Chapter - 333 Inn In a Deserted Village (8) (1/2)
”Ah!” Mu Nianci exclaimed.
”I have had this thought for a while,” Yang Kang continued, ”But they follow a very strict rule: they only take one disciple per generation. Now that this man is dead, his uncle might take me as his disciple!” He sounded very proud of himself.
Hearing his words and looking at his expression, Mu Nianci's heart turned cold. With a trembling voice she said, ”It turns out the reason you killed him yesterday was not to rescue me at all, but you have another agenda in your mind.”
Yang Kang laughed and said, ”You are overly skeptical; for you, even if my body is crushed to dust and my bones smashed up to pieces, I am most willing.”
”Let's talk about that later,” Mu Nianci said, ”Right now, what are you going to do? Are you willing to be a loyal patriot for the Great Song; or do you still want to seek unlimited riches and honor, acknowledging an enemy as your father?”
Looking at her beautiful face and smart appearance Yang Kang was silently full of admiration, but listening to her talk exposing the content of his heart he was not pleased at all. ”Riches and honor? Humph,” he said, ”What riches and honor do I have? The Great Jin's capital has fallen to the Mongolian army. The Jins were defeated every time they went out to battle. The fall of Jin country is the present disaster we are facing.”
The more Mu Nianci listened to him, the more displeased she became. ”The defeat of the Jins is precisely what we are earnestly wished for,” she said with a stern voice, ”Yet you actually feel sorry for them. Humph, what if the fall of Jin country is the present disaster? Is the Jin country your country? This … this …”
”Why are we talking about other people's business?” Yang Kang cut her off, ”I have been bitterly missing you since you left me.” Slowly he went over to grab her right hand. Mu Nianci could hear the tenderness in his voice, her heart softened; she let him pull her hand gently, without struggling she followed him, her face was slightly blushing.
Yang Kang's left arm was about to embrace her shoulder when suddenly they heard bird cries high in the air; it was very loud and clear. They looked up and saw a pair of big white eagles spreading their wings flying across the sky. Yang Kang had seen this pair of eagles that day when Wanyan Honglie led a team of soldiers to pursue and kill Tuolei, and he knew that later on Huang Rong took the eagles away. ”How did the white eagles come to this place?” he thought. He pulled Mu Nianci's hand and hurriedly walked outside. He saw the pair of eagles fly in circles overhead, while a young girl was sitting on a steed's back by the big tree outside; she was looking at a distance. That young girl was wearing a pair of leather boots, with a horse whip in her hand. She was wearing Mongolian attire, with a long bow on her back and a quiver full of arrows hanging on her waist.
The eagles circled overhead for a while, then they flew along the road. A moment later they flew back. And then sound of hoof beats was heard coming from the road, a number of horse riders came speeding by.
Yang Kang thought, ”Apparently this pair of eagles is to lead the way so that these people can meet with this Mongolian girl.” He saw dust rose on the road and three riders were coming fast toward them. A swishing sound was heard, an arrow shot out to the air, coming this direction. The Mongolian girl extracted a long arrow from her quiver, drew her bow and shot the arrow to the air. As the three riders heard the arrow, they called out in delight, and rushed their horses even faster.
That young girl urged her steed forward to approach the riders. As they were about three 'zhang's apart from each other, the girl and one of the rider shouted and jumped from their saddles toward each other; their hands met in the air and together they landed on the ground.
Yang Kang was secretly startled, ”The Mongolians are very proficient in riding and shooting techniques; even a young girl has this kind of ability. Is it a wonder that the Jins are defeated?”
Inside the secret room Guo Jing and Huang Rong also heard the birds' cry and the hoof beats coming near. After a moment they also heard several people talking and walking toward the inn. Guo Jing was pleasantly surprised, ”How did she come over here? This is wonderful!” he thought.