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SPCNET.TV Forums - Wuxia Translations https://www.spcnet.tv/forums/ English translations of wuxia novels by fans. en Tue, 19 Mar 2024 09:46:26 GMT vBulletin 60 https://www.spcnet.tv/forums/images/misc/rss.png SPCNET.TV Forums - Wuxia Translations https://www.spcnet.tv/forums/ <![CDATA[Yuan Yang Sabres - 鴛鴦刀]]> https://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php/42148-Yuan-Yang-Sabres-鴛鴦刀?goto=newpost Fri, 15 Mar 2024 04:40:19 GMT Hi guys,

This is my first time translating a novel. I chose this story because it's a short Jin Yong novel that I've always liked, and also because I couldn't find a good version of it as of last year when I first started this project. It's a funny and light-toned story. Hope you like it.

The live reading of this version can be found onhttps://www.youtube.com/@Readfamy
The editing was done after the live reading so there will be small changes in the text.

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Yuan Yang Sabres


(Translator’s note: Yuan Yang, also known as mandarin ducks, are Chinese love birds that always travel in pairs. The male is called Yuan, and the female Yang.)


Author: Jin Yong
Translator: Losshe
Editor: Linfamy


Chapter I


Four men dressed in martial outfits stood side by side, blocking the road!


If they were from a gang of bandits, there would not be only four of them. Perhaps they have an ambush hidden in this dark and gloomy pine forest? If they were regular bandits, they'd be avoiding such a big troop of escorts at all cost. How would they dare to block the way haughtily in broad daylight? Or could it be that they're master martial artists, and they’re after me?


Looking at the four people: farthest to the left was a compactly built man with a pointy chin, holding a pair of steel e’mei stings. The second man was tall and fat, looking like an iron tower planted on the ground. In front of him was an enormous stone stele, engraved on it were the words “Late Father Chengben From the Tomb of the Huang Household.” It was obviously a tombstone, but why put it in front of him? Huang Chengben? Never heard of an elder master in the martial world with this name! The third one was an average built man with light skin. He would have been a rather handsome fellow if it wasn’t for his slightly protruding teeth and a nose that was a tad too flat. He held a pair of meteor hammers. At the rightmost was a sickly looking middle aged man. He was dressed in shabby clothes and had a pipe in his mouth. Slowly blowing out the smoke with his eyes half closed, he didn't seem to take this group of seventy escorts seriously at all.


Those three aside, this sickly man must be a strong opponent with great inner energy. At this very moment, many tales he had heard in the martial world appeared in his head: a white haired granny who killed five escorts with her bare hands and stole the treasures; an old beggar who caused trouble in Tai Yuan's court, disappearing after beheading the magistrate; a pretty young lady who beat master Zhang of Datong house whose martial skills had been well known in the Northern Jin region for over twenty years... The more ordinary and carefree they look, the stronger they may be. As the saying in the martial world goes: the real ones don’t show, the ones who show aren’t real.


Looking at the sickly man smoking with his eye closed, the chief escort of the Prestige-Integrity Escort House of Shanxi, Xi'an, “The Iron Whips That Frighten The Eight Directions” Zhou Weixin hesitated, and instinctively touched the bundle on his back.


They were escorting a total of one hundred thousand taels of silver, entrusted by Xi'an's big salt merchant Wang Derong. One hundred thousand taels of silver wasn't a small number indeed, but the Prestige-Integrity Escort House had escorted two hundred thousand taels of silver before, and even four hundred thousand. Gold or silver weren't a big deal, but ever since he had left Xi'an, his mind had only been on the two sabres he secretly carried on his back and the words he had heard in the house of Chuan-Shan Governor-General that night.


The one who had spoken to him was the Chuan-Shan Governor-General Liu Yuyi. Although Zhou Weixin was well known in the martial world, the biggest government official he had met up till then was the magistrate. This time he was received by the Governor-General himself. Naturally he would be overwhelmed, trembling, and fidgeting.


Those words from General Liu had been on repeat in his head for God knows how many hundred times.


“Chief Zhou, this pair of sabres is called the Yuan Yang Sabres. They are nontrivial. Be careful with them. When His Majesty was still a prince, he had already sent out trusted agents to look for them. After he succeeded the throne, he had announced a secret decree for all the governors of the eighteen provinces to search for them. When he had finally seized the owner of the Yuan Yang Sabres, the cunning scoundrel had already hidden them elsewhere. No matter how much we investigated, it was of no avail. Thank God my ancestors had accumulated great karma, and thanks to the fortune of His Majesty, I have finally found them. Hehe, your Prestige-Integrity Escort House seems reliable, so now I'm entrusting you to escort these sabres to the capital, and not a word should be let out on your way. After you get them to Beijing safely, you will receive a substantial reward.”


He had heard about the famous Yuan Yang Sabres long ago from his master: “The Yuan Yang Sabres, one is long and one is short. A big secret hides within them. The one who knows it will become invincible.”


The word “invincible” had always been the biggest dream of every martial person. When Zhou Weixin had heard this, he didn't think much of it. He thought that it was probably just some urban legend. How could sabres contain a secret that made people invincible? Who would have thought that one day, General Liu would really obtain the Yuan Yang Sabres, and furthermore, entrust him to bring them to the capital and offer them to His Majesty the Emperor?


The pair of sabres were wrapped tightly in layers of yellow cloth and sealed with the general's wax stamp. Obviously, he desperately wanted to have a peek at the precious sabres. And if he had the chance to learn the secret within them, “The Iron Whips That Frighten The Eight Directions” would become “The Invincible Iron Whips.” That would be great indeed, but who would dare to open the general's seal? No matter how many times he counted, the Great Chief Zhou only had one head.


The Governor-General sent out four of his trusted guards disguised as escorts to follow him. You could say they were there to assist, or you could say they were keeping an eye on him.


A day before the departure, the Governor-General sent out yet another few bodyguards to “invite” all of his twelve family members to the barracks of the garrison, saying that they were concerned that Chief Zhou might worry about having no one to look after his family while he was away and therefore took them in.


From the years Zhou Weixin had been in the martial world, how could he not know the meaning behind it? They weren't concerned about his family, but rather it was General Liu's concern over these sabres. Therefore they took both his elderly parents, wife, concubines and children as hostage. God forbid anything should happen to these Yuan Yang Sabres along the way, his head would have inevitably separated from his body and his whole family would have been killed.


He had been through quite a bit of ups and downs in his life, through glory as well as immense dangers. He had been a hero as well as a coward, he had cut off other people's heads, and the only thing he hadn't experienced was to have his own head cut off. You could say that he was a well experienced martial person, but he had never been this astounded, delighted, yet anxious.


If he could escort the sabres into the capital safe and sound, not only would General Liu surely keep his promise of a substantial reward like a true gentleman, perhaps even His Majesty would be so delighted that he would be granted a title or a position in the court. Then he would bring honor to his family and ancestors, and Chief Zhou would become General Zhou and Master Zhou.


The way from Xi'an to Beijing wasn't very long, but it wasn't short either, as there were still at least thirty to forty mountains and bandit strongholds. Any regular gang wouldn't have concerned “The Iron Whips That Frighten The Eight Directions.” Even if he couldn't frighten all eight directions, he could still manage one or two. But how many elite martial artists would chase after the words “The one who obtains the Yuan Yang Sabres will be invincible”? Therefore he used the silver of the salt merchant as a decoy for the hidden sabres. This way, should anything happen to the silver, as long as the precious sabres arrived at the capital, he would still be fine. When he becomes an official, General Zhou would sit in the office and money would pour right in. What would a hundred thousand taels of silver be to him? Besides, a general only asks for silver, who would dare to make him pay it back?


Zhou Weixin pressed the iron whip on his waist with his left hand, stared at the four men in front of him, and finally forced out a cough.


He cupped his fist. “My humble self is passing by your honorable territory and forgot to pay respect to my dear friends. It was very discourteous of me. May I ask for your forgiveness.”


“It would be best not to fight at all,” he had decided in his mind. “Or that walking corpse could be a tough opponent! As the saying in the martial world goes: recklessness may cripple you, but caution will let you walk freely.” As he thought to himself, the sickly man put his left hand on his chest and coughed.


The short skinny man waved his e’mei stings and said in an effeminate voice, “No need to kowtow and pay respect. Whatever precious items you're escorting, leave them to us!”


Zhou Weixin was startled.


“When we departed,” he thought, “even my most trusted escorts believed that we were escorting silver. How does this person know that I'm really escorting precious items? As the saying in the martial world goes: the one who is coming surely has bad intentions, the one who has good intentions wouldn’t come. I should be careful.”


“Please pardon my ignorance,” he said, cupping his fist again. “May I ask your respectable names?”


Say yours first,” said the skinny man.


My humble name is Zhou Weixin. ‘The Iron Whips That Frighten The Eight Directions’ is the nickname that the friends in the martial world gave me.”


Hehe, what a nickname,” the sickly man sneered. “But the word ‘frighten’ needs to be changed. It should be changed to ‘bow to.’”


The skinny man said, “Change to ‘bow to’?” then he paused for a second and continued. “Right, Zhou, my big brother just changed your nickname to ‘The Iron Whips That Bow To The Eight Directions’! My big brother foretells like a prophet and is always sensible!”


As he finished the sentence, the four men all roared with laughter.


There’s a saying in the martial world,” Zhou Weixin thought to himself. “Hold your anger for a moment, and you might spare a hundred days of calamities.”


“Please excuse my rudeness!” He said, forcefully suppressing his anger, “Where do the four of you come from? Which mountain is your territory? And who's your chief?”


Alright, I'll tell you then, but be careful don't get scared,” said the skinny man, then pointed at the sickly man. “Our big brother is named ‘Smoky Cloud Divine Dragon’ Xiao Yao Zi; second brother is ‘Stele Cleaving Duo Palms’ Chang Changfeng; third brother is ‘Meteor Chasing The Moon’ Hua Jianying; and my humble self is ‘Catching Toad Within Eight Steps,’ ‘Surpassing Zhuan Zhu,’[1] ‘Walking On Snow Without a Trace,’ ‘One Foot Flying Over Water,’ ‘Double Stings That Transcend Seven Provinces’ Gai Yiming!”


The more Zhou Weixin listened, the more he was dumbfounded.


He thought, “How could this person have such long and wordy nicknames!”


We are sworn brothers who do good deeds,” the skinny man continued. “We fight the strong and help the weak, steal from the rich to aid the poor. People in the martial world call us ‘The Four Heroes of Taiyue’!” [2]


From their nicknames,” thought Zhou Weixin. “It sounds like this skinny guy excels in lightness martial arts. That big guy must have a lot of strength in his palm attacks. The white faced guy is a master in meteor hammers, and that ‘Smoky Cloud Divine Dragon’ Xiao Yao Zi, must be an elder master martial artist who lives a secluded life. I've never heard the name of ‘The Four Heroes of Taiyue,’ but since they're called ‘heroes,’ they must not be trivial. As the saying in the martial world goes: rather not recognize words, shouldn't dismiss people.”


“I have long admired your names!” he then cupped his fist. “Our escort house has never had any enmity with you four heroes. Please let us pass and we'll come and pay respect another time.”


If you want us to let you pass, it's easy,” said Gai Yiming, making a clashing sound with his double stings. “We don't want your silver. Just lend us one or two treasures, that’ll be enough.”


What treasure?” Zhou Weixin asked.


Hehe, you're asking me?” said Gai Yiming, “Well, that's funny. How would I know if you don't know it yourself?”


Hearing this, Zhou Weixin knew that they would not let him off easily. These Four Heroes of Taiyue were obviously after the Yuan Yang Sabres.


“As the saying in the martial world goes,” he thought. “Have mercy and there’s no fight, and when you fight there's no mercy. When they move, it will surely be deadly.”


He slowly pulled out his two whips.


“If that’s the case, I shall witness the superb skills of the Four Heroes of Taiyue. Which one of you will go first?”


He turned his head and waved his hand. Five escorts and the four guards from the general's office approached him.


“We don't have to follow the rules of chivalry with these bandits,” Zhou Weixin said in a low voice. “Let's all strike at once. There’s a saying in the martial world: with enough hands, even buildings can be carried across a river.”


What he was really thinking was, “Let them fight the four heroes, and I'll flee. The most important thing is to bring the sabres to the capital. As the saying in the martial world goes: in good times we fight together, but in times of crisis, we each go our own ways.”


Chief,” said Gai Yiming, moving towards Zhou Weixin. “My two stings that transcend seven provinces will take on your iron whips that frighten the eight directions. Let’s fight for a good seven or eight rounds!”


Zhou Weixin did not get off the horse. He raised his iron whip, using the move “Stealing Spear In The Peach Garden” to block the e’mei sting. He then tightened his thighs on the horse and dashed out.


Shoot! The big chief wants to run away!” Gai Yiming shouted.


I'm going to check if they have an ambush outside the forest!” Zhou Weixin turned his head and yelled, while letting his horse gallop away.


Hua Jianying threw the meteor hammers towards his back. Zhou Weixin waved his left whip without turning around, using the move “Breaking Into Three Enemy's Camps At Night,” with a “Dang” sound, it swung the meteor hammers back.


As soon as he clashed weapons with Hua and Gai, he felt that their moves weren't extraordinary, and their inner energy was also mediocre. Turning his head, he saw Xiao Yao Zi still holding his pipe leaning against the tree, and looking expressionlessly at the three heroes of Taiyue being surrounded by the troop of escorts.


If I hesitate a bit and let that guy make a move,” Zhou Weixin was startled and thought to himself, “Then I wouldn't be able to escape at all. Like the saying in the martial world: the rain will fall on your head if you don't leave while it's sunny.” He turned his hand to give a little stab on the horse butt with his whip. The mount started bolting madly.


He glanced at Xiao Yao Zi, and suddenly saw that he waved his right hand while shouting: “Eat my dart!” Hearing the wind beside his body, a dark projectile had gotten near. Zhou Weixin raised his whip to block it. With a “Paf” sound, the projectile stuck to the whip, and didn't fly off.


This Xiao Yao Zi really is a master martial artist.” He was even more startled. “Even his projectile is unlike others. As the saying in the martial world goes: when an expert shows his hand, you know right away.” His mount didn't slow down a bit, and carried him outside the forest.


Zhou Weixin saw that nobody chased after him, took a breath, and looked at the projectile that was glued to his whip. It turned out to be a tattered muddy shoe. The mud was sticky, hence why it didn't fall off the whip.


“High level martial masters can hurt people even with flower petals and leaves.” He was even more taken aback. “He didn't take my life with this old shoe, he must have had mercy on me.” For a moment he was unsure whether to keep running or wait and see what was coming.


Suddenly he heard from the forest someone shrieking like a dying pig, then followed by complete silence. Not even sounds of weapons clashing could be heard again.


Could it be that all the escorts and the four guards got taken down by the Four Heroes of Taiyue instantly?” Zhou Weixin thought, even more stunned and confused.


Suddenly he heard someone shouting.


“Chief! Chief!” it was Escort Zhang's voice. Zhou Weixin touched the bundle on his back but didn't answer.


He thought, “There's a saying in the martial world: listening brings wisdom, and distance makes you see clearly.”


Chief--- come back! The bandits have left! We chased them away!” a short while after, someone shouted again.


How could it be so easy?” Thought Zhou Weixin, slightly taken aback.


He pulled on the reins to turn the horse around and saw an escort running out of the forest.


Chief! The attackers left.” The man shouted happily. “They were lame, couldn't even stand a blow.”


For real?” Zhou Weixin said, thrilled and surprised.


We fought them head on, together,” said the escort. “That sickly man got hit on the shoulder by escort Zhang's sabre, and the four of them ran away.”


Seeing that he didn’t seem to be lying, Zhou Weixin was absolutely delighted. He urged the horse to go back into the forest.


There were a dozen enemies in ambush outside the forest,” he said. “I fought them and they all fled.”


He couldn't help but blush a little as he lied.


There's a saying in the martial world: a thief feels guilty, the one who farted will blush,” he thought. “I have to compose myself, and not let them notice anything unusual.”


Four Heroes of Taiyue? Bullshit!” said Escort Zhang proudly, waving his sabre.


The group of escorts and guards laughed loudly. Zhou Weixin looked at the upright tombstone on the ground, still confused.


Aye! Ouch!” They heard a few grunts from the back of the forest.


It's the injured enemy!” Said Zhou Weixin.


The crowd ran over like a gust of wind. The grunts came from a bush of thorns. A dozen people scattered and surrounded the bush.


Little thief! Get out at once!” shouted Zhou Weixin, but the grunting got even louder.


Zhou Weixin lifted his arm, and with a “Whoosh” sound, a hand arrow shot into the bush.


Ah--!” the person inside screamed, obviously wounded.


Got him! Chief's got amazing aim!” two escorts cheered.


They got into the bush carrying their sabres and brought the person out. Upon seeing the man, everyone looked at each other and fell silent.


That man turned out to be the fat salt merchant Wang who entrusted them with the silver. His clothes had been torn by the thorns. There was a saying in the martial world: “Out of ten fat men, nine are rich, and the last doesn't have a butt.” [3] Not only did this fat salt merchant Wang have a butt, it even had a hand arrow on it!


* * *


The Four Heroes of Taiyue hid inside the woods, and only came out when they saw the people of the Prestige-Integrity Escort House were far away. Hua Jianying tore a piece of cloth from his shirt to wrap the wound on Xiao Yao Zi's shoulder.


Big Brother, are you alright?” asked Chang Changfeng.


It's alright! It's alright!” answered Xiao Yao Zi. “When greatly outnumbered, even heroes can't win. It's not a big deal.”


I've told you that there's a lot of them,” said Hua Jianying. “And it wouldn't be an easy fight, but Second Brother still insisted, causing Big Brother to get hurt.”


These people are thick headed,” said Gai Yiming. “They didn't back off even after hearing the reputable name of the Four Heroes of Taiyue. What could we do?”


You can't blame it on Second Brother,” said Xiao Yao Zi. “We had to go after the escort houses if we wanted to get treasures.”


What should we do now?” asked Chang Changfeng. “We can't go there empty handed.”


I think...” suggested Gai Yiming, but before he could continue, sounds of footsteps suddenly arose outside the forest. Someone was running at great speed from south to north, towards them.


Gai Yiming turned his head to look in their direction. His downward brows raised.


There are two people coming!” He said. “This time we'll take care of them two on one, betcha these two fat sheep won't get away!”


That's right!” Chang Changfeng agreed. “Gotta get at least a few dozen taels of silver!” He lifted the tombstone off the ground, carrying it in his hands.


His nickname was “Stele Splitting Duo Palms,” because he used tombstones as his weapon. Using his brute strength, he would throw the big stone stele at his opponent’s head, and would oftentimes scare them away even before the fight. As to whose tombstone it was, he was quite spontaneous about it. He would pick one as he travelled, depending on which dead person had the misfortune or bad karma to fall into his hands. The four of them then made a hand gesture to each other, and hid behind the big trees.


Two people ran into the forest one after the other. The one in front was a man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years of age, holding a sabre.


Damn *****, so violent. Do you really want to kill me?” he cursed loudly.


The Four Heroes of Taiyue were befuddled. They saw that the one who followed was a young married woman. The woman carried a baby on her back and held a slingshot. With a string of “Pah Pah Pah” sounds, beads were shot towards the robust man. The man waved his sabre left and right to block them, but didn't dare to turn around and fight.


Who are you? Why are you fighting?” Xiao Yao Zi shouted, seeing that it was a man and a woman fighting.


Gai Yiming blew a whistle, the four of them came out of the woods at once and shouted, “Stop!”


You *****, so ruthless. I'll show no more mercy!” the man yelled back, and kept running forward.


You scoundrel! If I don't kill you today, I'm not Ren Feiyan!” shouted the young woman.


At this time, the Four Heroes of Taiyue were already in front of the man, blocking his path.


Lin Yulong, you still won't stop?” the young woman named Ren Feiyan shouted again.


Out of the way!” Lin Yulong yelled at Chang Changfeng who was blocking his way. He lowered his head, dodged the flying bead coming from behind, and heard a “Ouch!” The bead hit Chang Changfeng squarely on the nose.


Stinky *****! You hit me!” Chang Changfeng cursed angrily.


So what?” said Ren Feiyan. With another two “Pah Pah” sounds, two beads shot towards him.


Chang Changfeng raised the tombstone up in the air, but it didn't block anything. The two beads hit his chest and arm respectively. His arm went numb and the tombstone fell to the ground.


Ow!” He jumped. It turned out to be the manifestation of the dead. The tombstone had fallen on his toe.


Seeing their second brother getting hurt, Gai Yiming and Hua Jianying simultaneously threw themselves at Ren Feiyan. Ren Feiyan pulled the slingshot, launching another string of attacks. Gai Yiming received one on his forehead, and Hua Jianying got a front tooth broken off.


Retreat! Retreat!” cried Gai Yiming.


Being hindered by the four, while seeing Lin Yulong getting out of the forest, Ren Feiyan was enraged. With a quick step forward, she turned around. With a “Pah” sound, a bead was shot, and it knocked the pipe in Xiao Yao Zi's hand to the ground. This blow had both remarkable power and accuracy. It was a famous slingshot move called the Parthian Shot.


Lin Yulong you stinky bastard, I'm telling you to stop!” Ren Feiyan smiled faintly, turning her head around.


Come fight your old man three hundred rounds with swords and sabres if you dare.” They heard Lin Yulong's voice from afar. “Chasing people with a slingshot, what kind of martial art is that?”


The quarreling got further and further north.


Big Brother,” asked Hua Jianying. “Lin Yulong and Ren Feiyan, who are these people?”


Lin Yulong is a master in single sabres,” Xiao Yao Zi pondered. “And that woman Ren Feiyan must be known for her slingshot skills.”


Big Brother foretells the future like a prophet, and is always sensible.” Said Gai Yiming.


That woman is quite pretty,” said Hua Jianying. “It must have been that Lin had an eye on her and intended to commit indecency.”


That's right,” agreed Xiao Yao Zi. “We, The Four Heroes of Taiyue are chivalrous and love to help those in need. If we ever meet this pervert Lin Yulong again, we must teach him a good lesson.”


Maybe those two killed each other’s father. Who knows who's right and who's wrong?” said Chang Changfeng, rubbing his toe. “Dammit, that one really hurts.”


That guy named Lin looks villainous,” said Xiao Yao Zi with a serious expression. “I could tell right away that he’s not a good person. Although the woman named Ren was reckless, her martial art does seem like it's from a proper school.”


“Big Brother foretells the future like a prophet, and is always sensible.” Said Gai Yiming.


Chang Changfeng still wanted to argue, when they heard a voice outside the forest, slowly reciting a poem.


The gold passes through the hands quickly,
got bankrupt yesterday and today I am poor.
Why does the man cry without reason?
He might as well burn his hairband...”


Following the chant, a young scholar strolled into the woods gently waving his fan. A boy servant followed, carrying the luggage.


Hua Jianying held the fallen front tooth between his fingers, and was just about to look for a way to vent his frustration. Seeing the scholar enjoying himself, strolling, and even reciting poems, talking about gold and silver, he winked at Gai Yiming and jumped forward.


Oy, that scholar!” he shouted. “What are you babbling about? You're giving your old men headaches. Hurry up and compensate us!”


Upon seeing them like this, the scholar was startled. May I ask, what would you like me to compensate for?”


Compensate for our headaches!” replied Gai Yiming. “One hundred taels of silver per person, that's a total of four hundred taels!”


That much?” the scholar stuck his tongue out. “Even an emperor’s headache wouldn't cost that much to treat.”


The emperor?” Gai Yiming was offended. “How dare you compare us to the emperor. This is not good. We'll have to double the price now. Eight hundred taels.”


You are even more venerable than the emperor, that is very admirable.” Said the scholar. “May I ask for your honorable name and background?”


Hehe,” Gai Yiming smirked. “My surname is Gai, and my given name is Yiming. The people in the martial world call me ‘Catching Toad Within Eight Steps,’ ‘Surpassing Zhuan Zhu,’ ‘Walking On Snow Without a Trace,’ ‘One Foot Flying Over Water,’ and ‘Double Stings That Transcend Seven Provinces.’ I'm number four of the Four Heroes of Taiyue.”


I have long admired your name,” said the scholar, cupping his fist. He turned to Hua Jianying. And what about this brother?”


Who are you calling brother?” Hua Jianying frowned. He pushed the servant boy aside and lifted their luggage. It was hefty. He was delighted and proceeded to open the basket. The sight made him gasp. It turned out that the whole basket was filled with old books.


Bah!” cried Chang Changfeng. “All garbage!”


Brother you're wrong!” said the scholar hastily. “How can you call the books of the Sages garbage? They say that “golden houses are within the books.” [4]


There's gold in these books?” said Chang Changfeng dubiously. “Nobody would buy them even if you sell them for a penny per pound.”


At this time, Gai Yiming had already opened the other basket. There seemed to be nothing of value besides some clothes and quilts. The Four Heroes of Taiyue were all disappointed.


I have been traveling the country in search of my mother,” that scholar said. “How lucky am I to meet you four brothers! You are called the Four Heroes of Taiyue. I am sure that you are well known in the martial world for fighting injustice and helping the poor.”


That is correct.” Said Xiao Yao Zi.


I am so extremely fortunate to be able to meet with such heroes,” the scholar continued. “I have just run into a problem that would require help from you great heroes.”


Not a problem!” said Xiao Yao Zi. “We wouldn't call ourselves heroes if we see others in difficulty and not lend a hand.”


The scholar kept bowing to show his gratitude.


So who's giving you trouble?” asked Gai Yiming.


I am very ashamed to mention it. I’m afraid that you brothers would laugh at me.”


Ah, so your little sister is pretty and got kidnapped by some bad guy.” Hua Jianying said.


No.” The scholar shook his head. “I do not have a sister.”


Hmmm, then it must be that some rich guy or corrupted official took your wife.” Gai Yiming clapped his hands.


Neither.” The scholar shook his head again. “I have never been married, how can I have a wife?”


Then what is it?” exclaimed Chang Changfeng impatiently. “Just hurry up and tell us.”


I shall say it then,” said the scholar. “But heroes, please don't be offended.”


Although the Four Heroes of Taiyue called themselves heroes, there was nobody in the martial world who would be so polite to them and keep addressing them as heroes. Now that they heard the scholar talking to them with such great respect, they all straightened their backs with pride.


Hurry up and tell us,” said the four of them at the same time. “No matter what difficulties you have, the Four Heroes of Taiyue will take care of it!”


I am wandering in the martial world and stumbled across your territory.” The scholar cupped his hand and bowed to each of them. “But our wallet is getting empty. I have no choice but to beg the Four Heroes of Taiyue to help us out with a few taels of silver. The four heroes are righteous and charitable. May I thank you in advance.”


Hearing this, the four heroes all frowned and fell silent. They were planning to rob this scholar, but who would have expected that just a few sentences would put them in such an awkward situation.


Real men can get stabbed in the ribs for their friends,” Chang Changfeng exclaimed and patted his chest. “Let alone just a few taels of silver! Big Brother, Third Brother and Fourth Brother, take out your money! I have—--”


He put his hand inside his chest pocket but didn’t take it out. It turned out that his pocket was empty. He didn’t even have one copper coin.


Luckily, Hua Jianying and Gai Yiming had a few small pieces of silver. They took them out and gave them to the scholar.


“I shall never forget your generosity.” The scholar bowed and thanked them repeatedly. “Should we ever meet again in this vast land, I shall certainly repay you back.”


He then left the forest with his servant boy.


Once outside of the forest, he started laughing.


“Take the silver for yourself.” He said to the servant.


The servant boy was tidying up the baskets that got messed up by the four men. He opened an old book, and between the pages, countless thin golden leaves glittered brightly under the sunlight.


“Young master told them that there’s gold in the books.” He smiled. “But they didn’t believe it!”


* * *


The Four Heroes of Taiyue went out for wool and came home shorn, but were all delighted because they felt that they had done a great deed.


“When that scholar goes around the world,” said Gai Yiming. “He will surely spread the words on the heroic acts of the Four Heroes of Taiyue…”


Before he could finish his sentence, they heard sounds of bells and hoofbeats coming their way from the south.


“Brothers,” said Xiao Yao Zi. “From the speed of this horse, it must be a fine steed. Let’s just hijack it. If we can’t find anything better, then this horse will be our gift.”


“Big Brother foretells like a prophet, and is always sensible.” Said Gai Yiming. He then hastily removed his belt and continued. “Hurry up and untie your belts. Let’s make a horse trap.”


He proceeded to tie the four cloth belts together. As they were tying it between two large trees, the rider had already arrived.


Upon seeing four people crouched on the ground holding a long rope, the rider was slightly taken aback and stopped the horse.


“What are you doing?” asked the rider.


“Installing a horse strap…” Answered Gai Yiming.


As he spoke, he realized that it was not appropriate. He turned around, and seeing that the rider was a beautiful young maiden, he was relieved.


“Why are you installing a horse trap?” asked the maiden.


“To trip your horse, obviously!” Gai Yiming stood up and clapped off the dust from his hands. “Alright, now that you already know it, there’s no need for the horse trap anymore. Get down, leave the horse and go away. We, the Four Heroes of Taiyue, won't bully young single women and damage our reputation.”


“You want me to leave my horse, aren’t you bullying me already?” the young maiden smiled sweetly.


“Well…we have our reasons.” Gai Yiming stuttered.


“We’re not bullying you,” said Xiao Yao Zi. “We’re just bullying your mount. It’s just an animal, what’s the deal?”


He saw the horse was tall and its coat shiny. It was indeed a fine steed. It was also fitted with gold reins and silver bells. Just this saddlery would be worth a fortune. The more he looked, the more he liked.


“That’s right,” said Gai Yiming. “We, the Four Heroes of Taiyue, are real men of the martial world and will never take advantage of women. You just have to leave your mount, and we won’t touch a hair on you. I, ‘Catching Toad Within Eight Steps,’ ‘Surpassing Zhuan Zhu,’ ‘Walking On Snow Without a Trace’...”


“Stop, stop.” The maiden covered her ears. “You don’t know who I am, and I don’t know who you are, is that right?”


“That’s right!” Gai Yiming was confused. “But what about it?”


“Well then.” The maiden smiled, “Since we don’t know each other, then dad can’t blame me if I offend you. Oy! Such daring thieves, come at me at once!”


The four men saw a blur in front of their eyes, and the maiden was already holding a pair of sabres in her hands. With a sway of the weapon, fast like the wind, she rode her horse forward, bent down and cut off the horse trap with one single chop. Her left sabre went directly for Gai Yiming’s head.


“Real men don’t fight women! Why…” Gai Yiming yelled. Seeing the silvery glimmer, the sabre was getting close to his face. He frantically raised the steel sting to block it. With a “Tang” sound, the weapons clashed. He felt a great pulling force from the girl’s sabre and with one pushing and the other pulling, he couldn’t hold onto his weapons, which flew off, shot up tens of feet into the sky, and pierced through a branch of a tall tree.


Hua Jianying and Chang Changfeng charged at the maiden from each side. The maiden sat tall on the horse, towering over them. After a series of her combo attacks using both sabres, the two men were having trouble withstanding the strikes.


“Hey, big guy,” said the maiden, curious about the stone stele in Chang Changfeng’s hands. “What’s that thing you’re holding?”


“This is Second Hero Chang’s unique weapon.” Answered Chang Changfeng. “It’s not included in the eighteen common weapons of the martial world. The moves are unusual and unexpected… Ow!”


The maiden had turned her sabre and hit him on the wrist with the back of the blade. The pain made Chang Changfeng drop his unique weapon, and coincidentally, it fell right on his swollen toe again.


Seeing that the situation wasn’t going well for them, Xiao Yao Zi raised his pipe to join the fight. The pipe was made out of fine steel, and he was using it as a judge’s pen to hit the enemy's acupressure points. Only that his accuracy wasn’t great, therefore often missing the acupoint by a few millimeters, resulting in a vastly different outcome.


The maiden noticed it and found it quite amusing. She showed him a weakness on purpose and let his pipe hit her left thigh.


“Sickly ghost, what was the acupoint you just hit?” she shouted, feeling just a slight pain.


“This is the Zhongdu acupoint.” Answered Xiao Yao Zi. “When being hit, the legs and knees will feel numb, and all four limbs will be temporarily paralyzed. Now hurry up and admit your defeat!”


“The Zhongdu point is not there.” The maiden laughed. “You’re off by two inches to the left.”


“Off by two inches? That can’t be.” Xiao Yao Zi hesitated, then reached out his pipe for a second attempt.


The maiden's sabre struck down, knocking his pipe to the ground, then immediately passed both sabres to her right hand, and grabbed him by the collar with her left. The tip of her foot lightly tapped on the horse's belly. The horse cried a long neigh and shot out of the woods.


Xiao Yao Zi was completely paralyzed with the back of his neck in her hand. The third hero, the only one left of the Four Heroes of Taiyue shouted "Not good, not good!" while running after them with all his might.


Within moments, the horse had run off for about a mile.


"You are holding my Fengchi acupoint," said Xiao Yao Zi in her hand, his feet dragging on the ground, bleeding. "That is where the Shaoyang and the Yangwei meridians meet, which caused me to be immobilized. There's nothing extraordinary about it. It's a loss that cannot be avoided. Although I lost the fight, I still have my honor."


"At least you know the acupoints on yourself!" The maiden giggled, stopping the horse and throwing him to the ground.


Suddenly she sneered, put the sabre against his neck and shouted, "You were rude to your Miss. I can’t spare your life!"


"Alright!" Xiao Yao Zi sighed. "But you better cut through my Tianzhu acupoint. It'll be an instant death, and I won't have to suffer!"


The maiden couldn't help but laugh inwardly.


"This sickly ghost is still thinking about pressure points moments before his death." She thought. "How about I scare him a bit more, and see how he reacts?"


She then put her sabre on his neck, between the Tianzhu and the Fengchi acupoints.


"Here it is!" she said.


"No, no, no," shouted Xiao Yao Zi. "Miss you're wrong, it's one and a fifth inches above..."


"Miss, kill us all too..." They heard the cries of three exasperated people on their way here. It was the rest of the three heroes.


"Why did you willingly come to die?" asked the maiden.


"We Four Heroes of Taiyue are sworn brothers," answered Gai Yiming. "We don't wish to be born on the same day, but hope to die together. If Miss is going to kill my big brother, the rest of three brothers wouldn't want to stay in this world alone. So please kill us all. If any of us frowns even once, we're not real men!" As he said this he walked to Xiao Yao Zi's side and stood straight, waiting to be killed.


The maiden raised her sabre, pretending to chop down. Gai Yiming grinned and didn't even flinch a bit.


"Great!" the maiden admired. "The four of you have ordinary martial skills, but are very loyal to each other. You’ve gained my respect. I'll spare your lives." She then put her sabres back into their sheaths.


The four of them were overjoyed and extremely grateful.


"May I ask Miss' honorable name?" asked Gai Yiming. "The Four Heroes of Taiyue will engrave it in our minds, and repay your favor in the future for sparing our lives."


Hearing him continue to use the title "The Four Heroes of Taiyue" without even the slightest shame, the maiden couldn't help but giggle again.


"You don't need to know my name," she said. "But I want to know, why do you want to steal my mount?"


"The tenth of March this year is the Jinyang Hero Xiao Banhe's fiftieth birthday..." Said Gai Yiming.


"You know the old hero Xiao?" Hearing the name of Xiao Banhe, the maiden was slightly taken aback.


"We don't know the old hero Xiao," said Gai Yiming. "But we have always admired him and want to pay our respects on his fiftieth birthday. I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but we don't have any gifts to bring. That's why...we...therefore...well..."


"So you wanted to take my mount as a gift. Hm, that's easy." The maiden laughed. She pulled out a gold hair ornament from her hair and continued, "I’ll give you this hairpin. The pearl on top is worth a lot of money. Use this as the birthday gift. The old hero Xiao will surely be pleased."


As she said those words, she raised the reins. The horse flipped its hooves and galloped away.


Gai Yiming held the hair ornament and looked at the big round pearl shining in the sunlight. Although the four heroes didn't know much about gems, they could tell that it was a rare treasure. They stared at the pearl, delighted.


"This girl is generous and straightforward. She's quite somebody." Said Xiao Yao Zi.


"Big Brother foretells the future like a prophet, and is always sensible."

-----
1. Zhuan Zhu was a famous assassin from the Spring and Autumn period, around 500 BC.
2. Mount Taiyue is located in the Shanxi Province.
3. In the past, people believed that if someone had a small butt, it meant that they didn’t have good fortune in money.
4. The phrase is from a poem by an emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Heng(968 AD-1022 AD), to encourage people to read more. ]]>
Wuxia Translations Losshe
Mandarin Duck Blades translation https://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php/42139-Mandarin-Duck-Blades-translation?goto=newpost Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:26:21 GMT I'm working on the Mandarin Duck Blades translation. Chapter 1 is up, along with the WuxiaSociety entry a post on the Wuxia Blog about what got me started.




WuxiaSociety article:
https://wuxiasociety.com/mandarin-duck-blades/


Wuxia Blog post:
https://wuxiasociety.com/picking-up-...n-duck-blades/


Translation:
https://wuxiasociety.com/mandarin-duck-blades-index/ ]]>
Wuxia Translations jayjenxi https://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php/42139-Mandarin-Duck-Blades-translation