Chapter 14 Defending against Custom and Tradition The banquet opened again at the Lu manor, wine and dishes

were once again prepared. Yang Guo has suffered a lifetime of wrongs, mistreatment and being looked down upon, today he has displayed himself and rid his anger, everyones eyes were wide open as he achieved great merit for the central plains wulin, he was extremely proud of himself inside. Xiao Long Nuu did not understand the ways of the world, though she didnt understand the reason for Yang Guos delight, she too was extremely happy. Huang Rong liked her very much, she held her hand as she asked short and long questions, wanting Xiao Long Nuu to sit next to her. Xiao Long Nuu saw that Yang Guo was sitting in between Guo Jing and Dian Cang Yu Yin, faraway from her, she quickly motioned her hand and said, Guo Er, sit next to me. But Yang Guo knew that girls and boys have their differences, at first when he saw her, he forgot about this and showed his true feelings, now in front of the glare of all these heroes, it would be improper to show this closeness again. When he heard her call out like this, he couldnt stop himself from going red and smile slightly but he didnt go over. Xiao Long Nuu called out again, Guo Er, why arent you coming? Yang Guo said, Im fine over here, uncle Guo is talking to me. Xiao Long Nuus elegant brows creased and said, I want you to sit next to me. When Yang Guo saw her angry expression, his heart shook, that slightly angry look made him feel if he were to die, he would die willingly. That day when he met Lu Wu Shuang, he used all his might to defend her against her enemies and protect her for thousands of miles because of the resemblance of the angry expression to Xiao Long Nuus; now the real person is here, how could he defy her? He immediately stood up and went over to her place. Huang Rong was slightly suspicious of the way the two acted, she ordered for another seat and asked Yang Guo, Guo Er, who taught you your kung fu? Yang Guo pointed to Xiao Long Nuu and said, She is my master. Auntie Guo, why dont you believe me? Huang Rong knew that he was crafty and sly, she saw that Xiao Long Nuu was innocent and nave, she thought that she wouldnt lie so she turned her head and asked her,

Sister, his kung fu was taught by you? Xiao Long Nuu was very proud and said, Yes, tell me, did I teach him well? Huang Rong now believed this and said, Extremely well! Sister, who is your master? Xiao Long Nuu said, My master has already died. As she said this, her eyes went red, she was feeling rather sad. Her master had taught her to curb her emotions but now her love for Yang Guo has surfaced, the emotions buried deeply within her heart also started to slowly show itself. Huang Rong asked, What is your masters name? Xiao Long Nuu shook her head and said, I dont know, master is master. Huang Rong thought that she didnt want to say, refusing to mention the matters involving their master and sects was common within the wulin community so she didnt ask further. In reality, her master was just Lin Chao Yings maid, she just had a name that Lin Chao Ying uses for her, even she herself did not know what her surname was. At this time, all the heroes all gave a toast towards Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu, celebrating the fact that they defeated such a strong opponent as Jin Lun Fa Wang. Because Guo Fu was always by her parents side, she always had the respect of others, right now she was being overshadowed, she couldnt stop from feeling depressed, apart from the Wu brothers who revered her by her side, no one took any notice of her. She felt annoyed, she said, Big brother Wu, little Brother Wu, lets go outside and play instead of drinking wine. Wu Dun Ru and Wu Xiu Wen both agreed. The three of them stood up and was about to leave the hall when Guo Jing suddenly called out, Fu Er, come over here. She turned her head and saw that her father had changed places and was now sitting at the same table as her mother, smiling and signalling her over so she went over and called out, Father, mother! and leant on Huang Rong. Guo Jing smiled and said to Huang Rong, At first you were worried about Guo Ers character and was afraid that his martial arts werent up to scratch, you cant say anything now, can you? He has achieved a great merit for the heroes of wulin, without saying that he hasnt done anything wrong, even if he had, it cannot compare to what he has done today. Huang Rong nodded, she smiled and said, It was my mistake, Guo Ers character and martial arts both are good, I am very pleased as well. Guo Jing heard that his wife has now agreed about their daughters marriage and was delighted, he said to Xiao Long Nuu, Miss Long, your disciples father and I are sworn brothers. The Yangs and Guos have a great relationship for generations, I have a daughter, her beauty and martial arts are both passable He has always been straight forward,

whatever in his heart will be said. Huang Rong interrupted, she smiled and said, Ai ya, who praises their own child like that, youre not scared of making sister Long laugh. Guo Jing laughed and followed on, I wish to betroth my daughter to your disciple. Both his parents have passed away, the responsibility of making the decision is now passed onto miss Long. I want to take the opportunity with all these heroes here, another celebration on top of the last one, lets ask two heroes of a venerable age and eminent virtue to be the matchmakers, and arrange the marriage, how about that? Marriage is decided by the orders of the parents and the words of the matchmakers, the boy and girl doesnt actually have a say, this is why years ago there was a matter of an arranged marriage decided by Guo Jings father Guo Xiao Tian and Yang Guos grandfather Yang Tie Xin for their children. When Guo Jing said this, he laughed out loud and looked at Yang Guo and his daughter, thinking that Xiao Long Nuu will definitely agree to this. Guo Fu was embarrassed long ago, her face was red and she hid in her mothers arms, she felt this was inappropriate but she didnt dare to say anything. Xiao Long Nuus face changed slightly and before she replied, Yang Guo stood up and gave a prolonged bow to Guo Jing and Huang Rong, he said, The gratitude that I have for uncle Guos and auntie Guos love and care would be impossible to be repaid. But nephew is from an ordinary family, my character is lowly, I am not worthy for your precious daughter. Guo Jing had originally thought that him and his wife are famous throughout the world, his daughters character, beauty and kung fu are first class, now that hes personally saying that he wants to betroth her to him, he would definitely be ecstatic, how could he have known that he would have rejected him, he couldnt stop himself from being startled but then had another thought, it must be because he was young, it was unexpected and he wanted to postpone this, Guo Jing gave a laugh and said, Guo Er, the two of us arent exactly strangers, this matter involves your future, there is no need to be embarrassed. Yang Guo gave another deep bow to him and said, If uncle Guo has any other requests, nephew here will oblige without delay. But I dare not comply to this request of marriage.

Guo Jing saw that his face was serious and he was surprised, he looked at his wife in hope that she would explain this. Huang Rong secretly blamed Guo Jing for being so straightforward, without checking with them beforehand, he openly raised this matter in front of all these people, making a big faux pas, she saw that the way Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo treated each other were like a couple in love, but they said they were master and disciple, could it be that the two acts in a manner contrary to the norm and have actually intermixed? This was something that was extremely hard to believe, she thought that although Yang Guo may not be a man of honour, he would not do such a thing as this. Songs respect tradition the most, the respect between master and disciple were like that of a monarch and his minister, a father and son, they can never intermix. Though Huang Rong suspected this, this matter was such a serious matter that she didnt dare to believe it so she asked Yang Guo, Guo Er, miss Long really is your master? Yang Guo said, Yes! Huang Rong asked again, Youve kowtowed and gone through the ceremony of entering a masters tutelage? Yang Guo said, Yes. His mouth was replying to Huang Rong but his eyes were fixed on Xiao Long Nuu, the face filled with joy, tenderness, love and affection, without mentioning how clever and wise Huang Rong was, if it was someone ordinary, they too can tell that the twos relationship were not a normal master and disciple relationship. Guo Jing did not understand what Huang Rong was doing, thinking, He has already said that miss Long is his master, their kung fu are from the same school, whats untrue about that? I was talking about our daughters marriage, why did Rong Er ask them whether they were master and disciple again? Ah, he first entered Quan Zhen sect and then entered another sect later on, though it is not according to the rules of wulin, yet its not that difficult a thing to clear up. Huang Rong was secretly alarmed at Yang Guos and Xiao Long Nuus expression, she signalled with her eyes towards her husband and said, Fu Er is still young, why is there a need to rush things? Today the heroes of the world are amassed here, its more important to discuss how to protect the country. Lets put aside our personal matters. Guo Jing thought this was correct so he quickly said, Yes, yes. I almost put my personal affairs over public matters. Miss Long, well carry on discussing Guo Ers and my daughters marriage at a later date. Xiao Long Nuu shook her head and said, I want to be Guo Ers wife myself, he wont marry your daughter. Those two sentences were crisp and clear, hundreds of people in the hall heard this. Guo Jing was startled, he stood up and didnt believe his

ears, but then he saw her holding Yang Guos hand, looking affectionate towards him, he had to believe it, he stuttered, Hes hes your disc disc disciple, could it be that hes not? Xiao Long Nuu had lived in the ancient tomb for a long time, she was not exposed to the sunlight, because of this there were no traces of redness in her cheeks, her skin permanently white but right now her heart was filled with joy and delight, her face looked tender and enchanting, like when a flower first blooms, she smiled and said, Yes! I taught him kung fu before but now hes kung fu is as strong as mine. He loves me in his heart and I love him. Before As she reached this point she lowered her voice, though she was very innocent, the embarrassment and shyness of girls began to show, she said gently, Before I thought that he didnt love me, he didnt want me to be his wife, my my heart was in unbearable pain, thinking death would be better. But today, I know that he really loves me, I I Hundreds of people in the hall was silent, listening to her revealing her feelings. Even if a girl is filled with love, how could she tell it all in public? And how could she tell it to Guo Jing who had nothing to do with it? But she does not know anything about customs, tradition and conduct to others, she just felt that these words were needed to be said and immediately came up with them. Yang Guo was extremely moved by her words of love but he looked at the crowd, some were startled and surprised, some were awkward and some did not approve, he thought that Xiao Long Nuu was too ignorant, she shouldnt have said this at this place, he pulled her hand and stood up, he softly said, Gu Gu, lets leave! Xiao Long Nuu said, Yes! The two of them headed towards the exit shoulder to shoulder, though the hall was filled with people, in Xiao Long Nuu eyes there was only Yang Guo. Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other startled, the couple has been through countless strange events, endured many dangers, but they could never have predicted what was happening right now, for the time being, they didnt know what to do. Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo were about to leave the hall when Huang Rong called out, Miss Long, youre the Chancellor of wulin, everyone is under your command, you need to think this over. Xiao Long Nuu turned her head and showed a smile, she said, I dont know how to be whatever Chancellor, sister if you like it, then you take the position. Huang Rong said, No, if you want to elect someone else, then you ought to elect senior Chief Hong. The Chancellor of wulin is the most revered position in the view of martial artists, but Xiao Long Nuu

couldnt care less and just replied, Just do whatever you want, I dont understand it anyway. She pulled Yang Guos hand and headed for the exit again. Suddenly there was a gust of wind, the candlelight swayed, a person darted out, the person was dressed in a Taoist gown, a long sword was held out, it was the Quan Zhen Taoist Zhao Zhi Jing. He blocked the exit with his sword and said loudly, Yang Guo, you disobeyed your master and disrespected your ancestor, and today you have done such a monstrous thing, how can you still have the nerve to stand on this earth? As long as Zhao has one breath in him, I will not allow you. Yang Guo did not want to argue with this person in front of everyone, he deepened his voice and said, Move! Zhao Zhi Jing said, Apprentice brother Yin, come over, you have a say as well, that night on mount Zhong Nan we saw with our eyes two people naked, whats all that about? Yin Zhi Ping stood up shakily, his left arm raised. People could see that the last two fingers on his hand were cut in half, though they didnt know the intricacies of the situation, but judging from the way his body froze and the strange expression on his face, they knew that there must be something else to this. That night, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu was practising the [Jade Heart Manual] in the flower thicket when Zhao and Yin saw them. Yang Guo had forced Zhao Zhi Jing to take up a venomous oath, he couldnt tell this matter to a fifth person, how could he have known that today, Zhao Zhi Jing would belittle and accuse them without restraint in front of everyone, Yang Guo was extremely furious, he shouted, You swore an oath, you are forbidden to reveal this to a fifth person, why are you now why Zhao Zhi Jing laughed and said loudly, Correct, I swore I wont reveal this to a fifth person but in front of me there is a sixth, a seventh. Its not a fifth person when theres hundreds and thousands present. Naturally, I can tell everyone about this immoral thing that you two did. Zhao Zhi Jing had seen the two naked, in the middle of the night in a flower thicket, how could he think that they were practising advanced martial arts? He came out now due to anger, and he didnt care about if he was falsely accusing them or not. That night, Xiao Long Nuu was so angry that a pool of blood was thrown up, almost losing her life, now she heard him twisting his words and arguing his way, she couldnt stand it no more, she stretched out her hand and lightly grabbed his chest, she said, You better stop talking rubbish. She had long completed the [Jade Heart Manual], the palm came out of nowhere

without a trace, plus the fact that the [Jade Heart Manual] is the black star of Quan Zhens kung fu, Xiao Long Nuus hand had went through Zhao Zhi Jings urgent attempt to repel it, grabbing his chest. Zhao Zhi Jing blocked thin air and was startled, but the opponents palm just touched his chest briefly and then immediately departed, he didnt feel anything and didnt take it to heart, he chuckled and said, Why are you touching me? Im not Before he finished, hes eyes suddenly stared forward, a peng sound was heard as he fell onto the ground, he had suffered a severe injury. When Sun Bu Er and Hao Da Tong saw their martial nephew hurt, they dashed forward just to see his chi and blood had been forced upwards, his face was completely red as if he was drunk. Sun Bu Er chuckled and said, Fine, your Ancient Tomb sect really wants to start something with my Quan Zhen sect. She held out a long sword, about to start a fight with Xiao Long Nuu. Guo Jing urgently got out of his seat and stood between the two, he said, Were on the same side, stop this fighting. He said to Yang Guo, Guo Er, both sides are your master and elders. Advise them to return to their seats, and then we can slowly clear things up. Xiao Long Nuu had never thought that such a thing as not keeping to your words and breaking a promise existed, she was really troubled, she pulled Yang Guos hand with her brows creased, saying, Guo Er, lets leave, we wont see these people ever again! Yang Guo followed her lead and took two steps forward. Sun Bu Ers sword moved and she shouted, Youve hurt someone and now you want to leave? Guo Jing saw that both sides were about to fight, he said seriously, Guo Er, you must stop your feet, you must be a good person, dont destroy yourself and your name. I was the one who named you, do you know what the word Guo means? When Yang Guo heard this, his heart trembled, he suddenly remembered all the events when he was a child, thinking about all the sad and painful events hes been through, and then he thought, How come it was uncle Guo who named me? Guo Jing loved Yang Guo very much, it was unavoidable that he would want to plead and scold him deeply and severely, today he saw Yang Guo show himself in front of all these heroes, he was feeling delight and content when suddenly found out that Yang Guo had done something he should never have done, he heart was anxious and urgent, his tone was especially strict, he continued, Your deceased mother must have told you this before, your name is Guo, what is the words that accompanies it? Yang Guo remembered that his mother had told him this before, but then he was young, no one had used these words towards him, he himself almost forgot it. Yang Guo replied, Its Gai Zhi. Guo Jing said with a severe

tone, Correct, what does it mean? Yang Guo thought for a while and remembered the literature that Huang Rong had taught him when he was younger, he said, Uncle Guo is saying that if Ive have made mistakes then I must correct them. Guo Jings tone now became gentler, he said, Guo Er, people make mistakes, mistakes can be changed, this is the greatest advice, these are the words of the first virtuous men and sages. You disrespected your seniors, this is a big mistake, have a good think about it. Yang Guo said, If I was wrong, of course I would change. But he He pointed to Zhao Zhi Jing and said, He beat me, insult me, lied to me and hated me, how can he still be my master? Gu Gu and I are clean and innocent, the day can be our witness. I respect her, and love her, could it be thats wrong? He said this boldly, with justice on his side. Guo Jings intelligence and verbal ability couldnt compare with his, how could he argue against him? But he knew that his actions were very wrong yet he didnt know how to tell him clearly, he could only say, This this youre wrong Huang Rong walked forward slowly and softly said, Guo Er, uncle Guo is looking out for your well being, you must understand this. Yang Guo was moved by her soft and gentle words, he lowered his voice and said, I know that uncle Guo has always treated me extremely well. His eyes became red, he almost cried. Huang Rong said, Hes giving you sincere advice, dont take this the wrong way. Yang Guo said, I dont understand, what exactly have I done wrong? Huang Rongs face sunk and said, Do you really dont understand or are you deliberately stirring things? Yang Guo was angry in his heart, he thought, You have treated me well, I have paid you back well, what more do you want from me? He bit down on his lips and didnt reply. Huang Rong said, Fine, since you want me to tell you the truth, I wont go around in circles. Since miss Long is your master, she is your senior, you cannot be lovers. This rule was not unheard of by Yang Guo as was with Xiao Long Nuu, but he couldnt accept this, why couldnt Gu Gu be his wife because she taught him some kung fu? Why even uncle Guo doesnt believe that he and Gu Gu havent done anything immoral? When he thought about this, his anger erupted. He was already someone who wasnt afraid of neither heaven nor earth, now that hes being innocently blamed, he was even bolder and loudly said, What have I done that has hindered you people? Who have I hurt? Gu Gu has taught me kung fu but I still want her to be my wife. Even if you chop me up into a thousand pieces I still want her to be my wife. These words shocked and startled those who heard it. The Songs at that time adhere to the customs and traditions strictly, where on earth

have they heard such a fearless, wanton and rebellious logic? The person that Guo Jing respect the most is his master, when he heard this, his anger erupted and he dashed forward, stretching out his arm, grabbing his chest. Xiao Long Nuu was shocked and stretched out her hand to block this grab. Guo Jings martial arts were much stronger than Xiao Long Nuus, now he was furious he used all his strength, a lead and a wave and he flung her over ten feet away, he stretched out his arm and grabbed Yang Guos Celestial Charge pressure point, his left hand raised, he shouted, You animal, you dare to say such heresy? Yang Guos lost all his strength by this grab, but there wasnt a shred of fear in his heart, he said, Gu Gu loves me with all her heart, I treat her the same way. Uncle Guo, if you want to kill me then do it, but I will never change my mind. Guo Jing said, I treat you like my own son, I cannot allow you to do wrong and not changing. Yang Guo said proudly and boldly, I havent done anything wrong! I havent done anything bad! I havent harmed anyone! Those words were like the sounds of metal clanging. Everyones heart shook when they heard this, his words really did have some reason in them, if those two master and disciple didnt say anything, and got married on some remote island or deserted location, no one would know about it, it would not affect anyone. But publicly announcing such a wrong really contradicts the mentality of people of this time, becoming the scum of wulin. Guo Jing raised his palm and mournfully said, Guo Er, my heart is in great pain, do you understand? I rather you die then let you do bad things, do you understand? As he reached this point, his voice choked. When Yang Guo heard him say this, he knew that if he didnt changed what he said, uncle Guo will kill him with one palm. Though he was crafty and sly at times, but nothing can compare with his stubbornness at this point, he said clearly, I know I havent done anything wrong, if you dont believe it then kill me. Guo Jing raised his palm, if the palm landed on head, what chance has he got of living? Everyone watched without making a sound, hundreds of eyes stared at his palm. Guo Jings palm stopped in midair for a second and looked at Yang Guo again, he was biting down on his lips, his brows wrinkled, it was picture of his father Yang Kang years ago, his heart ached and he gave a long sigh, he loosened his right hand and said, Have a deep think about

what youre doing. He turned around and went back to his place, he didnt give another glance at Yang Guo, his face was full of hurt and lamentation, he was extremely disheartened. Xiao Long Nuu signalled to him with his hand and said, Guo Er, these people are extremely unreasonable, lets go. She didnt have a clue that just now, Yang Guos life was hanging on a thread. Yang Guo thought that the word unreasonable was extremely apt, he stepped towards the exit, holding Xiao Long Nuus hand as they went out. Outside the manor, they lead the skinny horse along as they made their way. Everyone watched their backs as they left, a few were shocked, others despised them, some were regretful and a number of them were angry. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu walked shoulder to shoulder, it was deep into the night now, the two of them have finally reunited with each other, all the things that had happened today, the heated battle, the argument, there were all clearly forgotten. They felt that right now they were in heaven, all those days they have lived before was in wasted in vain, there is no need to endure the days that are to come. The two of them were linked to each other by thought; they didnt exchange a word as they walked on silently. The two arrived at a willow tree and sat down in the shade on the tree trunk. They gradually felt tired and fell into asleep. The skinny horse was grazing on grass faraway, making quite neighing noises. The sky was bright when they woke up, the two looked at each other and smiled. Yang Guo said, Gu Gu, where are we going? Xiao Long Nuu pondered for a while and said, Lets go back to the tomb. Ever since she left the tomb, she felt that although outside was bustling and flourishing, it wasnt as carefree and comfortable as the tomb. Yang Guo was thought deeply, If I could spent the rest of my life with Gu Gu in the tomb, I would have no other desires. Before, he longed for the outside world, hoping that she would let him leave the tomb but after going back outside, he longed for the quite life in the tomb. The two of them slowly started to head north. One still called the other Guo Er, the other called Gu Gu, the both felt that getting along and calling each other like this was the most natural feeling. By midday, the two started to talk about Jin Lun Fa Wangs martial arts, they both said that his martial arts were excellent, it would be extremely hard to defend against it. Xiao Long Nuu suddenly said, Guo Er, we havent completed the final stage of the [Jade Heart Manual], can you remember it? Yang Guo said, I can remember it but we spent a lot

of time pondering about this but still were unable to succeed, it looks like theres something wrong somewhere. Xiao Long Nuu said, Originally, I didnt understand it but last night when the Taoist nun took her precious sword out, it allowed me to remember something. Yang Guo recalled the stance that Sun Bu Er used last night and immediately understood, he called out, Ah yes, yes, it requires the kung fu of the Ancient Tomb to be used simultaneously with the kung fu of Quan Zhen, no wonder weve been going wrong. When Lin Chao Ying developed the [Jade Heart Manual] alone in the ancient tomb, though she wanted to defeat the techniques of the Quan Zhen sect, her love for Wong Chong Yang still had not been extinguished, when she devised the final stage, she imagined that one day she would be fighting shoulder to shoulder with her lover, because of this, this stage requires one person to use the techniques of the [Jade Heart Manual], the other Quan Zhen martial arts, mutually aiding each other, attacking together. That day, Lin Chao Ying was filled with thoughts of love and affection, she was wrapped up in them, all these feelings were placed into this stage. The pair of swords being horizontal and vertical is not the main aim, the most important aspect lies in fighting the enemy together hand in hand, but it wasnt appropriate to mark this matter of the heart down clearly on the ceiling. When Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo first practised, their love had yet to blossom, they had no way to understand what their ancestor grandma sought after, when they studied both of them practised the formulae of their own sect so of course they could not grasp the intricacies within. Both of them now understood, they both went and broke off a willow branch, and began to study the stances. Xiao Long Nuu slowly used the [Jade Maiden Sword], Yang Guo used the sword techniques of Quan Zhen. After many stances, they felt that it was difficult to use them together harmoniously. The two of them did not envisage that when Lin Chao Ying developed this particular swordplay, she was imagining herself fighting shoulder to shoulder with Wong Chong Yang against an enemy, every stance and move were designed to protect each other mutually, right now when Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo was studying it, they were treating each other as the enemy, thrusting and attacking each other, killing and chopping the opposition, not what was intended. In reality, Lin Chao Ying and Wong Chong Yang were first class fighters of the world at that time, there wasnt anyone that was a match for just one of them, this particular set of unity kung fu didnt have much use, it was just the unrestrained imagination of Lin Chao Yings, showing her hearts feelings. When she developed this swordplay her martial arts had already reached the pinnacle of martial arts, the stance, posture and power all pressing, tight and continuous, not allowing a hair to be

out of place. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu did not understand the workings within and so of course it would be difficult for them to achieve this final level. The two practised for a while but still felt that something was wrong. Xiao Long Nuu said, It could be that weve remembered it wrong, lets go back to the tomb and clarify things and then practise it again. Yang Guo was about to reply when suddenly the sounds of horse hoofs could be heard, a horse galloped past. The horse had red fur, the person on it was wearing purple, the person and horse galloped past like the wind, it was Huang Rong who was riding on the little red horse. Yang Guo didnt want to be troubled by their family so he discussed with Xiao Long Nuu about changing paths, following the small path instead so they wont bump into them again. Though Xiao Long Nuu was the master, about from martial arts, she didnt understand anything else, she had no opinion. That night the two lodged in a small inn. Yang Guo slept on the bed, Xiao Long Nuu hung a rope across the room and slept on the rope. The two have decided to marry each other but naturally they still followed the sleeping arrangements that they had in the tomb for years after meeting again, practising martial arts as they used to, when they thought about their loved one by their side, they both had limitless delight. By midday the next day, the two arrived at a large town. People were everywhere, horses came, carts went, it was a great atmosphere. Yang Guo took Xiao Long Nuu to a restaurant for something to eat, as soon as they went upstairs, he couldnt stop himself from being startled; he saw Huang Rong and Wu brothers at a table eating. Yang Guo thought that since theyve met, it wasnt inappropriate for him to pretend that he didnt see them so he greeted them and called out, Auntie Guo. Huang Rongs brows were wrinkled, her face looked anxious and worried, she asked, Have you seen my daughter? Yang Guo said, No. Isnt sister Fu with you? Before Huang Rong replied, the stairs rattled, a group of people came up. The first person was tall and big, it was Jin Lun Fa Wang. Yang Guo quickly turned around and didnt carry on speaking with Huang Rong, he quietly went over to Xiao Long Nuu and whispered, Turn your backs to them, dont look at them. But Jin Lun Fa Wangs eyes were very sharp, all the people upstairs entered had entered his eyes, he gave a chuckle and sat down at a table. Yang Guo was about to turn his head around when suddenly Huang Rong called out, Fu Er! He couldnt stop himself from turning his head, seeing Guo

Fu sitting at the same table as Jin Lun Fa Wang. Her eyes were staring at her mother but she didnt dare go over. After Jin Lun Fa Wang failed in his plan at the Lu manor, he was angry and couldnt accept what had happen, he was trying to formulate a plan to turn defeat into victory; also Huo Dou had fallen victim to the Jade Bee needles, the poison was showing its effect, he tried many methods to cure this poison but none of them were effective, he had to find a way to get the antidote and so they didnt go far, staying in the area around the Lu manor. It was Guo Fu who happened to meet danger, in the early morning, she took the red horse out for a ride, meeting this great enemy just at this time, who took her off the horse in one swipe. The little red horse was quick witted, it dashed back to the manor and hissed out in lamentation incessantly. Guo Jing and the others knew that Guo Fu had met danger, they were alarmed and immediately went out to look for her separately. Though Huang Rong was pregnant, she still took the Wu brothers to search for her, today they saw Yang Guo and his master but they didnt predict that Jin Lun Fa Wang was detaining Guo Fu, and they too arrived at this particular restaurant. When Huang Rong saw her daughter, she was happy but alarmed, seeing her in the hands of the enemy, after giving one call, she didnt say another word, holding a pair of chopsticks in her hand, waving about out on the table, trying to come up with a plan to save her daughter. Just as she was pondering, Jin Lun Fa Wang suddenly said, Chief Huang, is this your lovely daughter? Yesterday I saw her in your arms, relaxing charmingly in your arms, it was really interesting. Huang Rong gave a heng sound, not replying. Wu Xiu Wen stood up and shouted, And youre meant to be a leader of martial artists, you lost in the duel and you went and to bully someone young daughter, arent you ashamed? Jin Lun Fa Wang ignored his words and continued, Chief Huang, when we duelled yesterday, we were the clearly the winner yet you lot made up a lot of excuses and complications, that is not the action of a good man. First give me the antidote and then well set a date for a duel, well compete fairly and properly for the place of the Chancellor of wulin. Huang Rong gave another heng sound, not saying a word. Wu Xiu Wen said loudly, First release miss Guo, well deliver you the antidote immediately, therell still be time to discuss the matter of duelling again later on. Huang Rong glanced over at Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu thinking, The antidote is on them, you hastily promise

them the antidote without knowing whether or not theyll give it to us. Jin Lun Fa Wang said, Could it be that only you know how to use poisonous projectiles? You people used a poisonous needle to injure my disciple. I can also prick a few poisonous needles on your daughter. If you give me the antidote, then Ill cure here. When it comes to releasing her, Im afraid it wont be easy. Huang Rong saw that her daughter looked normal, it looks like that she wasnt hurt, but the love between a mother and daughter is deep, she couldnt stop herself from not knowing what to do, theres a saying; worry then panic, though she was matchless in terms of coming up with ideas and plans, right now she was at her wits end. She saw the waiter bringing dishes and wine to Jin Lun Fa Wangs table, Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others ate heartily, talking and laughing. Guo Fu sat there frozen, just staring at her mother, not picking up chopsticks. Huang Rong felt as if her heart was being cut open, she disturbed her internal chi and air, suddenly her lower abdomen ached. After Jin Lun Fa Wang finished eating and drinking, he stood up and said, Chief Huang, just follow us. Huang Rong was startled and understood, not only is he going to take her daughter but he wanted to take her away as well, right now everything was in place, she only had the Wu brothers besides her, they were not his match, she couldnt stop her face from completely changing. Jin Lun Fa Wang continued, Chief Huang, theres no need for you to be frightened, you are an eminent person of wulin, we will treat you with respect. Once a decision has been made about the position of Chancellor of wulin, we will immediately return you to the south. When he saw Huang Rong upstairs, he knew he had a great opportunity, all he had to do was capture her, the martial artists of the central plains will have no choice but to submit, this was a hundred times better than capturing Guo Fu, this really was a deal of a lifetime that has landed in his lap. Before, Huang Rong was worrying about her daughter and didnt think about this situation. The Wu brothers saw that their master wife was distressed, they knew they werent a match but they couldnt do nothing, a pair of long swords was drawn out, protecting their master wife. Huang Rong whispered, Quickly jump out of the window, go and find your master for help. The Wu brothers glanced at her and them glanced at Guo Fu and then hurried to the window. Huang Rong secretly cursed, Idiot, how can you allow such a delay? Indeed, just a little delay and it was too late. Jin Lun Fa Wangs long arms came searching out, each arm grabbing the back of each brother, like an eagle catching two little chicks. The Wu brothers urgently pierced their swords back, Jin Lun Fa Wang didnt move out of the way,

his arms swung a little, Wu Xiu Rus sword was now heading towards his little brother, Wu Xiu Wens sword was heading towards his big brother. The two brothers were startled, they quickly released their grasp and flung their swords away, a dang lang sound was heard as the swords landed on the floor with the Wu brothers avoiding injury. Jin Lun Fa Wangs arms shook and flung the two over ten feet away and said, Just be obedient and follow me. He turned his head towards Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu and said, If you arent with chief Huang then leave at your convenience, dont hinder my plans again. Your kung fu is excellent, take care and practise for another ten, twenty years, by then, you wont have a match under heaven. He wasnt actually praising them, he knew that although Huang Rong, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuus martial arts could not compare to his, if they fought together it would be difficult to handle them, although hell win, he may not be able to capture Huang Rong, because of this he deliberately tried to divide them, concentrating on the trunk and ignoring the branches. He didnt know that Huang Rong was pregnant and inconvenienced; he calculated that her extremely ingenious [Dog Beating Stick Technique] would make her a strong opponent. Xiao Long Nuu said, Guo Er, lets leave! That old monk is really powerful, we cant beat him. All that she hoped for was to return to the ancient tomb and spend the rest of her life with Yang Guo. She originally did not have care about the worlds blood affairs, when she saw Jin Lun Fa Wang she was afraid and so immediately said what she was feeling. Yang Guo agreed, he stood up and went to the entrance of the stairs, he thought that now theyre returning to the ancient tomb, most probably he wont ever see Huang Rong again, he couldnt stop himself from turning his head around giving and her another glance. He saw her face looked bleak, her left arm holding her lower abdomen, showing that she was secretly in pain, Yang Guo thought, Uncle and auntie Guo were rather meddlesome in not allowing me and Gu Gu to be together, but they did not have any ill intentions, today auntie Guo s in trouble, how can I just leave like this? But the enemy is too strong, me and Gu Gu fighting together wont be a match for that Tibetan monk, I cant save auntie Guo, why should I throw in mine and Gu Gus life? It would be better for me to go and tell uncle Guo and let him lead the rescue. Yang Guo took Xiao Long Nuus hand and raised his foot to walk down the stairs when he saw a Mongolian warrior going over to Huang Rong, coarsely saying, Quickly leave, why are you delaying? He stretched out his arm and grabbed her upper arm, treating her as a prisoner.

Huang Rong had been the Beggar Clans chief for over ten years, her position and status was respected by all in wulin, although she in a distressing situation today, how could she allow herself to be disgraced by this ruffian? She saw a pair of hairy hands reaching out towards her and immediately swept her sleeve, the sleeve covered his wrist, she flung out and a hu sound was heard as the fat body of the Mongolian warrior flew out of the window, landing in the street, barely alive. Huang Rong didnt want her hand to touch his wrist so she first covered his arm with his sleeve and then separated the sleeve throwing him away. At first when they spoke politely, the people in the restaurant didnt take much notice of them, when they suddenly saw a fight had broke out, the restaurant was in chaos. Jin Lun Fa Wang chuckled and said, Indeed Chief Huang has great kung fu. He copied the actions of the Mongolian warrior, stepping up to her and stretching out his hand to grab her arm. Huang Rong knew that he wanted to show off his martial arts, though he was using the same method, she could never do the same thing to him, she could only take a step back. Yang Guo had taken a few steps down the stairs when he saw a struggle suddenly arising with Huang Rong was about to suffer an insult, it stirred his heroic nature, he didnt care about the dangers to him, he flew over and picked up the sword that Wu Dun Ru dropped and used a stance of [The Green Dragon Exits the Sea], urgently thrusting towards Jin Lun Fa Wangs back, he shouted, Chief Huang is carrying an illness, youre taking this opportunity to make your move, arent you ashamed? Jin Lun Fa Wang heard the noise of a blade cutting through air behind him, he didnt turn around and turned his finger towards the dull side of the blade, striking it. A dang sound was heard, Yang Guos arm trembled with numbness as the sword tip went downwards. Yang Guo quickly flew out of the way. Jin Lun Fa Wang turned around and said, Young man, quickly leave! Youre young yet your martial arts are not weak, in the future you will be able to far exceed me but you are not a match for me now, why come forward now to die under my hands? Those sentences both praised and warned Yang Guo. Jin Lun Fa Wang hated the two of them for knocking his golden wheel out of the air and interfering with this plans to take the position of the Chancellor of wulin. Right now, he weighed up what was more important; capturing Huang Rong was the number one objective, he didnt want to be distracted by other people

and hoped that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu would leave this dispute, therell still be time for him to vent his anger on the two juniors later on. He calls himself a hero of Tibet, not only is his martial arts frightening, his scheming ability was rather good. Those words were neither haughty nor humble, yet it wasnt deceiving as well, Yang Guo was young and when he heard that in the future his martial arts would be much better than Jin Lun Fa Wang, he was secretly pleased, he laughed and said, Theres no need to be polite big monk, its not easy to reach a level as good as yours. That Chief Huang raised me, dont give any trouble. If she didnt have an illness on her, your martial arts may not be able to defeat hers, if you dont believe it, why dont you wait until she recovers and then have a duel with her? He knew that Jin Lun Fa Wang thought very highly of his martial arts, goading him like this might actually change his mind and let Huang Rong go. How would he know that at first Jin Lun Fa Wang was just worried about Huang Rong, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu joining up together to fight him, that was why he was polite towards Yang Guo, when he heard these words he glanced at Huang Rongs face, indeed her faced did looked distressed, her illness was not light, he thought that why should he be worried about the threat of Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu? He then gave a chuckle and went over to the stairs, he said, You stay as well! Xiao Long Nuu stood on the stairs with Jin Lun Fa Wang in between her and Yang Guo, she didnt like this and said, Get out of the way monk, let him down. Jin Lun Fa Wangs brows creased, he sent a stance of [Opening the Tablet with a Single Palm], his natural strength was already high, attacking from above made this force even stronger. How could Xiao Long Nuu dare to receive this stance head on? She was longing for Yang Guo at the top of the stairs, she didnt leap backwards; her legs lightly lifted, she used amazing lightness kung fu to pass the opponents body to reach Yang Guo, standing shoulder to shoulder next to him. When she was passing Jin Lun Fa Wangs side, he stuck out his elbow but it missed, he was in awe of her the swiftness and agility of her movements. Yang Guo picked up Wu Xiu Wens sword and passed it into her hand, he said, Gu Gu, that monk is so rude, lets give him a beating. A qiang lang sound was heard as Jin Lun Fa Wang took out a wheel from his gown, this wheel was the same size as his golden wheel but

the wheel was dark green; it was made out of iron. This wheel also had the Tibetan scriptures marked on it. He has a total of five wheels; golden, silver, bronze, iron and lead, when he meets a strong enemy he really could send out the five wheels at once, but he has always used the golden wheel only, with it he has defeated countless strong enemies and because of this he received the nickname of Jin Lun Fa Wang (King Of the Golden Wheel/Golden Wheel Monk, whichever you guys prefer). He has never used his other four wheels before but really, according to martial arts level he has reached, it really should be Wu Lun Fa Wang (King of the Five Wheels/The Five Wheeled Monk). In the Lu manor, his golden wheel was taken out of the air by Yang Guo using the golden rod, now he took out his iron wheel and said, Chief Huang, are you joining them as well? Though he saw that Huang Rongs looked ill, he was still worried about her martial arts, he called her chief Huang to remind her of her status as the chief of a clan, joining up with others to fight one person would lower herself. Yang Guo called out, Chief Huang is going home now, she hasnt any time for you. He turned around to Huang Rong and said, Auntie Guo, take sister Fu and go. He had made his decision, though he and Xiao Long Nuu would not be able to beat the enemy, they could still force themselves to last a while, when it comes to escaping, they would probably still be able to escape, luckily they werent fighting for victory but trying to escape from the devils grasp, so what if they had to run away pathetically? He raised his sword and thrust towards Jin Lun Fa Wang. Xiao Long Nuu saw that he was using the techniques of the [Jade Heart Manual] so she followed and attack from the side, she hadnt given any thought about this, when she saw Yang Guo attacking the monk, she too started to fight him to aid Yang Guo. Jin Lun Fa Wang used his wheel to block the two swords, he didnt like how cluttered the restaurant was, it hindered his movements, on one face he was fighting using his wheel, on the other he kicked away the chairs and tables. Yang Guo was thinking, If we meet you head on, well definitely lose, only by obstructing you would we last a little longer. He saw that Jin Lun Fa Wang was kicking away the tables and chairs, he did the opposite and pushed the tables and chairs in between them. His and Xiao Long Nuus lightness kung fu was superb, they darted around, not fighting the enemy properly, plus they would suddenly throw a jug of wine over, suddenly tip the dishes over causing the restaurant to be covered in wine and juices from the dishes.

Huang Rong took this opportunity to snatch Guo Fu back. After Da Er Ba fell under Yang Guos [Soul Altering Spell], he was out of it, sometimes he would be awake sometimes in a daze, Huo Dou was seriously injured with the poison, the rest of the Mongolian warriors werent very skilful, how could they fend off Huang Rong? Yang Guo called out, Auntie Guo, quickly leave! But Huang Rong saw that the stances of Jin Lun Fa Wang were lethal, even if Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu used all their strength it would be difficult for them to defend against the attacks, right now there were able to fend him off by fighting like this, but once Jin Lun Fa Wang finds a weakness and then make his lethal move, how would their lives remain intact? Huang Rong thought, Hes risking his life for me, how can I look out for myself only and leave? She stood at the entrance of the stairs, quietly watching the battle. But the Wu brothers kept on urging Huang Rong, Master wife, lets go, youre not feeling well, you need to take care. At first Huang Rong ignored them but when they kept on pressing her she said angrily, What use is it to learn martial arts if you dont behave with heroic values? What use have you got living in this world? The one named Yang is a hundred times better than you. Huh, you brothers better have a good think about this. The brothers felt embarrassed, their good intentions dismissed just like that by their master wife. Guo Fu picked up the broken leg of a table off the floor and called out, Brother Wus, lets all fight him. Huang Rong held her back and said, Going up there with you lowly kung fu, do you want to die? Guo Fu stuck her lips up, not believing her mother. She saw that the stances that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu werent anything special, sometimes their form looked mastery but the sword stances werent at all lethal. Every time Jin Lun Fa Wang went to attack, the chairs and tables would impede him while Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu moved around vibrantly, flying here and suddenly darting there, fighting as they floated around. He had a thought, he suddenly used force in his legs, non-stop sounds of ka la ka la were heard, the overturned tables and chairs were crushed and broken. He used the iron wheel in hands to attack while his legs used the [Thousand Kilogram Fall], the chairs and tables all broke wherever his legs were, after a while, the upstairs of the restaurant become a layer of broken wood. The three of them battled on the debris without any obstructions. Jin Lun Fa Wang moved around in large steps, the iron wheel flashing around, lang lang sounds were heard, his arms in motion as he attacked the two ferociously. There were now fewer tables and chairs in

the way, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu had to use real martial arts to defend against him. Jin Lun Fa Wang did not give an inch, on the fourth stance he smashed forward fiercely, a ferocious gust of wind rushed forward before the iron wheel even arrived. Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo both thrust forwards, the sword tips striking the wheel, they were able to block this wheel with their combined force but the two swords were bent under the force. The two use all the strength to repel the wheel away, Yang Guo then thrust forwards attacking the enemys upper body, Xiao Long Nuu cut across urgently across the enemys left leg. Jin Lun Fa Wang kicked out towards Xiao Long Nuu wrist, the iron wheel swerved and attacked Yang Guos neck. Yang Guo ducked and crouched to avoid the iron wheel. At that time, Jin Lun Fa Wang suddenly let go with his right hand, the iron wheel dropped downwards towards Yang Guos head, at the same time Jin Lun Fa Wang went to grab Xiao Long Nuus shoulders with his free hands. In just a flash of an eye, the two had fell into great danger. Huang Rong gave an ah cry and was about to go forward to save them when she saw Yang Guo swerved and flew against the ground, before he touched down, the sword went towards Jin Lun Fa Wangs back, that stance achieved two aims at once, attacking and defending at the same time, solving the crisis he was in, using the idea of surrounding Wei to save Zhao, and stopping Jin Lun Fa Wang from attacking Xiao Long Nuu. This stance was called [The Wild Goose Attacks from the Side], a technique from Quan Zhen swordplay. Jin Lun Fa Wang gave a yi call, before the iron wheel feel on the ground, the back of his right leg knocked against the wheel sending the wheel flying up with lang lang noises, smashing towards Yang Guos head. In the midst of danger, Yang Guo used a stance of Quan Zhen swordplay which was surprisingly effective, so he used another Quan Zhen stance, [The White Rainbow Travelling Across the Sky], the flat side of the sword struck the wheel. The sword was light, the wheel heavy, that attack originally had no use, but the strike was just at the right place, fulfilling the martial art theory of four liang moving a thousand jin, the iron wheel changed directions, flying towards Jin Lun Fa Wangs head. Guo Fu clapped her hands as she watched with delight. Jin Lun Fa Wang dared to release his weapon because he thought that his enemies had no way to receive the wheel, if the opponent used their weapon to strike out against the wheel, even if it was a heavy whip or sabre, once it meets the wheel the weapon will be taken out of the hand. How could he have predicted that Yang Guo had the ability to redirect the wheel? Jin Lun Fa Wang was furious, he caught the wheel and secretly used his spin technique and sent the wheel flying out again. This time his internal energy was more pressing, the wheel made no sounds because the iron wheel was spinning too

fast, the spheres in the wheel could not collide with each other in time. When Yang Guo struck the wheel for the first time, he used the techniques of the [Nine Yin Manual] unwittingly, this time when he stretched out his sword to strike the wheel, a dang noise was heard as the sword shook out of his hands. Jin Lun Fa Wang immediately used [The Falling Obelisk Hand], heavily smashing towards him. Yang Guo wasnt completely familiar with the techniques of the [Nine Yin Manual], this time the force he put behind this strike was incorrect. When Xiao Long Nuu saw Yang Guo was in danger, she swung her fine waist and urgently thrust her sword forward. The force of this stance had an assured lethalness, the appearance attractive and extremely graceful, she was actually using the martial arts of the final stage of the [Jade Heart Manual]. Huang Rong and her daughter watched with joy and both called out, Great! Jin Lun Fa Wang took back his palm and leapt away, he used his wheel to fend off the sword. Yang Guo took this opportunity to recover his sword. Yang Guo really did escape from the deaths clutches just now, but when one is at deaths door they are especially alert, he suddenly had a thought, When Gu Gu and I both use the [Jade Maiden Swordplay], it was difficult for us to defend against him. But when I used [Quan Zhen Swordplay] and Gu Gu the [Jade Maiden Swordplay] we actually managed to turn danger into safety. Could it be that the final stage of the [Jade Heart Manual] is used this way? He immediately called out, Gu Gu, [The Traces of Waves at Heavens Cliffs]! As he said this he slanted his sword and thrust forwards. Xiao Long Nuu didnt give it much thought and followed his instructions and used the [The Traces of Waves at Heavens Cliffs] stated in the manual, she waved her sword and chopped forwards. The names of the stances are the same but the stances were different, one of them was a lethal sword stance from the [Quan Zhen Swordplay], the other a dangerous stance from the [Jade Maiden Swordplay], when the two were used in unison, the power of it immediately increased to a frightening level. Jin Lun Fa Wang had no way to block both of the swords so he quickly moved back, two chi sounds were heard as the swords pierced his body. Luckily, he dodged appropriately, the two sword tips brushed past his body and just made some holes in his clothes but he broke out in a cold sweat due to shock. Jin Lun Fa Wang urgently moved back another two steps to avoid the tip of the swords. He then heard Yang Guo call out, [Flowers under the Moon]! An attack coming downwards, like an ice wheel hanging across the air, a light glimmering across the ground.

Xiao Long Nuus sword quivered, like a flower fluttering in the wind, cutting across to and fro, dazzling Jin Lun Fa Wangs eyes, he didnt where the attacks were coming from, he could only leap back to avoid it. Yang Guo called out, [Drinking Wine Purely]! The sword handle was raised, the sword tip aimed downwards, like raising a wine jug and pouring wine. Xiao Long Nuus sword was the opposite, the tip aiming upwards towards her cherry lips, like raising a cup of wine and drinking it. Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that the sword stances of the two was becoming stranger and stranger but they were matching each other, all the weaknesses of one was covered by the other, and the lethal aspects of the stances were increasing without end. He was becoming more and more frightened, thinking, The world is a large place, indeed there are many able people, how could I ever dream of such an unimaginable swordplay in Tibet? Ai! Im just a frog at the bottom of the well, I have seen little of the worlds heroes. He was disheartened and looked even more like a defeated man. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu had studied this final level of swordplay many times without rewards, right now they were in extreme danger, the both of them concerned for each other, both put the others life above theirs as they first rescued their lovers, fulfilling the main aim of this swordplay. Every stance of this swordplay displays an action done by two, perhaps [Stroking the Zither and Playing the Flute], or maybe [Sweeping Snow and Preparing Tea], or perhaps [Playing Chess under the Pine] or [Exchange of the Cranes by the Pond], all of them shows a male and female together, the gracefulness and exquisiteness of the sight really was indescribable. Lin Chao Ying lost in the game of love and spent the rest of her life in the tomb. She was versed in all, martial arts and literature, music and arts, in the end she incorporated all the things she has learnt in her life into this set of martial arts. When she was developing this set of martial arts, she was just trying to comfort herself, how would she know that ten of years later, a pair of lovers would use this set of martial arts to fight off a strong enemy, this was something this was that she could have never predicted. At first Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu did not completely understand the swordplays ingenuity but eventually as they kept on using it, their proficiency of the swordplay kept on getting better. If the male and female who use this set of swordplay arent lovers, they would be many different aspects of the swordplay they would not be able to comprehend; the two would not have a feeling of being linked with each other, if it were friends who were teaming up, they would be too polite, if it were a senior and junior it wouldnt be suitable to rely on each other; if it were a husband and wife, they will be able to use some of the

mastery aspects of this swordplay but the feeling of being drowned in love, the shyness, the feeling of being close yet far, the pains of gains and losses are all a level lower. Right now Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were deeply in love but they have yet to marry, their hearts were concerned about the hardships of the future, they were joyous and sad, sweet and bitter, this feeling of gradually being linked with each other was what Lin Chao Ying had intended to create when she developed the [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Sword]. Huang Rong watched by the side and she saw Xiao Long Nuus cheeks going red, looking shy, Yang Guo would glance over at her all the time, returning her affection, though they were fighting a strong enemy, they displayed their delights and joys, the appearance of being deeply in love. Huang Rong couldnt stop herself from being startled, at the same time she was infected by the two and she began to remember feelings and events when she fell in love with Guo Jing. The restaurant was filled with the noise of life and death battle, but in the midst of this, unexpectedly, there was the boundless feeling of love showing. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were now in tune with each other, it was now even harder for Jin Lun Fa Wang to defend, he regretted the fact that he had smashed up the chairs and tables earlier on, otherwise with the table and chairs as obstructions, the enemies attacks would not be as lethal and swift. He saw that if he continues, he would definitely lose his life. He retreated down the stairs, step by step. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu attacked from above and they saw that they were about to drive him away. Huang Rong called out, Rid the evil completely, Guo Er, dont let him go. She saw that the reason that why Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu could beat Jin Lun Fa Wang was because of this ingenious swordplay, it appeared that it was somewhat fortunate that they came up with this, if they spare Jin Lun Fa Wang today and let a person with such abilities in martial arts go back and study for a way to defeat this swordplay, when the need to take his life arises in the future, this task would be extremely difficult. Yang Guo agreed and launched a fatal attack, [Cultivating the Chrysanthemum in the Little Garden], [Speaking at Night at the Western Window], [The Couplet in the Willows Shade], [Bamboo Falling into the

Pond], when these stances came out, Jin Lun Fa Wang nearly wasnt able to block these attacks let alone trying to counterattack. Yang Guo had originally listened to Huang Rongs instructions to take his life, but what he didnt know was that when Lin Chao Ying developed this particular swordplay, she was doing this to comfort herself, there was no intention to wound or kill the enemy especially with a heart filled with love, though this swordplay was powerful, it did not aim to take the opponents life. Though Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu managed to force Jin Lun Fa Wang to scramble around in a pathetic manner, taking his life was not an easy task. Jin Lun Fa Wang did not know about the background of this swordplay, he just saw that the opponents extraordinary stances folded on each other, he knew that the enemy had yet to unleash their most powerful move, if the two attacks, his old life would be lost. In this danger, a plan came into his mind, he used strength in his legs and snapped a step. He knew that with the obstruction of the hole in the stairs between him and two, the two would have no way to advance. By the time that a third step was snapped, the long swords could not reach his body. Jin Lun Fa Wang raised his iron wheel and said, Today, I have seen the martial arts of the central plains, I am completely in awe. What is the name of your swordplay? Yang Guo said seriously, The martial arts of the central plains are led by the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] and the [Donkey Piercing Sword], our swordplay is the [Donkey Piercing Sword]. Jin Lun Fa Wang was startled and said, [Donkey Piercing Sword]? Yang Guo said, Yep, a swordplay that pierces bald donkeys. Jin Lun Fa Wang then knew that Yang Guo was insulting him, he was furious and shouted, Rude punk, youll get to know the power of Jin Lun Fa Wang. The iron wheel rang out with lang lang noises as he took large footsteps. But all they saw was his body floating away quickly like a flash, disappearing in the shadows by the corner. Yang Guo knew it would be difficult to catch up, he turned around and saw Da Er Ba holding up Huo Dou as he stood up, his face pale. He said, Senior apprentice brother, are you going to kill me? Yang Guo saw that the two looked pitiful, he said to Huang Rong, Auntie Guo, how about we let them go? Huang Rong nodded. Yang Guo saw that Huo Dou looked like he was in unbearable distress, he took out a jug of jade bee syrup from his pockets and pointed to Huo Dou. He made an action of taking medicine to Da Er Ba and gave the jar to him. Da Er Ba was delighted and he chatted with Huo Dou for a while. Huo Dou took out a packet of medicine and gave it to Yang Guo, he said, The senior who used the pen fell under my poison nails, this is the antidote. Da Er Ba saluted Yang Guo and said, Thank you senior apprentice brother. Yang Guo copied his actions and smiled as he

imitated his Tibetan, Thank you senior apprentice brother. Da Er Ba was surprised, Why did senior apprentice brother call me senior apprentice brother? A thought went through his mind and then he understood, Hes reincarnated as another person and is allowing me to be the senior apprentice brother, he doesnt want to fight for this position with me. He was even more touched and bowed deeply, he stretched out his arm and picked up Huo Dou and then left with the rest of the Mongolian warriors. Yang Guo gave the antidote to Huang Rong and made a salute, he said, Auntie Guo, nephew will leave now. Auntie and uncle Guo take care. He felt sad as he thought about how this would be the last time he will see her again. Huang Rong asked, Where are you going? Yang Guo said, Gu Gu and I are going to live in seclusion in a place where there will be no people, never leaving again to avoid bringing shame onto your and uncle Guos name. Huang Rong thought, Today he has risked his life in saving me and Fu Er, this is not a small deed, I watching him going down the dark side, how can I not save him? So she said, Theres no need to rush, were all tired, well go and rent some rooms and rest for the night, we could part tomorrow. Yang Guo saw that she was earnest and sincere, it wouldnt be appropriate to reject her offer so he agreed. Huang Rong took out some money and gave it to the restaurant for the damage, and then they went to an inn to rest. That night after supper, Huang Rong got rid of Guo Fu by telling her to go and talk with the Wu brothers, she called Xiao Long Nuu into her room and said, Sister, I have something to give to you. Xiao Long Nuu said, What? Huang Rong pulled her in front of herself and took out a comb and brushed her hair, seeing her black silk hair hanging down across her shoulders, soft and shiny, extremely cute. She carefully rolled up her hair and removed a golden hair loop from her own head and said, Sister, Im giving you this to wear. The gold hairpiece was exquisitely produced, the body of it resembled the stem of a rose, the stem and flower looped around, the place where it connected formed a unfolding rose. Huang Yao Shi collected many countless treasures, out of them she picked out this golden hair loop with mastery artisanship. Xiao Long Nuu has never worn any type of jewellery, to tie her hair she uses a pine hairpin, though she saw the hairpiece was striking, she did not think anything of it, she just thanked her casually. Huang Rong fitted the hairpiece on her hair and then immediately chatted to her leisurely.

After talking to her for a while, she found that Xiao Long Nuu was very innocent and nave, she didnt know a thing about the ways of the world. Under the candlelight she saw her elegant and beautiful face, an extraordinary beauty, if she and Yang Guo werent master and disciple, the two really were a great match. She asked, Sister, you really love Guo Er, dont you? Xiao Long Nuu beamed and said, Yes, why wont you lot allow him to be with me? Huang Rong was startled, she remembered the times when she was young, her father didnt allow her to marry Guo Jing, the Jiang Nan Seven Freaks called her a little witch, only after many trials and tribulations did she and Guo Jing finally marry. She saw that Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu really loved each other, cans he make herself stop them? But the fact is that they are a master and disciple, if they become lovers it would be greatly unethical, what face would they have left to face the heroes of the world? She gave a sigh and said, Sister, there are many things that you dont understand about the world. If you and Guo Er become a husband and wife, others will look down on you for a generation. Xiao Long Nuu gave a slight smile and said, Whats so important about others looking down on me? Huang Rong was startled again, she felt that her words had the same attitude to her and her father, a real feeling of I do whatever I want, not having a care about the views of the world; when she thought about this, she nodded, such a character would not confine herself to the views of the world, but she then thought about the deep love and affection of her husband for Yang Guo, it wouldnt matter whether Yang Guo was going to become her son in law, she just hoped that his character and morals are perfect, so she said, What about Guo Er? Others will look down on him as well. Xiao Long Nuu said, He and I will live in a place where no one can see us rest of our lives, happily ever after, why should we care about others? Huang Rong asked, What place where no one can see you? Xiao Long Nuu said, It is a large ancient tomb, I have always lived there. Huang Rong was stunned and said, Could it be that you will live in there forever and never come out? Xiao Long Nuu was very happy, she stood up and paced back and forth across the room and then said, Yes, why go outside? The people outside are so bad. Huang Rong said, Guo Er has always roamed about since he was young, wont he be bored staying in an ancient tomb forever? Xiao Long Nuu smiled and said, With me by his side, why would he get bored? Huang Rong sighed and said, At first of course he wont be bored. But after a few years he

would start to remember the beautiful outside world, if he cant come out when he gets older, he would be greatly troubled. Xiao Long Nuu as originally very happy delighted, when she heard this words her heart sank and said, Im going to ask Guo Er, I dont want to speak with you. She left the room. Huang Rong saw that her beautiful face suddenly showed signs of being disturbed, her words just now really hurt the heart of this innocent and nave girl, she immediately felt rather regretful but she had another thought, she has seen many things herself but these pair of young lovers are deeply in love, even if these words arent nice to the ear, its the heart that matters, she thought, What would Guo Er say? So she quietly went over to Yang Guos window to listen to their reply. She heard Xiao Long Nuu ask, Guo Er, would you be troubled if your spent the rest of your life with me? With you get tired of it? Yang Guo said, Why are you asking me again? You know that there isnt anything more I want in this world. Well be together until were old, our hair white and our teeth falling out, we would still love each other as we do now, not ever parting. His words were said with real sincerity and earnestly. When Xiao Long Nuu heard this, her heart was moved, she couldnt stop herself from being overwhelmed, after a while she said, Yes, my feelings are the same. She took out a rope from her bag and hung it across the room, she said, Go to bed! Yang Guo said, Auntie Guo said, tonight you should go and sleep in the same room as her and her daughter, I with the Wu brothers in another room. Xiao Long Nuu said, No! Why does she want two boys to be with you? I want to be with you and sleep with you. She waved her hand out and extinguished the oil lamp. When Huang Rong heard this words outside, she was extremely startled, Those two really are doing such things, the words of that old Taoist Zhao Zhi Jing werent a lie. When she thought about the two of them sleeping together on the same bad, she felt that it would be inappropriate to eavesdrop on them and was about to leave when she suddenly saw a white flash going across the room, someone was lying in midair, after moving for a bit, they immediately stopped. Huang Rong was surprised and used the moonlight in the room to see what was going on. She saw Xiao Long Nuu lying on a rope in midair while Yang Guo slept on the bed. Though the two slept in the same room, they kept their respect. Huang Rong stood in the courtyard, she just felt that the actions of these two were greatly different to others, it really was difficult to mention their rights and wrongs.

She stood there for a while and was about to enter her room to rest when she suddenly heard footsteps, Guo Fu and the Wu brothers had returned. Huang Rong said, Dun Er, Xiu Er, you brothers go and get an another room to rest in, dont rest with brother Yang. The Wu brothers agreed. Guo Fu asked, Mother, why? Huang Rong said, Its none of your business. Wu Xiu Wen laughed and said, I know why. Those two are a master and disciple yet they arent, that dirty couple sleeping in the same room. Huang Rong reprimanded him, Xiu Er, what dirty things are you saying? Wu Dun Ru said, Master wife, you are too kind, why should you give a care towards them sort of people? I wont speak to him. Guo Fu said, Those two saved us, that is a great deed. Wu Xiu Wen said, Huh, I rather die under the hands of Jin Lun Fa Wang then suffer a favour from animals. Huang Rong didnt look happy, she said, Stop talking, go and rest. Yang Go and Xiao Long Nuu heard all this. Yang Guo has never gotten on with the Wu brothers ever since they were little, he just laughed and didnt take it to heart. But Xiao Long Nuu was carefully thinking, Why is it that if Guo Er and I are together, he becomes an animal, us a dirty couple? She couldnt grasp this and in the middle of the night she woke Yang Guo up, and asked, Guo Er, there is one thing that you must answer truthfully. After living with me in the ancient tomb for a few years, would you start to think about the outside world? Yang Guo was startled and didnt reply for a while. Xiao Long Nuu continued to ask, If you dont come out, would you become troubled? Though your love for me will never change, would you get bored living in the tomb for such a long time? Yang Guo felt that it was difficult to answer these questions, as he thought about it, living with Xiao Long Nuu forever really would be better than living as a god, but in a cold and dark tomb, even if he doesnt get tired of the tomb in ten, twenty years, what about in thirty years? What about forty years? Replying casually, I would never get bored would be easy but he has always been frank and true towards Xiao Long Nuu, he has never said half a lie to her. He pondered for a while and said, Gu Gu, if we get bored and tired of living in the tomb, well go out together.

Xiao Long Nuu gave an en sound, not saying anymore. She thought, Mrs Guos words werent a lie. In the future he will get bored and will leave the tomb, then everyone will be looking down on him, how can he live like that? Why do people look down on him if he and I get together? It looks like Im an ominous person. I love him, I care for him, I would give my life for him. But these feelings will lead him to have an unhappy life, it looks like it would be better for him not marry me. It must be because of this that he refused to agree to marry me that night on mount Zhong Nan. She kept on going over this in her mind for a long while. Yang Guos breathing deepened; he was in deep sleep. Xiao Long Nuu leapt down lightly and went to his bedside, she stared at his handsome face, her heart was in a mess, her emotions kept on turning over, she couldnt stop her tears from flowing. Yang Guo woke up the next morning and felt his shoulder and head was wet, he was slightly surprised and saw that Xiao Long Nuu wasnt in the room. He sat up and saw some words carefully carved on the table with a golden needle. Take care, forget about me.' Yang Guos mind immediately became a mess, he stood there stunned and was at his wits end. He saw that the tears on the table had yet to dry, the dampness on his shoulder and head were also caused by her tears. He wasnt thinking straight, he opened the window and leapt out, calling out, Gu Gu, Gu Gu! The waiter of the inn came over to serve him. Yang Guo asked him when the girl in white left and which direction she headed in. The waiter stared at him, he didnt know how to reply. Yang Guo knew that the opportunity to find her was ever diminishing, if he cant find her today, then there may not be a chance to see her ever again. He went to the stables and leapt onto the skinny horse. At this time, Guo Fu came out of her room and asked, Where are you going? Yang Guo heard but didnt listen, he hurried to the main road and galloped north, in a short while he had gone over tens of miles. He kept on calling out, Gu Gu, Gu Gu! on the way but where was Xiao Long Nuu? After a little while, he saw Jin Lun Fa Wang and his followers on horseback heading west. They all felt shocked when they saw him riding by himself. Jin Lun Fa Wang bought his reigns forward and galloped towards him. Yang Guo had not bought a weapon with him, meeting the enemy like this was extremely dangerous but the only thing on his mind right now was Xiao Long Nuu, he didnt even consider his own safety. When he saw Jin Lun Fa Wang coming forwards to him, he actually turned his horse towards him and went forward to meet him, he asked, Have you seen my master? Jin Lun Fa Wang was surprised that he didnt run away, he was even

more startled when he heard him ask this, he casually replied, No, isnt she with you? At first both of them didnt really think too deeply as they asked and replied, but straight after, both of them thought about how with Yang Guo by himself, he was not a match for Jin Lun Fa Wang. The two of them looked each other in the eye and both knew. Yang Guo kicked his legs as Jin Lun Fa Wang sent out a hand to grab him. But the skinny horse was exceptionally spirited, it galloped like the wind past him. Jin Lun Fa Wang tried to catch up urgently but Yang Guo and the horse had long galloped afar, it would be difficult to catch up with them. Jin Lun Fa Wang had a thought and reigned in his horse, Since he and his master has separated, what more have I got to be afraid of? If chief Huang hasnt gotten far haha... He then gathered his men and led them back. Yang Guo searched for another while and still there was no trace of Xiao Long Nuu within tens of miles. Emotions stirred in his heart, he felt dizzy and shaky and almost fainted on the back of the horse. He thought with sadness and lamentation, Why did Gu Gu leave me again? How have I offended her again? She cried many tears before she left, shes not angry with me. He suddenly thought of something, Ah, yes, it must be because of what I said about getting tired of the ancient tomb, she thought that I didnt want to spend the rest of my life with her. His eyes glistened as it became clear on what he should do, Shes returning to the tomb. Ill just go back and be with her. Yang Guos tears turned into smiles and he flipped over a few times on the horses back. Just now as the horse dashed and galloped, he wasnt thinking straight and didnt clarify which direction he was heading in. Nows he settled down, he determined where north was and turned the horse around and headed for mount Zhong Nan. The more he thought about it the more he thought this was most likely as to where she would be, most of the pain and despair had now disappeared. He opened his vocals and sang a mountain song. After midday, he arrived at a small roadside eating place. He finished eating some buns but remembered that when he left in a rush, he forgot to bring money with him. When the owner of the shop was off guard, he quickly leapt onto the horse and galloped away. He heard the insults of the owner from faraway, but what could he do to Yang Guo? He couldnt stop himself from laughing inside. He continued travelling until shen pai shi fen (evening), all he saw in front of him now was a dense, dark and deep forest, shouts and insults could be heard from within the forest. He was slightly alarmed and listened closer, it was the calls of Jin Lun Fa Wang and Guo Fu. He knew something was wrong and leapt off the horse. He placed the reigns on

the bridle and hid behind the trees. He slowly followed the voices and after about a hundred feet or so, he saw Huang Rong and her daughter with the Wu brothers fending off Jin Lun Fa Wang in a pile of jumbled rocks deep in the forest. He saw bloodstains over the faces and clothes of the Wu brothers, Huang Rongs and Guo Fus hair was in a mess, they looked wretched. It appeared that if it wasnt for the fact that Jin Lun Fa Wang wanted to keep them alive, they would have long died under his iron wheel. Yang Guo watched for a while and thought, Gu Gu is not here, if I go up and help them I would lose my life in vain. What should I do? How can I save auntie Guo? He suddenly saw Jin Lun Fa Wang send his wheel smashing out, Huang Rong had no way to receive this attack and retreated backwards behind the pile of rocks. Jin Lun Fa Wang hovered around the outside of the rocks, he actually couldnt attack her. Yang Guo was surprised, he took a closer look and saw that Guo Fu and the Wu brothers also relied on the rocks to avoid danger, in the midst of danger all they had to do was hide behind the rocks. Da Er Ba and the others circled from afar, they could close in from any direction; at that time, Guo Fu and the others hid behind another pile of disorderly rocks. Yang Guo was extremely surprised, those normal looking pile of rocks actually had such an ingenious use, it really was uncanny. It looked like Huang Rong and the others would be safe from danger but there was no way for them to leave the rock formation. Jin Lun Fa Wang kept on attacking without stop, though he managed to injure the Wu brothers, it wasnt life threatening, and on their side, one of the martial artists died under the sword of Guo Fu. He saw that there was something strange with this pile of rocks formed by Huang Rong, he first had to grasp and see through the theories behind it before he could catch the four. He has always thought highly of his intelligence, its not too urgent at the moment, as they cant keep escape from his clutches, once hes seen through this formation hell break into it and capture them, showing his power. So he waved out his left hand and ordered his men back, he also retreated back ten feet or so, staring at and studying the rock formation. Most formation uses the variations of the Wu Xing Ba Gua trigram; Jin Lun Fa Wang was well versed with these types of tactics, he thought that although the formation was strange, it wont be too far off from the theories of the five elements. He studied it for a long while, when it looked like he saw through an aspect of the formation, he pondered on it further and it then didnt make sense, the left wing was correct but the right wing changed, when he seemingly saw through the front of the formation, it was difficult to understand the back of it, he was taken back by this, he was startled and in awe. He excelled in everything, a real outstanding person of the

world, with this difficult problem in from of him, he wanted to rely on his own intellect to solve it. Yang Guo watched on as Jin Lun Fa Wang stood there without moving, his brows raised; suddenly his eyes glistened and he flashed over, breaking into the formation, grabbing Guo Fus arm and quickly retreating. Huang Rong and the brothers were extremely shocked with this sudden change of events. They were at their wits end, if they left the formation to rescue Guo Fu, they would definitely suffer under his hands. What had happened was that Guo Fu became careless when she saw the enemy frozen like that, she didnt follow her mothers instructions on where to stand and was out of the formations protection. When Jin Lun Fa Wang saw this opportunity he immediately went over and captured her, he then sealed a pressure point on the side of her body and placed her down on the ground. He deliberately kept her mute pressure point unsealed, letting her call out and plead, wanting her to agitate Huang Rong into exiting the formation. Guo Fu felt her body ache unbearably and she couldnt stop herself from calling out. How would Huang Rong not know what the enemy was planning, but when she heard the calls of her daughter, her heart felt unbearable, she could only bite down on her lips and endure it. Yang Guo understood what was happening from behind the tree. He saw Huang Rong raising her stick, about to come out from the rock formation and rescue her daughter; this was extremely dangerous, he didnt give it much thought and suddenly leapt out and grabbed Guo Fu from behind, throwing himself forward into the rock formation. Jin Lun Fa Wangs iron wheel flew out towards Yang Guos back. Yang Guo was in midair, it would be difficult to dodge this attack; he pushed Guo Fu towards Huang Rong and used the [Thousand Kilogram Fall]. His body dropped straight down and fell down solidly onto the pile of rocks, he heard the qiang lang lang sound of the iron wheel brushing past his head, the wheel circled around and came back into Jin Lun Fa Wangs hand. Huang Rong hugged her daughter lovingly. She saw Yang Guo pick himself up from the rocks, his eyes were green and nose bruised, she quickly stretched out her stick and led him into the formation. Jin Lun Fa Wang plan had failed and again it was due to Yang Guo, but instead of being angry he was actually pleased, he gave a chuckle and said, Fine, coming here now saves me the trouble of finding you later

on. Yang Guo risked his life for this rescue out of his righteous indignation, only after entering the formation did he see that by doing this, his life would most probably end soon, he would never have the opportunity to see Xiao Long Nuu ever again. He couldnt stop himself from feeling regret. Huang Rong asked, Wheres your master? Yang Guo gloomily said, She suddenly left in the middle of the night, I was in the middle of searching for her. Huang Rong sighed and said, Guo Er, why did you have to risk your life again? Yang Guo gave a bitter laugh and shook his head, he said, Auntie Guo, Im not too bright, once my emotions get the better of me I cant control myself. Huang Rong said, Good child, you have a great heart, your father She stopped mid sentence. Yang Guos voice trembled, Auntie Guo, my father was a bad person, wasnt he? Huang Rongs head hung down and said, You want to know about it? She suddenly called out, Careful, come over here! She pulled him over two piles of rock and avoided Jin Lun Fa Wangs sneak attack. Yang Guo took a look at the rock formation in awe, he said, Auntie Guo, there isnt anyone one else in the world who has your intelligence and wisdom. Huang Rong unsealed her daughters pressure point and massaged her, she gave a subtle smile and didnt reply. Guo Fu said, What do you know? My grandfather taught my mothers skills. My grandfather is as powerful. Yang Guo had seen the handwriting and articles of Huang Yao Shi before when he was on Peach Blossom Island but then he was young, he didnt understand the intricacies within it. When Guo Fu reminded him, he nodded and drifted away, he sighed and said, When will I be able to greet this senior, if I do my life wont be all in vain. Suddenly Jin Lun Fa Wang charged past two rock formations and attacked. Yang Guo didnt have a weapon and quickly picked up the stick that Huang Rong had flung on the floor and dashed out to stop him, he sent out two strokes with the stick, using the [Dog Beating Stick Technique]. Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that his stick technique was profound, he concentrated and fought with him, after a few stances, both of them suddenly tripped up on the jumbled rocks, both of them stumbled. Fa Wang was afraid that he would be ambushed and leapt out of the formation. Huang Rong led Yang Guo back and ordered Guo Fu and the Wu brothers to move the stones and change the formation. She asked Yang Guo, Where exactly did you learn this stick technique from? Yang Guo

told her the truth about how he met Hong Qi Gong on mount Wah, how the Northern Beggar duelled with Western Poison, how Hong Qi Gong taught him the [Dog Beating Stick Techniques] but he was afraid that he was going to disturb Huang Rong if he told her of the passing away of Hong Qi Gong so he kept that from her. Huang Rong sighed and said, Youve come upon such extraordinary meetings, it really is rare to come across such events. She suddenly had a thought, and said, Guo Er, you are very clever, think of a way to escape todays dangers. Yang Guo looked at her, judging from her expression she had already thought of a plan, he pretended he didnt know and said, If you were feeling well, me and you could beat Fa Wang, or if we could get my master to come here, then that would be a way as well. Huang Rong said, How can my health recover over such a short period of time? We dont know where your master has gone. I have another plan; it involves the rock formation. This formation was devised by my father, there are hundred of variations, we havent used even twenty percent of them yet. Yang Guo was shocked and pleased, he sighed in awe as he thought about the knowledge that Huang Yao Shi possessed. Huang Rong said, My master only taught you the stances of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], and youve only heard the main points of the formulae while you hid in the tree. Im now going to teach you all the profound and subtle variations and changes of this technique. Yang Guo was delighted but he pretended to dismiss this, he said, Im afraid that wont do, the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] is passed onto the Beggar Clans chief only, it has never been passed onto an outsider. Huang Rong rolled her eyes, she said, What are you trying in front of me now? My master has taught you thirty percent of this technique, you learnt another twenty percent when you eavesdropped, today Ill teach you another twenty percent. The final thirty percent relies on your intelligence and how you grasp and understand the technique, no one can teach you this. One, no one is teaching you the whole thing, two, todays situation is desperate, just follow the order. Yang Guo knelt down on the floor and bowed to her, he smiled and said, Auntie Guo, when I was young you said you was going to teach me martial arts, today youre teaching me. Huang Rong gave a subtle smile and said, Youve always kept this in your heart bitterly, havent you? Yang Guo said, How would I dare? Huang Rong then quietly imparted all the aspects of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] to him. From outside the rock formation, Jin Lun Fa Wang saw Yang Guo kowtowing to Huang Rong, the two of them laughed as they talked, he didnt know what on earth they were trying now, it appeared that they were confident of the situation, and looked

like they didnt even give him a second thought. Though he was angry, he has always been careful and meticulous, though he knew that their martial arts could not compare with his, the two of them are extremely crafty. Why should he be careless and fall into their trap? He wanted to see through what they had in mind and then make his decision. Luckily, he slowed his attacks, without the distraction of the enemy, Huang Rong passed everything onto Yang Guo under an hours time. Yang Guos intelligence and perception was a hundred times better than Lu You Jiao, if you asked him one thing he knew ten, if you ask him to raise one point he raised three. He had spent a great deal of effort in learning this technique and had pondered hundreds of time on the things he didnt understand, with this fact, when Huang Rong advised and pointed him in the right direction, he immediately understood and grasped everything about the technique. From afar, Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that Huang Rong looked at ease, her lips moving slightly yet Yang Guo was scratching his ear and touching his cheeks, he didnt know what the two was conjuring up, most probably it werent to his best interests, he should break up their conversation. After listening to the important aspects, Yang Guo asked ten or so difficult questions. Huang Rong explained it all to him. She said, Great, since you can ask these questions then that means youve understood a great deal. The second stage is to trap the monk in the formation. Yang Guo was startled and said, Capture him? Huang Rong said, Whats so hard about that? With you and I teamed up, weve got more intelligence and strength than needed. Right now, Im going to explain the key points of this rock formation to you. You most probable wont be able to understand it in such a short time but luckily you have a great memory, all you got to do is remember thirty six different types of changes. She then started to list them, how the green dragon appears as the white tiger, how the black forces transforms into the vermillion sparrow. The rock formation was derived from Zhu Ge Liangs Central Map of the Eight Formations. Years ago, Zhu Ge Liang had set up a formation on the shores of the Chang Jiang river using stone slabs. After Dong Wus general Lu Xun entered the formation, it was difficult for him to escape. Right now, Huang Rong had set up one of Zhu Ges method, but because time was pressing, Huang Rong did not set up the formation completely, however only a few things were missing. Even so, the formation disturbed Jin Lun Fa Wang, he stared at the five of them but he didnt dare to make a move. The thirty-six variations of this formation were very complicated, even with Yang Guos intelligence he could only remember ten or so changes.

It was now evening, Jin Lun Fa Wang slowly wanted to make his move. Huang Rong said, With these ten or so changes, its enough to trap him. Go out and lure him into the formation, Ill then change it and trap him in there. Yang Guo was delighted and said, Auntie Guo, if I visit Peach Blossom Island again, would you be willing to teach me this type of skill? Huang Rong gave a smile, and said, If you are willing to visit the island, why wouldnt I be willing to teach you this? You risked your life and saved Fu Er and I twice now, could it be that Ill still treat you the same way as before? When Yang Guo heard this, he was filled with an extremely relaxing and comfortable feeling throughout his chest, right now, what does it matter whether Huang Rong teaches him or not? He felt that even if he had a hundred deaths he wouldnt have any regrets. He raised his bamboo stick and excited the formation calling out, Rusty old Jin Lun Fa Wang, if youve got guts then come over and go through three hundred rounds with me! Jin Lun Fa Wang was worried that they had planned something in the formation to ambush him, he couldnt have asked for more when he saw Yang Guo coming out of the formation. The iron wheel rang qiang lang lang as he chopped out. He was afraid that Yang Guo would escape back into the formation if he starts to loses, after the first two stances, he had already blocked his path back, forcing him as far away from the formation as possible. How would he know that after Yang Guo learnt the important aspects of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] his technique was superb, when he used the eight key formulae of trip, chop, coil, poke, stir, seal, lead and turn, the variations and changes were indeed subtle and ingenious. In his careless attack, Yang Guo poked him in the leg, though he managed to shut his pressure point in the danger and stop injury, the pain lasted a long time. He didnt dare to be careless after he suffered that attack, he spun his wheel and concentrated on the battle, though his opponent was just a young man in his teens, he treated him as formidable enemy, he attacked with respect and defended tightly, looking upon him as a great master. When he did this, Yang Guo immediately felt he couldnt hold on, though the [Dog Beating Stick] was ingenious, it is difficult to perform it straight after learning it, Yang Guo used the seal formulae to block the attack of the iron wheel and then shifted his legs, suddenly going east

and then surging west. Jin Lun Fa Wang followed the changes of his bamboo stick, he felt that it was about time when he saw Yang Guo surging and attacking away from the formation. Fa Wang kept on moving backwards to lure him as faraway from the formation as possible. He couldnt have predicted that after moving back over ten or so steps, his right leg suddenly tripped over a large rock; he had unwittingly been lured into the formation. He knew something was wrong. He then heard Huang Rong call out, The vermillion sparrow displaces the green dragon, the Xun position changes to the Li, wood into water. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers shifted the rocks and changed the formation. Jin Lun Fa Wang lost his colour due to shock, he stopped his wheel to inspect the surroundings while Yang Guos bamboo stick coiled its way around towards him. Though Yang Guos [Dog Beating Stick Technique] wasnt good enough to meet him head on, it was more than enough to confuse and distract him. Fa Wangs legs were tripped up a few times and almost couldnt stand up. He knew that this formation was powerful, the longer he was in it the more confusing it became. In this danger he shouted and leapt up on top of the pile of rocks. Originally, being on top of rocks stops one being trapped and confused by the formation and allow then to regain their sense of direction, he thought that if he goes forward in a straight line he will be able to get out of the formation but how would he know that he just went from east to west, north to south, he had circled around a couple of times over an area circling within a hundred feet. Eventually his vigour had depleted and stopped on the rocks. As soon as he landed on top of the pile of rocks, Yang Guo waved out the bamboo stick to his leg. Fa Wangs weapon was short and cant be used to protect all of his body, he could only drop down back to the ground and swept out his wheel to counterattack. After another ten or so moves, the sky had darkened, he was surrounded by rocks everywhere, the formation seemed to give out an eerie air, even someone as bold as him couldnt stop himself from being slightly frightened, suddenly his mind lit up; he had a plan. His left leg lifted up, a twenty plus kilo stone was lifted in the air and sent flying. His right leg came out and another large stone went flying. His darted around, his legs kept on kicking out, the rocks collided with each other and sparks flew. In a flash, the formation had been broken. Huang Rong, Yang Guo and the others were extremely shocked by this and they had to keep on moving to avoid the falling rocks from the sky. If Jin Lun Fa Wang wanted to leave the formation it couldnt be easier, but he turned defence into attack and his left palm came searching out to capture Huang Rong. Yang Guo sent the tip of the stick towards his back, Fa

Wang swerved his iron wheel and repelled it away, however, his left palm had hung onto Huang Rongs shoulder. If she leapt back she could have avoided this but she heard a urgent gust of wind coming down, a large rock was smashing down behind her at that time, she could only use the [Great Trapping Hand] to reverse his grab and hooked onto his left wrist. Jin Lun Fa Wang said, Great! He let her hook his left wrist and waited for her to use force to fling him away, he suddenly circulated his strength and pulled her towards him. If it was any other time, Huang Rong could have circulated her internal energy and escape from this pull, but right now she didnt have sufficient internal energy, she called out, Ai ya! and fell. Yang Guo was extremely alarmed, he threw away any care for his life and threw himself forward, grabbing Jin Lun Fa Wangs legs. The two of them started to fall. Jin Lun Fa Wangs martial arts were much higher than his, before they hit the ground, his right palm had come waving out towards Yang Guos chest. Yang Guo quickly stretched out his left arm to block it, a pai sound was heard as they palm struck the arm. Yang Guo just felt blood surging upwards from his chest, his body flew away like a haystack. Just at this time, the last remaining rock fell down fiercely from the sky, a peng sound was heard as it struck Jin Lun Fa Wang on the back. It was an extremely heavy collision, even if Jin Lun Fa Wangs internal energy was higher, he would not be able to take it, though he circulated his internal energy to divert the rock away, his body wobbled a few times and he eventually fell down forwards onto the ground. In a short period of time, the formation had been broken and stones rained down. Huang Rong, Jin Lun Fa Wang and Yang Guo were all on the floor injured.

Chapter 15 The Disciples of Eastern Heretic Inside the formation were the extremely shocked Wu brothers and Guo Fu; outside the formation were Da Er Ba and the Mongolian warriors. They dashed forward to rescue Fa Wang. Da Er Ba had terrifying strength, there were many skilled fighters within the crowd of Mongolian warriors, how could Guo Fu and the Wu brothers fight them off? Suddenly a swaying Jin Lun Fa Wang stood up and waved his iron wheel, the qiang lang lang sounds were soul disturbing, his face was pale. He laughed out at the sky yet his laugh was filled with a cold and mournful feeling, the band of people all looked at each other startled and stopped their advance.

Jin Lun Fa Wang hissed, I have never suffered even half an injury whilst in battle in my entire life, today I actually injured myself. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Huang Rongs back. Yang Guos chest was severely injured by Jin Lun Fa Wangs palm, he didnt have any strength to stand up and crawled across the floor, when he saw Huang Rong in danger he again swept out his stick to repel this grab. But as soon as he used any strength, he spat out a pool of blood. Huang Rong said mournfully, Guo Er, we give in, dont fight on, take care of yourself. Guo Fu raised her long sword and protected her mother. Yang Guo quietly, Sister Fu, run away quickly, its important to tell your father about this. Guo Fus mind was in a mess, she knew her martial arts were poor but how could she leave her mother? Jin Lun Fa Wang swung his iron wheel slightly and the wheel collided with Guo Fus sword, a dang sound was heard and a white light glimmered, the sword flew up into the air and landed in the forest. Jin Lun Fa Wang was about to push her out of the way and grab Huang Rong when suddenly a girls voice from behind said, Wait! A blue green flash leapt out of the forest. She stretched out her hand to catch the sword and hurried to the middle of the pile of rocks. Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that her face was extremely terrifying, it looked three parts human and seven parts ghost, he has never seen such a strange face before in his life. He couldnt stop himself from being startled and said, Who are you? The young girl didnt answer and pushed a rock in between Jin Lun Fa Wang and Huang Rong. She said, Youre the famous Jin Lun Fa Wang? Her face was ugly but her voice was gentle and tender. Fa Wang said, Correct, what is your name? The girl replied, Im a nameless young girl, you wont know me. As she said this, she moved another slab of stone three inches. The sun had gone down long ago, the forest was full of darkness. Jin Lun Fa Wangs mind lit up and shouted, What are you doing? He was about to stop the girl from moving the stones when she suddenly called out, The horned wooden dragon changes into the overbearing golden dragon! Guo Fu and the Wu brothers were all startled, they all pondered, How does she know the changes of the formation? But they heard her voice had a commanding tone and immediately started to move the rocks according to her instructions. Four, fives stones were moved, the scattered formation changed again. Jin Lun Fa Wang was alarmed and angry, he shouted, Little girl, you dare to come and mess things around! He just heard her say, The moon fox turns into the day rabbit, the crow of the final moon shifts into

the wooden wolf of kui, bat of the earth enters the room of the fire pig. All the things that she called out were the twenty-eight positions of su. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers felt that the way she led the formation was exactly the way that Huang Rong did while she led formations, they were delighted and used all their efforts in moving the rocks, they saw that they were about to trap Jin Lun Fa Wang in the formation again. Jin Lun Fa Wang had circulated his internal with force to protect himself from the wound of the collision of the rock, though the injury didnt react for now, he actually had a serious internal injury, he had no way to start kicking the stones again. He knew that in just a little while he would be trapped in the stone formation again, his disciple Da Er Ba was brave but he doesnt understand the formation and so it would be difficult for him to help. He saw that Huang Rong was picking herself up, struggling to stand upright, all he needed to do was take a few steps forwards and he would be able to capture her but saving himself was more important right now, he picked up his iron wheel and sent an attack towards Wu Xiu Wens head. After he suffered the injury his arms had no strength, he was forcing himself to move the iron wheel. If Wu Xiu Wen had a sword, he would be able to knock the wheel out of his hands. But Fa Wang was surrounded by a powerful air, though the stance had no force behind it, it still looked like the real thing, how could Wu Xiu Wen dare to take this attack, he immediately withdrew back into the formation. Jin Lun Fa Wang slowly walked out of the formation and stood there in a daze for a while thinking, Im afraid that Ill never get an opportunity as good as this again. Could it be that heaven is protecting the Songs and stopping me from succeeding? The wulin of the central plain have many able people, these few youngsters are already versed in both the arts and martial arts, and just they alone make strong opponents, our Mongolian and Tibetan warriors pale by comparison. He held his chest and sighed. He turned around and walked away. Ten or so steps later, a qiang lang lang sound was heard, the wheel had fallen to the ground as he struggled to stay up. Da Er Ba was alarmed and called out, Master! He dashed over and held him up and said, Master, are you alright? Fa Wang creased his brows and didnt reply, he stretched out his arm and lent on his shoulder and quietly said, What a pity! What a pity! Lets go! A Mongolian warrior led a horse over. Due to his injury, Jin Lun Fa Wang had no strength to pull himself up on the horse. Da Er Ba used his left palm and pushed his masters waist and helped him up on the horse. They left heading east.

The girl in blue green slowly walked towards Yang Guo. She stopped and bent down to examine his face, wanting to see how seriously injured he was. It was now deep into the night, things couldnt be seen clearly even if it was just a distance of one inch away from you face. She went up to Yang Guos face and saw that his eyes were opened wide, seemingly in a trance, his cheeks were red and breathing rapid, it appeared that his injury was not light. In this blurry state, all he saw was a pair of soft and gentle eyes in front of his face, like the way Xiao Long Nuu eyes appeared when she looked at him, it was soft and gentle, understanding and caring, he opened his arms and grabbed the girl and called out, Gu Gu, Guo Er is hurt, dont leave me. The girl in blue green was embarrassed and flustered, she struggled slightly. Yang Guos chest immediately broke out in a pain and he couldnt stop himself from calling out ai ya! The girl didnt dare to struggle and quietly said, Im not your Gu Gu, let me go. Yang Guo stared at her eyes and pleaded, Gu Gu, dont leave me Im Im Im your Guo Er. The girls heart softened and said gently, Im not your Gu Gu. The sky was even darker now, the girls terrifying face was hidden, showing only a pair of bright pupils. Yang Guo pulled her hand and pleaded, You are, you are! Dont dont leave me again. The young girl was held by him. Her body burnt up with embarrassment, she didnt know what to do. Suddenly Yang Guos mind became clear, he saw that the girl in front of him was not Xiao Long Nuu. He was extremely disappointed, his mind turned upside down and he fainted. The young girl was shocked. She saw Guo Fu and the Wu brothers surrounding Huang Rong, showing concern and serving her yet Yang Guo had no one. She knew that his injury was serious, if he doesnt take masters medicine, his life will be in danger. She supported his waist and pushed and pulled him out of the formation and then slowly walked out of the forest. The skinny horse was very sharp, it recognise its master and rushed towards him. The girl put him on the horses back but she didnt get on, she held the horses reigns and walked on. Yang Guo was awake one moment and in a trance the next, sometimes he thought that the person next to him was Xiao Long Nuu and he called out in delight, other times he found out that she wasnt, his whole body felt as if it was in an ice cellar. After sometime, he felt a clear fragrance enter the places where his chest was injured, it was extremely comfortable. He was startled, he found out that he was now lying on a couch, a thin blanket covered his body, he wanted to sit up but suddenly felt a severe pain going through

his chest, he couldnt move. He turned his head and saw a girl in blue green by the window, her left hand was holding down a piece of paper, her right holding a pen, she was in the middle of doing calligraphy. Her back was towards the couch and he couldnt see her face, her back was slender with a fine waist, extremely elegant and beautiful. He took a look around and found out that he was in a room of a thatch house, the benches, chairs, table and bed were all simple and crude, the four walls were gloomy, yet it felt peaceful and serene. Besides the bed were a long zither and a jade flute. All he remembered was how he fought with Jin Lun Fa Wang in the forest but his mind was a blank on how he got to this place. He concentrated harder and recalled that he was on his horses back, someone was leading them, a girl. Now he remembered, the girl in front of him was that girl. She was now concentrating on her calligraphy, he saw her arm moved lightly, her form graceful and elegant. There wasnt a sound in the room, it felt like he had arrived in a completely different world to the heated battle he had just been in. He didnt dare to make a noise and disturb the young girl, he just lied down on the couch peacefully, it was like settling down again after a dream, sleeping again after being sober, he really didnt know what world he was in. His mind suddenly lit up, the girl in blue green in front of him was the girl who gave him the warning on the Chang An road, and later on she helped him save Lu Wu Shuang, there was no ties between himself and her, why was she treating him so well? He couldnt stop his mouth from opening, Sister, so its you who has saved me again. The girl stopped her pen but she didnt turn around, she said softly, You cant really say I saved you. I happened to be passing by and saw how unreasonable that Tibetan monk was, and you was injured as well She lowered her head slightly after she said this. Yang Guo said, Sister, I I He was touched but his throat choked up and he couldnt make a sound. The young girl said, You have a good heart, you save other people without regards for your life, I just gave a little effort, its nothing. Yang Guo said, Auntie Guo raised me, of course I had to give all my efforts in saving her when she was in danger but sister and I The young girl said, Im not talking about your auntie Guo, Im talking about Lu Wu Shuang sister Lu. Yang Guo hasnt heard the name Lu Wu Shuang for a long time, when he heard her mention this name he quickly asked, Is miss Lu safe? Has she recovered from her injury? The young girl replied, Thank you for

your concern, she has recovered from her injury. You havent forgotten her. From her tone, Yang Guo could tell that she and Lu Wu Shuang are very close. He asked, I wonder how sister greets miss Lu. The young girl didnt reply, she gave a subtle smile and said, Dont call elder sister this, elder sister that, Im not older than you. After a while, she laughed and said, Im afraid that its a bit too late now to change your greeting now after calling me Gu Gu a few times. Yang Guos face went red, he knew that when he was dazed and unclear after the injury, he must have wrongly recognised her as Xiao Long Nuu, incessantly calling out, Gu Gu, it could be that he also said some tenderly and affectionate things, the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he got, he stuttered, You you youre not offended are you? The young girl laughed and said, Of course Im not offended, just rest here peacefully. You can search for your Gu Gu when youve recovered from your injury. She continued, Dont be too worried, youll eventually find her. Those few words were affectionate and considerate, in the softness carried respect, it made people felt at ease and happy, this was completely different to all the other girls he knew. She wasnt like Lu Wu Shuang who was vivacious and wily, and even further away from the unrestrained pride of Guo Fu. Ye Luu Yan was straight to the point, Wan Yan Ping was suffering and piteous. When it comes to Xiao Long Nuu, at first she was cold as frost and unfeeling, but eventually she fell in love and all her emotions were stirred and bought forward. This girl in blue green was cultured and refined, warm and attentive. She knew that he missed his Gu Gu so she advised him to rest peacefully first, once he had recovered he can go and find her. He felt that being with her made him feel peaceful and calm. After she said these words she picked up her pen again. Yang Guo said, Sister, what is your surname? The girl said, Dont ask questions, just rest peacefully on the bed and stop thinking so much, your injury will recover quicker. Yang Guo said, Fine, actually, I knew that I was asking in vain, you wouldnt even let me see your face let alone knowing your name. The young girl sighed and said, My face is ugly, youve seen it before. Yang Guo said, No, no! Thats when you had the human skin mask on. The young girl said, If Im as beautiful as your Gu Gu, why do I need to wear this mask? Yang Guo was pleased when she praised Xiao Long Nuus beauty, he asked, How do you know my Gu Gu is beautiful? Youve seen her before?

The young girl said, I havent seen her before. But the way you think about her, spell bounded and completely enchanted, she must be the number one beauty of the world. Yang Guo sighed and said, I long for her not because of her beauty, even if she was the ugliest woman in the world, I will still long for her like this. But but if you see her yourself you will definitely praise her beauty even more. If Guo Fu or Lu Wu Shuang heard these words, they would definitely answer back with some chiding comment, but this young girl replied, It must be like this. Not only is she beautiful, she treats you extremely well. After she said this, she continued on with her calligraphy. Yang Guo looked up at the ceiling for a while, but he couldnt stop himself from turning around and face the slender back of the young girl. He asked, Sister, what are you writing? The young girl replied, Im practising calligraphy. Yang Guo said, What bei tie (beautiful calligraphy written on silk / beautifully presented calligraphy) are you copying? The young girl replied, My writing is ugly, how can one describe it as a copy of a bei tie. Yang Guo said, Youre too modest, I can tell its definitely great. The young girl laughed and said, Strange, how can you tell? Yang Guo said, Someone as elegant and refined as you must have calligraphy that is also elegant and refined. Sister, how about letting me take a look at what youve written? The young girl gave another light laugh and said, My writing cant see the light of day, I need to ask you for lessons when youve recovered. Yang Guo secretly said, Shameful. He couldnt stop himself from appreciating the lessons of literature and calligraphy that Huang Rong taught him on Peach Blossom Island, if he didnt have this experience, he wouldnt be able to tell what someone was writing let alone distinguish the difference between beautiful and ugly calligraphy. As he was lost in thought, he felt his a throbbing pain in his chest, immediately he circulated his internal energy, chi flowing through his pressure points. He gradually felt comfortable and at ease, soon he fell into a deep sleep. By the time he woke up, the sky had already gone dark. The girl had prepared a few dishes and had put them on a short table next to the bed he was on. She was helping him to eat. Though the bamboo

chopsticks and clay bowl were coarse implements, they were all new, specially prepared for him. The dishes were nothing special, just ordinary vegetables, tofu, eggs and fish but they were all cooked deliciously. Yang Guo ate three bowls of rice in one go and kept on praising her cooking. Though her face was hidden by the mask and covered her expression, her bright eyes showed signs of delight. Yang Guos injury had recovered a little more by the next day. The young girl had moved a chair next to the end of the bed. She sat there and mended his long gown. She picked up the long gown and said, How can such a person as yourself wear something like this? After she said this she left the room and returned will a roll of blue green fabric and started to prepare a gown according to the fittings of his old one. From her voice and figure, she was no older than seventeen, eighteen but not only was she like an older sister to Yang Guo, she was tender and loving to him like a mother. His mother had passed a long time ago, today, he experienced the feeling of being that child once again, his was touched and surprised, he asked, Sister, why are you treating me so well? I really cant take accept it. The young girl replied, Whats so great about making a gown? You risked your life to save someone, that is a much harder task. The morning of that day passed by peacefully. After midday, the girl once again sat at the table and practised calligraphy. Yang Guo really wanted to see what she was writing but after a pleading a few times she still said no. She practised for about two hours; she wrote one piece and then thought for a while before she ripped it up and started another piece. It appeared that she couldnt get what she wanted, she wrote a piece and then ripped it up, it looked like she was writing some sort of martial arts manual. Eventually she gave a sigh and asked, What do you want to eat, Ill make some for you. Yang Guo had an idea and said, Im afraid that it might be too time consuming. The young girl said, What? Tell me. Yang Guo said, I want to eat zong zi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in leaves). The young girl was startled and said, Whats so hard about wrapping a few zong? I want to eat some myself. Do you like sweet or savoury ones? Yang Guo said, Whatever is fine. As long as I can eat some Ill be satisfied, how can I be picky? Indeed, that night the young girl did wrap up a few zong zi for him. The sweet ones were filled with soya beans, the savoury filled with ham; they were both delicious. Yang Guo ate and praised her incessantly at the same time. The young girl sighed and said, You really are clever, youve finally guessed who I am.

Yang Guo was surprised and thought, I havent guessed! How have I guessed who you are? But his reply was, How did you know? The young girl replied, Jiang Nan, my home, is famous for its zong zi, there were many things for you to pick from but you had to pick zong zi. Yang Guo recalled the events of years ago in Zhe Xi where he met the Guo couple, the fight with Li Mo Chou, how he became Ou Yang Fengs godson but he could not remember who this girl was. He wanted to eat zong zi because of another reason. When he finished eating, he waited for the moment when the young girl was not looking and placed a piece in his palm. When the girl collected up the chopsticks and bowls, he quickly took a piece of fabric that the girl had left behind when she was making the gown for him and attached some zong to one end and then shot it out towards the pieces of torn paper on the table. When he pulled a piece back and took a look, he couldnt stop himself from being startled. The words that were on the paper were: since a gentleman has passed my eyes, the clouds are not pleasant. That phrase was from the Shi Jing, years ago Huang Rong had taught him the meaning of this phrase: since Ive seen such a man, how come I am not pleased? He shot out the piece of cloth again for another piece. The same thing was written on it but the since word was torn in half. Yang Guos heart ran, he had collected ten pieces of paper but the same thing was written on all of them. He carefully thought about the meaning and went off into a trance. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard, the young girl was returning to the room. Yang Guo quickly hid the pieces of paper underneath his blanket. The young girl gathered up the rest of the pieces of paper and burned them outside. Yang Guo thought, She wrote since a gentleman has passed my eyes, could that gentleman be me? Ive only spoken a few words with her, what can she see in me that she likes? Anyway, how can someone describe me as a gentleman? But if it isnt me, who else can it be, theres no one else around. Just as he was in deep thought, the girl returned to the room. She stood quietly by the window for a while and then blew out the candle. The pale light of the moon shone through the window, covering the floor. Yang Guo called out, Sister. But the young girl did not reply and slowly left the room. After a while, he heard the sound of a flute coming through the window. Yang Guo had seen her use a jade flute to fight with Li Mo Chou, her martial arts werent weak, her musical skills were the flute were great as well. During his time in the Ancient Tomb, Xiao Long Nuu would occasionally play the zither, he would sit by the side and listen to her explain the meaning of songs, he was coarsely learned in music. He

could tell that she was playing a tune of Wu She Shang, the song of qi ao. This song was peaceful and serene, Yang Guo heard it a few times but he didnt love it. He heard that she kept on repeating the first five phrases, Looking into the distance of the mysterious Qi, the green bamboo aplenty, theres a gentlemen, like a clean cut, like a polish, like a carved jade. Whether its high or low, whether there are sudden drops and rises, the tunes are variation of these five phrases, winding and drowned in its meanings. Yang Guo knew that these five phrases also came from the Shi Jing, it praises the elegance of a male, cut and polished elegantly like the smoothness of beautiful jade. Yang Guo listened for a while and couldnt stop himself from quietly reciting, Looking into the distance of the mysterious Qi, the green bamboo aplenty The flute suddenly stopped after these two phrases. Yang Guo was startled and lamented his actions, She was playing the flute to comfort herself, by quietly reciting those lines I showed that I understood what she was thinking, that is a bit too impolite. When the young girl bought breakfast in the next morning, she saw that Yang Guo was wearing the human skin mask, she was taken aback, and then laughed and she said, Why are you wearing that? Yang Guo said, You gave this to me, you dont want to show your true face so Im wearing this. The young girl said calmly, Thats fine. After she said this, she placed the breakfast down and left the room, she didnt say anything else to him that day. Yang Guo was feeling uneasy, he was afraid that he had offended her and wanted to say a few apologetic words. She didnt stop in the room for the rest of the day. Later on during the evening, she waited for Yang Guo to finish eating supper before returning to collect the bowls and chopsticks, as she was about to leave, Yang Guo said, Sister, you play the flute really well, can you play a tune for me? The young girl gave a subtle moan and then said, Fine. She left the room and collected her jade flute. She returned and sat before Yang Guos bed, playing a tune on the flute. This time she played the song Ying Xian Ke (Meeting the Divine Guest), it was a graceful and joyous tune, a song that greets a guest. Yang Guo thought, So your flute also wears a mask, not willing to show the song that is in your heart. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard in the midst of the flutes music, someone was hurrying towards this place. The young girl placed the flute down and went to the

door, calling out, Cousin! Someone had rushed to the house, they were panting as they said, Cousin, that witch has picked up our traces, shes on her way now, lets go! Yang Guo was pleased when he heard Lu Wu Shuangs voice, but he was alarmed when he heard that witch Li Mo Chou was on the way. He then thought, So that girl is wifeys cousin. He heard the young girl say, Someones injured and are recuperating inside. Lu Wu Shuang said, Who? The young girl replied, The person that saved your life. Lu Wu Shuang called out, Sha Dan! Hes hes in there!! She dashed into the house as she said this. The joy and delight on her face could be seen under the moonlight, she called out, Sha Dan, Sha Dan! How come youre here? Looks like this time its your turn to the one injured. Yang Guo said, Wifey He could only say one word before he thought about the elegant and refined young girl in blue green standing by the side, he stopped joking and took back his words, he asked, How did Li Mo Chou find you again? Lu Wu Shuang said, After that battle at the restaurant, you suddenly left and my cousin took me to this place to recuperate. Actually, I recovered from my wound a long time ago, I was feeling bored so I went to Xian Guang for a little while. That day, I bumped into two beggars, I eavesdropped on them and heard that there was a heroes gathering at Da Xing Guan. I hurried to the Da Xing Guan to take a look but by the time I got there, it had finished. I was afraid that my cousin was worrying about me so I hurried back. Outside the teashop at the town ahead, I suddenly saw that witchs donkey, her donkey has changed but the ringing of the golden bell hasnt As she got to this point, her voice trembled as she continued, At least my time wasnt up yet, if I bumped into her head on, I wouldnt be able to see you two. Yang Guo said, This girl is your cousin? She saved me but I still dont know her name. The young girl replied, I Lu Wu Shuang suddenly stretched out her hand and pulled their masks off at the same time and said, That witch is going to get here soon, why are you two still mucking around with these masks at a time like this? A bright light shone in Yang Guos eyes, the young girl had an oval face that sparkled, her skin glimmered like snow, though her beauty couldnt match Xiao Long Nuus, she was still an extremely beautiful girl. Lu Wu Shuang said, Shes my cousin Cheng Ying, a disciple of master of Peach Blossom Islands Master Huang.

Yang Guo bowed and greeted her, Miss Cheng. Cheng Ying returned the greeting and said, Young hero Yang. Yang Guo thought, Shes of such a young age, shes actually a disciple of Island Master Huang? Counting from auntie Guos status, doesnt that mean Im a generation lower than her? Years ago when she was captured by Li Mo Chou and almost lost her life under the Serpent Deitys hand, it was Peach Blossom Islands Island Master Huang Yao Shi who rescued her while passing by. After his daughter married, Huang Yao Shi roamed Jiang Hu making the world his home. He was old and by himself, it was unavoidable that he would get lonely, when he saw that Cheng Ying was weak and had no where else to go, he couldnt stop himself from pitying her and so after he cured her poison, he took her with him. Cheng Ying served him carefully and meticulously, much better than the naughty, restless and unruly Huang Rong. Huang Yao Shi grew to love her from his pity and took her in as his disciple. Though Cheng Yings intelligence could not compare to Huang Rongs, she was extremely careful and paid attention to everything, she studied from the lesser points but she still managed to learn a considerable amount of skills from Huang Yao Shi. This year, her martial arts became able and she told her master that she was going north to search for her cousin. On the Guan Xia road, she bumped into Yang Guo and Lu Wu Shuang, it was her who gave the warnings along the way and her who gave news of Lu Wu Shuangs capture. After the battle with Li Mo Chou in the restaurant with all the other youngsters, she took Lu Wu Shuang to a secluded place and built a hut to allow her to recuperate. The day before, Lu Wu Shuang had left by herself and had not returned after a long period of time. Cheng Ying worried about her and went out in search of her. Instead of finding her, she saw Huang Rong using the stone formations to fend off Jin Lun Fa Wang. She has learnt formations from Huang Yao Shi before, although she didnt know much, the things that she knew was learnt thoroughly, and by coincidence she managed to rescue Yang Guo. Lu Wu Shuang said, In a situation like this, why are you two still so formal? Yang Guo said, Did Li Mo Chou see you eventually. Lu Wu Shuang said, You really are nave! If she saw me and you werent there to rescue me, how will I be able to escape from her? As soon as I saw the donkeys bell, I hid behind the teahouse, I didnt even dare to breath out. I heard her ask the manager of the teahouse has he seen two girls, one was a little lame and the other one was a extremely ugly girl. Cousin, she said you were the ugly girl, she didnt know that you are the exact opposite, a beautiful girl Cheng Yings face went

slightly red and said, Dont talk rubbish, young hero Yang will laugh. Yang Guo said, I cant take a title such as young hero Yang, just call me Yang Guo. Lu Wu Shuang angrily said, As soon as you saw my cousin, youre all nice and obedient, you even told her your name, yet with me you lied and messed me around. Yang Guo gave a light laugh and said, You called me Sha Dan, I listened to your orders and pretended to be a Sha Dan, isnt that obedient enough? Lu Wu Shuang stuck her lip up and said, Ill deal with you later on. She turned around to Cheng Ying and said, Cousin, whenever you go into town to buy things, you would wear your mask, the townspeople recognised you. The manager of the teahouse could never have dreamed that a courteous and polite Taoist nun would have ill intentions, of course he would tell her where we are. The witch thanked him and asked him where she can seek a lodging and then she took apprentice sister Hong to search for lodgings. She has always killed people at the first light of day, it looks like weve got six hours. Cheng Ying said, Yes. That day when she attacked cousins home, it was yin mo mao chu fen (I think its the fourth hour). The three of them talked about how Li Mo Chou killed Lu Wu Shuangs parents and then realized that they had met in Jia Xing before when they were kids. The cousins recalled staying in the old kiln that Yang Guo lived in, and then remembered that they indeed have met before, they all felt a close and intimate feeling. Yang Guo said, That witchs martial arts are extremely high, even if I wasnt injured, the three of us would not be able to beat her. Lets just keep everything as it is and keep the lamps lit and just escape. Cheng Ying nodded and said, Weve got six hours left. Brother Yangs horse has great speed and stamina, if we leave now the witch might not be able to catch up. Lu Wu Shuang said, Sha Dan, youre injured, can you still ride? Yang Guo sighed and said, I cant but Ill force myself, at least its better than falling into the hands of that witch. Lu Wu Shuang said, Weve only got one horse. Cousin, take Sha Dan and head west, Ill head east and lure her away. Cheng Yings face went slightly red. She said, No, you go with brother Yang. I dont have any ties and debts with Li Mo Chou, even if I do fall into her hands, she might not harm me, if you fall into her hands, youll suffer. Lu Wu Shuang said, She came for me, if she sees me with him, wouldnt his life be lost in vain because of me? The cousins reasoned with each other, trying to push the other into accompanying Yang Guo in escaping.

Yang Guo was extremely touched by this, these two girls filled with loyalty, in this danger they were both willing to risk their lives for him, even if I die under the hands of this witch, my life wouldnt exactly have been lived in vain. He then heard Lu Wu Shuang ask, Sha Dan, say something, do you want my cousin to go with you or me? Before Yang Guo replied, Cheng Ying said, Why do you keep on calling him Sha Dan this, Sha Dan that, youre not afraid of making brother Yang angry at all. Lu Wu Shuang stuck out her tongue, she laughed and said, Look at how courteous and considerate you are to him, brother Sha would definitely want you to go with him. Changing her greeting from Sha Dan to Brother Sha was her way of showing her sincerity. Cheng Yings face was distinctly white and it was very easy to make her go red, when Lu Wu Shuang said this, Cheng Yings face immediately went red like a rose, she gave a slight laugh and said, He calls you wifey, isnt it? How can the wife not go along with him? This time it was Lu Wu Shuangs turn to go red. She stretched out her hand and tried to tickle Cheng Ying, Cheng Ying turned around and leapt away. In a short while, the room felt as if a gentle relaxing breeze was blowing through the room, the three of them didnt appear to be as worried and frightened as they were at the start. Yang Guo thought, If miss Cheng escapes with me, then wifeys life would be in danger. If wifey goes with me, then miss Cheng would be in extreme danger. He said, I am extremely touched by the way you two treat me. I say that you two should escape and let me handle the witch. My master and her are apprentices sisters, she would still have some respect towards that relationship, not to mention that shes afraid of my master, she wouldnt dare to do anything to me Before he finished, Lu Wu Shuang interrupted, That wont do, that wont do. Yang Guo knew that the two would not abandon the other and leave so he said clearly, The three of us will escape together. If we do encounter that witch then well fight for our lives, whether we live or die, let the heavens decide. Lu Wu Shuang clapped her hands and said, Fine, lets do that. Cheng Ying said grimly, That witch comes and goes like the wind, if the three of us travel together, she will definitely catch up with us. Were going to fight with her on the way so why dont we remain her and wait for her to come when shes exhausted. Yang Guo said, Thats right. Sister knows how to use formations, she could even trap that monk Jin Lun Fa Wang, the Serpent Deity may not be able to break through it. Once he said this, the threes eyes lit up softly. Cheng Ying said, That formation was set up by Mrs Guo, I just added a few variations to it, I

can never set something up like that. Well do our best and let fate decide. Cousin, come and help me. Yang Guo thought, When auntie Guo taught me the formation, I could only remember ten or so different types and it could only be used to lure the rusty Jin Lun Fa Wang into the formation, it would have no use in blocking that heaven hating and world resenting Li Mo Chou. This type of art is extremely complicated, to be well versed in it requires at least one years worth of work. Miss Cheng is young so of course the things that she has learnt cannot compare with auntie Guo, she wasnt trying to be modest. But no matter how simple and crude her formation is, its better than nothing. The two girls picked up an iron shovel and a hoe, they went outside and started to dig up earth and move stones as they started to set up the formation. They had worked urgently for two hours when the faint calls of cockerels could be heard from faraway. Cheng Yings head was full of sweat as she looked at her efforts, she saw that her formation was miles apart from the rock formation that Huang Rong had set up, she was slightly depressed as she thought, Mrs Guos talents exceeds mine by a hundred times over. It really would be extremely difficult to try to fend off the Serpent Deity with such a coarse earth formation. She was afraid that her cousin and Yang Guo would get depressed about it so she did not tell them her thoughts. Under the moonlight, Lu Wu Shuang saw something was wrong with her cousin and she knew that her cousin wasnt completely confident. She took out a book from her pockets and returned to the hut and handed to the book over to Yang Guo. She said, Sha Dan, this is my masters Five Poison Codex. Yang Guo shivered slightly at the sight of the blood covered book. Lu Wu Shuang said, I lied to her about the book falling into the Beggar Clans hands, if she catches me she will definitely search me and discover the book on me. Take a good look and once youve remembered it, burn it. She has never talked in a serious manner with Yang Guo before and she had no interest in joking around in this time of danger. Yang Guo saw her expression was bleak and just nodded and accepted the book. Lu Wu Shuang also took out a handkerchief and quietly said to him, If youre unlucky and fall into the hands of that witch, when she wants to take your life give this handkerchief to her. Yang Guo saw that one side of the handkerchief looked that it was torn from somewhere, the embroidered red flower on the handkerchief was torn in half, he didnt know what she meant by this and startled, he did not take it and asked, What is this? Lu Wu Shuang, Im asking you to give this to her, are you going to promise me? Yang Guo nodded and placed it by the side of the pillow.

Lu Wu Shuang picked it up and put it in his pockets and whispered, Dont let my cousin know. She suddenly smelt the manly scent on him and remembered how he unclothed her and helped her fix her broken rib in place on the Guan Xia road, how they slept on the same bed, her heart stirred and stared at him in a trance before turning around, leaving the room. Yang Guo saw that her eyes were filled with boundless love, his heart raced. He opened the Five Poison Codex and flipped through a few pages and remembered the antidote to the [Dive Five Poison Palm] and the Soul Freezing Silver Needles. He thought, These two antidotes are both extremely hard to create but if I dont die today, these two antidotes will eventually have a use later on. He suddenly heard the huts door creaked as someone pushed opened the door. He raised his head and saw Cheng Ying with red cheeks, she came over to the bed and he could see pearls of sweat on her forehead. Her breathing was slightly urgent. She said, Brother Yang, the earth formation that I have set outside is not good enough to hold back the Serpent Deity. She then took out a handkerchief from her pockets and offered it to him. She continued, If she breaks through and enters the house, give this to her. Yang Guo saw that it was only half a handkerchief, the decoration and quality was the same as the one that Lu Wu Shuang gave him, he was surprised and raised his head, his eyes met hers and he saw eyes that glistened with tears, she was embarrassed and pleased at the same time. He was about to ask further when Cheng Ying suddenly went red and whispered, Whatever you do, dont let my cousin know about this. When she finished, she swiftly exited. Yang Guo took out the handkerchief that Lu Wu Shuang gave him and lifted it up. Indeed, the two pieces of handkerchief came from the same piece, the handkerchief was old, the white silk was now a pale yellow colour, but the embroidered red flower was still as beautiful as beautiful as before. He looked at the handkerchiefs and knew that there was something behind this. Why did the two of them each give half the handkerchief to me? Why did they want me to give it to Li Mo Chou? Why did they want to keep the fact they gave the handkerchief to me away from each other? Why was it that when they handed the handkerchief over to me, their faces was filled with awkwardness and embarrassment? He sat on the bed, thinking to himself in a trance. He heard the faraway faint calls of a cockerel followed by music from a flute, he knew that Cheng Ying had finished setting up the formation and was now playing the flute to comfort herself, she was playing the song Liu Bo (flowing waves). The flute was soft and gentle, there was no sorrow within the music, instead

there was a soothing feeling, like the feeling of being carefree. Yang Guo listened for a little while and quietly followed along with it. Lu Wu Shuang sat behind the pile of earth and listened to her cousins flute and Yang Guo following along to it. Dawn was gradually approaching in the east. She thought, My master will be here very shortly, my life wont be able to pass this hour. I hope that when master sees the handkerchiefs, she will spare cousin and him, the two of them Lu Wu Shuang has always been astute and sharp, her cousin has always given her some degree of allowances ever since they were kids. But in the face of danger, she truly hoped that Yang Guo would be able to avoid harm, she loved him in her heart and secretly wished that he would be able to escape, even if he married her cousin, she would have no regrets in death. Just as she was thinking about this, she suddenly raised her head and saw a Taoist nun dressed in apricot yellow standing outside the earth formation, her right hand held a flywhisk, her gown fluttering in the wind, it was her master Li Mo Chou. Lu Wu Shuang trembled. She picked up her sword and stood up. Li Mo Chou stood there without moving, just listening with her ears. When she heard the flute and song, she recalled the events of years ago when she was playing music along with Lu Zhan Yuan, one played a flute, the other a panpipe, this song Liu Bo was the song that they used to play. This was twenty years ago, now the music was of old yet for her there was no secret exchange of the lover under the moon and wind, when she heard the soft and tender tune of the flute and song, she felt pain and sorrow and eventually couldnt stop herself from crying. Lu Wu Shuang could not have predicted this cry of sorrow by her master, she has always known her master to be a ruthless killer, where did this gentle and tender side come from? She has come her to kill, how come shes crying outside? But her cries were extremely sorrowful and sombre, she couldnt stop her heart from suffering from sadness. Yang Guo and Cheng Ying was startled when they heard the cries of Li Mo Chou and the song became disorganised. Li Mo Chou had a thought and suddenly started to sing, her voice graceful and mournful, she sang: 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? The flute was originally joyous, but Li Mo Chous song was filled with

sorrow, her tone mournful, it was completely different to the tune of Liu Bo, the voice became quieter, but the quieter it got, the higher the it got. Cheng Ying was slightly disturbed, she actually began to follow the song from union is bliss and by parting is woe, she could no longer stop herself from following her. She was alarmed and quickly changed the tune, but the music from a flute is peaceful and serene and her internal energy was shallow, she could not produce a high tune to subdue the song of Li Mo Chous song. She stumbled slightly and headed into the hut. She placed the jade flute down and sat by the side. She began to play the zither. Yang Guo also started to sing to help. Li Mo Chous song was becoming more and more mournful, Cheng Yings strings was producing higher and higher notes, a zheng sound was heard as the first zheng string on the zither suddenly snapped. Cheng Ying was startled and her fingers became slightly disorganized, the zithers second yu string was snapped. Li Mo Chous prolonged song was filled with tears, the third gong string was also snapped. Huang Yao Shi taught Cheng Ying the flute and zither, though she learnt from a great master she was still young, her abilities with them were not profound. Li Mo Chou had originally wanted to take the chance when the opponent was disturbed and distracted with the broken strings to break straight through but she that although the earth formation outside the hut seemed to be in a mess, hidden within were the changes of the five elements. She didnt understand this particular art and she has suffered many times in the ancient tomb before, there were some worries in her mind. She suddenly had an idea, she winded around to the right and crashed through the wall in the midst of the music and song. Cheng Yings earth formation was placed to protect the front of the house, it slipped her mind that the sides of the house werent guarded. Li Mo Chou slipped around the house and with her two palms crashed through the earth walls, breaking through. Lu Wu Shuang was alarmed, she raised her sword and rushed into the house. Yang Guo was injured and had no strength to stand up and fight, he could only lie there, not moving. Cheng Ying knew that if she fought Li Mo Chou she would lose her life in vain. She made a decision and forgot about life and death, she started to play the zither, a song of tao yao. It was a beautiful tune, flowing with joy. In her heart she was thinking, I have hard a life of hardships, dieing here by brother Yangs side means at least my life hasnt been in vain. She looked towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo gave a subtle smile towards her, Cheng Ying was filled with joy and bliss, she sang: The beauty of the blossom burns brightly, The zither flows the ocean spray, The music carries the fragrance of flowers, the soothing spring breeze. The bitterness on Li Mo Chous face gradually

disappeared, she asked Lu Wu Shuang, Wheres the book? Was it the Beggar Clan exactly who took it? Yang Guo took out the Five Poison Codex and threw it over to her. He said, The Beggar Clans chief Huang and chief Lu are righteous and virtuous people, what do they want with this evil book? They long passed down an order to Beggar Clan members to not to even open one page of this book. Li Mo Chou saw that this book was in its original condition; she knew the Beggar Clan was a righteous clan and had strict regulations; most probably they did not take a look at her book. Yang Guo also took out the two half pieces of handkerchief from his pockets and placed it down on the end of the bed and said, Take these handkerchief away! Li Mo Chous face changed completely, she waved her flywhisk and wrapped it around the handkerchiefs bringing it towards her. She held them startled, in her hand, her thoughts stirred, her state of mind unstable. Lu Wu Shuang and Cheng Ying looked at each other and both were red, they didnt predict that the other would give the handkerchief to Yang Guo, who took it out in the open. As they one looked at the other, their hearts were filled with thoughts, their eyes glistened, the air of death that was in the hut had now changed into an air of love. Cheng Yings song Tao Yao was played with even more happiness. Suddenly, Li Mo Chou tore the handkerchief in four and said, The past is the past, why is there a need to return there? Her hands ripped urgently for a while and then flung the pieces into the air, the pieces of the torn handkerchief like descending petals. Cheng Ying was startled and after a zheng sound, another string of the zither snapped. Li Mo Chou angrily shouted, Break another string! In the midst of the mournful song, the fifth gen string did indeed snap. Li Mo Chou chuckled and said, Now Im going to make you suffer, you wont be able to beg for your life nor death, quickly wail for me. The zither had two strings remaining, Cheng Yings abilities with a zither were ordinary and it was difficult for her to form a tune. Li Mo Chou said, Quickly play a mournful notes! There is too much suffering in the world, what joy is there in living? Cheng Ying played two notes, although it didnt form a tune, it was still following the music of the Tao Yao. Li Mo Chou said, Fine, Ill first kill one of you, will you be mournful then? That severely toned shout caused another string of the zither to snap, she raised her flywhisk, about to strike down on Lu Wu Shuangs head. Yang Guo smiled and said, The three of us dying together today is a much more happier experience than you will have living alone in the world. Sister Ying, sister Shuang, come over here. Lu Wu Shuang

and Cheng Ying went over to the bed. Yang Guos right hand held Lu Wu Shuang, his left held Cheng Ying, he smiled and said, The three of us dying together will allow us to chat and joke on the Huang Guan path (road to underworld), isnt that ten times better than being that evil woman? Lu Wu Shuang smiled and said, Yes, good Sha Dan, youre right. Cheng Ying gave a warm smile. The two cousins were both enchanted as Yang Guo held onto their hands. Yet Yang Guo was thinking, Its a pity that it isnt Gu Gu who is by my side. But he forced a joyful smile, he lightly pulled the two closer against his body. Li Mo Chou thought, Hes right, them three dying like this is better than living like me. She pondered, How can you have things that are to your advantage on this earth? Ill make sure that youre filled with sorrow and grief before you die. So she lightly swung her flywhisk and with a face resembling bitter frost, she started to quietly sing, she was singing the O mortals, what is love? That binds beyond life on earth? song, the song and tone was filled with sorrow and grief, like an abandoned woman crying, like a night ghost wailing. The three of them held hands together as they listened, after a while, they couldnt stop themselves from feeling hurt in their hearts. Yang Guos internal energy was relatively profound and wasnt moved, his face still carried a subtle smile; Lu Wu Shuang was strong, she would not be easily moved; Cheng Ying however could endure no longer and tears flowed. The longer Li Mo Chou sang, the quieter it became, eventually, it was as if it was there and as if it wasnt. As soon as the three cried, the Serpent Deity will wave out her flywhisk and kill them all. Just as soon as when the song was becoming extremely sad and depressing, someone from outside the hut suddenly laughed out loud and clapped as they made their way towards the hut. It was a womans voice, it appeared that the voice was not young but what she was singing was a nave and innocent song: Sway, sway, sway, sway until to grannys bridge, granny calls me my precious, sweets in one bag, fruit in the other, once Ive finished Ill take another. The song was filled with joy and happiness, Li Mo Chous sadness and sorrow in her song was disturbed. The song was getting close and closer, after a while someone entered the hut from the front door, it was a middle-aged woman with dishevelled hair and clothes, her eyes round and wide opened, she laughed foolishly and her hand held a fire fork. Li Mo Chou was startled, How did she get pass them piles of earth and enter through the main door so easily? If she isnt with them then she

must be versed in art of formations and changes. As she concentrated on this, the power of her song immediately decreased. When Cheng Ying saw this woman she was delighted and called out, Senior apprentice sister, that woman wants to hurt me, help me. That dishevelled hair woman was Sha Gu. She was actually a generation lower than Cheng Ying but she was a lot older, thats the reason why Cheng Ying called her senior apprentice sister. Sha Gu clapped her hands and laughed, she started to sing some songs at the top of her voice, she would sing songs like Sparkling star in the sky, nothing on the ground my oh my, Precious Pagoda tip, surging up, the sky it rips. Sometimes she would remember the wrong lyrics and replace them with whatever she thought of. Li Mo Chou wanted to use the sorrowful and mournful song to subdue her but how would she know that it wouldnt affect her. Love comes from the heart, but since her heart was full of confusion and disorder, even if the outside influence was stronger there will be no way to create and stir up these feelings; instead when Sha Gus muddled up songs disturbed Li Mo Chous sorrowful tone, it stopped her control over Yang Guo and the others. Li Mo Chou was furious and thought, I need to get rid of this person first. Before the song finished, she waved her flywhisk and attacked her head. Years ago, Huang Yao Shi punished his innocent disciples out of anger and as a result caused his disciple Qu Ling Feng to die under the hands of his enemies, he regretted this and so took in Qu Ling Fengs daughter Sha Gu under his care and decided to teach everything he knew to her. However, when Sha Gu saw her father being harmed, she suffered a severe shock and it remained in her mind, no matter how many times Huang Yao Shi tried to make her better, man cannot turn back time, without mentioning trying to teach her all the arts and martial arts he knew, trying to get her to recognise a few words and learn a few coarse martial arts was something that he couldnt do. But over the last ten years, under the instruction of a great master, Sha Gu has learnt a set of palm techniques and a fork technique. Its called a set but really there were only three stances of palm and fork techniques. Huang Yao Shi knew she would not remember any sort of variation or extraordinary stances so he thought deeply and came up with three palms stances and three fork stances. Those six stances were ordinary and didnt have any variation behind them, the power of these techniques all comes from practise. When normal people practise martial arts, little practise will lead to only tens of stances being learnt, a lot will lead to variations surpassing a thousand. Sha Gu only practised six stances so as time

goes by, naturally these stances will be refined and precise, though there are few stances, it was not anything ordinary. As to how she went through the formation, this is because she has lived on Peach Blossom Island for a long time, the formation that Cheng Ying had set up were coarse and basic skills of Peach Blossom Island, Sha Gu didnt even take a look and just naturally followed her steps forward to the hut. Right now, she saw Li Mo Chous flywhisk coming towards her, she thrust out the fork towards her chest. Li Mo Chou heard that the sound of air being sliced through was urgent, she couldnt stop herself from being alarmed, Hard to predict that this woman possesses such profound internal strength. She quickly stepped to the left and sent the flywhisk towards her head. Sha Gu didnt care what the opponents stance was and just thrust her fork forward. Li Mo Chous flywhisk twisted and wrapped around the head of the fork. It was as if Sha Gu didnt see what had happened, the fork kept on going forward. Li Mo Chou circulated her internal energy to fling the weapon away but the fire fork didnt move an inch, in a flash it was now in between her chest. At least Li Mo Chous martial arts were high and managed to use [Steps of the Turning Seven Stars] in this danger, and leapt out of the hole in the wall, avoiding this lightning like attack but she broke out in a cold sweat due to fright. She concentrated and leapt back into the hut and attacked with her flywhisk in midair. Sha Gu didnt change her stance with the enemys and just thrust forwards again but because the enemy was in the air, the fork was now aiming for her opponents abdomen. Li Mo Chou saw the incoming attack was fast and powerful, she turned her flywhisk around and used the handle to block the attack and used its force to dart away. She looked at her stunned, thinking, Just know, my three attacks contained nine different variation and twelve different follow ups, a skilled fighter of wulin would not be able to see through them just like that. This woman just uses one fork and neutralised my sixty-three variations in these stances. This persons martial arts are excellent, I better leave! She didnt know that Sha Gus fork technique only had three stances, if Li Mo Chou fought for a little while longer she would be able to see through her martial arts and win easily. Sha Gu had three fork stances, just by using one fork stance she scared away an extremely powerful enemy, the master of Peach Blossom Island should be really proud. Li Mo Chou turned around and was about to leap out of the hut through the hole by the side of the wall when she saw someone sitting down by the hole, the person was in a blue green gown and had a long beard, it was the person who saved Cheng Ying from her clutches all those years ago Huang Yao Shi Island Master Huang. He was sitting down and had placed Cheng Yings zither on a stool.

When Li Mo Chou was in battle, her eyes and ears were extremely alert, but how Huang Yao Shi entered, how he took the zither and when he sat down on the floor, she failed to notice all those things, if he had ambushed her from behind, wouldnt taking her life be as easy as turning his palm? When Li Mo Chou was exchanging stances with Sha Gu, she was worried about Cheng Ying and the others joining in to help so she did not stop her song, keeping their state of mind unbalanced. As she saw Huang Yao Shi sitting there quietly strumming the zither, she trembled and her song stopped. Huang Yao Shi played one note on the zither and sang, O mortals, what is love? That binds beyond life on earth? He sang Li Mo Chous song. The zither only had the yu string remaining but he still managed to play the notes of the gong, shang, jiao, zheng and yu. With the mournful tone of the zither, Huang Yao Shi overwhelmed Li Mo Chous song. Li Mo Chou was extremely familiar with this song, as soon as Huang Yao Shi added the tune, she was affected ten times deeper than when Yang Guo and the others were affected. Huang Yao Shi had known long ago about her evil ways, today he wanted to take the opportunity to rid her. Years ago he had used his jade flute to compete against Ou Yang Fengs iron zither and Hong Qi Gongs whistling and fought to a draw. This was many years ago, because of his age, his vigour wasnt what it used to be but his internal energy became more and more profound as he practised, how can Li Mo Chou resist? In just a short while she felt her mind slipping out of her control. Huang Yao Shis song and tune would suddenly turn joyous, then anger, suddenly resounding and overbearing, then suddenly lowly and humble, many changes in the wink of an eye, forcing Li Mo Chou to suddenly feel delight and then sorrow, suddenly anger then worry, when this song finishes, Li Mo Chou would have been forced to go mad. Just at this time, Sha Gu turned her head around and suddenly saw Yang Guo, under the candlelight, he was an image of his father Yang Kang. The thing that Sha Gu is most afraid of are ghosts, the images of what had happened when Yang Kang died due to poison were deeply etched into her mind, she will never forget it, when she saw Yang Guo sitting there, she knew that it was Yang Kangs ghost coming back to haunt her, she quickly leapt up and pointed to him, saying, Brother brother Yang, dont dont hurt me it it wasnt me who killed you go go and find someone else. Huang Yao Shi wasnt prepared for her disturbance and a zheng sound was heard as the final string on the zither snapped. Sha Gu hid behind him and called out, Ghost ghost grandpa, its brother Yangs ghost. With this pause, Li Mo Chou quickly used her flywhisk and extinguished all the candles in the room and leapt out through the hole in the wall. Huang Yao Shi had yet to take her life and eventually she managed to

escape, he had to uphold his status and so he could not go and chase after her. Sha Gu was even more afraid in dark and called out even louder, Its an evil ghost, grandpa, beat that ghost, beat that ghost! Huang Yao Shi kept Sha Gu in check. Cheng Ying lit up the candles and then knelt on the floor and bowed to her master. She stood up and then told him simple background of Yang Guo and Lu Wu Shuang. Huang Yao Shi laughed and said, My martial grand daughter has always been stupid like this. She knows your father. You indeed do look a lot like your father. Yang Guo bent his waist and bowed to him on the bed and said, Forgive junior, I have an injury and cannot bow properly. Huang Yao Shis face was very friendly and said, You didnt give a care about your life and saved my daughter and granddaughter, you really are a good child. Huang Yao Shi had seen Huang Rong and knew what had happened, he heard that Cheng Ying had rescued him so he took Sha Gu with him and searched for them. Huang Yao Shi took out some effective recuperative medicine and gave it to your Yang Guo to take. He then circulated his internal energy and passed it into Yang Guo through his palm to help him recover. Yang Guo felt as if his arms were on fire, his body started to create a force to repel this. Huang Yao Shi felt him tremble and noticed that his veins and chi was circulating, there was a resisting internal energy that was being created so he increased the strength in his hands. After a while, Yang Guo felt his limbs and bones were at ease and soothed, and gradually he fell into a deep sleep. When Yang Guo woke up the next day, he opened his eyes and saw Huang Yao Shi sitting at the end of the bed. He quickly sat up and greeted him. Huang Yao Shi said, Do you know what title I go by in Jiang Hu? Yang Guo said, Senior is Island Master Huang? Huang Yao Shi said, And? Yang Guo felt that it was inappropriate to say the words Eastern Heretic but he had a thought, since his nickname is Eastern Heretic, his character will be different to normal people so he boldly said, You are Eastern Heretic! Huang Yao Shi laughed and said, Correct. Ive heard that your martial arts are not bad, your heart is good but you do things in heretical ways. I also heard that you want to marry your master, is that right? Yang Guo said, Correct, senior, everyone doesnt allow me to do this but even if Ill die Ill still want to marry her. Those words were like a nail striking metal, Huang Yao Shi stared at him for a while and then suddenly raised his head and laughed towards the sky, shaking the grass on the roof. Yang Guo said angrily, Whats so funny about that? I thought that because you are called Eastern Heretic, you would have some extraordinary opinion, but who would

have thought that you are just like the others. Huang Yao Shi loudly said, Great, great, great! After he said this, he turned around and left. Yang Guo sat on the bed startled, he thought, My words really offended that senior. But how come he didnt have any signs of anger on his face? He didnt; know that as Huang Yao Shi roamed the world, the one thing he hated most was the present custom and traditions of the world, his actions and words did not confer to the normal and because of this he was give the name Heretic. He has met many people before but he did not have an understanding friend in his life, though he had a daughter and son in law as loved ones, they did not understand him. He didnt know that in his later years he would come upon Yang Guo. The events of the heroes meet had already spread to his ears and Huang Rong told him about how this young mans actions and behaviour, after speaking to him a few times he found that Yang Guo matched his expectations even more. That night, Huang Yao Shi returned to the room and said, Yang Guo, I heard you expelled yourself from Quan Zhen sect and beat up your master, your are rather heretical. Why dont you leave the Ancient Tomb sect, and then enter my tutelage. Yang Guo was startled and said, Why? Huang Yao Shi laughed and said, First youll acknowledge that Xiao Long Nuu is not your master and then marry her, wont that be proper? Yang Guo said, Thats a good idea. But who set the rule that you cant marry your master? I want her to be my master and my wife. Huang Yao Shi clapped and laughed, he said, Great! The way you think is a level higher than me. He stretched out his hand to help him recuperate through his palms and said, I originally wanted you to enter my tutelage so I could let the world know that after senior Heretic Huang, theres a young Heretic Yang. You dont want to be my disciple, I cant do anything about that. Yang Guo said, I dont have to be your disciple to spread your Heretic name. If you dont mind me being of a young age and have poor martial arts, we could be friends or else we could become brothers. Huang Yao Shi angrily said, You sure are bold for a little kid. Im not the Old Urchin Zhou Bo Tong, how can there be no order between us? Yang Guo said, Whos the Old Urchin Zhou Bo Tong? Huang Yao Shi then told him a few things about Zhou Bo Tongs character and how he became sworn brothers with Guo Jing. The two of them chatted and hit it off perfectly, theres a saying: A thousand cups is too little for understanding friends who meets through wine, half a word it too much for those whose words dont get along. Yang Guo was good with words and along with the closeness of his character to Huang Yao Shis, whenever he spoke, Huang Yao Shi would sigh as someone

understands him, for him, it really was like meeting an old friend at first sight, a meeting that has come extremely late. Though he didnt admit it through his words, I his heart he treated him as a friend of old, that night he told Cheng Ying to prepare another bed for him in the same room and the two continued their exchange. Days passed and Yang Guos injury recovered. He and Huang Yao Shi were like glue, like paint, it was difficult to separate the two. Huang Yao Shi had originally wanted to take Sha Gu south but right now he didnt mention one word about leaving. Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang watched the old and young with amusement, in the day they will drink wine together and at night, they would talk under the candlelight without end. They felt that the old didnt have the status as the senior and young was too unrestrained and had no fear. When it came to discussions in knowledge, Yang Guo wasnt anywhere as knowledgeable as Huang Yao Shi but whatever Huang Yao Shi said, Yang Guo would concentrate on understanding, when he made a comment he would just add a single word yet his comment had its fine points, Huang Yao Shi couldnt stop himself from treating him as the closest friend in his life. In these past few days, apart from spending time with Huang Yao Shi talking, he would always think about how Sha Gu mistakenly recognized him as his father and the words that she said, It wasnt me who killed you, go and find someone else! He knew that Sha Gu must know who had killed his father, other people might not say, but Sha Gu is mad and crazy, maybe he could reveal the truth from her. After midday, Yang Guo said, Sha Gu, come, I have something to say to you. Sha Gu felt that he looked like Yang Kang too much and was still afraid, she shook her head and said, I dont want to play with you. Yang Guo said, I know circus tricks, are you going to watch? Sha Gu shook her head and said, Youre lying, I dont want to watch. She closed her eyes after she said this. Yang Guo suddenly flipped upside down with his legs above his head and called out, Quickly look! He used the martial arts that Ou Yang Feng taught him of walking upside down and leapt forward. Sha Gu opened her eyes and was delighted as soon as she saw this, she clapped and cheered and followed behind him. Yang Guo kept on leaping forward and arrived at a hidden and covered woods faraway from the hut, he turned upright and said, Lets play hide and seek, you want to? But the loser has to be punished. Sha Gu has been following Huang Yao Shi for the past few years, who played with her? When she heard Yang Guo said this, she was ecstatic and clapped her hands, most of the fear she had for him disappeared and she said, Great, great. Good brother, what is the punishment?

She called his father brother, and she also called him brother. Yang Guo took out a handkerchief and blindfolded her and said, Come and catch me. If you catch me, then whatever question you ask Ill have to answer it truthfully. If you cant catch me then I get to ask you a question, you have to answer it truthfully as well. Sha Gu replied, Great, great! Yang Guo called out, Im over here, come and catch me! Sha Gu opened her arms and followed the calls. Yang Guo possessed the lightness kung fu of the Ancient Tomb sect, even if Sha Gu wasnt blindfolded she would not be able to catch him, after chasing for a while, she crashed into a tree with bruises on her forehead as a result and she started to cry out in pain. Yang Guo was afraid that Sha Gu would not want to play anymore so he deliberately slowed down and made light noise. Sha Gu rushed forward and grabbed his back and called out, Ive caught you, Ive caught you! Her face was full of delight as she took off her blindfold. Yang Guo said, Fine, Ive lost, ask me ask a question. She stared at him, startled, her mind was uncertain; she didnt know what to ask. After a long while, she asked, Good brother, have you eaten yet? She thought for so long but came up with such a simple question, Yang Guo almost laughed out. He didnt make a noise and seriously replied, Ive eaten already. Sha Gu nodded and didnt say anything else. Yang Guo said, What else do you want to ask? Sha Gu shook her head and said, I dont want to ask anymore, lets play again. Yang Guo said, Fine, come and catch me. Sha Gu touched the bruise on her forehead and said, This time its your turn to catch me. This time, she suddenly didnt act crazy, Yang Guo didnt predict this but this was what he wanted so he took the handkerchief and blindfolded himself. Though Sha Gu was mad, her lightness kung fu was pretty good, Yang Guo couldnt see, how could he catch her? He leapt forward a few times and then secretly he tore an opening on the blindfold and saw her hiding on the right behind a large tree. He deliberately faced the left, pretending to think, he said, Where are you? Where are you? He suddenly flipped over and caught her wrist. He quickly put the handkerchief in his pockets with his left hand in case she saw through the ripped handkerchief. He laughed and said, This time its my turn to ask you a question. Sha Gu said, Ive eaten already. Yang Guo laughed and said, Im not asking about that. This is my question, you know my father, right? His face was extremely serious as he said this. Sha Gu said, Whos your father? Yang Guo said, Theres a person who looks just like me, who is that? Sha Gu said, Ah, thats brother Yang. Yang Guo asked, You saw that brother Yang being killed

by someone, didnt you? Sha Gu said, Yeah, it was in the middle of the night in a temple, there were lots of crows calling out wu ai, wu ai, wu ai! The forest was covered and hidden and was already dark, her calls made the forest seem even more eerie. Yang Guo trembled and asked, How did brother Yang die? Sha Gu said, Auntie wanted me to say, brother Yang didnt allow me to say, he struck auntie with a palm and laughed out loud, haha! Haha! Haha! She used all her efforts in copying Yang Kangs laugh before he died, her laugh even scared herself and her face was filled with fear. Yang Guo listened puzzled, he asked, Whos auntie? Sha Gu said, Auntie is auntie. Yang Guo knew that the puzzle to his fathers death was about to be solved, he was full of emotions and was about to ask another question when suddenly someone from behind said, What are you two playing here? It was Huang Yao Shis voice. Sha Gu said, Good brother is playing hide and seek with me. It was he who wanted me to play, not me wanting him to play. Dont scold me. Huang Yao Shi smiled a little and then looked at Yang Guo, his looked as if he has seen through what Yang Guo was thinking about. Yang Guos heart raced, he was about to say a few words to cover it up when suddenly, sounds of footsteps could be heard from outside the forest, Cheng Ying was holding Lu Wu Shuang as they hurried towards them and she said to Huang Yao Shi, Master is right, she is still around. She then pointed to the hill in the west. Yang Guo asked, Who? Cheng Ying said, Li Mo Chou! Yang Guo was extremely shocked, he was thinking why on earth was she so bold, he looked at Huang Yao Shi, hoping that he will be able to explain. Huang Yao Shi gave laugh and said, Lets go over there and take a look. Everyone had no fear with him around so they headed towards that hill in the west. Cheng Ying knew that Yang Guo had questions in his heart and quietly said, Master said that Li Mo Chou knows that he has the status of a great master. That night he wanted to take her life but he was unable to at the first attempt, a second attempt on her life would be shameful. Yang Guo understood. He said alarmed, Because of this she could guard here confidently and wait for the chance to take our lives. If Island Master Huang didnt see through this, we would have thought that she had long gone and let our guard down and eventually suffer under her hands. Cheng Ying smiled warmly and nodded. Lu Wu Shuang interrupted, You think you are cleverer than most people, but compared with Island Master Huang, theres a long way to go. Yang Guo laughed and said, Im Sha Dan, Im dumber than most people, Im Sha Gus good

brother. The five of them soon arrived. There was a small hut besides a large tree, it was broken and dilapidated, there was a piece of paper nailed onto the door. There were four lines: The master of Peach Blossom Island, Disciples he has many, Five against one, Its the laughing stock of Jiang Hu! Huang Yao Shi laughed and casually picked up two pebbles and placed them in between his middle finger and thumb, after an chi chi sound, the pebbles shot forward urgently. A pai sound was heard as the two small pebbles knocked the doors open from over ten paces away. When Yang Guo was on Peach Blossom Island, he had from Guo Fu that her grandfather had a skill called the [Divine Flicking Fingers], today, he saw it with his own eyes and far exceeds the tales about it, he was in awe. Once the doors opened, they saw Li Mo Chou sitting on a mat on the floor, her hands holding her flywhisk, her eyes closed, she looked collected and was meditating just like a Taoist. She was in the hut by herself, Hong Ling Bo was nowhere to be seen. A thought went through Yang Guos mind and he understood, Shes laughing at Island Master Huang for having many disciples and winning through numbers, thats why she sent Hong Ling Bo away to make it even more apparent. Shes confident not because she can defend against Island Master Huang, its because since shes by herself, with Island Master Huangs status, it would not be appropriate to attack her. The memories of her parents death and the torment she had through the years stirred in Lu Wu Shuang, she suddenly drew out her sword and called out, Cousin, Sha Dan, we dont Island Master Huang to fight her, lets all attack her. Sha Gu rubbed her knuckles and palms and said, And me! Li Mo Chou opened her eyes and glanced across at the five, a look of contempt was on her face and she closed her eyes again, it was as if she was ignoring the enemies in front of her. Cheng Ying looked at her master, waiting for his orders. Huang Yao Shi sighed and said, Indeed, old Heretic Huang has many disciples, if any of my four senior disciples Chen, Mei, Qu, Lu were here, how would she be allowed to say a word? He then waved his hand and said, Lets leave. The four of them did not understand what he was thinking and followed him back to the hut. They saw that he was unhappy, he went to bed and didnt even eat supper. Yang Guo slept on the bed next to his and recalled the things he said with Sha Gu, he then pondered about Li Mo Chou, he thought, Shes laughing at us because its five against one, Ive recovered from my

injury now, with my strength alone I may not lose to her, why dont I sneak away and fight a round with her, this way I can clean her insults about me and Gu Gu and help Island Master Huang vent his anger. He made his decision and dressed himself quietly. Though he was impulsive, he did things rather carefully, he knew Li Mo Chou really was a strong foe, if he made just one move he would die under her hands so he sat on his bed and circulated his chi and prepared himself, once he was at his peak, he will go and fight the duel to death. He had sat there for around an hour when suddenly his eyes lit up, chi was everywhere in his body and he couldnt stop himself from calling out. The call was like the roar of a dragon, like a tiger bellowing in a deep valley, the sound spreading far and wide. Huang Yao Shi had noticed that he was awake when he had got up to dress himself, when he heard this extraordinary call, he was shocked and delighted, he didnt predict that Yang Guos internal energy would make a break through right at this time. When someones internal energy reaches a certain stage, they will unconsciously call out. Later on in the Ming Dynasty, the Da Ru King Yang Ming was practising his qi in the middle in the night in his encampment when he suddenly made a prolonged call, shocking his entire camp. Right now, Yang Guos chi was abundant and was hard for him to control it, the bellow spread throughout many miles. Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang was extremely startled, even Li Mo Chou was frightened when she heard it but she thought that it was Huang Yao Shi who was exercising his chi, there was no need to be afraid as he wasnt going to do anything. Yang Guo has had the help of the chilled jade bed and has practised the important aspects of the [Jade Heart Manual] and [Nine Yin Manual], his accumulated internal energy had become profound, a few days before Huang Yao Shi had helped him to recuperate but Island Master Huangs internal energy was of a different nature to his and it was provoked by this extremely profound internal energy, now he couldnt control himself and released a long bellow. The bellow continued for a while before gradually it quietened and stilled. Huang Yao Shi thought, I have always thought that my talents were not of this earth yet I had to wait until I was thirty before reaching such a stage. This young man has reached this stage at least ten years before me, I wonder what events he has encountered? He waited for Yang Guo to finish and stand up before asking, Tell me, what do you think is Li Mo Chous most powerful skill? When Yang Guo heard this, he knew that his intentions had been seen through and replied, It is the [Divine Five Poison Palm] and her flywhisk techniques. Huang Yao Shi said, Correct, since your internal energy has some foundation it wouldnt be

difficult to neutralise her most proficient skill. Yang Guo was delighted and bowed down to him. Yang Guo was very proud, though he recognised Huang Yao Shi was a senior and his abilities were superb, he didnt lower his head to him, now that he heard that the martial arts that Li Mo Chou uses to roam the realm can be neutralised, how can he not be in awe? Huang Yao Shi then taught him the skill of the [Divine Flicking Fingers] to neutralise Li Mo Chous [Divine Five Poison Palm] and a sword technique derived from his jade flute to neutralise the flywhisk techniques. Yang Guo listened to him point out the important aspects of these techniques and then asked him to explain some of the difficulties, he concentrated and committed them to memory but he felt that although that these two types of martial arts are profound and mastery, to make some progress, one will need to practise for at least a year, if he wanted to reach a stage where he will be able to beat her, it will take three years and no less. He said, Island Master Huang, there is no way to beat her right now. Huang Yao Shi said, Three years will pass in the blink of an eye. Then youll be twenty one, twenty two years of age, and will have learnt these two types of martial arts, isnt that enough? Yang Guo said, Im Im not doing it for me Huang Yao Shi patted his shoulder and said warmly, When you kill her three years later for me, I will be extremely touched. Years ago I destroyed my disciples, shouldnt I get some kind of payback today? He gave a long sigh after he said this. Yang Guo knelt down and kowtowed eight times to him and then called out, Master! He knew that Huang Yao Shi had passed on martial arts to him so that he will be able cleanse the four lines of Li Mo Chous insult, to do this, they will have to be recognised as master and disciple. But Huang Yao Shi knew that his ties with the Ancient Tomb were extremely deep, he would be unwillingly to accept another master so he helped him up and said, When you fight that witch, you are my disciple, at all other times, you are my friend. Little brother Yang, do you understand? Yang Guo laughed and said, To be able to make a friend like you really is a glorious event. Huang Yao Shi said, The two of us meeting is the luck of three generations. The two of them laughed, their sounds moving the four walls. Huang Yao Shi once again explained in detail the secrets and ideas of the [Divine Flicking Finger] and the [Jade Flute Swordplay] to him. Yang Guo heard that he was explaining them thoroughly and knew that he was about to leave. He said gloomily, Weve just met and now we are

about to part, when will we be able to meet again? Huang Yao Shi laughed and said, The two of us are linked, even if we are at the ends of the world, well still be like neighbours. If in the future I found out that someone is blocking your marriage, even if Im ten thousand miles away I will rush back and help you. Yang Guo was comforted by this promise and laughed, Im afraid that the first person who will come out and stop this marriage will be your loved one. Huang Yao Shi said, She marries her ideal man and forgets about the suffering and bitterness of others? My precious daughter only listens to her husband, haha, obey the husband when married, that really is something! He laughed loudly after he said this and turned around and left the room, in a flash his laughter could be heard tens of feet away, he really moved like a divine dragon without trace. Yang Guo stood there for a while stunned and then sat down and went over the two martial arts that he had just learnt. Not long after, the sky became bright. Suddenly he saw the door open, Cheng Ying had entered with blue green cloth and a blue green gown in her hands, she gave a little smile and said, Try this on, see whether it fits you. Yang Guo was extremely touched, his hands trembled a little as he received it. Their eyes met and he saw that Cheng Yings eyes were full of love and boundless tenderness. He went over to the side of the bed and tried the new gown. He felt that the gown fitted perfectly and said, Im Im Im really grateful. Cheng Ying showed another smile but immediately a depressed expression was on her face, she sighed and said, Master has gone, I dont know when Ill be able to see him again. She was about to sit down and say something when she saw a yellow image at the door and then immediately disappeared, she knew it was her cousin outside and thought, That girl has many thoughts, its not appropriate for me to stay in his room for too long. She stood up and slowly walked out. He carefully studied the gown and noticed that the stitching was careful and tight, he thought, She and wifey treats me the same but my heart belongs to someone else, I cant love others. If I dont leave soon, Ill be giving them two a lot of grief. He thought about this for half a day, but he was also afraid that when he leaves, Li Mo Chou would suddenly come and attack them. He went to her hut to take a look and saw that in its place was a pile of ash, Li Mo Chou had burnt the hut and left. The enemy had left and so that night, he wrote a parting letter under the candlelight, he thought about the two girls love and felt depressed,

he saw that his letter werent worded with great aptitude and his handwriting was poor, he was afraid that Cheng Ying would laugh and so ripped the letter up. That night he tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to sleep. In his blurry state, he suddenly heard Lu Wu Shuang tapping his door and calling out, Sha Dan, Sha Dan! Quickly come and take a look. Her voice sounded rather anxious and afraid. Yang Guo got up and clothed himself and opened the door, he felt a slightly chilly breeze, the sky wasnt bright yet. Lu Wu Shuangs face was filled with fear and pointed at the outside door. Yang Guo followed her hand and was shocked; there were four red blood handprints on the door, Li Mo Chou must have come over to survey the group and found that Huang Yao Shi had left, the four prints were left to tell them that she was going to kill the four of them. Cheng Ying came out after them and asked, When did you see this? Lu Wu Shuang said, Before the sky started to get bright. Once she said this, her face went red. She was longing for Yang Guo and had paced back and forth below his window. Cheng Ying pretended that she didnt know and said, Luckily you didnt bump into her. The sun has began to rise, that witch wont come again today. Weve still got time to plan. The three of them returned to Yang Guos room and discussed what to do about the situation. Lu Wu Shuang said, She had a taste of Sha Gus kung fu the other day, how come shes not afraid of her? Cheng Ying said, Apprentice sisters fork technique only has a few stances. She went away and thought about it carefully and must have come up with a way to neutralize it. Lu Wu Shuang said, However, Sha Dan has recovered from his injury, with the two Sha people together, wont their power be great? Yang Guo laughed and said, Sha Dan plus a Sha Gu, youve got dumb and dumber, what power? The three of them continued on their discussion for a while but couldnt come up with any great plan, they thought about the four of them fighting together, they wont be able to beat her but can protect themselves, they decided to on fighting her with all their efforts when she comes again the next day. Yang Guo said, The two Sha people will join up and fight her from the front, you two attack from the sides. Lets go find Sha Gu and practise our plan. The three of them called for Sha Gu but there was no reply. They didnt know where she was and the three of them began to worry. The three of them split up to search for her. Cheng Ying searched for a little while and suddenly saw Sha Gu lying in a pile of rocks, her breathing was

weak, Cheng Ying was alarmed and quickly took off her clothes to take a look; she saw that there was a red palm print on her back, she had fallen victim to Li Mo Chous [Divine Five Poison Palm]. Cheng Ying quickly called for Yang Guo and Lu Wu Shuang and then fed a Nine Flower Reveal Jade pill to her. Yang Guo remembered the method to cure this palm from the Five Poison Codex and quickly circulated his internal energy and controlled her pressure points. Sha Gu laughed foolishly and said, Evil woman, behind, hit me. Sha Gu, hit back, hit her. The counterattack that Sha Gu used was one of the three palms techniques that Huang Yao Shi taught her, though Li Mo Chou succeeded in her ambush, she was struck on the arm and almost had her arm broken, she was scared and in pain and left swiftly, not daring to continue her stances to take her life. The three rescued Sha Gu back to the hut and sat anxiously, with one of the good fighters hurt, tomorrows battle will be even harder to defend against the enemy. Sha Gu had a serious injury, if they escaped with her in tow, they will definitely be caught by Li Mo Chou. Yang Guo looked at Cheng Ying and then at Lu Wu Shuang, he then picked up a piece of string from the needle basket that was at hand and then grabbed a pair of scissors and started to cut. Sha Gu was lying on the bed and suddenly called out, Cut it, cut that evil womans broom! Cut that broom! She didnt know it was called a flywhisk and called it a broom. Yang Guo had an idea, That witchs flywhisk is a soft weapon and she uses it superbly, precious sabres and sharp swords cant harm her, if there really was a large pair of scissors that could be used as a weapon and cut her flywhisk, thatll be great. As he thought about this, the string in his left hand started to move like a flywhisk, the scissors in his right hand came forward and cut the string in two, he then pondered about the flywhisks movements and how to control the scissors to attack, drawing up a set of techniques. Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang watched for a while and then understood, delight was on their faces. Cheng Ying said, Theres a blacksmiths seven, eight miles north of here... Lu Wu Shuang interrupted and said, Great, well go and get that blacksmith to forge a large pair of scissors. Yang Guo thought, It would be difficult to forge this weapon in such a rush but I have to adjust to the changes of battle, this is a lot easier than learning the [Jade Flute Swordplay], and anyway, we dont have another plan so weve got to give it a try. If one of them goes and make the order for the blacksmith, it would be extremely dangerous if Li Mo Chou comes and suddenly ambushes that person, right now the four of them could

not be separated. So Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang set up some bedding on the horse and placed Sha Gu on the back of the horse. They made their way to the blacksmiths. After the Mongols destroyed the Jins, they entered the boundaries of Song land, this place was the northern frontier of the Songs borders, the Mongols ransacked cities and towns and the whole place was in ruins. The blacksmith store was very simple, in the middle was a large anvil, on the floor were pieces of coal and fragments of metals, there were a few plows and sickles hung on the wall, there was no one in the store. Yang Guo looked at the store and thought, How can weapons be made here! But since theyve made their way here, he might as well ask so he called out loudly, Is the blacksmith home? After a while, an old man entered from the side of the room, his beard and hair was grey, he was about fifty years old. The man had a hump most probably from bending down to forge metal over a long time, his eyes were red and small because of smoke from the fires, his left leg was crippled and he had a crutch under his arms. He said, How can I help you? Yang Guo was about to reply when suddenly noises of galloping horses could be heard, two horses rushed towards the store; on one of the horses was a Mongolian captain, the other was a Han, Yang Guo didnt know whether he was a translator or a guide. The Han loudly said, Blacksmith Feng? Come over here and listen to the orders. The old man greeted them and said, I am him. The Han said, The captain has the following orders: all the blacksmiths of this town has three days to gather together at Xian city to aid the army. You have to be there tomorrow, you hear? Blacksmith Feng said, I am old The Mongolian captain raised his whip and said a few words. The Han said, If youre not there tomorrow, watch your head get cut off. After he said this, the two left. Blacksmith Feng stood there and was lost in thought. Cheng Ying saw that he was old and pitiful, she took out some money and placed it on the table, she said, Master Feng, youre old and cant move well, wont working in the Mongolian camp lead to losing your life in vain? Take this money and run away! Blacksmith Feng sighed and said, Thank you for misss kindness. Old Blacksmith here has lived for so long, living and dying isnt much to me. But the thousands and thousands of lives of Jiang Nan will be in danger. The three of them were startled and asked, Why? Blacksmith Feng said, The Mongolian army is gathering blacksmiths to forge weapons. Once they have enough, the will definitely invade south into

the land of the Song. The three of them heard that his words were unique and was very reasonable, they wanted to ask further when Blacksmith Feng said, What do you three want to order? Yang Guo said, Since master Feng has other matters to attend to, I shouldnt disturb you but I need it urgently so I have to trouble you. Yang Guo then described the form and size of the scissors to him, the scissors was a special object but who would have thought that as soon as blacksmith Feng heard it, there wasnt any signs of surprise on his face. He nodded and pushed and pulled the air trunk and started the furnace up. He then placed two pieces of iron into the furnace. Yang Guo said, Will it be forged by tonight? Blacksmith Feng said, I will do my best and go as fast as possible. He pulled and pushed the air trunk furiously, the coal turned into a blood red colour. Sha Gu was on the table, half lying down and half sitting up. Yang Guo and the others homeland was Jiang Nan, though they left when they were young, when they heard their homeland was in danger, they were all worried. The three of them looked at the furnace and thought about the troubles and strife of the world, human lives werent regarded and there was worry, hardships and danger everywhere, though they were facing difficulties the next day, their fear in their hearts diminished a little. After little over two hours, blacksmith Feng had melted the iron. He used forceps in his left hand and placed the molten metal on the anvil, with his right, he used an iron hammer to forge the metal. Though he was old, he was still strong, it was as if he didnt use any effort in using the hammer. After a while, the two pieces of metal started to take the rough shape of a large pairs of scissors, forming gradually. Lu Wu Shuang said happily, Sha Dan, its going to be made in time. Suddenly a voice from behind said coldly, Making a pair of scissors to cut my flywhisk? The three of them were startled and turned their heads around, only for them to see Li Mo Chou standing at the entrance, lightly waving her flywhisk about. The weapon had yet to be finished but the enemy had arrived. Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang both drew their swords, Yang Guo looked at the iron rod by the furnace, as soon as the enemy makes her move, he will grab the rod and use it. Li Mo Chou chuckled, Forging a pair of large scissors to cut my flywhisk, only you kids can think of that. Ill sit here and wait for you to finish, theres still time. She then sat on a bench, and looked upon the three as nothing.

Yang Guo said, Thats great. I say that your flywhisk will definitely be cut up by the scissors. Li Mo Chou saw Sha Gu sitting up on the table and thought, That woman took a palm of mine and is still able to sit up, shes quite good. She asked coldly, Wheres Huang Yao Shi? When blacksmith Feng heard the three words Huang Yao Shi he trembled and looked up at her and then immediately lowered his head, continuing with the forging. Cheng Ying said, You know that my master is not here, why ask? If you knew he was still here, even if youve got the greatest gall of all, you wouldnt dare to come. Li Mo Chou gave a humph sound and took out a piece of paper from her pockets and said, Huang Yao Shi got his fame by taking in many disciples and rely on numbers to win. Huh! Out of all his disciples, which one was really able? She waved out her left hand and the paper flew away, her arm moved slightly and a silver needle shot out, pining the piece of paper on a pillar. She said, Ill leave this as evidence. When that old Heretic Huang comes back, hell know who killed his two precious disciples. She turned her head around to blacksmith Feng and said, Work quicker, Im getting impatient. Blacksmith Feng squinted his red eyes and looked at the piece of paper, he saw the words: The master of Peach Blossom Island, Disciples he Five against one, Its the laughing stock of Jiang Hu! has many,

He looked up at the roof and was lost in thought. Li Mo Chou said, Why arent you working quickly? Blacksmith Feng lowered his head and said, Yes, quicker, quicker. His left hand stretched out the iron forceps and held the needle and paper, he placed it into the flaming fire of the furnace; in a flash the paper burned to ash. Everyone was extremely surprised by this event. Li Mo Chou was furious; she raised her flywhisk and wanted to strike down on his head but thought, This small town blacksmith is extremely bold, could it be that he is an extraordinary person? She was now standing up so she slowly sat down asked, Who are you? Blacksmith Feng said, Cant you see? Im an old blacksmith. Li Mo Chou said, Why did you burn my piece of paper? Blacksmith Feng said, The words on the paper are wrong, its best not to hang it in this store. Li Mo Chou said sternly, Whats wrong with the words? Blacksmith Feng said, The master of Peach Blossom Island has the ability to move heaven and earth, all his disciples needs to do is to learn one art of his and they will be able to roam the realm. His first disciple is called Chen Xuan Feng, he has bronze muscles and iron bones, impenetrable by sabres and spears, have you heard about this? When he was talking,

he was still forging at the same time, the hammering sounds increased the force of his words. Li Mo Chou was surprised when she heard him mention Chen Xuan Feng, Yang Guo and others were also surprised, they would never have thought that an old blacksmith in a place like this would know about people of Jiang Hu. Li Mo Chou said, Humph, I heard that a little kid stabbed him to death, whats so powerful about him? What impenetrable by sabres and spears, its rubbish! Blacksmith Feng said, The master of Peach Blossom Islands second disciple is Mei Chao Feng, she moves like the wind, the swiftness of her attacks are unparalleled. Li Mo Chou laughed and said, Yes, that woman attacks too fast, because of this the Seven Freaks of Jiang Nan blinded her and later on, Western Poison Ou Yang Feng shattered her lungs. Blacksmith Feng was stunned for a while and then said bleakly, That happened? I dont know about it. The master of Peach Blossom Islands third disciple is Qu Ling Feng, his lightness kung fu is divine, the [Slashing Air Palm] extraordinarily powerful. Li Mo Chou said, Theres a tale around Jiang Hu, someone sneaked into the kings palace to steal treasures, they were beaten to death by the guards, that was the Qu Ling Feng with the extraordinarily powerful [Slashing Air Palm]. Every palm that comes out all meets thin air, that is the [Slashing Air Palm] of the master of Peach Blossom Island. Blacksmith Feng lowered his head, two chi sounds were heard as two tear drops landed on the heated iron and turned into steam. Lu Wu Shuang was sitting the closest to him and saw his tears clearly, she secretly wondered what it was about. She just saw him raised his hammer even higher, the striking sounds of the metal now even louder. After a while, blacksmith Feng continued, Peach Blossom Island has four senior disciples; Chen, Mei, Qu, Lu. The fourth disciple Lu Cheng Feng had not only great martial arts, he was also well versed in the arts of formations and changes, if you meet him, youll definitely wont be able to escape. Li Mo Chou chuckled and said, What use is the art of formations and changes? He built a Returning Echo Manor by lake Tai, the men of Jiang Hu said that is was extremely ingenious, but someone burnt it to the ground, from then onwards there was no news of him, most probably he got burnt to death along with his manor. Blacksmith Feng raised his head and said sternly, You talk rubbish nun, all the disciples of the master of Peace Blossom Island are highly skilled in martial arts, how could they all fall under the hands of others? Are you trying to take advantage of this country bumpkin not knowing the matters of the world? Li Mo Chou chuckled and said, Ask them three kids and youll know. Blacksmith Feng turned his head towards Cheng Ying, his eyes inquiring. Cheng Ying stood up and said gloomily, My

apprentice brothers and sisters have been unfortunate, they have all passed away. I havent been in the school for long, my martial arts are low and cant help master fight, I really am ashamed. Do you have ties with my master? Blacksmith Feng didnt reply and examined her, he looked suspicious and said, The master of Peach Blossom Island took in another disciple in his later years? Cheng Ying saw that blacksmith Fengs left leg was crippled, she suddenly had a thought and said, Master was lonely in his later years, he ordered me to serve him by his side. With my age and study, I really wouldnt dare to say that Im a disciple of Peach Blossom Island, I havent even taken a single step onto Peach Blossom Island. The way she phrased her words, she admitted that she was a disciple of Peach Blossom Island. Blacksmith Feng nodded, his eyes were very gentle, a feeling of being close to someone, he lowered his head and continued to forge metal, it was as if he was in deep thought about something. Cheng Ying saw that when his hammer was in the air, it made half a circle, when it descended onto the anvil, it was tilted and dragged, the hand movements were extremely similar to her schools [Divine Descending Sword Palm Technique], she understood further and said, When master has spare time, he will talk to me, he talked about how years ago he sent his disciples away from the island, Chen and Mei were the ones who did wrong. Qu, Lu, Wu and Feng were innocent but because of them they were punished, what was especially tragic was apprentice brother Feng, Feng Mo Feng. He was young and had a harsh background, when master thinks about this, he would feel uncomfortable and extremely regretful. In reality, Huang Yao Shis character eccentric, though his heart had these thoughts, he would never say it. But Cheng Ying was warm, kind and understanding, when her master was lonely and chatted to her, he would reveal a little of his thoughts through his words, she herself guessed what he wanted to say, though what she said right now was not exactly from her masters mouth, it wasnt against his intentions. From the way the two talked, she had guessed herself who he was, but when she saw blacksmith Feng sigh and his tears like rain, chi chi chi as the tears struck the metal into steam, she couldnt stop her heart from softening but after a thought, she became strong again, she thought, Even if they got another fighter, that old blacksmith is crippled, how can he help? She chuckled and said, Feng Mo Feng, congratulations on your reunion with your apprentice sister. That blacksmith was Huang Yao Shis junior disciple Feng Mo Feng. Years ago when Chen Xuan Feng and Mei Chao Feng stole the [Nine Yin

Manual] and escaped from the island, Huang Yao Shi broke the legs of all the remaining disciples before expelling them from the island. Qu Ling Feng, Lu Cheng Feng and Wu Tian Feng had both their legs broken but when he came to Feng Mo Feng, he saw that he was young and his martial arts low, pity stirred in his mind and he just broke his left leg. Feng Mo Feng was extremely hurt inside, he eventually came to this place and made a living as a blacksmith. He didnt keep any contact with the Jiang Hu world and lived here for thirty years straight silently, he couldnt have predicted that today he would have news of his master and apprentices again. Huang Yao Shi saved his life from his enemies, Huang Yao Shi bought him up, his debts to him was great, no matter how Huang Yao Shi treated him, there was no hate in his heart, when he heard the words of Cheng Ying, his emotions were stirred, his grief and sorrow bought forwards. Chapter 16 Avenging a Fathers Death Yang Guo and Lu Wu Shuang were both shocked and pleased to hear that blacksmith Feng was actually Cheng Yings apprentice brother. Being Huang Yao Shis disciple, his martial arts cant be that bad, unexpectedly they suddenly had another strong help in this danger. Li Mo Chou chuckled, Youve been expelled by your master yet you still cant let go, how isnt that extremely stupid? Today Im going to kill three kids and a mad woman, you better just stand by the side and take in the atmosphere. Feng Mo Feng said slowly, Though Ive learnt martial arts, I have never fought anyone before in my life, plus my left leg is crippled, I cant really fight. Li Mo Chou said, Yes, thats the best thing for you, you cant afford to throw your life in. Feng Mo Feng shook his head and said, I cannot allow you to harm a single hair of my apprentice sisters, since these people are friends of hers you better find somewhere else to do evil. Li Mo Chou murderous intent was stirred and laughed, The four of you fighting me at once, thats great. She stood up. Feng Mo Feng was unmoved and kept on striking the metal with his hammer, he was like an character from an opera following prompts from a gong, he struck the metal and then followed it by a few words. He said, I have left my school over thirty years ago, my martial arts have gone rusty long ago, I need to take a good think about them. Li Mo Chou laughed and said, Half my life Ive roamed Jiang Hu but Ive never seen a person like you who grabs the feet of Buddha and prepare for battle at the last minute.

Today my eyes have been opened. Feng Mo Feng, have you really never fought anyone before in your life? Feng Mo Feng said, I never offend others, when others beat me and insult me I dont do anything, so of course my hands have never been raised. Li Mo Chou chuckled and said, Haha, old Heretic Huang actually picked a bunch of face losing crap to be his disciples. Feng Mo Feng said, Please dont speak ill of my merciful master like that. Li Mo Chou gave a wry laugh and said, He abandoned you as a master long ago yet you still merciful master this, merciful that, youre not afraid of making people laugh. Feng Mo Feng continued to strike down with his hammer and said, I have no one in this world, the only loved one I have is my merciful master, if I dont respect him, love him, who should I think about? Little apprentice sister, is master well? Cheng Ying said, Master is very well. Feng Mo Fengs face lit up with joy. When Li Mo Chou saw his feelings, she thought, Old Heretic Huang is a great master, indeed theres something great about him. He beat his disciple into this state yet this person still remains loyal to him. The metal that was being forged was now gradually getting colder, Feng Mo Feng again used his forceps to place the metal into the furnace but he was preoccupied and actually sent the hammer in his right hand into the furnace instead. Li Mo Chou laughed and said, Blacksmith Feng, just slowly think about your masters martial arts, theres no need to lose your mind. Feng Mo Feng didnt reply and stared at the flaming furnace in deep thought, after a while, he sent the crutch under his left arm into the furnace. Yang Guo and Lu Wu Shuang both said, Thats your crutch! Cheng Ying also called out, Apprentice brother! Feng Mo Feng still did not reply and gazed into the furnace. The crutch didnt burn in the furnace, instead it gradually became red; the crutch was actually made of metal. After another while, the hammer also became red but his hands werent scalded as he held onto the handle of the hammer and crutch. Li Mo Chou disdain turned into precaution, she knew that this rough looking man must have qualities that excel, she was afraid that he would suddenly attack and fall victim to him so she urgently waved her flywhisk about to protect her fronts fatal areas and leapt outside, calling out, Blacksmith Feng, just get it over with! Feng Mo Feng responded and exited the shop, his movements were swift and light, it didnt look like he was crippled. He placed his red crutch into the ground and said, This angelic nun, please dont insult my master and please

stop troubling my apprentice sister, spare the bitter life of this old blacksmith! Li Mo Chou was again greatly surprised and thought, Why is he begging just before hes about to fight? She said, I will spare you only, if you are afraid then dont intervene. Feng Mo Feng bit his teeth and said, Fine, then kill me first! As he said this, he trembled, he was afraid but was also emotional. Li Mo Chou raised her flywhisk and struck down towards his head. Feng Mo Feng quickly leapt away, his dodging was very sharp but his arms trembled, he actually was afraid to counterattack. Li Mo Chou attacked three times in a row but each time, Feng Mo Feng avoided the attacks with great movements yet he still did not counterattack. Yang Guo and the others were standing to the side watching, when the time comes they will go up and help. They saw that Li Mo Chous attacks were gradually intensifying and Feng Mo Feng really looked like someone who has never fought before and along with his peaceful nature, he didnt make an attack with his red hammer. Yang Guo thought that this wasnt good, though this person martial arts are strong, he didnt have any intent to fight, he must be stirred so he said loudly, Li Mo Chou, why did you insult Island Master Huang by calling him heartless, unrighteous and wicked? Li Mo Chou thought, When did I insult him? She sped up her attacks and did not reply. Yang Guo continued, You said that Island Master Huang seduced others daughters and wives, capture others sons and brothers, did you see that with your own eyes? You said he lied to friends, betrayed his benefactors, did those things really happen? Why did you spread all these things over the world of Jiang Hu and tarnish Island Master Huangs name? Cheng Ying was startled and didnt understand, Feng Mo Fengs fury erupted when he heard this, his valour stirred and attacked with his hammer and crutch at the same time. His left leg was on the ground, assuming the form [Golden Cockerel Standing Alone], it was like he was nailed to the floor, sturdy and still, the hammer and crutch produced a fierce gust of blazing air, heading straight towards Li Mo Chou. Li Mo Chou saw that the incoming force was ferocious, she didnt dare to meet it front on and leapt out of the way, finding a gap to attack. Yang Guo carried on, Li Mo Chou, you said that Island Master Huang is a liar and a shameless scoundrel, I say that youre the shameless one! Feng Mo Feng was becoming angrier and angrier as he heard this, the hammer and crutch swept and lunged forward with unstoppable force, at first his stances looked rather rusty but as he fought on, it became more and more fluent. The twos internal energy werent that far apart but Li Mo Chou has roamed Jiang Hu for many years and has been in

hundreds of battles, her experience was far greater than his. After about twenty, thirty stances, Li Mo Chou knew that Feng Mo Fengs internal energy wasnt weak but he lacked experience and had one leg only, after time, she knew that he would lose so she decided to wait until his anger disperses and then counterattack. Indeed, after another ten or so moves, Feng Mo Fengs anger gradually disappeared and his will fatigued and he began to slip away. Li Mo Chou was thrilled and attacked with her flywhisk towards his chest. Feng Mo Feng swept his hammer across to block. The flywhisk curved its way around and wrapped around the hammers head, this was the special stance that Li Mo Chou uses to take the opponents weapon, all she needed to do was trap the weapon and pull, the hammer would then leave Feng Mo Fengs hand. But as she did this, chi chi chi sounds were heard, smoke rose, everyone smelt an unpleasant smell; the hairs of the flywhisk was burnt off. Instead of taking the opponents weapon, Li Mo Chou had lost her own, she remained calm and flung the handle of the flywhisk away and changed her attack to her [Divine Five Poison Palm]. Though this palm technique was powerful, one has to be very close to the opponent to use it, right now Feng Mo Feng has a hammer in his right hand and a crutch in his left, he was using it swiftly and forcefully with gusts of wind generated, he now able to do as he wished. However in between the two images, smoke kept on rising up; Li Mo Chous gown was being burnt by the scalding hammer and crutch, piece by piece of her gown was getting burnt. She was furious, she was definitely going to gain victory but the old blacksmith had an advantage in his weaponry, she could not take it at all and wanted to strike him with a palm to vent her anger. This was the first time that Feng Mo Feng fought somebody, if he had been pegged back and on the receiving end of a beating, he would have retreated but now he had the upper hand, the stances of the hammer and crutch were coming out with extreme mastery. Li Mo Chou were almost struck by the hammer and crutch a few times in her quest to land a palm on him, if it werent for her speed, her palm would have been burnt. Suddenly Feng Mo Feng called out, I dont want to fight, I dont want to fight, look at yourself, what decency is there! His single leg leapt back five feet. Li Mo Chou was stunned, a cool breeze blew and pieces of her clothes flew away, her arms, shoulders, chest and legs were revealed. She was a virgin, she wasnt able to stop her embarrassment; she wanted to turn around and run away when suddenly her back felt cool, a large piece of cloth flew away from her back.

Yang Guo saw that she was in a wretched state, he tore off his belt and took off her gown, he circulated his internal energy and shot it over to her. The gown was like a person hugging her. Li Mo Chou quickly put her arms in the sleeve of the gown and buttoned it up. She has seen countless battles in her life but right now she was frightened and embarrassed, her face was red one moment, white the next, she didnt know whether to keep on fighting. She thought, If I fight him again, this gown will be burned off again, I can only swallow my anger and do something about it later. She nodded at Yang Guo, thanking him for giving her the gown. She then turned her head towards Feng Mo Feng and said, These crafty weapons are indeed the evil skills of old Heretic Huang. Tell the truth, if it was a battle with proper martial arts alone, can you beat me? If old Heretic Huangs disciples fought fairly and squarely one on one with me, could they beat me? Feng Mo Feng said with ease, If you didnt lose your weapon, after a while, youll be able to beat me. Li Mo Chou said arrogantly, Its good that you know it. My words on that piece of paper about the disciples of Peach Blossom Island winning by numbers arent wrong. Feng Mo Feng lowered his head and pondered, after a while he said, That is not correct! If my apprentice brothers and sister Chen, Mei, Qu and Lu were here, any one of them would be stronger than you. I dont even need to mention my highly skilled apprentice brothers Chen and Qu, you wont be able to beat my apprentice sister Mei Chao Feng whos also a girl like you. Li Mo Chou chuckled and said, All those people are dead and cant prove anything, why are you talking about them for? Old Heretic Huangs martial arts arent all that. I wanted to test out his daughter Mrs Guo martial arts but I dont think theres a need to now. She turned around and was about to leave. Yang Guo had a thought in his mind and said, Wait! Li Mo Chous brows raised and said, What? Yang Guo said, Youre wrong about Island Master Huangs martial arts being so and so. I heard a swordplay from him, called the [Jade Flute Swordplay], it can neutralise your flywhisk techniques. He picked up the iron rod and drew on the ground. He explained, Your attacks from the front are indeed swift and powerful but if his sword cuts down from this direction, you will not be able to take back your attack. If you counterattack, the sword will attack quickly from this direction. If you sweep the brush and attack the pressure points, then hell use a tiger claw form and grab your brush tips, turn his sword around and use the handle to strike the virtuous pressure point on your shoulder. Can you

imagine that? That stance was indeed unimaginable strange but it was also ingenious, brushing the pressure points in front of her were one of Li Mo Chous flywhisk techniques lethal stances, the stance that Yang Guo described left her with no reply, she could only throw down her flywhisk and admit defeat. Yang Guo made another comparison and said, When it comes to your [Divine Five Poison Palm], Island Master Huang will use his fingernail to neutralise your palm. When your palm arrives, he will use the [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger], his fingernail flicking against your palm, how can your palm not be crippled as a result? All he needs to do is to immediately cut off his fingernail and the palms poison wont spread to his body. He continued and described over ten other different stances that could neutralise her martial arts. These words turned Li Mo Chou grey, every word of his were reasonable and logical, the stances that he described were ingenious, she wouldnt be able to fend off these stances. Yang Guo said, Island Master Huang was angry at your words, he has the status of being a great master and cannot fight you personally so he passed these techniques to me so I can take care of you. But I thought about how my master and you are still apprentice sisters, today I give you a warning about the power of Island Master Huang, next time you see his disciples, you better just ran as faraway as possible. Li Mo Chou was silent for a while and then said, I give up, I give up! She turned around and ran away, in a flash her image disappeared behind the hills, her speed was really something rarely seen in the world of Jiang Hu. In reality, although Huang Yao Shi did pass these techniques to Yang Guo, to be able to reach a state when he could use it to neutralise and defeat the enemy requires years of practise. Yang Guo description of these techniques was enough to intimidate and overawe her, from now on, she would never dare to say one derisive word towards Huang Yao Shi. In the vicinity of Li Mo Chou, Lu Wu Shuangs heart would jump at the sound of her voice, when she saw Li Mo Chou had gone faraway, it was like a heavy load was relieved off her, she clapped and laughed, saying, Sha Dan! Youre pretty good with words, you could even scare away my master. Cheng Ying had seen Yang Guo throw away the gown she had personally made to Li Mo Chou, it was a pressing situation then and that was that, but she saw that underneath the new gown, he was still wearing the torn and ragged old one. She knew that Xiao Long Nuu must have made it, he distinguished between familiarities and would

never forgot about things of old. Her heart ached a little but she pretended she didnt care. Then, the four of them returned to the shop to take a look at Sha Gu. Just as they entered, suddenly the clamour of men and neighing of horses could be heard from behind the hills, the four of them turned around. Yang Guo said, Ill go take a look. He leapt on the horse and galloped around the hill and arrived at the main road. He saw dust and dirt flying up everywhere; it was a division of Mongolian soldiers heading south, they had iron bows and long sabres, their force like a crashing wave. Yang Guo has never seen an army marching before, he watched with a thumping heart, stunned. Two soldiers raised their long sabres and shouted, Barbarian, what are you looking at? They rushed over. Yang Guo turned his horse around and galloped away, the two Mongolian soldiers mounted their bows and shot out an arrow towards his back. Yang Guo turned his head back and caught it but felt that the arrows carried a great force behind them, if he didnt know martial arts, these arrows would have pierced his chest long ago. The two soldiers were frightened when they saw his abilities and reined in their horses, not daring to continue pursuing him. Yang Guo returned to the blacksmiths and told them what he saw. Feng Mo Feng sighed, The Mongolian army are indeed heading south. The Chinese citizens are going to suffer! Yang Guo said, The Song army would not be able to defend against the archery techniques of the Mongolian army, this is going to be a great disaster. Feng Mo Feng said, This is just the time for a brave and heroic young man like master Yang, why dont you return south and join the army and help fight off the invaders? Yang Guo was taken aback, he said, No, I have to return north to find my Gu Gu. The Mongolian armys power is vast, Im just one person, what use is that? Feng Mo Feng shook his head and said, Though the force of one person is small, the force of many are strong. If everyone thinks like you, wholl come out and defend the country against invasions? Yang Guo felt that his words were right but right now, there was nothing more important to him than finding his Gu Gu. He has wandered around Jiang Hu ever since he was little, he has suffered the under the abuse of officials, he saw that the Mongolians were indeed violent and ruthless but the Song king may not be a good person himself, there was no need for him to help the king. He just gave a wry smile and didnt reply. Feng Mo Feng gathered his hammer, forceps and air trunk and hung them across his back, he

turned to Cheng Ying and said, Apprentice sister, when you see master please tell him that disciple Feng Mo Feng will never forget his teachings. Today Im going to join the Mongolian army, Im going to kill one or two of these generals who are invading my land. Apprentice sister, take care. Im extremely delighted about seeing a disciple of masters. He supported himself on his crutch and left, not even turning his head around again, he didnt take another look at Yang Guo. Yang Guo looked at Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang, he said, It was unexpected that we would meet such a person like him here. Lu Wu Shuang favoured Yang Guo in her heard and said, Cousin, apart from you, the people under the tutelage of your master are either mad or crazy. Cheng Ying smiled and said mildly, Everyone has their own will, you cant force them. You said he was mad and crazy, he in turn might be calling us heartless. Anyway, dont I possess a touch of madness and craziness myself? Yang Guos heart jumped when he heard this, she looked different and he couldnt tell whether her words were meant to be ambiguous. Suddenly a peng sound was heard as Sha Gu fell from her bench. The three of them were alarmed and quickly put her up on the bed, her face was red and her eyes stared forward, the poison from the [Divine Five Poison Palm] was flaring up again. Cheng Ying fed her some medicine while Yang Guo helped her sooth her pressure points. Sha Gu looked at him startled, her face was full of fear as she called out, Brother Yang, dont look for me for revenge, it wasnt me who killed you. Cheng Ying said softly, Sister, dont be scared, he isnt Yang Guo suddenly thought, Shes not fully conscious at the moment, I can force her to reveal the truth. He turned his hands and grabbed onto her wrists and said with a severe tone, Who killed me? If you dont tell me then Ill take my revenge on you. Sha Gu begged, Brother Yang, its not me. Yang Guo said angrily, Youre not telling me! Fine, Ill strangle you to death! He stretched his hands around her throat. Sha Gu gave out a piercing scream. How would Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang know what Yang Guo was doing, they both called out to stop him, one called out, Brother Yang, the other called out, Sha Dan! One said, Dont frighten her further, the other said, Why are you mucking around at a time like this? Yang Guo didnt take any notice, his held his hands slightly tighter, the expression of an evil spirit was on his face, he bit down on his teeth and said, Im brother Yangs evil ghost. I died a horrible death, do you know

that? Sha Gu said, I know, after you died, crows ate your flesh. Yang Guos heart felt as a knife was plunged into his heart, he knew that his father had died under someone elses hands but he didnt know that after he died, his body was actually eaten by crows and couldnt be buried, he called out, Who killed me? Tell me, tell me. Sha Gu strained out, It was you who hit auntie, auntie had poison needles on her body, you died. Yang Guo yelled loudly, Who is this auntie? Sha Gu couldnt breath with Yang Guos hold over her and wanted to faint, she said quietly, Auntie is auntie. Yang Guo said, Whats aunties surname? Whats her name? Sha Gu said, I I dont know, let me go! Lu Wu Shuang saw that the situation was becoming urgent, she went over to pull away Yang Guos hands. Right now, Yang Guo was like a madman, he waved out with all his strength, how could Lu Wu Shuang defend herself? She was thrown away and crashed into a wall painfully. Cheng Ying saw that the usually peaceful, warm and graceful Yang Guo was now like a mad tiger, she so frightened that her limbs went soft. Yang Guo thought, If today I cant get the name of the person who killed my father, Ill immediately throw up blood and die. He asked, Is aunties surname Qu? Is aunties name Mei? He thought that since Sha Gus surname was Qu, her aunties surname would most probably be Qu, or perhaps it could have been Mei Chao Feng. Sha Gu struggled with all her strength, though she has practised martial arts for a longer time that Yang Guo, her martial arts couldnt compare to his, along with fact that the pressure points on her wrist were being held, she couldnt break free, she could only say urgently, Go and find auntie for revenge, dont dont look for me. Yang Guo said, Wheres your auntie? Sha Gu said, Me and grandpa left! Shes with a man on the island. Yang Guos spine chilled when he heard these words, he quivered, What does your auntie call your grandpa? Sha Gu said, Father, what else? Yang Guos face went grey but he was afraid he was wrong and asked, Your aunties man is called Guo Jing, isnt it? Sha Gu said, I dont know. Auntie just calls him brother Jing, brother Jing! She copied the way Huang Rong called Guo Jing, suddenly her legs flailed about and squealed, Help, help! Ghost ghost What doubts had Yang Guo have now? All the suffering and bitterness of the past rushed to the surface, he thought, If father wasnt killed, my mother wouldnt have been in pain all the time and die so early like that, and I wouldnt have endured all the pain and suffering Ive been through. He continued, When I was on Peach Blossom Island, the Guo couple were not at ease with me, they were a bit too polite, they

seemed to be covering up something and didnt treat me like the Wu brothers, telling them as it is, shouting at them when needed to, then I felt something but how would I know that it was because they carried the guilt of killing my father. Its because of this that they didnt want to teach me martial arts and sent me to Quan Zhen sect to suffer. His anger and fear stirred throughout him, his limbs became soft. Sha Gu called out loudly and leapt up from the bed. Cheng Ying went over to Yang Guo and said softly, Sister Sha has always been a bit crazy, you know about this. Shes even worse after suffering this injury, dont believe her whatever you do. But in her heart she believed that the words of Sha Gu were true, and she knew that consoling him like this would be no use but her heart couldnt endure seeing his face full of anger, despair, bitterness and sorrow. Yang Guo did not take any of these words in, he stood there stunned for a while before calling out loud and got on his horse, he kicked in with his legs and the horse galloped forward, in a flash it had gone over a hundred feet. Faint calls of Sha Dan! Brother Yang! was heard behind him but he ignored the calls, the only thought in his mind was, I need to take revenge, I need to take revenge! He galloped in a single breath for two hours and had gone over tens of miles. Suddenly he felt a pain on his lips, he stretched out his hand and felt his lips, his hand was covered in blood; in his anger and pain, he had bitten down on his lips and actually pierced his lower lip. He thought, Auntie Guo has always treated me badly, recently she suddenly began to treat me well but it was all fake. I dont care about this but uncle Guo uncle Guo He has always revered Guo Jing, he felt that his actions and martial arts were one of its kind, and he has always treated him exceedingly well, now he knew that this was one big lie, he felt that this person was even more cunning than Huang Rong, anger and resentful filled him, almost bursting out of his chest. When he thought about the pain he was in, he got off the horse, covered his head and began to cry. This release of sorrow was extremely distressing, it was like all the worlds pains and troubles had all amassed into him. He has never seen his father before and has never heard anyone talk about him, not even his own mother but ever since he was little, he had the image of the perfect father in his mind, there wasnt another who was as kind as him. Yet this hero was killed by the devious trick of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. He cried for a while before suddenly hearing the sounds of horses, four horses galloped from the north, the riders all Mongolian warriors. The first rider was holding a long spear, on the spear was a child that was

two, three years of age, laughing as he galloped forward. The baby was still alive, it was giving out a weak cry. The four warriors were a little surprised when they saw Yang Guo in the middle of the road but a ragged clothed young Han like him could be found everywhere so they didnt take any notice. One of them called out, Move out of the way, move out of the way. As he said this, he pierced his spear forward. Yang Guo was in the middle of his troubles right now, he pulled the spearhead forward and dragged the warrior down, he turned his hand and swept the spear, the warrior went flying over ten feet away, his skull was cracked and died. When the remaining three warriors saw his valour, they all called out, turned around and galloped away. A pai sound was heard as the baby fell onto the floor. Yang Guo ran up to it and saw that it was a Han child, it was healthy and chubby, very cute, the pierce to its stomach wouldnt kill it right away but it would be difficult for it to recover and live. It was calling out a a a, as if it was calling out for its mother. Yang Gou was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief, sympathy stirred in his heart. He picked up the barely alive baby and tears flowed again, he saw that its pain was unbearable so he lightly gave a palm and stopped its pain. He used the Mongolian warriors spear to dig a hole so he could bury the baby. He dug ten or so times before he suddenly heard the thunderous noise of horses and horns, a group of Mongolian soldiers were rushing towards him. Yang Guos left hand held the dead baby, his right extended the spear as he got on the horse. The skinny horse was actually a experienced battle horse, when it saw it was about to go into battle, its spirits soared, it neighed and charged towards the Mongolian soldiers. Yang Guos hand raised, the spear descended, he turned over three, four soldiers in one go but he saw that countless soldiers were coming forward, he turned the horse around, went onto the wild lands and ran away. Arrows rained down behind him like locusts, his swung the spear and deflected the arrows away. The skinny horse was extremely fast, in a short while it had left the Mongolian soldiers behind but it didnt stop, it continued galloping away like the wind into the wild lands. After another while, Yang Guo saw that the sky was beginning to get dark, he looked around and saw that long grass and strange rocks were everywhere, dusk was covering the area, it was quiet without any sounds of people, there werent even a crow or sparrow about. He got off the horse with the baby still held in his hands, The face still looked alive, covered in extreme suffering, pain filled his heart, he thought, The parents of this child must have loved it very much, now thats hes dead, his parents must be feeling great pain. I dont know how many people have died under the hands of these vicious and violent Mongolian soldiers as they head south. The more he thought about it,

the more difficult he found it to endure, he dug a hole by a large tree and buried the child. He then thought about the words of Sha Gu again, When this child died, it had me to bury it but my fathers body was eaten by crows. You killed him, what harm is there in burying him? You really are evil! If I dont take revenge, Yang Guo isnt a human! That night he slept in a tree. The next morning he rode the horse and let the horse went as it pleased, sometimes he thought about going back to the tomb and see Xiao Long Nuu, at others he would think about how he must kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong first no matter what to avenge his father. When he felt hungry, he would pluck wild fruits to eat. On the fourth day, he suddenly saw someone faraway, leaping up to a tree to pick some wild fruits, Yang Guo rode closer and saw that it was the disciple of Jin Lun Fa Wang, Da Er Ba. Every time he jumped, he could only pick one fruit, eventually he became impatient and attacked the tree a few times, the tree gave a ka la as it broke, he then plucked the wild fruits from the tree and placed them in his pockets. Yang Guo thought, Could it be that Jin Lun Fa Wang is nearby? He and Jin Lun Fa Wang originally didnt have any ties, right now he had recognised Guo Jing and Huang Rong as his fathers killers and he now regretted helping Guo Jing and Huang Rong to oppose Fa Wang, he quietly followed Da Er Ba to see where he was going. He saw him moving like he was flying, straight towards the mountain. Yang Guo got off the horse and followed faraway from behind. Da Er Ba headed into a forest, the further he went, the higher he got. Yang Guo followed him up to the peak of this mountain. At the top of a mountain was a small exposed hut. Jin Lun Fa Wang was sitting in the middle of the hut, meditating with his eyes closed and brow hanging down. Da Er Ba put the wild fruits down on the floor and turned around, his face changed as he suddenly saw Yang Guo approaching, he called out, Senior apprentice brother, youve come to cause further harm to master? He dashed forward to Yang Guo and stretched out his arm to twist the front of his garment. His martial arts are better than Yang Guos, but he was affected by the perilous situation that his master was in and in his fear he lost control of his state of mind, this stance was a mess and broke one of the rules of martial arts, Yang Guo grabbed his arm in return and threw him away. Da Er Ba had always thought that Yang Guo was the reincarnation of his senior apprentice brother and now he was thrown on the floor by him, he rolled over a few times, picked himself up and then leapt in front of Yang Guo. Yang Guo thought that he was going to raise his hands again

so he took a step backwards, he didnt know that Da Er Ba would suddenly fall down to his knees and kowtowed, Senior apprentice brother, please remember your relationship with master in your previous life. Master has a serious injury and is now trying to recuperate, if you disturb him, then then His voice croaked as he reached this point and tears flowed. Though Yang Guo did not understand his Tibetan, from his emotional state and Jin Lun Fa Wangs distressed look, he more or less understood, he quickly helped him up and said, Relax, Im not going to harm your master. Da Er Ba saw that his face was gentle and peaceful, he was pleased, though he didnt understand his words, his wariness started to go away. Right at this time, Jin Lun Fa Wang opened his eyes, he was shocked when he saw Yang Guo, just now he was concentrating on circulating his chi and didnt hear the words of Da Er Ba and Yang Guo, suddenly he saw the enemy in front of him, he gave a sigh and said slowly, I have practised martial arts for many years but I still have yet to find a way to break through the echelon barrier, I didnt know that today I would die in the central plains. When he had suffered that blow from the rock, he had suffered serious internal injuries, in the past few days he had built a hut on the top of the mountain so he could recuperate, it was unexpected that Yang Guo would actually find his way here. He wasnt able to use even one ounce of strength now, he immediately ordered Da Er Ba to force Yang Guo away but in the middle of battle his state of mind would be disturbed and it would be difficult to recover from this serious injury. How would he know that Yang Guo would bow and curtsy, he said, I have not come here to do any harm reverend, please dont be wary. Jin Lun Fa Wang shook his head and was about to say something when he felt a severe pain in his chest, he quickly closed his eyes and circulated his chi. Yang Guo went inside the hut and stretched out his right hand, placing in on the To Yang pressure point. This pressure point is just below the seventh vertebrae and is one of the major pressure point that regulates the veins and arteries. Da Er Ba was shocked when he saw this, he sent out a fist towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo shook his left hand and made a signal with his eyes. Da Er Ba saw that nothing was wrong with his master, a slight smile was forming on his face and he took back his fist. Yang Guos internal energy was not deep and he didnt know anything about Tibetan internal energy, when he felt a Fa Wangs internal chi stirring, he circulated his internal energy and sent a chi to him to help him clear upwards the Spirit Stage, Divine Route, Body Pillar and Chest Route, clearing the downwards Withdrawing Muscle, Central Hinge, Central Spine and the Suspending Hinge pressure points were up to Fa Wang, he could only help him protect his veins and arteries. Though Da Er Bas martial arts were strong, all he learnt were external martial

arts and couldnt help his master to recuperate, in the past few days he could only worry anxiously. Since Jin Lun Fa Wang now had no worries, his chi ran through his body and he used all his strength to heal the injuries in his chest and lower abdomen, after two hours the pain had lessened and his face was red, he opened his eyes and nodded to thank Yang Guo, he joined his palms and said, Master Yang, why are you suddenly helping me? Yang Guo did not hide anything from him, he told him how he recently found out that Guo Jing and Huang Rong killed his father, how he decided to go and take revenge, and how he accidentally bumped into Da Er Ba and followed him here. Jin Lun Fa Wang knew that this young man was crafty, in ten words it was difficult for him to believe one of them but today killing him would have been easy as turning his palm and instead of killing him, Yang Guo actually helped him to recuperate, he really did not have any ill intent towards him and he said, So master Yang has such heavy matters on him. But the Guo couples martial arts are extremely high, Im afraid that it would be difficult for master Yang to take revenge. Yang Guo was silent, after a while he said, Fine, then both father and son will die under their hands! Fa Wang said, At first, I thought I was invincible and just by my power alone, I could hold down the heroes of the central plains and take the position of the Chancellor of wulin. But the warriors of the central plains do not follow the rules of fighting one on one, they all come at once, I can only make another plan. When Ive recovered, Im going to need to invite many skilled fighters to assist me. Once my forces are large, the central plains martial artists cant use numbers to overcome me, everyone can compete fairly. Have you got intentions to joining my side? Yang Guo was about to agree but he thought about the killings of the Mongolian soldiers and said, I cannot help Mongolia. Fa Wang shook his head and said, If you want to kill the Guo couple just by yourself, that would be almost impossible. Yang Guo thought for a while and said, Fine, Ill help you get the position of the Chancellor of wulin, you help me to take my revenge. Jin Lun Fa Wang stretched out his palm and said, Thats settled, well exchange palms to seal this deal. The two of them exchanged three palms to set this deal. Yang Guo said, Im just going to help you to take the position of the Chancellor of wulin, I cannot help you in your quest to help the Mongols to attack Jiang Nan and kill its citizens Jin Lun Fa Wang laughed and said, Everyone has their will, one cannot force them. Brother Yang, your martial arts have many styles, dont

mind me commenting, learning martial arts from many schools is of course good, but it would be unavoidable that your martial arts wont be refined. What is your most proficient skill? What martial arts are you planning to use against the Guo couple? Those words froze Yang Guos tongue, it was hard for him to reply. Yang Guo has had extraordinary encounters in his life, his character was also covetous; Quan Zhen, Ou Yang Feng, Ancient Tomb, the Nine Yin, Hong Qi Gong and Huang Yao Shi, he has learnt numerous martial arts from these schools. All the martial arts of these schools are ingenious and mastery, but they all need a lifetime of difficult work to reach the echelons of these skills, he took a bit here and a bit there, none of his martial arts had actually reached a great level. When he meets second rate fighters, the martial arts he uses are all flowery and fancy, causing confusion to opponents but when he meets a first rate martial artist, he will eventually be proved inferior. He cant even compare to Jin Lun Fa Wangs disciples Da Er Ba and Huo Dou. He lowered his head and pondered about it, these words by Jin Lun Fa Wang were a real warning to him and showed up the weakness in the foundation of his martial arts. He had another thought, Since Ive decided to stay with Gu Gu forever, how can I leave relationships about everywhere? Cheng Ying, wifey and theres also Wan Yan Ping. I dont have any real feelings for them, how can I treat them improperly like this? Being greedy is really not a good thing. He continued thinking, No matter if its Hong Qi Gong, Huang Yao Shi, Ou Yang Feng or even the Quan Zhen Seven Masters and Jin Lun Fa Wang, every one of them is a famous master. They just practised the martial arts of their own school, they understand other sects and schools martial arts but they dont practise it, they just make themselves aware of the them, in that case then, what school of martial arts should I concentrate on? Based on his background, he should concentrate on the [Jade Heart Manual] of the Ancient Tomb sect, but then he thinks about the mastery and ingenuity of Hong Qi Gongs [Dog Beating Stick Technique], the subtlety of Huang Yao Shis [Jade Flute Swordplay], if he ignores all of them, isnt a pity? Theres godfathers [Toad Stance] and [Reversal of the Veins], the martial arts of the [Nine Yin Manual], any one of them is enough to make your name in the world, it was difficult to learn these, how can I just lose them like that? He left the hut and walked around the peak, thinking bitterly, it was extremely troubling, he thought for half a day when suddenly his mind lit up, Why dont I take the best of all these schools and form my own? The martial arts of the world are all formed by someone, others can do these, could it be that I cant? His eyes lit up as he thought about this. He thought from morning to midday, from midday to night and didnt eat or drink. All the martial arts he has seen in his life was floating around in his mind, clashing with

each other. He had seen Ou Yang Feng and Hong Qi Gong compete martial arts verbally and he himself frightened away Li Mo Chou by using words from his mouth but right now, the martial arts competing in his mind was even more rapid and spectacular than describing them verbally. Eventually he involuntarily started to wave out fists and kicks. At first, it could be distinguished that this stance was from Hong Qi Gong, the other was Ou Yang Feng but eventually everything became muddled up, he couldnt hold on any longer and fainted. Da Er Ba watched from afar, he saw that he was acting crazy, pointing out his hand and sweeping his legs, he didnt understand what it was all about. Suddenly he saw him falling onto the floor, he wanted to go over there and help him but Jin Lun Fa Wang laughed and said, Dont disturb his thoughts. Its a pity that your intelligence is mediocre and cant grasp the meanings within. Yang Guo slept for half a night and continued with his thoughts the next morning. In seven days, he fell unconscious five times. He said he wanted to invent his own school of martial arts, how easy is that? With his present abilities it would be almost impossible to succeed, and this isnt something that can be achieved in ten days, two weeks. But after studying for several days, suddenly he understood. Since he couldnt combine all these martial arts together, there was no need to force the issue. He realised that all martial arts were at his fingertips, later on when he meets an enemy, hell use whatever is needed, there was no need to think about the source of the martial art, this wasnt far off from his intentions of forming his own school. Once he understood this point, he was immediately filled with comfort. In the past few days, Jin Lun Fa Wang has been self-recuperating; his injury was now almost fully recovered and can move freely as usual. Today, he saw Yang Guos expression was now at ease and calm, and knew that he has advanced another level in his martial arts, he said, Little brother Yang, Ill take you to see someone. This person is a great hero, an extremely open minded person, once you see him youll definitely be in awe. Yang Guo said, Who? Jin Lun Fa Wang said, The Mongolian prince Hu Bi Lie. He is the grandson of Genghis Khan and the fourth son of prince Huo Dou. After seeing the unrestrained violence of the Mongolian soldiers, Yang Guo hated Mongolians, he creased his brows and said, Im anxious to avenge my father, I dont need to see that Mongolian prince. Jin Lun Fa Wang laughed and said, I agreed to help you, how can I break my word? But I was summoned here by Hu Bi Lie, I need to go and tell him. His camp is not far from here, its within one days travel. Yang Guo had no choice but to agree, he alone was a not a match for Guo Jing and

Huang Rong whether it comes to a battle with wits or strength, without Jin Lun Fa Wangs help, it would be difficult for him to take revenge, he could only go along with him. Jin Lun Fa Wang was the First Protector of Mongolia, the Mongolian soldiers revered him, when they saw him, they immediately went and told the news to their prince. Mongolians have always lived in tents, though theyve entered the city, they werent used to living in palaces, because of this, Hu Bi Lie stayed in the tents of the encampment. Fa Wang took him along to the royal tent. Yang Guo saw that this tent was twice as large as a normal Mongolian tent but the arrangement within was very simple and crude. A twenty-five, six year old man was sitting down reading. When this person saw the two enter, he quickly got up to meet them and laughed, I havent seen Protector many days, I have been thinking about you. Jin Lun Fa Wang said, Your highness, Ill introduce you to a young hero. Though this brother Yang is young, he is an extraordinary personality. Yang Guo knew that this Hu Bi Lie is Genghis Khans grandson, if he didnt have a noble appearance then he should have a powerful air around him, how would he know that this person was just a Han speaking, modest and mild young man, he was rather surprised. Hu Bi Lie studied Yang Guo. He pulled on Fa Wang with his left hand and then said to his servant, Quickly bring some wine, I want to have a drink with this brother. The servant bought in three bowls of Mongolian milk wine. Hu Bi Lie took a bowl and drank it all in one go. Fa Wang did the same. Yang Guo rarely drinks wine but now the host had shown his hospitality, it wouldnt be appropriate to reject it so he took the wine and drank it all in one go. He felt the wine was extremely harsh and rather sour. Hu Bi Lie laughed, Little brother, how beautiful is this wine? Yang Guo said, This wine is harsh and sour, its like a knife going into your mouth, the taste isnt great but this is something that a true man drinks. Hu Bi Lie was pleased and called for more wine, each of them drank three bowls. Yang Guos internal energy was profound, he maintained his composure as he drank. Hu Bi Lie said with joy, Protector, where did you find this talented young man? My Mongolia is really fortunate. Jin Lun Fa wang then revealed Yang Guos history to him, he put Yang Guo up with his words, describing him as if he was one the eminent figures of the central plains. When Yang Guo heard how Jin Lun Fa Wang described him, he couldnt help but feel a little proud. Hu Bi Lie was

ordered to take the Songs land and has stayed in the central plains for a while now. He liked Han culture, his companion was Confucius, he read books and studied scriptures. He employed skilled martial artists, made acquaintances with them, planning to go south and attack the Songs. If it was another person who saw such a young man like Yang Guo, it would be difficult for them to accept Fa Wangs words but Hu Bi Lie was a wise and supremely magnanimous, he also had believed Jin Lun Fa Wang without question, he was delighted and ordered a feast. In a short while a feast was set up, wine and food, which included both Han and Mongolian dishes, overflowed. Hu Bi Lie said to his servant, Invite the heroes from the virtuous guesthouse. The servant complied and exited the tent. Hu Bi Lie said, Some able people have been made guests here in the past few days, it really is my countrys luck to have these people but the only thing is that they cannot compare with Fa Wang and gentlemen Yang. In the middle of this, the servant returned with the guests, the tent door opened and in came four people. The first one that came in was tall and skinny, his face was pale, he looked like a corpse. Hu Bi Lie introduced him to Fa Wang and Yang Guo, he was Xiang Xis Xiao Xiang Zi. The second person was extremely short and dark, he was a skilled fighter from Tian Zhu (India), Ni Mo Xing. One of the last two was a built eight foot tall person with a foolish laugh on his face and blank eyes. The other was high nosed deep eyed with crooked hair and a yellow beard, he was a Hu (from northern and western China) but he wearing Han clothes, he wore pearls around his neck and jade bracelets on his wrists, a rich air surrounded him. Hu Bi Lie introduced them separately. The Han was from Hui Jiang, his name is Ma Guang Zuo. The Hu was a merchant, his family traded treasures in Kaifeng, Cheung An and Tai Yuan, his Chinese name was Yin Ke Xi. When Ni Mo Xing and Xiao Xiang Zi heard that Jin Lun Fa Wang was the First Protector of Mongolia they examined him coldly, their face showed disrespect. When they saw the young Yang Guo, they thought that he was Fa Wangs disciple or grand disciple and didnt even give him another look. After three rounds of wine, Ni Mo Xing could endure it no longer and said, Your highness, the lands of Mongolia is vast, this monk is the First Protector of Mongolia, his martial arts must be extremely good. I want to experience his skills. Hu Bi Lie gave a subtle smile and didnt reply. Xiao Xiang Zi followed on, Brother Ni Mo Xing is from India, Tibetan martial arts originates from India, could there such a thing as getting green from blue in this world? I dont really believe this.

Jin Lun Fa Wang saw Ni Mo Xings eyes light up; Xiao Xiang Zi face was exuding a green air, Fa Wang knew that these two peoples internal energy was profound. Yin Ke Xi was laughing, using all his strength to produce an extremely uncultured and plain air, the more this person tries to show that he is unable, the greater ability this person is more likely to have, Fa Wang could not take him lightly but he had no worries about the Han, Ma Guang Zuo. He gave a wry laugh and said, I was given the position of Protector because of the kindness of the Khan and fourth prince, originally I did not dare to accept this position. Xiao Xiang Zi said, Then you should give it up for a person more worthy. He glanced over at Ni Mo Xing as he chuckled wryly. Jin Lun Fa Wang stretched out his chopsticks and picked up a piece of beef, he laughed, This is the fattest piece of beef on the plate, I originally didnt want to eat it but I just happened to stretched my chopsticks and just happened to pick this piece, I just accept it as fate. If you are interested, you can pick it yourself. He hung the piece of beef over the plate, waiting for each one of them to come and take it. Ma Guang Zuo did not understand the meaning behind Jin Lun Fa Wang words, he was talking about a piece of beef but in reality he was referring the position of the First Protector of Mongolia, when Ma Guang Zuo saw him offering the piece of beef, he stretched out his chopsticks to catch it. His chopsticks was about to touch the beef when Fa Wang suddenly swept out one of his chopsticks and lightly touch his chopsticks, Ma Guang Zuo just felt his arm tremble with great intensity, he couldnt hold on to them and the pair of chopsticks fell onto the table. Fa Wangs chopstick returned in time and kept hold of the piece of beef. The others looked at each other startled. Ma Guang Zuo still did not understand, he picked up the chopsticks and held onto them tightly with his five fingers, he thought, This time you wont be able to knock it away. He stretched his chopsticks towards the piece of beef. Fa Wand did the same thing again, sweeping out one chopstick. This time, Ma Guang Zuo was holding them tightly, indeed Fa Wang could not knock it out of his hands but a ka la sound was heard, the chopsticks broke into four pieces like if a knife had sliced through it, two pieces of chopsticks dropped onto the table. Ma Guang Zuo was furious, he called out and threw himself forward to battle Fa Wang. Hu Bi Lie laughed, Theres no need to get angry warrior Ma, if you want to duel, theres time to do this after weve eaten. Ma Guang Zuo was afraid of his highness, he returned to his seat and pointed to Fa Wang, shouting, What witchcraft did you use to break my chopsticks? Jin Lun Fa Wang laughed, still holding out the piece of beef in front of him. At first, Ni Mo Xing did give any respect to Jin Lun Fa

Wang but after seeing how profound his internal energy was, he did not dare to continue looking down on him. He was an Indian, when he ate he did not use chopsticks, he just stretched out his hand and said, I want to eat this piece of beef that the big Han couldnt take. His five fingers came out suddenly like a metal claw towards the beef. Fa Wang swept out his right chopstick, it moved like lightning as he attacked the pressure points on his palm, arm, wrist and the tip of his middle finger. Ni Mo Xings palm quickly turned and chopped down at Fa Wangs wrist. Fa Wangs arm didnt move, he turned his chopstick around and struck out swiftly again, Ni Mo Xing felt the chopstick striking him on the hand and quickly took his arm back. Fa Wangs chopstick twisted back into its original position, still holding onto the piece of beef. His attack of the pressure points were extremely swift, he made many attacks and returned the chopstick into position before the piece of beef slipped away. Yang Guo and the others could see what had happened, the two had exchange many stances in just a short period of time, Fa Wangs attacks with the chopstick were indeed fast but Ni Mo Xings martial arts were also excellent, he was able to take back his hand in an extremely critical situation. Xiao Xiang Zi called out, Good skill! Hu Bi Lie knew that the two were using advanced martial arts to test each other but he couldnt see what type of martial arts they were using. Ma Guang Zuo eyes were wide opened, he looked at them, puzzled. Yin Ke Xi laughed and said, Everyones too polite! Youre all offering it to the other, he doesnt want to it eat, nor does he, everything will be cold by the time youve finished. He then slowly stretched out his chopsticks, the emerald and jade bracelets collided with each other noisily. Before his chopsticks touched the beef, Fa Wangs chopsticks were forced to tremble slightly by his internal energy; he was getting in the first attack, keeping Fa Wangs chopsticks in check. Fa Wang moved his chopsticks forward and allowed him to take the piece of beef, when his internal energy reaches his chopstick, he attacked his arm. Yin Ke Xing urgently circulated his internal energy and counterattack. How would he know that Fa Wangs internal energy suddenly withdrew, the beef was initially held by him but his internal energy moved it forward and Fa Wang once again got hold of the piece of beef. Fa Wang laughed, Brother Yin is too polite by offering it to me. This time he used cleverness to win. Yin Ke Xing fell into the trap and at the same time found out that the opponents internal energy far exceeded his own, luckily he hadnt embarrassed himself yet, he gave a wry laugh and picked up a small piece of beef from the plate, he said, The only thing I love in live are treasures and precious objects, I dont really like

fatty meat, I better just eat a small piece. He placed the small piece of beef in his mouth and then slowly chewed. Jin Lun Fa Wang thought, This Hu merchant is broad-minded. He turned to Xiao Xiang Zi and said, Since you offered it to me so modestly, I will accept. He slowly took the chopsticks back half a foot. He guessed that Xiao Xiang Zis internal energy wasnt weak and so didnt dare to be careless, by taking it back half an inch, if he needed to circulate his internal energy it ill be half a foot closer and half a foot further away from his enemy. Xiao Xiang Zi chuckled and slowly raised his chopsticks, suddenly he sent it forward and caught the piece of beef, he used the force to take it back and he managed to pull it back half a foot. Jin Lun Fa Wang did not predict that the opponents movements would be so quick, he quickly circulated his internal energy and pulled back, the piece of beef moved back towards him inch by inch. Xiao Xiang Zi stood up and placed his left hand on the table. The table made ka la noises under this force but he still could not stop the force the Fa Wang produced in taking back the piece of beef. Fa Wang looked at ease whereas drops of sweat poured from the forehead of Xiao Xiang Zi, the result was clear. Suddenly a loud call by someone faraway could be heard, Guo Jing, brother Guo, where are you? Quickly come out Guo Jing, the punk named Guo! At first the call came from the east but then it came from the west. There was a distance of a couple of miles between the calls from the east and west and it appeared as if there were two people calling out from the east and west but the voice was the same and there was no pause between the calls from the east and west, this persons movements were extremely fast and the internal energy behind the calls was profound, something that was little seen in the world. Everyone looked at each other startled. Xiao Xiang Zi loosened his chopsticks and sat back down in his seat. Jin Lun Fa Wang laughed and said, Thank you, thank you! He was about to place the piece of beef in his mouth when suddenly the tent opened, someone flashed across and stretched out their hand, they snatched Fa Wangs beef and then took a large bite out of it. This shocked everyone, they all stood up and looked at who this person was. It was an old man with white hair and a white beard with a smiling red face. He sat down on the rug and started chewing the beef noisily. Jin Lun Fa wang thought back on the movements of this man when he took his piece of beef, the more he thought about, the more shocked he was. The guards outside the tent who failed to stop this man all called out, Stop the assassin! Four spears were thrust towards the mans chest. The old man stretched out his left hand and grabbed all the spearheads

in one go, he turned to Yang Guo and said, Little brother, Im really hungry, pass over some more beef to me. The four Mongolian soldiers pushed forward with all their strength but they couldnt move an inch, the four then tried to pull back but again it was to no avail as they strained with red faces, the spearheads were as if they were trapped under a iron mountain, they were not even able to pull it back half an inch. Yang Guo thought this guy was entertaining and picked up the plate of beef, he threw it steadily to him and said, Help yourself! The old man caught it with his right hand and placed it against his chest, suddenly a piece of meat from the plate jumped up and flew into his mouth as if it were alive. This entertained Hu Bi Lie, he thought the old man was performing magic and gave out a cheer. But Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others knew that the old man had circulated internal energy through his palm into the plate, forcing the piece of meat upwards. An ordinary person can force a piece of meat to jump if they use force to tap the plate but they would definitely knock everything up at once sending the juices everywhere, it would be impossible for them to knock it up piece by piece, the palm power of the this old man has reached an stage where he can do as he pleased, everyone else at the feast knew that they would not be able to do it themselves, fear and respect sprang up in their hearts. The old man chewed and swallowed, as soon as one piece went down another piece jumped up, in a short while the plate was completely cleared by him. His right hand waved out and sent the pate flying out in an arc towards Yang Guo and Yin Ke Xi. The two of them had already seen how good these mans martial arts were, they were afraid that he had used some kind of strange move in throwing the plate and didnt dare to stretch out their hand to catch it. The two quickly moved out of the way. The plate flew steadily through the air and landed onto the table, knocking into a plate of roast lamb. The plate of roast lamb flew towards the old man while the empty plate stopped dead after a couple of turns. He had used a stream of [Tai Chi Energy], according to the continuous intent of Tai Chi, uninterrupted, if it were shot outwards towards an open space, the plate would circle around. It is not difficult to use this force, there were a fair amount of people who were skilled in using the variation of this force but what was difficult was using the right amount of energy to get the most benefit and skilfully sending the plate onto the table, stopping the empty plate dead and sending a plateful of food to his hand. The old man laughed out loud extremely proud of himself, he circulated

internal into his hands and a piece of roast lamb jumped from the plate into his mouth and finished the plate shortly. The four soldiers that were still in his hands were looking pitiful, they could not take back their spears but they didnt dare to let go. The rules of the Mongolian army was strict, abandoning a weapon in battle was an offence that led to execution, never mind the fact that were responsible for the safety of Hu Bi Lie, they could only use all the strength and try to struggle free. The old man saw that they were at a loss and was becoming more and more pleased, he suddenly shouted out, Change, change, change, two of you kowtow, two of you face the sky! One, two, three! On three, their arms shook and the spear snapped. The forces from his fingers were directed in two directions, on two of the spears he circulated energy to push away, on the other two he circulated energy to pull. An ai yo sound was heard as two soldiers fell and kowtowed and the other two fell backwards facing the sky. The old man clapped and sang, Little precious, the harder you fall, the taller you grow! This was a song that adults sing to console children after theyve fallen. Yin Ke Zing suddenly got up and asked, Senior is named Zhou? The old man laughed, Yep, haha, do you know me? Yin Ke Xing folded his fists and said, So its Old Urchin Zhou Bo Tong senior Zhou Lao. Xiao Xiang Zi had heard of him before but Jin Lun Fa Wang and Ni Mo Xing has not heard of Zhou Bo Tong before, but they saw his martial arts were profound but his actions were rather mischievous and childish, indeed, the title Old Urchin is not in vain. Everyone wariness disappeared slightly as their faces showed a smile. Jin Lun Fa Wang said, Forgive me for not knowing this senior of wulin. How about a seat? Our highness is eager to meet great people, he will be extremely happy with seeing such an eminent person today. Hu Bi Lie saluted with his hands and said, That is correct, please have a seat Mr Zhou. Zhou Bo Tong shook his head and said, Im full, I dont need to eat anymore. Wheres Guo Jing, is he around? Huang Yao Shi had told Yang Guo about how Zhou Bo Tong and Guo Jing became sworn brothers, immediately he replied coldly, Why are you looking for him? Zhou Bo Tong has always been childlike and loved making acquaintances with young people, he was pleased when he saw that Yang Guo was young and he was even more pleased when he heard him say you and not something like Mr Zhou, old Senior. He said, Guo Jing is my sworn brother, do you know him? He loved being around Mongols ever since he was young, because of this, when I saw this camp I came over to see

whether hes here or not. Yang Guo creased his brows and said, Why are you looking for Guo Jing? Zhou Bo Tong had no worries, how would he know to conceal his thoughts, he just casually replied, He sent a letter to me, telling me to attend the heroes feast. I had a few games on the road as I rushed from faraway, when I got there I was a couple of days late, the feast had finished, I was damn disappointed. Yang Guo said, Didnt he leave a letter for you? Zhou Bo Tong eyes rolled over and said, Why are you asking all the questions? Do you know Guo Jing or not? Yang Guo said, How wouldnt I know them? Mrs Guo is called Huang Rong, isnt it? Their daughter is called Guo Fu, isnt that right? Zhou Bo Tong clapped his hands and said, Wrong, wrong! That Huang Rong is a little girl herself, what daughter? Yang Guo was startled but then immediately understood, he asked, When was the last time you saw them? Zhou Bo Tong counted with his fingers, each finger was counted twice, he said, At least twenty years. Yang Guo laughed, Is she still a little girl after twenty years? Wont she have a child in these twenty years? Zhou Bo Tong laughed, his beard fluttering about, he said, Youre right! Youre right! Is their daughter pretty? Yang Guo said, Their daughter looks a lot like Mrs Guo, a little like Guo Jing, what do you think? Zhou Bo Tong laughed, Thats great, if a girl has dense brows and big eyes with a dark oval face like my brother Guo, of course that girl wont be pretty. Yang Guo knew that he wasnt wary anymore and continued, Huang Rongs father is Island Master Huang brother Yao Shi, he and I are great friends, do you know him? Zhou Bo Tong was shocked and said, You little kid, how can you call old Heretic Huang as brother? Whos your master? Yang Guo said, My masters abilities are extraordinary, Im afraid if I tell you that Ill scare you silly. Zhou Bo Tong laughed, I cant be scared silly any more. He waved out his right hand and sent the empty plate flying towards him with a tremendous force. Yang Guo knew that Zhou Bo Tong was the martial uncle of Ma Yu and Qiu Chu Ji and the others, and saw that his arm didnt bend as he threw the plate, he was using his fingers along, this was the technique of Quan Zhens. He had no fear of Quan Zhen martial arts; he stretched out his left index finger and pushed against the bottom of the plate, the plate spun around on his finger. This delighted Zhou Bo Tong whereas Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Ke Xing, Ni Mo Xing and the others looked at each other startled. When Xiao Xiang Zi first saw the young Yang Guo in his ragged clothes,

he didnt give him another look but right now he was thinking, With the force that plate was coming in with, I wouldnt dare to stretch out my hand to catch it never mind just relying on a single finger. If the force used to catch it were just slightly out of place, the plate would snap a wrist. Who exactly is this young man? Zhou Bo Tong called out, Great! He could see that he was using a Quan Zhen technique and asked, Do you know Ma Yu and Qiu Chu Ji? Yang Guo said, How wouldnt I know them two old goats? Zhou Bo Tong was delighted. Though he didnt have any grudges with Qiu Chu Ji and the others, he felt that their rules were annoying, they were too prudent, there were some feelings of looking down on them. The person he respects most in his life apart from his apprentice brother Wong Chong Yang is the carefree nine fingered wondrous beggar Hong Qi Gong, he didnt think too much of Huang Yao Shis heretical nature and Huang Rongs cleverness. When he heard Yang Guo calling Ma Yu and Qiu Chu Ji old goats, it was music to his ears, he asked, How are Hao Da Tong and the others? Yang Guos anger erupted as soon as he heard the name Hao Da Tong, he insulted, That old goat is an damn fool, one day Ill make him suffer. Zhou Bo Tong was getting more and more happy as he listened, he asked, How are you going to make him suffer? Yang Guo said, Ill catch him, tie him up and them let him lie in a cesspit for half a day. Zhou Bo Tong was delighted and quietly said, Once youve caught him, dont throw him in the cesspit straight away, first let me know and allow me to take a peek by the side. He had no ill intent towards Hao Da Tong, it was just that he loved evil shows, when others are causing trouble and being mischievous, of course he had to join in. Yang Guo laughed, Fine, Ill remember to tell you. But why peek? Youre afraid of the Quan Zhen goats? Zhou Bo Tong sighed and said, Im Hao Da Tongs martial uncle! If he sees me, hell naturally call to me for help. Itll be a bit embarrassing if I dont save him but if I do, I wont be able to watch a good show. Yang Guo thought to himself, This persons martial arts are excellent and his character is pretty interesting but hes still from Quan Zhen and he is the sworn brother of Guo Jing. A man must be ruthless, I need to think of a way to get rid of him. How would Zhou Bo Tong know that Yang Guo was starting to have ill thoughts about him? He asked, When are you going to catch Hao Da Tong? Yang Guo said, Im about to go. If you want to take in the atmosphere then come along. Zhou Bo Tong was delighted, he clapped his hands and stood up but suddenly he became depressed and said, I cant, I need to go to Xiang Yang.

Yang Guo said, Whats so fun in Xiang Yang? Just dont go. Zhou Bo Tong said, Brother Guo left a letter for me at the Lu manor, it said that the Mongolian army are invading south and will definitely attack Xiang Yang. Hes leading the heroes of the central plains to Xiang Yang to help, he told me to give a hand as well. I havent seen him on my travels so I better go to Xiang Yang. Hu Bi Lie and Jin Lun Fa Wang looked at each other and both thought, So the warriors of the central plains has rushed to Xiang Yang to protect the city. Just at this point, the tent opened and in came a monk. He was about forty years old and looked elegant, his expression looked like that of a scholar. He went to Hu Bi Lie and the two exchanged whispers. The monk was a Han, his given name Zi Cong, and was a counsel of Hu Bi Lies. His original name was Liu Kang and he was an official in Xian Ya and became a monk later on. He was very knowledgeable and did things very throughly, Hu Bi Lie had a great deal of trust in him. He had received some news from a guard that an important person has arrived in the camp and needs to be received immediately. Zhou Bo Tong stroked his stomach and said, Hey monk, move over a little, Im talking to that little brother. Hey, little brother, whats your name? Yang Guo said, My surname is Yang, first name Guo. Zhou Bo Tong said, Whos your master? Yang Guo said, My master is a girl, her beauty is unparalleled and her martial arts are excellent, she doesnt allow others to mention her name. Zhou Bo Tong shivered and remembered her old lover Ying Gu, he didnt dare to ask anymore and stood up. He waved his sleeves around to rid the dust on his body; the tent was filled with dust and dirt as a result. Zi Cong could hold on no longer and sneezed twice. Zhou Bo Tong was joyous and waved out with even more strength, suddenly he laughed out loud and said, Im going now! His left hand waved out and the four broken spearheads shot towards Xiao Xiang Zi, Ni Mo Xing, Yin Ke Xi and Ma Guang Zuo. As the spearhead flew through the air, wu wu sounds were made, it was moving extremely quickly and the target was close, in a flash the spearheads were right before the very eyes of the four. Xiao Xiang Zi and the others were shocked, they could not dodge out of the way in time and could only circulate their internal energy to catch it, However, when they stretched out their hands to catch it, they caught thin air, a pu sound was heard as the four spearheads landed into the ground. The spearheads were shot out extremely ingeniously, immediate dispatch and withdrawal, as soon as the spearheads were in front of their eyes, it suddenly twisted around and shot into the ground. Ma

Guang Zuo was a simple minded person and just felt that this was amusing, he laughed out loud and said, You really have got lots of tricks old man. But Xiao Xiang Zi and the other two were extremely startled, their face had changed colour. They all thought about how they missed the spearhead, if the spearhead didnt change direction, it would have shot into their stomachs. With the amount of force behind the spearheads, what chance would they have of surviving? Zhou Bo Tong was extremely proud of himself for making the four of them looking like a fool, he turned around and was about to leave. Zi Cong said, Mr Zhou, you amazing abilities are rarely seen in this world, I give you a toast on behalf of his highness, He handed a cup of wine to him. Zhou Bo Tong drank it in one go. Zi Cong sent another cup to him and said, This one is from me! Again, Zhou Bo Tong drank it down. Zi Cong was about to give another cup to him when suddenly Zhou Bo Tong called out, Oh no, my stomach hurts, I need to crap. Zhou Bo Tong squatted down and undid his slacks, about to crap in the tent. Fa Wang and the others were amused and all called out to stop him. Zhou Bo Tong was startled, he called out, Somethings wrong with this stomach ache, I dont need to crap! Yang Guo glanced over at Zi Cong and understood, there was poison in the wine. Though he started to have some ill intent towards Zhou Bo Tong to avoid Guo Jing from having a strong aide, the ill intent he had disappeared immediately, he had not debts and dues with the Old Urchin, he saw that he was childlike and uncomplicated, he had a good sentiment towards him, he couldnt endure it when he saw him fall into the dirty trick and was about to point out to him to hold Hu Bi Lie as a hostage and force Zi Cong to hand over the antidote when suddenly he heard Zhou Bo Tong call out, Strange, strange, so its because I drank too little poisonous wine, thats why my stomach ached. Monk, quickly pour me another three cups, the more poisonous the better! Everyone looked at each other startled. Zi Cong was afraid that he would lash out before he died, he didnt dare to go over to him. Zhou Bo Tong took a large step forward towards the table. Jin Lun Fa Wang stepped in front of Hu Bi Lie to protect him but all he saw was Zhou Bo Tong pulling up his slacks with his left and reach for the jug of poison wine with his right hand, he then tipped his head backwards and poured all the wine down his throat. Everyone lost their colour. But Zhou Bo Tong laughed and said, Thats better. Now my stomach has got too much poison, wont the Old Urchin turn into the old poisonous animal? I need to fight poison with poison. Suddenly he opened his mouth and shot out a stream of wine fluid towards Zi Cong. Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that it was a dangerous situation and quickly picked up a table to block it, an arrow of wine splashed across the table. Zhou Bo Tong laughed non-stop, he ran to the exit of the tent and suddenly his

mischievousness stirred, he grabbed the tents pillar and shook a few times, a ka la sound was heard at the pillar snapped. The tent fell down and covered Hu Bi Lie, Jin Lun Fa Wang, Yang Guo and the others inside. Zhou Bo Tong was delighted and got on top of the tent, running back and forth, stepping on everyone inside the tent. Jin Lun Fa Wang sent out a palm and struck the sole of his foot. Zhou Bo Tong felt a great surge of internal energy through his foot and couldnt suppress it, he did a somersault and landed back down, calling out loudly, Interesting, interesting! He then left. Soon, Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others climbed out with Hu Bi Lie, all the guards clamoured around to fix the pillar and erect the tent back up again. Zhou Bo Tong had long gone. Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others apologised to Hu Bi Lie for not protecting him properly and letting him experience shock. Hu Bi Lie didnt punish them one bit and instead praised the abilities of Zhou Bo Tong, saying that it is a great pity that he couldnt make him stay. Fa Wang and the others had an ashamed expression on their faces. All the cups and plates were set up once again. Hu Bi Lie said, The Mongolian army have attacked Xiang Yang many times before but with no success. This time, the heroes of the central plains have gone there to protect the city, that Zhou Bo Tong has also gone there to help, this an extremely troublesome situation. I wonder what great plans do you have? Yin Ke Xi said, Zhou Bo Tong may have great martial arts but we may not be weaker than him. When your highness attacks the city, it will be soldier against soldier, general against general, the central plains have their heroes but so do the west. Hu Bi Lie said, Though your words arent wrong, theres a saying, before a battle, one must plan for victory in the temple; greater planning will lead to victory whereas little planning will not. Before I attack, I must have a plan to gain victory. Zi Cong said, Your highnesss foresight is magnificent Before his finished, a shout could suddenly be heard from outside, someone was calling out, I said that I dont want to go and I mean it, theres no use if you beg me or anger me. It was the calls of Zhou Bo Tong. What was he doing back here and who was he talking to? Everyones curiosity was roused and wanted to go out to take a look. Hu Bi Lie laughed and said, Everyone, lets take a look, I wonder who the Old Urchin is arguing with. Everyone took a step outside the tent and saw four people in an arc faraway surrounding Zhou Bo Tong. The four people were standing south, west, northwest and north of him, surrounding him but leaving a way out to the east. Zhou Bo Tong stretched out his arm and threw a fist, he called out, Im not going, Im not going. Yang Guo was surprised, If he doesnt want to go, who can force him? Why is there a need for arguing? He saw that the four people were all wearing a green

gown, the colours and clothing looked ancient and wasnt the clothing of the present time, there were three middle aged men wearing a tall hat, standing in the north western position was a girl, her green belt could be seen fluttering in the wind. The man standing in the northern position said, We didnt have any intentions in troubling you but you kicked over our pill furnace, ripped our spirit fungus, tore our books, burned our sword room, you must come back with us and explain everything to our master, otherwise when our master blames someone, none of us disciples can take the punishment. Zhou Bo Tong put on a smile and said, Just tell your master that an old man passed by and accidentally caused all this trouble, wont that be the end of it? The man said, You insist on refusing to come with us? Zhou Bo Tong nodded his head. The man pointed to the east and said, Great, hes here. Zhou Bo Tong turned around to take a look but didnt see anyone. The man made a sign with his hands and four of them suddenly pulled opened a large net, covering Zhou Bo Tong from his head downwards. The fours hand movements were extremely drilled, and extremely strange, even with Zhou Bo Tongs great abilities he was trapped by the net and had no reply, he just clamoured and hollered. The four people swerved around him and tied him up tightly. One of the men put him over his shoulders, the other three held onto their swords, protecting him as they flew to the east. Yang Guo was worried about Zhou Bo Tongs safety and thought, I must save him. He then followed after them, calling out, Hey, hey! Where are you taking him? How could Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others not want to know what exactly this strange event is all about? They told Hu Bi Lie and followed. After a few miles, they arrived at a stream. The four people lifted Zhou Bo Tong onto a boat and two of them started to row. The rest of them followed by the shore, after a while they saw a boat in the stream and all immediately leapt in. Ma Guang Zuo had great strength and he rowed the boat, soon they were just a few tens of feet behind. But the stream was windy and after a few turns, the boat disappeared. Ni Mo Xing leapt from the boat onto a cliff side and climbed up over a hundred feet in a flash like an ape. He saw the boat in the west rowing along an extremely narrow brook. A thicket of trees covered the entrance to this brook, if one didnt look on from high, they would not know that the deep valley would have such an passageway. He leapt back onto the boat and pointed out the directions to them. They quickly turned the boat around and rowed towards the thicket of trees. The entrance was a cave, the ceiling of the cave was only three feet away from the water, everyone had to lie down before they could

row on. After a while, the mountains on either side soared, the sky now looked like a string. The mountains were green, the water blue, the scenery extremely serene but it was silent everywhere, exuding a feeling of danger. After another three, four miles, the brook suddenly had nine large slabs of stone arising from it, like a shield, blocking the way of the boat. Ma Guang Zuo was the first one to call out, Damn, theres no way to row past. Xiao Xiang Zi said in a creepy way, Youve got the strength of a bull, just throw the boat over. Ma Guang Zuo angrily said, I dont have that kind of strength unless you zombie perform some kind of witchcraft. Before the two started arguing, Jin Lun Fa Wang was thinking about the situation, How did the small boat pass this stone shield? When he heard the words of the two, he said, No one can pick up the boat on their own but the six of us together can. Brother Yang, brother Yin and me will be on one side, brother Ni, brother Xiao Xiang and brother Ma will be on the other side, the six of us working together, how about it? Everyone agreed and followed his instructions, the six of them stood on two sides and each one found a steady place to stand on the rocks. Luckily the brook was extremely narrow, the boats side was at arms length. Fa Wang called out, Lift! Everyone lifted. Yang Guos and Yin Ke Xis strength were the weakest out of the six but the other four had the strength of many, especially Ma Guang Zuo who had divine strength. The boat left the water and passed over the rocks. Everyone leapt back into the boat, they wiped their palms and laughed. The six of them originally were wary of each other but after working together, naturally they became a bit friendlier. Xiao Xiang Zi said, Although our martial arts among us arent anything spectacular, we could be classed as first rate fighters of wulin. The six of us lifting a boat isnt really a difficult task but Ni Mo Xing followed on, The four green peoples martial arts are all over the place, could they lift the boat over the rocks? Out of the six, five of them were already secretly surprised. Ma Guang Zuo was still thinking about what the words their martial arts all over the place meant. Ni Mo Xing said, Their boat is smaller their numbers are smaller also The four of them being able to do this their strength must be must be something. Yin Ke Xi said, Theres no need to talk about the three men, that girl was a fragile seventeen, eighteen year old teenager, there is no way

she could have such skill, there must be something to them rocks. Its just that we cant see through it just yet. Fa Wang gave a wry laugh and said, People cannot be judged on appearances alone. Take a look at our brother Yang, he is of a young age but possesses great martial arts, if I didnt see it with my own eyes, who would have believed it? Yang Guo said modestly, The skills Ive learnt arent much, whats good about my martial arts? But the four people in green were able to catch Zhou Bo Tong, they must have some aspect that the excel at. His words were modest but he was now talking to these first rate fighters as brother this and that. Everyone had seen with their own eyes Yang Guo catching a plate throw by Zhou Bo Tong with a single finger, they did not look down lightly on him. They all felt his words were reasonable and all started to make their own guesses about this matter. Out of the six, Yang Guo was the youngest, Jin Lun Fa Wang, Ma Guang Zuo and Ni Mo Xing spent most of their lives in the west, Xiao Xiang Zi spent his time along in the mountains and didnt make acquaintances with anyone, Yin Ke Xi was the only one who was familiar with the sects, personalities and affairs of the central plains but he had no clue about who these four people in green were. As they talked, they eventually rowed to the end of the brook. The six of them went ashore and followed the path deep into the valley. There was only one mountain path so there was no way to go wrong, however the path got steeper and stepper as it went on and became more and more treacherous. The sky darkened and there wasnt a trace of the people in green. Just as they were getting anxious, there was a firelight from faraway, everyone was pleased and thought, In a wild valley like this, firelight must mean people, apart from those people in green, no one would live in a place with such dangerous terrain as this. They then increased their speed. They all knew that they were in a dangerous place and each one of them heightened their defences. But each one of them has roamed the world of Jiang Hu by themselves before and has experienced many dangers, right now six great fighters were entering the mountain, who on earth can stop them? Though they were wary, they had no fear. After a while, they reached a wide level open space at the peak of the mountain. They saw an extremely large flaming bonfire. They walked closer a few hundred feet and under the firelight, they saw a large stone

building. Ni Mo Xing called out loudly, Hey, hey, some guests have arrived! Quickly come out. The door of the stone house slowly opened and out came three men and a girl. It was the people in green who had captured Zhou Bo Tong earlier on. The four of them bowed and leading person asked, What are our guests name? The one thing that Yin Ke Xi excels most at is speaking, he laughed and then told them who the other five were. He then said, My name is Yin Ke Xi, I am an Hu merchant. Apart from eating, the only thing I know are treasures, I am not like the others who are all highly skilled with martial arts. The person in green said, Our residence is in a extremely secluded place, weve never had visitors before, it is our luck that some guests have arrived. But what bought our guests here? Yin Ke Xi laughed, We saw the four of you catch the Old Urchin Zhou Bo Tong, we were curious so we came along to take a look. Your residence is an extremely elegant and beautiful place, it has opened our eyes, this really wasnt a trip in vain. The first person in green said, That old man who messed up our place is named Zhou? He certainly lives up to the name Old Urchin. The second person in green said, Are you with him? Fa Wang replied, Weve just met him today, one cannot say that we are friends with him. The first person in green said, That Old Urchin charged into our valley and ran riot. Fa Wang asked, What did he do? Did he really rip up your books and set the place on fire? The person in green replied, Only that? I was ordered by my master to guard the pill furnace, I dont know how the Old Urchin broke into the pill room and he started to talk rubbish with me, saying he was going to tell a story and then telling me to follow him in doing somersaults, he was mad and crazy. The furnace was burning at a critical stage, I couldnt leave and kick him out so I pretended that I didnt hear him, but he suddenly kicked out and knocked the furnace and the herbs in it over. I dont know how long it will take to collect all these herbs and medicine again. He looked angry as he said this. Yang Guo laughed, He must have blamed you for ignoring him and that it was your fault, right?

The girl in green said, Correct. I was in the fungi room when I heard the clamour in the pill room, I knew something was wrong and was about to leave the room to take a look when the old man dashed forward into the room. As soon as he stretched out his hand, he snapped the four hundred year old spirit fungus in two. Yang Guo saw that the young girl was about seventeen, eighteen years of age, her skin was extremely white, extremely soft and delicate, her eyes bright and clear and there was a very small mole by her mouth. He said, That Old Urchin is an extremely bothersome troublemaker, that spirit fungus had been grown for over four hundred years, it is an extremely valuable object. The girl sighed, My father originally was going to share it on his wedding day with my step mother but who could have known that it would have been ruined by the Old Urchin. My father will of course fly into a rage. But after the Old Urchin broke the spirit fungus, he placed it in his pockets and said something about no giving it back to me and laughed. I havent done anything to offend him. Why on earth did he come here and cause trouble for me? As she said this, her eyes became red, feeling that she has been wronged. Yang Guo thought, The Old Urchin had no reason to bully this girl, this is wrong. Yin Ke Xi said, Please can I have your fathers name. We inadvertently came here without permission and dont even know the owners name, our manners are lacking. The young girl delayed and didnt reply. One of the men in green said, Without our masters permission, we can not reveal it, please forgive us. Yang Guo thought, These people are very secretive, they live here in this secluded place and arent willing to reveal their identity to others. He then asked, What happened after the Old Urchin stole the spirit fungus? The third person in green said, The one named Zhou wasnt finished after wrecking the pill and fungi room, he burst into the library, took a book and started to read. I was assigned to the library and so of course I had to stop him. But he said, these are just lies that they tell to children, whats so great about this? and ripped three books in one go. At that time, senior and second apprentice brother came along with apprentice sister. The four of us together were still unable to stop him. Fa Wang gave a wry laugh and said, That Old Urchin has an eccentric character but his martial arts are really something, of course it would not be easy to stop him.

The second man in green said, After causing trouble in the pill room, fungi room and library, he went for the sword room. He burst into the room and broke out in a temper, saying that there were there were too much weapons, theyre all over the place and almost cut him, he then sit the room alight and burnt all the paintings on the wall. While we urgently tried to put out the fire, he escaped. We all thought that this was a serious matter so we chased after him, caught him and bought him back so our master can deal with him. Yang Guo said, I dont know what punishment the master of valley will have for him but I hope that he wont kill him. The third man in green said, My masters wedding is not far away, he wont kill that easily. But if that Old Urchin say something to offend my master, then it would be his fault if trouble comes to him. Yin Ke Xi laughed, Why would the Old Urchin deliberately stir trouble for your master? He may be mischievous but he doesnt seem to have a bad temper. The girl in green said, He said that my father is old and hes still marrying The senior apprentice brother suddenly cut her off and said, That Old Urchin is mad, how believable are his words? Everyone has come from afar and must be hungry, I will serve some food to our guests. Ma Guang Zuo said loudly, Great, great! His face lit up. The four people in green entered the kitchen and bought out some rice and vegetables and then set up a table. There were four basins, one had plain green vegetables, another had white tofu, one of the others was filled with yellow bean sprouts and the last one was filled with black mushrooms. There wasnt any meat. Just after three months he was born, Ma Guang Zuo would not eat anything without meat. He saw four trays of vegetables in front of him that didnt even have a drop of oil on them, he was extremely disappointed. The first person in green said, We do not eat meat here in the valley, please forgive us. Please eat. He then bought out a jug and poured out a clear and clean liquid in the bowls in front of them. Ma Guang Zuo thought, Since theres no meat, I better drink a few bowls of wine. He picked up the bowl and drank, he felt that it had no taste and it was actually water, he roared, This master is damn stingy, there isnt even a drop of wine for us. The first person in green said, Our valley forbids alcohol, this is a rule passed down by our ancestors, please forgive us. The girl in green said, We have seen the words

beautiful wine in books, but weve never experienced what this beautiful wine is. The books say that wine harms the mind, it appears that it isnt anything good. Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi and the others saw that these four people werent old but their actions and words were reserved and trite and ever since they spoke to these people, they havent showed a single smile, though their faces werent hateful, it wasnt interesting to talk to them. In other words, they didnt speak more than half a word to each other, they stopped talking and lowered their heads as they ate. The four people retreated and didnt come forward again. After they ate, Ma Guang Zuo said that they should leave in the night. But the other five saw that there was something about this place, they was curious and wanted to understand this place more clearly. Yin Ke Xi said, Brother Ma, since were here, we need to meet the master of this valley tomorrow, how can we just leave like this? Ma Guang Zuo roared, Theres no meat or wine, isnt he trying to torture us? I cant live half a day like this. Xiao Xiang Zi said, The majority of us are staying, why are you trying to start something up by yourself? Ma Guang Zuo has been secretly afraid of his zombie appearance, when he heard him say this, he didnt dare to speak another word. That night the six of them slept in that stone building on some straw mats on the floor. They felt that this valley was passionless, even stupidly stricter and prudish than a Buddhist temple, though the monks of Buddhist temples are vegetarians, they wouldnt treat people so coldly, these people didnt even show half a smile. Yang Guo was used to living in the Ancient Tomb and used to living with the icy cold Xiao Long Nuu, and he was the only one who didnt think anything of this. Ni Mo Xing said enraged, The Old Urchin wrecked and set the building alight, that is something! When he said this, Ma Guang Zuo felt the same way and called out loudly in response. Ni Mo Xing said, Brother Jin Lun, youre our brains, what kind of person do you think the master of valley is? Is he a bad guy or a good guy? Are we going to be polite to him or are we going to beat the beat the something out of him. Fa Wang said, Im like all you people here when it comes to trying to fathom what type of person this valley master is, it is difficult for us to guess. Tomorrow, well just act accordingly. Yin Ke Xi said quietly, The martial arts of the four green disciples of this valley arent weak, naturally there will be even better martial artists in this valley, everyone needs to be careful, just one little slip up and the six of us might die

here,

that

wouldnt

be

so

great.

Ma Guang Zuo was still complaining about the food and didnt listen to what Yin Ke Xi was saying. Yang Guo said, If youre not careful tomorrow, youll be caught and trapped here for the rest of your life, youll be fed water and rice, vegetables and tofu everyday, when that happens, Im afraid that even the tapeworm in your stomach would want to die. Ma Guang Zuo was scared and quickly said, Good brother, Ill listen, Ill listen. That night they didnt sleep to peacefully as they thought about the danger they were in, only Ma Guang Zuo slept well, snoring thunderously and calling out in his dreams, Come, come! Cheers! This slab of beef is massive!

Chapter17 The Secluded Passionless Valley After Yang Guo woke up the next morning, he left the stone house and went outside. Last night it was dark and he couldnt see the surroundings clearly but now he could; he was surrounded by emerald green grass, the flowers like a brocade, the scenery to this place was already magnificent but the beauty of this place was even more rarely seen. He followed where his feet took him and by the path he saw cranes, herds of white deer, squirrels and rabbits but all of them were not alarmed by his presence. He passed two bends and saw the girl in green plucking flowers by the side. She saw him approaching and greeted, You wake up really early, have some breakfast. She plucked two flowers from the tree and offered it to him. Yang Guo accepted it and thought, Could it be that flowers can be eaten? But then he saw the girl tearing the flower petal by petal and placed them in her mouth so he did the same. When he placed the petals in his mouth, he felt a sweet fragrance, a fragrance like that of honey and there was a subtle air of wine, he felt a feeling of comfort but after a few chews the taste became bitter and sour. He wanted to spit it out but felt that he couldnt give it up, he wanted to swallow but he felt a little difficulty in letting it go down his throat. He carefully looked at the plant and saw that the branches were covered in thorns but the flowers were extremely

beautiful, and even more fragrant than lotuses, he asked, What is this flower? Ive never seen it before. The girl said, This is the passion flower, Ive heard that it is very rare plant. Tell me, what do you think of the taste? Yang Guo said, At first, it is extremely sweet but afterwards it is extremely bitter. This flower is called the passion flower? Theres a meaning behind this name. He stretched out his hand to pluck a flower. The girl said, Careful! Theres thorns on the plant, dont touch it! Yang Guo avoided the thorns and was very careful but he didnt know that behind the flower was hidden another and it pricked his hand. The girl said, This valley is called the Passionless Valley yet there are so many passion flowers grown here. Yang Guo said, Why is it called the Passionless Valley? This name really is really is special. The girl shook her head and said, I dont know why. This is the name our ancestors gave it, maybe my father knows. The two then started to walk down the path, shoulder to shoulder. The scent of flowers filled Yang Guos nose, by the side of the path were rabbits and young deers were darting about, it was very adorable sight. He had a feeling of being carefree and joyous, and naturally he started to think about Xiao Long Nuu, If the person walking with me was Gu Gu, I really would love to live in this place forever with her and not ever leave. Just as he thought about this, the wound on his finger suddenly became painful, the wound was very little yet the pain was so great, it was like someone smashing a hammer across his chest, he couldnt hold it in and gave an ai call, placed the finger in his mouth and sucked it. The girl blandly said, Youre thinking about your lover, isnt it? Yang Guos thoughts were guessed, his face went red and asked, How do you know? The girl said, If youve been pricked by the thorns of the passion flower, you cannot think about love for the next twenty four hours otherwise the suffering would be unbearable. Yang Guo surprised and said, Theres actually such a strange thing like this on in the world? The girl said, My father said: love is like this, when it enters the mouth it is sweet but afterwards it becomes bitter and sour, furthermore, it is covered by thorns, even if you are extremely careful, pain from it would be unavoidable. The flower was given its name most probably because it has this special characteristic. Yang Guo asked, How come that within twenty four hours, one cannot cannot think about love? The girl said, Father said: theres poison on the thorns of the plant. When people think about love, not only do their blood flow quicker, some unknown thing is created in the blood. The poison of the thorns of the passion flower is not harmful normally, but once it meets this something in the blood, it will create unbearable pain in the person. When Yang Guo heard this, he felt that it was fairly reasonable and believed her

with

few

doubts.

The two slowly walked to the unsheltered mountainside. The light of the sun lighted up this place, the ground and air were gentle and warm, the passion flowers have bloomed early here and there were fruits on the plant. Yang Guo saw that the fruits were either red or green, some were red and green and there were hair on the fruits, like a caterpillar. Yang Guo said, The passion flower is so beautiful yet its fruits are so ugly. The girl said, The fruits of the flower cant be eaten, some are sour, some are hot and some stink so much that it makes people want to vomit. Yang Guo gave a laugh and said, Could it be that there arent any that are sweet as honey? The girl glanced at him and said, Sometimes there are but you cannot tell by its appearances. Some that are extremely ugly are sweet but an ugly fruit doesnt necessarily mean it will be a sweet one. Only by tasting it directly will you know for sure. Out of ten fruits, nine are bitter, because of this we never eat it. Yang Guo thought, Though she is talking about the passion flower, it is like an analogy for love. Could it be that although the love between lovers is at first sweet, it will eventually turn sour? Could it be that a pair of lovers who are deeply in love with each other will eventually experience more bitterness than sweetness? Could it be that the yearning love I have for Gu Gu will eventually As soon as he thought about Xiao Long Nuu, his finger suddenly broke out in a piercing pain again and he swung his arm around a few times. He now knew that the words of the girl were indeed true. When the girl saw him like this, her lip moved a little, as if she wanted to laugh but was refraining from doing so. Sunlight lit up her face and showed a pair of elegant eyes and brows, her skin was white with redness floating on top of it, she looked very beautiful. Yang Guo laughed, I once heard a story, there was once a king, he set up a fire display and burnt all things, throwing away most of his kingdom as a result, and the only reason for this was he was trying to get a legendary beauty to smile. To be able to see a smile is a fortunate thing, so, the same applies whether its in the past or in the present. After being teased by Yang Guo, the girl could no longer hold it in and eventually gave a giggle. Yang Guo had seen that she had been as cold as ice throughout all this time and there was some feelings of anxiety in his heart but after this smile, most of the divide between the two went away. Yang Guo continued, Everyone knows that a beautys smile is rare to come by, they say something like a smile can overturn a city, another can overturn a country, actually theres something of a beautys that is even rarer than a smile. The girls eyes opened wide and asked, What? Yang Guo said, A beautiful girls name. To have the opportunity to come across a

beautiful woman is an extremely lucky event, to be able to see a smile of a beautiful girl would be because of the good deeds of their ancestors and one must go through three lifetimes Before he finished the girl giggled again. Yang Guo continued looking serious and said, To be able to hear a beautiful girl reveal her name, that really requires eighteen generations of great deeds. The girl said, Im not some beautiful girl, no one in the valley has ever called me beautiful, why must you joke? Yang Guo sighed and said, No wonder this place is called the Passionless Valley. But in my opinion, the name should be changed to something else. The girl said, Change to what? Yang Guo said, It should be called Blind Mans Valley. The girl asked surprised, Why? Yang Guo said, Look at how beautiful you are but none of them praise you, arent the people who live in this valley blind? The girl laughed again. Her beauty could be classed as first class but compared to Xiao Long Nuus, there were still miles between them. Compared to the gentleness of Cheng Ying, the prettiness of Lu Wu Shuang, she appeared to be slightly inferior but she was elegant, graceful and there was a wholesome air about her. No one had praised her beauty before, and this was because of the martial arts her valley practised revolved around abdication, when her fellow apprentices see each other they are always cold and remained unmoved. In the hearts of her fellow apprentices though, they did think that she was very beautiful but none of them dared to say it out loud. Today she suddenly met Yang Guo. This persons character was dynamic and spirited, the stricter and more restrained she acts, the greater the urge that he has to make her rid this unfeeling appearance. The girl was pleased with these words and laughed, Im afraid that youre the blind man, calling this ugly girl a beautiful girl. Yang Guo put on a serious face and said, You never know, my eyes could be wrong. However if you want this valley to remain peaceful and quiet then you cant smile. The girl asked surprised, Why? Yang Guo said, Theres an old saying: a smile can overturn a city, another can overturn a country, that saying really ought to be changed. It shouldnt be country, it should be changed to valley. The girl bowed subtlety and laughed, Thank you, can you stop teasing me please? Yang Guo saw her fine, elegant waist and trembled slightly, his heart was moved. Although it wasnt an intense feeling, his finger suddenly broke out in a severe pain again. When the girl saw him waving his finger about, she felt slightly displeased and said angrily, Im talking to you right now yet youre thinking about your lover. Yang Guo said, Im innocent, Im innocent,

its because of you that my finger hurts and here you are blaming me. The girl blushed and suddenly ran away. Yang Guo immediately regretted his words as soon as he said this, thinking, My heart belongs to Gu Gu yet why havent I changed this type of behaviour? Yang Guo ah Yang Guo you little bastard, dont talk such rubbish again. He inherited some of his fathers scoundrelous and ungentlemanlike behaviour, every time he met a girl he would tease and flirt with them, causing them to fall for him as a result, although he didnt have any ill intentions, it was something that made him feel joy in his heart. The girl ran for a few tens of feet and suddenly stopped below a passion flower tree and hung down her head deep in thought, after a little while she turned to him and said, If an ugly girl tells you her name, it must be because your ancestors have done bad deeds for eighteen generations and the bad karma has passed down onto you. Yang Guo went over to her and laughed, Of all the things to be born with, you are born with the love of saying negative things. My ancestors for the last eighteen generations have done many good deeds, some of the good karma should be reaped by me. His words were again praising her beauty. Her face went slightly red and quietly said, Ill tell you but you cannot tell another and I forbid you to call my name in front of others. Yang Guo stuck out his tongue and said, Oh sweet beauty, arent I afraid of not having any descendants? The girl showed another smile and said, My fathers surname is Gong Sun She still did not want to reveal her name and wanted to go around in circles. Yang Gou interrupted, But what is miss name? The girl smiled and said, My father gave his only daughter the name Luu E. Yang Guo praised her, The name is as beautiful as the owner. After Gong Sun Luu E told Yang Guo her name, she felt closer to him and said, When father invites you to see him, you mustnt smile at me. Yang Guo said, What happens if I smile. The girl sighed and said, If father knows that I smiled at you and told you my name, I really wouldnt know how father would punish me. Yang Guo said, Ive never heard of such a strict father, not even allowing his daughter to smile at someone. He has a beautiful daughter, could it be that he doesnt love you? When Gong Sun Luu E heard these words her eyes went red and said, My father used to love me very much but after my mother died when I was six, he treated me stricter and stricter. After he marries again, I wonder how he will treat me? Two drops of tears rolled down her cheeks as she said this. Yang Guo comforted her, After you father marries he will be happy, hell definitely treat you better then. Gong Sun Luu E shook her head and said, I rather he treat me even stricter than marry another wife again. Yang Guos parents died when

he was young so he didnt much about these types of feelings, he wanted to make her happy and said, Your new mothers definitely not as half as beautiful as you. Gong Sun Luu E quickly said, Youre wrong, my new mother is a true beauty. Because of her my father my father Yesterday we caught that old man named Zhou but my father was busy with organising the wedding, otherwise he would never have allowed that Old Urchin to escape again. Yang Guo was shocked and pleased, he asked, That Old Urchin escaped again? Luu E creased her brows slightly and said, Didnt you hear me? The two spoke for a while and the sun gradually rose up in the sky. Luu E suddenly realised something and said, Quickly go back, dont let my fellow apprentices see us together talking, theyll tell my father. Yang Guo pitied her situation and stretched out his left hand to hold her hand and patted her on the back with his right, consoling her. Gong Sun Luu Es eyes showed that this touched her, she lowered her head and suddenly her face went red. Yang Guo was afraid that his thoughts would lead to Xiao Long Nuu again and cause his finger to break out in a severe pain again, he quickly rushed back to the stone house that he was staying in. Before he even returned back into the stone house he could hear the bellows of Ma Guang Zuo, complaining how his stomach can survive on water and vegetables and how can this sweet and bitter flower petals be eaten. Are they trying to kill me? Yin Ke Zing laughed, Brother Ma, you better hide all your valuables that you have, I think the master of the valley has ill intent. Ma Guang Zuo didnt know he was being ridiculed and nodded his head in agreement. Yang Guo returned to the room and saw a few dishes filled with the petals of the passion flower on the table. He watched them eat the petals with squinted faces and he was amused as he thought about how even Jin Lun Fa Wang the monk was affected by effects of the passion flower. He picked a cup of water and took two sips when he heard footsteps approaching, a man in green came in, bowed to them and said, Our master will now see his guests. Fa Wang, Ni Mo Xing and the others were all great masters, no matter where they went, the master of that place would come out and personally greet them, even Mongolias fourth prince Hu Bi Lie showed great respect to them, they could never have predicted that the master of this secluded valley would be so impudent, they were all angry and thought, When I see that rude valley master Im going to show him a thing or two. The six of them followed the man in green for a mile or so and suddenly came across a swaying green bamboo forest. Bamboo was rare in the north and such a

large piece of bamboo forest was even rarer. In the middle of the forest, the light fragrant relaxing scent of flowers could be noticed. As soon as they passed the forest, the scent suddenly became overwhelming, everywhere in front of them were Chinese narcissi. A shallow pond of depth that was no less than a foot was filled with these flowers. These flowers were also something that was usually seen in the south, why could they be found here on this mountain peak? Fa Wang thought, There must be some hot springs below the mountain that keeps the ground and air warm. Every five feet or so was a mu chun plant, the man in green darted across the pond over them. The six followed but Ma Guang Zuo was heavy and had poor lightness kung fu, though his footsteps were large there werent large enough to takes steps of five feet or so, after stepping on a few plants, he decided to drop into the pond and follow them by wading instead. They followed a green stone path and from afar, they saw a large stone building built under the cover of the mountains. The seven advanced towards it. Outside the building were two young attendants who were holding flywhisk in their hands. One of the attendants went inside the house to tell the master of the news while the other opened the door to receive the guests. Yang Guo thought, I wonder whether the valley master will come and receive us in person? Before his thoughts were settled, a bearded old man in green came out of the house. This old man was extremely short, no more than four feet tall, his appearance was strange but what the strangest thing about him was his exceedingly long thick beard that hung down to the ground. He was wearing a dark green gown and had a green rope tied across his waist. Yang Guo thought, This valley master looks so weird yet his daughter is so beautiful. The old man bowed deeply to him and said, It is our luck to have such prestigious guests, please came in for tea. When Ma Guang Zuo heard the word tea, he creased his brows deeply and said loudly, Drink tea! What place doesnt have tea? Why must I come to this place for it? The long bearded old man did not know what he meant, he glanced at him and then bowed again in receiving the guests. Ni Mo Xing thought, Im a short man but the master of this valley is even shorter. You win on shortness but lets so who wins on martial arts. He barged forward to the front, stretched out his hand and said, Nice to meet you. He took the old mans hand and immediately used strength in his hands. The others took a couple of steps back when they saw the two stretching out their hands to receive each other, they knew than when two great master artists exchange forces, it will be something out of the ordinary.

Ni Mo Xing first used twenty percent of his power in his hands but he found that the opponent did not counterattack nor block, he was slightly surprised and increased another twenty percent. He felt that is was like holding a slab of solid wood. He increased another twenty percent of force in his hands. A faint green air glimmered across the old mans face and his hand was still like a rigid piece of wood. Ni Mo Xing was extremely surprised and didnt dare to use the rest of his strength just in case the enemy counterattacks when he was at full strength, then, he would not be able to defend against the attack. He then laughed and released his hand. Jin Lun Fa Wang was second in line. He saw what had happened and knew that Ni Mo Xing was unable to ascertain the short mans abilities. There was no need for him to make a rash move while the opponents abilities were still unclear, Fa Wang folded his arms and gracefully walked past. Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi followed together with Ma Guang Zuo behind. Ma Guang Zuo had seen the short mans beard and thought that it was extremely weird, he hadnt eaten anything except the passion flowers and that made him even hungrier, at this moment in time he was hungry and angry, when he entered he suddenly stretched out his foot and stepped on the tip of the mans beard. The old man was unmoved and said, Please be careful. Ma Guang Zuo put his other foot on the beard and said, What? The old man moved his head slightly and Ma Guang Zuo suddenly slipped over. Such a large person falling to the ground is no ordinary matter. Yang Guo was the last one to enter, he quickly dashed forward two steps and struck Ma Guang Zuo on the backside moving his gigantic body forwards. Ma Guang Zuo stood firmly on the ground and stroked his backside. The old man acted as if he didnt see anything, he invited them into hall and sat them in the west side before saying clearly, The guests have arrive, call for the valley master. Yang Guo and the others were shocked, So that old man is not the valley master. From the back of the hall, ten or so green clothed disciples came in and stood to the left, Gong Sun Luu E was amongst them. After a while, a person entered the hall and bowed to the six and casually sat down on a chair on the east side. The long bearded old man stood by his chair. From the mans presence, this person will be none other but the valley master.

This man was about forty five, six years of age, he had a handsome face and appeared graceful, from the way he greeted them and sat down, he also seems to possess a lofty air but his face was yellow and dried, not looking like someone who possessed great martial arts. As soon as he sat down, some of the disciples in green bought tea forward. The hall was all decorated in green, but the valley master was wearing a precious satin blue gown, he was extremely eye catching in the deluge of green. The valley master picked up a tea bowl and said, Please have some tea. Ma Guang Zuo took a look at the bowl of tea, he saw that it was cold and had a few tea leaves floating on top, it was extremely bland to him and he snapped, Valley master, you dont eat meat and you dont even drink tea, no wonder you look ill. The valley master did not move a muscle. He took a sip of his tea and said, The people of our valley have been vegetarians for hundreds of years. Ma Guang Zuo said, Whats so good about being vegetarian. Does it make you live longer without aging? The valley master said, My ancestors have lived here since the Tang dynasty, ever since then, none of the descendants has ever dared to break the vegetarian code. Jin Lun Fa Wang folded his arms and said, So this place was set up in the Tang dynasty and has lasted until now, that really is something. The valley master folded his arms and said, Youre too kind. Xiao Xiang Zi suddenly spoke in a strange way, Has your ancestors ever seen royal concubine Yang? His tone was extremely peculiar. Ni Mo Xing, Yin Ke Xi and the others were familiar with his voice after spending time with him, they were all surprised when they heard his voice and all turned towards him. They were even more shocked when they saw his face, his face somehow has completely changed, his face had the appearance of a zombie before but now it looked even odder. Fa Wang, Ni Mo Xing and the others were slightly worried, So this persons possesses such great internal energy, even his face changed. Hes circulating his internal energy so he can immediately strike out, does he want to show the valley master a thing or two? They all put their guards up when they thought about this. The valley master replied, My ancestor did work in the Tang court as officials, when they saw what state the court had falling into under Yang Guo Zhong, they were furious and left to reside in a secluded place.

Xiao Xiang Zi laughed, Your ancestors must have drunk the water that royal concubine Yang had washed her feet with. Everyones face in the hall changed as soon as these words came out. It was a challenge to the valley master and he was going to make his move very soon. Fa Wang and the others were all surprised, thinking, This Xiao Xiang Zi is extremely crafty, he always let other people go first in all matters, why has he volunteered to go first of a sudden? The valley master ignored him and signalled to the old long bearded man. The old bearded man said clearly, Our master has treated you with respect as guests, how can you say such things? Xiao Xiang Zi laughed and said in his strange manner, Your ancestor has definitely drunk the foot water of royal concubine Yang, if theyve never drunk it before, Ill cut off my head for you. Ma Guang Zuo was surprised and asked, Brother Xiao Xiang, how do you know? Could it be that you drank some that day as well? Xiao Xiang Zi laughed, his voice changed again as he said, If they didnt drink the feet water and upset their stomachs, what other reason is there for them not to eat meat? Ma Guang Zuo clapped and laughed, he called out, Yes, yes, it must be because of this reason. But Fa Wang and the others creased their brows, they all felt that Xiao Xiang Zis words were going a bit too far, everyone has their own eating habits, how can you use it as a joke? Not mentioning the fact that the six of them were deep in this valley, the people of this valley were definitely not kind people, even if fists had to be raised, a backup plan should be made first. The old bearded man could endure this no longer, he went to the middle of the hall and said, Mr Xiao Xiang, our valley has not offended you. If youre looking for a fight then please come forward. Xiao Xiang Zi said, Great! He remained in his chair and leapt over the table in front of him, after a deng sound, he landed in the middle of the hall in his chair. He called out, Long bearded old man, whats you name? Itll be unfair if we fight with me not knowing your name but you know mine. I cannot afford to be in this predicament. His words seemed sound but unsound at the same time, the old man became even angrier but his wariness also deepened after seeing how graceful Xiao Xiang Zi was in moving the chair into the centre of the room, he wasnt anything ordinary. The valley master said, Tell him, its not important. The old man said, Fine, my surname is Fan, first names Yi Weng, please stand up and start. Xiao Xiang Zi said, What weapon are you

going to use? Go get it and let me take a look. Fan Yi Weng said, You want to compete with weapons? Thats good. His right foot stamped on the ground and he called out, Bring it! Two attendants rushed inside and when they came out, they had an eleven feet long steel Dragon Head Staff on their shoulders. Yang Guo and the others were shocked when they saw this, How can this short man use such a long and heavy weapon. Xiao Xiang Zi didnt take any notice and took out an extremely large pair of scissors from underneath his gown. He said, Do you know what this pair of scissors is used for? When the others saw this weapon, they just felt that it was a strange weapon but Yang Guo was shocked, he didnt stretch out his hand towards his bag, instead he just straightened his back a little and noticed that his pair of scissors was missing. He thought, Blacksmith Feng made that large pair of scissors for me which I had intended to use against Li Mo Chou, how did that zombie steal it off me in the middle of the night without me noticing? Fan Yi Wen took his staff and placed it on the ground. The hall was extremely spacious, as soon as the staff landed, it produced weng weng noises and along with the echoes from the room, the noise was tremendous. Xiao Xiang Zi lifted up the scissors with his right hand and opened the pair of scissors with all the strength in his fingers. He called out, Hey, shorty, you dont know the name of my precious scissors, do you want me to tell you? Fan Yi Weng angrily said, Such an unorthodox weapon wont have a elegant name. Xiao Xiang Zi laughed and said, Correct, the name is not elegant, it is called the Dog Fur Scissors. Yang Guo was not pleased, Who wants you to give my pair of scissors such an ugly name. He heard Xiao Xiang Zi continue, I knew long ago that there was a long bearded creature around here, because of this I prepared this pair of Dog Fur Scissors so I can cut off your beard! Ni Mo Xing and Ma Guang Zuo burst out laughing, Yin Ke Xi and Yang Guo too couldnt hold in their laughter and laughed, only Jin Lun Fa Wang kept his self-control and along with the valley master, the two appeared as if nothing had happened. Fan Yi Weng swung his staff a little and created a gust of wind, he said, I was thinking my beard is too long, since you want to be a barber and help me trim it then theres nothing better, lets fight! Xiao Xiang Zi lifted his head and looked up at the beam of the hall in thought, it appeared that he didnt hear his words. Suddenly, his right arm came out like lightning and the scissors cut towards the mans beard.

Fan Yi Weng would never have dreamed he would actually attack while sitting in the chair, he had no time to dodge and urgently propped his staff down, his body lifted up and somersaulted through the air about ten feet off the ground with the staff still standing on the ground. Xiao Xiang Zis attack was extremely quick, Fan Yi Wengs dodge was also very swift, in that cut and dodge, the two skilled martial artists had displayed their advanced martial arts. But Fan Yi Weng still suffered under that attack, though he managed to avoid that cut, three strands of his beard was cut off by the tip of the scissors. Xiao Xiang Zi was extremely proud of himself, he picked up the three strands of beard with his left hand and blew, the strands of hair flew towards his bowl of tea on the table. A ping pang sound was heard as the bowl fell onto the ground and shattered. Yang Guo and the others knew that he was putting on a show and that it was his breath that forced the bowl to drop on the floor. But Ma Guang Zuo did not know this and thought that the strands of beard had great power after being blown by Xiao Xiang Zi, he called out loudly, Xiao Xiang Zi, your strands of beard are really something! Xiao Xiang Zi laughed, he opened and closed the scissors then called out, Short beard, do you want to test out my Dog Fur Scissors again? Though everyone could see that he was laughing, his face remained unmoved, they were becoming more and more shocked by him, they were all thinking, When someone reaches an advanced state in their internal energy, they can be angry and delighted without showing it on their faces, even to the point where the face looked emotionless but it is unheard of that someone can laugh so heartily like him but keep that fearful face. His face was too unsightly on the eyes, everyone just took one look and immediately turned around again. Fan Yi Wen was now furious after being ridiculed again and again, he bowed to the valley master and said, Master, today disciple cannot continue treating the guests with respect. Yang Guo was extremely surprised, That short man is a lot older than the valley master, how can he call him master? The valley master nodded his head slightly and gently waved out his left hand. Fan Yi Wen swept out his staff towards the chair that Xiao Xiang Zi was sitting on, though he was a short man he possessed incredible strength, the hundred kilo staff swept out and created a great gust of wind. Though Yang Guo and the others were on the same side as Xiao Xiang Zi, they did not know how skilled exactly he was and they all watched

the two battle with great concentration. The staff was now half a foot away from the leg of the chair, Xiao Xiang Zi lowered his left hand and actually stretched it out to grab the head of the staff and at the same time, he cut forward towards his opponents beard with the scissors. Fan Yi Weng was extremely angry, he thought, You actually dare to look down on me like this! He swung his head to the side and his beard moved to the side while the staff continued its sweep and struck Xiao Xiang Zis palm. The others called out and stood up, they all thought that Xiao Xiang Zis palm would have suffered a serious injury. But Fan Yi Weng felt as if his staff had struck water, soft as if nothings there, he knew something was wrong and quickly pulled back. However, Xiao Xiang Zis twisted his wrist and kept his hold on the staff. Fan Yi Weng felt his opponent was immediately pushing outwards so he immediately sent the staff forward. The force he applied was ferocious, he assumed that Xiao Xiang Zi would have to leave his seat but he couldnt predict that the opponent would again leap away with his chair, this time to the left as the staff thrust forwards into thin air. However, he had no choice but to release his grip on the head of the staff. Fan Yi Wengs left hand twisted above his head and the staff made a circle and was sent towards his opponents head. Xiao Xiang Zi wanted to ridicule him and leapt up about ten feet with the chair and actually passed over the staff. The others saw that his hands techniques were extraordinary and swift, though he was in the chair, he moved as if he was not, they all called out in appreciation. Fan Yi Weng saw that his opponent was highly skilled, he poured all his concentration into this battle, the staff created gusts of wind as he moved it around. He knew that hitting him would not be easy but if he smashes his chair, he will be able to get the initiative. But Xiao Xiang Zis martial arts were extraordinary, his right continued to suddenly open and close to the scissors and cut towards his beard while Xiao Xiang Zis right hand used the [Trapping Hand Technique] to snatch his staff. In the blink of an eye the two had tens of exchanges, though they appeared to be equal but Xiao Xiang Zi had not left his chair all along, not giving an ounce of respect towards his opponent. Jin Lun Fa Wang was shocked inside, Who would have thought that zombie would actually possess such great abilities? Another exchanges passed between the two, Fan Yi Weng kept on using sweeping stances across the ground while Xiao Xiang Zi kept on leaping up in the chair, getting quicker and quicker.

The valley master suddenly called out, Dont hit the chair, otherwise you cant handle him. Fan Yi Weng was startled but then immediately understood, While hes sitting in the chair, I can only fight him to a draw. If his legs were on the ground, then my beard will be cut off in just a few stances. He suddenly changed his stances and urgently waved and twisted the staff around. A circle of silver light covered the short man in green while on the outside while on the outside there was a zombie like person leaping up and down without stopping, this was a strange rarely seen spectacle. The valley master knew that Xiao Xiang Zi was deliberately trying to make a fool out of Fan Yi Weng, if it continued he would definitely suffer, the valley master then stood up and slowly left the table. He said, Yi Weng, you are not a match for that master, come back. Fan Yi Weng obeyed his master and said loudly, Yes! He straighten his staff and was about to take it back when Xiao Xiang Zi called out, That wont do, that wont do! He flew up from the chair and flung himself down onto the staff. A ka la sound was heard as the staff smashed the chair into pieces but the staff was held onto by Xiao Xiang Zi with his left hand. Xiao Xiang Zi steadied his left leg and opened the scissors. Fan Yi Wengs beard was hanging between the blades, a cut now and his beard would be gone. Who knew that the long beard that Fan Yi Weng grew was an extremely soft lethal weapon, the technique to using it is along the same lines as a whip, a chain and a duster. His head moved slightly and the beard whipped around, it escaped from the blade of the scissors and wrapped up the scissors instead, his moved his head backwards and a great force pulled the scissors forwards. Xiao Xiang Zi called out loudly, Ai yo, old shorty, your beard is pretty powerful, Xiao Xiang Zi is awe of you. One had his beard wrapped around the scissors whereas the other had his hand held onto the staff, there was no result for the time being. Xiao Xiang Zi laughed out loud and said, Interesting, interesting! Suddenly a grey blur flashed in from the front door, this person was extremely quick and was pushing both his palms forward towards the back of Xiao Xiang Zi. The valley master shouted, Who is it? This attack was quick and vicious and it was certain to hit its target, Xiao Xiang Zi released his grasp of the staff and turned his left palm around and pushed out the opponent below the elbow, immediately dispersing the power of his palms. The person angrily said, You bastard, Im going to kill you!

Yang Guo and the others were surprised no end when they saw this person, they all called out, Xiao Xiang Zi! The person who had dashed forward and attacked was Xiao Xiang Zi. Can he divide into two? And why was he attacking his own double? They were all puzzled by this. Once they had settled down, they saw that the person who was tangling with Fan Yi Weng was dressed in the clothes of Xiao Xiang Zi, everything was correct from the shoes to the hat, though his face looked like a zombie, it was not the face of Xiao Xiang Zi. The person who had entered had the face of Xiao Xiang Zi but he was dressed in green. The man in green sent his claw like hands out towards the back of the Xiao Xiang Zi who was holding the scissors and called out, What kind of hero attacks with an ambush? Fan Yi Weng was slightly surprised when he saw help had come, this person was dressed in the valleys uniform but he did not know this person, he placed his staff to the side and saw the two zombie like people battle each other. It was now clear to Yang Guo, the person who was holding the scissors must have stole his mask, put it on, change into Xiao Xiang Zis clothes and then came here to the hall to stir trouble. Because Xiao Xiang Zis face normally was like that of a corpse, no one was able to tell. Though Yang Guo has worn the mask himself, he did not know what he looked like after wearing the mask and when Cheng Ying had it on, he didnt dare to take too many looks at her, and was actually deceived by this person. He concentrated for a while and recognised the martial arts of the person holding the pair of scissors, he called out, Zhou Bo Tong, give back my mask and scissors. He then leapt into the middle of the hall and stretched out his hand to snatch the pair of scissors back. This person was Zhou Bo Tong. He had a lapse in concentration and was captured by the fish net of the four disciples of the valley. But Zhou Bo Tong possesses amazing abilities, just a slight lapse in concentration by the four disciples and he immediately broke out of the fish net. After he hid behind the rocks, he had planned to turn the valley over but then he saw Yang Guo and the five others. In the middle of the night, he ambushed Xiao Xiang Zi, he sealed his pressure points and moved him outside of house. Then he changed into his clothes. Zhou Bo Tong had great lightness kung fu and he went and goes without a trace, Xiao Xiang Zi was still asleep when this happened and even Jin Lun Fa Wang didnt notice anything. After he changed clothes, Zhou Bo Tong returned to the stone house and lied down by Yang Guo, and then stole

the scissors and mask from his bag. When they woke up the next morning, no one actually noticed anything. Xiao Xiang Zi tried to unblock his pressure points after they were sealed but Zhou Bo Tongs pressure point sealing skills were powerful, it was six hours before he was able to move his limbs again. At that time, he had only his undergarments on. He was extremely angry, when a valley disciple past by, he immediately took his clothes and hurried to the stone building. When he got there, he saw a person dressed in his clothes in a heated battle with Fan Yi Weng, he anger was uncontrollable and he threw his palms forward viciously. Zhou Bo Tong saw Yang Guo coming forward and began to use his skill of left right mutual combat, his left hand came out and in as he fought Yang Guo while his right hand used the scissors and forced Xiao Xiang Zi to stay back. When the scissors opened, the distance between blades was two feet long, if his head were in between the blades when in closed, his head will separate from his neck. Though Xiao Xiang Zi was furious, he did not dare to get close. When the valley master first saw Zhou Bo Tong fight Fan Yi Weng, he was already secretly in awe. Now he saw him using two hands fight the two separately, as if he was divided into two. The [Yin Yang Twin Blades] that he practises has some similarities with the technique that Zhou Bo Tong was using, but how could he do two things at the same time like Zhou Bo Tong was doing? He also saw Xiao Xiang Zis claws were like steel, his stances vicious while he saw that Yang Guo was graceful and elegant, his form and posture exquisite, he pondered, There are many able people in this world. The two old are indeed terrific, though this young mans internal energy is shallow, his form, fists and kicks are filled with an elegant air. He then said clearly, Please hold you fists. Yang Guo and Xiao Xiang Zi leapt back at the same time. Zhou Bo Tong took off his mask and threw the mask along with the scissors towards Yang Guo and then called out, Ive had enough fun, Im going! His legs lightly touched the ground and he leapt up onto the beam up in the ceiling. The valleys disciples gasped when Zhou Bo Tong showed his face. Gong Sun Luu E called out, Father, its that old man. Zhou Bo Tong laughed as he sat on the beam. The beam was thirty feet off the ground, though there were many good fighters in the hall, but to follow him and leap up in one go was something that none of them can

do. Fan Yi Weng was the master of the passionless valleys senior disciple and was older that his master. Apart from his master, he was the most skilled fighter of the valley, after being ridiculed by Zhou Bo Tong many times, how can he not be angry? He was short and skilled at climbing, his body leapt up and grabbed a pillar, climbing up it like an ape. Zhou Bo Tong loved it when someone tangles with him, he saw him climbing up and couldnt wait for him to reach the beam so he stretched out his hand to receive him. How would Fan Yi Weng know that that it was a kind gesture? When he saw his right hand stretching out towards him, he stretched out his finger and poked the Great tomb pressure point on Zhou Bo Tongs wrist. Zhou Bo Tong felt a slight sensation in his hand and immediately sealed off his pressure and loosened his muscle. Fan Yi Weng felt that his finger was poking something like cotton wool, he quickly pulled his finger back, Zhou Bo Tongs palm turned and struck the back of his arm with a very crisp sound, he called out, One basket of barley, two basket of barley, you and me slap the great barley! Fan Yi Weng was extremely angry, he swung his head and his long beard swept towards Zhou Bo Tong. Zhou Bo Tong heard that an urgent gust of wind and propped his left foot against the beam and moved his body, his left hand then held onto the beam and hung his body in the air. Xiao Xiang Zi knew that Fan Yi Weng was not a match for Zhou Bo Tong, even if he went up there to join in as well he would not be able to beat him so he turned around to Ni Mo Xing and Ma Guang Zuo and said, Brother Ni and Ma, that old man doesnt give any respect to the six of us, he really has gone too far. Ni Mo Xing was a rash person and couldnt be offended, Ma Guang Zuo was slow witted and wasnt clear on what was happening, when they heard him say, doesnt give any respect to the six of us, they were angered and both of them shouted out. They then leapt towards the beam to grab Zhou Bo Tongs leg. Zhou Bo Tong kicked away the twos palms with his legs. Xiao Xiang Zi turned to Yin Ke Xi and said coldly, Brother Yin, are you really just going to watch? Yin Ke Xi gave a wry smile and said, Brother Xiao Xiang, you go first and Ill be right behind you. Xiao Xiang Zi made a strange whistle, the walls trembled and he suddenly leapt up. His knees were not bent, his whole body and arms were straight as a ruler as he went for Zhou Bo Tongs abdomen.

Zhou Bo Tong saw the incoming attack and pulled in his body and became almost sphere like, his right hand swapped with his left hand in holding the beam. Xiao Xiang Zi clutched thin air and dropped back down. His body was straight as a stick, his feet touched the ground and his jumped up once again. Fan Yi Weng was holding onto the pillar and sweeping his beard while Xiao Xiang Zi, Ni Mo Xing and Ma Guang Zuo kept on going up and down trying to attack him. Yin Ke Zi laughed, This old mans martial arts really are terrific, Ill join in as well. He searched his pockets and took it out. The hall was lit up with the reflection of pearls, the glimmering of gold, there was a whip in his hand. This whip was made out of gold and silver silk and was embedded with pearls and jems. In the world of Jiang Hu, one would not be able to find such a precious and lavish weapon as this. There were glimmers of gold and glistening of pearls as the whip was sent towards Zhou Bo Tongs leg. Yang Guo was amused with what was happening and thought, These five are showing off their abilities in attacking the Old Urchin, if I dont do something out of the ordinary, I cant claim to be able. He had an idea, he put on the human skin mask and copied the strange call of Xiao Xiang Zi. He then picked up Fan Yi Wengs staff and propped it up against the ground and used the force to throw himself up into midair. The staff was already over ten feet long, using it as a lever he was able to face Zhou Bo Tong face to face, he called out, Old Urchin, watch out for the scissors! The large scissors cut forwards towards his white beard. Zhou Bo Tong was delighted, he moved his head and called out, Little brother, you move is pretty amusing. Yang Guo said, Old Urchin, I havent done anything to offend you, why did you make fun of me? Zhou Bo Tong, Things come and go, you havent suffered one bit, instead youve gained something. Yang Guo was startled and said, What came and went? Zhou Bo Tong laughed, Right now I need to be excused, I cant speak with you. He saw the incoming Golden Dragon whip of Yin Ke Xi and stretched out his hand to seize it. Yin Ke Xis whip twisted and he was about to counterattack at his opponents back when he fell to back to ground. The Old Urchin said, You colourful dead snake is pretty fun. At this moment, Fan Yi Wengs beard had come sweeping across, his hands

were holding onto the pillar and was relying on his beard to attack the enemy. Zhou Bo Tong laughed, So a beard can be used like that? He copied him and flung his beard towards him but his beard was a lot shorter that Fan Yi Wengs and he had never practised with it before, the move he made with his beard was useless. A shua sound was heard as he was struck by Fa Yi Wengs beard across the cheek leaving a red mark, if he didnt have such profound internal energy, he would have been knocked out. After receiving this attack, Zhou Bo Tong wasnt angry, instead he had great respect towards Fan Yi Weng and said, My beard cant compare to yours, I admit defeat, we dont need to continue. Fan Yi Weng had just had a successful strike and was not going to hold back, his beard came out again. Zhou Bo Tong did not dare to use his beard to meet it again, his left hand use the techniques of the [Vacant Light Fist], throwing out soft fists. The wind created by the fists forced Fan Yi Wengs beard to the right and just at this time, Ma Guang Zuo had leapt up to make an attack, the beard brushed against his face. Ma Guang Zuos eyes were covered so grabbed the beard with his two hands. Fan Yi Wengs beard had originally been under his control but after being forced away by Zhou Bo Tongs wind from his fists, he had lost control and it was now in Ma Guang Zuos hand. He was startled and did not use force to pull it back. Ma Guang Zuo was holding it tightly and as he descended, he dragged Fan Yi Weng down to the floor. Ma Guang Zuo was thick skinned and the fall didnt hurt much. However, Fan Yi Weng had fallen on top of him. Fan Yi Weng said angrily, What are you doing, you still havent let go? Though Ma Guang Zuo didnt feel much pain from the fall, Fan Yi Wengs feet had landed on his stomach and was quite painful, his anger also erupted and shouted angrily, I dont want to let go, what are you going to do? After he said this, he quickly wrapped the beard around his arm. Fan Yi Weng chopped out a palm and Ma Guang Zuo moved his head to dodge, however, this was a dummy and a fist came out from his left hand, landing squarely on Ma Guang Zuos nose. Ma Guang Zuo called out and returned a punch. When it comes to martial arts, Fan Yi Weng was much better than Ma Guang Zuos but his beard was trapped and couldnt move his head, the punch landed on his cheekbone. One tall and one short, the two of them began to fight. Though Fan Yi Weng was on top, he could not escape from his opponent.

Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that the hall had falling into chaos, five person from his side had come out and yet they were still unable to take care of the Old Urchin, this was a bit too shameful. Sounds of qiang lang qiang lang were heard as he took out two wheels, one silver and one bronze. One swept from left to right and the other from right to left forming to arcs of light as it flew towards Zhou Bo Tong. The ringing sounds were urgent and frightening. Zhou Bo Tong did not know how powerful they were and said, What are these? He stretched out his hand to grab them. Yang Guo called out, You cant catch them! Yang Guo threw the steel staff upwards. A dang sound was heard and the thick, long staff was sent flying towards the corner of the room as sparks flew and dust rose up from the wall. The bronze wheel came back to Fa Wang and he once again sent it with his left hand. The wheel flew urgently towards the beam. After this, Zhou Bo Tong knew that this monk wasnt someone who was good to annoy. He knew that he wont be able to fight off all of them so he flipped downwards and called out, Excuse me everyone, the Old Urchin has to leave, well play again another day. He then ran towards the door. However, four disciples in green had blocked the exit with a large fish net. Zhou Bo Tong had experienced the fish net before and called out, Oh no! He wanted to escape through the window on the eastern side. He saw a green blur and the window was covered by a fish net as well. Zhou Bo Tong leapt back into the middle of the room and saw that in all four directions there were four disciples in green holding a fish net, blocking his path. Zhou Bo Tong then leapt up onto the beam and used the stance [Surging Sky Palm] to break a large hole in the ceiling. He was about to leap out through the hole when he raised his head and saw that there was also another fish net above. He had nowhere to go and leapt back to the ground. He pointed to the valley master and laughed, Old yellow face, why do you want to keep me here? Do you need a playmate? Valley master Gong Sun said dryly, All youve got to do is return the four things that you took and Ill immediately let you go. Zhou Bo Tong said surprisingly, What use have I got with your smelly things? Even if one can learn martial arts to a state like yours, who cares?

Valley master Gong Sun slowly walked to the middle of the hall. He brushed the dust off his clothes and said, If today wasnt my wedding day, I would definitely exchange a few stances with you. Just leave the items of the valley here and leave. Zhou Bo Tong was furious and called out, So, you say that Ive definitely stole something from you? Thats crap, what have you got here in this valley? He then started to take off his clothes and very soon, he was stark naked. The valley master called out to stop him but was ignored, Zhou Bo Tong then showed his garments inside out, indeed, there was nothing there. The female disciples in the hall were distressed and turned their heads away. This turn of events was something that the valley master had not predicted. The missing objects of the library, pill room, fungi room and sword room were very important and had to be recovered, could it really be that the missing objects were not stolen by the Old Urchin? Just as he was in deep thought, Zhou Bo Tong clapped his hands and said, Look at you, youre old but why do you not act your age? You speak without thinking and you act mad and crazy, you do such an embarrassing thing in public, arent people going to laugh their teeth off? These words should be said to him but he got in first. The valley master didnt know whether to laugh or cry and did not have a reply. He saw that Fan Yi Weng was still battling Ma Guang Zuo so he shouted, Get up Yi Weng, stop tangling with the guest. Zhou Bo Tong laughed, Long beard, I like your temper, the two of us can be friends. In actual fact, Fan Yi Weng has been strict and disciplined all his life, he only fought Ma Guang Zuo because he had no choice, he wanted to stand up many times but his beard was wrapped around Ma Guang Zuos arm and he had no way to escape. Valley master Gong Sun creased his brows slightly and pointed to Zhou Bo Tong saying, Im afraid that it is you who is embarrassing themselves in public and it is you whose actions are laughable. Zhou Bo Tong said, I came out of my mothers womb naked, Im pure and innocent as I stand naked now, whats wrong with that? Look at how old you are yet you still want to marry a beautiful young girl, haha, laughable, laughable! Those words were like a hammer that smashed into the chest of the valley master, his yellow face became red and couldnt say anything.

Zhou Bo Tong called out, Oh no, Im afraid I might catch a cold without wearing any clothes. Suddenly he dashed towards the exit. As soon as the four disciples in green saw the blur, they immediately moved positions and threw the net over him, trapping him in the net. They felt him struggling fiercely and they tied the corners of the net then carried him over to the valley master. The fish net was made out of extremely pliable and soft golden silk, even a precious sword or sabre will not find it easy to cut through it. The hand movements of the four disciples were unusual and swift, the net covered heaven and earth as it was bought forward, even if it was an extremely skilled martial artist would find it difficult to deal with. The only disadvantage is that it requires four people to work it, one person alone will not be able to use it. The four of them were extremely proud of themselves after they caught him in one swoop but when they saw the valley master examine the net, he had an expression of displeasure. They quickly looked down; they were shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. They quickly opened the net up and let two people out, it was Ma Guang Zuo and Fan Yi Weng. No one had predicted that Zhou Bo Tong would suddenly dash out stark naked without his clothes. His hand movements were extraordinarily quick, he picked up Ma Guang Zuo and Fan Yi Weng and threw them in the net. When the four disciples took in the net, he quickly dashed out. The deception that he had done was unnoticeable. The valley masters face was full of humiliation with what Zhou Bo Tong had done, and even Fa Wang and the others felt shame in their hearts, all thinking, I class myself as a first rate fighter of wulin and yet with all of us we were unable to capture that mad old man, that is shameful. Only Yang Guo was pleased, he had great respect for Zhou Bo Tong and thought that if he was capture, I would definitely think of a way to rescue him, since hes managed to escape by himself, then theres nothing better. Fa Wang had originally wanted to learn the background of this valley master but after all this trouble by the Old Urchin, he wasnt in the mood to carry on. He spoke a few words with Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi then stood up and folded him arms, saying, Thank you for your hospitality, we ought to stay longer and make acquaintances but we all have other pressing matters to attend to and so we say goodbye here. The valley master had originally suspected that Fa Wang and the others

were friends of the Old Urchin, but he had later seen Xiao Xiang Zi fight with his life and Fa Wang, Yang Guo, Yin Ke Xi, Ma Guang Zuo and Ni Mo Xing attacking Zhou Bo Tong. They all had showed signs of helping him so he folded his hands and said, I have a request, I wonder will our six guests grant me my wish? Fa Wang said, If its in our ability then well do our best. The valley master said, After noon, it will be my wedding procession, I request your presence. This valley is very secluded and remote, there has been very few guests over the last hundreds of years, it is the luck of three generations that today six esteemed guests has arrived. Ma Guang Zuo said, Will there be wine? The valley master was about to reply when he saw Yang Guos eyes were fixed on something outside, his face was extremely strange, he seemed to be extremely happy but also appeared to be full of anguish. Everyone was surprised and followed his gaze. They saw a girl in white passing along a corridor outside. The sunlight shone on her white, cold face and it seemed that the sunlight had turned into moonlight. There was a sparkle under her eyelashes and after she walked a couple of steps, a teardrop rolled across her cheek. Her steps were light, it was as if she was gliding on water as she made her way down the corridor. She did not glance over at the people in the middle of the hall. It was as if Yang Guos pressure points had been sealed and he didnt move a muscle. Suddenly he called out, Gu Gu! The girl in white was at the head of the corridor when she heard the call, as soon as she did her body trembled and said faintly, Guo Er, Guo Er, youre here? Is it you thats calling me? She turned her head around and appeared as if she was looking for something, but her eyes were uncertain as if she was in a dream. Yang Guo quickly leapt out of the hall and held her hand, saying, Gu Gu, youre here, Ive searched for you bitterly! He then suddenly called out in pain, there was unbearable pain in the place where his finger had been pricked by the passion flower. The girl in white called out, her body trembled and she sat down on the floor with her eyes closed, it was as if she had fainted. Yang Guo called out, Gu Gu, how are you feeling? After a while, the girl slowly opened her eyes and stood up. She said, Who are you? What did you call me?

Yang Guo was greatly shocked, he stared at her, if it wasnt Xiao Long Nuu then who else could it be? He quickly asked, Gu Gu, its Guo Er, how how come you dont recognise me? Are you hurt? Where are you feeling discomfort? The girl looked at him and said coldly, I do not know you. She then walked into the hall and sat down by valley master Gong Sun. Yang Guo was flabbergasted, he returned to the hall in a daze and lent on the back of a chair. Valley master Gong Suns face had been unmoved all along but now his face was filled with joy, he raised his hand towards Fa Wang and the others, saying, This is my bride, the wedding has been set for today after midday. He then glanced over at Yang Guo dryly, offended by his rudeness just know in recognising someone wrongly and scaring his new bride. Yang Guos shock was indescribable, he said loudly, Gu Gu, could it be could it be that youre not Xiao Long Nuu? Could it be that youre not my master? The girl said, No! What Xiao Long Nuu? Yang Guo clenched his fists, his mind filled with thoughts, Is Gu Gu angry with me and dont want to recognise me? Is it because were in danger and shes deliberately pretending? Is she like godfather and has lost her memories? But godfather was still able to recognise me. Could it be that there really is someone else in the world who looks exactly like her? He just said, Gu Gu, you you Im Im Guo Er! Valley master Gong Sun creased his brows slightly as he watched him lose his composure, he quietly said to the girl, Sister Liu, there are many weird people here today. The girl ignored him and poured a cup of water. She slowly drank it and glanced over at Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others but she avoided Yang Guo, not looking at him again. Everyone saw her sleeve tremble slightly and water splashed from the cup onto her clothes but she did not notice anything. Yang Guos mind was turning upside down and didnt know what to do, he turned around to Jin Lun Fa Wang and asked, My master and I had duelled with you before, you remember. Tell me have I recognised the wrong person?

When the girl entered the hall, Fa Wang had recognised her as Xiao Long Nuu but she completely ignored Yang Guo, he thought that the two must have had a lovers quarrel so he smiled wryly and said, I dont remember. He had endured a great defeat under them when Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo used the [Simple Heart of the Jade Maiden swordplay] against him, something which has never happened before, he thought that if the two had quarrelled, it really was something that was beneficial to him, why should he help them get back together? Yang Guo was startled again but immediately understood, in his mind, he was furious, You really are evil. That day on the mountain top, I helped you to recuperate and now youre doing this to me. He wanted to kill him right there and then. Jin Lun Fa Wang saw that he had falling into pieces but his eyes revealed hatred, he pondered, Theres hate towards me in his heart now, if I let him live he will be a problem in the future. Today hes making a spectacle of himself, this really is a good chance to get rid of him. He folded his arms to valley master Gong Sun and laughed, Since today is valley masters day of celebration, of courses well attend but it is a bit embarrassing that my friends and I have not bought any gifts. Valley master Gong Sun was delighted when he heard that they would stay for his wedding, he said to the girl, These people are great masters of wulin, just being able to have one present is a great honour never mind being able to He wanted to say six of them but he felt Yang Guo was young and just now when he fought Zhou Bo Tong, though his form and position were exquisite, his internal energy was ordinary, he felt that his martial arts practise was aimed for style over substance and couldnt rank him as one of the great masters of wulin but if he leaves him out and say five, it would a bit too discourteous, he hesitated a little and said, invite these heroes. Fa Wang thought to himself, This valley master has a majestic air, and from the formation he set to catch the Old Urchin, his martial arts and intelligence are excellent, but he hasnt got the ability to do great things. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu just said a few words and hes agitated. Valley master Gong Sun said, Sister Liu, this is Jin Lun Fa Wang He then told her who there were and said Yang Guos name last. When the girl heard their names, she just nodded slightly, her face unmoved as if she did not care but to Yang Guo, she stared outside and didnt even nod.

Yang Guos face was red, his mind was turning upside like an ocean storm, whatever valley master Gong Sun said, he didnt hear. Ni Mo Xing, Yin Ke Xi and the others did not know his background, they thought that he was embarrassed because he had recognised the wrong person. Gong Sun Luu E was standing behind her father and heard every single word that Yang Guo had said, she thought to herself, This morning his finger was pierced by the passion flower, and he immediately suffered pain from yearning for his lover. Right now hes filled with these thoughts, could it be that my new mother is his lover? What are the chances of that? Could it be that these people have come to the valley because of my new mother? She examined her new mother and saw that her face was expressionless, there was no joy or happiness on her face, neither was there any shyness, she did not look like a new bride at all and her suspicions deepened. Yang Guos chest felt as if it wanted to burst, he then thought, Gu Gu must have a reason for being like this, I better stop running away with these thoughts and find out the truth. He then stood up and bowed to the valley master. He said clearly, I have a close one, that that looks extremely like that miss, I apologise for my mistake just now. When the valley master heard these polite words, his face immediately changed and returned the bow. He then said, Its not unusual to mistake someone for someone else, who can be blamed? But He stopped for a while and laughed, To have someone else who looks exactly like here is not only a great coincidence, it is also an extremely odd thing. He was saying how could there be another equally as beautiful girl under heavens skies? Yang Guo said, Yes, it is extremely odd. Can I take the liberty to ask this miss surname? Valley master Gong Sun had a faint smile and said, Her surname is Liu. Is your close one also named Liu? Yang Guo said, No. He pondered, Why did Gu Gu change her name to Liu? He then had a thought, Ah, its because Im named Yang. After another thought like this, his finger broke out in unbearable pain again. Gong Sun Luu E saw his suffering and pitied him, her eyes never left her face.

Valley master Gong Sun examined Yang Guo for a while and then looked at the girl in white, her head was lowered and she didnt make a single sound. He was becoming suspicious and thought, Just now when she heard this punk call out, I heard her call out quietly Guo Er, Guo Er, youre here? Is it you thats calling me? Could it be that she really is that little punks auntie? But why is she not recognising him? He wanted to ask her but there were many people present, he thought this matter could be explained later after the wedding so he took back his words. Yang Guo said, This miss has not lived in this valley forever, I wonder how you and her meet? In ancient times, ordinarily girls would not meet outsiders easily, and they were even stricter about seeing guests on their wedding day but Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others didnt take much notice; some of them were from the west and the others roamed Jiang Hu, they werent restrained by customs and traditions. They just felt that wearing plain white silk on her wedding day was a bit too dull. When they heard Yang Guo inquire about someone elses business when he asked the valley master how he met the girl, they felt that he had gone too far. But Valley master Gong Sun also wanted to know about the background of his bride to be, he thought, It could be that little punk really knows sister Liu. He said, Brother Yang is correct. Half a month ago, I was picking herbs by the mountainside when I saw her lying at the foot of the mountain, she had a serious injury and was on the point of death. I examined her and knew that she had suffered a fire deviation while practising internal energy so I took her back to the valley and used my familys medicine to help her recover. We met by chance. Jin Lun Fa Wang interrupted, This is the so called thousand mile fate of marriage led by a string. Miss Liu must have wanted to repay this kindness so she agreed to marry. This really is a match that was made in heaven. His words seemed to be praising valley master Gong Sun but in reality, he wanted to spite Yang Guo. When Yang Guo heard this, his face did indeed change dramatically, his body trembled and there was a faint sweet taste at the back of his throat, he threw up a mouthful of blood. When the girl in white saw this she quivered, You you She quickly stood up and wanted to stretch out her hand to help him up but she

forced herself to stop. Then she too spat out a mouthful of blood, her white dress stained with blood. This miss Liu was a name that Xiao Long Nuu had made up. That night after hearing the words of Huang Rong, she thought to herself that if she married Yang Guo, she would have caused him to be looked down on by everyone in the world. She felt uneasy about this but if she were to stay with him in the ancient tomb forever, after a while he would get bored and will not be happy. She thought long and hard, eventually she hardened her heart and quietly left. Her love for Yang Guo was immense, to suddenly leave him like this was extremely difficult. She thought that if she returned to the ancient tomb, he would definitely come back and find her so she wandered alone in a wild, vast valley. One day, she sat down to practise when suddenly her thoughts of love surged forward, it was difficult to control and her inner chi suddenly surged through her veins and meridians and caused her old injury to react again. If valley master Gong Sun didnt pass by, she would have died there in the wild mountainside. Valley master Gong Sun had lost his wife a long time ago, when he saw her, he couldnt imagine that someone can be as beautiful as her, his intent to rescue someone had solicitous thoughts added onto them. Xiao Long Nuu was disheartened, she also thought that if she lived someone in seclusion by herself, she would not be able to stop herself and follow the same disastrous path again, going out again in search for Yang Guo and give him grief. She saw the love that valley master Gong Sun had for her and he asked for her hand. She blocked out her heart and agreed, thinking that after she becomes someone elses wife, she will sever her ties with Yang Guo completely and along with living in such a secluded place, she assumed that she would never see him again. Who could have predicted that Zhou Bo Tong would suddenly appear to cause trouble in the valley? And as a result, leading him here. Xiao Long Nuu was filled with emotional turmoil with this sudden reunion with Yang Guo. She thought, Ive already agreed to marry someone else, Ill just keep up this act and let him leave in anger, hating me forever. With his talents and appearance, what need is there to worry about that he wont be able to find someone else? Though my heart will be in pain for the rest of my life, he will be able to avoid the suffering of the future. Because of this, although she saw Yang Guo suffer, she ignored him but her heart was mournful, it was becoming more and more difficult to endure. When she saw him throw up blood, she was filled with pity and sorrow, she couldnt help herself and she too threw up a mouthful of blood.

Her face was extremely white, she was staggering and wanted to return inside when valley master Gong Sun said quickly, Quickly sit down and dont move, dont disturb your veins and meridians. He turned around and said to Yang Guo, Just leave, dont ever come back. Hot tears filled Yang Guos eyes, he said to Xiao Long Nuu, Gu Gu, if Ive done something wrong, you can beat me, scold me, even kill me with one thrust of a sword, Im willing to accept all that. But why are you pretending that you dont know who I am? Xiao Long Nuu lowered her head and didnt reply, just lightly coughing twice. Valley master Gong Sun was furious with Yang Guo when he angered her into throwing up blood. However, his self-control training was extremely good, he didnt break out in a rage. He lowered his voice and said, If you dont leave then dont blame me for being merciless. Yang Guo did not take any notice, his eyes were fixed on Xiao Long Nuu, he begged, Gu Gu, I promise you that I will stay in the tomb with you forever, I wont regret it, lets leave together. Xiao Long Nuu raised her head and her gaze met his, she saw his face was filled with boundless love along with thousands of pieces of pain and worry, her heart was moved and thought, Ill leave with him now! But she immediately had another thought, I didnt leave him on a whim. I have thought about all the good and bad points in detail. If I give in, I will bring him trouble in the future. So she turned her head to the side and gave a long sigh before saying, I dont recognise you, I dont understand what you are saying. Just leave! There was no force behind the words but it was filled with love and passion, apart from Ma Guang Zuo who was a slow person and had no perception, everyone in the hall could tell that she loved Yang Guo and these words were against her hearts feelings. Valley master Gong Sun was jealous, he thought, Though you have agreed to marry me, you have never said half a word with such feeling. He looked at Yang Guo and saw a handsome face, his valiant air exuding everywhere, he and Xiao Long Nuu did indeed make a perfect couple. He pondered, It looks like these two must be lovers. Because they had an argument, sister Liu agreed to marry me out of anger, she still has feelings for this punk. Gu Gu, Master, these must be pet

names that they use when they are flirting with each other. This punk is older than sister Liu, how can he really call her auntie, master. As he thought about this, his eyes revealed anger and hatred. Fan Yi Weng was very loyal to his master. He saw that his master was lonely and was always thinking of a way that would be able to solve his masters loneliness. A few days ago, he saw his master had rescued a beautiful young girl and the girl had agreed to marry him, he was almost happier than his master. Right now, he saw Yang Guo had suddenly come out to cause trouble and had made his new master wife throw up blood but his master was still enduring this. So he came forward and shouted, The punk named Yang, if you know whats best for you then leave! We dont welcome rude guests such as the likes of you. Yang Guo heard but didnt listen, he said softly to Xiao Long Nuu, Gu Gu, have you really forgotten me? Fan Yi Weng was furious, he stretched out his hand to grab his back, intending to throw him out of the hall. Yang Guo was concentrating with speaking to Xiao Long Nuu, he had completely ignored everything that was going on around him. He only noticed something when he felt Fan Yi Wengs fingers on his back. He quickly moved out of the way and his opponent clutched thin air but he heard a chi sound, his opponent had made a hole on the back of his garment. Yang Guo was becoming more and more anxious after his plead once again was ignored by Xiao Long Nuu. If it was in the tomb where theres no one, he could slowly plead with her but here in the hall there were many people, and now Fan Yi Weng had come out with insults and threats, he felt that his whole body was filled with pain and suffering, and turned all his anger and emotions onto to Fan Yi Weng, shouting back, Im talking to my Gu Gu, what has it got to do with you shorty? Fan Yi Weng shouted loudly, My master told you to leave and never come back, if you dont listen then dont blame me for being merciless. Yang Guo said angrily, I choose not to leave, if my Gu Gu doesnt leave then Ill stay here for the rest of my life. Even if I die and my bones turn to ash, Ill still follow her. These words were meant for Xiao Long Nuu. Valley master Gong Sun looked at Xiao Long Nuu and saw tears rolling across her eyes and eventually they splashed down on her blood stained dress. He felt sad and worried, he glanced over to Fan Yi Weng and made a signal with his hands, telling him to kill Yang Guo and rid the longing that Xiao Long Nuu had once and for all.

Fan Yi Weng was surprised with the signal that his master had made, he had wanted to send him away from the valley and stop all this trouble, that was it, he didnt think that his master would actually give him the signal to kill. He said loudly, Just because its my masters day of celebration you think I wont kill you? He then looked at his master. Valley master Gong Sun once again signalled with his hands, telling him to forgot about what kind of day it is and just kill him. Fan Yi Weng picked up his large staff and slammed it down on the ground, filling the room with vibrations. He shouted, Little punk, are you really not afraid of losing your life? Yang Guo had just thrown up blood and the blood in his chest was rolling about, wanting to be thrown up. The internal energy of the Ancient Tomb sect is all about controlling your emotions, when Xiao Long Nuus master imparted her the formulae, she repeatedly told her to purge her emotions, in the end, Xiao Long Nuu was not able to control them and as a result, she threw up blood on many occasions. Yang Guo was taught by Xiao Long Nuu, his internal energy was of the same nature as hers, right now his arms and legs were as cold as ice. He thought, Ill throw up blood violently right here and now, dieing here in front of her, will she still ignore me then? But then he had another thought, Gu Gu normally loves me very much, there must a reason behind all this, most probably shes being blackmailed by that valley master, she has no alternative and thats why shes ignoring me. If I cripple myself, it would be difficult for me to oppose him. He made his mind, his heart was stirred, he decided to fight his way out of this problem and rescue Xiao Long Nuu away from this place. He steadied himself and submerged his chi into his dan tian, forcing the blood in his chest to flow back down. He gave a wry laugh and pointed to Fan Yi Weng, saying, This valley feels like its filled with an air of death. When I want to come, you cant stop me, when I want to leave, dont dream of trying to make me stay. Everyone had seen the emotional state that he was in, he was like a madman but all of a sudden, he had steadied himself, they were all surprised to see this. When Fan Yi Weng saw Yang Guo throwing up blood just now, he felt sorry for him, he had no desire to threaten his life. He swept his staff and a fierce gust of wind brushed over Yang Guos clothes. He shouted, Are you going to leave? Valley master Gong Sun creased his brows and said, Yi Weng, why are you still going on? Fan Yi Weng had just received a strict order from his

master, he had no choice but to sweep out his staff towards Yang Guos shins. Gong Sun Luu E knew her senior apprentice brother had great martial arts, though he wasnt tall, he possessed great strength and he has learnt about seventy to eighty percent of her fathers skills, his steel staff has killed countless wild beasts. She thought that with Yang Guo being of a young age, he would definitely not be able to beat the eighty one stances of the [Spilling Water Staff] of her apprentice brothers. If she waited for them to being fighting, it would be difficult for her to save him. Though she saw her fathers face was harsh as frost and filled with anger, she plucked up her courage and stood out towards Yang Guo, saying, Master Yang, staying here will do you no good, why do you want to give you life away in vain? Her tone was gentle, filled with compassion. Fa Wang and the others looked at her, secretly surprised, thinking, Yang Guo came to the valley with us, when did he become friends with this girl? Yang Guo nodded and laughed, he said, Thank you for miss kindness. Do you want a beard to play with? Gong Sun Luu E was startled and asked, What? Yang Guo said, Ill rid him of his beard and give it to you to mess around with, how about it? Gong Sun Luu E lost her colour in shock, thinking that you must be bored with your life, actually daring to make a joke like this. The rules of the Passionless Valley were very strict, these few words of advice to Yang Guo will result in a heavy punishment, how would she know that he would reply jokingly, her face went red, she didnt dare to say anything else and stepped back into the line of disciples. Fan Yi Weng was a short man and was immensely proud of his beard, when he heard these mocking words of Yang Guo, he threw away his staff and rushed forward, shouting, Little punk, Ill let you experience pain from my beard first. In the middle of his cry, his long beard swept forward. Yang Guo laughed, The Old Urchin didnt cut off your beard, let me have a try. He took out his scissors from his bag and cut forwards towards the beard. Fan Yi Wengs beard was flung forwards towards his neck, it had great force behind it. Yang Guo had moved out of the way long ago, the opened blade of the scissors came forward, an ka sound was heard as it was closed. Fan Yi Weng was shocked, he quickly did a somersault to get out of the

way, just one slight delay and his beard would have been cut off. This wasnt an ordinary kind of shock. The people who were watching all called out quietly. The reason Yang Guo had asked blacksmith Feng to make this pair of scissors was so that he could use it against Li Mo Chous flywhisk. Li Mo Chou uses her [Divine Five Poison Palm] and her flywhisk to sweep through Jiang Hu, her flywhisk techniques were superb. Before Yang Guo could use the scissors to neutralise her flywhisk techniques, he had to first think carefully about how to use it against the flywhisk, how hell need to thrust forwards when the flywhisk sways around, how hell cut when the flywhisk comes forward to attack him. How would he know that before he had the chance to use it against Li Mo Chou, he actually came across a person in the Passionless Valley who uses his beard as a weapon. Yang Guo thought, No matter how good your beard is, it cant be better than Li Mo Chous flywhisk. He had no fear and pressed forwards with the scissors. Fan Yi Weng had spent over ten years in training his beard, because he had his hands for protection, his beard was more lethal than the conventional whip and flywhisk. His head swung around and bought his beard forward, at the same time he threw out two palms towards Yang Guo. Just a while go, Zhou Bo Tong had tried to use the scissors to cut off his beard but instead of cutting it off, the beard wrapped around the scissors, and he could only admit defeat. Everyone had seen the martial arts of Zhou Bo Tong, everyone knew that Yang Guo could not compare to him. Who knew that in the hands of Yang Guo, the scissors swept, cut and threatened, going to and fro like it was in a dance. It was actually better than the way Zhou Bo Tong had handled the scissors and everyone marvelled. In proficiency in martial arts and internal energy level, of course Yang Guo was miles behind Zhou Bo Tong but he had carefully studied the stances of Li Mo Chous flywhisk and devised scissors stances to counter them, because the way the beard was used was similar to that of the flywhisk, the scissors was indeed effective against the beard when used and Yang Guo got the upper hand. Of course this is different to the unplanned and unstructured scissor techniques of Zhou Bo Tong. But Fa Wang and the others did not know the reason behind it, they saw with their own eyes Zhou Bo Tong throwing the scissors towards him and according to the character of Zhou Bo Tong, this would be something that he would devise to cause trouble with. Yang Guo was most proficient with a sword, Fa Wang knew this.

On many occasions, Fan Yi Weng was almost injured by the scissors and as a result, he stopped looking down on Yang Guo. He changed his stance and swung his beard wildly around, striking out in all directions, attacking forwards and sweeping across. This actually formed another set of stances. Yang Guo cut downwards many times but each time he caught thin air, he also saw the wind from his opponents palms were fierce, sometimes the beard was a decoy while the palm was real, at other times the palms lured the opponent and the beard attacked, this was a set of ingenious martial arts that the world of wulin has never seen before. In a short while, tens of moves were exchanged. Yang Guo thought, The valley master is vicious and cruel, his martial arts would definitely be much better than this shorty, if I cant beat the disciple, how can I beat the master? He became slightly impatient. But Fan Yi Wengs beard was thicker and longer than Li Mo Chous flywhisk, as the beard spread out, there really were no weaknesses. After a few more stances, Yang Guo concentrated on his opponent. He saw his opponents head swinging around, he had a ludicrous appearance and his beard was getting faster and faster, his head was swinging around especially fast; suddenly he had a thought, he had found a way to break this martial art of his. Yang Guo leapt back five feet and called out, Hold it! Fan Yi Weng stopped his attack and said, Since youve admitted defeat little brother, just leave! Yang Guo shook his head as he laughed and said, After your beards been cut, how long will it take to grow back? Fan Yi Weng said, Whats it got to do with you? Ive never cut my beard before. Yang Guo shook his head and said, Pity, pity! Fan Yi Weng said, Pity what? Yang Guo said, In three stances Im going to cut off your beard. Fan Yi Weng thought, You and me have already fought for tens of stances and were at a draw, you must be dreaming if you think you can win in just three stances. Fan Yi Weng shouted, Watch the stance! His right palm came chopping out. Yang Guo slanted his left palm and smashed down with the scissors in his right hand, attacking the opponents forehead on the left side. He was tall, when the scissors attacked his opponents head it cut downwards. Fan Yi Weng slanted his head to avoid the attack but then,

Yang Guos left palm came downwards across his forehead on the right side. There was a vicious force behind the chop, Fan Yi Weng quickly moved his head to the left. The opponents attack was fast, his reaction was also very swift and his beard followed him and flung upwards. Yang Guos scissors had been opened and was guarding the right, a ka sound was heard as the scissors cut down. He cut off over two feet of the beard. Everyone called out and all felt shocked, they saw that he did indeed succeed in cutting off Fan Yi Wengs beard in three stances. After fighting for a long time, Yang Guo eventually found out that when Fan Yi Wengs beard was flung to the left, his head would first head right, when the beard was flung upwards, his head would first hang down, he cursed himself for being so stupid, His beard is on his head, if the beard moves, he will of course first move his head. I didnt attack the source and tangled with his beard, what an idiot. He planned his three attacks and then told him that he will cut off Fan Yi Wengs beard in three stances. Fan Yi Weng was stunned as he watched the beard that he has grown for half his life floating to the ground, he felt anger and pity at the same time. He went up and down as he picked up his staff and then shouted angrily, If you dont kill me then dont dream of leaving the valley. Yang Guo laughed, I wasnt planning on leaving in the first place! Fan Yi Weng swept his staff towards his waist. Ma Guang Zuo had fought with Fen Yi Weng previously and had been on the receiving end, right now he was feeling pleased and said loudly, Old shorty, you face wasnt the best sight in the first place, but after losing your beard, you look even weirder. When Fan Yi Weng heard this, he bit down on his teeth and fought even harder. Yang Guo only knew what his soft beard techniques were like and didnt know how strong he was, he saw the incoming staff and stuck out his scissors, a dang sound was heard as his arms felt numb, the scissors had been bent out of place. Just one stance and the scissors was out of commission. The onlookers had seen Yang Guo gain victory but they didnt predict that the weapons would change and the battle would continue. The difference between the two could be clearly seen, one was holding an extremely long and heavy weapon while the other was holding a piece of scrap

metal. Gong Sun Luu E could not hold back anymore and called out, Master Yang, youre not as strong as my senior apprentice brother, why continue? Valley master Gong Sun was beginning to get angry when he saw his daughter protecting an outsider, he glanced at her and saw her face was filled with concern. He then looked at Xiao Long Nuu and saw that her expression was calm, appearing like as if she had no concern for Yang Guos safety whatsoever, his anger immediately turned to joy. He thought, So she has no feelings for that punk, otherwise, how can she have no concern for him now that hes facing danger? He didnt know that Xiao Long Nuu knew that Yang Guo was ingenious and his martial arts were above that of Fan Yi Weng, when the two battle, victory is certain so there was no need for her to worry. Yang Guo threw the bent scissors on the ground and said, Old Fan, youre not a match for me, just throw away your stuff and surrender. Fan Yi Weng said angrily, If you can beat my staff then Ill knock myself dead. Yang Guo said, What a pity, what a pity! Fan Yi Weng called out, Watch the stance! A stance of [Pushing Down the Peak of Mount Tai] was sent out towards his head. Yang Guo dodged to the side and his left foot was placed on the head of the staff. Fan Yi Weng shook his hands, flinging the staff. Yang Guo followed the staff and was forced into midair but his left foot was still standing steadily on the staff head. Fan Yi Weng shook the staff a few times but couldnt shake Yang Guo off. He was about to turn the staff when Yang Guos right foot advanced and was actually running towards him on the staff. In the eyes of Fan Yi Weng and the onlookers, these two stances were inconceivably strange but in reality, it was a technique of the Ancient Tomb sect that utilizes great lightness kung fu to defeat a long and large weapon. Years ago when Li Mo Chou fought Wu San Tong in Jia Xing, she stood on the chestnut tree that Wu San Tong had used as a weapon and she couldnt be shaken off by him. Li Mo Chou had used this type of martial art. Fan Yi Weng was stunned and in this time, Yang Guos left foot had advanced a step and kicked out with his right towards his nose. Fan Yi Weng was in an extremely distressing situation, the enemy was attached to his weapon, if he leapt backwards he would bring the enemy with him and would not be able to avoid that kick, his hands were holding onto the staff so he couldnt use his hands to block, his

beard had been cut off and couldnt be used as defensive weapon, it was an urgent situation and he had no choice but to throw away the steel staff and leap back to avoid the kick. A dang sound was heard as one end landed on the floor. Before the other end landed as well, Yang Guo had picked it up in his hands. Ma Guang Zuo, Ni Mo Xing, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others cheered. Yang Guo placed the staff on the ground and laughed, What about it? Fan Yi Wengs face went red and said, I was careless and fell for your trick, Im not taking it. Yang Guo said, Well go again. He threw the staff towards Fan Yi Weng who stretched out his hand to catch it. However, when the staff was two feet in front of him, it suddenly leapt up. Fan Yi Weng clutched thin air while Yang Guo flew over and stretched out his arm, taking the staff once again. Ma Guang Zuos and the others cheers were becoming louder. Fan Yi Wengs face was now purple. Fa Wang and Yin Ke Xi looked at each other and laughed, both secretly praising Yang Guos cleverness. Yesterday, Zhou Bo Tong had shot out broken spearheads towards them with the force immediately taken back as soon as it shot out, after the spearheads flew out, it suddenly changed direction in midair, right now Yang Guo was copying him. But there was four spearheads while there was only one staff, the staff was also heavy and to change force was not hard, what Yang Guo had done was much easier than what Zhou Bo Tong had done. But valley master Gong Sun and his disciples did not know what it was about and were all shocked. Yang Guo laughed, What? Do you want to go again? His beard had been cut and weapon taken but it was all due to cleverness, how could he admit defeat without any protest? He said loudly, If you use real martial arts to beat me then Ill admit defeat. Yang Guo chuckled, In martial arts, ingenuity comes first. Your masters mind is unclear, of course the disciples he teach will be lacking a bit. Ill give you some advice, its better if you go and find another master. These words were an insult directed at valley master Gong Sun. Fan Yi Weng thought, My study of martial arts is lacking and Ive disgraced my master, if I really cant win then Ill commit suicide to apologise to master. He bit his teeth and stood up straight. Yang Guo swept the steel staff towards him and placed it in his hands, he said, Be careful this time, if you lose you staff again, you wont be able to blame anyone else.

Fan Yi Weng did not reply. He held the end of the staff tightly with his right and thought, Youll only be able to take away this staff if you cut off my right arm. Yang Guo called out, Careful! He flung himself forward and his left hand rested on the end of the staff, the index and middle finger of his right hand went towards his opponents eyes, at the same time, his left foot had flipped upwards and was holding down the staffs body; this was a stance from the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], [Stealing the Staff from the Mouth of the Tiger]. On the previous two times that Yang Guo took the staff, though everyone thought his movements were special, they all saw what happened clearly but this time even Fan Yi Weng didnt know what was going on, he just blinked and the staff was in the hands of the opponent again. Only Jin Lun Fa Wang with his profound martial arts knowledge and his experience of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] knew that Yang Guo had used one of the skills of this stick technique. Ma Guang Zuo called out, The no beard long beard, are you in awe now? Fan Yi Weng called out, He used witchcraft, it isnt real martial arts, why should I admit defeat? Yang Guo laughed, How will you admit defeat? Fan Yi Weng said, Only if you use real martial arts to beat me, then Ill admit defeat. Yang Guo returned the staff to him and said, Fine, well go another couple of stances. Fan Yi Weng was extremely worried about his clever empty-handed staff snatching techniques, he thought, No matter how much advantage I get, when hes at a point where he can hold me off no longer hell suddenly use his witchcraft, it would be difficult for me to win. So he said, I use such a large and long weapon yet you are empty handed, even if I win you wont take it. Yang Guo laughed, Youre afraid of my [Empty Hands Entering A Hundred Blades] kung fu, fine, Ill use a weapon. He scoured the room and all he saw were bare walls, there wasnt one single weapon that he could use, however in the courtyard there were two large willow trees, it had many branches and had emerald green leaves hanging down from it, he looked at Xiao Long Nuu and said, Since you want to have Liu as a surname, Ill use a willow branch as a weapon! He leapt into the

courtyard and broke off an inch thick branch, it was about four foot long. The length and thickness was similar to the Beggar Clans Dog Beating Stick. The branch still had its leaves that gave the weapon an elegance. Xiao Long Nuus mind was all over the place, she had no plans for the future, the longer that Yang Guo was in her eyes, the harder it was for her to leave him. She pondered to herself, though separating from Yang Guo was heartbreaking, she had a thought about this a hundred times and was able to tolerate it, right now, he was here in person in front of her very eyes, every word of his, every action, every smile and every anger of his, all of them moved and stirred her heart, she wanted to go inside and stop seeing and hearing him but how could she? She lowered her head and didnt say anything but she was feeling as if a thousand steel knives were cutting right into her heart. End of Chapter 17

Chapter 18 Valley Master Gong Sun Fan Yi Weng was furious when he saw Yang Guo pick a willow branch as a weapon, treating this as if it was a game, showing no respect towards him at all. He didnt now that within the softness of the willow branch there was also toughness and that he was going to use the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] with it. Though it couldnt compare with the bamboo treasure of the Beggar Clan, it was a lethal weapon that matched any precious sword or sabre. Ma Guang Zuo said, Brother Yang, just use my sabre! He took the sabre out of the sheath and the blade glimmered, it really was a sharp blade. Yang Guo saluted with his arms and laughed, Thank you! This brother isnt a bad person, its just a pity that he followed the wrong master, his martial arts are poor and just a willow branch will be enough to beat him. The willow branch moved forwards and attached itself to the steel staff.

Once again, Fan Yi Weng heard him insult his master, he was thinking that this time it will be a life and death battle, he was not going to hold anything back. He waved the staff around which generated noises within the air and started to use his eighty-one stances of the [Spilling Water Staff]. The reason behind the name Spilling Water is that no splash or spill of water can advance, the staff stances were extremely tight and unyielding. At first, the staff was swift and powerful but after a few stances, he felt that the staff was gradually moving towards one side, the head of the staff felt skewed and the wind generated by the staff was becoming weaker. Yang Guo was using the [Dog Beating Stick Techniques] coil theory, the branch was attached to the staff head, when the staff moved to the east, the branch moved to the east, when the staff was flipped upwards, the branch followed but at the final stage, his internal energy forced the staff to pull or push a little more in another direction and staff head moved out of the control of Fan Yi Weng. This particular coil formulae of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] is derived from the advanced martial art theory of four liang moving a thousand jin, subtle and ingenious, this theory far exceeded the methods of using force against force or using the current to move the boat. The onlookers were becoming more and more surprised, that could have never predicted that the very young Yang Guo would possess such ingenious martial arts. They saw that Fan Yi Wengs staff was gradually becoming weaker while Yang Guos willow branch was becoming stronger. Thirty stances later, Fan Yi Wengs staff was completely under the control of the willow branch, the more strength Fan Yi Weng used, the more incontrollable the staff became. In the end, he felt that as if he had entered an extremely strong cyclone, making him dizzy and dazed, completely losing his bearings. Valley master Gong Suns hand came down on the stone table, and called out, Yi Weng, stand down! The noise created was thunderous, even Yang Guos heart skipped a beat, he thought to himself, I cant let him slip away. He then shook his arm and changed to the turn formulae, his body froze and his wrist kept on drawing circles, turning Fan Yi Weng around like a spinning top. The faster that Yang Guo turned his hands, the faster Fan Yi Weng turned, the staff in his hand acting like the handle of a spinning top.

Yang Guo said, If you can stop your feet and dont trip, then youre a man. But your master cant teach, the disciples he teaches will trip up in battle. The willow branch lifted upwards and he leapt backwards over ten feet. Fan Yi Wengs body and mind was not under his control at this moment in time, he was stumbling and after a few more turns, he would drop to the floor. Valley master Gong Sun suddenly leapt up and palmed the head of the staff in midair and lightly came back down. That move he did appeared to be ordinary and light but there was a great force behind it, he had slammed the staff two feet into the ground and stopped it spinning. Fan Yi Weng grabbed the staff tightly and didnt drop but his body was stumbling and swaying as if he was drunk, his bearings were lost for the time being. Xiao Xiang Zi, Yin Ke Xi and the others looked at Yang Guo and then looked at valley master Gong Sun, they now knew that these two people are definitely not easy people to deal with. They planned to watch this great battle by the side without interfering. Ma Guang Zuo was the only one who had intent to help Yang Guo, he called out, Brother Yang, great kung fu! Shorty has lost! Fan Yi Weng breathed in deeply and steadied himself, he turned around and suddenly knelt down to his master. He then kowtowed four times and without saying a word, suddenly ran towards a stone pillar. Everyone was shocked, no one had predicted that his character was so fiery that after suffering a defeat he would kill himself. Valley master Gong Sun called out, Oh no! He leapt up from his table and stretched out his hand to grab his back but they were too far apart and Fan Yi Weng was very quick, the valley master could only grab thin air. Fan Yi Weng used all his strength in his effort to run into the pillar but suddenly he felt his forehead going into something soft. He raised his head and say Yang Guo with his two palms out standing in front of the pillar. He said, Brother Weng, what is the most painful thing in the world? When Yang Guo saw Fan Yi Weng kneeling down to his master, he knew that he was up to something so he prepared himself. He was close to Fan Yi Weng and managed to get ahead of him, blocking him from the pillar with his palms.

Fan Yi Weng was stunned, he asked, What is it? Yang Guo said mournfully, I dont know myself. But the pain in my heart is ten times greater than yours yet I havent killed myself, why are you doing this? Fan Yi Weng said, Youve won, what pain have you got in your heart? Yang Guo shook his head and said, Whats so important about winning and losing in battle? I dont know how many times Ive been beating in my life. When you tried to kill yourself, your master worried about you. If I tried to kill myself, my master would think nothing of it, that is a deeply hurtful thing. Fan Yi Weng still did not understand. Master valley Gong Sun called out sternly, Yi Weng, if you have any more stupid thoughts then youll be disobeying the orders of your master. Stand to the side and watch me take care of this punk. Fan Yi Weng did not dare to disobey his master and retreated. He stared at Yang Guo, he himself did not know what he felt towards him. Anger? Loathing? Or respect? When Xiao Long Nuu heard Yang Guo say If I tried to kill myself, my master would think nothing of it, her eyes went red and more tears descended down from them. She thought, If you died, do you think Ill still be able to live? Valley master Gong Sun had kept his eye on her all along and now he suddenly saw her tears once again, he was jealous and angry. He clapped his hands three times and called out, Catch that little punk. He looked upon himself highly, thinking that it was beneath him to fight Yang Guo. The two groups of disciples by the side responded. They stood in all directions and suddenly called out, each group of four held a fish net and surrounded Yang Guo. Yang Guo and Fa Wang arrived here with the others with Fa Wang being the head of the group, now that it has come to this, he should come out and make a stand on this issue but all he did was chuckle and watched by the side. The valley master did not know what Fa Wang was thinking and assumed that he was laughing at him for not being able to handle Yang Guo, he thought, Im going to show what the Passionless Valley is made out of. He again clapped three times.

The sixteen disciples crossed and changed positions, decreasing the size of the encirclement a few steps. The four nets kept on changing positions, from horizontal to vertical, from being straight to at an angle. Yang Guo had seen the disciples in green twice use this fish net formation to catch Zhou Bo Tong, its variations were indeed profound and it is extremely hard to defend against. This formation and Quan Zhens [Big Dipper Formation] each had its own strong points. He thought, The Old Urchin with his martial arts was captured by this net formation, how am I going to cope? Just now, he just wanted to escape, he threw Ma Guang Zuo and Fan Yi Weng into the net then took the opportunity to slip away but my intent is to stay here. Each net was over ten feet wide and the handlers were hidden behind it, if he wanted to defeat this formation he would first have to attack the green disciples who were holding the net but as soon as his body gets close, he would be captured by the net. He had no way of making his move. The sixteen were pressing closer and closer, Yang Guo didnt know what to do and could only use the Ancient Tombs lightness kung fu to dart and fly around in the hall, floating here and dashing there making it hard for the opponent to predict the direction he was heading in. He moved around in all directions but the sixteen disciples did not follow him around, they just shrunk the encirclement step by step. Yang Guo dashed around as he searched for a way to defeat this formation. He saw that although the net was turning around extremely swiftly, the places where they folded over each other remained covered and didnt show a gap at all, he thought, Theres nothing I can do apart from using projectiles to hurt the handlers. He swivelled around once and there were already a handful of Jade Bee needles in his hand, he waved out his left hand and shot out seven, eight Jade Bee needles to the four disciples north of him. He saw that the four of them were about to get hit when he suddenly heard light ding ding ding ding sounds, the seven, eight Jade Bee needles were sucked in by the net. The fish net was actually embellished with small magnets, with such a large net, no matter how powerful the enemys projectile, it will still be blocked by the net. The Jade Bee needle was seventy percent gold, thirty percent steel, because of this thirty percent, the Jade Bee needles were sucked in by the net.

Yang Guo thought that this strike would succeed, how would he know that this net actually had so many clever uses, he quickly looked at the valley master and knew that it would be no use to fire out any more projectiles. His right hand went into his pockets and put the needles away. He was just about to think of another way to break the formation when the net from the east side came closer, the leader of the four handlers whistled, a gold light flashed across his eyes as the net came over his right shoulder. Yang Guo darted back and was about to escape to the north west when the nets from the north and west side pressed forwards. Yang Guo cursed, Its over, its over! I wonder what torture Ill endure after falling into the hands of this valley master. Suddenly he heard someone from one of the handlers of the southern net call out, Oh no! Yang Guo turned his head and saw Gong Sun Luu E had fallen onto the floor, one of the corners of the net was hanging down loosely. This was the only route out of the formation, Yang Guo didnt give it another thought and darted out of the encirclement. He saw Gong Sun Luu E had fallen onto the floor calling out in pain but she was signalling with her eyes to leave the valley at once. Yang Guo thought to himself, Im really touched by her kindness. But if I leave the valley, Gu Gu would definitely be forced into marrying that crooked valley master. I dont care if I get captured and suffer the pain of a thousand knives, Ill never leave. He stood in the corner of the room and looked at Xiao Long Nuu thinking Ive just experienced great danger just now yet you still have no reaction? He saw that Xiao Long Nuu was still hanging her head and still keeping quiet. The valley master clapped his hands twice and the nets suddenly dispersed. He turned to Gong Sun Luu E and said coldly, Whats wrong with you? Gong Sun Luu E said, My leg suddenly broke out in a painful cramp. Valley master Gong Sun knew long ago that his daughter had fallen in love with Yang Guo and as a result gave him an escape route in such a critical moment, but because there were outsiders here it wasnt appropriate for him to break out in a rage, he laughed coldly and said, Fine, stand down. Shi Si Er will take her position.

Gong Sun Luu E lowered her head and stood down. A youngster in green responded and stepped forward. This person was only fourteen, fifteen years of age and had tied their hair into two plaits. Gong Sun Luu E glanced at Yang Guo with grievance in her eyes. Yang Guo felt apologetic and said to himself, Im afraid that I wont be able to repay her kindness and compassion in this life. Valley master Gong Sun clapped his hands four times and suddenly the sixteen disciples retreated inside. Yang Guo was shocked, thinking, Could it be that you admit defeat? Just as he was wondering about this, he turned his head around and saw Gong Sun Luu E had a fearful expression on her face, she kept on signalling to him with her eyes to leave the valley. From her appearance, it appeared that he was going to face something extremely dangerous. Yang Guo smiled, instead of running away, he pulled a chair over and sat down. There was a light ringing noise in the inner halls and the sixteen disciples came out again, their hands still holding a fish net. Everyones expression turned as soon as they saw the net; the fish net had been changed and now it was full of hooks and daggers that glimmered. They were extremely sharp, whoever gets caught in the net would be pierced all over and would have no hope of living. Ma Guang Zuo called out, Hey, valley master, dont you want face? How can you use such an evil thing to treat your guests? Valley master Gong Sun pointed to Yang Guo and said, I dont want to hurt you. Ive warned you many times to leave the valley but you chose to stay here and stir trouble. This is your final warning, quickly leave. Even someone with Ma Guang Zuos courage shivered at the sight of the nets, when he heard the hooks and knives colliding with each other, he was even more scared, he stood up and pulled Yang Guos hand, Brother Yang, it would be better for us to leave than face this evil thing, why do you insist on quarrelling with him? Yang Guo looked at Xiao Long Nuu waiting to see her response. As soon as Xiao Long Nuu saw the valley master summon out knife laced nets, she had prepared for death, as soon as Yang Guo gets caught in the nets she would throw herself on them, dying together in each others arms. When she thought about this, she felt peace in her

heart, thinking that all the worlds pain and suffering will be gone in a flash, her lips couldnt stop themselves from showing a smile. How would Yang Guo know what she was feeling at this time? He thought about how he was about to face a great danger yet she could still smile, his heart was in pain, even more deeply than before. In these feelings of hurt, sorrow, indignation, and the approaching danger, he suddenly had an idea and didnt continue on with these thoughts. He went over to Xiao Long Nuu and bowed lightly. He said, Gu Gu, Guo Er is in danger today, I would like to borrow you silk belt and silk gloves. Xiao Long Nuu was only thinking about the joy of dying with him and nothing else, when she heard these words she immediately took out a pair of silk gloves and a silk belt to give to him. Yang Guo received them slowly and stared at her, he said, Youre acknowledging who I am now? Xiao Long Nuu was filled with love and smiled, My heart acknowledged you long ago! Yang Guos spirits were greatly lifted and quivered, Youve decided to leave with me and not marry that valley master, right? Xiao Long Nuu smiled and nodded, Ive decided to go with you, of course I wont marry someone else. Guo Er, that naturally makes me your wife. When she said go with you, she was talking about going into death with Yang Guo, even Yang Guo didnt understand so of course the others would not but her words of naturally that makes me your wife couldnt be clearer. Valley master Gong Suns face went white and hurried the disciples in green to make their move. The sixteen disciples set the nets in motion and moved around. After hearing these words of Xiao Long Nuus, Yang Guo felt as if he was bought back to life from death, his courage and valour soared, even if he was facing greater dangers he wouldnt care. He put on the impregnable silk gloves and held the silk belt in his right hand. The silk belt was sent out with its ringing noises like a white snake. At the end of the silk belt was a gold bell, the belt extended and retracted once, the bell had struck the Concealed Valley pressure point of one of the disciples in the southern position and on its way back it struck the Crooked Pond pressure point of one of the disciples in the eastern position. The Concealed Valley pressure point is found on the

knee, the person could not stay up right and knelt on the floor; the Crooked Pond pressure point is found on the elbow area, as soon it was struck, the persons arm became numb and soft, the fish net slipped out of their hands. After those two pre-emptive attacks, the fish net formation immediately broke up. The four disciples in the west were shocked, when they attacked they were slightly slow, Yang Guos gold bell turned towards them and after another two strikes, another two disciples had their pressure points struck. But at this time, the net from the north came over his head. The knives and hooks were half a foot away from his head; he couldnt use the silk belt to deal with them. Yang Guos left hand turned upwards and grabbed the fish net, he used its force and flung it away. Although he grabbed hooks and daggers, his hands were covered by the silk gloves and were completely protected. The net was now heading back towards the four disciples in green. When these disciples practised this net formation, the only thing they were afraid of was the enemy slipping through the net, they concentrated on keeping it tight and unyielding, the thought of the net returning over them has never entered their minds. They watched as the glittering knives and hooks came towards their heads, they knew exactly how powerful the net was and all called out in alarm as they let go and leapt away. The youngster who replaced Gong Sun Luu E was weaker than the rest, a dagger eventually pierced his lap, blood poured and he fell down, crying out in pain on the floor. Yang Guo laughed, Little brother, dont be scared, Im not going to hurt you. His left hand flipped the net away and his right motioned the silk belt. Sounds of qiang lang lang and ding ling ling were heard as the hooks and daggers collided with each other with the golden bell ringing. The sounds were extremely crisp. After this, none of the disciples dared to come forward and stood far away by the wall but because they hadnt received the order to back down by their master, they didnt dare admit defeat and run away. Though they didnt admit defeat, they had already lost. Ma Guang Zuo clapped and cheered for a while but because he was the only one, he felt a bit lonely and glanced over to Fa Wang saying, Hey monk, arent brother Yang Guos martial arts great? Why arent you cheering?

Fa Wang laughed and said, His skills are great, extremely good but theres no need to call out like that. Ma Guang Zuo asked, Why? Fa Wang saw that the valley masters brows were creased and was now making his way towards the centre of the hall slowly. Fa Wang concentrated on him and ignored Ma Guang Zuo. When valley master Gong Sun heard Xiao Long Nuu say, naturally that makes me your wife, he knew that his sweet dream of the past two weeks had come to an end, though he was disappointed and angry, he thought, Even if I cant have your heart Im going to have you. Ill kill that bastard in one palm, I dont care what your feelings towards me will be, after time, your heart will eventually return to me. Yang Guo saw that his brows were becoming higher and higher to a point where his brows and eyes were as if they were standing straight up, he didnt know what school of martial arts this was from and became slightly afraid, his right hand lifted the silk belt and his left clutched the net, he was completely prepared. He knew that this battle would decide the life and death of him and Xiao Long Nuu, he didnt dare to allow one strand of carelessness in his actions. Valley master Gong Sun circled around Yang Guo slowly. Yang Guo too turned around slowly on the ground, he didnt dare to gaze away from him. He saw that he was still delaying in making his move and knew that when he attacked, it will be extremely swift and vicious but all he saw was him raising his hands levelled three times in front of him and then his hands came together. The sound generated was as if gold and iron had collided. Yang Guos heart skipped a beat and moved back a step. Valley master Gong Sun suddenly stretched out his right arm and grabbed the fish net, pulling it away to one side. Yang Guo felt that his pull had great force behind it, his fingers ached and could only let go. Valley master Gong Sun threw the net to the four disciples and shouted, Stand down! After having the net snatched away, Yang Guo didnt allow him to make the first move again, the silk belt shot out and the gold bell shook, attacking the opponents Large Bone and Celestial Tripod pressure points on the shoulder and neck. Valley master Gong Suns chest was open with his arms stretched out to the side but Yang Guo didnt dare to attack the major pressure points on his chest rashly, first attacking the smaller pressure points on his body to test him out.

Valley master Gong Suns martial arts were actually from a different school of martial arts, he ignored the pressure point attacks of the bell and stretched out his right arm to grab Yang Guos arm. A ding ding sound was heard as the Large Bone and Celestial Tripod pressure points were struck but he didnt feel it and a hu sound was heard as the grab turned into a palm, striking towards Yang Guos chest on the left side. Yang Guo was alarmed and quickly lent his body to the side. Luckily for him, his lightness kung fu was excellent and avoided this sudden palm from his opponent. Yang Guo had once heard the great fighters of wulin Ou Yang Feng, Hong Qi Gong and Huang Yao Shi talk about martial arts, and knew that when someone has reached advanced levels of internal energy, at the time the opponent strikes their pressure points they were be able to seal if off themselves and avoid the attack but they will still show some effects of their pressure points being attacked. Ou Yang Fengs martial arts can lead to reversal of the veins and the major pressure points over ones body to change position but when someone sees his legs above his head, they would be able to tell immediately. But the enemy he is facing now actually made no response to his pressure points being struck, as if he didnt have any pressure points on his body, such a type of martial arts is rarely seen or heard of, he couldnt stop some fear from creeping into his heart. He saw that his palms had turned over and there seemed to be black air within the palms, when it was coming towards him the wind was forceful and pressing, he didnt dare to receive it head on, he used the silk belt to tangle with him while his left hand protected the vital areas of his body. Soon, they had exchanged over ten stances. Yang Guo had put all his concentration into fighting him when suddenly he saw the left palm of his opponent coming lightly towards his chest, it appeared to be a soft palm but it was the opposite, it was actually a palm from the same set of palm skills as Wan Yan Pings [Iron Palm], he quickly leapt away a couple of feet. When the valley masters palm met thin air, he didnt take it back and the palm kept on going forward two feet, he moved quickly and the palm was now in front of Yang Guo. Normally, when a person fires out a punch or sends out a palm, the strength originates from the arm, they would pull back their arm and send out the attack but the attack of the valley master that he had just used now originated from his body, his hand and palm didnt move, he was actually using the force from his body to attack the opponent. Although the force from the body is

greater than that from the arm, using it to sent out a palm or punch will result in slower attacks but valley master Gong Suns palm was both fierce and swift. Yang Guo wanted to lean his body to the side to avoid the palm but there was no time, he could only send out his left palm and meet it head on. A pai sound was generated as the palms collided, Yang Guo was jolted back three steps while the valley master stood his ground with his body swaying a little. Standing there without moving, the valley master appeared to have the upper hand but in actual fact the power from Yang Guos palm had caused a throbbing pain in the side of the body, he was extremely shocked, Id used all my power behind that [Iron Palm] but that punk was still actually able to receive it. If we carry on like this I may not be able to kill him. If we fight to a draw, I wont be able to say anything. He clapped his hands twice, the sounds were ear piercingly loud, he said, The one named Yang, I have been merciful in that palm, do you know that? If it were a normal martial arts duel, if Yang Guo continued fighting he would definitely lose, when the valley master said these words he should have admitted that his martial arts were weaker but today he knew that the opponent would never allow him and Xiao Long Nuu to leave in peace, he had no other option but to engage in a fight to the death. Yang Guo still had his ridiculing and derisory nature towards his opponents, Xiao Long Nuo had returned to him now and his heart was overflowing with joy, he laughed and said, If you kill me, how can my Gu Gu marry you? If you dont kill me, my Gu Gu would still not marry you. What mercy was there? Its just that you couldnt do anything to me! Yang Guo was too kind in his surmising of his opponents thoughts. The valley master would love nothing more than to kill him in one stroke to avoid him causing problems in the future, even if it caused Xiao Long Nuu to hate and loathe him, he couldnt care less, he couldnt do anything to Yang Guo because his palms couldnt do anything to him. He turned towards his daughter and said, Take out my weapons. Gong Sun Luu E delayed and didnt reply. Valley master Gong Sun shouted, Didnt you hear? Gong Sun Luu E went pale and could only reply, Yes! She then left for the inner halls. Yang Guo looked at the expression of the two and thought, I couldnt cope when he was empty handed, now that hes going to use some

weird weapon, what chance have I got? If we dont leave now, when should we leave? He went over to Xiao Long Nuu and stretched out his hand, softly saying, Gu Gu, lets just leave! Valley master Gong Sun gahtered energy in his hands, as soon as Xiao Long Nuu stands and takes Yang Guos hand, hell immediately throw himself forward and attack Yang Guos spine viciously with the [Iron Palm]. He made his decision and thought, I dont care if sister Liu hates me, Im going to kill that punk. If sister Liu leaves with him, what joy will I have left for the next half of my life? But Xiao Long Nuu did not stand up, just saying calmly, Of course Ill go with you. But the valley master did save my life, we need to explain everything to him and ask for his forgiveness. Yang Guo was flustered and thought, Gu Gu doesnt know anything. Do you think hes going to forgive us just like that because you explained everything to him? But then he heard Xiao Long Nuu ask him, Guo Er, have you been well over the last couple of days? She said these words with great compassion and love. When Yang Guo heard these gentle, loving words and saw her affectionate expression, he felt that if even the sky was falling down on him he wouldnt care, how could he still be thinking about trying to escape? He said, Gu Gu, youre not angry with me? Xiao Long Nuu smiled and said, Why should I be angry with you? Ive never been angry with you. Turn around. Yang Guo listened to her and turned around but didnt know what she wanted to do. Xiao Long Nuu took out a little bag with string and needles in them. She threaded the needle and measured the hole that Fan Yi Weng had torn on the back of his garment. She sighed and said, Over these past few days Ive been wanting to make a new gown for you but when I thought about how Ill never see you again, I thought whats the point? I could never have dreamed that you would find your way here. The pain and grief in her words turned to joy and delight as she said this. She picked up a pair of small scissors and cut a piece of fabric from the corner of her gown. She slowly helped him repair his garment. When the two lived in the tomb, whenever Yang Guos clothes were torn or ripped, Xiao Long Nuu would call him over and help him repair it like this. Over the years, this happened countless times. The two of them did not care about life and death anymore, though they were under the stare of many people in the hall, the two of them

acted as if no one was there and did as they used to when they lived with each other in the ancient tomb. Yang Guo was filled with boundless joy and hot tears rolled down from his eyes, he choked, Gu Gu, just now I made you throw up blood, I it was my fault. Xiao Long Nuu smiled, Its not your fault. You know Ive got this kind of illness long ago. I havent seen you a few days and your martial arts have advanced so much. You threw up blood as well just now, are you okay? Yang Guo laughed, Its nothing. Ive got more than enough blood to spare. Xiao Long Nuu smiled, You love to talk nonsense. Though the words of the two were ordinary and plain, everyone could hear the love that the two had for each other and that the two had an extremely deep relationship. Fa Wang and the others looked at each other. Valley master Gong Sun was shocked and jealous, he stood there stunned on the ground not knowing what to do. Yang Guo said, Ive met some interesting people over the last few days. Gu Gu, guess where I got my pair of large scissors from? Xiao Long Nuu said, I was wondering about this, its like you knew that there was a long bearded old man here long ago so you prepared a large pair of scissors to cut off his beard. You really are naughty, hes taking years to grow that beard and you cut it off just like that, isnt it a pity? She gave a laugh as her bright eyes sparkled, her appearance enchanting. Valley master could not endure this any longer, he stretched out his hand towards Yang Guos chest and shouted, Bastard, youre too disrespectful. Yang Guo didnt block it and said, Theres no need to rush, Ill continue the fight once Gu Gu finish repairing my garment. Valley master Gong Suns fingers were just a few inches away from his chest, he had the status of being a master and even though he was furious, it would be inappropriate for him to attack him like this. Suddenly he heard Gong Sun Luu E call out from behind, Father, the weapons are here. He didnt turn around as he moved backwards a few feet and took the weapons.

His left hand held a thick and wide jagged sabre, the blade glittered with gold light and it appeared to be produced from gold while his right hand was holding a fine and long black sword, it shook a little in his hands displaying the softness of the blade, the edges of the blade emitting a blue light and was extremely sharp. The two weapons were the opposite of each other, one was heavy and hard, the other light and soft. Yang Guo just took one look at the strange weapons before continuing Gu Gu, a few days ago I met a woman, she told me who was my fathers murderer. Xiao Long Nuus heart trembled and asked, Who is it? Yang Guo bit down on his teeth and said with hatred, You could never have guessed who they were, and all along Ive been thinking that theyve been treating me extremely well. Xiao Long Nuu said, They? Theyve been treating you extremely well? Yang Guo said, Yes, They are A clear buzzing sound that resonated without stop was heard; it was valley master Gong Suns black sword colliding with his golden sabre. His wrist turned and three consecutive pierces that sliced through the air was unleashed, one aimed towards Yang Guos head, one aimed at the left side of Yang Guos neck and other at the right side of Yang Guos neck. They all passed within half an inch of his flesh. The valley master was looking after his status, since the enemy did not make a move to block these attacks he couldnt land the attacks but the accuracy of these attacks were unnerving. Xiao Long Nuu said, Ive finished! She patted him on the back. Yang Guo turned around and smiled. He then made his way towards the centre of the hall with the silk belt. Valley master Gong Suns [Yin Yang Twin Blades], [Fish Net Formation] and [Closure of Pressure Points] were all passed down from his ancestors but because they have lived in the valley in seclusion for all these years and havent made any contact with the outsiders for hundreds of years, these three extraordinary martial arts were unknown to the outside world. Another reason for its seclusion is that there were great weaknesses within all these three sets of martial arts, if a skilled martial artist discovers the weakness, the user would not be able to avoid death. His ancestors had passed down a strict rule, members of the valley were forbidden to go out and get involved in Jiang Hu affairs because of this reason. Over twenty years ago, valley master Gong Sun

also learnt martial arts of the Iron Palm School. Though the person who taught him werent some extraordinary martial artist, their knowledge was vast, their thoughts careful and attentive, this person helped him cover up numerous holes in his familys martial arts. In particular, a lot of changes were made to the stances of the [Yin Yang Twin Blades]. This person said to him, This set of sabre and sword technique is now greatly improved, even if youre opponent is extremely clever, they will not be able to see through the trappings of this technique within fifty stances. But once your sabre and sword is unleashed, how can your opponent withstand fifty stances of it? When he saw Yang Guo motioning the silk belt to battle him, he called out, Watch out for the sword! The black sword quivered and it pierced towards Yang Guos chest but the sword did not go straight towards his chest, instead it circled around in front of him. Yang Guo did not know where the sword was aiming for and under this shock, he leapt backwards. Valley master Gong Suns attacks were extremely fast, when Yang Guo leapt back, the circles of the sword were thrust towards him. The circles were becoming bigger and bigger, at first it only circled around the chest area but afterwards it covered the lower abdomen, and after a few more stances the encirclement gradually reached his neck. All the vital points between the neck to the lower abdomen of Yang Guo was covered by the sword tip. Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi, Xiao Xiang Zi and the others has never seen such a swordplay where circling of the sword is used to press against the opponent, there were all shocked. As soon as valley master Gong Sun unleashed a stance, Yang Guo would immediately dart away, he drew ten circles with his sword and each time, Yang Guo ran away and had no way to attack. Yang Guo saw that the enemys swords stances was becoming swifter and more intense while the jagged sabre in his left hand was still yet to be unleashed, when he actually uses it he would probably have no chance at all. There wasnt time for any more thoughts and he leapt to the left, motioning the silk belt, ringing ding ling ling as the gold bell went flying towards the opponents left eye. Valley master Gong Sun slanted his head to dodge the attack and stopped his attack. Yang Guo was delighted, he quickly motioned the silk belt and wrapped it around his right leg, he was about to pull backwards when valley master Gong Suns sword drew downwards and slashed the belt in two; the black sword was actually an extremely sharp weapon.

Everyone gave an ah sound just to hear gust of a fierce wind, valley master Gong Sun had chopped down with his jagged sabre towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo rolled on the floor. A dang sound was heard and was echoed throughout the room; Yang Guo had actually picked up Fan Yi Wengs steel staff to block the attack and the sabre collided with the staff, both of their arms trembled and were slightly numb. Valley master Gong Sun was shocked, This punk really is good, he is actually able to receive ten of my stances. The sabre chopped across and the sword pierced diagonally. A sabre should take ferociousness and hardness as its aim, a sword swiftness and lightness; the two weapons were the complete opposite. To use both a sabre and sword at the same time is impossible but valley master Gong Suns attacks were becoming more and more pressing while the sword and sabre techniques were both clearly distinguished. There was softness and hardness, yin and yang, this really was a rarely seen great skill of the wulin world. Yang Guo gave out a call and waved out the steel staff, he used the [Dog Beating Stick Techniques] seal formula, guarding his body tightly. Valley master Gong Sun wasnt actually able to attack him with his twin blades as he did this. But the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] has subtlety and variation as its main aim, a light and fine bamboo stick can be used as pleased; the heavy and long staff in his hand cannot. After a few more stances, he felt that variation of the stances gradually became ineffective. Valley master Gong Sun suddenly found a weakness, the gold sabre lifted up and the black sword drew down, a ka sound was heard as the black sword cut the steel staff in half. Yang Guo called out, What luck! Just when I was thinking that this staff is too heavy! A great increase in the effectiveness of the stances could be seen when Yang Guo continued using this slashed off staff. Valley master Gong Sun gave a huh grunt and said, Well see whether its lucky or not. The sabre in his left hand chopped forward. The sabre slashed down towards Yang Guos head. This stance was rather slow and sluggish, all Yang Guo had to do was to slant his body to the side a little and he would be able to avoid it easily, however, the circles from the black sword was covering all his paths leaving him with no way to escape. Yang Guo could only raise his broken staff and use a stance of [Lifting the Sky with One Hand] to meet this stance head on. A loud dang sound was heard as the two weapons collided, sparks flew everywhere as Yang Guo felt his arms go numb. Valley master Gong Sun continued the attack, he used the same stance as before. Yang Guo was knowledgeable in martial arts and he was extremely

quick witted in battle yet he wasnt actually able to neutralise such a clumsy stance, there was no other choice for him but to meet this stance in the same way again. Yang Guos arms ached even more after this second collision, he knew that if this continued, the tendons in his arm would suffer great damage. Before he finished his thoughts, the valley master had sent down a third chop. After a few more chops, the sabre had hacked a groove on the staff and the joints in Yang Guos right hand started to bleed. Valley master Gong Sun saw that even in the face of danger Yang Guo still carried his smile, the sabre in his left hand chopped down and pierced the black sword suddenly towards his lower abdomen. Yang Guo had been forced back into the corner of the hall, when he saw the sword tip coming he stretched out his hand to block it. When the sword arrived at his palm, the blade bent in an arc and flicked away. Xiao Long Nuus silk gloves were very tough, even though the black sword was extremely sharp, it still couldnt harm him. Yang Guo knew that with the gloves he would not have to fear the black sword, he turned his palm around and suddenly stretched out his hand to grab the sword, wanting to do the same thing as Xiao Long Nuu did when she snapped Hao Da Tongs sword but he didnt know that valley master Gong Sun would flick his wrist lightly and curved his sword around to him, piercing him in the forearm; blood flowed out of the wound. Yang Guo was shocked and quickly leapt back. Valley master Gong Sun did not continue the attack and instead chuckled a few times before slowly advancing again. If valley master Gong Sun had either the jagged sabre or black sword only, Yang Guo would definitely have a way to defend against him but as the soft and hard blades were use simultaneously against him, he was forced on the back foot, struggling against the attacks. Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi, Xiao Xiang Zi and Ni Mo Xing were all thinking, The valley masters [Yin Yang Twin Blades] is extremely swift, powerful and vicious but at the same time, that kid is pretty clever, thinking of so many ways to avoid all these vicious stances. Valley master Gong Sun chopped his sabre and pierced his sword, Yang Guo was struck in the shoulder and blood trickled over his gown. Valley master Gong Sun said in a deep voice, Are you in awe of me yet? Yang Guo smiled and said, You came into battle with me having a huge advantage, and here you opening your mouth asking whether Im

in awe of you or not. Haha, valley master Gong Sun, how come you dont want face? The valley master took in his sword and sabre and then asked, Please tell me what advantage did I have? Yang Guo said, Youre using customised weapons, one is a strange sabre the other is an extraordinary sword, even if I search all over the world Im afraid that I wont be able to find such weapons, right? The valley master replied, So what? Your glove and silk belt arent ordinary either. Yang Guo threw down the broken staff onto the floor and laughed, This belongs to your bearded disciple. He took off the gloves and picked up the two pieces of silk belt. Yang Guo threw them over to Xiao Long Nuu and said, These belong to my Gu Gu. He cleaned off the dust on his body not taking any notice of the bleeding wounds that he had, he laughed, I came to your valley empty handed, what ill intent did I have? If you want to kill me then kill, why must you talk so much. Valley master Gong Sun saw that he had a leisurely air about him, his face and eyes elegant and handsome, even with all those wounds over him he talked and laughed at ease as if nothing had happened. He couldnt help but feel inferior to him and thought, I cannot compare with this person, if I let him live, sister Lius heart will remain his. So he said, Fine! He thrust the sword forwards towards his chest. Yang Guo had already decided, Since I cant beat him then Ill let him kill me. When he saw the sword coming towards him, he ignored it and instead looked over at Xiao Long Nuu, thinking, I will die happy with Gu Gu in my eyes. He saw Xiao Long Nuus face carrying a sweet smile, getting closer step by step, their eyes locked towards each other, both of them ignoring the black sword of valley master Gong Sun. Valley master Gong Sun has never met Yang Guo before, what feud has he got with him? The only reason hes trying to kill him is because of Xiao Long Nuu so when he sent out this sword, he couldnt help but glance over at Xiao Long Nuu. When he saw her, his heart immediately filled with jealousy, he saw her staring at Yang Guo lovingly and when he looked over at Yang Guo, he was doing the exact same thing towards her. The black sword had reached Yang Guos chest and all that was needed was a bit of force from his arms and it would pierce into Yang Guos chest but there was no fear or concern on Xiao Long Nuus face, Yang Guo also made no attempt to block this attack, the two of them stared madly at each other, their thoughts were one, they had long forgotten about life and death.

Valley master Gong Sun broke out in a great rage, thinking to himself, If I kill him now, sister Liu will immediately kill herself because of her love for him, I need to think of a way to force her to marry me, once Ive bedded her therell be plenty of time to kill that punk then. He called out, Sister Liu, do you want me to kill him or spare him? When Xiao Long Nuu was staring at Yang Guo, she had not thought about valley master Gong Sun, only after hearing this sudden call did she wake up and said alarmed, Move the sword away, why are you pointing your sword at his chest? Valley master Gong Sun chuckled, Its not difficult if you want to him to live, tell him to leave the valley immediately and let us get married. Before Xiao Long Nuu saw Yang Guo, she had decided to never see him again, she didnt care if she would live the rest of her life in grief and pain, all she hoped for was that he would be safe and happy, now that theyve reunited, how could she agree to still marry the valley master? Over the pass few days, she knew that she couldnt carry out the decisions that she had made and would rather die than marry someone else, so she turned her head to the valley master and said, Mr Gong Sun, thank you for saving my life. But I cannot marry you. The valley master knew the reasons but still asked, Why? Xiao Long Nuu stood up with Yang Guo and held his arm, smiling, I have decided to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him, could it be that you cant tell? The valley master shook a few times and then said, If you didnt promise that day, why would I do this and use force to force you? You promised with your own mouth, that was what you wanted. Xiao Long Nuu said, That is correct but I cannot give him up. We need to go now, please forgive us. She pulled Yang Guos hand and headed for the exit. Valley master Gong Sun quickly moved to block the exit and hissed, The only way youll leave the valley is if over my dead body. Xiao Long Nuu said, Im indebted to you for saving my life, how can I try to harm you? Anyway, your martial arts are too strong for me. As she talked, she tore off a piece of fabric from her gown and helped Yang Guo tied up his wounds. Jin Lun Fa wang suddenly said loudly, Valley master Gong Sun, you just better let them leave.

The valley master gave a huh grunt, his face was serious and he didnt reply. Fa Wang continued, If those two joined up with their swords, how will your gold sabre and black sword be able to handle them? Just give them a favour and let them go. He suffered the greatest humiliation in his life after losing to Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuus [Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Sword], ever since then, hes been thinking of a way to defeat this swordplay but was unable to, right now he had seen how powerful the yin yang blades of the valley master was, it wasnt below the martial arts of his golden wheel so he came out with these words to anger him, making the three go into battle. Firstly, he could get a chance to take a look at Yang Guos and Xiao Long Nuus swordplay again and look for its weakness so he can avenge this defeat and secondly, he hoped that the three would destroy each other. In actual fact, if he didnt come out with these words to anger the valley master, valley master Gong Sun would never agree to let Xiao Long Nuu leave the valley with Yang Guo anyway, he stared angrily at Fa Wang and thought, You dare to say such words in front of my face? I havent got time for you now but Ill remember this for the future. He turned his head towards Xiao Long Nuu and bit down on his teeth as he thought, Your heart doesnt belong to me but your body will. You dont agree to marry me when youre alive; Im still going to marry you even when youre dead. At first he had planned to use Yang Guos life to force Xiao Long Nuu to submit to him but when he saw that the two werent afraid of death, he thought that even if they die together he wouldnt let them out of the valley. His brows rose up again and an air of death gradually showed up on his face. Suddenly he heard Ma Guang Zuo call out, Hey, old man Gong Sun, she said that she doesnt want to marry you, why are you still blocking her way? Dont you want face? Xiao Xiang Zi said eerily, Dont talk rubbish brother Ma. Valley master Gong Sun has already set up a feast today and has invited us to join in the celebrations. Ma Guang Zuo said loudly, All hes got is water and vegetables, whats so great about that? If I were that girl I would never marry him. With her beauty, she can be the queen, why should she stay with this cruel and evil old man for the rest of her life, eating nothing but green vegetables and tofu. Even if one doesnt get annoyed to death, theyll be bored to death.

Xiao Long Nuu turned her head around and said gently, Master Ma, Mr Gong Sun saved my life and Im indebted to him, I I Ill always be grateful of his kindness. Ma Guang Zuo called out, Fine, old man Gong Sun. if you want to show that youre a kind and benevolent person then why dont you let the two of them marry and consummate the marriage today. If you saved a girl because you wanted to bed her then doesnt that put you in the same class as those raping lowlife bandits? He was a straightforward man and says what comes into his mind, his words were all hard on the ears but they were hard to refute. Valley master Gong Suns intent to kill was stirred, he decided that hell take care of all the outsiders in one go, he didnt make a move and said dryly, My Passionless Valley may not be some extraordinary place but if everyone here comes and goes as they pleases, then the one named Gong Sun may appear to be a bit too humble in the eyes of others. Miss Liu Xiao Long Nuu showed a smile and said, I lied to you when I said my surname is Liu, my surname is Long. I named myself Liu because hes named Yang. Valley master Gong Sun felt even more jealous, he could only pretend that he didnt hear those words and said, Miss Liu, this Before he finished Ma Guang Zuo had interrupted, This girl is named Long, why are you calling her miss Liu? Xiao Long Nuu said, Mr Gong Sun is used to calling me this, the blame is on me for lying to him in the first place, he can call me whatever he likes. Valley master Gong Sun ignored these words and continued, Miss Liu, all the one named Yang has to do is beat my [Yin Yang Twin Blades] and Ill allow him to leave the valley safely. Our personal affairs will be severed at our own accord, itll have nothing to do with other people. After all this, he still wanted to rely on his martial arts to force Xiao Long Nuu to stay. Xiao Long Nuu sighed and said, Mr Gong Sun, I did not want to fight you but he cant beat you on his own, I can only help him. Valley master Gong Suns brows became a straight line, he said, Arent you afraid of what happened just now, you throwing up blood? Itll happen again. Xiao Long Nuu felt great remorse towards valley master Gong Sun and said, We both havent got any weapons, if we fight you empty handed

then well definitely lose. Youre a great and generous man, just let us go. Jin Lun Fa Wang interrupted, Valley master Gong Sun, youve got everything here in this valley, dont tell me you havent even got two swords? But I better warn you first, once those two join up together, your life will be endangered. Valley master Gong Sun pointed to the western path and said, The third room over there is the sword room, just pick your whatever weapon you want. But Im afraid even these guests here may not have the kind of weapons that Ive hidden away. He then laughed coldly. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu looked at each other and both thought, I will die willingly if were able to spend time alone with each other away from other people before we die. They held each others hand and headed west, leaving through the side door. They passed two rooms and arrived at the third. Xiao Long Nuus eyes never left Yang Guos face, when she saw the doors were closed she didnt give it any thought and pushed it open, she was just about to step into the room when Yang Guo suddenly thought of something and urgently pulled her back, he said, Careful. Xiao Long Nuu said, Of what? Yang Guos left his left foot outside the room and placed his right foot into the room, quickly touching the floor before taking it back outside. Nothing happened. Xiao Long Nuu said, Youre afraid that the valley master would leave a booby trap for us? Hes a very kind person, he would never do such a thing As soon as she finished saying this, a sudden chi chi sound was heard, the was a flash of light in front of them as eight sharp swords were shot out all around the door, crossing over horizontally and vertically. If someone had stepped into the room at that time, even if your martial arts were supremely high, getting your body pierced all over by the swords would be difficult to avoid. Xiao Long Nuu let out a deep breath and said, Guo Er, this valley master is so evil, Ive really judged him wrongly. We dont need to fight him, lets just leave. Suddenly someone said from behind, Our master invites you inside to pick a sword. The two turned around and saw eight disciples with a fish net blocking their way. The valley master was wary of the two escaping together so

he sent these disciples to cut off their escape routes. Xiao Long Nuus silk belt had been cut in half by the black sword, she was now unable to use it to strike their pressure points from faraway as Yang Guo did before. Xiao Long Nuu said to Yang Guo, What other traps has this room got? Yang Guo held her hands and said, Gu Gu, were reunited now, what other worries have you got? Even if we get pierced by ten thousand swords it wouldnt matter, well see each other again in death. Xiao Long Nuus heart too was overflowing with love. The two entered the sword room together. The wall, tables, shelves and cupboards were all lined up with sharp weapons all of various shapes; there were antique swords, some that were seven feet long blades and others that were inches short, there were iron and steel ones, a few had a overpowering glow. The twos eyes were blinded for a second. Xiao Long Nuu stared at Yang Guo for a while and then suddenly threw herself into his arms. Yang Guo held her tightly and kissed her on the lips. Both Xiao Long Nuus heart and soul were completely enchanted under that kiss. She stretched out her arms to embrace him around his neck. Suddenly the door opened and a disciple in green entered who said sternly, Our master ordered that as soon as youve picked your weapon, immediately leave, you cannot waste time. Yang Guos face went red and let go of his arms. But Xiao Long Nuu thought that there was nothing wrong with hugging and kissing her loved one, however, there was someone disturbing them which would make it difficult for her to feel comfortable so she gave a sigh and said softly, Guo Er, once weve beaten that valley master, kiss me like that again. Yang Guo smiled and nodded, he stretched out his left arm around her waist and said, There isnt enough time in this life for our kisses. Just pick a weapon. Xiao Long Nuu said, It appears that all these weapons are indeed all special, there isnt a poor weapon. We havent got nearly as much in our ancient tomb. She glanced over the weapons on the wall, wanting to pick out a pair of swords that were the same in all departments and most effective for her and Yang Guo to use against valley master Gong Sun but after searching for a while, she saw that all the swords were

different. She was searching for a weapon and asking a question at the same time, Just know when we were about to enter the room, how did you know that there would be a booby trap? Yang Guo said, I guessed from the eyes and expression of the valley master. He wanted to marry you but when he heard that you were going to help me fight him, he immediately thought about killing you. I dont believe for a second that someone with his character would allow us to pick out weapons out of the kindness of his heart. Xiao Long Nuu gave another sigh and said, Would we be able to beat him with our [Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Sword]? Yang Guo said, Though his martial arts are strong, hes not better than Jin Lun Fa Wang. The two of us are able to beat Jin Lun Fa Wang, I assume that well be able to beat him. Xiao Long Nuu said, Yes. The reason why Fa Wang kept on trying to force him to fight us is because he wanted to see us in danger. Yang Guo smiled, People can have evil thoughts, youve learnt a bit about this. He then said immediately, Im just worried about your health, youve just thrown up blood. Xiao Long Nuus dimples from her smile were like a flower, she said, You know that whenever Im angry or upset I would throw up blood. Now that Im extremely happy, this little internal injury isnt anything to me. You threw up blood too, is it serious? Yang Guo said, Im fine as long as I can see you. Xiao Long Nuu said tenderly, Thats how I feel too. She paused and then continued, Youve made much progress in your martial arts recently, we were able to beat Fa Wang back then let alone today. When Yang Guo heard these words, he too felt great confidence towards this battle. He held her hand and said, I want you to promise me something, will you? Xiao Long Nuu said tenderly, Why is there a need to ask me? I havent been your master long ago, Im your wife. Ill listen to whatever you say. Yang Guo said, Thats thats great, I didnt know. Xiao Long Nuu said, How can I still be your master ever since what happened that night on mount Zhong Nan, when you and I were that intimate. Though you didnt want to marry me, in my heart I was already your wife. Yang Guo did not know what happened exactly happened that night, maybe the reason for suddenly bringing this up again is because shes emotional, he thought, My father Ou Yang Feng was teaching my

martial arts that day, he sealed your pressure point, I wasnt intimate with you. But when he heard the tenderness and loving in her words, he was completely enchanted and couldnt say anything. Xiao Long Nuu rested against his chest and asked, What do you want me to promise you? Yang Guo stroked her hair and said, Once we beat that valley master well immediately go back to the tomb, no matter what happens you cannot leave my side. Xiao Long Nuu lifted her head and looked into his eyes, she said, Could it be that I have thoughts of leaving you? Could it be that the pain and suffering Ill experience if I part from you wont be as great as yours? Of course Ill promise you, Ill never leave you even if the sky falls down. Yang Guo was delighted, he was about to say something when suddenly the disciple in green who were watching them said loudly, Have you picked your weapons? Xiao Long Nuu smiled and said, Lets just get it over with. She turned her head to look for a pair of swords when the western wall caught her eye. She was startled, the wall had signs of being set alight to and the chairs and tables near it were also burnt. Yang Guo laughed, The Old Urchin had broken into here previously and set this place alight, thats his handiwork. He then saw two sheaths behind the painting in the corner. He thought, Those two swords were originally hidden by that painting, its only because of the Old Urchin burning that painting in half thats enable me to see it now. These two swords must be extremely precious to have it hidden away like that. He went over to the wall and took the swords out, he gave one to Xiao Long Nuu and unsheathed the sword that was in his hand. Both of them felt a chill as soon as the blade was drawn out, but they saw that the sword was black and didnt have any shine to it, like a piece of black wood. Xiao Long Nuu unsheathed her sword too. Her sword was the exact same as Yang Guos. When the two swords lined up, the room was filled with a cold air. The swords had no tip and had no sharp points, the tip of the sword was round and blunt and the swords looked like a thin wooden whip. Yang Guo turned the sword over and saw the word Gentleman carved on it, he looked over at Xiao Long Nuus sword and saw the word Lady. Originally Yang Guo did not like the form of this sword but he loved the matching names of these two swords, he looked at Xiao Long Nuu to see what she thought. Xiao Long Nuu said happily, This sword has no tip and no sharp points, this is just right for duelling with the valley master. He saved my life

before, I dont want to hurt him. Yang Guo laughed, The names of the swords are Gentleman and Lady. Im not worthy of it. If Gentlemen was changed to Vagrant, itll be much better for me to use. He then tested out the sword with two pierces into the air and felt that the weight was perfect, the sword extremely agile, he said, Fine, well use these two swords. Xiao Long Nuu return her sword into her sheath and was about to leave the room when she saw some extremely beautiful flowers in a vase on the table, but it wasnt arranged properly so she decided to fix it up. Yang Guo called out, No, you cant touch them. But it was too late, Xiao Long Nuus finger had been pierced by the thorns of the flowers. She turned her head back startled, asking, Why? Yang Guo said, These are passion flowers, youve been living here in the valley for a few days now, dont you recognise them? Xiao Long Nuu sucked her finger and shook her head. She said, I dont recognise them. Passion flower? What kind of flower is it? Yang Guo was about to explain when the crowd of disciples kept on hurrying them so they left the room and returned to the hall. Valley master Gong Sun had been waiting impatiently, he stared angrily at his disciples, blaming for them for being useless and allowing the two of them to waste time. All of the disciples were terrified and changed colour. Valley master Gong Sun waited for the two to come near before saying, Miss Liu, youve picked your weapon? Xiao Long Nuu took out the Lady sword and nodded her head, saying, Well use these pair of blunt swords to fight you, we dont dare to fight a life and death duel with valley master you, just until a clear victor can be seen, how about that? The valley masters heart trembled and said sternly, Who told you to pick those swords? His gaze swept across to Gong Sun Luu E and then back to Xiao Long Nuu. Xiao Long Nuu felt slightly surprised and said, No one told us to pick them. Cant we use them? Well go and change it. The valley master stared angrily at Yang Guo and said, If I let you change your weapons, how long will it take, half a day? Theres no need to change, just start. Xiao Long Nuu said, Valley master Gong Sun, lets make things clear before we start. If we fight one on one, neither of us are a match for you. Weve got an advantage fighting you two against one. We dont really want to fight you and were not competing with you. All youve

got to is allow us to leave and well admit defeat and thank you. Valley master chuckled and said, If you beat my [Yin Yang Twin Blades] then Ill let you treat me anyway you want, if I win you have to marry me. Xiao Long Nuu gave an unperturbed smile and said, If we lose, well just die here in this valley. Valley master Gong Sun did not say anything more, the golden sabre in his left hand waved out towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo raised his sword and used a stance of [The White Cranes Bright Wing], a stance of Quan Zhen swordplay. Valley master Gong Sun thought, Though this stance is tight and careful, its just ordinary and steady. His right sword headed towards Yang Guos shoulder, actually winding past Xiao Long Nuu, both the sword and sabre were aiming for Yang Guo. Yang Guo concentrated on his opponent and guarded his body tightly as he received three stances. Xiao Long Nuu waited for the valley master to unleash his three stances before she raised her sword. The valley master did not use his sword or sabre to block her sword stances, only in urgent situations did he use the black sword to repel her attacks. He showed signs of allowance in his stances. After watching seven, eight stances, Jin Lun Fa Wang gave a wry laugh and said, Valley master Gong Sun, giving them such allowances will lead to suffering for you. The valley master replied, Big monk, if you dont think much of me then why dont you wait for a little while and duel with me later, I dont need you to waste your breath in trying to give me advice. He hurried his sword and sabre, the wind sounds from the weapons became increasing louder. After a few more exchanges, Yang Guo used a stance of [Sweeping Across the Northern Desert] from the Quan Zhen swordplay while Xiao Long Nuu used the [The Coloured Pen Painting an Eyebrow] stance from the [Jade Maiden Swordplay]. Both of these stances were horizontal strokes, Yang Guos sword just swept across a few inches from the left to right while Xiao Long Nuu flick his sword subtly twice. The two stances became the stance [Dressing Under The Mirror] from the [Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Sword]. Valley master Gong Sun was shocked, he raised his black sword to block Yang Guos sword and swept his sabre across to guard his face. Xiao Long Nuus sword drew across above his eyes, the sword and sabre clashed, a dang sound was heard as tip of the golden sabre was actually cut off by the Lady sword.

The onlookers were all shocked, they could never have predicted that such an ordinary looking blunt sword would actually be so sharp. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were both surprised, they originally picked this weapon because of the name and the fact that they were the same, they couldnt have predicted that they had actually picked a pair of precious swords by luck. Their spirits were greatly roused and swords kept on attacking. Valley master Gong Sun marvelled in secret, Sister Liu and that punks martial arts both cant compare with mine, I originally wasnt afraid of them joining up together but I didnt know that when their swords join together it would actually be so powerful. It looks like that bald scoundrel was telling the truth. If I lose to them two if I lose to them two When he thought to this point, the sabre in his right hand suddenly attacked left and the sword in his right hand swept left, using his greatest skill [Yin Yang Wild Blades]. The black sword was originally soft and yin but right now it was hacking and chopping solidly, changing into the yang and hard nature of sabre play, meanwhile, the heavy and clumsy jagged sabre was now piercing and cutting, going down the road of lightness and swiftness, the sabre had become a sword, the sword had become a sabre, it really was extraordinary. Jin Lun Fa Wang, Xiao Xiang Zi and Yin Ke Xi were all knowledgeable people but the [Yin Yang Wild Blades] was something that theyve never seen or heard of before. Ma Guang Zuo called out, Hey, old man, what weird name has this mad kung fu of yours got? The the the older you get, the madder you get! Valley master Gong Sun was only around forty years of age, today he had wanted to marry Xiao Long Nuu but because of this hes been called old man this and that by this dim witted person, how can he not get angry? Right now he had no time for him and used this kung fu of his that hes studied bitterly for the last twenty years, he decided to first defeat the two of them before doing anything else. With the two paired up using their swordplay, the two had begun to gain the upper hand but the opponent had swapped his weapons around and his stances were extraordinary, the two were put on the back foot and met many dangerous stances over a short period of time. Yang Guo saw that the black sword was stronger than the golden sabre, he intercepted all the sabre strokes of the sword and allowed Xiao Long Nuu to face the golden sabre, thinking that because she has an advantage in weaponry,

he wouldnt dare to clash with the Lady sword and so shouldnt meet any great danger. But by doing this, the two were now fighting on their own, the swordplay of the [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden] had separated into two and its power immediately decreased. Valley master Gong Sun was delighted, he unleashed three chops with his black sword while the sabre in his left hand used the stances [The Still Yang Needle], [The Form of the Yielding Separates Gold], [The Thorn Pierces Qing] and [The Nine Lotuses]. Those four graceful and flowing sword stances were mixed in with the three sabre stances. Yang Guo could still block these attacks but Xiao Long Nuu was getting frantic, she wanted to use the sword to cut off the tip of the sabre but the golden sabre moved like a flying phoenix, she could not touch it. Yang Guo knew something was wrong and disregarded his safety and used a stance of [The Horse Trampling on the Descending Flowers] from the Quan Zhen swordplay, sending the sword from his upper arm aiming upwards, intercepting the opponents sabre and sword. Xiao Long Nuu immediately took back her sword and protected Yang Guos upper body. The two once again joined together, returning back to the swordplay of the [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden]. The theory of the swordplay lies in the two users having a mutual affinity with each other, as if two became one, in this stance Yang Guo had forsaken his life to save Xiao Long Nuu, this was the supreme premise of this swordplay. Xiao Long Nuu saw his front wasnt guarded in saving her, she was afraid that he would get hurt and quickly helped him to protect himself. The two had not protected themselves but both became protected as a result, the power of the swords suddenly increased. Many more stances passed and beads of sweat could now be seen on the forehead of the valley master, his sword and sabre was wanting and a picture of defeat could be seen on him. On the other hand, Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu were becoming more and more fluent in their swordplay. Yang Guos left hand held the shaft of the sword and his right hand pierced the sword forwards to the enemys waist on the left, Xiao Long Nuu held the sword handle with both her hands and flicked the sword upwards, this stance was called [Resting Loftily with a Tidy Brow], the stance was filled with love, tenderness and gracefulness. Her heart was filled with love and passion, she turned her head to look at Yang Guo when suddenly her chest felt as if a hammer had smashed up against it, her finger on her right hand had broke out in unbearable pain, she almost dropped her sword. Her face changed and she leapt back three steps. Valley master Gong Sun chuckled, Ha, the passion flower, the passion

flower! The pleasure in his heart was greater than his jealousy. Xiao Long Nuu did not understand but Yang Guo knew the poison of the passion flower had flared up, her finger had just been pricked by the passion flower and as she thought about love, her finger broke out in an unbearable pain. Yang Guo had tasted this pain before, he was deeply concerned for Xiao Long Nuu and softly asked, Does it hurt very much? Valley master Gong Sun took this opportunity to launch an attack, he urgently attacked with his sword and sabre at Yang Guo. Xiao Long Nuus pain had lessened and she raised her sword again. Yang Guo was concerned for her and said, Rest a little while longer. But as soon as he stirred his love for her, his finger broke out in pain once again. Valley master Gong Sun took this chance and chopped urgently with the black sword, a dang sound was heard as he knocked the Gentleman sword out of his hand. The black sword extended forwards and was once again at his chest. Xiao Long Nuu was shocked and tried to save him but she was blocked by the gold sabre and had no way to advance. The valley master called out, Hold that punk. Four disciples in green responded, they walked forwards and twisted the net over him, they circled him a few times and held him tightly in the net. Valley master Gong Sun asked, Sister Liu, what are you going to do? Xiao Long Nuu knew that she was not a match for him alone, she threw down her Lady sword on the floor and heard a ca sound, the Gentleman sword and Lady sword leapt closer together, joining up tightly. The two swords actually had great magnetism. Xiao Long Nuu said solemnly, If the swords can do this how can we not? Just kill the two of us. Valley master Gong Sun gave a huh grunt and said, Follow me. He folded his arms towards Fa Wang and the others, saying, Excuse me! He turned into the inner halls. The four disciples followed, dragging the net along with Yang Guo. Xiao Long Nuu also followed. Ma Guang Zuo said, Hey monk, zombie head, we need to think of a way to save them. Jin Lun Fa Wang just smiled wryly and didnt replied. Xiao Xiang Zi chuckled and said, Hey giant, can you beat that old man? Ma Guang Zuo stroked his cheek and couldnt think of a plan, he just said, Ill fight even if I cant beat him! Ill fight even if I cant beat him!

Valley master Gong Sun advanced forwards with his head held high, he entered a small stone room and said, Cut off some passion flowers for me. Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nuu had already decided to die, they just looked at each other, smiling, ignoring what valley master Gong Sun said or did. Not long after, an enchanting fragrance entered the stone room, the two turned their heads around to see what it was; there was a fusion of five colours, from tender red to soft yellow, over ten disciples in green had entered the room carrying thickets of passion flowers in their arms. Their arms were covered in leather, protecting them from the thorns of the passion flowers. Valley master Gong Sun waved his right arm, he said coldly, Throw them on that punk. It was as if tens of thousands wasps were stinging Yang Guo, his limbs, his bones, they were all overpowered with unbearable pain, he couldnt take it and called out in pain. Xiao Long Nuu felt pity and angry, she shouted at valley master Gong Sun, What are you doing? She dashed forwards wanting to remove the passion flowers from Yang Guo. Valley master Gong Sun stretched out his hand to block her and said, Sister Liu, today is the day where we would have consummated our marriage but this punk entered the valley and ruined everything. We do not know each other and we have no debts or feuds, not to mention that you and him know each other, if he had acted courteously and respectfully as a guest, of course I would have treated him with great respect, now that it has come to this He then waved his left hand out and sent out his disciples. He closed the door. He continued, Whether itll end up in tragedy or joy, it will be up to you. The pain that Yang Guo was in was indescribable but he didnt want Xiao Long Nuu to get upset so he bit down on his teeth and didnt make a sound, none of the words of valley master Gong Sun entered his ears as he endured the pain. When Xiao Long Nuu saw the suffering he was in, her pity was roused and as soon as this happened, the passion flower poison in her finger flared up and her finger broke out in an excruciating pain again, she thought, Ive only been pierced once by the passion flower and it is already this painful, hes covered with thousands and thousands of thorns, how can one withstand it?

Valley master Gong Sun knew what she was thinking and said, Sister Liu, I sincerely want to marry and be with you, I have only admiration and love for you, I have no ill intent, you should understand this. Xiao Long Nuu nodded her head and said mournfully, You have treated me well all along, but even if we met before you saved me and treated me like a queen you wouldnt be able to win my heart. She hung her head for a short while and then gave a long sigh, she said, Mr Gong Sun, if you didnt see me that day by the mountainside, if you didnt save me and let me die there, it would have been better for the three of us. You know that forcing me to marry you will result in a lifetime of unhappiness for me. What good is that to you? Valley master Gong Suns brows slowly stood up again, he deepened his voice and said, I have always been a man of my word, I dont allow people to insult and lie to me. Since youve agreed to marry me, you have to marry me. When it comes to happiness, sadness, joy and pain, the future is hard to predict, who knows what tomorrow may bring? Lets just see what happens. He waved his sleeve and said, This person has been pierced by the passion flower all over, the suffering will deepen every two hours, thirty six days later he will die in excruciating pain. Within twenty four hours, I have a medicine that I can give to him which will cure him, but after a day, even a god wont be able to save him. Its up to you whether he lives or dies. He walked slowly towards the door and pushed it open, he turned his head and said, If you rather watch him die slowly then you can stay here and watch him for the next thirty six days, its up to you, I wont harm you, you can relax. If you change your decision within twenty four hours, all youve got to do it give a shout and I will bring the antidote to him. He was about to leave the room. Xiao Long Nuu saw that Yang Guo was trembling all over, his lips were bleeding because of him biting down in pain, his eyes were bright like a shooting star but now there was not even a single speck of light. The pain that he was in now was already unbearable but the pain would deepen every two hours for the next thirty six days, even hell wouldnt have such a punishment, she bit down and said, Mr Gong Sun, Ill agree to marry you. Quickly let him go and give him the antidote. Valley master Gong Sun had been trying to force her to say this all along, when he heard this he was delighted but also resentful, he knew that from now on, she would detest him and loathe him, she would never have any love towards him, he nodded his head and said, Its for the benefit of everyone that you have changed your mind. After weve consummated our marriage tonight, Ill give him the antidote in the

morning. Xiao Long Nuu said, First cure him. The valley master sighed and said, Sister Liu, you think too little of me. I know that agreeing to this is not what you want, even if Im dumber, how can I not know? Do you think I would cure him first? He turned and left the room. Xiao Long Nuu and Yang Guo looked at each miserably, no one saying a word for the time being. Yang Guo said slowly, Gu Gu, even when Im down in the underworld I would feel no pain because of your love. Just kill me with one palm! Xiao Long Nuu thought, Ill first kill him with one palm and then commit suicide. So she raised her hand and gathered internal energy in her palm. Yang Guos face had a smile, his eyes soft and peaceful, looking at her sweetly, he whispered, This is where well consummate our love. Xiao Long Nuu saw his air was glorious, she thought, Why is heaven so cruel towards such a handsome and graceful man, wanting him to die today. Her chest ached and suddenly she felt a sweetness at the back of her throat, it appeared that she would throw up blood again and the internal energy in her arm immediately dissipated. Suddenly, she threw herself on top of Yang Guo, the thousands and thousands thorns of the passion flower all pierced her body, she said, Guo Er, well endure the suffering together. Valley master Gong Sun suddenly called out, Oh no! in shock, he said, You you He then said coldly, Why must you do this? Will your suffering lessen his? Xiao Long Nuu gave one deep stare at Yang Guo then slowly turned around, she exited the room and didnt turn look back. Valley master Gong Sun said, Brother Yang, Ill give you the antidote in twenty hours time. All youve got to do in these twenty hours is cleanse your thoughts and dont rouse any feelings of love. Even if theres pain, it wont be that hard to endure. He then left the room and closed the door. Yang Guos body was covered in pain and his heart was full of hurt, All the pain and suffering that Ive experience before today isnt anything compared to the pain Im experiencing now. That valley master is such an evil person, how can I just die like that and let Gu Gu suffer under his hands? Not to mention that Ive still got avenge my father, how can I allow the phoney righteous and benevolent Guo Jing and Huang Rong to not get what they deserve for their evil deed? When he thought about this, his blood boiled, shaking and stirring him, I cannot die, whatever

happens I cannot die! Even if Gu Gu becomes the wife of that valley master Ill still need to save her. I need to train my martial arts and avenge my father. So he bit down on his teeth and sat up. Although he couldnt assume the proper form in the fish net, he was still able to submerge his chi into his dan tian and started to circulate his internal energy. Four hours later, midday had passed. A disciple in green entered with a plate; there were four new buns on the plate. The disciple said, Our master is celebrating his wedding, hes allowing you to have a good meal. The disciple placed the plate by the fish net, his hand was covered with a coarse cloth to avoid getting injured by the passion flowers. Yang Guo stretched out his hand through the net for the buns and ate them, he thought, Since Im going to fight with my life against that bastard valley master, I cant torture myself. The disciple laughed, I couldnt have guessed that you would have such a great appetite. Suddenly there was a green blur by the door, another disciple had come through the door and had moved up silently behind the first disciple. That disciple threw a heavy punch against the first disciples back. That disciple fainted before he could see who threw the punch. Yang Guo saw that the person who did the sneak attack was actually Gong Sun Luu E, he said with surprise, You you Gong Sun Luu E first turned around and closed the door before whispering, Quiet brother Yang, Ive come to rescue you. She untied the knots of the nets and cleared the passion flowers away from Yang Guo, letting him out. Her hands were covered with a thick piece of cloth too. Yang Guo hesitated, If your father finds out about this Gong Sun Luu E said, Ill ignore whatever heavy punishment Ill get. She picked up a passion flower and placed it in the mouth of the unconscious disciple so that he wont be able to call for help when he wakes up. Then she placed him in the fish net and threw the passion flowers over him. She whispered again, Brother Yang, hide behind the door if someone enters. Ill go and get the antidote for your poison in the pill room. Yang Guo was extremely touched, he knew that she was putting herself on the line by doing this, his friendship with her was not even a day long and shes actually rebelling against her father to rescue him, he said, Miss, I I He was so touched that he couldnt say anything. Gong Sun Luu E smiled at him and said, Just wait here for a little while,

Ill

be

right

back.

She

then

left

the

room.

Yang Guo was lost in thought, Why is she treating me so well? Though Ive had an unfortunate life and suffered under other people ever since I was little, there are actually many people who have treated me sincerely. Theres no need to mention Gu Gu, theres grandma Sun, Hong Qi Gong, my godfather Ou Yang Feng, Island Master Huang, theres also the girls Cheng Ying and Lu Wu Shuang, nows there Gong Sun Luu E as well amongst them, all of them have treated me with great sincerity. My birth date and time must of an extremely strange nature, otherwise how come the those whove been good to me treats me so well and the those whove been poor to me have treated me so badly? But he never thought about how all his encounters have been extraordinary, the people he meets either treats him with great sincerity or treats him with extreme insincerity. His character was one that he would only get on well with those who could agree with him, those whose words clashed with his, he treated as an enemy, how he treated others was of course how others repaid him. He waited for a long while but Gong Sun Luu E had still not returned. Yang Guo was getting more and more worried, at first he thought that there must have been someone else present in the pill room so she couldnt steal the antidote but as time went by, he thought that even if she couldnt steal the antidote, she would have come back and told him, it looks like that something must have gone terribly wrong, she took such a big risk for me, how can I not try to save her? He opened the door slightly and peeked out. It was quiet outside and there was no one around, he slipped out but he did not know where Gong Sun Luu E would be. Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly heard footsteps from around the corner, he quickly hid behind the corner and saw two disciples in green passing by shoulder to shoulder, in their hands was a thorny stick, it appeared that it was something that was used in punishments. Yang Guo was furious, Gu Gu would rather die than submit, that shameless valley master is actually trying to force her to submit through torture! He lightened his steps and followed the two disciples. The two disciples did not notice him, they turned and twisted along a few corridors before arriving outside a stone room. They said clearly, Master, the thorny stick is here. They pushed open the door and entered. Yang Guos heart raced, he saw that there was a window on the eastern side of the room and ran over there, he looked inside and saw that it

wasnt Xiao Long Nuu; it was Gong Sun Luu E who was standing in front of her father with her head hanging down. The valley master was sitting in the middle of the room while two disciples were holding a long sword in their hands, guarding the left and right of Gong Sun Luu E. The valley master took the thorny stick and said coldly, E Er, youre my own flesh and blood, why did you betray me? Gong Sun Luu E lowered her head and didnt say anything. The valley master said, Do you think I dont know that youve fallen for the one named Yang? I said I was going to let him go, why were you so anxious? When I see him tomorrow, Ill betroth you to him, how about that? How would Yang Guo not know about how Gong Sun Luu E felt about him but right now when it was said aloud in public, his heart still raced. Gong Sun Luu E still did not say anything and had her head lowered. After a while, she suddenly lifted her head and said clearly, Father, all youre thinking about right now is your marriage, what time have you got for your daughter? Valley master Gong Sun gave heng grunt and didnt say anything. Gong Sun Luu E continued, Correct, I admire master Yangs decency and honesty, his passion and righteousness. But I know that there is only miss Long in his heart. I saved him because because I cant stand what you have done, it is not because of him. Yang Guo was extremely moved by this and thought, This scoundrel is so cruel and violent yet he has a daughter who is so kind and righteous. Valley master Gong Suns face was unmoved, there was no signs of being angry on his face and he said dryly, So according to you, Im not an honest person, someone whos not righteous and whos not passionate? Gong Sun Luu E said, I do not dare to describe father this way. But but The valley master said, But what? Gong Sun Luu E said, Master Yang has been pierced by thousands and thousands of passion flower thorns, how can he withstand the suffering? Father, youre merciful and kind, just let him go. The valley master chuckled, Im going to let him go tomorrow, I dont need you to be so meddlesome. Gong Sun Luu E slanted her head and pondered, appearing as if she was weighing up whether she should say the words the she has on her mind, eventually her face became resolute and she said, Father, youre

the one who raised me, that master Yang is just an outsider Ive just met, how can I betray you and help him? If father really was going to let him go and cure his poison, why would I need to take the great risk of going to the pill room? Valley master Gong Sun said sternly, Then why did you go there? Gong Sun Luu E said, I know that you have ill intent towards him, after youve forced miss Long to marry you, you would kill master Yang to kill off miss Longs longing. Valley master Gong Suns brows rose up again, he said coldly, Huh, it looks like Ive reared an ill boding tiger, I bought you up and here you are now, biting back at me. Give it! He stretched out his hand. Luu E said, What does father want? The valley master said, Youre still playing dumb? The passionless pill that cures the poison of the passion flower. Luu E said, I did not take it. The valley master stood up and said, Then where did it go? Yang Guo examined the room; he saw the cupboards were lined with bottles of medicine, there were countless herbs hung on the wall, in the western side of the room were three pill cauldrons, this room looks like none other than that so called pill room. From the expression of valley master Gong Sun, it appeared that Gong Sun Luu E would definitely face a heavy punishment. He heard her say, Father, its true, I entered the pill room by myself because I wanted to find the passionless pill for master Yang but I searched for half a day and still couldnt find it, otherwise, would I have been found out by father? Valley master Gong Sun said sternly, The place where I hide this medicine is extremely secretive, the outsiders have stayed in the hall and have never left, the passionless pill has suddenly disappeared, could it be that the pill grew legs and ran away? Luu E knelt on the floor and cried, Father, spare master Yangs life, just tell him not to enter the valley again and leave it at that. The valley master chuckled, If it was my life on the line, I dont think you would kneel on the floor and beg someone to save me. Luu E didnt reply and just hugged his knees. The valley master said, You took the passionless pill, how can I save him now? Fine, you dont want to admit it then its up to you. You can wait here for a day. Though youve stole the pill, if you cant get it to him it would be no use, Ill let you go in twenty four hours! He then advanced to the doors. Gong Sun Luu E bit down as she said, Father!

The valley master said, Youve got something else to say? She pointed to the four disciples in green and said, First dismiss them. The valley master said, My valley is united as one, nothing cant be said to others. Gong Sun Luu Es face went red and then immediately turned white, she said, Fine, since you dont believe my words then you need to see whether I have it on me. She then began to take off her gown and skirt. The valley master quickly waved the disciples out and closed the door. After a short while, Gong Sun Luu E had taken off her gown and skirt and was now left with her undergarments. Indeed, she had nothing on her. Yang Guos heart jumped when he saw her white gleaming body. He was a young man and Gong Sun Luu E had an attractive figure, her appearance elegant, his blood raced but then he immediately thought, Because of trying to save my life, she didnt hesitate in unclothing herself, Yang Guo ah Yang Guo, if you take another look youre worst than an animal. He quickly closed his eyes but just as he was feeling troubled and confused, his forehead lightly knocked into the frame of the window. Though only a faint noise was produced, valley master Gong Sun noticed it, he went over to the three pill cauldrons and pushed the middle one out of the way, he moved the one in the east to the middle, he moved the one in the west to the east and finally he moved the one that was originally in the middle to the west. He said, Since its like this, Ill promise you to spare that punks life. Gong Sun Luu E was delighted and bowed, she quivered, Father! The valley master sat down on a chair by the wall and said, You know the rules of the valley. What is the punishment for entering the pill room without permission? Luu E lowered her head and said, Death. The valley master sighed and said, Though you are my daughter, I cannot break the rules of the valley, go in peace! He drew out his black sword and raised it in midair, he said softly, E Er, if you stop pleading for the one named Yang then Ill spare you. I can only spare one of you, you or him? Gong Sun Luu E said quietly, Him! Valley master Gong Sun said, Fine, my daughter really is kind and righteous, much better than her father. He waved his sword out and chopped downwards towards her head.

Yang Guo was shocked and called out, Wait! He leapt in threw the window and called out, You should kill me! His right foot touched the floor and he was about to stretch out his hand to grab the valley masters wrist to stop the black sword from chopping down when the underneath of his foot went soft, as if he was treading on thin air. Yang Guo knew something was wrong, he quickly roused his chi and his body leapt up. Valley master Gong Sun pushed his daughter on the shoulders with his palms. Gong Sun Luu Es body quickly went backwards, knocking into Yang Guo. After he leapt back up, he went back down, Gong Sun Luu E had knocked right into his body and the two of them dropped straight down. There was nothing under their feet and they had still yet to reach solid ground even after falling for hundreds of feet. Though Yang Guo was frightened, he still remembered he had to protect the life of Gong Sun Luu E, he quickly held Gong Sun Luu E in his hands. There was just darkness in front of him, he didnt know what they would land on, a mountain of knives or a forest of swords? Or would it be boulders or rocks? Before his thoughts were finished, a pu tong sound was heard as the two fell into water, sinking downwards urgently; there was actually a deep pool below the pill room. End of Chapter 18

Chapter The Old Woman

19 Underground

Falling hundreds of feet like this into solid ground could only result in death but as soon as Yang Guo felt himself crashing into water, he was delighted, he knew that his life was not in danger. The current was strong and he had dived deep into the water, he felt himself sinking downwards without end as if the water was limitless. He held his breath and waited until he slowed down before he swam upwards with his right hand with Luu E in his left hand. As soon as he reached the surface he took a breath but a sudden stench filled his nose, and at the same time, the water on his left was breaking in waves, as if some large aquatic animal was coming towards to them to attack.

A thought went through his mind, That scoundrel trapped us down here, how can it be something good? He chopped out a fierce palm with his right hand towards the left side and a loud sound was heard as he struck a large solid object, a fierce turbulent wave followed, Yang Guo used the force from his palm to move to the right with Gong Sun Luu E. He wasnt a great swimmer, the reason why he was able to last this long underwater was because he used his internal energy to hold his breath. It was pitch black, all he heard was urgent splashing sounds from behind and to the left of him, he sent his right hand out and suddenly brushed against a cold and coarse object, it appeared to be the scale of that creature, he was shocked, Could it be that theres such thing as a venom dragon in this world? He used force in his hand and soared upwards with the strange creature forced under water by him. He took a deep breath as he planned to dive underwater once again when his right foot actually landed on solid ground, he wasnt prepared for this and the force in his leg was all wrong, his right leg was in great pain. But he was too happy to care about the pain in his leg, he stretched out his hand to examine the surroundings and found a rock face by the pool. He was afraid that the strange creature would continue its attack so he quickly climbed to higher ground. Once he sat down, he became calmer. Gong Sun Luu E had drank a few mouthfuls of water, she was half conscious. Yang Guo rested her on his lap and let her throw up the water. But then he heard scrapping sounds from the rocks and a stench that was gradually become stronger and stronger, a few of the strange creatures from the pool had climbed out. Gong Sun Luu E sat up and hugged Yang Guos neck, she said alarmed, Whats that? Yang Guo said, Dont be scared, hide behind me. Gong Sun Luu E didnt move, she just held him tighter and quivered, Crocodiles, crocodiles! When Yang Guo was living on Peach Blossom Island, he had seen countless crocodiles on the island, he knew that they were extremely vicious and violent, much more than tigers and wolves of the land. One day, he, Guo Fu and the Wu brothers all saw them together but they didnt to try to annoy them and kept their distance away from them. Unexpectedly today, he had come across some crocodiles at this underground pool. He listened carefully and from the footsteps, he

could tell that there were three crocodiles, getting closer step by step. Gong Sun Luu E whispered, Brother Yang, who would have thought that you and I would die in such a place. Her voice was full of joy and comfort. Yang Guo laughed, Even if were going to die, we first need to kill a few crocodiles before doing anything else. At that time, the first crocodile was already within ten feet from Yang Guos leg, Luu E called out, Quickly hit it! Yang Guo said, Just a little longer. He stretched out his right foot and hanged it down by the side, the crocodile advanced a few feet and opened its mouth, biting down viciously at his leg. Yang Guo pulled his leg back and sent out a kick, striking the crocodiles squarely in the jaw. The crocodile somersaulted in the air and landed in the pool. The pool splashed and the other crocodiles in it clamoured while the other two crocodiles kept on advancing. Though Yang Guo was poisoned from the passion flowers, his martial arts had not been affected in anyway, the kick he just performed had a force of hundreds of kilos behind it, after he kicked the crocodile his foot ached slightly. However, the crocodile that he struck was still moving freely after it landed back into the pool. He thought, I cant do nothing to all these crocodiles empty handed, if I continue like this me and miss Gong Sun will eventually end in the stomach of these crocodiles, I must think of something else, how can I kill all these crocodiles? He stretched out his hand in search of a large rock to use as a weapon but there was nothing on the rock face, there wasnt even a speck of sand. He heard the other two crocodiles getting closer and quickly asked, Have you got a sword on you? Gong Sun Luu E said, On me? She remembered how she took off her gown and dress, all that she was wearing now was her underwear and right now, she was in the arms of Yang Guo, she immediately became embarrassed and her body heated up but deep in her heart, there was the sweet feeling of joy. Yang Guo was just worried about being attacked by the crocodiles at the moment, he did not notice anything wrong with her. He heard that the two crocodiles were now within ten feet of him while there were another two behind him. It would be no use to send out a palm and knock it back into the poll as after a short while they would come back again, it would just be a waste of energy so he did not send out the energy he gathered and wait for the crocodiles to be within three feet in

front of him before he suddenly sent out both palms, striking the crocodiles on the head. The crocodiles werent the swift in turning, they couldnt move out the way when the palms arrived but their skin was thick, they were just knocked unconscious and slipped back into the pool. Just at that time, the other two crocodiles behind him had arrived, Yang Guo kicked one off the rock face with his left foot. The kick was very heavy, he could not hold Gong Sun Luu E steadily and she slanted to the side, slipping downwards off the rock face. Gong Sun Luu E called out in shock, her right hand braced against the rock face and she circulated her internal energy to leap back up. Yang Guo stretched out a hand to grab her back, picking her back up. This setback allowed the other crocodile to press close to him, it opened it jaws and bit down towards Yang Guos shoulders. There wasnt enough time to punch or kick it away, he could move out of its way but as soon as its jaws close, it might actually bit down onto Luu E, in this danger he quickly sent out both his hands, one pulled the upper jaw and the other pulled the lower, he circulated his internal energy and gave a shout, a ka la sound was heard as the jaws of the crocodile snapped, it immediately died. Though Yang Guo killed the vicious crocodile, his back had broken out in a cold sweat. Luu E said, Are you hurt? Yang Guo heard her voice was gentle and concerned, his heart was moved slightly and he said, No. But the force he had just used was too ferocious, his arms ached. Luu E observed that the crocodile was not moving and was lying there on the rock dead, she was in awe of Yang Guo and said, How did you kill that crocodile empty handed? And how can you see so clearly in this darkness? Yang Guo said, Ive lived with my Gu Gu for many years in the ancient tomb, all I need it the faintest of lights and Ill be able to see things. When he mentioned living in the tomb with his Gu Gu, he couldnt stop himself from giving out a sigh, suddenly an excruciating pain broke out in his body, it was extremely difficult to endure, he hollered and shouted while at the same time, he kicked the dead crocodile back into the pool. Two crocodiles were climbing up onto the rock face just at that time, when it heard his inhuman calls, they were so frightened that slipped back into the water. Gong Sun Luu E quickly held his arm and with her other hand, brushed

across his forehead gently, hoping that she would be able to lessen his pain. Yang Guo knew that even if he hadnt fallen into this dangerous situation, he would not live for more that a couple of days because of his poison, he had heard the valley master say that the pain would keep on increasing over the next thirty six days before he dies, but the pain is so unbearable that even if he endures for a few times more, hell eventually give in to the pain and kill himself. But once he dies, Gong Sun Luu E will have no one to protect her, thatll be terrible for her, he thought, The reason shes in this danger is because of me. No matter what pain Im in I must endure it, hopefully the valley master will still have some love for his daughter and will come back to save her. As he thought about this, his thoughts of Xiao Long Nuu had disappeared for the time being and the pain lessened, he said, Miss Gong Sun, dont be scared, I think that your father will come back for you. He hates me only and has always loved you, he must be feeling very regretful right now. Gong Sun Luu E cried, When my mother was alive, father did really love me. But after mother died, he became cold towards me. However, I know that I know that in his heart he doesnt hate me. She stopped for a while and thought of many strange and hard to explain things, she said, Brother Yang, Ive suddenly thought of something, my father has always been afraid of me. Yang Guo said surprised, Hes afraid of you? Thats strange. Luu E said, I just feel that whenever my father sees me he doesnt seem to be at ease, its like hes got something hidden in his heart and is afraid that I will find out about it. Over the past few years, hes been avoiding me and doesnt want to see me. She has noticed that her fathers expression has been strange, though she wondered about this, she reached the same conclusion every time, the reason hes changed is because he was deeply hurt by her mothers passing away but this time, falling into the crocodile pit was definitely her fathers plan. He had moved the pill cauldrons in the pill room to activate the collapsing floor. If her father hated Yang Guo and wanted to kill him, all he had to do was keep the antidote for the passion flower poison away from Yang Guo and he would have little chance of living, and right now Yang Guo had fallen into the crocodile pit, the chance of him escaping danger was next to none so why did her father push her into the crocodile pit as well? What fatherly love was there in that push? This wasnt a slip due to anger, he had planned this. The more she thought about this, the sadder she became but it was becoming clearer and clearer to her. There were many words and actions of her fathers that she did not understand and just used the reason eccentric

behaviour to explain all this, but right now as she thought about is appeared that the word fear was more apt. Her father fearing her was something that she could never have thought of. The crocodile pool broke out in a clamour as all the crocodiles fought over the dead crocodile, they stopped climbing up onto the rock face for the time being. Yang Guo saw that she was deep in thought and asked, Maybe your father has some kind of hidden secret and youve somehow stumbled upon it by accident? Luu E shook her head and said, No. My fathers actions are honourable, he is very fair, everyone in the valley has great respect for him. His treatment of you really is wrong but he has never done such thing against his character like this before. Yang Guo did not know about the past affairs of the Passionless Valley and so it was hard for him to help her guess what the reasons are behind all this. The crocodile pool was deep underground and was cold like an ice cave, the two were wet and felt the effects even more. Yang Guo had trained on the chilled jade bed and took no notice of such insignificant coldness while Gong Sun Luu E kept on shivering, searching for warmth in Yang Guos arms. Yang Guo knew that this girl would be feeling frightened and sad right now, he wanted to make her laugh and saw the struggle in the crocodile pool, crocodiles were opening their mouths with vicious teeth, looking extremely vicious and terrifying so he laughed, Miss Gong Sun, were going to die together today, when you reincarnate in the next life, what do you want to reincarnate to? Whatever happens, Im dont want to change into one of these unsightly crocodiles. Gong Sun Luu E smiled a little and said, Then you should change into a narcissus flower, its beautiful and fragrant, its something that everyone loves. Yang Guo laughed, The only types of people who are worthy of changing into these kind of flowers are people like you. If its me, Ill get changed into some ugly daisy or chrysanthemum. Luu E laughed, If the Yan Luo Wang (ruler of hell) tells you to change into a passion flower, would you? Yang Guo was silent and did not reply, he was feeling great resentment, With Gu Gus and mines [Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Sword], that scoundrel is not our match. At that time he was on the back foot and was about to lose. But things had to happen this way, Gu Gu had to pierced by the passion flower in the sword room while we were about to

use a swordplay which requires the users to be as one and to be filled with love to make use of its power. This is fate, I cant do anything about it. I wonder how Gu Gu is right now? As soon as he thought about Xiao Long Nuu again, his body broke out in pain all over. When Gong Sun Luu E heard him stay silent, she knew that she shouldnt have mentioned the passion flower, she quickly changed the subject and said, Brother Yang, youre able to see the crocodiles while all I see in front of me is darkness. Yang Guo laughed, The crocodiles are extremely ugly, its better not to see them. He patted her on the back gently to console her but as soon as he touched her, he felt something cold, smooth and soft and then he remembered how she unclothed herself in front of her father in the pill room and she had on was her underwear, her shoulders and neck were uncovered. Yang Guo was slightly alarmed and quickly pulled back his hand. Luu E thought about how he could see things in the dark, her semi clothed self would be seen clearly by him, she couldnt stop herself from calling out Oh no! She automatically moved away a little. Yang Guo sat a little distance away from her and took off his gown to cover her with it. As he took it off, not only did he think about Xiao Long Nuu, he also thought about the Cheng Ying who made a gown for him, the Lu Wu Shuang who was willing to die for him, he blamed himself for letting down the kindness of all these beautiful girls, and he felt guilt for not being able to repay them, he couldnt stop himself from giving out a long sigh. Gong Sun Luu E neatened the gown on her and tied the belt around her when suddenly she felt a small package in the gowns pockets, she took it out and handed it over to Yang Guo, saying, Whats this? Do you need it? Yang Guo took it in his hands and felt that it was fairly heavy, he said, Whats this? Luu E laughed, I found it in your pockets, why are you asking me in return? Yang Guo looked at it and saw that it was a small package covered in rough cloth, he has never seen it before and immediately opened it; there was a sudden light across his eyes, four objects were within that package. One of them was a little dagger, on the handle was a pearl of the size of a long yan stone, it glimmered and sparkled, the light shining on Gong Sun Luu Es graceful face, he thought, People say that pearls are lights of the night, it appears that this isnt a lie.

Luu E suddenly screamed out, Yi! She stretched out her hand towards the package and picked up a small emerald jar, she called out, This is the passionless pill. Yang Guo was shocked and delighted, he asked, This is the medicine that cures the poison of the passion flowers? Luu E shook the jar a few times and felt that something was in the jar, she said with delight, Yes, I was looking for this in the pill room for half a day, when did you take it? How did you take it? How come you havent taken it yet? You dont know that this is the passionless pill, right? In her delight, her questions were non-stop, not allowing Yang Guo anytime to reply. Yang Guo scratched his head and said, I dont know anything about this, this this jar of medicine, how did it get into my pockets, this really is strange. Under the light of the pearl on the dagger, Luu E could see clearly what other things were in the package, besides the dagger and the emerald jar of the passionless pill, there was a square piece of sheep skin about seven eight inches in length and half of a spirit fungus. A thought went through her mind and she said, This piece of spirit fungus was the piece that was broken off by the Old Urchin. Yang Guo said, The Old Urchin? Luu E said, Yes. Im in charge of the fungi room and this is the fungus from the hundred jade plate. The Old Urchin turned the sword, pill, fungi and library rooms upside down, he destroyed books and stole swords, he kicked over the cauldrons and ripped up the fungi, this is all the handiwork of the Old Urchin. Yang Guo suddenly understood and said, Yes, yes. Luu E quickly asked, What? Yang Guo said, This package was placed on me by senior Zhou Lao. He now knew that Zhou Bo Tong had intent to aid him and so because of this, he changed his greeting of Old Urchin to Senior Zhou Lao. It also became clear to Luu E, she said, So he gave it to you. Yang Guo said, I didnt even know that he gave it to me. This wulin senior does as he pleases in the world, his movements mysterious, when he took my mask and scissors I didnt notice one bit, when he put this package on me I felt nothing. My abilities are not even half as good as his. Luu E nodded and said, Yes, father said that he stole things from the valley and said that he must be captured but but he took off all his clothes in front of so many people and showed that there was nothing

on him. Yang Guo laughed, He had hid the package on me long ago and actually managed to deceive the valley master by taking off his clothes. Luu E opened the emerald jar and covered it with her left hand, shaking the contents into the palm of her hand. A square looking pill came out of the jar into her palm; the pill was extremely dark and its smell overpowering. Most pills are round so one can swallow it, if it was an slab of medicine, it will be long and flat but Yang Guo has never seen a square pill before, he took the pill from Luu E and examined it closely. Luu E shook the jar a few times again and patted the jar into her palm a few times before saying, Thats it, theres only one pill, quickly take it now, itll be terrible if it falls into the pool. Yang Guo was about to put the pill in his mouth when he heard her say theres only one pill, he was stunned and asked, Only one? Has your father got any more? Luu E said, Thats why it is so precious, because there is only one pill, otherwise why would my father get so angry? Yang Guo was shocked and quivered, My Gu Gu has this poison as well, how will your father save her? Luu E sighed, I once heard from my senior apprentice brother that there were originally many passionless pills in the pill room but for some reason, there was only one left. Plus, this pill is extremely hard to produce, there was no way to gather all the precious herbs and medicine to make anymore and because of this, my senior apprentice brother warned us that we must be extremely careful of the passionless flower, if its a little pierce from it, one will recover from it after a few days, if that happens its not too serious. But if the poison is deep, it will be difficult for the valley master to act because one pill can only save one person. Yang Guo kept on saying Oh no and said, How come your father hasnt come to save you yet? Luu E immediately knew what he was thinking and saw him placing the pill back into the jar, she gave a light sigh and said, Brother Yang, how can my father feel no shame in light of your love for miss Long? Youre hoping that Ill be able to take the pill back up and save miss Longs life. Yang Guo gave a little smile as his thoughts were revealed, he said, Of course I hope that such a kind girl as yourself will leave this dangerous

place safely but I also hope that my Gu Gus life can be saved. Even if I cure my passion flower poison, I wont last long staying down here in this crocodile pit, of course saving my Gu Gu is more important. He thought, Gu Gus beauty is unparalleled, its normal that someone like the valley master would want to marry her. But when Gu Gu refused to marry him, he lured her to the sword room to harm her, he really is evil; now he knows that the only passionless pill has been taken away, there is no way to cure the passion flower poison in Gu Gu, shes just has thirty six days to live and all hes concerned about is making her submit to him, even the crocodiles in this pit has more heart than him. Luu E knew that no matter how hard she tries to persuade him to take the pill it will be no use, she regretted telling him that there was only one pill so she said, This spirit fungus cant cure poisons but it can strengthen ones body, just quickly eat it. Yang Guo said, Yes. He broke the piece of spirit fungus into two, he put one piece into his mouth and put the other piece in front of Luu Es mouth, he said, We dont know when your father will let you go, eat this piece to help protect yourself against this cold. Luu E saw that he was concerned for her and couldnt bear to refuse so she opened her mouth. This spirit fungus had been grown for hundreds of years, not long after the two ate it, they felt an extremely comfortable warmth throughout their body, a boost in their energy and they felt sharper. Luu E suddenly said, Father must have known that Zhou Bo Tong had stolen the passionless pill. He was lying to miss Long when he said he was going to cure you and when he was forcing me to hand over the passionless pill, he was acting then as well. Yang Guo had thought about this long ago but he didnt want to make her sadder so he kept quiet about it, when he heard her realising this on her own he said, When your father lets you out, you need to be extremely careful, the best thing for you to do is leave the valley as quick as possible. Luu E sighed, You dont know my father, since hes pushed me down here into this crocodile pit he will never change his mind and rescue me. He was already worried about me, after this event, how can he allow me to live? Brother Yang, wont you let me die with you? Yang Guo was about to say a few words to comfort her when he suddenly heard another crocodile climbing onto the rock face, its front foot stepping onto sheepskin from the package. Yang Guo had a

thought, That sheepskin looks kind of strange. He picked up the dagger and stabbed it between the eyes of the crocodile, a pu sound was heard as it went straight through; the dagger that he was holding was actually extremely sharp dagger that was capable of chopping gold and cutting jade. The crocodile struggled a little bit before falling back into the pool with its stomach facing upwards, dead. Yang Guo said with delight, Now that weve got this dagger, those crocodiles in the pool have run out of luck. He picked up the sheepskin with his left hand and bought the dagger over, using the faint light from the pearl to carefully study the sheepskin. The sheepskin was coarse on one side and had nothing odd about it but turning it over revealed drawings of many buildings, rooms, rocks and the like. Yang Guo looked at it for a while but didnt find anything strange about it, he said, This sheepskin is no use to us. Luu E had been looking over his shoulder all along and suddenly said, Thats a map of our Narcissus manor of the Passionless Valley. Look, thats the brook that led you here, thats the main hall, thats the sword room, thats the fungi room and thats the pill room She pointed to the map as she said this. Yang Guo suddenly called out and said, Look, look. He pointed to a drawing of water underneath the pill room. Luu E said, Thats the crocodile pool. Ah theres a passageway here. The two could see that there was a passageway drawn next to the crocodile pool and their spirits rose. Yang Guo matched the map to the crocodile pit and said, If the maps right, after passing the passageway therell definitely be an exit. But Luu E interrupted, But whats strange is that the passageway is going downwards, this crocodile pit is already deep underground, where will the passageway lead if it keeps on going further down? The passageway on the map finished on the edge of the sheepskin, they didnt know where it leads. Yang Guo said, Has your father or senior apprentice brother ever mention this crocodile pit before? Luu E shook her head and said, I only knew today that there were so many terrifying things hidden underneath the pill room, even senior apprentice brother may not know about it. But but to keep all these crocodiles alive will require regular feeding, why does father She trembled all over as she thought about how evil her father was.

Yang Guo took a look around and noticed a dark circular image behind the rock face, it appeared to be the entrance of a tunnel but it was too faraway and he couldnt tell properly, he thought, Even if that is the passageway, I dont know what other kinds of vicious creatures is lurking around in there, if we come across them it would be even more dangerous for us than the situation we are in now. Even so, we cant sit here and wait for death, were going to die anyway, we might as well take in risk in trying to find a way out. All I want is for miss Gong Sun to get out of this danger and pass the antidote on to Gu Gu. So he handed the dagger into the hands of Luu E and said, Ill go take a look, be careful of the crocodiles. His right foot touched the rock face and he flew away into the pool. Luu E called out in alarm. Yang Guos right foot landed on the stomach of the dead crocodile and used it to leap forward, he then landed on the back of a crocodile with his left foot. The crocodile sank into the water while Yang Guo leapt to the other shore, he pressed his body against the rock and searched the surface with his hand. He called out, Theres a large cave over here! Gong Sun Luu Es lightness kung fu was not anywhere as good as his, she didnt dare to leap over to the cave like he did. Yang Guo thought that if he went back to carry her on his back, their weight will increase and not only will their leaping be inconvenienced, they will not be able to use the crocodiles as supports, now that it has come to this he had to risk it and called out, Miss Gong Sun, soak your gown and throw it over to me. Luu E did not know what he was going to do but did as she was told, she took off her gown and gave it a quick soak in the pool then hurriedly pulled it back up and made two ties in the gown, forming a ball, she called out, Its coming! She circulated her internal energy and shot it over. Yang Guo caught it and untied the gown. He found a place to secure his footing and used his left hand to grab tightly on a piece of rock jutting out while his right hand motioned the wet gown, he said, Listen carefully. He motioned the wet gown forward and waved it about, a pai sound was heard as he struck the mouth of the cave. He struck it three times in a row and asked, Can you tell where the cave is? Luu E had listened and could tell whereabouts it was, she said, Yes. Yang Guo said, Jump forward and grab the gown, Ill pull you over. Luu E opened her eyes and tried to see but all she saw was darkness, she was really frightened and said, I I cant Yang Guo said, Theres no need to be scared. If you miss the gown and fall into the pool, Ill dive in immediately to save you. We werent afraid

of the crocodiles when we first came here, now weve got this dagger which can slice metal like butter, what fear have we got? He then sent the gown forwards. Gong Sun Luu E bit down on her teeth and pushed out with her feet against the rock face, her body flew up into the air, she heard the noise from the flapping gown and stretched out her hands towards it, her right hand grabbed the lower half of the gown but her left hand grabbed thin air. As soon as Yang Guo felt his arm go heavy, he immediately waved the gown towards the cave. He was afraid that she would slip so he quickly leapt over to her and lightly grabbed her waist, holding her steadily by the cave entrance. Gong Sun Luu E was delighted and called out, Brother Yang, that was a great idea. Yang Guo laughed, We dont what kind of vicious beasts are hiding in this passageway, well just let fate decide. He then crouched his body and went into the cave. Luu E handed the dagger to Yang Guo and said, You take it. Yang Guo gave her the gown and she covered her body with it. The cave was extremely narrow, the two of them could only go through it on their knees, the dampness from the crocodile pool caused the cave floor to be damp and slippery and the stench was extremely unpleasant. Yang Guo crawled along and laughed, This morning we were enjoying the beauty of the passion flowers, flowers were everywhere, birds were singing and we were surrounded by fragrant scents but after just a few hours the scenery has changed to this, I really have caused you great trouble. Luu E said, How can it be blamed on you? After crawling along for a while, the passageway gradually became wider and they were able to walk along it. They walked for a very long time but still they did not reach the end while the ground became flatter and flatter. Yang Guo laughed, Looks like our bitter experience is turning to joy, were slowly reaching safety. Luu E sighed and said, Brother Yang, I know youre not feeling in the best of spirits, you dont have to try to cheer me up... Before she finished her words, there was a sudden laugh from the left up ahead, Haha, haha, haha! What they heard just now was definitely laughter but they sounded like cries, within the haha haha calls there was mourning and sorrow.

Yang Guo and Gong Sun Luu E has never heard such a call like this where it didnt sound like cries nor laughter, not to mention the fact that they were deep down in a cave in complete darkness and werent prepared for such a noise, this was much more frightening than coming upon some kind of vicious beast. Though Yang Guo was brave, he couldnt stop himself from jumping up, his head bumping into the roof of the cave painfully. Gong Sun Luu E was so scared that she broke out in a cold sweat with goose bumps all over and hugged his legs. The two of them didnt know what to do, they didnt dare to advance nor retreat. Luu E whispered, Is it a ghost? She said these words very quietly but after these words the same voice cried out, Yes, Im a ghost, Im a ghost, haha, haha! Yang Guo thought, Since they called themselves a ghost, this person isnt one. So he said loudly, I am Yang Guo, and along with me is miss Gong Sun, the two of us have ran into some danger and were just trying to find a way to escape, we have no ill intentions... That person interrupted, Miss Gong Sun? What miss Gong Sun? Yang Guo said, The daughter of valley master Gong Sun, Gong Sun Luu E. No further noise came; it was as if that person had suddenly disappeared without a trace. When that person was howling out with their cry that wasnt a cry and a laugh that wasnt a laugh, the two of them were already extremely frightened but they were even more frightened after this sudden silence in the darkness, the two of them clung to each other, not daring to make a single move. After a long time, the person suddenly shouted out, What valley master Gong Sun, is it Gong Sun Zhi? The words were filled with anger but they could now clearly tell it was a womans voice. Gong Sun Luu E plucked up her courage and said, My fathers name is indeed Zhi, does old senior know my father? The person chuckled coldly and said, Do I know him? Haha, do I know him? Luu E did not dare to interrupt and just kept silent. After a while, the person shouted, Whats your name? Luu E said, Juniors name is Luu E, the Luu (green) as in red and green, E (calyx) as in the calyx of a flower. The person gave a heng grunt and asked, What is your birth date? Luu E was afraid that this person was asking for her birth date because

she wanted to use witchcraft to harm her, she whispered in Yang Guos ear, Should I say it? Before Yang Guo could reply, the person chuckled and said, Youre eighteen this year, your birthday is on the third day of the second month, you was born at the Xu hour (7-9 p.m), correct? Gong Sun Luu E was shocked and called out, You you how do you know? Suddenly she was filled with an indescribable feeling, she knew that this person would not harm her and she brushed past Yang Guo hurrying forwards. After turning two bends, her eyes were suddenly dazzled by the light before she saw an half clothed granny sitting on her knees on the floor, her face full of anger with a great presence. Luu E gasped and stood there stunned. Yang Guo was afraid that she was in danger and quickly hurried after her. He saw that the old granny was sitting a natural grotto, there was a large ten feet wide hole in the roof which allowed sunlight in that was over a thousand feet above the ground, most probably she accidentally fell down into the hole and couldnt get out ever since then. This grotto was deep underground, even if one calls and shouts, a passer by may not hear them. What really was extraordinary was that she was actually still alive after falling from so high. He saw many date trees in the places where the sunlight reached, could it be that she somehow landed on the trees just right, saving her life in the process? He saw that she only had tree bark and leaves to cover herself up with, she must have been trapped in this grotto for years, so long that her clothes have all been worn to shreds completely. The granny ignored Yang Guo completely and just looked up and down at Luu E, suddenly she gave a bleak laugh and said, Miss, you have grown up beautifully. Luu E returned the compliment with a smile and went forward to greet her, How do you do old senior. The granny faced the sky and laughed with her neither cry nor laughter howl, she said, Old senior? Haha, Im great, Im great, haha, haha! After she said this, anger filled her face. Luu E did not know how she offended her by saying these respectful words; she was very frightened and looked back at Yang Guo for help. Yang Guo knew that it would be unavoidable for the granny to lose her mind after being stuck down here for such a long time, he shook her

head towards Luu E and smiled a little, trying to say that there was no need to treat her seriously. He studied the terrain, trying to think of a plan to get out. Though the hole in the roof of the grotto was high, with his lightness kung fu, it may not be an impossible task if he takes a risk. But Luu E was just concentrating on the granny, she saw that most of her hair had fallen out and was almost completely bald, her face was full of wrinkles but her eyes were still full of vigour. The granny was looking at Luu E without blinking too, the two of them stared at each other, ignoring Yang Guo. After looking at her for a while, the granny said, Youve got a red birthmark of your waist on the left side, havent you? Luu E was shocked and thought, Even father may not know about my red birthmark, how does this granny know about this? She also knows my birthday and time, it looks like this granny has a deep tie with my family. So she said softly, Granny, you must know my father and my dead mother, right? The granny was startled and said, Your dead mother? Haha, of course I know her. Her tone suddenly became stern and shouted, Have you got a birthmark on your waist? Quickly let me take a look. If youre lying Im going to kill you right where youre standing. Luu E turned her head and looked at Yang Guo, her face blushing. Yang Guo quickly turned away and kept his back towards her. Luu E took off her gown and uncovered her white gleaming waist, indeed there was a red thumb size birthmark on her waist, the red and white contrasted each other, like a red plum in the middle of a field of snow, looking extremely adorable. The granny just took one look and she trembled all over, her eyes were filled with tears and she opened her arms, calling out, My precious, mother has been thinking about you bitterly. Luu E looked at her expression and suddenly her natural instincts were stirred, she threw herself on her and cried, Mother, mother! Yang Guo was startled when he heard one of them call out my precious and the other call out mother, he turned around and saw the two hugging each other tightly, Luu E was shaking while the granny was in tears, Yang Guo thought, Could it be that this granny is actually miss Gong Suns mother? The grannys brow suddenly stood up and her face was filled with an air of death, just like valley master Gong Sun when he fought, Yang Guo

secretly called out, No! He was afraid that the granny would harm Luu E and dashed forward, but all she did was push Luu E lightly away on her shoulders and shouted, Stand up, Im going to question you. Luu E was startled, she moved away from her and called out, Mother! The granny said sternly, Why did Gong Sun Zhi call you here? He wanted you to come here to lie to me with your sweet talk, didnt he? Luu E shook her head and said, Mother, youre actually still alive, mother! Her face was filled with both joy and sadness, showing real daughterly love, how can this be faked? The granny kept on asking sternly, Gong Song Zhi said I was dead, didnt he? Luu E said, I had been filled with sadness over the years, I thought that I was just a child without a mother but my mother has actually been alive all this time, Im really overwhelmed with joy today. The granny pointed to Yang Guo and said, Whos he? Why did you bring him here? Luu E said, Mother, listen to me. She then told her how Yang Guo entered the valley, how he contracted the passion flower poison, how the two both fell down into the crocodile pit, she told it all from the beginning but she kept the matter of valley master Gong Sun marrying Xiao Long Nuu from her in case her mother would be disturbed by this and break out in a jealous rage. Whenever Luu E was unclear on something, the granny would ask her carefully about it. Apart from the matter about Xiao Long Nuu, Luu E did not keep anything from her. The more the granny heard, the more peaceful she became, her expression towards Yang Guo was also getting more and more pleasant. When Luu E described how Yang Guo killed crocodiles and how he protected her, the granny kept on calling out, Good, good! Little kid, looks like my daughter hasnt picked you for no reason. Luu Es face went red and lowered her head. Yang Guo knew that it wasnt conveniently to explain all the intricacies within all these events right now so he said, Auntie Gong Sun, we first need to come up with a escape plan, how do we get out? The grannys face sunk and shouted, What auntie Gong Sun, dont ever say the words auntie Gong Sun again. Dont think that because Ilook frail I cant do anything, if I want to kill you itll be as easy as turning my palm. A sudden bo sound was heard as something came out of her mouth, a

zheng sound was heard as it knocked Yang Guos dagger to the ground. Yang Guo felt his arm tremble severely, his five fingers couldnt hold on and a dang sound was heard as the dagger struck the floor. Yang Guo leapt backwards in shock, he saw that there was a date stone by the dagger, spinning around on the floor. He was still in shock as he thought, With the force that I grip the dagger with, even if it was Jin Lun Fa Wangs golden wheel, Da Er Bas golden rod and valley master Gong Suns jagged sabre, they wont be able to knock the dagger out of my hands, though I wasnt prepared, this granny just used a date stone that she spat out from her mouth to do this, this persons martial arts really is something. Luu E saw that his face changed colour and she quickly said, Brother Yang, my mother wont harm you. She went over to him and tugged his hand, she turned to her mother and said, Mother, tell him how to greet you. He doesnt know yet. The granny laughed and said, Fine, old womans name here will never change, the people of Jiang Hu call me the Iron Palm Lotus Qiu Qian Chi. What should you call me? Haha, shouldnt you be kowtowing to me and call me mother in law? Luu E quickly said, Mother, you dont know, theres nothing between brother Yang and I, he he just has good intentions for me and nothing else. Qiu Qian Chi said angrily, Nothing between you? Nothing else? Where are your clothes? Why have you only got underwear on? Why are you covered with his gown? She suddenly pitched her voice up and screamed, If the one named Yang is thinking about being shameless like that Gong Sun Zhi Im going to make sure that he dies without a complete corpse. The one named Yang, are you going to marry my daughter? Yang Guo saw that she spoke madly and was impervious to reason, how can she force him to marry her daughter after just speaking a few words? But if he refuses bluntly, it would be extremely embarrassing for Luu E. Theres also the fact that this granny martial arts are extremely high, her character extremely weird, if he said any words that were just slightly displeasing, she would kill him immediately. He saw that the most important thing right now was for the three of them to get out of this place so he said, Please relax old senior, Yang Guo is not a man without a conscience, I will never dare to forget the kindness that Luu E

has shown me. These words were extremely agreeable, though he didnt agree to marry Luu E, the words pleased the ears of Qiu Qian Chi. She nodded, You better not.

Gong Sun Luu E of course knew what Yang Guo meant by this, she looked at Yang Guo, there was a look of ingratitude in her eyes and she lowered her head, a while passed before she said to Qiu Qian Chi, Mother, how did you get down here? Why did father say that you were dead and let me stay saddened for all these years? If I knew you were here, I would have risked my life to come and find you. She saw that her mother was uncovered, if she let her mother wear Yang Guos gown then she would be insufficiently clothed so she tore the back and front of the gown and draped it over her mothers shoulders. Yang Guo was saddened when he saw what state the gown that Xiao Long Nuu had made for him had fallen into, it stirred the passion flowers poison and his body broke out in an unbearable once again. When Qiu Qian Chi saw this her face moved slightly and her right hand searched for something on her, but after a thought, her hand came out empty handed. From her mothers expression and actions, Luu E had an inkling to her mothers thoughts, she pleaded, Mother, can you cure the passion flowers poison that brother Yang has on him? Qiu Qian Chi said in a subdued manner, I have my own troubles being trapped down here, if others cant save me, how can I save others? Luu E said anxiously, Mother, if you save brother Yang, he would definitely help you. Even if you dont save him, brother Yang will do all he can to help you. Isnt that right brother Yang? Yang Guo did not have a good opinion of Qiu Qian Chi but he should help her on behalf of Luu E so he said, Of course. Senior has been down here for so long, you must be very familiar with the layout and terrain of this place, can senior tell me one or two things about this place? Qiu Qian Chi gave a long sigh and said, Though this place is deep in the ground, its not that difficult to get out. She looked at Yang Guo and said, You must be thinking that if its not hard, how come Im still down here? Ai The tendons in my arms and legs have been destroyed long ago, all my martial arts went with it. Yang Guo had noticed long ago that there was something different

about the movements of her arms and legs but Luu E was shocked when she heard this, she asked, You did this by falling from up above? Qiu Qian Chi said gloomily, No! A person done this to me. Luu E was even more shocked by this and quivered, Mother, who did this to you? We must take revenge against that person. Qiu Qian Chi chuckled, Revenge? Will you be able to do it? The person who destroyed my tendons in Gong Sun Zhi. Ever since Luu E found out that she was her mother, she had a feeling that something like this had happened but when she heard this with her own ears, she still trembled all over and asked, Why why? Qiu Qian Chi glanced coldly at Yang Guo and said, Its because I killed someone, a young beautiful girl, huh, its because I killed Gong Sun Zhis beloved. When she reached this point, her teeth chattered as she bit down. Luu E was frightened and moved back a little away from her mother while getting closer to Yang Guo. The grotto broke out a silence. Qiu Qian Chi said suddenly, Are you hungry? There are only dates for food in this grotto. After she said this, she got on all fours and crawled forwards like a wild beast, her movements were very swift. Luu E and Yang Guo both felt awful when they saw this sight. But Qiu Qian Chi has been crawling like these for years and didnt think anything of it. Luu E was about to dash forward to help her when she saw that she had already reached the base of a large date tree. Years ago, a date seed must have been blown down into the grotto by the wind and made its root down here, growing and blossoming, slowly flourishing and from that one seed, fifty, sixty trees were eventually grown. If a date seed had not been blown down here or it had fallen down onto infertile ground, Yang Guo and Luu E would have come across upon a pile of bones. Who could have thought that this pile of bones would be an eminent member of wulin? And Luu E would never know that this was actually her mother. Qiu Qian Chi gathered a date stone from the floor and placed it into her mouth, she raised her head and spat out, the date stone shot upwards for tens of feet and struck a branch, the branch swayed and tens of dates rained downwards from the branch. Yang Guo nodded and thought, So after her tendons were ruined she managed to learn this great date spitting skill, the saying heaven never seals off all its exits isnt a lie. His spirits were roused as he thought

about

this.

Luu E picked up the dates from the floor and divided them up for her mother and Yang Guo to eat, she ate a few herself as well. In the middle of this underground grotto, she was serving her mother and acting just like a little hostess. Qiu Qian Chi has endured one of the most tragic experience in ones life, hate has been gathered up in her heart for over the last ten years, even if she wasnt a hot tempered person and was a peaceful, kind natured woman, she would still change into this unreasonable person but a mothers love is a natural instinct, when she saw the daughter she has been thinking about night and day had grown into such a beautiful girl, her temper was calmed and the warmth from her love towards her daughter was gradually stirred, she asked, What has Gong Sun Zhi been saying about me? Luu E said, Father has never talked about mother. When I was little I asked do I look like mother? What illness did mother die of? Father would suddenly break out in a temper and scold me for a while, telling me not bring this up ever again. A few years later I asked him again and once again, he shouted at me. Qiu Qian Chi said, What was you thinking? Tears were formed in Luu Es eyes and she said, I thought that mother must have been a beautiful, gentle woman and father loved you deeply, because of this, whenever other people mention you he will be extremely upset and sad, from then on I didnt dare to ask him about you again. Qiu Qian Chi chuckled and said, You must be extremely disappointed, your mother isnt a beautiful and gentle woman but a vicious, cruel and ugly old hag. If you knew about this, I think you would rather not see me. Luu E stretched out her arms to hug her around the neck and said tenderly, Mother, youre how I imagined you will be. She turned to Yang Guo and asked, Brother Yang, my mother is beautiful, isnt she? She treats me well and she treats you well, right? Her words were filled with sincerity, in her heart, she looked upon her mother as the greatest woman in the world. Yang Guo thought, She might have been beautiful when she was younger but how can you say that shes beautiful now? Youre right when you said that she treats you well but she might not have any good intentions in her heart towards me.

But since Luu E asked like this, he could only reply, Yes, youre right. His tone was not anywhere as sincere as Luu Es, Qiu Qian Chi knew straight away when she heard it, she thought, Heaven has pity me and has given me the chance to see my daughter again, though she is filled with respect and love for me now, it would be difficult to ensure that it will be like this forever, I need to tell her about all the bitterness and wrong that Ive suffered. So she said, E Er, you ask how did I get here? Why Gong Sun Zhi said that Ive already died? Sit down, Ill slowly tell you all about it. Qiu Qian Chi said slowly, Gong Sun Zhis ancestors were officials in the Tang court, later on because they wanted to avoid the troubles of the court, they decided to reside here in this secluded valley. His ancestors worked as a military official, his familys martial arts can be classed as a respectable skill but his real advanced martial arts were taught to him by me. Yang Guo and Luu E both felt rather surprised by this. Qiu Qian Chi said proudly, You two are still young, of course you wouldnt understand the principles within them. The Iron Palm Clan chief The Iron Palm Water Floater Qiu Qian Ren is my brother. Yang Guo, tell Luu E about the Iron Palm Clan. Yang Guo was startled and asked, The Iron Palm Clan? Im am not very knowledgeable, I really dont know what the Iron Palm Clan is. Qiu Qian Chi scolded him, Little punk, you dare tell lies in front of me! The Iron Palm Clan is famous throughout the world and along with the Beggar Clan, were classed as the worlds two greatest clans, how can you not know? Yang Guo said, Junior has heard of the Beggar Clan before but the Iron Palm Clan Qiu Qian Chi was exasperated and scolded, Haha, youve practised martial arts and you dont even know anything about the Iron Palm Clan Luu E saw that her mothers face had reddened due to anger, she interrupted and tried to persuade her, Mother, brother Yang is not even twenty yet, he has studied with his master deep in the mountains ever since he was young, of course there are things about the wulin that he doesnt know. Qiu Qian Chi ignored her and kept on clamouring about. Twenty years ago, the Iron Palm Clan was indeed very famous but at the second mount Wah competition, the Iron Palm Chief Iron Palm

Water Floater Qiu Qian Ren entered religion and the tutelage of reverend Yi Deng, the Iron Palm Clan dispersed immediately after that. When the Iron Palm Clan was dispersing, Yang Guo had just been born and no one has ever mentioned the clan to him before so naturally he wouldnt know anything about it. His mother Mu Nian Ci had actually lost her virtue to his father Yang Kang on Iron Palm Peak, her mother became pregnant and the world had Yang Guo. Right now as Qiu Qian Chi talked about this, his eyes were just wide opened, not knowing how to reply. Qiu Qian Chi has been in the Passionless Valley for almost thirty years, she has not heard about the changes of the wulin world, she just knew that the Iron Palm Clan has been famous for hundreds of years, they must be flourishing even more at the present time but right now she heard that Yang Guo hadnt even heard of the three words Iron Palm Clan before, of course she would break out in a thunderous rage. Yang Guo was being insulted and cursed at for no reason at all, at first he forced himself to take it but as it went on, the insults were beginning to go too far, he was beginning to get angry and was about to answer back when just as he was going to open his mouth, he saw Luu E staring at him, her eyes filled with tenderness, her face looking apologetic. Yang Guos heart softened and his face showed a helpless expression, his heart was beginning to feel contented as he thought, The worse your mother treats me the better you treat me. The old bats words just brushes past the ears while the beautys warmth goes to my heart. His brain became livelier as his heart relaxed, suddenly he thought, Miss Wan Yan Pings martial arts appears to be of the same school as Gong Sun Zhi, she also said that she practised the [Iron Palm], she must have some kind of connection with the Iron Palm Clan. He closed his eyes and recalled when Wan Yan Ping fought Ye Luu Qi, he could remember about seventy, eight percent of it and he had fought Gong Sun Zhi just a few hours ago, his attacks and form was even more clear in his mind and he called out, Ah, I remember. Qiu Qian Chi said, What? Yang Guo said, Three years ago I saw an extraordinary wulin senior battle eighteen men from the world of Jiang Hu, he fought them all empty handed and in the end he seriously injured nine of them and killed the other nine, I heard this great person say that he was from the Iron Palm Clan. Qiu Qian Chi asked quickly, What did this person look like? Yang Guo made it up as he went along and said, This person was bald and was around sixty years of age, his face glowed and was tall, he wore a green gown and said he said his surname was Qiu

Qiu Qian Chi suddenly shouted, Bullshit! My two brothers are not bald, they are not tall and they have never worn green before. You saw that Im tall and bald so you said theyre bald as well? Yang Guo thought, Crap! But his face remained unmoved and laughed, Theres no need to rush me, I didnt say this person was your brother, could it be that everyone whos named Qiu is your brother? Qiu Qian Chi could say nothing after this rebuttal and asked, What was his martial arts like? Yang Guo stood up and performed a few fists of Wan Yan Pings mixed up with the form and palms of Gong Sun Zhis, eventually he became more and more fluent in his actions, the grotto was filled with elegant palms and powerful punches, though his stances were slightly wrong, it was somewhat better that the original palm techniques of Wan Yan Ping. His natural movements covered up all the places that were out of form in Wan Yan Pings techniques, his hand and leg movements were tight and complete and whenever he sent out a palm, he would deliberately put extra effort in it to make it more vicious. Qiu Qian Chi watched with great joy, she called out, E Er, E Er, thats the martial arts of our Iron Clan Palm, watch carefully. Yang Guo performed these stances with Qiu Qian Chi pointing out the stances and explaining the lethal aspects of them by the side. Yang Guo was amused and thought, If I carry on any longer shell see through me. He then stopped and said, At this point, the wulin senior had won and there wasnt a need to carry on. Qiu Qian Chi was delighted and said, Youve remembered a lot of the stances wrongly, your hand movements are incorrect as well but to perform it as you did is already something that is difficult to do. What was the name of this wulin senior? What did he say to you? Yang Guo said, This extraordinary person movements were like a divine dragon, after he won he flew away. I just heard from the remaining nine injured men blaming themselves saying how could we give trouble to Master Qiu of the Iron Palm Clan? Arent we signing our own death warrants? Qiu Qian Chi said with delight, Thats right, the one named Qiu is most probably a disciple of my brother. Qiu Qian Chi loved martial arts but for over the last ten years she hasnt been able to move her arms and legs freely, right now as she saw Yang Guo perform her clans martial arts she was thrilled and was itching to have a go, she then started to lecture the two about her clans palm techniques and lightness kung fu.

Yang Guo was anxious to get out as quickly as possible so he could deliver the antidote to Xiao Long Nuu, though what he heard was advanced and refined martial arts that would benefit him, he thought about the suffering that Xiao Long Nuu was in, how could he have a frame of mind for learning martial arts? He then signalled to Luu E with his eyes. Luu E understood and said, Mother, why did you teach father martial arts? Qiu Qian Chi said angrily, Call him Gong Sun Zhi! What father this and that? Luu E said, Yes. Mother, just go on. Qiu Qian Chi said with hate, Huh! After a while she continued, This happened twenty years ago. My two brothers got into an argument Luu E interrupted, Ive got two uncles? Qiu Qian Chi said, Dont you know? Her tone became stern with a hint of scolding. Luu E thought, How would I know? She replied, No, no ones ever told me before. Qiu Qian Chi sighed and said, You you really dont know anything. Pitiful! Pitiful! After a while she continued, Your two uncles are twins, your older uncle is called Qiu Qian Zhang, your second uncle is Qiu Qian Ren. Their voices, figure and face were the same but the twos characters and fate were very different. Second brothers martial arts are extremely high but first brothers martial arts were very ordinary. Second brother taught me martial arts but first brother and I were a lot closer to each other. Second brother was the chief of the Iron Palm Clan, he had many clan matters to deal with and was busy on his own martial arts so we saw very little of each other. When he taught me martial arts, he was strict and didnt say much to me. But first brother was very close to me, he will say sister this and sister that. Later on when the two argued, I sided with first brother. Luu E said, Mother, what did the two uncles argued about? Qiu Qian Chis face suddenly showed a hint of a smile and said, This matter is not serious but not too insignificant either, its just that my second brother was too obstinate. When second brother became the chief of the Iron Palm Clan, his name Iron Palm Water Floater Qiu Qian Ren was famous throughout the world of the wulin while very few knew my elder brothers name. Whenever my elder brother went out, he would sometimes borrow my second brothers name for convenience.

The two of them looked the same and were real brothers, whats so bad about borrowing his name? But second brother didnt see it this way, he would argue about this all the time, saying elder brother was a swindler and trickster. My elder brother had a good temper, whenever second brother scolded him he would just laugh and apologise. One time, second brother went too far. I couldnt do nothing and added a few words to help first brother but bought trouble onto myself and we argued. I left the Iron Palm Peak in anger and never returned. I roamed Jiang Hu by myself. One time, I was pursuing a scoundrel and came to the Passionless Valley by accident, this was punishment for the bad deeds in my last life and I met Gong Sun Zhi this evil this evil scoundrel. We eventually became married. I was older than him by a few years and my martial arts was a lot stronger than his, after we got married not only did I teach him martial arts, I looked after his everyday needs, did he have to do anything in the valley? His familys martial arts have its ingenious aspects but there were too many holes in them, it was me who thought about it carefully and helped him improve it. One time, a strong enemy attacked, if it wasnt for me driving them away, this Passionless Valley would have been flattened long ago. Who could have predicted that this scoundrel would repay these deeds with ingratitude, after he grew his wings he forgot about where all his martial arts came from, who saved him in his time of danger. She then spurted out a load of insults and curses with the insults becoming eviller as it went on. Luu E blushed when she heard this, she felt that insulting her husband like this in front of Yang Guo was a bit embarrassing, she kept on calling out, Mother, mother! But how could she stop her? But Yang Guo loved it, he hated Gong Sun Zhi too and enjoyed these insults immensely, he couldnt stop himself from adding a few words to stir Qiu Qian Chis mood further, if it wasnt for Luu E, he too would have opened his mouth and insult him like this. Qiu Qian Chi exhausted her insults until nothing new was added, she had repeated everything she said and had to stop and continue, That year I was pregnant with you and it was unavoidable that my character would become a bit more anxious and worried but who knew that while it seemed like he treated me the same on the outside, he was having an affair with a maid behind my back. After you were born, he still carried on with this maid. I didnt know anything, I thought that after we had this beautiful daughter, he would treat me better. I was deceived by the two for a few years before one day I accidentally stumbled across them and heard them discussing about leaving the valley together and never

return. At that time, I was hiding behind a tree and heard that scoundrel say that he was worried about how high my martial arts were and the further they went the better, how I was too controlling and didnt give him any freedom. He said he only felt alive when he was with that ***** maid. I had always thought his feelings for me were real but when I heard this I was so angry that I almost fainted. I wanted to dash forward and kill the two right there and then. Although he was heartless, I still looked back upon the many years of us being a husband and wife, he was originally a good person, this must be the fault of that seducing **** using her charms on him. I held my anger and stood behind the tree, listening carefully. I heard them say that two days later Ill be meditating for seven days and night without leaving the room, they will take this chance to leave the valley and by the time Ive found out seven days later, theyll be long gone. I shivered when I heard this, heaven must have pitied me to give me this chance to see through their plans, otherwise where on earth will I be able to find them seven days later? By this point, her teeth were chattering with fury. Luu E asked, What was the young maid called? Was she beautiful? Qiu Qian Chi said, Crap! Beautiful my arse! This maid seduced him through her words, whatever the bastard said she agreed and she would sweet talk him saying that he was the greatest man on this earth, that he was a great hero. Huh, that ***** was called Rou Er. That Gong Sun Zhi with his sinful ancestors, what stance and form of his that I dont know? Hes a great hero? Hes not even worthy to be a follower of my big brother, if he tries to pour wine for my second brother he will be kicked out on his arse. By this point, Yang Guo was beginning to feel a little sympathy for Gong Sun Zhi, he thought, It must be because you were too controlling and that your looking down on him that forced him to finally fight back. Luu E was afraid that her mother would break out in another bout of non stop cursing so asked quickly, Mother, what happened then? Qiu Qian Chi said, The two animals had decided that in the morning on the third day that theyll meet here again and leave together, they said that in the two upcoming days theyll need to be extremely careful and dont leave any clues on what they were doing in case I found out. The two then continued on with talking rubbish. The ***** looked at the

bastard, captivated as if she was looking at someone more important than the king, revering him more than gods and goddesses. That bastard felt proud with himself, he kept on praising himself and then hugged and touched that *****, their shameless actions almost angered me to death right there and then. Early on the third day, I pretended to meditate in the meditation chamber while Gong Sun Zhi came over and peeked in a few times through the window. I waited for him to leave and then utilized my lightness kung fu and rushed to their meeting place. That ***** had arrived there long ago. Without saying a word I grabbed her and flung her into a passion flower thicket.... Yang Guo and Luu E both gasped. Qiu Qian Chi glanced at them and continued, After a while Gong Sun Zhi arrived, there is no need to describe the panicky state he was in when he saw Rou Er rolling about and crying out in pain in the passion flower thicket. I leapt out from behind the tree and held him with my two hands then threw him down into the thicket as well. The valley has an antidote to the passion flower poison that has been passed down from generation to generation, it is called the passionless pill. Gong Sun Zhi struggled and picked himself up, he then helped that ***** off the floor and rushed to the pill room, wanting to get the passionless pill to cure their poison. Haha, guess what they saw? Luu E said, Mother, what did they see? Yang Guo thought, You must have destroyed all the passionless pills, what else could it be? Qiu Qian Chi did indeed say, Haha, when he got to the room, he saw a bowl filed with frosty arsenic water and hundreds of passionless pill soaked in the bowl. If he wanted to take the passionless pill he will have to take in the poison of the frosty arsenic water, if he didnt take it, he would still die. The method to produce the passionless pill is a family secret but it is extremely difficult to get all the precious herbs and medicines to produce and to make a batch of passionless pills requires the spring dew and autumn frost, it will take three years to make it. He then rushed to the meditation chamber and begged on his knees for their lives. He knew that I would muse over on our marriage and wouldnt destroy all the pills, keeping some just in case. He struck himself across the face many times, he cried and swore that if I spared the two he would send Rou Er away and never see her again and he would never dare to do such a thing again. When I heard him beg, his mouth kept on talking about Rou Er. I was angry and took out a passionless pill and put it on the table.

I said, There is only one passionless pill left. Only one of you can live. You know that it would be no use if you take half each. You decided whether you want to save her or save yourself. He immediately took the pill and hurried to the pill room. I followed after him. By that time, the ***** was in unbearable pain and was rolling about on the floor. Gong Sun Zhi said, Rou Er, go in peace. Ill follow you in death. He then drew out a sword. When Rou Er saw how loving he was, she was extremely touched and said, Great, great. Well be a husband and wife in the underworld. Gong Sun Zhi pierced the sword into her chest and killed her. I was outside the pill room looking in through the window and was slightly alarmed, I was afraid that the second sword will go for his throat. When he raised the sword, I was about to call out to him to stop but then saw him wiping the blood away from his sword on Rou Ers body before putting the sword back into his sheath. He turned to the window and said, Sister Chi, Im willing to repent, Ive killed that ***** with my own hands, just spare me. He lifted his hand towards his mouth and swallowed the passionless pill. This wasnt something that I had expected but since this had ended and he was repenting sincerely, I was very pleased. He then planned a feast to apologise to me. I scolded him for a bout and he kept on saying that he deserves to die and he swore hundreds of poisonous oaths, saying that he would never betray me again. Yang Guo thought, Youve falling into his trap! However Luu E was in tears. Qiu Qian Chi said angrily, What? You pity that bastard? Luu E shook her head and didnt say anything. She was actually crying at her fathers cruelness and heartlessness. Qiu Qian Chi continued, I drank two cups of wine and chuckled, I then took out another passionless pill from my pockets and placed it on the table, I laughed, You might have acted a bit too fast, I was just testing what kind of person you are, if you just begged for just a little while longer I would have given two pills to you and you would have been able to save the life of that little beauty, wouldnt that have been great? Luu E quickly asked, Mother, if he actually did beg you for a little while longer, would you have given him two pills? Qiu Qian Chi thought for a while and said, I dont know. At that time, the thought of saving that ***** passed my mind, if I saved her and sent

her away, that Gong Sun Zhi would have been touched by this and might have actually come back to me, not daring to do such things again. But all he cared about was his life and he quickly killed his own lover, that cant be blamed on me. Gong Sun Zhi picked up the passionless pill and looked at it for a long while before he raised his cup and laughed, Sister Chi, thats in the past, why bring it up? Its better to kill that girl and tie things up neatly. Drink. I was slightly suspicious when he kept on telling me to drink but I was feeling great and joyous and actually became drunk. By the time I woke up, I was already down in this grotto and the tendons in my arms and legs were destroyed by him, that bastard did not have the guts to see me again. Huh, he must have thought that Id died long ago. When she finished talking about this, her eyes suddenly had a fierce light, her expression was terrifying. Yang Guo and Luu E both turned away, not daring to look her in the eye. The three of them didnt say a single word for a long, long time. Luu E took a look around and all saw that the only things in the cave were rocks, tress and grass, she said sombrely, Mother, have you been relying on these dates only for all these years? Qiu Qian Chi said, Yes. Do you think that bastard would send me food? Luu E hugged her and cried out, Mother! Yang Guo said, Has Gong Sun Zhi ever mention a exit to this grotto? Qiu Qian Chi chuckled, He has never mention that there was such a grotto and pool beneath the manor in all these years weve been married, if there was another exit, that bastard would not have put me here. He put those crocodiles in the pool afterwards, he was still afraid that that I would somehow manage to get out. Yang Guo looked around and saw that indeed there was no other way out apart from the entrance. He lifted his head and looked at the hole in the ceiling. It was at least a thousand feet off the ground, the tallest tree down there was just forty, fifty feet tall, even if twenty of them were stacked together there would not reach the ceiling. He thought for a while but couldnt come up with anything. He then said, Ill take a look from the top of the tree. He then leapt on top of the date tree and saw that there were bumps and grooves higher up the stonewalls, it wasnt like down below where it was all smooth and slippery. He then climbed up along the wall and was getting higher and higher, he was pleased and turned back to Luu E, he called out, Miss Gong Sun, if I can

get

out

Ill

let

rope

down

and

get

both

of

you

out.

He climbed up about six, seven hundred feet, with his outstanding lightness kung fu, he managed to turn all the dangers he met along the way into safety but when he was about seventy, eighty feet away from the entrance, the wall became smooth and slippery without any holdings and the wall slanted inwards, you wouldnt be able to get out unless you were a fly. Yang Guo took a look around and saw that the opening of the cave was around ten feet wide, more than enough space for someone to pass through, he had a plan and slipped back down to the bottom of the grotto and said, We can get out! But we need a long rope. He then took out the dagger and cut the bark off the date trees and tied them into a rope. Gong Sun Luu E was delighted and helped him. Although the two were quick, they had to work for over four hours until the sky got dark before they finishing forming an extremely long rope made out of tree bark. Yang Guo held the rope and tugged it a few times with force, he said, It wont snap. He then used the dagger to cut off a branch that was around fifteen feet in length and tied one end of the rope to the middle of the branch and wrapped the rope up around it. He then climbed up along the wall again until he reached the top. He then used [Thousand Kilogram Fall] in his legs to secure his footing and circulated energy into his arms, he shouted out, Get up! He threw the tree branch towards the opening of the cave. He used just the right amount of energy and when the branch came back down, it hung across the opening of the cave. Yang Guo pulled the rope to make sure the branch was secure across the opening of the cave, just two tugs after and he felt the branch was tight and secured and was able to take his weight. He called out, Im going up! He grabbed the rope and climbed up it, he looked down and saw that Luu E and her mother had become two small black images in the indistinct evening light. He used more strength in his hands and climbed up even quicker, in a short while he had reached the branch that was hanging across the opening of the cave, he bent his arm and a hu sound was heard as he flew out of the cave and landed on the ground. He took in a few deep breaths and then stood up. He saw that a bright moon had risen in the east from above the mountains. He had been trapped down in the pool and grotto for half a day, right now as he gained freedom, he felt an indescribable comfort and thought, Will I

feel no boredom at all if I stay in the tomb with Gu Gu? It is clear that the surroundings depends on ones feelings, if one wants to get out but cant theyll feel troubled in their hearts but for those who doesnt want to get out, getting out will create misery. He then lowered the rope down. As soon as Qiu Qian Chi saw Yang Guo climb out of the cave, she cursed her daughter, Stupid girl, how can you let him get out by himself? Why would he still be worried about us once he gets out? Luu E said, Mother, relax, brother Yang is not that sort of person. Qiu Qian Chi said angrily, All men are the same, what good men are there? She then turned her head towards her daughter and looked at her carefully, she said, Stupid girl, youve been taken advantage of by him havent you? Luu Es face went red and said, Mother, what are you trying to say, I dont understand. Qiu Qian Chi was even angrier and said, If you dont understand then why did you face go red? Let me tell you, when it comes to men you cannot give them one single step, you cannot be careless, cant you see what happened to your mother? Just as she was beginning to carry on non-stop, Luu E got up and caught the rope. She tied it around tightly around her mothers waist and smiled, Look, does brother Yang care about us or not? She then tugged on the rope signalling to Yang Guo that she had tied her mother up in place. Qiu Qian Chi gave a heng grunt and said, Let me tell you, once we get back up you better make sure you hold onto him tightly and dont give him an inch. Zhang fu, zhang fu (zhang fu=husband, zhang= ten feet), within ten feet they are still you husband but once outside of ten feet, theyre not your husband anymore, you understand? Your grandpa named your mother Qian Chi, a thousand (qian) feet (chi) is a hundred zhang, haha, what husband is there outside of a thousand feet? Luu E was amused but sad at the same time, she thought, Mothers thinking really is wishful, he hasnt got a place for me in his heart. Her eyes went red and she turned her head around. Qiu Qian Chi was just about to say something when she felt her waist tighten and her body lifted upwards slowly into the air. Luu E looked at her mother and although she knew that Yang Guo would immediately lower the rope to rescue her, she was alone in this grotto all by herself for the time being and started to tremble from fear. Yang Guo pulled Qiu Qian Chi out of the cave and untied the rope from her waist. He lowered the rope down for a second time. Only after

wrapping the rope around her waist did Luu E relax a little, she pulled on the rope and then felt it tighten around her waist, her body rose up into the air. She saw that the date trees on the bottom of the cave was getting smaller and smaller while the stars above her were getting brighter and brighter, just a few more tens of feet and she would be able to get out of the cave. Suddenly she heard someone shout out from the ceiling followed by the rope getting loose and her body fell straight back down. What chance is there of staying alive from dropping hundreds of feet? Luu E screamed and almost fainted, she felt her body plummeting downwards but could do nothing about it. Yang Guo was pulling Luu E up and saw that he was about to bring her up when suddenly he heard footsteps from behind him, someone had actually come to attack him from behind. He was extremely startled by this, he couldnt care about trying to turn around to fight off the attacker and just pulled the rope as quickly as possible. He heard the attacker shout out, What are you doing sneaking around here? The sound of a ferocious wind followed, an extremely long and heavy weapon was sent out towards his back. From the sounds of the weapon, Yang Guo knew it was the short man Fan Yi Weng, in this danger he could only return his left hand and push the staff away, dispersing the force of this attack. Fan Yi Weng couldnt see Yang Guos face in this darkness but knew that his opponent was highly skilled, he took back his staff and swept the staff out again towards his opponents waist; he had put all his strength behind this attack and really wanted to break his opponent into two pieces with this attack. Yang Guo was holding up Luu E along with the fairly weighty long rope with his right hand only, a little while longer and he would struggle to keep it up. When he saw the staff come towards him again, he again sent out his left palm to disperse the attack. He didnt predict that this attack of Fan Yi Wengs was so ferocious, when his left palm met the staff his whole body trembled, his right hand couldnt hold on and the rope slipped with Luu E plummeting downwards. From the screams of Luu E, one could tell that she was at the top of the grotto, Qiu Qian Chi and Yang Guo both called out. Yang Guo didnt care about defending himself against the staff and sent his left hand forward as he dipped to take the rope. But the force that Luu E was falling down with was extremely high, the weight of Luu E and the rope along with their plummeting force created a force of about a thousand kilos. Yang Guo just held the rope for a little while before the force pulled him

forwards headfirst towards the entrance of the cave. Though his martial arts were high, he couldnt make a single move right now. Qiu Qian Chis martial arts have been lost along with her tendons in her arms and legs, she could only watch anxiously by the side as the rope outside the cave became shorter and shorter, once the rope reaches its end, Yang Guo and Luu E would fall down to their tragic deaths. The end of the rope flew towards Qiu Qian Chi as the rope pulled down urgently with Yang Guo and Luu Es weight as it reached its end. Qiu Qian Chi had an idea, You evil bastard, Im going to take you with us. She made sure of her aim and struck the rope, though there wasnt much force behind the push of the rope, she managed to get the direction right and made it wrap around Fan Yi Wengs waist tightly a few times. Fan Yi Wengs felt his waist tighten and quickly used the [Thousand Kilogram Fall] to steady himself. But he had both Yang Guos and Luu Es weight to contend with along with their plummeting force, it bought him step by step closer towards the cave. Fan Yi Weng saw that just another step forward and he too would fall into the cave, under this shock he quickly held the rope with his left hand and braced himself against the cave with his right hand, he gave a shout as he used the cave for support and actually managed to hold the rope still. At that time, Luu E was just a few tens of feet off the ground, she really was a hairbreadths away from danger. The most powerful force is the force of a falling object, a little stone falling from such a height would have tremendous force in it, by the time Fan Yi Weng had exerted all his strength to oppose the falling force, his hands only had two hundred or so kilos to contend with, this was nothing to him. His right hand held the rope and he moved his left hand towards his waist to untie the rope to let his enemy fall when suddenly he felt a subtle pain on his back, a sharp object was pressed against the Spirit Stage pressure point below his sixth vertebrae, a womans voice shouted, Quickly pull them up! Damage to the Spirit Stage will lead to ruin of the veins! Fan Yi Weng was shocked, these words of damage to the Spirit Stage will lead to ruin of the veins was the exact words of warning that his master had told him when teaching him pressure point sealing martial arts, he didnt dare to go against this persons orders and just pulled Yang Guo and Luu E up with his arms. But the falling force he had just opposed was extremely ferocious, right now he felt pressure in his chest and a desire to throw up blood, he knew that he had suffer an internal injury and he shouldnt use any force but his life was under the hands of his enemy, he could only risk

his life and comply. He pulled Yang Guo up very easily and then felt his chest widen, his limbs became soft and he threw up blood violently before falling down onto the floor. The roped slipped once more as he loosened his hand. Qui Qian Chi called out, Quickly save her! Yang Guo did not need any prompts, he grabbed the rope and eventually pulled Luu E up. Luu E had fainted from shock after being dropped down and pulled up so many times. Yang Guo first sealed the Hidden Rabbit and Large Bone pressure points of Fan Yi Weng to stop his arms and legs from moving before waking Luu E up. Luu E regained consciousness slowly, when she opened her eyes she did not know where she was, under the moonlight she saw Yang Guo laughing and looking at her. She threw herself into his arms and called out, Brother Yang, are we dead? Is this the underworld? Yang Guo laughed, Yep, were both dead. Luu E noticed something was wrong with his tone, there was a hint of teasing behind it and she moved backwards to look at his face clearly but saw her mother looking at her with her expression that was neither a smile or a scowl, Luu E was embarrassed and called out, Mother! She then stood up. Yang Guo saw that although Qiu Qian Chi had lost her martial arts, she was still able to subdue Fan Yi Weng and saved his life as a result, he had much respect for her and asked, How did senior subdue that shorty? Qiu Qian Chi gave a faint smile and raised her hand; there was a sharp stone in it. She taught Gong Sun Zhis pressure point sealing techniques and Fan Yi Weng was taught by Gong Sun Zhi, the same things were passed from Qiu Qian Chi down to Fan Yi Weng with no difference in the formulae. She had placed the sharp stone on Fan Yi Wengs Spirit Stage pressure point and called out the frightening words of damage to the Spirit Stage will lead to ruin of the veins, how could Fan Yi Weng not get alarmed? But with the strength in Qiu Qian Chis hand and with such a small stone, how could she cause ruin of the veins? Yang Guos thoughts were just on the safety of Xiao Long Nuu right now, now that Luu E and Qiu Qian Chi are safe and Fan Yi Weng subdued, he said, You two wait here for a while, I need to deliver this passionless pill. Qiu Qian Chi was surprised and said, What passionless pill? Youve got a passionless pill? Yang Guo said, Yes, please take a look to see whether its the real

thing. He then took out the little jar and removed the square shaped pill from it. Qiu Qian Chi took it from him and sniffed it a few times before saying, This is it, how did it get into your hands? Since youve got the poison why havent you taken it yet? Yang Guo said, Its a long story, Ill tell senior all about it once Ive delivered the pill. He took the pill back and was about to go on his way. Luu E was sad and concerned for him, she said quietly, Brother Yang, you must avoid my father, dont let him see you. Qiu Qian Chi shouted, You still call him father! If you ever call him father again then dont call me mother. Yang Guo said, Im delivering this pill to my Gu Gu to cure her poison, valley master Gong Sun will not stop me. Luu E said, If he tries to do something evil to you again, what then? Yang Guo laughed wryly and said, Then Ill just deal with it one step at a time. Qiu Qian Chi asked, Youre going to see Gong Sun Zhi, arent you? Yang Guo said, Yes. Qiu Qian Chi said, Fine, Ill go with you, maybe Ill be able to help. All Yang Guo had wanted to do was just deliver the pill to Xiao Long Nuu, he hadnt even made a plan yet, when he heard these words of Qiu Qian Chi, his mind suddenly lit up, If that scoundrels wife is there, how can he marry Gu Gu? In his delight he suddenly thought, But there is only one passionless pill, though Ill be able to save Gu Gu, death is unavoidable for me. He became depressed as he thought about this. Luu E watched the sudden changes on his face, to delight then to distress, she then thought about her parents meeting up again and what kind of trouble that would bring, her heart was in confusion and turmoil. But Qiu Qian Chi was feeling great, she said, Luu E, quickly carry me on your back. Luu E said, Mother, you need to take a wash first and change your clothes. She was really afraid of what would happen when her parents meets up again and was just hoping to delay things as much as possible. Qiu Qian Chi said angrily, Im in rags, Im dirty all over, whos fault is this? Could it be She suddenly thought about the times when her brother Qiu Qian Zhang pretended to be her second brother Qiu Qian

Ren, he had frightened countless members of the world of wulin by doing this. Her tendons in her arms and legs have all been destroyed so even if she sees Gong Sun Zhi, how is she a match for him? How could she take revenge? The only thing she could is pretend to be her second brother and frighten Gong Sun Zhi, shell then wait for an opportunity to take his life. Luckily he has never seen her second brother before and he must have thought that she had died in the grotto long ago, he would have no suspicions. Another thought went through her mind, Weve been husband and wife for so many years, how will he not recognise me? When Yang Guo saw her troubled expression on her face, he was fairly certain of what she was thinking and said, Senior is afraid that Gong Sun Zhi will recognise you, right? Ive got something on me that may help. He took out the human skin mask and put it on, a terrifying face was now seen instead. Qiu Qian Chi was delighted and took the mask, she said, Luu E, well first go and hide in the forest behind the manor, go and get me a coarse grass linen gown and get me a large fan, dont forget. Luu E nodded and picked up her mother. Yang Guo took a look around and saw that there were on the peak of a mountain, there were luxuriant forests everywhere, he could see the stone manor faraway; it was a couple of miles away. Qiu Qian Chi sighed and said, This peak is called the Angry Ghost Peak, stories about the peak has been passed down from generation to generation in this valley saying that there are ghosts around here, no one dares to come up here, who could have thought that my return into this world would be onto this Angry Ghost Peak? Yang Guo shouted at Fan Yi Weng , What are you doing here? Fan Yi Weng showed no fear and shouted, Just kill me quickly, stop your crap. Yang Guo said, Valley master Gong Sun sent you here? Fan Yi Weng said angrily, Yes, master ordered me to scout the surroundings in case there were evil scoundrels around, master was right, there are people sneaking around who are up to no good. As he talked, he took a look at Qiu Qian Chi, he didnt who this old granny was and didnt why on earth did miss Gong Sun call her mother. Fan Yi Weng was older that the Gong Sun couple, when Gong Sun Zhi took him as a disciple, Qiu Qian Chi had already been trapped down in the grotto and because of this, he didnt recognise her but from the words of the three,

he

knew

they

were

plotting

something

against

his

master.

From his words, Qiu Qian Chi could tell that he was extremely loyal to Gong Sun Zhi, she was furious and said to Yang Guo, Quickly kill that short man, dont leave trouble for the future. Yang Guo turned around to Fan Yi Weng and saw that he had no fear, he respected the fact that he was a good man and wanted to spare him but right now he needed help from Qiu Qian Chi and couldnt disobey her so he said, Miss Gong Sun, take your mother and make your way, Ill follow immediately once Ive killed him. Gong Sun Luu E knew that her senior apprentice brother was a righteous and good man, she couldnt bear to see him die and said, Brother Yang, my senior apprentice brother is not a bad person Qiu Qian Chi shouted angrily, Go, go! You dont listen to anything I say, what use have I got with a daughter like you? Luu E didnt dare to say anything else and searched for a way down the peak. Yang Guo went to Fan Yi Weng and whispered, Brother Fan, the pressure points of your arms and legs have been sealed, they will unseal by themselves in twelve hours time. I havent got anything against you, I cant kill you. He then utilized his lightness kung fu and chased after Luu E. Fan Yi Weng had closed his eyes and was waiting for his death, there was no way that he could have predicted that Yang Guo would treat him like this, he was stunned and couldnt say anything as he opened his eyes, watching the three disappear into the darkness. Yang Guo was anxious to see Xiao Long Nuu and didnt like the slow pace of Luu E so he said, Senior Qiu, Ill carry you for a while. At first Luu E was worried about the frosty reception between Yang Guo and his mother but when she heard that he was willing to carry her, she was delighted and said, Its your turn to work a little. Qiu Qian Chi said, I carried this beautiful daughter in my womb for ten months and she became yours in just a word, dont you think that I deserve to be carried by you for a while? Yang Guo was startled but felt it was inappropriate to reply, he put her on his back and stirred his chi then shot down the mountain like an arrow from a bow. Qiu Qian Ren was named the Iron Palm Water Floater, his lightness kung fu could be as considered as the best in wulin, years ago when he was chased by Zhou Bo Tong for ten thousands of miles, he went from

the central plains straight to Xu Yu, even with Zhou Bo Tongs great martial arts he wasnt able to catch up with Qiu Qian Ren. Qiu Qian Chis martial arts were taught to her personally by her brother, before her martial arts were lost her lightness kung fu was first class, right now as she was being carried by Yang Guo she felt him move as if his feet werent touching the ground and flying along, he was running fast and steadily, she gave him much respect and was surprised, This little kids lightness kung fu is completely different to my clans but it is definitely not below that of the Iron Clans martial arts, I cannot look down on him. She had felt that her daughter was losing out in marrying this kid but since her daughter has decided, there was nothing she could do but right now she was beginning to feel this future son in law was deserving of her daughter. In a short while, Yang Guo had reached the bottom of the peak. He turned around to look for Luu E and saw that she was still somewhere around the middle. After a long while she reached the bottom of the mountain, by that time, she was breathing in sharply and her forehead was full of sweat. The three of them made their way back of the manor quietly. Luu E did not dare to go into the manor and went to a neighbouring building to borrow clothes for herself and the gown and fan that her mother wanted, she also borrowed a gown for Yang Guo. Qiu Qian Chi wore the human skin mask and put on the gown, her hand held the fan and let Yang Guo and Luu E support her as they made their way into the manor. As they made their way, the three of them were filled with thoughts. Qiu Qian Chi had not been back here for over ten years, as she returned to old ground, she felt a great release. But then she saw that grand red lanterns were hung at the door of the manor, she took a closer look and saw that the doors were decorated in celebration, drums and music could also be heard from inside the hall. All the servants were startled when they saw Qiu Qian Chi and Yang Guo but when they saw Luu E with them, they didnt dare to say anything. The three went straight into the hall and saw that it was filled with guests, most of them were the neighbours of the Narcissus manor of the Passionless Valley. Gong Sun Zhi was dressed in a grooms outfit and stood on the left. The bride was standing on the right wearing a phoenix hat and red veil, though her face was covered, one can see that she has a fine figure, this was Xiao Long Nuu.

The firelight in the courtyard flickered. Three loud noises were heard. The person leading the procession sang, The time has come, the newlyweds bows to the heaven and earth! Qi Qian Chi laughed, it made the candlelight flicker and tiles of the house to tremble, she said clearly, If the newlyweds bows to the heaven and earth, what about the wed of old? Though the tendons in her arms and legs were snapped, her internal energy was not affected. She had nothing to do in the grotto and practised bitterly night and day, her fourteen years of cultivation was superior to those whove cultivated for twenty eight years, as these words were shouted out, the ears of all the people in the room rang. The room darkened as ten or so candles went out. Everyone was shocked and all turned their heads. Gong Sun Zhi was already shocked when he heard the shouts but when he saw Yang Guo and his daughter safe and sound besides this concealed guest, he was even more startled, he shouted, Whos this guest? Qiu Qian Chi tightened her throat and chuckled, You and I have a close relationship, are you pretending that you dont know me? When she spoke these words she had submerged her chi into her dan tian, though she didnt speak loudly, the words reverberated far and wide. Mountains surrounded the passionless valley, after a while the echoes came back with repetitions of You dont know me? You dont know me? Jin Lun Fa Wang, Yin Ke Xi and Xiao Xiang Zi and the others were watching the procession by the side, when they heard Qiu Qian Chis voice, they knew that an eminent person had arrived and everyone looked at each other. Gong Sun Zhi saw this person was wearing a coarse grass linen gown and was holding a fan, the description of his brother in law Qiu Qian Ren from his wife matched this person and this persons internal energy was amazing but their face looked odd, it looked like the face of Zhou Bo Tong when he was disguising himself as Xiao Xiang Zi, there must be something awry here, he prepared himself and said coldly, I have never met this guest before so isnt this close relationship a joke? Yin Ke Xi was versed in wulin affairs, when he saw Qiu Qian Chis coarse grass linen gown and fan, his mind lit up and asked, Could it be that

Iron Palm Water Floater Qiu Qian Ren senior Qiu Lao is here? Qiu Qian Chi laughed and fluttered her fan a few times before saying, And I thought that all the people who knew this old and useless man have all died long ago, so theres one remaining. Gong Sun Zhi was unmoved and said, Are you really Qiu Qian Ren? Im afraid that its just a lying scoundrel. Qiu Qian Chi was shocked and thought, This bastard is clever, how does he know that Im not my brother? She couldnt see how he saw through her and just chuckled, not replying. Yang Guo ignored the games of couple and dashed over to Xiao Long Nuu. He held the passionless pill in his right hand and lifted the veil across her face with his left hand, he said, Gu Gu, open your mouth. Xiao Long Nuus heart skipped a beat when she saw Yang Guo again, her shock and delight amassed together at once, she said, You you are indeed better. She knew that Gong Sun Zhi was an evil and cruel man, she only agreed to marry him because she wanted to save Yang Guos life, when Yang Guo suddenly appeared in front of her again, she thought that Gong Sun Zhi had kept to his word and cured his poison. Yang Guo placed the pill in her hand and said, Quickly swallow! Xiao Long Nuu did not know what it was but did as she was told. After a short while, she felt a cool air penetrating through her dan tian. The hall broke out in chaos, when Gong Sun Zhi saw that Yang Guo had come here again to cause trouble, he wanted to go up and stop him but he was worried about the concealed strange guest, he didnt whether or not that person really was his brother in law Iron Palm Water Floater Qiu Qian Ren and didnt dare to make a move for the time being. Yang Guo tore up Xiao Long Nuus phoenix hat and red veil then pulled her to the side and said, Gu Gu, that scoundrel valley master is going to suffer, lets watch. Xiao Long Nuu was confused and just lent on Yang Guo, she didnt know what to say. Ma Guang Zuo felt unspeakable delight when he saw Yang Guo suddenly appearing here again, he went to him and kept on asking questions, the thought of him disturbing the two never entered his mind. Yin Ke Xi had heard that twenty years ago, Qiu Qian Ren shook the world of wulin and was extremely famous, just know he heard the laugh

and shout which echoed throughout the valley, his internal energy was extremely high and he wanted to meet him so he stepped forward and bowed, saying, Today is valley master Gong Suns day of celebration, has senior Qiu Lao come for the celebrations as well? Qiu Qian Chi pointed to Gong Sun Zhi and said, Do you know who that person is to me? Yin Ke Xi said, I dont know but I would like to know. Qiu Qian Chi said, You need to ask him yourself. Gong Sun Chi asked again, Are you really the Iron Palm Water Floater? Thats strange! He clapped his hands and said to a disciple in green, Go to the library and bring the box from the shelf on the eastern side to me. Luu E did not know what to do and just pulled a chair over for her mother to sit down in. Gong Sun Zhi was surprised, How come she and that Yang punk is still alive after falling into the crocodile pool? In a short while, the disciple returned with the box and handed it over to Gong Sun Zhi. Gong Sun Zhi opened it and took out a letter. He said frostily, Years ago, I received a letter from Qiu Qian Ren. If you really are Qiu Qian Ren then this letter is a fake. Qiu Qian Chi was shocked and thought, Ever since brother and I argued, weve never contacted each other, why did he sent a letter to me all of a sudden? Whats in the letter? She then said loudly, When did I write a letter to you? That really is a load of bull. When Gong Sun Zhi heard her accent, he suddenly remembered someone, he was shocked and his back broke out in a cold sweat but immediately thought, It cant be, it cant be, she died long ago in that grotto, shes just a pile of bones now. But who exactly is this person? He opened the letter and read it out loud: To Brother Zhi and Sister Chi:

Ever since first brother died under the hands of Guo Jing and Huang Rong on Iron Palm Peak When Qiu Qian Chi heard this line she was filled with hurt and sorrow, she shouted, What? Who said my brother is dead? The sibling love between her and Qiu Qian Zhang was extremely deep, when she heard news of his death her whole body shook and her voice changed. Originally she had submerged her chi into her dan tian and it was difficult to distinguish whether her voice was a males or females

but right now as her feelings were bought up, the words who said my brother is dead were said with a female voice. Gong Sun Zhi heard that the person in front of him had a female voice and said my brother, he was shocked even further but now he was certain that this person in front of him is definitely not Qiu Qian Ren, he continued reading: this stupid brother has been extremely shameful of not holding our sibling relationship together and create this hostility between us, all the blame is on this stupid brother. I pondered in the middle of the night and realized all the countless evil deeds I have done. At the second mount Wah tournament, reverend Yi Deng enlightened this stupid brother, I dropped my knife of slaughter and followed the ways of Buddha. I have just begun my studies, apart from Buddhas teachings my mind is always on the joyous days of the past with brother and sister. I wish to make up for the things Ive done before its too late. Fate is a hard thing to judge. From monk Ci En.

Qiu Qian Chi had been sobbing during all this time, by the time Gong Sun Zhi finished reading the letter she could hold it in no longer and cried out, Big brother, second brother, you need to know that suffering Ive been through. She took off the mask and shouted, Gong Sun Zhi, do you remember me? This sentence was shouted out sternly, another seven, eight candles in the hall blew out while the ones that stayed alight flickered about. In the gloomy candlelight, an old woman with a long face and wretched expression suddenly appeared, everyone trembled in fear and no one dared to say anything. The hall was silent and everyones heart was pounding. Suddenly, an old servant who was standing in the corner threw himself forward and called out, Matron, matron, youre not dead. Qiu Qian Chi nodded and said, Second uncle Zhang, you remember me. This old servant was extremely loyal, when he saw his matron alive and well, he was delighted and kept on kowtowing, calling out, Matron, this really is something to rejoice. Apart from Jin Lun Fa Wang and the others, all the guests were residents of the valley, most of the people over thirty, forty years of age could remember who she was and they all rushed forward with their

questions. Gong Sun Zhi shouted loudly, Stand back! The crowd was alarmed and moved back. They saw him pointing to Qiu Qian Chi, shouting out, *****, why have you returned? Youve actually still got the face to see me? Luu E had been hoping that his father would admit his mistakes and get back together with her mother but her father came out with this, she was emotional and rushed to her father, she knelt down on the floor and called out, Father! Mothers not dead, mothers not dead. Quickly apologise and ask for her forgiveness. Gong Sun Zhi chuckled, Ask her for forgiveness? What have I done wrong? Luu E said, You trapped mother down that grotto and let her stay down there to suffer for over ten years. Father, how can you that to her? Gong Sun Zhi chuckled, It was she who first harmed me, do you know that? She pushed me in the flower thicket and let me endure the suffering of the piercing of thousands and thousands of thorns, do you know that? She placed the antidote in frosty arsenic water, putting me in a situation where if I took it Ill die, if I dont Ill still die, do you know that? She even forced me to to kill my lover, do you know that? Luu E cried, I know that, it was Rou Er. Gong Sun Zhi has not heard this name for over ten years, his face changed as he heard it and he faced the sky, mumbling, Yes, it was Rou Er, it was Rou Er! He pointed to Qiu Qian Zhi and said with revulsion, It was that evil and cruel ***** who forced me to kill Rou Er! His face was becoming more and more mournful, he lightly called out, Rou Er Rou Er Yang Guo felt that sinful couple were not good people, he was poisoned himself and had only a few days to live, he just hoped that he could spend these few days with Xiao Long Nuu in peace, he didnt care about which one of the Gong Sun couple was wrong or right, he lightly tugged on Xiao Long Nuus sleeve and whispered, Lets go. Xiao Long Nuu said, Is that woman really his wife? Was she really trapped down in a cave by her husband for over ten years? She could not believe that such an evil person could exist. Yang Guo said, That couple is taking revenge on each other. Xiao Long Nuu thought for a while and whispered, I dont understand

this, could it be that she was the same as me and forced into marrying him? In her thoughts, if two people arent forced into marriage then theyll be loving and compassionate towards each other, how could they harm each other? Yang Guo shook his head and said, There are many bad people in the world while theres only a few whos good, the thoughts of these people are hard to fathom Suddenly Gong Sun Zhi shouted out, Move! His right leg lifted up and Luu Es body flew away, she was kicked away by her father. Her body was flying straight towards Qiu Qian Chis upper body. Qiu Qian Chi could not move her arms and legs, she could only lower her head to avoid her but Luu E was coming in too fast, a peng sound was heard as she crashed into the shoulders of her mother. Qiu Qian Chi fell backwards with the chair, her baldhead crashing into the stone pillar behind. Blood stained the stone pillar and she couldnt crawl back up. After being kicked by her father, Luu E was on the floor as well, lying unconscious. End of Chapter 19

Chapter A Heros

20 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 youve already got a wife, why do you still want to marry me? Even if I married you, wont you treat me just as you treated her? Those three sentences were asked fervently, Gong Sun Zhis tongue was tied and couldnt reply. Ma Guang Zuo couldnt 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 didnt 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 cant 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 wouldnt 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 its 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? Shes been poisoned by the passion flowers and you know that there isnt an antidote to cure her yet you dont tell her, is that good intent? Xiao Long Nuu was shocked and quivered, Is this true? Yang Guo said, Dont worry, youve already taken the antidote. He then gave a smile that was filled with grief along with joy, he thought, Ive given the antidote to you, Im 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! Well 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 dont 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 brides gown, it was the Gentlemen and Lady swords. Though she wasnt 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 doesnt 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 werent 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 well kill that man to take revenge for me. Xiao Long Nuus Lady sword trembled and she said surprised, Take revenge for you? Yang Guo was filled with sadness in his heart but he couldnt tell her about this, he just said, This bastard has harmed many people. His flipped his sword and went for Gong Sun Zhis left side. He knew that this battle was extremely dangerous, though Xiao Long Nuus 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 wasnt vicious and fierce like the opponents, 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 Zhis back. Gong Sun Zhi was furious, he thought, This beautiful girl was going to be my wife and now shes joined an outsider to attack me. He continued thinking, This evil ***** coming back here suddenly and revealing all the things Ive done has caused me to lose all my respect and face, not only cant I force sister Liu to marry me, it looks I wont be able to keep my position here in the valley. Though todays 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 didnt know that Xiao Long Nuus 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 arent 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 Zhis attack. Yang Guo said, I cant 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 Zhis black sword. Xiao Long Nuu was extremely sorry and said, Dont be angry, I wont say anything anymore. Her mind suddenly lit up, My poison has been cured but his hasnt! He got the antidote but he didnt 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 didnt dare to glance over at her and so she was completely unprotected and exposed to the enemys attack. Gong Sun Zhis eyes were very sharp, he discovered the weakness in just a few stances but he didnt want to harm a single hair of Xiao Long Nuus 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 Zhis 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 couldnt 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 didnt 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. Itll 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 opponents 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 opponents 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 Zhis 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 Im 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 didnt care what would happen and dashed towards the back of the opponents. Gong Sun Zhi used his sabre to cut backwards. Qiu Qian Chi called out, Pierce his forehead. Yang Guo thought, Ive just turned towards his back and now youre telling me to pierce his forehead? It was an urgent situation and he didnt give it much thought, he turned back towards the enemys front and he was just about to pierce his enemys 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, isnt mother helping father instead? She kept her thoughts to herself but Ma Guang Zuo couldnt contain himself and shouted out, Brother Yang, dont 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 Zhis right side was uncovered. Yang Guo sent his sword towards Gong Sun Zhis right side and a chi sound was heard as it the sword cut through his gown, piercing about an inch into Gong Sun Zhis 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 lifetimes use. But to force a flaw from Gong Sun Zhi requires not only for ones 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 Zhis back, front and sides urgently. Over twenty stances later, Gong Sun Zhis leg was cut. Though this cut wasnt deep, it was wide, at least five, six inches long. Gong Sun Zhi thought, The two of them are guarding each other, I cant hurt the one named Yang, if this continues on with the old hag giving advice, Ill die under this bastards sword. Years ago, in order to save his own life he killed his own lover, it was now getting desperate and he couldnt care about Xiao Long Nuu anymore, he motioned his black sword and swiped his sabre, slashing towards Xiao Long Nuus 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 Zhis waist. Suddenly Xiao Long Nuu called out, her right arm was cut and the Lady sword fell onto the floor. Gong Sun Zhis black sword slanted across and blocked Yang Guos sword. Yang Guo was extremely shocked and quickly called out, Move back, Ill take him by myself. His love and care for her was stirred and his chest broke out in an aching pain again. Xiao Long Nuus 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? Im just helping you defeat your enemy, whos trying to help you to rescue someone? Haha, whats her life got to do with me? Its better if she dies! Yang Guo said angrily, You and your husband are a perfect match, there isnt an ounce of goodness in either of your hearts! Qiu Qian Chi just chuckled, she didnt 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 wasnt 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 opponents 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 Zhis 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 hell 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 Guos 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, Its 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 ones 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 Zhis mind lit up, That monk is trying to help me. He didnt think about what the monk wanted but concentrated on the first line of the verse, Bowing to and revering ones 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 swords 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 didnt 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 Zhis 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 Guos 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 wasnt 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 Guos was still good enough to allow him to regain the upper hand, he motioned his sword forwards and used Huang Yao Shis [Jade Flute Swordplay]. The [Divine Release of the Flicking Finger] and [Jade Flute Swordplay] both concentrated on attacking the opponents pressure points. When they were used together, it was ingenious and subtle and even though Yang Guos mastery of these skills werent 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 Zhis 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 couldnt aid Gong Sun Zhi. Gong Sun Zhis family art the [Yin Yang Twin Blades] were inspected thoroughly by Qiu Qian Chi and then subsequently improved by her, all

of Gong Sun Zhis 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 opponents 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 Zhis 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 werent for Qiu Qian Chis 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 couldnt 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 didnt want Yang Guo to lose but she couldnt bear to see her father get hurt so she whispered to Qiu Qian Chi, Mother, tell them to stop. Well 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 wont 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 wouldnt have any good intentions for him. This bowl of tea wasnt 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 didnt 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 therell 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, Ill have that bowl! He took Yang Guos bowl from his hand. Yang Guo laughed, It was your daughter who poured the tea, dont tell me you think theres poison in them? Yang Guo took the other bowl of tea and drank it in one go. Gong Sun Zhi looked at her daughters 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, Ive 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, Theres no need for a break,

continue. Huh, if it werent 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 theyll taste meat by accident and so passed a strict order in the valley; no one can eat meat. Though others didnt 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, its not worth practising. Fire erupted in Gong Sun Zhis 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 Zhis martial arts had improved greatly and even if she had made a sneak attack, he would be able to avoid them. Once hes 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 worlds greatest projectiles. If it werent for Luu E dashing forward and blocking her view, not only would both eyes of Gong Sun Zhis be blinded, the pressure point between his eyes would have also been struck which would have immediately sent him to his death. Luu E couldnt 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, dont 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 fathers 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 couldnt 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, youve all come here for a celebratory drink, wont everyones mood being ruined if we dont 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 others hands, holding it tightly. The twos 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, well be leaving now. He knew that he didnt have long to live and so he didnt say things like see you again. Luu E returned the greeting and kept silent in misery.

Qiu Qian Chis face was filled with anger and she shouted, Ive betrothed my only daughter to you and you dare to not call me mother in law? And youre leaving just like that? Yang Guo was startled and thought, Though youve betrothed your daughter to me, I didnt say that I accepted. Qiu Qian Chi said, Weve got everything here, decorations, candles and guests. Were martial artists, well 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 Nuus 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 Laos 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 Chis 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, Ill 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 Ive said? The one named Yang, my daughter is beautiful and shes more than worthy of you but even if she was an ugly troll, Im still going to make you marry her today. When Ma Guang Zuo heard how unreasonable she was he couldnt 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 dont 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 didnt 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, youre 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, Youve decided to not marry my daughter, right? Gong Sun Luu E couldnt 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 Ill 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 Nuus 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, its 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 wouldnt 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 dont want my daughter but dont tell me that you dont want your life as well? Yang Guo gave a bitter laugh and retreated another step, stepping out of the hall. Xiao Long Nuus 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 hasnt mentioned this yet but in this urgent situation she could no longer care about her embarrassment and turned herself around, saying, Mother, if it werent 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 worlds 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, Id rather die than marry him. Those words rang in Qiu Qian Chis 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, hes there to see through him and alert Qiu Qian Chi of his tricks. Qiu Qian Chis eyes swept across all the guests slowly and then said, Yang Guo, amongst the people here they are those who wishes that youll 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 Nuus waist and said with a clear voice, If either of us cant marry each other then wed 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 dont 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 well be extremely touched. If you refuse, weve still got thirty six days together, thats fine as well! In any case, if he dies, I wont 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 couldnt 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, well go and find uncle, he misses you, doesnt he? Qiu Qian Chis tears stirred her compassion but then she immediately thought about the words in her brother Qiu Qian Rens 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 brothers death can never be avenged? Yang Guos martial arts werent 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 doesnt 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 havent 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 dont 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 werent worried about life and death but since theres a way to live for them, of course theyll be happy to take this chance and both said at the same time, Well do our best to fulfil seniors 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 hes lost an eye and his [Closure of the Pressure Point] has been destroyed, it wont be hard to kill him even though he still has his other martial arts remaining. But he was Gong Sun Luu Es father, this girl loves Yang Guo deeply, killing her father might cause great distress for her and he couldnt 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 Chis expression, if she doesnt 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 dont 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 didnt 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, Didnt 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, Thats great. These two people killed my father, even if senior Qiu Lao didnt ask Ill still kill them. Qiu Qian Chis 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 Ive avenged my father Ill 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 dont 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 dont need anyone to tell you. Yang Guo thought, Its 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. Youve 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 Ill 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 Chis word is as solid as rock, Ive never taken back what Ive said. To all the guests, please leave at your own accord. Master Yang, miss Long, well 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 hes 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 couldnt 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 hes 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 Nuus hand and the two walked up to a locust tree. He said, Gu Gu Xiao Long Nuu lent on him and smiled, I dont 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, its 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 Guos soul

was completely enchanted as he smelt the fragrance of Xiao Long Nuus scent mixed up with the fragrance of the surrounding flowers and trees, he seemingly lost himself and said softly, Lets just live like this happily for the next eighteen days, we dont 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, Well do whatever you say. Before, I wanted you to listen to me but from now, Ill 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 dont 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 weve only got eighteen days, how is that enough? Yang Guo patted her shoulder lightly and said softly, Yes, its 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, well 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 dont 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 didnt 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. Hes meant to be a great master of this generation yet he repays kindness with ingratitude. Xiao Long Nuu saw the fiery anger in Yang Guos 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, lets leave. Theres nothing around here in these wild mountains, no wine, no meat, its 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, Ill be there in a second. Ma Guang Zuo said, Fine, just hurry up when youve 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 Guos poison would react in eighteen days. When Ma Guang Zuo heard this he couldnt stop himself from getting angry and grabbed hold of Fa Wangs sleeve, cursing him, Bald scoundrel, you really are evil! We came here together with brother Yang, you should have helped him but you didnt 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, Im 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 Wangs fist but this fist of Fa Wangs 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 wasnt 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 Wangs 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 wasnt 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 bastards 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, Reverends martial arts are indeed excellent, you are worthy of the title of the First Protector of Mongolia. Fa Wang said, Youre 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 wasnt 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 Wangs head. With Fa Wangs abilities, this sneaky attack of Ma Guang Zuos 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 Wangs 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 well all attack you at once. Fa Wang laughed and threw Ma Guang Zuo to the ground before saying, Do you think Ill 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, Whos first? Yin Ke Xi laughed, Im just a merchant, Ill just watch by the side and watch everyone test out each others skills. Fa Wang thought, Thats 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 cant beat Fa Wang he wouldnt lose to him so he went over to the side and casually grabbed hold of a large rock. He shouted, Fine, Ill test out your two circular things. He picked up the large rock and smashed towards Fa Wangs 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 didnt 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 Wangs left arm felt slightly numb and he thought, This dark dwarfs 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 Xings body. Yang Guo helped Ma Guang Zuo up and then stood next to Xiao Long Nuu. Both were surprised with Ni Mo Xings 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 didnt 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 Im going to lose to this dark dwarf, I need to think of something else. Luckily hes 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 wont 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 Nis martial arts has its good points, a rare sight, a rare sight. Ni Mo Xings eyes glared at him and said, I thought the First Protector of Mongolia would be someone extraordinary, but youre just bah! Fa Wang was furious and thought, Do you really think I cant beat you? He was just about to say something when Khubilai laughed, This place has everything, but wheres the wine? Men, bring wine! Well 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, Theres 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, Whos 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 worlds 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 werent as strict as Hans when it comes to adhering to custom and traditions, when Khubilai heard this he wasnt 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,

lets 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 cant 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 weve 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 whos guarding Xiang Yang is just a mediocre general, the person Im worried about is Guo Jing. Yang Guos heart trembled and asked, Is Guo Jing really at Xiang Yang? Khubilai said, This Guo Jing is my senior, he was my fathers sworn brother and was my grandfather Genghis Khans 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 Songs 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. Fathers 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 doesnt 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, theyll be famous throughout the world, achieving their lifes 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 worlds heroes bar none will be in awe of them. Everyones 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 Ive kill Guo Jing and Huang Rong Im 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 Khubilais 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 Khubilais 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 didnt 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, isnt 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 watchmans 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 hes 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 sergeants 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, cant think of a translation right now), its 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 its me. Guo Jing said, Fine, Im 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 Duos 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 didnt 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 dont quickly retreat then well 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 couldnt 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. Khubilais face turned heavy and shouted, Execute him! E Er Dou called out, Please, Im 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 Duos 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, Ive killed him yet Im 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, shouldnt 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, shouldnt he be rewarded? All of the generals bowed to him. But after this event, the Mongolian armys 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 couldnt 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 Jings 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 Jings 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 Ive 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. Theres 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 citys 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 Ill get the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia if I succeed in killing Guo Jing, theyll 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 fathers 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 cant 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 youve decided like this, I cant 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, Ive 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 its 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 brothers 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 Jings 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 Guos hand and smiled, Guo Er, youve come here just in time. The Mongols are attacking us urgently at the moment and you can help me now that youre here, the citizens of the city are very fortunate. Xiao Long Nuu was Yang Guos 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 Guos left hand. When Yang Guo thought about that act that that his fathers 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 Jings martial arts were and so he didnt 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 hasnt 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 shes 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 Guos 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 didnt know why Guo Jing would treat this young man with so much respect that he would actually reject the generals 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 Guos and Xiao Long Nuus 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 werent 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 arent you thanking him? Guo Fu stood up and said, Thank you brother Yang for saving me. Yang Guo said, Were not strangers, why is there a need to say thanks? Guo Fu didnt say anything and sat down. During the meal, Guo Fus 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 oclock. 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 Ya 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 Songs empire is in great danger. Xiang Yang is a barrier into our Songs 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 ones 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 couldnt 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 heros 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 fathers murderer, Yang Guo couldnt help but give his respect to him and replied, Uncle Guo, after youve 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 Guos 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, theres definitely going to be a great battle in the upcoming days. Theres going to be a spectacular battle. Its getting late, lets go to sleep. Yang Guo replied, Yes. He undressed himself for bed and hid the dagger from the Passionless Valley on him. He thought, Ill wait until youre 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 Jings 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, Ill kill him first and then go kill Huang Rong. Shes a pregnant woman, what can she do? Once Ive killed them, Ill immediately go back to the Passionless Valley with Gu Gu to get the other half of the antidote. Once Ive 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 Songs or Mongols? 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 Guos 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, wont 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 dont 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 dont 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 Jings 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 Jings 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 couldnt 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 wont 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 didnt teach me martial arts? Could it be that the reason why uncle Guo treats me so well is because hes 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 Guos breathing was quickening and he opened his eyes. He asked, Guo Er, what is it? Yang Guo trembled a little and said, Its nothing.

Guo Jing laughed, If youre not used to sleeping with someone then Ill go and sleep on the table. Yang Guo said quickly, No, its 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 ones fault but his that he died like that. Yang Guo sat up, he was extremely emotional and said, Youre 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 dont you think I would have avenged his death? Yang Guo shook all over and he wanted to say, Youre 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 fathers 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 wouldnt be able to understand all the causes behind all this and this is why I didnt tell you then. You can distinguish between right and wrong now that youve grown up, once weve made

the Mongols retreat, Ill 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 wasnt 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 youre 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, Im 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

Chapter Fierce Fighting at Xiang

21 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 didnt 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, Whats 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 Ers conversation. Hes up to no good, do you know that? Guo Jing was startled and asked, Hes up to no good? Huang Rong replied, I could tell from his words that hes been suspicious of you killing his father a long time ago. Guo Jing said, He may be suspicious but Ive promised that Ill tell him all about the reasons of his fathers death in detail. Huang Rong said, Are you really going to tell him everything? Guo Jing said, I have always blamed myself for his fathers 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 couldnt stop himself from giving a long sigh. Huang Rong said, Brother Zhu sent Fu Er to tell me that theres 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. Its better not to sleep in the same room as him. You need to know that peoples 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 cant 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 didnt kill him with our own hands but theres not much difference. Guo Jing thought deeply for a while and said, Youre right. I wont tell him about this. Rong Er, youve been up for half the night, quickly go back to your room and rest. After tonight, Ill move to the camp. He knew that his wifes wisdom exceeds his a hundred times and although he didnt 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 whats 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 thats great to see in this young man but he has two clouds hanging over him;

one is the reasons for his fathers 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 twos expression, it looks like theyll never be separated ever again. Guo Jing kept silent for a while and then suddenly said, Rong Er, youre 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 dont even know what to do about our daughter let along Guo Er. Brother Jing, I just have you in me heart and you have just me in yours. But our daughter isnt 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 hasnt 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 husbands hand and brushed it gently across her cheeks. She whispered, Brother Jing, you name our second child. Guo Jing laughed, You know Im not good at that, why are you making fun of me? Huang Rong said, You still say that youre not able. Brother Jing, theres no one in the world thats 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 its a boy, well call him Guo Po Lu, what if its a girl? He thought for a while and shook his head saying, I cant 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 Jins have been destroyed but now the Mongolians are threatening us. This child is going to be born in Xiang Yang, well call her Guo Xiang so in the future shell 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. Shes grown up now and she still make us worry about her. Huang Rong smiled lightly and said, It doesnt 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 Guos will have a heir. Guo Jing stroked her hair and said, Arent a boy and girl the same? Just go to bed, dont 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, Theres no more doubts, my father died because of them two. That Huang Rong is really wily, shes already suspicious of me. If I dont make my move today then I dont think Ill 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 Guos 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. Theres something wrong with his breathing, could it be that when hes practising his internal energy he circulated it in the wrong way? This isnt 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 Jings 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 didnt 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 Guos 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 hes 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, Ive 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, its extremely dangerous to breathe in so quickly and deeply like this. He quickly placed his palm against Yang Guos lower abdomen. Yang Guos dan tian was suppressed by Guo Jings profound internal energy and he couldnt call out. He was concerned for Xiao Long Nuus safety and struggled until his face went red but with his dan tian suppressed, he couldnt 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, Ill help return your chi back to their original sources. Yang Guo was startled and didnt 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 Ive 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 Guos 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 hours 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 didnt know that your internal energy has reached such a good level already, even I almost couldnt 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 didnt know about this, otherwise wouldnt 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, well take a look at the citys 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 sects and schools martial arts but when it comes to internal energy it would be advisable to practise Xuan Men martial arts. Well study this together once the enemy has retreated. Yang Guo said, Dont tell auntie Guo about me fire deviating last night. If she finds out shell laugh at me for learning Long Gu Gus unorthodox

martial arts and blame me for making uncle Guo suffer a bout. Guo Jing said, Of course I wont say. Miss Longs martial arts arent unorthodox, its just that you werent concentrating and didnt 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 Shus life in the process. When he talked about this, he couldnt stop himself from thinking about Yang Guos 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 Guos 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 werent 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 whos good? Your words really are brash, you dont 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. Theyre 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 Fus 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 its all because of his worry for his nation and people. Yang Guo said, You said, a heros 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 Yangs 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 cant 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 didnt 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 arent 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 arent 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, Dont shot arrows up there, were 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 werent, 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 cant 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 Guos heart trembled, You cant 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 whats 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 couldnt 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 cant 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 didnt want to kill good people wrongly. He doesnt 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 isnt 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 couldnt 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 Guos 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, dont 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 cant 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 Lius 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 wont 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 Jings took him over ten feet; Guo Jings 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 Jings 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 Guos heart. In the short space of time that Guo Jing climbed up, dropped down, climbed up and dropped down again, Yang Guos 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 Guos mind was in confusion. Suddenly, he grabbed the severed rope in Zhu Zi Lius hand with his left hand and leapt down the city walls towards Guo Jing, grabbing Guo Jings 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 wouldnt it mean he has lost out in this exchange if he doesnt 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 Wangs arrow. The arrows collided in midair and Fa Wangs 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 Jings and Fa Wangs martial arts were within a hairbreadths of each other, Guo Jings 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 Wangs arrow, the second snapped Fa Wangs bow and the third was fired out towards Khubilais flag. Khubilais 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 armys morale had lowered after Guo Jings 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 didnt rush and those who were at the back showed no fear, he couldnt 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 werent 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 its 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 didnt agree but he didnt 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 didnt 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, youve just exerted a fierce force, does your chest hurt? Guo Jing was worried that by using unrestrained force, Yang Guos 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, Im fine, Im 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 isnt 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 havent practised it for years, Im a little rusty with it and that was why I ran into a bit of trouble. In actual fact, if he hadnt 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 Wangs interference. Naturally, he didnt 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 Ill 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, Im not feeling well tonight, stay with me. Guo Jing nodded and said to Yang Guo, Guo Er, youre 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 girls voice said, Youre 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, whats 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 havent got much time left. Yang Guo quickly whispered into her ear, The walls have ears here, dont 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 doesnt 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 girls voice said, If youre 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, dont you think I dont know that youve 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 youve 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 youve made your mind up then forgot everything Ive said

before. Ill go somewhere faraway by myself, Im not going to see Yang Guo, Im 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? Whats it got to do with me? If my parents betroth me to him Id rather die then agree to it. If father forces me then Ill 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 hes some kind of treasure whereas I think that hes 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 wont 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 Fus 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, Itll 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? Im not going to marry Yang Guo, and Im not going to marry you, you little monkey. Wu Xiu Wen said, Fine, fine. Finally youve admitted it. You dont 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 couldnt finish his sentence. Guo Fus voice suddenly became gentle and tender as she said, Little brother Wu, youve told me a thousands times, a million times how you feel about me, I already know. Though you brother hasnt 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. Dont 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 Wens 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. Youre trying to force me to make a clear choice now, if you were me, what should I say? Wu Xiu Wen said, I dont know. All I know is if you marry someone else, life would not be worth living. Guo Fu said, Lets stop talking about this. Father fought with his life against the enemy today while were talking about some trivial stuff here in the garden, if father founds out about this then well both be in trouble. Little brother Wu, let me tell you, if you want to please my parents then why dont you try to stand out, achieve some great deeds in battle? Wont my parents look down on you if you keep on hanging around me? Wu Xiu Wen leapt up and said loudly, Youre right, Ill 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, wouldnt 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 Fus 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 couldnt stop themselves from smiling at each other and

comparing themselves with them: one was madly in love with the other while the other didnt 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 didnt turn around even once. She thought, Wouldnt 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 dont 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, Ill 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 others 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 Yangs 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 Wus 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 Fus 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 didnt notice anything. The two Wu brothers did not say anything to me. Its 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. Itll 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 dont 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 couldnt 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 Guos 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 Guos 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 isnt guaranteed that theyll 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 cant kill him with my own hands, Ill just let Fa Wang and the others to do it for me, wouldnt 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, youve been clever all your life but today you lose out to me. He said, Well 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 dont need to worry, with Guo Er and miss Long, even if it was a dragons lagoon or a tigers lair, well still be able to return safely.

He

straightened

his

gown

and

said,

Well

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 wont be able to do anything. If I insist of having Gu Gu with her, she will be even more suspicious. He didnt say anything about this. But Guo Jing said, Miss Longs 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, Im so dumb. Guo Er, lets go. Yang Guo said, Allow me to tell my Gu Gu. Huang Rong said, Ill tell her in a minute, you two are just going to the camp for half a day, its 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 hell 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 couldnt 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 Khans 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 Wus in. The attendant did as he was told and pushed Wu Dun Ru and Wu Xiu Wen into the tent. The twos hand and legs were tied tightly with cowhide. The restraints between their legs were just a foot long so the two couldnt make their normal strides. They could only struggle slowly forwards. The twos 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 twos 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 youve suffered is nothing. Khubilai pretended to scold his attendants and said, I ordered you to look after these two master Wus 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 couldnt untie it. Guo

Jing left his seat and took the ends of Wu Dun Rus restraints. He pulled outwards lightly and the restraints snapped. He then did the same with Wu Xiu Wens restraints. Guo Jings 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 Wus. Guo Jing thought, Todays not going to be plain sailing, somethings going to happen soon. If the Wus dont leave now, Im 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 Im going to stay here for a while and talk with an old friends son, Ill 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 couldnt 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 didnt 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 dont 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 Guos mind. Guo Jing said with a serious expression, Youre 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. Theres 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 Guos 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 youve 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 twos lowly abilities, what chance have they got in succeeding in this task? Their failure is not important, its 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, Ive heard that Guo Jing is a honest and simple person whos 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 couldnt stop himself from admiring Guo Jing when he saw Guo Jings 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 Songs are in disarray. You have a king who is blind to the peoples 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. Im 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 Khubilais 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, Its the people of the land thats 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 Guos, both have the same heroic view. Come, lets 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 everyones 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 armys 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 Khubilais 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 fathers, on account of the past, how about we stop talking matters about the country? Guo Jing saluted with his hands and said, Tuo Lies 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 Guos 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, Well 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 wasnt 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, Youre Guo Jing? You injured many of my brothers at Xiang Yang and youve 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 Jings 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 didnt know whether to go again or just leave it at that. Guo Jing said to Yang Guo, Lets 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 Guos 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

Wangs 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 Jings 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 Zis martial arts was high and his weapon strange, hell 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 Xis golden whip. Yin Ke Xi wanted to use his whip to attack his opponent but it had already been grabbed. He followed the opponents 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 Jings arms were crossed over as his right hand held onto the whip in Yin Ke Xis right hand and his left hand held onto the Yin Ke Xis 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 Wangs wheels and Xiao Xiang Zis 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 werent 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 couldnt see anything special about it. Ni Mo Xings 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 weapons movements. One couldnt 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 Xings 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 Fengs snake staff, the staff was like a real snake and it had venomous poison with it. Even if Ni Mo Xings 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 Jings 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 Jings palms, Jin Lun Fa Wangs wheels, Xiao Xiang Zis short rod and Ni Mo Xings 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 Zuos 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 hell 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 Jings. If he makes a fierce attack blindly and meets up with the worlds most yang and unyielding [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palm] of Guo Jing head on, what chance has he got of living? Even if he doesnt 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 youre 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 Guos. Yang Guo waited until he had retreated back a few steps before quietly saying, Brother Ma, do you know that Ive just saved your life? Ma Guang Zuo said loudly, What? Yang Guo said quietly, Keep your voice down, dont let the others hear. Ma Guang Zuo said with his eyes wide opened, Why? Im 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, dont 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 hes able to chop someones head off. Its better if you run away as far as possible. Ma Guang Zuos 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 Jings 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, isnt that strange? That merchants 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 didnt give me a charm as well. Well sort him out afterwards. Ma Guang Zuo said loudly, You right. What should we do? Yang Guo said, Well watch by the side, the further away the better. Ma Guang Zuo said, Brother Yang, youre 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 didnt know that the manual was this extraordinary. He followed Guo Jings 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 Wangs martial arts and Guo Jings 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 wouldnt have been difficult to gain victory over Guo Jing but Guo Jings [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms] were too powerful and along with his palm technique, he was using Quan Zhens [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 Wangs wheel gradually increased. The force of the attacks from Ni Mo Xings iron snake was increasing as well. Guo Jing was getting anxious and thought, If this continues, I wont be able to hold them off. Guo Er is over fighting with that giant. That giants 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 Jings 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 doesnt 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 Jings 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 Zis 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 Jings 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 Xings chest, Ni Mo Xings 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

ball.

Guo Jing saw his chance to escape and called out, Guo Er, lets go! He leapt out into the open plains. Fa Wang flew after him. Guo Jings 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 Jings 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 Wangs right shoulder and the other for Fa Wangs 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 worlds men after him.

In this urgent situation, he suddenly called out, Oh no, Im feel like as if Im dying! He wobbled a bit as if he was about to fall down onto the ground. He then whispered to Ma Guang Zuo, Dont 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 Guos words and although he didnt understand what he meant by this, he ran away towards the royal tent. When Guo Jing heard Yang Guos call, he was indeed worried. He didnt 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, whats 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 its being cut up by knives. This was a completely believable lie; Guo Jing could tell that Ma Guang Zuos 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 somethings 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, Ill carry you out of here. Yang Guo said with a false pretence, Uncle Guo, quickly go, my life isnt worth anything but Xiang Yangs 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, dont 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 camps 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. Khubilais bodyguards were alarmed and they pointed their spears at Guo Jing. Guo Jings 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 Jings palm. All Khubilais 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 Jings 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 dont 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 Jings back. Suddenly, a white blur appeared and a rod swept across him and blocked his sword. Yang Guo followed the rod and dispersed the opponents 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, Thats right, if I kill Guo Jing then the title of Mongolias Greatest Warrior will be mine. Huh, this zombie doesnt know that Im just trying to avenge my father, I dont care about titles and whatnot. He unleashed several stances and forced Xiao Xiang Zis 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 Wangs wheel and Ni Mo Xings Iron Snake with his palms, he didnt 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 Guos injury and was afraid that he would not be able to cope with Xiao Xiang Zis rod so he sent out his left palm towards Xiao Xiang Zis 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 Jings 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 Guos 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 Zis 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 Jings left side. Guo Jing was using seventy percent of his energy against Fa Wang and the remaining thirty percent in blocking Xiao Xiang Zis 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 snakes 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 Mongolias 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 Xings 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 Jings 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, Ill hold them off. After seeing Guo Jing protect himself with his life, Yang Guos emotions were stirred and he no longer cared about his revenge. He thought about how righteous and virtuous his uncle Guo was, if he didnt 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, dont worry about me, save yourself. Yang Guo replied, Uncle Guo, its my fault that youve ended up like this. Im 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 Guos 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 Wangs golden wheel. End of Chapter 21

Chapter The Baby Girl of the City in

22 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, Ill hold the fort. Yang Guo took a glance at him and recognised it was one of Peach Blossom Islands disciple Feng Mo Feng. He was extremely surprised by this event but in this perilous danger, he didnt 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 Guos and Feng Mo Fengs stances at the same time. Whenever Xiao Xiang Zis rod came down towards Guo Jings 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 werent 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 Mongolias 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 Jings 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 Guos 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 Guos right forearm was slashed open. Though the wound wasnt 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 Wangs left palm blocked and attacked, rendering Feng Mo Feng in a state where he

could only defend; if Feng Mo Feng hadnt fought with his life, he wouldnt have even been able to save himself. Xiao Xiang Zi saw his chance had come; he first sent Ni Mo Xings 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 Jings 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 couldnt 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 Wangs back. Two dang dang sounds were heard as Fa Wang used his wheel to repel the attack. Feng Mo Fengs joints bled from the force. Fa Wangs left hand went out for Guo Jings back. Feng Mo Feng gave a howl and abandoned his weapons and grabbed Fa Wangs 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 didnt know Guo Jing personally and had no idea that Guo Jing was his masters 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 Wangs palms came out with unspeakable speed. Feng Mo Fengs 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 Guos martial arts were better, how could they fight off the rush

off thousands and hundreds of soldiers? Yang Guo sighed to himself, Its over, its over! He waved out Xiao Xiang Zis 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! Khubilais 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 horses 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 horses 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, theres 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 couldnt 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 wasnt 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

horses 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 Wangs golden wheel was flying towards them. Yang Guos heart ached as he thought, Feng Mo Feng has died under Fa Wangs hands. His thoughts stilled as the wheel came closer and closer. Yang Guo lowered himself to the horses back and hoped the wheel would brush past him. But the wheel sounded from below; it was actually aiming for the horses 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 horses 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 horses legs but who would have thought that as soon as the horse realised its 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 horses 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 Guos 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, Dont harm my uncle Guo! He cut and slashed wildly around him. He couldnt 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, dont 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? Dont 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, youre back, dont be scared. Were all safely back at Xiang Yang. Yang Guo gave a relieved sigh. His limbs felt lifeless and closed his eyes again. Huang Rong said, Hes woken up now, hell 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 Islands 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,

dont

move,

Ill

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 Songs to greet their guests in the dark? If you are busy, how about I come back later? It was Fa Wangs disciple, Huo Dou. Huang Rong said, It is the custom of us Songs to meet esteemed guests in broad daylight; we meet those who sneak about under the cover of darkness. Huo Dous 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 dont 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 Dous 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 Dous 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 didnt 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 wasnt 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 Duos feet were still unsteady, she stuck out her bamboo rod and used the [Dog Beating Stick Techniques] 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 Dous 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 wouldnt 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 didnt make a move. The Wu brothers threw themselves forwards to capture him. Huo Dous metal fan suddenly came out and then da da; he had sealed the twos pressure point on their legs. He pushed the two forwards at the same time to block Huang Rongs 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 ones 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, Youve been poisoned yet you dont even know what the name of the poison is, I guess if you die, you wont die in peace. Fine, theres 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 wont see noon, from noon you wont see midnight. Youve 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 Rongs intelligence and her familys skills, to make a poison such as The tea of Bones from Midnight to Noon would be easier than turning ones 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 werent for your little act of disrespect towards me just know I wouldnt 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 didnt 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 Dous 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 cant 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 didnt 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 peoples lives are nothing to do with me. Even more questions appeared in Huang Rongs mind but she didnt 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, Im useless, it was my fault that uncle Guo has become injured. Huang Rong said, Just rest. When the enemy comes, well win by our wits if we cant 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, dont you? Xiao Long Nuu might be nave but she was by no means a fool. Xiao Long Nuu had made her mind up about killing the Guo couple to save Yang Guos 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 dont have to keep it from me, I knew long ago. Guo Er blames us for his parents 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 dont understand. Huang Rong said, Dont 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 didnt 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, Theres 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 Rongs mind but she could not figure out what her words meant. When she saw Xiao Long Nuus mournful

expression, she comforted, There are still some things you dont know about the death of Guo Ers father, well clear everything up to him later on. His injuries are not serious, all he needs are just a few days rest, theres no need for you to be upset. Xiao Long Nuu stared at her for a while before bursting into tears and sobbing, He hes only got seven days to live, hows 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, well 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, Hes only got seven days left, even if we kill you and your husband tonight theres no guarantee that well make it back in time, why should I still want to try to harm you? I just want to save Guo Er, I dont 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 fathers 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 cant win with force then theyll 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 cant 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 whats death, even if its something ten times as worse as death Im 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, dont you? As long as hes safe and well, you will be happy even if youre dead, right? Xiao Long Nuu nodded, Yes, how do you know? Huang Rong gave a smile and said, Its because I love my husband the same way as you love Guo Er. You dont have a child so you dont know that a mothers 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 didnt reply. Huang Rong said, If you and Guo Er dont fight together, we wont be able to fight off Jin Lun Fa Wang. Guo Er has saved my husband and I on many occasions, cant 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 Ers 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 its 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 Rongs own mouth, she felt uncomfortable and kept on shaking her head, We cant, we cant! Huang Rong was about to explain again when suddenly Guo Fus 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 mothers arms, ignoring the fact that Xiao Long Nuu was there. She called out, Mother, the Wus 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 didnt listen they said they said they were going to fight to the death. They said only one would return even if the loser doesnt 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 Rongs 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 dont 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? Isnt 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 Wus martial arts arent the best, you know that. Guo Fu said, What about Yang Guo? Hes 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, Theyve come back now, why are they fighting outside the city? Guo Fu said, Mother, its 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 Wus 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 cant compete with others, what can I do? Huo Duo was the one who called them shameful disciples. Guo Fu said, Even so, you didnt argue with him and just stayed silent. The two brothers couldnt accept it and started arguing amongst themselves, saying how it was each others 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, whatll 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, well fight outside the city. Huang Rong stayed silent for a while before saying with anger, Ive 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 didnt 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 Wus, 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 Jings 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 Wus were up to. Guo Jing said, Tell the Wu brothers to be on extra alert when patrolling the city, the enemy knows that Im injured and will most probably take this opportunity to attack. Huang Rong nodded. Guo Jing continued, Hows Guo Ers injury? Before Huang Rong could reply, the sound of footsteps followed by Yang Guos voice could be heard from outside the room, Uncle Guo, my I just have superficial injuries, Im fine now after taking auntie Guos Nine Flower Jade Reveal Pill. He then opened the door and entered the room. He continued, Ive been to the city walls and took a look around, everyone is on high alert but the Wus are Huang Rong coughed and made a signal to him with his eyes. He immediately understood and said, The Wus 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 Wus are now wiser and dont see everything as achievable. Yang Guo said, Auntie Guo, isnt Gu Gu with you? Huang Rong replied, I had a little chat with her just now, shes probably gone back to her room for some rest. Ever since you came back, she hasnt 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 didnt 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 Jings face changed slightly and pulled Huang Rong, trying to hide her behind him. Huang Rong said, Brother Jing, whats 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 Guos 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 didnt seem much, in Yang Guos ears, they rang loud and true. Guo Jings 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 heros 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 hes 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 couldnt 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, Youre 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 wholl go back on their words. He laughed, Fa Wang, youre right. I dont know what came over me that day, I dont know why I helped Guo Jing escape. But once he got back to Xiang Yang, I dont know where hes gone and I cant find him, Its only now that Ive regretted what Ive 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 didnt know whether he was telling the truth or telling a lie. He laughed, If you find him, what will you do? Yang Guo said, Theres a sword in my hand. Fa Wang scoffed, Huh, youll actually dare stab him? Yang Guo said, Who said Ill 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 Wangs 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 theres something up with this sword? Fa Wang couldnt help himself and asked, What? as he attacked continuously with his silver wheel. Yang Guo laughed, Let me just tell you that its not my fault. Fa Wang said, Damn punk! Whats 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 Wangs 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 Wangs 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 Wangs wheel was getting greater and greater. Suddenly, Fa Wangs 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 didnt 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 Zis 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 didnt reveal his intentions to Fa Wang so he called out, Gu Gu, dont worry, Im 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, Ive come to visit, why arent 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 wasnt going to end anytime soon while more and more guards were coming to see what was going on. Fa Wang knew that these guards wouldnt 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 hes hiding? Hes 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 Jings room smoking, he

became alarmed and as he did so, he almost let Ni Mo Xings Iron Snake strike him across the chest. He quickly moved out of the way. If Guo Jing didnt break Ni Mo Xings 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 Guos due, if the two dont come out then theyll be trapped by the fire but if they do, theyll 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 Jings 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 wasnt alarmed and immediately thought of a plan. He whispered, Ill lure them away. Take uncle Guo to some place safe and hide. He then lightly took off Guo Jings hat and leapt out of the window. Huang Rong didnt 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, Lets 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, youve got a great sense of timing havent 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 Jings 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 parents location. Guo Fus hair was in a mess and her sword tip had been smashed to pieces by Fa

Wangs golden wheel but she bit down her tongue and kept on fighting, ignoring Fa Wangs questions. She was extremely angry inside as she thought, If the Wus hadnt gone off to kill each other, the three of us could take care of this bald scoundrel. She couldnt help herself blurting out, Fine, go and fight amongst yourselves, I dont care who wins, theyll 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 didnt 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, Mothers 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 Rongs 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, Lets see how you are going get out of this one. He saw that the person on Yang Guos 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 Tombs lightness kung fu that Yang Guo has learnt could be said to be unequally under heavens 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 Guos lightness kung fu may be a level higher than Fa Wangs 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, Ill 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, Hes 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 Guos escape route. Yang Guo dashed forward and in a flash, he was by Da Er Bas side. At the same time, Fa Wangs 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, Ill 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, Ive got Guo Jing, Im Mongolias 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 guards 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 Guos life would be a good days 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, Ill 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 Jings 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, youre 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 Guos condition, how can he exchange stances with you? And how could he last so long? Ill hide here and watch what else youll get up to. Suddenly, Fa Wang called out, Yang Guo, this time you die! Yang Guo was puzzled, Whats this about me dieing this time? He then knew what Fa Wang was planning, Oh, you cant get me to come out so now youre trying to get uncle Guo to out to save me. He heard Fa Wang laughed, Yang Guo oh Yang Guo, youve 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, Im 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 cant let him escape, we must get rid of him once and for all. He aimed for Fa Wangs 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 didnt 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 enemys 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 Wangs wheels turned and flew about but the twos 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 twos swordplay. Just as he was feeling dejected, a babys crying could be heard coming from Xiao Long Nuus arms. Fa Wang was shocked but this sudden turn of events but he wasnt 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, Dont cry precious, watch me beat that monk away. However, the baby cried even louder. Yang Guo said, Its auntie Guos? Xiao Long Nuu nodded and sent a piercing stroke towards Fa Wang. Fa Wang swept his golden wheel across and blocked the attack. He didnt hear Yang Guo and didnt know what Xiao Long Nuu was doing with a baby in her arms but since shes 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 Wangs 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 Wangs right leg and neutralized the lead wheels attack directed at Xiao Long Nuu before asking, Its a girl? Yang Guo was slightly surprised that it was another girl since Guo Jing had a daughter already. Xiao Long Nuu nodded, Its 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 Wangs 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 Wangs 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 twos 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 Nuus 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, Lets 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 Guos and they found it difficult to unite. This swordplays power lies within the users 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 cant 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 wouldnt 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 theyll 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 Jings patriotic spirit has left him in complete awe, he cannot risk Guo Jings 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 Wangs 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 cant treat the person who killed his father like this and how he wants to be a honourable gentleman, she couldnt 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 Jings and Huang Rongs 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, Its 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, Its 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, Theyre safe. Chief Huangs 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, Im 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 steeds 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 Wangs 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 Guos 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 sects [Jade Maidens 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 doesnt 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 didnt 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 Ill spare your life, if you dont then dont 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 Chous 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 Wangs 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 Chous 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 doesnt want to hurt it. With her ruthless nature, she didnt 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 Wangs 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 Wangs. 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 Chous 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 Wangs 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! Lets see you fight a bit with that monk first. Yang Guo saw that Fa Wangs 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 others 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 wasnt 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 didnt have long to live, he decided to repay Guo Jing back with his life and so, when a dangerous stance came at him, he didnt 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 Wangs and Li Mo Chous stances avoided the baby during their fight, this was Guo Jings 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 couldnt 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 didnt understand, Xiao Long Nuu called her apprentice sister and she is indeed his apprentice uncle, why isnt 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 shell 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 hadnt heard the babys 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 Ill be dead, Im risking my life and limb for her today and if by some miracle I managed to save her, I wonder whether shell remember me when shes 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 hell soon die under the twin wheels, she was about to go forward and help him when she thought, This kids 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 Wangs attack and threw the baby over to her calling out, Catch! This action was something that Li Mo Chou did not predict, she didnt know what he meant by this but took the baby anyway. Yang Guo called out, Apprentice uncle, take the baby and run, Ill hold the monk up! He sent two strokes forward with all his might, keeping Fa Wang back. Li Mo Chou thought, Oh, hes hoping Ill still respect the fact that we are of the same sect and so Ill 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, dont let where the wheel was cut touch you, it

has Li Yang

poison Mo Guo said, Chou My sword

on said, has poison

it. How? 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 Wangs 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 Guos 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 Chous help to defeat Fa Wang before dealing with her. He called out loudly, Martial uncle Li, theres no need to run! This bald scoundrel has been poisoned, he wont 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, its 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 wasnt 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, Im 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 Wangs 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, Theres 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, Ill check if theres 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 wasnt a good plan either, if worse comes to worse shell just leave the baby and with Fa Wangs main target being the baby, hell probably leave her be so she wasnt 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, Dont come any nearer! Arent 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, Ive got a plan, try to stop the baby from crying. He then called out, Great, theres 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, Its a lie, Im 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 Im 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, lets leave. Suddenly he whispered, Well both shout in surprise at the same time and trick him into the cave. Li Mo Chou didnt 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 Maidens 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, Im 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, Youre right, but theres 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 dont 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 didnt 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 Wangs 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 Wangs 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 didnt give a damn about his life and threw himself at Fa Wang. He hugged him tightly and bit down on Fa Wangs 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 Wangs 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 doesnt 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 didnt 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 Xings 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 well 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 Wangs, 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 Jings here! Ni Mo Xing stopped and said, Where? As he said this, his mouth loosened. Fa Wangs 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 Wangs palm had meant to force Ni Mo Xing back but he had forgotten that Ni Mo Xings 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 Guos 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, Lets 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 wasnt confident that she could defeat him and she certainly wasnt 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 hasnt been fed; it was a cry of hunger. Li Mo Chou chuckled, Wheres my apprentice sister? Dont tell me that shes going to let her child starve to death? Yang Guo replied, Who said its Gu Gus child, its hero Guos. Li Mo Chou said, Do you think using hero Guos name would scare me? If it were someone elses child, why would you risk life and limb for it, its got to be the bastard child of you and her. Yang Guo shouted angrily, Yes, I do want to marry Gu Gu but were 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, dont 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, Im 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 didnt 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

howling

cry

before

falling

silent.

Yang Guo was scared and immediately took back his sword. His voice was shaken as he said, Youve 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 dont follow my orders, youd think Ill 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 dont insult my master, of course Ill 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 wont insult your master, youll 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 didnt 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, Theyre 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? Its not yours. Li Mo Chou blushed before immediately saying with a serious tone, What are you saying? If you hand over the Ancient Tombs [Jade Maidens Manual], Ill 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, Youve 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? Im just saying that the baby needs milk, otherwise, wouldnt she starve? Li Mo Chou said, Im a pure and chaste virgin, how will I have milk for her? Yang Guo smiled, Martial uncle Li, Im saying that you should find some milk for her to drink, Im not asking for your milk When Li Mo Chou heard this, she couldnt 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, Well go to a village, find a woman whos 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 womans arms and flung it away towards the stove. She then placed the baby girls mouth in the womans bosoms and said, This childs hungry, feed it. The womans 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, didnt you hear? Who told you to hold your own child? Yang Guo heard a thud and quickly jumped around just to see the womans child by the wall with its head covered in blood. The woman was distraught and put Guo Jings 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

womans

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 wont be anyone else left to feed the child. Li Mo Chou replied angrily, Im looking out for your child yet here you are sticking your nose in where its not wanted. Yang Guo thought, This child isnt 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 Chous 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 didnt say a word as they wandered across the plains for miles. The baby had cried itself to sleep in Li Mo Chous 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 leopards 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 leopards 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 dont 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 dont have time to mess around with you. She turned around to walk away. Yang Guo said quickly, Whos 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 wont 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 twos 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 Chous 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 forests 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 couldnt stop himself from pitying her a little. After a while, Li Mo Chou lifted her head and her eyes met Yang Guos. She was slightly taken aback by this. She said quietly, Its getting dark, what are we going to do about tonight. Yang Guo looked around and said, We cant take that large leopard

with us, well 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, Ill 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 leopards 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, Ill 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 didnt surprise Li Mo Chou at all; after all, it was a skill of the Ancient Tombs. 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

Chapter Sibling

23 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 werent 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 Guos eyes stood a giant condor, taller than a human, yet more ugly even than ones wildest imagination. Sparse feathers covered the condors 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 Fus 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 didnt yield, but lunged forward instead. Thrusting its beak out like a flash, the condor had taken the poisonous giant serpents right eye out. The condors 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 couldnt 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 condors head. Yang Guo was astounded. He couldnt 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 serpents attack, Yang Guo sprang forward with his sword and hacked the blade toward the serpents body. Suddenly, the condor swung its right wing swiftly and smacked on Yang Guos 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 serpents back. Every peck would end up with blood spurting out of the wound

like

small

fountain.

I guess you must be certain about your victory and dont want any help from me then! Yang Guo thought. The poisonous serpent squeezed tighter and tighter with its giant body. The ugly condors 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 serpents 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 serpents 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 serpents 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 serpents 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 serpents 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! Its 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 Guos 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 condors legs moved so swiftly that its speed was no slower than a galloping horse. Yang Guo had to use his QingGong techniques in order to keep up with it. He couldnt 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 Guos 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 doesnt know how to speak and cant 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. Theres 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 hermits 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 SeekingA-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 hermits 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 didnt 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 masters dead body. Feeling his admiration growing bigger and bigger, Yang Guo couldnt 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 Dugus grave? The divine condor answered with some chirrups. Yang Guo couldnt 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 condors neck and stroked the condors feathers gently. Then he walked out of the cave. Throughout his life, other than the intimate relationship he had with Little Dragon Girl, he didnt 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 Guos heart burned with indignation. He shouted out loud. Brother Condor, I dont have much life left in me. After I take care of the business regarding Uncle Guos 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 wouldnt have been a waste of time after all. He bowed and then headed out in big strides.