Novel Bin Chapter 25 – Domestic troubles and foreign invasion, Part 8
Chapter 25 – Domestic troubles and foreign invasion, Part 8
Zhou Botong picked up a dried branch, intending to use it to remove the spider web when suddenly a huge butterfly came flitting near the mouth of the cave and ended up caught in the spider web. The species originated from the Kunlun Mountains so when it struck the web, it had enough power in its body to attempt to struggle and escape. However, although the butterfly’s body was huge, one touch of the spider silk and it went straight into paralysis.
Xiao Longnu realized this and quickly said: “Don’t! The web is poisonous!”
Alarmed, Zhou Botong leapt away and hastily flung the stick to the ground.
Indeed, when Fawang released the venomous spiders, he not only intended to use it to seal the cave, but he also hoped that they would use their hands to destroy it. One touch would cause the poison to seep into the skin and enter the body.
Sitting cross-legged again, Zhou Botong watched as the spiders crowded around the butterfly and started to eat it. He thought: “My internal flow is still unstable. It will be some time before I recover.”
Xiao Longnu, on the other hand, was thinking: If he is going to remain inactive, how will Lao Wan Tong be able to move the poison up his body in order to remove it completely? So she asked: “How many days and nights will it take for you to recover your internal energy?”
Zhou Botong sighed and said: “I need one hundred days and one hundred evenings before I can manage it.”
Xiao Longnu was surprised to hear this so she asked: “How are we going to survive?”
Zhou Botong chuckled, saying: “Even if that bald thief gives us food to eat, being trapped in this cave for several years is not fun.”
Xiao Longnu replied: “He’ll never give us food.” She let out a sigh. “If it were Guo’Er with me in this cave, I wouldn’t mind spending a lifetime here.”
“What makes you place Yang Guo above me?” Zhou Botong said indignantly. “Is he also stronger than me? You don’t think I’m good company?”
Although his words made no sense, Xiao Longnu did not mind it. She only showed a cold smile and said: “Yang Guo knows the Quanzhen swordplay. Together, we can easily defeat this Buddhist priest and send him running away into the wilderness.”
Zhou Botong snorted: “Humph, the Quanzhen swordplay is not that difficult to understand. Even I can use it. Will Yang Guo be able to beat me?”
“When we combine our swords together in a technique called *Yunu Suxin [2] swordplay [‘Pure Heart of the Jade Maiden’], it is important that his heart is filled with love for me and my heart is filled with love for him so we become united and are able to subdue the enemy.”
When Zhou Botong heard her speak about the love between a man and a woman, he was filled with apprehension. He immediately waved his hand and said again and again: “Stop, stop – I don’t love you! You also can’t possibly love me. But I’m telling you it’s much better that there’s two of us in this cave. Years ago I was trapped in a cave in Tao Hua Island [3] and had no one to accompany me. I was forced to fight with myself the whole time. But this time, it’s entirely different because I have you. It’s going to be fun!”
With such happy thought, he could imagine being in that cave for a long time.
Xiao Longnu asked dubiously: “Fight with oneself? Is there such a method?”
Pleased, Zhou Botong immediately launched into a discussion of the “Fen Xin Er Yong Zuo You Hu” [4] [Mutual Hands Combat] method.
Xiao Longnu thought to herself: “If I could learn this method, then I could use the Quanzhen sword play with my left hand and the Yunu sword play with my right. With the two combined, I will be able to complete the Yunu Suxin sword play. But I’m afraid that I won’t be able to learn this kung fu in just one evening.
“This kung fu is difficult to learn,” she told him.
Zhou Botong replied: “If you say it’s difficult, then it will really be difficult. If you say it’s easy, then it will be easy. There are people who spend their entire lifetime learning yet never understand a thing; while there are people who only need a few days to understand it. You’ve heard about those two kids, Guo Jing and Huang Rong, right?”
Xiao Longnu nodded.
Zhou Botong continued: “Who do you think is more intelligent?”
Xiao Longnu answered: “Madame Guo is a thousand times cleverer. Guo’er told me once that there is no one in this generation who could surpass her intelligence and wisdom. Great Hero Guo is virtuous, but his level is actually ordinary.”