Valley Master Gongsun examined Yang Guo for a while and then looked at the girl in white, her head was lowered and she didnât make a single sound. He was becoming suspicious and thought, âJust now when she heard this punk call out, I heard her call out quietly âGuoâer, Guoâer, youâre here? Is it you thatâs calling me?â Could it be that she really is that little punkâs Auntie? But why is she not recognizing him?â He wanted to ask her but there were many people present; he thought this matter could be explained later after the wedding, so he took back his words.
Yang Guo said, âThis Miss has not lived in this valley for long; I wonder how, did you and her meet?â
In ancient times, ordinarily girls would not meet outsiders easily, and they were even stricter about seeing guests on their wedding day; but Jinlun Fawang and the others didnât take much notice. Some of them were from the west and the others roamed Jianghu; they werenât restrained by customs and traditions. They just felt that wearing plain white silk on her wedding day was a bit too dull. When they heard Yang Guo inquire about someone elseâs business when he asked the Valley Master how he met the girl, they felt that he had gone too far.
But Valley Master Gongsun also wanted to know about the background of his bride to be, he thought, âIt could be that little punk really knows sister Liu.â He said, âBrother Yang is correct. Half a month ago, I was picking herbs by the mountain side when I saw her lying at the foot of the mountain; she had a serious injury and was on the point of death. I examined her and knew that she had suffered a fire deviation while practicing internal energy, so I took her back to the valley and used my familyâs medicine to help her recover. We met by chance.â
Jinlun Fawang interrupted, âThis is the so called thousand li fate of marriage led by a string. Miss Liu must have wanted to repay this kindness so she agreed to marry. This really is a match that was made in heaven.â His words seemed to be praising Valley Master Gongsun but in reality, he wanted to spite Yang Guo.
When Yang Guo heard this, his face did indeed change dramatically; his body trembled and there was a faint sweet taste at the back of his throat, he threw up a mouthful of blood.
When the girl in white saw this she quivered, âYou⊠youâŠâ She quickly stood up and wanted to stretch out her hand to help him up, but she forced herself to stop. Then she too spat out a mouthful of blood; her white dress was stained by it.
This Miss Liu was a name that Xiao Longnu had made up. That night after hearing the words of Huang Rong, she thought to herself that if she married Yang Guo, she will have caused him to be looked down on by everyone in the world. She felt uneasy about this; but if she were to stay with him in the ancient tomb forever, after a while he would get bored and would not be happy. She thought long and hard, eventually she hardened her heart and quietly left. Her love for Yang Guo was immense; to suddenly leave him like this was extremely difficult. She thought that if she returned to the ancient tomb, he would definitely come back and find her so she wandered alone in a wild, vast valley. One day, she sat down to practice when suddenly her thoughts of love surged forward; it was difficult to control and her inner chi suddenly surged through her veins and meridians and caused her old injury to react again. If Valley Master Gongsun hadnât passed by, she would have died there in the wild mountainside.
Valley Master Gongsun had lost his wife a long time ago; when he saw her, he couldnât imagine that someone could be as beautiful as she; his intent to rescue her had salacious thoughts added onto them.
Xiao Longnu was disheartened; she also thought that if she lived somewhere in seclusion by herself, she would not be able to stop herself and would follow the same disastrous path again. Going out again in search of Yang Guo and cause him grief. She saw the love that Valley Master Gongsun had for her and he asked for her hand. She blocked out her heart and agreed; she thought that after she becomes someone elseâs wife, she will sever her ties with Yang Guo completely. Along with living in such a secluded place, she assumed that she would never see him again. Who could have thought that Zhou Botong would suddenly appear to cause trouble in the valley? The results would lead him here.
Xiao Longnu was filled with emotional turmoil at this sudden reunion with Yang Guo. She thought, âIâve already agreed to marry someone else; Iâll just keep up this act and let him leave in anger and hate me forever. With his talents and appearance, what need is there to worry that he wonât be able to find someone else? Though my heart will be in pain for the rest of my life, he will be able to avoid the suffering of the future.â Because of this, although she saw Yang Guo suffering, she ignored him; but her heart was mournful and it was becoming more and more difficult to endure. When she saw him throw up blood, she was filled with pity and sorrow; she couldnât help herself and she too threw up a mouthful of blood.
Her face was extremely white, she was staggering and wanted to return inside when Valley Master Gongsun said quickly, âQuickly sit down and donât move, donât disturb your veins and meridians.â He turned around and said to Yang Guo, âJust leave; donât ever come back.â
Hot tears filled Yang Guoâs eyes, he said to Xiao Longnu, âGu Gu, if Iâve done something wrong, you can beat me, scold me; even kill me with one thrust of a sword. Iâm willing to accept all that. But why are you pretending that you donât know who I am?â
Xiao Longnu lowered her head and didnât reply, just lightly coughing twice.
Valley Master Gongsun was furious with Yang Guo when he angered her into throwing up blood. However, his self-control training was extremely good; he didnât break out in a rage. He lowered his voice and said, âIf you donât leave then donât blame me for being merciless.â
Yang Guo did not take any notice, his eyes were fixed on Xiao Longnu, he begged, âGu Gu, I promise you that I will stay in the tomb with you forever; I wonât regret it, letâs leave together.â
Xiao Longnu raised her head and her gaze met his; she saw his face was filled with boundless love along with thousands of pieces of pain and worry. Her heart was moved and thought, âIâll leave with him now!â But she immediately had another thought, âI didnât leave him on a whim. I have thought about all the good and bad points in detail. If I give in, I will bring him trouble in the future.â So she turned her head to the side and gave a long sigh before saying, âI donât recognize you, I donât understand what you are saying. Just leave!â
There was no force behind the words but it was filled with love and passion; apart from Ma Guangzou who was a slow person and had no perception, everyone in the hall could tell that she loved Yang Guo and these words were against her heartâs feelings.
Valley Master Gongsun was jealous, he thought, âThough you have agreed to marry me, you have never said half a word with such feeling.â He looked at Yang Guo and saw a handsome face, his valiant air exuding everywhere; he and Xiao Longnu did indeed make a perfect couple. He pondered, âIt looks like these two must be lovers. Because they had an argument, sister Liu agreed to marry me out of anger, she still has feelings for this punk. âGu Guâ, âMasterâ, these must be pet names that they use when they are flirting with each other. This punk is older than sister Liu, how can he really call her âAuntieâ, âMasterâ.â As he thought about this, his eyes revealed anger and hatred.