The Legend of the Condor Heroes

After several kilometers, shouts suddenly came from ahead as 10 or so armed men dressed in black came charging in from the side of the path. The leader of the group yelled, "Shameless scums! Killing good innocent people! Come down here at once and get what's coming to you!" The leading official was furious and shouted back, "Who do you think you scums are, making trouble here in the outskirts of the capital? Get out of the way now!" The gang of men in black did not reply as they charged into the soldiers. Even though there were more soldiers, the men in black were all well versed in kungfu, so neither side seemed to have gained an advantage at this moment.

Bao Xiruo was silently excited as she thought to herself, "Maybe Dear Tie's friends heard the news and came to rescue us." In the chaos of battle an arrow came flying in and hit the butt of the horse she was on. Driven by the pain, the horse ran off as fast as it could to the north.

{Here's something to think about, the first time I read this part I missed it but now I get it, she was obviously not riding in the front of the group of soldiers (because it just doesn't make sense to put a person that might run away in front of everyone else, that's like giving them a head start) and the men in black came charging in from the front, yet the arrow that hit her horse had to have came from behind. So doesn't that seem rather fishy to you guys as well?}

In utter shock, Bao Xiruo grabbed ahold of the horse's neck with both arms in fear of falling off. Sounds of hoofbeats came as another horse came chasing up from behind. In an instant, a black horse came over her. The man on the horse twirled a lasso in the air a couple of time and skillfully tossed it around her horse's neck. The two horses galloped side-by-side. The man slowly shortened the lasso and the two horses gradually slowed down. After several more steps, the man whistled and the black horse immediately stopped dead in its tracks. Because of the lasso, Bao Xiruo's horse could not continue forward and stood up on its hind legs, neighing loudly.

Bao Xiruo has been worn out by the events of the night. In a mixture of sadness and horror, she could no longer hang on to the reins. She fell off the horse and fainted.

After sleeping for what seemed like forever, she slowly woke up. It felt like she was sleeping on a very soft and comfortable bed with a thick cotton quilt over her, she felt warm all over. She opened her eyes and the first thing that she saw was the green colored canopy of the bed, it turns out she really was sleeping on a bed. A lamp was lit on the table by the bed and it seemed like there was a man dressed in black sitting by the bed. Hearing her turn, that man immediately stood up, parted the bed curtains, and quietly asked, "Are you awake?" Bao Xiruo haven't completely recovered all of her consciousness, all she could tell was that this man was somewhat familiar. That man placed his hand on her forehead and gently said, "Still very hot, don't worry, the doctor will be here soon." In a daze, Bao Xiruo slowly fell back asleep.

After a while, it seemed like a doctor was examining her and then someone was feeding her medicine. Yet all she could do was sleep. She snapped out of her dream and screamed, "Dear Tie! Dear Tie!" This was followed by someone patting her softly on the shoulder and gently consoling her.

The next time she woke up was in the middle of the day and she couldn't help but groan. A person walked up and parted the bed curtains. This time they faced each other, Bao Xiruo saw the face clearly. She was shocked, for this handsome, smiling man in front of her was that very man she saved from certain death in the snow several months ago.

Bao Xiruo asked, "Where am I? Where's my husband?" That young man shook his hand, telling her not to be loud, and then lightly replied, "The soldiers are looking all over the place outside, right now we are borrowing a room at a farmer's place. So very sorry, I had to lie and say that I am your husband, please don't accidentally tell them the truth." Bao Xiruo blushed and nodded, but she asked again, "Where's my husband?" That man answered, "Your body is very weak right now. After you get better, then I'll tell you everything."

Bao Xiruo was shocked, from his tone of voice, it seemed like something has happened to her husband. She grabbed the corner of her quilt tightly with both hands and asked in a shaking voice, "He… What… What happened to him?" That man only replied, "Worrying will get nothing accomplished now, the most important thing is your health." Bao Xiruo kept on asking, "Is… Is he dead?" The man's face showed that he realized he had no choice in the matter as he gently nodded, "Mr. Yang was killed by those bastard soldiers." He shook his head and sighed. Bao Xiruo felt as if her heart was being stabbed as she fainted. When she came to after a long time, she started to cry her eyes out.

That man gently consoled her. In between sobs, Bao Xiruo asked, "He… How did he died?" That man replied, "Was Mr. Yang a tall, broad-shouldered man around the age of two0, and uses a spear as a weapon?" Bao Xiruo answered, "Yes, that's him." That man answered, "Earlier today I saw him fighting with several soldiers, killing a couple of them. But… ay! But one of the army officials snuck behind him and stabbed him squarely in the back with his spear."

Bao Xiruo fainted again. She did not drink nor eat for that entire day as she felt obligated to die with her husband. That man didn't force her either as he just talked to her in a very gentlemanly manner to keep her company. As this continued Bao Xiruo started to feel as if she was neglecting him, so she asked, "What is your name? How did you know that we were in trouble and came to help?" That man replied, "My surname is Yan, given name is Lie. I and some of my friends were just passing by here yesterday when we saw soldiers causing trouble. We didn't like what we saw so we decided to help. Who knew that I would end up rescuing my savior. It was as if we destined to meet like this."

Hearing the words "destined to meet", Bao Xiruo's face turned a little red as she tried to ignore him by turning to face inward. She thought about all this in her head a bit. Suddenly something suspicious popped up in her mind as she found a hole in his story. She turned and asked, "Were you on the same side as the soldiers?" Yan Lie was shocked, "Wh… What?" Bao Xiruo explained, "Back on that day weren't you with the soldiers that tried to catch that Taoist Priest? That's why you were injured right?" Yan Lie answered, "Such bad luck on that day. I came from up north and was heading for Lin'an, passing by your village. Who was to know that an arrow was going to come out of nowhere and hit me on the shoulder. If it wasn't for your benevolent heart and kindness I would have really died without even knowing why or how. Why were they after that whatever Taoist Priest anyway? Taoist Priests gets catch ghosts, but soldiers catch Taoist Priests, what kind of logic is that?" When he got to here he couldn't help but laugh a little.

Bao Xiruo observed, "Oh, so you were just passing by and not with them. I thought you were one of those people that was there to catch that Taoist. I really didn't know whether or not I should have saved you." She then went on to explain of why the soldiers were there and how Qiu Chuji killed them all.