within the eyes of the corpse was a look of great intelligence, and that there was some color in his face. Mu Wanqing extended her hand, waving it beneath his nose to test for breath. It seemed as though there was a sign of breathing, and yet there also wasn’t. Next she touched his face. Strangely, it felt both warm and cold. When she extended a hand to touch his chest, it seemed as though his heart was both still and beating. Absolutely baffled, she said, “This person is so strange. If I want to call him a dead person, he seems to have the characteristics of the living. But were I to call him a living person, he seems so much more like a dead person.”

Suddenly, a voice said, “I am a living person!”

Mu Wanqing was very surprised. She quickly turned her head, but saw no one behind her. The stones scattered by the riverside were all no bigger than eggs. There was no place for anyone to hide. And while she was inspecting that freak, she had clearly seen that when the sound of that voice entered her ears, that person had not moved his lips at all. She loudly shouted, “Who is playing tricks on me? Are you tired of living?” Retreating two steps, her back was now towards the river, her eyes closely scanning the other three directions.

She saw nothing, but heard a voice say, “I truly am tired of living.” Mu Wanqing’s surprise was not small at all. The only person in front of her was this freak, but she clearly saw that his lips hadn’t moved. Deciding he wasn’t the one who had spoken, she loudly said, “Who is speaking?”

That voice replied, “You are speaking!” Mu Wanqing said, “Who is the person who is speaking with me?” That voice said, “Nobody is speaking with you.” Mu Wanqing hurriedly spun around three times, but saw nothing aside from her own shadow.

By now, she had already figured out that the voice must be coming from the freak in a green gown. Summoning her courage, she walked towards him and pressed his lips shut with her hands. Then she asked, “Are you the one speaking to me?” That voice replied, “No!” Mu Wanqing didn’t feel the slightest vibration from her fingers on his lips. She asked, “A person is clearly speaking to me. Why are you saying there isn’t?” That voice replied, “I am not a person. I am not even myself. I no longer exist in this world.”

Mu Wanqing suddenly felt her hair stand on end. She thought to herself, “Can it really be a ghost?” She asked, “You…are you a ghost?” That voice replied, “You yourself said that you do not want to live anymore, and were going to kill yourself and become a ghost. Why are you afraid of a ghost then?” Mu Wanqing forcefully replied, “Who says I’m afraid of ghosts? I fear neither heaven nor earth!” That voice replied, “There is one thing you are afraid of.” Mu Wanqing made a ‘hngh’ sound. “I fear nothing!”

That voice said, “You fear it, you fear it. You fear a perfectly fine husband suddenly turning into your own brother by blood.”

These words were like a cudgel strike to her head. Mu Wanqing’s legs suddenly felt weak, and she sat down on the ground. After being dazed for a long time, she murmured, “You’re a ghost. You’re a ghost.” That voice said, “I have a method to change Duan Yu from being your brother to being your husband again.” Quivering, Mu Wanqing replied, “You…you’re lying to me. This is the will of the heavens. You…you can’t change it.” That voice said, “Heaven? The lord of heaven deserves to die. He is an a.sshole! No need for us to pay attention to him. I have a way to turn your brother into your husband. Do you want it or not?”

Originally, Mu Wanqing’s had been utterly disheartened, and she had felt utterly detached from the world. These words truly came as though they had descended from the skies. Even though she half-believed, half-doubted, she urgently said, “I want it! I want it!” But that voice fell silent.

After a while, Mu Wanqing said, “Who are you? Let me see you. Is that alright?” That voice replied, “You’ve been staring at me for a very long time now. Haven’t you stared enough?” After a moment, it continued, “Even I do not know if I am still myself. Alas!” Only when letting out this long sigh did he betray the feeling of deep sorrow and depression in his heart.

No doubt was left in Mu Wanqing’s mind at all that the voice came from the old man in a green gown who sat before her. She asked, “How can you speak without your lips moving?” The man replied, “I am a living corpse. My lips cannot move. My voice comes from my abdomen.”

Although Mu Wanqing was highly disciplined, she still had a childish personality at times. Just moments ago, she was feeling extremely sorrowful, but upon hearing that this person claimed that he could speak with his abdomen, she couldn’t help but feel fascinated. “Speaking with your stomach? That’d truly be a bizarre thing!” The man in the green robe replied, “Extend your hand and rest it against my belly. Then you’ll understand.” Mu Wanqing extended her hand and placed it against his stomach. The man in the green robe said, “My stomach is vibrating when I speak. Can you feel it?” Mu Wanqing indeed felt the man’s stomach quiver with every word he spoke. Laughing, she said, “Haha, that’s so very weird!” She didn’t know that the man in the green robe practiced a form of ventriloquism. There were thousands of puppetmasters and ventriloquists in the world, but to be able to speak with such clarity was truly no easy feat. It could only be achieved with a deep and profound internal energy.

Mu Wanqing circled around him a few times. Closely examining him, she asked, “If your mouth isn’t able to move, how do you eat?” The man in the green robe stretched out his hands. One hand gripped his upper lip, whereas the other gripped his lower lip. He pulled his mouth open, then held his mouth open with his left hand while tossing something in his mouth with his right. With a gulping sound, he swallowed it. “That is how.”

Mu Wanqing sighed. “Alas! What a pity! If you eat like this, how can you possibly taste your food?” Suddenly, she saw that all of the flesh on his face was stiffened, and he could not close his eyes. Neither expressions of anger nor joy could be seen on this man’s face. This was the reason why, when she first saw him, she thought that he was a corpse.

Although her fear had dissipated, she suddenly thought to herself, this person is himself in such dire straits. How can he possibly counter the will of heaven and change her brother into her husband? Evidently, all the words he said earlier were just nonsense. She muttered to herself for a long time, then sighed. Turning her body, she began to walk away. Only to hear that voice say, “I am going to make Duan Yu into your husband. You cannot leave.” Mu Wanqing laughed dully, then took a few steps towards the west. Suddenly, she stopped and turned around. “The two of us don’t know each other. How can you know what is in my heart? Can it be that you…you know my darling Duan?”

The man in the green robe replied, “That which is in your heart, I naturally am aware of.” From the sleeves of his arms he suddenly withdrew a pair of thin black metal canes. “Let’s go!” Tapping the rock on which he sat with his left cane, he suddenly rose into the air. With ease and grace, he landed on the cane over ten feet away. Mu Wanqing saw that both of his feet remained in midair, and that he supported himself only on that one metal cane. Despite that, his body remained exceptionally steady. Curious, she asked, “Your two legs…” The man in the green robe said, “My legs were crippled long ago. Enough. From now on, you are no longer allowed to ask questions about me.”

Mu Wanqing said, “And if I keep on asking?” Just after the fourth word had left her mouth, she felt her legs turn soft. She fell down. The man in green had moved as quickly as a gust of wind and had arrived by her side, then tapped her twice at the back of her knees with a steel cane. He had followed that with a single blow from the cane which had caused pain so deep, it reached her marrow. “Ah!” She let out a loud cry. The man in green tapped her two more times, releasing her sealed acupoints. His movements were so fast as to be unbelievable. Mu Wanqing leapt to her feet. Angrily, she said, “You are so impolite!” Unfastening her sleeves, she was about to shoot a quarrel at him.

The man in green said, “If you shoot a quarrel at me, I will spank you. If you shoot ten quarrels at me, I will spank you ten times. If you don’t believe me, try for yourself.” Mu Wanqing thought to herself, “If that quarrel of mine hit him, he would have died on the spot. How could he possibly hit me back? But this man possesses an incredible, godlike ability. His martial arts is even better than that of the Divine Crocodile. I probably wouldn’t be able to hit him with my quarrels. It looks like he’ll be able to do as he says he will. If he really ended up spanking me, what a humiliation that would be!” She heard the man say, “If you no longer dare to attack me, then obediently listen to my instructions. You may not disobey.” Mu Wanqing said, “I’m not going to listen to your commands!” But although she was outwardly defiant, her left hand released the mechanism for shooting out quarrels.

The man in green strode forward, using those two thin black metal canes in lieu of his arms and legs. Walking behind him, Mu Wanqing saw that those two canes were each roughly three feet long. His strides were twice as long as that of ordinary people. Summoning her energy, Mu Wanqing followed him rapidly, only managing to follow him with an effort. The man in green climbed mountains and traversed ravines as though he were walking on flat plains. He did not travel on the mountain paths, but rather made his own way. No matter how rough the terrain was, he would pass through it with ease with the tap of a cane. This put great hardship on Mu Wanqing. Her sleeves and skirts were ripped and torn into many slices by thorns and bushes, but she did not complain or give any signs of weakness.

After crossing several mountain peaks, far off in the distance a large dense copse of trees could be seen. Mu Wanqing thought to herself, “We’ve arrived at the Ten-Thousand Calamities Gorge.” She asked, “What are we doing here?” The man in green turned around. Suddenly, his metal canes flew out. With a ‘sou’ sound, one knocked on her right leg. Then he said, “Are you going to keep babbling?” Based on Mu Wanqing’s temperament, in the past if someone mistreated her like this, even if she knew she was not their match she wouldn’t put up with this. But she saw that the man in green’s martial arts were so very incredible, and faintly thought in her heart that perhaps he really could help her achieve her dream. She only replied, “Don’t think I’m afraid of you! I’m just giving way to you for the time being.”

The man in green said, “Let’s go!” He did not pass into the forest but rather circled behind the gorge, taking a sloped path. He appeared to be very familiar with the layout of the area. Mu Wanqing wanted to ask him how, but was afraid that he would wave the stick and whack her again. She could only swallow back the question, just as it had almost exited her lips. She saw that as the road they took continued to twist and turn, it took them farther away from the gorge proper and deeper into the rear of the gorge. In the past, when she came to the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge to meet with her martial uncle Gan Baobao, she had stayed at the gorge for many days. But she had never come here before. She never would have imagined that the Ten Thousand Calamities Gorge could have such a wild, desolate, hidden and remote place.

After traveling for several kilometers they arrived within a large wooded area. All around them were ancient trees that stretched far up in the sky. Although the sun was shining brightly, within the woodland it was as dark as dusk. The deeper they went, the more dense the forest growth, until it was necessary to turn their bodies sideways to squeeze through the trees. After walking for a few hundred more feet, she saw two enormous trees which had grown into each other, forming a large, interlinked wall that was impassable. The man in green extended his left cane and lightly waved it behind Mu Wanqing’s back. Mu Wanqing’s body suddenly rose high up in the air and floated onto the top of the tree wall. Mu Wanqing could only accept this, and she obediently made her way past the tree branches, jumping down on the other side of the tree wall.

A large, empty space appeared before her eyes, with a single lonely stone house in the middle. The appearance of that house was extremely strange. It looked as though it had been formed from boulders which weighed over a hundred thousand jin, much like a little mountain that had an entrance to a cave on its side. The man in green shouted, “Enter!” Mu Wanqing gazed towards the stone house. It was extremely dark inside. Who knew what type of monster might be in there? How could she dare to rashly enter? But she suddenly felt a palm press against her back. She quickly tried to dodge, but the man in green had already exerted his force, pushing her into the stone house.

Mu Wanqing used her left palm to protect her body, executing the stance “Dawn Wind Whisks the Willow” to protect her face. She was afraid that some sort of monster might attack from within the darkness. But all she heard was a rumbling sound as the entrance to the house was suddenly sealed by a heavy object. She was shocked. As she rushed to the entrance to push the object away, she felt that the material under her hand was rough and coarse. It was a gigantic boulder.

She exerted all her strength with her two arms, but couldn’t budge the boulder at all. She tried even harder, but felt like ‘a dragonfly trying to push a stone column’. How could she move it? She loudly shouted, “Hey! Why are you imprisoning me here?” Only to hear the man in green reply, “Have you already forgotten the matter which you begged me about?” His voice penetrated the huge boulder via some small cavities on the top of it, and was extremely clear. Mu Wanqing calmed herself down. She saw although the boulder was blocking the entrance, many small openings around it were exposed. Some were a third of a foot wide, others were perhaps one foot. But none of them would allow her to escape.

Mu Wanqing shouted loudly, “Let me out! Let me out!” Nothing came in response from outside. Pressing her eye against a crack, she peered outside. The man in green was in midair, flying over the distant tree wall as though he were a large green bird.

Turning around, she opened her eyes widely. She saw that the room had both a bed and a table, and that someone was sitting on the bed. She was startled, and called out, “You…you…”

That person stood up, then walked forward two steps. He called, “Sister Wan. You came as well?” His voice was filled with surprised joy. It was Duan Yu.

In the middle of her despair, Mu Wanqing suddenly saw her beloved darling. She was so happy that she rushed towards him, throwing herself into his embrace. Although the light in the stone house was faint, Duan Yu could see that her face was deathly pale, and that two teardrops had forced their way out of her eyes. He held her firmly in his arms. Her two cherry-red lips were quivering, and he couldn’t resist lowering his head to give her a kiss.

But just as their lips met, they immediately both thought to themselves, “We’re brother and sister. We definitely can’t act like this!” Both their bodies shook, and they released each other’s arms, each retreating a few steps. The two of them both backed into the stone walls, staring at each other with stricken eyes. “Wah!” Mu Wanqing suddenly began to cry.

In a soft voice, Duan Yu consoled her. “Sister Wan, this is our destiny as is willed by heaven. Don’t feel so agonized. To have such a wonderful sister as you fills me with joy.” Mu Wanqing repeatedly stomped on the floor. Crying, she said, “I insist on feeling agonized! I refuse to be joyful! If you’re really so happy, then you have no conscience!” Duan Yu sighed. “What can be done? Perhaps it would be better if we had never met.”

Mu Wanqing said, “It isn’t as though I wanted to meet you. Who told you to come looking for me? Even if it weren’t for you, I probably still wouldn’t have been killed. You harmed my Black Rose and caused her to die. You harmed me and caused me to be unhappy for so long. You harmed me and caused my master to become my mother; you harmed me and caused your father to become my father; you harmed me and somehow caused yourself to become my elder brother! I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it! Now you’ve harmed me and caused me to be imprisoned in here. I want out. I want out!”

Duan Yu said, “Sister Wan, it’s all my fault. Don’t be angry. Let’s slowly think of a way to escape.” Mu Wanqing said, “I’m not escaping. Dying inside here, dying outside of here…it’s all the same to me. I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving!” Just moments ago, she was loudly shouting, “I want out!” But within the blink of an eye, it had changed to, “I’m not leaving!” Duan Yu knew that her heart was greatly disturbed, and that for now, there would be no way to get through to her. He fell silent.

Mu Wanqing was throwing a fit, but saw that Duan Yu ignored her. She asked, “Why aren’t you talking?” Duan Yu replied, “What do you want me to say?” Mu Wanqing said, “Tell me what you are doing here.” Duan Yu said, “My apprentice kidnapped me…” My Wanqing asked, confused, “Your apprentice?…” Suddenly, she remembered that the Divine Crocodile had accepted Duan Yu as his master. She couldn’t help but laugh through her tears. “You should act as a master would, and order him to release you.” Duan Yu replied, “I ordered him to do so more than a few times, and put on the demeanor of very stern and imposing master. But he said that he would only release me if I bowed to him and accepted him as master as well.” Mu Wanqing said, “Hah! Most likely, you didn’t act the part out properly.” Duan Yu said, “That’s probably how it is. Sister Wan, who is it that caught you?”

Mu Wanqing briefly summarized her meeting with the man in green. But with regards to the matter of ‘turning her brother into her husband’, she left it out. Duan Yu, hearing that this person couldn’t move his lips but could speak with his stomach, was crippled but could move as though he were flying, couldn’t help but feel vastly amused. He couldn’t help but repeatedly ask Mu Wanqing’s questions, his tongue clicking incessantly.

The two of them chatted for a long time. Then suddenly, with a cracking sound, a bowl was passed into the room via a hole in the boulder. A voice said, “Eat!” Duan Yu reached out and took the bowl. He saw that inside it was a dish of fragrantly cooked ‘red-roasted pork’. Next, the man passed in ten or so steamed buns. Duan Yu put both the dishes and the steamed buns on the table. In a low voice, he whispered, “Do you think there is any poison in the food?” Mu Wanqing replied, “If they wanted to kill us, it would be an easy task. No need for them to poison us.”

Duan Yu thought that this made sense. He was also extremely hungry, and said, “Then let’s eat!” Clamping some of the pork inside a steamed bun, he handed one to Mu Wanqing. Then he started to eat as well. The person outside said, “After eating, put the bowl outside. Someone will come to take it.” After he finished speaking, he immediately left. Mu Wanqing peered past the boulder. She saw that person pull himself up past the tree wall, then descend on the other side. She thought to herself, “The person who delivered food has only an ordinary skill.” Walking back to Duan Yu’s side, she started to eat the pork and the steamed buns.

While eating, Duan Yu said, “Don’t be worried. My father and uncle will definitely come to rescue us. Although the Divine Crocodile and Ye Erniang’s martial arts might be high, they aren’t necessarily a match for my father. And if my uncle himself comes? It will be like the wind scattering the leaves. They’ll flee at the mere sight of his oncoming force.” Mu Wanqing let out a ‘hngh’ sound. “He’s just the Emperor of Dali. What’s so special about his martial arts? I don’t believe he can beat the man in the green robe. He’ll probably just lead a few thousand armored cavalry and invade this place.” Duan Yu repeatedly shook his head. “Not so, not so! The ancestor of the Duan lineage used to be a respected figure within the wulin of the Central Plains. Even though he became the Emperor of Dali, he wouldn’t dare forget about the rules of the wulin. If he took advantage of his position to bully others, and achieved victory by superior force of numbers, wouldn’t Dali’s Duan dynasty be derided by all the heroes of the world?”

Mu Wanqing nodded. “I understand. Even after the people of your family became Emperors and princes, they were unwilling to throw away their standing as heroes of the jianghu.” Duan Yu said, “My uncle and my father often tell me, this is the meaning of the saying, ‘A person must not forget his origins’.” Mu Wanqing made a contemptuous sound. “Pei! Their mouths are full of righteousness and morality, but they act in shameless and despicable ways. Since your father already had your mother, why would he come after my master as well?”

Startled, Duan Yu said, “Eh?! How can you insult my father? He’s your father too, you know. Besides, of the princes and dukes in the world, how many of them don’t had multiple wives? Even if they had eight or ten wives, it still wouldn’t be a big deal.”

Actually, during the Northern Song dynasty, the north was occupied by the Khitan, the center was occupied by the Great Song, the northwest was occupied by the Western Xia, the southwest ruled by Tibet, and the south by Dali. The princes and dukes of these five countries all had, in addition to a ‘formal wife’, a large number of concubines. At the very least, they would have three or four; some even had dozens. Even high ranking nobles or officials would have a few concubines. This is how it had been since ancient times, since the beginning of the imperial system. Most people had long since accepted it as a matter of course. [Translator’s note: Jinyong and his bloody history lessons….]

Hearing his words, anger swelled in Mu Wanqing’s heart. She dealt Duan Yu a heavy blow right on his cheeks. A loud cracking sound could be heard, loud, sharp and clear. This blow knocked him silly, causing the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand to fall to the ground. All he could say was, “You…you…”

Mu Wanqing angrily said, “I refuse to acknowledge him as my father! If a man takes on multiple wives, then he has no conscience. If a person has split desires and a split mind when it comes to love, then that person is faithless and heartless.” Gently caressing his swollen cheeks, Duan Yu let out a bitter laugh. “I’m your elder brother. As my little sister, how can you be so disrespectful towards me?” The grief and anger in Mu Wanqing’s heart was difficult to bear. Upon hearing these words, she struck at him again.

This time, Duan Yu was prepared. With a slip of the foot, he exercised his “Graceful Steps Upon the Waves” and dodged behind her. Mu Wanqing sent out a palm backwards, but Duan Yu avoided that one as well. Although the square room was only around ten feet in diameter, the “Graceful Steps Upon the Waves” truly was a wondrous skill. Mu Wanqing’s palm attacks came faster and faster now, but she wasn’t able to hit him again.

Mu Wanqing was all the more infuriated by this. Suddenly, she let out a loud cry of pain and pretended to fall down. Alarmed, Duan Yu asked, “What’s wrong?” He bent over her, extending a hand to help her up. Mu Wanqing leaned gently against his body. She hooked her left arm around his neck, then suddenly tightened her grip. She laughed. “Can you still run away from me now?” She slapped him once again with her right hand, this time on his left cheeks. The ringing sound was extremely sharp and clear.

Duan Yu was hurt, but only let out a single cry. “Ow!” Suddenly, he felt a warm stream rapidly rise up from his dantian. His blood vessels began to rapidly expand, filling him with an irresistibly sensual sensation. He suddenly was aware that the girl whom he had embraced within his bosom was delicately panting. Waves of fragrant scents filled the air, throwing his mind into great turmoil. He placed a kiss on her lips. Upon being kissed, Mu Wanqing’s entire body immediately went soft. Duan Yu, still holding her body in his arms, set her down on top of the bed, then undid one of his buttons. Mu Wanqing said in a low voice, “But you…you are my elder brother…”

Although Duan Yu’s mind was in turmoil, this sentence struck him like a thunderbolt out of the clear sky. Stunned for a moment, he quickly released her and took three steps back. Attacking with both palms, he struck himself on his mouth four times. He cursed at himself. “I deserve to die. I deserve to die!”

Mu Wanqing saw that both of his eyes were bloodshot, and had a strange light in them. The flesh of his face was moving and churning, and his nostrils were dilating, then contracting. Frightened, she said, “Ah! Darling Duan, there was poison in the food! We have been deceived!” Duan Yu felt as though his entire body was boiling up, as though he had been placed within a steamer and was being thoroughly steamed. Upon hearing Mu Wanqing cry that the food was poisoned, he was actually relieved. “So it was poison which threw my mind into chaos and caused me to act in such a depraved way towards younger sister Wan. It isn’t as though I was an insane creature who had never read the classical scriptures, acting in ways which imitate beasts.”

But the heat coming from his body was truly hard to resist. Slowly, he removed one article of clothing after another, until he wore but a single shirt and trousers. He sat down on his knees. His eyes focused on his nose, and his nose pointed towards his heart. With a powerful effort, he restrained the capricious desires the drug was causing.

After consuming the Cinnabar Toad, he had become immune to all poisons. But the drug which had been put in the bowl of pork wasn’t a poison which would actually harm a person’s life. Rather, it was an aphrodisiac designed to generate lust. The desire for men and women to be together is inborn. This aphrodisiac only aroused the natural lusts which are innate to every person, intensifying them and making them difficult to control. The Cinnabar Toad’s venom could, using the principle of ‘fighting poison with poison’, counteract thousands of toxin, but this aphrodisiac was not actually poisonous. Thus, the Cinnabar Toad could do nothing for Duan Yu.

Mu Wanqing was also feeling somewhat hot. After some time, it was more than she could bear, and she also removed her outer garments.

Duan Yu called out, “You can’t take anything else off! Rest your back against the stone wall. It’ll help cool you down.”

Both of them leaned back against the stone walls. Although their backs were cool, every inch of their chest, stomach, limbs, face, and necks felt as though they were being rolling in fire. Duan Yu saw that Mu Wanqing’s cheeks were a fiery red, and that she appeared unspeakably lovable and glamorous. Tears glimmered in her eyes, and it was obvious that she would like to do nothing better than to throw herself in his embrace. Duan Yu thought to himself, “At this moment, we need to be resolute in fighting off the effects of this drug. But our strength has limits. If we engaged in depraved, incestuous acts, we will have lost all face for the Duan family. Even a hundred deaths would not redeem such a heavy offense.” He said, “Give me one of your poisoned quarrels.”

Mu Wanqing asked, “For what?” Duan Yu said, “If…if I become unable to withstand the strength of this drug, I’ll use the quarrel to stab myself to death, so I won’t harm you.” Mu Wanqing said, “I’m not giving it to you.” Neither of them knew that the poison the quarrel could do nothing to Duan Yu. Duan Yu said, “You need to promise me something.” Mu Wanqing said, “What?” Duan Yu said, “If I so much as extend my hand and touch your body, you must shoot your quarrels and kill me.” Mu Wanqing said, “I refuse to promise you that.” Duan Yu said, “I’m begging you. Promise me. The reputation of Dali’s Duan dynasty, pure and clean for the past hundreds of years, cannot be ruined by my hand. Otherwise, how can I face my ancestors after death?”

Suddenly, a voice spoke from outside the stone room. “Dali’s Duan dynasty used to be awe-inspiring in the past. But then the kingship passed into Duan Zhengming’s hands. His mouth is filled with righteousness and moral platitudes, but he has the heart of a wolf and the innards of a dog. He’s long since lost the Duan dynasty’s pure reputation!”

Duan Yu angrily replied, “Who are you? You’re full of s.hit!” Mu Wanqing said in a low voice, “He’s the freak in the green gown.” Only to hear the man in green say, “Miss Mu, I promised that I’d help you turn your brother into your husband. I’ve taken this task to heart, and I will definitely accomplish it.” Mu Wanqing angrily said, “You’re poisoned the food to harm us! What does this have to do with my request?”

The man in green replied, “In that bowl of red-cooked pork, I placed a large quantity of the ‘Yin and Yang Conjoining’ powder. After being ingested, if yin and yang do not enter into a harmonious relationship, and the male and female do not become man and wife, then their flesh and skin will crack and split. They will bleed from their seven orifices, then die. The potency of this ‘Conjoining Powder’ grows with every day. On the eighth day, even if you were the Great Golden Immortal Luo [a Taoist deity] himself, you still wouldn’t be able to hold it off.”

Duan Yu angrily replied, “There are neither enmities nor grievances between the two of us. Why did you c