Seeing the gigantic bell dropping, Yang Guo instantly understood the ploy. He immediately drew out his black iron sword and sent out with it a thundering force. A âdangâ sound echoed as the sword tip made contact with the copper bell. Even though this bell weighed a thousand catties, the force from this sword was strangely fierce and hit the side of the bell. The bell was then bumped off course by a couple of feet. If dropped, Sun BuâErâs body would be crushed beneath.
Liu Chuxuan and the other masters who were looking down through the hole at the top of the hall realized the situation and cried out in alarm, their hearts aching. Nobody could have expected that this boyâs sword would have such a divine power. They now saw with their own eyes that Sun BuâEr would be wretchedly crushed by the large bell, with flesh and blood splattering. Liu Chuxuan shut both eyes, not daring to look, but then heard Qiu Chuji calling out: âMany thanks for your mercy!â Liu Chuxuan then opened his eyes in surprise, only to see the large bell unexpectedly covering Sun BuâErâs body. There was no trace of crushed limbs at the side of the bell, and not even a part of her Taoist robe was seen.
As Yang Guo saw his sword pushing the bell off course, which would definitely violently kill Sun BuâEr on the spot, he suddenly thought: âToday is our husband and wifeâs happy day, why bother taking someoneâs life? This old Taoist priestess only has a bad temperament and doesnât possess any real evil intent.â Once thought, he acted. His right sleeve flared out, pushing the prayer mat that Sun BuâEr was sitting on and sending her right under the bell.
The Liu-Qiu-Wang-Hao four masters at the top of the hall were pleasantly surprised and thought of Yang Guo as enemy no longer. But the numerous disciples below had earlier received their orders. As soon as the large bell was dropped, they were to rush in to attack. Also as they were outside, they didnât see that the bellâs supposed location was changed. Only hearing a loud noise and seeing dust flying, they all cried out and ran into the hall to attack with their long swords.
Yang Guo then put his black iron sword back onto his back. He used his arm to carry Xiao LongnĂź and leapt out the back of the palace hall.
Qiu Chuji called out: âDisciples, be careful. You may not take these two peopleâs lives!â His voice was loud. Even among the noisy battle cries of hundreds of people, each person still heard it clearly. The numerous disciples ran out the back of the hall, their voices echoed: âCapture the treacherous scoundrel!â âThe scoundrel violated our founding masterâs painting, donât let him go!â âQuick⌠Quick, they went out the eastern side!â âThe great master ordered, donât take their lives!â
Before Liu Chuxuan jumped to the top of the hall, he had ordered twenty-one strong men to hide in the courtyard at the back of the palace hall. Yang Guo was just about to open the screen door when he saw the sword reflections in the courtyard, and knew there were men waiting to block them. He thought: âIt would be better to leap out through the hole in the roof of the hall. Although there are four big masters there, those people actually wonât dare kill me.â He carried Xiao LongnĂź and quickly leapt back inside.
Xiao LongnĂź held on to Yang Guoâs neck with both hands and softly said: âAnyway, we are now married. Our ultimate wish in this world has been granted. If we get out, itâs wonderful but if we donât, it still doesnât matter.â
Yang Guo said: âYou are right!â Then his right leg flew up, following quickly by his left leg. A âpengâ âpengâ sound followed as two priests were kicked out of the hall. Unlike the Cave of the Jade Void area which was much wider, the palace hall was packed with the Taoist priests, who now blocked them with the âBig Dipper Formationâ [Bei Dou Zhen Fa]. Yang Guoâs left arm was carrying Xiao LongnĂź so he could only use his legs to injure the enemy and couldnât break out of the heavy encirclement. He darkly thought: âThese dumb Taoist priests canât spread a complete formation. If only I had my arm free, how would you be able to stop the two of us?â Then another âpengâ sound was heard as a priest was kicked, his body flying out and crashing into two other priests.
In between this chaos, an old man with white beard and hair suddenly ran into the palace hall. Trailing behind him was a swarm of honeybees. It was the Old Urchin Zhou Botong. When he first arrived behind the palace hall, the disciples there didnât pay him any attention, but then the honeybees that followed him started to sting. These bees were not just any ordinary honeybees but indeed were the Jade Bees that Xiao LongnĂź kept and tamed at the Ancient Tomb. The Quanzhen Taoists who were stung immediately felt the itchy pain that was difficult to endure. Some couldnât bear it and rolled down on the ground, crying out. This of course added another commotion to the situation.
Zhou Botong was originally on his way to Xiangyang city to help Guo Jing; but then he stole Xiao LongnĂźâs Jade Bee honey. Afraid to run into her, he decided not to go to Xiangyang but instead came to Mount Zhongnan to find Zhao Zhijing and to investigate how come he dared to plot his Martial Grandpaâs [Master of Masters] death. Along the way he played with the Jade Bee honey and mulled over ways to direct the bees. Playing with the common bees on the road was easy but once he reached Mount Zhongnan, suddenly it all became a disaster. The Jade Bees on the mountain sensed the smell of the Jade Bee honey, many of them buzzed out. Since the Jade Bees were used to Xiao LongnĂźâs hand signals and whistles, Zhou Botong naturally couldnât direct them and also couldnât drive them away. And more than that, they wouldnât let him rest. The Old Urchin saw the situation was not very funny so he speedily ran to the Chongyang Palace, thinking to find a place to avoid the bees. It just so happened that there was also a commotion at the palace, and actually much noisier.
Seeing Xiao LongnĂź and Yang Guo in the palace hall, Zhou Botong was delightedly surprised. He quickly threw Xiao LongnĂź the Jade Bee honey and called out: âCanât soothe them anymore. I canât deal with these grandparents of bees. Good Guniang [good Miss] quickly come and save my life.â Yang Guoâs shirt sleeve flared out, catching the bottle. Xiao LongnĂź let out a small smile and stretched her hand out to take it.
By now the palace hall was filled with buzzing bees. Qiu Chuji and others jumped down to greet and kowtow to their Martial Uncle. Hao Datong shouted out: âQuickly go get torches!â Some of the many disciples were covering their faces with shirt sleeves while others were wielding their sword to strike the bees. Several went to get torches as told.
Zhou Botong paid no attention to Qiu Chuji and others. The Jade Bees had stung him twice on his forehead, which was now swollen with two big lumps. Right now he only wanted to find a secure hiding place where a bee couldnât sneak in. Seeing a large bell on the floor, his heart was filled with delight. He quickly used his energy to lift it up, only to see that there was someone inside. He didnât even look to see who that was, saying: âExcuse me. Excuse me. Let me get in.â He pushed Sun BuâEr out and let himself in. Then he released his hands and a âtengâ sound was heard as the heavy bell fell back down. He was very pleased with himself and thought: âNo matter how you thousands and thousands of bees pursue, you canât sting me, the Old Urchin, anymore!â