Chapter 430 - What is Love? (5)

Translator: wuxiasociety

“You are right,” Wu Santong said, “Let’s find Gongsun Zhi.” So, utilizing their lightness kungfu they changed course to northwest.

Sure enough, not too long after they heard battle sounds. They quickened their pace, but the noise they heard was kind of peculiar; sometimes seemed like it was just around the corner, other times it came from afar. They kept going in circles until the dawn broke, but never found the source of the noise. At daybreak they arrived on a path sloping upward. Suddenly they heard a loud and hair-raising laugh. They stopped and lifted their gaze upward. There, across a ravine, perched on a hill, stood a man laughing maniacally. It was Gongsun Zhi. There was a deep ravine below him, and a very high mountain peak above.

Seeing Gongsun Zhi’s madness – real or pretend, Zhu Ziliu was worried, “If he slips, his body will be totally smashed in the abyss below. His death is well-deserved, but he would take the Passionless Pill down with him.” He quickly ran ahead and after making a turn he found Yang Guo, Xiao Longnü, Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang standing on the verge of the ravine looking up at Gongsun Zhi.

Xiao Longnü approached Zhu Ziliu and softly asked, “Uncle Zhu, can you think of something to force him down?” Zhu Ziliu looked around and found out that between the mountain peak and the place where they stood there was a natural long rock bridge that looked like a tree log, only less than one foot wide. The rock bridge, as well as the stones around the bridge, were covered with moss, which make them slippery. There was no way they could force him down. He had to be tricked into coming down on his own. But Gongsun Zhi was so shrewd. What kind of trick could they use?

Wu Santong remembered his indebtedness for Yang Guo’s great kindness. The fact that his two sons were alive and live in harmony with each other was because of Yang Guo’s sacrifice. He decided right then and there to repay this debt and, rolling his sleeves up, immediately said, “Let me drag him down here.” But before he could move a shadow flashed ahead of him. It was Cheng Ying. “Let me do it!” And she already stepped onto the rock. She was quick, Yang Guo was even quicker. She felt somebody tug her sleeve and she was pulled back. “Little Sister, how much am I worth that you make a sacrifice like that?” she heard Yang Guo whisper into her ear. She blushed and was speechless.

Suddenly Xiao Longnü’s voice was heard, “Let me borrow your swords.” With a fluid motion she pulled Dunru’s and Wanyan Ping’s swords. Such a beautiful move! Before they even realized what had happened, the young woman was already perched on the rock.

Gongsun Zhi was shocked to see her bravery; he quickly jumped back to the other end of the bridge. Wielding his sword in front of him he snickered, “Do you really want to die?”

Holding her two swords, Xiao Longnü quietly prayed, “Please God, bless me. Let me die after I get the pill back.” She looked at Gongsun Zhi and softly spoke, “Mr. Gongsun, you have saved my life, yet because of me, you have suffered a lot of misery. I … my heart ached for you. I do not want to fight you.”

“So, what do you want?” he asked.

“I want to beg you to give me the Passionless Pill to save my husband’s life,” she answered, “I know you have no use for the pill, but I will forever be indebted to you if you just give it to me.”

While they were still speaking, Yang Guo shouted, “Long’er! Get back here! What’s that half-pill for? It won’t save both our lives.”

Looking at her standing atop the rock, her dress fluttered in the wind, and her stunningly beautiful countenance, Gongsun Zhi was mesmerized; how could Li Mochou be compared to her? Suddenly an evil thought came to his mind. “That kid is your husband?” he asked.

“Yes, we are married.”

“Well, if you grant me a request, I will immediately give this pill to you,” Gongsun Zhi continued.

By the look of his eyes, Xiao Longnü knew what he was about to say. She shook her head and said, “I am already married, I can’t marry you. Mr. Gongsun, I know you loved me very much. However, I have already given my heart to someone else. With a deep regret I cannot accept your love.”

Gongsun Zhi’s countenance changed. “Go away!” he barked, “If not, I won’t hold myself back any longer.”

“If we fight, wouldn’t that be very sad?” Xiao Longnü said sadly. She was not pretending, she really was remembering Gongsun Zhi’s kindness.

Gongsun Zhi made an “hmph” sound and put a really evil smile on his lips. “I want to see that Yang Guo kid screaming and rolling around on the ground dying miserably,” he said, “I want to see a faithful wife wearing mourning clothes.”

“Long’er! Come back!” Yang Guo kept shouting, “Come back! Don’t waste your breath talking to that lowly creature.” He would have come and dragged his wife away if he could find a place to put his feet down.

The young madam smiled sadly. “Listen!” she said, “He’s calling me. He called because he loves me. He’d rather die of the poison than see me hurt by you.”

Gongsun Zhi’s mind was reeling. He wanted very much to make Xiao Longnü his hostage. However, they would both fall into the ravine below if the young wife put up any struggle at all. On the other hand, if he did not capture her, how could he save his own life? He looked at his enemies, and among them, Yang Guo was the only one he was afraid of. But he was relieved to see the young man did not wield his heavy sword. In his mind, unarmed, Yang Guo would not be able to block him. His best bet right now would be to attack Xiao Longnü, try to capture her, or at least push her back far enough for him to escape. Having thought this over, he barked, “Will you or won’t you move back?” and thrust his sword simultaneously. Xiao Longnü’s left sword parried this attack while her right sword counterattacked. A series of metallic sounds echoed throughout the valley.

After learning the ‘Mutual Hands Combat’ technique from Zhou Botong, Xiao Longnü’s swords skills were more than doubled. Even though she was poisoned and her level of energy was weakened somewhat, Gongsun Zhi’s black-sword and golden-saber technique still was no match for her ‘Jade Maiden Swords Technique’. His technique, though carrying seemingly infinite variations, still resulted in a saber remaining a saber, and a sword always a sword. She moved her pair of swords so fast, that her body was surrounded by the flashing of the swords. Gongsun Zhi felt like he was caught in a rainstorm. Swords everywhere … He sighed and regretted his decision, “I wouldn’t have attacked her in the first place if I had known her true skill.” Luckily for him, the “Jade Maiden Swords” was not created with murderous intent, plus Xiao Longnü did not have any intentions to kill him; therefore, he was able to hold his ground for the time being.

In the meantime, Reverend Yideng, Huang Rong, Guo Fu, Yelu Qi and Yelu Yan had also arrived. Together they witnessed this spectacular battle with their hearts pounding.

“Eh, you go help her,” Guo Fu told Yelu Qi, “Elder Sister Long can’t win by herself.”

Yelu Qi only shook his head, “There is no place I can set my foot on.”

In spite of her weaknesses and spoiled nature, Guo Fu’s natural character was not evil. She became stressed when she saw Xiao Longnü’s dire situation and remembered her own experience battling the old man’s high martial arts skills. Yelu Qi was not wrong. But Guo Fu insisted, this time to her mother, “Mother! Please help Sister Long.” She did not realize that even without her prompting everybody was willing to help. Everyone was just as anxious as she was, and of course they would’ve helped if it were at all possible.