At that time, Qiu Qianchi called out again, âHis sword is going for the waist, and his saber is chopping towards the neckâ. âThe sword is going to slash towards your right shoulder while his saber guards his left.â She called out every stance of Gongsun Zhiâs in advance.
Yang Guo now held the upper hand completely. With his poetry ceased, Fawang was unable to tell where his sword would go and couldnât aid Gongsun Zhi.
Gongsun Zhiâs family art the âYin Yang Twin Bladesâ were inspected thoroughly by Qiu Qianchi and then subsequently improved by her. All of Gongsun Zhiâs stances were known to her; no matter how sudden his changes were, Qiu Qianchi would call it out in advance. As they were absorbed in the battle, Qiu Qianchi suddenly called out, âBoth his sword and saber are going to attack your upper body.â These words were called out at just the exact time as Gongsun Zhi sent out both his saber and sword; it was now difficult for him to change his stance halfway through. Yang Guo had more than enough time to block this attack.
Yang Guo lowered his head and dashed forward while protecting his back with his sword. His left finger came out and jabbed the opponentâs âOcean of Airâ pressure point an inch and a half below the navel. Yang Guo was delighted with this successful attack at the first attempt. He thought that his opponent would suffer a serious injury with this attack but Gongsun Zhiâs leg came out, striking him on the jaw.
Yang Guo was shocked and leapt to the side a few feet. He then remembered how strange the pressure points were on this person; previously he had used the golden sphere silk belt to strike his pressure points but it had no effect on him. Gongsun Zhi came at him once again.
Qiu Qianchi called out once again, âHis blades will cross, the right sword attacking left, the left saber attacking right.â
Yang Guo did not give it much thought and defended with all his might.
When it came to internal energy, Yang Guo was not a match for his opponent; he would have lost out long ago if it werenât for Qiu Qianchiâs advice.
Yang Guo and Gongsun Zhi continued for another seven or eight hundred stances. The members of the valley watched with their hearts on the verge of jumping out of their mouths. At the same time Xiaoxiang Zi and the others were also fixed on the great battle, but they couldnât tell who would win it. In the midst of the blurs of the saber and sword, one could see Gongsun Zhi panting while Yang Guo was soaked with sweat. The movements of the two were now not as quick as before.
Gongsun Lu E thought that if the two carried on like this, one of them would be seriously injured. Of course she didnât want Yang Guo to lose; but she couldnât bear to see her father get hurt, so she whispered to Qiu Qianchi, âMother, tell them to stop. Weâll settle this by talking it over.â
Qiu Qianchi gave a âhengâ grunt and said, âPour two bowls of tea.â
Lu E was confused but did as she was told and brought the bowls of teas to her mother. Qiu Qianchi took off the piece of bloody cloth that was wrapped around the wound on her head. When she was knocked into the pillar, blood poured out of her head and it was Xiao LongnĂź who tore off her sleeve and covered her wound. The bleeding on her head started again as she took off the cloth.
Lu E was alarmed and called out; âMother!â
Qiu Qianchi called out, âI wonât die!â She threw the bloody cloth onto her knees and took the bowls. Her four fingers held the bowls but the thumb of each hand was in the tea. The blood on her thumbs mixed into the tea. She quickly swirled the tea and the traces of blood were gone. She called out, âYou should be tired now; have a bowl of tea!â She said to Lu E, âGive one bowl of tea to each of them to quench their thirst.â
Lu E knew her mother hated her father deeply and wouldnât have any good intentions towards him. This bowl of tea wasnât meant to quench his thirst but to poison him. However, she poured the bowls of tea herself and there was no poison in any of them; they were just ordinary bowls of tea. It must be because her mother sympathized with Yang Guo. If her father didnât have a bowl, he would not stop and Yang Guo would not be able to take a drink. She saw that the two were really very tired so she went to the middle of the hall and called out clearly, âPlease have some tea!â
Gongsun Zhi and Yang Guo were both very thirsty; when they heard Qiu Qianchi call out; they both stopped and jumped backwards.
Lu E first took the tray of tea to her father. Gongsun Zhi knew that it was Qiu Qianchi who ordered her to bring these bowls of tea to him, so thereâll definitely be something wrong with it. Most likely they had poison in them. He held up his hand and said to Yang Guo, âYou drink first.â
Yang Guo had no fear and casually picked up a bowl of tea; he placed it on his lip and took a sip.
Gongsun Zhi said, âGood, Iâll have that bowl!â He took Yang Guoâs bowl from his hand.
Yang Guo laughed, âIt was your daughter who poured the tea; donât tell me you think thereâs poison in them?â Yang Guo took the other bowl of tea and drank it in one go.
Gongsun Zhi looked at his daughterâs face and saw that it was calm and relaxed, he thought, âLu E loves that punk, of course there would be no poison in his cup of tea; Iâve already swapped the bowls, what have I got to be afraid of?â He too drank the bowl of tea in one go and then clashed his weapons, saying, âThereâs no need for a break, continue. Huh, if it werenât for that old witch giving you tips, you would have died from my black sword and golden saber long ago even if you had ten lives to spare.â
Qiu Qianchi replaced the bandage on her head and said evilly, âHis âClosure of the Pressure Pointsâ has been defeated; you can hit his pressure points.â
Gongsun Zhi felt a slight taste of blood on his tongue and was shocked; a shock that was indescribable. This particular family art has one big drawback; the practitioner cannot taste an ounce of meat otherwise this art will be neutralized immediately. His ancestors were afraid that theyâd taste meat by accident and so passed a strict order in the valley; no one can eat meat. Though the others didnât practice this art, they were still forced to be vegetarians. Gongsun Zhi had always been very careful; but how would he have known that Qiu Qianchi would actually use such an evil plan and put her own blood in the bowls of tea?
Yang Guo was not affected by drinking this bowl of blood containing tea; but the âClosure of the Pressure Pointsâ technique that Gongsun Zhi had been training bitterly all his life was gone, just like that.
He turned his head around in fury and looked at Qiu Qianchi who had a plate of dates on her knees that had been served to the guests. She was eating them and savoring the taste. She said slowly, âI told you before, twenty years ago, this art of the Gongsun family is hard to learn yet easy to neutralize; itâs not worth practicing.â
Fire erupted in Gongsun Zhiâs eyes and he raised his weapons, dashing forward towards Qiu Qianchi. Lu E was alarmed and dashed in front of her mother to protect her. Suddenly a gust of wind brushed past her ear; it sounded like some kind of projectile.