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Thread: Yitian Sword, Tulong Saber Book 4

  1. #261
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 34 - Part 1

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

    Chapter 34 – The Bride Tore the Red Dress Barehanded
    (Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)

    Zhang Wuji, Zhou Zhiruo and Han Lin’er three people went south along the main road, riding the steeds given to them by the rich men of the Beggar Clan. Han Lin’er was very respectful toward his Cult Leader, he did not dare to ride abreast, but followed some distance behind. Along the way he would serve tea and attend to Zhang and Zhou’s needs, acting as their servant. Zhang Wuji felt uncomfortable and said, “Han Dage, although within the Cult you are my subordinate brother, I do respect your character. In business matters you listen to my command, but in day-to-day relationship, we are of the same generation, just like brothers or friends.”

    With a terrified look on his face Han Lin’er replied, “Subordinate holds Jiaozhu in the highest regard, how can I be worthy to be considered of the same generation with you? In normal time I am not fortunate enough to be close to Jiaozhu; today I can provide my insignificant service to Jiaozhu with all my heart and that is subordinate’s lifelong good fortune.”

    Zhou Zhiruo smiled and said, “I am not your Jiaozhu, you don’t have to be this respectful to me.”

    Han Lin’er replied, “Miss Zhou is like a deity. Xiao Ren [little/lowly person – referring to self] can speak with you, it is already the good karma of my previous life. I am asking Miss’ forgiveness for my uncouth behavior.”

    Zhou Zhiruo could hear the sincerity in his voice, while his eyes showed utmost respect as if she were really a deity. She knew she was beautiful, enough to shake any man’s heart and make them beat faster; but she had never met somebody like Han Lin’er, who admire her almost to the point of worshipping her. It made her young heart extremely happy.

    Zhang Wuji asked her how they were captured by the Beggar Clan. Zhou Zhiruo told him that not long after he left the inn that day, suddenly Xie Xun started shivering and became delirious. She was so scared and did all she could to comfort him, but apparently Xie Xun did not recognize her. He jumped madly around the room for a while before he collapsed to the ground and fainted. Right at that moment six, seven masters from the Beggar Clan broke into the room. She did not have enough time to pull her sword, and in the end the two of them were brought to Lulong.

    When he was little, Zhang Wuji had heard that because of the main artery injury when training the ‘Qi Shang Quan’ [Seven-injury Fist], combined with the fact that his entire family was decimated by Cheng Kun, his Yifu would occasionally fall into mental confusion. However, Zhang Wuji had never expected that his Yifu’s illness would breakout suddenly in such an unfortunate time that he was unable to resist the Beggar Clan’s attack. Thinking of this, he could not restrain himself from sighing.

    The two of them mulled over Xie Xun’s whereabouts, but neither of them had any clue. Zhang Wuji said, “The Capital is the meeting place of all kinds of people, it is in our way going south. Let us stop by Dadu [lit. grand capital, modern day Beijing] to find some information. I think the Green-winged Bat King Wei Xiong [brother Wei] might holds some clues in his hands.”

    Zhou Zhiruo pursed her lips then she laughed and said, “Do you really want to go to Dadu to see Wei Yixiao?”

    Zhang Wuji understood very well what she was saying, he could not help blushing while replying, “We might not see Wei Xiong, but if we can see Yang Zuoshi [left emissary Yang], Ku Toutuo, Peng Heshang [Buddhist monk] or the others, they might be able to give me some ideas.”

    Zhou Zhiruo smiled and said, “I know someone with divine ability in strategy, plotting and scheming. If you go to Dadu to find her, she will help you find a good idea. Yang Zuoshi, Ku Toutuo, Peng Heshang and the others are simply not equal to this Miss in term of intelligence.”

    Zhang Wuji did not dare to mention that he met with Zhao Min. This time she mentioned her name, he could not help but feeling bashful. “You always remember Miss Zhao,” he said, “And are always happy to make me feel awkward.”

    Zhou Zhiruo laughed and said, “I am not the only one who always remembers her; there is someone else beside me. I wouldn't be able to see what is in your heart unless you have guilty feelings.”

    Zhang Wuji thought that Zhou Zhiruo and he were engaged [orig. bai2tou2zhi1yue1 – arrangement/agreement to live together until their heads are white]. This time they were facing a life and death situation together, their feelings could not be divided and he could not conceal anything from her. Thereupon he said, “Zhiruo, there is something I want to tell you. Please don’t be angry.”

    “I will be angry if I deserve to be angry,” Zhou Zhiruo said.

    Zhang Wuji’s heart sank. He thought that he had made a heavy oath in her presence that he would kill Zhao Min to avenge his cousin Yin Li, but when he saw Zhao Min, not only he did not kill her, he spent the night in the wilderness and traveled side-by-side with her instead. This matter was really difficult to explain. He was not good in fabricating lies, and he was ashamed of his own conduct, his awkward expression easily revealed his feelings.

    While he was still musing, their rides had reached a small town. Noticing that the day was almost spent, they decided to lodge for the night in a small inn. After dinner, he massaged the acupoints on Zhou Zhiruo’s back. He was not familiar with the Beggar Clan’s sealing acupoint technique, but a long time had passed; after massaging her arteries all around, finally the acupoints were unsealed. He said in his heart, “Although the Beggar Clan Elders’ martial art skill was not extremely strong, their acupoint sealing technique is really marvelous. Zhiruo is too proud to ask them to unseal the acupoints during the banquet, and the man who sealed her acupoint pretended to forget. Hey, hey, these beggars wanted to save face at all cost; after suffering a crushing defeat from me, they wanted to show their superiority in acupoint sealing technique.”

    Zhou Zhiruo did not like the musty smell of that inn. “Let us go out for a walk,” she said, “I need to work my blood circulation.”

    “All right!” Zhang Wuji said. Holding her hand, he took her outside the town.

    By this time the sun was setting, the western sky was as red as blood. They leisurely wandered for a while before finally sitting down under a big tree. They watched as the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountain and the sky gradually turned dark. Zhang Wuji gathered his courage and told her how he met Zhao Min at the Mi Le Temple, how they found Mo Shenggu’s corpse inside a cave, how he met Song Yuanqiao and the others, and how he followed the Ming Cult’s blazing fire signs in circle around the Hebei province; he told her everything. Finally he grabbed Zhou Zhiruo’s hands and said, “Zhiruo, you and I are not married yet, but we can be considered husband and wife already; I am not going to conceal anything from you. Miss Zhao insists to see my Yifu face to face; she says she has some important matters to ask him. At that time, a suspicion started to rise in my heart. Now, the more I think about it, the more afraid I am.” As he was saying the last few sentences, his voice started to tremble.

    “What are you afraid of?” Zhou Zhiruo asked.

    Zhang Wuji felt the pair of small hands in his palms was as cold as ice and slightly trembled. “I remember Yifu’s illness,” he said, “Whenever it breaks out, he would not recognize other people. In the past his madness suddenly flared-out, and he almost killed my Mama, thereupon Mama shot his eyes blind. When I was born, Yifu was about to kill my Papa and Mama, luckily he heard my cry and regained his consciousness. I am afraid … I am really afraid …”

  2. #262
    Member jsamador's Avatar
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    what's he afraid of anyway? and where is that dog chen youliang? i hope he gets his head bashed.

  3. #263
    Junior Member spyro's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jsamador View Post
    what's he afraid of anyway? and where is that dog chen youliang? i hope he gets his head bashed.
    My guess is
    click to show/hide spoilers
    Wuji is afraid that his Yifu might have killed Yin Li in his madness.

  4. #264
    Senior Member duguxiaojing's Avatar
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    thx foxs and eliza!
    wow..04-08....4 years just like that..time flies..

  5. #265
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 34 – Part 2

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

    “What are you afraid of?” Zhou Zhiruo asked.

    Zhang Wuji sighed and said, “Actually, I cannot bear to say it, but I am really worried that my cousin was … was … killed by Yifu.”

    Zhou Zhiruo jumped up and with a shaky voice said, “Xie Daxia [great hero Xie] is a chivalrous hero who always upholds justice; he has always shown kindness and love toward us, his juniors. How can he kill Miss Yin?”

    “It was a wild guess,” Zhang Wuji replied, “Totally unfounded. Even if my cousin were really killed by Yifu, it was because of his chronic illness breaking out suddenly, just like a nightmare; certainly it was not his [orig. lao3ren2jia1] true intention. Ay, come to think about it, it was all because of Cheng Kun that evil villain.”

    Zhou Zhiruo was deep in thought for half a day before shaking her head and said, “Something is not right! Are you telling me that all of us being poisoned by the ‘shi xiang ruan jin san’ was also because of him? Where did he get the poison from? Someone suddenly losing his sanity and killing people is not a strange occurrence, but how can he cautiously put poison in our food and drink?”

    Zhang Wuji felt as if there was a thick fog hanging over his head, through which he could not see the least bit of bright light. He heard Zhou Zhiruo coldly say, “Wuji Gege [brother Wuji], you are doing your best to free Miss Zhao from any suspicion.”

    Zhang Wuji replied, “Supposing Miss Zhao was the real killer, it would be better for her to avoid Yifu. Why did she insist on seeing Yifu, saying that she had some important questions she’d like to ask him?”

    With a cold laugh Zhou Zhiruo said, “This Miss’ shrewdness is unparalleled. She wanted to clean herself from all charges. Don’t you think she could not concoct some ingenious way?” All of a sudden her tone turned gentle and soft; she cuddled close to Zhang Wuji’s body and said, “Wuji Gege, you are the most honest and upright person in the world. Speaking about shrewdness and resourcefulness, how can you be Miss Zhao’s match?”

    Zhang Wuji sighed, thinking that her words made perfect sense. He stretched out his arm to gently embrace her soft body; in a tender voice he said, “Zhiruo, I only feel that there are endless troubles in this world. Even someone close to me like Yifu cannot avoid my suspicion. I only wish we can accomplish our main task of driving out the Tartars, and then you and I will live in seclusion in some remote mountain, sharing a peaceful life and forget about the matters of this mundane world.”

    “You are the Jiaozhu of the Ming Cult,” Zhou Zhiruo said, “Supposing the Heaven blesses us that we can really drive the barbarians away, at that time, all important affairs of this world will fall into your Ming Cult’s hand, how can they let you live a peaceful life?”

    “I am incompetent to be the Jiaozhu, and I don’t want to be the Jiaozhu,” Zhang Wuji said, “If the Ming Cult gains power, there must be a wise, righteous hero who would undertake the Jiaozhu position.”

    “You are still young,” Zhou Zhiruo said, “Although your competence is currently lacking, can’t you learn? Besides, I am the Sect Leader of Emei Pai; there is a heavy burden on my shoulders. When Shifu bestowed this Sect Leader’s iron ring to me, she commanded me to work hard for the glory of our school. Even if you could live in seclusion in some remote mountain, I am afraid I would not have that luxury.”

    Zhang Wuji gently stroked the iron ring on her finger and said, “When I saw this ring in Chen Youliang’s hand, I was extremely anxious; I was afraid you might have been disgraced by those villains. I was wishing that I had wings so I could fly to you. Zhiruo, I was not able to rescue you sooner that you had to suffer wrongdoings longer. When did they return this iron ring to you?”

    Zhou Zhiruo said, “It was Wudang Pai’s Song Qingshu Shaoxia [young hero] who returned it to me.”

    Hearing her mentioning Song Qingshu’s name, suddenly Zhang Wuji remembered seeing her sitting side by side with Song Qingshu on the banquet table, eating and drinking together in the hall full of Beggar Clan people. “Song Qingshu treated you very well, didn’t he?” he asked.

    Zhou Zhiruo could hear the difference in his tone. “What do you mean by ‘treat you very well’?” she asked.

    “Nothing,” Zhang Wuji replied, “I am just asking. Song Dage [big brother Song] is infatuated with you, so much so that he did not hesitate to betray his school and rebel against his father, killing his martial uncle and scheming against his grandmaster. But to you, he was very good.”

    Zhou Zhiruo looked up toward the crescent moon rising on the eastern horizon and quietly said, “I will be satisfied if you can be half as good to me as he did.”

    Zhang Wuji replied, “I definitely cannot show you the kind of feeling Song Shige [martial (older) brother] has for you; I cannot commit these ufilial and unrighteous acts for your sake.”

    “For my sake, you certainly cannot. For Miss Zhao’s sake, you can,” Zhou Zhiruo said, “On that little island you have made a heavy oath to kill this witch to avenge Miss Yin. However, as soon as you saw her face, you forgot your pledge completely.”

    “Zhiruo,” Zhang Wuji replied, “If after careful investigation I find out that it was indeed Miss Zhao who stole the Tulong Saber and the Yitian Sword, and that my Biaomei [(female) cousin] did indeed perish under her hands, I definitely will not spare her. But if she is innocent, I certainly cannot kill her without any reason, can I? Perhaps I made a mistake when I made that heavy oath on the island that day.”

    Zhou Zhiruo was silent.

    “Did I say anything wrong?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    “No!” Zhou Zhiruo replied, “I only remember on the Wan An Temple’s pagoda, I also made a very heavy oath in Shifu’s presence. I hate myself for not telling you about this heavy oath when you proposed to me on that island.”

    Zhang Wuji was alarmed. “You … what heavy oath did you make?” he asked.

    Zhou Zhiruo said, “I was repeating what Shifu said, that if I became your wife in the future, my departed parents in the ground would not rest in peace, that my Shifu would become a malicious spirit, haunting me night and day for the rest of my life; and if I give birth to sons and daughters with you, let our sons become slaves and our daughters prostitutes.”

    As he heard this kind of heavy and ominous oath, Zhang Wuji could not help but shiver. He was silent for half a day before saying, “Zhiruo, that oath does not count. Definitely it does not count. It was because your Shifu thought that the Ming Cult is an evil-doer devil cult, and that I was crafty and evil, a shameless pervert thief, that she forced you to make that heavy oath. If she [orig. lao3ren2jia1 – Senior] knew the truth, she would definitely free you from this oath.”

    With tears streaming down her face, Zhou Zhiruo sobbed, “But she … Senior would not know this.” As she said that, she threw herself into his bosom, while crying uncontrollably.

    Zhang Wuji gently stroked her soft hair and consoled her, “If your Shifu in the netherworld knew it, she would definitely not blame you for violating your oath. Tell me, do you think I am really crafty and evil, a shameless pervert thief?”

    While embracing his waist, Zhou Zhiruo said, “Right now you are not. But if you are bewitched by Zhao Min later, maybe … maybe you will turn into crafty, evil and shameless.”

    Zhang Wuji lightly nudged her cheek with his finger and said with a laugh, “You underrate me too much. Is your husband that kind of person?”

    Zhou Zhiruo looked up, her cheeks were still wet with tears, but her eyes bore a happy expression. “You are shameless,” she said, “You are not my husband yet. If later on you sneakily go out with that little witch Zhao Min, I won’t want to be with you anymore. Who will guarantee that in the future you will not be like that Song Qingshu, who for the sake of a woman committed a lot of contemptible, shameless shady acts?”

  6. #266
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    I really really dislike Zhou Zhiruo..... mostly just cause she hates Zhao Min.. lol.. if it were someother (not ZM) then i would probably just think that she is a bit silly/stupid.... I hope ZZ isnt scheming this whole thing.. if hse is. i hope her scheming is brought to light before ZWJ is tricked too much .....

  7. #267
    Member jsamador's Avatar
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    she is in love with wuji though..

  8. #268
    Junior Member lizzymay's Avatar
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    It's her manipulations that I dislike. I always feel like she has a hidden agenda in her words/ actions.

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    exactly.. i agree that she is in love with him..

    but right now i get the feeling she is scheeming.. she is following her masters instructions.. betraying her own heart.. not only that she is doing in-justice to Wuji.. and thats why she will really regret it later..

    its just a really bad gut feeling i get everytime she talks to wuji... cant wait for the story to unfold and me to put out of my misery of not knowing >_<

  10. #270
    Senior Member rati4u's Avatar
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    yes she dint tell him the real words of her master asking her to enchant wuji n snatch the dragon saber n heaven sword from him

  11. #271
    Member jsamador's Avatar
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    true, but she's a pitiful woman..

  12. #272
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 34 – Part 3

    Zhang Wuji lowered his head and planted a kiss on her cheek, before laughing and saying, “Who told you as an immortal to descend to the earth? We are mere mortals, how can we resist your charm? I’ll say it was your father and mother’s fault that they bore too beautiful of a woman, who has the power to kill us, men!”

    Suddenly, from behind a large tree about two ‘zhang’s away came ‘hey, hey’, sound of cold laughter. Zhang Wuji was hugging Zhou Zhiruo in his bosom. He was startled and turned his head only to see a shadow dashing away and gone far in a short moment. Zhou Zhiruo jumped up immediately. Her face paled. “It’s Zhao Min!” she said in a shaky voice, “She is following us.”

    As Zhang Wuji heard the cold laugh, he knew it was a female voice, but it was hard for him to say it was Zhao Min for sure. In the dark of the night he could not distinguish whose shadow he had seen. ‘Was it her?” he asked doubtfully, “What is she doing following us?”

    “She likes you!” Zhou Zhiruo indignantly said, “Are you telling me that you didn’t know it? Most likely the two of have a secret rendezvous to deliberately make a fool out of me.”

    Zhang Wuji repeatedly denied the accusation. Zhou Zhiruo stood unmoving in the cold wind, thinking about her fate and could not restrain her tears from falling down. Zhang Wuji gently wrapped his left arm around her shoulder, while with right sleeve he wiped away the tears from her eyes. “Why are you crying while we are having a good time?” he said tenderly, “If I did have a rendezvous with Miss Zhao in here, let the Heaven punish me and the Earth swallow me. Just think, if in my heart I did like her, and I knew she was near, why was I so crazy about you and said those affectionate words? Wouldn’t that mean I deliberately make her angry and put her in an awkward situation?”

    Zhou Zhiruo sighed, “That’s true,” she said, “Wuji Gege, my heart is troubled.”

    “What is it?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    “I can’t forget my heavy oath in Shifu’s presence,” Zhou Zhiruo said, “I also think this Zhao Min will not let me go. I am too far inferior to her both in martial art and intelligence.”

    Zhang Wuji said, “I will do my best with all my strength to protect you all around. How can I allow her to harm even a strand of my beloved wife’s hair?”

    Zhou Zhiruo said, “If I die in her hand, so be it; I only have my own cruel fate to blame. My only fear is that she manages to confuse you that you believe her sweet talk and fall into her trap and come to kill me. If that happens, I will die with my eyes open.”

    Zhang Wuji said with a laugh, “That is truly a groundless fear [orig. ‘the man of Qi fears the sky falling]. Who knows how many people in this world have harmed me, offended me, but I have not killed any of them; why would I kill you?” Unbuttoning his clothes, he showed her the sword scar on his chest and said with a smile, “You stabbed me with the sword here! The deeper the wound, the deeper my love for you.”

    Zhou Zhiruo stretched out her tender hand to gently stroke the scar on his chest, with disquieting thoughts filling her heart. Suddenly her face paled, and she said, “An eye for an eye. In the future, you will stab me dead, I will not regret.”

    Zhang Wuji opened up his arms and pulled her into his embrace, while softly said, “Wait till we find Yifu, we’ll ask him, Senior, to preside over our wedding. And then the two of us will never leave each other, we’ll grow old together. If you like, you can stab me a few more times, I will not say a single harsh word to you. Is that good enough for you?”

    Zhou Zhiruo nuzzled her cheeks on his fiery warm chest and said in low voice, “I do hope you are a real man who will keep your word, and won’t forget what you have said today.”

    The two of them cuddled with each other for a long time. It was almost midnight and the wind grew stronger when they finally returned to the inn and went their separate rooms to sleep.

    The next morning, three people continued their journey south; they did not see any sign of Zhao Min along the way. They reached Dadu in less than a day. By the time they entered the city gate, it was already evening. They saw the residents, men and women, were busy sprinkling water to the dusty streets and sweeping the streets and alleys clean. There was an incense-burning table in front of every home. Zhang Wuji and the others found an inn and asked the attendant what major event was going on in the city.

    “Honored guests came from afar and did not know that you have come at the right moment,” the attendant replied, “You will enjoy a fine sight, for tomorrow is the ‘Great Tour of Imperial City’ day.”

    “What is a ‘Great Tour of Imperial City’ day?” Zhang Wuji asked.

    The attendant replied, “Tomorrow is one day of the year when the Emperor will travel through the Imperial City. The Emperor is going to offer sacrifice and burn incense in the Qing Shou Si [Celebrate Life Temple], tens of thousands men and women will dress up in a parade, from start to finish the route is about thirty, forty ‘li’s long. Now, that will be a remarkable sight. I suggest the honored guests turn in to bed earlier tonight, and as you wake up really early tomorrow, go to the Jade Virtue Gate of the Palace to watch. If you are lucky, you might be able to see the Emperor, the Empress, the Concubines, the Prince and the Princess. Just think, as a lowly common people, how could we have the good fortune of seeing the Emperor with our own eyes if we weren’t living in Beijing [orig. Jing Shi]?”

    Listening to this, Han Lin’er anger rose up; “Shameless traitor! [Translator’s note: the literal translation of the original sentence is: ‘regarding the enemy as (one’s) father, shameless traitor to Han (people)]” he scolded, “What good is the Tartar Emperor?”

    The attendant’s eyes grew really big; pointing at him he said, “You … you … what you said is the word of a rebel. Aren’t you afraid your head might be chopped off?”

    “You are a Han,” Han Lin’er said, “The Tartars have harmed us miserably, yet you keep saying the Emperor this and the Emperor that; don’t you have the least bit of patriotic spirit?”

    Seeing his ferocious and threatening expression, the attendant turned around and left; Zhou Zhiruo lifted up her finger and quickly sealed the acupoint on his back. “If this man went out,” she said, “He would open his mouth; I am afraid very soon there will be soldiers coming in here to give us trouble.” While saying that she kicked the attendant under the bed. “Let him starve for a few days,” she said with a laugh, “We’ll let him go when we leave the city.”

    Before long, they heard the innkeeper calling out from outside, “Ah Fu, Ah Fu! Are you still chatting incessantly again? Quickly fetch some face-washing water for the guest in room three!”

    Han Lin’er was amused; he slapped the table and called out, “Quickly send us some food and wine, your masters are hungry!”

    A moment later, another attendant came in delivering food and wine, while muttering to himself, “Ah Fu must have gone to the palace to watch the fireworks. This kid has never done anything proper; he wants to have fun all the time.”

    Early morning on the next day, Zhang Wuji was just getting out of bed when he heard a clamorous noise on the street. He went to the door and saw the street was packed with men and women wearing bright colored and fancy clothes. Everybody was heading north, while laughing and joking; the atmosphere was livelier than the New Year celebration, with incessant sounds of firecrackers coming from all directions.

    Zhou Zhiruo also came to the door; she said, “Let us also go and watch.”

  13. #273
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    Foxs, man...how DO you do it? Thanks for all this great work!

  14. #274
    Senior Member odbayarb2000's Avatar
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    We are mere mortals, how can we resist your charm?
    Little Pervert Wuji opens up his heart.
    "Big Hero Linghu kills frogs with the Dugu Nine Swords!”


  15. #275
    Senior Member rati4u's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by odbayarb2000 View Post
    Little Pervert Wuji opens up his heart.
    odbayarb......if a guy likes beauty, is he a pervert? if he is a pervert...then what Song kind is? a lecher?

  16. #276
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    Default Chapter 34 – Part 4

    “I have fought the warriors from the Ruyang Palace,” Zhang Wuji said, “They must not find out I am here. If we want to go, we must go in disguise.”

    Immediately, along with Zhou Zhiruo and Han Lin’er, they disguised themselves as farmers and villagers, by smearing yellow mud on their faces and hands; and then following the crowd on the street, they went to the Imperial Palace.

    It was around the end of the fourth hour [between 5 – 7 am], and the beginning of the fifth hour [between 7 – 9 am], the ground around the Imperial Palace was like a sea of people; already they could not find a place to set their feet on. Zhang Wuji stretched out his arms to gently shoved people around to clear the way. Finally they stopped under the eave by the Yan Cun [lit. extended spring (season)] gate of a rich family home. The stairs rose several feet upward, which gave them an advantageous spot to watch the show.

    They had not stood too long when they heard the banging noise of a gong. “They are here! They are here!” the crowd cried out. Everybody craned their necks to watch. The gong was getting nearer. They saw 108 big and tall men wearing dark green clothing. Their heft hands lifting up big gongs, about three feet in diameter, and their right hands struck the gongs with mallets. When these 108 gongs were struck together, the noise was deafening.

    The gong formation was followed by 360-man drum formation. After that it was people singing, blowing horn and beating the drum; followed by western region people playing ‘pipa’ [Chinese lute], and then Mongolian bugle horn. Each formation consisted of at least more than a hundred people, at most about four, five hundred people. After these marching ensembles, there were a couple of large red satin banners, flying high in the air. One banner carried these letters: ‘An Bang Hu Guo’ [peace to the nation, protecting the country], while the other said: ‘Zhen Xie Fu Mo’ [suppressing demonic influence, subduing the devil]. Other than these large letters, the banners were also full of bright golden Sanskrit characters. Before and after the banners each were two hundreds Mongolian elite troops, the imperial guards, with their long sabers glittering like snow, and their spears like the clouds; these four hundred men all rode on white horses. As the common people watched this display of formidable military prowess, they loudly cheered.

    Zhang Wuji sighed inwardly, “In other places there aren’t any common people who do not hate the Mongolian soldiers to the bones, but the people of Beijing have become shameless slaves of the government. To think that for decades day in and day out these people have seen Mongolian imperial household’s impressive power, and thus have forgotten their own perished country.”

    As the two banners passed, suddenly from among the west crowd several white light flashed by; two rows of flying daggers flew straight toward the two flagpoles. Each row of flying daggers consisted of seven daggers. These seven daggers neatly pierced the flagpole. Although the flagpoles were thick, after receiving seven cuts, they swayed and finally broke; with a couple of whishing noises they fell down. People were yelling and screaming miserably, as dozens of them were crushed by the flagpoles; while the rest of the people were also shouting and scrambling away. It was total chaos.

    This change was so abrupt that even Zhang Wuji and the others were taken by surprise. Han Lin’er was very happy and was about to cheer when suddenly a soft palm reached out and cover his mouth; Zhou Zhiruo managed to curb his shout in time. The four hundred elite troops moved their weapons and charged into the crowd, randomly searched for the shooter.

    Zhang Wuji noticed that whoever launched these fourteen flying daggers had a tremendous strength, obviously it was a martial art master of the Wulin world; only among those many onlookers, nobody could tell who the person was. If he could not see who did it, then how could the Mongolian soldiers? They blindly searched among the crowd and not too long afterwards dragged seven, eight men out, who called out miserably, “Injustice …” But the Mongolian soldiers struck their blades and spears and killed those men on the spot.

    Han Lin’er was very angry; “The flying daggers shooter has gone for long, what can this useless bunch do? They massacred innocent people to vent off their anger instead,” he said.

    “Han Dage, hold your voice!” Zhou Zhiruo hissed, “We are here to watch the ‘Great Tour of Imperial City’, not to create ‘Great Trouble in the Imperial City’.” [Translator’s note: play of words here, ‘Da You Huang Cheng’ against ‘Da Nao Huang Cheng’]

    “Yes,” Han Lin’er said; he did not dare to open his mouth anymore.

    The chaos only lasted a few moments; the sound of music quickly followed, other groups marched by one by one: acrobats who swallow knife and spit fire from their mouths, and various western region entertainers, which sent the crowd cheering and clapping again, quickly put the bloody incidents on the street out of their minds. Next came group by group of puppeteers, jugglers, performers balancing plates over sticks and all kinds of acrobatic acts. After these groups came large parade floats pulled by beautiful steeds. On each float there were handsome men and beautiful women dressed as characters of the classical stories, such as ‘Journey to the West’ [orig. Tang Sancang went to western sky to fetch the scripture], ‘Emperor Tang Ming Touring the Moon Palace’, ‘Li Cunxiao Beat the Tiger’, ‘Liu Guanzhang Fought Lu Bu Three Times’, ‘Zhang Shengyue Gathered the Hawks’, and so on; legendary battles and wonderful accomplishments, presented with the best of workmanship.

    Zhang Wuji and the others, all three people, grew in poor rural environment; they had never seen this kind of bustling festive atmosphere. They sighed inwardly, thinking today their horizons were broadened.

    On each float there was an embroidered silk banner, with inscriptions such as ‘Humble Presentation of so-and-so, the Prefect of Hu Guang [Hubei and Hunan provinces]’, or ‘Respectfully Presented by so-and-so, the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang’. As the procession passed by, the official who presented the float became progressively higher in rank; the float itself became progressively fancier, the men and women playing the characters were now wearing pearls and bright jewels, the hairpins and necklaces were also made of precious jadeite and precious stones. First, the Mongolian princes, dukes, and chancellors wanted to curry favor from the Emperor; second, they also wanted to flaunt their prosperity; therefore, no expense was spared in the building and the adornment of the float.

    Amidst the melodious sound of string and woodwind instruments, a float with the ‘Liu Zhiyuan’s Chronicle of the White Rabbit’ theme passed by. Suddenly the cheerful melody changed into an awkward melody of old tune; the plain banner on the float read ‘Zhou Gong banished Guan Cai’. On the float there was a middle-age man with a tablet in his hands [this is the tablet held by officials during imperial audience], he was playing the role of Zhou Gong. On his side sat a small child wearing an Emperor clothes, he was playing the part of the Emperor. Guan Shu and Cai Shu were standing on the side, whispering to each other and pointing their fingers to Zhou Gong. This float was followed by another float with ‘Wang Mang’s Hypocritical Act of Generosity’. The man on this float wore a very thick white face-powder, with gold and silver in his hands, pretending to give generously to poor people. Following these two floats was a cart with white banners on all four sides, with these writings on them, ‘When Zhou Gong feared the days of rumor, Wang Mang enjoyed being praised as a polite and modest scholar. If both of them died at that time, their loyalty and talent would be hidden for eternity.’

  17. #277
    Member jsamador's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by odbayarb2000 View Post
    Little Pervert Wuji opens up his heart.
    Aren't you a bit harsh?

  18. #278
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    Quote Originally Posted by jsamador View Post
    Aren't you a bit harsh?
    Haha, though I am not serious, I don't like ZWJ's wishy washy attitude. So I am just niggling over him while enjoying myself extensively.
    Last edited by odbayarb2000; 04-22-08 at 08:26 AM.
    "Big Hero Linghu kills frogs with the Dugu Nine Swords!”


  19. #279
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    Default Chapter 34 – Part 5

    Zhang Wuji’s heart was stirred; he mused, “The right and wrong, black and white, in this world is really not easy to know. Zhou Gong was a great sage, but when he banished Guan Shu and Cai Shu, everyone said he was scheming to usurp the throne. Wang Mang was a great traitor, but when at first he bought the people’s hearts, there wasn’t anybody in this world who did not sing praises to him. I heard these two stories on the Bing Huo [ice and fire] Island from Yifu. This is the so-called ‘the distant road tries the horse’s strength, the course of time proves the man’s heart’. A man’s real character cannot be recognized in just a dawn-to-dusk period.” Further, he thought, “These two floats are different than the rest of them. They obviously carry a profound meaning. The man who prepared them must have a character of scholarly knowledge.” And then he silently recited that poem twice in his mind.

    Suddenly he heard sounds like broken gongs. A float came by, pulled by a pair of thin horses. The float was very plain and simple without any decoration. As the crowd saw the float, they roared in laughter. “This ragged float also joins the ‘Tour of the Imperial City’, won’t it be the laughingstock of the people?” they said. As the float got near, Zhang Wuji was able to see clearly and he was shocked! He saw a large man on the cart, with his long yellow hair reaching his shoulder. His eyes were closed, and he was sitting on a couch. What character did he play if not Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun? Next to him stood a good-looking young woman wearing green, she had a teacup in her hands, as if she was attentively serving the man. Although her appearance was inferior to Zhou Zhiruo’s beauty, her clothing and adornments were exactly the same as the ones she was wearing at the Wan An Temple Pagoda.

    “Miss Zhou,” Han Lin’er said in a low voice, “That girl looks like you.”

    “Hmmph,” Zhou Zhiruo snorted, but did not say anything. Zhang Wuji turned his head and saw her complexion went pale, while her chest was heaving; he knew she was enraged. Thereupon he reached out to hold her right hand; while not fully understanding the intention behind this float.

    The next float was still depicting the Xie Xun – Zhou Zhiruo story. The actor playing Zhou Zhiruo giggled while walking around toward the corner, then ‘she’ stretched out two fingers and suddenly struck ‘Xie Xun’s back with all ‘her’ might. “Ah!” the fake ‘Xie Xun’ exclaimed loudly, then collapsed to the couch. ‘Zhou Zhiruo’ lifted her foot to step on him, and then raised her sword ready to kill. The spectators broke in loud cheer, “Good! Good! Kill him!”

    The third float of this ‘Xie Xun – Zhou Zhiruo’ theme depicted six or seven men dressed as beggars capturing the ‘Xie Xun’ and ‘Zhou Zhiruo’.

    By this time all doubts were gone from Zhang Wuji’s mind; he knew these three floats were built by Zhao Min. Expecting Zhou Zhiruo and him to come to Dadu, she arranged for these floats to humiliate Zhou Zhiruo. He stooped down to pick several small pebbles from the ground, and lightly flicked them with his middle finger. ‘Swish, swish!’ the right eyes of the pair of horses pulling the third float were blinded. The pebbles entered the horses’ brains. With long neigh, those horses fell down to the ground, dead. The float flipped over and the actors rolled down to the ground. The street was thrown into chaos.

    Zhao Zhiruo bit her lower lip and said quietly, “This witch insulted me this way, I … I …” Speaking to this point, her voice turned into sobs.

    Zhang Wuji felt her hand was ice-cold, her body trembled; hastily he tried to assure her, “Zhiruo, this little ***** [orig. ‘muddy egg’] can think of hundreds of weird tricks, don’t pay her any attention. As long as I know your sincerity, even if others sow dissension, how is it possible for me to believe them?”

    “Ah, I remember,” Zhou Zhiruo suddenly said, “That day Yifu was fine, before he suddenly convulsed and fell down to the floor, and then he started talking deliriously. Could it be … could it be that at that time this witch was hiding in that inn and she shot a secret projectile toward Yifu’s back?”

    Zhang Wuji pondered for a moment before saying, “If she made her move then, she might still have enough time to make it to the Mi Le Temple in time. But based on her martial art skill, I don’t think she could evade Yifu’s detection. I am leaning more toward the Xuanming Elders who attacked him.”

    While they were talking, the Mongolian soldiers had already pushed the people back and cleared up the street from the dead horses, so that the procession of floats could continue. Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo’s minds were still occupied by the recent events and they did not have any interest in watching the subsequent floats.

    After the last float passed by, they heard intermittent sound of Buddhist monks chanting, followed by the appearance of row after row of foreign monks in red kasaya. After these monks, they heard the tinkling of iron armor, as two thousands ‘Yu Lin Jun’ [special force, the Emperor’s personal bodyguards] troops, in full armor, each one with a lance in his hand, made their appearance, followed by three thousand archers.

    After the archers, incense smoke rose up to the sky, as one by one the idols were carried on sedan chairs by porters wearing embroidered clothes; from the Tu Di [Earth God], Cheng Huang [deity in Chinese mythology], Ling Guan [lit. spirit of government official – don’t know the exact translation], Wei Tuo [Celestial Guardian], Cai Shen [God of Wealth]. [Translator’s note: there is one more idol mentioned, but my copy missed one character] A lot of people muttered their prayers, while some went down on their knees to worship.

    These idols were followed by guards of honor, carrying ceremonial articles like golden gourd, golden hammer and so on. Next, came feathered fans and jeweled parasols in pairs. The crowd called out, “The Emperor is here! The Emperor is here!” as from a distant came a large sedan chair covered in yellow silk, carried by thirty-two ‘shi wei’ [This is also personal bodyguards of the Emperor. Perhaps someone out there can explain the difference between Shi Wei and Yu Lin Jun] wearing embroidered clothes.

    Zhang Wuji focused his attention to see the Mongolian Emperor. He noticed that the Emperor’s countenance was thin, pallid, and dispirited. In just one glance it was obvious that he indulged in wine. The Crown Prince rode a horse next to the sedan chair. Contrary to his expectations, the Crown Prince actually showed a heroic spirit. He had a gilded long bow, inlaid with jade, on his shoulder; truly fit the image of a Mongolian young hero.

    “Jiaozhu,” Han Lin’er whispered on Zhang Wuji’s ear, “Let subordinate make an assault, with a stab of my blade I can assassinate the Tartar Emperor, and thus rid the common people of one big evil.”

    “No, you can’t go!” Zhang Wuji said, “The Tartar Emperor is surrounded by martial art masters as his guards. If we are going to do it, I am the one who must go.”

    “That is inappropriate,” suddenly the man standing on Zhang Wuji’s left opened his mouth, “Replacing one tyrant with another, I have never seen it work.”

    Zhang Wuji, Han Lin’er and Zhou Zhiruo were startled; they turned to see this man, and saw he was about fifty years of age, dressed like a medicine peddler, carrying a medicine sack on his back, his right hand held a tiger-head stick. That man turned his thumb up and put his hand in front of his chest, making a Ming Cult’s blazing fire signal, and said in a low voice, “Peng Yingyu pays his respects to Jiaozhu. Jiaozhu is well, I am very happy.”

    “Ah, you are Peng …” Zhang Wuji was very happy. It turned out that man was Peng Yingyu. His disguise was so ingenious that although he had been standing next to them for a long time, Zhang Wuji and the others did not have the slightest idea of his real identity.

    In a low voice Peng Yingyu said, “This is not a good place to talk. The Tartar Emperor must not be killed.” Zhang Wuji was aware of his wisdom and knowledge, therefore, he simply nodded and did not ask anymore questions. He only reached out to grab Peng Yingyu’s left hand and gently shook it a few times.

  20. #280
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    Quote Originally Posted by odbayarb2000 View Post
    Haha, though I am not serious, I don't like ZWJ's wishy washy attitude. So I am just niggling over him while enjoying myself extensively.
    Someday you'll be in ZWJ's situation and then we'll niggle you

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