Smiling Proud Wanderer

[IcyFox]

Thanks for contributing your time and effort into translating.

It's good to know this novel is being translated by such an enthusiastic team.

[eliza bennet]

Thank you so much for the updates!


This novel is indeed great and it certainly is A LOT better than the film (which was not a bad film at all, in fact it was a good film)

[pokit]

Today's update.

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Ren WoXing turned around and looked at Mr. Huang Zhong and his two brothers. They understood that he was asking them whether they were going to take the pill or not.

Without speaking a single word, Mr. Bald-Brush went to take a pill and swallowed it.

Mr. Paint was mumbling to himself before he finally went and took a pill.

Mr. Huang Zhong looked grieved. He took a book out of his bosom. This was the "Guang Ling San" music score. He walked to LingHu Chong and said "Your honorable's martial art is very high. You are also very wise to setup this strategy to help Ren WoXing got out. I admire you. This music score has harmed us four brothers. I return this to you." He then tossed the music score to LingHu Chong.

LingHu Chong was startled. He then saw Mr. Huang Zhong turned around and walked towards the wall. Feeling regret and sorrow watching Mr. Huang Zhong walking towards the wall, he couldn't help thinking, "This was all Brother Xiang's plan to save Chief Ren. I didn't even know anything about it. But Mr. Huang Zhong and the two brothers will hate me always. I can never separate myself from this matter."

Mr. Huang Zhong leaned against the wall and said, "Originally, we four brothers entered the Sun Moon Sect with the intention of upholding justice in Jiang Hu. But Chief Ren's temper was very irritable and he used the power for his own gain. So we four brothers didn't get involved much in sect's affairs. When Chief DongFang became Chief, he was crafty and villainous, and he expelled a lot of brothers from the sect. We four brothers became downhearted. So we asked to be sent here, to be far away from Dark Wood Cliff. And not to be involved in other people's affair. So we stayed in the West Lake cherishing the arts. In the past twelve years, we've enjoyed a lot of happiness and good fortune. A man's life is full of worry and short of happiness. This is fate... " Speaking until here, a "heng" sound was heard. His body slowly dropped down.

"Big Brother!" shouted Mr. Bald-Brush and Mr. Paint. They ran to Mr. Huang Zhong's side to support him. Only to see a dagger sticking out of his heart, his two eyes opened wide, and his breath stopped.

"Big Brother! Big brother!" cried both of them, their tears pouring down.

Wang Cheng applauded and said, "This old fellow didn't follow Chief's order. Now, he's killed himself fearing his crime. He's also added one more crime to his name. What are you two chaps being noisy about?"

Mr. Paint, his face full of anger, turned around. He wanted to charge at Wang Cheng disregarding his own life.

"What? You wanna rebel?" smirked Wang Cheng.

Mr. Paint remembered that he had taken the "Three Brain Corpse" pill already. From here on, he mustn't defy Ren WoXing's order at all. With this in mind, his anger subsided. He merely lowered his head and wiped his tears.

"Bring his corpse and this crippled corpse outside. Bring in the wine and dishes! Today, I'm gonna get drunk with Brother Xiang and Brother LingHu!" said Ren WoXing.

"Right away!" said Mr. Bald-Brush after he'd brought Mr. Huang Zhong's corpse outside.

A servant came in and arranged six sets of bowls and chopsticks.

"Take away three sets. How can we share a table with Chief?" said Bao DaChu while helping to setup the bowls and chopsticks.

"You have worked hard also. Have a drink outside," said Ren WoXing.

Bao DaChu, Wang Cheng, and Sang San Niang bowed together and replied "Thank you for Chief's grace." They then withdrew out of the room slowly.

After LingHu Chong saw Mr. Huang Zhong's suicide, he came to regard him as a righteous and upright person. He remembered the day when Mr. Huang Zhong offered to write a letter to Shaolin Abbot Fang Zheng to treat LingHu Chong's illness. LingHu Chong couldn't help but feel sad at Mr. Huang Zhong's death.

"Brother, you've had a really good fortune being able to learn Chief's XiXing DaFa. Let's hear your story," said Xiang WenTian smiling. So LingHu Chong told them how he found the skill on the iron panel and everything that went on afterwards.

"Congratulations, this type of opportunity is really precious. It makes brother's life good and happy," said Xiang WenTian happily. As he finished speaking, he lifted his wine cup and chugged it down in a mouthful. Ren WoXing and LingHu Chong also lifted their wine cups and chugged them down.

Looking happy, Ren WoXing said "When you look at this matter, it is actually very dangerous. Initially, when I engraved this martial art's secrets on the iron panel, I was just feeling melancholy and wanting to kill some time. I didn't actually have any intention to preserve this martial art. This divine martial art is of course real, but I didn't leave any direction to help in learning or to avoid having "Fire Deviation". This is to prevent people from getting this skill. There are two major difficulties in learning this divine skill. The first difficulty involves scattering all of the body's internal energy and emptying everything from the "dan tian" region. If the internal energy is not emptied out or if it was scattered into the wrong pressure points, you will get "fire deviation". At best, your whole body will be paralysed and you will be crippled. At worst, your meridians will flow backwards and you will bleed to death from 7 holes in your body. This martial art was created by Cheng YiDa several hundred years ago and it is rare to get instructions for it. Also, very few people finished learning it completely because this scattering step is very difficult. Brother Linghu actually had a few big advantages. First, you have lost all of your internal energy. So you didn't care about scattering your energy and it didn't take too much effort for you to complete the first step. For other people, this is the most difficult and dangerous step. You, on the other hand, passed this step unexpectedly and unwittingly. After scattering your internal energy, it is essential to absorb other people's qi immediately. This energy from another person must be stored in your "dan tian" and then scattered into your 8 meridians. Ordinarily, this step is also very difficult. Your whole internal energy has just been dispersed into the meridians. You then must absorb someone's qi. How can this be an easy thing to do? Who wants to give up his life for you to practice this skill? Brother LingHu again had an advantage with this second difficulty. I've heard Brother Xiang said that, there are 8 types of internal energy in your body from various masters. Although they are only a portion of each person's qi, each one is already extremely good. Brother LingHu, you've passed these two major obstacles very easily and finished learning the skill. It must be heaven's will."

[Demonic Swordsman]

keep it up!

[davidY]

Great work. But just a quick question: is there any references to Cheng YiDa in other Jin Yong books?

[pokit]

I don't think Cheng YiDa is mentioned anywhere else.

He would exist in the period after Tian Long BaBu though.

[kyss of the sword]

ok, there is a portion of SPW translated by bliss in the wuxia under feng Qingyang and KHBD disscussion. i was thinking of putting it here but thought better let hhuang decide. i post the link here so it is easy to find. it's a conversation between LHC, the shaolin abott and wudang leader about KHBD and BXJF.

http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=10254

here it is.

[gobie2920]

You are really fast Pokit. TQ.
Kinda feel sorry that Huang Zhong had to die. But at least he did it honourably .
On the other hand, I am itching to see LHC fight.

[eliza bennet]

LHC is really lucky (it is a recurring theme for JY's heroes to obtain great skills by chance, I love it!)

Yeah and I also am looking forward LHC to fight

[pokit]

Well, LingHu Chong isn't as lucky as you thought getting this skill. This skill is a double edged sword.

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LingHu Chong's palm was wet with cold sweat. He said, "Luckily all my internal energy was lost already. Otherwise, I don't dare to think what would have happened. Brother Xiang, how did Chief Ren escape from the underground prison? Little brother still doesn't know how this happened."

Xiang WenTian chuckled and took out an object from his bosom and put it on LingHu Chong's palm.

"What's this?" asked LingHu Chong as he felt a hard ball on his palm. It was the object that he gave to Ren WoXing on that day. He opened his palm and saw a metal ball. There was an inlay with a metal bead on the ball. He pushed the metal bead and it turned around in the inlay. When he pulled on the bead, an extremely fine metal thread came out of it. The end of this metal thread was connected to the ball on his hand. With a row of saw tooth, this metal thread was just like a metal wire saw. LingHu Chong was suddenly enlightened.

"So that was how the shackles on Chief's hands and feet were broken!" exclaimed LingHu Chong.

"I completely knocked out all five of you by laughing a few times using my internal energy. Then I used that metal saw to cut the shackles. How did you deal with Mr. Black-White when you were escaping? What do you think I did?" asked Ren WoXing with a smile.

"First, you switched your clothes with mine and then you shackled my hands and feet. No wonder Mr. Huang Zhong didn't notice what happened." beamed LingHu Chong.

"Of course, it wasn't easy to conceal this from Mr. Huang Zhong and Mr. Black-White. But when they woke up, Chief and I had already left the Plum Manor. We left them the chess book, the music score, the calligraphy and the painting. Seeing these probably made them very happy. How can they suspect that the person inside the prison has escaped?" explained Xiang WenTian.

"Brother's strategy was certainly divine. No other person could have done it this well." said LingHu Chong. But in his heart, he was thinking "You planned all of this from the very beginning. You deceived these four people to lead us inside the prison. But it has been a long time since Chief escaped. How come it took you so long to rescue me?"

Xiang WenTian noticed the change of color on Linghu Chong's face and guessed correctly what LingHu Chong was thinking.

With a smile, he said "Brother, Chief had many major matters to deal with after the escape from prison. We cannot let the enemy know of the escape at the time. So, it was better to wrong you and let you stay under the West Lake for several days first. Didn't we come to rescue you today? However, we found you've turned bad luck into good fortune and have finished learning this marvelous martial art. That should compensate for your time in there. HaHaHa. Wouldn't you consider it a fair trade?" Saying this, Xiang WenTian filled their wine cups to the brim and then gulped his wine down.

Ren WoXing laughed loudly and said, "Let me drink to that too!"

Linghu Chong said with a smile, "How could it be a fair trade? I should be thanking you both many times over. I had serious internal injuries for which there was no cure. Only after learning Chief's divine martial art, my injuries were healed and my life was given back to me."

The three of them laughed loudly, feeling very happy.

Xian WenTian continued with his explanation, "Twelve years ago, Chief strangely disappeared and DongFang BuBai seized control of the sect. When I found out about this matter, I had to endure this patiently and declared my allegiance to DongFang BuBai. Just recently, I discovered that Chief has been imprisoned here so I went straight away to help Chief. Who would have thought that, as soon as I descended from Dark Wood Cliff, that bastard DongFang BuBai would send many groups to kill me. Then as I was escaping, I accidentally met with those bastards from the orthodox sects. Brother, that day at the bottom of the valley, you told me how you lost your internal energy. That was when I thought that you could be cured if you could disperse your various strange internal energies. At the present age, only Chief's XiXing DaFa can do this. After the escape, I was going to ask Chief to bequeath this marvelous method to you and rescue your life. It turns out I didn't even need to beg, Chief had already passed it on to you!"

The three of them drank up their wine together and laughed. Linghu Chong thought to himself, "Elder brother Xiang had certainly used me to rescue Chief Ren. On the other hand, he was also thinking of my welfare and was hoping to rescue my life. That day in the valley, he did say he was going to take me to someone who could help with my treatment. But why would Chief Ren be willing to bequeath to me, a mere stranger, his treasured XiXing DaFa?" But he still appreciated what Xiang WenTian wanted to do for him.

After drinking more than ten cups of wine together, LingHu Chong thought that not only Ren WoXing's style of speaking was heroic but also his knowledge and experience were extraordinary. He felt Ren WoXing really was a rare hero and couldn't help but admire him. At first, when he saw how Ren WoXing dealt with Qin WeiBang, Mr. Huang Zhong and Mr. Black-White, he thought that Ren WoXing was excessively vicious. But after hearing him talk, Linghu Chong came to feel that Ren Wo Xing quite resembled a hero and that his temperament may not be often this vicious. Hence, his initial resentment towards Ren Woxing gradually subsided.

"Brother LingHu, when we deal with enemies, we must act viciously. And when we're dealing with our subordinates, we must be strict. You're probably not accustomed to it. But think about it. How long have I been locked up under the West Lake's underground prison? You've been imprisoned in there. You know how it feels likes. How did my enemies treat me? When it comes to enemies, especially ones who rebelled against you, can you treat them compassionately?" said Ren WoXing.

LingHu Chong nodded agreeing with him. Suddenly, he stood up wanting to deal with a matter on his mind.

"I would like to make a request to Chief regarding a matter and I hope Chief will agree to it." said LingHu Chong.

"What matter?" asked Ren WoXing.

"On the day I first met Chief, I heard Mr. Huang Zhong mention that Huashan School will suffer a great misfortune if Chief were to escape and re-enter the martial world. I also heard you say that if you meet my master, you will certainly embarrass him or worse. With Chief's divine martial, I'm afraid that if you were to give trouble to Huashan School, there would be no one who could stand in your way." said Linghu Chong.

"I heard Brother Xiang said that your master announced to everyone that he had expelled you from the HuaShan School. For this, I'll go to HuaShan and not only disgrace them but also wipe them out from the martial world. That way it will remove the bitter feeling from your heart." answered Ren Woxing.

LingHu Chong shook his head and replied, "My parents died when I was young. Master and Master-Wife kindly took me in. They took care of me when I was growing up and then took me in as a disciple. To me, they are like parents. First, it was my fault that Master expelled me from the school. Second, there might have also been some misunderstanding between us. I wouldn't dare blame my kind Master."

"Yue BuQun treated you heartlessly. Are you not willing to seek justice?" asked Ren WoXing with a smile.

"I beg for Chief's kindness and would like you to be broadminded on this matter. Please do not make life difficult for my Master, Master-Wife or HuaShan School's apprentices" said LingHu Chong.

"Emm, I've escaped from that dark prison but you've also had your strive in that prison at the same time. But I've also passed on to you the divine skill XiXing DaFa and saved your life. The two things are about equal so we don't owe each other anything. There are a lot of grudges that I have to settle now that I've re-entered Jiang Hu. Later, when I handle my affairs, I can't have both my hands and feet tied. So I can't promise you anything on this matter," answered Ren WoXing.

Hearing him said this, LingHu Chong felt that his master would likely encounter great difficulty in the future. He couldn't help but feel anxious for his master and his face paled.

Ren WoXing laughed and said, "Little brother, do sit down. Today, in this world, I have only you and Brother Xiang to trust. We can discuss your request later. How about this? I also have a request to make to you. Why don't you agree to it first? After today, whenever I meet the apprentices from Huashan school, I won't bother them as long as they're not disrespectful towards me. Even if I must teach them a lesson, if I see you at that time, I will show mercy and only use thirty percent of my power. What do you say to this?"

LingHu Chong was very happy. He replied, "I'm deeply grateful for this. Who would dare not to agree to Chief's order?"

"We three are now sworn brothers, from today, we'll share all happiness and woes together. Brother Xiang is Sun Moon Sect's Guang Ming Zuo Shi (left protector). You will become my sect's Guang Ming You Shi (right protector). What do you think of this?" said Ren WoXing.

[SkineePanda]

woooo....thats a huge offer from Ren Woxing......thanx for the translations!

[gobie2920]

Nice political move. But LHC has vehemently despise Evil Sect in the past. Though circumstances had changed now.

[pokit]

From here on, I'll use the martial art's english name if no one minds.

Today's update...

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LingHu Chong was startled when he heard this. He didn't anticipate that Ren WoXing wanted him to join the Devil Sect. When he was young, he heard from master and master-wife that Devil Sect has many kinds of evil and vicious people. After he'd been expelled from HuaShan School, he was thinking of just leisurely wandering the Jiang Hu and not belonging to any school or sect. Even if his body wanted to join the Devil Sect, his mind thought that he should not. His heart was disconcerted. He didn't know how to answer.

Ren WoXing and Xiang WenTian were staring at him. The room was now completely quiet and not a single sound could be heard.

After some time, LingHu Chong said, "Chief is very kind to let me, LingHu Chong, enter the sect so late. But how would I dare to stand side-by-side with Chief? Also, I'm still hoping that, even though I don't have a chance to rejoin HuaShan School, master will have a change of attitude and take back his command...."

Ren WoXing smiled tastelessly and said, "You call me Chief. Actually, although I've escaped from prison, my life is still in a precarious state and this word "Chief" means nothing. It's only good to hear. Today, everyone knows that Sun Moon Sect's Chief is DongFang BuBai. This person's kung fu is high and is not below me at all. His strategy and wisdom are also above me. With a signal from him, many people will rush to help him against only Brother Xiang and me. So, taking the position of Chief from him is a hopeless battle. It's a foolish and deluded action. You're not willing to be my sworn brother. Of course, this is a wise idea to protect your own life. Come, come, come! Let's drink wine and be happy. Let this matter rest."

"How did DongFang BuBai take away Chief's power and position? Also how did you get imprisoned in the underground prison? There are many matters that I still don't understand. Can these two matters be explained?" asked LingHu Chong.

Ren WoXing shook his head. His smile was mournful. He said, "I've been living under the lake for 12 years. What fame and authority do I have left? Hey, hey. I've grown older and my temper has also become worse."

He filled a wine cup to the brim, drank it in a mouthful, and laughed loudly. His laughter sounded sad and forlorn.

"Brother, that day DongFang BuBai sent a lot of people to chase after me, you've seen his vicious method with your own eyes. If you didn't give me a hand, I would've become minced-meat in that pavilion. Right now, your heart is divided between the orthodox school and the Devil Sect. But on that day, those several hundred people from both sides allied together and tried to kill the two of us. Where is the division? What orthodox school? What devil sect? Actually this division is only artificial. Inside the orthodox schools, there are good people. But don't they also have some despicable and evil apprentices? Although the Devil Sect has no shortages of bad people, but we three people would be able to hold the power in the sect. So we'll be able to reorganise the sect well and get rid of those evil degenerates. Won't we then be seen as a proud and heroic sect in Jiang Hu?" Xiang WenTian said.

LingHu Chong nodded and said, "What big brother said is true."

"Back in those days, Chief treated DongFang BuBai fairly. He was promoted to the position of left protector and was given all the power in the sect. Meanwhile, Chief was concentrating on correcting some small flaws in the art of Essence Absorbing. That wolf Dongfang Bubai, with his unexpectedly wild ambition, took care of everyday affairs. On the surface, he treated Chief respectfully and didn't dare to violate anything. But secretly, he gathered power to himself and did things on false pretexts. He removed all the ministers loyal to Chief, all were possibly killed. A few years later, all of Chief's trusted people were all gone. Chief is an upright and most sincere person. He saw that DongFang BuBai was respectful and prudent so he didn't suspect anything. But Dongfang Bubai had positioned himself well in the sect with his hands in everything He had everything arranged to his liking. We didn't have any suspicion from the beginning to the end," explained Xiang WenTian.

Ren Woxing sighed and said, "Brother Xiang, I'm actually very ashamed of this matter. You honestly told me many times to guard against treachery. But I trusted DongFang BuBai too highly and I didn't like to hear those honest talk. Instead I thought you were jealous of him. After I blamed you, you sowed dissension and a lot of lives were lost. Then you left in anger and from then on we haven't met again till now."

" I wouldn't dare to blame Chief. I merely saw that something wasn't right. That DongFang BuBai encircled us secretly then launched his attack. If subordinate was besides Chief at that time, then I would also suffer his violent treachery. Although I was willing to face difficulty and death for the sect, I had to consider about the future in this case. So I felt that I must have a way to escape for every situation. If Chief was able to see through his deceitful heart and ordered him to not pursue his own goals, then I would have been really happy. Otherwise, I should be outside the sect. At the very least, I should avoid him unless he discovered about my suspicion,” said Xiang WenTian.

Ren WoXing nodded and said, "That's true. But how did I know about your pain at that time? I only saw you left without saying goodbye and felt really angry. At the same time, my martial art practice had just reached its critical point and I nearly had a calamity. That DongFang BuBai actually did everything to please me and advised me not to worry. Then I fell even deeper in his plot, I went as far as giving him the sect's secret "KuiHua BaoDian"(Sunflower Manual)."

When LingHu Chong heard of this “Sunflower Manual”, he let out an "ah".

"Brother, you also know about the "Sunflower Manual”?" asked Xiang WenTian.

"I only heard master mentioned this name before. I knew that it's a deep and profound martial art secret. But I didn't know that it was in Chief's possession," answered LingHu Chong.

[Demonic Swordsman]

and the plot thickens....

great translation!

[myko85]

yep. good stuff. thanks!

[eliza bennet]

Oh this is getting better and better, thank you so much Pokit

[pokit]

Short update for today.

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"For many years, "Sunflower manual" has been Sun Moon Sect's well guarded treasure. It is handed down from the previous Chief to the next. When I was practising the art of Essence Absorbing, I neglected to eat and sleep. I didn't care about any matters at all and I wanted to give up the position of Chief to DongFang BuBai. So I gave DongFang BuBai the manual for "Sunflower manual". This is to make him understand clearly about my intention. And not long after, I was going to give the position of Chief to him. Ai, originally DongFang BuBai is a very intelligent person. But once he understood that he was going to get the position of Chief, why did he have to rush in getting it and not willing to wait until I formally give him the position myself? Why did he instead rebel to seize this position?" said Ren WoXing.

He scowled and it appears that even until now he didn't understand clearly about this matter.

"Apparently, he couldn't wait a moment longer. He didn't know when Chief was going to formally give him the position. So he worried and afraid that something might suddenly change," explained Xiang WenTian.

"Actually, he already secured everything for himself. What sudden change should he be afraid of? It's difficult to predict the minds of other people. When I was in the underground prison, I went over his treasonous plan from many different angles, trying to understand. Why did he suddenly launch the attack? Even until now, I still don't understand his logic even now. Originally, he was a little bit jealous of you, afraid that I might give the position of chief to you. But he'd seen you left with his own eyes. So it was better for him to just wait for a little while," reasoned Ren WoXing.

"At the night of the dragon boat festival's feast in the same year that DongFang BuBai launched his attack, Miss said something at the banquet. Does Chief still remember what she said?" asked Xiang WenTian.

Ren WoXing scratched his head pondering, "Dragon boat festival? What did that little Miss say? Hmm. What's the connection? I don’t remember."

"Chief, don't treat Miss as a little child. She's very clever and thoughtful, and no lesser than any adult. That year, miss is seven years old, right? She was at the banquet looking at people when she suddenly asked you, "Dad, dad, how come when we drink wine at the dragon boat festival every year, there's always one person less?" You were startled and asked her, " What do you mean there is one person less every year?" Miss answered, "I remembered there were 11 people last year. The year before, there were 12 people. This year, one, two, three, four, five... we only have ten,"” recounted Xiang WenTian.

Ren WoXing sighed and said, "That's true. Ahh. At that time, when I heard what little miss said, I felt very unhappy. The year before, DongFang BuBai had executed younger brother Hao Xian. The year before that, Elder Qiu died at GanSu with no clear reason. When I think about it now, this must have been DongFang BuBai's evil doing. And one year before that, Elder Wen was removed from the sect and was killed by the masters from SongShan School, TaiShan School and HengShan School. That disaster must also be DongFang BuBai's doing. Ai, little miss accidentally said the right word and revealed his plan. At that time, my mind was like in a dream, I couldn't comprehend it."

He stopped for a while and gulped his wine down.

He continued, "This Art of Essence Absorbing was created by Xiao Yao Sect in times of Northern Song. It was a combination of the two skills, BeiMing Shen Gong and Hua Gong DaFa (Author's note: Please read "Tian Long Ba Bu"), which were left behind by Dali's Duan family and XingXiu Sect respectively. They were combined into one, and became the Art of Essence Absorbing. The Art of Essence Absorbing’s main principle is inherited from Hua Gong DaFa. But the scholars who wrote the formula down didn't know the proper way, so there were some flaws on the skill. In the meantime, for more than ten years, I've been repairing this Art of Essence Absorbing. In Jiang Hu, this divine martial art still has a big reputation. When people from orthodox school hear this name, they still tremble with fear. But I know that this divine martial art has a few big flaws in it. In the beginning, I didn't feel anything wrong. But later, a disastrous problem was slowly revealed. In those several years, I came to understand the problem deeply. I knew that if I don't find the remedy soon, I would one day die by "fire deviation". Those energy that I've absorbed from other people could suddenly reverse. Because I've absorbed a lot of energy, the reverse energy would also be just as big."

[myko85]

thanks! I look forward to this everyday

[atlantean0208]

It is strange that scholar have the perfect bei ming shen gong but still need to combine it with the flawed hua gong dafa. I thought DY doesn't have any problem at all while using it.

[pokit]

Didn't DY got into trouble with his BMSG and had to go to the Tian Long temple for help? Then he learned his 6MSJ there.