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Chapter 38 – Life and death are indistinct, Part 4

That old man was indeed Zhou Botong. He lifted his head, laughing heartily and started running toward Huang Rong. But after only a few steps he stopped abruptly. He blushed, turned around and ran fast to the house; ‘bang!’ he slammed the door shut!

Huang Rong was surprised; she had no idea why he behaved peculiarly. She came to the door and banged it. “Old Urchin… Old Urchin!” she called, “There are guests coming from afar, why are you hiding?” Huang Rong kept banging the door, but Botong shouted, “No! I am not going to open the door!”

“Are you sure?” Huang Rong chuckled. “I am going to light a fire, I am going to burn your dog house down to the earth!”

Huang Rong was just shutting her mouth up when suddenly the door on the left opened, out came a smiling monk who said, “To this remote hill and quiet forest came honorable guests. The old monk welcomes you!”

Huang Rong turned around and saw Reverend Yideng was smiling sweetly, his hands clasped in respect. Quickly she came over and bowed to him.

“Ah, turns out the Venerable Monk and Old Urchin are neighbors!” she said, chuckling. “It really is beyond my expectations! But why did Old Urchin close his door and refuse to welcome his guests?”

Reverend Yideng laughed. “Don’t mind him!” he said, “Please come into my hut, I will serve you tea.”

Cheng Ying and Lu Wushuang came and paid their respects, expressing their gratitude they went inside the Reverend’s hut.

Yideng immediately served them tea. Huang Rong asked of his well-being since the last time they met.

“Madam Guo, can you guess who lives in the other hut?” he asked, smiling.

Huang Rong thought for a moment. She wondered why the Old Urchin’s behavior was so strange. Then she laughed and recited this poem, ‘In the deepest of dawn’s cold, when the green spring grass ripples, standing face to face taking a bath wearing red clothes.’ Good! Very good!” The ‘In the deepest of dawn’s cold’ was part of ‘si zhang ji’ [four sheets (of paper) secret] poem written by Concubine Liu Yinggu many years ago.

Reverend Yideng laughed heartily. His heart was free; he did not concern himself with past matters. He clapped his hands and said, “Madam Guo is very smart, I did not expect you to guess correctly!” And then he walked to the door and called, “Yinggu, Yinggu, come over here, come meet our old friends!”

A moment later, Yinggu came over with a wooden tray in her hands, full with green fruits and honey.

Huang Rong and her company quickly bowed in respect, and then the five of them sat and talked happily. Didn’t old acquaintances gather together?

Huang Rong was very happy. For a long, long time, the three were involved with love, hatred and revenge. But now Zhou Botong, Reverend Yideng and Yinggu had set aside their differences, opened their hearts and made peace with each other. They spent their sunset years living together in this beautiful valley, the ‘Hundred-Flower Valley’ [wan hua gu]. They became beekeepers, did some gardening, and even worked a rice field. But the Old Urchin was embarrassed, that was the reason he hid himself. Still, he could not resist listening to their conversation. He eavesdropped from his room. He heard Huang Rong’s narration of the Heroes Summit at Xiangyang, the festivities, everything, until she came to the part where Prince Hou Dou’s disguise was uncovered. She deliberately changed the subject and continued. Zhou Botong could not resist hearing everything. He opened his door and came barging in.

“And then what?” he asked impatiently, “Did Hou Dou run away?”

They laughed. The conversation became more and more animated!

That night the guests slept in Yinggu’s hut. The next morning Huang Rong woke up early and went outside; she saw Zhou Botong was dancing around like crazy, a big bee in his hand.

“Hey, Old Urchin, what are you doing?” Huang Rong asked, chuckling. “You look extremely happy.”

“Hey, Little Huang Rong, my skill is getting better by the day,” came the answer, “Will you or won’t you admire me?”

Huang Rong knew this old man very well; his two traits were: first, he loved to fool around; second, he was crazy about martial arts. After living alone in this remote area for more than ten years, it could be that he had improved his martial arts considerably, or it could be that he had invented some new and weird stances. She remembered his ‘Mutual Hands Combat technique’, ‘Dividing One’s Mind’, ‘Left Hand Fighting the Right Hand.’ Hence she was laughing before she even answered his question.

“If you are talking about martial arts, I have always admired you since I was a child,” she said. [Zhou Botong was held captive on Peach Blossom Island when Huang Rong was a baby,– see LOCH] “I admit inferiority. Why did you even mention it? I wonder what new and wonderful stances you have invented these past few years?”

But Botong shook his head. “Oh no… No!” he declined, “It was little Yang Guo who is crazy about martial arts these past few years. He has invented the ‘Melancholy Sad Palms’ [An Ran Xiao Hun Zhang], which put me to shame. Therefore, let’s not talk about martial arts.”

Secretly, Huang Rong was very impressed. “This kid Yang Guo is amazing,” she thought, “First it was Guo Xiang, a mere child. Now it is the Old Urchin, a veteran. Everybody praises him. I wonder what kind of kung fu “An Ran Xiao Hun Zhang” is?” Then she asked, “Well, you just said that your skill is getting better by the day. What kind of skill is that?”