Chapter - 503 Grudges Over Three Generations (9)

Yang Guo's face turned pale. He stood up and stuttered, "What?! There's no… no such person as the Divine Nun of the South Sea?"

Huang Yaoshi saw his face change colour and was shocked so he said, "Could it be a young hero who has risen in recent years? This old man is rather ignorant, I've never heard of her."

Yang Guo stood there speechless but his heart was beating wildly, thinking, "Aunt Guo clearly told me Long'er was saved by the Divine Nun of the South Sea, so this whole thing is a lie, this whole thing is a sham to fool me!" He faced the sky and let off a roar which shuddered the whole building, then tears fell to the floor.

Huang Yaoshi said, "If you have any troubles you could tell me, maybe this old man can help you."

Yang Guo said with a trembling voice, "My heart is in a great turmoil. Please pardon me." He waved his sleeve and dashed down the stairs, causing some of the planks to break under his force.

Huang Yaoshi wondered what on Earth was going on and mumbled, "Divine Nun of the South Sea? Who could that be?"

Yang Guo increased his speed and rushed around madly, not eating or sleeping for several days, just charging around like a typhoon. It was only when he became half-dead from fatigue that he thought of Xiao Longnü, not even daring to imagine if he would meet her again. In less than a day he had reached the banks of a large river. Finally he could not take it anymore and just boarded the nearest boat he saw, handed two taels of silver to the boatman and went to sleep without even asking where it was heading.

The boat headed east on the choppy river and stopped every few days to trade goods; it was a trading boat. Yang Guo's heart was still in disarray and did not care where the boat was taking him to; drinking by day and sighing by night, passing several days in that fashion. The boatman received his money and thought he was just an aimless wanderer and did not bother him.

Then one day a trader on board said the boat was nearing Jiaxing and Lin An. When Yang Guo heard 'Jiaxing', he was surprised, thinking, "My father's death was brought about by Huang Rong years ago at the Iron Spear Temple in Jiaxing and his body was eaten by the crows, but what happened to his bones? I must be a filial son and bury his remains properly." He then got off the boat.

At that time it was the start of winter, and although Jiangnan was not as cold as the north, it was still snowing heavily. Yang Guo put on a cape and started walking. In three days he reached Jiaxing.

When he reached there it was evening and he went to a restaurant and ordered some dishes, then asked where the Iron Spear Temple was. He then went out into the snow and went straight there. It was still snowing and the north wind did not show any signs of slackening.

Under the snow's reflection, he saw that this temple has been abandoned for many years and no one tended to its repairs. The door was rotting away and it creaked open when pushed gently. He entered the temple and saw a statue in a bad shape and the place was filled with cobwebs. There was no one around. More than thirty years ago his father died here and he had never seen his father, which made him even sadder.

He looked around the temple and hoped he could find any traces his father had left behind although so many years had passed. He went to the back of the temple and found a grave and a tombstone between two large trees and the tombstone was covered in snow. He brushed the snow away with his sleeve and read the inscription. When he read it he became very angry. It read, "Unfilial Disciple Yang Kang's Grave" and the sub-heading read, "Inscribed by his Useless Teacher Qiu Chuji".

Yang Guo was furious thinking, "This old priest Qiu Chuji was really heartless; even after my father is dead he wouldn't leave him alone. How was my father unfilial? Humph, what's the bloody use of being filial to that old Cow-nose? If I don't go to the Quanzhen Sect and kill those people, my anger will never subside." He lifted his palm and wanted to smash the tombstone.

Before he could strike, he heard footsteps moving fast outside the temple which sounded strange – they sounded like martial arts experts yet sounded like animals. Yang Guo became curious so he did not strike, then he heard the footsteps heading towards the temple. He quickly got back inside and hid behind the statue, trying to see who it was.

The footsteps came right up to the temple but stopped at the entrance, probably fearing an enemy lying in ambush inside. After a while, they stepped in. Yang Guo peeked at them then almost laughed. He saw four men enter the temple; the four men had their left legs broken, their hands holding a stick and their right legs were clapped in chains; their footsteps made such strange noises because they had to move their feet together.

The leader of the group had a bald and shiny head and only half a left arm. The second person had a lump on his forehead and his left arm stopped at the elbow. The third person was small-sized while the fourth was a huge monk. The four of them looked rather old and were obviously disabled. Yang Guo wondered, "What is their background? Why do they stick together like that and never leave each other?" The leader took out his flint and lit a fire, and then he found a candle and lit it. Yang Guo then saw clearly that apart from the leader, the other three had no eyes in their eye sockets, then he realized, "So these three people depend on the first person to lead the way."

The bald man held the candle and looked around the temple. The four of them moved like crabs, one following the other and the distance between them was never less than three feet. Yang Guo had concealed himself well. Moreover, these people were disabled and only one of them could see, so they did not find him although their ears were sharp and their movements rather agile. The bald man said, "That old man Ke didn't reveal our whereabouts or invite helpers to lie in ambush here."

The third man said, "Correct, he promised not to inform on us. These people are valiant and always keep their word of honour."

The four people sat on the floor together. The second man said, "Shi Ge (Martial Brother), do you think this old man Ke will really come?"

The first man said, "It's quite hard to say, but I think he won't come. Who's so stupid as to come and seek death?"

The third man said, "But this old man Ke was the head of the Jiangnan Seven Freaks. That year he made a bet with that scoundrel priest Qiu and so he went all the way to Mongolia to teach Guo Jing martial arts. This matter is well-known in Jianghu. Everyone says the Jiangnan Seven Freaks never went back on their word. It's because of this that we released him."

Yang Guo heard every word clearly from behind the statue and thought, "So they're waiting for Elder Ke." Then he heard the second man say, "I say he'll definitely come. Brother Peng, why don't we make a bet to see who…" Before he finished talking, they heard footsteps out in the snow which were heavy and light alternately – someone was using a walking staff. Yang Guo knew Ke Zhen'E when he was on Peach Blossom Island, so he knew it was him immediately. The skinny man laughed, "Brother Hou, that old man Ke is here, you still want to bet?" The man with the lump said, "You scoundrel, are you really not afraid of death?"