Chapter - 379 Veiled Woman In the Black Marshes (3) (1/2)

That lady made the diagram on the sand and sure enough, it was as Huang Rong had said. Huang Rong continued, ”Each hall of that nine halls diagram can be transformed into 'ba gua' [eight-diagram]. Eight by nine equal to 72 numbers. These numbers: 1 to 72 loop around the 'jiu gong' like wreaths. Each loop consists of eight numbers; each four-loop forms another bigger loop, there are four corner loops altogether, which make the total number of loops to be 13. The sum of the numbers in each loop is 292. This diagram variation recorded in the Luo Shu [luo – name of a river, shu – book] is divinely wonderful; no wonder you are not aware of it.” While explaining it, Huang Rong also drew the 72 numbers of the eight diagrams of the nine halls on the sand.

The lady was dumbfounded, she faltered and asked, ”Miss, who are you?” But before Huang Rong could answer her, she felt a shot of pain on her chest; her face paled, and anxiously she took a vial from her pocket and swallowed a green pill from the vial. After half a day her face relaxed, she sighed and said, ”It's finished, it's finished!” Two drops of tears rolled down her cheeks.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other; they thought this lady's behavior was so weird.

That lady had not spoken anything when suddenly there was an intermittent call from the outside. It was the Iron Palm Clan pursuers. ”Are they friends or enemies?” the lady asked.

”They are enemies pursuing us,” Guo Jing said.

”Iron Palm Clan?” the lady asked.

”Yes,” Guo Jing replied.

The lady inclined her ear to listen for a while and then said, ”Qiu Bangzhu [Clan Leader Qiu] personally leads his clan to pursue. Who are you actually?” When asking this her voice was stern.

Guo Jing moved forward one step, stood up in front of Huang Rong, and with poise in his voice he said, ”We are the Nine-fingered Divine Beggar Hong Bangzhu's disciples. My martial sister is injured by the Iron Palm Clan's Qiu Qianren. We took refuge here. If Senior has a close relation to the Iron Palm Clan and is unwilling to give us shelter; then we will take our leave.” Having said this he raised his cupped fist and then turned around to help Huang Rong stood up.

That lady smiled indifferently and said, ”You are young, yet so mule-headed. You can survive but do you think your martial sister can? So you are Hong Qigong's disciples, no wonder you have this kind of skill.”

She heard the shouts of Iron Palm Clan people were sometimes far and sometimes near, sometimes high and sometimes low; she sighed and said, ”They can't find the way, they can't come in; just relax. Even if they manage to enter, you are my guests, how can Divine … Divine … Ying Gu let other people bully her esteemed guests?” She thought, ”Originally I was called 'shen suan zi' [Divine Mathematician] Ying Gu; but this young miss' mathematical skill is a hundred times better than mine. How could I call myself 'shen suan zi' anymore?” Therefore, she only said the first word 'shen' but could not bring herself to utter the next two characters.

Guo Jing bowed to express his gratitude. Ying Gu slipped the clothes from Huang Rong's shoulder to see her injury. She creased her brows but did not say anything; she took the vial from her bosom and dissolved the green pill in a bowl of water.