The girl in the yellow skirt silently studied the girl sitting opposite her for a while. She looked at the rain that was still beating down endlessly outside the temple. She let out a sigh and started to say.
"It is really disappointing. Originally, I had heard that Divine Doctor Dong Fang Tang is somewhere near here in Lan County giving medical advice. In the end, we did not find him and instead got caught in this thunderstorm. Miss, have you ever heard of Divine Doctor Dong Fang Tang's deeds?"
The only reply she received was silence. The girl in the yellow skirt scowled. This girl wearing a veil radiated an air of coldness from her body. It was really hard to get close to her. Since the other person ignored her, then she would just do all the talking herself.
"I heard this Divine Doctor is modest and upright in nature, only care about practicing medicine for salvation and had traveled to all parts of the country. He had saved countless people, loved deeply by the people and held in high esteem by the Emperor. But it is said that he has been looking for his wife throughout the whole of this year and I wonder which girl is so blessed to be able to spend this lifetime together with him."
She paused for a while, looked at the person who did not give any response and unwilling to give up, asked again.
"Miss, what is your opinion on this?"
Ruan Xiang Yin did not want to be disturbed. She really did not know why this girl in the yellow skirt did not feel her coldness and her reluctance to respond.
"Other people's business has nothing to do with me."
She gave an indifferent reply. If the other person is tactful, she will not disturb her again.
Her words seemed to disappoint the girl in the yellow skirt. Her bright and clear eyes narrowed, her exquisitely beautiful face showed slight resentment and with arms crossed over her chest and opened her mouth again.
Just at this moment, a man and a woman appeared outside the broken-down temple. The man was holding up an umbrella and supporting a girl with a pale white face, they walked in.
"Tian Er, bear with it for a while."
As soon as the man stepped into the temple, he closed his umbrella first, then supporting the pale-looking girl, he led her to sit in front of the broken altar table. Then he looked at the three people in the temple and politely said.
"I'm sorry. The rain is really too heavy. Both of us just want to take shelter from the rain. If we have caused you any disturbance, please forgive us."
"This Gong-Zi*, you are very polite. Everyone here is taking shelter from the rain. Why should there be a definition between you and me? Miss, am I right?"
(Gong-Zi is an honorific for a son of an official, nobility, wealthy family, etc.)
The girl in the yellow skirt said with a smile and turned to ask Ruan Xiang Yin. After seeing her still indifferent face and her reluctance to respond, she shook her head and sighed.
After the man had graciously greeted the three of them, he turned around to take care of the girl called Tian Er.
The girl in the yellow skirt looks like someone who likes to meddle in other people's business.
After she could not get any response from Ruan Xiang Yin, she turned her attention to the two people who had just come into the broken-down temple.
"Miss, are you sick? It looks like your complexion is very bad."
The man had a worried expression on his face and looked lovingly at the person in his arms. Then he said frankly.
"Tian Er is not sick. She is.......poisoned by Gudu. We heard Divine Doctor Dong Fang Tang is here in Lan County, so we came to seek medical advice. We did not expect that before we can find him, we will encounter this heavy rain."
Hearing his words, the girl in the yellow skirt opened her eyes wide and round. She stared at the girl resting in his arms with her eyes closed. The girl's twisted face was white as paper and it seems she was enduring great pain.
Involuntarily, she clutched her heart in fear. "What happened? Why did someone cast this Gu on her?"
These two people did not look like people of Jianghu*. They looked just like ordinary people. How did they get involved in this Gudu?
(People of Jianghu means the people who are skilled in martial arts within the human arena of all martial artists all across Jianghu. Refer to Chapter 2 for a clearer explanation.)
The man let out a sigh and began to tell them what happened. The face of the girl in the yellow skirt turned dramatically as she listened to the man.
The man's name is Jiang Kun and the sweet girl in his arms is his childhood sweetheart, Tian Er. Although Jiang Kun is a poor man, the two of them had mutually pledged to stay together for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, Tian Er's father was addicted to gambling and sold her into a brothel to settle his gambling debts, forcing them to be separated. This kind of tragedy was often heard but the shocking news was the old female brothel keeper had cast Gu on her girls. This was done to force the girls to give in and Tian Er was one of the girls. It was Jiang Kun who found out about this when he risked his life to sneak into the brothel. So, he took the opportunity when security was lax in the brothel backyard to rescue her.
"What type of Gu was cast on Miss Tian Er?"
The girl in the yellow skirt asked with a dignified expression on her face. She did not expect that such a thing could happen. Since now that she knows about this, she will not let this matter rest.
"Seven-days Gu.......today is already the sixth day."
Tian Er opened her eyes as she laid in Jiang Kun's arms. Her hands were pressed to her abdomen in pain and she was sweating profusely on her forehead.
"If we still can't find Doctor Dong Fang, I'm afraid Tian Er......."
Jiang Kun looked at the person in his arms who was writhing in pain. His heart hurt for her as he helped to wipe off the sweat on her forehead with his sleeve. Dong Fang Tang was their last hope and if they can't find him during these two days, it was afraid that Tian Er would lose her life.
"Dong Fang Tang does not know how to undo Gu."
Ruan Xiang Yin who had kept quiet all this while listened to the conversation between the three people and insipidly spat out the words. She knew in her heart that although the Seven-days Gu was not difficult to undo, still it entailed a lot of hard work.
As soon as she said those words, Jiang Kun's face turned pale and he lifted his head to look at the girl wearing a hat and veil.
"Miss, are you telling the truth?"
If even the Divine Doctor Dong Fang Tang is also unable to undo Gu, then under these circumstances, who can he turn to, in these two short days? Will that mean he can only just sit and watch as his beloved slowly dies in front of him?
"Since ancient times, it is difficult for someone else to undo the Gu unless it is undone by the person who cast the Gu himself. Dong Fang Tang is only a doctor, even if his skills are excellent, it is not surprising he does not have the knowledge to undo it."
Ignoring Jiang Kun's pale face, it was rare that Ruan Xiang Yin would say so much at any one time and her words seemed to severe all their hopes for living.
Tian Er forced out a sweet smile to comfort the person whose face was even whiter than hers. She only had to bear the pain until tomorrow before she will finally find relief and the person she was most concerned about was him.
"Brother Kun, it's alright if I die but you have to carry on living well."
"No, if you die, I will not continue to live alone."
Jiang Kun looked calmly at her and clasped her little hands.
"The both of you don't be discouraged so early. I heard that Dong Fang Tang's missing wife is good at undoing Gu. If she can be found, then Tian Er can be saved. Am I right, Miss?"
The remarks of the girl in the yellow skirt were directed at the two people but her eyes were resting on Ruan Xiang Yin.
Ruan Xiang Yin's heart froze. Behind her veil, she returned the gaze of the girl in the yellow skirt and could not help but began to scrutinize her.
This girl has a pair of bright intelligent eyes with outstanding self-confidence and a beautiful appearance and one who leaves a deep impression on others. From the moment, she stepped into the temple, she had deliberately tried to chat with her which had raised her suspicions.
Who exactly is she?
Just as Jiang Kun was about to ask for more details, the person in his arms suddenly screamed in pain. Cradling her abdomen, she writhed and the movements in her abdomen intensified and in addition, there was a biting, gnawing pain in her lungs. One wave of pain stronger than the other overwhelmed her. It felt so painful that she wanted to die and she wished to end her life to find relief.
"Tian Er!"
Jiang Kin shouted anxiously. The expression of the girl in the yellow skirt, darkened and when she looked directly towards Ruan Xiang Yin, she swiftly got up and walked to Tian Er. Facing Jiang Kun, she said.
"Keep your ears covered. If you can't endure, leave this place right away."
As soon as she finished speaking, she sat down in front of Tian Er, picked up her green jade flute and started to play the melody of 'Soul-Killing'.
At first, the tune from the flute was clear with a fast rhythm and then it became low again. Suddenly the tune was high then low, long then short and following the rapid changes in the pitch of the tune from the flute, the girl in the yellow skirt and the man who accompanied her, covered their ears. Afterward, Jiang Kun who did not know martial arts, could not withstand the internal forces that were emitting from her, rolled on the ground covering his ears in great pain.
Sizing up the situation, the girl in the yellow skirt gestured with her eyes and the man beside her quickly brought Jiang Kun away from the broken-down temple.
With the continuous changes to the tune of the flute, Tian Er could feel the movement in her abdomen increased in tempo. She screamed in pain while cradling her abdomen and after half a sichen, Tian Er vomited a large mouthful of fresh blood. The blood that she spat out contained more than ten dead insects as long as her little pinky finger.
After Tian Er had vomited out blood containing the Gu, the tune from Ruan Xiang Yin's green jade flute also stopped. Immediately, she took a pill from her chest and fed it into Tian Er's mouth. She also took out a green jade porcelain bottle and handed it to her. She said.
"Your Gudu is cleared but because the Gu was undone too late, most of your inner lungs have been wounded with bites from the Gu insects. The medicine in this bottle will help your injuries to heal. Take one pill a day and after half a month, you will recover."
At the same time, the man who had accompanied the girl in the yellow skirt brought Jiang Kun back into the temple. Jiang Kun hurriedly supported Tian Er to sit up and thought about what the girl in the yellow skirt had said. In his heart, he was thinking.........could this girl wearing a hat and veil be.......
Ruan Xiang stood up unsteadily and her footsteps wobbled slightly. She came to stand in front of the girl in the yellow skirt and asked breathlessly. "Who are you?......."
Halfway through her speech, her body shook, the girl in the yellow skirt was startled and she exclaimed. A figure flashed by, rushing in from the outside of the temple and was just in time to catch her falling body.
"The Four Soul-Oppression Tunes truly deserves its well-known reputation. At last, today I'm able to witness with my own eyes."
Before this, she had heard that 'Weird Doctor' had created 'The Four Soul-Oppression Tunes' which could seal a person's acupuncture points with the melody and had the ability to either kill a person or save a person. Today, she had seen with her own eyes that Ruan Xiang Yin could drive out the Gu from a person's body with her flute music, and it was really an eye-opener for her.
"Third Brother, I think the medical skills of this Miss Ruan is way above yours but her cold temperament is really daunting."
The girl in the yellow skirt is Dong Fang Hai Yao, the fourth sibling and the only daughter in the Dong Fang Family. In the past, she had dressed as a man and was the famous Jade Face Hunter, Dong Fang Jie, well-known in Jianghu. A year ago, she feigned death to resume her status as a female and now she is Jing Wang-Fei.
She took the opportunity that Jing Wang-Ye, Long Hao Tian was busy investigating the corruption cases of court officials and was thus unable to be with her, she had snuck out. Unexpectedly, she was discovered by Long Hao Tian's guard Liu Yong and had to compromise to let him come with her.
A year ago, Third Brother had told her everything that had happened between him and the girl and also told her that they already had the relationship of a husband and wife. She also knew why the two were separated, therefore she had mobilized all of Dong Fang Residence's connections that were available, in order to help Third Brother find Ruan Xiang Yin.
When she knew the whereabouts of Ruan Xiang Yin, she really could not hide her curiosity. She decided to come personally to meet this girl who could make Third Brother leave her, Dong Fang Hai Yao, behind while she was still seriously injured. She had wondered what kind of person could make him constantly remorseful and keep her in his heart for a whole year.
According to what she had witnessed in the broken-down temple, although she was impressed by Ruan Xiang Yin's medical skills in healing with her flute, she had also seen her cold indifference and the difficulty in getting close to her. Although Ruan Xiang Yin was not so heartless as to ignore the dying, Dong Fang Hai Yao was still greatly disappointed with her. For a modest and gentle man like Third Brother, how could he like this kind of girl with such a cold temperament? It was incomprehensible and it puzzled her.
"Xiang Yin is a good girl who has a cold exterior but a warm-heart."
Dong Fang Tang pitifully and lightly stroked her slightly pale little face. He lovingly studied her face after she had fallen into a coma due to excessive internal energy used.
A year had passed without seeing her and her cold air of alienation was even worse than a year ago and he knew it was all because of him. Gazing at the tender face that was always present in his dreams, his eyes could no longer conceal the deep love he has for her.
"Third Brother, I was still thinking about how long you will be hiding before you make yourself visible. In the end, you endured until Miss Ruan fainted and immediately you ran out." Dong Fang Hai Ya said unceremoniously.
Half a month ago, although Dong Fang Ao did not see the face behind her veil, he had already guessed her identity. So he immediately notified everyone and since then, Third Brother had kept himself hidden while he followed her.
"At the present time, she will not be willing to see me."
Dong Fang Tang gave a wry smile. He missed her very much but he also understood her very well. He knew that her heart was full of resentment for him and feared that she would make up her mind to cut off all ties with him. Otherwise, she would not have hidden from him for a whole year.
"Whoever started the trouble have to end it himself."
This was the only way Dong Fang Hai Yao could comfort him. She did not dare to tell him that she had deliberately probed Ruan Xiang Yin in the temple and she had not answered any of her questions. She was afraid this Miss Ruan would make Third Brother suffer.
***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***
Knock! Knock!
At this time, knocks sounded outside the door and Dong Fang Hai Yao personally opened the door. The couple standing outside the door was Jiang Kun and Tian Er.
"We are here especially to thank you and say our goodbye." Jiang Kun said with sincerity.
The two people had met Dong Fang Tang on their journey and after he had seen the condition of Tian Er, he did not say anything and only told them which direction to go. Tian Er had only one chance for survival and at that time, they had thought he knew the whereabouts of Divine Doctor Dong Fang Tang.
The two of them had followed the direction he had given and come to the broken-down temple to shelter from the rain. It was until Tian Er's Gu was undone, then only did they realize the person who had guided them to the temple was Dong Fang Tang and also the girl who saved Tian Er was actually his wife.
"Remember not to let Miss Tian be too tired on the journey as her body is still very weak." Dong Fang Tang reminded with a smile but he did not get up to greet them.
If he had not known about the urgent situation of the Gu in Tian Er's body that must be undone as soon as possible and only Xiang Yin was able to help her, he would not be willing to allow Xiang Yin to take the risk of excessively using her internal energy and face the danger of falling into a coma.
When he saw her fainting again in front of him, his chest hurt painfully like being pierced by needles.
"Thank you so much for the great grace bestowed upon me, by you and your wife. In my afterlife*, I will repay your kindness with deep gratitude."
(Afterlife ~~ The Chinese believe there is life after death and so what Tian Er meant was since she could not repay him in this life, she would carry this debt to her next life and therefore she promised to repay him in her 'afterlife'.)