returnChapter 22(2 / 4)  The Return of the Condor Heroeshome

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t on shaking her head, “We can’t, we can’t!”

Huang Rong was about to explain again when suddenly Guo Fu’s voice came from the door, “Mother, mother, are you there?” Her voice sounded urgent.

Huang Rong was shocked and asked, “Fu’er, what is it?”

Guo Fu opened the door and threw herself straight into her mother’s arms, ignoring the fact that Xiao Longnu was there. She called out, “Mother, the Wu’s are…” She burst into tears.

Huang Rong creased her brows and said, “What is it now?”

Guo Fu choked, “They… they are fighting outside the city.”

Huang Rong was furious and shouted, “Fighting? They are fighting each other?”

Guo Fu had rarely seen her mother get so angry and was frightened herself. She mumbled, “Yes, I told them to stop but they didn’t listen… they said… they said they were going to fight to the death. They said only one would return… even if the loser doesn’t die, they will not come back to… to see me.”

The more Huang Rong heard the angrier she got. The lives of the army and the people of the city were at stake here and these two brothers were actually fighting each other over a girl. Her anger disturbed her womb causing her great pain; sweat could be seen on her forehead. She lowered her voice and said, “It must be your doing, tell me everything now.”

Guo Fu glanced at Xiao Longnu and became red. She called out, “Mother!”

Xiao Longnu was longing for Yang Guo and had no time to hear about this matter. She turned around and left the room to be with Yang Guo. Her mind was pondering Huang Rong’s words.

Guo Fu waited for Xiao Longnu to leave the room before saying, “Mother, it was entirely my fault that the two went to assassinate Khubilai. Father ending up hurt trying to get them was my fault. If I don’t tell you all about it, how can I face my mother and father?” She then told her mother about how both brothers were trying to please her and how she suggested going to assassinate Khubilai. Anger filled Huang Rong but she could not let it out, she just rolled her eyes at her with displeasure.

Guo Fu said, “Mother, what shall I do? Each of the brothers has their own good points, how can I choose one over the other? Isn’t my suggestion about killing our enemy what you and father want? Whose fault is it that they are so useless and got captured immediately?”

Huang Rong said, “The Wu’s martial arts aren’t the best, you know that.”

Guo Fu said, “What about Yang Guo? He’s only a few years older than them, how did he battle Fawang and break out of the camp at the same time and never got caught?”

Huang Rong knew that her daughter had been spoiled ever since she was born and so even at times when Guo Fu knew that she was wrong, she would still try to argue to get her way. Huang Rong did not inquire further about this matter and just said, “They’ve come back now, why are they fighting outside the city?”

Guo Fu said, “Mother, it’s your fault; it’s because you said they are shameful disciples.”

Huang Rong was shocked and said, “When did I say that?”

Guo Fu said, “I heard from the Wu’s that when Huo Dou came with the letter, you told them to capture him but instead they had their pressure points sealed. You then blamed them for being useless.”

Huang Rong gave a sigh and said, “If they can’t compete with others, what can I do? Huo Duo was the one who called them shameful disciples.”

Guo Fu said, “Even so, you didn’t argue with him and just stayed silent. The two couldn’t accept it and started arguing amongst themselves, saying how it was each other’s fault. One blamed the other for being too slow and one blamed the other for getting in the way. The argument became heated and soon they drew their swords. I said ‘If you fight in the city and let others see, what’ll happen then? Anyway, father is still recovering; if you bring any more trouble to him I will never see either of you again.’ They then said, ‘Fine, we’ll fight outside the city.’”

Huang Rong stayed silent for a while before saying with anger, “I’ve got much more pressing matters on my mind at the moment. If they want to fight then let them fight all they want.”

Guo Fu hugged her elbow and said, “Mother, if either of them gets injured, what then?”

Huang Rong replied, “If the two were injured while trying to fight off the enemy then they deserve our care. But they deserve to die if they are fighting each other.”

Guo Fu saw that her mother had an angry expression on her face. This was completely different to the way she normally talked to her so she didn’t dare say anything else. She left the room and closed the doors.

It was now dawn. Light was coming through the windows; Huang Rong was alone in her room. Though she was angry with the Wus, she was still concerned about them; after all, she had watched them grow up over all these years. Her thoughts then turned to the impending danger and tears flowed from her eyes. She was worried about Guo Jing’s injury so she went to see how he was.

Guo Jing was sitting on his bed in meditation when she entered the room. Though his face was pale, his breathing was even and deep. She knew that all he needed was to rest for a few days and he would be back to full health. Memories of when they were younger came flooding back. She thought of the time when they recuperating in Linan.

Guo Jing slowly opened his eyes and saw that his wife had been crying. A smile appeared on his face as he said, “Rong’er, you know my injury is not serious, what are you worried about? You need more rest than me.”

Huang Rong smiled, “Yes. My womb has been acting up over the past few days. Your Polu or Guo Xiang is about to see their father.” She was afraid that Guo Jing would worry if he knew about Huo Dou and the letter so she kept it from him, as well as what the Wus were up to.

Guo Jing said, “Tell the Wu brothers to be on extra alert when patrolling the city, the enemy knows that I’m injured and will most probably take this opportunity to attack.” Huang Rong nodded. Guo Jing continued, “How’s Guo’er’s injury?”

Before Huang Rong could reply, the sound of footsteps followed by Yang Guo’s voice could be heard from outside the room, “Uncle Guo, I just have superficial injuries, I’m fine now after taking Auntie Guo’s Nine Flowers Jade Dew Pill.” He then opened the door and entered the room. He continued, “I’ve been to the city walls and took a look around; everyone is on high alert but the Wus are…” Huang Rong coughed and made a signal to him with her eyes. He immediately understood and said, “The Wus said that it was their fault that you are injured so if the enemy comes to attack, they will fight to the end to repay their debts to you.”

Guo Jing sighed, “After this experience, I hope that the Wus are now wiser and don’t see everything as achievable.”

Yang Guo said, “Auntie Guo, isn’t Gu Gu with you?”

Huang Rong replied, “I had a little chat with her just now, she’s probably gone back to her room for some rest. Ever since you came back, she hasn’t slept a wink.”

Yang Guo gave an ‘en’ sound and assumed that after their little chat, Xiao Longnu must have gone back to see him. She must have just missed him when he went out to take a look around along the city walls. When he first arrived at Xiangyang, he had his mind set on killing the couple. But after the experiences of these past few days and seeing how they risked their lives for the country and how Guo Jing risked his life saving him, he changed his mind and had now decided to repay them by helping them in any way he could. He knew that he only had seven days to live but he didn’t care; as long as he could do one or two good deeds in these few days he could say that he has been able to do something with his life. He knew that while Guo Jing was injured, the enemy would definitely take this opportunity to attack the city. As soon as he recovered, he immediately went along the city walls to survey the current situation.

He was longing for Xiao Longnu and was about to leave the room in search of her when suddenly laughter could be heard from the rooftops about one hundred feet away. Two loud noises followed as gold clashed with silver; Jinlun Fawang had arrived.

Guo Jing’s face changed slightly and he pulled Huang Rong, trying to hide her behind him.

Huang Rong said, “Brother Jing, what’s more important, Xiangyang or us? Are you more important or am I?”

Guo Jing let Huang Rong go and said, “Yes, the country comes first!”

Huang Rong took out her bamboo rod and went over to the door. What she had discussed with Xiao Longnu had yet to reach Yang Guo’s ears, what was he going to do? Will he help to repel the enemy or will he take advantage of the situation to avenge his father and save his life? His thoughts have always been shrouded in mystery, if he does turn on us it will be even more trouble. Though she was guarding the door, she kept her eye on him.

Though what the Guo couple had said didn’t seem much, in Yang Guo’s ears, they rang loud and true. Guo Jing’s kindness had touched him and he had already decided to pay him back with his life and help him. But as he heard the words ‘the country comes first’, something stirred in him and he began to remember the teaching of Guo Jing of a few days earlier, “a hero’s duty is to serve your country, serve your people,” and, “holding your body to the task until your dying day”. He saw how deeply the couple loved each other, but even with themselves in such danger, they put the country first. Yet he could not let the death of his father go and he could not let Xiao Longnu out of his mind; when had he ever thought about his country? When had he ever worried about the suffering of his people? He felt extremely ashamed of himself.

Suddenly, a childhood memory came flooding back to him. It was a memory of Huang Rong teaching him on Peach Blossom Island; the teaching was along the lines of ‘dying for a righteous cause’ and ‘giving your life for justice’. It was now clearer to him than ever before. He seemed a little frightened by this, yet at the same time felt inspired. With life and death now on the line, many things that he’d never thought about never cared about suddenly became crystal clear. He seemed to be a different person with this newfound spirit, taller, bigger and brighter.

Many thoughts flickered through his mind. All this had happened in a short space of time. Huang Rong watched as his face turned from confusion to shame, from poignant to resolute but she couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.

Suddenly Yang Guo said quietly, “You can relax!” Unsheathing the Gentleman Sword, he made his way to the door.

Jinlun Fawang stood on the rooftop with a wheel in each hand. He laughed, “Brother Yang, how does it feel to be a man who goes back on his word?”

If it were the Yang Guo of old, these words would definitely have angered him, but the present Yang Guo was calm and clear. He thought to himself, “You’re right; my mind had never been set until this day. From now on, no matter how long I live, I will never be one who goes back on their word.” He laughed, “Fawang, you’re right. I don’t know what came over me that day; I don’t know why I helped Guo Jing escape. But once he got back to Xiangyang, I don’t know where he’s gone and I can’t find him, It’s only now that I’ve regretted what I’ve done. Do you know where he is?” He then leapt up to the roof and stood a few feet in front of him.

Fawang squinted, he knew that this little kid was very crafty and didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or telling a lie. He laughed, “If you find him, what will you do?”

Yang Guo said, “There’s a sword in my hand.”

Fawang scoffed, “Huh, you’d actually dare stab him?”

Yang Guo said, “Who said I’d stab him?”

Surprised, Fawang replied, “Who then?”

The Gentleman Sword pierced the air as it came towards Fawang’s left side very quickly. At the same time, Yang Guo laughed, “You of course!” This attack came out of nowhere and with great force. With the close distance and being caught unaware, had Fawang’s martial arts been just a little lower, like that of Nimoxing and Xiaoxiang Zi, he would surely have died from that attack. Fawang managed to react in time and gathered chi in his left arm and blocked the attack. However, the Gentleman Sword is an extremely sharp blade, his arm was cut by the sword and he suffered a wound inches deep and blood flowed.

Fawang might have known that Yang Guo was sly, but he would never have guessed that he would actually attack him. Getting injured like this just as he entered Xiangyang enraged him and he attacked furiously with the golden wheel in his right hand and at the same time, he threw the silver wheel in his left towards Yang Guo. Yang Guo stood his ground and took three stances before replying with three stances. He laughed, “I owed you one from your attack at the Mongolian camp. Let me tell you something, do you know that there’s something special about this sword?”

Fawang couldn’t help himself and asked, “What?” as he attacked continuously with his silver wheel.

Yang Guo laughed, “Let me tell you that it’s not my fault.”

Fawang said, “Damn you punk! What’s not your fault?”

Yang Guo said smugly. “This sword came from the Passionless Valley. Gongsun Zhi likes to use a bit of poison here and there so if you want to take revenge, go find him.”

Fawang was slightly alarmed as he wondered whether Gongsun Zhi would have laced his swords with poison. Unsettled, his stances become slower.

In reality, what poison was there on the sword? Yang Guo remembered how Huang Rong had scared away Huo Dou with tea and because he knew that his martial arts were not Fawang’s match, he tried to use words to disturb his enemy. As soon as he saw it had worked, he concentrated on defending and waited for a chance to pounce. Though Fawang’s injury was not serious; even without poison, the wound bled non-stop and as time went by, he would definitely tire. In the current situation, it would be to his advantage to have a quick battle so he hurried his wheels and attacked with even more vigor.

Yang Guo knew what Fawang intended to do and he defended even harder than usual. The power behind Fawang’s wheels was getting greater and greater. Suddenly, Fawang’s golden wheel attacked upwards and his silver swept across leaving Yang Guo with no other choice but to leap back. Fawang tore a piece of his sleeve off to wrap up his wound but as soon as he did this, Yang Guo came at him again. This game of cat and mouse continued on for a little while before Fawang decided on another plan; as soon as Yang Guo leaps back, he would leap back also and at the same time, throw his silver wheel. This would force Yang Guo to go back even further. This would leave him with enough time to tend to his wound. By the time Yang Guo came back for another attack, Fawang had wrapped up his wound. The fact that there didn’t seem to be any discomfort from his wound indicated that the blade was probably not laced with poison; he relaxed.

At that same time, the sounds of clashing weapons could be heard from a southeastern direction. Yang Guo glanced over and saw Xiao Longnu engaged in battle with Xiaoxiang Zi and Nimoxing. In Xiaoxiang Zi’s hand was a rod that looked exactly like the one that Yang Guo had snatched away and lost in his daze at the Mongolian camp, did this one contain poison as well? With the Guo couple directly below him, Yang Guo knew that it would be disastrous if Fawang finds them, he needed to lure him away. He must make sure that he didn’t reveal his intentions to Fawang so he called out, “Gu Gu, don’t worry, I’m coming!” After a few leaps, he landed behind Nimoxing and he sent his sword forward.

Fawang was of course furious with Yang Guo after being wounded by him but he had come to Xiangyang for Guo Jing; Yang Guo could wait. He called out loudly, “Guo Jing, Hero Guo, I’ve come to visit; why aren’t you here to greet your guests?” He called out a few times but there was no reply.

Shouts and calls could be heard from the northwest; it was his two disciples Da’erba and Huo Dou fighting Zhu Ziliu. The fight between Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu with Nimoxing and Xiaoxiang Zi wasn’t going to end anytime soon. More and more guards were coming to see what was going on. Fawang knew that these guards wouldn’t be able to do anything to him but in numbers, they would make things cumbersome for him, so he called out again, “Guo Jing, oh Guo Jing, you are a so called Hero so why are you hiding away like some coward?”

He was becoming more and more insulting; the calls went on as he attempted to anger Guo Jing into coming out, but still, there was no sign of him. He thought, “There are thousands of homes in Xiangyang, who knows where he’s hiding? He’s willing to accept this abuse to keep his life, but once his injuries have recovered it will be difficult to kill him.” He pondered for a little while and an evil plan hatched. He leapt down from the roof and found where the firewood was kept. He took out his fire knife and splint to the firewood and lit it. He went around and lit several piles of firewood before leaping back up to the roof. Once the fire spreads, Guo Jing will have no choice but to come out.

Though Yang Guo was in battle with Xiaoxiang Zi and Nimoxing, he kept his eye on Fawang. When he saw Fawang suddenly set the place on fire and the rooms north and south of Guo Jing’s room started smoldering, he became alarmed and, as he did so, he almost let Nimoxing’s Iron Snake strike him across the chest. He quickly moved out of the way. If Guo Jing hadn’t broken Nimoxing’s ribs a few days earlier, this attack would have left Yang Guo seriously injured.

Yang Guo thought, “That was close!” His thoughts then turned to Guo Jing. “Uncle Guo is seriously injured and Auntie Guo’s due to give birth. If the two don’t come out then they’ll be trapped by the fire, but if they do, they’ll run into that bald scoundrel.” He had no choice but to leave Xiao Longnu alone to fight the two; so he quickly thrust out two stances towards Xiaoxiang Zi and leapt down. He dived into the fire and flames to look for the Guo couple.

He found Huang Rong by Guo Jing’s bed but at same time, smoke was pouring through the windows. Guo Jing had his eyes closed and was meditating; Huang Rong appeared weak and fragile. When she saw him enter, she could only smile. Yang Guo was put at ease a little when he saw that the two weren’t alarmed and immediately thought of a plan. He whispered, “I’ll lure them away. Take uncle Guo to some place safe and hide.” He then lightly took off Guo Jing’s hat and leapt out of the window.

Huang Rong didn’t know what he was up to but the smoke was getting closer and closer. She reached out to help Guo Jing up and she said, “Let’s find another place to rest.” As soon as she used an ounce of her strength in her arm, she felt a pain in her stomach. She sat down on the bed and cursed, “You little devil, you’ve got a great sense of timing haven’t you; do you want to kill your daddy and mommy?” There were a few days before she was actually due but all the stress and commotions of the past few days had inadvertently sped the birth along.

As soon as Yang Guo leapt out of the window, he saw guards shouting and bellowing everywhere; some were taking buckets of water to dampen the flames, others were firing arrows towards the rooftop. There were some who were slashing their weapons about jumping and cursing. He jumped behind a guard in grey and sealed his pressure point. Yang Guo placed Guo Jing’s hat on him and lifted him onto his back. He then leapt up to the rooftops whilst swirling his sword around.

At this time, Xiao Longnu and Zhu Ziliu who were fighting two opponents each in the form of Nimoxing and Xiaoxiang Zi, and Huo Dou and Da’erba, and were losing. Jinlun Fawang on the other hand was threatening Guo Fu with his wheels, waving them around inches away from her face to force her to reveal her parents’ location. Guo Fu’s hair was in a mess and her sword tip had been smashed to pieces by Fawang’s golden wheel, but she bit down on her tongue and kept on fighting, ignoring Fawang’s questions. She was extremely angry inside as she thought, “If the Wus hadn’t gone off to kill each other, the three of us could take care of this bald scoundrel.” She couldn’t help herself blurting out, “Fine, go and fight amongst yourselves, I don’t care who wins, you’ll just be coming back to a corpse!”

Fawang was dumbfounded by her words; “What? Where is Guo Jing?”

He was waiting for Guo Fu to reply when he spotted Yang Guo making his escape in a northwesterly direction with a person on his back; this had to be Guo Jing. He left Guo Fu and immediately chased after Yang Guo. Huo Dou, Da’erba, Xiaoxiang Zi and Nimoxing had also spotted Yang Guo and they left their opponents and chased after Yang Guo. Zhu Ziliu followed to help Yang Guo protect Guo Jing.

When Yang Guo was on the roof, he ran past Xiao Longnu, winked and smiled at her with a crafty expression on his face. Xiao Longnu knew he was up to something but she didn’t know what. With so many people chasing after him, she wanted to go with him to help him but at the exact same time, she heard crying from below; the crying of a baby.

Guo Fu said with joy, “Mother’s given birth!” and leapt down.

Xiao Longnu was curious and along with the fact that Yang Guo seemed to have things under control, she wanted to take a look at Huang Rong’s child, so she too leapt down from the rooftops and followed.

Jinlun Fawang chased after Yang Guo with great effort and saw the distance between them getting smaller and smaller. He thought, “Let’s see how you’re going get out of this one.” He saw that the person on Yang Guo’s back was wearing the same hat that Guo Jing was wearing a few days ago and was sure that it was him.

The Ancient Tomb’s lightness kung fu that Yang Guo had learned could be said to be unequalled under heaven’s skies; even with someone on his back, Fawang would not be able to catch up with him for the time being. Yang Guo ran along the rooftops for a while but he soon heard the footsteps behind him getting closer and closer, so he leaped down into an alleyway and ran around in circles, playing hide and seek with Fawang.

Yang Guo’s lightness kung fu may be a level higher than Fawang’s but after all, there was someone on his back. If it was in the open, Fawang would have caught up long ago but in the dark and twisty alleyways, he was able to keep one step ahead of Fawang. After circling in the alleyways a few times, Nimoxing, Xiaoxiang Zi and Zhu Ziliu arrived.

Fawang said to Nimoxing, “Brother Nimo, guard the end of the alley, I’ll chase the rabbit out of its den.”

Nimoxing rolled his eyes and shouted, “Why the hell should I listen to you?”

Fawang felt that Nimoxing was being unreasonable. He leaped up to the rooftops and took a look around; he spotted Yang Guo trying to catch his breath in a dark corner with Guo Jing on his back. He quietly went closer to him overhead, but just as he was about to jump down and catch him, Yang Guo suddenly called out and disappeared into the smoke.

Fawang had set the fire to force Guo Jing out, but now the smoke from the fire was making it difficult for him to catch Yang Guo. As he was looking around, Da’erba suddenly called out, “He’s over there!”

Fawang followed his voice to find Da’erba fighting Yang Guo with his golden rod. Fawang went forward to block Yang Guo’s escape route. Yang Guo dashed ahead and in a flash, he was by Da’erba’s side. At the same time, Fawang’s silver wheel had come shooting out.

The silver wheel came like the wind leaving Yang Guo with no time to dodge; a tearing sound was heard as it brushed past ‘Guo Jing’, leaving a deep wound.

Fawang was delighted and called out; “Ha! I hit you!”

However, Yang Guo kept on running, ignoring whether or not ‘Guo Jing’ was still alive or not.

Yang Guo made his way to the end of the alley only to hear a cackling voice, “Little boy, just give up!” It was Xiaoxiang Zi with his rod blocking the end of the alleyway. Yang Guo had no way forward and no way back, he looked upwards and saw a black figure; it was Nimoxing. Yang Guo leapt up but Nimoxing used his Iron Snake to strike downwards, wanting to force him back down into the alleyway. Yang Guo calculated that by now, he had given the Guo couple enough time to escape so he took the guard off his back and threw him towards Nimoxing, calling out, “Here, I’ll let you have Guo Jing.”

Nimoxing was delighted by this turn of events, he had thought that Yang Guo would give him a lot of trouble, but who would have thought that he would give up and actually give him such a great gift? He stretched out his hands to catch him. Yang Guo sent out a powerful kick that struck him on the behind, sending him down into the alleyway.

Nimoxing called out in delight, “I’ve got Guo Jing; I’m Mongolia’s Greatest Warrior!”

Da’erba and Xiaoxiang Zi were never going to let him take this prize on his own without a fight and both went over to him. The three of them held on to the guard pulling at him with great strength and with such force, that the guard tore into three pieces. The hat fell off the guard’s head and only then did the three see that it was not Guo Jing. Stunned, they stood there speechless.

When Fawang saw that Yang Guo had left Guo Jing, he knew something was up so he did not go forward to struggle with the three. Seeing them standing there in a daze, he scoffed, “Idiots!” He continued to go after Yang Guo, thinking that, even if he does not capture Guo Jing, taking Yang Guo’s life would be a good day’s work.

But by now, Yang Guo was nowhere to be seen, how was he going to find him? Fawang thought for while and came up with a plan, “Yang Guo must have lured us away from the real target. Guo Jing must have been near where we first started. Fine, I’ll lure him out.” He made his way to where the flames were strongest.

Yang Guo was hiding underneath a rooftop, observing what was happening. He watched as Fawang headed in Guo Jing’s direction. Yang Guo did not know whether Guo Jing had escaped to another place yet so he followed Fawang quietly. Fawang ran back to near the room where Guo Jing was and leapt down. He called out, “So Guo Jing, you’re hiding here. Come with me!”

Yang Guo was shocked and was about to jump down when he heard the sounds of clashing weapons. Fawang called out; “Guo Jing, surrender now!” The sounds of clashing metal rang loudly.

Yang Guo rolled his eyes and laughed, “Bald bastard, I almost fell for your trick. Your plan is flawed, why the sound effects? In Uncle Guo’s condition, how can he exchange stances with you? And how could he last so long? I’ll hide here and watch what else you’ll get up to.”

Suddenly, Fawang called out, “Yang Guo, this time you die!”

Yang Guo was puzzled, “What’s this about me dying this time?” He then knew what Fawang was planning, “Oh, you can’t get me to come out so now you’re trying to get Uncle Guo to out to save me.”

He heard Fawang laughed, “Yang Guo oh Yang Guo, you’ve lived long enough.”

As soon as he finished, a white blur came out of the smoke; a young girl had darted forward and was thrusting her sword towards him.

Yang Guo called out, “Gu Gu, I’m here!” However, Fawang swung his wheels and blocked Xiao Longnu’s way. When Fawang was trying to give the impression that Yang Guo was in danger, Xiao Longnu heard him and of course she was concerned so she came dashing out.

Yang Guo rushed forward armed with his sword. After a smile to each other, the two of them used the “Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Swordplay”, trapping Fawang within the boundary of the swords.

Fawang cursed, “What have I done?” Scalding smoke, burning pillars and falling debris were all around them.

Fawang put everything he had behind his wheels to fend off the swords and quickly retreated to the northwestern corner.

Yang Guo said, “We can’t let him escape, we must get rid of him once and for all.” He aimed for Fawang’s back with his sword.

After tasting defeat from the “Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden Swordplay”, he pondered and tried to come up with a way that would defeat it. But this swordplay was deep and profound, the two users became as one and it was like fighting against a great martial artist who had four arms and four legs. He didn’t have much confidence as to whether or not he could actually defeat this swordplay, but in this dangerous situation, he had no other choice but to use the “Cyclone of the Five Wheels” that he had been working on. Though there were still many weaknesses with this technique, he had to give it a try so he searched his body and with a ringing sound, three wheels were in the air and one each in his hands. His five wheels were of different weights and of slightly different sizes, and they come to and from his hands as he pleased; slanting in the air sometimes and suddenly straightening up.

Yang Guo and Xiao Longnu felt their eyes dazzled and were slightly alarmed. Yang Guo sent two stances to the left as he leaned right, Xiao Longnu immediately responded and she too sent out numerous stances to the right with her Lady Sword. She moved with force and shifted towards Yang Guo. The two saw that the enemy’s stances were too strange so they decided to defend first and try to grasp the techniques that Fawang was using before coming up with a counterattack in response.

Fawang’s wheels turned and flew about but the two’s swords flew up and then crossed, forming a net of light. Though the power of the five wheels was great, it was unable to penetrate the swords. He sighed, “Looks like even with using five wheels, I am still unable to defeat their swordplay.” Just as he was feeling dejected, a baby’s crying could be heard coming from Xiao Longnu’s arms. Fawang was shocked at this sudden turn of events but he wasn’t the only one; Yang Guo was extremely surprised. In shock, their stances slowed.

Xiao Longnu patted th

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