I began doing this in an effort to improve my Chinese, without knowing that another translation has already been started. However that thread ended after Chapter 1 of the first story several months ago, so I hope that it's okay for me to pick up at that point, with all due respect to the first translator. I might post my version of Chapter 1 eventually, but here is Part 1 of Chapter 2, the meeting of the protagonist and his love-interest. Beware that this is my first attempt at translating long stories, so any stiffness in style and mistakes should be attributed purely to the lack of skill on my part, as I would be happy to have succeeded in conveying even a small part of the exquisite qualities of the original prose in Chinese.
A city of white jade in the sky,
Has five towers and twelve castles,
Where a divine being touched the top of my head,
Making the hair grow long and my life with it.
~ Li Bai*
[Famous Tang dynasty poet. This poem originally appears at the start of the story, but since the first translation did not include it, I'm giving it here as a reference.]
Chapter 2: Heavenly Bai Yu Jing*
Part 1
Bai Yu Jing* was not in heaven, but on a horse.
[Bai: surname, literally means white; Yu: jade; Jing – capital city; taken together the name becomes “White Jade City,” which appears in the famous poem, and is used by the author for the name of the protagonist as a wordplay.]
His saddle was worn with age, his boots and scabbard just as old, but his clothes were brand new.
The scabbard dangled loosely against his saddle; the spring breeze blew softly across his face.
He felt very pleased, very comfortable.
An old saddle was better for sitting; well-worn boots felt cozier on his feet; a used scabbard would never harm the finely-hone edge of his sword; new clothes always made him feel alert and rested, full of energy.
What he was most pleased about, however, were not these things, but a pair of eyes.
In a large carriage in front of him, a pair of captivating eyes peered at him furtively. This was not the first time he had seen these eyes. He remembered that the first time he saw them was in the inn of a small town.
He had just entered the inn, she was coming out.
She bumped into him.
Her apologetic smile was full of self-conscious shyness, her face bright red as rain-soaked sunset.
Embarrassed as she was, he secretly hoped that she would bump into him again, because though she really was a very attractive woman, he really was not a perfect gentleman.
The second time he saw her was in a restaurant. He had just began his third drink when she came in, saw him, and gave him that same smile, bowing her head demurely.
Her smile was still filled with shyness and embarrassment. That time he smiled too.
This was because he knew, had she bumped into another person, she would never have smiled again and again.
He also knew that he was not a dislikable man, something he was quite confident about.
That was why he left first, but did not hurry along the road.
As expected, her carriage had now caught up to his horse -- did this happen for a purpose? Or was it pure chance? He thought himself a vagrant, born to wander, and had met all kinds of people along the road of his travels.
There were barbarians with red beards who roamed outside the walls of civilization, and cataphracts that rumbled across the great desert; there were fearless outlaws who slaughtered without blinking, as well as young, idealistic champions of chivalry.
During his wanderings, his saddle and scabbard gradually became worn and old; his beard grew stiff and thick.
But his life was always fresh and colorful.
He could never foresee these things -- what events might take place in the next stage of his journey? What kind of people he would meet?
The wind grew cold.
Misty spring rain suddenly fell from the clouds, wetting his new clothes.
The carriage before him stopped. He approached it, only to find the curtain already pulled aside, and those captivating eyes gazing intently at him.
Captivating eyes, shy smile, a face the shape of sunflower seed*, untouched by makeup, but wearing a dress vivid as clouds at sunset.
[”Face like a sunflower seed” is a commonly used Chinese expression to describe beautiful women, something like “teardrop-shaped face” in English.]
She pointed at her delicate feet, then at his wet clothes.
Her hand was frail and slender as scallion in the spring.*
[Again, another common Chinese literary expression to describe the slenderness of a woman’s hands.]
He pointed at himself, then at the inside of the carriage.
She nodded, and with a charming smile, opened the door.
The interior of the carriage was cushy and dry, the silken seat covers smooth like her skin.
He dismounted, stepping up into the carriage.
Rain was still falling in a suffusing and playful mist; it rained just at the right time.
In spring time, it seemed that nature often indulged in the arrangement of serendipitous encounters, to bring fascinating people together in unexpected places.
There was not the least bit of awkwardness, nor unnecessary words.
It was as if he had known her since he was born. It was as if for his whole life he had expected to sit in this carriage.
It was a lonely journey, the travelers forlorn -- who can say that they should not have met by chance?
As he thought about wiping his rain-drenched face with his sleeve, she passed him a handkerchief of soft, red silk.
He gazed at her, but she lowered her head to play with a corner of her dress.
“You’re welcome.”
“My surname is Bai, call me Bai Yu Jing.”
She smiled charmingly and said, “A city of white jade in the heavens? Has five towers and twelve castles, where a divine being touched the top of my head, making the hair grow long and my life with it.”
He too smiled. “You like Li Bai too?”
She held a corner of her dress between her slender fingers, and began to recite in a soothing voice, “Traveling on the eastern sea, I beheld a mirage of the mountain of Lao. Upon the mountain I met the legendary Master An, who fed me plums big as melons, so that I grew old with no thought of my homeland. The pink vibrancy of youth left my face, and my hair took on the whiteness that signaled the end of life. I thirst for the golden elixir, and to step onto the chariot of clouds. I wish to follow the master into the heavenly beyond, and while away time by sweeping fallen flowers, accompanied by fairy maidens*.”
[An unskilled, rough translation of the original Chinese poem, as was the one in a prior paragraph.]
At the part about the mountain of Lao, she voice seemed to pause.
Bai Yu Jing ventured, “Miss Lao?”
Bowing her head even lower, she replied softly, “Yuan Zi Xia*.”
[Yuan: surname; Zi: purple; Xia: wispy clouds at sunset.]
Suddenly there came the sound of galloping hooves, as three horses dashed past, and three pairs of sharp eyes swept the inside of the carriage.
As the horses sprinted away, the rider in the rear suddenly leaped up from his saddle, lunging backward over the distance of two zhang to land in Bai Yu Jing’s saddle, and with a tap of the point of his foot, picked up the scabbard that hung from the saddle.
The three horses turned back toward the carriage.
With another twist of his body, the rider moved nimbly onto his own saddle.
In an almost imperceptibly short time all three horses disappeared into the hazy mist, no longer to be seen.
Yuan Zi Xia’s beautiful eyes widened as she exclaimed, “They stole your sword!”
Bai Yu Jing gave her a slight grin.
Yuan Zi Xia said, “You saw them taking your property, and you’re not going to do anything about it?”
Bai Yu Jing kept grinning.
Biting her lip, Yuan Zi Xia said, “It is said that there’re some people in the kung-fu world, who hold their swords dear as their lives.”
“I’m not that kind of person,” said Bai Yu Jing.
Yuan Zi Xia sighed softly, seemingly disappointed.
Are there any girls who did not adore dashing heroes? If you fought to the death for a sword, they might liken you to a fool, or they might shed tears for you.
But if you sat there watching others take your sword away and did nothing, they would invariably feel disappointed.
Bai Yu Jing looked at her, then grinned once more and said, “You seem to know a lot about things in the kung-fu world.”
Yuan Zi Xia replied, “Not a lot, but I like to listen, and watch.”
“Is that why you left home to travel alone?” asked Bai Yu Jing.
Yuan Zi Xia nodded, and took to playing with the corner of her dress again.
Bai Yu Jing then said, “Fortunately you have not seen much; when you have seen too much you are bound to be disappointed.”
“Why?” Yuan Zi Xia asked.
“The things you see are never as romantic as the stories you hear,” Bai Yu Jing replied.
Yuan Zi Xia appeared to want to ask something more, but stopped herself.
Just then, galloping hooves resounded once more, as the three horses that just flew past them returned.
The rider in the lead leaned back suddenly like a flag blown away by the wind, and with an outreached hand, returned the scabbard to its former place on the saddle.
At the same time, his two companions brought their raised hands together, open palm covering balled fist*, and bowed forward from their saddles, before disappearing into the fine mist again.
[A gesture of respect.]
Yuan Zi Xia’s eyes became wider, looking perplexed and excited. “They brought back your sword!”
Bai Yu Jing simply grinned.
Yuan Zi Xia blinked, then said, “You knew they were going to return it?”
Bai Yu Jing grinned again.
Yuan Zi Xia stared at him, eyes bright with intensity. “They seemed afraid of you.”
“’Afraid of me?’” Bai Yu Jing repeated.
“You…you must have killed a lot of people with this sword!” Yuan Zi Xia’s voice trembled with excitement.
“Do I look like a killer?” Bai Yu Jing asked.
“No,” Yuan Zi Xia admitted.
“I didn’t think so either,” said Bai Yu Jing.
“But then, why were they afraid of you?” Yuan Zi Xia asked doubtfully.
“Maybe they were afraid of you, not me,” Bai Yu Jing suggested.
Yuan Zi Xia smiled. “Me? Why would they be afraid of me?”
Bai Yu Jing said with a sigh, “’One smile can conquer a city, another smile can lay low a country.’ No matter how sharp a sword is, it can never compare to the smile of a beauty.”
At this Yuan Zi Xia’s smile became even more alluring. Eyes winking, she said, “You…are you afraid of me or not?”
There seemed to be an irresistible power in her eyes, something that seemed to challenge him.
Sighing, Bai Yu Jing said, “Even if I didn’t want to be afraid of you, I can’t help it.”
Yuan Zi Xia bit her lip, then said, “If you’re so afraid of me, you better do as I say, right?”
“Of course,” Bai Yu Jing nodded.
“Good,” Yuan Zi Xia seemed satisfied, “Then I want you to have a drink with me.”
Bai Yu Jing looked surprised. “You can drink?”
“I don’t look like I can hold my liquor?”
“You do,” Bai Yu Jing answered with another sigh.
He had no choice but to admit.
Because he knew, drinking is like the business of killing, you could never tell who is good at it just from looks.
[End Chapter 1 Part 1]
Edited for minor term changes.