The other thread got too long so started new one. Said I'd post what I had done by the time school starts again. The whole of chapter 24
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.