proper behavior between males and females for the past 10 years while roaming Jianghu. Although he saw that Guo Xiang was sweet and innocent, he was still careful with his behavior and did not even dare to touch her hand.

Guo Xiang did not bother about that but walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him. After walking a few steps, she saw that although the Divine Eagle was ugly, it looked proud and majestic, so she stretched out her hand to pat its wings. She’d played with a pair of white eagles since young and patting the eagles’ wings as a game. However the Divine Eagle spread its wings and pushed her aside with an “Aak”. Guo Xiang was shocked and exclaimed, “Ah!”

Yang Guo laughed, “Brother Eagle, relax! Why treat this young lady so coldly?” Guo Xiang stuck out her tongue at it and walked to Yang Guo’s right, not daring to go near the eagle. She did not know that while her eagles were pets Yang Guo’s eagle was sort of his master as well as his friend. Considering its age, it was an elder, so its status was different.

So the two people and the eagle headed towards the Black Dragon Marsh. They found it quite easily as there was no plants or trees for 7 or 8 li. The Black Dragon Marsh was originally a large lake, but the water source dried eventually and it was clogged with slit year after year. As a result, the place became a desolate marsh. With only a bit of effort, Yang Guo and Guo Xiang made it to the marsh. They looked around and saw a heavy cloud of mist with only dried bushes scattered around the vast marsh. The “Nine-Tailed Fox”, should be hiding somewhere around here.

Yang Guo took a twig and threw it into the marsh. At first the twig settled on the snow, but then it sank slowly and steadily without stopping. Soon there was not a trace of the twig. Guo Xiang exclaimed, “The twig is so light and yet it sank, so how can we walk on it?” She stared at Yang Guo and wondered what clever tricks he was thinking of.

Yang Guo broke off two yew branches which were a few feet long and tied them to his feet. He said, “Let me try it and see if this works.” He bent forward and jumped onto the snow, skiing quickly on the surface. He skied left and right without pausing and turned several times on the frozen marsh before returning to his original location.

Guo Xiang laughed, “Great skills!”

Yang Guo saw the glint of admiration in her eyes and knew she was really eager to trap the fox, but she did not have great lightness skills so he laughed, “I promised to take you to the Black Dragon Marsh to catch that “Nine-Tailed Fox”, are you afraid?”

Guo Xiang sighed gently and said, “I don’t have skills such as yours; even if I were very brave it’d be useless.”

Yang Guo smiled without a word and broke off another two branches. He then gave them to Guo Xiang and said, “Tie them to your feet.”

Guo Xiang was surprised and delighted and immediately tied the branches as instructed. Yang Guo said, “Bend forward and remember not to exert any strength with your feet.” He grabbed her arm and shouted, “Fear not!” Guo Xiang was dragged by him and she found herself skiing on the snow. She panicked at first, but after a few meters she felt herself floating like the wind and she repeatedly shouted, “This is so much fun!”

After skiing for some time, Yang Guo suddenly shouted, “Oh!” Guo Xiang asked, “What?” She lost her concentration and her left foot sank into the snow. The mud splashed onto her leg and she exclaimed in surprise. Yang Guo lifted her out and said, “Remember, always move continuously and you must not stop suddenly.”

Guo Xiang said, “OK. What do you see? Is it the ‘Nine-Tailed Fox’?”

Yang Guo said, “No! It seems like someone is living in the middle of the marsh.”

Guo Xiang curiously asked, “How can someone live here?”

Yang Guo said, “I don’t know that either. But the plants and trees here are arranged into some sort of formation; definitely man-made.”

They were getting closer to the formation and Guo Xiang looked carefully, saying, “Correct, Wood at the east, Fire in the south, Earth at the centre but it’s not Water at the North but Metal.”

She had heard her mother talk of the ‘Changes of the Five Elements’ since young so she managed to pick up some of it. Her character was quite different to her sister Guo Fu – she was frank but not uncouth and she was much more intelligent than her sister. Huang Rong always said, “If your grandfather ever saw you, he would really like you a lot.” Huang Yaoshi was very well-versed in medicine, astrology, the arts and warfare. Guo Xiang was very much like her grandfather but she was distracted easily, so her martial arts improvement was slow. She was always day-dreaming, did as she pleased and her conduct was usually extraordinary, causing Guo Jing and Huang Rong a lot of headaches. Hence her nickname at home was “Little Eastern Heretic”. For example on this occasion she followed the Big Head Ghost whom she did not know to look for the Eagle Hero, and now she followed another stranger, the Eagle Hero, to catch the fox. She boldly did as she wanted and was different from the Huang Rong and Guo Fu of years ago.

When Yang Guo heard that she knew how the formation was arranged, he was quite surprised and asked, “How did you know? Who taught you?”

Guo Xiang laughed, “I saw that in some books, I don’t even know if it’s correct. But from what I see there’s nothing extraordinary about this formation, so it can’t be some expert living in there.”

Yang Guo nodded, “That a person can survive in such an inhospitable place is strange.” So he said loudly, “My friend in the Black Dragon Marsh, you have guests.” After waiting a while, there was still no response. Yang Guo repeated his words but still received no response. Yang Guo said: “Looks as though someone made this formation, but the person doesn’t live here. Let’s go over and take a look.” He skied several meters ahead and went right up to the formation.

Guo Xiang suddenly felt as though she had set foot on solid ground. Yang Guo finished his examination and laughed, “There’s nothing weird about this. There’s an island in the middle of the marsh.” As he said this, there was a sudden movement in the snow and two little foxes came out from behind a bush. It was a pair of “Nine-Tailed Foxes” and one headed northeast while the other headed southwest, both running very fast.

Yang Guo shouted, “Stay here and don’t move.” He turned and chased the fox heading northeast. Now that he didn’t have to look after Guo Xiang, he was able to utilize his full skills and ski on the snow swiftly as a bird. However the fox was extremely fast and agile too and it turned, and then dashed in front of Guo Xiang. Suddenly, as the wind blew, Yang Guo threw out his sleeve and almost caught the fox but it was too agile and somersaulted in midair, causing Yang Guo’s sleeve to miss only by a few inches. Guo Xiang exclaimed, “What a pity!”

The man and the fox dashed through the snow with lightning speed and Guo Xiang was filled with excitement and could not stop cheering Yang Guo, shouting, “Eagle Hero! Faster! Little fox, you can’t escape, just surrender!” The other fox zigzagged around, sometimes moving close to Yang Guo. Yang Guo knew it was there to distract him so he did not bother with it and only concentrated on the first fox, wanting to tire it out. Although the fox was small, its stamina was excellent and showed no signs of fatigue after dashing around for so long.

Yang Guo increased his pace and the other fox ran alongside its companion in an attempt to save it. He scolded, “You little animal, do you think I can’t catch you?” He swiftly bent down and grabbed a ball of snow and squashed it until it was like a stone. He shot the snowball out and hit the fox in the head, causing it to fall down and roll over. Yang Guo did not want to kill it, so he threw the snowball very lightly. The fox rolled several times and stood up again, quickly dashing into a clump of bushes, not daring to come out again.

If Yang Guo hit it again, he could catch the fox, but he purposely wanted to compete with it, saying, “Little fox, if I hit you hard with a snowball, you won’t die in peace. I’m an upright man and if I can’t catch up with you, I’ll let you off.” He took a deep breath and launched himself forward, sliding on the snow and got right up to the fox. The fox was shocked and tried to escape to the right. Yang Guo was prepared for that and shot out his sleeve, hitting the fox. He then grabbed its head with his left hand. He felt proud of himself and laughed heartily.

When he stopped laughing, he saw that the fox was motionless and appeared to be dead. Yang Guo thought, “Oh no! My sleeve must have hit it too hard. These foxes are very delicate, I wonder if the dead fox’s blood can be used to treat the third Shi.” He took the fox and skied to Guo Xiang, saying, “This fox is dead, I’m afraid it’s of no use to us, let’s go catch the live one.” He dropped the fox onto the ground, and as he was afraid it was pretending to be dead, he flung his sleeve out to catch it back if it moved. But the fox remained motionless and seemed to be really dead.

Guo Xiang said, “The fox was cute when alive, maybe it dropped dead from fatigue.” She took a branch and said, “I’ll go chase the other fox here. You wait here.” She walked a few steps forward and hit the bushes with the branch.

When she hit the bushes, she wanted to hit again but could not lift the branch up. It seemed like the branch was being bitten by some animal. She exclaimed in surprise and tugged harder, but she lost her grip and the branch was dragged into the bushes.

With a strange sound a person emerged from behind the bushes; it was an old woman with white hair and dressed in black. She stared at Guo Xiang fiercely and raised the branch to hit her. Guo Xiang was shocked and immediately jumped back, retreating behind Yang Guo.

At this time the ‘dead’ fox sprang up and jumped into the old woman’s embrace and stared at Yang Guo with its beady eyes. It was feigning death after all.

When Yang Guo saw this, he was angry yet amused. He thought, “Today I lost to a small animal; seems like it belongs to the old woman. I don’t know who she is and I’ve never heard about such a person in Jianghu. It might be a problem if I insist on taking the fox.” He lifted his hand and said, “I have offended you, Elder, please forgive me.”

The old woman stared at the branches on their feet and appeared surprised. However she quickly masked it and waved her hand, saying, “This old woman lives in seclusion and doesn’t entertain any guests. Go away!” Her pitch was sharp and thin and her brows showed traces of an unfriendly aura.

Yang Guo saw that her appearance was intimidating but her brows and eyes were delicate, so it seemed she must have been beautiful when young. He really could not figure out who this could be and said politely, “I have a friend who has suffered some internal injuries. I need the blood of the “Nine-Tailed Fox” to treat him. I hope you will be generous and save a life. My friends and I will be very grateful to you.”

The old woman faced the sky and laughed, “Ha-ha ha-ha heh heh.” She did not stop for a while and her laughter was filled with hatred. Finally she said, “He has suffered internal injuries, so you need to save him. Wonderful! Why did no one want to save my son when he was severely injured?”

Yang Guo was shocked and said, “What injuries did Elder’s son suffer? Can we still save him in time?”

The old woman laughed again. She said, “In time? He died several decades ago and has already turned to ashes, what are you talking about?”

Yang Guo knew she was thinking about her past, so he did not say much. He only said, “Our visit here to request this fox is really inappropriate, if elder has any orders I shall carry them out if they’re within my capacity.”

The old woman cast a gaze at him and said, “I live here alone and have no kith or kin – only these foxes as companions. If you take them away, it’s no problem, but you must leave this girl here to accompany me for ten years.”

Yang Guo frowned but before he could answer, he heard Guo Xiang say, “This place is only stinking mud and firewood, it’s no fun here. I don’t want to live here. If you’re bored here, then you may come to my home. My parents will definitely welcome you and you can live with us for ten or twenty years. Isn’t that better?”

The old woman angrily said, “Who do you think your parents are? How can they invite me?” Guo Xiang was very broad-minded and if anyone was rude to her, she would just laugh it off, so she hardly got angry. The woman seriously offended Guo Jing and Huang Rong and if Guo Fu had heard this, she would have flown into a rage immediately. Guo Xiang however just smiled and stuck out her tongue at Yang Guo.

Yang Guo felt this young lady was very familiar and did not wish to bring her trouble. He nodded to her and faced the old woman, saying, “Elder’s invitation to this girl is indeed generous and is a rare opportunity for her but without her parents’ permission, she can’t decide for herself…”

The old woman said sharply, “Who are her parents? What are you to her?” Yang Guo found these questions hard to answer.

Guo Xiang immediately said, “My parents are villagers, even if I tell you, you wouldn’t know them. Him…He’s my… brother!” She looked at Yang Guo.

At this time Yang Guo was also starring at her and they made eye contact. Although Yang Guo was wearing a mask and his face looked dead and zombie-like, his eyes radiated a warm and protective aura. Guo Xiang felt her heart tremble and thought, “If I only had such an older brother, he’d definitely look after me. He won’t be like my sister who nags and scolds all the time, grumbling about this and nitpicking at that.” As she thought of this, her face showed signs of respect.

Yang Guo said, “Yeah, my sister is young and ignorant, so I took her out to see the world…” Guo Xiang was initially afraid that Yang Guo would not acknowledge her as his sister but when she heard this, she was extremely delighted. She heard him continue, “She saw that this “Nine-Tailed Fox” looked so majestic and knew it must be some exalted elder who owns it so she has come with me on this visit. She is really fortunate to meet you.”

The old woman laughed coldly, “What’s the use of talking such rubbish? The way you chased my fox – is that showing respect for an elder? Quickly go and don’t come back!” She waved both palms and thrust one palm at Yang Guo and the other at Guo Xiang. The three of them were standing about a meter apart and although they were out of range of her palms, Guo Xiang felt a cold wind suddenly rush towards her. Yang Guo waved his sleeve and completely dissipated the wind blowing towards Guo Xiang and did not even bother about the wind blowing towards him.

In the beginning, the old woman was not afraid of them and only wanted to chase them out of the Black Dragon Marsh, so she only used 50% of her strength. But when she saw that it did not affect them in the least bit, she was shocked and angry. She increased her strength and struck out with two palms again, not worrying if she took their lives. Once Guo Xiang felt the wind coming, she felt the chill immediately, but Yang Guo waved his sleeve and dissipated the wind again. She knew they were competing internal strength and she saw that the old woman’s expression was terrible while Yang Guo looked calm as he had the upper hand.

The old woman quickly ducked and stepped away, then suddenly lashed out with a strange move, hitting Yang Guo squarely in the chest with a thud. She immediately retreated and did not wait for Yang Guo to retaliate, and was several meters away in a moment. Guo Xiang was shocked and pulled his arm, asking, “Are… are you injured?” The old woman said sharply, “You’ve been struck by my “Yin Frost Arrow Palm”, you won’t live to tomorrow. You brought this upon yourself, so don’t blame anyone else.”

Yang Guo’s martial arts had far surpassed this old woman’s martial arts even fifteen years ago. Now that he had reached such a high level of internal and external martial arts mastery, the old woman’s “Yin Frost Arrow Palm” did not hurt him. However he had no feud with her and he also wanted her precious pet. He did not want to be rude and thus did not retaliate for three palm strikes.

The old woman had trained her “Yin Frost Arrow Palm” for the past two decades and one palm stroke could smash seventeen bricks at once. The shattered pieces did not fly everywhere, showing that her palm strikes were fierce and concentrated. She thought when Yang Guo was hit, he would collapse from his injuries but he smiled as if nothing happened. She thought, “This kid is still stubborn even on the verge of death.” She said, “While you’re not dead yet, quickly take this girl and leave, don’t die in my Black Dragon Marsh.”

Yang Guo lifted his head and said clearly, “Elder lives in seclusion and is very knowledgeable.” He laughed loudly and clearly, his voice robust and vigorous, showing his profound internal strength.

When the woman heard this, she realized that he was not even slightly injured and her face darkened. It was only now that she knew he had actually allowed three moves and she was far from his match. She did not wait for him to finish and carried her fox while whistling for the other. The other came out from the bushes and jumped into her embrace. The old woman said sharply, “Martial arts expert, I admire you. But if you want to snatch this old woman’s foxes, never! If you step one foot closer I’ll strangle them and you can return empty-handed.”

Yang Guo heard that her words were resolute and saw that her character was stubborn and unyielding, he hesitated. If he suddenly charged forward and sealed her accupoints before snatching a fox, it looked like she might die from anger. This way, even if he saved Shi Shugang’s life, it would be at the expense of another innocent life.

At this time, they heard a voice from behind. “Amituofo.” Then the voice said, “Old monk Yideng wishes to see you, Yinggu, please meet me.”

Guo Xiang saw that there was no one around her and was very curious. The voice seemed to come from close by but there was nowhere anyone could conceal himself in the surroundings. Where could this person be? She had once heard from her mother that Reverend Yideng was a highly-skilled elder. He had once saved her mother’s life and he was also the master of Wu Santong who was the father of the Wu brothers. She had never met him before, so when someone suddenly called himself Yideng, she was surprised and happy.

When Yang Guo heard Yideng’s voice, he was very delighted too. He knew that Yideng was now using the “Voice Transmitting Over 1000 Li” skill. Of course Yideng was not literally 1000 li away, but if there was no mountain in the way, someone with high martial arts could project his voice over several li and yet sound very near. The higher the internal energy, the gentler the voice would sound. Yang Guo only heard these two sentences and was full of admiration and admitted to himself that this monk’s internal energy was so profound and refined that the monk was superior to him. He then thought, “So this old woman is Yinggu. I wonder what Yideng wants to see her for. Maybe with his intervention I can get the fox.”

The old woman living in the Black Dragon Marsh was indeed Yinggu. Years ago when Yideng was the King of Dali, Yinggu was one of his concubines. She had an affair with Zhou Botong and had a son by him. Later Qiu Qianren used his Iron Palms to injure their son severely but King Duan (Yideng) refused to save the child and he died. Following that King Duan became a monk and took on the name of Yideng. When Yinggu could not kill Qiu Qianren on Mount Hua, she chased Zhou Botong for some time before touring Jianghu and finally settling down in the Black Dragon Marsh. By this time Yideng had been outside the marsh for seven days and transmitted his voice to seek permission to visit her everyday. However Yinggu remembered how he totally refused to save her son many years ago and her hatred had still not diminished, so she refused to see him.

Yang Guo saw Yinggu retreat a few steps and sit on a pile of firewood. Her eyes were filled with hatred. After a while, they heard Yideng again, saying, “Old monk Yideng has come from a thousand li away, Yinggu, please grant us permission to visit.” Yinggu just played with her foxes and ignored him. Yang Guo thought, “Yideng’s martial arts far surpass hers, so she can’t stop him from coming, so why does he beg her to see him?” They heard Yideng repeat the words once more, then they did not hear him again.

Guo Xiang said, “Brother, this Reverend Yideng must be some great man, can we go see him?”

Yang Guo said, “Yes! I want to see him too.” Then they saw Yinggu stand up and cast her fierce gaze at them and felt uncomfortable. He grabbed Guo Xiang’s hand and said, “Let’s go!” They skied away together.

Guo Xiang was pulled for several feet by Yang Guo. Then she asked, “Brother, where’s Reverend Yideng? When I heard him speak, it’s as though he’s right beside me.”

Yang Guo heard her call him “Brother” twice and her voice was gentle and sweet, his heart shivered and thought, “I must never let her get entangled in the web of love. This girl is young and naïve and inexperienced, so it’s best we split up soon before there’s any trouble.” But they could not stop in such a desolate place and he could not let go of her hand now. Guo Xiang asked, “I’m asking you, didn’t you hear?”

Yang Guo said, “Reverend Yideng is in the northwest and is several li away from here. He can speak from far as though he’s nearby using the “Voice Transmitting Over 1000 Li” skill.”

Guo Xiang happily asked, “You know it too? Can you teach me? When we’re a thousand li apart I can use this skill to communicate with you, won’t that be great?”

Yang Guo laughed, “Although this is the “Voice Transmitting Over 1000 Li” skill, if you can only project your voice over several li, it would indeed be considered excellent. If you want to reach Reverend Yideng’s level, even with your intelligence you’ll only have mastered it when you have white hair.”

Guo Xiang heard that he was praising her for being intelligent, she was overjoyed and said, “How am I intelligent? If I were only 10% as intelligent as my mother, I’d be satisfied.”

Yang Guo’s heart trembled and he saw that her brows resembled Huang Rong’s, so he thought, “Among all the people I’ve met in my life, whether male or female, when it comes to intelligence none can compare to Aunt Guo. Could she really be Uncle and Aunt Guo’s daughter?” But he laughed nonchalantly and thought, “Is there really such a wonderful thing? If she’s really their daughter, Uncle Guo would never let her come out and wander around like this.” He asked, “Who’s your mother?”

Although Guo Xiang said that her parents were great heroes, now she was shy to admit that she was Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s daughter, so she laughed, “My mother is my mother. You wouldn’t know her anyway. Brother, between you and Yideng, whose skills are better?”

Yang Guo was almost a middle-aged man now and he’d experienced the agony of separation from Xiao Longnü, so his proud nature had waned with age. He said, “Reverend Yideng is a famous character in Wulin and his name is as well-known as the Peach Blossom Island. He was the Southern King among the Five Greats, how can I be compared to him?”

Guo Xiang said, “If you were born several decades earlier, then there would be Six Greats: East Heretic, West Poison, North Beggar, Central Divinity and the Eagle Hero. Ah, there’s also Hero Guo and Madam Guo. So there would be Eight Greats.”

Yang Guo could not help it anymore and asked, “You’ve met Hero Guo and Madam Guo before?”

Guo Xiang said, “Of course, they like me a lot. Do you know them personally? After we finish this business, we’ll meet them together, OK?”

Yang Guo had already forgotten the incident in which Guo Fu hacked off his arm, but he could not stop hating Guo Fu for poisoning Xiao Longnü and causing their sixteen-year separation. He blandly said, “Next year, I might visit Hero Guo and Madam Guo, but I must meet my wife first, then I’ll go with her.” When he mentioned Xiao Longnü, he was extremely excited inside.

Guo Xiang suddenly felt his palm become hot and asked, “Your wife must be really beautiful and highly-skilled.”

Yang Guo sighed, “There’s no one else as beautiful as her on Earth. Hmm, I think she has already far surpassed me in terms of martial arts.”

Guo Xiang was full of admiration and said, “Brother, you must take me to meet your wife. Can you promise me that?”

Yang Guo laughed, “Why not? She’ll definitely like you a lot. When the time comes you can call me ‘Brother’.”

Guo Xiang was surprised and asked; “Why not now?” She stopped and her foot sank into the mud again. Yang Guo pulled her out and skied another few meters. Then they saw a man standing some distance away in the snow. His white beard was flowing freely and he was wearing a loose grey robe. It was indeed Yideng. Yang Guo said in a clear voice, “Disciple Yang Guo greets the Reverend.” He dragged Guo Xiang and ran up to him.

He bent his knees as soon as he came near the Reverend.

The place where Yideng stood was beyond the Black Dragon Marsh. Yideng was also very happy and quickly pulled the young man up. “Brother Yang,” he said, “How have you been? I am delighted to see your skill has improved thus far.”

As soon as he stood up, Yang Guo saw another monk lying on the ground behind the Reverend. The monk’s face was sheet white and his eyes were closed; he looked like a corpse. After looking at him for a moment he recognized the monk as Ci’en. He was surprised and asked “What happened to Reverend Ci’en?”

Yideng heaved a heavy sigh. “He has been injured by an enemy and my efforts to help him were in vain,” he said.

Yang Guo quickly checked Ci’en’s pulse and found it was very weak. He knew that Ci’en would have been dead if he did not possess profound internal energy. “Reverend Ci’en has a very high level of martial arts. Your disciple is puzzled as to how could he be injured that badly?”

“For a long time he and I lived a secluded life in Hunan province,” explained Yideng. “A while ago we heard that, because they were not successful in taking over Xiangyang, the Mongolians had turned their attention to the south. They attacked Da Li with the intention of using it as a stepping stone to attack the central plains from both north and south. Because he saw my concern about the safety of my homeland, Ci’en went out to investigate. Unexpectedly he met an enemy and was engaged in a battle for one whole day and night. As a result he suffered a heavy injury.”

Yang Guo stomped his feet. With a sigh he said “Jinlun Fawang has come back to the central plains,” he said.

“Big Brother, how did you know the enemy was Jinlun Fawang? Reverend Yideng did not say it was him,” asked Guo Xiang.

“I guessed it was Jinlun Fawang because the Reverend said they were battling each other for one whole day and night,” he answered. “From what the Reverend said, Ci’en was not injured by some kind of trickery and the number of people who can do that is only a handful. Among those people, Jinlun Fawang is the only one.”

“Big Brother,” Guo Xiang said, “Please find that man and avenge Senior Monk.”

At that moment Ci’en slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Guo Xiang and shook his head. “What is it? You don’t want revenge?” asked the girl. “Ha! You worry that Big Brother will lose?”

“Little Miss has guessed incorrectly,” Yideng said. “My disciple has committed many crimes in the past. He had repented of his past sins and done so many good deeds to repay those sins. There is only one thing disturbing his heart. Without resolution he will die with regrets. He doesn’t want revenge; he doesn’t want his enemy’s demise. All he wants is someone’s forgiveness. Then he will close his eyes in peace.”

“Does he want the forgiveness of that granny who lives in the middle of the marsh?” asked the girl. “That granny is so hardhearted. She won’t easily forgive you if you offended her.”

Yideng again heaved a heavy sigh. “That’s true,” he said. “We have camped out here for seven whole days and nights. She still has not responded!”

Yang Guo was surprised. He suddenly remembered the granny mentioned something about her child, whom she said was injured but nobody was willing to help. “Is this about the death of a child?” he asked.

Yideng slightly shivered. “So Brother Yang knows,” he said.

“Disciple does not know the details,” said Yang Guo. “I said that because the granny mentioned it.” He proceeded by narrating the reason for his visit to the Black Dragon Marsh and his conversation with the granny.

“She was my wife, her name is Yinggu,” said Yideng softly. “She has a very strong character …” he sighed “If this situation persists, Ci’en won’t be able to hold on.”

Yang Guo sighed and sadly said, “Who has never done anything wrong? Whenever somebody repents, all could be forgotten. Yinggu is rather shortsighted.”

Seeing Ci’en was nearing his end, Yang Guo’s valiant character was stirred. “Reverend, by ignoring my meager ability, I would like to force her to come out,” he said. “Will you permit me?”

Yideng thought for a moment, “Ci’en and I have come this far to ask Yinggu’s forgiveness. We can’t force her, but we have been here a long time without meeting her and looks like our effort will be in vain. If this Yang Guo has any ideas, we might as well try them. Worst case is we still cannot meet her.” So finally he said, “If Brother Yang could persuade her to come out, I would be delighted. But in your efforts, I wish for you not to cause any trouble and worsen this already deep hatred.”

Yang Guo nodded and took a handkerchief and tore it into four pieces. He put two pieces in C