Page 2 of 321 FirstFirst 12345678910111252102 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 6420

Thread: A step into the past - 寻秦记 - by Huang Yi

  1. #21
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    Jean, I haven't read the chapters yet, but just had to put in my comment first!

    When I saw this thread and noticed your name, I was like OMG!!! *screams* I've been slugging around feeling kinda down now that there is no more translation of LS to look forward to, but seeing this thread definitely made my day .

    I had also watched Louis in A Step Into The Past, but only liked certain parts. I heard that a lot of changes were made to the adaptation. After the series, I felt it wasn't up to my expectation and was quite disappointed.

    Hoping the actual novel is a lot better. I have a feeling it is and will be tracking this tread for updates. Thank you for taking up this huge project!

  2. #22
    Senior Member Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    1,367

    Default

    Ya... maybe I'll put the raunchy scenes in the spoiler function This was quite unexpected... what I know about Huang Yi is also from the TV adaptations. Most people read Gu Long and Jin Yong.

    hey tweety we meet again! There's a lot other translations going on at the same time, you can go read the others as well. I forsee this will take a looong time.

    anyway, luckily the chapters seem quite short, so on to chapter 2!

    ************************************************** **

    Book 1 Chapter 2 – Ancient Beauty

    Xiang Shaolong woke up suddenly, his whole body in intense pain. He suddenly realized he’s now falling from a great height.

    “Crash!” Tiles flew all over and he felt himself crashing through a roof right into a house, and landed on a man. Groans and the sound of bones cracking can be heard.

    It was followed by a female’s scream and in his daze he seem to see the back of a naked woman running out, then he passed out.

    Without knowing how many days have passed, in between bouts of consciousness, he seems to feel a woman taking care of him meticulously. Helping to clean his body and change his clothes, treating his wounds, feeding him goat’s milk. Finally on a certain night, he woke up. The scene that appeared before his eyes made him draw in a gasp of cold air.

    Heavens! Where is this place?

    He was lying on a soft and thick carpet, an oil lamp hanging on the wall. The dim light shone weakly in this crude house about 10 square meters large with mud and hay as walls and tiles as woof. On one side of the wall, rain coats and hats made from straw hung on it, and at the corner of the house there’s a fire pit with no fire. At its side there were cauldrons, stove, plates, bowls etc, primitive cooking equipment that can only be seen in museums. There were a few chests of different sizes on the other end, and there was a copper mirror on one of the chests.

    Xiang Shaolong felt a chill in his heart.

    That crazy director said he will only be here for 10 seconds, so why is he still in this nightmarish place. Could he really have gone back to Emperor Qin’s hometown.

    Footsteps were heard.

    Xiang Shaolong stared at the wooden door, his heart beating quickly, praying that this is only part of the experiment, a prank set up by Crazy Ma to trick him into believing that he’s really gone back to the past in that accursed furnace.

    The wooden door was pushed open.

    A beautiful lady wearing ancient hemp garment who could only possibly appear in movies appeared. She has a red scarf on her head, her long hair parted in the center, swept to the sides, tucked behind her ear and plaited into two braids. She carried a bottle, and on her feet she wore straw sandals and walked in.

    She looked pretty, her figure nice and slim, and when her lively eyes saw Xiang Shaolong staring at her in shock, she was so startled she almost dropped the bottle. She hurriedly put it down, knelt down in front of him, her slender hands touching his forehead. She said some words very quickly in her melodious voice, her face full of joy.

    Xiang Shaolong thought to himself, “It’s the end.” and fainted again.

    The sunlight irritated his eyes, waking him up. The house was quiet without anyone else.

    He’s in a better shape than the last time. Besides he’s always been optimistic, so he stopped trying to think and tried to get up. He came out from beneath the blanket and realized he is now dressed in a weird looking ancient clothing that is at least two sizes too small. His collar crisscrossed around his front from the back of his neck and dropped straight to the ground. At the bottom he was wearing an apron like leather shorts, and looked absolutely ugly.

    Xiang Shaolong suppressed the urge to hide beneath the blankets again and looked ahead. He saw that the roof was recently mended and remembered that when he dropped down from the sky, he landed on a man.

    Is that person dead or alive? If he has hurt someone, why is that pretty ancient young woman treating him so nicely!

    With all these questions puzzling him, he stood up.

    He felt a wave of dizziness, and after a moment he found himself leaning in front of the window, his hands grabbing the sill, supporting his body. The sunlight shone on his face, making him feel a little better.

    What really happened? Has something gone wrong with that accursed experiment? Why isn’t he back yet? Will he be forever unable to return? Wouldn’t his family and friends be really worried? And there’s no way he can have his great revenge in bed with Zheng Cuizhi now.

    Xiang Shaolong is so miserable that he could cry.

    The weather is so hot, if only he can have a can of soft drink.

    He looked out and saw the lush green grass, abnormally blue sky and clouds that looked even whiter and cleaner than cotton.

    Xiang Shaolong’s heart lurched, and knew that he has really gone back to the past. Why else would there be such an unpolluted sky.

    The skin on his limbs has scars from the burn and luckily his is healthy and his skin is now renewing the cells, so it’s not too serious.

    After wallowing in self-pity for a moment, Xiang Shaolong felt his energy rapidly returning and his curiosity rising.

    What is the world like outside? Can he really find the tyrannous Emperor Qin as depicted in the movies?

    He pushed the door open and walked out. It turned out he is in a quiet little valley, a stream flowing down the back of the house out of the valley. On the right of the stream he seem to hear a girl’s singing. On the left is a mulberry forest, a place to cultivate silkworms.

    Once he thought of the ancient beauty, Xiang Shaolong’s mood lifted and he walked towards the sound of the singing.

    The girl was dressed in white, her skirt pulled up and tucked into the waist, revealing the thin chemise under the skirt and a pair of round and slender legs. She was squatting at the side of the stream washing clothes and cutlery, her expression languid and humming an unknown folksong.

    Xiang Shaolong saw her revealing herself, and she’s quite pretty as well and desire filled him so he walked over. However he was still unsteady on his feet and stepped on a loose rock. He exclaimed in alarm and fell into the stream.

    That beauty was startled and jumped into the water to help him.

    Xiang Shaolong stood up in the chest deep stream and the girl happened to reach him and grabbed his hands to place it on her shoulder.

    Xiang Shaolong was roused and took advantage of the situation to lean onto her fragrant body.

    The lady spoke to him in shock and concernwith a string of words.

    This time Xiang Shaolong’s brains is more alert and after some concentration he understood most of what she said. It sounded like a difficult dialect used around Hebei or Shanxi region. He vaguely figured out that she was reprimanding him for running around before he has fully recovered, and was so full of gratitude that he blurted out, “Thank you Miss!”

    That lady was stunned for a moment. She stared at him and asked, “Where did you come from?”

    This sentence may be difficult to understand, but Xiang Shaolong finally guessed the meaning and was immediately dumbfounded. What can he say? Tell her that he came from the 21st century in a time machine?

    ************************************************** **************
    Last edited by Jean; 10-01-07 at 09:22 PM.

  3. #23
    Senior Member Shi-Potian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    364

    Default

    Amazing Loving This Story It's Nothing Like The Series So Far And Shaolong Is Quite The Lecher Lol Thanks For The Hard Work Highly Appreciated!!!

  4. #24
    Senior Member overjoy71's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Melbourne, AU
    Posts
    304

    Default

    Jean is back!!! YEAH!! Thanks Jean. I have no idea where you find your energy from but I love it! Really do appreciate you translating these great novels!

  5. #25
    Senior Member efflix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    291

    Default

    "Xiang Shaolong’s heart lurched, and knew that he has really gone back to the past. Why else would there be such an unpolluted sky."

    lol.... this is a sad testament to the times we live in. although i would expect that there's clean skies in rural china! at least when i went to parts of hebei (i.e. outside beijing) the skies seemed fairly clean, so i'm surprised huang yi made this comparison.

  6. #26
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    jean yes, we meet again . i know there are other translations going on, but i've been following you for so long, i've grown attached to your updates. plus, your posting rate is quite consistent.

    what i've read so far...
    huang yi is very naughty . i keep imagining louis in the role and it doesn't seem right. gosh, tvb really did tame the scenes down. i'm hoping no r rated scenes.

  7. #27
    Senior Member Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    1,367

    Default

    tweety: I have no idea if there's gonna be r-rated scenes. I'm translating just as I'm reading it for the 1st time as well. But I did try to tone down some of his descriptions, without making it sound like some scenes from those romantic novels

    to continue, the end of chapter 2.... and WARNING! Rated scenes in spoilers!

    **************************************************

    The two of them were still standing in the water, totally drenched. It doesn’t matter to Xiang Shaolong but that beauty’s clothes were thin and after being wet it showed off her curves, and she’s no different from being naked.

    The lady saw Xiang Shaolong’s hot eyes staring at her chest. She blushed and immediately forgot her question, and hurriedly helped him to shore.

    Xiang Shaolong can’t help but take the opportunity to lightly knock into her breasts and the lady’s face blushed even redder, but she did not object or reprimand him.

    Xiang Shaolong was ecstatic. It seems that the beauties of this era is even more open than those in the 21st century. All those talk about not taking 3 steps beyond the house or having to marry the man once he sees her body were all far fetched, or it’s those hateful Confusionist lecturing about morals during later years.

    So it seems that, even if he does not return to the 21st century for the time being, life would not be too boring.

    Xiang Shaolong changed out of his wet clothes and sat opposite to the beauty, eating the rice she cooked, with vegetables, mutton and braised meat marinated with five spices.

    Maybe because he’s hungry, but Xiang Shaolong enjoyed the meal, all the food tasted especially delicious, even better than peking duck or hamburgers.

    The beauty ate and looked at him with interest at the same time.

    Xiang Shaolong was thinking to himself that this is such a secluded place, and not a village or even another house could be seen, and yet she seems to be living a fulfilling life. Could it be that the past is really better than the present?

    The beauty said something softly.

    Xiang Shaolong asked in surprise, “What?”

    The beauty repeated her words and this time he understood. She was saying that he’s very tall, and she has never seen someone so tall.

    He was secretly laughing that people of this era must all be short, and asked her, “What is your name?”

    The beauty shook her head to indicate she could not understand his question and encouraged him to repeat 3 more times before she replied, “The people of Mulberry Forest Village all call me Mei Canniang. (Pretty Silkworm Lady)”

    This time it is Xiang Shaolong’s turn to not understand. By the time he clarified it, the two of them were laughing happily. So Xiang Shaolong told her his name as well. The conversation flowed with such tries, failures and continuous work, neither party wanting it to end. When Xiang Shaolong is 80% confident of understanding her dialect, he asked her about what happened the day he fell in through the roof.

    Mei Canniang blushed slightly and said, “The man you crushed to death the other day is a bandit from a neighboring village called Jiao Du. He followed me home all the way from the market and was going to rape me. Luckily young master fell down from the sky and crushed him to death. I’ve buried him in the mulberry forest.” She paused for a moment, her face reddened to the ears and she lowered her head and said shyly, “I was married to two brothers, but they were forcefully conscripted into the army by bad people and were killed in Chang Ping.”

    The battle of Chang Ping, isn’t it one of the famed battles between Qin and Zhao, where the army of Qin killed all 400,000 of the Zhao’s army. Xiang Shaolong hurriedly asked, “How long ago did this happen?”

    Mei Canniang replied, “It happened 9 years ago.”

    The battle of Chang Ping happened in 260BC, then isn’t it 251BC now. Crazy Director Ma wanted to send him back to 246BC which is the year Emperor Qin ascended the throne, and although he’s off by 5 years, but considering the facts he’s still quite accurate.

    He asked, “What is this place?”

    Mei Canniang replied, “Didn’t I tell you, it’s Mulberry Village!”

    Xiang Shaolong asked, “Is this part of the kingdom of Zhao?”

    Mei Canniang shook her head, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about? I only know what happens in Mulberry Village, the news of my husbands death were told to me by the people in the market.”

    Xiang Shaolong exclaimed in surprise, “You really married two husbands at the same time?”

    Mei Canniang replied, “Of course it’s true!”

    Xiang Shaolong sighed quietly to himself. Although he has read a few books about the Warring States, but he’s not familiar with the customs during this period at all, so he put aside this question and continued, “Did you not bear any children for them?”

    Mei Canniang replied quietly, “After the two fathers of the children left, life was extremely difficult and the children all died of sickness. Later I learned to keep silkworms and life finally settled.”

    Xiang Shaolong felt pity for her, this beauty has suffered much.

    Mei Canniang said quietly, “I have been praying to Heaven everyday, praying to her to bestow me a husband. Just when I was at my saddest, Heaven opened her eyes and dropped you for me. I am so ecstatic, from now on you will be Canniang’s husband.”

    Xiang Shaolong was absolutely dumbfounded. But it’s not too bad as well, he need not put in so much effort to explain where he came from.

    Hai! It seems that he’ll have to depend on her to support him. Suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, and thought that in 251BC, Emperor Qin is still destitute in Handan, the capital of Zhao. If he can find and befriend him, when he becomes the emperor in future, then won’t his fortunes rise as well, and can have anything he want, including beauties? Once he thought of this, his heart itched and he asked, “Do you know the way to Handan?”

    Mei Canniang shook her head at a loss, then her face turned pale and she chewed her lower lips and stammered, “Are you thinking of leaving this place?”

    Xiang Shaolong climbed over, stuck himself to her fragrant back, his hands reaching forward to hold her little tummy and said gently, “Don’t be afraid! No matter where I go, I’ll bring you with me.”

    Mei Canniang’s body softened at his touch and she exclaimed happily, “Really!”

    Xiang Shaolong nibbled her ear lobes and replied, “Of course!”

    Mei Canniang’s two husbands were all coarse and unrefined men, so she has never encountered such flirtatious teasing, her slender body shook and she said, “I’m going to the market tomorrow, I’ll ask someone then! Someone will surely know where Handan is.”

    Xiang Shaolong put his huge hand into her clothes and kneaded her voluptuous bosom, asking “That bandit Jiao Du, did he… heh… what you?”

    Mei Canniang panted, “He just took off my clothes, and have not… Ai!” Her lips have been locked.

    click to show/hide spoilers
    Xiang Shaolong has never seen such a gentle and accommodating beauty, so he hurriedly showed her his best moves. The whole room was heated up and moans and pants joined together to form an orchestra. Mei Canniang, who has been alone for so many years, finally tasted for the first time the joy of being an equal with men in the act of copulation.


    Xiang Shaolong felt an itch in his nose and sneezed. He woke up and saw that it was Mei Canniang teasing him with a mulberry leaf.

    The sun has not risen.

    click to show/hide spoilers
    He hugged Mei Canniang and pressed her down, using his body to put pressure on her sensitive areas, and even pushed her buttocks up with his hand so that she cannot avoid him while he greedily kissed her wet lips. Mei Canniang was totally caught unawares and almost lost her senses from the teasing. She kept crying out, and who knows if she was expressing her joy or objection.

    Xiang Shaolong flipped her skirt over, revealing her round yet firm thighs, and was about to proceed when Mei Canniang moaned with a flush, “Shaolong! We have to go to the market immediately!”

    Xiang Shaolong came to his senses immediately and stopped his assault. He warned her, “Do you still dare to be mischievous?”

    Mei Canniang covered her mouth and laughed, “Yes! But not now, if we don’t go to the market now we won’t even have food for today.”

    Xiang Shaolong was aroused by her heated body and hesitated, “It won’t take too much time to do it just once, right?

    Mei Canniang suddenly hugged him and said gently, “My good man! Besides eating some food after lunch yesterday, you have been doing it to me until I fell asleep. You’re even more capable then my two husbands added together and now you want to continue. Are you trying to kill me! Get up quickly!”

    Xiang Shaolong thought of her hunger and charm last night and felt desire again, but once he thought of looking for Emperor Qin, he can only suppress his lust and climbed out.


    Mei Canniang took out a set of clothes and said, “I made this for you when you were unconscious, you’ll certainly look very good wearing it.”

    With her help, Xiang Shaolong wore it and it fitted him perfectly. It may be made of coarse material and hemp but Mei Canniang’s eyes shone on seeing it and complimented him, “Mei Canniang has never seen any man as handsome as you in the world.” And used a cloth to tie his growing hair before going on their way after washing up.

    Xiang Shaolong carried a whole bag of silk, with a hatchet around his waist, straw shoes on his feet and followed Mei Canniang out of the valley, towards the ancient civilization 2000 years ago.

    ************************************************** ****
    Last edited by Jean; 10-07-07 at 08:48 PM.

  8. #28
    Senior Member CC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    5,497

    Default

    Haha! This makes Gu Long rather tame and indirect by comparison.

    Jean, surprised you took up another huge project so soon after LS. And that you are still updating at a regular pace!
    Its BIxie Jianfa Gawdammit you guys!!!!

  9. #29
    Senior Member overjoy71's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Melbourne, AU
    Posts
    304

    Default

    haha.. Man, Jean you are so wise in translating. I can't even start to think about how you manage to translate those in the spoiler function... hahaa...

  10. #30
    Senior Member Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    1,367

    Default

    CC: oh well, I started to feel bored.....


    Quote Originally Posted by overjoy71 View Post
    haha.. Man, Jean you are so wise in translating. I can't even start to think about how you manage to translate those in the spoiler function... hahaa...
    Trust me, he was a LOT more descriptive. for example:

    click to show/hide spoilers
    the original literal translation of the word 'proceed' in this sentence "Xiang Shaolong flipped her skirt over, revealing her round yet firm thighs, and was about to proceed..." is actually 'sliding the sword into the sheath'. I shall leave the rest to your imagination.

  11. #31
    Senior Member Shi-Potian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    364

    Default

    Love This Novel So Entertaining And Great I Guess The Series Just Glossed Right Over Most Of This With Wu DaXiaoJie Calling Him An Inzai And Just Forgoed The Rest

  12. #32
    Moderator kidd's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Somewhere Out There
    Posts
    13,111

    Default

    Wow Jean. You actually attempt to translate a 300 chapters novel? My full respect to you.
    什麼是朋友?朋友永遠是在你犯下不可原諒錯誤的時候,仍舊站在你那邊的笨蛋。~ 王亞瑟

    和諧唔係一百個人講同一番話,係一百個人有一百句唔同嘅說話,而又互相尊重 ~ - 葉梓恩

  13. #33
    Moderator Ren Wo Xing's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Currently DC
    Posts
    6,660

    Default

    This is very...graphic...for wuxia. Huang Shengyi's reputation is well-earned! I wonder how they can make adaptations out of these things faithfully! On the other hand, it'd be perfect for HK 'category 3' films.
    Read the latest chapters of Coiling Dragon at Wuxia World!

  14. #34
    Senior Member tweety365's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    3,478

    Default

    omg, and here i thought gu long was bad. boy, was i left in the dark.

    i didn't think wuxia can involve such raunchy stuffs. suffice to say i can no longer imagine louis as XSL. the tv version, louis played such a righteous hero. and here, it's merely ch 2 and XSL is already steaming up the story... tsk tsk.
    Last edited by tweety365; 10-03-07 at 02:27 AM.

  15. #35
    Senior Member sehseh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    2,562

    Default

    If it's not for Kidd, I wouldn't have known someone is translating Huang Yi's work. Kudos

    Yeah, Huang Yi's work are raunchy, especially his earlier works.

  16. #36
    Senior Member Jean's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    1,367

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post
    i didn't think wuxia can involve such raunchy stuffs. suffice to say i can no longer imagine louis as XSL. the tv version, louis played such a righteous hero. and here, it's merely ch 2 and XSL is already steaming up the story... tsk tsk.
    I know! My expectations were a little dashed when I read how lecherous XSL is. Gah, TVB made him into such a righteous hero.

    kidd, you can respect me after I'm done with the book. It's only chapter 2, who knows how long my engine will last.

    Ren Wo Xing, I actually have to pause and think of what to write whenever XSL got into one of his acts. He's really not like a typical hero. So far he's lecherous, a show-off, and hankers after fame and riches. Wonder if he'll improve as the time goes by.

  17. #37
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    5,569

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jean View Post
    I know! My expectations were a little dashed when I read how lecherous XSL is. Gah, TVB made him into such a righteous hero.

    kidd, you can respect me after I'm done with the book. It's only chapter 2, who knows how long my engine will last.

    Ren Wo Xing, I actually have to pause and think of what to write whenever XSL got into one of his acts. He's really not like a typical hero. So far he's lecherous, a show-off, and hankers after fame and riches. Wonder if he'll improve as the time goes by.
    You get our thanks and respect for trying to translate!

    Han Solo
    Wuxiapedia

    Quote Originally Posted by bliss
    I think they're probably at the same level as or one level below Ah Qing, which is about the level of a 2nd or 3rd generation Quan Zhen disciple.
    Troll Control

  18. #38
    Senior Member efflix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    291

    Default

    haha i'm kind of liking the fact that he's not a typical hero though, right now it's been rather amusing to read, kind of like Wei XiaoBao in DOMD (JY's), except he seems cooler right now =).

  19. #39
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    213

    Talking naughty, naughty

    Quote Originally Posted by Jean View Post
    Ren Wo Xing, I actually have to pause and think of what to write whenever XSL got into one of his acts.
    Well, don't think too much about it and leave the "sword" as it is :-) I think it fits quite well since Huang yi uses the prose form of old days. Ok, the only one I really know that comes to mind is JinPingMei (Gold Plum Vase). But, I guess, you know what I mean.

    Since you put them into the Spoiler fuction anyway I can't get too naughty *g*

    But I really love your translation! and every day an update! Wow! I'm very impressed!

  20. #40
    Moderator Ren Wo Xing's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Currently DC
    Posts
    6,660

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jean View Post
    I know! My expectations were a little dashed when I read how lecherous XSL is. Gah, TVB made him into such a righteous hero.

    kidd, you can respect me after I'm done with the book. It's only chapter 2, who knows how long my engine will last.

    Ren Wo Xing, I actually have to pause and think of what to write whenever XSL got into one of his acts. He's really not like a typical hero. So far he's lecherous, a show-off, and hankers after fame and riches. Wonder if he'll improve as the time goes by.
    Haha. Mostly lecherous, I think. I mean, out of all the reasons one would go and serve the Qin emperor...fame, glory, power, money. He just wants to sleep with more hot women

    I seriously foresee you translating, translating, translating...then finally going, "F*** this, I'm not translating anymore. I hate this guy."
    Read the latest chapters of Coiling Dragon at Wuxia World!

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 318
    Last Post: 11-12-15, 05:26 PM
  2. a step into the past question
    By King_Kong_1981 in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 09-26-13, 03:27 PM
  3. A Step Into The Past 《尋秦記》
    By i|uaNZ in forum TVB Series
    Replies: 128
    Last Post: 10-04-08, 03:20 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •