Chapter - 125 Spectres of the Past (5)

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.