Ci'en looked at Huang Rong and Yideng. Then his eyes turned to the child in his hand. A surge of pain and regret suddenly hit him, and he sobbed, "He was dead! He was dead! The child was alive and well, and I killed him."
He stepped towards Huang Rong and handed Guo Xiang to her. He said, "I killed this small baby. Please beat me to death!"
Overjoyed, Huang Rong reached out to take Guo Xiang. But then Yideng shouted, "Revenge breeds revenge; when will it stop? Your hand holds a murderous blade. When will you throw it away?"
Ci'en was startled, and Guo Xiang fell from his hand.
Huang Rong didn't wait for Guo Xiang to fall to the floor, her right foot flew out. She kicked the child, sending her out in the air. At the same time, she laughed crazily and said, "You killed the child. Good. Good. This is wonderful."
Her kick looked as if it was fierce but when her foot touched Guo Xiang's waist, it actually stopped her from falling and gently sent her out again into the air. She knew that this was an extremely critical moment. If she bent down to pick up her daughter, perhaps Ci'en would change his mind.
Guo Xiang flew through the air towards Yelu Qi. He caught her and saw that her black eyes were sparkling, and that her little mouth was about to let out a big cry. She was indeed unharmed. He was first startled and then understood that Huang Rong, knowing that Guo Fu was rash, sent him her daughter. So, he covered the child's mouth with his palm and shouted, "Aiyo, the child was killed by the monk."
Ci'en's face was deathly pale. All of a sudden he was awakened. He put his hands together and bowed to Yideng. He said, "Great monk, many thanks for saving me!"
Yideng bowed back and said, "Congratulations, great monk. You've found the right path!"
The two monks exchanged a smile. Ci'en ran out.
Qiu Qianchi quickly called out, "Second Brother, Second Brother, you come back!"
Ci'en turned his head back and said, "You call me to come back; I'm now asking you to come back too." Having said that his gown sleeves flared out, and he floated out of the hall.
With a joyful expression on his face Yideng said, "Good, good, good!"
Then he retreated to a corner of the hall. He lowered his head, his eyebrows drooping, and said no more.
Huang Rong fixed her hair and got Guo Xiang back from Yelu Qi. Seeing that her mother was normal and her little sister was all right, Guo Fu was pleasantly surprised. She threw herself into her mother's arms and said, "Ma, I thought you really went insane!"
Huang Rong walked over to Yideng and kowtowed. She said, "I (niece) had no other way but to mention that past affair. Reverend, please forgive me."
With a faint smile Yideng replied, "Rong'er, Rong'er, you are really the female Zhuge!"
In the hall, Wu Santong was the only person who knew about the past events. Others were looking perplexed at one another.
After this unexpected turn of events, Qiu Qianchi saw her brother going out the screened door. She thought about how she wouldn't see him again and couldn't help becoming heavy-hearted. His words "You call me to come back, I'm now asking to you come back too" sounded like advice, urging her to control herself, repent and be salvaged. She secretly felt a pang of regret but her regret disappeared in a flash. All of a sudden, she proudly said, "Everybody, please wait here, I'm afraid this old woman can't keep you company."
Huang Rong said, "Hold on a minute! We've come here today to ask for the Passionless Pill…"
Qiu Qianchi nodded at her numerous disciples and they all responded with a war cry. Each entrance was blocked by four disciples in green, with an adorned fishnet in their hands. Four maids lifted Qiu Qianchi's chair and retreated to the inner hall.
Seeing the power of the fishnets, Huang Rong, Wu Santong, Yelu Qi, and the others were secretly alarmed. They thought, "These fishnets are deadly, how can we break out of the trap?"
While they were hesitating, both the front door and the back door of the hall were being pulled shut, and the disciples in green all squeezed out. The Wu Brothers struck one of the doors with their swords. With a 'peng' sound, their double swords were caught in the crack of the door and immediately snapped. It seemed that these doors were cast from metal after all.
In a low voice Huang Rong said, "No need to be frightened! Even if we aren't allowed to leave the hall, we can still think of a way to defeat those fishnets and get the antidote to help Yang Guo."
Gongsun Lu'E followed her mother into the inner hall.
She asked, "Ma, what should we do?"
Seeing that her brother had abruptly departed and that skilled enemies were gathering, Qiu Qianchi knew she had a big problem. But the murderer of her brother had arrived; no matter who tried to persuade her, she would never yield. With a slight hesitation she said, "Go take a look. What are Yang Guo and those three girls doing?"
This was actually what Lu'E had wanted to do. She nodded in compliance and left for the kiln.
As she was halfway to the kiln, she heard voices ahead of her. It was Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü talking. It seemed that they said something about 'Miss Gongsun.' By this time, the sky had become totally dark, and Lu'E hid herself in a willow grove nearby. She thought, "What are they talking about?"
She gingerly stepped forward, approaching them without making a sound. She saw Yang Guo and Xiao Longnü standing side by side.
Yang Guo said, "You said these matters revolved around Miss Gongsun. That's absolutely right. If the Divine Monk wakes up, all past animosity is buried, and all the poisons are expelled, won't that be wonderful? Aiyo!"
Lu'E jumped as Yang Guo let out a sudden cry, not knowing what had just happened to him. She was worried and couldn't help poking her head out to look around. In the darkness, she saw Yang Guo fall to the ground.
Xiao Longnü hoarsely said, "The Passion Flower poison is acting up again?"
"Mmm…aah…" Yang Guo could only let out a groan.
This pain was very difficult to endure. Lu'E pitied him and thought to herself, "He's already taken half of the Passionless pill. He needs the other half to get rid of the poisons, and he can only get this other half from mother."
After a while, Yang Guo got up and let out a long gasp.
Xiao Longnü said, "Your seizures are getting more and more frequent, and every time more severe than the last one. The Divine Monk still has to regain consciousness before he can find the antidote. Even then, there may not necessarily… there may not necessarily… You must be in a lot of pain."
She'd wanted to say "there may not necessarily be enough time" but she changed her last sentence.
With a bitter smile Yang Guo said, "This old Madame Gongsun is extremely stubborn. She's hidden the antidote. Unless she wants to give it to me herself, even if we kill everybody in the valley and hold a knife against her neck, she still won't give it up."
"But I actually have a method," said Xiao Longnü.
Yang Guo could guess what she was thinking and so he said, "Long'er, don't say it. We…husband and wife, sincerely love each other. If we can grow old together, naturally we'll thank heaven and earth. If something bad happens, its fate. No third person may come between the two of us."