Having trapped Wu Santong and others inside the stone chamber, Li Mochou was extremely pleased and mused, âThese people canât get out. Shi Mei [Apprentice Sister] and Yang Guo didnât know I could swim and thought I wouldnât be able to sneak back in from the secret route. But where are they?â She knew perfectly well that, to make her wish come true, she couldnât make even a bit of noise. Otherwise if they began to fight, she was afraid that she wouldnât be able to defeat them. Therefore, she took off her shoes and only left her stockings on. She held the Soul Freezing needles in both hands and slowly moved forward step-by-step.
For the past few days, Xiao LongnĂź had been sitting on the chilled jade bed and circulating her energy flow according to the reverse energy flow principles. One by one, they cleared the thirty six pressure points on her body. Right now the two were working on Xiao LongnĂźâs âMiddle Altarâ point. This was on her chest and a couple of inches below the âJade Hallâ point. The ancient medical text called this the âSea of Airâ because it regulated air in a human body and, as a result, was the most critical pressure point. The two people were in full concentration and didnât dare to be careless. Xiao LongnĂź felt the three pressure points âPurple Palaceâ, âFlowery Roofâ, and âJade hallâ below her neck fill with hot air. But whenever the air reached the âMiddle Altarâ point, it wouldnât pass through. She knew that if she could clear this âMiddle Altarâ point, her body injury would be healed. But she only had to wait and couldnât force it. Xiao LongnĂź by nature had never been an anxious type. Time in Gu Mu was slow. If today she couldnât clear this pressure point, why couldnât she wait until tomorrow? So she alternated between stopping and continuing and had no worries in the least.
Yang Guo, however, was really impatient. He only wanted Xiao LongnĂź to recover soon so he could set his mind at ease. But he also knew that the matter of energy transfer couldnât be rushed. Adding the fact that they were using the reverse energy flow technique, how could it not be twice as difficult? Then he felt Xiao LongnĂźâs pulse on her wrist was suddenly strong and suddenly weak. Even though they were not fluctuating, it was not really a bad sign. He then slowly transferred the energy, adding more strength to it this time.
In this depth of lonely silence, he suddenly heard a âtaâ sound. This sound was extremely light. If not for Yang Guoâs concentrating on his breath and the blank state of his mind, he wouldnât have heard it. A long time passed. There came another âtaâ sound, about three feet closer this time.
Yang Guo thought this was strange but he was afraid that heâd divert Xiao LongnĂźâs attention. If she was distracted in a critical moment like this, at the very least it would be very difficult for her injury to ever recover and at the very most she could be killed instantly. How could there be any small mistakes? So even though in his heart he felt something not quite right, he feigned ignorance. But only a short while later, there was another âtaâ sound moving three feet closer. This time he knew that someone had entered Gu Mu through the water route and that that person didnât dare to barge in but just slowly moved forward. After another while, there came two light crunching sounds and then it stopped. These crunching sounds came from someone pushing open the stone door very, very slowly. If Xiao Long could manage to clear her âMiddle Altarâ point before the enemy got too near, it would be wonderfully lucky; otherwise it would be extremely dangerous. By this time they had already passed the point of no return. Even if they wanted to stop pushing the energy, they could not.
Then he heard a light âtaâ sound again, indicating that that person had just come one step closer. Yang Guoâs mind was frantic but he didnât know what to do. Suddenly he felt his palm shaking and the heat energy was forced back to him because Xiao LongnĂź was also frightened. He quickly drew a breath and then pushed his internal energy out to Xiao LongnĂźâs palm. In a low voice he said, âThe terrors within canât be smelt, nor can they be seen. It is really the truth.â When one practiced martial arts to a certain limit, there would often emerge illusions, like hearing thundering cries or feeling itchy pains. One just had to know these were illusions and pay no attention to them whatsoever to avoid fire deviation. By this time, Yang Guo heard the footsteps very clearly and knew that it wasnât just his own imagination. But Xiao LongnĂź was at a life or death critical moment so he had lied to her, saying that it was her mind tricking her and that no matter how fiercely evil it was, she had to ignore it and it would just disappear. As Xiao LongnĂź heard these words, she immediately calmed herself down.
At this time, while the sun outside was glowing red, it was actually dark like late night inside Gu Mu. Yang Guo heard every single footstep, every time several feet nearer. He thought about how in this world, except for themselves husband and wife, there were only Li Mochou and Hong Lingbo who knew about the secret path under water. So it had to be them, master and disciple, coming in. Based on Yang Guoâs martial skills, there was nothing to fear. It was only that he had to wait, not knowing for certain when the attack was coming. With this slow encroaching, he couldnât help but feel uncertain and anxious, not knowing how to defend himself. The more the enemy came closer, the more he felt like his heart was on fire. Great dangers were approaching step by step. His hands were tied, waiting for death. Beads of sweat slowly seeped out on his forehead. He thought, âOn that day Guo Fu cut my arm off, despite the pain, at least the sword strike was swift. Being forced to endure a slow blow like this was actually much worse.â
After another while, Xiao LongnĂź also heard the sound quite clearly and knew in her heart that it was not just an illusion. As danger was nearing, she wanted to increase the tempo of her inner air, pushing to clear her âMiddle Altarâ point. But her mind was slightly disturbed, causing her energy flow to go forwards and backwards and almost back up from her chest. And during this time, she heard light footsteps. Then suddenly from the door came âsouâŚsouâ whishing sounds of four Soul Freezing Needles being shot her way.
At this moment Yang Guo and Xiao LongnĂź were no different than average people with no martial skills whatsoever. Luckily, the two of them were prepared. Hearing the poisoned needles shot their way, they dropped backwards at the same time, without separating their palms. The four needles swiftly passed the sides of their faces. Li Mochou still hadnât figured out that they were circulating energy to heal an injury so she was afraid that they would counter-attack. So she immediately leapt backwards after sending out the poisoned needles. If she hadnât been afraid and followed up with another four needles, it would have been difficult for the two people to avoid getting hit.
Li Mochou only vaguely saw the two people sitting side by side on the Chilled Jade Bed. Missing her first strike, she herself was now quite worried. Seeing that Yang Guo and Xiao LongnĂź didnât get up to fight back, she still didnât understand but instead stepped back to the nearby stone door. With a fly whisk in her hand, she coldly said, âThe two of you have been well since we last met!â
Yang Guo asked, âWhat do you want?â Li Mochou retorted, âHow is it you donât know what I want?â Yang Guo continued, âYou want the Jade Heart Manual, is that it? Weâve secluded ourselves inside Gu Mu, staying away from the outside world. Just go and take it.â Li Mochou didnât know if she should believe him or not so she said, âBring it!â