rty? He stopped talking immediately.

The woman said, “Mmm, so you have stolen the Old Monster’s medicine. I have heard that he is very knowledgeable in the research of medicines and their properties, so you must have stolen a miraculous pill or a marvellous drug.”

Guo Jing: “I took some of his medicine to treat an internal injury, but he was so angry he wanted to kill me. Is the old senior injured? Disciple has several medicines, four samples of tian2 qi1 (pseudoginseng), xie3 jie2 (dried blood), xiong2 dan3 (bear’s gall), mei2 yao4. Taoist Elder Wang does not have to use this many, if old senior…”

The woman angrily said: “Whether I’m injured or not, what concern is it of yours?”

At this snag, Guo Jing could only say hastily: “Yes, yes.” But after only a moment, he heard her gasping for breath and could not restrain himself from saying again: “If old senior cannot walk, junior offers to carry you out of here.”

The woman scolded: “Who is old? Who are you to say that someone is old?”

Guo Jing no longer dared to utter a sound, thinking that she did not want to leave. However, he had always been unable to stay content even though he knew that he ought to keep his head lowered so that he once again asked: “Whatever you want, I can go get it for you.”

The woman laughed coldly and said: “You are fussy like woman but I see that your heart is good.” She stretched out her left hand to pull on his shoulders. Guo Jing felt his shoulder snap and the sharp pain that followed but he was able to keep his body from falling on top of her, suddenly sensing an icy coldness as the woman’s arm wound around his neck. He heard her bark an order: “Carry me to the exit.”

Guo Jing thought, I originally wanted to carry you to the exit. Thereupon, he bent at the waist and slowly made his way out of the tunnel.

The woman said: “I am compelling you to carry me on your back. I don’t owe anyone any favors.” It was then that Guo Jing understood that this woman was much more arrogant and was unwilling to receive any kindness from her juniors. As he walked out, he raised his head and saw the stars in the sky. He could not help giving out a sigh as he thought, Only a moment ago, I was saved from death when I fell into this black hole where someone was waiting to help me. If I told Rong Er about this, even she would not believe. He was used to climbing cliffs with Ma Yu and even though that hole was like a deep well, he was actually able to climb up effortlessly.

As soon as they left the hole, the woman asked: “Who taught you your lightness kung fu? Tell me quickly!” Her arm suddenly tightened, clutching Guo Jing’s throat so he was gasping for breath.

Alarmed, he hastily circulated his internal energy to resist. The woman was intentionally trying to test his skill by tightening her grip, but she paused before gradually relaxing.

She loudly exclaimed: “Hey, look here, the peasant boy knows the internal strength skills of the Taoist orthodox school. You said that Taoist Elder Wang was injured, what name is this Taoist priest called?”

Guo Jing thought, You have rescued me, so whatever you ask, I would answer you truthfully. Otherwise, how barbaric am I? He immediately replied: “Taoist Elder Wang is Wang Chuyi but others call him the Son of the Jade Sun.”

Suddenly, he felt the woman on his back begin to shake as he heard her breath out heavily: “You are a Quanzhen Sect disciple? That… That is very good.” As soon as she said this, she could not contain her delight so she went on and asked: “Who is Wang Chuyi to you? You call him Taoist Elder which is not equal to shifu. Is he your shi zi (martial uncle) or shi bo (martial senior)?”

Guo Jing: “I am not a Quanzhen sect disciple but Son of the Red Sun Ma Yu has long ago taught me his breathing techniques.”

The woman said: “Mmm, so you studied the internal strength methods of Quanzhen. That is good.” After a moment, she asked: “Who then is your shifu?”

Guo Jing replied: “Disciple altogether has seven teachers, the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan. First shifu is called Flying Bat and surnamed Ke.”

The woman began coughing violently, the sound bitter and sour as she said: “That is Ke Zhen’e!”

Guo Jing: “Yes.”

The woman said: “You come from Mongolia?”

Guo Jing said: “Yes.” But in his heart, he wondered, How did she know I come from Mongolia?

The woman said slowly: “Your name is Yang Kang, is it not?” Her tone of voice changed from gloomy to angry.

Guo Jing said: “No. Disciple is surnamed Guo.”

The woman hesitated for a moment before saying: “You sit on the ground.”

Guo Jing did what was told and sat down. The woman then reached inside her bosom to fish out an object which she placed on the ground. This object was wrapped in a piece of cloth. When she revealed the thing, the star light shone on it, showing a brightly dazzling and impressive-looking dagger handle. Guo Jing saw that it looked familiar and so he took a closer look, the dagger continuing to shine brightly and on its handle were engravings of the two characters “Yang Kang.” It was indeed the knife he used to kill the Copper Corpse Chen Xuanfeng. That same year when Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin met the Son of Eternal Spring Qiu Chuji who gave them the dagger handles as presents, both of them made a promise that if their wives gave birth to two sons, they would become sworn brothers and if two daughters, they would become sworn sisters. However, if both are of different genders, then they would become husband and wife. The two then exchanged the daggers as a token of their faith. This was the reason why the dagger with the inscription of “Yang Kang” actually ended up in Guo Jing’s hand. When he was younger, he did not know what the two characters “Yang Kang” meant but the shape of the dagger was enough for him to recognize it. He thought, Yang Kang? Yang Kang? But he could not remember that this name was once spoken by the princess only moments ago.

While he was hesitating, the woman clamped his hand to grab the dagger as she shouted: “You recognize this dagger, do you not?”

If Guo Jing were more quick-witted and heard how sad and shrill her voice sounded, he would have felt compelled to turn his head and look at her. Instead, he thought only of the other’s kindness in saving his life, This person came to save my life. Certainly, that means she is a good person. Therefore, he was not the least bit suspicious as he immediately replied: “Ah, yes! When I was young, I once used this dagger to kill an evil man. That evil man suddenly disappeared, along with the precious dagger …”

As he spoke, he felt his neck tighten suddenly, suffocating him. In the midst of danger, he bent his arm and pushed it backwards but his wrist was held by that woman’s outstretched left hand.

The woman later relaxed her right arm, allowing her body to fall so that she was sitting on the ground as she shouted: “Who do you think I am?”

Guo Jing was throttled by her earlier, making him see stars in his vision so it took him a moment to recover. Afterwards, he looked down only to glimpse through her shawl of long hair. The face, like white paper, was precisely the face of the Iron Corpse of the Twin Corpses of the Dark Winds, Mei Chaofeng. Frightened out of his wits, he lifted his left hand to struggle but with her fingers digging into his flesh, how could he escape? In his mind was confusion: How come? Why did she save my life? It can’t be! But she really is Mei Chaofeng!

Mei Chaofeng sat on the ground, her right hand clutching Guo Jing’s neck, her left holding his wrist. For more than ten years, she had been searching for the man who killed her husband and now suddenly, he was here. Is it the work of Zei2 han4 zi3 (Thief Man. I think this is Mei Chaofeng’s pet name for Chen Xuanfeng) from below, to have that person die in my hands? In her heart she was delighted beyond measure but this was quickly overcome by grief as past events of her life, no matter how much she fought it, came in brief flashes.

She thought, I was once an innocent young girl who played and joked around all day. My parents treated me as their most precious treasure to which they were very attached to. At that time, I was called Mei Rehua. However, my unfortunate parents died one after another, forcing me to suffer under an evil person. Shifu Huang Yaoshi rescued me and brought me to Taohua Island (Peach Blossom Island) where he accepted me into his school. My name was changed to Mei Chaofeng for each of his disciples all bore the character for “wind” in each of their names. Under the peach trees, I saw rugged-looking youths standing in front of me. One of them picked a bright red peach and gave it to me to eat. That was apprentice brother Chen Xuanfeng. Among shifu’s disciples, he was the second; I was the third. We practiced kung fu together. He often taught me and treated me very well. Even though he sometimes scolded me for not studying hard, I knew he was only doing what was good for me. Slowly, as everyone grew up, in my heart I had him and in his heart, he had me. One spring evening, when the peach blossoms were turning into a brilliant red, under the peach tree, he suddenly embraced me. A blush colored Mei Chaofeng’s face and Guo Jing heard that her laborious breathing had intensified. Then, she let out a soft, gentle sigh.

Mei Chaofeng recalled how she and Chen Xuanfeng secretly married each other and how they feared their shifu’s punishment. When they ran away from the Island, her husband told her to steal the second “Jiu3 Yin1 Zhen1 Jing1″ (Nine Yin Scripture). Later, they came to a remote mountain where they trained hard but after practicing for half a year, her husband said that he could not understand the true meaning of the text. He wanted to break his head out of frustration. That same year, my husband said, ‘Zei2 po2 niang2 (Thief wife. His pet name for Mei Chaofeng?), we only stole one half of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing. The first half of the scripture contains the foundation principles to practice the secret nei gong techniques. The kung fu scripture belongs to the Taoists and what our shifu taught us is completely different. We can’t master this, what do you suggest we do?’ I said, ‘What choice do we have?’ He said, ‘Return to Taohua Island.’ How could I dare to go back? Both of our skills had become ten times stronger but our shifu only had to use two fingers.

Zei Hanzi (Thief man) was also afraid but knowing how many wonderful techniques he could not practice at the time, he was willing to die. He had made up his mind to steal the scripture and said, ‘If we are going to be the unmatched couple under the heaven, then Zei Poniang (Thief wife) must be prepared to be a widow.’ I did not wish to be a widow! If one must die, then the other must also die in the same place. And so both of us decided to risk our lives by going back. We found out later that after we ran away, shifu in a great fit of temper broke the legs of all of his disciples and expelled them from his island. That was why there was only him, his wife, the two of us, and his servants.

When we arrived in Taohua Island, we discovered two people engaged in a fight. Shifu’s opponent looked like an expert. The two of them were arguing about the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing and as they quarreled, one of them opened a move. This person was Quanzhen sect and although he spoke foolish words, his kung fu was high, arriving at a level which I could not even imagine. But shifu, when compared to him, had a better chance of winning. Witnessing this martial arts duel only served to frighten us out of our wits. I said quietly, ‘Zei Hanzi, we are inferior. Let’s get away!” But he was not willing. We watched as shifu grabbed his opponent, forcing him to take the oath of never voluntarily leaving the Island. Remembering that shifu’s wife used to treat me with kindness, I decided to look for her through the window. Who would have thought that all I would see was a mourning hall? Shifu’s wife had passed away. In my heart, I felt very sad. Shifu’s wife always treated me well but now that she’s dead, shifu was alone. I really felt sorry for him that time. I couldn’t stand it.

While I was crying, I suddenly saw near the mourning hall a one-year old little girl, sitting straight up from a chair and smiling at me. This girl really looked like my shifu’s wife so I suposed she was the daughter. Was it because of childbirth that she died? I was thinking this when shifu noticed me. He flew from the mourning hall and stepped outside. I was so frightened, my feet grew soft and I couldn’t move. I heard the girl laughing and calling: ‘Daddy, hugs!’ Her smile was like a flower as she opened her arms towards shifu. This girl saved my life. Shifu feared that she would fall down and so stretched out a hand to grab her. Zei Hanzi then pulled me and we both dashed out, snatching the boat, the sea water splashing inside. My heart was thumping so hard, it seemed like it was going to jump out of my throat.

Zei Hanzi saw shifu fighting and had henceforth lost heart. He said, ‘Not only have we not learned a tenth of shifu’s kung fu but with this Quanzhen master, how can we compare?’ I said: ‘You regret? If the shifu can do it, then one day we can also learn his kung fu.’ He said, ‘If you don’t regret, then I do not regret.’ Thereupon, he used the fiercest martial arts method he could find and taught me everything. He said that although this method was heretical, it allowed us to increase our skills.

At the beginning, our abilities became astounding and as we ran amuck in Jiang Hu, we earned the nickname of ‘Twin corpses of the Dark Winds.’ That Shen Long who flew through the sky with his axe exorcising evil spirits, was it Zei Hanzi who killed him or was it I? My memory is not so clear as to who killed but all is the same in any case. One day, we were practicing in the temple ruins the “Cui1 Xin1 Zhang3” (Destroying Heart Palm), when suddenly from all directions appeared dozens of skilled people. They were lead by our fellow apprentice, Lu Chengfeng. He hated us after shifu broke his two legs and now gathered a large group of people to help him capture us to give to shifu. THis boy really thought that he could defeat us. Humph, the ‘Twin Corpses of the Dark Winds’ are not that easy to defeat. Though we were able to kill 78 men and run away, we were also heavily injured. After several months, we found out that the Quanzhen Seven Elders were also secretly following us. We did not want to fight the opponents all at once because they were too many so thereupon, we left the Central Plains until we reached the Mongolian prairies.

Zei Hanzi was worried that people would steal the Taoist scripture. He told me not to look. I did not know where he hid it. ‘Good, Zei Hanzi, I don’t know where to find it.’ ‘Zei Poniang, I will be good to you. I’ll take care of you and teach you everything except the Taoist nei gong. If we force it, we could harm our bodies.’ ‘Alright! What are you waiting for?’ Thereupon, we continued to practice the “Jiu3 Yin1 Bai2 Gu3 Zhua3” (Nine Yin White Bone Claw) and the “Cui1 Xin1 Zhang3.” He said these two techniques were heretical and fierce but did not require one to learn nei gong. Suddenly, one evening in that stark mountainside, the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan attacked me. ‘My eye! My eye!’ The pain was burning from the toxins. I crawled on the ground, scratching my eyes. I did not die but my eyes were blinded and my husband dead. That was retribution for that time when we once killed that blind Ke Zhen’e’s elder brother and blinded his (Ke Zhen’e) eyes.

As Mei Chaofeng thought about this painful matter, both her hands tightened instinctively, creating a noise as she grinded her teeth.

Guo Jing felt like the bones in his left hand were going to break and secretly complained, This is not good. How do I konw what kind of vicious method she’s going to use to kill me? Then, he said: “Hey, I don’t know what you want to do but I want to ask you something, please agree.”

Mei Chaofeng said coldly: “You want to ask me something?”

Guo Jing said: “Yes. I have several medicines and I ask you to be generous. Please take away some of these and give it to Taoist Elder Wang in the Prosperity Inn outside the city.”

When Mei Chaofeng did not answer and continued to stare blankly at him, Guo Jing said: “You agree? Many thanks to you!”

Mei Chaofeng said: “Many thanks what? All my life, I’ve never done any good deed!”

She could not call to mind how much pain she suffered in her life, nor could she recall how many people she had killed, but that night on the barren hill, she remembered clearly. My surroundings suddenly went black and I could not see even the stars. Zei Hanzi said, ‘I have failed! The Taoist scripture is hidden in my chest…’ These were his last words. Suddenly, a heavy rain began to pour and the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan began fiercely attacking me. I was hit in the back by a palm. This person’s internal strength was profound; the pain from his hit reached my bones. I carried Zei Hanzi’s corpse and escaped, descending the mountain even though I could not see.

They did not pursue me which was really strange. The rain became heavier and the night had grown pitch-dark; they could not see me. I dashed about wildly in the rain. Zei Hanzi’s body was at first hot but afterwards, it gradually turned cold. My heart also turned cold with each minute that passed. I was shaking all over; I was very cold. ‘Zei Hanzi, are you really dead? Even with your fierce kung fu, how could you die so inexplicably? Who killed you?’ I drew out a dagger from his stomach, causing the blood to spurt out. What caused this? Murdered people certainly bleed, but I did not know how many people I murdered. ‘I must die with Zei Hanzi! No one else will call him ‘zei hanzi’, in the netherworld, he would be lonely!’ I placed the dagger to my throat and prepared to slice when suddenly, I traced two characters on the dagger handle, the characters “Yang Kang.” Mmm, the killer must be this person named Yang Kang. How can I not exact revenge? If I don’t kill this Yang Kang first, how can I die? Thereupon, I went through Zei Hanzi’s pockets, searching for the secret Taoist scripture, but even though I searched the whole body, I was not able to find a trace of it. I must find it! I started from his hair, not missing an inch until suddenly, while I was feeling the skin on his chest, I felt something strange.

As she came to this thought, she was unable to restrain bitter laughter from coming out of her throat. She said: “After careful investigation, I found that tattooed on his chest is the “Jiu Yin Zhen Jing.” ‘You were afraid that someone would steal this from you and so you tattooed this on your body so it won’t be taken away!’ Yes, like shifu’s martial arts teachings, someone could also steal the Taoist scripture from us so you came up with a way so it can’t be stolen. Your idea is ‘a person comes, after he is gone, everything goes with him’ (or something like that). I used the dagger to cut your chest, mmm, I must tan this skin so it won’t rot. I will keep it with me all the time so it will be like you are accompanying me forever. I was not sad anymore. When I laugh, people are usually frightened even though I was smiling. I used both hands to dig a pit in the ground to bury you inside. You taught me the “Jiu Yin Bai Gu Zhua” before; I used this technique to dig your grave. I hid in the cave, afraid that the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan would find me.

At that time, I was not their match but after some practice, humph, I could grab each of their hearts. Was it really dangerous to practice the Taoist nei gong? It would cause serious injuries but I was not afraid to die only what sort of injury? I must perfect my kung fu in the shortest time. It must have been some divine intervention that Zei Hanzi tattoed the Taoist scripture on his body or with my blind eye, what use would the written words have? All these years, even when he was playing with me, he never removed his clothing on his upper body, now I know it was for this…” When she thought about this, her face burned and she released a long sigh. What is it? Zei Hanzi, can you see me from the netherworld? If you married a female ghost and made it your wife, then we do not have forever…

Two days passed, I was very hungry when suddenly, I heard a large army on horseback pass by the hole. From their dialect, I found out they were from Jin Dynasty. I came out and asked them for something to eat. The leader of the army saw my pitiful state and decided to give me shelter, bringing me all the way to the palace. Afterwards, I discovered that he was actually the sixth son of the Jin emperor, Prince Zhao. I swept the ground in the back gardens for them but in the evening, I secretly trained. Such was that I was able to practice for several years and no one noticed anything. They only thought of me as a pitiful blind married woman.

One evening, oh, that mischievous young prince. He went looking for bird’s eggs in the garden at midnight without telling anyone. I did not see him but he saw me practicing with my silver whip and thereupon coerced me into teaching him. I taught him three moves and he learned them; he was really intelligent. Pleased with his progress, I also passed on to him the Jiu3 Yin1 Bai2 Gu3 Zhua3 (Jiu Yin White Bone Claw), tiu1 xin1 zhang3 ye3 (Push the Heart Palm). I wanted him to take the oath of not telling anyone, not even the prince or the princess. If he divulged it to anyone, I told him that I would capture him, break his bones, and send his soul to heaven. Young prince has practiced kung fu and his foundation was not low. He said that ‘Shifu, I also have another male shifu. This person is not good. I do not like him. I only like you as my shifu. I will never reveal to him that you are teaching me. He can’t compare to you. His kung fu teachings are not effective.’

Humph, the young prince knew how to flatter. His male shifu was definitely not incompetent. But I only asked that he did not tell him that he was studying kung fu with me and I in turn would not question him about his shifu. Several years passed and the young prince said that the prince (Prince Zhao) wanted to go to Mongolia. I asked the prince to allow me to go there with him to offer sacrifice for my husband’s grave. Young prince said to me that the prince agreed. The prince doted on him very much and whatever he asked, he agreed.

Oh, even if I couldn’t find Zei Hanzi’s (Thief Man) bones, I kept the skin from his flesh next to my own skin all day and all night. Also, why would I offer a sacrifice to his grave? I aimed to find the Seven Freaks of Chiangnan for revenge. But my luck was not good because the Seven Elders of Quanzhen were unexpectedly all in Mongolia. My eyes could not see, how could I match these seven people? That Son of the Red Sun Ma Yu’s internal strength was profound. Even though he spoke without effort, his voice was able to travel far. But my going to Mongolia was not in vain because that Ma Yu was asked by me right in his face, what, how, why, and he passed on to me some nei gong (internal strength) secrets.

After I came back to the palace, I went to the tunnel to practice diligently. Oh, this internal strength could not be completed without guidance. Two days ago, I was fiercely practicing, leaning on one thigh and vigorously dashing when suddenly my qi arrived at my hip area; I could not move it back up. In light of this, the lower part of my body suffered seriously. If the young prince did not look for me, how would he know that I had an accident while practicing martial arts? Or if this Guo boy did not rush in here, I would have starved to death in that tunnel. Humph, it’s Zei Hanzi’s ghost that sent him here to rescue me so I could I kill him to avenge Zei Hanzi. Ha ha, ha ha! Ha ha, ah, heh heh, humph, ha ha!

As Mei Chaofeng laughed madly, her whole body hook and her right hand suddenly made an effort to grab Guo Jing’s neck. Guo Jing sensed the danger to his life at this critical moment and tried to turn her hand wrong side up by grasping her wrist, using his external strength. Ma Yu’s orthodox school teachings were practiced by him for several years so his internal strength was not weak. Mei Chaofeng could not hold her fierce grip as she felt her hand being turned wrong side up by him, forcing it open. Startled, she thought, his boy’s kung fu is not bad!

Even hit three times, Guo Jing applied all his strength in that palm of hand. Mei Chaofeng cried loud and long, lifting her palm to hit him. She was using her “Cui1 Xin1 Zhang3” (Destroying Heart Palm) unique skill. Guo Jing’s level of skill and hers differed too much to begin with and his left was held firmly by her, how could he move to gain an opening? But he had to exert himself to overcome her strength, lifting his right hand to block. Mei Chaofeng raised her hand to meet his but only to feel her arm shake.

She changed her mind at that moment as she considered, I practiced nei gong without anyone to guide me so that it resulted in a serious illness where my lower body could not move. I heard him say a moment ago that Ma Yu taught him the Quanzhen Sect nei gong then it would be convenient if I force him to tell me the nei gong secrets. How could I kill him to avenge Zei Hanzi and only pick his brain later? Fortunately, this boy has not died yet. At that moment, she returned her hand again to grasp Gou Jing’s neck and said: “You killed my husband, how can you still expect to live? But if you listen to what I have to say, then I’ll let you die quickly; If you’re stubborn, I will let you experience suffering and misery. I’ll start with your finger, biting and chewing it until everything is eaten.”

She had an accident, resulting in her lower body paralysis. Afterwards, she was starving for days so when she said that she wanted to eat Guo Jing’s finger, it was not just idle talk to intimidate him.

Guo Jing felt a shiver as he watched her open mouth, showing several white teeth. He did not dare say a word.

Mei Chaofeng asked: “Ma Yu taught you how to sit while meditating, how is it done?”

Guo Jing then understood, Originally, she thought I will teach her nei gong. Then later, she will go after my six shifu to harm them. Even if I die now, how can I let this jealous woman increase her skill and harm my six shifu? He shut his mouth and did not answer immediately.

Mei Chaofeng’s left hand tightened and Guo Jing felt the pain and the biting cold but he had made up his mind so that he said: “You want to obtain the orthodox nei gong. Give up the idea while it’s still early.”

Mei Chaofeng saw that he was tough and unyielding so she loosened her hands to let him go as she said softly: “I promise you that I will take the medicine to Wang Chuyi and save his life.”

Guo Jing felt a shiver of cold, Ah, this is an important change. It’s good that the lower part of her body cannot move. My six shifu have no need to fear her. Thereupon, he said: “Alright, you make an oath and I in return will pass on to you the training methods.”

Mei Chaofeng was extremely happy and said, “Surname of Guo… The stinky boy with the surname of Guo said that he will teach me the Quanzhen Sect nei gong methods. If I, Mei Chaofeng, do not deliver the medicine to Wang Chuyi, may my entire body lose its movement and forever endure misery.”

As soon as she said this, suddenly to their left some ten zhang in front of the palace, a person scolded: “Stinky boy, come out here and die!”

When Guo Jing heard the voice, he recognized it as the Three-Headed Dragon Hou Tonghai. Another one said: “Surely, this small girl is nearby. I’m relieved. She can’t run away.” The same time that the two people were talking, they were also walking away.

Gou Jing was startled, Rong Er has not yet left and allowed them to track her trail. Changing his intention, he turned to Mei Chaofeng and said: “You still need to do one more thing, otherwise no matter what you force me to endure, I won’t tell you the secret.”

Mei Chaofeng got angry: “What is this other thing you have? I don’t agree.”

Guo Jing said: “I have a good friend, a young girl. The group of experts from the palace are chasing her. You must rescue her and bring her out of danger.”

Mei Chaofeng grunted and said: “How should I know where she is? If you want me to do it then quickly, tell me the nei gong secret!” Her arm immediately tightened.

Guo Jing felt his throat constrict, causing him great alarm. However, he was still unyielding and said: “Rescue… You said… Did not say…”

Having no other alternative, Mei Chaofeng said: “Alright. Then I’m depending on you but don’t think that Mei Chaofeng does things to please others. Today is the exception, you stinky boy. This young girl is your sweetheart? You’re really full of affection but dumb. We made a deal. I’m only doing my part. I have agreed to rescue your sweetheart out of danger but I haven’t consented to sparing your life.”

Guo Jing heard her agree and was glad. Then he raised his voice and called out: “Rong Er, come here! Rong Er…”

Just after calling twice, suddenly Huang Rong’s figure appeared from behind some rose shrubs nearby. She said: “I’m already here!”

Guo Jing was delighted: “Rong Er, come quickly. She agreed to help you. The others can’t harm you now.”

Huang Rong had been listening to Guo Jing and Mei Chaofeng for some time behind the rose shrubs. She heard how he never gave a thought to his own life and never forgot about her safety. In her gratitude, two drops of tears rolled down her cheeks as she shouted at Mei Chaofeng: “Mei Rehua, let him go!”

“Mei Rehua” was Mei Chaofeng’s name before her master changed it. No one in Jiang Hu knew and for dozens of years, she had not heard these three characters uttered by anyone. However, today it was being shouted by this person.

Greatly startled, she asked: “Who are