then pushed me into the flower thickets.”

Sensing hesitation in her tone, Qiu Qianchi said, “No, you’re lying! What really happened? Don’t even think of hiding it from me.”

Lu’E broke out in cold sweat. “I didn’t lie to you, this… aren’t these Passion Flowers?”

“There was something wrong with your intonation,” said Qiu Qianchi. “You have been like this since young, unable to tell lies of any sort. How would I, as your mother, not know this?”

An idea came to Lu’E and she said, “Mother, I was lying, it was actually father who pushed me into the thickets. He was angry at me for following you and helping you, saying that I only wanted mother and not father. He… he was trying his utmost to please that pretty Taoist priestess.”

Qiu Qianchi hated her husband to the core and Lu’E’s words struck precisely at her heart’s threshold, suiting her perfectly. Immediately she had no further doubts and took Lu’E’s lies to be true. She hurriedly held her daughter’s hand and said gently, “Lu’E, don’t be afraid, your mother will deal with that old thief. There was always going to be a time where we finally vented this hatred in our hearts.” She then ordered the maidservants to bring her a pair of scissors and tweezers. First she removed the stalks from Lu’E’s chest, and then used the tweezers to extract the broken thorns.

Choking with grief, Lu’E said, “Mother, I don’t think I’ll survive this time round.”

“Don’t worry, we still have one half of the Passionless Pill,” said Qiu Qianchi. “Luckily we didn’t waste it on that heartless scoundrel Yang Guo. After taking the half Pill, you still won’t be totally rid of the poison but if you be good and stay by mother, completely ignoring all worthless men, or even completely shutting them out from your thoughts, then you’ll definitely be safe.” Qiu Qianchi had bitterly endured her husband’s torture, and then Yang Guo refused to become her son-in-law. She hated all the world’s men with a vengeance, and there would be nothing better than if her daughter remained unmarried all her life.

Lu’E frowned in silence. Qiu Qianchi asked, “Where’s that old thief and the Taoist priestess? Where are they?”

Lu’E replied, “I struggled up from the flower thickets and didn’t dare look back. They’re probably still there.”

Qiu Qianchi thought to herself: “Now that the old thief has found a powerful helper, he will definitely return to claim back the Valley. The disciples here are all probably his followers. In a confrontation, they would undoubtedly help the old thief. Either that or they will just sit on the fence, not helping any side, but they will definitely not oppose him. All my limbs are crippled and I can only use my date stone skill. If fired at an unprepared opponent, its power is extremely great. But that old thief will be on his guard and I will probably not be able to withstand his attacks. If he uses the tablet to attack, then I will be left with no devices. What, then, should I do?” Qiu Qianchi’s eyes flickered as she remained silent, deep in thought.

Thinking that her mother was now deliberating if her words were truth or fallacy, she was terrified that more questions would be asked and the truth exposed, eventually. Her own pain and suffering was secondary, but if she failed to get the Passionless Pill, Yang Guo would never be rid of the poison. The moment Yang Guo flitted into her mind, a huge pain seized her chest and she let out a cry. Qiu Qianchi reached out and caressed her daughter’s hair, saying, “Let’s go and retrieve the Passionless Pill.” With two claps of her hand, the maidservants carried her chair out of the room.

Ever since Yang Guo left the valley previously, Lu’E had always wanted to know where her mother had hidden the half Passionless Pill. She had heard her mother mention before that the pill must never be hidden near her, or anyone could kill her and obtain it through a simple search. Lu’E thought to herself that since her mother was disabled and required people to carry her around, the pill couldn’t possibly be hidden in some place of extremely great height. Hiding it in the mountain caves or secluded valleys was also out of the question, so it should be hidden within the manor. But Lu’E had spent the last ten days or so searching the Pill Room, the Sword Room, the garden and the bedrooms, but there was no sign of it anywhere. Presently, the maidservants carried Qiu Qianchi towards the Great Hall, and this came as a big surprise. The Hall was where everyone frequented and it was the hardest place to conceal an object. Furthermore, strong opponents seeking the Passionless Pill were now congregated in the Great Hall itself. Could it be that the Pill had been there all along for anyone’s taking?

The metal doors of the Great Hall had been firmly shut and the disciples were guarding it with their knives and fishnets. Upon seeing Qiu Qianchi’s arrival, the disciples went forward and saluted. The head disciple bowed and said, “The enemies have not made any move and seem to be helplessly waiting for death.”

Qiu Qianchi retorted with a “humph”, thinking: “What of a frog in the well, not knowing the vastness of earth and sky. These are no ordinary people who have come with ill intentions. How could they be ones to helplessly wait for death?” Aloud, she commanded, “Open the door!” Two disciples opened the metal door while another eight flanked Qiu Qianchi, guarding her with two fishnets. Together, they moved into the Hall.

Yideng, Huang Rong, Wu Santong and Yelu Qi were all sitting in one corner of the Hall. After Qiu Qianchi’s maidservants lowered her chair onto the floor, she said, “All here except Huang Rong and her two daughters are free to leave without hindrance. I will not pursue your crime of intruding into the Valley, so please take your leave immediately.”

Huang Rong smiled and said, “Valley-Owner Qiu, a misfortune looms over your head and still you do not know enough to flee. Instead you come here and exaggerate your importance. It makes one’s teeth go cold.”

Qiu Qianchi’s heart chilled at this, thinking: “How does she know a misfortune looms? Could it be that she knows the old thief has returned?” She said coolly, “Whether it is a blessing or misfortune, retribution will reveal. This old lady is a cripple with handicapped limbs, what else can I be afraid of?”

Of course, Huang Rong knew nothing of Gongsun Zhi’s return. But one’s countenance speaks everything: she noticed that there was a furrow in Qiu Qianchi’s brow and could tell that something weighed heavily on her mind. This was a contrast to the arrogant and ruthless expression she wore when exiting the Hall. Huang Rong conjectured that something must have cropped up in the Valley and so, said a few words to verify. Qiu Qianchi’s defensive response told her that she was most probably right.

“Valley-Owner Qiu, your elder brother slipped and fell into the depths of the valley himself, and was definitely not harmed by junior. If you still bear a grudge over this matter then junior will not try to avoid death, but you must first hand over the antidote to cure Yang Guo’s poison,” said Huang Rong. “If I do die, all my friends here will bear no grudge against you for it and will even help you fend off this pending misfortune and fight the internal enemy. Do you accept this bargain?”

Huang Rong’s offer seemed extremely advantageous to Qiu Qianchi, seeing as the latter, being a cripple, could only rely on her powerful date stone skill to inflict any kind of harm. Mentioning the words ‘internal enemy’ also struck Qiu Qianchi’s biggest worry.

Qiu Qianchi thought to herself: “Isn’t this too good to be true?” Aloud, she said: “You are Leader of the Beggar Clan, so I assume you will hold true to your words. Should I strike you with three of my date stones, you will not dodge or use any weapon to deflect them?”

Before Huang Rong could even reply, Guo Fu butted in, “My mother just said she will not avoid it, but she never said she wouldn’t use a weapon to deflect it.”

Huang Rong smiled and said, “If Valley-Owner Qiu wants to vent her heart’s hatred, then junior will certainly not use any weapons to deflect.”

“Mother! How can this do?” cried Guo Fu. Her long sword had earlier been broken by the date stone’s strike, and she knew its power was incomparable. Her mother was after all made of flesh and blood, how could she survive without avoiding or deflecting?

But Huang Rong thought: “The Guo family owes Guo’er a huge debt. Now that he has contracted this deadly poison, we must obtain the antidote no matter what. Her date stone skill is one of the deadliest projectile arts in the world, if I let her hit me with three stones it is indeed dangerous. Just a slight moment of carelessness will cost me my life, but how would she be willing to hand over the antidote otherwise?”

Huang Rong had chosen her words wisely, making sure that Qiu Qianchi’s every need was met. The intention was to lessen her bitterness and worry. In her moment of anxiety they would help her fend off her enemy, and to lessen her bitterness she would be free to injure Huang Rong in the only way she could. Even Qiu Qianchi herself would not be able to think a more advantageous offer than this.

But Qiu Qianchi suspected it was too good to be true. She said hoarsely: “You are my mortal enemy, yet here you are, willing to take three date stones from me. What scheme are you hiding? What ill intentions do you have?”

Huang Rong went forward and said in a low voice, “There are many pairs of eyes and ears in this place, most of which harbor ill intentions towards you. I’m going to whisper a few things in your ear.”

Qiu Qianchi swept a glance at all the disciples and thought: “Amongst them are many of the old thief’s followers. Indeed I should be careful.” She nodded.

Huang Rong went near and whispered, “Your enemy will be attacking soon. Isn’t junior in a precarious situation as well? Let us quickly bury this hatchet and, no matter if junior lives or dies everyone can fight side-by-side and resist the enemy. Furthermore I am indebted to Yang Guo; I must obtain the Passionless Pill for him even if it costs me my life. If one does not know how to repay kindness, would he be any different to any beast on this earth?” Ending her sentence, she took three steps back and concentrated her gaze on Qiu Qianchi.

At the words ‘if one does not know how to repay kindness, would he be different to any beast’, Qiu Qianchi gave a start, thinking: “If it wasn’t for that fellow Yang Guo who saved me, I’d still be all alone in that underground cave, suffering in silence.” But this thought came and went as fast as lightning and her heart hardened once more. She said icily: “Your pretty words do nothing to change my iron heart. Come, come! Take three of my date stones!”

Huang Rong flung her sleeve and said, “Then I’ll put my life on the line and take three of your iron date stones.” As she spoke she moved backwards, stopping in the middle of the Hall about thirty feet from Qiu Qianchi. “Please fire your date stones!”

Though Wu Santong knew that Huang Rong was always full of wit and ideas, everyone was witness to the power of Qiu Qianchi’s date stone skill. Now, seeing Huang Rong standing there barehanded, all their hearts beat anxiously. Guo Fu was even more worried and walked over to Huang Rong, tugging at her sleeve. “Mother,” she whispered. “Let’s find a place, I’ll give you the Hedgehog Armor so you can put it on, then we don’t have to be afraid of that old hag’s deadly projectiles.”

Huang Rong slid. “What’s the point if I use the Hedgehog Armor to block the date stones? Wait and see your mother’s method.”

At this moment, Qiu Qianchi said: “Everyone else move…” before the word ‘aside’ left her mouth, a date stone had already been fired at Huang Rong’s abdomen. Though it was just a tiny date stone, it sliced through the air so violently that the sound of its speed sounded like a shrill flute. With a high-pitched cry, Huang Rong bent over, clutching her stomach.

Guo Fu, Wu Santong and the others were horrified and before they could go over to help her up, the ‘flute’ sounded again – the second date stone had been fired, this time at Huang Rong’s chest. Again, with a loud cry, Huang Rong swayed and moved unsteadily backwards, looking like she was about to fall.

Qiu Qianchi saw that Huang Rong was indeed true to her word, making no attempt to dodge. The two date stones had already struck the essential points of her body. With that same kind of compelling force, the iron date stones could break even a rock, what more of human flesh? But Huang Rong had sustained two date stones without falling, obviously hanging on despite the pain to receive the third date stone. Secretly astounded, Qiu Qianchi thought to her self: “At first I thought this woman looked too delicate to possess any real substance as Leader of the Beggar Clan. But now it seems like she is indeed a formidable pugilist!”

At the thought of Huang Rong’s imminent death after receiving two date stones, she couldn’t help but feel pleased. With a “po” sound, the third date stone left her mouth. This time, it went for Huang Rong’s throat. With the stone penetrating the throat, her brother’s killer would definitely die on the spot.

When Huang Rong said that she would take three hits of her date stones, she had yet to think of any good ideas, knowing that she could only do so in exchange for the Pill. She would then die and repay her debt to Yang Guo. But after having a quiet chat with Qiu Qianchi, she had a notion which invoked many thoughts in her brain, a plan struck her mind. Huang Rong had secretly picked up Guo Fu’s sword. It had been broken earlier by the fired date stones. She had it hidden in her sleeve. When the dates were fired later, she could bend her elbow and use the broken sword’s handle to deflect the stone. But the impact of the date stones and the sword would cause a metallic sound, so she had shouted two times to cover the sounds. This clever move had indeed perfectly prevented Qiu Qianchi from suspecting anything.

Huang Rong had deliberately faked being injured severely as these could both reduce the anger of Qiu Qianchi and save her face for being the master of the valley. The third date stone was aimed to hit her throat, so Huang Rong could not raise her sleeve, and block it with the hidden sword handle. If she did, Qiu Qianchi would then be able to see through the ruse. This would expose her breaking of the covenant of not blocking and not avoiding. In the situation now, she could only accept the risk. She slightly bent both of her elbows, waiting for the date stone to fly to her lips. Her chest had already been filled with ‘Zhen Qi’, and when she opened her mouth, with all her effort, she pushed the ‘Zhen QI’ out of her mouth. It was all because she knew where the date stones would come that caused her to be so flexible. She used her ‘Zhen Qi’ against Qiu Qianchi’s as her’s was near but Qiu Qianchi’s was far. She could then take great advantage of this situation and reduce the speed of the date stones. One thing she did not know was, that in the past, Qiu Qianchi had been living in a cave alone. Though her limbs were disabled, she had practiced spitting date stones everyday and all the time not wondering about other things.

Huang Rong, on the other hand, had gong li that was not as deep and profound as Qiu Qianchi’s. She still had to take care of the matters of the Beggar Clan, protecting Xiangyang, giving birth to children and teaching her disciples. How could she compare with Qiu Qianchi? Thus, when her ‘Zhen Qi’ was released, the date stone’s speed was only reduced a little, as it was not comparable to the force and power of the flying date stone.

Huang Rong was shocked when she noticed this, but the date stone was already in front of her lips. She had no other ideas and so she opened her mouth and bit at the date stone as hard as possible. The force of the iron date stone shook her teeth terribly and created awful pain in her gums. She was staggered and stepped back two steps. The date stone had really forced her back this time. But, fortunately for her fast thinking in such a short time and the two quick back steps she took, her front teeth were saved or else they would have broken off immediately after the hit. Though they were saved from breaking off, the impact had her gums bleeding.

The people standing around shouted in shock together, and surrounded her. Huang Rong raised her head and spit out the date stone and it stuck in one of the wooden planks of the roof. She frowned and said, “Qiu Valley Master, sister has taken your three date stone hits, my life will not last long. I only hope you will not break your promise and give me the pill.” Qiu Qianchi saw that she could even stop her swift flying date stone by biting it, and was a little shocked as well, but she could not understand why the first two date stones did not cause her to fall down though they were shot into her body with great force. She glanced at Gongsun Lu’E, and thought, ‘My daughter has been poisoned by the Passion Flower. Even if he becomes my son-in-law, how could I still give the remaining half Passionless Pill to him..?’ But just now she had agreed, in front of everyone, that she would give Huang Rong the pill. She could not deny it. She had a plan suddenly and spoke, “Guo Madam, though both of us are women, we do what we promise, it is always this way. You have voluntarily taken my three date stones; such bravery is very rare now in this world. I admire you very much, and so the pill I will surely give you. If I am in trouble, I do wish everyone here could lend me a helping hand.”

Guo Fu really thought her mother had taken the three date stones without trickery, and shouted, “If my mother is injured heavily, everyone here would have already fought with their lives against you.” She turned her head towards Huang Rong and said, “Ma…where did the old woman’s date stones hit you?”

Huang Rong did not answer her daughter’s question, but spoke to Qiu Qianchi instead, “My daughter speaks nonsense. Valley Master need not take it seriously. Sister had always spoken and done what she says and will voluntarily help Valley Master force the enemy to retreat if you could give me the pill.” Wu Santong and the others had heard Huang Rong speak with clear and bright voice and plenty of air in her lungs. They were slowly feeling relieved when she didn’t seem to be injured at all. Qiu Qianchi had also noticed it too. She was very shocked and confused deep in her heart, and thought, “She has such great martial arts that makes it even more difficult for me to break the promise. I can only lie to her.” She nodded and spoke, “I would thank you first then.” And turned her head towards her daughter and said, “Come over here Lu’E, I have something to say.”

Huang Rong had faced so many people who were cunning and unfaithful in her life. She had already noticed there was something amiss when Qiu Qianchi’s eyes blinked non stop. She knew that Qiu Qianchi would not easily give up the pill, but she could not think of any trickery to use yet. She only heard Qiu Qianchi say, “Go ahead in front of me and flip over the fifth tile.” Gongsun Lu’E was both shocked and amazed, ‘Could it be that the Passionless Pill is hidden under the tile..?’ Once Huang Rong heard what she said, she was astonished and praised her in her heart for being so cautious and clever. “This Passionless Pill is so precious that there are many who wanted to have it. It is really ingenious of her to keep it in such an unthinkable place. The pill kept under the tile must really be the real one. She could not possibly have thought that she could be left in such a situation as now, and keep a fake pill under the tile.” If Qiu Qianchi was to order her servants to go any medicine room or pharmacy to get the pill, Huang Rong would have wondered if the pill was the real one or a fake one. But now, when she saw Gongsun Lu’E following her mother’s orders to flip the tile over, she had fewer worries.

Gongsun Lu’E counted to the fifth tile and pried it up with the small dagger from her waist. She saw dust and ashes under the tile, which was nothing unusual. Qiu Qianchi then spoke, “The hidden secret under the tile cannot be known by others, Lu’E, come over here.”

Huang Rong knew that Qiu Qianchi had some cunning thoughts, deliberately acted as though she was seriously injured. She bent herself down slowly so Qiu Qianchi would suspect nothing about her yet. Then, she tilted her ear slightly towards them, trying to eavesdrop on their words. She gave full attention toward them but to no avail. She could only hear “the Passionless Pill is under the green tile” these seven words. This information was not much of a use, as she already knew that the pill was underneath the tile. Qiu Qianchi’s voice gradually softened, and thus she was not able to hear another word. She took a look back at Gongsun Lu’E but there was only a slight frown on her face. She was also nodding in reply.

Huang Rong was already in a frantic state, as she knew that the situation was aggravating but had no way to deal with it. Suddenly, she heard Reverend Yideng speak, “Rong’er, come over here so I can see your wounds…” Huang Rong turned her head to face Reverend Yideng. Seeing Reverend Yideng sitting in a corner of the room, and realizing he had caring look, she thought, “If he feels my wrist, he will know I was actually not injured.” Thus, she walked over and stuck out her hand. Reverend Yideng stretched three fingers and placed them on her wrist, mumbling, “Amituofo (the Buddhist word)…the old granny said… Amituofo…there are two bottles under the tile… Amituofo, Amituofo…in the East side is the real pill…Amituofo…in the West side is the fake pill…tells her daughter to take the fake pill, which is on the west… Amituofo… you take the real pill… Amituofo…”

When Reverend Yideng mumbled the Buddhist words, his voice was bright and clear, but when he told her the hidden information, he lowered his voice into a whisper. Huang Rong had only to hear him say, “the old granny said”, these four words, and she immediately understood and knew Reverend Yideng’s tremendously powerful internal energy made his eyes and ears much better than a normal human. The Buddhist religion is said to have “eyes that can see heaven”, and “ears that can hear heaven”. It is said in the Buddhist scripture that people with such skills, could hear six different types of sounds in the world without being confused. This type of saying is over exaggerated and is, of course, not believable. But when someone with deep and profound internal energy, a pure and simple heart, has exceptionally incredible ears, which could hear what a normal human could not. This is not strange but rather to be expected.

Though Qiu Qianchi had whispered to her daughter, Reverend Yideng, who sat a few feet away, could hear every single word clearly. He knew that the pill’s ingenuity is linked to Yang Guo’s life, and so informed Huang Rong about it. The Buddhist religion had always cared about other people’s lives.

Huang Rong waited for Reverend Yideng to finish his Buddhist words, and so asked, “Can my injury be healed?” “Can the date stones shoot all at once?” Every sentence she asked, had just nicely covered up Reverend Yideng’s hidden speech, such as “in the East side is the real pill”, “in the West side is the fake pill”. Qiu Qianchi glanced at both of them for a while, but seeing that Huang Rong had a worried look on her face, asking non-stop about her injuries and Reverend Yideng’s continuously repeating “Amituofo”, she fell for the trick, not knowing that her treacherous plan was discovered.

After listening to her mother’s words, Lu’E nodded, bent down and reached into the soil under the tile and felt. There were indeed two bottles; her heart turned sour and thought secretly, ‘Dear Yang Guo dear Yang Guo, today I risk my life to get the real pill for you. Of this bitter effort, you will never know, will you?’ Immediately, she touched the East bottle and took it out saying, “Mother, the Passionless Pill is here!” She stretched her hand deep under the tile, and was the only one who knew it was the bottle which contained the real pill. Both Qiu Qianchi and Huang Rong thought that it was the one from the West side.

The physical appearance of the two bottles was the same; the pills in the two bottles looked alike too. If Qiu Qianchi did not stick out her tongue to try the pill herself, she would not be able to tell whether it’s real or fake. She saw Gongsun Lu’E take out a bottle and thought, “At first, I was still suspecting that this daughter would steal the pill from me to help her lover, but now she had also gotten the Passionless Flower’s poison. She will now be thinking to save herself.” Qiu Qianchi was born to be very cunning, evil, harsh and ungrateful. She would never believe anyone on Earth to be willing to sacrifice their life to save others and so said, “We will do what we promised, and l will give the pill to Guo madam…” Lu’E walked towards Huang Rong with both her hands carrying the bottle.

Huang Rong bowed towards Qiu Qianchi in the traditional way and replied, “Thank you for the sincere offer.” But she thought in the other way, ‘Now I know where the real pill is, could I not easily steal it..?’

Just as she stretched out her hand to receive the bottle, a man suddenly crashed through the roof, making a big hole. That man dropped down and immediately snatched away the bottle which was in Gongsun Lu’E’s hands.

Gongsun Lu’E hollered, “Father!” Huang Rong saw that Gongsun Lu’E’s face turned pale all of a sudden, and was very anxious. She couldn’t stop from feeling astonished, “The bottle Gongsun Zhi took was obviously the fake one, but why is she so worried..?” At this moment, the main room’s door suddenly got blasted off with a huge sound, shaking the whole room and causing every red candle’s flame to flicker non-stop. The light in the room glowed brightly, followed by a loud sound. The main door split in two, and the door flew off. A man and three women walked in. The man was Yang Guo; the others were Xiao Longnü, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang.

Gongsun Lu’E saw Yang Guo coming in, shouted with a lost voice, “Brother Yang…….” Running towards him, but she felt it was inappropriate and stopped after two steps. She also restrained the sentence she wanted to say. Huang Rong had been noticing Gongsun Lu’E, and saw her eyes revealing deep love towards Yang Guo when she glanced at him. There was also infinite worry in her eyes.

Huang Rong suddenly realized, “Rong’er, Rong’er. How come you don’t understand the girl’s heart even though you have been a mother for so long? Though her mother ordered her to give me the fake pill, she was totally obsessed with Yang Guo, and the pill she tried to give me was the real one. Gongsun Zhi had snatched away the miracle pill, why would she not worry?”