Chapter 51: You Too Will Envy My Luck

Gu Qing flipped his sleeve, his internal energy vibrating to shield Guo Xiang, while the debris falling from above crashed down upon him instead.

…I just took a bath!

Gu Qing, covered in dust and soot, clutched Guo Xiang and sidestepped; Xiaolongnu guarded the maid and Guo Polu, while Huang Rong remained inside recovering, and Gu Qing and Xiaolongnu stood before the inner chamber.

After Yin Kexi, Xiao Xiangzi, and the black-clad man leapt down, the black-clad man clenched his fist and struck straight at Gu Qing’s face!

“Dā’ěrbā!”

Gu Qing shouted in Tibetan: “What are you doing?”

The black-clad man’s fist halted mid-air; after a moment, he scratched his head, removed his black veil and cloak, and said sheepishly: “Brother, Master is furious with you.”

Dā’ěrbā had covered his face because he was too embarrassed for Gu Qing to recognize him, but today he had been ordered by his Master to act.

“Are you angry with me too?”

Gu Qing asked.

Dā’ěrbā quickly shook his head—he dared not be angry with his brother.

“Go back.”

Gu Qing said: “Focus on cultivating the Golden Body Arhat. What I’m doing now is also for the glory of our sect.”

The Wu Lin Alliance is currently promoting the Dragon and Elephant Supreme Skill—this statement is no lie.

Upon hearing “Golden Body Arhat,” Dā’ěrbā respectfully bowed to Gu Qing; the three had descended from the roof in a surprise attack, yet now Dā’ěrbā opened the door and walked out.

Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi did not understand what was happening; after watching Dā’ěrbā leave, they heard the Golden Wheel Lama’s voice from outside.

“So annoying!”

Gu Qing grew impatient upon hearing the Golden Wheel Lama’s voice—he knew the plan had been for the three to storm in while the Golden Wheel Lama launched a surprise attack from outside; Dā’ěrbā’s exit had ruined it.

With a major enemy at hand, Gu Qing felt exasperated.

The Mongols’ harassment was endless, repeatedly delaying his wedding night.

Where are the Five Greats? What are they doing?

According to Huang Rong, the Eastern Hermit Huang Yaoshi had retreated into the mountains fifty li from Xiangyang after meeting Feng Mofeng; there, too, were the Northern Beggar Hong Qigong and the Western Poison Ouyang Feng, gathered to contemplate the union of yin and yang.

But to Gu Qing, this was the enemy pushing his home while they farmed the wilderness.

“Gu Qing, Little Dragon Girl, hold on a moment longer—Jing Ge will be here soon.”

Huang Rong’s voice came from within—she had already contacted Guo Jing.

The maid had carried Guo Polu inside; Guo Xiang still rested in Gu Qing’s arms.

Xiaolongnu suddenly drew her sword; both hands became twin orbs of light, striking toward Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi. Her swordplay flashed white in rapid succession, swift beyond compare, piercing at them with such speed that the two drew their weapons in panic, parrying in a blur of nearly a hundred exchanges in an instant; when Xiaolongnu retracted her blade, Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi had already retreated outside the room.

Xiaolongnu’s swordplay was like a master’s aria—fast, urgent, precise; a hundred strokes in a flash, not a single hesitation, the two hands moving in perfect harmony, the entire sequence flowing effortlessly, leaving Yin Kexi and Xiao Xiangzi in awe, wondering where such a small girl had learned such sword art.

“Long Er, you’re incredible!”

Gu Qing praised Xiaolongnu.

Xiaolongnu smiled in return.

Outside the room, Guo Jing let out a long roar, gathering his palm energy as he clashed with the Golden Wheel Lama; Zhu Ziliu and Feng Mofeng had also arrived nearby.

The elite of Xiangyang had assembled; the outcome here was already decided. Gu Qing glanced at Zhu Ziliu, noting his brushwork was elegant and composed; the Mongol experts had failed their attack and were preparing to retreat.

“Madam Guo, let me hold your little girl—I’ll go fetch your father!”

Gu Qing felt the ambushes would never end—he wanted to bring the Five Greats to stabilize the situation.

Huang Rong inside heard this and couldn’t help but laugh and sigh; yet for her, she supported this move—Xiangyang truly needed a master present to ease Guo Jing’s burden.

Like a newborn child must not be exposed to wind or light, Gu Qing lightly covered Guo Xiang’s eyes, shielding her with his internal energy, then leapt out. Guo Jing and the Golden Wheel Lama were locked in fierce combat, his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms unleashing continuous roars; he was furious beyond endurance at their repeated attacks on his family.

Gu Qing greeted Guo Jing, then, without mounting a horse, used his lightness skill to sprint toward Huang Yaoshi’s retreat.

Protected by his internal energy, Guo Xiang slept soundly in his arms, unaware she had been carried outdoors and was now racing across Xiangyang’s rooftops like the wind.

“Shhh!”

As Gu Qing sped forward, another black-clad figure suddenly leapt out in Xiangyang, chasing after him with fierce speed.

Also from the Vajrayana?

Gu Qing glanced at the man’s forehead—no, he didn’t look like it—but the man’s eyes burned with murderous intent. Since Gu Qing carried a child, he had no desire to fight, only quickened his steps toward Huang Yaoshi’s hiding place.

Yet as Gu Qing sped up, the black-clad man behind him also accelerated.

Gu Qing immediately activated the Nine Yin Manual, his speed surging dramatically—he hoped to shake the man off—but the black-clad man’s lightness skill was also exquisite, allowing him to surge forward once more; though Gu Qing gradually pulled farther ahead, he still lacked that final breath to fully lose him.

Seeing the man still close behind, Gu Qing stopped trying to escape, instead letting him trail—running over fifty li, he spotted, as Huang Rong had described, a vast manor ahead, with a giant willow tree before it, and three figures standing there.

As Gu Qing approached, he saw Huang Yaoshi holding the Book of Changes, Hong Qigong cooking over a fire, and Ouyang Feng standing upside-down in contemplation; all three remained calm at his arrival, none greeting him.

“Heh, why aren’t you running anymore?”

The black-clad man reached them, glared at Gu Qing, and growled.

Huang Yaoshi, Hong Qigong, and Ouyang Feng watched coldly.

“Do we have a grudge?”

Gu Qing, sensing the man’s hatred, asked in confusion.

The black-clad man angrily tore off his face covering, revealing a face scarred by severe burns… though grotesque, Gu Qing recognized him—the black-clad man was Gongsun Zhi.

“You’re not dead!”

Gu Qing was astonished.

Wasn’t Gongsun Zhi supposed to have been lit as a human torch by the Golden Wheel Lama?

“If you’re still alive, how could I die?”

Gongsun Zhi said coldly: “The flames burned through my ropes; when the pyre collapsed, I crawled out of the fire.”

Recalling the past, Gongsun Zhi was furious—he had been captured by the Mongols trying to save Gu Qing, yet Gu Qing treated him as irrelevant!

“The Golden Wheel Lama is an amateur—he doesn’t know you must bind a man with iron chains to burn him.”

Gu Qing was the true living hell.

Hearing this, Gongsun Zhi drew his weapon in rage.

“But if you’re here, you must be collaborating with the Mongols.”

Gu Qing guessed.

Otherwise, after being publicly lit as a torch, even if he crawled from the flames, the Mongols would simply shove him back in.

“We’ve been collaborating from the start—I waited for you to come rescue me, so I could stab you.”

Gongsun Zhi laid it bare: “But you’re ungrateful—you completely ignored me!”

Gu Qing nodded, offering no further reaction.

“Your luck is too good—and you don’t appreciate it.”

Gongsun Zhi touched his burned face, then looked at Gu Qing holding the child, and said coldly: “You have such a beautiful wife and still manage to father a child with someone else.”

Gongsun Zhi knew nothing of Huang Rong’s childbirth—he saw Gu Qing carrying a child and naturally assumed it was his son; when he had last met Gu Qing, Cheng Ying showed no signs of pregnancy.

Thinking of Gu Qing’s gentle Cheng Ying compared to his own wife Qiu Qianchi, Gongsun Zhi couldn’t help but envy Gu Qing’s fortune—and resent his lack of gratitude.

Gu Qing looked down at the child in his arms and smiled: “If you knew who the mother of this girl is, you’d still think my luck is good?”

Is the child’s mother someone of great stature?

Gongsun Zhi truly wanted to listen.

“Huang Rong.”

Gu Qing held the child and smiled: “The mother of this child is Huang Rong.”

Upon hearing this name, Gu Qing no longer needed to fight—Huang Yaoshi and Hong Qigong both set down their tasks and turned to Gongsun Zhi.

“You’ve taken up with Huang Rong?”

Gongsun Zhi, upon hearing this, felt immense envy.

Huang Yaoshi stood up.

This chapter was revised—by the time I wrote this, I no longer rushed; each two thousand words took two or three hours to polish. Last night I was sleepy, checked for typos, and let the protagonist continue along the plotline; when I woke up and reread it, I realized the protagonist’s sudden withdrawal lacked logic, so I revised it.

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(End of Chapter)