Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

The river flows swiftly, and passenger boats drift downstream.

Yang Guo lay on a rattan chair on the deck, with Lu Wushuang sitting to his left, peeling a grape and feeding it to him.

Cheng Ying stood on the right, holding a palm-leaf fan in her hand, gently fanning herself.

She changed into a clean dress, the neckline still buttoned up tightly, but her standing posture was somewhat unnatural, with her legs pressed very close together.

The soreness in her body lingered long after that experience in the cabin.

The residual pure Yang true energy from the Qiankun Technique lingered at the edge of the Qi Sea. Each time it circulated through the body, it was stirred up by the true energy of Peach Blossom Island, causing a collision.

The two internal energies, one yin and one yang, waxed and waned within her meridians, making it difficult for her to even stand still.

"Cousin, are your arms tired? Let me fan you for a while."

Seeing the sweat trickling down Cheng Ying's temples, Lu Wushuang turned and asked a question.

"It's not sour."

Cheng Ying lowered her voice, "You've depleted too much internal energy. Moving around more will help restore your energy and blood."

Yang Guo chewed on a grape and swallowed it. He turned his head and his gaze swept from Cheng Ying's waist down to her tightly pressed legs, pausing for a moment.

"Miss Cheng is right, this kind of work won't make you too tired."

After he finished speaking, he raised his right hand and placed two fingers on Cheng Ying's wrist pulse.

A slight warmth spread across my fingertips.

The yang energy of the Qiankun Technique was released in a wisp, which precisely penetrated Cheng Ying's Taiyuan acupoint.

Cheng Ying froze on the spot.

She shook the palm-leaf fan in her hand, gripping the bamboo handle tightly with her fingers to prevent it from falling.

That wisp of true energy traveled upwards along the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, and when it entered the Qi Sea, it connected with the remaining imprint in her body.

The two streams of energy from the same source collided and immediately merged into an even larger heat current, surging deep into the Ren meridian.

She bent her knees slightly and leaned against the armrest of the wicker chair to steady herself.

Lu Wushuang sat just two steps away.

Cheng Ying didn't dare to utter a sound, even her breathing was carefully controlled.

Yang Guo withdrew his finger and wiped it on his trouser leg.

"My internal energy is more stable than this morning, but my foundation is still far from solid. If this continues, when we get to Xiangyang, Chief Huang will be able to detect the problem with just one pulse reading. How am I going to explain this to her then?"

Cheng Ying's heart clenched suddenly.

Huang Rong.

These two words are the only thing she can hold onto right now.

Since leaving Tongguan, Yang Guo has gradually cornered her, making her call him "master," kneel down to take off his boots, and feed him wine in the cabin.

All resistance was blocked.

The Qiankun Technique mark within her body rendered her utterly defenseless against Yang Guo, while Lu Wushuang's presence prevented her from openly turning against him.

But once they arrived in Xiangyang, everything changed.

Senior Sister Huang Rong leads the Beggars' Sect and holds intelligence on the entire world.

Guo Daxia guarded the area, and was respected by both the military and the people.

If these two knew what Yang Guo had done to her, they would certainly not have stood idly by.

She knew her senior sister's personality best; she couldn't tolerate anyone bullying her fellow disciples.

By then, no matter how capable Yang Guo is in fighting and causing trouble, he'll have to think carefully about how to settle this score.

She had already started rehearsing her lines in her mind.

"If Senior Sister asks, I will only say that I encountered a powerful enemy and suffered internal injuries. Headmaster Yang stepped in to help and escorted me all the way."

Yang Guo chuckled after hearing this, but there was no warmth in his laughter.

He's been acting for so many years, and for someone like Cheng Ying to be so convincing in front of him is practically like running naked.

When she answered, her eyes darted slightly to the lower left, a natural reaction when people are making up lies.

Her breathing rate quickened by half a beat when she said the words "senior sister," indicating that this person was her true trump card.

"Miss Cheng has thought things through very well."

Yang Guo leaned back in the rattan chair and crossed one leg over the armrest.

"However, your senior sister is ten times smarter than you. She can tell just by taking your pulse that the Fallen Petals True Qi in your meridians contains such a large amount of pure Yang internal energy. She knows the Peach Blossom Island's techniques by heart, and she can count which path of true energy goes through which meridian even with her eyes closed."

He paused, broke off a small bunch of grapes, and popped one into his mouth.

"If she asks you where this yang energy comes from, what will you answer?"

Cheng Ying remained silent.

Her knuckles, gripping the handle of the palm-leaf fan, turned white and red intermittently.

"To put it bluntly..."

Yang Guo chewed on a grape, spitting out the skin, making a sound that was only audible to the two of them.

"The pattern of this internal energy within you is easier for an expert to recognize than a young woman's bridal veil. Your senior sister could tell at a touch that it was the aftereffect of dual cultivation, and that it could only be planted so deeply with the woman's active cooperation. Guess what she'll think?"

"She will understand."

Cheng Ying forced herself to say something, her voice already somewhat weak.

"Understanding?"

Yang Guo sat up straight and leaned close to Cheng Ying's ear.

"If she knew you untied your clothes and pressed yourself against her in the woodshed of the inn—do you think she would understand you, or would she think you've disgraced Peach Blossom Island?"

"Master Huang Yaoshi was the most concerned about his reputation his whole life. If word got out that his closed-door disciple was engaging in dual cultivation with a man on a pile of dry grass to exchange internal energy, would your senior sister be able to cover for you?"

Cheng Ying finally stopped using her palm-leaf fan.

Her hand gripping the bamboo handle trembled, and her lips were pressed into a thin line.

She wanted to refute him, but everything Yang Guo said was true.

The truth was more unreasonable than a knife, and she couldn't handle it at all.

"Husband, what are you saying to my cousin?"

Lu Wushuang peeked over from the other side, curiously watching the two of them so close together.

Yang Guo wrapped his arms around Lu Wushuang's waist and kissed her hard on the cheek.

"I asked your cousin what kind of gift she should bring to Chief Huang when she arrives in Xiangyang. Your cousin has lived on Peach Blossom Island, so she knows more about this than we do."

"Chief Huang has everything he needs, right?"

Lu Wushuang tilted her head and thought for a moment, then grinned, "She'll be happy when you go, my husband."

Yang Guo laughed loudly.

"You've got a good way of flattering me. Say it again in front of Chief Huang later, and she'll definitely give you two extra pounds of beef jerky."

Lu Wushuang laughed and patted his chest, the two of them making a ruckus.

Cheng Ying stood to the side, her palm-leaf fan hanging limply at her side, not fanning herself at all.

She turned her head to look at the river.

On the distant horizon where the water meets the sky, several white birds fly close to the crest of the waves.

The mountains on both sides of the river gradually become lower, and the water flow widens.

After another three days of travel, we will enter the Han River basin. Once we reach the Han River, Xiangyang will not be far away.

She mentally calculated the days.

Three days, just three more days.

But she herself knew that Yang Guo's words just now were not just empty boasting.

Huang Rong could indeed read all the secrets from her pulse.

The master-disciple system on Peach Blossom Island is very strict. When Huang Yaoshi passed on his skills, each disciple had a unique mark on the meridian pathways.

When external internal energy mixes in, it's like ink splattering on a white cloth—obvious at a glance.

When she arrives in Xiangyang, how should she face her senior sister?

Tell the truth?

That would be tantamount to admitting that she voluntarily engaged in dual cultivation with Yang Guo.

No matter how much her senior sister loved her, she would never stand up for a junior sister who "voluntarily offered herself in exchange for power" in front of Master Guo.

Make up a lie?

Yang Guo's mouth was faster than hers.

If he were to inform Huang Rong first, every word she said afterward would only make things worse.

Cheng Ying gripped the palm-leaf fan tightly, the bamboo handle leaving a red mark in her palm.

Before she could come up with a solution, the boatman's voice came from the stern.

"Sir! A speedboat is catching up from behind!"

Yang Guo released Lu Wushuang and strode towards the stern of the ship.

Three nimble, pointed-bottomed fast boats were rapidly approaching from upstream, each with two armored warriors holding bows, the bowstrings already strung and the quivers open.

Further away, dust billowed along the dirt road on the riverbank, as a cavalry unit galloped along the shore, their horses running fast, the sound of hooves mingling with the sound of water.

Yang Guo estimated the number of riders; they were spread out about thirty zhang in front and behind, and there were at least a hundred riders.

Lu Wushuang followed, already holding the willow-leaf scimitar in her hand.

"Husband, it's someone from the Prince's mansion! They're coming!"

Cheng Ying also walked to the stern of the boat.

Her heart pounded as she looked at the cavalry formation.

The Tongguan garrison commander personally led over a hundred elite cavalrymen and three warships, fully equipped with bows and crossbows.

The passenger ship was stranded in the middle of the river, with no way forward.

No matter how strong Yang Guo's martial arts were, he couldn't stand on the water with his two legs.

Once a barrage of arrows is unleashed, even a master with innate skills would find it difficult to avoid being struck by stray arrows.

She didn't say it aloud, but a thought flashed through her mind.

If Wang Jian really wanted to kill Yang Guo, the Qiankun Technique mark in her body would lose its source.

Without this shackle, her Falling Petal True Qi will soon be able to expel the remaining yang energy.

By then, she will once again be Cheng Ying, the innocent and pure woman of Peach Blossom Island.

The thought flashed through her mind for only a moment before she suppressed it.

It's not because of conscience, it's because it's not worth it.

If Yang Guo were to die here, neither she nor Lu Wushuang would necessarily escape Wang Jian's clutches alive.

Yang Guo glanced at the distance between the three fast boats and the formation of the cavalry on the shore.

The cavalrymen were spread out, but no one drew their bows.

Although the soldiers had nocked arrows, the arrowheads were all pointed at the water, not at anyone.

He twirled the iron ring at the base of his right index and middle fingers, pondering for a moment.

Stop the ship.

The boatman's legs went weak.

"Sir, those are government troops! Stopping means certain death!"

"stop."

Yang Guo only said one word, in a very soft tone, but it completely shut the boatman up.

The old boatman, trembling, lowered the sail, dropped anchor, and went into the water.

The passenger ship gradually slowed down, swayed twice in the middle of the river, and then came to a stop.

The three fast boats quickly closed in, occupying positions on the left and right wings and stern of the passenger ship.

The cavalry on the shore also reined in their horses and stopped, forming an arc on the riverbank.

No one shot an arrow.

The cavalrymen sheathed their swords, and the archers on the fast boats lowered their bows and retreated to the stern.

On the bow of the middle speedboat, a middle-aged man in light armor stepped forward, separating himself from his men.

He was very large, and his breastplate had no patterns, only a row of rivets.

A dark red scab had formed across his left cheek from a knife wound he sustained on the battlefield years ago.

It was Wang Jian, the garrison commander of Tongguan.

Wang Jian looked at the young man standing on the deck of the passenger ship, clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed, and gave a standard military salute.

"Wang Jian, the garrison commander of Tongguan, greets Master Yang!"

The voice was strong and carried far across the water, clearly audible to the cavalry on both banks.

Lu Wushuang stood there, stunned, and slowly lowered the willow-leaf knife in her hand.

Cheng Ying also stopped moving.

She stared at the middle-aged general who was bowing, her mind blank.

She had considered many possible endings.

I imagined Wang Jian ordering a volley of arrows, I imagined a fierce naval battle, and I imagined Yang Guo jumping into the water to escape.

The only thing I never imagined was that a high-ranking general of the imperial court, who was guarding a key pass on the western front and held military power, would bow and clasp his hands in front of a young man in his early twenties under the watchful eyes of more than a hundred elite cavalry.

Yang Guo stood on the edge of the deck, looking down at Wang Jian.

"General Wang has brought so many men in pursuit. Is it to avenge your good son, or to seek revenge for your retainer?"