Chapter - 280 Fierce Fight In Xiangyang (5)

Guo Jing was slightly alarmed when he felt the rope part; though he won't be injured by the fall, he would be surrounded by thousands and thousands of soldiers. How could he fight his way out of that? The Mongol army is right next to the city gate now; if my side opens it to let me in, the Mongols would definitely take the opportunity to push through. There was no time to think in this danger; his left foot flicked up against the wall and he flew up over ten feet. His right foot followed and he rose up another ten feet. Very few people were proficient in this "Stairs to Heaven" technique. Even those who were well versed in it could only manage two or three feet per step; but on this slippery wall, each step of Guo Jing's took him over ten feet. Guo Jing's martial arts were frighteningly good. Silence broke out on the battlefield as everyone fixed their eyes on him.

Jinlun Fawang was slightly startled when he saw this. However, he knew that when one uses the "Stairs to Heaven", they must make their leap in one breath. If Fawang could distract him and disturb his breathing then Guo Jing would not be able to make his third step, so Fawang raised his bow again and shot an arrow towards Guo Jing's back.

The arrow flew like the wind. Shouts of, "No arrows!" were heard from soldiers from both the top of the city walls and down below. Both sides saw the terrifyingly good skills of Guo Jing and were in awe; they all hoped that he would make it. The Mongolians were the enemy but had much respect for great heroes and great men, they were all furious when they saw someone had fired an arrow at Guo Jing.

Guo Jing knew that the arrow behind him had a tremendous force behind it. He called out in alarm, "Not now!" He had to use his hand to deflect it away. Both sides cheered when they saw that the arrow failed to hit him. But with this earth shattering noise, Guo Jing was falling back down the city wall. There were only a few feet to the top of the city wall but Guo Jing had no way to climb up it.

When the two sides were fighting, the same was happening within Yang Guo's heart. In the short space of time that Guo Jing climbed up, dropped down, climbed up and dropped down again, Yang Guo's mind repeatedly went over, "He killed my father, should I kill him or not, or should I save him or not?"

When Guo Jing was using the "Stairs to Heaven" technique, Yang Guo had thought about throwing out a palm at Guo Jing. Guo Jing was in midair and had nothing to support himself with; he would definitely suffer a serious injury and fall back down from the city wall.

But as he was hesitating, Fawang had already fired an arrow at Guo Jing that stopped him from coming up. Yang Guo's mind was in confusion. Suddenly, he grabbed the severed rope in Zhu Ziliu's hand with his left hand and leapt down from the city wall towards Guo Jing, grabbing Guo Jing's arm with his right hand.

This was a move out of the blue but Zhu Ziliu responded with great speed. He first lowered the rope down slightly before gathering strength into his arms and urgently pulled the rope upwards. Yang Guo and Guo Jing arced in circle like two large birds flying in the sky. The soldiers on both sides watched with their mouths open.

When Guo Jing was in midair he thought, wouldn't it mean he had lost in this exchange if he doesn't reply to this sneak attack by this evil monk? He saw Fawang had fired another arrow. As soon as his left foot touched the top of the city wall he immediately grabbed a bow from one of the guards and fired an arrow of his own towards Fawang's arrow. The arrows collided in midair and Fawang's arrow was split into two. Fawang was stunned. Suddenly, a fierce gust arrived; a 'zheng' sound was heard as the metal bow in his hands snapped in two.

Though Guo Jing's and Fawang's martial arts were within a hairsbreadth of each other, Guo Jing's archery skills were unsurpassed. He had learned archery from one of the greatest Mongolian archers, Zhe Bie (Jebeh), when he was young and his internal energy was profound – when it came to archery, Fawang lost out.

Guo Jing had fired three arrows; the first divided Fawang's arrow, the second snapped Fawang's bow and the third was fired towards Khubilai's flag.

Khubilai's flag had fluttered in the wind gloriously amongst the thousands of soldiers, but now it had fallen. Soldiers from both sides shouted and hollered.

Khubilai saw his army's morale drop after Guo Jing's display and immediately ordered his men back.

Guo Jing stood at the top of the city wall and watched the Mongolians retreat. They were marching back in formation and in line; those who were at the front didn't rush and those who were at the back showed no fear. He couldn't stop himself from sighing and thinking, "Our weak Song army cannot compete with the great Mongolian army." He frowned as he worried about the fate of his nation.

Zhu Ziliu, Yang Guo and the others were in awe of Guo Jing when they saw that he had no signs of pride of his face even after displaying his might in front of thousands.

Khubilai pulled his men back tens of miles and then started to think of a plan to take the city. With Guo Jing at the helm, it would be difficult to take it.

Fawang said, "Your highness saw for yourself; if it weren't for Yang Guo, Guo Jing would be dead now. I knew that Yang Guo was not a man of his word."

Khubilai said, "No! I think it's because he wants to Guo Jing to die by his own hands and not at the hands of others. He appears to be a brave and valiant man; he is not a conniving fellow."

Fawang didn't agree but he didn't dare to answer back, he just said, "Hopefully your highness is correct."

Xiangyang city was safe now that the Mongolian army had pulled back. Lu Wende was delighted and threw another banquet to celebrate it. This time, Yang Guo was also invited.

Everyone praised him for his swift and life risking actions in saving Guo Jing. The Wu brothers sat at another table and were filled with jealousy. Yang Guo had made a great achievement immediately after arriving at Xiangyang. They were also afraid that after this event, Guo Jing would again insist on betrothing his daughter to Yang Guo. The brothers didn't say a word and just sat there, drinking wine.

Everyone returned to the Guo residence when the banquet finished. Huang Rong invited Yang Guo into the inner halls and praised him. Yang Guo replied with modest words.

Guo Jing said, "Guo'er, you've just exerted a fierce force, does your chest hurt?" Guo Jing was worried that by using unrestrained force, Yang Guo's internal injury would flare up.

Yang Guo was worried that Huang Rong would ask about this further and see through this so he quickly replied, "I'm fine…I'm fine." He changed the subject immediately and said, "Uncle Guo, the kung fu that you used to fly up the city wall was excellent, there isn't another who can match that in the world of Wulin."

Guo Jing gave a little smile and said, "I learned this kung fu a long time ago and haven't practiced it for years; I'm a little rusty with it and that was why I ran into a bit of trouble." In actual fact, if he hadn't used his chi and internal energy to help Yang Guo protect his 'dan tian' last night, he would have been able to fly up the city wall using the "Stairs to Heaven" technique even with Jinlun Fawang's interference. Naturally, he didn't mention this and said, "Years ago in Mongolia, the Red Sun Elder Ma taught me this skill; who would have thought that I would have to use it today. If you like this skill I'll teach it to you in a few days time."