HSDS chapter 25...

[KChill]

Sweeper monk is the supper, dupper, ubber, BBQ hero hero of the jin joung universe...

not only does he defeat 3 greats with ease... he does it in such a way that they give up all other things in life... just to become deciples.

He is the single redeaming monk that justifies Shaolins reputation .

Hmm....I don't know about that.....I kinda like Fangzheng and Fangsheng from SPW....

[jsamador]

Nothing you can about do it. Those guys are on the offensive and their energy is formless. Even if everyone withdraws completely, they could simply attack at the last moment.

WJ didn't want them to die a violent death and took the higher road. Fortunately, when you do good, an even higher power will protect you.

Yes, it's understandable that he wants to take a higher road but come on, you're fighting for your life and suddenly you want to trust the person who wants to kill you 100%. That's very naive. I agree with the rest that it's alright to try and find a peaceful solution but don't let your guard down.

[aliderhamy]

At the top of every mountain there is only enough room for 1 person.
and in the world of Jin Young that 1 person is Sweeper Monk. Although some claim that Ling ho chong is also unsurpassed in skill... but sweeper monk has different quality... a quality which makes him stand above Lingho Chong, IMO.

In Gu longs world that person is Dagger Lee.

[KChill]

Haven't yet read DGSD, so for me there is only DGQB....YG is a close second though.

[foxs]

As the Persian Three Emissaries found the Sheng Huo Ling, they rushed to pursue, but these three’s ‘qing gong’ was definitely inferior to Zhang Wuji. It was even greatly inferior compared to Xie Xun’s.
As Zhang Wuji was nearing the ship, he loudly called out, “Shao Min Junzhu’s order: Raise the sail and weigh the anchor, prepare to sail immediately!”

So when he and Xie Xun stepped their feet on the deck, the ship was ready to sail. But the captain must hear from Zhao Min personally; he went forward to ask for instruction.

Zhao Min had lost a lot of blood. With a weak voice she said, “Hear … hear Zhang Gongzi’s order … do it …”

The captain immediately complied, the ship set sail that when the Persian Three Emissaries reached the shore, the ship had already sailed dozens of ‘zhang’s away from the island.

Zhang Wuji laid down both Zhao Min and Yin Li side by side in the cabin. Xiao Zhao helped him take off their clothes to reveal the wounds. Zhang Wuji assessed these two women’s conditions; he saw the sword wound on Zhao Min’s abdomen was approximately half a ‘cun’ [1 cun is about 1 inch] deep. Although she was bleeding profusely, her life was not in danger. All of the three golden flowers on Yin Li’s chest had hit her vital points; apparently Jin Hua Popo did not attack her half-heartedly. Whether her life could be saved remained very difficult to say. He applied some medicine and wrapped their injuries.

Yin Li remained unconscious, while tears streaming down Zhao Min’s face. Zhang Wuji asked how she felt; she merely clenched her teeth without giving an answer.

“Zeng Shao Xia,” Xie Xun said, “Old Xie has left the matters of the world; this time unexpectedly returning to the Central Earth, and still can make an acquaintance with a friend with such a deep ‘yi qi’, I am happy beyond believe.”

Zhang Wuji led him to sit on a chair in the middle of the cabin. He knelt and bowed down, crying, “Yifu, child Wuji is unfilial; has not been able to meet you sooner, causing Yifu to suffer extreme hardships.”

“You …” Xie Xun was shocked, “What did you say?”

“I am your child Wuji,” Zhang Wuji said.

But how could Xie Xun believe? “You … what did you say?” he asked.

“The fist technique starts with a focused attention, intention precedes strength, only then victory will be achieved …” Zhang Wuji gushed non-stop, reciting the theories Xie Xun passed on to him on the Bing Huo Island just before they bade each other good-bye.

After he recited about twenty sentences or so, Xie Xun was surprised and happy; he grabbed Zhang Wuji’s arms and said, “You … you are really my child Wuji?”

Zhang Wuji stood up and embraced Xie Xun tightly, while trying to control his emotions. Thereupon he narrated in brief important points of what had happened since they parted omitting the fact that he was the Cult Leader of the Ming Cult. He did not want his Yifu to observe the Cult protocol and did obeisance to him instead.

Xie Xun felt as if he was in a dream; but this time he could not help but believe. “Lao Tian Ye [Heaven, God] has eyes, Lao Tian Ye has eyes!” he repeatedly said.

Suddenly they heard the sailor on watch shouted from the stern, “The enemy ship pursues!”

Zhang Wuji rushed toward the deck and saw on a distant a large ship riding on the wind with five sails open, coming fast toward them. In the dark night he could not see the ship’s hull, but the five large white sails were clearly visible. Zhang Wuji looked for a while; he noticed that the enemy’s ship was lighter; they were closing the gap rapidly. He was anxious and was at a loss. If it was only the Persian Three Emissaries, then he could fight them inside the cabin. Because of the space limitation, they might not be easily collaborating with one another. Thereupon he moved Zhao Min and Yin Li to the side, took the two big anchors on the deck, and placed them on the middle of the cabin as a barrier, forcing the Persian Three Emissaries to fight one on one.

As he finished the preparation, suddenly a loud explosion was heard; their ship violently leaned sideways, followed by the seawater rise up to the sky and splash into the cabin.

“The enemy ship fires their cannon! The enemy ship fires their cannon!” the sailor on the stern loudly called out. Luckily the cannon missed its target and landed on the water.

Zhao Min beckoned Zhang Wuji and in a low voice said, “We also have cannon!”

Zhang Wuji remembered and immediately rushed to the main deck, ordering the sailors to take away the covers of the cannon and load it with gunpowder and iron cannonball. They lighted the fuse and ‘Bang!’ the cannonball flew out. These sailors were Zhao Min’s warriors in disguise; their martial art skills were not weak, however they knew nothing about artillery or naval battle; the cannonball landed in between two enemy ships. Column of water rose up several ‘zhang’s to the sky, but the enemy’s ships were not even swayed. Fortunately, as the enemy saw that they also have guns, they did not dare to get too close.

Not too long afterwards, the enemy ship fired another round. This time it hit the bow and immediately their ship caught fire. Zhang Wuji busily directed the sailors to draw water to fight the fire. Suddenly he saw the fire had reached one of the upper deck’s cabins. With both hands carried two buckets of water, he kicked the cabin door open and splashed the water to extinguish the fire. Amidst the smoke he saw a woman lying on the bed. It was Zhou Zhiruo. She was completely soaked.

Zhang Wuji dropped the buckets and rushed in. “Miss Zhou,” he hastily asked, “Are you all right?”

Zhou Zhiruo’s head and face was wet; she looked really miserable. She was extremely stunned to suddenly see Zhang Wuji appear. She tried to move her hands, ‘clink, clank, clink’. It turned out her hands and feet were shackled in iron chain by Jin Hua Popo. Zhang Wuji rushed to the lower deck cabin to fetch the Yitian Sword and cut away the shackles.

“Zhang Jiaozhu,” Zhou Zhiruo said, “You … how come you are here?”

Before Zhang Wuji could reply, the hull suddenly shook violently. Zhou Zhiruo’s legs were still weak and she fell into Zhang Wuji’s bosom. Zhang Wuji busily reached out to help her up. By the flame light from outside the window Zhang Wuji saw on her pale face two streaks of blush; embellished by little drops of water, she looked so beautiful and elegant, just like narcissus in the morning dew.

Zhang Wuji calmed himself down and said, “Let us go to the lower deck cabin.”

Two people barely went out the door when they felt the ship was spinning. Turned out the enemy’s cannon just now had not only hit the rudder and smashed it, but killed the helmsman and threw him down the sea as well.

The captain was anxious, he personally loaded the cannon, with the hope of sinking the enemy ship. He kept pouring gunpowder down the gun barrel and packed it solid with an iron rod. Turning around the cannon’s mouth, he lighted the fuse. ‘Bang!’ Suddenly the air around them turned red as the explosion shook the sky, pieces of steel and iron flew everywhere. The cannon exploded and killed the captain and the sailors standing nearby; their flesh and blood scattered everywhere. It was because the captain wanted to utilize the full power of the cannon that he put several times the amount of gunpowder than necessary, so that the cannon exploded instead.

Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo had just stepped onto the deck when they saw the ship was on fire; they withdrew immediately. Looking around Zhang Wuji saw a small boat tied on the port side of the ship. “Miss Zhou,” he called out, “Jump to that boat …”

By this time Xiao Zhao, carrying Yin Li, and Xie Xun, carrying Zhao Min, emerged from the lower deck cabin. Turned out the explosion had made a crack on the hull of the ship and the seawater welled up quickly. Zhang Wuji led Xie Xun and Xiao Zhao to the boat. He cut the rope with his sword and ‘splash!’ the boat fell onto the sea below.

Zhang Wuji jumped out and lightly landed on the boat. He took the pair of oars and started rowing with all his might. By this time, the fire was blazing wild, painting the surface of the sea to a bright red. Zhang Wuji thought he must take the boat as far away as possible from this circle of light. If the Persian Three Emissaries did not see the small boat, they would think that everybody perished in the sea and will no longer pursue them. Xie Xun followed his example by taking out a plank and rowing furiously.

[dewyloony123]

Thanks foxs_!

Like the Passionless Valley episode in ROCH, this part of the novel is important, but rather unsatisfying

[odbayarb2000]

Thanks foxs_!

Like the Passionless Valley episode in ROCH, this part of the novel is important, but rather unsatisfying

May I know in which extent it's similar to the Passionless episode in ROCH ?

[rati4u]

oooooo...again Little wuji in problems.....think tht babe xiao zhao is also some enemy

[rati4u]

May I know in which extent it's similar to the Passionless episode in ROCH ?

she dint say it is similar to that episode.....she said it is also important like that episode since here many secrets unfolded and in ROCh also, many important events occurred! but action wise, it is not that satisfying

[odbayarb2000]

she dint say it is similar to that episode.....she said it is also important like that episode since here many secrets unfolded and in ROCh also, many important events occurred! but action wise, it is not that satisfying

Ooh, you got me. Sorry, I miscomprehended. Need some sleep...

[merlin]

The holidays are here....

I wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Foxs - Thank you so much for sharing the HSDS novel with us.

We are greatly appreciated your kindness.

Regards

[overjoy71]

Merry Christmas everyone
Foxs_, brilliant as always.. thank you

Don't think Xiao Zhao is an enemy. She had so many chances to run aways but chose to stay with Wuji. Though I think she is running away from something or someone and she is just disguising herself. She is too smart to just be a servant.

[dewyloony123]

May I know in which extent it's similar to the Passionless episode in ROCH ?

Hm... I can't figure out any way of answering this without giving some crucial spoilers... read at your own risk...

click to show/hide spoilers

To the extent that the outcomes are disagreeable but important to the plot. In the Passionless Valley episode, we suddenly get introduced to characters who somehow are so much more formidable than YG and XLN that the two seem rather powerless. Same here--ZWJ et al are going to seem suddenly powerless. And there's some sappiness in both novels around this point--in HSDS, Xiao Zhao gets taken away (leading to much sadness). Also, this point of the plot is crucial for the rest of the story--it drastically changes the fate of the two swords as well as the relationship between ZWJ and the women in his life. If you want more details, I can give more...

[lthlth]

oooooo...again Little wuji in problems.....think tht babe xiao zhao is also some enemy

Naah. She could've have wiped out the main Ming sect guys after they were poisoned by Zhao Min--but she didn't. Instead she protected them from the Mongolians.

I think Xiao Zhao is a reliable and loyal friend to ZWJ.

[Tazzy1972]

not exactly true

[foxs]

Merry Christmas, and God bless us everyone ... Although I am not a beauty pageant contestant, I also wish for world peace ...

Thanks for all the kind words; your support is always appreciated.
-----------------------------------------------------------

The small boat sailed swiftly on the waves; in a short moment they were outside the circle of light. They heard a series of explosions as the gunpowder on the ship was detonated. The Persian ship did not dare to come close; they stopped to observe afar from quite a distance.

Some of Zhao Min’s warriors possessed good water skills; they dove into the sea and swam toward the enemy ship, crying for help. But the Persians shot them with arrows and they died in the sea.

Zhang Wuji and Xie Xun did not dare to slack off. If the Three Emissaries overtook them on land, they would still be able to fight to the death. But now they were in the middle of the boundless ocean; if the enemy ship fired their canon, even if they missed the small boat by several ‘zhang’s, the wave would surge and the small boat would capsize. Fortunately, these two’s internal energy was very profound that they were not exhausted although they rowed for half a night.

Black clouds filled the sky towards dawn and all around them was gray drizzle of thick fog. Zhang Wuji happily said, “If this thick fog stays for half a day, then the enemy will not be able to find us in any way.” But towards the afternoon, suddenly a strong wind came followed by a heavy rain.

The small boat was blown southward by the wind. It was the depth of wintertime. Everybody’s clothes were soaked. Zhang Wuji and Xie Xun had profound internal energy, so they were all right. But blown by the north wind, Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao could not restrain their teeth from chattering. Unfortunately, there was nothing on that small boat; nobody could come up with any ideas. Zhang Wuji and Xie Xun had stopped rowing for a while; right now four people removed their eight shoes and used them to scoop the rainwater accumulated on the boat to the sea.

Xie Xun was very happy to finally meet Zhang Wuji; although the present situation of their plight was dangerous, he did not seem to care. He cursed the sky and shouted at the sea, and was busy talking and laughing in the rain. Xiao Zhao was also carefree; she happily accompanied Xie Xun chitchatting. Only Zhou Zhiruo was silent; occasionally her eyes would meet Zhang Wuji’s, and she would immediately turn her head around to avoid his gaze.

“Wuji,” Xie Xun said, “In the past, while your parents and I were riding on a boat together, we met a violent storm along the way; it was worse than today. Afterwards we were marooned on an iceberg and we had seals as our food. But that time the south wind was blowing, so we were floating to the North Pole’s world of ice and snow. Today the north wind is blowing. Could it be that ‘Lao Tian Ye’ [God, or Heaven] think Xie Xun is not pleasing to the eyes, that He wants to send me to the South Pole’s palace of old immortals for another twenty years? Ha ha ha ha …!”

After laughing for a moment he said, “That time your parents were one man and one woman, a talented young man and a beautiful young woman; it was a match made in Heaven. Now you have four beautiful girls with you; what can we do? Ha ha ha ha …!”

Zhou Zhiruo blushed and lowered her head; while Xiao Zhao remained calm and said, “Xie Laoyezi [old master Xie], I am Gongziye’s [master] servant; of course I don’t count.”

Although Zhao Min’s injury was not light, she was conscious the whole time; “Xie Laoyezi,” she suddenly said, “If you keep talking nonsense, as soon as I am well, we’ll see if I don’t slap your ears really good.”

Xie Xun stuck out his tongue and said with a smile, “This girl is actually very mean.” Suddenly the smile disappeared from his face; he hesitated a moment before saying, “Hmm, last night you launched three suicidal moves. The first one was Kunlun Pai’s ‘yu sui kun gang’, the second one was Kongtong Pai’s ‘ren gui tong tu’, and the third one … what was it? The old man is uncouth and unlearned, could not hear it.”

Zhao Min was secretly shocked. “No wonder Jin Mao Shi Wang’s name shook the world in the past; his conducts in Jianghu were earth-shattering,” she thought, “His eyes are blind, yet he was able to guess correctly the two stances I was using. He truly lives up to his reputation.”

“The third move was Wudang Pai’s ‘tian di tong shou’,” she said, “Apparently it was developed only recently, no wonder Laoyezi does not know.” She said that with a really respectful expression.

Xie Xun sighed, “You did your utmost to save Wuji; that was really good,” he said, “But why did you risk your own life? Why risked your life?”

Zhao Min started to say, “He … he …” but then she stopped, as if she was mulling over whether she should continue or not. Finally she could not refrain from sobbing; she said, “He … Who told him to show such affection? … Hugging … Hugging Miss Yin. I don’t want to live!” Finished speaking, her tears were already rolling down like rain.

Hearing her publicly revealing her deepest feelings unexpectedly, four people were startled; they did not remember Zhao Min was a Mongolian girl who loves when she wants to love, and who hates when she wants to hate. Certainly she was not wishy-washy; unlike the Central Earth’s women who were strongly influenced by Confucianism’s custom and regulations. Besides, they were all on a small boat in the middle of the ocean, the heavy rain drenched their heads, their small boat could capsize anytime and they would all perish. At the time when they hovered between life and death, it was even more unnecessary to be scrupulous.

Listening to Zhao Min, Zhang Wuji could not help but feel touched. “Miss Zhao is originally my archenemy,” he thought, “This time my primary intention was to see Yifu when we were going out to the sea together. Who would have thought that she would have these deep feelings toward me?” Unable to restrain his emotions, he reached out to hold her hand, put his lips next to her ear and whispered softly, “No matter what, next time you can’t do it again.”

As Zhao Min blurted out her feelings, she had almost immediately had already regretted it; thinking that if a girl from an honorable family did not stop this kind of talk from coming out, how could he not look down on her? Suddenly hearing him admonish her lovingly, she was surprised and happy, bashful and loving at the same time. She felt an unspeakable sweetness in her heart and felt that last night’s risking her life three times, and the suffering of drifting on the ocean today, everything, were not in vain.

The heavy rain started to subside and gradually stopped, but the fog was coming back and actually getting thicker and thicker. Suddenly a swishing noise was heard as a large fish, more than 30 catties, leaped up from the sea. Xie Xun’s right hand stretched out and stabbed his five fingers into the fish’s belly, taking the fish into the boat. Everybody cheered. Xiao Zhao took out her sword to cut open its belly and scrape the scales; and then cut it to pieces. They were all hungry, so although the raw fish was smelly, they forced themselves to eat a few slices. Xie Xun ate eagerly; he had lived on a desolated island for more than twenty years, and had survived on all kinds of food, how could he care about eating raw fish? Besides, the fish was fresh; after chewing for some times and being used to the fresh fish smell, the meat brought out its raw sweet flavor.

The waves gradually subsided. After eating, they all closed their eyes to get some rest. They had been fighting violently for the whole day and whole night the previous day, they were not only physically, but emotionally exhausted as well. Although Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao were not engaged in battle physically, the excitement and frights they experienced were not small. The ocean gently rocked the small boat like a cradle; the six people on the boat fell asleep one after another.

They were sound asleep for almost six hours. As an old man, Xie Xun was the first one to wake up. He heard the sound of five young people breathing blended with the sound of the wave and the wind. Since Zhao Min and Yin Li were injured, their breathings were short and quick. Zhou Zhiruo’s breathing was light and long. Zhang Wuji’s inhales and exhales sounded like they were broken yet continuous, without any distinct separation. Xie Xun was secretly astonished, “This child internal energy is very profound,” he thought, “I won’t be able to achieve this level in all my life.”

[KChill]

Merry Christmas to you Foxs_ and all of the avid readers here also......!

[arty8888]

M eaning is a measure of repose.
E ach clarity extends our comfort zone.
R eason understands what reason knows,
R endering its verdicts on its own.
Y et if God did descend one frosty night,

C hild emergent from a mortal womb,
H ow can we comprehend so strange a sight,
R eason still incumbent in the room?
I deas must answer more than we might ask,
S eizing not our wisdom but our fire.
T he wonder must be equal to the task,
M ore consumed by passion than desire.
A truth must be a stone that breaks the heart,
S hattering alike our faith and art.

[jsamador]

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon!

Thanks for the splendid translations foxs_!!!

[foxs]

You are welcome.
----------------------------------------------------------

Xiao Zhao’s breathing was sometimes fast, sometimes slow, a sign of a very special school’s internal energy cultivation method. Xie Xun frowned as he remembered something, “This is strange,” he mused, “Could it be that this child is …”

Suddenly his thought was interrupted by Yin Li’s loud shout, “Zhang Wuji, you little kid, why don’t you come with me to Ling She Island?”

Zhang Wuji, Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao were awakened by her shout. She said again, “I live alone on the Island, and quite lonely … why are you not willing to come and accompany me? I miss you so much, you … you are in the afterworld, do you know that?”

Zhang Wuji put his hand on her forehead and felt it was burning hot; he knew her severe wound had caused her a fever, making her sprouting nonsense. Although his medical skill was exquisite, there was nothing on the small boat, not even a blade of grass, so he was helpless. He tore away a piece of his clothes and soaked it in the water, then pressed it on her forehead.

Yin Li continued to ramble; suddenly she shouted, “Father, you … don’t kill mother, don’t kill mother! I was the one who killed ‘Er Niang’ [second madame or second mother], you’d better kill me; it had nothing to do with mother … Mother is dead, mother is dead! I killed my mother! Boo hoo hoo…” She cried miserably.

“Zhu’Er, Zhu’Er, wake up,” Zhang Wuji said in a gentle voice, “Your father is not here, you don’t have to be afraid.”

“Father is not good, I am not afraid of him!” Yin Li indignantly said, “Why did he marry ‘Er Niang’, ‘San Niang’ [third madame or third mother]? Is not one wife enough for one man? Father, you have two hearts and three minds; delight in the new, discard the old. You’ve married someone yet marry another, hurting my mother really bad, hurting me really bad! You are not my Father, you are a heartless man, a greatly wicked man!”

Zhang Wuji was shocked and alarmed; his face turned blue and his lips white. Turned out he had just had a good dream; he dreamt that he married Zhao Min, and also married Zhou Zhiruo. Yin Li’s face had changed, she was beautiful; he also married her and Xiao Zhao. Whatever idea he did not dare to think during the day had manifested itself in a dream when he was sleeping. He felt that these four girls were all good, and he could not bear to part with any of them. Hence when he comforted Yin Li, his mind was still vaguely remembering the sweetness that the dream brings.

This time listening to Yin Li scolding her father, he recalled how in the past she had told him that because she could not accept her mother being cheated, she killed her father’s beloved concubine, so that his uncle, Yin Yewang wanted to kill his own daughter. This tragic incident had affected Yin Yewang greatly that to comfort his own feeling he took several more wives and concubines.

Zhang Wuji looked at Zhao Min, and could not help but look at Zhou Zhiruo as well, remembering his dream, he was deeply ashamed. He heard Yin Li mumbling in her sleep, but suddenly she implored urgently, “Wuji, please come with me, I am asking you. You’ve bitten the back of my hand really bad, but I don’t hate you the least bit. I will take care of you as long as I live, to be close to you, to regard you as my master. Don’t hate me because my face is ugly; if you want it, I’d rather lose my martial art, I’ll discard the poison from the thousand spiders, so my face will come back to when you first saw me …”

She spoke these last few sentences with a very tender and gentle voice, totally different from the strong-willed and short-tempered, eccentric cousin Zhang Wuji had always known; that gentle and tender feeling also grew in his heart. He heard her continue, “Wuji, I went everywhere looking for you, I went to the end of the earth without hearing anything about you, and then in the western region I heard you have died, falling off a cliff; made me want to stop living. In the western region I met a guy named Zeng Ahniu; his martial art skill was very high, he was also very good to me; he wanted to take me as his wife.”

Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao knew that Zhang Wuji often used the name Zeng Ahniu, they all turned their eyes to him. Zhang Wuji blushed profusely; he felt very awkward to be under these three girls attentive gaze. He really wished he could just jump into the sea and did not come back up until Yin Li regained her consciousness.

He heard Yin Li mumbled and said, “That Ahniu Gege [big brother Ahniu] said to me, ‘Miss, with all my heart I sincerely desire to marry you. I only hope you will not regard me unworthy.’ He said, ‘From now on, I will cherish you with all my might, I will look after you. No matter how many people come to make things difficult for you, no matter how many fierce people come to bully you, I don’t care if I’ll have to lose my life, I will protect you. I want you to be happy, I want you to forget your past sufferings.’ Wuji, that Ahniu Gege’s character is a lot better than yours; his martial art skill is also stronger than that Emei Pai’s Miejue Shitai. But my heart belongs to you, this heartless and short-lived little rascal, hence I cannot come with him. You have died young then I will be your widow for the rest of my life. Wuji, tell me, isn’t Ah Li good to you? You ignored me in the past, don’t you regret it now?”

At first Zhang Wuji was very embarrassed when she repeated what he said to her, but the more he listened to her, the more his heart was touched. He could not control his tears from flowing down his cheeks.

By now the thick fog had already been dissipated, the crescent moon illuminated the boat. Yin Li was leaning on her side, so that her graceful figure was clearly seen. She softly said, “Wuji, in the afterworld, aren’t you lonely? Don’t you miss me? I am going with Popo to the northern sea’s Bing Huo Island to find your Yifu, and then I am going to the Wudang Mountain to offer sacrifice on your parents’ graves. Afterwards I am going to the snowy peak in the western region where you died and I’ll jump down to accompany you. But I must wait for Popo’s a hundred years [meaning: a lifetime, till she died]; I cannot accompany you yet, leaving her to suffer in this world alone. Popo treated me very well, if she did not save me, I would have been killed by Father early on. For your Yifu’s sake I have betrayed Popo; she must hate me very much, but I still have to be good to her. Wuji, don’t you think so?”

She talked as if she was discussing something face to face with Zhang Wuji. In her heart, Zhang Wuji had become a ghost from another world. The way she spoke soft and gentle words to the dead, plus the moonlight shining on the ocean, a quiet night, lone boat were all making those who were listening feel a sudden chill creep in their hearts.

Yin Li kept rambling to the east and to the west, which did not make any sense whatsoever; sometimes she called out in alarm, sometimes shouted in anger, each word was a manifestation of inexhaustible anxiety in her heart. She called out and shouted randomly like that for a while, finally her voice softened, and slowly she fell into a deep sleep.

The other five people on the boat were silent as they were busy with their own thoughts. The only audible noise was the sound of the waves gently striking the hull of their little boat. Under the gentle wind and the bright moon, they felt that the life’s miseries from tens of thousands days ago still exist today, and will be forever.

In between thoughts, they suddenly heard a very faint gentle singing float above the water, ‘In the end, this body will be difficult to escape from that day. Out of a hundred years span of life, those who reach seventy are already sparse. Years of misery pass like torrential flood of the river.’ [Translator’s note: I am not a poet, and this passage is very difficult to translate. I welcome any correction.] It was Yin Li who softly sang the song in her sleep.

Zhang Wuji’s heart turned cold; he remembered inside the secret passage of the Brightness Peak, when their exit was completely stopped by Cheng Kun that they were unable to get out, Xiao Zhao had also sung this tune. Almost without thinking he turned to look at Xiao Zhao. Under the moonlight he saw that Xiao Zhao was looking at him with a blank expression her face.

End of Chapter 29.