Zhao Zhijing quickly opened the bottle and said, âYou smell it, isnât it the bee honey?â
Zhou Botong deeply inhaled the air and said, âHmm, Hmm, it doesnât smell like it. Let me sniff again a few more times.â
Zhao Zhijing clasped both hands tightly over the bottle for fear that Zhou Botong would lift the bell up and snatch it from him. At the same time he said, âYou sniff this sweet scent, sniff this sweet scent!â The scent of the Jade Bee honey was incomparably sweet. As soon as the bottle was opened, the palace hall was filled with the strong fragrance.
Zhou Botong sneezed and laughed. He said, âIâve got a cold and my nose is not very effective!â and at the same time turned to Qiu Chuji, giving him a wink.
Zhao Zhijing also guessed right that Zhou Botong was using a delaying tactic so he said: âIf you even touch the bell, I will eat all the bee honey.â But by this time, several Jade Bees had already sensed the honey smell and flew to the bell.
Zhou Botong wielded his sleeves and shouted, âGo in and sting him!â The Jade Bees of course didnât listen to Zhou Botong but the scent coming out from beneath the bell was growing more and more intense. With zeng-zeng hums, they all buzzed in through the crack at the bottom of the bell.
The people then heard Zhao Zhijingâs frantic shouts. With the poignant smell of the honey, a Jade Bee flew in and stung him, causing the bottle to drop and shatter. Zhou Botong went mad and shouted, âStinky Cow nose [Taoist], why couldnât you hold the bottle firmly?â As he was about to go lift up the bell more Jade Bees from the courtyard crazily buzzed into the bell. Zhou Botong had suffered the Jade Bee stings so he didnât dare to get near. He saw numerous bees filling the large space inside the bell. Zhao Zhijingâs body was covered with the sticky syrup and no matter how he moved his hands or his head, he couldnât avoid the bees and got stung who-know-how-many hundred times all over his body. The people heard him shouting out crazily for a moment and then came an eerie silence. He must have died from the great amount of poison.
Zhou Botong then grabbed Liu Chuxuanâs robe and said: âGood, Chuxuan, now you go ask Long Guniang to give me many, many bottles of the bee honey.â Liu Chuxuan frowned, feeling quite miserable. Earlier he tried to stop Zhou Botong from being rash and agreeing to Zhao Zhijingâs demand so he spoke out quite carelessly. As a matter of fact, the Quanzhen Five Masters had used the âBig Dipper Formationâ and all their combined forces to injure Xiao LongnĂź. It was still not certain that she would ever recover, how could it be âanimosity explained and settledâ four words as he said? Right now Zhou Botong was holding his chest so he could only let out a painful smile and said: âDonât worry, Shi Shu [Martial Uncle], Chuxuan is leaving!â Then he turned towards the back of the mountain and walked to Gu Mu.
Qiu Chuji and others knew that this matter was indeed deadly. If Xiao LongnĂź was alright, everything would be fine. But if she died from the severe injury, nobody knew how many Quanzhen disciples would be killed by Yang Guoâs hand. Everybody then said in one voice: âLet us all go together.â
The woods outside Gu Mu was the area Wang Chongyang himself had forbidden his disciples to go, not even one step. Many people heeded their late masterâs instruction so they stopped at the edge of the woods. Qiu Chuji summoned air into his abdomen and clearly announced: âYang Xiao Xia [Young Hero Yang], is Long Guniangâs injury alright? Here weâve got several wonder pills to treat the injury. Please come out and take them.â Zhou Botong said in a low voice: âYes, Yes! I want the bee honey. Come out and trade for them!â Half a day passed and still there was no reply. After Qiu Chuji used his energy to call the couple, the woods fell into a bleak silence. He looked into the woods but only saw the shady clouds circling around, all the tree branches above, and thorny bushes below.
Liu Chuxuan and Hao Datong walked along the edge of the woods but saw no sign of people passing through the area. It looked like Yang Guo and Xiao LongnĂź didnât come back to Gu Mu but went away from Mount Zhongnan. They felt both happy and worried at the same time and decided to return to the Chongyang Palace. The Quanzhen people were glad that the Yang-Long couple had gone far away but worried that if Xiao LongnĂź didnât recover, the sect would have big trouble ahead. On the other hand, the Old Urchin Zhou Botong was worried that he wouldnât get the Jade Bee honey but also quite happy that he didnât have to meet Xiao LongnĂź and could avoid exposing his crime of stealing the bee honey in the first place.
Even though the Quanzhen Five Masters had lived on Mount Zhongnan for several decades, they couldnât have guessed how Yang Guo and Xiao LongnĂź came back to Gu Mu.
Shielded by the Jade Bees, the Yang-Long couple rushed to the back of the courtyard and then saw a small building on the side of the mountain. Yang Guo knew it was the Sacred Scripture Chamber of the Chongyang Palace so he carried Xiao LongnĂź inside. They let out a gasp of air and then heard the sounds of many people shouting. Dozens of Taoists were pursuing them but they were afraid of the Jade Bees and dared not come too close.
Yang Guo settled Xiao LongnĂź in a chair, looked around, and contemplated the situation. Then he saw that in the back of the Sacred Scripture Chamber was a mountain creek which was 30 to 40 feet below. Even though the gorge was deep, the good thing was that it wasnât too wide. On the side of his body, he always carried a long rope for tying between two big trees to make a bed. Now he tied one end to a pillar of the Sacred Scripture Chamber and then leapt down while pulling the rope. He swam across the mountain stream and then straightened the rope. He then tied its other end to a big tree before using his lightness Kung Fu to walk on the rope back to the chamber.
When he was back at Xiao LongnĂźâs side, he softly asked her, âShall we go over there?â
Xiao LongnĂź said, âYou said we should go there; then Iâd go there with you.â
Yang Guo laughed and said, âThat is called âMarry a chicken, act like a chicken; marry a dog, act like a dog!â [Chinese saying: A woman must follow and comply with her husbandâs wishes]. Then he paused and asked again, âIn your heart, do you really want to go over there?â Xiao LongnĂź let out a gentle sigh and her facial expression changed. Yang Guo knew she most wanted to go home to Gu Mu but they could only get inside at great expense. While hesitating, they heard the shouting from outside the chamber and knew that they couldnât delay getting out of there much longer.
While he could read her mind, Xiao LongnĂź also understood him just as well. So she softly said, âI donât really have to go back to Gu Mu. You donât have to worry about me.â Then she smiled, âAs long as I can be with you, any place is just as good.â
Yang Guo now thought, âThis is her first wish after we got married and it might be her last wish in life as well. If I couldnât do this for her, how would I deserve to be her husband?â 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, âThatâs it!â 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 LongnĂź and said with a smile, âLet us go home.â