meters and quickly ran downhill.

Xiao Long Nu laughed heartily. This old man was really strange and interesting. But as the echo of her laughter was fading away, she began to feel lonely and miserable; and her tears flowed without inhibition. She had fought Jin Lun Fa Wang, both with her strength and wits; and then she had Old Urchin’s company for the rest of the night. Now that the friend and foe were gone, she felt utter loneliness, like an orphan without anybody to care.

In another moment she remembered Zhao ZhiJing and Yin ZhiPing. Even if she cut their bodies into ten thousand pieces, would her hatred be alleviated? She could easily kill those two, but she thought what good would that be? She stood and stared blankly under a big elm tree for a half a day; then said to herself, “Let me find them first.”

She went down the hill and found her donkey grazing on the foothill. When she arrived at the fork road going to the Mongolian camp, she saw dust flying up, flags fluttering, and heard the sound of hoofs moving south toward Xiang Yang. Xiao Long Nu hesitated, “How could I find those two priests among this mighty force?”

Suddenly she saw three horse riders in the distance. They wore yellow robe and Taoist hat. “Why three?” she wondered. She strained her eyes and could see Yin ZhiPing rode in the back, with Zhao ZhiJing and an unknown young Taoist priest in front of him. Xiao Long Nu pulled her reins and followed with her donkey.

Yin ZhiPing heard the donkey and turned his head. His countenance paled.

“Martial Uncle Zhao, who is that woman?” the young priest asked.

“Our archenemy,” he answered, “Don’t ask too much.”

The young priest was startled. “The Scarlet Immortal Li MoChou?” he asked, trembling with fear.

“No, but she is her martial sister,” ZhiJing explained.

The young priest was Qi ZhiCeng, a Qiu ChuJi’s disciple. He knew Li MoChou had fought with the Quan Zhen’s masters, and they were troubled by her. Naturally her martial sister would not be friendly toward Quan Zhen Sect.

Zhao ZhiJing anxiously whipped his horse and galloped away. Both Yin and Qi did not have any choice but followed, leaving Xiao Long Nu far behind. But the donkey had a good stamina; it could not run fast, but it ran steady. After about four – five li’s the horses panted and slowed down; and Xiao Long Nu gradually catching up with them. Again ZhiJing lifted his whip and struck his horse, but the horses’ strength were already spent; they ran for while, then slowly trotting down.

“Martial Brother Zhao,” Qi ZhiCheng said, “Let us block the enemy to give Martial Brother Yin a chance to escape.”

Zhao ZhiJing’s face turned green from anger. “You talk rubbish!” he snapped. “Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“Martial Brother Yin bears the heavy burden of becoming our new Sect Leader [zhang jiao],” answered Qi ZhiCheng. “We have the responsibility to protect him.” He was sent by Qiu ChuJi to summon Yin ZhiPing back to Chong Yang Palace to be the new Sect Leader.

ZhiJing snorted and ignored him. He thought, “You don’t know the height of the heaven, nor the depth of the earth; yet you want to block her with your meager skill?”

Qi ZhiCheng saw his angry face and did not dare to say anything. He held his reins to wait for Yin ZhiPing; then he spoke to him in a low voice, “Martial Brother Yin, you bear a very heavy responsibility, you’d better go first.” ZhiPing simply shook his head. “No need,” he said, “She can do anything she wants.”

Qi ZhiCheng saw his calmness and could not help but admired him. “No wonder Master wants him to take over,” he thought. “Merely his calmness, who among the third generation disciples can match?” Actually, he did not know that Yin ZhiPing at this time had no regard for his own safety. If Xiao Long Nu were to kill him, he would stretch his neck voluntarily.

Zhao ZhiJing saw those two were calm, but he was always thinking of ways of escaping. It was good that Xiao Long Nu did not seem to plan any attack soon. Even so, he could not help but turned his head in anxiety every now and then.

The four of them proceeded north. By now they were already far away from the Mongolian troops. The wind still carried a muffled sound of horse hoofs and a faint sound of military bugle; but the area they were traveling on was desolate. The houses were in ruin. Common people have left to avoid the enemy troops. That day Yin ZhiPing and Zhao ZhiJing could still find a place to eat. But now, not even a house was left standing.

That evening the three of them spent the night in a house ruin without any windows or doors. Zhao ZhiJing took a look outside, and saw Xiao Long Nu slept on a piece of rope strung between two big trees. Qi ZhiCheng also saw this amazing skill and was scared. ZhiJing did not dare to close his eyes. He was ready to jump and dashed out whenever any noise came from the trees. Yin ZhiPing was the only one who slept soundly all through the night.

Early the next morning they continued their journey. Zhao ZhiJing was tired; he rode his horse in silence. Qi ZhiCheng and Yin ZhiPing rode together, about two – three meters behind. Qi ZhiCheng could not contain himself much longer and said, “Martial Brother Yin, I have seen both your and Martial Brother Zhao’s martial art skills. Each of you have his own strengths and weaknesses, it really is difficult to compare. But speaking of character, there is no comparison between yours and his.”

Yin ZhiPing smiled wryly. He asked, “How long will Master and Martial Uncles live in seclusion?”

“Master said at least three months, but it could be as long as a year,” Qi ZhiCheng answered. “That was the reason he anxiously summon Martial Brother Yin to take over.”

Yin ZhiPing was lost in thought. “Their skills are already very high, what kind of martial arts are they developing?” he thought aloud.

Qi ZhiCheng answered in a low voice, “I heard the five Masters want to develop something to defeat the Ancient Tomb Sect.”

Yin ZhiPing said, “Oh” and could not help but cast a glance toward Xiao Long Nu.

The fact that during the Heroes Summit Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo had defeated Jin Lun Fa Wang and his disciples was already well known throughout the river and lake [Jiang Hu] world. The Yang-Long couple did not realize the significance of their actions since all they cared was their love to each other. The news spread fast throughout the central plains, and soon people started to say that the Ancient Tomb Sect was number one in the world.

Hao DaTong and Sun Bu Er, as well as Yin ZhiPing and Zhao ZhiJing have seen it with their own eyes. They saw the exquisiteness of their lightness kungfu and fierceness of their palm techniques. Later on they also heard how with their complementing swords they were able to beat Jin Lun Fa Wang. All of these had certainly shaken Quan Zhen’s confidence. Quan Zhen and Ancient Tomb used to have a special relation. But then Hao DaTong accidentally hurt and killed Grandma Sun. They always thought Li MoChou, Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo would someday come to Mount Zhong Nan to seek revenge. While dealing with Li MoChou alone had given them much headache, what would happen if she were assisted by Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu? The fact that there was enmity between Li MoChou and Xiao Long Nu was unknown to them.

Only five survived among the seven masters of Quan Zhen; Tan ChuDuan had died prematurely, and by this time Ma Yu had also died. They realized that their strengths had diminished due to old age; while among the third and fourth generation disciples there was no outstanding or talented person. If the Ancient Tomb Sect went up the mountain to seek revenge, as long as the five of them were still alive, they still had a chance to save Quan Zhen. But what if Xiao Long Nu came ten years later; would Quan Zhen be able to stand? Therefore, the five Masters decided to live in seclusion and developed a special skill to face the Ancient Tomb Sect. Hence they summoned Yin ZhiPing to hold the interim Sect Leader position.

Yin ZhiPing and the others were heading northwest. Xiao Long Nu followed them not too far behind. One day they entered the Shaanxi province. “Martial Brother Yin,” said ZhiCheng. “We are getting close to Chong Yang Palace. Do you think this Miss Long would dare to pursue us?”

Yin ZhiPing only mumbled, “Hmmm.” He had no idea what her intention was. He had pondered this in his heart for a while now. “Would she expose my evil conduct to the Quan Zhen Five Masters? Would she attack mercilessly? Perhaps she was only going to the Ancient Tomb and took the same way. Also … also … she had shown mercy to me before, would she forgive me?” He couldn’t help blushing, secretly ashamed at his foolish delusion. He had always regarded her as a deity. How could a mortal be compared to the immortal? He had already disregarded his own life or death, honor or disgrace; but in reality his heart was filled with fear.

Several days later they arrived at the bottom of Mount Zhong Nan. Qi ZhiCheng took out a whistling arrow; and with his arm strength flung it to the sky. It shot up and made a loud whistling noise. Not too long four priests wearing yellow Taoist hat descended the mountain. Bowing to Yin ZhiPing in respect one of them said, “Reverend Jing He [lit. ‘with clarity’ – I don’t have a better translation], you’re back. We have been waiting for a long time.”

‘Jing He’ was Yin ZhiPing’s religious title; but apart from his own disciples, nobody had called him by that title before. These four Taoists were the third generation disciples from various Masters; they were the same level as he was, one of them was even older than he was. These four suddenly changed their way of addressing him, Yin ZhiPing felt uncomfortable. He quickly dismounted his horse and reciprocated their bow he said modestly, “Four Martial Brothers are my seniors, your Younger Martial Brother is not worthy of such title.”

The oldest priest was Ma Yu’s disciple. He said, “Five Martial Uncles had issued a decree that as soon as Reverend Jing He arrived, he is to take the Interim Sect Leader position. The official inauguration will have to wait until the Fourth Uncle [that is, Qiu ChuJi] finish his meditation.”

“How long have Master and four Martial Uncles been in seclusion?” Yin ZhiPing asked.

“It has been 20 days,” came the answer.

While they were still talking, there came a sweet sound of music from the mountain. Sixteen Sheng- player [zither? – not sure, any help?] Taoist priests came near and arranged themselves on both sides of the road. Another set of sixteen Taoist priests came. They carried in their hands some wooden musical instruments, swords, earthen bowls, and other religious articles. They bowed toward Yin ZhiPing and surrounded him, acting as human shields around him; and together they walked back the mountain, unwittingly left Zhao ZhiJing behind without paying any respect to him. He was angry and envious at the same time. “Just wait till the Sect Leader position falls into my hand, I want to see your face then,” he said in his heart.

They arrived at the Chong Yang Palace at dusk. There were more than five hundred Taoists arranged themselves from the main hall all the way to the entrance outside the palace. Drums, cymbals and bells were struck simultaneously. The several hundreds Taoists austerely bowed to welcome their Sect Leader.

Seeing this grand scene Yin ZhiPing spirit soared. Escorted by sixteen most senior disciples he walked to worshipfully bow to the Taoist deity, Tai Shang Dao Jun. Next, he bowed to the painting of Wang Chong Yang, the founder of Quan Zhen Sect in the second room. And then he entered the third room, where the Quan Zhen Seven Masters used to convene to discuss the Sect’s business. There he reverently bowed to seven empty chairs. Only then did he walk back to the main hall.

Qiu ChuJi's second disciple Li ZhiChang took out the Sect Leader decree and read it out loud while Yin ZhiPing knelt down, listening attentively. The decree assigned Yin ZhiPing to take over the Interim Sect Leader position. Yin ZhiPing was proud to accept this lofty position; but he was touched and ashamed at the same time. He stole a glance toward Zhao ZhiJing who stood in one side. Zhao had a smirk in his face. Suddenly Yin ZhiPing shuddered.

As soon as the decree was read Yin ZhiPing stood up to express his humble acceptance. But before he could say anything, suddenly a priest barged in, loudly said, “Reporting to the Reverend Sect Leader, you have a guest waiting outside!”

Yin ZhiPing was startled, he did not expect Xiao Long Nu would dare to confront him during that important ceremony. He did not know how to deal with it, and thought that since he could not run away, he might as well brace himself and face her. He simply said, “Please come in.”

The priest bowed and turned around; and came back with two people. Not only Yin ZhiPing, but the others were surprised as well. The guests were a high-ranking Mongolian officer and the other was Xiao XiangZi whom he had met at Khubilai’s camp. The Mongolian officer spoke with a clear voice as he was walking toward the main hall, “His Majesty the Emperor has made a decision to grant an Imperial Decree to the Sect Leader of the Quan Zhen Sect.” Stopping at the center he produced a yellow satin scroll; unrolled the scroll with both hands he read out, “Imperial decree conferred to the Sect Leader of the Quan Zhen Sect the special position to act as: [shen sian yan dao da zong zhi – lit. the deity/divine person to develop an excellent model of learning and integrity]. To be the religious leader of the Great ‘Way’ [dao of Taoism] to reveal the mystery of respectable and perfect mankind. To be in charge of various sects of Taoism …” [This is a very difficult part to translate with my meager Chinese literacy; any help with better translation will be appreciated]

Reading to this point he saw nobody knelt down; he was annoyed and said, “Sect Leader, please kneel to accept the imperial decree.”

Yin ZhiPing moved forward and bowed in respect. “My Master Sect Leader Qiu ChuJi is currently meditating in a closed room. I am the Interim Sect Leader. The Imperial Decree is not bestowed to me; how would I dare to accept it?” he said.

The Mongolian officer smiled and said, “His Majesty the Emperor have said that the Venerable Reverend Qiu – who was well respected by our Great Genghis Khan, is old; His Majesty was not sure if he is still in this world. Therefore, His Majesty has bestowed this decree not to the Venerable Reverend Qiu but to the Sect Leader of Quan Zhen Sect. Whoever the Sect Leader is, he is worthy to accept this.”

“The lowly priest does not have competency; how would he dare to accept?” Yin ZhiPing insisted on refusing the decree.

The officer laughed and said, “Don’t be bashful; quickly accept this order.”

Yin reluctantly said, “This decree is unexpected, I can’t accept it just like that. I respectfully ask Your Honor to take a rest and have some tea while I discuss this matter with my martial brothers.”

The officer was not happy, but he could not do anything. He tucked the imperial decree back and said, “Very well. But I really do not know what to discuss.”

Four priests on duty ushered the guests to the guest chamber and served tea.

In the meantime Yin ZhiPing invited sixteen third generation disciple to convene in another room at the courtyard. “This is not a small matter, Junior does not dare to act without Martial Brothers’ approval,” he said, “I will respectfully listen to your valuable suggestions.”

“The Mongolian Emperor has shown us kindness, it is just proper for us to gracefully accept it,” Zhao ZhiJing said. “Obviously our Sect is getting more prosperous than ever that the Mongolian Emperor does not dare to look down upon us.” He was speaking with self-satisfaction in his voice and could not hold his happy laugh.

“No, I don’t agree!” Li ZhiChang shook his head. “Mongolia had invaded our country and cruelly massacred our people. How can we accept this decree?”

“Uncle Master Qiu himself had accepted Genghis Khan’s royal invitation and had traveled thousands of miles to the west,” Zhao ZhiJing countered. “Sect Leader Yin and you, Martial Brother Li, were among those who accompany him in the journey. Having this precedent, why do we refuse the imperial decree now?”

“It’s different,” Li ZhiChang said. “At that time Mongolia was at war with the Jin dynasty and had not invaded our country. They were even forming an alliance with our great Song dynasty. How can you compare our situation now and then?”

“You opinion is very dangerous,” Zhao ZhiJing threatened. “Mount Zhong Nan is under Mongolian rule; our Chong Yang Palace is within Mongolian territory. If we refuse the decree, wouldn’t that mean we are inviting a great disaster?”

Li ZhiChang was offended. “Martial Brother Zhao’s opinion is not right,” he said.

“What do you mean ‘not right?” Zhao ZhiJing said harshly, “Would Martial Brother Li give us direction?”

“Give you a direction, I do not dare to,” Li ZhiChang said. “But let me ask Martial Brother Zhao: what kind of person Founder Reverend Chong Yang was? What kind of people are the Quan Zhen Seven Masters?”

“Our Founder, Master and all Uncle Master are religious people who held high position in our Sect,” Zhao ZhiJing answered with consternation.

“They were also real men and woman with determined spirits; patriotic citizens who protect suffering people without regard to their own lives. They took arms fighting the Jins who came invading us,” Li ZhiChang added.

“Reverend Chong Yang and Quan Zhen Seven Masters are honorable people who have shaken the river and lake [jiang hu]. Who in the martial arts world doesn’t respect them?” Zhao ZhiJing tried to change the subject.

“I am deeply touched by our predecessor,” Li ZhiChang boldly said. “Without exception they were fearless people who resolved to save other people through ocean of water and fire. They taught us the meaning of bravery. Our bodies may perish, but our honors will have to stand.”

His speech had touched Yin ZhiPing’s heart, as well as more than ten other Martial Brothers’. Zhao ZhiJing on the other hand, kept pushing his agenda. He sneered and said, “Is Martial Brother Li the only one who is fearless of death? Are other people fear deaths and covet life? Our founder had undertaken great difficulty in finding our Sect. Our Sect has reached where we are today; I wonder how much pain and suffering the Founder and Quan Zhen Seven Masters had taken? If Quan Zhen Sect fell due to our inability, how would we face our Founder in the underworld? How would we be accountable to the Five Masters when they finish their meditation?”

His speech sounded reasonable, several martial brothers voiced their support. Zhao ZhiJing was encouraged and continued, “The Jin dynasty was our archenemy. Now the Mongolian had destroyed their country, wouldn’t that make them our ally? In the past our Founder was defeated by the Jins which resulted in him living in seclusion inside the [living corpse grave]. If he knew his enemy was defeated, wouldn’t his soul in heaven be comforted?”

Hearing his comment in praising the enemy, Wang ZhiTan, another Qiu ChuJi's disciple said, “If after defeating the Jins the Mongolian forming an alliance with our Great Song and live in peace with our people we certainly will treat them as brothers. However, the Mongolian armed force had continued their large scale maneuver to the south fiercely attacking Xiang Yang. Our Great Song is in grave danger. You, I and all of us are the people of the Great Song. How could we accept the enemy’s decree?” He turned his head to Yin ZhiPing and said, “Martial Brother Sect Leader, if you accept this decree, you are a big traitor of China; you will be condemned forever from our Quan Zhen Sect. I, Wang ZhiTan; even if the blood of my neck splash to the ground, I will not let you disgrace us.” He spoke with a solemn voice and stern countenance.

Zhao ZhiJing leaped up and smacked the table. “Martial Brother Wang!” he bellowed, “Do you want to resort to violence? How dare you threaten the Reverend Sect Leader insolently?”

“We stand on justice!” Wang ZhiTan harshly shot back. “Fight if you want, do you think I am scared?”

Both sides looked at each other’s eyes, ready to draw their swords to fight. A grey haired Taoist priest quickly intervene, “Hold it! Both Martial Brothers don’t have to fight. We can talk it over.”

“What is Senior Martial Brother’s opinion?” Wang ZhiTan asked, eyes bulging out.

“My opinion,” the senior priest said, “We … we are devout people, we have to show mercy toward the people, we have to help them. If … if we accept the Mongolian Emperor’s Imperial Decree, we will be able to persuade the Mongolian rulers and the officers not to commit atrocities. Wasn’t Fourth Martial Uncle Qiu ChuJi did the same and was able to save multitude of lives?” Several of Zhao ZhiJing’s supporters echoed their agreement.

A terse and forceful Taoist priest shook his head. “The circumstances then and today are beyond comparison. Junior had followed Master’s journey to the west and had met Genghis Khan himself. I saw with my own eyes how the Mongolian troops destroyed cities and massacred their people, committed great atrocities. If we accept this decree, it means we fall under Mongolian’s influence. Wouldn’t that mean we are assisting a tyrant to do evil? We might be able to save ten or twenty lives, but as the Mongolian power rise up, I wonder how many thousands or tens of thousands people will die.” The short and stocky priest who said that was Song DeFang, one of nineteen disciples who came with Qiu ChuJi to the west.

Zhao ZhiJing smirked and said, “You have seen Genghis Khan, so what? Recently I have met the Mongolian’s Fourth Prince, Khubilai. The Prince treats skilled martial artists and scholars with utmost courtesy. He is generous and open-minded. How could someone like that be ruthless?”

“Great!” Wang ZhiTan shouted, “You have received Khubilai’s order to spy us out!”

Zhao ZhiJing was enraged, “What did you say?” Wang ZhiTan snapped, “Those who congregate with the Mongolians are traitors to our country!”

Zhao ZhiJing made a sudden leap and thrust a palm toward Wang ZhiTan’s head. But as he started to move, two palms blocked his attack. They belonged to Qiu ChuJi's other two disciples, one of them was Qi ZhiCheng.

“Great!” Zhao ZhiJing was livid and loudly shouted, “The disciples of Uncle Master Qiu ChuJi relied on numbers to bully others.”

Yin ZhiPing immediately clapped his palms and loudly said, “Martial Brothers! Please sit quietly. Listen to what Junior has to say.”

The Sect Leader position granted the bearer an enormous authority. They immediately sat down and did not dare to disobey. “Right,” Zhao ZhiJing said, “Let us listen to what our Sect Leader has to say. If he wants to accept, then we accept. If he wants to refuse, then we follow. The Imperial Decree is his; it’s neither mine nor yours. Why fight?”

He thought he had Yin ZhiPing in his hands. Yin ZhiPing would not dare to oppose him. On the other hand, Li ZhiChang, Wang ZhiTan and the others have known Yin ZhiPing for quite some time. They knew he was loyal and patriotic. They were sure he would not betray the country and die as a traitor. They thought it was wise to leave the matter into his hands and let him to adjudicate.

“Junior does not have the competency and skill to hold the Sect Leader position. It was with humble and heavy heart I accepted this weighty responsibility,” Yin ZhiPing slowly said. “Who would have known I have to face this difficult matter on my very first day.” He looked up and stared blankly at the ceiling. Sixteen third generation disciples fixed their gaze toward their Sect Leader. The room was quiet. Nobody made any noise.

After a long while Yin ZhiPing finally continued, “Quan Zhen Sect was founded by Grand Master Chong Yang. After him was honorable Master Ma Yu; followed by Uncle Master Liu ChuXuan and my Master Qiu ChuJi carried forward their legacy. Now Junior has to carry the torch. How could I dare to disobey the basic teachings of my honorable predecessors? Martial Brothers! Presently the Mongolian troops attack the city of Xiang Yang, invade our land, and massacre our people. If it were any of the four Masters, would they accept, or would they refuse?”

The group listened carefully to his word, they reflected on how the Grand Martial Master Chong Yang, Masters Ma Yu, Liu ChuXuan, and Qiu Chuji would usually handle affairs: Grand Martial Master Chong Yang had died a long time ago, none of the third generation disciples had ever met him. Master Ma Yu was kind and honest; he would handle any matter quietly without much fanfare. Master Liu ChuXuan was deep; the disciples could not easily discern his thought. Master Qiu ChuJi was like a raging fire. He was loyal and patriotic. The disciples had deep impression on him, and without prior agreement they answered almost in unison, “Sect Leader Qiu ChuJi would refuse the decree!”

“The Sect Leader now is you, certainly not Uncle Master Qiu!” Zhao ZhiJing shouted disrespectfully.

“Junior’s talent is ordinary. I do not dare to violate our Masters’ teaching. Moreover, I have committed a great sin, deserving harsh punishment.” After saying this Yin ZhiPing hung his head. Nobody but Zhao ZhiJing knew what he was talking about. They thought he was simply being modest. But ‘a great sin, deserving harsh punishment’ was a little bit too hard, unclear, and had nothing to do with the matter at hand.

Zhao ZhiJing snorted; standing up he asked, “So, you have made the decision to refuse, hmm?”

“My insignificant life is worthless,” Yin ZhiPing mournfully said. “But I can’t disgrace the Quan Zhen’s name.” He started talking in low voice, but as he spoke the later sentence his voice was actually getting ardent. “Presently the heroes of our country have united themselves to fight the invaders. The Quan Zhen Sect has been known as an orthodox school of the central plains. How would we face the heroes of this world if we fall under Mongolian feet?”

His speech was applauded by loud cheers of Li ZhiChang, Song DeFang, Wang ZhiTan, Qi ZhiCheng and many others. “The Martial Brother Sect Leader’s word was right on target,” they enthusiastically said.

Zhao ZhiJing flicked his sleeve and furiously walked out of the room. He paused at the doorpost, sneered and coldly said, “Martial Brother Sect Leader, your words were pleasant to the ear. Heh, heh … I am sure you know the consequence you can expect.” Then he turned around and walked briskly out.

As soon as he left many Taoists spoke at once. They agreed that Yin ZhiPing had made a wise decision and praised him accordingly but about four or five Zhao ZhiJing supporters also left the room without saying anything.

Yin ZhiPing’s agony was unspeakable. He retreated to his own chamber. He knew that Zhao ZhiJing would not take this setback lightly; Zhao would certainly reveal his secret to the public. He realized that he had condemned himself to die by declaring his intention to refuse the decree. He had suffered great anxiety and fear for several months, and now that he knew he was going to die, his mind became clear and his spirit calmed. With a steady hand he bolted the door of his chamber from inside. With a wry smile in his face he unsheathed his long sword and lifted it toward his throat …

Just before the sword touched his skin, suddenly someone leaped from behind a book shelf and a claw reached toward the sword. Yin ZhiPing did not expect this, he was caught off guard. The long sword suddenly flew from his hand. Startled he quickly turned his head only to see Zhao ZhiJing with the long sword in his hand.

Zhao ZhiJing flaunted the sword in his hand, he smirked and said “You have ruined the Sect Leader reputation and now you think you can easily settle the score by dying? Not that easy! That Miss Long is standing guard outside the Chong Yang Palace. You tell me how we should answer her if she decided to come.” “Good!” Yin ZhiPing answered, “Then I will come outside and slit my own throat in her presence to apologize.”

“Even if you killed yourself, this matter is not over,” Zhao ZhiJing said. “After they finish their meditation, the Five Masters would certainly decide to investigate. You have ruined Quan Zhen Sect’s reputation. Surely you will be condemned forever!”

Yin ZhiPing’s spirit was crushed. Suddenly cold sweat poured down his face. He fell on a chair, holding his head with both hands and desperately muttered, “What do you want? Tell me, what do you want me to do? Death is inadequate, then what …?”

He spoke to his fellow disciples with confidence then, but now that he was alone with Zhao ZhiJing, unexpectedly he had lost his will to fight.

“Very well,” Zhao ZhiJing smiled. “If you leave this matter to me, I guarantee I will help you taking care of Miss Long’s problem; while preserving the Sect and your own reputations at the same time. Definitely you will not have any trouble in the future.”

“Do you want me to accept the Imperial Decree?” asked Yin ZhiPing anxiously.

“No! No! I don’t want you to accept the Imperial Decree,” Zhao ZhiJing answered.

Yin ZhiPing was relieved. “What then? Tell me quick! I will certainly listen to you,” he anxiously asked.


Translated By IcyFox


After an hour, the bell in the hall sounded and everyone assembled there. Li Zhi Chang instructed all of Qiu Chu Ji’s diciples to conceal weapons under their gowns in case Yin Zhi Ping was coerced into submission by Zhao Zhi Jing and his supporters. The Taoists filled the hall; their faces grim and filled with anxiety.

Yin Zhi Ping stepped out slowly from the inner hall and his face was very pale. He stopped in the centre and said, “My fellow Taoist brothers, I have been commanded by Head Priest Qiu to assume the Sect Leader’s position, but unfortunately I have contracted a terminal illness which cannot be cured…” This came like a bolt from the blue and many Taoists involuntarily exclaimed, “Ah!” Yin Zhi Ping continued, “I cannot undertake such a heavy responsibility, now I hereby appoint Elder Wang’s most senior diciple Zhao Zhi Jing to assume the position!”

When he said this, the hall was filled with an unnatural silence which only lasted for a moment. Then Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Dan, Song De Fang and company opposed loudly, “Priest Qiu wanted Brother Yin Zhi Ping to become the Sect leader, how can you pass it on to others?” “You’re supposed to be fine, how did you contract such a terminal illness?” “There must be some huge conspiracy behind this, you must have fallen into a trap.” The 4th generation diciples did not dare talk loudly but they were all debating among themselves. The hall was thrown into confusion. Li Zhi Chang and company glared at Zhao Zhi Jing but he looked indifferent to the matter and just folded his arms silently.

Yin Zhi Ping raised his hands and waited for everyone to become silent. He then said, “This is indeed very sudden, you’re not at fault for your reaction. Our sect is facing a great disaster and I have commited a great sin – so great that even death cannot atone for it.” When he said this, he grimaced and continued, “I have thought carefully and I found that only Brother Zhao Zhi Jing is capable enough to lead our sect through this crisis. Everyone must not look upon him with prejudice but assist him in bringing glory to our sect.”

Li Zhi Chang said clearly, “It’s human to err. As for your sin, just await for the five elders to return from their meditation and then report the matter to them. We really cannot acknowledge your abdication. Yin Zhi Ping sighed, “Brother Li Zhi Chang, we’ve been friends for many years and are as close as brothers. Please just cooperate and don’t make things difficult for me.”

Li Zhi Chang was full of suspicions and saw that Yin Zhi Ping looked like he was seriously troubled and his speech had little conviction so he gave up arguing and hung his head in silence. Wang Zhi Dan said, “If you really wish to abdicate, you should still wait for the five elders to return and investigate carefully to prevent any foolish decisions. Yin Zhi Ping sadly said, “This is too urgent to postpone.” Wang Zhi Dan said, “Alright, even if it is so, among our generation of brothers, there are many who surpass Brother Zhao in character and leadership abilities. Brother Li Zhi Chang is well-versed in the Tao while Brother Song De Fang is able at handling matters. Why, then, do you choose the unpopular Brother Zhao?”

Zhao Zhi Jing had a hot-tempered character and he tried very hard to restrain himself. Now he could not control himself and he laughed coldly, “Then what about the brave Brother Wang Zhi Dan?” Wang Zhi Dan angrily said, “I’m not very capable and I cannot be compared to our fellow brothers. But comparing with Brother Zhao, I’m superior.” He only laughed and stared at the ceiling; his manner was extremely arrogant. Wang Zhi Dan said loudly, “My martial arts and sword skills may not be superior to Brother Zhao’s but at least I won’t be a traitor.” Zhao Zhi Jing lost his cool and shouted, “If you have the guts then say it clearly, who’s the traitor?” The exchange of words became more intense and heated.

Yin Zhi Ping said, “Please don’t quarrel, listen to me.” They stopped arguing but still glared at each other. Yin Zhi Ping said, “Our sect’s constitution decrees that the position of the Sect Leader will be appointed by the previous Sect Leader and not nominated by the Taoist Brothers, is that right?” Everyone unanimously shouted, “Yes!” Yin Zhi Ping said, “I hereby command Zhao Zhi Jing to succeed me as the new Sect Leader. Do not oppose this. Brother Zhao, please come forward and listen to them.” Zhao Zhi Jing proudly swaggered forward and bowed.

Wang Zhi Dan and Song De Fang still wanted to speak but Li Zhi Chang held their sleeves and signalled to them with his eyes. They knew he was apt at handling matters and must have planned something so they remained silent. Li Zhi Chang whispered, “Zhao Zhi Jing must have some foothold over Brother Yin rendering him incapable of any opposition. We must secretly investigate his devious plan then we can contend with him. Let’s just obey Brother Yin for now. If we oppose him now, it may reflect badly on us.” They nodded their head in agreement and acknowledged the Sect Leader’s command.

Quan Zhen Sect experienced two change-of-command ceremonies in one day so of course many were surprised and found it hard to accept.

Once the ceremony was over, he stood at the centre and bade his own diciples to stand guard at his sides. He said, “Invite the Mongol Khan’s envoy.” Wang Zhi Dan wanted to abuse him verbally when he heard this but Li Zhi Chang stopped him with his eye signals. Before long, 4 diciples escorted the Mongolian envoy and Xiao Xiang Zi into the hall.

Zhao Zhi Jing quickly rushed forward to welcome him and laughed, saying, “Please come in!” The envoy had already waited for very long and was getting impatient. Now he saw that Yin Zhi Ping was absent his face became blacker. One of the escorts knew what was bothering him and said, “Our Sect Leader’s position is now undertaken by Master Zhao.” The Mongol envoy was surprised and delighted and said, “Oh, I see! Congratulations!” He cupped his hands to salute him. Xiao Xiang Zi was just standing 2 feet behind but his zombie-like face did not display any emotion.

Zhao Zhi Jing brought the envoy into the main hall and said, “Your Honour, please announce the Edict.” The envoy smiled and thought, “People like you should originally have been made the Sect Leader. That previous leader.” He took out the Edict and opened it. Zhao Zhi Jing knelt on the floor and heard the envoy say, “Quan Zhen Sect’s Leader is hereby conferred…”

Li Zhi Chang and company saw Zhao Zhi Jing knelt down and accepted the Edict respectfully and exchanged glances. They suddenly drew their swords from under their gowns and the flashes were seen throughout the hall. Wang Zhi Dan and Song De Fang rushed up and pointed their swords at Zhao Zhi Jing’s back. Li Zhi Chang shouted, “Our sect’s most important commandment is loyalty, we’ll never surrender to the Mongolians. Zhao Zhi Jing betrayed our ancestors and abandoned our honour, he shall not remain as the sect’s leader.” Another 4 Taoists drew their swords and surrounded the envoy and Xiao Xiang Zi.

This sudden change of events was too abrupt. Although Zhao Zhi Jing knew Li Zhi Chang was very unhappy with him, he thought the power and prestige of the sect leader’s position would prevent anyone from daring to rebel. He assumed that if he became the leader he would be the highest-ranking member of the sect and even the 5 elder masters could not oppose his orders easily. He obviously never expected them to take action against the sect leader. Now the swords were pointed at his back, he was shocked and angry but he did not show it. He shouted, “You daring rebellous diciple! You dare to create trouble?” Wang Zhi Dan shouted, “Traitor! If you move we’ll bore 2 holes right through you!”

Although Zhao Zhi Jing’s skills were better than them, but this was unexpected as he was attacked while kneeling down so he had no chance to retaliate. Zhao Zhi Jing had instructed about 10 of his trusted supporters to bring weapons along with them but Li Zhi Chang and company were Qiu Chu Ji’s diciples who were well-respected in the sect and they acted swiftly and suddenly so many of Zhao Zhi Jing’s close supporters did not dare make a move. A few did try to draw their weapons but their accupoints were sealed the moment their arms moved. Among them were Zhang Zhi Guang whose face was injured by Granny Sun, Jia Zhi Fan who once fought with Lu Wu Shuang and Zhao Zhi Jing’s diciple Lu Qing Du.

Li Zhi Chang said to the envoy, “Mongolia is now at war with the Song Empire and we are citizens of the Song Empire, how can we accept a Mongolian edict? Please return, when we meet on the battlefield we shall talk again.” He said this with gusto and many Taoists in the hall cheered when they heard this.

The envoy flashed his sword and did not betray any emotion, laughing coldly, “You people have acted rashly today. You don’t know what’s good for you and the glory of Quan Zhen Sect shall be destroyed soon, what a pity.” Li Zhi Chang replied, “Our territories have been levelled by your armies; we are only a small sect, how can we withstand you? But if you don’t leave soon, don’t blame me for being impolite, I can’t control myself much longer.”

Xiao Xiang Zi sneered, “Impolite? In what way? I want to see it!” He stretched out his long arms and snatched Song De Fang and Wang Zhi Dan’s swords. Zhao Zhi Jing immediately jumped up and executed the [White Clouds Exiting the Cave] to defend his back and then he stood next to the envoy. Xiao Xiang Zi handed him one of the swords and slashed the other sword towards Li Zhi Chang. Li Zhi Chang raised his sword to parry but his hand became numb when his sword hit the other sword. He tried to use his Internal Strength to resist the sword but the 2 swords snapped.

Xiao Xiang Zi’s strokes in snatching and deflecting swords were extremely fast and in the blink of an eye he raised his hands and threw out his palms, disarming 4 senior Quan Zhen diciples. He carried out three strokes continuously and defeated 7 Quan Zhen experts. The several hundred people in the hall were shocked; they did not expect this zombie-faced man to be so highly-skilled.

Zhao Zhi Jing has never thought greatly of Wang Zhi Dan and Song De Fang and now that he was trapped in a kneeling position by them in front of so many people, he was furious and stabbed towards Wang Zhi Dan. This [Big River Heads East] move was one of Quan Zhen’s most powerful and swiftest sword techniques. The sword sliced through the air and pierced towards Wang Zhi Dan’s abdomen.

Wang Zhi Dan quickly jumped back to evade the thrust. Zhao Zhi Jing’s sword moves were merciless and aimed to take his life and the tip of the sword followed within 2 feet of him. It seemed like Wang Zhi Dan could no longer evade this blow and everyone looked at them stunned. Suddenly a sleeve flew out and wrapped around the sword. The sleeve was ripped apart but the sword was impeded and Wang Zhi Dan was able to jump to safety. Two swords were quickly stretched out to block Zhao Zhi Jing’s sword. The man with the torn sleeve was Yin Zhi Ping.

Zhao Zhi Jing was very angry and pointed at him, shouting, “You… you… How dare you do that!” Yin Zhi Ping said, “Brother Zhao, you promised not to accept the Mongolian edict. That’s why I abdicated in your favour. How could you go back on your word in such a short time?” Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Hey, you asked me, ‘You want me to accept the Mongolian edict?’ I said, ‘No, I’ll never want you to accept the edict!’ How did I break my word? The one accepting the edict is me, not you.” Yin Zhi Ping muttered, “So it’s like this, you’re despicable!”

Now Li Zhi Chang took a sword from one of his diciples and shouted, “My good Quan Zhen brothers, we’ll still recognize Master Yin as our sect leader. Let’s arrest this traitor Zhao and punish him according to our sect leader!” He charged up and fought with Zhao Zhi Jing. Wang Zhi Dan, Song De Fang and 5 other Taoists quickly got into the ‘Big Dipper Formation’ and surrounded Xiao Xiang Zi. Although Xiao Xiang Zi’s martial arts were good, but he could not comprehend the formation’s changes and he saw 7 people flying up and down in front of him and he became confused.

The envoy had already retreated into a corner when he saw that things were not going right. He quickly took out a horn and blew it. Two Taoists rushed up and snatched the horn and captured him. They were however a split second late and the horn sounded out clearly.

Yin Zhi Ping knew he had summoned reinforcements and knew that danger was near. He suddenly jolted into attention and commanded, “Brother Qi Zhi Cheng, watch this Mongolian official. Brother Yu Dao Xian, Brother Wang Zhi Jin, take three brothers to help Brother Sun guard the Jade Cave at the back of the mountain to prevent any Mongol soldiers from distracting the 5 elder masters from their meditation. Brother Chen Zhi Yi, take six people to guard the front of the mountain. Fang Zhi Qi, take 6 people to guard the left of the mountain, Liu Dao Ning, Take 6 people and guard the right of the mountain.”

The people guarding the left and right were all his fellow diciples under Qiu Chu Ji. Among the people sent to guard the Jade Cave, Yu Dao Xian was Liu Chu Xian’s diciple while Wang Zhi Jin was Hao Da Tong’s diciple. Liu Chu Xian and Hao Da Tong were meditating inside the cave and these 2 diciples were upright and honest, so they would not harm their masters. Yin Zhi Ping had made such careful arrangements in such a short time, and he made sure there were trustworthy people guarding every strategic position and everyone could support each other effectively. Even if a large body of troops attacked them, it would be hard for them to get through the defences. Everyone saw that his eyes were keen and alert and his commands clear and forceful and his manner imposing so none dared disobey him and all carried out the orders without question.

Suddenly they heard shouting and weapons clashing outside. A few Taoists were still moving to take their positions when there was a whistle and a few dozen people jumped over the wall. The troops at the east was led by Yin Kexi, the west Nimo Xing and the front Ma Guang Zuo; their troops were veterans who were involved in the Khan’s western expedition.

Kublai was attacking Xiang Yang for many months and an illness broke out in the Mongolian army. Coupled with their failure at the seige, the army withdrew. The body of troops that Xiao Long Nu saw speedily heading south previously was the last division to attack Xiang Yang. Before the army withdrew Kublai ordered his men to recruit capable men from the Central Plains. The Mongol Khan’s edict to take over Quan Zhen Sect was part of Kublai’s plan. However he knew Quan Zhen Sect was loyal and upright so they may not submit so he ordered Jin Lun fa Wang to lead skilled wulin fighters to wait around Mt. Zhong Nan. If Quan Zhen Sect rejects the edict, they would use force to bring it under their control.

Mt. Zhong Nan’s security was usually very tight but in just one day they experienced two leadership changes and Chong Yang Palace was thrown into chaos. Those who were supposed to guard the mountain were recalled to witness the change-of-command ceremony. Therefore it was only when Yin Kexi, Nimo Xing and company came right up to the Chong Yang Palace were they discovered. Their sudden appearance caught Quan Zhen Sect unprepared and many of the defenders had not even left the hall. There were enemy soldiers in all directions and although the Taoists outnunbered the enemy forces, most of them were unarmed. Moreover they were surrounded and could only crowd into a small area. The commanding positions all lacked the manpower and it looked like they were going to be utterly defeated.

The Mongolian envoy was held captive by Qi Zhi Cheng but now he shouted, “Diciples of Quan Zhen Sect, throw down your weapons and suffer your sect leader Zhao’s punishment.”

Yin Zhi Ping said, “Zhao Zhi Jing betrayed our ancestor and masters by surrendering to the enemy; he has commited a great sin and therefore is no longer our sect leader.” Although he saw that the situation was highly unfavourable, he decided to put up a struggle and repel the enemy. But many of them fought barehanded and before long, there were more than 10 dead bodies scattered around the hall. Then Yin Zhi Ping, Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Dan, Song De Fang and Qi Zhi Cheng and company were either injured, lost their weapons, had their accupoints blocked or even killed. The rest were forced into a corner by Yin Kexi’s troops and could not retaliate.

The envoy’s rank was very high and even Yin Kexi, Xiao Xiang Zi and company had to obey him. He saw his side had gained a complete victory and said to Zhao Zhi Jing, “Master Zhao, I’ll give you face. I won’t report Quan Zhen Sect’s rebellion to the Khan.” Zhao Zhi Jing bowed and thanked him profusely and suddenly remembered something. He quickly turned to Xiao Xiang Zi and whispered, “I need a big favour from you. My 5 masters are meditating at the back of the mountain. If they suddenly rush here, then… this…” Xiao Xiang Zi drily said, “So be it. I’ll help you fight them.” Zhao Zhi Jing did not dare say anymore but was not satisfied. He worried, “Don’t underestimate the 5 masters, if they really come here you won’t defeat them so easily. If they really drive the Mongolians away, it’ll be hard to keep my life.”

The envoy said, “Master Zhao, you will first accept the imperial edict and then you will punish your rebellous diciples.” Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Yes!” He knelt down to listen to the edict.

Yin Zhi Ping, Li Zhi Chang and company all had their hands and feet bound when they heard the envoy read the edict and Zhao Zhi Jing kowtowed and thanked him, so they became livid with anger. Song De Fang sat next to Li Zhi Chang and whispered to him, “Brother Li, untie my bonds. I’ll dash out and report the matter to the 5 masters.” Li Zhi Chang leant on his back and circulated his internal strength and exerted it with his finger. He managed to undo the bonds and whispered, “But please report calmly. Don’t shock the 5 masters – they are now cultivating their internal energy…” Song De Fang nodded his head.

After reading the edict, Zhao Zhi Jing stood up and the envoy and Xiao Xiang Zi congratulated him.

Song De Fang suddenly saw many people get up and surround Zhao Zhi Jing. He quickly got up and dashed behind the dieties’ statues. Nimo Xing shouted, “Stop right there!” He obviously did not care and ran off as fast as he could. Nimo Xing’s legs were amputated so he could not give chase so he waved his hand, throwing out a snake-like dart. The dart hit Song De Fang’s left leg. Nimo Xing shouted, “Go down!” He stalled for a while but did not collapse. Instead he tolerated the pain and continued running. The Chong Yang Palace was huge and complex; he turned a few times and the Mongolian troops lost him.

Song De Fang got out and extracted the dart and bandaged his wound. He went to the medicine room and took a sword and ran to the back of the mountain. He turned round a row of pine trees and got to the Jade Cave’s entrance. He groaned in dismay. There were several Mongol soldiers there lifting rocks to block the entrance. A tall and skinny monk stood there and beside him were two people directing the soldiers. He immediately recognized the 2 people to be Daerba and Hou Du and knew that their skills were not below that of Hao Da Tong’s. The tall monk looked extraordinary and his martial arts appeared to be much better than the other two. The entrance was now almost 80% covered and he did not know if the 5 masters were still alive. He thought, “Master has treated me very well, today Master’s in trouble; I must sacrifice my life to save them, or my presence in the world would be in vain.”

He knew very well that by going up to stop them he would surely lose his life and would still be unable to help the 5 masters. However Quan Zhen Sect was having a great disaster and he would not save his own skin. He unsheathed his sword and rushed out from behind the tree. The sword flew through the air and pierced towards the tall monk. He wanted to kill off their leader, so if he succeeded he would throw the group into confusion.

Unfortunately the monk was none other than Jin Lun Fa Wang. He had already questioned Zhao Zhi Jing about the situation at Quan Zhen Sect and headed straight to the Jade Cave on reaching the mountain. He knew that once he trapped the 5 masters, the 3rd and 4th generation diciples would be powerless to resist.

Song De Fang’s sword was less than a foot away from Fa Wang’s back and he saw that he did not seem to notice him, so he was secretly happy. Suddenly a golden light flashed and Fa Wang held out a round golden wheel and smashed his sword. Song De Fang shouted in pain and the sword flew out of his hand. He was internally injured and threw up a pool of blood. He became giddy and vaguely heard people shouting around him but he did not know what had happened and fainted.

Fa Wang had also heard shouting at the hall but he thought with Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Kexi and the other experts there, he did not think anything amiss and did not bother. He only told his men to cover the entrance quickly to prevent Qiu Chu Ji, etc. from charging out and wasting his energy.

Once Song De Fang left the hall, the situation changed again. The envoy said to Zhao Zhi Jing, “Master Zhao, the people who stirred up trouble were numerous, I think your position is not very secure.”

Zhao Zhi Jing also knew the people were unhappy with him and would immediately turn on him once Xiao Xiang Zi and the others left. Since it had already come to this, he said loudly, “According to our sect’s rules, how should those who disobey the sect leader be punished?” The Taoists remained silent but they all thought, “You disobeyed the sect leader yourself.” Zhao Zhi Jing repeated his question and stared at his dicible Lu Qing Du, wanting him to answer. Lu Qing Du said, “Execution in front of the 3 deities’ statues.”

Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Correct! Yin Zhi Ping, do you admit your offense?” Yin Zhi Ping said, “No!” Zhao Zhi Jing said, “OK! Take him here!” Lu Qing Du pushed Yin Zhi Ping forward and stood in front of the statues. Zhao Zhi Jing also asked Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Dan and the others, but everyone said, “No!” Among those captured however were some who feared for their lives and submitted, so Zhao Zhi Jing ordered their bonds to be untied. Altogether there were 24 people who did not submit and Wang Zhi Dan could not control his fiery temper and he cursed and swore.

Zhao Zhi Jing said, “You’re so stubborn. Even though I, the sect leader, am merciful, I won’t be able to spare you. Lu Qing Du, you act on behalf of our founding ancestor!” Lu Qing Du said, “Yes!” He raised his sword and killed Yu Dao Xian who was first in the line.

Yu Dao Xian was warm and kind and he had many friends in Quan Zhen Sect. When they saw Lu Qing Du execute him, they shouted in fury. What Song De Fang and Fa Wang heard was their cries of protest. Yin Kexi waved his hand and several Mongolian soldiers blocked the Taoists.

When Lu Qing Du saw such fierce reaction, he was afraid. Zhao Zhi Jing said, “Quickly do it, why are you delaying?” Lu Qing Du said, “Yes!” He raised his sword and killed another 2 people. The 4th person in the queue was Yin Zhi Ping and just as Lu Qing Du raised his sword to stab his chest, a female voice coldly said, “Stop. Don’t kill him.”

Lu Qing Du turned around and saw a young lady in white. It was Xiao Long Nu. She said, “Get aside! Let me kill him.”


END OF CHAPTER 25

[Han Solo]

Chapter 26 (Hanky Panky, Athena, BeeDreamer, Lanny Lin)
Hanky Panky:

Chapter 26 Divine Eagle's Heavy Sword

Xiao Long Nu saw Quan Zhen Sect's group of Taoists riot, the Mongolian warriors raided on a large scale, every dispute seemed from her viewpoint like a cloud of mist, she paid no attention to them, but seeing Lu Qing Du raised his sword to kill Yin Zhi Ping, how can she let other people try to stab him? Therefore, immediately she ran up front to block the attack.

When Zhao Zhi Jing saw Xiao Long Nu suddenly advanced into the temple, he felt delighted: "Throughout the whole journey I've been chased by you without a moment's pause for breath, now that there's so many experts around, you're literally searching for death, it truly is the heaven's grant!" He called out: "The demon girl is not a good person, seize her for me!" The Mongolian warriors didn't take notice of his orders, they didn't even lift a finger. Zhao Zhi Jing's two close followers heard their master's command, rushed in front, individually tried to grab both her arms.

Before both their hands reached her sleeve, the fight within their perspective was moving as fast as cold light, both their wrists felt a burst of severe pain, in haste leapt behind. How it happened was because within her waist Xiao Long Nu pulled out two swords. In the blink of an eye, both their wrists were struck by the swords, the carpal bones were almost broken, drenched with blood. The move was extremely quick, people did not have time to clearly see how she forced out the swords to attack, the two Taoists were already wounded and moved away, everyone can't help but feel startled.

Lu Qing Du called out: "Great comrades let's attack together, our many hands will provide great strength, who care's where that demon girl came from?" He believed however skilful Xiao Long Nu can be, she's merely a young woman, once everybody rushes forward, they will be victorious, the vanguard straightened out their swords to stab Xiao Long Nu. Xiao Long Nu 's sharp swords vibrated, Lu Qing Du 's left wrist, right wrist, left leg, and right leg had been struck by her sword, with a loud howl, collapsed on the floor. The thrust of the 4 swords was even quicker than before, even experts such as Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi can't help but gaze at each other with pale faces. They've previously saw her fight Gong Sun Zhi at Loveless Valley, although her sword methods then were still fine and ingenious, but definitely not as unbelievable as they are now.

Xiao Long Nu was formerly taught how to separate her mind into 2 uses by Zhou Bo Tong, Left/Right Mutual Combat Technique, between now and then her martial arts have multiplied. With Yang Guo forming the Dualing Sword Combination and using the 'Pure Heart Jade Maiden Sword Technique', few have matched it under the heavens, now as one person she can use 2 swords, with outstanding power. Regardless of how two people's intentions are interlinked with each other, it's still inferior to one person's thunder-like alertness during battle, at this moment although her sword method's energy and strength aren't as good as two people teaming up, but her moves are faster in comparison by many folds.

Throughout her lengthy trail of Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing , she was depressed for days on end, not knowing what way to dispose of them, within that moment Quan Zhen Taoist's commander launched an attack, she took advantage to return fire, once she saw blood on the tip on her sword, she felt grief and indignation, suddenly she broke out in effect. Only seeing her white garment drift about, like cold light flickering, both swords seemed like two silver snakes wandering inside the temple, ding-dong, qiang-long, sounds of "Oh!", "Not good" were let out by others, instantly, Quan Zhen Taoist's swords dropped on the ground, everyone of them had felt the thrust of her swords on their wrists. Even more bizarre was that she used the same manoeuvre "Hoary Wrist Jade Bracelet", all the Taoists only saw the ray of the sword brush past before their own eyes, their wrists felt intense pain, they're simply helpless and easily disposed of, without a chance to parry any blows. If her sword chose to thrust the chest or belly's vital parts, the group of Taoists already would've one by one died flagrantly. After the Taoists were injured, they steered away with deep shock. In front of 3 statue idols were only Yin Zhi Ping and a bunch of tied up Taoists.

After Xiao Long Nu studied independently her Left/Right Mutual Combat Technique, besides having practiced it a couple of times in the wilderness, she's never exchanged blows with anyone, today she has the opportunity to try out those new techniques, even she would never have dreamt of possessing such might, after she fought with the group of Taoists, unexpectedly she was startled.

Realizing the situation wasn't right, Zhao Zhi Jing rapidly out of his Taoist robe pulled out a sword to protect himself, and at the same time retreated. Xiao Long Nu had full of hatred towards him, as she moved in, both swords completely blocked the routes of his front and behind. Zhao Zhi Jing brandished his sword in order to seize his path, only the sounds of ding-dong could be heard, Yin Ke Xi said: "You won't succeed, get out of the way!" He already obstructed Xiao Long Ru's sword as he lashed out his Golden Dragon Whip. Xiao Long Nu has injured 10 people one after another, up to this point, one person was able to catch her single sword.

Xiao Long Nu spoke: "Today I came here to seek for revenge against Quan Zhen Sect's Taoists, it does not involve others, quickly stay out of the way." Just now Yin Ke Xi saw how her sword was chasing like wind and electricity, even he lost a nerve, but he was after all a first-class expert, he cannot cower out because of someone's words, so laughed and replied: "Among the Quan Zhen Sect's Taoists the good and bad are intermingled, there are a dozen few who deserve to be killed, but who are those that offended you and deserves to die Miss?"

Xiao Long Nu made an "ng" sound, and didn't pay further attention to him. Yin Ke Xi thought first I will establish a friendship with her, even if I'm no match for her, it won't result in death, if the situation is not right he will surrender, because other people know that we're acquainted with each other, so won't ridicule me for being cowardly, so consequently laughed out: "Dragon Girl, don't waste any time, your precious body is pure and healthy!" Xiao Long Nu made another "ng" sound, her eyes did not distant away from Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing , fearing that they might seize an opportunity to slip away. Yin Ke Xi uttered: "Taking offence from these deceitful Taoists, don't let them harm your precious hands, all you have to do Miss is to give pointers, let me offer my services, one by one they will be punished by Miss." Xiao Long Nu replied: "Okay! Then kill him for me first." Then pointed at Zhao Zhi Jing.

Last edited by Hanky Panky : 05-01-05


Chapter 26 Part 2

Yin Ke Xi thought: "This person is already imperially conferred by the Mongolian Da-Han, how can I kill him?" Then laughed out : "Immortal Zhao treats others very well, I'm afraid Miss there's been some misunderstanding, I'll tell him to go up to Miss and apologize in front of you!" Xiao Long Nu 's beautiful eyebrows slightly frowned, she lunged her left sword out, as fast as a bolt of lightning, heading for Yin Ke Xi. Yin Ke Xi hurriedly raised his whip to ward off, with one sound of "Ah", standing behind was Zhao Zhi Jing who got stabbed in the shoulders. Namely Xiao Xiang Zi and his class of experts, also couldn't tell how the jab was made, all they presumed it was the right hand's sword that was shot out, twisting past Yin Ke Xi's body, and stabbing the person that hid behind him.

Yin Ke Xi was deeply surprised, he thought this sword may not have stabbed me, but I was powerless to guard Zhao Zhi Jing, that was also a disgrace, the opponent's move was very fast, he just couldn't follow her twin sword's route and oncoming force, if he continued to fight the opponent in such a way he will definitely lose, the more he thought of this, the more cowardly he became, with one swing of the Golden Dragon Whip, he bellowed: "Miss Dragon Girl, please be merciful!" Xiao Long Nu didn't care, she already didn't regard him as an enemy, or a friend, her pace faintly moved, and stepped twice to the left. Yin Ke Xi followed with one turn, still wanting to protect Zhao Zhi Jing, suddenly heard the noise of moaning behind him, slowly turning his head round, merely saw Zhao Zhi Jing's robe sleeves has been split into two parts by the point of her sword, blood came running out. However Xiao Long Nu stabs him, other people were still completely baffled by it, her rapid and skilful sword methods have reached a point where not only does her routes have no traces, it's actually as if she can cut off one person and still injure her foe.

Zhao Zhi Jing has been consecutively stabbed twice, realizing that Yin Ke Xi's martial arts were average, he thought he could not count on him to protect himself, in imminent danger took a deep breath and scurried away, and leapt right to the side of Xiao Xiang Zi. Xiao Long Ru looked as though she never noticed it, turned her body, with force aimed her left hand sword at Yin Ke Xi, yet her right sword was directed at Ni Mo Xing's chest. Whilst supporting his left hand on his cane, Ni Mo Xing's right hand used the steel snake to block, but then overhears Zhao Zhi Jing crying out loud, followed by 'qiang-long' of a sound, his sword fell, his wrist has been poked by her sword yet again. That move was even more peculiar, it was obvious that Xiao Long Nu was far apart from him, yet somehow whilst attacking two formidable fighters she managed to find time to wound him.

Xiao Xiang Zi grunted and said: "Miss Dragon Girl's sword techniques are not bad at all, I also want to challenge you." His left hand threw a palm near his side, Zhao Zhi Jing felt a breath of great force meeting his shoulder, he lost his footing, and fell out several zhang (ten-feet), fortunately his inner energy has considerable foundation, his body may have been wounded three times, but he was able to get up on his feet. As Xiao Xiang Zi's palm force has not yet arrived, the cane attacked at the same moment.

Ma Guang Zuo was all along good friends with Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu, at this point his mind felt that this was far from right, and spoke loudly: "Don't you wanna save face? 3 Wulin Masters, ganging up on a young girl."

Once Xiao Xiang Zi and others heard this, their faces showed signs of temper. Throughout their lives they paid no attention to such things as virtues or morality, however even arrogance and pride, to their identity and dignity were still regarded as extremely important, not to mention 3 people ganging up, they wouldn't even consider fighting such a young girl even one-on-one, but at present they knew depending on one person, it certainly won't be able to resist her supernaturally unfathomable sword movements, they could only pretend not to have heard those satirizing comments made by Ma Guang Zuo, all were thinking: "What a stupid idiot, we're all handling the same affairs here, and yet you help an outsider? When we're done I'll teach you a lesson." While their minds are filled with thoughts, before one's eyes the ray of the sword shone, Xiao Long Nu has already made a move. The 3 fighters still can't trace the force of her sword, so they leapt backwards together, moving away a few zhangs, not wanting to get caught up with each other while brandishing their weapons, protecting their body's vital parts.

Numerous Mongolian warriors led Yin Zhi Ping, Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Tan and others to give way near the temple wall, they all knew that the battle between the 4 is not to be taken lightly, all it needs is one person's weapon to be close to you, if you don't die then you'd definitely sustain a serious injury.

Xiao Xiang Zi, Ni Mo Xing and Yin Ke Xi all expected her to attack the other person first, so long as they're able to spot clues in her moves, then will have chance of victory. The 3 fighters had the same intentions, consequently everyone of them executed unique skills, protecting their bodies without revealing vulnerable gaps, first seeking for a must not win, in order to win. The 3 fighters whilst attacking adopted a defensive position together, it was a rare occasion in itself, but seeing their adversary is this strong, if they rush ahead and make an assault, the search for glory most likely would backfire on them.

Within the temple, Xiao Long Nu's twin swords faced the floor, and she stood in the centre, Xiao Xiang Zi and the other two placed themselves to each individual spot, each one of them had a cold light shimmering about in front of them. Yin Ke Xi's Golden Whip flourished into a round yellow light; Ni Mo Xing's Steel Snake illuminated strips of dark reflections; Xiao Xiang Zi's cane stirred into a grey screen, all hindered in front of them.

Xiao Long Nu observed the 3 fighters one by one, thinking: "I have no enmity towards the three of you, who has the spare time to start a fight with you lot?" Noticing that Zhao Zhi Jing dodging and recoiling away and just when he was about to step behind the idol statue, she brushed her white sleeves, and moved in. Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi separately dashed to the left and right, the steel snake and cane rushed in front of her, they both allied together, the attack may not have been enough, but protecting themselves were their priority. Seeing that there is no loophole to exploit, Xiao Long Nu's twin swords did not immediately transmit outwards, seeing that Zhao Zhi Jing tried to escape through the back, she held her sword and chased forward two steps, however Ni Mo Xing's and Xiao Xiang Zi's two weapons whizzed like the wind blowing, she was unable to get past them. Xiao Long Nu said: "Will you lot let me get past?"

Xiao Xiang Zi thought: "A feud has not started between us yet, she might not perform any massacre to any of us. What would I benefit from this Quan Zhen ringleader, why should I bother to make enemies with this strong girl?" He hesitantly did not answer, but Ni Mo Xing replied: "We insist on not letting you past, what can a demon girl like you do about it? Why don't you try and get past us?" Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi both stared down at him, both thought: "We're stuck with not letting her past, but why must there be abusive remarks? Can it be that you alone can match her skills? You truly overrate yourself too much." But then they're uniting efforts to ward off the enemy, it's inconvenient to complain with each other. They did not realise both legs of Ni Mo Xing were broken, truly enduring Yang Guo's and Li Mo Chou's favour, he knew Yang Guo was Xiao Long Nu's sweetheart, his anger must be let out on her body, at that point when he made a move, the move was very different from the other two, his intentions were to desperately fight to see who dies and who lives.

Last edited by Hanky Panky : 05-01-05


Chapter 26 Part 3

Xiaolong Nu showed no anger at all, only knowing in order to kill the 2 Taoists Yin and Zhao she must drive away the 3 experts right in front of her. So coolly responded: "As you're not going to let me get past, then excuse me!" Right after she finished her words, her sword's light flashed by and a single noise was overheard without warning; and spread itself into the distant without pausing. The noise hasn't yet subsided, and Xiaolong Nu has already retreated back over 10 feet returning to the centre of the temple. Xiaoxiang Zi's and Nimo Xing's faces revealed no colour. The prolonged noise was formed by around 40 continuous attacks in a greatly constricted amount of time. Within that instant moment, Xiaolong Nu's 2 swords stabbed, cut, skimmed and chopped, and gathered up 40 moves. Nimo Xing and Xiaoxiang Zi were defending as tight as many imagined, every one of her moves collided with the top of their weapons. Through the bystander's ears, all it was were the recurring noise of the bumping weaponry that's all.

Her attacks were so fast, Xiaoxiang Zi and the others were even more panicking. Just then when they were able to impede her sword lashes, were totally dependant on their method of flourishing their weapons in the way that nothing is going to get past them; and barely a loophole to be spotted. If they waited for her sword to come out completely, then the both of them would have tasted her sharp sword. Xiaolong Nu had admired their individual ways of defending tightly when her swift ranges of assaults were to no prevail. She paused for a slight second, and drifted backwards but her eyes still locked onto Xiaoxiang Zi. Then her 2 swords suddenly reversed their stab, 12 rapid sounds of ding, ding, ding, even a skilled player of the lute instrument's complex way of playing won't pull off that kind of speed. Yin Kexi's golden whip was never laid to rest and was busy blocking off those 12 attacks right from the start.

After 2 periods of attacking and defending were finished, 4 of them understood each other. Xiaolong Nu was unfortunate not to have a stronger inner energy and didn't allow her sword moves the potency that's needed to knock out the opponent's weapon. If she had roughly similar inner energy to either of the 3, their defence would've been long breached through. Xiaolong Nu carrying her swords backtracked to the centre of the temple, and tried to conceive a plan to break the enemy. Only saw that the more they brandished their weapons the faster they became, where can she find the least bit of a weak point?

She thought: "Wielding weapons at this sort of tempo would lead to an excessive exhaustion of inner energy, then surely I won't last for long. All I need to be is patient and wait for a change, as the time drags on I will then be able to find a flaw. Even if Zhao Zhijing manages to escape, no matter where he goes I'll find him in the end." Thereupon her 2 swords trembled slightly, appearing as though she's going to attack or not going to attack. Storing up valuable power that's ready to be dished out. But still she won't make the sally yet, causing her 3 opponents to not have any remote moments of relaxation at all. However, although Xiaoxiang Zi and his partner's inner energy were all considerably deep and profound, wielding weapons in such a way, will make their physical energy drop below standard in a short time period. As Xiaolong Nu saw no loophole to exploit, she quietly stood there with an elegant expression on her face and beared a severe mood. Her temper has generally never been anxious before, throughout her journey of following Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing for about a month she's never even laid a hand on them. Right now if she had to wait for another day, why not? For 20 years she's been quietly keeping watch of Ancient Tomb and learnt an unrivalled unique way of maintaining her patience.

Nimo Xing noticed that she held her sword in a state of idleness, as self-assured as he was; he's the first to not tolerate this any longer. Without warning roared out like a lion beast, and wielded his metal snake and drove swiftly towards her. Once he was on the offence, the left side of his body revealed a weak point. Xiaolong Nu's sword trembled, Nimo Xing's walking stick violently rammed out and then jumped back. But then felt a slight pain on his shoulder, glancing down he was surprised to see his left shoulder's clothing had tiny hole pierced through it, with blood seeping out of it. If Xiaolong Nu weren't also concentrating on defending against his metal snake, his left arm would've long been detached from his body.

Nimo Xing racing to attack but got no merit out of it and instead received a wound. He maybe angry but did not have any more guts to hastily advance again. 3 of them separately deployed under 3 positions all brandishing their weapons. Xiaolong Nu standing in the middle did not pay any attention to them. Yin Kexi's single [10,000 Yellow Sand Whip Technique] repeated 4 times, then something abruptly popped up in his mind, so called: "Brother Nimo, Brother Xiaoxiang let's tread half a step forward." Nimo Xing and Xiaoxiang Zi weren't too sure of his intentions, but supposing that he's the Western Region's greatest asset, with extensive knowledge and not to mention his intelligence. As a result, they complied with his words and did move half a step up. Yin Kexi at the same time stepped forward half a pace, and commanded: "Defending must be well-knit, it's crucial for the steps to be slow. Let's make another step." Nimo Xing and Xiaoxiang Zi proceeded forward as requested like before.

The 3 of them weren't at all slack or sluggish in any way. Then after a while, stepped out half a feet. At that point everyone already could make out what's happening, the circle surrounding Xiaolong Nu by the 3 people was gradually narrowing, in the end they will force her into the centre. Although the 3 of them weren't confident to come out and launch an assault, all 3 of them continued to wield their weapons. Almost composed of 3 impregnable fortresses progressively approaching the centre. The threatening 3 defensive styles merged into a single mighty blitz, in which its ferocity is incomparable. Everyone viewing this sort of situation, especially the likes of the Mongolian soldiers and Zhao Zhijing and his fellow Taoists secretly felt delighted. The other Taoists on the other hand were concerned of Xiaolong Nu.

Xiaolong Nu noticed them getting even closer, and their weapon's movements still had no openings to exploit. Soon within a few moments, if she made an attack their continued pressure forward would definitely crush her. So at once, her two swords in succession poked out, all that's heard was 'ding-ding' that was suddenly fast and suddenly slow. Every move met with the top of their weapons. She dished out many sword thrusts persistently with every one of them blocked and turning back to her. The 3 of them moved up half a step once again. Xiaolong Nu gradually felt alarmed and bewildered, as she backed away to the left side she tripped, and faintly staggered. Her sword techniques showed a great deal of weaknesses, if Xiaoxiang Zi and his crew did not just think of defending only, and weren't confident to seize an opportunity, she would've been caught in an extremely malicious position.

The temple's floor was actually occupied with many swords. The weapons belonged to Quan Zhen disciples and were abandoned in the floor after they were deprived from them. A moment ago, Xiaolong Nu's left foot trod onto one of the sword handles that laid nearby, as a result her balance wasn't steady. Suddenly she recalled: "Others are competent to use 2 swords with 2 hands, since I've mastered the art of splitting the heart for 2 uses, then 2 hands ought to wield 4 swords concurrently. Suppose it's improbable to attain the true degree of power in using 4 swords, perhaps it can be relied to confuse the enemy, before I grasp a chance to escape." Almost immediately, her left hand that carried a single sword was swapped over to her right hand, she then stooped over and picked up 2 more swords. Both hands each contained 2 swords now, and she began to wield her 4 swords at the same time.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others were in disbelief and all thought: "This young girl's moves get stranger every time. This truly is the first time I've ever seen someone use 4 swords together." But all 3 of them agreed a plan to meet their contingency and settle with it, they weren't at all bothered about what sort of weird move or strange art she's going to use, all they thought of was only defending and not attacking. And continued on pressing forward step by step.

Although Xiaolong Nu's 4 swords used together is frightening when heard and observed, the power when used originally with 2 swords is superior as opposed to using 4 swords. Normally she focused on a single sword during her training. The coordination of Quan Zhen Sword Technique and Fair Maiden Sword Technique on her right hand was flawless. Now the transition of using 2 swords with 2 hands is after all hardly effective, the movement's high level of proficiency as before is diminished. After several strokes, Xiaoxiang Zi and others realized her moves were somewhat slow. Each time she poked out her sword, it's lost its immeasurable essence from before. Nimo Xing larynx created 'coo-coo' noises, and waved his steel snake to signal his lunge forward. Yin Kexi urgently cried out: "What you're trying to do is useless, that's more like a plan of luring the foe." From his reminder, took a jolt and thought it's fortunate somebody else remembered really fast. Knowing how crafty the young girl was, once he attacks she will immediately respond with a counterattack. Not only will their besieging formation break down instantly, his life is very likely to be taken away.

In reality Xiaolong Nu is not luring her enemy on purpose, however through Yin Kexi's information does she think: "That dark short guy cannot keep himself calm, I must come up with a plan against him. He insists that I'm luring them into a trap, then I'll show him what luring is all about." Abruptly she raised her right hand and flew out vertically, she then followed up with a thrust using her right hand's sword, and her left hand cast a sword into the air. Xiaoxiang Zi and the rest were surprised, and sure of what tricks she's playing at. Only seeing the 2 swords in midair has not descended. Another 2 swords that she carried were also tossed up into ceiling. This time round, she's left empty handed, Yin Kexi cried out: "We must defend strictly with absolutely no intention to attack." He wasn't perceptive of Xiaolong Nu's intention, but he believed providing that they defend tightly and progressively press forward, and then they'll surely have a chance of succeeding. Their opponent may be barehanded, but they're not taking any chances to come out and attack.

Xiaolong Nu bent over, without any hesitation both hands grabbed the swords on the floor, and thrown them one after another into midair. At the same time, they sunk down one by one. As she got a hold of them again, she threw them back up. Seeing how those dozens of swords rise and fall, the cold lights glistening non-stop in the hall, it was dead spectacular to watch. Ancient Tomb Sect's martial arts foundation doesn't specialise in deep and profound inner energy, but rather based on swift and rapid techniques to be victorious. That very year when Xiaolong Nu passed on martial arts to Yang Guo that necessitated him to bar off 80 sparrows with just the pair of his hands. When this [Tight Encirclement Force/Tian Luo Di Wang Shi] is enabled, if live sparrows could be impeded, then the many swords flung and caught would be the same thing to her. Almost every split second there was a weapon in her hands, and vice versa. Catching sight of Xiaoxiang Zi and his mate's stupefied looks, their minds were ruminating is this young lady performing some sort of magic trick or circus jugglery?

Without warning Xiaolong Nu's left palm rose out and pushed up the handle of an idle sword. The sword travelled horizontally towards Yin Kexi at a fast pace. The tip of the sword ran into his golden dragon whip's glossy cover, and then it swiftly at unbelievable velocity deflected back but this time sprang towards Nimo Xing. Nimo Xing's metal snake was wielded with a matter of urgency, and repelled the sword back to hit Xiaolong Nu. Right at this point, overhead were 2 swords raining down, Xiaolong Nu's both hands diverted the 3 swords and allocated them towards each of the 3 people.

In an instant flash, the clusters of swords weren't taking to the air, but rather hovering fiercely rocking about amongst the 3 different weapon's glossy cover. Some sword's ending force tilted along and was vigorously shattered into 2 halves thanks to Nimo Xing's metal snake. Xiaolong Nu wore golden-threaded gloves and beat the top end of the sword, without a single bit of wound inflicted upon her. From her days of being young till now, she was well adept at [Tight Encirclement Force/ Tian Luo Di Wang Shi], right in the hall her advancing, retreating and avoiding skills were peerless under the heavens. Her eyes were sensitive and moves were fast, her spirit was crystal clear, the more she fought the faster she became. Her mind wasn't even phased by any distracting force, and didn't even think of whether she would win or lose in this fierce battle, or even as far as who lives and who dies. At times smoothly seizing a sword and lunge out several moves, then quickly abandon them back to the enemy. Previously with 2 swords, Xiaoxiang Zi and others already found it difficult to withstand, now with so many swords arbitrarily tossed and thrust out. With her as the nucleus stabbing out swiftly in all directions, how can it be possible for them to parry those attacks? Besides when the swords were knocked away by their weapons, they weren't in control of where it's headed for and how powerful it was. Whether they have to injure their companions, they'll have to take orders from heaven.

The act of Xiaolong Nu throwing swords in the air was formerly used to enable disorder in the enemy's eyes. But as the trend of events fluctuated, it even exceeded her own expectations and conveniently became beneficial for her. At the core of the weapons waving in the air, indistinctly can be heard of Yin Kexi's and Nimo Xing's heavy breathing. Xiaoxiang Zi's cane although wielded at a fast rate, seemed uneasy and weighed up against his name "Xiaoxiang/Unrestrained" and opposed its nature.

Suddenly Yin Kexi's right arm drooped downwards and cried out: "Aw Crap!" As soon as 3 swords sprang out of, all the places they ended upon were eventually tangled up with his whip. His defence may have been tight but every one of those swords were knocked out from Xiaoxiang Zi's and Nimo Xing's weapons. 3 of them happened to arrive together, inexplicably ending up on his whip. Yin Kexi used force and shook his whip to shed off the 3 swords. But just as he was about to lift his whip, Xiaolong Nu's sword pointed out and left Yin Kexi's wrist in severe pain, and the whip cannot be held any longer.

With the sound of 'chong-long', the golden dragon whip fell on the floor. Xiaolong Nu's left palm struck in succession, 7-8 swords flew violently outwards and dispersed towards the 3 of them. She ensued with both hands catching a pair of swords; her body secured her place and moved further out beyond Yin Kexi's reach. After Yin Kexi sustained an injury on his wrist, it left him deprived of a weapon. As a result the impregnable fortress like ring is eradicated in an instant. Once his eyes caught a glimpse of her lightning quick twin swords, he hastily retreated out of the way. Xiaolong Nu's lightness gong was superior to either one of the 3, raising her Qi, she directly surged to the back of the temple in pursue of Zhao Zhijing.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others for a short while weren't able to gather their weapons and had to wait until the many swords from above have all successfully dropped on the ground; until they were able to finally put a halt to cease their activity. Yin Kexi brought a look of shame on his face and said: "Xiao Di's incompetence has lead to her escape!" They were supposed to work as business partners and without any sentiments, no one there admired or respected each other. They fought with each other, all were thinking of ways to force each other to be convinced of their own qualities. But after experiencing such a soul-stirring ferocious battle, all 3 felt more like running away with their lives, in turn their hostility between each other has been reduced substantially. Xiaoxiang Zi and Nimo Xing both said: "We've never blamed you Brother Yin…" Before they even finished their sentence, suddenly overheard the 'ding-dong' sounds of weapons knocking at each other faintly transmitted from the rear mountain.


Chapter 26 Part 4

During the battle in the temple, Xiaoxiang Zi and others were supposed to be terrified, but amongst the weapons knocking against each other outside mixed with Fawang's 5 wheel's 'toot-toot'/whistling noise. Evidently both Xiaolong Nu and Fawang have started the action. All 3 of them thought: "With such a tough fighter available to act as the commanding general. If we fight by his side, we'll surely win." Yin Kexi retrieved his golden dragon whip, and bellowed: "Let's chase her partners!" So raced ahead to locate the racket. Xiaoxiang Zi raised his cane, and led a bunch of Mongolian soldiers to follow through. At this point everyone's archenemy was Xiaolong Nu the only one person. They've never had any Quan Zhen Taoists placed in their minds.

Yin Zhiping, Li Zhichang and others used this chance to unty each other's ropes right after the Mongolian soldiers left. One after another they collected their swords in flocks and followed out.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others arrived near the rear of Chongyang Palace where Jade Empty Cave was situated. Only seeing the wheels spurring in action and the sword qi in horizontal and vertical motion. Jinlun Fawang's roar trembled like the thunder; Xiaolong Nu's clothes were white as snow. The 2 were cut off at around 10 feet, enabling them to engage in a long distant battle. All five elements of metal: gold, silver, copper, iron and lead were melded into large wheels, now were twirling at flight, the noise's vibration created a humming disturbance to everyone's ears. Fawang's wheels in a number of fierce battles were once lost and not recovered. After losing it he tried to supplement with a replacement. Its size and weight were more or less equivalent to his earlier ones, but unfortunate to have the melded decorative pattern missing from its wheels, all it was were his mantra. In the process of utilisation, its proficiency was very high.

Yin Zhiping and Li Zhichang commonly seen the Jade Empty Cave's entrance blocked by a large rock. They weren't sure of their teacher's life and death situation. With deep anxiety, altogether hastened towards the cave entrance. With Daer Ba's metal pestle and Huo Du's wielding of his steel fan, the groups of Taoists repulsed in only several moves.

Wang Zhitan cried out: "Master, master are you safe and sound in there? Because of his apprehensive state, his voice carried a whimpering tone. Li Zhichang carefully thought: "On the basis of the 5 teacher's profound cultivation, how could they let people fight like this outside the cave without doing nothing? Otherwise, their practice must have reached a critical stage and cannot afford to divert their attentions and come out and deal with the foreign enemy. But with that call from Junior Wang, if they did happen to hear it, it would've thrown their minds into disorder." So hurriedly spoke out: "Junior Wang, do not call out anymore, the 5 teachers cannot be subjected to any form of disturbance." Wang Zhitan immediately realised his aggravation, and helped a fallen Song Defang and noticed his injuries weren't light. So tried to think of a way to help him out.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others were onlookers to the battle between Fawang and Xiaolong Nu. They understood that although he was defending more than he was attacking, he still managed to return one move. The 5 wheel's powers were strangely fierce and did not allow Xiaolong Nu to get an inch closer to him. This defensive style was way more efficient than the other 3 fighters. The 3 showed admiration and topped with envy, all thought: "That monk being conferred as the Mongolian's No. 1 Guoshi weren't no slander at all." The 3 fighters had thought of helping out Fawang as a team, but with this sort of situation, their selfishness got the better of them. So they did not wish to aid him to victory.

But little did they realise that although Jinlun Fawang's moves were fierce, in his heart he was actually complaining about his hardship repeatedly. Xiaolong Nu's each sword thrust was differentiated from each other but still coordinated into an ingenious and unsurpassed way of fighting. Her left sword aimed at his front with her right sword selecting a surprise attack from the back at the same time. It was a message to him of having neither way to retreat nor a way for him to advance forward. Every path that she chose with both her swords struck at several places, advising him to pay attention to those mistakes, as they're difficult to save. If he hadn't reached the stage where his internal force and external force were at the peak of his life, with his eyes sensitive and his moves fast, and with his many variations of hard and soft, his body would've been hit with 17-18 swords long by now. All it needed was a minor dip in his martial arts for that to exist. Actually, Xiaolong Nu as one person delivering 2 types of sword techniques pales in comparison to her alliance with Yang Guo in terms of power, even though her moves were rapid. Not to mention, her real martial arts were a long way behind Fawang's, even if Xiaoxiang Zi and others were stronger than her. But then again, once she stepped forward her moves were as fast as a bolt of lightning; everyone has never seen anything like it, to allow her fears to escape from inside of her. Fawang underwent suffering from [Fair Maiden Simple Heart Sword Technique], the moment it appeared again in front of his eyes, all he thought about was how to protect himself and how to slip away free. Xiaolong Nu gained the upper hand; because of the way she beat him down to the punch.

By the time they reached 50-60 moves, Fawang looked to be at risk, he withdrawed his golden wheels to shield himself and wasn't confident to launch it again. After another several moves, this time the silver wheel was returned to tighten his defence further. By the time, 5 wheels were all returned together, his fighting style was an all-defensive approach just like how Xiaoxiang Zi and others fought her before. The five wheel's weight, size, colour and shape were all different from each other. Either its sharp or more curved, they organised into 5 rings of light, which rolled all over the place around him.

Then suddenly one heard Xiaolong Nu's delicate shout: "Let's do it!" Followed by Fawang's low voiced uproar, echoing repeatedly. They both leapt vertically, and their moves were picking up pace. Even Xiaoxiang Zi and others did not see their shout or call clearly; not knowing an adjustment has already taken place. If Jinlun Fawang used his wheel's fierce power to attack her head on, Xiaolong Nu would struggle to withstand them. However since he was timid, he didn't show the best of his qualities. Trying to compare his speed to Xiaolong Nu, he's bound to be at a disadvantageous position.

Then all of a sudden, Nimo Xing felt something on his face, as if a miniature-hidden weapon had struck him. For a moment of shock he stroked the area of contact, but found no wound on his face instead was blood on his palm. His mind was dumbfounded for a while, but then spotted a drop of blood flying towards Yin Kexi, and now was well aware that one person's injured in the fierce battle. In a short while, Xiaolong Nu's white garment was stained with over 10 marks of blood that were scattered on top. As if there were a few peach blossoms on a white silk fabric, which dazzled the eyes through its gaily-colouring. Nimo Xing cheerfully spoke: "The demon girl has been injured!" Immediately after 2 flashes of the sword's reflection, Fawang silently moaned. Xiaoxiang Zi coldly butted in: "No, it's the monk who got hurt!"

Nimo Xing's initial judgment was right, the blood after Fawang was injured sprayed over Xiaolong Nu. He believed if Fawang was killed under her hands, then there's no way they can stop her, from that he called out: "Brother Yin, Brother Xiao, let's attack her together!" So he wielded out his metal snake and slowly pressed behind Xiaolong Nu. Xiaoxiang Zi and Yin Kexi also felt that they cannot look on unconcerned, so immediately split themselves left and right then approached them.


Chapter 26 Part 5

Fawang has been hit 3 times by her sword, but all were light injuries. Just when he's in grave danger, backup arrived. He felt a sense of relief, and saw Xiaoxiang Zi and the other 2 weren't at all opening up any attack. They were rather using their weapons to protect themselves as they diverged their positions to 3 sides steadily closing in on her. Knowing that once the time is slightly prolonged, it's imminent for Xiaolong Nu's sandglass to run out.

In front of the Jade Empty Cave, the pinery field paths showcased a fierce battle between 4 Wulin strange guests gathering round a silk clothed young girl. The group of Mongolian soldiers and Quan Zhen Taoists were motionless with fear, their faces resembled dying embers, and how could they've encountered such a violent struggle before in their lives!

The ear-deafening bumping sound of 'peng' shook the earth. Gravel was chucked out and the air was occupied with mist and dust. The dozen blocks of big stones collapsed to one side in front of Jade Empty Cave. 5 Taoists that were inside slowly stepped out, they were the 5 Quan Zhen Divisions Qiu Chuji Liu Chusuan and the rest.


Excerpt by Athena (3rd edition, but not essentially different with the 2nd edition):

Zhen Zhibing, Li Zhichang and others were very happy and called out:"Master!" and rushed forward. Da'erba and Huo Du were shocked and saw the explosive power that blew the doors of the cave open, like it was being blasted open with gunpowder. The two of them grabbed their weapons and rushed forward. Qiu Chuji and the other five masters moved aside a bit and suddenly all of them raised their ten palms and pressed at the backs of those two. A firm press was delivered and the two of them were thrown four metres away.
Da'erba and Huo Du's martial arts were of the same level as Hao Datong, although they were not as powerful as Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, but they cannot be defeated by them either within one stance.
The Five Masters were in retreat contemplating in the Yuxu Cave to create a way to counter the Jade Maiden style, they were pondering intensively day and night. However, they felt that the martial arts displayed by Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were the bane of Quanzhen martial arts. It is impossible to surpass them with stances, it was Qiu Chuji, who came up with an idea when he thought of the Big Dipper formation. He said:"We cannot overcome them with stances and varieties, but if we combine our internal strength we can use power to make for variety."
Hence, the five of them intensively thought of a way to merge their internal energies to overcome an enemy, every stance will be generated by the merged power of the five of them. They know that there are no exceptional talents within the third and fourth generation, the only way to survive is to unite the large number of disciples. Within two months time, they finally created [The Seven Star Assembly]. This technique was derived from the Big Dipper formation, although it is called [The Seven Star Assembly], it does not necessarily need seven persons to unite their internal strengths. Six, five or even four or three can perform this technique. When the Imperial Priest lead the other warriors to seal the cave, the five masters were reaching the critical point of [The Seven Star Assembly] and could not be distracted, even though they knew large foes have attacked and had to ignore this for the time being. When they finally managed to merge their five internal energies perfectly, they blasted open the sealed cave. However, because they were in a hurry this technique has only reached thirty, forty percent of its' level of attainment. Even so, Da'erba and Huo Du were unable to cope with it and the Five Masters were triumphant with one strike.
Qiu Chuji and others now turned around and were observing the battle between Xiao Longnu and the Imperial Priest and others. After observing for a few moments, they looked at each other and looked very sad and depressed. They thought: "In vain.....everything was in vain. We never thought that the martial arts of the Ancient Tomb School would be this magnificent. We can never defeat her in this lifetime."
The martial arts previously displayed by Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were the blueprints for their ponderings and contemplation. But the incredible, fantastic swordplay of Xiao Longnu was too awesome. They could not even see what those stances are, how could they think of a way to counter it?
The Imperial Priest and the other Mongolian warriors had higher martial arts than the Five Masters of Quanzhen. It was practically impossible for the Quanzhen School to even produce someone like them now.
Qiu Chuji and others thought:"If our late Master were still alive he would surely be superior to them, our martial uncle Zhou is probably also one level higher than these four men in the field of martial arts. Yet, when facing the combined forces of these four fighters, chances are high that he will suffer defeat."
The Five Masters were ashamed and depressed, they felt that Quanzhen was degrading with each generation. They could not carry on the legacy of their patriarch anymore. When faced with a great enemy it seems that the Quanzhen School has no leg to stand on anymore.

End of Athena's excerpt.


Hanky Panky:

What they saw were every move being brutal, every step made was critical. The more they watched on the more worried they became and weren't eager to make an inquiry to their disciples the reasons for this unforeseen event to take place.

By now as the 5 people Xiaolong Nu and others battled on, the circumstances were contrasting again. Every move Xiaolong Nu made was an attack, whereas Fawang and others were still engaging a lot in obstructing her every move. Counterattacks were few, but they were gradually closing in on her. Xiaolong Nu's situation became even more disadvantageous. Several times when she tried to evacuate the circle in order to slip away temporarily, her opponent's strict and concentrated defence was anything but normal. Every move made brought her back well within the circle. She knew that with Jinlun Fawang managing the driving force, it rendered her useless to even try throwing her swords up in the air like before. Much less besides her own 2 swords that she held, there weren't any other weapons available for her.

By herself in the main hall she injured Lu Chingdu, at this point she has fought close to 2 hours. Her physical strength was hanging on a thread, and the powerful enemy getting closer to her reach. Qiu Chuji and and others were lying in wait for her to one side. These 5 old Taoists were still very rare gems to find in the martial art world, every corner were populated with enemies galore. She was only one person, will definitely lose her life here at Chongyang temple. Suddenly she remembered: "With me being brought to this predicament, what's the pity when I simply die here? But…but…at the brink of death, I dearly hope I can meet Guo-er at the same time. Where is he at this moment? He's bound be getting intimate with Miss Guo, perhaps even already married to her. As a newly wed, why would he even think of a hopeless girl like me besieged from all sides? No it can't be, it can't be! Guo-er wouldn't be like that, even if he married Miss Guo, no way would he forget about me. All I yearn for is to see him once again …"

As she left Xiangyang and headed for the north, she's made up her mind that she'll never meet Yang Guo ever again. But at this stage where she faced the brimming moment of life and death, she found it more and more difficult to stick to her vow. What was previously 'dividing heart with 2 uses', is suddenly now 'heart embraces her special one'. Even though both her sword strike's activity were the same as before, her [Fair Maiden Simple Heart Sword Technique]'s might wasn't there. Fawang noticed a change in her sword style; he initially believed she intentionally showed weakness to tempt them. But after several moves cleared away, it didn't seem so. So he immediately stepped further forward, his left hand's silver wheel guarded himself, whereas his right hand's golden wheel aimed for one of her swords to smash into.


Chapter 26 Part 6

Only hearing the sound of 'dong', Xiaolong Nu's left hand's sword flew out of her hand. From mid-air landed with a 'pak', and broke into 2 halves. Fawang was just probing, and it actually worked. This was far better than he what he expected so without wasting any chances his right hand's golden wheel rammed out. This stunned Xiaolong Nu and quickly made an effort to suppress her perturbed mind; and brushed out 3 slashes. But as she was forced into using just a single sword, the martial arts difference between her and Fawang stretched further. Xiaoxiang Zi and his partners seeing the small advantages arising progressed forward with their own weapons.

Xiaolong Nu revealing a tasteless smile had not wished to plunge into a contest anymore. She caught a glimpse of the pinery field path that sprouted a rosebush nearby within 30 feet distance. The flowers were delicate and charming like it's about to drop. Suddenly one scenery occurred to her, a scenery where she was cut off by the rosebushes with Yang Guo whilst learning [Fair Maiden Heart Manuscript]. She thought: "Since I'll never see Guoer anymore, then I'll think of him before I die. Her face expression as gentle and soft as it is was absorbed into a moment of content.

Fawang and his teammates had surrounded her in all 4 directions, if they wanted to they could've finished her in one stroke. But suddenly noticed a wave of abnormality highlighted on her face, appearing as though she had forgotten about fending herself from the enemy. All were astonished, and didn't know whether she was up to those dirty old sorcery tricks again. 4 different weapons wavered out in mid-air but didn't come down. But within that pause, Nimo Xing's steel snake was the first to transmit forward.

Then all of a sudden beside him was the sound of wind soughing; it appears that someone had stretched a sword to strike him. Nimo Xing frantically got back his steel snake to obstruct the sword, but got nothing but empty air. Then he saw a person in motion, it was none other than Yin Zhiping who scrambled in front of Xiaolong Nu. Arriving by means of delivering his own sword to her. Xiaolong Nu at this point seemed possessed like nothing is within her sight, nor can she hear with her ear, and already abandoned the matter of engaging in a hand-to-hand combat. Then she felt her left hand was added one sword, so smoothly clung onto it.

The onlookers couldn't help but cry out in alarm after suddenly catching sight of Yin Zhiping entering the danger zone of 5 top-notch fighters. For him, it was no different than digging his own grave.

Fawang was acquainted with him, and did not wish to harm his life. So thereupon his left arm met his shoulder by force and pushed him away. His right hand's wheel swayed towards Xiaolong Nu. Yin Xhiping was curious of why she had no intentions to fight anymore. Desperately trying to think, his eyes understood that she'd be dead if this wheel grazed into her. Without care of his own safety flung himself, and screamed: "Xiaolong Nu, watch out!" Then used the back of his own body and obstinately blocked against Fawang's golden wheel.

Whenever Fawang's golden wheel pounds out, its remarkable power alone could (split rocks and quarry mountains – can't make out an English translation for this), what chance does Yin Zhiping have of withstanding that? So he immediately dived out. After Xiaolong Nu caught the sword thrown over by Yin Zhiping, as immovably as before she continued to firmly hold the sword erected whilst in a trance. Yin Zhiping flew out, and met just right on the sword's end, seeping through his chest. When Xiaolong Nu came to her senses, a dawning realisation swept across her mind and was certain that it was him who saved her life. Staring down at his back wounded by the wheel, along with his chest pierced by his own sword, both were mortal wounds. In a split second her yeasty hatred converted into compassion, and softly spoke: "Why did you do this?"

Yin Zhiping's life is at one's last gap, as soon as he heard the 4 words of 'Why did you do this?' couldn't hold back his wild joy. And said: "Long Guniang, I'm deeply…deeply sorry for what I've done to you, I could never amend my selfless actions. Will…will you forgive me?"

Xiaolong Nu stared blankly again, and recollected the time when she heard his conversation with Zhao Zhijing at Guo's residence in Xiangyang. A thought just skimmed across her head: "Guoer has always been deeply affectionate with me, and even once swore that he would never be unfaithful to me. Then without notice he's made up his mind to marry Guo Guniang and abandoned me like nothing happened, and didn't for the least second care about the after-effects. He must've learnt that I was once smeared by this filthy scoundrel." Her heart was innocent, even when she followed the tracks of both the 2 Taoists Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing, this notion was never brought up in her mind. Once it was abruptly reminded by Yin Zhiping, her mind's compassion immediately spiralled back into hatred. Her fury has in fact 10-fold, clenching her teeth; her right hand's sword immediately drew on his chest and poked forward. However in all her life she has never took somebody's life away. Although her bosom was filled with grief and indignation, the sword that was to be perforated through his chest never happened to one's surprise.

Qiu Chuji observing to one side saw his beloved pupil died a violent death. He was distressed like a dagger through his heart, the incident was faster than anyone could imagine, and failed to reach in time to rescue him. Xiaolong Nu's first sword can be said to have been Fawang's cause. But the second sword strike was intentional. He doesn't have the slightest knowledge of the tortuous details. During these six months he's been put without rest, for the most part thinking of how to negate Xiaolong Nu's manoeuvres. In the recent month apart from this he had nothing else to think about. Xiaolong Nu has been established as his own sect's archenemy, but he definitely could not believe Yin Zhiping was willing to sacrifice his life to save her. Eyes seeing her sword stuck out again he immediately leapt in front. With his left hand's 5 fingers whisking her wrist, and his right palm aimed squarely for her face. Qiu Chuji's martial arts occupied first place amongst the Quan Zhen 7 Masters, the circumstances forced him to make that move, and his palm's might was very forceful.

That jerk did manage to pull Xiaolong Nu's wrist, and the sword was instantly out of her grasp. Without waiting for the sword to drop on the floor, she reached out her hand and regained possession of it. Then followed up with a lunge forward across to Qiu Chuji's chest. During this moment, Yin Zhiping shrieked in pain as he sank down on the floor with blood gushing out of his woundedspot. Xiaolong Nu's left sword pointed towards Qiu Chuji's lower abdomen. Now that both her swords have combined harmoniously, its power has rapidly amplified. Qiu Chuji's martial arts maybe profound, but within 3 strokes, he was in a helter-skelter state. Wang Chuyi noticing the situation wasn't right, meanwhile dashed forward to lend a hand, discarding Fawang and others to one side.

Jinlun Fawang and his motley crew felt surprised when they saw Xiaolong Nu fight against the Quan Zhen 5 Descendants, but knew that this change of event was beneficial for them. And thought it would be a good idea to watch them fratricide. All of them gave each other a wink, and backed off several paces. Only waiting for the real victor between Xiaolong Nu and the Quan Zhen 5 masters, and then they'll step in to tidy up the final phase of the chess game.

As the top fighters come to blows, every move was mortal, nobody dared to risk any room for error. That's why even when Qiu Chuji and his peers were aware that the situation was odd they knew it was hard to solve that easily. But since the battles commenced, where could they find the spare time to inquire all of this? Quan Zhen 5 masters were unarmed, when confronting Xiaolong Nu's marvellous and improper methods of swordplay, the single month spent on initiating a skill called [Seven Star Rally] did not even have any chance of being put to good use. In a moment, Hao Datong and Liu Chuxuan both were harmed by her sword, but both persisted and cared for every martial brothers safety. Then (嗤 ) of a sound, Sun Buer was struck by a sword.

Various Quanzhen disciples seeing how the masters were succumbing in a dangerous situation can't help but cry out in fear. Li Zhichang called out: "Quickly deliver them a weapon!" During this point, the 5 descendant's palm wind whizzed through the air, leaving their disciples unable to get near them and can only throw the swords one by one over to them. Xiaolong Nu raced ahead and brandished her sword to push out the incoming weapons. Every sword arriving near them was knocked away, with the advantage of Xiaolong Nu having a sword longer than their human arms; the 5 descendants were given no chance to grab a weapon. Suddenly the noise of 'ding-dong' was heard, Xiaolong Nu's left hand collected another sword thrown in the battle, and abruptly lobbed it backwards. Wang Chuyi couldn't prepare himself in the nick of time; the corner of his left eye was stabbed by an outsider's sword. Out of the 5 Quanzhen descendants, 4 were injured; a conclusion on who triumphed can be reached.

Jinlun Fawang laughed ecstatically, and called out: "My Taoist friends please step aside, let me take care of this demon girl!" Finishing those words he intervened. Xiaoxiang Zi, Nimo Xing and Yin Kexi jointly attacked her as they wielded their weapons; it's now escalated into a phase where 9 experts are besieging a single Xiaolong Nu.

As soon as Fawang got involved, Quanzhen 5 descendants were instantly released from Xiaolong Nu's twin sword's coercion. 5 of them called out loudly, and stood shoulder to shoulder. Either it's the right palm or the left palm, 5 streams of huge energies amalgamated into one that generated the [Seven Star Rally] attack. It maybe only 5 star rally right now, but the power is out of the ordinary. Tilted her body to evade the attack, the noise of 'peng' was heard. The dust on the ground flew upwards, the attack left Nimo Xing somersaulting in the air as he fell.

After both his legs were broken, he had to rely on his walking sticks for support; his lower-body wasn't stable and not enough to sustain the whack. At least when he was in imminent danger he managed to slip away from the direct force of the blow. He may have toppled over, but instantly got back up on his feet unscathed. With a few bawls of 'wa-wa', he raised his steel snake aimed down Liu Chuxuan's top of head. In front of the Jade Empty Cave the sounds of calls exalted in all directions jumbling into a mass.

Xiaolong Nu seeing Nimo Xing turn on the Quanzhen 5 descendants stroked her white sleeves, and wanted to pull out of the circle. Jinlun Fawang hurried over to hinder the attacks, and said: "Brother Nimo, it's more important to deal with the demon girl." Nimo Xing who's preoccupied with the fight, did not pay attention to the calls of Fawang. Prodding out with his steel snake, the assaults were laid upon the various Quanzhen Taoists. Xiaolong Nu's both swords quickly stabbed out Fawang several times. Fawang felt the unbelievable speed from the oncoming force; leaving him a hard time just to parry them, and had to withdraw a few steps.

Suddenly, Xiaolong Nu gasped loudly, both cheeks had no touch of complexion. With 2 sounds of 'qiang-long', both swords from her hand fell on the ground. Staring in blank amazement at the pinery field path's rosebush, called: "Guoer, is that really you?"

At this juncture, Fawang's golden wheel had sliced her head-on; Quanzhen 5 descendant's [7 Star Rally] pummelled her in the back. The attack was supposed to keep Nimo Xing at bay, but the Indian short man has already suffered the bitter taste of the piledriver. So had no second thoughts of matching it and evaded to the left. The attack was alternatively expended upon Xiaolong Nu's garment.

But instead she looked bewitched, and the reaction that was to bear her evasion wasn't there. Her vest has endured a palm, her chest struck by the wheel. Even with such a fragile body weathering these 2 tremendous converging forces, her eyes were nevertheless still secured upon the external influence of the rosebush. By this moment, her heart was agitated and turned her thoughts to her beloved, it seemed as though those 2 forces had never harmed her a single bit.

The spectators felt in awe of her gaze, and all involuntarily turned their heads to see what was so strange about that rosebush. Then noticed a human shadow fly out round the side of the pinery field and sneaked into no-man's land between Fawang and Quanzhen 5 descendants. That person grabbed a hold of Xiaolong Nu with his left arm, darting past, has already leapt out of the ring. And without a moment's waste sat below the pinery field and beside the rosebush, and rested her on his chest.


BeeDreamer:

This person was of course Yang Guo!

Xiao Longnu’s face lighted up, tears flowing from her eyes, "Guo’er, it's you. This isn't a dream?"

Yang guo nodded, kissing her cheek. He softly asked, "Not a dream. Am I not holding you right now?"

Then he saw her blood-stained clothes and was alarmed. He quickly asked, "Are you seriously injured?"

Xiao Longnu had received two vicious attacks. When she first saw Yang Guo, she didn't feel her injury. Only now she felt the searing pain. She placed her arm around Yang Guo's neck and said, "I.. I.." Her body hurt so much she couldn't get the words out.

Yang Guo couldn't bear to see her in pain, his voice broke, "Gugu, I'm too late!"

Xiao Longnu said, "No, it's good that you are here. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see you again."

Suddenly she felt cold as if her soul was leaving her body. She hung on to Yang Guo's arms. Still, she was slowly falling down. She said, "Guo’er, hold me."

Yang Guo's left arm sligtly tightened. He pulled her close to his chest. He was overwhelmed by hundreds of feelings, his slowly falling down to Xiao Longnu's face.

Xiao Longnu said, "Hold me, use both.. both hands!"

Suddenly she saw that his right sleeve was empty. Strange. She cried out, "Your right arm?"

Yang Guo forced a smile, his voice cracked, "Don't worry about me right now. Close your eyes. Don't use up your energy. I've worried you."

Xiao Longnu said, "No! Your right arm? How come it's gone? How come?"

Even though her own life was hanging by thread, she didn't care about herself at all and determined to find out why Yang Guo was missing an arm. This was because in her heart,Yang Guo's well-being was 100 times, 1000 times more important than hers.

It had been like this since the time they were together at Gumu. Only then she didn't know it was love, nor did Yang Guo. They only thought that their mutual concerns for each other's well-beings were what was right between master and disciple. Since there were only two of them living at Gumu, if one didn't care for the other, who else would they care for? Actually, this was a normal feeling between young man and woman. But most of them fell in love with each other, only to find out later that the other person’s well-being was not as important as his or her own, let alone 100 times, 1000 times more important. Only the most passionate people could treasure their loved one more than they did themselves.

For Xiao Longnu, Yang Guo's one arm was much more important than her life, and so she persisted on asking. She gently stroked his gown sleeve, not daring to touch it too hard. But really, there was no arm under the sleeve.

Suddenly, she no longer felt the severe pain in her body. This was because her mind was occupied by Yang Guo's pain, making her forget her own suffering. She softly said, "Poor Guo’er. Has it been very long? Are you in pain now?"

Yang Guo shook his head and replied, "It doesn't hurt anymore. As long as I get to see your face and never to part with you again, what's a big deal with missing an arm? My left arm can still hold you, can't it?"

Xiao Longnu let out a soft smile, deciding that Yang Guo was right. She lied down in his embrace. Even though he had only one arm left, she was content. She was facing death just before seeing him again. Right now it was very good, really very good.

Jinlun Fawang, Xiao Xiangzi, Yin Kexi, the Quan Zhen five masters, their numerous disciples .. numerous Mongolian soldiers .. nobody made a sound. They could only looked dumbfoundedly at the young lovers. At a time like this, all were thinking about attacking them, yet nobody dared to start it.

Jinlun Fawang certainly was not afraid of the couple, only astonished. He saw that Xiao Longnu was badly injured and Yang Guo had only one arm. The couple certainly couldn’t fight again. But their love for each other had an awe-inspiring and fearless effect, not something to be taken lightly.

Eventually, Xiao Longnu couldn't stay quiet and asked, "Your arm .. How did you break your arm? Tell me."

Yang Guo forced a bitter smile and said, "My arm broke. Of course it got cut off by other people."

Xiao Longnu looked at him sadly. She hadn't thought that he wouldn't tell her who did it. That meant it didn't matter who it was. She felt the rising pain in her chest and knew her life wouldn't last much longer. She lowered her voice, "Guo’er, I beg you one thing."

Yang Guo said, "Gugu, you've forgotten. At Gumu, I promised you, whatever you wanted me to do, I'd do it."

Xiao Longnu let out a quiet sigh and said, "That was a long, long time ago!"

"To me, forever is the same," replied Yang Guo.

With a sad smile Xiao Longnu said, "I don't have long to live. You stay with me, until I die. Don't go accompany Guo.. Guo Fu Guniang.”

Yang Guo was sad, yet angry. He said, "Gugu, of course I'll be with you. What does Guo Fu Guniang have to do with me? It was her who chopped off this arm of mine."

Alarmed, Xiao Longnu cried out, "What?, It was her? Why was she so heartless?" Is that.. Is that why you don't like her?"

Yang Guo resentfully said, "The two of us are very good together. Why are you being suspicious? Except you one person, in my life I've never loved anybody else. This Guo Fu Guniang, Hmmph.”

Yang Guo's right arm was indeed chopped of by Guo Fu.

Last edited by BeeDreamer 07-21-05


Hanky Panky:

That day Yang Guo and Guo Fu's quarrel escalated to a fight, Guo Fu's burning anger was hard to restrain. She grabbed hold of the Fair Maiden sword and stroked down on top of his head. After Yang Guo was poisoned he hasn't fully recuperated yet, his 4 limbs had no energy to spare. Seeing the sword arrive, he was out of options and had to raise his right arm in front of his face. Guo Fu in furious vexation gave her all. The Fair Maiden sword was as sharp as it gets, Yang Guo's right arm in a flash was silently let loose.

With that sword chopping down, it did incur in such a way. Yang Guo no doubt let out a fierce burst of anger, Guo Fu was quivering with fear and knew she made a huge mistake that could never be made up. But after witnessing the blood well up like a fountain, she hadn't a clue of what to do. Past a moment, suddenly the sound of 'wa' was released, she covered her face and wept whilst pushing open the door and rushing out. After a short period of nervous discomfort, Yang Guo promptly relaxed himself. And extended his left hand to seal his right shoulder's [Loyal Shoulder Point], he tears up a bed sheet and firmly tied up his shoulder to prevent the continuous flow of blood. Then applied the Golden Wound Medicine on his wound, and thought: "I cannot stop over here any longer, I must hurry and get out of the city." Slowly holding the wall walked a few steps. Because he bled excessively, he almost fainted several times as his eyes became more and more dazed.

Right at this moment, he heard the loud calls of Guo Jing: "Come on, come on, how is he? Has he stopped bleeding yet?" The sound of his speech was filled with anxiety. Yang Guo's mind at that time only encompassed these thoughts: "No way am I going to see Uncle Guo, in any event I don't want to see him." So took a deep breath, and sprinted out of the room.

He rushed outside the mansion's gates, pulled in a horse, mounted on top of it and galloped to the city gate. The officers and men that supervised the city had seen him rescue Guo Jing at the top of the city wall once before, they had a great deal of respect for him. So immediately opened the city gate for and dashed past as he rode on the horse.

During these periods the Mongolian armed forces have decamped a hundred-odd Chinese miles away. Yang Guo did not take the route of the main road. The horse was rode along the desolated area. Thinking: "The time is up for the Passion Flower that's infected my body, but I'm still very much alive. Perhaps just like what the Indian Divine Monk said, after I sucked the poison off the Ice Spirit Acupuncture Needles, the poison managed to counteract the other poison, which instead prolonged my life. But the poison has only subsided; sooner or later it's inevitable for it to break out again. With severe wounds at hand, if I were to head off to Mount Zhong Nan to look for Gugu, I definitely won't last very long. Could this be what is destined for my fate, and condemn me to die in such a strange place en route? He began to reminisce his wretched orphaned life, other than those fond memories he had of him being together with Xiaolong Nu in Ancient Tomb; he rarely disclosed any specific moments of bliss. At this moment his only close person has abandoned him and left, just when he's recovered – part of his body is disabled. Already half-dead along the way, when his thoughts reached this point, he was hardly able to restrain his tears.


translated by Lanny Lin

Yang Guo laid flat on the horseback. In the wooziness, he didn't care where the horse would take him, as long as Guo Jing wouldn't be able to find him and he didn't bump into any Mongolian army. Soon, the horse came near the desolate valley where the Wu brothers had fought each other the night before.

It was dusk already. The long grasses in the valley were even taller than knee-highs. Silence swept the night. Yang Guo was quite sure that he was all alone now, so he lay down in the bushes and tried to get some sleep. By then he couldn't care less about his own safety, and didn't even bother to guard against poisonous snakes or wild animals. But the excruciating pain from his wounds never stopped throughout the night. He could barely fall asleep.

The next morning when he opened his eyes and sat up, something suddenly caught his attention. Only inches from him lay two dead centipedes, bloodstains in their mouths, stiff as sticks, with red and black stripes all over their bodies, looking frightful even after they were dead. In shock, Yang Guo examined it more closely and found a big pool of blood next to the centipedes. After a short ponder, he had it figured out. It turned out that the much bleeding from his wounds had created the pool of blood, and because of the strong toxin contained in his blood, the two poisonous centipedes had died off poison.

A wry smile flashed across Yang Guo's lips as he murmured, "Who would have imagined that even poisonous centipedes couldn't stand my toxic blood." Anger, indignation, sorrow and bitterness swelled in his heart. He could no longer control his surging emotions. Raising his head high, he burst into mad laughter.

Three chirps came from the top of the peak and caught Yang Guo's attention. He looked up. It was the divine condor, its head held high, standing on the very top of the peak. Even though it looked ferocious and hideous, there was something about it that made it looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

Yang Guo was overjoyed as if he had just seen an old friend. "Brother Condor, we have met again!" he shouted.

A long chirp echoed as the divine condor darted down from the peak. It couldn't fly because of the heavy body and the two short wings, but it could run like a stallion. Within moments, it had already arrived by Yang Guo. Having noticed that one of Yang Guo's arms was missing the condor fixed its stare at Yang Guo.

"Brother Condor, great misfortune has fallen upon me. That's why I've come to you for shelter," Yang Guo explained with a wry smile.

He couldn't tell whether the condor understood him. It simply turned around and started walking. So he grabbed the rein of the horse and followed.

Only after several steps, the divine condor suddenly turned its head back and smacked the belly of the horse with its left wing. Taking a couple of steps back, the horse neighed in pain and jumped up and down.

"I see," Yang Guo nodded. "Once I enter Brother Condor's valley, there will be no need to leave again. Why bother keeping the horse?" Deep in his heart, he was already convinced that the condor was really no less intelligent than a human being, so he let go of the rein and followed the divine condor in big strides. Because of his severe wounds, he had to sit down to rest every little while, and the divine condor would then hold its steps and wait for him.

After close to two hours of walking, with many breaks along the way, the two of them arrived at the cave where the Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss had been buried in.

Seeing the grave made out of rocks and stones, Yang Guo heaved a long sigh. All sorts of feelings welled up in his mind. "If this legendary master was able to roam the Martial World with no equal, his Kung Fu skills must have been extraordinary," Yang Guo thought to himself. "But he must have also been very eccentric and arrogant because of his unmatched talents and didn't get along with ordinary people. That was probably why he just passed away so quietly in such a desolated valley while no great stories or legends of his were told in the Martial World and no sword art manuals or apprentices of his were left behind to pass down his invisible martial arts techniques. His life must have been very exciting and admirable, yet at the same time sad and gloomy. Even though the divine condor is very intelligent, it is so unfortunate that it doesn't speak, otherwise it could have told a little about the senior master's life story."

He stared at the grave blankly, lost in thoughts. When he finally got hold of himself, the divine condor had brought back two wild rabbits from outside the cave. Yang Guo barbecued the rabbits and made a good meal out of them.

Days went by. The wounds started to heal gradually, and Yang Guo found himself on a path of recovery. Every time when he thought of the Little Dragon Girl, he would still feel pain from his chest, but it was far from the kind of unbearable pain he used to have. Yang Guo was the restless type. Having spent so many days in the desolated valley accompanied only by the divine condor, he soon became very bored.

On this no particular day, the verdant hill at the back of the cave caught his attention. It was a beautiful day, so he decided to take on a random scenery walk. About half a mile into the walk, he found himself in front of a big cliff. The cliff towered straight into the sky almost like a huge screen. In the middle of the cliff, probably two hundred feet above the ground, a huge rock, about thirty or forty feet wide, stuck out from the cliff like a platform, and vaguely, he thought he could see words carved on the rock. Raising his head high, he stared up. Only after a long while was he able to tell what they were. Carved on the rock were two large characters: Sword Tomb.

"Why would a sword have a tomb? Could senior master Dugu have somehow broken his favorite sword and decided to bury it here?" Yang Guo's curiosity started growing.

He walked next to the bottom of the cliff and looked around. The cliff wall was made out of bald rocks. There wasn't even any grass or bush on the rock wall. There was no rock edges for grabbing or stepping on, which made him wonder how the senior master had been able to climb up the cliff.

He stared at the rock wall for a good while, and the more he stared at it, the bigger the urge to climb up he felt.

"He was also just a human being," he thought aloud. "How did he climb up so high? He's got to have some kind of tricks. If he had been able to climb up there using pure martial arts skills, then his skills had to be god like."

He stared at the rock wall again even more carefully. After a while he noticed something. On the rock wall, there were dozens of patches of moss, each patch several feet away from the other, going upwards in a straight line. An idea popped out. He leapt up and reached for the lowest patch of moss. Not to his surprise, a small hole emerged after he scrubbed out the dark soil. He figured that Dugu Seeking-A-Loss must have dug these holes with sharp blades. After so many years, dirt had accumulated in the holes and mosses had started to grow.

Having nothing else urgent to do, Yang Guo decided to check out this Sword Tomb. But having only one arm left certainly made climbing a more difficult task.

"If I can't climb up the platform, then I can't. Who's going to laugh at me here?" he thought.

After tightening his waistband, he took a deep breath and leapt a few feet up, stepping his left foot in the first small hole. Then he leapt upward again, kicking his right foot toward the second patch of moss. The soft soil fell, and sure enough, there was another small hole on the rock wall just big enough for a foot.

His first attempt at climbing the cliff only lasted a little bit over one hundred feet before he ran out of breath, so he slid back down to the ground.

"I've already found over twenty stepping spots. The second attempt should be much easier," he told himself.

After some meditation at the bottom of the cliff, he gathered enough strength and finally climbed up the rock platform. Although he only had one arm left, his Qing-Gong skills didn't weaken a single bit. He couldn't help but feel some relief.

Next to the two large characters "Sword Tomb," there were two rows of words carved on the rock in smaller font size:

"The Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss has become the invincible and unchallenged warrior under Heaven; he therefore buried his swords here. Alas, the heroes of the realm had laid down their arms, now my long sword are sharp as usual yet useless...the agony!"

A mixed feeling of shock and admiration welled up in Yang Guo's heart. He couldn't help but feel that this senior master's personality was very similar to that of his own. Both of them were lofty and defied the entire world. But he himself was certainly far from invincible and unchallenged. And since now he only had one arm left, even if he could survive this time, the chance of him becoming invincible would be too slim. He stared at the two rows of words for a while and then looked down. Rocks and stones formed a big pile in the shape of a tomb, its back facing the deep and broad valley. Putting aside the fact that how brilliant the Demonic Swordsman was, just the sword tomb was impressive enough by its own. It was apparent that this senior master must have been outstanding in both his wits and his martial arts skills, and had high aspirations. He wished that he could have been born many years earlier for a chance to meet such a legendary master in person. Feeling thrilled, he shouted out loud by the sword tomb in a long roar, and moments later, echoes rose in all directions. He suddenly remembered the kind of joy Huang Yaoshi[3] had described to him: "To flick my robe on zenith of the high peak and to wash my feet in the river thousands of miles long." At the current moment, he could almost feel the same kind of lofty sentiments and aspirations. Although he really yearned to find out what kind of blade had been buried in the tomb, feeling afraid to offend the deceased master, he finally gave up the thought and simply sat down, holding his knees in his arms, and breathed in against the wind. Soon, he almost felt as if his chest had been filled with pure energy and he could just ride the wind and glide in the air.

Several chirrups came from the bottom of the cliff. Yang Guo looked down and saw the divine condor jumping its way up the cliff by holding the small holes with its claws. Although the condor had a heavy body, its leg and claw strength was simply amazing. Only moments later, the condor had already made its way up the rock platform.

After taking a brief look around, the divine condor nodded toward Yang Guo and chirped. The sounds of the chirps were quite different from the sound of its regular chirps.

"Brother Condor, unfortunately I don't have the skills of Gongye Chang[4] and can't understand anything you say. Otherwise you could have told me the entire life story of this senior master Dugu," Yang Guo said with a smile.

The divine condor let out several more chirrups and then reached out with its claws. Grabbing onto some of the rocks on the sword tomb, it started moving them aside.

A thought suddenly popped into Yang Guo's head. "Senior master Dugu had superior martial arts skills. Could he have left behind some kind of sword arts manual or manuscript?"

The divine condor's claws kept moving and soon had moved away all the stones on top of the sword tomb, exposing three long swords lying side by side. Between the first sword and the second sword lay a long rock strip. The three long swords and the long rock strip lay neatly on a slab stone.

Yang Guo picked up the first sword on the left and saw two rows of small words carved on the slab stone underneath where the sword was placed.

"Fierce and aggressive, able to penetrate any obstacle. With it, I competed with the heroes of the Northern Plains during my teenage years."

Looking more carefully at the sword, he found it to be about four feet long. The blade flashed under the daylight. It was indeed a very sharp sword.

Laying the sword back to its original place, he then picked up the long rock strip. There were also two rows of small words underneath carved on the slab stone.

"Flexible Sword of the Purple Rose, used it prior to the age of thirty. With it, I accidentally wounded a righteous man. A weapon of doom, I abandoned it in a deep valley."

"The sword is missing because he had abandoned it," Yang Guo thought. "I wonder how he ended up wounding a righteous man. Perhaps no one will ever get to know the story behind."

After a short daze, he reached out to pick up the second sword. But only inches off the slab stone, the sword fell out of his grip and smacked back onto the slab stone. A loud clank echoed as sparks sparkled everywhere. That gave Yang Guo a good shock.

Although the sword looked dark with nothing unusual, it turned out to be extremely heavy. The sword was only slightly longer than three feet, but it weighed at least one hundred and ten to one hundred and thirty pounds, several times heavier even than the heaviest saber or halberd used in battlefield. He had not expected it to be this heavy when he picked it up. Caught by surprise, he had lost grip of the sword. The second time when he picked it up, knowing what to expect, he had a good grip on the sword. When prepared, something as heavy as one hundred and thirty pounds really wasn't hard for him at all. Taking a better look at the sword, he found both sides of the blade blunt, and the tip of the sword was more like a half circle.

"This sword is too heavy. How can someone wield a sword like this and still able to control it well? Besides, the blades on both sides and the sword tip are all blunt. How strange!" he thought aloud.

Looking down on the slab stone underneath where the sword was, he also found two rows of small words.

"Heavy sword with blunt edges, simplicity brings superiority. Before I reached the age of forty, I used it to roam the entire world under Heaven."

Yang Guo murmured the words "heavy sword with blunt edges, simplicity brings superiority" repeatedly. He seemed to have comprehended part of the idea, but the idea was still very vague in his head. There were many styles of sword arts in the world, but regardless of style or school, each sword art always emphasized in flexibility and speed. How should this heavy sword be used? He couldn't help imagining how the senior master had wielded the heavy sword and soon fell into a trance.

Only after a long while did Yang Guo lay the heavy sword down and reached out for the third sword. But this time something went wrong again. He had thought that this third sword must have been even heavier than the previous one, so when he reached out to pick up the sword, he made sure he had shifted enough strength to his left arm, but the sword turned out to be so light that he felt as if he had only picked up empty air. Casting a closer glance at it, he found a wooden sword in his hand. After the many years, part of the sword body and the hilt were almost completely rotten. The words underneath said,

"After the age of forty, I no longer relied on weaponry. Even bushes, trees, bamboo sticks or rocks call all be my swords. From then on, I achieved great progress and slowly reached the realm of overcoming the sword without a sword."

Laying the wooden sword back to its original place respectfully, Yang Guo sighed in great admiration.

"The senior master's brilliant skills must have exceeded way beyond my imagination," he murmured.

Thinking of the idea that there might be sword art manuals or the kind underneath the slab stone, he grabbed the slab stone and lifted it up. But there was nothing under except the hard surface of the rock platform. He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

The divine condor let out a loud chirp. Lowering its head, he picked the heavy sword up with his beak and then placed it in Yang Guo's hand. With another loud chirp, the condor suddenly swung his left wing and smacked down toward Yang Guo's head. The swing was so fierce and powerful that Yang Guo could feel the strong wind generated from the powerful swing long before the condor's wing even came close to him. In the split of the second, Yang Guo felt as if he couldn't even breathe, and when he finally broke out from the brief shock, the divine condor had held its wing still only about one foot away from his head. Another two chirps came from the condor.

"Brother Condor, are you interested in checking out my Kung Fu skills?" Yang Guo grinned. "I've got nothing else to do. Fine, let's have some fun."

But it would be too hard to wield the over-one-hundred-pound heavy sword, so he put it down and picked up the first sword. To his surprise, the divine condor suddenly retracted its two wings and turned his head aside, paying no more attention to him, its face covered with disdain.

Yang Guo immediately understood. "You want me to wield the heavy sword? But my Kung Fu skills are so ordinary. I am certain I would be no match for you, especially on top of this steep cliff, Brother Condor. You've got to cut me some slacks!" he said with a grin.

Picking the heavy sword back up, he gathered his inner energy around his lower stomach and shifted his strength to his left arm before stabbing the sword out slowly. The divine condor didn't even turn around. Swinging its left wing backwards, the divine condor attacked, its wing colliding with the heavy sword. Yang Guo felt a stream of vigorous force rushing toward him passing through the sword, so powerful that he almost ran out of breath. In a rush, he let out a roar and fought the force back with all his strength. The sword shook slightly between the two forces and suddenly all Yang Guo could see was complete darkness, and seconds later he fell unconscious.

Slowly, he regained consciousness, not knowing how long it had passed. Something unbearably bitter in his mouth immediately caught his attention. Meanwhile, some kind of bitter juice kept dripping down his throat. He opened his eyes and saw the divine condor placing a dark purple ball shaped thing into his mouth. This thingy stunk like a rotten fish, but Yang Guo ate it anyway, thinking that since the divine condor was extremely intelligent, this thingy in its mouth had to be something good. With only a gentle bite, the skin of the ball shaped thingy cracked open and immediately his mouth was filled with bitter juice.

The juice was extremely bitter and smelly. It tasted terrible. Yang Guo really wanted to spit them all out, but he didn't want to go against the divine condor's good will and finally managed to swallow them down. A few moments later, he tried to slightly control his inner energy flow, and to his surprise, he found his breathing smooth and fluent. He stood back up, and again, not only didn't he feel tired or exhausted, instead, he felt totally refreshed, no, it was even better than before.

Yang Guo was puzzled. Logically, when someone got knocked out with a strong blow, even if the person was lucky enough to not get injured seriously, he would at least feel soreness all over his body. Could that dark purple ball shaped thingy be some kind of magical cure?

He bent over and picked the heavy sword up. It felt as if the sword had become slightly lighter than before. Right at the second, the divine condor let out another loud chirp before striking with its wing again. This time Yang Guo dared not taking on the blow directly and dodged to the side. The divine condor took a step forward and struck again with both wings, fierce and powerful. Yang Guo knew that the condor had no ill intention toward him, but even though the condor was extremely intelligent, it was still just an animal, with the kind of mighty power it possessed, when it attacked with its wings, it wouldn't really know when to stop and how to restrain its power. If he had gotten hit by the wing and fallen off the rock platform, that would for sure kill him. Seeing the two wings striking toward him, he took two steps back in a hurry. By then, his left foot was already on the edge of the rock platform.

Who would have thought that the condor showed no mercy? With a quick stretch, its sharp beak had shot out toward Yang Guo's chest. Having no space to retreat back, Yang Guo had no choice but to block the attack with the sword. The peck landed squarely on the sword. A tremendous shock ran through Yang Guo's arm and he almost had to let go the heavy sword. The divine condor immediately followed with a low sweep using its right wing and strike toward Yang Guo's ankles. Astonished, Yang Guo jumped up and leapt over the divine condor's head, rushing toward the inside of the platform. In fear that the condor would follow up with its attacks, he waved the sword backward. A loud clank echoed as the sword collided with another peck from the condor.

Having so narrowly escaped death, Yang Guo broke out in a cold sweat. "Brother Condor," he shouted, "I am not Master Dugu!" Feeling aching and limp in his feet, he sat down. The divine condor let out two low chirps and halted its attack.

Having blurted out the words "I am not Master Dugu" without much thinking, Yang Guo suddenly thought of something. The condor had been a long time companion of senior master Dugu. The way it had struck and moved about actually had matched with martial arts principles loosely. Perhaps when senior master Dugu sometimes became bored living in the desolated valley all by himself, he had treated the condor as if it was a spar partner of his. Senior master Dugu had long perished, along with all his superior martial arts techniques. But it might be possible to find some traces of this great Master's martial arts style and essence from the condor. At that thought, he became pleased and stood up.

"Brother Condor, watch out!" he shouted. "Here comes another sword move!" Pushing the heavy sword forward as fast as he could, he stabbed it toward the divine condor's chest.

The divine condor blocked the sword with its left wing and then struck another heavy blow with its right wing. Its strength was simply too strong. Every time when it swung its wings, the force it generated was on par with the kind of force generated by several first-class fighters hitting out their palm strikes at the same time. Besides, the sword in Yang Guo's hand was simply too heavy for him to use any sword moves out of the Quan-Zhen Sword Art or Jade-Maiden Sword Art. So for defense, all he could do was to dodge to the sides, and for offense, all he did was stabbing the sword forward clumsily.

After a few moments into the fight, Yang Guo became tired and sat down to rest. As soon as he sat down, the divine condor would step aside. The two of them played like this for well over two hours before they finally slid down the platform and went back to the cave.

When Yang Guo woke up the next morning, the divine condor had already placed three dark purple stinking balls by his side. After some careful examination, Yang Guo finally realized that these were animal gallbladders. He remembered that when he met the divine condor the first time, it was feeding on poisonous snakes and also fought with a giant serpent. Then these must have been snake gallbladders. He wondered if the gallbladder of a poisonous snake would also be venomous, but after he had eaten a gallbladder the day before, he had felt totally refreshed and rejuvenated, having even more strength in him than before. Besides, there were already strong toxins from the Flower of Love and the Icy Silver Needles inside his body; he really couldn't care less. So in a few bites, he quickly swallowed the gallbladders, and then sat up to meditate. To his great surprise, many of the pressure points along his inner channels that he had a hard time sending inner energy flowing through before suddenly all opened up, and the energy flow inside him became so smooth and fluent. In great happiness, Yang Guo uttered a loud cry of joy. Usually, when someone was in the middle of cultivating his inner energy flow in a meditation stance, it was critical for him to abstain from irrelevant thoughts, especially extreme joy or extreme grief, but this time his inner energy continued to flow smoothly around his body with no glitches or any blockage.

Jumping back onto his feet, Yang Guo picked up the heavy sword and stepped out of the cave for some more rounds of sword training. Having no more fear and worries, even though he still dodged a lot more than blocking, once in a while, he was actually able to organize some sneak attacks in between the fierce and powerful forces created from the divine condor's waving of its mighty wings.

This kind of training went on for several days, and gradually, he was able to wield the heavy sword with better control. It almost felt as if the heavy sword was no longer as heavy as the time when he first wielded it. In the meantime, he also came to realize that all the sword arts he had learned before were too intricate with too many fancy techniques. He kept thinking about Dugu Seeking-A-Loss's words "heavy sword with blunt edges, simplicity brings superiority" on the slab stone. They had described a realm of sword art much more advanced compared to even the most ingenious sword techniques in the world. While sparring with the divine condor, he concentrated on comprehending the movement of his sword, and what he started to realize was that the more ordinary a sword move is, the more difficult it was for the opponent to defend against it. For example, if he simply stabbed out straight forward, as long as he had fierce and resourceful power to back it, the might of the stab would be actually more powerful than the kind of sword arts like the Jade Maiden Sword Art that relied on fluctuating and unpredictable techniques. Even though he only has one arm – his left arm, from eating those snake gallbladders the divine condor had brought to him, he had no idea that his arm had become much stronger than before.

One day while strolling about the valley, he discovered the bodies of three giant poisonous snakes on the ground. Their bellies had been ripped open and cuts from sharp claws left snake blood all over their bodies. By then, he was sure that the bitter things he had been eating were snake gallbladders. The bodies of these poisonous snakes shinned vaguely in a golden color. He had never seen any snakes like these before and had no idea what kind of snakes they were.

"I suppose the reason why the divine condor has such tremendous strength is because it had eaten a lot of snake gallbladders of this strange specie of snakes," he thought to himself.

After over a month worth of sparring, with some hard efforts, Yang Guo could actually take on the divine condor's mighty force head to head now, and each of his stab had also become so powerful that it would whistle in the air. He couldn't help but feel much gratified about himself. Since his skills in martial arts had advanced to a new level, the martial arts he learned before all seemed to be so insignificant, just like once one climbs to the top of Mount Tai, the whole world looked small and insignificant. But in another thought, he realized that without his previous foundation in martial arts training, he wouldn't have been able to advance to such a new level. After all, the divine condor was just an animal that couldn't speak. It might be able to guide some, but it would never be able to explain things or provide advice. Besides, the divine condor didn't really know any true martial arts skills. All it had was the god-given mighty strength plus the handful of moving and dodging techniques it had picked up while sparring with Dugu Seeking-A-Loss in the many years of companionship.


One morning, after Yang Guo got up, he found heavy rain pouring down from the dark cloud covered sky. "Brother Condor, it's raining very hard. Are we still going to train today?" he asked the divine condor. The condor held Yang Guo's sleeve in its beak and pulled him toward the northeast. Then it let go of the sleeve and strode out.
"Is there something strange again in the northeast?" Yang Guo thought aloud. He grabbed the heavy sword and then followed in the rain.

After a couple of miles into the journey, some vague but continuous rumbling sound came to Yang Guo's attention. And the further they walked, the louder the rumbling sound became. It was the sound of a waterfall.
"With such a pouring rain, I'd better watch out for mountain torrents," Yang Guo reminded himself.

After turning over a mountain gorge, the sound of the waterfall all of a sudden became so much louder that it could almost deafen one's hearing. Between two peaks, the waterfall crashed down poured into the creek below like a white dragon. In the thunderous echoes, the swift currents rushed downward with mighty force. The many broken branches and rocks, carried forward by the currents, only took a split of a second to be flushed down the stream.

By then, the rain had become even heavier and Yang Guo had become soaking wet. A think mist from the smashing waterfall surrounded everything, creating a magnificent view. But seeing the mighty force from the mountain tolerance, Yang Guo couldn't help but feel a slight dread inside of him.

Hlding Yang Guo's sleeve in its beak, the divine condor dragged him toward the creek as if it wanted Yang Guo to jump down.
"Why do you want me to go down there? The stream is running very swift. I am afraid that I would be able to hold myself steady," Yang Guo asked in surprise.

The divine condor let go of Yang Guo's sleeve, and after a long and loud roar, it jumped into the creek and landed steadily on a huge rock in the middle of the creek. The condor swung its left wing forward. A rock that had been carried down by the rushing current was sent back up the stream from the swing. As soon as the rock came back down with the current again, it swung its wing once again, which sent the rock flying up the stream the second time. Thus the condor did the same thing five or six more times, and the rock never made it pass the condor. By the seventh time, the divine condor gave it a good smack, which sent the rock flying out of the water and finally landing on the bank. The divine condor then leapt back onto the bank and stood next to Yang Guo.

Yang Guo understood. Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss must have come here often to train sword arts in the mountain tolerance every time when it rained. But he knew very well that he didn't yet possess such skills and strength. Feeling afraid, he hesitated.

Suddenly, the divine condor extended its wing out and pushed Yang Guo in the arm. Since it was standing so close to Yang Guo, and the push caught Yang Guo by surprise, he lost his footing and fell into the creek.

In the rush, Yang Guo quickly used a technique called the "thousand-pound plummet" and landed on that huge rock the divine condor had stood on. As soon as his feet entered the water, the great force from the swift current almost swept him off his feet. Yang Guo tumbled back and forth and had a hard time maintaining his balance.

"Senior master Dugu is a human, I am also a human. If he could hold himself steady, why can't I?" Yang Guo thought to himself. So he took a deep breath and then concentrated all his attention in the effort to fight the force from the swift currents. That alone had exhausted all his strength. It was simply impossible for him to spare any strength to hit the rocks in the currents with the heavy sword.

In the amount of time of burning down a joss stick, Yang Guo had exhausted all his strength, so he jabbed his sword on the rock, and with the push, leapt back on to the bank. Before he even had a moment to catch his breath, the divine condor had already swung its wing toward him once again. Having being on his guard, he dodged the push swiftly. Quickly taking in a few deep breaths, he jumped back down into the creek himself, thinking, "This condor brother is indeed a strict teacher and a forthcoming friend. He wouldn't cut me any slacks in the training. He certainly has high expectations, and I, of course, want good improvements."

At this thought, he directed all his energy to the lower half of his body and held his footing steadily. As time went by, he gradually comprehended some techniques as to how to focus his energy and how to best utilize his strength. Even though the mountain torrent had grown larger and water had rose up to his waist, he was able to hold his own a little easier compared to the previous efforts. A few moments passed and by then water had rose up to his chest and soon up to his mouth.

"Even though I can hold my footing now, I don't think I'll just stand here and get drowned!" he thought. So he leapt back on to the bank.

Who had expected that the divine condor had been waiting by the bank? Before his feet touched the ground, the condor struck out with its wing. Yang Guo hurriedly blocked it using the heavy sword, but the striking force sent Yang Guo right back into the creak. Splash, he fell back into the water.

When his feet touched the giant rock under the steam, his entire boy was under the surface. Water had filled his mouth as he was falling down. Yang Guo knew that if he had spit the water out of his mouth, then his inner energy would shift upward, thus reducing the strength in his legs, so he held his breath and took a stable stance. A few moments later, he pushed hard with his feet and leapt in the air. A stream of water darted out from his mouth. Taking another quick breath, Yang Guo fell back down to the bottom of the creek. The turbulences and swift currents rumbled through above his head. He simply stayed still like a firm rock in midstream. Gradually his mind calmed down.

"Brother Condor wanted me to stand in the middle of the mountain torrent, but if I don't hit the rocks in the currents, for sure he would belittle me," Yang Guo thought.

He was a man of great pride and was always eager to excel. Even though the condor was only an animal, he would still rather not lose face in front of it. So when he spotted the branches and rocks brought down by the current, he jabbed and stabbed and tried hard to push them back them way they came from. In the water, the rocks had become lighter. The heavy sword also felt lighter and easier to control when he waved it around under water. He waved and swung and jabbed and stabbed the sword until he was completely exhausted and begun to have a hard time holding his footing. Then he finally leapt back onto the bank.

He was quite afraid that the divine condor would once again force him back into the creek again. Without some rest, his tiring legs probably wouldn't be able to stand the forces from the mountain torrent. Not to his surprise, the divine condor didn't want him on the bank at all. As soon as it saw him leaping out of the water, the condor struck out with its wing.

"Brother Condor," Yang Guo shouted in complaint, "you know you are just killing me right now?"

He jumped back into the creek for a little while but simply could not stand the currents any longer and had to leapt back to the bank. Seeing the divine condor's wing striking toward him, not willing to sit down and give in, he had no other choices but to stab the sword at the divine condor. The two of them soon exchanged three moves, and to his great surprise, the divine condor was forced to take one step back.

"Excuse me!" Yang Guo shouted as he extended his arm and stabbed forth the sword again. Sound of whistling echoed as the blade cut through thin air – this was something quite different from his past experience.

Seeing the tip of Yang Guo's sword approaching rapidly toward it, the divine condor no longer dared to take it straight on and had to dodge aside.

Yang Guo knew that the half-day worth of training in the mountain torrents must have improved his strength tremendously. A mixed feeling of shock and joy swarmed in his heart. He couldn't help but question himself, "It would certainly take more than a couple of weeks to increase one's strength and power. How did I gain such great strength after wielding the sword underwater for a mere half-day?" He finally concluded that it had to be the snake gallbladders from the snakes of the strange specie. Those gallbladders must have magical effects in increasing one's power and strength. That was why his strength and inner power had increased tremendously, and he had only noticed it when he released the strength accidentally in the dangerous circumstance.

He sat by the creek and meditated for a while. His strength soon replenished. This time he jumped back into the creek for more training without being forced by the divine condor. By the time he leapt back up the bank, the divine condor was no longer waiting by the creek, leaving no clue as to where it had gone.

The rain had begun to slow down. Yang Guo figured that mountain torrents would have been a lot smaller and weaker the next day. Since he didn't feel that tired, it would be better to train some more right now while the torrent still lasted. At that thought, he jumped back into the creek.

By the time he got back onto the bank the forth time, he found two snake gallbladders placed closed to the bank. Feeling utterly grateful for the divine condor's caring, he ate them and then continued on with his training. Night came, and the mountain torrent had slowly become smaller and weaker.

That night he didn't sleep at all and kept on training in the creek. Gradually he began to realize many sword art principles such as piercing following the force, blocking against the force, slashing from the side, and chopping with a back swing. By then he finally understood: Wielding a sword this way, nothing would be strong enough to stand the force from the sword, and there would be no need for the sword to have a sharp blade. But without such a unique heavy sword, which was twenty or even thirty times heavier compared to a normal sword, this kind of sword art wouldn't have been effective. If it were just an ordinary blade, the force released from a gentle wrist snap would have shocked the blade into pieces.

The rain finally stopped, and the clear sky shined dimly in dark blue. Moonlight from a new moon illuminated over the trees and the water in the creek, painting everything with silver. Yang Guo watched the swift currents flushing down the creek path non-stop, his mind as clear as the sky. By then, he had understood the principles behind the flow of currents and mastered the techniques with the heavy sword. He knew that he had learned the entire sword art of the heavy sword and there was no more to learn. Even if the Demonic Swordsman could have come back to life, all he could have taught would still be the same. From now on as his inner energy grew, he would be able to used lighter swords, and eventually be able to wield a wooden sword like the heavy sword, but that would all be attributed to the advancement in his own abilities and skills. Regarding the sword art, this was as far as it would ever be.

Yang Guo paced back and forth along the bank. Raising his head high, he stared at the bright moon and soon was lost in thoughts. If senior master Dugu hadn't left him this heavy sword, or if there wasn't the divine condor to guide him, furthermore, if he didn't eat those gallbladders of the strange snakes and thus gained tremendous amount of inner strength, then the entire world wouldn't have had the luxury of seeing this sword art once again. Dugu Seeking-A-Loss didn't have any help or reference, yet was able to comprehend such acme of sword arts all by himself. His cleverness must have been a hundred times better than mine.

Yang Guo's admiration and understanding of this past sword master kept growing as he imagined the senior master's demeanor in his mind. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head.

"If auntie could see the great kung fu skills I possess now, she would be very happy for me for sure. Alas, where is she now? Is she also staring at the beautiful moon and thinking of me?" As soon as he thought of the Little Dragon Girl, severe pain rose from inside his chest.

"Even though I've comprehended the ultimate principles of sword art," Yang Guo thought, "what good does it do if I stay here in the remote mountain all by myself? What if the poison from the Flower of Love suddenly activated tomorrow and killed me? Wouldn't this magnificent sword art get lost for eternity?"

At this thought, aspiration rose again in his heart.

"I shall follow senior master Dugu's footsteps and defeat all heroes under heaven with this sword art. Then I can die with no regrets," he spoke out his thought loudly.

Looking at what was left of his right arm, Yang Guo knitted his eyebrows into a straight line, and his hatred for Guo Fu, the one person who had mercilessly cut off his arm, swarmed his heart once more.

"This girl relied on the facts that her father is a legendary hero and her mother is the chief of the Beggars Clan. She has never respected me. When I was still a kid and lived in her home, she treated me with so much distain and humiliation. I was actually doing her a favor when I lied to the Wu brothers. If any one of the Wu brothers ended up dead because of her, wouldn't she be the one to blame for? Humph! She took advantage of my severe illness and cut my arm off. If I don't settle the score with her one day, I am not a true man!"

He had always been one who took in kindness and grudge to his heart without a forgiving heart. Before, right after his arm was cut off, he had no other choices but to hide in the remote valley for the wound to heal. Now when his wound had sealed and his Kung Fu skills had progressed dramatically, he could no longer hold his urge for revenge. Having made up his mind, he immediately returned to the cave.

"Brother Condor," he said to the divine condor, "I'll never be able to repay the great kindness you've shown me. There are still several matters in the Martial World that I need to take care of. That's why I need to leave you temporarily. I'll be back here again once I've taken care of those businesses. If you don't mind, I need to borrow senior master Dugu's heavy sword for the trip."

He bowed down toward the divine condor deeply and then knelt down in front of the stone grave of Dugu Seeking-A-Loss to salute before heading out of the valley. The divine condor walked with him all the way to the opening of the valley. After many affectionate hugs between the man and the condor, Yang Guo bid his farewell and got on with his journey.

The heavy sword was indeed very heavy. If he had tied it to his waistband, the waistband would break in no time. Yang Guo cut down three old vines from the bushes and made a rope out of them. Tying the heavy sword on his back, he ran using his Qing-Gong and headed straight toward the city of Xiangyang.

[1] "Gentleman Sword" is the name of Yang Guo's sword. It is the male-sword out of a pair of ancient swords Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl found in the Ancient Tomb (if I remembered it right). The female-sword out of the pair is named "Maiden Sword."

[2] He was referring to Little Dragon Girl here.

[3] Huang Yaoshi, nicknamed East Wicked, was the father of Huang Rong and father-in-law of Guo Jing. He enjoyed great fame as one of the five top fighters. He was also famous for his eccentric personality.

[4] Gongye Chang was a man in ancient Chinese folklore that could understand animal languages.



Hankypanky:

Arriving outside the city, the time of day has approached dawn. He understood that settling out his business in broad daylight is not the wisest of decisions. Much less he's due one night's sleep, and his energy level would've plummeted down. Uncle Guo and Aunt Guo were experts in the field of martial arts. At this point of time their health must be restored, a fierce struggle is guaranteed if by chance he was to confront the both of them. Therefore ferreted out a thick patch of grass near a cemetery outside the city and slept there for many hours. Later he performed breathing exercises and cultivation, and garnered some wild fruit to be served as meal. He waited for the first watch of night, before he set foot below the city of Xiangyang.

Xiangyang's imposing wall was like a fortress. That day when Jinlun Fawang, Li Mochou and others leapt from the top of the city wall, they still required padded feet set up to prevent possible injuries. Right now trying to climb from the wall base to the top is never going to be an easy task. Yang Guo had already thought about this and came up with a method during his time resting near the cemetery. Thinking: "I will never have enough time to learn Uncle Guo's kung fu of [Walking on Heaven's Staircase]. What ever method Senior Dugu used to get up that cliff, I will capitalize on to climb up the wall of Xiangyang." He proceeded towards a secluded area near the east gate, luckily the troops that guarded near the top of the city wall made their inspection from afar. Much to the convenience of Yang Guo as he leapt up, then straightened out his heavy sword and spared no effort to drive it into the city wall. The heavy sword maybe blunt, but the ending force was unyieldingly strong. The city wall was the product of extremely thick granite employed for construction. Hearing the noise of 'peng', the wall was cracked open by the sword, which left a round niche. Yang Guo had never expected an effortless jab with the sword could have such power, and was pleasantly surprised about that. Next, whilst jumping up his left foot was poised on the cavity, he raised his sword and stabbed a hole into the city wall that's above his head. This time he didn't put a lot of power into it, just so that he avoids alarming the garrison troops.

Helping himself up step by step he was at the point where there's several zhangs left before he reaches the top. From here he displayed his [Gecko Crawling Wall Skill] to rise over the top of the wall and hid in a secret place. Inside the city wall were a series of stony steps that sloped down. Yang Guo waited until the troops walked away and sneaked down past them and dashed ahead straight to Guo's residence.

After taking nourishment from the snake gallbladders his inner energy rapidly increased. At the same time his body was more agile and his lightness gong was far greater than former days. But Guo Jing's martial arts was still very dangerous, there's a likely chance that the strength of his palms in the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms series is unchallengeable. In addition, were the mysterious and diverse set of Dog Beating Techniques used by Huang Rong. He only knew about 60%-70% of it so couldn't be too careless. As he reached outside of Guo residence, he quietly leapt over the wall and entered.

Bypassing the garden, promptly glanced at the house where he originally stayed. He went up to its window listened and found that no one was in there. He gently pushed the door and entered.

In the darkness he noticed the bed-curtains and other furniture were no different than when he left. All that was withdrawn was the bed's pillow. He lowered his body and sat along the edge of the bed, reminiscing privately of how his healthy right arm was lost forever within this bed. A stroke of sickness and anger latched onto his heart.

All along he was blessed with pretty and charming looks; by nature he was also somewhat lustful and cheerful. He maybe passionately devoted to Xiaolong Nu and thinks of her constantly, but there were many young girls who often can't help but pour out their affectionate feelings whenever they meet him. Girls like Chengying, Lu Wushuang, Gongsun Lue either secretly had a crush on him or were frankly flirtatious in front of him. Right now his hand loosely stroked the side of the bed, and faced the inconsolable truth that he has become disabled. If he ever bumped into those love-stricken girls, he will no doubt be viewed as a ridiculous and pitiful soul amongst their eyes. His martial arts maybe fantastic, but he's still a mere freak that's shocking to behold. Thinking of all the ups and downs and chasing all the events that happened in his life, can't help but lower his voice and say: "It is only Gugu, it's Gugu alone who's feelings for me won't deteriorate. Even as catastrophic as losing 4 limbs, it will be no different in the end."

Convinced up to now, suddenly on his east side he heard the muffled sounds of an argument between 2 people. He could made out the voices were in fact Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Yang Guo was curious how these 2 people set it forth, thereupon tiptoed to search for where it originated. Then found the room where the Guo couple were situated and eavesdropped outside their window.

All that was heard was Huang Rong yelling with rage: "Those 2 have plainly carried Xiang er away to Loveless Valley, in exchange for the antidote. How could you still go on and insist that Yang Guo is a good person? The child was given birth for not even close to 2 hours, and ended up in their hands. What chance does she have of surviving up to this point?" Those words dissolved into sobs and weeping.

Guo Jing said: "Guo er is not that kind of person. Besides, time after time he's saved our lives. If Xiang er's life could help him trade for his own life, then I'll gladly accept it." The sobs drowned out Huang Rong's words: "You'd rather do that, but I won't…"

Then the sounds of a baby crying aloud interrupted the conversation in the room, the noise was loud and clear. Yang Guo wondered: "Did they somehow manage to snatch the baby girl back home from the clutches of Li Mochou? Then why did she say: 'What chance does she have of surviving up to this point'?" Holding his breath he raised his view against the window seam and looked around. And did notice a baby cuddled up safely in Huang Rong's arms. It so happens that the baby was facing the window towards him, Yang Guo understood what he saw. He had a square-face that protruded out huge ears, his skin was coarsely dark that grew fine whiskers. He has carried the female infant Guo Xiang for a long period of time, and remembered she was tenderly white and petite with delicate features on her face. It's the complete opposite to this stoutly and plump baby. Huang Rong's back faced the window, and quietly settled the baby down, and said: "It was nice when the siblings were together, you'd better find his sister and bring her back home." Yang Guo was suddenly conscious of it now, only now did he comprehend that she gave birth to twins from her embryo after all. She first gave birth to baby girl Guo Xiang, hereafter arrived a male child. The moment her son entered this world, Xiaolong Nu had already carried her daughter away.

Guo Jing wandered slowly and aimlessly around the room, then said: "Rong er, you usually recognise main principles. As soon as it involved matters with our children, how can you not just put it to one side for the time being? At present the military affairs are in a state of urgency, how could I just leave Xiangyang and place my responsibilities for a mere infant daughter?" Huang Rong said: "I did say I wanted to look for her by myself, but you never permit me to leave. Are you actually going to let our child die in vain? Guo Jing said: "You haven't recovered yet, how can you go?" Huang Rong turned on him with rage: "Not wanting his daughter as a father. It's a hard lot being a mother, what do you expect me to do?"

Yang Guo has been together with them for many years in Peach Blossom Island, and remembered them as a loving couple, and no bust-ups were involved. Now that their faces grew red with anger, all words were equally matched. It seemed clear that they've quarrelled over this matter on many occasions. Huang Rong cried and spoke at the same time, Guo Jing pulled a taut face; randomly walk back and forth around the room.

After a while, Guo Jing said: "Even if she's brought back, you'll treat her in the same way as you did to Fu er, pampering her till she's lawless, she may as well count for nothing!" Huang Rong loudly exclaims: "What have you got against our Fu er? She loves our daughter dearly, she may have been bit too reckless, but the reasons were quite understandable. If it was me, and Yang Guo insisted on keeping my daughter, I'll even chop off his left arm for good measure."

Guo Jing's face contorted with anger, bellowed out: "Rong er, what are you talking about?" Raising his hand and heavily knocked the top of the table, 'PENG!', scraps of wood flew all over the place. A practically rock-solid red wooden table was instantly broke in half by his strike. The baby boy was actually crying without knowing when to stop. When he heard a shout and a bang he automatically calmed down as a result of the fright he received.

Right at this moment, Yang Guo suddenly noticed a human silhouette below the window on the west side, also crouching down and quietly drawing back. Yang Guo thought: "So besides me, there's another eavesdropper outside the window, but who could it be?" So tiptoed behind that person, and noticed that her figure was elegant, it's precisely Guo Fu. The burning fury wasn't extinguished, Yang Guo thought: "Great! I've been looking for you!" Then behind him the light radiated from inside was gone - the lights were off. Then hearing Huang Rong angrily spoke: "Get out, stop frightening the baby!"

Yang Guo knew Guo Jing was about to come out, and in his eyes he would be able to locate Yang Guo very easily. So shifted himself behind the rockery, then quickly made his way outside Guo Fu's room. Launching himself high up, and got himself on top of a (木筆花 tree, and concealed himself between the branches and leaves.

Within a moment, he saw Guo Fu return to her room. Then a voice of a woman said: "It's past the second period of night, sleep well Miss!" Guo Fu grunted: "I will sleep when I am actually asleep! Get out." The woman responded: "Very well." Then saw a maidservant leave the area on her own.

After quite a while, he saw Guo Fu faintly heaved a long sigh of relief, Yang Guo thought: "What is that sigh meant for? You've taken away my beloved arm from me; now it's your turn to lose an arm. But I'll take it easy on you coz you're a woman, (*Very grateful if somebody can even give a good translation of the idiom: 好男不與女鬥*), I won't harm you for the moment. If I did, it'll be just like taking candy from a baby, but such an act won't conform to the ideals of a real man." Paused in a moment of thought, he then came up with a strategy: "Alright then, I'll call out loudly, to get Uncle Guo's attention. Once I've defeated him, I'll settle an old score with his daughter. As a man who's got a clear conscience, no one will ever jest at my actions." But then reconsidered again: "Uncle Guo's martial arts is extraordinary, am I really able to triumph over him? I don't think so! Will this mean I can't take my revenge?" Recalling the way he lost his arm, the blood boiled up inside of him and his heart hardened. Just when he's about to jump down from the (木筆花 tree, the sound of footsteps approached, and the person was striding over here.

He noticed the pace deeply stiffened, the body was upright, it was none other than Guo Jing. He reached just outside of his daughter's room, and gently knocked on the door, saying: "Fu er, are you asleep yet?" Guo Fu rose up and replied: "It's you father?" There was a hint of fear in her voice. Yang Guo was surprised by this: "Is it possible that Uncle Guo knew I've already arrived, so came to offer her daughter protection? Alrighty then! You'll be my first opponent! If I lose to you, my life is yours to take." Guo Jing uttered an 'ng' sound. Guo Fu opened the door, raised her head and looked directly into his father's eyes, and immediately hung her head down.

End of Chapter 26

[Han Solo]

Chapter 26 (Hanky Panky, Athena, BeeDreamer, Lanny Lin)
Hanky Panky:

Chapter 26 Divine Eagle's Heavy Sword

Xiao Long Nu saw Quan Zhen Sect's group of Taoists riot, the Mongolian warriors raided on a large scale, every dispute seemed from her viewpoint like a cloud of mist, she paid no attention to them, but seeing Lu Qing Du raised his sword to kill Yin Zhi Ping, how can she let other people try to stab him? Therefore, immediately she ran up front to block the attack.

When Zhao Zhi Jing saw Xiao Long Nu suddenly advanced into the temple, he felt delighted: "Throughout the whole journey I've been chased by you without a moment's pause for breath, now that there's so many experts around, you're literally searching for death, it truly is the heaven's grant!" He called out: "The demon girl is not a good person, seize her for me!" The Mongolian warriors didn't take notice of his orders, they didn't even lift a finger. Zhao Zhi Jing's two close followers heard their master's command, rushed in front, individually tried to grab both her arms.

Before both their hands reached her sleeve, the fight within their perspective was moving as fast as cold light, both their wrists felt a burst of severe pain, in haste leapt behind. How it happened was because within her waist Xiao Long Nu pulled out two swords. In the blink of an eye, both their wrists were struck by the swords, the carpal bones were almost broken, drenched with blood. The move was extremely quick, people did not have time to clearly see how she forced out the swords to attack, the two Taoists were already wounded and moved away, everyone can't help but feel startled.

Lu Qing Du called out: "Great comrades let's attack together, our many hands will provide great strength, who care's where that demon girl came from?" He believed however skilful Xiao Long Nu can be, she's merely a young woman, once everybody rushes forward, they will be victorious, the vanguard straightened out their swords to stab Xiao Long Nu. Xiao Long Nu 's sharp swords vibrated, Lu Qing Du 's left wrist, right wrist, left leg, and right leg had been struck by her sword, with a loud howl, collapsed on the floor. The thrust of the 4 swords was even quicker than before, even experts such as Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi can't help but gaze at each other with pale faces. They've previously saw her fight Gong Sun Zhi at Loveless Valley, although her sword methods then were still fine and ingenious, but definitely not as unbelievable as they are now.

Xiao Long Nu was formerly taught how to separate her mind into 2 uses by Zhou Bo Tong, Left/Right Mutual Combat Technique, between now and then her martial arts have multiplied. With Yang Guo forming the Dualing Sword Combination and using the 'Pure Heart Jade Maiden Sword Technique', few have matched it under the heavens, now as one person she can use 2 swords, with outstanding power. Regardless of how two people's intentions are interlinked with each other, it's still inferior to one person's thunder-like alertness during battle, at this moment although her sword method's energy and strength aren't as good as two people teaming up, but her moves are faster in comparison by many folds.

Throughout her lengthy trail of Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing , she was depressed for days on end, not knowing what way to dispose of them, within that moment Quan Zhen Taoist's commander launched an attack, she took advantage to return fire, once she saw blood on the tip on her sword, she felt grief and indignation, suddenly she broke out in effect. Only seeing her white garment drift about, like cold light flickering, both swords seemed like two silver snakes wandering inside the temple, ding-dong, qiang-long, sounds of "Oh!", "Not good" were let out by others, instantly, Quan Zhen Taoist's swords dropped on the ground, everyone of them had felt the thrust of her swords on their wrists. Even more bizarre was that she used the same manoeuvre "Hoary Wrist Jade Bracelet", all the Taoists only saw the ray of the sword brush past before their own eyes, their wrists felt intense pain, they're simply helpless and easily disposed of, without a chance to parry any blows. If her sword chose to thrust the chest or belly's vital parts, the group of Taoists already would've one by one died flagrantly. After the Taoists were injured, they steered away with deep shock. In front of 3 statue idols were only Yin Zhi Ping and a bunch of tied up Taoists.

After Xiao Long Nu studied independently her Left/Right Mutual Combat Technique, besides having practiced it a couple of times in the wilderness, she's never exchanged blows with anyone, today she has the opportunity to try out those new techniques, even she would never have dreamt of possessing such might, after she fought with the group of Taoists, unexpectedly she was startled.

Realizing the situation wasn't right, Zhao Zhi Jing rapidly out of his Taoist robe pulled out a sword to protect himself, and at the same time retreated. Xiao Long Nu had full of hatred towards him, as she moved in, both swords completely blocked the routes of his front and behind. Zhao Zhi Jing brandished his sword in order to seize his path, only the sounds of ding-dong could be heard, Yin Ke Xi said: "You won't succeed, get out of the way!" He already obstructed Xiao Long Ru's sword as he lashed out his Golden Dragon Whip. Xiao Long Nu has injured 10 people one after another, up to this point, one person was able to catch her single sword.

Xiao Long Nu spoke: "Today I came here to seek for revenge against Quan Zhen Sect's Taoists, it does not involve others, quickly stay out of the way." Just now Yin Ke Xi saw how her sword was chasing like wind and electricity, even he lost a nerve, but he was after all a first-class expert, he cannot cower out because of someone's words, so laughed and replied: "Among the Quan Zhen Sect's Taoists the good and bad are intermingled, there are a dozen few who deserve to be killed, but who are those that offended you and deserves to die Miss?"

Xiao Long Nu made an "ng" sound, and didn't pay further attention to him. Yin Ke Xi thought first I will establish a friendship with her, even if I'm no match for her, it won't result in death, if the situation is not right he will surrender, because other people know that we're acquainted with each other, so won't ridicule me for being cowardly, so consequently laughed out: "Dragon Girl, don't waste any time, your precious body is pure and healthy!" Xiao Long Nu made another "ng" sound, her eyes did not distant away from Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing , fearing that they might seize an opportunity to slip away. Yin Ke Xi uttered: "Taking offence from these deceitful Taoists, don't let them harm your precious hands, all you have to do Miss is to give pointers, let me offer my services, one by one they will be punished by Miss." Xiao Long Nu replied: "Okay! Then kill him for me first." Then pointed at Zhao Zhi Jing.

Last edited by Hanky Panky : 05-01-05


Chapter 26 Part 2

Yin Ke Xi thought: "This person is already imperially conferred by the Mongolian Da-Han, how can I kill him?" Then laughed out : "Immortal Zhao treats others very well, I'm afraid Miss there's been some misunderstanding, I'll tell him to go up to Miss and apologize in front of you!" Xiao Long Nu 's beautiful eyebrows slightly frowned, she lunged her left sword out, as fast as a bolt of lightning, heading for Yin Ke Xi. Yin Ke Xi hurriedly raised his whip to ward off, with one sound of "Ah", standing behind was Zhao Zhi Jing who got stabbed in the shoulders. Namely Xiao Xiang Zi and his class of experts, also couldn't tell how the jab was made, all they presumed it was the right hand's sword that was shot out, twisting past Yin Ke Xi's body, and stabbing the person that hid behind him.

Yin Ke Xi was deeply surprised, he thought this sword may not have stabbed me, but I was powerless to guard Zhao Zhi Jing, that was also a disgrace, the opponent's move was very fast, he just couldn't follow her twin sword's route and oncoming force, if he continued to fight the opponent in such a way he will definitely lose, the more he thought of this, the more cowardly he became, with one swing of the Golden Dragon Whip, he bellowed: "Miss Dragon Girl, please be merciful!" Xiao Long Nu didn't care, she already didn't regard him as an enemy, or a friend, her pace faintly moved, and stepped twice to the left. Yin Ke Xi followed with one turn, still wanting to protect Zhao Zhi Jing, suddenly heard the noise of moaning behind him, slowly turning his head round, merely saw Zhao Zhi Jing's robe sleeves has been split into two parts by the point of her sword, blood came running out. However Xiao Long Nu stabs him, other people were still completely baffled by it, her rapid and skilful sword methods have reached a point where not only does her routes have no traces, it's actually as if she can cut off one person and still injure her foe.

Zhao Zhi Jing has been consecutively stabbed twice, realizing that Yin Ke Xi's martial arts were average, he thought he could not count on him to protect himself, in imminent danger took a deep breath and scurried away, and leapt right to the side of Xiao Xiang Zi. Xiao Long Ru looked as though she never noticed it, turned her body, with force aimed her left hand sword at Yin Ke Xi, yet her right sword was directed at Ni Mo Xing's chest. Whilst supporting his left hand on his cane, Ni Mo Xing's right hand used the steel snake to block, but then overhears Zhao Zhi Jing crying out loud, followed by 'qiang-long' of a sound, his sword fell, his wrist has been poked by her sword yet again. That move was even more peculiar, it was obvious that Xiao Long Nu was far apart from him, yet somehow whilst attacking two formidable fighters she managed to find time to wound him.

Xiao Xiang Zi grunted and said: "Miss Dragon Girl's sword techniques are not bad at all, I also want to challenge you." His left hand threw a palm near his side, Zhao Zhi Jing felt a breath of great force meeting his shoulder, he lost his footing, and fell out several zhang (ten-feet), fortunately his inner energy has considerable foundation, his body may have been wounded three times, but he was able to get up on his feet. As Xiao Xiang Zi's palm force has not yet arrived, the cane attacked at the same moment.

Ma Guang Zuo was all along good friends with Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu, at this point his mind felt that this was far from right, and spoke loudly: "Don't you wanna save face? 3 Wulin Masters, ganging up on a young girl."

Once Xiao Xiang Zi and others heard this, their faces showed signs of temper. Throughout their lives they paid no attention to such things as virtues or morality, however even arrogance and pride, to their identity and dignity were still regarded as extremely important, not to mention 3 people ganging up, they wouldn't even consider fighting such a young girl even one-on-one, but at present they knew depending on one person, it certainly won't be able to resist her supernaturally unfathomable sword movements, they could only pretend not to have heard those satirizing comments made by Ma Guang Zuo, all were thinking: "What a stupid idiot, we're all handling the same affairs here, and yet you help an outsider? When we're done I'll teach you a lesson." While their minds are filled with thoughts, before one's eyes the ray of the sword shone, Xiao Long Nu has already made a move. The 3 fighters still can't trace the force of her sword, so they leapt backwards together, moving away a few zhangs, not wanting to get caught up with each other while brandishing their weapons, protecting their body's vital parts.

Numerous Mongolian warriors led Yin Zhi Ping, Li Zhi Chang, Wang Zhi Tan and others to give way near the temple wall, they all knew that the battle between the 4 is not to be taken lightly, all it needs is one person's weapon to be close to you, if you don't die then you'd definitely sustain a serious injury.

Xiao Xiang Zi, Ni Mo Xing and Yin Ke Xi all expected her to attack the other person first, so long as they're able to spot clues in her moves, then will have chance of victory. The 3 fighters had the same intentions, consequently everyone of them executed unique skills, protecting their bodies without revealing vulnerable gaps, first seeking for a must not win, in order to win. The 3 fighters whilst attacking adopted a defensive position together, it was a rare occasion in itself, but seeing their adversary is this strong, if they rush ahead and make an assault, the search for glory most likely would backfire on them.

Within the temple, Xiao Long Nu's twin swords faced the floor, and she stood in the centre, Xiao Xiang Zi and the other two placed themselves to each individual spot, each one of them had a cold light shimmering about in front of them. Yin Ke Xi's Golden Whip flourished into a round yellow light; Ni Mo Xing's Steel Snake illuminated strips of dark reflections; Xiao Xiang Zi's cane stirred into a grey screen, all hindered in front of them.

Xiao Long Nu observed the 3 fighters one by one, thinking: "I have no enmity towards the three of you, who has the spare time to start a fight with you lot?" Noticing that Zhao Zhi Jing dodging and recoiling away and just when he was about to step behind the idol statue, she brushed her white sleeves, and moved in. Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi separately dashed to the left and right, the steel snake and cane rushed in front of her, they both allied together, the attack may not have been enough, but protecting themselves were their priority. Seeing that there is no loophole to exploit, Xiao Long Nu's twin swords did not immediately transmit outwards, seeing that Zhao Zhi Jing tried to escape through the back, she held her sword and chased forward two steps, however Ni Mo Xing's and Xiao Xiang Zi's two weapons whizzed like the wind blowing, she was unable to get past them. Xiao Long Nu said: "Will you lot let me get past?"

Xiao Xiang Zi thought: "A feud has not started between us yet, she might not perform any massacre to any of us. What would I benefit from this Quan Zhen ringleader, why should I bother to make enemies with this strong girl?" He hesitantly did not answer, but Ni Mo Xing replied: "We insist on not letting you past, what can a demon girl like you do about it? Why don't you try and get past us?" Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi both stared down at him, both thought: "We're stuck with not letting her past, but why must there be abusive remarks? Can it be that you alone can match her skills? You truly overrate yourself too much." But then they're uniting efforts to ward off the enemy, it's inconvenient to complain with each other. They did not realise both legs of Ni Mo Xing were broken, truly enduring Yang Guo's and Li Mo Chou's favour, he knew Yang Guo was Xiao Long Nu's sweetheart, his anger must be let out on her body, at that point when he made a move, the move was very different from the other two, his intentions were to desperately fight to see who dies and who lives.

Last edited by Hanky Panky : 05-01-05


Chapter 26 Part 3

Xiaolong Nu showed no anger at all, only knowing in order to kill the 2 Taoists Yin and Zhao she must drive away the 3 experts right in front of her. So coolly responded: "As you're not going to let me get past, then excuse me!" Right after she finished her words, her sword's light flashed by and a single noise was overheard without warning; and spread itself into the distant without pausing. The noise hasn't yet subsided, and Xiaolong Nu has already retreated back over 10 feet returning to the centre of the temple. Xiaoxiang Zi's and Nimo Xing's faces revealed no colour. The prolonged noise was formed by around 40 continuous attacks in a greatly constricted amount of time. Within that instant moment, Xiaolong Nu's 2 swords stabbed, cut, skimmed and chopped, and gathered up 40 moves. Nimo Xing and Xiaoxiang Zi were defending as tight as many imagined, every one of her moves collided with the top of their weapons. Through the bystander's ears, all it was were the recurring noise of the bumping weaponry that's all.

Her attacks were so fast, Xiaoxiang Zi and the others were even more panicking. Just then when they were able to impede her sword lashes, were totally dependant on their method of flourishing their weapons in the way that nothing is going to get past them; and barely a loophole to be spotted. If they waited for her sword to come out completely, then the both of them would have tasted her sharp sword. Xiaolong Nu had admired their individual ways of defending tightly when her swift ranges of assaults were to no prevail. She paused for a slight second, and drifted backwards but her eyes still locked onto Xiaoxiang Zi. Then her 2 swords suddenly reversed their stab, 12 rapid sounds of ding, ding, ding, even a skilled player of the lute instrument's complex way of playing won't pull off that kind of speed. Yin Kexi's golden whip was never laid to rest and was busy blocking off those 12 attacks right from the start.

After 2 periods of attacking and defending were finished, 4 of them understood each other. Xiaolong Nu was unfortunate not to have a stronger inner energy and didn't allow her sword moves the potency that's needed to knock out the opponent's weapon. If she had roughly similar inner energy to either of the 3, their defence would've been long breached through. Xiaolong Nu carrying her swords backtracked to the centre of the temple, and tried to conceive a plan to break the enemy. Only saw that the more they brandished their weapons the faster they became, where can she find the least bit of a weak point?

She thought: "Wielding weapons at this sort of tempo would lead to an excessive exhaustion of inner energy, then surely I won't last for long. All I need to be is patient and wait for a change, as the time drags on I will then be able to find a flaw. Even if Zhao Zhijing manages to escape, no matter where he goes I'll find him in the end." Thereupon her 2 swords trembled slightly, appearing as though she's going to attack or not going to attack. Storing up valuable power that's ready to be dished out. But still she won't make the sally yet, causing her 3 opponents to not have any remote moments of relaxation at all. However, although Xiaoxiang Zi and his partner's inner energy were all considerably deep and profound, wielding weapons in such a way, will make their physical energy drop below standard in a short time period. As Xiaolong Nu saw no loophole to exploit, she quietly stood there with an elegant expression on her face and beared a severe mood. Her temper has generally never been anxious before, throughout her journey of following Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing for about a month she's never even laid a hand on them. Right now if she had to wait for another day, why not? For 20 years she's been quietly keeping watch of Ancient Tomb and learnt an unrivalled unique way of maintaining her patience.

Nimo Xing noticed that she held her sword in a state of idleness, as self-assured as he was; he's the first to not tolerate this any longer. Without warning roared out like a lion beast, and wielded his metal snake and drove swiftly towards her. Once he was on the offence, the left side of his body revealed a weak point. Xiaolong Nu's sword trembled, Nimo Xing's walking stick violently rammed out and then jumped back. But then felt a slight pain on his shoulder, glancing down he was surprised to see his left shoulder's clothing had tiny hole pierced through it, with blood seeping out of it. If Xiaolong Nu weren't also concentrating on defending against his metal snake, his left arm would've long been detached from his body.

Nimo Xing racing to attack but got no merit out of it and instead received a wound. He maybe angry but did not have any more guts to hastily advance again. 3 of them separately deployed under 3 positions all brandishing their weapons. Xiaolong Nu standing in the middle did not pay any attention to them. Yin Kexi's single [10,000 Yellow Sand Whip Technique] repeated 4 times, then something abruptly popped up in his mind, so called: "Brother Nimo, Brother Xiaoxiang let's tread half a step forward." Nimo Xing and Xiaoxiang Zi weren't too sure of his intentions, but supposing that he's the Western Region's greatest asset, with extensive knowledge and not to mention his intelligence. As a result, they complied with his words and did move half a step up. Yin Kexi at the same time stepped forward half a pace, and commanded: "Defending must be well-knit, it's crucial for the steps to be slow. Let's make another step." Nimo Xing and Xiaoxiang Zi proceeded forward as requested like before.

The 3 of them weren't at all slack or sluggish in any way. Then after a while, stepped out half a feet. At that point everyone already could make out what's happening, the circle surrounding Xiaolong Nu by the 3 people was gradually narrowing, in the end they will force her into the centre. Although the 3 of them weren't confident to come out and launch an assault, all 3 of them continued to wield their weapons. Almost composed of 3 impregnable fortresses progressively approaching the centre. The threatening 3 defensive styles merged into a single mighty blitz, in which its ferocity is incomparable. Everyone viewing this sort of situation, especially the likes of the Mongolian soldiers and Zhao Zhijing and his fellow Taoists secretly felt delighted. The other Taoists on the other hand were concerned of Xiaolong Nu.

Xiaolong Nu noticed them getting even closer, and their weapon's movements still had no openings to exploit. Soon within a few moments, if she made an attack their continued pressure forward would definitely crush her. So at once, her two swords in succession poked out, all that's heard was 'ding-ding' that was suddenly fast and suddenly slow. Every move met with the top of their weapons. She dished out many sword thrusts persistently with every one of them blocked and turning back to her. The 3 of them moved up half a step once again. Xiaolong Nu gradually felt alarmed and bewildered, as she backed away to the left side she tripped, and faintly staggered. Her sword techniques showed a great deal of weaknesses, if Xiaoxiang Zi and his crew did not just think of defending only, and weren't confident to seize an opportunity, she would've been caught in an extremely malicious position.

The temple's floor was actually occupied with many swords. The weapons belonged to Quan Zhen disciples and were abandoned in the floor after they were deprived from them. A moment ago, Xiaolong Nu's left foot trod onto one of the sword handles that laid nearby, as a result her balance wasn't steady. Suddenly she recalled: "Others are competent to use 2 swords with 2 hands, since I've mastered the art of splitting the heart for 2 uses, then 2 hands ought to wield 4 swords concurrently. Suppose it's improbable to attain the true degree of power in using 4 swords, perhaps it can be relied to confuse the enemy, before I grasp a chance to escape." Almost immediately, her left hand that carried a single sword was swapped over to her right hand, she then stooped over and picked up 2 more swords. Both hands each contained 2 swords now, and she began to wield her 4 swords at the same time.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others were in disbelief and all thought: "This young girl's moves get stranger every time. This truly is the first time I've ever seen someone use 4 swords together." But all 3 of them agreed a plan to meet their contingency and settle with it, they weren't at all bothered about what sort of weird move or strange art she's going to use, all they thought of was only defending and not attacking. And continued on pressing forward step by step.

Although Xiaolong Nu's 4 swords used together is frightening when heard and observed, the power when used originally with 2 swords is superior as opposed to using 4 swords. Normally she focused on a single sword during her training. The coordination of Quan Zhen Sword Technique and Fair Maiden Sword Technique on her right hand was flawless. Now the transition of using 2 swords with 2 hands is after all hardly effective, the movement's high level of proficiency as before is diminished. After several strokes, Xiaoxiang Zi and others realized her moves were somewhat slow. Each time she poked out her sword, it's lost its immeasurable essence from before. Nimo Xing larynx created 'coo-coo' noises, and waved his steel snake to signal his lunge forward. Yin Kexi urgently cried out: "What you're trying to do is useless, that's more like a plan of luring the foe." From his reminder, took a jolt and thought it's fortunate somebody else remembered really fast. Knowing how crafty the young girl was, once he attacks she will immediately respond with a counterattack. Not only will their besieging formation break down instantly, his life is very likely to be taken away.

In reality Xiaolong Nu is not luring her enemy on purpose, however through Yin Kexi's information does she think: "That dark short guy cannot keep himself calm, I must come up with a plan against him. He insists that I'm luring them into a trap, then I'll show him what luring is all about." Abruptly she raised her right hand and flew out vertically, she then followed up with a thrust using her right hand's sword, and her left hand cast a sword into the air. Xiaoxiang Zi and the rest were surprised, and sure of what tricks she's playing at. Only seeing the 2 swords in midair has not descended. Another 2 swords that she carried were also tossed up into ceiling. This time round, she's left empty handed, Yin Kexi cried out: "We must defend strictly with absolutely no intention to attack." He wasn't perceptive of Xiaolong Nu's intention, but he believed providing that they defend tightly and progressively press forward, and then they'll surely have a chance of succeeding. Their opponent may be barehanded, but they're not taking any chances to come out and attack.

Xiaolong Nu bent over, without any hesitation both hands grabbed the swords on the floor, and thrown them one after another into midair. At the same time, they sunk down one by one. As she got a hold of them again, she threw them back up. Seeing how those dozens of swords rise and fall, the cold lights glistening non-stop in the hall, it was dead spectacular to watch. Ancient Tomb Sect's martial arts foundation doesn't specialise in deep and profound inner energy, but rather based on swift and rapid techniques to be victorious. That very year when Xiaolong Nu passed on martial arts to Yang Guo that necessitated him to bar off 80 sparrows with just the pair of his hands. When this [Tight Encirclement Force/Tian Luo Di Wang Shi] is enabled, if live sparrows could be impeded, then the many swords flung and caught would be the same thing to her. Almost every split second there was a weapon in her hands, and vice versa. Catching sight of Xiaoxiang Zi and his mate's stupefied looks, their minds were ruminating is this young lady performing some sort of magic trick or circus jugglery?

Without warning Xiaolong Nu's left palm rose out and pushed up the handle of an idle sword. The sword travelled horizontally towards Yin Kexi at a fast pace. The tip of the sword ran into his golden dragon whip's glossy cover, and then it swiftly at unbelievable velocity deflected back but this time sprang towards Nimo Xing. Nimo Xing's metal snake was wielded with a matter of urgency, and repelled the sword back to hit Xiaolong Nu. Right at this point, overhead were 2 swords raining down, Xiaolong Nu's both hands diverted the 3 swords and allocated them towards each of the 3 people.

In an instant flash, the clusters of swords weren't taking to the air, but rather hovering fiercely rocking about amongst the 3 different weapon's glossy cover. Some sword's ending force tilted along and was vigorously shattered into 2 halves thanks to Nimo Xing's metal snake. Xiaolong Nu wore golden-threaded gloves and beat the top end of the sword, without a single bit of wound inflicted upon her. From her days of being young till now, she was well adept at [Tight Encirclement Force/ Tian Luo Di Wang Shi], right in the hall her advancing, retreating and avoiding skills were peerless under the heavens. Her eyes were sensitive and moves were fast, her spirit was crystal clear, the more she fought the faster she became. Her mind wasn't even phased by any distracting force, and didn't even think of whether she would win or lose in this fierce battle, or even as far as who lives and who dies. At times smoothly seizing a sword and lunge out several moves, then quickly abandon them back to the enemy. Previously with 2 swords, Xiaoxiang Zi and others already found it difficult to withstand, now with so many swords arbitrarily tossed and thrust out. With her as the nucleus stabbing out swiftly in all directions, how can it be possible for them to parry those attacks? Besides when the swords were knocked away by their weapons, they weren't in control of where it's headed for and how powerful it was. Whether they have to injure their companions, they'll have to take orders from heaven.

The act of Xiaolong Nu throwing swords in the air was formerly used to enable disorder in the enemy's eyes. But as the trend of events fluctuated, it even exceeded her own expectations and conveniently became beneficial for her. At the core of the weapons waving in the air, indistinctly can be heard of Yin Kexi's and Nimo Xing's heavy breathing. Xiaoxiang Zi's cane although wielded at a fast rate, seemed uneasy and weighed up against his name "Xiaoxiang/Unrestrained" and opposed its nature.

Suddenly Yin Kexi's right arm drooped downwards and cried out: "Aw Crap!" As soon as 3 swords sprang out of, all the places they ended upon were eventually tangled up with his whip. His defence may have been tight but every one of those swords were knocked out from Xiaoxiang Zi's and Nimo Xing's weapons. 3 of them happened to arrive together, inexplicably ending up on his whip. Yin Kexi used force and shook his whip to shed off the 3 swords. But just as he was about to lift his whip, Xiaolong Nu's sword pointed out and left Yin Kexi's wrist in severe pain, and the whip cannot be held any longer.

With the sound of 'chong-long', the golden dragon whip fell on the floor. Xiaolong Nu's left palm struck in succession, 7-8 swords flew violently outwards and dispersed towards the 3 of them. She ensued with both hands catching a pair of swords; her body secured her place and moved further out beyond Yin Kexi's reach. After Yin Kexi sustained an injury on his wrist, it left him deprived of a weapon. As a result the impregnable fortress like ring is eradicated in an instant. Once his eyes caught a glimpse of her lightning quick twin swords, he hastily retreated out of the way. Xiaolong Nu's lightness gong was superior to either one of the 3, raising her Qi, she directly surged to the back of the temple in pursue of Zhao Zhijing.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others for a short while weren't able to gather their weapons and had to wait until the many swords from above have all successfully dropped on the ground; until they were able to finally put a halt to cease their activity. Yin Kexi brought a look of shame on his face and said: "Xiao Di's incompetence has lead to her escape!" They were supposed to work as business partners and without any sentiments, no one there admired or respected each other. They fought with each other, all were thinking of ways to force each other to be convinced of their own qualities. But after experiencing such a soul-stirring ferocious battle, all 3 felt more like running away with their lives, in turn their hostility between each other has been reduced substantially. Xiaoxiang Zi and Nimo Xing both said: "We've never blamed you Brother Yin…" Before they even finished their sentence, suddenly overheard the 'ding-dong' sounds of weapons knocking at each other faintly transmitted from the rear mountain.


Chapter 26 Part 4

During the battle in the temple, Xiaoxiang Zi and others were supposed to be terrified, but amongst the weapons knocking against each other outside mixed with Fawang's 5 wheel's 'toot-toot'/whistling noise. Evidently both Xiaolong Nu and Fawang have started the action. All 3 of them thought: "With such a tough fighter available to act as the commanding general. If we fight by his side, we'll surely win." Yin Kexi retrieved his golden dragon whip, and bellowed: "Let's chase her partners!" So raced ahead to locate the racket. Xiaoxiang Zi raised his cane, and led a bunch of Mongolian soldiers to follow through. At this point everyone's archenemy was Xiaolong Nu the only one person. They've never had any Quan Zhen Taoists placed in their minds.

Yin Zhiping, Li Zhichang and others used this chance to unty each other's ropes right after the Mongolian soldiers left. One after another they collected their swords in flocks and followed out.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others arrived near the rear of Chongyang Palace where Jade Empty Cave was situated. Only seeing the wheels spurring in action and the sword qi in horizontal and vertical motion. Jinlun Fawang's roar trembled like the thunder; Xiaolong Nu's clothes were white as snow. The 2 were cut off at around 10 feet, enabling them to engage in a long distant battle. All five elements of metal: gold, silver, copper, iron and lead were melded into large wheels, now were twirling at flight, the noise's vibration created a humming disturbance to everyone's ears. Fawang's wheels in a number of fierce battles were once lost and not recovered. After losing it he tried to supplement with a replacement. Its size and weight were more or less equivalent to his earlier ones, but unfortunate to have the melded decorative pattern missing from its wheels, all it was were his mantra. In the process of utilisation, its proficiency was very high.

Yin Zhiping and Li Zhichang commonly seen the Jade Empty Cave's entrance blocked by a large rock. They weren't sure of their teacher's life and death situation. With deep anxiety, altogether hastened towards the cave entrance. With Daer Ba's metal pestle and Huo Du's wielding of his steel fan, the groups of Taoists repulsed in only several moves.

Wang Zhitan cried out: "Master, master are you safe and sound in there? Because of his apprehensive state, his voice carried a whimpering tone. Li Zhichang carefully thought: "On the basis of the 5 teacher's profound cultivation, how could they let people fight like this outside the cave without doing nothing? Otherwise, their practice must have reached a critical stage and cannot afford to divert their attentions and come out and deal with the foreign enemy. But with that call from Junior Wang, if they did happen to hear it, it would've thrown their minds into disorder." So hurriedly spoke out: "Junior Wang, do not call out anymore, the 5 teachers cannot be subjected to any form of disturbance." Wang Zhitan immediately realised his aggravation, and helped a fallen Song Defang and noticed his injuries weren't light. So tried to think of a way to help him out.

Xiaoxiang Zi and others were onlookers to the battle between Fawang and Xiaolong Nu. They understood that although he was defending more than he was attacking, he still managed to return one move. The 5 wheel's powers were strangely fierce and did not allow Xiaolong Nu to get an inch closer to him. This defensive style was way more efficient than the other 3 fighters. The 3 showed admiration and topped with envy, all thought: "That monk being conferred as the Mongolian's No. 1 Guoshi weren't no slander at all." The 3 fighters had thought of helping out Fawang as a team, but with this sort of situation, their selfishness got the better of them. So they did not wish to aid him to victory.

But little did they realise that although Jinlun Fawang's moves were fierce, in his heart he was actually complaining about his hardship repeatedly. Xiaolong Nu's each sword thrust was differentiated from each other but still coordinated into an ingenious and unsurpassed way of fighting. Her left sword aimed at his front with her right sword selecting a surprise attack from the back at the same time. It was a message to him of having neither way to retreat nor a way for him to advance forward. Every path that she chose with both her swords struck at several places, advising him to pay attention to those mistakes, as they're difficult to save. If he hadn't reached the stage where his internal force and external force were at the peak of his life, with his eyes sensitive and his moves fast, and with his many variations of hard and soft, his body would've been hit with 17-18 swords long by now. All it needed was a minor dip in his martial arts for that to exist. Actually, Xiaolong Nu as one person delivering 2 types of sword techniques pales in comparison to her alliance with Yang Guo in terms of power, even though her moves were rapid. Not to mention, her real martial arts were a long way behind Fawang's, even if Xiaoxiang Zi and others were stronger than her. But then again, once she stepped forward her moves were as fast as a bolt of lightning; everyone has never seen anything like it, to allow her fears to escape from inside of her. Fawang underwent suffering from [Fair Maiden Simple Heart Sword Technique], the moment it appeared again in front of his eyes, all he thought about was how to protect himself and how to slip away free. Xiaolong Nu gained the upper hand; because of the way she beat him down to the punch.

By the time they reached 50-60 moves, Fawang looked to be at risk, he withdrawed his golden wheels to shield himself and wasn't confident to launch it again. After another several moves, this time the silver wheel was returned to tighten his defence further. By the time, 5 wheels were all returned together, his fighting style was an all-defensive approach just like how Xiaoxiang Zi and others fought her before. The five wheel's weight, size, colour and shape were all different from each other. Either its sharp or more curved, they organised into 5 rings of light, which rolled all over the place around him.

Then suddenly one heard Xiaolong Nu's delicate shout: "Let's do it!" Followed by Fawang's low voiced uproar, echoing repeatedly. They both leapt vertically, and their moves were picking up pace. Even Xiaoxiang Zi and others did not see their shout or call clearly; not knowing an adjustment has already taken place. If Jinlun Fawang used his wheel's fierce power to attack her head on, Xiaolong Nu would struggle to withstand them. However since he was timid, he didn't show the best of his qualities. Trying to compare his speed to Xiaolong Nu, he's bound to be at a disadvantageous position.

Then all of a sudden, Nimo Xing felt something on his face, as if a miniature-hidden weapon had struck him. For a moment of shock he stroked the area of contact, but found no wound on his face instead was blood on his palm. His mind was dumbfounded for a while, but then spotted a drop of blood flying towards Yin Kexi, and now was well aware that one person's injured in the fierce battle. In a short while, Xiaolong Nu's white garment was stained with over 10 marks of blood that were scattered on top. As if there were a few peach blossoms on a white silk fabric, which dazzled the eyes through its gaily-colouring. Nimo Xing cheerfully spoke: "The demon girl has been injured!" Immediately after 2 flashes of the sword's reflection, Fawang silently moaned. Xiaoxiang Zi coldly butted in: "No, it's the monk who got hurt!"

Nimo Xing's initial judgment was right, the blood after Fawang was injured sprayed over Xiaolong Nu. He believed if Fawang was killed under her hands, then there's no way they can stop her, from that he called out: "Brother Yin, Brother Xiao, let's attack her together!" So he wielded out his metal snake and slowly pressed behind Xiaolong Nu. Xiaoxiang Zi and Yin Kexi also felt that they cannot look on unconcerned, so immediately split themselves left and right then approached them.


Chapter 26 Part 5

Fawang has been hit 3 times by her sword, but all were light injuries. Just when he's in grave danger, backup arrived. He felt a sense of relief, and saw Xiaoxiang Zi and the other 2 weren't at all opening up any attack. They were rather using their weapons to protect themselves as they diverged their positions to 3 sides steadily closing in on her. Knowing that once the time is slightly prolonged, it's imminent for Xiaolong Nu's sandglass to run out.

In front of the Jade Empty Cave, the pinery field paths showcased a fierce battle between 4 Wulin strange guests gathering round a silk clothed young girl. The group of Mongolian soldiers and Quan Zhen Taoists were motionless with fear, their faces resembled dying embers, and how could they've encountered such a violent struggle before in their lives!

The ear-deafening bumping sound of 'peng' shook the earth. Gravel was chucked out and the air was occupied with mist and dust. The dozen blocks of big stones collapsed to one side in front of Jade Empty Cave. 5 Taoists that were inside slowly stepped out, they were the 5 Quan Zhen Divisions Qiu Chuji Liu Chusuan and the rest.


Excerpt by Athena (3rd edition, but not essentially different with the 2nd edition):

Zhen Zhibing, Li Zhichang and others were very happy and called out:"Master!" and rushed forward. Da'erba and Huo Du were shocked and saw the explosive power that blew the doors of the cave open, like it was being blasted open with gunpowder. The two of them grabbed their weapons and rushed forward. Qiu Chuji and the other five masters moved aside a bit and suddenly all of them raised their ten palms and pressed at the backs of those two. A firm press was delivered and the two of them were thrown four metres away.
Da'erba and Huo Du's martial arts were of the same level as Hao Datong, although they were not as powerful as Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, but they cannot be defeated by them either within one stance.
The Five Masters were in retreat contemplating in the Yuxu Cave to create a way to counter the Jade Maiden style, they were pondering intensively day and night. However, they felt that the martial arts displayed by Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were the bane of Quanzhen martial arts. It is impossible to surpass them with stances, it was Qiu Chuji, who came up with an idea when he thought of the Big Dipper formation. He said:"We cannot overcome them with stances and varieties, but if we combine our internal strength we can use power to make for variety."
Hence, the five of them intensively thought of a way to merge their internal energies to overcome an enemy, every stance will be generated by the merged power of the five of them. They know that there are no exceptional talents within the third and fourth generation, the only way to survive is to unite the large number of disciples. Within two months time, they finally created [The Seven Star Assembly]. This technique was derived from the Big Dipper formation, although it is called [The Seven Star Assembly], it does not necessarily need seven persons to unite their internal strengths. Six, five or even four or three can perform this technique. When the Imperial Priest lead the other warriors to seal the cave, the five masters were reaching the critical point of [The Seven Star Assembly] and could not be distracted, even though they knew large foes have attacked and had to ignore this for the time being. When they finally managed to merge their five internal energies perfectly, they blasted open the sealed cave. However, because they were in a hurry this technique has only reached thirty, forty percent of its' level of attainment. Even so, Da'erba and Huo Du were unable to cope with it and the Five Masters were triumphant with one strike.
Qiu Chuji and others now turned around and were observing the battle between Xiao Longnu and the Imperial Priest and others. After observing for a few moments, they looked at each other and looked very sad and depressed. They thought: "In vain.....everything was in vain. We never thought that the martial arts of the Ancient Tomb School would be this magnificent. We can never defeat her in this lifetime."
The martial arts previously displayed by Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were the blueprints for their ponderings and contemplation. But the incredible, fantastic swordplay of Xiao Longnu was too awesome. They could not even see what those stances are, how could they think of a way to counter it?
The Imperial Priest and the other Mongolian warriors had higher martial arts than the Five Masters of Quanzhen. It was practically impossible for the Quanzhen School to even produce someone like them now.
Qiu Chuji and others thought:"If our late Master were still alive he would surely be superior to them, our martial uncle Zhou is probably also one level higher than these four men in the field of martial arts. Yet, when facing the combined forces of these four fighters, chances are high that he will suffer defeat."
The Five Masters were ashamed and depressed, they felt that Quanzhen was degrading with each generation. They could not carry on the legacy of their patriarch anymore. When faced with a great enemy it seems that the Quanzhen School has no leg to stand on anymore.

End of Athena's excerpt.


Hanky Panky:

What they saw were every move being brutal, every step made was critical. The more they watched on the more worried they became and weren't eager to make an inquiry to their disciples the reasons for this unforeseen event to take place.

By now as the 5 people Xiaolong Nu and others battled on, the circumstances were contrasting again. Every move Xiaolong Nu made was an attack, whereas Fawang and others were still engaging a lot in obstructing her every move. Counterattacks were few, but they were gradually closing in on her. Xiaolong Nu's situation became even more disadvantageous. Several times when she tried to evacuate the circle in order to slip away temporarily, her opponent's strict and concentrated defence was anything but normal. Every move made brought her back well within the circle. She knew that with Jinlun Fawang managing the driving force, it rendered her useless to even try throwing her swords up in the air like before. Much less besides her own 2 swords that she held, there weren't any other weapons available for her.

By herself in the main hall she injured Lu Chingdu, at this point she has fought close to 2 hours. Her physical strength was hanging on a thread, and the powerful enemy getting closer to her reach. Qiu Chuji and and others were lying in wait for her to one side. These 5 old Taoists were still very rare gems to find in the martial art world, every corner were populated with enemies galore. She was only one person, will definitely lose her life here at Chongyang temple. Suddenly she remembered: "With me being brought to this predicament, what's the pity when I simply die here? But…but…at the brink of death, I dearly hope I can meet Guo-er at the same time. Where is he at this moment? He's bound be getting intimate with Miss Guo, perhaps even already married to her. As a newly wed, why would he even think of a hopeless girl like me besieged from all sides? No it can't be, it can't be! Guo-er wouldn't be like that, even if he married Miss Guo, no way would he forget about me. All I yearn for is to see him once again …"

As she left Xiangyang and headed for the north, she's made up her mind that she'll never meet Yang Guo ever again. But at this stage where she faced the brimming moment of life and death, she found it more and more difficult to stick to her vow. What was previously 'dividing heart with 2 uses', is suddenly now 'heart embraces her special one'. Even though both her sword strike's activity were the same as before, her [Fair Maiden Simple Heart Sword Technique]'s might wasn't there. Fawang noticed a change in her sword style; he initially believed she intentionally showed weakness to tempt them. But after several moves cleared away, it didn't seem so. So he immediately stepped further forward, his left hand's silver wheel guarded himself, whereas his right hand's golden wheel aimed for one of her swords to smash into.


Chapter 26 Part 6

Only hearing the sound of 'dong', Xiaolong Nu's left hand's sword flew out of her hand. From mid-air landed with a 'pak', and broke into 2 halves. Fawang was just probing, and it actually worked. This was far better than he what he expected so without wasting any chances his right hand's golden wheel rammed out. This stunned Xiaolong Nu and quickly made an effort to suppress her perturbed mind; and brushed out 3 slashes. But as she was forced into using just a single sword, the martial arts difference between her and Fawang stretched further. Xiaoxiang Zi and his partners seeing the small advantages arising progressed forward with their own weapons.

Xiaolong Nu revealing a tasteless smile had not wished to plunge into a contest anymore. She caught a glimpse of the pinery field path that sprouted a rosebush nearby within 30 feet distance. The flowers were delicate and charming like it's about to drop. Suddenly one scenery occurred to her, a scenery where she was cut off by the rosebushes with Yang Guo whilst learning [Fair Maiden Heart Manuscript]. She thought: "Since I'll never see Guoer anymore, then I'll think of him before I die. Her face expression as gentle and soft as it is was absorbed into a moment of content.

Fawang and his teammates had surrounded her in all 4 directions, if they wanted to they could've finished her in one stroke. But suddenly noticed a wave of abnormality highlighted on her face, appearing as though she had forgotten about fending herself from the enemy. All were astonished, and didn't know whether she was up to those dirty old sorcery tricks again. 4 different weapons wavered out in mid-air but didn't come down. But within that pause, Nimo Xing's steel snake was the first to transmit forward.

Then all of a sudden beside him was the sound of wind soughing; it appears that someone had stretched a sword to strike him. Nimo Xing frantically got back his steel snake to obstruct the sword, but got nothing but empty air. Then he saw a person in motion, it was none other than Yin Zhiping who scrambled in front of Xiaolong Nu. Arriving by means of delivering his own sword to her. Xiaolong Nu at this point seemed possessed like nothing is within her sight, nor can she hear with her ear, and already abandoned the matter of engaging in a hand-to-hand combat. Then she felt her left hand was added one sword, so smoothly clung onto it.

The onlookers couldn't help but cry out in alarm after suddenly catching sight of Yin Zhiping entering the danger zone of 5 top-notch fighters. For him, it was no different than digging his own grave.

Fawang was acquainted with him, and did not wish to harm his life. So thereupon his left arm met his shoulder by force and pushed him away. His right hand's wheel swayed towards Xiaolong Nu. Yin Xhiping was curious of why she had no intentions to fight anymore. Desperately trying to think, his eyes understood that she'd be dead if this wheel grazed into her. Without care of his own safety flung himself, and screamed: "Xiaolong Nu, watch out!" Then used the back of his own body and obstinately blocked against Fawang's golden wheel.

Whenever Fawang's golden wheel pounds out, its remarkable power alone could (split rocks and quarry mountains – can't make out an English translation for this), what chance does Yin Zhiping have of withstanding that? So he immediately dived out. After Xiaolong Nu caught the sword thrown over by Yin Zhiping, as immovably as before she continued to firmly hold the sword erected whilst in a trance. Yin Zhiping flew out, and met just right on the sword's end, seeping through his chest. When Xiaolong Nu came to her senses, a dawning realisation swept across her mind and was certain that it was him who saved her life. Staring down at his back wounded by the wheel, along with his chest pierced by his own sword, both were mortal wounds. In a split second her yeasty hatred converted into compassion, and softly spoke: "Why did you do this?"

Yin Zhiping's life is at one's last gap, as soon as he heard the 4 words of 'Why did you do this?' couldn't hold back his wild joy. And said: "Long Guniang, I'm deeply…deeply sorry for what I've done to you, I could never amend my selfless actions. Will…will you forgive me?"

Xiaolong Nu stared blankly again, and recollected the time when she heard his conversation with Zhao Zhijing at Guo's residence in Xiangyang. A thought just skimmed across her head: "Guoer has always been deeply affectionate with me, and even once swore that he would never be unfaithful to me. Then without notice he's made up his mind to marry Guo Guniang and abandoned me like nothing happened, and didn't for the least second care about the after-effects. He must've learnt that I was once smeared by this filthy scoundrel." Her heart was innocent, even when she followed the tracks of both the 2 Taoists Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zhijing, this notion was never brought up in her mind. Once it was abruptly reminded by Yin Zhiping, her mind's compassion immediately spiralled back into hatred. Her fury has in fact 10-fold, clenching her teeth; her right hand's sword immediately drew on his chest and poked forward. However in all her life she has never took somebody's life away. Although her bosom was filled with grief and indignation, the sword that was to be perforated through his chest never happened to one's surprise.

Qiu Chuji observing to one side saw his beloved pupil died a violent death. He was distressed like a dagger through his heart, the incident was faster than anyone could imagine, and failed to reach in time to rescue him. Xiaolong Nu's first sword can be said to have been Fawang's cause. But the second sword strike was intentional. He doesn't have the slightest knowledge of the tortuous details. During these six months he's been put without rest, for the most part thinking of how to negate Xiaolong Nu's manoeuvres. In the recent month apart from this he had nothing else to think about. Xiaolong Nu has been established as his own sect's archenemy, but he definitely could not believe Yin Zhiping was willing to sacrifice his life to save her. Eyes seeing her sword stuck out again he immediately leapt in front. With his left hand's 5 fingers whisking her wrist, and his right palm aimed squarely for her face. Qiu Chuji's martial arts occupied first place amongst the Quan Zhen 7 Masters, the circumstances forced him to make that move, and his palm's might was very forceful.

That jerk did manage to pull Xiaolong Nu's wrist, and the sword was instantly out of her grasp. Without waiting for the sword to drop on the floor, she reached out her hand and regained possession of it. Then followed up with a lunge forward across to Qiu Chuji's chest. During this moment, Yin Zhiping shrieked in pain as he sank down on the floor with blood gushing out of his woundedspot. Xiaolong Nu's left sword pointed towards Qiu Chuji's lower abdomen. Now that both her swords have combined harmoniously, its power has rapidly amplified. Qiu Chuji's martial arts maybe profound, but within 3 strokes, he was in a helter-skelter state. Wang Chuyi noticing the situation wasn't right, meanwhile dashed forward to lend a hand, discarding Fawang and others to one side.

Jinlun Fawang and his motley crew felt surprised when they saw Xiaolong Nu fight against the Quan Zhen 5 Descendants, but knew that this change of event was beneficial for them. And thought it would be a good idea to watch them fratricide. All of them gave each other a wink, and backed off several paces. Only waiting for the real victor between Xiaolong Nu and the Quan Zhen 5 masters, and then they'll step in to tidy up the final phase of the chess game.

As the top fighters come to blows, every move was mortal, nobody dared to risk any room for error. That's why even when Qiu Chuji and his peers were aware that the situation was odd they knew it was hard to solve that easily. But since the battles commenced, where could they find the spare time to inquire all of this? Quan Zhen 5 masters were unarmed, when confronting Xiaolong Nu's marvellous and improper methods of swordplay, the single month spent on initiating a skill called [Seven Star Rally] did not even have any chance of being put to good use. In a moment, Hao Datong and Liu Chuxuan both were harmed by her sword, but both persisted and cared for every martial brothers safety. Then (嗤 ) of a sound, Sun Buer was struck by a sword.

Various Quanzhen disciples seeing how the masters were succumbing in a dangerous situation can't help but cry out in fear. Li Zhichang called out: "Quickly deliver them a weapon!" During this point, the 5 descendant's palm wind whizzed through the air, leaving their disciples unable to get near them and can only throw the swords one by one over to them. Xiaolong Nu raced ahead and brandished her sword to push out the incoming weapons. Every sword arriving near them was knocked away, with the advantage of Xiaolong Nu having a sword longer than their human arms; the 5 descendants were given no chance to grab a weapon. Suddenly the noise of 'ding-dong' was heard, Xiaolong Nu's left hand collected another sword thrown in the battle, and abruptly lobbed it backwards. Wang Chuyi couldn't prepare himself in the nick of time; the corner of his left eye was stabbed by an outsider's sword. Out of the 5 Quanzhen descendants, 4 were injured; a conclusion on who triumphed can be reached.

Jinlun Fawang laughed ecstatically, and called out: "My Taoist friends please step aside, let me take care of this demon girl!" Finishing those words he intervened. Xiaoxiang Zi, Nimo Xing and Yin Kexi jointly attacked her as they wielded their weapons; it's now escalated into a phase where 9 experts are besieging a single Xiaolong Nu.

As soon as Fawang got involved, Quanzhen 5 descendants were instantly released from Xiaolong Nu's twin sword's coercion. 5 of them called out loudly, and stood shoulder to shoulder. Either it's the right palm or the left palm, 5 streams of huge energies amalgamated into one that generated the [Seven Star Rally] attack. It maybe only 5 star rally right now, but the power is out of the ordinary. Tilted her body to evade the attack, the noise of 'peng' was heard. The dust on the ground flew upwards, the attack left Nimo Xing somersaulting in the air as he fell.

After both his legs were broken, he had to rely on his walking sticks for support; his lower-body wasn't stable and not enough to sustain the whack. At least when he was in imminent danger he managed to slip away from the direct force of the blow. He may have toppled over, but instantly got back up on his feet unscathed. With a few bawls of 'wa-wa', he raised his steel snake aimed down Liu Chuxuan's top of head. In front of the Jade Empty Cave the sounds of calls exalted in all directions jumbling into a mass.

Xiaolong Nu seeing Nimo Xing turn on the Quanzhen 5 descendants stroked her white sleeves, and wanted to pull out of the circle. Jinlun Fawang hurried over to hinder the attacks, and said: "Brother Nimo, it's more important to deal with the demon girl." Nimo Xing who's preoccupied with the fight, did not pay attention to the calls of Fawang. Prodding out with his steel snake, the assaults were laid upon the various Quanzhen Taoists. Xiaolong Nu's both swords quickly stabbed out Fawang several times. Fawang felt the unbelievable speed from the oncoming force; leaving him a hard time just to parry them, and had to withdraw a few steps.

Suddenly, Xiaolong Nu gasped loudly, both cheeks had no touch of complexion. With 2 sounds of 'qiang-long', both swords from her hand fell on the ground. Staring in blank amazement at the pinery field path's rosebush, called: "Guoer, is that really you?"

At this juncture, Fawang's golden wheel had sliced her head-on; Quanzhen 5 descendant's [7 Star Rally] pummelled her in the back. The attack was supposed to keep Nimo Xing at bay, but the Indian short man has already suffered the bitter taste of the piledriver. So had no second thoughts of matching it and evaded to the left. The attack was alternatively expended upon Xiaolong Nu's garment.

But instead she looked bewitched, and the reaction that was to bear her evasion wasn't there. Her vest has endured a palm, her chest struck by the wheel. Even with such a fragile body weathering these 2 tremendous converging forces, her eyes were nevertheless still secured upon the external influence of the rosebush. By this moment, her heart was agitated and turned her thoughts to her beloved, it seemed as though those 2 forces had never harmed her a single bit.

The spectators felt in awe of her gaze, and all involuntarily turned their heads to see what was so strange about that rosebush. Then noticed a human shadow fly out round the side of the pinery field and sneaked into no-man's land between Fawang and Quanzhen 5 descendants. That person grabbed a hold of Xiaolong Nu with his left arm, darting past, has already leapt out of the ring. And without a moment's waste sat below the pinery field and beside the rosebush, and rested her on his chest.


BeeDreamer:

This person was of course Yang Guo!

Xiao Longnu’s face lighted up, tears flowing from her eyes, "Guo’er, it's you. This isn't a dream?"

Yang guo nodded, kissing her cheek. He softly asked, "Not a dream. Am I not holding you right now?"

Then he saw her blood-stained clothes and was alarmed. He quickly asked, "Are you seriously injured?"

Xiao Longnu had received two vicious attacks. When she first saw Yang Guo, she didn't feel her injury. Only now she felt the searing pain. She placed her arm around Yang Guo's neck and said, "I.. I.." Her body hurt so much she couldn't get the words out.

Yang Guo couldn't bear to see her in pain, his voice broke, "Gugu, I'm too late!"

Xiao Longnu said, "No, it's good that you are here. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see you again."

Suddenly she felt cold as if her soul was leaving her body. She hung on to Yang Guo's arms. Still, she was slowly falling down. She said, "Guo’er, hold me."

Yang Guo's left arm sligtly tightened. He pulled her close to his chest. He was overwhelmed by hundreds of feelings, his slowly falling down to Xiao Longnu's face.

Xiao Longnu said, "Hold me, use both.. both hands!"

Suddenly she saw that his right sleeve was empty. Strange. She cried out, "Your right arm?"

Yang Guo forced a smile, his voice cracked, "Don't worry about me right now. Close your eyes. Don't use up your energy. I've worried you."

Xiao Longnu said, "No! Your right arm? How come it's gone? How come?"

Even though her own life was hanging by thread, she didn't care about herself at all and determined to find out why Yang Guo was missing an arm. This was because in her heart,Yang Guo's well-being was 100 times, 1000 times more important than hers.

It had been like this since the time they were together at Gumu. Only then she didn't know it was love, nor did Yang Guo. They only thought that their mutual concerns for each other's well-beings were what was right between master and disciple. Since there were only two of them living at Gumu, if one didn't care for the other, who else would they care for? Actually, this was a normal feeling between young man and woman. But most of them fell in love with each other, only to find out later that the other person’s well-being was not as important as his or her own, let alone 100 times, 1000 times more important. Only the most passionate people could treasure their loved one more than they did themselves.

For Xiao Longnu, Yang Guo's one arm was much more important than her life, and so she persisted on asking. She gently stroked his gown sleeve, not daring to touch it too hard. But really, there was no arm under the sleeve.

Suddenly, she no longer felt the severe pain in her body. This was because her mind was occupied by Yang Guo's pain, making her forget her own suffering. She softly said, "Poor Guo’er. Has it been very long? Are you in pain now?"

Yang Guo shook his head and replied, "It doesn't hurt anymore. As long as I get to see your face and never to part with you again, what's a big deal with missing an arm? My left arm can still hold you, can't it?"

Xiao Longnu let out a soft smile, deciding that Yang Guo was right. She lied down in his embrace. Even though he had only one arm left, she was content. She was facing death just before seeing him again. Right now it was very good, really very good.

Jinlun Fawang, Xiao Xiangzi, Yin Kexi, the Quan Zhen five masters, their numerous disciples .. numerous Mongolian soldiers .. nobody made a sound. They could only looked dumbfoundedly at the young lovers. At a time like this, all were thinking about attacking them, yet nobody dared to start it.

Jinlun Fawang certainly was not afraid of the couple, only astonished. He saw that Xiao Longnu was badly injured and Yang Guo had only one arm. The couple certainly couldn’t fight again. But their love for each other had an awe-inspiring and fearless effect, not something to be taken lightly.

Eventually, Xiao Longnu couldn't stay quiet and asked, "Your arm .. How did you break your arm? Tell me."

Yang Guo forced a bitter smile and said, "My arm broke. Of course it got cut off by other people."

Xiao Longnu looked at him sadly. She hadn't thought that he wouldn't tell her who did it. That meant it didn't matter who it was. She felt the rising pain in her chest and knew her life wouldn't last much longer. She lowered her voice, "Guo’er, I beg you one thing."

Yang Guo said, "Gugu, you've forgotten. At Gumu, I promised you, whatever you wanted me to do, I'd do it."

Xiao Longnu let out a quiet sigh and said, "That was a long, long time ago!"

"To me, forever is the same," replied Yang Guo.

With a sad smile Xiao Longnu said, "I don't have long to live. You stay with me, until I die. Don't go accompany Guo.. Guo Fu Guniang.”

Yang Guo was sad, yet angry. He said, "Gugu, of course I'll be with you. What does Guo Fu Guniang have to do with me? It was her who chopped off this arm of mine."

Alarmed, Xiao Longnu cried out, "What?, It was her? Why was she so heartless?" Is that.. Is that why you don't like her?"

Yang Guo resentfully said, "The two of us are very good together. Why are you being suspicious? Except you one person, in my life I've never loved anybody else. This Guo Fu Guniang, Hmmph.”

Yang Guo's right arm was indeed chopped of by Guo Fu.

Last edited by BeeDreamer 07-21-05


Hanky Panky:

That day Yang Guo and Guo Fu's quarrel escalated to a fight, Guo Fu's burning anger was hard to restrain. She grabbed hold of the Fair Maiden sword and stroked down on top of his head. After Yang Guo was poisoned he hasn't fully recuperated yet, his 4 limbs had no energy to spare. Seeing the sword arrive, he was out of options and had to raise his right arm in front of his face. Guo Fu in furious vexation gave her all. The Fair Maiden sword was as sharp as it gets, Yang Guo's right arm in a flash was silently let loose.

With that sword chopping down, it did incur in such a way. Yang Guo no doubt let out a fierce burst of anger, Guo Fu was quivering with fear and knew she made a huge mistake that could never be made up. But after witnessing the blood well up like a fountain, she hadn't a clue of what to do. Past a moment, suddenly the sound of 'wa' was released, she covered her face and wept whilst pushing open the door and rushing out. After a short period of nervous discomfort, Yang Guo promptly relaxed himself. And extended his left hand to seal his right shoulder's [Loyal Shoulder Point], he tears up a bed sheet and firmly tied up his shoulder to prevent the continuous flow of blood. Then applied the Golden Wound Medicine on his wound, and thought: "I cannot stop over here any longer, I must hurry and get out of the city." Slowly holding the wall walked a few steps. Because he bled excessively, he almost fainted several times as his eyes became more and more dazed.

Right at this moment, he heard the loud calls of Guo Jing: "Come on, come on, how is he? Has he stopped bleeding yet?" The sound of his speech was filled with anxiety. Yang Guo's mind at that time only encompassed these thoughts: "No way am I going to see Uncle Guo, in any event I don't want to see him." So took a deep breath, and sprinted out of the room.

He rushed outside the mansion's gates, pulled in a horse, mounted on top of it and galloped to the city gate. The officers and men that supervised the city had seen him rescue Guo Jing at the top of the city wall once before, they had a great deal of respect for him. So immediately opened the city gate for and dashed past as he rode on the horse.

During these periods the Mongolian armed forces have decamped a hundred-odd Chinese miles away. Yang Guo did not take the route of the main road. The horse was rode along the desolated area. Thinking: "The time is up for the Passion Flower that's infected my body, but I'm still very much alive. Perhaps just like what the Indian Divine Monk said, after I sucked the poison off the Ice Spirit Acupuncture Needles, the poison managed to counteract the other poison, which instead prolonged my life. But the poison has only subsided; sooner or later it's inevitable for it to break out again. With severe wounds at hand, if I were to head off to Mount Zhong Nan to look for Gugu, I definitely won't last very long. Could this be what is destined for my fate, and condemn me to die in such a strange place en route? He began to reminisce his wretched orphaned life, other than those fond memories he had of him being together with Xiaolong Nu in Ancient Tomb; he rarely disclosed any specific moments of bliss. At this moment his only close person has abandoned him and left, just when he's recovered – part of his body is disabled. Already half-dead along the way, when his thoughts reached this point, he was hardly able to restrain his tears.


translated by Lanny Lin

Yang Guo laid flat on the horseback. In the wooziness, he didn't care where the horse would take him, as long as Guo Jing wouldn't be able to find him and he didn't bump into any Mongolian army. Soon, the horse came near the desolate valley where the Wu brothers had fought each other the night before.

It was dusk already. The long grasses in the valley were even taller than knee-highs. Silence swept the night. Yang Guo was quite sure that he was all alone now, so he lay down in the bushes and tried to get some sleep. By then he couldn't care less about his own safety, and didn't even bother to guard against poisonous snakes or wild animals. But the excruciating pain from his wounds never stopped throughout the night. He could barely fall asleep.

The next morning when he opened his eyes and sat up, something suddenly caught his attention. Only inches from him lay two dead centipedes, bloodstains in their mouths, stiff as sticks, with red and black stripes all over their bodies, looking frightful even after they were dead. In shock, Yang Guo examined it more closely and found a big pool of blood next to the centipedes. After a short ponder, he had it figured out. It turned out that the much bleeding from his wounds had created the pool of blood, and because of the strong toxin contained in his blood, the two poisonous centipedes had died off poison.

A wry smile flashed across Yang Guo's lips as he murmured, "Who would have imagined that even poisonous centipedes couldn't stand my toxic blood." Anger, indignation, sorrow and bitterness swelled in his heart. He could no longer control his surging emotions. Raising his head high, he burst into mad laughter.

Three chirps came from the top of the peak and caught Yang Guo's attention. He looked up. It was the divine condor, its head held high, standing on the very top of the peak. Even though it looked ferocious and hideous, there was something about it that made it looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

Yang Guo was overjoyed as if he had just seen an old friend. "Brother Condor, we have met again!" he shouted.

A long chirp echoed as the divine condor darted down from the peak. It couldn't fly because of the heavy body and the two short wings, but it could run like a stallion. Within moments, it had already arrived by Yang Guo. Having noticed that one of Yang Guo's arms was missing the condor fixed its stare at Yang Guo.

"Brother Condor, great misfortune has fallen upon me. That's why I've come to you for shelter," Yang Guo explained with a wry smile.

He couldn't tell whether the condor understood him. It simply turned around and started walking. So he grabbed the rein of the horse and followed.

Only after several steps, the divine condor suddenly turned its head back and smacked the belly of the horse with its left wing. Taking a couple of steps back, the horse neighed in pain and jumped up and down.

"I see," Yang Guo nodded. "Once I enter Brother Condor's valley, there will be no need to leave again. Why bother keeping the horse?" Deep in his heart, he was already convinced that the condor was really no less intelligent than a human being, so he let go of the rein and followed the divine condor in big strides. Because of his severe wounds, he had to sit down to rest every little while, and the divine condor would then hold its steps and wait for him.

After close to two hours of walking, with many breaks along the way, the two of them arrived at the cave where the Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss had been buried in.

Seeing the grave made out of rocks and stones, Yang Guo heaved a long sigh. All sorts of feelings welled up in his mind. "If this legendary master was able to roam the Martial World with no equal, his Kung Fu skills must have been extraordinary," Yang Guo thought to himself. "But he must have also been very eccentric and arrogant because of his unmatched talents and didn't get along with ordinary people. That was probably why he just passed away so quietly in such a desolated valley while no great stories or legends of his were told in the Martial World and no sword art manuals or apprentices of his were left behind to pass down his invisible martial arts techniques. His life must have been very exciting and admirable, yet at the same time sad and gloomy. Even though the divine condor is very intelligent, it is so unfortunate that it doesn't speak, otherwise it could have told a little about the senior master's life story."

He stared at the grave blankly, lost in thoughts. When he finally got hold of himself, the divine condor had brought back two wild rabbits from outside the cave. Yang Guo barbecued the rabbits and made a good meal out of them.

Days went by. The wounds started to heal gradually, and Yang Guo found himself on a path of recovery. Every time when he thought of the Little Dragon Girl, he would still feel pain from his chest, but it was far from the kind of unbearable pain he used to have. Yang Guo was the restless type. Having spent so many days in the desolated valley accompanied only by the divine condor, he soon became very bored.

On this no particular day, the verdant hill at the back of the cave caught his attention. It was a beautiful day, so he decided to take on a random scenery walk. About half a mile into the walk, he found himself in front of a big cliff. The cliff towered straight into the sky almost like a huge screen. In the middle of the cliff, probably two hundred feet above the ground, a huge rock, about thirty or forty feet wide, stuck out from the cliff like a platform, and vaguely, he thought he could see words carved on the rock. Raising his head high, he stared up. Only after a long while was he able to tell what they were. Carved on the rock were two large characters: Sword Tomb.

"Why would a sword have a tomb? Could senior master Dugu have somehow broken his favorite sword and decided to bury it here?" Yang Guo's curiosity started growing.

He walked next to the bottom of the cliff and looked around. The cliff wall was made out of bald rocks. There wasn't even any grass or bush on the rock wall. There was no rock edges for grabbing or stepping on, which made him wonder how the senior master had been able to climb up the cliff.

He stared at the rock wall for a good while, and the more he stared at it, the bigger the urge to climb up he felt.

"He was also just a human being," he thought aloud. "How did he climb up so high? He's got to have some kind of tricks. If he had been able to climb up there using pure martial arts skills, then his skills had to be god like."

He stared at the rock wall again even more carefully. After a while he noticed something. On the rock wall, there were dozens of patches of moss, each patch several feet away from the other, going upwards in a straight line. An idea popped out. He leapt up and reached for the lowest patch of moss. Not to his surprise, a small hole emerged after he scrubbed out the dark soil. He figured that Dugu Seeking-A-Loss must have dug these holes with sharp blades. After so many years, dirt had accumulated in the holes and mosses had started to grow.

Having nothing else urgent to do, Yang Guo decided to check out this Sword Tomb. But having only one arm left certainly made climbing a more difficult task.

"If I can't climb up the platform, then I can't. Who's going to laugh at me here?" he thought.

After tightening his waistband, he took a deep breath and leapt a few feet up, stepping his left foot in the first small hole. Then he leapt upward again, kicking his right foot toward the second patch of moss. The soft soil fell, and sure enough, there was another small hole on the rock wall just big enough for a foot.

His first attempt at climbing the cliff only lasted a little bit over one hundred feet before he ran out of breath, so he slid back down to the ground.

"I've already found over twenty stepping spots. The second attempt should be much easier," he told himself.

After some meditation at the bottom of the cliff, he gathered enough strength and finally climbed up the rock platform. Although he only had one arm left, his Qing-Gong skills didn't weaken a single bit. He couldn't help but feel some relief.

Next to the two large characters "Sword Tomb," there were two rows of words carved on the rock in smaller font size:

"The Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss has become the invincible and unchallenged warrior under Heaven; he therefore buried his swords here. Alas, the heroes of the realm had laid down their arms, now my long sword are sharp as usual yet useless...the agony!"

A mixed feeling of shock and admiration welled up in Yang Guo's heart. He couldn't help but feel that this senior master's personality was very similar to that of his own. Both of them were lofty and defied the entire world. But he himself was certainly far from invincible and unchallenged. And since now he only had one arm left, even if he could survive this time, the chance of him becoming invincible would be too slim. He stared at the two rows of words for a while and then looked down. Rocks and stones formed a big pile in the shape of a tomb, its back facing the deep and broad valley. Putting aside the fact that how brilliant the Demonic Swordsman was, just the sword tomb was impressive enough by its own. It was apparent that this senior master must have been outstanding in both his wits and his martial arts skills, and had high aspirations. He wished that he could have been born many years earlier for a chance to meet such a legendary master in person. Feeling thrilled, he shouted out loud by the sword tomb in a long roar, and moments later, echoes rose in all directions. He suddenly remembered the kind of joy Huang Yaoshi[3] had described to him: "To flick my robe on zenith of the high peak and to wash my feet in the river thousands of miles long." At the current moment, he could almost feel the same kind of lofty sentiments and aspirations. Although he really yearned to find out what kind of blade had been buried in the tomb, feeling afraid to offend the deceased master, he finally gave up the thought and simply sat down, holding his knees in his arms, and breathed in against the wind. Soon, he almost felt as if his chest had been filled with pure energy and he could just ride the wind and glide in the air.

Several chirrups came from the bottom of the cliff. Yang Guo looked down and saw the divine condor jumping its way up the cliff by holding the small holes with its claws. Although the condor had a heavy body, its leg and claw strength was simply amazing. Only moments later, the condor had already made its way up the rock platform.

After taking a brief look around, the divine condor nodded toward Yang Guo and chirped. The sounds of the chirps were quite different from the sound of its regular chirps.

"Brother Condor, unfortunately I don't have the skills of Gongye Chang[4] and can't understand anything you say. Otherwise you could have told me the entire life story of this senior master Dugu," Yang Guo said with a smile.

The divine condor let out several more chirrups and then reached out with its claws. Grabbing onto some of the rocks on the sword tomb, it started moving them aside.

A thought suddenly popped into Yang Guo's head. "Senior master Dugu had superior martial arts skills. Could he have left behind some kind of sword arts manual or manuscript?"

The divine condor's claws kept moving and soon had moved away all the stones on top of the sword tomb, exposing three long swords lying side by side. Between the first sword and the second sword lay a long rock strip. The three long swords and the long rock strip lay neatly on a slab stone.

Yang Guo picked up the first sword on the left and saw two rows of small words carved on the slab stone underneath where the sword was placed.

"Fierce and aggressive, able to penetrate any obstacle. With it, I competed with the heroes of the Northern Plains during my teenage years."

Looking more carefully at the sword, he found it to be about four feet long. The blade flashed under the daylight. It was indeed a very sharp sword.

Laying the sword back to its original place, he then picked up the long rock strip. There were also two rows of small words underneath carved on the slab stone.

"Flexible Sword of the Purple Rose, used it prior to the age of thirty. With it, I accidentally wounded a righteous man. A weapon of doom, I abandoned it in a deep valley."

"The sword is missing because he had abandoned it," Yang Guo thought. "I wonder how he ended up wounding a righteous man. Perhaps no one will ever get to know the story behind."

After a short daze, he reached out to pick up the second sword. But only inches off the slab stone, the sword fell out of his grip and smacked back onto the slab stone. A loud clank echoed as sparks sparkled everywhere. That gave Yang Guo a good shock.

Although the sword looked dark with nothing unusual, it turned out to be extremely heavy. The sword was only slightly longer than three feet, but it weighed at least one hundred and ten to one hundred and thirty pounds, several times heavier even than the heaviest saber or halberd used in battlefield. He had not expected it to be this heavy when he picked it up. Caught by surprise, he had lost grip of the sword. The second time when he picked it up, knowing what to expect, he had a good grip on the sword. When prepared, something as heavy as one hundred and thirty pounds really wasn't hard for him at all. Taking a better look at the sword, he found both sides of the blade blunt, and the tip of the sword was more like a half circle.

"This sword is too heavy. How can someone wield a sword like this and still able to control it well? Besides, the blades on both sides and the sword tip are all blunt. How strange!" he thought aloud.

Looking down on the slab stone underneath where the sword was, he also found two rows of small words.

"Heavy sword with blunt edges, simplicity brings superiority. Before I reached the age of forty, I used it to roam the entire world under Heaven."

Yang Guo murmured the words "heavy sword with blunt edges, simplicity brings superiority" repeatedly. He seemed to have comprehended part of the idea, but the idea was still very vague in his head. There were many styles of sword arts in the world, but regardless of style or school, each sword art always emphasized in flexibility and speed. How should this heavy sword be used? He couldn't help imagining how the senior master had wielded the heavy sword and soon fell into a trance.

Only after a long while did Yang Guo lay the heavy sword down and reached out for the third sword. But this time something went wrong again. He had thought that this third sword must have been even heavier than the previous one, so when he reached out to pick up the sword, he made sure he had shifted enough strength to his left arm, but the sword turned out to be so light that he felt as if he had only picked up empty air. Casting a closer glance at it, he found a wooden sword in his hand. After the many years, part of the sword body and the hilt were almost completely rotten. The words underneath said,

"After the age of forty, I no longer relied on weaponry. Even bushes, trees, bamboo sticks or rocks call all be my swords. From then on, I achieved great progress and slowly reached the realm of overcoming the sword without a sword."

Laying the wooden sword back to its original place respectfully, Yang Guo sighed in great admiration.

"The senior master's brilliant skills must have exceeded way beyond my imagination," he murmured.

Thinking of the idea that there might be sword art manuals or the kind underneath the slab stone, he grabbed the slab stone and lifted it up. But there was nothing under except the hard surface of the rock platform. He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

The divine condor let out a loud chirp. Lowering its head, he picked the heavy sword up with his beak and then placed it in Yang Guo's hand. With another loud chirp, the condor suddenly swung his left wing and smacked down toward Yang Guo's head. The swing was so fierce and powerful that Yang Guo could feel the strong wind generated from the powerful swing long before the condor's wing even came close to him. In the split of the second, Yang Guo felt as if he couldn't even breathe, and when he finally broke out from the brief shock, the divine condor had held its wing still only about one foot away from his head. Another two chirps came from the condor.

"Brother Condor, are you interested in checking out my Kung Fu skills?" Yang Guo grinned. "I've got nothing else to do. Fine, let's have some fun."

But it would be too hard to wield the over-one-hundred-pound heavy sword, so he put it down and picked up the first sword. To his surprise, the divine condor suddenly retracted its two wings and turned his head aside, paying no more attention to him, its face covered with disdain.

Yang Guo immediately understood. "You want me to wield the heavy sword? But my Kung Fu skills are so ordinary. I am certain I would be no match for you, especially on top of this steep cliff, Brother Condor. You've got to cut me some slacks!" he said with a grin.

Picking the heavy sword back up, he gathered his inner energy around his lower stomach and shifted his strength to his left arm before stabbing the sword out slowly. The divine condor didn't even turn around. Swinging its left wing backwards, the divine condor attacked, its wing colliding with the heavy sword. Yang Guo felt a stream of vigorous force rushing toward him passing through the sword, so powerful that he almost ran out of breath. In a rush, he let out a roar and fought the force back with all his strength. The sword shook slightly between the two forces and suddenly all Yang Guo could see was complete darkness, and seconds later he fell unconscious.

Slowly, he regained consciousness, not knowing how long it had passed. Something unbearably bitter in his mouth immediately caught his attention. Meanwhile, some kind of bitter juice kept dripping down his throat. He opened his eyes and saw the divine condor placing a dark purple ball shaped thing into his mouth. This thingy stunk like a rotten fish, but Yang Guo ate it anyway, thinking that since the divine condor was extremely intelligent, this thingy in its mouth had to be something good. With only a gentle bite, the skin of the ball shaped thingy cracked open and immediately his mouth was filled with bitter juice.

The juice was extremely bitter and smelly. It tasted terrible. Yang Guo really wanted to spit them all out, but he didn't want to go against the divine condor's good will and finally managed to swallow them down. A few moments later, he tried to slightly control his inner energy flow, and to his surprise, he found his breathing smooth and fluent. He stood back up, and again, not only didn't he feel tired or exhausted, instead, he felt totally refreshed, no, it was even better than before.

Yang Guo was puzzled. Logically, when someone got knocked out with a strong blow, even if the person was lucky enough to not get injured seriously, he would at least feel soreness all over his body. Could that dark purple ball shaped thingy be some kind of magical cure?

He bent over and picked the heavy sword up. It felt as if the sword had become slightly lighter than before. Right at the second, the divine condor let out another loud chirp before striking with its wing again. This time Yang Guo dared not taking on the blow directly and dodged to the side. The divine condor took a step forward and struck again with both wings, fierce and powerful. Yang Guo knew that the condor had no ill intention toward him, but even though the condor was extremely intelligent, it was still just an animal, with the kind of mighty power it possessed, when it attacked with its wings, it wouldn't really know when to stop and how to restrain its power. If he had gotten hit by the wing and fallen off the rock platform, that would for sure kill him. Seeing the two wings striking toward him, he took two steps back in a hurry. By then, his left foot was already on the edge of the rock platform.

Who would have thought that the condor showed no mercy? With a quick stretch, its sharp beak had shot out toward Yang Guo's chest. Having no space to retreat back, Yang Guo had no choice but to block the attack with the sword. The peck landed squarely on the sword. A tremendous shock ran through Yang Guo's arm and he almost had to let go the heavy sword. The divine condor immediately followed with a low sweep using its right wing and strike toward Yang Guo's ankles. Astonished, Yang Guo jumped up and leapt over the divine condor's head, rushing toward the inside of the platform. In fear that the condor would follow up with its attacks, he waved the sword backward. A loud clank echoed as the sword collided with another peck from the condor.

Having so narrowly escaped death, Yang Guo broke out in a cold sweat. "Brother Condor," he shouted, "I am not Master Dugu!" Feeling aching and limp in his feet, he sat down. The divine condor let out two low chirps and halted its attack.

Having blurted out the words "I am not Master Dugu" without much thinking, Yang Guo suddenly thought of something. The condor had been a long time companion of senior master Dugu. The way it had struck and moved about actually had matched with martial arts principles loosely. Perhaps when senior master Dugu sometimes became bored living in the desolated valley all by himself, he had treated the condor as if it was a spar partner of his. Senior master Dugu had long perished, along with all his superior martial arts techniques. But it might be possible to find some traces of this great Master's martial arts style and essence from the condor. At that thought, he became pleased and stood up.

"Brother Condor, watch out!" he shouted. "Here comes another sword move!" Pushing the heavy sword forward as fast as he could, he stabbed it toward the divine condor's chest.

The divine condor blocked the sword with its left wing and then struck another heavy blow with its right wing. Its strength was simply too strong. Every time when it swung its wings, the force it generated was on par with the kind of force generated by several first-class fighters hitting out their palm strikes at the same time. Besides, the sword in Yang Guo's hand was simply too heavy for him to use any sword moves out of the Quan-Zhen Sword Art or Jade-Maiden Sword Art. So for defense, all he could do was to dodge to the sides, and for offense, all he did was stabbing the sword forward clumsily.

After a few moments into the fight, Yang Guo became tired and sat down to rest. As soon as he sat down, the divine condor would step aside. The two of them played like this for well over two hours before they finally slid down the platform and went back to the cave.

When Yang Guo woke up the next morning, the divine condor had already placed three dark purple stinking balls by his side. After some careful examination, Yang Guo finally realized that these were animal gallbladders. He remembered that when he met the divine condor the first time, it was feeding on poisonous snakes and also fought with a giant serpent. Then these must have been snake gallbladders. He wondered if the gallbladder of a poisonous snake would also be venomous, but after he had eaten a gallbladder the day before, he had felt totally refreshed and rejuvenated, having even more strength in him than before. Besides, there were already strong toxins from the Flower of Love and the Icy Silver Needles inside his body; he really couldn't care less. So in a few bites, he quickly swallowed the gallbladders, and then sat up to meditate. To his great surprise, many of the pressure points along his inner channels that he had a hard time sending inner energy flowing through before suddenly all opened up, and the energy flow inside him became so smooth and fluent. In great happiness, Yang Guo uttered a loud cry of joy. Usually, when someone was in the middle of cultivating his inner energy flow in a meditation stance, it was critical for him to abstain from irrelevant thoughts, especially extreme joy or extreme grief, but this time his inner energy continued to flow smoothly around his body with no glitches or any blockage.

Jumping back onto his feet, Yang Guo picked up the heavy sword and stepped out of the cave for some more rounds of sword training. Having no more fear and worries, even though he still dodged a lot more than blocking, once in a while, he was actually able to organize some sneak attacks in between the fierce and powerful forces created from the divine condor's waving of its mighty wings.

This kind of training went on for several days, and gradually, he was able to wield the heavy sword with better control. It almost felt as if the heavy sword was no longer as heavy as the time when he first wielded it. In the meantime, he also came to realize that all the sword arts he had learned before were too intricate with too many fancy techniques. He kept thinking about Dugu Seeking-A-Loss's words "heavy sword with blunt edges, simplicity brings superiority" on the slab stone. They had described a realm of sword art much more advanced compared to even the most ingenious sword techniques in the world. While sparring with the divine condor, he concentrated on comprehending the movement of his sword, and what he started to realize was that the more ordinary a sword move is, the more difficult it was for the opponent to defend against it. For example, if he simply stabbed out straight forward, as long as he had fierce and resourceful power to back it, the might of the stab would be actually more powerful than the kind of sword arts like the Jade Maiden Sword Art that relied on fluctuating and unpredictable techniques. Even though he only has one arm – his left arm, from eating those snake gallbladders the divine condor had brought to him, he had no idea that his arm had become much stronger than before.

One day while strolling about the valley, he discovered the bodies of three giant poisonous snakes on the ground. Their bellies had been ripped open and cuts from sharp claws left snake blood all over their bodies. By then, he was sure that the bitter things he had been eating were snake gallbladders. The bodies of these poisonous snakes shinned vaguely in a golden color. He had never seen any snakes like these before and had no idea what kind of snakes they were.

"I suppose the reason why the divine condor has such tremendous strength is because it had eaten a lot of snake gallbladders of this strange specie of snakes," he thought to himself.

After over a month worth of sparring, with some hard efforts, Yang Guo could actually take on the divine condor's mighty force head to head now, and each of his stab had also become so powerful that it would whistle in the air. He couldn't help but feel much gratified about himself. Since his skills in martial arts had advanced to a new level, the martial arts he learned before all seemed to be so insignificant, just like once one climbs to the top of Mount Tai, the whole world looked small and insignificant. But in another thought, he realized that without his previous foundation in martial arts training, he wouldn't have been able to advance to such a new level. After all, the divine condor was just an animal that couldn't speak. It might be able to guide some, but it would never be able to explain things or provide advice. Besides, the divine condor didn't really know any true martial arts skills. All it had was the god-given mighty strength plus the handful of moving and dodging techniques it had picked up while sparring with Dugu Seeking-A-Loss in the many years of companionship.


One morning, after Yang Guo got up, he found heavy rain pouring down from the dark cloud covered sky. "Brother Condor, it's raining very hard. Are we still going to train today?" he asked the divine condor. The condor held Yang Guo's sleeve in its beak and pulled him toward the northeast. Then it let go of the sleeve and strode out.
"Is there something strange again in the northeast?" Yang Guo thought aloud. He grabbed the heavy sword and then followed in the rain.

After a couple of miles into the journey, some vague but continuous rumbling sound came to Yang Guo's attention. And the further they walked, the louder the rumbling sound became. It was the sound of a waterfall.
"With such a pouring rain, I'd better watch out for mountain torrents," Yang Guo reminded himself.

After turning over a mountain gorge, the sound of the waterfall all of a sudden became so much louder that it could almost deafen one's hearing. Between two peaks, the waterfall crashed down poured into the creek below like a white dragon. In the thunderous echoes, the swift currents rushed downward with mighty force. The many broken branches and rocks, carried forward by the currents, only took a split of a second to be flushed down the stream.

By then, the rain had become even heavier and Yang Guo had become soaking wet. A think mist from the smashing waterfall surrounded everything, creating a magnificent view. But seeing the mighty force from the mountain tolerance, Yang Guo couldn't help but feel a slight dread inside of him.

Hlding Yang Guo's sleeve in its beak, the divine condor dragged him toward the creek as if it wanted Yang Guo to jump down.
"Why do you want me to go down there? The stream is running very swift. I am afraid that I would be able to hold myself steady," Yang Guo asked in surprise.

The divine condor let go of Yang Guo's sleeve, and after a long and loud roar, it jumped into the creek and landed steadily on a huge rock in the middle of the creek. The condor swung its left wing forward. A rock that had been carried down by the rushing current was sent back up the stream from the swing. As soon as the rock came back down with the current again, it swung its wing once again, which sent the rock flying up the stream the second time. Thus the condor did the same thing five or six more times, and the rock never made it pass the condor. By the seventh time, the divine condor gave it a good smack, which sent the rock flying out of the water and finally landing on the bank. The divine condor then leapt back onto the bank and stood next to Yang Guo.

Yang Guo understood. Demonic Swordsman Dugu Seeking-A-Loss must have come here often to train sword arts in the mountain tolerance every time when it rained. But he knew very well that he didn't yet possess such skills and strength. Feeling afraid, he hesitated.

Suddenly, the divine condor extended its wing out and pushed Yang Guo in the arm. Since it was standing so close to Yang Guo, and the push caught Yang Guo by surprise, he lost his footing and fell into the creek.

In the rush, Yang Guo quickly used a technique called the "thousand-pound plummet" and landed on that huge rock the divine condor had stood on. As soon as his feet entered the water, the great force from the swift current almost swept him off his feet. Yang Guo tumbled back and forth and had a hard time maintaining his balance.

"Senior master Dugu is a human, I am also a human. If he could hold himself steady, why can't I?" Yang Guo thought to himself. So he took a deep breath and then concentrated all his attention in the effort to fight the force from the swift currents. That alone had exhausted all his strength. It was simply impossible for him to spare any strength to hit the rocks in the currents with the heavy sword.

In the amount of time of burning down a joss stick, Yang Guo had exhausted all his strength, so he jabbed his sword on the rock, and with the push, leapt back on to the bank. Before he even had a moment to catch his breath, the divine condor had already swung its wing toward him once again. Having being on his guard, he dodged the push swiftly. Quickly taking in a few deep breaths, he jumped back down into the creek himself, thinking, "This condor brother is indeed a strict teacher and a forthcoming friend. He wouldn't cut me any slacks in the training. He certainly has high expectations, and I, of course, want good improvements."

At this thought, he directed all his energy to the lower half of his body and held his footing steadily. As time went by, he gradually comprehended some techniques as to how to focus his energy and how to best utilize his strength. Even though the mountain torrent had grown larger and water had rose up to his waist, he was able to hold his own a little easier compared to the previous efforts. A few moments passed and by then water had rose up to his chest and soon up to his mouth.

"Even though I can hold my footing now, I don't think I'll just stand here and get drowned!" he thought. So he leapt back on to the bank.

Who had expected that the divine condor had been waiting by the bank? Before his feet touched the ground, the condor struck out with its wing. Yang Guo hurriedly blocked it using the heavy sword, but the striking force sent Yang Guo right back into the creak. Splash, he fell back into the water.

When his feet touched the giant rock under the steam, his entire boy was under the surface. Water had filled his mouth as he was falling down. Yang Guo knew that if he had spit the water out of his mouth, then his inner energy would shift upward, thus reducing the strength in his legs, so he held his breath and took a stable stance. A few moments later, he pushed hard with his feet and leapt in the air. A stream of water darted out from his mouth. Taking another quick breath, Yang Guo fell back down to the bottom of the creek. The turbulences and swift currents rumbled through above his head. He simply stayed still like a firm rock in midstream. Gradually his mind calmed down.

"Brother Condor wanted me to stand in the middle of the mountain torrent, but if I don't hit the rocks in the currents, for sure he would belittle me," Yang Guo thought.

He was a man of great pride and was always eager to excel. Even though the condor was only an animal, he would still rather not lose face in front of it. So when he spotted the branches and rocks brought down by the current, he jabbed and stabbed and tried hard to push them back them way they came from. In the water, the rocks had become lighter. The heavy sword also felt lighter and easier to control when he waved it around under water. He waved and swung and jabbed and stabbed the sword until he was completely exhausted and begun to have a hard time holding his footing. Then he finally leapt back onto the bank.

He was quite afraid that the divine condor would once again force him back into the creek again. Without some rest, his tiring legs probably wouldn't be able to stand the forces from the mountain torrent. Not to his surprise, the divine condor didn't want him on the bank at all. As soon as it saw him leaping out of the water, the condor struck out with its wing.

"Brother Condor," Yang Guo shouted in complaint, "you know you are just killing me right now?"

He jumped back into the creek for a little while but simply could not stand the currents any longer and had to leapt back to the bank. Seeing the divine condor's wing striking toward him, not willing to sit down and give in, he had no other choices but to stab the sword at the divine condor. The two of them soon exchanged three moves, and to his great surprise, the divine condor was forced to take one step back.

"Excuse me!" Yang Guo shouted as he extended his arm and stabbed forth the sword again. Sound of whistling echoed as the blade cut through thin air – this was something quite different from his past experience.

Seeing the tip of Yang Guo's sword approaching rapidly toward it, the divine condor no longer dared to take it straight on and had to dodge aside.

Yang Guo knew that the half-day worth of training in the mountain torrents must have improved his strength tremendously. A mixed feeling of shock and joy swarmed in his heart. He couldn't help but question himself, "It would certainly take more than a couple of weeks to increase one's strength and power. How did I gain such great strength after wielding the sword underwater for a mere half-day?" He finally concluded that it had to be the snake gallbladders from the snakes of the strange specie. Those gallbladders must have magical effects in increasing one's power and strength. That was why his strength and inner power had increased tremendously, and he had only noticed it when he released the strength accidentally in the dangerous circumstance.

He sat by the creek and meditated for a while. His strength soon replenished. This time he jumped back into the creek for more training without being forced by the divine condor. By the time he leapt back up the bank, the divine condor was no longer waiting by the creek, leaving no clue as to where it had gone.

The rain had begun to slow down. Yang Guo figured that mountain torrents would have been a lot smaller and weaker the next day. Since he didn't feel that tired, it would be better to train some more right now while the torrent still lasted. At that thought, he jumped back into the creek.

By the time he got back onto the bank the forth time, he found two snake gallbladders placed closed to the bank. Feeling utterly grateful for the divine condor's caring, he ate them and then continued on with his training. Night came, and the mountain torrent had slowly become smaller and weaker.

That night he didn't sleep at all and kept on training in the creek. Gradually he began to realize many sword art principles such as piercing following the force, blocking against the force, slashing from the side, and chopping with a back swing. By then he finally understood: Wielding a sword this way, nothing would be strong enough to stand the force from the sword, and there would be no need for the sword to have a sharp blade. But without such a unique heavy sword, which was twenty or even thirty times heavier compared to a normal sword, this kind of sword art wouldn't have been effective. If it were just an ordinary blade, the force released from a gentle wrist snap would have shocked the blade into pieces.

The rain finally stopped, and the clear sky shined dimly in dark blue. Moonlight from a new moon illuminated over the trees and the water in the creek, painting everything with silver. Yang Guo watched the swift currents flushing down the creek path non-stop, his mind as clear as the sky. By then, he had understood the principles behind the flow of currents and mastered the techniques with the heavy sword. He knew that he had learned the entire sword art of the heavy sword and there was no more to learn. Even if the Demonic Swordsman could have come back to life, all he could have taught would still be the same. From now on as his inner energy grew, he would be able to used lighter swords, and eventually be able to wield a wooden sword like the heavy sword, but that would all be attributed to the advancement in his own abilities and skills. Regarding the sword art, this was as far as it would ever be.

Yang Guo paced back and forth along the bank. Raising his head high, he stared at the bright moon and soon was lost in thoughts. If senior master Dugu hadn't left him this heavy sword, or if there wasn't the divine condor to guide him, furthermore, if he didn't eat those gallbladders of the strange snakes and thus gained tremendous amount of inner strength, then the entire world wouldn't have had the luxury of seeing this sword art once again. Dugu Seeking-A-Loss didn't have any help or reference, yet was able to comprehend such acme of sword arts all by himself. His cleverness must have been a hundred times better than mine.

Yang Guo's admiration and understanding of this past sword master kept growing as he imagined the senior master's demeanor in his mind. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head.

"If auntie could see the great kung fu skills I possess now, she would be very happy for me for sure. Alas, where is she now? Is she also staring at the beautiful moon and thinking of me?" As soon as he thought of the Little Dragon Girl, severe pain rose from inside his chest.

"Even though I've comprehended the ultimate principles of sword art," Yang Guo thought, "what good does it do if I stay here in the remote mountain all by myself? What if the poison from the Flower of Love suddenly activated tomorrow and killed me? Wouldn't this magnificent sword art get lost for eternity?"

At this thought, aspiration rose again in his heart.

"I shall follow senior master Dugu's footsteps and defeat all heroes under heaven with this sword art. Then I can die with no regrets," he spoke out his thought loudly.

Looking at what was left of his right arm, Yang Guo knitted his eyebrows into a straight line, and his hatred for Guo Fu, the one person who had mercilessly cut off his arm, swarmed his heart once more.

"This girl relied on the facts that her father is a legendary hero and her mother is the chief of the Beggars Clan. She has never respected me. When I was still a kid and lived in her home, she treated me with so much distain and humiliation. I was actually doing her a favor when I lied to the Wu brothers. If any one of the Wu brothers ended up dead because of her, wouldn't she be the one to blame for? Humph! She took advantage of my severe illness and cut my arm off. If I don't settle the score with her one day, I am not a true man!"

He had always been one who took in kindness and grudge to his heart without a forgiving heart. Before, right after his arm was cut off, he had no other choices but to hide in the remote valley for the wound to heal. Now when his wound had sealed and his Kung Fu skills had progressed dramatically, he could no longer hold his urge for revenge. Having made up his mind, he immediately returned to the cave.

"Brother Condor," he said to the divine condor, "I'll never be able to repay the great kindness you've shown me. There are still several matters in the Martial World that I need to take care of. That's why I need to leave you temporarily. I'll be back here again once I've taken care of those businesses. If you don't mind, I need to borrow senior master Dugu's heavy sword for the trip."

He bowed down toward the divine condor deeply and then knelt down in front of the stone grave of Dugu Seeking-A-Loss to salute before heading out of the valley. The divine condor walked with him all the way to the opening of the valley. After many affectionate hugs between the man and the condor, Yang Guo bid his farewell and got on with his journey.

The heavy sword was indeed very heavy. If he had tied it to his waistband, the waistband would break in no time. Yang Guo cut down three old vines from the bushes and made a rope out of them. Tying the heavy sword on his back, he ran using his Qing-Gong and headed straight toward the city of Xiangyang.

[1] "Gentleman Sword" is the name of Yang Guo's sword. It is the male-sword out of a pair of ancient swords Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl found in the Ancient Tomb (if I remembered it right). The female-sword out of the pair is named "Maiden Sword."

[2] He was referring to Little Dragon Girl here.

[3] Huang Yaoshi, nicknamed East Wicked, was the father of Huang Rong and father-in-law of Guo Jing. He enjoyed great fame as one of the five top fighters. He was also famous for his eccentric personality.

[4] Gongye Chang was a man in ancient Chinese folklore that could understand animal languages.



Hankypanky:

Arriving outside the city, the time of day has approached dawn. He understood that settling out his business in broad daylight is not the wisest of decisions. Much less he's due one night's sleep, and his energy level would've plummeted down. Uncle Guo and Aunt Guo were experts in the field of martial arts. At this point of time their health must be restored, a fierce struggle is guaranteed if by chance he was to confront the both of them. Therefore ferreted out a thick patch of grass near a cemetery outside the city and slept there for many hours. Later he performed breathing exercises and cultivation, and garnered some wild fruit to be served as meal. He waited for the first watch of night, before he set foot below the city of Xiangyang.

Xiangyang's imposing wall was like a fortress. That day when Jinlun Fawang, Li Mochou and others leapt from the top of the city wall, they still required padded feet set up to prevent possible injuries. Right now trying to climb from the wall base to the top is never going to be an easy task. Yang Guo had already thought about this and came up with a method during his time resting near the cemetery. Thinking: "I will never have enough time to learn Uncle Guo's kung fu of [Walking on Heaven's Staircase]. What ever method Senior Dugu used to get up that cliff, I will capitalize on to climb up the wall of Xiangyang." He proceeded towards a secluded area near the east gate, luckily the troops that guarded near the top of the city wall made their inspection from afar. Much to the convenience of Yang Guo as he leapt up, then straightened out his heavy sword and spared no effort to drive it into the city wall. The heavy sword maybe blunt, but the ending force was unyieldingly strong. The city wall was the product of extremely thick granite employed for construction. Hearing the noise of 'peng', the wall was cracked open by the sword, which left a round niche. Yang Guo had never expected an effortless jab with the sword could have such power, and was pleasantly surprised about that. Next, whilst jumping up his left foot was poised on the cavity, he raised his sword and stabbed a hole into the city wall that's above his head. This time he didn't put a lot of power into it, just so that he avoids alarming the garrison troops.

Helping himself up step by step he was at the point where there's several zhangs left before he reaches the top. From here he displayed his [Gecko Crawling Wall Skill] to rise over the top of the wall and hid in a secret place. Inside the city wall were a series of stony steps that sloped down. Yang Guo waited until the troops walked away and sneaked down past them and dashed ahead straight to Guo's residence.

After taking nourishment from the snake gallbladders his inner energy rapidly increased. At the same time his body was more agile and his lightness gong was far greater than former days. But Guo Jing's martial arts was still very dangerous, there's a likely chance that the strength of his palms in the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms series is unchallengeable. In addition, were the mysterious and diverse set of Dog Beating Techniques used by Huang Rong. He only knew about 60%-70% of it so couldn't be too careless. As he reached outside of Guo residence, he quietly leapt over the wall and entered.

Bypassing the garden, promptly glanced at the house where he originally stayed. He went up to its window listened and found that no one was in there. He gently pushed the door and entered.

In the darkness he noticed the bed-curtains and other furniture were no different than when he left. All that was withdrawn was the bed's pillow. He lowered his body and sat along the edge of the bed, reminiscing privately of how his healthy right arm was lost forever within this bed. A stroke of sickness and anger latched onto his heart.

All along he was blessed with pretty and charming looks; by nature he was also somewhat lustful and cheerful. He maybe passionately devoted to Xiaolong Nu and thinks of her constantly, but there were many young girls who often can't help but pour out their affectionate feelings whenever they meet him. Girls like Chengying, Lu Wushuang, Gongsun Lue either secretly had a crush on him or were frankly flirtatious in front of him. Right now his hand loosely stroked the side of the bed, and faced the inconsolable truth that he has become disabled. If he ever bumped into those love-stricken girls, he will no doubt be viewed as a ridiculous and pitiful soul amongst their eyes. His martial arts maybe fantastic, but he's still a mere freak that's shocking to behold. Thinking of all the ups and downs and chasing all the events that happened in his life, can't help but lower his voice and say: "It is only Gugu, it's Gugu alone who's feelings for me won't deteriorate. Even as catastrophic as losing 4 limbs, it will be no different in the end."

Convinced up to now, suddenly on his east side he heard the muffled sounds of an argument between 2 people. He could made out the voices were in fact Guo Jing and Huang Rong. Yang Guo was curious how these 2 people set it forth, thereupon tiptoed to search for where it originated. Then found the room where the Guo couple were situated and eavesdropped outside their window.

All that was heard was Huang Rong yelling with rage: "Those 2 have plainly carried Xiang er away to Loveless Valley, in exchange for the antidote. How could you still go on and insist that Yang Guo is a good person? The child was given birth for not even close to 2 hours, and ended up in their hands. What chance does she have of surviving up to this point?" Those words dissolved into sobs and weeping.

Guo Jing said: "Guo er is not that kind of person. Besides, time after time he's saved our lives. If Xiang er's life could help him trade for his own life, then I'll gladly accept it." The sobs drowned out Huang Rong's words: "You'd rather do that, but I won't…"

Then the sounds of a baby crying aloud interrupted the conversation in the room, the noise was loud and clear. Yang Guo wondered: "Did they somehow manage to snatch the baby girl back home from the clutches of Li Mochou? Then why did she say: 'What chance does she have of surviving up to this point'?" Holding his breath he raised his view against the window seam and looked around. And did notice a baby cuddled up safely in Huang Rong's arms. It so happens that the baby was facing the window towards him, Yang Guo understood what he saw. He had a square-face that protruded out huge ears, his skin was coarsely dark that grew fine whiskers. He has carried the female infant Guo Xiang for a long period of time, and remembered she was tenderly white and petite with delicate features on her face. It's the complete opposite to this stoutly and plump baby. Huang Rong's back faced the window, and quietly settled the baby down, and said: "It was nice when the siblings were together, you'd better find his sister and bring her back home." Yang Guo was suddenly conscious of it now, only now did he comprehend that she gave birth to twins from her embryo after all. She first gave birth to baby girl Guo Xiang, hereafter arrived a male child. The moment her son entered this world, Xiaolong Nu had already carried her daughter away.

Guo Jing wandered slowly and aimlessly around the room, then said: "Rong er, you usually recognise main principles. As soon as it involved matters with our children, how can you not just put it to one side for the time being? At present the military affairs are in a state of urgency, how could I just leave Xiangyang and place my responsibilities for a mere infant daughter?" Huang Rong said: "I did say I wanted to look for her by myself, but you never permit me to leave. Are you actually going to let our child die in vain? Guo Jing said: "You haven't recovered yet, how can you go?" Huang Rong turned on him with rage: "Not wanting his daughter as a father. It's a hard lot being a mother, what do you expect me to do?"

Yang Guo has been together with them for many years in Peach Blossom Island, and remembered them as a loving couple, and no bust-ups were involved. Now that their faces grew red with anger, all words were equally matched. It seemed clear that they've quarrelled over this matter on many occasions. Huang Rong cried and spoke at the same time, Guo Jing pulled a taut face; randomly walk back and forth around the room.

After a while, Guo Jing said: "Even if she's brought back, you'll treat her in the same way as you did to Fu er, pampering her till she's lawless, she may as well count for nothing!" Huang Rong loudly exclaims: "What have you got against our Fu er? She loves our daughter dearly, she may have been bit too reckless, but the reasons were quite understandable. If it was me, and Yang Guo insisted on keeping my daughter, I'll even chop off his left arm for good measure."

Guo Jing's face contorted with anger, bellowed out: "Rong er, what are you talking about?" Raising his hand and heavily knocked the top of the table, 'PENG!', scraps of wood flew all over the place. A practically rock-solid red wooden table was instantly broke in half by his strike. The baby boy was actually crying without knowing when to stop. When he heard a shout and a bang he automatically calmed down as a result of the fright he received.

Right at this moment, Yang Guo suddenly noticed a human silhouette below the window on the west side, also crouching down and quietly drawing back. Yang Guo thought: "So besides me, there's another eavesdropper outside the window, but who could it be?" So tiptoed behind that person, and noticed that her figure was elegant, it's precisely Guo Fu. The burning fury wasn't extinguished, Yang Guo thought: "Great! I've been looking for you!" Then behind him the light radiated from inside was gone - the lights were off. Then hearing Huang Rong angrily spoke: "Get out, stop frightening the baby!"

Yang Guo knew Guo Jing was about to come out, and in his eyes he would be able to locate Yang Guo very easily. So shifted himself behind the rockery, then quickly made his way outside Guo Fu's room. Launching himself high up, and got himself on top of a (木筆花 tree, and concealed himself between the branches and leaves.

Within a moment, he saw Guo Fu return to her room. Then a voice of a woman said: "It's past the second period of night, sleep well Miss!" Guo Fu grunted: "I will sleep when I am actually asleep! Get out." The woman responded: "Very well." Then saw a maidservant leave the area on her own.

After quite a while, he saw Guo Fu faintly heaved a long sigh of relief, Yang Guo thought: "What is that sigh meant for? You've taken away my beloved arm from me; now it's your turn to lose an arm. But I'll take it easy on you coz you're a woman, (*Very grateful if somebody can even give a good translation of the idiom: 好男不與女鬥*), I won't harm you for the moment. If I did, it'll be just like taking candy from a baby, but such an act won't conform to the ideals of a real man." Paused in a moment of thought, he then came up with a strategy: "Alright then, I'll call out loudly, to get Uncle Guo's attention. Once I've defeated him, I'll settle an old score with his daughter. As a man who's got a clear conscience, no one will ever jest at my actions." But then reconsidered again: "Uncle Guo's martial arts is extraordinary, am I really able to triumph over him? I don't think so! Will this mean I can't take my revenge?" Recalling the way he lost his arm, the blood boiled up inside of him and his heart hardened. Just when he's about to jump down from the (木筆花 tree, the sound of footsteps approached, and the person was striding over here.

He noticed the pace deeply stiffened, the body was upright, it was none other than Guo Jing. He reached just outside of his daughter's room, and gently knocked on the door, saying: "Fu er, are you asleep yet?" Guo Fu rose up and replied: "It's you father?" There was a hint of fear in her voice. Yang Guo was surprised by this: "Is it possible that Uncle Guo knew I've already arrived, so came to offer her daughter protection? Alrighty then! You'll be my first opponent! If I lose to you, my life is yours to take." Guo Jing uttered an 'ng' sound. Guo Fu opened the door, raised her head and looked directly into his father's eyes, and immediately hung her head down.

End of Chapter 26

[Han Solo]

Chapter 27

Translated by BeeDreamer and Dugu-seeking-a-win

Guo Jing walked through the door and went to sit in a chair in front of the bed, not saying a word. The two people had been tense and quiet for a long time. Finally, Guo Jing asked, "Where have you been all this time?"

Guo Fu said, "I .. I've wounded Brother Yang. I was afraid you'd punish me, so.. so.."

Guo Jing said, "So you went out to avoid me for several days?"

Guo Fu bit her lip and nodded.

Guo Jing continued, "You were waiting for my anger to pass before coming back?"

Guo Fu nodded, suddenly throwing herself into his arms. She said, "Father, are you still mad at me?"

Guo Jing stroked her hair gently. He said in a low voice, "I wasn't angry. I haven't been angry. I was only sad about you."

Guo Fu cried out, "Father!" and sobbed on his chest.

Guo Jing looked up and gazed out at the roof without saying a word. He waited for her weeping to subside and then said, "Yang Guo's grandfather Tie Xingong and your grandfather Xiao Tiangong were sworn brothers, so were his father and yours. You know that."

Guo Fu made a low sound, "Hmm."

Guo Jing then continued, "Even though Yang Guo has always done things as he pleases, he has a heroic heart. He has so many times saved your father and mother, and even yourself. He is young in years but to our country and our people, his contribution is not. You know that."

As Guo Fu heard her father's tone getting more and more serious, she was even more afraid. Guo Jing got up and added, "There is something you don't know about. Today I will tell you. Years ago, Guo’er's father wasn’t so scrupulous. I was his sworn brother, yet I couldn't change him. He eventually died a tragic death at the Jia Xing Wang Tie Qiang temple. Even though it wasn't your mother who took his life, his death was caused by her. Our Guo family and his Yang family heavily.."

Yang Guo heard him say 'Died a tragic death at the Jia Xing Wang Tie Qiang temple.' This was the first time he heard someone talking about his father's death place. Filled with hatred, he was about to jump out to face them. But then Guo Jing continued, "I originally thought about betrothing you to him to make up for the hatred in my lifetime, who would have thought.. who would have thought.. alas!"

Guo Fu lifted her head and said, "Father, he kidnapped my sister and said a lot of rubbish, slandering me. Father, even though his Yang family and ours go back a long way, that is not to say I have to let him bully me and not resist, is it?

Guo Jing jumped up and bellowed, "Apparently, you cut off his arm, how did he bully you? If he really wanted to, even you had ten arms, he would have already cut them all off. Is that a sword handle?"

Guo Fu didn't dare to say anything and just took out the 'Lady' sword from under a pillow. Guo Jing reached out, his hand slightly shaking. The edge of the blade made a chilling sound. His voice trembled, "Fu’er, this must be done. Even though I'm being severe with you, in my heart I love you just like your mother does. His voice turned gentle at the end of his speech.

Guo Fu let out a soft cry, "I know."

Guo Jing then said, "Good, stretch out your right arm. You cut off another' s arm, I'll cut yours off just the same. Your father has lived a righteous life and can't follow selfish instincts, shielding his own daughter."

Guo Fu knew perfectly well that this time her father must be difficult, but she hadn't expect him to go as far as demanding her arm. Frightened, color drained out of her face. She called out loudly, "Father!" Guo Jing paled, both eyes gazing at her.

Yang Guo hadn't expected Guo Jing to be this righteous. He looked at the situation, heart beating fast. He thought to himself, "Should I or should I not get down to stop all this? Should I call out to spare Guo Guniang?"

While he was hesitating, Guo Jing's long sword was raised. Then it cut down through the air, about to chop off Guo Fu's arm.

Suddeny someone shouted and swiftly jumped through the window. A staff arrived even before the body, blocking Guo Jing's long sword. That person was of course Huang Rong.

She didn't say a word but launched three successive strikes, all Dog Beating Stick tricks. Her technique was profound and she caught Guo Jing by surprise, and so he was forced to move back a couple of steps. Huang Rong called out, "Fu’er, why are you still not running fast?"

Guo Fu didn't have her mother's wits. Facing a crisis, she was scared frozen and couldn’t move. With a baby in her left hand and a staff in her right, Huang Rong pushed her daughter's body out of the window straight onto the ground. She cried out, "Quickly go back to the Peach Blossom Island. Ask Grandpa Ke to come plead with your father."

While saying this, she wielded the bamboo staff, using Dog Beating Stick "tangle" and "seal" tricks to block Guo Jing from following her daughter. She called out again, "Go! Quickly! Get the red horse at the mansion entrance."

Huang Rong understood her husband's straight character. He was old-fashioned and extremely righteous. This time her daughter created such a big disaster and then ran away for several days before coming home. In case her husband was still enraged, deciding on a severe punishment, she already had someone brought the red horse to the mansion entrance, along with a saddle, clothes, and some silver coins. If he could be pursuaded, she would let him beat their daugther to settle the matter. That would be extremely lucky. If not, Guo Fu had better be sent far away and come back to seek a reunion with her father later.

Husband and wife quarreled. Moving towards his daughter's bedroom, Guo Jing's face was anguished but his heart knew it was fortunate that his daugther's arm was saved. Based on Huang Rong's martial skills alone, she wouldn't be able to stop him but Guo Jing was disadvanged, seeing his wife carrying the baby. Also, he couldn’t get to Guo Fu before she rushed out into the garden outside the mansion.

Yang Guo was hiding in a tree, watching the scene. When Guo Fu came out through the window, if only he raised his sword to strike, how would she be able to get away? But then he thought about Guo Jing and Huang Rong's earth-shattering fight caused by him and how he would be taking advantange of someone fleeing from danger, he just couldn't do it.

Then Huang Rong launched several repeated strikes, forcing Guo Jing to fall back a couple of steps. This time Guo Jing was leaning against the bed with nowhere to retreat. Huang Rong suddenly called out "Take him" and tossed the baby to her husband. Alarmed, Guo Jing stretched out his left hand to catch him.

Huang Rong put down her bamboo staff and walked over to her husband. She pleaded, "Brother Jing, please spare Fu’er!"

Guo Jing shook his head and said, "Rong’er, It's not that I don't love Fu’er. But she did this terrible thing. If I ignored it, how would it ever be settled? How would we apologize to Guo’er? Oh, his arm was cut off, and he had nobody to care for him. We don’t even know if he lives or dies. I.. I really wouldn't mind cutting off my own arm.."

Hearing Guo Jing's genuine words, Yang Guo couldn't bear the pain in his heart, his eyes turning red.

Huang Rong said, "Days after days we've searched for him and we haven't even seen his track. If something bad happened, there must have been a clue. Guo’er's martial skills have already rivalled ours. Even with a serious injury, he wouldn't be in big trouble."

Guo Jing said, "I hope so. I will go bring back Fu’er. We can't leave this matter like this."

Huang Rong smiled and said, "She already rode the little red horse out of town. Why would you bother going after her?"

Guo Jing replied, "It's already past 3 pm, without General Lu's or my command emblem, who would dare open the city gate at night?"

With a sigh Huang Rong said, "Good, do as you please!" Then she reached out to hold her son Guo Polu. Guo Jing handed the baby over, his face full of regrets.

He said, "Rong’er, I'm so sorry. But after she is punished, even though handicapped, she will change…”

Huang Rong nodded, "Right!" As her hands touched the baby, they suddenly dropped to Guo Jing's sides. She used her family Orchid Brushing Acupoints skills to seal the ‘yuanye’ [Deep Pool Liquid] point on his left arm and ‘jingmen’ [Capital Gate] on his right arm. These two points were under Guo Jing's arms, and so he couldn't use his martial skills.

If she didn't use such as a dirty tactic, how would she be able to seal his pressure points? When Huang Rong tossed the baby to her husband, she had already planned all this. Tricked by his wife, Guo Jing collapsed painfully on the bed, unable to move.

Huang Rong picked up the baby. She removed Guo Jing's shoes, socks, and coat. She placed him nicely in bed and put a pillow under his head, making sure he could rest comfortably. Then she took the command emblem from his waist. Guo Jing looked at her, eyes wide open, but had no way to resist. Huang Rong put the baby next to him, letting the two gentlemen lying together. She covered them both with a cotton blanket and said, "Brother Jing, today I’ve wronged you. Let me see Fu’er out of city and I will come back to cook for you many dishes, kowtow to you, and admit my crime."

Then Huang Rong got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Having heard her saying this, Guo Jing realized that his wife, who was already a mother of three children, was still quite mischievous. He dumbfoundedly watched her purse her lips and float out of the door. He thought about his sealed pressure points. She probably wouldn't come back to save him, so he quickly use use his inner energy to clear them. He wouldn't be able to catch up with his daughter anyhow. And for that matter, he didn't quite know whether to laugh or to cry.

Like most mothers Huang Rong was very concerned about her daughter's well-being since her daughter had to cover an arduous and dangerous journey (the more beautiful the daughter, the more hazardous the journey) to Tao Hua Dao (Peach Blossom Island). That's why, after leaving her husband and her baby, she went to her bedroom to fetch her ruan-wei-jia (flexible bristles protective suit), Peach Blossom Island's most treasured object, which she wrapped and clasped under her arm before chasing her daughter, applying her qing gong (levitation skill).

As she approached the NanMen (Southgate) she watched from afar how Guo Fu on the red horse was bickering loudly with the garrison commander. The officer behaved very courteously but strictly, without being shown a ling-pai (command slab) he dared not open the citygate, a violation of the rule would be sentenced with death. Huang Rong thought: "This blockhead daughter of mine is overprotected all her life, never being confronted with any problem, she doesn't try to solve difficulties using stratagem, she can only shout angrily, which only worsens the matter", Huang Rong hurriedly approached, held the ling-pai (which she had snatched from Guo Jing's waistbelt) high and shouted: "This is the ling-pai of Honourable Lu:! Please examine!"
As we know, the commanding general of Xiang Yang was Lu: Wen De, although it was practically Guo Jing who lead the city's defence, officially he was only a 'ke qing' (guest minister) who ordered in behalve of Lu:.

Seeing Mrs Guo with the ling-pai, the officer immediately smilingly commanded the city gate to be opened, he personally lead his horse to Huang Rong and said: "Mrs Guo, in case you need this horse of junior officer, please take it".
"Fine, I'll borrow it, Huang Rong said leaping on the horse.

After leaving Xiang Yang, mother and daughter rode side by side. Several times Huang Rong wanted to bid farewell and ride back to Xiang Yang, but everytime she postponed it. So she accompanied her daughter further and further.
At that time, the region encompassing hundreds of li north of Xiang Yang was already occupied by the Mongolian soldiers, most of the Chinese had moved out. But the region south of Xiang Yang was still dense with people although they lived in fear.

After about twenty li, dawn was setting in, Huang Rong and her daughter arrived at a small town, its shops and restaurants beginning to open.
"Fu-er", the mother said, "Let's take some breakfast before I return to Xiang Yang."

Guo Fu nodded with tears flowing down. In her heart she already deeply regretted having cut off Yang Guo's arm in anger, causing her now to be caught in such a horrible mess.

They went into a restaurant and ordered cooked beef and rice cakes. In a short time the meal was served but because they were depressed they didn't have appetite.

Huang Rong gave the wrapped up ruan-wei-jia with the advice to wear the protective vest later on as Guo Fu stay in an hotel. She gave advices and admonitions with Guo Fu listening and nodding several times, weeping. Seeing her daughter in such a pitiful state Huang Rong actually felt very reluctant and sorry, but her duty as wife and mother forced her to return to Xiang Yang.

Suddenly, looking westwards she caught a glimpse of a basket full with big red apples sold in a fruit shop. "Before I bid farewell to Fu-er I'll buy her some apples", she thought.

"Fu-er", she said rising, "You should force yourself to eat although you don't have any appetite. At times of war one would never know at what time one could get food again. Wait a moment, I'll buy you some fruit." She got out to approach the fruit shop.

After choosing ten scarlet apples, putting them in her bosom, Huang Rong groped her pocket for money. Suddenly, a very loud woman's voice was heard: "Give me twenty catties rice and one catty salt. Put them all in this sack, please."

Huang Rong casted a glance. The person speaking was a dao gu (Taoist woman) wearing a yellow robe, standing in front of the neighbouring shop.

The Taoist woman was holding a baby with her left hand and groping her pocket for some money. The baby's clothes was made of lake green satin with a small dark red horse embroidery, an embroidery Huang Rong used to sew. As soon as she noticed that, her hand trembled and her heart pounded, the money in her hand fell into the basket. That baby must certainly be her own daughter Guo Xiang!

Huang Rong actually had never met Li Mo Chou before. But scrutinizing the 'fu chen' (dustwhisk) on her waistbelt, her single eye and her outfit, she was quite sure that the woman was the notorious demoness who terrorized the JiangHu realm Li Mo Chou.

At the time she bore Guo Xiang, the enemy was attacking and the situation was chaotic, she had no chance to examine the baby's face. That's why, like being magnetized she glanced several times at the baby. Although the baby was still diminutive, it already showed signs of natural female beauty. With her cute features and ruddy complexion, she seemed well-fed and healthy looking. Huang Rong was pleasantly surprised, she almost shed tears. Po Lu, the baby she breastfed herself, didn't look nearly that healthy.

After giving some silver, Li Mochou took the sack and went.
Huang Rong understood the urgency of the situation, without informing Guo Fu she gave chase. She thought: "This Female Venom is terribly cruel. Should I try to use brute force, she might harm Xiang-er."

After leaving the city, Li Mochou ran westwards. While chasing, Huang Rong thought: "Li Mochou is Guo-er's martial aunt. Although they don't have a good relationship, after Fu-er cut-off Guo-er's arm, we could say that the GuMu (Ancient Tomb) Pai and the Guo Family was bound with a feud. If now this woman is going to meet Guo-er and Miss Long, I won't be a match against all three of them together. It's wiser to force a one-to-one fight against her now".

Li Mochou changed course to the South and entered the woods. Huang Rong accelerated, encircling the woods and confronted the demoness. Seeing the appearance of a beautiful woman, Li Mochou stopped short with surprise.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm facing Chi-lian xian-zi (Immortal Chi-lian) Taoist Elder Li", Huang Rong said with a smile. "I'm very pleased to meet you!"
Noticing the lithe and swift movements of the woman, the faint-yellow bamboo cane in her waistbelt, Li Mochou at once put the sack down, she saluted smilingly: "Junior has admired Mrs Guo's famous name for ages, I feel delighted to meet you now."

At that time in the martial realm, the most famous female martial experts were Huang Rong and Li Mochou. 'Qing-jing san-ren' (Sole Purity) Sun Bu Er was already famous before them but her wugong (martial arts) was inferior. Xiao Long Nu: was good enough wugong-wise but she was still too young and not exposed, she was barely known.

Both tigresses faced each other. One was the pampered daughter of Eastern heretic Huang Yaoshi, wife of Da Xia (great hero) Guo Jing, Bang zhu (clan chief) of Gai Bang (Beggars clan), the other was the notorious cruel demoness armed with whisk, Soul freezing silver needles and Five poisons divine palm, three lethal skills which had caused much trembling and fear in the JiangHu realm.

It's the first time these two people had met, they scrutinized each other carefully, each wondering about how unexpectedly beautiful the other was. But secretly each was on guard because surely each other's fame was based on real ability.

Mrs Guo said with a smile: "Taoist Elder Li, junior has always revered you, don't be overpolite".
Li Mochou answered: "Mrs Guo is chief of Gai Bang and a leading personality in the martial realm, junior regrets not having met you much sooner."

After both sides exchanged the usual pleasantries, Huang Rong asked: "Elder Li, the baby you carry is very sweet and cute. Whose baby is it?" Saying that, Huang Rong already thought of ways to get the baby before they begin the duel.

"This is very ashaming for GuMu Pai", the demoness answered. "Junior has not been able to guide my shimei (younger apprentice sister) on the right path. This is Long shimei's baby ...."
Huang Rong was surprised. She couldn't guess why Li Mochou was lying.

But the demoness wasn't deliberately lying. She did believe the baby was Yang Guo's and Xiao Long Nu:'s child. Because she was enraged that her shifu only taught the Jade Maiden Heart Manual to her shimei, she used this good chance to mention her shimei's sins.

"I thought Miss Long a decent girl", Huang Rong said. "It's unbelievable such a thing has happened. Who's the father?"

"The father?" the demoness said. "Hmm! It's definitely shameful to mention! The father of this child is Yang Guo, my shimei's disciple." Huang Rong, who was usually good at faking, couldn't help reddening, anger swelled up.

But she only changed colour shortly, instantly her expression normalized. She said: "That is deliberately creating trouble." "But the baby is so cute. Elder Li, may I hug it?" She took an apple from her bosom and moved it to-and-fro in front of the baby. "Good child, your round face certainly resembles this apple."

After robbing Guo Xiang, Li Mochou hid herself in the woods and happily played everyday with the baby. Each morning she would milk the leopard to feed the baby.
Li Mochou had committed abundant crimes, but basically she wasn't cruel at heart. Because of rejected love, she hated the world and its inhabitants, she turned cruel. Since meeting the cute and sweet Guo Xiang, her inborn mother instinct was re-awakened. Often in the deep of the night she would think about the baby. Deep in her heart she was uncertain of agreeing, in case Xiao Long Nu: wanted to exchange the Jade Maiden Heart manual for the baby.
As Huang Rong wanted to hug the baby, like all mothers, who were always pleased if their babies were praised, she also was happy and was ready to give in.

Huang Rong's hands barely touched the baby's clothes, she couldn't hide the loving expression on her face, the radiant expression of a loving mother who had thought of her missing child day and night without knowing its fate and whereabouts, now the child in question was at arms length. Li Mochou noticed the look and thought: "If she only wants to hug the baby, why that sudden change?" She hurriedly pulled back and leapt two zhangs backwards. She barely touched the ground as Huang Rong followed closing on her. Expecting an attack, Li Mochou heaved the sack to throw it at Huang Rong's face.

Huang Rong leapt to evade, causing the rice and salt to scatter on the ground. Li Mochou, whisk in the hand, said with a smile: "Mrs Guo, do you intend to help Yang Guo getting his child back?." Huang Rong, reasoning the demoness to be suspicious already, now had decided to use force. She said smilingly: "I only want to hug that lovely child, you think too lowly of me." Li Mochou said: "Family Guo's renowned name shook the martial realm, junior admired it greatly, today has seen the display of skills, the fame is really no empty one. But junior has to deal with another matter and wants to leave." She was afraid that Guo Jing would appear, she turned and walked away.

Huang Rong leapt up and in midair drew her bamboo stick. The original dog-beating stick was passed on to Lu You Jiao, the stick she had now was of the same length and weight but of light-yellow colour. In midair she aimed at an acupoint on Li Mochou's back. Li Mochou angrily thought: "We don't have any enmity against each other, today we've met for the first time, I've talked with due respect to you, why do you attack me without any reason at all?" She crossed the stick with her whisk. Huang Rong attacked continuously with 6-7 moves, forcing Li Mochou in the defensive. Li Mochou's wugong was actually slightly below Huang Rong's and further on she carried a baby, a few stances more she was in great difficulty.

After several moves Li Mochou saw that Huang Rong didn't aim her attack on the baby, she thought: "Each time I fight carrying this baby seems to be an advantage." She said smilingly: "Mrs Guo, the world is vast and there will be other occasions, why do you choose here and now to try my skills? Should you make a mistake, you will hurt this lovely child." Huang Rong thought: "Doesn't she really know this baby is mine or is she just pretending? I'll try her first." She said: "Thinking of this child, my first ten moves was not seriously executed, if you still want to carry that baby it's not my fault should she get hurt." With her stick she aimed at Li Mochou's right leg, the latter used her whisk to parry, before both weapons clashed Huang Rong already changed direction to the left chest. The attack threatened both Li Mochou and the baby. If it was successful, not only would Li Mochou be injured but the baby would lost its life.

Using the stick, Huang Rong had natural control, the stick's end neared Guo Xiang's clothes and it seemed the baby couldn't be saved any more. But in reality Huang Rong had perfect control on the force and reach of the stick. Li Mochou, who was very worried, surely didn't know that, she hurriedly evaded to the right, unavoidably revealing a flaw, the stick touched her left shin, nearly tripping she took two steps before regaining her balance again. She wielded the whisk in front of her body for protection, turning around she said angrily: "Mrs Guo, you are so famous, how can you be that cruel to a mere baby?"

Huang Rong, who saw Li Mochou wasn't pretending, felt great happiness and mused: "You want to protect my daughter, I'll frighten you a bit." With a faint smile she said: "Elder Li said yourself this child is illegimate, why should you want to keep it alive?" With that she launched a chain of attack all aimed at Guo Xiang. Li Mochou hopped to the left and right frantically, holding the baby tightly, who loudly cried, feeling uncomfortable due to the jolting movements. Huang Rong said silently: "My clever child, don't be startled. To rescue you, mom is forced to do this." Although in her heart she felt pity, she launched several swift and lethal attacks in the direction of Guo Xiang. Li Mochou anxiously drew back several steps, lifted the whisk in front of Guo Xiang to protect and called out: "Mrs Guo, what do you really want?"

Huang Rong said smilingly: "In this era, the martial realm only acknowledges Elder Li and junior as the outstanding female fighters. This time we met by chance, why not use this occasion to arrange a little try out between us?" The attacks on Guo Xiang had angered Li Mochou, the challenge had angered her even more. She thought: "If your husband is here I will probably be afraid, but we are both females, do you think I fear you?." Immediately she humphed, saying: "Mrs Guo intend to grant me a lesson, that is earnestly what junior always has hoped for." Huang Rong: "If you carry a baby during the duel and I win, it won't satisfy either of us. Put it aside, then we can move more freely."

Li Mochou thought: "Guo husband and wife are renowned for their righteousness, but judging her ferocity to a mere baby makes me believe that fame is much too exaggerated." She looked in all directions and saw in the East several big trees with a strip of thick grass underneath. She put the baby on the grass, patted to sooth it, turned and invited Huang Rong to begin.

After ten stances Huang Rong realized that their wugong was about the same level. If she tried now to snatch Guo Xiang away and fought the demoness, then it was probable that Guo Xiang may got hurt, whereas if she killed the demoness first, she wouldn't have any trouble at all. This female had committed all sorts of crime, thinking of that, Huang Rong developed a killing intent. Li Mochou thought that her adversary would stop at nothing, seeing Huang Rong often glancing at the baby, she was worried that Huang Rong would carry a sudden, fake attack and hurt the baby instead. That's why she positioned herself between Huang Rong and the baby.

During the fight Huang Rong had thought up 7-8 statagems, each of them would dispatch Li Mochou but unavoidably also endangered Guo Xiang. She pondered: "Looks like this demoness truly cherished Guo Xiang, if the baby is in her hand and I couldn't snatch it for a while, it wouldn't matter much, whereas if I take risks the baby could be endangered." Suddenly she got an idea: "Elder Li, our wugong doesn't differ much, a decision would take some time. If meanwhile a wild animal appears and devours the child, wouldn't it divert our concentration? The best way is to take that little bastard's life now, then we could fight at ease." Saying that, she bent, picked up a pebble and with her middlefinger flicked it, whizzing in the direction of Guo Xiang.

She had used the Huang's family unique skill 'dan zhi shen tong' (divine flick), Li Mochou, who knew that lethal skill, hurriedly fended the pebble with her whisk and shouted: "What has this child done to you? Why do you repeatedly try to kill her?" Huang Rong secretly thought this was funny, she actually flicked with a retracting force, as soon as the pebble was in the vicinity of Guo Xiang, it would fly back. Huang Rong smiled and said: "Elder Li, you certainly defend that child with all your might. People who doesn't know would certainly think it is ...., it is your .... "

Li Mochou: ".... is my child?". Having said that, she blushed. Huang Rong said smilingly: "You are single, so naturally you can't have a child. I mean people would think it is your younger sister." Li Mochou humphed, thought nothing of it. She didn't realize that the competitive Huang Rong also wouldn't want to lose even in a battle of insults. If Guo Xiang was Li Mochou's sister, then Guo Jing and Huang Rong would be Li Mochou's parents. That's Huang Rong's hidden revenge to Li Mochou's recent remark that Yang Guo was the father of Guo Xiang.

Li Mochou: "Let's start again!" Huang Rong: "You are thinking about the child and can't concentrate, even if I win, it wouldn't be a fair win. I'll surround the child with thorn canes, so wild beasts can't come near her, so we can both concentrate on the fight." Saying that, she took a golden knife from her waist to cut canes and wound them around the big trees surrounding Guo Xiang. At first the demoness was wary but she observed that Huang Rong did it very meticulously and she thought: "In the JiangHu realm Mrs Guo was praised as multi talented, she really lives up to that reputation." But seeing Huang Rong's face bearing a mocking smile she got scared again and shouted: "That's enough!"

Huang Rong: "If you say it's enough, that's allright with me. Elder Li, you've met my father, haven't you?" Li Mochou: "Yes, I have." Huang Rong: "Yang Guo told me you've composed a poem of four lines to ridicule my father, haven't you? It sounds like this: 'Peach Blossom Island's master, has numerous disciples, five against one, the laughing stock of the JiangHu realm!'" Li Mochou thought: "Stupid of me not to think about that. Now I understand that she hampers me because of those four lines." She retorted coldly: "That day it was five against one, wasn't it?" Huang Rong: "Today it's one against one, we'll see who will be the laughing stock of the JiangHu realm." Li Mochou: "Stop being arrogant! I've seen a lot of Peach Blossom Island's wugong (martial arts), it's mediocre at the most." Huang Rong sneered: "Not to mention the Island's wugong, I think you can't even cope with the Island's non-wugong. If you don't believe me, just try to get that child back."

Li Mochou was startled: "Has she injured the child?" Hurriedly she jumped in the cane circle following its turns, hearing the baby cry she felt relieved, but after several turns she ended out of the circle again. She was puzzled, trying to leap in again she was not careful enough, a thorn had ripped her Taoist robe. She didn't dare to be careless again, looking where to land her feet she suddenly saw Huang Rong standing in the middle of the circle bending down to hug the child. She was shocked and immediately shouted: "Lay the child down!" She deliberately tried and tried to bridge the circle to get in but ended on the outside again. The seven, eight big trees occupying an area of about several zhangs formed a maze. She saw Huang Rong putting the child down and dexterously leaping to the East and the West to leave the circle easily.

The demoness now remembered the fight against Yang Guo & Chen Ying with them using piled earth before the hut, preventing her to attack them directly. Now Huang Rong probably also had used the 8 diagrams of the nine palaces divine method (Jiu gong ba gua shen shu) of Tao hua island in arranging the cane circle. Li Mochou decided to beat the enemy first and rescue the child later. She leapt several zhangs away and was ready to fight again. When Huang Rong saw her adversary confused she secretly rejoiced but seeing Li Mochou's firm decision she felt also a kind of admiration. After successfully secured her daughter at a safe place, she attacked Li Mochou with the stance to push the dog to lower its head (an gou di tou). Li Mochou entangled the stick with the whisk and further attacked Huang Rong. Both had swiftly exchanged several stances.

Li Mochou changed her fighting tactics but her adversary's bamboo stick technique was really incomparable, with much effort she managed to resist about ten stances, this was already a rare feat in the martial realm. The bamboo stick was a light weapon and could by no means kill like a sharp weapon, but it managed to threaten all main 36 acupoints on the body, Li Mochous again managed to resist several stances, sweat on her forehead. Li Mochou put the whisk in front of her body to protect, than leapt backwards, saying: "Mrs Guo, your zhu bang fa (bamboo stick technique) is really superb, junior admits defeat. But junior has a question which needs an explanation." Huang Rong: "Can't imagine what matter I'm able to explain to you!" Li Mochou: "The bamboo stick technique is a unique skill of the nine fingers divine beggar, whereas Tao Hua island's wugong is famous in the realm, why doesn't Mrs Guo use your own family's wugong?" Huang Rong thought: "This person is tricky, she isn't able to win against my stick and tries to provoke me." She said with a smile: "If Elder knows this stick method is nine fingers divine beggar's, then you also know what it's called?" Li Mochou humphed but didn't reply. Huang Rong sneered: "It's called 'if you meet a dog, flog it' stick method."

Li Mochou resigned. She didn't succeed in luring Huang Rong to use her palm instead of the stick, the enemy even mocked at her, using her glib tongue. Inserting the whisk on her waist she said: "Beggars use to chant the lian-hua (begging) chant, their bangzhu is no exception." She strode to the nearest tree and sat on a branch.

That Li Mochou admitted defeat was what Huang Rong wanted. But the demoness didn't leave and Huang Rong could guess her intention very well, she would immediately attack as soon as Huang Rong try to get the baby. With Huang Rong holding the baby and hampered by it, their skills would even out. So, with the baby practically in her hands, she couldn't bring it safely home without killing or injuring the demoness.

Suddenly Huang Rong moved, approaching Li Mochou with three steps to the left and four steps to the right. Those steps seemed common, but they bore the intricacies of the Ba-gua (eight diagrams), in whatever direction Li Mochou would try to flee, Huang Rong could still have blocked her path, that's the purpose of the movement. Huang Rong already threatened her left elbow with the stick.

Li Mochou parried with her palm and shouted: "After Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng have died, Huang Yaoshi truly has no disciples anymore who has inherited his skills." What Li Mochou said not only ridiculed Huang Rong for using the 'foreign' dogbeating stick method but also try to humiliate her father as well. Actually Huang Rong had inherited the Huang family's skill 'Yu xiao jian fa' (jade flute sword method) with profound mastery, but using a stick (not a sword), she was unsure of winning against such a formidable adversary. She answered faintly smiling: "It is true that my father has unworthy disciples, they certainly can't be compared to pure and chaste apprentice sisters like Elder Li and Miss Long."

The demoness went sick with rage. Waving her sleeve, two soul freezing silver needles were shot, aiming at Huang Rong's lower abdomen. Although she was incomparable cruel and could kill without batting an eye, she was still a virgin. Hearing Huang Rong put her on par with her 'dishonourable' apprentice sister, made her use her lethal poisoned needles. Huang Rong, staying very close, had never a chance to dodge them. But having perfect command of the dogbeating stick method, she still could hurriedly fend off with the stick. The needles flew about two inches beside her face, she could faintly sniff their poisonous smell. She remembered her eagle whose foot was hit by such a needle and it took about six or seven months to cure. Meanwhile another pair of needles were shot out.

Huang Rong hastily leapt and ran towards the East, two needles whizzing near her ear. She thought: "This place is too near to Xiang-er, if she got struck by a random flying needle, it would be lethal for her." She rushed further, leaving the forest. Li Mochou chased joyfully, she felt that with the exception of 'Da gau bang fa', her other skills were superior to that of Mrs. Guo. She shouted: "Victory or defeat hasn't been decided, why do you run away?" Huang Rong stopped, faintly smiling. Li Mochou said approachingly: "Mrs. Guo, do you need the stick to keep my needles off?" Huang Rong knew that as long as she used the stick, Li Mochou wouldn't accept her defeat. She inserted the stick on her waist and chuckled: "Li dao-zhang, I've long heard about your incomparable 'Wu du shen zhang' (five poisons divine palm) and how it has killed numerous people, junior wants to try out that ominous palm."

Li Mochou was rather startled: "She is aware of my fierce (li hai) palm but wants to try it." She channelled her inner force to the palm and said: "I also want to try Tao hua island's Luo ying divine sword palm (luo ying shen jian zhang)." She moved her left palm to parry Huang Rong's palm, her right palm aiming for the shoulder. Both palms moved at the same time, but the right palm also ejected two needles aiming between Huang Rong's chest and belly. This striking and simultaneously ejecting needles has been developed by herself after leaving GuMu. The adversary who only guarded against the palms wouldn't thought of being attacked with the needles at such a near distance. Many wuxia experts had been killed by that move of hers.

Huang Rong retracted her left palm to parry, her right hand moving about her bosom as if she herself wanted to pull out a hidden projectile (an qi) but it was already too late, the needles were already about five inches near her ribs, even someone with a much higher ability than her wouldn't avoid being hit. Li Mochou felt upsurging joy as she saw the needles penetrating the cloth. "Oh!", Huang Rong cried bending, her right hand touching her stomach, her left palm striking Li Mochou's chest. That palm really came swiftly, Li Mochou cried: "Good!. She dodged and struck with both palms aiming at Huang Rong's chest. She knew the poison would instantly show its effect. So her stroke only was meant to shove Huang Rong a bit before she died of the poisoning. She saw Huang Rong's upper body only showing a slight reaction and she wondered how the poison could paralyze that quick. Her pair of palms soon touched the chest of her adversary, she felt some slight pain from being pricked. Hurriedly and in great surprise she leapt backwards, looking at her palms she saw two tiny holes, black blood oozing out, revealing she had been injured by her own needles. She was startled, angry and didn't understood how it could have happened. She saw Huang Rong taking two apples from her bosom with a smile, lifted them high, showing a needle in each apple. Li Mochou now realized that Huang Rong hid the apples, didn't try to parry her stroke, put her hand in her bosom to hold the apples, receiving the needles and lured Li Mochou to strike the apples herself.

Li Mochou was not a stupid person, but in a duel of cunning today she had to admit defeat, she moved her hand to her bosom to take the antidote. But with a windy sound Huang Rong had attacked her face. Li Mochou worriedly lifted her left hand to fend, suddenly Huang Rong's snowwhite palm opened, its five fingers, shaped gracefully like an orchid, threatened the xiao hai acupoint on her right elbow. She thought: "Is that the famous 'lan hua fu xue shou' (orchid hand strikes acupoint)? Her right hand, which failed to take the antidote, trying to grasp Huang Rong's hand. Huang Rong retracted her right hand, her left hand aiming at the que pen acupoint on the neck. She attacked using Luo ying palm alternately with orchid hand, her moves were not only swift and fierce but also utterly graceful. Li Mochou couldn't help thinking: "Today I have witnessed Tao hua island's divine technique, it is really superb, even if I'm not poisoned I wouldn't be her match." She eagerly withdrew to take the antidote, but Huang Rong attacked again, not giving her time for it. The freezing soul silver needle had severe poison on it, hadn't Li Mochou been used to it, she would already have broken down. But even so, as soon as the poison had reached the pit of her stomach, it would be hopeless for her. Huang Rong observed her face getting paler, her adversary got weaker and weaker, Huang Rong thought of the demoness killing the Wu brothers' mother, at last now she had to succumb to her own poison, Huang Rong pressed steadily on, but also guarded herself, fearing a last counter attempt of her adversary.

Li Mochou felt a numbness creeping up her elbow, after several stances more the numbness had reached her armpit, her arm couldn't bend anymore. She called out: "Hold a minute!" Stepping aside she said: "Mrs Guo, since I've killed many people, I haven't expected to live this long. In martial arts and cunning I'm inferior to you, it's fitting to die under your hands. But I'll try to be bold begging you for something."

Huang Rong: "Begging for what?" She guessed the demoness tried to use delaying tactics, she watched the hands carefully, she saw the arms sagging, she then listened to her adversary saying: "I don't have an affectionate relationship with my shimei, but her child is absolutely cute, I beseech you to show a forgiving heart and not to take her young life."

Huang Rong felt the demoness spoke with sincerity, she was unable to suppress being moved. She thought: "This demoness' misdeeds heaped up like a mountain, who would have thought that in the time of nearing death she would show such a loving care for my daughter." She answered: "The parents of this child are no ordinary people, if I let her live she would pose a great danger to me." Li Mochou sighed and said with a failing voice: "I understand, but I'm still hoping you would be forgiving ...."

Huang Rong was very moved, but wanted to try her further, she approached and hit an acupoint before taking a bottle out, asking: "Is this the antidote?" Li Mochou: "Yes!" Huang Rong: "I wouldn't forgive two people at the same time, should I forgive you, I had to kill the baby. If you yourself choose to die, I will save the baby."

Li Mochou was totally dumbfounded. Never did she dream of getting a second chance to live, but she was unable to ask Huang Rong to kill the child, whereas to sacrifice herself in order to save the child ....., she saw Huang Rong in front of her, waving a pill from the bottle, waiting for her reply. She trembled, stuttering: "I ...., I ...."

Huang Rong thought: "The fact alone that she is hesitating counts as a pluspoint for her. No matter what choice she makes, I must let her live. She has accumulated such a huge blood debt, there will certainly be someone in the future who will revenge himself at her."

Thereupon she said smilingly: "Elder Li, many thanks to you for showing such a loving care for Xiang-er." Li Mochou, confused: "What?" Huang Rong chuckled: "The baby is surnamed Guo with the name Xiang, she is my and Guo Jing's daughter. Soon after her birth she has fallen into Miss Long hands, I don't know how you come to your misunderstanding. Since you have taken good care of her, junior must thank you profusely."

Saying that, she bowed clasping her hands, put a pill in Li Mochou's mouth, asking: "Is this enough?" Li Mochou answered sorrowfully: "I'm already heavily poisoned, I need three pills." Huang Rong answered: "Very well", gave her two more pills, then thought that the antidote could be of some use later on, so she put the bottle in her bosom, saying: "Your acupoint would unseal itself in three hours time."

Huang Rong returned to the forest and thought: "Fu-er would be impatiently waiting for me, but if she sees her sister she would be very happy." Entering the cane circle her body went cold like entering an icehouse. The cane circle looked no different but Guo Xiang was nowhere to be seen!. Huang Rong's heart beat madly, although usually very smart, she didn't know what to do.

After a while she calmed herself down and thought: "I must not worry, if the person took Xiang-er during my fight against Li Mochou, he couldn't be very far." She climbed on the highest tree to look in the distance from a high place. The surroundings of Xiang Yang was flat, she saw nothing suspicious in a radius of several lis. Huang Rong thought: "This person must still be in the near vicinity."

Thereupon she looked carefully for traces around the cane circle but nothing was moved away. She pondered: "This cane maze is arranged according to Jiu-gong Ba-gua positions according to my own father's concept, except Tao hua island's disciples nobody has an inkling of it. Even Jin lun fa wang (Golden wheel dharma king) with his broad knowledge couldn't solve its secrets. Has my father probably arrived? Oh, my god!"

She remembered her meeting with Jin lun fa wang several months ago, she had arranged a stone maze, she had explained Yang Guo about the system, although he was not yet skilled in Jiu gong Ba gua, he wouldn't have difficulties solving this cane maze. Thinking of Yang Guo she couldn't help to be anxious: "Fu-er cut off his arm, so he has a fued with the Guo family, now Xiang-er is in his hands, he doesn't have to kill her, he could just left her in the wilderness and she would certainly die." Thinking about the baby, she thought of its bad luck being robbed soon after it was born, she uncontrollably shed a tear. But being very experienced, she looked again very carefully for traces around the spot but couldn't find any. She mused: "Although his qing gong is extraordinary, he must have left traces here in the mud, or could he possibly fly?"

This guess of Huang Rong was correct. Guo Xiang was really taken by Yang Guo, and he got into the cane maze from the air!

That day Yang Guo observed how Huang Rong hit Guo Jing's acupoint and then followed her daughter out of town. Yang Guo also followed them from afar, thinking: "Aunt Guo, your daughter owes me an arm, your husband doesn't succeed in cutting it, let me do it. I can see you, you can't see me, you want to save your daughter's arm, I think that won't be easy." Huang Rong and her daughter being preoccupied, didn't realize they were being followed.

Thereafter the meeting with Li Mochou in the small town and the fight, all that was observed by Yang Guo. As the fighters left the forest, he immediately jumped on a tree, bound an end of a cane on the tree, slid in the middle of the cane circle through the cane, clamped Guo Xiang's waist with his feet, pulled his body up again on the tree. After landing on the ground again after several tree jumping, he returned to the small town.

He saw Guo Fu in the street corner, holding the reins of the hong ma (red horse) waiting impatiently for her mother. Yang Guo leapt to sit astride on the red horse. Guo Fu was startled, turning she saw that the unexpected rider was Yang Guo, she unsheathed her sword, her normal sword, not Dragon girl's Lady sword, which she didn't like using.

Yang Guo saw her face turning pale with a scared look, if he had wanted to cut her arm off it would be too easy, but somehow in the last moment he moved his right shoulder, the sleeve wrapped the sword and fling it away. Guo Fu let the sword go, it hit the corner of the wall. Yang Guo's left hand snatched the reins, clamping his legs on the horse's belly had it gallopped away like the wind. Guo Fu slowly walked to pick up her sword, it was bent like a square.

To use soft material as a weapon was GuMu Pai's unique wugong, Li Mochou used a whisk and Dragon girl used a silk belt. Yang Guo used his strong inner energy, the sleeve had struck like a steel whip. Yang Guo, holding Guo Xiang, sped the han xue bao ma (precious horse with sweat like blood) soon leaving Xiang Yang a couple of lis, that's why they couldn't be detected by Huang Rong on the tree top.

Yang Guo rode speedily, he saw the trees on the roadside flying away. He looked at Guo Xiang on his bosom, seeing her tender and delicate small face, he thought: "Uncle and aunt Guo, your youngest daughter will always be mine, think it as a kind of compensation for my lost arm. They would feel grieved and dejected, especially because they excelled me. After a while he thought: "Why didn't I took revenge directly? Is it because Guo Fu is a beautiful young girl? If the one who cuts my arm is a male, would I also have forgiven him too?" Thinking about it half a day he could only shake his head and smile wrily. He himself couldn't understand his unstable and unpredictable behaviour.

After two hundred lis gradually there were houses with smoke in them. He got something to eat and got Guo Xiang some goat milk. He decided to go to the ancient tomb looking for dragon girl. After several days he arrived at Mount Zhongnan. As the horse climbed the mountain and found the right path to the ancient tomb he pondered about past things.

The inscript 'Tomb of the living dead' still stood on the majestic tombstone. After Li Mochou's attack, the grave had been sealed, if one wanted to enter, one had to use the secret entrance through the water. For him it wouldn't pose a problem but what about Guo Xiang? She would suffocate in the water. But the thought of soon meeting dragon girl in the tomb greatly excited him. He took a pastry from his pocket, chewed a bit for Guo Xiang, then he found a cave nearby. He put Guo Xiang in there, hid the cave mouth with thorned wood. Meeting dragon girl or not in the tomb, he planned to return and put the baby in a safer place.

Suddenly he heard the faint sound of weapons clashing coming from the Chongyang Palace. He was suspicious for a bit and then saw a buzzing silver wheel flying fiercely into the sky. That was precisely Jinlun Fawang's weapon. Growing curious, he quickly followed the sound to the Chongyang Palace. During this time, Xiao Longnu was heavily injured by the Quanzhen five masters' ‘Qi Xing Ju Hui’ [Gathering of the Big Dipper] and Jinlun Fawang's wheel strike.

Had Yang Guo arrived a short while earlier, he could have saved this disaster. But how could things be as one desired? Life was full of sorrow and joy, and the difference between disaster and good fortune was often very little.

Upon seeing Yang Guo, the Quanzhen five masters knew that this mess was escalating. Qui Chuji cried out, "My Chongyang Palace is a respectable place. Today all of you are here to violate it. Why is that?"

Wang Chuyi also furiously shouted, "Long Guniang, although your Gumu sect and our Quanzhen sect share the same mountain ridge, we both stick to our own side. Why are you leading all sorts of evil miscreations from the West to kill many disciples of mine?"

Xiao Longnu was badly injured. She thought - These people couldn't tell right from wrong. Why bothered arguing with them? Their many disciples witnessed how Yin Zhiping was pierced by her sword and how Zhao Zhijing was wounded but in this time of trouble nobody stepped out to explain the truth.

Yang Guo gently stretched his left arm to support Xiao Longnu's waist, softly saying, "Gu Gu, let us go back to Gu Mu. Don't pay attention to these people!"

Xiao Longnu asked, "Does your arm still hurt?"

Yang Guo shook his head and replied, "It's better already."

Xiao Longnu continued, "Has the Passion Flower poison in your body acted up again?"

Yang Guo replied, "A few times, but it's nothing to worry about."

Having been slashed by Xiao Longnu, Zhao Zhijing went to hide in the back, not daring to lift his head. Seeing the Quanzhen five masters coming out, he realized that after a series of investigation, he would be expelled from his charge and also severely punished. Originally he was only of a short-tempered and narrow-minded nature, not really a traitorous and wicked person. Anyhow he was the best at martial skills among the third generation disciples, yet the leading position fell onto Yin Zhiping. His resenment festered, trapping him into this errorous way of thinking. He quickly assessed the situation. Afraid of his five teachers, he grasped at the present opportunity. Suppose Jinlun Fawang and the Mongolian warriors wiped out the Quanzhen five masters, he would be able to escape forever. Besides, he saw that Yang Guo's right arm was broken and his left arm was holding Xiao Longnu. It looked like his hands were bound, waiting for violent death. Yang Guo, betraying disciple, was his most hated enemy. Having such a good opportunity, why would he let it pass? Glancing at Lu Qingdu who was nearby, he loudly shouted, "Treacherous disciple Yang Guo, your two masters are speaking to you. You don't kneel down kowtow. How dare you to pay no attention?"

Yang Guo turned back, his eyes filled with hatred. He thought to himself, "Gugu has already wounded one Quanzhen stinky priest. Today I'll pay no mind. I'll deal with you later." While supporting Xiao Longnu, he pushed through the crowd in disgust.

Zhao Zhijing shouted, "Fight!"

He and Lu Qingdu both drew out their swords and attacked Yang Guo's right side. Although Zhao Zhijing had been injured earlier, the damage was not severe. His sword was thrusted towards Yang Guo's broken arm to stop him from fighting back but it was held down by a strong wind, generated by Yang Guo's cultivated inner energy.

Even though Qui Chuji didn't really like Yang Guo's arrogance, he thought about Guo Jing's great trust and also his master-disciple bond with Yang Guo's father, Yang Kang. He shouted, "Zhijing, put down your sword. Mercy!"

On the other side Ma Guangzuo cursed, "Old priest, aren't you ashamed? Stabbing a broken arm!" He and Yang Guo were very good friends. Seeing Yang Guo in danger, Ma Guangzuo rushed to help. But he was a distance away, and so his help was too late.

Suddenly a gray shadow flashed, and Lu Qingdu's fat body flew up. He let out a wah-wah cry before his fat body hit Ni Moxing's with a thud. With Ni Moxing's martial skills, even though it took him by surprise, he shouldn't have been hit. But both of his legs had already been broken. He had to use both hands to prop himself against a walking stick and couldn’t used them to protect himself. Immediately he was hit and his body collapsed. As he tried to get up from the ground, his walking stick hit Lu Qingdu in the back and knocked him out.

On this side Yang Guo's right foot stepped on Zhao Zhijing's long sword, Zhao Zhijing used force to pull it out, his face turning bright red. Surprisingly, the long sword didn't move an inch.

At the time both swords coming towards him, Yang Guo's right sleeve flew out fiercely, sending a whiff of great force and throwing Lu Qingdu on the ground. Zhao Zhijing, on the other hand, felt a downward force coming from the gown sleeve. This was a Thousand- Pound Drop technique. Yang Guo then kicked out his foot and stepped on the blade of the sword. He’d practised his sword skills in the mountain streams, and even strong currents couldn't topple him. This time he put his foot down, like the weight of a mountain, how would Zhao Zhijing be able to pull his sword out?

Yang Guo coldly said, "Priest Zhao, at the time we were at Dashengguan, in front of Hero Guo you said you were no longer my master. Just now how could you call yourself my master again? All right, considering the past I used to call you master, I'll let you off!"

Without moving his right foot, the powerful force suddenly vanished without a trace.

Zhao Zhijing was using his whole strenth trying to pull out the released sword. Suddenly his hand was in the air, and so the sword snapped back. Its handle hit his chest hard with a thud. No doubt it struck him with his own force. With this force, if used to hit an enemy, the enemy would use his own internal force to counterstrike. Now hitting himself with no counter-force, Zhao Zhijing felt severe pains in his chest and spurted blood. His vision turned dark as he looked upwards and collapsed.

Wang Chuyi and Liu Chuxuan pulled their swords out from the sheaths, attacking Yang Guo from left and right. Suddenly, a shadow dashed out, knocking the two swords out of the way. This person was of course Ni Moxing. Even though he could throw Lu Qingdu onto the ground, his mind was hateful. It was originally Yang Guo who started it. He wielded his canes and jumped forward. His left cane struck the two swords while the right one attacked Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu.

Yang Guo knew Ni Moxing's martial skills. He could only use his empty sleeve to deal with him but then he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to subdue him in one strike. By now Xiao Longnu's body was powerless, leaning feebly against Yanguo's. His body slanted to the left whilehis right gown sleeve flew out. He rolled Xiao Longnu’s body and let her lean on the right front of his chest. Then his left hand drew out the black iron sword that he carried on his back, wielding it out. 'Pu' the sword hummed, sounding both deep and dull like a wooden stick beating leather. Ni Moxing's right hand cracked, and a shadow darted into the sky. It was actually his iron cane fiercely flying upwards. This cane was extremely heavy but it surprising flew up 20 feet high in the air before falling behind the jade cave.

This was the first time Yang Guo used demonic Dugu Qiubai's heavy sword with an enemy. Seeing that it had such power, he couldn't help being secretly startled.

Ni Moxing felt half his body in pain, his right arm uncontrolably shaking. But he had lived an incomparably brave life so, with a roar, he leapt ten feet high and dove down with the left iron cane in his palm. Yang Guo thought he’d already tried the hard strength of the sword, he would now try the supple strength. The tip of the heavy sword trembled. With his inner energy, Ni Moxing would be thrown out 20-30 feet and his muscles and bones would shatter. Seeing Xiao Longnu severely injured like this, Yang Guo was filled with bitterness and decided that this time he would show no mercy. But just when his arm was about to release its powerful force, he saw Ni Moxing's body in midair with both legs broken, reminding him of his own missing arm. He couldn't help thinking that they shared the same fate, and so he didn't raise his heavy sword. Instead, he pushed it down. The iron cane came down. Dust flew up. Half the cane was stuck under the ground.

Ni Moxing grasped his iron cane, trying to pull it out. Suddenly he felt the heavy sword on his right arm, sealing his pressure point. While he was paralysed, Yang Guo said, "Today I'll spare your life. Just hurry back to India."

Ni Moxing's face ashened. He turned perfectly still and couldn’t say a word.

Although Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi saw this turn of event, they still didn't think Yang Guo could advance his skills in just months. They thought he won because of Ni Moxing’s broken legs. Yin Kexi stepped forward, pulled out the iron cane, and handed it to Ni Moxing. Ni Moxing used the cane to prop himself up, thinking to leap far away. Nobody could have expected that his arm had turned numb and soft. As soon as he was propped up, he collapsed with a plop.

Xiao Xiangzi always took pleasure in others' misfortune. As long as other people were having bad luck, regardless of foes or friends, he found it joyful. He thought, "This Indian dwarf has always been arrogant, not submitting to me. It’s finally over. Just now you rushed out to capture Yang Guo and gave him such a good opportunity." Then he jumped out and shouted, "Baby Yang Guo, many times you've wronged our prince. Come quickly with father!"

Yang Guo thought, "Gugu is heavily injured. We have to get out here quick to treat her injury.With many powerful enemies surrounding us right now, if I didn't kill anyone, it would be hard to escape." In a low voice he asked Xiao Longnu, "Are you hurting very much?"

Xiao Longnu replied, "You are holding me, I.. I am very happy."

Yang Guo lifted his head. Facing Xiao Xiangzi, he shouted, "Fight!"

He drew out the black iron sword from his waist. He held the sword with its tip about two feet from his body. Xiao Xiangzi saw that it was a crude black sword with a blunt tip and no sharp edge, appearing to be a dumb piece of iron. So he thought to himself, "Sure, the boy's sword is very fast and his movement agile but without this iron bar, his sword skills won't be of much use." Having thought that he swung his steel rod to strike the heavy sword.

Yang Guo's sword stayed still while he channeled energy into it. Only a 'puff' sound was heard as the sword and the steel rod clashed. The rod immediately broke into several flying pieces.

"Holy cow!" Xiao Xiangzi cried out and scrambled backwards.

With his sword, Yang Guo struck left and right, breaking both of Xiao Xiangzi's arms.

Earlier Yang Guo had repeatedly defeated three opponents -- Lu Qingdu, Zhao Zhijing and Ni Moxing -- creating a sensation among the crowds in front of the Jade Cave. But this time he didn't even move his body, nor lifted his arm. He simply used his inner energy to break Xiao Xiangzi's weapon. The numerous people were even more puzzled. They looked at each other in disbelief and thought to themselves, "This person's kungfu was really wicked!"

Yin Kexi was a merchant from the Western region, and so he knew a treasure when he saw one. Having seen Yang Guo's heavy sword sending Ni Moxing's iron irod flying, he was impressed and thought, "A sword this powerful is really not common. The blade is deep black with a hint of red glow, is it possible that it was actually forged from the black iron? This black iron is the world's most precious object. Even an ounce is very difficult to find. By adding just a little of it to a common sword or spear, ordinary iron would make a sharp weapon. Where did he find that much black iron? But if the sword was really forged from the black iron, how could it not weigh 40-50 catties? If so, how could Yang Guo be this fast?" Actually, this sword weighed 64 catties. If it was not this heavy, even with Yang Guo’s inner energy, he still wouldn't be able to unleash such power. Now that Yin Kexi saw Xiao Xiangzi's melancholy rod breaking into pieces, he was even more convinced that this sword was a divine object. He still acted nonchalant. But he was in a jewelry businesss. Once he saw a rare treasure, his heart would leap up with greed. It didn't matter if he had to buy or cheat, to rob or steal, it just had to be quick. And now that he saw Yang Guo's heavy sword, he was burning with greed. He jumped out immediately, grabbing the sword with his golden dragon whip.

Yang Guo had spent time with him in the Passionless Valley. Yin Kexi was always amicable so Yang Guo didn't have any hostility towards him. He saw the golden dragon whip coiling his way. This whip was heavily decorated with precious stones, diamonds and jades. He let it wrap around his sword and said, "Brother Yin, you and I are good friends. Pull back the whip and make way. Looks like you've got quite a bit of stones on your soft whip. If damaged, it would be such a pity."

Yin Kexi smiled and said, "Is that right?" Then he applied force to snatch the sword.

Yang Guo just stood there, perfectly still.

Yin Kexi stood near and analyzed the situation. This sword was casted from the black iron. Diamonds were the world's hardest material, which could cut anything without damaging themselves. Still, the big diamond embedded at the tip of his whip still couldn't scratch this sword. His heart was on fire. He knew that his opponent's kungfu were ferocious. If not attacking him by surprise, it would be difficult to get the sword. So he said, Brother Yang’s kungfu was this excellent. Congratulations! I admit defeat." Having said this, he flicked his right wrist. A light flashed, and there was also a dagger in his left hand. His arm flew out fiercely to stab Xiao Longnu's chest.

He did this not because he wanted to injure Xiao Longnu. He knew that Yang Guo loved her, and so if he saw her in danger, he would have to save her life. By creating a diversion, he would be able to snatch this precious sword. Yang Guo saw the situation and was alarmed.

"Let go of the sword!" Yin Kexi shouted and channeled all the strength to his right arm, pulling the whip so he could seize the sword.

Hearing "Let go of the sword," Yang Guo did as he was told and let go. The sword was long while the dagger was short. The heavy sword was between the three of them, and so the dagger couldn't reach Xiao Longnu's body. At that time, Yang Guo was desperate so he threw the sword out with a force that was extremely fierce. Yin Kexi knew perfectly well that the sword was heavy and had already braced himself against the force. But he didn't expect the coming force to be this violent. Seeing that it was too late to escape, he summoned his inner energy and pushed out both hands. There was a crashing sound, and he fell back five-six steps. He managed to stand firm and put a smile on his face to cover his misery. A short while later he felt as if his internal organs had been turning inside out. He stood still like a stiff corpse, not daring to breathe or even move half a step.

Yang Guo walked over to him and retrieved his black iron sword. He shook it lightly and then heard ‘ding ding dong dong’ sounds. Under the bright sunlight, precious stones sparkled everywhere. These were the stones embedded in the golden dragon whip that had just been broken into fragments.

Yang Guo called out, "Jinlun Fawang, do we settle our business today or do we wait for another day?"

Jinlun Fawang saw him successively defeating the three big masters -- Ni Moxing, Xiao Xiangzi, and Yin Kexi -- and injuring each opponent in only one move. How this young man's martial skills were so high was actually quite unconceivable. If he himself stepped forward to fight, even though he wouldn’t be defeated like the other three fighters, to win was still not easy. But at this moment all the heroes were gathering here. If he walked away, how would he keep his face? He thought to himself, "Yang Guo has broken an arm. Although his left hand is fierce, his right side is disadvantaged. I will just keep attacking his right side. He's worried about Xiao Longnu's injury. As time drags on, he will become restless."

And so from his sleeve he pulled out the five wheels -- gold, silver, copper, steel, and lead. He knew in his heart that this was really a moment of life or death, of honor or shame. He wasn’t careless but his expression remained casual like he had no care. With a smile, he strolled out to face Yang Guo. He said, "Brother Yang, we finally meet again. Congratulations, you've got this powerfully divine sword! This is quite a magical weapon. I’m only afraid that this old monk won’t be able to handle it either." He still didn't have a winning strategy so he used the situation to his benefit. He heavily praised the black iron sword, leading the crowds to think that this youngster was only lucky because he had this god-sent weapon.

Xiao Longnu was leaning against Yang Guo's chest. In a daze, she saw Jinlun Fawang holding his wheels and thought that, with Yang Guo's strength alone, he wouldn't be able to beat the enemy. She softly said, "Guo’er, go get me a sword, we.. we.. together.. together will use the Jade Maiden swordplay to defeat him.

With pain in his heart, Yang Guo gently replied, "Gugu, don’t worry. Guo’er alone can handle this."

Xiao Longnu shifted to the left, trying to shield his body as much as possible and keeping him off danger.

With gratitude and joy, Yang Guo said in a loud voice, “Gugu, today we two will fight these devils together. In my life, I have no regret." Then he held his sword out at the ready.

Fawang didn't dare to meet Yang Guo's force head on. He jumped backwards. Suddenly came the wu-wu sound of the spinning lead wheel Fawang tossed out. Yang Guo raised his sword to strike it but the wheel flew past his body and back to Fawang, surprisingly untouched. Then, loud rumbling, buzzing wu-wu, weng-weng sounds were heard. Gold and silver lights flahsed. The five wheels flew towards him from five different directions.

For fear that he would worsen Xiao Longnu's injured condition, Yang Guo stood very still. Fawang's five wheels were only a deceptive attack, just to test Yang Guo's action. The wheels circled close to the two persons' bodies, flying back and forth repeatedly. Seeing that Yang Guo would certainly not lift his sword to pursue, Fawang understood and was delighted. He thought, "You don't dare to move your body, afraid that you would hurt Xiao Longnu. Your situation is bad and there is no way out. My Vertical Jump from Distance can't be defeated."

His opponent had broken an arm and also had to protect the injured. According to Fawang's rank, this battle could not be fought. But he knew that a good opportunity like this was hard to come by. If Xiao Longnu recovered, the two people together couldn't be defeated. Even if Xiao Longnu was injured to death and Yang Guo was distracted, he himself might not be able to beat Yang Guo. He only had today to kill them once and for all, and there would be no more trouble in the future. As to whether or not it would be fair, let's not pay much attention to it.

The nearby crowds also understood the circumstance and thought Fawang stepped over the line. Ma Guangzuo loudly yelled, "Big monk, are you a hero or a scum?"

Fawang appeared not to hear the comment. The five wheels were continuously thrown out back and forth, still circling Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu. The wheels flew high and low, straight and slanting, making both soft and loud noises. The spectators were all bedazzled and anxious.

Suddenly Ma Guangzuo cried out "Ohh". It was the slanting copper wheel flying by, curving fiercely and scraping the top of his head. The wheel took a piece out of his scalp, which still had a chunk of hair. Blood dripped profusely to the ground. Ma Guangzuo held his head with both hands and cursed. Yet, he didn't dare jump out to fight.

Yang Guo saw that Xiao Longnu was heavily injured. The more they were delayed, the less time for treatment they had. Anxiety filled his heart. Fawang called out, "Be careful!"

Suddenly the five wheels returned again, coming side by side to hit the two people like five powerful waves. Yang Guo's whole body strength was channeled to his left arm, and the tip of his sword vibrated. ‘Dang’ ‘Dang’ Dang’ -- The sounds echoed as his sword brushed away the gold, copper and steel wheels. Everyone was alarmed. Dust flew up. The silver and lead wheels were broken, dropping to the ground.

With a loud battle cry, Fawang flew up. His left hand pushed aside the steel wheel while grabbing the gold and copper wheels. Fast and furious, he smashed down on the top of Yang Guo's head. Yang Guo didn't ward him off but met his attack with his black iron sword. The sword was long. The wheels were short. The wheels had yet to smash his head but the tip of his sword were already less than half a foot away from Fawang's chest. Fawang immediately fell back. His forward attack was no doubt very fast, and so was his retreat. It was not so clear how he cross-stepped, going left and then suddenly jumping back several feet. This was actually quite rare in the martial world. The spectators were dazzled, cheering one they were rooting for. One cried out loudly, "Good!"

Suddenly Yang Guo swung the black iron sword backwards. A sound was heard as the copper wheel was chopped in half. And even before it hit the floor, the sword whipped out horizontally and the two pieces turned into four. Although the blade of the black iron sword was blunt, he used his inner energy to break the wheel. The many spectators had shouted applause when they saw Fawang’s lightnes kungfu. Now they saw the strange power of Yang Guo's divine sword, they were all startled and fell silent.

In just a short while, three out of five wheels were destroyed. Still, Fawang was not discouraged. He fearlessly brandished his gold and steel wheels. Yang Guo thrusted his sword forwards while Fawang sidestepped to evade the strikes. This time he didn't throw out his wheels. Even though he wouldn't be able to attack from afar, this was actually more powerful. He saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu together, with Yang Guo’s attacking on the left side and resisting on the right side. So he jumped up in the air and bore down with both wheels, making wu-wu humming sounds. Yang Guo's black iron sword did appear quite dull but no matter how Fawang changed his moves, he couldn't get within two or three steps of the couple. Forty- fifty moves passed. Fawang's double wheels returned again and about to pound on Xiao Longnu. Yang Guo thrusted the black iron sword forward, and the soft clattering sound was heard as the two weapons made contact. Yang Guo and Fawang channeled inner energy to their weapons. Both refused to budge and were now motionless in a deadlock situation.

Yang Guo felt Fawang’s continuing waves of energy growing stronger and stronger. He was secretly alarmed and thought, "This person's inner energy is incredibly high. We're already matching inner energy, and the full power of the black iron sword can't be unleashed. If this battle continues on, one with more profound energy will have the upper hand. If he moves a little closer, I'll use my sleeve to strike him by surprise."

He slowly pulled his left arm back. Originally the two people were more than five feet apart. The distance was gradually reduced to five feet and then four feet and a half, and from four feet and a half to four feet.

Fawang's disciples, Da Erba and Huo Du, were constantly guarding their master's body. As they saw that Fawang was gradually gaining the upper hand, they were delighted and moved forward several steps. Da Erba cared about his master's safety but he also hoped that his master wouldn’t injure his reincarnated big apprentice brother. Huo Du on the other hand was secretly plotting against Yang Guo. He waved his folding fan, appearing to be cooling himself, but he actually was waiting for an opportunity to launch his fan attack.

Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi saw the glint in Huo Du’s eyes as he moved forward. They knew that he thought to help his master. The two persons looked at the situation and thought, "Although Yang Guo has become our sect's enemy, real men are open and upright. Win or lose, it’s up to the fight. How could Mount Zhongnan allow this scheming disciple to act?"

So they drew out their long swords, stepping forward and at the same time sending Huo Du a warning stare. The two Taoists’ beard and hair were all white but their faces had a red glow from years of martial arts practice. Rainbow-like lights shining from the two swords had quite a chilling effect. Intimidated Huo Du didn’t dare to act rashly.

Yang Guo's left arm gradually shrank. By now he was already only three feet away from Fawang. He thought to himself, "If this monk moves forward another half foot, I will strike him with my right sleeve. It may not be enough to kill him but it will knock him out."

But as Fawang saw his right shoulder move, he understood what Yang Guo meant to do. He thought, "Even though your arm has been cut off, you still have your gown sleeve. If delivered with inner energy, it will be the same as a sharp soft whip. I'll let you do this and deflect your strike. When the sleeve comes out, the strength in your left arm will lessen. I'll take advantage of the situation and launched my full-force attack. Your body will be heavily injured."

Xiao Longnu was leaning against Yang Guo's body in a perpetual daze. As Yang Guo was summoning his inner energy and accelerating it, his body became hot. Xiao Longnu felt his face emitting a steam so she opened her eyes. Seeing the beads of sweat seeping out from the side of his forhead, she used her sleeve to gently wipe them out for him. Then she saw a serious expression on his face, both eyes looking straight ahead. She followed his gaze and turned her head to look. She couldn't help becoming startled by Fawang's wide copper eyes in front of her. Seeing the evil glows in those two eyes, she quickly shut her eyes and then opened them again. Fawang's eyes were still near. Xiao Longnu was cuddling and leaning against her loved one. Having a pair of wicked eyes gazing at her was really disgusting. This time she didn't think that Fawang was fighting with Yang Guo. She only knew that this monk was really evil. Also, she was not willing to let him disturb her sweet time right now. She dipped her hand into her bosom. She took out a jade bee golden needle and slowly stretched her hand towards Fawang's left eye.

Let alone the fact that this was a poisoned needle, any ordinary embroidery needle pricking an eyeball would blind that eye. This time Xiao Longnu only wanted to get rid of the big disgusting eyes and didn't mean to shoot the needle out fiercely. With her severe injury, her hand was soft, weak, and really very slow.

Fawang and Yang Guo were in a deadlock situation. Whoever moved in this critical stage would be paying dearly. Xiao Longnu's golden needle was slowly approaching, and Fawang had no way to resist. The needle moved closer, from two feet to one foot, from one foot to half foot. Fawang loudly cried out and pushed both wheels forwards while strugging to flit backwards. But the overwhelming force from both weapons could not be easily unloaded. So he just firmly stood there and then sat down on the ground.

"Master!" Da Erba and Huo Du called out and jumped out to hold Fawang.

Yang Guo's sword moved twice, breaking the gold and steel wheels into half. Then he went forward two steps and raised his sword to strike the top of Fawang's head. Fawang just breathed in, only feeling melancholy death coming upon him. Weary, he didn’t have the strenght to resist. Da Erba lifted his golden rod and Huo Du raised his steel fan, together blocking the black iron sword. But the sword power was strangely fierce. Da Erba and Huo Du felt their knees go soft and couldn’t stop the falling sword. They knelt down on the ground but still held their weapons, desperately shielding Fawang.

The force from the black iron sword grew stronger. Da Erba and Huo Du felt as if their backs were about to break and their whole body joints rumbled.

Huo Du said, "Brother, you hold on alone for a moment. Let me save master first and I’ll be back to help you."

With the two people together, they hadn’t been able to resist the coming force. Now with only Da Erba alone, how would he be able to block the power of the heavy sword? But he would give up his life to protect his master so he shouted, "Good!"

Then he furiously pushed his golden rod upwards.

The two of them were speaking in Tibetan, which Yang Guo could not understand. Feeling a surge of energy from the golden rod, he was about to press his sword harder. But then Huo Du jumped out.

Who would have thought that Huo Du didn't plan to save his master but only to seek his own retreat. He called out, "Brother, I’m going back to Tibet to practise more kungfu. After ten years I will definitely come back to look for this Yang boy and avenge you and master!"

Having said that, he turned around and leapt away as if he was flying.

Duped by his apprentice brother, Da Erba couldn’t control his anger. He also remembered that Yang Guo was his reincarnated big apprentice brother, how could he heartlessly wrong their master like this?

He loudly said, "Brother, please spare little brother's life. Let me to save master and search for that scum (heart of a wolf & lung of a dog) of a disciple so I could break him into ten thousand pieces. After that I'll voluntarily throw my life into your hand. Then even you kill me or cut me, I won't even dare to frown.

Yang Guo listened to his long speech. Naturally, he didn’t know what he was mumbling about. However, Huo Du narrowly escaped death while this person was loyal and did right by his master. He actually understood. Seeing his earnest expression, like a true man who wasn’t very smart, and Xiao Longnu’s tender eyes, his killing intention was suddenly shot to high heaven. He only felt that it didn't matter if all the grudges were not resolved. He lifted his black iron sword and said, "You are off!"

Da Erba got up, but only after a great effort. Strength escaped his whole body, and he couldn't hold on to his golden rod. A 'tang' sound was heard as it dropped on the ground. He bent down and bowed to Yang Guo several times, thanking him for not killing them. At this time, Fawang sat still on the ground. Da Erba carried his master on his back and went down the mountain in big strides.

Yang Guo alone used his sword to defeat six Mongolian masters. The numerous warriors saw their leaders either defeated or wounded, they didn’t dare to attack. Instead, they picked up Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi and quickly ran away, leaving no trace.

Ma Guangzuo, with his head still dripping blood, walked over to Yang Guo. Waving fingers at him, he said, "Little brother, you are really good!"

Yang Guo said, "Big Brother Ma, these people you run with are not a good kind. If you mix up with them, you will definitely suffer. You’d better say goodbye to the Mongolian prince and go back to your native land!"

Ma Guangzuo said, "You’re right, little brother. "

He looked at Xiao Longnu. Although heavily injured, she was still full of grace and beauty. He struggled to find sweet words, and so he asked, "When do you and the bride get married? I'm waiting to drink your celebration wine, is that good?"

When he had first met Xiao Longnu at the Passionless Valley, he saw her dressing as a bride. Since then, he always called her the bride.

Yang Guo forced a smile and shook his head. Then he rounded up several hundred Taoist priests.

Ma Guangzuo said, "Oh, there are still these many stinky Taoists to be taken care of. I'll help you."

Yang Guo thought, "If fighting one on one, not even one of these Taoists is my rival. But if they together close in on me, circumstances will be terribly dangerous. It's not worthwhile for him to die in vain with me." So he said loudly, "You'd better be off quickly. I can handle this by myself."

Ma Guangzuo now understood. He applauded, "Right, that's right! Even all those big Taoists, noone one could defeat you. What's with all these stinky little ones? Litter brother, the bride, I'm leaving!"

Dragging his copper rod and laughing merrily, he turned and left. Only the sound of his copper rod bumping stones could be heard on his way down the mountain. And the sound gradually quieted away.

Yang Guo propped his heavy sword on the ground. His fight with Fawang just now depleted his inner energy. He pondered, "Jinlun Fawang, Xiao Xiangzi and the others all worried about one another so they fought with me one on one, hoping to get rid of their own people and leave only himself at the end. I was luckly to be a third party in a dispute. Had those six people attacked me together, it would have been very difficult to withstand. Let alone the fact that I competed inner energy with Jinlun Fawang. I was certainly going to lose. Fortunately, Gugu pulled out a golden needle so I could defeat him by luck. These Quanzhen Taoists fight as one, obeying the commands of their five masters. Although their martial skills can't match those of Fawang and others, numerous wills build a city. Their combined power really was much stronger than Fawang and the gang. Anyway, Gugu and I are already together here. We fight until we have no strength left. Then we two will die together."

Qiu Chuji said in a clear voice, "Yang Guo, your martial skills have reached this stage, our generation is far, far inferior. But our sect has several hundred people like this, do you think you can break through our blockade by yourself?

Yang Guo looked out into the distance and saw four glinting swords. Every seven Taoists formed a row, tightly encircling himself and Xiao Longnu. In a Seven Men Circle formation, the Taoists all united their swords, forming a first-class defense. This time the force around him was equalled to having tens of swordmasters surrounding them from all sides.

Disregarding life and death, Yang Guo snorted and moved forward a step. Seven Taoists held their swords out to block him. Yang Guo lunged his sword forward and seven swords simutaneously flew out to counterstrike. A 'qiang' sound was heard, and the seven swords were all broken. The Taoists with the rest of their broken swords quickly leapt aside.

The power of Yang Guo’s sword was this incredibly mighty. Even Qiu Chuji and the others had fought powerful enemies for years, they had never seen anything like this. Wang Chuyi called out, ‘xuan ji’ [Jade Pearl] formation and ‘yao guang’ [moving light] strike!"

Yang Guo paid no attention to the orders of the Quanzhen master. He was going to rely on the sword power and rush outside. As he was carrying Xiao Longnu and moving two steps forward, he saw another seven Taoists circling and blocking his way. He immediately wielded his sword. This seven-men formation did not seek to counterstrike. Instead the Taoists appeared like a curtain, crisscrossing and changing their positions. He swept past them and two of them cried out -- one had an injured waist, the other a broken leg. They collapsed on the ground.

But this time fourteen long swords had already pointed at their backs, seven at Yang Guo and seven at Xiao Longnu. If Yang Guo turned back to strike, he would be able to knock off the fourteen swords but Xiao Longnu would also be injured. While he hesitated, another seven swords pointed at Xiao Longnu's right side. At this point, he couldn't even sacrifice himself to save Xiao Longnu.

Qiu Chuji lifted his hand and shouted, "Hold on!"

Twenty-one long swords glittered. Every one of them pointed a few inches away from the couple and stayed very still.

Qiu Chuji said, "Long Guniang, Yang Guo, our respective masters shared a long long story. Today we Quanzhen sect have won by numbers, which is not a glorious thing, much less to say that Long Guniang has already been severely wounded. Wrongs should be righted by untying the problem, not by making it more complicated. You two please go back. Regardless of what happened in the past, how about we wipe the slate clean today?"

The feud between Yang Guo and the Quanzhen sect was huge. Years ago, Grandma Sun was killed by Hao Datong, who was remorseful and willing to give up his life to make it right. Yang Guo had come to Mount Zhongnan to look for Xiao Longnu and really didn't mean to battle with the Quanzhen sect. Hearing Qiu Chuji's speech, he thought, "The important thing is to save Gugu’s life. If I fight with these little Taoists, regardless of victory or defeat, honor or disgrace, what good could come of that?" Just when he was about to agree with Qiu Chuji, Xiao Longnu's eyes slowly scaned from left to right. She softly asked, "Where’s Yin Zhiping?"

Yin Zhiping's back was struck by Fawang’s wheel and his chest was stabbed by a sword. These were two fatal wounds but he hadn't died yet. On the side, his apprentice brothers were trying to save him. His breathings were already heavy, and his eyes were blurry. Then he heard a gentle voice asking "Where’s Yin Zhiping?" These four words were actually said gently but to his ears they were like a thunderstrike. Not knowing where he got the extra strength from, he got up from the ground and waded through all the swords. He called out, "Long Guniang, I'm here!"

Xiao Longnu stared at him for a moment. Seeing his blood drenched robe and ghostly pale face, her heart sank. Her voice trembled, "Guo’er, this person has defiled me. Even if he recovers from the injuries, he still won’t be able to fight you. But he.. but he gave up his life to save me.. so you must not give him any more trouble. In short, it's my brutal fate."

She had decided that she had to say this. Even though it was in front of several hundred people, she honestly spoke out her grief.

Yin Zhiping heard her saying, "But he gave up his life to save me, you must not give him any more trouble. In short, it's my brutal fate." These words went through his ears, and he couldn't help feeling like his heart was being cut out. Out of his own dark desire, he had made a grave mistake. He revered her as if she was a goddess, yet he had caused her a lifelong of sadness. To die a hundred times over would still not be enough to redeem himself. He cried out loudly, "Master, four elders, my sin is atrocious. You and the others cannot bother Long Guniang and Yang Guo." Having said that, he jumped up and plunged into the eight, nine swords that the Taoists were holding in front of him. Many swords pierced through his body, killing him instantly.

This was an unforseen incident. The numerous people had not anticipated it and all cried out in alarm. The Taoists heard Xiao Longnu's words. Then, Yin Zhiping acknowledged his crime and committed suicide. It looked like he actually despicably disgraced Xiao Longnu. The Quanzhen five masters were Taoists who strictly adhered to the Taoist rules. They thought about all the wrongs that had been done and felt greatly ashamed. But when it came to an apology, they found it difficult to express.

Qiu Chuji looked at his four apprentice brothers and then shouted, "Put down the swords!" With the ‘qiang’ sounds, all the Taoists resheathed their swords and made way.


END OF CHAPTER 27

[Han Solo]

Chapter 27

Translated by BeeDreamer and Dugu-seeking-a-win

Guo Jing walked through the door and went to sit in a chair in front of the bed, not saying a word. The two people had been tense and quiet for a long time. Finally, Guo Jing asked, "Where have you been all this time?"

Guo Fu said, "I .. I've wounded Brother Yang. I was afraid you'd punish me, so.. so.."

Guo Jing said, "So you went out to avoid me for several days?"

Guo Fu bit her lip and nodded.

Guo Jing continued, "You were waiting for my anger to pass before coming back?"

Guo Fu nodded, suddenly throwing herself into his arms. She said, "Father, are you still mad at me?"

Guo Jing stroked her hair gently. He said in a low voice, "I wasn't angry. I haven't been angry. I was only sad about you."

Guo Fu cried out, "Father!" and sobbed on his chest.

Guo Jing looked up and gazed out at the roof without saying a word. He waited for her weeping to subside and then said, "Yang Guo's grandfather Tie Xingong and your grandfather Xiao Tiangong were sworn brothers, so were his father and yours. You know that."

Guo Fu made a low sound, "Hmm."

Guo Jing then continued, "Even though Yang Guo has always done things as he pleases, he has a heroic heart. He has so many times saved your father and mother, and even yourself. He is young in years but to our country and our people, his contribution is not. You know that."

As Guo Fu heard her father's tone getting more and more serious, she was even more afraid. Guo Jing got up and added, "There is something you don't know about. Today I will tell you. Years ago, Guo’er's father wasn’t so scrupulous. I was his sworn brother, yet I couldn't change him. He eventually died a tragic death at the Jia Xing Wang Tie Qiang temple. Even though it wasn't your mother who took his life, his death was caused by her. Our Guo family and his Yang family heavily.."

Yang Guo heard him say 'Died a tragic death at the Jia Xing Wang Tie Qiang temple.' This was the first time he heard someone talking about his father's death place. Filled with hatred, he was about to jump out to face them. But then Guo Jing continued, "I originally thought about betrothing you to him to make up for the hatred in my lifetime, who would have thought.. who would have thought.. alas!"

Guo Fu lifted her head and said, "Father, he kidnapped my sister and said a lot of rubbish, slandering me. Father, even though his Yang family and ours go back a long way, that is not to say I have to let him bully me and not resist, is it?

Guo Jing jumped up and bellowed, "Apparently, you cut off his arm, how did he bully you? If he really wanted to, even you had ten arms, he would have already cut them all off. Is that a sword handle?"

Guo Fu didn't dare to say anything and just took out the 'Lady' sword from under a pillow. Guo Jing reached out, his hand slightly shaking. The edge of the blade made a chilling sound. His voice trembled, "Fu’er, this must be done. Even though I'm being severe with you, in my heart I love you just like your mother does. His voice turned gentle at the end of his speech.

Guo Fu let out a soft cry, "I know."

Guo Jing then said, "Good, stretch out your right arm. You cut off another' s arm, I'll cut yours off just the same. Your father has lived a righteous life and can't follow selfish instincts, shielding his own daughter."

Guo Fu knew perfectly well that this time her father must be difficult, but she hadn't expect him to go as far as demanding her arm. Frightened, color drained out of her face. She called out loudly, "Father!" Guo Jing paled, both eyes gazing at her.

Yang Guo hadn't expected Guo Jing to be this righteous. He looked at the situation, heart beating fast. He thought to himself, "Should I or should I not get down to stop all this? Should I call out to spare Guo Guniang?"

While he was hesitating, Guo Jing's long sword was raised. Then it cut down through the air, about to chop off Guo Fu's arm.

Suddeny someone shouted and swiftly jumped through the window. A staff arrived even before the body, blocking Guo Jing's long sword. That person was of course Huang Rong.

She didn't say a word but launched three successive strikes, all Dog Beating Stick tricks. Her technique was profound and she caught Guo Jing by surprise, and so he was forced to move back a couple of steps. Huang Rong called out, "Fu’er, why are you still not running fast?"

Guo Fu didn't have her mother's wits. Facing a crisis, she was scared frozen and couldn’t move. With a baby in her left hand and a staff in her right, Huang Rong pushed her daughter's body out of the window straight onto the ground. She cried out, "Quickly go back to the Peach Blossom Island. Ask Grandpa Ke to come plead with your father."

While saying this, she wielded the bamboo staff, using Dog Beating Stick "tangle" and "seal" tricks to block Guo Jing from following her daughter. She called out again, "Go! Quickly! Get the red horse at the mansion entrance."

Huang Rong understood her husband's straight character. He was old-fashioned and extremely righteous. This time her daughter created such a big disaster and then ran away for several days before coming home. In case her husband was still enraged, deciding on a severe punishment, she already had someone brought the red horse to the mansion entrance, along with a saddle, clothes, and some silver coins. If he could be pursuaded, she would let him beat their daugther to settle the matter. That would be extremely lucky. If not, Guo Fu had better be sent far away and come back to seek a reunion with her father later.

Husband and wife quarreled. Moving towards his daughter's bedroom, Guo Jing's face was anguished but his heart knew it was fortunate that his daugther's arm was saved. Based on Huang Rong's martial skills alone, she wouldn't be able to stop him but Guo Jing was disadvanged, seeing his wife carrying the baby. Also, he couldn’t get to Guo Fu before she rushed out into the garden outside the mansion.

Yang Guo was hiding in a tree, watching the scene. When Guo Fu came out through the window, if only he raised his sword to strike, how would she be able to get away? But then he thought about Guo Jing and Huang Rong's earth-shattering fight caused by him and how he would be taking advantange of someone fleeing from danger, he just couldn't do it.

Then Huang Rong launched several repeated strikes, forcing Guo Jing to fall back a couple of steps. This time Guo Jing was leaning against the bed with nowhere to retreat. Huang Rong suddenly called out "Take him" and tossed the baby to her husband. Alarmed, Guo Jing stretched out his left hand to catch him.

Huang Rong put down her bamboo staff and walked over to her husband. She pleaded, "Brother Jing, please spare Fu’er!"

Guo Jing shook his head and said, "Rong’er, It's not that I don't love Fu’er. But she did this terrible thing. If I ignored it, how would it ever be settled? How would we apologize to Guo’er? Oh, his arm was cut off, and he had nobody to care for him. We don’t even know if he lives or dies. I.. I really wouldn't mind cutting off my own arm.."

Hearing Guo Jing's genuine words, Yang Guo couldn't bear the pain in his heart, his eyes turning red.

Huang Rong said, "Days after days we've searched for him and we haven't even seen his track. If something bad happened, there must have been a clue. Guo’er's martial skills have already rivalled ours. Even with a serious injury, he wouldn't be in big trouble."

Guo Jing said, "I hope so. I will go bring back Fu’er. We can't leave this matter like this."

Huang Rong smiled and said, "She already rode the little red horse out of town. Why would you bother going after her?"

Guo Jing replied, "It's already past 3 pm, without General Lu's or my command emblem, who would dare open the city gate at night?"

With a sigh Huang Rong said, "Good, do as you please!" Then she reached out to hold her son Guo Polu. Guo Jing handed the baby over, his face full of regrets.

He said, "Rong’er, I'm so sorry. But after she is punished, even though handicapped, she will change…”

Huang Rong nodded, "Right!" As her hands touched the baby, they suddenly dropped to Guo Jing's sides. She used her family Orchid Brushing Acupoints skills to seal the ‘yuanye’ [Deep Pool Liquid] point on his left arm and ‘jingmen’ [Capital Gate] on his right arm. These two points were under Guo Jing's arms, and so he couldn't use his martial skills.

If she didn't use such as a dirty tactic, how would she be able to seal his pressure points? When Huang Rong tossed the baby to her husband, she had already planned all this. Tricked by his wife, Guo Jing collapsed painfully on the bed, unable to move.

Huang Rong picked up the baby. She removed Guo Jing's shoes, socks, and coat. She placed him nicely in bed and put a pillow under his head, making sure he could rest comfortably. Then she took the command emblem from his waist. Guo Jing looked at her, eyes wide open, but had no way to resist. Huang Rong put the baby next to him, letting the two gentlemen lying together. She covered them both with a cotton blanket and said, "Brother Jing, today I’ve wronged you. Let me see Fu’er out of city and I will come back to cook for you many dishes, kowtow to you, and admit my crime."

Then Huang Rong got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Having heard her saying this, Guo Jing realized that his wife, who was already a mother of three children, was still quite mischievous. He dumbfoundedly watched her purse her lips and float out of the door. He thought about his sealed pressure points. She probably wouldn't come back to save him, so he quickly use use his inner energy to clear them. He wouldn't be able to catch up with his daughter anyhow. And for that matter, he didn't quite know whether to laugh or to cry.

Like most mothers Huang Rong was very concerned about her daughter's well-being since her daughter had to cover an arduous and dangerous journey (the more beautiful the daughter, the more hazardous the journey) to Tao Hua Dao (Peach Blossom Island). That's why, after leaving her husband and her baby, she went to her bedroom to fetch her ruan-wei-jia (flexible bristles protective suit), Peach Blossom Island's most treasured object, which she wrapped and clasped under her arm before chasing her daughter, applying her qing gong (levitation skill).

As she approached the NanMen (Southgate) she watched from afar how Guo Fu on the red horse was bickering loudly with the garrison commander. The officer behaved very courteously but strictly, without being shown a ling-pai (command slab) he dared not open the citygate, a violation of the rule would be sentenced with death. Huang Rong thought: "This blockhead daughter of mine is overprotected all her life, never being confronted with any problem, she doesn't try to solve difficulties using stratagem, she can only shout angrily, which only worsens the matter", Huang Rong hurriedly approached, held the ling-pai (which she had snatched from Guo Jing's waistbelt) high and shouted: "This is the ling-pai of Honourable Lu:! Please examine!"
As we know, the commanding general of Xiang Yang was Lu: Wen De, although it was practically Guo Jing who lead the city's defence, officially he was only a 'ke qing' (guest minister) who ordered in behalve of Lu:.

Seeing Mrs Guo with the ling-pai, the officer immediately smilingly commanded the city gate to be opened, he personally lead his horse to Huang Rong and said: "Mrs Guo, in case you need this horse of junior officer, please take it".
"Fine, I'll borrow it, Huang Rong said leaping on the horse.

After leaving Xiang Yang, mother and daughter rode side by side. Several times Huang Rong wanted to bid farewell and ride back to Xiang Yang, but everytime she postponed it. So she accompanied her daughter further and further.
At that time, the region encompassing hundreds of li north of Xiang Yang was already occupied by the Mongolian soldiers, most of the Chinese had moved out. But the region south of Xiang Yang was still dense with people although they lived in fear.

After about twenty li, dawn was setting in, Huang Rong and her daughter arrived at a small town, its shops and restaurants beginning to open.
"Fu-er", the mother said, "Let's take some breakfast before I return to Xiang Yang."

Guo Fu nodded with tears flowing down. In her heart she already deeply regretted having cut off Yang Guo's arm in anger, causing her now to be caught in such a horrible mess.

They went into a restaurant and ordered cooked beef and rice cakes. In a short time the meal was served but because they were depressed they didn't have appetite.

Huang Rong gave the wrapped up ruan-wei-jia with the advice to wear the protective vest later on as Guo Fu stay in an hotel. She gave advices and admonitions with Guo Fu listening and nodding several times, weeping. Seeing her daughter in such a pitiful state Huang Rong actually felt very reluctant and sorry, but her duty as wife and mother forced her to return to Xiang Yang.

Suddenly, looking westwards she caught a glimpse of a basket full with big red apples sold in a fruit shop. "Before I bid farewell to Fu-er I'll buy her some apples", she thought.

"Fu-er", she said rising, "You should force yourself to eat although you don't have any appetite. At times of war one would never know at what time one could get food again. Wait a moment, I'll buy you some fruit." She got out to approach the fruit shop.

After choosing ten scarlet apples, putting them in her bosom, Huang Rong groped her pocket for money. Suddenly, a very loud woman's voice was heard: "Give me twenty catties rice and one catty salt. Put them all in this sack, please."

Huang Rong casted a glance. The person speaking was a dao gu (Taoist woman) wearing a yellow robe, standing in front of the neighbouring shop.

The Taoist woman was holding a baby with her left hand and groping her pocket for some money. The baby's clothes was made of lake green satin with a small dark red horse embroidery, an embroidery Huang Rong used to sew. As soon as she noticed that, her hand trembled and her heart pounded, the money in her hand fell into the basket. That baby must certainly be her own daughter Guo Xiang!

Huang Rong actually had never met Li Mo Chou before. But scrutinizing the 'fu chen' (dustwhisk) on her waistbelt, her single eye and her outfit, she was quite sure that the woman was the notorious demoness who terrorized the JiangHu realm Li Mo Chou.

At the time she bore Guo Xiang, the enemy was attacking and the situation was chaotic, she had no chance to examine the baby's face. That's why, like being magnetized she glanced several times at the baby. Although the baby was still diminutive, it already showed signs of natural female beauty. With her cute features and ruddy complexion, she seemed well-fed and healthy looking. Huang Rong was pleasantly surprised, she almost shed tears. Po Lu, the baby she breastfed herself, didn't look nearly that healthy.

After giving some silver, Li Mochou took the sack and went.
Huang Rong understood the urgency of the situation, without informing Guo Fu she gave chase. She thought: "This Female Venom is terribly cruel. Should I try to use brute force, she might harm Xiang-er."

After leaving the city, Li Mochou ran westwards. While chasing, Huang Rong thought: "Li Mochou is Guo-er's martial aunt. Although they don't have a good relationship, after Fu-er cut-off Guo-er's arm, we could say that the GuMu (Ancient Tomb) Pai and the Guo Family was bound with a feud. If now this woman is going to meet Guo-er and Miss Long, I won't be a match against all three of them together. It's wiser to force a one-to-one fight against her now".

Li Mochou changed course to the South and entered the woods. Huang Rong accelerated, encircling the woods and confronted the demoness. Seeing the appearance of a beautiful woman, Li Mochou stopped short with surprise.

"If I'm not mistaken, I'm facing Chi-lian xian-zi (Immortal Chi-lian) Taoist Elder Li", Huang Rong said with a smile. "I'm very pleased to meet you!"
Noticing the lithe and swift movements of the woman, the faint-yellow bamboo cane in her waistbelt, Li Mochou at once put the sack down, she saluted smilingly: "Junior has admired Mrs Guo's famous name for ages, I feel delighted to meet you now."

At that time in the martial realm, the most famous female martial experts were Huang Rong and Li Mochou. 'Qing-jing san-ren' (Sole Purity) Sun Bu Er was already famous before them but her wugong (martial arts) was inferior. Xiao Long Nu: was good enough wugong-wise but she was still too young and not exposed, she was barely known.

Both tigresses faced each other. One was the pampered daughter of Eastern heretic Huang Yaoshi, wife of Da Xia (great hero) Guo Jing, Bang zhu (clan chief) of Gai Bang (Beggars clan), the other was the notorious cruel demoness armed with whisk, Soul freezing silver needles and Five poisons divine palm, three lethal skills which had caused much trembling and fear in the JiangHu realm.

It's the first time these two people had met, they scrutinized each other carefully, each wondering about how unexpectedly beautiful the other was. But secretly each was on guard because surely each other's fame was based on real ability.

Mrs Guo said with a smile: "Taoist Elder Li, junior has always revered you, don't be overpolite".
Li Mochou answered: "Mrs Guo is chief of Gai Bang and a leading personality in the martial realm, junior regrets not having met you much sooner."

After both sides exchanged the usual pleasantries, Huang Rong asked: "Elder Li, the baby you carry is very sweet and cute. Whose baby is it?" Saying that, Huang Rong already thought of ways to get the baby before they begin the duel.

"This is very ashaming for GuMu Pai", the demoness answered. "Junior has not been able to guide my shimei (younger apprentice sister) on the right path. This is Long shimei's baby ...."
Huang Rong was surprised. She couldn't guess why Li Mochou was lying.

But the demoness wasn't deliberately lying. She did believe the baby was Yang Guo's and Xiao Long Nu:'s child. Because she was enraged that her shifu only taught the Jade Maiden Heart Manual to her shimei, she used this good chance to mention her shimei's sins.

"I thought Miss Long a decent girl", Huang Rong said. "It's unbelievable such a thing has happened. Who's the father?"

"The father?" the demoness said. "Hmm! It's definitely shameful to mention! The father of this child is Yang Guo, my shimei's disciple." Huang Rong, who was usually good at faking, couldn't help reddening, anger swelled up.

But she only changed colour shortly, instantly her expression normalized. She said: "That is deliberately creating trouble." "But the baby is so cute. Elder Li, may I hug it?" She took an apple from her bosom and moved it to-and-fro in front of the baby. "Good child, your round face certainly resembles this apple."

After robbing Guo Xiang, Li Mochou hid herself in the woods and happily played everyday with the baby. Each morning she would milk the leopard to feed the baby.
Li Mochou had committed abundant crimes, but basically she wasn't cruel at heart. Because of rejected love, she hated the world and its inhabitants, she turned cruel. Since meeting the cute and sweet Guo Xiang, her inborn mother instinct was re-awakened. Often in the deep of the night she would think about the baby. Deep in her heart she was uncertain of agreeing, in case Xiao Long Nu: wanted to exchange the Jade Maiden Heart manual for the baby.
As Huang Rong wanted to hug the baby, like all mothers, who were always pleased if their babies were praised, she also was happy and was ready to give in.

Huang Rong's hands barely touched the baby's clothes, she couldn't hide the loving expression on her face, the radiant expression of a loving mother who had thought of her missing child day and night without knowing its fate and whereabouts, now the child in question was at arms length. Li Mochou noticed the look and thought: "If she only wants to hug the baby, why that sudden change?" She hurriedly pulled back and leapt two zhangs backwards. She barely touched the ground as Huang Rong followed closing on her. Expecting an attack, Li Mochou heaved the sack to throw it at Huang Rong's face.

Huang Rong leapt to evade, causing the rice and salt to scatter on the ground. Li Mochou, whisk in the hand, said with a smile: "Mrs Guo, do you intend to help Yang Guo getting his child back?." Huang Rong, reasoning the demoness to be suspicious already, now had decided to use force. She said smilingly: "I only want to hug that lovely child, you think too lowly of me." Li Mochou said: "Family Guo's renowned name shook the martial realm, junior admired it greatly, today has seen the display of skills, the fame is really no empty one. But junior has to deal with another matter and wants to leave." She was afraid that Guo Jing would appear, she turned and walked away.

Huang Rong leapt up and in midair drew her bamboo stick. The original dog-beating stick was passed on to Lu You Jiao, the stick she had now was of the same length and weight but of light-yellow colour. In midair she aimed at an acupoint on Li Mochou's back. Li Mochou angrily thought: "We don't have any enmity against each other, today we've met for the first time, I've talked with due respect to you, why do you attack me without any reason at all?" She crossed the stick with her whisk. Huang Rong attacked continuously with 6-7 moves, forcing Li Mochou in the defensive. Li Mochou's wugong was actually slightly below Huang Rong's and further on she carried a baby, a few stances more she was in great difficulty.

After several moves Li Mochou saw that Huang Rong didn't aim her attack on the baby, she thought: "Each time I fight carrying this baby seems to be an advantage." She said smilingly: "Mrs Guo, the world is vast and there will be other occasions, why do you choose here and now to try my skills? Should you make a mistake, you will hurt this lovely child." Huang Rong thought: "Doesn't she really know this baby is mine or is she just pretending? I'll try her first." She said: "Thinking of this child, my first ten moves was not seriously executed, if you still want to carry that baby it's not my fault should she get hurt." With her stick she aimed at Li Mochou's right leg, the latter used her whisk to parry, before both weapons clashed Huang Rong already changed direction to the left chest. The attack threatened both Li Mochou and the baby. If it was successful, not only would Li Mochou be injured but the baby would lost its life.

Using the stick, Huang Rong had natural control, the stick's end neared Guo Xiang's clothes and it seemed the baby couldn't be saved any more. But in reality Huang Rong had perfect control on the force and reach of the stick. Li Mochou, who was very worried, surely didn't know that, she hurriedly evaded to the right, unavoidably revealing a flaw, the stick touched her left shin, nearly tripping she took two steps before regaining her balance again. She wielded the whisk in front of her body for protection, turning around she said angrily: "Mrs Guo, you are so famous, how can you be that cruel to a mere baby?"

Huang Rong, who saw Li Mochou wasn't pretending, felt great happiness and mused: "You want to protect my daughter, I'll frighten you a bit." With a faint smile she said: "Elder Li said yourself this child is illegimate, why should you want to keep it alive?" With that she launched a chain of attack all aimed at Guo Xiang. Li Mochou hopped to the left and right frantically, holding the baby tightly, who loudly cried, feeling uncomfortable due to the jolting movements. Huang Rong said silently: "My clever child, don't be startled. To rescue you, mom is forced to do this." Although in her heart she felt pity, she launched several swift and lethal attacks in the direction of Guo Xiang. Li Mochou anxiously drew back several steps, lifted the whisk in front of Guo Xiang to protect and called out: "Mrs Guo, what do you really want?"

Huang Rong said smilingly: "In this era, the martial realm only acknowledges Elder Li and junior as the outstanding female fighters. This time we met by chance, why not use this occasion to arrange a little try out between us?" The attacks on Guo Xiang had angered Li Mochou, the challenge had angered her even more. She thought: "If your husband is here I will probably be afraid, but we are both females, do you think I fear you?." Immediately she humphed, saying: "Mrs Guo intend to grant me a lesson, that is earnestly what junior always has hoped for." Huang Rong: "If you carry a baby during the duel and I win, it won't satisfy either of us. Put it aside, then we can move more freely."

Li Mochou thought: "Guo husband and wife are renowned for their righteousness, but judging her ferocity to a mere baby makes me believe that fame is much too exaggerated." She looked in all directions and saw in the East several big trees with a strip of thick grass underneath. She put the baby on the grass, patted to sooth it, turned and invited Huang Rong to begin.

After ten stances Huang Rong realized that their wugong was about the same level. If she tried now to snatch Guo Xiang away and fought the demoness, then it was probable that Guo Xiang may got hurt, whereas if she killed the demoness first, she wouldn't have any trouble at all. This female had committed all sorts of crime, thinking of that, Huang Rong developed a killing intent. Li Mochou thought that her adversary would stop at nothing, seeing Huang Rong often glancing at the baby, she was worried that Huang Rong would carry a sudden, fake attack and hurt the baby instead. That's why she positioned herself between Huang Rong and the baby.

During the fight Huang Rong had thought up 7-8 statagems, each of them would dispatch Li Mochou but unavoidably also endangered Guo Xiang. She pondered: "Looks like this demoness truly cherished Guo Xiang, if the baby is in her hand and I couldn't snatch it for a while, it wouldn't matter much, whereas if I take risks the baby could be endangered." Suddenly she got an idea: "Elder Li, our wugong doesn't differ much, a decision would take some time. If meanwhile a wild animal appears and devours the child, wouldn't it divert our concentration? The best way is to take that little bastard's life now, then we could fight at ease." Saying that, she bent, picked up a pebble and with her middlefinger flicked it, whizzing in the direction of Guo Xiang.

She had used the Huang's family unique skill 'dan zhi shen tong' (divine flick), Li Mochou, who knew that lethal skill, hurriedly fended the pebble with her whisk and shouted: "What has this child done to you? Why do you repeatedly try to kill her?" Huang Rong secretly thought this was funny, she actually flicked with a retracting force, as soon as the pebble was in the vicinity of Guo Xiang, it would fly back. Huang Rong smiled and said: "Elder Li, you certainly defend that child with all your might. People who doesn't know would certainly think it is ...., it is your .... "

Li Mochou: ".... is my child?". Having said that, she blushed. Huang Rong said smilingly: "You are single, so naturally you can't have a child. I mean people would think it is your younger sister." Li Mochou humphed, thought nothing of it. She didn't realize that the competitive Huang Rong also wouldn't want to lose even in a battle of insults. If Guo Xiang was Li Mochou's sister, then Guo Jing and Huang Rong would be Li Mochou's parents. That's Huang Rong's hidden revenge to Li Mochou's recent remark that Yang Guo was the father of Guo Xiang.

Li Mochou: "Let's start again!" Huang Rong: "You are thinking about the child and can't concentrate, even if I win, it wouldn't be a fair win. I'll surround the child with thorn canes, so wild beasts can't come near her, so we can both concentrate on the fight." Saying that, she took a golden knife from her waist to cut canes and wound them around the big trees surrounding Guo Xiang. At first the demoness was wary but she observed that Huang Rong did it very meticulously and she thought: "In the JiangHu realm Mrs Guo was praised as multi talented, she really lives up to that reputation." But seeing Huang Rong's face bearing a mocking smile she got scared again and shouted: "That's enough!"

Huang Rong: "If you say it's enough, that's allright with me. Elder Li, you've met my father, haven't you?" Li Mochou: "Yes, I have." Huang Rong: "Yang Guo told me you've composed a poem of four lines to ridicule my father, haven't you? It sounds like this: 'Peach Blossom Island's master, has numerous disciples, five against one, the laughing stock of the JiangHu realm!'" Li Mochou thought: "Stupid of me not to think about that. Now I understand that she hampers me because of those four lines." She retorted coldly: "That day it was five against one, wasn't it?" Huang Rong: "Today it's one against one, we'll see who will be the laughing stock of the JiangHu realm." Li Mochou: "Stop being arrogant! I've seen a lot of Peach Blossom Island's wugong (martial arts), it's mediocre at the most." Huang Rong sneered: "Not to mention the Island's wugong, I think you can't even cope with the Island's non-wugong. If you don't believe me, just try to get that child back."

Li Mochou was startled: "Has she injured the child?" Hurriedly she jumped in the cane circle following its turns, hearing the baby cry she felt relieved, but after several turns she ended out of the circle again. She was puzzled, trying to leap in again she was not careful enough, a thorn had ripped her Taoist robe. She didn't dare to be careless again, looking where to land her feet she suddenly saw Huang Rong standing in the middle of the circle bending down to hug the child. She was shocked and immediately shouted: "Lay the child down!" She deliberately tried and tried to bridge the circle to get in but ended on the outside again. The seven, eight big trees occupying an area of about several zhangs formed a maze. She saw Huang Rong putting the child down and dexterously leaping to the East and the West to leave the circle easily.

The demoness now remembered the fight against Yang Guo & Chen Ying with them using piled earth before the hut, preventing her to attack them directly. Now Huang Rong probably also had used the 8 diagrams of the nine palaces divine method (Jiu gong ba gua shen shu) of Tao hua island in arranging the cane circle. Li Mochou decided to beat the enemy first and rescue the child later. She leapt several zhangs away and was ready to fight again. When Huang Rong saw her adversary confused she secretly rejoiced but seeing Li Mochou's firm decision she felt also a kind of admiration. After successfully secured her daughter at a safe place, she attacked Li Mochou with the stance to push the dog to lower its head (an gou di tou). Li Mochou entangled the stick with the whisk and further attacked Huang Rong. Both had swiftly exchanged several stances.

Li Mochou changed her fighting tactics but her adversary's bamboo stick technique was really incomparable, with much effort she managed to resist about ten stances, this was already a rare feat in the martial realm. The bamboo stick was a light weapon and could by no means kill like a sharp weapon, but it managed to threaten all main 36 acupoints on the body, Li Mochous again managed to resist several stances, sweat on her forehead. Li Mochou put the whisk in front of her body to protect, than leapt backwards, saying: "Mrs Guo, your zhu bang fa (bamboo stick technique) is really superb, junior admits defeat. But junior has a question which needs an explanation." Huang Rong: "Can't imagine what matter I'm able to explain to you!" Li Mochou: "The bamboo stick technique is a unique skill of the nine fingers divine beggar, whereas Tao Hua island's wugong is famous in the realm, why doesn't Mrs Guo use your own family's wugong?" Huang Rong thought: "This person is tricky, she isn't able to win against my stick and tries to provoke me." She said with a smile: "If Elder knows this stick method is nine fingers divine beggar's, then you also know what it's called?" Li Mochou humphed but didn't reply. Huang Rong sneered: "It's called 'if you meet a dog, flog it' stick method."

Li Mochou resigned. She didn't succeed in luring Huang Rong to use her palm instead of the stick, the enemy even mocked at her, using her glib tongue. Inserting the whisk on her waist she said: "Beggars use to chant the lian-hua (begging) chant, their bangzhu is no exception." She strode to the nearest tree and sat on a branch.

That Li Mochou admitted defeat was what Huang Rong wanted. But the demoness didn't leave and Huang Rong could guess her intention very well, she would immediately attack as soon as Huang Rong try to get the baby. With Huang Rong holding the baby and hampered by it, their skills would even out. So, with the baby practically in her hands, she couldn't bring it safely home without killing or injuring the demoness.

Suddenly Huang Rong moved, approaching Li Mochou with three steps to the left and four steps to the right. Those steps seemed common, but they bore the intricacies of the Ba-gua (eight diagrams), in whatever direction Li Mochou would try to flee, Huang Rong could still have blocked her path, that's the purpose of the movement. Huang Rong already threatened her left elbow with the stick.

Li Mochou parried with her palm and shouted: "After Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng have died, Huang Yaoshi truly has no disciples anymore who has inherited his skills." What Li Mochou said not only ridiculed Huang Rong for using the 'foreign' dogbeating stick method but also try to humiliate her father as well. Actually Huang Rong had inherited the Huang family's skill 'Yu xiao jian fa' (jade flute sword method) with profound mastery, but using a stick (not a sword), she was unsure of winning against such a formidable adversary. She answered faintly smiling: "It is true that my father has unworthy disciples, they certainly can't be compared to pure and chaste apprentice sisters like Elder Li and Miss Long."

The demoness went sick with rage. Waving her sleeve, two soul freezing silver needles were shot, aiming at Huang Rong's lower abdomen. Although she was incomparable cruel and could kill without batting an eye, she was still a virgin. Hearing Huang Rong put her on par with her 'dishonourable' apprentice sister, made her use her lethal poisoned needles. Huang Rong, staying very close, had never a chance to dodge them. But having perfect command of the dogbeating stick method, she still could hurriedly fend off with the stick. The needles flew about two inches beside her face, she could faintly sniff their poisonous smell. She remembered her eagle whose foot was hit by such a needle and it took about six or seven months to cure. Meanwhile another pair of needles were shot out.

Huang Rong hastily leapt and ran towards the East, two needles whizzing near her ear. She thought: "This place is too near to Xiang-er, if she got struck by a random flying needle, it would be lethal for her." She rushed further, leaving the forest. Li Mochou chased joyfully, she felt that with the exception of 'Da gau bang fa', her other skills were superior to that of Mrs. Guo. She shouted: "Victory or defeat hasn't been decided, why do you run away?" Huang Rong stopped, faintly smiling. Li Mochou said approachingly: "Mrs. Guo, do you need the stick to keep my needles off?" Huang Rong knew that as long as she used the stick, Li Mochou wouldn't accept her defeat. She inserted the stick on her waist and chuckled: "Li dao-zhang, I've long heard about your incomparable 'Wu du shen zhang' (five poisons divine palm) and how it has killed numerous people, junior wants to try out that ominous palm."

Li Mochou was rather startled: "She is aware of my fierce (li hai) palm but wants to try it." She channelled her inner force to the palm and said: "I also want to try Tao hua island's Luo ying divine sword palm (luo ying shen jian zhang)." She moved her left palm to parry Huang Rong's palm, her right palm aiming for the shoulder. Both palms moved at the same time, but the right palm also ejected two needles aiming between Huang Rong's chest and belly. This striking and simultaneously ejecting needles has been developed by herself after leaving GuMu. The adversary who only guarded against the palms wouldn't thought of being attacked with the needles at such a near distance. Many wuxia experts had been killed by that move of hers.

Huang Rong retracted her left palm to parry, her right hand moving about her bosom as if she herself wanted to pull out a hidden projectile (an qi) but it was already too late, the needles were already about five inches near her ribs, even someone with a much higher ability than her wouldn't avoid being hit. Li Mochou felt upsurging joy as she saw the needles penetrating the cloth. "Oh!", Huang Rong cried bending, her right hand touching her stomach, her left palm striking Li Mochou's chest. That palm really came swiftly, Li Mochou cried: "Good!. She dodged and struck with both palms aiming at Huang Rong's chest. She knew the poison would instantly show its effect. So her stroke only was meant to shove Huang Rong a bit before she died of the poisoning. She saw Huang Rong's upper body only showing a slight reaction and she wondered how the poison could paralyze that quick. Her pair of palms soon touched the chest of her adversary, she felt some slight pain from being pricked. Hurriedly and in great surprise she leapt backwards, looking at her palms she saw two tiny holes, black blood oozing out, revealing she had been injured by her own needles. She was startled, angry and didn't understood how it could have happened. She saw Huang Rong taking two apples from her bosom with a smile, lifted them high, showing a needle in each apple. Li Mochou now realized that Huang Rong hid the apples, didn't try to parry her stroke, put her hand in her bosom to hold the apples, receiving the needles and lured Li Mochou to strike the apples herself.

Li Mochou was not a stupid person, but in a duel of cunning today she had to admit defeat, she moved her hand to her bosom to take the antidote. But with a windy sound Huang Rong had attacked her face. Li Mochou worriedly lifted her left hand to fend, suddenly Huang Rong's snowwhite palm opened, its five fingers, shaped gracefully like an orchid, threatened the xiao hai acupoint on her right elbow. She thought: "Is that the famous 'lan hua fu xue shou' (orchid hand strikes acupoint)? Her right hand, which failed to take the antidote, trying to grasp Huang Rong's hand. Huang Rong retracted her right hand, her left hand aiming at the que pen acupoint on the neck. She attacked using Luo ying palm alternately with orchid hand, her moves were not only swift and fierce but also utterly graceful. Li Mochou couldn't help thinking: "Today I have witnessed Tao hua island's divine technique, it is really superb, even if I'm not poisoned I wouldn't be her match." She eagerly withdrew to take the antidote, but Huang Rong attacked again, not giving her time for it. The freezing soul silver needle had severe poison on it, hadn't Li Mochou been used to it, she would already have broken down. But even so, as soon as the poison had reached the pit of her stomach, it would be hopeless for her. Huang Rong observed her face getting paler, her adversary got weaker and weaker, Huang Rong thought of the demoness killing the Wu brothers' mother, at last now she had to succumb to her own poison, Huang Rong pressed steadily on, but also guarded herself, fearing a last counter attempt of her adversary.

Li Mochou felt a numbness creeping up her elbow, after several stances more the numbness had reached her armpit, her arm couldn't bend anymore. She called out: "Hold a minute!" Stepping aside she said: "Mrs Guo, since I've killed many people, I haven't expected to live this long. In martial arts and cunning I'm inferior to you, it's fitting to die under your hands. But I'll try to be bold begging you for something."

Huang Rong: "Begging for what?" She guessed the demoness tried to use delaying tactics, she watched the hands carefully, she saw the arms sagging, she then listened to her adversary saying: "I don't have an affectionate relationship with my shimei, but her child is absolutely cute, I beseech you to show a forgiving heart and not to take her young life."

Huang Rong felt the demoness spoke with sincerity, she was unable to suppress being moved. She thought: "This demoness' misdeeds heaped up like a mountain, who would have thought that in the time of nearing death she would show such a loving care for my daughter." She answered: "The parents of this child are no ordinary people, if I let her live she would pose a great danger to me." Li Mochou sighed and said with a failing voice: "I understand, but I'm still hoping you would be forgiving ...."

Huang Rong was very moved, but wanted to try her further, she approached and hit an acupoint before taking a bottle out, asking: "Is this the antidote?" Li Mochou: "Yes!" Huang Rong: "I wouldn't forgive two people at the same time, should I forgive you, I had to kill the baby. If you yourself choose to die, I will save the baby."

Li Mochou was totally dumbfounded. Never did she dream of getting a second chance to live, but she was unable to ask Huang Rong to kill the child, whereas to sacrifice herself in order to save the child ....., she saw Huang Rong in front of her, waving a pill from the bottle, waiting for her reply. She trembled, stuttering: "I ...., I ...."

Huang Rong thought: "The fact alone that she is hesitating counts as a pluspoint for her. No matter what choice she makes, I must let her live. She has accumulated such a huge blood debt, there will certainly be someone in the future who will revenge himself at her."

Thereupon she said smilingly: "Elder Li, many thanks to you for showing such a loving care for Xiang-er." Li Mochou, confused: "What?" Huang Rong chuckled: "The baby is surnamed Guo with the name Xiang, she is my and Guo Jing's daughter. Soon after her birth she has fallen into Miss Long hands, I don't know how you come to your misunderstanding. Since you have taken good care of her, junior must thank you profusely."

Saying that, she bowed clasping her hands, put a pill in Li Mochou's mouth, asking: "Is this enough?" Li Mochou answered sorrowfully: "I'm already heavily poisoned, I need three pills." Huang Rong answered: "Very well", gave her two more pills, then thought that the antidote could be of some use later on, so she put the bottle in her bosom, saying: "Your acupoint would unseal itself in three hours time."

Huang Rong returned to the forest and thought: "Fu-er would be impatiently waiting for me, but if she sees her sister she would be very happy." Entering the cane circle her body went cold like entering an icehouse. The cane circle looked no different but Guo Xiang was nowhere to be seen!. Huang Rong's heart beat madly, although usually very smart, she didn't know what to do.

After a while she calmed herself down and thought: "I must not worry, if the person took Xiang-er during my fight against Li Mochou, he couldn't be very far." She climbed on the highest tree to look in the distance from a high place. The surroundings of Xiang Yang was flat, she saw nothing suspicious in a radius of several lis. Huang Rong thought: "This person must still be in the near vicinity."

Thereupon she looked carefully for traces around the cane circle but nothing was moved away. She pondered: "This cane maze is arranged according to Jiu-gong Ba-gua positions according to my own father's concept, except Tao hua island's disciples nobody has an inkling of it. Even Jin lun fa wang (Golden wheel dharma king) with his broad knowledge couldn't solve its secrets. Has my father probably arrived? Oh, my god!"

She remembered her meeting with Jin lun fa wang several months ago, she had arranged a stone maze, she had explained Yang Guo about the system, although he was not yet skilled in Jiu gong Ba gua, he wouldn't have difficulties solving this cane maze. Thinking of Yang Guo she couldn't help to be anxious: "Fu-er cut off his arm, so he has a fued with the Guo family, now Xiang-er is in his hands, he doesn't have to kill her, he could just left her in the wilderness and she would certainly die." Thinking about the baby, she thought of its bad luck being robbed soon after it was born, she uncontrollably shed a tear. But being very experienced, she looked again very carefully for traces around the spot but couldn't find any. She mused: "Although his qing gong is extraordinary, he must have left traces here in the mud, or could he possibly fly?"

This guess of Huang Rong was correct. Guo Xiang was really taken by Yang Guo, and he got into the cane maze from the air!

That day Yang Guo observed how Huang Rong hit Guo Jing's acupoint and then followed her daughter out of town. Yang Guo also followed them from afar, thinking: "Aunt Guo, your daughter owes me an arm, your husband doesn't succeed in cutting it, let me do it. I can see you, you can't see me, you want to save your daughter's arm, I think that won't be easy." Huang Rong and her daughter being preoccupied, didn't realize they were being followed.

Thereafter the meeting with Li Mochou in the small town and the fight, all that was observed by Yang Guo. As the fighters left the forest, he immediately jumped on a tree, bound an end of a cane on the tree, slid in the middle of the cane circle through the cane, clamped Guo Xiang's waist with his feet, pulled his body up again on the tree. After landing on the ground again after several tree jumping, he returned to the small town.

He saw Guo Fu in the street corner, holding the reins of the hong ma (red horse) waiting impatiently for her mother. Yang Guo leapt to sit astride on the red horse. Guo Fu was startled, turning she saw that the unexpected rider was Yang Guo, she unsheathed her sword, her normal sword, not Dragon girl's Lady sword, which she didn't like using.

Yang Guo saw her face turning pale with a scared look, if he had wanted to cut her arm off it would be too easy, but somehow in the last moment he moved his right shoulder, the sleeve wrapped the sword and fling it away. Guo Fu let the sword go, it hit the corner of the wall. Yang Guo's left hand snatched the reins, clamping his legs on the horse's belly had it gallopped away like the wind. Guo Fu slowly walked to pick up her sword, it was bent like a square.

To use soft material as a weapon was GuMu Pai's unique wugong, Li Mochou used a whisk and Dragon girl used a silk belt. Yang Guo used his strong inner energy, the sleeve had struck like a steel whip. Yang Guo, holding Guo Xiang, sped the han xue bao ma (precious horse with sweat like blood) soon leaving Xiang Yang a couple of lis, that's why they couldn't be detected by Huang Rong on the tree top.

Yang Guo rode speedily, he saw the trees on the roadside flying away. He looked at Guo Xiang on his bosom, seeing her tender and delicate small face, he thought: "Uncle and aunt Guo, your youngest daughter will always be mine, think it as a kind of compensation for my lost arm. They would feel grieved and dejected, especially because they excelled me. After a while he thought: "Why didn't I took revenge directly? Is it because Guo Fu is a beautiful young girl? If the one who cuts my arm is a male, would I also have forgiven him too?" Thinking about it half a day he could only shake his head and smile wrily. He himself couldn't understand his unstable and unpredictable behaviour.

After two hundred lis gradually there were houses with smoke in them. He got something to eat and got Guo Xiang some goat milk. He decided to go to the ancient tomb looking for dragon girl. After several days he arrived at Mount Zhongnan. As the horse climbed the mountain and found the right path to the ancient tomb he pondered about past things.

The inscript 'Tomb of the living dead' still stood on the majestic tombstone. After Li Mochou's attack, the grave had been sealed, if one wanted to enter, one had to use the secret entrance through the water. For him it wouldn't pose a problem but what about Guo Xiang? She would suffocate in the water. But the thought of soon meeting dragon girl in the tomb greatly excited him. He took a pastry from his pocket, chewed a bit for Guo Xiang, then he found a cave nearby. He put Guo Xiang in there, hid the cave mouth with thorned wood. Meeting dragon girl or not in the tomb, he planned to return and put the baby in a safer place.

Suddenly he heard the faint sound of weapons clashing coming from the Chongyang Palace. He was suspicious for a bit and then saw a buzzing silver wheel flying fiercely into the sky. That was precisely Jinlun Fawang's weapon. Growing curious, he quickly followed the sound to the Chongyang Palace. During this time, Xiao Longnu was heavily injured by the Quanzhen five masters' ‘Qi Xing Ju Hui’ [Gathering of the Big Dipper] and Jinlun Fawang's wheel strike.

Had Yang Guo arrived a short while earlier, he could have saved this disaster. But how could things be as one desired? Life was full of sorrow and joy, and the difference between disaster and good fortune was often very little.

Upon seeing Yang Guo, the Quanzhen five masters knew that this mess was escalating. Qui Chuji cried out, "My Chongyang Palace is a respectable place. Today all of you are here to violate it. Why is that?"

Wang Chuyi also furiously shouted, "Long Guniang, although your Gumu sect and our Quanzhen sect share the same mountain ridge, we both stick to our own side. Why are you leading all sorts of evil miscreations from the West to kill many disciples of mine?"

Xiao Longnu was badly injured. She thought - These people couldn't tell right from wrong. Why bothered arguing with them? Their many disciples witnessed how Yin Zhiping was pierced by her sword and how Zhao Zhijing was wounded but in this time of trouble nobody stepped out to explain the truth.

Yang Guo gently stretched his left arm to support Xiao Longnu's waist, softly saying, "Gu Gu, let us go back to Gu Mu. Don't pay attention to these people!"

Xiao Longnu asked, "Does your arm still hurt?"

Yang Guo shook his head and replied, "It's better already."

Xiao Longnu continued, "Has the Passion Flower poison in your body acted up again?"

Yang Guo replied, "A few times, but it's nothing to worry about."

Having been slashed by Xiao Longnu, Zhao Zhijing went to hide in the back, not daring to lift his head. Seeing the Quanzhen five masters coming out, he realized that after a series of investigation, he would be expelled from his charge and also severely punished. Originally he was only of a short-tempered and narrow-minded nature, not really a traitorous and wicked person. Anyhow he was the best at martial skills among the third generation disciples, yet the leading position fell onto Yin Zhiping. His resenment festered, trapping him into this errorous way of thinking. He quickly assessed the situation. Afraid of his five teachers, he grasped at the present opportunity. Suppose Jinlun Fawang and the Mongolian warriors wiped out the Quanzhen five masters, he would be able to escape forever. Besides, he saw that Yang Guo's right arm was broken and his left arm was holding Xiao Longnu. It looked like his hands were bound, waiting for violent death. Yang Guo, betraying disciple, was his most hated enemy. Having such a good opportunity, why would he let it pass? Glancing at Lu Qingdu who was nearby, he loudly shouted, "Treacherous disciple Yang Guo, your two masters are speaking to you. You don't kneel down kowtow. How dare you to pay no attention?"

Yang Guo turned back, his eyes filled with hatred. He thought to himself, "Gugu has already wounded one Quanzhen stinky priest. Today I'll pay no mind. I'll deal with you later." While supporting Xiao Longnu, he pushed through the crowd in disgust.

Zhao Zhijing shouted, "Fight!"

He and Lu Qingdu both drew out their swords and attacked Yang Guo's right side. Although Zhao Zhijing had been injured earlier, the damage was not severe. His sword was thrusted towards Yang Guo's broken arm to stop him from fighting back but it was held down by a strong wind, generated by Yang Guo's cultivated inner energy.

Even though Qui Chuji didn't really like Yang Guo's arrogance, he thought about Guo Jing's great trust and also his master-disciple bond with Yang Guo's father, Yang Kang. He shouted, "Zhijing, put down your sword. Mercy!"

On the other side Ma Guangzuo cursed, "Old priest, aren't you ashamed? Stabbing a broken arm!" He and Yang Guo were very good friends. Seeing Yang Guo in danger, Ma Guangzuo rushed to help. But he was a distance away, and so his help was too late.

Suddenly a gray shadow flashed, and Lu Qingdu's fat body flew up. He let out a wah-wah cry before his fat body hit Ni Moxing's with a thud. With Ni Moxing's martial skills, even though it took him by surprise, he shouldn't have been hit. But both of his legs had already been broken. He had to use both hands to prop himself against a walking stick and couldn’t used them to protect himself. Immediately he was hit and his body collapsed. As he tried to get up from the ground, his walking stick hit Lu Qingdu in the back and knocked him out.

On this side Yang Guo's right foot stepped on Zhao Zhijing's long sword, Zhao Zhijing used force to pull it out, his face turning bright red. Surprisingly, the long sword didn't move an inch.

At the time both swords coming towards him, Yang Guo's right sleeve flew out fiercely, sending a whiff of great force and throwing Lu Qingdu on the ground. Zhao Zhijing, on the other hand, felt a downward force coming from the gown sleeve. This was a Thousand- Pound Drop technique. Yang Guo then kicked out his foot and stepped on the blade of the sword. He’d practised his sword skills in the mountain streams, and even strong currents couldn't topple him. This time he put his foot down, like the weight of a mountain, how would Zhao Zhijing be able to pull his sword out?

Yang Guo coldly said, "Priest Zhao, at the time we were at Dashengguan, in front of Hero Guo you said you were no longer my master. Just now how could you call yourself my master again? All right, considering the past I used to call you master, I'll let you off!"

Without moving his right foot, the powerful force suddenly vanished without a trace.

Zhao Zhijing was using his whole strenth trying to pull out the released sword. Suddenly his hand was in the air, and so the sword snapped back. Its handle hit his chest hard with a thud. No doubt it struck him with his own force. With this force, if used to hit an enemy, the enemy would use his own internal force to counterstrike. Now hitting himself with no counter-force, Zhao Zhijing felt severe pains in his chest and spurted blood. His vision turned dark as he looked upwards and collapsed.

Wang Chuyi and Liu Chuxuan pulled their swords out from the sheaths, attacking Yang Guo from left and right. Suddenly, a shadow dashed out, knocking the two swords out of the way. This person was of course Ni Moxing. Even though he could throw Lu Qingdu onto the ground, his mind was hateful. It was originally Yang Guo who started it. He wielded his canes and jumped forward. His left cane struck the two swords while the right one attacked Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu.

Yang Guo knew Ni Moxing's martial skills. He could only use his empty sleeve to deal with him but then he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to subdue him in one strike. By now Xiao Longnu's body was powerless, leaning feebly against Yanguo's. His body slanted to the left whilehis right gown sleeve flew out. He rolled Xiao Longnu’s body and let her lean on the right front of his chest. Then his left hand drew out the black iron sword that he carried on his back, wielding it out. 'Pu' the sword hummed, sounding both deep and dull like a wooden stick beating leather. Ni Moxing's right hand cracked, and a shadow darted into the sky. It was actually his iron cane fiercely flying upwards. This cane was extremely heavy but it surprising flew up 20 feet high in the air before falling behind the jade cave.

This was the first time Yang Guo used demonic Dugu Qiubai's heavy sword with an enemy. Seeing that it had such power, he couldn't help being secretly startled.

Ni Moxing felt half his body in pain, his right arm uncontrolably shaking. But he had lived an incomparably brave life so, with a roar, he leapt ten feet high and dove down with the left iron cane in his palm. Yang Guo thought he’d already tried the hard strength of the sword, he would now try the supple strength. The tip of the heavy sword trembled. With his inner energy, Ni Moxing would be thrown out 20-30 feet and his muscles and bones would shatter. Seeing Xiao Longnu severely injured like this, Yang Guo was filled with bitterness and decided that this time he would show no mercy. But just when his arm was about to release its powerful force, he saw Ni Moxing's body in midair with both legs broken, reminding him of his own missing arm. He couldn't help thinking that they shared the same fate, and so he didn't raise his heavy sword. Instead, he pushed it down. The iron cane came down. Dust flew up. Half the cane was stuck under the ground.

Ni Moxing grasped his iron cane, trying to pull it out. Suddenly he felt the heavy sword on his right arm, sealing his pressure point. While he was paralysed, Yang Guo said, "Today I'll spare your life. Just hurry back to India."

Ni Moxing's face ashened. He turned perfectly still and couldn’t say a word.

Although Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi saw this turn of event, they still didn't think Yang Guo could advance his skills in just months. They thought he won because of Ni Moxing’s broken legs. Yin Kexi stepped forward, pulled out the iron cane, and handed it to Ni Moxing. Ni Moxing used the cane to prop himself up, thinking to leap far away. Nobody could have expected that his arm had turned numb and soft. As soon as he was propped up, he collapsed with a plop.

Xiao Xiangzi always took pleasure in others' misfortune. As long as other people were having bad luck, regardless of foes or friends, he found it joyful. He thought, "This Indian dwarf has always been arrogant, not submitting to me. It’s finally over. Just now you rushed out to capture Yang Guo and gave him such a good opportunity." Then he jumped out and shouted, "Baby Yang Guo, many times you've wronged our prince. Come quickly with father!"

Yang Guo thought, "Gugu is heavily injured. We have to get out here quick to treat her injury.With many powerful enemies surrounding us right now, if I didn't kill anyone, it would be hard to escape." In a low voice he asked Xiao Longnu, "Are you hurting very much?"

Xiao Longnu replied, "You are holding me, I.. I am very happy."

Yang Guo lifted his head. Facing Xiao Xiangzi, he shouted, "Fight!"

He drew out the black iron sword from his waist. He held the sword with its tip about two feet from his body. Xiao Xiangzi saw that it was a crude black sword with a blunt tip and no sharp edge, appearing to be a dumb piece of iron. So he thought to himself, "Sure, the boy's sword is very fast and his movement agile but without this iron bar, his sword skills won't be of much use." Having thought that he swung his steel rod to strike the heavy sword.

Yang Guo's sword stayed still while he channeled energy into it. Only a 'puff' sound was heard as the sword and the steel rod clashed. The rod immediately broke into several flying pieces.

"Holy cow!" Xiao Xiangzi cried out and scrambled backwards.

With his sword, Yang Guo struck left and right, breaking both of Xiao Xiangzi's arms.

Earlier Yang Guo had repeatedly defeated three opponents -- Lu Qingdu, Zhao Zhijing and Ni Moxing -- creating a sensation among the crowds in front of the Jade Cave. But this time he didn't even move his body, nor lifted his arm. He simply used his inner energy to break Xiao Xiangzi's weapon. The numerous people were even more puzzled. They looked at each other in disbelief and thought to themselves, "This person's kungfu was really wicked!"

Yin Kexi was a merchant from the Western region, and so he knew a treasure when he saw one. Having seen Yang Guo's heavy sword sending Ni Moxing's iron irod flying, he was impressed and thought, "A sword this powerful is really not common. The blade is deep black with a hint of red glow, is it possible that it was actually forged from the black iron? This black iron is the world's most precious object. Even an ounce is very difficult to find. By adding just a little of it to a common sword or spear, ordinary iron would make a sharp weapon. Where did he find that much black iron? But if the sword was really forged from the black iron, how could it not weigh 40-50 catties? If so, how could Yang Guo be this fast?" Actually, this sword weighed 64 catties. If it was not this heavy, even with Yang Guo’s inner energy, he still wouldn't be able to unleash such power. Now that Yin Kexi saw Xiao Xiangzi's melancholy rod breaking into pieces, he was even more convinced that this sword was a divine object. He still acted nonchalant. But he was in a jewelry businesss. Once he saw a rare treasure, his heart would leap up with greed. It didn't matter if he had to buy or cheat, to rob or steal, it just had to be quick. And now that he saw Yang Guo's heavy sword, he was burning with greed. He jumped out immediately, grabbing the sword with his golden dragon whip.

Yang Guo had spent time with him in the Passionless Valley. Yin Kexi was always amicable so Yang Guo didn't have any hostility towards him. He saw the golden dragon whip coiling his way. This whip was heavily decorated with precious stones, diamonds and jades. He let it wrap around his sword and said, "Brother Yin, you and I are good friends. Pull back the whip and make way. Looks like you've got quite a bit of stones on your soft whip. If damaged, it would be such a pity."

Yin Kexi smiled and said, "Is that right?" Then he applied force to snatch the sword.

Yang Guo just stood there, perfectly still.

Yin Kexi stood near and analyzed the situation. This sword was casted from the black iron. Diamonds were the world's hardest material, which could cut anything without damaging themselves. Still, the big diamond embedded at the tip of his whip still couldn't scratch this sword. His heart was on fire. He knew that his opponent's kungfu were ferocious. If not attacking him by surprise, it would be difficult to get the sword. So he said, Brother Yang’s kungfu was this excellent. Congratulations! I admit defeat." Having said this, he flicked his right wrist. A light flashed, and there was also a dagger in his left hand. His arm flew out fiercely to stab Xiao Longnu's chest.

He did this not because he wanted to injure Xiao Longnu. He knew that Yang Guo loved her, and so if he saw her in danger, he would have to save her life. By creating a diversion, he would be able to snatch this precious sword. Yang Guo saw the situation and was alarmed.

"Let go of the sword!" Yin Kexi shouted and channeled all the strength to his right arm, pulling the whip so he could seize the sword.

Hearing "Let go of the sword," Yang Guo did as he was told and let go. The sword was long while the dagger was short. The heavy sword was between the three of them, and so the dagger couldn't reach Xiao Longnu's body. At that time, Yang Guo was desperate so he threw the sword out with a force that was extremely fierce. Yin Kexi knew perfectly well that the sword was heavy and had already braced himself against the force. But he didn't expect the coming force to be this violent. Seeing that it was too late to escape, he summoned his inner energy and pushed out both hands. There was a crashing sound, and he fell back five-six steps. He managed to stand firm and put a smile on his face to cover his misery. A short while later he felt as if his internal organs had been turning inside out. He stood still like a stiff corpse, not daring to breathe or even move half a step.

Yang Guo walked over to him and retrieved his black iron sword. He shook it lightly and then heard ‘ding ding dong dong’ sounds. Under the bright sunlight, precious stones sparkled everywhere. These were the stones embedded in the golden dragon whip that had just been broken into fragments.

Yang Guo called out, "Jinlun Fawang, do we settle our business today or do we wait for another day?"

Jinlun Fawang saw him successively defeating the three big masters -- Ni Moxing, Xiao Xiangzi, and Yin Kexi -- and injuring each opponent in only one move. How this young man's martial skills were so high was actually quite unconceivable. If he himself stepped forward to fight, even though he wouldn’t be defeated like the other three fighters, to win was still not easy. But at this moment all the heroes were gathering here. If he walked away, how would he keep his face? He thought to himself, "Yang Guo has broken an arm. Although his left hand is fierce, his right side is disadvantaged. I will just keep attacking his right side. He's worried about Xiao Longnu's injury. As time drags on, he will become restless."

And so from his sleeve he pulled out the five wheels -- gold, silver, copper, steel, and lead. He knew in his heart that this was really a moment of life or death, of honor or shame. He wasn’t careless but his expression remained casual like he had no care. With a smile, he strolled out to face Yang Guo. He said, "Brother Yang, we finally meet again. Congratulations, you've got this powerfully divine sword! This is quite a magical weapon. I’m only afraid that this old monk won’t be able to handle it either." He still didn't have a winning strategy so he used the situation to his benefit. He heavily praised the black iron sword, leading the crowds to think that this youngster was only lucky because he had this god-sent weapon.

Xiao Longnu was leaning against Yang Guo's chest. In a daze, she saw Jinlun Fawang holding his wheels and thought that, with Yang Guo's strength alone, he wouldn't be able to beat the enemy. She softly said, "Guo’er, go get me a sword, we.. we.. together.. together will use the Jade Maiden swordplay to defeat him.

With pain in his heart, Yang Guo gently replied, "Gugu, don’t worry. Guo’er alone can handle this."

Xiao Longnu shifted to the left, trying to shield his body as much as possible and keeping him off danger.

With gratitude and joy, Yang Guo said in a loud voice, “Gugu, today we two will fight these devils together. In my life, I have no regret." Then he held his sword out at the ready.

Fawang didn't dare to meet Yang Guo's force head on. He jumped backwards. Suddenly came the wu-wu sound of the spinning lead wheel Fawang tossed out. Yang Guo raised his sword to strike it but the wheel flew past his body and back to Fawang, surprisingly untouched. Then, loud rumbling, buzzing wu-wu, weng-weng sounds were heard. Gold and silver lights flahsed. The five wheels flew towards him from five different directions.

For fear that he would worsen Xiao Longnu's injured condition, Yang Guo stood very still. Fawang's five wheels were only a deceptive attack, just to test Yang Guo's action. The wheels circled close to the two persons' bodies, flying back and forth repeatedly. Seeing that Yang Guo would certainly not lift his sword to pursue, Fawang understood and was delighted. He thought, "You don't dare to move your body, afraid that you would hurt Xiao Longnu. Your situation is bad and there is no way out. My Vertical Jump from Distance can't be defeated."

His opponent had broken an arm and also had to protect the injured. According to Fawang's rank, this battle could not be fought. But he knew that a good opportunity like this was hard to come by. If Xiao Longnu recovered, the two people together couldn't be defeated. Even if Xiao Longnu was injured to death and Yang Guo was distracted, he himself might not be able to beat Yang Guo. He only had today to kill them once and for all, and there would be no more trouble in the future. As to whether or not it would be fair, let's not pay much attention to it.

The nearby crowds also understood the circumstance and thought Fawang stepped over the line. Ma Guangzuo loudly yelled, "Big monk, are you a hero or a scum?"

Fawang appeared not to hear the comment. The five wheels were continuously thrown out back and forth, still circling Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu. The wheels flew high and low, straight and slanting, making both soft and loud noises. The spectators were all bedazzled and anxious.

Suddenly Ma Guangzuo cried out "Ohh". It was the slanting copper wheel flying by, curving fiercely and scraping the top of his head. The wheel took a piece out of his scalp, which still had a chunk of hair. Blood dripped profusely to the ground. Ma Guangzuo held his head with both hands and cursed. Yet, he didn't dare jump out to fight.

Yang Guo saw that Xiao Longnu was heavily injured. The more they were delayed, the less time for treatment they had. Anxiety filled his heart. Fawang called out, "Be careful!"

Suddenly the five wheels returned again, coming side by side to hit the two people like five powerful waves. Yang Guo's whole body strength was channeled to his left arm, and the tip of his sword vibrated. ‘Dang’ ‘Dang’ Dang’ -- The sounds echoed as his sword brushed away the gold, copper and steel wheels. Everyone was alarmed. Dust flew up. The silver and lead wheels were broken, dropping to the ground.

With a loud battle cry, Fawang flew up. His left hand pushed aside the steel wheel while grabbing the gold and copper wheels. Fast and furious, he smashed down on the top of Yang Guo's head. Yang Guo didn't ward him off but met his attack with his black iron sword. The sword was long. The wheels were short. The wheels had yet to smash his head but the tip of his sword were already less than half a foot away from Fawang's chest. Fawang immediately fell back. His forward attack was no doubt very fast, and so was his retreat. It was not so clear how he cross-stepped, going left and then suddenly jumping back several feet. This was actually quite rare in the martial world. The spectators were dazzled, cheering one they were rooting for. One cried out loudly, "Good!"

Suddenly Yang Guo swung the black iron sword backwards. A sound was heard as the copper wheel was chopped in half. And even before it hit the floor, the sword whipped out horizontally and the two pieces turned into four. Although the blade of the black iron sword was blunt, he used his inner energy to break the wheel. The many spectators had shouted applause when they saw Fawang’s lightnes kungfu. Now they saw the strange power of Yang Guo's divine sword, they were all startled and fell silent.

In just a short while, three out of five wheels were destroyed. Still, Fawang was not discouraged. He fearlessly brandished his gold and steel wheels. Yang Guo thrusted his sword forwards while Fawang sidestepped to evade the strikes. This time he didn't throw out his wheels. Even though he wouldn't be able to attack from afar, this was actually more powerful. He saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu together, with Yang Guo’s attacking on the left side and resisting on the right side. So he jumped up in the air and bore down with both wheels, making wu-wu humming sounds. Yang Guo's black iron sword did appear quite dull but no matter how Fawang changed his moves, he couldn't get within two or three steps of the couple. Forty- fifty moves passed. Fawang's double wheels returned again and about to pound on Xiao Longnu. Yang Guo thrusted the black iron sword forward, and the soft clattering sound was heard as the two weapons made contact. Yang Guo and Fawang channeled inner energy to their weapons. Both refused to budge and were now motionless in a deadlock situation.

Yang Guo felt Fawang’s continuing waves of energy growing stronger and stronger. He was secretly alarmed and thought, "This person's inner energy is incredibly high. We're already matching inner energy, and the full power of the black iron sword can't be unleashed. If this battle continues on, one with more profound energy will have the upper hand. If he moves a little closer, I'll use my sleeve to strike him by surprise."

He slowly pulled his left arm back. Originally the two people were more than five feet apart. The distance was gradually reduced to five feet and then four feet and a half, and from four feet and a half to four feet.

Fawang's disciples, Da Erba and Huo Du, were constantly guarding their master's body. As they saw that Fawang was gradually gaining the upper hand, they were delighted and moved forward several steps. Da Erba cared about his master's safety but he also hoped that his master wouldn’t injure his reincarnated big apprentice brother. Huo Du on the other hand was secretly plotting against Yang Guo. He waved his folding fan, appearing to be cooling himself, but he actually was waiting for an opportunity to launch his fan attack.

Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi saw the glint in Huo Du’s eyes as he moved forward. They knew that he thought to help his master. The two persons looked at the situation and thought, "Although Yang Guo has become our sect's enemy, real men are open and upright. Win or lose, it’s up to the fight. How could Mount Zhongnan allow this scheming disciple to act?"

So they drew out their long swords, stepping forward and at the same time sending Huo Du a warning stare. The two Taoists’ beard and hair were all white but their faces had a red glow from years of martial arts practice. Rainbow-like lights shining from the two swords had quite a chilling effect. Intimidated Huo Du didn’t dare to act rashly.

Yang Guo's left arm gradually shrank. By now he was already only three feet away from Fawang. He thought to himself, "If this monk moves forward another half foot, I will strike him with my right sleeve. It may not be enough to kill him but it will knock him out."

But as Fawang saw his right shoulder move, he understood what Yang Guo meant to do. He thought, "Even though your arm has been cut off, you still have your gown sleeve. If delivered with inner energy, it will be the same as a sharp soft whip. I'll let you do this and deflect your strike. When the sleeve comes out, the strength in your left arm will lessen. I'll take advantage of the situation and launched my full-force attack. Your body will be heavily injured."

Xiao Longnu was leaning against Yang Guo's body in a perpetual daze. As Yang Guo was summoning his inner energy and accelerating it, his body became hot. Xiao Longnu felt his face emitting a steam so she opened her eyes. Seeing the beads of sweat seeping out from the side of his forhead, she used her sleeve to gently wipe them out for him. Then she saw a serious expression on his face, both eyes looking straight ahead. She followed his gaze and turned her head to look. She couldn't help becoming startled by Fawang's wide copper eyes in front of her. Seeing the evil glows in those two eyes, she quickly shut her eyes and then opened them again. Fawang's eyes were still near. Xiao Longnu was cuddling and leaning against her loved one. Having a pair of wicked eyes gazing at her was really disgusting. This time she didn't think that Fawang was fighting with Yang Guo. She only knew that this monk was really evil. Also, she was not willing to let him disturb her sweet time right now. She dipped her hand into her bosom. She took out a jade bee golden needle and slowly stretched her hand towards Fawang's left eye.

Let alone the fact that this was a poisoned needle, any ordinary embroidery needle pricking an eyeball would blind that eye. This time Xiao Longnu only wanted to get rid of the big disgusting eyes and didn't mean to shoot the needle out fiercely. With her severe injury, her hand was soft, weak, and really very slow.

Fawang and Yang Guo were in a deadlock situation. Whoever moved in this critical stage would be paying dearly. Xiao Longnu's golden needle was slowly approaching, and Fawang had no way to resist. The needle moved closer, from two feet to one foot, from one foot to half foot. Fawang loudly cried out and pushed both wheels forwards while strugging to flit backwards. But the overwhelming force from both weapons could not be easily unloaded. So he just firmly stood there and then sat down on the ground.

"Master!" Da Erba and Huo Du called out and jumped out to hold Fawang.

Yang Guo's sword moved twice, breaking the gold and steel wheels into half. Then he went forward two steps and raised his sword to strike the top of Fawang's head. Fawang just breathed in, only feeling melancholy death coming upon him. Weary, he didn’t have the strenght to resist. Da Erba lifted his golden rod and Huo Du raised his steel fan, together blocking the black iron sword. But the sword power was strangely fierce. Da Erba and Huo Du felt their knees go soft and couldn’t stop the falling sword. They knelt down on the ground but still held their weapons, desperately shielding Fawang.

The force from the black iron sword grew stronger. Da Erba and Huo Du felt as if their backs were about to break and their whole body joints rumbled.

Huo Du said, "Brother, you hold on alone for a moment. Let me save master first and I’ll be back to help you."

With the two people together, they hadn’t been able to resist the coming force. Now with only Da Erba alone, how would he be able to block the power of the heavy sword? But he would give up his life to protect his master so he shouted, "Good!"

Then he furiously pushed his golden rod upwards.

The two of them were speaking in Tibetan, which Yang Guo could not understand. Feeling a surge of energy from the golden rod, he was about to press his sword harder. But then Huo Du jumped out.

Who would have thought that Huo Du didn't plan to save his master but only to seek his own retreat. He called out, "Brother, I’m going back to Tibet to practise more kungfu. After ten years I will definitely come back to look for this Yang boy and avenge you and master!"

Having said that, he turned around and leapt away as if he was flying.

Duped by his apprentice brother, Da Erba couldn’t control his anger. He also remembered that Yang Guo was his reincarnated big apprentice brother, how could he heartlessly wrong their master like this?

He loudly said, "Brother, please spare little brother's life. Let me to save master and search for that scum (heart of a wolf & lung of a dog) of a disciple so I could break him into ten thousand pieces. After that I'll voluntarily throw my life into your hand. Then even you kill me or cut me, I won't even dare to frown.

Yang Guo listened to his long speech. Naturally, he didn’t know what he was mumbling about. However, Huo Du narrowly escaped death while this person was loyal and did right by his master. He actually understood. Seeing his earnest expression, like a true man who wasn’t very smart, and Xiao Longnu’s tender eyes, his killing intention was suddenly shot to high heaven. He only felt that it didn't matter if all the grudges were not resolved. He lifted his black iron sword and said, "You are off!"

Da Erba got up, but only after a great effort. Strength escaped his whole body, and he couldn't hold on to his golden rod. A 'tang' sound was heard as it dropped on the ground. He bent down and bowed to Yang Guo several times, thanking him for not killing them. At this time, Fawang sat still on the ground. Da Erba carried his master on his back and went down the mountain in big strides.

Yang Guo alone used his sword to defeat six Mongolian masters. The numerous warriors saw their leaders either defeated or wounded, they didn’t dare to attack. Instead, they picked up Xiao Xiangzi and Yin Kexi and quickly ran away, leaving no trace.

Ma Guangzuo, with his head still dripping blood, walked over to Yang Guo. Waving fingers at him, he said, "Little brother, you are really good!"

Yang Guo said, "Big Brother Ma, these people you run with are not a good kind. If you mix up with them, you will definitely suffer. You’d better say goodbye to the Mongolian prince and go back to your native land!"

Ma Guangzuo said, "You’re right, little brother. "

He looked at Xiao Longnu. Although heavily injured, she was still full of grace and beauty. He struggled to find sweet words, and so he asked, "When do you and the bride get married? I'm waiting to drink your celebration wine, is that good?"

When he had first met Xiao Longnu at the Passionless Valley, he saw her dressing as a bride. Since then, he always called her the bride.

Yang Guo forced a smile and shook his head. Then he rounded up several hundred Taoist priests.

Ma Guangzuo said, "Oh, there are still these many stinky Taoists to be taken care of. I'll help you."

Yang Guo thought, "If fighting one on one, not even one of these Taoists is my rival. But if they together close in on me, circumstances will be terribly dangerous. It's not worthwhile for him to die in vain with me." So he said loudly, "You'd better be off quickly. I can handle this by myself."

Ma Guangzuo now understood. He applauded, "Right, that's right! Even all those big Taoists, noone one could defeat you. What's with all these stinky little ones? Litter brother, the bride, I'm leaving!"

Dragging his copper rod and laughing merrily, he turned and left. Only the sound of his copper rod bumping stones could be heard on his way down the mountain. And the sound gradually quieted away.

Yang Guo propped his heavy sword on the ground. His fight with Fawang just now depleted his inner energy. He pondered, "Jinlun Fawang, Xiao Xiangzi and the others all worried about one another so they fought with me one on one, hoping to get rid of their own people and leave only himself at the end. I was luckly to be a third party in a dispute. Had those six people attacked me together, it would have been very difficult to withstand. Let alone the fact that I competed inner energy with Jinlun Fawang. I was certainly going to lose. Fortunately, Gugu pulled out a golden needle so I could defeat him by luck. These Quanzhen Taoists fight as one, obeying the commands of their five masters. Although their martial skills can't match those of Fawang and others, numerous wills build a city. Their combined power really was much stronger than Fawang and the gang. Anyway, Gugu and I are already together here. We fight until we have no strength left. Then we two will die together."

Qiu Chuji said in a clear voice, "Yang Guo, your martial skills have reached this stage, our generation is far, far inferior. But our sect has several hundred people like this, do you think you can break through our blockade by yourself?

Yang Guo looked out into the distance and saw four glinting swords. Every seven Taoists formed a row, tightly encircling himself and Xiao Longnu. In a Seven Men Circle formation, the Taoists all united their swords, forming a first-class defense. This time the force around him was equalled to having tens of swordmasters surrounding them from all sides.

Disregarding life and death, Yang Guo snorted and moved forward a step. Seven Taoists held their swords out to block him. Yang Guo lunged his sword forward and seven swords simutaneously flew out to counterstrike. A 'qiang' sound was heard, and the seven swords were all broken. The Taoists with the rest of their broken swords quickly leapt aside.

The power of Yang Guo’s sword was this incredibly mighty. Even Qiu Chuji and the others had fought powerful enemies for years, they had never seen anything like this. Wang Chuyi called out, ‘xuan ji’ [Jade Pearl] formation and ‘yao guang’ [moving light] strike!"

Yang Guo paid no attention to the orders of the Quanzhen master. He was going to rely on the sword power and rush outside. As he was carrying Xiao Longnu and moving two steps forward, he saw another seven Taoists circling and blocking his way. He immediately wielded his sword. This seven-men formation did not seek to counterstrike. Instead the Taoists appeared like a curtain, crisscrossing and changing their positions. He swept past them and two of them cried out -- one had an injured waist, the other a broken leg. They collapsed on the ground.

But this time fourteen long swords had already pointed at their backs, seven at Yang Guo and seven at Xiao Longnu. If Yang Guo turned back to strike, he would be able to knock off the fourteen swords but Xiao Longnu would also be injured. While he hesitated, another seven swords pointed at Xiao Longnu's right side. At this point, he couldn't even sacrifice himself to save Xiao Longnu.

Qiu Chuji lifted his hand and shouted, "Hold on!"

Twenty-one long swords glittered. Every one of them pointed a few inches away from the couple and stayed very still.

Qiu Chuji said, "Long Guniang, Yang Guo, our respective masters shared a long long story. Today we Quanzhen sect have won by numbers, which is not a glorious thing, much less to say that Long Guniang has already been severely wounded. Wrongs should be righted by untying the problem, not by making it more complicated. You two please go back. Regardless of what happened in the past, how about we wipe the slate clean today?"

The feud between Yang Guo and the Quanzhen sect was huge. Years ago, Grandma Sun was killed by Hao Datong, who was remorseful and willing to give up his life to make it right. Yang Guo had come to Mount Zhongnan to look for Xiao Longnu and really didn't mean to battle with the Quanzhen sect. Hearing Qiu Chuji's speech, he thought, "The important thing is to save Gugu’s life. If I fight with these little Taoists, regardless of victory or defeat, honor or disgrace, what good could come of that?" Just when he was about to agree with Qiu Chuji, Xiao Longnu's eyes slowly scaned from left to right. She softly asked, "Where’s Yin Zhiping?"

Yin Zhiping's back was struck by Fawang’s wheel and his chest was stabbed by a sword. These were two fatal wounds but he hadn't died yet. On the side, his apprentice brothers were trying to save him. His breathings were already heavy, and his eyes were blurry. Then he heard a gentle voice asking "Where’s Yin Zhiping?" These four words were actually said gently but to his ears they were like a thunderstrike. Not knowing where he got the extra strength from, he got up from the ground and waded through all the swords. He called out, "Long Guniang, I'm here!"

Xiao Longnu stared at him for a moment. Seeing his blood drenched robe and ghostly pale face, her heart sank. Her voice trembled, "Guo’er, this person has defiled me. Even if he recovers from the injuries, he still won’t be able to fight you. But he.. but he gave up his life to save me.. so you must not give him any more trouble. In short, it's my brutal fate."

She had decided that she had to say this. Even though it was in front of several hundred people, she honestly spoke out her grief.

Yin Zhiping heard her saying, "But he gave up his life to save me, you must not give him any more trouble. In short, it's my brutal fate." These words went through his ears, and he couldn't help feeling like his heart was being cut out. Out of his own dark desire, he had made a grave mistake. He revered her as if she was a goddess, yet he had caused her a lifelong of sadness. To die a hundred times over would still not be enough to redeem himself. He cried out loudly, "Master, four elders, my sin is atrocious. You and the others cannot bother Long Guniang and Yang Guo." Having said that, he jumped up and plunged into the eight, nine swords that the Taoists were holding in front of him. Many swords pierced through his body, killing him instantly.

This was an unforseen incident. The numerous people had not anticipated it and all cried out in alarm. The Taoists heard Xiao Longnu's words. Then, Yin Zhiping acknowledged his crime and committed suicide. It looked like he actually despicably disgraced Xiao Longnu. The Quanzhen five masters were Taoists who strictly adhered to the Taoist rules. They thought about all the wrongs that had been done and felt greatly ashamed. But when it came to an apology, they found it difficult to express.

Qiu Chuji looked at his four apprentice brothers and then shouted, "Put down the swords!" With the ‘qiang’ sounds, all the Taoists resheathed their swords and made way.


END OF CHAPTER 27

[Han Solo]

Chapter 28

Translated by BeeDreamer

Yang Guo wrapped his right empty sleeve around Xiao Long Nu's waist to support her body and gently said: "Gu Gu, let's go!" Xiao Long Nu gave him a sweet smile, softly saying: "This time I can die by your side. In my heart.. in my heart I'm very happy." Then something came to her mind so she said: "Guo Da Xia [great hero Guo]'s daughther cut off your arm. She didn't mean you well. Later on who will take good care of you?" Her heart sank when she thought about this so she softly added: "You'll be lonely by yourself, you.. won't have anyone to keep you company.."

Yang Guo saw her life about to perish, he was overwhelmed by grief. Suddenly he remembered something: "That day we were here at Mount Zhong Nan, she asked me if I was willing to make her my wife. At that time I was so shocked I couldn't answer and that led to many miserable and catastrophic events afterwards. We don't have much time left, I have to let her know my heartfelt feelings." So he said it out loud: "What do I care if you are my master? What do I care about a reputation? We will just do as we please and screw people if they can't take it! In life or in death, neither of us will ever be sad again, nor will we be alone and lonely. From now on, you are not my master, you are not my Gu Gu [auntie], you are my wife!"

Xiao Long Nu's heart was filled with joy. She gazed at his face and softly said: "Are you really speaking from your heart? Or are you just saying sweet words to make me happy?" Yang Guo replied: "Of course this is what I feel in my heart. My arm got chopped off and you are feeling sorrier for me than I am for myself; when you come across any hardship, I feel just the same." Xiao Long Nu softly said: "That's right. In this world, except you and me caring for each other, there's no one else."

The several hundred Taoists at Chong Yang Palace were students of spirititual ways who let go to become monks. Suddenly hearing the two people speaking tender words of love and care, they found themselves in a difficult situation – the old monks were quite embarrassed while the young ones unavoidably felt their worldly desires stirred up. They looked at each other in dismay and some couldn't help blushing. The Sage of Tranquility Sun Bu Er shouted: "You two quickly get out of here. Chong Yang Palace is a holy place, you shouldn't be here talking improperly like this!"

Yang Guo turned a deaf ear and only gazed into Xiao Long Nu's eyes. Then he said: "In those years the late master Chong Yang and our Gu Mu sect [the ancient tomb sect]'s ancester grandma originally should have been married. Don't know what strange grudges broke them apart to the end. Today before him we'll bow to heaven and earth and become man and wife, letting our ancestor grandma vent her anger." He originally didn't think very highly of Wang Chong Yang. But then he started learning from the work that Wang Chong Yang left engraved at Gu Mu [the ancient tomb], and the more he practised, the more he admired him. He even secretly felt like he was Wang Chong Yang's successor in a way. Xiao Long Nu let out a sigh and quietly said: "Guo Er, you are really good to me."

During those years Wang Chong Yang and Lin Chao Ying were deeply in love. Quan Zhen's five masters all knew about it. They respected their master for cutting all his emotions with a proverbial sword like a true hero but when they thought about how the supreme martial arts master Lin Chao Ying, whose beauty was unrivalled, locked herself up inside Gu Mu for the rest of her life, they all sighed. This time Yang Guo brought up this matter, the young Taoists didn't understand while the old masters trembled in their hearts.

Sun Bu Er shouted: "Our late master had great wisdom. He let go of the secular world and started our sect, cutting himself off all worldly pains. How could an infant like you who were born after his time pry into his business? If you have the galls to be this outrageous and talk rubbish again, don't blame my heartless sword!" That day at Da Sheng Guan hero banquet, Yang Guo rejected Sun Bu Er's offered sword, embarrassing her at the scene. Even though she was a Taoist nun, her mind was far less generous than Qiu Chu Ji, Wang Chu Yi and others. She was the revered elder of the Quan Zhen sect and was insulted by a youngster of her disciples' generation, she naturally took it to heart. Also being a woman living and practising Taoism in a group of male Taoists, she became even stricter. As she heard Yang Guo's declaration, determining to bow to heaven and earth [get married] before the sacred portrait of her sect's founding master, her rising anger became difficult to suppress. Now seeing the Yang-Long couple totally ignored her shout, her sword immediately came out of its sheath with a 'shua' sound.

Yang Guo gave her a cold look and thought: "You old nun by yourself surely is not my match. Only if I fought with you, the rest of the Quan Zhen sect wouldn't just stand by. But I have to marry Gu Gu immediately. If we don't do it right now and leave the Chong Yang Palace and if by chance her injuries don't heal, won't I be giving her grieve to the end? You scolded me for 'being outrageous.' Humph, I, Yang Guo, will show you outrageous. I already said we would be married before the portrait of founding master Chong Yang and I will do as I said." He scanned the area and saw only half of the taoists holding a sword in their hands. He then said: "Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun], you are set on forcing us to leave, is that it?"

Sun Bu Er sternly said: "Beat it! From now on, the ties between Quan Zhen sect and Gu Mu sect are completely severed. There will be no more connection between us for all eternity and it's best everybody not meet again!"

Yang Guo let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Then he turned around, walking two steps towards the small trail that led to Gu Mu and slowly putting the sword back onto his back. His right sleeve flared out while he used his left arm to support Xiao Long Nu. He secretly channeled air into his abdomen. Suddenly he lifted his head towards the sky and gave out a roar so loud that it shook the tree branches in the woods. Hearing this ear-shattering roar, the Taoists all became startled.

And even before he finished his roar, he let go of Xiao Long Nu and leapt backwards. In a flash, his left hand sealed both 'Hui Zong' [Returning Orthodox] and 'Zhi Gou' [Sustaining Waterway] points on Sun Bu Er's right wrist. As Xiao Long Nu's body, now without support, was about to collapse, Yang Guo quickly dragged Sun Bu Er along with him to prop Xiao Long Nu's body back up. His jumping back and forth was lightning fast, like the movement of a fleeing rabbit. Before the many Taoists had a chance to blink their eyes, Sun Bu Er already fell into Yang Guo's clutch and nothing else could be done about that. Qiu Chu Ji and Sun Bu Er had long fought powerful enemies. At the beginning, they were guarding themselves against Yang Guo's swift attack but then they saw him already put away his weapon and head out towards the small trail outside, and with his only arm supporting Xiao Long Nu. Naturally, they concluded that he'd already decided to give up. They hadn't expected that he would use his roar to distract the enemies and that his actions -- using his left hand to support Xiao Long Nu instead of his shirt sleeve and putting away the sword -- were actually a strategy designed to fool them so he could capture Sun Bu Er. The many Taoists shouted and raised their swords. But as Sun Bu Er was held captive, nobody dared to move forward to attack.

Yang Guo said in a low voice: "Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun], I have made a great social blunder. Please turn around and keep us company during the ritual." While still holding Sun Bu Er's wrist, he slowly led Xiao Long Nu to the back of the hall of the Chong Yang Palace. The Taoists followed them, their faced filled with anger, yet they didn't know what to do.

The three of them entered the hall through a side door and walked along the winding corridor until they arrived at the back of hall. Yang Guo turned around and in a clear voice he said: "Everybody please stand outside. You may not enter the hall, not even one step. We've already decided that we would sacrifice our lives. If we fight, Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun] and the two of us will have the same fate."

Wang Chu Yi quietly said: "Qiu Shi Ge [Apprentice Brother Qiu], how do we handle this?" Qiu Chu Ji then replied: "Nothing for the moment, we'll wait for the right opportunity. It looks like he wouldn't dare to harm Sun Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister Sun]." These Quan Zhen masters roamed the martial world for their entire life, their names renowned. They hadn't expected that in their sunset years they would be controlled by a mere boy. They were undoubtedly angry but also couldn't help laughing out loud.

Yang Guo pulled out a prayer mat for Sun Bu Er to sit down on and then said: "Pardon!" while sealing the "Da Chui" [Big Spine] and "Shen Tang" [Divine Hall] pressure points on her back, which made her unable to walk. As he saw the Taoists standing outside as they were told, not daring to enter, he helped Xiao Long Nu stand in front of the portrait of Wang Chong Yang, shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Before their eyes was a portrait of a Taoist holding a long sword with a graceful disposition. He couldn't be more than thirty years old. On the side of the portrait were three words "The Living Dead." The writings were scarce but the man in the middle of the painting exuded a heroic air, his elegance unpararelled. When Yang Guo came to learn martial skills at the Chong Yang Palace as a boy, he was familiar with this painting, knowing that this was a portrait of the founding master. But now he remembered quite vividly that there was also a portrait of Wang Chong Yang at Gu Mu. Even though this one was a front portrait and the one at Gu Mu was a back view, the art strokes were no different so he said: "This painting was also done by our ancestor grandma." Xiao Long Nu nodded, giving him a sweet smile and softly saying: "The two of us get married before the portrait of Master Chong Yang but the picture was drawn by our ancestor grandma, this is really very good."

With his foot, Yang Guo placed two prayer mats side by side in front of the portrait and then said in a loud voice: "Disciple Yang Guo and disciple named Long are here to marry in front of Founding Master Chong Yang. At this place the numerous Taoists of the Quan Zhen sect all bear witness." Having said that, he knelt down on a prayer mat but saw Xiao Long Nu still standing, not kneeling down, so he said: "We are bowing to heaven and earth right now, you also have to kneel down!" Xiao Long Nu hesitated, her eyes red and her tears flowing. Yang Guo softly asked: "What's wrong? You don't like us to get married at this place?" Xiao Long Nu's voice broke: "No, it's not that!" She paused and then said: "I'm already not pure and I'm also a dying person. Why should you.. Why should you have to be this good to me?" Having said this, her tears flew down her cheeks.

Yang Guo got up again and used his sleeve to wipe away her tears. He smiled and said: "Why do you still not understand my heart?" Xiao Long Nu lifted her head to look at him and he softly continued: "I really wish we two could live to be 100 years so I could take good care of you and return your love and affection. But if I can't, if God would only give us one day, then one day we'd be man and wife. Even if for only a few hours, then a few hours we'd also be man and wife." Xiao Long Nu saw the sincere expression on his face and the infinite affection in his eyes, her heart fluttered, not quite knowing how to cherish him the way he deserved it. Her sorrowful face slowly revealed a dimply smile, her tears dried up, and her expression was that of boundless joy. Then she gracefully knelt down on a prayer mat.

Yang Guo then also knelt down. The two people bowed down before the portrait and thought: "Even though our lives have been miserable, we have a time like this now - we are really most fortunate. Even pains of the past would cut our lives short, it wouldn't be something to worry about at all." Both of them exchanged a smile and, on the prayer mats, lowered their heads.

In a low voice Yang Guo spoke his vow: "Disciple Yang Guo and Disciple named Long truly love each other and forever will never change. All through our lives, we will be husband and wife." Xiao Long Nu also said in the same tone: "May Master bless us. All through our lives, let us be husband and wife."

Sun Bu Er was sitting on a prayer mat. Even though her body couldn't move, she clearly heard everything the two people said. She looked at them and then understood. Even though the two people's action was preposterous, it actually stemmed from their guileless nature. She couldn't help thinking back to the days she was young and newly married to Ma Yu. Originally she was very angry but by the time the Yang-Long couple stood up, the expression on her face already turned gentle.

Yang Guo thought: "This time the two of us have become man and wife. Even I am to die right way, I have no regret." As his original worry about the Taoists breaking in to stop them vanished, he turned to Xiao Long Nu and joked: "I am a rebellious disciple of the Quan Zhen sect. Throughout the martial world, they all knew about it. Now you are also a big rebellious disciple." Xiao Long Nu said: "That's right. My master ordered me not to accept a male disciple, nor to get married but I didn't comply. The many disasters fallen upon us were actually to pay for our crimes." Yang Guo brightly said: "One must rebel to the end. Master Wang and our ancester grandma were heroes, 100 times greater than us, but they didn't dare to get married. If the two of them in the afterworld knew, they couldn't say we were afraid to do it!"

Then this time there was a 'ka''la' violent sound coming from the roof, tiles flying about and the rafter breaking. The force was astonishing. The roof actually cracked down by the weight of a gigantic bell, falling straight down on the top of Sun Bu Er's head...

As Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu were boldly bowing to heaven and earth in the hall, the big and small Taoists of the Quan Zhen sect couldn't suppress their anger. Liu Chu Xuan pondered for a while and then came up with a plan. He bent down and whispered it into the ears of the other three masters, Qiu Chu Ji, Wang Chu Yi and Hao Da Tong. The three of them nodded again and again and then said something to a disciple at the door in a low voice. Taking advantage of the situation while the Yang-Long couple were kneeling down inside, they took down a heavy copper bell in front of the hall, which weighed over a thousand catties. The four of them together would hold the bell, fly up to the top of the hall, and find the right location to smash it down with great force. The bell would make a big hole in the roof before falling down to where Sun Bu Er was sitting below. With the four masters' martial skills, even though the bell was very heavy, it would drop down with less than inches of error margin, trapping Sun Bu Er inside so Yang Guo couldn't harm her. As the many Taoists closed in on him, how would the two person be able to fight them off?

Seeing the gigantic bell dropping, Yang Guo instantly understood the ploy. He immediately drew out his black iron sword and sent out with it a thundering force. A 'dang' sound echoed as the sword tip made contact with the copper bell. Even though this bell weighed a thousand catties, the force from this sword was strangely fierce and also hit the side of the bell. The bell was then bumped off course by a couple of feet. And if dropped, Sun Bu Er's body would be crushed beneath.

Liu Chu Xuan and the other masters who were looking down through the crack at the top of the hall realized the situation and all cried out in alarm, their hearts aching. Nobody could have expected that this boy's sword would have such a divine power. They now saw with their own eyes that Sun Bu Er would be wretchedly crushed by the large bell, with fresh and blood all splattering. Liu Chu Xuan shut both eyes, not daring to look, but then heard Qiu Chu Ji calling out: "Many thanks for your mercy!" Liu Chu Xuan then openned his eyes in surprise, only to see the large bell unexpectedly covering Sun Bu Er's body. There was no trace of crushed limbs at the side of the bell, and not even a part of her Taoist robe was seen.

As Yang Guo saw his sword pushing the bell off course, which would definitely violently kill Sun Bu Er on the spot, he suddenly thought: "Today is our husband and wife's happy day, why bother taking someone's life? This old Taoist nun only has a bad temperament and doesn't possess any real evilness." Once thought, he acted. His right sleeve flared out, pushing the prayer mat that Sun Bu Er was sitting on and thus sending her right under the bell.

The Liu-Qiu-Wang-Hao four masters at the top of the hall were pleasantly surprised and didn't think to make enemy with Yang Guo anymore but the numerous disciples below had earlier received their orders. As soon as the large bell was dropped, they were to rush in to attack. Also as they were outside, they didn't see that the bell's supposed location was changed. Only hearing a loud noise and seeing dust flying, they all cried out and ran into the hall to attack with their long swords.

Yang Guo then put his black iron sword back onto his back. He used his arm to carry Xiao Long Nu and leapt out to the back of the palace hall.

Qiu Chu Ji called out: "Disciples, be careful. You may not take these two people's lives!" His voice was loud. Even among the noisy battle cries of numerous hundred people, each person still heard it clearly. The numerous disciple ran out to the back of the hall, their voices echoed: "Capture the treacherous scoundrel!" "The scoundrel violated our founding master's painting, don't let him go!" "Quick, Quick, they went out to the eastern side!" "The great master ordered, don't take their lives!"

Before Liu Chu Xuan jumped to the top of the hall, he had ordered twenty-one strong men to hide in the courtyard at the back of the palace hall. Yang Guo was just about to open the screen door when he saw the sword reflections in the courtyard, then knowing there were men waiting to block them. He thought: "It would be better to leap out through the crack at the top of the hall. Although there are four big masters there, those people actually won't dare to kill me." and so he carried Xiao Long Nu and quickly leapt back inside. Xiao Long Nu held on to Yang Guo's neck with both hands and softly said: "Anyway, we are now married. Our ultimate wish in this world has been granted. If we get out, it's wonderful but if we don't, it still doesn't matter." Yang Guo said: "You are right!" Then his right leg flew up, following quickly by his left leg. A 'peng' 'peng' sound followed as two monks were kicked out of the hall. Unlike the Jade Cave area which was much wider, the palace hall was packed with the Taoist monks, who now blocked them with "the Big Dipper formation" [Bei Dou Zhen Fa]. Yang Guo's left arm was carrying Xiao Long Nu so he could only use his legs to wound the enemies and couldn't break out of the heavy encirclement. He darkly thought: "These dumb Taoist monks can't spread a complete formation. If only I have my arm free, how would you be able to stop the two of us?" Then another 'peng' sound was heard as a monk was kicked, his body flying out and crashing into two other monks.

In between this chaos, an old man with white beard and hair suddenly ran into the palace hall. Trailing behind him was a swarm of honeybees. This is precisely the old urchin Zhou Bo Tong. When he first arrived behind the palace hall, the numerous disciples didn't pay him any attention but then the honeybees that followed him started to sting. These bees were not just any ordinary honeybees but indeed were the Jade bees that Xiao Long Nu kept and tamed at Gu Mu. The Quan Zhen Taoists who were stung immediately felt the itchy pain that was difficult to endure. Some couldn't bear it and rolled down on the ground, crying out. This of course added another commotion to the situation.

Originally Zhou Bo Tong was on his way to Xiang Yang city to help Guo Jing but then he stole Xiao Long Nu's jade bee syrup. Afraid to run into her, he decided not to go to Xiang Yang but instead came to Mount Zhong Nan to find Zhao Zhi Jing and to investigate how come he dared mean to harm his martial grandpa [master of master] to death. Along the way he played with the jade bee syrup and mulled over ways to direct the bees. Playing with the common bees on the road was easy but once he reached Mount Zhong Nan, suddenly it all became a disaster. The jade bees on the mountain sensed the smell of the jade bee syrup, many of them all buzzed out. As the jade bees were used to Xiao Long Nu's hand signals and whistles, Zhou Bo Tong naturally couldn't direct them and also couldn't drive them away. And more than that, they wouldn't let him rest. The old urchin saw the situation to be not very funny so he speedily ran to the Chong Yang Palace, thinking to find a place to avoid the bees. It just so happened that there was also a commotion at the palace, and actually much noisier.

Seeing Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo in the palace hall, Zhou Bo Tong was delightedly surprised. He quickly threw Xiao Long Nu the jade bee syrup and called out: "Can't soothe them anymore. I can't deal with these grandparents of bees. Good Gu Niang [good Miss] quickly come and save my life." Yang Guo's shirt sleeve flared out, catching the bottle. Xiao Long Nu let out a small smile and stretched her hand out to take it.

By now the palace hall was filled with buzzing bees. Qiu Chu Ji and others jumped down to greet and kowtow to their martial uncle. Hao Da Tong shouted out: "Quickly go get torches!" Some of the numerous disciples were covering their faces with shirt sleeves while others were wielding their sword to strike the bees. Several went to get torches as told.

Zhou Bo Tong paid no attention to Qiu Chu Ji and others. The jade bees stung him twice on his forehead, which was now swollen with two big lumps. Right now he only wanted to find a secure hiding place where a bee couldn't sneak in. Seeing a large bell on the floor, his heart was filled with delight. He quickly used his energy to lift it up, just to see that there was someone inside. He didn't even look to see who that was, saying: "Excuse me. Excuse me. Let me get in." He pushed Sun Bu Er out and let himself in. Then he released his hands and a 'teng' sound was heard as the heavy bell fell back down. He was very pleased with himself and thought: "No matter how you thousands and thousands of bees pursue, you can't sting me, the old urchin, anymore!"

Yang Guo said in a low voice: "You direct the bees to form a swarm then we can break out of here." Xiao Long Nu was now Yang Guo's wife. Hearing his words having an authoritative tone, she felt sweetly comfortable in her heart and thought: "This is good. Finally, he didn't think of me as his master anymore but really his wife." So she immediately said "All right!" in a soft and obedient tone. Then she lifted the honey bottle, waved it a few times, and whistled repeatedly. The jade bees flew back to their keeper and formed a swarm but Xiao Long Nu continuously waved her hand and whistled. The large swarm of jade bees broke into two rows, one making way in the front and the other guarding the back, so the Yang-Long couple could find their way out.

Qiu Chu Ji and others were pleasantly surprised by Zhou Bo Tong's visit and found it very funny. Seeing that the Yang-Long couple retreated to the back of the palace hall, they ordered their numerous disciples not to pursue. Wang Chu Yi unsealed Sun Bu Er's two pressure points while Qiu Chu Ji went over to lift the large bell. Zhou Bo Tong, hiding inside the bell, didn't know the situation outside. Suddenly he felt that someone outside was lifting it up, he cried out loudly: "Can't soothe them anymore!" Both his arms stretched out, pushing the side of the bell and shouting: "Come down!" Qiu Chu Ji couldn't match Zhou Bo Tong's profound internal energy. A 'dang' sound was heard as the bell, which was already half a foot from the ground, came down once again. Qiu Chu Ji laughed and then said: "Zhou Shi Shu [Martial Uncle Zhou] is joking again. Come. We all fight with him!"

So Qiu Chu Ji, Wang Chu Yi, Liu Chu Xuan and Hao Da Tong four people each held out a hand and pushed against the outside of the bell. Qiu Chu Ji shouted: "Lift!" Between the four great forces the bell was raised three feet from the ground but the underside of the bell was empty, not even a shadow inside, and nobody knew where Zhou Bo Tong had disappeared to. The four people cried out 'Ah!" in surprise. Suddenly a shadow flashed and Zhou Bo Tong was standing beside the bell, laughing his head off. This was because originally Zhou Bo Tong had glued his hands and feet to the side of the heavy bell so when it was lifted, people outside naturally couldn't see him.

Qiu Chu Ji and the others stepped forward to kowtow to him. Zhou Bo Tong frantically waved his hand, calling out: "Enough, enough. No more kowtow, you good boys get up!" By now Qiu Chu Ji and the others already had white beards and hair but Zhou Bo Tong still called them 'Good boys.'

The numerous people were about to start their small talks when Zhou Bo Tong caught a glimpse of Zhao Zhi Jing slyly sneaking off. He gave out a loud shout, jumped forward to hold him, and scolded: "You cow-nosed thief, still think to run away?" His left hand shot out towards the large bell and lifted it, two feet from the ground, while the right hand tossed Zhao Zhi Jing underneath. Then he let loose his left hand and the large bell closed down, all the while repeatedly scolding: "Cow-nosed thief, cow-nosed thief." At this time in the palace hall, except him one person, everybody else was a Taoist. His loud scolding "Cow-nosed thief" was the same as scolding all Wang Chong Yang's disciples and followers. Qiu Chu Ji and the others knew their martial uncle's temper, not thinking to disobey. They couldn't help but smile at each other.

Wang Chu Yi asked: "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], what did Zhao Zhi Jing do to offend you old master? Disciple will definitely punish him heavily." Zhou Bo Tong said: "Hey, hey, this little cow-nosed thief led me to steal the flag to put in a cave but before that he hid this very big colorful spider there, most deadly poisonous. Luckily that small Miss, hmm, where's that small Miss? Where are all the bees? He talked without order and Wang Chu Yi couldn't quite understand yet but then saw him look around trying to find Xiao Long Nu.

Then this time ten disciples rushed in and reported that the Yang-Long couple retreated to the sacred scripture chamber on the back of the mountain. The numerous disciples didn't dare to use torches to fight off the bees for fear that they might burn the Taoist scriptures. Qiu Chu Ji and others were startled. The sacred scripture chamber was the Quan Zhen Sect's sacred place as it stored the Taoist scriptures of the past dynasties and the work of Wang Chong Yang and his seven disciples. There were several secret documents of the sect hidden there. If something happened, it would be a great loss. Qiu Chu Ji said: "We'll go and take a look. Yang Guo has shown mercy and spared Sun Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister Sun]. We could definitely turn an enemy into a friend." Sun Bu Er said: "You are right!" Then everybody rushed out to the sacred scripture chamber on the back of the mountain.

At the door Wang Chu Yi saw Zhao Zhi Jing trapped inside the bell, he thought: "Zhou Shi Shu [Martial Uncle Zhou]'s affairs are quite silly. This matter might not necessarily be Zhao Zhi Jing's fault. We'll investigate this in details when we come back." For fear that there would be no air inside the bell and Zhao Zhi Jing would be suffocated to death, he used his energy to lift the bell up a few inches, kicked up a brick, and placed it under the bell. He left the crack a few inches wide so air could ventilate and then went out to catch up with other people.

In front of the sacred scripture chamber, several hundred disciples were shouting loudly but nobody dared to go upstairs. In a loud and clear voice, Qiu Chu Ji called out: "The Yang-Long couple, we'll let bygones be bygones. How about we stop fighting and become friends?" He waited for a while and no sound from the chamber could be heard. Qiu Chu Ji said again: "Long Gu Niang [Miss Long] has been injured. Please come out and we'll try to treat the injury together. Our sect's disciples won't dare to be disrespectful to the two of you. Qiu Chu Ji roamed Jiang Hu for several decades and has never broken a promise to anyone." Half a day passed and there was still no sound.

Liu Chu Xuan pondered the situation and said: "They are already gone!" Qiu Chu Ji asked: "How?" Liu Chu Xuan said: "Look at the bees. They are flying scatteredly." He took a torch from one of the disciples and rushed inside the chamber.

Qiu Chu Ji and the others stepped into the chamber but only saw the four walls of books, and not a single person. There was also that bottle of jade bee syrup on the writing desk. As if he had found a treasure, Zhou Bo Tong snatched it and put it away in his chest. The many people turned the chamber upside down but didn't find any book missing. They only saw a pile of books on the floor and the wooden chest that used to carry them was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly Hao Da Tong called out: "They left from here!" The people followed Hao Da Tong's voice to the window in the back of the chamber and saw a rope tied to a wooden pole, with its other end tied to a tree on the cliff on the opposite side. Lied between the sacred scripture chamber and the cliff was a deep ravine, with no way to pass. They didn't expect that Yang Guo would actually have such lightness Kung Fu and could carry Xiao Long Nu and also across the valley on a rope.

As Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu bowed to heaven and earth at the Chong Yang Palace, everybody in the Quan Zhen sect all felt badly violated. But this time seeing how the two people had retreated, the Quan Zhen five masters smiled at one another and actually turned soft in their heart. Sun Bu Er was originally the most resentful but at the palace hall she witnessed how the two of them were idealistic and sincere. On top of that, Yang Guo had spared her own life at a critical moment. She couldn't help feeling a loss and fell silent.

The Quan Zhen five masters and Zhou Bo Tong went back to the palace hall and inquired about the Mongolian prince's imperial decrees, the fights of Yin-Zhao two disciples, Xiao Long Nu's sudden attack, and so on. They went over each report one by one. With tears in his eyes, Qiu Chu Ji said: "Zhi Ping's disgracing someone was truely abominable but he did defend our sect with loyalty and patriotism, pledging to fight to death rather than surrendering to the Mongols. That was a great merit." Wang Chu Yi said: "Zhi Ping naturally had flaws but he also tried to uphold justice. We should still recognize him as a Zhang Jiao [Jiao chief]." Liu Chu Xuan, Hao Da Tong, and others also agreed. Qiu Chu Ji said again: "If it was not for Long Gu Niang [Miss Long] arriving in time to block the enemy, our sect would have already been annihilated. Long Gu Niang is really our sect's great benefactor. From now on we not only cannot be disrespectful to them husband and wife, we would also have to repay the debt of gratitude. Ai, we did injure her, not knowing.. not knowing.." Thinking about how Xiao Long Nu was heavily injured, he deeply blamed himself.

Qiu Chu Ji and the others were busy investigating the past events and cleaning up damages while Zhou Bo Tong didn't pay attention to these matters in the slightest, only playing with that bottle of jade bee syrup in his hand. Several times he thought about opening the bottle to tempt the bees but always feared the outcome, not being able get away. This time a disciple stepped in and reported that five disciples were stung by the jade bee and that their itchy pains were difficult to endure, and asked the master to help. Hao Da Tong thought about the year Sun Po Po (Grandma Sun) broke into the palace to give them the honey so he said: "Long Gu Niang [Miss Long] must have left this bottle of Jade bee syrup for us to treat the injured. Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], please give the jade bee syrup to the five disciples, letting them take a little."

Zhou Bo Tong stretched out both hands and his palms were empty. He said, "Don't know how but I suddenly can't find it." Hao Da Tong obviously just saw him playing with the bottle in his hand so it couldn't possibly be suddenly missing. He decided that Zhou Bo Tong was not willing to hand it over but Zhou Bo Tong was an elder so it was not very convenient to say much.

He couldn't help but feel awkward. Zhou Bo Tong then gave his sleeves a brush and patted his body several times. He said, "I didn't hide it. Don't suspect me being so mean that I don't give it to you. Do you want me to take of all my clothes for you to take a good look?" Zhou Bo Tong had always been naughty and only wanted to play, not distinguishing between big and small urgent matters, and this didn't change in the old age. In his mind, these little cownoses [Taoists] were stung by the bees. At most they would be in immense pains for half a day so it was hardly a life or death worry.

This bottle of jade bee syrup couldn't be given to anyone. Then he heard Hao Da Tong speaking so he passed the bottle up his shirt sleeve and let it slide down from his chest to his belly. He shrank his belly a bit so the bottle could go down his pants and from there the bottle slowly dropped to his foot and gently fell down to the ground. His internal energy was so profound that the muscles in his whole body could all be manipulated. That small bottle was sent to the ground and surprisingly didn't even make a sound.

Wang Chu Yi thought, "Martial Uncle didn't want to hand over the bottle but only wanted to play with people. If I suddenly say something, there is no way I could change his mind. I should just take care of other business first and when his temper is improved, I will get the bottle from him. For now let's heavily punish the treacherous disciple Zhi Jing. If not for Yin Zhi Ping's willingness to die rather than to surrender, wouldn't our sect's long-built reputation have already been destroyed by this treacherous disciple's hand?" Having thought this, he said out loud, "Hao Shi Di [Apprentice Brother Hao], it won't hurt if we postpone the matter of treating the injured. We must quickly deal with this treacherous disciple Zhi Jing first!"

The Quan Zhen five masters were apprentice brothers for several decades so they all knew about Wang Chu Yi's straight and unselfish character. Even though Zhi Jing was his Taoist disciple, he had committed an atrocious crime. Wang Chu Yi wouldn't think to protect him. Everybody thought, "This perfidious disciple sold his sect for personal glory and harmed his own sect brothers in the process. He cannot be forgiven."

Suddenly they heard a faint sound coming from under the bell, "Martial Grandpa Zhou, if you save my life, I'll give you the bee syrup; otherwise I'll just eat it all before I die!" Zhou Bo Tong was alarmed and quickly moved forward a step. Sure enough that bottle of jade bee syrup was gone without a trace. Zhou Bo Tong had earlier stood by the bell, where Zhao Zhi Jing was right underneath. That small bottle happened to fall right in front of him. Upon hearing that Hao Da Tong couln't get the jade bee syrup from Zhou Bo Tong, he immediately stretched out his hand through the crack and grabbed it.

Now he used this small bottle to bargain for his life. He himself knew that this attempt could be in vain but he was desperate and therefore must fight for his life to the bitter end. As Zhou Bo Tong heard Zhao Zhi Jing's words, he was extremely worried and cried out, "Hey, hey, you definitely can't eat the bee syrup. Wait, let's talk about it." Zhao Zhi Jing then replied: "Then you must agree to save my life."


The Quan Zhen five masters were startled, fearing that if this martial uncle were to agree to this demand, they wouldn't be able to punish Zhao Zhi Jing. Qiu Chu Ji hurriedly said, "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], this person has committed a really heinous crime, we cannot spare him no matter what." Zhou Bo Tong crouched down on the ground and spoke into the bell, "Hey, hey, you definitely cannot eat the bee syrup!"

Liu Chu Xuan then added, "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], pay him no mind! If you want the bee syrup, it's really not difficult. Today we've already explained and settled the animosity with Long Gu Niang. We can now go to Gu Mu and ask her for several bottles. Long Gu Niang has already given you the first one so giving you another ten is really not a big deal!" Zhou Bo Tong then shook his head and said, "Maybe not, maybe not!" In his mind he thought, "Do you think she gave me this bottle of the bee syrup? It was me who stole it. She left the Sacred Scripture Chamber in a hurry so she didn't take it with her. If I asked her again to give me the syrup, she might not agree. And even if she did agree, I'd still have to let you take it away to cure people, how would there be anything left for me in the end?"

Then he heard a gentle hum of five or six jade bees that flew into the hall from the courtyard. The hall doors were closed so the bees hit the window and couldn't find their way out. Zhou Bou Tong came up with an idea and said, "Zhao Zhi Jing, I'm afraid what you took isn't the jade bee syrup." Zhao Zhi Jing hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, it is. Why shouldn't it be?" Zhou Bo Tong then said, "Good, you open the bottle and let me smell it first. If it isn't the bee syrup, there's no need to talk any more nonsense." Zhao Zhi Jing quickly opened the bottle and said, "You smell it, isn't it the bee syrup?" Zhou Bo Tong deeply inhaled the air and said, "Hmm, Hmm, it doesn't smell like it. Let me sniff again a few more times."

Zhao Zhi Jing clasped both hands tightly over the bottle for fear that Zhou Bo Tong would lift the bell up and snatch it from him. At the same time he said, "You sniff this sweet scent, sniff this sweet scent!" The scent of the jade bee syrup was incomparably sweet. As soon as the bottle was opened, the palace hall was filled with the strong fragrant. Zhou Bo Tong sneezed and laughed. He said, "I've got a cold and my nose is not very effective!" and at the same time turned to Qiu Chu Ji, giving him a wink. Zhao Zhi Jing also guessed right that Zhou Bo Tong was using a delay tactic so he said: "If you even touch the bell, I will eat all the bee syrup." But by this time, several jade bees already sensed the syrup smell and flew to the bell. Zhou Bo Tong wielded his sleeves and shouted, "Go in and sting him!" The jade bees of course didn't listen to Zhou Bo Tong but the scent coming out from beneath the bell was growing more and more intense. With weng-weng hums, they all buzzed in through the crack at the bottom of the bell.

The people then heard Zhao Zhi Jing's frantic shouts. With the poignant smell of the syrup, a jade bee flew in and stung him, causing the bottle to drop and shatter. Zhou Bo Tong went mad and shouted, "Stinky Cownose [Taoist], why couldn't you hold the bottle firmly?" He was about to go lift up the bell but the jade bees in the courtyard all crazily buzzed into the bell. Zhou Bo Tong had suffered the jade bee stings so he didn't dare to get near, only seeing numerous bees filling the large space inside the bell. Zhao Zhi Jing's body was covered with the sticky syrup and no matter how he moved his hands or his head, he couldn't avoid the bees and got stung who-know-how-many hundred times all over his body. The many people heard him shout out crazily for a moment and then came an eerie silence. He must have already died from a great amount of poisons.

Zhou Bo Tong then grabbed Liu Chu Xuan's robe and said: "Good, Chu Xuan, now you go ask Long Gu Niang to give me many many bottles of the bee syrup." Liu Chu Xuan creased his brows, feeling quite miserable. Earlier he only tried to stop Zhou Bo Tong from being rash and agreeing to Zhao Zhi Jing's demand so he spoke out quite carelessly. As a matter of fact, the Quan Zhen five masters had used the Big Dipper formation and all their combined forces to injure Xiao Long Nu. It was still not certain that she would ever recover, how could it be "animosity explained and settled" four words as he said? Right now Zhou Bo Tong was holding his chest so he could only let out a painful smile and said: "Don't worry, Shi Shu [Martial Uncle]. Chu Xuan is leaving!" Then he turned towards the back of the mountain and walked to Gu Mu.

Qiu Chu Ji and others knew that this matter was indeed deadly. If Xiao Long Nu was alright, everything would be fine. But if she died from a severe injury, nobody knew how many Quan Zhen disciples would be killed by Yang Guo's hand. Everybody then said in one voice: "Let us all go together."

The woods outside Gu Mu was the area Wang Chong Yang himself had forbidden his disciples to go in, not even one step. The many people all heeded their late master's instruction so they stopped at the edge of the woods. Qiu Chu Ji summoned air into his abdomen and clearly announced: "Yang Xiao Xia [Young Hero Yang], is Long Gu Niang's injury alright? Here we've got several wonder pills to treat the injury. Please come out and take them." Zhou Bo Tong said in a low voice: "Yes, Yes! I want the bee syrup. Come out and trade them!" Half a day passed and still there was no reply. After Qiu Chu Ji used his energy to call the couple, the woods fell into a bleak silence. He looked into the woods but only saw the shady clouds circling around, all the tree branches above, and thorny bushes below.

Liu Chu Xuan and Hao Da Tong walked along the edge of the woods but saw no sign of people passing through the area. It looked like Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu didn't come back to Gu Mu but went away from Mount Zhong Nan. The many people felt both happy and worried at the same time and decided to return to the Chong Yang Palace. The Quan Zhen people were glad that the Yang-Long couple went far away but worried that if Xiao Long Nu didn't recover, the sect would have big trouble lying ahead. On the other hand, the old urchin Zhou Bo Tong was worried that he wouldn't get the jade bee syrup but also quite happy that he didn't have to meet Xiao Long Nu and could avoid exposing his crime of stealing the bee syrup in the first place.

Even though the Quan Zhen five masters had lived on Mount Zhong Nan for several decades, they couldn't have guessed how Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu came back to Gu Mu.

Shielded by the jade bees, the Yang-Long couple rushed to the back of the courtyard and then saw a small building on the side of the mountain. Yang Guo knew it was the Sacred Scripture Chamber of the Chong Yang Palace so he carried Xiao Long Nu inside. They let out a pant of air and then heard the sounds of many people shouting. Dozens of Taoists were pursuing them but they were afraid of the jade bees, not daring to come too close.

Yang Guo settled Xiao Long Nu in a chair, looked around, and contemplated the situation. Then he saw that in the back of the Sacred Scripture Chamber was a mountain creek which was 30-40 feet down below. Even though the gorge was deep, the good thing was that it wasn't too wide. On the side of his body, he always carried a long rope for tying up between two big trees to make a bed. Now he tied one end to the pillar of the Sacred Scripture Chamber and then leapt down while pulling the rope. He swam across the mountain stream and then straightened the rope. He then tied its other end to a big tree before using his lightness Kung Fu to walk on the rope back to the chamber.

As he was back at Xiao Long Nu's side, he softly asked her, "Shall we go overthere?" Xiao Long Nu said, "You said we should go there, then I'd go there with you." Yang Guo laughed and said, "That is called "Marry a chicken, act like a chicken; Marry a dog, act like a dog!" [Chinese saying: A woman must follow and comply to her husband's wishes]. Then he paused and asked again, "In your heart, do you really want to go overthere?" Xiao Long Nu let out a gentle sigh and her face expression changed. Yang Guo knew she most wanted to go home to Gu Mu but they could only get inside at a great expense. While hesitating, they heard the shouting from outside the chamber and knew that they couldn't delay getting out of there much longer.

While he could read her mind, Xiao Long Nu also understood him just the same. So she softly said, "I don't really have to go back to Gu Mu. You don't have to worry about me." Then she smiled, "As long as I can be with you, any place is just as good." Yang Guo now thought, "This is her first wish after we got married and it might be her last wish in life as well. If I couldn't do this for her, how would I deserve to be her husband?"

He looked in all directions. Hearing the sounds of people outside, his heart was in chaos. Then towards the west side he caught a glimpse of a wooden trunk stacked on a bookshelf. His heart leapt and he said, "Got it!" He rushed there and saw that the trunk had a copper lock on it. He ripped it apart and opened the lid. Inside the trunk was filled with books so he lifted up the trunk and turned it upside down, sending the books down on the floor. The trunk itself was made from Camphor woods about an inch thick and was really sturdy. Then he traced his hand along the shelves and found an oilcloth that was used to protect the precious books from rain leaks. He put two pieces of large oilcloth inside the trunk and then, with a rope, dropped the trunk down to the mountain creek below. He came back to carry Xiao Long Nu and said with a smile, "Let us go home."

Xiao Long Nu was very happy and smiled back. She said, "Your ideas are really good." Yang Guo was afraid that she would worry so to comfort her he said, "This sword is very powerful. If a mountain rock blocks the trunk under the water, the sword will cut it open. I'll go fast, you inside the box don't have to worry." Xiao Long Nu smiled and said, "Only one thing is not good." Yang Guo was startled and said, "What is it?" Xiao Long Nu then replied, "I won't be able to see you for a while."

Down at the mountain creek, Yang Guo remembered that he left Guo Xiang at the cave so he said, "We'll bring Uncle Guo's girl with us too, what do you say?" Xiao Long Nu was stunned and so her voice trembled as she said, "Really? You've brought Hero Guo.. Hero Guo's girl?" Yang Guo saw her changed expression, immediately realizing that she thought he'd brought Guo Fu with him. He bent down and gently kissed her face, softly saying, "It is that month-old baby. She still can't cut off anyone's arm!" This time Xiao Long Nu blushed profusely and hid her face in Yang Guo's embrace, not daring to lift up her head.

After a while, she softly said, "We'd better go bring her back to the tomb with us. On a wild mountain like this, leaving her for another while could mean her small life." Yang Guo then thought about how they were delayed at the Chong Yang Palace until now, not knowing how Guo Xiang was doing in the cave. Frightened, he immediately put Xiao Long Nu in the trunk, carried it on his shoulder, and rushed out. As they reached the front of the cave but still didn't hear any crying sound, he got even more worried. He pulled out the thorns that he earlier piled in front of the cave entrance and saw that Guo Xiang was sleeping comfortably, her cheeks still red like they were painted with rouge. The two people were overjoyed. Xiao Long Nu stretched out her hand and said, "Let me carry her." Yang Guo put Guo Xiang in her embrace and then put the wooden trunk back on his shoulder again.

By this time all the Taoists were gathering at the Chong Yang Palace so they didn't run into anybody along the way. Passing a pumpkin field, Yang Guo picked six, seven pumpkins that the Taoists grew. He put them in the trunk and laughingly said, "This will be enough for us to eat for a week." And after a short while, they reached the bank of the mountain creek. He lowered his head to kiss Xiao Long Nu's cheek and gently closed the trunk lid. He then wrapped it tightly with the two pieces of oilcloth. After putting the trunk under water, he breathed in deeply and dove away with the trunk behind him.

He had earlier trained his internal power in a wild mountain flood so diving at the bottom of this small mountain creek this time didn't strain him in the least. The bottom of the creek was rugged with high and low terrains. There were muddy rocks blocking the waterway so the wooden trunk couldn't easily pass through. Yang Guo used his sword to hack them open and make way. Afraid that Xiao Long Nu would be suffocated inside the trunk, he went as fast as he could. In only minutes, they emerged from water, arriving at the underground tunnel below Gu Mu.

He pulled out the oilcloth and opened the trunk lid. Xiao Long Nu was in a dazed state as a result of her heavy injury. Guo Xiang let out a loud healthy cry. She had been eating leopard's milk for over a month so she was actually very strong and healthy. Xiao Long Nu smiled faintly and softly said, "We are finally home!" She couldn't support herself again so she closed her eyes. This time Yang Guo didn't lift her body up but took the whole wooden trunk back to the living quarter inside Gu Mu.

Inside, the tables and chairs were overturned and the beds were crooked. This was the result of that day's evil fight with Li Mo Chou and her disciple before they departed. Yang Guo looked at the stone chamber and the many things he'd used since he was small, his heart felt something beyond description, a mix of happiness and pain. He was expressionless for a moment. Suddenly he felt a drop of water on the back of his hand so he turned his head, just to see that Xiao Long Nu, supporting herself with a chair, stood there with tears slowly flowing from her eyes.

Today the couple had started their family. They finally fulfilled their long time wish and returned home. From now to the afterlife, the bitterness, agony, and worry were all gone but deep down in their hearts they couldn't restrain their sorrow. The two people both knew that Xiao Long Nu was seriously injured. With the injuries from both Fa Wang's golden wheel and the Quan Zhen five masters' strike, how would her delicate body be able to endure?

In their young lives, the two people had always been lonely and miserable and never really experienced true happiness. Suddenly they came to the biggest fortune and then immediately had to say good-bye!

Yang Guo stayed expressionless for a long time. Then he went into Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun]'s bedroom and arranged the bedding on the chilled jade bed. Then he helped Xiao Long Nu up so she could rest comfortably. All the old food that was stored at Gu Mu had been spoiled but the jade bee syrup at the altar indeed could not go bad. He poured out half a cup of the syrup and mixed it with fresh water. He fed it to Xiao Long Nu and baby Guo Xiang. Then he himself drank a bowl of it.

Then he thought, "I've got to lift up my spirit to make her happy. Even my heart is filled with grief and sorrow, I can't let it show on my face." Having thought that, he went to look for two thickest candles and wrapped them with red cloth. He put them on a table and said with a smile, "This is our wedding party!"

With the two red candles, the stone chamber immediately became festive. Xiao Long Nu was sitting on the bed. When she saw her own body stained with blood and dirt, she said with a small smile, "I look terrible like this, how would I resemble a bride!" Then she suddenly remembered something and said, "Guo Er, could you please go to Ancestor Grandma's bedroom and bring me that gold-work box?"

Even though Yang Guo had lived inside Gu Mu for several years, he never dared to enter Lin Chao Ying's room or played with her stuffs. This time he heard Xiao Long Nu speaking to him like this, he said with a laugh, "You have to be this polite when you talk to your husband." He walked over to the headboard of the bed where several boxes were stacked and lifted out the one at the bottom. This box was really not heavy and had no lock. The outside work was red and gold with an exquisite design.

Xiao Long Nu said, "Sun Po Po [Granma Sun] told me that stored in this box were Ancestor Grandma's wedding items. Afterwards she didn't get married and so these things didn't get used." "Hmm," Yang Guo groaned. He looked at this beautifully designed box but felt that amid happiness always was infinite misery. He put down the box on top of the chilled jade bed and opened the lid to see that lying inside were a pearl-inlaid Phoenix crown, a red robe embroidered in gold, and woman clothings made from red satin. All the items were made from the best materials and even though they had been in the box for several decades, they still looked like new. Xiao Long Nu said, "Take them out and let me take a look."

Yang Guo took each item out of the box. Underneath the clothings were a small vanity box inlaid with pearl and gold and a jade carved jewelry box. There were rouge powder and half a bottle of scented oil inside the vanity box. And as soon as the jewelry box was opened, the two of them were wide-eyed, seeing a pearl hairpin, jade bracelets, and gemmed earrings. All items were exquisite, flashing their sparkles. The Yang-Long two people had rarely seen gem stones before so they didn't know how precious these adorning items were. They only saw the elegant inlay work and beautiful design, indicating that these pieces had been created with the most painstaking efforts.

Xiao Long Nu said with a smile, "Should I dress up as a bride?" Yang Guo then replied, "Today you are exhausted. You should rest first and tomorrow you can dress up." Xiao Long Nu shook her head, saying, "No, today is the day we got married. I love being a bride. On that day at the Passionless Valley, that Gong Sun person wanted to marry me, I didn't get dressed up!" Yang Guo said with a laugh, "You called that getting married? That was the senile Gong Sun's delusion!"

Xiao Long Nu picked up the rouge and the honey water. She looked into the mirror, planning to dress up. In her entire life, this would be the first time she put cosmetic powder on her face. Her face complexion was originally white and really didn't need any cosmetics. But this time she was seriously injured and had no color left on her face. She lightly smeared rouge on both cheeks and it added to her beauty tremendously. She paused for a while and then picked up a comb to work on her hair. Then she sighed and said, "I have to make a hair bun but I can't do it. Guo Er, can you do it?" Yang Guo then said, "No, I can't either! Without the hairdo, you are even more beautiful." Xiao Long Nu said with a smile, "Really?" and laid down the comb. She inserted the hairpin and put on the earrings and the jade bracelets on both wrists. Under the red candlelight, her beauty was unpararelled. She was overjoyed as she turned around, wanting to hear praises from Yang Guo.

As soon as she turned her head, she saw Yang Guo's tears streaming down his face. He was overwhelmed by grief. Xiao Long Nu gritted her teeth, pretending not to see him crying. With a smile she said, "Would you say I look good?" With a choking sound, Yang Guo replied, "Most beautiful! Let me bring you the Phoenix crown!" He lifted the crown up and walked over to put it on for her from behind. In the mirror, Xiao Long Nu saw him lifting his sleeve to wipe away his tears. When he faced her again, his face appeared to be joyful. He then said with a smile, "Later, should I call you 'Niang Zi'[Madame] or should I still call you 'Gu Gu'?" In her heart, Xiao Long Nu thought, "Why says 'later'? Is that to say the two of us still have 'later'"? But she put on her happiest expression and laughingly said, "Calling me Gu Gu again is definitely not good. As for calling me 'Madame,' that sounds like an old lady!" Yang Guo then said, "What were you called when you were a child? Today you can let me hear it." Xiao Long Nu replied, "I don't have a childhood name. Master just called me Long Er." Yang Guo said: "Alright, then you call me Guo Er and I will call you Long Er. The two of us are equal and no one gets the worst of it. Wait till we have a baby, we will say: hey, baby's father! And hey, baby's mother! And when the baby is grown and gets married.. .."

Hearing him talking nonsense like this, Xiao Long Nu could no longer grit her teeth to smile. Finally, her resistance broke and she let out a sobbing sound. She bent down on the box and started crying. Yang Guo scrambled forward and brought her into his arms. He softly said, "Long Er, you are not well, I'm also not well. There's no need to pay attention to whatever will happen in the future. Today you are not dead. I'm also not dead. The two of us should be very happy now. Nobody is allowed to think about tomorrow." Xiao Long Nu lifted her head and smiled with tears in her eyes. Then she nodded.

Yang Guo said, "Look at this beautiful dress with a Phoenix design, I'll help you put it on!" He supported her body and put on the dress embroidered in red and gold for her. Xiao Long Nu's tears dried up and she repaired her rouge make-up while sitting by the red candles with a smile.

At this time baby Guo Xiang was sleeping by the head of the bed. Then she opened her small eyes with great curiosity. It seemed like in her tiny heart she felt that the dressed up Xiao Long Nu was really very pretty.

Xiao Long Nu said, "I've dressed up nicely. It's a pity there is no bridegroom's outfit in the trunk. You must felt slightly out of place." Yang Guo then said, "Let me take a look again. Seems like there are some more pretty items in there." As he said that, he moved various scattered items out of the trunk and put them on the bed. Xiao Long Nu saw him taking out a gold flower so she sticked it into his hair. Yang Guo said with a smile, "Not bad, there is a little more." Then he looked at the bottom of the trunk and found a pack of letters bound by a red ribbon. The ribbon color already faded and the envelopes were so old they turned deep yellow.

Yang Guo picked them up and said, "There are letters in here." Xiao Long Nu said, "Let's see what kind of letters they are." Yang Guo then untied the ribbon and saw that on the envelopes was written "To be opened only by Miss Lin Chao Ying" and that there were the words 'Ji Ji' on the left corner. All the twenty letters were addressed in the same way. Yang Guo knew that Wang Chong Yang's given name before becoming a Taoist was Wang 'Ji Ji' so he laughed and said, "These are love letters founding master Chong Yang wrote to our ancestor grandma. Can we read them?" Since childhood, Xiao Long Nu had revered her ancestor grandma as if she was a divine being so she quickly said, "No, we cannot read!"

Still smiling, Yang Guo tied up the bunch of letters with the ribbon and said, "Old sister Sun and her party were so old-fashioned. Seeing us bowing to heaven and earth before founding master Chong Yang's portrait, they all freaked out and accused us of committing a blasphemy. I didn't believe for a minute that in those years Master Chong Yang and our ancestor grandma didn't have a relationship. If we took these letters there for them to take a look, those old cownoses' reactions would be quite interesting." While saying that, he was looking at Xiao Long Nu and couldn't help feeling sorry for Lin Chao Ying. He thought, "Ancestor grandma lived alone inside Gu Mu. She must have more than once tried on the wedding dress. The two of us are much luckier than she was."

Then Xiao Long Nu said, "Right, we are more fortunate than ancestor grandma. Why should you still be unhappy?"

Yang Guo said, "All right!" Suddenly he was startled and said with a laugh, "I didn't say it but you really could guess what I was thinking." Xiao Long Nu curved her lips into a smile and retorted, "If I didn't know what you were thinking, how would I deserve to be your wife?" Yang Guo sit down on the side of the bed and gently extended his left arm to hug her. In their hearts, the two of them were happy beyond words and hoped that a moment like this would last forever. They sat there in each other's embrace and for a long time nobody said a word.

After a while, they both eyed that bunch of letters. And when they looked at each other, they laughed with mischievous glints in their eyes. Knowing perfectly well that they shouldn't read their deceased master's personal letters but, of course, they couldn't bear the curiosity in their hearts.

Yang Guo said, "We'll just read one letter. Is that alright? We definitely won't read more." With a smile Xiao Long Nu said, "I want to read too. So, okay, we'll just read one." Delighted, Yang Guo reached out to get the letters and untied the ribbon. Xiao Long Nu added, "But if the letter is filled with heartaches, you don't have to read it out loud to me." Yang Guo paused slightly and then said, "All right!" But in his heart he knew that the relationship between the Wang-Lin couple didn't end well and was afraid that there would be more misery than happiness in the letters. In that case, it would be better not to read them. Then Xiao Long Nu said, "You don't have to worry about it beforehand. Perhaps there are only convoluted speeches in there."

Yang Guo picked up the first letter and read, "Dear Ying Mei [Sister Ying]: The other day my division and the enemies crossed swords at the Hill of Evil Storm. We were ambushed and suffered a small loss. Four hundred men.. .." As he read on, the letter was filled with the story of the battles between his army and the Jin's. He looked through several other letters, they all talked about military affairs and there was nothing on personal relationships.

Yang Guo sighed and said, "Founding master Chong Yang was indeed a real Han hero. His whole heart was devoted to defending the country but as it was so, our ancestor grandma couldn't be blamed for being estranged." Xiao Long Nu said, "No, ancestor grandma was very delighted to receive these letters." Puzzled, Yang Guo asked, "How do you know?" Xiao Long Nu said, "Of course I don't know. I can only guess what went on inside her mind. You see, every single letter talked about how very urgent and difficult those battle situations were but master Chong Yang, even in distress, still didn't forget to write to our ancestor grandma. Wouldn't you say she was always on his mind?" Yang Guo nodded and said, "Right, it was indeed so." And then he picked up the letter again.

That letter described a desperate situation. Wang Chong Yang's army was overwhelmed by many enemies and they were repeatedly defeated with little hope for support. At the end of the letter, he asked about Lin Chao Ying's injured condition and even though he used only a few words, his deep concerns were quite evident. Yang Guo said, "Hmm, during those years our ancestor grandma was injured but later she was well again. Your wound condition can slowly heal too. After a year or so, you can be recovered."

Xiao Long Nu weakly smiled. She herself knew that her injury this time was far from normal. If an injury this heavy could be cured, that would be like having an immortal walking the earth. But to say it out loud right now wouldn't help light up the situation. Even if Yang Guo's suggestion couldn't convince her, it would make him feel better. So she said, "Slow treatment is good. What's the rush? And these letters don't really talk about private matters, you can read on!"

Yang Guo read another letter, which was filled with words of grief and anger. It talked about the army's defeat and how Wang Chong Yang had to risk everything to break out of a heavy encirclement. But even his retreat was a disaster with ultimate deaths and casualties, at the end of the letter he said he was going to gather troops again for another battle. From that point on every letter all talked about military defeats and setbacks. The Jin power at the North river was very strong and Wang Chong Yang obviously already knew that the matters were gravely serious. The letter was full of desperate and disheartening messages.

Yang Guo said, "These letters are very depressing. Let's not read anymore! Eh, what's this?" Suddenly there was excitement in his voice and the hand that held the letter slightly trembled. He read aloud, "There, at the most northern and bitter cold area, is a stone called chilled jade [Han Yu]. It can control all illnesses and cure incurable deceases and should help my sister [Lin Chao Ying]. Long Er, do you think this.. ..this is the chilled jade bed?"

As Xiao Long Nu saw the happy expression on his face, her voice shook, "You.. You said the chilled jade bed could heal my injury?" Yang Guo replied, "I don't know but master Chong Yang said so. It must have a basis. You see, the chilled jade bed was provided by him, wasn't it? Our ancestor grandma slept on this bed, didn't she? And her severe injury finally healed, right?"

He hurriedly unfolded every letter to look for a way to treat injuries but, apart from that one letter, the two words "chilled jade" were not mentioned again anywhere. Yang Guo finally tied up the many letters with the ribbon and put them back in the box. Blankly, he pondered, "This chilled jade bed is this strange. There must be a reason. But how do I find out a way to treat Long Er's injury? Hmm, let me figure out the way.. let me figure out the way.. .."

Xiao Long Nu smiled and asked, "You look lost in thought, what's on your mind?" Yang Guo then replied, "I'm trying to figure out a way to use the chilled jade bed to treat your injury. Do I grind the stone for you to take as medicine or do I use any medicine to complement it somehow?" If he didn't know that the chilled jade bed could treat all injuries, that would be the end of story but now that he'd read the six words "control all illnesses, cure incurable deceases" and couldn't figure out how to use the chilled jade bed, his heart was on fire. Dismally Xiao Long Nu said, "Do you remember Sun Po Po? She took care of both our ancestor grandma and my master for many years. Still when she was injured by the Taoist named Hao, she.. she died of severy injury." Originally Yang Guo was full of hope. Now hearing her words, he felt as if he was suddenly drenched with cold water.

Xiao Long Nu stretched out her hand to stroke his hair gently. With a gentle voice she said, "Guo Er, you don't have to worry so much about my injury. Why should you put yourself through agony again?" In a flash, Yang Guo was completely disheartened but after a while, he asked, "How did my Shi Zu [martial grandma –referring to XLN's master] get injured?" Even though Yang Guo had lived at Gu Mu for many years, he actually never heard Xiao Long Nu talk about how her master passed away.

Xiao Long Nu said, "My master isolated herself inside Gu Mu and rarely went outside. Then there was this one year my Shi Jie [apprentice sister] went out and caused trouble. She fled back to Mount Zhong Nan so my master had to leave the tomb to help. Then unexpectedly she fell into the enemy's trap. Even though my master lost the fight, she could bring back Shi Jie. And that should be the end of it. But then she bickered with that evil person. Nobody would have expected that he would want a yard after getting an inch. Shortly after the fight, he was outside Gu Mu, issuing a challenge, and then broke into the tomb. My master couldn't fend him off and almost had to drop the dragon stone to die together with him inside. Fortunately, at a critical moment, she threw out a golden needle. That evil person was caught off guard and got hit. The itchy pain was difficult to bear and my master used that opportunity to strike his pressure point. But then seeing him unable to move, she couldn't have expected that Shi Jie had sneaked up to unseal the pressure point. In the end that evil person attacked her and that was when she got struck by his poison hand."

Yang Guo asked, "Who was that evil person? His martial skills were even above my martial grandma. He must have been a high master of her generation." Xiao Long Nu said, "Master didn't tell me. She said that my heart shouldn't be filled with any love or hate feelings and that if she told me who that evil person was, I wouldn't forget him and would later go seek revenge." Yang Guo sighed and said, "Hmmm, Shi Zu [martial grandma] was really a good person!" Xiao Long Nu smiled and said, "If master could see me today being married to a good son-in-law like this, she would be quite delighted." With a laugh, Yang Guo said, "That might not be the case. She wouldn't let you marry anyone." Xiao Long Nu sighed, "My master was really the kindest. Even though at first she wouldn't allow it, afterwards, seeing my heart, she would have relented. She.. she would certainly have liked you."

Xiao Long Nu was recalling her master's kindness and was lost in thought for a long time. Then she said, "After master was injured, she moved to another room on the opposite side far away from the chilled jade bed. She said our Gu Mu sect's martial style and cold air induced and subdued each other, therefore the chilled jade bed wonderfully helped us practicising our martial skills. But after injury, we should not be exposed to the cold air."

Yang Guo made a "hmm" sound while pondering how internal energy circulated through vital organs. To use internal energy according to the jade maiden manual, the pure Yin air would flow through body pulses, causing the inner body to be extremely cold and sending out heat steams to the outside of the body. When practising, clothings had to be removed so the heat steams could be smoothly dispersed without any obstruction. And the internally injured could not use the cold air from the chilled jade bed. He contemplated, "But what did Master Wang Chong Yang mean by "control all illnesses, cure incurable diseases? This induce and subdue principle must be missing some important details." Then he saw Xiao Long Nu's eyelids drooping, indicating that she was exhausted. He said, "You should rest, I'm sitting right here to keep you company."

Xiao Long Nu quickly opened her eyes wide and said, "No, I'm not tired. Tonight, we won't sleep." With her heavy injury, she was afraid that once she slept, she wouldn't wake up again. Then she said, "You keep on talking to me. Hmm, are you tired?" Yang Guo shook his head and said with a tiny smile, "You don't want to sleep then don't. Just close your eyes and keep your mind awake." Xiao Long Nu said, "All right!" She slowly closed her eyelids and said in a low voice, "My master once said, there was one thing that till the day she died she still couldn't figure out. Guo Er, you are very smart, you can think about it." Yang Guo said, "What is it?" Xiao Long Nu then said, "Master hit that evil person's pressure point but she didn't know why Shi Jie [Apprentice Sister] would help him unseal it." Yang Guo was deep in thought for a while and then felt Xiao Long Nu's body resting against his. Her breaths were shallow. She already fell asleep.

Yang Guo gazed at her face, his heart filled with apprehension. Time passed. A candle flickered its last flame and then went out by itself. He suddenly remembered a vertical couplet in a small room at the Peach Blossom Island, "Silkworms will not stop spitting their threads until they die; the candle has burned to ashes when tears dry up." Missing his wife, Huang Yao Shi wrote these two lines of a Tang poem and hung them outside the study where she used to embroider. At that time, Yang Guo saw them but paid no attention. He was just too young to understand. Now he slowly absorbed the true meaning of the lines and his heart was breaking. Suddenly before his eyes, another candle was flickering its last light. He thought, "These two candles are just like Long Er and I. One has burned out and the other is about to be extinguished."

He was deep in thought for a while and then heard Xiao Long Nu quietly murmured, "I'm not going to die. Guo Er.. .. I'm not going to die. The two of us will live for many many many years." Yang Guo said, "That's right. You can't die. You'll slowly improve and then you'll be well. How does your chest feel?" Xiao Long Nu didn't reply. She was just talking in her sleep.

Yang Guo stretched out his hand to brush her forehead but felt it was burning. He was both worried and sad. He thought, "Li Mo Chou did all kinds of evil things but she is now alive and well. Long Er has never caused anyone harm. How come her life is cut short? Oh God, Oh God, you really don't open your eyes?"

In his entire life, he was never a prisoner of fear and he always acted as he pleased. But right now, facing a hopeless situation, he couldn't do anything. He gently put Xiao Long Nu's body to the side and knelt down on the ground. He secretly prayed, "So long as God have mercy and let her injured body recover, I will.. .. I will.. .." To redeem Xiao Long Nu's life, how would there be anything he was not willing to do?

While he was praying, Xiao Long Nu suddenly said, "It was Ou Yang Feng. Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] said it was Ou Yang Feng! .. .. Guo Er, Guo Er, where are you?" She called out in alarm and lifted her body up. Yang Guo quickly sat down by the bed, grabbed her hand, and said, "I'm here." In her sleep, Xiao Long Nu felt her body without support so she immediately woke up. Seeing now that Yang Guo was still right by her body and hadn't gone anywhere, she was greatly consoled.

Yang Guo said, "Don't worry. In this lifetime, I'll never leave you. And in the future, when we leave Gu Mu, I will never leave your side even for a bit." Xiao Long Nu said, "In the outside world, sure enough there are so many good places to go. But when we get outside, I'll still be afraid." Yang Guo said, "Today we don't have to fear anything. We'll wait for a few months for your body to recover, and then we'll head south. I've heard that Ling Nan [a place in South China] is warm like Spring all year round. The flowers bloom and don't wither and the leaves always stay green. We'll put down our swords. We'll grow plants and raise small chickens and ducks. We'll live under the southern sun for the rest of our lives and have many many boys and girls. Do you think these are good ideas?" Xiao Long Nu daydreamed and gently said, "We'll put down our swords forever. That's wonderful! Nodody hurts us and we don't need to hurt others. We'll grow things in a farm and we'll keep chickens and ducks.. .. Oh, only if I don't die.. .."

For the moment, the two hearts flew to a far-away Southern place, which was blessed with Spring breezes and morning sun. They could smell the rich flower fragrant and they could hear the sounds of small chickens and ducks clucking.. ..

No longer being able to support her head, Xiao Long Nu was about to slip into a blur. But she was determined not to sleep so she said, "I don't want to sleep. You keep talking to me." Yang Guo said, "Just now in your sleep you said something about Ou Yang Feng. What was the matter?" Xiao Long Nu then said, "I said Ou Yang Feng? What about him?" Yang Guo added, "You also said Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] decided that it was him." As Xiao Long Nu heard him saying that, she immediately recalled something and said, "Oh! Sun Po Po said the man who injured my master had to be West Poison Ou Yang Feng. She said in the world there were only very few people who could have hurt my master. And Ou Yang Feng was the only bad person among those people. Until her death, my master never said that evil person's name. Sun Po Po asked her 'Is it Ou Yang Feng, is it Ou Yang Feng?' but my master shook her head, smiled, and then passed away. Isn't that Ou Yang Feng your adoptive father? His martial skills were really high, no wonder my master couldn't defeat him."

Yang Guo sighed and said, "My adoptive father has died. Martial Grandma and Sun Po Po have died. Master Chong Yang and Ancestor Grandma have died. Hatred, love, and death were all written off by God. It was like my martial grandma could see the future so she was not willing to say my adoptive father's name.. .." But suddenly he shouted, "Oh, that must be it!"

Xiao Long Nu asked, "What have you figured out?" Yang Guo replied, "Li Mo Chou didn't unseal my adoptive father's pressure point that Martial Grandma hit. Actually, it was because Martial Grandma didn't hit the mark in the first place!" Xiao Long Nu said, "She didn't hit the mark? That was not possible. My master's acupoint sealing skill was really remarkable." Yang Guo said, "My adoptive father had two of the world's wonder martial skills. In his whole body, the vital energy could circulate against the normal flow. The opposite circulation shifted all his pressure points so sealing the pressure point actually meant missing the point. Xiao Long Nu said, "There is something that strange?"

Yang Guo said, "Let me try it for you to see." Having said that, he got up and used his hand to prop himself on the ground, with his head down and legs up in the air. Then he quickly spinned himself, making a few rounds, and then breathed in a few times. Suddenly he jumped up and precisely bumped his head into a pointed corner of the table in front of the bed. Xiao Long Nu cried out, "Ai yo, be careful!" only to see the "Hundred Meetings" point [Bai Hui] on his head hit the corner of the stone table hard. This "Hundred Meetings" point was right on top of the brain, where the vertical line from the front to the back of the head and the horizontal line from the left ear to the right ear intersect, and hence the name "hundred meetings point." This was a vital pressure point, which controlled all the veins. Doctors usually compared it to the North star, as in the saying "Bai Hui [Hundred Meetings] is sky, Xuan Ji [Jade Pearl -chest] is man, and Yong Quan [Bubbling Spring -legs] is earth," which was to say that these "three big pressure points" were the most critical in a human body. Knowing this, Yang Guo bumped it right into a table corner and then turned around to stand erect. With a laugh he said, "You see, as the energy flew into the opposite direction, my Hundred Meetings point changed its position!" Xiao Long Nu clucked her tongue in approval and said, "How really strange. And he came up with that!"

Hitting himself this time, even though Yang Guo didn't seal his pressure point, he used quite a bit of force and his brain couldn't help becoming dull. In his daze, he seemed to have figured out something important all of a sudden but couldn't quite say what it was. Xiao Long Nu saw him looking dazed and disoriented so she said with a smile, "Dumb kid, a gentle demonstration would have been enough. Nobody told you to crash so hard. Does it hurt?" Yang Guo didn't reply, just waving his hand for her to stop talking. He concentrated on his thought but felt like there was a fuzzy shadow flashing in his brain, barring him from getting a clear picture. It seemed he needed to recall something from the past, yet it was also like he'd suddenly dicovered something new. He wished he could have just taken it out from his brain, stopped that moving shadow, put that thought before his eyes and clearly looked at it.

He thought for a while. Still he couldn't grasp the main points and couldn't give up thinking either. He grabbed his head. Quite vexed, he asked Xiao Long Nu, "Long Er, I've figured out an extremely important matter but I don't know what. Do you know?" When a person got his thoughts mixed up like entangled threads and he himself didn't have a clue, asking another person what he was thinking was quite ridiculous. But for the two of them who had lived together for a long time and understood each other very well, their guesses would be correct most of the times. Xiao Long Nu said, "This is a very important matter?" Yang Guo replied, "Yes." Xiao Long Nu asked, "Is it related to my injury? Delighted, Yang Guo said, "Good, very good! What matter is that? What have I figured out?"

With a chuckle, Xiao Long Nu said, "You just talked about your adoptive father Ou Yang Feng. You said he could direct vital energy to circulate in the opposite direction. Is this related to my injured condition? I'm not the person he injured.. .." Yang Guo suddenly jumped up and shouted out loudly, "Got it!"

These two words "Got it!" were brightly loud. The doors of the stone chambers inside Gu Mu were not closed so each and every word spoken out echoed back, "Got it, Got it.. .." Yang Guo grabbed Xiao Long Nu's right arm and repeatedly cried out, "You could be saved! You could be saved! You could be saved!" He couldn't restrain his happiness; nor could he really find words to express it. Seeing him all excited, Xiao Long Nu was infected with this joyous feeling. She sat up.

Yang Guo said, "Long Er, you listen to my words. Right now you are seriously injured so you can't use our sect's Jade Maiden skills. And this makes it difficult for you to recover from the injury. But if you can circulate your vital energy against the flow to heal yourself, the chilled jade bed will precisely be a marvelous aid. Xiao Long Nu was yet to understand. She mumbled, "Vital energy against the flow.. .. the chilled jade bed.. .." Happily, Yang Guo said, "Would you say this is fate? You'd practised the Jade Maiden skills, that was good enough. On top of that we have the chilled jade bed." Xiao Long Nu became confused so she said, "I still don't quite understand." Yang Guo then explained, "The Jade Maiden skills follow the Yin energy but the reverse flow skills are pure Yang. When I talked about my adoptive father's reverse energy flow skills, I vaguely felt like your injured condition could be healed. Then I hit my head and, afterwards, recalled what Master Chong Yang mentioned in his letter about the chilled jade. And it all became clear." Xiao Long Nu said, "So is that to say our ancestor grandma, who used the chilled jade bed to treat her injury, could reverse the energy flow as well? Yang Guo said, "That's not likely. Our ancestor grandma would definitely not know this reverse energy flow technique. But I suspect that she was injured by the Yin's soft internal energy. Your injury, on the other hand, was caused by the opposite force of the hard Yang." Xiao Long Nu smiled and nodded. Then with a joyful feeling, she put her mind at ease.

Yang Guo said, "We'd better not wait. Let us do it now." He then went into the firewood room and took out a bunch of firewoods. He lit them up in the corner of the stone room. Then he taught Xiao Long Nu the most basic elements of the reverse energy flow skills and helped her sit up on the chilled jade bed. He himself sit by the fire. As he used his left hand to press against Xiao Long Nu's right palm, he said, "I'll push this heat through each of your pressure points and you use your internal energy to circulate it against the normal flow. We'll do it one point at a time and when the heat comes back to the chilled jade bed, your injured condition should improve a little bit." With a smile Xiao Long Nu said, "Do I have to get down and spin myself just like you did?" Yang Guo said, "Nah, that's not necessary. Spinning is for shifting pressure points. It's only good when fighting enemies. We are slowly healing your injury, sitting down here is just as good."

Xiao Long Nu stretched her hand to hold his left palm and with a smile she said, "Come to think of it, that Guo Gu Niang wasn't too mean. She didn't cut off both of your arms." The two people had been through so many near death incidents that the matter of missing an arm became trivial. And Xiao Long Nu was even joking about it. Yang Guo also laughed and retorted, "If both of my arms got cut off, I'd still have two feet. Only that using my soles to help you circulate the energy would be hilariously smelly and not quite elegant." Xiao Long Nu scoffed and then silently recited the principle of reverse energy flow. After a while, she said, "I've got it!"

Yang Guo saw that the fire was burning too intense so he got up to slow it down. And just when they were about to begin circulating the energy, he suddenly called out, "Ai yo! I almost missed one important detail! Xiao Long Nu said, "What is it?" Yang Guo pointed to Guo Xiang who were sleeping at the foot of the bed and said, "At a critical moment, if this little devil cries out, it will be quite a disaster!" Xiao Long Nu then murmured, "Very dangerous!" When one was circulating and cultivating energy, the most evil taboo was a disturbed mind. Quite some time ago, Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo were practising their Jade Maiden skills and was discovered by Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing. Xiao Long Nu's anger caused her to spit up blood and almost died. In addition to that, at that time her body was normally healthy. Today she was heavy injured, how would she be able to withstand any bit of distraction?

Yang Guo mixed half a bowl of the bee syrup, picked up Guo Xiang, and fed her before moving her to a distant stone chamber. He shut two doors between them so even if she cried out, they wouldn't hear her. Then he came back to stay by the chilled jade bed and said, "To clear the thirty-six major pressure points your body, I think at best it will take ten days and at worst about half a month. Originally it should have taken many many days because it's hard to avoid distraction. But our Gu Mu is completely isolated from the outside world, making it the best place on earth for recovery. Even the most remoted wild mountain or valley won't be as good because there will always be the sound of birds or the smell of flowers to disturb one's mind." Xiao Long Nu smiled and said, "My injury was caused by the Quan Zhen Taoists but it was their founding master who gave us the tomb chamber and the chilled jade bed for me to rest and recover in. So their merits and crimes actually cancelled out each other." Then Yang Guo said, "What about that Jin Lun Fa Wang? We can't let him get away with it."

Xiao Long Nu sighed and said, "So long as I can live, what else do you have to be unhappy about?" Yang Guo held her hand and said, "You are right. This time after you've recovered, we'll never fight with people again. God is so kind to us. Hmmm." Xiao Long Nu gently said, "We'll go South to become farmers and we'll raise a lot of chickens and ducks.. .." As she was saying that, she felt the heat energy passing into her body. With a trembled heart, she used the reverse energy flow technique that Yang Guo taught her to circulate that energy.

This healing method of using the reverse energy flow technique and the chilled jade bed to complement each other was really strange but the result was also very effective. Years ago, Reverend Yi Deng had used the divine one Yang finger to cure Huang Rong's injury by circulating energy and clearing all her pressure points in pretty much the same way. The difference was that using the one Yang finger to cure an illness hostilely consumed a lot of [Reverend Yi Deng's] internal energy and hence a quick recovery while Yang Guo's method would take many days to see the result. And more than that, for a non-martial person who was heavily injured, a master of the one Yang finger would use his profound internal energy to help the injured circulate the Yang energy and thus brought him back to life. In Xiao Long Nu's case, she didn't have a very deep internal energy foundation but she and Yang Guo were from the same sect, yet could use different techniques. Not even Ou Yang Feng coming back from the grave or Huang Yao Shi arriving could create a harmony between the helper and the helped like this. And nor would they be able to help Xiao Long Nu to reverse her energy flow without innumerable difficulties.

Three times a day, Yang Guo would go out to feed Guo Xiang with honey and boiled pumpkin. Other than that he rarely left Xiao Long Nu's side. To clear major pressure points, sometimes it would take four or five hours during which their hands could not be separated. At the time Guo Jing was injured, Huang Rong spent seven days and seven nights helping him cure the injuries. Compared to Guo Jing's sturdy body, Xiao Long Nu's was far more delicate and so her injury was many times more serious.

----------------------------

That day at the outskirt of the woods, Huang Rong used her "Orchid Brushing Acupoint" skills to defeat Li Mo Chou. Then she looked everywhere but still couldn't find her baby Guo Xiang. She was filled with anxiety and sorrow. As she came out of the forest, she shouted at Li Mo Chou, "What kind of tricks did you use? Where did you hide my baby?" Surprised, Li Mo Chou said, "Isn't the little girl tucked behind the thorn fence?" Huang Rong was so worried that she almost broke down in tears. She shook her head and replied, "She's disappeared." Li Mo Chou had been fostering Guo Xiang for many days and was quite attached to her. Suddenly hearing that she was missing, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly said, "Must be either Yang Guo or Jin Lun Fa Wang." Huang Rong then asked, "How do you know?"

Then Li Mo Chou told her about her fight with Yang Guo and Fa Wang over the baby outside the wall of Xiang Yang. As she talked about dangers, Huang Rong couldn't keep her indifferent appearance. Seeing Li Mo Chou's worried expression, Huang Rong was then convinced that she didn't know where Guo Xiang was and so she stretched out her hand to unseal the "Jade Pearl" pressure point [Xuan Ji] on her chest. With Huang Rong's technique, Li Mo Chou could move round but she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone within a twelve-hour period. With a forced smile, Li Mou Chou straightened up her body and brushed away the dirts. She said, "If it was Yang Guo who took her, she wouldn't be harmed. I'm only afraid that Fa Wang snatched her." Huang Rong asked again, "Why is that?" Li Mou Chou replied, "Yang Guo was extremely good with the little baby girl. He really quickly protected her from harms. That was why I blindly thought she was his daughter." Having realized what she just said, she suddenly shut up for fear that Huang Rong would get angry again.

But really Huang Rong's mind was occupied by another matter. She was thinking about how Yang Guo and Li Mo Chou battled with Jin Lun Fa Wang to protect Guo Xiang, while she herself and Guo Fu wrongly accused him of abominable crimes, and how Guo Fu had cut off his arm. Deep down in her heart was a grim regret. She blamed herself, "Alas, Guo Er has saved Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing]. He's saved me. He's saved Fu Er. And yet this time he's saved Xiang Er.. .. First impressions always stuck in my heart. I thought about his terribly evil father and then concluded that the son had to be like the father. I never trusted him.. .. Ocassionally I was treating him nicely and then I'd suspect him of doing something again. Rong Er.. Rong Er.. You've prided yourself on being intelligent. You've spoken of confidentiality and righteousness. You are really nothing like Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing].

Seeing tears brimming in her eyes, Li Mo Chou thought she was worried about her daughter's safety. So she urged, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], your daughter is only a month old. She's gone through quite a catastrophe but not even a single hair on her head is damaged. She was born as pretty as a doll [jade snow]. Even a she-devil, who killed people without batting an eye like myself, likes her very much. She must have been born with a lucky life.. the life that will change misfortune into fortune. And for all that, you can be at peace. Let the two of us go look for her together."

Huang Rong wiped away the tears with her shirt sleeve and thought that what Li Mo Chou said was quite right. She also thought, "Honesty is the best way. Later on, I'll let people think badly of me but I won't think badly of people." Then she stretched out her hand to unseal Li Mo Chou's "Jade Pearl" point [Xuan Ji] again and said, "Li Dao Zhang [Sister Li] is willing to go find my daugther with me, I'm very grateful. But if you have an important matter to attend to, I'll see you later."

Li Mochou said, "What important matter? The most important thing is to find this little baby. You wait a minute!" Having said that, she rushed to the big hole inside a big tree and untied a rope on a leopard's foot. Then she slapped its behind and said, "Off you go." That leopard let out a low roar and quickly disappeared into the long grass. Puzzled, Huang Rong asked, "What did the leopard do?" With a laugh, Li Mo Chou said, "That was your daughter's wetnurse."

Huang Rong smiled faintly and the two people headed back into town. Then they saw Guo Fu standing at the road that led into town. She was waiting impatiently for her mother.

Seeing Huang Rong, Guo Fu jumped up with joy and called out, "Ma [Mother], little sister was.. .." She cut herself off in mid-sentence when she unexpectedly saw that standing behind her mother was Li Mo Chou and she couldn't help being frightened. She prepared herself to fight. At normal times, she heard Wu Di Xiong [The Wu Brothers] said that Li Mo Chou killed their mother so in her heart this was the most evil person on earth.

Huang Rong said, "Li Dao Zhang [Sister Li] is helping us searching for your little sister. What did you say about your sister just now?" Guo Fu replied, "Mei Mei [Sister] was kidnapped by Yang Guo. And he also snatched my little red horse away with him. You look at this sword." Having said that, she raised a bent sword to show her mother and said, "He used his empty shirt sleeve to strike it. The sword hit the corner of a wall and it turned out like this." Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou asked at the same time, "Using his shirt sleeve?" Guo Fu replied, "Right, it was really weird! Who would have thought he'd learned a devil Kung fu."

Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou looked at each other in amazement. The two of them naturally knew that a person with extremely profound internal energy could definitely turn silk into a stick, or using a soft material to strike a hard object. However, even such a renowned and talented master could be found, he would still need thirty or forty years of practice to reach that level. With a very young age, Yang Guo surprisingly had reached this high stage. And this was extremely rare. As Huang Rong heard that her daughter was taken by Yang Guo, she felt quite relief. Li Mo Chou, on the other hand, thought to herself, "This boy's marvelous Kung Fu must be the result of learning from my master's Jade Maiden manual. Right now I have Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] with me. If I help her get her daughter back, she will help me snatch the manual. I'm the first disciple of the sect. Even though Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister] was Master's favorite, she already broke the sect's rule. How could I let the manual fall into a man's hand?" And with this thought, she felt herself quite righteous.

Huang Rong had tracked down Yang Guo's direction and said, "Fu Er, you don't have to go back to the Peach Blossom Island anymore. We'll go find Yang Da Ge [Big Brother Yang] together." Guo Fu was very pleased, saying, "Okay, Okay!" But then when she thought that she would have to see Yang Guo, her face turned completely awkward. Huang Rong's face was grim and she said, "When you see him again, don't ask him if he's forgiven you. You have to sincerely take the blame and apologize." In her heart, Guo Fu didn't want to submit so she said, "Why do I have to do it? Isn't he the one kidnapping Mei Mei [Sister]?" Huang Rong simply rephrased Li Mo Chou's words and said, "If he really had an evil intention, do you think your sister would still live today? Also, If he didn't just hit your sword but rather aimed at your small head, don't you think right now there would be quite a pretty scene?"

Hearing her mother's words, Guo Fu still couldn't help but shiver inside. She secretly thought, "Is that to say he's really shown mercy?" But since she had been spoiled since she was little so she still argued, "He's snatched my sister away, naturally he is already on his way to the Passionless Valley!" Huang Rong shook her head and said, "No, he would definitely go back to Mount Zhong Nan." Guo Fu pursed her lips and said, "Ma, you are completely helping him! If he really had a good intention, why wouldn't he bring Mei Mei back to us in Xiang Yang? For what reason would he have to take her to Mount Zhong Nan?"

Huang Rong sighed and said, "You and Yang Da Ge [Big Brother Yang] grew up together. For all that you still don't understand his character! He's always been arrogant and he's never taken kindly to insults. You cut off his arm. He could have taken your life but he didn't have the heart to. But for this matter, he also wouldn't back down. He took your sister away to make us worry. When time passes and his anger disappears, he'll just bring your sister back to us. Have you understood? You accused him of stealing your little sister so he simply did it to show you that he could!

Huang Rong returned to the small restaurant that they just visited. She borrowed stationary and penned a short letter. Then she gave the store partner two silver coins for him to deliver the letter to Guo Jing in Xiang Yang. That man said, "Guo Da Sha [Hero Guo] protects our borders and keeps our mind at ease. He really is our people's Buddha. If we little people could help in anyway, we'll not hesitate." He also was not willing to take the money. He picked up the letter and happily left. Guo Fu saw the many people revere her father like this, she was very pleased in her heart.

The three people bought mules and set out toward Mount Zhong Nan. Guo Fu didn't like Li Mo Chou and they rarely talk on the way. When she bumped into Li Mo Chou by chance and couldn't avoid talking, her expression would turn cold. They started traveling in the morning and stopped at night to rest. The journey was smooth. But this afternoon, while the three of them rode in a line, they saw someone speeding her horse towards them.


END OF CHAPTER 28

[Han Solo]

Chapter 28

Translated by BeeDreamer

Yang Guo wrapped his right empty sleeve around Xiao Long Nu's waist to support her body and gently said: "Gu Gu, let's go!" Xiao Long Nu gave him a sweet smile, softly saying: "This time I can die by your side. In my heart.. in my heart I'm very happy." Then something came to her mind so she said: "Guo Da Xia [great hero Guo]'s daughther cut off your arm. She didn't mean you well. Later on who will take good care of you?" Her heart sank when she thought about this so she softly added: "You'll be lonely by yourself, you.. won't have anyone to keep you company.."

Yang Guo saw her life about to perish, he was overwhelmed by grief. Suddenly he remembered something: "That day we were here at Mount Zhong Nan, she asked me if I was willing to make her my wife. At that time I was so shocked I couldn't answer and that led to many miserable and catastrophic events afterwards. We don't have much time left, I have to let her know my heartfelt feelings." So he said it out loud: "What do I care if you are my master? What do I care about a reputation? We will just do as we please and screw people if they can't take it! In life or in death, neither of us will ever be sad again, nor will we be alone and lonely. From now on, you are not my master, you are not my Gu Gu [auntie], you are my wife!"

Xiao Long Nu's heart was filled with joy. She gazed at his face and softly said: "Are you really speaking from your heart? Or are you just saying sweet words to make me happy?" Yang Guo replied: "Of course this is what I feel in my heart. My arm got chopped off and you are feeling sorrier for me than I am for myself; when you come across any hardship, I feel just the same." Xiao Long Nu softly said: "That's right. In this world, except you and me caring for each other, there's no one else."

The several hundred Taoists at Chong Yang Palace were students of spirititual ways who let go to become monks. Suddenly hearing the two people speaking tender words of love and care, they found themselves in a difficult situation – the old monks were quite embarrassed while the young ones unavoidably felt their worldly desires stirred up. They looked at each other in dismay and some couldn't help blushing. The Sage of Tranquility Sun Bu Er shouted: "You two quickly get out of here. Chong Yang Palace is a holy place, you shouldn't be here talking improperly like this!"

Yang Guo turned a deaf ear and only gazed into Xiao Long Nu's eyes. Then he said: "In those years the late master Chong Yang and our Gu Mu sect [the ancient tomb sect]'s ancester grandma originally should have been married. Don't know what strange grudges broke them apart to the end. Today before him we'll bow to heaven and earth and become man and wife, letting our ancestor grandma vent her anger." He originally didn't think very highly of Wang Chong Yang. But then he started learning from the work that Wang Chong Yang left engraved at Gu Mu [the ancient tomb], and the more he practised, the more he admired him. He even secretly felt like he was Wang Chong Yang's successor in a way. Xiao Long Nu let out a sigh and quietly said: "Guo Er, you are really good to me."

During those years Wang Chong Yang and Lin Chao Ying were deeply in love. Quan Zhen's five masters all knew about it. They respected their master for cutting all his emotions with a proverbial sword like a true hero but when they thought about how the supreme martial arts master Lin Chao Ying, whose beauty was unrivalled, locked herself up inside Gu Mu for the rest of her life, they all sighed. This time Yang Guo brought up this matter, the young Taoists didn't understand while the old masters trembled in their hearts.

Sun Bu Er shouted: "Our late master had great wisdom. He let go of the secular world and started our sect, cutting himself off all worldly pains. How could an infant like you who were born after his time pry into his business? If you have the galls to be this outrageous and talk rubbish again, don't blame my heartless sword!" That day at Da Sheng Guan hero banquet, Yang Guo rejected Sun Bu Er's offered sword, embarrassing her at the scene. Even though she was a Taoist nun, her mind was far less generous than Qiu Chu Ji, Wang Chu Yi and others. She was the revered elder of the Quan Zhen sect and was insulted by a youngster of her disciples' generation, she naturally took it to heart. Also being a woman living and practising Taoism in a group of male Taoists, she became even stricter. As she heard Yang Guo's declaration, determining to bow to heaven and earth [get married] before the sacred portrait of her sect's founding master, her rising anger became difficult to suppress. Now seeing the Yang-Long couple totally ignored her shout, her sword immediately came out of its sheath with a 'shua' sound.

Yang Guo gave her a cold look and thought: "You old nun by yourself surely is not my match. Only if I fought with you, the rest of the Quan Zhen sect wouldn't just stand by. But I have to marry Gu Gu immediately. If we don't do it right now and leave the Chong Yang Palace and if by chance her injuries don't heal, won't I be giving her grieve to the end? You scolded me for 'being outrageous.' Humph, I, Yang Guo, will show you outrageous. I already said we would be married before the portrait of founding master Chong Yang and I will do as I said." He scanned the area and saw only half of the taoists holding a sword in their hands. He then said: "Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun], you are set on forcing us to leave, is that it?"

Sun Bu Er sternly said: "Beat it! From now on, the ties between Quan Zhen sect and Gu Mu sect are completely severed. There will be no more connection between us for all eternity and it's best everybody not meet again!"

Yang Guo let out a deep sigh and shook his head. Then he turned around, walking two steps towards the small trail that led to Gu Mu and slowly putting the sword back onto his back. His right sleeve flared out while he used his left arm to support Xiao Long Nu. He secretly channeled air into his abdomen. Suddenly he lifted his head towards the sky and gave out a roar so loud that it shook the tree branches in the woods. Hearing this ear-shattering roar, the Taoists all became startled.

And even before he finished his roar, he let go of Xiao Long Nu and leapt backwards. In a flash, his left hand sealed both 'Hui Zong' [Returning Orthodox] and 'Zhi Gou' [Sustaining Waterway] points on Sun Bu Er's right wrist. As Xiao Long Nu's body, now without support, was about to collapse, Yang Guo quickly dragged Sun Bu Er along with him to prop Xiao Long Nu's body back up. His jumping back and forth was lightning fast, like the movement of a fleeing rabbit. Before the many Taoists had a chance to blink their eyes, Sun Bu Er already fell into Yang Guo's clutch and nothing else could be done about that. Qiu Chu Ji and Sun Bu Er had long fought powerful enemies. At the beginning, they were guarding themselves against Yang Guo's swift attack but then they saw him already put away his weapon and head out towards the small trail outside, and with his only arm supporting Xiao Long Nu. Naturally, they concluded that he'd already decided to give up. They hadn't expected that he would use his roar to distract the enemies and that his actions -- using his left hand to support Xiao Long Nu instead of his shirt sleeve and putting away the sword -- were actually a strategy designed to fool them so he could capture Sun Bu Er. The many Taoists shouted and raised their swords. But as Sun Bu Er was held captive, nobody dared to move forward to attack.

Yang Guo said in a low voice: "Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun], I have made a great social blunder. Please turn around and keep us company during the ritual." While still holding Sun Bu Er's wrist, he slowly led Xiao Long Nu to the back of the hall of the Chong Yang Palace. The Taoists followed them, their faced filled with anger, yet they didn't know what to do.

The three of them entered the hall through a side door and walked along the winding corridor until they arrived at the back of hall. Yang Guo turned around and in a clear voice he said: "Everybody please stand outside. You may not enter the hall, not even one step. We've already decided that we would sacrifice our lives. If we fight, Sun Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Sun] and the two of us will have the same fate."

Wang Chu Yi quietly said: "Qiu Shi Ge [Apprentice Brother Qiu], how do we handle this?" Qiu Chu Ji then replied: "Nothing for the moment, we'll wait for the right opportunity. It looks like he wouldn't dare to harm Sun Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister Sun]." These Quan Zhen masters roamed the martial world for their entire life, their names renowned. They hadn't expected that in their sunset years they would be controlled by a mere boy. They were undoubtedly angry but also couldn't help laughing out loud.

Yang Guo pulled out a prayer mat for Sun Bu Er to sit down on and then said: "Pardon!" while sealing the "Da Chui" [Big Spine] and "Shen Tang" [Divine Hall] pressure points on her back, which made her unable to walk. As he saw the Taoists standing outside as they were told, not daring to enter, he helped Xiao Long Nu stand in front of the portrait of Wang Chong Yang, shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Before their eyes was a portrait of a Taoist holding a long sword with a graceful disposition. He couldn't be more than thirty years old. On the side of the portrait were three words "The Living Dead." The writings were scarce but the man in the middle of the painting exuded a heroic air, his elegance unpararelled. When Yang Guo came to learn martial skills at the Chong Yang Palace as a boy, he was familiar with this painting, knowing that this was a portrait of the founding master. But now he remembered quite vividly that there was also a portrait of Wang Chong Yang at Gu Mu. Even though this one was a front portrait and the one at Gu Mu was a back view, the art strokes were no different so he said: "This painting was also done by our ancestor grandma." Xiao Long Nu nodded, giving him a sweet smile and softly saying: "The two of us get married before the portrait of Master Chong Yang but the picture was drawn by our ancestor grandma, this is really very good."

With his foot, Yang Guo placed two prayer mats side by side in front of the portrait and then said in a loud voice: "Disciple Yang Guo and disciple named Long are here to marry in front of Founding Master Chong Yang. At this place the numerous Taoists of the Quan Zhen sect all bear witness." Having said that, he knelt down on a prayer mat but saw Xiao Long Nu still standing, not kneeling down, so he said: "We are bowing to heaven and earth right now, you also have to kneel down!" Xiao Long Nu hesitated, her eyes red and her tears flowing. Yang Guo softly asked: "What's wrong? You don't like us to get married at this place?" Xiao Long Nu's voice broke: "No, it's not that!" She paused and then said: "I'm already not pure and I'm also a dying person. Why should you.. Why should you have to be this good to me?" Having said this, her tears flew down her cheeks.

Yang Guo got up again and used his sleeve to wipe away her tears. He smiled and said: "Why do you still not understand my heart?" Xiao Long Nu lifted her head to look at him and he softly continued: "I really wish we two could live to be 100 years so I could take good care of you and return your love and affection. But if I can't, if God would only give us one day, then one day we'd be man and wife. Even if for only a few hours, then a few hours we'd also be man and wife." Xiao Long Nu saw the sincere expression on his face and the infinite affection in his eyes, her heart fluttered, not quite knowing how to cherish him the way he deserved it. Her sorrowful face slowly revealed a dimply smile, her tears dried up, and her expression was that of boundless joy. Then she gracefully knelt down on a prayer mat.

Yang Guo then also knelt down. The two people bowed down before the portrait and thought: "Even though our lives have been miserable, we have a time like this now - we are really most fortunate. Even pains of the past would cut our lives short, it wouldn't be something to worry about at all." Both of them exchanged a smile and, on the prayer mats, lowered their heads.

In a low voice Yang Guo spoke his vow: "Disciple Yang Guo and Disciple named Long truly love each other and forever will never change. All through our lives, we will be husband and wife." Xiao Long Nu also said in the same tone: "May Master bless us. All through our lives, let us be husband and wife."

Sun Bu Er was sitting on a prayer mat. Even though her body couldn't move, she clearly heard everything the two people said. She looked at them and then understood. Even though the two people's action was preposterous, it actually stemmed from their guileless nature. She couldn't help thinking back to the days she was young and newly married to Ma Yu. Originally she was very angry but by the time the Yang-Long couple stood up, the expression on her face already turned gentle.

Yang Guo thought: "This time the two of us have become man and wife. Even I am to die right way, I have no regret." As his original worry about the Taoists breaking in to stop them vanished, he turned to Xiao Long Nu and joked: "I am a rebellious disciple of the Quan Zhen sect. Throughout the martial world, they all knew about it. Now you are also a big rebellious disciple." Xiao Long Nu said: "That's right. My master ordered me not to accept a male disciple, nor to get married but I didn't comply. The many disasters fallen upon us were actually to pay for our crimes." Yang Guo brightly said: "One must rebel to the end. Master Wang and our ancester grandma were heroes, 100 times greater than us, but they didn't dare to get married. If the two of them in the afterworld knew, they couldn't say we were afraid to do it!"

Then this time there was a 'ka''la' violent sound coming from the roof, tiles flying about and the rafter breaking. The force was astonishing. The roof actually cracked down by the weight of a gigantic bell, falling straight down on the top of Sun Bu Er's head...

As Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu were boldly bowing to heaven and earth in the hall, the big and small Taoists of the Quan Zhen sect couldn't suppress their anger. Liu Chu Xuan pondered for a while and then came up with a plan. He bent down and whispered it into the ears of the other three masters, Qiu Chu Ji, Wang Chu Yi and Hao Da Tong. The three of them nodded again and again and then said something to a disciple at the door in a low voice. Taking advantage of the situation while the Yang-Long couple were kneeling down inside, they took down a heavy copper bell in front of the hall, which weighed over a thousand catties. The four of them together would hold the bell, fly up to the top of the hall, and find the right location to smash it down with great force. The bell would make a big hole in the roof before falling down to where Sun Bu Er was sitting below. With the four masters' martial skills, even though the bell was very heavy, it would drop down with less than inches of error margin, trapping Sun Bu Er inside so Yang Guo couldn't harm her. As the many Taoists closed in on him, how would the two person be able to fight them off?

Seeing the gigantic bell dropping, Yang Guo instantly understood the ploy. He immediately drew out his black iron sword and sent out with it a thundering force. A 'dang' sound echoed as the sword tip made contact with the copper bell. Even though this bell weighed a thousand catties, the force from this sword was strangely fierce and also hit the side of the bell. The bell was then bumped off course by a couple of feet. And if dropped, Sun Bu Er's body would be crushed beneath.

Liu Chu Xuan and the other masters who were looking down through the crack at the top of the hall realized the situation and all cried out in alarm, their hearts aching. Nobody could have expected that this boy's sword would have such a divine power. They now saw with their own eyes that Sun Bu Er would be wretchedly crushed by the large bell, with fresh and blood all splattering. Liu Chu Xuan shut both eyes, not daring to look, but then heard Qiu Chu Ji calling out: "Many thanks for your mercy!" Liu Chu Xuan then openned his eyes in surprise, only to see the large bell unexpectedly covering Sun Bu Er's body. There was no trace of crushed limbs at the side of the bell, and not even a part of her Taoist robe was seen.

As Yang Guo saw his sword pushing the bell off course, which would definitely violently kill Sun Bu Er on the spot, he suddenly thought: "Today is our husband and wife's happy day, why bother taking someone's life? This old Taoist nun only has a bad temperament and doesn't possess any real evilness." Once thought, he acted. His right sleeve flared out, pushing the prayer mat that Sun Bu Er was sitting on and thus sending her right under the bell.

The Liu-Qiu-Wang-Hao four masters at the top of the hall were pleasantly surprised and didn't think to make enemy with Yang Guo anymore but the numerous disciples below had earlier received their orders. As soon as the large bell was dropped, they were to rush in to attack. Also as they were outside, they didn't see that the bell's supposed location was changed. Only hearing a loud noise and seeing dust flying, they all cried out and ran into the hall to attack with their long swords.

Yang Guo then put his black iron sword back onto his back. He used his arm to carry Xiao Long Nu and leapt out to the back of the palace hall.

Qiu Chu Ji called out: "Disciples, be careful. You may not take these two people's lives!" His voice was loud. Even among the noisy battle cries of numerous hundred people, each person still heard it clearly. The numerous disciple ran out to the back of the hall, their voices echoed: "Capture the treacherous scoundrel!" "The scoundrel violated our founding master's painting, don't let him go!" "Quick, Quick, they went out to the eastern side!" "The great master ordered, don't take their lives!"

Before Liu Chu Xuan jumped to the top of the hall, he had ordered twenty-one strong men to hide in the courtyard at the back of the palace hall. Yang Guo was just about to open the screen door when he saw the sword reflections in the courtyard, then knowing there were men waiting to block them. He thought: "It would be better to leap out through the crack at the top of the hall. Although there are four big masters there, those people actually won't dare to kill me." and so he carried Xiao Long Nu and quickly leapt back inside. Xiao Long Nu held on to Yang Guo's neck with both hands and softly said: "Anyway, we are now married. Our ultimate wish in this world has been granted. If we get out, it's wonderful but if we don't, it still doesn't matter." Yang Guo said: "You are right!" Then his right leg flew up, following quickly by his left leg. A 'peng' 'peng' sound followed as two monks were kicked out of the hall. Unlike the Jade Cave area which was much wider, the palace hall was packed with the Taoist monks, who now blocked them with "the Big Dipper formation" [Bei Dou Zhen Fa]. Yang Guo's left arm was carrying Xiao Long Nu so he could only use his legs to wound the enemies and couldn't break out of the heavy encirclement. He darkly thought: "These dumb Taoist monks can't spread a complete formation. If only I have my arm free, how would you be able to stop the two of us?" Then another 'peng' sound was heard as a monk was kicked, his body flying out and crashing into two other monks.

In between this chaos, an old man with white beard and hair suddenly ran into the palace hall. Trailing behind him was a swarm of honeybees. This is precisely the old urchin Zhou Bo Tong. When he first arrived behind the palace hall, the numerous disciples didn't pay him any attention but then the honeybees that followed him started to sting. These bees were not just any ordinary honeybees but indeed were the Jade bees that Xiao Long Nu kept and tamed at Gu Mu. The Quan Zhen Taoists who were stung immediately felt the itchy pain that was difficult to endure. Some couldn't bear it and rolled down on the ground, crying out. This of course added another commotion to the situation.

Originally Zhou Bo Tong was on his way to Xiang Yang city to help Guo Jing but then he stole Xiao Long Nu's jade bee syrup. Afraid to run into her, he decided not to go to Xiang Yang but instead came to Mount Zhong Nan to find Zhao Zhi Jing and to investigate how come he dared mean to harm his martial grandpa [master of master] to death. Along the way he played with the jade bee syrup and mulled over ways to direct the bees. Playing with the common bees on the road was easy but once he reached Mount Zhong Nan, suddenly it all became a disaster. The jade bees on the mountain sensed the smell of the jade bee syrup, many of them all buzzed out. As the jade bees were used to Xiao Long Nu's hand signals and whistles, Zhou Bo Tong naturally couldn't direct them and also couldn't drive them away. And more than that, they wouldn't let him rest. The old urchin saw the situation to be not very funny so he speedily ran to the Chong Yang Palace, thinking to find a place to avoid the bees. It just so happened that there was also a commotion at the palace, and actually much noisier.

Seeing Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo in the palace hall, Zhou Bo Tong was delightedly surprised. He quickly threw Xiao Long Nu the jade bee syrup and called out: "Can't soothe them anymore. I can't deal with these grandparents of bees. Good Gu Niang [good Miss] quickly come and save my life." Yang Guo's shirt sleeve flared out, catching the bottle. Xiao Long Nu let out a small smile and stretched her hand out to take it.

By now the palace hall was filled with buzzing bees. Qiu Chu Ji and others jumped down to greet and kowtow to their martial uncle. Hao Da Tong shouted out: "Quickly go get torches!" Some of the numerous disciples were covering their faces with shirt sleeves while others were wielding their sword to strike the bees. Several went to get torches as told.

Zhou Bo Tong paid no attention to Qiu Chu Ji and others. The jade bees stung him twice on his forehead, which was now swollen with two big lumps. Right now he only wanted to find a secure hiding place where a bee couldn't sneak in. Seeing a large bell on the floor, his heart was filled with delight. He quickly used his energy to lift it up, just to see that there was someone inside. He didn't even look to see who that was, saying: "Excuse me. Excuse me. Let me get in." He pushed Sun Bu Er out and let himself in. Then he released his hands and a 'teng' sound was heard as the heavy bell fell back down. He was very pleased with himself and thought: "No matter how you thousands and thousands of bees pursue, you can't sting me, the old urchin, anymore!"

Yang Guo said in a low voice: "You direct the bees to form a swarm then we can break out of here." Xiao Long Nu was now Yang Guo's wife. Hearing his words having an authoritative tone, she felt sweetly comfortable in her heart and thought: "This is good. Finally, he didn't think of me as his master anymore but really his wife." So she immediately said "All right!" in a soft and obedient tone. Then she lifted the honey bottle, waved it a few times, and whistled repeatedly. The jade bees flew back to their keeper and formed a swarm but Xiao Long Nu continuously waved her hand and whistled. The large swarm of jade bees broke into two rows, one making way in the front and the other guarding the back, so the Yang-Long couple could find their way out.

Qiu Chu Ji and others were pleasantly surprised by Zhou Bo Tong's visit and found it very funny. Seeing that the Yang-Long couple retreated to the back of the palace hall, they ordered their numerous disciples not to pursue. Wang Chu Yi unsealed Sun Bu Er's two pressure points while Qiu Chu Ji went over to lift the large bell. Zhou Bo Tong, hiding inside the bell, didn't know the situation outside. Suddenly he felt that someone outside was lifting it up, he cried out loudly: "Can't soothe them anymore!" Both his arms stretched out, pushing the side of the bell and shouting: "Come down!" Qiu Chu Ji couldn't match Zhou Bo Tong's profound internal energy. A 'dang' sound was heard as the bell, which was already half a foot from the ground, came down once again. Qiu Chu Ji laughed and then said: "Zhou Shi Shu [Martial Uncle Zhou] is joking again. Come. We all fight with him!"

So Qiu Chu Ji, Wang Chu Yi, Liu Chu Xuan and Hao Da Tong four people each held out a hand and pushed against the outside of the bell. Qiu Chu Ji shouted: "Lift!" Between the four great forces the bell was raised three feet from the ground but the underside of the bell was empty, not even a shadow inside, and nobody knew where Zhou Bo Tong had disappeared to. The four people cried out 'Ah!" in surprise. Suddenly a shadow flashed and Zhou Bo Tong was standing beside the bell, laughing his head off. This was because originally Zhou Bo Tong had glued his hands and feet to the side of the heavy bell so when it was lifted, people outside naturally couldn't see him.

Qiu Chu Ji and the others stepped forward to kowtow to him. Zhou Bo Tong frantically waved his hand, calling out: "Enough, enough. No more kowtow, you good boys get up!" By now Qiu Chu Ji and the others already had white beards and hair but Zhou Bo Tong still called them 'Good boys.'

The numerous people were about to start their small talks when Zhou Bo Tong caught a glimpse of Zhao Zhi Jing slyly sneaking off. He gave out a loud shout, jumped forward to hold him, and scolded: "You cow-nosed thief, still think to run away?" His left hand shot out towards the large bell and lifted it, two feet from the ground, while the right hand tossed Zhao Zhi Jing underneath. Then he let loose his left hand and the large bell closed down, all the while repeatedly scolding: "Cow-nosed thief, cow-nosed thief." At this time in the palace hall, except him one person, everybody else was a Taoist. His loud scolding "Cow-nosed thief" was the same as scolding all Wang Chong Yang's disciples and followers. Qiu Chu Ji and the others knew their martial uncle's temper, not thinking to disobey. They couldn't help but smile at each other.

Wang Chu Yi asked: "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], what did Zhao Zhi Jing do to offend you old master? Disciple will definitely punish him heavily." Zhou Bo Tong said: "Hey, hey, this little cow-nosed thief led me to steal the flag to put in a cave but before that he hid this very big colorful spider there, most deadly poisonous. Luckily that small Miss, hmm, where's that small Miss? Where are all the bees? He talked without order and Wang Chu Yi couldn't quite understand yet but then saw him look around trying to find Xiao Long Nu.

Then this time ten disciples rushed in and reported that the Yang-Long couple retreated to the sacred scripture chamber on the back of the mountain. The numerous disciples didn't dare to use torches to fight off the bees for fear that they might burn the Taoist scriptures. Qiu Chu Ji and others were startled. The sacred scripture chamber was the Quan Zhen Sect's sacred place as it stored the Taoist scriptures of the past dynasties and the work of Wang Chong Yang and his seven disciples. There were several secret documents of the sect hidden there. If something happened, it would be a great loss. Qiu Chu Ji said: "We'll go and take a look. Yang Guo has shown mercy and spared Sun Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister Sun]. We could definitely turn an enemy into a friend." Sun Bu Er said: "You are right!" Then everybody rushed out to the sacred scripture chamber on the back of the mountain.

At the door Wang Chu Yi saw Zhao Zhi Jing trapped inside the bell, he thought: "Zhou Shi Shu [Martial Uncle Zhou]'s affairs are quite silly. This matter might not necessarily be Zhao Zhi Jing's fault. We'll investigate this in details when we come back." For fear that there would be no air inside the bell and Zhao Zhi Jing would be suffocated to death, he used his energy to lift the bell up a few inches, kicked up a brick, and placed it under the bell. He left the crack a few inches wide so air could ventilate and then went out to catch up with other people.

In front of the sacred scripture chamber, several hundred disciples were shouting loudly but nobody dared to go upstairs. In a loud and clear voice, Qiu Chu Ji called out: "The Yang-Long couple, we'll let bygones be bygones. How about we stop fighting and become friends?" He waited for a while and no sound from the chamber could be heard. Qiu Chu Ji said again: "Long Gu Niang [Miss Long] has been injured. Please come out and we'll try to treat the injury together. Our sect's disciples won't dare to be disrespectful to the two of you. Qiu Chu Ji roamed Jiang Hu for several decades and has never broken a promise to anyone." Half a day passed and there was still no sound.

Liu Chu Xuan pondered the situation and said: "They are already gone!" Qiu Chu Ji asked: "How?" Liu Chu Xuan said: "Look at the bees. They are flying scatteredly." He took a torch from one of the disciples and rushed inside the chamber.

Qiu Chu Ji and the others stepped into the chamber but only saw the four walls of books, and not a single person. There was also that bottle of jade bee syrup on the writing desk. As if he had found a treasure, Zhou Bo Tong snatched it and put it away in his chest. The many people turned the chamber upside down but didn't find any book missing. They only saw a pile of books on the floor and the wooden chest that used to carry them was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly Hao Da Tong called out: "They left from here!" The people followed Hao Da Tong's voice to the window in the back of the chamber and saw a rope tied to a wooden pole, with its other end tied to a tree on the cliff on the opposite side. Lied between the sacred scripture chamber and the cliff was a deep ravine, with no way to pass. They didn't expect that Yang Guo would actually have such lightness Kung Fu and could carry Xiao Long Nu and also across the valley on a rope.

As Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu bowed to heaven and earth at the Chong Yang Palace, everybody in the Quan Zhen sect all felt badly violated. But this time seeing how the two people had retreated, the Quan Zhen five masters smiled at one another and actually turned soft in their heart. Sun Bu Er was originally the most resentful but at the palace hall she witnessed how the two of them were idealistic and sincere. On top of that, Yang Guo had spared her own life at a critical moment. She couldn't help feeling a loss and fell silent.

The Quan Zhen five masters and Zhou Bo Tong went back to the palace hall and inquired about the Mongolian prince's imperial decrees, the fights of Yin-Zhao two disciples, Xiao Long Nu's sudden attack, and so on. They went over each report one by one. With tears in his eyes, Qiu Chu Ji said: "Zhi Ping's disgracing someone was truely abominable but he did defend our sect with loyalty and patriotism, pledging to fight to death rather than surrendering to the Mongols. That was a great merit." Wang Chu Yi said: "Zhi Ping naturally had flaws but he also tried to uphold justice. We should still recognize him as a Zhang Jiao [Jiao chief]." Liu Chu Xuan, Hao Da Tong, and others also agreed. Qiu Chu Ji said again: "If it was not for Long Gu Niang [Miss Long] arriving in time to block the enemy, our sect would have already been annihilated. Long Gu Niang is really our sect's great benefactor. From now on we not only cannot be disrespectful to them husband and wife, we would also have to repay the debt of gratitude. Ai, we did injure her, not knowing.. not knowing.." Thinking about how Xiao Long Nu was heavily injured, he deeply blamed himself.

Qiu Chu Ji and the others were busy investigating the past events and cleaning up damages while Zhou Bo Tong didn't pay attention to these matters in the slightest, only playing with that bottle of jade bee syrup in his hand. Several times he thought about opening the bottle to tempt the bees but always feared the outcome, not being able get away. This time a disciple stepped in and reported that five disciples were stung by the jade bee and that their itchy pains were difficult to endure, and asked the master to help. Hao Da Tong thought about the year Sun Po Po (Grandma Sun) broke into the palace to give them the honey so he said: "Long Gu Niang [Miss Long] must have left this bottle of Jade bee syrup for us to treat the injured. Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], please give the jade bee syrup to the five disciples, letting them take a little."

Zhou Bo Tong stretched out both hands and his palms were empty. He said, "Don't know how but I suddenly can't find it." Hao Da Tong obviously just saw him playing with the bottle in his hand so it couldn't possibly be suddenly missing. He decided that Zhou Bo Tong was not willing to hand it over but Zhou Bo Tong was an elder so it was not very convenient to say much.

He couldn't help but feel awkward. Zhou Bo Tong then gave his sleeves a brush and patted his body several times. He said, "I didn't hide it. Don't suspect me being so mean that I don't give it to you. Do you want me to take of all my clothes for you to take a good look?" Zhou Bo Tong had always been naughty and only wanted to play, not distinguishing between big and small urgent matters, and this didn't change in the old age. In his mind, these little cownoses [Taoists] were stung by the bees. At most they would be in immense pains for half a day so it was hardly a life or death worry.

This bottle of jade bee syrup couldn't be given to anyone. Then he heard Hao Da Tong speaking so he passed the bottle up his shirt sleeve and let it slide down from his chest to his belly. He shrank his belly a bit so the bottle could go down his pants and from there the bottle slowly dropped to his foot and gently fell down to the ground. His internal energy was so profound that the muscles in his whole body could all be manipulated. That small bottle was sent to the ground and surprisingly didn't even make a sound.

Wang Chu Yi thought, "Martial Uncle didn't want to hand over the bottle but only wanted to play with people. If I suddenly say something, there is no way I could change his mind. I should just take care of other business first and when his temper is improved, I will get the bottle from him. For now let's heavily punish the treacherous disciple Zhi Jing. If not for Yin Zhi Ping's willingness to die rather than to surrender, wouldn't our sect's long-built reputation have already been destroyed by this treacherous disciple's hand?" Having thought this, he said out loud, "Hao Shi Di [Apprentice Brother Hao], it won't hurt if we postpone the matter of treating the injured. We must quickly deal with this treacherous disciple Zhi Jing first!"

The Quan Zhen five masters were apprentice brothers for several decades so they all knew about Wang Chu Yi's straight and unselfish character. Even though Zhi Jing was his Taoist disciple, he had committed an atrocious crime. Wang Chu Yi wouldn't think to protect him. Everybody thought, "This perfidious disciple sold his sect for personal glory and harmed his own sect brothers in the process. He cannot be forgiven."

Suddenly they heard a faint sound coming from under the bell, "Martial Grandpa Zhou, if you save my life, I'll give you the bee syrup; otherwise I'll just eat it all before I die!" Zhou Bo Tong was alarmed and quickly moved forward a step. Sure enough that bottle of jade bee syrup was gone without a trace. Zhou Bo Tong had earlier stood by the bell, where Zhao Zhi Jing was right underneath. That small bottle happened to fall right in front of him. Upon hearing that Hao Da Tong couln't get the jade bee syrup from Zhou Bo Tong, he immediately stretched out his hand through the crack and grabbed it.

Now he used this small bottle to bargain for his life. He himself knew that this attempt could be in vain but he was desperate and therefore must fight for his life to the bitter end. As Zhou Bo Tong heard Zhao Zhi Jing's words, he was extremely worried and cried out, "Hey, hey, you definitely can't eat the bee syrup. Wait, let's talk about it." Zhao Zhi Jing then replied: "Then you must agree to save my life."


The Quan Zhen five masters were startled, fearing that if this martial uncle were to agree to this demand, they wouldn't be able to punish Zhao Zhi Jing. Qiu Chu Ji hurriedly said, "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], this person has committed a really heinous crime, we cannot spare him no matter what." Zhou Bo Tong crouched down on the ground and spoke into the bell, "Hey, hey, you definitely cannot eat the bee syrup!"

Liu Chu Xuan then added, "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], pay him no mind! If you want the bee syrup, it's really not difficult. Today we've already explained and settled the animosity with Long Gu Niang. We can now go to Gu Mu and ask her for several bottles. Long Gu Niang has already given you the first one so giving you another ten is really not a big deal!" Zhou Bo Tong then shook his head and said, "Maybe not, maybe not!" In his mind he thought, "Do you think she gave me this bottle of the bee syrup? It was me who stole it. She left the Sacred Scripture Chamber in a hurry so she didn't take it with her. If I asked her again to give me the syrup, she might not agree. And even if she did agree, I'd still have to let you take it away to cure people, how would there be anything left for me in the end?"

Then he heard a gentle hum of five or six jade bees that flew into the hall from the courtyard. The hall doors were closed so the bees hit the window and couldn't find their way out. Zhou Bou Tong came up with an idea and said, "Zhao Zhi Jing, I'm afraid what you took isn't the jade bee syrup." Zhao Zhi Jing hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, it is. Why shouldn't it be?" Zhou Bo Tong then said, "Good, you open the bottle and let me smell it first. If it isn't the bee syrup, there's no need to talk any more nonsense." Zhao Zhi Jing quickly opened the bottle and said, "You smell it, isn't it the bee syrup?" Zhou Bo Tong deeply inhaled the air and said, "Hmm, Hmm, it doesn't smell like it. Let me sniff again a few more times."

Zhao Zhi Jing clasped both hands tightly over the bottle for fear that Zhou Bo Tong would lift the bell up and snatch it from him. At the same time he said, "You sniff this sweet scent, sniff this sweet scent!" The scent of the jade bee syrup was incomparably sweet. As soon as the bottle was opened, the palace hall was filled with the strong fragrant. Zhou Bo Tong sneezed and laughed. He said, "I've got a cold and my nose is not very effective!" and at the same time turned to Qiu Chu Ji, giving him a wink. Zhao Zhi Jing also guessed right that Zhou Bo Tong was using a delay tactic so he said: "If you even touch the bell, I will eat all the bee syrup." But by this time, several jade bees already sensed the syrup smell and flew to the bell. Zhou Bo Tong wielded his sleeves and shouted, "Go in and sting him!" The jade bees of course didn't listen to Zhou Bo Tong but the scent coming out from beneath the bell was growing more and more intense. With weng-weng hums, they all buzzed in through the crack at the bottom of the bell.

The people then heard Zhao Zhi Jing's frantic shouts. With the poignant smell of the syrup, a jade bee flew in and stung him, causing the bottle to drop and shatter. Zhou Bo Tong went mad and shouted, "Stinky Cownose [Taoist], why couldn't you hold the bottle firmly?" He was about to go lift up the bell but the jade bees in the courtyard all crazily buzzed into the bell. Zhou Bo Tong had suffered the jade bee stings so he didn't dare to get near, only seeing numerous bees filling the large space inside the bell. Zhao Zhi Jing's body was covered with the sticky syrup and no matter how he moved his hands or his head, he couldn't avoid the bees and got stung who-know-how-many hundred times all over his body. The many people heard him shout out crazily for a moment and then came an eerie silence. He must have already died from a great amount of poisons.

Zhou Bo Tong then grabbed Liu Chu Xuan's robe and said: "Good, Chu Xuan, now you go ask Long Gu Niang to give me many many bottles of the bee syrup." Liu Chu Xuan creased his brows, feeling quite miserable. Earlier he only tried to stop Zhou Bo Tong from being rash and agreeing to Zhao Zhi Jing's demand so he spoke out quite carelessly. As a matter of fact, the Quan Zhen five masters had used the Big Dipper formation and all their combined forces to injure Xiao Long Nu. It was still not certain that she would ever recover, how could it be "animosity explained and settled" four words as he said? Right now Zhou Bo Tong was holding his chest so he could only let out a painful smile and said: "Don't worry, Shi Shu [Martial Uncle]. Chu Xuan is leaving!" Then he turned towards the back of the mountain and walked to Gu Mu.

Qiu Chu Ji and others knew that this matter was indeed deadly. If Xiao Long Nu was alright, everything would be fine. But if she died from a severe injury, nobody knew how many Quan Zhen disciples would be killed by Yang Guo's hand. Everybody then said in one voice: "Let us all go together."

The woods outside Gu Mu was the area Wang Chong Yang himself had forbidden his disciples to go in, not even one step. The many people all heeded their late master's instruction so they stopped at the edge of the woods. Qiu Chu Ji summoned air into his abdomen and clearly announced: "Yang Xiao Xia [Young Hero Yang], is Long Gu Niang's injury alright? Here we've got several wonder pills to treat the injury. Please come out and take them." Zhou Bo Tong said in a low voice: "Yes, Yes! I want the bee syrup. Come out and trade them!" Half a day passed and still there was no reply. After Qiu Chu Ji used his energy to call the couple, the woods fell into a bleak silence. He looked into the woods but only saw the shady clouds circling around, all the tree branches above, and thorny bushes below.

Liu Chu Xuan and Hao Da Tong walked along the edge of the woods but saw no sign of people passing through the area. It looked like Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu didn't come back to Gu Mu but went away from Mount Zhong Nan. The many people felt both happy and worried at the same time and decided to return to the Chong Yang Palace. The Quan Zhen people were glad that the Yang-Long couple went far away but worried that if Xiao Long Nu didn't recover, the sect would have big trouble lying ahead. On the other hand, the old urchin Zhou Bo Tong was worried that he wouldn't get the jade bee syrup but also quite happy that he didn't have to meet Xiao Long Nu and could avoid exposing his crime of stealing the bee syrup in the first place.

Even though the Quan Zhen five masters had lived on Mount Zhong Nan for several decades, they couldn't have guessed how Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu came back to Gu Mu.

Shielded by the jade bees, the Yang-Long couple rushed to the back of the courtyard and then saw a small building on the side of the mountain. Yang Guo knew it was the Sacred Scripture Chamber of the Chong Yang Palace so he carried Xiao Long Nu inside. They let out a pant of air and then heard the sounds of many people shouting. Dozens of Taoists were pursuing them but they were afraid of the jade bees, not daring to come too close.

Yang Guo settled Xiao Long Nu in a chair, looked around, and contemplated the situation. Then he saw that in the back of the Sacred Scripture Chamber was a mountain creek which was 30-40 feet down below. Even though the gorge was deep, the good thing was that it wasn't too wide. On the side of his body, he always carried a long rope for tying up between two big trees to make a bed. Now he tied one end to the pillar of the Sacred Scripture Chamber and then leapt down while pulling the rope. He swam across the mountain stream and then straightened the rope. He then tied its other end to a big tree before using his lightness Kung Fu to walk on the rope back to the chamber.

As he was back at Xiao Long Nu's side, he softly asked her, "Shall we go overthere?" Xiao Long Nu said, "You said we should go there, then I'd go there with you." Yang Guo laughed and said, "That is called "Marry a chicken, act like a chicken; Marry a dog, act like a dog!" [Chinese saying: A woman must follow and comply to her husband's wishes]. Then he paused and asked again, "In your heart, do you really want to go overthere?" Xiao Long Nu let out a gentle sigh and her face expression changed. Yang Guo knew she most wanted to go home to Gu Mu but they could only get inside at a great expense. While hesitating, they heard the shouting from outside the chamber and knew that they couldn't delay getting out of there much longer.

While he could read her mind, Xiao Long Nu also understood him just the same. So she softly said, "I don't really have to go back to Gu Mu. You don't have to worry about me." Then she smiled, "As long as I can be with you, any place is just as good." Yang Guo now thought, "This is her first wish after we got married and it might be her last wish in life as well. If I couldn't do this for her, how would I deserve to be her husband?"

He looked in all directions. Hearing the sounds of people outside, his heart was in chaos. Then towards the west side he caught a glimpse of a wooden trunk stacked on a bookshelf. His heart leapt and he said, "Got it!" He rushed there and saw that the trunk had a copper lock on it. He ripped it apart and opened the lid. Inside the trunk was filled with books so he lifted up the trunk and turned it upside down, sending the books down on the floor. The trunk itself was made from Camphor woods about an inch thick and was really sturdy. Then he traced his hand along the shelves and found an oilcloth that was used to protect the precious books from rain leaks. He put two pieces of large oilcloth inside the trunk and then, with a rope, dropped the trunk down to the mountain creek below. He came back to carry Xiao Long Nu and said with a smile, "Let us go home."

Xiao Long Nu was very happy and smiled back. She said, "Your ideas are really good." Yang Guo was afraid that she would worry so to comfort her he said, "This sword is very powerful. If a mountain rock blocks the trunk under the water, the sword will cut it open. I'll go fast, you inside the box don't have to worry." Xiao Long Nu smiled and said, "Only one thing is not good." Yang Guo was startled and said, "What is it?" Xiao Long Nu then replied, "I won't be able to see you for a while."

Down at the mountain creek, Yang Guo remembered that he left Guo Xiang at the cave so he said, "We'll bring Uncle Guo's girl with us too, what do you say?" Xiao Long Nu was stunned and so her voice trembled as she said, "Really? You've brought Hero Guo.. Hero Guo's girl?" Yang Guo saw her changed expression, immediately realizing that she thought he'd brought Guo Fu with him. He bent down and gently kissed her face, softly saying, "It is that month-old baby. She still can't cut off anyone's arm!" This time Xiao Long Nu blushed profusely and hid her face in Yang Guo's embrace, not daring to lift up her head.

After a while, she softly said, "We'd better go bring her back to the tomb with us. On a wild mountain like this, leaving her for another while could mean her small life." Yang Guo then thought about how they were delayed at the Chong Yang Palace until now, not knowing how Guo Xiang was doing in the cave. Frightened, he immediately put Xiao Long Nu in the trunk, carried it on his shoulder, and rushed out. As they reached the front of the cave but still didn't hear any crying sound, he got even more worried. He pulled out the thorns that he earlier piled in front of the cave entrance and saw that Guo Xiang was sleeping comfortably, her cheeks still red like they were painted with rouge. The two people were overjoyed. Xiao Long Nu stretched out her hand and said, "Let me carry her." Yang Guo put Guo Xiang in her embrace and then put the wooden trunk back on his shoulder again.

By this time all the Taoists were gathering at the Chong Yang Palace so they didn't run into anybody along the way. Passing a pumpkin field, Yang Guo picked six, seven pumpkins that the Taoists grew. He put them in the trunk and laughingly said, "This will be enough for us to eat for a week." And after a short while, they reached the bank of the mountain creek. He lowered his head to kiss Xiao Long Nu's cheek and gently closed the trunk lid. He then wrapped it tightly with the two pieces of oilcloth. After putting the trunk under water, he breathed in deeply and dove away with the trunk behind him.

He had earlier trained his internal power in a wild mountain flood so diving at the bottom of this small mountain creek this time didn't strain him in the least. The bottom of the creek was rugged with high and low terrains. There were muddy rocks blocking the waterway so the wooden trunk couldn't easily pass through. Yang Guo used his sword to hack them open and make way. Afraid that Xiao Long Nu would be suffocated inside the trunk, he went as fast as he could. In only minutes, they emerged from water, arriving at the underground tunnel below Gu Mu.

He pulled out the oilcloth and opened the trunk lid. Xiao Long Nu was in a dazed state as a result of her heavy injury. Guo Xiang let out a loud healthy cry. She had been eating leopard's milk for over a month so she was actually very strong and healthy. Xiao Long Nu smiled faintly and softly said, "We are finally home!" She couldn't support herself again so she closed her eyes. This time Yang Guo didn't lift her body up but took the whole wooden trunk back to the living quarter inside Gu Mu.

Inside, the tables and chairs were overturned and the beds were crooked. This was the result of that day's evil fight with Li Mo Chou and her disciple before they departed. Yang Guo looked at the stone chamber and the many things he'd used since he was small, his heart felt something beyond description, a mix of happiness and pain. He was expressionless for a moment. Suddenly he felt a drop of water on the back of his hand so he turned his head, just to see that Xiao Long Nu, supporting herself with a chair, stood there with tears slowly flowing from her eyes.

Today the couple had started their family. They finally fulfilled their long time wish and returned home. From now to the afterlife, the bitterness, agony, and worry were all gone but deep down in their hearts they couldn't restrain their sorrow. The two people both knew that Xiao Long Nu was seriously injured. With the injuries from both Fa Wang's golden wheel and the Quan Zhen five masters' strike, how would her delicate body be able to endure?

In their young lives, the two people had always been lonely and miserable and never really experienced true happiness. Suddenly they came to the biggest fortune and then immediately had to say good-bye!

Yang Guo stayed expressionless for a long time. Then he went into Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun]'s bedroom and arranged the bedding on the chilled jade bed. Then he helped Xiao Long Nu up so she could rest comfortably. All the old food that was stored at Gu Mu had been spoiled but the jade bee syrup at the altar indeed could not go bad. He poured out half a cup of the syrup and mixed it with fresh water. He fed it to Xiao Long Nu and baby Guo Xiang. Then he himself drank a bowl of it.

Then he thought, "I've got to lift up my spirit to make her happy. Even my heart is filled with grief and sorrow, I can't let it show on my face." Having thought that, he went to look for two thickest candles and wrapped them with red cloth. He put them on a table and said with a smile, "This is our wedding party!"

With the two red candles, the stone chamber immediately became festive. Xiao Long Nu was sitting on the bed. When she saw her own body stained with blood and dirt, she said with a small smile, "I look terrible like this, how would I resemble a bride!" Then she suddenly remembered something and said, "Guo Er, could you please go to Ancestor Grandma's bedroom and bring me that gold-work box?"

Even though Yang Guo had lived inside Gu Mu for several years, he never dared to enter Lin Chao Ying's room or played with her stuffs. This time he heard Xiao Long Nu speaking to him like this, he said with a laugh, "You have to be this polite when you talk to your husband." He walked over to the headboard of the bed where several boxes were stacked and lifted out the one at the bottom. This box was really not heavy and had no lock. The outside work was red and gold with an exquisite design.

Xiao Long Nu said, "Sun Po Po [Granma Sun] told me that stored in this box were Ancestor Grandma's wedding items. Afterwards she didn't get married and so these things didn't get used." "Hmm," Yang Guo groaned. He looked at this beautifully designed box but felt that amid happiness always was infinite misery. He put down the box on top of the chilled jade bed and opened the lid to see that lying inside were a pearl-inlaid Phoenix crown, a red robe embroidered in gold, and woman clothings made from red satin. All the items were made from the best materials and even though they had been in the box for several decades, they still looked like new. Xiao Long Nu said, "Take them out and let me take a look."

Yang Guo took each item out of the box. Underneath the clothings were a small vanity box inlaid with pearl and gold and a jade carved jewelry box. There were rouge powder and half a bottle of scented oil inside the vanity box. And as soon as the jewelry box was opened, the two of them were wide-eyed, seeing a pearl hairpin, jade bracelets, and gemmed earrings. All items were exquisite, flashing their sparkles. The Yang-Long two people had rarely seen gem stones before so they didn't know how precious these adorning items were. They only saw the elegant inlay work and beautiful design, indicating that these pieces had been created with the most painstaking efforts.

Xiao Long Nu said with a smile, "Should I dress up as a bride?" Yang Guo then replied, "Today you are exhausted. You should rest first and tomorrow you can dress up." Xiao Long Nu shook her head, saying, "No, today is the day we got married. I love being a bride. On that day at the Passionless Valley, that Gong Sun person wanted to marry me, I didn't get dressed up!" Yang Guo said with a laugh, "You called that getting married? That was the senile Gong Sun's delusion!"

Xiao Long Nu picked up the rouge and the honey water. She looked into the mirror, planning to dress up. In her entire life, this would be the first time she put cosmetic powder on her face. Her face complexion was originally white and really didn't need any cosmetics. But this time she was seriously injured and had no color left on her face. She lightly smeared rouge on both cheeks and it added to her beauty tremendously. She paused for a while and then picked up a comb to work on her hair. Then she sighed and said, "I have to make a hair bun but I can't do it. Guo Er, can you do it?" Yang Guo then said, "No, I can't either! Without the hairdo, you are even more beautiful." Xiao Long Nu said with a smile, "Really?" and laid down the comb. She inserted the hairpin and put on the earrings and the jade bracelets on both wrists. Under the red candlelight, her beauty was unpararelled. She was overjoyed as she turned around, wanting to hear praises from Yang Guo.

As soon as she turned her head, she saw Yang Guo's tears streaming down his face. He was overwhelmed by grief. Xiao Long Nu gritted her teeth, pretending not to see him crying. With a smile she said, "Would you say I look good?" With a choking sound, Yang Guo replied, "Most beautiful! Let me bring you the Phoenix crown!" He lifted the crown up and walked over to put it on for her from behind. In the mirror, Xiao Long Nu saw him lifting his sleeve to wipe away his tears. When he faced her again, his face appeared to be joyful. He then said with a smile, "Later, should I call you 'Niang Zi'[Madame] or should I still call you 'Gu Gu'?" In her heart, Xiao Long Nu thought, "Why says 'later'? Is that to say the two of us still have 'later'"? But she put on her happiest expression and laughingly said, "Calling me Gu Gu again is definitely not good. As for calling me 'Madame,' that sounds like an old lady!" Yang Guo then said, "What were you called when you were a child? Today you can let me hear it." Xiao Long Nu replied, "I don't have a childhood name. Master just called me Long Er." Yang Guo said: "Alright, then you call me Guo Er and I will call you Long Er. The two of us are equal and no one gets the worst of it. Wait till we have a baby, we will say: hey, baby's father! And hey, baby's mother! And when the baby is grown and gets married.. .."

Hearing him talking nonsense like this, Xiao Long Nu could no longer grit her teeth to smile. Finally, her resistance broke and she let out a sobbing sound. She bent down on the box and started crying. Yang Guo scrambled forward and brought her into his arms. He softly said, "Long Er, you are not well, I'm also not well. There's no need to pay attention to whatever will happen in the future. Today you are not dead. I'm also not dead. The two of us should be very happy now. Nobody is allowed to think about tomorrow." Xiao Long Nu lifted her head and smiled with tears in her eyes. Then she nodded.

Yang Guo said, "Look at this beautiful dress with a Phoenix design, I'll help you put it on!" He supported her body and put on the dress embroidered in red and gold for her. Xiao Long Nu's tears dried up and she repaired her rouge make-up while sitting by the red candles with a smile.

At this time baby Guo Xiang was sleeping by the head of the bed. Then she opened her small eyes with great curiosity. It seemed like in her tiny heart she felt that the dressed up Xiao Long Nu was really very pretty.

Xiao Long Nu said, "I've dressed up nicely. It's a pity there is no bridegroom's outfit in the trunk. You must felt slightly out of place." Yang Guo then said, "Let me take a look again. Seems like there are some more pretty items in there." As he said that, he moved various scattered items out of the trunk and put them on the bed. Xiao Long Nu saw him taking out a gold flower so she sticked it into his hair. Yang Guo said with a smile, "Not bad, there is a little more." Then he looked at the bottom of the trunk and found a pack of letters bound by a red ribbon. The ribbon color already faded and the envelopes were so old they turned deep yellow.

Yang Guo picked them up and said, "There are letters in here." Xiao Long Nu said, "Let's see what kind of letters they are." Yang Guo then untied the ribbon and saw that on the envelopes was written "To be opened only by Miss Lin Chao Ying" and that there were the words 'Ji Ji' on the left corner. All the twenty letters were addressed in the same way. Yang Guo knew that Wang Chong Yang's given name before becoming a Taoist was Wang 'Ji Ji' so he laughed and said, "These are love letters founding master Chong Yang wrote to our ancestor grandma. Can we read them?" Since childhood, Xiao Long Nu had revered her ancestor grandma as if she was a divine being so she quickly said, "No, we cannot read!"

Still smiling, Yang Guo tied up the bunch of letters with the ribbon and said, "Old sister Sun and her party were so old-fashioned. Seeing us bowing to heaven and earth before founding master Chong Yang's portrait, they all freaked out and accused us of committing a blasphemy. I didn't believe for a minute that in those years Master Chong Yang and our ancestor grandma didn't have a relationship. If we took these letters there for them to take a look, those old cownoses' reactions would be quite interesting." While saying that, he was looking at Xiao Long Nu and couldn't help feeling sorry for Lin Chao Ying. He thought, "Ancestor grandma lived alone inside Gu Mu. She must have more than once tried on the wedding dress. The two of us are much luckier than she was."

Then Xiao Long Nu said, "Right, we are more fortunate than ancestor grandma. Why should you still be unhappy?"

Yang Guo said, "All right!" Suddenly he was startled and said with a laugh, "I didn't say it but you really could guess what I was thinking." Xiao Long Nu curved her lips into a smile and retorted, "If I didn't know what you were thinking, how would I deserve to be your wife?" Yang Guo sit down on the side of the bed and gently extended his left arm to hug her. In their hearts, the two of them were happy beyond words and hoped that a moment like this would last forever. They sat there in each other's embrace and for a long time nobody said a word.

After a while, they both eyed that bunch of letters. And when they looked at each other, they laughed with mischievous glints in their eyes. Knowing perfectly well that they shouldn't read their deceased master's personal letters but, of course, they couldn't bear the curiosity in their hearts.

Yang Guo said, "We'll just read one letter. Is that alright? We definitely won't read more." With a smile Xiao Long Nu said, "I want to read too. So, okay, we'll just read one." Delighted, Yang Guo reached out to get the letters and untied the ribbon. Xiao Long Nu added, "But if the letter is filled with heartaches, you don't have to read it out loud to me." Yang Guo paused slightly and then said, "All right!" But in his heart he knew that the relationship between the Wang-Lin couple didn't end well and was afraid that there would be more misery than happiness in the letters. In that case, it would be better not to read them. Then Xiao Long Nu said, "You don't have to worry about it beforehand. Perhaps there are only convoluted speeches in there."

Yang Guo picked up the first letter and read, "Dear Ying Mei [Sister Ying]: The other day my division and the enemies crossed swords at the Hill of Evil Storm. We were ambushed and suffered a small loss. Four hundred men.. .." As he read on, the letter was filled with the story of the battles between his army and the Jin's. He looked through several other letters, they all talked about military affairs and there was nothing on personal relationships.

Yang Guo sighed and said, "Founding master Chong Yang was indeed a real Han hero. His whole heart was devoted to defending the country but as it was so, our ancestor grandma couldn't be blamed for being estranged." Xiao Long Nu said, "No, ancestor grandma was very delighted to receive these letters." Puzzled, Yang Guo asked, "How do you know?" Xiao Long Nu said, "Of course I don't know. I can only guess what went on inside her mind. You see, every single letter talked about how very urgent and difficult those battle situations were but master Chong Yang, even in distress, still didn't forget to write to our ancestor grandma. Wouldn't you say she was always on his mind?" Yang Guo nodded and said, "Right, it was indeed so." And then he picked up the letter again.

That letter described a desperate situation. Wang Chong Yang's army was overwhelmed by many enemies and they were repeatedly defeated with little hope for support. At the end of the letter, he asked about Lin Chao Ying's injured condition and even though he used only a few words, his deep concerns were quite evident. Yang Guo said, "Hmm, during those years our ancestor grandma was injured but later she was well again. Your wound condition can slowly heal too. After a year or so, you can be recovered."

Xiao Long Nu weakly smiled. She herself knew that her injury this time was far from normal. If an injury this heavy could be cured, that would be like having an immortal walking the earth. But to say it out loud right now wouldn't help light up the situation. Even if Yang Guo's suggestion couldn't convince her, it would make him feel better. So she said, "Slow treatment is good. What's the rush? And these letters don't really talk about private matters, you can read on!"

Yang Guo read another letter, which was filled with words of grief and anger. It talked about the army's defeat and how Wang Chong Yang had to risk everything to break out of a heavy encirclement. But even his retreat was a disaster with ultimate deaths and casualties, at the end of the letter he said he was going to gather troops again for another battle. From that point on every letter all talked about military defeats and setbacks. The Jin power at the North river was very strong and Wang Chong Yang obviously already knew that the matters were gravely serious. The letter was full of desperate and disheartening messages.

Yang Guo said, "These letters are very depressing. Let's not read anymore! Eh, what's this?" Suddenly there was excitement in his voice and the hand that held the letter slightly trembled. He read aloud, "There, at the most northern and bitter cold area, is a stone called chilled jade [Han Yu]. It can control all illnesses and cure incurable deceases and should help my sister [Lin Chao Ying]. Long Er, do you think this.. ..this is the chilled jade bed?"

As Xiao Long Nu saw the happy expression on his face, her voice shook, "You.. You said the chilled jade bed could heal my injury?" Yang Guo replied, "I don't know but master Chong Yang said so. It must have a basis. You see, the chilled jade bed was provided by him, wasn't it? Our ancestor grandma slept on this bed, didn't she? And her severe injury finally healed, right?"

He hurriedly unfolded every letter to look for a way to treat injuries but, apart from that one letter, the two words "chilled jade" were not mentioned again anywhere. Yang Guo finally tied up the many letters with the ribbon and put them back in the box. Blankly, he pondered, "This chilled jade bed is this strange. There must be a reason. But how do I find out a way to treat Long Er's injury? Hmm, let me figure out the way.. let me figure out the way.. .."

Xiao Long Nu smiled and asked, "You look lost in thought, what's on your mind?" Yang Guo then replied, "I'm trying to figure out a way to use the chilled jade bed to treat your injury. Do I grind the stone for you to take as medicine or do I use any medicine to complement it somehow?" If he didn't know that the chilled jade bed could treat all injuries, that would be the end of story but now that he'd read the six words "control all illnesses, cure incurable deceases" and couldn't figure out how to use the chilled jade bed, his heart was on fire. Dismally Xiao Long Nu said, "Do you remember Sun Po Po? She took care of both our ancestor grandma and my master for many years. Still when she was injured by the Taoist named Hao, she.. she died of severy injury." Originally Yang Guo was full of hope. Now hearing her words, he felt as if he was suddenly drenched with cold water.

Xiao Long Nu stretched out her hand to stroke his hair gently. With a gentle voice she said, "Guo Er, you don't have to worry so much about my injury. Why should you put yourself through agony again?" In a flash, Yang Guo was completely disheartened but after a while, he asked, "How did my Shi Zu [martial grandma –referring to XLN's master] get injured?" Even though Yang Guo had lived at Gu Mu for many years, he actually never heard Xiao Long Nu talk about how her master passed away.

Xiao Long Nu said, "My master isolated herself inside Gu Mu and rarely went outside. Then there was this one year my Shi Jie [apprentice sister] went out and caused trouble. She fled back to Mount Zhong Nan so my master had to leave the tomb to help. Then unexpectedly she fell into the enemy's trap. Even though my master lost the fight, she could bring back Shi Jie. And that should be the end of it. But then she bickered with that evil person. Nobody would have expected that he would want a yard after getting an inch. Shortly after the fight, he was outside Gu Mu, issuing a challenge, and then broke into the tomb. My master couldn't fend him off and almost had to drop the dragon stone to die together with him inside. Fortunately, at a critical moment, she threw out a golden needle. That evil person was caught off guard and got hit. The itchy pain was difficult to bear and my master used that opportunity to strike his pressure point. But then seeing him unable to move, she couldn't have expected that Shi Jie had sneaked up to unseal the pressure point. In the end that evil person attacked her and that was when she got struck by his poison hand."

Yang Guo asked, "Who was that evil person? His martial skills were even above my martial grandma. He must have been a high master of her generation." Xiao Long Nu said, "Master didn't tell me. She said that my heart shouldn't be filled with any love or hate feelings and that if she told me who that evil person was, I wouldn't forget him and would later go seek revenge." Yang Guo sighed and said, "Hmmm, Shi Zu [martial grandma] was really a good person!" Xiao Long Nu smiled and said, "If master could see me today being married to a good son-in-law like this, she would be quite delighted." With a laugh, Yang Guo said, "That might not be the case. She wouldn't let you marry anyone." Xiao Long Nu sighed, "My master was really the kindest. Even though at first she wouldn't allow it, afterwards, seeing my heart, she would have relented. She.. she would certainly have liked you."

Xiao Long Nu was recalling her master's kindness and was lost in thought for a long time. Then she said, "After master was injured, she moved to another room on the opposite side far away from the chilled jade bed. She said our Gu Mu sect's martial style and cold air induced and subdued each other, therefore the chilled jade bed wonderfully helped us practicising our martial skills. But after injury, we should not be exposed to the cold air."

Yang Guo made a "hmm" sound while pondering how internal energy circulated through vital organs. To use internal energy according to the jade maiden manual, the pure Yin air would flow through body pulses, causing the inner body to be extremely cold and sending out heat steams to the outside of the body. When practising, clothings had to be removed so the heat steams could be smoothly dispersed without any obstruction. And the internally injured could not use the cold air from the chilled jade bed. He contemplated, "But what did Master Wang Chong Yang mean by "control all illnesses, cure incurable diseases? This induce and subdue principle must be missing some important details." Then he saw Xiao Long Nu's eyelids drooping, indicating that she was exhausted. He said, "You should rest, I'm sitting right here to keep you company."

Xiao Long Nu quickly opened her eyes wide and said, "No, I'm not tired. Tonight, we won't sleep." With her heavy injury, she was afraid that once she slept, she wouldn't wake up again. Then she said, "You keep on talking to me. Hmm, are you tired?" Yang Guo shook his head and said with a tiny smile, "You don't want to sleep then don't. Just close your eyes and keep your mind awake." Xiao Long Nu said, "All right!" She slowly closed her eyelids and said in a low voice, "My master once said, there was one thing that till the day she died she still couldn't figure out. Guo Er, you are very smart, you can think about it." Yang Guo said, "What is it?" Xiao Long Nu then said, "Master hit that evil person's pressure point but she didn't know why Shi Jie [Apprentice Sister] would help him unseal it." Yang Guo was deep in thought for a while and then felt Xiao Long Nu's body resting against his. Her breaths were shallow. She already fell asleep.

Yang Guo gazed at her face, his heart filled with apprehension. Time passed. A candle flickered its last flame and then went out by itself. He suddenly remembered a vertical couplet in a small room at the Peach Blossom Island, "Silkworms will not stop spitting their threads until they die; the candle has burned to ashes when tears dry up." Missing his wife, Huang Yao Shi wrote these two lines of a Tang poem and hung them outside the study where she used to embroider. At that time, Yang Guo saw them but paid no attention. He was just too young to understand. Now he slowly absorbed the true meaning of the lines and his heart was breaking. Suddenly before his eyes, another candle was flickering its last light. He thought, "These two candles are just like Long Er and I. One has burned out and the other is about to be extinguished."

He was deep in thought for a while and then heard Xiao Long Nu quietly murmured, "I'm not going to die. Guo Er.. .. I'm not going to die. The two of us will live for many many many years." Yang Guo said, "That's right. You can't die. You'll slowly improve and then you'll be well. How does your chest feel?" Xiao Long Nu didn't reply. She was just talking in her sleep.

Yang Guo stretched out his hand to brush her forehead but felt it was burning. He was both worried and sad. He thought, "Li Mo Chou did all kinds of evil things but she is now alive and well. Long Er has never caused anyone harm. How come her life is cut short? Oh God, Oh God, you really don't open your eyes?"

In his entire life, he was never a prisoner of fear and he always acted as he pleased. But right now, facing a hopeless situation, he couldn't do anything. He gently put Xiao Long Nu's body to the side and knelt down on the ground. He secretly prayed, "So long as God have mercy and let her injured body recover, I will.. .. I will.. .." To redeem Xiao Long Nu's life, how would there be anything he was not willing to do?

While he was praying, Xiao Long Nu suddenly said, "It was Ou Yang Feng. Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] said it was Ou Yang Feng! .. .. Guo Er, Guo Er, where are you?" She called out in alarm and lifted her body up. Yang Guo quickly sat down by the bed, grabbed her hand, and said, "I'm here." In her sleep, Xiao Long Nu felt her body without support so she immediately woke up. Seeing now that Yang Guo was still right by her body and hadn't gone anywhere, she was greatly consoled.

Yang Guo said, "Don't worry. In this lifetime, I'll never leave you. And in the future, when we leave Gu Mu, I will never leave your side even for a bit." Xiao Long Nu said, "In the outside world, sure enough there are so many good places to go. But when we get outside, I'll still be afraid." Yang Guo said, "Today we don't have to fear anything. We'll wait for a few months for your body to recover, and then we'll head south. I've heard that Ling Nan [a place in South China] is warm like Spring all year round. The flowers bloom and don't wither and the leaves always stay green. We'll put down our swords. We'll grow plants and raise small chickens and ducks. We'll live under the southern sun for the rest of our lives and have many many boys and girls. Do you think these are good ideas?" Xiao Long Nu daydreamed and gently said, "We'll put down our swords forever. That's wonderful! Nodody hurts us and we don't need to hurt others. We'll grow things in a farm and we'll keep chickens and ducks.. .. Oh, only if I don't die.. .."

For the moment, the two hearts flew to a far-away Southern place, which was blessed with Spring breezes and morning sun. They could smell the rich flower fragrant and they could hear the sounds of small chickens and ducks clucking.. ..

No longer being able to support her head, Xiao Long Nu was about to slip into a blur. But she was determined not to sleep so she said, "I don't want to sleep. You keep talking to me." Yang Guo said, "Just now in your sleep you said something about Ou Yang Feng. What was the matter?" Xiao Long Nu then said, "I said Ou Yang Feng? What about him?" Yang Guo added, "You also said Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] decided that it was him." As Xiao Long Nu heard him saying that, she immediately recalled something and said, "Oh! Sun Po Po said the man who injured my master had to be West Poison Ou Yang Feng. She said in the world there were only very few people who could have hurt my master. And Ou Yang Feng was the only bad person among those people. Until her death, my master never said that evil person's name. Sun Po Po asked her 'Is it Ou Yang Feng, is it Ou Yang Feng?' but my master shook her head, smiled, and then passed away. Isn't that Ou Yang Feng your adoptive father? His martial skills were really high, no wonder my master couldn't defeat him."

Yang Guo sighed and said, "My adoptive father has died. Martial Grandma and Sun Po Po have died. Master Chong Yang and Ancestor Grandma have died. Hatred, love, and death were all written off by God. It was like my martial grandma could see the future so she was not willing to say my adoptive father's name.. .." But suddenly he shouted, "Oh, that must be it!"

Xiao Long Nu asked, "What have you figured out?" Yang Guo replied, "Li Mo Chou didn't unseal my adoptive father's pressure point that Martial Grandma hit. Actually, it was because Martial Grandma didn't hit the mark in the first place!" Xiao Long Nu said, "She didn't hit the mark? That was not possible. My master's acupoint sealing skill was really remarkable." Yang Guo said, "My adoptive father had two of the world's wonder martial skills. In his whole body, the vital energy could circulate against the normal flow. The opposite circulation shifted all his pressure points so sealing the pressure point actually meant missing the point. Xiao Long Nu said, "There is something that strange?"

Yang Guo said, "Let me try it for you to see." Having said that, he got up and used his hand to prop himself on the ground, with his head down and legs up in the air. Then he quickly spinned himself, making a few rounds, and then breathed in a few times. Suddenly he jumped up and precisely bumped his head into a pointed corner of the table in front of the bed. Xiao Long Nu cried out, "Ai yo, be careful!" only to see the "Hundred Meetings" point [Bai Hui] on his head hit the corner of the stone table hard. This "Hundred Meetings" point was right on top of the brain, where the vertical line from the front to the back of the head and the horizontal line from the left ear to the right ear intersect, and hence the name "hundred meetings point." This was a vital pressure point, which controlled all the veins. Doctors usually compared it to the North star, as in the saying "Bai Hui [Hundred Meetings] is sky, Xuan Ji [Jade Pearl -chest] is man, and Yong Quan [Bubbling Spring -legs] is earth," which was to say that these "three big pressure points" were the most critical in a human body. Knowing this, Yang Guo bumped it right into a table corner and then turned around to stand erect. With a laugh he said, "You see, as the energy flew into the opposite direction, my Hundred Meetings point changed its position!" Xiao Long Nu clucked her tongue in approval and said, "How really strange. And he came up with that!"

Hitting himself this time, even though Yang Guo didn't seal his pressure point, he used quite a bit of force and his brain couldn't help becoming dull. In his daze, he seemed to have figured out something important all of a sudden but couldn't quite say what it was. Xiao Long Nu saw him looking dazed and disoriented so she said with a smile, "Dumb kid, a gentle demonstration would have been enough. Nobody told you to crash so hard. Does it hurt?" Yang Guo didn't reply, just waving his hand for her to stop talking. He concentrated on his thought but felt like there was a fuzzy shadow flashing in his brain, barring him from getting a clear picture. It seemed he needed to recall something from the past, yet it was also like he'd suddenly dicovered something new. He wished he could have just taken it out from his brain, stopped that moving shadow, put that thought before his eyes and clearly looked at it.

He thought for a while. Still he couldn't grasp the main points and couldn't give up thinking either. He grabbed his head. Quite vexed, he asked Xiao Long Nu, "Long Er, I've figured out an extremely important matter but I don't know what. Do you know?" When a person got his thoughts mixed up like entangled threads and he himself didn't have a clue, asking another person what he was thinking was quite ridiculous. But for the two of them who had lived together for a long time and understood each other very well, their guesses would be correct most of the times. Xiao Long Nu said, "This is a very important matter?" Yang Guo replied, "Yes." Xiao Long Nu asked, "Is it related to my injury? Delighted, Yang Guo said, "Good, very good! What matter is that? What have I figured out?"

With a chuckle, Xiao Long Nu said, "You just talked about your adoptive father Ou Yang Feng. You said he could direct vital energy to circulate in the opposite direction. Is this related to my injured condition? I'm not the person he injured.. .." Yang Guo suddenly jumped up and shouted out loudly, "Got it!"

These two words "Got it!" were brightly loud. The doors of the stone chambers inside Gu Mu were not closed so each and every word spoken out echoed back, "Got it, Got it.. .." Yang Guo grabbed Xiao Long Nu's right arm and repeatedly cried out, "You could be saved! You could be saved! You could be saved!" He couldn't restrain his happiness; nor could he really find words to express it. Seeing him all excited, Xiao Long Nu was infected with this joyous feeling. She sat up.

Yang Guo said, "Long Er, you listen to my words. Right now you are seriously injured so you can't use our sect's Jade Maiden skills. And this makes it difficult for you to recover from the injury. But if you can circulate your vital energy against the flow to heal yourself, the chilled jade bed will precisely be a marvelous aid. Xiao Long Nu was yet to understand. She mumbled, "Vital energy against the flow.. .. the chilled jade bed.. .." Happily, Yang Guo said, "Would you say this is fate? You'd practised the Jade Maiden skills, that was good enough. On top of that we have the chilled jade bed." Xiao Long Nu became confused so she said, "I still don't quite understand." Yang Guo then explained, "The Jade Maiden skills follow the Yin energy but the reverse flow skills are pure Yang. When I talked about my adoptive father's reverse energy flow skills, I vaguely felt like your injured condition could be healed. Then I hit my head and, afterwards, recalled what Master Chong Yang mentioned in his letter about the chilled jade. And it all became clear." Xiao Long Nu said, "So is that to say our ancestor grandma, who used the chilled jade bed to treat her injury, could reverse the energy flow as well? Yang Guo said, "That's not likely. Our ancestor grandma would definitely not know this reverse energy flow technique. But I suspect that she was injured by the Yin's soft internal energy. Your injury, on the other hand, was caused by the opposite force of the hard Yang." Xiao Long Nu smiled and nodded. Then with a joyful feeling, she put her mind at ease.

Yang Guo said, "We'd better not wait. Let us do it now." He then went into the firewood room and took out a bunch of firewoods. He lit them up in the corner of the stone room. Then he taught Xiao Long Nu the most basic elements of the reverse energy flow skills and helped her sit up on the chilled jade bed. He himself sit by the fire. As he used his left hand to press against Xiao Long Nu's right palm, he said, "I'll push this heat through each of your pressure points and you use your internal energy to circulate it against the normal flow. We'll do it one point at a time and when the heat comes back to the chilled jade bed, your injured condition should improve a little bit." With a smile Xiao Long Nu said, "Do I have to get down and spin myself just like you did?" Yang Guo said, "Nah, that's not necessary. Spinning is for shifting pressure points. It's only good when fighting enemies. We are slowly healing your injury, sitting down here is just as good."

Xiao Long Nu stretched her hand to hold his left palm and with a smile she said, "Come to think of it, that Guo Gu Niang wasn't too mean. She didn't cut off both of your arms." The two people had been through so many near death incidents that the matter of missing an arm became trivial. And Xiao Long Nu was even joking about it. Yang Guo also laughed and retorted, "If both of my arms got cut off, I'd still have two feet. Only that using my soles to help you circulate the energy would be hilariously smelly and not quite elegant." Xiao Long Nu scoffed and then silently recited the principle of reverse energy flow. After a while, she said, "I've got it!"

Yang Guo saw that the fire was burning too intense so he got up to slow it down. And just when they were about to begin circulating the energy, he suddenly called out, "Ai yo! I almost missed one important detail! Xiao Long Nu said, "What is it?" Yang Guo pointed to Guo Xiang who were sleeping at the foot of the bed and said, "At a critical moment, if this little devil cries out, it will be quite a disaster!" Xiao Long Nu then murmured, "Very dangerous!" When one was circulating and cultivating energy, the most evil taboo was a disturbed mind. Quite some time ago, Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo were practising their Jade Maiden skills and was discovered by Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing. Xiao Long Nu's anger caused her to spit up blood and almost died. In addition to that, at that time her body was normally healthy. Today she was heavy injured, how would she be able to withstand any bit of distraction?

Yang Guo mixed half a bowl of the bee syrup, picked up Guo Xiang, and fed her before moving her to a distant stone chamber. He shut two doors between them so even if she cried out, they wouldn't hear her. Then he came back to stay by the chilled jade bed and said, "To clear the thirty-six major pressure points your body, I think at best it will take ten days and at worst about half a month. Originally it should have taken many many days because it's hard to avoid distraction. But our Gu Mu is completely isolated from the outside world, making it the best place on earth for recovery. Even the most remoted wild mountain or valley won't be as good because there will always be the sound of birds or the smell of flowers to disturb one's mind." Xiao Long Nu smiled and said, "My injury was caused by the Quan Zhen Taoists but it was their founding master who gave us the tomb chamber and the chilled jade bed for me to rest and recover in. So their merits and crimes actually cancelled out each other." Then Yang Guo said, "What about that Jin Lun Fa Wang? We can't let him get away with it."

Xiao Long Nu sighed and said, "So long as I can live, what else do you have to be unhappy about?" Yang Guo held her hand and said, "You are right. This time after you've recovered, we'll never fight with people again. God is so kind to us. Hmmm." Xiao Long Nu gently said, "We'll go South to become farmers and we'll raise a lot of chickens and ducks.. .." As she was saying that, she felt the heat energy passing into her body. With a trembled heart, she used the reverse energy flow technique that Yang Guo taught her to circulate that energy.

This healing method of using the reverse energy flow technique and the chilled jade bed to complement each other was really strange but the result was also very effective. Years ago, Reverend Yi Deng had used the divine one Yang finger to cure Huang Rong's injury by circulating energy and clearing all her pressure points in pretty much the same way. The difference was that using the one Yang finger to cure an illness hostilely consumed a lot of [Reverend Yi Deng's] internal energy and hence a quick recovery while Yang Guo's method would take many days to see the result. And more than that, for a non-martial person who was heavily injured, a master of the one Yang finger would use his profound internal energy to help the injured circulate the Yang energy and thus brought him back to life. In Xiao Long Nu's case, she didn't have a very deep internal energy foundation but she and Yang Guo were from the same sect, yet could use different techniques. Not even Ou Yang Feng coming back from the grave or Huang Yao Shi arriving could create a harmony between the helper and the helped like this. And nor would they be able to help Xiao Long Nu to reverse her energy flow without innumerable difficulties.

Three times a day, Yang Guo would go out to feed Guo Xiang with honey and boiled pumpkin. Other than that he rarely left Xiao Long Nu's side. To clear major pressure points, sometimes it would take four or five hours during which their hands could not be separated. At the time Guo Jing was injured, Huang Rong spent seven days and seven nights helping him cure the injuries. Compared to Guo Jing's sturdy body, Xiao Long Nu's was far more delicate and so her injury was many times more serious.

----------------------------

That day at the outskirt of the woods, Huang Rong used her "Orchid Brushing Acupoint" skills to defeat Li Mo Chou. Then she looked everywhere but still couldn't find her baby Guo Xiang. She was filled with anxiety and sorrow. As she came out of the forest, she shouted at Li Mo Chou, "What kind of tricks did you use? Where did you hide my baby?" Surprised, Li Mo Chou said, "Isn't the little girl tucked behind the thorn fence?" Huang Rong was so worried that she almost broke down in tears. She shook her head and replied, "She's disappeared." Li Mo Chou had been fostering Guo Xiang for many days and was quite attached to her. Suddenly hearing that she was missing, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly said, "Must be either Yang Guo or Jin Lun Fa Wang." Huang Rong then asked, "How do you know?"

Then Li Mo Chou told her about her fight with Yang Guo and Fa Wang over the baby outside the wall of Xiang Yang. As she talked about dangers, Huang Rong couldn't keep her indifferent appearance. Seeing Li Mo Chou's worried expression, Huang Rong was then convinced that she didn't know where Guo Xiang was and so she stretched out her hand to unseal the "Jade Pearl" pressure point [Xuan Ji] on her chest. With Huang Rong's technique, Li Mo Chou could move round but she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone within a twelve-hour period. With a forced smile, Li Mou Chou straightened up her body and brushed away the dirts. She said, "If it was Yang Guo who took her, she wouldn't be harmed. I'm only afraid that Fa Wang snatched her." Huang Rong asked again, "Why is that?" Li Mou Chou replied, "Yang Guo was extremely good with the little baby girl. He really quickly protected her from harms. That was why I blindly thought she was his daughter." Having realized what she just said, she suddenly shut up for fear that Huang Rong would get angry again.

But really Huang Rong's mind was occupied by another matter. She was thinking about how Yang Guo and Li Mo Chou battled with Jin Lun Fa Wang to protect Guo Xiang, while she herself and Guo Fu wrongly accused him of abominable crimes, and how Guo Fu had cut off his arm. Deep down in her heart was a grim regret. She blamed herself, "Alas, Guo Er has saved Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing]. He's saved me. He's saved Fu Er. And yet this time he's saved Xiang Er.. .. First impressions always stuck in my heart. I thought about his terribly evil father and then concluded that the son had to be like the father. I never trusted him.. .. Ocassionally I was treating him nicely and then I'd suspect him of doing something again. Rong Er.. Rong Er.. You've prided yourself on being intelligent. You've spoken of confidentiality and righteousness. You are really nothing like Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing].

Seeing tears brimming in her eyes, Li Mo Chou thought she was worried about her daughter's safety. So she urged, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], your daughter is only a month old. She's gone through quite a catastrophe but not even a single hair on her head is damaged. She was born as pretty as a doll [jade snow]. Even a she-devil, who killed people without batting an eye like myself, likes her very much. She must have been born with a lucky life.. the life that will change misfortune into fortune. And for all that, you can be at peace. Let the two of us go look for her together."

Huang Rong wiped away the tears with her shirt sleeve and thought that what Li Mo Chou said was quite right. She also thought, "Honesty is the best way. Later on, I'll let people think badly of me but I won't think badly of people." Then she stretched out her hand to unseal Li Mo Chou's "Jade Pearl" point [Xuan Ji] again and said, "Li Dao Zhang [Sister Li] is willing to go find my daugther with me, I'm very grateful. But if you have an important matter to attend to, I'll see you later."

Li Mochou said, "What important matter? The most important thing is to find this little baby. You wait a minute!" Having said that, she rushed to the big hole inside a big tree and untied a rope on a leopard's foot. Then she slapped its behind and said, "Off you go." That leopard let out a low roar and quickly disappeared into the long grass. Puzzled, Huang Rong asked, "What did the leopard do?" With a laugh, Li Mo Chou said, "That was your daughter's wetnurse."

Huang Rong smiled faintly and the two people headed back into town. Then they saw Guo Fu standing at the road that led into town. She was waiting impatiently for her mother.

Seeing Huang Rong, Guo Fu jumped up with joy and called out, "Ma [Mother], little sister was.. .." She cut herself off in mid-sentence when she unexpectedly saw that standing behind her mother was Li Mo Chou and she couldn't help being frightened. She prepared herself to fight. At normal times, she heard Wu Di Xiong [The Wu Brothers] said that Li Mo Chou killed their mother so in her heart this was the most evil person on earth.

Huang Rong said, "Li Dao Zhang [Sister Li] is helping us searching for your little sister. What did you say about your sister just now?" Guo Fu replied, "Mei Mei [Sister] was kidnapped by Yang Guo. And he also snatched my little red horse away with him. You look at this sword." Having said that, she raised a bent sword to show her mother and said, "He used his empty shirt sleeve to strike it. The sword hit the corner of a wall and it turned out like this." Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou asked at the same time, "Using his shirt sleeve?" Guo Fu replied, "Right, it was really weird! Who would have thought he'd learned a devil Kung fu."

Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou looked at each other in amazement. The two of them naturally knew that a person with extremely profound internal energy could definitely turn silk into a stick, or using a soft material to strike a hard object. However, even such a renowned and talented master could be found, he would still need thirty or forty years of practice to reach that level. With a very young age, Yang Guo surprisingly had reached this high stage. And this was extremely rare. As Huang Rong heard that her daughter was taken by Yang Guo, she felt quite relief. Li Mo Chou, on the other hand, thought to herself, "This boy's marvelous Kung Fu must be the result of learning from my master's Jade Maiden manual. Right now I have Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] with me. If I help her get her daughter back, she will help me snatch the manual. I'm the first disciple of the sect. Even though Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister] was Master's favorite, she already broke the sect's rule. How could I let the manual fall into a man's hand?" And with this thought, she felt herself quite righteous.

Huang Rong had tracked down Yang Guo's direction and said, "Fu Er, you don't have to go back to the Peach Blossom Island anymore. We'll go find Yang Da Ge [Big Brother Yang] together." Guo Fu was very pleased, saying, "Okay, Okay!" But then when she thought that she would have to see Yang Guo, her face turned completely awkward. Huang Rong's face was grim and she said, "When you see him again, don't ask him if he's forgiven you. You have to sincerely take the blame and apologize." In her heart, Guo Fu didn't want to submit so she said, "Why do I have to do it? Isn't he the one kidnapping Mei Mei [Sister]?" Huang Rong simply rephrased Li Mo Chou's words and said, "If he really had an evil intention, do you think your sister would still live today? Also, If he didn't just hit your sword but rather aimed at your small head, don't you think right now there would be quite a pretty scene?"

Hearing her mother's words, Guo Fu still couldn't help but shiver inside. She secretly thought, "Is that to say he's really shown mercy?" But since she had been spoiled since she was little so she still argued, "He's snatched my sister away, naturally he is already on his way to the Passionless Valley!" Huang Rong shook her head and said, "No, he would definitely go back to Mount Zhong Nan." Guo Fu pursed her lips and said, "Ma, you are completely helping him! If he really had a good intention, why wouldn't he bring Mei Mei back to us in Xiang Yang? For what reason would he have to take her to Mount Zhong Nan?"

Huang Rong sighed and said, "You and Yang Da Ge [Big Brother Yang] grew up together. For all that you still don't understand his character! He's always been arrogant and he's never taken kindly to insults. You cut off his arm. He could have taken your life but he didn't have the heart to. But for this matter, he also wouldn't back down. He took your sister away to make us worry. When time passes and his anger disappears, he'll just bring your sister back to us. Have you understood? You accused him of stealing your little sister so he simply did it to show you that he could!

Huang Rong returned to the small restaurant that they just visited. She borrowed stationary and penned a short letter. Then she gave the store partner two silver coins for him to deliver the letter to Guo Jing in Xiang Yang. That man said, "Guo Da Sha [Hero Guo] protects our borders and keeps our mind at ease. He really is our people's Buddha. If we little people could help in anyway, we'll not hesitate." He also was not willing to take the money. He picked up the letter and happily left. Guo Fu saw the many people revere her father like this, she was very pleased in her heart.

The three people bought mules and set out toward Mount Zhong Nan. Guo Fu didn't like Li Mo Chou and they rarely talk on the way. When she bumped into Li Mo Chou by chance and couldn't avoid talking, her expression would turn cold. They started traveling in the morning and stopped at night to rest. The journey was smooth. But this afternoon, while the three of them rode in a line, they saw someone speeding her horse towards them.


END OF CHAPTER 28

[Han Solo]

Chapter 29

Ultimate Disasters

Guo Fu called out, "It's my little red horse. It's my.. .." As she was saying that, the red horse rushed to the front. Guo Fu leapt forward. The red horse recognized its master and didn't need for her to pull the rein. It fought to stop, raised its head, and neighed.

Guo Fu saw that mounting on the horse was a young girl dressed in black. When they met before, Guo Fu was fighting side by side with her against Li Mo Chou. This girl was indeed Wan Yan Ping. Her hair was disheveled. Her face was greenish pale. And she looked extremely distressed. Seeing that, Guo Fu asked, "Wan Yan Zi Zi [Elder Sister Wan Yan], what's happened with you?" Wan Yan Ping pointed her finger to the path she just came from and said, "Quick.., Quick.. .." Suddenly her body toppled, falling down from the horse. Guo Fu cried out in alarm and reached out to support her. She turned to her mother and said, "Ma, this is that elder sister Wan Yan." While saying that, she gave Li Mo Chou a stare.

Huang Rong mused, "She raced the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] like this. Nobody in the world could catch up with her so of course she was not in danger. But when she pointed her finger to the North, she had the distressed look. She must be worried about other people. We must rush out to help them." So she told her daughter to help Wan Yan Ping sit up on the horse and also said, "This horse's feet are too swift. You can't rush ahead of me no matter what!" Guo Fu asked, "Why not?" Huang Rong quipped, "There's a great danger lying ahead. How have you not figured it out?" Having said that, she gave Li Mo Chou a hand signal and the two of them galloped north.

After rushing for ten miles, they heard the faint sounds of weapons clashing from the other side of the mountain as expected. Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou urged the horse to go around the mountain and then in the field before them they saw five people engaging in a wicked fight. Two of them were the Wu brothers. There were also a young man and a young woman Huang Rong did not recognize. The four of them were fighting against a middle-aged man and even though it was four against one, they were defending more than attacking. The Wu brothers were both wounded and that young man was fiercely brandishing his long sword against that middle-aged man's better moves. Lying down on the ground nearby was another person, Wu San Tong, who was incessantly yelling and shouting.

Huang Rong saw that man's left hand holding a large flashing gold knife and his right hand wielding a thin, long, black sword. His sword moves were strangely fantastic and not something she'd seen before. If she herself didn't jump in, the Wu brothers would definitely be in imminent danger. So she said to Li Mo Chou, "Those two young men are my disciples." Li Mo Chou let out a laugh and said, "Their mother was killed by me. How can it be that you don't know?" Li Mo Chou saw that the middle-aged man's martial skills were strangely high. She'd never heard that there was such a person in Jiang Hu [the martial world] and she was secretly quite astonished. Finally, she faintly smiled and said, "Let's fight!" Li Mo Chou pulled out her brush while Huang Rong also held firm the bamboo cane in her hand. Then together the two of them approached that man from left and right. Li Mo Chou's brush attacked his black sword while Huang Rong's bamboo cane tangled his gold knife.

This middle-aged man was of course the master of the Passionless Valley sect Gong Sun Zhi. As he suddenly saw two middle-aged beautiful females coming to attack in pair, his heart shook. But then he heard Li Mo Chou shout, "One!" and her brush was wielded out. "Two!" she called out again. At first she and Huang Rong were secretly comparing their strength to see who would first beat this person but as she continuously counted to "ten", Gong Sun Zhi was still attacking and defending. Then, with three stances, the young man's sword was thrusted to the back of Gong Sun Zhi. These sword stances were packed with fierce strength. Gong Sun Zhi knew if he'd eventually lose if he continued to fight so he didn't try to block them but instead jumped forward over ten feet. He looked at Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou and secretly thought, "Where did these two ferocious women come from?" But oh, how beautiful they are!" Having thought that, he clashed his knife and sword, making a weng-weng sound, and then leapt up again.

Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou didn't dare to underestimate the enemy so they put up their tight guards. That Gong Sun Zhi turned his body around in midair and when he dropped to the ground, he got up again and rushed up the mountain. With a smile, Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou looked at each other and both thought, "This person had powerful martial skills and was also cunning. If fighting by myself, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be his match."

The Wu brothers pressed the wounds with their hands and moved forward to kowtow to their Shi Mu [Martial Mother]. Then they both stood up and angrily stared at Li Mo Chou. Huang Rong said, "You won't settle the old debt today. Your father's injury would be in the way, wouldn't it? Who are these two people? Ai yo, wretched! Li Zi Zi [Elder Sister Li] come with me quick!" She didn't even waste time getting on the horse but flew her body toward the road and rushed out. Li Mo Chou didn't get her meaning but still followed her. Then she asked, "What's the matter?" Huang Rong answered, "Fu Er, Fu Er will run right into this person!"

The two persons used their internal energy to pursue him but Gong Sun Zhi was really fast. Only with a somewhat small delay, he'd already left them way behind.

Guo Fu were supporting Wan Yan Ping with both hands. Both of them rode the red horse and slowly emerged from behind the mountain. Huang Rong saw them from a distance so she used her internal energy to call out, "Fu Er, be careful!" Her sound hadn't even faded off when Gong Sun Zhi quickly approached them and jumped up onto the horseback. He stretched out his hand to hold still Guo Fu while pulling the rein to turn the horse head around. Seeing that, Huang Rong puckered her lips to whistle and then rushed forward.

Gong Sun Zhi was startled and thought, "How come today all my affairs went wrong like this? Can't I even befriend a domesticated animal?" Then he exerted his strength to rein in the horse. This force was not weak and so the red horse let out a long neigh and reared itself up. Thinking to flee southward, Gong Sun Zhi forced the horse to turn around but instead it flitted about and kicked up its legs. And then it unexpectedly moved backwards step-by-step. Delighted, Huang Rong sped up. Gong Sun Zhi saw that the red horse was incredibly stubborn and that Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou were closing in, he resheathed the weapons. Holding Guo Fu with his right hand and Wan Yan Ping with his left, they got off the horse. Now Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou, with their lightness kung fu, were approaching fast and were only a short distance away.

Gong Sun Zhi turned around and said with a smile, "If I squeeze my arms, will these two beautiful and delicate girls still live?" Huang Rong asked, "Who are you, sir? You and I have never met. How could you capture my daughter?" With a smile Gong Sun Zhi said, "This is your daughter? Are you really Wan Yan Fu Ren [Madame Wan Yan]? Huang Rong pointed at Guo Fu and said, "That one is my daughter!" Gong Sun Zhi looked at Guo Fu and turned to gaze at Huang Rong. With a grin he said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, very beautiful. Mother and daughter are both beautiful, very beautiful!"

Although Huang Rong was furious, her daughter was in his hand. She had to be careful not to fight the enemy and harm her daughter in the process. Therefore she had used a delay tactic and reasoned with him. But suddenly she heard the two 'Sou''Sou' whishing sounds from behind. Two long arrows flew past her own left cheek and straight towards Gong Sun Zhi. The arrows were fiercely fast and they made extremely loud sounds while cutting through the air. Upon hearing the sounds of the arrows, she was so happy she almost cried out, thinking it was surely her husband arriving. The martial masters in the central plains of China rarely learned arrow techniques. And even though Mongolian warriors' arrow techniques were refined, without solid internal energy it was difficult to send an arrow very far. These two arrows were making such loud and solid sounds like this. Except Guo Jing, she'd never seen any other person who could do it. But this arrow skill was actually still far from Guo Jing's level. By the time the arrows were halfway in the air, Huang Rong realized that the shooter was not her husband.

Seeing the arrows zooming in, Gong Sun Zhi opened his mouth and bit the tip of the first arrow and at the same time stepped aside, using the arrow shaft in his mouth to brush away the second one. Huang Rong thought, "If it were Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing] who shot these arrows, I bet using your mouth to catch an arrow like this would give you a hole in your throat." As she was about to move forward, she heard a series of 'Sou' 'Sou' whishing sounds again. Nine arrows flew in one by one, aiming at the area between Gong Sun Zhi's eyebrows. And this time, in a tight situation, Gong Sun Zhi had to put down the two girls and pulled out his sword to block the arrows.

As Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou quickly rushed forward to rescue the two girls, they saw a flashing gray shadow rolling Guo Fu to the roadside. When that body turned over to get up, Gong Sun Zhi, ignoring his gold knife, shot out his bare palm to strike the top of that person's head.

Lying on the ground, that person turned over his palm to block the attack. There came a clashing sound. Dust flew up all over the place. Gong Sun Zhi then called out, "Good!" and sent out his second strike, with more strength this time. Seeing that it would be difficult for that person to block the attack, Huang Rong lashed out her dog beating stick, using the "seal" stance to intercept that palm strike. Gong Sun Zhi saw himself surrounded by the enemies. He knew that he couldn't win today. So with a 'Ha''Ha' laugh, he backed out three steps and turned his body to walk away. He appeared to carry himself naturally, with martial grace. Huang Rong and others didn't dare to pursue.

While still holding Guo Fu, that person stood up. Then he dropped his arms. Huang Rong saw that he had a tall body with broad biceps, with a long bow hanging from his waist. This was precisely that youth who fought with a sword earlier. Also, naturally he was the one who shot out those eleven arrows. Even though Guo Fu fell into Gong Sun Zhi's clutch just now, she wasn't injured at all and so she said, "Ye Lu Da Ge [Big Brother Ye Lu], many thanks for saving me." While saying that, she blushed prettily.

By this time Wu Xiu Wen and a young girl caught up with them, leaving Wu Dun Ru to take care of his father. Normally, Wu Xiu Wen should be the one introducing everybody but he was filled with rage and was viciously eyeing Li Mo Chou. He forgot everybody else at present. Huang Rong called him twice but he didn't even hear it. Li Mo Chou actually already stood far away from them with her hands behind her back, watching the scenery. She of course didn't pay attention to these many people.

Guo Fu pointed at the young man who had just rescued her and said to her mother, "Ma, this person is Ye Lu Qi, Ye Lu Da Ge [Big Brother Ye Lu]." Then she pointed at the tall young girl and said, "And this is Ye Lu Yan, Ye Lu Zi Zi [Elder Sister Ye Lu]." Huang Rong then praised them, "You two have quite wonderful kung fus!" The Ye Lu siblings together replied, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] praised us!" and moved forward to pay respect.

Huang Rong then asked, "It looks like you two use the Quan Zhen sect's kung fu. May I ask which of the Quan Zhen seven masters is your master?" She saw Ye Lu Qi's martial skills and, except Yang Guo one person, couldn't think of any other fourth generation disciple of the Quan Zhen sect. Ye Lu Yan said, "My brother taught me my martial skills." Huang Rong nodded and turned to look at Ye Lu Qi. Ye Lu Qi felt quite awkward and said, "Elder asked me a question, I really should give you a truthful answer. Only that my master has forbidden me, the young generation, to mention his old name. Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], please forgive me."

Huang Rong was startled and thought, "Would the Quan Zhen seven masters come up with this strange rule? This young man's martial skills were quite excellent, why couldn't he say his master's name?" Having thought this far, she suddenly burst out into a laugh and bent over with hands on her belly. This matter was really extremely funny. Puzzled, Guo Fu asked, "Ma, what's so funny?" She heard her mother seriously asked Ye Lu Qi which sect he belonged to. And suddenly she broke out laughing like this. She was afraid that Ye Lu Qi would be upset so, embarrased, she asked again, "Ma, Ye Lu Da Ge [Brother Ye Lu] can't say it. That's okay. What's so funny?" Still laughing, Huang Rong didn't answer. Ye Lu Qi had a smiling expression on his face and said, "Seems like Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] guessed correctly." Guo Fu was at a loss. She turned her head to look at Ye Lu Yan and saw that she was also in the dark, not understanding what the two persons were laughing about.

Right now Wu Xiu Wen were kneeling down to bandage Wan Yan Ping's injury. Just now she was held hostage by Gong Sun Zhi and twisted her left ankle while escaping. Huang Rong asked, "Xiu Er, how's your father's wound condition?" Wu Xiu Wen replied, "Father was cut by that old Gong Sun's sword. His left leg was injured but luckily the sword didn't damage his bone." Huang Rong nodded and walked over to lightly stroke the precious horse's mane. She gently said, "Horsy, oh horsy, our Guo family wouldn't be able to repay you for your deep affection." Then she saw that Wu Xiu Wen, with his rather strange expression, didn't speak to Guo Fu all along but took extremely good care of Wan Yan Ping. Yet she didn't know whether he did this to show Guo Fu or he really was fond of this girl. She decided not to pursue the matter and said, "Let us go get your father."

Wu San Tong was originally sitting on the ground. When he saw Huang Rong approaching, he called out, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo]!" and got up. He had a leg wound so his body was swaying. Wu Dun Ru and Ye Lu Yan reached out to hold him at the same time. As their hands bumped, they looked at each other with a smile.

Huang Rong secretly laughed in her heart, "How nice, another couple! Just a few days ago, the brothers were willing to kill each other for Fu Er, not thinking about their blood ties. Now that the boys have met pretty girls, they instantly turned around and forgot all about their original feelings." Suddenly she thought about Guo Jing and her heart couldn't help but swell with pride. Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing] always stayed true to her and never changed, be it in good or bad fortune. How would these youths be able to compare to him? Then she thought about Yang Guo. She felt that his relationship with Xiao Long Nu was unseemly. But she also knew that he was smart about relationships and stayed faithful to his love both in life and in death. That was actually something to be revered and respected.

The Wu brothers and Guo Fu grew up together on the Peach Blossom Island. First, on the island there was no other girl of their age. Second, time made the hearts grow fonder. If the two brothers didn't fell in love with Guo Fu, that wouldn't make sense at all. Later on, they suddenly found out that Guo Fu didn't return their feelings, they were brokenhearted and said that they would live a life without joy like this forever. They had no way of knowing that a short while later they would meet Ye Lu Yan and Wan Yan Ping they really should symphatize with. This time the the Wu brothers ran into Guo Fu, they secretly compared their sweethearts to her. The brothers felt that their loved ones were not only not inferior to Guo Fu but also even better. One thought, "Ye Lu Gu Niang [Miss Ye Lu] is open and kind. How could she be like you who are scheming and narrow-minded?" The other thought, "Wan Yan Gu Niang is clearly pitiful. She is also gentle and polite. How could she be like you who everyday make people miserable?" The brothers had earlier vowed not to see Guo Fu again but now ran into her by accident and couldn't quite escape. They both thought, "Today I didn't intend to go looking for you so this couldn't be regarded as breaking a vow."

In Guo Fu's mind, she only thought about how she had been captured by Gong Sun Zhi just now and how Ye Lu Qi had saved her. She stole a look at him several times and saw that he was tall and handsome. She couldn't help secretly thinking, "I met him for the first time last year and later forgot all about him. At that time I didn't know that his martial skills would be like this. Mother and he were laughing together. What were they laughing about?"

Huang Rong examined the sword wound on Wu San Tong's leg. Fortunately, it wouldn't be a great obstacle. Then everybody shared their stories.

That day Wu San Tong, Zhu Zi Liu and Martial Uncle Indian monk left for the Passionless Valley to seek the antidote for Yang Guo. Just outside of Xiang Yang, Wu San Tong ran into his two sons. Startled and afraid that they would fight again, he quickly told Zhu Zi Liu to accompany Martial Uncle to go ahead. Then he rushed out to stop the Wu brothers and asked questions. As it turned out, the Wu brothers both followed their vow spoken to Yang Guo about not seeing Guo Fu again so they didn't want to stay in Xiang Yang anymore. Wu San Tong was reassured so he praised them, "Good boys, you've got guts!" He also said, "Yang Xiong Di [Brother Yang] risked his own life to save us. Now he is in trouble, how can we not try to help him? The three of us, father and sons, should go to the Passionless Valley together."

But the Passionless Valley was like a paradise outside this world. Although Yang Guo had told them about its approximate location, it was actually not easy to find the entrance. The three people went around in circle and took many paths but still they couldn't find the Valley entrance. The Indian monk and Zhu Zi Liu had already fallen into the enemy's trap and been captured by the fishnets of Qiu Qian Chi's disciples. Wu San Tong and his sons tried many times to help them without success and almost fell into the gorge. With no choice but to retreat, they thought that they would go back to Xiang Yang to find help. Unfortunately, they ran into Gong Sun Zhi who said the three of them were trespassing and then attacked them. Wu San Tong was not his match and was cut in the leg. Gong Sun Zhi didn't really want the three people's lives and so he just forced them to quickly leave and told them never to come back.

By this time, the Ye Lu siblings and Wan Yan Ping happened to ride into view. The three people and the Wu brothers used to fight together so they got off their horses and started talking about the old times. Gong Sun Zhi was looking at them coldly from the side. He failed to marry Xiao Long Nu and got kicked off the sect by his wife so he was actually bored to death. Seeing that Wan Yan Ping was young and beautiful, he couldn't curb his evil intention and suddenly snatched her away with him. This time, the Ye Lu siblings and the Wu brothers all immediately jumped in to fight. If Wu San Tong hadn't been injured, it would be six people joining force and they would have a chance against Gong Sun Zhi. However, his leg was wounded so Ye Lu Qi was the only strong fighter among them and they couldn't fend off Gong Sun Zhi. It just so happened that the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] was running back by himself from Mount Zhong Nan and heading towards Xiang Yang. Wu Xiu Ren grabbed him and let Wan Yan Ping ride away, hoping that Gong Sun Zhi would lose interest after the swan was gone. They didn't expect that Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou would rush into the scene like this.

Huang Rong listened to the stories and talked briefly about how Yang Guo got his arm chopped off and how he snatched her young daugther. Wu San Tong was greatly alarmed and quickly explained the root cause. He said, "Yang Xiong Di [Brother Yang] is brave and warm-hearted. Everything happened because, without thinking about himself, he saved these two animals of mine and didn't let them destroy themselves. Who would have thought that it would lead to these matters?" He thought about how Yang Guo got his arm chopped off, all because of his two sons. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly pointed at the two sons and scolded them.

On the side, the Wu brothers, the Ye Lu siblings, and Wan Yan Ping were all talking enthusiastically. A little while later, Guo Fu came in to join the discussion. The six people were of the same age and just went through a fierce battle together so with gusto they talked about how fierce and evil Gong Sun Zhi was and how he finally fled into the wild. Suddenly they heard Wu San Tong bellowed out a shout of outrage, "Wu Dun Ru, Wu Xiu Wen, you two little animals, Yang Guo Xiong Di [Brother Yang Guo] was so good and kind to you but you caused him to lose his arm. You stop and think, how would our family Wu ever face him?" Both his face and ears turned red and the more he scolded, the fiercer he became. If not for his injured leg, he would have thrown himself out to strike them. The two brothers were baffled, not knowing how their father got so mad. Each of them stealthily looked at Ye Lu Yan and Wan Yan Ping. They felt that in front of beautiful ladies, having their father calling them 'animal this' and 'animal that' was a great loss of face. But if they were still fighting over Guo Fu like before, that would be distressful too. The two brothers looked at each other at their wits' end, not knowing what to do.

Huang Rong saw the situation to be quite awkward so she intercepted, "Wu Xiong Di [Brother Wu], don't be so upset. Yang Guo's losing an arm was all little sister's fault for not teaching my child better and letting her run spoiled. At that time, her old man Guo was also so mad that he wanted to chop off her arm." Wu San Tong then gave out a loud shout, "That's right. Good! Her arm should be chopped off!" Guo Fu's eyes turned white with fear. She thought, "Did you just say 'her arm should be chopped of'?" If her mother weren't there, Guo Fu would have said something out in protest.

Huang Rong said, "Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], we've talked clearly enough about how your children wronged Yang Guo. Right now we have two important matters ahead. First, we must find Yang Guo to see his condition." Wu San Tong agreed, "Very good. Very good." Huang Rong then continued, "The second important thing is that we have to go to the Passionless Valley to rescue Martial Uncle and Zhu Da Ge [Brother Zhu] and at the same time get the antidote for Yang Guo. But do you know anything about Zhu Da ge's condition or whether or not his life is in danger?"

Wu San Tong said, "My martial uncle and apprentice brother were trapped by the fishing net and imprisoned in a stone chamber. It seemed like that old woman still didn't think to harm them. Huang Rong nodded and said, "Hmm, in that case we go find Yang Guo first and go with him to the Passionless Valley to save people. And once the antidote is obtained, he can take it immediately to avoid any delay, and hence more dangers." Wu San Tong said, "That's right. But do we know where Yang Guo is right now?" Huang Rong pointed at the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] and said, "This horse was just borrowed away by Yang Guo. If we follow the road that this horse came from, we can find out where he is." Wu San Tong was delighted and said, "Today if not for the wisdom of Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], the old Wu here would have flown into a fit of rage and made matters worse." This time Guo Fu couldn't bear to be quiet so she chimed in, "Isn't that right?"

Huang Rong smiled faintly. She didn't say a word about seeking her younger daughter but all about getting Wu San Tong to follow her. She mused, "If the Wu father and sons come with me, the other three young people will definitely tag along. Then there will be more people to help us. Isn't that wonderful?" She then turned to Ye Lu Qi and said, "If Ye Lu Xiao Ge [Little Brother Ye Lu] doesn't have any pressing matter to attend to, how about you come along with us just for fun?" Ye Lu Qi was yet to answer but Ye Lu Yan clapped her hands, crying out, "Okay, Okay! Ge Ge [Brother], let's go together with them!" Ye Lu Qi couldn't bear Guo Fuo's gaze. Seeing that the glints in her eyes conveyed an encouraging message, he bowed down and said, "If Elder Wu and Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] wouldn't mind, Junior could only benefit from your guidance. This is precisely my great wish." With a pleased expression on her face, Wan Yan Ping also slowly nodded.

Huang Rong then said, "Look, we are a group of many people, we must have someone to give orders. Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], from now on everybody will listen to your commands and nobody can disobey." Wu San Tong waved his hands and said, "We have in you a wonderful strategist who can match Zhu Ge, who would dare to give orders? Naturally, it has to be you in charge." With a smile Huang Rong said, "Really?" Wu San Tong replied, "How can that be wrong?" Huang Rong laughed and said, "Giving orders to the juniors is quite easy. I'm only afraid that your old self wouldn't listen to me." Then in a loud voice Wu San Tong said, "Nonsense. I won't do such a thing. If you tell me to jump in water and walk on fire, I won't say no in any circumstances." Huang Rong said, "In front of these many juniors, how could you say things you don't mean?" Wu San Tong blushed and responded, "Even if there were no one else here, how could I fail to keep my words?"

Huang Rong said, "All right! This time we will go find Yang Guo, get the antidote, and rescue your martial uncle and brother. We must work together. For any previous gratitude or grudges, we'll put them aside for the time being. Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], you, the Wu father and sons, cannot settle your debt with Li Mo Chou. After we've accomplished our important mission, shedding blood is still not too late!" Wu San Tong was startled. He hadn't thought that Huang Rong's spoken words would unexpectedly be meant for this matter. He and Li Mo Chou had wife-killing hatred to settle, how could he actually bear the rage in his heart? So he hesitated and didn't respond. With a gentle voice Huang Rong said, "Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], your leg has been injured. For a gentleman, revenge in ten years is still not too late. What the big deal with a little while longer?" Wu San Tong then replied, "Good, whatever you say, I'll do it."

Huang Rong raised her voice to call Li Mo Chou, "Li Zi Zi [Elder Sister Li], let's go!" They let the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] lead the way and the many people followed. The red horse originally wanted to return to Xiang Yang but instead it ran into its master. Huang Rong was now walking in front of him and heading towards Mount Zhong Nan.


Last edited by BeeDreamer : 05-28-05


Wu San Tong and Wan Yan Ping were injured so they couldn't just speed away. They all traveled a hundred miles for each day and then stopped to rest. Li Mo Chou stayed clear from other people at night and hurried along with them in a distance during the day.

Traveling by day and resting by night, the six young men and women were having a good time chatting and laughing. And the further they went, the more friendly they became. When the Wu brothers originally were bickering over Guo Fu, their brotherhood ties were greatly strained. Now that each had his own love, the two brothers were on the best terms. Wu San Tong looked at them and his heart was greatly consoled. But also every time, he also thought, "That day even if the two brothers weren't poisoned by Li Mo Chou, they could have destroyed each other. I'd have been left with only one.. I can't even call him a son. And today the two animals are surprisingly having a good time while Brother Yang has lost an arm. Alas, what can I really say? Only cutting an arm from each of these two little animals and putting them on Brother Yang's body would make sense." As for the fact that Yang Guo would end up with three arms in that scenario, he hadn't actually thought about it.

And then one day they reached Mount Zhong Nan. Huang Rong and Wu San Tong led the many people up to the Chong Yang Palace to greet all the Quan Zhen five masters. Li Mo Chou stood still from a distance and said, "I'll wait here then." Huang Rong knew Li Mo Chou and the Quan Zhen sect had a grudge so she didn't press the matter and went up the path towards the Chong Yang Palace.

Liu Chu Xuan, Qiu Chu Ji and others were informed about their arrival so they quickly came out of the palace to welcome them. They entered the palace hall together and sat down at a provided place. As they were exchanging their greetings, they suddenly heard someone shouting loudly. Huang Rong was very delighted and called out, "Old urchin, won't you come out and see who is here?"

Recently, Zhou Bo Tong had been obsessively studying ways to command the jade bees. He was by nature intelligent and tenacious. But to everybody's surprise, he was happy with small successes and only wanted to play and have good times. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting out. That was Huang Rong's voice. He was thrilled and so he said, "Aha, that is my brother's crafty and eccentric wife!" Then he made loud noises and rushed out from behind the hall.

Ye Lu Qi went forward and kowtowed. He said, "Shi Fu [Master], I pay you respect. May happiness be with you great elder forever." With a laugh Zhou Bo Tong said, "Enough, just get up! May happiness be with you little baby forever too!"

Hearing that, the many people all found it strange. Nobody would have expected Ye Lu Qi to be Zhou Bo Tong's disciple. This old urchin was madly crazy but his chosen disciple was a skilled gentleman. Together, they were nothing alike. Qiu Chu Ji and others saw their Shi Shu [martial uncle] accepting a disciple, they were all very happy and then busily congratulated him. And this time, Guo Fu understood why her mother and Ye Lu Qi together were laughing about the other day. It was because her mother had guessed correctly that Zhou Bo Tong was Ye Lu Qi's teacher.

From the beginning, Ye Lu Qi met Zhou Bo Tong twelve years ago. At that time he was still young so he and Zhou Bo Tong played together quite nicely. Zhou Bo Tong then accepted him as a disciple. Although Zhou Bo Tong didn't teach him a lot of kung fu, Ye Lu Qi was talented and determined. He practised his martial skills diligently and surprisingly became an outstanding character of the young generation. It was only that Zhou Bo Tong saw him growing up well-behaved and nothing like a small mischievous child. His heart was filled with regrets and therefore didn't allow Ye Lu Qi to call himself the old urchin's direct disciple. But at this point, Zhou Botong couldn't get rid of him either.

Amid all the excitement came sudden sounds of battlecries from below the mountain. The sect disciples reported that the enemy was gathering for the attack. The other day the Quan Zhen sect refused to bow down to the Mongolian prince's imperial decree and also killed many of them. Qiu Chu Ji and others knew that this matter couldn't easily be resolved and that the Mongolian army would sooner or later come back up the mountain. They also realized that the Quan Zhen sect would not be able to fend off the Mongolian army so they had already arranged a plan to abandon the palace and retreat to the West. By this time the Zhang Jiao [sect chief] position had already been assigned to a third generation disciple, Li Zhi Chang, but, facing this important matter, it was still left to the Quan Zhen five masters to make decisions. Qiu Chu Ji turned to Huang Rong and said, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], the Mongolian army has attacked! This is such an inopportune time. Please don't think badly of our hospitality."

Then everbody heard the deadly sounds of drumrolls and battlecries from below the mountain. Just now Huang Rong came up the mountain from the southern side while the Mongolian army actually took the northen route. And they arrived roughly about the same time.

Zhou Bo Tong said, "Are the enemies coming? How really wonderful! Come, we'll go make mincemeat out of them." Then he stretched out his hand to grab Ye Lu Qi's wrist and said, "You show the kung fu Shi Fu [Master] taught you to these several old sect brothers. I say you are not worse than the Quan Zhen seven masters. Add you to them and we'll make the Quan Zhen eight masters." In general, when small children had a beloved toy, they would want to show it off to people. If many people liked it, then they'd become very happy. At first Zhou Bo Tong had forbidden Ye Lu Qi to tell people who his master was because Ye Lu Qi lacked naughtiness and didn't in the least bit resemble the famous old urchin's skilled disciple. But today the master and the disciple met again and were delighted to see each other. Zhou Bo Tong totally forgot the rule he himself set up before.

Qiu Chu Ji said, "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], our sect has run for many decades. It is the lifetime blood and sweat of my late master and can't be ruined in just one moment. Today the best plan is for everybody in our sect to retreat." Not waiting for Zhou Bo Tong to voice his opinion, he gave orders, "Everybody carry all the things and go down the mountain according to our planned course." The many disciples complied in one voice, carried the packages that had been prepared earlier, and rushed down the east and west sides of the mountain in rows. A few days earlier, the Quan Zhen five masters and Li Zhi Chang had properly divided people, detailing who would dash to the front, who would guard the back, where they would meet, and how to communicate. Also, they'd many times rehearsed the plan and so there was no chaos at the last moment.

Huang Rong said, "Qiu Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Qiu], in a situation like this a small mistake could lead to a disaster. Your honored sect has arranged everything in order, indicating a great ability. When you stage a comeback, your sect will be even more prosperous. This time we are here to look for Yang Guo so we will take our leave right now." Qiu Chu Ji said in surprise, "Yang Guo? Do you know if he's still here on the mountain?" With a faint smile Huang Rong replied, "We've got someone who knows his whereabouts."

Having said this far, she heard the loud battle cries again from below the mountain. Huang Rong thought, "The Quan Zhen sect has earlier made an arrangement. They could withdraw themselves. I came up the mountain to look for Yang Guo and get my daughter. Let's not get into the battle and delay our important matter." Immediately she bid farewell to Qiu Chu Ji and others, called out to those who came up the mountain with her, and rushed out to the back of the Chong Yang Palace. Then she said to Li Mo Chou, "Li Zi Zi [Sister Li], please tell us about how to get into the tomb."

Li Mo Chou asked, "How do you know he's inside Gu Mu? Huang Rong chuckled and said, "Even if Yang Guo isn't inside Gu Mu, the Jade Maiden Heart manual definitely is." Li Mo Chou shivered and secretly thought, "This Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] is indeed deadly. How did she know about my concern?"

Li Mo Chou followed these numerous people from Xiang Yang to Zhong Nan. Except Huang Rong, nobody paid attention to her. Along the way, there was nothing interesting and, needless to say, the Wu father and sons were secretly waiting to set a deathtrap for her. In her mind, Huang Rong thought, "Even if she likes Xiang Er very much, she won't be willing to put herself in a great danger like this. There surely must be an important scheme." Having mulled over this, she remembered that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu had used the Jade Maiden swordplay to defeat Jin Lun Fa Wang. Li Mo Chou obviously didn't know these skills of the sect, otherwise she'd have used it. How wouldn't she be interested? She was actually going to get the Jade Maiden Heart manual but was afraid that the seven people would get inside Gu Mu before her and take it. Huang Rong put two and two together and guessed correctly what Li Mo Chou was thinking.

Li Mo Chou thought that since Huang Rong already knew her intention, she could just make it bluntly clear. She said, "I'll help you get back your daughter and you must help me get my sect's martial manual back. You are the chief of the beggar clan and also a world-renowned heroine, you cannot say things you don't mean." Huang Rong then said, "Yang Guo is the son of my husband Guo's deceased friend. He and I have some small misunderstanding, which will easily disappear when we see each other. If my daughter is really with him, he'll return her to me himself and there's no need to talk about baby snatching." Li Mo Chou retorted, "If that's the case, we'll go our own separate ways and say goodbye here." Having said that, she turned to walk away.

Huang Rong gave Wu San Tong a meaningful glance. Wu San Tong unsheathed his long sword and shouted, "Li Mo Chou, do you still think you can leave Mount Zhong Nan alive today?"

Li Mo Chou thought that she herself was not even Huang Rong's match. Now adding the Wu father and sons, the Ye Lu siblings, and others, how would she be able to break her way out? Originally she had a clever plan but she ran into Huang Rong and surprisingly found her hands and feet tied, not being able to use all her sly tricks. So indifferently she said to Huang Rong, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] can cleverly change. Since Yang Guo is on the mountain, why are you still worried about not finding him? Why do you need me to lead the way?"

Huang Rong knew that Li Mo Chou had to be forced so she said, "Little sister actually don't have the ability to find the entrance to Gu Mu. However, even if Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu have secluded themselves inside the tomb, eventually they must come out to buy rice and cut firewoods. If seven of us scatter around and wait patiently, surely we'll run into them some day." The meaning of this was that - if you were not willing to guide us, we'd immediately kill you. Finding Yang Guo a few days later was not a very big deal.

Li Mo Chou thought about it. The opponents were really strong and secure. Right here on the flat land, she was overwhelmed by numbers. However, if she led these many people to the underground tomb, where she was familiar with the terrain, she could find a way to secretly kill them off one by one. So she said, "Today you won by numbers, I have nothing to say. Anyhow, I also want to find Yang Guo. Come with me!" She pushed aside prickly shrubs and walked inside the tree thickets.

Huang Rong and others followed her close behind, fearing that she would suddenly run away. She saw Li Mo Chou making her way through clusters of rocks. Many parts were obviously not passable, with zigzagging paths that led to a deadend. These terrain were all natural, with no human interference. So even though Huang Rong knew the "Five Phrase Marvelous Gate" art, she couldn't use its logic to figure out the way. She thought, "There is a saying 'The wonderful workmanship excels nature.' In fact, how could human things ever surpass the work of nature?"

They walked for a while and then arrived at the bank of a small creek. At this time they could still hear the sounds of the Mongolian battle cries but as they were deep in the woods, the shoutings felt as if coming from very far away.

For several years, Li Mo Chou had planned to steal the Jade Maiden Heart manual. Last time when she left the tomb from the bottom of the creek, she nearly died because she didn't know how to swim very well. Later she practised her water skills in a river to prepare for this. She stood by the creek and said, "The main entrance to Gu Mu has been shut. To open it, you must use years and years of work. We can dive into this creek to get to the back entrance. How many people would come with me?"

Guo Fu and the Wu Brothers grew up on the Peach Blossom Island. In summer, they swam in the rough sea everyday so they were excellent in water. The three people said at the same time, "I'll come!" Wu San Tong could also swim. Although not very good, he wasn't worried about this small creek and said, "I'll come too."

Huang Rong thought about how cruel and cold-blooded Li Mo Chou was. If she suddenly turned violent on them inside Gu Mu, Wu San Tong and others wouldn't be able to defend themselves. She would have gone to watch over things herself but she just gave birth not long ago and was afraid to get sick from swimming in cold water. While hesitating, Ye Lu Qi said, "Guo Po Mu [Auntie Guo], you stay here to keep watch. I'll come along with Uncle Wu."

Huang Rong was delighted. This person was smart and skillful. His martial skills were also strong. With him going with the three people, she could put her mind at ease. She asked, "Do you have water skills?" Ye Lu Qi replied, "Swimming not very good but I can manage diving." Huang Rong thought about something and asked, "Did you practise at the ice bottom?" Ye Lu Qi replied, "Yes, I did." Again Huang Rong asked, "Where did you practise it?" Ye Lu Qi explained, "When I was young, I lived with my father on the banks of Gan Nan river for many years." Mongolia was bitterly cold. For most of the year, Gan Nan river was covered in snow and ice. Among the Mongolian warriors, those extraordinarily strong would practise ice bottom diving by setting up a rule that the last one who get out of the ice surface would be the winner.

Seeing Li Mo Chou and others were ready and about to go down in the creek, Huang Rong didn't have time to say much. With a low voice, she said to Guo Fu, "People's hearts are difficult to measure. Be very careful!" She taught her daughter many times but this young girl was rash by nature. Repeated warnings were useless. Only by bumping herself against the wall many times, she then could learn a lesson.

Ye Lu Yan and Wan Yan Ping the two girls didn't know how to swim so they stayed ashore with Huang Rong. Li Mo Chou led the way. She dove in the water at a cave in the creek. Ye Lu Qi followed her closely. Guo Fu and the Wu father and brothers trailed behind.

Li Mo Chou led Ye Lu Qi and others to dive into the creek undercurrent. The path at the bottom was sometimes wide, and other times narrow. The undercurrent was alternately fast and slow. The water depths also vary from very deep to the waist-level. They went underwater for a long time and then finally arrived at the tomb entrance. Li Mo Chou proceeded to go inside. The five people followed in a line and all thought, "If not for her leading the way, who would have thought there would be another world under the creek bottom?" By this time, although they were out of water, it was pitch black inside. The five people held hands so nobody would get lost. They then followed Li Mo Chou on the winding path ahead.

They walked for quite a while but sensed that they were getting to the higher and dry ground. Suddenly they heard a crushing sound. It was Li Mo Chou pushing open the stone door. The five people went inside and heard Li Mo Chou said, "We are already inside Gu Mu. Let's take a little break. Then we'll go find Yang Guo." Since entering Gu Mu, Wu San Tong and Ye Lu Qi had stayed right behind Li Mo Chou's back, guarding themselves against her trickery. They couldn't even see the five fingers on their hands and had to rely on their ears, listening to everything with great attention. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers wanted to come to show their great courage but now that both their eyes couldn't see a thing, they couldn't help but feel the thumping in their hearts.

Even if they used their weapons and sent out poisoned needles, they might not be able to avoid hurting their own people. Ye Lu Qi thought that if they let her lash out her secret weapons at random, the five of them would definitely be injured or killed. The only way out was to go forward to attack and not give her a chance to launch her poisoned needles. Guo Fu thought the same thing. The two of them moved at the same time and threw themselves in the direction from which Li Mo Chou was making a noise.

Nobody could have expected this. As Li Mo Chou finished saying those three sentences, she took the opportunity to move quietly to the door. Ye Lu Qi and Guo Fu jumped out and started fighting, trying to catch each other's wrists and elbows to stop the opponent from launching secret weapons. The two people'd exchanged four stances before Guo Fu felt that something didn't feel right and let out an "eh" sound. Both Ye Lu Qi's hands were grabbing her two wrists. He felt that the flesh and skin were smooth and could smell a whiff of sweet scent in the air. Then he heard Guo Fu's crying out and became startled.

Then they heard a crushing sound of a stone door moving. Ye Lu Qi and Wu San Tong cried out, "Oh, no!" and rushed forward to the nearby door. But there came 'Sou''Sou' whishing sounds. Two silver needles were shot out their way. The two people sidestepped to avoid the needles while extending their hands to push the stone door. That door was already closed. Pushing against it was just like trying to move a mountain. No matter how they try, it wouldn't move.

Ye Lu Qi reached his hand out to feel the stone door from all directions but there was neither an iron hoop nor a door handle. He followed the wall and went around the room. Then he found out that the size of this stone chamber was about twenty square feet. The four-side walls were made of rough thick stones. He drew out his long sword and knocked the stone door several times. The sounds were dull, indicating that the door was extremely heavy. This stone door could be opened from the inside and only needed to be pulled open but it was most difficult with no place to pull to begin with. Guo Fu hurriedly said, "What are we going to do? Wouldn't we suffocate to death in here?" Ye Lu Qi heard her voice sounding like she was about to cry so he comforted her and said, "Don't worry. Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] is waiting for us outside. She'll definite have a plan to help us." Then he started groping at the walls, trying to find a way out.

Having trapped Wu San Tong and others inside the stone chamber, Li Mo Chou was extremely pleased and mused, "These people can't get out. Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister] and Yang Guo didn't know I could swim and thought I wouldn't be able to sneak back in from the secret route. But where are the two people?" She knew perfectly well that, to make her wish come true, she couldn't make even a bit of noise. Otherwise if they began to fight, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to defeat them whatsoever. Therefore, she took off her shoes and only left her stockings on. She held the Soul Freezing needles in both hands and slowly moved forward step-by-step.


Last edited by BeeDreamer : 05-27-05 at 06:27


For the past few days, Xiao Long Nu had been sitting on the chilled jade bed and circulating her energy flow according to the reverse energy flow principles. One by one, they cleared the thirty-six pressure points on her body. Right now the two people were working on Xiao Long Nu’s “Middle Altar” point, which was on her chest and about a couple of inches below the “Jade Hall” point. The ancient medicine text called this the “Sea of Air” because it regulated air in a human body and, as a result, was the most critical pressure point. The two people were in full concentration and didn’t dare to be careless. Xiao Long Nu felt the three pressure points “Purple Palace”, “Flowery Roof”, and “Jade hall” below her neck filled with hot air. But whenever the air reached the “Middle Altar” point, it wouldn’t pass through. She knew that if she could clear this “Middle Altar” point, her body injury would be healed. But it was only that she had to wait and couldn’t force it. Xiao Long Nu by nature had never been an anxious type. Time in Gu Mu was slow. If today she couldn’t clear this pressure point, why couldn’t she wait until tomorrow? So she alternated between stopping and continuing and had no worry in the least bit.

Yang Guo, however, was really impatient. He only wanted Xiao Long Nu to recover soon so he could set his mind at ease. But he also knew that the matter of energy transfer couldn’t be rushed. Adding the fact that they were using the reverse energy flow technique, how could it not be twice as difficult? Then he felt that Xiao Long Nu’s pulses on her wrist were suddenly strong and suddenly weak. Even though they were not fluctuating, it was not really a bad sign. He then slowly transfer the energy, adding more strength to it this time.

In this depth of lonely silence, he suddenly heard a ‘ta’ sound. This sound was extremely light. If not for Yang Guo’s concentrating on his breath and the blank state of his mind, he wouldn’t have heard it. A long time passed. There came another ‘ta’ sound, about three feet closer this time.

Yang Guo thought this was strange but he was afraid that he’d divert Xiao Long Nu’s attention. If she was distracted in a critical moment like this, at the very least it would be very difficult for her injury to ever recover again and at the very most she could be killed instantly. How could there be any small mistakes? So even though in his heart he felt something not quite right, he feigned ignorance. But only a short while later, there was another ‘ta’ sound moving three feet closer. This time he knew that someone had entered Gu Mu through the water route and that that person didn’t dare to barge in but just slowly moved forward. After another while, there came two light crushing sounds and then it stopped. These crushing sounds came from someone pushing open the stone door very very slowly. If Xiao Long could manage to clear her “Middle Altar” point before the enemy got too near, it would be wonderfully lucky; otherwise it would be extremely dangerous. By this time they had already passed the point of no return. Even if they wanted to stop pushing the energy, they already could not.

Then he heard a light ‘ta’ sound again, indicating that that person had just come one step closer. Yang Guo’s mind was frantic but he didn’t know what to do. Suddenly he felt his palm shaking and the heat energy was forced back to him because Xiao Long Nu was also frightened. He quickly drew a breath and then pushed his internal energy out to Xiao Long Nu’s palm. In a low voice he said, “The terrors within can’t be smelt, nor can they be seen. It is really the truth.” When one practised martial arts to a certain limit, there would often emerge illusions, like hearing thundering cries or feeling itchy pains. One just had to know these were illusions and paid no attention to them whatsoever to avoid fire deviation. By this time, Yang Guo heard the footsteps very clearly and knew that it wasn’t just his own imagination. But Xiao Long Nu was at a life or death critical moment so he had lied to her, saying that it was her mind tricking her and that no matter how fiercely evil it was, she had to ignore it and it would just disappear. As Xiao Long Nu heard these words, she immediately calmed herself down.

At this time, while the sun outside was glowing red, it was actually dark like late night inside Gu Mu. Yang Guo heard every single footstep, everytime several feet nearer. He thought about how in this world, except themselves husband and wive, there were only Li Mo Chou and Hong Ling Bo who knew about the secret path under water. So it had to be them, master and disciple, coming in. Based on Yang Guo’s martial skills, there was nothing to fear. It was only that he had to wait, not knowing for certain when the attack was coming. With this slow encroaching, he couldn’t help but felt uncertain and anxious, not knowing how to defend himself. The more enemy came closer, the more he felt like his heart was on fire. Great dangers were approaching step by step. His hand was all tied, waiting for death. Beads of sweat slowly seeped out on his forhead. He thought, “On that day Guo Fu cut my arm off, despite the pains, at least the swordstrike was swift. Being forced to endure a slow blow like this was actually much worse.

After another while, Xiao Long Nu also heard the sound quite clearly and knew in her heart that it was not just an illusion. As dangers were nearing, she wanted to increase the tempo of her inner air, pushing to clear her “Middle Altar” point. But her mind was slightly disturbed, causing her energy flow to go forwards and backwards and almost back up from her chest. And during this time, she hear light footsteps. Then suddenly from the door came ‘sou’‘sou’ whising sounds of four Soul Freezing needings being shot her way.

Right now Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu were no different than average people with no martial skills whatsoever. Luckily, the two of them were prepared. Seeing the poisoned needles shot their way, they dropped backwards at the same time, without seperating their palms. The four needles swiftly passed the sides of their faces. Li Mo Chou still hadn’t figured out that they were circulating energy to heal an injury so she was afraid that they would counter-attack. So she immediately leapt backwards after sending out the poisoned needles. If she hadn’t been afraid and followed up by another four needles, it would have been difficult for the two people to avoid getting hit.

Li Mo Chou only vaguely saw the two people sitting side by side on the chilled jade bed. Missing her first strike, she herself were now quite worried. Seeing that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu didn’t get up to fight back, she still didn’t understand but instead stepped back to the nearby stone door. With a flywhisk in her hand, she coldly said, “The two of you have been well since we last met!”

Yang Guo asked, “What do you want?” Li Mo Chou retorted, “How is it you don’t know what I want?” Yang Guo continued, “You want the Jade Maiden Heart manual, is that it? We’ve secluded ourselves inside Gu Mu, staying away from the outside world. Just go and take it.” Li Mo Chou didn’t know if she should believe him or not so she said, “Bring it!”

This Jade Maiden Heart manual was engraved on the wall in another stone chamber. Yang Guo thought, “I’ll just tell her the truth. The manual was obscure. Let her learn it by slowly pondering over it. We only need some more time for Gu Gu to clear her “Middle Altar” point. At that point, how would killing her be difficult?” But right now Xiao Long Nu’s pulses were wildly fluctuating and so she was leaning on Yang Guo, not saying anything.

Li Mo Chou widened her eyes to observe the two people carefully. In a dark blur, she saw Xiao Long Nu stretching her palms out against Yang Guo’s. Her thought moved and then she immediately understood, “Yang Guo’s arm injury was heavy. And this little person was helping him healing the wound with her internal energy. I’ve arrived at the crical moment during the energy transfer. If I don’t kill them both today, how would I have such a good opportunity like this afterwards?” Even though her deduction was only half right, the fear in her heart immediately disappeared. She jumped up and, with a flywhisk, bored down on the top of Xiao Long Nu.

Feeling a whiff of strong wind coming down on her and stirring up her neat hair, Xiao Long Nu closed her eyes for the coming death. But Yang Guo opened his mouth and blew a gust of energy towards Li Mo Chou’s face. At this time his whole body strength was channeled to help Xiao Long Nu’s clearing her pressure point so the force of air sent out from his mouth was not very strong. But seeing Xiao Long Nu in a dangerous situation, he had to blow out air to disturb the enemy.

Li Mo Chou knew perfectly well that Yang Guo was full of tricks. But as she felt the heat licking her face, she was startled and leapt backwards half a foot. After being defeated by Huang Rong’s wisdom, she’d always been extra careful everywhere, not being rash in trying to hurt the enemy but protecting her own body first. But after leaping back, her face felt nothing unusual. She then shouted, “You want to die?”

With a laugh Yang Guo said, “The other day I lent you a robe, have you come today to return it?” Li Mo Chou thought about the time she fiercely fought with the blacksmith Feng Mo Feng and the clothes on her body were all burnt by the red-hot huge iron hammer. If not for Yang Guo’s robe covering her body, she would have been shamefully distressed. Reasonably speaking, today she couldn’t take the two people’s lives. But after another consideration, she changed her mind. A moment of soft feelings like this would cause her to forever worry about them afterwards. She straightened up her body and slapped out her left palm.

Even in this calamity, Yang Guo still fought for wisdom. He thought about how earlier he and Xiao Long Nu were joking. He once said if both his arms had been broken, she would have had to hold the soles of his feet instead. Then he heard the sound of wind made by a palm as Li Mo Chou’s “Five Poisons Divine Palm” arrived. He had no time to think it over so he immediately lowered his head and lifted his feet up. At the same time he kicked out both feet to get rid of the shoes. He shouted, “Long Er, grab my feet!” and then wielded out his left palm. With a ‘Pa’ sound, his palm made contact with Li Mo Chou’s. Originally he’d passed his whole body strength through Xiao Long Nu’s and right now the energy level was suddenly dropping. He forced out the energy again while matching Li Mo Cho’s palm. All this while, Xiao Long Nu was holding his right foot.

As Li Mo Chou suddenly saw Yang Guo’s strange posture, she couldn’t help being startled. But then she remembered the other day Yang Guo was fighthing her own “Three Without Three Without Hands” strikes and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t beat them. So she immediately increased the palm strength, trying to finish off Yang Guo. Years ago, when she’d used this “Five Poisoned Divine Palm” to slaughter the entire Lu Family, the palm was already incredibly fierce. Now that she had cultivated strength over the years, it became most violent and evil. As Yang Guo sensed the heat passing through his palm, he didn’t resist. Instead he added his own strength and passed the energy on to Xiao Long Nu’s body.

As it turned out, Li Mo Chou and Yang Guo’s combined strength was helping Xiao Long Nu clear her pressure point. Li Mo Chou’s strategic moves were quite inferior to the Yang-Long couple but speaking of cultivated energy, hers was far deeper than the two people’s. Suddenly receiving strong energy, Xiao Long Nu felt that the energy push vigorously through her “Middle Altar” point and that heat filled up her abdomen. Her spirit lifted up and she called out, “Wonderful, many thanks to Shi Zi [Apprentice Elder Sister]!” She let of Yang Guo’s right foot and leapt down from the chilled jade bed.

Li Mo Chou was surprised. She thought Xiao Long Nu was helping Yang Guo heal his injury. So she lashed out her palm strength, thinking to use this opportunity to shock Yang Guo’s energy flow. She hadn’t expected that she would be helping the enemy instead. Delighted, Yang Guo turned his body around and stood there barefoot. With a laugh he said, “If not for you rushing in to help, your Shi Mei [Apprentice Younger Sister] wouldn’t be able to clear her “Middle Altar” point this easily.” Li Mo Chou hesitated and didn’t answer. Suddenly Xiao Long Nu let out an ‘Ah’ sound. Holding her chest, she dropped down on the chilled jade bed. With a startle Yang Guo asked, “What is it?” Xiao Long Nu panted, “Her, her, her palm was poisonous.”

By now Yang Guo also felt dizzy in his head and realized that when Li Mo Chou used her “Five Poisons Divine Palm,” she sent out the poisons from her palm. By matching palms with her, not only the poisons entered his own body, they also passed on to Xiao Long Nu’s.

Yang Guo lifted his black iron sword and shouted, “Quickly take out the antidone!” and chopped down his sword. Li Mo Chou lifted her flywhisk to protect herself. And with a clang, the flywhisk forged from fine steel broke into two pieces. With its supple strength, this flywhisk had defeated who-know-how-many great heroes in the world. But now that it was chopped broken like it’d never been before, she was frightened to the core and hurriedly leapt out of the stone chamber. Yang Guo lifted his sword to pursue and wielded out his left arm. He saw that Li Mo Chou couldn’t hold herself against this sword. But all of a sudden the poisons in his body acted up and he saw stars before his eyes. His arm went soft and painful, with no strength left. With a ‘Dang’ sound, the black iron sword dropped down on the floor.

Li Mo Chou didn’t dare to stop. She fled ten feet ahead and then eventually turned her head back, only to see Yang Guo was shaking violently with his hand against the wall. She thought, “This boy’s martial skills are extremely strange. I’ll wait for a bit for the poisons to bring him down. Then I’ll approach.”

Yang Guo’s throat was dry and painful. His head was swollen and aching. He immediately passed strength to his left arm and waited for Li Mo Chou to come forward. Just one strike would kill her and his palm was holding firm the handle of the black iron sword. Li Mo Chou became frightened again and didn’t dare to approach recklessly. By her calculation, she’d stay where she couldn’t be defeated. And she stood there, carefully observing any change.

Yang Guo thought that if it dragged on like this, the poisons in his and Xiao Long Nu’s body would become stronger. With this delay, the enemy would have the upper hand. So he took a deep breath and circulated his internal flow. When the dizziness stopped, he grasped the handle of the black iron sword and stood up. He extended his arm to hold Xiao Long Nu’s waist and bellowed, “Make way!” and went out in big strides. Seeing his confident air, Li Mo Chou didn’t dare to stop him.

Yang Guo only wanted to get into another stone chamber and close the door so Li Mo Chou couldn’t follow in. Xiao Long Nu had already cleared her pressure points and, in another while, the two of them could force out the poisons in their bodies. This matter was actually a hundred times easier than clearing the pressure points. When Yang Guo was young and was poisoned by Li Mo Chou’s needles, Ou Yang Feng taught him how to expel the poisons. At present the two of them had internal energy like this so getting rid of the poisons was really not difficult.

Li Mo Chou also knew his intention. How could she allow the two people to begin driving out the poisons? She didn’t dare to attack and only kept following them from a safe distance, always five feet away from Yang Guo. Yang Guo stood there and waited for her to come. She also merely stood there motionless.

In his chest that the more Yang Guo’s heart beat, the fiercer the poisons became. He felt as if heart would spill out of his mouth and couldn’t really support himself again. He unstably dashed into a stone chamber and put Xiao Long Nu down on a tabletop. He propped himself against the table and loudly gasped for breath. He knew perfectly well that Li Mo Chou would follow shortly after but couldn’t pay attention. After a little while, he then realized that they’d arrived at the coffin chamber. And the table, that he was propping himself against and that he was just placed Xiao Long Nu’s body on, was really a stone coffin.

At the time Li Mo Chou was a disciple of the sect, she’d lived here at Gu Mu for quite a long time. And even though her knowledge of Gu Mu secret matters was inferior to the Yang-Long couple’s, she could see clearly that there were five stone coffins in the chamber. At the bottom of one of coffins was a door to the secret path, from where she came in. She thought, “Are you thinking about escaping from here? This time it may not be such easy.”

Of the three people, one was sitting; one was standing; and the other was leaning against one’s body. At this time, only the sounds of Yang Guo’s heavy breathings could be heard. Yang Guo’s body was swaying several times. And with a clanking sound, the black iron sword dropped to the floor. Then he tumbled down Xiao Long Nu’s body. His hand threw out something. A ‘Pa’ sound was heard as that thing flew into a empty coffin. He called out, “Li Mo Cho, I can’t let this Jade Maiden Heart manual fall into your hand. Aiyo..” With a long miserable cry, he became motionless.”

There were five stone coffins in this chamber. Three of them contained the bodies of Lin Chao Ying, her disciple, and Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun]. The other two were actually empty. Of these two, one was a door to the secret passage and its lid was left two feet open so people could come in and go out. The other coffin’s lid was left open just a little. As Li Mo Chou saw Yang Guo threw the “Jade Maiden Heart manual” in the this empty coffin, she was pleasantly surprised. But she was still afraid that it would be his trick. Another while passed and he was still motionless. So she bent down to feel his cheek. It was icy cold, meaning he was already dead. With a loud ‘Ha’‘Ha’laugh she said, “Little rascal, even with all your wickedness you also have today!” [meaning he’s dead! I think] Then she stretched out her hand into the coffin to get the manual.

But Yang Guo had thrown the “manual” into the other end of the coffin. Li Mo Chou’s flywhisk had earlier been broken; otherwise she could have used it to sweep it out. She her arm to to grope at it twice but still couldn’t grab it. So she shrank her body and got into the empty stone coffin through this foot-wide opening. She crawled inside the stone coffin to the other end and finally grab the “manual.” Her hand then felt not very wonderful. The manual appeared to be a shoe.”

And by this time, Yang Guo lifted his body up. His left arm dashed out to the front, using the tip of the black iron sword to push the coffin lid. He sent out a ferocious force and the coffin lid was perfectly closed, trapping Li Mo Chou inside the coffin!

From the beginning, Li Mo Chou didn’t know that the “Jade Maiden Heart Manual” was actually a carved stone slab on the ceiling of a stone chamber and always thought it was a book. Yang Guo pretended to cry out in misery, throwing himself on Xiao Long Nu’s body. At the same time, he quickly took off his shoe and threw it into the empty coffin. A soft object landing on a stone sounded just like it was a book. After throwing out the shoe, he immediately reversed his energy flow and turned himself stiff like he was dead. In fact, even if he’d died of poisons, his body wouldn’t have turned icy cold in the blink of an eye like this. When a man’s pulses stopped, it would actually take at least half an hour for his whole body to lose all the heat. Li Mo Chou was so happy that she lost of her power of observation. This plan of his was extremly dangerous. If Li Mo Chou didn’t care if he actually died or not but striked his head with her “Five Poisons Divine Palm” to guarantee his death, his playing dead would unavoidably change into real death. But he was in a desperate situation so he took a desperate measure, hoping for some luck. To his own surprise, it was actually a success.

To push a coffin lid, Yang Guo passed the strength to his left arm and then used his heavy sword to lift it up. Then he shouted, “Up!” and the other empty coffin was raised. A thundering ‘Peng’ sound followed and the coffin crushed down on top of the first coffin. This coffin and lid together weighed six hundred catties something. Adding the bamboo top on the lid, it was extremely secure, with a perfect seam. Even if Li Mo Chou’s martial skills were high, there was no way she could get out in any cases.

After being poisoned, Yang Guo heart was beating fast and his head was hurting. But as they were facing a great enemy, he couldn’t allow himself to be dizzy and entirely relied on his fierce determination to sustain himself. Having used the swords twice to push the coffins, his mind was tired and his strength depleted. He flung down the black iron sword and struggled to walk over to Xiao Long Nu’s side. Using the method of Ou Yang Feng, he first drove out most of the poisons in his body. Then he reached out his hand to match Xiao Long Nu’s and helped her get rid of the poisons.

Guo Fu, Yelu Qi, and the others were trapped in the stone chamber. These people entered the secret passage from the bottom of the creek and the fire kits they carried inside were all soaked and hence difficult to catch fire. They groped around in darkness. How could they possibly find a way out? The five people were at their wits’ end so they just sat there idly on the ground.


Wu Santong was incessantly cursing Li Mochou’s treacherously evil trick. Guo Fu, who was already extremely anxious, heard Wu Santong’s non-stop scolding and became agitated. She couldn’t bear to keep her mouth shut and so she said, “Wu Bobo [Uncle Wu], you knew before that Li Mochou was treacherously evil, how come you didn’t guard against her? What use is cursing when the damage is done?” Wu Santong was startled and couldn’t say anything to respond.

Since the Wu brothers had met Guo Fu again, each was sick at heart. While with the Yelu siblings and Wanyan Ping, everybody was having a good time together but they didn’t really have a chance to talk to Guo Fu directly. This time Wu Xiuwen heard her snapping at his father. He couldn’t bear it and said, “We came to Gu Mu to help your little sister and unfortunately met with a disaster. Everybody is about to perish together like this and you still let out you your lady’s temper...” He was about to continue but then Wu Duiru called out, “Didi! [Younger Brother!]” This time Wu Xiuwen shut up. He spoke out of irritation. But after the words were uttered, he even greatly surprised himself. He’d always complied to Guo Fu’s every wish and in no way would dare to cross her in the slightest. Who would have thought that today he would unexpectedly rebuke her in a severe tone like this?

Guo Fu was also startled. She was going to back talk but couldn’t think of anything to say. She thought about how she would definitely die a sad death inside Gu Mu and from now on wouldn’t be able to see her parents again. Her heart was aching. In the darkness nobody could see anything so she let out a whimpering cry. Hearing her crying, Wu Xiuwen felt sorry and said, “Okay, what I said was wrong. I apologize.” Guo Fu sobbed, “What good is an apology?” and cried even harder. She pulled up a piece of cloth by her hand to blow her nose. Then she realized that she was leaning against someone’s leg and the cloth she used to wipe her nose was shockingly that person’s gown.

Guo Fu was alarmed and hurriedly sat up. She heard Wu Santong and his sons speaking and knew that the three people didn’t sit by her side. There left only Yelu Qi who had been keeping silent. So that person naturally was him. Her face reddened and she babbled, “I.. ..”


Yelu Qi suddenly said, “Listen, what sound is that?” The four people tilted their heads to listen but couldn’t hear anything. Yelu Qi said, “Hmm, it is a baby crying. Guo Guniang [Miss Guo], that must be your little sister.” This sound traveled through a stone wall and was particularly feeble. If not for his cultivated internal strength that heightened his aural sense, he wouldn’t be able to hear it. As he got up and walked a few steps, the crying sound immediately weakened. He figured out, “Since the baby’s cry can pass through, this stone chamber must have a ventilation place.” Immediately he concentrated to listen, trying to identify where the cry spreaded from.

He walked a few steps to the west, the crying sound slightly weakened. He turned back to the east, the crying was louder. Then he dashed towards the northeast and heard the sound quite clearly. So he walked to the northeast corner and extended his sword to hit the stone wall lightly. The ‘kong-kong-kong’ sounds were slightly different as if the wall there was specially thin. He resheathed his sword and used both palms to push out against the stones but nothing moved. He took a deep breath and sent his strength to both palms, using the “stick” technique. The strength was sent out, making a crashing sound. That stone chunk was indeed drawn out by the strength of his palm and fell on the ground.

Guo Fu and the others were pleasantly surprised. They cheered out loud in one voice and scrambled forwards to pull out three chunks of stones. This time a body could pass through and the many people got out one by one. Following the sound, they entered a small stone chamber. In the darkness, Guo Fu heard that baby crying out extremely loudly and stretched her hand out to hug her immediately.

This baby was of course Guo Xiang. As Yang Guo was helping Xiao Longnu to clear her pressure points and also fighting with Li Mochou, he missed the baby’s feeding time, causing her to cry out fiercely. Guo Fu did all she could to coax the baby, both patting and rocking her. But Guo Xiang, with someone holding her, cried even harder. Guo Fu ran out of patience and gave her to Wu Santong. She said, “Wu Bobo [Uncle Wu], please take a look what’s wrong with her.”

Yelu Qi traced his hand on a table and found a candle, along with a knife and flint. He immediately lit the candle. The many people had been in the gloomy darkness for a very long time. Now appeared a sudden light. They were all overjoyed and cried out in delight.

Wu Santong actually had sons. Hearing Guo Xiang crying like this, he knew that she was hungry. On the table, he saw the fine bee syrup water and a small wood-carved spoon so he scooped up the syrup water to feed her. As it passed through her mouth, Guo Xiang stopped crying as expected. Yelu Qi laughed and said, “If not for little Miss Guo’s crying out of hunger, I’m afraid we’d all have to die in that stone chamber.”

Wu Santong bitterly said, “We’d better go find Li Mochou.” Then each person broke off the legs of the table and chairs and lit the fire to make torches to be used on their way. At every corner, Wu Duiru used his sword tip to make a mark for fear that they would get lost on their way back.

As the five people entered a room, there was also another room. They raised their torches to search for Li Mochou’s traces and saw that this ancient tomb was gigantic, with winding corridors and great many rooms. All were endlessly amazed. Nobody could have expected that a magnificent construction like this would be hidden under a small mountain creek.

Then they entered Xiao Longnu’s bed chamber and saw several Soul Freezing needles lying on the floor. Guo Fu wrapped her hand with a piece of cloth and picked up two needles. She said, “This time I will return these poisoned needles to the evil witch.”

As Yang Guo used his internal energy to help Xiao Longnu expel the poisons, he saw dark liquid slowly seeping out from the five fingertips on her left hand. Only that it would take a while to remove all the poisons. Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor. There were five people coming in total. Yang Guo was secretly startled and thought that the enemies always came to attack at every critical moment. Li Mochou alone had been difficult enough. How would he deal with five people? Xiao Long Nu had just cleared her pressure points and her internal energy was weak. If the poisons weren’t driven out immediately, they were bound to enter her pressure points and spreaded out. Suddenly he saw lights flashing from the distance. Those five people were moving closer. Yang Guo then reached out his arm to carry Xiao Longnu and then jumped onto the empty coffin that was on top of Li Mochou. He pushed open the coffin lid with his palm.

The two people were hiding in the coffin when Yelu Qi and the others came in. Seeing that there were five coffins in the room, the five people all became startled, faintly feeling that this was too big a coincidence and a bad omen. Guo Fu couldn’t bear it and said, “Hmmph, there are five of us here and there are five coffins!”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu inside the stone coffin heard Guo Fu’s voice. Puzzled, they thought, “How come she’s here?” Yang Guo’s left hand had never left Xiao Longnu’s palm, still forcing out the poisons. He heard that Guo Fu was among the five people. Even though surprised, he was relieved, thinking that she wouldn’t dare to take advantange of someone in a precarious situation. So he said nothing and kept concentrating on sending out his energy to expel the poisons.

Yelu Qi already heard the breathing sound from the stone coffin and thought it was Li Mochou who hid in there with a devious trick. This time he wouldn’t be fooled again and so he immediately made a hand signal, calling the four people to surround the coffin. Guo Fu noticed that the coffin lid and the coffin itself were not aligned and she could see the hem of a gown through the crack. She concluded that it was Li Mochou hiding in there. She laughed and thought, “I’m going to pay you back in your own coin!” She used her energy to push the coffin lid with her left palm and then fiercely shot out the two Soul Freezing needles.

These two needles were sent out at close range. Also, there was no room in the coffin to move aside. The Yang Long couple cried out in surprise, “Ayo!” One needle hit Yang Guo’s right leg while the other struck Xiao Longnu’s left shoulder.

Having sent out the needles, Guo Fu was very pleased with herself. But then she actually heard the surprised cries from a man and a woman inside the coffin. Her heart jumped and she also let out an ‘Ayo’ cry. Yelu Qi kicked out his left leg. There came a crashing sound while the coffin lid fell down on the floor. With a tremble, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu stood up tall. Under the torch lights, the two people’s faces were pale as they sadly looked at each other.

Guo Fu didn’t know that this time she herself had created a bigger disaster than cutting off Yang Guo’s arm and only felt slightly sorry. She said apologetically, “Yang Dage [Big Brother Yang], Long Zizi [Elder Sister Long], little sister didn’t know it was you two and accidentally shot out the needles. Luckily, my mother has the antidote to this poison. Years ago, my pet condors were injured by Li Mochou’s needles and it was mother who cured them. Why were you hiding inside the coffin? Who would have thought it was the two of you?”

She thought about how she herself had cut off Yang Guo’s arm and how he’d bent her sword. She figured that they were about even. Let alone the fact that her mother had already scolded her vehemently for this. She mused, “I didn’t come to blame you. That should be enough.” She’d always had an upper hand since childhood. Others looked up to her parents and always gave in to her. Therefore, she only thought about herself and didn’t take other people into consideration. Speaking in retrospect, the Yang-Long couple were not supposed to be hiding in the coffin and therefore gave her a fright. She would not have thought that at the time Xiao Longnu was hit by the silver needle, the poisons inside her body had just stopped flowing out. Suddenly she was violently hit like this, the poisons from the “Five Poisons Divine Palm” all flew backwards, entering the major pressure points on her whole body. This time even if there were a divine pill of immortality, there wouldn’t have been a way to save her. Li Mochou’s silver needle inflicted no more than a flesh wound and, with a proper treatment, one could be cured. However, the poisons inside her were severe beyond reasoning.

Xiao Longnu was still for a moment but then she felt as if her chest was empty like there was nothing inside and her heart went missing. Then she turned her head to look at Yang Guo and saw in his eyes a heartache, a combination of grief and indignation. His whole body was trembling. He looked as if the lifetime of sadness and abuse all came out at this time. Xiao Longnu couldn’t bear to see him bitter and miserable like this so she gently said, “Guo Er, our destiny is like this. Let’s not resent other people. Don’t be so bitter.” She then stretched out her hand to pull out the silver needle from his leg and then later the other poisoned needle from her shoulder. Unlike the Five Poisons Divine Palm that Li Mochou had created herself, the Soul Freezing needles were passed on by her ancestor master and so she carried the antidote with her. She gave Yang Guo one grain and she herself took another. Filled with immense hatred, Yang Guo made a sound and spat out the antidote onto the ground.

Guo Fu angrily said, “Ayo, very big of you. Is this to say I came here to harm you on purpose? I did apologize and that should be enough. What’s with the temper? They were only two small needles. What’s a big deal?” Wu Santong saw the sad expression on Yang Guo’s face gradually concealed and replaced by a rising anger. He also saw him picking up the shiny big black sword from the ground. Knowing something was not right, he quickly went forward and coaxed, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], please don’t be upset. The five of us were trapped inside a stone chamber by Li Mochou and escaped with great difficulty. Guo Guniang [Miss Guo] was rash, mistaking.. ..”

Guo Fu butted in, “What? Was I rash? You yourself also thought it was Li Mochou. If not, why haven’t you said something?” Wu Santong eyed Yang Guo and then looked at Guo Fu, not knowing how to appease them.

Xiao Longnu took out another grain of antidote and in a low voice she said, “Guo Er, take the antidote. Don’t you listen to my words anymore?” Hearing Xiao Longnu’s gentle urge, Yang Guo opened his mouth and swallowed. He thought about how the two of them wrestled with life and death with difficulty for the last few days and how finally it was all for nothing. He couldn’t bear it any longer and suddenly knelt down to loudly cry on the stone coffin.

Wu Santong and the others looked at one another in blank dismay. All were thinking that he had always been extremely strong and full of spirit. How come today, after being hit by just a small needle, he was weeping so bitterly like this?

Xiao Longnu reached out her hand to stroke Yang Guo’s hair and said, “Guo Er, you tell them to go. I don’t like them in here.” The plain sentence “I don’t like them in here” already contained her biggest hatred and resentment.

Yang Guo stood up. His eyes began with Guo Fu and then scanned the people one by one. Even though he was extremely angry and hateful, he eventually realized that Guo Fu’s launching the silver needles was an inadvertent mistake. Except blaming her for being rash, he couldn’t say she was wrong. Let alone the fact that even if he used the sword to split her open, he still wouldn’t be able to save Xiao Longnu’s life. He picked up his sword with rage in his eyes. Suddenly he raised his black iron heavy sword and there came a thundering sound and flying sparks. Surprisingly he only chopped the stone coffin they were hiding in earlier into two sections. This strike was executed not only out of male strength, but also out of bottomless grief and indignation.

Seeing his strike to be this incredibly powerful, Guo Fu and the others couldn’t help becoming startled. They saw with their own eyes how thick and heavy the coffin was. It was chiseled from granite. To break it into two pieces, a stone mason using a big axe to cut it for half a day still wouldn’t be able to do it. If Yang Guo had used a large mountain-cutting axe or a thick machete, it might have been conceivable. But long swords were originally light and quick weapons, which were treasured for their sharp blades. If colliding with a solid stone like this, they would immediately snap. Who would have thought that this sword could cut through a stone like it was clay. As soon as the blade dropped, the coffin broke.

Yang Guo saw the five people looking at each other in alarm. He then fiercely bellowed, “What did you come here for?” Wu Santong answered, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], we followed Guo Furen [Madame Guo] to come look for you.” Yang Guo angrily retorted, “You came here to bring back her daughter, didn’t you? To get this little baby, you were willing to kill my dear wife.” Wu Santong was startled and said, “Kill your dear wife? Eh, that is Long Guniang [Miss Long].” Then he noticed that Xiao Longnu was wearing a bridal gown and immediately understood. He quickly said, “Your wife was hit by a poisoned needle. Guo Furen [Madame Guo]’s got the antidote. She is just outside.” Yang Guo made a spitting sound and shouted, “You people came in to cause ruckus like this, the poisons in her body turned to attack all her major pressure points. What would Guo Furen [Madame Guo] do? Does she have the skill to bring back the dead?” Wu Santong owed Yang Guo for saving his sons and therefore was extremely respectful of him. Although hearing him lashing out an accusation like this, he didn’t think to be defiant in the least bit. He only mumbled, “The poisons turned to attack all her major pressure points. This is no good.”

By the side, Guo Fu was getting mad. She heard Yang Guo speaking disrespectfully of her mother and flew into a rage. She shouted, “What has my mother done to you? At the time you were young, you were homeless. Wasn’t it my mother who sheltered you? She fed you. You.. Hmmph.. Instead, you turned out to be ungrateful and stole my little sister.” By this time, she had already known that even though her sister fell into Yang Guo’s hand, he had no evil intention. But as she was in a verbal fight with him, she didn’t think about what could or couldn’t be said and brought up this issue.

Yang Guo sneered and said, “Right, today I am ungrateful. You said I stole this child. I’ll take her and forever never return. How will you catch me?” Guo Fu tightened her left arm and firmly held her little sister. With her right arm, she raised the torch high to block the front part of her body. Wu Santong anxiously said, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], your wife has been poisoned. We must soon detoxify the poisons..”

Yang Guo bitterly responded, “Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], it’s useless.” Suddenly he let out a long, loud roar and sent out his right sleeve. Guo Fu and the others all sensed a gust of wind blowing their way and their faces felt burning hot and painful like being scraped by a blade. The five torches were blown out and so the place immediately turned pitch black. They all gave out a loud ‘Ayo!’ cry. Yelu Qi was afraid that Yang Guo would hurt her so he jumped forward, only to hear Guo Xiang’s wailing from outside of the stone chamber. The many people were all suddenly alarmed. The wailing sound was already 20-30 feet away. They were moving fast, just like spirits.

Guo Fu cried out, “He snatched my little sister.” Wu Santong called out, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], Long Guniang [Miss Long]! Yang Xiongdi, Long Guniang!” How could there be anyone to answer him? They all had no light and in the darkness couldn’t see what was going on. Yelu Qi said, “We must get out of here quick. Don’t let him close us in right here.” Wu Santong indignantly said, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang] was very kind and very righteous, why did he do this?” Guo Fu retorted, “His being kind and righteous.. .. We should go quick. What are we waiting here for?” Having said those few words, she suddenly heard two ‘ka-ka’ sounds from inside a stone coffin. And since the sounds were muffled by the coffin lid, they appeared really melancholy.

“There’s a ghost!” Guo Fu screamed, pulling Yelu Qi’s arm which was nearby. Wu Santong and the others clearly heard that the sounds came from inside the coffin as if a corpse was scrambling to get out. In the darkness, everybody was absolutely terrified.

Yelu Qi said to Wu Santong in a low voice, “Wu Shushu [Uncle Wu], you stay here. I’ll go overthere. If a corpse comes out, we’ll use our four palms to beat him to pulp. Then he grasped Guo Fu by her wrist and pulled her to stand behind his body for fear that the ghost would get up to harm people.

Then they heard a sudden sound of something flying out of the coffin. Wu Santong and Yelu Qi had earlier prepared to send out their energy. As they heard the whooshing sound, they lashed out their strikes. When the two people’s hands made contact with that thing, they together cried out, “Wretched!” What they actually hit was a chunk of long stone, which was laid in the coffin as a stone pillow. The two people used their whole strength in the attack. As that stone chunk was fiercely hit, it dropped onto the stone coffin and smashed it into flying fragments. The stone pillow itself split into several pieces. At the same time, there was another whooshing sound of something flying past them. Wu Santong and Yelu Qi were about to raise their palms to attack again but that thing had already floated away from them. They heard a ‘hei-hei’ cold laugh and then immediately came a bleak silence.

“Li Mochou!” Wu Santong said with a startle. Guo Fu cried out, “No, that was the corpse! How would Li Mochou be inside the coffin?” Yelu Qi let out a groan with his mouth hanging open. He didn’t believe that there were ghosts in the world but to think that it was Li Mochou was actually quite unreasonable. Obviously she and he himself came in together while Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu had actually been inside Gu Mu for many days. How could she be right under the Yang Long couple’s coffin? Wu Santong said, “Then where has Li Mochou gone to?” Yelu Qi said, “Everything inside the tomb is becoming weird. Let us get out of here first.” Guo Fu asked, “What should we do about my little sister?” Wu Santong then said, “We ran into a dead end but your mother will surely have a great plan. Let’s go out and ask her what to do.”

So the many people searched for a way out and returned to the mountain creek. From under the water, all they saw was red. The woods on both sides of the creek had caught fire and hot steams were attacking them. Horrified, Guo Fu called out, “Ma, Ma!” but didn’t hear any reply. Suddenly on the bank a big burning tree toppled down. Yelu Qi pulled her up and quickly jumped upstream, just in time to dodge the danger. It was deep winter at this time of year and all the plants were dried out and withering. So the mountain became a sea of fire. Even though the five people were soaked in the middle of the creek, the big fires were encroaching and their faces felt boiling hot.

Wu Santong said, “The Mongolian army must have been attacking the Chongyang Palace. They suffered defeat and then set fire to the mountain to vent their anger. Guo Fu worriedly cried out, “Ma, Ma! Where are you?” Suddenly on the left side of the creek she saw a woman figure skipping around to avoid the flames. “Ma, Ma! She cried out in delight and jumped up from the water to rush ahead. “Be careful!” Wu Santong called out after her and there suddenly came chaotic ‘ka-la’ sounds. Two big trees fell down, blocking his view.

Guo Fu rushed through the smoke and fires. At this time she was still in the water. First she thought about her mother. Second, she just came out of the darkness inside Gu Mu and into the sudden brightness. Her eyes couldn’t adjust and so she couldn't see things very clearly. As she got closer, she then realized that the back side of that figure didn’t seem right. She became startled. And when that person turned her body around, unexpectedly it was Li Mochou.

Earlier Li Mochou was trapped under the stone coffin by Yang Guo and had no way to get out. But afterwards Yang Guo struck the top coffin out of anger, causing the coffin lid below to also crack. She therefore escaped death by throwing out the stone pillow and leaping out after it.

Even though she was confined inside the coffin for less than an hour, she got a taste of what it was like being suffocated to death inside a coffin, which was truly the most painful and miserable situation. During this short period of time, she clenched her jaws, detesting every living person in the world. She thought to herself, “After I die, I must become an evil spirit. I will kill Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu, Wu Santong, Huang Rong.. ..” Not discriminating who it was, all she wanted was to kill everybody. Although she could escape by luck later, the hatred in her heart was actually not lightened. Suddenly seeing Guo Fu, she let out a smile and gently said, “Guo Guniang [Miss Guo], it’s you. The fires are burning with such ferocity. You must be careful.”

Guo Fu saw her friendly expression and was quite relieved. So she asked, “Did you see my mother?” Li Mochou moved a few steps closer and pointed to the left. She said, “She went that way, didn’t she?” Guo Fu looked towards the direction she just pointed. Li Mochou suddenly closed in and reached out to seal a pressure point below her waist. With a laugh she said, “Don’t worry. Your mother will come look for you.” She saw that the fires were nearing from all directions. If she was delayed again, her own life would be in danger. She jumped up and took off towards the west. Guo Fu was left paralyzed on the ground, only hearing the chilling sound of Li Mochou’s singing from behind the vilolent flames. She sang, “I ask the world. What is this love that makes people live and die for?”

The singing gradually faded away and the wind suddenly blew a thick plume of smoke, enveloping Guo Fu. She couldn’t move all her four limbs and so, choking in the smoke, she coughed out loudly. The Wu father and sons and Yelu Qi were standing midstream, with burning ashes filling their heads. Between the small creek and Guo Fu was a raging fire twenty-feet high. They knew perfectly well that Guo Fu was in imminent danger but if they were to go in and rescue her, they would only accompany her in death and so they couldn’t come up with a plan to save her.

In the smoke Guo Fu was disoriented and about to faint. She was so frightened that she couldn’t even cry out. Suddenly she heard someone’s shouting from the east side so she turned her head, only to see a whirlwind that wrapped around a gray shadow coming towards her. Wherever the spinning wind passed through, the fire would split open into two sections. That whirlwind reached her in just a short while. The shadow inside was of course Yang Guo. Guo Fu originally thought it was someone coming to rescue her and was delighted. But then she clearly saw that it was actually Yang Guo. Even though it was broiling hot outside, in her heart she felt as if she was drenched with cold water. She thought to herself, “I’m about to die and now he had to come to ridicule and humiliate me.” After all she was a daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong so she just viciously stared at Yang Guo and surprisingly was not afraid in the least bit.

Yang Guo rushed to her side, thrusting his sword at the area below her waist. “Be careful!” He shouted and wielded out his left arm. With his vigorous internal energy sending through the black iron sword, Guo Fu felt like she was riding a cloud while flying away in midair. She went over ten big trees that were burning and sending flames into the sky. And then with a splash, she fell into the creek. Yelu Qi quickly rushed forwards to support her and unseal her pressure point. Guo Fu was confused and disoriented. And after a while, she was weeping like a baby.

Originally Yang Guo brought Xiao Longnu and Guo Xiang out of the tomb and saw the Mongolian soldiers setting fire to the mountain. The Yang-Long two people had spent great many years together among these big trees and flowers. Suddenly seeing the fires, they really felt pains and regret. But the army was big and powerful and they had no way to fight them. Yang Guo didn’t know how long Xiao Longnu would last after the poisons had entered her major pressure points so he found a small cave covered with thatches to hide in temporarily.

A short while passed. From the distance they saw that Guo Fu was hurt by Li Mochou and the raging fires were about to burn her body. Yang Guo said, “Long Er, this girl not only harmed me, but also had to come to hurt you. Today, she’s finally getting what she deserves.” With a bright glow in her eyes, Xiao Longnu gazed at him and asked in bewilderment, “Guo Er, are you saying you aren’t gonna go and save her?” Yang Guo bitterly replied, “She’s hurt us like this and yet I'm not killing her with my own hand. I’m already doing right by her parents.” With a sigh Xiao Longnu said, “We are unfortunate. That is our brutal fate. If we could make other people happy, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Despite Yang Guo’s saying all these things, when seeing that the big fires were about to reach Guo Fu, he eventually couldn’t bear it and harshly said, “Great! Our fate is brutal. Everybody else’s is fine!” Then he soaked the long gown on this body and strapped on the black iron sword. He quickly conjured up his internal energy and from the sword created a whirlwind that blew away the raging fires. Then he sent Guo Fu out of danger. After that he returned to Xiao Longnu’s side. The hair on his head and his gown were all licked by the fires. His pants were on fire and even though he quickly put it out, the burnt areas on his legs already had countless blisters.

Xiao Longnu was carrying Guo Xiang and they retreated to the thatches they were hiding in earlier. While she stretched out her hand to tidy Yang Guo’s hair and clothes, she only felt that she had married such a heroic husband. She couldn’t restrain the pride in her heart. Standing in between the strong winds and the roaring flames, she leaned on Yang Guo and her face revealed a peaceful and joyous expression. Yang Guo focused his eyes on her, only to see that the big flames were bringing red to her cheeks, multiplying her delicate beauty and so he placed his arm around her waist. During this slice of time, the two people conveniently forgot all the sufferings and sorrows in the world.

The two people were standing in a high place. The Wu father and sons, Guo Fu and Yelu Qi five people, who were standing in the middle of the creek to avoid the fires, looked up and saw the married couple, with floating clothes and solemn postures. They looked just like dieties among mortals. Guo Fu had always looked down on Yang Guo but this time she suddenly felt inferior.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu stood there for a moment. Xiao Longnu gazed at the blazing fires on the mountain. She sighed and said, “This place is being burnt down to the ground. It will take a long time for the flowers, plants, and trees to grow back. Do you think in the future there will ever be a beautiful scene again?” Yang Guo didn’t want her to feel bad for these things so with a smile he said, “We are newly wed. The Mongolian army set fires to congratulate us. How would they not use tons and tons flowers as candles? Xiao Longnu giggled. Yang Guo then said, “Let’s go rest in that cave. How do you feel?” Xiao Longnu replied, “I’m still okay.” Then, side by side, the two people walked off towards the back of the mountain.

Suddenly Wu Santong remembered something. He raised his voice and called out, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], my master and Zhu Shidi [Apprentice Brother Zhu] have been trapped in the Passionless valley [Jueqing Gu]. Are you gonna go and rescue them?” Yang Guo was startled and didn’t reply. He spoke to himself, “How am I still involved in these many things?”

He was deep in thought but for a while his feet didn’t stop. They walked to the back of the mountain where it was all rocky and nothing grew. Although Xiao Longnu’s poisons were severe, at this time they were yet to act up. Her pressure points had earlier been cleared so her martial skills were gradually coming back. With Guo Xiang in her arms, she walked quickly along the way. After walking for half an hour, the two people were already far away from the Chongyang Palace. And when they turned their heads to look back, the big fires were burning so intense that half the sky was glowing red.

The north wind was blowing more and more heavily. It was so cold that Guo Xiang’s small face became red like an apple. Xiao Longnu said, “We must go look for something to eat. The child is both cold and hungry. I’m afraid that she won’t be able to stand it.” Yang Guo then said, “I was really foolish. I don’t know why I snatched the baby and caused us an unnecessary burden.” Xiao Longnu bent down to kiss Guo Xiang’s face and said, “This little sister is very lovable. Don’t you like her?” Yang Guo laughed and said, “What’s so special about other people's children? Of course except we both make one ourselves.” Xiao Longnu face turned red. Yang Guo’s words touched a mother's instinct deep in her heart. She thought to herself, “Only if I could give you a child.. .. Alas, how would I have such a good fortune?”

For fear that she would be sad, Yang Guo didn’t dare to look her in the eyes. Instead, he lifted his head to check the weather and then saw that the northwest sky was low and heavy as if it would crush down any minute. He said, “Looks like today it will snow heavily. We’d better stay overnight in someone's home.” When they were evading the fires, they walked down the back of the mountain to a remote and uncultivated no-road area that was filled with scattered rock piles and thorny bushes. They climbed up to the high ground and looked in all directions. Unexpectedly there was no smoke from a house within a ten-mile radius. Yang Guo said, “The snow definitely won’t be light. If we get snowed in on the mountain, that could be pretty bad. Let’s push a little harder. Today we must get off the mountain.”

Then Xiao Longnu asked, “Do you think Uncle Wu and Guo Guniang [Miss Guo] would run into the Mongolian army? And could the Taoist priests from the Quan Zhen sect get away with their lives?” While saying this, she was genuinely concerned about these people. Yang Guo said, “Your conscience is really too good. These people have wronged you and yet you still don’t forget all about them. No wonder years ago your master realized that your conscience was too good. Afraid that you’d be miserable later on, she had you practice cutting off all emotions and desires, not involving yourself in all matters. Yet you’ve been caring for me, wasting your over-ten-year practice. You are also concerned about everybody.”

Xiao Longnu faintly smiled and said, “Is that so? I’ve made your life miserable. In bitterness there is sweetness. My worst fear is that you wouldn’t want me to be concerned about you.” Yang Guo said, “That’s right. The more bitter, the sweeter. It’s much better than no pain and no gain. I can be madly crazy but can’t stand too many of quiet and peaceful days.” Xiao Longnu giggled and said, “Didn’t you say we’d go south to farm, raise some chickens, and enjoy the sun? Yang Guo sighed and said, “I only hope we can always be like this.”

They walked for another several miles and then the empty sky was filled with flying snow. At the beginning it was quite light but then the north wind gradually picked up and the more it snowed the heavier it became. The two people knew they couldn’t set their mind at ease so after the blizzard, they were using their lightness skills to rush ahead.

Xiao Longnu suddenly asked, “Guo Er, where do you think my shizi [Apprentice Sister] has gone to?” Yang Guo responded, “You are still worried about her. We didn’t kill her this time and don’t know.. and don’t know..” He originally was going to say “and don’t know if we will be able to when we run into her again” but he was afraid that he’d give Xiao Longnu grief so he decided not to say it. Xiao Longnu said, “Shizi [Apprentice sister] is actually a very pitiful person.” Yang Guo said, “She isn’t willing to be pitiful alone but determines to make everybody in the world miserable like herself.”

While they were saying this, the sky became even gloomier. But as they came around the corner of the mountain, they suddenly saw a tiny little wooden house between two big pine trees. Several inches of thick white snow were accumulating on its roof.

Yang Guo said in delight, “Great. Let us stop here tonight.” They rushed forward but noticed that the door was left ajar, with no trail of footprints on the snow outside the house. In a clear voice he said, “We passers-by were out here in the snow. May we stay overnight at your place?” A while passed and there was no reply from inside the house.

Yang Guo pushed the door open and saw that there was noone inside. All the tables and benches were covered in dust, indicating that noone had occupied this place for a long time. He then called Xiao Longnu to enter the house. She shut the door and started a fire. An arrow was hung on a wooden wall and there was a rabbit snare in one corner of the room. It looked like this place was a temporary hunting shack. In another room there was a bed, with several already tattered wolf skins piling on top. Yang Guo picked up the arrow and went out to shoot a deer. When he came back, he skinned and dressed it. He used the snow to scrub it clean and then roasted it over the fire.

At this time it snowed even harder outside. But the fire was burning bright inside the house, making it warm like Spring. Xiao Longnu chewed the deer meat before feeding it to Guo Xiang. While flipping the meat back and forth over the fire, Yang Guo looked at the two of them with a smile.

The fire was gently crackling. The room was filled with the smell of roasted meat. A small shack on the wild mountain was indeed a warm and deliciously smelling world.

End of Chapter 29

[Han Solo]

Chapter 29

Ultimate Disasters

Guo Fu called out, "It's my little red horse. It's my.. .." As she was saying that, the red horse rushed to the front. Guo Fu leapt forward. The red horse recognized its master and didn't need for her to pull the rein. It fought to stop, raised its head, and neighed.

Guo Fu saw that mounting on the horse was a young girl dressed in black. When they met before, Guo Fu was fighting side by side with her against Li Mo Chou. This girl was indeed Wan Yan Ping. Her hair was disheveled. Her face was greenish pale. And she looked extremely distressed. Seeing that, Guo Fu asked, "Wan Yan Zi Zi [Elder Sister Wan Yan], what's happened with you?" Wan Yan Ping pointed her finger to the path she just came from and said, "Quick.., Quick.. .." Suddenly her body toppled, falling down from the horse. Guo Fu cried out in alarm and reached out to support her. She turned to her mother and said, "Ma, this is that elder sister Wan Yan." While saying that, she gave Li Mo Chou a stare.

Huang Rong mused, "She raced the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] like this. Nobody in the world could catch up with her so of course she was not in danger. But when she pointed her finger to the North, she had the distressed look. She must be worried about other people. We must rush out to help them." So she told her daughter to help Wan Yan Ping sit up on the horse and also said, "This horse's feet are too swift. You can't rush ahead of me no matter what!" Guo Fu asked, "Why not?" Huang Rong quipped, "There's a great danger lying ahead. How have you not figured it out?" Having said that, she gave Li Mo Chou a hand signal and the two of them galloped north.

After rushing for ten miles, they heard the faint sounds of weapons clashing from the other side of the mountain as expected. Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou urged the horse to go around the mountain and then in the field before them they saw five people engaging in a wicked fight. Two of them were the Wu brothers. There were also a young man and a young woman Huang Rong did not recognize. The four of them were fighting against a middle-aged man and even though it was four against one, they were defending more than attacking. The Wu brothers were both wounded and that young man was fiercely brandishing his long sword against that middle-aged man's better moves. Lying down on the ground nearby was another person, Wu San Tong, who was incessantly yelling and shouting.

Huang Rong saw that man's left hand holding a large flashing gold knife and his right hand wielding a thin, long, black sword. His sword moves were strangely fantastic and not something she'd seen before. If she herself didn't jump in, the Wu brothers would definitely be in imminent danger. So she said to Li Mo Chou, "Those two young men are my disciples." Li Mo Chou let out a laugh and said, "Their mother was killed by me. How can it be that you don't know?" Li Mo Chou saw that the middle-aged man's martial skills were strangely high. She'd never heard that there was such a person in Jiang Hu [the martial world] and she was secretly quite astonished. Finally, she faintly smiled and said, "Let's fight!" Li Mo Chou pulled out her brush while Huang Rong also held firm the bamboo cane in her hand. Then together the two of them approached that man from left and right. Li Mo Chou's brush attacked his black sword while Huang Rong's bamboo cane tangled his gold knife.

This middle-aged man was of course the master of the Passionless Valley sect Gong Sun Zhi. As he suddenly saw two middle-aged beautiful females coming to attack in pair, his heart shook. But then he heard Li Mo Chou shout, "One!" and her brush was wielded out. "Two!" she called out again. At first she and Huang Rong were secretly comparing their strength to see who would first beat this person but as she continuously counted to "ten", Gong Sun Zhi was still attacking and defending. Then, with three stances, the young man's sword was thrusted to the back of Gong Sun Zhi. These sword stances were packed with fierce strength. Gong Sun Zhi knew if he'd eventually lose if he continued to fight so he didn't try to block them but instead jumped forward over ten feet. He looked at Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou and secretly thought, "Where did these two ferocious women come from?" But oh, how beautiful they are!" Having thought that, he clashed his knife and sword, making a weng-weng sound, and then leapt up again.

Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou didn't dare to underestimate the enemy so they put up their tight guards. That Gong Sun Zhi turned his body around in midair and when he dropped to the ground, he got up again and rushed up the mountain. With a smile, Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou looked at each other and both thought, "This person had powerful martial skills and was also cunning. If fighting by myself, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be his match."

The Wu brothers pressed the wounds with their hands and moved forward to kowtow to their Shi Mu [Martial Mother]. Then they both stood up and angrily stared at Li Mo Chou. Huang Rong said, "You won't settle the old debt today. Your father's injury would be in the way, wouldn't it? Who are these two people? Ai yo, wretched! Li Zi Zi [Elder Sister Li] come with me quick!" She didn't even waste time getting on the horse but flew her body toward the road and rushed out. Li Mo Chou didn't get her meaning but still followed her. Then she asked, "What's the matter?" Huang Rong answered, "Fu Er, Fu Er will run right into this person!"

The two persons used their internal energy to pursue him but Gong Sun Zhi was really fast. Only with a somewhat small delay, he'd already left them way behind.

Guo Fu were supporting Wan Yan Ping with both hands. Both of them rode the red horse and slowly emerged from behind the mountain. Huang Rong saw them from a distance so she used her internal energy to call out, "Fu Er, be careful!" Her sound hadn't even faded off when Gong Sun Zhi quickly approached them and jumped up onto the horseback. He stretched out his hand to hold still Guo Fu while pulling the rein to turn the horse head around. Seeing that, Huang Rong puckered her lips to whistle and then rushed forward.

Gong Sun Zhi was startled and thought, "How come today all my affairs went wrong like this? Can't I even befriend a domesticated animal?" Then he exerted his strength to rein in the horse. This force was not weak and so the red horse let out a long neigh and reared itself up. Thinking to flee southward, Gong Sun Zhi forced the horse to turn around but instead it flitted about and kicked up its legs. And then it unexpectedly moved backwards step-by-step. Delighted, Huang Rong sped up. Gong Sun Zhi saw that the red horse was incredibly stubborn and that Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou were closing in, he resheathed the weapons. Holding Guo Fu with his right hand and Wan Yan Ping with his left, they got off the horse. Now Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou, with their lightness kung fu, were approaching fast and were only a short distance away.

Gong Sun Zhi turned around and said with a smile, "If I squeeze my arms, will these two beautiful and delicate girls still live?" Huang Rong asked, "Who are you, sir? You and I have never met. How could you capture my daughter?" With a smile Gong Sun Zhi said, "This is your daughter? Are you really Wan Yan Fu Ren [Madame Wan Yan]? Huang Rong pointed at Guo Fu and said, "That one is my daughter!" Gong Sun Zhi looked at Guo Fu and turned to gaze at Huang Rong. With a grin he said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, very beautiful. Mother and daughter are both beautiful, very beautiful!"

Although Huang Rong was furious, her daughter was in his hand. She had to be careful not to fight the enemy and harm her daughter in the process. Therefore she had used a delay tactic and reasoned with him. But suddenly she heard the two 'Sou''Sou' whishing sounds from behind. Two long arrows flew past her own left cheek and straight towards Gong Sun Zhi. The arrows were fiercely fast and they made extremely loud sounds while cutting through the air. Upon hearing the sounds of the arrows, she was so happy she almost cried out, thinking it was surely her husband arriving. The martial masters in the central plains of China rarely learned arrow techniques. And even though Mongolian warriors' arrow techniques were refined, without solid internal energy it was difficult to send an arrow very far. These two arrows were making such loud and solid sounds like this. Except Guo Jing, she'd never seen any other person who could do it. But this arrow skill was actually still far from Guo Jing's level. By the time the arrows were halfway in the air, Huang Rong realized that the shooter was not her husband.

Seeing the arrows zooming in, Gong Sun Zhi opened his mouth and bit the tip of the first arrow and at the same time stepped aside, using the arrow shaft in his mouth to brush away the second one. Huang Rong thought, "If it were Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing] who shot these arrows, I bet using your mouth to catch an arrow like this would give you a hole in your throat." As she was about to move forward, she heard a series of 'Sou' 'Sou' whishing sounds again. Nine arrows flew in one by one, aiming at the area between Gong Sun Zhi's eyebrows. And this time, in a tight situation, Gong Sun Zhi had to put down the two girls and pulled out his sword to block the arrows.

As Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou quickly rushed forward to rescue the two girls, they saw a flashing gray shadow rolling Guo Fu to the roadside. When that body turned over to get up, Gong Sun Zhi, ignoring his gold knife, shot out his bare palm to strike the top of that person's head.

Lying on the ground, that person turned over his palm to block the attack. There came a clashing sound. Dust flew up all over the place. Gong Sun Zhi then called out, "Good!" and sent out his second strike, with more strength this time. Seeing that it would be difficult for that person to block the attack, Huang Rong lashed out her dog beating stick, using the "seal" stance to intercept that palm strike. Gong Sun Zhi saw himself surrounded by the enemies. He knew that he couldn't win today. So with a 'Ha''Ha' laugh, he backed out three steps and turned his body to walk away. He appeared to carry himself naturally, with martial grace. Huang Rong and others didn't dare to pursue.

While still holding Guo Fu, that person stood up. Then he dropped his arms. Huang Rong saw that he had a tall body with broad biceps, with a long bow hanging from his waist. This was precisely that youth who fought with a sword earlier. Also, naturally he was the one who shot out those eleven arrows. Even though Guo Fu fell into Gong Sun Zhi's clutch just now, she wasn't injured at all and so she said, "Ye Lu Da Ge [Big Brother Ye Lu], many thanks for saving me." While saying that, she blushed prettily.

By this time Wu Xiu Wen and a young girl caught up with them, leaving Wu Dun Ru to take care of his father. Normally, Wu Xiu Wen should be the one introducing everybody but he was filled with rage and was viciously eyeing Li Mo Chou. He forgot everybody else at present. Huang Rong called him twice but he didn't even hear it. Li Mo Chou actually already stood far away from them with her hands behind her back, watching the scenery. She of course didn't pay attention to these many people.

Guo Fu pointed at the young man who had just rescued her and said to her mother, "Ma, this person is Ye Lu Qi, Ye Lu Da Ge [Big Brother Ye Lu]." Then she pointed at the tall young girl and said, "And this is Ye Lu Yan, Ye Lu Zi Zi [Elder Sister Ye Lu]." Huang Rong then praised them, "You two have quite wonderful kung fus!" The Ye Lu siblings together replied, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] praised us!" and moved forward to pay respect.

Huang Rong then asked, "It looks like you two use the Quan Zhen sect's kung fu. May I ask which of the Quan Zhen seven masters is your master?" She saw Ye Lu Qi's martial skills and, except Yang Guo one person, couldn't think of any other fourth generation disciple of the Quan Zhen sect. Ye Lu Yan said, "My brother taught me my martial skills." Huang Rong nodded and turned to look at Ye Lu Qi. Ye Lu Qi felt quite awkward and said, "Elder asked me a question, I really should give you a truthful answer. Only that my master has forbidden me, the young generation, to mention his old name. Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], please forgive me."

Huang Rong was startled and thought, "Would the Quan Zhen seven masters come up with this strange rule? This young man's martial skills were quite excellent, why couldn't he say his master's name?" Having thought this far, she suddenly burst out into a laugh and bent over with hands on her belly. This matter was really extremely funny. Puzzled, Guo Fu asked, "Ma, what's so funny?" She heard her mother seriously asked Ye Lu Qi which sect he belonged to. And suddenly she broke out laughing like this. She was afraid that Ye Lu Qi would be upset so, embarrased, she asked again, "Ma, Ye Lu Da Ge [Brother Ye Lu] can't say it. That's okay. What's so funny?" Still laughing, Huang Rong didn't answer. Ye Lu Qi had a smiling expression on his face and said, "Seems like Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] guessed correctly." Guo Fu was at a loss. She turned her head to look at Ye Lu Yan and saw that she was also in the dark, not understanding what the two persons were laughing about.

Right now Wu Xiu Wen were kneeling down to bandage Wan Yan Ping's injury. Just now she was held hostage by Gong Sun Zhi and twisted her left ankle while escaping. Huang Rong asked, "Xiu Er, how's your father's wound condition?" Wu Xiu Wen replied, "Father was cut by that old Gong Sun's sword. His left leg was injured but luckily the sword didn't damage his bone." Huang Rong nodded and walked over to lightly stroke the precious horse's mane. She gently said, "Horsy, oh horsy, our Guo family wouldn't be able to repay you for your deep affection." Then she saw that Wu Xiu Wen, with his rather strange expression, didn't speak to Guo Fu all along but took extremely good care of Wan Yan Ping. Yet she didn't know whether he did this to show Guo Fu or he really was fond of this girl. She decided not to pursue the matter and said, "Let us go get your father."

Wu San Tong was originally sitting on the ground. When he saw Huang Rong approaching, he called out, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo]!" and got up. He had a leg wound so his body was swaying. Wu Dun Ru and Ye Lu Yan reached out to hold him at the same time. As their hands bumped, they looked at each other with a smile.

Huang Rong secretly laughed in her heart, "How nice, another couple! Just a few days ago, the brothers were willing to kill each other for Fu Er, not thinking about their blood ties. Now that the boys have met pretty girls, they instantly turned around and forgot all about their original feelings." Suddenly she thought about Guo Jing and her heart couldn't help but swell with pride. Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing] always stayed true to her and never changed, be it in good or bad fortune. How would these youths be able to compare to him? Then she thought about Yang Guo. She felt that his relationship with Xiao Long Nu was unseemly. But she also knew that he was smart about relationships and stayed faithful to his love both in life and in death. That was actually something to be revered and respected.

The Wu brothers and Guo Fu grew up together on the Peach Blossom Island. First, on the island there was no other girl of their age. Second, time made the hearts grow fonder. If the two brothers didn't fell in love with Guo Fu, that wouldn't make sense at all. Later on, they suddenly found out that Guo Fu didn't return their feelings, they were brokenhearted and said that they would live a life without joy like this forever. They had no way of knowing that a short while later they would meet Ye Lu Yan and Wan Yan Ping they really should symphatize with. This time the the Wu brothers ran into Guo Fu, they secretly compared their sweethearts to her. The brothers felt that their loved ones were not only not inferior to Guo Fu but also even better. One thought, "Ye Lu Gu Niang [Miss Ye Lu] is open and kind. How could she be like you who are scheming and narrow-minded?" The other thought, "Wan Yan Gu Niang is clearly pitiful. She is also gentle and polite. How could she be like you who everyday make people miserable?" The brothers had earlier vowed not to see Guo Fu again but now ran into her by accident and couldn't quite escape. They both thought, "Today I didn't intend to go looking for you so this couldn't be regarded as breaking a vow."

In Guo Fu's mind, she only thought about how she had been captured by Gong Sun Zhi just now and how Ye Lu Qi had saved her. She stole a look at him several times and saw that he was tall and handsome. She couldn't help secretly thinking, "I met him for the first time last year and later forgot all about him. At that time I didn't know that his martial skills would be like this. Mother and he were laughing together. What were they laughing about?"

Huang Rong examined the sword wound on Wu San Tong's leg. Fortunately, it wouldn't be a great obstacle. Then everybody shared their stories.

That day Wu San Tong, Zhu Zi Liu and Martial Uncle Indian monk left for the Passionless Valley to seek the antidote for Yang Guo. Just outside of Xiang Yang, Wu San Tong ran into his two sons. Startled and afraid that they would fight again, he quickly told Zhu Zi Liu to accompany Martial Uncle to go ahead. Then he rushed out to stop the Wu brothers and asked questions. As it turned out, the Wu brothers both followed their vow spoken to Yang Guo about not seeing Guo Fu again so they didn't want to stay in Xiang Yang anymore. Wu San Tong was reassured so he praised them, "Good boys, you've got guts!" He also said, "Yang Xiong Di [Brother Yang] risked his own life to save us. Now he is in trouble, how can we not try to help him? The three of us, father and sons, should go to the Passionless Valley together."

But the Passionless Valley was like a paradise outside this world. Although Yang Guo had told them about its approximate location, it was actually not easy to find the entrance. The three people went around in circle and took many paths but still they couldn't find the Valley entrance. The Indian monk and Zhu Zi Liu had already fallen into the enemy's trap and been captured by the fishnets of Qiu Qian Chi's disciples. Wu San Tong and his sons tried many times to help them without success and almost fell into the gorge. With no choice but to retreat, they thought that they would go back to Xiang Yang to find help. Unfortunately, they ran into Gong Sun Zhi who said the three of them were trespassing and then attacked them. Wu San Tong was not his match and was cut in the leg. Gong Sun Zhi didn't really want the three people's lives and so he just forced them to quickly leave and told them never to come back.

By this time, the Ye Lu siblings and Wan Yan Ping happened to ride into view. The three people and the Wu brothers used to fight together so they got off their horses and started talking about the old times. Gong Sun Zhi was looking at them coldly from the side. He failed to marry Xiao Long Nu and got kicked off the sect by his wife so he was actually bored to death. Seeing that Wan Yan Ping was young and beautiful, he couldn't curb his evil intention and suddenly snatched her away with him. This time, the Ye Lu siblings and the Wu brothers all immediately jumped in to fight. If Wu San Tong hadn't been injured, it would be six people joining force and they would have a chance against Gong Sun Zhi. However, his leg was wounded so Ye Lu Qi was the only strong fighter among them and they couldn't fend off Gong Sun Zhi. It just so happened that the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] was running back by himself from Mount Zhong Nan and heading towards Xiang Yang. Wu Xiu Ren grabbed him and let Wan Yan Ping ride away, hoping that Gong Sun Zhi would lose interest after the swan was gone. They didn't expect that Huang Rong and Li Mo Chou would rush into the scene like this.

Huang Rong listened to the stories and talked briefly about how Yang Guo got his arm chopped off and how he snatched her young daugther. Wu San Tong was greatly alarmed and quickly explained the root cause. He said, "Yang Xiong Di [Brother Yang] is brave and warm-hearted. Everything happened because, without thinking about himself, he saved these two animals of mine and didn't let them destroy themselves. Who would have thought that it would lead to these matters?" He thought about how Yang Guo got his arm chopped off, all because of his two sons. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly pointed at the two sons and scolded them.

On the side, the Wu brothers, the Ye Lu siblings, and Wan Yan Ping were all talking enthusiastically. A little while later, Guo Fu came in to join the discussion. The six people were of the same age and just went through a fierce battle together so with gusto they talked about how fierce and evil Gong Sun Zhi was and how he finally fled into the wild. Suddenly they heard Wu San Tong bellowed out a shout of outrage, "Wu Dun Ru, Wu Xiu Wen, you two little animals, Yang Guo Xiong Di [Brother Yang Guo] was so good and kind to you but you caused him to lose his arm. You stop and think, how would our family Wu ever face him?" Both his face and ears turned red and the more he scolded, the fiercer he became. If not for his injured leg, he would have thrown himself out to strike them. The two brothers were baffled, not knowing how their father got so mad. Each of them stealthily looked at Ye Lu Yan and Wan Yan Ping. They felt that in front of beautiful ladies, having their father calling them 'animal this' and 'animal that' was a great loss of face. But if they were still fighting over Guo Fu like before, that would be distressful too. The two brothers looked at each other at their wits' end, not knowing what to do.

Huang Rong saw the situation to be quite awkward so she intercepted, "Wu Xiong Di [Brother Wu], don't be so upset. Yang Guo's losing an arm was all little sister's fault for not teaching my child better and letting her run spoiled. At that time, her old man Guo was also so mad that he wanted to chop off her arm." Wu San Tong then gave out a loud shout, "That's right. Good! Her arm should be chopped off!" Guo Fu's eyes turned white with fear. She thought, "Did you just say 'her arm should be chopped of'?" If her mother weren't there, Guo Fu would have said something out in protest.

Huang Rong said, "Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], we've talked clearly enough about how your children wronged Yang Guo. Right now we have two important matters ahead. First, we must find Yang Guo to see his condition." Wu San Tong agreed, "Very good. Very good." Huang Rong then continued, "The second important thing is that we have to go to the Passionless Valley to rescue Martial Uncle and Zhu Da Ge [Brother Zhu] and at the same time get the antidote for Yang Guo. But do you know anything about Zhu Da ge's condition or whether or not his life is in danger?"

Wu San Tong said, "My martial uncle and apprentice brother were trapped by the fishing net and imprisoned in a stone chamber. It seemed like that old woman still didn't think to harm them. Huang Rong nodded and said, "Hmm, in that case we go find Yang Guo first and go with him to the Passionless Valley to save people. And once the antidote is obtained, he can take it immediately to avoid any delay, and hence more dangers." Wu San Tong said, "That's right. But do we know where Yang Guo is right now?" Huang Rong pointed at the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] and said, "This horse was just borrowed away by Yang Guo. If we follow the road that this horse came from, we can find out where he is." Wu San Tong was delighted and said, "Today if not for the wisdom of Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], the old Wu here would have flown into a fit of rage and made matters worse." This time Guo Fu couldn't bear to be quiet so she chimed in, "Isn't that right?"

Huang Rong smiled faintly. She didn't say a word about seeking her younger daughter but all about getting Wu San Tong to follow her. She mused, "If the Wu father and sons come with me, the other three young people will definitely tag along. Then there will be more people to help us. Isn't that wonderful?" She then turned to Ye Lu Qi and said, "If Ye Lu Xiao Ge [Little Brother Ye Lu] doesn't have any pressing matter to attend to, how about you come along with us just for fun?" Ye Lu Qi was yet to answer but Ye Lu Yan clapped her hands, crying out, "Okay, Okay! Ge Ge [Brother], let's go together with them!" Ye Lu Qi couldn't bear Guo Fuo's gaze. Seeing that the glints in her eyes conveyed an encouraging message, he bowed down and said, "If Elder Wu and Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] wouldn't mind, Junior could only benefit from your guidance. This is precisely my great wish." With a pleased expression on her face, Wan Yan Ping also slowly nodded.

Huang Rong then said, "Look, we are a group of many people, we must have someone to give orders. Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], from now on everybody will listen to your commands and nobody can disobey." Wu San Tong waved his hands and said, "We have in you a wonderful strategist who can match Zhu Ge, who would dare to give orders? Naturally, it has to be you in charge." With a smile Huang Rong said, "Really?" Wu San Tong replied, "How can that be wrong?" Huang Rong laughed and said, "Giving orders to the juniors is quite easy. I'm only afraid that your old self wouldn't listen to me." Then in a loud voice Wu San Tong said, "Nonsense. I won't do such a thing. If you tell me to jump in water and walk on fire, I won't say no in any circumstances." Huang Rong said, "In front of these many juniors, how could you say things you don't mean?" Wu San Tong blushed and responded, "Even if there were no one else here, how could I fail to keep my words?"

Huang Rong said, "All right! This time we will go find Yang Guo, get the antidote, and rescue your martial uncle and brother. We must work together. For any previous gratitude or grudges, we'll put them aside for the time being. Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], you, the Wu father and sons, cannot settle your debt with Li Mo Chou. After we've accomplished our important mission, shedding blood is still not too late!" Wu San Tong was startled. He hadn't thought that Huang Rong's spoken words would unexpectedly be meant for this matter. He and Li Mo Chou had wife-killing hatred to settle, how could he actually bear the rage in his heart? So he hesitated and didn't respond. With a gentle voice Huang Rong said, "Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], your leg has been injured. For a gentleman, revenge in ten years is still not too late. What the big deal with a little while longer?" Wu San Tong then replied, "Good, whatever you say, I'll do it."

Huang Rong raised her voice to call Li Mo Chou, "Li Zi Zi [Elder Sister Li], let's go!" They let the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] lead the way and the many people followed. The red horse originally wanted to return to Xiang Yang but instead it ran into its master. Huang Rong was now walking in front of him and heading towards Mount Zhong Nan.


Last edited by BeeDreamer : 05-28-05


Wu San Tong and Wan Yan Ping were injured so they couldn't just speed away. They all traveled a hundred miles for each day and then stopped to rest. Li Mo Chou stayed clear from other people at night and hurried along with them in a distance during the day.

Traveling by day and resting by night, the six young men and women were having a good time chatting and laughing. And the further they went, the more friendly they became. When the Wu brothers originally were bickering over Guo Fu, their brotherhood ties were greatly strained. Now that each had his own love, the two brothers were on the best terms. Wu San Tong looked at them and his heart was greatly consoled. But also every time, he also thought, "That day even if the two brothers weren't poisoned by Li Mo Chou, they could have destroyed each other. I'd have been left with only one.. I can't even call him a son. And today the two animals are surprisingly having a good time while Brother Yang has lost an arm. Alas, what can I really say? Only cutting an arm from each of these two little animals and putting them on Brother Yang's body would make sense." As for the fact that Yang Guo would end up with three arms in that scenario, he hadn't actually thought about it.

And then one day they reached Mount Zhong Nan. Huang Rong and Wu San Tong led the many people up to the Chong Yang Palace to greet all the Quan Zhen five masters. Li Mo Chou stood still from a distance and said, "I'll wait here then." Huang Rong knew Li Mo Chou and the Quan Zhen sect had a grudge so she didn't press the matter and went up the path towards the Chong Yang Palace.

Liu Chu Xuan, Qiu Chu Ji and others were informed about their arrival so they quickly came out of the palace to welcome them. They entered the palace hall together and sat down at a provided place. As they were exchanging their greetings, they suddenly heard someone shouting loudly. Huang Rong was very delighted and called out, "Old urchin, won't you come out and see who is here?"

Recently, Zhou Bo Tong had been obsessively studying ways to command the jade bees. He was by nature intelligent and tenacious. But to everybody's surprise, he was happy with small successes and only wanted to play and have good times. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting out. That was Huang Rong's voice. He was thrilled and so he said, "Aha, that is my brother's crafty and eccentric wife!" Then he made loud noises and rushed out from behind the hall.

Ye Lu Qi went forward and kowtowed. He said, "Shi Fu [Master], I pay you respect. May happiness be with you great elder forever." With a laugh Zhou Bo Tong said, "Enough, just get up! May happiness be with you little baby forever too!"

Hearing that, the many people all found it strange. Nobody would have expected Ye Lu Qi to be Zhou Bo Tong's disciple. This old urchin was madly crazy but his chosen disciple was a skilled gentleman. Together, they were nothing alike. Qiu Chu Ji and others saw their Shi Shu [martial uncle] accepting a disciple, they were all very happy and then busily congratulated him. And this time, Guo Fu understood why her mother and Ye Lu Qi together were laughing about the other day. It was because her mother had guessed correctly that Zhou Bo Tong was Ye Lu Qi's teacher.

From the beginning, Ye Lu Qi met Zhou Bo Tong twelve years ago. At that time he was still young so he and Zhou Bo Tong played together quite nicely. Zhou Bo Tong then accepted him as a disciple. Although Zhou Bo Tong didn't teach him a lot of kung fu, Ye Lu Qi was talented and determined. He practised his martial skills diligently and surprisingly became an outstanding character of the young generation. It was only that Zhou Bo Tong saw him growing up well-behaved and nothing like a small mischievous child. His heart was filled with regrets and therefore didn't allow Ye Lu Qi to call himself the old urchin's direct disciple. But at this point, Zhou Botong couldn't get rid of him either.

Amid all the excitement came sudden sounds of battlecries from below the mountain. The sect disciples reported that the enemy was gathering for the attack. The other day the Quan Zhen sect refused to bow down to the Mongolian prince's imperial decree and also killed many of them. Qiu Chu Ji and others knew that this matter couldn't easily be resolved and that the Mongolian army would sooner or later come back up the mountain. They also realized that the Quan Zhen sect would not be able to fend off the Mongolian army so they had already arranged a plan to abandon the palace and retreat to the West. By this time the Zhang Jiao [sect chief] position had already been assigned to a third generation disciple, Li Zhi Chang, but, facing this important matter, it was still left to the Quan Zhen five masters to make decisions. Qiu Chu Ji turned to Huang Rong and said, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], the Mongolian army has attacked! This is such an inopportune time. Please don't think badly of our hospitality."

Then everbody heard the deadly sounds of drumrolls and battlecries from below the mountain. Just now Huang Rong came up the mountain from the southern side while the Mongolian army actually took the northen route. And they arrived roughly about the same time.

Zhou Bo Tong said, "Are the enemies coming? How really wonderful! Come, we'll go make mincemeat out of them." Then he stretched out his hand to grab Ye Lu Qi's wrist and said, "You show the kung fu Shi Fu [Master] taught you to these several old sect brothers. I say you are not worse than the Quan Zhen seven masters. Add you to them and we'll make the Quan Zhen eight masters." In general, when small children had a beloved toy, they would want to show it off to people. If many people liked it, then they'd become very happy. At first Zhou Bo Tong had forbidden Ye Lu Qi to tell people who his master was because Ye Lu Qi lacked naughtiness and didn't in the least bit resemble the famous old urchin's skilled disciple. But today the master and the disciple met again and were delighted to see each other. Zhou Bo Tong totally forgot the rule he himself set up before.

Qiu Chu Ji said, "Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], our sect has run for many decades. It is the lifetime blood and sweat of my late master and can't be ruined in just one moment. Today the best plan is for everybody in our sect to retreat." Not waiting for Zhou Bo Tong to voice his opinion, he gave orders, "Everybody carry all the things and go down the mountain according to our planned course." The many disciples complied in one voice, carried the packages that had been prepared earlier, and rushed down the east and west sides of the mountain in rows. A few days earlier, the Quan Zhen five masters and Li Zhi Chang had properly divided people, detailing who would dash to the front, who would guard the back, where they would meet, and how to communicate. Also, they'd many times rehearsed the plan and so there was no chaos at the last moment.

Huang Rong said, "Qiu Dao Zhang [Taoist Elder Qiu], in a situation like this a small mistake could lead to a disaster. Your honored sect has arranged everything in order, indicating a great ability. When you stage a comeback, your sect will be even more prosperous. This time we are here to look for Yang Guo so we will take our leave right now." Qiu Chu Ji said in surprise, "Yang Guo? Do you know if he's still here on the mountain?" With a faint smile Huang Rong replied, "We've got someone who knows his whereabouts."

Having said this far, she heard the loud battle cries again from below the mountain. Huang Rong thought, "The Quan Zhen sect has earlier made an arrangement. They could withdraw themselves. I came up the mountain to look for Yang Guo and get my daughter. Let's not get into the battle and delay our important matter." Immediately she bid farewell to Qiu Chu Ji and others, called out to those who came up the mountain with her, and rushed out to the back of the Chong Yang Palace. Then she said to Li Mo Chou, "Li Zi Zi [Sister Li], please tell us about how to get into the tomb."

Li Mo Chou asked, "How do you know he's inside Gu Mu? Huang Rong chuckled and said, "Even if Yang Guo isn't inside Gu Mu, the Jade Maiden Heart manual definitely is." Li Mo Chou shivered and secretly thought, "This Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] is indeed deadly. How did she know about my concern?"

Li Mo Chou followed these numerous people from Xiang Yang to Zhong Nan. Except Huang Rong, nobody paid attention to her. Along the way, there was nothing interesting and, needless to say, the Wu father and sons were secretly waiting to set a deathtrap for her. In her mind, Huang Rong thought, "Even if she likes Xiang Er very much, she won't be willing to put herself in a great danger like this. There surely must be an important scheme." Having mulled over this, she remembered that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu had used the Jade Maiden swordplay to defeat Jin Lun Fa Wang. Li Mo Chou obviously didn't know these skills of the sect, otherwise she'd have used it. How wouldn't she be interested? She was actually going to get the Jade Maiden Heart manual but was afraid that the seven people would get inside Gu Mu before her and take it. Huang Rong put two and two together and guessed correctly what Li Mo Chou was thinking.

Li Mo Chou thought that since Huang Rong already knew her intention, she could just make it bluntly clear. She said, "I'll help you get back your daughter and you must help me get my sect's martial manual back. You are the chief of the beggar clan and also a world-renowned heroine, you cannot say things you don't mean." Huang Rong then said, "Yang Guo is the son of my husband Guo's deceased friend. He and I have some small misunderstanding, which will easily disappear when we see each other. If my daughter is really with him, he'll return her to me himself and there's no need to talk about baby snatching." Li Mo Chou retorted, "If that's the case, we'll go our own separate ways and say goodbye here." Having said that, she turned to walk away.

Huang Rong gave Wu San Tong a meaningful glance. Wu San Tong unsheathed his long sword and shouted, "Li Mo Chou, do you still think you can leave Mount Zhong Nan alive today?"

Li Mo Chou thought that she herself was not even Huang Rong's match. Now adding the Wu father and sons, the Ye Lu siblings, and others, how would she be able to break her way out? Originally she had a clever plan but she ran into Huang Rong and surprisingly found her hands and feet tied, not being able to use all her sly tricks. So indifferently she said to Huang Rong, "Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] can cleverly change. Since Yang Guo is on the mountain, why are you still worried about not finding him? Why do you need me to lead the way?"

Huang Rong knew that Li Mo Chou had to be forced so she said, "Little sister actually don't have the ability to find the entrance to Gu Mu. However, even if Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu have secluded themselves inside the tomb, eventually they must come out to buy rice and cut firewoods. If seven of us scatter around and wait patiently, surely we'll run into them some day." The meaning of this was that - if you were not willing to guide us, we'd immediately kill you. Finding Yang Guo a few days later was not a very big deal.

Li Mo Chou thought about it. The opponents were really strong and secure. Right here on the flat land, she was overwhelmed by numbers. However, if she led these many people to the underground tomb, where she was familiar with the terrain, she could find a way to secretly kill them off one by one. So she said, "Today you won by numbers, I have nothing to say. Anyhow, I also want to find Yang Guo. Come with me!" She pushed aside prickly shrubs and walked inside the tree thickets.

Huang Rong and others followed her close behind, fearing that she would suddenly run away. She saw Li Mo Chou making her way through clusters of rocks. Many parts were obviously not passable, with zigzagging paths that led to a deadend. These terrain were all natural, with no human interference. So even though Huang Rong knew the "Five Phrase Marvelous Gate" art, she couldn't use its logic to figure out the way. She thought, "There is a saying 'The wonderful workmanship excels nature.' In fact, how could human things ever surpass the work of nature?"

They walked for a while and then arrived at the bank of a small creek. At this time they could still hear the sounds of the Mongolian battle cries but as they were deep in the woods, the shoutings felt as if coming from very far away.

For several years, Li Mo Chou had planned to steal the Jade Maiden Heart manual. Last time when she left the tomb from the bottom of the creek, she nearly died because she didn't know how to swim very well. Later she practised her water skills in a river to prepare for this. She stood by the creek and said, "The main entrance to Gu Mu has been shut. To open it, you must use years and years of work. We can dive into this creek to get to the back entrance. How many people would come with me?"

Guo Fu and the Wu Brothers grew up on the Peach Blossom Island. In summer, they swam in the rough sea everyday so they were excellent in water. The three people said at the same time, "I'll come!" Wu San Tong could also swim. Although not very good, he wasn't worried about this small creek and said, "I'll come too."

Huang Rong thought about how cruel and cold-blooded Li Mo Chou was. If she suddenly turned violent on them inside Gu Mu, Wu San Tong and others wouldn't be able to defend themselves. She would have gone to watch over things herself but she just gave birth not long ago and was afraid to get sick from swimming in cold water. While hesitating, Ye Lu Qi said, "Guo Po Mu [Auntie Guo], you stay here to keep watch. I'll come along with Uncle Wu."

Huang Rong was delighted. This person was smart and skillful. His martial skills were also strong. With him going with the three people, she could put her mind at ease. She asked, "Do you have water skills?" Ye Lu Qi replied, "Swimming not very good but I can manage diving." Huang Rong thought about something and asked, "Did you practise at the ice bottom?" Ye Lu Qi replied, "Yes, I did." Again Huang Rong asked, "Where did you practise it?" Ye Lu Qi explained, "When I was young, I lived with my father on the banks of Gan Nan river for many years." Mongolia was bitterly cold. For most of the year, Gan Nan river was covered in snow and ice. Among the Mongolian warriors, those extraordinarily strong would practise ice bottom diving by setting up a rule that the last one who get out of the ice surface would be the winner.

Seeing Li Mo Chou and others were ready and about to go down in the creek, Huang Rong didn't have time to say much. With a low voice, she said to Guo Fu, "People's hearts are difficult to measure. Be very careful!" She taught her daughter many times but this young girl was rash by nature. Repeated warnings were useless. Only by bumping herself against the wall many times, she then could learn a lesson.

Ye Lu Yan and Wan Yan Ping the two girls didn't know how to swim so they stayed ashore with Huang Rong. Li Mo Chou led the way. She dove in the water at a cave in the creek. Ye Lu Qi followed her closely. Guo Fu and the Wu father and brothers trailed behind.

Li Mo Chou led Ye Lu Qi and others to dive into the creek undercurrent. The path at the bottom was sometimes wide, and other times narrow. The undercurrent was alternately fast and slow. The water depths also vary from very deep to the waist-level. They went underwater for a long time and then finally arrived at the tomb entrance. Li Mo Chou proceeded to go inside. The five people followed in a line and all thought, "If not for her leading the way, who would have thought there would be another world under the creek bottom?" By this time, although they were out of water, it was pitch black inside. The five people held hands so nobody would get lost. They then followed Li Mo Chou on the winding path ahead.

They walked for quite a while but sensed that they were getting to the higher and dry ground. Suddenly they heard a crushing sound. It was Li Mo Chou pushing open the stone door. The five people went inside and heard Li Mo Chou said, "We are already inside Gu Mu. Let's take a little break. Then we'll go find Yang Guo." Since entering Gu Mu, Wu San Tong and Ye Lu Qi had stayed right behind Li Mo Chou's back, guarding themselves against her trickery. They couldn't even see the five fingers on their hands and had to rely on their ears, listening to everything with great attention. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers wanted to come to show their great courage but now that both their eyes couldn't see a thing, they couldn't help but feel the thumping in their hearts.

Even if they used their weapons and sent out poisoned needles, they might not be able to avoid hurting their own people. Ye Lu Qi thought that if they let her lash out her secret weapons at random, the five of them would definitely be injured or killed. The only way out was to go forward to attack and not give her a chance to launch her poisoned needles. Guo Fu thought the same thing. The two of them moved at the same time and threw themselves in the direction from which Li Mo Chou was making a noise.

Nobody could have expected this. As Li Mo Chou finished saying those three sentences, she took the opportunity to move quietly to the door. Ye Lu Qi and Guo Fu jumped out and started fighting, trying to catch each other's wrists and elbows to stop the opponent from launching secret weapons. The two people'd exchanged four stances before Guo Fu felt that something didn't feel right and let out an "eh" sound. Both Ye Lu Qi's hands were grabbing her two wrists. He felt that the flesh and skin were smooth and could smell a whiff of sweet scent in the air. Then he heard Guo Fu's crying out and became startled.

Then they heard a crushing sound of a stone door moving. Ye Lu Qi and Wu San Tong cried out, "Oh, no!" and rushed forward to the nearby door. But there came 'Sou''Sou' whishing sounds. Two silver needles were shot out their way. The two people sidestepped to avoid the needles while extending their hands to push the stone door. That door was already closed. Pushing against it was just like trying to move a mountain. No matter how they try, it wouldn't move.

Ye Lu Qi reached his hand out to feel the stone door from all directions but there was neither an iron hoop nor a door handle. He followed the wall and went around the room. Then he found out that the size of this stone chamber was about twenty square feet. The four-side walls were made of rough thick stones. He drew out his long sword and knocked the stone door several times. The sounds were dull, indicating that the door was extremely heavy. This stone door could be opened from the inside and only needed to be pulled open but it was most difficult with no place to pull to begin with. Guo Fu hurriedly said, "What are we going to do? Wouldn't we suffocate to death in here?" Ye Lu Qi heard her voice sounding like she was about to cry so he comforted her and said, "Don't worry. Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] is waiting for us outside. She'll definite have a plan to help us." Then he started groping at the walls, trying to find a way out.

Having trapped Wu San Tong and others inside the stone chamber, Li Mo Chou was extremely pleased and mused, "These people can't get out. Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister] and Yang Guo didn't know I could swim and thought I wouldn't be able to sneak back in from the secret route. But where are the two people?" She knew perfectly well that, to make her wish come true, she couldn't make even a bit of noise. Otherwise if they began to fight, she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to defeat them whatsoever. Therefore, she took off her shoes and only left her stockings on. She held the Soul Freezing needles in both hands and slowly moved forward step-by-step.


Last edited by BeeDreamer : 05-27-05 at 06:27


For the past few days, Xiao Long Nu had been sitting on the chilled jade bed and circulating her energy flow according to the reverse energy flow principles. One by one, they cleared the thirty-six pressure points on her body. Right now the two people were working on Xiao Long Nu’s “Middle Altar” point, which was on her chest and about a couple of inches below the “Jade Hall” point. The ancient medicine text called this the “Sea of Air” because it regulated air in a human body and, as a result, was the most critical pressure point. The two people were in full concentration and didn’t dare to be careless. Xiao Long Nu felt the three pressure points “Purple Palace”, “Flowery Roof”, and “Jade hall” below her neck filled with hot air. But whenever the air reached the “Middle Altar” point, it wouldn’t pass through. She knew that if she could clear this “Middle Altar” point, her body injury would be healed. But it was only that she had to wait and couldn’t force it. Xiao Long Nu by nature had never been an anxious type. Time in Gu Mu was slow. If today she couldn’t clear this pressure point, why couldn’t she wait until tomorrow? So she alternated between stopping and continuing and had no worry in the least bit.

Yang Guo, however, was really impatient. He only wanted Xiao Long Nu to recover soon so he could set his mind at ease. But he also knew that the matter of energy transfer couldn’t be rushed. Adding the fact that they were using the reverse energy flow technique, how could it not be twice as difficult? Then he felt that Xiao Long Nu’s pulses on her wrist were suddenly strong and suddenly weak. Even though they were not fluctuating, it was not really a bad sign. He then slowly transfer the energy, adding more strength to it this time.

In this depth of lonely silence, he suddenly heard a ‘ta’ sound. This sound was extremely light. If not for Yang Guo’s concentrating on his breath and the blank state of his mind, he wouldn’t have heard it. A long time passed. There came another ‘ta’ sound, about three feet closer this time.

Yang Guo thought this was strange but he was afraid that he’d divert Xiao Long Nu’s attention. If she was distracted in a critical moment like this, at the very least it would be very difficult for her injury to ever recover again and at the very most she could be killed instantly. How could there be any small mistakes? So even though in his heart he felt something not quite right, he feigned ignorance. But only a short while later, there was another ‘ta’ sound moving three feet closer. This time he knew that someone had entered Gu Mu through the water route and that that person didn’t dare to barge in but just slowly moved forward. After another while, there came two light crushing sounds and then it stopped. These crushing sounds came from someone pushing open the stone door very very slowly. If Xiao Long could manage to clear her “Middle Altar” point before the enemy got too near, it would be wonderfully lucky; otherwise it would be extremely dangerous. By this time they had already passed the point of no return. Even if they wanted to stop pushing the energy, they already could not.

Then he heard a light ‘ta’ sound again, indicating that that person had just come one step closer. Yang Guo’s mind was frantic but he didn’t know what to do. Suddenly he felt his palm shaking and the heat energy was forced back to him because Xiao Long Nu was also frightened. He quickly drew a breath and then pushed his internal energy out to Xiao Long Nu’s palm. In a low voice he said, “The terrors within can’t be smelt, nor can they be seen. It is really the truth.” When one practised martial arts to a certain limit, there would often emerge illusions, like hearing thundering cries or feeling itchy pains. One just had to know these were illusions and paid no attention to them whatsoever to avoid fire deviation. By this time, Yang Guo heard the footsteps very clearly and knew that it wasn’t just his own imagination. But Xiao Long Nu was at a life or death critical moment so he had lied to her, saying that it was her mind tricking her and that no matter how fiercely evil it was, she had to ignore it and it would just disappear. As Xiao Long Nu heard these words, she immediately calmed herself down.

At this time, while the sun outside was glowing red, it was actually dark like late night inside Gu Mu. Yang Guo heard every single footstep, everytime several feet nearer. He thought about how in this world, except themselves husband and wive, there were only Li Mo Chou and Hong Ling Bo who knew about the secret path under water. So it had to be them, master and disciple, coming in. Based on Yang Guo’s martial skills, there was nothing to fear. It was only that he had to wait, not knowing for certain when the attack was coming. With this slow encroaching, he couldn’t help but felt uncertain and anxious, not knowing how to defend himself. The more enemy came closer, the more he felt like his heart was on fire. Great dangers were approaching step by step. His hand was all tied, waiting for death. Beads of sweat slowly seeped out on his forhead. He thought, “On that day Guo Fu cut my arm off, despite the pains, at least the swordstrike was swift. Being forced to endure a slow blow like this was actually much worse.

After another while, Xiao Long Nu also heard the sound quite clearly and knew in her heart that it was not just an illusion. As dangers were nearing, she wanted to increase the tempo of her inner air, pushing to clear her “Middle Altar” point. But her mind was slightly disturbed, causing her energy flow to go forwards and backwards and almost back up from her chest. And during this time, she hear light footsteps. Then suddenly from the door came ‘sou’‘sou’ whising sounds of four Soul Freezing needings being shot her way.

Right now Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu were no different than average people with no martial skills whatsoever. Luckily, the two of them were prepared. Seeing the poisoned needles shot their way, they dropped backwards at the same time, without seperating their palms. The four needles swiftly passed the sides of their faces. Li Mo Chou still hadn’t figured out that they were circulating energy to heal an injury so she was afraid that they would counter-attack. So she immediately leapt backwards after sending out the poisoned needles. If she hadn’t been afraid and followed up by another four needles, it would have been difficult for the two people to avoid getting hit.

Li Mo Chou only vaguely saw the two people sitting side by side on the chilled jade bed. Missing her first strike, she herself were now quite worried. Seeing that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu didn’t get up to fight back, she still didn’t understand but instead stepped back to the nearby stone door. With a flywhisk in her hand, she coldly said, “The two of you have been well since we last met!”

Yang Guo asked, “What do you want?” Li Mo Chou retorted, “How is it you don’t know what I want?” Yang Guo continued, “You want the Jade Maiden Heart manual, is that it? We’ve secluded ourselves inside Gu Mu, staying away from the outside world. Just go and take it.” Li Mo Chou didn’t know if she should believe him or not so she said, “Bring it!”

This Jade Maiden Heart manual was engraved on the wall in another stone chamber. Yang Guo thought, “I’ll just tell her the truth. The manual was obscure. Let her learn it by slowly pondering over it. We only need some more time for Gu Gu to clear her “Middle Altar” point. At that point, how would killing her be difficult?” But right now Xiao Long Nu’s pulses were wildly fluctuating and so she was leaning on Yang Guo, not saying anything.

Li Mo Chou widened her eyes to observe the two people carefully. In a dark blur, she saw Xiao Long Nu stretching her palms out against Yang Guo’s. Her thought moved and then she immediately understood, “Yang Guo’s arm injury was heavy. And this little person was helping him healing the wound with her internal energy. I’ve arrived at the crical moment during the energy transfer. If I don’t kill them both today, how would I have such a good opportunity like this afterwards?” Even though her deduction was only half right, the fear in her heart immediately disappeared. She jumped up and, with a flywhisk, bored down on the top of Xiao Long Nu.

Feeling a whiff of strong wind coming down on her and stirring up her neat hair, Xiao Long Nu closed her eyes for the coming death. But Yang Guo opened his mouth and blew a gust of energy towards Li Mo Chou’s face. At this time his whole body strength was channeled to help Xiao Long Nu’s clearing her pressure point so the force of air sent out from his mouth was not very strong. But seeing Xiao Long Nu in a dangerous situation, he had to blow out air to disturb the enemy.

Li Mo Chou knew perfectly well that Yang Guo was full of tricks. But as she felt the heat licking her face, she was startled and leapt backwards half a foot. After being defeated by Huang Rong’s wisdom, she’d always been extra careful everywhere, not being rash in trying to hurt the enemy but protecting her own body first. But after leaping back, her face felt nothing unusual. She then shouted, “You want to die?”

With a laugh Yang Guo said, “The other day I lent you a robe, have you come today to return it?” Li Mo Chou thought about the time she fiercely fought with the blacksmith Feng Mo Feng and the clothes on her body were all burnt by the red-hot huge iron hammer. If not for Yang Guo’s robe covering her body, she would have been shamefully distressed. Reasonably speaking, today she couldn’t take the two people’s lives. But after another consideration, she changed her mind. A moment of soft feelings like this would cause her to forever worry about them afterwards. She straightened up her body and slapped out her left palm.

Even in this calamity, Yang Guo still fought for wisdom. He thought about how earlier he and Xiao Long Nu were joking. He once said if both his arms had been broken, she would have had to hold the soles of his feet instead. Then he heard the sound of wind made by a palm as Li Mo Chou’s “Five Poisons Divine Palm” arrived. He had no time to think it over so he immediately lowered his head and lifted his feet up. At the same time he kicked out both feet to get rid of the shoes. He shouted, “Long Er, grab my feet!” and then wielded out his left palm. With a ‘Pa’ sound, his palm made contact with Li Mo Chou’s. Originally he’d passed his whole body strength through Xiao Long Nu’s and right now the energy level was suddenly dropping. He forced out the energy again while matching Li Mo Cho’s palm. All this while, Xiao Long Nu was holding his right foot.

As Li Mo Chou suddenly saw Yang Guo’s strange posture, she couldn’t help being startled. But then she remembered the other day Yang Guo was fighthing her own “Three Without Three Without Hands” strikes and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t beat them. So she immediately increased the palm strength, trying to finish off Yang Guo. Years ago, when she’d used this “Five Poisoned Divine Palm” to slaughter the entire Lu Family, the palm was already incredibly fierce. Now that she had cultivated strength over the years, it became most violent and evil. As Yang Guo sensed the heat passing through his palm, he didn’t resist. Instead he added his own strength and passed the energy on to Xiao Long Nu’s body.

As it turned out, Li Mo Chou and Yang Guo’s combined strength was helping Xiao Long Nu clear her pressure point. Li Mo Chou’s strategic moves were quite inferior to the Yang-Long couple but speaking of cultivated energy, hers was far deeper than the two people’s. Suddenly receiving strong energy, Xiao Long Nu felt that the energy push vigorously through her “Middle Altar” point and that heat filled up her abdomen. Her spirit lifted up and she called out, “Wonderful, many thanks to Shi Zi [Apprentice Elder Sister]!” She let of Yang Guo’s right foot and leapt down from the chilled jade bed.

Li Mo Chou was surprised. She thought Xiao Long Nu was helping Yang Guo heal his injury. So she lashed out her palm strength, thinking to use this opportunity to shock Yang Guo’s energy flow. She hadn’t expected that she would be helping the enemy instead. Delighted, Yang Guo turned his body around and stood there barefoot. With a laugh he said, “If not for you rushing in to help, your Shi Mei [Apprentice Younger Sister] wouldn’t be able to clear her “Middle Altar” point this easily.” Li Mo Chou hesitated and didn’t answer. Suddenly Xiao Long Nu let out an ‘Ah’ sound. Holding her chest, she dropped down on the chilled jade bed. With a startle Yang Guo asked, “What is it?” Xiao Long Nu panted, “Her, her, her palm was poisonous.”

By now Yang Guo also felt dizzy in his head and realized that when Li Mo Chou used her “Five Poisons Divine Palm,” she sent out the poisons from her palm. By matching palms with her, not only the poisons entered his own body, they also passed on to Xiao Long Nu’s.

Yang Guo lifted his black iron sword and shouted, “Quickly take out the antidone!” and chopped down his sword. Li Mo Chou lifted her flywhisk to protect herself. And with a clang, the flywhisk forged from fine steel broke into two pieces. With its supple strength, this flywhisk had defeated who-know-how-many great heroes in the world. But now that it was chopped broken like it’d never been before, she was frightened to the core and hurriedly leapt out of the stone chamber. Yang Guo lifted his sword to pursue and wielded out his left arm. He saw that Li Mo Chou couldn’t hold herself against this sword. But all of a sudden the poisons in his body acted up and he saw stars before his eyes. His arm went soft and painful, with no strength left. With a ‘Dang’ sound, the black iron sword dropped down on the floor.

Li Mo Chou didn’t dare to stop. She fled ten feet ahead and then eventually turned her head back, only to see Yang Guo was shaking violently with his hand against the wall. She thought, “This boy’s martial skills are extremely strange. I’ll wait for a bit for the poisons to bring him down. Then I’ll approach.”

Yang Guo’s throat was dry and painful. His head was swollen and aching. He immediately passed strength to his left arm and waited for Li Mo Chou to come forward. Just one strike would kill her and his palm was holding firm the handle of the black iron sword. Li Mo Chou became frightened again and didn’t dare to approach recklessly. By her calculation, she’d stay where she couldn’t be defeated. And she stood there, carefully observing any change.

Yang Guo thought that if it dragged on like this, the poisons in his and Xiao Long Nu’s body would become stronger. With this delay, the enemy would have the upper hand. So he took a deep breath and circulated his internal flow. When the dizziness stopped, he grasped the handle of the black iron sword and stood up. He extended his arm to hold Xiao Long Nu’s waist and bellowed, “Make way!” and went out in big strides. Seeing his confident air, Li Mo Chou didn’t dare to stop him.

Yang Guo only wanted to get into another stone chamber and close the door so Li Mo Chou couldn’t follow in. Xiao Long Nu had already cleared her pressure points and, in another while, the two of them could force out the poisons in their bodies. This matter was actually a hundred times easier than clearing the pressure points. When Yang Guo was young and was poisoned by Li Mo Chou’s needles, Ou Yang Feng taught him how to expel the poisons. At present the two of them had internal energy like this so getting rid of the poisons was really not difficult.

Li Mo Chou also knew his intention. How could she allow the two people to begin driving out the poisons? She didn’t dare to attack and only kept following them from a safe distance, always five feet away from Yang Guo. Yang Guo stood there and waited for her to come. She also merely stood there motionless.

In his chest that the more Yang Guo’s heart beat, the fiercer the poisons became. He felt as if heart would spill out of his mouth and couldn’t really support himself again. He unstably dashed into a stone chamber and put Xiao Long Nu down on a tabletop. He propped himself against the table and loudly gasped for breath. He knew perfectly well that Li Mo Chou would follow shortly after but couldn’t pay attention. After a little while, he then realized that they’d arrived at the coffin chamber. And the table, that he was propping himself against and that he was just placed Xiao Long Nu’s body on, was really a stone coffin.

At the time Li Mo Chou was a disciple of the sect, she’d lived here at Gu Mu for quite a long time. And even though her knowledge of Gu Mu secret matters was inferior to the Yang-Long couple’s, she could see clearly that there were five stone coffins in the chamber. At the bottom of one of coffins was a door to the secret path, from where she came in. She thought, “Are you thinking about escaping from here? This time it may not be such easy.”

Of the three people, one was sitting; one was standing; and the other was leaning against one’s body. At this time, only the sounds of Yang Guo’s heavy breathings could be heard. Yang Guo’s body was swaying several times. And with a clanking sound, the black iron sword dropped to the floor. Then he tumbled down Xiao Long Nu’s body. His hand threw out something. A ‘Pa’ sound was heard as that thing flew into a empty coffin. He called out, “Li Mo Cho, I can’t let this Jade Maiden Heart manual fall into your hand. Aiyo..” With a long miserable cry, he became motionless.”

There were five stone coffins in this chamber. Three of them contained the bodies of Lin Chao Ying, her disciple, and Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun]. The other two were actually empty. Of these two, one was a door to the secret passage and its lid was left two feet open so people could come in and go out. The other coffin’s lid was left open just a little. As Li Mo Chou saw Yang Guo threw the “Jade Maiden Heart manual” in the this empty coffin, she was pleasantly surprised. But she was still afraid that it would be his trick. Another while passed and he was still motionless. So she bent down to feel his cheek. It was icy cold, meaning he was already dead. With a loud ‘Ha’‘Ha’laugh she said, “Little rascal, even with all your wickedness you also have today!” [meaning he’s dead! I think] Then she stretched out her hand into the coffin to get the manual.

But Yang Guo had thrown the “manual” into the other end of the coffin. Li Mo Chou’s flywhisk had earlier been broken; otherwise she could have used it to sweep it out. She her arm to to grope at it twice but still couldn’t grab it. So she shrank her body and got into the empty stone coffin through this foot-wide opening. She crawled inside the stone coffin to the other end and finally grab the “manual.” Her hand then felt not very wonderful. The manual appeared to be a shoe.”

And by this time, Yang Guo lifted his body up. His left arm dashed out to the front, using the tip of the black iron sword to push the coffin lid. He sent out a ferocious force and the coffin lid was perfectly closed, trapping Li Mo Chou inside the coffin!

From the beginning, Li Mo Chou didn’t know that the “Jade Maiden Heart Manual” was actually a carved stone slab on the ceiling of a stone chamber and always thought it was a book. Yang Guo pretended to cry out in misery, throwing himself on Xiao Long Nu’s body. At the same time, he quickly took off his shoe and threw it into the empty coffin. A soft object landing on a stone sounded just like it was a book. After throwing out the shoe, he immediately reversed his energy flow and turned himself stiff like he was dead. In fact, even if he’d died of poisons, his body wouldn’t have turned icy cold in the blink of an eye like this. When a man’s pulses stopped, it would actually take at least half an hour for his whole body to lose all the heat. Li Mo Chou was so happy that she lost of her power of observation. This plan of his was extremly dangerous. If Li Mo Chou didn’t care if he actually died or not but striked his head with her “Five Poisons Divine Palm” to guarantee his death, his playing dead would unavoidably change into real death. But he was in a desperate situation so he took a desperate measure, hoping for some luck. To his own surprise, it was actually a success.

To push a coffin lid, Yang Guo passed the strength to his left arm and then used his heavy sword to lift it up. Then he shouted, “Up!” and the other empty coffin was raised. A thundering ‘Peng’ sound followed and the coffin crushed down on top of the first coffin. This coffin and lid together weighed six hundred catties something. Adding the bamboo top on the lid, it was extremely secure, with a perfect seam. Even if Li Mo Chou’s martial skills were high, there was no way she could get out in any cases.

After being poisoned, Yang Guo heart was beating fast and his head was hurting. But as they were facing a great enemy, he couldn’t allow himself to be dizzy and entirely relied on his fierce determination to sustain himself. Having used the swords twice to push the coffins, his mind was tired and his strength depleted. He flung down the black iron sword and struggled to walk over to Xiao Long Nu’s side. Using the method of Ou Yang Feng, he first drove out most of the poisons in his body. Then he reached out his hand to match Xiao Long Nu’s and helped her get rid of the poisons.

Guo Fu, Yelu Qi, and the others were trapped in the stone chamber. These people entered the secret passage from the bottom of the creek and the fire kits they carried inside were all soaked and hence difficult to catch fire. They groped around in darkness. How could they possibly find a way out? The five people were at their wits’ end so they just sat there idly on the ground.


Wu Santong was incessantly cursing Li Mochou’s treacherously evil trick. Guo Fu, who was already extremely anxious, heard Wu Santong’s non-stop scolding and became agitated. She couldn’t bear to keep her mouth shut and so she said, “Wu Bobo [Uncle Wu], you knew before that Li Mochou was treacherously evil, how come you didn’t guard against her? What use is cursing when the damage is done?” Wu Santong was startled and couldn’t say anything to respond.

Since the Wu brothers had met Guo Fu again, each was sick at heart. While with the Yelu siblings and Wanyan Ping, everybody was having a good time together but they didn’t really have a chance to talk to Guo Fu directly. This time Wu Xiuwen heard her snapping at his father. He couldn’t bear it and said, “We came to Gu Mu to help your little sister and unfortunately met with a disaster. Everybody is about to perish together like this and you still let out you your lady’s temper...” He was about to continue but then Wu Duiru called out, “Didi! [Younger Brother!]” This time Wu Xiuwen shut up. He spoke out of irritation. But after the words were uttered, he even greatly surprised himself. He’d always complied to Guo Fu’s every wish and in no way would dare to cross her in the slightest. Who would have thought that today he would unexpectedly rebuke her in a severe tone like this?

Guo Fu was also startled. She was going to back talk but couldn’t think of anything to say. She thought about how she would definitely die a sad death inside Gu Mu and from now on wouldn’t be able to see her parents again. Her heart was aching. In the darkness nobody could see anything so she let out a whimpering cry. Hearing her crying, Wu Xiuwen felt sorry and said, “Okay, what I said was wrong. I apologize.” Guo Fu sobbed, “What good is an apology?” and cried even harder. She pulled up a piece of cloth by her hand to blow her nose. Then she realized that she was leaning against someone’s leg and the cloth she used to wipe her nose was shockingly that person’s gown.

Guo Fu was alarmed and hurriedly sat up. She heard Wu Santong and his sons speaking and knew that the three people didn’t sit by her side. There left only Yelu Qi who had been keeping silent. So that person naturally was him. Her face reddened and she babbled, “I.. ..”


Yelu Qi suddenly said, “Listen, what sound is that?” The four people tilted their heads to listen but couldn’t hear anything. Yelu Qi said, “Hmm, it is a baby crying. Guo Guniang [Miss Guo], that must be your little sister.” This sound traveled through a stone wall and was particularly feeble. If not for his cultivated internal strength that heightened his aural sense, he wouldn’t be able to hear it. As he got up and walked a few steps, the crying sound immediately weakened. He figured out, “Since the baby’s cry can pass through, this stone chamber must have a ventilation place.” Immediately he concentrated to listen, trying to identify where the cry spreaded from.

He walked a few steps to the west, the crying sound slightly weakened. He turned back to the east, the crying was louder. Then he dashed towards the northeast and heard the sound quite clearly. So he walked to the northeast corner and extended his sword to hit the stone wall lightly. The ‘kong-kong-kong’ sounds were slightly different as if the wall there was specially thin. He resheathed his sword and used both palms to push out against the stones but nothing moved. He took a deep breath and sent his strength to both palms, using the “stick” technique. The strength was sent out, making a crashing sound. That stone chunk was indeed drawn out by the strength of his palm and fell on the ground.

Guo Fu and the others were pleasantly surprised. They cheered out loud in one voice and scrambled forwards to pull out three chunks of stones. This time a body could pass through and the many people got out one by one. Following the sound, they entered a small stone chamber. In the darkness, Guo Fu heard that baby crying out extremely loudly and stretched her hand out to hug her immediately.

This baby was of course Guo Xiang. As Yang Guo was helping Xiao Longnu to clear her pressure points and also fighting with Li Mochou, he missed the baby’s feeding time, causing her to cry out fiercely. Guo Fu did all she could to coax the baby, both patting and rocking her. But Guo Xiang, with someone holding her, cried even harder. Guo Fu ran out of patience and gave her to Wu Santong. She said, “Wu Bobo [Uncle Wu], please take a look what’s wrong with her.”

Yelu Qi traced his hand on a table and found a candle, along with a knife and flint. He immediately lit the candle. The many people had been in the gloomy darkness for a very long time. Now appeared a sudden light. They were all overjoyed and cried out in delight.

Wu Santong actually had sons. Hearing Guo Xiang crying like this, he knew that she was hungry. On the table, he saw the fine bee syrup water and a small wood-carved spoon so he scooped up the syrup water to feed her. As it passed through her mouth, Guo Xiang stopped crying as expected. Yelu Qi laughed and said, “If not for little Miss Guo’s crying out of hunger, I’m afraid we’d all have to die in that stone chamber.”

Wu Santong bitterly said, “We’d better go find Li Mochou.” Then each person broke off the legs of the table and chairs and lit the fire to make torches to be used on their way. At every corner, Wu Duiru used his sword tip to make a mark for fear that they would get lost on their way back.

As the five people entered a room, there was also another room. They raised their torches to search for Li Mochou’s traces and saw that this ancient tomb was gigantic, with winding corridors and great many rooms. All were endlessly amazed. Nobody could have expected that a magnificent construction like this would be hidden under a small mountain creek.

Then they entered Xiao Longnu’s bed chamber and saw several Soul Freezing needles lying on the floor. Guo Fu wrapped her hand with a piece of cloth and picked up two needles. She said, “This time I will return these poisoned needles to the evil witch.”

As Yang Guo used his internal energy to help Xiao Longnu expel the poisons, he saw dark liquid slowly seeping out from the five fingertips on her left hand. Only that it would take a while to remove all the poisons. Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor. There were five people coming in total. Yang Guo was secretly startled and thought that the enemies always came to attack at every critical moment. Li Mochou alone had been difficult enough. How would he deal with five people? Xiao Long Nu had just cleared her pressure points and her internal energy was weak. If the poisons weren’t driven out immediately, they were bound to enter her pressure points and spreaded out. Suddenly he saw lights flashing from the distance. Those five people were moving closer. Yang Guo then reached out his arm to carry Xiao Longnu and then jumped onto the empty coffin that was on top of Li Mochou. He pushed open the coffin lid with his palm.

The two people were hiding in the coffin when Yelu Qi and the others came in. Seeing that there were five coffins in the room, the five people all became startled, faintly feeling that this was too big a coincidence and a bad omen. Guo Fu couldn’t bear it and said, “Hmmph, there are five of us here and there are five coffins!”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu inside the stone coffin heard Guo Fu’s voice. Puzzled, they thought, “How come she’s here?” Yang Guo’s left hand had never left Xiao Longnu’s palm, still forcing out the poisons. He heard that Guo Fu was among the five people. Even though surprised, he was relieved, thinking that she wouldn’t dare to take advantange of someone in a precarious situation. So he said nothing and kept concentrating on sending out his energy to expel the poisons.

Yelu Qi already heard the breathing sound from the stone coffin and thought it was Li Mochou who hid in there with a devious trick. This time he wouldn’t be fooled again and so he immediately made a hand signal, calling the four people to surround the coffin. Guo Fu noticed that the coffin lid and the coffin itself were not aligned and she could see the hem of a gown through the crack. She concluded that it was Li Mochou hiding in there. She laughed and thought, “I’m going to pay you back in your own coin!” She used her energy to push the coffin lid with her left palm and then fiercely shot out the two Soul Freezing needles.

These two needles were sent out at close range. Also, there was no room in the coffin to move aside. The Yang Long couple cried out in surprise, “Ayo!” One needle hit Yang Guo’s right leg while the other struck Xiao Longnu’s left shoulder.

Having sent out the needles, Guo Fu was very pleased with herself. But then she actually heard the surprised cries from a man and a woman inside the coffin. Her heart jumped and she also let out an ‘Ayo’ cry. Yelu Qi kicked out his left leg. There came a crashing sound while the coffin lid fell down on the floor. With a tremble, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu stood up tall. Under the torch lights, the two people’s faces were pale as they sadly looked at each other.

Guo Fu didn’t know that this time she herself had created a bigger disaster than cutting off Yang Guo’s arm and only felt slightly sorry. She said apologetically, “Yang Dage [Big Brother Yang], Long Zizi [Elder Sister Long], little sister didn’t know it was you two and accidentally shot out the needles. Luckily, my mother has the antidote to this poison. Years ago, my pet condors were injured by Li Mochou’s needles and it was mother who cured them. Why were you hiding inside the coffin? Who would have thought it was the two of you?”

She thought about how she herself had cut off Yang Guo’s arm and how he’d bent her sword. She figured that they were about even. Let alone the fact that her mother had already scolded her vehemently for this. She mused, “I didn’t come to blame you. That should be enough.” She’d always had an upper hand since childhood. Others looked up to her parents and always gave in to her. Therefore, she only thought about herself and didn’t take other people into consideration. Speaking in retrospect, the Yang-Long couple were not supposed to be hiding in the coffin and therefore gave her a fright. She would not have thought that at the time Xiao Longnu was hit by the silver needle, the poisons inside her body had just stopped flowing out. Suddenly she was violently hit like this, the poisons from the “Five Poisons Divine Palm” all flew backwards, entering the major pressure points on her whole body. This time even if there were a divine pill of immortality, there wouldn’t have been a way to save her. Li Mochou’s silver needle inflicted no more than a flesh wound and, with a proper treatment, one could be cured. However, the poisons inside her were severe beyond reasoning.

Xiao Longnu was still for a moment but then she felt as if her chest was empty like there was nothing inside and her heart went missing. Then she turned her head to look at Yang Guo and saw in his eyes a heartache, a combination of grief and indignation. His whole body was trembling. He looked as if the lifetime of sadness and abuse all came out at this time. Xiao Longnu couldn’t bear to see him bitter and miserable like this so she gently said, “Guo Er, our destiny is like this. Let’s not resent other people. Don’t be so bitter.” She then stretched out her hand to pull out the silver needle from his leg and then later the other poisoned needle from her shoulder. Unlike the Five Poisons Divine Palm that Li Mochou had created herself, the Soul Freezing needles were passed on by her ancestor master and so she carried the antidote with her. She gave Yang Guo one grain and she herself took another. Filled with immense hatred, Yang Guo made a sound and spat out the antidote onto the ground.

Guo Fu angrily said, “Ayo, very big of you. Is this to say I came here to harm you on purpose? I did apologize and that should be enough. What’s with the temper? They were only two small needles. What’s a big deal?” Wu Santong saw the sad expression on Yang Guo’s face gradually concealed and replaced by a rising anger. He also saw him picking up the shiny big black sword from the ground. Knowing something was not right, he quickly went forward and coaxed, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], please don’t be upset. The five of us were trapped inside a stone chamber by Li Mochou and escaped with great difficulty. Guo Guniang [Miss Guo] was rash, mistaking.. ..”

Guo Fu butted in, “What? Was I rash? You yourself also thought it was Li Mochou. If not, why haven’t you said something?” Wu Santong eyed Yang Guo and then looked at Guo Fu, not knowing how to appease them.

Xiao Longnu took out another grain of antidote and in a low voice she said, “Guo Er, take the antidote. Don’t you listen to my words anymore?” Hearing Xiao Longnu’s gentle urge, Yang Guo opened his mouth and swallowed. He thought about how the two of them wrestled with life and death with difficulty for the last few days and how finally it was all for nothing. He couldn’t bear it any longer and suddenly knelt down to loudly cry on the stone coffin.

Wu Santong and the others looked at one another in blank dismay. All were thinking that he had always been extremely strong and full of spirit. How come today, after being hit by just a small needle, he was weeping so bitterly like this?

Xiao Longnu reached out her hand to stroke Yang Guo’s hair and said, “Guo Er, you tell them to go. I don’t like them in here.” The plain sentence “I don’t like them in here” already contained her biggest hatred and resentment.

Yang Guo stood up. His eyes began with Guo Fu and then scanned the people one by one. Even though he was extremely angry and hateful, he eventually realized that Guo Fu’s launching the silver needles was an inadvertent mistake. Except blaming her for being rash, he couldn’t say she was wrong. Let alone the fact that even if he used the sword to split her open, he still wouldn’t be able to save Xiao Longnu’s life. He picked up his sword with rage in his eyes. Suddenly he raised his black iron heavy sword and there came a thundering sound and flying sparks. Surprisingly he only chopped the stone coffin they were hiding in earlier into two sections. This strike was executed not only out of male strength, but also out of bottomless grief and indignation.

Seeing his strike to be this incredibly powerful, Guo Fu and the others couldn’t help becoming startled. They saw with their own eyes how thick and heavy the coffin was. It was chiseled from granite. To break it into two pieces, a stone mason using a big axe to cut it for half a day still wouldn’t be able to do it. If Yang Guo had used a large mountain-cutting axe or a thick machete, it might have been conceivable. But long swords were originally light and quick weapons, which were treasured for their sharp blades. If colliding with a solid stone like this, they would immediately snap. Who would have thought that this sword could cut through a stone like it was clay. As soon as the blade dropped, the coffin broke.

Yang Guo saw the five people looking at each other in alarm. He then fiercely bellowed, “What did you come here for?” Wu Santong answered, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], we followed Guo Furen [Madame Guo] to come look for you.” Yang Guo angrily retorted, “You came here to bring back her daughter, didn’t you? To get this little baby, you were willing to kill my dear wife.” Wu Santong was startled and said, “Kill your dear wife? Eh, that is Long Guniang [Miss Long].” Then he noticed that Xiao Longnu was wearing a bridal gown and immediately understood. He quickly said, “Your wife was hit by a poisoned needle. Guo Furen [Madame Guo]’s got the antidote. She is just outside.” Yang Guo made a spitting sound and shouted, “You people came in to cause ruckus like this, the poisons in her body turned to attack all her major pressure points. What would Guo Furen [Madame Guo] do? Does she have the skill to bring back the dead?” Wu Santong owed Yang Guo for saving his sons and therefore was extremely respectful of him. Although hearing him lashing out an accusation like this, he didn’t think to be defiant in the least bit. He only mumbled, “The poisons turned to attack all her major pressure points. This is no good.”

By the side, Guo Fu was getting mad. She heard Yang Guo speaking disrespectfully of her mother and flew into a rage. She shouted, “What has my mother done to you? At the time you were young, you were homeless. Wasn’t it my mother who sheltered you? She fed you. You.. Hmmph.. Instead, you turned out to be ungrateful and stole my little sister.” By this time, she had already known that even though her sister fell into Yang Guo’s hand, he had no evil intention. But as she was in a verbal fight with him, she didn’t think about what could or couldn’t be said and brought up this issue.

Yang Guo sneered and said, “Right, today I am ungrateful. You said I stole this child. I’ll take her and forever never return. How will you catch me?” Guo Fu tightened her left arm and firmly held her little sister. With her right arm, she raised the torch high to block the front part of her body. Wu Santong anxiously said, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], your wife has been poisoned. We must soon detoxify the poisons..”

Yang Guo bitterly responded, “Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], it’s useless.” Suddenly he let out a long, loud roar and sent out his right sleeve. Guo Fu and the others all sensed a gust of wind blowing their way and their faces felt burning hot and painful like being scraped by a blade. The five torches were blown out and so the place immediately turned pitch black. They all gave out a loud ‘Ayo!’ cry. Yelu Qi was afraid that Yang Guo would hurt her so he jumped forward, only to hear Guo Xiang’s wailing from outside of the stone chamber. The many people were all suddenly alarmed. The wailing sound was already 20-30 feet away. They were moving fast, just like spirits.

Guo Fu cried out, “He snatched my little sister.” Wu Santong called out, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], Long Guniang [Miss Long]! Yang Xiongdi, Long Guniang!” How could there be anyone to answer him? They all had no light and in the darkness couldn’t see what was going on. Yelu Qi said, “We must get out of here quick. Don’t let him close us in right here.” Wu Santong indignantly said, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang] was very kind and very righteous, why did he do this?” Guo Fu retorted, “His being kind and righteous.. .. We should go quick. What are we waiting here for?” Having said those few words, she suddenly heard two ‘ka-ka’ sounds from inside a stone coffin. And since the sounds were muffled by the coffin lid, they appeared really melancholy.

“There’s a ghost!” Guo Fu screamed, pulling Yelu Qi’s arm which was nearby. Wu Santong and the others clearly heard that the sounds came from inside the coffin as if a corpse was scrambling to get out. In the darkness, everybody was absolutely terrified.

Yelu Qi said to Wu Santong in a low voice, “Wu Shushu [Uncle Wu], you stay here. I’ll go overthere. If a corpse comes out, we’ll use our four palms to beat him to pulp. Then he grasped Guo Fu by her wrist and pulled her to stand behind his body for fear that the ghost would get up to harm people.

Then they heard a sudden sound of something flying out of the coffin. Wu Santong and Yelu Qi had earlier prepared to send out their energy. As they heard the whooshing sound, they lashed out their strikes. When the two people’s hands made contact with that thing, they together cried out, “Wretched!” What they actually hit was a chunk of long stone, which was laid in the coffin as a stone pillow. The two people used their whole strength in the attack. As that stone chunk was fiercely hit, it dropped onto the stone coffin and smashed it into flying fragments. The stone pillow itself split into several pieces. At the same time, there was another whooshing sound of something flying past them. Wu Santong and Yelu Qi were about to raise their palms to attack again but that thing had already floated away from them. They heard a ‘hei-hei’ cold laugh and then immediately came a bleak silence.

“Li Mochou!” Wu Santong said with a startle. Guo Fu cried out, “No, that was the corpse! How would Li Mochou be inside the coffin?” Yelu Qi let out a groan with his mouth hanging open. He didn’t believe that there were ghosts in the world but to think that it was Li Mochou was actually quite unreasonable. Obviously she and he himself came in together while Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu had actually been inside Gu Mu for many days. How could she be right under the Yang Long couple’s coffin? Wu Santong said, “Then where has Li Mochou gone to?” Yelu Qi said, “Everything inside the tomb is becoming weird. Let us get out of here first.” Guo Fu asked, “What should we do about my little sister?” Wu Santong then said, “We ran into a dead end but your mother will surely have a great plan. Let’s go out and ask her what to do.”

So the many people searched for a way out and returned to the mountain creek. From under the water, all they saw was red. The woods on both sides of the creek had caught fire and hot steams were attacking them. Horrified, Guo Fu called out, “Ma, Ma!” but didn’t hear any reply. Suddenly on the bank a big burning tree toppled down. Yelu Qi pulled her up and quickly jumped upstream, just in time to dodge the danger. It was deep winter at this time of year and all the plants were dried out and withering. So the mountain became a sea of fire. Even though the five people were soaked in the middle of the creek, the big fires were encroaching and their faces felt boiling hot.

Wu Santong said, “The Mongolian army must have been attacking the Chongyang Palace. They suffered defeat and then set fire to the mountain to vent their anger. Guo Fu worriedly cried out, “Ma, Ma! Where are you?” Suddenly on the left side of the creek she saw a woman figure skipping around to avoid the flames. “Ma, Ma! She cried out in delight and jumped up from the water to rush ahead. “Be careful!” Wu Santong called out after her and there suddenly came chaotic ‘ka-la’ sounds. Two big trees fell down, blocking his view.

Guo Fu rushed through the smoke and fires. At this time she was still in the water. First she thought about her mother. Second, she just came out of the darkness inside Gu Mu and into the sudden brightness. Her eyes couldn’t adjust and so she couldn't see things very clearly. As she got closer, she then realized that the back side of that figure didn’t seem right. She became startled. And when that person turned her body around, unexpectedly it was Li Mochou.

Earlier Li Mochou was trapped under the stone coffin by Yang Guo and had no way to get out. But afterwards Yang Guo struck the top coffin out of anger, causing the coffin lid below to also crack. She therefore escaped death by throwing out the stone pillow and leaping out after it.

Even though she was confined inside the coffin for less than an hour, she got a taste of what it was like being suffocated to death inside a coffin, which was truly the most painful and miserable situation. During this short period of time, she clenched her jaws, detesting every living person in the world. She thought to herself, “After I die, I must become an evil spirit. I will kill Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu, Wu Santong, Huang Rong.. ..” Not discriminating who it was, all she wanted was to kill everybody. Although she could escape by luck later, the hatred in her heart was actually not lightened. Suddenly seeing Guo Fu, she let out a smile and gently said, “Guo Guniang [Miss Guo], it’s you. The fires are burning with such ferocity. You must be careful.”

Guo Fu saw her friendly expression and was quite relieved. So she asked, “Did you see my mother?” Li Mochou moved a few steps closer and pointed to the left. She said, “She went that way, didn’t she?” Guo Fu looked towards the direction she just pointed. Li Mochou suddenly closed in and reached out to seal a pressure point below her waist. With a laugh she said, “Don’t worry. Your mother will come look for you.” She saw that the fires were nearing from all directions. If she was delayed again, her own life would be in danger. She jumped up and took off towards the west. Guo Fu was left paralyzed on the ground, only hearing the chilling sound of Li Mochou’s singing from behind the vilolent flames. She sang, “I ask the world. What is this love that makes people live and die for?”

The singing gradually faded away and the wind suddenly blew a thick plume of smoke, enveloping Guo Fu. She couldn’t move all her four limbs and so, choking in the smoke, she coughed out loudly. The Wu father and sons and Yelu Qi were standing midstream, with burning ashes filling their heads. Between the small creek and Guo Fu was a raging fire twenty-feet high. They knew perfectly well that Guo Fu was in imminent danger but if they were to go in and rescue her, they would only accompany her in death and so they couldn’t come up with a plan to save her.

In the smoke Guo Fu was disoriented and about to faint. She was so frightened that she couldn’t even cry out. Suddenly she heard someone’s shouting from the east side so she turned her head, only to see a whirlwind that wrapped around a gray shadow coming towards her. Wherever the spinning wind passed through, the fire would split open into two sections. That whirlwind reached her in just a short while. The shadow inside was of course Yang Guo. Guo Fu originally thought it was someone coming to rescue her and was delighted. But then she clearly saw that it was actually Yang Guo. Even though it was broiling hot outside, in her heart she felt as if she was drenched with cold water. She thought to herself, “I’m about to die and now he had to come to ridicule and humiliate me.” After all she was a daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong so she just viciously stared at Yang Guo and surprisingly was not afraid in the least bit.

Yang Guo rushed to her side, thrusting his sword at the area below her waist. “Be careful!” He shouted and wielded out his left arm. With his vigorous internal energy sending through the black iron sword, Guo Fu felt like she was riding a cloud while flying away in midair. She went over ten big trees that were burning and sending flames into the sky. And then with a splash, she fell into the creek. Yelu Qi quickly rushed forwards to support her and unseal her pressure point. Guo Fu was confused and disoriented. And after a while, she was weeping like a baby.

Originally Yang Guo brought Xiao Longnu and Guo Xiang out of the tomb and saw the Mongolian soldiers setting fire to the mountain. The Yang-Long two people had spent great many years together among these big trees and flowers. Suddenly seeing the fires, they really felt pains and regret. But the army was big and powerful and they had no way to fight them. Yang Guo didn’t know how long Xiao Longnu would last after the poisons had entered her major pressure points so he found a small cave covered with thatches to hide in temporarily.

A short while passed. From the distance they saw that Guo Fu was hurt by Li Mochou and the raging fires were about to burn her body. Yang Guo said, “Long Er, this girl not only harmed me, but also had to come to hurt you. Today, she’s finally getting what she deserves.” With a bright glow in her eyes, Xiao Longnu gazed at him and asked in bewilderment, “Guo Er, are you saying you aren’t gonna go and save her?” Yang Guo bitterly replied, “She’s hurt us like this and yet I'm not killing her with my own hand. I’m already doing right by her parents.” With a sigh Xiao Longnu said, “We are unfortunate. That is our brutal fate. If we could make other people happy, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Despite Yang Guo’s saying all these things, when seeing that the big fires were about to reach Guo Fu, he eventually couldn’t bear it and harshly said, “Great! Our fate is brutal. Everybody else’s is fine!” Then he soaked the long gown on this body and strapped on the black iron sword. He quickly conjured up his internal energy and from the sword created a whirlwind that blew away the raging fires. Then he sent Guo Fu out of danger. After that he returned to Xiao Longnu’s side. The hair on his head and his gown were all licked by the fires. His pants were on fire and even though he quickly put it out, the burnt areas on his legs already had countless blisters.

Xiao Longnu was carrying Guo Xiang and they retreated to the thatches they were hiding in earlier. While she stretched out her hand to tidy Yang Guo’s hair and clothes, she only felt that she had married such a heroic husband. She couldn’t restrain the pride in her heart. Standing in between the strong winds and the roaring flames, she leaned on Yang Guo and her face revealed a peaceful and joyous expression. Yang Guo focused his eyes on her, only to see that the big flames were bringing red to her cheeks, multiplying her delicate beauty and so he placed his arm around her waist. During this slice of time, the two people conveniently forgot all the sufferings and sorrows in the world.

The two people were standing in a high place. The Wu father and sons, Guo Fu and Yelu Qi five people, who were standing in the middle of the creek to avoid the fires, looked up and saw the married couple, with floating clothes and solemn postures. They looked just like dieties among mortals. Guo Fu had always looked down on Yang Guo but this time she suddenly felt inferior.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu stood there for a moment. Xiao Longnu gazed at the blazing fires on the mountain. She sighed and said, “This place is being burnt down to the ground. It will take a long time for the flowers, plants, and trees to grow back. Do you think in the future there will ever be a beautiful scene again?” Yang Guo didn’t want her to feel bad for these things so with a smile he said, “We are newly wed. The Mongolian army set fires to congratulate us. How would they not use tons and tons flowers as candles? Xiao Longnu giggled. Yang Guo then said, “Let’s go rest in that cave. How do you feel?” Xiao Longnu replied, “I’m still okay.” Then, side by side, the two people walked off towards the back of the mountain.

Suddenly Wu Santong remembered something. He raised his voice and called out, “Yang Xiongdi [Brother Yang], my master and Zhu Shidi [Apprentice Brother Zhu] have been trapped in the Passionless valley [Jueqing Gu]. Are you gonna go and rescue them?” Yang Guo was startled and didn’t reply. He spoke to himself, “How am I still involved in these many things?”

He was deep in thought but for a while his feet didn’t stop. They walked to the back of the mountain where it was all rocky and nothing grew. Although Xiao Longnu’s poisons were severe, at this time they were yet to act up. Her pressure points had earlier been cleared so her martial skills were gradually coming back. With Guo Xiang in her arms, she walked quickly along the way. After walking for half an hour, the two people were already far away from the Chongyang Palace. And when they turned their heads to look back, the big fires were burning so intense that half the sky was glowing red.

The north wind was blowing more and more heavily. It was so cold that Guo Xiang’s small face became red like an apple. Xiao Longnu said, “We must go look for something to eat. The child is both cold and hungry. I’m afraid that she won’t be able to stand it.” Yang Guo then said, “I was really foolish. I don’t know why I snatched the baby and caused us an unnecessary burden.” Xiao Longnu bent down to kiss Guo Xiang’s face and said, “This little sister is very lovable. Don’t you like her?” Yang Guo laughed and said, “What’s so special about other people's children? Of course except we both make one ourselves.” Xiao Longnu face turned red. Yang Guo’s words touched a mother's instinct deep in her heart. She thought to herself, “Only if I could give you a child.. .. Alas, how would I have such a good fortune?”

For fear that she would be sad, Yang Guo didn’t dare to look her in the eyes. Instead, he lifted his head to check the weather and then saw that the northwest sky was low and heavy as if it would crush down any minute. He said, “Looks like today it will snow heavily. We’d better stay overnight in someone's home.” When they were evading the fires, they walked down the back of the mountain to a remote and uncultivated no-road area that was filled with scattered rock piles and thorny bushes. They climbed up to the high ground and looked in all directions. Unexpectedly there was no smoke from a house within a ten-mile radius. Yang Guo said, “The snow definitely won’t be light. If we get snowed in on the mountain, that could be pretty bad. Let’s push a little harder. Today we must get off the mountain.”

Then Xiao Longnu asked, “Do you think Uncle Wu and Guo Guniang [Miss Guo] would run into the Mongolian army? And could the Taoist priests from the Quan Zhen sect get away with their lives?” While saying this, she was genuinely concerned about these people. Yang Guo said, “Your conscience is really too good. These people have wronged you and yet you still don’t forget all about them. No wonder years ago your master realized that your conscience was too good. Afraid that you’d be miserable later on, she had you practice cutting off all emotions and desires, not involving yourself in all matters. Yet you’ve been caring for me, wasting your over-ten-year practice. You are also concerned about everybody.”

Xiao Longnu faintly smiled and said, “Is that so? I’ve made your life miserable. In bitterness there is sweetness. My worst fear is that you wouldn’t want me to be concerned about you.” Yang Guo said, “That’s right. The more bitter, the sweeter. It’s much better than no pain and no gain. I can be madly crazy but can’t stand too many of quiet and peaceful days.” Xiao Longnu giggled and said, “Didn’t you say we’d go south to farm, raise some chickens, and enjoy the sun? Yang Guo sighed and said, “I only hope we can always be like this.”

They walked for another several miles and then the empty sky was filled with flying snow. At the beginning it was quite light but then the north wind gradually picked up and the more it snowed the heavier it became. The two people knew they couldn’t set their mind at ease so after the blizzard, they were using their lightness skills to rush ahead.

Xiao Longnu suddenly asked, “Guo Er, where do you think my shizi [Apprentice Sister] has gone to?” Yang Guo responded, “You are still worried about her. We didn’t kill her this time and don’t know.. and don’t know..” He originally was going to say “and don’t know if we will be able to when we run into her again” but he was afraid that he’d give Xiao Longnu grief so he decided not to say it. Xiao Longnu said, “Shizi [Apprentice sister] is actually a very pitiful person.” Yang Guo said, “She isn’t willing to be pitiful alone but determines to make everybody in the world miserable like herself.”

While they were saying this, the sky became even gloomier. But as they came around the corner of the mountain, they suddenly saw a tiny little wooden house between two big pine trees. Several inches of thick white snow were accumulating on its roof.

Yang Guo said in delight, “Great. Let us stop here tonight.” They rushed forward but noticed that the door was left ajar, with no trail of footprints on the snow outside the house. In a clear voice he said, “We passers-by were out here in the snow. May we stay overnight at your place?” A while passed and there was no reply from inside the house.

Yang Guo pushed the door open and saw that there was noone inside. All the tables and benches were covered in dust, indicating that noone had occupied this place for a long time. He then called Xiao Longnu to enter the house. She shut the door and started a fire. An arrow was hung on a wooden wall and there was a rabbit snare in one corner of the room. It looked like this place was a temporary hunting shack. In another room there was a bed, with several already tattered wolf skins piling on top. Yang Guo picked up the arrow and went out to shoot a deer. When he came back, he skinned and dressed it. He used the snow to scrub it clean and then roasted it over the fire.

At this time it snowed even harder outside. But the fire was burning bright inside the house, making it warm like Spring. Xiao Longnu chewed the deer meat before feeding it to Guo Xiang. While flipping the meat back and forth over the fire, Yang Guo looked at the two of them with a smile.

The fire was gently crackling. The room was filled with the smell of roasted meat. A small shack on the wild mountain was indeed a warm and deliciously smelling world.

End of Chapter 29

[Han Solo]

Chapter 30 – Strange Encounters [p.1-35]

Translated by BeeDreamer

Again this quiet and peaceful moment didn’t last very long. Just a little while after Guo Xiang fell asleep, from the east came the distant “ca-ca-ca” sounds of someone walking on the snow in quick steps. Yang Guo stood up and gazed out from the east side window. Then he saw that on the snowy ground were two old men walking side by side. One was fat, and the other was thin. And with their ragged clothes, they looked just like people from the beggar clan. Stranded in the snow, they had to be looking for a place to rest their feet. At this time Yang Guo didn’t want to meet any people and specially detested those from Wulin [the martial world]. He turned around and said, “There are people outside. You should go sleep in the bedroom, pretending to be sick.” Xiao Longnu picked up Guo Xiang and went into the bedroom to lie down in bed as suggested. Then she pulled up a tattered wolf skin from the edge of the bed to cover her body.

Yang Guo scooped up some firewood ash and wiped it all over his face and neck. He pulled the hat lower over his face and hid his black iron sword inside a room. Then he heard the two people coming close and knocking on the door. He randomly smeared deer grease on his gown to make him look like a hunter and then went to open the door.

That fat old beggar said, “The snow is coming down heavily in the mountain. It is really miserable out here. May we ask the gentleman to let us beggars stay in your house tonight?” Yang Guo replied, “We are just a hunting family. How could senior call me a gentleman? You may stay here for the night.“ That fat old beggar then thanked him profusely. Yang Guo recalled how he once displayed himself at a hero meeting and didn’t want to be recognized by them. So he ripped two strips of meat from the roasted deer leg, handed them to the two people, and said, “There are so many things to do to survive in the snow. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow to catch a fox. I’m afraid I can’t keep you two company.” The fat old beggar replied, “Please do as you please, little gentleman.”

Then in a coarse tone Yang Guo said, “Old wife, how’s your cough?” Xiao Longnu replied, “It’s the weather change. My chest hurts.” While saying that, she let out a loud cough and her hand gently shook Guo Xiang to wake her up.The sound of a coughing woman was mixed with that of a crying baby and so the three of them really presented a perfect picture of a hunting household.

Yang Guo walked into the bedroom and banged the door shut after him. He lied down in bed next to Xiao Longnu and thought to himself, “This fat beggar looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?” But still he couldn’t remember.

The fat and thin beggars thought that Yang Guo was really a poor hunter living on a wild mountain and didn’t suspect anything at all. While eating the deer leg, they started talking. The thin beggar said, “Today Mount Zhongnan was blasted to the sky. That was well done.” With a laugh the fat beggar added, “The Mongolian royal army is attacking from east to west and defeating all the enemies under the sky. Wiping out those little Quan Zhen taoists was as easy as crushing an ant nest.” The thin beggar said, “But just recently Jinlun Fawang suffered quite a loss. That was difficult enough.” The fat beggar laughingly said, “That's even better. It will let the prince know that he must depend on the Chinese to conquer the beautiful homeland of China. Using only the Mongolians and the Western warriors isn't enough.” The thin beggar then said, “Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], when this business of establishing the southern beggar clan is all done, how is the Mongolian emperor going to reward you?”

Having heard this, Yang Guo suddenly remembered something. He'd seen this old fat beggar at the Dashengguan hero banquet but at that time the beggar was dressed in Mongolian attire with a fur coat, and he was whispering advice to Jinlun Fawang. It was this person. So he thought to himself, “These two fellows are actually the country’s traitors. I will just quickly get rid of them to avoid causing any disturbance here.”

This fat old beggar was precisely one of the four big elders of the beggar clan, Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], who had earlier fallen to the Mongols. Yang Guo heard him continue, “The emperor will bestow on me the position of “Chief General of the Southern Province” but, you know, they say ‘Beg for three years and the emperor still might not see it.’ We are members of the beggar clan. Why would we still want to be a government official?” But while saying this, his tone actually revealed a fervent desire for the position. The thin beggar said, “Let me congratulate you in advance.” Peng Zhanglao chuckled and said, “Your accomplishments during these many years are not lacking. Naturally, your own reward won’t be small either.”

That thin beggar said, “I don’t wish to become a public official. Only that you’ve promised to teach me the great soul absorbing technique. When will you pass it on to me?” Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] replied, “Wait until the southern beggar clan is established and I become the chief of the clan. Both of us will have a lot of free time. Then I will definitely pass it on to you.” The thin beggar said, “By then you’ll be the chief of the southern beggar clan and also the Mongolian chief general of the southern province. You would only be even busier. How would you have any free time?” With a laugh Peng Zhanglao said, “Laodi [Old little brother], is that to say you still don’t trust your big brother?” That thin beggar said nothing and snorted, showing that he didn’t believe him. Yang Guo thought to himself, “There’s only one beggar clan in the world and it’s never been divided into northern and southern sects. His planning to set up this southern beggar clan must be a devious scheme to help the Mongols.”

The thin beggar continued, “Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], you’ve promised someone something. Sooner or later you’ve got to do it. You senior keep putting it off, disappointing other people. Peng Zhanglao blandly asked, “What would you do then?” The thin beggar retorted, “What would I do? My martial skills are low. My courage is small. I don’t have any great skills. But I’ve been accompanying you, helping you deceiving numerous sect brothers. Later on when Chief Huang and Chief Lu come to investigate, I think I’ll tremble with fear and spill out everything to wash my hands from this mud. Yang Guo thought, “The thin beggar doesn’t want to live. How could he dare say such thing? That Peng Zhanglao has a lofty aspiration and an evil and cold-blooded nature. You’re really both venomous and foolish.” Peng Zhanglao let out a ‘ha-ha’ laugh and said, “We’ll discuss this over time. You don’t have to worry.” The thin beggar didn’t say a word. But after a while he said, “One tiny deer leg is not filling. I’ll go out and get more food.” While saying that he took down the arrow from the wall and pushed the door open.

Yang Guo looked through a crack in the wall and saw that as soon as that thin beggar went out the door, Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] straightened up his body, drawing out a short knife and hiding it behind the door. He then heard the sounds of footsteps moving towards the west and disappearing out of the door. With a chuckle Yang Guo told Xiao Longnu, “This pair of beggars are about to kill each other, saving us a lot of trouble. That fat beggar is very dangerous. That thin one is definitely not his match. Xiao Longnu said, “It’ll be best if the two of them don’t come back. This house is quite peaceful. I don’t want people to come and disturb us. “Right,” said Yang Guo. Suddenly he lowered his voice, “I hear the sounds of footsteps.” They then heard someone making a detour around the mountain side and come back behind the house.

With a faint smile Yang Guo said, “That thin old man’s come back to sneak attack.” He pushed the window open and gently leapt out. Then he saw that thin beggar crouching down to peep through a crack in the wall. He didn’t see a trace of Peng Zhanglao, as if that beggar hadn’t yet come up with a plan. Yang Guo walked up behind the thin man and said with a laugh,“Hey!”

Taken by surprise, the thin beggar snapped his head back, thinking that it was Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] sneaking up behind him. His face looked alarmed and terrified. “Don’t fear. Don’t fear.” Yang Guo said and reached out to press the three pressure points -- on his chest, below his ribs, and on his leg. Then he moved the thin beggar to the front door. Before his eyes was a vast field of white deep snow. A child in him sprang up and so he called out, “Long Er, quickly come help me build a snowman.” He scooped up the white snow on the ground and started piling it onto that thin beggar’s body. Xiao Longnu came out of the house to help. Merrily, the two of them worked on the snowman and a short while later that beggar was thoroughly covered with the white snow. Except the pair of eyeballs that could still move, the thin beggar turned into an extremely fat and heavy snowman.

With a laugh Yang Guo said, “This thin decrepit old man’s become both fat and white in a flash.” Xiao Longnu giggled and said, “And that originally fat and white old man.. what would you change him into?” Yang Guo had yet to reply when he heard the sounds of footsteps from the distance. He lowered his voice, “That fat old beggar’s back. Let’s hide.” The two people returned to the house and shut the door. Xiao Longnu shook Guo Xiang, making her cry out. At the same time she coaxed, “Hush, hush, don’t cry.” In her whole life, she'd never pretended to do anything but this situation was so strange that she didn’t even think about it. She saw that Yang Guo was having fun so she just played along with him.

As Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] returned, he examined footprints on the snow. He saw the thin old beggar’s footprints going out and coming back again, showing that he was planning for an ambush by the left side of the house. He followed the footprints to the back of the house and then came out to the front again. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were about to open the door but then saw his short body bending over to peep into the house through the window, his right hand holding firm a knife, and his whole body alert.

The thin old beggar was freezing to the bone. He saw that Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] was unsuspectingly standing right in front of him. If only he could move his hand, he would have been able to strike him dead. But the three pressure points on his body had been sealed, making him unable to move.

Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] saw that there was nobody in the house and felt it was really strange. He pushed open the door, expecting the thin beggar to come out. But suddenly he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the distance. Peng Zhanglao’s expression changed, and he went to hide behind the door panel, waiting for the thin beggar to return.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were all puzzled. That thin beggar had apparently become a snowman. How could there be people coming? While still hesitating, they heard that it was two people coming and knew that they had guests again. Peng Zhanglao’s aural sense was far inferior to theirs. As the two people were approaching, he looked alarmed.

Then someone from outside the house said, “Amituofo, we needy monks are stuck here in the mountain snow. May we ask patrons to let us stay here overnight.” Peng Zhanglao turned his body around and saw two old monks standing in the snow. One had long white eyebrows, with a benign face. The other was a small-built man with a gray beard, dressed in black. And even in this cold winter month, the two people were wearing thin clothes.

Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] was still in a trance when Yang Guo came out of the room and said, “Please come in. Why are you two still standing in the doorway?” By this time Peng Zhanglao saw that snowman. And after an observation, he eventually recognized the thin beggar. Seeing this strange transformation, he was greatly surprised and turned around to look at Yang Guo. But Yang Guo looked to be normal, as if he didn’t know anything about it at all.

Having invited the two old monks in, Yang Guo thought to himself, “Looks like these two old monks aren’t just ordinary people, especially that wicked-looking monk dressed in black. With that strange glow in his eyes, I’m afraid he’ll turn out to be like this Peng Zhanglao.” Then he said, “Big monks, you’ve stopped to rest here. We are poor mountain people and can’t provide beds for you to sleep in. Do the two of you eat game?” The white-eyebrowed monk put his two palms together (he shi = joining ten fingers to pay respect) and said, “That’s wrong. That’s wrong. We’ve brought our own food. We dare not burden our patrons.” Yang Guo said, “That’s great.” Then he came back into the bedroom and whispered into Xiao Longnu’s ear, “The two old monks looked to be very powerful masters.” Xiao Longnu creased her brows and said in a low voice, “There are really many evil people in the world. Deep in the mountain like this, people still won’t leave us alone in peace.”

Yang Guo bent down to look through a crack in the wall and saw that the white-eyebrowed monk took out four lumps of fried noodles from his rucksack. He gave two of them to the monk dressed in black and slowly ate the other two himself. Yang Guo thought, “The white-eyebrowed monk looks kind and composed, really like an esteemed monk. But there are just so many evil people who look good on the outside. Isn’t this Peng Zhanglao always laughing and looking very friendly? Still, how come that monk in black looks murderously evil like that?”

While contemplating this, he suddenly heard two ‘lang-lang’ sounds. That monk in black took out black shiny iron objects out of his chest. Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], who were originally sitting on a bench, immediately jumped up and drew out his knife. The monk in black paid him no attention. Instead, he chained his own feet with one of those black objects, which turned out to be an iron manacle, and did the same thing to both of his hands. Yang Guo and Peng Zhanglao were stunned, unable to figure out why he shackled his own hands and feet. But having seen this, they could somewhat let down their guard against him.

The face of that white-eyebrowed monk was filled with concern. He asked in a low voice, “It’s acting up again?” The monk in black replied, “On the way here I didn’t feel very well. I’m afraid that it’ll happen again.” Suddenly he knelt down on the floor, putting his two palms together and pleading, “May Lord Buddha show mercy.” Having said that, he crouched down and stayed motionless in a kneeling position. After a while, he started to shiver and gasp for air, making wheezing noises. Then he unexpectedly let out a bull-like roar, so loud that it shook the wooden walls and sent the snow on the rooftop down to the ground. Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] was so frightened that his heart was thumping wildly. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu also gaped at each other in astonishment, not knowing what this monk was doing. Judging from the roar, his body had to be in great distress. Although Yang Guo had been holding hostility towards him from the beginning, this time he actually couldn’t help pity the man. He mused, “Don’t know what strange disease has struck him. Why hasn’t that white-eyebrowed monk done something about it?”

After a while, the roar from that monk in black accelerated, as if he was becoming out of breath. The white-eyebrowed monk soothingly said, “What should not be done will be done; what should be done will be rejected; repent for burning anger and hatred; from now on start anew…” These few sentences were spoken gently. But even amid the loud roar, one could still hear them very clearly. Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “This old monk’s internal energy was this profound. Who in the world would be able to match him?” Then he heard the white-eyebrowed monk continue the Buddhist verse, “He who repents for his crime will not be sad but become peaceful. He who repents for his misdeeds will not do evil.”

After the verse was recited, the monk in black stopped panting. He thought dully and croaked, “He who repents for his crime will not be sad.. Shifu [master], I know full well I had done all sorts of things, all of them evil and full of hatred. I couldn’t control myself. I was thinking about ‘He who repents for his misdeeds will not do evil.’ But in my heart I couldn’t find peace. How could that be good?” The white-eyebrowed monk replied, “Being able to repent for past sins is really difficult. We humans are not saints. Who has never erred? Only to know that we

As Yang Guo heard this, he vividly remembered something, “Guo Bobo [Uncle Guo] named me ‘Guo,’ meaning to change. He said it came from ‘knowing that we can change is the greatest virtue.’ Can it be that this old monk is a saint, coming today to change me?”

That monk in black said, “My evil is really difficult to expel. Ten years ago, even after I’d already followed master for a long time, I still injured three people. Today, it’s as if my blood is boiling, and it’s been very difficult to control myself. I’m afraid that I’m going to commit a hideous crime. I beg for master’s mercy. Please cut off both of my hands.” The white-eyebrowed monk replied, “Good, very good! I could chop off your hands for you. But for all the evil thoughts in your heart, you’d have to eliminate them yourself. If your evil thoughts wouldn’t go away, how would my cutting off all your hands and feet help?” The monk in black shook violently and suddenly choked in tears. He said, “Shifu [master] has enlightened me. All this time I haven’t been able to get rid of my evil thoughts.”

The white-eyebrowed monk let out a deep sigh and said, “Although you know what’s right and wrong, your heart is filled with hatred. When you don’t know how to love, evil thoughts are always difficult to eliminate. Let me tell you a Buddhist tale of a mother deer.” The monk in black replied, “I’m listening.” Then he sat down cross-legged. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu on the other side of the wall were also listening in silence.

The white-eyebrowed monk said, “Long time ago, there were a mother deer and two small fawns. The mother deer was careless and was captured by a hunter, who wanted to kill her. The mother deer kowtowed to him and begged, ‘I just gave birth to two fawns. They are young and innocent, not knowing how to find water and grass. May I ask you for some time so I can teach them to find food for themselves. After that, I’ll come back to die.’ The hunter wouldn’t listen. But after the mother deer begged and begged (with her sad doe eyes), he was moved and then let her go.”

“The mother deer searched for her two babies. Then she lowered her head and cried, licking her children’s bodies. In her heart was a mixture of happiness and sadness. She told the two fawns, ‘A love relationship is all predestined. Meetings have to end, and we rarely have much time. Today I’m your mother. I’m afraid I can’t protect myself. Life and death are everywhere. And danger came too early.’ The two fawns were small and didn’t understand her meaning. And so the mother deer pointed them to a beautiful place with water and grass, tears flowing from her eyes. Then she said, ‘Our time has ended. I fell into a hunter’s hand by accident and was about to be killed. I begged the hunter so I could come back to see you, and today I’ll die. I pity you, having to be motherless so young and living by yourself.’”

Having heard this, Xiao Longnu recalled how her own life would also be cut short. She thought about these few sentences -- ‘Life and death are everywhere, and danger came too early’ and ‘I pity you, having to be motherless so young and living by yourself.’ She couldn’t bear it, and tears were flowing from her eyes. Yang Guo knew perfectly well that the white-eyebrowed monk was only telling a Buddhist tale but the tale of the mother deer and her children was very sad, and so he also was moved.

The white-eyebrowed monk continued the story, “Having finished saying this, the mother deer left her two fawns. The two of them cried out, weeping in sorrow and following her closely behind. The babies were small and couldn’t run fast but they scrambled, tumbling down and getting up, to follow their mother, not willing to let her go. The mother deer paused. She turned around and said, ‘Babies! You can’t come along. If the hunter sees you, we mother and babies will all be finished. I’m ready to die, only fearing that you two are still weak. Nothing is permanent in the world. Everybody has to leave. I am ill-fated, causing you to lose your mother when you are still small.’ And then she fled to the hunter. The two fawns didn’t fear the hunter’s arrows and arrived after her.”

“The hunter saw that the mother deer was trustworthy, giving up her life to keep her words, and that her determination surpassed that of humans. Besides, he saw that the three deer were not willing to leave one another. He felt pity and decided not to kill her. The three of them shouted out in happiness, thanking the hunter. The hunter then told this story to the king, and the whole nation applauded and stopped evil killings.”

The monk in black listened to this story, tears streaming down his face. He said, “The deer were righteous. The mother deer was compassionate, and her offsprings were filial. In no way can I compare to them.” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “If there is compassion, any killing intention will disappear.” While saying this, he looked at Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] who was nearby, as if he was also explaining all this to him. The monk in black responded, “Right!” The white-eyebrowed monk continued, “If one wants to make amends, that also is virtuous. It’s better than repenting and doing nothing. From today on, we should do good deeds.” Then he let out a small sigh, “Even I, in my life, have done many bad things.” Having said this, he shut his eyes and was deep in thought.

Even though the monk in black understood his master’s teaching, he was still troubled, finding it difficult to control himself. He lifted his head, only to see that Elder Peng was staring at him with a cat-like smile, his eyes looking as if they were shining lights. The monk in black was startled, feeling like he’d seen such a person somewhere before. He felt very uncomfortable with this meaningful look, and so he immediately turned his head away to avoid the gaze. But after a short while, he couldn’t bear it and turned back to meet those eyes. With a smile Elder Peng said, “The snow has been coming down hard, don’t you think?” The monk in black replied, “Right, it’s been coming down hard.” Elder Peng then said, “Come. Let’s go look at the snow.” Having said this, he pushed the door open. The monk in black repeated, “Good, let’s go look at the snow.” Then he got up to go stand side by side with Elder Peng at the door. At this time even though Yang Guo was behind the wall, he could sense that Elder Peng’s eyes were really strange and secretly felt ominous.

Elder Peng said, “What your master said is right. Murder is wrong in any case. But the power in your body is overflowing. If you don’t let it out, your heart feels very difficult. Is that right?” In a daze, the monk in black replied, “Right!” Elder Peng said, “You might as well strike this snow man. Hit him, and you won’t sin.” The monk in black looked at the snowman and lifted both arms, eager to try. By now the two monks had been here for about half an hour, and the thin beggar’s body was thoroughly covered with white snow, even his eyes couldn’t been seen. Elder Peng urged, “Use your palms. Hit this snowman. Hit! Hit! Hit!” His words were soft, filled with encouragement. The monk in black channeled energy to his arms and said, “Good, I’ll hit!”

The white-eyebrowed monk lifted his head and let out a long sigh. In a low voice he said, “Where there is a murderous intention, there is sin.”

But then he heard a crashing sound. The monk in black shot out both of his palms, sending the white snow flying. The thin beggar’s body was struck, his pressure points unsealed, and so he let out a loud miserable ‘ah’ cry, which echoed into the distance. Xiao Longnu softly cried out, her hands grabbing Yang Guo’s.

The monk in black was shocked. He yelled, “There was someone in the snow!” The white-eyebrowed monk quickly came out and bent down to examine the body. The thin beggar was struck by the extremely powerful palms of the monk in black, and thus he was killed violently. The monk in black was all confused and became dully still.

Elder Peng acted like he was frightened and said, “This person was really strange. Why did he hide in the snow?” Eh, why was he holding a knife?” Elder Peng had used his soul absobring technique, urging the monk in black to kill the thin beggar. He was very pleased with himself. Still, he couldn’t help being puzzled and thought to himself, “Surprisingly this servant got endurance, hiding very still in the snow. Could it be that the snow was blocking his ears and so he didn’t hear me urging that man to hit him?”

With a dull look in his eyes the monk in black could only cry out, “Master!” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “Such a pity. It wasn’t you who killed this person, yet it was you who did it.” The monk in black crouched down on the snow and his voice trembled, “I don’t understand.” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “You only knew that this was a snowman so you originally didn’t mean to hurt people. But your palms were wickedly powerful, without a restraint. How can it be said that you didn’t have a murderous intention? The monk in black said, “I certainly had a murderous intention.”

The white-eyebrowed monk looked at Elder Peng with a long steady gaze. His eyes were gentle, yet filled with grief. Simply with just this look, Elder Peng’s great soul absorbing spell vanished. The monk in black suddenly cried out, “You are one of the beggar clan’s elders. It now came to my mind!” The cat-like smile on Elder Peng’s face disappeared in an instant. He creased his brows and shrewdly said, “And you are Iron Palms Chief Qiu. How did you become a monk?”

This monk in black was precisely Iron Palms Qiu Qianren. Years ago on Mount Hua, he suddenly regreted what he’d done and became a monk under Reverend Yi Deng’s tutelage. And this white-eyebrowed, old monk was Reverend Yi Deng, who was in the same leage as Wang Chongyang, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Hong Qigong. Qiu Qianren shaved his head and became a monk named Ci’en, following a Bhuddist path and diligently mending his way. But he’d done many despicable things in the past, making it very difficult to eliminate the monster in his heart. Facing the many temptations in the world, he couldn’t resist hurting people. And so he'd made a pair of strong manacles so that whenever his mind became troubled, he could shackle his hands and feet, keeping his evilness in check. This time Reverend Yi Deng, who usually secluded himself in Hunan, had received a letter asking for help from his disciple Zhu Ziliu. So he and Ci’en were now on their way to the Passionless Valley. Nobody could have expected that they would run into Elder Peng on this remote mountain. Ci’en actually had no intention to hurt people.

In over ten years since becoming a monk, although Ci'en had violated some rules, this was actually the first time he took someone’s life. His mind was greatly disturbed, only feeling that over ten years of his Buddhist study was all for nothing. He gave Elder Peng a vicious stare, with raging fires in his eyes.

Reverend Yi Deng knew that this was a critical moment. If using force to stop him from getting into a fight, his evilness would multiply. Like a bursting flood, once released, there would be no redemption. Having thought this, he only looked at Ci’en with kindness, hoping that his evil thoughts would just melt away when he came to his sense. He kindly stood by him and gently chanted, “Amituofu, Amituofu!” He repeated this several times until Ci’en stopped staring at Elder Peng and came back to sit in the house, breathing heavily.

Elder Peng had known earlier that Qiu Qianren’s martial skills were weighty but he didn’t recognize Reverend Yi Deng. Seeing the snow-white eyebrows, he mistook Reverend Yi Deng as a weak monk on the verge of death and paid him no attention. He only thought to use his soul absorbing skill to control Qiu Qianren and achieve his goal. Who would have thought that as soon as Reverend Yi Deng looked at him, he felt as if his heart was crushed by a thousand-catty weight, not being able to use his magical skill. By this time he almost peed his pants. He wanted to flee but this Qiu Qianren was also nicknamed “Iron Palms Floating on Water.” His lightness skills were strange; he didn’t even leave footprints on the snow. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to escape so he only hoped that Qiu Qianren would listen to the words of the white-eyebrowed monk, who was persuading Qiu Qianren not to harm him. He shrank himself in the corner of the room, frightened. And as Ci’en’s pants grew more heavily, his heart also thumped wildly.

Yang Guo had listened to Yi Deng telling the three-deer story. Now he thought about how no living things could escape death. Even though that thin beggar was wicked and deserved to be damned, his sudden encounter with this disaster was actually quite shocking. And more than that, he saw that Ci’en’s palm strength was strangely fierce. Who was this monk with such powerful martial skills?

Then he heard Ci’en panting for air and loudly crying out, “Master, I was born an evil person. Heaven wouldn’t let me repent. Although I didn’t mean to kill people, I finally couldn’t avoid taking somebody’s life. I’m not a monk anymore!” Yi Deng said, “Sin, sin! Let me tell you another buddhist tale.” Ci’en rudely retorted, “Why should I still listen to your buddhist tale? You’ve been deceiving me for more than ten years. I don’t believe you anymore.” With two ‘ge-la’ ‘ge-la’ sounds, the chains on his hands and feet snapped broken. Yi Deng gently said, “Ci’en, what’s done is done. You don’t have to get angry.”

Ci’en stood up. Facing Yi Deng, he shook his head. Then he turned his body around and struck Elder Peng’s chest with both palms. With a loud crashing sound, Elder Peng collided into a wall and flew out into open space. Having been struck by these iron palms, his muscles and bones all shattered. Even if he had ten lives, he would still be dead.

Hearing this loud crash, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu jumped in fright and, side by side, came out of the room. They saw Ci’en raising his hands up high, with his eyes shining murderous lights. He loudly shouted, “What are you looking at? Once started, I might as well go all the way. Today this old man will start killing.” Having said this, he channeled energy to his arms and were about to use his iron palms again.

Reverend Yi Deng walked to the door entrance, shielding Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu’s bodies. He sat down cross-legged and recited Buddhist verses. Then he said, “You haven’t gone too far on the wrong path. You can still return. Ci’en, do you really want to sink beyond redemption?” Ci’en’s face turned blue and then red. His mind was extremely chaotic, with good and evil battling it out. Today his mind had been troubled since they were in the snow, and it was also stirred up by the soul absorbing technique. More than that, he’d killed two people, making it very difficult to control himself. One minute Reverend Yi Deng was his gracious master who had been helping him, and the next he actually became his biggest personal enemy.

For a moment he stood there stiffly. Then his evil thought became stronger and stronger. Suddenly he gave a loud shout and attacked Reverend Yi Deng with his palm. Reverend Yi Deng brought his hand up to his chest, his body slightly swaying as he blocked that palm strike. Ci’en angrily said, “You surely won’t be able to defeat me!” Then his left palm struck again. Reverend Yi Deng raised his hand, yet he didn’t counterstrike. Ci’ en shouted, “Aren’t you clever? You don’t hit back. Then you’ll die in vain. Don’t blame me!”

Even though his mind was disturbed, his words actually made sense. His iron palms and Reverend Yi Deng’s one Yang finger both claimed victories in battles, and years ago they were ranked equal in the martial world. Yi Deng’s Buddhist study was the basis of their master-disciple relationship. But speaking of martial skills, even if Yi Deng used one Yang finger with his whole strength to counterstrike, he might only win by a small margin as the iron palms skill was actually somewhat inferior. But in a one-way attack like this, as time went by, Yi Deng would eventually be killed or severely injured. Anyhow, bravely, Yi Deng was willing to sacrifice himself, receiving Ci’en’s palm strikes without hitting back. He only hoped that Ci’en would realize his mistakes and repent. This act of not using force against force was actually a battle between good and evil.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu witnessed how each of Ci’en’s iron palms was like an axe striking Reverend Yi Deng. Coming to the fourteenth strike, Yi Deng let out a ‘wa’ sound and coughed up blood. Startled, Ci’en said, “Aren't you going to fight back?” Yi Deng gently responded, “Why should I fight back? What good is it if I win? What good is it if you win? We must fight with ourselves, restrain ourselves!” Ci’en was confused, muttering, “Must fight with ourselves, restrain ourselves!”

Reverend Yi Deng’s words were like thunders rumbling in Yang Guo’s mind. He thought to himself, “Must fight with our own nature, must restrain our foolish thoughts. It’s certainly much more difficult than defeating powerful enemies. The words of this esteemed monk are really the truth.” He saw that Ci’en’s palms paused slightly in midair but, with a shout, they eventually struck down again. Yi Deng’s body shook, and he threw up another pool of blood, dyeing all his white beard and monk robe.

Having seen Yi Deng’s defense techniques and endurance, Yang Guo knew that his martial skills were in no way inferior to those of the monk in black. But this was a one-sided attack, and even a body of iron and stone could eventually be destroyed. By now, he’d already admired Yi Deng to no end, knowing full well that he wanted to sacrifice himself to change that evil person. Anyway, he couldn’t bear to see Reverend Yi Deng perish away like this. He thought about how he himself, if using only palm strength, wouldn’t be able to block the iron palms of that monk in black. He turned around to grab his black iron sword and wielded it, shielding Yi Deng’s body. He waited for Ci’en to strike with his iron palms again and then thrust forward his sword.

The wind stirred up by the black iron sword clashed with the palm wind. Their bodies trembled.

Ci’en let out a surprised sound. Never would he expect that there would be a young hunter with such marvelous martial skills living on a wild mountain. Reverend Yi Deng also looked at Yang Guo in great surprise. Ci’en sharply shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing?” Yang Guo said, “The great reverend has given you great advice, how come you don’t realize that? Not listening to the precious words is bad enough, but you have to be hateful, harming him. Acting like this, how would you not be worse than an animal?” Ci’en furiously shouted, “Are you from the beggar clan too? Do you want to accompany that evil elder of the clan?” Yang Guo laughed and said, “Those two people were scums of the beggar clan. Your getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed. Why must you beat yourself over it?” Ci’en was startled, mumbling to himself, “Getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed.. getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed..”

Yang Guo had been behind the wall listening to their master-disciple verbal exchange, and so he understood Ci’en’s concerns, knowing that remorse caused him to hate and strired up his evil thoughts. He continued, “Those people were traitorous disciples of the beggar clan, like a wolf hiding in our homeland of China. Your killing such two people was really a great thing. If they hadn’t been killed, I don’t know how many of our fellow buddhists might have had to die. Lord Buddha is merciful but, meeting with such demons, how could benevolence still be used to expel evil spirits?

Yang Guo’s knowledge of Buddhist doctrines was very shallow but to Ci’en’s ears what he said actually made sense. He slowly put down his hands but then he changed his mind, vividly recalling that in the past he himself had allied with the Jins, helping them invading the great Song country. And so it was like Yang Guo was actually derogating him. He suddenly raised his palm to hack down at Yang Guo and said, “Little animal, what nonsense are you jabbering?”

This palm was fast and furious. Yang Guo was busy trying to persuade him with words and didn’t expect Ci’en to suddenly launch an attack. By the time the wind from his palm arrived, it was too dangerous to counterstrike with his own force. And so he went along with that palm strength, his body leaping backward. There came two ‘ge-la’ crashing sounds as he crashed into a wooden wall, and his body was thrown of the house. Reverend Yi Deng was startled and thought to himself, “Would this young man have to die like this? Looked like his martial skills were good! Alas, how would I be able to save his life?” His mind was greatly troubled.

The fire in the room was suddenly blown out by a gust of wind rushing through that hole in the wall. Yang Guo came in with the wind, his sword pointing at Ci’en. He shouted, “Good, today you and I will fight.” Ci’en shot out his left palm, aiming to strike Yang Guo’s sword tip with his palm strength. But Yang Guo’s swordplay was really a testimony of Dugu Qiu Bai’s ingenuity. Even though their ages were far apart and he shouldn’t have been able to match this old master, with his sword practice under the mountain streams, the snake gallbladders that boosted his energy, and the divine condor’s help, Yang Guo’s sword skills were very similar to those of the unparalleled demonic swordmaster of the past era. As Ci’en’s palm arrived, Yang Guo’s sword tip was only nudged a few inches aside, and it was still pointing at Ci’en’s left arm. Horrified, Ci’en dodged to the right to escape the sword and quickly sent out another palm strike. With the two people’s marvelous skills, the palms and the sword were battling violently.

Yi Deng watched the fight in wonder. This youth was only twenty years old something but surprisingly could fight a draw with master Qiu’s iron palms. His own knowledge was vast, yet he couldn’t recognize where Yang Guo’s martial skills came from. Also, his heavy sword was marvellously strange. Then he turned his head back and saw Xiao Longnu with a baby in her arms, standing by the door. She appeared to be a beautiful woman, with an elegant look. Surprisingly she didn’t seem to be frightened by the two people’s wicked fight at all. He thought to himself, “This young lady isn’t a common character either.” But then he noticed a dark cloud between her eyebrows and couldn’t help letting out an ‘ayo’ cry. Xiao Longnu faintly smiled and thought, “You’ve figured it out.”

By now the fight between the two people, a sword and two palms, became even fiercer. Yang Guo had the advantage of using a weapon but Ci’en had one more arm, and so they were about even. There came a loud crashing sound as a wooden plank was shaken loose, flying. More ‘ge-la’ sounds were heard as a pillar also snapped broken. This wooden house was small and not very secure. Really, it was no place for the two great masters to fight a battle. Wherever the sword edge and the palm wind went, the wooden boards on the four walls would all fly in chaos. Finally they heard another loud ‘ge-la-la’ sounds as another pillar snapped, causing the whole house to collapse. With Guo Xiang in her arms, Xiao Longnu dove out through the window. Yi Deng guarded their back, using his gown sleeve to brush away the flying debris.

In the howling wind and storming snow, the two people’s wicked fight continued on. In over ten years, Ci’en had never got into a fight like this. He gave out a loud cry, his iron palms flitting and flying everywhere. Over a hundred moves passed, but his opponent’s sword strength was even more powerful. With his declining age, he’d gradually lose the fight. Yang Guo thrust his sword straight out. Seeing Ci’en dodging the blow, he quickly swept his sword around, and the fierce wind sent the snow swirling. Blinded by the snow, Ci’en quickly lifted his hand to wipe it off. Suddenly the black iron sword made contact with his right shoulder, and he felt as if his body was crushed by a thousand-catty weight. Not being able to keep his balance, he tumbled down with Yang Guo’s sword tip on his chest. Although the sword was blunt, its force was strangely fierce. With its tip pressing against his chest bone, he could only breathe out but couldn’t breathe in enough air.

At this time the word ‘die’ flashed in the mind of Ci’en. Since the time he’d learned his marvelous martial skills, he’d roamed Jianghu, knowing only to kill and injure others. Extremely rarely had he run into any setback. He’d been defeated by Zhou Botong, and he’d run away to the West region. Later on he’d depended on clever tricks to get away from the old urchin. This time death was nearing as it’d never been before. He thought that death itself wasn’t a big deal but he felt that if his life was cut short like this, he wouldn’t be able to make amends for all sorts of evil things he’d done in the past. Reverend Yi Deng’s thousands and thousands of words couldn’t get though to him but Yang Guo’s one sword made him realize that, “Killing brings misery. I only knew how to kill people. Being killed is actually miserable like this.”

Having seen Yang Guo defeating Ci’en, Reverend Yi Deng thought to himself, “Such a young hero is really very rare.” Then he stepped forward and touched the sword blade with his finger. Heat shot through Yang Guo’s left arm, and his black iron sword was immediately brushed aside.

Ci’en stood up and then threw himself down on the ground. He cried out, “Master, I deserve to die a terrible death. I deserve to die a terrible death!” With a faint smile, Yi Deng patted him on the back and said, “Change is not easy. Why haven’t you thanked this young hero for the lesson?”

Yang Guo had earlier suspected that this old monk was Reverend Yi Deng. Having seen this monk brushing aside his sword blade with one finger, he thought that this 'one Yang finger' and Island Master Huang’s ‘divine flicking finger’ were equally exquisite, and there was no third person in the world who could match their finger strength. He immediately kowtowed and said, “Disciple Yang Guo pay respect to Reverend.” He saw Ci’en kneeling down before him so he quickly said, “Senior, please don’t do that. I’m younger than you. Just now I’ve offended you enough.” Then he pointed at Xiao Longnu and said, “This is my wife, named Long. Quickly come kowtow to Reverend.” With Guo Xiang in her arms, Xiao Longnu stepped forward to greet him.

Ci’en said, “Master, just now I've gone mad. Is your injury very severe?” Yi Deng chuckled and asked, “Do you feel better now?” Ci’en felt sorry to no end, not knowing what to say.

The four people sat down on a collapsed pillar. Yang Guo recounted how he met Wu Santong, Zhu Ziliu and Diancang Yuyin. He also talked about how he got poisoned in the Passionless valley, and how the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu went there to seek the antidote for him and then got trapped.

Yi Deng said, “That’s why my disciple has gone to the Passionless Valley. But do you know how this monk Ci’en is related to the mistress of the valley?”

He’d heard Elder Peng calling Ci’en ‘ Iron Palms Chief Qiu’ so he said, “Reverend Ci’en was born with the last name Qiu. Could it be possible that he was the Iron Palms Chief Qiu?”

Ci’en slowly nodded.

Yang Guo continued, “In that case, the mistress of the Passionless valley must be your younger sister.”

Ci’en responded, “Indeed. Was she well?”

Yang Guo didn’t quite know how to answer the question. Qiu Qianchi’s husband had destroyed all the muscles in her four limbs, leaving her a cripple. He really couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘well.’

Ci’en saw Yang Guo hesitate so he said, “That sister of mine always did as she pleased. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she ran into trouble.”

Yang Guo then said, “Her limbs were disabled but her body was actually very healthy.”

With a sigh Ci’en said, “Many years have passed. We’ve all grown old. Alas, she and her two brothers.. ..” Having said this, he was lost in thought, recalling old memories.

Yi Deng knew that Ci’en had yet to let go and that his close brush with death only interrupted the stream of evil thoughts. But really the roots of evil were still there. If stirred up by strong emotions, Ci’en would unavoidably go crazy again. He didn’t know much longer he could live and help Ci’en. He could only let it all depend on fate.

Seeing Yi Deng look at Ci’en with pity in this eyes, Yang Guo suddenly thought to himself, “Reverend Yi Deng’s martial skills were definitely not inferior to his disciple’s. Yet, he wouldn’t return the attacks. There must be a reason. I’m afraid my jumping out to fight like that would make the matter worse.”

So he quickly said, “Reverend, I (disciple) acted on the spur of the moment. Please let me know if just now I was rash, making a mistake.”

Yi Deng replied, “Human mind is hard to fathom. If he’d killed me, he couldn’t have woke up like this. He would have sunk to the bottomless pit. You saved my life and brought him back to his sense. How could it be a mistake? I feel it was all for the better.”

Then he turned to Xiao Longnu and asked, “How did you get poisoned, young lady?”

Having heard that, Yang Guo felt a ray of hope shining down on him. He quickly said, “We were circulating energy to heal her injury, and it was that time that the poisons got into her body. Could you help her?” He then knelt down on the ground on both knees.

Yi Deng helped him up and asked, “How did she circulate her inner energy? Why is her energy flowing in the opposite direction?”

Yang Guo replied, “She used the reverse energy flow technique, along with the chilled jade bed and my help.”

Yi Deng heard his explanation and couldn’t help clucking his tongue in approval. He said, “That Ouyang brother was really a strange person. This reverse energy flow technique is quite unconceivable.”

He reached out to check Xiao Longnu’s pulse. Then his face turned sorrowful. For a long while he didn’t say a word.

Yang Guo looked at him nervously, hoping he would say “curable.” Xiao Longnu’s eyes were always on Yang Guo. She herself hadn’t expect to live this long. Seeing a melancholy expression on his face, she slowly said, “Fate determines life and death. How could we have it all as we wish? Guo’er, grief can hurt you. Don’t worry too much.”

This was the first time Xiao Longnu spoke since Yi Deng’s arrival. Her words were spoken gently and calmly, showing that she understood life and death. Yi Deng couldn’t help becoming puzzled. He didn’t know that since childhood Xiao Longnu had been taught to have a clear mind and little emotion. This lady was young and fatally poisoned. He’d thought that she’d be extremely saddened. Who would have thought that her speech was that of someone who had deep religious knowledge. He thought to himself, “These young husband and wife are really the world’s perfect couple. The husband has such kungfu. The wife understands life and death. This is really rare. In my entire life, I’ve only seen one couple -- Guo Jing and Huang Rong-- that can compare to them. My own disciples don’t even come close. Alas, her poisons are so severe. After the injury, I can't use my one Yang finger to help her.”

With a slight hesitation, he said, “You two are young but your achievements are really not common. May this old monk speak frankly.. ..”

Having heard this, Yang Guo’s heart sank, his hands turning ice-cold.

Then Yi Deng continued, “The young madame’s poison condition is very severe. If I wasn't injured, I could use my one Yang finger to temporarily stop the poisons so we could go search for the antidote. But today.. luckily your energy foundation is strong. I have this medicine that can save you for seven days. Then let us go to the Passionless valley together to look for my disciple.”

Yang Guo jumped up and cried out. “Oh, good. This Indian monk is known for his knowledge of poisons. He must have a way to save my wife.”

Yi Deng said, “If my disciple can't find a cure, that is nature. In the world some children die shortly after birth. Young lady here has had a chance to get married, that is fortunate.”

Having said this far, he recalled that years ago Zhou Botong and Concubine Liu had a child but because of his own jealously and hatred, he was not willing to save him. And that child eventually died. And it was actually Ci’en who'd injured him.

Yang Guo looked at Yi Deng with wide, shocked eyes. He thought to himself, “We still don’t know if Long’er can be cured. Yet, you haven’t said a word of comfort.”

Xiao Longnu let out a faint smile and said, “What Reverend said is right.”

She looked out at the heavy snow and weakly said, “These snowflakes are so white and so beautiful. But after the sun comes out, each and every one of them will vanish, without a trace. Next winter there will be a lot of snowflakes again, but they will never be like this year’s snow.”

Yi Deng nodded and turned his head to look at Ci’en. He asked, “Do you understand?”

Ci’en nodded and thought -- when the sun came out, the snow of would disappear, and it snowed in winter. What was so complicated about these simple facts?

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu had always been close. They undertood even the vaguest thought in the other person’s mind. But now that she was conversing with Yi Deng, he was left aside. It was as if she and Yi Deng shared the same thoughts, and he himself was an outsider. This had never happened since he fell in love with her, and he was now perplexed.

Yi Deng took out an egg from his chest and gave it to Xiao Longnu. He said, “Do you know which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

This was an age-old conundrum which nobody could ever solve. Yang Guo thought to himself, “At a time of life and death like this, why are you asking such a question?”

Xiao Longnu accepted the egg. It was actually a porcelain egg but its color looked as if it wasn’t. She paused a little and then clearly understood. She answered, “The egg hatches a chicken. The chicken lays an egg. Where there is life, there must be death.”

She gently crushed the egg shell, and a pill tumbled out. It was a golden and perfectly round ball like an egg yolk. Yi Deng said, “Eat it, quick.”

Knowing that this medicine was precious, Xiao Longnu put it in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Early next morning, it was still snowing. Yang Guo thought that the Passionless valley was quite a distance away. Although Reverend Yi Deng’s pill gave them seven extra days, they had to go as fast as they possibly could, and not even a bit of delay. He asked Yi Deng, “Reverend, “How’s your injury?”

Yi Deng’s injury was really heavy but he wanted to save his apprentice brother, Zhu Ziliu and Xiao Longnu and knew that all were urgent matters. His gown sleeves flared out as he said, “It’s not a problem.”

He drew in air and sprang forward, covering over ten feet in one leap. The three people followed.

After taking the pill, Xiao Longnu felt a surge of warmth in her abdomen, her strength returning. With her lightness skills, she caught up with Reverend Yi Deng in no time. Ci’en was startled. This timid young lady actually had quite an awesome kungfu. Suddenly his competitive spirit rose. His feet became swift as he gave chase. One person was a Gumu disciple of with unparalelled lightness skills. The other was a renowned master nicknamed ‘Iron Palms Floating on Water.’ In a flash the two people had covered twenty, thirty feet, quickly becoming two gray spots on the snow. Yang Guo was afraid that Ci’en would suddenly become evil and hurt Xiao Longnu so he went after them to protect her. His lightness skills were inferior to those of the two people but his inner energy was solid, and his feet were strong. At the beginning, he was a great distance away from them. Less than half an hour later, the two people’s shadows became clearer.

Suddenly he heard Reverend Yi Deng laughing from behind him. Yi Deng said, “Young gentleman’s inner energy is so profound. This really is rare. May I ask who your master is?”

Yang Guo slowed down to move side by side with him. He replied, “My wife taught me my martial skills.”

Yi Deng asked in wonder, “Is she as good as you?”

Yang Guo said, “For these past few months, my inner energy has somehow kept increasing. I myself don’t understand why.”

Yi Deng asked, “Is it possible that you’ve taken some kind of medicine that boosts inner energy? Perhaps shaped ginsengs or millennium mushrooms?”

Yang Guo shook his head and said, “I had dozens of snake gallbladders. Since then, my strength has skyrocketed. Do you think they are related?”

Yi Deng said, “Snake gallbladders? Snake gallbladders can cure rheumatism. They have nothing to do with inner strength.”

Yang Guo said, “These gallbladders were from very strange poisonous snakes. Their scales glittered like gold, and their heads were crested. The shape was really weird.”

Yi Deng paused for a bit and suddenly said, “Ah, they are the ‘pu-si-qu’ snakes, mentioned in a Bhuddist record. They said these snakes lived underground, moved like a wind, and were extremely difficult to catch.”

Yang Guo said, “A big condor caught them for me.”

“That really is the strangest thing in the world.” Yi Deng exclaimed.

While the two people talked, their feet didn’t slow down at all. After a while, they were nearing Xiao Longnu and Ci’en. Yi Deng and Yang Guo exchanged a smile. Even though their lightness skills were inferior to those of Xiao Longnu and Ci’en, speed declined with increasing distance, and it was then up to their inner energy. By this time, because her inner energy was inferior, Xiao Longnu had already dropped some ten feet behind Ci’en. And as soon as they rounded the mountain, Yang Guo pointed ahead and said, “Eh, how come there are three people?”

It looked like someone was closely trailing Xiao Longnu. Yang Guo took a look and sensed that this person’s lightness skills were not under Xiao Longnu and Ci’en. Although on his back he was carrying something that looked like a trunk, his feet were still swift, and he was always twenty, thirty feet behind Xiao Longnu. Yi Deng was also puzzled. Surprisingly there was another skilled master on this wild mountain. Last night he ran into this pair of young and elegant couple. Today he saw this person, obviously an old man.

Not long after being overtaken by Ci’en, the distance between Ci'en and Xiao Longnu widened. She heard the sounds of footsteps from behind and thought it was Yang Guo. She said, “Guo’er, that monk’s lightness skills are incredible. I can’t beat him. You go try.”

Someone laughed and said, “Come sit on this trunk and gather your strength. You don’t have to fear that old monk.”

Hearing the words, Xiao Longnu was puzzled. She turned her head back and saw a man with a white beard and hair. It was the old urchin Zhou Botong.

With a laugh, he pointed at the trunk he’d been carrying on his back and said, “Come, come, come!”

This trunk was precisely the stuff that had been in the Sacred Scripture Chamber of the Chongyang Palace, looking like it was filled with the Quanzhen sect’s Taoist scrolls, and so Zhou Botong had brought it with him on his back. Xiao Longnu faintly smiled but said nothing. Zhou Botong suddenly dashed forward. He grabbed her with one arm and put her on the trunk. His body movements were so fast and his hand technique was so strange that Xiao Longnu couldn’t even resist. While on the wooden trunk, she couldn’t help thinking, “The Quanzhen sect was known throughout the world as an orthodox martial school. The Taoists at the Chongyang Palace couldn’t defeat me. It must be because they hadn’t learned the essense of their sect martial skills.”

By now Yang Guo and Yi Deng had recognized Zhou Botong. Ci’en was concentrating on rushing forwards for fear that Xiao Longnu would catch up with him, and so he was the only person who didn’t know that there was another person behind him.

Zhou Botong followed him in big strides and said, “Another half an hour, he’ll slow down.”

With a smile Xiao Longnu asked, “How do you know?”

Zhou Botong said, “I’ve fought with him, pursuing him from Zhongyuan [China] to the West region and from the West region back to Zhongyuan. After running around for tens of thousands miles, how could I not know?”

Sitting on the trunk, Xiao Longnu was both secure and comfortable, just like riding a horse. She softly asked, “Old urchin, why are you helping me?”

Zhou Botong replied, “You are quite likeable, not like that crafty and strange Huang Rong. I stole your bee syrup, and you are not mad.”

They ran for another half an hour. And just like Zhou Botong had predicted, Ci’en started to slow down. Zhou Botong said, “You are off!”

He shrugged his shoulders, sending Xiao Longnu out over ten feet. Energy was sent to her feet, and she ran forwards. In just a moment she caught up with Ci’en and giggled. Startled, Ci'en sped up. But the two people’s lightness skills were about the same level. One person had just had a long rest while the other had been running non-stop. The more they ran, the further the distance between them. Ci’en had no way to catch up.

In his whole life, Ci’en had two of martial skills that no one in the world could compare but, in just one day and one night, his iron palms was defeated by Yang Guo and his lightness skills were outmatched by Xiao Longnu’s. He couldn’t help becoming depressed. Sensing that his legs were about to give out, he thought to himself in alarm, “I can’t even defeat a young girl, can it be that my death is here?”

Last night he had his evil spell. After injuring his master, he had become restless. Just now he’d used all his strength in a lightness kungfu competition with Xiao Longnu and still lost. Even though his mind was troubled, he felt like all things in the world no longer made sense.

Observing them from behind, Yang Guo clearly understood. Seeing that Zhou Botong had secretly helped Xiao Longnu defeating Ci’en, his interest was piqued. He sped up to walk side by side with him and laughingly said, “Senior Zhou, many thanks.”

Zhou Botong said, “Haven’t seen this Qiu Qianren for a long time. The older he is, the crazier. How come he’s shaved his head and become a monk?”

Yang Guo said, “He’s now Reverend Yi Deng’s disciple, don’t you know?”

Having said this, he pointed to the back. Zhou Botong was horrified, crying out, “Emperor Duan is here too?”

He turned his head back and saw Yi Deng from a distance. He said, “I’ve got to run.”

Then he immediately fled into the woods. Yang Guo didn’t know who ‘Emperor Duan’ was. He only saw the trees and bushes moving. Zhou Botong had disappeared without a trace. Yang Guo thought to himself, “This person is so strange. There aren’t many like him in the world.”

As soon as Zhou Botong ran away, Yi Deng quickly stepped forwards. Seeing that Ci’en looked withered and broken and all his earlier bravado had vanished, Yi Deng said, “With all your victories, how come you haven’t figured this out?”

Disheartened, Ci’en didn’t say a word.

Yi Deng continued, “You were blinded by your desires. With your strong martial skills, if not for your lust to win, how could you not have known there was another person behind you?”

The four of them traveled with haste, and the next five days flew by quickly. On the morning of the sixth day, Yi Deng’s injury worsened, and he could barely support himself. Yang Guo said, “Reverend, please take a rest for a moment. Let your body recover. The Passionless Valley isn’t very far from here. We husband and wife would hurry into the Valley with Reverend Ci’en. And we’ll rescue the divine monk and Uncle Zhu too.”

Yi Deng faintly smiled and said, “I can’t put my mind at ease.”

He paused and then continued, “It’s dangerous in the valley. I’d better come along.”

Ci’en said, “I’ll carry you.” Having said that he put Yi Deng on his back and marched forwards in big strides.

They arrived at the valley entrance in the afternoon. Yang Guo turned to Ci’en and said, “Should we let them know we are here so your sister can come out to greet you?”

Ci’en was nervous and had yet to reply. Suddenly he heard the faint sounds of clashing weapons. Ci’en thought about his sister and was afraid that she would be fighting with Wu Santong and the others. No matter who was injured, it would be quite bad. He said, “We must rush to stop them.”

With his lightness kungfu he sped up. He was not fully familiar with the roads to the valley, and Yang Guo pointed in one direction.

The four of them rushed forwards, only to see seven, eight people in green holding their weapons, defending themselves just outside the woods. They heard the sounds of clashing weapons but couldn’t see who the people in green were actually fighting with.

Seeing that there were more enemies coming, the valley disciples in green gave out a shout and charged forwards. But as soon as they got closer and recognized Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, they halted. The leading disciple walked over and raised his sword to greet them. He said, “Have you already accomplished our chief mother’s task?”

But Yang Guo asked, “Who are the people fighting in the woods?”

That disciple in green did not reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, not knowing whether Yang Guo had come with a good or bad intention.

With a faint smile Yang Guo said, “I (little brother) didn’t come here to mean harm. Is Madame Gongsun well? Is Miss Gongsun all right?”

That disciple’s hostility was somewhat dissolved. He said, “Bless you. Chief mother and Miss Gongsun are well.”

Then he asked, “Who are these two monks?” Did they come with the four women?”

Yang Guo said, “What four women?”

That disciple replied, “They were actually two groups of two, barging in here. Chief mother ordered us to stop them but they wouldn’t listen. Both groups went into the passion flower field. But as soon as the two groups saw each other, they started fighting.”

Hearing him mention ‘passion flower field,’ Yang Guo was startled, not knowing which four women he was talking about. If they were Huang Rong, Guo Fu, Wanyan Ping, and Yelu Yan, how could they be fighting? So he said, “May I ask you to lead me there? If I (little brother) know them, I may be able to break up the fight before going with them to greet the Chief.”

That disciple thought that the four women had already been detained anyway and that if he let Yang Guo see them, it would only show him the power of the Passionless Valley. So he led the four people into the woods, where they saw the two groups of women fighting.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were secretly alarmed. The four women were standing on a narrow strip of lawn about twenty feet long, encircled with layer upon layer of passion flowers. No matter from which direction they tried to come out, there would be seventy, eighty feet of passion flowers blocking them. And no matter how powerful their kungfu was, they still wouldn’t be able to escape. Even a halfway jump would still be very difficult.

Xiao Longnu cried out, “It’s my martial sister!”

To the south they saw two women, Li Mochou and her disciple Hong Lingbo. The two of them were using long swords because Li Mochou’s flywhisk had already been broken at Gumu.

They were fighting with another two women. One was holding the Willow Leaf saber, the other wielding a flute. The two girl’s movements were swift and elegant, showing that their martial skills were not weak. Still, they couldn’t match Li Mochou’s.

Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “Aren’t those the Cheng-Lu cousins?”

By now, Hong Lingbo slanted her body to attack. The young lady in yellow turned her head halfway backwards, and the one in purple dress also turned her body sideway. These girls were precisely Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang.

The four people’s fighting on a lawn this size was like holding a wicked martial arts contest in a very small arena . The terrain was limited, not allowing for trivial mistakes. As if they were tied hand and feet, the four people couldn’t unleash the power of their kungfu. It was fortunate that Li Mochou wasn’t used to her new sword and that, with her former ties with Lu Wushuang, Hong Lingbo didn’t really have a murderous intention. And so, even though the Cheng-Lu cousins were much inferior, they could still hold themselves against their opponents.

Yang Guo asked that disciple in green, “How did the four people get in there to fight in the first place?”

The disciple in green was very pleased with himself and proudly replied, “This was Chief Gongsun’s creation. We led them into this passion flower field and then piled up the flowers, blocking the entrance. How would they come out?”

Yang Guo quickly asked, “Have they been poisoned?”

“Looks like they haven’t but it won’t take long, ” replied that man in green.

Yang Guo thought to himself, “With your martial skills alone, how could you force Li Mochou into the passion flower field? Oh, you must have used your sect’s evil fishnet. If the Cheng-Lu girls get poisoned, there won’t be any antidote in the world to cure them.”

And so, he immediately raised his voice, “Sister Cheng, Sister Lu, I'm right here. The flowers around you are deadly poisonous. You must be absolutely careful.”

Li Michou had earlier seen that the passion flowers looked strange. On top of that, those disciples in green had used the flowers to block their way out, and so she knew there had to be a reason. After entering the passion flower field, she warned Hong Lingbo to be very careful and keep away from the passion flowers. Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were both skilled and clever, how could they not see the danger? The four people had originally thought there were some kinds of traps or poisoned arrows hidden in the flower shrubs. Now that they heard Yang Guo’s words, they dreaded the flowers around them even more. They all inched closer towards the center of the lawn, their bodies colliding. The fight became even more vicious.

Hearing Yang Guo calling them, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were delighted. They wanted to rush out to see him but the enemies were vicious, not allowing them to withdraw. Li Mochou actually wanted to kill the two girls so she could use their bodies as stepping stones to escape from the passion flower field. When she saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, she was frightened. Luckily, they were separated by the passion flowers and so Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu couldn’t come in to help the two girls. She fiercely shouted, “Lingbo, if you still don’t fight with all your strength, you yourself will die in here.”

“Yes, Master!” Hong Lingbo quickly replied, adding more strength to her sword and driving it towards Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying raised her flute to block the strike but Li Mochou’s long sword flew towards her throat. Lu Wushuang lunged forwards, raising her saber. Li Mochou sneered, blocking the saber with her long sword. Her left leg then flew up, kicking Lu Wushuang’s wrist and sending her Willow Leaf saber into a passion flower shrub. Suddenly lights flashed. Li Mochou swung her sword three times at Cheng Ying. Unable to withstand the force, Cheng Ying had to move backwards. At this point, if she fell back one more step, her left foot would land on a flower shrub.

Lu Wushung cried out in alarm, “Sister (cousin), you can’t move back any further.”

With a cold laugh Li Mochou said, “You can’t move back any further. Then let’s move forwards.”

Having said that, she allowed Cheng Ying a step forwards. Cheng Ying knew full well that Li Mochou didn’t mean well but she herself was dangerouly cornered. She had no choice but to move forwards.

Li Mochou sneered and said, “Really very brave!”

Her long sword vibrated. Silver lights flashed, and her sword tip reached the uppper part of Cheng Ying’s body.

Yang Guo was obseving them from outside and understood that Li Mochou was using one of Gumu’s vicious sword techniques called Cold Moon Attack. If one didn’t understand the intricacies of the stances, he was likely to deplete his energy guarding the upper body and leaving his abdomen vulnerable. Seeing that Cheng Ying was busy protecting her chest, he quickly picked up a pebble from the ground, placing it between his thumb and middle finger. Then, with a whishing sound, the pebble was shot out fiercely, straight towards Li Mochou’s eyes. Li Mochou’s sword had already moved downwards and was only a few inches away from Cheng Ying’s abdomen. Suddenly seeing a pebble flying her way, she had to let the enemy off and swung her sword back to hit the pebble.

What Yang Guo just displayed was precisely Huang Yaoshi’s Divine Flicking Fingers skill. But his cultivated energy hadn’t reached its peak so he could only use this technique to divert the enemy, forceing her to be on the defensive. If it were Huang Yaoshi himself flicking the pebble, he would have knocked loose Li Mochou’s sword, and it would have been almost impossible to miss the target. It was fortunate that he taught Yang Guo this technique because it came back to save the life of his own disciple. But even so, Yang Guo and Cheng Ying had already been drenched in cold sweat.

Cheng Ying had just narrowly escaped death, color draining from her originally white and tender cheeks. Li Mochou knew that she was still in shock, and so she shouted, “Here come again!” The long sword vibrated as she used the Cold Moon Attack technique once again. Cheng Ying was clever, knowing that the upper body attack was fake and the middle body strike was real, and so she immediately protected her abdomen. Who would have thought that Li Mochou would slyly change her stances. While her sword tip pointed at Cheng Ying’s abdomen, she dashed forwards, stretching out her left hand to seal the ‘Jade Hall’ point on Cheng Ying’s chest. Then her left leg swept out to kick Lu Wushuang and at the same time the tip of her foot struck the ‘Sun’ point on the side of Cheng Ying’s knee. These few stances were incredibly fast, sending both Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang to the ground. Yang Guo definitely couldn’t help them both.

Li Mochou then grabbed Cheng Ying’s back and threw her out with force. She did the same to Lu Wushuang and shouted, “Lingbo, step on their bodies…”

Before she could finish saying that, Yang Guo jumped in to grab Cheng Ying and moved forwards. Even though the acupoints on her chest and leg had been sealed, she could use her free arms to grasp Lu Wushuang.

She cried out, “Brother Yang, you.. .. “

She had always had a deep feeling for Yang Guo. And now that she saw him jumping into the passion flower field, giving up his life to save hers, she was all overwhelmed.

Having grabbed the two girls, Yang Guo leapt back out and gently put them on the ground. With her stiff legs, Cheng Ying couldn’t stand by herself. Xiao Longnu unsealed her pressure points. Then the three girls all looked at Yang Guo. His pants were ripped by the poisonous thorns, blood dripping from his thighs and calfs. Nobody knew how much poison had entered his body.

While Cheng Ying weeped, Lu Wushuang said, “You.. you.. didn’t have to save me. Who told you to do this?”

With a bright smile Yang Guo said, “I’ve already got the passion flower poison in my body, a little more makes no difference.”

But everybody knew that the amount of poison in his body really made a big difference. He only said this to comfort the three girls in front of him.

Cheng Ying looked at Yang Guo’s empty right sleeve with tears in her eyes. Lu Wushuang said, “Dumb egg, your.. your right arm?” How did you break it?”

Seeing that the two girls were extremely worried about Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu immediately thought them as very good friends. With a smile she said, “He’s not dumb, why do you call him dumb egg?”

Lu Wushung let out an ‘ah’ sound and apologetically said, “I used to call him that. It’s hard to change.”

She looked at Cheng Ying and asked, “And this sister is?”

Yang Guo replied, “This is.. ..”

Cheng Ying quickly said, “This sister’s name must be Xiao Longnu.”

“Right. I should have known, seeing how angelic she is.” Lu Wushuang said.

With the knowledge that Yang Guo only had Xiao Longnu on his mind, the two Cheng-Lu girls had been jealous. Now that they actually met Xiao Longnu, they couldn’t help feeling inferior. Both thought to themselves, “How can I ever compare against her?”

Lu Wushuang asked, “Brother Yang, what’s happened to your arm? Is the wound healed?”

“It’s already healed. It was someone cutting it off,” replied Yang Guo.

Lu Wushuang asked angrily, “Which evil villain did it? That person must have used a low and dispicable trick. Was it that wretched witch?”

Suddenly a cold voice from behind said, “You scold people behind their back. Isn’t that lower and more dispicable?”

Lu Wushuang was startled. She turned head back and saw a beautiful young girl. It was precisely Guo Fu with a sword in her hand, looking enraged. Standing by her were several men and women.

Lu Wushuang was puzzled. She said, “I didn’t scold you. I was scolding the evil person who cut off Brother Yang’s arm.”

With a shua sound, Guo Fu pulled her sword halfway from its sheath. She said, “His arm was cut off by me. I’ve already apologized, and my parents have already punished me. Now you people are scolding me behind my back…”

Having said this, her eyes turned red. She felt she was wronged by these people.

Days ago Wu Santong, Guo Fu, Yelu Qi, and the Wu brothers hid from the mountain fires in the creek. They waited for the fires to slow down and then got out of the water to meet with Huang Rong, Wanyan Ping and Yelu Yan. Then they all came to the Passionless Valley. The group arrived here long before Yang Guo and the others but they were searching the areas around the valley, trying to find the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu, without any success. That’s why they were delayed. As for Li Mochou, her disciple, and the Cheng-Lu cousins, they were led into the valley by Zhou Botong.

Huang Rong, Wu Santong and the others quickly went to greet Reverend Yi Deng, and they all exchanged greetings. Although Cheng Ying had never met Huang Rong before, she knew this martial sister by reputation and greatly admired her. She immediately went over and kowtow with utmost respect. She called out, “Martial sister!”

Knowing from Yang Guo that years ago her father had accepted another female disciple, now she found out that this was an extremely beautiful girl. As Huang Rong asked about her father and learned that he was strong and healthy, she was delighted.

The disciples in green had been watching them from the edge of the woods. Now seeing that the enemies from outside all gathered, making a noisy commotion, they didn’t dare to block them. Instead, they ran back to report the matter to Qiu Qianchi.

Guo Fu and Lu Wushuang glared at each other angrily, with mutual hatred. As Guo Fu heard her mother order her to greet Cheng Ying, she was not pleased at all. She had to force herself to say ‘Martial uncle.”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were standing in each other’s arms on the other side. Yang Guo looked at Guo Xiang in Xiao Longnu’s arms and said, “Long’er, let’s give the little girl back to her mother.”

Xiao Longnu lifted up Guo Xiang and kissed her on the cheek. Then she walked over to hand the little girl back to Huang Rong. She said, “Madame Guo, your child.”

Huang Rong thanked her and took the little girl. From the time the girl was born until now, this was the first time Huang Rong had her child firmly in her hands. There was no word that could describe her happiness and joy.

Yang Guo turned to Guo Fu and clearly said, “Miss Guo, your little sister is well. I didn’t use her to trade for the antidote to save my life.”

Guo Fu retorted angrily, “My mother is here. Of course, you don’t dare to. But if you didn’t have such intention, what did you bring my sister here for?”

In this situation, Yang Guo in the former days would have quarrelled with her. But his encounters with life and death during these past few months had changed him. Paying no attention to her, he only let out a tasteless smile and walked away with Xiao Longnu.

Lu Wushuang looked at Guo Xiang and said to Cheng Ying, “Is this your martial sister’s little girl? I hope she won’t grow up to be evil and vicious.”

It was impossible for Guo Fu to not understand that the words were meant to attack her, and so she retorted, “What business of yours is it if my sister becomes evil and vicious? What are you trying to say?”

Lu Wushuang said, “I didn’t speak to you. Everybody has the right to deal with evil and vicious people. How could it not be my business?”

Lu Wushuang only had Yang Guo on her mind. Having seen that Yang Guo’s arm got chopped off, she and Cheng Ying were really mad. But she couldn’t control her temper like her cousin did. Even though it was in front of many people, she still had to let it show.

Guo Fu was furious. Grabbing her sword, she shouted, “You cripple.. ..”

Huang Rong yelled, “Fu’er, don’t be rude!”

And at this time, they all heard a loud ‘ah’ cry from the distance. They turned their heads back towards the passion flower field and saw Li Mochou hoisting Hong Lingbo’s body high up in the air. The sound they heard just now was Hong Lingbo’s cry. The many people had been busy arguing, forgetting all about Li Mochou and her disciples who were stuck in the sea of flowers. Startled, Lu Wushuang cried out, “Drat. Master is using her disciple as a stepping stone. Quick. We have to quickly find a way to help.. ..”

While the people outside were staring in confusion, Li Mochou suddenly threw Hong Lingbo out. As the body fell into the passion flower shrubs, Li Mochou sprang up, her left foot stepping on Hong Lingbo’s chest. She then jumped up again with both legs high in the air, and her right hand grabbing and hurling Hong Lingbo out one more time. Again, she descended on top of her disciple’s body.

She used this strength borrowing tactic twice, expecting to fall outside the flower shrubs on her third jump. Afraid that Huang Rong would be waiting to block her, she flew out again in the opposite direction, away from the group of people. But this time as her body shot up, Hong Lingbo suddenly gave out a loud cry and leapt up with her, grasping Li Mochou’s left leg. Losing her momentum, Li Mochou started to sink. Then her right leg shot out, kicking Hong Lingbo in the chest with a ‘peng’ sound. This kick was lethal, destroying Hong Lingbo’s internal organs and killing her instantly. Anyhow, Hong Lingbo’s hands were still gripping Li Mochou’s leg, and the two of them plunged down together, falling into the flower shrubs just two feet short from the edge of the flower bed. Eventually, Li Mochou was two feet short, and the unimaginable amount of poison surged into her body.

Everybody was shocked, speechless, staring out wide-eyed at this sadly horrifying development. Lu Wushuang thought about how her martial sister used to take care of her. Grief-striken, she wept loudly and cried out, “Martial sister, martial sister!”

Yang Guo remembered how years ago he’d played tricks on Hong Lingbo. He couldn’t help feeling heavyhearted.

Li Mochou bent down to pry away Hong Lingbo’s hands and saw that her open eyes were filled with hatred. She thought to herself, “I’ve been poisoned by the passion flowers. The antidote surely must be here in the valley.”

As she was about to walk around the piles of flowers and be on her way, she suddenly heard Huang Rong calling out, “Sister Li, please come over here. I have a few words to say to you.”

Li Mochou was surprised but, with a slight hesitation, she moved forwards twenty, thirty feet.

“What?” She asked.

She secretly hoped that Huang Rong would give her the antidote, or at least tell her how to find it.

The four of them rushed forwards, only to see seven, eight people in green holding their weapons, defending themselves just outside the woods. They heard the sounds of clashing weapons but couldn’t see who the people in green were actually fighting with.

Seeing that there were more enemies coming, the valley disciples in green gave out a shout and charged forwards. But as soon as they got closer and recognized Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, they halted. The leading disciple walked over and raised his sword to greet them. He said, “Have you already accomplished our chief mother’s task?”

But Yang Guo asked, “Who are the people fighting in the woods?”

That disciple in green did not reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, not knowing whether Yang Guo had come with a good or bad intention.

With a faint smile Yang Guo said, “I (little brother) didn’t come here to mean harm. Is Madame Gongsun well? Is Miss Gongsun all right?”

That disciple’s hostility was somewhat dissolved. He said, “Bless you. Chief mother and Miss Gongsun are well.”

Then he asked, “Who are these two monks?” Did they come with the four women?”

Yang Guo said, “What four women?”

That disciple replied, “They were actually two groups of two, barging in here. Chief mother ordered us to stop them but they wouldn’t listen. Both groups went into the passion flower field. But as soon as the two groups saw each other, they started fighting.”

Hearing him mention ‘passion flower field,’ Yang Guo was startled, not knowing which four women he was talking about. If they were Huang Rong, Guo Fu, Wanyan Ping, and Yelu Yan, how could they be fighting? So he said, “May I ask you to lead me there? If I (little brother) know them, I may be able to break up the fight before going with them to greet the Chief.”

That disciple thought that the four women had already been detained anyway and that if he let Yang Guo see them, it would only show him the power of the Passionless Valley. So he led the four people into the woods, where they saw the two groups of women fighting.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were secretly alarmed. The four women were standing on a narrow strip of lawn about twenty feet long, encircled with layer upon layer of passion flowers. No matter from which direction they tried to come out, there would be seventy, eighty feet of passion flowers blocking them. And no matter how powerful their kungfu was, they still wouldn’t be able to escape. Even a halfway jump would still be very difficult.

Xiao Longnu cried out, “It’s my martial sister!”

To the south they saw two women, Li Mochou and her disciple Hong Lingbo. The two of them were using long swords because Li Mochou’s flywhisk had already been broken at Gumu.

They were fighting with another two women. One was holding the Willow Leaf saber, the other wielding a flute. The two girl’s movements were swift and elegant, showing that their martial skills were not weak. Still, they couldn’t match Li Mochou’s.

Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “Aren’t those the Cheng-Lu cousins?”

By now, Hong Lingbo slanted her body to attack. The young lady in yellow turned her head halfway backwards, and the one in purple dress also turned her body sideway. These girls were precisely Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang.

The four people’s fighting on a lawn this size was like holding a wicked martial arts contest in a very small arena . The terrain was limited, not allowing for trivial mistakes. As if they were tied hand and feet, the four people couldn’t unleash the power of their kungfu. It was fortunate that Li Mochou wasn’t used to her new sword and that, with her former ties with Lu Wushuang, Hong Lingbo didn’t really have a murderous intention. And so, even though the Cheng-Lu cousins were much inferior, they could still hold themselves against their opponents.

Yang Guo asked that disciple in green, “How did the four people get in there to fight in the first place?”

The disciple in green was very pleased with himself and proudly replied, “This was Chief Gongsun’s creation. We led them into this passion flower field and then piled up the flowers, blocking the entrance. How would they come out?”

Yang Guo quickly asked, “Have they been poisoned?”

“Looks like they haven’t but it won’t take long, ” replied that man in green.

Yang Guo thought to himself, “With your martial skills alone, how could you force Li Mochou into the passion flower field? Oh, you must have used your sect’s evil fishnet. If the Cheng-Lu girls get poisoned, there won’t be any antidote in the world to cure them.”

And so, he immediately raised his voice, “Sister Cheng, Sister Lu, I'm right here. The flowers around you are deadly poisonous. You must be absolutely careful.”

Li Michou had earlier seen that the passion flowers looked strange. On top of that, those disciples in green had used the flowers to block their way out, and so she knew there had to be a reason. After entering the passion flower field, she warned Hong Lingbo to be very careful and keep away from the passion flowers. Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were both skilled and clever, how could they not see the danger? The four people had originally thought there were some kinds of traps or poisoned arrows hidden in the flower shrubs. Now that they heard Yang Guo’s words, they dreaded the flowers around them even more. They all inched closer towards the center of the lawn, their bodies colliding. The fight became even more vicious.

Hearing Yang Guo calling them, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were delighted. They wanted to rush out to see him but the enemies were vicious, not allowing them to withdraw. Li Mochou actually wanted to kill the two girls so she could use their bodies as stepping stones to escape from the passion flower field. When she saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, she was frightened. Luckily, they were separated by the passion flowers and so Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu couldn’t come in to help the two girls. She fiercely shouted, “Lingbo, if you still don’t fight with all your strength, you yourself will die in here.”

“Yes, Master!” Hong Lingbo quickly replied, adding more strength to her sword and driving it towards Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying raised her flute to block the strike but Li Mochou’s long sword flew towards her throat. Lu Wushuang lunged forwards, raising her saber. Li Mochou sneered, blocking the saber with her long sword. Her left leg then flew up, kicking Lu Wushuang’s wrist and sending her Willow Leaf saber into a passion flower shrub. Suddenly lights flashed. Li Mochou swung her sword three times at Cheng Ying. Unable to withstand the force, Cheng Ying had to move backwards. At this point, if she fell back one more step, her left foot would land on a flower shrub.

Lu Wushung cried out in alarm, “Sister (cousin), you can’t move back any further.”

With a cold laugh Li Mochou said, “You can’t move back any further. Then let’s move forwards.”

Having said that, she allowed Cheng Ying a step forwards. Cheng Ying knew full well that Li Mochou didn’t mean well but she herself was dangerouly cornered. She had no choice but to move forwards.

Li Mochou sneered and said, “Really very brave!”

Her long sword vibrated. Silver lights flashed, and her sword tip reached the uppper part of Cheng Ying’s body.

Yang Guo was obseving them from outside and understood that Li Mochou was using one of Gumu’s vicious sword techniques called Cold Moon Attack. If one didn’t understand the intricacies of the stances, he was likely to deplete his energy guarding the upper body and leaving his abdomen vulnerable. Seeing that Cheng Ying was busy protecting her chest, he quickly picked up a pebble from the ground, placing it between his thumb and middle finger. Then, with a whishing sound, the pebble was shot out fiercely, straight towards Li Mochou’s eyes. Li Mochou’s sword had already moved downwards and was only a few inches away from Cheng Ying’s abdomen. Suddenly seeing a pebble flying her way, she had to let the enemy off and swung her sword back to hit the pebble.

What Yang Guo just displayed was precisely Huang Yaoshi’s Divine Flicking Fingers skill. But his cultivated energy hadn’t reached its peak so he could only use this technique to divert the enemy, forceing her to be on the defensive. If it were Huang Yaoshi himself flicking the pebble, he would have knocked loose Li Mochou’s sword, and it would have been almost impossible to miss the target. It was fortunate that he taught Yang Guo this technique because it came back to save the life of his own disciple. But even so, Yang Guo and Cheng Ying had already been drenched in cold sweat.

Cheng Ying had just narrowly escaped death, color draining from her originally white and tender cheeks. Li Mochou knew that she was still in shock, and so she shouted, “Here come again!” The long sword vibrated as she used the Cold Moon Attack technique once again. Cheng Ying was clever, knowing that the upper body attack was fake and the middle body strike was real, and so she immediately protected her abdomen. Who would have thought that Li Mochou would slyly change her stances. While her sword tip pointed at Cheng Ying’s abdomen, she dashed forwards, stretching out her left hand to seal the ‘Jade Hall’ point on Cheng Ying’s chest. Then her left leg swept out to kick Lu Wushuang and at the same time the tip of her foot struck the ‘Sun’ point on the side of Cheng Ying’s knee. These few stances were incredibly fast, sending both Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang to the ground. Yang Guo definitely couldn’t help them both.

Li Mochou then grabbed Cheng Ying’s back and threw her out with force. She did the same to Lu Wushuang and shouted, “Lingbo, step on their bodies…”

Before she could finish saying that, Yang Guo jumped in to grab Cheng Ying and moved forwards. Even though the acupoints on her chest and leg had been sealed, she could use her free arms to grasp Lu Wushuang.

She cried out, “Brother Yang, you.. .. “

She had always had a deep feeling for Yang Guo. And now that she saw him jumping into the passion flower field, giving up his life to save hers, she was all overwhelmed.

Having grabbed the two girls, Yang Guo leapt back out and gently put them on the ground. With her stiff legs, Cheng Ying couldn’t stand by herself. Xiao Longnu unsealed her pressure points. Then the three girls all looked at Yang Guo. His pants were ripped by the poisonous thorns, blood dripping from his thighs and calfs. Nobody knew how much poison had entered his body.

While Cheng Ying weeped, Lu Wushuang said, “You.. you.. didn’t have to save me. Who told you to do this?”

With a bright smile Yang Guo said, “I’ve already got the passion flower poison in my body, a little more makes no difference.”

But everybody knew that the amount of poison in his body really made a big difference. He only said this to comfort the three girls in front of him.

Cheng Ying looked at Yang Guo’s empty right sleeve with tears in her eyes. Lu Wushuang said, “Dumb egg, your.. your right arm?” How did you break it?”

Seeing that the two girls were extremely worried about Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu immediately thought them as very good friends. With a smile she said, “He’s not dumb, why do you call him dumb egg?”

Lu Wushung let out an ‘ah’ sound and apologetically said, “I used to call him that. It’s hard to change.”

She looked at Cheng Ying and asked, “And this sister is?”

Yang Guo replied, “This is.. ..”

Cheng Ying quickly said, “This sister’s name must be Xiao Longnu.”

“Right. I should have known, seeing how angelic she is.” Lu Wushuang said.

With the knowledge that Yang Guo only had Xiao Longnu on his mind, the two Cheng-Lu girls had been jealous. Now that they actually met Xiao Longnu, they couldn’t help feeling inferior. Both thought to themselves, “How can I ever compare against her?”

Lu Wushuang asked, “Brother Yang, what’s happened to your arm? Is the wound healed?”

“It’s already healed. It was someone cutting it off,” replied Yang Guo.

Lu Wushuang asked angrily, “Which evil villain did it? That person must have used a low and dispicable trick. Was it that wretched witch?”

Suddenly a cold voice from behind said, “You scold people behind their back. Isn’t that lower and more dispicable?”

Lu Wushuang was startled. She turned head back and saw a beautiful young girl. It was precisely Guo Fu with a sword in her hand, looking enraged. Standing by her were several men and women.

Lu Wushuang was puzzled. She said, “I didn’t scold you. I was scolding the evil person who cut off Brother Yang’s arm.”

With a shua sound, Guo Fu pulled her sword halfway from its sheath. She said, “His arm was cut off by me. I’ve already apologized, and my parents have already punished me. Now you people are scolding me behind my back…”

Having said this, her eyes turned red. She felt she was wronged by these people.

Days ago Wu Santong, Guo Fu, Yelu Qi, and the Wu brothers hid from the mountain fires in the creek. They waited for the fires to slow down and then got out of the water to meet with Huang Rong, Wanyan Ping and Yelu Yan. Then they all came to the Passionless Valley. The group arrived here long before Yang Guo and the others but they were searching the areas around the valley, trying to find the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu, without any success. That’s why they were delayed. As for Li Mochou, her disciple, and the Cheng-Lu cousins, they were led into the valley by Zhou Botong.

Huang Rong, Wu Santong and the others quickly went to greet Reverend Yi Deng, and they all exchanged greetings. Although Cheng Ying had never met Huang Rong before, she knew this martial sister by reputation and greatly admired her. She immediately went over and kowtow with utmost respect. She called out, “Martial sister!”

Knowing from Yang Guo that years ago her father had accepted another female disciple, now she found out that this was an extremely beautiful girl. As Huang Rong asked about her father and learned that he was strong and healthy, she was delighted.

The disciples in green had been watching them from the edge of the woods. Now seeing that the enemies from outside all gathered, making a noisy commotion, they didn’t dare to block them. Instead, they ran back to report the matter to Qiu Qianchi.

Guo Fu and Lu Wushuang glared at each other angrily, with mutual hatred. As Guo Fu heard her mother order her to greet Cheng Ying, she was not pleased at all. She had to force herself to say ‘Martial uncle.”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were standing in each other’s arms on the other side. Yang Guo looked at Guo Xiang in Xiao Longnu’s arms and said, “Long’er, let’s give the little girl back to her mother.”

Xiao Longnu lifted up Guo Xiang and kissed her on the cheek. Then she walked over to hand the little girl back to Huang Rong. She said, “Madame Guo, your child.”

Huang Rong thanked her and took the little girl. From the time the girl was born until now, this was the first time Huang Rong had her child firmly in her hands. There was no word that could describe her happiness and joy.

Yang Guo turned to Guo Fu and clearly said, “Miss Guo, your little sister is well. I didn’t use her to trade for the antidote to save my life.”

Guo Fu retorted angrily, “My mother is here. Of course, you don’t dare to. But if you didn’t have such intention, what did you bring my sister here for?”

In this situation, Yang Guo in the former days would have quarrelled with her. But his encounters with life and death during these past few months had changed him. Paying no attention to her, he only let out a tasteless smile and walked away with Xiao Longnu.

Lu Wushuang looked at Guo Xiang and said to Cheng Ying, “Is this your martial sister’s little girl? I hope she won’t grow up to be evil and vicious.”

It was impossible for Guo Fu to not understand that the words were meant to attack her, and so she retorted, “What business of yours is it if my sister becomes evil and vicious? What are you trying to say?”

Lu Wushuang said, “I didn’t speak to you. Everybody has the right to deal with evil and vicious people. How could it not be my business?”

Lu Wushuang only had Yang Guo on her mind. Having seen that Yang Guo’s arm got chopped off, she and Cheng Ying were really mad. But she couldn’t control her temper like her cousin did. Even though it was in front of many people, she still had to let it show.

Guo Fu was furious. Grabbing her sword, she shouted, “You cripple.. ..”

Huang Rong yelled, “Fu’er, don’t be rude!”

And at this time, they all heard a loud ‘ah’ cry from the distance. They turned their heads back towards the passion flower field and saw Li Mochou hoisting Hong Lingbo’s body high up in the air. The sound they heard just now was Hong Lingbo’s cry. The many people had been busy arguing, forgetting all about Li Mochou and her disciples who were stuck in the sea of flowers. Startled, Lu Wushuang cried out, “Drat. Master is using her disciple as a stepping stone. Quick. We have to quickly find a way to help.. ..”

While the people outside were staring in confusion, Li Mochou suddenly threw Hong Lingbo out. As the body fell into the passion flower shrubs, Li Mochou sprang up, her left foot stepping on Hong Lingbo’s chest. She then jumped up again with both legs high in the air, and her right hand grabbing and hurling Hong Lingbo out one more time. Again, she descended on top of her disciple’s body.

She used this strength borrowing tactic twice, expecting to fall outside the flower shrubs on her third jump. Afraid that Huang Rong would be waiting to block her, she flew out again in the opposite direction, away from the group of people. But this time as her body shot up, Hong Lingbo suddenly gave out a loud cry and leapt up with her, grasping Li Mochou’s left leg. Losing her momentum, Li Mochou started to sink. Then her right leg shot out, kicking Hong Lingbo in the chest with a ‘peng’ sound. This kick was lethal, destroying Hong Lingbo’s internal organs and killing her instantly. Anyhow, Hong Lingbo’s hands were still gripping Li Mochou’s leg, and the two of them plunged down together, falling into the flower shrubs just two feet short from the edge of the flower bed. Eventually, Li Mochou was two feet short, and the unimaginable amount of poison surged into her body.

Everybody was shocked, speechless, staring out wide-eyed at this sadly horrifying development. Lu Wushuang thought about how her martial sister used to take care of her. Grief-striken, she wept loudly and cried out, “Martial sister, martial sister!”

Yang Guo remembered how years ago he’d played tricks on Hong Lingbo. He couldn’t help feeling heavyhearted.

Li Mochou bent down to pry away Hong Lingbo’s hands and saw that her open eyes were filled with hatred. She thought to herself, “I’ve been poisoned by the passion flowers. The antidote surely must be here in the valley.”

As she was about to walk around the piles of flowers and be on her way, she suddenly heard Huang Rong calling out, “Sister Li, please come over here. I have a few words to say to you.”

Li Mochou was surprised but, with a slight hesitation, she moved forwards twenty, thirty feet.

“What?” She asked.

She secretly hoped that Huang Rong would give her the antidote, or at least tell her how to find it.

“You didn’t need to kill your disciple to leave the flower thicket,” said Huang Rong.

Li Mochou reached for her sword and coldly said, “Are you trying to teach me?”

With a faint smile Huang Rong replied, “I wouldn’t dare to. I’m only going to tell you one thing. You should haved used your long sword to dig up the soil and wrapped it with your outer gown, making two very large balls. And if you had thrown them into the flower thicket, wouldn’t they have made good stepping stones? Not only could you have gotten out safely, you wouldn’t have had to hurt anyone.”

Li Mochou’s face alternated between white and red, then red and white. She was struck by enornous grief. What Huang Rong had just explained was really not difficult but because she was anxious, she couldn’t figure it out . Instead, she had just killed the only person in the world that mattered and actually fallen to her doom. She couldn’t help saying bitterly, “Whatever, it’s already too late.”

Huang Rong said, “Right. It’s been way too late. Really, whether or not you are poisoned by the passion flowers makes no difference.”

Li Mochou stared fixedly at her, not understanding the meaning of her words.

Huang Rong added, “You’ve already been poisoned by your own foolish, unrestrained passion. You hurt people, and so you hurt yourself. As of now..”

Huang Rong sighed. “It’s been way too late.”

Li Mochou turned arrogant. She said in a stern voice, “It was I who gave my disciple her life. Had it not been for me taking care of her since childhood, she wouldn’t have lived until today. I gave her life. I then gave her death. It was only fair.”

Huang Rong said, “Parents give life to their own children. Yet, they have no right to kill them. Who are you to think that you do?”


Wu Xiuwen held out his sword and shouted, “Li Mochou, today you’ll pay for your inumerable crimes. No need for more talking. We’ll fight.”

Then the six of them – Wu Xiuwen, Wu Duiru, Wu Santong, Yelu Qi, Yelu Yan, and Guo Fu – arranged themselves in two lines and marched forwards.

Armed with a saber and a flute, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang moved a couple of steps forwards. Lu Wushuang said, “You slaughtered my whole family, today your one life is way too cheap. Worse, you had to be so evil, killing Sister Hong. Your death won’t even cover it.”

Guo Fu turned to Lu Wushuang and said with a sneer, “You’ve got such a good master!”

Lu Wushuang returned the stare and said, “Even someone with a big backer, if she does evil things, she should die just the same! Don’t you look to this demoness as an example!”

As Li Mochou heard Lu Wushuang mention “a backer,” something came to her mind. She raised her voice and called out, “Little martial sister, have you completely forgotten our martial ties?”

She had roamed Jianghu all her life and never paid anyone attention. This time she was asking Xiao Longnu for help. It could only mean that she had realized how grave her situation was. Besides, after killing Hong Lingbo, she felt a pang of guilt, her mind becoming disturbed.

Xiao Longnu didn’t know how to reply but Yang Guo retorted, “You treacherously killed your own disciple. How could you mention any martial ties?”

“Good!” Li Mochou said with a sigh.

Swinging her long sword, she said, “You all come at once. The more people, the better.”

The Wu brothers pulled out their swords. On the left side Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang both lunged forwards. Wu Santong, Yelu Qi and the others also held their weapons at the ready. Having seen the way she despicably killed Hong Lingbo just now, everybody was extremely hateful and disgusted. Even Reverend Yi Deng thought that if Li Mochou was allowed to live, she would only murder more people. But the ‘ding dang’ sounds of clashing weapons went on. Li Mochou’s martial skills were high, and she destroyed the many people’s offense in a flash.

Suddenly Li Mochou’s left hand flew out. She shouted, “Projectiles!”

Knowing that her Soul Freezing needles were deadly, the many people all froze stiff, only to see her body spring up and fall into the passion flower thicket. They couldn’t help crying out in alarm. Li Mochou did this because she already had the poison in her body and she thought that if she got pricked again, it wouldn’t be much worse. Even Huang Rong and Yang Guo hadn’t expected this. They all saw her return to the flower thicket and then went straight into the woods.

Wu Xiuwen said, “We pursue!”

Brandishing his long sword, he made a detour and followed Li Mochou into the woods from the east side. But the pathways in the woods were winding, with sharp turns. Only twenty, thirty feet in there, he ran into a three-way junction. While still hesitating, he suddenly saw five girls dressed in green coming out. The one in front was holding a flower in her hand, and the other four trailing behind wore long swords at their waists.

The girl in front asked, “The valley chief requests your presence. Would you please come with us?”

Yang Guo saw her from afar so he called out, “Miss Gongsun, it’s us.”

That girl was of course Gongsun Lu’e. Upon hearing Yang Guo’s voice, she lost her composure and quickly stepped forwards. Happily she said, “Big Brother Yang, have you accomplished your big task? Let’s quickly go see my mother.”

“Miss Gongsun, let me introduce you to these several elders,” said Yang Guo.

He first introduced her to Reverend Yi Deng, and then Ci’en and Huang Rong.

Gongsun Lu’e did not know that the monk in black in front of her was her own uncle, and so she walked over to pay him respect without much thought. But then she heard Yang Guo address Huang Rong as Madame Guo. She knew that this person was her mother’s personal enemy. Not only Yang Guo hadn’t killed her, he led her into the valley. Greatly suspicious, she moved a couple of steps backwards, refusing to greet her. She said, “My mother invites everybody to tea in the main hall.”

She thought to herself that she’d better do as her mother had ordered. And so, she led the many people to the main hall.

In the hall, Qiu Qianchi was sitting in a chair. She said, “This old woman’s limbs are disabled. I can’t get up to welcome you. Please accept my apology.”

Ci’en remembered his little sister. At the time she married Gongsun Zhi, she was a fledgling girl of eighteen, full of tenderness and grace. Nobody could have imagined that she would turn into an old, bald, wrinkled, ugly woman like this. He thought of the past and became at a loss.

Yi Deng saw the strange gleams in his eyes and couldn’t help being worried. In his life, the only worry left was this disciple who still couldn’t wake up and turn a new leaf. This was because Ci’en’s kungfu was profound. Years ago, he was an unmatched master in the martial realm, and so his deep attachment to the past made change even more difficult. Over the past ten years, he’d lived in seclusion in a remote mountain and had calmed down. But this time he stepped back into Jianghu, running into things that reminded him of the past. There was a saying that “He, who never encounters desires, will have a peaceful heart.” And so, when running into things that triggered a worldly desire, the mind would become disturbed, how would Ci'en be able to control himself? Yi Deng had brought Ci’en with him to the Passionless valley this time because he wanted to help his martial brother and Zhu Ziliu, but it was also very hard on Ci’en because his mind was greatly affected.

Because Yang Guo didn’t return to the Passionles valley in time, Qiu Qianchi had originally thought that he already died from the poison. Suddenly seeing him still alive and well, standing before her, she was puzzled. She asked, “You are not dead yet?”

“I’ve taken an antidote. Your flower poison is now gone.” Yang Guo said with a laugh.

Qiu Qianchi made a surprised sound. She thought to herself, “Unexpectedly there is an antidote that can detoxify the passion flower poison. How strange.”

But suddenly she figured it out. With a sneer she said, “What kind of lie is this? If there really was an antidote, why would that Indian monk and that Zhu person have to come here?”

Yang Guo said, “Senior Qiu, where did you imprison the Indian monk and Senior Zhu? I (junior) am already here. Please let them go!”

With a sneer Qiu Qianren said, “To tie a tiger is easy, to let it go is hard!”

These words of hers actually made sense. All her four limbs were disabled, and so she could only rely on her sect’s fishnet to capture the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu. If released, the Indian monk would be all right because he didn’t know kungfu but Zhu Ziliu would definitely retaliate. None of the disciples of the Passionless Valley was his match.

Yang Guo thought that if she saw her elder brother, their bloodties would make things friendlier. And so, he said with a faint smile, “Senior Qiu, please look at us carefully. Who did I bring back here? I’m sure you’ll be delighted.”

For decades Qiu Qianchi hadn’t seen her brother. Although she knew that he had become a monk, in her mind she only remembered him as a victorious and courageous youth. How would she be able to recognize this old monk? Hearing from her daugther that Huang Rong, her own personal enemy, had arrived, her eyes scanned the faces of many people and finally came to stop at Huang Rong.

Clenching her teeth, Qiu Qianchi said, “You are Huang Rong. My elder brother died at your hand.”

Yang Guo was startled. His original intention was to have the brother and sister meet. Instead, she recognized her archenemy. He quickly said, “Senior Qiu, we’ll put that on hold for now. Won’t you take a look again to see who else is here?”

Qiu Qianchi shouted, “You mean Guo Jing is here too? How wonderful, how wonderful!”

Then she looked at Wu Santong and Yelu Qi. One was too old, the other too young, looking not quite right. Frustrated, she searched for Guo Jing among the many people. Then her eyes met with those of Ci’en. They exchanged a stare, finally recognizing each other.

Ci’en jumped forward and cried out, “Third sister!”

Qiu Qianchi also gave out a loud cry, “Second brother!”

The two of them had countless things to say to each other, yet at this time they couldn’t think of anything to say.

A while passed, and then Qiu Qianchi asked, “Second brother, how did you become a monk?”

Ci’en asked back, “Third sister, how did your limbs become disabled?”

“It was that villain Gongsun Zhi who did it,” replied Qiu Qianchi

Ci’en said in alarm, “Gongsun Zhi? It was your husband?” Where is he right now?”

Qiu Qianchi said bitterly, “Why do you still call him 'my husband’? The traitor has a wolf’s heart and dog’s lungs. He plotted against me.”

Unable to suppress his anger, Ci'en cried out, “Where did the villain go? I’ll tear him to shreds, making it up to you.”

Qiu Qianchi coldly said, “Although I was the subject of an evil plan, luckily I could escape death. Our big brother, on the other hand, was already murdered.”

Ci’en said darkly, “Right!”

Qiu Qianchi gathered her chi and ferociously shouted, “Your body is skilled and able, why are you not avenging our big brother’s death? Where is your brotherly loyalty?”

Startled, Ci’en muttered, “Avenging our big brother’s death? Avenging our big brother’s death?”

Qiu Qianchi bellowed, “That evil Huang Rong is right in front of you. You kill her first and then go look for Guo Jing.”

Ci’en gazed at Huang Rong, with strange gleams in his eyes.

Yi Deng slowly stepped forwards and softly said, “Ci’en, how can a monk have murderous thoughts? Let alone the fact that your brother brought about his own death, you can't blame other people.”

Ci'en nodded and was lost in thought. After a while, he said in a low voice, “What my master said is right. Third sister, we can't avenge his death.”

Qiu Qianchi gave Yi Deng a stare and snarled, “This old monk is spouting nonsense. Second brother, our Qiu family has been brave and heroic. Our big brother was killed. If you don't avenge his death, how can you still call yourself a heroic true man?”

Having heard that, Ci’en’s mind became chaotic. He muttered, “How can I still call myself a heroic true man?”

Qiu Qianchi said, “Right! Years go you roamed Jianghu. The name Iron Palms Floating on Water was famous and prestigious. Who would have thought that, in old age, you'd turn into a coward who is afraid of death. Qiu Qianren, I’m telling you now. If you don’t avenge our big brother’s death, do not call me your sister!”

Seeing her become fiercer and fiercer, the many people all thought, “This bald old woman is quite lethal.”

Years ago, Huang Rong was struck by Qiu Qianren’s palm. Luckily Reverend Yi Deng came to her rescue, and so she narrowly escaped death. Naturally she knew him well. As soon as seeing him, she’d already thought about pulling out her horse whip.

Again, Guo Fu couldn’t bear it and shouted, “My mother doesn’t want to stoop to your level. Who’s afraid of you old woman? If you continue to egg on people, I’m going to have to be impolite.”

Huang Rong was about to tell Guo Fu to stop but then she figured, “That Qiu Qianren must be urged by his sister to act. Fu’er’s attack may actually help divert his attention.”

Seeing that her mother didn’t try to stop her, Guo Fu said again, “We are your guests. Yet, you are not treating us accordingly. Actually, you are rude like this, how would you call yourself a hero?”

Qiu Qianchi gave her a cold stare and said, “You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Guo Fu replied, “Correct, and if you want to fight, you have to do it yourself. Your brother has already become a monk. How could he ever kill anybody again?”

Qiu Qianchi muttered, “You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter. You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s.. ..”

She didn’t say the word ‘daughter’ again. Instead, with a ‘hu’ sound, a date stone was suddenly spat out from her mouth, violently coming towards Guo Fu. Her words ‘You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter’ were followed by ‘You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s.. ..” Everybody naturally thought she was going to say ‘daugther.’ Noone could have thought that in the blink of an eye she would shoot a projectile from her mouth. This sudden date stone kungfu of hers was really ingenious. It even blinded the right eye of Gongsun Zhi, who was a remarkable kungfu master. Guo Fu definitely didn’t stand a chance. She didn’t even have the time to think about dodging the projectile.

Among all these people, only Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu knew that Qiu Qianchi had such strange kungfu.While Xiao Longnu didn’t think she would harm people, Yang Guo had been paying close attention, his eyes never leaving her face. Seeing that her lips were not about to say the word ‘daughter, he plunged forwards, pulling out the long sword from Guo Fu’s waist and swinging it. A dang sound echoed as the date stone hit the blade. The sword immediately broke into two pieces before falling on the ground.

In one voice, the many people cried out in alarm. Huang Rong and Guo Fu were frightened, color draining from their faces.

Huang Rong mused, “I was guarding against her vicious attack but never would I have expected that she could out shoot out a ferocious projectile like this without even moving her body, limbs, or neck.”

The date stone broke the sword, showing that it was shot out with great force. Everybody all understood and thought, “If not for Yang Guo’s interfering, how would Miss Guo still be alive? And his movement was so swift that it was really shocking.”

Qiu Qianchi stared at Yang Guo in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to have the nerve to help Guo Fu. She coldly said, “Today you were poisoned again by the passion flower. The poison doesn’t manifest itself now but it will, in less than three days. In the whole world there is only my half-pill here that can save your life. Don’t you believe that?”

At the time Yang Guo jumped in to save Guo Fu, everything happened so fast that he didn’t even think of this matter. As Qiu Qianchi brought it up now, he couldn’t help feeling discouraged.

Stepping forwards, he gave her a bow and said, “Senior Qiu, I (junior) haven’t done anything to you. If you give me the pill, I’ll forever be grateful.”

Qiu Qianchi replied, “Never! Although it's true that I have today because of you, this old Qiu has revenge to exact and all gratitude can’t be taken into account. You promised me you’d go bring me Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s heads. Then I’d grant you the antidote. Who would have thought that not only did you not keep your promise, you just saved my personal enemy. What else is there to say?”

Seeing that the matter was escalating, Gongsun Lu’e said, “Mother, my uncle’s death has nothing to do with Big Brother Yang. You.. please bestow mercy.”

Qiu Qianchi said, “I’ll only give this half pill to my son-in-law. I’m not going to give it to anybody else.”

Having heard this, Gongsun Lu’e blushed furiously in shame and anxiety.

Yang Guo had saved Guo Fu’s life. By this time, she realized that Yang Guo was truly benevolent and really didn’t intend to trade her little sister for the antidote. She thought about how she had repeatedly hurt him but he always returned her viciousness with kindness.

In a loud voice she said, “Big Brother Yang, I (little sister) have wronged you. Please forgive me.”

But for some unknown reason, old grudges are hard to let go. As soon as she apologized, she thought, “You saved me because you wanted to show off your ability. You wanted me to submit to you and feel grateful to you. You wanted to show me that even though you had only one arm, you were still much stronger than me with two arms. Humph, isn’t that just great?”

Yang Guo let out a faint smile, which was actually quite bitter and tasteless. He thought to himself, “How very easy for you to admit that you were wrong. You didn’t even know how much suffering you brought on me and Long’er.”

Then he saw that Qiu Qianchi was giving him a fixed stare. Obviously, if he didn’t agree to marry her daughter, she would never give him that half pill to save his life. Again, he refused to compromise and made things awkward for Gongsun Lu’e and Xiao Longnu.

He brightly said, “I’m already married to the Long girl. Even I, Yang Guo, am doomed to die, how can I shirk my responsibilities?”

Having said this, he turned around, taking Xiao Longnu by hand. While walking to the hall entrance, he thought to himself, “Let them squabble in the hall. I’d better go rescue the Indian monk and Uncle Zhu.”

With a sneer Qiu Qianchi said, “Good, good! You yourself volunteered to die, this has nothing to do with me.”

She turned her head back towards Ci’en and said, “Second brother, I’ve heard that Huang Rong is chief of the beggar clan. We, iron palm clan, don’t dare to offend her.”

Ci’en said, “Iron palm clan? It’s already been disbanded. How can there still be such a clan?”

Qiu Qianchi said, “No wonder, no wonder. You don’t want to fight. You’ve become a coward..”

Qiu Qianchi were still talking but Gongsun Lu’e no longer listened to her. Watching Yang Guo step out of the hall, she suddenly dashed forwards. She cried out, “Yang Guo, you heartless scoundrel, I must have been blind.”

Yang Guo paused his steps, wondering why this girl, who had always been courteous, was acting out of character. Could it be because she heard that he and Long’er were married and became enraged? He felt a slight regret, and so he turned his back and said, “Miss Gongsun.. ..”

Gongsun Lu’e scolded, “Crafty thief, it’s easy to come into the valley but hard to get out.. ..”

But although she was berating him, her face expression was actually warm and gentle, her eyes conveying a hidden message. Yang Guo knew that there had to be a reason.

In a loud voice he said, “What is it? You say this small Passionless Valley is hard to get out?”

He was facing the main hall. Qiu Qianchi saw him very clearly and therefore didn’t see anything strange.

Lu’e scolded, “I wish I could split you in half. I would rip out your heart so I could see.. ..”

She suddenly opened her mouth and, with a puff of air, a date stone was spat out, flying towards Yang Guo’s face.

Yang Guo caught it with his hand. He sneered, “Just let me leave quickly and I won’t hurt you. You think your little skill could stop me?”

Gongsun Lu’e gave him another meaningful glance and let him leave. Suddenly she covered her face with both hands and cried out, “Mother, he.. he’s a big bully!”

She fled back into the main hall. Her loved one was gone. He had married another girl. This sadness was actually not fake.

Seeing tears stream down her face, Qiu Qianchi shouted, “E’er, what’s wrong with you? That boy’s life won’t last very long.”

Lu’e crouched down at her mother’s knees, and her sobs continued.

Everybody in the hall was deceived by this performance. There was only Huang Rong who secretly thought it to be funny. She mused, “She pretended to be mad at Yang Guo so her mother wouldn't be suspicious and later she could steal the antidote. Who would have thought that this boy Yang Guo would leave a trail of broken hearts behind him everywhere he went, making all these beautiful girls pining for him.”

Having thought this, she gave Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang a glance.

After catching that date stone, Yang Guo walked out very quickly. Lu’e words were very strange, and he still couldn’t figure out her intention. Xiao Longnu saw the expression on Lu’e’s face and knew that her tirade was fake.

She asked, “Guo’er, she pretended to be mad at you. Was it because she was trying to fool her mother so she could steal the antidote?”

Yang Guo replied, “Looks like it.”

As soon as the two people rounded a curve and saw that they were alone, Yang Guo raised his hand and looked at the date stone in his palm. It was actually an olive seed, with tiny stitches in the middle. Yang Guo squeezed it with his fingers, breaking it in half. The middle of the seed was actually hollow, with a thin sheet of paper hidden in there.

With a smile Xiao Longnu said, “This girl told you a riddle. She actually meant this when she said ..split you in half. I would rip out your heart so I could see.. ”

Yang Guo unfolded the thin paper, and the two of them bent their heads to look at the words.

The paper read, “Mother hid the half pill in a secret place. I will plan to steal it for you. The Indian monk and senior Zhu are confined in ‘the fire room’ ”

Next to the characters was a map showing a winding path that ended at ‘the fire room.’

Yang Guo said in delight, “Let us go quickly. It's good that no one is here to stop us right now.”


[END of CH30]

[Han Solo]

Chapter 30 – Strange Encounters [p.1-35]

Translated by BeeDreamer

Again this quiet and peaceful moment didn’t last very long. Just a little while after Guo Xiang fell asleep, from the east came the distant “ca-ca-ca” sounds of someone walking on the snow in quick steps. Yang Guo stood up and gazed out from the east side window. Then he saw that on the snowy ground were two old men walking side by side. One was fat, and the other was thin. And with their ragged clothes, they looked just like people from the beggar clan. Stranded in the snow, they had to be looking for a place to rest their feet. At this time Yang Guo didn’t want to meet any people and specially detested those from Wulin [the martial world]. He turned around and said, “There are people outside. You should go sleep in the bedroom, pretending to be sick.” Xiao Longnu picked up Guo Xiang and went into the bedroom to lie down in bed as suggested. Then she pulled up a tattered wolf skin from the edge of the bed to cover her body.

Yang Guo scooped up some firewood ash and wiped it all over his face and neck. He pulled the hat lower over his face and hid his black iron sword inside a room. Then he heard the two people coming close and knocking on the door. He randomly smeared deer grease on his gown to make him look like a hunter and then went to open the door.

That fat old beggar said, “The snow is coming down heavily in the mountain. It is really miserable out here. May we ask the gentleman to let us beggars stay in your house tonight?” Yang Guo replied, “We are just a hunting family. How could senior call me a gentleman? You may stay here for the night.“ That fat old beggar then thanked him profusely. Yang Guo recalled how he once displayed himself at a hero meeting and didn’t want to be recognized by them. So he ripped two strips of meat from the roasted deer leg, handed them to the two people, and said, “There are so many things to do to survive in the snow. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow to catch a fox. I’m afraid I can’t keep you two company.” The fat old beggar replied, “Please do as you please, little gentleman.”

Then in a coarse tone Yang Guo said, “Old wife, how’s your cough?” Xiao Longnu replied, “It’s the weather change. My chest hurts.” While saying that, she let out a loud cough and her hand gently shook Guo Xiang to wake her up.The sound of a coughing woman was mixed with that of a crying baby and so the three of them really presented a perfect picture of a hunting household.

Yang Guo walked into the bedroom and banged the door shut after him. He lied down in bed next to Xiao Longnu and thought to himself, “This fat beggar looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?” But still he couldn’t remember.

The fat and thin beggars thought that Yang Guo was really a poor hunter living on a wild mountain and didn’t suspect anything at all. While eating the deer leg, they started talking. The thin beggar said, “Today Mount Zhongnan was blasted to the sky. That was well done.” With a laugh the fat beggar added, “The Mongolian royal army is attacking from east to west and defeating all the enemies under the sky. Wiping out those little Quan Zhen taoists was as easy as crushing an ant nest.” The thin beggar said, “But just recently Jinlun Fawang suffered quite a loss. That was difficult enough.” The fat beggar laughingly said, “That's even better. It will let the prince know that he must depend on the Chinese to conquer the beautiful homeland of China. Using only the Mongolians and the Western warriors isn't enough.” The thin beggar then said, “Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], when this business of establishing the southern beggar clan is all done, how is the Mongolian emperor going to reward you?”

Having heard this, Yang Guo suddenly remembered something. He'd seen this old fat beggar at the Dashengguan hero banquet but at that time the beggar was dressed in Mongolian attire with a fur coat, and he was whispering advice to Jinlun Fawang. It was this person. So he thought to himself, “These two fellows are actually the country’s traitors. I will just quickly get rid of them to avoid causing any disturbance here.”

This fat old beggar was precisely one of the four big elders of the beggar clan, Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], who had earlier fallen to the Mongols. Yang Guo heard him continue, “The emperor will bestow on me the position of “Chief General of the Southern Province” but, you know, they say ‘Beg for three years and the emperor still might not see it.’ We are members of the beggar clan. Why would we still want to be a government official?” But while saying this, his tone actually revealed a fervent desire for the position. The thin beggar said, “Let me congratulate you in advance.” Peng Zhanglao chuckled and said, “Your accomplishments during these many years are not lacking. Naturally, your own reward won’t be small either.”

That thin beggar said, “I don’t wish to become a public official. Only that you’ve promised to teach me the great soul absorbing technique. When will you pass it on to me?” Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] replied, “Wait until the southern beggar clan is established and I become the chief of the clan. Both of us will have a lot of free time. Then I will definitely pass it on to you.” The thin beggar said, “By then you’ll be the chief of the southern beggar clan and also the Mongolian chief general of the southern province. You would only be even busier. How would you have any free time?” With a laugh Peng Zhanglao said, “Laodi [Old little brother], is that to say you still don’t trust your big brother?” That thin beggar said nothing and snorted, showing that he didn’t believe him. Yang Guo thought to himself, “There’s only one beggar clan in the world and it’s never been divided into northern and southern sects. His planning to set up this southern beggar clan must be a devious scheme to help the Mongols.”

The thin beggar continued, “Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], you’ve promised someone something. Sooner or later you’ve got to do it. You senior keep putting it off, disappointing other people. Peng Zhanglao blandly asked, “What would you do then?” The thin beggar retorted, “What would I do? My martial skills are low. My courage is small. I don’t have any great skills. But I’ve been accompanying you, helping you deceiving numerous sect brothers. Later on when Chief Huang and Chief Lu come to investigate, I think I’ll tremble with fear and spill out everything to wash my hands from this mud. Yang Guo thought, “The thin beggar doesn’t want to live. How could he dare say such thing? That Peng Zhanglao has a lofty aspiration and an evil and cold-blooded nature. You’re really both venomous and foolish.” Peng Zhanglao let out a ‘ha-ha’ laugh and said, “We’ll discuss this over time. You don’t have to worry.” The thin beggar didn’t say a word. But after a while he said, “One tiny deer leg is not filling. I’ll go out and get more food.” While saying that he took down the arrow from the wall and pushed the door open.

Yang Guo looked through a crack in the wall and saw that as soon as that thin beggar went out the door, Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] straightened up his body, drawing out a short knife and hiding it behind the door. He then heard the sounds of footsteps moving towards the west and disappearing out of the door. With a chuckle Yang Guo told Xiao Longnu, “This pair of beggars are about to kill each other, saving us a lot of trouble. That fat beggar is very dangerous. That thin one is definitely not his match. Xiao Longnu said, “It’ll be best if the two of them don’t come back. This house is quite peaceful. I don’t want people to come and disturb us. “Right,” said Yang Guo. Suddenly he lowered his voice, “I hear the sounds of footsteps.” They then heard someone making a detour around the mountain side and come back behind the house.

With a faint smile Yang Guo said, “That thin old man’s come back to sneak attack.” He pushed the window open and gently leapt out. Then he saw that thin beggar crouching down to peep through a crack in the wall. He didn’t see a trace of Peng Zhanglao, as if that beggar hadn’t yet come up with a plan. Yang Guo walked up behind the thin man and said with a laugh,“Hey!”

Taken by surprise, the thin beggar snapped his head back, thinking that it was Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] sneaking up behind him. His face looked alarmed and terrified. “Don’t fear. Don’t fear.” Yang Guo said and reached out to press the three pressure points -- on his chest, below his ribs, and on his leg. Then he moved the thin beggar to the front door. Before his eyes was a vast field of white deep snow. A child in him sprang up and so he called out, “Long Er, quickly come help me build a snowman.” He scooped up the white snow on the ground and started piling it onto that thin beggar’s body. Xiao Longnu came out of the house to help. Merrily, the two of them worked on the snowman and a short while later that beggar was thoroughly covered with the white snow. Except the pair of eyeballs that could still move, the thin beggar turned into an extremely fat and heavy snowman.

With a laugh Yang Guo said, “This thin decrepit old man’s become both fat and white in a flash.” Xiao Longnu giggled and said, “And that originally fat and white old man.. what would you change him into?” Yang Guo had yet to reply when he heard the sounds of footsteps from the distance. He lowered his voice, “That fat old beggar’s back. Let’s hide.” The two people returned to the house and shut the door. Xiao Longnu shook Guo Xiang, making her cry out. At the same time she coaxed, “Hush, hush, don’t cry.” In her whole life, she'd never pretended to do anything but this situation was so strange that she didn’t even think about it. She saw that Yang Guo was having fun so she just played along with him.

As Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] returned, he examined footprints on the snow. He saw the thin old beggar’s footprints going out and coming back again, showing that he was planning for an ambush by the left side of the house. He followed the footprints to the back of the house and then came out to the front again. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were about to open the door but then saw his short body bending over to peep into the house through the window, his right hand holding firm a knife, and his whole body alert.

The thin old beggar was freezing to the bone. He saw that Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] was unsuspectingly standing right in front of him. If only he could move his hand, he would have been able to strike him dead. But the three pressure points on his body had been sealed, making him unable to move.

Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] saw that there was nobody in the house and felt it was really strange. He pushed open the door, expecting the thin beggar to come out. But suddenly he heard the sounds of footsteps coming from the distance. Peng Zhanglao’s expression changed, and he went to hide behind the door panel, waiting for the thin beggar to return.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were all puzzled. That thin beggar had apparently become a snowman. How could there be people coming? While still hesitating, they heard that it was two people coming and knew that they had guests again. Peng Zhanglao’s aural sense was far inferior to theirs. As the two people were approaching, he looked alarmed.

Then someone from outside the house said, “Amituofo, we needy monks are stuck here in the mountain snow. May we ask patrons to let us stay here overnight.” Peng Zhanglao turned his body around and saw two old monks standing in the snow. One had long white eyebrows, with a benign face. The other was a small-built man with a gray beard, dressed in black. And even in this cold winter month, the two people were wearing thin clothes.

Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] was still in a trance when Yang Guo came out of the room and said, “Please come in. Why are you two still standing in the doorway?” By this time Peng Zhanglao saw that snowman. And after an observation, he eventually recognized the thin beggar. Seeing this strange transformation, he was greatly surprised and turned around to look at Yang Guo. But Yang Guo looked to be normal, as if he didn’t know anything about it at all.

Having invited the two old monks in, Yang Guo thought to himself, “Looks like these two old monks aren’t just ordinary people, especially that wicked-looking monk dressed in black. With that strange glow in his eyes, I’m afraid he’ll turn out to be like this Peng Zhanglao.” Then he said, “Big monks, you’ve stopped to rest here. We are poor mountain people and can’t provide beds for you to sleep in. Do the two of you eat game?” The white-eyebrowed monk put his two palms together (he shi = joining ten fingers to pay respect) and said, “That’s wrong. That’s wrong. We’ve brought our own food. We dare not burden our patrons.” Yang Guo said, “That’s great.” Then he came back into the bedroom and whispered into Xiao Longnu’s ear, “The two old monks looked to be very powerful masters.” Xiao Longnu creased her brows and said in a low voice, “There are really many evil people in the world. Deep in the mountain like this, people still won’t leave us alone in peace.”

Yang Guo bent down to look through a crack in the wall and saw that the white-eyebrowed monk took out four lumps of fried noodles from his rucksack. He gave two of them to the monk dressed in black and slowly ate the other two himself. Yang Guo thought, “The white-eyebrowed monk looks kind and composed, really like an esteemed monk. But there are just so many evil people who look good on the outside. Isn’t this Peng Zhanglao always laughing and looking very friendly? Still, how come that monk in black looks murderously evil like that?”

While contemplating this, he suddenly heard two ‘lang-lang’ sounds. That monk in black took out black shiny iron objects out of his chest. Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng], who were originally sitting on a bench, immediately jumped up and drew out his knife. The monk in black paid him no attention. Instead, he chained his own feet with one of those black objects, which turned out to be an iron manacle, and did the same thing to both of his hands. Yang Guo and Peng Zhanglao were stunned, unable to figure out why he shackled his own hands and feet. But having seen this, they could somewhat let down their guard against him.

The face of that white-eyebrowed monk was filled with concern. He asked in a low voice, “It’s acting up again?” The monk in black replied, “On the way here I didn’t feel very well. I’m afraid that it’ll happen again.” Suddenly he knelt down on the floor, putting his two palms together and pleading, “May Lord Buddha show mercy.” Having said that, he crouched down and stayed motionless in a kneeling position. After a while, he started to shiver and gasp for air, making wheezing noises. Then he unexpectedly let out a bull-like roar, so loud that it shook the wooden walls and sent the snow on the rooftop down to the ground. Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] was so frightened that his heart was thumping wildly. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu also gaped at each other in astonishment, not knowing what this monk was doing. Judging from the roar, his body had to be in great distress. Although Yang Guo had been holding hostility towards him from the beginning, this time he actually couldn’t help pity the man. He mused, “Don’t know what strange disease has struck him. Why hasn’t that white-eyebrowed monk done something about it?”

After a while, the roar from that monk in black accelerated, as if he was becoming out of breath. The white-eyebrowed monk soothingly said, “What should not be done will be done; what should be done will be rejected; repent for burning anger and hatred; from now on start anew…” These few sentences were spoken gently. But even amid the loud roar, one could still hear them very clearly. Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “This old monk’s internal energy was this profound. Who in the world would be able to match him?” Then he heard the white-eyebrowed monk continue the Buddhist verse, “He who repents for his crime will not be sad but become peaceful. He who repents for his misdeeds will not do evil.”

After the verse was recited, the monk in black stopped panting. He thought dully and croaked, “He who repents for his crime will not be sad.. Shifu [master], I know full well I had done all sorts of things, all of them evil and full of hatred. I couldn’t control myself. I was thinking about ‘He who repents for his misdeeds will not do evil.’ But in my heart I couldn’t find peace. How could that be good?” The white-eyebrowed monk replied, “Being able to repent for past sins is really difficult. We humans are not saints. Who has never erred? Only to know that we

As Yang Guo heard this, he vividly remembered something, “Guo Bobo [Uncle Guo] named me ‘Guo,’ meaning to change. He said it came from ‘knowing that we can change is the greatest virtue.’ Can it be that this old monk is a saint, coming today to change me?”

That monk in black said, “My evil is really difficult to expel. Ten years ago, even after I’d already followed master for a long time, I still injured three people. Today, it’s as if my blood is boiling, and it’s been very difficult to control myself. I’m afraid that I’m going to commit a hideous crime. I beg for master’s mercy. Please cut off both of my hands.” The white-eyebrowed monk replied, “Good, very good! I could chop off your hands for you. But for all the evil thoughts in your heart, you’d have to eliminate them yourself. If your evil thoughts wouldn’t go away, how would my cutting off all your hands and feet help?” The monk in black shook violently and suddenly choked in tears. He said, “Shifu [master] has enlightened me. All this time I haven’t been able to get rid of my evil thoughts.”

The white-eyebrowed monk let out a deep sigh and said, “Although you know what’s right and wrong, your heart is filled with hatred. When you don’t know how to love, evil thoughts are always difficult to eliminate. Let me tell you a Buddhist tale of a mother deer.” The monk in black replied, “I’m listening.” Then he sat down cross-legged. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu on the other side of the wall were also listening in silence.

The white-eyebrowed monk said, “Long time ago, there were a mother deer and two small fawns. The mother deer was careless and was captured by a hunter, who wanted to kill her. The mother deer kowtowed to him and begged, ‘I just gave birth to two fawns. They are young and innocent, not knowing how to find water and grass. May I ask you for some time so I can teach them to find food for themselves. After that, I’ll come back to die.’ The hunter wouldn’t listen. But after the mother deer begged and begged (with her sad doe eyes), he was moved and then let her go.”

“The mother deer searched for her two babies. Then she lowered her head and cried, licking her children’s bodies. In her heart was a mixture of happiness and sadness. She told the two fawns, ‘A love relationship is all predestined. Meetings have to end, and we rarely have much time. Today I’m your mother. I’m afraid I can’t protect myself. Life and death are everywhere. And danger came too early.’ The two fawns were small and didn’t understand her meaning. And so the mother deer pointed them to a beautiful place with water and grass, tears flowing from her eyes. Then she said, ‘Our time has ended. I fell into a hunter’s hand by accident and was about to be killed. I begged the hunter so I could come back to see you, and today I’ll die. I pity you, having to be motherless so young and living by yourself.’”

Having heard this, Xiao Longnu recalled how her own life would also be cut short. She thought about these few sentences -- ‘Life and death are everywhere, and danger came too early’ and ‘I pity you, having to be motherless so young and living by yourself.’ She couldn’t bear it, and tears were flowing from her eyes. Yang Guo knew perfectly well that the white-eyebrowed monk was only telling a Buddhist tale but the tale of the mother deer and her children was very sad, and so he also was moved.

The white-eyebrowed monk continued the story, “Having finished saying this, the mother deer left her two fawns. The two of them cried out, weeping in sorrow and following her closely behind. The babies were small and couldn’t run fast but they scrambled, tumbling down and getting up, to follow their mother, not willing to let her go. The mother deer paused. She turned around and said, ‘Babies! You can’t come along. If the hunter sees you, we mother and babies will all be finished. I’m ready to die, only fearing that you two are still weak. Nothing is permanent in the world. Everybody has to leave. I am ill-fated, causing you to lose your mother when you are still small.’ And then she fled to the hunter. The two fawns didn’t fear the hunter’s arrows and arrived after her.”

“The hunter saw that the mother deer was trustworthy, giving up her life to keep her words, and that her determination surpassed that of humans. Besides, he saw that the three deer were not willing to leave one another. He felt pity and decided not to kill her. The three of them shouted out in happiness, thanking the hunter. The hunter then told this story to the king, and the whole nation applauded and stopped evil killings.”

The monk in black listened to this story, tears streaming down his face. He said, “The deer were righteous. The mother deer was compassionate, and her offsprings were filial. In no way can I compare to them.” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “If there is compassion, any killing intention will disappear.” While saying this, he looked at Peng Zhanglao [Elder Peng] who was nearby, as if he was also explaining all this to him. The monk in black responded, “Right!” The white-eyebrowed monk continued, “If one wants to make amends, that also is virtuous. It’s better than repenting and doing nothing. From today on, we should do good deeds.” Then he let out a small sigh, “Even I, in my life, have done many bad things.” Having said this, he shut his eyes and was deep in thought.

Even though the monk in black understood his master’s teaching, he was still troubled, finding it difficult to control himself. He lifted his head, only to see that Elder Peng was staring at him with a cat-like smile, his eyes looking as if they were shining lights. The monk in black was startled, feeling like he’d seen such a person somewhere before. He felt very uncomfortable with this meaningful look, and so he immediately turned his head away to avoid the gaze. But after a short while, he couldn’t bear it and turned back to meet those eyes. With a smile Elder Peng said, “The snow has been coming down hard, don’t you think?” The monk in black replied, “Right, it’s been coming down hard.” Elder Peng then said, “Come. Let’s go look at the snow.” Having said this, he pushed the door open. The monk in black repeated, “Good, let’s go look at the snow.” Then he got up to go stand side by side with Elder Peng at the door. At this time even though Yang Guo was behind the wall, he could sense that Elder Peng’s eyes were really strange and secretly felt ominous.

Elder Peng said, “What your master said is right. Murder is wrong in any case. But the power in your body is overflowing. If you don’t let it out, your heart feels very difficult. Is that right?” In a daze, the monk in black replied, “Right!” Elder Peng said, “You might as well strike this snow man. Hit him, and you won’t sin.” The monk in black looked at the snowman and lifted both arms, eager to try. By now the two monks had been here for about half an hour, and the thin beggar’s body was thoroughly covered with white snow, even his eyes couldn’t been seen. Elder Peng urged, “Use your palms. Hit this snowman. Hit! Hit! Hit!” His words were soft, filled with encouragement. The monk in black channeled energy to his arms and said, “Good, I’ll hit!”

The white-eyebrowed monk lifted his head and let out a long sigh. In a low voice he said, “Where there is a murderous intention, there is sin.”

But then he heard a crashing sound. The monk in black shot out both of his palms, sending the white snow flying. The thin beggar’s body was struck, his pressure points unsealed, and so he let out a loud miserable ‘ah’ cry, which echoed into the distance. Xiao Longnu softly cried out, her hands grabbing Yang Guo’s.

The monk in black was shocked. He yelled, “There was someone in the snow!” The white-eyebrowed monk quickly came out and bent down to examine the body. The thin beggar was struck by the extremely powerful palms of the monk in black, and thus he was killed violently. The monk in black was all confused and became dully still.

Elder Peng acted like he was frightened and said, “This person was really strange. Why did he hide in the snow?” Eh, why was he holding a knife?” Elder Peng had used his soul absobring technique, urging the monk in black to kill the thin beggar. He was very pleased with himself. Still, he couldn’t help being puzzled and thought to himself, “Surprisingly this servant got endurance, hiding very still in the snow. Could it be that the snow was blocking his ears and so he didn’t hear me urging that man to hit him?”

With a dull look in his eyes the monk in black could only cry out, “Master!” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “Such a pity. It wasn’t you who killed this person, yet it was you who did it.” The monk in black crouched down on the snow and his voice trembled, “I don’t understand.” The white-eyebrowed monk said, “You only knew that this was a snowman so you originally didn’t mean to hurt people. But your palms were wickedly powerful, without a restraint. How can it be said that you didn’t have a murderous intention? The monk in black said, “I certainly had a murderous intention.”

The white-eyebrowed monk looked at Elder Peng with a long steady gaze. His eyes were gentle, yet filled with grief. Simply with just this look, Elder Peng’s great soul absorbing spell vanished. The monk in black suddenly cried out, “You are one of the beggar clan’s elders. It now came to my mind!” The cat-like smile on Elder Peng’s face disappeared in an instant. He creased his brows and shrewdly said, “And you are Iron Palms Chief Qiu. How did you become a monk?”

This monk in black was precisely Iron Palms Qiu Qianren. Years ago on Mount Hua, he suddenly regreted what he’d done and became a monk under Reverend Yi Deng’s tutelage. And this white-eyebrowed, old monk was Reverend Yi Deng, who was in the same leage as Wang Chongyang, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Hong Qigong. Qiu Qianren shaved his head and became a monk named Ci’en, following a Bhuddist path and diligently mending his way. But he’d done many despicable things in the past, making it very difficult to eliminate the monster in his heart. Facing the many temptations in the world, he couldn’t resist hurting people. And so he'd made a pair of strong manacles so that whenever his mind became troubled, he could shackle his hands and feet, keeping his evilness in check. This time Reverend Yi Deng, who usually secluded himself in Hunan, had received a letter asking for help from his disciple Zhu Ziliu. So he and Ci’en were now on their way to the Passionless Valley. Nobody could have expected that they would run into Elder Peng on this remote mountain. Ci’en actually had no intention to hurt people.

In over ten years since becoming a monk, although Ci'en had violated some rules, this was actually the first time he took someone’s life. His mind was greatly disturbed, only feeling that over ten years of his Buddhist study was all for nothing. He gave Elder Peng a vicious stare, with raging fires in his eyes.

Reverend Yi Deng knew that this was a critical moment. If using force to stop him from getting into a fight, his evilness would multiply. Like a bursting flood, once released, there would be no redemption. Having thought this, he only looked at Ci’en with kindness, hoping that his evil thoughts would just melt away when he came to his sense. He kindly stood by him and gently chanted, “Amituofu, Amituofu!” He repeated this several times until Ci’en stopped staring at Elder Peng and came back to sit in the house, breathing heavily.

Elder Peng had known earlier that Qiu Qianren’s martial skills were weighty but he didn’t recognize Reverend Yi Deng. Seeing the snow-white eyebrows, he mistook Reverend Yi Deng as a weak monk on the verge of death and paid him no attention. He only thought to use his soul absorbing skill to control Qiu Qianren and achieve his goal. Who would have thought that as soon as Reverend Yi Deng looked at him, he felt as if his heart was crushed by a thousand-catty weight, not being able to use his magical skill. By this time he almost peed his pants. He wanted to flee but this Qiu Qianren was also nicknamed “Iron Palms Floating on Water.” His lightness skills were strange; he didn’t even leave footprints on the snow. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to escape so he only hoped that Qiu Qianren would listen to the words of the white-eyebrowed monk, who was persuading Qiu Qianren not to harm him. He shrank himself in the corner of the room, frightened. And as Ci’en’s pants grew more heavily, his heart also thumped wildly.

Yang Guo had listened to Yi Deng telling the three-deer story. Now he thought about how no living things could escape death. Even though that thin beggar was wicked and deserved to be damned, his sudden encounter with this disaster was actually quite shocking. And more than that, he saw that Ci’en’s palm strength was strangely fierce. Who was this monk with such powerful martial skills?

Then he heard Ci’en panting for air and loudly crying out, “Master, I was born an evil person. Heaven wouldn’t let me repent. Although I didn’t mean to kill people, I finally couldn’t avoid taking somebody’s life. I’m not a monk anymore!” Yi Deng said, “Sin, sin! Let me tell you another buddhist tale.” Ci’en rudely retorted, “Why should I still listen to your buddhist tale? You’ve been deceiving me for more than ten years. I don’t believe you anymore.” With two ‘ge-la’ ‘ge-la’ sounds, the chains on his hands and feet snapped broken. Yi Deng gently said, “Ci’en, what’s done is done. You don’t have to get angry.”

Ci’en stood up. Facing Yi Deng, he shook his head. Then he turned his body around and struck Elder Peng’s chest with both palms. With a loud crashing sound, Elder Peng collided into a wall and flew out into open space. Having been struck by these iron palms, his muscles and bones all shattered. Even if he had ten lives, he would still be dead.

Hearing this loud crash, Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu jumped in fright and, side by side, came out of the room. They saw Ci’en raising his hands up high, with his eyes shining murderous lights. He loudly shouted, “What are you looking at? Once started, I might as well go all the way. Today this old man will start killing.” Having said this, he channeled energy to his arms and were about to use his iron palms again.

Reverend Yi Deng walked to the door entrance, shielding Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu’s bodies. He sat down cross-legged and recited Buddhist verses. Then he said, “You haven’t gone too far on the wrong path. You can still return. Ci’en, do you really want to sink beyond redemption?” Ci’en’s face turned blue and then red. His mind was extremely chaotic, with good and evil battling it out. Today his mind had been troubled since they were in the snow, and it was also stirred up by the soul absorbing technique. More than that, he’d killed two people, making it very difficult to control himself. One minute Reverend Yi Deng was his gracious master who had been helping him, and the next he actually became his biggest personal enemy.

For a moment he stood there stiffly. Then his evil thought became stronger and stronger. Suddenly he gave a loud shout and attacked Reverend Yi Deng with his palm. Reverend Yi Deng brought his hand up to his chest, his body slightly swaying as he blocked that palm strike. Ci’en angrily said, “You surely won’t be able to defeat me!” Then his left palm struck again. Reverend Yi Deng raised his hand, yet he didn’t counterstrike. Ci’ en shouted, “Aren’t you clever? You don’t hit back. Then you’ll die in vain. Don’t blame me!”

Even though his mind was disturbed, his words actually made sense. His iron palms and Reverend Yi Deng’s one Yang finger both claimed victories in battles, and years ago they were ranked equal in the martial world. Yi Deng’s Buddhist study was the basis of their master-disciple relationship. But speaking of martial skills, even if Yi Deng used one Yang finger with his whole strength to counterstrike, he might only win by a small margin as the iron palms skill was actually somewhat inferior. But in a one-way attack like this, as time went by, Yi Deng would eventually be killed or severely injured. Anyhow, bravely, Yi Deng was willing to sacrifice himself, receiving Ci’en’s palm strikes without hitting back. He only hoped that Ci’en would realize his mistakes and repent. This act of not using force against force was actually a battle between good and evil.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu witnessed how each of Ci’en’s iron palms was like an axe striking Reverend Yi Deng. Coming to the fourteenth strike, Yi Deng let out a ‘wa’ sound and coughed up blood. Startled, Ci’en said, “Aren't you going to fight back?” Yi Deng gently responded, “Why should I fight back? What good is it if I win? What good is it if you win? We must fight with ourselves, restrain ourselves!” Ci’en was confused, muttering, “Must fight with ourselves, restrain ourselves!”

Reverend Yi Deng’s words were like thunders rumbling in Yang Guo’s mind. He thought to himself, “Must fight with our own nature, must restrain our foolish thoughts. It’s certainly much more difficult than defeating powerful enemies. The words of this esteemed monk are really the truth.” He saw that Ci’en’s palms paused slightly in midair but, with a shout, they eventually struck down again. Yi Deng’s body shook, and he threw up another pool of blood, dyeing all his white beard and monk robe.

Having seen Yi Deng’s defense techniques and endurance, Yang Guo knew that his martial skills were in no way inferior to those of the monk in black. But this was a one-sided attack, and even a body of iron and stone could eventually be destroyed. By now, he’d already admired Yi Deng to no end, knowing full well that he wanted to sacrifice himself to change that evil person. Anyway, he couldn’t bear to see Reverend Yi Deng perish away like this. He thought about how he himself, if using only palm strength, wouldn’t be able to block the iron palms of that monk in black. He turned around to grab his black iron sword and wielded it, shielding Yi Deng’s body. He waited for Ci’en to strike with his iron palms again and then thrust forward his sword.

The wind stirred up by the black iron sword clashed with the palm wind. Their bodies trembled.

Ci’en let out a surprised sound. Never would he expect that there would be a young hunter with such marvelous martial skills living on a wild mountain. Reverend Yi Deng also looked at Yang Guo in great surprise. Ci’en sharply shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing?” Yang Guo said, “The great reverend has given you great advice, how come you don’t realize that? Not listening to the precious words is bad enough, but you have to be hateful, harming him. Acting like this, how would you not be worse than an animal?” Ci’en furiously shouted, “Are you from the beggar clan too? Do you want to accompany that evil elder of the clan?” Yang Guo laughed and said, “Those two people were scums of the beggar clan. Your getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed. Why must you beat yourself over it?” Ci’en was startled, mumbling to himself, “Getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed.. getting rid of those evil people was actually a good deed..”

Yang Guo had been behind the wall listening to their master-disciple verbal exchange, and so he understood Ci’en’s concerns, knowing that remorse caused him to hate and strired up his evil thoughts. He continued, “Those people were traitorous disciples of the beggar clan, like a wolf hiding in our homeland of China. Your killing such two people was really a great thing. If they hadn’t been killed, I don’t know how many of our fellow buddhists might have had to die. Lord Buddha is merciful but, meeting with such demons, how could benevolence still be used to expel evil spirits?

Yang Guo’s knowledge of Buddhist doctrines was very shallow but to Ci’en’s ears what he said actually made sense. He slowly put down his hands but then he changed his mind, vividly recalling that in the past he himself had allied with the Jins, helping them invading the great Song country. And so it was like Yang Guo was actually derogating him. He suddenly raised his palm to hack down at Yang Guo and said, “Little animal, what nonsense are you jabbering?”

This palm was fast and furious. Yang Guo was busy trying to persuade him with words and didn’t expect Ci’en to suddenly launch an attack. By the time the wind from his palm arrived, it was too dangerous to counterstrike with his own force. And so he went along with that palm strength, his body leaping backward. There came two ‘ge-la’ crashing sounds as he crashed into a wooden wall, and his body was thrown of the house. Reverend Yi Deng was startled and thought to himself, “Would this young man have to die like this? Looked like his martial skills were good! Alas, how would I be able to save his life?” His mind was greatly troubled.

The fire in the room was suddenly blown out by a gust of wind rushing through that hole in the wall. Yang Guo came in with the wind, his sword pointing at Ci’en. He shouted, “Good, today you and I will fight.” Ci’en shot out his left palm, aiming to strike Yang Guo’s sword tip with his palm strength. But Yang Guo’s swordplay was really a testimony of Dugu Qiu Bai’s ingenuity. Even though their ages were far apart and he shouldn’t have been able to match this old master, with his sword practice under the mountain streams, the snake gallbladders that boosted his energy, and the divine condor’s help, Yang Guo’s sword skills were very similar to those of the unparalleled demonic swordmaster of the past era. As Ci’en’s palm arrived, Yang Guo’s sword tip was only nudged a few inches aside, and it was still pointing at Ci’en’s left arm. Horrified, Ci’en dodged to the right to escape the sword and quickly sent out another palm strike. With the two people’s marvelous skills, the palms and the sword were battling violently.

Yi Deng watched the fight in wonder. This youth was only twenty years old something but surprisingly could fight a draw with master Qiu’s iron palms. His own knowledge was vast, yet he couldn’t recognize where Yang Guo’s martial skills came from. Also, his heavy sword was marvellously strange. Then he turned his head back and saw Xiao Longnu with a baby in her arms, standing by the door. She appeared to be a beautiful woman, with an elegant look. Surprisingly she didn’t seem to be frightened by the two people’s wicked fight at all. He thought to himself, “This young lady isn’t a common character either.” But then he noticed a dark cloud between her eyebrows and couldn’t help letting out an ‘ayo’ cry. Xiao Longnu faintly smiled and thought, “You’ve figured it out.”

By now the fight between the two people, a sword and two palms, became even fiercer. Yang Guo had the advantage of using a weapon but Ci’en had one more arm, and so they were about even. There came a loud crashing sound as a wooden plank was shaken loose, flying. More ‘ge-la’ sounds were heard as a pillar also snapped broken. This wooden house was small and not very secure. Really, it was no place for the two great masters to fight a battle. Wherever the sword edge and the palm wind went, the wooden boards on the four walls would all fly in chaos. Finally they heard another loud ‘ge-la-la’ sounds as another pillar snapped, causing the whole house to collapse. With Guo Xiang in her arms, Xiao Longnu dove out through the window. Yi Deng guarded their back, using his gown sleeve to brush away the flying debris.

In the howling wind and storming snow, the two people’s wicked fight continued on. In over ten years, Ci’en had never got into a fight like this. He gave out a loud cry, his iron palms flitting and flying everywhere. Over a hundred moves passed, but his opponent’s sword strength was even more powerful. With his declining age, he’d gradually lose the fight. Yang Guo thrust his sword straight out. Seeing Ci’en dodging the blow, he quickly swept his sword around, and the fierce wind sent the snow swirling. Blinded by the snow, Ci’en quickly lifted his hand to wipe it off. Suddenly the black iron sword made contact with his right shoulder, and he felt as if his body was crushed by a thousand-catty weight. Not being able to keep his balance, he tumbled down with Yang Guo’s sword tip on his chest. Although the sword was blunt, its force was strangely fierce. With its tip pressing against his chest bone, he could only breathe out but couldn’t breathe in enough air.

At this time the word ‘die’ flashed in the mind of Ci’en. Since the time he’d learned his marvelous martial skills, he’d roamed Jianghu, knowing only to kill and injure others. Extremely rarely had he run into any setback. He’d been defeated by Zhou Botong, and he’d run away to the West region. Later on he’d depended on clever tricks to get away from the old urchin. This time death was nearing as it’d never been before. He thought that death itself wasn’t a big deal but he felt that if his life was cut short like this, he wouldn’t be able to make amends for all sorts of evil things he’d done in the past. Reverend Yi Deng’s thousands and thousands of words couldn’t get though to him but Yang Guo’s one sword made him realize that, “Killing brings misery. I only knew how to kill people. Being killed is actually miserable like this.”

Having seen Yang Guo defeating Ci’en, Reverend Yi Deng thought to himself, “Such a young hero is really very rare.” Then he stepped forward and touched the sword blade with his finger. Heat shot through Yang Guo’s left arm, and his black iron sword was immediately brushed aside.

Ci’en stood up and then threw himself down on the ground. He cried out, “Master, I deserve to die a terrible death. I deserve to die a terrible death!” With a faint smile, Yi Deng patted him on the back and said, “Change is not easy. Why haven’t you thanked this young hero for the lesson?”

Yang Guo had earlier suspected that this old monk was Reverend Yi Deng. Having seen this monk brushing aside his sword blade with one finger, he thought that this 'one Yang finger' and Island Master Huang’s ‘divine flicking finger’ were equally exquisite, and there was no third person in the world who could match their finger strength. He immediately kowtowed and said, “Disciple Yang Guo pay respect to Reverend.” He saw Ci’en kneeling down before him so he quickly said, “Senior, please don’t do that. I’m younger than you. Just now I’ve offended you enough.” Then he pointed at Xiao Longnu and said, “This is my wife, named Long. Quickly come kowtow to Reverend.” With Guo Xiang in her arms, Xiao Longnu stepped forward to greet him.

Ci’en said, “Master, just now I've gone mad. Is your injury very severe?” Yi Deng chuckled and asked, “Do you feel better now?” Ci’en felt sorry to no end, not knowing what to say.

The four people sat down on a collapsed pillar. Yang Guo recounted how he met Wu Santong, Zhu Ziliu and Diancang Yuyin. He also talked about how he got poisoned in the Passionless valley, and how the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu went there to seek the antidote for him and then got trapped.

Yi Deng said, “That’s why my disciple has gone to the Passionless Valley. But do you know how this monk Ci’en is related to the mistress of the valley?”

He’d heard Elder Peng calling Ci’en ‘ Iron Palms Chief Qiu’ so he said, “Reverend Ci’en was born with the last name Qiu. Could it be possible that he was the Iron Palms Chief Qiu?”

Ci’en slowly nodded.

Yang Guo continued, “In that case, the mistress of the Passionless valley must be your younger sister.”

Ci’en responded, “Indeed. Was she well?”

Yang Guo didn’t quite know how to answer the question. Qiu Qianchi’s husband had destroyed all the muscles in her four limbs, leaving her a cripple. He really couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘well.’

Ci’en saw Yang Guo hesitate so he said, “That sister of mine always did as she pleased. I wouldn’t be too surprised if she ran into trouble.”

Yang Guo then said, “Her limbs were disabled but her body was actually very healthy.”

With a sigh Ci’en said, “Many years have passed. We’ve all grown old. Alas, she and her two brothers.. ..” Having said this, he was lost in thought, recalling old memories.

Yi Deng knew that Ci’en had yet to let go and that his close brush with death only interrupted the stream of evil thoughts. But really the roots of evil were still there. If stirred up by strong emotions, Ci’en would unavoidably go crazy again. He didn’t know much longer he could live and help Ci’en. He could only let it all depend on fate.

Seeing Yi Deng look at Ci’en with pity in this eyes, Yang Guo suddenly thought to himself, “Reverend Yi Deng’s martial skills were definitely not inferior to his disciple’s. Yet, he wouldn’t return the attacks. There must be a reason. I’m afraid my jumping out to fight like that would make the matter worse.”

So he quickly said, “Reverend, I (disciple) acted on the spur of the moment. Please let me know if just now I was rash, making a mistake.”

Yi Deng replied, “Human mind is hard to fathom. If he’d killed me, he couldn’t have woke up like this. He would have sunk to the bottomless pit. You saved my life and brought him back to his sense. How could it be a mistake? I feel it was all for the better.”

Then he turned to Xiao Longnu and asked, “How did you get poisoned, young lady?”

Having heard that, Yang Guo felt a ray of hope shining down on him. He quickly said, “We were circulating energy to heal her injury, and it was that time that the poisons got into her body. Could you help her?” He then knelt down on the ground on both knees.

Yi Deng helped him up and asked, “How did she circulate her inner energy? Why is her energy flowing in the opposite direction?”

Yang Guo replied, “She used the reverse energy flow technique, along with the chilled jade bed and my help.”

Yi Deng heard his explanation and couldn’t help clucking his tongue in approval. He said, “That Ouyang brother was really a strange person. This reverse energy flow technique is quite unconceivable.”

He reached out to check Xiao Longnu’s pulse. Then his face turned sorrowful. For a long while he didn’t say a word.

Yang Guo looked at him nervously, hoping he would say “curable.” Xiao Longnu’s eyes were always on Yang Guo. She herself hadn’t expect to live this long. Seeing a melancholy expression on his face, she slowly said, “Fate determines life and death. How could we have it all as we wish? Guo’er, grief can hurt you. Don’t worry too much.”

This was the first time Xiao Longnu spoke since Yi Deng’s arrival. Her words were spoken gently and calmly, showing that she understood life and death. Yi Deng couldn’t help becoming puzzled. He didn’t know that since childhood Xiao Longnu had been taught to have a clear mind and little emotion. This lady was young and fatally poisoned. He’d thought that she’d be extremely saddened. Who would have thought that her speech was that of someone who had deep religious knowledge. He thought to himself, “These young husband and wife are really the world’s perfect couple. The husband has such kungfu. The wife understands life and death. This is really rare. In my entire life, I’ve only seen one couple -- Guo Jing and Huang Rong-- that can compare to them. My own disciples don’t even come close. Alas, her poisons are so severe. After the injury, I can't use my one Yang finger to help her.”

With a slight hesitation, he said, “You two are young but your achievements are really not common. May this old monk speak frankly.. ..”

Having heard this, Yang Guo’s heart sank, his hands turning ice-cold.

Then Yi Deng continued, “The young madame’s poison condition is very severe. If I wasn't injured, I could use my one Yang finger to temporarily stop the poisons so we could go search for the antidote. But today.. luckily your energy foundation is strong. I have this medicine that can save you for seven days. Then let us go to the Passionless valley together to look for my disciple.”

Yang Guo jumped up and cried out. “Oh, good. This Indian monk is known for his knowledge of poisons. He must have a way to save my wife.”

Yi Deng said, “If my disciple can't find a cure, that is nature. In the world some children die shortly after birth. Young lady here has had a chance to get married, that is fortunate.”

Having said this far, he recalled that years ago Zhou Botong and Concubine Liu had a child but because of his own jealously and hatred, he was not willing to save him. And that child eventually died. And it was actually Ci’en who'd injured him.

Yang Guo looked at Yi Deng with wide, shocked eyes. He thought to himself, “We still don’t know if Long’er can be cured. Yet, you haven’t said a word of comfort.”

Xiao Longnu let out a faint smile and said, “What Reverend said is right.”

She looked out at the heavy snow and weakly said, “These snowflakes are so white and so beautiful. But after the sun comes out, each and every one of them will vanish, without a trace. Next winter there will be a lot of snowflakes again, but they will never be like this year’s snow.”

Yi Deng nodded and turned his head to look at Ci’en. He asked, “Do you understand?”

Ci’en nodded and thought -- when the sun came out, the snow of would disappear, and it snowed in winter. What was so complicated about these simple facts?

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu had always been close. They undertood even the vaguest thought in the other person’s mind. But now that she was conversing with Yi Deng, he was left aside. It was as if she and Yi Deng shared the same thoughts, and he himself was an outsider. This had never happened since he fell in love with her, and he was now perplexed.

Yi Deng took out an egg from his chest and gave it to Xiao Longnu. He said, “Do you know which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

This was an age-old conundrum which nobody could ever solve. Yang Guo thought to himself, “At a time of life and death like this, why are you asking such a question?”

Xiao Longnu accepted the egg. It was actually a porcelain egg but its color looked as if it wasn’t. She paused a little and then clearly understood. She answered, “The egg hatches a chicken. The chicken lays an egg. Where there is life, there must be death.”

She gently crushed the egg shell, and a pill tumbled out. It was a golden and perfectly round ball like an egg yolk. Yi Deng said, “Eat it, quick.”

Knowing that this medicine was precious, Xiao Longnu put it in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Early next morning, it was still snowing. Yang Guo thought that the Passionless valley was quite a distance away. Although Reverend Yi Deng’s pill gave them seven extra days, they had to go as fast as they possibly could, and not even a bit of delay. He asked Yi Deng, “Reverend, “How’s your injury?”

Yi Deng’s injury was really heavy but he wanted to save his apprentice brother, Zhu Ziliu and Xiao Longnu and knew that all were urgent matters. His gown sleeves flared out as he said, “It’s not a problem.”

He drew in air and sprang forward, covering over ten feet in one leap. The three people followed.

After taking the pill, Xiao Longnu felt a surge of warmth in her abdomen, her strength returning. With her lightness skills, she caught up with Reverend Yi Deng in no time. Ci’en was startled. This timid young lady actually had quite an awesome kungfu. Suddenly his competitive spirit rose. His feet became swift as he gave chase. One person was a Gumu disciple of with unparalelled lightness skills. The other was a renowned master nicknamed ‘Iron Palms Floating on Water.’ In a flash the two people had covered twenty, thirty feet, quickly becoming two gray spots on the snow. Yang Guo was afraid that Ci’en would suddenly become evil and hurt Xiao Longnu so he went after them to protect her. His lightness skills were inferior to those of the two people but his inner energy was solid, and his feet were strong. At the beginning, he was a great distance away from them. Less than half an hour later, the two people’s shadows became clearer.

Suddenly he heard Reverend Yi Deng laughing from behind him. Yi Deng said, “Young gentleman’s inner energy is so profound. This really is rare. May I ask who your master is?”

Yang Guo slowed down to move side by side with him. He replied, “My wife taught me my martial skills.”

Yi Deng asked in wonder, “Is she as good as you?”

Yang Guo said, “For these past few months, my inner energy has somehow kept increasing. I myself don’t understand why.”

Yi Deng asked, “Is it possible that you’ve taken some kind of medicine that boosts inner energy? Perhaps shaped ginsengs or millennium mushrooms?”

Yang Guo shook his head and said, “I had dozens of snake gallbladders. Since then, my strength has skyrocketed. Do you think they are related?”

Yi Deng said, “Snake gallbladders? Snake gallbladders can cure rheumatism. They have nothing to do with inner strength.”

Yang Guo said, “These gallbladders were from very strange poisonous snakes. Their scales glittered like gold, and their heads were crested. The shape was really weird.”

Yi Deng paused for a bit and suddenly said, “Ah, they are the ‘pu-si-qu’ snakes, mentioned in a Bhuddist record. They said these snakes lived underground, moved like a wind, and were extremely difficult to catch.”

Yang Guo said, “A big condor caught them for me.”

“That really is the strangest thing in the world.” Yi Deng exclaimed.

While the two people talked, their feet didn’t slow down at all. After a while, they were nearing Xiao Longnu and Ci’en. Yi Deng and Yang Guo exchanged a smile. Even though their lightness skills were inferior to those of Xiao Longnu and Ci’en, speed declined with increasing distance, and it was then up to their inner energy. By this time, because her inner energy was inferior, Xiao Longnu had already dropped some ten feet behind Ci’en. And as soon as they rounded the mountain, Yang Guo pointed ahead and said, “Eh, how come there are three people?”

It looked like someone was closely trailing Xiao Longnu. Yang Guo took a look and sensed that this person’s lightness skills were not under Xiao Longnu and Ci’en. Although on his back he was carrying something that looked like a trunk, his feet were still swift, and he was always twenty, thirty feet behind Xiao Longnu. Yi Deng was also puzzled. Surprisingly there was another skilled master on this wild mountain. Last night he ran into this pair of young and elegant couple. Today he saw this person, obviously an old man.

Not long after being overtaken by Ci’en, the distance between Ci'en and Xiao Longnu widened. She heard the sounds of footsteps from behind and thought it was Yang Guo. She said, “Guo’er, that monk’s lightness skills are incredible. I can’t beat him. You go try.”

Someone laughed and said, “Come sit on this trunk and gather your strength. You don’t have to fear that old monk.”

Hearing the words, Xiao Longnu was puzzled. She turned her head back and saw a man with a white beard and hair. It was the old urchin Zhou Botong.

With a laugh, he pointed at the trunk he’d been carrying on his back and said, “Come, come, come!”

This trunk was precisely the stuff that had been in the Sacred Scripture Chamber of the Chongyang Palace, looking like it was filled with the Quanzhen sect’s Taoist scrolls, and so Zhou Botong had brought it with him on his back. Xiao Longnu faintly smiled but said nothing. Zhou Botong suddenly dashed forward. He grabbed her with one arm and put her on the trunk. His body movements were so fast and his hand technique was so strange that Xiao Longnu couldn’t even resist. While on the wooden trunk, she couldn’t help thinking, “The Quanzhen sect was known throughout the world as an orthodox martial school. The Taoists at the Chongyang Palace couldn’t defeat me. It must be because they hadn’t learned the essense of their sect martial skills.”

By now Yang Guo and Yi Deng had recognized Zhou Botong. Ci’en was concentrating on rushing forwards for fear that Xiao Longnu would catch up with him, and so he was the only person who didn’t know that there was another person behind him.

Zhou Botong followed him in big strides and said, “Another half an hour, he’ll slow down.”

With a smile Xiao Longnu asked, “How do you know?”

Zhou Botong said, “I’ve fought with him, pursuing him from Zhongyuan [China] to the West region and from the West region back to Zhongyuan. After running around for tens of thousands miles, how could I not know?”

Sitting on the trunk, Xiao Longnu was both secure and comfortable, just like riding a horse. She softly asked, “Old urchin, why are you helping me?”

Zhou Botong replied, “You are quite likeable, not like that crafty and strange Huang Rong. I stole your bee syrup, and you are not mad.”

They ran for another half an hour. And just like Zhou Botong had predicted, Ci’en started to slow down. Zhou Botong said, “You are off!”

He shrugged his shoulders, sending Xiao Longnu out over ten feet. Energy was sent to her feet, and she ran forwards. In just a moment she caught up with Ci’en and giggled. Startled, Ci'en sped up. But the two people’s lightness skills were about the same level. One person had just had a long rest while the other had been running non-stop. The more they ran, the further the distance between them. Ci’en had no way to catch up.

In his whole life, Ci’en had two of martial skills that no one in the world could compare but, in just one day and one night, his iron palms was defeated by Yang Guo and his lightness skills were outmatched by Xiao Longnu’s. He couldn’t help becoming depressed. Sensing that his legs were about to give out, he thought to himself in alarm, “I can’t even defeat a young girl, can it be that my death is here?”

Last night he had his evil spell. After injuring his master, he had become restless. Just now he’d used all his strength in a lightness kungfu competition with Xiao Longnu and still lost. Even though his mind was troubled, he felt like all things in the world no longer made sense.

Observing them from behind, Yang Guo clearly understood. Seeing that Zhou Botong had secretly helped Xiao Longnu defeating Ci’en, his interest was piqued. He sped up to walk side by side with him and laughingly said, “Senior Zhou, many thanks.”

Zhou Botong said, “Haven’t seen this Qiu Qianren for a long time. The older he is, the crazier. How come he’s shaved his head and become a monk?”

Yang Guo said, “He’s now Reverend Yi Deng’s disciple, don’t you know?”

Having said this, he pointed to the back. Zhou Botong was horrified, crying out, “Emperor Duan is here too?”

He turned his head back and saw Yi Deng from a distance. He said, “I’ve got to run.”

Then he immediately fled into the woods. Yang Guo didn’t know who ‘Emperor Duan’ was. He only saw the trees and bushes moving. Zhou Botong had disappeared without a trace. Yang Guo thought to himself, “This person is so strange. There aren’t many like him in the world.”

As soon as Zhou Botong ran away, Yi Deng quickly stepped forwards. Seeing that Ci’en looked withered and broken and all his earlier bravado had vanished, Yi Deng said, “With all your victories, how come you haven’t figured this out?”

Disheartened, Ci’en didn’t say a word.

Yi Deng continued, “You were blinded by your desires. With your strong martial skills, if not for your lust to win, how could you not have known there was another person behind you?”

The four of them traveled with haste, and the next five days flew by quickly. On the morning of the sixth day, Yi Deng’s injury worsened, and he could barely support himself. Yang Guo said, “Reverend, please take a rest for a moment. Let your body recover. The Passionless Valley isn’t very far from here. We husband and wife would hurry into the Valley with Reverend Ci’en. And we’ll rescue the divine monk and Uncle Zhu too.”

Yi Deng faintly smiled and said, “I can’t put my mind at ease.”

He paused and then continued, “It’s dangerous in the valley. I’d better come along.”

Ci’en said, “I’ll carry you.” Having said that he put Yi Deng on his back and marched forwards in big strides.

They arrived at the valley entrance in the afternoon. Yang Guo turned to Ci’en and said, “Should we let them know we are here so your sister can come out to greet you?”

Ci’en was nervous and had yet to reply. Suddenly he heard the faint sounds of clashing weapons. Ci’en thought about his sister and was afraid that she would be fighting with Wu Santong and the others. No matter who was injured, it would be quite bad. He said, “We must rush to stop them.”

With his lightness kungfu he sped up. He was not fully familiar with the roads to the valley, and Yang Guo pointed in one direction.

The four of them rushed forwards, only to see seven, eight people in green holding their weapons, defending themselves just outside the woods. They heard the sounds of clashing weapons but couldn’t see who the people in green were actually fighting with.

Seeing that there were more enemies coming, the valley disciples in green gave out a shout and charged forwards. But as soon as they got closer and recognized Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, they halted. The leading disciple walked over and raised his sword to greet them. He said, “Have you already accomplished our chief mother’s task?”

But Yang Guo asked, “Who are the people fighting in the woods?”

That disciple in green did not reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, not knowing whether Yang Guo had come with a good or bad intention.

With a faint smile Yang Guo said, “I (little brother) didn’t come here to mean harm. Is Madame Gongsun well? Is Miss Gongsun all right?”

That disciple’s hostility was somewhat dissolved. He said, “Bless you. Chief mother and Miss Gongsun are well.”

Then he asked, “Who are these two monks?” Did they come with the four women?”

Yang Guo said, “What four women?”

That disciple replied, “They were actually two groups of two, barging in here. Chief mother ordered us to stop them but they wouldn’t listen. Both groups went into the passion flower field. But as soon as the two groups saw each other, they started fighting.”

Hearing him mention ‘passion flower field,’ Yang Guo was startled, not knowing which four women he was talking about. If they were Huang Rong, Guo Fu, Wanyan Ping, and Yelu Yan, how could they be fighting? So he said, “May I ask you to lead me there? If I (little brother) know them, I may be able to break up the fight before going with them to greet the Chief.”

That disciple thought that the four women had already been detained anyway and that if he let Yang Guo see them, it would only show him the power of the Passionless Valley. So he led the four people into the woods, where they saw the two groups of women fighting.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were secretly alarmed. The four women were standing on a narrow strip of lawn about twenty feet long, encircled with layer upon layer of passion flowers. No matter from which direction they tried to come out, there would be seventy, eighty feet of passion flowers blocking them. And no matter how powerful their kungfu was, they still wouldn’t be able to escape. Even a halfway jump would still be very difficult.

Xiao Longnu cried out, “It’s my martial sister!”

To the south they saw two women, Li Mochou and her disciple Hong Lingbo. The two of them were using long swords because Li Mochou’s flywhisk had already been broken at Gumu.

They were fighting with another two women. One was holding the Willow Leaf saber, the other wielding a flute. The two girl’s movements were swift and elegant, showing that their martial skills were not weak. Still, they couldn’t match Li Mochou’s.

Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “Aren’t those the Cheng-Lu cousins?”

By now, Hong Lingbo slanted her body to attack. The young lady in yellow turned her head halfway backwards, and the one in purple dress also turned her body sideway. These girls were precisely Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang.

The four people’s fighting on a lawn this size was like holding a wicked martial arts contest in a very small arena . The terrain was limited, not allowing for trivial mistakes. As if they were tied hand and feet, the four people couldn’t unleash the power of their kungfu. It was fortunate that Li Mochou wasn’t used to her new sword and that, with her former ties with Lu Wushuang, Hong Lingbo didn’t really have a murderous intention. And so, even though the Cheng-Lu cousins were much inferior, they could still hold themselves against their opponents.

Yang Guo asked that disciple in green, “How did the four people get in there to fight in the first place?”

The disciple in green was very pleased with himself and proudly replied, “This was Chief Gongsun’s creation. We led them into this passion flower field and then piled up the flowers, blocking the entrance. How would they come out?”

Yang Guo quickly asked, “Have they been poisoned?”

“Looks like they haven’t but it won’t take long, ” replied that man in green.

Yang Guo thought to himself, “With your martial skills alone, how could you force Li Mochou into the passion flower field? Oh, you must have used your sect’s evil fishnet. If the Cheng-Lu girls get poisoned, there won’t be any antidote in the world to cure them.”

And so, he immediately raised his voice, “Sister Cheng, Sister Lu, I'm right here. The flowers around you are deadly poisonous. You must be absolutely careful.”

Li Michou had earlier seen that the passion flowers looked strange. On top of that, those disciples in green had used the flowers to block their way out, and so she knew there had to be a reason. After entering the passion flower field, she warned Hong Lingbo to be very careful and keep away from the passion flowers. Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were both skilled and clever, how could they not see the danger? The four people had originally thought there were some kinds of traps or poisoned arrows hidden in the flower shrubs. Now that they heard Yang Guo’s words, they dreaded the flowers around them even more. They all inched closer towards the center of the lawn, their bodies colliding. The fight became even more vicious.

Hearing Yang Guo calling them, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were delighted. They wanted to rush out to see him but the enemies were vicious, not allowing them to withdraw. Li Mochou actually wanted to kill the two girls so she could use their bodies as stepping stones to escape from the passion flower field. When she saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, she was frightened. Luckily, they were separated by the passion flowers and so Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu couldn’t come in to help the two girls. She fiercely shouted, “Lingbo, if you still don’t fight with all your strength, you yourself will die in here.”

“Yes, Master!” Hong Lingbo quickly replied, adding more strength to her sword and driving it towards Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying raised her flute to block the strike but Li Mochou’s long sword flew towards her throat. Lu Wushuang lunged forwards, raising her saber. Li Mochou sneered, blocking the saber with her long sword. Her left leg then flew up, kicking Lu Wushuang’s wrist and sending her Willow Leaf saber into a passion flower shrub. Suddenly lights flashed. Li Mochou swung her sword three times at Cheng Ying. Unable to withstand the force, Cheng Ying had to move backwards. At this point, if she fell back one more step, her left foot would land on a flower shrub.

Lu Wushung cried out in alarm, “Sister (cousin), you can’t move back any further.”

With a cold laugh Li Mochou said, “You can’t move back any further. Then let’s move forwards.”

Having said that, she allowed Cheng Ying a step forwards. Cheng Ying knew full well that Li Mochou didn’t mean well but she herself was dangerouly cornered. She had no choice but to move forwards.

Li Mochou sneered and said, “Really very brave!”

Her long sword vibrated. Silver lights flashed, and her sword tip reached the uppper part of Cheng Ying’s body.

Yang Guo was obseving them from outside and understood that Li Mochou was using one of Gumu’s vicious sword techniques called Cold Moon Attack. If one didn’t understand the intricacies of the stances, he was likely to deplete his energy guarding the upper body and leaving his abdomen vulnerable. Seeing that Cheng Ying was busy protecting her chest, he quickly picked up a pebble from the ground, placing it between his thumb and middle finger. Then, with a whishing sound, the pebble was shot out fiercely, straight towards Li Mochou’s eyes. Li Mochou’s sword had already moved downwards and was only a few inches away from Cheng Ying’s abdomen. Suddenly seeing a pebble flying her way, she had to let the enemy off and swung her sword back to hit the pebble.

What Yang Guo just displayed was precisely Huang Yaoshi’s Divine Flicking Fingers skill. But his cultivated energy hadn’t reached its peak so he could only use this technique to divert the enemy, forceing her to be on the defensive. If it were Huang Yaoshi himself flicking the pebble, he would have knocked loose Li Mochou’s sword, and it would have been almost impossible to miss the target. It was fortunate that he taught Yang Guo this technique because it came back to save the life of his own disciple. But even so, Yang Guo and Cheng Ying had already been drenched in cold sweat.

Cheng Ying had just narrowly escaped death, color draining from her originally white and tender cheeks. Li Mochou knew that she was still in shock, and so she shouted, “Here come again!” The long sword vibrated as she used the Cold Moon Attack technique once again. Cheng Ying was clever, knowing that the upper body attack was fake and the middle body strike was real, and so she immediately protected her abdomen. Who would have thought that Li Mochou would slyly change her stances. While her sword tip pointed at Cheng Ying’s abdomen, she dashed forwards, stretching out her left hand to seal the ‘Jade Hall’ point on Cheng Ying’s chest. Then her left leg swept out to kick Lu Wushuang and at the same time the tip of her foot struck the ‘Sun’ point on the side of Cheng Ying’s knee. These few stances were incredibly fast, sending both Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang to the ground. Yang Guo definitely couldn’t help them both.

Li Mochou then grabbed Cheng Ying’s back and threw her out with force. She did the same to Lu Wushuang and shouted, “Lingbo, step on their bodies…”

Before she could finish saying that, Yang Guo jumped in to grab Cheng Ying and moved forwards. Even though the acupoints on her chest and leg had been sealed, she could use her free arms to grasp Lu Wushuang.

She cried out, “Brother Yang, you.. .. “

She had always had a deep feeling for Yang Guo. And now that she saw him jumping into the passion flower field, giving up his life to save hers, she was all overwhelmed.

Having grabbed the two girls, Yang Guo leapt back out and gently put them on the ground. With her stiff legs, Cheng Ying couldn’t stand by herself. Xiao Longnu unsealed her pressure points. Then the three girls all looked at Yang Guo. His pants were ripped by the poisonous thorns, blood dripping from his thighs and calfs. Nobody knew how much poison had entered his body.

While Cheng Ying weeped, Lu Wushuang said, “You.. you.. didn’t have to save me. Who told you to do this?”

With a bright smile Yang Guo said, “I’ve already got the passion flower poison in my body, a little more makes no difference.”

But everybody knew that the amount of poison in his body really made a big difference. He only said this to comfort the three girls in front of him.

Cheng Ying looked at Yang Guo’s empty right sleeve with tears in her eyes. Lu Wushuang said, “Dumb egg, your.. your right arm?” How did you break it?”

Seeing that the two girls were extremely worried about Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu immediately thought them as very good friends. With a smile she said, “He’s not dumb, why do you call him dumb egg?”

Lu Wushung let out an ‘ah’ sound and apologetically said, “I used to call him that. It’s hard to change.”

She looked at Cheng Ying and asked, “And this sister is?”

Yang Guo replied, “This is.. ..”

Cheng Ying quickly said, “This sister’s name must be Xiao Longnu.”

“Right. I should have known, seeing how angelic she is.” Lu Wushuang said.

With the knowledge that Yang Guo only had Xiao Longnu on his mind, the two Cheng-Lu girls had been jealous. Now that they actually met Xiao Longnu, they couldn’t help feeling inferior. Both thought to themselves, “How can I ever compare against her?”

Lu Wushuang asked, “Brother Yang, what’s happened to your arm? Is the wound healed?”

“It’s already healed. It was someone cutting it off,” replied Yang Guo.

Lu Wushuang asked angrily, “Which evil villain did it? That person must have used a low and dispicable trick. Was it that wretched witch?”

Suddenly a cold voice from behind said, “You scold people behind their back. Isn’t that lower and more dispicable?”

Lu Wushuang was startled. She turned head back and saw a beautiful young girl. It was precisely Guo Fu with a sword in her hand, looking enraged. Standing by her were several men and women.

Lu Wushuang was puzzled. She said, “I didn’t scold you. I was scolding the evil person who cut off Brother Yang’s arm.”

With a shua sound, Guo Fu pulled her sword halfway from its sheath. She said, “His arm was cut off by me. I’ve already apologized, and my parents have already punished me. Now you people are scolding me behind my back…”

Having said this, her eyes turned red. She felt she was wronged by these people.

Days ago Wu Santong, Guo Fu, Yelu Qi, and the Wu brothers hid from the mountain fires in the creek. They waited for the fires to slow down and then got out of the water to meet with Huang Rong, Wanyan Ping and Yelu Yan. Then they all came to the Passionless Valley. The group arrived here long before Yang Guo and the others but they were searching the areas around the valley, trying to find the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu, without any success. That’s why they were delayed. As for Li Mochou, her disciple, and the Cheng-Lu cousins, they were led into the valley by Zhou Botong.

Huang Rong, Wu Santong and the others quickly went to greet Reverend Yi Deng, and they all exchanged greetings. Although Cheng Ying had never met Huang Rong before, she knew this martial sister by reputation and greatly admired her. She immediately went over and kowtow with utmost respect. She called out, “Martial sister!”

Knowing from Yang Guo that years ago her father had accepted another female disciple, now she found out that this was an extremely beautiful girl. As Huang Rong asked about her father and learned that he was strong and healthy, she was delighted.

The disciples in green had been watching them from the edge of the woods. Now seeing that the enemies from outside all gathered, making a noisy commotion, they didn’t dare to block them. Instead, they ran back to report the matter to Qiu Qianchi.

Guo Fu and Lu Wushuang glared at each other angrily, with mutual hatred. As Guo Fu heard her mother order her to greet Cheng Ying, she was not pleased at all. She had to force herself to say ‘Martial uncle.”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were standing in each other’s arms on the other side. Yang Guo looked at Guo Xiang in Xiao Longnu’s arms and said, “Long’er, let’s give the little girl back to her mother.”

Xiao Longnu lifted up Guo Xiang and kissed her on the cheek. Then she walked over to hand the little girl back to Huang Rong. She said, “Madame Guo, your child.”

Huang Rong thanked her and took the little girl. From the time the girl was born until now, this was the first time Huang Rong had her child firmly in her hands. There was no word that could describe her happiness and joy.

Yang Guo turned to Guo Fu and clearly said, “Miss Guo, your little sister is well. I didn’t use her to trade for the antidote to save my life.”

Guo Fu retorted angrily, “My mother is here. Of course, you don’t dare to. But if you didn’t have such intention, what did you bring my sister here for?”

In this situation, Yang Guo in the former days would have quarrelled with her. But his encounters with life and death during these past few months had changed him. Paying no attention to her, he only let out a tasteless smile and walked away with Xiao Longnu.

Lu Wushuang looked at Guo Xiang and said to Cheng Ying, “Is this your martial sister’s little girl? I hope she won’t grow up to be evil and vicious.”

It was impossible for Guo Fu to not understand that the words were meant to attack her, and so she retorted, “What business of yours is it if my sister becomes evil and vicious? What are you trying to say?”

Lu Wushuang said, “I didn’t speak to you. Everybody has the right to deal with evil and vicious people. How could it not be my business?”

Lu Wushuang only had Yang Guo on her mind. Having seen that Yang Guo’s arm got chopped off, she and Cheng Ying were really mad. But she couldn’t control her temper like her cousin did. Even though it was in front of many people, she still had to let it show.

Guo Fu was furious. Grabbing her sword, she shouted, “You cripple.. ..”

Huang Rong yelled, “Fu’er, don’t be rude!”

And at this time, they all heard a loud ‘ah’ cry from the distance. They turned their heads back towards the passion flower field and saw Li Mochou hoisting Hong Lingbo’s body high up in the air. The sound they heard just now was Hong Lingbo’s cry. The many people had been busy arguing, forgetting all about Li Mochou and her disciples who were stuck in the sea of flowers. Startled, Lu Wushuang cried out, “Drat. Master is using her disciple as a stepping stone. Quick. We have to quickly find a way to help.. ..”

While the people outside were staring in confusion, Li Mochou suddenly threw Hong Lingbo out. As the body fell into the passion flower shrubs, Li Mochou sprang up, her left foot stepping on Hong Lingbo’s chest. She then jumped up again with both legs high in the air, and her right hand grabbing and hurling Hong Lingbo out one more time. Again, she descended on top of her disciple’s body.

She used this strength borrowing tactic twice, expecting to fall outside the flower shrubs on her third jump. Afraid that Huang Rong would be waiting to block her, she flew out again in the opposite direction, away from the group of people. But this time as her body shot up, Hong Lingbo suddenly gave out a loud cry and leapt up with her, grasping Li Mochou’s left leg. Losing her momentum, Li Mochou started to sink. Then her right leg shot out, kicking Hong Lingbo in the chest with a ‘peng’ sound. This kick was lethal, destroying Hong Lingbo’s internal organs and killing her instantly. Anyhow, Hong Lingbo’s hands were still gripping Li Mochou’s leg, and the two of them plunged down together, falling into the flower shrubs just two feet short from the edge of the flower bed. Eventually, Li Mochou was two feet short, and the unimaginable amount of poison surged into her body.

Everybody was shocked, speechless, staring out wide-eyed at this sadly horrifying development. Lu Wushuang thought about how her martial sister used to take care of her. Grief-striken, she wept loudly and cried out, “Martial sister, martial sister!”

Yang Guo remembered how years ago he’d played tricks on Hong Lingbo. He couldn’t help feeling heavyhearted.

Li Mochou bent down to pry away Hong Lingbo’s hands and saw that her open eyes were filled with hatred. She thought to herself, “I’ve been poisoned by the passion flowers. The antidote surely must be here in the valley.”

As she was about to walk around the piles of flowers and be on her way, she suddenly heard Huang Rong calling out, “Sister Li, please come over here. I have a few words to say to you.”

Li Mochou was surprised but, with a slight hesitation, she moved forwards twenty, thirty feet.

“What?” She asked.

She secretly hoped that Huang Rong would give her the antidote, or at least tell her how to find it.

The four of them rushed forwards, only to see seven, eight people in green holding their weapons, defending themselves just outside the woods. They heard the sounds of clashing weapons but couldn’t see who the people in green were actually fighting with.

Seeing that there were more enemies coming, the valley disciples in green gave out a shout and charged forwards. But as soon as they got closer and recognized Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, they halted. The leading disciple walked over and raised his sword to greet them. He said, “Have you already accomplished our chief mother’s task?”

But Yang Guo asked, “Who are the people fighting in the woods?”

That disciple in green did not reply. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, not knowing whether Yang Guo had come with a good or bad intention.

With a faint smile Yang Guo said, “I (little brother) didn’t come here to mean harm. Is Madame Gongsun well? Is Miss Gongsun all right?”

That disciple’s hostility was somewhat dissolved. He said, “Bless you. Chief mother and Miss Gongsun are well.”

Then he asked, “Who are these two monks?” Did they come with the four women?”

Yang Guo said, “What four women?”

That disciple replied, “They were actually two groups of two, barging in here. Chief mother ordered us to stop them but they wouldn’t listen. Both groups went into the passion flower field. But as soon as the two groups saw each other, they started fighting.”

Hearing him mention ‘passion flower field,’ Yang Guo was startled, not knowing which four women he was talking about. If they were Huang Rong, Guo Fu, Wanyan Ping, and Yelu Yan, how could they be fighting? So he said, “May I ask you to lead me there? If I (little brother) know them, I may be able to break up the fight before going with them to greet the Chief.”

That disciple thought that the four women had already been detained anyway and that if he let Yang Guo see them, it would only show him the power of the Passionless Valley. So he led the four people into the woods, where they saw the two groups of women fighting.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were secretly alarmed. The four women were standing on a narrow strip of lawn about twenty feet long, encircled with layer upon layer of passion flowers. No matter from which direction they tried to come out, there would be seventy, eighty feet of passion flowers blocking them. And no matter how powerful their kungfu was, they still wouldn’t be able to escape. Even a halfway jump would still be very difficult.

Xiao Longnu cried out, “It’s my martial sister!”

To the south they saw two women, Li Mochou and her disciple Hong Lingbo. The two of them were using long swords because Li Mochou’s flywhisk had already been broken at Gumu.

They were fighting with another two women. One was holding the Willow Leaf saber, the other wielding a flute. The two girl’s movements were swift and elegant, showing that their martial skills were not weak. Still, they couldn’t match Li Mochou’s.

Yang Guo was alarmed and thought, “Aren’t those the Cheng-Lu cousins?”

By now, Hong Lingbo slanted her body to attack. The young lady in yellow turned her head halfway backwards, and the one in purple dress also turned her body sideway. These girls were precisely Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang.

The four people’s fighting on a lawn this size was like holding a wicked martial arts contest in a very small arena . The terrain was limited, not allowing for trivial mistakes. As if they were tied hand and feet, the four people couldn’t unleash the power of their kungfu. It was fortunate that Li Mochou wasn’t used to her new sword and that, with her former ties with Lu Wushuang, Hong Lingbo didn’t really have a murderous intention. And so, even though the Cheng-Lu cousins were much inferior, they could still hold themselves against their opponents.

Yang Guo asked that disciple in green, “How did the four people get in there to fight in the first place?”

The disciple in green was very pleased with himself and proudly replied, “This was Chief Gongsun’s creation. We led them into this passion flower field and then piled up the flowers, blocking the entrance. How would they come out?”

Yang Guo quickly asked, “Have they been poisoned?”

“Looks like they haven’t but it won’t take long, ” replied that man in green.

Yang Guo thought to himself, “With your martial skills alone, how could you force Li Mochou into the passion flower field? Oh, you must have used your sect’s evil fishnet. If the Cheng-Lu girls get poisoned, there won’t be any antidote in the world to cure them.”

And so, he immediately raised his voice, “Sister Cheng, Sister Lu, I'm right here. The flowers around you are deadly poisonous. You must be absolutely careful.”

Li Michou had earlier seen that the passion flowers looked strange. On top of that, those disciples in green had used the flowers to block their way out, and so she knew there had to be a reason. After entering the passion flower field, she warned Hong Lingbo to be very careful and keep away from the passion flowers. Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were both skilled and clever, how could they not see the danger? The four people had originally thought there were some kinds of traps or poisoned arrows hidden in the flower shrubs. Now that they heard Yang Guo’s words, they dreaded the flowers around them even more. They all inched closer towards the center of the lawn, their bodies colliding. The fight became even more vicious.

Hearing Yang Guo calling them, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang were delighted. They wanted to rush out to see him but the enemies were vicious, not allowing them to withdraw. Li Mochou actually wanted to kill the two girls so she could use their bodies as stepping stones to escape from the passion flower field. When she saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu, she was frightened. Luckily, they were separated by the passion flowers and so Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu couldn’t come in to help the two girls. She fiercely shouted, “Lingbo, if you still don’t fight with all your strength, you yourself will die in here.”

“Yes, Master!” Hong Lingbo quickly replied, adding more strength to her sword and driving it towards Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying raised her flute to block the strike but Li Mochou’s long sword flew towards her throat. Lu Wushuang lunged forwards, raising her saber. Li Mochou sneered, blocking the saber with her long sword. Her left leg then flew up, kicking Lu Wushuang’s wrist and sending her Willow Leaf saber into a passion flower shrub. Suddenly lights flashed. Li Mochou swung her sword three times at Cheng Ying. Unable to withstand the force, Cheng Ying had to move backwards. At this point, if she fell back one more step, her left foot would land on a flower shrub.

Lu Wushung cried out in alarm, “Sister (cousin), you can’t move back any further.”

With a cold laugh Li Mochou said, “You can’t move back any further. Then let’s move forwards.”

Having said that, she allowed Cheng Ying a step forwards. Cheng Ying knew full well that Li Mochou didn’t mean well but she herself was dangerouly cornered. She had no choice but to move forwards.

Li Mochou sneered and said, “Really very brave!”

Her long sword vibrated. Silver lights flashed, and her sword tip reached the uppper part of Cheng Ying’s body.

Yang Guo was obseving them from outside and understood that Li Mochou was using one of Gumu’s vicious sword techniques called Cold Moon Attack. If one didn’t understand the intricacies of the stances, he was likely to deplete his energy guarding the upper body and leaving his abdomen vulnerable. Seeing that Cheng Ying was busy protecting her chest, he quickly picked up a pebble from the ground, placing it between his thumb and middle finger. Then, with a whishing sound, the pebble was shot out fiercely, straight towards Li Mochou’s eyes. Li Mochou’s sword had already moved downwards and was only a few inches away from Cheng Ying’s abdomen. Suddenly seeing a pebble flying her way, she had to let the enemy off and swung her sword back to hit the pebble.

What Yang Guo just displayed was precisely Huang Yaoshi’s Divine Flicking Fingers skill. But his cultivated energy hadn’t reached its peak so he could only use this technique to divert the enemy, forceing her to be on the defensive. If it were Huang Yaoshi himself flicking the pebble, he would have knocked loose Li Mochou’s sword, and it would have been almost impossible to miss the target. It was fortunate that he taught Yang Guo this technique because it came back to save the life of his own disciple. But even so, Yang Guo and Cheng Ying had already been drenched in cold sweat.

Cheng Ying had just narrowly escaped death, color draining from her originally white and tender cheeks. Li Mochou knew that she was still in shock, and so she shouted, “Here come again!” The long sword vibrated as she used the Cold Moon Attack technique once again. Cheng Ying was clever, knowing that the upper body attack was fake and the middle body strike was real, and so she immediately protected her abdomen. Who would have thought that Li Mochou would slyly change her stances. While her sword tip pointed at Cheng Ying’s abdomen, she dashed forwards, stretching out her left hand to seal the ‘Jade Hall’ point on Cheng Ying’s chest. Then her left leg swept out to kick Lu Wushuang and at the same time the tip of her foot struck the ‘Sun’ point on the side of Cheng Ying’s knee. These few stances were incredibly fast, sending both Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang to the ground. Yang Guo definitely couldn’t help them both.

Li Mochou then grabbed Cheng Ying’s back and threw her out with force. She did the same to Lu Wushuang and shouted, “Lingbo, step on their bodies…”

Before she could finish saying that, Yang Guo jumped in to grab Cheng Ying and moved forwards. Even though the acupoints on her chest and leg had been sealed, she could use her free arms to grasp Lu Wushuang.

She cried out, “Brother Yang, you.. .. “

She had always had a deep feeling for Yang Guo. And now that she saw him jumping into the passion flower field, giving up his life to save hers, she was all overwhelmed.

Having grabbed the two girls, Yang Guo leapt back out and gently put them on the ground. With her stiff legs, Cheng Ying couldn’t stand by herself. Xiao Longnu unsealed her pressure points. Then the three girls all looked at Yang Guo. His pants were ripped by the poisonous thorns, blood dripping from his thighs and calfs. Nobody knew how much poison had entered his body.

While Cheng Ying weeped, Lu Wushuang said, “You.. you.. didn’t have to save me. Who told you to do this?”

With a bright smile Yang Guo said, “I’ve already got the passion flower poison in my body, a little more makes no difference.”

But everybody knew that the amount of poison in his body really made a big difference. He only said this to comfort the three girls in front of him.

Cheng Ying looked at Yang Guo’s empty right sleeve with tears in her eyes. Lu Wushuang said, “Dumb egg, your.. your right arm?” How did you break it?”

Seeing that the two girls were extremely worried about Yang Guo, Xiao Longnu immediately thought them as very good friends. With a smile she said, “He’s not dumb, why do you call him dumb egg?”

Lu Wushung let out an ‘ah’ sound and apologetically said, “I used to call him that. It’s hard to change.”

She looked at Cheng Ying and asked, “And this sister is?”

Yang Guo replied, “This is.. ..”

Cheng Ying quickly said, “This sister’s name must be Xiao Longnu.”

“Right. I should have known, seeing how angelic she is.” Lu Wushuang said.

With the knowledge that Yang Guo only had Xiao Longnu on his mind, the two Cheng-Lu girls had been jealous. Now that they actually met Xiao Longnu, they couldn’t help feeling inferior. Both thought to themselves, “How can I ever compare against her?”

Lu Wushuang asked, “Brother Yang, what’s happened to your arm? Is the wound healed?”

“It’s already healed. It was someone cutting it off,” replied Yang Guo.

Lu Wushuang asked angrily, “Which evil villain did it? That person must have used a low and dispicable trick. Was it that wretched witch?”

Suddenly a cold voice from behind said, “You scold people behind their back. Isn’t that lower and more dispicable?”

Lu Wushuang was startled. She turned head back and saw a beautiful young girl. It was precisely Guo Fu with a sword in her hand, looking enraged. Standing by her were several men and women.

Lu Wushuang was puzzled. She said, “I didn’t scold you. I was scolding the evil person who cut off Brother Yang’s arm.”

With a shua sound, Guo Fu pulled her sword halfway from its sheath. She said, “His arm was cut off by me. I’ve already apologized, and my parents have already punished me. Now you people are scolding me behind my back…”

Having said this, her eyes turned red. She felt she was wronged by these people.

Days ago Wu Santong, Guo Fu, Yelu Qi, and the Wu brothers hid from the mountain fires in the creek. They waited for the fires to slow down and then got out of the water to meet with Huang Rong, Wanyan Ping and Yelu Yan. Then they all came to the Passionless Valley. The group arrived here long before Yang Guo and the others but they were searching the areas around the valley, trying to find the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu, without any success. That’s why they were delayed. As for Li Mochou, her disciple, and the Cheng-Lu cousins, they were led into the valley by Zhou Botong.

Huang Rong, Wu Santong and the others quickly went to greet Reverend Yi Deng, and they all exchanged greetings. Although Cheng Ying had never met Huang Rong before, she knew this martial sister by reputation and greatly admired her. She immediately went over and kowtow with utmost respect. She called out, “Martial sister!”

Knowing from Yang Guo that years ago her father had accepted another female disciple, now she found out that this was an extremely beautiful girl. As Huang Rong asked about her father and learned that he was strong and healthy, she was delighted.

The disciples in green had been watching them from the edge of the woods. Now seeing that the enemies from outside all gathered, making a noisy commotion, they didn’t dare to block them. Instead, they ran back to report the matter to Qiu Qianchi.

Guo Fu and Lu Wushuang glared at each other angrily, with mutual hatred. As Guo Fu heard her mother order her to greet Cheng Ying, she was not pleased at all. She had to force herself to say ‘Martial uncle.”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were standing in each other’s arms on the other side. Yang Guo looked at Guo Xiang in Xiao Longnu’s arms and said, “Long’er, let’s give the little girl back to her mother.”

Xiao Longnu lifted up Guo Xiang and kissed her on the cheek. Then she walked over to hand the little girl back to Huang Rong. She said, “Madame Guo, your child.”

Huang Rong thanked her and took the little girl. From the time the girl was born until now, this was the first time Huang Rong had her child firmly in her hands. There was no word that could describe her happiness and joy.

Yang Guo turned to Guo Fu and clearly said, “Miss Guo, your little sister is well. I didn’t use her to trade for the antidote to save my life.”

Guo Fu retorted angrily, “My mother is here. Of course, you don’t dare to. But if you didn’t have such intention, what did you bring my sister here for?”

In this situation, Yang Guo in the former days would have quarrelled with her. But his encounters with life and death during these past few months had changed him. Paying no attention to her, he only let out a tasteless smile and walked away with Xiao Longnu.

Lu Wushuang looked at Guo Xiang and said to Cheng Ying, “Is this your martial sister’s little girl? I hope she won’t grow up to be evil and vicious.”

It was impossible for Guo Fu to not understand that the words were meant to attack her, and so she retorted, “What business of yours is it if my sister becomes evil and vicious? What are you trying to say?”

Lu Wushuang said, “I didn’t speak to you. Everybody has the right to deal with evil and vicious people. How could it not be my business?”

Lu Wushuang only had Yang Guo on her mind. Having seen that Yang Guo’s arm got chopped off, she and Cheng Ying were really mad. But she couldn’t control her temper like her cousin did. Even though it was in front of many people, she still had to let it show.

Guo Fu was furious. Grabbing her sword, she shouted, “You cripple.. ..”

Huang Rong yelled, “Fu’er, don’t be rude!”

And at this time, they all heard a loud ‘ah’ cry from the distance. They turned their heads back towards the passion flower field and saw Li Mochou hoisting Hong Lingbo’s body high up in the air. The sound they heard just now was Hong Lingbo’s cry. The many people had been busy arguing, forgetting all about Li Mochou and her disciples who were stuck in the sea of flowers. Startled, Lu Wushuang cried out, “Drat. Master is using her disciple as a stepping stone. Quick. We have to quickly find a way to help.. ..”

While the people outside were staring in confusion, Li Mochou suddenly threw Hong Lingbo out. As the body fell into the passion flower shrubs, Li Mochou sprang up, her left foot stepping on Hong Lingbo’s chest. She then jumped up again with both legs high in the air, and her right hand grabbing and hurling Hong Lingbo out one more time. Again, she descended on top of her disciple’s body.

She used this strength borrowing tactic twice, expecting to fall outside the flower shrubs on her third jump. Afraid that Huang Rong would be waiting to block her, she flew out again in the opposite direction, away from the group of people. But this time as her body shot up, Hong Lingbo suddenly gave out a loud cry and leapt up with her, grasping Li Mochou’s left leg. Losing her momentum, Li Mochou started to sink. Then her right leg shot out, kicking Hong Lingbo in the chest with a ‘peng’ sound. This kick was lethal, destroying Hong Lingbo’s internal organs and killing her instantly. Anyhow, Hong Lingbo’s hands were still gripping Li Mochou’s leg, and the two of them plunged down together, falling into the flower shrubs just two feet short from the edge of the flower bed. Eventually, Li Mochou was two feet short, and the unimaginable amount of poison surged into her body.

Everybody was shocked, speechless, staring out wide-eyed at this sadly horrifying development. Lu Wushuang thought about how her martial sister used to take care of her. Grief-striken, she wept loudly and cried out, “Martial sister, martial sister!”

Yang Guo remembered how years ago he’d played tricks on Hong Lingbo. He couldn’t help feeling heavyhearted.

Li Mochou bent down to pry away Hong Lingbo’s hands and saw that her open eyes were filled with hatred. She thought to herself, “I’ve been poisoned by the passion flowers. The antidote surely must be here in the valley.”

As she was about to walk around the piles of flowers and be on her way, she suddenly heard Huang Rong calling out, “Sister Li, please come over here. I have a few words to say to you.”

Li Mochou was surprised but, with a slight hesitation, she moved forwards twenty, thirty feet.

“What?” She asked.

She secretly hoped that Huang Rong would give her the antidote, or at least tell her how to find it.

“You didn’t need to kill your disciple to leave the flower thicket,” said Huang Rong.

Li Mochou reached for her sword and coldly said, “Are you trying to teach me?”

With a faint smile Huang Rong replied, “I wouldn’t dare to. I’m only going to tell you one thing. You should haved used your long sword to dig up the soil and wrapped it with your outer gown, making two very large balls. And if you had thrown them into the flower thicket, wouldn’t they have made good stepping stones? Not only could you have gotten out safely, you wouldn’t have had to hurt anyone.”

Li Mochou’s face alternated between white and red, then red and white. She was struck by enornous grief. What Huang Rong had just explained was really not difficult but because she was anxious, she couldn’t figure it out . Instead, she had just killed the only person in the world that mattered and actually fallen to her doom. She couldn’t help saying bitterly, “Whatever, it’s already too late.”

Huang Rong said, “Right. It’s been way too late. Really, whether or not you are poisoned by the passion flowers makes no difference.”

Li Mochou stared fixedly at her, not understanding the meaning of her words.

Huang Rong added, “You’ve already been poisoned by your own foolish, unrestrained passion. You hurt people, and so you hurt yourself. As of now..”

Huang Rong sighed. “It’s been way too late.”

Li Mochou turned arrogant. She said in a stern voice, “It was I who gave my disciple her life. Had it not been for me taking care of her since childhood, she wouldn’t have lived until today. I gave her life. I then gave her death. It was only fair.”

Huang Rong said, “Parents give life to their own children. Yet, they have no right to kill them. Who are you to think that you do?”


Wu Xiuwen held out his sword and shouted, “Li Mochou, today you’ll pay for your inumerable crimes. No need for more talking. We’ll fight.”

Then the six of them – Wu Xiuwen, Wu Duiru, Wu Santong, Yelu Qi, Yelu Yan, and Guo Fu – arranged themselves in two lines and marched forwards.

Armed with a saber and a flute, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang moved a couple of steps forwards. Lu Wushuang said, “You slaughtered my whole family, today your one life is way too cheap. Worse, you had to be so evil, killing Sister Hong. Your death won’t even cover it.”

Guo Fu turned to Lu Wushuang and said with a sneer, “You’ve got such a good master!”

Lu Wushuang returned the stare and said, “Even someone with a big backer, if she does evil things, she should die just the same! Don’t you look to this demoness as an example!”

As Li Mochou heard Lu Wushuang mention “a backer,” something came to her mind. She raised her voice and called out, “Little martial sister, have you completely forgotten our martial ties?”

She had roamed Jianghu all her life and never paid anyone attention. This time she was asking Xiao Longnu for help. It could only mean that she had realized how grave her situation was. Besides, after killing Hong Lingbo, she felt a pang of guilt, her mind becoming disturbed.

Xiao Longnu didn’t know how to reply but Yang Guo retorted, “You treacherously killed your own disciple. How could you mention any martial ties?”

“Good!” Li Mochou said with a sigh.

Swinging her long sword, she said, “You all come at once. The more people, the better.”

The Wu brothers pulled out their swords. On the left side Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang both lunged forwards. Wu Santong, Yelu Qi and the others also held their weapons at the ready. Having seen the way she despicably killed Hong Lingbo just now, everybody was extremely hateful and disgusted. Even Reverend Yi Deng thought that if Li Mochou was allowed to live, she would only murder more people. But the ‘ding dang’ sounds of clashing weapons went on. Li Mochou’s martial skills were high, and she destroyed the many people’s offense in a flash.

Suddenly Li Mochou’s left hand flew out. She shouted, “Projectiles!”

Knowing that her Soul Freezing needles were deadly, the many people all froze stiff, only to see her body spring up and fall into the passion flower thicket. They couldn’t help crying out in alarm. Li Mochou did this because she already had the poison in her body and she thought that if she got pricked again, it wouldn’t be much worse. Even Huang Rong and Yang Guo hadn’t expected this. They all saw her return to the flower thicket and then went straight into the woods.

Wu Xiuwen said, “We pursue!”

Brandishing his long sword, he made a detour and followed Li Mochou into the woods from the east side. But the pathways in the woods were winding, with sharp turns. Only twenty, thirty feet in there, he ran into a three-way junction. While still hesitating, he suddenly saw five girls dressed in green coming out. The one in front was holding a flower in her hand, and the other four trailing behind wore long swords at their waists.

The girl in front asked, “The valley chief requests your presence. Would you please come with us?”

Yang Guo saw her from afar so he called out, “Miss Gongsun, it’s us.”

That girl was of course Gongsun Lu’e. Upon hearing Yang Guo’s voice, she lost her composure and quickly stepped forwards. Happily she said, “Big Brother Yang, have you accomplished your big task? Let’s quickly go see my mother.”

“Miss Gongsun, let me introduce you to these several elders,” said Yang Guo.

He first introduced her to Reverend Yi Deng, and then Ci’en and Huang Rong.

Gongsun Lu’e did not know that the monk in black in front of her was her own uncle, and so she walked over to pay him respect without much thought. But then she heard Yang Guo address Huang Rong as Madame Guo. She knew that this person was her mother’s personal enemy. Not only Yang Guo hadn’t killed her, he led her into the valley. Greatly suspicious, she moved a couple of steps backwards, refusing to greet her. She said, “My mother invites everybody to tea in the main hall.”

She thought to herself that she’d better do as her mother had ordered. And so, she led the many people to the main hall.

In the hall, Qiu Qianchi was sitting in a chair. She said, “This old woman’s limbs are disabled. I can’t get up to welcome you. Please accept my apology.”

Ci’en remembered his little sister. At the time she married Gongsun Zhi, she was a fledgling girl of eighteen, full of tenderness and grace. Nobody could have imagined that she would turn into an old, bald, wrinkled, ugly woman like this. He thought of the past and became at a loss.

Yi Deng saw the strange gleams in his eyes and couldn’t help being worried. In his life, the only worry left was this disciple who still couldn’t wake up and turn a new leaf. This was because Ci’en’s kungfu was profound. Years ago, he was an unmatched master in the martial realm, and so his deep attachment to the past made change even more difficult. Over the past ten years, he’d lived in seclusion in a remote mountain and had calmed down. But this time he stepped back into Jianghu, running into things that reminded him of the past. There was a saying that “He, who never encounters desires, will have a peaceful heart.” And so, when running into things that triggered a worldly desire, the mind would become disturbed, how would Ci'en be able to control himself? Yi Deng had brought Ci’en with him to the Passionless valley this time because he wanted to help his martial brother and Zhu Ziliu, but it was also very hard on Ci’en because his mind was greatly affected.

Because Yang Guo didn’t return to the Passionles valley in time, Qiu Qianchi had originally thought that he already died from the poison. Suddenly seeing him still alive and well, standing before her, she was puzzled. She asked, “You are not dead yet?”

“I’ve taken an antidote. Your flower poison is now gone.” Yang Guo said with a laugh.

Qiu Qianchi made a surprised sound. She thought to herself, “Unexpectedly there is an antidote that can detoxify the passion flower poison. How strange.”

But suddenly she figured it out. With a sneer she said, “What kind of lie is this? If there really was an antidote, why would that Indian monk and that Zhu person have to come here?”

Yang Guo said, “Senior Qiu, where did you imprison the Indian monk and Senior Zhu? I (junior) am already here. Please let them go!”

With a sneer Qiu Qianren said, “To tie a tiger is easy, to let it go is hard!”

These words of hers actually made sense. All her four limbs were disabled, and so she could only rely on her sect’s fishnet to capture the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu. If released, the Indian monk would be all right because he didn’t know kungfu but Zhu Ziliu would definitely retaliate. None of the disciples of the Passionless Valley was his match.

Yang Guo thought that if she saw her elder brother, their bloodties would make things friendlier. And so, he said with a faint smile, “Senior Qiu, please look at us carefully. Who did I bring back here? I’m sure you’ll be delighted.”

For decades Qiu Qianchi hadn’t seen her brother. Although she knew that he had become a monk, in her mind she only remembered him as a victorious and courageous youth. How would she be able to recognize this old monk? Hearing from her daugther that Huang Rong, her own personal enemy, had arrived, her eyes scanned the faces of many people and finally came to stop at Huang Rong.

Clenching her teeth, Qiu Qianchi said, “You are Huang Rong. My elder brother died at your hand.”

Yang Guo was startled. His original intention was to have the brother and sister meet. Instead, she recognized her archenemy. He quickly said, “Senior Qiu, we’ll put that on hold for now. Won’t you take a look again to see who else is here?”

Qiu Qianchi shouted, “You mean Guo Jing is here too? How wonderful, how wonderful!”

Then she looked at Wu Santong and Yelu Qi. One was too old, the other too young, looking not quite right. Frustrated, she searched for Guo Jing among the many people. Then her eyes met with those of Ci’en. They exchanged a stare, finally recognizing each other.

Ci’en jumped forward and cried out, “Third sister!”

Qiu Qianchi also gave out a loud cry, “Second brother!”

The two of them had countless things to say to each other, yet at this time they couldn’t think of anything to say.

A while passed, and then Qiu Qianchi asked, “Second brother, how did you become a monk?”

Ci’en asked back, “Third sister, how did your limbs become disabled?”

“It was that villain Gongsun Zhi who did it,” replied Qiu Qianchi

Ci’en said in alarm, “Gongsun Zhi? It was your husband?” Where is he right now?”

Qiu Qianchi said bitterly, “Why do you still call him 'my husband’? The traitor has a wolf’s heart and dog’s lungs. He plotted against me.”

Unable to suppress his anger, Ci'en cried out, “Where did the villain go? I’ll tear him to shreds, making it up to you.”

Qiu Qianchi coldly said, “Although I was the subject of an evil plan, luckily I could escape death. Our big brother, on the other hand, was already murdered.”

Ci’en said darkly, “Right!”

Qiu Qianchi gathered her chi and ferociously shouted, “Your body is skilled and able, why are you not avenging our big brother’s death? Where is your brotherly loyalty?”

Startled, Ci’en muttered, “Avenging our big brother’s death? Avenging our big brother’s death?”

Qiu Qianchi bellowed, “That evil Huang Rong is right in front of you. You kill her first and then go look for Guo Jing.”

Ci’en gazed at Huang Rong, with strange gleams in his eyes.

Yi Deng slowly stepped forwards and softly said, “Ci’en, how can a monk have murderous thoughts? Let alone the fact that your brother brought about his own death, you can't blame other people.”

Ci'en nodded and was lost in thought. After a while, he said in a low voice, “What my master said is right. Third sister, we can't avenge his death.”

Qiu Qianchi gave Yi Deng a stare and snarled, “This old monk is spouting nonsense. Second brother, our Qiu family has been brave and heroic. Our big brother was killed. If you don't avenge his death, how can you still call yourself a heroic true man?”

Having heard that, Ci’en’s mind became chaotic. He muttered, “How can I still call myself a heroic true man?”

Qiu Qianchi said, “Right! Years go you roamed Jianghu. The name Iron Palms Floating on Water was famous and prestigious. Who would have thought that, in old age, you'd turn into a coward who is afraid of death. Qiu Qianren, I’m telling you now. If you don’t avenge our big brother’s death, do not call me your sister!”

Seeing her become fiercer and fiercer, the many people all thought, “This bald old woman is quite lethal.”

Years ago, Huang Rong was struck by Qiu Qianren’s palm. Luckily Reverend Yi Deng came to her rescue, and so she narrowly escaped death. Naturally she knew him well. As soon as seeing him, she’d already thought about pulling out her horse whip.

Again, Guo Fu couldn’t bear it and shouted, “My mother doesn’t want to stoop to your level. Who’s afraid of you old woman? If you continue to egg on people, I’m going to have to be impolite.”

Huang Rong was about to tell Guo Fu to stop but then she figured, “That Qiu Qianren must be urged by his sister to act. Fu’er’s attack may actually help divert his attention.”

Seeing that her mother didn’t try to stop her, Guo Fu said again, “We are your guests. Yet, you are not treating us accordingly. Actually, you are rude like this, how would you call yourself a hero?”

Qiu Qianchi gave her a cold stare and said, “You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Guo Fu replied, “Correct, and if you want to fight, you have to do it yourself. Your brother has already become a monk. How could he ever kill anybody again?”

Qiu Qianchi muttered, “You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter. You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s.. ..”

She didn’t say the word ‘daughter’ again. Instead, with a ‘hu’ sound, a date stone was suddenly spat out from her mouth, violently coming towards Guo Fu. Her words ‘You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter’ were followed by ‘You are Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s.. ..” Everybody naturally thought she was going to say ‘daugther.’ Noone could have thought that in the blink of an eye she would shoot a projectile from her mouth. This sudden date stone kungfu of hers was really ingenious. It even blinded the right eye of Gongsun Zhi, who was a remarkable kungfu master. Guo Fu definitely didn’t stand a chance. She didn’t even have the time to think about dodging the projectile.

Among all these people, only Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu knew that Qiu Qianchi had such strange kungfu.While Xiao Longnu didn’t think she would harm people, Yang Guo had been paying close attention, his eyes never leaving her face. Seeing that her lips were not about to say the word ‘daughter, he plunged forwards, pulling out the long sword from Guo Fu’s waist and swinging it. A dang sound echoed as the date stone hit the blade. The sword immediately broke into two pieces before falling on the ground.

In one voice, the many people cried out in alarm. Huang Rong and Guo Fu were frightened, color draining from their faces.

Huang Rong mused, “I was guarding against her vicious attack but never would I have expected that she could out shoot out a ferocious projectile like this without even moving her body, limbs, or neck.”

The date stone broke the sword, showing that it was shot out with great force. Everybody all understood and thought, “If not for Yang Guo’s interfering, how would Miss Guo still be alive? And his movement was so swift that it was really shocking.”

Qiu Qianchi stared at Yang Guo in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to have the nerve to help Guo Fu. She coldly said, “Today you were poisoned again by the passion flower. The poison doesn’t manifest itself now but it will, in less than three days. In the whole world there is only my half-pill here that can save your life. Don’t you believe that?”

At the time Yang Guo jumped in to save Guo Fu, everything happened so fast that he didn’t even think of this matter. As Qiu Qianchi brought it up now, he couldn’t help feeling discouraged.

Stepping forwards, he gave her a bow and said, “Senior Qiu, I (junior) haven’t done anything to you. If you give me the pill, I’ll forever be grateful.”

Qiu Qianchi replied, “Never! Although it's true that I have today because of you, this old Qiu has revenge to exact and all gratitude can’t be taken into account. You promised me you’d go bring me Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s heads. Then I’d grant you the antidote. Who would have thought that not only did you not keep your promise, you just saved my personal enemy. What else is there to say?”

Seeing that the matter was escalating, Gongsun Lu’e said, “Mother, my uncle’s death has nothing to do with Big Brother Yang. You.. please bestow mercy.”

Qiu Qianchi said, “I’ll only give this half pill to my son-in-law. I’m not going to give it to anybody else.”

Having heard this, Gongsun Lu’e blushed furiously in shame and anxiety.

Yang Guo had saved Guo Fu’s life. By this time, she realized that Yang Guo was truly benevolent and really didn’t intend to trade her little sister for the antidote. She thought about how she had repeatedly hurt him but he always returned her viciousness with kindness.

In a loud voice she said, “Big Brother Yang, I (little sister) have wronged you. Please forgive me.”

But for some unknown reason, old grudges are hard to let go. As soon as she apologized, she thought, “You saved me because you wanted to show off your ability. You wanted me to submit to you and feel grateful to you. You wanted to show me that even though you had only one arm, you were still much stronger than me with two arms. Humph, isn’t that just great?”

Yang Guo let out a faint smile, which was actually quite bitter and tasteless. He thought to himself, “How very easy for you to admit that you were wrong. You didn’t even know how much suffering you brought on me and Long’er.”

Then he saw that Qiu Qianchi was giving him a fixed stare. Obviously, if he didn’t agree to marry her daughter, she would never give him that half pill to save his life. Again, he refused to compromise and made things awkward for Gongsun Lu’e and Xiao Longnu.

He brightly said, “I’m already married to the Long girl. Even I, Yang Guo, am doomed to die, how can I shirk my responsibilities?”

Having said this, he turned around, taking Xiao Longnu by hand. While walking to the hall entrance, he thought to himself, “Let them squabble in the hall. I’d better go rescue the Indian monk and Uncle Zhu.”

With a sneer Qiu Qianchi said, “Good, good! You yourself volunteered to die, this has nothing to do with me.”

She turned her head back towards Ci’en and said, “Second brother, I’ve heard that Huang Rong is chief of the beggar clan. We, iron palm clan, don’t dare to offend her.”

Ci’en said, “Iron palm clan? It’s already been disbanded. How can there still be such a clan?”

Qiu Qianchi said, “No wonder, no wonder. You don’t want to fight. You’ve become a coward..”

Qiu Qianchi were still talking but Gongsun Lu’e no longer listened to her. Watching Yang Guo step out of the hall, she suddenly dashed forwards. She cried out, “Yang Guo, you heartless scoundrel, I must have been blind.”

Yang Guo paused his steps, wondering why this girl, who had always been courteous, was acting out of character. Could it be because she heard that he and Long’er were married and became enraged? He felt a slight regret, and so he turned his back and said, “Miss Gongsun.. ..”

Gongsun Lu’e scolded, “Crafty thief, it’s easy to come into the valley but hard to get out.. ..”

But although she was berating him, her face expression was actually warm and gentle, her eyes conveying a hidden message. Yang Guo knew that there had to be a reason.

In a loud voice he said, “What is it? You say this small Passionless Valley is hard to get out?”

He was facing the main hall. Qiu Qianchi saw him very clearly and therefore didn’t see anything strange.

Lu’e scolded, “I wish I could split you in half. I would rip out your heart so I could see.. ..”

She suddenly opened her mouth and, with a puff of air, a date stone was spat out, flying towards Yang Guo’s face.

Yang Guo caught it with his hand. He sneered, “Just let me leave quickly and I won’t hurt you. You think your little skill could stop me?”

Gongsun Lu’e gave him another meaningful glance and let him leave. Suddenly she covered her face with both hands and cried out, “Mother, he.. he’s a big bully!”

She fled back into the main hall. Her loved one was gone. He had married another girl. This sadness was actually not fake.

Seeing tears stream down her face, Qiu Qianchi shouted, “E’er, what’s wrong with you? That boy’s life won’t last very long.”

Lu’e crouched down at her mother’s knees, and her sobs continued.

Everybody in the hall was deceived by this performance. There was only Huang Rong who secretly thought it to be funny. She mused, “She pretended to be mad at Yang Guo so her mother wouldn't be suspicious and later she could steal the antidote. Who would have thought that this boy Yang Guo would leave a trail of broken hearts behind him everywhere he went, making all these beautiful girls pining for him.”

Having thought this, she gave Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang a glance.

After catching that date stone, Yang Guo walked out very quickly. Lu’e words were very strange, and he still couldn’t figure out her intention. Xiao Longnu saw the expression on Lu’e’s face and knew that her tirade was fake.

She asked, “Guo’er, she pretended to be mad at you. Was it because she was trying to fool her mother so she could steal the antidote?”

Yang Guo replied, “Looks like it.”

As soon as the two people rounded a curve and saw that they were alone, Yang Guo raised his hand and looked at the date stone in his palm. It was actually an olive seed, with tiny stitches in the middle. Yang Guo squeezed it with his fingers, breaking it in half. The middle of the seed was actually hollow, with a thin sheet of paper hidden in there.

With a smile Xiao Longnu said, “This girl told you a riddle. She actually meant this when she said ..split you in half. I would rip out your heart so I could see.. ”

Yang Guo unfolded the thin paper, and the two of them bent their heads to look at the words.

The paper read, “Mother hid the half pill in a secret place. I will plan to steal it for you. The Indian monk and senior Zhu are confined in ‘the fire room’ ”

Next to the characters was a map showing a winding path that ended at ‘the fire room.’

Yang Guo said in delight, “Let us go quickly. It's good that no one is here to stop us right now.”


[END of CH30]

[pannonian]

Chapter 31 – Half The Antidote

(Translated by BeeDreamer)

Surrounded by the mountains, the floor of the Passionless Valley was vast, occupying about thirty thousands acres of land, with winding paths, towering hills, and deep ravines. But Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu used their lightness kungfu to follow the path on the map, and they arrived at their destination in just a short while. In front of them they saw several big elm trees, seventy, eighty-feet high, providing a shade for a brick and pottery kiln underneath. The map showed that the Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu were imprisoned here.

Yang Guo turned to Xiao Longnu and said, “You wait here. I’ll go in and take a look. With charcoal and ash in there, it must be very dirty.”

As he bent over to step into the kiln, he was hit by a heat wave.

“Who is there?” A voice shouted.

Yang Guo said, “I've got the chief’s order. I’m coming to get the prisoners.”

That person emerged from behind the brick wall and asked, “What?”

Seeing Yang Guo, he was startled and said, “You.. You..”

Yang Guo saw that he was a valley disciple dressed in green so he said, “The chief has ordered me to come get the monk and the man surnamed Zhu.”

That disciple knew that Yang Guo had saved his master’s life, that she'd announced in front of everybody that Yang Guo was her intended son-in-law, and that he and Lu’e were on the best terms. This person would one day become the valley chief, and so he didn’t dare to offend Yang Guo.

He said, “But.. .. what about the chief’s command sign?”

Yang Guo ignored him and said, “Let me come in and take a look.”

That disciple complied and turned back into the kiln.

Inside the brick walls, the heat was even more intense. Two lowly laborers were raking charcoal. Although it was bitterly cold at this time of year, the two people were actually bare-chested, each wearing short pants to cover his lower body. Still they were sweating profusely. The disciple in green pushed open a big stone, revealing an opening. Yang Guo went inside and saw that it was actually a stone chamber of ten feet square. Zhu Ziliu sat there with his face to the wall, using his index finger to draw pictures. His arm rose and fell as if he was very pleased with himself. The Indian monk was actually lying on the ground, and it was hard to tell if he was still alive.

Yang Guo called out, “Uncle Zhu, how are you?”

Zhu Ziliu turned his head back. He laughed and said, “A friend has come to visit from afar, how can I not be fine?” Yang Guo had to admire him. He was stranded here for a long time but still kept calm as if everything was normal. Even in crisis, he could still be mirthful. He himself was far, far inferior to him in this regards.

“Is the divine monk sleeping?” He asked.

Having said this, his heart was beating wildly because Xiao Longnu’s life all depended on this divine Indian monk.

Zhu Ziliu didn't reply. Only after a while he let out a gentle sigh and said, “My martial uncle can usually withstand heat and cold much better than I can, but this time.. ..”

It sounded like the Indian monk’s condition was critical. Frightened, Yang Guo didn't bother to say any more words. He turned his head to the disciple in green. He ordered, “Unlock the door. Let them out.”

The disciple in green said in surprise, "What about the lock? The chief's got the key. If she ordered you to free people, how come she didn’t give you the key?”

Impatient, Yang Guo shouted, “Make way!”

He lifed his black iron sword and struck down, making a big hole in the stone wall with a ‘ka’ sound. That disciple let out an ‘ah’ cry and froze in fright. Yang Guo swung his sword a few more times and that five-inch window became wide enough for a person to pass through.

Zhu Ziliu cried out, “Brother Yang, I congratulate you on your great skills!”

He bent over to pick up the Indian monk, passing him through that hole. As Yang Guo took him, he could felt that the Indian monk’s arm was warm. His heart jumped. But then he saw that the Indian monk’s eyes were shut tight. He thought to himself, “Aiyo, even a dead body is warm in this fire room.”

He quickly stretched his hand to feel the Indian monk’s breath and realized he was still breathing faintly.

Zhu Ziliu jumped out from that hole in the wall. He said, “Martial uncle has passed out. Hope it’s not a great obstacle.”

Yang Guo blushed. He thought to himself, “Shame on you!”

He thought about how he himself didn’t really care about the Indian monk’s wellbeing but more about how to save his own wife.

He asked, “Did he pass out from heat exhaustion? Let’s quickly go outside to get some air.”

Then he carried him out.

Seeing the three people, Xiao Longnu was delighted.

Yang Guo said, “Let’s find some cold water to sprinkle on Reverend’s face.”

“No. Martial uncle was poisoned by the passion flowers.” Zhu Ziliu said.

Yang Guo was startled. He asked, “Is the poison severe?”

Zhu Ziliu replied, “I think not. It was he who poisoned himself.”

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were puzzled. In one voice, they exclaimed, “What?”

With a sign Zhu Ziliu said, “Uncle said that these passion flowers were already extinct in India. He didn’t know how it had been spreaded. He said that if it got out of hand, it would be a great disaster. Years ago, people and livestock in India had been poisoned and died because of these flowers. Martial uncle had thoroughly researched poison techniques but this passion flower poison was really strange. He came to the valley this time, knowing that the divine pill could only help one person. He wanted to find out what could detoxify the poison to help people on a large scale. He used his body to test the poison so he would understand its nature and be able to find the antidote."

Yang Guo was half amazed and half in awe. He said, “Buddha said – if I don’t go to hell, who will? Reverend is trying to save people, not hestitating to face a disaster. People really have to respect him.”

Zhu Ziliu said, “In an ancient tale, Shen Nong tried a hundred kinds of herbs to save people. If it was the wrong herb, his face would turn blue. This martial uncle of mine must have had this story in mind.”

Yang Guo nodded and said, “Right. Do you know when he will regain consciousness?”

“After he poisoned himself, he said if his calculation was not wrong, he would wake up after three days and three nights,” said Zhu Ziliu.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu looked at each other. They both thought, “He’ll be in a coma for three days and three nights. It means the poison is very severe. Fortunately this passion flower poison affects people differently. If one has a passionate heart, the poison will act up very fiercely. This monk has a steady heart. He's much better than an average person.”

Xiao Longnu said, “You two were in the kiln, how did you find passion flowers?”

Zhu Ziliu replied, “After we were put in the fire room, there was a girl who often came to visit.. ..”

Xiao Longnu said, “Was she a tall girl with fair complextion and a small mole on one corner of her mouth?”

“Right,” said Zhu Ziliu.

Xiao Longnu smiled at Yang Guo. Then she said to Zhu Ziliu, “That was the valley chief’s daugther Miss Lu’E. She heard that you two had come to help Yang Guo so she was fond of you. Although she didn’t dare to release you, she’d get you whatever you wanted.”

Zhu Ziliu said, “Correct. Martial uncle asked her for a branch of the passion flowers. I asked her to send my message asking for help. And she complied. In the fire room, everyday there would be a time the fires blasted. She would pour water on them to reduce the intensity, making it bearable for us. I often asked her who she was but she never answered. I didn’t know she was the valley chief’s daugther.”

“And she gave us the direction to come here,” said Xiao Longnu.

Yang Guo said, “Great reverend Yi Deng is here too.”

Zhu Ziliu was delighted. He said, “Oh, let’s go.”

Yang Guo frowned and said, “Monk Ci’en is also here. I’m afraid there might be a little trouble.”

Zhu Ziliu was puzzled. He said, “Brother Ci’en is also here. How can it not be good? When brother and sister meet, Chief Qiu will have no choice but consider this friendship.”

Even though he became Reverend Yi Deng’s disciple before Ci’en, in Jianghu Ci’en’s kungfu was actually at the same level as that of Reverend Yi Deng. And so Diancang Yuyin and Zhu Ziliu highly respected him, treating him as ‘martial elder brother.’ Zhu Ziliu had asked Lu’e to send his help message, hoping that Ci’en would come, and the two sides would be reconciled. Now that Yang Guo mentioned trouble, he couldn’t quite understand.

Yang Guo briefly told him about Ci’en mental instability and how Qiu Qianchi was trying to stir up his emotion.

Zhu Ziliu said, “Madame Guo is also here in the valley. That’s really the best. Her wisdom is second to none. My master is here to control the situation. Also, Brother Yang’s kungfu has reached this stage. There shouldn’t be any problem. I’m only worried about my martial uncle.

Yang Guo also felt that the Indian monk’s safety was the first priority. He said, “We could find a place to stay, waiting for Reverend to regain consciousness. The three of us can protect him.”

Zhu Ziliu hesitated. He asked, “Where should we go?”

He pondered for a long time, feeling that this Passionless Valley was dangerous everywhere. Then he figured out and said, “We wait right here.”

Yang Guo was startled but then he understood. With a smile he said, “Uncle Zhu’s idea is wonderful. This place seems bad but it actually is the best place in the valley. We just have to stop those valley disciples from leaking our secret.”

Zhu Ziliu stretched out his finger. With a laugh he said, “That’s easy.”

He picked up the Indian monk and said, “We’ll rest here in the kiln. May I ask Brother Yang and Mrs. to go help my master?”

Yang Guo remembered that Reverend Yi Deng’s injury had not recovered and that Ci’en had been swaying back and forth between good and evil. If he stayed here to guard the Indian monk, it would be rather selfish and he wouldn’t be feel comfortable. Seeing Zhu Ziliu carry the Indian monk back into the kiln, he and Xiao Longnu returned to the path they’d just come from.

The two people passed by the passion flower thicket. It was bitter cold at this time. Undoubtedly there was no flower, and the leaves had all fallen, leaving only ugly bare branches, full of sharp thorns.

Suddenly Yang Guo thought of Li Mochou. He said, “No doubt this thing called passion is sometimes extremely beautiful but other times extremely ugly. Like your martial sister, Spring flowers wither quickly but their thorns can still kill people.”

Xiao Longnu said, “I hope the divine monk can find the antidote to this flower poison. Not only will it cure you, my martial sister can also be saved.”

But Yang Guo actually hoped that the Indian monk would first treat the poisons in Xiao Longnu’s body and that the Indian monk would regain consciousness. If he didn’t wake up and just passed away, what then? Looking at his wife, his heart was filled with infinite tender feelings. Suddenly, he was hit by a flash of pain in his chest. He knew that because he’d saved the Cheng-Lu cousins, the poison in his body was even more severe. Afraid that he would worry Xiao Longnu, he turned his head to look at the bare branches, appearing to be happy and not paying attention to life and death.

By now there was another scene in the main hall of the Passionless Valley. Qiu Qianchi was urging her brother to act. The more she talked, the more ferocious her words became. Revenrend Yi Deng didn’t say a word, leaving Ci’en to make a decision for himself. Ci’en looked at his sister. He looked at his master. Then he looked at Huang Rong. One was his blood sister. Another was the master who’d changed him. And the third was his brother's murderer. His mind fluctuated between kindness and hatred. Good and evil were battling. How would he decide? His entire life from childhoold to old age flashed in his brain. Sometimes tears glistened in his eyes, other times a smile came to the corners of his mouth. His heart was aflame for this was fiercer than any battle he’d ever fought in.

Lu Wushuang saw that Yang Guo had left the hall for a long time and still not returned and that Ci’en’s state of mind had nothing to do with her whatsoever. She gently tugged at Cheng Ying’s gown sleeve and quietly slipped out of the hall. Cheng Ying followed her out.

“Where did Dumb Egg go?” Lu Wushuang asked.

Cheng Ying didn’t reply. She only said, “He’s been poisoned. Don’t know how bad his condition is.”

Lu Wushuang said, “Hmm.”

She was also worried. In a low-spirited voice, she said, “I really didn’t expect this. He and his master finally.. ..”

Cheng Ying said in the same tone, “Miss Long is really beautiful, and she’s really good. Only such a person can match Big Brother Yang.”

Lu Wushuang said, “How do you know she’s a good person? You haven’t really talked to her.”

Suddenly she heard a cold voice from behind, “Her foot is not lame. Naturally she’s good.”

Lu Wushuang drew out her Willow Leaf saber, turning her body around. That voice, of course, came from Guo Fu.

Seeing her unsheathed saber, Guo Fu quickly pulled out a long sword from Yelu Qi’s waist. She returned the angry glare and shouted, “You want to fight?”

With a merry laugh Lu Wushuang said, “How come you don’t use your own sword?”

Her foot had been crippled since childhood, and it was her sore spot. Other people never mentioned this in front of her. This time Guo Fu ridiculed her ‘lame foot,’ she was enraged, and so she sarcastically brought up the broken sword issue.

Guo Fu barked, “I’m going to use someone else’s sword to give you a kungfu lesson.”

Having said that, the long sword struck, and the ‘weng-weng’ sounds echoed.

Lu Wushuang said, “How rude. The Guo family's child doesn’t respect her senior. Good, today I’ll teach you the difference between good and bad.”

“Bah, how can you be my senior?” Guo Fu said.

With a laugh Lu Wushuang said, “My cousin is your martial uncle. If you don’t call me Gugu (paternal aunt), you should call me Ah-yi (maternal aunt). You can ask my cousin!”

Then she pointed at Cheng Ying.

By her mother’s order, Guo Fu had to call Cheng Ying ‘martial uncle.’ But deep down she was still not convinced that her strange grandfather had accepted such a person as a disciple. She thought that she and Cheng Ying were about the same age so Cheng Ying’s kungfu shouldn’t be very good.

She looked at Lu Wushuang and said, “Who knows if she’s real or fake? My grandpa is world famous. There are many shameless people pretending to be his disciples.”

Although Cheng Ying’s natural disposition was gentle, hearing this she couldn’t help getting angry. But her whole heart right now was fixed on Yang Guo, and so she had no intention to bicker with people.

She said, “Cousin, let’s go.. go find Big Brother Yang.”

Lu Wushuang nodded. She turned to Guo Fu and said, “Did you hear that? Did she or did she not call me her cousin? Hero Guo and Chief Huang Rong are world famous. Don’t know how many shameless people pretend to be their daughter!”

Then with a ‘hei-hei’ cold laugh, she turned to leave.

Guo Fu was slow. She thought, “Who pretends to be my parents’ daughter?”

But then it dawned on her, “Aiyo! She called me a bastard, saying that I’m not my parents’ daugther.”

Now that she understood the meaning, how could she bear it? She jumped up and thrust her sword towards Lu Wushuang’s back.

Hearing the sound of Guo Fu's sword cutting through the air, Lu Wushuang turned and blocked the strike with her saber. With a ‘dang’ sound, slight pains shot through their arms.

Guo Fu shouted, “Did you call me a bastard?”

The long sword struck again and again. Lu Wushuang blocked the sword left and right. She sneered, “Hero Guo is a righteous hero. Chief Huang is truly the daughter of the chief of Peach Blossom Island. Their characters are remarkable.. ..”

Guo Fu said, “Who doesn’t know that? There is no need to praise my parents to please me.”

She really thought that Lu Wushuang had sincerely praised her parents, and so her sword slowed down.

But Lu Wushuang continued, “You? You cut off Big Brother Yang’s arm. You couldn’t tell right from wrong, hurting a good person. How could such behavior be anything similar to that of the Guo couple? Makes people wonder.”

“Wonder about what?” Guo Fu asked.

Lu Wushuang darkly said, “You think about it.”

Yelu Qi was standing on the side of the scene. He knew that Guo Fu’s intelligence was far inferior to Lu Wushuang. If this verbal spat went on, Guo Fu wouldn’t be able to stand it. He said, “Miss Guo, let’s not talk to her any more.”

He could see that Guo Fu’s kungfu was above Lu Wushuang’s. If she couldn’t win an argument, she would resort to a real fight. Who would have thought that Guo Fu would be blind with rage, not understanding his intention. She said, “Don’t meddle. I’m asking her to explain what she said.”

Lu Wushuang gave Yelu Qi a stare. She said, “A dog that bites visitors will give you trouble in the future.”

Yelu Qi blushed, knowing that Lu Wushuang had already figured out his feelings towards Guo Fu. What she meant was that Guo Fu was so irrational that she would give him infinite trouble in the future.

Seeing Yelu Qi blush, Guo Fu was greatly suspicious. She questioned, “You suspect that I’m not my parents’ daughter as well?”

Yelu Qi quickly said, “No, no. Let’s go. Don’t pay her attention.”

Lu Wushuang butted in, “Naturally, he is suspicious. Otherwise, why does he want you to leave so quickly?”

Guo Fu’s face reddened, and she pressed her hand on the sword.

Yelu Qi could only advise, “Miss Lu’s words are mean and cutting. If you want to test her kungfu, just do it. There’s no need to talk.”

Lu Wushuang said, “He said you got a dumb mouth. Talking too much will only reveal what a joke you are.”

Guo Fu had feelings for Yelu Qi, and so she was worried that he wouldn’t like her. Although other people were talking nonsense, when it involved her loved one, she had to think about it. As she thought about what Lu Wushuang said, she feared that Yelu Qi would really think badly of her. Her parents had doted on her since she was little, and the Wu brothers -- her childhood friends -- had always obeyed her. Except her occasional quarrels with Yang Guo, she’d never had an argument like this. Today she ran into a ferocious opponent, who outpaced and outwitted her no matter what she said.

Realizing that talking would result in more damage, she scolded, “If I don’t cripple your other foot today, my name is not Guo.”

Having said that, her sword moved like the wind, flying towards Lu Wushuang.

Lu Wushuang said, “No need to cripple my foot. Your real name is not Guo anyway. Maybe your name is Zhang, or Li.”

Lu Wushuang could still go on, calling her a ‘bastard.’

While they were exchanging these verbal attacks, the saber and the sword clashed, and the battle became more intense.

The Guo couple had taught their daughter the best of kungfu. Guo Fu was taught all the basics but it was difficult to master the skills in a short period of time. When it came to martial proclivity, Guo Fu had a stronger resemblance to her father and very little in common with her mother. And so, even though her foundation of orthodox kungfu was good, she still needed to refine her skills before she could use any lethal kungfu. Even so, Lu Wushuang wasn’t her match. Besides, her retreat wasn’t very agile because of a crippled foot. Guo Fu was burning with rage, and she kept on attacking. Sword lights flashed as she was trying to stab Lu Wushuang’s right leg.

Cheng Ying was watching them fight, her brows creasing with worry.

She thought, “Althought my cousin’s namecalling isn’t nice, this Guo girl is too rude and too unreasonable. No wonder Yang Guo’s right arm was cut off by her. If they continue to fight, my cousin’s right leg will be difficult to save.”

She saw Lu Wushuang constantly retreating. Suddenly she heard a ‘chi’ sound as Lu Wushuang skirt was ripped open. She let out a soft cry, “Aiyo!”

Lu Wushuang stumbled back, her face pale. Guo Fu quickly took a couple of steps forwards and brought her sword around in a horizontal swipe, slashing Lu Wushuang’s leg. Seeing that Guo Fu had already won but still kept on attacking and that Lu Wushuang was dangerously cornered, she stepped in gently, using both hands to block Guo Fu.

She said, “Miss Guo, please go light on her.”

Guo Fu lifted her sword. Seeing blood on the blade, she knew that Lu Wushuang had already been injured. She pointed her sword proudly at Lu Wushuang and said, “My lesson today will teach you not to spout nonsense again.”

The sword wound on Lu Wushuang’s leg was aching. She angrily said, “Are you going to use your sword to stop people from talking?”

She knew that Guo Fu basked in her parents’ glory, so she pretended to say that Guo Fu was not Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter.

Guo Fu shouted, “What did they say?”

She moved forward a step, with the tip of her sword straight towards Lu Wushuang’s chest.

Cheng Ying stepped in between them. Seeing the long sword arrive, she used three fingers to hold the blade and gently pushed it aside.

She pursuaded, “Cousin, Miss Guo, we are in the middle of danger here. Let’s stop this senseless fight.”

Her sword was brushed aside by Cheng Ying’s bare hand. Guo Fu was half-startled and half-angry. She shouted, “Are you helping her? Good, good, good. Even two on one, I’m not afraid. Draw out your weapon!”

Having said that, she pointed her long sword at Cheng Ying’s waist, preparing to thrust and waiting calmly for her to pull out the jade flute from her waist.

With a faint smile Cheng Ying said, “I just asked you two not to fight, how can I fight you myself? Brother Yelu, please come talk to Miss Guo.”

“Right. Miss Guo, we are in the enemy territory. We’ve got to be careful everywhere we go.” Yelu Qi said.

Guo Fu quickly said, “Good. You don’t help me. Instead, you help an outsider.”

Seeing that Cheng Ying was a girl of beauty and grace, she suddenly thought to herself, “Is he interested in her?”

Yelu Qi had no clue what she was thinking. He continued, “That monk Ci’en looked quite strange. Let’s go back to watch him in the hall.”

Lu Wushuang heard Guo Fu’s words and saw the look on her face. She understood what Guo Fu was worried about.

She said, “Compared to you, my cousin is prettier. Her behavior is gentler. And she had better kungfu. You’ve got to be very very careful.”

These four sentences pierced Guo Fu’s heart. Nervously she asked, “Careful about what?”

Lu Wushuang sneered, “Even if I were an idiot, I would still prefer my cousin. You are rude and vicious, what’s so good about you?”

These words were so obvious, how could Guo Fu stand them? Her long sword flew out, swerving around Cheng Ying and flying towards Lu Wushuang.

This move of hers was called the ‘Jade Stance Guiding Silver Arrow,’ which was one of Huang Rong’s family techniques. The blade was swung in an arc and would strike the side of the target. The move appeared to be without haste but the damage zone was wide. Only one with higher sword skills would be able to block such a blow; otherwise, it was extremely difficult to escape.

Cheng Ying knitted her brows. She thought to herserf, “Why is this girl using the fiercest stance? My cousin only offends you with words. She isn't your most hateful enemy. Why are you acting like you mean to kill a murderer?”

Fortunately, Huang Yaoshi had earlier taught her this sword stance. And so, she sent energy to her fingers, waiting for Guo Fu’s sword swing. Then with a clang, the long sword was shot to the ground.

The technique Cheng Ying had just used was called ‘Divine Flicking Fingers.’ But it came out strong only because Cheng Ying had understood Guo Fu’s technique and waited to strike when the power on Guo Fu’s sword went empty. Otherwise, the two people’s martial skills were about the same level, Cheng Ying wouldn’t have been able to disarm Guo Fu with her fingers. Cheng Ying used her left foot to step on the long sword, and the jade flute in her hand pointed at Guo Fu’s pressure point on her waist.

In a flash Cheng Ying had knocked off Guo Fu’s sword, stepped on it, and threatened Guo Fu’s pressure point. Guo Fu was in an extremely awkward situation. If she bent down to snatch the sword, the pressure point on her waist would be exposed. But if she jumped backwards, her long sword would of course be taken. Although her kungfu was not weak, she lacked battle experiences. At the moment, she was blushing profusely, not knowing what to do.

Yelu Qi shouted, “Hey, lady. Why did you step on my weapon?”

Then he leaned forward to grab the jade flute. Cheng Ying retracted her arm, and then she turned around to leave, pulling Lu Wushuang along with her.

Guo Fu snatched the long sword back. She called out, “Slow down, let’s see who’s the better person.”

Lu Wushuang turned her head back and said, “Still want to.. ..”

Cheng Ying lifted her arm, draging her cousin along. The two people were already twenty, thirty feet away from them, and so Lu Wushuang didn’t get to finish her sentence.

Yelu Qi said, “Miss Guo, she was just lucky with that move. Actually, the two of you are equals.”

Guo Fu bitterly said, “Right. I was swinging my sword in an arc. Before I could hit them, she took advantage of the moment the strength on my sword was void. I didn’t expect someone who looked quite refined to be sly like this.”

“Hmm.” Yelu Qi made a noise.

He was a straight person. Not wanting to falsely flatter her, he said, “Miss Cheng’s kungfu isn’t weak. If you fight with her next time, you can’t underestimate the enemy.”

Hearing him commend Cheng Ying, Guo Fu frowned darkly. She couldn’t bear it and so she said, “Did you say her kungfu was good?”

Yelu Qi replied, “Yes.”

Guo Fu angrily said, “Then don’t mind me. Just go, be with her.”

Having said that, she turned around.

Yelu Qi said, “I advised you not to underestimate the enemy. I asked you to be careful. Am I helping you, or am I helping her?”

Now that Yelu Qi had explained that he wanted her to protect herself, Guo Fu couldn’t help but smile.

Yelu Qi continued, “Didn’t I help you get the sword back? Why are you still blaming me?”

Guo Fu turned her head back and said, “I’m not. I’m not. I’m not blaming you!”

A happy smile filled her face.

Yelu Qi was delighted but suddenly he heard repeated roars from inside the hall, accompanied by the interminable sounds of metals clanking.

Guo Fu cried out, “Aiyo, let’s quickly go and take a look.”

Originally she was listening to Qiu Qianchi ramble on about decades-ago events. Not realizing that a crisis was looming, the more she listened, the more annoyed she became. And so, she slipped out of the hall, running into the the Cheng-Lu cousins and fighting with them. Now that she heard the strange sounds, her thoughts were on her mother. She rushed back into the hall.

In the middle of the hall Reverend Yi Deng sat cross-legged, holding a string of rosary beads in his hands and reciting Buddhist sutras. He had a gentle look on his face. Monk Ci’en paced back and forth in the hall and often let out a roar, which sounded severely wicked. His hands were shackled, but the chain that linked the two cuffs had already been broken. When the two parts struck against each other, a clanking sound echoed. Qiu Qianchi also sat in the hall, her complexion pale. She was originally ugly but this time she looked fiercely fearsome. Huang Rong and Wu Santong were standing in a corner of the hall, intensely watching Ci’en.

Ci’en had been pacing around in a fit of insanity, and beads of sweat dripped profusely from his forehead. White steam emitted from the top of his head, looking like white clouds. These clouds were growing denser. And the more he paced, the faster he became. Reverend Yi Deng suddenly used his inner energy to shout, “Ci’en, Ci’en, distinguish between good and evil. Have you meditated today?”

Ci’en turned dull, his body swaying. He threw himself on the ground.

Qiu Qianchi shouted, “E’er, quickly go help your uncle up.”

Gongsun Lu’e did as told. Ci’en opened his eyes and saw Lu’e face. In his daze, Lu’e beautiful face, with long eyebrows and thin lips, looked very much like his sister when she was young.

He cried out, “Third sister, where am I?”

Lu’e said, “Uncle, I’m Lu’e.”

Ci’en muttered, “Uncle.. who is your uncle?” Who are you talking about?”

Qiu Qianchi shouted, “Second brother, she’s your third sister’s daughter. She wanted to meet her first uncle.”

Ci’en was startled. He said, “My big brother? You can’t meet him. He’s already fallen to death from the Iron Palms summit. His body was all gone.”

Then he jumped up. He looked at Huang Rong and shouted, “Huang Rong, you killed my big brother, you’ll pay for it!”

Arriving back in the hall, Guo Fu had stayed by her mother’s side, carrying her younger sister in her arms. Now that she saw Ci’en pointing his finger at her mother and scolding her, she couldn’t stand it.

And so, she stepped forwards and said, “Monk, if you are rude again, I (young girl) won’t stand it.”

Qiu Qianchi sneered, “This young girl is fearless.. ..”

Ci’en asked, “Who are you?”

“Hero Guo is my father and Chief Huang is my mother,” replied Guo Fu.

Ci’en asked, “And the baby you are holding?”

Guo Fu said, “She’s my little sister.”

In a severe tone Ci’en said, “Humph, surprisingly Guo Jing and Huang Rong have two children.”

Hearing a strange tone in his voice, Huang Rong shouted, “Fu’er, get back here, quickly!”

Guo Fu saw that Ci’en was acting like a madman. After all those talks, he still hadn’t begun fighting. She thought he was afraid of her mother so she didn’t fear him. Instead, she moved a couple of steps forwards.

With a laugh she said, “If there’s revenge to extract, just get on with it. If not, don’t open your mouth!”

Ci’en shouted, “I will extract my revenge!”

His voice ripped through the air like a clap of thunder, and all the teacups were making ‘dang-dang’ rattling sounds. Guo Fu couldn’t move her hands and feet. She only saw his left and right hands coming at her with the force of a mountain being cast into the sea. She wanted to escape, but how could there be enough time?

As if by prior arrangement, Huang Rong, Wu Santong, and Yelu Qi jumped up into the air at the same time. The three people all noticed that even though Ci’en right hand was fierce, his left palm was far more lethal. So they all aimed at his left palm, and the four palms clashed with a ‘peng’ sound.

Ci’en let out a ‘hei’ sound and stood still but the three people fell back several steps. With the lowest skills, Yelu Qi was knocked back the furthest, and next to him was Huang Rong. Before she could steady herself, she saw that her daughter Guo Xiang had already been snatched by Ci’en. Guo Fu just stood there dumbly, too frightened to escape.

Huang Rong was alarmed. She thought, “Was Fu’er hurt by that palm strike?”

Immediately she jumped up and out, her left hand pulling Guo Fu back. She wielded the Dog Beating stick with her right hand, using the ‘seal’ trick. Although Ci’en’s palms were fierce, he couldn’t hurt her this time. Guo Fu was actually not injured but she was confused. Now that she leaned against her mother’s body, she could let out an ‘ah’ cry.

As the battle began, the Wu brothers, Yelu Yan, and Wanyan Ping unsheathed their weapons. Qiu Qianchi signaled the many valley disciples to scatter, waiting for her order to besiege them. Only Reverend Yi Deng was still sitting cross-legged in the center of the hall as if he didn’t see all these things. He was reciting Buddhist sutras. His voice was not loud, but very clear.

Ci’en lifted Guo Xiang. He shouted, “This is Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter. I'll kill this girl first, then I’ll kill Huang Rong!”

Qiu Qianchi said in delight, “Good second brother! You are really the world-famous Iron Palms Floating on Water, Chief Qiu!”

In this situation, much less to say that Huang Rong and the others couldn’t defeat Ci’en in battle without anybody getting hurt, they didn’t even have a way to save the baby from this mad man.

In a loud voice Guo Fu suddenly shouted, “Yang Guo, big brother Yang, quickly come and save my little sister.”

When facing a disaster, Yang Guo had always come out of nowhere to save her. Seeing that nobody could do anything at this time, she naturally hoped that Yang Guo would come to her rescue again. But at the moment Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu were enjoying their time together. The two people walked slowly hand in hand, watching the sunset. How could they know about this urgent situation in the hall?

Ci’en used his right hand to hold Guo Xiang high above his head and brought his left palm on guard.

He sneered, “Yang Guo? Who’s Yang Guo? Now even if East Heretic, West Venom, South Emperor, North Beggar, and Central Divinity all came at once, they could only kill me, Qiu Qianren, but they wouldn’t be able to save this baby.”

Yi Deng slowly lifted his head and saw blood lust and murderous intent in Ci'en's eyes. He said, “You want to seek revenge on people, people will then come and take revenge on you. What good will come off it?”

Ci’en shouted, “If they dare, come!”

Right now dusk had begun to fall, and the evening lights entered the hall. Despair filled everyone’s eyes, and his face looked absolutely terrifying.

Suddenly Huang Rong let out a ‘ha-ha’ laugh, her voice alternating between high and low pitches, like a lunatic. The many people couldn’t help being frightened.

Guo Fu cried out, “Ma!”

Wu Santong and Yelu Qi called out in one voice, “Madame Guo!”

Their hearts were thumping wildly, thinking that she’d gone insane because the enemy had her daughter. She tossed her Dog Beating stick to the ground, moving a couple of steps forward. Her laugh sounded mournful and shrilling.

“Ma!” Guo Fu called out and tried to pull her arm.

Huang Rong brushed Guo Fu aside with her right hand and jumped towards Ci’en with a miserable cry.

Even Qiu Qianchi hadn’t expected this. She stared at Huang Rong in disbelief.

Huang Rong stretched out both hands and gave Ci’en an evil stare. She cried out, “Quickly kill this child. Hit her hard. You can’t spare her.”

Color left Ci’en’s face. He held Guo Xiang close to his chest and said, “You.. you.. who are you?”

Huang Rong laughed crazily, her arms flinging out. Although Ci’en’s left palm was on guard, he didn’t dare to strike. He sidestepped and asked again, “Who are you?”

Huang Rong sadly replied, “Have you completely forgotten? One evening in the Dali imperial palace, you held a small child like this in your hand. Right, it was.. it was.. You injured him badly and he eventually died.. ..I’m this child’s mother. Kill this child quickly. Kill this child quickly. What are you waiting for?”

Ci’en listened to her, and his whole body trembled. Decades-ago events flashed in his mind.

Years ago, he’d injured Dali Imperial Concubine Liu's child, hoping that the South Emperor would use years of cultivated inner energy to treat the child’s injury. But Emperor Duan had been cruel enough to let the child meet a violent death. Afterwards Concubine Liu and Ci’en had run into each other twice and she fought like a mad tiger, willing to die together with him. Although Ci’en's kungfu was superior, he actually didn’t dare to fight her, fleeing into the wasteland. Huang Rong had twice met Ying Gu, on the Black Dragon beach and at the top of Mount Hua and seen her insane smiles. She’d known that this was Ci’en’s life biggest worry. And so, seeing that Ci’en was holding Guo Xiang in his arms but unable to harm her, she’d told him to kill Guo Xiang. Wu Santong, Qiu Qianchi, Yelu Qi and the others all thought that she’d gone totally insane. Only Reverend Yi Deng secretly admired Huang Rong for her great wisdom and courage. He thought to himself that a macho man wouldn’t have the gall to come up with such a scheme and said ‘Kill the child quickly.’ Ci’en was frighteningly violent like this, if he hit Guo Xiang even lightly, how could she not die a sudden death?

Ci’en looked at Huang Rong and Yi Deng. Then his eyes turned to the child in his hand. A surge of pain and regret suddenly hit him, and he sobbed, “He was dead! He was dead! The child was alive and well, and I killed him.”

He stepped towards Huang Rong and handed Guo Xiang to her. He said, “I killed this small baby. Please beat me to death!”

Overjoyed, Huang Rong reached out to take Guo Xiang. But then Yi Deng shouted, “Revenge breeds revenge, when will it stop? Your hand holds a murderous blade, when will you throw it away?”

Ci’en was startled, and Guo Xiang fell from his hand.

Huang Rong didn’t wait for Guo Xiang to fall to the floor, her right foot flew out. She kicked the child, sending her out in the air. At the same time, she laughed crazily and said, “You killed the child. Good. Good. This is wonderful.”

Her kick looked as if it was fierce but when her foot touched Guo Xiang’s waist, it actually stopped her from falling and gently sent her out again in the air. She knew that this was an extremely critical moment. If she bent down to pick up her daughter, perhaps Ci’en would change his mind.

Guo Xiang flew through the air towards Yelu Qi. He caught her and saw that her black eyes were sparkling, and that her little mouth was about to let out a big cry. She was indeed unharmed. He was first startled and then understood that Huang Rong knew that Guo Fu was rash so she threw him her daughter. And so, he covered the child’s mouth with his palm and shouted, “Aiyo, the child was killed by the monk.”

Ci’en’s face was deathly pale. All of a sudden he was awakened. He put his hands together and bowed to Yi Deng. He said, “Great monk, many thanks for saving me!”

Yi Deng bowed back and said, “Congratutions, great monk. You’ve found the right path!”

The two monks exchanged a smile. Ci’en ran out.

Qiu Qianchi quickly called out, “Second Brother, Second Brother, you come back!”

Ci’en turned his head back and said, “You called me to come back, I’m now asking you to come back too.”

Having said that his gown sleeves flared out, and he floated out of the hall.

With a joyful expression on his face Yi Deng said, “Good, good, good!”

Then he retreated to the corner of the hall. He lowered his head, his eyebrows hanging, and said no more.

Huang Rong fixed her hair and got Guo Xiang back from Yelu Qi. Seeing that her mother was normal and her little sister was all right, Guo Fu was pleasantly surprised. She threw herself into her mother’s arms and said, “Ma, I thought you really went insane!”

Huang Rong walked over to Yi Deng and kowtowed. She said, “I (niece) had no other way but to mention the past affair. Reverend, please forgive me.”

With a faint smile Yi Deng replied, “Rong’er, Rong’er, you are really the female Zhuge!”

In the hall, Wu Santong was the only person who knew about the past events. Others were looking at one another in perplexion.

After this unexpected turn of events, Qiu Qianchi saw her brother going out the screen door. She thought about how she wouldn’t see him again and couldn’t help becoming heavy-hearted. His words “You called me to come back, I’m now asking to you come back too” sounded like advice, urging her to control herself, repent and be salvaged. She secretly felt a pang of regret but her regret disappeared in a flash.

All of a sudden, she proudly said, “Everybody, please wait here, I’m afraid I(old woman) can’t keep you company.”

Huang Rong said, “Hold on a minute! We’ve come here today to ask for the Passionless pill.. ..”

Qiu Qianchi nodded at her numerous disciples, and they all responded with a war cry. Each entrance was blocked by four disciples in green, with an adorned fishnet in their hands. Four maids lifted Qiu Qianchi’s chair and retreated to the inner hall.

Seeing the power of fishnets, Huang Rong, Wu Santong, Yelu Qi, and the others were secretly alarmed. They thought, “These fishnets are deadly, how can we break out of the siege?”

While they were hesitating, both the front door and the back door of the hall were being pulled shut, and the disciples in green all squeezed out. The Wu Brothers struck one of the doors with their swords. With a ‘peng’ sound, their double swords were caught in the crack of the door and immediately snapped. It seemed that these doors were cast from steel after all.

In a low voice Huang Rong said, “No need to be frightened! Even if we aren’t allowed to leave the hall, we can still think of a way to defeat those fishnets and get the antidote to help Yang Guo.”

Gongsun Lu’e followed her mother into the inner hall.

She asked, “Ma, what should we do?”

Seeing that her brother had abruptly departed and that skilled enemies were gathering, Qiu Qianchi knew she had a big problem. But the murderer of her brother had arrived, no matter who persuaded her, she would never yield.

With a slight hesitation she said, “Go take a look. What are Yang Guo and those three girls doing?”

This was actually what Lu’e had wanted to do. She nodded in compliance and left for the fire room.

As she was halfway to the fire room, she heard voices from ahead of her. It was Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu’s talking. It seemed that they said something about 'Miss Gongsun.' By this time, the sky had become totally dark, and Lu’e hid herself in a willow grove nearby.

She thought, “What are they talking about?”

She gingerly stepped forward, approaching them without making a sound. She saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu standing side by side.

Yang Guo said, “You said these matters revolved around Miss Gongsun. That’s absolutely right. If the divine monk wakes up, all past animosity is buried, and all the poisons are expelled, won't that be wonderful?.. ..Aiyo!”

Lu’e jumped as Yang Guo let out a sudden cry, not knowing what had just happened to him.

She was worried and couldn’t help poking her head out to look around. In the dim darkness, she saw Yang Guo fall to the ground.

Xiao Longnu hoarsely said, “The passion flower poison is acting up again?”

“Mmm.. ..mmm..” Yang Guo could only let out a groan.

This pain was very difficult to endure. Lu’e pitied him and thought to herself, “He’s already taken half of the Passionless pill. He needs the other half to get rid of the poison, and he can only get this other half from mother.”

After a while, Yang Guo got up and let out a long gasp.

Xiao Longnu said, “Your seizures are getting more and more frequent, and everytime more severe than the last one. The divine monk still has to regain consciousness before he can find the antidote. Even then, there may not necessarily.. .. there may not necessarily.. .. You must be in a lot of pain.”

She’d wanted to say “there may not necessarily be enough time” but she changed her last sentence.

With a bitter smile Yang Guo said, “This old Madame Gongsun is extremely stubborn. She’s hidden the antidote. Unless she wants to give it to me herself, even if we kill everybody in the valley and hold a knife against her neck, she still won’t give it up.”

“But I actually have a method,” said Xiao Longnu.

Yang could guess what she was thinking and so he said, “Long’er, don’t say it. We, husband and wife, love each other sincerely. If we can grow old together, naturally we’ll thank heaven and earth. If something bad happens, it’s fate. No third person may come between the two of us.”

Xiao Longnu sobbed, “That Gongsun girl.. .. She looks like a very good person. She will listen to me.”

Lu’e’s heart shook, understanding that Xiao Longnu was urging Yang Guo to marry her to save his own life. But then she heard Yang Guo’s reply.

In a resonant voice he said, “Miss Gongsun is naturally good. There are really quite a few good girls in the world, aren’t there? Miss Cheng Ying and Miss Lu Wushuang are also the kind of girls who love deeply. But your heart and mine are one, how can we let other people intervene? You think, if there was a man who could get rid of your poisons and he wanted you to give up your body, would you or would you not agree to it?”

“I’m a female. That would be unthinkable,” replied Xiao Longnu.

With a chuckle Yang Guo said, “To others, men are superior to women. To Yang Guo, it’s the other way around.. ..”

As he was saying this, he suddenly heard a sound coming from a dense thicket.

Yang Guo asked, “Who is it?”

Lu’e thought she’d been spotted and was about to reply. Suddenly she heard a female voice, “Dumb egg, it’s me!”

Then she saw Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying step out from behind a thicket. And so, she used this opportunity to move back quietly. Her mind was in turmoil.

She thought, “Let alone comparing myself against Miss Long, look at Miss Cheng and Miss Lu's beauty, kungfu, and past friendship with Yang Guo, how can I ever match them?”

As she met Yang Guo, she couldn’t help falling in love with him. She’d known that he was serious about Xiao Longnu but, deep in her heart, she still hoped that he could have two wives. Now that she’d heard his words, she realized that all her hope was in vain. She’d been sad since she was little but today she was completely disheartened. She made up her mind that she no longer wanted to live, and then she walked away westward.

Low-spirited, she walked aimlessly. She didn’t know where she was. There was only a voice in her head, “I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t want to live anymore.”

She didn’t know how long she’d been walking. Suddenly she heard voices coming from behind the mountain rocks. She pulled herself together and couldn’t help becoming slightly startled. She’d been wandering about aimlessly, and to her own surprise she’d arrived at the west side of the valley where very few people would frequent. She looked up and saw a mountain peak rising towards the sky. This was precisely a dangerous zone of the Passionless Peak.

On this mountain ledge, she could see the three letters ‘Broken Heart Cliff’ that someone had carved on the cliff ages ago, and twenty, thirty feet in front of her was a slippery and barren ledge where not even a blade of grass was seen. The place was enveloped by a blanket of fog all year long, and the wind here was so violent that even a bird would find it difficult to perch on this cliff top. Beyond and below was an abyss of shadows that no one could see the bottom. The area surrounding the ‘Broken Heart Cliff’ was quiet and beautiful because the terrains were too rugged and dangerous. Slippery rocks made it very easy to fall into the abyss below. The valley dwellers stayed clear from this area, and even those disciples in green with their kungfu wouldn’t dare to come here. And so, she didn’t know whose voices she was hearing.

Originally Gongsun Lu’e was resigned to die but at the moment she became curious. She hid herself behind a rock pile and listened. Her heart jumped as she learned that it was her father talking. Although her father had wronged her mother and had been ruthless with her, she was still his daughter. She'd been worried about him since her mother blinded one of his eyes with a date stone and banished him out of the Passionless Valley. Hearing the familiar voice, she now knew that he hadn’t left the valley. Instead, he'd come to this remote place to hide. She was secretly happy.

Then she heard him talk, “You’ve been beaten black and blue, and I actually lost my eye. It's all because of that small thief Yang Guo. Not only do we have a common enemy, we share the same problem.”

Having said that, he smiled. The other person didn’t reply. Lu’e felt this was quite strange. Who was her father talking to? His tone was faintly frivolous, was that person a female?

Then Gongsun Zhi continued, “We ran into each other at this rarely-frequented place. We were thousands of miles apart, yet we met as if by predestination. It must be fate.”

That female let out a ‘pei’ sound in contempt. She angrily said, “I’ve been thoroughly injured by the passion flowers. Yet, you made light of it and mocked me with such laughable nonsense.”

Lu’e thought to herself, “Oh, it’s Li Mochou who just broke into the valley today.”

Then she heard Gongsun Zhi quickly say, “No, no. Why would I make light of it? Naturally I will do all I can. Your body is in pain, so is my heart.”

The person Gongsun Zhi was talking to was of course Li Mochou. Her whole body was pricked by the passion flowers, and so the poison in the her body was really not little. Luckily she was filled with anger and hatred towards heaven and earth, not the sentiments between man and woman, and so her body wasn’t in that much pain. But she knew that the poison was deadly. While urgently searching for the antidote, she wandered about aimlessly on the crisscrossed paths inside the valley and unexpectedly arrived at this Broken Heart Cliff. Gongsun Zhi had actually been here for a long time, hiding from all the valley people and waiting for the right moment to kill Qiu Qianchi and reclaim his valley chief position.

The two of them had once fought so they both knew each other’s skills. After they met, they thought, “I’m having trouble in this valley, I could use some help.”

By this short exchange of words, they were actually trying to strike a bargain.

Since the death of his beloved Rou’er years ago, Gongsun Zhi had been concentrating on his kungfu practice and ignoring beautiful females. But then he failed to marry Xiao Longnu. His long-suppressed lust gushed out like a broken dam, all out of control. With his status, his attempt to abduct Wanyan Ping was already considered extremely low in Jianghu. Now that he ran into Li Mochou and saw her beauty, he thought, “After I kill that evil woman Qiu Qianchi, I’d better marry this woman. With her kungfu, she’s exactly my match.”

What he didn’t know was that Li Mochou was extremely vicious and without mercy and that the cause of her evil was none other than this ‘passion.’ At the moment, Gongsun Zhi’s words had become bolder and bolder, how could she not be enraged? But she wanted the antidote, so she had no choice but to feign interest, offering a perfunctory reply.

Gongsun Zhi said, “I’m the original chief of the valley. There’s no second person in the world who knows how to make the antidote to this flower poison. But the manufacturing process is time-consuming, and you won’t have enough time for that. Luckily there’s one pill left in the valley, in that evil woman’s hand. Let us go get rid of her, then everything will be yours.”

His last sentence had a double meaning. It actually meant that not only would she get the antidote, she would also become the mistress of the Passionless Valley. That Gongsun Zhi was the only person in the world who knew how to make the antidote was not a lie. Passion flowers had grown in this valley for a long time, and Gongsun Zhi’s ancestors had killed many lives, experimenting to get the right antidote. These passionless flowers stopped outsiders from entering the valley so of course they didn’t get rid of them. Anyhow, the antidote formula only handed down from father to son so it wouldn’t fall into the hands of other people. Even Qiu Qianchi only knew that the pills they had were left by the previous generation and that the antidote formula had already been lost. But what Gongsun Zhi actually didn't know was that Qiu Qianchi only had half a pill left.

Li Mochou hesitated and said, “Since it is so, aren’t you making an empty promise? Your wife has the antidote but you and she have become enemies. Even though killing her isn’t that hard, how will you actually get the antidote?”

Gongsun Zhi hesitated to reply. After a while he said, “Taoist Li, you and I have met by fate. Even if I die I have no regret.”

Li Mochou blandly said, “You flattered me.”

Gongsun Zhi said, “I’ve got a plan. I can capture that evil person and force her to give up the pill. But I hope you can promise me one thing.”

Li Mochou said in agitation, “I’ve roamed Jianghu all my life. I come and go as I please and noone can ever force me. If you are willing to give me the antidote, do it. If not, just let it drop. How can it be that I, Li Mochou, will ever beg for my life?”

Although Gongsun Zhi’s kungfu was strong, he’d been secluded in the valley his entire life. And so, he didn’t know about Jianghu's most ferocious characters. He only knew a little about decades-ago names that Qiu Qianchi had mentioned. Over the past ten years, the name Scarlet Immortal Li Mochou had shaken Jianghu, and there was no one in the martial world who didn’t know that although Li Mochou did look like a peach, her heart was that of a serpent. Gongsun Zhi actually didn’t know all this. As he heard her arrogant words, he was very pleased.

He quickly said, “You misunderstood my meaning. I only hoped you would do something for me. How could it be that I was forcing you? To snatch the antidote, we have to kill my daughter. If I said something inappropriate, please don’t be offended.”

Gongsun Lu’e was hiding behind a big rock. Hearing ‘we have to kill my daughter,’ she couldn’t help but tremble.


(Translated by Xuelian)

Li Mochou was also taken aback. “The antidote is in your daughter’s hands?”

“No,” replied Gongsun Zhi. “I’ll tell you the truth! That evil woman is excessively stubborn and violent. The antidote must be hidden in an extremely concealed place and we cannot possibly force her to hand it over. We can only resort to trickery, it’s the only way.”

“That’s correct,” said Li Mochou, nodding in agreement.

“That wretch is heartless to everyone and there are no limits to her viciousness. However she does care for her daughter and her alone, and we can use this to our advantage. I’ll trick Lu’e over so you can capture her and toss her into the flower thickets, then that evil woman will have no choice but to retrieve the Passionless Pill to save her daughter. We’ll seize this opportunity to snatch it – there’s no reason why we’ll fail. It’s a pity there’s only one Passionless Pill in the world, and since it’s going to you, my daughter’s life cannot be saved.”

“We don’t actually have to use real passion flowers to prick your daughter. We just need to put on an act and make her seem like she’s poisoned – this way, we get the pill and your daughter stays safe.”

Gongsun Zhi sighed. “That wretch is extremely shrewd. If my daughter was merely poisoned by something else, it will not go unnoticed.” His voice became constrained towards the end and he choked, as if he was really turning emotional.

Li Mochou said, “How can I let your daughter be harmed in exchange for my life? It seems also that you are reluctant to part with her. Let’s drop this matter.”

Gongsun Zhi said hurriedly, “No, no! Although I hate to part with her, it would be worse to part with you.”

Li Mochou remained silent, admitting as much that there really was no other way.

“Let’s wait here,” said Gonsun Zhi. “I’ll call her out when it’s past midnight. Clever she might be, but she would never guess that her father has got something up his sleeve.”

Gongsun Lu’e heard every sentence that had just transpired between the two, and the more she dwelled on it the more she was afraid. When Gongsun Zhi drove her and Yang Guo into the alligator pit that day, she knew her father cared naught for their father-daughter relationship. But that day’s events could be explained away as a rash fit of anger. Now, he was actually plotting and scheming his daughter's end, just to please a woman he had just met. His heartlessness and cruelty truly exceeded that of even the most savage beasts.

Gongsun Lu’e had originally lost her will to live, but when she heard them plotting her murder, she instinctively wanted to try and escape. It was a good thing that the area had plenty of hill ranges and dense forests, making hiding places aplenty. And so she lightly took one step back, and after a few moments, took another step back. In this manner, she retreated tens of feet before finally turning around to flee.

After an hour’s journey, she was far from Passionless Valley. Knowing her father would come for her soon, she didn’t even dare to return to her bedroom. She sat perched on a rock, desolate. The cold wind pierced her flesh and the pale moon glared mercilessly down. There was nothing left in this world that she longed for, and she mumbled to herself, “I didn’t want to go on living anyway. Why did you still devise this plot to kill me, father? If you want to kill me, come along and kill me. It’s very strange, why did I escape?”

Suddenly, a notion struck her like a bolt of lightning: Father is vicious, but his scheme is brilliant. Since I’m going to commit suicide anyway, I might as well use his scheme to trick the pill from mother and save Brother Yang. Then you husband and wife will have me to thank for your reunion – me, the ill-fated girl who treated him with all her heart. At this thought, her heart was filled with a mixture of gladness and sorrow, but nevertheless she found her energy once again. She glanced at her surroundings to ascertain her location. Then, she rose and walked towards her mother’s bedroom.

When she passed by the Passionless Flowers, she severed two flower stalks. Holding them in her hands, she walk to her mother’s bedroom door and called in a low voice, “Mother, are you asleep?”

Qiu Qian Chi answered from her room, “E’er, what is it?”

Lu’e cried, “Mother, mother! I’ve been pricked by the Passion Flowers.” As she spoke, she embraced the flower stalks and pushed down forcefully down onto her chest.

The hundreds and thousands of little thorns sank into her flesh all at once. Since her childhood she had been repeatedly warned against getting pricked by these flowers, but because she did not have the capacity for such desires then, she suffered no serious injury despite being pricked occasionally. But as she grew up, the warnings from people around her grew sterner. After more than 10 years of cautiously avoiding this object – to think that now, she was actually pricking herself on purpose! The pain in her heart grew a level deeper and she grit her teeth, calling again and again, “Mother!”

Shocked to hear that something was wrong with the cries, Qiu Qian Chi anxiously ordered the maidservants to open the door and help Lu’e inside. Lu’E exclaimed, “I have the Passion Flower thorns in my body, you can’t come near me.” The color drained from the two maidservants’ faces and they opened the room door wide, allowing Lu’e to walk in herself. How would they dare to touch her body?

On seeing her daughter’s body shivering with a face as pale as death, and with two Passion Flower stalks hanging from her chest, Qiu Qian Chi asked hurriedly, “What happened to you? What happened?”

Lu’e cried, “It’s father! It’s father!” Afraid of her mother’s suffocating gaze, she lowered her head, not daring to make eye contact.

Qiu Qian Chi said furiously, “And you still call him ‘father’? What did that old thief do?”

“He… he…”

“Lift up your head and let me see you.”

Lu’e obeyed and met her mother’s frightening eyes. She shivered and said, “He… he was speaking secretively with the pretty Taoist Priestess on Duan Chang Cliff… the Priestess that came to the Valley today. I hid behind a rock to hear what they were saying…” Up till now, Lu’e had been speaking the truth. But after this point she would have to spin a lie, and afraid her mother would notice something unusual, she lowered her head.

Qiu Qian Chi pressed, “What did the two of them say?”

Lu’e said, “They spoke of being together in illness, and something about being extraordinarily fated. They… they kept calling you ‘wretch’ and ‘evil woman’, and I couldn’t stomach it…” At this, she started weeping.

Grinding her teeth, Qiu Qian Chi said, “Don’t cry, don’t cry! What happened next?”

“I accidentally moved from my position, and they realized my presence. That Priestess… that Priestess then pushed me into the flower thickets.”

Sensing hesitation in her tone, Qiu Qian Chi said, “No, you’re lying! What really happened? Don’t even think of hiding it from me.”

Lu’e broke out in cold sweat. “I didn’t lie to you, this… aren’t these Passion Flowers?”

“There was something wrong with your intonation,” said Qiu Qian Chi. “You have been like this since young, unable to tell lies of any sort. How would I, as your mother, not know this?”

An idea came to Lu’e and she said, “Mother, I was lying, it was actually father who pushed me into the thickets. He was angry at me for following you and helping you, saying that I only wanted mother and not father. He… he was trying his utmost to please that pretty Taoist Priestess.”

Qiu Qian Chi hated her husband to the core and Lu’e’s words struck precisely at her heart’s threshold, suiting her perfectly. Immediately she had no further doubts and took Lu’e’s lies to be true. She hurriedly held her daughter’s hand and said gently, “Lu’e, don’t be afraid, your mother will deal with that old thief. There was always going to be a time where we finally vented this hatred in our hearts.” She then ordered the maidservants to bring her a pair of scissors and pliers. First she removed the stalks from Lu’e’s chest, then used the pliers to extract the broken thorns.

Choking with grief, Lu’e said, “Mother, I don’t think I’ll survive this time round.”

“Don’t worry, we still have one half of the Passionless Pill,” said Qiu Qian Chi. “Luckily we didn’t waste it on that heartless scoundrel Yang Guo. You won't be totally rid of the poison with only half the pill, but if you be good and stay by mother, completely ignoring all worthless men, or even completely shutting them out from your thoughts, then you’ll definitely be safe.” Qiu Qian Chi had bitterly endured her husband’s torture, and then Yang Guo had refused to become her son-in-law. She hated all the world’s men with a vengeance, and there would be nothing better than if her daughter remained unmarried all her life.

Lu’e frowned in silence. Qiu Qian Chi asked, “Where’s that old thief and the Taoist Priestess? Where are they?”

Lu’e replied, “I struggled up from the flower thickets and didn’t dare look back. They’re probably still there.”

Qiu Qian Chi thought to herself: Now that the old thief has found a powerful helper, he will definitely return to claim back the Valley. The disciples here are all probably his followers. In a confrontation, they would undoubtedly help the old thief. Either that or they will just sit on the fence, not helping any side, but they will definitely not oppose him. All my limbs are crippled and I can only use my date stone skill. If fired at an unprepared opponent, its power is extremely great. But that old thief will be on his guard and I will probably not be able to withstand his attacks. If he uses the tablet to attack, I will be left with no devices. What, then, should I do?

Qiu Qian Chi’s eyes flickered as she remained silent, deep in thought. Thinking that her mother was now deliberating if her words were truth or fallacy, she was terrified that more questions would be asked and the truth exposed, eventually. Her own pain and suffering was secondary, but if she failed to get the Passionless Pill, Yang Guo would never be rid of the poison. The moment Yang Guo flitted into her mind, a huge pain seized her chest and she let out a cry. Qiu Qian Chi reached out and caressed her daughter’s hair, saying, “Let’s go and retrieve the Passionless Pill.” With two claps of her hand, the maidservants carried her chair out of the room.

Ever since Yang Guo went, Lu’e had always wanted to know where her mother had hidden the half Passionless Pill. She had heard her mother mention before that the pill must never be hidden near her, or anyone could just kill her and obtain it through a simple search. Lu’e thought to herself that since her mother was disabled and required people to carry her around, the pill couldn’t possibly be hidden in some place of extremely great height. Hiding it in the mountain caves or secluded valleys was also out of the question, so it should be hidden within the manor. But Lu’e had spent the last 10 days or so searching the Pill Room, the Sword Room, the garden and the bedrooms, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Presently, the maidservants carried Qiu Qian Chi towards the Great Hall, and this came as a big surprise. The Hall was where everyone frequented and it was the hardest place to conceal an object. Furthermore, strong opponents seeking the Passionless Pill were now congregated in the Great Hall itself. Could it be that the Pill had been there all along for anyone’s taking?

The steel doors of the Great Hall had been firmly shut and the disciples were guarding it with their knives and fishnets. Upon seeing Qiu Qian Chi’s arrival, the disciples went forward and saluted. The head disciple bowed and said, “The enemies have not made any move and seem to be helplessly waiting for death.”

Qiu Qian Chi retorted with a “humph”, thinking: What a frog in the well, not knowing the vastness of earth and sky. These are no ordinary people who have come with ill intentions. How could they be ones to helplessly wait for death? Aloud, she commanded, “Open the door!” Two disciples opened the steel door while another eight flanked Qiu Qian Chi, guarding her with two fishnets. Together, they moved into the Hall.

Yi Deng, Huang Rong, Wu San Tong and Ye Lu Qi were all sitting at one corner of the Hall. After Qiu Qian Chi’s maidservants lowered her chair onto the floor, she said, “All here except Huang Rong and her two daughters are free to leave without hindrance. I will not pursue your crimes of intruding the Valley, so please take your leave immediately.”

Huang Rong smiled and said, “Valley-Owner Qiu, a misfortune looms over your head and still you do not know to flee. Instead you come here and exaggerate your importance. It makes one’s teeth go cold.”

Qiu Qian Chi’s heart chilled at this, thinking: How does she know a misfortune looms? Could it be that she knows the old thief has returned? She said coolly, “Whether it is a blessing or misfortune, retribution will reveal. This old lady is a cripple with handicapped limbs, what else can I be afraid of?”

Of course, Huang Rong knew nothing of Gongsun Zhi’s return. But one’s countenance speaks everything: she noticed that there was a furrow in Qiu Qian Chi’s brow and could tell that something weighed heavily on her mind. This was a contrast from the arrogant and ruthless expression she wore when exiting the Hall. Huang Rong conjectured that something must have cropped up in the Valley and so, said a few words to verify. Qiu Qian Chi’s defensive response told her that she was most probably right.

“Valley-Owner Qiu, your elder brother slipped and fell into the depths of the valley himself, and was definitely not harmed by junior. If you still bear a grudge over this matter then junior will not try to avoid death, but you must first hand over the antidote to cure Yang Guo’s poison,” said Huang Rong. “If I do die, all my friends here will bear no grudge against you for it and will even help you fend off this pending misfortune and fight the internal enemy. Do you accept this bargain?”

Huang Rong’s offer seemed extremely advantageous to Qiu Qian Chi, seeing as the latter, being a cripple, could only rely on her powerful date stone skill to inflict any kind of harm. Mentioning the words ‘internal enemy’ also struck Qiu Qian Chi's biggest worry.

Qiu Qian Chi thought to herself: Isn’t this too good to be true? Aloud, she said: “You are Leader of the Beggars’ Union, so I assume you will hold true to your words. Should I strike you with three of my date stones, you will not dodge or use any weapon to deflect them?”

Before Huang Rong could even reply, Guo Fu butted in, “My mother just said she will not avoid it, but she never said she wouldn’t use a weapon to deflect it.”

Huang Rong smiled and said, “If Valley-Owner Qiu wants to vent her heart’s hatred, then junior will certainly not use any weapons to deflect.”

“Mother! How can this do?” Cried Guo Fu. Her long sword had earlier been broken by the date stone’s strike, and she knew its power was incomparable. Her mother was after all made of flesh and blood, how could she survive without avoiding or deflecting?

But Huang Rong thought: The Guo family owes Guo’er a huge debt. Now that he has contracted this deadly poison, we must obtain the antidote no matter what. Her date stone skill is the deadliest projectile in the world, if I let her hit me with 3 stones it is indeed dangerous. Just a slight moment of carelessness will cost me my life, but how would she be willing to hand over the antidote otherwise?

Huang Rong had chosen her words wisely, making sure that Qiu Qian Chi’s every need was met. The intention was to lessen her bitterness and worry. In her moment of anxiety they would help her fend off her enemy, and to lessen her bitterness she would be free to injure Huang Rong in the only way she could. Even Qiu Qian Chi herself would not be able to think a more advantageous offer than this.

But Qiu Qian Chi suspected it was too good to be true. She said hoarsely: “You are my mortal enemy, yet here you are, willing to take three date stones from me. What scheme are you hiding? What ill intentions do you have?”

Huang Rong went forward and said in a low voice, “There are many pairs of eyes and ears in this place, most of which harbor ill intentions towards you. I’m going to whisper a few things in your ear.”

Qiu Qian Chi swept a glance at all the disciples and thought: Amongst them are many of the old thief’s followers. Indeed I should be careful. She nodded.

Huang Rong went near and whispered, “Your enemy will be attacking soon. Isn’t junior in a precarious situation as well? Let us quickly bury this hatchet and, no matter if junior lives or dies, everyone can fight side-by-side and resist the enemy. Furthermore I am indebted to Yang Guo, I must obtain the Passionless Pill for him even if it costs me my life. If one does not know how to repay kindness, wouldn’t he be no different than any beast on this earth?” Ending her sentence, she took three steps back and concentrated her gaze on Qiu Qian Chi.

At the words ‘if one does not know how to repay kindness, wouldn’t he be no different than any beast’, Qiu Qian Chi gave a start, thinking: If it wasn’t for that fellow Yang Guo who saved me, I’d still be all alone in that underground cave, suffering in silence. But this thought came and went as fast as lightning and her heart hardened once more. She said icily: “Your pretty words do nothing to change my iron heart. Come, come! Take three of my date stones!”

Huang Rong flung her sleeve and said, “Then I’ll put my life on the line and take three of your date stones.” As she spoke she moved backwards, stopping at the middle of the Hall about 30 feet from Qiu Qian Chi. “Please fire your date stones!”

Though Wu San Tong knew that Huang Rong was always full of wit and ideas, everyone was witness to the power of Qiu Qian Chi’s date stone skill and now, seeing Huang Rong stand there with barehanded, all their hearts beat anxiously. Guo Fu was even more worried and walked over to Huang Rong, tugging at her sleeve. “Mother,” she whispered. “Let’s find a place, I’ll give you the Hedgehog Armor so you can put it on, then we don’t have to be afraid of that old hag’s deadly projectiles.”

Huang Rong smiled. “What’s the big deal if I use the Hedgehog Armor to block the date stones? Wait and see your mother’s method.”

At this moment, Qiu Qian Chi said: “Everyone else move…” before the word ‘aside’ left her mouth, a date stone had already been fired at Huang Rong’s abdomen. Though it was just a tiny date stone, it sliced through the air so violently that the sound of its speed sounded like a shrill flute. With a high-pitched cry, Huang Rong bent over, clutching her stomach.

Guo Fu, Wu San Tong and the others were horrified and before they could go over to help her up, the ‘flute’ sounded again – the second date stone had been fired, this time at Huang Rong’s chest. Again, with a loud cry, Huang Rong swayed and moved unsteadily backwards, looking like she was about to fall.

Qiu Qian Chi saw that Huang Rong was indeed true to her word, making no attempt to dodge. The two date stones had already struck the essential points of her body. With that same kind of compelling force, the date stones could break even a rock, what more human flesh? But Huang Rong had sustained two date stones without falling, obviously hanging on despite the pain to receive the third date stone. Secretly astounded, Qiu Qian Chi thought to herself: At first I thought this woman looked too delicate to possess any real substance as Leader of the Beggars’ Union. But now it seems like she is indeed a formidable pugilist!

At the thought of Huang Rong’s imminent death after receiving two date stones, she couldn’t help but feel pleased. With a “po” sound, the third date stone left her mouth. This time, it went for Huang Rong’s throat. With the stone penetrating the throat, her brother’s killer would definitely die on the spot.


(Translated By Xiao_Long_nu)

When Huang Rong said that she would take three hits of her date stones, she have yet to think of any good ideas, knowing only that she could only do so to exchange for the Pill. She would then die and repay Yang Guo’s debt to her. But after having a soft chat with Qui Qian Chi, she had some notion which invoked many thoughts in her brain, a plan struck her mind. Huang Rong had secretly picked up Guo Fu’s sword which was broken earlier by the firing dates, and had it hidden in her sleeves. When the dates were fired later, she could bend her elbow and use the broken sword head to deflect the stone. But the impact of the date stones and the sword would cause heavy metal sounds, she would then shout two loud times to cover the sounds. This clever move had indeed perfectly prevented Qui Qian Run from suspecting anything.

Huang Rong had faked deliberately to be injured severely as these could both reduce the anger of Qui Qian Run and save her face of being the master of the valley. The third date stone was aimed to hit her throat, which Huang Rong could not raise her sleeve, and block it with the hidden sword head, as Qui Qian Run would then be able to see through the flaw.And thus cause her to break the convenant of not blocking and not avoiding. With her situation now, she could only risk it all, she slightly bent both of her elbows, waiting for the date stones to fly to her lips. Her chest had already been filled with 'Zhen Qi', and when she opened her mouth, with all her effort, she pushed the 'Zhen QI' out of her mouth. It was all because she knew where the date stones would come that caused her to be so flexible. She used her 'Zhen Qi' against Qui Qian Run's as she was near but Qui Qian Run's was far. She could then take great advantage to this situation and reduce the speed of the date stones. One thing she did not know was Qui Qian Run had once been living in caves alone in the past. Though her limbs were lame, she had practised spitting date stones everyday and all the time, not wondering other things.

Huang Rong on the other side, her gong li was already not as deep and profound as Qui Qian Run's, she still had to take of the matters of the begger's sect , protecting XiangYang, giving birth to children and teaching her disciples, how could she compare with Qui Qian Run? Thus, when her 'Zhen Qi' was released, the date stone's speed was only reduced a little, it was incomparable with the force and power of the flying date stone.

Huang Rong was shocked when she noticed, but the date stones were already in front of her lips. She had no other ideas and so she opened her mouth and bite at the spitted date stones as hard as possible. The force of the date stones shook her teeth terribly and awfully created pain in her gums. She was staggering and stepped back two steps. The date stone had really forced her back this time. But, fortunately for her plenty ideas in such a short time, and the two back steps she took, her front teeth was saved or else it would have fallen off immediately after the hit. Though it was saved from falling off, but the impact had her teeth wounded with blood.

The people standing around shouted with shock together, and surrounded her. Huang Rong raised her head and spitted out the date stone, which was stuck in one of the wooden spank of the roof. She frowned and said, “Qui Valley Master, sister had taken your three date hits, my life is not left long. I only hope you would not break your promise and give me the pill.” Qui Qian Run saw that she could even stop her shooting date stone by biting it, was a little shocked too, but she could not understand why the first two dates did not cause her to fall down though it was shoot into her body. She glanced at Gong Sun Luu’e, and thought, ‘My daughter had been poisoned by the passion flower, don’t need to say he wouldn’t accept the marriage, even if he is my daughter-in-law, how could I still give the remaining half passionless pill to him..?’ But just now she had just agreed in front of everyone that she would give Huang Rong the pill, she could not immediately deny it. She had a plan suddenly, and spoke, “Guo madame, though both of us are woman, but we do what we promised, it is always this way. You had voluntarily taken my three date stones; such bravery is very rare now in this world. I admire you very much, and so the pill I will surely give you. If I am in trouble, I do wish everyone here could lend me a helping hand.”

Guo Fu had really thought her mother had taken the three date stones without trickery, and so shouted, “If my mother is injured heavily, everyone here would have already fought with their life against you.” She turned her head towards Huang Rong and said, “Ma..where did the old woman’s date stones hit you?”

Huang Rong did not answer her daughter's question, but spoke to Qui Qian Run instead, "My daughter speak nonsense, Valley Master need not take it for real. Sister had always speak what and does what, and will voluntarily help Valley Master force the enemy to retreat if you could give me the pill." Wu San Tong and the others had heard Huang Rong speak with clear and bright voice and plenty of air in her lungs. They were slowly relieved when she doesnt seemed to be injured at all. Qui Qian Run had also noticed it too. She was very shocked and confused deep in the heart, and thought, 'She had such great martial arts that makes me even more difficult to break the promise. I could only lie to her.' She nodded and spoke, "I would thank you first then." And turned her head towards her daughter, said, " Come over here Luu'e, I have something to say."

Huang Rong had faced so many people who is cunning and unfaithful in her life. She had already noticed there was something amiss when Qui Qian Run's eyes flickered non stop. She knew that Qui Qian Run would not easily give up the pill, but she could not think of any trickery yet to use.

She only heard Qiu Qian Run said, “Go ahead in front of me and flip over the number fifth tile.” Gong Sun Luu’e was both shocked and amazed, ‘Could it be that the passionless pill is hid under the tile..?’ Once Huang Rong heard what she said, she was astonished and praised her in her heart for being so cautious and clever, ‘this passionless pill is so precious that there are so many who wanted to have it, it is really ingenious of her to keep in such a unthinkable place, the pill kept under the tile must be really the real one. She could not possibly thought that she could be left to such a situation now, and kept the fake pill under the tile.’ If Qiu Qian Run was to order her servants to go any medicine room or pharmacy to get the pill, Huang Rong would have suspected the pill was the real one or the fake one, but now when she saw Gong Sun Luu’e following her mother’s orders to flip the tile over, she had less worries now.

Gong Sun Luu’e counted the fifth tile and piled it up with her small dagger from her waist. She saw dust and ashes under the tile, which was nothing unusual. Qiu Qian Run then spoke, “The hidden secret under the tile cannot be known by others, Luu’e, come over here.”

Huang Rong knew that Qiu Qian Run had some cunning thoughts, deliberately acted as though she was seriously injured. She bends herself down slowly so Qiu Qian Run would suspect anything about her yet. Then, she tilted her ear slightly towards them, trying to eavesdrop their speech. She gave full attention towards them but to no avail, she could only hear “the passionless pill is under the green tile” these seven words. This information was not much of a use, as she already knew that the pill was underneath the tile. Qiu Qian Run’s voice gradually softened, and thus she was not able to hear another word anymore.She took a look back at Gong Sun Luu’e but there was only a tight frown on her face. She was also nodding as a reply.

Huang Rong was already in a state of frantic, as she knew that the situation is aggravating but had no way to deal with it either. Suddenly, she heard Reverend Yi Deng speak, “Rong’er, come over here so I could see your wounds…” Huang Rong turned her head to face Reverend Yi Deng. Seeing Reverend Yi Deng sat at a corner in the room, and realizing he had caring look, she thought, ‘If he feel my palm wrist, he would know I was actually not injured.’ And thus, she walked over and sticks out her palm. Reverend Yi Deng stretched three fingers and places them on her wrist, mumbling, “Ahmituofuo (the Buddhist word)…the old granny said… Ahmituofuo…there is two bottles under the tile… Ahmituofuo, Ahmituofuo…in the East side is the real pill…Ahmituofuo…in the West side is the fake pill…call her daughter to take the fake pill, which is on the west… Ahmituofuo…give you the fake pill… Ahmituofuo…”

When Reverend Yi Deng mumbled the Buddhist words, his voice was bright and clear, but when he told her the hidden information, he lowered his voice into a whisper. Huang Rong had only heard him say, “the old granny said”, these four words, she immediately understood and knew Reverend Yi Deng’s tremendously powerful internal energy that led his eyes and ears to be much better than a normal human. The Buddhist religion is said to have “eyes that can see heaven”, and “ears that can hear heaven”, which is said in the Buddhist scripture that people with such skills, could hear six different types of sounds in the world without being interfered. This type of saying is over exaggerating which is of course not believable, but when someone with deep and profound internal energy, pure and empty heart has a exceptionally incredible ears, which could hear what normal human cant, this is not strange rather.

Though Qiu Qian Run had whispered to her daughter, Reverend Yi Deng sat a few feet away, could hear every single word clearly. He knew that the pill’s ingenuity is linked to Yang Guo’s life, and so informed Huang Rong about it. The Buddhist religion had always cared about other people’s life.

Huang Rong waited for Reverend Yi Deng to finish his Buddhist words, and so asked, “Can my injury be healed?” “Can the date stones shoot all at once?” Every sentence she
asked, had just nicely covered up Reverend Yi Deng’s hidden speech, such as “in the East side is the real pill”, “in the West side is the fake pill”. Qiu Qian Run glanced at both of them for a while, but seeing that Huang Rong had a worried look on her face, asking non-stop about her injuries and Reverend Yi Deng’s continuously repeating “Ahmituofuo”, she fell for the trick, not knowing that her treacherous plan was already discovered.

After listening to her mother’s words, she nodded, bent down herself and stretched into the soil under the tile and felt. There was indeed two bottles; her heart turned sour and thought secretly, ‘Dear Yang Guo dear Yang Guo, today I risk my life to get the real pill for you. This bitter effort, you will never know, would you?’ Immediately, she touched the East bottle and took it out saying, “Mother, the passionless pill is here!” She was only one who stretched her hand deep under the tile, of course she was the only one who knew it was the bottle which contained the real pill. Both Qiu Qian Run and Huang Rong had thought that it was the one from the West side.

The physical appearance of the two bottles is merely looking the same; the pills in the two bottles look alike too. If Qiu Qian Run do not stick out her tongue to try the pill herself, she would not be able to tell whether its real or fake too. She saw Gong Sun Luu’e took out a bottle and thought, ‘At first, I was still suspecting that this daughter would steal the pill from me to help her lover, but now she had also gotten the passionless flower’s poison. She would now be thinking to save herself more.’ Qiu Qian Run was born to be very cunning and evil, harsh and ungrateful. She would never believe anyone on Earth to be willing to sacrifice their life to save others and so said, “We will do what we promise, the pill will give to Guo madam..” She walked towards Huang Rong with both her hands carrying the bottle.

Huang Rong bowed towards Qiu Qian Run in a traditional way and replied, “Thank you for the sincere offer.” But she thought in the other way, ‘Now I know where the real pill is, could I not easily steal it..?’

Just when she wanted to stretch out her hand to receive the bottle, suddenly, from the roof crushed through a man, making a big hole on the roof. That man just came down and immediately snatched away the bottle, which is in Gong Sun Luu’es hands.

Gong Sun Luu’e hollered, “Father!” Huang Rong saw that Gong Sun Luu’es face turned pale all of a sudden, and was very anxious. She couldn’t stop from feeling astonished, ‘The bottle Gong Sun Chi took was obviously the fake one, why is she so worried for..?’ At this moment, the main room’s door suddenly got blasted off a huge sound, shaking the whole room, causing every red candle’s flames to flicker non-stop. The light in the room glows brightly and glows mildly respectively, which is followed by a loud sound. The main door split into two, the spliced door flew off. A man and three women walked in. The man was Yang Guo, the others are Xiao Long nu, Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang.

Gong Sun Luu’e saw Yang Guo coming in, shouted with a lost voice, “Brother Yang…….” Running towards him, but she felt it was inappropriate and stopped her foot after two steps. She also restrained the sentence she wanted to say. Huang Rong had always been noticing Gong Sun Luu’e, and saw her eyes revealing deep love towards Yang Guo when she glanced at him. There were also infinite worries in her eyes.

Huang Rong suddenly realized and thought, ‘Rong’er, Rong’er, How come you still don’t understand the girl’s heart matters after being a mother for so long. Although her mother ordered her to give the fake pill, but she was totally obsessed with Yang Guo, the pill she gave me was the real one. Gong Sun Chi had snatched away the miracle pill, why would she not worry?’

End Of Chapter 31.

[pannonian]

Chapter 32 - What Is Love


(Translated by Xiao_Long_Nu)

When Huang Rong, Reverend Yi Deng and rest of the others were trapped in the room, both Yang Guo and Xiao Long nu were sitting leaning against each other before the flowers, chatting. Not long, Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang came. Xiao Long nu saw that Cheng Ying was warm, elegant and the sense of motion pulled her towards her. Xiao Long nu held her hand, talking non-stop. On the other hand, Lu Wu Shuang told Yang Guo about the fight between Guo Fu and her, how she made her confused and lost of words and how Cheng Ying made her lose her sword and lost the moment. After meeting both Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang again, Yang Guo once again felt a little both guilty and sorry that he couldn’t repay their love to them. When he saw that Lu Wu Shuang apparently knew that Xiao Long nu was now Yang Guo’s wife, but she was still in a calm state even before Xiao Long nu, Cheng Ying was talking with Xiao Long nu kindly, he was greatly relieved.

The four of them sat on a rock, Xiao Long nu was talking to Cheng Ying and Yang Guo was chatting with Lu Wu Shuang. Both Xiao Long nu and Cheng Ying’s character are quieter, who have less things to talk. Yang Guo and Lu Wu Shuang was talking non-stop and cracking many jokes, calling each other names like “dumb egg” and “my wife”. All of the sudden, Cheng Ying spoke out cutting their speech, “Brother Yang, you have Yang madam already, you have to change your words when calling my cousin..” She was laughing when she was talking.

Yang Guo let out a soft cry, “ah”, and stretched out his hand to cover his mouth. In the mean time, Lu Wu Shuang suddenly felt ashamed. Her face reddened terribly. Cheng Ying thought silently, ‘they were only joking which contained no meaning. I shouldn’t have said it out, now it had turn things in a wrong way..” She immediately spoke, “Brother Yang, you got the passionless poison in your body, how are you feeling now?” Yang Guo replied, “I’m alright, Aunt Guo is very clever and always full of plans. I believe she could get me the miracle pill, I was instead worried for my wife’s injury..” He was pointing towards Xiao Long nu with one finger.

Both Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang were shocked and asked, “What? Yang madam is also injured? We didn’t noticed it..” Xiao Long nu smiled mildly and said, “Its actually nothing. I used my internal energy to stop the poison from flowing. I have been fine these few days.” Lu Wu Shuang replied, “What poison is it? Is it the passionless poison again?” Xiao Long nu said, “No it isn’t, it is my sister senior’s soul freezing needle.” Lu Wu Shuang replied, “Of course its that big bad Li Mo Chou again. Dumb…..Brother Yang, didn’t you saw her <Five Poison Secrets> book? Though the soul freezing needle maybe strong but it isn’t difficult to neutralize.”


(Translated by Foxs)

Yang Guo just sighed softly. Sorrowfully he said, “The poison has infected her blood stream, her internal organs, it is impossible to neutralized it with any ordinary antidote.” Then he proceeded by telling them how Guo Fu has – unintentionally – launched the soul-freezing needle while his wife was trying to cure herself by reversing her blood flow.

Wushuang angrily stroke the stone she was sitting at, “Ah! That scoundrel really does not know God! Cousin, we can’t just sit here doing nothing. I don’t care if her parents are chivalrous heroes of the world, I am not scared of them.”

“We can’t really blame her,” Xiao Long Nuu commented. “The situation was entirely different with when she chopped Guo Er’s arm.”

“Big Sister,” Cheng Ying quipped, “My Shifu said that while with a strong internal energy we can momentarily hold the spread of the poison, the longer the poison resides in our bodies, the worse the end condition will be. Therefore, we will have to rid of it as soon as possible.”

“That’s true. As soon as the Divine Indian Monk wakes up, he surely will neutralize the poison. In curing poison induced sickness, he is second to none.”

"Indian Monk?" Wushuang asked, "Who's that? Why must we wait for him to wake up? Is he asleep?"

Yang Guo smiled, "Yes, he will be asleep for three whole days and nights." He did not tell the whole story since they are at a place he suspected the enemy has lots of eyes and ears.

"That guy is so lucky," Wushuang laughed, "to be able to sleep that long ... "
In that moment they heard a faint sound of footsteps coming near.

"Shhh! Somebody's coming," Yang Guo whispered.

Whoever that was, he must have a very sensitive ears. Yang Guo was only whispering, but he must have heard it, since he stopped and turned the other way, toward the kiln, where Zhu Ziliu was looking after the Indian Monk.

"Aiyo!" Xiao Long Nuu exclaimed, "That man is going to Uncle Zhu's"

"Be quiet!” Yang Guo said, "Let me take a look."

Suddenly they heard rustling bushes behind them. "Looks like there are foxes and rats everywhere," Wushuang picked up a pebble and threw it toward the noise. But they never heard the rock reached the ground, somebody must've intercepted it.

"Cousin, who do you think is there? Let's come take a look," Wushuang beckoned.

Seeing Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu had already gone, Cheng Ying pulled Wushuang along, "We'd better follow Brother Yang. The pathways here are confusing, we can't lost track of them."

Running along her cousin, Wushuang whispered, "I think it was Li Mochou behind those bushes."

"How would you know?" Cheng Ying asked.

"Well, I have been with her since I was a kid and I recognized her breathing." Cheng Ying was shocked and pulling Wushuang's arm they step up the paces a little bit. She knew, even though the demoness was injured, both of them were not her match.

After a while they saw Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu chasing a man who seemed like he was very familiar with the valley's pathways. He vanished after making a few turns.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu stopped and waited for their two friends. "Gongsun Zhi has returned to the Passionless Valley and I'm sure he is up to no good," Yang Guo told them. They have never known Gongsun Zhi while Xiao Long Nuu, who had no “wickedness” in her vocabulary – glanced a questioning look toward him. Yang Guo hesitated a moment before continuing, "Madame Guo, Revend Yi Deng and the others are dealing with that unstable monk, and we do not know what the outcome is. Don't you think we'd better check them out?" Since he has battled Gongsun Zhi, Yang Guo knew how vicious he was. Now that he's back on stage, he would surely create another storm. Yang Guo was really concerned about his friends' safety.

Hastily they went back to the Valley Master's Hall. While they are still about 50-60 meters away, they saw a dark shadow flashing upward, then a very loud crashing.

That was Gongsun Zhi demolishing the hall's rooftop and jumped down.

"Aiyo!" Yang Guo cried. He did not dare to follow Gongsun Zhi's step entering the hall via the rooftop since he was wary of the enemy's nets; he destroyed the stone door with his heavy [black steel] sword instead. With only two strokes, that door was smashed. Upon entering, they saw Gongsun Zhi was being surrounded by a lot of people.

That crashing sound and the door being smashed was startling Gongsun Zhi, he was always a little bit wary of Yang Guo. Without wasting a single second he just leaped back to the rooftop. His goal that particular moment was to give the antidote [Passionless Pill] to Li Mochou; killing Qiu Qianchi and taking back the Passionless Valley could wait some other day.

Just as Gongsun Zhi leaped up, Huang Rong body also moved in a flash and the dog beating stick hit Gongsun Zhi's leg. Almost concurrently Qiu Qianchi also launched two date stones toward her husband's waist. Knowing his wife well, Gongsun Zhi has already anticipated her attack. Quick as a flash he swung his saber and struck one stone down. The other one, however, still flying toward him. He did not have enough time for another move. He was shocked. He could not let the stone hit him since it would mean his death. He twisted his body frantically and bent his knees trying to dodge it.

To everybody's surprise, Qiu Qianchi had launched the stones in a very extraordinary way. Everybody could see that those two stones were directed to Gongsun Zhi. Who would have thought that about half a feet away from Gongsun Zhi, it suddenly turned its course, made a small circle in the air, and ... flew toward Huang Rong!

Unbelievable!

Huang Rong was very intelligent and always careful, but even in her wildest dream she could not have predicted what had happened. Fortunately she was able to think fast and immediately concentrate her energy to her feet and fell back down. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough and the stone still pierced her right shoulder.

Huang Rong's body shook, her arm and hand hurt and the dog beating stick fell down from her grip. Ever since she became the Clan Leader of the Beggar Clan, this lady had faced numerous valiant people of the wulin's world. Even though she did not win every single battle, but she had never let the stick left her grip. It had happened because of first, she did not anticipate the attack, second, she gave her protective vest (ruan-wei-jia) to Guo Fu. If she were wearing the vest, ten date stones would not hurt her, let alone one.

Wu Santong, Guo Fu and the other were not overly concerned, since they thought Huang Rong was only pretending to be hurt just like before. Only Yang Guo realized his auntie Guo was really injured. With one leap he took the dog beating stick and gave it back to Huang Rong. He then swung his heavy sword to the left and a strong gust of wind attacked Gongsun Zhi, who was about to hack Huang Rong with his saber. He was forced to go down by the date stone attack. As soon as he realized Huang Rong was injured, he made his move. Fortunately, Yang Guo intervened. Yang Guo’s attack was so fierce that Gongsun Zhi was pushed back a few steps. He was really stunned that Yang Guo – who had only one arm – had made a tremendous improvement in just one short month. With the corner of his eye he saw Qiu Chianchi’s face was paled. Apparently she was also shocked to see this young man’s strength.

At that time Lu'E was standing in between her father and mother. She used to be afraid of her father, but ever since she overheard her father and Li Mochou’s conversation at Broken Heart Cliff [another translation would be “Severed Intestine Cliff”]; that her father would rather sacrifice his own daughter’s life for some woman he barely knew, she experienced a change of heart. She made one step forward and challenged her father. “Father, you have crippled Mother’s limbs and threw her down into an underground cave. That viciousness was indeed very rare. That night, at the Broken Heart Cliff, you have discussed something with Li Mochou. May your daughter know what is it about?”

Gongsun Zhi was shocked! He was not aware that in that secluded place somebody would have heard their conversation. Even though he was cruel, still, considering his own evil plan to harm his own daughter he was deeply embarrassed, and it showed. “Wh .. what? I didn’t say anything …” he stammered.

Lu’E smiled warily and spoke with similarly wary voice, “You meant to kill your own daughter for the sake of a woman who is a stranger to our family. I am your daughter. If you wanted me dead, I certainly would not rebel against you. But Mother has promised to give the Passionless Pill in your hand to somebody else. Please, give that pill back to me.”

Gongsun Zhi hastily put the vial inside his pocket. “You, mother and daughter, one of you betrayed her own husband, while the other rebelled against her father. Both are wicked. I don’t want to deal with you just now, wait for my revenge.” Brandishing his sword and saber, he walked out the hall.

Listening to Lu’E, Yang Guo understood that he had a very evil plan in mind. He immediately blocked his way. Lifting his heavy sword, he said, “Miss Gongsun, I would like to ask you a question.”

“Brother Yang, please do,” she answered forlornly.

“You said your father wanted to harm you for a stranger, who is that woman? And would you enlighten me on what happened?”

“That woman was Li Mochou. What happened was …” She hesitated a little bit, and then said, “Even though my father meant me harm, he is still my father. I do not want to tell ... “

“Lu’E, speak up! Tell us!” scorned her mother. “He had the courage to do evil, why would you afraid to unmasked him?”

The young lady just shook her head and said with a sad voice, “Brother Yang, half of the pill is inside the bottle in Father’s hand. I ... I am an unfilial daughter.” She was choked and ran toward her mother, “Mother!” She cried uncontrollably.

Gongsun Zhi was very pleased with this commotion. He wanted to shift the blame, and fanned the enmity between Qiu Qianchi. “While they are trying to harm each other, I have to find an opportunity to get out of here,” he thought. He then laughing heartily and shouted, “Good! My sweet child! You and your mother just stay on your guard over there. Let us destroy these scoundrels who dare to enter our Passionless Valley.” He then attacked Huang Rong.

Ye Lu Qi quickly gave his sword to Guo Fu who in turn leaped to protect her mother, while he himself trying to attack Gongsun Zhi with his bare hands. With a smirk Gongsun Zhi hacked Ye Lu Qi with his saber while pierced Guo Fu’s throat with his black sword. Guo Fu parried with her sword. “Watch out!” cried Huang Rong. Almost simultaneously a “clang” sound was heard and the girl’s sword was cut in two. Gongsun Zhi’s sword kept going!

Huang Rong froze! Her daughter was in dire situation. Even though a genius, she was incapable of doing anything.

“Fend off with your right arm!” cried Wu Shuang.

In that crucial moment, when the black sword almost pierced her throat, without thinking Guo Fu raised her right arm …

Everybody eyes were wide opened. Suddenly Cheng Ying’s voice was heard, “Cousin! How could you …” Miss Cheng knew that her cousin did that because she held a grudge toward Guo Fu who chopped down Yang Guo’s right arm. As a tender hearted lady, she could not bear to see anybody hurt. However, even she was incapable of doing anything, since that black sword has already pierced Miss Guo’s right arm.

“Rrrrrip!” Guo Fu’s clothes slashed open and she staggered backward, but strangely her arm was unharmed. Everybody was surprised.

Stabilizing herself Guo Fu exclaimed, “Thank you Big Sister! How do you know … “ Miss Guo was not the smartest kid on the block and she thanked Wu Shuang for “saving” her life. In that crowd, only Huang Rong and Yang Guo knew that Guo Fu was saved by her protective vest. Guo Fu was about to say, “How do you know I was wearing the protective vest,” but she suddenly remembered not to divulge her secret in public.

Knowing Gongsun Zhi and Qiu Qianchi’s surprise, Yang Guo laughed mockingly. “Mr. Gongsun, do you know who that young lady was?”

After conversing with Li Mochou at the Heart Breaking Cliff, Gongsun Zhi has already learned everything there is to know about the intruders. Of course he knew who Guo Fu was, but he pretended ignorance. “How would I know any little kid?”

“That Miss is the daughter of Chivalrous Hero (Da Xia) Guo Jing and the granddaughter of The Master of Peach Blossom Island, the Venerable Huang Yushi,” Yang Guo smiled. “She inherited a very special skill which makes her body impenetrable by any weapon. How could your rusty sword hurt her?

“Hm! I was being lenient to her. Do you think I could not take her life?” Gongsun Zhi mockingly swinging his sword back and forth.

Guo Fu was furious by his condescending remark. “He would not be able to hurt me because of this protective vest. If I attack fiercely, I will gain an upper hand,” she thought, and then said, “Brother Xiuwen, let me borrow your sword. This geeky old man did not believe in Peach Blossom Island superior martial arts. Let me introduce it to him.”

Xiuwen gave his sword to the young lady, who then brandishing it and shouted arrogantly, “Geeky old man Gongsun! Bring it on!”

Just by seeing her move Gongsun Zhi could see her meager ability. “Okay, please give me a lesson or two!” He snarled and hacked his saber down. Guo Fu eluded that attack and thrust her sword at the same time, but was shocked to see the black sword in front of her face. Guo Fu knew, if she let his sword to hit hers, she would have another sword cut in two in her hand. Therefore, she held her thrust and jumped backward. Gongsun Zhi then moved his two weapons to his right hand, while his bare left hand attacked her. Guo Fu was thrilled for she thought that as soon as he touches her vest, he would injure himself. But she also realized that if she took the full brunt of his hand, her internal organ would be wounded as well. She then slanted her body slightly to neutralize 70% of his force and waited for his hand to hit her. Surprisingly, Gongsun Zhi leaped backward just before touching her clothes and cried, “Aiyo! Somebody attacked me with a secret projectile!” He staggered and almost fell down.

Guo Fu was bewildered. She did not know Gongsun Zhi was just pretending. His goal was achieved, he got the pill and now he just wanted to dart out and give the pill to Li Mochou. He realized these intruders: Yang Guo, Reverend Yi Deng, and the others are not easy to beat. He wanted to use the opportunity while everybody thought Guo Fu was winning to sneak out through the back door.

Lu’E, however, has always kept her eyes on her father. So she immediately made her move. “Father, hold on!” At that moment two date stones flew toward Gongsun Zhi’s head. He quickly moved his head and the stones hit the wall.

“Get out of the way!” he barked, and lunged toward his daughter.

The young woman held her ground and said, “Give me back the pill …” But before she could finish, her hand was grabbed and she was lifted high. He snapped, “Wicked girl! If you want me to die, then let’s die together.” By that time Qiu Qianchi has already launched two more stones. She was shocked, but fortunately managed to move her head a little that the stones flew and Miss Lu’E’s body.

[Translator note: Apparently, Qiu Qianchi has made some secret projectiles in the shape of date stones, but made of steel. Therefore, the correct translation would be “steel date stone” – or to be exact, “steel date seed”. But since the other translator used the term date stone, let’s just use the same term]

What she did not anticipate was that the stones hit two of the valley disciples. One was hit on the head, the other on the chest. They died instantly. Gongsun Zhi was delighted with this turn of event. In his effort to take the valley back, he would need not only Li Mochou’s help, but his disciples’ as well.

Without wasting a single moment he shouted, “You wicked woman! You dare to kill my disciples! I will hold you responsible!” But because of this incident, he was held back and Yang Guo has already stood in front of him. “Mr. Gongsun, not so fast.”

Gongsun Zhi, still holding Lu’E high above his head, smirked, “You dare to block me?” He then used Lu’E’s body as a shield and walked backward. If either Yang Guo or Qiu Qianchi attacked, Lu’E would be the first to suffer.

As a chivalrous man, Yang Guo obviously did not want to hurt anybody even for his own sake. Lu’E however, being held like a shield, could see that Yang Guo moved away from her father. She was deeply touched. “He did not want the pill for my sake.” Gongsun Zhi has sealed her accupoint that she could not move her limbs, but her head could still move. A moment later she closed her eyes and sighed, “Yang Lang, Yang Lang! [Translator note: “Lang” could also mean “Dear Husband” – Lu’E has regarded Yang Guo as her husband.] Today, I sacrifice my life for you!” She then stretched her beautiful neck toward her father’s black sword!

Yang Guo cried and rushed forward, trying to help. But he was too late! He stood still like he was in a trance. Two streams of tears flowed down his cheeks. A lovely young woman with a heart as big as the sky had lost her life in her own father’s hand.

He came to his senses by loud and angry yelling and screaming across the hall. Suddenly three more date stones flew like a flash. Gongsun Zhi threw his daughter’s body to intercept them. Three date stones pierced her lifeless body. Everybody scream and shouted angrily, and darted to attack him.

“My disciples!” cried Gongsun Zhi, “by forming an alliance with these intruders this wicked woman planned to annihilate everybody in this valley! Come! Let us capture them with the net formation!”

Ever since they were young, these disciples have always regarded Gongsun Zhi as their benevolent leader. When this cruel man was wounded and driven out of the valley, they had to follow Qiu Qianchi, albeit unwillingly. Now they heard his commanding tone, and witnessed earlier the death of two of their own by the old woman’s stones; without thinking they lifted the nets full of sharp blades and started to surround the enemy from every direction.

“Stop! Don’t listen to that old scoundrel! Stop!” Qiu Qianchi shouted to no avail. The valley disciples just kept going following Gongsun Zhi’s command. “Qun-net [Translator note: name of the net formation – not sure what they mean] to the front, Chua-net to the left, Zen-net to the right.” Quickly those nets moved to position.

Because of the wound on her right shoulder, Huang Rong used her left hand to launch twenty-some steel needles toward eight valley disciples to the west. She was sure those needles would pass through the net holes. Unbeknownst to her, those nets were made from some steel and gold alloy with some magnetic property. With “ding, ding” sound all the needles, as well as Qiu Qianchi’s stones [see translator’s note on this stone earlier] – were stuck to the nets. “Aiyo!” cried Huang Rong, “Fu Er, lift your sword, protect your head! Hack those nets down!”

Heeding her mother’s instruction, Guo Fu jumped to the northeast. Four valley disciples moved to block her. She managed to parry several blades; either with her sword or her protective vest, but those four disciples spread out and tried to capture Guo Fu just like fishermen catch fish.

Yang Guo saw the Guo’s girl in danger; he leaped toward her, exerted his internal energy to his heavy sword and hacked down the net. It broke with a loud noise, and its bearer – the four disciples, fell down to the ground. Wu Santong and Yelu Qi immediately pounced and beat them to near death. Yang Guo hacked twice and two more nets formation went down. With three hacks he destroyed three nets. If we consider the net material, we should know that they are very tough and ductile. The fact that Yang Guo was able to tear them down demonstrated his magnificent internal energy and his amazing black steel heavy sword.

The valley disciples were shocked! They scrambled away with fear.

“Five nets! Attack!” again Gongsun Zhi shouted his command, “This kid has lost his strength.”

Yang Guo was nervous. He wasn’t sure he could hack five nets down at once. He quickly made his move before the enemy did. With one more hack, another net went down. Just as Yang Guo was about to make another move, a loud voice was heard outside, “Where’d you go?”

He was startled. A moment later a dark shadow darted inside. Everybody was surprised to see it was none other than Scarlet Immortal Li Mochou, who upon entering the hall stood arrogantly wielding her sword.

Before anybody could react, another shadow darted inside whose body was covered with blood and whose hair was in disarray. It was Zhu Ziliu! He pounced on Li Mochou with his bare hands; and even though she was armed, she ran around trying to elude his attack. It was because he attacked as a mad man, without any regard to his own safety. They were both martial arts experts, that in a flash they have already run around the hall a few times.

Yang Guo was confused, “Li Mochou is not inferior to Zhu Ziliu, how could she be scared away like that?” Those two actually possessed almost the same level of martial skills, but in term of lightness kungfu, Li Mochou was a step superior. Therefore, Zhu Ziliu was not able to catch up, plus he was bleeding profusely.

Wu Santong, Dunru and Xiuwen leaped together to block the demoness. “Martial Brother!” cried Zhu Ziliu. “That wicked woman has killed Martial Uncle! Your younger brother ... I … “ he couldn’t finish, his body swayed and fell to the ground.

That was indeed a heavy blow to everyone present. Reverend Yi Deng had a very high level of spiritual strength not mentioning his profound internal energy, he was a very composed monk, but this news made him stood up and cried, “Ah!” To Yang Guo, the news was more like thunderbolt amidst a bright and clear sky. He was almost blacked-out. He then cast a glance toward his wife, who at that very same moment was looking at him. Two pairs of eyes met. They felt like they were falling down a very dark and cold hole in the ground. Xiao Long Nuu uttered a soft cry and rushed toward her husband, leaning her body against his, breathing heavily.

After a while Yang Guo composed himself, threw his heavy sword away, and walked gingerly outside, holding his wife’s hand.

What had happened? How did the Indian Monk fall victim to the demoness?

In his effort to cure poison induced illness, the Divine Indian Monk had tested many-many types of poison on his own body. Quite naturally, his body developed an immune system toward poison. When pricking himself with the passionless flower thorns, he predicted that he would be unconscious for three whole days and nights. It turned out that he had already gained his consciousness back on the second night. As he opened his eyes he said, “Ziliu, this passionless flower is not as lethal as I thought it would be. I am confident that I can neutralize it.”

Ziliu was ecstatic and immediately told his martial uncle that Reverend Yi Deng, Yang Guo, and the others have arrived in the valley. He also mentioned that it was Yang Guo himself who smashed the furnace door where they were being kept prisoners.

“The sooner we can neutralize the poison, the better. Let’s not waste another second,” having said that the Indian Monk immediately walked outside and headed directly to the flower bushes. He looked down and started searching the herbs he thought would be the antidote to the poison. It is a natural phenomenon that the poison and the antidote would usually co-exist in the same place.

Unbeknownst to them, Li Mochou was still hiding behind the rocks scattered throughout that area. Seeing the Monk, she launched her soul-freezing needle to him. The Indian Monk did not possess any martial art skill, the needle hit him in the chest and he died instantly.

Hearing the unusual noise, Zhu Ziliu knew something was amiss. He saw Li Mochou and immediately rushed toward his martial uncle without regard to his own safety. Li Mochou launched another needle his way. Since Ziliu was not armed, he used his long sleeve to parry the attack but left his back defenseless at the same time. The demoness slashed her sword down and made an inch-deep wound on his right shoulder.

He quickly exerted his internal energy to his fingertip and attacked the demoness’ waist. He knew if he backed off, the demoness would still not let him off easily. Ziliu was starting to get anxious because he did not hear anything from his martial uncle’s direction, while the demoness attacked him relentlessly. “Uncle! Uncle!” he cried, but the Monk did not respond.

The demoness sneered, “If you want his answer, you should come to him … in hell!” Li Mochou expected him to lose his concentration. In battle between experts, the outcome is more often that not decided by who lost one’s concentration first. Who knew that Ziliu not only did not lose his, but became fiercer, like he was possessed …

Under the starry sky Li Mochou could see his unusually bright eyes while he attacked her like there is no tomorrow. The place where they were was so quiet, nobody was around, no sound was heard; but perhaps remembering her own sins, she became nervous and started to feel scared. Because of that, she increased her attack, which forced Ziliu to back off a bit, and using the opportunity, she leaped back and ran away. Ziliu immediately checked his Uncle’s wrist and did not find any pulse. The Indian Monk was beyond help. With excessive grief and anger he leaped toward the demoness and started chasing her.

Gongsun Zhi was ecstatic when he saw Li Mochou. “Sister Li! Over here!” he started toward her.

Even though she was injured, Huang Rong did not lose her wit. She saw Gongsun Zhi acting weird and immediately knew what he was up to. “Guo Er!” she cried, “Don’t let those two get close to each other!”

Yang Guo ignored her, he just smiled bitterly. The death of the Indian Monk had broken his heart, and he no longer cared who would get the half-pill.

Yelu Qi saw all this, and he made a swift decision. He picked one end of a net. The one destroyed by the heavy sword. “Wu Brothers!” he shouted, “Help me hold the other end!” Wu Dunru, Wanyan Ping and Yelu Yan quickly complied, and together they moved and blocked Gongsun Zhi who was trying to approach Li Mochou.

The overall situation was very chaotic. Qiu Qianchi used that opportunity to repeatedly launch her stones, and five, six Passionless Valley disciples fell down, dead. The net formation was completely destroyed, Gongsun Zhi’s minions scrambled out.

Angrily Gongsun Zhi hacked Yelu Yan with his golden saber. Cheng Ying jumped and attacked the enemy’s hand with her flute. Gongsun Zhi quickly retracted his saber and thrust his black sword toward Cheng Ying. Seeing her cousin in danger, Lu Wushuang quickly came to her rescue and hacked repeatedly with her willow-leaf saber.

Because of this hindrance, Gongsun Zhi’s intention to join himself to Li Mochou was foiled. He could not give her the pill. Moreover, Qiu Qianchi kept launching her stones toward him. After a few stances he started to get nervous and decided to get out as quickly as he could, and joined Li Mochou later. “Sister Li!” he shouted, “Let’s get out of here! I’ll meet you at you-know-where.” As soon as opportunity aroused, they ran past Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu who at the time was still holding hands, walking slowly out of the hall. They seemed oblivious to what happened around them.

“Sister Long, block Gongsun Zhi!” Huang Rong called, “Passionless Pill is in his hand.”

Xiao Long Nu was startled, “After the Divine Monk’s death, Guo Er’s life depends on the pill,” she thought. She let go Yang Guo’s hand and chased him.

“Long Er, let him go!” Yang Guo called out.

“Why?” she asked, but did not stop. Yang Guo was forced to follow. Gongsun Zhi and Li Mochou took their own separate ways; one ran to northeast, the other to northwest. Xiao Long Nuu, Yang Guo, Cheng Ying and Wu Shuang ran after Gongsun Zhi; while Wu San Tong, his two sons, Zhu Ziliu and Wanyan Ping followed Li Mochou. Yelu Qi, his sister and Guo Fu kept Reverend Yi Deng and Huang Rong company, while guarding against Qiu Qianchi’s action.

In the Wu San Tong’s party, Zhu Ziliu had the highest martial art skill; only he had already suffered heavy injuries, that he gave up after running a little while. Wu San Tong and his sons stopped to check on his condition, which caused them to lost track of the demoness.

“If that wicked woman could elude us, we really do not have any face to see Martial Uncle,” sighed Zhu Ziliu crossly. They tried beating the bushes and other places, but Li Mochou had vanished from sight. “Gongsun Zhi has already arranged a meeting place for them,” mused Zhu Ziliu again, “We don’t know where it would be, but if we just follow Gongsun Zhi, we’ll eventually find her. He needs to give that pill to her anyway.”

“You are right,” Wu San Tong said, “Let’s find Gongsun Zhi.” So, utilizing their lightness kungfu they changed course to northwest.

Sure enough, not too long they heard Yang Guo’s voice, like he was battling someone. They quickened their pace, but the noise they heard was kind of peculiar; sometimes seemed like it was just around the corner, other times it came from afar. They kept going in circles until the dawn broke, but were never found the source of the noise. At daybreak they got to a four-way intersection. Now, which way should they go?

“The pathways here were designed according to ‘amazing gate theory’ [some kind of eight-diagram?]” explained Zhu Ziliu, “however, the variations were incredible, and differ somewhat from the theory we presently know. We won’t be able to learn this is a short period of time.”

Wanyan Ping was very observant, she pointed to a small tree next to the second pathway, “Elder Zhu, look!” she said, “there’s a saber mark on that tree.”

“Right,” Zhu Ziliu was delighted, “let’s go this way.” After only tens of meters, the pathway curved different direction. “I don’t think we are going the right way,” Xiuwen commented, “we are heading east now.”

“Not necessarily wrong, let’s keep going a bit,” decided Zhu Ziliu.

He was right, not too long, the pathway curved to the south, and then one or two more turns later, they were heading west. What boosted their confidence was that there were saber’s marks on the tree or on the ground at every turn.

They kept going with renewed vigor. Eventually the road was getting darker and looked more dangerous, but the saber’s marks could be seen along the way. Who could’ve left the marks?

Turned out it was Wushuang. While going after Gongsun Zhi, Cheng Ying – who also understood this kind of pathway design – was worried that they were being led to a trap and could not find the way out. Therefore, she asked Wushuang to leave marks along the way; on the trees or wherever she deemed was necessary. Little did they know that the marks had led their allies in their effort to find Gongsun Zhi.

After a while the path started to slope upward, getting more and more difficult and of course, more dangerous. Suddenly they heard a loud and hair-rising laughter. They stopped and lifted their gaze upward. There, across the ravine, perched on a hill, stood a man laughing maniacally. It was Gongsun Zhi. There was a deep ravine beneath him, and a very high mountain peak above.

Seeing Gongsun Zhi’s madness – real or pretended, Zhu Ziliu was worried, “If he slipped, his body will be smashed to smithereens in the abyss below. His death is well-deserved, but he would take the Passionless Pill down with him.” He quickly ran ahead and after making a turn he found Yang Guo, Xiao Long Nuu, Cheng Ying and Wushuang standing on the verge of the ravine looking up on Gongsun Zhi.

Xiao Long Nuu approached Zhu Ziliu and softly asked, “Uncle Zhu, could you think of something to force him down?” Zhu Ziliu looked around and found out that between the mountain peak and the place where they stood there was a natural bridge of long rock looked like a tree log, only less than one foot wide. The rock, as well as the stones around the bridge was covered with moss, which make them slippery. There was no way they could force him down. He had to be tricked into going down on his own. But Gongsun Zhi was so shrewd. What kind of trick could they use?

Wu Santong remembered his indebtedness to Yang Guo’s great kindness. His two sons were alive and live in harmony with each other was because of Yang Guo’s sacrifice. He decided right then and there to repay this debt and rolling his sleeve immediately offered, “Let me drag him down here.” But before he could move a shadow flashed ahead of him. It was Cheng Ying. “Let me do it!” And she already stepped onto the rock. She was quick, Yang Guo was even quicker. She felt somebody tug her sleeve and she was pulled back. “Little Sister, how much do I worth that you make a sacrifice like that?” she heard Yang Guo whispered into her ear; she blushed and was speechless.

Suddenly Xiao Long Nuu’s voice was heard, “Let me borrow your swords.” With a fluid motion she pulled Dun Ru’s and Wanyan Ping’s swords. Such a beautiful move! Before they even realized what had happened, the young madame was already perched on the rock.

Gongsun Zhi was shocked to see her bravery; he quickly jumped back to the other end of the bridge. Wielding his sword in front of him he snickered, “Do you really want to die?”

Holding her two swords, Xiao Long Nuu quietly prayed, “Please God, bless me. Let me die after I get the pill back.” She looked at Gongsun Zhi and softly spoke, “Mr. Gongsun, you have saved my life, yet because of me, you have suffered a lot of misery. I … my heart ached for you. I do not want to fight you.”

“So? What do you want?” he asked.

“I want to beg you to give me the Pill to save my husband’s life,” she answered, “I know you have no use of the pill, but I will forever be indebted to you if you just give that to me.”

While they were still speaking, Yang Guo shouted, “Long Er! Get back here! What’s that half-pill for? It won’t save both our lives.”

Looking at her standing atop the rock, her dress fluttered in the wind, and her stunningly beautiful countenance, Gongsun Zhi was mesmerized. Suddenly an evil thought came to his mind. “That kid is your husband?” he asked.

“Yes, we are married.”

“Well, if you grant me a request, I will immediately give this pill to you,” Gongsun Zhi continued.

By the look of his eyes, Xiao Long Nuu knew what he was about to say. She shook her head and said, “I am married, I can’t marry you. Mr. Gongsun, I know you loved me very much. However, I have already given my heart to someone else. With a deep regret I cannot accept your love anymore.”

Gongsun Zhi’s countenance changed. “Go away!” he barked, “If not, I won’t hold myself anymore.”

“If we fight, wouldn’t that be very sad?” said Xiao Long Nuu sadly. She was not pretending, she really was remembering Gongsun Zhi’s kindness.

Gongsun Zhi made an “hmph” sound and wore a really evil smile on his lips. “I want to see that Yang Guo kid screaming and rolling around on the ground dying miserably,” he said, “I want to see a faithful wife wearing mourning clothes.”

The young madame smiled sadly. “Listen!” she said, “He’s calling me. He called because he loves me. He’d rather die of the poison than see me hurt by you.”

“Long Er! Come back!” Yang Guo kept shouting, “Come back! Don’t waste your breath talking to that lowly creature.” He would have come and dragged his wife away if he could find a place to put his feet down.

Gongsun Zhi’s mind was reeling. He wanted very much to make Xiao Long Nuu his hostage. However, they would both fall into the ravine below if the young madame put up any struggle at all. On the other hand, if he did not capture her, how could he save his own life? He looked at his enemies, and among them, Yang Guo was the only one he was afraid of. But he was relieved to see the young man did not wield his heavy sword. In his mind, unarmed Yang Guo would not be able to block him. His best bet right now would be attacking Xiao Long Nuu, try to capture her, or at least push her back far enough for him to escape. Having thought this over, he barked, “Will you or won’t you back off?” and thrust his sword simultaneously.

What he did not anticipate was that after learning the art of “dividing one’s mind” [it was mentioned in LOCH, when Guo Jing met Zhou Botong for the first time at Peach Blossom Island; and also ROCH Chapter 25, where Zhou Botong taught this skill to Xiao Long Nuu inside the spider’s cave. Unfortunately, they are not translated yet, so I do not have any reference], Xiao Long Nuu’s swordsmanship was more than doubled. Even though she was poisoned, and her level of energy was weakened somewhat, still, Gongsun Zhi was no match for her Jade Maiden Swords Technique. She moved her pair of swords so fast, that her body was surrounded by the flashing of the swords. Gongsun Zhi felt like he was caught in a rainstorm. Swords everywhere … He sighed and regretted his decision, “I wouldn’t have attacked her in the first place if only I knew her true skill.” Lucky for him, the Jade Maiden Swords was not created with murderous intention, plus Xiao Long Nuu did not have any intention to kill him, therefore, he was able to hold his ground for the time being.

In the meantime, Reverend Yi Deng, Huang Rong, Guo Fu, Yelu Qi and Yelu Yan have also arrived. Together they witnessed this spectacular battle with their hearts pounding.

“Eh, you go help her,” Guo Fu told Yelu Qi, “Elder Sister Long wouldn’t win by herself.”

Yelu Qi only shook his head, “There is no place I could set my foot on.”

In all her weaknesses and spoiled condition, Guo Fu’s natural character was not evil. She became stressed out when she saw Xiao Long Nuu’s dire situation and remembered her own experience battling the old man’s high martial art skill. Yelu Qi was not wrong. But Guo Fu insisted, this time to her mother, “Mother! Please help Sister Long.” She did not realize that even without her prompting everybody was willing to help. Everybody was just as anxious as she was, and of course they would’ve helped if it were at all possible.

After observing for some time, Huang Rong noticed that Xiao Long Nuu was utilizing the “dividing one’s mind” art; which as far as she knew, mastered only by Zhou Botong and her own husband, Guo Jing. She then concluded that Madame Yang had received Old Urchin’s tutelage. Yet some more time passed. She witnessed Gongsun Zhi’s high level of martial art, and Xiao Long Nuu’s disadvantage because of the poison in her body. Her swordsmanship was a level higher than Gongsun Zhi’s, however; she was not able to gain an upper hand even after hundreds of stances.

Huang Rong’s intelligent mind started to cook something. “Guo Er,” she said, “let’s help Sister Long. We create a disruption to that geek. You scare him off, while I encourage him up. He’ll lose his concentration.”

Yang Guo was delighted and praised his smart Auntie Guo.

“Mr. Gongsun, I have killed Qiu Qianchi!” shouted Huang Rong.

Gongsun Zhi was startled, is that true?

“Gongsun Zhi!” cried Yang Guo, “Li Mochou said that she would beat you to death if you don’t give her the pill!”

“No, no!” Huang Rong countered, “Li Mochou did say that she would marry you as soon as you cure her.”

(Note : Some parts above was also translated by Jin_Yong_Fan.)

“Well, yes! But we won’t allow that to happen,” Yang Guo continued, “We will capture you and throw you to the Passionless Flower field, so that you will enjoy the thorns’ exotic sensation.”

“No, don’t be so cruel,” said Huang Rong. “Mr. Gongsun, don’t you worry. Let’s forget this enmity. I want to be your friend.”

“How could you befriend this scoundrel!” howled Yang Guo. “Gongsun Zhi! I hear you killed your maidservant, your lover. I think she has become a ghost and wanted revenge. Ah! Look! Behind you! Watch out! The ghost is going to attack!”

This ramble between Yang Guo and Huang Rong had shown some results. Of course Xiao Long Nuu also heard them, but first of all, it has nothing to do with her, and second, by nature – and her upbringing in the Ancient Tomb – she was always very composed, plus she had learned to divide her own mind. She started to gain an upper hand. Gongsun Zhi got nervous and shouted panicky, “Shut up!”

“Hey, Gongsun Zhi!” shouted Yang Guo, “Who’s that behind you? Eeek! It’s a young woman, her hair disheveled, her tongue stick-out, her face full of blood! Ah! She come near you … She … is going to choke you!” Suddenly, he yelled with a loud voice, “Yes! Strangle Gongsun Zhi!”

Gongsun Zhi knew they were just trying to break his concentration. Nevertheless, he remembered his many crimes, and without even realizing it, he looked back. At that very same moment Xiao Long Nuu’s sword flashed toward his left hand. His saber fell from his grip. Under beautiful rays of dawn that golden saber glittered down the ravine. It was some time later that a very distant splash was heard, like there was water at the bottom. Wu Santong and the others were shocked! That ravine was really-really deep!

Losing his saber, Gongsun Zhi could not hold his stand much longer. Xiao Long Nuu easily attacked him incessantly, and not long afterward, she managed to disarm his black sword as well. With one sword pointing toward his chest, the other toward his stomach she plainly said, “Mr. Gongsun, just give me the pill. I won’t kill you.”

The old man was pale. “What about the others?” he asked.

“They won’t hurt you,” she give her promise.

He has no choice; he did not want to die. So he took the bottle from his pocket and hand it out to her. Still pointing her sword to his chest, Xiao Long Nuu took the bottle with mixed emotion. “I won’t live much longer, but Guo Er’s life is spared,” she said in her heart. And she leaped back from the bridge.

Wu Santong, Zhu Ziliu and the others was not unaware of this young madame’s level of martial arts; however, even in their wildest dream they could not believe Xiao Long Nuu was able to use two different sword stances at the same time. Of course they heard such skill existed. It was told that in the Jianghu world, only Zhou Botong and Guo Jing have mastered the skill. But ... nobody had ever seen it; therefore, they were rather skeptical about it. Now they have seen it with their own eyes and believe what they heard was true. Yelu Qi, Cheng Ying, and the other younger generation were really impressed. Even Wushuang! She was initially unhappy that Yang Guo had married Xiao Lung Nuu, but now she realized that she would not hold a candle compared to her.

As she landed on the ground, her clothes fluttered in the wind, she walked gracefully toward Yang Guo. She looked like a deity, an angel descending from above. Without prompting everybody cheered!

Yang Guo rushed forward, while the others also crowded around them. Xiao Long Nuu opened the bottle and took the pill out. “Guo Er,” she said, laughing softly, “I think this is the real thing.”

“Real?” Yang Guo was indifferent. “Long Er, how are you feeling? Why is your face pale? Try circulating your breathing.”

His wife laughed emotionlessly. She had started to feel uneasiness and heaviness because of blocked energy in her chest as soon as she finished her battle with Gongsun Zhi. She had tried circulating her ‘chi’, but failed. She was dizzy and was about to throw up. She understood very well that that was the symptoms of the poison getting worse. She just did not care anymore because she had the Passionless Pill in her hand. To her, Yang Guo’s life was a lot more precious than her own; so she just smiled and did not respond.

Yang Guo held his wife’s hand and was shocked to find her hand colder than ice. “Long Er!” he said, his heart thumping heavily. “How ... what do you feel?”

“I’m OK. C’mon, swallow this pill,” she answered calmly.

Yang Guo looked at his wife’s face with eyes opened wide. “No, I don’t want it,” he said. His voice trembled. “Half a Passionless Pill will not save our lives both. Long Er … ah, Long Er! Do you think if you died I would want to live alone?” Suddenly he took away the half-pill from his wife’s hand and … threw it down the bottomless ravine. That half-pill – the only thing in the whole wide world that can save his life – flew down the abyss below.

Everybody was shocked! Xiao Long Nuu could feel his deep and profound love toward her, she was sad yet grateful. She no longer able to hold her consciousness and fainted in her husband’s arm.

Wu Brothers, Guo Fu, Wanyan Ping and the others were baffled since they did not know the whole story. Suddenly Wu Santong shouted, “Li Mochou! Don’t ever think you will live a day longer!” And then he ran toward the left. Everybody turned their head and saw Gongsun Zhi was running to the west toward Li Mochou, who was standing on top a small hill. They were getting closer, while Wu Santong and the others were still quite a long way away.

Just before Gongsun Zhi reached her, a hearty laughter could be heard behind the hill, and a healthy looking old man appeared. He carried a big wooden box on his back. That old man had white hair and beard, and it was none other than Zhou Botong.

“Old Urchin!” called Huang Rong, “chase that yellow-robed Taoist nun over here!”

“Very well! Watch me!” he answered, opening his wooden box and waved his arm. A swarm of bees came out of the box and flew toward Li Mochou. Turned out that when the Mongolian soldiers burned down Mount Zhong Nan, the Quan Zhen disciples retreated while saving their books and other temple’s articles. He on the other hand, was busy collecting the jade bees and put them into this wooden box. Even though he was childish and love to fool around, he was very smart. After a while he figured out how to control the bees.

Seeing the grey bees, Gongsun Zhi was scared. He turned around and ran toward the valley. Li Mochou was also shocked. Bees behind her, enemies in front of her. She decided to run to the east. Wu Brothers, Cheng Ying, Wushuang, and the others quickly surround her with weapons unsheathed. “Shifu!” Yelu Qi called, “pull your bees back!”

Zhou Botong repeatedly shouted his commands to pull his bees back; but in the commotion the jade bees did not respond and kept going after the demoness. Wu Santong was afraid his archenemy would escape again, he ran toward her ignoring the bees’ attack.

While everybody was chasing Li Mochou, Yang Guo stayed where he was, still holding his wife tightly. He whispered into her ears, “Long Er … Long Er …” Slowly Xiao Long Nuu opened her eyes. She heard the jade bees humming seemingly so distant. She thought she was dreaming and was inside the Ancient Tomb. Her countenance brightened a little and she whispered back, “Are we home …?”

A short while later she gained her consciousness back and was fully aware of what was happening around her. She whistled and softly shouted her commands. Hearing their master the jade bees gathered up above Li Mochou’s head. “Elder Martial Sister,” she said, “you should repent now of all your past crimes.”

Li Mochou’s face was sheet-white. “Where’s the pill?” she inquired. Her martial sister sadly smiled, “Inside that bottomless abyss.” She continued, “Why did you kill that Divine Monk? If he were alive, not only he would safe Guo Er’s life and mine, but yours as well.”

She was blown away! Her martial sister had never lied. She would never imagined that just one of her own soul-freezing needle would eventually kill her.

In the meantime, Wu Santong and his two sons, Cheng Ying, Wushuang, and the others have formed a tight formation around her; while Zhou Botong was still busy shouting his commands. “Elder Zhou,” Xiao Long Nuu called, “you have to whistle this way.” She then gave him some examples, which was imitated by the Old Urchin. Thousands of bees immediately gathered around him and then entered the box. The old man was so delighted. “Miss Long, thank you … thank you …”

Observing this old man, Reverend Yi Deng smiled and called, “Brother Botong, long time no see. You look as you did not age at all.”

Zhou Botong was surprised. He quickly closed the bee box and said, “You are well, I am too. Everybody’s well.” He swung the box to his shoulder and ran away without saying anything else.

Li Mochou, being surrounded on every side, started to realize that she would not come out of this alive. She became desperate. She looked around and said, “Huh-huh! You consider yourself as heroes. Huh-huh! Today you will win by sheer number. Martial Sister! I am a disciple of Ancient Tomb. I can’t let myself be killed by outsider. Come! You do it.” She then reversed her own sword so that its blade pointed to her own chest.

Xiao Long Nuu shook her head, “Why would I want to kill you?” she asked.

“Li Mochou!” snapped Wu Santong. “Let me ask you this: what did you do to Lu Zhanyuan and He Yuanjun’s bodies?”

The demoness trembled. “I burned them,” she said menacingly. “I spread the ashes: one on the peak of Mount Hua, the other on Eastern Sea; so that they won’t see each other for eternity.” Her cruelness made everybody’s heart pounding.

“Sister Long has a benevolent heart, she won’t kill you,” said Wushuang, “but my whole family died in your hand and I want revenge this very day. Cousin, come!”

“My mother died in your hands,” Xiuwen continued, “Other people can show mercy to you, but my brother and I will never forgive you.”

“Come!” Wushuang lifted her saber. Together with Xiuwen and his sword they started to move. Li Mochou exerted her energy to her sword and “Crack!” that sword was broken into two pieces. She smirked, hold her hands on her back, totally ignoring their attack.

Suddenly heavy smoke and fire appeared to their east. “Fire!” cried Huang Rong. “We have to save Martial Uncle’s body,” said Zhu Ziliu. He leaped toward Li Mochou, and sealed three of her accupoints with his famous Yang Solitary Finger to prevent the demoness from escaping.

“Miss Gongsun’s body too!” cried Cheng Ying.

“Right!” answered the others.

They ran toward the Valley Master Hall. Wu Brothers dragged Li Mochou along, while Yang Guo, Xiao Long Nuu, Huang Rong and Reverend Yi Deng not far behind. They walked slowly because of the injuries. About a quarter of kilometer away from the valley complex, they began to feel the heat. People were shouting and screaming. Buildings were collapsing.

“That Gongsun Zhi was really cruel,” Wu Santong said, “Miss Long should’ve killed him!”

“I don’t think it was him who burned this place down,” commented Zhu Ziliu. “If I am not mistaken, this is that old granny’s doing.”

“Why Qiu Qianchi?” asked Santong, “Isn’t the Passionless Valley hers?”

“Well, the valley disciples have rebelled against her. Even if we killed Gongsun Zhi, she would not be able to live here any longer,” Zhu Ziliu explained. “I think that granny is just narrow-minded …” He did not continue and exerted his energy, quickly ran to the kiln. Fortunately this kiln was a little bit away from the complex. Hastily Zhu Ziliu lifted his Martial Uncle’s body away. The Monk’s countenance was still smiling, like he found something delightful just before he died.

Wu Santong shed some tears. “Martial Uncle died without suffering.”

“Martial Uncle was killed when he was searching for the Passionless Flower antidote,” explained Zhu Ziliu.

In the mean time, Huang Rong and her company arrived. Hearing Zhu Ziliu’s explanation, she immediately examined the Indian Monk’s body, but she could not find anything. She searched all the pockets in his clothes. Nothing. “Did your Martial Uncle say anything to you?” she asked.

“No,” answered Zhu Ziliu. “When Martial Uncle and I came out of this kiln, we have never thought a danger was lurking.”

Huang Rong fixed her gaze on the Indian Monk’s smiling face, and a thought flashed in her mind. She stooped and looked at the Divine Monk’s hands. Her heart pounding, for she saw his right hand tightly clutched some dark-purplish grass-like herbs. Slowly she pried open his fingers and took the grass away. “What kind of grass is this?” she mused.

Zhu Ziliu only shook his head.

Huang Rong smelled it. That grass had an awful smell, she almost threw-up.

“Madame Guo, careful!” said Yi Deng, “That is ‘intestine-severing’ grass. Very poisonous.”

Huang Rong stared blankly. She lost hope.

Upon hearing that the grass was very dangerous, Xiuwen said to Huang Rong, “Shiniang [martial female master - Shifu's wife], let’s give that grass to this demoness.”

“Young man, don’t be so cruel,” Yi Deng rebuked him.

“Grand Martial Master,” said Xiuwen, “Are we supposed to show mercy to an evil person like this woman?”

The fire had reached the tree and bushes around the kiln.

“People! Retreat to the northeast, to that hilly area,” Huang Rong gave her command. Everybody complied and as they arrived there, the buildings around the kiln had started to burn.

Li Mochou’s accupoints were sealed, but she was still able to walk, only without her internal energy. She tried to circulate her ‘chi’ to unseal herself. She thought she would try to escape when the enemy was not looking. Unexpectedly, her chest and waist hurt like hell as soon as she did that, which made her screamed in agony. What happened was that she depressed the poison using her internal energy. However, when her accupoints were sealed, her energy was also neutralized. Now that she tried to circulate her energy, the poison was flowing alongside and attacked her inner organs.

Her eyes seen stars floating around, she was writhing in agony and almost lost her consciousness. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu walked toward her, but what she saw was a pair of young couple, a handsome man and a lovely young woman – right in front of her they suddenly turned into Lu Zhanyuan and He Yuanjun. She leaped and screamed, “Zhanyuan! You are so cruel! You still have a face to see me?” Because she was thinking about love, the poison in her body became more active than ever. She was in so much pain that her body staggered, her face white as a sheet of paper and looked so frightening. Everybody step back a few steps seeing her behaving like a mad woman.

Li Mochou had always been a proud woman, never in her life she ask any favor from anybody. But with her dying breath she cried incessantly, “Oohh ... ! Ouch! Help! Ohh ... somebody help me, please …” Her voice was truly heartrending.

“The only one who can help you was my Martial Uncle,” Zhu Ziliu answered and pointed to the Indian Monk’s body. “Why did you kill him?”

“Yes! I killed him!” the demoness gnashed her teeth and screamed, “I killed all kind of people, good people, bad people, I killed them all! I am dead! I want to die! Why are you still alive? I want you to die with me!” Her body swayed, her breathing shortened, and suddenly she lunged toward Wu Dunru’s sword.

For many-many years Wu Dunru had dreamed to stab the demoness with his very own sword. However, at that moment he was taken aback, and pulled his sword away unwittingly. The demoness missed the sword; she fell down to the ground and her body rolled away toward the blazing flame in the valley below.

Everybody cried! In a flash her clothes were like a giant torch, blazing with fire. She struggled but eventually managed to stand up in the middle of the blazing fire.

Xiao Long Nuu, remembering their sisterhood, was the only one compassionate toward her. She immediately cried, “Sister, get out of there!” But Li Mochou did not budge, seemed like she was not even feeling the heat. It was a terrifying scene … everybody’s eyes were wide open. Suddenly, from her mouth came a heartrending voice, she was singing … !

O mortals, what is love? That binds beyond life on earth?
To all corners, in pair we fly... braving summer and winter, by and by...
Union is bliss, parting is woe, agony is boundless, for a lovelorn soul, sweetheart...
Give me word, trail of clouds drifting forward...
And mountains capped with snow, whither shall my lonesome shadow go?
[Noodle’s translation]

Her voice getting weaker and weaker, until it finally faded away amidst the raging fire …

[Her song, Liu Bo – flowing waves – was the one she used to sing with Lu Zhanyuan, when they were still together. She also sang along with tears flowing down her cheeks when Yang Guo and Cheng Ying was playing/singing this song – see Chapter 15]

Xiao Long Nuu could not hold her tears any longer. She sobbed uncontrollably in Yang Guo’s single arm. Nobody was exempt from feeling sadness creeping into his or her heart. The demoness finally paid her sins with a well-deserved death; however, they could not help but have pity on her. She was actually a weak and blind woman; weaken and blinded by love.

Wu Santong and his two sons, Wushuang and Cheng Ying had a very deep animosity toward her; and were always wanting their revenge. But now that she was dead, they did not feel a single ray of joy in their heart. Huang Rong remembered how the demoness – despite of her evil and cruel character – had taken care of her little Guo Xiang with love and kindness for many-many days. She then lift the baby up, put her little hands together, and waved them toward the blazing fire; as a gesture of final respect toward the ill-fated woman.

Yang Guo looked at the fire, then turned his gaze toward the Valley Master Hall. He sighed ceaselessly. He had wanted to go back to the building complex to save Luu’E’s body from the fire. Yet now he saw the whole complex was burned down almost to the ground. He felt a deep sense of lost. He remembered both women, Luu’E and Mochou. One was an angel, the other a demon. Both died and became ashes because of love. Without even realizing it, tears started flowing down his cheeks.

While Yang Guo was still staring blankly to the fire, suddenly a long, loud and terrifying laugh was heard, coming from the top of the hill to their northeast. That voice was supported by a high level of internal energy. “Qiu Qianchi!” Yang Guo was startled. “How did she climb that hill?”

Xiao Long Nuu’ heart stirred. “Let’s ask her if she still have another Passionless Pill in her hand,” she said.

“Long Er, ah Long Er! Are you still dreaming?” her husband said with bitter smile.

Actually, Huang Rong and the others came to the Passionless Valley with a sole objective of finding the cure to Yang Guo’s illness. Having heard Xiao Long Nuu, a ray of hope rose in their heart. Wu Santong and his sons immediately ran toward the hill. Yelu Qi and Wanyan Ping followed suit. Yang Guo sighed and shook his head. He had determined not to take any antidote, unless somebody could find something to save his wife’s life.

Cheng Ying – who all this time stood quietly beside him – suddenly said, “Brother Yang, you should not belittle everybody’s loving concern toward you. We love you. Let us go together.” As we all know, Cheng Ying had always loved Yang Guo, and treated him with nothing but kindness. Yang Guo was not unaware of that fact. Even though he had already given his heart to another, he had always regarded Cheng Ying with nothing but respect and brotherly love. The young miss had never asked him anything. Until now. How could he refuse? Therefore, he nodded his head and said, “Very well.”

The naughty Wushuang could not contain herself much longer. She laughed heartily and said, “Good boy! You should always listen to what we say, Dummy! [Sha Dan]”

Quickly they climbed the hill toward Qiu Qianchi. Very soon Yang Guo could see that the hill was where the old granny, together with Luu’E and himself had escaped from the underground cave. The trees and everything around was still the same, but the golden-hearted lady was no longer there. He sighed and was deeply saddened.

After about a half-kilometer or so, they could see from afar that Qiu Qianchi was sitting on a chair on the hilltop. She was laughing with a creepy voice, and kept looking up toward a distance. She looked and behaved like a mad woman.

“I think she’s gone crazy,” said Wushuang.

“Don’t get too close,” said Huang Rong, “That woman is so cruel, we have to be on our guard against her evil scheme. In my opinion, she is not crazy.”

Everybody stopped. They were wary of the old granny’s date stones. Carefully Huang Rong approached her, but before she said anything, somebody appeared from behind a big rock. He was wearing blue robe, and none other than Gongsun Zhi himself. Laughing menacingly he took his robe off, and with his profound internal energy, made the robe hard and stiff like a stick. Huang Rong and the others were impressed with this internal energy demonstration. “Wicked woman!” he cursed, “you have destroyed everything I had, everything my ancestors had owned, with a torch. I will not show any mercy to you!” And he ran toward her.

Qiu Qianchi launched a stone. Gongsun Zhi parried with his robe. The stone penetrated several layers of clothes, but did not hurt him at all. Gongsun Zhi was able to neutralize her “hard” energy with his “soft”. He was initially not sure if he could withstand her stone, but in his anger because the granny burned down everything he had, he was determined to kill her. Besides, he knew that as soon as the intruders intervened, he wouldn’t be able to even get near her. Therefore, he was delighted to find that his energy was sufficient to counter the Qiu Qianchi’s.

Shouting a terrifying cry he leaped and pounced her.

“Help!” cried Qiu Qianchi, her eyes wide open.

“Mother! That granny’s going to die!” said Guo Fu, her heart pounding.

“I don’t understand,” Huang said, her eyes never leave those two people, “She is not crazy, but why did she act like it? To lure Gongsun Zhi here?”

In the mean time the granny had already launched two more date stones. Gongsun Zhi again used his robe while leaping forward. Suddenly, he vanished from sight in a blink of the eyes. The granny laughed heartily, a very satisfied laugh.

But … while she was still basking in her victory, a long robe appeared from underneath. Like a snake it wrapped itself to the leg of the chair Qiu Qianchi was sitting on. A fraction of a second later that chair fell down the well, taking Qiu Qianchi with it. Once again a terrifying cry was heard, this time it came from both husband and wife. Then everything fell silent …

Everybody witnessed and heard everything, but nobody knew what was really happening; except Yang Guo. He sighed and softly said, “Hai! Those two husband and wife had become archenemies, but in the end … they died together.”

Quickly Huang Rong and the others climbed to the hilltop. There they saw four female bodies lying around near a big hole on the ground. Looking down below all they could see was darkness.

In her desire to seek revenge, Qiu Qianchi had become more cruel and evil than ever. After burning the building complex, she commanded four slave girls to carry her to that hilltop, to the underground cave mouth, where she and her daughter were rescued by Yang Guo. She commanded the girls to cover the hole with tree branches and leaves; but afterward cruelly murdered them with her stones. Then she pretended to be crazy to lured Gongsun Zhi. Her cry for help when Gongsun Zhi first attacked was part of her ploy to lure him closer. Gongsun Zhi was not aware about the cave; hence he fell into her trap. In his last struggle to save his own life, he threw his robe up, with the hope that he could use the chair as stepping stone to jump out of the hole. Unfortunately, the chair – with Qiu Qianchi on it, fell down the cave because his pull was too strong. So it was, husband and wife, become archenemies, and died together on the same day, same hour, even smashed together inside that underground cave.

Yang Guo then told the rest what he knew about their life story. Everybody sighed and could not help but feel sorry for them.

Cheng Ying, Yelu Qi, Yelu Yan, with the help of the other young people digged a big hole and buried the body of the four slave girls.

The fire was still raging down valley; the whole building complex was destroyed. There was no other house around for them to rest. Besides, after witnessing so many deaths that day, nobody wanted to stay around much longer.

“Brother Yang has not found cure for his injury, we have to find another doctor promptly,” Zhu Ziliu said. Several others voiced their agreement.

“No,” said Huang Rong. “We cannot leave Passionless Valley today.”

“What is your suggestion then, Madame Guo?” asked Zhu Ziliu.

“My shoulder suffers a heavy injury, and it hurts so bad right now,” she answered, “could we stay overnight here, please? We will leave tomorrow first thing in the morning. Would all of you stay, please?”

Of course nobody objected. They spread out and searched for some caves or anywhere suitable to stay overnight.

Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu walked hand in hand going down the hill, but before they got too far, they heard Huang Rong called, “Sister Long, could you come over here, please? I have something to discuss with you.” Having said this she put Guo Xiang under Guo Fu’s care and walked toward Xiao Long Nuu.

Holding Xiao Long Nuu’s hand she turned her head toward Yang Guo and smiled, “Guo Er, don’t you worry. She has become your wife, and I certainly will not persuade her to leave you.”

“Go ahead, try,” said Yang Guo smiling, but couldn’t help wondering in his heart. What was his Auntie going to discuss with her wife? He saw Huang Rong hold Xiao Long Nuu’s hand, walking toward a big tree and then they both sat down underneath it. Yang Guo felt a little bit uneasiness, but he felt it was not proper for him to sneak in and eavesdrop on them. “Long Er has never lied to me, I will ask her later,” he thought.

“Sister Long,” Huang Rong began. “My spoiled brat daughter has caused you and Guo Er many miseries. I feel really bad.”

Xiao Long Nuu just smiled and said, “Oh, it’s allright.”

Huang Rong felt even worse. She was not aware that the soul-freezing needle of Guo Fu was the death sentence to this lovely young wife. She remembered how Wu Santong and Yang Guo himself had suffered injury from the needles, yet they fully recovered. She did not know that Xiao Long Nuu was poisoned when she was reversing her blood flow. Hence, it was entirely a different matter.

“There is one thing I do not understand about Yang Guo, and I want to ask your explanation,” she inquired further. “By risking your own life you had succeeded in getting the pill back from Gongsun Zhi. Why did Yang Guo not willing to take it, but threw it down the ravine instead? Why? I really don’t understand.”

Xiao Long Nuu sighed. She knew she would die because of the poison, yet she also knew Guo Fu did not intentionally attack her. As a tenderhearted woman, she felt it was inappropriate for her to say anything bad at all, therefore, she only said, “Yang Guo has a strong character.”

“Guo Er’s heart is full of love,” said Huang Rong, “Could it be that because Miss Gongsun had sacrifice her life for the pill, that Yang Guo did not have a heart to take it. Thus he is willing to sacrifice his own life to repay her love. Sister, that action had shown his benevolent character, deserving our highest respect. However, we cannot make the dead to live again. On the other hand, his stubbornness to refuse any antidote would negate Miss Gongsun’s sacrificial endeavor.”

Xiao Long Nuu nodded her head, but her heart was filled with sorrow.

Huang Rong paused for a moment, and then continued, “You have risked your live battling Gongsun Zhi on the stone bridge above the Heart Breaking Cliff [Severed Intestine Gorge], that was also an act of ultimate sacrifice. Yang Guo will listen to nobody but you alone. Therefore, my Sister, please talk and persuade him for his own good.”

Xiao Long Nuu could not hold her tears any longer; they flowed down her lovely cheeks. “If only he were willing to listen to me … but even then, where can we find another Passionless Pill?” she said, sobbing.

“There is no more Passionless Pill in this whole wide world,” Huang Rong said, “but I believe there is another antidote to neutralize the poison in him. What I feel most difficult is to get him to take it.”

Xiao Long Nuu was surprised and delighted at the same time. “Is that so?” she asked, “Ah! Everybody says Madame Guo is very intelligent and wise. It was not an empty praise at all. Is … is there another antidote?”

Mrs. Guo groped her pocket and took the purplish grass out. “This is the [Severed Intestine Grass - the words 'Severed Intestine' here are the same as in the 'severed intestine gorge' that other translator translated as 'Heart Broken Cliff'] that was in the Divine Indian Monk’s hand when he died. According to Brother Zhu, he was searching for the antidote when that needle took his life. As you also witnessed, Sister, even though he was dead, his countenance showed a satisfied smile. My only conclusion is that he was satisfied for finding this grass, which is the antidote to the Passionless Flower. According to my Master - the Venerable Hong Qi Gong - inside a snake’s lair always exist some kind of plant which is the antidote of that particular snake’s venom. This fact also holds true for other kind of poison as well. Natural Law, it is just how nature governs itself. This grass indeed grew underneath the Passionless Flower. We only knew that this grass is poisonous; however, after pondering for a while, I realize that this grass is the antidote to the flower. Poison against poison. One poison neutralizes the other.”

Xiao Long Nuu listened to her explanation and nodded her head in agreement. She knew that Huang Rong was very intelligent, and listening to her full of confidence, she could not help but feeling her confidence grew as well. After witnessing Li Mochou’s suffering and realizing that all alternatives were exhausted, she felt that dying of the grass’ poison would be preferable than of the flower’s poison. Therefore, after a moment or two careful considerations, she made up her mind and said confidently, “Very well. Let me persuade him to take the grass.”

Huang Rong immediately groped her pocket and took out several handfuls of grass, then gave the grass to Xiao Long Nuu. “I picked these grasses along the way, and I believe these handfuls would be sufficient,” she said. “You will have to tell him to try a few strands of grass first, while protecting his internal organs with his energy. If it worked, than he can take more later.”

Xiao Long Nuu then put the grass into her pocket and stood up, then kneeled down in front of Huang Rong. “Guo Er … he … he’s an orphan and has nobody to look after him. He has suffered a lot,” she was choked … “He is rash and oftentimes do whatever his heart desires … I beg Madame would look after him.”

Huang Rong quickly lifted her up. “Guo Er is under your loving care, and I trust you are a hundred times better than me in this matter,” she was emotional as well, “After Xiang Yang is saved from the Mongols, we shall go together to the Peach Blossom Island and have some good time together.”

As intelligent as she was, Madame Guo did not have any clue on why Xiao Long Nuu had asked her the favor. Xiao Long Nuu expected she would die any moment and had asked Huang Rong to take care of Yang Guo.

While his wife was having conversation with Huang Rong, Yang Guo waited patiently a bit far. Now that he saw his wife stood up and walked away, he immediately came to her. “Guo Er,” said Xiao Long Nuu, smiling sweetly, “our days are numbered. Let us not be burdened with other’s business and just be together, you and I. Would you accompany me looking around this place?”

Holding hands they left the crowd – which at that time was busy preparing a place to stay or simply resting quietly underneath some trees – and walked slowly down the quiet paths. They haven’t walked too far when they saw a young couple was having a quiet talk under a tree. They were Wu Dunru and Yelu Yan. Yang Guo smiled and turned the other way. Again, they haven’t walked too far when suddenly somebody ran out of the bushes ahead, laughing merrily, with somebody behind, chasing her. It was Wanyan Ping, being chased by Wu Xiuwen. “I want to know where you could go!” cried the young man. Seeing Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu, Wanyan Ping blushed. “Brother Yang, Sister Long,” she greeted them sheepishly. Then she ran toward the forest. Xiuwen was not too far behind.

“O mortals, what is love? That binds beyond life on earth?” Yang Guo softly murmured. He was silent for a minute before continuing, “Those two brothers were fighting to death to win Miss Guo’s attention. Only a short time later they have already loved someone else. There are people in this world who could love only one person – for life. Yet there are others who could easily change their mind. Hai …! ‘O mortals, what is love? That binds beyond life on earth?’ this is a very deep question, worthy to be pondered.”

His wife was silent. She put her head down, quietly walked along, like she was thinking really hard. They arrived at a foothill a little while later. Looking up they could see that the day was almost spent. The sun cast its beautiful rays on the mountain peaks. They were convinced that they would not be together much longer; therefore, the beautiful scenery only added sorrow to their heart. “Guo Er,” Xiao Long Nuu suddenly broke the silence, “didn’t you say that after we are dead, our spirit will go to the underworld? Is it true there is an [underworld king – Hokkien: Giam Lo Ong, not sure the Pin Yin]?”

“I do hope so,” answered Yang Guo. “Even if the underworld was full of sea of blades, boiling oil, or other kind torture, I would rather the underworld exist, than having our souls got separated for eternity.”

“That’s true,” said his wife, “I do too, hope that there is an underworld out there. People said that on the way there an old granny would meet the departing spirit and give that spirit a bowl of water, so that the spirit would forget everything mortal. As for me, I would refuse to drink that water. Guo Er, you have to promise me that you won’t forget my love forever.”

As you know, Xiao Long Nuu was raised and trained under the Ancient Tomb Sect, where she learned how to depress all emotions. Therefore, while her heart was broken, she was able to speak with a steady voice. Yang Guo, on the other hand, could not hold his tears any longer. He quickly walked over, turned his head away from his wife and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

Xiao Long Nuu sighed. “Ah! How can we mortals know anything about the underworld matters?” she said, “But if I were given any choice, I would rather live forever with you …. Guo Er, look! That flower is really pretty.”

Yang Guo turned his head to where his wife was pointing, and he saw a beautiful red flower. It was so big, bigger than a rice bowl. That flower was swaying from the soft early evening breeze. “Truly beautiful,” Yang Guo praised. “I have never seen anything like it. If I were to give this flower a name, I would name it Long Nuu Hwa (Dragon Lady Flower).” He stooped down, picked up a stem of flower, and slipped it into his wife’s hair. “Thank you,” Xiao Long Nuu smiled.

After walking a little bit longer they sat down on a grassy hill, resting. “Guo Er, do you still remember everything you promised when I took you as my disciple?” asked the young madame.

“Why don’t I?” he answered.

“Well, do you remember taking an oath to always obey what I command as long as you live?” she continued, “Whatever I say, you cannot disobey. But I have become your wife now. Tell me, do I have to obey you, or will you forever obey me because I was your master/teacher? What do you think?”

“I will always obey you,” promised Yang Guo. “Teacher’s word has to be obeyed. Wife’s word is even more, I cannot disobey.”

“Hm!” said his wife, “It’s good to know you remembered.”

They sat shoulder-to-shoulder, leaning against each other, enjoying the beautiful dusk scenery around them. From a distance they heard Wu Santong’s calling them for dinner. They looked at each other and smiled. Who would want to eat while enjoying this breathtakingly wonderful time?

Eventually, the sun set, and the moon slowly rose. The night was falling. They were tired, and fell asleep unwittingly.

Yang Guo stirred and opened his eyes around midnight. The weather had turned cold. Half-asleep he asked his wife, “Long Er, are you cold?” He stretched his arm, wanted to embrace her. Suddenly he felt like his blood was drained completely from his body, because his hand only grabbed a handful of dirt! He leaped up instantly. His wife was nowhere to be seen! He looked everywhere, but all he could see were mountain tops and trees, gleaming under the silver rays of the moon. He stretched his neck, trying to listen; but all he could hear was a gentle breeze of wind, carrying soft chirping and buzzing of the little critters. Where could Xiao Long Nuu be? His heart was pounding real hard! He exerted his internal energy, ran to the hilltop and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Long Er! Long Er!”

Frantically he dashed to another hilltop. “Long Er! Long Er!” His voice echoed throughout the valley. “Long Er! Long Er …!!”

His cry had woken up Yi Deng, Huang Rong, Zhu Ziliu and the others. Knowing what happened, immediately they spread out, trying to find the young madame; while their hearts were puzzled. Xiao Long Nuu was nowhere to be seen, even after searching high and low.

“Long Er slept next to me, it is impossible for an enemy to capture her, or even a beast to harm her without my knowing,” thought Yang Guo. “The only possibility was that she left by her own will. And I believe Mrs. Guo has something to do with it. She once ran away from me and went to the Passionless Valley because of her.” Because of this thought his blood boiled and he exploded, “Auntie Guo! What exactly did you say to her this afternoon?”

Huang Rong herself was confounded, she did not have any idea why Xiao Long Nuu suddenly disappeared. She saw Yang Guo’s veins showing on his face and neck, and realized how critical this moment was. “I was only advised her to persuade you to take the [severed-intestine grass] to neutralize the poison inside your body,” she explained patiently.

“After her life cannot be saved anymore, do you really think I would want to live alone?” Yang Guo screamed.

“Don’t you worry,” said his auntie soothingly, “Miss Long possesses a very high level of martial arts. It is unthinkable that something bad has happened to her that she could not overcome it. Why did you say ‘her life cannot be saved anymore’?”

In his unbearable grief Yang Guo lost his tempers and snapped,”Huh! This is all your precious daughter’s doing. She struck her with a soul-freezing needle while she was reversing her blood flow, that the lethal poison attacked her internal organs. My wife is not a deity, how could she endure that?”

Yang Guo’s answer was like a thunderbolt from a blue sky. She had no idea her daughter had done something really dreadful. Her countenance was sheet-white pale. Only now she understood why Yang Guo was adamant of not taking the pill, and would rather die than live alone. She looked up toward the hill where Gongsun Zhi and Qiu Qianchi met their tragic ends. She shuddered involuntarily.

Yang Guo had always kept his gaze toward Huang Rong and understood why she shuddered. He was shocked and angry beyond any reasoning. “You knew it! You knew she is beyond help and persuaded her to kill herself to save my life,” he screamed. “You think you are doing me a big favor, but … but … I HATE YOU!!!” His chest tightened, he collapsed to the ground, fainted. Reverend Yi Deng immediately gave him a massage and after a moment he regained his consciousness.

“I only persuade her to save your life,” said Huang Rong, “I have never told anybody to commit suicide. I can’t help it if you don’t believe me.”

Everybody was looking at each other, they did not know what to say or do. “I think we’d better make a rope for me to go down the cave to investigate,” Cheng Ying broke the silence. “Perhaps … perhaps … Sister-in-law slipped …”

Huang Rong nodded. “Very well, let’s find out.”

They immediately unsheathed their weapons and gathered tree barks, which were then braided, into a long rope. They worked hard and before long, more than 200 meters long rope was ready. Several youngsters immediately offered to go down first. “Let me go first,” said Yang Guo.

Everybody looked at Huang Rong for approval. Mrs. Guo thought hard. She was sure that if she said ‘no’, Yang Guo would insist on going anyway; but if she said ‘yes’ and – God forbids – Xiao Long Nuu were found inside, Yang Guo would certainly not willing to go back up. While she hesitated, Cheng Ying once again offered a solution, “Brother Yang, let me go. Don’t you trust me?”

Cheng Ying was the only person Yang Guo loved and respected; besides his wife, of course. He felt weak due to excessive grief anyway, so he just nodded his agreement.

Wu Santong and Yelu Qi slowly lowered Miss Cheng into the well. The cave entrance was located on or near the hilltop, so we can safely conclude that the depth of the well is approximately the same as the height of the hill itself. Therefore, it was when they almost run out of rope that Cheng Ying had finally reached the bottom.

Everybody was quiet. It was a suspenseful moment. They waited with baited breath. Huang Rong cast a glance to Zhu Ziliu. He winked and immediately the two of them walked toward the hole. They stood guard on either sides of the hole. They knew that if Xiao Long Nuu were to be found dead inside, Yang Guo would most certainly jump in.

Everybody’s eyes never left that hole on the ground. Nobody blinked. It felt like they have been waiting forever, and could not help but felt agitated.

Suddenly the rope in Wusantong’s hands moved. “Quick! Pull!” Guo Fu and the Wu Brothers shouted almost simultaneously. Quickly several people helped pulling the rope.

Even before she reached the top, Cheng Ying had shouted on top or her lungs, “Not here! Sister-in-law is not here!”

Everybody was so relieved that they sighed almost in unison.

A little later Cheng Ying reached the top and immediately said, “I have looked every where, every corner of the cave. Nothing was there except Gongsun Zhi and Qiu Qianchi’s bodies.”

Zhu Ziliu knitted his brows. “Let’s spread out and search around the valley. I think it is possible that Miss Long has left this place.”

“There is a place we haven’t looked yet,” Wushuang suddenly remembered. “Could it be that Sister-in-law is trying to recover the Passionless Pill?”

Before Wushuang could finish, Yang Guo had already dashed toward the Broken Heart Cliff and cried out, “Long Er! Long Er!” But even there not a single soul was in sight. Yang Guo was more anxious. “Long Er is very honest, she would certainly tell me her heart’s contents,” he thought. Then he remembered their conversation that evening, “She knew I have never disobeyed her, why did she feel it was important to remind me? But she didn’t say anything else then …”

He looked at the cliff, staring blankly. Suddenly he saw a red flower perched high on the cliff. “Uh, where did that flower come from?” he asked himself, “I didn’t see it when Long Er was battling Gongsun Zhi. Could it be blown here by the wind? Not likely …”

Exerted his internal energy he leaped toward the cliff and climb the stone bridge. His chest tightened! That flower was the one he slipped into his wife’s hair just a few hours ago. He was sure of it, since one side of the flower was a bit flattened. He could not hold his tears any longer. He remembered he named that flower ‘Long Nuu Flower’.

With his hand shaking hand he picked the flower up. Underneath it he found a paper package, which he hastily opened. Inside he found a few strands of purple grass, the [severed intestine grass]. His heart was beating fast. He looked at the paper, but he found nothing, not a single stroke [of character – obviously Yang Guo expected some sort of letter/message].

Suddenly he heard Wushuang shouted, “Brother Yang, what are you doing?”

He turned his head and his gaze stopped at two lines of characters carved by a sword on the cliff’s wall. It read, (IcyFox translation)“16 years later, meet at this place, the love between (us) husband and wife is profoundly deep, never fail this promise.”(end IcyFox Translation) Underneath was carved in smaller characters, (IcyFox Translation)“Xiao Long Nu addresses my lord Yang-lang, please treasure this, beg that you fufill this reunion.”(end IcyFox Translation)

Yang Guo stared at those characters like he was losing his mind. His head was dizzy. He really could not decipher what it meant. Unanswerable questions kept floating around his mind. “Why did she say sixteen years? Where did she go? She is heavily poisoned, how could she wait sixteen years? She knew I threw the Passionless Pill away, why did she ask me to wait sixteen years?”

In his grief and confusion, his body staggered a few times. This made the others fret. Once he lost his balance, he would certainly fell into the ravine below. Nobody knew what to do. They could not go to him, since that stone bridge was so narrow. They would certainly die together if Yang Guo were acting up. Huang Rong knitted her brows and turning to Cheng Ying she said, “Martial Sister, go talk to him. I think he will listen to you.”

“Very well,” she responded, leaped onto the rock, and walked slowly toward Yang Guo.

Hearing a footstep came near Yang Guo snapped, “Go away!” He turned his head with fire in his eyes.

“Brother Yang, it’s me,” said the young miss softly. “I just want to help you find Sister-in-law, nothing else.”

Yang Guo stared hard at her sad face. Slowly his countenance softened.

“Is this flower left by Sister-in-law?” asked Cheng Ying, approaching him.

“Yes,” he said, “She wanted me to wait sixteen years. Why sixteen years?”

Cheng Ying read the letter. She was perplexed. “Madame Guo is very intelligent,” she said, “Why don’t we ask her what she thinks. I am sure she can solve this puzzle.”

“OK,” said Yang Guo, “Be careful! That stone is slippery.”

They immediately walked back down and told everything they knew to Huang Rong.

She was silent for a moment, her brows knitted even deeper. Suddenly her eyes lit. Clapping her hands she exclaimed, “Guo Er! Omigod! Congratulations! Guo Er! Let me congratulate you!”

Yang Guo was flabbergasted. He was shocked but a bit thrilled at the same time, “What? … Why? … For what?” He stuttered.

“Congratulations! How can I not congratulate you!” his auntie was laughing ecstatically. “Sister Long has met the ‘Goddess of the South Sea’ [literally: divine women of the south sea – nan hay zhen nuu – I think; any help?]. This is a very extraordinary destiny.”

Yang Guo was puzzled, “’Goddess of the South Sea’? Who’s that?”

“’Goddess of the South Sea’ is a divine Buddhist nun with a very high level of martial arts,” she explained, “Just how high her skill is, nobody can tell. Her rank is way up higher than even Reverend Yi Deng. Because she seldom comes to the mainland, almost nobody in Jiang-Hu world knew her. My father had met her and was taught a very high-level fist technique. That was sixteen, thirty-two, forty-eight … yes, it was forty-eight years ago.”

“Forty-eight years ago?” Yang Guo repeated absent-mindedly.

“Yes,” she continued, “I think the ’Goddess of the South Sea’ is almost a hundred years old now. According to my father, she always visits the mainland once every sixteen years. Woe to the evil men who crosses her path. She has a benevolent heart and always ready to help anybody in need. I am sure Miss Long has met her, was taken as her disciple, and was brought back to the South Sea.”

“Sixteen years ... sixteen … Reverend, is there such person?” Yang Guo asked. His voice hoarse.

Yi Deng was about to answer with an “hm” when Huang Rong quickly cut him out. “That ’Goddess of the South Sea’ excelled in martial arts, but her character’s a bit weird. Reverend, have you ever met her?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head.

Huang Rong sighed. “Ah, that Senior is really ignorant,” she said, “to separate a young couple like that, for sixteen years! Right now Sister Long has already possessed a high martial art. After sixteen years, wouldn’t her husband looked like chicken to her?” Then she burst in laugher.

“No, Auntie Guo, I don’t think that was what she had in mind,” countered Yang Guo.

“What then?” asked the auntie.

Without further ado Yang Guo told her how while her wife was reversing her blood flow to cure her injury, Guo Fu unintentionally struck her with a soul-freezing needle, that the poison attacked her internal organs. “If what you said is true, I think the Goddess is trying to cure her within that sixteen years period.” He sighed, “You know, before this new development, I’ve always thought Long Er’s condition was terminal.”

“That spoiled brat of mine truly has done you two too many troubles,” said Mrs. Guo. “I think you are right. That poison has resided inside Sister Long’s body for too long. Even if she was given a miracle cure, she would certainly need a long time to recover fully. Guo Er, let us hope that Sister Long will recover sooner, that the ’Goddess of the South Sea’ will release her sooner too.”

Yang Guo was lost in thought with a heart full of questions. It was hard to believe his auntie, yet the Xiao Long Nuu’s letter seemed to corroborate her argument. If she killed herself, why would she say sixteen years? Suddenly he turned his gaze toward Huang Rong and ask, “Auntie Guo, how do you know the ’Goddess of the South Sea’ took Long Er away? Why didn’t Long Er say so in the letter, that I won’t be worry?”

“I came to that conclusion because of the words ‘sixteen years later’,” she explained. “I know this for a fact, that the ’Goddess of the South Sea’ visits the mainland only once every sixteen years. Nobody else has had that peculiar habit. Reverend, have you known anybody else with that custom?”

“No,” he answered.

“As far as I know, Father said that the Goddess does not like to be mentioned,” Mrs. Guo continued, “so it’s understandable if Sister Long did not mention her name in the letter. My only concern is that I am not sure the [severed intestine grass] could save your life. If … sigh! … if sixteen years pass and Sister Long come back and she cannot see you, it is very possible that … that she would not want to live any longer.”

Yang Guo shed some more tears. He could see clearly in his mind a shadow of things to come. He saw a white shadow; it was his wife, comeback to meet him sixteen years from now. He then saw his wife was grieving because he is no more.

A gentle breeze blew and Yang Guo shivered. “Auntie Guo,” he said, “I think I’d better go to the South Sea to find her. Do you know where the Goddess lives?”

“Guo Er, don’t be silly,” rebuked his auntie softly, “The island where the Goddess live has never been visited by strangers. Woe to the man who visit the island uninvited. My Father had received her tutelage, but even Father has never set foot on this island. Now that she took Sister Long under her wings, I am confident that someday you two will meet again. What is sixteen years anyway? It will pass in a blink of an eye. Why do you have to rush?”

Yang Guo looked intently at Huang Rong’s face and asked, “Auntie Guo, are you telling me the truth?”

“You go and examine that letter,” she countered, “If that letter was not written by Sister Long, you can say whatever you want.”

“That letter is indeed written by Long Er herself.” Yang Guo said, “Every time she writes the character ‘Yang’, she always add a short stroke on the right. Nobody writes like that.”

“Very good, then,” said his auntie, clapping her hands. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure myself. I thought it was too much of a coincidence. I thought it was Brother Zhu’s doing who tried to comfort you.”

Yang Guo was lost in thought again, his eyes stared hard at the Broken Heart Cliff. “Very well,” he finally said, “I will take [severed intestine grass]. If it fails, I hope sixteen years from now Auntie would tell my poor wife everything.” He turned to Zhu Ziliu and asked, “Uncle Zhu, how do I take the grass?”

Zhu Ziliu only knew [severed intestine grass] was a poisonous plant. He had no idea on how that poison would neutralize other poison. Therefore, he turned to Yi Deng and asked, “Shifu, I think we need your insight in this matter.”

Using his Solitary Yang Finger, Yi Deng quickly sealed four of Yang Guo’s accupoints: the Xiao Hay, Zhong Li, Sin Men, and Xiao Dong [not sure the meaning nor the pinyin, any help?]. In a flash a warm feeling flowed from these accupoints toward his chest, and loosened the tightness in his breast. “The passionless poison mostly attacks the heart and the liver,” Yi Deng explained, “The [severed intestine grass] poison would most likely attack your heart as well. Therefore, I sealed your four accupoints to protect your heart. Go ahead, take some strands.”

Yang Guo bowed to express his gratitude.

Yi Deng sighed, “If my Martial Brother were here, he would know how to take it properly, so that we would not have to make a wild guess.” Hearing their Master, Wu Santong and Zhu Ziliu could not help but feel sad.

Yang Guo – who a while ago desired to die, now determined to live. He put the grass into his mouth and started to chew, then swallowed it. The [severed intestine grass] was very bitter, but he endured it. He quickly sat down and exerted his internal energy to protect his heart, liver, and other sensitive organs.

Not too long, he started to feel his stomach growling, followed by excruciating pain like he had swallowed thousands of needles. He endured the pain, gnashing his teeth. After another moment or two, the pain surged to his entire body, to his hands and feet, but his heart felt really comfortable. This demonstrated the excellence of Solitary Yang Finger of Reverend Yi Deng. An hour or so later, the pain was concentrated back to his stomach, and he threw up some blood. The blood glittered and looked redder than regular blood.

Cheng Ying, Wushuang, and the others were shocked! Some even uttered a soft cry. Only Reverend Yi Deng looked delighted. “Shitee [Younger Martial Brother]! Shitee!” he said softly, “even after your death you were still able to save your fellow man.”

Yang Guo leaped up and declared with a voice full of emotion, “Today my life has been saved by the Divine Indian Monk, Reverend Yi Deng, and Auntie Guo.”

“Is the poison completely eradicated from your body?” asked Wushuang gleefully.

“How can it be that quick?” he answered. “But now that we know the grass works, I will take a couple of strands every day until the poison is completely gone.”

“But how would you know when your body is clean?” inquired Miss Lu further, “I mean, if the poison is completely neutralized and you continue taking the grass, wouldn’t the grass poison you?”

“I can tell,” he answered, “if the Passion Flower poison is still here and I … I … I think about love, my chest would hurt.”

Guo Fu has been listening the whole time, and now she could not restrain herself. She suddenly quipped, “Brother Yang is thinking about Sister-in-law, not you!”

“Fu Er! Shut up!” her mother rebuked harshly.

Hearing her, Wushuang’s face was flushed with anger, but Guo Fu wasn’t finished yet, she continued, “Sixteen years from now, Sister-in-law will come back. Don’t you have any weird ideas.”

“Zheng!” Wushuang unsheathed her willow-leaf-saber. “Wicked woman!” she snapped, pointing her saber to Guo Fu, “If it was not for you, Brother Yang didn’t have to be separated from Sister-in-law for sixteen years. Do you have the slightest idea how bad you have hurt Brother Yang?”

Guo Fu was about to countered when Huang Rong rebuked her with anger in her voice, “Fu Er! If you don’t behave, go to the Peach Blossom Island. I forbid you to comeback to Xiang Yang.”

The young miss did not dare to open her mouth, but she still looked at Wushuang menacingly.

Yang Guo heaved a sigh and sorrowfully said, “It was an accident. Miss Guo did not intentionally want to hurt Long Er. Sister Lu, I forbid you to pry up this incident anymore.”

Hearing Yang Guo used the term “Sister Lu” to call her, while he called Guo Fu “Miss Guo”, Wushuang was very pleased and sheathed her saber.

“Mr. Yang had taken the (severed intestine grass) and did not experience anything bad. That proved the grass is indeed the antidote for the Passionless Flower’s poison,” Yi Deng said. “In my opinion, however, I think it will be better for Mr. Yang not to take the grass continually. Wait another seven days or so, and then you can have the second dose.”

“Thank you for your priceless advice, Reverend.” Yang Guo said, bowing.

It was almost dawn. Huang Rong said, “We have left Xiang Yang for a while, and have not heard any news on the war situation. My mind keeps wandering back over there, so I think we’d better go back even today. Guo Er, I think you’d better come along, your Uncle Guo was really worried about you.”

“Let me stay here and … and wait for Long Er,” he answered.

“You want to wait here sixteen years?” Guo Fu asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know. I just feel like there is nowhere better,” he answered.

“Very well then,” decided Huang Rong, “It’s OK if you want to wait here ten days to half a month. But if Sister Long does not come back yet, you’d better come to Xiang Yang.”

Everybody bade Yang Guo farewell. Only Wushuang seemed reluctant to leave. Of course Guo Fu saw that, and she could not help to make a comment, “Hey, Lu Wushuang, do you want to stay here to accompany Brother Yang?”

Miss Lu blushed. “None of your business!” she snapped.

Suddenly Cheng Ying said, “Brother Yang has not fully recovered yet. Let Cousin and I stay here to accompany him for a few days.”

Huang Rong knew, as sweet and gentle as she looked, in reality her youngest martial sister had a very strong character. If her own daughter mess things up, she would not keep her peace. Therefore, she immediately looked sternly at Guo Fu’s, signaling her not to say another word. “Guo Er, I think it is a great idea to have Martial Sister taking care of you,” she said, “However, as soon as you are cured, I do hope you will come to Xiang Yang, where my husband and I will wait for the three of you.”

Yang Guo and the girls sent them off with mixed emotion in their hearts. Huang Rong and the others slowly fading away from their sight; disappeared among the trees. In the mean time, the fire that had been raging all night long had slowly died away.

“Sisters,” said Yang Guo suddenly, “I would like to suggest something. I do hope you won’t get offended.”

“Who has ever been offended by you?” Wushuang asked.

Yang Guo smiled sadly, his voice trembling, “We have known each other for some time now; we love each other, we have even faced danger together. Yang Guo has always lived alone, with neither brothers nor sisters. My heart’s desire is that we become sworn brother and sisters. What do you think?”

Cheng Ying was touched. She was sensitive and knew exactly what Yang Guo was thinking. She knew Yang Guo loved Xiao Long Nuu with all his heart. He had made that suggestion because he had to wait sixteen years, and because they would have to live together for several days. He wanted to avoid anything that could cause embarrassment or would make them uncomfortable. Wushuang put her head down, tears flowing from her eyes. “I would have never dreamed of being your sworn sister,” she said softly. “We will be proud and honored to have a big brother like you.”

Having said that she walked toward a Passionless Flower nearby and took three strands of (severed intestine grass). “Others become sworn brothers/sisters with josh sticks, here we use grass instead.” She tried to make a joke and sound cheerful, but toward the end, her voice was hoarse. Before Yang Guo could respond, she immediately kneeled down on the ground. Yang Guo and Cheng Ying quickly kneeled down in either sides of Miss Lu, and just like the regular custom of being sworn brothers/sisters, they kowtowed eight times, and then bowing to each other in respect.

“Second Sister, Third Sister, what I hate most in this world is the Passionless Flower,” Yang Guo said, “If that flower ever spread outside this valley, it will be a real disaster to mankind. Therefore, let us make an oath to completely wipe out Passionless Flower from the face of the earth. What do you think?”

“Your desire Big Brother, is a very noble one,” said Cheng Ying. “I am sure the Goddess of Mercy will bless you that you will meet Sister-in-law much earlier.”

Hearing his sister's words, Yang Guo’s spirit rose. Immediately they went to the building complex ruins, trying to find some tools like machete or axe to cut down the poisonous flowers. They had to work very slowly. Not only there were lots of trees to cut, but if not careful, they would get pricked by the thorns. They finished cutting the tree after toiling for six whole days. Then they walked around the whole valley, making sure not a single tree was spared. It was because of their hard work that the world was free from the Passionless Flowers.

The next day, Wushuang took some more (severed intestine grass), went to her brother and said, “Big Brother, it’s time for you to take another dose of the grass.”

After his first experience, Yang Guo was not hesitant. He immediately sat down on the ground, exerted his internal energy to protect his heart and liver, and quickly ate the grass. This time the pain was not so severe. After about an hour or so he threw up some blood and the pain lessened almost immediately.

He stood up, stretched out his arms and legs, and saw his sisters’ joyful countenance. “I am so lucky to have two very loving sworn sisters as they are,” he said to himself. “One was more than enough, now I have two. How can I repay their kindness?” He looked down, thinking hard. Then he thought, “Second Sister has had an excellent Master, and I am sure someday she will be an excellent martial artist. Not so with Third Sister.”

Having had that thought, he said to Wushuang, “Third Sister, your master and mine were martial sisters. That makes us people of the same sect. The highest level of Ancient Tomb Sect’s martial arts was written in the Jade Maiden Manual. Unfortunately, that manual was taken by Li Mochou and was destroyed in the fire. Fortunately, I still remember every detail of it. While we have the opportunity, I’d like to teach you one or two arts from our sect. What do you say?”

Wushuang was delighted, “Thank you Big Brother,” she said. “Next time Guo Fu and I meet, she will not dare to pick a fight with me.”

Yang Guo smiled and immediately taught the theory of Jade Maiden Manual to his sister, beginning from the elementary to the advance. “You have to memorize the theory first, and later on ask Second Sister’s help when it comes to train,” explained the big brother. “This quiet Passionless Valley is very suitable to learn martial arts.”

For a few days Wushuang used all her waking moments to memorize the theory. Since her background was also from the Ancient Tomb Sect, she did not find any difficulty understanding the elementary lessons. Very soon however, she arrived to the more difficult part of the lesson and started to get some trouble understanding the theory. Yang Guo advised her to just memorize the theory blindly; she would eventually understand the whole lesson. So Wushuang spent almost the whole month to memorize the entire Jade Maiden Manual.

One morning, as usual Cheng Ying and Wushuang prepared their breakfast, and then waited for Yang Guo to come. After waiting for quite a while, however, Yang Guo did not come. They went to their big brother’s cave, only to find some characters written on the ground at the cave’s entrance. It said, “To part for a while, to be together forever. Brotherly love shines like the sun and the moon.”

Both girls were shocked.

“He … finally he left us,” Wushuang said, running toward a hill and looked around. Cheng Ying followed her not too far behind. All they could see were clouds on the mountain peaks. Miss Lu’s heart was broken. With uneven voice she asked, “Second Sister … where … where did he go? Can we … can we see him again?”

“Third Sister,” her older sister replied, “Do you see those clouds? They gathered together, then were blown away by the wind, to be gathered again somewhere else. We are just like those clouds. Now we gather, then we part. Why is your heart troubled?” Even though her mouth said those words, her heart was also full of sorrows.

Where did Yang Guo go?

After teaching the Jade Maiden Manual to Wushuang and did not hear anything new about his wife, he felt it was useless to stay at the Passionless Valley much longer. After leaving the letter on the ground, he immediately left. Initially he thought he would go back to Mount Zhong Nan, but then decided against it, since he was afraid the memory of his wife would add to his grief. Therefore, he wandered around without any specific place to go.

After idly wandering for a few months, he arrived near the city of Xiang Yang. Along the way he saw cities and towns – which were destroyed by the war – slowly rebuild themselves. New houses and huts appeared here and there. True, he did not see as many people as he remembered, but it showed that the Mongolians troop have left the area for quite some time. The people were slowly returning to their hometowns. He really wanted to see Guo Jing and Huang Rong in Xiang Yang, but changed his mind at the last minute since he did not want to see Guo Fu.

While contemplating where he should go, he suddenly remembered the Divine Condor. “Why don’t I visit Brother Condor?” he thought, and turned toward the valley where the Condor lived.

Nearing the place where the Sword Demon Dugu Seeking-A-Loss, he whistled loudly several times. Not too long came the answer from above, a couple of chirps and then he heard a tiger roared. He looked up and saw the Condor underneath a big tree, with a leopard held tight in his claws. Seeing Yang Guo, the Condor immediately released the leopard – which then ran away and disappeared among the high grass.

Yang Guo hugged the Condor’s neck, and with gladness both a man and a bird walked together to Dugu Seeking-A-Loss’ cave. Yang Guo remembered that he left the Condor only a few months earlier. In these few months however, he had experienced a lot of things. Many times he almost lost his life. Too bad the Condor did not speak like humans do that Yang Guo could not pour out his heart to the magnificent bird.

They spend the next few days frolicking together. One particular morning he went alone to the cliff where Dugu Seeking-A-Loss buried his swords.

As we know, Yang Guo threw away his heavy sword in the Passionless Valley and did not pick it back. He re-read the letters he found underneath the swords. He picked the rotten wooden sword and read this letter: (Lanny Lin translation) “After the age of forty, I no longer relied on weaponry. Even bushes, trees, bamboo sticks or rocks call all be my swords. From then on, I achieved great progress and slowly reached the realm of overcoming the sword without a sword.” (end Lanny Lin translation)

Having read this he thought, “With the heavy sword I was already invincible. But this Dugu Senior said that wooden sword prevailed over the heavy sword, and in the end, overcoming the sword without a sword. Long Er has promised sixteen years. I will spend all these years training my swordsmanship. I want to reach the level where wooden sword prevailed over the heavy sword, and in the end, overcoming the sword without a sword.”

He took a piece of wood and made a wooden sword. “The heavy sword was almost 70 catties (one hundred and ten to one hundred and thirty pounds – Lanny Lin), while the wooden sword is not only light, but brittle as well,” he thought. “Therefore, if the wooden sword is to prevail over the heavy sword, there are two things I have to possess: first - speed, second - strong internal energy.”

Since that day he trained his sword technique and internal energy everyday. Every time it rained, he went to the river to practice. Summer came, and summer went. Next autumn came, and autumn went. After autumn came winter. Xiao Long Nuu had been gone for almost a year. He felt that in that one year not only his internal energy got stronger, but his swordsmanship also improved tremendously.
One winter day he was sitting around, feeling self-pity. Suddenly he saw the snow was falling slowly in the air, soft like goose down. The Condor was excited; it created a loud noise and ran toward a clearing in front of the cave. It then flapped its wings, forcing the snow to scattered.

Yang Guo’s heart was stirred. “It hasn’t been raining for a while, I think I’d practice sword technique in the snow,” he thought. Meanwhile the Condor’s wings flapped harder, that even though the snow was falling heavily, not a single flake touched its body.

The snow was falling for three whole days. Everyday Yang Guo and the Condor played and practiced sword technique under the snow. Toward noon on the third day, the snow was falling even heavier than ever. While he was swinging his sword with all his strength, the Condor unexpectedly swept his feet with its wing that he almost fell down. He quickly leaped back to elude further attack. He felt two snowflakes fell on his cheek. “Brother Condor had trained me on sword technique on that cliff. Because of that my swordsmanship had improved tremendously,” he thought. “It looks like Brother Condor wants to have another training session with me.” Having that thought he suddenly thrust his sword; but with a loud ‘crack’ his sword was broken as soon as it touched the Condor’s wing. The Condor stood still; making soft chirping like it was rebuking Yang Guo.

“The only way for me to beat your strength with a wooden sword, is by moving fast eluding your attack, then counter-attack whenever I have a chance,” Yang Guo said in his heart. Then he made another wooden sword and attacked the Condor. This time his sword broke after more than ten stances.

They kept training without ceasing. Yang Guo realized that the Condor was very serious and never attacked half-heartedly. He was very grateful and ashamed at the same time. “If I cannot master this wooden sword technique, Brother Condor’s effort will be in vain,” he thought, “besides, this is a very extraordinary destiny I cannot just let it pass.”

So it was, he practiced hard day and night, even in his dream. He always pondered his sword technique: how to fend off an attack, how to thrust the sword, and how to increase his energy. In his busyness he wasn’t burdened by his grief anymore. In the mean time, the Passionless Flower poison has been completely eradicated, which made his strength increased and his countenance shone like it used to.

The first anniversary of his separation with Xiao Long Nuu was just a few days away. “Brother Condor,” he said sadly, “I will have to go to the Passionless Valley and would like to bid you farewell.” He picked his wooden sword up and started to walk. The Condor followed. When they arrived at the crossroad, Yang Guo bowed respectfully and took the road heading north. Unexpectedly the Condor gripped his sleeve with its beak and pulled him to the south.

“Brother Condor,” he said, “I need to go north to tend some business. Let us part here.” But the Condor ignored him; it kept pulling him to the south.

Yang Guo was puzzled, but he complied. The Condor let his sleeve off its beak, but as soon as Yang Guo turned to the north, its beak gripped his sleeve again.

Yang Guo was bewildered. He couldn’t think of any reason why the Condor acted extraordinarily. “Brother Condor is an extraordinary creature. There must be some important reason behind his action,” he thought, “let me try following his bidding then.” He canceled his plan to go north and together with the Condor they head southeast.

After a while a thought came to Yang Guo’s mind, “A-ha! Is it possible that Brother Condor is taking me to the South Sea to find Long Er?” His spirit rose and he walked more briskly. But then some time later the Condor turned east and before the month is over, they have arrived on the shore of the Eastern Sea.

With his Condor Yang Guo stood on the seaside, looking at the seemingly boundless sea. In spite of his grief, he felt some kind of freedom.

After a while he heard some rumbling noise coming from afar. It sounded like thunder, coming his way one after another. Based on his experience when he lived at the Peach Blossom Island, he knew that it was the tide, which comes everyday at certain times - around noon and midnight. He looked up and sure enough, the sun was almost directly above his head.

The thunderous noise slowly coming toward the shore. It sounded like tens of thousands of horses came galloping, or more precisely, stampeding toward him. Not long afterward he saw a white line in the distance, coming fast, and in the next moment that line became massive waves rushing toward the shore. Nobody can say that Yang Guo was a coward, but at that time his face was pale.

As soon as the waves came near, he kicked sand, propelling his body backward. Out of the blue, while his body was still flying backward, he felt a very strong force pushing him back to the shore. He couldn’t help but fell right back into the coming waves. He was almost drown and drank a couple mouthful of salt water.

He knew his life was in danger. Fortunately he had practiced hard underneath the waterfall, that he did not lose his wits. Immediately he exerted his energy to his legs, made himself heavy, planted his feet on the ocean floor and stayed down under water. He quickly learned that while the water was moving fiercely on the surface, but it was not moving as fast under the surface. After a while he was able to compose himself and then he understood the Condor’s intention, “Turned out Brother Condor took me here to train me against the ocean waves.”

After standing still for a moment he jumped out of the water. Alas, at exactly the same moment another wave – as big as a hill – came down crashing on his head. Quickly he exerted his energy one more time and fend off the force with his right shoulder. Again, he fell down underwater.

This happened several times. By the time the tide receded he was so exhausted that his face was sheet-white. But he was resilient. That very same night he went back wielding his wooden sword, training under the midnight tide.

Just as at the noon time, massive waves came crashing down on him from every direction. Every time he felt he couldn’t take it anymore, he dived to the bottom of the ocean.

He trained twice a day and before another month passed, he already felt his energy was a lot stronger. Whenever he practiced his sword techniques on land, his wooden sword roared like the waves. And whenever he practiced with the Condor, it would not dare to parry his sword with its wings. One day they were practicing and in his enthusiasm Yang Guo hacked the Condor with all his might. The Condor dodged his attack; as a result his wooden struck a tree nearby. Both the tree trunk and his sword were broken. Yang Guo told himself, “This wooden sword was a lot weaker than the tree trunk. If I could break the trunk without breaking my wooden sword, only then I would approach Master Dugu’s skill.”

Spring came and went, summer and autumn too. Time flew fast. Everyday, noon and midnight, rain or shine, Yang Guo trained under the tidal waves. The longer he trained, the louder his wooden sword roared, until he reached a level where the roar was so loud it hurt his own ears. Several months later, the roar was getting softer and softer, until it was so quiet that he could not hear anything. Yet the next several months came and went, the roar was getting louder again. From loud, it became quiet; from quiet, it became loud. After this cycle was repeated seven times, his energy had reached a level where he could make his sword loud or quiet at will. To reach this level, Yang Guo had spent six full years. Now every time the waves came crashing, he was able to force them back. In their training, the Condor was never able to hold Yang Guo for more than three stances.

One day, after working hard, he stood on the sea shore looking blankly toward the sea. He considered Sword Demon, Dugu Seeking-A-Loss’ life story. “By possessing this tremendous strength, who can be my equal?” he thought, “No wonder Senior Dugu became so lonely that eventually he retreated and buried his swords in that remote mountain area. Ah! I have no doubt without Brother Condor’s assistance I wouldn’t be able to reach this level. I call him ‘Brother Condor’ but in reality he was my trainer/teacher. I don’t know how old is he, and come to think about it, I should have called him ‘grand master’.”

All the time he was training, Yang Guo never missed any opportunity to ask any sailors who were just landed from their voyages, whether they knew a Buddhist Nun who lived on an island in the South Sea. After many years and uncountable sailors, he did not know any better. Nobody was able to give him even the slightest information that he needed. He gave up and decided to just wait sixteen years like his wife has promised.

On this no particular day a thought came flashing in his mind. He wielded his wooden sword on his waist, and together with the Condor they walked to the west, toward inland. Since that time they roamed the central plains, including the southern region (jiang-nan).


END OF CHAPTER 32