Return of Condor Heroes (143 page)

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

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

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

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

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

A tender voice by his side said, “Guo’er, relax, Uncle Guo will be okay after some rest.”

Yang Guo turned his head 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 Longnu.

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 Longnu said, “Guo’er, you’re back, don’t be afraid. We’re all safely back in Xiangyang.”

Yang Guo let out a relieved sigh. His limbs felt lifeless and he closed his eyes again.

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

Xiao Longnu 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 saw 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 from over exerting himself in the heated battles. He had rested for half a day now and Huang Rong had fed him the Peach Blossom Island’s great medicine the Nine Flowers Jade Dew Pill. With him being young and in great shape, he had almost recovered completely by now. When he heard that someone was on the rooftop, he immediately became alert and was about to get up to face this enemy. Xiao Longnu blocked his way and unsheathed the ‘Gentleman Sword’ that was beside the bed. She whispered, “Guo’er, don’t move, I’ll guard here.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Huo Dou’s face flushed. Dealing 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 his hand.

Huang Rong struck out suddenly with her bamboo rod and attacked Huo Dou’s front. Huo Dou, startled by this sudden move, 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 with her rod while Huo Dou was jumping back. She was soon to give birth and didn’t want to see any outsiders. This is why she kept away from her enemy. After that shock, Hou Dou became despondent; the confidence he had gained from entering the city had all but disappeared. He shouted loudly, “I have delivered the letter; we will meet again tomorrow night.”

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

Huo Dou had been on his guard for projectiles shot at him. But the water from the teapot came out without any kind of noise; it wasn’t like your typical projectile that cuts the air with a sound. By the time he found out something was wrong, his neck, chest and right arm was covered with the tea. He felt a hot tingling sensation and called out ‘ai ya’ in shock while leaping aside. Huang Rong stood by the door and while Huo Duo’s feet were still unsteady, she stuck out her bamboo rod and used the “Dog Beating Stick Technique’s” ‘trip’ formulae. She flicked the stick up and sent Huo Dou to the ground. 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. 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 he was tripping up as soon as he picked himself up from the ground.

Huo Dou’s martial arts were by no means weak; if he fought Huang Rong fair and square he would eventually find himself to be a level lower than Huang Rong. Were his martial arts higher he wouldn’t have been tripped up so pathetically as this just after one stance. The reason he was in such a state was because he thought that the tea that landed on him was some kind of lethal poison. Just as he was fearfully thinking 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 was tripped up until he was black and blue.

Just at this moment, the Wu brothers 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 lay on the ground and didn’t make a move. The Wu brothers threw themselves forward to capture him. Huo Dou’s metal fan suddenly came out and then ‘da da’; he had sealed the pressure point on their legs. He pushed the two forward at the same time to block Huang Rong’s rod stances and leapt up to the top of the wall. He made a bow with his hands and said, “Chief Huang, terrific rod techniques, but it’s a shame about your disciples!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Huang Rong knew that Huo Dou was not an idiot, if a little time passes he will see through this little deception so she said, “I had no feuds with you to begin off with, if it wasn’t for your little act of disrespect towards me just now, I wouldn’t have condemned 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 Flowers Jade Dew Pill. She said, “Take it quickly.”

Huo Dou caught it and didn’t waste anytime in taking this life saving pill. He felt a clear essence 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 he retreated slowly to the wall before flipping over and making a swift exit out of the city.

Huang Rong watched him leave and then went over to the Wu brothers and unsealed their pressure points. She then recalled Huo Dou’s words; ‘Chief Huang, terrific rod techniques but it’s a 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 Longnu lit the candles. Huang Rong opened the letter to see:

To Hero Guo from the First Protector of Mongolia Jinlun Fawang;

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 Longnu to read. She said, “The walls of Xiangyang may be solid but how can it hold out skilled fighters? The enemy is planning an attack but your Uncle Guo is hurt and I can’t do much, what are we going to do?”

Yang Guo said, “Uncle Guo…”

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

Huang Rong began to get suspicious and said, “Miss Long, Guo’er has not fully recovered yet, we can only rely on Brother Zhu Ziliu and you to fight off the enemy.”

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

Even more questions appeared in Huang Rong’s mind but she didn’t say much about it. She said to Yang Guo, “Uncle Guo said that it was thanks 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 of himself. He said, “I’m useless, it was my fault that Uncle Guo has become injured.”

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

Xiao Longnu hesitated, “He…” Since Yang Guo returned to Xiangyang, Xiao Longnu had not left his bedside. 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 Longnu nodded and whispered instructions to Yang Guo to be careful before leaving the room.

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

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

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

Huang Rong saw her face had become red and knew that she had guessed correctly so she continued, “You don’t have to keep it from me, I knew long ago. Guo’er blames us for his parents’ deaths 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 Longnu could not deny any of this and kept silent for a while. She eventually gave a sigh and said, “I really don’t understand.”

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

Xiao Longnu said, “Why did Guo’er risk his life today to save Master Guo? He and Jinlun Fawang and the others had agreed to kill master Guo together.”

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