Chapter - 381 The Wedding (9)

After a while, they both eyed that bunch of letters. And when they looked at each other, they laughed with mischievous glints in their eyes. Knowing perfectly well that they shouldn't read their deceased master's personal letters but, of course, they couldn't bear the curiosity in their hearts.

Yang Guo said, "We'll just read one letter. Is that alright? We definitely won't read more." With a smile Xiao Longnü said, "I want to read too. So, okay, we'll just read one." Delighted, Yang Guo reached out to get the letters and untied the ribbon. Xiao Longnü added, "But if the letter is filled with heartaches, you don't have to read it out loud to me." Yang Guo paused slightly and then said, "All right!" But in his heart he knew that the relationship between the Wang-Lin couple didn't end well and was afraid that there would be more misery than happiness in the letters. In that case, it would be better not to read them. Then Xiao Longnü said, "You don't have to worry about it beforehand. Perhaps there are only convoluted speeches in there."

Yang Guo picked up the first letter and read, "Dear Ying Mei [Sister Ying]: The other day my division and the enemy crossed swords at the Hill of the Evil Storm. We were ambushed and suffered a small loss. Four hundred men.. .." As he read on, the letter was filled with the story of the battles between his army and the Jin. He looked through several other letters, they all talked about military affairs and there was nothing on personal relationships.

Yang Guo sighed and said, "Founding Master Chongyang was indeed a real Han hero. His whole heart was devoted to defending the country and since this was the case, our Ancestor Grandma couldn't be blamed for being estranged." Xiao Longnü said, "No, Ancestor Grandma was very delighted to receive these letters." Puzzled, Yang Guo asked, "How do you know?" Xiao Longnü said, "Of course I don't know. I can only guess what went on inside her mind. You see, every single letter talked about how very urgent and difficult those battle situations were but master Chongyang, even in distress, still didn't forget to write to our Ancestor Grandma. Wouldn't you say she was always on his mind?" Yang Guo nodded and said, "Yes, it was indeed so." And then he picked up the letter again.

That letter described a desperate situation. Wang Chongyang's army was overwhelmed by many enemies and they were repeatedly defeated with little hope of support. At the end of the letter, he asked about Lin Chaoying's injured condition and even though he used only a few words, his deep concerns were quite evident. Yang Guo said, "Hmm, during those years our Ancestor Grandma was injured but later she was well again. Your wound condition can slowly heal too. After a year or so, you can be recovered."

Xiao Longnü weakly smiled. She herself knew that her injury this time was far from normal. If an injury this heavy could be cured, that would be like having an immortal walking the earth. But to say it out loud right now wouldn't help light up the situation. Even if Yang Guo's suggestion couldn't convince her, it would make him feel better. So she said, "Slow treatment is good. What's the rush? And these letters don't really talk about private matters, you can read on!"

Yang Guo read another letter, which was filled with words of grief and anger. It talked about the army's defeat and how Wang Chongyang had to risk everything to break out of a heavy encirclement. But even his retreat was a disaster with ultimate deaths and casualties; at the end of the letter he said he was going to gather troops again for another battle. From that point on every letter all talked about military defeats and setbacks. The Jin power at the North river was very strong and Wang Chongyang obviously already knew that the matters were gravely serious. The letter was full of desperate and disheartening messages.

Yang Guo said, "These letters are very depressing. Let's not read anymore! Eh, what's this?" Suddenly there was excitement in his voice and the hand that held the letter slightly trembled. He read aloud, "There, at the most northern and bitterly cold area, is a stone called Chilled Jade [Han Yu]. It can control all illnesses and cure incurable diseases and should help my sister [Lin Chaoying]. Long'er, do you think this…this is the Chilled Jade Bed?"

As Xiao Longnü saw the happy expression on his face, her voice shook, "You… You said the Chilled Jade Bed could heal my injury?" Yang Guo replied, "I don't know but Master Chongyang said so. It must have a basis. You see, the Chilled Jade Bed was provided by him, wasn't it? Our Ancestor Grandma slept on this bed, didn't she? And her severe injury finally healed, right?"

He hurriedly unfolded every letter to look for a way to treat injuries but, apart from that one letter, the two words "Chilled Jade" were not mentioned again anywhere. Yang Guo finally tied up the many letters with the ribbon and put them back in the box. Blankly, he pondered, "This Chilled Jade Bed is this strange. There must be a reason. But how do I find out a way to treat Long'er's injury? Hmm, let me figure out the way… let me figure out the way…."

Xiao Longnü smiled and asked, "You look lost in thought, what's on your mind?"

Yang Guo then replied, "I'm trying to figure out a way to use the Chilled Jade Bed to treat your injury. Do I grind the stone for you to take as medicine or do I use any medicine to complement it somehow?" If he didn't know that the Chilled Jade Bed could treat all injuries, that would be the end of story but now that he'd read the six words "control all illnesses, cure incurable diseases" and couldn't figure out how to use the Chilled Jade Bed, his heart was on fire. Dismally Xiao Longnü said, "Do you remember Sun Po Po? She took care of both our Ancestor Grandma and my master for many years. Still when she was injured by the Taoist named Hao, she… she died of a severe injury." Originally Yang Guo was full of hope. Now hearing her words, he felt as if he was suddenly drenched with cold water.

Xiao Longnü stretched out her hand to stroke his hair gently. With a gentle voice she said, "Guo'er, you don't have to worry so much about my injury. Why should you put yourself through agony again?"

Yang Guo was completely disheartened but after a while, he asked, "How did my Shi Zu [Martial Grandma –referring to her master] get injured?" Even though Yang Guo had lived at Gu Mu for many years, he actually never heard Xiao Longnü talk about how her master passed away.

Xiao Longnü said, "My master isolated herself inside Gu Mu and rarely went outside. Then there was this one year my Shi Jie [apprentice sister] went out and caused trouble. She fled back to Mount Zhongnan so my master had to leave the tomb to help. Then unexpectedly she fell into an enemy trap. Even though my master lost the fight, she could still bring back Shi Jie. That should have been the end of it. But then she bickered with that evil person. Nobody would have expected that he would want a yard after getting an inch. Shortly after the fight, he was outside Gu Mu, issuing a challenge, and then broke into the tomb. My master couldn't fend him off and almost had to drop the dragon stone to die together with him inside. Fortunately, at a critical moment, she threw out a golden needle. That evil person was caught off guard and got hit. The itchy pain was difficult to bear and my master used that opportunity to strike his pressure points. Seeing him unable to move, she didn't expect that Shi Jie would sneak up to unseal the pressure points. In the end that evil person attacked her and that was when she got struck by his poison hand."