he later Indian martial artists developed a powerful external martial art, that allowed the user to shoot large objects and was subsequently named after this story. Nimoxing called upon the divine strength of this technique and shot the boulder towards Fawang. The large rock traveled extremely fast towards Fawang, creating a ferocious wind as it went forward.

Though Fawang was greatly skilled, he still didn’t dare to receive such a large heavy object head on and moved out of the way. Nimoxing suddenly flew up and struck the large stone with his palms, sending the stone back towards Fawang once again. This second attack was much stronger than the first because it was the combined force of the second propulsion from his palms with the remaining force from the first attack.

Fawang was better at martial arts than Nimoxing; but because he had never seen this “Elephant Shooting of Shijia” he was actually forced on the back foot. When he saw the rock coming towards him again, he could only move out of the way once again. Nimoxing pressed his advantage and the force of the rock become more and more ferocious as he repeatedly increased the force behind it.

Fawang thought, “If this continues I’m going to lose to this dark dwarf; I need to think of something else. Luckily he’s up by himself; when I kill him that zombie face would not dare to come up against me. Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü have been poisoned and won’t be able to use their “Pure Heart of Jade Maiden Swordplay” smoothly.”

Suddenly, the thunderous sounds of horses were heard from nearby. Flags fluttered in the air as a group of men on horseback rushed towards them. Fawang and Nimoxing were in the middle of a heated battle and had no time to look. Yang Guo and the others saw it was a division of Mongolian soldiers on horseback armed with bows and sabers. About a hundred feet from Yang Guo and the others, the leader of the division held up his hand to order his men to stop. The soldiers all reigned in their horses.

Below the flag, a person watched the battle from his horse for a while before riding up towards them and called out, “Stop, stop!” This person wore a yellow gown and carried an iron bow; it was the Mongolian Prince Khubilai.

When Nimoxing heard his voice, he struck the rock with his palms and sent it rolling down the mountainside. Vast amounts of dust and dirt were thrown up as the boulder rolled down the slope.

Khubilai leapt off the horse and held Fawang with his left hand and Nimoxing with his right. He laughed, “So you two are exchanging a few stances here; it really was a great spectacle.” He knew that the two were having a real battle but he said this to keep the face of both sides. Fawang gave a wry laugh and said, “Brother Ni’s martial arts has its good points; a rare sight, a rare sight.”

Nimoxing’s eyes glared at him and said, “I thought the First Protector of Mongolia would be someone extraordinary, but you’re just… bah!”

Fawang was furious and thought, “Do you really think I can’t beat you?” He was just about to say something when Khubilai laughed, “This place has everything, but where’s the wine? Men, bring wine! We’ll drink three bowls here!”

Mongolians have always lived in the wild and made the world their home. Eating and drinking outside was no different than eating in a hall to them. One of the guards brought some wine and food to them and laid a rug on the ground.

Khubilai looked at Xiao Longnü and was shocked, “There’s actually a girl with such beauty here on this earth.” He saw Yang Guo and her holding hands, standing next to each other intimately; he asked Yang Guo, “Who’s this girl?”

Yang Guo said, “This is Miss Long; she is my Master and she is also my wife.”

After the life and death experiences in the Passionless Valley; the world’s customs and traditions meant absolutely nothing to him. He deliberately wanted everyone in the world to know that ‘I, Yang Guo, have married my Master’.

Mongolians weren’t as strict as the Han when it came to adhering to custom and tradition. When Khubilai heard this he wasn’t surprised, but instead, he had great respect for Xiao Longnü when he heard that she was the one who taught Yang Guo martial arts. He laughed, “You two are indeed a match made in heaven, excellent, excellent. Everyone, let’s congratulate these two.” He raised his bowl of wine and drank it all in one go.

Fawang gave a wry laugh before he too raised his bowl and drank it all in one go. The others followed and Ma Guangzuo drank three bowls in one go.

Xiao Longnü did not hate or like Mongolians; but when she heard Khubilai praising her and Yang Guo as a great match, she was wild with joy. She drank half a bowl of wine and her face became even more beautiful. She thought, “All the Han say that I and Guo’er can’t marry each other; while this Mongolian Prince kept on saying excellent, excellent. It looks like Mongolians are more knowledgeable than the Han.”

Khubilai laughed, “I missed everyone here while you were gone for these past three days. However, matters at Xiangyang were getting urgent and so I was unable to continue hosting our esteemed guests. I’d left requests for you at the camp to meet up with the army at Xiangyang to aid us. Things will go a lot smoother now that we’ve met here.”

Fawang asked, “My Highness, how has our army been doing in our attacks on Xiangyang?”

Khubilai frowned and said, “Lu Wende, the General who’s guarding Xiangyang, is just a mediocre General; the person I’m worried about is Guo Jing.”

Yang Guo’s heart trembled and asked, “Is Guo Jing really at Xiangyang?”

Khubilai said, “This Guo Jing is my Senior. He was my father’s sworn brother and was my grandfather Genghis Khan’s most beloved General. This person was both brave and wise; he commanded an army at Xiyu and used an extraordinary plan to succeed in his task. My father once said to me, ‘The Song courts are led by an incompetent Emperor and scheming ministers; they have timid Generals and a weak army. Although they have great numbers they will not be able to defend against our skilled army. But if you come across Guo Jing, you must be careful. Father’s foresight was indeed right; our army has attacked Xiangyang many times but all attempts have been unsuccessful. The reason behind all this is Guo Jing.”

Yang Guo stood up and said, “That Guo Jing is the person who killed my father; I would like to request the order to assassinate him.”

Khubilai said with pleasure, “I have gathered all you heroes together for this exact task. But from what I hear, Guo Jing is the best martial artist of all the Han and he’s got many able people under his command. I have ordered many warriors to go and assassinate him but all have failed. They were either captured or killed; none of them returned. Brother Yang might be brave but it would be difficult for you to achieve this on your own. I want to send everyone here to go into Xiangyang and to work together to kill him. Once this person is killed, Xiangyang will fall.”

Fawang, Xiaoxiang Zi and the others all stood up; they crossed their arms and said, “We will use every ounce of our strength to follow your Highness’ order.”

Khubilai was delighted and said, “It doesn’t matter who kills Guo Jing, and those who go along to help will also be greatly rewarded. However, the Khan will be informed of the name of the person who killed Guo Jing, be given the title of Viscount and be called The Greatest Warrior of Mongolia.”

Xiaoxiang Zi, Nimoxing and the others did not care about the Viscount position; but if they got the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia, they’ll be famous throughout the world, and achieve their life’s dream. The influence of the Mongolian army has spread far and wide; they have countless li of territories in the western regions and have taken two thirds of the land of China. It would take a fast horse a year to travel from the centre of their empire to its boundaries. If they had the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia, all of the world’s heroes, bar none, will be in awe of them. Everyone’s spirits were motivated and even Fawang reacted to this news; there was a glint in his eyes when he heard it.

Yang Guo gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. Xiao Longnü looked at him lovingly but she was thinking, “Who cares about the title of Viscount, or the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia? I just hope that you can stay alive and well.”

Everyone drank a few more bowls of wine and then stood up. A Mongolian soldier led some horses to them. Yang Guo, Xiao Longnü, Fawang and the others leapt onto the horses and followed Khubilai, riding southwards towards Xiangyang.

It was a scene of destruction along the way; nine out of ten buildings were empty and the ground was covered with corpses. Whenever the Mongolian soldiers see Han, they would kill them with unrestrained violence. Yang Guo was furious when he saw this and wanted to stop them. But he hesitated because of Khubilai, and thought, “The Mongolians are so violent and cruel and treat my Han people worse than animals; after I’ve killed Guo Jing and Huang Rong, I’m going to kill a few of the evilest Mongolian soldiers to vent my anger.”

A few days later, they arrived outside of Xiangyang. The two sides had now been fighting for around a month and the ground was covered with the remnants of battle; broken spears lay strewn everywhere; blood and bodies covered the ground.

When the Generals and commanders of the army outside Xiangyang learned of the Fourth Prince Khubilai’s arrival, they went to greet him thirty li outside of Xiangyang. The sounds of the horses’ hoofs and the clanging of the soldiers’ armour reflected the grandeur of the army. When the Generals and commanders saw Khubilai’s banner, they all leapt off their horses and kneeled down by the roadside.

Khubilai rode up near them and reigned in his horse. He took a look around and didn’t say anything for a long while. He then gave a ‘humph’ grunt and said, “Xiangyang city has been under attack for so long yet you still have not captured it; isn’t that a disgrace to the mighty Mongolian army?”

All the Generals and commanders replied at the same time, “We deserve to die; please punish us your Highness.”

Khubilai whipped his horse and galloped forward. All the Generals and commanders kept themselves down on the ground for a long time, not daring to get up.

Yang Guo saw that Khubilai was very peaceful and easy going towards him, Fawang and the others; but when he was disciplining his army he was very strict. He thought, “The Mongolian army is so strong and so disciplined; how can the Song defend against them?” He frowned as he thought about this.

Early next morning, the Mongolians attacked Xiangyang once again. Arrows and stones were sent towards the city like rain and hail. The soldiers at the front of the attack placed ladders around the city of Xiangyang and climbed up. The city was guarded tightly; groups of eight soldiers held a wooden ram in their arms and were knocking the ladders off the city walls. After a prolonged attack, a hundred or so Mongolian soldiers eventually managed to get themselves on top of the city walls. The Mongolian army hollered and another hundred or so soldiers climbed up towards the walls for support. The watchman’s rattle rang urgently and a group of archers appeared, shooting arrows down on the advance, forcing them back. Another group of Song soldiers appeared with torches in their hands and they burned the ladders, sending the Mongolians on the ladders plummeting down to the ground.

Shouts and calls could be heard from the city as a group of men appeared on the walls with long spears and sharp sabers, attacking the Mongolians who had climbed up onto the city walls. This group of men did not wear the uniform of the Song army; some wore short black garments, while some wore long green gowns. When they attacked, they didn’t attack in a group; their movements were swift and showed that they possessed martial arts. The Mongolians who had managed to get themselves on top of the city walls were all great warriors of the Mongolian army and had never met their match before. But when they came across this group of Han, they were all killed. Some died on the city walls while others fell to their deaths. There was an especially commanding Han in the Song army. This person wore a grey gown and was fighting empty handed; he scanned the walls and when he saw Han soldiers in distress, he would immediately dash over and help them. Wherever his palms went, Mongolian soldiers fell; it was like a tiger in amongst a herd of sheep.

Khubilai was commanding this battle himself and when he saw how brave and heroic this Han was, he was stunned and didn’t say anything. After a while he sighed and said, “Out of all the warriors in the world, who can compare with this man?”

Yang Guo was standing beside Khubilai and asked, “Highness, do you know who that is?”

Khubilai was startled and said, “Could it be that he’s Guo Jing?”

Yang Guo said, “Yes!”

By this time, most of the hundreds of Mongolians soldiers who had climbed up the city walls had been killed. Only three brave Sergeants of the Jagen (100 man squad) still survived and they were fighting on in a corner with their spears and shields. A Noyan (rank in Mongolian army, leader of a division of 10,000) below blew their horn and another group of soldiers attacked the city walls, intending to bring the three remaining Jagen Sergeants back to safety.

Guo Jing roared and stepped forward. One of the Jagen Sergeants thrust his spear forward towards him. Guo Jing grabbed the spear and pushed forward. He then kicked out at the shield of another Jagen Sergeant with his left leg. Though these two Jagen Sergeants had great valor, how could they resist the divine strength from such a push and kick? They somersaulted down from the wall and fell to their deaths.

The third Jagen Sergeant was fairly old and had grey hair. He knew that today was the day when he would meet his maker. He swung his long saber wildly like a mad tiger. Guo Jing stretched out his left hand and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was holding the saber. He was about to chop down with his right hand when he suddenly stopped in alarm. The Jagen Sergeant recognized Guo Jing and called out, “Jin Dao Fu Ma (Golden Blade Consort), it’s you!” Note: He was betrothed to Genghis Khan’s daughter Hua Zhen during his time in Mongolia.

He was actually one of the soldiers that accompanied Guo Jing when he was sent to conquer the western regions. When Huang Rong made the plan to take Samarkand, he was amongst the first warriors who made the attack on the city.

Guo Jing recalled past memories and said, “You are E’er Dou?”

The Jagen Sergeant cried when he saw that Guo Jing remembered his name and he called out, “Yes, yes it’s me.”

Guo Jing said, “Fine, I’m going to spare your life today because of what happened in the past. If I capture you again, there will be no mercy.” He turned to one of his aides and said, “Get a rope and send him back down!”

Two soldiers tied a rope around E’er Dou’s waist and lowered him.

E’er Dou was a famous warrior in the Mongolian army; when the Mongolian soldiers saw him being lowered down on a rope by the Song army, they were surprised. They didn’t know what had happened and retreated a few hundred feet. The Song soldiers at the top of the city stopped firing their arrows and the two sides ceased the battle for the time being.

When E’er Dou got down, he turned to Guo Jing and bowed to him on the ground. He said clearly, “Since Jin Dao Fu Ma (Golden Blade Consort) is here, this servant will not dare fight again.”

Guo Jing stood at the top of the wall with a commanding aura around him and shouted out, “The commander of the Mongols, listen: Years ago the Mongols and Han worked together to get rid of the Jin; why are you Mongols now invading our land and killing our citizens? We have ten times more people than you Mongols have. If you don’t quickly retreat then we’ll gather our armies and kill the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that you have. We’ll not even leave them with a body that can be buried.” He spoke in Mongolian with great vigor. Though the wall was high and there was a large distance between the two armies, the Mongolian soldiers could hear every single word clearly and they couldn’t stop themselves from looking at each other pale faced.

A Noyan led E’er Dou to Khubilai and told him what had happened. E’er Dou then told Khubilai about how he followed Guo Jing on the expedition to the west and described how the Jin Dao Fu Ma (Golden Blade Consort) used his troops like a god. How he subdued and defeated the enemy, explaining all this with great enthusiasm.

Khubilai’s face turned heavy and shouted, “Execute him!”

E’er Dou called out, “Please, I’ve done nothing!”

The Noyan said, “Please your Highness, this E’er Dou has achieved many great deeds for our army…”

Khubilai waved his hand and four guards came. They took E’er Dou away and executed him, bringing his head back to Khubilai. All the Generals trembled with fear.

Khubilai said to the Noyan, “Apart from the money owed to E’er Dou’s family for his services to the army, give his wife ten ‘jin’ (5kg/11lbs) of gold, thirty slaves and three hundred livestock.”

The Noyan was puzzled but replied, “Yes, yes.”

Khubilai said, “I’ve killed him yet I’m also rewarding his family; you do not understand this, do you?”

All the Generals bowed to him and said, “Please enlighten us your Highness.”

Khubilai said clearly, “That Jagen Sergeant bowed down to Guo Jing and talked about how powerful Guo Jing is; shouldn’t he die for disturbing the morale of the soldiers? But he was brave and led the attacks; he fought with his life up until he reached the final man, shouldn’t he be rewarded?” All of the Generals bowed to him.

But after this event, the Mongolian army’s morale was low. Khubilai knew that if he continued to battle on today, he would just suffer more loses. He was exasperated when he saw the hundreds of corpses of his experienced spirited soldiers lying across the battlefield. He then looked at the fortified wall of Xiangyang; it was guarded tightly and there was no way to break through. He couldn’t stop himself from releasing a sigh. He immediately gave the order to retreat back forty li.

Two of his guards looked at each other and both said, “This servant would like to share the burdens of your Highness and will go to dampen the morale of the Song.” They leapt onto a horse and galloped towards the city. The two mounted their bows and shot the arrows towards Guo Jing.

The two were skilled riders and their archery skills were accurate; their horse galloped like the wind and the arrows were shot out like lightning. By the time warning cries were heard from both the top and bottom of the city walls, the arrows had reached Guo Jing’s chest and stomach. It appeared that Guo Jing had no way to avoid the arrows; but he gathered his hands towards himself and grabbed the arrows. He then raised his hands and shot the arrows back. Before the two guards had turned their horses around, the arrows had arrived and shot through their chests. The two fell onto the ground. The Song army at the top of the city wall cheered thunderously.

Khubilai was not pleased and ordered his men north. The army had traveled for a few li when Yang Guo said, “There is no need to be troubled your Highness; I will now go to the city to take Guo Jing’s life.”

Khubilai shook his head and said, “That Guo Jing is both valiant and wise; he indeed does live up to his reputation. This matter is more troublesome than I thought it would be now that I’ve seen him with my own eyes.”

Yang Guo said, “I lived with Guo Jing for many years and I have helped him before; he will have no suspicions about me. There’s a saying; a spear out in the open is easy to dodge, but an arrow in the dark is hard to avoid.”

Khubilai said, “When you were standing next to me watching the battle, you were afraid that he would recognize you from the top of the city’s walls?”

Yang Guo said, “I was wary of this so when you were attacking the city, Miss Long and I wore hats to cover our faces and fur garments to hide our bodies; he would not be able to recognize us.”

Khubilai said, “Well then, I hope you succeed. I will keep my word about the rewards.”

Yang Guo casually thanked him and he was about to turn around to Xiao Longnü to leave with her when he saw Jinlun Fawang, Xiaoxiang Zi, Yin Kexi and the others with strange expressions. His mind lit up, “These people are afraid that I’ll get the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia if I succeed in killing Guo Jing; they’ll definitely try to stop me.” He turned to Khubilai and said, “Your Highness, I have something to tell you. The reason I am going to assassinate Guo Jing is because I want to avenge my father’s death and because I need his head in exchange for an antidote to save my life. If I succeed in helping your Highness, I cannot accept the title of the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia.”

Khubilai asked, “Why?”

Yang Guo said, “My martial arts can’t compare with these people; how can I be the Greatest Warrior of Mongolia? I can only make my move if your Highness promises me this.”

Khubilai heard him say this with great sincerity and thought that this really was what he wanted. He then looked at the expressions of the others and then knew what he meant by this. He said, “Since you’ve decided this, I can’t change your mind. I will not force you.”

When Fawang and the others heard this, they indeed did show signs of relief.

Yang Guo turned his horse around and headed for Xiangyang with Xiao Longnü. They took off the disguises along the way and dressed themselves back into Han clothing. It was beginning to get dark by the time they reached the walls of the city; when they got there, a closed gate greeted them. Soldiers with torches were patrolling the city walls.

Yang Guo called out, “My name is Yang Guo, and I’ve come to see Guo Jing, Master Guo.”

The General who was guarding the city walls heard his calls and saw that he was accompanied by a girl. He immediately went to tell Guo Jing the news.

After a while, two youngsters arrived at the top of the city wall and looked down at them. One of them called out, “So it’s brother Yang. There are only two of you?”

When Yang Guo saw the Wu brothers he thought, “When Guo Jing killed my father, I wonder whether or not the Wu brother’s father was there to help him?” He said, “Big brother Wu, second brother Wu, is Uncle Guo in the city?”

Wu Xiuwen said, “Come in.”

The soldiers opened the gate and lowered the drawbridge to allow Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü through.

The Wu brothers led the two to a large house. Guo Jing’s face was filled with joy and he dashed out of the house to meet Yang Guo. He greeted Xiao Longnü and then held Yang Guo’s hand and smiled, “Guo’er, you’ve come here just in time. The Mongols are attacking us intensely and you can help me now that you’re here; the citizens of the city are very fortunate.”

Xiao Longnü was Yang Guo’s Master and Guo Jing treated her as an equal, politely inviting her into the house while he treated Yang Guo with great care.

Guo Jing held Yang Guo’s left hand. When Yang Guo thought about the act that his father’s murderer was doing now, pretending to be caring and loving towards him, he really wanted to draw out his sword and kill him right there and then. But he was worried about how good Guo Jing’s martial arts were so he didn’t dare to make a rash move. He forced himself to smile and said, “I wish Uncle Guo great health.” He was filled with anger and did not kneel down to him. Guo Jing was a broad-minded person and did not take little details like this to heart.

When they arrived in the hall, Yang Guo wanted to go and see Huang Rong.

Guo Jing laughed, “Your Auntie Guo is about to give birth and hasn’t been feeling well in the last couple of days; you can see her in a few days time.”

Yang Guo was delighted and thought, “Huang Rong is extremely wise and clever; I was afraid that she would be able to see through my plan. But she’s ill at the moment; it looks like even heaven wants me to succeed.”

As they were talking, a soldier came in and reported, “General Lu requests Master Guo’s presence at a feast to celebrate our victory against the Mongols today.”

Guo Jing said, “Go and tell the General, thank you for the invitation. However, I have a guest and cannot attend.”

The soldier looked at Yang Guo and saw that he was just a young man with nothing special about him; he didn’t know why Guo Jing would treat him with so much respect that he would actually reject the General’s invitation to the celebratory feast because of him. His mind was full of questions as he went back to report this to Lu Wende.

Guo Jing prepared a family meal in the inner hall in honour of Yang Guo’s and Xiao Longnü’s arrival. Zhu Ziliu, Liu Youjiao, the Wu brothers and Guo Fu were in attendance. Zhu Ziliu kept on thanking Yang Guo, saying that only he could have gotten the antidote from Huo Dou to cure his poison. Yang Guo just gave a lifeless smile and said a few modest words.

Guo Fu saw that Yang Guo had an aloof expression on his face. She called out, “Brother Yang.”

Guo Jing scolded, “Fu’er, if it weren’t for brother Yang risking his life to save you from the hands of Jinlun Fawang, not only would you have been in trouble but also your mother; why aren’t you thanking him?”

Guo Fu stood up and said, “Thank you brother Yang for saving me.”

Yang Guo said, “We’re not strangers, why is there a need to say thanks?”

Guo Fu didn’t say anything and sat down. During the meal, Guo Fu frowned and it seemed that there was something on her mind. The Wu brothers were seemingly avoiding her glances. But Liu Youjiao and Zhu Ziliu were extremely happy and were chatting about the victory against the Mongols.

By the time dinner finished, it was around eleven o’clock. Guo Jing told his daughter to take Xiao Longnü inside to rest and he himself took Yang Guo to his room to sleep in the same bed. When Xiao Longnü was about to go inside, she glanced at Yang Guo, telling him to be careful. Her face was filled with love and concern. Yang Guo was afraid that his intentions would be revealed and so turned his head away, not daring to look at her directly.

Guo Jing led Yang Guo to his room and praised Yang Guo for saving Huang Rong, Guo Fu and the Wu brothers from Jinlun Fawang at the restaurant and the stone formations. He then asked about what had happened to him afterwards.

Yang Guo was afraid that he might let something out if he talked too much; and so he kept the events of how he met Cheng Ying, Lu Wushuang, Sha Gu and Huang Yaoshi from him. He just said, “After I was injured, I recuperated in a wild valley. Afterwards, I met my Master again and we decided to come here to help Uncle Guo.”

Guo Jing got himself readied for bed and said, “Guo’er, there is a strong enemy pressing against the boundaries of our land; the Song Empire is in great danger. Xiangyang is a barrier for our Song land; if this city falls then the thousands and millions of citizens that we have will become the slaves of the Mongols. I have seen the brutality of the Mongols when they kill with my own eyes; it causes one’s blood to boil.”

When Yang Guo heard this, he remembered the tragic and terrifying scenes of the actions of the Mongols he encountered during his travels. He couldn’t stop his teeth from clenching in anger and his chest filled with fury.

Guo Jing continued, “Why do we learn martial arts? Lending a helping hand and getting people out of danger is of course something that we must do; but this is just one of the minor parts of being a hero. The people of Jianghu call me ‘Hero Guo’ because they respect me for serving my country and my people and guarding Xiangyang without care for my life. But my abilities are limited, I cannot get my people out of this trouble; I really am not worthy of the title ‘Hero’. You are ten times more intelligent than me; your future achievements will definitely exceed mine. I just hope that you remember these words, ‘a hero’s imperative is to serve your country, to serve your people’. You will be a famous true hero of the people if you remember this.”

These sincere words moved Yang Guo. He saw that Guo Jing had a stern face on him and although Guo Jing was his father’s murderer, Yang Guo couldn’t help but feel respect for him. He replied, “Uncle Guo, after you’ve gone, I will definitely remember the words that you have said tonight.”

How would Guo Jing know that Yang Guo was planning to assassinate him tonight? He stretched out his hand and stroked his hair and said, “Yes, bend your body to the task until your dying day. If our country perishes then your Uncle Guo’s life will go along with it. I have heard that Khubilai is skilled in warfare; he retreated today but he will come back to attack again soon. There’s definitely going to be a great battle in the upcoming days. It’s going to be a spectacular battle. It’s getting late, let’s go to sleep.”

Yang Guo replied, “Yes.” He undressed himself for bed and hid the dagger from the Passionless Valley on him. He thought, “I’ll wait until you’re deep in your sleep and then stab you; even if your martial arts were a hundred times better, how could you avoid this attack?”

Guo Jing had fought in a great battle today and he immediately fell asleep. How could Yang Guo sleep with the thoughts that he had? He lay on the bed and listened to the breathing of Guo Jing. Every inhalation and exhalation was spaced out with an extremely long gap; he admired how profound Guo Jing’s internal energy was.

Some time passed. It was silent everywhere with the exception of the noises from the guards. He sat up quietly and felt out the dagger from underneath his clothes. He thought, “I’ll kill hi