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Thread: Legend of the White Haired Maiden

  1. #301
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 21 - Part 3

    After Red Madame got acquainted with Yu Luocha, she invited Yu Luocha to come with her back to the county seat. Yu Luocha thought for a moment, and she agreed.

    The situation in Guangyuan differed greatly from several days ago; tens of thousands famine victims were transformed into valiant troops by Li Yan. Most of them did not have any weapons, but they cut wooden branches as their weapons in other to rise in rebellion. Every single one of them was high spirited, they looked like the mighty army trained in Beijing. Seeing this kind of spectacle, Yu Luocha inwardly sighed with admiration. Looking up, she saw a white cloth banner hanging horizontally above the main street, with large characters written on it: ‘Destroy his mother, pierce his mother, open the main gate to welcome the Roaming King. The Roaming King arrives, no more taxes to pay.”(7) Unwittingly she broke into wide smile and exclaimed, “Good!” This verse was simple yet forceful, without the slightest bit flavor of pain or wishy-washiness; indeed it fits Yu Luocha’s appetite.

    The barrack gate opened and Li Yan came out to welcome them. Red Madame laughed and said, "I've already welcomed the honored guest on your behalf."

    Li Yan also laughed and welcomed them anyway; he turned to Yu Luocha and said, "Nowadays the patriots are rising; the Roaming King's army is about to move out from Qinling to the west. Capture Tongguan first then fight for Henan. I wonder if Lian Zhaizhu would be willing to join us?"

    Yu Luocha contemplated for a moment before saying, "China belongs to you. What assistance can I possibly offer? I am asking Hong(8) Jiejie to look after my troops, I want to take my leave."

    Li Yan was sure Yu Luocha would agree to join forces with them, hearing her reply, he was quite surprised. Li Yan did not know Yu Luocha had other thoughts. As she heard Li Yan's invitation to become their ally, she thought, 'Shanhu Meimei has not been avenged, how can I be stranded in the army? Besides, if I join, it will be more difficult for me to see Zhuo Yihang." It must be understood that toward Zhuo Yihang, Yu Luocha had a love-hate feeling; when she was angry, she wanted to sever all relationship with Zhuo Yihang, but as soon as her resentment dissipated, she would miss seeing him.

    Li Yan was not pleased to hear Yu Luocha's rejection. Red Madame said, "Lian Jiejie, your stronghold has been destroyed by the imperial army, this enmity must be avenged!"

    Yu Luocha laughed aloud and said, "With you around, why must I worry? Managing an army is not my talent; besides, my natural temperament is wild, I only wish to wander unhindered with my sword, free and without any care. Don't you think it would be better if we simply go our separate ways?"

    Li Yan mused, 'No wonder she is counted among the demonesses, her love of the wild is difficult to tame. If we accepted her in the army, I am afraid she might disrupt the discipline of the troops.' Thereupon he no longer insisted.

    Li Yan had just captured the county seat, he was still busy with military affairs. Several gangs of bandits in that area had come to submit to him, thereupon he sent for the bandits and negotiated the distribution of the grains and the soldiers' pay. The city was bustling with activity.

    Yu Luocha sat on the side, watching him make payments to the troops, and noticed that he did not refuse anybody's request but accommodated everybody's needs; he would inquire clearly the number of troops and immediately pay and provide adequate provisions for each group. After being busy for half a day, all those people were perfectly satisfied, and each one returned to their respective places.

    "Why do you deal with these gang leaders like this?" Yu Luocha wondered.

    "Would Jiejie give your advice?" Li Yan replied.

    "When I went to the south," Yu Luocha said, “I took over the property and army provisions of the various strongholds; where is the logic in giving everything to them instead?”

    Li Yan smiled slightly, he thought, ‘You dominate others by force, how can you be successful in major affairs?’

    From the side, Red Madame answered the question, “If we don’t do it this way, they would not be delighted to come and help us. The imperial court has two large armies stationed at two Sichuan provinces, they are planning on crushing us one by one. If we do not join our forces, I am afraid it will be difficult for us to survive. Not only we won’t be able to go out west to Tongguan, we will be whipped back north.”

    Yu Luocha reasoned, “But there are all kinds of groups and personalities among Lulin’s bandits; aren’t you afraid someone might swindle you of your money and provisions?”

    Jiejie is right,” Li Yan said, “We will have to deal with each group differently. But that can wait till later, besides, there is a strong yi qi(9) among the Lulin world, we must not shut our door just because of a few scumbags in our community.”

    “What you said is correct,” Yu Luocha admitted. She paused for a moment, and then continued, “How many provisions do you have that you can give to them? How much grain and money stored up in this town? I have a general idea, but will it be enough to feed the starving people in one month?”

    With a wry smile Li Yan said, “I will have to think of a way to solve that problem later.”

    Yu Luocha suddenly laughed, “I can’t join you as your ally, but I do have a tiny bit of gift I’d like to present to Hong Jiejie.”

    Red Madame waved her hand and said, “Jiejie needs not be polite.”

    Yu Luocha said, “You have no choice but to receive this gift. Tomorrow I want you to take a team of female troops and come with me to the Bright Moon Gorge.” Finished speaking, she stretched out her arms and yawned, “Looking at you to be very busy, I get dizzy and my eyes blurry. Ha, I want to sleep!”

    Li Yan quickly ordered his people to prepare a room and invited Yu Luocha and Tie Feilong to take a rest.

    Early morning the following day, as agreed Red Madame led a group of female troops following Yu Luocha to the Bright Moon Gorge. Seeing Yu Luocha acting strange, Red Madame was suspicious, so much so that just before they left, she quietly said to Li Yan, “I wonder what kind of gift she wants to give me, why does she drag these many people along, why does she look anxious?”

    Li Yan simply laughed and said, “I can guess with seventy, eighty percent confidence, but you might as well come with her. Let me send you off a bit.”

    After sending them off outside their town, Li Yan reined his horse, but suddenly Yu Luocha said, “I want you to come with us.”

    Red Madame was not happy, she thought, “How come this Demoness is so unreasonable, he is busy with military affairs, doesn’t she know it?” Red Madame thought her husband would certainly decline, but unexpectedly Li Yan only showed a faint smile and agreed to come with them.

    “Don’t you have an appointment to see couple of Lulin chieftains today?” Red Madame said.

    “I will ask my vice-general to handle the matter for me,” Li Yan replied. Handing a roll of paper to his attendants, he ordered them to return to the city, while without hesitation he followed Yu Luocha along.

    The stronghold on the Bright Moon Gorge had turned into ashes, Yu Luocha lingered on the scorched soil for a moment without saying anything. Li Yan said, “Jiejie, don’t be grieved, for each stronghold the imperial army destroyed, we will take ten of their provincial capitals.”

    Yu Luocha suddenly said, “You have a sword hanging on your waist, I supposed you must be adept in using the sword? While we don’t have anything else to do, why don’t we exchange several moves in here?”

    Red Madame’s anger shot to the roof, she thought, “Humph, this Demoness said she has a gift for us, turns out she only wants to size us up.” She was just about to open her mouth to rebuke, when suddenly she saw Li Yan threw her a meaningful glance, telling her not to say anything.

    Li Yan’s initial reaction was also a surprise, but then he laughed and said, “How can my swordsmanship be compared to Jiejie’s?”

    -------------------
    7. In the original text, these verse rhyme: ‘chi ta niang, chuan ta niang, kai le da men ying Chuang Wang, Chuang Wang lai shi bu na liang.’
    8. Hong means Red.
    9. Loyalty, code of brotherhood.

  2. #302
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    Default Chapter 21 - Part 4

    Yu Luocha said, “I have rested for two days with nobody to fight, my hands itch. You have entertained me with excellent spirits and delicious dishes, but if you accompany me in a couple of stances, I would be very much obliged.”

    “Very well,” Li Yan said, “Jiejie, please make your move!”

    Yu Luocha pinched the tip of her sword, the sword moved like the wind; a blue ray flashed straight toward Li Yan’s wrist. Li Yan learned his swordsmanship from Wang Tong, a master from Taiji Pai. His sword struck downward and conveniently pulled a flat flower. Instead of blocking the attack, he stabbed the opponent’s foot.

    “Not bad!” Yu Luocha praised. In the blink of an eye she had launched two stances, one swing of the sword going down to chop, the other swing of the sword went up to stab. Li Yan could not guess the real target of her attack, he raised his sword in front of his chest to block, using the ‘looks like sealing appears to close’ sword style, trying to seal the opponent’s sword movement and block it outside the perimeter of his defense line. Who would have thought that Yu Luocha’s sword technique was strange and crafty to the extreme; the sword momentum had not vanished, the power in her hand pushed outward, the sword continued moving. This attack was even fiercer, the blade of the sword flickered, from an unexpected angle the sword stabbed from the left toward his neck. Li Yan slid back, his left hand feigned a sweep, his right leg kicked Yu Luocha’s slender waist. It was the stance ‘Drunken Wu Song Strikes the Gate of Divinity’, one of the chain kicks styles. His swordsmanship was insufficient to deal with the opponent, he was forced to unleash his fist and feet martial art.”

    “Ugh!” Yu Luocha grunted, “You are still able to match me well!” Twisting her waist, she lunged her sword forward. Li Yan turned his sword around and evaded this dangerously close attack. Yu Luocha’s attacks were getting swifter and swifter, the sword’s ray flickered everywhere, it looked like her shadow was all around him.

    Red Madame sucked in a deep breath, she mused, “This Demoness surely enjoys a well-deserved reputation.” Suddenly she saw that Yu Luocha twisted her sword, coiling Li Yan’s sword and twisting it along two revolutions; a loud ringing noise followed. “Not good!” Red Madame shouted. She wanted to leap into the arena, but Yu Luocha was laughing loud and long, and the two combatants suddenly separated.

    Red Madame was confounded. Li Yan put his sword back into its sheath, cupped his fist and said, “Heroine Lian’s swordsmanship is truly without equal! My utmost admiration!”

    Yu Luocha maintained a neutral expression, “Indeed you praise me too much!” she said, but immediately she broke into a laughter and said, “I failed to snatch your sword within thirty stances, you deserve to receive my gift.”

    Red Madame was greatly astonished, she cursed inwardly, “How can there be such logic in presenting a gift? That the receiver must be measured up for the gift? Who covets your gift anyway?”

    But Li Yan simply said, “In that case, let me thank you first.”

    Yu Luocha unhurriedly walked to the side of the mountain cliff while saying, “Yesterday I witnessed your literary talent and resourcefulness first hand, today I experienced your martial art skill. I know I am entrusting this gift to the right person.”

    Yu Luocha’s stronghold was built leaning on the mountain wall, with wooden logs used as pillars; there were still some scorched pillars on the mountain rocks. Yu Luocha chopped sideways with her palm, the pillar broke. She beckoned the Red Madame and said, “Please have your troops dig here, dig through the wooden floor.”

    Red Madame was quite angry, “I might as well get more people here and clean up this rubble for you,” she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

    Yu Luocha’s countenance fell, she said, “In this life, I am not going to return here; why would I want this place cleaned up?” For more than three years Yu Luocha operated this stronghold, and it was destroyed in one night; she was grieved by Red Madame’s words and failed to catch the sarcasm in her voice.

    Seeing she was heart-broken, Red Madame regretted her harsh words, she thought, “Although this Demoness’ character is strange, her personality is actually quite straightforward.” She directed her female troops to dig the ground.

    They dug out the wooden logs buried in the ground, and after digging for a while, suddenly they felt the ground was loose. One female troop dug her hoe down, and suddenly it sank into a hole. Digging some more, ‘Dang!’ the hoe struck against a flagstone. Yu Luocha jumped down and lifted the flagstone up. A pile of jewels dazzled their eyes, gold and silver, pearls and jade, piled up in the hole. It was the tribute Yu Luocha extorted from the bandits’ leaders all these years, as well as the treasures she amassed from robbing the rich.

    The female troops digging the earth was frightened that they only stared blankly. Red Madame was also rather stunned. Only Li Yan laughed softly, as if he had already anticipated everything.

    Yu Luocha said, “Please get all these things out.”

    The female troops had never seen such a treasure, they walked on their tiptoes and very carefully took the treasures one by one out, as if they were afraid these treasures would bring them bad luck.

    Yu Luocha giggled happily as she explained to Tie Feilong: that thing was snatched by Shanhu from such and such bandits’ leader, that piece of deep green emerald was a tribute from such and such clan leader; she sounded very proud.

    Tie Feilong knitted his brows and said, “Why on earth did you spend so much time and energy to collect such rusty and rotten things?”

    Yu Luocha laughed, “Father,” she said, “Have you even seen two masters playing chess? They don’t care about the fancy pieces, but if there are fancy pieces, their interest will be increased. Previously I subdued the Lulin world of Shannan(10), forcing them to pay tribute to me; it was no more than a chess master wanting to get fancier pieces.” These past two days, Tie Feilong had been weighed down with anxiety, but hearing her teasing words, he could not help but loosen up and laughed.

    After Red Madame’s female troops finished moving the gold, silver, pearls and jewels out, Yu Luocha raised her cupped fists toward Li Yan and said, “This meager gift I present to worthy husband and wife as a supplement to the soldiers’ ration and pay.”

    “In that case,” Li Yan replied, “On behalf of the starving people and my brethren, I thank you so much.”

    Yu Luocha casually lifted up a golden horse saddle and somberly said, “This thing used to belong to your old Zhaizhu, Wang Jiayin, which he delivered to me via his son. Now that he is dead, please take this saddle and give it to Wang Zhaoxi, just consider it my wedding gift to them.”

    Red Madame said, “Aren’t you going to pick one or two things as a souvenir?”

    According to the underworld gang’s custom, every time someone made a move, one could not return empty handed. If they happened to meet someone more powerful and was inconvenienced in their act, then taking a small copper coin was also acceptable. This was supposed to bring good luck. Yu Luocha had accumulated this invaluable treasure over the year, and now she presented everything as a gift; consequently, adhering to the underworld gang’s custom, Red Madame also reminded her to take one or two things.

    Yu Luocha laughed aloud and said, “From now on I am washing my hands and withdraw from the Lulin world, why would I want to keep these mere worldly possessions?” After laughing for a moment she rolled her eyes and suddenly said, “All right, I do want to take something.” Stooping down, she took a scoop of dirt from the ground and said, “I have lived in this place for more than three years. Very few had I lived in one place for such a long time. I am very familiar with the smell of the dirt.” She brought the dirt to her nose and sniffed it before continuing, “This dirt has been dyed with my sisters’ blood, there is nothing more deserving to be kept as souvenir.” She put the dirt into her pocket and then calling out to Tie Feilong, they flew down the mountain.

    Red Madame shouted to call them back, but she could only see Yu Luocha’s sleeve floating in the wind, she did not even turn her head around, she had really left.

    Such is: All kinds of rare and wonderful treasures were undesirable; a handful of dirt was kept as a reminder of deep love.

    -------------------
    10. Southern Shaanxi province.

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    Thank you fox for this translation!

    I haven't seen even a paid person translate faster than you @_@ it's really astounding.

    I really like this chapter. I thought she was going to give Commisioner Xiong's book to them but she gave jewels instead. YLC's character is very strange, not completely likeable and proned to initial misconception but I it. I love seeing her interact with others, it makes me smile. I don't get the pierce mother destroy mother part though although it was meant to be straight forward.

    Her taking the piece of dirt was really sad, it reminded me of Shan Hu. I wonder what's to become of her troops. No wonder, it's a love hate relationship, I just hope everything else in the story turns out well for her. (literally)

  4. #304
    Senior Member SkyWalker's Avatar
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    Thanks for another great translation Foxs. Now that YLC gave up all her treasures, wonder what she'll do now. She & TFL will probably avenged TSH's death and then find the right person to pass on the book. I wonder if she'll seek out ZYH. Looking forward to the next chapter.

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    Is it just me or chapters with no Zhou Yi Hang arer just perfect. I really like this chapter, Yu Luo Cha showed herself to be a valiant heroe and not a love struck woman. If there's no Zhou Yi Hang then I'll be more than fine

  6. #306
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 22 - Part 1

    Chapter 22
    Flying frost in the sixth month
    Unjust verdict from Beijing
    Studying document in closed palace
    Heroine delivers strange book
    (Translated by Foxs and Ren Wo Xing, Edited by Eliza Bennet, with Special Thanks to Hoju!)

    Half a month later, Yu Luocha and Tie Feilong were galloping on the plain of Chengdu[1]. Both of them were wearing black attire, as dark as the night, while riding jujube-red stallions, so they attracted some attention. Once Tie Feilong had advised Yu Luocha to dress as a man, but Yu Luocha laughed and said, “I want to flaunt myself wearing a hat, skirt and hairpin; why would I want to dress as a man?” Tie Feilong laughed and dropped the subject. Fortunately both of them possessed superior martial art skills, and many among the public knew Yu Luocha, so even though they met her, nobody dared to pick a fight with her.

    One particular day, they reached Pengxian[2], which was only about a hundred li from Chengdu. “Father,” Yu Luocha said, “Have you noticed these past two days there were always men appear and disappear along the way?”

    “Others don’t disturb me, I don’t disturb others,” Tie Feilong replied, “We have our own business to attend to, why would we mind others?”

    “It’s not that,” Yu Luocha said, “Probably they are hunting for some bandits.”

    “Haven’t you washed your hands and left the Lulin?” Tie Feilong said, “Government officials catching bandits is a common thing, why do you care so much? Could it be that your hands itch and you cannot endure it so you want to pick a fight?”

    Yu Luocha laughed and said, “Father, you are exactly right!”

    Tie Feilong said, “If you want to pick a fight, you must look for a good match. Even if you kill this sloppy and useless constable, you won’t have any satisfaction.”

    In reality, Yu Luocha did not have any intentions of killing the chief of police, it’s just that she noticed that after his daughter died, Tie Feilong always looked gloomy, apparently he was still grieving; hence along the way, she tried to find something interesting to chat about and teased him to make him laugh, so that he might gradually let the worries lift off his chest.

    When the night fell, the two of them lodged at Wanxian[3]. As they entered the inn, suddenly Yu Luocha said, “Father, I think I saw the secret sign those constables left behind.”

    “What secret sign?” Tie Feilong asked.

    “Looks like the bandit they are hunting is an important criminal,” Yu Luocha replied, “There is a drawing of a butterfly on the outside wall of the inn, which is the symbol of Chengdu’s most wanted criminal Gan Tianli. He is an expert in using poisonous butterfly darts, which closes up the throat as soon as the poison makes contact with the blood. He is an archenemy in the Lulin world. When I was still at the Bright Moon Gorge, there was a friend of the underworld gang who asked me to remove him. But I thought Chengdu is far away, the government army has quite a strong influence in this area. Honestly, I was afraid that if I go, the government army would take advantage of my absence and attack the stronghold, so I did not comply. Gan Tianli has a brother known as Jiaohua, an expert in external martial arts, a rather mature fellow, also a constable in Chengdu. What I saw just now was the secret mark Gan Tianli left for Jiaohua, telling him to hurry along toward the Flying Fox mountain range to intercept a convict. If it was not an important convict, those two would not work together to hunt a criminal."

    Tie Feilong said, "I don't care what kind of convict, it is better if we do not meddle in their business. This place is near Chengdu, if we make our move rashly, we would alarm them and then we'll have to deal with them. Although we are not afraid of them, our trip will inevitably be delayed."

    Yu Luocha pursed her lips, and then said with a laugh, "Father, I think you are getting more and more timid!"

    Tie Feilong pretended to be angry. "Who says I am scared?" he said, "Just wait till we get to Beijing, you'll see."

    Yu Luocha laughed, but did not say anything. As she sat in her room, she was just thinking of calling the inn servant to bring some dinner when suddenly someone knocked on her door, twice. When she opened the door, the innkeeper walked in, closed the door, and in a low voice asked, "Is lady by any chance Heroine Lian?"

    "How do you know me?" Yu Luocha asked.

    With a smile the innkeeper said, "Most of the time, my humble establishment entertains travelling merchants, but every now and then friends from the underworld gangs also spend the night in here. I am not going to conceal anything from you, one time Zhu Zhaizhu[4] also stopped by for the night here, and he mentioned your venerable name."

    "Which Zhu Zhaizhu?" Yu Luocha asked.

    The innkeeper replied, "The one with the nickname Fire-Spirit Monkey."

    "Oh," Yu Luocha said, "Turns out it is the Fire-Spirit Monkey Zhu Baochun. Is he grazing nearby?"

    "Exactly," the innkeeper said, and then he slowly took an envelope from his chest.

    Fire-Spirit Monkey Zhu Baochun was formerly one of the big bandits around the Sichuan-Shaanxi border, he was involved in the attempted robbery of the golden saddle that belonged to Wang Zhaoxi.

    "Is this letter from him?" Yu Luocha asked.

    "No," the innkeeper replied, "It is from another guest. First he mentioned Zhu Zhaizhu's name, thinking that he would send this letter to him, but then he changed his mind and wanted me to give it to you instead."

    "What kind of guest?" Yu Luocha was astonished, "How did he know I am here?"

    The innkeeper laughed, "Among the underworld gang's friends of the two Sichuan provinces, who does not know you, Senior?" he said, "Before you arrived in here, the news about you have already reached this place. In this small town, you can say that all small inns look the same. That guest said that you, Senior, might not stop, but if you do, most likely you will stay here."

    Yu Luocha held out her hand and said with a smile, "All right, let me see the letter. I wonder who he is." She took the letter from the innkeeper's hands and opened it.

    She saw the letter only had a picture of a hand in the form of a claw, the hand was drenched with blood, there was nothing written on it. "Ha, it is him," Yu Luocha said, "What does he want? Tell me!"

    "He did not say, and the humble one did not dare to ask," the innkeeper said, "He drew it in great haste, he had just finished drawing, there were sounds of horse bells outside; he gave the letter to me, and hurriedly jumped over the back wall."

    "Oh, so that's how it is," Yu Luocha said, "No wonder he did not have time to write even a single character." She then asked, "And then that government official who came here, wasn't he the Butterfly Dart Gan Tianli?"

    "Precisely," the innkeeper replied, "How do you, Senior, know? He was accompanied by another elderly official."

    "He left a sign on the outer wall of your inn!" Yu Luocha said.

    The innkeeper was startled. "What?" he jumped in fright, "Does he think this small inn have dealings with the underworld gang?"

    "It's not that," Yu Luocha replied, "He wants his companion to hunt and capture that guest." After a short pause she asked, "Do you know where the Flying Fox mountain range is?"

    The innkeeper said, "It's more than ten li from this place, in one of the pathways leading to the Western Sichuan."

    "Very well," Yu Luocha said, "Please prepare several dishes of tasty appetizers for this Old Master, some diced chicken meat sautéed with green pepper, duck meat in cinnamon tea, and some mutton; I think those three dishes are enough. Father, do you think these dishes suit your taste? Oh, and don't forget a pot of warm Fen wine."

    The innkeeper was greatly amazed to see Yu Luocha was very respectful toward Tie Feilong, and to hear her calling him 'Father' over and over again.

    Yu Luocha said with laugh, "Jianghu friends all call me Yu Luocha, you may call me Yu Luocha; you don't need to call me 'Senior' or what have you. It is toward this Old Master that you should call him 'Senior'."

    "Ha," Tie Feilong said, "I am not that old either."[5]

    "Yes," the innkeeper acknowledged, "What the two Seniors said is right. Ay, I am used to call you 'Senior', it's hard for me to change."

    After they excused the innkeeper, Tie Feilong laughed and said, "Your reputation is indeed resounding. I have wandered around the northwest for several decades, as soon as I get to Sichuan, people take me to be the useless old man."

    Yu Luocha also laughed, "Father is a renowned old hero, the younger generation does not fit to even know you."

    ------------------------------------------
    [1] A prefecture level city and capital of Sichuan province in southwest China.
    [2] A county in Sichuan.
    [3] A port city on the Changjiang (Yangtze River), still in Sichuan province.
    [4] Reminder: 'zhaizhu' means 'Stronghold Master'. I thought Zhaizhu is more specific than simply 'Chief'.
    [5] The word I translated as 'Senior' is 'Lao Ren Jia', with the character 'Lao' means 'Old'.

    ------------------------------------------
    Just want to express special appreciation to Fighting_Wind and SkyWalker for keeping me company in this long and lonely journey. Not that I do not appreciate the other readers, but thank you for faithfully stopping by and leaving your comments. So, please, don't stop. Otherwise, this thread will feel even more lonelier. All kiddings aside, you won't see Zhuo Yihang for a while now. Yay ... !!

  7. #307
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    Thank you Foxs and all the other translators who are helping with this translation. You guys are doing a great job. Much appreciated!

    I definitely don't want to see anymore of ZYH for the rest of the story. Can we bring YMK back soon though? I love to see more of YMK & YLC's mutually respected interactions instead of a love sick weak YLC. Also, YLC shows a great judge of character and she can read people very well but why is it that she can't see through ZYH???

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    I know! Liang Yu Sheng created such a contradictor heroine by making her a strong perceptive woman but at the same time completely love struck by a undeserving, weak man. I ahve a lot of respect for what you are doing. I haven't translated before but I tried to write a fan fic and draw a manga once, I just couldn't go on even weekly. It was so boring and tedious so I am amazed at your willpower to translate and bring us updates so regularly.

    I just hate how YLC knows he's weak but doesn't have the hind sight or logic to get rid of him. She waited pretty much 3 years for a man who has done nothing for her and looks down on her and is clearly embarrassed to be with her especially with the Wudang sect. So happy he won't be back for a while.

    I like seeing her non hopelessly love struck side, you remember her strengths. I like how she's so attentive to Tie Feilong but nakes as seem as she's itching for a fight. True characters act on the heart and by actions, not words so I love seeing her like that. Man, Murong Chong isn't dead and another jack *** is on the loose.

    But comments are nothing fox, you're translating, least we can do, I feel bad that I can't do anything back. Anyways, thanks again fox.

  9. #309
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 22 – Part 2

    Unfortunately, no YMK for the foreseeable future.
    --------------------------------

    "What kind of man is that guest who left you a letter?" Tie Feilong asked.

    "He is Luo Tiebi," Yu Luocha replied, "Formerly he set up his stronghold at Anyao on the Michang Mountain on the border of Sichuan. I subdued him along with Zhu Baochun and the others. Later on, the imperial army carried out a large-scale raid, all Zhaizhu of the west fled, and I lost track of them. Who could have thought that tonight he actually appeared in this place? He has a bit of reputation, and his martial art skill is not bad either but he is by no means a big name bandit. I don’t know why Chengdu’s two renowned hunters want to capture him. Father, he and I have burned incense sticks together, he had presented more than a few gifts to me. The proverb says, ‘Wealth may save one from disaster’, I have received his gifts, he is in trouble and asks for help, I cannot keep my hands in my sleeves and ignore his plea.”

    Tie Feilong laughed, “You really want to fight,” he said, “Since he is your former ally, I won’t stop you, I am coming with you.”

    Yu Luocha said, “Just a few constables, why must they bother you? Just sit here and drink wine, I will be back before dawn!”

    Leaving the inn, Yu Luocha unleashed the full potential of her qinggong that in less than an hour she had reached the Flying Fox mountain range.

    Flying Fox mountain range was actually only a small hill. As Yu Luocha reached one side of the hill, she heard noises of battle on the other side. “Ha,” she mused, “I am right on time, they are indeed fighting! Let me just take a look first, how much has Luo Tiebi’s martial art skill advanced?”

    It was the eve of the fifteenth, the moon was clear and bright, Yu Luocha climbed to the peak of the hill and craned her neck to look down. She saw three men were surrounding Luo Tiebi on the small path at the foot of the hill. Other than Gan Tianli and Jiaohua, there was another man who seemed familiar to her. Yu Luocha looked attentively and remembered this man was Shi Hao, an imperial guard who fled at the mere distant sight of her in the south; she thought, “I heard Shi Hao was promoted to be the vice chief of the Western Faction Guards. Why is he here?”

    Looking closer, she noticed that Luo Tiebi was also carrying a child; surrounded by the three men, his situation was very critical! Yu Luocha let out a long laugh while pulling her sword out and charging down the hill.

    “Not good!” Shi Hao cried out, “Yu Luocha has come!” With a stance ‘overwhelming flood’, both of his palms swept and struck Luo Tiebi’s back. Gan Tianli’s single saber also struck from the side, making Luo Tiebi’s situation even more desperate. Luo Tiebi turned around to dodge, ‘crack!’ his shoulder was hit by the saber. ‘Wah!’ the child on his shoulder cried loudly, while waving his little hands in the air, trying to slap Shi Hao.

    Shi Hao laughed aloud and stretched out his left hand to snatch the little child. Luo Tiebi bellowed while his right palm hacked down, his left leg swept away. Jiaohua’s left wrist feigned a hook, his right fist jabbed straight out. He was using the ‘striking across the golden bell’ from the ‘subduing tiger fist style’, left void, right solid; striking Luo Tiebi’s ‘shoulder well’ acupoint. It was a very ruthless strike, he expected Luo Tiebi to sidestep abruptly, so the next stance would coordinate well with Gan Tianli’s single saber to attack the lower part of his body. Unexpectedly, Luo Tiebi disregarded his life and slapped down with his palm. Two hands collided; Luo Tiebi’s palm struck Jiaohua’s chest, while Jiaohua’s fist broke Luo Tiebi’s shoulder bone. They both cried out in severe pain and jumped several zhang backward!

    These several exchanges were as swift as lightning or spreading wild fire, but in this twinkling of an eye, Yu Luocha had already arrived.

    "Help that child first!" Luo Tiebi called out.

    As he managed to snatch the child, Shi Hao immediately ran about a dozen zhang away. "Where do you think you are going?" Yu Luocha shouted. Her toes kicked the ground, faster than a shooting star she suddenly arrived at his back. Shi Hao lifted the child while turning around to block. Yu Luocha cursed, "Shameless and lowly trick!" Shi Hao felt his wrists were shaking, Yu Luocha's movement was lightning fast, her fingers brushed away and she snatched the child back.

    Under the moonlight she saw the child's face was as round as the full moon; the child said, "Gugu[6], thank you very much."

    Yu Luocha was taken aback; in the midst of danger and violent battle, this child did not cry, even his face did not show any sign of fear. Not only that, he even dared to open his mouth and greet her; he was truly a fearless child, Yu Luocha had neither seen nor heard such audacity before!

    Because of this slight astonishment, Yu Luocha's steps were halted. Shi Hao desperately ran and very soon he was a dozen or so zhang away. Yu Luocha laughed and said, "Good child, just watch, I am going to catch this evil man back for you, so you can slap him and vent your anger."

    Suddenly they heard Luo Tiebi's miserable cry. The child said, "I want Luo Shushu[7], I can slap the evil man later. Gugu, please save Luo Shushu."

    Yu Luocha hastily turned around and saw Gan Tianli supporting Jiaohua, ran down the mountain path, and disappear into a wheat field. Luo Tiebi's arm was hanging limply, his countenance deathly pale; he swayed and was about to fall. Yu Luocha rushed forward and saw that his left arm was chopped by the saber, only a piece of bone connected the arm to his shoulder remained, obviously it was beyond help. Moreover, the limp arm was black and swollen; it looked like a small bucket hanging down from his shoulder!

    With a bitter laugh Luo Tiebi said, "I was hit by his butterfly dart and was chopped by his saber. Might as well! This way the poison will not spread upward."

    Yu Luocha quickly took out a cut-wound medicine. Luo Tiebi said, "No good!" His right hand pulled a dagger hanging on his waist and 'chop!' his left arm was severed from his shoulder, blood gushing out like running water.

    While he did not cry before, now the child's eyes were wide open and 'wah!' he cried loudly. Yu Luocha put the child down and ripping her clothes, she applied cut-wound medicine on his wound and wrap it. "Good man!" she praised, "You are worthy to be a friend of mine!"

    Luo Tiebi grunted without saying anything. Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice, "I need a favor from you, Senior; please stop the evil for me."

    "Why do you still talk according to the custom like that?" Yu Luocha said, "I have also washed my hands from Lulin's affair, now we are friends."

    "Ah," Luo Tiebi exclaimed, he seemed to be astonished. Large beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead, he seemed to be very much in pain, but he endured it bravely as with a low voice he consoled that little child, "Cong'er, don't cry, don't cry. Your Shushu will not die!"

    Seeing the two grownups talking and laughing, without appearing to be anxious, sure enough, the child stopped crying. Luo Tiebi said, "This Gugu is the world's most able heroine of the present age, you are very lucky to meet her. Why don't you kowtow and say thank you."

    Yu Luocha laughed. "This child is very nice," she said, "He has already thanked me!"

    Listening to Luo Tiebi's admonishment, the child did kneel down and kowtow to say thank you again.

    Seeing the child was so cute, Yu Luocha laughed and barraged Luo Tiebi with questions, "Whose child is this? How old is he? What's his name? How come he followed you fleeing to this place?"

    The boy answered her questions instead, "My name is Yang Yuncong, I turned five just on the sixteenth of this month. My Papa is Yang Lian."

    "Ah," Yu Luocha laughed, "Turns out you are Yang Lian's son. Your father does not have your boldness."

    "Who says he doesn't?" Yang Yuncong said, "At home, he often speaks about killing those treacherous court officials, those very big traitors. Luo Shushu told me that those treacherous court officials are friends with the Emperor. My Papa is not afraid of those treacherous court officials, he is also not afraid of the Emperor; why do you say he is not bold?"

    Yu Luocha laughed, "Fine, just consider me speak incorrectly, your Papa is very bold!"

    This was the first time since she was born that Yu Luocha admitted she was wrong, but of course the child did not know it; he laughed, feeling very proud of himself.

    ----------------------------
    [6] Paternal Aunt.
    [7] Paternal (younger) Uncle.
    Last edited by foxs; 12-19-09 at 09:03 AM. Reason: Footnote numbering revision

  10. #310
    Senior Member SkyWalker's Avatar
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    Thanks for another great post Foxs. I enjoyed YLC's interaction with this kid. He is indeed fearless!

    I guess YMK's story ended and we probably won't see him till the very end when YLC challenged him to a dual. I dread the part where ZYH reappears!

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    I know, sometimes I wonder what's the purpose of ZYH. In film adaptions his character always gets manned up because he is THAT weak.

    I like that kid, I was hoping he was a she though and could become YLC's student. Luo Tie Bi, Yang Lian, Fire Monkey Spirit, Shi Hao etc..., o.o can't remember any of these names.

    YLC doesn't speak much (like first time she admitted wrong), only those who understand her can appreciate her. She's not as powerful as I initially thought, she couldn't protect Luo Tiebi's arm. I think it'll be great if we saw her martial arts development.

    @Skywalker: agreed, loved interaction with kid. YLC seems demonic but she has a very sweet side.

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    Hi, Thanks Foxs for your awesome work. I am really enjoying reading this book.

    comments:
    As much as I am with everyone in not really liking ZYH character. I do have to say that I have hopes that he will at sometime turn over a new leaf. and man up to do great things and be known at the later chapters. He has spent way too much time to be just a weak push over.. or atleast I hope so.

    Thanks again for the translation. :-)

  13. #313
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    Default Chapter 22 – Part 3

    You are welcome. I'll say, about ZYH, Liang Yusheng is successful in portraying a protagonist which the readers hate. He is not a bad character, just weak.

    About so many new characters, I don't know which one is worse, Gu Long or Liang Yusheng? Many (too many) new characters, but most of them did not live to see the end of the chapter.

    About YMK, I like it that YLC held him in such a high regards.

    ------------------------------------------
    In a low voice Luo Tiebi said, "Three years ago, I could not set foot in Shaanxi, and had to disband my troops. I roamed Jianghu for a while before someone recommended that I go to Official Yang’s household and be the bodyguard over there, so I went.”

    At first Yu Luocha’s countenance sank, but then she asked, “When you said Official Yang, did you mean Yang Lian?”

    “If it was not Yang Lian, I wouldn’t have gone,” Luo Tiebi replied.

    “Yang Lian is a good official, I did not blame you. Please continue,” Yu Luocha said.

    Hearing Yu Luocha mention that his father was a good official, Yang Yuncong laughed again. Luo Tiebi continued, “Official Yang treats me very well, I was happy to have a shelter while protecting his household at the same time, and also lived incognito for three years. One evening in the first month of this year Official Yang asked me to come into his study, and told me that he must submit a memorial to the throne to impeach Wei Zhongxian. If the petition failed, it was possible that his house would be searched and his possessions confiscated, to the extent that his entire family would be executed. Because of this, he wanted me to take his son out of Beijing first. He would wait for ten days after we left before submitting the petition. Now Shi Hao, Gan Tianli, Jiaohua, and the others are hunting for me, I suppose he has submitted the memorial and the petition has been defeated.” Speaking thus far, Luo Tiebi was so much in pain that beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. He swallowed a pain killer and then felt slightly better.

    Yu Luocha suddenly asked, “Where are you taking this child?”

    Luo Tiebi replied, “I am thinking of finding him a Shifu, if his father is harmed by the treacherous court officials …”

    “I will seek revenge for him,” Yang Yuncong continued.

    Luo Tiebi chuckled and then asked, “Heroine Lian, you are not looking for a disciple, are you?”

    “I like this child very much,” Yu Luocha said, “But I can’t take any disciple right now.” She thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “If one does not have a vanquish-dragons-and-subdue-tigers type of ability, contain-the-river-and-embrace-the-ocean type of vision, one does not deserve to be this child’s Shifu. I have one such personality in mind, but he lives too far away, he lives on Tianshan. You do not fear a difficult and dangerous journey, do you?”

    Luo Tiebi’s eyes brightened, he wondered what kind of man deserved to be held in such a high esteem by Yu Luocha. “I do not fear even death,” he said, “Much less a difficult and dangerous journey. May I ask which Senior hero is he?”

    Yu Luocha laughed, “He is a young hero,” she said, “Perhaps not much older than I am. Probably he has become a monk by now. Hey, have you ever heard the name Yue Mingke?”

    “I have heard Official Yang mention his name,” Luo Tiebi said, “Military Commissioner Xiong was Official Yang’s best friend, and Yue Mingke was Military Commissioner Xiong’s grand adjutant, wasn’t he?”

    Yu Luocha said, "You must not think that he is simply an insignificant aide. Although we cannot say that his swordsmanship is unrivalled, not many people are actually able to surpass him. Take this child to him, tell him that it is I, Yu Luocha, who wants him to accept a disciple!"

    "Very well," Luo Tiebi said, "Even with only one arm I can still carry him up Tianshan."

    "Can you walk now?" Yu Luocha asked.

    "I can walk!" Luo Tiebi replied.

    Yu Luocha cut a branch to make a crutch for him, she said, "When Shi Hao and the others saw me saving you, they will not dare to come back before finding a stronger helper."

    Luo Tiebi laughed, "When they see you, Senior, it's like mice seeing a cat," he said, "I'll say they must be back to Chengdu by now."

    "Zhu Baochun is operating in this vicinity, you already know it," Yu Luocha said, "Walk slowly, by daybreak, you may come to him, and then tell him to go together with you to Guangyuan to see Li Yan. Tell him that you need to take this child to Tianshan on my orders. The northwest is their world, he must have a way to escort you pass the Jade Gate[8]."

    Luo Tiebi expressed his thanks and then he struggled to stand up. Holding on to the crutch, he walked forward step by step. Yang Yuncong followed on his heels, running and hopping, while he often turned his head around to wave at Yu Luocha.

    Yu Luocha almost could not restrain from personally carrying him to Zhu Baochun, but she had a second thought, "If this child does not receive discipline, and going through hardships and perils, it will be difficult to mold him into a great talent, let him go!" Seeing the two of them had walked far, she turned around and went back to the inn.

    Back to Tie Feilong. After dinner, he waited for a while, but Yu Luocha did not return. He thought, "Those several constables are not Chang'er's match, why should I worry about her?"

    When he was just about to sleep, he suddenly heard some commotion outside. The innkeeper suddenly came in and said in a low voice, "The Fire-Spirit Monkey Zhu Zhaizhu is here. He is eating and drinking tea with some people outside. It appeared they have made an appointment beforehand. But now they are fighting. Would you, Senior, go out and mediate, please?"

    Although this inn catered to all kinds of people from different walks of life[9], to have someone die on its premises was always not a good thing, therefore, the innkeeper hastily asked someone else to mediate. After receiving the innkeeper's attentive hospitality, Tie Feilong felt uncomfortable to refuse, so he followed the innkeeper outside toward the dining hall.

    He saw a table in the middle of the hall, with Zhu Baochun sitting at the head of the table, two other guests sat on either side of him. They were in the middle of a heated argument. Tie Feilong heard the young man sitting on the left blurt out, "Our Tang family of Wanxian[10] has never asked anybody for a favor, don't you dare refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

    Zhu Baochun slapped the table, "Fine! You are using the Tang family's name to scare me? I won't yield! Even if the Emperor of Heaven came down I still won't yield!"

    Tie Feilong's heart was stirred, he mused, "Turns out this young man belongs to the Tang family, I have more reason to interfere."

    The young man also slapped the table, 'Bang!' and then he stood up. With a loud and clear voice he said, "Since Zhu Zhaizhu is not willing to give us face, then disregarding the immensity of heaven and earth, zaixia[11] must ask for several stances of instruction! With two friends here threatening me from both sides, even if Zhu Zhaizhu slashes me three times and pierces me six times, I will die with no regrets."

    Apparently, Zhu Baochun was also not a patient man, tossing his coat aside, he stood up and said, “That’s wonderful, do you want to have a duel with blades, with palms and fists, or with secret projectiles? Ha, your Tang family’s secret projectiles are famous throughout the world, why don’t we just have a secret-projectile duel? Outside, the place is spacious, please come outside. I have brought my thing along, feel free to take it with you!”

    The two of them exchanged harsher and harsher words, just like an arrow on a taut bow, ready to be shot any second. Tie Feilong laughed aloud and walked near in big strides. His laughter was not too loud, but those three people felt the laughter pierce their ears and went straight to their hearts that they jumped in fright.

    Zhu Baochun and the young man surnamed Tang called out almost together, “A friend, from which way are you? Please keep your ten-thousand selves[12]!” Both sides thought that Tie Feilong was a helper brought by the other side.

    Tie Feilong strode to the table, he pulled a stool and sat astride on the stool. “This gentleman must be Zhu Zhaizhu, fortunate meeting, fortunate meeting! And this gentleman must be Jiabi Xiong? Young hero, Old Man here hardly recognizes you. And this friend? Old Man has a faulty vision, I must consult your illustrious name.”

    ------------------------------------------
    [8] In Gansu province.
    [9] Orig. 'three cults, nine schools of thought, black/dark way (meaning underground/criminal world), white/light way'.
    [10] A port city on the Yangtze River.
    [11] Lit. under, the humble one.
    [12] Orig. 请留万儿 Translator’s note: I know it does not make any sense, I am guessing that this is special code spoken by people of the underground world, hence I decide to translate it literally, hopefully someone out there is able to shed some light on this.
    Last edited by foxs; 12-19-09 at 09:01 AM. Reason: Footnote numbering revision

  14. #314
    Senior Member SkyWalker's Avatar
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    Awww...YLC should've just taken the kid as her disciple since she's so fond of him. Plus, if there's a kid around, maybe TFL wouldn't feel so lonely. But I'm glad YLC didn't forget about how great YMK is. I can't wait until they meet again. On a side note, is this kid going to grow up to be the 2nd student in the Seven Swords? The name looks familiar.

    ZYH is not part of the story right now and yet we still continue to discuss him, not because we like or miss him but because we can't stand him and want to bash him some more. The thing about ZYH is that he doesn't have any great qualities that define a protagonist. His martial arts is way below those of his peers, and he has no charisma like the Roaming King or Li Yan and hasn't done anything significant thus far. And to top it off, he's been exhibiting too much flaws. And the worst part is that his attraction toward YLC was based on her appearance only and he left her when she needed him the most! Even if he turns over a new leaf later in the novel, it'll probably make me hate him a little less. I still won't root for him after reading 3/4 of the novel and see what a jerk he has been. Who knows, maybe the author is that good that we'll all end up loving YZH.

    Thanks Foxs for the update. Keep up the good work!

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    Default Chapter 22 – Part 4

    Both sides were startled. Zhu Baochun had been in Lulin for many years, so it was not surprising that a stranger would recognize him, but hearing Tie Feilong call the other man as ‘Jiabi Xiong’, obviously he also recognized him very well. They had no choice but to regard Tie Feilong carefully. Zhu Baochun thought, ‘We agreed that neither side would bring a helper, yet he still invites another pair of hands to come. With Tang family’s reputation, unexpectedly they do things this way. Later I can press him with words.”

    Actually, Tang Jiabi was even more astonished. Their Tang family had always resided in Wanxian, dominating the Wulin with their proficiency in using secret projectiles. Tang Jiabi turned twenty this year, and it was the first time he received his father’s order to come out and handle some business matters. It was beyond his expectation that Tie Feilong was able to recognize him with just one glance.

    Tang Jiabi’s friend stood up, he cupped his fist and said, “The humble one surnamed Du, my lowly name is Mingzhong. I wonder if the Mister has some instructions for me?” He looked like someone who has gone through a lot in life, his manner was a lot calmer than Tang Jiabi.

    Tie Feilong said, “Enmity ought to be dissolved and should not be nurtured; the Old Man is taking the liberty to invite both sides to drink a cup of tea.” Lifting the teapot, he promptly poured it down.

    Zhu Baochun and Tang Jiabi immediately shouted, “Hold on!”

    Turned out there was a custom in Jianghu that when people negotiate in a teahouse, and they drink the tea served by the mediator, it means both parties are willing to reconcile. Right now, neither side knew Tie Feilong, how could they forget their enmity just by a few words spoken by him?

    Tie Feilong laughed aloud and said, “So all of you are unwilling to give me face by drinking this cup of tea?” While speaking, he kept pouring the tea.

    The teacups used in the inn were made of yellow poplar wood hollowed in the middle; the cups were as big as bowls, and very sturdy. While speaking and pouring, the tea entered the cup. ‘Splash!’ the wooden cup shattered and the tea splashed into three other cups, and then the three cups also shattered and the tea flooded the table!

    Zhu Baochun and Tang Jiabi were greatly shocked. It must be understood that if based on the palm strength alone, crushing a solid wooden cup was already difficult, much less transferring the power via hot tea to shatter the wooden cup? They had neither seen nor heard of this kind of skill before; thereupon they were immediately intimidated by Tie Feilong’s prowess.

    “All right,” Tie Feilong said with a laugh, “You are unwilling to drink this tea, the tea is undrinkable anyway. Shop owner, how come your teacups are like this? How come they are so weak? Quickly wipe this table!”

    Standing on the side, the innkeeper watched everything with astonishment and delight. Bowing, he said, “Yes,” and then he took a tablecloth and wiped the table.

    “All right,” Tie Feilong said, “Get another cup, I still want these gentlemen to give me some face.”

    Zhu Baochun and Tang Jiabi said together, “Old Hero, please hear me first.”

    Tie Feilong pointed toward Tang Jiabi, “You may start!” he said.

    With a scarlet face, Tang Jiabi said, “This Du Xiong is our family’s good friend. He had two treasures, which Zhu Zhaizhu robbed. Father sent me to ask a favor from Zhu Zhaizhu that he would generously return the items.”

    Tie Feilong nodded and said, “True, the yiqi[13] of Jianghu is the most precious treasure. Those two treasures are nothing. Zhu Zhaizhu, tell me, do you hate to part with those things?”

    Zhu Baochun’s face also turned red as he loudly said, “This Du Xiong is the guest of West Inspector-General Chen Jiyu, he brought a thousand-year Heshouwu[14] and an arctic fox fur coat, to be delivered to Beijing for Wei Zhongxian. I’d rather have these two things than give them to Wei Zhongxian; Old Hero, I don’t mind if you want those things. It’s not that I’m greedy of treasures, it’s just that I don’t want to give anything to that castrated traitor!”

    Tie Feilong knitted his brows and asked Tang Jiabi, “The recipient of the gift Du Xiong brought, did you know it beforehand?”

    Tang Jiabi replied, “He has told Father from the start.” Tang Jiabi’s father was Tang Qingchuan, whose prestige shook the western Sichuan. He had some friendship with Tie Feilong. About ten years ago, Tie Feilong had stayed in his home for more than three months. Knowing Tang Qingchuan’s personality, Tie Feilong thought, “Tang Laoda[15] is not that muddle-headed. Since he is already aware yet he still sent out his son to retrieve it, there must be another reason behind it. I must investigate it carefully before I deal with it.”

    Du Mingzhong also stood up, with both hands on the table he was just saying, “Old Hero, please listen to me …” when a strange laughter came from outside. When the door opened, two men walked in. These two men looked exactly the same, their hair were both a mess, they were both lanky, with faces devoid of any color. They were only 30% resembled human, the other 70% resembled ghosts, walking stiffly like a pair of corpses from the grave!

    Zhu Baochun sprang up and called out, “Shen Laoda, Shen Lao’er[16]! What are you here for?”

    “Turns out that they are the Shen brothers,” Tie Feilong said in his heart, “I have long heard that their martial arts are strange, their character is questionable. I did not expect I would bump into them tonight.”

    These Shen brothers were called Shen Dayuan and Shen Yiyuan, they were well known Lulin characters of the north. All their lives they had never submitted to other people. Three years ago, not too long after Wang Jiayin died in battle, following Li Zicheng’s advice, Gao Yingxiang called the thirty-six leaders of Lulin world to gather at Mizhi, these two men also did not want to attend. After everybody fled in all directions, they came to Sichuan and struck an agreement and formed an alliance with Zhang Xianzhong[17]. They received the title ‘Shoulder to shoulder’ Kings. In the Lulin, Zhu Baochun’s rank was way below these two Shen brothers, plus he knew how vicious these brothers were; therefore, he could not help but be terrified.

    With strange-looking wooden face, Shen Yiyuan laughed frostily, “I heard you have attained two good things; quickly take them out, the Eight Kings want them!” he said threateningly.

    ‘The Eight King’ was Zhang Xianzhong’s bandit title. Zhang Xianzhong was different from Li Zicheng; he was greedy of material gains: gold, silver, jewels, no exceptions. He was also bloodthirsty, hence in Lulin he was known as the devil incarnate.

    Zhu Baochun’s countenance changed. He was unwilling to hand over the treasures, but knew that if he did not, his life would be in danger. While he was still undecided, Shen Dayuan said, “You are only inviting trouble if you are unwilling!”

    Nobody saw how he made his move, but in a flash he was already in front of Zhu Baochun, and took the bundle hanging from Zhu Baochun’s waist. By the time Zhu Baochun realized what had happened, Shen Dayuan’s claw-like hand had already reached his chest! In his fright Zhu Baochun frantically leaped backwards and rolled away on the ground. Luckily he moved quite fast that Shen Dayuan’s hand missed him.

    Seeing that, Tang Jiabi and Du Mingzhong were also shocked. They both jumped over the table to pounce on the bundle. Tie Feilong mused, “This is not good.” Suddenly two miserable screams were heard, as Tang Jiabi and Du Mingzhong were thrown to the foot of the wall. Shen Dayuan’s movements were quick as lightning; his palm injured Du Mingzhong and sealed Tang Jiabi’s ‘gigantic bone acupoint’.

    Shen Dayuan laughed aloud and he shook his sleeves and left carrying the bundle. Suddenly Tie Feilong called out, “Hey! Stop!” His shadow swayed, he flew in front of Shen Dayuan and blocked him right in front of the door.

    “Old Bum!” Shen Dayuan bellowed angrily, “You dare to stop me!” His palm hacked down on the crown of Tie Feilong’s head!

    Tie Feilong shrank his shoulder so that although Shen Dayuan’s palm was powerful, fast and nimble beyond imagination, his hand missed and his heart turned cold. Before he realized what had happened, he heard Tie Feilong’s roar as he launched a counterattack. Shen Dayuan suddenly felt a strong gust of wind toward his waist. He reached down, his hand formed a hook and pushed out; two hands collided, unexpectedly Tie Feilong’s power struck his hand that it was skewed sideways.

    --------------------------------------
    [13] Spirit of loyalty, self-sacrifice, code of brotherhood.
    [14] Polygonum multiflorum – from Wikipedia: Heshouwu ('Black-haired Mr. He'), a Chinese man who is reputed to have lived until the age of 132, is the first consumer of this herb to be reported.
    [15] Lit. the oldest child in a family, the first, the leader.
    [16] The second child in a family, the second in rank.
    [17] Nicknamed Yellow Tiger, was a Chinese rebel leader who conquered Sichuan Province in the middle of the 17th century.

  16. #316
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    You're a really dedicated translator Thanks

  17. #317
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    great translator....great author...great story...

    Big brother foxs! You are a chivarlous translator of wuxia world ...

  18. #318
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    Default Chapter 22 – Part 5

    Thanks. Welcome to the story.

    Quote Originally Posted by SkyWalker View Post
    On a side note, is this kid going to grow up to be the 2nd student in the Seven Swords? The name looks familiar.
    I do not know, since I have not read the story. Out of curiosity I checked Wikipedia, and I regretted almost immediately, because now I know that he would not survive long.

    Anyway, seems like an interesting story to me, perhaps I must consider the story for future translation project.
    ----------------------------------------

    Shen Yiyuan was shocked. With both palms stretched out, he flew to shield his older brother. Tie Feilong roared again and struck backhandedly, hacking the enemy’s shoulder. But before the two palms meet, Shen Dayuan turned around and pounced on the enemy. Tie Feilong abruptly changed his stance, right palm blocked the younger brother, left fist punched the older brother. As soon as three men exchanged one stance, they separated toward the three exits.

    Although Tie Feilong managed to jolt Shen Dayuan back, his own shoulder was burning with pain. “These two brothers indeed live up to their reputation, no wonder they are this furious!”

    The Shen brothers stared hard with their strange-looking eyes wide open, their knees slightly bended and their bodies leaned forward, ready to attack. Suddenly, they both let out strange shouts and attacked simultaneously. Tie Feilong hacked sideways with his left palm and kicked straight out with his right leg, neutralizing the brothers’ attacking stances at once. Shen Dayuan was burning with anger, his palm changed into a knife form and cut down, followed by a sweeping motion. Shen Yiyuan raised his fist and punched down. Tie Feilong roared again, a palm and a fist shot out together. Although the Shen brothers had trained martial arts for all their lives, they did not dare to meet these steel-hard attacks head-on. The brothers pulled back suddenly and leaped over the table. Tie Feilong’s leg swept up and the table was kicked up to the roof. With a loud crashing sound the roof split open as the table crashed onto the tiles; the roof tiles fell back down while the table continued flying out.

    Zhu Baochun ran to the corner to evade, the Shen brothers moved very fast, as soon as Tie Feilong’s kick missed them, the brothers pounced back with a pair of fists. This fight was even more astonishing! The Shen brothers, one from the left and the other from the right, launched a converging attack to a powerful enemy, defending against Tie Feilong’s attack with an offensive move. The bones in their bodies cracking as they each attacked with a fist each.

    Tie Feilong knew their external type of martial arts had been trained to perfection; he did not dare to be careless, immediately he moved according to the ‘Five-Element, Eight-Trigram’ bearing, hard and soft working together, concurrently launching defensive and offensive moves.

    After fighting for a moment, Shen Yiyuan showed a weakness in his movements; Tie Feilong mused, “You try to lure the enemy like this, how can I fall for your trick?” Deciding to beat him at his own game, from the gen position[18], Tie Feilong shouted suddenly and his palm hacked down, followed by a rapid leap into the li position, snatching the exact position void of the enemies’ reach. Before Shen Dayuan could react, as quick as lightning and as sudden as thunder his left palm cut down on Shen Yiyuan’s wrist.

    Tie Feilong’s mastery of the ‘Five-Element, Eight-Trigram’ position had reached its summit. It seemed that there was no way Shen Yiyuan would be able to strike back. Who would have thought that as Shen Yiyuan brandished his arm, his joints produced cracking noises, and surprisingly his arm grew two cun[19] longer, while his palm strike turned into finger poke to seal Tie Feilong’s ‘scholar’s arm’ acupoint. In the battle between the experts, oftentimes the outcome was within a hair’s breadth; Tie Feilong did not anticipate this move and thus his arm was suddenly shaken. His palm quickly shot out, while he leaped high. He seemed to endure Shen Yiyuan’s attack, while Shen Yiyuan let out a strange ‘wah, wah’ cry. Tie Feilong hastily circulated his qi. In the meantime, Shen Dayuan pulled his younger brother back.

    Although Tie Feilong’s palm succeeded in striking Shen Yiyuan, his power diminished after his acupoint was sealed. Although he managed to inflict excruciating pain on Shen Yiyuan, in the end Shen Yiyuan’s wrist was saved from damage.

    “Everything’s all right?” Shen Dayuan asked.

    Shen Yiyuan waved his fist in an arc, and then said, “I am all right.” The two brothers shook their fists.

    Tie Feilong mused, “So they have trained in ‘changing muscle shrinking bones’ skill!” He changed his palm technique, ‘whoosh, whoosh’ it was like a giant hatchet splitting the mountain, or an iron chisel striking the rock. The Shen brothers saw that after his acupoint was sealed, unexpectedly he acted like nothing had happened; their shock was not small. Although they had mastered strange skills like ‘seven-terminating palm’ and ‘iron fox fist’, they did not dare to take his attack head on.

    The three of them were engaged in an inextricable battle, yet Tie Feilong’s palm power was still heavy and vicious, the two brothers repeatedly shaken by his palms, their countenances did not show too much change, but their breathing became increasingly labored.

    While the battle intensified, suddenly a tender laughter was heard. “Father, give those two men to me! I went for a small shrimp, but you get the big fish in here, it’s not fair! My hands itch!”

    Tie Feilong laughed aloud and leaped out of the arena. “Fine!” he said, “I’ll let you pick up the easy one!” Immediately the Shen brothers felt that the pressure was lifted and they could breathe easier. Yu Luocha arrived as soon as her voice arrived, her sword flickered and blocked in front of them.

    “Are you Yu Luocha?” Shen Dayuan asked.

    Yu Luocha cast him a glance, with a graceful laugh she said, “Looking at your weird looks, you must be the Shen brothers.”

    Standing by the wall, Zhu Baochun called out, “Heroine Lian, tell them to return the bundle.”

    Yu Luocha recalled Li Zicheng told her that the Shen brothers did not attend the general assembly at Mizhi. With a laugh she said, “In the past, you were in the north, I was in the south, we had nothing to do with each other. But now you mess with my father, I want to see what you brothers are capable of since you are this wildly arrogant!” Her sword flashed, ‘shua, shua!’ in a snap of the fingers she stabbed both of them.

    The Shen brothers had always bullied people around, unexpectedly Yu Luocha dared to bully them by striking as soon as she finished speaking. The two brothers were enraged and let out strange ‘wah, wah’ cries while executing ‘seven-terminating palm’ and ‘iron fox fist’.

    Yu Luocha pointed to the east striking to the west, facing to the south attacking to the north, in one breath she successively attacked more than thirty stances before laughing and saying, “Just a bit of skill, cannot be considered first class. Hey, how did you dare to become kings of the underground world with this tiny skill?” While laughing and mocking, she pressed on, forcing the Shen brothers to frantically dodge her attacks.

    Actually, Yu Luocha had reaped quite some benefit. With the two brothers joining hands, although Yu Luocha was not afraid, it would not be easy for her to score a victory over them. However, their acute spirit had been broken by Tie Feilong, their physiques were also sore and tired, being shaken by Tie Feilong’s palm power. As a result, by the time they fought Yu Luocha, their condition was far from perfect. From the start they had been hard-pressed by Yu Luocha’s offensive moves so that more than thirty stances later they only had strength left to defend, without the least bit of strength to counterattack.

    After leaping back, Tie Feilong unsealed Tang Jiabi’s acupoint and said, “Go home and pay your respects to your honorable father, tell him that Tie Feilong of Longmen is sending his greetings.”

    “Aiya!” Tang Jiabi exclaimed and immediately kowtowed, “Turns out it is Tie Shushu, no wonder you have this kind of ability! Your nephew has made a fool of himself tonight.”

    “It’s alright for young people to experience a bit of setback,” Tie Feilong said. Then he turned to look at Du Mingzhong’s injury. Noticing his shoulder was dark purple, Tie Feilong took out a pill and stuffed it into his mouth. “Turns out Shen brothers also train poisonous sand palm, I may need to get their school’s antidote.”

    It was Tang Jiabi’s debut in the Jianghu, and he suffered a disastrous defeat, hence he was very angry. As soon as his acupoint was unsealed, he groped into his secret projectile pouch and tossed two strange-looking secret projectiles toward the two Shen brothers!

    The Shen brothers were flustered by Yu Luocha incessant attacks, suddenly they heard strange humming noise; it was too late to evade, the two brothers were hit by Tang Jiabi’s poisonous caltrop[20]. The secret projectiles of the Tang family were famous throughout the Jianghu, their poisonous caltrop was especially fierce, as soon as it contacted the blood, it would choke the respiratory passage.

    ----------------------------------------
    [18] A position within the Eight-trigrams representing one of its elements. See also note 6 of Chapter 14 by Faerie Queenie.
    [19] 1 cun is approximately 1 inch.
    [20] 蒺藜 – tribulus terrestris, chenupodium album. (whatever that is … )

  19. #319
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    Thank you fox for your translation! I love this chapter, it has so much fighting. Reading it makes me so excited and reminds me this is a wuxia fiction after all.

    @Fox: I know what you mean by regretting via wiki. I did the same for Roaming King, completely ruined the excitement. There's already summaries for 7 swords, no need to tire yourself in future . Thanks again!

  20. #320
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    Just checking in after a bit of an absence! Foxs, you are a legend for posting so much!

    Thank you, I'm really getting in to this story

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