Return of Condor Heroes (112 page)

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 down 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 Guo’s pressure points had been sealed and he didn’t 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, you’re here? Is it you that’s 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, you’re here, I’ve searched for you continuously!” He then suddenly called out; 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 wasn’t Xiao Longnu then who else could it be? He quickly asked, “Gu Gu, It’s’ Guo’er, how… how come you don’t recognize 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 Gongsun. Yang Guo was flabbergasted; he returned to the hall in a daze and leaned on the back of a chair.

Valley Master Gongsun’s face had been unmoved all along but now his face was filled with joy, he raised his hand towards Fawang and the others, saying, “This is my bride; the wedding has been set for today after midday.” He then glanced over at Yang Guo wryly, offended by his rudeness just now in recognizing someone wrongly and scaring his new bride.

Yang Guo’s shock was indescribable; he said loudly, “Gu Gu, could it be… could it be that you’re not Xiao Longnu? Could it be that you’re not my Master?”

The girl said, “No! What Xiao Longnu?”

Yang Guo clenched his fists, his mind filled with thoughts, “Is Gu Gu angry with me and doesn’t want to recognize me? Is it because we’re in danger and she’s deliberately pretending? Is she like Godfather and has lost her memories? But Godfather was still able to recognize me. Could it be that there really is someone else in the world that looks exactly like her?”

He just said, “Gu Gu, you… you… I’m… I’m Guo’er!”

Valley Master Gongsun frowned 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 Jinlun Fawang 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 Guo’s mind was turning upside down and didn’t know what to do; he turned around to Jinlun Fawang and asked, “My Master and I have dueled with you before, you remember. Tell me… have I recognized the wrong person?”

When the girl entered the hall, Fawang had recognized her as Xiao Longnu but she completely ignored Yang Guo, he thought that the two must have had a lovers quarrel so he smiled wryly and said, “I don’t remember.”

He had endured a great defeat by them when Xiao Longnu and Yang Guo used the “Simple Heart of the Jade Maiden” swordplay against him; something which had never happened before. He thought that if the two had quarreled, 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 you’re doing this to me.” He wanted to kill him right there and then.

Jinlun Fawang saw that he had fallen to pieces but his eyes revealed hatred, he pondered, “There’s hate towards me in his heart now; if I let him live he will be a problem in the future. Today he’s making a spectacle of himself; this really is a good chance to get rid of him.” He folded his arms to Valley Master Gongsun and laughed, “Since today is Valley Master’s day of celebration, of course we’ll attend but it is a bit embarrassing that my friends and I have not brought any gifts.”

Valley Master Gongsun 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. Just now when he fought Zhou Botong, though his form and position were exquisite, his internal energy was ordinary. He felt that his martial arts practice aimed for style over substance and couldn’t rank him as one of the ‘great Masters of Wulin’. But if he leaves him out and says five, it would a bit too discourteous, he hesitated a little and said, “…invite these heroes.”

Fawang 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 hasn’t got the ability to do great things. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu just said a few words and he’s agitated.”

Valley Master Gongsun said, “Sister Liu, this is Jinlun Fawang…” He then told her who they were and said Yang Guo’s 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’s name, she stared outside and didn’t even nod.

Yang Guo’s face was red, his mind was turning upside like an ocean storm, whatever Valley Master Gongsun said, he didn’t hear. Nimoxing, Yin Kexi and the others did not know his background, they thought that he was embarrassed because he had recognized the wrong person.

Gongsun Lu’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 he’s 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 Guo’s 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 apologize for my mistake just now.”

When the Valley Master heard these polite words, his face immediately changed and returned the bow. He then said, “It’s 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 her 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 heaven’s skies?

Yang Guo said, “Yes, it is extremely odd. Can I take the liberty to ask this Miss’ surname?”

Valley Master Gongsun 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, it’s because I’m named Yang.” [2] After another thought like this, his finger broke out in unbearable pain again.

Gongsun Lu’E saw his suffering and pitied him, her eyes never left his face.

Valley Master Gongsun examined Yang Guo for a while and then looked at the girl in white, her head was lowered and she didn’t 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, you’re here? Is it you that’s calling me?’ Could it be that she really is that little punk’s Auntie? But why is she not recognizing 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 for long; I wonder how, did 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 Jinlun Fawang and the others didn’t take much notice. Some of them were from the west and the others roamed Jianghu; they weren’t 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 else’s business when he asked the Valley Master how he met the girl, they felt that he had gone too far.

But Valley Master Gongsun 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 mountain side 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 practicing internal energy, so I took her back to the valley and used my family’s medicine to help her recover. We met by chance.”

Jinlun Fawang interrupted, “This is the so called thousand li 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 Gongsun 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 was stained by it.

This Miss Liu was a name that Xiao Longnu had made up. That night after hearing the words of Huang Rong, she thought to herself that if she married Yang Guo, she will 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 would 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 practice 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 Gongsun hadn’t passed by, she would have died there in the wild mountainside.

Valley Master Gongsun had lost his wife a long time ago; when he saw her, he couldn’t imagine that someone could be as beautiful as she; his intent to rescue her had salacious thoughts added onto them.

Xiao Longnu was disheartened; she also thought that if she lived somewhere in seclusion by herself, she would not be able to stop herself and would follow the same disastrous path again. Going out again in search of Yang Guo and cause him grief. She saw the love that Valley Master Gongsun had for her and he asked for her hand. She blocked out her heart and agreed; she thought that after she becomes someone else’s wife, she will sever her ties with Yang Guo completely. Along with living in such a secluded place, she assumed that she would never see him again. Who could have thought that Zhou Botong would suddenly appear to cause trouble in the valley? The results would lead him here.

Xiao Longnu was filled with emotional turmoil at this sudden reunion with Yang Guo. She thought, “I’ve already agreed to marry someone else; I’ll just keep up this act and let him leave in anger and hate me forever. With his talents and appearance, what need is there to worry that he won’t 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 suffering, she ignored him; but her heart was mournful and it was becoming more and more difficult to endure. When she saw him throw up blood, she was filled with pity and sorrow; she couldn’t 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 Gongsun said quickly, “Quickly sit down and don’t move, don’t disturb your veins and meridians.” He turned around and said to Yang Guo, “Just leave; don’t ever come back.”

Hot tears filled Yang Guo’s eyes, he said to Xiao Longnu, “Gu Gu, if I’ve done something wrong, you can beat me, scold me; even kill me with one thrust of a sword. I’m willing to accept all that. But why are you pretending that you don’t know who I am?”

Xiao Longnu lowered her head and didn’t reply, just lightly coughing twice.

Valley Master Gongsun was furious with Yang Guo when he angered her into throwing up blood. However, his self-control training was extremely good; he didn’t break out in a rage. He lowered his voice and said, “If you don’t leave then don’t blame me for being merciless.”

Yang Guo did not take any notice, his eyes were fixed on Xiao Longnu, he begged, “Gu Gu, I promise you that I will stay in the tomb with you forever; I won’t regret it, let’s leave together.”