The Return of the Condor Heroes

Chapter 28 – The wedding, Part 5

Chapter 28 – The wedding, Part 5

Yang Guo now thought, “This is her first wish after we got married and it might be her last wish in life as well. If I couldn’t do this for her, how would I deserve to be her husband?” He looked in all directions. Hearing the sounds of people outside, his heart was in chaos. Then towards the west side of the chamber he caught a glimpse of a wooden trunk stacked on a bookshelf. His heart leapt and he said, “That’s it!” He rushed there and saw that the trunk had a copper lock on it. He ripped it apart and opened the lid. The inside of the trunk was filled with books so he lifted up the trunk and turned it upside down, sending the books down on the floor. The trunk itself was made from Camphor wood about an inch thick and was very sturdy. Then he traced his hand along the shelves and found an oilcloth that was used to protect the precious books from rain leaks. He put two pieces of large oilcloth inside the trunk and then, with a rope, dropped the trunk down to the mountain creek below. He came back to carry Xiao Longnü and said with a smile, “Let us go home.”

Xiao Longnü was very happy and smiled back. She said, “Your ideas are really good.”

Yang Guo was afraid that she would worry so to comfort her he said, “This sword is very powerful. If a mountain rock blocks the trunk under the water, the sword will cut it open. I’ll go fast; you, inside the box, don’t have to worry.”

Xiao Longnü smiled and said; “Only one thing is not good.”

Yang Guo was startled and said, “What is it?”

Xiao Longnü then replied, “I won’t be able to see you for a while.”

Down at the mountain creek, Yang Guo remembered that he left Guo Xiang in the cave so he said, “We’ll bring Uncle Guo’s girl with us too, what do you say?”

Xiao Longnü was stunned and so her voice trembled as she said, “Really? You’ve brought Hero Guo…Hero Guo’s daughter?”

Yang Guo saw her changed expression, immediately realizing that she thought he’d brought Guo Fu with him. He bent down and gently kissed her face, softly saying, “It is that month-old baby. She can’t cut off anyone’s arm!” This time Xiao Longnü blushed profusely and hid her face in Yang Guo’s embrace, not daring to lift up her head.

After a while, she softly said, “We’d better go bring her back to the tomb with us. On a wild mountain like this, leaving her for another while could cost her small life.”

Yang Guo then thought about how they were delayed at the Chongyang Palace until now, not knowing how Guo Xiang was doing in the cave. Frightened, he immediately put Xiao Longnü in the trunk, carried it on his shoulder, and rushed out. As they reached the front of the cave but still didn’t hear any crying sound, he got even more worried. He pulled out the thorns that he earlier piled in front of the cave entrance and saw that Guo Xiang was sleeping comfortably, her cheeks still red like they were painted with rouge. The two were overjoyed. Xiao Longnü stretched out her hand and said “Let me carry her.” Yang Guo put Guo Xiang in her embrace and then put the wooden trunk back on his shoulder again.

By this time all the Taoists were gathering at the Chongyang Palace so they didn’t run into anybody along the way. Passing a pumpkin field, Yang Guo picked six or seven pumpkins that the Taoists grew. He put them in the trunk and laughingly said, “This will be enough for us to eat for a week.” And after a short while, they reached the bank of the mountain creek. He lowered his head to kiss Xiao Longnü’s cheek and gently closed the trunk lid. He then wrapped it tightly with the two pieces of oilcloth. After putting the trunk under water, he breathed in deeply and dove away with the trunk behind him.

He had trained his internal power in a wild mountain flood so diving to the bottom of this small mountain creek didn’t strain him in the least. The bottom of the creek was rugged with high and low terrain. There were muddy rocks blocking the waterway so the wooden trunk couldn’t easily pass through. Yang Guo used his sword to hack them apart and make way. Afraid that Xiao Longnü would be suffocated inside the trunk, he went as fast as he could. In only minutes, they emerged from water, arriving at the underground tunnel below Gu Mu.

He pulled off the oilcloth and opened the trunk lid. Xiao Longnü was in a dazed state as a result of her heavy injury. Guo Xiang let out a loud healthy cry. She had been feeding on leopard’s milk for over a month so she was actually very strong and healthy. Xiao Longnü smiled faintly and softly said, “We are finally home!” She couldn’t support herself by this time so she closed her eyes. Yang Guo didn’t lift her body up but took the whole wooden trunk back to the living quarter inside Gu Mu.

Inside, the tables and chairs were overturned and the beds were crooked. This was the result of that day’s evil fight with Li Mochou and her disciple before they departed. Yang Guo looked at the stone chamber and the many things he’d used since he was small; his heart felt something beyond description, a mix of happiness and pain. He was expressionless for a moment. Suddenly he felt a drop of water on the back of his hand so he turned his head and saw Xiao Longnü, supporting herself with a chair, standing there with tears slowly flowing from her eyes.

Today the couple had started their family. They finally fulfilled their long time wish and returned home. From now to the afterlife, the bitterness, agony, and worry were all gone but deep down in their hearts they couldn’t restrain their sorrow. The two people both knew that Xiao Longnü was seriously injured. With the injuries from both Fawang’s golden wheel and the Quanzhen Five Masters’ strike, how would her delicate body be able to endure?

In their young lives, the two people had always been lonely and miserable and never really experienced true happiness. Suddenly they came to realize their biggest wish and then immediately had to say good-bye!

Yang Guo stayed expressionless for a long time. Then he went into Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun]’s bedroom and arranged the bedding on the chilled jade bed. Then he helped Xiao Longnü up so she could rest comfortably. All the old food that was stored at Gu Mu had long ago spoiled but the Jade Bee honey at the altar indeed could not go bad. He poured out half a cup of the syrup and mixed it with fresh water. He fed it to Xiao Longnü and baby Guo Xiang. Then he himself drank a bowl of it.

Then he thought, “I’ve got to lift up my spirits to make her happy. Even my heart is filled with grief and sorrow; I can’t let it show on my face.” Having thought that, he went to look for two of the thickest candles and wrapped them with red cloth. He put them on a table and said with a smile, “This is our wedding party!”

With the two red candles, the stone chamber immediately became festive. Xiao Longnü was sitting on the bed. When she saw her own body stained with blood and dirt, she said with a small smile, “I look terrible like this, how would I resemble a bride!” Then she suddenly remembered something and said, “Guo’er, could you please go to Ancestor Grandma’s bedroom and bring me that gold work box?”

Even though Yang Guo had lived inside Gu Mu for several years, he never dared enter Lin Chaoying’s room or played with her stuff. This time he heard Xiao Longnü speaking to him like this, he said with a laugh, “You have to be this polite when you talk to your husband.” He walked over to the headboard of the bed where several boxes were stacked and lifted out the one at the bottom. This box was really not heavy and had no lock. The outside work was red and gold with an exquisite design.

Xiao Longnü said, “Sun Po Po [Grandma Sun] told me that stored in this box were Ancestor Grandma’s wedding items. She didn’t get married and so these things didn’t get used.”

“Hmm,” Yang Guo groaned. He looked at this beautifully designed box but felt that amid happiness always was infinite misery. He put down the box on top of the chilled jade bed and opened the lid to see that lying inside were a pearl-inlaid Phoenix crown, a red robe embroidered in gold and female clothing made from red satin. All the items were made from the best materials and even though they had been in the box for several decades, they still looked like new. Xiao Longnü said, “Take them out and let me take a look.”

Yang Guo took each item out of the box. Underneath the clothing were a small vanity box inlaid with pearl and gold and a carved jade jewelry box. There was rouge powder and half a bottle of scented oil inside the vanity box. And as soon as the jewelry box was opened, the two of them were wide-eyed, seeing a pearl hairpin, jade bracelets, and gemmed earrings. All items were exquisite, flashing and sparkling. The Yang-Long couple had rarely seen gem stones before so they didn’t know how precious these adorning items were. They only saw the elegant inlay work and beautiful design, indicating that these pieces had been created with the most painstaking efforts.