an once tried on the wedding dress. The two of us are much luckier than she was.”

Then Xiao Longnü said, “That’s right, we are more fortunate than Ancestor Grandma. Why should you still be unhappy?”

Yang Guo said, “All right!” Suddenly he was startled and said with a laugh, “I didn’t say it but you really could guess what I was thinking.”

Xiao Longnü curved her lips into a smile and retorted, “If I didn’t know what you were thinking, how would I deserve to be your wife?” Yang Guo sat down on the side of the bed and gently extended his left arm to hug her. In their hearts, the two of them were happy beyond words and hoped that a moment like this would last forever. They sat there in each other’s embrace and, for a long time, nobody said a word.

After a while, they both eyed that bunch of letters. And when they looked at each other, they laughed with mischievous glints in their eyes. Knowing perfectly well that they shouldn’t read their deceased master’s personal letters but, of course, they couldn’t bear the curiosity in their hearts.

Yang Guo said, “We’ll just read one letter. Is that alright? We definitely won’t read more.” With a smile Xiao Longnü said, “I want to read too. So, okay, we’ll just read one.” Delighted, Yang Guo reached out to get the letters and untied the ribbon. Xiao Longnü added, “But if the letter is filled with heartaches, you don’t have to read it out loud to me.” Yang Guo paused slightly and then said, “All right!” But in his heart he knew that the relationship between the Wang-Lin couple didn’t end well and was afraid that there would be more misery than happiness in the letters. In that case, it would be better not to read them. Then Xiao Longnü said, “You don’t have to worry about it beforehand. Perhaps there are only convoluted speeches in there.”

Yang Guo picked up the first letter and read, “Dear Ying Mei [Sister Ying]: The other day my division and the enemy crossed swords at the Hill of the Evil Storm. We were ambushed and suffered a small loss. Four hundred men.. ..” As he read on, the letter was filled with the story of the battles between his army and the Jin. He looked through several other letters, they all talked about military affairs and there was nothing on personal relationships.

Yang Guo sighed and said, “Founding Master Chongyang was indeed a real Han hero. His whole heart was devoted to defending the country and since this was the case, our Ancestor Grandma couldn’t be blamed for being estranged.” Xiao Longnü said, “No, Ancestor Grandma was very delighted to receive these letters.” Puzzled, Yang Guo asked, “How do you know?” Xiao Longnü said, “Of course I don’t know. I can only guess what went on inside her mind. You see, every single letter talked about how very urgent and difficult those battle situations were but master Chongyang, even in distress, still didn’t forget to write to our Ancestor Grandma. Wouldn’t you say she was always on his mind?” Yang Guo nodded and said, “Yes, it was indeed so.” And then he picked up the letter again.

That letter described a desperate situation. Wang Chongyang’s army was overwhelmed by many enemies and they were repeatedly defeated with little hope of support. At the end of the letter, he asked about Lin Chaoying’s injured condition and even though he used only a few words, his deep concerns were quite evident. Yang Guo said, “Hmm, during those years our Ancestor Grandma was injured but later she was well again. Your wound condition can slowly heal too. After a year or so, you can be recovered.”

Xiao Longnü weakly smiled. She herself knew that her injury this time was far from normal. If an injury this heavy could be cured, that would be like having an immortal walking the earth. But to say it out loud right now wouldn’t help light up the situation. Even if Yang Guo’s suggestion couldn’t convince her, it would make him feel better. So she said, “Slow treatment is good. What’s the rush? And these letters don’t really talk about private matters, you can read on!”

Yang Guo read another letter, which was filled with words of grief and anger. It talked about the army’s defeat and how Wang Chongyang had to risk everything to break out of a heavy encirclement. But even his retreat was a disaster with ultimate deaths and casualties; at the end of the letter he said he was going to gather troops again for another battle. From that point on every letter all talked about military defeats and setbacks. The Jin power at the North river was very strong and Wang Chongyang obviously already knew that the matters were gravely serious. The letter was full of desperate and disheartening messages.

Yang Guo said, “These letters are very depressing. Let’s not read anymore! Eh, what’s this?” Suddenly there was excitement in his voice and the hand that held the letter slightly trembled. He read aloud, “There, at the most northern and bitterly cold area, is a stone called Chilled Jade [Han Yu]. It can control all illnesses and cure incurable diseases and should help my sister [Lin Chaoying]. Long’er, do you think this…this is the Chilled Jade Bed?”

As Xiao Longnü saw the happy expression on his face, her voice shook, “You… You said the Chilled Jade Bed could heal my injury?” Yang Guo replied, “I don’t know but Master Chongyang said so. It must have a basis. You see, the Chilled Jade Bed was provided by him, wasn’t it? Our Ancestor Grandma slept on this bed, didn’t she? And her severe injury finally healed, right?”

He hurriedly unfolded every letter to look for a way to treat injuries but, apart from that one letter, the two words “Chilled Jade” were not mentioned again anywhere. Yang Guo finally tied up the many letters with the ribbon and put them back in the box. Blankly, he pondered, “This Chilled Jade Bed is this strange. There must be a reason. But how do I find out a way to treat Long’er’s injury? Hmm, let me figure out the way… let me figure out the way….”

Xiao Longnü smiled and asked, “You look lost in thought, what’s on your mind?”

Yang Guo then replied, “I’m trying to figure out a way to use the Chilled Jade Bed to treat your injury. Do I grind the stone for you to take as medicine or do I use any medicine to complement it somehow?” If he didn’t know that the Chilled Jade Bed could treat all injuries, that would be the end of story but now that he’d read the six words “control all illnesses, cure incurable diseases” and couldn’t figure out how to use the Chilled Jade Bed, his heart was on fire. Dismally Xiao Longnü said, “Do you remember Sun Po Po? She took care of both our Ancestor Grandma and my master for many years. Still when she was injured by the Taoist named Hao, she… she died of a severe injury.” Originally Yang Guo was full of hope. Now hearing her words, he felt as if he was suddenly drenched with cold water.

Xiao Longnü stretched out her hand to stroke his hair gently. With a gentle voice she said, “Guo’er, you don’t have to worry so much about my injury. Why should you put yourself through agony again?”

Yang Guo was completely disheartened but after a while, he asked, “How did my Shi Zu [Martial Grandma –referring to her master] get injured?” Even though Yang Guo had lived at Gu Mu for many years, he actually never heard Xiao Longnü talk about how her master passed away.

Xiao Longnü said, “My master isolated herself inside Gu Mu and rarely went outside. Then there was this one year my Shi Jie [apprentice sister] went out and caused trouble. She fled back to Mount Zhongnan so my master had to leave the tomb to help. Then unexpectedly she fell into an enemy trap. Even though my master lost the fight, she could still bring back Shi Jie. That should have been the end of it. But then she bickered with that evil person. Nobody would have expected that he would want a yard after getting an inch. Shortly after the fight, he was outside Gu Mu, issuing a challenge, and then broke into the tomb. My master couldn’t fend him off and almost had to drop the dragon stone to die together with him inside. Fortunately, at a critical moment, she threw out a golden needle. That evil person was caught off guard and got hit. The itchy pain was difficult to bear and my master used that opportunity to strike his pressure points. Seeing him unable to move, she didn’t expect that Shi Jie would sneak up to unseal the pressure points. In the end that evil person attacked her and that was when she got struck by his poison hand.”

Yang Guo asked, “Who was that evil person? His martial skills were even above my Martial Grandma. He must have been a high master of her generation.”

Xiao Longnü said, “Master didn’t tell me. She said that my heart shouldn’t be filled with any love or hate feelings and that if she told me who that evil person was, I wouldn’t forget him and would later go seek revenge.”

Yang Guo sighed and said, “Hmmm, Shi Zu [Martial Grandma] was really a good person!”

Xiao Longnü smiled and said, “If master could see me today being married to a good son-in-law like this, she would be quite delighted.”

With a laugh, Yang Guo said, “That might not be the case. She wouldn’t let you marry anyone.”

Xiao Longnü sighed, “My master was really the kindest. Even though at first she wouldn’t allow it, afterwards, seeing my heart, she would have relented. She… she would certainly have liked you.” Xiao Longnü was recalling her master’s kindness and was lost in thought for a long time. Then she said, “After master was injured, she moved to another room on the opposite side far away from the Chilled Jade Bed. She said our Gu Mu sect’s martial style and cold air induced and subdued each other, therefore the Chilled Jade Bed wonderfully helped us practicing our martial skills. But after injury, we should not be exposed to the cold air.”

Yang Guo made a “hmm” sound while pondering how internal energy circulated through vital organs. To use internal energy according to the Jade Maiden Manual, the pure Yin air would flow through body pulses, causing the inner body to be extremely cold and sending out heat steams to the outside of the body. When practicing, clothing had to be removed so the heat steams could be smoothly dispersed without any obstruction. And the internally injured could not use the cold air from the Chilled Jade Bed. He contemplated, “But what did Master Wang Chongyang mean by “control all illnesses, cure incurable diseases? This induce and subdue principle must be missing some important details.” Then he saw Xiao Longnü’s eyelids drooping, indicating that she was exhausted. He said, “You should rest, I’m sitting right here to keep you company.”

Xiao Longnü quickly opened her eyes wide and said, “No, I’m not tired. Tonight, we won’t sleep.” With her heavy injury, she was afraid that once she slept, she wouldn’t wake up again. Then she said, “You keep on talking to me. Hmm, are you tired?”

Yang Guo shook his head and said with a tiny smile, “You don’t want to sleep then don’t. Just close your eyes and keep your mind awake.”

Xiao Longnü said, “All right!” She slowly closed her eyelids and said in a low voice, “My master once said, there was one thing that till the day she died she still couldn’t figure out. Guo’er, you are very smart, you can think about it.” Yang Guo said, “What is it?” Xiao Longnü then said, “Master hit that evil person’s pressure point but she didn’t know why Shi Jie [Apprentice Sister] would help him unseal it.” Yang Guo was deep in thought for a while and then felt Xiao Longnü’s body resting against his. Her breaths were shallow. She already fell asleep.

Yang Guo gazed at her face, his heart filled with apprehension. Time passed. A candle flame flickered and then went out by itself.

He suddenly remembered a vertical couplet in a small room at the Peach Blossom Island:

“Silkworms will not stop spitting their threads until they die; the candle has burned to ashes when tears dry up.”

Missing his wife, Huang Yaoshi wrote these two lines of a Tang poem and hung them outside the study where she used to embroider. At that time, Yang Guo saw them but paid no attention. He was just too young to understand. Now he slowly absorbed the true meaning of the lines and his heart was breaking. Suddenly before his eyes, another candle was flickering it’s last light. He thought, “These two candles are just like Long’er and I. One has burned out and the other is about to be extinguished.”

He was deep in thought for a while and then heard Xiao Longnü quietly murmur, “I’m not going to die. Guo’er… I’m not going to die. The two of us will live for many, many, many years.”

Yang Guo said, “That’s right. You can’t die. You’ll slowly improve and then you’ll be well. How does your chest feel?” Xiao Longnü didn’t reply. She was just talking in her sleep.

Yang Guo stretched out his hand to brush her forehead but felt it was burning. He was both worried and sad. He thought, “Li Mochou did all kinds of evil things but she is now alive and well. Long’er has never caused anyone harm. How come her life is cut short? Oh God, Oh God, you open your eyes but don’t see?”

In his entire life, he was never a prisoner of fear and he always acted as he pleased. But right now, facing a hopeless situation, he couldn’t do anything. He gently put Xiao Longnü’s body to the side and knelt down on the ground. He secretly prayed, “So long as God has mercy and let her injured body recover, I will… I will…” To redeem Xiao Longnü’s life, how would there be anything he was not willing to do?

While he was praying, Xiao Longnü suddenly said, “It was Ouyang Feng. Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] said it was Ouyang Feng! Guo’er, Guo’er, where are you?” She called out in alarm and lifted her body up. Yang Guo quickly sat down by the bed, grabbed her hand, and said, “I’m here.” In her sleep, Xiao Longnü felt her body without support so she immediately woke up. Seeing now that Yang Guo was still right by her and hadn’t gone anywhere, she was greatly consoled.

Yang Guo said, “Don’t worry. In this lifetime, I’ll never leave you. And in the future, when we leave Gu Mu, I will never leave your side even for a bit.”

Xiao Longnü said, “In the outside world, sure enough there are so many good places to go. But when we get outside, I’ll still be afraid.”

Yang Guo said, “Today we don’t have to fear anything. We’ll wait for a few months for your body to recover, and then we’ll head south. I’ve heard that Lingnan [a place in South China] is warm like spring all year round. The flowers bloom and don’t wither and the leaves always stay green. We’ll put down our swords. We’ll grow plants and raise small chickens and ducks. We’ll live under the southern sun for the rest of our lives and have many, many boys and girls. Do you think these are good ideas?”

Xiao Longnü daydreamed and gently said, “We’ll put down our swords forever. That’s wonderful! Nobody hurts us and we don’t need to hurt others. We’ll grow things on a farm and we’ll keep chickens and ducks.. .. Oh, only if I don’t die…”

For the moment, the two hearts flew to a far-away Southern place, which was blessed with spring breezes and morning sun. They could smell the rich flower fragrances and they could hear the sounds of small chickens clucking and ducks…

No longer being able to support her head, Xiao Longnü’s mind was about to slip into a blur. But she was determined not to sleep so she said, “I don’t want to sleep. You keep talking to me.”

Yang Guo said, “Just now in your sleep you said something about Ouyang Feng. What was the matter?”

Xiao Longnü then said, “I said Ouyang Feng? What about him?”

Yang Guo added, “You also said Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] decided that it was him.”

As Xiao Longnü heard him saying that, she immediately recalled something and said, “Oh! Sun Po Po said the man who injured my master had to be West Poison Ouyang Feng. She said in the world there were only very few people who could have hurt my master. And Ouyang Feng was the only bad person among those people. Until her death, my master never said that evil person’s name. Sun Po Po asked her ‘Is it Ouyang Feng, is it Ouyang Feng?’ but my master shook her head, smiled, and then passed away. Isn’t that Ouyang Feng your adoptive father? His martial skills were really high; no wonder my master couldn’t defeat him.”

Yang Guo sighed and said, “My adoptive father has died. Martial Grandma and Sun Po Po have died. Master Chongyang and Ancestor Grandma have died. Hatred, love, and death were all written off by God. It was like my Martial Grandma could see the future so she was not willing to say my adoptive father’s name…” But suddenly he shouted, “Oh…that must be it!”

Xiao Longnü asked, “What have you figured out?”

Yang Guo replied, “Li Mochou didn’t unseal my adoptive father’s pressure point that Martial Grandma hit. Actually, it was because Martial Grandma didn’t hit the mark in the first place!”

Xiao Longnü said, “She didn’t hit the mark? That was not possible. My master’s accupoint sealing skill was really remarkable.”

Yang Guo said, “My adoptive father had two of the world’s strange martial skills. In his whole body, the vital energy could circulate against the normal flow. The opposite circulation shifted all his pressure points so sealing the pressure point actually meant missing the point.”

Xiao Longnü said, “There is something that strange?”

Yang Guo said “Let me try it for you to see.” Having said that, he flipped up-side down and used his hand to prop himself up on the floor, his head down and legs up in the air. Then he quickly spun himself, making a few rounds, and then breathed in a few times. Suddenly he jumped up and bumped his head into a pointed corner of the table in front of the bed. Xiao Longnü cried out, “Ai yo, be careful!” only to see the “Hundred Meetings” point [Bai Hui] on his head hit the corner of the stone table hard. This “Hundred Meetings” point was right on top of the brain, where the vertical line from the front to the back of the head and the horizontal line from the left ear to the right ear intersect, and hence the name “hundred meetings point.” This was a vital pressure point, which controlled all the veins. Doctors usually compared it to the North Star, as in the saying “Bai Hui [Hundred Meetings] is sky, Xuan Ji [Jade Pearl -chest] is man, and Yong Quan [Bubbling Spring -legs] is earth,” which was to say that these “three big pressure points” were the most critical in a human body. Knowing this, Yang Guo bumped it right into a table corner and then turned around to stand erect. With a laugh he said, “You see, as the energy flew in the opposite direction, my Hundred Meetings point changed its position!” Xiao Longnü clucked her tongue in approval and said, “How very strange. And he came up with that!”

Hitting himself this time, even though Yang Guo didn’t seal his pressure point, he used quite a bit of force and his brain couldn’t help becoming confused. In his daze, he seemed to have figured out something important all of a sudden but couldn’t quite say what it was. Xiao Longnü saw him looking dazed and disoriented so she said with a smile, “Dumb kid, a gentle demonstration would have been enough. Nobody told you to crash into the table so hard. Does it hurt?” Yang Guo didn’t reply just waved his hand for her to stop talking. He concentrated on his thoughts but felt like there was a fuzzy shadow flashing in his brain, barring him from getting a clear picture. It seemed he needed to recall something from the past, yet it was also like he’d suddenly discovered something new. He wished he could have just taken it out from his brain, stopped that moving shadow, put that thought before his eyes and clearly look at it.

He thought for a while. Still he couldn’t grasp the main points and couldn’t give up thinking either. He grabbed his head. Quite vexed, he asked Xiao Longnü, “Long’er, I’ve figured out an extremely important matter but I don’t know what. Do you know?” When a person got his thoughts mixed up like entangled threads and he himself didn’t have a clue, asking another person what he was thinking was quite ridiculous. But for the two of them who had lived together for a long time and understood each other very well, their guesses would be correct most of the times. Xiao Longnü said, “This is a very important matter?” Yang Guo replied, “Yes.” Xiao Longnü asked, “Is it related to my injury? Delighted, Yang Guo said, “Good, very good! What matter is that? What have I figured out?”

With a chuckle, Xiao Longnü said, “You just talked about your adoptive father Ouyang Feng. You said he could direct vital energy to circulate in the opposite direction. Is this related to my injured condition? I’m not the person he injured…”

Yang Guo suddenly jumped up and shouted out loudly, “Got it!”

These two words “Got it!” were brightly loud. The doors of the stone chambers inside Gu Mu were not closed so each and every word spoken echoed back, “Got it, Got it…” Yang Guo grabbed Xiao Longnü’s right arm and repeatedly cried out, “You could be saved! You could be saved! You could be saved!” He couldn’t restrain his happiness; nor could he really find words to express it. Seeing him all excited, Xiao Longnü was infected with this joyous feeling. She sat up.

Yang Guo said, “Long’er, you listen to my words. Right now you are seriously injured so you can’t use our sect’s Jade Maiden skills. And this makes it difficult for you to recover from the injury. But if you can circulate your vital energy against the flow to heal yourself, the Chilled Jade Bed will precisely be a marvelous aid.”

Xiao Longnü had yet to understand. She mumbled, “Vital energy against the flow… the Chilled Jade Bed…”

Happily, Yang Guo said, “Would you say this is fate? You’ve practiced the Jade Maiden skill, which was good enough. On top of that we have the Chilled Jade Bed.”

Xiao Longnü became confused so she said, “I still don’t quite understand.”

Yang Guo then explained, “The Jade Maiden skills follow the Yin energy but the reverse flow skills are pure Yang. When I talked about my adoptive father’s reverse energy flow skills, I vaguely felt that your injured condition could be healed. Then I hit my head and, afterwards, recalled what Master Chongyang mentioned in his letter about the Chilled Jade. And it all became clear.”

Xiao Longnü said, “So is that to say our Ancestor Grandma, who used the Chilled Jade Bed to treat her injury, could reverse the energy flow as well?”

Yang Guo said, “That’s not likely. Our Ancestor Grandma would definitely not know this reverse energy flow technique. But I suspect that she was injured by the Yin’s soft internal energy. Your injury, on the other hand, was caused by the opposite force of the hard Yang.” Xiao Longnü smiled and nodded. Then with a joyful feeling, she put her mind at ease.

Yang Guo said, “We’d better not wait. Let us do it now.” He then went into the firewood room and took out a bunch of firewood. He lit them up in the corner of the stone room. Then he taught Xiao Longnü the most basic elements of the reverse energy flow skills and helped her sit up on the Chilled Jade Bed. He sat by the fire. As he used his left hand to press against Xiao Longnü’s right palm, he said, “I’ll push this heat through each of your pressure points and you use your internal energy to circulate it against the normal flow. We’ll do it one point at a time and when the heat comes back to the Chilled Jade Bed, your injured condition should improve a little bit.” With a smile Xiao Longnü said, “Do I have to get down and spin myself just like you did?” Yang Guo said, “Nah, that’s not necessary. Spinning is for shifting pressure points. It’s only good when fighting enemies. We are slowly healing your injury; sitting down here is just as good.”

Xiao Longnü stretched her hand to hold his left palm and with a smile she said, “Come to think of it, that Guo Guniang wasn’t too mean. She didn’t cut off both of your arms.” The two people had been through so many near death incidents that the matter of missing an arm became trivial. And Xiao Longnü was even joking about it. Yang Guo also laughed and retorted, “If both of my arms got cut off, I’d still have two feet. Only that using my soles to help you circulate the energy would be hilariously smelly and not quite elegant.” Xiao Longnü scoffed and then silently recited the principle of reverse energy flow. After a while, she said, “I’ve got it!”

Yang Guo saw that the fire was burning too intense so he got up to slow it down. And just when they were about to begin circulating the energy, he suddenly called out, “Ai yo! I almost missed one important detail! Xiao Longnü said, “What is it?” Yang Guo pointed to Guo Xiang who was sleeping at the foot of the bed and said, “At a critical moment, if this little devil cries out, it will be quite a disaster!” Xiao Longnü then murmured, “Very dangerous!” When one was circulating and cultivating energy, the most evil taboo was a disturbed mind. Quite some time ago, Xiao Longnü and Yang Guo were practicing their Jade Maiden skills and were discovered by Zhen Zhibing and Zhao Zhijing. Xiao Longnü’s anger caused her to spit up blood and she almost died. In addition to that, at that time her body was normally healthy. Today she was heavy injured, how would she be able to withstand any bit of distraction?

Yang Guo mixed half a bowl of the bee honey, picked up Guo Xiang, and fed her before moving her to a distant stone chamber. He shut two doors between them so even if she cried out, they wouldn’t hear her. Then he came back to stay by the chilled jade bed and said, “To clear the thirty six major pressure points your body, I think at best it will take ten days and at worst about half a month. Originally it should have taken many, many days because it’s hard to avoid distraction. But our Gu Mu is completely isolated from the outside world, making it the best place on earth for recovery. Even the most remote wild mountain or valley won’t be as good because there will always be the sound of birds or the smell of flowers to disturb one’s mind.”

Xiao Longnü smiled and said, “My injury was caused by the Quanzhen Taoists but it was their founding master who gave us the tomb chamber and the Chilled Jade Bed for me to rest and recover in. So their merits and crimes actually cancelled out each other.”

Then Yang Guo said, “What about that Jinlun Fawang? We can’t let him get away with it.”

Xiao Longnü sighed and said, “So long as I can live, what else do you have to be unhappy about?”

Yang Guo held her hand and said, “You are right. This time after you’ve recovered, we’ll never fight with people again. God is so kind to us. Hmmm…”

Xiao Longnü gently said, “We’ll go south to become farmers and we’ll raise a lot of chickens and ducks…” As she was saying that, she felt the heat energy passing into her body. With a trembling heart, she used the reverse energy flow technique that Yang Guo taught her to circulate that energy.

This healing method of using the reverse energy flow technique and the Chilled Jade Bed to complement each other was really strange but the result was also very effective. Years ago, Reverend Yi Deng had used the “Divine One Yang Finger” to cure Huang Rong’s injury by circulating energy and clearing all her pressure points in pretty much the same way. The difference was that using the One Yang Finger to cure an illness ravenously consumed a lot of Reverend Yi Deng’s internal energy but hence lead to a quick recovery. Yang Guo’s method would take many days to see results. And more than that, for a non-martial person who was heavily injured, a master of the One Yang Finger would use his profound internal energy to help the injured circulate the Yang energy and thus bring him back to health. In Xiao Longnü’s case, she didn’t have a very deep internal energy foundation but she and Yang Guo were from the same sect, yet could use different techniques. Not even Ouyang Feng coming back from the grave or Huang Yaoshi arriving could create a harmony between the helper and the helped like this. And nor would they be able to help Xiao Longnü to reverse her energy flow without innumerable difficulties.

Three times a day, Yang Guo would go out to feed Guo Xiang with honey and boiled pumpkin. Other than that he rarely left Xiao Longnü’s side. To clear major pressure points, sometimes it would take four or five hours during which their hands could not be separated. At the time Guo Jing was injured, Huang Rong spent seven days and seven nights helping him cure the injuries. Compared to Guo Jing’s sturdy body, Xiao Longnü’s was far more delicate and so her injury was many times more serious.

That day at the outskirts of the woods, Huang Rong used her “Orchid Brushing Accupoint” skills to defeat Li Mochou. Then she looked everywhere but still couldn’t find her baby Guo Xiang. She was filled with anxiety and sorrow. As she came out of the forest, she shouted at Li Mochou, “What kind of tricks did you use? Where did you hide my baby?”

Surprised, Li Mochou said, “Isn’t the little girl tucked behind the thorn fence?”

Huang Rong was so worried that she almost broke down in tears. She shook her head and replied, “She’s disappeared.”

Li Mochou had been fostering Guo Xiang for many days and was quite attached to her. Suddenly hearing that she was missing, her heart skipped a beat. She quickly said, “Must be either Yang Guo or Jinlun Fawang.”

Huang Rong then asked, “How do you know?”

Then Li Mochou told her about her fight with Yang Guo and Fawang over the baby outside the walls of Xiangyang. As she talked about the dangers, Huang Rong couldn’t keep her indifferent appearance. Seeing Li Mochou’s worried expression, Huang Rong was then convinced that she didn’t know where Guo Xiang was and so she stretched out her hand to unseal the “Jade Pearl” pressure point [Xuan Ji] on her chest. With Huang Rong’s technique, Li Mochou could move round but she wouldn’t be able to hurt