Chapter 30 – Partings and reunions are impermanent, Part 7
Early next morning, it was still snowing. Yang Guo thought that the Passionless Valley was quite a distance away. Although Reverend Yideng’s pill gave them seven extra days, they had to go as fast as they possibly could, with not even a bit of delay. He asked Yideng, “Reverend, how’s your injury?”
Yideng’s injury was really heavy but he wanted to save his apprentice brother, Zhu Ziliu and Xiao Longnü and knew that all were urgent matters. His gown sleeves flared out as he said, “It’s not a problem.”
He drew in air and sprang forward, covering over ten feet in one leap. The three people followed.
After taking the pill, Xiao Longnü felt a surge of warmth in her abdomen and her strength returning. With her lightness skills, she caught up with Reverend Yideng in no time. Ci’en was startled. This timid young lady actually had quite an awesome kungfu. Suddenly his competitive spirit rose. His feet became swift as he gave chase. One person was a Gu Mu disciple of with unparalleled lightness skills. The other was a renowned master nicknamed ‘Iron Palms Floating on Water.’ In a flash the two people had covered twenty, thirty feet, quickly becoming two gray spots on the snow. Yang Guo was afraid that Ci’en would suddenly become evil and hurt Xiao Longnü so he went after them to protect her. His lightness skills were inferior to those of the two people but his inner energy was solid, and his feet were strong. At the beginning, he was a great distance away from them. Less than half an hour later, the two people’s shadows became clearer.
Suddenly he heard Reverend Yideng laughing from behind him. Yideng said, “Young gentleman’s inner energy is so profound. This really is rare. May I ask who your master is?”
Yang Guo slowed down to move side by side with him. He replied, “My wife taught me my martial skills.”
Yideng asked in wonder, “Is she as good as you?”
Yang Guo said, “For these past few months, my inner energy has somehow kept increasing. I myself don’t understand why.”
Yideng asked, “Is it possible that you’ve taken some kind of medicine that boosts inner energy? Perhaps shaped ginsengs or millennium mushrooms?”
Yang Guo shook his head and said, “I had dozens of snake gallbladders. Since then, my strength has skyrocketed. Do you think they are related?”
Yideng said, “Snake gallbladders? Snake gallbladders can cure rheumatism. They have nothing to do with inner strength.”
Yang Guo said, “These gallbladders were from very strange poisonous snakes. Their scales glittered like gold, and their heads were crested. The shape was really weird.”
Yideng paused for a bit and suddenly said, “Ah, they are the ‘pu-si-qu’ snakes, mentioned in a Buddhist record. They said these snakes lived underground, moved like a wind, and were extremely difficult to catch.”
Yang Guo said, “A big eagle caught them for me.”
“That really is the strangest thing in the world.” Yideng exclaimed.
While the two people talked, their feet didn’t slow down at all. After a while, they were nearing Xiao Longnü and Ci’en. Yideng and Yang Guo exchanged a smile. Even though their lightness skills were inferior to those of Xiao Longnü and Ci’en, speed declined with increasing distance, and it was then up to their inner energy. By this time, because her inner energy was inferior, Xiao Longnü had already dropped some ten feet behind Ci’en. And as soon as they rounded the mountain, Yang Guo pointed ahead and said, “Eh, how come there are three people?”
It looked like someone was closely trailing Xiao Longnü. Yang Guo took a look and sensed that this person’s lightness skills were not less than those of Xiao Longnü and Ci’en. On his back he was carrying something that looked like a trunk yet his feet were still swift, and he was always twenty or thirty feet behind Xiao Longnü. Yideng was also puzzled. Surprisingly there was another skilled master on this wild mountain. Last night he ran into this pair of young and elegant couple. Today he saw this person, obviously an old man.
Not long after being overtaken by Ci’en, the distance between Ci’en and Xiao Longnü widened. She heard the sounds of footsteps from behind and thought it was Yang Guo. She said, “Guo’er, that monk’s lightness skills are incredible. I can’t beat him. You go try.”
The person laughed and said, “Come sit on this trunk and gather your strength. You don’t have to fear that old monk.”
Hearing the words, Xiao Longnü was puzzled. She turned her head back and saw a man with a white beard and hair. It was the Old Urchin Zhou Botong.
With a laugh, he pointed at the trunk he’d been carrying on his back and said, “Come…come…come!”
In this trunk was the stuff that had been in the Sacred Scripture Chamber of the Chongyang Palace and looked like it was filled with the Quanzhen sect’s Taoist scrolls. Zhou Botong had brought it with him on his back. Xiao Longnü faintly smiled but said nothing. Zhou Botong suddenly dashed forward. He grabbed her with one arm and put her on the trunk. His body movements were so fast and his hand technique was so strange that Xiao Longnü couldn’t even resist. While carrying the wooden trunk, he couldn’t help thinking, “The Quanzhen sect is known throughout the world as an orthodox martial school. The Taoists at the Chongyang Palace couldn’t defeat me. It must be because they hadn’t learned the essence of their sect’s martial skills.”
By now Yang Guo and Yideng had recognized Zhou Botong. Ci’en was concentrating on rushing forwards for fear that Xiao Longnü would catch up with him, and so he was the only person who didn’t know that there was another person behind him.
Zhou Botong followed him in big strides and said, “Another half an hour, he’ll slow down.”
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