Thank you all for all your comments. As long as I know there will be people like you who will enjoy the translation, I'll do it. But please be forewarned: it will be slow. I heard the story is a long one. I checked qiqi.com and found it has 54 chapters. If each chapter is as long as the Trilogy, it might take me several years to finish.
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The Kazakh people continued singing and dancing for a while, and then one of the young people said, "We invite the two guests that come from a distant place to also sing a song for us." Immediately someone handed the huqin to He Luhua, inviting Zhuo Yihang to sing first.
Zhuo Yihang's heart was filled with misery, obviously he was not in the mood to sing or dance; however, it was Kazakh people’s etiquette and if the guest does not sing, the host may think that the guests are dissatisfied. Left without any choice, Zhuo Yihang sang:
Gazing on the moon in despair, the scenery turned into anxiety,
Like the desolate sound of a bao se[3],
a broken-hearted man blames most of his feelings to the pain of separation,
on the brink of ascending the jade-blue mountain or crossing the distant river.
Lifting up the eyes to the unending waves of withering grass,
Sitting by the table in the dead of the night to clear away the burden.
The yellow leaves will fall without any wind,
Autumn cloud looming overhead without any rain.
If the Heaven has passion, the Heaven will also grow old,
Hidden hatred is difficult to be shaken away.
Regret and despair make former happiness feel like a dream,
When one awakes, it's nowhere to be found.
When he was singing 'If the Heaven has passion, the Heaven will also grow old', tears were flowing down from his eyes, his voice turned a bit hoarse. On the Bright Moon Gorge, Yu Luocha had said to him, 'Ever since the beginning of time, has there been any eternally young person? I tell you, if Laotianye[4] was just like a mortal, full of considerations and anxieties, even Laotianye will grow old! Each time we see each other we quarrel, the next time you see me, I am afraid I will be a white-haired old granny!' Unexpectedly those were prophetic words, which now had become reality. Zhuo Yihang sang this poem (a famous poem, A Full River, composed by Sun Zhu of the Song Dynasty) because he remembered his feelings toward Yu Luocha. It was after he sang that he realized his song was not in harmony with the joyous atmosphere of the night.
When the song finished, everybody looked gloomy. Although most of Kazakh people did not understand Chinese, they could hear the sadness of the melody. He Luhua mused, "Others are reveling in gaiety, yet you sang this kind of song!" Without waiting to be invited by the Kazakh people, she volunteered, "I want to sing a song too!"
Asking Zhuo Yihang to play the qin, she sang:
Before the evening breeze the willow branch droops while the moon arises on the horizon.
Very quietly the golden hook adjusts the blinds, the silver cup extinguishes the lamp.
Sleeping in the spring time on the embroidered bed, the fragrant musk of deer orchid adorns the folding screen.
Suddenly footsteps are heard outside the window shutters.
I do not see my beloved, only a meddlesome person hiding in the winding corridor.
I push the dual-pane window to scold the frivolous person, but see from behind the bamboo shade, blown by the wind the fragrant flowers fall.
I sigh in wishful thinking, how many more demons of temptation will come into the depths of lady’s chamber?
It was a popular folksong of the Jiangnan; her voice seemed to linger in the air, the melody was lively. As soon as she finished singing, the mood was reversed. The Kazakh youth said, "Miss sings really well!" And he gave the precious huqin to He Luhua to show his respect. Zhuo Yihang told her that it was a Kazakh's custom, so she must not decline. With a big grin on her face He Luhua accepted.
Several Kazakh youths had very good impressions toward her, they all crowded around her to engage her in conversation. He Luhua asked, "Where are you from?"
A youth who understand Chinese replied, "We are from Yili[5], we had just passed through the Taklamakan desert!"
He Luhua had an idea, "During your journey today, did you by any chance see a Taoist priest?" And then she described her father's appearance in detail.
"Oh," the Kazakh youth said, "We did. Is he your traveling companion? That Taoist priest looked really strange, he was riding on a horseback with an angry look on his face, as he travelled in the midst of a group of Lamas."
"What?" He Luhua was surprised, "Lama!" Her father had never had any good relation with any Lama!
"That's right," the Kazakh youth replied, "We also felt it is unusual for a Han Taoist priest to mingle with Tibetan Lamas, it struck us as very strange. Those Lamas also rode on horsebacks, all of them looked very inauspicious!"
He Luhua was shocked. "Was the Taoist priest tied up by them on the horseback?" she asked.
The Kazakh youth shook his head, "I did not see it clearly," he said, "The Taoist priest was riding in the middle of the Lamas' horses, he carried a dejected appearance. Their horses galloped really fast, we did not get out of the way fast enough and had to suffer several whip lashes."
"Which direction were they going?" Zhuo Yihang asked.
The Kazakh youth said, "The direction we were coming from."
"So they were also heading toward the Taklamakan desert," Zhuo Yihang said.
After thinking for half a day, suddenly Zhuo Yihang took out several snow lotus herbs from his sack. "What do you think of this snow lotus herb?" he asked. Zhuo Yihang picked these snow lotus herb flowers on Tianshan's northern peak when he went to visit Reverend Hui Ming. Each flower had several dozens of petals, stacked on top of each other in layers, so that it looked like a snowball.
Those Kazakh people exclaimed in astonishment; they said, "We have never seen such a big snow lotus herb; where did you find it?"
With a chuckle Zhuo Yihang said, "I want to trade these several flowers of snow lotus herb with a camel and a tent. Would you trade?"
Those Kazakh people were very fair; they said, "Camels are easy to find, snow lotus herb are rare. These flowers worth far more than a camel."
Zhuo Yihang said, "To me, a camel is hard to find, snow lotus herb is easy to pick. If you are willing, let's trade."
The Kazakh people were delighted; they threw in some tools which would be very useful in the desert, and some dry rations.
Early in the morning the next day, Zhuo Yihang bade farewell to his Kazakh friends, and rode on the camel with He Luhua, heading straight to the west.
"Why do you want a camel?" He Luhua asked, "Camel is slower than our running speed?"
"The Taklamakan desert is actually a string of smaller deserts linking north and south of the border, yellow sand spread out for thousands of li," Zhuo Yihang explained, "You are not accustomed to the desert, how are we going to cross the desert if we do not have this camel?"
He Luhua said, "How can my father travel together with that crowd of Lamas? I cannot think it through. Could it be that he is kidnapped? But my father has never been beyond the Great Wall before, let alone having some business with those Lamas. This is just too strange."
Zhuo Yihang remembered his encounter with the Tibetan Lamas of the Tian Long Pai, which resulted in some grudges between them. "Perhaps it is Tian Long Pai's doing," he thought, "But how could they know he is my Shishu? Besides, in our Sect, Shishu White Stone's swordsmanship can be reckoned as first or second best, how did he fall into their treacherous hands?" He could not think it through either; thereupon he said, "Since we now know that they are entering the great desert, all we need to do is follow their trail and gather some information."
The yellow sand spread over thousands of li uninhabited land over the great desert, luckily the two of them were travelling together, so they could keep each other company. He Luhua was only young girl of seventeen or eighteen years of age, plus this was the very first time she travelled beyond the Great Wall, so to her, the desert scenery was very fascinating. She also asked a lot of questions about all kinds of Jianghu affairs. Zhuo Yihang chatted with her almost all day long that he was not feeling too sad. Only whenever He Luhua asked him about Yu Luocha Zhuo Yihang would answer her with a smile without saying anything, or try do talk about other things.
Without even realizing it, they had travelled for half a month. They frequently found tracks of camel or horse footprints, yet when they tried to follow the tracks, oftentimes they would be covered or altered by sandstorms. After traveling these many days without leaving the desert, He Luhua started to be distressed.
One day toward the twilight a gust of wind was blowing straight to them, the yellow sand was starting to rise. Zhuo Yihang said, "It seems like there will be a sandstorm tonight, we'd better find some place sheltered from the wind to erect our tent."
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[3]A type of standing harp, with 5-25 strings.
[4]God/Heavens.
[5]Or Ili, a modern day Kazakh autonomous prefecture.