"Every move seems to be filled with emptiness,and it's hard to distinguish between reality and illusion.Master Ma plays cautiously and his chess skills are extraordinary.I am not a match for him,"Guo Xuyang said thoughtfully,holding a black chess piece between his index and middle fingers.
"Why is Young Hero Guo so modest?The layout of the black pieces seems to have employed the profound principles of the mystical arts,moving freely between offense and defense,"Ma Su said,rolling the white piece in his hand."Judging from the way you play,Young Hero Guo must have a clear strategy in mind."
A mile to the west of Quanqing Taoist Temple,there was a waterfall cascading down.Next to this slender white ribbon of water,a huge rock stood out in the air,and on it stood a small stone pavilion,known as the"Yi Yi Pavilion"of the temple.
Inside the pavilion,Guo Xuyang's fingers,holding the chess piece,hovered in the air.After a long moment of contemplation,he finally placed the black piece next to a cluster of white pieces.He casually picked up another black piece from the box and said,"Earlier,Master Ma mentioned that Li Ying,who came looking for Miss Huang Yirong,is from the Tang王府(Tang Mansion)?"
"Mm-hmm."Ma Su nodded,his brows furrowed,his gaze fixed on the chessboard,and the white piece in his hand hesitated to fall."I didn't expect that the formidable Miss Huang would have connections with the Tang王府(Tang Mansion)."
"So Master Ma has also noticed her extraordinary martial arts skills."
Ma Su looked up,"That night when Miss Bai spoke disrespectfully,she was about to teach her a lesson,but you,Young Hero Guo,stopped her."There was a hint of a smile in his eyes."Young Hero Guo must know that she retracted her palm because of your intervention."
Guo Xuyang blushed and looked at the chessboard."Thanks to Miss Huang's timely withdrawal of her palm,otherwise,I might have suffered a lot."
Ma Su continued,"At that time,you were already exhausted from fighting three top martial artists with severe injuries.If you had forcibly blocked her palm force,your injuries would have been even worse.Considering this,she immediately retracted her force the moment she struck,both releasing and retracting in an instant...It's amazing that such a young woman has reached such a level of martial arts."
Guo Xuyang shook his head,indicating that he knew nothing about Huang Yirong.
As they were talking,Ma Su's white chess piece kept turning over in his fingers,but he couldn't find a place to put it.At this moment,a young Taoist came up the cliff and reported,"Master,someone has come to the temple.He claims to be from the Songyi王府(Songyi Mansion)and says he wants to see Hero Guo Xuyang."
"Did that person explain his purpose?"Guo Xuyang asked.
The young Taoist bowed and shook his head."He just said he came to pay his respects to you."
Ma Su smiled and said,"Yesterday it was the Tang王府(Tang Mansion),today it's the Songyi王府(Songyi Mansion).My small Quanqing Taoist Temple is quite lively these days.In my humble opinion,Young Hero Guo,the Songyi王府(Songyi Mansion)might have the intention of recruiting you."
Guo Xuyang threw the black piece back into the box and said,"A good game of chess has been spoiled by these unrelated people."He bowed to Ma Su and said,"If we play a few more moves,my black pieces will probably be completely wiped out by Master Ma's white pieces.Master Ma's chess skills are superb,and I admit defeat!"
Ma Su also placed the white piece in his hand,which had not yet fallen,outside the chessboard,stroked his beard and praised,"The one who would definitely lose if we played a few more moves is me.This guest from the Songyi王府(Songyi Mansion)has actually done me a big favor."
Guo Xuyang stood up and bowed."For several days,I have been taken care of by Master Ma and all the friends in the temple.I will always remember this great kindness!After disturbing you for a few days,it's time for me to leave."
Ma Su was surprised and said,"Is Young Hero Guo not planning to meet that person?"
Guo Xuyang nodded."It is not appropriate for me to have too much contact with the various kings.I have to trouble Master Ma to convey my message on my behalf.If I stay here any longer,the visitors will inevitably disturb the cultivation of the Taoist priests in the temple."
"Since Young Hero Guo has made up his mind to leave,I will not force you to stay.But your injuries have not fully recovered yet,you need to be more careful on the road."
Guo Xuyang bowed to Ma Su and the young Taoist who came to report,exchanged a few words of farewell and took care,and then headed towards the cemetery of Quanqing Taoist Temple.
The cemetery was the resting place of countless spirits of Quanqing Taoist Temple.Among them,two graves,one large and one small,were particularly eye-catching because there was a living person standing in front of the graves.
He was Guo Xuyang.
Guo Xuyang stood in front of the graves,lost in thought,as if searching for distant memories.The tombstone was inscribed with the words"Grave of Xu Duan,the sixth-generation disciple of Quanqing Taoist Temple."The graves contained the remains of Xu Duan and his grandson.
Guo Xuyang stood in front of the graves for a long time.Suddenly,he knelt down,bowed three times to the graves,stood up,and left.
After leaving Quanqing Taoist Temple,Guo Xuyang walked forward with the"Longying Fake Sword"made of red wood and wrapped in white cloth on his back.No one knew where his next destination was.
He felt hungry and saw a small tavern in the distance.The banner in front of the door was flapping in the wind,with a big"Wine"character written on it.He strode towards it,deciding to satisfy his hunger there.
Although the tavern was small,it was crowded.Some people were already a bit drunk,talking loudly and eating meat in large pieces.The place was noisy,and no one paid attention to him.
He chose a seat by the window,ordered a pot of wine and a few small dishes to go with the wine.He didn't drink often,but in the absence of water or tea,he would drink anyway.He wasn't a heavy drinker,but he knew how to control himself,so he had never been drunk.
"I told you'Lei Hu Zhai'was destroyed by that kid Guo Xuyang,but you didn't believe me!"a man shouted loudly.
Guo Xuyang was startled and looked at the man.He saw that the man was bare-chested,with one foot on the bench,holding a large bowl full of wine in his right hand,and pointing and talking with his left hand,spitting out words.Although winter had passed,the weather was still cold,but the man was naked and not afraid of the cold at all.Guo Xuyang could see that he was already a bit drunk from his gestures.
He heard someone say to the man,"Speak softly,it won't be good if others hear you!"
The man sneered,"Afraid of what?You're all afraid of Guo Xuyang,but I,Ding Yue,am not!"
The man who was afraid said sourly,"Yes,yes,you're a great hero who's not afraid of anything!"
A thin middle-aged man said in a low voice,"Third brother,let me tell you,I'm also suspicious about this matter!I heard that the one who wiped out the entire'Lei Hu Zhai'in one night was a young man with a sword as fast as the wind.You tell me,apart from Guo Xuyang,who else in the martial world has the ability to do this?"
Ding Yue drank a bowl of wine in one gulp and shouted drunkenly,"Exactly!After he killed people,he even dared to leave the five bloody words'The murderer is Guo Xuyang',as if he was afraid that people wouldn't know that he was the one who killed them!"In his semi-drunk state,he couldn't even tell whether the number of words was"five"or"six",but he spoke with such certainty.
Third brother asked doubtfully,"But why would he admit to killing people?"
Ding Yue shouted,"To make a name for himself!What else could it be?"
The middle-aged man lowered his voice even more and said,"Anyway,the people of'Lei Hu Zhai'were not good people,they deserved to die!I heard that Guo Xuyang only kills bad people,so we have to be careful in our actions,otherwise if he comes knocking on our door,that would be terrible…"
The middle-aged man said something else,but Guo Xuyang didn't have the heart to listen anymore.He gloomily drank a cup ofGuo Xuyang thought to himself,"I don't even know what the people of'Lei Hu Zhai'look like.How could I have wiped out their entire family?"As he pondered,he drank a second cup of wine.
Though he was calm inside,being wrongfully accused like this made him feel a bit uneasy.He hastily ate a few mouthfuls of food,drank a few more gulps of wine,threw some copper coins on the table,and then left.
After several days of traveling,Guo Xuyang heard people talking about him killing everyone in"Lei Hu Zhai"several times a day.Just as he was puzzled by this,he overheard someone shouting in the street:"...I was there at the time!I saw with my own eyes Hero Guo Xuyang gripping the Longying Sword,and with just one swing at the villain Hua Tiangao's head,it flew more than a（a traditional Chinese unit of length）high,with blood spurting from his neck.I shouted,'Great job,Hero Guo!'and Hero Guo smiled at me brightly..."
The man spoke vividly,as if he had been there in person.The onlookers were all staring at him intently,completely absorbed in his story.
Guo Xuyang felt both amused and frustrated.He thought to himself,"Maybe there's some truth to this after all.Since I'm not far from'Lei Hu Zhai'now,I might as well go and investigate."
Having made up his mind,he set off towards"Lei Hu Zhai."