Chapter - 500 A Gentleman is Gullible Because of His Righteous Conduct (9)

"You are not a deity," Zhou Zhiruo said, "I know you will do your utmost to bring him back to life, so that you can be the imperial court's consort with a clear conscience."

Zhang Wuji was stumped; he thought it was inappropriate for him to respond, so he simply went back to the inner chamber and uncovered the quilt covering Song Qingshu's body. After sealing Song Qingshu's eight major acupoints, with an extreme care and very light pressure, which was neither here nor there, his ten fingers started to mend Song Qingshu's broken skull, piece by piece. And then he took out a golden case from his bosom. With his little finger he picked a bead of blackish paste, which he then rubbed evenly with both hands on Song Qingshu's broken skull.

This black paste was the 'hei yu duan xu gao' [black jade bone mending ointment], which was the supreme panacea of broken bones, developed by the Shaolin Pai of the Western Region. It was what remained from the ointment he begged from Zhao Min to treat Yu Daiyan and Yin Liting's broken limbs. He also sent out his Jiu Yang Zhen Qi in steady stream through his palm to help the medicine penetrate Song Qingshu's broken bones.

About the time needed to burn an incense stick later, Zhang Wuji had finished applying his energy. Seeing Song Qingshu's face did not worsen, he was delighted; knowing that his chance of saving Song Qingshu's life had been increased by several points.

He had just recovered from a heavy injury so that after exerting that much energy, his heart was beating faster and his breath was labored. After standing next to the bed while regulating his 'chi' for half a day, he walked back to the outer chamber and put the candlestick back on the table.

Under the flickering candlelight, he saw Zhou Zhiruo's face was unusually pale. Hearing light footsteps outside the room, he knew that the Emei disciples were still patrolling around their camp.

"I think Song Shige will live. Set your heart at ease," he said.

"You don't have the confidence of saving his life, I also don't have the confidence of saving Xie Daxia's life," Zhou Zhiruo said.

"She is going to attack the Jin Gang Fu Mo Quan tomorrow," Zhang Wuji thought, "Even if there is one or two masters within the Emei Pai to give her a hand, nine out of ten it would be difficult for her to succeed. Perhaps she might deliver her life instead." Thereupon he said, "Do you know the situation of the place where they hold Yifu captive?"

"I don't," Zhou Zhiruo replied, "What kind of fierce ambush Shaolin Pai is preparing?"

And thus Zhang Wuji explained briefly how Xie Xun was held prisoner in a dungeon on top of a small hill, and that he was guarded by Shaolin's three old monks; how he himself had failed to break the Jin Gang Fu Mo Quan twice, resulted in the death of Yin Tianzheng.

Zhou Zhiruo was listening quietly until he was finished, and then she said, "That being the case, if you failed to break their defense, what hope do I have?"

Suddenly Zhang Wuji got an idea. "Zhiruo," he happily said, "If the two of us join hands, we can accomplish greater merits. With my pure 'yang' and 'hard' power, I can entangle the three eminent monks' long whips. With your 'yin' and 'soft' power, you seize the opportunity to enter. Once you are inside the Jin Gang Fu Mo Quan defense line, with converging attack from outside and inside, we could score a victory."

With a cold laugh Zhou Zhiruo said, "We were once engaged to each other. Right now, my husband is hovering between life and death. On top of that, I did not take your life today. Other people would say that I still have a feeling toward you. If I took your advice by asking you to help me, the heroes of the world would scold me as one without any sense of honor, indecisive and capricious."

Zhang Wuji anxiously said, "We only need to have clear conscience. Why would we give any regard to whatever other people might say?"

"And if I do have a guilty conscience?" Zhou Zhiruo asked.

Zhang Wuji was taken aback; he could only say, "You … You …"

"Zhang Jiaozhu," Zhou Zhiruo said, "You are a single man and I am a widow. With us being together this late of night, it's hard for us to avoid public criticism. Please leave immediately!"

Zhang Wuji stood up and bowed deeply. "Mrs. Song," he said, "You have been very good to me since we were very young. I wish you would bestow kindness to me one more time. For the rest of his life, Zhang Wuji will not dare to forget your kindness."

Zhou Zhiruo met his request with silence; she neither agreed nor disagreed. All along, she did not even turn her head so that Zhang Wuji was unable to see her expression. While he was just about to repeat his request, in a loud voice Zhou Zhiruo called, "Jinghui Shijie [martial (older) sister], see the visitor out!"

With a creaking noise, the outer door opened. Jinghui stood outside with a sword in her hand. She stared at Zhang Wuji with an angry look.

Zhang Wuji thought that at this moment, his Yifu's life was at stake; his own reputation was of no importance. Thereupon, he knelt down in front of Zhou Zhiruo and kowtowed four times. "Mrs. Song," he said, "I am asking for your mercy."

Zhou Zhiruo sat motionless like a statue.

"Zhang Wuji," Jinghui shouted, "Zhang Men Ren [sect leader] told you to get out. Why are you still pestering her? You are indeed a scum of the Wulin community. There is no one this shameless!" She thought that Song Qingshu had died and thus Zhang Wuji was begging Zhou Zhiruo to marry him.

Zhang Wuji sighed and jumped out the door.

Before even reaching the Ming Cult camp, Zhao Min had already met him. "Song Qingshu's life is saved, isn't it?" she said, "And you have used my 'hei yu duan xu gao' to be a good man."

"Ah!" Zhang Wuji exclaimed, "You truly have a deity's foresight. At this time, it's still hard to say whether he will be alive or not."

Zhao Min heaved a deep sigh and said, "You wanted to save Song Qingshu's life as an exchange for Xie Daxia. Wuji Gege, you are growing more and more muddleheaded; you do not have the least bit of understanding of other people's hearts."

"Why?" Zhang Wuji wondered, "I don't understand what you were saying."

"You saved Song Qingshu with all your strength, your blood, your sweat. That means you did not care about Zhou Jiejie's feeling to you the least bit," Zhao Min said, "Tell me, do you think she is or she isn't angry?"

Zhang Wuji was startled; he was at a loss for words. He thought it would defy any logic if Zhou Zhiruo did not want her husband to be healed. However, she did say, 'I know you will do your utmost to bring him back to life, so that you can be the imperial court's consort with a clear conscience'. Clearly, this sentence carried the idea that Zhou Zhiruo resented him. Moreover, she also said, 'what if I do have a guilty conscience?'

"You have saved Song Qingshu's life, and now you regret it, don't you?" Zhao Min asked. Without waiting for Zhang Wuji's answer, she smiled slightly and then flew back into the shed.

Zhang Wuji sat on a large rock. He raised his head to look at the cold crescent moon, and was lost in thought. His mind wandered back to the events that followed the first time he met Zhou Ziruo, especially her tone of speaking and her body language just now. He lowered his head, while myriads of indiscernible thoughts raced back and forth in his mind.