Chapter 30 – Partings and reunions are impermanent, Part 12
At this time, they all heard a loud ‘ah’ cry from the distance. They turned their heads back towards the Passion Flower field and saw Li Mochou hoisting Hong Lingbo’s body high up in the air. The sound they heard just now was Hong Lingbo’s cry. While people had been busy arguing, they forgot all about Li Mochou and her disciple who were stuck in the sea of flowers. Startled, Lu Wushuang cried out, “Rats. Master is using her disciple as a stepping stone. Quick, we have to find a way to help…”
While the people outside were staring in confusion, Li Mochou suddenly threw Hong Lingbo out. As the body fell into the Passion Flower shrubs, Li Mochou sprang up, her left foot stepping on Hong Lingbo’s chest. She then jumped up again with both legs high in the air, and her right hand grabbing and hurling Hong Lingbo out one more time. Again, she descended on top of her disciple’s body.
She used this “Strength Borrowing” tactic twice, expecting to fall outside the flower shrubs on her third jump. Afraid that Huang Rong would be waiting to block her, she flew out again in the opposite direction, away from the group of people. But this time as her body shot up, Hong Lingbo suddenly gave out a loud cry and leapt up with her, grasping Li Mochou’s left leg. Losing her momentum, Li Mochou started to sink. Then her right leg shot out, kicking Hong Lingbo in the chest with a ‘peng’ sound. This kick was lethal, destroying Hong Lingbo’s internal organs and killing her instantly. Somehow, Hong Lingbo’s hands were still gripping Li Mochou’s leg, and the two of them plunged down together, falling into the flower shrubs just two feet short of the edge of the flower bed. When Li Mochou landed she received an unimaginable amount of poison which surged into her body.
Everybody was shocked speechless, staring wide-eyed at this sadly horrifying development. Lu Wushuang thought about how her martial sister used to take care of her. Grief-stricken, she wept loudly and cried out, “Martial sister, martial sister!”
Yang Guo remembered how years ago he’d played tricks on Hong Lingbo. He couldn’t help feeling heavyhearted.
Li Mochou bent down to pry away Hong Lingbo’s hands and saw that her open eyes were filled with hatred. She thought to herself, “I’ve been poisoned by the Passion Flowers. The antidote surely must be here in the valley.” As she was about to walk around the piles of flowers and be on her way, she suddenly heard Huang Rong calling out, “Sister Li, please come over here. I have a few words to say to you.” Li Mochou was surprised, and with a slight hesitation, she moved forwards twenty or thirty feet. “What?” She asked. She secretly hoped that Huang Rong would give her the antidote, or at least tell her how to find it.
“You didn’t need to kill your disciple to leave the flower thicket,” said Huang Rong.
Li Mochou reached for her sword and coldly said, “Are you trying to teach me?”
With a faint smile Huang Rong replied, “I wouldn’t dare to. I’m only going to tell you one thing. You should have used your long sword to dig up the soil and wrapped it with your outer gown, making two very large balls. And if you had thrown them into the flower thicket, wouldn’t they have made good stepping stones? Not only could you have gotten out safely, you wouldn’t have had to hurt anyone.”
Li Mochou’s face color changed from white to red and then red to white. She was struck by enormous grief. What Huang Rong had just explained was really not difficult, but because she was anxious, she couldn’t figure it out. Instead, she had just killed the only person in the world that mattered and actually fallen to her own doom. She couldn’t help saying bitterly, “No matter, it’s already too late.”
Huang Rong said, “Yes. It’s way too late. Really, whether or not you are poisoned by the Passion Flowers makes no difference.”
Li Mochou stared fixedly at her, not understanding the meaning of her words.
Huang Rong added, “You’ve already been poisoned by your own foolish, unrestrained passion. You hurt people, and so you hurt yourself. As of now…” Huang Rong sighed. “It is way too late.”
Li Mochou turned arrogant. She said in a stern voice, “It was I who gave my disciple her life. Had it not been for me taking care of her since childhood, she wouldn’t have lived until today. I gave her life. I then gave her death. It was only fair.”
Huang Rong said, “Parents give life to their own children. Yet, they have no right to kill them. Who are you to think that you do?”
Wu Xiuwen held out his sword and shouted, “Li Mochou, today you’ll pay for your innumerable crimes. There’s no need for more talking. We’ll fight.”
Then the six of them – Wu Xiuwen, Wu Dunru, Wu Santong, Yelu Qi, Yelu Yan, and Guo Fu – arranged themselves in two lines and marched forward.
Armed with a saber and a flute, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang moved a couple of steps forward. Lu Wushuang said, “You slaughtered my whole family, today your one life is way too cheap. Worse, you had to be so evil, killing Sister Hong. Your death won’t even cover it.”
Guo Fu turned to Lu Wushuang and said with a sneer, “You’ve got such a good master!”
Lu Wushuang returned the stare and said, “Even if someone with a big backer, does evil things, she should die just the same! You don’t need to look to this demoness for an example!”
As Li Mochou heard Lu Wushuang mention “a backer,” something came to her mind. She raised her voice and called out, “Little martial sister, have you completely forgotten our martial ties?”
She had roamed Jianghu all her life and never paid attention to anyone. This time she was asking Xiao Longnü for help. It could only mean that she had realized how grave her situation was. Besides, after killing Hong Lingbo, she felt a pang of guilt, her mind became disturbed.
Xiao Longnü didn’t know how to reply but Yang Guo retorted, “You treacherously killed your own disciple; how could you mention any martial ties?”
“So be it!” Li Mochou said with a sigh. Swinging her long sword, she said, “You all come at once. The more people the better.”
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