Other Quanzhen disciples seeing how the masters were failing in a dangerous situation couldnât help but cry out in fear. Li Zhichang called out: âQuickly deliver them a weapon!â At this point, the âFive Masterâs Palmâ wind whizzed through the air, leaving the disciples unable to get near them. They could only throw the swords one by one over to them. Xiao LongnĂŒ raced ahead and brandished her sword to push away the incoming weapons. Every sword arriving near them was knocked away. The advantage Xiao LongnĂŒ had of having a sword longer than their human arms meant the Five Masters were given no chance to grab a weapon. Suddenly the noise of âding-dangâ was heard, Xiao LongnĂŒâs left hand collected another sword thrown in the battle, and abruptly lobbed it backwards. Wang Chuyi couldnât prepare himself in time; the corner of his left eye was slashed by an outsiderâs sword. Out of the Five Quanzhen Descendants, four were injured; a conclusion as to who triumphed could be reached.
Jinlun Fawang laughed ecstatically, and called out: âMy Taoist friends please step aside, let me take care of this Demon Girl!â Finishing those words he intervened. Xiaoxiang Zi, Nimoxing and Yin Kexi jointly attacked her as they wielded their weapons. It had escalated into a phase where nine experts are besieging a single Xiao LongnĂŒ.
As soon as Fawang got involved, Quanzhen Five Masters were instantly released from Xiao LongnĂŒâs twin swords coercion. Five of them called out loudly, and stood shoulder to shoulder. Either itâs the right palm or the left palm, five streams of huge energies amalgamated into one that generated the âSeven Star Rallyâ attack. It maybe only âFive Star Rallyâ right now, but itsâ power is out of the ordinary. She tilted her body to evade the attack; the noise of âpengâ was heard. The dust on the ground flew upwards, the attack left Nimoxing somersaulting in the air as he fell.
After both his legs were cut off, he had to rely on his crutches for support; his lower-body wasnât stable enough to sustain the blow. At least when he was in imminent danger he managed to slip away from the direct force of the blow. He may have toppled over, but instantly got back up unscathed. With a few bawls of âwa-waâ, he raised his steel snake aimed down at Liu Chuxuanâs head. In front of the Cave of the Jade Void the sounds of calls reverberated in all directions adding to the confusion.
Xiao LongnĂŒ seeing Nimoxing turn on the Quanzhen Five Masters stroked her white sleeves, and wanted to pull out of the circle. Jinlun Fawang hurried over to hinder the attacks, and said: âBrother Nimo, itâs more important to deal with the Demon Girl.â Nimoxing whoâs preoccupied with the fight did not pay attention to the calls of Fawang. Prodding outward with his steel snake, the assaults were laid upon the various Quanzhen Taoists. Xiao LongnĂŒâs swords quickly thrust out at Fawang several times. Fawang felt the unbelievable speed from the oncoming force; giving him a hard time just to parry them, and had to withdraw a few steps.
Suddenly, Xiao LongnĂŒ gasped loudly, both cheeks lost color. With two sounds of âqiang-longâ, both swords from her hands fell on the ground. Staring in blank amazement at the pine lined pathâs rosebush, she called: âGuoâer is that really you?â
At this juncture, Fawangâs golden wheel had sliced her head-on; Quanzhen Five Masterâs âSeven Star Rallyâ pummeled her in the back. The attack was supposed to keep Nimoxing at bay, but the Indian short man had already suffered the bitter taste of the pile driver. So he had no second thoughts of matching it and evaded to the left. The attack was alternatively expended upon Xiao LongnĂŒâs garment.
She looked bewitched, and the reaction to evade wasnât there. Her vest had endured a palm, her chest struck by the wheel. Even with such a fragile body weathering these two tremendous converging forces, her eyes were nevertheless still fixed upon the external influence of the rosebush. At that moment, her heart was agitated and she turned her thoughts to her beloved, it seemed as though those two forces had not harmed her a bit.
The spectators felt in awe of her gaze, and all involuntarily turned their heads to see what was so strange about that rosebush. They noticed a human shadow fly out round the side of the pine lined field and sneak into the no-manâs land between Fawang and the Quanzhen Five Masters. That person, darting past everyone, grabbed hold of Xiao LongnĂŒ with his left arm and had already leaped out of the ring. Without wasting a moment, sat beside the rosebush, and rested her against his chest. This person was of course Yang Guo!
Xiao LongnĂŒâs face lighted up, tears flowing from her eyes: âGuoâer, itâs you. This isnât a dream?â
Yang Guo nodded, kissing her cheek, his voice soft: âNot a dream. Am I not holding you right now?â
But then he saw her clothes stained with blood spots, alarmed. He worriedly asked: âAre you seriously injured?â
Xiao LongnĂŒ earlier received two vicious attacks. Upon seeing Yang Guo, she didnât feel her injury. Only now she felt the searing pain. She placed her arm around Yang Guoâs neck, saying: âI⊠IâŠâ Her body hurt so much she couldnât get the words out.
Yang Guo couldnât bear to see her in pain, his voice broke: âGu Gu Iâve come too late!â
Xiao LongnĂŒ said: âNo, itâs good that youâve come. In this life, I thought I wouldnât be able to see you again.â
Suddenly she felt cold as if her soul was leaving the body. She hung on to Yang Guoâs arms yet her hold was slowly dropping. She said: âGuoâer, hold me.â
Yang Guoâs left arm slightly tightened, pulling her to his chest. He was overwhelmed by hundreds of feelings, his tears slowly falling down to Xiao LongnĂŒâs face.
Xiao LongnĂŒ said: âHold me, use bothâŠboth hands!â Suddenly she saw his right sleeve empty. Strange, she cried out: âYour right arm?â
Yang Guo forced a smile, his voice cracked: âIâve worried you. Donât worry about me right now, close your eyes quickly, donât use up your energy.â
Xiao LongnĂŒ said: âNo! Your right arm? How come itâs goneâŠhow come?â Even though her own life was hanging by thread, she didnât care the slightest about herself; she was determined to find out why Yang Guo was missing an arm. This was because in her heart, Yang Guoâs well-being was 100 times, 1000 times more important than hers.
It had been like this since the time they were together at Gu Mu [the Ancient Tomb]. Only then she didnât know it was love, nor did Yang Guo. They only thought that their mutual concern for each otherâs well-being was right between the master and the disciple. Since there were only two of them living at Gu Mu, if one didnât care for the other, who else would they care for? Actually this was a feeling between a young man and woman; before they even knew it, they were in love with each other. One day they learned that one could not regard the otherâs life as important as oneâs own, let alone 100 times, 1000 times more important without being in love. Every couple who was in love could think like this. However, only these two people with truly deep feelings and innate passions who found each other and fell in love could treasure the other party more than they did themselves.
As far as Xiao LongnĂŒ was concerned, Yang Guoâs one arm was much more important than her own life or death and thus she persisted on asking. She stretched her hand and gently stroked his sleeve, not daring to touch it too hard. But really, there was no arm under the sleeve.