Chapter - 490 Grand Birthday Celebration (8)

Guo Xiang was dumbfounded, "This many ears, I … What should I do with all these ears?" she asked.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong had heard everything; they stood up and came near Shi Bowei to see the ears. There in front of them was the proof of what their spies had told them. They were surprised and delighted at the same time.

"Brother Shi," Huang Rong addressed Shi Bowei, "It turns out the Mongolian troops at Xinye and Dengzhou were destroyed by hero … Eagle Hero's troop. Is that right?"

Before answering the Shi Brothers quickly kneeled down and paid their respects to Guo Jing and Huang Rong, which Guo Jing and Huang Rong quickly reciprocated. Shi Bowei explained, "The Eagle Hero said that Miss Guo Xiang is in Xiangyang, and today is her sixteenth birthday. The Mongolian barbarians are going to attack, endangering the Second Miss Guo; therefore, they have to be killed. He regrets the fact that the enemy numbers are so great that we cannot destroy them all. However, he has led a number of valiant people to destroy two thousand members of their front line companies."

"Where is the Eagle Hero at this moment?" asked Guo Jing. "I want to see him and convey the gratitude of the entire Xiangyang population."

Guo Jing had been so busy defending Xiangyang and training his troops for dozens of years that he had not roamed Jianghu. Therefore, he was not aware that the Eagle Hero was none other than his Yang Guo.

"We apologize on his behalf," said Shi Bowei, "because the Eagle Hero has been busy preparing some presents for Miss Guo these past few days. He did not have a chance to pay a visit to Great Hero Guo and Madame."

Shi Bowei had just finished when a whistle was heard from a distance; then a voice was heard, "The Xishan Ghosts have received the Eagle Hero's instructions to wish Miss Guo a happy birthday, and to deliver this present …!"

That voice was not loud, but sharp. It sounded like the voice came and went, but every word was clear.

"Guo Jing waits." Guo Jing quickly answered. He knew that since the first present was so valuable, he did not dare to be inattentive. He used his internal energy, so his voice traveled far. He stood erect alongside his wife and waited.

"Can you guess who this Eagle Hero is?" Huang Rong whispered.

"I don't know," answered her husband.

"It's Yang Guo!"

Guo Jing looked up in surprise; but in the end he was ecstatic. "Wonderful! Just wonderful!" he exclaimed. "He has rendered his country a great service; this is the merit of our great Song Dynasty."

"Can you guess what this second present will be?" Huang Rong asked again.

Her husband only smiled. "Guo'er is so smart; you are the only one who is his match." he answered, "Only you could guess."

"But this time I really don't have any idea," said Huang Rong, shaking her head, but in her heart she said, "Yang Guo has done a great service to Xiangyang, but he keeps saying that all are for Xiang'er; his hatred toward us, husband and wife, and Fu'er, has not diminished."

In a moment the Long Beard Ghost appeared on the field, leading the other eight ghosts. They immediately paid their respect to Guo Jing and his wife. Only then did they approach Guo Xiang and said, "Wishing you health and unbounded happiness! The Eagle Hero instructed us to deliver the second present!"

"Thank you, thank you!" said Guo Xiang. She saw the Xishan Ghosts all carried boxes, big boxes and small boxes.

Guo Jing was afraid the contents were some kind of ears or noses or other human parts, so quickly he said, "If the contents are not good to behold, I ask you not to open them."

The Big Head Ghost laughed. "These are very good things to behold!" he said. Fan Yiweng then opened the lid and picked up what looked like a fireworks rocket. He lit that thing and it shot up, and exploded high in the air and amidst the colorful rain of light appeared a letter 'Gong' [respectful].

Guo Xiang was so happy that she jumped around and clapped her hands while saying: "Good…Very good!"

The Hangman Ghost [Diao Si Gui] also ignited a rocket and that made the letter 'zhu' [best wishes]. Then, one by one, the rest of the ghosts ignited their rockets, forming a string of characters which read, 'gong zhu guo er gu niang duo fu duo shou' [respectfully wishing the Second Miss Guo prosperity and longevity]; ten big characters. Each character had its own color and they stayed afloat for quite some time. The gathered heroes clapped and cheered. The fireworks were made by Hankou's well known Huang Yipao, an unrivalled fireworks artist.

Guo Jing smiled, he was also very happy. He thought, "My daughter loves fireworks so much. Good thing Yang Guo could find a very skilled artist to make them."

The fireworks were just about to disperse when a few li to the north another firework was shot, then another one much further to the north.

"These fireworks work like a beacon," Huang Rong thought, "this way somebody could deliver a message a few hundred li in just a short moment. I wonder what Yang Guo prepared for the second present. I doubt it is just fireworks to make Xiang'er happy."

Madam Guo immediately instructed the Beggar Clan to prepare some additional bamboo mats for the Shi Brothers and the Xishan Ghosts.

While the feast was still underway, thunderous noises came from way up north, one explosion after another. The noise was muffled because it was so far away.

Upon hearing that noise, the Shi Brothers and the Xishan Ghosts jumped up and down, ecstatically exclaimed, "Success…Success!" Nobody in Xiangyang knew what they were exclaiming about.

The Big Head Ghost pointed to the north and kept shouting, "Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Because it was already dark, everybody could see the light of fires showing in the north.

"The city of Nanyang is on fire!" Huang Rong suddenly exclaimed. Guo Jing realized what had happened, he slapped his thigh, "That's right! It is Nanyang!"

"I beg your explanation," said Huang Rong to Fan Yiweng.

"That is the second present from the Eagle Hero to Miss Guo;" came the answer. "We set the two-hundred-thousand strong Mongolian army's logistics on fire."

Huang Rong had guessed correctly, but still they were surprised and ecstatic. In their effort to destroy Xiangyang, the Mongolians had built the city of Nanyang as its logistics center. They had built barns and grown fields of grass for several years. Tons of rice, wheat, water and hay were gathered from all over the Mongolian territories and sent to Nanyang. There was a saying, 'A great troop movement is always preceded by provisions and grass.' Rice and wheat were the soldiers' food while grass was for the horses. The Mongolians rely heavily on their cavalry; therefore, food and hay were indispensable to the army's movements. Guo Jing had tried on several occasions to send specially trained teams to destroy it, but they never succeeded in doing so, since the city was heavily guarded. Unexpectedly Yang Guo had succeeded in putting that city to the flame!

Guo Jing gazed to the north looking at the fire, anxiety began creeping into his heart, "Will they be able to retreat without any harm? Shall we join them and render any help we can?" Guo Jing asked Fan Yiweng.

"Hero Guo did not ask about the results, but asked about the safety of the people, he has such a benevolent heart," thought Yiweng. Then he explained, "Thank you for Hero's concern. Everything was carefully planned by the Eagle Hero. The team consists of Shengyin Shitai, Ren Chuzi, Zhang Yimang, Bai Caoxian and the others; more than 300 people total. Even though the Mongolian troop is strong, there is no way they can harm us."