After a long time Wanyan Honglie opened his mouth. “I wonder why Mr. Ouyang has not come back yet. Perhaps he also met a ghost.”
“Mr. Ouyang’s martial arts skill is unmatched,” Yang Kang said. “Even if he met a ghost he wouldn’t suffer a defeat.” Peng Lianhu and the others were indifferent.
Huang Rong heard everything about how these people met extremely difficult situations and talked about ghosts. She was very pleased and thought, “The masks I bought for Zhou Dage [Big Brother]
have unexpectedly boosted his power and prestige …that is truly beyond my expectations. I wonder if he’s met and fought the Old Poison yet.” At that moment she felt Guo Jing’s internal energy starting to flow into her palm, so she immediately turned back to join him.
Peng Lianhu and the others had been busy all night and were starving. Working together they chopped firewood, bought rice and vegetables, and prepared the food. When the food was ready, Hou Tonghai went to the cupboard to get some bowls. He noticed the iron bowl and tried to take it…naturally it would not budge. He was startled and shouted, “A ghost!” He pulled the bowl with all his strength, but of course the bowl did not move. Huang Rong heard his voice and was shocked, for she knew that their hiding place must not be found by them. Not only that, if a fight broke out they would not necessarily win and besides, if they moved ever so slightly, Guo Jing’s life would be in danger. That must not happen. Inside the secret room she was frightened and did not know what to do. Outside of the room, Sha Tongtian heard his martial brother’s shout and reprimanded him for making such a big fuss over nothing.
Hou Tonghai was not angry and said, “All right then, come and take this bowl.” Sha Tongtian reached out his hand to pick up the bowl, but the bowl stayed put. “Ah!” he exclaimed.
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Peng Lianhu heard him and came over. “Brother Sha [Sha Xiong],” he said, “There must be a secret mechanism connected to it. Try turning it to the left or right.”
Huang Rong knew the situation was pressing and knew that they were being forced to risk it all. She handed the dagger to Guo Jing and reached out her hand to take the bamboo stick given to her by Hong Qigong. Inwardly she felt sad to think their lives would end this way. At the last moment she turned her head and noted the skeletons at the corner of the room. Suddenly an idea came to mind.
She hurriedly grabbed the skulls, lifted a big watermelon, and placed the skulls on the watermelon.
With a creaking sound the iron door opened, revealing the hole behind it. Huang Rong placed the watermelon on top of her head and spread her long hair over her face. As Sha Tongtian opened the door, he saw a monster with two heads inside the cabinet, making scary ‘Wah! Wah!’ sounds. The monster’s two heads were skulls, side by side on top of a blue and green striped sphere, with a clump of long black beard beneath it.
Everyone had suffered a lot the previous night and they were still shaken. Now they suddenly saw a ghost inside the cabinet and they were really frightened. Hou Tonghai screamed and ran away.
Without thinking, everyone else followed. The only one left was Ouyang Ke. He was lying on a straw bed with broken legs, unable to run.
Huang Rong heaved a long sigh and quickly closed the cabinet door. She could not help but smile considering that, for the moment, they had barely escaped serious trouble. She also knew those traitors were some of Jianghu’s top veterans, so surely they would come back. They were running away because they had been frightened by the Old Urchin. If not for that, how could she have fooled them so easily? Once they calmed down they would come back and not be frightened away so easily. She was still undecided on the next course of action.
Huang Rong’s grin had not disappeared before she heard a noise at the inn’s door…someone was coming. Huang Rong grabbed a steel Emei Sting tightly in her hand and kept the bamboo stick was close by her side. As soon as the cabinet door was opened, she would throw the projectile first and think about her actions later. After waiting for a moment she heard a beautiful voice calling out,
“Innkeeper…Innkeeper!”
Huang Rong was really surprised to hear this call. She quickly looked out through the small hole and saw a lady wearing an embroidered gown sitting down. Her clothes and adornments were gorgeous, indicating that she came from a wealthy family. She sat with her back facing the mirror, so Huang Rong could not see her face.
The lady waited for quite a while and then she called out again, “Innkeeper…Innkeeper!”
Huang Rong thought, “That voice sounds familiar…tender yet strong. In fact she sounds like the Eldest Miss Cheng [Cheng Da Xiaojie] from Baoying.” At that moment the lady turned around and it was Miss Cheng. Huang Rong was pleasantly surprised. “Why would she come this place?”
Sha Gu had not been awakened by the commotion made by Hou Tonghai and the others, but by now she’d had enough sleep, so she crawled up from her straw bed.
“Innkeeper,” Miss Cheng said. “Would you please prepare some food for me? I would be much obliged.”
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Sha Gu shook her head, indicating she did not have any food. Suddenly she sniffed and smelled cooked rice. She rushed over to lift the pot’s lid and saw it was full of plain white rice that Peng Lianhu and the others had prepared. Sha Gu was delighted and, without wondering where the food came from, she filled two bowls, gave one to Miss Cheng while she gobbled the other. Miss Cheng noted there was no other food, only plain rice. She ate a few bites, and then put the bowl down. Sha Gu quickly ate three full bowls, then she patted her belly, looking very satisfied.
“Miss,” Miss Cheng said. “May I ask you a question? Do you know how far Ox Village is from this place?”
“Ox Village?” Sha Gu said. “This is Ox Village. How far it is from this place, I don’t know.”
Miss Cheng blushed. She lowered her head and played with the end of her belt. After some time she said, “So it turns out that this is Ox Village. Then I wonder if you know someone. I wonder if you know… know…someone …”
Sha Gu did not wait for her to finish. She just shook her head impatiently and then rushed out of the door. Huang Rong wondered, “Who is she looking for in Ox Village? Ah, that’s right! She is the disciple of Sun Bu’Er. Most likely she received an order from her Master and Martial Uncles to find Qiu Chuji’s disciple, Yang Kang.”
Huang Rong saw Miss Cheng sitting up straight, her clothes properly arranged and she gently stroked the pearl head ornament at her temple. Her face was flushed and she had a slight smile at the corner of her lips. Huang Rong did not know what she was thinking and found this interesting.
She suddenly heard footsteps as someone came in from outside. This person was tall, handsome and his steps were brisk. As soon as he came in, he also called out for the innkeeper. Huang Rong thought, “By what coincidence would people I know gather together in this ‘Cow’ Village? The feng shui [harmonious balance - lit. wind and water] of Jing ge ge’s Ox Village must be very good…if not for wealth, then for the individual.” As it turned out, the incoming person was the Young Master of Cloud Manor, Lu Guanying. When he saw Miss Cheng he was startled. Then he called again, “Innkeeper!”
When Miss Cheng saw this young man, she felt shy and hurriedly turned away. Lu Guanying also felt awkward. “How come there’s a beautiful young girl sitting alone in this place?” he thought. He walked around the kitchen and did not see anyone else. He was very hungry and saw there was rice in the pot. He turned to Miss Cheng and said, “Xiao Ren [lit. little/ – he’s referring to himself] is very hungry, could Miss please give me a bowl to eat.”
Miss Cheng hung her head lower, smiled slightly, and said, “The rice is not mine. Xiang Gong
[honorable master], please help yourself.”
Lu Guanying ate two full bowls, then cupped his fists to express his gratitude. He said, “This lowly person wishes to ask Miss about a certain place. I wonder how far Ox Village is from here?”
Miss Cheng and Huang Rong were both delighted. “Ha, it turns out he is also looking for Ox Village,” they both thought. Miss Cheng stood up to return his respects and said, “This is Ox Village.”
Lu Guanying was delighted. “That’s wonderful!” he said, “This lowly person also wonders if Miss knows a certain man.”
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Miss Cheng was about to say that she was not a local when she suddenly changed her mind. “I wonder who he is looking for?” she thought.
Lu Guanying said, “I am looking for a gentleman surnamed Guo, Master Guo Jing. I was wondering where he lives… Is he home right now?”
Both Miss Cheng and Huang Rong were startled. “Why is he looking for him?”
Miss Cheng was dumbstruck. She hung her head and blushed to her ears. Looking at her expression, Huang Rong, with eighty percent certainty, guessed, “It seems this Miss secretly fell in love with Jing ge ge because he saved her in Baoying.” Because Huang Rong was still very young, was an open-minded person, and believed in her heart that Guo Jing would not disagree with her reasoning, her heart, therefore, was free from jealousy. In fact, she was delighted to find that others liked Guo Jing as well.