Chapter 29 – Numerous disasters, Part 2
Lying on the ground, that person turned over his palm to block the attack. There came a clashing sound. Dust flew up all over the place. Gongsun Zhi then called out, “Good!” and sent out his second strike, with more strength this time. Seeing that it would be difficult for that person to block the attack, Huang Rong lashed out her “Dog Beating Stick”, using the “seal” stance to intercept that palm strike. Gongsun Zhi saw himself surrounded by the enemies. He knew that he couldn’t win today. So with a ‘Ha-Ha’ laugh, he backed up three steps and turned his body to walk away. He appeared to carry himself naturally, with martial grace. Huang Rong and the others didn’t dare to pursue.
While still holding Guo Fu, the person stood up. Then he dropped his arms. Huang Rong saw that he had a tall body with broad biceps, with a long bow hanging from his waist. This was precisely that youth who fought with a sword earlier. Also, naturally he was the one who shot out those eleven arrows. Even though Guo Fu fell into Gongsun Zhi’s clutches just now, she wasn’t injured at all and so she said, “Yelu Da Ge [Big Brother Yelu], many thanks for saving me.” While saying that, she blushed prettily.
By this time Wu Xiuwen and a young girl caught up with them, leaving Wu Dunru to take care of his father. Normally, Wu Xiuwen should be the one introducing everybody but he was filled with rage and was viciously eyeing Li Mochou. He forgot everybody else at present. Huang Rong called him twice but he didn’t even hear it. Li Mochou actually moved far away from them with her hands behind her back, watching the scenery. She of course didn’t pay attention to these people.
Guo Fu pointed at the young man who had just rescued her and said to her mother, “Ma, this person is Yelu Qi, Yelu Da Ge [Big Brother Yelu].” Then she pointed at the tall young girl and said, “And this is Yelu Yan, Yelu Zi Zi [Elder Sister Yelu].” Huang Rong then praised them, “You two have quite wonderful kung fu!” The Yelu siblings together replied, “Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] praises us!” and moved forward to pay respect.
Huang Rong then asked, “It looks like you two use the Quanzhen sect’s kung fu. May I ask which of the Quanzhen Seven Masters your master is?” She saw Yelu Qi’s martial skills and, except for Yang Guo, couldn’t think of any other fourth generation disciple of the Quanzhen sect. Yelu Yan said, “My brother taught me my martial skills.” Huang Rong nodded and turned to look at Yelu Qi. Yelu Qi felt quite awkward and said, “Elder asked me a question, I really should give you a truthful answer. Only my master has forbidden me, the young generation, to mention his old name. Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], please forgive me.”
Huang Rong was startled and thought, “Would the Quanzhen Seven Masters come up with this strange rule? This young man’s martial skills were quite excellent, why couldn’t he say his master’s name?” Having thought this out, she suddenly burst out into a laugh and bent over with hands on her belly. This matter was really extremely funny. Puzzled, Guo Fu asked, “Ma, what’s so funny?” She heard her mother seriously asked Yelu Qi which sect he belonged to. And suddenly she breaks out laughing like this. She was afraid that Yelu Qi would be upset so, embarrassed, she asked again, “Ma, Yelu Da Ge [Brother Yelu] can’t say it. That’s okay. What’s so funny?” Still laughing, Huang Rong didn’t answer. Yelu Qi had a smiling expression on his face and said, “Seems like Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] guessed correctly.” Guo Fu was at a loss. She turned her head to look at Yelu Yan and saw that she was also in the dark, not understanding what the two were laughing about.
Right now Wu Xiuwen was kneeling down to bandage Wanyan Ping’s injury. Just now, while she was held hostage by Gongsun Zhi, she twisted her left ankle while escaping. Huang Rong asked, “Xiu’er how’s your father’s wound?” Wu Xiuwen replied, “Father was cut by that old Gongsun’s sword. His left leg was injured but luckily the sword didn’t damage his bone.” Huang Rong nodded and walked over to lightly stroke the precious horse’s mane. She gently said, “Horse, oh horse, our Guo family won’t be able to repay you for your deep loyalty.” Then she saw that Wu Xiuwen, with his rather strange expression, didn’t speak to Guo Fu at all but took extremely good care of Wanyan Ping. But she didn’t know whether he did this to show Guo Fu he was over her or he really was fond of this girl. She decided not to pursue the matter and said, “Let us go get your father.”
Wu Santong was sitting on the ground. When he saw Huang Rong approaching, he called out, “Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo]!” and got up. He had a leg wound so his body was swaying. Wu Dunru and Yelu Yan reached out to hold him at the same time. As their hands bumped, they looked at each other with a smile.
Huang Rong secretly laughed in her heart, “How nice, another couple! Just a few days ago, the brothers were willing to kill each other for Fu’er, not thinking about their blood ties. Now that the boys have met pretty girls, they’ve instantly turned around and forgotten all about their original feelings.” Suddenly she thought about Guo Jing and her heart couldn’t help but swell with pride. Jing Ge Ge [Brother Jing] always stayed true to her and never changed, be it in good or bad fortune. How would these youths be able to compare to him? Then she thought about Yang Guo. She felt that his relationship with Xiao Longnü was unseemly. But she also knew that he was smart about relationships and stayed faithful to his love both in life and in death. That was actually something to be revered and respected.
The Wu brothers and Guo Fu grew up together on Peach Blossom Island. Firstly, on the island there was no other girl of their age. Second, time made the hearts grow fonder. If the two brothers didn’t fall in love with Guo Fu, that wouldn’t make sense at all. Later on, they suddenly found out that Guo Fu didn’t return their feelings; they were brokenhearted and said that they would live a life without joy forever. They had no way of knowing that a short while later they would meet Yelu Yan and Wanyan Ping who they really should sympathize with. This time when the Wu brothers ran into Guo Fu, they secretly compared their sweethearts to her. The brothers felt that their loved ones were not only not inferior to Guo Fu but also even better. One thought, “Yelu Guniang [Miss Yelu] is open and kind. How could she be like you who are scheming and narrow-minded?” The other thought, “Wanyan Guniang is clearly sympathetic. She is also gentle and polite. How could she be like you who everyday makes people miserable?” The brothers had earlier vowed not to see Guo Fu again but had now ran into her by accident and couldn’t quite escape. They both thought, “Today I didn’t intend to go looking for you so this can’t be regarded as breaking a vow.”
In Guo Fu’s mind, she only thought about how she had been captured by Gongsun Zhi just now and how Yelu Qi had saved her. She stole a look at him several times and saw that he was tall and handsome. She couldn’t help secretly thinking, “I met him for the first time last year and later forgot all about him. At that time I didn’t know that his martial skills would be like this. Mother and he were laughing together. What were they laughing about?”
Huang Rong examined the sword wound on Wu Santong’s leg. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be a great obstacle. Then everybody shared their stories.
On the day that Wu Santong, Zhu Ziliu and the Martial Uncle Indian monk left for the Passionless Valley to seek the antidote for Yang Guo, just outside of Xiangyang, Wu Santong ran into his two sons. Startled and afraid that they would fight again, he quickly told Zhu Ziliu to accompany Martial Uncle on ahead. Then he rushed out to stop the Wu brothers and asked questions. As it turned out, the Wu brothers both followed their vow spoken to Yang Guo about not seeing Guo Fu again so they didn’t want to stay in Xiangyang any longer. Wu Santong was reassured so he praised them, “Good boys, you’ve got guts!” He also said, “Yang Xiong Di [Brother Yang] risked his own life to save us. Now he is in trouble, how can we not try to help him? The three of us, father and sons, should go to the Passionless Valley together.”
The Passionless Valley was like a paradise outside this world. Although Yang Guo had told them about its approximate location, it was actually not easy to find the entrance. The three people went around in circle and took many paths but still they couldn’t find the Valley entrance. The Indian monk and Zhu Ziliu had already fallen into the enemy’s trap and been captured by the fishnets of Qiu Qianchi’s disciples. Wu Santong and his sons tried many times to help them without success and almost fell into the gorge. With no choice but to retreat, they thought that they would go back to Xiangyang to find help. Unfortunately, they ran into Gongsun Zhi who said the three of them were trespassing and then attacked them. Wu Santong was not his match and was cut on the leg. Gongsun Zhi didn’t really want the three people’s lives and so he just forced them to leave quickly and told them never to come back.
By this time, the Yelu siblings and Wanyan Ping happened to ride into view. The three people and the Wu brothers used to fight together so they got off their horses and started talking about the old times. Gongsun Zhi was looking at them coldly from the side. He failed to marry Xiao Longnü and got kicked out of the sect by his wife so he was actually bored to death. Seeing that Wanyan Ping was young and beautiful, he couldn’t curb his evil desires and suddenly snatched her away with him. This time, the Yelu siblings and the Wu brothers all immediately jumped in to fight. If Wu Santong hadn’t been injured, it would be six people joining forces and they would have had a chance against Gongsun Zhi. However, his leg was wounded so Yelu Qi was the only strong fighter among them but they couldn’t fend off Gongsun Zhi. It just so happened that the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] was running back by himself from Mount Zhongnan and heading towards Xiangyang. Wu Xiuwen grabbed him and let Wanyan Ping ride away; hoping that Gongsun Zhi would lose interest after the swan was gone. They didn’t expect that Huang Rong and Li Mochou would rush into the scene like this.
Huang Rong listened to the stories and talked briefly about how Yang Guo got his arm chopped off and how he snatched her young daughter. Wu Santong was greatly alarmed and quickly explained the root cause. He said, “Yang Xiong Di [Brother Yang] is brave and warm-hearted. Everything happened because, without thinking about himself, he saved these two animals of mine and didn’t let them destroy themselves. Who would have thought that it would lead to these matters?” He thought about how Yang Guo got his arm chopped off, all because of his two sons. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly pointed at the two sons and scolded them.
On the side, the Wu brothers, the Yelu siblings, and Wanyan Ping were all talking enthusiastically. A little while later, Guo Fu came in to join the discussion. The six people were of the same age and just went through a fierce battle together so with gusto they talked about how fierce and evil Gongsun Zhi was and how he finally fled into the wild. Suddenly they heard Wu Santong bellowed out a shout of outrage, “Wu Dunru, Wu Xiuwen, you two little animals, Yang Guo Xiong Di [Brother Yang Guo] was so good and kind to you but you caused him to lose his arm. You stop and think, how would our family Wu ever face him?” Both his face and ears turned red and the more he scolded, the fiercer he became. If not for his injured leg, he would have thrown himself out to strike them. The two brothers were baffled, not knowing how their father got so mad. Each of them stealthily looked at Yelu Yan and Wanyan Ping. They felt that in front of beautiful ladies, having their father calling them ‘animal this’ and ‘animal that’ was a great loss of face. But if they were still fighting over Guo Fu like before, that would be distressing too. The two brothers looked at each other at their wits’ end, not knowing what to do.
Huang Rong saw the situation to be quite awkward so she intercepted, “Wu Xiong Di [Brother Wu], don’t be so upset. Yang Guo’s losing an arm was all little sister’s fault for not teaching my child better and letting her get away with being spoiled. At that time, father Guo was also so mad that he wanted to chop off her arm.” Wu Santong then gave out a loud shout, “That’s right. Good! Her arm should be chopped off!” Guo Fu’s eyes turned white with fear. She thought, “Did you just say ‘her arm should be chopped off’?” If her mother weren’t there, Guo Fu would have said something in protest.
Huang Rong said, “Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], we’ve talked clearly enough about how your children wronged Yang Guo. Right now we have two important matters ahead. First, we must find Yang Guo to discover his condition.” Wu Santong agreed, “Very good…Very good.” Huang Rong then continued, “The second important thing is that we have to go to the Passionless Valley to rescue Martial Uncle and Zhu Da Ge [Brother Zhu] and at the same time get the antidote for Yang Guo. But do you know anything about Zhu Da Ge’s condition or whether or not his life is in danger?”
Wu Santong said, “My Martial Uncle and apprentice brother were trapped by the fish nets and imprisoned in a stone chamber (kiln). It seemed like that old woman still hasn’t thought to harm them.” Huang Rong nodded and said, “Hmm, in that case we go to find Yang Guo first and go with him to the Passionless Valley to save those people. And once the antidote is obtained, he can take it immediately to avoid any more delays, and hence more dangers.” Wu Santong said, “That’s right. But do we know where Yang Guo is right now?” Huang Rong pointed at the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] and said, “This horse was just borrowed by Yang Guo. If we follow the road that this horse came from, we can find out where he is.” Wu Santong was delighted and said, “Today, if not for the wisdom of Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo], the old Wu here would have flown into a fit of rage and made matters worse.” This time Guo Fu couldn’t bear to be quiet so she chimed in, “Isn’t that right?”
Huang Rong smiled faintly. She didn’t say a word about seeking her younger daughter but all about getting Wu Santong to follow her. She mused, “If the Wu father and sons come with me, the other three young people will definitely tag along. Then there will be more people to help us. Isn’t that wonderful?” She then turned to Yelu Qi and said, “If Yelu Xiao Ge [Little Brother Yelu] doesn’t have any pressing matters to attend to, how about you come along with us just for fun?” Yelu Qi had not yet answered, but Yelu Yan clapped her hands, crying out, “Okay… Okay! Ge Ge [Brother], let’s go with them!” Yelu Qi couldn’t bear Guo Fu’s gaze. Seeing that the glint in her eyes conveyed an encouraging message, he bowed and said, “If Elder Wu and Guo Fu Ren [Madame Guo] wouldn’t mind, Junior could only benefit from your guidance. This is precisely my greatest wish.” With a pleased expression on her face, Wanyan Ping also slowly nodded.
Huang Rong then said, “Look, we are a group of many people, we must have someone to give orders. Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], from now on everybody will listen to your commands and nobody can disobey.” Wu Santong waved his hands and said, “We have in you a wonderful strategist who can match Zhuge, who would dare to give orders? Naturally, it has to be you in charge.” With a smile Huang Rong said, “Really?” Wu Santong replied, “How can that be wrong?” Huang Rong laughed and said, “Giving orders to the juniors is quite easy. I’m only afraid that your old self wouldn’t listen to me.” Then in a loud voice Wu Santong said, “Nonsense. I won’t do such a thing. If you tell me to jump in water and walk on fire, I won’t say no in any circumstances.” Huang Rong said, “In front of these many juniors, how could you say things you don’t mean?” Wu Santong blushed and responded, “Even if there were no one else here, how could I fail to keep my word?”
Huang Rong said, “All right! This time we will go find Yang Guo, get the antidote, and rescue your Martial Uncle and brother. We must work together. For any previous gratitude or grudges, we’ll put them aside for the time being. Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], you, the Wu father and sons, cannot settle your debt with Li Mochou at this time. After we’ve accomplished our important mission, it will not be too late for shedding blood!” Wu Santong was startled. He hadn’t thought that Huang Rong’s spoken words would unexpectedly be meant for this matter as well. He and Li Mochou had wife-killing hatred to settle, how could he actually bear the rage in his heart? So he hesitated and didn’t respond. With a gentle voice Huang Rong said, “Wu Xiong [Brother Wu], your leg has been injured. For a gentleman, revenge in ten years is still not too late. It won’t hurt to wait a little while longer will it?” Wu Santong then replied, “Good, whatever you say, I’ll do it.”
Huang Rong raised her voice to call Li Mochou, “Li Zi Zi [Elder Sister Li], let’s go!” They let the precious horse [Han Xie Yu] lead the way and the people followed. The red horse originally wanted to return to Xiangyang but had instead run into its master. Huang Rong was now walking in front of him and heading towards Mount Zhongnan.
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