Huang Rong stood at the entrance of the ruined temple, watching the group disappear before turning back:
"Brother Jing, Guo'er."
"We should be off as well."
Guo Jing froze in surprise. "Where to?"
Huang Rong looked at him:
"Old Poison, of course."
Only then did Guo Jing snap back to reality.
He had just found Yang Guo and heard about Mu Nianci.
His mind had been completely consumed by thoughts of the boy, so much so that he had forgotten all about Ouyang Feng.
Suppressing a smile, Huang Rong said:
"Hero Guo."
"Don't tell me you forgot."
Guo Jing felt a bit embarrassed:
"It was my oversight."
He looked down at Yang Guo, still feeling somewhat worried.
Ouyang Feng was currently completely insane.
No one knew what he might do next.
Shielding Yang Guo at his side, Guo Jing solemnly instructed:
"Rong'er, Old Poison's palm force is sinister and his moves are bizarre."
"I'll clear the way in front. Hold on to Guo'er, and make sure he never leaves your sight."
Huang Rong nodded and said:
"Rest assured."
...
The three of them stepped out of the ruined temple.
The handprints on the ground were still visible, one after another, very easy to identify.
Guo Jing walked at the very front.
From time to time, he squatted down to inspect the trail.
Huang Rong held Yang Guo's hand, keeping a modest pace.
Following a line of inverted handprints sunk half an inch deep into the mud, the three searched their way toward the desolate wilderness.
Passing through a patch of wild grass, the handprints came to an abrupt end before a swift riverbank.
The river water crashed noisily against the pebbles, leaving not even a single floating blade of broken grass on the surface.
Guo Jing squatted down and touched the collapsed wet mud at the edge of the riverbank.
Standing by the bank, he looked around to the left and right.
"Rong'er."
"Come take a look."
Huang Rong led Yang Guo over.
On the muddy ground near the river, the last two handprints were exceptionally deep.
Further ahead lay the river.
Huang Rong squatted down and took a look:
"He went into the water."
Guo Jing nodded and said:
"It seems we underestimated Ouyang Feng."
"He must have realized."
"That we were able to find him so quickly earlier."
"Deducing that we were following his tracks, he must have plunged straight into the river and taken the waterway instead."
Huang Rong stared thoughtfully at the surging river.
Standing behind them, Yang Guo's mouth twitched involuntarily.
He muttered to himself internally:
"No way, right?"
"I lied to Ouyang Feng just to save my own neck."
"Could he have been provoked by me into becoming clearer-headed?"
Soon, however, he relaxed.
That shouldn't be possible.
Anyone who could believe that a person, upon being poisoned...
...would shrink from an adult smaller and smaller until returning to swaddling clothes...
...still had a very long way to go before their brain fully recovered.
Gazing across the water's surface, Guo Jing said in a deep voice:
"A dragon swimming in a great river leaves no trace upon entering the water."
"If Ouyang Feng truly intends to hide..."
"...it will be difficult for us to find him in a short time."
Guo Jing looked back at Yang Guo:
"Besides, Guo'er is still poisoned and extremely weak."
"Dragging him around into danger could put him in harm's way if we run into Old Poison in a frenzy. Fists and feet have no eyes, after all."
Guo Jing made a decisive call:
"Rong'er, let's put the pursuit on hold for now. We should take Guo'er back to Peach Blossom Island first to treat his injuries."
Huang Rong gave a slight nod:
"That's all we can do for now."
Yang Guo naturally had no objections.
To be honest, he didn't really want to meet Ouyang Feng a second time just yet either.
In case the old lunatic's head suddenly became a little clearer next time...
...and questioned him: "Ke'er, what is your mother's name?"
...he would be frozen dead on the spot.
...
The three doubled back toward the official thoroughfare.
Guo Jing walked beside Yang Guo, his broad, warm hand supporting the boy's shoulder the entire time.
As they walked, a warm smile appeared on Guo Jing's face:
"Guo'er, speaking of which, it truly is divine will..."
"Today happens to be your thirteenth birthday."
"That Rong'er and I could find you on this exact day must be the spirits of Brother Kang and Sister Mu in heaven blessing our reunion."
Yang Guo paused in his steps:
"Uncle Guo, you even know my birthday?"
Guo Jing grinned, his face flushing red with joy:
"Of course I do. Not just that—your name was given by me."
"Every human makes mistakes."
"To make a mistake and be able to change is the greatest good."
"That's why I chose the name 'Guo'."
"With the courtesy name Gaizhi."
Yang Guo raised an eyebrow and suddenly blurted out:
"Uncle Guo, the moment I was born, you were already thinking about making me correct my mistakes?"
"Did you think I was going to be a huge pain in the neck growing up?"
Huang Rong burst out laughing.
Guo Jing quickly waved his hands:
"No."
"Guo'er, your Uncle Guo definitely didn't mean it that way!"
Yang Guo asked, "Then what did you mean?"
Guo Jing explained honestly:
"Your Uncle Guo hoped that you would grow up to stand tall between heaven and earth, understand loyalty, treachery, good, and evil, have the courage to take responsibility when you make a mistake, and correct it properly."
At this point, his speaking speed slowed slightly:
"No matter what you encounter in the future..."
"...you must distinguish what should be done..."
"...and what shouldn't be done."
"If you ever take a wrong step..."
"...you must turn back in time."
Yang Guo smiled and nodded:
"My mother told me about the meaning behind my name before."
"I was just teasing you, Uncle Guo. Don't mind me."
Though he said so, Yang Guo understood very clearly in his heart.
Held within this name, from start to finish, was also Guo Jing's lingering regret over Yang Kang back in those days.
Huang Rong reined in her laughter:
"Guo'er, your Uncle Guo did far more than just remember your birthday."
"Every year on your birthday, he would prepare gifts and hide them away."
Yang Guo froze in surprise:
"For me?"
Huang Rong said with a bright smile:
"Of course."
"In the first few years, he didn't know what you'd like, so he bought whatever caught his eye on the street."
"One time it was a rattle drum that shook with a deafening noise, another time a little wooden horse carved from aged camphor wood, and later he prepared kites that all children love."
Huang Rong counted on her slender, scallion-like fingers:
"Later, your Uncle Guo figured boys would mostly like weapons such as blades and swords."
"He spent every day tinkering away in the back courtyard, insisting on whittling a wooden dagger and a small wooden sword out of peach wood, and even strung a small hard bow."
"The year before last, he commissioned someone to buy a top-quality Huizhou She inkstone, insisting that once you grew up, you had to be literate."
Both of Guo Jing's large earlobes turned bright red. Scratching his scalp, he coughed repeatedly:
"Rong'er... why mention all this in front of the child..."
Huang Rong ignored him, humming lightly with fondness brimming in the corners of her eyes:
"All those things."
"He stored them all inside a wooden chest."
"He wouldn't let anyone touch it."
"Even I would get glared at if I so much as touched it."
Yang Guo's heart suddenly twinged with emotion.
Having never met him, not knowing where he was...
...or even whether he was still alive.
Yet every single year...
...he had still prepared a gift.
Huang Rong continued:
"But even so, he couldn't stop your mischievous little sister Fu'er. She secretly took many of them to play with."
"Now that little wooden sword has become her absolute favorite, and she even gave it a name: the 'Demon-Slaying Sword'."
Yang Guo: "..."
That name was so like Guo Fu.
Huang Rong looked at Yang Guo:
"This is all because your Aunt Guo failed to discipline her properly."
"Don't hold it against her."
Yang Guo hurriedly shook his head:
"Aunt Guo, what are you saying?"
"To have Uncle Guo remember me for all these years, I am already deeply grateful."
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