Jiu Yue Ying Fei (Flying Eagles in the Ninth Month)

[davidY]

I had just watched a korean movie called OldBoy, and the way that the main character is taunted by someone is so similar. But I hope in the end, this novel will resolve all the problems. Oldboy left the ending a little unresolved.

[fastclock]

The lid of the coffin had not been nailed on.

Light coffin, short life.
Han Zhen’s face seemed to be in a deep sleep, he originally died while in a deep sleep.

"When we discovered him, he already could not be saved. We had to buy the coffin first and set him up temporarily for burial. But we actually did not know his name or whether he had relatives. We only hoped he had some relatives or friends to receive his corpse."

This innkeeper was actually not an unkind person. Although the coffin was thin, it was always much stronger than the straw mat.

"Thank you."

Ye Kai was really very grateful. But he actually felt strong regret and guilt.

If not for him, Han Zhen would not be injured. If not for his carelessness, Han Zhen’s wound might originally be cured, but presently Han Zhen had died while he had actually lived.

"How did he die?"

“He was nailed tight by a sword on the bed."

"A sword?"

"The sword is here."

The sword glittered. It looked like a very classic elegant sword, the fine steel was extremely strong and sharp. The sword had been cleaned of the bloodstains, and wrapped in a yellow cloth.

"The two helpers had to make a really big effort to draw out this sword."

The innkeeper was flattering himself, taking some undeserved credit. Although he was not an unkind person, but he hoped he could gain something , a compensation, and he would not want to miss the opportunity.

Ye Kai surely understood about that. But he was thinking deeply about something else.

“Is it possible that this sword was thrown inside from the window, then it pierced Han Zhen’s face, and nailed him on the bed?"

"The strength needed to throw like that would not be small at all."

The innkeeper also said, "That girl who stayed with you at the inn together with you, also came back the evening before yesterday evening. She looked like she had gotten sick as she was being carried by the person who defeated Nangong Yuan, Hero Guo."

"Where have they gone to?"

"We did not know that, they only appeared all of a sudden."

A helper added, "That evening I was on duty. I had just entered the courtyard and then I saw a flash of light in the room, that looked like the lightning."

"I tried to go quickly over there, but by then your friend had been nailed to the bed. Then, Hero Guo came back carrying that girl. When Hero Guo and Nangong Yuan clashed with their swords, I was also supporting their fight, therefore I recognized him."

"Then I reported the occasion to the storekeeper, by the time I came here again, Hero Guo and that girl had disappeared."

Ye Kai nodded his head.

This sword was really thrown inside from the window, therefore this inn helper only saw that flash of the sword. When this murderer wanted to retrieve his weapon, Guo Ding came back.

The only time the murderer had was the time between Cui YuZhen carrying Ye Kai out of the front door and Guo Ding returning with Ding LingLin.

That time could not be that long, perhaps then he did not have the time to retrieve the sword. Perhaps because he was anxious, he had left the sword. The two helpers needed to expend a lot of effort to retrieve the sword.

"Where did Guo Ding take Ding LingLin?"

"Why did they not stay here and wait? Should he go and look for him?"

He could only consider these questions, but for now he only want to think about one thing. He could not let Han Zhen die in vain. The regrets in his heart had slowly turned into anger.

"Will you let me carry this sword?"

"Certainly... "

Ye Kai requested that and then started walking.

The innkeeper became anxious, "Doesn't your honor want to help prepare this friend's corpse?"

"I will come back, I will come again the day after tomorrow."

Ye Kai certainly knew what was in this innkeeper’s mind, but at the time he did not have a single cent on his body, so instead he pretended not to know.

*****

[fastclock]

Ok, time for some new people. Some of the old ones are already dead...

*****

The sunlight was bright.
It was the first time in ten days that the sun was shining so brightly.

The snow on the street had melted, causing the road to be full of mud.
But there were many people walking on the street, everybody wanted to enjoy this rare good weather, so they went out for a walk.

"Eight sides Escort Bureau"

The gold-lettered signboard that glittered under the sunlight that, had an uncommon styling. An old person wearing black clothes was cleaning the snow and the mud in front of the door.

Ye Kai strode in.
When he walked even a little quickly, the wound of his chest started to hurt, but he was actually walking very quickly. He did not care about the pain in his body.

When he entered the courtyard, two people were coming out from the front hall.

One was a person that was over 40 years old. His attire was very magnificent, the face was very stern and authoritative, his hands were inside his waist, making some “tinkling” sound. The other one was comparatively young. He kept a very neat small beard, and he had fair face and clean hands.

Ye Kai quickly greeted them.

When his mood was good, he was a very polite person, however his mood was not good now. He held the fist of one hand in the other but not the other way around, then he asked, “Whose escort bureau is this?”

The older one looked at him up and down with both eyes, and then responded with a calm face, “I am the owner.”

To an impolite person, he certainly could not be too polite. The “iron guts in eight sides of town” Dai GaoGang was certainly not someone to be trifled with.

"Who are you, who are you looking for?"

Ye Kai said, "I am looking for you."

Dai GaoGang said, "What instructions do you have for me?"

Ye Kai said, "Two things."

"You might as well say the first one."

"I need to borrow 500 taels, I will give them back to you in three days."

Dai GaoGang smiled, but his eyes did not look happy at all. He was staring at Ye Kai’s chest coldly and said, "You are injured."

Ye Kai’s wound had cracked open and seeped through his clothes.

Dai GaoGang coldly said, "If you do not want to receive another wound, it is best to quickly roll back to wherever you come from!"

Ye Kai was staring at him, as he slowly said, "I have heard that the “iron guts in eight sides of town” is someone who is domineering and tyrannical. It seems that they have not spoken incorrectly."

Dai GaoGang sneered.

Ye Kai said, "I am borrowing 500 tails from you. If you do not want to lend me, why do you want me to receive more wounds? Also why should I roll away?"

Dai GaoGang got angry, "I want you to roll away."

He suddenly moved forward, caught the front of Ye Kai’s clothes, the intention was to grasp Ye Kai and drop him. His hard hand was rough and angry, he had obviously practiced an eagle claw skill.

[Anatman]

Heh heh heh... Ye Kai has an odd way of meeting people...

Everyone either becomes his devoted friend, wants to sleep with him, or tries to kill him.

I imagine he does the "wandering vagrant" thing, becuase if he stayed in one place too long, riots and civil wars would break out between the groups... :P

[davidY]

Lol!!

Haha. That is so true. We also meet some people who like to sleep with thim and then kill him. Or devoted friends who want to kill him. Or devoted friends who want to sleep with him and then kill him!

[fastclock]

Ye Kai had not moved. But his grasp certainly had not held the front of Ye Kai’s clothes.

What he had held was Ye Kai’s hand. Ye Kai’s hand had welcomed his, ten fingers of the two people clasped tight.

Dai GaoGang sneered lightly while scolding, "Break!" He relied on his eagle claw skill which he had accomplished to about 80-90% excellence, he desired to break off Ye Kai’s five fingers.

Ye Kai’s fingers had certainly not been broken.

Dai GaoGang suddenly felt his opponent’s fingers strength to be ten times stronger than his. Whenever he wanted to, his five fingers would be broken instead.

The flying dagger originally required a lot of strength to dispatch. If someone did not have the required strength, how could he send the flying dagger without coming up empty?

Dai GaoGang’s face lost its color, there were cold sweats coming down profusely as big as the soybean.

But Ye Kai did not seem to make a huge effort, he just looked at him coldly and said, "You have broken off several people's fingers?"

Dai GaoGang clenched his teeth, he did not dare to open it.

Ye Kai said, "When you hold other people’s fingers under your hand, you had better think about this moment." He suddenly opened his clasp and turned around to walk.

The young one that continued to shoulder both hands at the side said, "Please stop."

Ye Kai stopped, "You have 500 taels to lend?"

This young person had smiled and asked back, "What is your honor’s name?"

Ye Kai said, "Ye."

"Ye for leaf?"

Ye Kai nodded.

The young person were staring at him, "Ye Kai?"

Ye Kai nodded, “Right, Kai for open."

Dai GaoGang changed his countenance and said, "Your excellency is Ye Kai?"

"Precisely."

Dai GaoGang gave a long sigh, and painstakingly said with a smile, "Why didn’t your excellency say it earlier?"

Ye Kai lightly said, "I was not blown here by the autumn wind, only borrowing money, moreover I will only borrow it for three days."

Dai GaoGang said, "500 is enough?"

"I only want to buy two coffins."

Dai GaoGang could no longer ask more, the vigilant accountant behind him had forwarded him 500 taels. "Please accept."

Ye Kai was certainly impolite, Han Zhen’s funeral must no doubt be managed, Yi YeKu’s corpse also need the coffin. No matter who the person he had killed, he would need this sum of money.

After being arrogant initially, Dai GaoGang respectfully asked, "A moment ago, your excellency said there were two matters."

[fastclock]

Some critics have mentioned that Ye Kai is a 'perfect' guy - too perfect.

He might be too perfect in "Bordertown Wanderer", but not in this story. His weakness is continuously being exposed throughout the story. (and of course the flying dagger is never a weakness, no matter what.)

LOL! It's true that Ye Kai can quickly generate the emotion of someone he met for the first time, which means... he's too handsome... hehe....

[fastclock]

Ye Kai said, "I also must inquire about an individual."

Dai GaoGang said, "Who?"

"Lu Di, the white-clothed swordsman Lu Di."

Dai GaoGang’s face suddenly became really strange.

"It is said that he had arrived in Chang An city, do you know where he is at?"

That young person that kept the small tidy beard suddenly smiled, "He’s here."

This young person’s manner was very refined, very delicate. He wore a snow white gown, his eyes were bright, he exuded the charm that could not be ignored.

Ye Kai finally saw him clearly. "You are Lu Di?"

“Yes!"

Ye Kai had carried the yellow cloth wrap in his hands. He took out the sword, then handed it over backward with the point towards himself, holding the point with his fingers.

"Do you recognize this sword?"

Lu Di only looked at: "This is Wudang's loose grain sword."

Ye Kai said, “Only Wudang disciples can use this sword?"

Lu Di said, “Yes."

“Is this your sword?"

“Is not."

"Where is your sword?"

Lu Di proudly said, "I have not used sword recently."

"With your hands?"

Lu Di had continually folded his arms as he coldly said, “Right, some people's hands can also be like a sharp weapon."

Ye Kai said, "But if you want to kill people from outside the window, you still need the sword."

Lu Di had knitted his brows and seemed at lost about these words.

"Because your hand is not long enough."

"What do you mean?"

"You should understand what I mean."

"You are saying I use this sword to kill someone?"

"You do not acknowledge it?"

"Whom have I killed?"

"When you kill someone, don’t you ever ask the other party’s name?"

"Now I am asking."

"He is surnamed Han, called Han Zhen."

"Han Zhen?"

Lu Di had turned his head asked Dai GaoGang, "Do you know this person?"

Dai GaoGang nodded and said, "He was Wei Tianpeng’s brain trust, other people called him ‘the awl’."

Lu Di’s face showed disdain and asked Ye Kai, "What person was this awl of yours?"

“My friend."

"You want to take revenge for him?"

“Right."

"You think I had killed him?"

“No?"

Lu Di proudly said, "How can I kill him? But, even if not only one person like him that had been killed, even if there were eighteen of him, you might as well calculate that into my account."

Ye Kai sneered said, "You know what kind of person you are?"

“Someone who does not fear if someone else is looking for trouble. You wait for your wound to recover, then you or anyone can come again to me to take the revenge.”

"That is not necessary."

"No?"

"You do not have to wait."

"You want to begin now?"

"Today’s weather is good, this place is also good."

Lu Di looked at him, suddenly asked, "You said a moment ago that you must buy two coffins, was one for Han Zhen?"

Ye Kai nodded.

"There is someone else?"

"Yi YeKu."

"The red demon?"

“Yes."

"He died in your hand?"

"After I had killed someone, I cannot neglect his dead body."

"Good, if you die, I will buy these two coffins for you. I will also buy your coffin."

"If I die, you might as well take away my corpse and feed it to the dogs."

Lu Di suddenly laughed and lifted his face up, "Good! Extremely good."

"What if you die?"

"If I die, you might as well cut apart my corpse, put it in front of Han Zhen’s body as the offering, next to the wine."

Ye Kai also laughed, "Good, extremely good. After all, this is about taking revenge for a friend."

[nisachar]

Lu Di did't confess that he killed Han zhen, did he? it appears that he is only being arrogant. so how is Ye Kai convinced that this Lu Di person killed Han Zhen?

[fastclock]

That's precisely the point.
Lu Di is an arrogant basta...

Ye Kai was carried away by the guilt he carried about Han Zhen - and not thinking clearly. He thought for sure Lu Di had hit Han Zhen in the first place, so he thought Lu Di killing Han Zhen was just attempting to finish off what he didn't accomplish first.

[fastclock]

He had suddenly turned around, his back facing Lu Di. Because he laughed, his wound had cracked open and bled again.

The sunlight was bright.

Many people like to kill in this kind of weather, because the blood dried quickly. If Ye Kai had been killed, the blood would have dried quickly too.

Lu Di stood under sun, still folding his arms. He really treasured his hands like the miser treasuring his wealth, almost not letting anyone else have a look.

Ye Kai slowly came forward, for the second time he gave the sword to him. "This is your sword."

Lu Di sneered while receiving it. Suddenly his hand waved, and the long sword was sent away, "zip" into the tree about 50 feet away. The sharp part of the sword entered the wood cleanly almost up to the sword handle. The strength of this throw was enough to pass anyone’s body, and nail it on the bed.

Ye Kai’s pupil contracted, he sneered, "Good, really a sword that can kill."

Lu Di folded his arms again as he proudly said, "I said I do not use a sword."

Ye Kai said, "I heard you."

Lu Di said, "When you kill people you do not use a sword, right?"

Ye Kai said, "I never use it."

Lu Di was staring at his hands, he suddenly asked, "Your dagger?"
He certainly knew about Ye Kai’s dagger.
There was nobody in jiang-hu that had not heard of Ye Kai’s dagger.

Ye Kai was staring at him, after waiting for a very long time, he coldly said, "This is the dagger." As soon as his hand moved, the dagger was in his hand, the bright as snow dagger, the razor thin blade, the flashing brightness could seize someone’s soul, yet it was in Ye Kai’s hands. Ye Kai’s hand was dry and steady, like the summit of the far away mountain.

Lu Di’s pupils also suddenly contracted. Dai GaoGang stood 50 feet further away, he and the others felt their breath had stopped. He suddenly felt he had never experienced this kind of anger.

Lu Di quipped, "Good! It is really a dagger that can kill."

Ye Kai had smiled, suddenly waving this dagger, and as quickly, the dagger disappeared. It seemed to have vanished suddenly in the wind, suddenly disappear without a trace.

Even the person with the sharpest eyes could only see the dagger sparkle moving away to the distant, but could not see the actual thing. The strength and the speed of the knife, certainly nobody could describe it.

Lu Di could not stop himself from changing his countenance as he blurbed, "What is this?"

Ye Kai lightly said, "You already refuse to use the sword, why do I want to use my dagger?"

Lu Di was staring at him, his eyes showed a very strange expression. After a very long time, he suddenly stretched out his hands, "You have a look at my hands."

Just like other people’s hands, these hands seemed not to be very unusual. The fingers were fine and long, the nails were cut very short. These hands were always maintained very well, like those of a refined young gentleman.

But Ye Kai quickly saw that these hands were very unusual. The hands did not seem to have the veins of the blood vessels, the smooth skin almost seemed to be shiny and glossy. These hands did not look like it was part of flesh and blood, but like an unusual metal, not gold, even more precious than gold, not of steel and iron, even harder than the steel and iron.

Lu Di was staring at his own hands as he slowly said, "You saw clearly that these are not like any other hands, this is a sharp weapon that can kill."

Ye Kai had no alternative but to acknowledge.

[fastclock]

btw, what's the right expression for 'two hands folded in front of the chest'? Babelfish gives 'shouldering both hands' which is kind of funny...

You know the picture, right?

Lu Di does this a lot...

[CC]

btw, what's the right expression for 'two hands folded in front of the chest'? Babelfish gives 'shouldering both hands' which is kind of funny...

You know the picture, right?

Lu Di does this a lot...

Folded his arms. Arms folded.

There is only one normal way to fold your arms.

[Wellesley]

Ah, this Lu Di is very familiar. I don't think Ye Kai can beat him without using his dagger while nursing an injury. If he could, then that would make him pretty overpowered

[fastclock]

I've made some major corrections to the last two postings, didn't really have enough time to edit them before posting them.... which was a big mistake.

Thank you for all the comments and suggestions.

Here is a short update

*****

Lu Di said, "You know my uncle?"
He meant "Marquis Silver Halberd" Lu FengXian.

Ye Kai certainly knew him.

Lu Di said, "I am luckier than him, because I am now seven years younger than when he started practicing this technique."

Lu FengXian only started to practice the technique after he became famous, so he could only perfected three fingers.

Lu Di said, "He practiced this at the time, because he was never willing to be under anyone else."
In the weapon list, Marquis Silver Halberd was placed under the Divine stick, the Dragon and Phoenix Rings, Little Li’s flying dagger and Songyang’s iron sword.

Lu Di said, "After Bai Xiaosheng listed the weapons, uncle trained hard for ten years before entering jiang-hu again. He must use these hands to achieve something better, noticing the weak points and strong points of the people placed above him."

He did not need to say that.

Because Lu FengXian had been defeated, defeated by a woman.
A beautiful woman that looked like a fairy maiden, but actually a woman, Lin Xianer, who would direct a man straight to hell.

Lu Di said, “Uncle also had done this to convince people that this hand is not just a hand, but a weapon that is sharp enough to kill, a weapon that is worthy to be included in the weapon list.”

Ye Kai had listened to him calmly, knowing that Lu Di was saying the truth with each word he said. He never interrupted someone else who was telling the truth.

Lu Di again came closer and stared at him. He said, "How will you win by a pair of your empty hands, how can you handle this murder weapon?"

Ye Kai said, "I will try."

Lu Di no longer asked anything, Ye Kai also no longer said anything.

Any other words right now would be meaningless.

*****

[fastclock]

Don't worry... there will be some kind of fight a bit later.... Gu Long style.

*****

The sunlight was bright.

But this bright sunlit courtyard, had now been filled with a different force that could wither anything.

Dai GaoGang suddenly felt very cold. The sunlight was very warm, but he suddenly felt the chill in the air everywhere. He also did not know how it got into you, but it had drifted inside his collar, had penetrated into his heart.

The dagger already flew somewhere into the cloud, the sword was already buried in the tree. There was no coldness of the dagger, nor the anger of the sword, but the surrounding felt even colder than the sharp sword, full of threat.

Dai GaoGang nearly did not want to stay in this courtyard anymore, but he also did not want to go and leave this occasion.

In anyone’s imagination, this fight must be the most soul-stirring fight in the recent years. It would forever be etched as part of the martial arts world. If you could watch this fight with your own eyes, this would be an opportunity of a lifetime. No one would be willing to miss such an opportunity. Dai GaoGang only hoped that they would start quickly, and end this quickly.

But Ye Kai had not moved.
Lu Di had not moved either.

All the observers, including Dai GaoGang, already could not bear this invisible, fearful pressure, however both of them were just standing there aloofly.

Was this pressure really coming from them, therefore they could not feel it? Or perhaps because they had turned themselves into a block of steel, or rock. If not, how in the world could this kind of pressure energy not sway them?

Dai GaoGang could no longer see clearly. He could only see that Ye Kai’s manner was very, very calm, because the heated anger a moment ago had now completely subsided. He certainly knew, at this kind of time, that anger and excitement certainly would not bring the victory, but actually could be fatal.

Lu Di’s arrogance had also disappeared, he could not have the slightest negligence in this kind in the life and death decisive battle. Being arrogant was also similarly a fatal mistake.

Arrogance, anger, forsaken mourning, anxiety, were timidity... All could similarly cause one to make the wrong judgment that ended up being lethal.

Dai GaoGang also saw many masters fight a decisive battle once. These mistakes were precisely the kind of mistakes no one could completely avoid.

But at the present, he suddenly discovered that these two young people unexpectedly did not seemed to have made such mistakes.

Their mood, their manner, their standing posture, all were absolutely perfect.

Actually who would win this fight? Dai GaoGang could not tell as well. He only knew what many people would think in such condition.

Right now, Ye Kai was the most fearful opponent in the martial arts world. He knew that some people had said, that if the weapon list was redone today, Ye Kai’s dagger would very possibly be the first weapon listed.

But now, he did not have his dagger. Although he did not have his dagger, he actually had his guts, the spirit of the dagger, and the ability to cool of his anger.

Could Ye Kai win this time? Dai GaoGang certainly could not tell.
He did not know whether Lu Di could win. Dai GaoGang simply could not tell.

[Wellesley]

So far so good. I like the pre-battle description, and the explanation about how Lu FengXian could only train 3 fingers while Lu Di could train 2 entire hands.

The first time I read the Ah Fei VS Lu FengXian battle I didn't appreciate it that much, but the second time I thought it was very original because the outcome was determined by the environment, and the fight served a purpose beyond finding out which one was the better fighter.

Thanks for your dedication to translating this story.

[davidY]

Ohhhh..... Gu Long is going to let them fight? Usually all fights end with one of the parties dead in an instant. But from your hints and spoilers, it seems like they will both survive, and they will actually fight. Cool!

[fastclock]

Ye Kai seemed really calm. It seemed that he had great assurance that he would win. Besides the dagger, he must have a more fearful wugong. Some wugong that no one could ever imagine.

Now if some people came to Dai GaoGang and wanted to make a bet, he would put it on Ye Kai. He felt Ye Kai had a better opportunity, at least two tenths more than Lu Di.

But he was wrong. Because he could not tell Ye Kai’s mood at the moment, he also could not tell what Ye Kai actually saw.

Somehow, Ye Kai felt the upcoming bitter water he would have to swallow. Since Lu Di shot the sword out, Ye Kai had gotten some favorable impression of this arrogant young man which resembled the unsentimental pity.

But he had also heard of two sayings:

"Distinction between a foe and a friend is just like the distinction between life and death."

"If someone wants you to die, you must also want him to die, there is no other choice."

This was Ah Fei’s words. Ah Fei grew in the law of the jungle, of the wilderness. This was precisely the principle of living in wilderness, but also the principle of life and death.

In this brief moment of life and death decisive battle, one could not extend friendship to the enemy, could not have the compassion.

Ye Kai realized this truth. He knew also that the factors which will bring the victory were not quickness and ruthlessness, but steadiness.

Because Lu Di was probably quicker than him, possibly more ruthless than him. Because at the present, his chest was burning with pain. Not only the wound has split open, it had been festering.

“The skillful artist physician Hua” was not a divine being, he could not create some miracles for him.

Although pain could sometimes bring about awareness, it was a pity that his physical strength could not be synchronized with his spiritual coordination. Therefore as soon as he moved, he must make his opponent met his doom. Therefore he wanted to have at least seven tenth of a chance before he made his move.

Therefore, it was essential for him to wait, wait for the opponent to expose his own weaknesses, wait until he became feeble, collapse, wait until he gave him the opportunity.

But he had been disappointed. Until now, he could not find a flaw in Lu Di’s stance.
Lu Di seemed to just stand there casually, his whole body seemed to have many weak points to attack.

If Ye Kai wanted to start from any place, that looked like everything would be easy. But suddenly he remembered what Little Li Tanhua said to him. During the fight between Ah Fei and Lu FengXian, only Li XunHoan was there to see it with his own eyes.

At that time, Lu FengXian had been just like Lu Di at this moment.

"At that time Ah Fei’s sword might casually pick any part of his body."

"But most of the weak points, instead became not weak anymore."

"His entire body resembled to have became elusive."

"This elusiveness was precisely from Wu Xuezhong to Gao Zhishen boundary (?)."

"If I were to attack with the flying dagger, I would at least have 90% assurance. But at that time if I were Ah Fei, I would not necessarily dare to attack Lu FengXian with the flying dagger."

When Li XunHoan said something, Ye Kai would never forget that.

Now Lu Di’s open body also had become elusive? Ye Kai suddenly realized that he had underestimated this young person, this talented person was truly a master that he never encountered before. Although he had not made any fatal mistake, he had actually lost the important factor in getting the victory. He had lost his confidence to win.

Lu Di coldly looked at him, his eyes became brighter and brighter, more and more hardened.

Suddenly he also said three words, "You have lost."

[CC]

Another classic Gu Long staring match!