extract, just get on with it. If not, don’t open your mouth!”

Ci’en shouted, “I will extract my revenge!”

His voice ripped through the air like a clap of thunder, and all the teacups were making ‘dang-dang’ rattling sounds. Guo Fu couldn’t move her hands and feet. She only saw his left and right hands coming at her with the force of a mountain being cast into the sea. She wanted to escape, but how could there be enough time?

As if by prior arrangement, Huang Rong, Wu Santong, and Yelu Qi jumped up into the air at the same time. The three people all noticed that even though Ci’en’s right hand was fierce, his left palm was far more lethal. So they all aimed at his left palm, and the four palms clashed with a ‘peng’ sound.

Ci’en let out a ‘hei’ sound and stood still but the three people fell back several steps. With the lowest skills, Yelu Qi was knocked back the furthest, and next to him was Huang Rong. Before she could steady herself, she saw that her daughter Guo Xiang had already been snatched by Ci’en. Guo Fu just stood there dumbly too frightened to escape.

Huang Rong was alarmed. She thought, “Was Fu’er hurt by that palm strike?” Immediately she jumped up and out, her left hand pulling Guo Fu back. She wielded the “Dog Beating Stick” with her right hand, using the ‘seal’ trick. Although Ci’en’s palms were fierce, he couldn’t hurt her this time. Guo Fu was actually not injured but she was confused. Now that she leaned against her mother’s body, she could let out an ‘ah’ cry.

As the battle began, the Wu brothers, Yelu Yan, and Wanyan Ping unsheathed their weapons. Qiu Qianchi signaled the many valley disciples to scatter, waiting for her order to besiege them. Only Reverend Yideng was still sitting cross-legged in the center of the hall as if he didn’t see all these things. He was reciting Buddhist sutras. His voice was not loud, but very clear.

Ci’en lifted Guo Xiang. He shouted, “This is Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter. I’ll kill this girl first, and then I’ll kill Huang Rong!”

Qiu Qianchi said in delight, “Good second brother! You are really the world-famous “Iron Palms Floating on Water”, Chief Qiu!”

In this situation, Huang Rong and the others couldn’t defeat Ci’en in battle without anybody getting hurt; they didn’t even have a way to save the baby from this mad man.

In a loud voice Guo Fu suddenly shouted, “Yang Guo, big brother Yang, quickly come and save my little sister.”

When facing a disaster, Yang Guo had always come out of nowhere to save her. Seeing that nobody could do anything at this time, she naturally hoped that Yang Guo would come to her rescue again. But at the moment Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü were enjoying their time together. The two people walked slowly hand in hand, watching the sunset. How could they know about this urgent situation in the hall?

Ci’en used his right hand to hold Guo Xiang high above his head and brought his left palm on guard.

He sneered, “Yang Guo? Who’s Yang Guo? Now even if East Heretic, West Venom, South Emperor, North Beggar, and Central Divinity all came at once, they could only kill me, Qiu Qianren, but they wouldn’t be able to save this baby.”

Yideng slowly lifted his head and saw blood lust and murderous intent in Ci’en’s eyes. He said, “You want to seek revenge on people, people will then come and take revenge on you. What good can come of it?”

Ci’en shouted, “If they dare, come!” Now dusk had begun to fall, and the evening light entered the hall. Despair showed in everyone’s eyes, while his face looked absolutely terrifying.

Suddenly Huang Rong let out a ‘ha-ha’ laugh, her voice alternating between high and low pitches, like a lunatic. The people couldn’t help being frightened.

Guo Fu cried out “Ma!”

Wu Santong and Yelu Qi called out in one voice “Madame Guo!”

Their hearts were thumping wildly, thinking that she’d gone insane because the enemy had her daughter. She tossed her “Dog Beating Stick” to the floor, moving a couple of steps forward. Her laugh sounded mournful and shrill.

“Ma!” Guo Fu called out and tried to grab her arm. Huang Rong brushed Guo Fu aside with her right hand and jumped towards Ci’en with a miserable cry.

Even Qiu Qianchi hadn’t expected this. She stared at Huang Rong in disbelief.

Huang Rong stretched out both hands and gave Ci’en an evil stare. She cried out, “Quickly kill this child. Hit her hard. You can’t spare her.”

Color left Ci’en’s face. He held Guo Xiang close to his chest and said, “You… you… who are you?”

Huang Rong laughed crazily, her arms flinging out. Although Ci’en’s left palm was on guard, he didn’t dare to strike. He sidestepped and asked again, “Who are you?”

Huang Rong sadly replied, “Have you completely forgotten? One evening in the Dali Imperial Palace, you held a small child like this in your hand. Right, it was… it was.. You injured him badly and he eventually died. I am this child’s mother. Kill this child quickly. Kill this child quickly. What are you waiting for?”

Ci’en listened to her, and his whole body trembled. Events of decades-ago flashed in his mind.

Years ago, he’d injured Dali Imperial Concubine Liu’s child, hoping that the South Emperor would use years of cultivated inner energy to treat the child’s injury. But Emperor Duan had been cruel enough to let the child meet a violent death. Afterwards Concubine Liu and Ci’en had run into each other twice and she fought like a mad tiger, willing to die together with him. Although Ci’en’s kungfu was superior, he actually didn’t dare to fight her; instead he fled into the wasteland. Huang Rong had twice met Yinggu, on the Black Dragon beach and at the top of Mount Hua and seen her insane smile. She’d known that this was Ci’en’s biggest worry. And so, seeing Ci’en holding Guo Xiang in his arms but unable to harm her, she’d told him to kill Guo Xiang. Wu Santong, Qiu Qianchi, Yelu Qi and the others all thought that she’d gone totally insane. Only Reverend Yideng secretly admired Huang Rong for her great wisdom and courage. He thought to himself that a strong man wouldn’t have the gall to come up with such a scheme and say “Kill the child quickly.” When Ci’en was frighteningly violent like this, if he hit Guo Xiang even lightly, how could she not die a sudden death?

Ci’en looked at Huang Rong and Yideng. Then his eyes turned to the child in his hand. A surge of pain and regret suddenly hit him, and he sobbed, “He was dead! He was dead! The child was alive and well, and I killed him.”

He stepped towards Huang Rong and handed Guo Xiang to her. He said, “I killed this small baby. Please beat me to death!”

Overjoyed, Huang Rong reached out to take Guo Xiang. But then Yideng shouted, “Revenge breeds revenge; when will it stop? Your hand holds a murderous blade. When will you throw it away?”

Ci’en was startled, and Guo Xiang fell from his hand.

Huang Rong didn’t wait for Guo Xiang to fall to the floor, her right foot flew out. She kicked the child, sending her out in the air. At the same time, she laughed crazily and said, “You killed the child. Good. Good. This is wonderful.”

Her kick looked as if it was fierce but when her foot touched Guo Xiang’s waist, it actually stopped her from falling and gently sent her out again into the air. She knew that this was an extremely critical moment. If she bent down to pick up her daughter, perhaps Ci’en would change his mind.

Guo Xiang flew through the air towards Yelu Qi. He caught her and saw that her black eyes were sparkling, and that her little mouth was about to let out a big cry. She was indeed unharmed. He was first startled and then understood that Huang Rong, knowing that Guo Fu was rash, sent him her daughter. So, he covered the child’s mouth with his palm and shouted, “Aiyo, the child was killed by the monk.”

Ci’en’s face was deathly pale. All of a sudden he was awakened. He put his hands together and bowed to Yideng. He said, “Great monk, many thanks for saving me!”

Yideng bowed back and said, “Congratulations, great monk. You’ve found the right path!”

The two monks exchanged a smile. Ci’en ran out.

Qiu Qianchi quickly called out, “Second Brother, Second Brother, you come back!”

Ci’en turned his head back and said, “You call me to come back; I’m now asking you to come back too.” Having said that his gown sleeves flared out, and he floated out of the hall.

With a joyful expression on his face Yideng said, “Good, good, good!”

Then he retreated to a corner of the hall. He lowered his head, his eyebrows drooping, and said no more.

Huang Rong fixed her hair and got Guo Xiang back from Yelu Qi. Seeing that her mother was normal and her little sister was all right, Guo Fu was pleasantly surprised. She threw herself into her mother’s arms and said, “Ma, I thought you really went insane!”

Huang Rong walked over to Yideng and kowtowed. She said, “I (niece) had no other way but to mention that past affair. Reverend, please forgive me.”

With a faint smile Yideng replied, “Rong’er, Rong’er, you are really the female Zhuge!”

In the hall, Wu Santong was the only person who knew about the past events. Others were looking perplexed at one another.

After this unexpected turn of events, Qiu Qianchi saw her brother going out the screened door. She thought about how she wouldn’t see him again and couldn’t help becoming heavy-hearted. His words “You call me to come back, I’m now asking to you come back too” sounded like advice, urging her to control herself, repent and be salvaged. She secretly felt a pang of regret but her regret disappeared in a flash. All of a sudden, she proudly said, “Everybody, please wait here, I’m afraid this old woman can’t keep you company.”

Huang Rong said, “Hold on a minute! We’ve come here today to ask for the Passionless Pill…”

Qiu Qianchi nodded at her numerous disciples and they all responded with a war cry. Each entrance was blocked by four disciples in green, with an adorned fishnet in their hands. Four maids lifted Qiu Qianchi’s chair and retreated to the inner hall.

Seeing the power of the fishnets, Huang Rong, Wu Santong, Yelu Qi, and the others were secretly alarmed. They thought, “These fishnets are deadly, how can we break out of the trap?”

While they were hesitating, both the front door and the back door of the hall were being pulled shut, and the disciples in green all squeezed out. The Wu Brothers struck one of the doors with their swords. With a ‘peng’ sound, their double swords were caught in the crack of the door and immediately snapped. It seemed that these doors were cast from metal after all.

In a low voice Huang Rong said, “No need to be frightened! Even if we aren’t allowed to leave the hall, we can still think of a way to defeat those fishnets and get the antidote to help Yang Guo.”

Gongsun Lu’E followed her mother into the inner hall.

She asked, “Ma, what should we do?”

Seeing that her brother had abruptly departed and that skilled enemies were gathering, Qiu Qianchi knew she had a big problem. But the murderer of her brother had arrived; no matter who tried to persuade her, she would never yield. With a slight hesitation she said, “Go take a look. What are Yang Guo and those three girls doing?”

This was actually what Lu’E had wanted to do. She nodded in compliance and left for the kiln.

As she was halfway to the kiln, she heard voices ahead of her. It was Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü talking. It seemed that they said something about ‘Miss Gongsun.’ By this time, the sky had become totally dark, and Lu’E hid herself in a willow grove nearby. She thought, “What are they talking about?”

She gingerly stepped forward, approaching them without making a sound. She saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü standing side by side.

Yang Guo said, “You said these matters revolved around Miss Gongsun. That’s absolutely right. If the Divine Monk wakes up, all past animosity is buried, and all the poisons are expelled, won’t that be wonderful? Aiyo!”

Lu’E jumped as Yang Guo let out a sudden cry, not knowing what had just happened to him. She was worried and couldn’t help poking her head out to look around. In the darkness, she saw Yang Guo fall to the ground.

Xiao Longnü hoarsely said, “The Passion Flower poison is acting up again?”

“Mmm…aah…” Yang Guo could only let out a groan.

This pain was very difficult to endure. Lu’E pitied him and thought to herself, “He’s already taken half of the Passionless pill. He needs the other half to get rid of the poisons, and he can only get this other half from mother.”

After a while, Yang Guo got up and let out a long gasp.

Xiao Longnü said, “Your seizures are getting more and more frequent, and every time more severe than the last one. The Divine Monk still has to regain consciousness before he can find the antidote. Even then, there may not necessarily… there may not necessarily… You must be in a lot of pain.”

She’d wanted to say “there may not necessarily be enough time” but she changed her last sentence.

With a bitter smile Yang Guo said, “This old Madame Gongsun is extremely stubborn. She’s hidden the antidote. Unless she wants to give it to me herself, even if we kill everybody in the valley and hold a knife against her neck, she still won’t give it up.”

“But I actually have a method,” said Xiao Longnü.

Yang Guo could guess what she was thinking and so he said, “Long’er, don’t say it. We…husband and wife, sincerely love each other. If we can grow old together, naturally we’ll thank heaven and earth. If something bad happens, its fate. No third person may come between the two of us.”

Xiao Longnü sobbed, “That Gongsun girl… She looks like a very good person. She will listen to me.”

Lu’E’s heart shook, understanding that Xiao Longnü was urging Yang Guo to marry her to save his own life. But then she heard Yang Guo’s reply.

In a resonant voice he said, “Miss Gongsun is a naturally good person. There are really quite a few good girls, aren’t there? Miss Cheng Ying and Miss Lu Wushuang were also the kind of girls who love deeply. But your heart and mine are one, how can we let other people intervene? You think, if there was a man who could get rid of the poisons in your body and he wanted you to give up your body, would you or would you not agree to it?”

“I’m a female. That would be unthinkable,” replied Xiao Longnü.

With a chuckle Yang Guo said, “To others, men are superior to women. To Yang Guo, it’s the other way around…”

As he was saying this, he suddenly heard a sound coming from a dense thicket. Yang Guo asked, “Who is it?”

Lu’E thought she’d been spotted and was about to reply. Suddenly she heard a female voice, “Dumb egg, it’s me!”

Then she saw Lu Wushuang and Cheng Ying step out from behind a thicket. And so, she used this opportunity to move back quietly. Her mind was in turmoil.

She thought, “Aside from comparing myself to Miss Long, look at Miss Cheng and Miss Lu’s beauty, kungfu, and past friendship with Yang Guo, how can I ever match them?”

When she met Yang Guo, she couldn’t help falling in love with him. She’d known that he was serious about Xiao Longnü but, deep in her heart, she still hoped that he could take two wives. Now that she’d heard his words, she realized that all her hopes were in vain. She’d been sad since she was little but today she was completely disheartened. She made up her mind that she no longer wanted to live, and then she walked away westward.

Low-spirited, she walked aimlessly. She didn’t know where she was. There was only a voice in her head, “I don’t want to live anymore. I don’t want to live anymore.”

She didn’t know how long she’d been walking when, suddenly, she heard voices coming from behind some mountain rocks. She pulled herself together feeling slightly startled. She’d been wandering about aimlessly, and to her own surprise she’d arrived on the west side of the valley where very few people frequented. She looked up and saw a mountain peak rising towards the sky. This was the most dangerous zone of the Passionless Peak.

On this mountain ledge, she could see the three letters ‘Broken Heart Cliff’ that someone had carved on the cliff ages ago, and twenty or thirty feet in front of her was a slippery and barren ledge where not even a blade of grass was seen. The place was enveloped by a blanket of fog all year long, and the wind here was so violent that even a bird would find it difficult to perch on this cliff top. Beyond and below was an abyss of shadows that no one could see the bottom of. The area surrounding the ‘Broken Heart Cliff’ was quiet and beautiful because the terrain was so rugged and dangerous. Slippery rocks made it very easy to fall into the abyss below. The valley dwellers stayed clear of this area, and even those disciples in green with their kungfu wouldn’t dare to come here. This being the case, she didn’t know whose voices she was hearing.

Originally Gongsun Lu’E was resigned to die but at this moment she became curious. She hid herself behind a rock pile and listened. Her heart jumped as she learned that it was her father talking. Although her father had wronged her mother and had been ruthless with her, she was still his daughter. She’d been worried about him since her mother blinded one of his eyes with a date stone and banished him from the Passionless Valley. Hearing the familiar voice, she now knew that he hadn’t left the valley. Instead, he’d come to this remote place to hide. She was secretly happy.

Then she heard him talk, “You’ve been beaten black and blue, and I actually lost my eye. It’s all because of that small thief Yang Guo. Not only do we have a common enemy, we share the same problem.” After saying that he smiled, but the other person didn’t reply. Lu’E felt this was quite strange. Who was her father talking to? His tone was faintly frivolous, was that person a female?

Then Gongsun Zhi continued, “We ran into each other at this rarely-frequented place. We were thousands of li apart, yet we met as if by predestination. It must be fate.”

That female let out a ‘pei’ sound in contempt. She angrily said, “I’ve been thoroughly injured by the Passion Flowers. Yet, you made light of it and mock me with such laughable nonsense.”

Lu’E thought to herself, “Oh, it’s Li Mochou who just broke into the valley today.”

Then she heard Gongsun Zhi quickly say, “No, no. Why would I make light of it? Naturally I will do all I can. Your body is in pain, so is my heart.”

The person Gongsun Zhi was talking to was of course Li Mochou. Her whole body was pricked by the Passion Flowers, and so the poison in her body was not small. Luckily she was filled with anger and hatred towards heaven and earth, not the sentiments between man and woman, and so her body wasn’t in that much pain. But she knew that the poison was deadly. While urgently searching for the antidote, she wandered about aimlessly on the crisscrossing paths inside the valley and unexpectedly arrived at this Broken Heart Cliff. Gongsun Zhi had actually been here for a long time, hiding from all the valley people and waiting for the right moment to kill Qiu Qianchi and reclaim his Valley Chief position.

The two of them had once fought so they both knew each other’s skills. After they met, they thought, “I’m having trouble in this valley, I could use some help.” By this short exchange of words, they were actually trying to strike a bargain.

Since the death of his beloved Rou’er years ago, Gongsun Zhi had been concentrating on his kungfu practice and ignoring beautiful females. But then he failed to marry Xiao Longnü. His long-suppressed lust gushed out like a broken dam, out of control. With his status, his attempt to abduct Wanyan Ping was considered extremely low in Jianghu. Now that he’d run into Li Mochou and saw her beauty, he thought, “After I kill that evil woman Qiu Qianchi, I’d better marry this woman. With her kungfu, she’s exactly my match.”

What he didn’t know was that Li Mochou was extremely vicious and without mercy and that the cause of her evil was none other than this ‘passion.’ At the moment, Gongsun Zhi’s words had become bolder and bolder, how could she not be enraged? But she wanted the antidote, so she had no choice but to feign interest, offering a perfunctory reply.

Gongsun Zhi said, “I’m the original chief of the valley. There’s no second person in the world who knows how to make the antidote to this flower poison. But the manufacturing process is time-consuming, and you won’t have enough time for that. Luckily, there’s one pill left in the valley, in that evil woman’s hand. Let us go get rid of her, then everything will be yours.”

His last sentence had a double meaning. It actually meant that not only would she get the antidote, she would also become the mistress of the Passionless Valley. That Gongsun Zhi was the only person in the world who knew how to make the antidote was not a lie. Passion Flowers had grown in this valley for a long time, and Gongsun Zhi’s ancestors had taken many lives, experimenting to get the right antidote. These passionless flowers stopped outsiders from entering the valley so of course they didn’t get rid of them. Anyhow, the antidote formula was only handed down from father to son so it wouldn’t fall into the hands of other people. Even Qiu Qianchi only knew that the pills they had were left by the previous generation and that the antidote formula had already been lost. But what Gongsun Zhi actually didn’t know was that Qiu Qianchi only had half a pill left.

Li Mochou hesitated and said, “Since it is so, aren’t you making an empty promise? Your wife has the antidote but you and she have become enemies. Even though killing her isn’t that hard, how will you actually get the antidote?”

Gongsun Zhi hesitated to reply. After a while he said, “Taoist Li, you and I have met by fate. Even if I die I have no regrets.”

Li Mochou blandly said, “You flatter me.”

Gongsun Zhi said, “I’ve got a plan. I can capture that evil person and force her to give up the pill. But I hope you can promise me one thing.”

Li Mochou said in agitation, “I’ve roamed Jianghu all my life. I come and go as I please and no one can ever force me to do anything. If you are willing to give me the antidote, do it. If not, just drop it. How can it be that I, Li Mochou, would ever beg for my life?”

Although Gongsun Zhi’s kungfu was strong, he’d been secluded in the valley his entire life. As a result, he didn’t know about Jianghu’s most ferocious characters. He only knew a little about decades-ago names that Qiu Qianchi had mentioned. Over the past ten years, the name Scarlet Serpent Deity Li Mochou had shaken Jianghu, and there was no one in the martial world who didn’t know that. Although Li Mochou did look like a peach, her heart was that of a serpent. Gongsun Zhi actually didn’t know any of this. As he heard her arrogant words, he was very pleased.

He quickly said, “You misunderstood my meaning. I only hoped you would do something for me. How could it be that I was forcing you? To snatch the antidote, we have to kill my daughter. If I said something inappropriate, please don’t be offended.”

Gongsun Lu’E was hiding behind a big rock. Hearing ‘we have to kill my daughter,’ she couldn’t help but tremble.

Li Mochou was also taken aback. “The antidote is in your daughter’s hands?”

“No,” replied Gongsun Zhi. “I’ll tell you the truth! That evil woman is excessively stubborn and violent. The antidote must be hidden in an extremely concealed place and we cannot possibly force her to hand it over. We can only resort to trickery, it’s the only way.”

“That sounds correct,” said Li Mochou, nodding in agreement.

“That wretch is heartless to everyone and there are no limits to her viciousness. However she does care for her daughter and her alone. We can use this to our advantage. I’ll trick Lu’E so you can capture her and toss her into the flower thickets, then that evil woman will have no choice but to retrieve the Passionless Pill to save her daughter. We’ll seize this opportunity to snatch it – there’s no reason why we’ll fail. It’s a pity there’s only one Passionless Pill in the world, and since it’s going to you, my daughter’s life cannot be saved.”

“We don’t actually have to use real Passion Flowers to prick your daughter. We just need to put on an act and make her seem like she’s poisoned – this way, we get the pill and your daughter stays safe.”

Gongsun Zhi sighed. “That wretch is extremely shrewd. If my daughter was merely poisoned by something else, it will not go unnoticed.” His voice became constrained towards the end and he choked, as if he was really becoming emotional.

Li Mochou said, “How can I let your daughter be harmed in exchange for my life? It seems also that you are reluctant to part with her. Let’s drop this matter.”

Gongsun Zhi said hurriedly; “No…no! Although I hate to part with her, it would be worse to part with you.”

Li Mochou remained silent, admitting as much that there really was no other way.

“Let’s wait here,” said Gongsun Zhi. “I’ll call her out when it’s past midnight. Clever she might be, but she would never guess that her father has got something up his sleeve.”

Gongsun Lu’E heard every sentence that had just transpired between the two, and the more she dwelled on it the more she was afraid. When Gongsun Zhi dropped her and Yang Guo into the alligator pit that day, she knew her father cared naught of their father-daughter relationship. But that day’s events could be explained as a rash fit of anger. This day, he had actually plotted and schemed to end his daughter’s life in order to please a woman he had just met. His heartlessness and cruelty truly exceeded that of the most savage beasts.

Gongsun Lu’E had originally lost her will to live, but when she heard them plotting her murder, she instinctively wanted to try and escape. It was a good thing that the area had plenty of hills and dense forests, making hiding places aplenty. And so she lightly took one step back, and after a few moments, took another step back. In this manner, she retreated tens of feet before finally turning around to flee.

After an hour’s journey, she was far from Passionless Valley. Knowing her father would come for her soon, she didn’t even dare to return to her bedroom. She sat perched on a rock, desolate. The cold wind pierced her flesh and the pale moon shone mercilessly down. There was nothing left in this world that she longed for, and she mumbled to herself, “I didn’t want to go on living anyway. Why did you still devise this plot to kill me, father? If you want to kill me, come along and kill me. It’s very strange, why did I escape?”

Suddenly, a notion struck her like a bolt of lightning: Father is vicious, but his scheme is brilliant. Since I’m going to commit suicide anyway, I might as well use his scheme to trick the Pill from mother and save Brother Yang. Then you, husband and wife, will have me to thank for your reunion – me, the ill-fated girl who cared for him with all her heart. At this thought, her heart was filled with a mixture of gladness and sorrow, but nevertheless she found her energy once again. She glanced at her surroundings to ascertain her location. Then, she rose and walked towards her mother’s bedroom.

When she passed by the Passionless Flowers, she severed two flower stalks. Holding them in her hands, she walked to her mother’s bedroom door and called in a low voice, “Mother, are you asleep?”

Qiu Qianchi answered from her room, “E’er, what is it?”

Lu’E cried, “Mother, mother! I’ve been pricked by the Passion Flowers.” As she spoke, she embraced the flower stalks and pushed down forcefully onto her chest.

The hundreds and thousands of little thorns sank into her flesh all at once. Since her childhood she had been repeatedly warned against getting pricked by the flowers. Because she did not have the capacity for such risks then, she suffered no serious injury despite being pricked occasionally. But as she grew up, the warnings from people around her became sterner. After more than 10 years of cautiously avoiding this object – to think that now, she was actually pricking herself on purpose! The pain in her heart grew a level deeper and she grits her teeth, calling again and again, “Mother!”

Shocked to hear that something was wrong with her, Qiu Qianchi anxiously ordered the maidservants to open the door and help Lu’E inside. Lu’E exclaimed, “I have the Passion Flower thorns in my body, you can’t come near me.” The color drained from the two maidservants’ faces and they opened the room door wide, allowing Lu’E to walk in herself. How would they dare to touch her body?

Upon seeing her daughter’s shivering body with a face as pale as death, and with two Passion Flower stalks hanging from her chest, Qiu Qianchi asked hurriedly, “What happened to you? What happened?”

Lu’E cried, “Its father…Its father!” Afraid of her mother’s suffocating gaze, she lowered her head, not daring to make eye contact.

Qiu Qianchi said furiously, “And you still call him ‘father’? What did that old thief do?”

“He… he…”

“Lift up your head and let me see you.”

Lu’E obeyed and met her mother’s frightening eyes. She shivered and said, “He… he was speaking secretively with the pretty Taoist priestess on Duan Chang Cliff… the priestess that came to the Valley today. I hid behind a rock to hear what they were saying…” Up till now, Lu’E had been speaking the truth. But after this point she would have to spin a lie, and afraid her mother would notice something unusual, she lowered her head.

Qiu Qianchi pressed, “What did the two of them say?”

Lu’E said, “They spoke of being together in illness, and something about being extraordinarily fated. They… they kept calling you ‘wretch’ and ‘evil woman’, and I couldn’t stomach it…” At this, she started weeping.

Grinding her teeth, Qiu Qianchi said, “Don’t cry…don’t cry! What happened next?”

“I accidentally moved from my position, and they realized my presence. That priestess… that priestess