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

[Han Solo]

I thank all of you for your attempts to discuss the issue of homosexuality raised through this translation - it is uncommon for the common men and women to post about this in context of wuxia stories- despite the fact that there are many homo-specific tendencies in wuxia stories in JY and GL.

If you guys want to, start a thread at the academia sub-forum, i promise you that it will be a pretty well open tolerated thread.

Han Solo

[dustbiter]

Looks like tossing a heavy hammer was a pretty popular assassination method.

[baldy]

Looks like tossing a heavy hammer was a pretty popular assassination method.

Reminds me of City Hunter

[eliza bennet]

Thank you so much Jean not only you are a good translator but also you are very funny


I wonder if these three guys will have more scenes... They seem interesting.

[gqonmars2]

First and foremost, I want to thank you Jean for your immense efforts in translating this addictive novel. I by chance came across this on a search and definitely have lost some sleep from catch up reading.


One thing which surprises me, this is one of the few novels which don’t mention the lightness kung-fu skill. I wonder if this exists, how XSL would compare in combat even with military training.

I am caught up now and looking forward to the next post.
Thank you Jean.

[little Fish]

hahahaha

sorrrry guys!! my imagination got away with me.. :-P

gqonmars2 brings up a good point.. no Qing Gong skills so far?! but this is more of a military/womanising story I guess.. actually it is the kind of noval which doesnt need to have all the fireworks going off in the back ground as the martial masters release their Inner force!

[dustbiter]

There hasn't been any qinggong or inner force stuff so far, and considering the sword duels that have occured, the approach is a realistic one. Physical and mental condition, stamina, build, weapon weight, arm strength, technique and such are the factors. I like this realistic approach, though it does remind me of some Conan the barbarian novel.

[Jean]

to continue....

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

Tan Bang sighed and revealed a sad expression, “Ever since the weakening of the Zhous, the world has been without a leader and the various states fighting amongst themselves. All the suffering commoners were praying for the appearance of the true ruler so that all these wars can be stopped. Mister Zou’s teachings of the 5 morals said, listen to the words and obey the orders. Everyone hopes that he can give some hint so that they will know who will be the master of the new era.”

A gleam flashed in Prince Xinling’s eyes, because he has long regarded himself as the savior in these difficult times, and he is working hard towards this goal.

Xiang Shaolong used to be so sure that the ruler of the new era would be Emperor Qin, but after knowing the true situation here, he was confused again.

Tan Bang lowered his voice, “From what I see, the new ruler will certainly be Prince.”

Prince Xinling coughed dryly to cover the excitement he felt and said, “That Zou Yan whom Mister Tan was referring to may be famous, but he came from Jixia* that comes out with wild theories. From what I see he’s just someone who speaks empty.”

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_the_Gate_of_Chi

Tan Bang replied with a straight face, “No, this person is very different from those madmen at Jixia. He is a defender of Confucius’s teachings and does not look highly upon the words of Mohism. If Prince has some free time, you should read his works in detail.”

Prince Xinling pretended to appear very magnanimous and replied, “Thank you for your pointers.”

Tan Bang was about to talk about Han Fei when footsteps could be heard outside the door and the soldier who was guarding outside the door came in and reported, “Lord Longyang requests for an audience!”

Prince Xinling and Xiang Shaolong were extremely surprised, they did not expect Lord Longyang would be so bold to actually come looking for them.

Those who come are without good intentions.

Prince Xinling sat proudly, having no intention of rising to greet him at all and said loudly, “If Lord Longyang has no intention to drink, than it’s best that you do not come in.” He is obviously not giving Lord Longyang any face with these words, obviously their relation is so strained that they are openly at war.

Zhu Hai’s gaze turned icy as he asked, “Does Prince wants me to guard the door for you.”

Prince Xinling shook his head with a smile.

Xiang Shaolong was secretly impressed. Prince Xinling’s expression can remain totally unchanged even if Mount Tai was collapsing in front of him, and this is precisely the secret to his success. At the same time he felt a little anticipation as well, wanting to find out exactly how ‘charming’ is this Lord Longyang whose fame amongst men has extended through history.

A gentle and melodious voice that could have belonged to either a man or a woman answered from outside the door, “Why is Prince Xinling so upset, have I offended you in any way? Then all the more Longyang has to come in and offer my apologies.”

Xiang Shaolong felt his hair stand on hearing the voice. He did not expect that just Lord Longyang’s voice is already so intolerable.

Prince Xinling chortled, “No need for apologies!” He added with a shout, “Aren’t you letting our esteemed guest in!”

The door opened.

5 men came in.

Xiang Shaolong stared at Lord Longyang who was at the head of the line, stunned for a moment.

His pretty looks is unparalleled, his skin fairer and softer than a woman, his long eyes full of life and he walked daintily, like a little grass bending from the gentle breeze. If he were to dress up as a woman, he will definitely be an unrivalled beauty.

He was at least half a head shorter than Xiang Shaolong, but his build was proportionate, his arms and limbs slender.

The warrior outfit he wore was exquisite, with a dark green as the base embroidered with pretty silk flowers, very eye catching.

The hat he wore was even better, made in the shape of a romantic and exaggerated tiger’s face, and behind the hat there’s even a tiger’s tail.

Although Xiang Shaolong has no interest in men, he has to admit that Lord Longyang is indeed very ‘pretty’.

If not for the long sword he hung on his waist, Xiang Shaolong will never remember that Prince Xinling once told him that he is one of Wei’s 3 greatest swordsmen.

You will never be on your guard against such a dainty and weak looking man.

If one were to only compare beauty, Lian Jin would not be able to catch up with him even if he’s on a horse.

As for the other four, with one look it’s obvious that they are top swordsmen, especially the short and stout man behind Lord Longyang on the right. His eyes were gleaming and he has an aura of death. He looks like one who loves a fight, and others will not dare to belittle him.

Lord Longyang walked daintily to the table and sat down gently. He threw a flirtatious look at Prince Xinling first before his glittering eyes traveled past the others seated around the table, landing at last on Xiang Shaolong’s face. He stared at him for a moment before ‘giggling’, “Commander Xiang, I’ve missed you so badly!”

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

[tweety365]

He stared at him for a moment before ‘giggling’, “Commander Xiang, I’ve missed you so badly!”

Uh, am I having a memory lapse? When did Lord LY meet XSL?

Jean, I can't stand it when you tease like this! Darn, have to wait until tomorrow. I'm really hoping LY is not despicable. I'm quite intrigued by his descriptions.

[disrupt]

Uh, am I having a memory lapse? When did Lord LY meet XSL?

Jean, I can't stand it when you tease like this! Darn, have to wait until tomorrow. I'm really hoping LY is not despicable. I'm quite intrigued by his descriptions.

Could he be the mysterious masked assassin type XSL fought off?

[dustbiter]

Jean's translation is fine here, I would use "Commander Xiang, I've been longing to see you." A more direct translation would be something like "I've been thinking of you so much it hurts."

[Jean]

dustbiter is right, they have not met. Lord Longyang has just been thinking of XSL a lot.

And a point to note, which is difficult to translate here, Lord Longyang also refers himself as a female. He uses the term 'Nu jia' when referring to himself, which is usually what a woman would refer herself as. But for simplicity's sake, I just used the word 'I' in here.

Anyway, to continue.... end of chapter!

************************************************** ****
Xiang Shaolong felt himself go numb from his stare and thought to himself that this person is so coquettish that he must have long disregarded himself as a man. The thought grossed him out so much that for a moment he does not know how to handle him and can only smile stiffly, “I do not have any capabilities at all, so how could I have caused Lord Longyang to miss me so much?”

Prince Xinling personally filled Lord Longyang’s winecup and said with a smile, “I’d like to hear about it as well.”

Lord Longyang ‘smiled daintily’ and replied, “Commander Xiang was able to kill Lian Jin, a good fighter from Wei, and execute the horrible horse thief Hui Hu, obviously you really have the talent, so how can I not like you?”

Zhu Hai and the rest were furrowing their brows as they heard the conversation but there’s nothing they can do to him.

Xiang Shaolong was secretly startled, this person was ‘smiling coquettishly’, and the eyes looking at him were ‘full of feelings’, not a trace of hatred towards him was revealed. This ‘smiling with a dagger hidden’ is enough to make one’s heart run cold.

Prince Xinling chortled, “Come! Let us drink a toast to Lord Longyang’s affection.” He swept his eyes across and his stern look landed on the 4 swordsmen standing behind Lord Longyang and cried out, “Offer the wine!”

Naturally there will be someone who will offer wine to those 4.

Everyone there had their own secret intentions, but all drank the toast.

Except for Lord Longyang who did not move. He waited until everyone has drunk the wine before pouring it on the ground next to him, saying shyly, “Let’s offer this wine to the Earth Deity, to celebrate the number one swordsman from Zhao stepping on our Great Wei’s soil.”

Even with Prince Xinling’s control, his composure changed slightly as he uttered coldly, “I’ve specially arranged a lot of programs for Shaolong today, if Lord Longyang has no other matters, please forgive us as we will be leaving immediately.”

Xiang Shaolong was secretly cheering. In truth he was starting to get irritated with Lord Longyang effeminate way of talking.

At the same time he was thinking to himself, if this Lord’s swordplay is as effeminate and willowy as him, it will be quite difficult to deal with. If during the duel he’s as irritated as he’s feeling now which makes him rash and anxious, he might lose because of it.

Lord Longyang laughed, his ‘pretty eyes’ looking at Xiang Shaolong joyously as he said effeminately, “I came here today is to see how heroic and brave Commander Xiang is. It’s such a small request, I’m sure Master Wuji will not reject me!”

Prince Xinling and Xiang Shaolong exchanged looks, extremely annoyed but they really found it difficult to reject.

A gleam came over Xiang Shaolong’s eyes, and looking at this man famed for his beauty, he laughed and asked, “I wonder if Lord Longyang is going to test me personally or will you let your men do it?”

Prince Xinling interrupted, “Weapons do not have eyes. If Lord Longyang is fighting personally, then forgive me for not agreeing to this.”

Lord Longyang ‘giggled’, “Since Master is so protective of me, I will let Sha Xuan take on Commander Xiang!”

Prince Xinling and the rest revealed a look of alarm and they looked towards the short and stout man whom Xiang Shaolong was scrutinizing earlier. This made Xiang Shaolong affirm his guess that this person must be a ferocious fighter who has won many duels.

That Sha Xuan took a step forward and said loudly, “Sha Xuan is willing to take some pointers from Commander Xiang’s excellent swordplay!”

Xiang Shaolong knows that this duel is unavoidable, besides this also involves the reputation of Zhao. So he respectfully sought Prince Xinling’s permission, asking, “Will Prince allow Shaolong to accept the duel!”

Prince Xinling was very confident about him, and at the same time he wanted to see for himself his swordplay as well, so he replied with a smile, “Sha Xuan is our Majesty’s skilled fighter, Shaolong must be careful.” He continued loudly, “This is purely an exchange of pointers, so I hope both of you will control your attacks.” He then shouted, “Men! Clear a space for a duel in the hall here!”

He had just spoken his words when the sounds of tables and chairs being moved could be heard outside the room.

Lord Longyang smiled and stood up gently.

Xiang Shaolong was stunned as well, no wonder the King of Wei is so besotted with this person. All his movements are fluid, beautiful, his expressions alluring. Once you are with him for some time, it’s difficult not to treat him as a woman.

Lord Longyang bowed slightly towards Xiang Shaolong and laughed daintily, “I will wait outside for Commander Xiang.”

And he walked out of the room with his men, his hips swaying.

Prince Xinling looked at his disappearing back view, his eyes shone and he lowered his voice and said icily, “Kill Sha Xuan for me!”

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

[tweety365]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...
Another fight scene!

Well, I can say one thing, if Lord LY was born in the 21st century, he'd most like have a sex change operation. I feel that he really wants to be a woman. Such skill at hiding his hatred for XSL! So many people plotting! I'm loving this.

Jean, thanks for the teaser.

[gqonmars2]

I think when I watch the series

click to show/hide spoilers

the female male is a good guy who help XSL a lot

but as we all know, the book is very different from the series.

[KChill]

That's one of the things I like most about this novel, there are a lot of dueling scenes and battle scenes. You definitely get more action per chapter than with a lot of other books.

[tweety365]

I think when I watch the series

click to show/hide spoilers

the female male is a good guy who help XSL a lot

but as we all know, the book is very different from the series.

click to show/hide spoilers

Oh, so the actress that played the role of a man was supposed to be Lord LY? She/he was not evil at all. Right away, she/he liked XSL and definitely helped him a lot. There was zero indication that the character was homosexual and was the love interest of the King of Wei. Wow, talk about a bad adaptation. Tsk tsk...

Can't wait for tonight for the update. Jean, please make it a little longer. I'd died of anticipation if you leave us hanging...

[kool]

Now it's getting interesting. Next chapter, my favorite character will finally appear or shall I say one of my favorite female character in all of the wuxia novels I've ever read.

[Jean]

to continue....


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

Book 3 Chap 11 – Little House by the Lake

After the tables and things were moved to the corners, there was a large empty space.

All the guests were asked to leave the upper level, leaving only men from both sides.

Sha Xuan and Xiang Shaolong stood facing each other in the middle of the hall. The sunlight streamed in from a large window at the side, illuminating the ground near the window in a golden glow.

Lord Longyang was very confident in his man, and was looking at Xiang Shaolong with a coquettish smile. However his subordinates were looking at Xiang Shaolong as if they did not think highly of him.

Sha Xuan’s swordplay is very famous in Daliang, and he is the leader of the 8 senior imperial guards belonging to King An Li, one of the most feared characters in Daliang.

Prince Xinling may look calm and composed on the surface, but he is secretly feeling nervous. If Xiang Shaolong were to unfortunately perish in the duel, then his plan to assassinate King An Li would have gone down the drain. But if he can kill the other party, there will be one less obstacle when assassinating the King of Wei.

“Clang!”

Sha Xuan removed his sword from the scabbard, and for a moment a cold ray was emitted. He seemed to have changed into another person, holding on to his sword heroically and retreated 3 steps. His retreat reverberated through the wooden floor, the sound of his steps loud.

Although he retreated, his impressive aura was increasing instead of decreasing and the spectators at the side all felt stifled and was shocked.

Xiang Shaolong could feel his opponent’s fierce and vicious aura, so he recollected his thoughts and entered into Mozi Swordplay’s world of quiet defense, and did not look into his opponent’s sharp and piercing eyes.

Men on both sides saw that Xiang Shaolong was unmoving despite being oppressed by his opponent’s fierce aura. He stood straight, his composure calm, and they were all surprised. They did not know that it is the essence of Mozi swordplay to counter movement with calmness.

Sha Xuan felt displeased, because in the past when he defeated his enemies, he relied on his special fierce aura to make his opponent frightened before attacking swiftly and strongly so that his opponent will shed blood within 5 steps. However, he did not expect that this person in front of him is not at all affected by his aura and this made him lose his bearings instead. But by now there’s no room for retreat, so he roared and attacked with his sword.

Lord Longyang and the men immediately cheered to boost his morale.

This sword attack was as swift as lightning, aiming straight towards Xiang Shaolong’s forehead, filled with a strong force that cannot be retracted.

Xiang Shaolong’s Flying Rainbow is still in his scabbard, as if he has no intention of retaliating at all. It was only until the sword was almost upon his head and Prince Xinling and the rest were beginning to worry for him that his body moved suddenly and diagonally across and came in front of the large window which sunlight streamed in. He was still looking at his opponent coolly, his eyes filled with unparalleled and strong determination.

He came from a background of strict and elite military training, and is adept at using the environment to bring out the best in his fighting ability. Since he accepted the challenge, he is determined to get rid of his opponent in the shortest time possible, firstly to curb some of Lord Longyang’s air, and secondly to make Prince Xinling think even more highly of himself.

He is extremely experience in combat and very good at eyeing others out. With a look at Sha Xuan’s stance, he knows that this person has very strong arms and specializes in vicious and dangerous attacks. That’s why he avoided his sword attack to throw the opponent off guard.

Sha Xuan roared angrily, and followed his sword again to make another attack.

Xiang Shaolong laughed long and loud, Flying Rainbow came out of the scabbard like lightning and he held the treasured sword diagonally away from his body at a 45-degree angle on the side. It immediately captured the afternoon sunlight that was glaring in from the window and reflected the ray of sunlight into Sha Xuan’s round and fearsome eyes.

Never in his dreams did Sha Xuan imagine that there would be a kind of swordplay against an opponent, which makes use of sunlight in a room. He felt a strong glare in front of him and for a moment he could not see anything at all.

How can Xiang Shaolong let such a rare opportunity go so he avoided his opponent’s sword and his sword slashed diagonally, like the wind. For a moment, blood poured and a scream was heard. The fresh blood pouring from the side of Sha Xuan’s neck gradually ebbed as he fell to the ground.

His sword had sliced his opponent’s throat, and everyone knows that there’s no way Sha Xuan will survive.

Men on both sides could feel cold sweat coming out from their pores as they witnessed the scene. Who would have imagined that with Sha Xuan’s swordplay, he could not even fend against his opponent’s one stroke.

Xiang Shaolong returned his sword into the scabbard and smiled calmly at Lord Longyang, “Brother Sha’s swordplay is too good, I would have liked to hold my attacks back but was unable to, please forgive me.”

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

[wandering]

that was a very fast fight
heehehe

[tweety365]

Now it's getting interesting. Next chapter, my favorite character will finally appear or shall I say one of my favorite female character in all of the wuxia novels I've ever read.

Now you got me intrigued. I'll have to wait and see if your favorite female character is comparable to my favorite female character.

Jean, that was a short fight, but very exciting. Me likes! Thanks for not leaving us hanging.