Book 1 Chapter 1 - Part 1
Hungry, you are the first commenter ... I like your spirit (that you will enjoy this).
Chu Liuxiang Series (楚留香系列)
Written by Gu Long
Translated by Foxs
Volume 1 – The Legend of Chu Liuxiang (楚留香传奇)
Book 1 – Fragrance in The Sea of Blood
Chapter 1 – White Jade Beauty
White jade beauty belongs to famous noble,
Carved by the hands of the master,
Its lovely form reached perfection,
Yet it cannot surpass the heart that yearns for it.
Tonight, going for a walk in the moonlight to fetch it,
The simple, yet elegant noble reached it,
Certainly not in such a way as to make me going back and forth in futility.
This piece of paper was spread on the brightly lit marble tabletop. The light coming from a candle inside a pink gauze lamp shade made the pale blue paper appear to be some kind of unusual but beautiful pale violet, it also made the outstandingly graceful handwriting appear to be more elegant and free flowing. The letter did not carry any signature on it, but it carried the fragrance of tulips; ethereal yet rich in scent, which was enough to explain who wrote this short note.
The receiver of the note was the young master of a rich and powerful, aristocratic family of Beijing, Jin Banhua. This moment, he was sitting by the table, his fair and clear, as well as delicate, very well-maintained face, was twisting as if he was in extreme pain due to someone had just chopped him. His eyes were glaring at the short note, as if he was staring at Yan Wang’s [Yama, King of Hell] summon.
Inside the exquisite reception pavilion, there were three other men; one was an old man with bold and powerful expression, grizzled hair and beard, wearing embroidered clothes, who was pacing incessantly back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back. Nobody knew how many times he had walked across the hall; perhaps the distance he covered was as far as the distance between Beijing and Zhangjiakou.
The other was a man wearing black clothes, with high cheek bone, his gaze was like a hawk’s, malicious and heavily ferocious looking. He was sitting by Jin Banhua’s side, his hand lightly stroked the judge pen, made of fine steel, lying on the table. His build was withered, slim, the knuckles on his fingers prominent. Under the candle light, he also looked like a statue made of cast steel.
These two men’s countenance was also very heavy, their sharp gaze kept moving from the window to the door, from the door back to the window, back and forth, back and forth, nonstop.
And then the last one was a short and small, withered and thin, old man wearing plain and simple clothes, and had a bald head. But he was sitting far away in the corner, closing his eyes as if he was asleep. His whole body, from top to bottom, has nothing special to look at, except his pair of ears, which, for some reason, was missing, and on its place was a pair of ash-grey fake ears, but it was also unclear what they were made of.
The old man in brocade gown walked over to the table, picked up the note, and said with a cold laugh, “What do you call this? An invitation? An IOU? Judging from the paper alone, it looks to be the most precious of the four treasures of the Capital that was snatched away from Wang Meiren [the Beauty surnamed Wang] ...”
And then he slapped the table heavily and said in stern voice, “Chu Liuxiang, oh, Chu Liuxiang! You look down on the Heroes of the Nine Cities too much!”
Looking anxious, Jin Banhua stammered, “But by using the same type of paper, he had taken away I don’t know how many rare treasures; if he said he is going to take something in the zi hour [between 11pm – 1am], no one can guard it by the chou hour [between 1 – 3am].”
The man in black coldly said, “Oh, is that right?”
Jin Banhua sighed and said, “Last month, the Young Marquis Qiu of Juan Jianzi Lane received his letter, saying that he was going to take Hou Ye’s [grandpa Hou, or simply ‘old gentleman, the Marquis’] Nine-Dragon Cup, a family heirloom that was handed down from generation to generation. The Young Marquis not only locked the cup in secret chamber, he also invited the ‘Shuang Zhang Fan Tian’ [double palms turning over the heaven] Qiao Zihe [his name literally means ‘freckled crane’], and ‘Mei Hua Jian’ [plum blossom sword] Fang Huan, both are martial art masters from famous school, to guard outside the door. It could be said that the security was so tight that not a drop of water can leak out; but when they opened the door after a while … ay! The Nine-Dragon Cup was gone.”
The man in black laughed coldly and said, “Wan Lao Biaotou [lit. old head of escort company] is not Qiao Zihe, and I, ‘Sheng Si Pan’ [Judge of Life and Death] am not Fang Huan; besides …”
He cast a glance at the bald old man in the corner, and continued slowly, “we have here Ying Lao Qianbei [lit. old senior/venerable old gentleman], who, when the robbers under the heavens heard his name would be scared out of their wits. If the three of us cannot stop Chu Liuxiang, I am afraid there is no one else in the world.”
The bald old man squinted and said with a laugh, “Ximen Xiong [brother Ximen] must not toot your horn on laoxiu’s [lit. old rotten] behalf; after the Battle of Yuntai [lit. cloud terrace], laoxiu is already unfit for anything; the ears with which I rely on to make a living have been cut, aren’t I like a little beggar who lost his snake with which he played with?”
If someone else suffered such a crushing defeat, so much so that his ears were cut off, not only his lips would be sealed and he would not say anything about this matter, if someone mentioned it, he would definitely pull his blade and fight desperately. But he was smiling with assurance and composure, as if he was extremely proud of it.
The old man in brocade gown was the Zongbiaotou [head of escort company] of the Wan Sheng Biao Ju [ten thousand victories escort company] of the Capital, the ‘Tie Zhang Jin Biao’ [Iron Palm Golden Escort; note: the word ‘biao’ can mean either ‘escort’ or ‘dart’], Wan Yuandi. This moment his hand was stroking his long beard as he laughed loudly and said, “Who in Jianghu does not know that the Tu Ying’s [Bald Eagle] hearing ability is matchless under the heavens? Although the Battle of Yuntai was a minor defeat and the old man lost his horse, but it turned out for the best[1]. After installing this pair of Bai Yi Shen Er [lit. divine ears of the white clothes], your hearing ability is even more superior than the past.”
The Bald Eagle shook his head and said with a laugh, “I am old, and useless. This time, were it not for wanting to increase my knowledge by seeing this Yuan Shuai [marshal] among the robbers, the prince [orig. Gongzi, young master, son of respectable family] among the wanderers, I would not re-enter the Jianghu [lit. river and lake].”
Jin Banhua suddenly laughed and said, “Jianghu people say that Ying Lao Qianbei needs only to hear the sound of someone’s breathing, he can immediately tell whether that person was a man or a woman, how old, and what his status is. It does not matter who that person was, as long as Ying Lao Qianbei heard the sound of his breathing, he could forget about escaping for the rest of his life. No matter where he fled, Ying Lao Qianbei would hunt and arrest him.”
The Bald Eagle closed his eyes until only a slit remained; he laughed and said, “Jianghu rumors are always exaggerated.”
They heard the faint sound of night watchman’s clapper amidst the night breeze. The Judge of Life and Death stood up suddenly and said, “It’s zi hour.”
Jin Banhua dashed into the corner, and lifted up a roll of gongbi painting of a court lady[2]; inside was a secret door. He opened the secret door, and saw that the red sandalwood carved wooden case was still lying nicely inside. He could not help heaving a sigh of relief, turned his head around, and said, “Unexpectedly the three gentlemen’s prowess indeed scared that Chu Liuxiang that he did not dare to come.”
The Life and Death Judge threw his head back and laughed, “Chu Liuxiang, oh, Chu Liuxiang, turns out you are also a …”
“Shh!” suddenly he heard the Bald Eagle shushing him. The Life and Death Judge’s laughter stopped abruptly. From outside the window came a deep and low, yet extremely attractive, voice, laughing and saying, “The White Jade Beauty has been respectfully received; Chu Liuxiang came with a specific purpose in mind to express my gratitude.”
Wan Yuandi rushed in big strides to the window, with one palm he shook the window open, and saw in the distant, in the darkness, stood a shadow of a tall man, holding an object about three chi long in his hands. Under the moonlight, it looked sparkling and translucent, as well as smooth and shiny. The shadow spoke, “Stealing the treasure in Xu hour [between 7-9pm], coming to say thanks in Zi hour. My etiquette is lacking, please forgive me.”
Jin Huaban’s face has already turned deathly pale; his voice trembling, he said, “After him! Quickly after him!”
Under the candlelight, red shadow flashed, gust of wind arose, Shengsi Pan and Wan Yuandi already rushed out the window.
The Bald Eagle spoke in heavy voice, “Is that the real Jade Beauty?”
Jin Banhua stomped his feet and said, “I can see it clearly, it can’t be wrong.”
While stomping his feet, he also leaped out; turned out the martial art skill of this young master of an aristocratic family was not weak either.
But the Bald Eagle only shook his head slightly and said with a cold laugh, “Others may fall into your trap, but I … humph!”
His eyes fixed on the red sandalwood box, step by step he walked toward it.
Suddenly a heard a loud ‘Bang!’ behind him. His entire body jumped.
What happened was that his Bai Yi Shen Er was actually made of silver, a metal with high resonance property. As soon as the sound rang, his eardrums were shaken. He had always been very proud of this pair of divine ears, but not even in his dream he ever thought about the terrible harm it could bring. Greatly shocked, he made a somersault in the air, while his palms struck in succession, but there was not a shadow behind him.
And then he heard another ‘Bang!’ outside the window. With both feet pushed the ground, the Bald Eagle flew out the window. His ears were still buzzing incessantly, but he came face to face with a gong.
The Bald Eagle’s countenance changed greatly, “Bad!’ he blurted out.
Frantically he turned back and leaped into the window, and saw the red sandalwood case was still there, safe and sound, but the curtain on the other window was still fluttering continuously.
The Bald Eagle stood still like he was made of stone, the expression on his face was extremely peculiar; it was not clear whether he was crying or laughing. His mouth did not stop mumbling, “Chu Liuxiang, oh, Chu Liuxiang, you are indeed formidable. But don’t be too proud of yourself, because your breathing sound has already fallen into my ears. One day I will find you.”
The sound of rustling clothes was heard behind him; one after another Wan Yuandi, Shengsi Pan, and Jin Banhua rushed back. In his hand, Wan Yuandi held a three-chi long carved jade beauty; he laughed and said, “Turns out it was a trick; this jade beauty is fake.”
Shengsi Pan said, “Even if fake, good or bad, it still worth a few taels of silver. This is called ‘trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it’ [idiom, fig. trying to gain an advantage only to end up worse off]. Tonight, the grand Daoshuai [Bandit Chief] can be considered falling head first into the bucket.”
The Bald Eagle’s eyes absent-mindedly stare at the red sandalwood box, while his mouth mumbled, “If that thing is fake, where is the real one?”
Jin Banhua’s expression changed again; his voice trembling as he said, “The real one … the real one is naturally in … in the box.”
His mouth said so, but his body already bolted over. He opened the box, but where was the real Jade Beauty? Jin Banhua cried out in alarm, and passed out right there.
Wan Yuandi came over to look; surprisingly there was another note on a piece of pale blue paper, emitting the same ethereal and romantic scent, displaying the same graceful handwriting. It said,
Young master companion of flower [‘Banhua’] loses the beauty,
The Bandit Chief goes for a walk in the moonlight, leaving his fragrance behind [‘Liuxiang’].
Now he was lying face down comfortably on the deck, letting the warm sunshine of the fifth month bask on his broad, bare, bronze-colored back. The sea breeze was warm and humid, it blew passed the boat’s railing straight toward his pitch-black hair. His sacred, treasured arms were stretching in front of him, the slender yet powerful fingers were holding a sparkling and translucent, as well as smooth and shiny, White Jade Beauty.
But he seemed to have fallen asleep, cradled by the ocean.
The boat was an elaborate three-mast ship, with spotlessly white sails, long and narrow hull, made of solid and sleek wood, giving a stable, rapid, and gorgeous feeling.
It was early summer, the sun was bright, the seawater was azure, the seagulls lithely glided from the mast. Life was colorful, brimming with youthful gaiety.
The sky above the ocean was vast, the distant horizon remained only a slice of hazy grey shadow. This was his world. A place where he would never receive loathsome visitors.
[1] Sai Weng Shi Ma, Yan Zhi Fei Fu. Sai – Saibei (north of Great Wall), Weng – old man, Shi – lose/fail/miss, Ma – horse, Yan – how, Zhi – know, Fei – not, Fu - luck. The story behind this idiom: http://studymorechinese.com/profiles...ad-thing-story
[2] Gongbi, traditional Chinese painting method characterized by meticulous brush technique and detailed description. Court lady can also refer to traditional painting of beautiful women.
Book 1 Chapter 1 - Part 2
DongBin, at least I have you guys reading it. :D Jaya, you are welcome. Ysabel, where have you been? :confused: I have been talking about this a few weeks ago ... :)
The door of the cabin was wide open, and from time to time there was dainty laughter coming out of the cabin.
And then, a beautiful maiden walked out to the deck. She was wearing wide and comfortable scarlet clothes, her beautiful hair was pulled up loosely, revealing a pair of sparkling and translucent, slender jade legs, and bare, delicate and elegant, perfect without any blemish, pair of feet, which gracefully walked across the deck toward his side, and then with her toes she lightly scratched the arch of his foot. On her face appeared a sweet and charming smile, as if a hundred flowers bloomed at the same time in that instant.
He pulled his leg and sighed lightly, “Tian’er [lit. sweetie], can’t you ever be quiet for a moment?”
His voice was deep and low, brimming with inciting attractiveness.
A silver-bell-like tender laughter accompanied her voice, “Finally you guessed wrong,” she said.
He turned around lazily, the sun shone on his face.
His pair of eyebrows was thick and long, brimming with rugged masculine charm, but those clear eyes had some kind of graceful, leisurely feeling. His nose was straight, signaling his strong and resolute, heart of stone. His thin lips, upturned mouth, appeared to be somewhat callous, but as soon as he smiled, the staunchness turned gentle, the callousness also became sympathetic, just like the warm spring breeze blowing through the earth.
Raising his hand to block the glare of the sun, he blinked his eyes and laughed; his eyes were flickering with mischievous, amused radiance, but were also brimming with wits.
Winking, he said with a laugh, “Miss Li Hongxiu [lit. red sleeve], for Laotian’s [lit. old sky, God, Heavens] sake, could you not become that naughty? We already have Song Tian’er; don’t you think I am not suffering enough?”
Li Hongxiu laughed and bent her waist, but then she refrained from laughing as she said, “Chu Liuxiang Shaoye [young master, as in master/servant relationship], except for Song Tian’er, other people cannot be naughty?”
Chu Liuxiang patted the deck by his side and said, “Sit nicely here, accompany me basking in the sun, tell me a story, but it has to be a happy story, something with a happy ending. There are enough miserable things in the world.”
Biting her lip, Li Hongxiu said, “I don’t want to sit, I don’t want to tell story, and I don’t want to bask in the sun … this d@mned sun, basking in it makes people dizzy. I really don’t understand why you like the sun so much.”
When her mouth said, ‘I don’t want to sit’, she was sitting down; when she said, ‘I don’t want to bask in the sun’, she was already stretching both legs under the sunlight.
Chu Liuxiang said with a laugh, “What’s not good about basking in the sun? If one can bask in the sun more, he can’t possibly commit despicable, shameless things. No matter who, under such a lovely sunshine, one can’t possibly think of bad ideas.”
Li Hongxiu rolled her limpid eyes and said, “But right now I am thinking of a bad idea.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Right now you must be thinking of how to make me crawl up and do something for you; am I right?”
Li Hongxiu giggled tenderly and said, “You really are a ghost; nothing can be concealed from you.”
Her laughter gradually stopped; she went on, “But you really ought to get up and do something. Since returning from the Capital, you did not even want to move. If this laziness continued, you would become a hoodlum.”
Chu Liuxiang sighed dramatically and said, “You are really like my teacher when I was little, only you lack a pair of moustache.”
Li Hongxiu glared fiercely at him. Chu Liuxiang broke into a laughter and continued, “In my trip to the Capital this time, I really increased my knowledge by seeing not a few of those so-called famous heroes’ faces. Apart from the Bald Eagle, that old man, there were two others. One was the rice bucket [fig. good-for-nothing] the Life and Death Judge; it was said that his martial art skill is not weak, the pair of judge pens in his hands reportedly can seal 218 acupoints in a person’s body at once, but I swept pass him, and he only stood still like he was in a dream.”
Li Hongxiu cast him a sidelong glance, pursed her lips, and said, “Chu Da Shaoye’s qinggong [lightness skill] is unparalleled under the heavens, who in Jianghu did not know it? But Chu Da Shaoye, are you done tooting your horn?”
“I am done,” Chu Liuxiang said, “Miss Li, what instruction do you have for me?”
“Let me tell you some things first,” Li Hongxiu said. From her spacious sleeve she took out a tiny notebook. While flipping over it, she murmured, “Last time you fetched a batch of goods from Jinan [sub provincial city and capital of Shandong], and sold it for three hundred thousand taels. In addition to the ten thousand taels as emergency relief for the ‘Long Hu Biao Ju’ [dragon and tiger (fig. outstanding people) escort agency] Wang Biaotou’s widow, and opened up your hands for the Zhang and Zhao, two families’ wife and children for five thousand taels each, you also paid one thousand taels funeral expenses on behalf of Huang Xiucai [scholar, a person who has passed the county level imperial exam], and fifteen hundred taels to pay for wedding feast and betrothal gift on behalf of Zhao Guoming, and on behalf of Zheng …”
Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Do you think I don’t know that?”
Glowering at him, Li Hongxiu said, “In short, three hundred thousand taels have been distributed out, you owe the Tian Farm fifty thousand taels, and I already loaned you forty thousand.”
Chu Liuxiang smiled ruefully and said, “Miss, are you saying that you cannot be lenient to me some more?”
“Haven’t you enjoyed life pleasure enough?” Li Hongxiu said, “There are already a lot of gossips circulating in Jianghu, people were talking whether the money you spent was your own, or you used your official authority for private interests …”
Frowning, Chu Liuxiang said, “Whatever people say, what does it have to do with us? We live in this world, why can’t we enjoy it? Why do we have to suffer hardship when we are old? Since when did you become so wordy?”
Smiling sweetly, Li Hongxiu said, “I don’t want you to suffer hardship, I just …”
Suddenly there was a call from the cabin, “Are you two still worrying about overturning the plains and the waves? Don’t you want to eat?”
It was a southern girl dialect; listening to her brought up another kind of flirtatious expression, another kind of feeling. But Li Hongxiu held her arms high, and said with a laugh, “Laotian, can’t she say something that others can understand?”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “You must not blame her. She worked hard to prepare the food, but nobody eats it, no wonder she is angry. And if one is angry, her hometown dialect came out.”
He did not seem to have moved, but he already pulled Li Hongxiu up.
Li Hongxiu protested coquettishly, “You always sided with Tian’er, that’s why she is so …”
She had not finished talking, her countenance changed abruptly, and she blurted out, “Look there, what is that?”
Under the bright sunshine, there was someone floating on the surface of the sea.
A dead body.
In one turn Chu Liuxiang already reached the side of the ship; grabbing a rope, he tied a noose and tossed it lightly. The long rope flew perfectly straight like an arrow.
The rope seemed to have eyes of its own; it accurately wrapped itself around the corpse.
The corpse was wearing expensive brocade clothes, a jadeite snuff bottle was hanging on his waist, his swarthy face already swollen by the seawater.
Chu Liuxiang lay him down on the deck, shook his head and said, “Can’t be saved anymore.”
But Li Hongxiu was looking at the corpse’ hands. The middle and ring fingers of his left hand were wearing three strange-looking black steel and golden rings.
Although his right hand had no ring, there was a trace of ring on the fingers.
Knitting her brows, Li Hongxiu said, “Seven-Star Flying Ring! Could it be that this is ‘Tian Xing Bang’ [Celestial Star Gang] disciple?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Not only ‘Tian Xing Bang’ disciple, this is the ‘Tian Xing Bang’ Zongpiao Bazi [it’s hard to translate, but basically it means the ‘big boss’], the ‘Seven-Star Soul Snatching’ Zuo Youzheng. But ‘Tian Xing Bang’ has always been in southern Anhui; how could he have died in here?”
Li Hongxiu said, “There is no scar on his body; did he die of drowning?”
Chu Liuxiang shook his head, and untied the corpse’s clothes. They saw under the fifth rib of his left chest, between the ‘ru gen’ [breast root] and ‘qi men’ [stage door] acupoints, surprisingly there was a purplish red palm mark.
Li Hongxiu sighed and said, “Shi Sha Men [Corpse Sand School].”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Although in recent years the talent of Shi Sha Men is at its peak, and its disciples are known to be more than a hundred and seventy, but those who can put ‘Seven-Star Soul Snatching’ to his death are, at most, only three.”
Li Hongxiu said, “Um, Feng, Yang, Ximen … those three men’s martial art skill is perhaps a bit stronger than Zuo Youzheng.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “What gratitude and grudges could Shi Sha Men and Tian Xing Bang have against each other?”
Li Hongxiu thought a moment, and then said, “Thirty-six years ago Tian Xing Bang’s Fragrant Master of the Torture Chamber married the second daughter of the Shi Sha Men’s Zhangmen [Chief] Feng Feng [two different characters]. Two years later this Miss Feng suddenly died. Feng Feng personally led punitive forces to southern Anhui; afterwards, although upon investigation he found out that his daughter really died of serious illness, from then on the two families did not have any dealings with each other anymore.”
“And then what happened?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
Li Hongxiu said, “Twenty-six … maybe twenty-five years ago Tian Xing Bang’s disciple robbed the goods shipped under protection of Shi Sha Men’s disciples. At that time Feng Feng happened to have just died of illness, Shi Sha was in the process to elect the new Zhangmen, hence this matter was dragging on for one year. Afterwards, although the Tian Xing Bang’s disciple robbing the shipment was also defeated by Shi Sha Men’s disciples, the silver has never been returned.”
She was telling the story that happened more than twenty years ago in the Wulin [lit. martial art forest] world as though she was talking about trivial daily life of the people around her.
Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “Your memory is indeed never disappointing. But these matters are all in the past, the situation has changed; not only that, it cannot be considered deep hatred or big enmity. It may be assumed that for this kind of thing, Shi Sha Men can’t possibly follow Zuo Youzheng all the way to here before making their ruthless move. There must be some other reason behind this.”
Suddenly a young girl came up from the cabin, and protested coquettishly, “The two of you are really worrying about overturning the plains and the waves?”
She was also wearing wide and comfortable clothes, only the color was goose yellow; she also revealed a pair of hazel, well-proportioned and beautiful, smooth-lined jade legs.
Her pitch-black hair was combed into two long braids. The long braids were swinging around, following the constant movement of her exquisite body. Her oval face was pale brown; it matched very well with her pair of big eyes, where the black and the white of her eyeballs were distinct. She appeared charming yet playful. Originally she feigned disappointment on her face, but as soon as she saw the corpse, she cried out in alarm, turned around and ran away. She ran away a lot faster than when she came.
Li Hongxiu laughed and said, “No matter how gutsy Tian’er is in doing everything else, but as soon as she saw a dead person, she would be terribly scared. Therefore, I often said that no living person can control her, only dead people can do that.”
Chu Liuxiang had his eyes fixed on the abyss of the ocean and the sky; he spoke slowly, “You wait and see. Today, this one will not be the only dead people floating from over yonder.”
Li Hongxiu rolled her limpid eyes, but before she could speak, from the cabin appeared a pair of delicate and graceful hands, holding a large tray.
On the tray were two roasted yellow-breasted pigeons, with two pieces of lemon, several slabs of juicy beef, half white chicken breast, a strip of steamed fish, and large bowl of thick zhuqian soup [don’t know what it is], a large bowl of dried meat-flavored rice, and a full cup of purplish red grape wine, with condensation of water droplets outside the cup, as if it has been chilled for a long time.
Song Tian’er’s sweet laughter came from inside the cabin, as she called out, “Hey! Come in, quick!”
Li Hongxiu laughed and said, “I don’t understand, why don’t you deliver it yourself?”
Song Tian’er pouted and said, “Little demon [term of endearment for a child], if you don’t understand, how did you know that I was calling you?”
She was speaking in pure dialect of the Capital, but she was mumbling with soft, tender voice, yet it sounded so delightful.
Li Hongxiu clapped her hands and laughed tenderly, “Hear, hear! Our Miss Tian finally speaks Mandarin [orig. guanhua, ‘officialese’, the language of the bureaucrats].”
Book 1 Chapter 2 - Part 1
Ysabel, Jaya (2X), DongBin, you are welcome. Drak, glad to know you are looking forward to this story. Tail, Xiaohu, thanks for dropping by. As I mentioned earlier, this is a 'diversion' for me, my main project is still 'Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan', so I don't expect to finish this right away. Give me maybe three or four weeks, then I'll come back to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. I found out that this way of translating is better for me; whenever I am tired of Huang Yi, I move to Gu Long, and then I can go back to Huang Yi with renewed strength. :D
Chapter 2 – Floating Corpses on the Ocean
The ship dropped its anchor, just like it was moored above the water.
Chu Liuxiang carefully squeezed the lemon to sprinkle the juice on the pigeon. He had just finished one pigeon and drank half a cup of wine, when sure enough, another corpse was floating by.
This corpse was wearing scarlet short gown, the length barely reached the knees. Although the face was bloated due to being soaked in seawater for a long time, it could still be seen that he had a fair and clear complexion. His age was approximately forty; although there was a small beard under his chin, there was no wrinkle on the corner of his eyes. His left palm was slender, fair and clear, but his right palm was extremely rough; the muscles and bones were prominent, and was nearly double the size of his left hand. When the palm was pried open, surprisingly the color was the same as his clothes.
Li Hongxiu’s pair of bright and beautiful limpid eyes looked straight to it; startled, she said, “Who could have thought that this man was the ‘Sha Shou Shusheng’ [killer/assassin scholar], Ximen Qian!”
Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “He killed Zuo Youzheng, yet he also died under other people’s hands.”
“But who killed him?” Li Hongxiu muttered.
Finished speaking, she noticed a wound under this Ximen Qian’s Adam’s apple. The blood has been washed away by the seawater; the ash gray skin and flesh was rolled out on both sides. Exhaling slowly, Li Hongxiu said, “This is sword wound.”
“Oh?” Chu Liuxiang said.
Li Hongxiu said, “The wound is less than a cun [a unit of length, approx. an inch]. In the Wulin world, only ‘Hainan’ and ‘Laoshan’, two big sword schools’ disciples use such a narrow sword.”
“That’s right,” Chu Liuxiang said.
Li Hongxiu said, “Although those two sects, Hainan and Laoshan, are not too far from here, but Laoshan Pai’s sword technique handed down through the generations is orthodox, moderate and extensive. This Ximen Qian’s throat was pierce through by one sword strike; presumably the sword technique is ruthless and treacherous, which is the forte of Hainan’s swordsman’s ruthless hands … this is even stranger.”
Frowning, Chu Liuxiang asked, “Why is it strange?”
Li Hongxiu replied, “Not only Hainan Jian Pai [sword sect] has neither grievances nor enmity with Zhusha Men [cinnabar school, (sic) it was Shi Sha Men (Corpse Sand School) in Chapter 1], they have a rather close relationship. Eight years ago, Zhusha Men was besieged by Seven Sword of Minnan [southern Fujian]. Making light of traveling a thousand li, Hainan Pai rushed over to help. But now a martial art master of Hainan Jian Pai killed a Zhanglao [Elder] of Zhusha Men. What’s going on here? I really don’t understand.”
Chu Liuxiang muttered, “With no cause, no reason, Zuo Youzheng died under Ximen Qian’s hands, Ximen Qian also somehow died under Hainan Pai disciple … I wonder what secret lies behind all these?”
Smiling sweetly, Li Hongxiu said, “Are you thinking of meddling again?”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Didn’t you just say that I am too lazy? I am just looking for something to do so that you can see.”
Li Hongxiu said, “But apparently the implication of this matter is far and wide; it must be extremely dangerous, plus these past couple of days Rong Jie [elder sister] is ill. I’ll say we do not meddle in this matter!”
Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “The more dangerous the matter I am meddling in, the more interesting it is. The wider the implication of this secret, the value of the matter is bound to be extremely high. How could I not care about this kind of matter?”
Li Hongxiu sighed and said, “I know that if you do not uncover this secret, you won’t be able to sleep. Ay! You! You seem to be born precisely to meddle in other people’s business.”
She suddenly broke into laughter and said, “Fortunately this matter is literally like fishing up a needle from the ocean. Until now, there is not the slightest bit of clue. Even if you want to meddle in other people’s business, I am afraid you won’t be able to do so.”
Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “You just wait and see, the clues will come more and more naturally.” Drinking a mouthful of wine and tearing off the chicken leg, he leaned on the ship’s railing to chew.
Smiling wryly, Li Hongxiu said, “I really admire your appetite, you can still eat at time like this.” Unconsciously she also walked over to the railing and cast her gaze to the distant horizon.
Sure enough, another dead body was floating on the sea; surprisingly it was a Taoist priest, wearing green robe, with swarthy complexion and rolled-up beard, and big tall build. Although his limbs have already turned cold and stiff for a long time, his hand was still tightly gripping half of a broken sword. The sword’s body was long and narrow; it was still flickering under the bright sunlight, emitting a dense green sword ray shining on his head, where the bun of hair was disheveled.
The top of his head was chopped that it split in half.
Even Li Hongxiu had to turned her head around, she could not bear to look.
Chu Liuxiang said, “He is indeed a disciple of Hainan Jian Pai.”
“You … you knew him?” Li Hongxiu asked.
Chu Liuxiang spoke slowly, “He was one of the Three Swords of Hainan, Lingjiu Zi [lit. quick/spirited vulture]. His swordsmanship was ruthless and vicious. In today’s Wulin world, I am afraid only a few can be compared to him.”
Li Hongxiu sighed and said, “With one sword strike he pierced other people’s throat, unexpectedly his own head was chopped into two halves by someone else.”
She could not refrain from looking back, and said, “Judging from his condition, when that person’s sword cut down, he must have been unable to dodge, so he could only block it with his own sword; who would have thought that that man’s sword not only cut down his long sword, the residual momentum was powerful enough to chop his head into two. Hainan Pai’s swords are all made of refined seabed’s cold iron, yet this person is able to cut it with one sword strike. Ay … such a sharp sword, such a heavy sword!”
“How do you know that his opponent also used sword?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
Li Hongxiu replied, “Among the current renowned masters in Wulin who use sabers, and whose saber technique is able to force such a ruthless and vicious master like Lingjiu Zi that he could not even dodge … it must be a style, which Hainan Jian Pai is not familiar with. If he wasn’t forced into a corner, how could he use his sword to block the opponent’s blade coming directly down onto his head?”
Chu Liuxiang nodded, “Right,” he said, “The changes in saber technique are indeed inferior to sword technique’s nimble, fast, and overwhelming. If a saber user wanted to force a sword user that he could not even evade, that is indeed difficult above difficult.”
He then smiled slightly and went on, “But could it be that you have forgotten one person?”
Li Hongxiu’s eyes lit up; she said, “If you are talking about ‘Wu Ying Shen Dao’ [Shadow-less Divine Saber] Zha Muge, you are wrong.”
“Why?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
Li Hongxiu said, “Zha Muge is known as the number one saber expert in the Central Earth; his saber technique is fast, formless and shadow-less. When his saber is chopping down, perhaps before Lingjiu Zi could see clearly, it has already arrived. Naturally his only response was to block it with his own sword. Moreover, the saber that Zha Muge uses, the ‘Storm Saber’, is one of the thirteen divine sharp weapons throughout the land, so it is enough to cut a Hainan Paisword.”
“Isn’t that the answer?” Chu Liuxiang said.
Li Hongxiu laughed and said, “But don’t you forget, Zha Muge was able to move unhindered across the great Gobi Desert thirty years ago; he was known as the ‘King of the Desert’; how could he come here?”
Slowly, Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “You say it’s impossible, I say it’s possible.”
Li Hongxiu blinked her eyes and said, “You want to bet with me?”
Chu Liuxiang replied, “I don’t want to bet with you, because you will definitely lose.”
Just then, a sweet laughter came from the cabin, saying, “Why don’t you two make a bet? The loser will have to help me wash the dishes for half a month.”
Li Hongxiu laughed and cursed, “Little demon, you are eavesdropping.”
Song Tian’er giggled and said, “Although I do not dare to look, I can still listen.”
Li Hongxiu turned to Chu Liuxiang, “Hey!” she called, “Look at this little demon, she is a shrewd schemer. All the conveniences in the world, she, one person, wants to have them all.”
Leaning against the railing, Chu Liuxiang was lost in thought; unexpectedly it was as if he had not heard her at all.
Li Hongxiu walked over and asked, “What are you waiting for? That Zha Muge?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Perhaps …”
Li Hongxiu laughed and said, “You don’t need to wait, this ‘King of the Desert’ can’t possibly come here. Even if he did, no one will be able to kill him.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “It was also rare for Ximen Qian to have dealings with Zuo Youzheng, but why did he kill Zuo Youzheng? Lingjiu Zi had no enmity whatsoever with Ximen Qian, but why did he kill Ximen Qian? Zha Muge and Lingjiu Zi, one was far away at the ends of the earth, one was at a distant peninsula, they had nothing to do with each other, why did he kill Lingjiu Zi?”
He sighed and added, “It is thus clear that there are many things in the world that are completely unpredictable.”
By this time the sun was already leaning to the west. More than two sichen [one scihen is 2 hours] have passed since they found the first corpse. And now there were three corpses lying on the deck.
And sure enough, the fourth corpse was coming.
While the other corpses were bobbing in the water, sinking and floating under and over the water surface alternatingly, this corpse was like inflatable raft; the entire body was completely floating above the water.
The other corpses, Li Hongxiu at least still dare to take a couple of glimpses; but this corpse, Li Hongxiu only took one look, her entire body was trembling in fear, and she no longer dare to take the second look.
Whether this corpse’s body was originally fat or thin, even Chu Liuxiang could not figure out, only because the entire body was already bloated, so much so that it has started to rot.
Whether this corpse was old or young, Chu Liuxiang also could not see. Because all the hair all over his body; from the hair on his head to his moustache, had come off completely.
His eyeballs were already swollen that they were bulging and protruding out of the sockets; the skin on his entire body has turned nauseatingly dark red. Chu Liuxiang did not even dare to touch him even with the tip of his finger.
With a trembling voice, Li Hongxiu said, “Such a formidable poison. Let me get Rong Jie to take a look what kind of poison this is.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “This poison, even Rongrong won’t be able to recognize.”
Book 1 Chapter 2 - Part 2
Ysabel, Jaya, Xiaohu, you are welcome. Tail, that is correct. Have you read Lu Xiaofeng series? DongBin, yes, it's an old series, one of the 'classics' (Gu Long's classic, that is ... :)) I am surprised that nobody has even attempted to translate it.
“You are tooting your horn again,” Li Hongxiu said, “Although your martial art skill is not bad, but speaking about secret projectiles, you might not necessary be better than Tian’er; speaking about the art of disguise and poison skill, you are absolutely cannot compare with Rong Jie.”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “But what this person was hit with was not completely a poison.”
Li Hongxiu giggled and said, “If it’s not poison, could it be some candy?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “It could be considered candy … syrup, to be precise.”
Li Hongxiu stared blankly, “Syrup?” she said.
Chu Liuxiang said, “This is precisely the essence extracted from water of ‘Shen Shui Gong’ [Divine Water Palace] of [Lake] Tianchi [lit. heavenly pond]. In Jianghu, it is known as ‘Tian Yi Shen Shui’ [lit. heavenly one divine/sacred water]. And the people from Shen Shui Gong are called heavy water [deuterium oxide].”
Emotionally moved, Li Hongxiu said, “Is this really the ‘Tian Yi Shen Shui’, which is more poisonous than any poison in the world?”
“Of course it is,” Chu Liuxiang replied, “It is said that one drop of ‘Tian Yi Shen Shui’ is heavier than three hundred buckets of water. Ordinary person only had to take one drop, immediately his whole body will burst and he die!”
He sighed, and then continued, “Not only that, this ‘Tian Yi Shen Shui’ is colorless and odorless, even if you tested it, you won’t see anything unusual, that’s why even this ‘King of the Desert’ cannot escape falling into the plot.”
“This … this is Zha Muge?” Li Hongxiu asked.
“Uh huh,” Chu Liuxiang said.
Li Hongxiu said, “He had become like this, how could you recognize him?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Although he is wearing ordinary clothes, but on his feet he is wearing a pair of leather boots, so obviously he belonged to nomadic people. Although his skin is tender, but his face is very rough; evidently because he went back and forth in the desert, subjected to the wind and the dust for a very long time. Although there is a steel ring girdle ornament on his waist, the saber and its scabbard have gone; apparently because he was using precious saber, hence someone took it away.”
And then he slowly went on, “Based on these points, it can be said that he is the ‘King of the Desert’, the Shadowless Divine Saber, Zha Muge.”
Li Hongxiu said, “I’ll say you ought to change profession to become a police detective, then the way you handle your case will be much more formidable than that presumably the number one catcher in the world, the ‘Bald Eagle’.”
Chu Liuxiang chuckled and said, “There’s more: he is wearing a silver medal, with a winged camel carved on it. If I cannot tell that he is the King of the Desert, then I’d be a fool.”
“Pfft!” Li Hongxiu could not help giggling and said, “You really are a gifted child.”
But her smile immediately disappeared, replaced with a frown, “Unexpectedly this matter involves the King of the Desert and the Divine Water Palace; it is thus clear that this is not a small matter at all. And now, even the King of the Desert is dead, therefore …”
Chu Liuxiang cut her off by laughing and saying, “You are thinking of persuading me to stop, aren’t you?”
Li Hongxiu sighed lightly and said, “I don’t want to persuade you to stop, I just hope that you will be a bit more careful. That’s all.”
Chu Liuxiang cast his gaze on a clump of white cloud in the sky; he smiled and said, “I hear that all disciples of the Divine Water palace are world-class beauty, but I wonder how they are compared to our three ladies?”
Li Hongxiu shook her head and said with a wry smile, “You will never behave, won’t you?”
This time close to a sichen passed, there was nothing happening on the sea.
Li Hongxiu leisurely said, “Perhaps you don’t need to wait anymore.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “If nobody else died, then this matter rest with the Divine Water Palace or its envoy. If these people were fighting over a treasure, then this treasure must have fallen into the Divine Water Palace’s envoy.”
“And if there’s someone else died?” Li Hongxiu asked.
Chu Liuxiang said, “No matter how many people died, as long as we can tell who killed the last one, there will be clues to find.”
Li Hongxiu sighed and said, “Were these martial art masters really died because they were fighting over a treasure?”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “People die for riches; these people were definitely humans!”
Li Hongxiu’s eyes gaze into the distance; she spoke slowly, “A treasure that can incite this many peerless martial art masters’ greed must be an astonishing one.”
This matter was really getting more and more interesting; her eyes were flashing brightly.
From the cabin below, Song Tian’er’s voice called out, “Do you two know that Rong Jie has an aunt [orig. biaogu, father’s female cousin via female line] who belongs to the Divine Water Palace?”
“Oh, Rongrong unexpectedly has an aunt in the Divine Water Palace?” Chu Liuxiang said, “These past couple of days, I wonder if she is feeling better? Does she still have runny nose?”
Li Hongxiu laughed and said, “Do you want her to come up?”
“Forget it,” Chu Liuxiang said, “She caught cold; the more she is lying down, the better she will be.”
They heard a soft voice saying, “It doesn’t matter; I will be better soon. Just hearing you say that, I …”
And then Song Tian’er’s loud voice said, “Rong Jie, don’t fall into his trick; he knew you were coming, hence he deliberately said something that shows he cares about you for you to hear.”
The gentle and soft voice said with a laugh, “Even if it was deliberately spoken, as long as he said it, I am very happy.”
Following the voice, a sweet, fair, and graceful shadow floated up the deck.
She wore a soft and spacious long gown, so long that it dragged along on the deck, covering her feet. The setting sun filling the sky reflected on her hair, which was put in a loose bun. Her limpid eyes also reflected her gentle smile. She looked like a celestial fairy that has long ago stopped eating the food of common mortals.
Li Hongxiu stomped her feet and said, “Rong Jie, the wind is strong, why did you come up? Be careful, lest you get so sick that you can’t even crawl up the bed, and harm this Passionate Prince of ours to vent our anger.”
Su Rongrong said sweetly, “It’s so exciting up here, how can I stay in the cabin staring blankly at the walls? Besides, I also want to see whether there really is a Divine Water Palace’s envoy coming here.”
In her hand was a piece of thick velvet clothes, which she gently draped over Chu Liuxiang’s shoulders. “The night is cold, be careful you might catch a cold,” she spoke tenderly.
With a smile on his face, Chu Liuxiang said, “You always care about others, but don’t know about your own body … if you have the slightest care about yourself, how could you fall ill?”
Li Hongxiu cast him a sideways glance and said with curled lips, “That’s right! He would never care about people who are not sick like us.”
Su Rongrong gently patted her cheek and said with a laugh, “Why be overly sensitive? You will get old easily.”
Li Hongxiu caught her in her arms and giggled, “I am indeed overly sensitive, plus I am the little bad egg [i.e. scoundrel] who can get jealous; why would Rong Jie be that good to me?”
Su Rongrong’s slim body was unexpectedly squeezed and lifted up by her.
Just then, the fifth corpse floated over.
Strictly speaking, this one could not be considered ‘one’ corpse – the left part, from the shoulder down, including the arm, was cut apart.
Fortunately, her face was still intact, so that they could still see her graceful and beautiful appearance. It seemed like the cruel murderer also did not have the heart to destroy her beauty.
The clothes she wore was a beautiful gauze dress, with silver colored ribbon tied on her waist. Her delicate and beautiful feet were wearing silver colored shoes of the same material.
At this moment, the remaining half of the gauze dress has been dyed red by her blood. Were it not for the silver colored belt, perhaps the dress would have been washed off by the sea – even so, her body appeared to be almost completely naked.
Su Rongrong turned her head away, her beautiful eyes were already brimming with tears.
Li Hongxiu also closed her eyes, and said, “Rong Jie, can you tell whether she is a ‘Divine Water Palace’ disciple?”
Su Rongrong sadly nodded her head.
Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Such a beauty, who had the heart to commit such an evil scheme to her like this?”
Li Hongxiu said, “The person who committed the evil scheme to her has already died as well.”
“You mean Zha Muge?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
“Naturally it was Zha Muge,” Li Hongxiu replied, “Other than him, who has such a fast blade?”
“Oh?” Chu Liuxiang said.
Li Hongxiu said, “When Zha Muge found out that he has been poisoned, at death’s door he gathered all he had left, and gave her a saber strike. Naturally he was full of resentment; therefore, this saber strike was so malicious, so heavy.”
Looking pensive, Chu Liuxiang said, “Sound like it is not completely unreasonable.”
Li Hongxiu sighed and said, “And now, all the clues have been broken, we have nothing.”
“We have nothing?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
Li Hongxiu said, “All the people involved are dead, what else do we have?”
“So you think she really died under Zha Muge’s hands?” Chu Liuxiang asked.
Li Hongxiu rolled her limpid eyes, and said, “Are you saying she did not?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Don’t forget, after Zha Muge died, his ‘Storm Saber’ had fallen into other people’s hands. After this person took the ‘Storm Saber’, he killed her, precisely so that others would think that this matter is completely over.”
“Ah!” Li Hongxiu blurted out, “That’s right!”
Chu Liuxiang spoke slowly, “Since he wanted others to think that this matter is over, it means that this matter is definitely not over. In my opinion, this matter is not even started yet.”
Su Rongrong suddenly said, “This matter, he does not want others to intervene. Am I right?”
“In that case,” Li Hongxiu said, “Why didn’t he destroy these corpses completely? If other people basically could not see these corpses, how could they investigate who killed them?”
Smiling slightly, Chu Liuxiang said, “All these corpses were well-known Jianghu warriors; not only that, they could be considered as having the rank of grand masters. If they suddenly disappeared, won’t the children and disciples of their School try to track them down?”
Knitting her brows, Su Rongrong said, “Therefore …”
Book 1 Chapter 3 - Part 1
Ysabel, Jaya, you are welcome. Xiaohu, true, but it was not mine. :D Tail, I am glad that I can introduce you to an old wuxia, like DongBin said. At first I was reluctant, thinking that probably everybody has already read this story one way or another. Honestly, I don't like watching adaptations, maybe because I read the book first; adaptations are so different than the picture in my mind when I read. :) Anyway, I am thinking about another week or so, and then I will resume Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan. Again, don't worry, I am not going to abandon this story. The Lord's willing, I am going to finish it. At least one book ... ;)
Chapter 3 – Heavenly One Divine Water
Chu Liuxiang said, “Therefore, he did it this way, so that people would think that these five massacred one another and died; all of them. This way, the disciples of their school won’t even have a target for revenge; what’s there to investigate?”
Sighing lightly, Li Hongxiu said, “But he had never thought that there is a person in the world who specializes in meddling in other people’s business.”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “I am afraid he really has never thought about that.”
“But who exactly is ‘he’?” Li Hongxiu said, “Anybody could be ‘him’ … Now, all the clues are gone. You want to investigate, won’t it be really like fishing up a needle from the sea?”
“That’s right,” Chu Liuxiang said.
Suddenly his body flew up and leaped down into the sea.
“What are you doing?” Li Hongxiu called out.
Chu Liuxiang laughed, “Fishing up the needle,” he replied.
‘Splosh!’ Like a fish, his body disappeared into the sea. The seawater, which appeared golden red under the setting sun, did not even create the slightest bit of splash.
Stomping her feet, Li Hongxiu said, “Rong Jie, you … you don’t care about him.”
Su Rongrong softly said, “In this world, who could care about him?”
She went to look for a very large sailcloth and covered the five dead bodies.
Only then did Song Tian’er dared to come up the deck. She brought an elaborately made lantern in her right hand, and a basket of fruits in her left hand.
The stars gradually appeared, the ocean looked moist and glossy, like satin. They sat comfortably in the cool sea breeze, but in their heart they did not feel comfortable at all.
If there were five strangers’ corpses by your side, you would not feel comfortable either.
Chu Liuxiang has been gone for a long time. They saw some phosphorescent fish in the distant, like starlight on the surface of the sea. Li Hongxiu groaned and laughed, “I just hope no one would mistake him as a fish and catch him,” she said.
Song Tian’er giggled and said, “If anybody mistook him as a fish and caught him, that person must be your Gege [older brother].”
Li Hongxiu opened her eyes wide and said, “There’s a very strange thing that I will never understand. Suzhou dialect is definitely the best to listen to, yet Rong Jie is unwilling to speak it. Guangdong dialect [Cantonese] undoubtedly sounds like bird’s cry, but somebody always insist on speaking it.”
Song Tian’er made an ugly face, she laughed and said, “I know you don’t like to listen, hence I insist on speaking it to infuriate you.”
Before she finished speaking, her whole person suddenly jumped out, screaming and hopping around on the deck, while something was slipping out of her sleeve; it was a fish.
Li Hongxiu clapped her hands and laughed heartily, “Wonderful, wonderful; finally somebody vented my anger for me.”
And then they saw Chu Liuxiang, nobody knew since when, standing there with a grin on his face, and a fish clutched in his left hand. There was originally a fish in his right hand as well, but it was already inside Song Tian’er’s collar.
Song Tian’er was so scared that her face turned white. Stomping her feet, she was going to pinch him.
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “I just saw someone whom you wanted to see the most. If you pinch me and hurt me, I am not going to tell you.”
Song Tian’er pinched his arm and then hugged his neck, saying, “Tell me quick, who was it?”
Chu Liuxiang blinked; his eyes were like the starlight on the ocean. He laughed and said, “Who’s the one you wanted to see the most? In the world today, who’s the best in plucking the qin [guqin or zither]? Who’s the best in painting? Whose poems enrapture people the most? Who cooks the best food in the world?”
He has not finished speaking, Li Hongxiu already clapped her hands and said, “I know! You are talking about the ‘Miao Seng’ [wonder monk] Wuhua [lit. no flower].”
Song Tian’er pulled Chu Liuxiang’s hand and said, “Did you really see him? Where is he?”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “He was sitting alone on a boat, looking as if he was just reciting Buddhist scripture, or maybe composing a poem. When I suddenly appeared from the water, the look on his face, it’s a pity that you did not see it.”
“Do you know him?” Song Tian’er asked.
Chu Liuxiang said, “I only met him three times. The first time, he and I drank wine for three days and three nights. The second time, he and I spent five days and five nights playing chess. The third time, he and I discussed Buddhism for seven days and seven nights.”
He laughed before continuing, “Discussing Buddhism, naturally I could not outspeak him; but drinking wine, he could not outdrink me.”
Li Hongxiu could not bear asking, “How about playing chess?”
Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “I said it was enough, but that monk stubbornly refused.”
Li Hongxiu giggled and said, “Other than drinking and fighting, I am afraid in everything else you can’t compare to others.”
Chu Liuxiang replied resolutely, “Nonsense, at least in eating I ate a bit more than he did.”
Li Hongxiu laughed so hard that she could not keep her waist straight.
Pulling his sleeve, Song Tian’er asked, “Why didn’t you invite him here?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “He would have come, but I told him that there are several girls over here who wanted to see him, and he just bolted away like a rabbit being hit by an arrow.”
Pouting, Song Tian’er said, “He has already become a monk, why would he be afraid of any girl?”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “He was afraid precisely because he is a monk; if he weren’t a monk, he wouldn’t be afraid.”
Li Hongxiu laughed tenderly and said, “If he weren’t a monk, I guarantee he would come faster than a rabbit.”
Su Rongrong laughed gently and said, “I heard this person is a famous scholar among the Buddhists; not only in poetry [shi], classical Chinese poem [ci], books, paintings, and all kinds of amazing skills, but also in martial art he could be considered a master.”
Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “How could he be just a master? It can be said that he is practically the number one great talent among the Shaolin disciples. Too bad he … he is too smart, his proficiencies are just too many, his reputation is too big, so that when Shaolin’s Tian Hu Dashi [great master, term of respect to address Buddhist monk] conferred a title on him as the future Zhangmen, none of those who took part in the election could compare to him.”
Li Hongxiu said, “It may be assumed that people like him would not care about that kind of thing.”
Clapping his hands, Chu Liuxiang said, “I didn’t expect Li Hongxiu to be Wuhua’s close female friend.”
Su Rongrong said, “Naturally he does not have the slightest relation with this matter. Did you see anybody else?”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Those dead bodies floated from the east side. I have looked at every single ship east of here. Other than Wuhua, there was only one ship with Wulin people.”
“What kind of people?” Su Rongrong asked.
Chu Liuxiang replied, “The people on that boat were the Beggar Clan’s Four Great Protectors of the Law, Four Great Elders, as well as their newly appointed Bangzhu. You may know that the old appointed Bangzhu died last year; can you guess who the new Bangzhu is?” [Translator’s note: I usually translate ‘Bang’ as ‘Gang’, but since the term ‘Beggar Clan’ has been widely used before, I decided to keep the already familiar term.]
“Who?” Su Rongrong asked.
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Think about it some more. He is my friend, his capacity for wine is about the same as mine, his food capacity is also more or less the same as mine. One day, he even painted your portrait.”
“Ah!” Su Rongrong said, “Could it be NanGong Ling?
Chu Liuxiang laughed, “Precisely him,” he said.
Su Rongrong spoke sweetly, “Unexpectedly he became the Beggar Clan’s Bangzhu. It can clearly be seen that the general mood in Jianghu has changed; no longer old and wise [or experienced and knowledgeable] be considered a beauty, no longer they carefully select people based on age, but they began to focus on people’s talent. This is a matter worthy of celebration.”
Li Hongxiu said, “NanGong Ling can’t possibly have any relationship with this matter either. Therefore …”
Chu Liuxiang smiled bitterly and said, “Therefore, I don’t know what to do.”
Su Rongrong spoke softly, “It is best if you don’t; I do not wish to meddle into this kind of other people’s business either.”
Chu Liuxiang stared at the piece of sailcloth; he said, “I want you to think: did these five people have anything in common? For example …”
Li Hongxiu said, “For example, they were all humans.”
Smiling wryly, Chu Liuxiang said, “Apart from that point, is there anything else? Think again.”
Su Rongrong stood up gracefully and said, “Go down if you want to think in the cabin below. I am going to brew a pot of strong tea for you. I don’t care if you want to think all night long, but no one is allowed to sit here and be blown by the wind.”
The construction of the cabin was elaborate and gorgeous, definitely not a cun of space was wasted, and definitely not a single object was a sore in anybody’s eyes.
Walking down the stairs was an exquisite apartment; the lantern light shone down gently, so that the dark cabin gradually brightened. Chu Liuxiang, who was walking at the front, suddenly halted his steps, as if he was suddenly nailed to the floor, no longer able to move. There was someone in the cabin, a woman!
Her back was toward the door as she sat in the chair Chu Liuxiang usually loved to sit in the most; looking at her from behind, they could only see the beautiful, thick hair pulled high above her head, and one hand, which was an absolutely beautiful hand.
At the moment, the hand was holding a cup, and in the cup was the wine Chu Liuxiang usually loved to drink – she was not bashful at all.
Chu Liuxiang, Su Rongrong, Li Hongxiu, Song Tian’er, four people were still standing on the deck, their eyes and mouths wide open, too stunned for words.
When did this woman come in? They absolutely had no idea.
Perhaps she came in when Chu Liuxiang went down to the sea; but she was able to avoid Su Rongrong, Li Hongxiu and Song Tian’er’s eyes and ears, her ability was not a minor one.
They heard her graceful, yet cold and detached voice, speaking slowly, “Come in. Could it be the ‘Dao Shuai’ [Bandit Chief] Chu Liuxiang?”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “That’s right. But have Zaixia [lit. under, a Jianghu term to refer to oneself] entered the wrong door?”
The woman coldly said, “You have not. This is your place.”
Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Since this is my place, how come Miss is sitting in here?”
“Because I am happy to,” the woman replied.
Chu Liuxiang laughed aloud and said, “That is a good reason; really good.”
“Besides,” the woman went on, “I hear Chu Liuxiang has never refused any girl.”
She suddenly turned the chair over to face Chu Liuxiang. The lantern light immediately shone on her face.
If in this world there was indeed one kind of a woman’s face that can make a man stop breathing, then this woman’s face was one. If in this world there was indeed one kind of a woman’s fluid glance that can make a man’s heart stop beating, then this woman’s fluid glance was one. And now, this pair of fluid glances was focused on Chu Liuxiang. “And now,” she spoke in a drawn-out manner, “Is this a good enough reason?”
Slightly hesitant, Chu Liuxiang said, “That’s right. This reason has suddenly become good enough. Too good.”
His gaze finally moved away from the woman’s face, and only then did he discover that she was wearing snow-white gauzed long gown, and only then did he discover that a silver-colored ribbon was tied around her waist.
The woman slowly said, “And now, I am afraid you already know from what kind of place I was coming from.”
Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “I would rather not know.”
“Why?” the woman asked.
Chu Liuxiang replied, “Because if there is any girl I do not wish to have dealings with in the world, that is precisely a disciple of the ‘Divine Water Palace’.”
The woman suddenly stood up and turned around. She took the silver pot from the cupboard and slowly poured a cup of wine. His heart ached, Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “I really want to know: you came here, apart from drinking wine, is there any other business?”
While saying that, he pulled the chair and hurriedly sat down.
The woman tilted her head, and fixed her gaze on his face. She spoke word by word, “Arrogant, rude, callous, yet there’s one or two points that can make Little Miss fascinated … You are indeed exactly the same as the legend said about you.”
Chu Liuxiang said, “Thanks a lot … but I wonder if the legend in Jianghu also mention one other thing about me.”
“What is it?” the woman asked.
Chu Liuxiang said, “If there is a strange girl running away into my cabin, sitting in my chair, drinking my wine, I usually throw her down into the sea. Especially if this girl thinks she is very beautiful, while in fact she is not too beautiful.”
He stretched his legs comfortably, ready to enjoy the woman's angry look.
As expected, the woman was so angry that her face paled, while her hands were shaking.
Li Hongxiu hurriedly walked over and gently took the golden cup from her hand. Smiling sweetly, she said, “If Miss wants to throw the cup, let me give you another one made of iron.”
The woman’s countenance changed from green to white, and then from white turned to red. But suddenly she broke into a laughter and said, “Very good. You are all very interesting. But now the time to chat and laugh has passed.”
“And now you are ready to cry?” Chu Liuxiang said.
The woman coldly said, “If you don’t return my thing, I am afraid you won’t be able to cry, even if you want to.”
“Return to you?” Chu Liuxiang said, “What did I borrow from you?”
“You did not borrow,” the woman replied, “Naturally you did not borrow. Everybody in the world knows Chu Liuxiang never borrowed anything from anyone.”
She laughed coldly, and then said, “You stole it.”
Frowning, Chu Liuxiang said, “I stole it? What did I steal from you?”
“Heavenly One Divine Water,” the woman replied.
Chu Liuxiang’s eyes suddenly grew big, “What did you say?” he blurted out.
The woman replied word by word, “Heavenly. One. Divine. Water.”
Emotionally moved, Chu Liuxiang said, “Are you saying that the Heavenly One Divine Water has been stolen from your Palace?”
The woman said, “I came over a thousand li to come here, I can’t possibly swindle you to have fun with you, can I?”
Chu Liuxiang’s eyes shone with delight. “Wonderful, just wonderful,” he muttered, “Everything has become more interesting. I wonder how much of your Heavenly One Divine Water has been stolen?”
The woman coldly said, “Not much, just a few drops. But it is enough to kill more than thirty front ranking Wulin martial art masters without they understand anything. If you want to be precise, the number is thirty-seven.”
Su Rongrong lightly exhaled, and said, “Do you think it was he who stole it?”
The woman laughed and said, “Other than ‘Dao Shuai’ Chu Liuxiang, who else could steal a piece of wood or a blade of grass from the ‘Divine Water Palace’?”
Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, “Much obliged for the compliment. But since you said it like that, if I say that I didn’t do it, you definitely will not believe me.”
“Can you convince me?” the woman asked.
“Perhaps … perhaps I can,” Chu Liuxiang replied.
Suddenly he sprang out of his chair, pulled the woman’s hand, and said, “At least, let me take you to see something. I can guarantee that this thing will be interesting … very interesting.”
Somehow, the cold and detached, as well as arrogant, young woman, was pulled out just like that.
Su Rongrong sighed and said, “If he wanted to pull a girl’s hand, I am afraid no girl will be able to refuse.”
Blinking her eyes, Song Tian’er said, “It would be best if all ‘Divine Water Palace’ disciples are men.”
Li Hongxiu laughed and said, “Women are no problem, but it would be best if they are a bit ugly.”
Song Tian’er giggled and said, “It would be best if they are as ugly as muyecha [witch/shrew/vixen, female Yaksha (demon in Hinduism/Buddhism), also a fictional character in Water Margin: Sun Erniang].”
The sailcloth was lifted up.
Under the starlight, the corpses looked even more malevolent and terrifying.
“Look at her first,” Chu Liuxiang said, “Do you know her?”
The woman concentrated her attention on the dead body of the young woman whose shoulder had been cut off. She looked like a piece of stone statue, her face was as expressionless as if she was made of wood. “This is not ‘Divine Water Palace’ disciple,” she spoke coldly.
Finally Chu Liuxiang was shocked. “She was not?” he blurted.
The woman said, “I have never seen this person in my life.”
Chu Liuxiang stroked his nose, as if someone has just punched him on the face. Smiling ruefully, he said, “I originally thought that the Divine Water was stolen by someone from within your own Palace; I originally thought it was her, but now …”
The woman coldly said, “Now you still find it interesting?”
Chu Liuxiang muttered, “Since this woman was not Divine Water Palace’s disciple, why did she dress this way? Naturally it was not her own idea; rather, ‘he’ had her dressed like this to arouse other people’s misconception.”
“What misconception?” the woman asked.
Chu Liuxiang replied, “He wanted others to believe that Zha Muge was killed by this woman, in such a way that she was also dead under Zha Muge’s hands; everything will be over. Obviously he did not want anybody else to continue pursuing this matter. This poor woman has become his scapegoat.”
The woman unhurriedly said, “You said so, presumably you already know who he is?”
Chu Liuxiang snorted and said, “I wish I know.”
Book 1 Chapter 3 - Part 2
DongBin, truth be told, I do have the desire, but am not sure if I will have the stamina. Besides, aren't you guys tired of me? :D Ysabel, Jaya, you are welcome. Here's the end of Chapter 3.
Edited: Moved to Part 1 above.