Legend of the White Haired Maiden

[foxs]

Because his ankle was painful from the stab wound, Jin Duyi was relying on Ying Xiuyang to support him, consequently, both of them were feeling the strain. Jin Duyi thought, 'If we don't dig out of the mountain pass sealed by the avalanche, I am afraid climbing this mountain would be more difficult than ascending to the heavens.' Seeing Yue Mingke's anxiousness, he thought it would be better to use Tie Shanhu to coerce him, to have him implore Yu Luocha that she would send her female troops to open up a pathway.

Murong Chong, however, had another scheme: Yue Mingke was the man most wanted by Wei Zhongxian; not only he was more important than Tie Shanhu, he was also a lot more important than Yu Luocha! Only, Yue Mingke's martial art was superior, a fierce combat with him would be unavoidable. Supposing the three of them fought together, it might be possible to seize him, but it would not be a short battle; if Yu Luocha should appear with her troops, then they would not be able to escape. Therefore, he also wanted to use Tie Shanhu to coerce Yue Mingke.

Yue Mingke followed them to the bottom of the valley. With a cold laugh Murong Chong said, "Yue Mingke, what do you want?"

Yue Mingke looked at Tie Shanhu. Her face was deathly pale, her hair was in disorder, her clothes were tattered; he could not help but feeling extremely grieved. In a loud voice he cried out, "What kind of hero are you, bullying a woman? Let her go!"

"Humph," Murong Chong sneered, "It's easy for you to say! I will let her go if you nicely come with us back to Beijing to face the court."

Yue Mingke took another glance toward Tie Shanhu and grimly said, "Following you to Beijing, that shouldn't be difficult, but how do I know she is not injured?"

Murong Chong stretched out his finger to unseal Tie Shanhu's acupoint. Tie Shanhu called out, "Dage, don't go with him to Beijing!"

Murong Chong laughed and said, "Don't you see? She is not injured at all! We'll make a fair deal, I will definitely not mutilate her to cheat you into entering Beijing."

Yue Mingke rolled his eyes, he thought: 'I have already given the book Military Commissioner left behind to Zhuo Yihang, I have nothing else to worry, I'd better risk my life and come with him to Beijing. Only I do not know whether Shanhu Meimei has fallen under his treachery or not, if he shook her heart using his internal energy, although she might be able to endure it momentarily, but in ten days to half a month, she would die eventually. This cannot be seen clearly. If she is injured, I must try to rescue her and treat her wound immediately.'

"Dage," Tie Shanhu called out again, "Don't fall into his trick!"

Yue Mingke said, "Try taking a deep breath, see if your ribs ache?"

"Ridiculous!" Murong Chong called out, "Do you think I, Murong Chong, am the kind of man who would plot against women and children?"

Tie Shanhu's mind was stirred. She took a deep breath, and then deliberately said, "Seems to be a little bit sore."

Murong Chong's countenance fell, "You are just faking it!"

Tie Shanhu said, "Let me play my flute and have Dage listen to it."

"That's right," Yue Mingke said, "Try playing your flute, by listening to it, I will be able to tell whether you are injured or not."

"Fine," Murong Chong said, "Play then!" He called Jin Duyi, "Come here!" He pulled Tie Shanhu aside and told Jin Duyi, "Watch her, don't let her play any tricks!"

Jin Duyi pressed one hand on her shoulder blade, and pressed the other hand on the middle of her back. Jin Duyi's Venomous Sand Palm was unparalleled under the heavens; although his qinggong was somewhat reduced because of the injury, his palm was still exceptionally powerful. With both hands threatening Tie Shanhu vital points, if she made a slight wrong move, he would immediately send out his power. Even if Tie Shanhu's martial art skill was ten times higher, her internal organs(6) would be shattered by him!

Murong Chong released his grip on Tie Shanhu and pushed her between Jin Duyi and Yue Mingke, while staring at Yue Mingke all the time to guard against any sudden attack; we could say that he was a hundred percent alert. "All right," he said, "Lowly girl, why haven’t you played?"

Tie Shanhu's heart was filled with unbounded grief and hurt, she put the jade flute on her lips and gently blew several notes. The flute sound was very tender, but gradually it went higher and higher. At first the melody carried a joyous feeling, just like a warm sunny day in the spring, when the flowers bloom, when a pair of lovers walk hand-in-hand, whispering sweet words to each other. Yue Mingke could not help but remembering the days when they were travelling together over ten thousand li, when they were trying horses at a suburb in the spring; it was as if his spirit was intoxicated by the melody.

Suddenly the flute changed, as if from the warm sunny day of spring, when the flowers bloom, now it was late autumn, when the trees shook down their leaves, when the lone goose wailed, when the cicadas let out their mournful cry in the winter. Yue Mingke recalled how she wandered in Jianghu, alone and pitiful; his heart was filled with a guilty conscience.

The flute changed again. This time the pitch grew higher, the sound was more mournful, like the cry of the mermaids in the night, or the weeping of the apes of the Three Gorges; within the sorrow, there was a hint of anger. Yue Mingke mused, 'I really should not refuse to marry her, making her so sad.'

The flute changed three times, the sound was thin and clear, graceful like a silk thread floating in the air, beyond anybody's ability to describe it; sometimes it sounded intermittent, sometimes it was continuous, as if it was weeping and complaining, as if listening to someone swallowing his tears like the words in Liu Yong's(7) song: "Holding hands, we look into each other's tearful eyes; Without words, throats choked; As I think of my voyage through a thousand miles of mists and waves, where the evening clouds are somber and the distant skies vast. Lovers have suffered since ancient times, the sorrows of parting. How can I bear further my solitude in this clear autumn season? Where shall I be when I wake up from my drink tonight? Willow banks, the breeze at dawn, and the waning moon!"(8)

The flute sound made everybody sad, even a man with a heart of stone like Murong Chong could not restrain the corner of his eyes from being moist. Yue Mingke felt a chilling pain in his heart, he thought, 'Why does she play such a heartrending tune as if mourning the death of a loved one? Mmm, could it be that she does not want to give me up as I am going to my death? If in one's life one can have an intimate friend, one will have no regrets even in death. Although I am going to die, I am happy. I only hate that she will be lonely for the rest of her life!'

The flute continued. Murong Chong loudly called out, "Stop it! Haven't you played enough?"

Tie Shanhu said in her heart, "Lian Jiejie should’ve heard it by now!” and stopped her playing.

“Yue Mingke,” Murong Chong harshly said, “You have heard it clearly, she does not have the least bit of internal injury.”

“Very well,” Yue Mingke said, “Let her go, I’ll come with you!”

Suddenly Murong Chong laughed, “You have to do what I say first,” he said.

“What is it?” Yue Mingke asked, “You must not raise other complications.”

Murong Chong said, “It’s not a complication at all. I only want you to chop your own right arm!”

“What?!?” Yue Mingke asked in shock.

Murong Chong coldly said, “Your martial art skill is superior, we cannot bind you tight enough, if we seal your acupoint, you might be able to unseal it yourself. We are going on a tens of thousands li journey, your old men won’t want to be inconvenienced by you! You don’t trust me, I also don’t trust you. If you chop your own right arm, everybody will be happy. Ha … ha … are you afraid of pain?”

“Dage,” Tie Shanhu cried out, “Please don’t, please don’t! If you die, I don’t want to live alone!”

“Shanhu Meimei,” Yue Mingke called out, “I appreciate your sympathy. You are still young, you must stay alive no matter what. Go back to Lian Jiejie, don’t mind me.”

“Ha,” Murong Chong said with a cold laugh, “It is truly an eternal affection. How much more the two of you want to say to each other?”

Yue Mingke shouted, “A gentleman’s word is like a fast horse whipped once! I agree to come with you, you must not injure her!”

“Whoever renege his promise, may he be the laughingstock of the Wulin!” Murong Chong replied.

“All right!” Yue Mingke cried out. Grabbing the sword with his left hand, he swung it against his own right arm!

Suddenly there was a blood-curling screech, Yue Mingke cold sword was knocked out of his hand. He looked up in shock, and saw both Tie Shanhu and Jin Duyi rolling on the ground!

-----------------------------
6 Orig. 'Five Zang' and 'Six Fu'. See note 2 of Chapter 10 by Faerie Queenie.
7 A poet of the Song Dynasty (987-1053).
8 I hate translating poems! This is not mine, I found it here: http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/liuyong2e.html

[rati4u]

aaaarghhhh.........this Yue Mingke is so heroic.....I liked him....Zhuo Yi Hang is a stupid....he should have poured his heart out to YLC...loved ones understand best....

thanks a lot foxs....is it a cliff hanger?

[foxs]

If you say so ...
------------------------------------

Actually, when Tie Shanhu played her flute to give a warning, her original intention was to stall, hoping that Yu Luocha would hear and come to their rescue. Who would have thought that Murong Chong would resort to such a sinister means? Seeing Yue Mingke was about to cut his own right arm, Tie Shanhu thought, “Now that I know his love is deep, if I don’t die now, what am I waiting for?” Once she made the decision, her left elbow struck backward, she turned around and pressed her jade flute to activate the mechanism inside. Three darts went straight toward Jin Duyi’s body.

Tie Shanhu was a girl of a renowned martial art family; although her martial art skill has not reached perfection, she knew some unique killer moves. This time, her elbow struck the pit of the stomach, the darts injured the fatal point; although Jin Duyi’s internal strength was profound, his skill in martial art excelled, his eyes turned dark from the pain. He sent out his palm power and as the result, both of them suffered a heavy injury and both rolled around on the ground.

As Tie Shanhu collapsed to the ground, she still called out in stern voice, “Dage, you must run! Avenge me later, we’ll see each other again in the next life!”

Yue Mingke was stricken with grief. Enduring the pain, Jin Duyi leaped up. Suddenly Yue Mingke roared, “I am avenging you today!” Flipping his sword around, he charged forward. Murong Chong raised a fist to punch him. But seeing Yue Mingke’s bloodshot eyes and how he fought like a mad tiger as he punched the air randomly, Murong Chong sidestepped immediately.

Yue Mingke's body moved following his sword, as swift as the gushing wind. Jin Duyi had just stood up, Yue Mingke roared, "Give your head to me!" Soaring high in the air, he kicked Jin Duyi rolling on the ground. Murong Chong rushed to help, but he was too late. He only heard Jin Duyi's blood-curdling scream as the sword flashed, Jin Duyi's head was already in Yue Mingke's hand!

Murong Chong was shocked. Yue Mingke's sword flashed by, together with his roar, "You want me to come to Beijing and face the court, I want you to come with me to hell to face the Yan Wang(9)!" The wind of his sword fiercely and ruthlessly surrounded Murong Chong. Seeing Yue Mingke was fighting without any regard of his own life, Murong Chong realized that in the battle today, his only choice was to stake everything he had, otherwise, he would not escape alive. Exerting his mysterious internal power(10), he faced the enemy's sword with his pair of fists, fighting a fierce battle in the valley dyed red with blood!

The two combatants' powers were in par with each other. Yue Mingke's sword danced like a roaming dragon, Murong Chong's fists attacked like a tiger or a leopard, in the blink of an eye they had already fought twenty, thirty moves. Yue Mingke was in total disregard of his own life, he kept pressing with his attacks. Murong Chong's heart started to waver.

Ying Xiuyang was watching on the side, dumbstruck. Murong Chong said, "If I die, you must escape alone!" Actually, his intention was asking for help, but contrary to his expectation, his words stirred Ying Xiuyang's heart. He mused, "Looking at Yue Mingke fighting like a mad tiger without any regard to his own life, even if I go forward and join the fight, we might not necessarily be able to defeat him. Besides, what if Yu Luocha comes and attacks? If I don't escape now then what am I waiting for?" Thereupon moving his hands and feet, he climbed up the cliff. Murong Chong was so furious that he felt his teeth itch. Yue Mingke’s attacks were growing in ferociousness, but Murong Chong was thinking how to run away.

Back to Yu Luocha and Red Flower Demon Matriarch, who reached the mountain peak one after another. Yu Luocha was one step ahead, and heard the battle noise down below. Unleashing the full potential of her qinggong, her body flew down as if she was about to crash against a protruding rock. The tip of her sword touched the rock, she soared again and continued flying downward. By repeatedly soaring and falling, very soon she had reached the waist of the mountain.

By this time Ying Xiuyang had just started climbing. Yu Luocha laughed and said, "That time on Mount Hua's peak you were able to escape. This time you won't be able to run away!"

Ying Xiuyang's heart and guts froze. Crouching on the dirt, he swung his sword backward and diagonally up.

"Ha," Yu Luocha said, "You still want to fight!" She chopped her sword down, a streak of cold ray as swift as lightning collided with the enemy's sword, and went straight to cut the enemy's wrist.

Fighting on flat land, Ying Xiuyang was still far inferior to Yu Luocha, much less now fighting in a deep canyon, with his body hanging on a dangerous rock. In his panic his foot slipped. Yu Luocha's sword had not touched his body yet, he had already tumbled down the valley below.

Yu Luocha laughed and jumped down. She looked around and could not help but be deeply shocked!

On the desolate valley, she saw Murong Chong and Yue Mingke were engaged in a life and death battle, a headless body lying on the wild grass among the scattered rocks, not far from this body, Tie Shanhu was lying face down on the ground.

"Shanhu Meimei!" Yu Luocha called out and rushed to turn Tie Shanhu's body around.

Gasping for breath, Tie Shanhu's weak voice replied, "Lian Jiejie, you are too late. Please tell my father not to miss me."

Although Tie Shanhu's voice was weak, Yue Mingke heard it. He was like dry grass brought back to life by the thunderstorm in the spring. "Hey, she is not dead yet!" he said in his heart. Pulling back his sword, he turned around and ran toward Tie Shanhu.

Murong Chong was just thinking of running away by climbing the rock wall; seeing a shadow of a red flower flash on the mountain, hastily he climbed from the other side.

"Heroine Lian," Yue Mingke called out, "Please pursue Murong Chong; let me look at Shanhu Meimei."

Yu Luocha let out a bitter laugh as she carried Tie Shanhu up and handed her over to Yue Mingke. Yue Mingke tenderly kissed Tie Shanhu's eyes while calling out, "Shanhu Meimei, open your eyes. See? I am here."

Tie Shanhu only managed to get her eyes half open. With a weak smile she said, "Dage, I am so happy."

"I have let you down," Yue Mingke said, "I came too late!"

"You are not late," Tie Shanhu said, "It's just that I will have to go first."

Tie Shanhu's internal organs were shattered by Jin Duyi's palm strength. As she saw that Yue Mingke was with her at her last moment, with her dying breath she said those words, and then she felt as if she was sleeping on a goose down or velvet bed; it was very warm and comfortable. It was as if she had returned to her childhood home, when her father carried her as they took a bath in a hot spring nearby Chang'an(11). It was so warm and comfortable that her eyelids felt heavy, like when she fell asleep in the hot bath. She felt her body sank, she sank deeper, and deeper...

Yue Mingke, on the other hand, felt colder and colder. Tie Shanhu had given up her last breath!

In this instant, Yue Mingke did not want to think about anything else, his brain felt empty, everything felt so hopeless. He only felt coldness, the coldness that penetrated his heart. He even felt that the air surrounding him had condensed into cold ice.

Back to Red Flower Demon Matriarch who was going down the mountain. From the distance she saw Yu Luocha running after Murong Chong, who was climbing the mountain on the opposite peak. She was greatly surprised. "Jin Laoda(12), Jin Laoda!" she called out.

Yue Mingke was shaken by Red Flower Demon Matriarch's ear-piercing calling, as if he had just been awakened from a nightmare. Putting Tie Shanhu's body gently on the ground, he lifted Jin Duyi's head and shouted in rage, "Your Jin Laoda is here!"

As soon as Red Flower Demon Matriarch looked up, just like Yue Mingke, her entire body, from the crown of her head to the tip of her toes, felt very cold! After looking again, although the head was badly mangled and mutilated, she recognized beyond any doubt that the head had belonged to her husband of several decades! Menacingly and awe-inspiringly Red Flower Demon Matriarch lifted high her crutch, with a trembling voice she called out, "Did you kill him?"

"Even ten of your stinky husbands cannot substitute my Shanhu!" Yue Mingke replied.

"Who are you?" Red Flower Demon Matriarch angrily asked, "I must kill you as restitution for his life!"

Yue Mingke roared angrily, "Old Yue is still alive after braving several dozen of near death dangers in front of magnificent armies with thousands of men and horses; being hunted as a criminal by the castrated traitor, I have already put my life beyond consideration. Haha! You want to kill me to pay for his death! Who would pay for Military Commissioner Xiong's death, my Shanhu Meimei's death?"

Red Flower Demon Matriarch felt like a lightning had just struck her. Unexpectedly, Yu Luocha was telling her the truth, this lowly husband was indeed an accomplice of the tyrant to do evil and to persecute good and loyal subjects! Her several dozens of painstaking efforts to change him to be good, still ended up as a failure like this!

9 Yama, King of the underworld.
10 Orig. 'xuan gong nei'.
11 Modern day Xi'an, the ancient capital of China during the Tang Dynasty.
12 Lit. oldest child in a family, the first, the leader.

[zhouyu]

wow, Yue is so much better than ZYH.

[SkyWalker]

Sniff..sniff...sniff....poor TSH. She's awesome, but too bad her life is short lived. At least she experienced true love before she died. And YMK is truly awesome too! Too bad he couldn't save the woman he loves. I want to see a fight between him and Red Flower. That would be an exciting fight as well.

Thanks Foxs for another great update.

[Fighting_Wind]

SHAN HU! SHAN HU! WHY!!!!!! ;_;
I was so scared that this would have been the part where she died and she did. I feel so sorry for Tie Feilong, 3 years and his daughter is dead. And she and Yue Mingke could have lived a happy life together ;_;. Shan Hu!

On a side note I am so glad Jin Duiyi is dead, I hope Murong Chong gets a proper *** kicking. I kinda wish YLC wasn't fighting with Red Demon Matriarch but then again if she didn't this wouldn't have been a tragedy. But why!

Thank you fox for tirelessly bringing us this chapter and so many others ^^. But why Shan Hu! ;_;

Isn't it funny how Yue Mingke is so resolute in Shan Hu whilst ZYH is so flimsy and indecisve. I was like wow, look how far he'd go to her whilse ZYH is a pansy worrying aboiut reputation.

[foxs]

Isn't it funny how Yue Mingke is so resolute in Shan Hu whilst ZYH is so flimsy and indecisve. I was like wow, look how far he'd go to her whilse ZYH is a pansy worrying aboiut reputation.

Exactly. IMHO, he had never loved Yu Luocha, he was attracted to her for her beauty, but did not love her (at least at this point of the story). If he did, he would not concern about his face too much. I can think of several examples from other stories where love reigns over reputation.

Anyway, on with the story ...
---------------------------------------------

Red Flower Demon Matriarch felt her limbs lose their strength, her crutch slowly went down. Yue Mingke's anger was somewhat reduced. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

Red Flower Demon Matriarch was still angry, but had lost her strength. "Are you Yue Mingke?" she asked, "Are you Military Commissioner Xiong's grand adjutant?"

"I also know that you are the Red Flower Demon Matriarch," Yue Mingke replied, "Humph, humph, people have called you wrong, it is your husband who was the devil!"

Red Flower Demon Matriarch heaved a deep sigh, she said in her heart, 'It is finished, it is finished! How can I still have a face to see Wulin friends of the same principle? Why do I want to live on this earth?' For a moment she was lost in thought then suddenly she struck her head against a mountain rock. Pitiful Red Flower Demon Matriarch had always lived a heroic life, but because she mistakenly married a wicked man, she was implicated in his crime and died the cruelest death. Her blood splashed the deep valley!

Yue Mingke was taken aback, but then suddenly he laughed wildly and cried out, "Everybody died! Everything is finished!" Leaping up, he also aimed his head toward a mountain rock!

Back to Yu Luocha who was pursuing Murong Chong. When he reached the mountain top, Murong Chong took advantage of his higher position and randomly shoved big rocks down. Like a sudden hailstone the rocks rolled down the mountain. Yu Luocha jumped and leaped frantically to evade, she had no way of launching an attack. Suddenly she heard from down below Red Flower Demon Matriarch and Yue Mingke were scolding and cursing each other. 'Not good!' she thought, 'Red Flower Demon Matriarch will certainly fight him to the death'. She was also concerned over Tie Shanhu's safety, so she called out, "Murong Chong, I'll spare your life today!" Turning around, she hurried down the valley.

Suddenly she saw Red Flower Demon Matriarch crashing her head against a rock to take her own life. Yu Luocha was shocked! "Bad! Really bad!" she mused, "From now on I have one less worthy adversary!" She rushed down and arrived just in the nick of time! The crown of Yue Mingke's head was only less than five cun away from the rock. With one hand she grabbed Yue Mingke's ankle and pulled him back, hard.

Yue Mingke only heard someone's voice by his ear, "We can't have two martial art masters die one after another in just one day!" When he opened his eyes, he saw it was Yu Luocha talking to him.

Yue Mingke slumped down and sat on the ground. He pointed and said, "Shanhu is dead, why would I want to live?"

Yu Luocha felt great pain in her heart, but her goal was to save the living and not the dead, hence with all strength she could muster, she steeled herself and with a cold laugh she said, "Yue Mingke, are you afraid of having a sword duel with me?"

Yue Mingke's anger bubbled up, he thought, 'Tie Shanhu was your sworn sister, you are actually this heartless and at time like this still have the mood to have a sword duel with me.' He sprang up and called out, "You want to have a duel? Come, come! It's a pity Shanhu Meimei cannot see her sworn sister's awe-inspiring prowess!"

Yu Luocha said with a laugh, "I don't want to have a duel with you right now. Both of our Shifu created his and her respective sword school, one upright the other backward, each one is able to subdue the other. My Shifu's original intention was that after she mastered the sword technique, she would have a contest with your Shifu, to verify each other's martial art skills. It's a pity that my Shifu is dead, those two Seniors can't have a duel anymore. Each of us inherited our schools’ sword technique, each of us is our respective master's sole heir, later on, it is up to us to fulfill the wishes of the previous generation. If you don't want to, who would have a sword duel with me? We must train ten or twenty years more, perfecting our school's swordsmanship. And then we can have a nice contest to see who's better and who's worse. If we have the duel right now, more or less we are going to fight evenly then what good is it?"

Yue Mingke's heart was shaken, he mused, 'So that's her real intention. My Shifu is at the dusk of his life, definitely he won't have the second person he could impart his skill to. I really should not commit suicide and bring along this sword technique to the grave'. Thinking to this point, it was as if a bucket of cold water was splashed onto his head. He came to his senses and with a low voice said, "Thank you for your encouragement. Twenty years from now, I am going to wait for you on Tianshan."

Yu Luocha let out a breath, now she felt the pain in her heart. Embracing Tie Shanhu's body, she sobbed loudly.

Yue Mingke thought, 'Turns out although she is vicious on the outside, her heart is compassionate'. He was just about to comfort her when from the mountain someone was rushing down to the valley. It turned out it was Zhuo Yihang. His qinggong was relatively inferior, so only now did he finally arrive.

With tears in his eyes Yue Mingke called out, "Zhuo Xiong, Shanhu is dead, please console her."

Zhuo Yihang was shocked, he hurriedly went forward to prop Yu Luocha.

Suddenly Yu Luocha thought, 'Although Yue Mingke and Tie Shanhu cannot consume their marriage, they sincerely love each other, I can see that today. To have his love, Shanhu Meizi can die with closed eyes!"

Deep in her heart, Yu Luocha felt that Tie Shanhu was happier than she. Casting a glance toward Zhuo Yihang, her eyes were filled with deep love mixed with resentment. Zhuo Yihang was not able to look her in the eyes, he lowered his head.

Disquieting thoughts surged in Yu Luocha's mind. Suddenly she realized that the truly pitiful one was not Tie Shanhu but it was she. She stared blankly and unconsciously tears started flowing down again. After a long, long time she finally looked up and said, "We might as well bury her in this valley. When the snow melted and the pass is open, we'll build her a tomb."

The three of them used their swords to dig the ground. They dug a deep groove and then put Tie Shanhu's body down. Yu Luocha said, "Let's dig another one!"

She carried Red Flower Demon Matriarch's body and said, "She is also a pitiful woman."

When they finished digging a good groove, Yue Mingke said, "Let her be buried together with her husband." He put Jin Duyi's head and body into the hole and said, "Actually, I was going to offer his head as a sacrifice to Shanhu Meimei, but for his wife's sake, I will let him go easily."

The three of them covered the grave with dirt and mud, while grieving silently. Suddenly they heard a low groan. Yue Mingke looked around and saw that it was Ying Xiuyang rolling on the ground. Because he was forced to jump down by Yu Luocha, he sprained his ankle. He witnessed Jin Duyi being killed and Red Flower Demon Matriarch crash her head on the rock. Although his injury was light, he was so scared that his legs turned weak.

"There's another one," Yue Mingke hatefully said, "Good, let's dig another grave and bury him alive!" He grabbed Ying Xiuyang and lifted him up. But Yu Luocha suddenly said, "Let's keep his dog's life!"

"That's right," Zhuo Yihang understood her meaning, "Let's keep his dog's life. We want to use him to lure his comrades who have sold themselves to the Manchus to come out!"

Yue Mingke recalled the affair with Zheng Hongtai on the peak of Huashan several years ago, he said, "In that case, I'll leave this matter into Heroine Lian's hands."

After two severe battles and one grieving heart, straight from dawn to that hour, when the shadow was already leaning to the west, the day was almost spent. Yu Luocha was not in the mood to interrogate the prisoner. "Take him back to the stronghold first," she said, "Let him live two more days."

Yue Mingke said, "With you in charge, even if he grew wings he would not escape his fate." He lifted up Ying Xiuyang and like flying he climbed up the mountain.

Arriving at the stronghold, Yu Luocha immediately dispatched her female troops to excavate the sealed mountain pass. After dinner, when the new moon arose, the troops under Tie Shanhu's command had returned, luckily none of them suffered any injury. They had been busy for almost a day and a night, everybody was exhausted, and went to bed right after eating their meal. But Yu Luocha, Zhuo Yihang and Yue Mingke were not in the mood to sleep. The three of them took a stroll silently on the mountain, nobody said anything. The moon was dim, adding to the depressing mood they were in.

Suddenly Yue Mingke broke the silence, "Heroine Lian, I have a favor I'd like to ask you."

"Please speak," Yu Luocha replied.

Yue Mingke said, "Military Commissioner Xiong died a tragic death, his head was passed around to nine directions. I do wish you'd recover his head back and bury it with his body."

"Military Commissioner Xiong was my friend," Yu Luocha replied, "This matter is very dear to my heart, I will definitely do my best to accomplish it."

"Zhuo Xiong," Yue Mingke continued, "Please deliver the Military Commissioner Xiong's legacy to the deserving man; I am entrusting this matter to you."

[rati4u]

oh shanhu......what a bad ending....

you are right foxs...looks like ZYH got only attracted to YLC...true love doesnt care for face and false reputations....

anyways, thanks for a nice update...my heart feels heavy now

[foxs]

"Xiaodi will certainly do my best," Zhuo Yihang replied, "I'm only afraid that from now on, as the Sect Leader, I will rarely roam the Jianghu."

"You still want to return and be the Sect Leader?" Yu Luocha asked.

Zhuo Yihang lowered his head without saying anything. To help him out of embarrassment Yue Mingke said, "Zhuo Xiong going back to be the Sect Leader is also good; it's certainly better than having one of his Shishu to be the Sect Leader." Zhuo Yihang forced a smile. Yue Mingke added, "If you cannot find anybody worthy of this book, you can keep it over there."

"Don't worry, Yue Xiong," Zhuo Yihang said, "If Xiaodi cannot personally find someone worthy to own this book, I will definitely send a trusted friend to do it for me."

Yu Luocha noticed Yue Mingke's unusual expression, she was worried that he still could not overcome his grief, so she laughed and said, "Don't forget our duel appointment twenty years from now."

"I won't," Yue Mingke promised.

"Yue Xiong," Zhuo Yihang said, "What is your immediate plan?"

Yue Mingke said, “Living my fate, I will be at home wherever I am; no matter how chaotic the mortal world, I will deal with it as it comes my way.”

“Uh, what are you talking about?” Yu Luocha said, “You sound like an old monk chanting the scripture.”

Zhuo Yihang knew Yue Mingke had seen through the mortality of the world, what he said show that he had grasped the principles; he mused, ‘He becomes a monk is also all right; I do not have the luck to become a monk.’

Early morning the next day, sure enough, Yue Mingke left without saying goodbye. He only left a letter addressed to Zhuo Yihang and Yu Luocha, saying that his Shifu was old, so he must return to Tianshan to attend to his needs. In the coming years, he would devote his time to train his swordsmanship among other things. Zhuo Yihang and Yu Luocha had anticipated this, so they were not surprised, but still, they were saddened by his departure.

That day Yu Luocha personally supervised the work of constructing the tombs for Tie Shanhu and Red Flower Demon Matriarch. She was back in the stronghold in the evening. After dinner with Zhuo Yihang, she went alone to take some rest. She was thinking of interrogating Ying Xiuyang when suddenly she saw the barn was on fire.

Yu Luocha was startled; grabbing her sword, she leaped outside, where she saw her troops were thrown into confusion. They came to report, “The imperial army attacks!”

“The imperial army has this kind of ability?” Yu Luocha asked in disbelief. Lifting her sword she rushed out the stronghold gate. Suddenly she saw Murong Chong, leading several dozen troops, was setting the stronghold on fire.

Yu Luocha angrily said, “You were lucky to escape alive, you still dare to come here?” while brandishing the sword in her hand.

Seeing Yu Luocha come out, the morale of her troops soared. Following Yu Luocha’s signal, they formed a circle and engaged the imperial troops in a tangled battle. Yu Luocha charged forward with her sword, her target was Murong Chong.

During the battle, another commotion arose at the western corner, under the moonlight, they looked like a group of Taoist priests, with swords in their hands, breaking through the stronghold.

After Murong Chong escaped the other day, he took care of the injured, either by Yu Luocha’s stab or by the avalanche, when they were rolled over by the rocks and broke their hands or feet. The remaining Guards who were still able to fight were less than ten. Greatly discouraged, he was thinking of returning to Beijing to get reinforcement.

It so happened that after the hungry people’s riot, the imperial troops stationed in the province was alerted and they came to Guangyuan. Wei Zhongxian dispatched the commander of the ‘suppressing bandit’s troops’, Lian Chenghu to also come. Lian Chenghu was the former chief instructor of the Western Faction Guards, he was an old colleague of Murong Chong. Hearing that Murong Chong had arrived, he rushed out to meet him.

Murong Chong sighed and said, “In all my life I have never suffered such setback.”

Lian Chenghu asked him in details and Murong Chong answered all his questions. Hearing Jin Duyi was killed, he did not show too much emotion, but as soon as he heard Ying Xiuyang being captured, his countenance changed greatly.

Turned out Wei Zhongxian, Ying Xiuyang and Lian Chenghu were Manchuria's inside contacts. Lian Chenghu was afraid Ying Xiuyang might confess under pressure and reveal their secret to the world. He hastily asked, "I have heard about Yu Luocha's reputation; how many troops does she have?"

"Several hundred, more or less," Murong Chong replied, "They all are women."

Lian Chenghu laughed and said, "Only several hundred female bandits, what are we afraid of? We can lead our army to flatten her stronghold."

"Although several hundred female bandits are nothing, the Bright Moon Gorge is extremely dangerous, how can a large army go up there?" Murong Chong said, "Besides, the avalanche has closed off the mountain, the road is even more impassable."

Lian Chenghu thought for a moment, then said, "Didn't you say earlier that there were many female bandits from the stronghold who were also blocked by the avalanche and could not return to their stronghold? Yu Luocha has no choice but to clear the pass to let them go home. I have in my troops several dozen men whose qinggong is passable. We can go together with you back to the mountain."

Murong Chong shook his head and said, "It's still impossible. Although the warriors in the army may be able to enter the stronghold, several dozen of them are still not enough to resist the female troops well-trained by Yu Luocha. Much less that Yu Luocha and Yue Mingke's swordsmanship is truly extraordinary. Plus that Sect Leader of Wudang Pai will certainly be involved."

Lian Chenghu said, "I heard Wudang Pai has elected their new Sect Leader by the name of certain Zhuo Yihang. Wudang Pai usually does not want to oppose the government, can it be that Zhuo Yihang is staying with that demoness?"

"Exactly," Murong Chong replied, "Not only Zhuo Yihang is very close to that demoness, he also covered up that criminal Yue Mingke. Just one man Zhuo Yihang is nothing to be afraid of, but each one of Wudang Pai's priests is very proficient in martial arts. There are still several dozen of them within Guangyuan's city limits, if they also get involved in this turmoil, the problem will be thornier."

Lian Chenghu's countenance changed again, "Ying Xiuyang must be rescued," he said, then he whispered by Murong Chong's ear, "Ying Xiuyang is Wei Gonggong's trusted aide, his favor toward Ying Xiuyang is no less than to you and me, several times Wei Gonggong has ordered me to take a good care of him."

Previously, Murong Chong did not regard Ying Xiuyang too highly, hence he was surprised to hear this. 'Such being the case,' he thought, 'We have no other choice but to rescue him.' Unconsciously he remembered Ying Xiuyang's suggestion earlier. He said, "Actually, Ying Xiuyang had a very good idea, but I thought it was not worth doing it."

"What good idea?" Lian Chenghu hastily asked.

"We convert Wudang Pai from the enemy into a friend," Murong Chong replied, "We must apologize to Priest White Stone, and invite them to join hands with us to attack the mountain."

"Great idea!" Lian Chenghu clapped his hands and laughed, "Let's do it this way. Priest White Stone is a narrow-minded man, their Sect Leader is kidnapped, we can exploit this fact to incite him."

Ying Xiuyang and Lian Chenghu's guess was right on; after waiting for two days and not seeing Zhuo Yihang, Priest White Stone was very angry, but realizing that he was not Yu Luocha's match, he did not dare to go up the Bright Moon Gorge to get their Sect Leader back. Listening to Murong Chong and Lian Chenghu's explanation, he discussed this matter with Priest Red Cloud. After a long deliberation, unexpectedly they agreed to join the expedition, with some conditions.

Priest White Stone required that: First, both sides should mind their own business and should not meddle with each other. Their main objective was to get their Sect Leader back, not to help the imperial army win their battle. Second, other than Yu Luocha, they did not want to harm anybody else. If they were attacked by the female bandits, they would only fight in self-defense. That was the reason the imperial army would go first to engage the female bandits in battle, to let the priests enter the stronghold and search for their Sect Leader. Third, as soon as the mission was accomplished, each would go their separate ways. The previous gratitude and grudges would be written off, the Guards must not give Wudang Pai any more trouble. Murong Chong agreed to all conditions, thereupon they went up the mountain that very same evening.

When Yu Luocha saw Priest White Stone leading the priests breaking into the stronghold, she flew into a rage and shouted harshly, “Priest White Stone, you also help the tyrants do their wicked deeds!”

When the female troops saw their Zhaizhu was furious and saw this group of priests suddenly broke through their stronghold, naturally they also divided themselves to intercept the enemy.

“Knock the weapons off their hands!” Priest White Stone barked his order.

[Fighting_Wind]

I wish they never let Murong Chong live but if that was the case Yue Ming Ke would have died. That bastard, this is the consequence of sparing him.

I think Red Demon Matriarch has finally gotten what she deserves, finally recognised as a heroic woman. Her folly was marraying that devil, perhaps this is a warning for women to be cautious.

All I can say is ZYH is so unlikeable. His treatment towards Lian Ni Chang is so low it makes her wish that she was her dead sister. I feel so sorry for her. I admire in this chapter how she tried so desperately to save YMK, she is his saviour mortally and mentally. I think it's wonderful how they are friendly competitors, I never thought they would form a kinsmenship ever.

What I don't get is why Lian Ni Chang fell so deeply in love with ZYH in the first place, unless YMK is the only decent guy in China and second was ZYH. Like everyone has said ZYH is such a wimp, No wonder his character goes through several personality changes in adaptions, he is so unlikeable. He can't even console her, all he did was look down. I hope he gets rejected repeatedly, that's what he deserves not Lian Ni Chang!

[SkyWalker]

Thank you Foxs for another update. Hopefully the next chapter will be lighter and happier. So far in this chapter we have lost TSH (I really liked her spirit and attitude but too bad we didn't get to see more of her development before she died), Red Flower M (a powerful martial artist with an unfortunate husband that caused her downfall), and finally YMK (even though he didn't die but it felt like he's dead and doesn't care about the affairs of the world anymore. I hope we get to see more of him in the future).

And I agree with Fighting Wind about ZYH. There's no one in this novel that is as useless as him. Even the bad guys are more interesting than him. Hopefully he will man up and do something special in the next 10 chapters to justify YLC's deep love for him.

[foxs]

The female bandits boldly charged the enemy, while the Wudang disciples were not willing to hurt them, hence they could not easily knock the female bandits’ weapons in such a short time. Priest White Stone and Priest Red Cloud joined the battle. Priest Red Cloud moved the sword to his left hand, along with Priest White Stone, they launched a converging attack from left and right. These two Wudang Elders’ power was certainly anything but ordinary, in just a short time they had managed to knock the weapons of more than a dozen female troops. The blades and spears flew up randomly, the stronghold was in total chaos.

How would Yu Luocha know that Priest White Stone and Murong Chong had three agreements? Seeing they attack the stronghold together, she simply assumed that they were in cahoots with the government army to destroy, kill and burn the stronghold!

“Humph!” she snorted, and ‘shua shua!’ with two sweeps of her sword she stormed away from Murong Chong and broke through the siege to rush back into the stronghold. Her sword pierced to the east and struck to the west, thrust to the south and shot to the north. The Wudang Pai disciples could not resist, she managed to enter into their defense line.

“Witch!” Priest White Stone shouted, “Quickly return our Sect Leader Disciple to us, otherwise, you won’t escape justice today.”

Yu Luocha angrily replied, “You really bring disgrace to Priest Purple Sun’s illustrious name; won’t you be the laughingstock of the heroes under the heavens?” Her sword moved swiftly, surrounding both Priest White Stone and Priest Red Cloud’s swords in her sword ray.

Back to Zhuo Yihang who had not slept yet. To suddenly see his martial uncles leading his fellow disciples breaking through and attacking, he was so startled that he was at a loss. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, he realized it was not a nightmare. He was paralyzed with deep grief and did not know what to do.

A moment later, he heard the intensifying miserable cry, because as soon as Yu Luocha rushed back into the stronghold, the female bandits fighting outside, who could not resist Murong Chong’s assault to begin with, were having even less fighting power. They were thrown into confusion immediately and suffered countless casualties.

Lian Chenghu led his troops to enter the stronghold, and immediately set the stronghold on fire. The stronghold was constructed using logs of wood and thatch, not using stone and brick; as soon as it was lighted, it was like a prairie fire, nobody could stop it.

Hearing the miserable cry and seeing the blaze, Zhuo Yihang sprang up and rushed out, while loudly calling out, "Shishu, I am here! Why do you help the imperial army fighting them?"

"All right," Priest White Stone replied, "You come with me down the mountain, now!" He led Wudang disciples to protect Zhuo Yihang.

With red eyes Yu Luocha fought and pursued, she was unwilling to give up; her movement was very swift, in a flash she had reached Zhuo Yihang. Zhuo Yihang said, "Let me go, fighting the imperial army is more important." Tossing over the book Yue Mingke gave him to her he said, "I want you to fulfill Yue Xiong's request for me." When he saw how stubborn his martial uncle was, he knew that as soon as he came back, although he became the Sect Leader, he would be closely watched, therefore, he handed over the book written by Military Commissioner Xiong, the magnificent book concerning the fate of the nation, to Yu Luocha.

Yu Luocha was taken aback. Meanwhile, Priest White Stone had already attacked from her back. Yu Luocha swept her sword backward. 'Ding dang!' Priest White Stone's sword was shaken that it almost flew out of his hand.

Priest Red Cloud called out, "We have our Sect Leader, let's go! Yu Luocha, do you insist on opposing our Wudang Pai?"

The noise in the stronghold was earth-shattering! Yu Luocha gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, I'll let you go!" Dodging sideways, she rushed out of the encirclement. Wudang disciples withdrew in fan formation with Zhuo Yihang and the masters in the middle.

By this time the stronghold was completely engulfed in fire. Lian Chenghu rushed toward the rear of the stronghold, searching for Ying Xiuyang. Murong Chong and Yu Luocha were engaged in fierce battle amidst the blazing fire. The imperial troops and the female bandits fought with each other as they run out of the stronghold. In a short moment, the fire was burning higher that the stronghold became an ocean of fire. While they had not surrounded by the fire, Murong Chong and Yu Luocha rushed out while still fighting. The imperial troops and female bandits who failed to escape cried out inside the ocean of fire, and very soon they were burned to ashes.

By this time nine out of ten female bandits had either perished or wounded, while the number of imperial troops had also been reduced to less than half. Yu Luocha's anger had reached the sky; her meticulous care and painstaking effort in establishing her foundation had vanished into the thin air like a smoke! What grieved her heart more was: how many of her several hundred female troops, who live and die together with her like sisters for several years, would escape alive today?

In her extreme grief, she disregarded her own life, her sword stabbed, her palm struck; she moved like the wind and in a short period of time managed to kill about a dozen imperial troops. Murong Chong hastily tried to block her, but his movements were not as quick and agile as Yu Luocha's. Yu Luocha zigzagged through the troops and in an instant she had killed ten more.

In the fierce combat, suddenly someone shouted, "Get out of the way, capture the bandits, let us deal with this witch!" Turned out it was Lian Chenghu, who had just rescued Ying Xiuyang.

Ying Xiuyang had been held prisoner for two days, his leg injury was already healed; he shouted, "Don't let this witch escape!" Together with Lian Chenghu, they cut her off from left and right.

Yu Luocha was enraged, her sword lunged straight ahead, aiming for the throat, stabbing the chest; she attacked with incomparable offensive power. For each stance Ying Xiuyang struggled to block, Yu Luocha followed up with two, three stances in succession, each attack was a killer move. Ying Xiuyang quickly put into a dire situation as he was about to be killed by the sword, luckily Lian Chenghu’s attack came from her back, with flickering pair of hooks he rushed to his rescue. Yu Luocha stabbed her sword backhandedly, 'Ding dang!' it pushed the hooks aside. Both of them had to take several steps back. Ying Xiuyang broke out in cold sweat. Brushing the dust from his clothes, he only dared to attack from the side.

As the former Chief Instructor of the Western Faction Guards, among the Palace Guards, Lian Chenghu's martial art skill was only slightly below Murong Chong's, but it was definitely above Ying Xiuyang's. With his pair of hooks, unexpectedly he was able to resist the enemy for more than a dozen stances, giving Murong Chong the opportunity to rush in, brandishing his fists he joined the battle, trapping Yu Luocha in the middle.

In the meantime, the remaining female bandits had scattered around, they were running and calling out, "Zhaizhu, run away quickly!" Some of them who knew Yu Luocha's temperament well added, "Zhaizhu, while the green hills last, there'll be wood to burn. Don't risk your life with them!"

Yu Luocha's heart was shaken, but even if she wanted to run, she was no longer able to. Murong Chong's martial art was on par with hers! Lian Chenghu was also only a notch inferior to her. Although Ying Xiuyang was the weakest among them, with him acting as the one corner of the triangle, he managed to pose a considerable threat to her. Although Yu Luocha possessed a superb qinggong, her entire body was enveloped by the wind from Murong Chong's fists. If she forced herself to run, she might be wounded by the palm power. Moreover, Lian Chenghu's 'Sun-Moon Double Hooks' may be used to lock and seize the enemy's weapon, or to hook and pull the enemy's hands and feet, so if she escaped by leaping up, she might be wounded by the hooks.

By this time the female bandits were either dead, wounded, or escaped; Yu Luocha was the only one left from the Bright Moon Gorge to fight the imperial army. Murong Chong and the others, three men, tightened their encirclement. Yu Luocha's swordsmanship had reached perfection, it changed irregularly with infinite variations, yet she could barely defend herself.

She had been fighting for several hours nonstop, she had launched thousands of stances; it was nearly midnight, Yu Luocha's strength was depleted, her fighting spirit was still high, but her physical strength was weak. "Could it be that I will die tonight?" she mused.

The imperial army stood around them. Although no one dared to interfere, they were cheering and jeering on the side. Someone laughed and said, "Such a beautiful bandit, I don't have the heart to hurt her." Someone else spat and said, "Pei, even if we catch her, you won't have your turn!" Yu Luocha was so mad that she almost fainted, her sword movement became chaotic.

Amidst the laughter and mocking of the army, suddenly a thunderous voice was heard, "Damn it! You dare to bully my daughter?"

The sound had not stopped, the imperial troops had screamed miserably. Tie Feilong charged through the crowd; where his hands reached the imperial troops were like grass being mowed, one by one they were thrown to the valley below.

Such is: wicked people trembled at the sound of thunder, the old hero displayed his prowess tonight.

[foxs]

From previous part:

Zhuo Yihang knew Yue Mingke had seen through the mortality of the world, what he said show that he had grasped the principles; he mused, ‘He becomes a monk is also all right; I do not have the luck to become a monk.’

From this part:

When he saw how stubborn his martial uncle was, he knew that as soon as he came back, although he became the Sect Leader, he would be closely watched, therefore, he handed over the book written by Military Commissioner Xiong, the magnificent book concerning the fate of the nation, to Yu Luocha.

I had this thought when translating this part:

Several Emperors of Dali left their throne to become monks. Why can't ZYH do the same? My conclusion is: he was too weak to gain control of his own destiny. Rather than fighting for his own fate, he surrendered to his martial uncles and was willing to be a puppet Sect Leader. For what? Reputation? Filial to his Shifu's last wish? Sounds lame to me.

Really, I do not understand what YLC saw in ZYH. She was attracted to ZYH just because he loaned his coat to her? Guo Jing did more than that, he gave his coat AND his precious horse to Huang Rong. GJ was willing to defy his shifus and faced the Great Khan's wrath for her.

But then, this is a fiction, of course the author can do whatever he wants with the characters. I just think that the reason was contradictory, considering Liang Yusheng portrayed Yu Luocha as a strongwilled, fearless-of-Heaven-and-Earth kind of 'mature' girl. (She was already in her twenties, not a young teenager anymore)

Anybody care to argue otherwise?

[SkyWalker]

You hit everything on the head Foxs so there's really nothing to argue against. Although I'd like to add a few things. ZYH is a weak minded individual who doesn't have the will to fight for his own desires. I'm not sure if the reason is because he doesn't know what his true desires are therefore he's not resisting and just go along with what his martial uncles want. Because of this we get back to the initial argument of whether he truly loves YLC or not and most of us agreed that he's only attracted to her beauty and not really love her. You brought up the fact GJ was willing to defy his sifus and the Khan for HR and that proves his love for her. But here we have ZYH who can't even look her in the face and help console when she's at her saddest state when TSH died. When she's surrounded by the enemies, all he did was pass her the book and left. If he cared for her in any way, he would have stayed and made sure she was safe before taking off with his clan. If he loved her in any way, he would've made his stand and stood beside her and fought along side her until the enemies are gone. The fact that he left when she's under attack proved that he just doesn't love her. YMK was willing to lose an arm and maybe his life for TSH and in turn TSH sacrificed her life to save him. Now that's love and determination. What ZYH did is not what a person in love would do. Too bad YLC doesn't understand that all her love is for naught.

[foxs]

Chapter 21
Destroyed stronghold left grief
Emotion remained on a piece of dirt
Testing moves brought laughter
Generous gift concealed a treasure
(Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

Murong Chong angrily said, "It's the uncouth old man again!"

Tie Feilong roared, "The Old Man wants your life!"

Murong Chong punched forcefully, Tie Feilong swept his palm across his chest to block, just like a boulder meets an iron broom. 'Bang!' Both of them were shaken by the opponent's force and both staggered sideways.

Yu Luocha's spirit was greatly aroused, with a move 'star revolves across the sky' she swept Lian Chenghu's double hooks aside. Murong Chong forced himself to leap up again, Tie Feilong also sprang up to fend off. The tables were turned, Tie Feilong repeatedly snorting and cursing, while pressing toward the Five-Element Eight-Trigram position, trying to strike the enemy from a dominant position. Murong Chong bent his knees to assume the horse stance position, as if he was nailed to the ground, returning a stance with a stance, returning a style with a style, his feet were planted on the ground, he did not move the least bit. These two men, one's palms dominate the world, the other's fists unrivalled; one attacked the other countered, the sand and stone around them swirled in the air. The rest of the imperial troops had to take several steps back.

Losing one powerful enemy, Yu Luocha brandished her sword like flying dragon and dancing phoenix, stance after stance stormed toward the enemy, causing Lian Chenghu and Ying Xiuyang's hearts shake with fear.

Amidst the fierce battle, suddenly Tie Feilong asked, "Where is your Shanhu Meizi?"

Yu Luocha's heart was shaken, Lian Chenghu's left hook pulled, his right hook pierced, Yu Luocha was rather slow in dodging the attack, a piece of her sleeve was ripped. Yu Luocha flew into rage, she attacked backhandedly and shouted, "Gotcha!" Lian Chenghu did not have time to pull his double hooks, 'Stab!' his shoulder blade was pierced by her sword. Yu Luocha laughed wildly, Lian Chenghu and Ying Xiuyang fled in panic. Like mad Yu Luocha kept on laughing and did not run after them.

Tie Feilong's heart skipped a beat. "Are you alright?" he called out. 'Whoosh, whoosh!' his palms swept Murong Chong, sending him whirling around. Murong Chong had fought for half the night, his energy was depleted; seeing his companions flee, he did not have the mood to continue the battle. With all his remaining strength he stopped himself, turned around, and also ran away.

Tie Feilong knew something was not right, he rushed toward Yu Luocha to hold her. Yu Luocha was still laughing wildly, but her laughter sounded like sobbing. "All the enemies have run away!" Tie Feilong said.

Yu Luocha's legs gave up, she fell down on the ground. "Father, I have wronged you!"

Tie Feilong was greatly astonished. "Slow down and tell me what happened?" he said.

After experiencing deep grief followed by fierce combat, Yu Luocha felt the hundreds of bones in her body disintegrate; her vision blurred, her eyes closed, and she fainted.

"Poor child, you are too tired!" Tie Feilong sighed.

By this time the stronghold had turned into pile of ashes, the fire had spread toward forest.

Tie Feilong had suffered untold hardships; after toiling for three years he finally heard some information on Tie Shanhu and Yu Luocha's whereabouts. Unexpectedly, after a long journey he saw the mountain stronghold had been destroyed. It was as if his head was bumped by a deer; he jumped around continuously like mad, while his eyes scanned the surroundings. All imperial troops had run away, he did not hear anybody, he only heard in the midst of cracking fire the flapping and crying of birds, and the shouts of apes and monkeys fleeing from the burning forest.

"Shanhu! Shanhu!" Tie Feilong called out; his voice reverberated in the forest, echoed from the mountain peaks. Tie Feilong shouted at the top of his lungs for quite a long time before two female bandits crawled up. They were lucky to escape alive by hiding among the tall grass on the waist of the mountain.

These two female bandits did not know what kind of man Tie Feilong was, but they noticed he was wearing civilian attire, while they did not see any imperial troops everywhere, so they guessed he must be their stronghold leader's friend. As they reached where he was, they said with a sob, "Tie Zhaizhu is dead!"

Tie Feilong's heart was crushed; for this daughter of his, he had tracked her down through ten thousand rivers and a thousand mountains, but in the end he still could not even see her face. He was silent for a long, long time before he made some noise to acknowledge the female trooper. He listened quietly to the recounting the unforeseen disaster the mountain stronghold had been going through these past several days, and only then did he finally burst into tears. "I came too late!" he shouted wildly.

Seeing this, the female trooper was flabbergasted; she asked in shock, "Could it be that Mister is the Old Hero Tie whose name has shaken the northwest region?"

Tie Feilong stood rigid like a piece of rock, his eyes unmoving like two beads of pearls, his mind was drifting to the past, the shadow of little Tie Shanhu played vividly in front of his eyes; he did not even hear the female trooper’s question as if he was a mere stone statue standing on that mountain top.

In the meantime the female bandits had just discovered Yu Luocha’s body laying face down on the ground, they were even more frightened. They rushed toward her, but when they only took two steps, Yu Luocha turned around but she did not seem to be awake. The female trooper was in such panic that she lost her mind, she rushed back toward Tie Feilong, pulled his legs while calling out, "Old Hero Tie, please look at our Zhaizhu!"

Tie Feilong suddenly woke up from his trance and with a choking voice said, "Don't worry, I must not lose my other daughter!"

As Yu Luocha turned around she called out, "Shanhu Mei, I will avenge you!"

Tie Feilong's heart was shaken, he thought, "That's right, I must avenge my daughter!"

Yu Luocha turned again and called out, "Zhuo Yihang, are you ..."

Tie Feilong's grief had reached its limit; from the female troop he had quite a clear picture on what had happened that night, he said in his heart, "My poor child, you love the wrong man. He is a descendant of government officials, although he possesses a little bit spirit of a Lulin hero, he still cannot give up everything. Even in an important issue of marriage, his views are just the same. Even if his martial uncles do not interfere, the two of you may not necessarily be a good match." At that moment he suddenly felt that his own daughter had better insight than Yu Luocha, his heart felt even more bleak.

Tie Feilong came two steps closer when suddenly Yu Luocha laughed maniacally again, "Ha ha ... you are all gone! Shanhu Mei, you left in peace. Mingke, the kid, you also left in peace. Yihang, oh Yihang, you did not leave in peace ...!"

Tie Feilong knew she was so much in pain that she went mad; he pulled her to his bosom, sharing her grief, while gently called, "Chang'er, look, I am here."

Yu Luocha slowly came to her senses. As soon as she saw Tie Feilong, she covered her face and cried loudly.

Tie Feilong said, "We, father and daughter, are relying on each other, from now on, we won't wander off alone."

"Father," Yu Luocha said, "I cannot protect Shanhu Meimei, I really deserve to die!"

"Shhh," Tie Feilong said, "You are not to be blamed; don't cry, don't cry. Why don't you take me to Shanhu's grave?" He persuaded Yu Luocha not to cry, but his own eyes were wet with tears.

Pulling Tie Feilong's hand along, Yu Luocha went down the mountain silently. The female trooper also followed. Along the way, they called and shouted. About a dozen or so female trooper who ran away earlier heard their call and joined them. Seeing Yu Luocha's deathly pale countenance, their lips were tightly closed, nobody dared to make any noise as they all followed her to the bottom of the valley, toward the two newly built tombs.

Yu Luocha used the dust as the incense, she kowtowed three times. Tie Feilong sat on the head of the grave, his eyes were fixed on the night sky, his mouth did not utter a single word, as if even his tears had dried out.

Tie Feilong and Yu Luocha, one sitting on the head of the grave, the other standing in front of the it, they were facing each other silently, until without anybody realizing it, the eastern horizon gradually turned white.

[Fighting_Wind]

Thank you Fox for the translation.

I've never felt so anxious reading this chapter.

I can
t believe ZYH just left her with a book thinking it was ok, she ALMOST DIED! He's such a coward, if Tie Feilong didn't show off he would have left her for dead.

I think YLC like ZYH because in the cave her dared not touch her or look at her directly. She must have mistook that for a sign of decency but the truth is it's a sign of cowardice. I feel so sorry for YLC, 9 out of 10 troops died.

Btw was so happy at the end of the chapter, I cried "Tie Feilong!" out loud. Too bad TSH is dead, I wanted them to have reunited at least once before.

Thank you Fox for just adding in another chapter then. That one was the most emotional one so far. I felt tears well up in my eyes when I read about TFL and YLC mourning TSH. TFL reminiscing about Shan Hu was so sad.

[SkyWalker]

Awww...I too shed a few tears for TSH in this opening chapter. It's bittersweet for TFL to finally found his daughters but unfortunately for him, he couldn't see TSH for the last time. I really feel for him. And even he knows that YLC chose the wrong man to give her heart too. Sigh...tragic!

Thanks Foxs! Keep up the great work.

[foxs]

I agree, Chapter 20 was the most dramatic so far ... (but then again, I only translated 6 chapters since Chapter 15)
-------------------------------------

A female trooper said, "Zhaizhu, the dead cannot come back to life; let's go home."

With a bitter smile Yu Luocha replied, "Where do you think we should go?"

The female troop remembered their stronghold had turned into ashes, ninety percent of her companions had either perished or wounded; several years of hard work was destroyed in just one day. Indeed they had nowhere to go. Everybody shed tears and nobody dared to speak anymore.

A moment later the morning sun arose, the sunlight penetrated the trees into the bottom of the canyon. The female trooper was about to try to persuade again when suddenly they heard the sound of footsteps and hoof beats coming from outside the mountain pass.

"Humph," Yu Luocha sprang up in anger, "They want to completely destroy us?"

Tie Feilong leaped onto the rock wall and pulled a large rock, saying, "Let them come, I am going to bury them in this valley!" They both thought it must be the imperial troops. With anger welled up in their chests, they waited for the enemy excitedly.

The mountain pass was sealed by the avalanche the day before yesterday. Although the female troops had dug it out, only one person at a time could walk through it. Tie Feilong crouched on top of the hill, he was ready for the imperial troops to appear, as soon as they walk through the pass, he would throw the rock to bury them alive!

Not too long afterwards, they saw a banner fluttering at the mouth of the valley, followed by the clip-clop of hoof beats of horse as a group in battle attire entered the valley in single file.

Tie Feilong roared and pushed the big rock down. Yu Luocha suddenly called out, "Hold it!" But with rising dust the big rock had already rolled down the hill! Tie Feilong hastily held his hands. When he looked clearly, he saw the army walking through the mountain pass was a women's corps!

"Bad!" Yu Luocha cried out, "It's not the imperial army!" Together with Tie Feilong she flew down trying to help, but the rock rolled down very fast, by the time it reached the waist of the hill, it bumped into another protruding rock so it flew high and fell down, carrying a very strong momentum! Even if Yu Luocha and Tie Feilong were able to move faster, they would never be able to withstand such a tremendous force!

"Not good!" Tie Feilong shouted.

The leader of the troops below was a female general, she leaped from the horseback and brandished her long spear toward the falling rock. 'Crack!' The spear broke into two, the female general made a somersault midair, and nicely landed on the horseback, her movement was graceful and very pleasing to the eyes! The big rock flew to the other side of the hill and down to the mountain stream below.

"Good skill!" Yu Luocha could not refrain from calling out.

The female general ran her horse forward and with a smile she asked, "Are you Lian Zhaizhu?"

Seeing that female general was wearing red skirt, Yu Luocha replied, "Precisely. Do you happen to be called the Heroine Red Madame by the Jianghu friends?"

The female general bowed and replied, "I do not dare. Young Roaming King told me(1) to send his greetings to Jiejie."

By this time, about a dozen or so female troops stepped forward and called, "Zhaizhu." Yu Luocha turned around and recognized them to be her own troops.

Red Madame said, "Yesterday our commanding general Li Yan led our army to attack the county town, together with the starving people we came to the provincial capital to destroy the 'suppressing bandits troops' completely. We received an order from the Young Roaming King to invite Jiejie to leave the mountain and take a leading position. Unexpectedly we are one day too late, the stronghold has been burned down. We are unable to offer our assistance and have come here to apologize."

Yu Luocha said, "The stronghold met a disaster due to my own negligence. You have taken these sisters under your wings, I cannot thank you enough." Toward the female troops she asked, "Have all of you who escaped returned?" The female troops broke into crying.

Yu Luocha did a quick head count. Including the dozen or so women already with her, she only had twenty seven female troopers left. From more than 500 female troopers, those who escape alive were less than 10%. Recalling how for the last several years these women had lived and died together as sisters, she could not restrain tears from streaming down her face.

Red Madame said, "Jiejie, don't be sad, right now the whole country is in rebellion, homeless people number in tens of thousands; once the call to action is issued, heroes and warriors will stand together. By that time, for Jiejie to raise a female army [the original says 'heroic military division of feminine head covering/cap', but I do not know how to translate it] will be as easy as turning your hand." Yu Luocha forced a smile, but did not say anything.

Red Madame continued, "In the city, Li Yan is busy comforting the bereaved families, he asked me to send his regards to Jiejie."

"Who is Li Yan?" Yu Luocha asked.

Red Madame said, "He is the commanding general(2) under the Young Roaming King, he is also my husband."

"My respects, my respects!" Yu Luocha said.

Tie Feilong walked near and made his acquaintance with Red Madame; they had heard about each other and thus expressed their admiration toward each other. Tie Feilong said, "Isn't your respectable husband the son of Li Jingbai, the high official of the Ministry of War?"

"He is," Red Madame replied.

Yu Luocha's eyes brightened, Zhuo Yihang's shadow flashed in her mind, unconsciously all sorts of feelings welled up in her heart.

Red Madame was a female bandit of Henan province, although her reputation was not as resounding as Yu Luocha, she was quite famous in Jianghu. Li Yan was a prominent young man in Qixian(3) Henan. His father was Li Jingbai, a former high official of the Ministry of War. Therefore, in term of family background, Li Yan was quite similar to Zhuo Yihang. However, Li Yan’s father had died prematurely early on, hence although his father’s position was a level higher than Zhuo Yihang’s father and grandfather, his influence in his hometown was inferior to that of Zhuo Yihang’s family. Li Yan was similar to Zhuo Yihang, he also studied both literary and swordsmanship, therefore, he was a master of both the pen and the sword.

One particular year Henan experienced a severe famine, Li Yan noticed the victims’ desperate plea, he was deeply moved by compassion. On his own initiative he took out several hundred dan(4) of grain stockpiled in his barn to give relief to the people. He also composed the ‘soliciting donations song’, urging the patriotic members of the gentry to also donate their grains. Some of the lyrics were: ‘the government authorities levy grain taxes like hungry tiger, the prominent families exact debts like ravenous wolf; poor oppressed people gasping for breath just to survive, their souls return to the netherworld in premature burials.’

He wrote such song to ‘solicit donations’, naturally it touched the taboo of the gentry and prominent families; as a result, he was arrested and imprisoned, charged with instigating the ‘starving people rebellion’. The jail was like a big furnace, forging him to become refined steel, thereupon, when later on the Red Madame brought her army to attack and capture Qixian’s county seat, he decided to follow the Red Madame.

Yu Luocha had also heard Li Yan’s name, but she did not expect he would marry the Red Madame, the fact that Li Yan had become a general under the Young Roaming King was even further away from her anticipation. When she first heard the Red Madame mention Li Yan’s name, Yu Luocha did not realize it was the same Li Yan who wrote the ‘solicit donations song’. In this instant, Yu Luocha suddenly remembered Zhuo Yihang. She thought, “Yifu(5) often said that Zhuo Yihang came from a government officials’ family, he might not be a good match for me. Didn’t that Li Yan also come from a government official’s family? Yet he and Red Madame have actually tied an excellent predestined match.”

She did not realize that although their family backgrounds were similar, Li Yan’s path of life was entirely different from Zhuo Yihang’s. Zhuo Yihang could not be compared to Li Yan in that Li Yan’s life was transformed(6) a long time ago. Yu Luocha had not grasped this fact.

-------------------
1. Just like the Xiao Chuang Wang, she also used the term 'an' to refer to herself, showing that she came from northern part of China.
2. Orig. 'zhi jiangjun', zhi - control/regulate, jiangjun - general. Book note: This is an official position in the imperial bureaucracy.
3. A county in Kaifeng, Henan.
4. A dry measure for grain, 1 dan equal to about 100 liters (approximately 2.8 bushels).
5. Foster father.
6. Orig. ‘tuo tai huan gu’ - shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones.

[SkyWalker]

YLC needs to get a grip and stop comparing ZYH to these great men. Even though their backgrounds are similar, Li Yan already sounds like he's a 100 times better than ZYH. She's beginning to irritate me with all her misplaced affections and love for ZYH who hadn't done anything remotely close to deserve them. Snap out of it already YLC!!!!

[Fighting_Wind]

Yeah same, she's really getting on my nerves. Even though she has so many great attributes I'm starting to think she is rather stupid for clinging so desperately onto a man who pretty much left her for dead. Open your eyes! I find it funny that aside from the villains, all the men in this novel are better than Zhou Yi Hang. He doesn't deserve Yu Luo Cha's love and I am surprised how deep it is although he hasn't done anything. I guess it's kinda like hanging on to your first love but there's a reason why the first ones don't tend to last, she should understand that =.=