Seeking a master in Mount Zhongnan.

Guo Jing meditated on the boat, and after a few days, his energy has recovered by more than half. Huang Rong and Guo Jing raised the topic of Ouyang Feng, saying they hadn’t seen him in ten years. Not only does it seem he hasn’t aged much but his kung fu has improved. That palm he struck in Guo Jing’s chest was lethal; it will take at least ten days to half a month to fully recover. The two moved on to Hong Qigong, they didn’t know where he was and missed him very much. Huang Rong lived on the Peach Blossom Island, but she held the position of the Beggar Clan leader so all the clan’s affairs had to be cleared through her. One of the reasons she returned to Jiangnan was to meet with elder Zhu and discuss what was happening with the clan, and to search for news of Hong Qigong. But Guo Jing had suffered an injury, so they had to return to the island first. Then they talked about Yang Guo, and Huang Rong called him into the boat and told him to explain everything. Yang Guo told them that his mother had died due to an illness, and how he had wandered around in Jiaxing afterwards. The Guo couple reminisced about their friendship with Mu Nianci and couldn’t help but feel depressed. After Yang Guo had returned to the deck, Guo Jing said, “I’ve always had one wish and you know this. Today, heaven has given me this chance to see Guo’er, my wish can be completed. “

Years ago, Guo Jing’s father Guo Xiaotian and Yang Guo’s grandfather Yang Tiexin became brothers, and both their wives were pregnant. The two agreed that if their wives gave births to boys, they will became brothers; if they were girls they would be sisters; if it was one girl and one boy then it would be arranged for them be married. Eventually they had two boys, Guo Jing and Yang Guo’s father Yang Kang became brothers. However Yang Kang recognized an enemy as his father, his deeds were unchivalrous and eventually he died tragically near Jiaxing’s Iron Spear Temple. Guo Jing still felt responsible for this. When he mentioned this, Huang Rong understood his intentions and said, “I won’t agree.”

Guo Jing asked, with light surprise, “Agree what?”

Huang Rong said, “Fu’er won’t be married to that boy.”

Guo Jing said, “His father didn’t do any good, but our families friendship is a long one. Yang Guo has a handsome face, he’s extremely clever, and under our teaching he will achieve great things in the future.”

Huang Rong said, “I’m afraid that he is too clever for his own good.”

Guo Jing replied, “Weren’t you clever? What is wrong with that?”

Huang Rong laughed and said, “I eventually fell for a dumb boy.”

Guo Jing chuckled and said, “When Fu’er grows up, she may not find a dumb boy to love. Anyway, another boy as dumb as me, I doubt there’ll be another one.”

Huang Rong put on a shy face and said, “Are they rare?” The two joked around for a few more words before Guo Jing turned serious and said, “My father only had one wish, Uncle Yang Tie Xin also relied on me before he died. I didn’t do my best with brother Yang and sister Mu. If I don’t treat Guo’er as my own, how can I face father and uncle Yang?” He sighed, and looked disappointed.

Huang Rong gently said, “The two of them are young, there is no need to rush. If in the future Guo’er doesn’t develop any bad points, then you can do what you like.”

Guo Jing got up and clapped his hands, his spirits raised and said, “Thank you for your permission; I can’t say how thankful I am.”

Huang Rong replied, “I didn’t agree to anything. All I said was watch what becomes of Guo’er in the future.”

Guo Jing stood up and his waist straightened. He knew what Huang Rong meant and said, “Brother Yang Kang was raised in the palace of the Jin, and learned his ways from them. Guo’er will be on our island and he won’t turn bad. It was I who named him all those years ago. His name is Yang Guo, “to correct past mistakes”; if he does do wrong he will be able to change and right it. You can relax.”

Huang Rong laughed and said, “How can a name decide things? You are called Guo Jing, are you peaceful and quiet? Ever since you were young, you would jump around like a big monkey.”

Guo Jing thought about what she said, and wasn’t able to respond. Huang Rong smiled, and changed the subject, and didn’t mention the affair again.

The boat was quiet as they reached the island. Guo Fu was ecstatic that she had gained two little friends who were about the same age as her. Yang Guo had taken Huang Rong’s antidote, and now his poison had dissipated completely. He and Guo Fu had their arguments when they first met, but they were still kids. After a few days they had forgotten about it. However in a few days, the four would argue again in game of catching crickets.

One day, Yang Guo came out of the house, looking for crickets again. He was relaxing, enjoying the scenery and whistling to himself when he suddenly heard laughing and joking behind the hills. He rushed to have a look, and saw Guo Fu and the Wu brothers lifting rocks and pushing aside grass; they were looking for crickets. Wu Dunru was holding a bamboo tube, Guo Fu was holding a basin. Wu Xiuwen moved a rock and gave a laugh, a large cricket jumped out. Wu Xiuwen jumped on it, and held it with his two hands and laughed joyfully.

Guo Fu said, “Give it to me, gimme.”

Wu Xiuwen picked the cricket up and said, “Fine, I’ll give it to you.” He opened the lid of the basin and put the cricket in. The cricket’s head and legs looked healthy, it had a thick waist and abdomen, and it looked like a spirited cricket.

Wu Xiuwen said, “This cricket is going to be an invincible general, brother Yang, all the crickets that you have caught won’t be a match.”

Yang Guo was unconvinced and took out a few bamboo tubes containing crickets. He picked out his liveliest one to fight. After a few rounds, the large cricket bit the waist of Yang Guo’s cricket, causing it to slip out of the basin, fluttering its wings, looking weird.

Guo Fu laughed, “I won!”

Yang Guo said, “Wait, I’ve got more.” He took out three but they lost too, the third one bitten in half by the large cricket.

Yang Guo’s faced turned and said, “I’m not playing.” and turned around and walked away. Suddenly he heard three “ji” noises behind him in the grass, it was the call of a cricket, but it sounded different than normal.

Wu Dunru said, “Another one.” He parted the grass and suddenly jumped back, gasping, “Snake, snake!”

Yang Guo turned around and saw a striped poisonous snake, flicking its tongue out of the grass. Yang Guo picked up a stone, and aimed it at the snake. It struck it on the head, the snake twisted and turned a few times and died. He saw beside the dead snake was a black cricket, its appearance strange, spreading out its wings to call out.

Guo Fu laughed and said, “Brother Yang, catch the black one.”

Yang Guo heard that there was a ridiculing tone behind her words. Yang Guo’s proud character rose and said, “Fine.” He then went and caught it.

Guo Fu chuckled and said, “That thing, what do you want it for? You want to battle with my invincible general?”

Yang Guo said, “If you want to battle fine, this little one won’t let others bully it.” He placed the black cricket into Guo Fu’s basin.

What was strange was that when the large cricket saw the small black one, it looked startled and seemed to shrink away from it. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers shouted and called out to encourage it. The little black cricket raised its head and jumped in front of the big one. The big cricket, not daring to face it in battle, wanted to jump out of the basin. The black cricket jumped up and, high in midair, bit the end of the large cricket, and both of them fell out of the air. The large cricket shook a few times, and then turned on its abdomen and died. Amongst crickets, there are types, which liked to live with poisonous worms or with poisonous centipedes. This type is called the “Centipede Cricket” and those which live with poisonous snakes are called “Snake Crickets”. Because of the poison on it, the normal types of cricket aren’t their match. Yang Guo’s cricket was a “Snake Cricket”.

Guo Fu was very displeased with the fact that her invincible general had died, and after thinking for a while said to Yang Guo, “Brother Yang, give the black one to me.”

Yang Guo replied, “Giving it to you originally wasn’t a problem, but why did you ridicule the little black one?”

Guo Fu replied, “If you don’t give it to me fine, who wants it?” She picked up her basin and turned it over, the little black cricket fell onto the ground, and she squashed it with her right foot.

Yang Guo gasped, his blood began to boil, his face went red, he couldn’t control himself and he hit her hard by the side of the ear.

Guo Fu didn’t know whether to stay quiet or cry. Wu Xiuwen shouted at him, “The little boy hits people!” and threw a fist towards Yang Guo’s chest. His family’s skills are deep. Ever since he was little his parents had taught him martial arts, so his martial arts roots are good, the fist that was coming towards Yang Guo’s chest was not light. Yang Guo flared up, and threw a fist back but Wu Xiuwen dodged it. Yang Guo leapt up to attack, but Wu Dunru stuck out his leg to hook Yang Guo’s leg, Yang Guo fell on the ground. Wu Xiuwen turned around and jumped on Yang Guo’s body. Held down by the two brothers, four fists rained down fiercely on him.

Though Yang Guo was two years older, it was difficult for two fists to defend against four. The Wu brothers had been taught some higher martial arts, and Yang Guo had only learnt very basic martial arts from Mu Nianci. He wasn’t their match. He bit his teeth and didn’t make a sound.

Wu Dunru said, “If you apologize and beg we’ll let you go.”

Yang Guo shouted, “Never!”

Wu Xiuwen threw out another two fists. Guo Fu was watching aside pleased that the Wu brothers were helping her to get revenge.

The Wu brothers knew that if they attacked the head, it would leave wounds, and if Guo Jing and Huang Rong found out, they would be blamed. So they treated Yang Guo’s body with fists and kicks. Guo Fu saw the beating was severe and was a little bit scared. But when she felt the red mark left by Yang Guo by her ear, she felt pleased and shouted out, “Hit him harder, harder!” The Wu brothers listened, and hit harder.

Yang Guo was on the ground, and when he heard Guo Fu’s instructions he thought, “Guo Fu you evil little bitch, I’m going to get you for this.”

He felt extreme pain all over his back and it looked as if he would endure more. The Wu brothers had practiced martial arts since they were young, so their punches and kicks were strong. A normal adult wouldn’t withstand it. If Yang Guo had not practiced a bit of internal energy, he would have long ago fainted. He bit his teeth harder and waved his hands wildly. Then he suddenly felt a cold and slippery object; it was the dead poisonous snake. He picked it up and threw it back at the Wu brothers.

When the Wu brothers saw the stripped poisonous snake, they gasped. Yang Guo turned his body around, and threw a fierce fist, hitting Wu Dunru in the nose causing a nosebleed. Yang Guo scampered up and quickly ran away. The Wu brothers were indignant, and chased after him. Guo Fu shouted out, “Catch him, catch him!” and followed.

Yang Guo ran on for a while and then turned around to see Wu Dunru’s face full of blood, the expression on his face was furious, and knew if he was caught by the two brothers he would suffer an even more severe beating than before. So he ran and hurried to the foot of “Practicing Sword Peak”, and climbed up.

Though Wu Dunru’s face was full of blood, the wound didn’t really hurt. It was just that feeling his face full of blood that made him angry, and he hurried after Yang Guo. Yang Guo climbed up the peak with the Wu brothers close behind unrelenting. Guo Fu was at the foot of the peak, hearing the footsteps she looked up and was pleased to see what was happening. Yang Guo hurried for a while, only to see a cliff, with nowhere else to go. Years ago, whenever Huang Yaoshi invented a new stance, he would jump across the chasm and then go to the peak top and practice it. Could Yang Guo jump across? He thought, “I’d rather jump and die, than get caught by those two and get beaten up again.”

He turned around and shouted, “If you come one step closer I’ll jump!” Wu Dunru stopped, while Wu Xiuwen shouted back, “Jump if you want, who cares about you? You don’t have the guts anyway!” As he said this he crept closer.

Yang Guo’s blood rose again, and was about to jump when he saw a large loose rock from the corner of his eye. In a rush of blood and not thinking about the consequences, he stretched out his hand to move the smaller stones, the large stone did indeed began to move. He moved behind the large stone, and pushed with all his strength, the stone bounced twice and after a crashing sound, the stone began to roll down the hill.

The Wu brothers were shocked when they saw him push the stone, the colour of their faces changed, and they hurriedly moved out of the way. The large stone carried numerous pieces of dirt and sand, and after moving past the Wu brothers, turned over many flowers and plants before heading into the sea. Wu Dunru panicked, his foot slipped, and he started to roll down. Wu Xiuwen caught him a rush. The two of them couldn’t stand up on the slope and the both of them rolled down for about sixty or seventy feet; luckily a tree managed to block their path.

Huang Rong was in the house when she heard a sound far away, and followed the sound quickly to “Practicing Sword Peak”, only to see a field of dirt and sand, her daughter hidden in the grass, so frightened that she couldn’t cry, and the Wu brothers’ heads and faces full of blood. Huang Rong picked up her daughter and asked, “What happened?” Guo Fu buried herself into her mother and cried. After she finished crying she explained that Yang Guo had hit her for no reason, and when the Wu brothers helped her, Yang Guo wanted to roll a stone on them to kill them. She pushed all the blame onto Yang Guo. She didn’t say anything about her squashing his cricket, or the Wu brothers beating Yang Guo. Huang Rong listened, and saw the red mark left on Guo Fu’s face, the slap must have been strong, and she sympathized with her and comforted her.

Guo Jing also hurried to the scene, and saw the Wu brothers hurt and asked what happened. He was angry but also concerned about Yang Guo, and hurried up to the peak; he searched around but couldn’t see a trace of him. He raised his voice and called out, “Guo’er, Guo’er.” The loud voice resonated out for miles, but he did not see Yang Guo, nor did he hear a reply. Guo Jing waited a while becoming increasingly concerned and eventually descended down from the peak. He rowed around the island in a boat, searching for him until it was dark but still he couldn’t see a trace of Yang Guo.

When Yang Guo pushed the stone and saw the Wu brothers roll down the peak, he had seen Huang Rong coming, and knew he would face a heavy punishment and so hid himself among the rocks in the cliff. He heard Guo Jing’s call but did not reply. Yang Guo was hungry but he did not move from his hiding place among the rocks. He saw it was approaching dusk, the sea beginning to darken, and there was no sound of people anywhere nearby. After a while, the sky was lit up with stars, a cool wind was blowing; he felt cold and came out of his hiding place and gazed down the mountain. He saw clearly a light coming out from the window, and imagined the Guo couple, Ke Zhen E, Guo Fu and the Wu brothers, eating a meal around the table; chicken, duck, fish and meat filling the table, and couldn’t stop by drooling. But he thought of how they were talking about his punishment behind his back, and couldn’t help but be furious. He stood there at the foot of the mountain, in the sea breeze he thought about how he had been bullied all his life, everyone looking at him coldly; he was filled with a feeling of indignity.

In reality, when Guo Jing could not find Yang Guo, how could he eat? When Huang Rong saw that her husband was troubled, she knew he wouldn’t listen to her so she did the same as him, and accompanied him in his torment. Before the next day was bright the two went out searching again.

Yang Guo had endured hunger for a day and a half now, and on the second morning he gave in, descended the peak, and went to a stream and caught some frogs. He peeled off their skin and picked up some dry leaves, wanting to roast them on a fire. He was by the streamside and wanted to cook the frogs immediately to cure his hunger but thought that Guo Jing and Huang Rong might see the smoke, so he went into a cave and prepared the fire. As soon as the frog’s legs were golden, he ate straight away, eating a leg in one big bite. He suddenly heard Guo Jing’s voice calling out, “Guo’er, Guo’er!? He thought, “You want me to come out so you can beat me, I’m not going to come out.”

That night he slept in the cave and after he had slept for a while, he awoke suddenly and saw Ouyang Feng come into the cave. He said, “Son, I’ve come to teach you kung fu in order for you to avoid getting beat up by the two little Wus.” Yang Guo was happily surprised and followed him out of the cave, only to see him crouch on the ground, and gave out a few “gu” sounds before pushing out two palms. Yang Guo tried to follow, but his palms and kicks weren’t the same. Ouyang Feng curled is hand into a fist and threw it out, Yang Guo couldn’t avoid it and it landed on top of his head, the pain was severe and he got up.

After being hit on the head, he woke up; it seemed it was all just a dream. He felt his head, and came across a bump. It ached severely and he sighed repeatedly, thinking, “It looks like father has recovered and has escaped from the bell. When is he going to come and collect me, and teach me kung fu so I can avoid being bullied by others?”

He went out of the cave, and looked up at the sky, and saw many stars hanging within the branches of the trees, and remembered that Ouyang Feng had taught him kung fu. He had forgotten about this; he crouched down, gave out a few “gu” calls; he wanted to use the formula of the “Toad Stance” that Ouyang Feng had taught him in Jiaxing. He tried to use his fists and legs, but whatever he did, he couldn’t do this stance. He searched his mind, and threw out two palms, like he did in his dream, but that was a completely different thing.

He was alone at the foot of the peak, and stared out at the sea, the lonely feeling in his heart was stronger than ever. Suddenly he heard a gentle voice from the sea calling, “Guo’er, Guo’er.” He immediately replied, “I’m here. I’m here.” He ran down onto the beach where Guo Jing could see him from faraway. In high spirits Guo Jing rowed quickly to the shore, and jumped onto the beach. The stars shone on the two as they rushed to each other. He picked up Yang Guo into his chest and just said, “Come back and have supper.” He was emotional, his voice almost cracking.

When they reached the house, Huang Rong had prepared supper for them. They never mentioned what had happened again.

At dawn the next day, he called Yang Guo, the Wu brothers and Guo Fu out the hall, and invited Ke Zhen E as well. He instructed the four disciples to kowtow to the six Jiangnan Freaks headstone, and then said to Ke Zhen E, “Senior Master, I request your permission to take in four grand apprentices.”

Ke Zhen E was delighted and said, “That will be for the best, I congratulate you.”

Guo Jing then instructed Yang Guo, the Wu brothers to first kowtow to Ke Zhen E and then underwent the ritual of a new disciple to a master towards the Guo couple.

Guo Fu smiled and asked, “Mother, I need to do this as well?”

Huang Rong replied, “Of course.”

Guo Fu gleefully kowtowed to the three.

Guo Jing said seriously, “From today onwards, you four are apprentice brothers.”

Guo Fu interrupted, “Wrong, its apprentice brother and sister.”

Guo Jing gave his daughter a look and said, “When father has not finished speaking, don’t open your mouth.” He waited and then said, “From now on you four must treat each other with love and respect, share in good fortune and suffer in misery together. If there are any disturbances or conflicts, I won’t look lightly upon it.” He looked at Yang Guo when he said this. Yang Guo thought, “As long as you treat your daughter the same, then I won’t push her around.”

Ke Zhen E took over, and passed on the rules and regulations of their school, it was the usual don’t bully the weak, don’t harm the innocents. The Seven Freaks had numerous rules but Ke Zhen E couldn’t remember all of them so just said the main ones.

Guo Jing said, “I have learned a variety of skills, apart from the skills of the Jiangnan Seven Heroes (this is what Guo Jing called them.). The Quanzhen Sect’s internal energy, the Peach Blossom Island and Beggars Clan’s skills; I have learned a bit of all of them. You mustn’t forget your roots so today I will teach you Grand Master’s skills first.

As he was about to pass on the formula, Huang Rong saw that Yang Guo’s head was down and his body was sticking out, his face had an indescribable aura, like Yang Kang’s. Her heart was troubled, and thought, “Although his father didn’t die directly by my hands, it could be said that I caused his death. If I don’t watch over him, he will become trouble in the future.” She smiled as she thought of a plan, “Teaching four of them will be hard work. I’ll teach Guo’er.” Before Guo Jing could agree, Ke Zhen E clapped his hand and said, “What an excellent idea! Your intelligence is incomparable; you can definitely make something out of this disciple.” Guo Jing was pleased in his heart, he knew his wife was infinitely cleverer than him, her methods must exceed his. He didn’t open his mouth to object.

Guo Fu was afraid of her father’s strictness and said, “Mother, I want you to teach me.”

Huang Rong smiled, “You want me because you can cause trouble and you won’t be able to learn any kung fu. It will be better if your father teaches you.” Guo Fu sneaked a glance at her father, and saw him staring at her; she turned around and didn’t dare speak out again.

Huang Rong spoke to her husband and said, “We will set a rule: you mustn’t teach Guo’er and I won’t teach your three. The four of them can’t pass on skills to each other, just in case they practice incorrectly, there is no need to get hurt for no reason.”

Guo Jing replied, “Of course.”

Huang Rong said, “Guo’er, follow me.”

Yang Guo loathed Guo Fu and the Wu brothers, when he heard what Huang Rong had said, about not mixing with the other students, it was what he wanted, and followed her into the inner hall. Huang Rong led him to the study, and picked up a book saying, “Your teacher had seven teachers, their names were the Jiangnan Seven Freaks, first master is Grandpa Ke, second master was the Swift Hand Scholar Zhu Cong, now I will teach his skills to you.”

As she said this she opened the book and read clearly, “Zi Yue: When practicing what you are taught, can you change? If you’ve got friends all over, is it extreme?” (N.B. Sorry about this translation, it’s supposedly from “The Analects of Confucius”, my Chinese is not at the level where I can decipher old sayings and writings.) The book that she picked was “The Analects of Confucius”. Yang Guo thought this was strange but didn’t dare to question her, and just repeated what she read and wrote down what she said. Throughout the day, all Huang Rong taught him was reading and writing, and refused to mention teaching kung fu.

One day after Yang Guo finished studying, he went to the back of the mountain to take a walk, and remembered Ouyang Feng. He didn’t know where he was, he thought of fond memories, and at that moment flipped his body upside down, and copied the movements of Ouyang Feng. After a while, following the formula for contrary blood flow, he felt the more he stayed upside down the smoother it felt. He flipped upright and after a loud “gu” call, pushed out his two palms. He felt his body was smooth and relaxed, the gracefulness incomparable, and his body was covered with sweat. He didn’t know that after a session of practicing, his internal energy had increased a level. All Ouyang Feng’s kung fu was dangerous; the most lethal types of the higher set of skills. Yang Guo’s intelligence and comprehension was high. Although he had learned very little in the past few days, now that he had begun to practice, his internal energy improved.

From now on, he would study and recite books and manuscripts with Huang Rong everyday, and whenever he had spare time in the evenings he would go to the secluded mountainside and practice his martial arts. He didn’t intend to practice in order to learn the frightening skill; it was because every time he practiced, his body would be filled with a relaxed feeling. After he has achieved this then he would stop.

He secretly practiced and Guo Jing and Huang Rong didn’t know. Huang Rong taught him literature, and within three months she had taught him the whole of “The Analects of Confucius”. Yang Guo was able to memorize the texts quickly. Yang Guo was able to memorize the texts quickly. Though he disliked learning texts and manuscripts, he didn’t raise any objections.

In reality, Huang Rong was not happy just teaching him how to read and study, but thought, “His intelligence is not below mine and if his character is like his father’s and he learns kung fu he could definitely cause a lot of trouble in the future. Why not teach him to study, and shape him into a worthy and honest person. That had its good points.” That’s why she picked “The Analects of Confucius” and now she would follow it with “Meng Zi”.

A few months past and Huang Rong had still not passed on any martial arts, nor had Yang Guo asked about it. Ever since the fight with the other children, he had not tried to mingle with them, and kept himself to himself, becoming even more of a loner. He thought that although Guo Jing had taken him in as a student, he didn’t have the intention of passing any skills to him. He already wasn’t a match for the Wu brothers. If he had a fight with them after a year or so under Guo Jing’s teachings, it would be difficult for him not to die at their hands. He made a decision, when there was a chance to leave the island, he would take it.

One afternoon when Yang Guo was supposed to study a few passages of “Meng Zi”, he slipped out of the library and went out for a walk on the beach. He looked out at the sea, at the white waves and foam, and thought, “When will I be able to leave this place, and happily leave the others where they are.” As he was gazing, he suddenly heard some wind sounds from the Peach Blossom forest. Curious, he went over to have a look, and eventually found his way. From a distance could see it was Guo Jing in the forest teaching the Wu brothers some fists and kicks. He was teaching them a stance of the “Trapping Hand”, “Holding the Bridge”, “Changing the Pillar” (tuo liang huan zhu). Guo Jing gave them pointers, and then demonstrated it, instructing the Wu brothers to copy him. Yang Guo just took a glance, and recognized the essence of the stance immediately, but the Wu brothers practiced and practiced but couldn’t quite get it. Guo Jing himself wasn’t the best at picking things up immediately, and knew how hard things could be, so did not lose his temper with them and repeated this move again.

Yang Guo sighed and thought, “If Uncle Guo was willing to teach me, I wouldn’t be as stupid as them.” Feeling unhappy, he returned to his room and slept. After supper he read a few more books, but thought this was a waste of his time and so he went to the beach again. He practiced the punch and kicks that Guo Jing taught, and went over it a few times before he started to feel troubled and thought, “If I secretly practice their skills to a much better standard than the Wu brothers, I won’t have to be scared of them.” This idea initially was good but as he thought about it he changed his mind. “Uncle Guo doesn’t want to teach me so why should I learn it in secret? Hmm… even if he decides to teach me, I won’t learn it. I may get beaten to death but who cares?” As he thought about this, he felt pride but also sadness. He sat and leaned on the cliff face; the soothing sound of the waves of the sea eventually sending him to sleep.

In the morning, Yang Guo did not go for breakfast, nor did he go to the library to study, he was by the sea and managed to gather several large clams which he roasted on a fire and ate. He thought, “Even if I don’t eat Guo food, I won’t starve to death.” He saw a large boat and a small boat by the shore. “I won’t be able to operate that large boat, and I can’t row far in that small boat, how can I escape from this island?”

He thought about this for half a day, having nothing to do, he went beside a large cliff face and flipped his body, and practiced the internal energy that Ouyang Feng taught.

At the point where his blood was beginning to flow quickly, where his body felt lucid and smooth, he suddenly heard a shout from behind. He was caught unawares and fell down, his legs and arms numb, he couldn’t get back up. It was Guo Fu and the Wu brothers arriving on the scene. Behind the cliff face was an extremely quiet and peaceful area, with no one around. Because the paths of the island were designed to follow the five changes, Guo Fu and the brothers didn’t dare to run about blindly. They were looking for a place to play and followed a path, eventually winding up here where Yang Guo was practicing.

It was fortunate that Yang Guo’s internal strength was shallow; otherwise the interruption by the three would have scrambled his veins and meridians, causing him to suffer paralysis.

Guo Fu clapped her hand and said, “What